One Piece Gunslinger

As Hatton expected, the Tempest Kick easily knocked away the flying silver needles, shattering them into a pile of mercury beads that scattered on the ground. Its momentum didn't wane; it continued to pierce through Yuri's body. However, it could only pass through Yuri's body, without causing any real damage. The cut area automatically healed itself after a short while.

After all, Hatton doesn't know Armament Haki, so this move looks impressive, but it's completely useless.

Yuri, unfazed by his ineffective attack, continued firing silver needles repeatedly. After all, it required almost no effort; he figured he'd eventually hit Hatton.

Hatton could only parry and dodge, trying to find opportunities to get close to Yuri. Yuri, in turn, wasn't just standing still and attacking; he maneuvered around Hatton on the limited deck of the ship.

However, this fight between the two caused great suffering to the other soldiers on deck. Sometimes Hatton could dodge, but the soldiers behind him could not. Like a fire at the city gate spreading to the moat, many soldiers were hit by Yuri's silver needles and cried out in pain.

However, Hatton didn't care about this at all. Instead, he was glad that Yuri hadn't used any more aggressive tactics in order to play it safe, which allowed him to hold out until now. He figured that if things continued like this, he would have dragged out enough time.

Thinking of this, Hatton shouted, leaped into the air, dodged a row of silver needles, and kicked straight at Yuri.

"Hmph! Finally couldn't take it anymore?" Yuri was delighted to see that Hatton had been at a loss with him for a long time and finally couldn't help but make a rash move. Without dodging or avoiding, he used both hands to shoot a series of flying needles at Hatton, who was kicking straight at him.

"Now, even if you want to hide, you can't completely avoid it."

Who knew that Hatton was ruthless to others, but even more ruthless to himself. Without even flinching, he protected his vitals with both hands and kicked the flying needles.

"What!?" Yuri was shocked to see Hatton kick him regardless of his own safety, but it was too late to dodge.

"boom!"

Although Hatton's body was covered in silver needles, his powerful kick still landed heavily on Yuri.

Then, the dozens of silver needles inserted into Hatton's body disappeared simultaneously, and Hatton leaned weakly against the mast. Blood gushed from dozens of small wounds at the same time, truly a torrent of blood.

"How foolish." Yuri was kicked hard and wasn't feeling well either, but it was much better than what Hatton was going through. "You risked your life just to kick me. I wonder how long you can last like this."

With that, Yuri transformed his body into elemental form once more and stood up again.

Hatton remained silent, for he had already dragged things out long enough and had completed his task.

Otherwise, once this group arrives, Yuri will definitely realize that Hatton is stalling for time and will naturally be on guard.

Once everyone was in position, Hatton shouted, "Everyone, listen up! Shoot him!" The soldiers who had been standing around hadn't expected to be involved, but since their commander had given the order, they fired.

As he spoke, Hatton, enduring the pain throughout his body, followed up with a powerful Tempest Kick.

"He clearly knows that firearms are ineffective against me, so why did he still order people to shoot?" Yuri became more vigilant, turning his body into an elemental form while keeping a close eye on Hatton's movements.

What could Hatton possibly do but unleash a Tempest Kick? However, this Tempest Kick was a little different. With this kick, Hatton flung out the Seastone from the sole of his shoe, followed by a slash that flew towards Yuri.

"So that's how it is. Is this your method? Luckily, I have good eyesight, or I would have really fallen victim to this attack." Facing the storm kick mixed with a piece of sea stone, Yuri didn't dare to be careless and quickly jumped to the side.

Once a user encounters Seastone, they will temporarily lose their powers. If Yuri truly loses his powers, he will be riddled with bullets.

Seeing that Yuri had seen through the Seastone he had hidden in Lan's foot, he showed no disappointment whatsoever. Instead, he smiled and shouted, "Now!"

Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Winning Weapon

At Hatton's command, Yuri, who hadn't even gotten his footing, was instantly caught in a large net. "Oh no! There's seastone in this net!"

