Chapter 177: Vice Admiral Candidate (3k)

Woo—!

A piercing naval ship whistle echoed from the sea, and the entire Mock Town seemed to fall silent in an instant.

Those pirates, who were usually arrogant and domineering, became well-behaved at this moment.

These people hid the flags on their pirate ships, even doing a lot to cover up their vessels, and the groups themselves huddled on the island to drink, not even daring to approach the harbor.

Mock Town is one of the entrances to the underworld; it is a fixed gathering place for many pirates and bandit gangs in the first half of the Grand Line, and also a place where intermediaries wandering in the dark world often choose to do business.

Pirates with bounties over ten million are not uncommon here.

But today, those pirate crews with higher bounties and greater strength had almost all gathered in advance and left Mock Town due to the rumors of the 【Golden Town】.

And this morning, there was another rumor that the Navy had suffered huge losses in the waters of Skuld Island, with advance teams sent by as many as 7 branches being completely wiped out, and more than 10 officers of colonel rank killed in action.

This incident shocked Marine Headquarters, which immediately decided to dispatch a fleet from the headquarters to resolve the matter.

The news obtained inside Mock Town was that the rumors of the 【Golden Town】 had alarmed the upper echelons of the World Government, so the Navy had already mobilized elite troops from nearby waters, determined not to let the 【Golden Town】 fall into the hands of others.

Even now, this news has already reached the New World; on that sea where the winds and clouds are even more turbulent, those most vicious pirates, those powerful figures who rule over regions, and even those maritime emperors who truly stand at the pinnacle of piracy and stand on equal footing with the Navy, have all learned the news of the appearance of the 【Golden Town】.

However, the New World is quite far from here, and it is not easy for those big shots to arrive in person; I fear only some terrifying lone wolves will appear.

In this world, there are a few powerful pirates whose power cannot be compared to the 【Four Emperors】 but who are quite free, having obtained the title of 【Seven Warlords of the Sea】 due to a special pardon from the government.

Ever since the mysterious disappearance of the 【World's Greatest Swordsman, Hawkeye】 half a year ago, this group has also been much quieter, but yesterday, someone witnessed the 【Heavenly Yaksha】 crossing the sea.

All signs indicate that the waters of Skuld Island have become a hot spot on the Grand Line, and a terrifying major event is about to happen there.

Since ancient times, the end result of the Navy and pirates gathering in large numbers in the same place has always been a tragic battle.

Brina looked at that quite massive fleet; the ship at the very front had its bow decorated in the style of a two-headed dragon, while one on the side was in the style of a Dalmatian, and the several ships behind were blocked, making it impossible to see their figureheads.

"Vice Admiral Onigumo, Vice Admiral Dalmatian..."

Brina took a soft breath; those who came were all high-ranking Vice Admirals from the headquarters with real power, strong men who had spent years chasing the most dangerous Bounty Criminals, refined in Haki, with physiques far exceeding the imagination of ordinary people.

They were terrifying, extraordinary talents carefully selected by Marine Headquarters from all over the world, one in hundreds of thousands, and were the true backbone of the Navy, the strongest violent organization ruling the sea.

Woo~

The whistle sounded again, and the warships did not enter the port.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three sounds of breaking through the air rang out, and three figures stepped on the air several times, like sharp arrows, instantly appearing on the G51 Branch ship at the edge of the harbor.

Before the other Marines could react, Brina had already brought her feet together and saluted respectfully.

"G51 Branch Colonel, Brina, welcomes the arrival of all the Vice Admirals from the headquarters!"

Only then did the group of Marines behind her come to their senses, realizing that these men in front of them, wearing greatcoats and exuding terrifying pressure just from their physiques, were indeed the Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters who reigned over countless Marines.

Ordinary pirates with bounties over one hundred million were merely targets for this group of people to hunt and capture.

They saluted immediately, though their movements were out of sync.

