The Great Voyage Begins with the Celestial Dragons

"Let's go, first say goodbye to our dear teacher Zephyr, and then go watch a battle between top-tier experts."

Chapter 32 Operational Deployment

One hour later.

An ordinary-looking warship quietly left the Navy Headquarters. Apart from the Navy's top brass, no one knew that half of the Navy's combat power had suddenly left the Navy Headquarters.

The warship carried three of the Navy's top combatants: Fleet Admiral Sora and two newly appointed Admirals, Akainu Sakazuki and Kizaru Borsalino.

The Pirate King Roger ushered in the Great Pirate Era, causing new pirates to appear every day in the four seas and the Grand Line, plunging the entire sea into chaos.

However, at the same time, the navy also ushered in its most prosperous period.

Legendary pirates are either dead or captured, and most of the new pirates have not yet reached their peak, while the Navy's top combat power remains unscathed.

Although they are not as numerous as pirates, the Navy has an overwhelming advantage in top-tier combat power.

Even without the three top combatants, the remaining top combatants are enough to sweep across the sea.

Inside the warship's command center, Luther sat side by side with Marshal Sora, while Gion stood behind Luther, and below them sat two newly appointed generals.

“Gion, tell me about the Red Earl,” Luther said.

The news came from the World Government, and this hunt was jointly commanded by him and Kong.

Olvia has just completed the handover with Gion and obtained all the information about the Red Earl.

"Okay, Your Highness."

Pointing to the map of the calm zone next to the whiteboard at Gion Station, he said:

"Fars Island, the place where the Red Earl appeared, is a deserted island located in the calm zone. No one lives on the island, and there are hardly any living creatures."

"How terrifying, to be on an island in a windless zone."

Kizaru spoke in an exaggerated and sarcastic tone, but his eyes remained fixed on his fingertips, as if he was considering which finger to fix.

The world of One Piece is roughly divided into four seas: East, West, South, and North. These four seas are separated by the Red Line in the center and the Grand Line, which resembles the equator.

The area between the Grand Line and the four seas is located in a latitude zone with light or calm winds, making it impossible for ordinary sailing ships to navigate; this area is known as the Calm Belt.

Generally speaking, if the Four Seas want to enter the Grand Line, they can only go to the Reverse Mountain where the Four Seas meet and go downstream to enter the Grand Line.

This is the route that almost all pirates take, and only naval warships can cross the Calm Belt using their own power.

However, because the Calm Belt is filled with giant sea monsters, often thousands of meters in size, which can easily capsize ships, naval warships do not often go to such places.

Knowing this, Kong frowned and raised his own question:

"After hearing this news, I had a question: how was the Red Earl discovered when he ran away to the deserted island in the Calm Belt?"

"He first appeared on Fishman Island, where he was monitored by the CP organization, and then swam into the Calm Belt on his own to reach Fars Island," Gion said.

After she finished speaking, both Sora and Sakazuki's expressions turned serious, while Kizaru remained indifferent.

Seeing this, Luther's lips curled up slightly, and he concluded with certainty:

“That’s right, he’s provoking our navy. Red Earl is born with Observation Haki that can read minds, so he probably discovered we were looking for him even earlier.”

As he spoke, Luther's expression gradually became serious:

"If he wanted to run, it would be very difficult for us to catch him. But by adopting this posture, he has clearly chosen a battlefield to lure us in."

“The Red Earl has always been alone, but I still suspect something is amiss. Perhaps he is luring away our navy’s top combat power, or perhaps he is trying to eliminate everyone who went there. Just to be on the safe side, I had Gion confirm something through the government’s intelligence network.”

At Luther's prompting, Gion nodded slightly and said:

"According to government intelligence, the pirate crews of Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom have not made any moves, and their captains are in their respective territories, so it can be inferred that this is the personal action of Red Earl."

Currently, apart from these three pirate crews, the other pirates are not taken seriously by the Navy.

The other pirate crews couldn't even muster a single top-tier fighter, so they had no chance of getting involved in Red Earl's affairs.

"Hmph, he's dug his own grave."

Sakazuki twisted his neck, making a cracking sound.

He had always looked down on the remnants of the old regime.

"Oh, that's really scary. I don't want to go up against him."

Kizaru whistled, but no one could tell what he was really thinking.

Seeing that neither of the two generals was quite reliable, Kong forcefully banged on the table:

"Everyone, be serious. Let's start assigning tasks now."

The marshal's words were ultimately effective, prompting the two generals to adopt a listening posture.

But in reality, both Kong and the two generals knew that this battle deployment was just for show.

In order to be promoted to Commander-in-Chief, Kong will have to fight this battle alone, and at most Luther will let Gion be the vanguard at the beginning.

