Twin Cape Naval Battle (6)

The Twin Cape War did not last long after the disappearance of the God Slayer.

It was almost over by noon the next day.

The outbreak and course of this great battle were both intense... but the end was also quite sudden.

The reason is simple: everyone is after the God Slayer... His whereabouts are unknown, which makes the naval battle lose its 'cost' to continue.

After learning that the Hell Pirates' three ships had been destroyed, most of the crew members had died in battle, and their captain, Oboro, had disappeared, some major forces quickly withdrew from the battlefield area... followed by a motley crew of various people who came to join in the fun.

However, while big fish have the ability to escape, it's much harder for small fish to get away unscathed when they come to cause trouble.

Once the troublesome target leaves, the navy's combat power is more than capable of sweeping away and pacifying the situation with overwhelming force.

Looking out, the entire sea was a mess, with corpses floating on the surface and fragments of ship wreckage... Blood stained much of the water.

On the surface, it appears that the navy won the victory.

But in reality, they failed.

Because the God Slayer had once again vanished from their inescapable net.

In the main ship's control room, a somewhat weary Sengoku was holding a Den Den Mushi) and communicating with Tina in the North Blue.

"No?"

"No... As per Chief of Staff Tsuru's instructions, we were already stationed on the other side of the Red Line before the battle began, directly below the Reverse Mountain in the North Blue, but we haven't found anything... It seems the Hell Pirates haven't returned to the North Blue. Of course, it's also possible we just didn't spot them... if they were flying at an astonishing altitude." On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Tina, who had recently taken up her post at the North Blue base, stood on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze as she reported.

As she spoke, she looked up at the clear sky, which was as beautiful as porcelain shards.

A gentle breeze lifted her long pink hair and carried away a wisp of smoke from the cigarette dangling from her lips.

Behind her, dozens of warships stood ready, positioned on all sides of the sea.

Besides her, this massive fleet also includes some of the senior members of headquarters... They are distributed over a vast area of sea, and there are people watching from all directions.

Her arrival in the North Blue was actually a move made in advance by Tsuru, in order to deal with the possibility that God Slayer might escape during the Twin Cape War... But she had already received intelligence from the front... It seemed that Hawkeye, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had already fought against God Slayer late last night, but ultimately failed to stop him.

It flew over the Red Line.

It's possible that the person has already returned to North Blue... or gone somewhere else.

In short, within a short period of receiving the news, their fleet began a tentative 'air search', but they still did not find the target.

On the deck, a large number of soldiers ran back and forth, starting to contact various bases in the North Blue, as well as government intelligence points or informants scattered throughout the North Blue. If the God Slayer returned to the North Blue, they would receive the message as soon as possible, no matter where he went.

After communicating for a while longer, Sengoku gave some orders and then put down the Den Den Mushi.

He rested his hands on the cold, mechanical table, his eyes closed.

The failure to capture the God Slayer means that the Hell Pirates will rise again, and the most critical issue is public opinion! He believes that in just a few days, at least that bastard Morgans will portray the Navy as utterly worthless, and the World Government will once again lose face.

There's no need to be too down.

Just then, a voice rang out from behind.

When Sengoku opened his eyes, he saw a crane.

The old woman clearly saw through his thoughts and said calmly, "For most civilians in the world, they won't delve into the true nature of this war. At least, on the surface, we won this great war... As for the government, we used this battle to capture a large number of One Piece and various criminals, both in number and in terms of bounty. Although there weren't any key figures, it was enough to give them an explanation... Moreover, we also thwarted the Revolutionary Army's plans."

"Their actions this time are most likely an attempt to 'make contact' with the God Slayer... If these two groups are on the same side, then the future of the sea may really change. We didn't capture the God Slayer, but at least the Revolutionary Army didn't succeed either... This is already the best outcome."

"Recently, the One Piece sea have shown clear signs of gaining momentum, and we urgently need a victory like this to quell their arrogance."

"Hehe..."

Crane's words clearly failed to alleviate Sengoku's worries. He sighed, "A coincidence? Those two just happen to be named Long."

