One Piece Gunslinger

“I said, you didn’t do what you just said, so they really can’t tell that my nautical chart is fake,” Hardman laughed. “They will still think it’s real.”

Meanwhile, Haku had also completed his mission and, in his light sailboat, quickly circled the area.

"It's exactly as shown on the map. Every reef and rock is clearly marked, and there are no problems with the safe route." The first thing Haku did upon returning was to tell Jack about the results of his trip.

"Emma, ​​this nautical chart is actually real!" Jack said incredulously. "Are you sure you've investigated everything thoroughly, without missing anything, or adding or omitting anything?"

“That’s right, I’ve thoroughly investigated the entire area, and there are indeed no problems,” Haku said. “What’s so surprising about that? Isn’t this a perfectly normal thing?”

"That's really strange," Jack muttered to himself.

Fujitora chimed in, "What's so strange about that? Are you suggesting we get a fake nautical chart? If it were, wouldn't we have been able to find out about this place so easily? Telling such an easily debunkable lie, do you think he's the idiot or you are?"

“That’s true,” Jack nodded. “If a lie is too easy to spot, too easily exposed, then it’s worthless. So…”

"so?"

Jack said firmly, "This must be a fake nautical chart that we can't tell the difference from, but it's definitely something fishy."

Haku nearly fainted from anger. After talking for so long, he thought Jack was going to say something like, "This must be a real nautical chart." But instead, he said it was a fake nautical chart that he couldn't even tell was fake.

“Then tell me properly, where is this nautical chart fake?” Haku asked. “I carefully investigated every location to make sure there were no problems in this area before I came back.”

"That's why I said the counterfeiting technique is very sophisticated; we can't tell the difference," Jack said helplessly.

Haku was exasperated. Why wouldn't this guy believe that this was a real nautical chart? Was this some kind of paranoia?

Seeing the two arguing, Fujitora asked curiously, "Why are you so sure that Hardman will give us a fake nautical chart?"

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jack said, pursing his lips. “How can we allow someone else to sleep soundly beside our bed? We’re not on his side, so is he really an honest person? Isn’t he afraid we’ll reveal this, or that we’ll launch a sneak attack on him from behind?”

"That's true. Expecting Hardman to be an honest person is simply unrealistic," Fujitora nodded. If Hardman were an honest person, then no one in the world would be dishonest. Everyone would be a good-natured person, there would be no pirates, no oppression or struggle, and the whole world would rush into communism.

However, that's impossible, everyone knows that. Haku also said, "It doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with the chart. Maybe there's something else out there that's setting us up? Maybe there's something we don't understand waiting for us."

“No, no, no.” Jack shook his head vigorously, saying firmly, “There are only two places where they can cause me trouble.”

"One is supplies, and the other is nautical charts. That's all."

"I've just taken a detailed look at the supplies. After all, I'm a gun enthusiast and a chef by trade, so I do have some knowledge of guns and ammunition."

“So, according to my inspection, there are no abnormalities on the food or the guns,” Jack said, frowning. “That’s why I was so surprised when you came back saying the nautical chart was fine.”

The two of them began to murmur among themselves, "Could it be some kind of weird Devil Fruit ability? And then it's lurking in our food, poisoning us if we make any unusual movements?"

“That’s possible.” Jack couldn’t figure out what went wrong either, so he could only say helplessly, “Anyway, there must be something we haven’t noticed that allowed Hardman to take advantage of us.”

"So, our Captain Jack Sparrow also fell for his trick?" Haku said.

"What kind of time is this to be teasing me?" Jack rolled his eyes and said, "We've definitely fallen into his trap. The question now is how to get out of it."

Chapter 84 True or False

There must be something they've been tricked into, but Jack and the others just can't figure it out.

"So, should we give them this nautical chart?" Haku hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

"Here you go," Jack said irritably. "Give me a shovel. We should be careful until we figure out where we've been tricked."

“Alright, so what should we do now?” Fujitora asked. “This is different from our original plan.”

He Ku chimed in, "We wanted to incite the two sides to fight each other before, but if Hardman's reef formation succeeds, then we'll just have to watch Hardman unilaterally slaughter those gangsters."

"Haku, prepare the boat. I've decided to go and check it out myself." Jack hesitated for a while, then decided that this wasn't a good solution and decided to scout it out again. "Fujitora, you come along too. The reefs are all underwater; you might be more useful than our eyes."

Naturally, news of Jack leading his men to survey the surrounding terrain once again reached Hardman's ears. After all, Jack had never intended to conceal his whereabouts; it would be more troublesome to act covertly and be seen, so it was best to do everything openly and honestly.

