The Battle of Ovendo Island

"There isn't even a sentry ship around this island, and they just let us get here like this?" Vidal looked at the empty sea, puzzled.

"Isn't the Germa Kingdom supposed to be a nation skilled in warfare? How come their security measures are so lax?"

Sengoku stood beside him, gazing at the island beginning to descend into chaos, and said softly, "Because they have complete confidence in the seclusion of Ovendo Island."

"In this situation, don't you find it even stranger that there are several patrol boats going back and forth outside the island?"

Vidal immediately understood. Wasn't this a classic case of "protesting too much"? The question then became: how did the World Government and the Navy know about this place?

Is Cipher Pol's reconnaissance ability really that terrifying?!

"Get ready to land, Vidal." Sengoku patted Vidal on the shoulder and said, "This is your first mission, so do a good job!"

"Don't worry, teacher, I will definitely bring Vegapunk back safe and sound," Vidal assured with a light laugh.

"Yes, besides Vegapunk, also keep an eye on that brat from the Vinsmoke family; after all, he has a special status," Sengoku advised, now truly embracing the role of a teacher.

"OK!"

After saying that, Vidal turned around and walked to Rosinante, squatted down and touched the little boy's cheek.

"Are you going to fight?" the boy asked, his face full of worry.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Then we'll go home together and I'll introduce you to my future family and brothers!"

Vidal confidently raised a flag for himself, wanting to prove that as long as he was strong enough, no matter how big or tall the flag was, it couldn't fall on him.

"Alright, go back to your cabin and don't come out until I get back, understand?"

"Okay!" Rosinante nodded obediently, then glanced at Sengoku beside her, turned and jogged away.

Vidal stood up, his face losing all its gentleness, and looked coldly at Ovendo Island.

The world's most elite war expert? Let's show him what we're made of this time!

[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]

Five minutes after Ovendo Island came within range of the ship's guns, fifteen well-equipped cannons on the side of the island began to bombard its perimeter.

They were providing fire support for the naval forces landing on the island.

At this moment, small boats filled with marines of all ranks poured out of the warships, and in the blink of an eye, the entire sea was filled with ships and people.

On Ovendo Island, twelve gun emplacements rose from the ground one minute after being subjected to heavy artillery fire, launching a fierce counterattack against the navy.

Without any communication between the two sides, they immediately clashed upon meeting, exchanging artillery shells as if nothing had happened!

[Call out--]

Amidst the whirlwind of shells flying through the air, some were perhaps lucky, or perhaps the island's gunners were just incredibly accurate.

It traced a graceful arc and precisely targeted those unfortunate little boats.

If there's a skilled fighter on the ship who's adept at "Rankyaku" or can slice through cannonballs with a sword, that's fine. But if they're all just ordinary soldiers, they're basically doomed to die before they even get started.

This was the usual practice, but this time the marines found that things were different.

Those small boats, unable to intercept the shells, miraculously had a thick, semi-circular Wood Ingot Wall rise from their bows the instant the people closed their eyes to await their deaths, firmly protecting them behind them.

Even when the shells exploded, apart from some deafening noise and the small boat shaking, there were no casualties!

"This... this is..." A navy officer slowly opened his eyes, looking in surprise at the object blocking his view, but quickly retreated back into the wooden wall inside the ship.

"This is Vidal's Devil Fruit power!"

"No, that's right. Colonel Vidal's ability is to control trees. I even bought two 'Green Beans' from him before!"

"Damn, where did you get so much money? Give me one!"

"Roll!"

On a small boat just like everyone else's, Vidal listened to the loud shouts of "Long live Lord Vidal!" all around him, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

Behind him stood ten officers, all dressed in Justice Coats, including Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, and even Colonels.

But everyone willingly followed behind this overly tall man.

Especially when they saw that the man had safely landed on the island without losing a single boat, their eyes were filled with admiration.

But Vidal didn't see any of this, because he was recalling his conversation with Sengoku the day before.

"Teacher."

"What's wrong?"

I have a question I'd like to ask you.

"Oh? That's good news. Tell me about it."

"I've been thinking, why can't you lead us officers to attack the island for this mission?"

"This would not only significantly reduce the casualty rate, but also greatly improve mission efficiency!"

