Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

Chapter 328 Naval Landing on the Island (Please Subscribe!)

Late at night, the island's surface had been completely destroyed by artillery fire.

Large tracts of land were scorched and turned a dark brown color.

Under the cover of darkness, the naval soldiers calmly landed on the island.

Under the command of the lieutenant general, the soldiers quickly erected temporary fortifications.

Raleigh convened a meeting of generals in a makeshift conference room.

There were many people in the meeting, but they all waited quietly for Raleigh to speak.

Raleigh scanned everyone present, then glanced at Cleveland sitting to his right and began:

"Tell me what you've found out."

Cleveland nodded, then opened the document in his hand and read aloud:

"According to the soldiers' reconnaissance of the island's surface, the number of dead pirates is less than one-tenth of the estimated number. Furthermore, we discovered multiple entrances, and we encountered pirate resistance during our landing."

"They used their concealed fortifications to greatly delay the advance of the enemy troops. If it weren't for the presence of you generals, we would very likely have suffered heavy casualties."

The generals present also showed expressions of anger.

They never expected this.

These pirates, who were already cornered, still dared to fight back, and they succeeded.

If they hadn't been bombarded extensively, if they hadn't been at the forefront of the Turkish troops.

The outcome might be different now.

In fact, Raleigh had already anticipated this situation deep down.

He knew that pirates were a group of desperate people who wouldn't admit defeat until they faced certain death.

The more the navy attacks, the more frantic they become under the threat of death.

Therefore, when announcing the attack order, he prioritized the casualties of his soldiers.

In retrospect, his concerns were not unfounded.

"Marshal Raleigh, they're hiding underground like rats. I suggest our squad act as the spearhead, infiltrate their ranks, and wipe them out completely."

Doberman said angrily.

Others might choose to back down in this situation, but he is different.

He has always been a tough, hawkish military man.

Faced with such complex situations, he always stepped forward to shoulder the difficulties.

Raleigh then looked at the others.

Clearly, many others present agreed with Doberman's assessment.

Furthermore, several people were already itching to ask to go underground with Doberman.

Raleigh shook his head and refuted:

"No, I disagree."

Doberman was stunned by what he heard and looked at Raleigh with disbelief.

"Why, Marshal?"

"The opportunity to eliminate the enemy is right before your eyes. What are you thinking?"

Raleigh had no other ideas.

He was simply reminded of that once very famous battle, Iwo Jima.

The United States, with its invincible navy, suffered heavy casualties at Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.

The reason is the same as it is now.

The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the light.

The navy knew nothing about what was happening underground.

They had no way to break through the traps set up by the pirates inside.

Even if a large number of naval soldiers were to flood underground to fight the pirates, it would most likely turn into a piecemeal attack.

Aside from increasing naval casualties, there are no other benefits.

Raleigh pointed to his feet and said:

"The pirates are hiding in the tunnels beneath our feet; they have extensive experience and are familiar with the terrain."

These are not things our navy possesses.

"Furthermore, the pirates here are not the low-level pirates from the four seas. Every pirate who can enter the underground alive can be considered an elite."

"So, forget about going underground."

Raleigh really wanted to eliminate these pirates, but the problem was that they were deep underground, perhaps tens of meters deep, and the Navy's shells simply couldn't reach that depth.

If the various pathways they cultivate are all tortuous, then the navy will have even less of a chance to advance.

However, Raleigh already had a plan in mind for dealing with them.

Raleigh stood up from his seat, walked over to the chart, and said:

"Right now, our advantage over the pirates lies in our firepower and manpower, and our supplies can be continuously transported from other islands in the New World, while the pirates only have what they bring in."

Although Raleigh wasn't sure how long those supplies would last, he could guess.

At most, it will take six months.

The more important the strategic juncture, the more cautious the commander-in-chief must be in issuing orders.

Pirates have become like rats in the underworld.

At this point, there is even less reason to risk the lives of naval soldiers to try and capture the tunnels guarded by pirates.

Raleigh once led the Navy to repel pirates several times their size by taking advantage of favorable terrain.

So he knew.

The importance of terrain in a war.

"Since they want to be rats, then let them be rats for life."

"Rat, make the arrangements."

"Order all naval personnel to cooperate with Cleveland's intelligence agents to locate a cave entrance."

Destroy one entrance to the cave, and make sure to find and destroy all the entrances within the island!

"We can discuss other methods further."

After Raleigh finished speaking, all the generals began to discuss it animatedly.

However, after much discussion, Raleigh couldn't come up with many solutions.

For example, combining water with fire, or poison gas, or bombs.

Many ideas are rejected by others as soon as they are spoken.

The generals and Raleigh all listened quietly.

If we brainstorm together, we might come up with a better solution.

However, after thinking about it for a long time, I still couldn't come up with a good solution.

Some even went so far as to suggest that Sakazuki use his Devil Fruit powers to send magma through the passage until it was completely filled.

Sakazuki's eyebrows twitched as he heard this.

Fortunately, the general who spoke glanced at Sakazuki's expression, otherwise he would definitely have been berated by Sakazuki.

While Devil Fruit abilities are incredibly powerful, they are not invincible in all situations.

Even if Sakazuki had awakened his Devil Fruit and possessed the ability to alter the environment, he still couldn't fill the entire island with magma.

Raleigh was deeply concerned about the backwardness of education in the Navy.

However, the mouse did offer a good suggestion.

That is to use some special Devil Fruit abilities to find the weak points in the tunnel, and then take the action of digging and planting bombs to blow up the tunnel.

One of the most terrifying aspects of tunnels is their interconnected network of underground passages.

This means that people unfamiliar with the terrain will be attacked from all directions.

However, if the tunnel's direction can be determined, a bombing operation from above can sever the connections within the tunnel.

