One Piece Gunslinger

"I foresaw the possibility of this plan, but I never expected it to be so effective. Not a single cannon shot was fired. This is too successful. I never thought it would be like this myself," Jack said incredulously.

"Haha, so even you, Jack, have your unexpected moments," Haku teased. "You overthink things. You imagine everyone in this world to be incredibly cunning and treacherous. Actually, most people in this world are simple and passionate. Those kinds of people are just exceptions. Don't think there are thousands of Hardmans on the other side. They only follow whoever is good to them. It seems their actions of abandoning their brothers who risked their lives for them have left them with no reason to be loyal."

"Hey, I see." Jack thought to himself, "So innocent and passionate. Doesn't that just mean there are a lot of idiots in this world? I completely forgot about that. I guess all this backstabbing and infighting has made me question my existence. People here are nothing like Earthlings, who are constantly bombarded with scam calls and insurance sales. They're cunning and incredibly hard to fool."

Indeed, as Haku said, most people in this world retain a sense of passion and simplicity, regardless of where they are or what they do; this type of person is the most numerous. It's only when someone like Hardman reaches a high position that they gradually become worldly and slick.

Although Jack described Hardman and his ilk as "smart" and the simple-minded as "idiots," he secretly preferred the "idiots." As for the "smart people," a few of them would suffice.

This is one of the reasons why Jack liked One Piece when he was on Earth. Compared to intelligence, qualities like passion, simplicity, and kindness are much more precious to Earthlings.

"Fire! Fire the cannon now! If you don't fire, I'll kill you!"

Compared to the hot-tempered Maxim, Yuri, seeing that no one obeyed his orders, showed no impatience but instead became calm. He simply shook his head and sighed inwardly, "I've been scheming for years, and only today have I truly realized the importance of controlling people's hearts. I've learned a lesson today, but the tuition fee may have to be paid with my life."

Just as Donald predicted, Hardman was slowly descending into madness: "Why is this happening? How could this be? It's all fake. I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

“Yes! I still have a chance! As long as Donald can finish reading those things and sign them.” Hardman stared in the direction of the island, thinking bitterly, “Old man, hurry up and hurry up.”

However, speed was out of the question. Hardman turned his head and saw a scene that made his eyes widen in horror. Donald sat at the table he had prepared, talking casually about trivial matters to the live video feed of a Den Den Mushi. He had absolutely no intention of proceeding with the ceremony ahead of schedule.

Hardman was unaware that Donald was utterly disappointed in his long-lost brother and was chatting casually with the people, waiting for Jack to come and rescue him.

And so, without firing a single shot or being attacked, Jack and his group successfully reached the vicinity, a distance that they could easily cross with a simple jump.

"Forget about everyone else, as long as we take down Jack, we'll still win in the end." Hardman shouted as Jack walked straight up to him, completely unprepared.

The others nodded vigorously upon hearing this. They couldn't rely on anyone else now, so as long as they could get those Jacks, everything would be fine.

However, at this crucial moment, Hardman betrayed his teammates. His earlier show of intent to pounce was merely a pretense; he had no real intention of actually rushing towards Jack.

Of course, no one knew this, so one by one they leaped forward toward Jack's ship. Only Hardman leaped backward and ran toward Donald.

"Hmph! Let you sacrifice yourselves for the future king. I'll erect a monument for you later." Hardman retreated rapidly, still thinking about his dream of becoming king.

First, let's talk about Hardman's side. After betraying his teammates, Hardman immediately retreated to the security equipment ship, shut down the equipment in an emergency, and then rushed straight to the island where Donald was.

"What are you doing! Why haven't you started the process of amending the bill yet?" Hardman's voice arrived before he even got there.

When Donald saw Hardman rushing towards him, he shook his head and said, "My foolish brother, can't you see the situation clearly? You've already lost. The only winner in the end is Jack."

“Stupid? Lose?” Hardman laughed angrily. “I’ve been smarter than you since I was born, smarter than everyone else. When I was only five, my father couldn’t beat me at chess. After I left the kingdom, whether in the navy or working for CP, I never lost once. This time will be the same; I will definitely win in the end.”

