Chapter 269: The Will of God

Early the next morning.

Water Seven, which had until now maintained a strictly defensive posture, suddenly reversed course and became exceptionally aggressive.

Even though small bands of pirates still kept attempting to land, a warship patrolled the surrounding waters without regard for anything else, and the moment it spotted pirates active in the nearby seas, it crushed them with thunderous force.

Gao Wen, who had previously only been patrolling within a twenty-some-kilometer radius around Water Seven, abruptly expanded his patrol range to fifty kilometers.

Countless pirate ships were burned straight through by a beam of heat that descended from the sky and sank into the sea; everything seemed to point to one single possibility.

The Pluton blueprints… had been stolen!

"For the defenders of Water Seven to launch such an aggressive search operation while bearing such tremendous pressure…"

Outside Water Seven, several dozen nautical miles out, a fleet sat quietly at anchor in a bay.

Wang Zhi stood in the middle of a hastily erected camp, a bottle of freshly opened red wine in one hand, taking occasional sips.

Yet his gaze had fallen on the intelligence report just delivered to his hand.

"That monster's combat power cannot be underestimated, but for him alone, facing the seemingly endless pirates around Water Seven while still trying to shelter those civilians, he has already reached the absolute limit of his endurance."

"It is simply impossible that he would take such an inexplicable action at a time like this — only the theft of the Pluton blueprints makes sense."

"Does that mean One-Eye and the others succeeded?"

At this thought.

Even with Wang Zhi's seasoned, world-weary temperament honed over many years at sea, he could barely contain himself.

He abruptly stood up and demanded of his deputy beside him:

"One-Eye still hasn't returned?!"

The deputy shook his head:

"No word yet, Boss — you don't think that guy's planning to pocket it for himself?!"

Bang!

Wang Zhi crushed the wine bottle in his hand.

Crimson wine splashed all over the deputy, who instinctively swallowed, then looked up and met Wang Zhi's ice-cold, razor-sharp gaze.

"That's my property!"

"If he truly had the guts to pocket it alone, he wouldn't have stayed at this sorry level after all these years."

The deputy instinctively lowered his head, his voice trembling nonstop:

"Y-yes, yes, yes, yes… you're absolutely right, Boss!"

Cut the nonsense? Go find him—if you don't bring him back, I'll skin you alive.

"Yes, sir!"

Very soon.

The fleet stationed here swiftly mobilized, slipping into the waters around Water Seven and beginning to search for One-Eye's trail.

But unbeknownst to them, One-Eye had by now already boarded another island — an island floating in the sky.

Last night, amid the chaos, he had slipped out of Water Seven and fled in the direction diametrically opposite to Wang Zhi's base; halfway there, he was intercepted by Jin Shizi, and the blueprints naturally fell into Jin Shizi's hands as well.

"So this is the Pluton blueprints?!"

Jin Shizi slowly unrolled the blueprints.

A warship of exaggerated design — no, not merely exaggerated, but fantastical — was revealed before Jin Shizi's eyes.

He was no shipwright and had never seen the Pluton, yet the moment his eyes fell on the blueprints, he was already convinced that this thing was very likely genuine.

"Lord Jin Shizi, look here…"

One-Eye rubbed his fingers together, his face plastered with a fawning expression.

By now he no longer hoped for the several billion Beri from auctioning the Pluton; obtaining Jin Shizi's protection alone was already enough.

"Heh~"

Jin Shizi swept a glance over him, his laugh contemptuous, then said lightly:

"Luo!"

"This one's yours…"

Hiss!

Following a razor-sharp whoosh through the air, One-Eye's head leapt high into the air, and his still-warm corpse crashed heavily to the ground.

Luo coldly sheathed his long blade, then resumed his earlier expression of utter indifference, sitting quietly to one side.

"Quite the impressive gaze~"

Sitting to one side, endlessly stuffing a mountain of cake into her mouth, Big Mom paused her motions; looking at Luo, there was a hint of admiration in her eyes, and she said pointedly:

"Shi Ji, if you keep letting this little brat grow, someday even you might…"

"Hmph. I'm actually looking forward to that day."

"Is that so?"

"Mama~ mama~"

Big Mom seemed to recall something amusing, yet in the very next instant her expression chilled:

"Per our deal, I want a copy of the Pluton blueprints."

"No problem."

Jin Shizi nodded:

"Now that the Pluton is in hand, it's time to deal with that little brat."

Saying so.

Jin Shizi raised a hand to touch the scar on his head, and his mind once again replayed that previous battle with Gao Wen.

