One Piece Gunslinger

“Hmm, very good. It seems you still have dreams.” Jack, however, understood the opposite meaning from Hilly’s words and nodded.

"Hey, I clearly said..."

"Alright, Fujitora, let's deal with him and fly away." Jack interrupted Sergei's feeble explanation and grabbed Sergei, preparing to run away.

Without saying a word, Fujitora pushed open the window and used his ability to lift the three of them out of the window.

Just then, Jack looked down and saw Yuri rushing into the palace. He probably sensed Hardman's little trick and left the battlefield to stop him.

It seemed to be Hilge's first time in space. As he watched the familiar scenery below gradually shrink, his face turned somewhat pale.

"Are you alright? You can't even handle this?" Jack taunted without hesitation. "We still have dreams to achieve."

Without waiting for Sergei to reply, he said to Fujitora, "Let's fly over the battlefield so he can see it more clearly."

After saying that, Jack pressed Sergei's head down, making him turn to face the battlefield below so he could see the carnage.

"This...this..."

"So, do you still have any dreams now?" he said, staring at the pale-faced Sergei. "After seeing this, do you still have any dreams?"

The melee continued, with both sides fighting with bloodlust, the fighting affecting the surrounding buildings. After all, the area was limited, and with so many people present, it was impossible to avoid impacting the surrounding areas. Not only were buildings destroyed, but Jack also saw that some of the collapsed structures still held the remains of civilians who hadn't had time to escape.

Jack then pointed to the city wall: “Look, your loyal guards are trembling with fear now. Like your father Donald, they can only watch silently in the face of this tragedy, and then continue their lives as if nothing had happened once the storm has passed.”

Hilgay stared blankly, then shook his head and said with relief, "Yes, we are like ostriches, but what else can we do? Perhaps Father is right. I should be grateful that I was born into the royal family, at least I will never have to worry about wealth and honor in my life. Just like now, if you want to use me, I don't need to worry about my safety."

"Very good, kid, you're very pragmatic and know what's important." Jack nodded to himself. The seed has been planted; now it's up to this old gardener to see if he can make it take root and sprout.

Chapter Seventy-Six Meeting

The next day, noon.

Jack stretched and slowly got out of bed. He quickly washed his face and headed to the conference room. After yesterday's battle, all the factions needed to make some changes to their strategies.

This meeting didn't involve many people; it only included Jack, Haku, Fujitora, Johnny, Kevin who had been summoned from the royal capital Gran, and Prince Sergei, whom they had captured. As for Sergei, he had been forcibly dragged to this meeting by Jack.

"Sigh, getting old is no good. Staying up all night is really painful." When Jack arrived at the conference room, everyone else had already arrived and were just waiting for him.

"Hehe, if you're considered old, then I must be nearing the end of my life!" Fujitora retorted.

“Well, don’t worry about the details. Let’s get started on today’s work,” Jack said, taking his seat.

“Alright, first, let’s start with the intelligence we gathered yesterday,” Jack said. “First, it’s about the strength of those people. Hardman and Maxim don’t have Devil Fruits, but their bodies are extremely strong. Even Haku shouldn’t be their match.”

"I think both of them were holding nothing back at the time, fighting fiercely and relying entirely on their martial arts skills and domineering presence. If they had any trump cards, they should have used them on the spot, since the other side was a major threat, and they wanted to find an opening to kill him."

"And another person named Yuri clearly has a Devil Fruit ability. He can turn his body into a silvery-white liquid, just like T1000."

"What is T1000?" Sergei seemed uninterested in the meeting's content, appearing somewhat forced to attend. However, this question revealed his genuine concern about the meeting's progress. While no one aloud, their expressions suggested the same sentiment; they were simply used to Jack's occasional utterances of strange vocabulary and had automatically filtered it out.

“I always say don’t worry about the details.” Jack didn’t want to explain what T1000 was, as that would require retelling the entire Terminator story. He continued, “Given the name they chose, the Mercury Group, we can reasonably deduce that Yuri’s Devil Fruit is the Mercury Fruit.”

"The strongest move we've seen so far is the Mercury Rain. It can fire a large number of mercury bullets, each one as powerful as a firearm. We can even determine from the properties of mercury that these bullets must be poisonous."

As Jack spoke, he sketched what he had seen yesterday on the board with simple lines. However, the style of the drawing looked like it was the work of a truly eccentric artist.

Then Jack drew another person on the other side, the very person who had sneaked in and taken King Donald away yesterday. However, in the picture, he was just a matchstick-shaped object.

“This guy is from Hardman’s side. Judging from the fighting marks, he should be a CP member who is proficient in the Six Powers.” Jack continued to draw a long strip between the two. “His ability seems to be the ability to control the soil. The soil in the garden suddenly rose up and formed an earthen wall, blocking Yuri’s mercury rain.”

“We can see that this is not creating soil out of thin air, but rather controlling existing soil. Because that earthen wall still has the flowers and plants from the garden. It is clearly not newly produced.”

