Seizing the Initiative

Long pushed open the door and walked out of the room.

It was midday, the sky was blue and the grass was green, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the scenery was quite pleasant.

They appeared to be in a small village.

However, the village is very small, with only a dozen or so scattered houses as far as the eye can see.

The members of the Hell Pirates were in different places, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

Dom stood guard at the door, resting with his eyes closed.

Dorans sat cross-legged under the shade of a tree, happily eating a meat bone.

Rob Lucci was a little further away, seemingly gazing at the scenery on the distant sea.

Yurivich's enormous body lay on the roof, basking in the sun.

Only Kaka was nowhere to be seen.

Hearing the door open, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it.

"Captain."

"King."

The calls came one after another.

Long smiled and nodded.

How long have I been unconscious?

He asked.

"Half a month."

Dom immediately stood up.

Where's Kaka?

Long looked around.

"He went to stake out the beach... This is a relatively remote island in the East Blue, sparsely populated with only a few households. Although it's usually deserted, people inevitably venture out... so..." Dom explained.

"Yingge..."

Long frowned slightly.

"He's dead...killed by the Shiki," Dom said.

"Um."

It's a pity... One Piece are never a 'safe' profession, especially given the immense risks involved in their actions. Therefore, the moment you join the Hell Pirates, you must be prepared to die at any moment. Against a powerful enemy like Shiki, losing even one crew member is actually considered minimizing casualties.

"Are you injured?"

Oboro looked at Yuri, who was jumping down from the roof, and asked.

"A minor injury."

Yuri said coldly.

He made it sound so easy, but even half a month later, the One-Punch Man the Shiki had given him on the stomach still left a shocking scar that even the Demon Tribe's body's self-healing power couldn't completely erase. Moreover, judging from Yuri's aura, his injury hadn't fully healed.

It will probably take some time to recover.

Seeing Lucci's gaze flicker towards him, Rob Lucci, hands in his pockets, approached and said, "The Navy and the World Government already know about Shiki's death... They've resettled the displaced natives on the floating islands, and also took away the results of Shiki's research, a drug called SIQ. As for the survivors under Shiki's command, some escaped before the Navy arrived, while others were detained..."

"The World Government originally wanted to keep this news a secret to prevent our infamy from spreading further... However, the news agency leaked the information first. Now, everyone knows that we killed Shiki... but the reaction is not as big as the trouble we caused at Twin Cape. In the eyes of the outside world, Shiki is, after all, someone who disappeared decades ago... Many people even thought he was dead long ago. So, no matter how powerful Shiki is, in the eyes of others, he is just an old One Piece in his twilight years."

Dom chimed in, "And some guys think we got a great deal..."

"Old One Piece?"

"Hehe."

Oboro Ichiraku.

It doesn't matter... He doesn't need the world to know the truth.

As for Shiki's abilities... those people from the Sengoku, and the Yonko, at least they knew about them.

"Is there anything else?"

Long pressed on with another question.

"Oh... right, Captain, the East Blue One Piece you mentioned, that's Straw Hat Luffy..."

"Um?"

"Their group has already entered the first half of the Grand Line and is heading towards the Sabaody Archipelago. They seem to be on Winter Island right now," Dom said. "I've inquired around, and Straw Hat Luffy has done quite a bit in the East Blue. One of the more noteworthy things is a group of fish-man One Piece led by a guy named Arlong, who is a former member of the Sun Pirates."

He's just a fishman, so there's nothing to say about him. The reason Dom cares is because of Fisher Tiger's 'Sun Pirates'.

Given Fisher Tiger's 'weight', Arlong, as a former comrade, shouldn't be too weak. Although the East Blue is the weakest sea, it's still quite 'outrageous' that Arlong could be defeated by a kid who has only been at sea for a short time.

Dom, of course, didn't know what level Arlong was at; he just felt that since Aaron had once been Fisher Tiger's partner, it was as if he had been gilded.

"Furthermore, they defeated the Krieg Pirates, who were hailed as the rulers of the East Blue... And in Loguetown, Straw Luffy encountered Smoker, but ultimately managed to safely enter the Grand Line. This should have happened after the Twin Cape War..."

They knew nothing about Luffy before because he was in the North Blue.

Now that I'm already in the East Blue, some things... are still quite easy to find out.

