One Piece Gunslinger

Chapter Twelve: The Capsizing Operation

"One horn, two horns, three horns..."

At the port of Stonehenge, a guard stared blankly at the scene before him.

Outside the port, a massive fleet was slowly approaching, and each ship was flying a pirate flag.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and run back to report!" Seeing this, another guard nearby quickly grabbed his companion and ran towards the city.

"Pirates are here! Pirates are here!" The people at the port panicked, abandoning their goods and rushing back to the city.

Inside the palace.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" A guard suddenly rushed in, his face full of panic and fear.

Meanwhile, Charles was discussing with his ministers which powerful figure should be given the newly built ship. The discussion was reaching a heated point when it was interrupted by the guard.

Standing next to Charlie, the head guard, Andrew, scolded, "What's with the panic? What kind of behavior is this? What happened?"

The guard stammered, "Pirates! Pirates are here."

King Charles said with dissatisfaction, "They're just pirates, what's the big deal? Andrew, take some men and take care of them."

“No, no. They’re not ordinary pirates.” The guard said urgently upon hearing Charlie’s words. “They have more than a dozen large ships, and I estimate there are at least a thousand people.”

Before Charlie could react, the guard continued, "And..."

"and?"

"And they're coming from the direction of the port; they're almost landing now." The guard finally finished speaking.

"what?!"

Charlie could no longer sit still. He immediately stood up and said to Andrew, "Hurry up and organize your men, gather all the guards, and drive back those greedy pirates. Make sure my Treasure is not damaged in the slightest."

Andrew understood the seriousness of the situation, responded, and quickly walked out of the palace.

After Andrew left, the guard who had just reported came to his senses and asked, "Why didn't Your Majesty call the navy? The 96th Naval Branch is not far away and can arrive in just two or three hours."

"Well, we can handle this little thing. We don't need their help," Charlie said, trying to sound calm. "Alright, you go and help out at the port too."

In reality, the so-called pirates were just Revolutionary Army soldiers in disguise. Leon's so-called "capsizing the ship" plan was quite simple: he wanted Haku to lead a large force to storm the port and destroy the warship.

The purpose was to lure away a large number of guards so that Leon and Lehman Louis could sneak into the shipyard together.

Once the warship is destroyed, as long as they feign a retreat, the enraged Charles will definitely order a pursuit, and then the few remaining guards at the shipyard will be unable to stop Leon.

As for why the port was chosen as the attack location, it's simple: Charlie's newly built warships were docked in the port.

Charlie was not only extremely greedy, but he also only had 10 years to spare.

So it's conceivable that if they've announced the construction of a new warship, then the previous one must have just been completed.

Charlie even used a speed-up cheat; he definitely wouldn't rest for a few days after one ship was built before starting the next. He would be building one ship after another non-stop.

Since it was only built a few days ago, it may not have been shipped out yet and may still be sitting in the port.

Sure enough, after some investigation, they discovered that an inconspicuous shipyard in the port was guarded by many soldiers every day.

Upon hearing the news, Li Ang was practically applauding Charlie's intelligence. Wasn't this a classic case of protesting too much? It saved them so much trouble in their investigation. Where else could it be but this shipyard guarded by soldiers?

Seeing that the opportunity was too good to miss, Li Ang immediately decided to send troops to carry out the "capsizing operation".

Then the revolutionary soldiers immediately disguised themselves as pirates and made it appear as if they were about to launch a major attack on the port.

Charlie will surely send a large force to rescue his precious ship, the Treasure.

Hey, if we had known Charlie's exact location beforehand, we probably could have taken the opportunity to carry out the decapitation strike.

The reason why they didn't ask the navy for help is quite simple.

As we all know, shipyards are usually built by the sea for easy launching. If you build a ship on land, you still have to figure out how to transport it to the sea, which is obviously a very idiotic operation.

The arrival of the navy would then potentially uncover Charlie's shady dealings. Naval operations around the shipyard might even include a ground landing. That would allow them to quickly discover the shipyard's problems.

Most importantly, Charlie had previously tried to bribe the naval captain of Branch 96, but this time a man of integrity refused Charlie's gift.

If this naval captain discovers Charlie's underhanded tactics, Charlie could spend the rest of his life in prison. Therefore, Charlie now has no choice but to rely on his own army to fight back.

However, Charlie's army was twice the size of the Revolutionary Army, giving him a significant advantage, and he charged in with a single wave.

When Andrew arrived at the port, he saw that the two warships that were originally stationed there had been sunk.

"Damn it, are we too late? Quickly build cover on the spot and wait for the landing operation against the pirates."

Andrew had dealt with many pirates, and the powerful ones had even managed to breach the British naval defenses. But pirates are pirates after all; no matter what, they always land to plunder supplies and wealth. All he had to do was stay near the warehouse and wait for the pirates to walk right into his trap.

When it comes to land warfare, no one in the entire British Empire is better at commanding than Andrew.

There have been many pirates who have broken through the sea defenses, but Andrew has never seen a single one who can break through the land defenses.

Meanwhile, Haku was standing on the bow of a ship, gazing at the harbor.

"We've been fighting very slowly, and we've only just finished assembling. This efficiency is really low," Haku said disdainfully, looking at the army on the shore.

"They even brought sandbags to build bunkers? Only a fool would land and fight you in hand-to-hand combat."

"Pass down the order!" Haku shouted. "All soldiers, prepare to fire! Target the row of shipyards at the back. Operation capsizes is now in full swing. Destroy the enemy's warships!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

They proceeded with the established plan step by step, bombarding the warehouse behind them with ease, feeling comfortable and at ease.