Jack continued explaining yesterday's battle: "This ability is also troublesome. After using the earthen walls to hold off Yuri's attack, he continued to control the soil, raising multiple earthen walls to cover the soldiers' retreat. This is how they managed to avoid too many casualties during the retreat. If Maxim had continued to lead the pursuit, such a long run would have basically resulted in the annihilation of the entire army. In the end, under the cover of the earthen walls, more than a thousand people were saved."

"We can see that, given their limited experience in land warfare and the inferior quality of their troops compared to those of the gangsters, Hardman's command ability was certainly impressive, but they also had the advantage of slightly better weaponry."

"That's the situation right now. Both sides have suffered considerable losses, but even so, each one is still far superior to us." Jack then went on to explain the current situation of the various forces from different perspectives, analyzing the differences in strength. It took him nearly an hour to finish this military and political lesson.

Jack felt his mouth was almost dry from talking, so he took a sip of water and said, "Everyone understands the current situation. You can suggest any solutions you have, and we can discuss them. If we think it's suitable, we'll adopt it. If it's not suitable, we should also see the good aspects of the solution and whether it can generate some inspiration."

Fujitora didn't mince words and immediately said, "Our problem is still that our combat strength is insufficient. Compared to any other faction, we are far inferior. Now that things have come to this, aren't you going to let me take action? I've been idle for quite a while and haven't shown my true strength yet."

Jack sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't. I've thought about whether I should find an opportunity, like yesterday in front of the palace, to wipe them all out with a meteorite, thus ending the matter once and for all. I have to say, this idea is very tempting, but for the long-term interests of the Kingdom of Yutakana, I finally gave up on this idea."

Jack took another sip of water and continued, "Because I don't want to take those three roads at all. I want to take the fourth road!"

"Three roads?" Everyone looked bewildered. What three roads? That's funny, we've never heard of such a thing.

So Jack explained to everyone again from beginning to end the three paths that the major powers must take to control the Kingdom of Yutakana.

The others nodded as they listened, but Sergei became increasingly alarmed and somber the more he listened.

Jack eventually noticed Sergei's unusual behavior and said, "Your father, Donald, who was a puppet king for ten years, actually understood all of this. He probably just didn't tell you because he was afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it."

As he spoke, Jack stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. "I know you still have dreams, unlike your aging father. So don't worry, I'm planning to take the fourth path."

Sergei said dejectedly, "You said it yourself, those three paths are the three paths that all the major powers have to take, so where is there any fourth path?"

"Do you know why I invited you out and had you attend the meeting?" Jack asked, then answered directly, "It's because you still have a remnant of the courage to fight and struggle. Remember what I said?"

"Should an honest person do the same?" Sergei said. "But my father said that was just a lie you told for the sake of Paku City."

“That’s why I said your father is dying. If a person doesn’t even believe in this simple truth, then he can’t be considered an upright person. Only you, Sergei, still hold hope. You will become the king of Yutakana…”

"The true king."

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Choosing Sides

"Now you can tell me, are you willing to serve a true king, to protect your people, to love them, care for them, respect them, and accept them, whether they are foolish or enlightened, or for whatever other reason? To dedicate everything to him forever, until the end of your life?" Jack asked solemnly.

Although he felt that Jack's words were a little strange, in this solemn atmosphere, Sergei finally stepped out of his shadow, faced his true feelings, and nodded solemnly, saying, "I do!"

Jack nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Kevin, who was standing silently to the side, and asked, "Then are you willing to let this person be your king, whether he is wise or incompetent, or for any other reason, to love him, respect him, care for him, and be loyal to him forever until the end of your life?"

Kevin hadn't expected Jack to suddenly ask him this. Although the atmosphere felt a little strange, as a native resident of this land, he solemnly nodded and said, "I'm willing too!"

“Alright, now I’ll announce it first,” Jack shouted happily, “The two of you are officially united as… cough, as ruler and subject.”

How could the atmosphere not be strange? Jack asked the same questions he used at the wedding, with only minor modifications. Although no one had heard those questions before, they could sense that the atmosphere was off.

“Alright, so our next goal is to put Sergei on the throne and at the same time protect him.” Jack himself felt something was off, so he quickly changed the subject, saying, “Now we’ll take care of those problems. Sergei, you have other tasks.”

After saying that, Jack pulled out a large stack of documents and books from somewhere and stuffed them into Sergei's hand.

These are all things that Jack painstakingly wrote down (copied down) after much thought and effort, covering ideas from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign. Jack went to great lengths to recall these contents that he had read before.

Sergei took the item with a blank look on his face and asked, "Is this all my task is to do?"

“That’s right. After you’ve learned all this, you’ll be a qualified party member… cough cough, a qualified king.” Jack patted Sergei on the shoulder and said, “Alright, go back and study. Your people are waiting for you to come out and lead them.”

After Sergei left, Haku complained, "So the purpose of this meeting was to lure Sergei into a trap, right? All of Sergei's previous actions were to lower his defenses, right?"

