One Piece Gunslinger

“Cooperation isn’t out of the question, but tell me, why don’t I take you out first, and then we can cooperate with the rest?” Hatton hesitated for a moment before asking.

“If you kill me, we will lose one more strong person who can deal with Jack. Maybe it’s just because of this one person that we will still be wiped out by Jack in the end. Now, facing the cunning Jack, ordinary people are no longer of much use. Only strong people of my level can be of use.”

"Tch, a strongman, huh? I've already captured him." Hatton said with a disdainful look.

"Yes, yes, you're amazing, alright?" Yuri said. "But I have a feeling that Jack hasn't come back for a long time. He can't have just been waiting there doing nothing. He must be planning something big. We have to be careful."

However, Hatton remained wary after hearing this and pulled out a sharp knife, pressing it against Yuri's chest. Yuri, on the other hand, appeared relaxed, seemingly unconcerned that Hatton would actually kill him.

“But I don’t think that’s enough reason for me to let you off the hook. I think if Jack dares to come, with his two thousand men, we can handle him no matter what he does.”

“Hey, right. Jack only has two thousand men.” Yuri said dismissively. “Back when Maxim and I had more than ten thousand men together, you thought the same thing. Hardman thought the same thing when he invited Jack after kidnapping Donald. As you can see, Jack still has two thousand men, while we have lost countless numbers of two thousand men between us.”

After hearing this, Hatton turned pale (so if you've lost too much blood, go and rest properly). He understood that Yuri was right. Now, facing the treacherous Jack, even if the two sides joined forces, they might not be able to deal with him. They didn't know what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

Hatton sighed, put away the dagger, took out a key from his pocket, and unlocked Yuri's handcuffs.

"I hope I won't regret this decision later."

After the handcuffs fell off, Yuri cracked his knuckles and said, "I don't know if you'll regret this later, but I know that if you don't let me go, you'll regret it soon."

Hatton's decision to release Yuri was as swift as storming into the command center, without consulting Hardman at all. He made the decision entirely based on his own judgment, and even on such a momentous matter as releasing Yuri and cooperating with him, he didn't consult Hardman.

So when Hardman saw Yuri being released, even though he knew that Hatton's two actions were reasonable, he couldn't help but feel somewhat dissatisfied.

But now is not the time to dwell on that. The most urgent task is to get everyone to stop fighting and prepare for Jack's impending attack. We can settle the score with Hatton later, after everything is settled.

At that moment, on the edge of the battlefield, a soldier, in close combat, had cut down the last gang member who boarded the ship. He was now leaning against the gunwale, panting heavily. The others followed his example, savoring these precious few minutes of respite.

He gazed at the distant sea in the darkness, in a windless zone. The sea under the moonlight was so calm and peaceful, a stark contrast to the fierce battlefield on the other side.

Just as he was about to marvel at the tranquility of nature and the anxieties of humankind, a wave inexplicably appeared on the calm sponge in the distance.

Chapter 102 It's You I've Decided

"I actually support the path of cooperation. However, since we're going to cooperate, we also need to establish some basic principles. For example, we must not attack each other before we take care of Jack, and if Jack is in trouble, we cannot stand idly by because of past grudges." Hardman straightened his clothes and stated his position first.

Maxim also stopped, saying, "That makes sense, we..."

Just then, a loud bang interrupted Maxim's speech. Everyone turned around in surprise and saw that a large ship had been shattered into several pieces in the direction from which the sound came.

"boom!"

With this loud bang, not only were the four people's attention diverted, but everyone who could hear the sound involuntarily scratched their heads and looked in that direction. And those who saw the scene all stopped what they were doing, staring wide-eyed intently in that direction.

In one of Hardman's fleets, a standard ship was easily torn to pieces. And the culprit that could do this was a serpentine creature with a body almost as thick as the ship.

"How could such a large sea monster appear in this shallow sea?!"

This is what everyone is thinking at this moment.

Upon seeing this, Yuri muttered to himself, "Is this Jack's last resort? I didn't expect him to be able to lure such a large sea king here."