Meanwhile, Andrew was completely dumbfounded. He was all prepared to fight the pirates hand-to-hand, but the pirate ship actually opened fire, and it was even firing at the port.

This is totally unpredictable! Pirates never fire cannons at ports and warehouses. They usually fire at turrets and troops behind cover. Firing at warehouses in the port? Aren't they afraid of destroying valuables?

Are you fucking trying to rob me?!

Chapter Thirteen: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

No matter how many mythical beasts were running through Andrew's mind, Haku only needed to complete the tasks assigned to him by Leon.

"What 'Operation Capsize Ship'? That name, Li Ang, is completely inappropriate and sounds awful. It's clearly 'Operation Destroy Ships,' just a barrage of shells to blast the target point into pieces and that's it."

Haku stood there firing cannons for a few minutes, then looked at the completely destroyed warship and scoffed.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily true.” A childish voice rang out from behind Haku.

Huh? Who is it? Why is there such a young voice on the battlefield?

So Haku naturally turned around and looked...

"..."

"Kerla! What are you doing on this ship? Didn't I tell you to stay on the logistics ship and not come out?" Haku shouted when he saw Kerla behind him. "If anything happens to you on the battlefield, how am I supposed to explain it to the Chief of Staff?"

Kerla exaggeratedly covered her ears and whispered, "I just wanted to see how Master's plan would be implemented, so I couldn't resist sneaking onto the ship. Besides, it seems there's no danger here now."

Haku sighed, "Oh, she used to be such a cute little girl, and now she's been corrupted by Sabo."

"However, Master Li Ang's capsizing operation refers to the entire plan; this is only the first step."

"Yes, yes, your master is amazing, and you are amazing too. I am just a martial artist and cannot understand your intricacies." Now that things have come to this, and he has already quietly boarded the ship, Haku did not want to dwell on it any longer.

Haku waved his hand and issued a new order: "Pass down the order: target achieved, cease shelling, we're going to turn around and lead them in circles."

"Reporting to Lord Andrew, it seems they have stopped shelling," a soldier hiding behind a sandbag reported.

After hearing this, Andrew said irritably, "I saw it a long time ago. They not only stopped firing, but they even started turning their ships around. Are they going to retreat?"

"Lord Andrew, they must have run out of ammunition and realized they couldn't defeat us even if they landed, so they retreated," the soldier continued.

“Yes, that makes sense,” Andrew nodded slowly.

Just then, a soldier came running from a distance, shouting as he ran, "Something terrible has happened, Lord Andrew!"

Andrew remained calm and reprimanded the soldier who had run over. "I've told you not to panic when something happens. That's how I always train you."

"But, during the shelling just now," the soldier stammered, seemingly having had an effect, "the Treasure was completely destroyed in the shelling."

"What did you say?!" Even Anders couldn't remain calm now. "The Treasure Ship has been destroyed?"

"Yes, it is."

"Notify the others to quickly find any other ships that can get out of the water. Since the enemy has run out of ammunition, we'll pursue them by boat." Upon hearing this news, Andrew gritted his teeth and immediately made a decision.

It's no joke. The destruction of the Treasure has already enraged Charles. If the culprits are allowed to escape, the things King Charles might do without venting his anger are unpredictable. One thing is for sure: Andrew and his incompetent subordinates will definitely not fare well.

After Andrew gave the order, in no time at all, all the ships that were not too badly damaged and could still be steered were pulled out.

Haku, of course, didn't go very far, maintaining a distance that Andrew and the others could observe.

"They really acted like fools, rushing out in such a hurry." Kera held a telescope, watching the large ships sailing out from the opposite bank.

“Leon was right,” Haku chimed in. “Hey? When did you get a pair of binoculars?”

Kerla replied, "I borrowed it from the kind uncle upstairs."

Haku looked up at the lookout tower, where the lookout shrugged and shook his head.

"Poruporuporuporu".

"Hello? Hakusan, is it done? Okay." Louis also received a message from the Den Den Mushi on the other end.

"It seems the plan is going smoothly, and the cannon fire has stopped for a long time. Let's move on to the next step." Li Ang and his two companions had been crouching behind the shipyard for a long time, waiting for news from Haku.

As he spoke, Li Ang pulled out his pistol: "Follow me, we'll charge in."

"Lord Leon, why don't we go through the tunnel?" Louis asked in a low voice.

“The tunnel you dug is too low and too narrow. Now is the time to race against time.” Li Ang checked the magazine and replied, “Not only do we need to hurry when we get in, but it will also take time to get the people out later. It’s too slow to have them crawl out of the tunnel one by one.”

“But…” Louis wanted to say something more, but Lehman interrupted him.

“But can the three of us really handle dozens of well-trained guards?” Lehman questioned. “Haku has gone to the flagship to command the fleet.”

"Do you two think I'm an ordinary person? Even without Haku, the three of us could easily handle these guards," Leon asked doubtfully.

“Yes, we’ve always thought of you as just an ordinary person like us,” Lehman said frankly, expressing what the two of them were thinking.

Damn it, these two are really unlovable, they just blurt out the truth. Although Li Ang thought this, he couldn't say it directly like the two of them, so he could only explain: "Don't worry, that's because I didn't use a gun before. Don't be fooled by the fact that my physical fitness and martial arts skills aren't much better than the average person, my treasures are extraordinary."

After saying that, Li Ang showed them the pistol that looked strange to the others.

To protect the shipyard and prevent people from escaping, the entire shipyard was turned into a concentration camp, surrounded by barbed wire.