Donald shook his head, stepped forward, and patted Hardman on the shoulder, saying, "Yes, you're smart. You're the smartest person in our royal family's history. But someone told me that there are always people smarter than you. There are plenty of people in this world who are smarter than you."

"Stop with the nonsense. I'm begging you as a brother. All these years, I've gone to great lengths to drive away these wolves. Isn't that what you're thinking too? We're almost there. Once Jack finishes dealing with them, it'll be too late."

Seeing the pleading look in Hardman's eyes, Donald sighed, then stepped forward and put his arm around him, whispering in his ear, "I'm sorry, I'm a spy."

Having said that, he released Hardman. At that moment, a gleaming black dagger was already embedded in Hardman's chest.

Chapter 110 Donald

This all started when Jack had Haku and Fujitora escort Koala back to Baltimore from the Revolutionary Army headquarters. The two men didn't just simply take Koala back; they also brought back some useful items, as Jack had instructed.

One of them was the Seastone handcuffs, which he used immediately upon bringing back, just in time to see Jack defeat Kevin with a flashbang. It was this item that made Jack abandon his idea of ​​killing Kevin and instead try to subdue him.

In the subsequent operation, these sea stone handcuffs proved to be of great help in many ways, which will not be repeated here.

In addition to that, there is actually another prop.

That was a small, black, wiretapping Den Den Mushi (snail phone).

For Jack, if he wanted to devise a strategy of alliances and counter-alliances in this complex and multifaceted place, how could he not contact King Donald?

After subduing Kevin, Jack used Kevin's abilities to have him sneak into the palace and contact the old King Donald.

Because in Jack's mind, Donald had always appeared dull and indifferent to everything around him, showing a carefree attitude.

But to have the courage to endure hardship and build an army in such a treacherous environment, and most likely to use that army to fight against gangsters, is hardly the despicable person the rumors suggest. At least deep down, they still retain a fighting spirit.

As expected, after successfully establishing secret contact with Donald, Jack learned a lot of important information through a series of persuasive conversations and also established a certain cooperative relationship with Donald.

Donald knew, of course, that Jack's ultimate ambitions were far greater, undoubtedly involving this land. But what did it matter who ruled this land? As long as the people were treated well, bandits were eradicated, and peace was restored to the world, Donald wasn't unwilling to sacrifice the throne inherited from his family. Besides, Jack had promised that the throne would remain with the Wood family afterward, and they wouldn't interfere in the kingdom, merely utilizing its resources.

It must be said that although the process sounds quick, back then, Jack had to patiently explain things to Donald for a long time, pouring out countless motivational platitudes, before finally convincing him.

Later, I learned from Donald that the ten-year period for amending the Basic Law of the country was approaching, and that some big commotion would probably happen then.

Jack has a lot of clever ideas; in the blink of an eye, he came up with a plan for Donald.

They wanted Donald to be a spy!

The king himself was acting as a spy; Jack figured those little idiots would rack their brains and still not come up with this idea.

The method is simple: once the ten-year period is up, whoever gets Donald will have the upper hand and a significant advantage. This kind of maneuver is bound to get you attacked.

At this moment, Donald was trapped in enemy territory, at the very heart of the enemy's strategy, with everything revolving around him. At the same time, he was incredibly safe, as the entire faction was out there protecting him. As long as the black Den Den Mushi remained on his person, no secret could remain hidden from him.

So the two of them discussed it and agreed!

Jack then had Kevin act as a deliveryman once again, handing over the black listening Den Den Mushi to Donald.

Sure enough, within two days, Hardman organized a kidnapping, and the gang was prepared to deal with it.

Jack was perfectly capable of stopping, or even seizing, the old King Donald, but he gave up and went directly to Prince Sergei with Fujitora, completely ignoring the two families' struggle for Donald.

This was also part of the collaboration with Donald: to raise Donald's son, Sergei, into an excellent king.

Of course, Donald actually had several children, not just Sergei. Even among his many children, Sergei was neither the most intelligent nor the most capable. He wasn't even the kind of person who was exceptionally gifted on both ends but had a high average.

However, Donald inherited from his father a keen eye for talent. He saw his younger self in Sergei. It's just that compared to himself, Sergei's childhood was more difficult, and he lacked the experience and maturity that Donald had gained as a king over the years; he was far less tempered.