In this way, the space for pirates underground will be greatly compressed.

Even if they were to reopen the tunnel, the effort and time required would be far greater than that required by the navy.

This prevents pirates from using the hidden exits they've set up throughout the island to ambush the navy.

The rat's idea was approved by everyone present.

After seeing that no one else had a better solution, Raleigh made the final decision on the next move.

Less than half an hour after the meeting ended, a series of explosions occurred on the island.

That's the navy gradually destroying the pirates' exit routes.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The sounds were muffled by the mud, and apart from the pirates guarding the exit, the other pirates were currently unaware of the Navy's actions.

Inside the dark cave, the pirate coughed violently to expel the dust he had inhaled.

"Boss, aren't they planning to come in?"

The pirate asked the captain beside him.

The pirate captain shook off the dirt that had fallen on his head and said:

"It seems they're not planning to attack through this entrance. Tell the others that they can get a good night's sleep now."

They had anticipated that the navy would blow up the entrance.

They didn't really care about this one exit, since there were plenty of different kinds of exits on the island.

Some of the outlets are even in the shallow waters near the island.

It can only be discovered by diving into the sea.

Therefore, they showed indifference to things like the navy destroying one or two channels.

In fact, the pirates didn't even report this information to their leaders.

Deeper underground, this is a natural cavern.

After discovering this cave, the pirates established their base here.

Because it's closer to the ground, it doesn't feel cold here; on the contrary, it's quite warm.

Moreover, the ventilation wasn't very good, so the air was filled with all sorts of foul odors.

However, the pirates were already used to this environment.

In the dim candlelight, they actually felt more at ease.

A fat, big-eared pirate captain spoke first:

"The navy has already landed on the island, hasn't they?"

Another pirate captain then spoke up:

"According to the intelligence that just came in, the navy landed this evening. They even tried to attack our caves, but we easily repelled them."

The other pirate captains burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"If the navy wants to take this place, they'll need to send in a large number of soldiers."

"With our supplies, we can easily last for a year or two."

Raleigh's predictions were flawed.

He assumed that pirates would have fewer supplies than the navy, but he overlooked one thing: this was Shanks' stronghold.

The pirates had already moved all the supplies underground.

Even when they retreated from the other islands, they took away large amounts of food and freshwater resources.

If they can make full use of their abilities, pirates can survive underground for up to a year.

However, all of this is predicated on a naval assault.

If the Navy acts according to the results of the meeting, then the pirates will definitely not be able to hold out for long.

Just as they were basking in their own cleverness, a pirate guarding the entrance sent one of his men to report.

"Huh? What did you say? The Navy deliberately blew up the entrance?"

After listening to what the pirate underlings had to say, the pirate captains looked at each other.

Although they had considered this outcome, they still found it incredible when the Navy actually carried it out, after all, the Navy was the aggressor.

They also knew the Navy's determination to take them down.

So when this idea was first proposed, everyone just laughed it off.

"It doesn't matter, we can just dig it up again."

7

"The fact that they blew up the entrance has actually given us ample opportunity to regroup."

The pirate captains were unimpressed.

They were confident that the navy could not discover all the holes they had dug on the island; at most, they would only discover a portion of them.

They could crawl out of the hole and attack naval soldiers regardless of day or night.

No matter how you look at it, it's a sure win.

"It seems the navy has been terrified by our methods and dares not launch an attack on us."

"This is good news, worth a toast."

Accompanied by the clinking of wine glasses, a cacophony of sounds filled the cave.

On the high seas, a ship without a pirate flag is speeding forward.

They headed straight for this island.

"Luffy, are you really going to that island? I heard the Navy is currently there cracking down on pirates."

"Wouldn't it be problematic if we just rushed over like this?"

Nami looked at her captain with a worried expression.

Usopp was already terrified, tears streaming down his face, trembling with fear.

With the pirates of the Grand Line cleared out, the Navy has lifted the restrictions on the route.

Therefore, Luffy and his crew are extremely fast.

However, after witnessing the power of the Navy, they obediently took down their pirate flags and disguised themselves as travelers.

"Nami, I don't know what the future holds, but I know Shanks is very important to me."

At this point, Luffy hadn't experienced those things yet, and his mind wasn't that mature.

In his worldview, Shanks is very important to him.

So no matter what Shanks' situation is, he has to go find Shanks.

"Luffy, go do what you want to do. We'll always be behind you."

At that moment, Zoro, who had just finished training, walked out of the training room.

"Moreover, I also want to fight the world's greatest swordsman and see how much longer I still have to go on my journey."

Zoro looked at Luffy with an arrogant expression.

After Mihawk was killed by the Navy, Zoro did not have a confrontation with him.

His confidence remains as strong as ever.

"Green moss head, how dare you disobey Miss Nami? Do you want me to kick you?"

D

The kitchen door opened, and Sanji came out, wiped his hands, and then spoke to Zoro.

"You lecherous cook, why are you always involved in everything?"

Zoro got angry as soon as he saw Sanji.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Nami spoke up angrily:

"Shut up!"

Then his complexion returned to normal.

"Luffy, now that you've made your decision, we'll go with you to Shanks' territory."

"But let's make this clear first, you can't reveal that we're pirates until we meet Shanks."

"Otherwise, with our strength, we wouldn't be able to escape the navy's attack at all."

After hearing Nami's agreement, Luffy smiled brightly:

"OK!"

Marineford.

An unexpected event during the day led to a strange ceasefire between the two sides.

During this brief period, both sides began to allow their soldiers sufficient rest.

After all, the world government needs time to mobilize forces from other places.

The revolutionary army also needs to make new deployments and plans in response to the current situation.

However, both sides knew the truth.

This is only a temporary ceasefire, not the start of an agreement.

Everyone knows that the next battle will be the end of everything.