What Hardman gave Hatton was simple: a seastone net and a cannon to launch it. This was Hardman's winning weapon.

The last battle showed Hardman the terrifying power of Yuri's Mercury-Gilt Fruit. Although Yuri's fighting skills and Haki training were inferior to another formidable enemy, Maxim, the Mercury-Gilt Fruit made him extremely difficult to deal with. Especially on the battlefield, its destructive power far surpassed that of Maxim.

Even if Francis were still alive, dealing with the Mercury-Mercury Fruit wouldn't be easy. After all, Francis uses it more for defense than offense. Besides, where on this vast ocean could they find soil for Francis? Were they going to haul a whole ship full of soil for him? And with Hardman also busy dealing with Maxim, Yuri really had no match.

Therefore, Hardman had long been troubled by Yuri, his adversary, and had been racking his brains over it.

However, since Yuri is a Devil Fruit user, he has weaknesses. Unlike Maxim, who can only fight head-on, he can be dealt with in some ways.

In other words, after much thought, the best way to deal with Yuri is still to rely on Seastone.

Although Hardman had considered the possibility that Yuri and Maxim would be perfectly blasted into the sea before they even reached him in his original plan, this was merely a contingency plan in case the two broke through the defenses and engaged in close-quarters combat.

This very insurance measure has now become Hardman's hope for a comeback. Not only have he failed to achieve any of his previous objectives, but Francis is dead, and he's been outmaneuvered by Jack. It's fair to say that the situation has deteriorated considerably for him.

If we can seize this opportunity to capture Yuri alive, the situation will be reversed in an instant.

That's why Hardman entrusted this thing to Hatton so solemnly, essentially placing his hopes on Hatton.

Hatton was not only ambitious, but also capable. He proved to Hardman with his actions that he had made the right bet this time.

Hatton successfully outmaneuvered one of the most troublesome enemies through cunning, defeating Yuri, who had always been in command, with his wisdom.

Ever since Hatton received that item, he understood that while the net was very effective against Yuri, it was useless if it couldn't hit its target. And getting the net over Yuri's head would be no easy task.

Moreover, there is only one chance. Once this shot misses, there will be no more opportunities. Yuri will absolutely not let Hatton use this net a second time.

After thinking it over, Hatton told one of his guards what his plan was.

Then he took out a net from the cannon barrel, removed the two small pieces of seastone, and embedded them into the soles of his shoes. This step was also to ensure that he had a fighting chance when facing Yuri, and to stall until the plan was implemented.

Afterwards, Hatton handed the cannon to his personal guard, who then took a small boat to the large ship where Yuri was, and waited for Hatton's signal before sneaking onto the deck.

Hatton certainly wouldn't just jump over there carrying a cannon barrel. Imagine if a general carried a cannon barrel and used Moonwalk to rush up to you—what would you think? Anyone could see that this cannon barrel was definitely something special, something extraordinary, otherwise, he wouldn't have carried it over with such solemnity.

Therefore, Hatton had to minimize the cannon's presence, ultimately ensuring Yuri was completely unaware and unprepared, thus creating any hope of ensnaring him. Everything Hatton did afterward revolved around this crucial point.

What followed was the scene of Hatton leaping forward to fight Yuri. Hatton's first surprise attack was also to send a message to Yuri: that Hatton possessed Seastone.

Yuri naturally picked up on this information and chose to slowly wear down Hatton. This gave the guard time to gradually board the ship.

In the ensuing battle, this information became deeply ingrained in Yuri's mind, like a powerful suggestion, causing Yuri to constantly focus his attention on Hatton, who possessed Seastone.

Hatton's subsequent attack, inflicting 200 casualties on the enemy while also suffering 1000 casualties himself, showed a significant difference in damage between the two. While it appeared to be a reckless attack, it was also intended to mislead Yuri, demonstrating that he wasn't simply stalling for time. Simultaneously, he estimated that his personal guards should be in position by now, and to significantly divert Yuri's attention, he had to sacrifice himself, employing a feint. This move successfully allowed the guards carrying the cannons to blend into the crowd.