However, it was Sergei's fighting spirit and willingness to give everything for the country and Wei Guoming, rather than Hardman's tendency to only take, that was what Donald valued most.

So what could Jack do but agree? Not only did he have to rescue Sergei at that time, but he also had to properly train and educate him so that he could truly grow up.

However, Jack was quite skilled at it. After bringing him out with Fujitora, he personally went out and gave him a thorough, head-to-toe ideological education. He almost gave him a couple of sets of "53" (a popular set of standardized tests) at the end.

Believe it or not, sometimes cramming can be effective.

Under Jack's relentless bombardment, Sergei, while not becoming a prodigy in just a few days, certainly internalized these words and principles. He would then gradually come to understand them.

It's fair to say that if we only talk about theory and not about practical experience, Hilgay has already surpassed his eldest apprentice Kerla's knowledge in just a few days.

Then things proceeded as planned. Donald was successfully taken away by Hardman, and Jack learned Hardman's true identity through the wiretap snail: he was actually King Donald's brother, Ellison Wood.

Later, Donald also contributed to the issue of terrain modification. Although he didn't uncover the most crucial secrets, he indirectly corroborated Jack's suspicions, making Jack even more certain.

After Jack's plan was launched, the group wasn't too worried about the spies' safety, because no matter how the battle turned out, Donald was someone they needed to protect. Unless they were incredibly unlucky and got hit by stray bullets while hiding deep within the flagship, despite all the protection.

At the time, the fighting outside was raging, and all the intelligence about the changing situation and developments was gradually relayed to Jack by Donald. Even though Jack was far away, he was constantly aware of the changes on the battlefield.

The only worry was that once the Sea Kings appeared, they wouldn't care who you were; they'd attack any ship and devour anyone in sight. Fortunately, despite suffering heavy losses, everyone managed to protect Jack's spy very well. Jack was even a little embarrassed and wanted to give Hardman a banner of appreciation.

So, at the last minute, Donald naturally had to turn against Jack and help him.

Chapter 111 Yi Lun

So Donald is really strong? He was able to stab a dagger into Hardman's body.

Regarding this, Donald does have some skill, but he's not particularly strong; he might not even be able to beat Jack in his bare hands.

So how did Donald manage to stab Hardman in the heart with a dagger? You see, even if Hardman had no defenses against Donald, his physical condition was what it was. If it were an ordinary person, stabbing him with a knife would at most cause some superficial wounds. Hardman would tense his muscles and use a metal block to stop the knife once it went in a centimeter or two.

And that was indeed the case. The moment the dagger touched Hardman's body, he activated the iron block to try and block it; his reaction was incredibly fast.

If Donald had been the one to stab, the attack would have failed. Unfortunately, it was Kevin who struck, and this gleaming black dagger was Kevin's own sword, which, according to Kevin, was a fine and sharp blade that he had finally managed to acquire.

He made an appearance once when he was trying to assassinate Jack, but each time he was blocked by Jack's inconspicuous combat knife. Afterwards, Kevin was amazed by Jack's knife, saying that although he had never seen it before, it was comparable to a great sword.

That goes without saying. If it's a system-generated item, even if it's beginner equipment, it's still top-quality.

So how did Kevin end up here? This brings us to another ability of Kevin's Ghost-Ghost Fruit: possession by a ghost.

No wonder Kevin hadn't appeared in so many episodes. It turns out that ever since Jack led his troops to Hartman's camp, while Jack was chatting with Hartman on the deck, Kevin found Donald's location and attached himself to him. He was assigned by Jack to protect Donald, which could also be used to carry out surprise assassinations from behind.

According to Jack's plan, Kevin should possess Donald before he is kidnapped, so that no matter who kidnaps Donald in the end, Kevin will also be taken over.

However, due to the need to educate Sergei on patriotism and democracy, Kevin was temporarily kept on the premises, using the painful personal experiences of the older generation of citizens to inspire Sergei's enthusiasm for learning and his patriotism.

After all, Jack couldn't guarantee Donald's safety on this trip. Kevin and Donald were both prepared to sacrifice themselves. If anything happened to them, Sergei would have to take over as soon as possible. Even if he only looked like a king, it would be better than someone who knew nothing. Anyway, they had the theoretical knowledge; all that was needed was practice.

