One Piece Gunslinger

Chapter 112 Underwater

Now, having discussed Donald's side, let's return to Jack's side.

Facing the menacing Yuri, Maxim, and Vasily, the three major gang leaders, Jack remained calm and said, "Let's go to sea."

Fujitora has been around Jack for so long now that the two are practically on the same wavelength. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood what Jack meant.

However, Fujitora could only shake his head helplessly and continue to be his "capable one".

"You want me to fight, but you also want me to hold back and conserve my strength. I never want to hear that again in my life." Fujitora thought to himself, and as if to vent his anger, he drew his sword and slammed the three of them into the sea, creating a splash.

The three of them had never imagined such a thing could happen, and were caught completely off guard.

Sigh, I wonder how many unexpected things they experienced that day.

"Hey, hey, hey, that was way too ruthless!" Jack exclaimed in shock, looking at the three splashes of water that had erupted.

That was truly brutal; it wasn't just "pressing" them down, but rather like being slapped by a giant and shoved directly into the water. However, given their physical strength, none of the three were seriously injured after this ordeal, except for the Devil Fruit user, Yuri the Mercury Man.

Yuri has had the worst luck today. Possessing a Logia-type Devil Fruit, he should be the strongest among this group, yet he has suffered the negative effects of the Devil Fruit twice today.

Yuri usually takes extra precautions against his two weaknesses, but today he was first captured by Hatton's scheme, and now he was thrown into the sea by a mysterious force. It just goes to show that weaknesses are something that are hard to guard against.

However, the others did not forget him, and Maxim planned to bring him to the surface.

Of course, that's what Jack thought, but he wouldn't give them another chance to show themselves. He called Haku and jumped into the sea, not forgetting to hold a seastone handcuff in his hand.

Haku understood and jumped in as well. After entering the sea, he dived down and swam toward Maxim, who wanted to rescue Yuri.

Just as Maxim was about to grab Yuri, Haku swooped down, overtook him, and knocked him aside.

At this moment, Jack didn't hesitate to step over the two men, grab Yuri, and cuff him with sea stone handcuffs.

Maxim knew that if Jack were to be handcuffed, it would be all over, so he quickly swam over to rescue him. However, Haku wouldn't let him have his way; he grabbed him and dragged him towards the seabed.

To be honest, if this were on land, Maxim would easily beat Haku. After all, although Haku is a master of fish-man karate, he doesn't know how to use Haki. Facing a strong man over three meters tall, and a fist imbued with Haki, Haku really wouldn't be able to withstand it.

But it's different in the sea. If you can beat Haku, who is a fish-man, I'll take your surname, Ma.

Of course, Maxim understood this as well. His immediate priority was to surface; fighting underwater was far too disadvantageous. He couldn't worry about Yuri on the other side; his only concern at this moment was ensuring his own safety.

Vasily, who had also been thrown into the sea, realized what was happening and quickly swam down to rescue Maxim. Thinking of grabbing the back of Maxim's head, Haku threw a punch.

Although the force of the punch was much less than that on land due to the resistance of the water, Haku still dared not take the hit and could only release Maxim to avoid the attack.

Now, facing a pincer attack from two people, even in the water, which was most advantageous to him, Haku was finding it difficult to cope.

After being freed, Maxim turned and swam upwards, trying to return to the surface. Seeing this, Haku attacked Maxim again.

Now Maxim wasn't fighting alone; the two of them, with a punch and a kick, forced Haku back again, but this also slowed down their ascent speed.

Although Haku can't beat two people, he doesn't need to fight them head-on. He just needs to keep them occupied. He'll find an opportunity to pull them down, and eventually they'll suffocate him.

With Haku interfering, the two had no choice but to abandon Yuri and think of a way to get back to the surface.

However, although Jack was pulling Yuri along, he was rising faster than the two who were being entangled by Haku. While the two were still trying to get rid of Haku and slowly rising to the surface, Jack had already brought Yuri back to the deck.

The two were helpless and could only watch as Jack took Yuri away. With their own lives in danger, they couldn't care less about others.

Therefore, Hardman's idea of ​​using the three to temporarily hold off Jack and allow Donald to complete the ritual was wishful thinking. The three hadn't been rushing up for long before they were already in danger.

Even if Donald does act as he intends, Jack will arrive in time, leaving you no chance whatsoever.

Now, seeing the two people about to float to the surface, Jack grinned wickedly and silently pulled out the Punisher.

"Hey, I'm just watching who wants to come out. Whoever tries to come out, I'll beat them up," Jack said with a sly grin, eyeing the water.

"Alright, save your bullets and let me put them in."

"How do you know I don't have many bullets?" Jack asked, puzzled, after hearing Fujitora's words.

"If you had a lot of bullets, would you keep them hidden and only use them in critical moments? We all know the answer to that."

