One Piece Gunslinger

Li Ang was both worried and pleased when he heard Kela's words. He was worried that his apprentice was so smart that he might surpass his master in the future, and then it would be difficult to show off. He was pleased, though, that if his apprentice really did surpass his master, then Li Ang could leave his affairs to his apprentice and go off to live a carefree life.

Otherwise, if he serves as chief of staff for too long, he might really turn into an emotionless robot. Li Ang said that he prefers to travel around and be a goofball rather than sitting in the center strategizing.

Li Ang praised, "As expected of my smartest little disciple, he even thought of this."

“Yes, Roger didn’t rely on anything else; just by having the title of ‘Pirate King,’ he had already touched the very foundation of the World Government and affected their dominance of the seas.” After praising him, Li Ang continued.

"In other words, it gave the Celestial Dragons' invincible ship a slight chance of being capsized."

"But the Navy doesn't dominate the oceans yet, there are still many pirates at sea!" Koala asked, puzzled.

Li Ang smiled without saying a word, looking at Kela.

Koala immediately realized: "It was Roger. Roger's last words led to the Great Pirate Era."

"That's right. Although Roger already had the ability to shake the great ship, he didn't have much time left and was powerless to overthrow the World Government. So he deliberately surrendered and said those words. And while his words led to the current rampant state of pirates, they also made the great ship even more unstable."

Clara's eyes gradually brightened, but Leon didn't notice and continued, "There are many countries in the world that persecute their citizens like Britain. Some do it secretly, like Charlie did, while others are blatant and unscrupulous, relying on the support of the World Government. Today, the people of Britain have overthrown Charlie, but there are still countries like Iron Britain, Bronze Britain, and Silver Britain that are still suffering."

Koala's eyes grew brighter and brighter: "So, Master said so much, could it be that you want to tell me that if our Revolutionary Army wants to overturn the Celestial Dragons' big ship, we will inevitably need to rely on some external forces, just like the British people relied on our Revolutionary Army's strength when they overthrew Charlie, and pirates are one of them."

"Oh my god," Li Ang couldn't help but think to himself. This Clara's growth rate is a bit too monstrous. Not only can she answer questions quickly, but she's also learned to apply what she's learned to other situations. This is completely illogical!

However, Li Ang also knew that in the world of One Piece, not everything can be explained scientifically; there are some things that simply don't make sense.

"Well, more or less, but not all pirates. Most pirates are just bad guys who only know how to burn, kill, plunder, and commit atrocities. Only a small group of pirates are the help we can use."

“Yes, I understand, just like Fisher Tiger and his Sun Pirates who rescued me back then,” Koala replied with a smile.

Then Kerr's eyes lit up as she continued to press Leon for details of his deeds in Britain: "I understand the reasoning, but could you please continue, teacher, what happened after you led the crowd toward Charles's palace?"

"What's the point of talking about the remaining trivial matters? The plan has been achieved, and it's just a matter of wrapping things up," Li Ang said helplessly.

"Tell me, tell me. I really want to hear how Master finally resolved this matter perfectly." Kerr grabbed one of Leon's hands and shook it like a child.

Wait, no, he's just a child.

"Ugh, there's nothing more to say, I won't talk about it." Li Ang decisively shook his head and refused. What a load of rubbish, a perfect solution? It's precisely because it wasn't a perfect solution that he didn't want to talk about it. If it were a perfect solution, would Li Ang have been able to hold back? He would have spilled the beans without anyone asking.

“Chief of Staff, since she wants to hear it, why don’t you tell her?” Haku, who was sitting to the side, also stood on Kerla’s side.

"Hmph! Haku, why don't you tell us about the swordsman you're going to duel with later?" Li Ang retorted without backing down.

"Huh? Wait a minute," Li Ang and Kela turned around together.

"When did you get there? You were like a ghost, we didn't even notice you." The two said in unison, staring at Haku in disbelief.

"You two, this is incredibly rude! I've been here the whole time, from the very beginning when Kerr and I entered the captain's cabin, and I was just sitting here watching the two of them talk." Haku stood up, veins bulging on his forehead, and shouted angrily, "Did you only notice me when I spoke up just now? Am I just an insignificant person in your eyes?"

Well, Leon and Kera were so engrossed in their conversation that they completely forgot about the fishman Haku sitting by the wall.

Chapter Seventeen: Dynastic Change

Chaos erupted in the captain's cabin as the two men struggled to quell Haku's rage. Leon felt that dealing with the furious Haku was even more exhausting than when he fought Charlie.

After Leon calmed Haku down, Kerla started pestering Leon again, insisting that he tell her how he fought Charlie.

In the end, Li Ang couldn't resist Kella's constant pleas—of course, Haku also played a significant role by egging her on and joining in the commotion—and told her what happened next.

