One Piece Gunslinger

Of course, Jack's words had virtually no effect on Yuri and Maxim. They weren't naive enough to believe that Jack had divine assistance.

After all, the two of them were seasoned veterans and had seen a lot. They had seen all sorts of strange things. Although they had never encountered anything like a city wall being built overnight, they could vaguely sense that it was the work of one or more people with special abilities.

However, if it was indeed done by a person with superpowers, then the development of this ability is terrifying. Overuse of abilities will also consume physical strength, so the fact that such a huge project could be made must be something not to be underestimated.

The two exchanged a glance, both sensing the other's hesitation. To forcibly attack the city now, risking unknown dangers, would certainly not end well. A hint of retreat flickered in their eyes.

The two men's eye contact was harmless, but they completely failed to notice the four thousand men behind them, and their hearts remained icy cold. Hearing the talk of divine protection, and then seeing the magnificent city walls erected overnight, had already made them somewhat apprehensive.

Instead of displaying any heroic demeanor, the two leaders revealed considerable anxiety in their exchange of glances. Those men, having lost all confidence, looked far more grim than yesterday.

In this war, we must strike while the iron is hot, then weaken with each attempt, and finally exhaust ourselves.

If the two insist on attacking the city regardless of the consequences, Jack will have no choice but to bite the bullet and command his men to hold the city. In the end, with the superior quality and numbers of his troops compared to the defenders, taking down the city walls will not be a big problem; it will just be a matter of how many men he loses.

Given this current situation, a fight is clearly out of the question. To charge now would be futile, as morale would be completely shattered. The two men looked back and saw the low morale of the troops; they knew a fight was impossible.

But we can't just slink away like that, coming here only to take a quick look at the newly built city wall and then leaving; that would be like a tour group.

The two were preparing to say a few polite words so that even if they withdrew their troops, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

But Jack didn't give him a chance at all, and immediately shouted, "Fire!"

"Oh my god, how can this kid be so unreasonable, he just opened fire right away." The two were also startled by Jack's shout. "Isn't it said that this guy likes to talk a lot before a battle? Why is he not playing by the rules this time?"

Jack does like to talk a lot, that's true, but he only does it when he's at a disadvantage, trying to sway others' morale or show off. Now that he's done the talking and isn't at a disadvantage anymore, there's no point in talking anymore, he should just start firing.

However, the two men weren't fools. The moment they saw the city walls, they stopped in a safe place to avoid an attack. Whether it was cannons or guns, the distance was sufficient to dodge them.

Little did they know that the shout of "Fire!" was not directed at the artillerymen; otherwise, there would have been no need to shout it so loudly.

This was said to the enemy, and also to the people praying behind the city walls. Firstly, it was meant to unsettle the enemy, and secondly, it would give a boost to those in the city who supported him.

As expected, although the two leaders remained calm, the people behind them were already starting to waver.

Maxim shouted, "Calm down, their cannons are nothing..."

"Chirp~" "Boom!"

Before Maxim could finish speaking, a volley of shells landed in the enemy lines.

"What the hell?!" Yuri could no longer remain calm upon seeing this and hurriedly shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly! They're using the latest artillery."

What they didn't know was that despite the many cannons on the city walls, Jack only had five of these cannons; the rest were the same inferior models from before. Their range and power were significantly inferior.

These five cannons were all sent by Hatton earlier. Moreover, loading these cannons was very troublesome. By the time the two men and their men withdrew out of firing range, they had not been able to load the second cannon. They only managed to fire five shots in total.

The other cannons couldn't fly very far; they only managed to land in the enemy lines thanks to Fujitora's abilities.

Seeing the range and power of these five cannons, Jack said nothing, but he had already secretly praised them in his heart: "These naval cannons are much more powerful than those junk."

But what secretly alarmed Jack was the giant named Maxim. Apart from the first few surprise attacks, he managed to blow up several of the remaining shells in mid-air with a single punch and kick.

His hands and legs were covered in a layer of shiny black Armament Haki during the attack, yet the two cannonballs didn't cause him the slightest damage. Jack couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement; Armament Haki was indeed incredibly powerful.

The people in the city couldn't see the specific situation. From the sound, they only knew that Captain Jack fired a shot and immediately drove back the enemy. He was incredibly powerful to be able to easily repel an enemy force many times their size.

After exiting firing range, the two didn't say anything, but glared at Jack fiercely before leaving with their men.

After a while, Jack saw the two gang forces stop near the horizon and begin setting up camp. It seemed they were prepared for a long battle.

Seeing that the enemy had been temporarily forced to retreat, Haku exclaimed, "You managed to make the enemy slink away without losing a single soldier. Jack, you're still as amazing as ever!"

"Not at all, this is the first time we've caught the enemy off guard, and we were a bit off-balance. We might not have another chance like this." Jack wasn't so optimistic, looking at the two troops setting up camp in an orderly manner, he also had a headache.