The dozens of mercury needles inserted into his body were meant to distract Yuri and reduce the presence of others; Hatton had gone to great lengths.

When his bodyguards arrived, Hatton ordered everyone to open fire, a strange order that naturally aroused Yuri's suspicion. Hatton did this on purpose, his aim still being to draw Yuri's attention.

After that, Hatton unleashed a powerful kick infused with sea stone, taking this core principle to its extreme.

Yuri, through a series of calculations, had already focused all his attention on Hatton, and this kick successfully led Yuri to believe that Hatton was trying to use this dirty trick to get him riddled with holes.

Of course, if Yuri hasn't fully focused on Hatton's little trick by now, Hatton wouldn't mind if Yuri got riddled with bullets.

Among this group, only the guards understood that when Hatton said "Fire," "Shoot," and "Fire," they would pretend to carry the cannon barrel on their shoulders but not actually fire. Only when Hatton shouted, "Now!" was the actual order to fire given.

Hatton dragged his injured body to Yuri's side, looked at the once-powerful and formidable enemy lying before him, and sighed, "Cuff him."

In this brief exchange, Hatton's strength was far inferior to Yuri's, but the final winner was Hatton, who had not been taken seriously by Yuri before.

Through this elaborate scheme, Hatton set trap after trap for Yuri, trap after trap, and trap after trap. It's a situation that makes one think.

In Hardman's mind, was this so-called winning formula the seastone net, or the ambitious General Hatton?

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Situation... Did Not Reverse

Yuri only realized that all the man's actions were an act, meant to lure him into the net, when he was completely enveloped and felt utterly powerless.

However, Yuri wasn't angry at all. In his many years in the underworld, he'd seen countless gang leaders fall; as the saying goes, what goes around comes around. Yuri had expected this day to come. Even as two soldiers nervously pinned him to the ground, he looked up at Hatton and said with composure:

"I was careless this time. I didn't expect that you would have someone like this besides Hardman. May I ask your name?"

"Hatton".

“Oh, Mr. Hatton, if you don’t get treatment soon, you might bleed too much.” Yuri didn’t care that the soldiers had tied him up and handcuffed him with sea stone handcuffs. He smiled and said to Hatton, “But I’d like to remind you that my mercury is poisonous. It would be best to deal with it as soon as possible.”

As soon as Yuri finished speaking, everyone remembered this: Hatton had devised a plan to capture Yuri alive, but their own situation was not optimistic. Their wounds were still bleeding profusely, so they hurriedly went to call a doctor.

Hatton didn't try to be brave; he knew his own body well. So, several doctors treated his wounds on the spot, saying as they did so, "Thank you for your concern, but you should take care of yourself first."

"Worried about myself?" Game shook his head. "No, no, no, from the moment I left the shore, I knew we might all die here. Nobody dared to say they were guaranteed a 100% victory. We even felt the odds were against us. And now we're in the lead, entirely thanks to Jack, aren't we?"

“Jack? I’m afraid Jack isn’t one of you guys either,” Hatton said, enduring the pain.

Yuri wasn't buying Hatton's act at all: "Hey, don't think you can get any information out of me. For the past ten years or so... wait, you're not thinking of using me to control my remaining troops, are you? Don't even think about it, and of course it's impossible. The only point of you capturing me is that we lose one man, that's all."

Hatton, with a pale face and a look of surprise, asked, "Why not? Aren't you afraid of death?"

Yuri calmly replied, "I'm afraid, of course I'm afraid. Maybe you'll torture me a little and I won't be able to hold back and confess everything. But even if I wanted to, it wouldn't matter. From the moment we set off, my men no longer belong to me, or rather, everyone's men have become everyone's men."

It turned out that the moment Yuri received the message from Jack, Yuri and the other two big shots simultaneously realized the seriousness of the situation.