Furthermore, the World Government and the Navy will only begin to take Luffy seriously and release his bounty information to the public after the Alabasta Kingdom defeats Crocodile.

"So fast..."

Long's heart stirred.

Luffy's speed is truly frightening.

Then he thought of Hawkeye.

When the two fought at Reverse Mountain, Hawkeye must have already come into contact with Zoro.

The Krieg Pirates were probably wiped out by then.

"Having arrived at Winter Island, is the information accurate?"

Long pondered for a moment.

Winter Island, also known as Drum Island, the Sakura Kingdom.

So, Luffy must have met Chopper... He's about to enter Alabasta, and then it's 'Skypiea'.

"He's the number one information broker in the North Blue, and he's in contact with many One Piece who roam the first half of the Grand Line... Moreover, it seems that Winter Island is currently being controlled by a One Piece Wapol. Combined with the information I recently gathered in the East Blue, and calculating the time and their speed of travel, it all matches up."

"We need to hurry."

He squinted his eyes slightly.

He wasn't too concerned about Luffy's 'itinerary', but he couldn't let the Skypiea Straw Hat Pirates get there first.

"Pack up, we're getting ready to go."

Long gave the instructions.

He had originally planned to do some things in the East Blue, but now it seems he has to give up for the time being.

Next... we'll venture deeper into the Grand Line.

"Yes."

So, they're finally ready to enter the Grand Line...

Rob Lucci the sound.

Entering the first half of the Grand Line means they will face a direct confrontation with naval forces.

It's important to know that the Navy, including the World Government, has put a lot of effort into its deployment in the first half of the Grand Line.

In the past two weeks, he secretly contacted higher-ups twice to report some information.

It was later confirmed that Oboro's injuries were indeed serious. Rob Lucci even considered assassinating him, but due to Dom's vigilance and Yurivich's awakening, he lost his chance. Furthermore, aside from Dom and Yuri's influence, Rob Lucci wasn't entirely confident he could kill the God Slayer... because the man's abilities were too bizarre and mysterious.

Despite being severely injured, the other party's flesh and blood were gradually regenerating on their own... It was simply too 'bizarre'.

Of course, he also informed his superior about the abilities that Oboro was beginning to show.

The original plan was to take advantage of God Slayer's unconsciousness to notify the government or navy to attack the island, but the higher-ups somehow received information and abandoned the opportunity. It's said that one of the true goals of God Slayer, the Hell Pirates, was to dethrone one of the Yonko ... Therefore, it would be perfect to let the Hell Pirates and one of the Yonko fight like dogs.

Moreover, given that they don't yet have a true 'understanding' of the God Slayer, acting rashly would not only expose their plan... but also risk failure.

After all, they've failed several times already...

Regardless of whether the Hell Pirates or the Yonko are defeated or killed, the biggest beneficiary will be the World Government.

That would be fantastic if we could eliminate both the God Slayer and the Yonko!

Therefore, the timing of the World Government's intervention is crucial... This requires 'Rob Lucci' to act as an informant, providing crucial information at critical moments.

Based on this, the World Government chose to 'wait and see' this time and did not take action.

In the government's eyes, the current Hell Pirates are certainly not strong enough to challenge the Yonko. However, the defeat of Shiki has given the government a chance to "use someone else's knife to kill him." After all, they can hardly stop the God Slayer from heading to the Grand Line. As for when the war will begin, that depends on the God Slayer's own will.

Rather than wasting our own energy and manpower, it would be better to... let the One Piece kill each other.

The government could easily 'fuel' the fire.

The main problem is that every time the government and the navy launch an attack, the results are not very good.

Given the current situation of the Hell Pirates and the impact of the Twin Cape War, Rob Lucci believes that, including the assessments of the higher-ups, if they enter the Grand Line, they will definitely use the God Slayer's abilities to 'take advantage of loopholes'.

Therefore, conventional interception methods are unlikely to be effective.

The God Slayer is not easy to capture, so it's better to wait for the day he clashes with the Yonko.

With the power of the God Slayer, the Hell Pirates will definitely be able to travel faster than other One Piece crews on the Grand Line, and entering the New World will be a piece of cake.

Therefore, the day when war with the Yonko begins will not be too far off.

Rob Lucci was simply curious, but the higher-ups seemed completely certain about the Hell Pirates' challenge to the Yonko, without a shred of doubt.

Where did this news come from?

Who provided it?