"Oh? They went to investigate again?" Francis said. "They probably figured out the problem with your fake nautical chart."

“Hahaha, how could that be?” Hardman laughed. “Even if they examined it a hundred times, let alone a second thorough investigation, they still wouldn’t be able to see anything wrong. In the end, they would have no choice but to believe that it was a genuine nautical chart.”

Francis asked, puzzled, "Why is that? How did you manage to make a nautical chart so realistic? If they're still not satisfied after two attempts and try to steal our chart, won't we be exposed?"

"Expose it? Impossible," Hardman said confidently. "Even if they tried to steal it, the nautical chart would be exactly the same."

As expected, Jack went with two others this time, proving that three heads are better than one. Haku, the fish-man, was in charge of the underwater operations, Fujitora used his Observation Haki to probe the reefs, and Jack used his brain to analyze all the possibilities. The three of them performed their duties perfectly, cooperating flawlessly.

However, it was of no use.

Back in his cabin, Jack paced back and forth, saying, "This doesn't make sense. Could the problem be with the food? Or did I forget something that I didn't think of?"

"Should we steal their nautical charts under the cover of night? We can compare the two and it will be clear then?" Fujitora asked.

"No, no, no, I now think that even if we steal it, we'll still get the same nautical chart. The key is that it must be hidden very cleverly to avoid our detection." Jack dismissed the idea.

“Now let me sort all this out.” Jack plopped down in a chair, placed his hands on the table, crossed them in front of his face, and struck a classic pose reminiscent of Commander Ikari.

“First of all, when we first came in, they had their ships to meet us. We didn’t sail in directly; we followed the lead ship.” Jack started from the beginning, explaining step by step.

“Yes, now that I think about it, we must have taken the right route and avoided the reefs,” Haku chimed in.

“But,” Fujitora said doubtfully, “I remember that the route we took was exactly the same as the one on this nautical chart. Now that I think about it, we were following the route on the chart.”

“That’s right, the problem is that the route is exactly the same as the one on the nautical chart,” Jack said. “In other words, they’re using the same nautical chart, or a very similar one.”

Haku then spoke up: "If the nautical charts are exactly the same, or not much different, then what's fake about them?"

Jack remained in that position and said in a deep voice, "That's why I said earlier that we could only steal this one nautical chart. But what if we think about it from another angle? What if the problem isn't with the nautical chart itself?"

"Well, they're saying they'll come again. If they don't come out on the nautical chart, then they'll come out with the weapons and food they've brought."

“No, no, no, that’s not what I meant. I mean, the problem is still here, but they didn’t tamper with the charts; they tampered with other things.” Jack suddenly seemed to remember something.

"That's it! Now that I think about it carefully, when I talked to Hardman about how the enemy also had detailed nautical charts of this area, his plan would have been ruined. At that time, although he said he was prepared for a tough battle and heavy casualties, now that I think about it, his acting was very fake, and his expression was not natural enough. It was as if he was not worried about such a thing happening at all, or even if it happened, he wouldn't care, and he was very confident."

"You can spot this as fake? How amazing are you?" Haku retorted.

"Don't interrupt. Compared to me, Jack, this veteran actor, he's still too green."

Jack took the nautical chart and examined it carefully again, bit by bit: "This small island, just big enough for Donald to climb, faces Yutakana with shallow waters. There are also many reefs nearby. On the other hand, the side facing away from Yutakana is not far into the deep sea, where sea kings may be found, which can be considered a natural barrier. I suppose no one would think of going that way unless there is some special method, such as the navy. So Hardman only prepared defenses on this half, also anticipating that they would have no way to directly cross the deep sea in the calm zone."

"Think about it again. Hardman's strategic policy has already been communicated, and the soldiers have undergone corresponding training. This cannot be faked. In other words, Hardman really has this plan. Moreover, this strategy is obviously not going to be changed in the last day or two. Changing orders every now and then would be deceiving others and getting your own troops involved, which would definitely not be well received."

"Could it be?!" A figure flashed through Jack's mind at that moment.

Move to Hardman's office.

"You're saying that if they went to steal, they could only steal the exact same nautical chart?" Francis was truly baffled.

"That's natural, because the nautical charts we use are exactly the same as theirs. You could say that the nautical charts I gave them are the same ones we use now. Naturally, they can't find any problems with them."

“Oh my god,” Francis said. “Are you kidding me? It’s the same as a real nautical chart. So why are you calling it a fake nautical chart?”

“If you say he’s not fake, that’s not entirely wrong, at least not now,” Hardman said with a smug smile. “But if I want him to be fake, he will definitely become fake.”

Chapter 85 Breaking the Stalemate

"I see." Jack realized the key point and slammed his hand on the table. "To actually use such a method to deceive Captain Jack, Hardman really has some skill."