He genuinely believed that an Admiral leading them to victory would be Ovendo Island.

Even if Vinsmoke Judge moved the entire Germa Kingdom here, it wouldn't make a difference!

Comparable to a modern, weaponized army?

Hehe.

After we defeat the Navy, not a single person will die, believe it or not.

However, Sengoku smiled, put down his pen, and said, "Do you think you're thinking about the lower-ranking marines?"

"Certainly."

"Do you believe that if you actually do that, those marines won't be grateful to you, but will hate you instead?"

"How could that be? I'm ensuring their safety!"

"Then where did their military achievements come from?"

"What do they use to advance their military ranks? What do they use to gain opportunities to improve their strength?" Sengoku's series of rhetorical questions stunned Vidal.

Do you know how an ordinary marine rises step by step to the rank of colonel, or even general?

"It means using military merits to rise in rank, reaching a level where you can access the Six Powers, or even Haki, or using military merits to exchange for Devil Fruits at the Devil Fruit Management Department, thus gaining extraordinary abilities!"

Vidal remembers that after saying those words, Sengoku's expression became very serious and earnest, and at the same time, a look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.

"You need to understand, before you, there were no places like Special Training Camps."

"Me, Garp, Tsuru, and Zephyr —we all fought our way to the top on countless battlefields, using our guns and swords!"

"Even my Great Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu and Tsuru's Wash-Wash Fruit were earned through military merits."

Upon hearing this, Vidal immediately understood that while his idea ensured the safety of the marines, it also blocked their path to promotion.

Even if the road is littered with the corpses and blood of their comrades, they will still grit their teeth and move forward, betting that they can be the ones to fight their way out.

Then they become sergeants, lieutenants, field officers, and generals, eventually rising to the ranks of powerful and influential individuals.

"Therefore, or rather you, just need to do your jobs properly and not interfere in the battles of your subordinates."

"Of course, if you have the ability to quickly eliminate the responsible opponent, you can provide appropriate cover for them, but it's best to let them deal with their opponents themselves."

"Is this what they call the principle of generals facing generals and soldiers facing soldiers?" Vidal muttered to himself.

"That's right!"

"So once you're on the island, don't worry about how the marines are fighting below; just focus on your own mission."

The memory ends abruptly here, as the small boat beneath his feet runs aground. Coming to his senses, Vidal takes one last look at the marines bravely charging through the hail of bullets and cannon fire.

He did everything he could for them, and he has a clear conscience.

"Let's go. Leave the main battle to them. We'll launch a flanking attack on the island's center and complete the mission!"

"Yes!"

[Shuashua~]

As soon as he finished speaking, the eleven people vanished from the boat without a trace, leaving only the empty boat adrift on the waves.

After hearing a friend's evaluation, I finally understood why I didn't have many favorites. To put it bluntly, I was focusing on the logical development of the plot (what I considered logical), but I neglected the importance of the exciting moments.

I've been intentionally laying the groundwork for the future in the plot, but I forgot to bring out the exciting moments, like when Moria takes Cornell's shadow.

My plan was to leave Moria's storyline for later, and I also felt that Vidal's personality wouldn't be too impulsive, so I didn't make this part of the story a climax.

In reality, from the reader's perspective, they would probably hope that Vidal would act impulsively for his parents, rush into the Misty Sea to get involved in the infighting within John Pirates, give Moria a good beating, and reclaim Cornell's shadow.

In this way, although Moria is definitely gone, we've at least got the satisfying part.

If I had written it this way back then, the first volume would have ended with a climax, and it would likely have been collected much more than it is now.

But I was wrong, really wrong. Realizing this afterward made me incredibly regretful and annoyed that I hadn't thought of it at the time.

In the end, I could only console myself by thinking that I lacked experience and that I would try harder next time.

Yes, the low number of book favorites has nothing to do with website recommendations. There's no other reason; it's purely my own fault. So, the book flopped on its first day of sales, and I'm reaping what I sowed!

I'm sorry for letting everyone see a less-than-ideal first volume of the story. I'm too ashamed to ask for any recommendations or donations now.

I just hope that those of you who have read this far will continue to subscribe. Thank you.