"Well, you're right. Anyway, it's almost the end, so I'll just use it sparingly." With that, Jack put away the Punisher again.

Of course, the two people underwater are unaware that from the moment they fell into the water, they had no chance left.

They struggled to swim to the surface, and just as they were about to emerge, they felt that pressure again and were pushed back down. Then, just as they were about to come up a second time, they were pushed back down again.

The two then realized that Jack had a powerful ability user by his side who could suppress them time and time again, meaning the user must have developed their ability to be extremely powerful.

"So we never had a chance from the very beginning? This was a really clever move. I suppose that wall was also the work of this ability user." These were Maxim's last thoughts before he lost consciousness.

Seeing the three major gang leaders all arrested, Jack nodded happily and asked, "What time is it now?"

"7:30."

"Very good, get ready, the live broadcast will continue at eight o'clock. It's time to announce to the whole country that this dark period of rule is now history."

Donald shed a rare tear: "Yes, all of this is finally over."

Chapter 113 The Return Journey

With the ringleaders all executed, the rest became a matter of course.

At 8 o'clock sharp, Donald delivered a long speech, amended various unreasonable laws, and restored peace. He then passed the throne to Prince Sergei.

After the handover, Sergei personally ordered the execution of the three main villains in front of the nation. Of course, the masked Jack took on the role of executioner, as he was reluctant to part with this final spoils of war.

In line with the glorious image Jack had previously cultivated for Sergei, he attributed all the credit to Sergei, resulting in Sergei gaining immense prestige immediately upon ascending the throne.

Sergei's abilities in business and domestic affairs are still somewhat lacking, and he has little experience to speak of. However, with Donald's guidance, it is believed that Sergei will soon surpass his father.

After returning, Jack disbanded his Red Rock Society, and like the survivors of the battlefield, he was incorporated into the kingdom's army and placed under Sergei's direct command.

Of course, on Hardman's flagship, Jack found the information that CP3 had been investigating in the kingdom, including information on Jack and others.

Jack was so frightened that he quickly packed everything up and took it with him, otherwise if the investigation continued, their identities as revolutionaries might be exposed.

Fortunately, data uploads don't exist in this era; information is stored on paper. If Jack takes it all, any future investigation will have to start from scratch. However, with the royal family providing cover, these problems shouldn't be too significant.

After this incident, the Donald family no longer trusted any generals. Until they found someone loyal and trustworthy, it was best to keep military power firmly in their own hands. As for the generals who had previously rebelled and aided and abetted the tyrant, they were all eventually executed, including Hatton. After losing their backers and military power, they couldn't do anything else.

After this battle, the revolutionary army was able to catch its breath from the difficult early stages of development. No, not just catch its breath, it was like it had become a giant overnight, it was like it had eaten its fill.

If the revolutionary army's economic situation, personnel, and material reserves have all increased several times over, completely changing their previous difficult circumstances, then they are simply the biggest winners.

"Emma, ​​finally done! I need to rest for a while when I get back; this trip almost killed me." On the ship back, Jack—well, he'd already shed his disguise and was now Leon back in his old form—slumped into a chair, looking utterly exhausted.

Also in the same room were Haku and Fujitora. Now, it seemed that the two of them had also discovered that Li Ang's "slacking off" posture really did relieve fatigue, and they also slumped on the chair in the same way.

Haku retorted, "What do you mean you're tired? We're the ones who're tired. We're getting older now, and after a long night, we feel a bit sore and achy."

"Don't underestimate my hard work, I'm just mentally exhausted. Ever since I set foot on that land, I haven't had a moment's rest. I've been constantly thinking about how to outmaneuver those people." Li Ang argued forcefully, but his tone lacked any real strength, sounding rather weak and listless.

"You know what, it's actually quite comfortable to lie down like this, it's just that this wooden chair is a bit hard." Fujitora, on the other side, didn't have the energy to argue with him, nor did he want to listen to their bickering, so he quickly changed the subject.

Upon hearing this, Li Ang immediately perked up, stood up from his chair, and sat up straight, saying, "Exactly! It would be perfect if it were a sofa. Just imagine a soft sofa, with armrests, backrests, and cushions—it would all be so soft that you'd sink right in and wouldn't want to get out."

Fujitora and Haku imagined the scene, and it was so beautiful that they were practically drooling.

Back when Li Ang was on Earth, he liked to do this at home. He would sprawl on the sofa, not moving, quietly playing on his phone, feeling utterly content. He could stay like this all day long, feeling like a complete couch potato.

"But you just handed the entire Kingdom of Yutakana back to the Wood family without a second thought. Aren't you afraid they'll eventually slip out of your control? Haven't you considered what would happen if they betrayed us?" Haku asked after lying down for a while.