He had won.

But he knew even better that if he were fated for misfortune, continuing to fight would only ensure that he himself would be the one to lose.

The constantly surging domineering aura and the extremely fierce battle had already affected the old wound on his head.

That battle had been fought with extreme frustration, naturally leaving his heart displeased.

Besides, one must do what one says; how can one claim the title of king without defeating that brat?!

"Just thinking about that guy makes me furious!"

Big Mom recalled Gao Wen's figure, and for a moment, she ground her teeth in hatred:

"This time, I will definitely keep him here; I will crush his bones bit by bit!"

Big Mom's voice grew even more shrill; the domineering aura surging around her made her newly grown hair stand on end, revealing just how far her anger had reached.

"However, since Wang Zhi is here as well, we might as well drag him along; after all, we were comrades back in the day."

The Jin Shizi paused, his five fingers loosely clenching in mid-air, a smile of interest appearing on his face:

"That guy's combat power is merely passable, but the ability of the Warp-Warp Fruit holds immense strategic value."

"Furthermore, according to the intelligence obtained earlier, Knight Gao Wen seems to care deeply about the commoners of Water 7; let us begin by destroying what he cherishes most."

"After all, the most important objective has already been achieved; everything from here on..."

"... can be considered mere entertainment for a bored moment after drinking."

Big Mom glanced at him, her pupils contracting slightly.

From the Great War at God's Valley until now, more than thirty years have passed.

Whitebeard is growing old, yet his tiger-like might remains; Kaido has fully mastered his combat power and can be called a regional warlord; Big Mom herself has found a quiet corner in the New World.

Only the Jin Shizi, only the Jin Shizi!

His body can no longer compare to his youth, yet the spirit radiating from within him has not diminished by even a fraction compared to the past; instead, it has grown even deeper with the passage of time.

Even Whitebeard of this era might not be this fellow's match...

What nonsense am I speaking!

That old man is Whitebeard!

But there is no doubt that the Jin Shizi of now absolutely possesses the qualification to contend for the title of the strongest in the Great Pirate Era!

"Hahahaha—!"

The extremely bold laughter echoed through the clouds.

On several floating islands, wild beasts that had become increasingly ferocious due to the influence of IQ plants, as if infected, simultaneously raised their heads and roared!

The Jin Shizi's group no longer concealed their movements.

The wind rose and the clouds moved; the black clouds across the sky scattered.

The sun's brilliance, like a sharp sword, plunged straight down from the high heavens into the sea, and the wind around them suddenly became fierce at that moment.

The Jin Shizi's eyes were the same.

"Lingling!"

"Let us cause a great uproar and let this boring era witness what a true pirate is!"

"Good!"

With the news of the theft of the Pluton design plans spreading, pirates everywhere immediately erupted into frenzy; the few leaked Pluton design plans quickly triggered a series of battles.

Dense cannonballs, like fireworks, bloomed on the sea surface surrounding Water 7!

At this moment.

Several dozen kilometers outside Water 7, in a small town.

A pirate ship lay stranded on the beach, its hull severely deformed, as if crushed by some heavy object.

But upon closer observation, one would discover that these pirate ships bore no traces of being crushed by a heavy object.

"How was this done? It's simply, simply as if they were crushed by their own weight?!"

A boy from a nearby village, looking at the eerie scene before him, felt as though he had seen a ghost, yet after coming to his senses, he felt a wave of relief.

After all, since this ship appeared here, its target was naturally the nearby village; had this accident not occurred, everyone in the village would have been unable to escape.

As he pondered.

A middle-aged man with blind eyes, a tall figure, and holding a wooden staff appeared in the boy's mind.

Just yesterday, the man appeared on this desolate island; he called himself Issho and said he intended to stop the battle in Water 7.

But how chaotic Water 7 is now is known to all; anyone in the village with even a little savings has already left, leaving only orphans like him or elderly people unable to move.

Facing those powerful pirates, what could a blind man do?!

The boy merely thought he was bragging; seeing him alone and somewhat pitiful, he shared some fish meat and wild fruits with him.

"Which uncle did this?!"

"No, no, he is just a blind man; perhaps he is even less than..."

As the boy spoke, his voice gradually grew hoarse.

This was because, on the sea surface in the distance, a man in a purple feathered robe sat on a bamboo raft, drifting away gracefully.

But this was not the point; the point was that the bamboo raft was actually floating in mid-air.

He is flying!

"Uncle..."

The boy opened his mouth, too stunned to speak.

