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

Chapter 254 Egherd's Strange Movements.

Before Bane and the others had even returned to Marine Headquarters, a minor incident occurred in the New World.

The pirate alliance formed by the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates attacked the Kingdom of Lulucia, defeated the royal army, and quickly occupied the Kingdom of Lulucia, with a premeditated plan to turn it into the front line of the next war.

For this incident, the pirates dispatched Queen, a high-ranking officer of the Beasts Pirates.

After conquering the Kingdom of Lulusia, Quinn also launched a probing attack on the naval base on Beehive Island.

Vice Admiral Momousagi, who is currently building a naval forward base on Beehive Island, repelled Queen's surprise attack with his superior strength, without causing too much damage.

The Kingdom of Lulucia can now be considered completely overrun. However, all the nobles and royalty of this country are hiding in Mary Geoise. The Kingdom of Lulucia was one of the fifty rotating chair countries of this World Conference, and they did not return after the conference ended.

Now, they have become political refugees who have lost their country, hoping that the world's governments will defeat the pirates and help them reclaim their nation.

This matter is neither a major nor a minor one.

This incident is widely believed on the high seas to mark the official start of the final battle between New World pirates and the Navy.

After that, the situation in the New World indeed became intense. The pirates quickly occupied several islands, while the Navy's frontline commanders, Kakei and Gion, were also busy, leading their fleets in fierce battles against the pirate alliance. They fought back and forth, eventually reclaiming several more islands.

When Bane arrived at Marine Headquarters New Marineford, the atmosphere there was already quite lively.

As soon as they disembarked, Vice Admiral Onigumo was already waiting at the port. Upon seeing Bane and Borsalino, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Admiral Bane, Admiral Kizaru, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has been waiting for you for quite some time. The situation at the front is gradually becoming tense, and headquarters is planning to increase support for the front."

As Onigumo led the way, he gave a brief description of the current situation in the new world.

"The Vinsmoke clan has been deeply involved in the formation of the pirate fleet. According to intelligence gathering, a large number of clone soldiers have been integrated into the pirates' combat ranks, forming a simple yet effective grassroots command system. This has greatly enhanced the pirates' combat capabilities. In several naval battles where they should have had an advantage, they have failed to gain a complete upper hand. The intelligence department is already updating the current threat assessment of the pirate fleet," Vice Admiral Onigumo explained.

"Really that powerful?" Bane asked in surprise. "Even with the addition of warmongers like the Vinsmoke, pirates couldn't possibly catch up to our navy in terms of strategic acumen, could they? Besides, warships are generally far superior in performance to their pirate ships."

"However, it is undeniable that compared to the combat experience when Queen attacked Beehive Island, the pirates have indeed become more difficult to deal with. Fleet Admiral Sakazuki is worried that if this war turns into a protracted war and drags on, the pirates' combat skills will gradually improve over time. Although we still believe that they cannot surpass our Navy, it is indeed disadvantageous to us," Vice Admiral Onigumo said in a deep voice.

"That's certainly true," Borsalino remarked, stroking his chin.

"In addition, some pirate ships on the front lines have been modified and equipped with strange technology from the Vinsmoke clan. Some of their performance even surpasses that of ordinary warships. Perhaps as time goes on, the number of such pirate warships will increase," Vice Admiral Onigumo added.

"Now that you mention it, the Vinsmoke family has really been a great asset to the pirate alliance," Bane said, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki recently issued some orders to Egherd to improve and strengthen the navy's armaments, but just a few days later, Egherd went missing. Two days ago, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki was invited by the Five Elders to Mary Geoise for a talk. Since returning, he has not been in a good mood. I don't know what happened." Onigumo seemed to have thought of something and said this.

"Aighardt has gone missing?" Bane exclaimed in surprise. "Did the pirate alliance attack them?"

"No, the pirate alliance hasn't been able to break through our front lines yet, so it's impossible for them to extend their reach to Eghard so easily. According to the surveillance ship's report, Eghard seems to have deliberately turned off its signal jamming and refused to communicate with us. Perhaps something has happened on the island?" Vice Admiral Onigumo shook his head and said.

Borsalino's expression had become quite grim by this point.

Although he was stationed at Marineford, the former Marine Headquarters, and didn't go to the New World much, he was also the commander of the Science Unit.

Now that such a major change has occurred at the Science Unit's base in Egherd, even Lieutenant General Onigumo at headquarters knows about it, yet he, as the commander, hasn't received any news at all. That's just ridiculous!

