One Piece Gunslinger

That's right, that's exactly what Li Ang's goal is. The first step of the plague plan is to leave himself a way out: a one-year period of peace.

Regardless of whether Li Ang ultimately succeeds in taking over thirteen countries, eighteen islands, and most importantly, Dressrosa, this move has undoubtedly greatly provoked the World Government.

If a year of peace isn't sought, then the World Government's army will be at the city's gates just days after the World Conference ends. Whitebeard's protective charm will only last until the World Conference concludes, after which Whitebeard will have no reason to intervene.

Therefore, Li Ang's tactic only works on smart people. If the World Government and the Five Elders are helpless against Li Ang's attacks in the media and newspapers, or if they don't have the courage to waive the Heavenly Gold for a year and only try to struggle with some small tricks, then Li Ang's plan will have failed.

This is also Li Ang's forte. Intrigues can only fool fools, while open strategies are what work on intelligent people. It means not hiding anything, but openly and honestly laying out his first offensive move, forcing the World Government to defend and respond.

Currently, it seems that inaction would indeed result in greater losses. However, in the long run, this is merely a cannon fodder tactic deliberately set up by Leon to deplete the World Government's resources, paving the way for the smooth implementation of subsequent plans.

So the day after the Five Elders' meeting, when Li Ang received the newspaper, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips: "This appetizer has served its purpose; it's time for the main course."

Kera asked, "Now that the first phase's objective has been achieved, shall we continue?"

“Why not continue? If you’re going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. Of course you have to continue,” Li Ang said matter-of-factly. “Let them waste some more energy on this appetizer.”

On this day, not only Li Ang received the newspaper, but people all over the world saw it. This included Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the current Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"Hmph, I never expected the World Government to have such power and resources, actually waiving a year's worth of Celestial Gold. Back then, we only robbed a ship of Celestial Gold, and we were able to become Shichibukai. Now, with 170 member states, that's 170 ships of Celestial Gold!" Doflamingo sat on his throne, legs crossed, a sinister smile on his face.

Trebol, leaning on his scepter and sniffling, chimed in, "Yeah, Doflamingo. Think about our operation back then. Compared to the World Government, it was nothing. It seems those who said the World Government was incompetent can be put aside now. The World Government has once again demonstrated its formidable strength and power."

However, Doflamingo shook his head and said, "Although the World Government has demonstrated its strength and responded strongly to people's speculations and the Revolutionary Army's attack, if you think about it carefully, the fact that the Revolutionary Army was able to force the World Government to take such measures is enough to show how terrifying they are, or even horrifying."

“Oh, even you have times when you feel scared?” Violet asked in surprise.

"Heh, ever since I learned that the Revolutionary Army was going to hold a World Conference just like the World Government, I've been feeling uneasy." Doflamingo raised his head, a bead of cold sweat on his forehead. "Then, in my anxiety, I went to look at a map, and do you know what I saw?"

Many of the officers and students had never seen Doflamingo like this before, and their hearts began to pound. The last time Doflamingo showed this expression was when he was cornered by Vice Admiral Tsuru. If the World Government's appointment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea hadn't arrived first, he might have already been annihilated by Vice Admiral Tsuru.

Judging from this, is another crisis about to occur?

Without waiting for anyone to ask, Doflamingo continued, "I see my death!"

"What?!" Everyone was shocked. "You can't just say that, Dover."

Doflamingo shook his head and continued, "Think about it, if one day the Revolutionary Army finally grows strong enough to launch a final attack on the World Government, where would they choose as their base? Dressrosa, of course!"

"How so? We've taken over Dressrosa, isn't that very dangerous?" Torrepol asked nervously.

Doflamingo nodded and said, "That's right. That's why I've been paying close attention to the power struggle between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government all this time. If the World Government loses in this struggle, we will inevitably be swallowed up by the rapidly growing Revolutionary Army. And even if the World Government launches a full-scale attack on the Revolutionary Army at that time, we will not be able to escape this vortex."

However, this time the World Government intervened forcefully, curbing the Revolutionary Army's momentum. Furthermore, this intervention will prevent the World Government from waging war for a year. Therefore, we still have at least a year to board Kaido's ship. Even if the two armies go to war then, they will likely avoid us out of consideration for Kaido. Only then, sandwiched between two behemoths, will we have any hope of survival.

