One Piece Gunslinger

In this battle, Hardman had a clear advantage in terms of terrain. Therefore, after much analysis, everyone concluded that Hardman's side was definitely in a superior position.

Then some people raised a different opinion. Since Hardman's current advantage is an undeniable fact, if we really side with Hardman, how can our small group possibly compete with him after his resounding victory? It's clearly unrealistic.

It would be better to join Yuri's gang. This would balance the situation out a bit, making it difficult for the two sides to gain the upper hand. The more the situation is stirred up, the more hopeful everyone will be of succeeding.

This faction also has a lot of support, but the problem is that with only two thousand people, once they enter that large battlefield, Hardman might easily wipe them out first. It's not easy to wipe out those fleets of four or five thousand people, but wiping out your two thousand people would be a piece of cake.

These two thousand men, in terms of both individual combat effectiveness and overall coordination, were far inferior to those veterans. They could very well be exploited by Hardman as a weak link, and in that case, they would truly be the first to be eliminated.

For a while, the two viewpoints argued back and forth, neither able to gain the upper hand. The two sides remained deadlocked for some time until Haku broke the deadlock with a single sentence.

"How about this, we simply won't agree to anything on our end, let them fight to the death first, and then we'll clean up the mess. Everything will be much easier then."

Immediately someone retorted, "No, if neither side agrees, they will definitely target us first. No one wants to see such an uncertain factor before the final battle."

Jack then added, "However, this is a constructive idea. The main problem now is how we can protect ourselves on the battlefield without using nuclear weapons like Fujitora. In the end, we'll always be the first to be eliminated."

Although he didn't understand what "nuclear weapons" were, Fujitora, who was mentioned, seemed to have a flash of inspiration. He slapped his forehead and said something.

"We're too close to the situation to see clearly. What if we join both sides? We can make an agreement with Hardman on one side to join his side, and on the other side, we can make an agreement with Yuri to act as an inside agent and launch a surprise attack on Hardman at a crucial moment. What do you think of this approach?"

“That makes sense.” Jack’s eyes lit up. “If that’s the case, Hardman won’t attack us on the battlefield, and neither will Yuri. We can make it to the finals with minimal losses. If Hardman starts to gain the upper hand, we can backstab him and bring him down.”

"I also think this is feasible."

"Yes."

Since everyone agreed to Fujitora's plan, they should act quickly. Following their instructions, Jack responded to Hardman and Yuri one by one via Den Den Mushi.

Now that the general direction is set, the next step is to refine the details.

Everyone discussed the plan animatedly until nightfall, finally finalizing it. The plan detailed how to respond to various anticipated situations and simulated all possible variables on the battlefield. The meeting only adjourned after confirming that the plan was foolproof and foolproof.

After the meeting, Jack went straight to the restaurant and started eating and drinking heavily. He hadn't eaten since waking up at noon and was only now getting something to eat.

At that moment, Haku and Fujitora arrived together and sat down directly in front of Jack.

Jack knew the two had arrived, but without looking up, he continued working, asking, "What do you want?"

Haku asked directly, "You probably already had an idea halfway through the meeting, so why do we have to reach a final conclusion?"

"Well, you figured it out. But if Kera were here, she probably would have noticed within minutes," Jack said vaguely. "But in the end, I still adopted your plan."

"Oh? So you originally had a different idea?" Fujitora also brought over a bowl of soba noodles, saying as he ate.

"Well, in the end I still think it's important to get everyone involved. If it's just me talking all the time, it'll be pointless. It won't be a meeting; it'll just be me giving orders."

Haku didn't dwell on the question, but asked anxiously, "So you really think our plan is feasible? Are there no problems?"

Jack continued his earnest explanation, saying, "No plan is ever foolproof; plans always fall short of reality. This only provides a general direction. Everyone has their own plans. Do you think Hardman and Yuri don't have their own solutions? Of course not. So in the end, we'll have to go through a contest and a battle to see if we can succeed."

Fujitora seemed to have caught the loophole in the previous sentence and said, "Hey, after all this talk, you were so sure that you entrusted the plan to us for discussion and research because it wasn't a big deal? In the end, it'll all be about the same; we'll have to adapt to the changes."

"In such a battlefield where multiple parties are fighting, the situation can change very quickly at times."

"Stop saying all that, just tell me if it's true or not."

"Yes."

"They even shamelessly admitted it."

Chapter Seventy-Nine Brothers

Meanwhile, in Donald's bedroom, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The person who pushed open the door was none other than Hardman, the creator of the Shadow and the commander of CP3.

"What, you've finally remembered to come see me?"