That's right, this is how Jack carefully navigated the sea and used Fujitora's powerful Observation Haki, which could reach the seabed, to search for a long time before finally finding his "target".

Just as everyone suspected, this giant sea serpent was indeed a large sea king. However, a sea king of average size wouldn't be enough to wipe them all out. Hardman's army was used to defending against sea king attacks and had years of experience dealing with them. Ordinary sea kings certainly couldn't inflict much damage on them; they would be driven away or killed.

Large sea monsters, however, are not so easy to deal with. One of them suddenly appeared from behind and easily destroyed a ship with just a greeting.

However, it's almost impossible for large sea kings to appear near the coast, especially in this shallow area where they are. It's riddled with reefs, the seabed is uneven, and the deepest point is only about two hundred meters. Even ordinary sea kings might risk getting stranded, let alone large ones.

However, the clever Jack had made thorough preparations and had already considered this aspect. The moment Haku took Sergei down, the sea area where the two armies clashed was no longer a dangerous place with reefs and uneven seabed.

Even now, Hardman and Yuri, along with Maxim and Vasily of the Wolf Fang Gang, have overlooked a crucial point: this battlefield is no longer the battlefield Hardman chose, but the battlefield Jack chose.

Jack made no changes to the area near the first line of defense, instead focusing all of Sergei's efforts on the sea area in front of Hardman's second line of defense.

What does this mean? It means that the "geographical advantage" has always been firmly in Jack's hands, and Hardman's geographical advantage has become a joke. Jack did not trick Hardman to give the gang an advantage; from the beginning, he wanted to turn this sea area into a battlefield.

"Impossible! Even ordinary sea monsters wouldn't come to this place, let alone large sea kings!" Hardman finally couldn't help but shout out.

The others didn't say anything, but their expressions were also rather unpleasant.

Maxim thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh and said, "Ah, I finally understand why when we arrived at your second line of defense, the ships we sent out to scout didn't run into any reefs. It's because there are no reefs for us to run into now."

Yuri shook his head and said, "At the time, we only thought that Jack had tricked Hardman behind his back, but we didn't think any further. The deeper layer is that this battlefield was carefully prepared and selected by Jack, just waiting for us to come in."

Yes, Sergei's workload was actually quite large. He leveled this entire vast ocean, and just tidying it up almost made him faint from exhaustion.

As for lowering the entire seabed by one level, even if Sergei worked himself to death, he couldn't accomplish that. Not only had he only just obtained this one fruit, but he hadn't even really developed it yet.

Therefore, even if Jack wanted to attract large sea kings, he couldn't do it just because it was easy; there were still many limitations. Fujitora said that he "really had too many requirements."

It wasn't that Jack wanted to ask for too much, but the terrain was just the best it could offer, so he had to be more demanding. For example, the target couldn't be too small; a small target, with two families and so many cannons combined, would be taken out in a few shots and wouldn't be very effective.

If it's too big, no matter how Jack tries to lure it, it won't enter that area. After Sergei leveled the land, it became flat, but it was essentially filling in the lower areas with higher ones. The original maximum depth of 200 meters is now generally 100 meters.

Although they are beasts, they still possess a certain level of intelligence, and at the very least, they have instincts. They would never venture into dangerous places; it would be a miracle if they were lured here. Moreover, even if they were lured here, they could only act cute; once they're stranded, what fighting power do they have?

In addition to these requirements, there are a series of other demands. For example, it must be bloodthirsty, not too docile; ideally, it should sniff out the smell of blood and charge into battle. It must look intimidating, not too cute, so as to intimidate others at first glance. It must be agile; if it's too clumsy, it's an easy target, and even a large sea king couldn't withstand a concentrated barrage of fire. It must rely on ferocity; after being injured, its first thought shouldn't be to run, but rather to unleash its ferocity, becoming even more ferocious in battle. And so on.

Everyone was utterly overwhelmed by Jack's numerous demands. Where did all these reasons come from? He seemed to know the habits of various creatures like the back of his hand, and even used some professional terms that they had never heard of before.

