Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 247 Borsalino really did capsize; the naval fleet suffered a crushing defeat at Amazon Lily!?

The first half of the Grand Line, on the edge of the Devil's Triangle.

Several warships were anchored here. Bane stood on the deck, breathing in the slightly salty sea breeze, and smacked his lips, saying with emotion, "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since we've been to this paradise. The air here is still so nostalgic."

"Is there any difference?" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he looked at the thick sea fog ahead. "The Devil's Triangle really lives up to its reputation. The visibility here is less than twenty meters."

"I heard there's a singing skeleton inside," Bane said with a smile.

"Don't tell ghost stories at a time like this!" Fubuki glared at Bane, then looked at the watchtower on the mast and asked, "Nami, is the surveying finished?"

"We can't see anything at all, we still have to go in and take a look," Nami replied from the mast.

Soon, the warships restarted and surged into the Devil's Triangle area.

Once they entered the Devil's Triangle area, the entire fleet turned on its large searchlights. Even under these conditions, warships that were a little further away became somewhat blurry. If it weren't for the searchlights, which could help determine their location, they probably would have lost track of them.

"Every year, hundreds of ships go missing here. Occasionally, a ship will drift out of the sea fog, but it's always empty, becoming a ghost ship. This sea fog covers a very large area. From the area we just came in, it connects directly to the Southern Calm Belt. After reaching the Calm Belt, heading west will take you to Impelton, while heading east may lead you to Amazon Lily," Nami said, holding a nautical chart and standing on the deck.

"Speaking of which, is Mr. Borsalino almost here? After all, Amazon Lily isn't too far away," Weber asked suddenly, stroking his chin.

"Who knows?" Bane said with a hint of interest. "Do you think Borsalino can handle that world's most beautiful woman?"

"It should be fine, right?" Fubuki glanced at Bane and said with a hint of sarcasm, "After all, General Borsalino isn't like some people who avoid the world's most beautiful woman like the plague. He's probably quite confident in his resistance to beauty. Besides, he's almost sixty years old this year."

This year is 1522 in the Sea Calendar, and Borsalino is fifty-eight years old.

He was also the oldest of the original three admirals of the Navy.

"So what if you're almost sixty? They say that the Pirate Empress's charm is irresistible to men, women, young and old, and she can seduce everyone, you know? And haven't you heard the saying? A man is only considered honest when he's hanging on the wall." Bane immediately retorted.

After a slight pause, he immediately added, "Besides, isn't there also Huang Mu? If I remember correctly, that guy is only forty-one years old this year, right? In his prime. Judging from what I've heard about him, just like Jia Ji, he's fond of beautiful women. I'm sure he's going to capsize!"

"Stop gloating. If Aramaki and Borsalino capsize on Amazon Lily, won't our navy have to clean up the mess?" Zoro complained.

The group was engaged in a heated discussion about whether Borsalino and Aramu could handle Hancock, but no one mentioned their mission target, Gecko Moria, which showed that no one took Moria seriously.

The Devil's Triangle is indeed very large, and Moria is not hiding on an island with a logbook. He sailed his three-masted sailing ship, which he claimed was the world's largest, into this area. There is no magnetic field, so the navy cannot find his whereabouts with precise methods.

However, because a large number of ships go missing here every year, the entire Devil's Triangle area is surrounded by surveillance by the World Government, specifically for data collection. Therefore, it can be determined that Moria did not come out again after returning to the Devil's Triangle area from Marineford two years ago. Otherwise, with his large ship, how could he have obtained eyewitness information?

For nine days, the fleet searched and explored the Devil's Triangle for a full nine days, but still couldn't find Moria's large ship. Bane had initially hoped that he might run into the Skull Singer Brook, but as it turned out, he didn't encounter him either.

Moreover, starting from the fourth day after the fleet ventured deep into the Devil's Triangle, the communication signal began to weaken rapidly, and it is now impossible to contact the outside world. Fortunately, the signal can still barely cover the fleet's area, so the entire fleet is not completely cut off from communication.

"I've never heard of losing signal in the Devil's Triangle?" Bane asked in the cabin, sipping his tea and fiddling with his listless Den Den Mushi.

"Although there are no substantial reports, our navy once conducted an in-depth exploration of this place. In the end, two fleets and twelve warships disappeared in the sea fog. It wasn't until three years later that a few empty ghost warships were found. The fact that they could lose contact here proves that the signal could be lost." Seeing that Bane's teacup was empty, Ain naturally refilled it for him.

"We didn't find Bemoria, and now we've gotten lost again," Bane muttered, then added, "Is there no problem with returning to base?"

"No problem, Nami is really amazing. Even in this kind of climate, she was still able to conduct detailed surveys based on factors like ocean currents that I don't quite understand, and determined our route on the nautical chart. To be honest, I've been a naval officer for so many years, been to many places, and met many of our navy's excellent navigators and pilots, but Nami's talent and ability are absolutely unmatched. Perhaps if given enough time, she could even fully analyze the Devil's Triangle?" Ain said with admiration.