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this crisis would not happen for at least a year, and after that, the Donquixote Family would be able to make contact with Kaido.

At this point, Doflamingo's expression hardened: "So, how's the effort to win over that naval scientist going? Our survival now depends entirely on him."

Valepol said, "Don't worry, Doflamingo. That scientist named Caesar has been having a lot of conflicts with others lately, and he's not getting much attention from the World Government. Now the World Government has waived the Celestial Gold for another year, hehe, he'll get even less research funding then. As long as we can come up with the money, I guarantee he'll obediently side with us."

Doflamingo nodded and said, "That's good. But we still need to be discreet and not let the World Government find out about our relationship. That way, if something goes wrong, we can pin all the blame on him."

Unlike the rest of the Donquixote Family, Violet, the former princess of Dressrosa, was more concerned with the Revolutionary Army. If it were the Revolutionary Army, they might be able to liberate the country from Doflamingo's clutches.

But as Doflamingo said, the Revolutionary Army's rising momentum and meticulously prepared offensive were thus neutralized by the World Government in one fell swoop. This also left Violet with no interest in participating in the subsequent Donquixote Family discussions.

Chapter 234 Outbreak

Leon and the rest of the Revolutionary Army were unaware of what had happened in Dressrosa. Otherwise, they would be laughing their heads off; they wouldn't have waited until next year, the Revolutionary Army would have started their operation this year.

This is one of the reasons why Li Ang couldn't wait for the next World Government Summit and insisted on launching a strong attack at this one. If Doflamingo were to obtain Kaido's protective charm, the Revolutionary Army would be in for a world of trouble. Li Ang didn't want to provoke such an unreasonable madman who was determined to destroy the world.

Furthermore, the Beasts Pirates will definitely be one of the Revolutionary Army's targets for elimination. As long as the artificial Devil Fruit factory in Dressrosa hasn't been established, the Beasts Pirates' fighting strength will be significantly less than in the original work. An animal army? That's a myth.

As for the general public, even if they couldn't see much deeper meaning at this point, they at least saw that once the World Government exerted its influence, the Revolutionary Army suffered repeated defeats in the battle for public opinion. Afterwards, no matter what actions the Revolutionary Army took, they couldn't reverse this disadvantage.

However, even after losing, Li Ang continued to struggle, even after the World Government took action, all to give people the impression that the Revolutionary Army was still working hard on this matter.

But in fact, the revolutionary army's focus had already shifted to the actual battlefield on that very day. The battle against the thirteen countries and eighteen islands officially began, and all the revolutionary army soldiers, except for a few left behind for rehearsals, had already headed towards their destination.

If someone were to infiltrate the revolutionary army ships that were patrolling the territory to protect the World Conference, they would find that all those warships were just empty shells.

The crew on board is only capable of navigating the ship; it looks imposing from a distance, but it actually has no combat capability whatsoever.

This was a crucial part of the Revolutionary Army's strategy of using the pretext of holding a world conference to mislead the enemy.

Since announcing its intention to hold a world conference, the Revolutionary Army has never stopped imitating the World Government. And these fleets are one of them.

But in reality, everything else Li Ang did was real—the world conference was real, and the invitation to numerous countries was real too. Except for this security force. Everything else was real. It's this ten truths and one falsehood that's so difficult to discern.

Li Ang's plan was to create a false impression of strength within the city, a mere facade to deceive everyone. In reality, the city was completely empty, a mere show of force masking underlying weakness. However, as long as the enemy believed the revolutionary army was still on the border, Li Ang wouldn't need to worry about attacks. Furthermore, any subsequent attacks would go unnoticed.

This brings us to the second phase of the "Plague Plan" outbreak.

On Sandstone Island, within the Kingdom of Sandstone, a portly Grand Councilor is safeguarding the nation's security during the King's absence.

"Sigh, another peaceful day. It seems even the pirates have quieted down during this tense period." Looking at the white clouds drifting outside the window, this fellow couldn't help but feel sleepy.

Yes, who would be so reckless during such a sensitive time? There have been instances in the past of self-proclaimed clever pirates launching sneak attacks during World Conferences when the king is away.