Jack could only shake his head and sigh. What a pitiful kid, never even seen Zhao Zhongxiang's "Animal World" in this wretched place. It's a pity there isn't a similar program about sea monsters here, otherwise Jack would definitely watch every episode.

Anyway, after much deliberation, Jack finally found this giant sea serpent that perfectly met all his requirements.

Although large, its body is much "slender" compared to other large sea kings, so there's no need to worry about it running aground. Moreover, it's agile enough, intimidating enough, and ferocious enough.

"Absolutely perfect, you're the one, Sea Serpent Beast!"

Chapter 103 Fighting the Boss

Well, the giant sea serpent that Jack decided on has really caused trouble for both groups. Just as Yuri had predicted, ordinary people can only hide in the back and attack with artillery fire; if they get hit, they die, and if they get close, they are injured. Only Maxim, Vasily, and Hardman can hold their own against it, and they dare not face the sea serpent's attack head-on.

As for Yuri, he was naturally on the boat, directing the crew to steer and fire while dodging enemy fire. Someone had to come and unite this disorganized group, right? If they couldn't organize an effective artillery barrage, then once the three couldn't hold out, they'd all be finished.

In other words, the three of them act as tanks, while Yuri's artillery fire is the main DPS. It's not that the three can't deal damage to the Sea Serpent, but rather that they need to be careful to keep it under control and prevent it from over-aggroing. If the Sea Serpent ignores them and attacks other ships, things will get complicated.

Of the four, why was it Yuri who went down to command, while the other three were left to hold off the sea serpent? The reason is simple: Yuri is an outdated ability user. The nearby ships were retreating as far as possible, with no foothold to be found. The others could only use Moonwalk or similar techniques to hover in the air and tremble with the sea serpent, occasionally landing to rest.

If Yuri were to go up there, he'd be blown to bits in a second. Sending a Devil Fruit user to fight a Sea King in the ocean is just plain stupid. Unless he's incredibly powerful and can easily defeat a Sea King, this is just suicide.

It feels like a four-person team fighting a boss right now. It would be even more fun if someone else jumped in to PK and steal the boss.

Unfortunately, Jack wasn't the kind of player with low character; he had absolutely no interest in PvP or stealing bosses. Why steal bosses?! PvP is enough; there's no need to fight over bosses.

However, with Jack's current force of two thousand, going up to fight would just be suicide. These guys, having spent so much time in the Calm Belt, were able to handle even large sea monsters with remarkable composure. With their close cooperation, it was only a matter of time before the boss was defeated, and judging from the current situation, it was unlikely to inflict any further significant losses on them.

But that's alright. If we lack strength, we can make up for it with numbers. Men and women working together makes the work easier.

What does this mean? It means that Jack didn't just bring in one sea serpent, he attracted a pair of bosses. Jack guesses they live in the same lair, and they're even a couple!

So, just when everyone thought that they had escaped unscathed and would successfully thwart Jack's plot, another familiar loud bang occurred, this time with the same familiar figure, the same formula, and the same flavor.

A second giant sea serpent appeared before everyone's eyes.

Everyone's eyes widened again, almost popping out of their sockets.

"What the heck! Why is there a second large sea king?!"

Indeed, in most people's minds, encountering even one Sea King would be a huge surprise. I don't know what to say about Jack; he actually dared to provoke two Sea Kings. Wasn't he afraid of capsizing halfway through?

So, how exactly did Jack lure these two Sea Kings? What method did he use? This battle is hopeless. What the hell is going to happen? How are we going to deal with these two Sea Kings now?

These thoughts swirled in everyone's minds, and a strong sense of powerlessness arose in each person's heart.

But no matter how desperate they were, they still had to struggle. Yuri and the others hadn't reached the point where they could just sit and wait to die. Despite their headaches and the pressure, they managed to send half of their team to deal with the second Sea King.

This time, things weren't as easy as before. They were struggling to cope, and crises kept arising.