“It’s alright. If we were to send people and troops to take control of that kingdom ourselves, with our current strength, we would probably need our entire family to do it,” Jack explained. “So it’s impossible to completely control it. We can only keep it dependent on us, as we are now. As long as their mindset remains unchanged, our relationship will remain the same.”

"Will their thoughts remain unchanged? Who can guarantee they won't have other ideas later?" Fujitora shook his head and said, "That's too risky."

Li Ang lay back down on the chair and said, "Oh dear, do you really think all the ideological education I gave Sergei during that time was for nothing? And that Kevin too, although I only gave him cramming instruction these past few days, these theories are truths that have been summarized through repeated practice and testing by the masses."

As time goes by and their experience grows, they will put these theories into practice and test them one by one. Combined with the ancestral precepts of the Wood family, their conviction will only grow stronger.

"Oh?" Haku asked in confusion, "The Wood family has ancestral precepts? I didn't know that."

"Ahem," Li Ang said embarrassedly, "This didn't exist before; I helped Donald come up with it."

"So this so-called 'ancestral precepts' are only just beginning now?" Fujitora remarked.

"Well, don't worry about the details," Leon said impatiently. "Anyway, you now know that the Kingdom of Yutakana is our strong rear base and can provide us with a lot of support. It has narrowed the gap between us and the World Government, and this operation is another great victory."

“That’s true. If we keep going step by step like this, we’ll be able to overthrow the World Government sooner or later.” Haku nodded and said, “By the way, how far are we from the World Government?”

Without a second thought, Li Ang answered matter-of-factly, "Not much difference, I estimate it's about a hundred levels off now."

"Huh? Only a hundred levels apart? How did you calculate that?"

“What I mean is, we’re at level two now, and the World Government is level one hundred and two,” Li Ang said helplessly.

"This is what you call not much difference? It's like night and day!" Fujitora seemed to be playing the role of the troll, constantly complaining.

"That's much better than before. Before, we were only considered Level 1, and the World Government wouldn't even give us a second glance. They let Dragon lead his gang to fight everywhere without doing anything about it."

Even the infamous North Sea mercenary group Germa 66 has been portrayed as a major villain in a manga series by the World Government, while we remain a relatively insignificant force, incomparable to even a small mercenary group.

Li Ang was also helpless. The revolutionary army was just starting out and lacked everything: talent in various production and construction fields, supplies, soldiers, wealth, and reputation. All this miscellaneous stuff was not even as good as a family-run mercenary organization. It was truly pathetic.

"Therefore, the revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades must continue to work hard."

Chapter 114 Butterfly

After a few sighs, everyone fell silent.

Yes, facing such a behemoth that rules the entire world, even the Pirate King Roger had to avoid it. Who would dare to say that their strength is comparable to that of the World Government?

Even the four emperors of the sea are far inferior. The World Government fears that if it goes to war with one side, the other three sides will benefit. If it can seize an opportunity, like it did with Ace in the Marineford War, it will definitely take action. And as it turns out, no single party can defeat the Navy in a one-on-one fight, not even the strongest, Whitebeard.

So although this is everyone's ultimate goal, it's like an ant trying to challenge an elephant. The elephant doesn't even glance at it, focusing intently on the jackals and tigers around it.

Even a little rabbit that pops up by the roadside is much better than an ant.

This is evident from the scale of Leon's war in the Kingdom of Yutukana. Leon's allied forces fought tooth and nail, and even including his entire family, numbered only about 5,000. The final battle at sea involved a massive melee of over 20,000. This revolutionary army was no match for the forces of a single large gang within the Kingdom of Yutukana. Utterly pathetic.

“Alright, facing the World Government isn’t something we can contend with in a short time,” Li Ang reassured everyone. “Don’t worry too much. Now that we have the support of the Kingdom of Yutaka, we’ll soon enter a period of relatively rapid development. After that, we’ll grow like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, we’ll definitely be able to develop to the point where we can fight the World Government in our lifetime.”

"Hey, hey, 'in my lifetime' is too much of an exaggeration. I don't want to be so old that I can't even walk properly, and still have to throw meteorites at Mary Joey." It seems that Fujitora has completely embraced the role of the scathing commentator.

In his mind, Li Ang was also furiously complaining: "What happened to the promised carefree life, all about showing off and flying high. Intense battles, casual flings? Now it's turned into a management simulation game, with all I do is worry about developing various metrics and expanding my power. This isn't the life I want! I want to be a couch potato!"

Unfortunately, no one could hear Li Ang's inner cries. Even if he wanted to live a carefree, easy life, he couldn't escape this predicament. He really didn't know whether he was the one tricking the dragon back in Maple Village, or the dragon was tricking him, or perhaps they were both tricking each other.

"Oh, right, since that's the case, does Yuri also have the Mercury-Greed Fruit? Have you decided who to give it to?" Haku asked.