Andrew rushed back as fast as he could, but it was too late. Leon had already led the boatmen to spread the glorious deeds of King Charles throughout the entire island. From the coast to the commercial district, everyone knew about it.

Seeing the agitated crowd, Andrew realized that remaining on the streets would be unwise. He immediately led his soldiers back to the palace to hold the last line of defense.

Leaving the soldiers in front of the palace, Andrew went straight to King Charles's bedroom.

Sure enough, King Charles heard that the boatmen had been released, and his actions were now known throughout the island. Feeling that all was lost, Charles was preparing to pack his things and flee.

Seeing Charlie preparing to flee, Andrew knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, Andrew has failed in his mission and has fallen into the enemy's trap. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Charlie looked at Andrew kneeling on the ground and sighed, "Oh well. I knew this day would come, but I didn't expect it to come so soon."

"Let's not talk about punishment anymore. The fault wasn't yours; it was that we encountered a powerful opponent." Charlie then helped Andrew up, looked at Andrew's face, and said, "Come with me and escape. Continue to be my guard. Anyway, with the speed-up fruit these past few years, it's like I've made decades' worth of wealth. I've befriended many powerful people, and becoming a high-ranking noble in some great country won't be a problem."

Andrew stared at Charlie's face and replied, "Wherever Your Majesty goes, I will follow."

Charles's palace was situated on high ground. Just as the two finished packing and were preparing to leave, they saw a dense crowd surrounding the palace, confronting the soldiers. Although the soldiers were armed, they were being relentlessly pursued by the citizens wielding wooden sticks and iron pots.

"Arnold, wake up! Don't be fooled by Charlie anymore. He's the mastermind behind everything!" A young man in the crowd suddenly shouted at a soldier.

"Patton? What are you doing here?" The soldier looked at his former friend, slowly lowering his weapon, and asked in astonishment.

The people, seeing Patton's actions, began to follow suit.

"Blair! Where are you? Get out here right now, or you'll drive me crazy!" This was a fierce woman.

“Colin! My son, don’t be Charlie’s accomplice. You are still our good son.” This was an elderly father.

……

Amidst these cries of loved ones, the soldiers gradually laid down their weapons, left their ranks, and ran back to their families.

Andrew and Charlie were watching this scene from in front of the palace when a soldier ran up.

"report!"

"No need to report anymore, I've already seen what you want to report!" Andrew interrupted the soldier.

"Um..." The soldier hesitated for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "I think..."

As it turned out, Andrew knew exactly what the soldiers were thinking and had already answered beforehand.

“You don’t need to think about it, I understand,” Andrew sighed. “Sigh, you can go now, I’ve approved it… and the others too, I’ve approved them as well. But next time we meet, we’ll be enemies.”

Watching the departing soldiers, Charlie sighed, "Let's go too. I've built a secret passage in my study that leads to the sea. I've prepared a small boat there beforehand, and we'll set off on that."

After saying that, Charlie picked up his things and quickly led Andrew to the study.

Meanwhile, Li Ang remained in the crowd, watching the gradually disintegrating troops, and exclaimed, "Why do we need 2500 men? Why do we need 1500 men? Without using a single soldier, we can easily disintegrate the enemy from within by relying on the power of the people."

Upon hearing this, Lehman sighed, "Compared to a real battle, this gentle, subtle approach is far more effective. I used to doubt the Chief of Staff, but looking back, I was truly foolish and ignorant."

Li Ang quickly reassured him, "Uncle Lehman, there's no need to belittle yourself. You just lack experience in this area. With your intelligence, becoming the new King of Britain wouldn't be a problem."

“Haha, that’s true. Now I have experience in this area. More important than swords and spears is the support of the people, which is the key to a country’s prosperity,” Lehman laughed.

"As for the King of Britain, what merit do I have to lead the people of Britain? Chief of Staff, please don't joke around."

Li Ang winked at Lehman twice: "Hehe, I wasn't joking."

Lehman shuddered in fright: "You're not really going to make me king, are you? I'm not famous in this country."

“Oh, Lehman, don’t refuse. Our Central Committee has already decided that you will be the new King of Britain. This way, it’s equivalent to our Revolutionary Army secretly controlling the entire country. It won’t attract the attention of the World Government further, and it will expand our influence. It’s a sure thing.” Leon patted Lehman on the shoulder, leaving him no room to refuse.

Then he looked at Louis and said, "Oh, right, you can be Lehman's secretary or minister. You've worked with Lehman for a long time, and I believe you can manage this area well."

Louis looked terrified: "No, no, I can't."

"Oh dear, why are you two being so dramatic? What you've done in Shiying this past year already proves that you're both excellent. Believe me, you just lack some experience now, but you'll get the hang of it soon."