After saying that, he glanced at the crane and asked, "You were already prepared for him to run away?"

"As I said, he's no ordinary One Piece... There are many things about him that we don't know. This is just an experiment... No one can say for sure that they have a winning strategy against someone like him! Moreover, what's even more worrying than this battle is what's to come..."

Crane spoke calmly, preparing to turn and leave.

"Later?"

"We've deployed such a large force, yet it still poses no obstacle to him... In other words, it would be very easy for him to enter the Grand Line, and given his abilities, he could choose many methods. In that case, why did he put on this grand show, losing so many people for no reason... Do you think it was just to embarrass us, or... just for the sake of making a scene?" Tsuru's words made Sengoku frown, and a chill ran down his spine.

"No one would waste their energy and time doing something that doesn't benefit them... especially someone like him."

He opened the door. "The longer he prepares and the more effort he expends, the more astonishing his true purpose becomes."

"Let's prepare in advance... I've already contacted the government and asked them to review and analyze all the previous intelligence related to the Hell Pirates as soon as possible."

"Furthermore, the government will release a report before the news agencies do... with the headline: 'We have blocked the God Slayer from entering the Grand Line. His attack failed, and the entire Hell Pirates was almost wiped out!' In terms of public opinion, we may not necessarily suffer a loss."

"Um."

Sengoku rubbed his temples and nodded slightly.

Then, the crane went out the door.

"Fufufu..."

Tsuru, a thin man in a cloak, had just stepped out of the control room when she saw Doflamingo sitting arrogantly on the ship's railing, emitting a piercing laugh.

"Lieutenant General Tsuru".

A greeting rang out from not far away.

Momousagi, having returned from battle, boarded the ship and came looking for him.

Crane smiled and nodded at her.

Then, his gaze fell calmly upon Doflamingo.

"Doflamingo... you really are a wicked guy."

Crane chuckled softly, as if teasing an elder who was playing a joke on a junior.

"Old woman... I've been doing everything according to your orders, even Hawkeye failed... You're not going to blame me for that, are you?" Doflamingo said sarcastically.

"This time... you have some people with you, right?"

Crane's smile remained unchanged. "We've captured quite a few... and we've already interrogated them."

"They're not my people; I'm just offering a hefty reward."

Doflamingo grinned. "I have a grudge against the God Slayer... and we were rivals in the North Blue. He's dead... no one is happier than me! Besides, after all... I'm One Piece too, and I'm envious of his abilities... so, it's okay for me to pay someone to help me, right?"

"As a Shichibukai, I naturally have to obey the government's arrangements... However, as One Piece... I also have a certain degree of autonomy, which you cannot interfere with. This was agreed upon from the beginning!"

Indeed, what he said was perfectly reasonable; at least, there was no fault in it.

"Don't get too cocky, Joker. You need to understand that the privileges you have come from those few people, not from yourself."

"Their patience also has its limits."

Tsuru wasn't angry, seemingly too lazy to argue with Doflamingo. She led Momousagi along, casually saying a few words as they passed each other.

She is now certain that the Joker was the one who revealed the plan, but given his methods, he must have already cleaned up his mess thoroughly before daring to do it... and the outcome is already decided, so Doflamingo's dirty tricks to muddy the waters actually... won't have much of an impact.

It's completely unnecessary to waste your energy on it.

I just don't know... whether he genuinely coveted the God Slayer's power, or if he had some other motive...

However, her two sentences seemed to strike Doflamingo right in the heart.

It hits the opponent's vital point.

This caused Dover's expression to darken instantly.

It looks terrible.

Tsuru had Doflamingo firmly under her control.

For a strong-willed and assertive guy like Doflamingo, what he finds most unacceptable is that everything he has received comes from the charity of the "Celestial Dragons".

But he couldn't refute it, because to some extent, it was true.

Doflamingo's own efforts... seem to be negated by the halo of being a 'Celestial Dragons'.

"Fufu".

Doflamingo gave a cold smile as he watched the crane's departing figure.