One Piece Gunslinger

"report!"

"What's wrong? Jack's here?"

“Yes, yes,” said the guard who came to report. “But the lookout saw that Jack’s ships have increased. There are 16 ships coming toward us.”

"W-what?!" Everyone exclaimed in shock. "Where did Jack find this bunch of men?"

"This... I don't know." The guard could only answer, sweating profusely, when asked by his superior.

"Alright, you can leave now. Pass the word down that preparations are in place for battle." Hardman's expression was grave. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the man.

"How is that possible? How could Jack still be hiding a unit?" Yuri was completely baffled and paced anxiously back and forth in the room.

"Can you stop going back and forth like this?" Maxim was getting a little impatient. "Just tell me how to fight now. I'm not good enough. Even if we put aside our past grievances and team up, we still can't beat Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Sigh, something's definitely fishy. Jack hasn't revealed this team before, and their role is probably beyond our imagination."

A cold wind howled across the vast sea. After a night of fierce fighting, the sky, finally unable to withstand the commotion, began to brighten. The two fleets, separated by distance, were about to bring even more chaos to the sea.

When Jack was still some distance from the range of both armies' firepower, he stopped advancing and began to spread out laterally. By then, the rest of the team had reached the deck and were ready for battle.

"What the heck! Aren't I one of our standard-issue ships?" Hardman exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the unfolding fleet.

Vasily was also surprised: "What's going on? My One-Eyed Ship is also in their hands, and that other one, I remember it was Yuri's ship, right?"

"These extra ships are the ones we left behind to hold back the two giant sea serpents. Did Jack chase the two sea serpents away and fish them out?"

"How is this possible? These two sea snakes are not Jack's pets. They can come and go as they please. We can't do anything to them easily. How did Jack manage to do it?"

Just when everyone was incredulous, the fleet, which had been spread out in a semi-circle, finally made a move.

"Roman, stop being so stubborn. Following Captain Jack and Prince Sergei is the only way out."

"Clownie, if they could abandon me before, they can abandon you next."

"Brothers, you'll get a full stomach if you follow Captain Jack Sparrow, but you'll get nothing if you follow Hardman."

"Surrender, David. Jack won't make things difficult for us."

The shouts, carried across the tranquil sea, reached Hardman and his men. Seeing that some soldiers were already wavering, the group was also at a loss, caught off guard by this unexpected blow.

Jack was worried that the sound wouldn't be loud enough, so he got a lot of simple loudspeakers, which, together with the ship's existing broadcast system, were enough to ensure that the shouts could be heard clearly.

"Ignore them and cheer up!" Hardman shouted, and the others followed suit, hoping this would keep their men from being influenced by Jack.

However, the voices of a few people were no match for the shouts of thousands. Amidst the calls for surrender, many soldiers showed signs of confusion, and some even lost their grip on their weapons.

It turned out that after Hardman and the others abandoned most of their men and fled with a few ships, Jack led his fleet into the fray.

Those who had been abandoned were already filled with despair, but seeing Jack trying to break in only intensified their despair. They were almost ready to give up and wait for death.

When Jack rushed in, he didn't attack them. Instead, he forcefully drove back the two sea serpents and rescued them.

Of course, Jack only did a small part, directing everyone to fire two shots, just to make a show of it. The main thing was to start testing the "capable ones" on one side.

The sea snake pressed down hard on what lay ahead, but didn't obstruct what lay behind. After several such attempts, the animal, which possessed a certain level of intelligence, finally gave up on the pile of food and retreated dejectedly after several failed attempts and experiencing the life-threatening situation repeatedly.

It has to be said that these large sea kings are incredibly strong; even Fujitora had some difficulty suppressing them with his powers. He complained that he was exhausted and wanted more compensation from Jack.

Then it was Sergei's turn to appear. Jack forcefully pushed him to the forefront, making Sergei deliver an inspiring speech over the loudspeaker, urging people to do good, in front of everyone.