As he spoke, he grabbed Lehman and Louis by the hands in the crowd and dragged them to the front door. Holding their hands up, he shouted:

"Rejoice! Celebrate the end of our days of suffering and the arrival of our wise and powerful new king—Lehman! And his most intelligent and insightful minister—Louis!"

Li Ang's shout drew the attention of the crowd, and everyone's focus naturally turned to him.

Leon continued to shout, "It was Lehman who first noticed the abnormality, it was Lehman who infiltrated the shipyard and discovered Charlie's conspiracy, and it was Lehman who rescued the shipwrights. To save the victims, to save this country, Lehman sacrificed too much."

“He’s right.” An elderly boatman stepped forward and confirmed, “I’ve seen him twice. The first time he sneaked in to investigate Charlie’s plot, and the second time he stormed in to rescue the trapped boatmen.”

Another boatman chimed in, "Charlie saved us, Charlie saved this country."

Li Ang nodded to himself. This assist was really good; it wasn't for nothing that he saved you guys.

“If such a wise, powerful, and selfless person is not king, then who is?” Li Ang said, and pushed the two into the crowd.

The jubilant crowd lifted Lehman and Louis up and tossed them high into the air, chanting, "Lehman! Lehman! Lehman! Louis! Louis! Louis!"

Chapter Eighteen: Generals against Generals, Kings against Kings

Li Ang pushed the two men towards the enthusiastic crowd and prepared to chase after Charlie. Even a fool could tell that Charlie had definitely prepared an escape route for himself, and if he didn't hurry up, the mission would be impossible to complete.

Of course, Li Ang still had his eye on the "Punisher" sword; he wouldn't let such a reward slip by easily.

Just as Li Ang was about to leave, a voice rang out from behind: "Wait for me, Li Ang, let's go together."

Li Ang turned his head and saw that it was none other than the fishman Haku.

"How did you get here so fast? That's a bit too fast," Li Ang complained. In Li Ang's mind, given the speed of their Revolutionary Army's ships, they shouldn't have made it in time. That's why he hadn't planned on having them participate in the later stages, but Haku actually returned so quickly.

“After they left, we made our escape as planned. Halfway through, I got worried about this place, so I jumped into the sea and swam back quickly,” Haku replied matter-of-factly.

Li Ang was speechless. So it was that simple. Well, Haku usually kept a low profile, almost like he had no presence. But I almost forgot that he was a murloc. The murloc's racial talent was on full display at this moment. His swimming speed was much faster than that of a boat.

Haku continued, "When I was on the ship, I noticed a formidable figure on the opposite ship. I was worried that you might encounter him and be in danger, so I rushed over to provide support."

Alright, since we're already here, we can't just send them back, can we? Besides, judging from what Haku said, there's a tough guy to deal with later, so having a helper would be more reliable.

As it turned out, if Haku hadn't come to the rescue, Leon's story would have ended there.

So Li Ang randomly asked a guard for directions to Charlie's study and then ran there on his own.

"Why are you running to the study?" Haku asked, puzzled.

Li Ang replied casually, "A man like Charlie must have prepared a secret passage for himself so he can escape when all hope is lost. We need to catch up with him before he can escape."

Haku was even more confused: "I don't understand your explanation at all. Why is the secret passage in the study, and not somewhere else?"

Li Ang adopted a matter-of-fact expression, then said with feigned distress, "It's obvious, Haku. Since ancient times, these escape routes have always been in the study. It's tradition, it's common sense, Haku. You should read more books and increase your knowledge. You can't keep going like this."

"What kind of common sense is this? Which book recorded this bizarre tradition? I've never heard of such a thing before," Haku shouted.

"Oh, don't worry about the details. Anyway, understanding these principles will prevent you from being taken advantage of or fooled." Li Ang said as he ran, "Look, we're almost there."

The two rushed into the study and looked at the documents scattered on the floor. Li Ang analyzed, "Look, these documents must have been knocked down when they were running away in a panic."

Then Li Ang pointed to the lamp on the wall and said, "This lamp has some paint peeling off, but the other lamps don't. This must be a mechanism in the secret passage."

Upon hearing this, Haku went to the front and turned on the light on the wall. To their surprise, the study floor opened with a rumbling sound, revealing a staircase leading down to the front.

Why was it unexpected for the two of them? It's because neither of them had imagined that they would actually die like this.

Looking at the exposed secret passage, Haku exclaimed in delight, "Leon, is there anything in this world that you don't understand? I never expected it to be true. You're simply the smartest person I've ever met."

Although Li Ang appeared inscrutable, he was inwardly bewildered. He had only been casually reciting lines from martial arts novels, and it had actually hit the mark.