Behind every outrageous event lies something extraordinary!

Soon, Bane and Borsalino arrived at Sakazuki's office.

As soon as he entered, Sakazuki looked at the two of them and said, "You're finally back."

"What happened in Egherd?" Borsalino asked with an unusually serious expression.

Sakazuki's expression darkened. "Mary Geoise only finished its internal review of you this morning, confirming your reliability. Otherwise, you wouldn't be hearing anything about Eghead right now."

"An internal investigation of me?" Borsalino asked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Dr. Vegapunk, the deputy commander of the Science Unit and a Major General, was found guilty a week ago. Satan, one of the Five Elders, discovered that he was conducting some unknown research in Eghardt. The investigation revealed that Vegapunk was studying ancient scripts and books and had deciphered a considerable portion of the Poneglyphs, possibly intending to revive an ancient weapon capable of destroying the world. When this was exposed, Vegapunk cut off all communications in Eghardt and refused to communicate when questioned by Mary Geoise," Sakazuki said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Bane glanced at Borsalino beside him. It was clear that he hadn't received the news before because Mary Geoise suspected Borsalino of being involved, so he immediately conducted an internal investigation into Borsalino.

Fortunately, Borsalino was usually a slacker. Although he was the commander of the science unit, he spent most of his time sitting in Marineford and slacking off. Obviously, he was not involved in this matter. Only after the investigation was completed was the information blockade against him lifted.

"What about Sentomaru? Have we lost contact with him too?" Borsalino asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Everything has been cut off, but you don't need to worry too much. Because it happened so suddenly, Vegapunk cut off all communication between Mary Geoise and our headquarters. So Sentomaru and the others are probably kept in the dark. After all, apart from you, Vegapunk has command over the Science Unit. As long as we can't contact Egoherd, Sentomaru and the others won't realize what's going on. They're probably still following Vegapunk's orders right now," Sakazuki explained.

After a slight pause, Sakazuki said with some irritation, "The battle on the front lines has begun. Although the intensity isn't very high yet, the fact that Eghard suffered such an accident at this time is truly unsettling. If things take a turn for the worse, Vegapunk might already be in contact with Big Mom's pirate alliance with Kaido. If they obtain Vegapunk and that forbidden knowledge, and successfully revive the Ancient Weapons, it will be a huge blow to our Navy, and it will completely affect the subsequent course of the war!"

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

"I never expected this to happen." Borsalino calmed down a bit and sat down on the sofa.

However, Bane could tell that the guy was still very heavy-hearted. He had worked with Vegapunk for many years, and the two had a very deep relationship. Vegapunk could be said to be one of Borsalino's few close friends, but then this sudden change occurred.

Judging from the current situation, Vegapunk has committed a serious crime, and the World Government will definitely execute him. How can Borsalino feel good about this?

Just as Bane was about to say something, the Den Den Mushi on Sakazuki's desk suddenly rang.

After glancing at it, Sakazuki said with a very resistant tone, "Another one from Mary Geoise. I'm already sick of receiving these these days."

Despite grumbling, Sakazuki quickly answered the Den Den Mushi: "It's me. What can I do for you?"

"Sakazuki, I have left Mary Geoise and am on my way to your Marine Headquarters. I heard Borsalino has already arrived? Tell him to prepare so that he can come with me to Egherd to handle this matter once I arrive," Satan said solemnly.

"Yes, I understand," Sakazuki replied.

There was no response from the other end, and they simply hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Bane looked at Borsalino and said, "Oh dear, you're in trouble now. How about using the excuse of your great-uncle's relative getting married to get out of this?"

"Stop making sarcastic remarks. I'm really upset right now," Borsalino said with a bitter face. "Even the Five Elders have personally intervened. It seems this matter is going to be very difficult to resolve."

"You think you're all set for yourself?" Sakazuki looked at Bane and said, "There are still some preparations at headquarters that haven't been completed, but the front lines can't be delayed any longer. From now on, I'm going to put you in full charge of all affairs on the New World front. Get ready and head to Beehive Island to buy headquarters as much time as possible."

The temperature has been unstable and fluctuating too much these past few days, which caused my father to catch a cold and fever. It turned into a lung infection, and he was hospitalized. My updates may be irregular these next few days, so I'll only post two updates today. Please forgive me, everyone.

(End of this chapter)