One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

"Yes, that's great spirit. I believe you can do it."

Luo Xia said approvingly, which made Yun Que, who was standing next to him, unable to help but purse her lips and secretly smile.

After Bepo left full of energy, intending to strengthen the defense of G5, Law looked up from the new world map, pondered for a moment, and looked at Rorschach, saying, "Rorschach, I have to remind you of something here."

"Huh? What?" Luo Xia put down the documents in his hand and looked over in confusion.

Luo said softly, "Not fighting the NEO Navy is just our G5's unilateral decision, and it doesn't represent headquarters' opinion. Although you went to Professor Zephyr beforehand to give some instructions, it's hard to say whether they will be useful. Even if they do work and lure the pirates into Totto Land, our objective might not necessarily shift from the NEO Navy to the pirates. We might even be told to bypass the pirates and continue on our mission."

Luo Xia thought about it for a moment and realized that Luo's analysis was correct.

Indeed, most naval soldiers probably share the same thought: they don't want to go to war with the G5.

After all, Zephyr's influence in the Navy is too profound. It can be said that most of the current senior officers at headquarters are students personally taught by Zephyr.

This even includes the two current admirals and the fleet admiral.

Although Zephyr defected, he has not targeted the Navy so far, nor has he aided and abetted evil or wreaked havoc on the seas like the pirates of the New World. Instead, he has been pacifying disputes in the surrounding seas and fighting against crime.

Although he is no longer in the navy, everyone's gratitude and respect for him remain unchanged.

Now, if we were to go and encircle the NEO Navy led by Zephyr, apart from a few marines led by Aramaki who were indifferent, the others would probably be unwilling.

But if the higher-ups really decide to fight, then the marines have no choice but to obey orders.

In such major operations where the purpose of the war has already been determined, even a naval admiral has little authority to make last-minute changes.

Only the Five Elders and Fleet Admiral Akainu can cancel this war or change the target midway through it.

Having grasped the key point, Luo Xia immediately understood what Luo Zhen really wanted to say.

There was no one else in the office except for Luo Xia, Yun Que, and Luo.

Everyone knows Rorschach's true views on the World Government, so there's no need to hide them.

Luo said directly, "Your usual contact with Professor Zephyr has not been concealed, and Marshal Sakazuki must have seen it. Therefore, you may waver in this war, or even help the enemy. I think the Marshal must have some suspicions about this."

"I'm sorry, I did lack some consideration."

Luo Xia smiled at Luo's words.

In fact, he had considered this before.

For example, on Punk Hazard, he made a Den Den Mushi call to Zeff right in front of Akainu.

For example, on G1 Island, he contacted Zephyr in front of Sengoku and Garp.

He could have easily done this secretly afterward, in a secluded place, by contacting Zefa privately, but Rorschach didn't do that.

Yes, he did it on purpose.

Rorschach wanted to use this overt approach to test Sengoku, Garp, Akainu, Kizaru, and others, to find out their limits of tolerance for his actions.

This method allows Rorschach to know what the higher-ups at headquarters really think about what's going on above.

If one day I have to come clean, what will everyone do?

Will they continue to uphold the rule of the World Government, or will they side with him, break away from the World Government, and even declare war on it?

The bottom line is something that is broken through step by step.

Especially for someone as indecisive as Kizaru.

Of course, Rorschach didn't act recklessly in front of Kizaru. Although he confessed to Kizaru about letting Kuma go, deep down he still didn't quite understand Kizaru and wondered if Kizaru would come with him if he really went out to work alone.

Needless to say, Sengoku's soliloquy on Marineford Island a few days ago was actually meant for Rorschach to hear, so he had already made his stance clear.

Garp would probably help too.

Although his relationship with Rorschach was not as close as before because of Ace's death, Rorschach knew that when it came to matters of principle, Garp was still the same Garp.

As for Akainu...

His actions have always been extreme.

His goal seems to be to wipe out all pirates in the world.

He always exceeded the requirements set forth by the World Government.

