One Step Forward Now!

Area 57.

"Old man, when will our coating be ready?"

"There are two more ships ahead of you to deal with, so it should take about two weeks."

"What! Two weeks? That means one, two, three... oh, ten days!"

"Well"

"Boss, it's eleven days." A pirate whispered sheepishly in the captain's ear.

"So it's eleven days? That's even longer!" The captain looked at his men in shock.

"No, it's twelve days," the coating craftsman corrected, exasperated.

"Twelve," the captain said, a flash of anger crossing his eyes. He grabbed the coating craftsman by the collar and glared at him menacingly. "Old man, do you know who I am?"

"You said that before."

"Zebra" Bolton, with a bounty of eleven million Beli.

The gray-haired coating craftsman seemed to be used to this kind of thing, and his expression was very calm.

"Since you know that, then give us the coating first, or I'll smash up your coating shop!"

"This is no good guest, and you'd better put me down, or else," the coating craftsman pointed to the thugs approaching from a distance, "You'll be in trouble."

Areas 50 to 59, though commonly known as the shipbuilding area, actually primarily offer coating services.

The roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove, which are located on the ground of the Sabaody Archipelago, secrete a special natural oil.

When these oils come into contact with air, they condense into a relatively tough bubble.

The coating craftsman's job is to carefully gather a large number of air bubbles together and then apply them to the ship that is about to dive to the seabed.

In this way, the ship can not only avoid being invaded by seawater, but also navigate on the seabed.

The space inside the bubble will also store enough oxygen to allow the people on board to breathe normally at sea for the time being.

Generally speaking, it takes a skilled coating craftsman seven to ten days to coat a ship, depending on the size of the ship and the craftsman's skill level. However, a master like Rayleigh in the future can complete the job in just three days.

Therefore, a large number of ships are moored in this area.

However, this is not the peak season yet; the busiest time for coating artisans is from August to December each year.

This period is the time it takes for pirates to complete a sea route and arrive at Sabaody.

All pirates who want to visit Fish-Man Island or continue their adventures in the 'New World', no matter how high their bounty is, have to obediently pay up to get some protection here.

And there aren't many ordinary times like these anymore.

But not many doesn't mean none.

"Hey, look!"

The craftsmen and customers in Zone 55, located in the heart of the shipyard, suddenly discovered that two Marine warships were sailing by.

Why would the Navy be here?

"Could it be that they're here for coating as well?"

"That's possible!"

"What a load of rubbish! The Marine Base has its own coating technicians, what are they doing here!"

Some people noticed that the two warships were stationary in the distance. This strange situation was nothing to worry about for the normal craftsmen and merchants, but the pirates in the crowd sensed something was wrong.

[Bang! Bang! Bang!]

Just then, a burst of rapid gunfire rang out from behind. Everyone instinctively turned their gaze and saw a group of panicked people running towards them from the 51st section of the entrance.

The gunshots were coming from that direction too!

"Run!"

"Yes, Navy! The Navy is here!"

"The navy is here to catch the pirates!!" a man with blood streaming from his arm shouted in their direction.

Everyone was shocked. The wanted pirates, big and small, were thrown into chaos. They rushed towards the location of the coating shop where the order was placed. Who cares about coating now? Run first!

Keep in mind that this is the Sabaody Archipelago, the island closest to the Marine Headquarters.

Regardless of whether you can win or not, the wisest choice is to run.

Otherwise, if things escalate too much, it might attract monsters of the caliber of Marine Admiral!

[Boom! Boom! Boom!]

However, not long after the first two pirate ships sailed out of the dock in Area 50, they were accurately hit by three cannonballs, which immediately raised a cloud of fire and thick smoke.

The two sideways-mounted main-class warships each had a total of thirty cannons on their sides.

That's enough to completely block the exits from this area!

"Snort!"

Beneath the giant mangrove tree where Sector 51 is located, Comil, who had just cut down two pirates and handed them over to the marines, sneered when he heard the sound of cannons coming from afar.

He knew that pirate ships would choose to set sail hastily.

Therefore, instead of arriving here immediately, they first deployed warships to block the exit.

We'll depart from the base once we receive news of the warships' arrival!

"Major, the search of Sector 51 is complete!" Captain Simpson reported quickly as he approached.

"Captain Rabani, you will take Lieutenant Isoka and one hundred marines into Sector 52 on the left!"

"Yes!"

"Captain Simpson, you will lead one hundred marines into Grove 53 on the right!"

"Second Lieutenant Longo, I'll give you another hundred men to escort the captured pirates back to base!"

Major Comil issued the order with a booming voice, "The remaining two hundred men, come with me to Sector 55!"

"Yes!!"

At this point, there are no truly formidable figures on the island. Blood Axe Paine was already considered one of the top ones, which reassured Comil that they could send them out without worry.

The turmoil in the Inn Street and the shipyard area quickly spread throughout the entire island.

Various factions received urgent reports one after another.

This caused the powerful figures hidden behind the scenes to frown, and some even openly revealed their murderous intent.

But they need time to investigate the specifics before proceeding.

Therefore, an eerie calm descended upon the entire Sabaody Archipelago. It seemed that no one cared about Vincent and Comil's actions, and everyone had chosen to comply.

But Vidal, in the eye of the storm, stood quietly on the training field platform.

They watched as waves of sailors, some walking and some running, approached.

Behind him stood Major Rogers, his back straight, a new shield slung over his arm.

In front of him stood one hundred elite marines lined up in two rows.

This made some of the naval personnel at the base realize the seriousness of the atmosphere, and gradually the area quieted down.

A full half hour passed before all the navy personnel without missions at the base finally assembled, and Vidal showed no dissatisfaction at this sight.

After everyone's attention was focused on him, he took two steps forward.

His height of over three meters instilled a subtle sense of oppression in everyone below.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Forrest Vidal."

"Brigadier Commodore, by orders from headquarters, is now the adjutant at this base."

"Just now, I dispatched two Majors, eight junior officers, one thousand marines, and two warships to thoroughly investigate Districts 50 and Large District 70!"

After saying this, Vidal gave the thousands of sailors below some time to digest the information.

After most people realized where those two districts were, and their faces showed shock, he continued.

"I also want to search Districts 30 and 40, and resume patrols in those areas, so that the Navy can once again control the Sabaody Archipelago!"

Vidal's calm gaze swept across the entire room, and he saw many complex expressions in his eyes.

Shock, horror, disdain, surprise, mockery, etc.

"Now, those who are willing to work with me, step forward."

A huge thank you to Golden Rabbit Silver Dragon Hammer E for the 100-point donation!! Thank you so much!