The most courageous pirate hunter

Burgess jumped down from the lookout tower, holding a stack of newspapers he had just bought from the Newsbird.

They have now left Coffee Island and are on their way to Wano Country.

On the skull at the bow of the ship, Hermes, unusually, was not cultivating, but instead holding a fishing rod and fishing. The weather was quite nice today, and he felt very lazy.

He had a nautical chart he bought from Gumir sitting under his butt. At this speed and direction, it would take about two months to reach Wano Country.

The journey is very long.

"show me."

Hermes reached out and took the newspaper, which featured him prominently; unsurprisingly, his fame had increased once again.

This is a good thing.

"Boss, do you think the Big Mom Pirates will come after us?"

Bages sat cross-legged in front of Hermes, chuckling as he pulled out a fishing rod from the side, baited it, and began to fish.

Being hunted down by the Four Emperors—just thinking about it is thrilling.

"Charlotte Linlin probably won't come after us personally. She's a bit too proud. Most likely, it'll be one of the other Sweet Four Generals or their eldest son or daughter. I'll catch them one by one, and sell two if they come. I don't mind making more money."

Hermes answered without looking up from the newspaper.

They even wished the Big Mom Pirates' Calabash Brothers could save their grandfather, with one after another automatically delivering themselves to his doorstep.

"Hahaha~"

at the same time.

In another sea, Gumir escorted Smoothie to Marineford. The journey was relatively calm until the clear blue sky turned abnormal.

Boom! ...

In just a few breaths, the entire sky was shrouded in dark clouds, lightning flashed across the sea, and strong winds howled from time to time.

With two long swords at his waist, Gumir had a bad feeling about the unpredictable weather.

Although such extreme weather is common in the New World, where the sky is clear one second and dark clouds loom the next, and even hail or meteorites fall, the route they traveled was one where such extreme weather was rare.

"Everyone on high alert, we're in trouble."

The Observation Haki radiates outwards.

Gumir immediately looked up at the lightning-streaked sky. A huge black cloud with a ferocious face descended, and several powerful auras rushed towards him.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack."

"It's the Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors."

"boom!!!"

A domineering aura of supreme power enveloped the entire warship, causing many sailors on the deck to begin breathing rapidly and turn pale before their eyes rolled back and they collapsed to the ground.

Gumir, standing at the very front, had a solemn expression, and his sparse hair was flying wildly.

"Conqueror's Haki".

"Charlotte Katakuri, Charlotte Cracker, Owen, Daifuku, Armand."

Gumir felt immense pressure. Looking at the five people standing on that evil thundercloud, he knew he was in deep trouble.

None of these five people are kind-hearted.

I didn't expect the Big Mom Pirates to act so quickly.

"It seems we arrived just in time."

Katakuri scanned the entire warship with his Observation Haki, sensing that Smoothie was inside the cabin, and that the only powerful navy member was Gumir.

"The navy will definitely provide support; let's finish this quickly."

"Yes!"

As soon as Katakuri finished speaking, Cracker, Owen, Daifuku, and Armand disappeared one after another from Zeus's body. Gumir, with a cigar in his mouth and a long sword in his hands, was ready to stop them.

The next second, with a solemn expression, he raised his sword to block in front of him. At some point, Katakuri swung down with his trident, the immense force nearly knocking the weapon out of Gmir's hand.

"You, as a lieutenant general, cannot stop it."

Katakuri remained expressionless, completely suppressing the attack.

Gumir didn't answer. Instead, he gritted his teeth, his twin swords covered in Armament Haki, and with a flick of his wrist, he deflected Katakuri's attack and disappeared from the spot.

However, a whip kick blocked his path, forcing Gumir to stop. He could only helplessly watch as Cracker and the other three smashed through the deck unimpeded to reach the next level and rescue Smoothie.

At this speed, he simply cannot delay Kuzan's reinforcements.

And several kilometers away.

A bicycle travels on the undulating sea. Aokiji stops, bracing one foot on the ice, and looks at the lightning-streaked sky, radiating his Observation Haki at top speed.

For an instant.

The battle on the warships came into view.

The moment their Observation Haki covered them, Katakuri and Grimm immediately looked in Aokiji's direction, as did Cracker and the others in the cabin.

"A monster is coming, hurry up!"

Dafu touched his bald head, his expression somewhat solemn.

"go!"

Cracker and Amandy, wielding longswords covered in Armament Haki, cut through the steel chains binding Smoothie, then grabbed her and jumped out of the cabin onto the deck.

As for the sea stone handcuffs on their hands and feet, they couldn't cut them off.

"Katakuri, Smoothie has been rescued."

At this moment, everyone looked towards the horizon, where a frozen world was rapidly spreading. Kuzan activated his power thousands of meters away.

Unfortunately, Katakuri and the others brought Zeus with them this time.

Without the ability to fly, Katakuri and the others would have a real hard time being able to rescue them.

"Retreat. There's no need to fight Aokiji."

Katakuri kicked Gmir away and jumped onto Zeus, not intending to fight Kuzan. If the Navy had other reinforcements, such as Kizaru or even the monster Garp, they might all be left behind.

"clear."

Cracker and the others jumped onto Zeus one after another. Their goal had been achieved, and there was no need to drag it out any longer.

"Don't even think about leaving."

Gumir unleashed two slashes, and the other marines also launched attacks, attempting to capture Katakuri and the others, but this was destined to be futile.

"Biscuit Shield"

Cracker reached out and a giant biscuit appeared in front of him, covered in Armament Haki that firmly blocked the attack. Zeus then transformed into lightning and quickly disappeared into the sky.

Gumir and his marines could only watch helplessly.

A few minutes later.

Aokiji rushed over, but it was too late.

The surrounding sea was frozen over, and the warship was stuck in the ice and could not move an inch. It was helpful, but it was more of a hindrance than a help.

Logically, Kizaru should have been chosen for this support mission, but since Kizaru is in the Grand Line, Kuzan is the closest and in the New World. Unfortunately, they arrived too late.

"Brumuru."

soon.

The news was then relayed back to Marineford.

"Really? I understand!"

Tsuru hung up the Den Den Mushi without much surprise, as she had anticipated this outcome, but she hadn't expected the Big Mom Pirates to act so quickly.

In addition, its ability to fly makes it very difficult to defend against.

The distance is simply too far.

Day three.

The news that Smoothie had been rescued by the Big Mom Pirates made it into the newspapers; it couldn't be kept secret.

As most people predicted, the storm was not going to happen so easily, but Hermes was the biggest beneficiary of this event.

Fame and fortune.

Delicious.

He didn't care whether Smoothie was rescued or not; he was determined to keep his bounty.

that's it.

A storm was extinguished before it even began.

As time went by, Hermes lived a very fulfilling life, being beaten from morning till night. After a training session, there wasn't a single unscathed spot on his body.

However, with the return of life and Mansherry's healing, he was as energetic as ever the next day.

All three of them are steadily improving their strength.