But at this moment, he had already realized that the one who eliminated these pirates was indeed Fujitora, who was gradually moving away.

In the distance.

Issho seemed to sense something, turned around facing the direction of the boy, and a slight smile appeared on his face:

"Jeno?!"

"I am leaving; it was only yesterday that I learned Water Seven holds not only countless civilians awaiting rescue but also my friends."

"After all, as far as I know, the only one capable of transforming into a giant dragon is that fellow's ability."

"Thank you."

"The grilled fish and wild fruits were delicious..."

The voice of a lifetime gradually faded.

The bamboo raft carrying him also vanished from young Jeno's sight a few breaths later.

Jeno's eyes grew ever brighter at this moment.

For the first time, young Jeno understood what kind of person he ought to become in the future.

"So amazing!"

"I too shall become a man like Uncle!"

"Uncle said men should uphold the Dao of Benevolence and Righteousness?!"

"Then I shall become the most benevolent and righteous man on Barilla Island—no, on the entire Grand Line!"

"Woo-hoo~~~"

"The blueprints for the Pluton of Water Seven, along with several copies, were all stolen by pirates?!"

"And now their whereabouts are unknown?!"

On the sea.

A massive fleet slowly approached Water Seven.

Akainu stood on the deck of the flagship, while his deputy beside him reported the latest intelligence on Water Seven.

Foremost among the news was the theft of the Pluton blueprints.

As the intelligence spread, more and more Marines gathered on the deck.

Everyone's gaze converged upon Akainu, their eyes faintly carrying a trace of expectation, and also an indescribable sense of hope.

Their mission on this voyage was to prevent the Pluton blueprints from falling into pirate hands by launching a Buster Call on Water Seven, sinking both the blueprints and everyone who knew of them to the bottom of the sea.

But now that the Pluton blueprints had been stolen, did that mean...

"Lord Sakazuki, does this mean we need not execute the Buster Call?!"

Finally, someone could not help but ask, their eyes brimming with undisguised hope.

Akainu naturally understood their thoughts; he said lightly:

"Our primary duty is to prevent the spread of the Pluton blueprints; if they have already spread, the foremost task is naturally to retrieve them before they cause even worse consequences."

He was iron-blooded and radical, yet he never slaughtered without reason.

Choosing the lesser of two evils was the code of conduct engraved in Akainu's bones, and also the foundation upon which his so-called Absolute Justice stood.

At this very moment, for Akainu, the true threat was no longer Water Seven, but those pirates who had obtained the Pluton blueprints.

"However, let us first arrive at Water Seven, clarify the situation, and then draw conclusions."

The Marines around immediately became excited; some even embraced each other while cheering.

Although they trusted in Akainu's justice and were willing to follow this man,

they also knew that the tens of thousands of civilians in Water Seven were beings they ought to protect.

It was just that, very often, life presented such dilemmas where one could not have both, forcing one to make heart-wrenching decisions.

Fortunately.

Though Akainu had not stated it explicitly, he had already made his stance clear.

Instantly, everyone felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted; even the fleet's voyage seemed to quicken at this moment.

Smooth sailing all the way.

Yet an accident occurred at this very moment.

A ship of exquisite magnificence lay quietly anchored on the fleet's inevitable path.

Normally, at such a time, the Navy would first issue a warning bombardment, but now the fleet gradually halted its advance.

This was solely because the flag flying on that distant ship was far too familiar to them.

The white-based flag, the emblem of a globe crossed by lines, and the words "world-govt" printed beneath the emblem all indicated one and the same thing...

This was a ship of the World Government!

Before Akainu could take any action, several figures clad entirely in white leaped up from the deck of that ship.

Within a few breaths, they crossed the hundreds of meters between them and landed steadily on the warship's deck.

Thud!

After a soft sound, two tall men wearing masks and white suits stood before Akainu.

"CP0?"

Akainu frowned tightly:

"I do not recall this mission having any intersection with you."

The leading CP0 member, wearing a white mask and a white felt hat atop his head, spoke calmly:

"We have come under the orders of Those Five to ensure the Buster Call is executed correctly; you may understand us as... execution supervisors!"

"What kind of joke are you making?!"

Akainu flew into a rage:

"The blueprint of the Pluton of Water Seven has already been leaked; the most urgent task now is to prevent the Pluton blueprint from being leaked!"

"No!"

The white-faced CP0 shook his head, his voice revealing an air of absolute authority:

"There has been too much chaotic noise within the Navy recently; I have come here to remind you..."

"The will of God is absolute!"

(End of Chapter)