These men were initially in despair, exhausted from a night of fighting and abandoned by their teammates. Sergei's arrival was a lifeline, giving them renewed hope for life.

So everyone swore allegiance to His Highness Sergei, and some who were originally of sound mind were also confused and followed suit in this atmosphere. Under this effect, the concept was implanted in everyone's mind that Sergei should be the only wise ruler in the kingdom and the hope for the future.

Afterwards, Jack led his men to help them repair the ships. Some ships were simply too difficult to repair in a short time, so the people on board were transferred to ships that were still operational.

Finally, they enjoyed a delicious meal before, keeping track of the time, and led a group of people to Hardman's second line of defense.

Winning hearts and minds is the best strategy; conquering cities is the next best.

Jack never considered that these men and their role in breaking the ship would be useful in the battle; their purpose was to demoralize Hardman's troops and hopefully force them to surrender.

To subdue the enemy without fighting—that was Jack's goal. As Jack said, this loophole wasn't so easy to exploit, and now they were paying the price.

Hardman and his men were anxious, but helpless. Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, their shouts were futile. Just as Maxim seized a soldier who had dropped his weapon and lost the will to fight, preparing to execute him on the mast as a warning to others, Yuri quickly stopped him.

"Stop! Maxim. This will only put us in a more passive position."

"Then what do you suggest we do? The only way to suppress them now is through ruthless measures."

"But have you considered that this would only further confirm our brutality and cruelty, thus highlighting the brilliance and prowess of Jack and Sergei? Even if you manage to suppress it temporarily, they will still immediately kneel down and surrender when the war begins."

This won't work, that won't work. Now, the allied forces of Hardman and Yuri are truly surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Chapter 108 Charge

"How long until the live broadcast starts?" Yuri asked.

Going to war now is virtually impossible; it's already a miracle these people haven't surrendered and defected on the spot. Hoping they'll fight now is almost unthinkable. The only option now is to buy time so Donald can sign the bill; that would be a slim chance for diesel fuel.

Hardman understood Yuri's meaning, and said heavily, "No, it's too late. It's only 6:30 now, and there's still an hour and a half until the appointed time."

This news plunged everyone's hearts into despair once again. If Jack were to attack now, they might not be able to hold out for even half an hour, let alone an hour and a half.

At this moment, Hardman slapped his thigh and said fiercely, "Let's move the time forward to 7 o'clock. Let's start preparing now."

Upon hearing Hardman's words, Yuri asked with concern, "Will this work? We've already done a lot of publicity, and now we're suddenly changing the date. What credibility do we have left?"

"How can there be no credibility? The king is real, and the bill is real. It's just that the timing is off. As long as the World Government steps in and the people who print the newspapers apologize and issue a statement saying that the reporting was inaccurate, then everything will be fine."

Hardman's words were met with outrageous indignation from the crowd. The city government, controlling public opinion, was acting with impunity, doing whatever it pleased. For a kingdom, such a momentous event could be altered so easily. Such a major news story—if the reporting is biased, then the reporting is biased.

However, everyone is now in the same boat; a change in one affects the whole situation. If they were to do this, and the World Government were to intervene later, they would inevitably have to share a significant portion of their resources. But for everyone facing this life-or-death situation, it is now their last resort.

Without saying much, everyone immediately got to work.

Inside Donald's room.

"dong dong"

"Come in."

Among the many people present was Hardman, Donald's brother. When Donald saw him again today, he was no longer the man he once was; his face bore only the weariness of the night and the haggardness of repeated defeats.

"Yilun, why did you come to see me so early? I don't think you came here to catch up with me."

On the contrary, today Donald Tate's face no longer had its usual solemnity; instead, he smiled and spoke with a ruddy complexion.

“Well, things have changed. You need to prepare for the ceremony now. We’ve moved the schedule up by an hour. You’ll read this bill then.”

Donald reached out and took the thing Hardman handed him, but didn't open it or look at it. He just smiled and said, "Although I stayed in this room all night, I didn't stop there. The violent rocking of the ship and the booming of the cannons told me that things weren't so peaceful. And your behavior now tells me that you've encountered a lot of trouble, and are even in a crisis."