"Don't be too pessimistic," Fujitora reassured him. "Putting everything else aside, after those few shots, morale is much higher than it was yesterday."

Jack looked around and saw that the faces of the soldiers were no longer filled with sorrow, not to mention Fujitora, who could sense the feelings of others.

“That’s true. We don’t need to ask for too much. It’s already good enough if it can boost morale.” Jack said with relief. “But we still need to hurry up and push. Whether we can win this battle depends on Hatton’s next batch of supplies.”

That night, Maxim and Yuri sat in a tent, discussing the events of the day.

"I never imagined those people would secretly fund Jack. He probably already has quite a few advanced weapons by now," Maxim said angrily.

“Hey, maybe that wall we built today was built by those people,” Yuri said indignantly. “Gods? Those guys are just legal vampires compared to us.”

“But now there are many complaints about this,” Maxim asked. “So what should we do now?”

“If we were to launch a full-scale attack, it’s not impossible to take it. Even if they’ve assigned a few more experts, it would only result in greater losses for us,” Yuri said after a moment of contemplation. “However, I believe we should do this now.”

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Laying the Bait

Seeing the four thousand men preparing to set up camp and reorganize their troops, Jack understood. Although they had caught the enemy off guard by using the unexpected high walls and artillery, neither side was easy to deal with. They might come with siege ladders and battering rams in a couple of days. If the enemy was well-prepared, things would be difficult.

"So, when will our second batch of supplies arrive?" Jack asked Haku. "These supplies are taking way too long. I'm getting impatient."

Haku ignored Jack's strange tone and replied, "It won't be long, we expect to arrive by tomorrow morning."

“Well, that makes things easier.” Jack nodded. “Everything is ready, we just need the right opportunity.”

“But if I may be so bold,” Fujitora said worriedly, “if this batch of supplies is similar to the first, then it probably won’t be very effective. To hold the line reliably, we’ll need at least 50 cannons like those. Even if I can improve the range of the others, there’s a fundamental difference in their power. Sending them five at a time won’t be enough. And…”

"And our act of building a city overnight, while not directly demonstrating our strength, is enough to raise people's attention and vigilance, right?" Jack knew what Fujitora was worried about.

“This problem seems quite serious, but among the common people, as long as they believe it is the will of the gods, that will be fine,” Jack said confidently. “As for our other opponents, of course, we can’t fool them so easily. They will definitely investigate further, and they might even find out our identities in the end.”

Jack said some terrifying things, but he appeared confident to the two of them. They knew that Jack would definitely have other ways to deal with this, so they waited quietly for what he would say next.

Jack continued, "Once our true identities are revealed, not only will our 'alliance' with the World Government break down, but everyone else will also turn against us. But if we think about it the other way around, as long as they can't find out, or can't find out, our identities, then everything will be solved, right?"

“Even if we’re facing CP, which is under the World Government, they’re not omnipotent, and their personnel and energy aren’t inexhaustible. So, to cover up the big news we’ve created, we just need to create an even bigger news story for them, one big enough to alarm Wallace.”

Although neither of them knew who Wallace was, they understood Jack's meaning. However, they still had doubts about Jack's thinking. Fujitora asked with a puzzled look, "But if we create an even bigger news story, wouldn't that attract more attention? And how do we create this so-called big news story?"

Jack smiled and said, "You two come closer, I'll tell you all about it."

Outside Pacquia, in the tent where Yuri and Maxim were discussing matters.

“Your method is feasible, but…” Maxim hesitated slightly after hearing Yuri’s idea, and said, “This kind of combat is not quite my style. I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself and will ruin the original strategy.”

“But there’s no better way right now, is there?” Yuri sighed helplessly. “Although this is hard to accept, for the sake of our dominance, we can only ask you to bear with it for now and try to control your emotions. If you really can’t stand it, just leave the battlefield and let me handle it.”

"Well, if that's the case, it's not that I can't..."

Just then, Maxim's expression changed, and he shouted, "Who is it? Show yourself!"

Upon hearing Maxim's roar, Yuri was secretly alarmed. Maxim not only had a strong Armament Haki, but his Observation Haki was also better than his own. He hadn't noticed anyone hiding nearby at all.

After shouting, Maxim ran towards a corner of the tent. However, he didn't find anyone there.

"Damn it, it must be some weird ability user again. How could they sneak in and slip away so silently?" Maxim said angrily to the empty space in the corner.

Yuri also arrived. He hadn't sensed the man's presence at all; he had simply been following Maxim's movements.

There was nothing in the corner, of course, but Yuri noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the ground. "Huh? Was there a crumpled piece of paper here before?"

"A wad of paper?" Maxim followed Yuri's gaze and looked down, also seeing the wad of paper Yuri was referring to. "That's strange, how come there's a wad of paper here?"