But wouldn't this be tantamount to slapping the World Government in the face? So even if they achieve significant results in the short term, they will ultimately face fierce retaliation from the Navy. In the end, their bodies will sink into the sea, and they will gain nothing.

Furthermore, the king suffered no loss; on the contrary, he received substantial compensation from the World Government afterward—more than he could possibly have. As for the civilians massacred by the pirates? Those lowly people—are they even considered a loss?

So over time, no foolish pirate would do such a thing anymore. Unless you're as powerful as one of the Four Emperors, unafraid of the Navy's retaliation. But if you were truly as powerful as one of the Four Emperors, why would you need to do such petty things? Whether it's during a World Government meeting or not, if you want to do it, no one can stop you.

Which of the Four Emperors would even look at their tiny island nation? This kind of behavior is simply beneath them.

However, just as the Grand Councilor was leisurely enjoying the scenery, a loud cannon blast suddenly jolted him awake.

"Something terrible has happened!" Before he could react, a soldier rushed in in a panic. "More than a dozen ships have surrounded us and are attacking us."

"What?!" The Grand Councilor's drowsy state vanished, replaced by astonishment. "Who is so reckless as to dare attack us?"

“They are rebels, sir. They are flying the banner of rebels.”

"Rebels? Which rebels? Could it be the rebels who were proclaiming they would also hold a world conference?!"

"Yes, it is that rebel."

In fact, the Grand Councilor already knew that the soldier didn't need to answer. Only the rebel who was as powerful as one of the Four Emperors and dared to oppose the World Government could make such a move.

During the conversation, another burst of loud cannon fire rang out.

Upon hearing the cannon fire, the Grand Councilor, extremely knowledgeable about his own cannons, quickly went to the window, for the sound was clearly not something his own cannons could produce. In fact, the sound of his cannons shouldn't have been enough to reach the royal palace in the center of the island.

The royal palace was built on a high ground. When the Grand Councilor looked out, he could only see the continuous fires in the harbor and a few ships outside the harbor.

As for the kingdom's warships, if I'm not mistaken, that's the thing that broke in two and is gradually sinking to the bottom of the sea.

"We definitely can't withstand this powerful army. We have no choice but to ask for help now." Seeing this situation, he knew that this was not the time to be heartbroken; he had to report to the king immediately so that the former king of Mary Geoise could ask the World Government for help. If it was a rebel attack, the World Government would not stand idly by.

So he quickly returned to his desk and tried to contact the King using a Den Den Mushi. However…

"Why can't I make a call?!" The Grand Councilor tried several times, but the Den Den Mushi didn't respond.

Just then, another soldier ran in: "Something terrible has happened! Lieutenant Colonel Gulan has defected to the rebels, and General Sag has been killed in a sneak attack by Gulan. And he also said..."

Upon hearing this series of devastating news, the Grand Councilor nearly choked on his breath and asked tremblingly, "What else did he say?"

"He also said that we should not put up futile resistance, that the people have already sided with the revolution, and that the entire island, including the surrounding waters, has been blocked from communication, so we should not expect to call for reinforcements."

Upon hearing this, the Grand Councilor finally understood why the Den Den Mushi had stopped working, and also realized that the Revolutionary Army had come prepared this time, giving him absolutely no chance.

"Then we must resist to the death!" However, the Grand Councilor would not surrender. After all, if the Revolutionary Army were to occupy Sandstone Country and expose his actions, given their consistent style, they would definitely behead him. "Pass on my order: even if not a single one is left, we must resist to the very end."

Upon hearing the Grand Councilor's order, the soldier not only did not go out, but instead showed an expression of "I knew it," then took the rifle off his back, pointed it at him, and said, "Excuse me, but I think Lieutenant Colonel Gulan is right. We should not serve people like you and the King. We should be loyal to the people and the country."

With a gunshot ringing out in this small office, Sandstone Country was completely captured within just one hour.

The battle was fought so swiftly, undoubtedly due in large part to the skillful command of the Sixth Army Commander, but more importantly, because the Revolutionary Army had successfully infiltrated the Sandstone Kingdom over the past few years. Lieutenant Colonel Gulan was actually a talent sent by the Revolutionary Army, and he played a crucial role in this battle. The Revolutionary Army conquered the Sandstone Kingdom with relatively little effort.