"You're so smart, knowing those two would team up. One sea king wouldn't be enough; they'd need two. But how did you know they'd team up?" Haku said, still shaken, as he looked at the spectacle in the distance.

As for why he was still shaken, it was because Haku had lured both sea snakes into the sea. He led the two sea snakes into the midst of the two armies, and then Haku swam back while they were fighting.

Thinking about it carefully, the only person who can do this job and move freely in the sea is Haku, a member of the Fish-Man race. This shows how important it is to have a Fish-Man partner in this ocean. Many things can only be done by Haku. In Jack's tactical system, he is undoubtedly the MVP.

"Also, you actually made me lure a large sea king. Thinking about it now, it's just insane. I'll never do that again. It's bad for my heart." To be honest, Haku has spent most of his life in the water, and this is the first time he's felt that the underwater world is so terrifying.

"Oh, the capable should do more," Jack comforted her. "Besides, hasn't Fujitora been using his abilities to delay them all along? There's really nothing to be afraid of; they can't catch up."

At this moment, Fujitora, who was standing to the side, also became unhappy. He wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and said, "You make it sound like I easily suppressed two large sea kings. I was exhausted the whole way here."

"Hey, I'm not well-educated, don't lie to me. I didn't even sweat, okay? I'm not tired at all." Although this was what Jack really thought, he didn't dare to say it out loud. He could only say, "You've worked hard too. I'll cook buckwheat noodles for you every day when we get back. I'll make whatever you want to eat. I'm a great cook."

"what about me?"

"Same as above, same treatment."

"Wait, I still haven't answered my question. How did you know they would team up?" Haku was very satisfied with Jack's promise, but he still hadn't answered his previous question.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jack said.

“I tricked both of them, but the two families have an information asymmetry. As long as they find an opportunity to exchange information, they can figure it out. I planned all of this in advance. If they had thought of this, would they still have treated us like weaklings? Of course not. They would definitely have been careful to deal with our countermeasures.”

"That's why you're certain they'll join forces."

Jack continued to explain, "No, not at all. I can only guarantee that they will definitely deal with us cautiously and won't dare to underestimate us like before. However, as long as I bring the Sea Kings over, the two sides will be forced to join forces even if they don't fight each other. This alliance is inevitable."

"Alright, it's about time for us to make our move. All troops, listen up and follow me into battle."

"What does this PK (player versus player) mean?"

Chapter 104 Catching a Turtle in a Jar

"What? We're going to attack now? Shouldn't we let them continue to suffer losses first?" Seeing that Jack was about to order an attack, the group asked in confusion. Wouldn't it be better to let them fight a little longer?

“Well, there’s nothing I can do. I also wanted them to fight a little longer, until one side was destroyed,” Jack shrugged. “But I reckon they’ve already realized this is a battlefield I set up. Before, they could handle one sea serpent, taking it down with minimal effort. But now, facing two sea serpents, forcing a fight would inevitably result in heavy losses. By then, they’ll only have two or three wrecked ships left. How can they fight us then? So now they have no choice but to sacrifice their pawns to save their king.”

You mean they're going to run?

“That goes without saying. If you were in their shoes, you would run too,” Jack said. “I estimate that in a while they will send some men and some of the more damaged ships to hold off the two sea serpents, and then send the other ships to carry the remaining main force to escape. In this way, they will still be stronger than us, and Donald is still in their hands. No matter how you look at it, they still retain a certain advantage.”

“No, these two mere snakes are no match for me,” Fujitora then offered a different opinion.

Seeing that Fujitora was stubbornly arguing, Jack could only helplessly say, "Yes, yes, you're so great, now hurry up and block their retreat."

Under Jack's orders, two thousand men, piloting several ships, methodically set up their formation and blocked the retreat of Hardman, Yuri, and his men—the route from Hardman's first line of defense to his second.

As a poem says, "O ocean, you are all water."

So here's the question: the ocean is boundless, and logically speaking, it's surrounded by water on all sides, allowing for evacuation in every direction. Why did Jack choose to block this direction instead of ignoring the others?