"Hmph! Crisis?" Hardman still retains his ridiculous dignity to this day. "I just made a mistake temporarily. There is no crisis at all. Once things stabilize, I will definitely be the winner in the end."

After listening, Donald shook his head and said, "Okay, I'll change my clothes first and come out right away."

Hardman nodded and walked out. After Hardman hurriedly left, Donald muttered to himself, "Whom God would destroy, He first makes mad. My dear brother, I think you've gone mad. You've missed this opportunity. Do you have even the slightest chance left? Perhaps you were a loser from the very beginning."

In order to suppress the dangerous emotions and discontent below, everyone had no choice but to split up and take action. Since there were only 8 ships left, each person was in charge of two ships, and the disturbance was temporarily suppressed.

However, this is only a temporary measure; it cannot be suppressed indefinitely and will eventually erupt. Everyone just hopes to hold out until Donald finishes all of this.

Just then, Fujitora on the other side also reminded them, "I've noticed someone has landed on that island. It seems they're preparing to take the final step ahead of schedule."

"Well, it really is happening ahead of schedule? What should I say? Anyway, it's come to this point, and the situation seems about right, so we have no choice but to go for it." Seeing this, Jack knew that he couldn't delay any longer. The seed had already been planted, and now it was just a matter of whether it could sprout.

"Pass down the order: charge!" Jack shouted. "But no attacking! Our target is only the leaders."

"Yes!"

After saying that, Jack's ship rushed forward first.

Jack's orders gradually spread throughout the fleet, and the crew, upon receiving them, roared and charged forward alongside Jack.

"Oh no, Jack and the others are coming!"

"Has it charged in after all? The entire army, listen up and turn your cannons around, aiming at the middle ship."

Just as the group was waiting for Jack to enter firing range, preparing to shout "Fire!", shouts rang out again from Jack's side.

"Don't fire, brother, we won't fire either."

"Clownie, don't be afraid. We're coming to rescue you."

"Destroy the evil leader, turn to the light, Roman, come with me."

……

It's true what they say, what you fear most is what happens. This is exactly what everyone is most afraid of right now. They finally managed to suppress it, and now it's been stirred up again.

"Are they really going to be unable to fire back?"

"I don't know, but I think it's true."

“Harrison is my brother, he would never lie to me.”

Such whispers were spreading among the soldiers.

"Shut up! All of you shut up!" Maxim shouted angrily. "Anyone who speaks again, I'll kill him."

After saying that, seeing that Jack had already rushed into firing range, he immediately ordered, "Fire! Fire!"

However, after the shout of "Fire!", no cannons were fired.

"Fire! What are you all doing? All of you, fire the hell out!"

Just then, a voice came from across the sea: "Don't listen to him, none of us fired. If you're brothers, don't fire. Let's take them down together."

Wow, that shout was really loud, clearly amplified. The timing was also perfect; I wouldn't have been able to do it if Jack hadn't arranged it beforehand.

This situation wasn't limited to the idle Maxim's ship; across eight ships, each with 20 cannons, totaling 160 cannons (28 x 16), not a single cannon fired the moment Jack entered firing range.

Jack's psychological tactics are evident.

Chapter 109 Spy

Actually, Jack also had some reservations. After all, who can truly understand people's hearts completely? Jack had also considered the possibility that the other side wouldn't fall for his act, and that he might be met with a harsh rebuke as soon as he approached.

If such a thing were to happen, Jack would have no choice but to resort to his last resort: sacrificing spies to win the war. Not only would he have to sacrifice spies, but he might also have to lose many more on the battlefield.

However, everything is going very smoothly now, even better than Jack had anticipated. Of the 160 cannons, not a single one has been fired thanks to Jack's psychological warfare tactics, which was something Jack had not expected.

Seeing Jack's surprised expression, Haku asked, "Isn't this what you foresaw?"