“Hey Haku, how can you call this glorious cause ‘luring people into a trap’? Doesn’t that turn our revolutionary army into a trap?” Jack rebuked him with a serious expression, then added in a low voice, “Although I also think it’s a trap, don’t say it out loud.”

"Sigh, I'm starting to wonder if I joined the wrong organization." Fujitora, with his exceptional hearing, overheard Jack's mutterings and said.

Kevin, who was standing to the side, also uttered two words: "Same."

“Alright, alright, let’s stop joking,” Jack said. “So now we not only have to deal with these people, but also create a glorious image for the new king, Sergei. Of course, we also have to remove some obstacles to the new king’s ascension to the throne, such as the old king, Donald. It would be even better if he could voluntarily abdicate. In the end, we will definitely have to recruit Sergei into our revolutionary army. Do you have any ideas?”

Fujitora hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter five words: "You have so many demands."

Kevin added, "I second that."

Haku nodded and said, "You're asking for too much. Besides, all we know how to do is fight; we can't do anything else."

“Yes, Chief of Staff,” Johnny, who had never spoken before, said, “While we may all be better than you in combat, we are not as good as you in other areas.”

"Emma, ​​you just keep spouting such blunt truths all day long."

Seeing this, Jack put on a disappointed look and said, "Fine, I'll just give you a rough idea first, and see if anyone has anything to add."

“We’ll take it one step at a time. First, we’ll bring Sergei into the revolutionary army. That shouldn’t be a big problem. As long as he finishes studying that stack of documents, and I provide him with occasional guidance, it’ll definitely be fine,” Jack said.

"As for how to deal with other forces, that depends on what Hardman does after he gets his hands on Donald. We are allies on the surface, but we don't know if he will kick us aside. If he does, we will have to ally with the Mercury Group. After all, Donald's amendment to the Basic Law is something no one wants to see. If there is to be an amendment, it will be left to Sergei to amend it later. It's too early to say anything now. We need to see what Hardman is thinking."

“Well, all that talk was for nothing,” Haku said. “We still don’t know what Hardman’s plans are.”

Jack pursed his lips and said, "I'm in a meeting waiting for his news. I thought Hardman should have given an explanation by now. Even if we snatched him last night, he should have made some moves by noon today. But I haven't heard anything from him yet. This shouldn't be happening."

Coincidentally, just as Jack was complaining, the Den Den Mushi rang.

"Oh? You finally remembered us?" Jack said, pulling out his Den Den Mushi. No sooner had Jack hung up than another call came in. Two calls in quick succession.

When Jack put down the Den Den Mushi again, everyone's expressions were a little strange.

“Well, I don’t know what to do in this situation either,” Haku said, shrugging.

It turned out that the two calls came from two different people. One was Hardman, and the other, Yuri, had somehow gotten hold of the contact information and called as well.

Moreover, both of them shared the same goal: to win Jack over.

The reason is that Hardman just released news that he's going to do a live broadcast to the entire nation to amend the Basic Law. That's how exciting it is. These gangsters won't be able to deny it anymore, since it'll be broadcast nationwide.

Hardman then invited Jack to participate in the security work to jointly defend against the inevitable group of gangsters.

Faced with this situation, everyone had no choice but to unite for the time being. No matter which gang it was, they certainly didn't want to see this scene being broadcast live. So, naturally, Yuri invited Jack to join him in retrieving Donald.

After receiving those two phone calls, Jack was both amused and exasperated. He then asked everyone, "Well, things are much simpler now. Which side are we on now?"

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Setting a Scene

Regardless of which side they stand on, they are essentially on their own side. Jack and the others are well aware of this. Both sides regard him as a force that can be won over, a force that poses little threat.

However, this force, which poses little threat and can be won over, is actually the most difficult to win over and the most uncooperative. They all seem to be doing similar things, but behind the scenes, Jack and they follow different paths and have fundamental differences in their thinking.

The current issue is simply about which side is better to act on and which side can generate more profit; that's all.

It seems that many problems have been simplified into one, but in essence, it still comes down to which side can achieve the goal and which side is more convenient to act on.

However, at least on the surface, these problems became simple; it was just a matter of choosing between A and B. This piqued everyone's interest, and opinions began to vary. Some suggested going to Hardman, since Hardman currently seemed to have a greater advantage from every perspective.

Holding Donald in hand, he awaited the live broadcast in two days. Hardman's chosen location wasn't on this long, narrow strip of land, but rather on a small, isolated island not far away.

Although it's not on this mainland, that isolated island still belongs to the Kingdom of Yutakana and is still within its territory. Logically, that makes sense.

The problem, however, is that the island is incredibly small, practically an island within an island. The entire island is smaller than a single ship. It's smaller than the small boat that Jack used to land in Yutaka, a boat that could only hold ten people.

So, apart from setting up a video Den Den Mushi, a table, and a chair, there was no room for anything else on the island.

At that time, Hardman will be able to intercept many gang ships in his area of ​​expertise, naval warfare. Even if he is outnumbered, he can still defeat the invading gangs by relying on his strong ships, powerful cannons, and rich naval experience.