While he was unwaveringly loyal to the World Government, he didn't expose Rorschach's actions in the Sabaody Archipelago after knowing all about them. Instead, he joined forces with Black Horse and said something that still puzzles Rorschach to this day.

Perhaps it's just like Sengoku's assessment of Akainu.

Rorschach's true thoughts were clear to him, but Akainu's were not.

"So, you want me to test Uncle Sakazuki's intentions?" Rorschach raised an eyebrow.

Luo shook his head slightly. "No, there's no need to test him. Since he knows you're still in contact with Professor Zefa but hasn't warned you, it means he won't interfere with anything you do in this war."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Luo Xia's eyes flickered slightly.

"It's very simple. Perhaps he had anticipated your actions of contacting them in secret, but he didn't stop you in advance. That means he tacitly approves of what you're doing, but he won't openly agree to your actions. If you can use your own abilities to cancel this operation or change the target, I don't think he'll interfere. If you don't have that ability and can't change this war, then this war must go on to the end, and we must have a real war with the NEO Navy."

"I understand."

Luo's explanation couldn't be clearer; even if Luo Xia were a fool, he would understand what he meant.

Just as he was about to continue reviewing the documents in front of him, a message came from Zefa.

"The fish have taken the bait. Barrett's Devil Pirates have arrived near Soft Rock Island. The Ward Pirates of Bondiwald have also left their hideout on Thatch Island and disappeared without a trace; they've probably gone there too. On Soft Rock Island, the Beast Pirates are fighting with smaller pirates from the New World for a gold mine. It shouldn't be long before these forces meet on the island. By the way, I haven't found any trace of Kaido, but King and Katakuri are both there. Also, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit you threw away has been picked up by someone I had picked up; we'll throw it out when the opportunity arises. You'd better make any preparations as soon as possible."

Zephyr's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

“Very good! Professor Zephyr is very thoughtful.”

Rorschach clapped his hands excitedly, stood up, and said to Hibari, "The opportunity has come! Tell Kizaru and the others to speed up. We need to get there before the fighting over there ends! Also, send that photo we took to Morgans and have him publish it in the newspaper—no, have him send someone to do a live news broadcast!"

"Yes!" Hibari quickly picked up the Den Den Mushi.

.

.

On the soft island.

Since last night, the sounds of gunfire and shouts of battle have echoed across the island without ceasing.

The news of the large gold mine, deliberately spread by Zephyr, caused pirates within a radius of several hundred kilometers to swarm in like sharks smelling blood.

Driven by their thirst for gold and greed, these New World pirates, accustomed to life-or-death battles, showed no mercy even to the Beast Pirates, who had already arrived on the island. Like a pack of hyenas, they were determined to bite off a piece of flesh and swallow it whole, even at the cost of their lives.

"Charge! Quickly grab the gold! Don't let the Beasts Pirates monopolize it. This treasure belongs to everyone; it's a gift from the New World!"

"Kill! Fire! Kill Big Mom's stupid sons! Their mother is dead, and now they're running off to Kaido's place to be his sons. They're truly worthy of being the offspring of that old sow Big Mom; they're born without even knowing who their fathers are. Because they have too many fathers, each of them can get dozens!"

"Hahaha, that's right, I bet Kaido is also the father of your Charlotte family, isn't he? What a bunch of good sons!"

On the outskirts of the town, which had long since turned into ruins, a dozen or so pirate crews from the New World had gathered together, forming a tacit alliance to fight against the Beast Pirates guarding the mine.

In terms of the strength of any single New World pirate crew, they certainly cannot compare to the sheer size of the Beasts Pirates.

However, even with the Charlotte Family led by Katakuri, the dozen or so New World pirate crews that had weathered many storms and united together could not gain a comprehensive advantage.

Hearing the foul language coming from the other side, Perospero's old face turned red, and he was so angry that his body was trembling.

"Damn bastards! I'm going to kill them! Why aren't Jhin and Quinn here yet? If they don't get here soon, they won't get a single gram of this gold!"