Donald ate the delicious food brought to him by the servants at a leisurely pace.

“I didn’t expect that after all these years, you would still be so distant.” Hardman closed the door, walked up to Donald, and found a seat to speak to him.

Seeing Hardman sit down, Donald put down his knife and fork and asked, "What are you planning to do by inviting me here this time?" "Nothing much, just amending the bill." Hardman didn't stand on ceremony, picked up the glass in front of Donald, and drank the red wine in it in one gulp.

"Amend the law?"

"At that time, you will complete all of this on a small island, and I will lead my men to guard it until the dust settles. This time, it will be broadcast live to the entire nation via video Den Den Mushi, so that everyone in the country can see that the yakuza are no longer legal. Once everything is done, they won't be able to deny it even if they want to."

Donald watched as the person in front of him downed the glass of red wine that was meant for him, and said, "So you're really confident you can handle all this? Aren't you afraid of things going wrong in the end? Those people have been so deeply entrenched in this land for so many years, they're not easy to deal with. Even that Captain Jack who just appeared recently isn't a nobody."

"I admit we are no match for them in land warfare, but when it comes to naval warfare, whether it is combat experience or our weapons and equipment, we are a level above them. The reason we chose a remote island to carry out this ceremony is so that we can wipe them out at sea in one fell swoop."

Hardman put down his glass and said, "I'll eliminate the enemy in front, and you can complete the revision of the law in the back. Then, this country will return to the hands of our royal family once again."

"us?"

"Haha, I wonder if you still remember this." Hardman said, taking out a small object from his pocket. The object resembled a slender cylinder, seemingly made of metal. To the average person, it would just look like a small iron rod.

"This...this..." Donald's eyes widened in surprise, staring at the small object, speechless. "Could it be that you are...?"

“That’s right, Donald.” Hardman said, fiddling with the small object in his hand. “If you have any doubts, you can take out the thing you always wear and see if this is real.”

Donald, trembling, took out a round ball from his pocket, but the ball was hollow in the middle, seemingly just an ordinary round ball with a hole in it.

Hardman smiled and handed him the round stick.

Donald took the round stick and slowly inserted it into the sphere, the entire stick fitting perfectly into the sphere.

"Click".

With that click, it was clear that the two objects were originally one.

“Now you should be sure,” Hardman said with a smile.

"Ah, fate is unpredictable; you're now working for the World Government," Donald said with a sigh, setting down the sphere.

"After leaving this continent when I was young, I first joined the Navy, and later transferred to CP3. Over the years, my rank rose higher and higher, and my strength grew stronger and stronger. I even thought that it would be nice if I never came back. Until..."

At this point, Hardman became agitated; "It wasn't until I heard that my hometown had fallen into endless war, and that a group of people from who-knows-where were ravaging this land, that I remembered. I remembered those painful memories."

“Elon,” Donald sighed, “My father had no choice in the matter back then.”

“Father?” Hardman interrupted Donald, saying bitterly, “Father should have passed the position to me instead of my incompetent older brother!”

Donald's expression changed; after all, being called an incompetent older brother by one's own younger brother was something no one could tolerate. Hardman, however, didn't seem to notice Donald's expression at all, though even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.

“If Father hadn’t passed the throne to you, but had made me the king instead, there wouldn’t be so much trouble now,” Hardman continued. “There wouldn’t be so many detours for me to regain the throne.”

Indeed, Hardman's true aim was to seize the throne. No one knew this except himself and his two brothers, Donald and Hartman.

When he first went to sea and joined the Navy, he used a false name, Hardman. He only changed it later. Ever since he became the commander of CP3, Ellendorff has been trying to revise his past experiences, using his position to gradually fabricate and perfect the identity of Hardman.

Currently, even in the World Government's records, there is no one named Ellison Wood, only Hardman's experiences from birth to joining the military and now as the commander of CP3.

So even the World Government didn't know that Hardman was just using the World Government to reclaim the kingdom that rightfully belonged to him.

Once everything is settled, and he uses his position to handle the aftermath and unearth the documents he buried, Hardman can transform himself back into Ellison Wood, resign his post, and ascend the throne.

Hardman has now taken an unconventional approach, forging a fifth path after Jack. Of course, no one else has been able to follow this path.

"So many years have passed, and you still can't let go of the throne," Donald sighed. "If this can be resolved smoothly, what harm is there in me relinquishing the throne?"

“My elder brother is more sensible than our father,” Hardman laughed. “Now we’ll see if he can revise the bill to be reasonable. If it weren’t for that damned bill stopping me, I could have solved these problems six or seven years ago.”