In their assessment, this final battle was extremely risky. Even with Jack acting as an inside man and helping to pass on Hardman's plan, Yuri and the others were still uncertain.

Who would have thought that things would go so smoothly? Everyone underestimated the "small favor" Jack had done, which led to both sides being tricked by Jack.

Therefore, the three of them felt that to win this battle, they had to unite as one and work together towards a common goal. If any one of them dragged the other down, the whole thing would be over.

The three were always outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds. They came from three different places, commanded three different troops, and had various conflicts and collaborations. Their complex relationship was something even they themselves couldn't understand.

Everyone knows perfectly well that achieving a shared goal is incredibly difficult.

However, three heads are better than one, and these three weren't stupid. They pondered together for a while, looking troubled, and finally came up with a way to force everyone to work together.

The core principle of this method is that the three of us may not be of one mind, but our subordinates must be. This is actually a bit of a shortcut, a compromise.

So the three of them gathered their men and, on stage, jointly issued a declaration stating that from now until the end of the war, each person's men would be under the temporary command of their commander, and no one else would be allowed to interfere. Furthermore, if any leader were to die in the war or be captured, the remaining men would go and live under other leaders.

If others issue orders that contradict the commander, then the commander's orders shall prevail. Regardless of whose subordinate you are, you must listen to the commander first. However, the commander cannot use this as an excuse to harm friendly forces.

The three of them made statements and oaths on stage, so no one else dared to have any objections. The leaders of those small gangs could only follow suit and make the same statements and oaths.

In the underworld, you still need to uphold oaths and loyalty. Since the work is inherently shady, if you lose even that, the gang will be nothing.

So this certainly works. From top to bottom, on this battlefield, there are no longer any original factions; everyone speaks with one unified voice.

Even if those in higher positions are shameless, having climbed the ranks for years and capable of breaking their oaths, the lower-ranking soldiers will always keep their promises. Perhaps this is why loyalty often lies with those from humble backgrounds.

So even if Yuri succumbs to the torture inflicted by Hatton and Hardman, and incites his men to defect, those who originally belonged to Yuri will not waver in the slightest; they will only despise Yuri's treachery.

Yuri explained the current situation of the coalition forces to Hatton. But Hatton was still persistent and asked, "After all that explanation, aren't you the commander?"

“What a joke! What kind of commander would rush to the front lines instead of sitting on the flagship to give orders?” Yuri shook his head and said, “We three are also the three commanders, and I am the first commander. When I’m not here, the command passes to the second commander, and when the second commander is not here, it passes to the third. So right now, the one in command on the flagship is Vasily of the Wolf Fang Gang. Since you’re here to deal with me, it means that it’s the one who can control the earth.”

This is different from what Hardman had envisioned. In Hardman's initial plan, there were significant gaps between the three major factions and their numerous smaller groups, making long-term cooperation impossible, or even feasible.

However, while the three men were indeed not of one mind, they managed to unite their group of subordinates. Just as Yuri had said, capturing him was of little use; at least it reduced the number of enemies.

Moreover, because Hardman has taken action against Maxim, this side is now in a state of being without command, unlike the gang, and the situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable.

This is precisely why Yuri proposed the risky attack, drawing out Hardman and Francis. (They didn't know Francis was dead, otherwise Yuri wouldn't have taken the risk.) It was to leave Hardman's army without anyone in command, thereby increasing the chances of victory.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Command

"Are you so sure we're out of command now? We still have someone named Francis on the flagship commanding us." Although Hatton sensed something was wrong, he wasn't about to back down and continued to ask.

“So his name is Francis!” Yuri said. “If Francis, whom you fought with last time, were still alive, you wouldn’t be the one capturing me. Knowing Hardman as I do, he would definitely take a more cautious approach. Don’t be fooled by your capture; the process was incredibly dangerous, wasn’t it? Your strength is far inferior to Francis’s last encounter with me. If any step had gone wrong, you would be the one lying here.”