Under his greatcoat, Onigumo wore a gray suit; he wore a two-headed dragon helmet. Seeing that this group of branch Marines was so disorganized even in their salute—clearly a group of cannon fodder—he lowered his eyelids and snorted coldly.

"I suppose you trash probably ran back without even seeing that guy's face."

The Marines kept their heads down, saying nothing, while Brina's expression remained calm as she spoke.

"I have seen that guy."

The headquarters Vice Admiral wearing a Dalmatian cap looked the female Marine over, then nodded.

"Then you shall come with us; the others, disperse on the spot and return to the branch base to rest."

Although Dalmatian belonged to the hawk faction of generals, he was much gentler toward his own people than Onigumo.

He grabbed Brina's shoulder with one hand, his palm so large it could almost directly grip Brina's entire head. The next moment, he tapped his foot, instantly carrying Brina across a distance of two hundred meters, bounced once more in the air, and landed on the headquarters warship.

Onigumo and Doberman also instantly returned to the warship using Moon Walk.

Brina noticed that this batch of headquarters ships, whether in size or structure, could not be compared to the branch warships, and all the Marines on board exuded a strong, sharp aura—the spirit that only a battle-hardened army possesses.

On the deck, cannonballs were all properly placed near the gun platforms, and all ships were in a state of readiness for battle.

Marine Headquarters was clearly very urgent, so much so that this fleet did not stop in Mock Town and turned directly to head toward the target waters.

Several headquarters Vice Admirals came to Dalmatian's flagship. Brina noticed that in addition to the three headquarters Vice Admirals 【Onigumo】, 【Doberman】, and 【Dalmatian】, there was also 【Vice Admiral Vergo】. This Vice Admiral was powerful and famous, seemingly serving as the base commander of the G5 Branch; she had not expected him to be drafted as well.

"Lieutenant Colonel Brina, tell us all the Intelligence you know."

After the naval fleet set sail, Onigumo ordered coldly.

Brina nodded and began to report the Intelligence she knew one by one.

"That guy's real name is 【Enel】, his background is unknown, but the priests and guards under him all have white wings; perhaps they are the legendary Sky Islanders."

Several Vice Admirals nodded; even Onigumo changed his view of Brina. This first piece of Intelligence was information the headquarters had not been given.

"Enel possesses the power of thunder, can summon lightning to attack at will, and can conduct devastating Electric Shock attacks on a huge space of over dozens of nautical miles; he is highly likely a Logia Devil Fruit Ability User."

"Our fleet had not yet reached the Skuld Island harbor; in waters nearly ten nautical miles from the island, we were directly struck by lightning. Therefore, the target likely also possesses powerful sensory abilities and beyond-visual-range attack capabilities."

As Brina recounted the news she had known during their two years of cooperation in a polished tone, the expressions of the several headquarters Vice Admirals became somewhat serious.

Splash!

At this moment, a loud noise came from the sea. The three headquarters Vice Admirals reacted extremely quickly; Doberman instantly blocked in front of Brina, while Dalmatian, like a phantom, appeared at the edge of the deck almost the instant the sound of breaking water rose.

A figure leaped directly from the seawater, turned gracefully in the air, and then landed on the deck. The sound of the landing was not even a fraction louder than a cat landing.

A master of martial arts?!

The next moment, Dalmatian appeared in front of the other party, his left hand placed near the other's neck, but a hand simultaneously blocked his arm.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Vice Admiral from headquarters, I'm on your side."

Bai Cangshu's pupils slowly returned to normal; the physical abilities of the headquarters Vice Admirals were also somewhat beyond his imagination.

In the anime, although he knew these headquarters Vice Admirals were strong, because their opponents were almost all notable powerhouses, these headquarters Vice Admirals often served as background characters who suffered defeats.

But just the level of martial arts displayed by the Vice Admiral with the Dalmatian cap—that speed—completely exceeded Bai Cangshu's current stat level.

That absolutely could not be a speed possessed by the First Tier.

Even with 【First of the First】, his body's movement speed was faster than the opponent's, but Bai Cangshu only just managed to raise his hand to block the opponent right before the opponent's hand reached his throat.