Maxim picked it up and said, "There seem to be words written on it."

Maxim unfolded it and carefully read the words on it, his expression growing more and more solemn as he read.

Yuri, observing Maxim's expression, asked, "What exactly is written on it?"

Maxim handed the note to Yuri and said, "Read it yourself."

Yuri quickly finished reading the note and frowned, saying, "Could it be that the person who just delivered this note was here? If so, what was his position, and why did he deliver it?"

Maxim said, "None of that matters. What matters is that I now think I have a better idea than the one you just mentioned."

“I know what you’re thinking.” Yuri nodded and said, “I have to say, there’s another plan that’s even more tempting and appealing now. But it’s also very likely that someone is deliberately misleading us into doing this.”

“You suspect this is a trap?” Maxim said. “But we can try it out. If we really do fall into a trap, wouldn’t that be perfect for carrying out your previous plan? If this deal goes through, then what’s the point of all those underhanded methods?”

Yuri rubbed his head and said, "Although I know you're right and I can't refute you, I just have a bad feeling that the person who delivered the note definitely didn't have good intentions."

“You’re overthinking it. Even if he has bad intentions, the final outcome will be one of the two scenarios I just mentioned. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Maxim said, patting Yuri on the shoulder.

"What if our actions cause the army or the Wolf Fang Gang of Yatie City to join the war ahead of schedule?"

“That’s exactly what we wanted. We can just continue with the second half of your plan and skip the first half altogether,” Maxim laughed heartily.

“Alright then, let’s set off now.” Yuri hesitated for a long time, but he couldn’t escape Maxim’s logic. Regardless of whether it was a trap or not, regardless of winning or losing, regardless of the final consequences, it was still within a controllable range, and even still in their favor. After thinking it over, he agreed to the proposal.

The next day, Jack got up very early and ran to the city wall. Unexpectedly, Haku got up even earlier and was already looking at the situation in the distance with binoculars.

Fujitora followed Jack up the city wall, peering into the direction of the enemy camp with his unseen eyes, and sighed, "Just as you predicted, the supply ships from Hatton still haven't arrived."

Chapter Seventy: Making a Big Announcement

Upon hearing the news that the supplies hadn't arrived, Jack couldn't help but laugh and say, "To hear good news so early in the morning, that's great, that's great!"

If someone unaware of the inside story were here, they might think Jack had gone mad, or was so devastated by the bad news that he was incoherent.

However, Jack isn't the kind of person to be easily swayed; this is indeed a good thing, a very good thing. The reason for this stems from what Jack and Fujitora Haku discussed yesterday.

Jack had been keeping a close eye on the supply ships' movements, and when he learned that the ships delivering weapons and ammunition to Hatton would arrive the following morning, he came up with that plan.

"It's simple. As long as we're not the most prominent ones in the news, it's best if we're just minor characters, or even don't appear at all," Jack said mysteriously to the two people who had come closer.

The two gradually discerned a clue and asked, "So how do we achieve this goal?"

Instead of answering the question directly, Jack countered, "You said that if we had fifty of those cannons, we could hold Pacquirrel firmly, but think about it, what if we had a hundred?"

"A hundred cannons?" Fujitora shook his head and said, "If we had a hundred of those cannons, it would be too easy. Before they even get close, we'd blast all their siege equipment to smithereens and kill half of them. Even if those two tried to stop us, they would only be able to struggle under such intense firepower and waste a lot of energy in the end. They might not even be able to defeat you."

Although Jack was quite dissatisfied with Fujitora's last words, there was nothing he could do; it was a fact that he couldn't beat the two of them. Of course, the main reason was that he couldn't beat Fujitora.

Jack nodded in agreement: "So, if we really have a hundred cannons, then those two will have no choice but to retreat temporarily. They definitely can't take it by force, and they'll see that clearly."

“But the problem is that we don’t have a hundred cannons. Even if the supplies arrive tomorrow, we’ll probably only have about ten,” Haku said, puzzled.

"We don't need to actually have them, we just need to make them think we do. How would they know that we only have five of those cannons right now?"

Hearing Jack's words, the two recalled what had just happened. Jack ordered the cannons to fire and instructed Fujitora in advance to use his Devil Fruit ability to control the cannonballs to fly further, not just to give the enemy a warning.

It turns out they were planning this all along, to give others the illusion that they had many advanced cannons. What they didn't know was that anything is possible; if Fujitora wanted to, a single shot could reach the royal capital, Gran.

"I see, but what does this have to do with the big news we're planning?" The two understood this point, but what about the big news they were promised?

“You said that if we had a hundred cannons, they wouldn’t stand a chance, but what if we only have fifty? What if we still have those fifty cannons with Hatton?” Jack said with a wicked smile.

Haku's eyes widened in surprise. He was about to exclaim when he realized the three of them were together, so he could only whisper, "You want them to rob Hatton's fleet?"