Because the Beasts Pirates had divided up the seven or eight islands within Totto Land under Katakuri's control, and because Katakuri had recently been leading his younger siblings to search for the Ward Pirates in an attempt to avenge Snack, they were the first to arrive at Soft Island when they heard about the large gold mine there.

Upon arriving on the island, they immediately began mining the gold mine and successfully extracted hundreds of tons of gold, a truly enormous haul.

Although the gold beneath Soft Island was mixed with various soils and rock layers, Katakuri and the others could tell that the gold in this mine was of extremely high purity. They didn't even need to spend too much effort refining it to extract a large quantity of gold that could be sold directly.

The gold mine is very large in total and buried very deep, with the soil and rock layers compressed very tightly, which makes the mining work very troublesome.

Fortunately, it seems that an earthquake occurred on the island, causing landslides and making the soil much softer.

In addition, Perospero also discovered signs of digging and fighting at the entrance to the mine.

It's not hard to guess that long before the Charlotte family arrived at Soft Island, someone else had already spotted the gold mine and taken some of the gold.

Based on the traces of battle on the island, Perospero guessed that the victors were the ones who took the gold, but the defeated side was not completely annihilated, which is probably why news of the gold mine was able to spread.

"Hold on! Hold the walls of Candy City! Don't let those bastards get in! Just hold on a little longer, and the reinforcements will be here!"

With a wave of his hand, Perospero released a torrent of red syrup that surged like ocean waves, washing over the clearing in front of the forest and forming a towering wall of red syrup.

The walls formed from syrup were as hard as rock, allowing the pirates to hide behind them and fire shots and cannons at the constantly charging pirates.

"Boom boom boom boom!"

Deafening shells were constantly being fired from the crowd on the opposite side, hitting the syrup-covered city walls and shattering the solidified syrup into fragments.

Occasionally, it would arc into the air and crash into the crowd hiding behind the city wall, blowing up a whole bunch of unlucky souls.

They came in a hurry this time and didn't bring everyone with them.

There were two ships in total, with a total force of less than a thousand men.

I thought that with the Beasts Pirates' fearsome reputation in the New World, no fool would dare to mess with them.

However, they underestimated the allure of gold mines to pirates in the New World.

On the other side, there were more than a dozen pirate groups of varying sizes, with a total strength of over 10,000, which was more than ten times that of them, and they almost completely surrounded them.

After a night of fierce fighting, the force has now lost two to three hundred men.

Of course, the other side suffered even more deaths, but their numbers still numbered in the thousands, and as time went on, more and more pirates continued to arrive to join the plunder of the gold.

Perospero was wondering when the Beasts Pirates' reinforcements would arrive when he suddenly heard a fierce whistling sound. He looked up and saw a dozen or so cannonballs hurtling towards his face. Startled, Perospero quickly released a large amount of syrup in front of him, creating a wall of syrup.

"Boom boom boom!"

Black shells rained down, blasting the candy wall in front of him into a shower of candy. The powerful shockwave and scorching heat made Perospero grunt and tumble backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

He clutched his aching chest, gasped for breath, and turned to look at the tall figure standing not far away. He couldn't help but shout with a hint of reproach, "Katakuri! Why aren't you doing anything? Hurry up and help take down those troublesome pirate leaders!"

The previous night, thanks to Katakuri, the pillar of the Charlotte family, the united pirates on the other side, despite suffering heavy casualties (nearly half of them), were unable to seize much gold from them.

But starting a few minutes ago, whether it was due to excessive physical exertion or exhaustion, Katakuri stood there without making a move.

Hearing his older brother Perospero's shout, Katakuri still didn't make a move, but his slightly narrowed eyes looked towards the back of the gathering crowd ahead, his pupils contracting slightly.

"boom!"

Another black shell flew through the crowd a hundred meters away, heading straight for Perospero with perfect accuracy.

Just as Perospero was about to use the same trick again, releasing a wall of candy to block the cannonball, he saw that the cannonball, which was flying halfway, suddenly enlarged into a huge black sphere with a diameter of more than ten meters. At the same time, its speed increased dozens of times, turning into a huge black phantom that rushed towards him.