However, the fall of a country and the occupation of Sandstone by the revolutionary army—such a momentous event—remained unknown to the outside world. The main reason for this was a large iron block.

The key figure in the first step is Dragon. Dragon's actions will continue until the end of the World Conference, and he may even attend the World Conference himself. Let Dragon, as the Commander-in-Chief, attract the world's attention.

The key figure in the next step is Kerla.

Kera herself will not go to the battlefield; she will stay at headquarters throughout the entire campaign, and will even take over Leon's position to oversee the overall situation at the end. However, she has been preparing for this campaign for a long time.

Back on Magnet Island, Li Ang had already realized the immense strategic value of this Devil Fruit that could control magnetic fields. While people in ancient times might not have understood this, everyone in modern times knows that whoever controls battlefield communications controls the entire battlefield. Real-time communication is of paramount importance.

Kerla's greatest contribution was that he spent a great deal of time, even collaborating with scientists within the Revolutionary Army, to prepare the eighteen large iron blocks and eighteen small iron blocks before the plan was even launched.

The large iron block acts like a giant magnet. A very large magnet. And the magnetic field it emits is highly irregular.

This means that if you are within the coverage area of ​​the large iron ball, the Den Den Mushi will not be able to function properly.

The small iron ball acts like a key; if placed next to the Den Den Mushi, it can break the magnetic interference of the large iron ball, allowing the Den Den Mushi to still function.

Therefore, Koala's ability is key to this step. As long as the Revolutionary Army possesses the Great Iron Ball, news of their attack will not be transmitted. The kings will only discover their homeland has changed hands when they happily return from Mary Geoise.

Therefore, after the revolutionary army acquired the giant iron ball, a powerful weapon, they focused their efforts on blockading ports and other coastlines to prevent anyone from escaping the giant iron ball's range and sending messages to the outside world.

Chapter 235 Unexpected Events

Sandstone was the first country to be occupied, and it was also the easiest battlefield, encountering almost no resistance thanks to the coordinated efforts from within and without.

Following this, as a precaution and to eliminate any remaining royalist remnants within the country, the revolutionary army left behind a set of large iron balls and small iron beads. These eighteen sets of iron balls were intended for the eighteen islands. Furthermore, Gulan was responsible for imposing martial law on the coast to prevent anyone from escaping and reporting back.

All of this didn't take much effort, and the main force of the Sixth Army continued on to the next location.

Unfortunately, not all battlefields are as easy as those in Sandstone Country. For example, Sabo is now facing a thorny problem. Although the First Army he leads is the most elite force of the Revolutionary Army.

As planned, he launched the attack at night, intending to take advantage of the darkness and destroy all the seaports before the Enix Kingdom's army could react, and then launch a landing operation.

However, things were not so simple. Although Sabo's plan was very successful, he discovered a serious problem: a naval warship was found in the port!

This nearly scared Sabo and the soldiers of the First Army out of their wits: "How could there be naval warships here! It doesn't make sense, does the Kingdom of Enix have naval personnel?"

This was undoubtedly bad news. Whether the Revolutionary Army wiped out this group of naval forces or trapped them within the Kingdom of Enix, it would attract the attention of the Origami Navy's upper echelons.

Regardless of what the navy personnel on board were doing, they should at least be able to return. Even if they couldn't pass on the message, the higher-ups would definitely send people to investigate if they found out the ship hadn't returned for two or three days. And once they did, things would get really bad.

"Quickly search this naval vessel to see if they belong to the Navy Headquarters or a branch." After successfully landing, Sabo immediately ordered his men to search the half-destroyed ship.

After a while, the search results came back: "Report: We found two surviving crew members who remained at the base, reportedly belonging to the Navy's G-5 branch. Subsequent documents also confirmed this."

Upon hearing this, Sabo realized that the two men were incredibly lucky to have survived the bombardment. He quickly ordered them to be brought up for questioning.

A short while later, two revolutionary soldiers brought in two wounded men. It was clear that the revolutionaries had given them basic first aid and bandaging to prevent them from dying there.

However, "What's with these clothes? Did you change into them too?" Sabo asked, puzzled, noticing that the two men weren't wearing navy uniforms.