"Oh? You've figured it out?" Haku asked expectantly. "What exactly is going on here?"

"At first, I didn't expect that this nautical chart limited our imagination." Jack slapped the nautical chart, gritting his teeth, "They actually used a real nautical chart to fool me! I'm so angry!"

"What do you mean by trying to fool you with a real nautical chart?" Fujitora and Haku were completely baffled.

“Do you remember someone like this?” Jack asked.

……

"So all that talk, whether this plan succeeds or not ultimately depends on you, Francis," Hardman said, patting Francis on the shoulder.

"The day before the war begins, go outside the defense line and alter the terrain in the deep sea. Turn the original passageways into reefs, and dead ends into escape routes. Completely change the face of that seabed," Hardman said without room for argument.

“Are you kidding me?” Francis shook his head and said, “You expect me to use my abilities in the sea? I’d drown before I even make a move. Although I don’t need to be in direct contact with the soil, I can’t be too far away either. Controlling the seabed from the surface is something I clearly can’t do.”

"Don't worry, I know that Devil Fruit users can't swim," Hardman said unhurriedly. "That's why I recently pulled strings everywhere and finally managed to get you an underwater work suit from the Science Unit."

"Underwater work suits?"

"That's right, it's like a full-body suit of iron armor, with a tank full of oxygen on its back. The face is made of high-strength glass. Although it's a bit cumbersome, at least it's safe. We've tested it, and it still guarantees the safety of the people inside, even at depths of thousands of meters. This equipment is more than enough for you to operate underwater."

"So they've developed something like that? That's amazing! Ever since I ate the Devil Fruit, I haven't been in the water. Now I can actually go down to the bottom of the sea!" Francis said excitedly upon hearing this.

"But why leave a way out? Wouldn't it be better to seal it off completely?"

Hardman gave a cruel smile: "Then they'll run away. How can they obediently pay the price in blood if we don't give them some hope?"

“Jack, still lamenting about sacrifice? Impossible. My plan, Hardman, is flawless. How could there be any sacrifice? Close combat is out of the question. No matter how powerful Yuri's Devil Fruit ability is, he'll still die if he falls into the water. He can't escape my grasp.”

Francis exclaimed, "Commander Hardman is indeed exceptionally intelligent."

"That's why I'm the superior."

……

"I didn't know there was such a thing," Haku exclaimed in surprise. "But how do they use Devil Fruit abilities underwater?"

“That’s easy,” Jack said helplessly. “Your poverty and backwardness have really limited your imagination. The World Government has the world’s strongest research team, you know. Researching submarines and diving suits isn’t too difficult for them. I even understand the principles behind those things.”

As he spoke, Jack gave a brief explanation of the principles behind things like submarines and diving suits.

"I think it's a waste of your talent that you're not a scientist," Fujitora praised after hearing this.

Jack curled his lip, thinking, "Someone like me who barely passed math, physics, and chemistry in the college entrance exam can understand the simple things, but I shouldn't embarrass myself by showing off the advanced stuff. Not to mention there's a lot of advanced technology in the One Piece world."

Jack continued, "Hardman will definitely make some modifications the day before the final battle. That's why he doesn't care whether there are still nautical charts for this area outside. Anyway, by then, everyone's nautical charts will be fake, so it doesn't matter."

“Yes,” Haku nodded. “If we retaliate afterward and stab us in the back, we won’t come out unscathed. We won’t be able to escape either.”

"So here's the problem, what should we do?" Jack thought he understood the key point, but now he didn't know how to solve it.

"Thinking about problems is troublesome, but solving problems is easy, isn't it?" Haku said at this moment. "Didn't you also say that if you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who raised the problem?"

"When the hell did I say such a thing? Don't talk nonsense. How could the always gentle and refined Captain Jack say such violent things?" Jack quickly retorted, "If the records and reports are inaccurate, you will be held responsible."

“I can vouch for you, you said those words,” Fujitora added from the side.

Well, Jack doesn't even know exactly when he said that. Anyway, he talks a lot of witty remarks, so it's not unreasonable for this kind of thing to come out of his head.

Fujitora also asked, "So, should we deal with that person who can control the soil now?"

Jack thought for a moment and said, "We definitely need to resolve this, but even if we defeat that person, it doesn't seem like we can turn the tide of the war in our favor. We'll just be thwarting Hardman's scheme. What have we gained? Nothing, comrades."

Haku, looking at Blood Jack, curled his lip and said, "Isn't that too greedy? Isn't breaking the enemy's schemes a benefit? Letting the two sides fight to the death is the same as us gaining something?"