If combined with the strength of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, had the opponent intended to attack him, this strike would have snapped his neck.

"So strong, a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral..."

【You have accepted the invitation from Plot Character Brina, you have joined the faction: Navy】

Bai Cangshu had no picky mentality regarding which faction to join; he was a Reincarnator, not playing some kind of role-playing game, and no matter which faction he joined, it would not affect his actions.

A so-called Reincarnator is exactly this kind of guy who completely abandons moral sense of belonging.

At the same time, he changed the Milestone he was wearing again, turning it into 【Savior】.

【Under the effect of Milestone: Savior, your base Reputation in the Navy faction has been changed to: 1/100 (Friendly)】

Dalmatian looked back, saw Brina nod, confirming that the other party was indeed a Marine belonging to the G51 Branch, and his expression instantly became kind.

He slapped Bai Cangshu on the back, and Bai Cangshu instantly leaped forward, skillfully dissipating the force.

"Good lad, just now at the port, I thought the G51 Branch was all a bunch of trash, didn't expect there to be Elites after all."

"Which batch of trainees are you from? You must have trained at Headquarters too, right?"

Dalmatian looked at this sharp-looking black-haired Marine; he was certain this guy was no ordinary person, the kind of guy you would feel was special at a single glance.

Onigumo and Doberman also nodded; all of them were masters of physical techniques and could see that whether it was physical ability or that physical technique skill, Bai Cangshu was quite mature.

Even speaking purely from the level of technique, that exquisite flavor made them feel refreshed; although there was still a gap in physical fitness, the opponent was young and had a lot of future.

"By the way, I remember there was a Marine named Kori in the G51 Branch who also trained at Headquarters once. Where is that guy? I remember Vice Admiral Garp even praised him before."

Dalmatian had a good impression of Bai Cangshu, which led him to remember a few figures from the G51 Branch he had looked down upon just moments ago.

Brina's expression changed slightly, but Bai Cangshu's expression remained as usual, and he spoke up:

"Kori is dead."

"Right there on that island, killed by the so-called God."

The several Marine Vice Admirals had already heard the Description regarding Enel's abilities, but Bai Cangshu continued to add at this moment:

"Moreover, when we were evacuating, we saw the Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had likely already been defeated by Enel."

His eyes looked toward Vergo, who had not spoken the whole time, and sure enough, he saw the other party's complexion change; not just his complexion, but his breathing frequency and the intensity of his heart contractions all changed.

Bai Cangshu raised his head, looked at the several Vice Admirals, and said directly:

"Vice Admiral, please request reinforcements from an Admiral."

Onigumo and the others had serious expressions and looked at each other, but before they could speak, Bai Cangshu had already turned his head.

Patter, patter, patter...

A figure stepped in wooden sandals and walked out from the cabin; Bai Cangshu's pupils shrank, as he had not noticed this guy's existence at all before.

"Oh my, the Admirals are very busy, you know."

"Tell me, little brother from the branch, is that guy named Enel really that strong in your eyes?"

Wearing a brown casual shirt, draped in a Justice dacang, and wearing a cowboy hat, the newcomer showed no special aura from his appearance alone.

But Bai Cangshu guessed the other party's identity, and a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth involuntarily.

"Heh, I was just a bit frightened by that scene."

Bai Cangshu said with self-deprecation.

The newcomer was none other than Marine Headquarters 【Admiral Candidate】 【Chaton】 【Gion】.

Four powerful Headquarters Vice Admirals, one Admiral Candidate stronger than the other Vice Admirals; the Navy did not underestimate Enel...

It's just that it's not chaotic enough yet; it would be better if it were even more chaotic, this world.

In his heart, where no one could see, Bai Cangshu craved for greater chaos to descend. On his right hand, the scarlet character "Sin" flickered in and out of existence.

I've been suffering from insomnia lately, updates haven't been great, please forgive me.

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(End of this chapter)