After Hardman left, Donald sat in his chair and muttered to himself, "Eren, oh Eren, you're so desperate for the throne that you'd do anything for it. Father foresaw your terrible nature, which is why he banished you and passed the throne to me."

"If you hadn't interfered, I would have been able to fight those gangs to the death once I had built up my army. What did it matter if I wiped out those gangs and faced the gallows after I was punished? Although I broke the law, I could still pass the throne to my child. I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to make sacrifices for the country, so you never thought I could."

Donald picked up his knife and fork again, and while forking his food, he thought, "I will eventually relinquish the throne, but Illum, you are not the new king."

Chapter Eighty: Lack of Courage and Strategy

When that disaster struck ten years ago, it didn't matter whether it was Donald or Hardman; they could only obediently submit to the mafia's manipulation.

Therefore, when Hardman called Donald a piece of trash, he was actually just venting his dissatisfaction.

As King Donald said, although Hardman had a deep obsession with the throne, he had no intention of sacrificing anything for it. Even after using the power of the World Government to control a sufficiently powerful armed force, he only engaged in conspiracies and tricks.

These actions seem to make Hardman appear wise and capable, both intellect and military strategy. However, what he lacks is a fighting spirit and a dedication.

Donald, however, was daring and reckless. Despite lacking real power, he was willing to take on responsibilities. Perhaps if Donald had launched a surprise attack, using the army to overpower the gang, he might have had a good chance of winning.

After all, who could have imagined that a puppet king who had always silently endured and meekly obeyed would disregard the kingdom's highest laws and dare to sacrifice himself to fight them?

A true man knows when to yield and when to retreat, is brave and daring, and is willing to sacrifice himself in crucial moments. It can only be said that their fathers were right in their judgment; even if Hardman possessed exceptional talent, Donald was still the most suitable to be king.

However, Hardman and the world government behind him sabotaged everything. Hardman's ambition drove him to want to control everything.

So he siphoned off the army from Donald, giving himself a force to exploit. He also established the Shadow, using it to balance the situation and profiting from selling various intelligence.

All of this is gradually strengthening Hardman's power, to the point that Hardman is now fully confident that he can take over the entire country.

Hardman's visit to Donald this time was completely unfounded. If we're talking about brotherhood, even he himself probably can't manage it; the two brothers have long since become estranged. Yet, the rift from years ago hasn't healed, and new conflicts have resurfaced. For these two brothers to reconcile would be a miracle.

So Hartman's visit to acknowledge his kinship was also intended to persuade Donald not to put up futile resistance, to obediently sign the new bill, and then to compliantly abdicate the throne to him. That was Hartman's true intention.

Hardman had been planning this for seven or eight years and hoped for a satisfactory outcome, completing the final performance without any surprises or incidents, so as not to make everyone unhappy.

After Donald reached an agreement, Hardman left satisfied. As for catching up on brotherhood, there was no time for that; he had many arrangements and deployments outside that required his attention.

However, what Hardman didn't know was that while Donald had printed out his request on the surface, he secretly looked down on Hardman. Even after more than twenty years apart, in Donald's eyes, Ellison Wood was still a brutal and incompetent man, lacking both courage and strategy.

Even now, having become Hardman, having laid out this deadly trap and seemingly on the verge of final victory, Donald sees no change; he remains the same—cowardly and reckless.

Why is it said that he lacks courage?

The reasons have been explained quite a bit before. Donald doesn't really care whether the army ultimately falls into the hands of the World Government or himself. As long as someone can wipe out those gangsters, it's not a big problem. Donald prioritizes the country and its people above all else.

Therefore, if Hardman had acquired the army and equipped it with advanced weapons from the World Government, plus the assistance of CP3, its combat power would have been much stronger than if Donald had the army.

But Hardman didn't have the courage. Even if Donald were to take the blame at the time, he wouldn't end up on the gallows. Hardman felt that acting rashly like that wasn't a safe bet.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the gangs became more wary after the army was removed from Donald's control. After all, if it wasn't a surprise attack, they could quickly organize a defense and counterattack.

But this was not enough to justify Hardman's fear of war. In Donald's eyes, every day this matter dragged on meant another day of suffering for his country and his people. At the time, their advantage was already significant enough; the gangs hadn't yet become aware enough to be training a new contingent of soldiers abroad.

Therefore, after these events, Donald was disappointed in his brother's courage and firmly labeled him as a coward.

So, the lack of courage is easy to explain, but where does the lack of strategy come from?

Hardman has been fighting for many years, and his ability to command small-scale operations and large-scale strategic battles is that of a seasoned veteran. He is excellent in both land and sea warfare.