"Hahaha, I told you long ago, she has the talent to become the world's greatest navigator." Bane looked very happy as he listened to Ain praising Nami.

Just as Bane was feeling relieved, Waver pushed open the cabin door and said with a slightly excited tone, "Found it! That Thriller Bark, the size of an island, is right in front of us, less than two hundred meters away. If Zoro hadn't been using his Observation Haki the whole time, we probably would have crashed into it. This fog is so thick, we can't see anything at all!"

Soon, Bane and the others also arrived on the deck. Looking straight ahead along the warship, Bane could indeed sense a huge obstacle ahead of the fog using his Observation Haki. However, he could not see anything with the naked eye; the visibility of the fog was simply too low.

"Where's Zoro?" Bane suddenly realized that Zoro wasn't on the deck at all.

"He went up before you came out, probably to sharpen his sword with Moria," Fubuki said calmly while eating her ice cream.

"He really is an impatient person," Bane remarked.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in the thick fog in the distance, like a signal flare, pointing the way.

"So they've already started fighting?" Nami said with a smile as she climbed down from the mast.

Bane sat down under the mast, waved his hand, and said, "Moria is nothing, I don't need to lift a finger. You all go! I, the great general, will back you up!"

"Then we won't stand on ceremony." Fubuki ate the whole ice cream in one bite, her head aching from the cold. She frowned and rubbed the back of her head as she spoke.

Then, without saying a word, Webber used Moonwalk to rush into the lightning-filled Terror Sail. Blizzard immediately followed, its yellow sand surging and transforming into a desert storm that merged into the sea fog and disappeared.

"Aren't you going?" Bane asked, glancing at Nami beside him.

Nami immediately shook her head and said, "At a time like this, how can I, as the navigator, easily leave the warship? Otherwise, a wave might come and push your ship away, and you won't be able to find it."

As she spoke, she quickly took out her notebook and began to observe the surrounding sea conditions and sea fog concentration, muttering data that Bane couldn't understand at all, while conducting surveying.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Seeing this, Bane didn't bother him anymore.

Surprisingly, it seems that Moria's Thriller Bark had signal amplification equipment. Communication devices such as Den Den Mushi, which were previously unable to connect to the outside world, all regained their signal waves after approaching the large ship.

Bane fiddled with his Den Den Mushi for a few moments, then quickly dialed the number.

Almost the instant Bane dialed, the call was answered.

"Bane?" the chief strategist asked with some concern.

"It's me, Chief of Staff," Bane replied with a smile.

"You've been out of contact for so long, headquarters thought something had happened to you too," the chief of staff said, seemingly relieved.

"You can't blame me for this. The situation in the Devil's Triangle is really complicated. But seriously, the Grand Inspector really needs to investigate our navy's budget. Moria is a pirate, and his ship has signal amplification equipment. How come our advanced warships don't have any? If we hadn't gotten close to his three-masted ship, we wouldn't have been able to find the signal. What's going on?" Bane couldn't help but complain.

"You should talk to the chief inspector about this. How can I, a mere staff officer, possibly manage shipbuilding?" the chief staff officer retorted, shifting the blame onto the spot.

Bane then realized what was going on and suddenly asked, "Wait a minute, what did you mean when you said you thought something had happened to us too? Has something changed in the New World?"

"No, it's Borsalino," Chief Strategist A-Tsuru said with a hint of helplessness. "We really underestimated Boa Hancock."

"Huh?" Bane asked in surprise, "They didn't really get capsized, did they?"

"In short, we're in a very awkward situation. Three days ago, Borsalino and Aramaki formed a fleet of six warships and launched an attack on Amazon Lily. Vice Admiral, Fire Mountain, Doberman, and Strobelli were also there to assist. As a result, the entire fleet was wiped out. Only Borsalino, who was holding the line at the rear, survived. Now, out of 9,400 marines, six rear admirals, including the highly anticipated Aramaki, and four vice admirals, have all been petrified on Amazon Lily and become Hancock's hostages." Chief Advisor Azuru said with a very bitter tone.

"No way... they're just rushing in headfirst? Don't we have any intelligence about Hancock?" Bane couldn't help but complain.

Moreover, as a Marine Admiral, he has repeatedly emphasized that even he cannot resist Hancock's charm. Isn't that a reminder? Don't these guys like Aramaki understand?

"Boa Hancock set sail at eighteen and petrified over 100,000 citizens, soldiers, and nobles in the capital of the Kingdom of Zorya in the Grand Line on her first mission. As a result, she was invited to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which resolved the petrification disaster. In reality, our Navy has never had any direct conflict with Hancock in recent years, so there may indeed be some gaps in our intelligence. Although I have repeatedly warned her that she is extremely dangerous, the reason for the lack of intelligence is partly due to the reason I just mentioned, and partly because almost all the enemies who have fought her have been petrified and unable to speak. However, this unexpected situation still occurred. At headquarters, Sakazuki is urgently discussing solutions with the other admirals," Chief Strategist Tsuru said helplessly.

(End of this chapter)