However, given the difference in strength between Gion and the Red Earl, anyone would know that Gion probably wouldn't even be able to expend much of the other's stamina.

The presence of Kizaru and Sakazuki serves two purposes: first, to ensure that Red Earl cannot escape, and second, to protect Luther's safety.

Originally, Kong had planned that Garp and Kuzan would accompany him this time.

Kuzan will be in charge of keeping things in check, and Garp's strength is sufficient to prevent any unforeseen events.

Because of Luther's insistence, Kizaru and Sakazuki were chosen instead.

After what happened with Garp, Luther couldn't trust anyone on Garp's side.

If he were to run into the Red Earl, and the people on his side were to make a single mistake, he would definitely be doomed.

He could have stayed at Navy Headquarters and not wandered around, but that wouldn't have done him any good.

Improving one's Conqueror's Haki requires constant tempering of one's spirit, and watching battles of top-tier experts is also one way to enhance one's spirit.

With two admirals and a lieutenant admiral protecting him, and a naval admiral facing the enemy head-on, Luther had no reason to be afraid of a Red Earl.

The task was quickly assigned to an empty slot.

Kong will be the main force in this operation, and he will face off against the Red Earl.

Kizaru hovered in the air, ready to provide assistance at any moment.

Sakazuki was tasked with providing close protection to Luther, observing the battle from a distance, and being ready to intervene at any moment.

Gion, on the other hand, first tested the waters with the Red Earl, and then, when she was nearly exhausted, she came up from the top of the sky.

By the time the meeting ended, the ships had almost entered the doldrums.

The island of Fars, chosen by the Red Earl, is not far from the naval headquarters; it can be reached by warship in less than a day.

However, the journey was not without its challenges.

Standing on the terrace of the highest deck of the warship, Luther gazed expressionlessly at the calm sea.

In his perception, a deadly crisis lurked beneath the seemingly calm sea surface.

The navy has not yet mastered the technology to coat the bottom of ships with seastone to protect them from attacks by sea kings. Furthermore, Wano Country, a major producer of seastone, is still in turmoil, and the government's seastone reserves are not large.

"Boom!!!"

The calm water surface was rippled.

A jellyfish-shaped sea monster, resembling a mountain, emerged from the front; the part that was just above the surface was already twenty stories high.

"Buzz!"

Luther merely glanced at it casually, then unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, slamming it into the Sea King and instantly shattering its brain.

At this moment, Luther exuded an overbearing aura, and his Conqueror's Haki had become a tangible force.

"Peach Blossom Dance - Flowing Light!"

As the jellyfish-sea kings died and fell back into the water, Gion, who was at the bow of the ship, suddenly drew out the King's Blade, and a pink flying slash was thrown from the tip of the blade.

In an instant, a pink light flashed across the sky and earth, stretching for hundreds of meters.

The sea was briefly cleaved by this strike, creating two giant waves that dispersed to the left and right.

The peach-colored sword energy easily sliced ​​through the giant sea king's body, as if cutting tofu, instantly slicing it in two. Blood flew like raindrops, and the corpse slowly fell into the deep sea in two parts.

With just one sword strike, the obstruction in front of the warship was eliminated.

Seeing the corpses spraying blood everywhere, Sakazuki on the deck frowned slightly and gently pushed his hands into the air.

A thin film of crimson magma formed, and the blood raindrops that fell onto the film were instantly evaporated, not a single drop falling onto the ship.

Taking advantage of this gap, the warship passed between the two halves of the sea king's corpse and headed towards Fars Island without slowing down at all.

Chapter 33 Clash of Conqueror's Haki

"The 15th one!"

As Luther gazed at the colossal sea monster that had collapsed like a mountain, a sense of calm remained in his eyes.

Conqueror's Haki is virtually invincible against Sea Kings with low intelligence; a single Conqueror's Haki attack can kill them instantly.

Combined with Gion's casual flying slashes, it can clear a path for the warships.

For Luther, this was a kind of training in his domineering nature, so he wasn't unwilling to do it.

Furthermore, through continuous practical training, his control over Conqueror's Haki has improved even further.

The warships continued to advance, and the CP organization around Fars Island kept sending out intelligence.

After arriving on the island, the Red Earl remained there, sitting quietly on a rock to rest, as if he knew what was going to happen.

Luther knew that the Red Earl could read minds of CP members and keep track of Luther and the others' movements at any time.

They made no attempt to hide anything and simply sailed openly toward Fars Island.

Just like the Golden Lion who attacked the Navy Headquarters a year ago, Red Earl is simply seeking defeat and death.

The successive falls of Roger and the Golden Lion triggered this series of chain reactions.

When a pirate loses his pursuit, he loses the motivation to continue sailing the seas.

They either get killed by other pirates, retire quietly, or attack the Navy and do crazy things.