Chapter 18: I, Gao Wen, Marine Lieutenant

Clove’s request naturally failed, and could never have succeeded.

Excluding the existence of Devil Fruits beyond common sense, even the best doctor must abide by basic laws.

Losing Clove, a Jiucai with Bronze-level potential, Gao Wen’s daily experience gain returned to its expected level.

It stabilized between twenty and thirty.

Looking at this data,

Gao Wen fell into deep thought.

Even just Clove, a Bronze-level potential, provided over ten experience points per day through training.

This meant that if the ship carried just two beings with Bronze potential, their daily experience output would match that of over a hundred crew members whose potential had not yet been exhausted.

The gap between individuals was secondary; the bigger problem was that such a massive pirate crew had become a burden under these circumstances.

Especially since Gao Wen planned to enter the Grand Line.

Not to mention the sheer scale of daily consumption: food, drink, waste, medical supplies, and ammunition for hundreds of men.

The naval vessel Gao Wen seized originally carried enough supplies to feed over a hundred men for a month; after merging with the Black Cat Pirates, it shrank to barely ten days’ worth.

Not to mention the dozens of wounded aboard—the ship’s medical supplies were already exhausted.

“Before entering the Grand Line, securing the title of Warlord, and establishing a stable base,”

“a small elite team, like the Straw Hats, Red-Haired, or Roger’s crew, best suits my abilities.”

“After all, one Bronze-level potential like Clove provides as much experience as seventy or eighty common Iron-level pirates, and his harvesting cycle is clearly longer.”

“Not to mention future potential seeds—Silver, Gold, even Legendary.”

As he thought this, Gao Wen made his decision.

If the subsequent plan proceeded smoothly, after recruiting a few more crew members with excellent potential, he would streamline the team and form an elite crew composed entirely of at least Bronze-level potentials before entering the Grand Line.

Moreover, for these pirates whose potential was spent, it was better to stay in the East Blue than to die in the Grand Line; with their decent strength and Gao Wen backing them, they could still scrape by.

Yet the rate of supply consumption still exceeded Gao Wen’s expectations—only three days later, food and medicine were running critically low.

In the captain’s cabin.

Gao Wen and several officers gathered there, faces grim.

“Captain, our remaining food will only last five days—barely enough to return to our base on Parra Island, but their medical supplies and ammunition are already gone.”

“If the injured don’t receive timely treatment, most of them won’t survive—we…”

Zan Gao reported the crew’s dire situation with a heavy face; he was no cold-blooded man like Clove, and couldn’t bear to watch his subordinates suffer and die.

The Cat Brothers, seated nearby, felt the same; seeing Gao Wen’s silence, they urgently spoke up:

“Many of these men were trained by you personally—they’re elite. Letting them die like this is a waste.”

Gao Wen raised a hand to silence them, then turned to Clove:

“Do you have a stable procurement channel?”

Clove nodded.

“Previously, our weapons and medical supplies were supplied by Hablinger in Crow Harbor.”

“But that guy had an accident recently—he was just pulled out of Marine custody. I suspect it’s a trap set by the Marines.”

“Irrelevant.”

Gao Wen remained unmoved:

“If the Marines reach out, chop off their hands!”

“Hmph.”

Clove adjusted his glasses, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Gao Wen’s answer was exactly what he expected—he instinctively felt it should be this way.

Only such audacity deserved Gao Wen’s terrifying talent and monstrous strength.

Zan Gao and the Cat Brothers exchanged glances, both exhaling in relief.

Their gaze toward Gao Wen now held not just fear, but a touch of respect.

In this era, captains willing to go this far for their men existed—but they were rare.

The next day.

Gao Wen’s fleet split into two groups.

The three pirate ships originally belonging to the Black Cat Pirates, commanded by the Cat Brothers and Zan Gao, carried the wounded and non-combatants back to their base on Parra Island.

Gao Wen, accompanied by Clove and a crew of elite pirates, sailed the captured naval vessel toward Crow Harbor.

The ship still retained many Marine uniforms and Monka’s attire.

Gao Wen ordered his men to change into soldier uniforms; he himself donned a modified version of Monka’s uniform, transforming the entire crew into the appearance of Marines.

Especially Gao Wen—his naturally handsome face, now clad in a Marine lieutenant’s uniform, radiated an aura of upright integrity.

In appearance alone, no one would doubt he was a Marine.

Clove’s lip twitched.

Had Gao Wen not already taken the captain’s seat, Clove might have suspected him of being a Marine spy.

“You’re wasting your potential as a pirate.”

Clove murmured in admiration; seeing Gao Wen’s odd expression, he dropped the subject.

Clove himself donned a Marine officer’s uniform; his scholarly face and gloomy demeanor now carried a faint air of legitimacy.

“Perfect.”

“With our looks, we look more like real Marines than most actual Marines.”

Gao Wen clapped Clove on the shoulder; the latter’s lips curled into a smile:

“Yes!”

“Sir!”

…

…

…

At the same time.

Near Crow Harbor.

A massive fleet of nearly twenty pirate ships slowly anchored in a bay.

After confirming no one was following,

Admiral Krieg, clad in golden armor with pale purple short hair, stepped onto the deck of the central flagship.

He raised a telescope toward the distant harbor.

Even from dozens of nautical miles away, he could see countless merchant ships coming and going, each laden with goods from all four seas—and even the Grand Line.

It was utterly prosperous.

Krieg stared at the scene ahead, his eyes betraying a flicker of greed; then he looked down at the map in his hand:

“Crow Harbor is one of the essential ports for East Blue merchant vessels, yet no Marine branch station is stationed nearby. If we seize it, we control the throat of dozens of surrounding cities.”

“Even if we did nothing, we’d earn countless Beli every day.”

“Then I’ll build an invincible fleet—even the Grand Line won’t stop me!”

At that moment,

A gaunt, ghost-like man in a striped headband slowly approached Krieg and said calmly:

“Captain, what do you need me to do?”

“Same as before.”

Krieg glanced at the man and sneered:

“Akin, take a team, disguise yourselves as Marines, infiltrate Crow Harbor, neutralize internal resistance, then we strike from within and without.”

“Understood.”

Akin nodded:

“But.”

“The naval vessel we seized earlier has some issues—it needs time to repair. It might delay us a few days.”

“Hmm.”

Krieg nodded:

“Hurry. Delay invites change—no one can predict what might happen if we wait too long.”

“Yes!”

(End of Chapter)