However, it doesn't matter if Kevin possesses the body later. After all, no matter who gets Donald, Jack always follows the same pattern: he joins both sides, gains the advantage on one side, and then helps the weaker side. In reality, he's just messing with both sides.

All we need to do is find an opportunity for Kevin to possess Jack when he enters. With Kevin's ability to remain undetected, it will be incredibly difficult for him to be discovered. Even when Maxim discovered Kevin in the tent that time, he was too close; Kevin had already infiltrated within five meters of Maxim.

So when Hardman let Francis in to pick up Donald, it was equivalent to bringing Jack's spies and assassins onto the ship, which resulted in a long fight that lasted most of the night and the loss of many men.

This made Jack a little embarrassed; both sides were too enthusiastic, even vying for the opportunity to have their spies and assassins infiltrated into their ranks.

This shows how incredibly wicked Jack is. While other spies and assassins are willing to risk their lives to infiltrate the enemy, Jack does all that, letting others fight for the opportunity.

So even if Hardman reacted quickly, it was useless. He could stop Donald, but he couldn't stop Jack's elusive ghost assassin.

After Donald stepped back two steps, Hardman also knelt down on one knee, looking at the short knife stuck in his chest. Hardman said dejectedly, "This is 'Ghost's' sword, 'Soul Slayer.' I never thought that even the assassin organization and 'Ghost' would be under Jack's command."

At this point, he looked up at Donald, who was standing in a group, and asked in a venomous tone, "Kevin, I know you're in there. I've investigated your background; you should also be a native of the Kingdom of Yutakana."

And Donald, you're also a member of the royal family, so why, why do you all side with Jack? Why would you rather help that outsider than help me, a genius with royal blood? I'm the one most suitable to be king, so why did that old man give you the throne instead of passing it on to me?

Why?! Tell me why!

Facing the seemingly madman, Donald shook his head and said, "Are you fit to be king? No, all you do is take from others. You've been like this since you were a child, and you're still the same now. You've never thought about what you'll bring to others; you only care about yourself."

Think about it carefully. Since you became the head of CP3, have you ever considered the needs of your subordinates? Have you ever considered the needs of ordinary people within your authority in this position?

No, you're just treating the people around you like slaves, simply ordering them around and taking from them without giving anything in return.

If you were to become king, who knows what kind of mess you would make of this country? You would only know how to take from your people without giving back or knowing how to improve their lives. That's why Father passed the throne to me, not you.

"As a superior, as a king, what's wrong with demanding? My men are supposed to work for me, my people are supposed to labor for me. It's all natural, everyone does it." Hardman had lost his usual composure and roared menacingly.

Seeing that Hardman was indeed beyond redemption, he sighed and said, "Those who follow the righteous path will find many supporters, while those who stray from it will find few. That's what Jack said when he dragged Kevin to me. People like you who stray from the righteous path, just like the Celestial Dragons, can only enjoy temporary glory. Once someone like Jack who follows the righteous path appears, you will instantly revert to your original form, just like you are now."

As king, I never understood what qualities I possessed that made my father favor me so much, entrusting me with the throne. It wasn't until Jack told me, "Be the first to worry about the world's troubles, and the last to enjoy its pleasures," that I finally understood. Reflecting on my father's actions as king and my own behavior in the years following my ascension, I realized that this profound idea was deeply ingrained in my subconscious. Neither my father nor I could articulate it clearly. It was something we could only understand intuitively, something we couldn't share with others, and that's what led to your tragedy.

Now that Jack has clearly outlined the ideology of our royal family, perhaps we can teach you to avoid tragedies like this when you were young.

"How ridiculous. So this is the sentence you and your father were searching for."

Hardman may have been speaking wisely on his deathbed, or perhaps he had finally figured out a question that had lingered in his mind since childhood. He smiled and said, "I've beaten you my whole life, but in the end, I've let you win this one game. You must cherish this achievement and pass these words down through generations."

Donald stepped forward and closed Hardman's, no, Ellendorff Wood's, eyes: "Rest assured, my brother. This will become our family motto, passed down from generation to generation."