Killing with a Borrowed Knife
On a small boat, Whitebeard Jr. hoisted the sail and began to sit down and row by hand.
Miss Bakkin, standing to the side, was counting the spoils of war.
The woman seemed to have completely forgotten about her encounter with the God Slayer, her eyes now only on these valuable items.
However, the mother and child were unaware that a black dot in the sky above the sea was following the trajectory of the ships.
In the sky, Oboro stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the small boats on the sea.
His eyes were cold.
Miss Bakkin ... Since this woman is ungrateful, there's no need for her to stay!
Originally, Oboro planned to use Miss Bakkin's identity to cause trouble for Shanks and escalate the chaos in the New World, thus preventing outsiders from suspecting the Hell Pirates. However, Oboro has changed his mind... Edward Weevil is an invaluable asset, and most importantly, he's mentally unstable and easily controlled, completely obedient to Miss Bakkin. Therefore, he didn't kill him on the island, because if he did, Edward Weevil would consider him an enemy.
Naturally, it has no value for exploitation...
Therefore, Oboro could only wait until now to take action and let this woman die in a 'natural' accident.
"Die."
Last Whisper and indifferently.
He took his hand out of his pocket, opened his palm, and pointed it at the black dot moving across the sea, slightly twisting his fingertips.
Immediately, towering white waves rose up all around the small boat where the mother and child were, as a tremendous force tore and controlled the seawater, causing it to rise into the air.
At the same time, a terrifying whirlpool appeared beneath the ship.
The powerful suction caused the ship to capsize instantly, plunging into a deep, abyss-like 'underwater black hole'.
"Edward Weevil!"
"Mother!"
The sudden turn of events caught the old woman completely off guard. She was still enjoying the joy brought by the gold and silver treasures when, in the blink of an eye, the small boat went out of control and was swept downstream by the swirling, astonishing current.
All the valuables in front of her flew away in an instant.
Ignoring the pain in her heart, Miss Bakkin immediately grabbed the plank of the boat and steadied herself firmly.
Unfortunately, her small body was too weak, and before Edward Weevil could catch her, she was already thrown into the air... She could only let out a wail in mid-air.
Edward Weevil tried to intervene, but the tsunami rising from all directions was already crashing down on the whirlpool at its center.
Finally, a massive white wave rose up, obscuring the sky.
The powerful current instantly submerged the two people and their boat.
The seawater rippled in vast circles and gradually calmed down.
In mid-air, with a blank expression, he put his hands back into his pockets.
Subsequently, the spiritual intent burst forth and spread through the power of the soul, passing through the sea area where the shipwreck was located and reaching underwater.
Although his soul power has been suppressed by the world's will, as he spends more and more time in the One Piece world, coupled with the improvement of his Qi cultivation methods and his own strength, this 'binding' is slowly loosening.
At least, you no longer need to physically interact with Sea Kings and other aquatic creatures to control them.
Oboro's thoughts were received by the ferocious aquatic creatures in the sea, mostly sea beasts... These creatures seemed to suddenly become frenzied and bloodthirsty, swimming towards the direction where Miss Bakkin had sunk. At this time, the latter was suffering from the heavy impact and pressure of the seawater and had long lost consciousness, and was 'sinking to the bottom'. Edward Weevil was not nearby either.
So, almost instantly, the nearest sea monster opened its mouth full of sharp teeth and frantically tore at Miss Bakkin's flesh, finally swallowing her whole.
Oboro remained unmoved, and after locking onto Edward Weevil's location with his senses, he fled far away.
This kind of shipwreck can't kill Whitebeard Jr.... Without Miss Bakkin, this future Shichibukai will definitely be lost. At this time, it would be easy to find someone to replace Miss Bakkin with a little maneuvering... especially by making up some stories related to Miss Bakkin and Whitebeard.
Whitebeard Jr..'s fighting strength could be described as 'monster,' but he was far from being a prodigy. At most, he was slightly stronger than Yurivich, making him a high-ranking member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He could hold his own against an Admiral, but to say that he could truly rival a Marine Admiral would be an exaggeration... because in later years, Whitebeard Jr.. went to his 'father's' hometown and clashed with Admiral Green Bull, ultimately losing to him. Regarding his reputation, one reason was that he cut off Zephyr's arm and killed most of the Marine 'students' of that year, and another was Kizaru's statement that he possessed strength no less than Whitebeard in his youth.
But in Oboro's opinion, whether it was physical strength or spirit, Edward Weevil was far inferior to Whitebeard.
Most importantly, no matter how strong Edward Weevil... with that kind of mind, he is destined not to become a powerful being who can dominate the seas.
However, someone who is easy to control and comes along for free... I wouldn't mind taking them in for a while.
After all, compared to most people at sea, Whitebeard Jr.. was still among the top tier.
Half a month later, Oboro returned to the Blood Pluton.
His plan is already in full swing.
Gild has already transferred the Silver Pirates Alliance to an uninhabited island beneath Skypiea in the New World and stationed them there. This island is very small and has almost no resources on land, so it hasn't attracted the attention of any faction, and many people don't even know about it.
All shipbuilding materials circulated through underground forces are first transported to the island in batches, and then secretly sent to the sky using Oboro's abilities.
From the outside, it simply appears to be a One Piece group establishing a foothold in the New World, or even incorporating the island into their territory for development—a perfectly normal scenario. Of course, the key to rebuilding Gran Tesoro without anyone noticing is to keep the secret.
Therefore, everyone in the Silver Pirates must keep their mouths shut... as well as those laborers who were lured in by money and recruited.
Once these people get to the island, they almost completely lose their personal freedom.
Before long, scattered buildings and some factories began to appear on the island.
As for what these factories are doing and what kind of shady dealings they have, only the members of the Hell Pirates know... Gild Tesoro has already taken Baccarat and started to disguise himself under another identity, using his previous connections and power to make contact with the emperors of the underworld.
He himself was not on the island, so Oboro handed over the management of the island to Crocodile... However, what Oboro did not expect was that only two or three months had passed, and the factory on the island had already taken shape... with a large number of chimneys emitting black smoke.
Crocodile's governance efficiency is outstanding.
The island was filled with sewage and the air was terrible... As for the laborers, they were living as if they were in Asura Purgatory.
I've heard that many people have tried to escape, but none of them have succeeded.
Ultimately, the escapees were all killed, and their bodies were thrown into a mass grave in the center of the island.
This scene involuntarily reminded Oboro of what Kaido had done to Wano Country.
The labor force in the 'Skypiea,' which is the base for building Gran Tesoro, consists of the temporary crew members of the Hell Pirates, as well as a considerable number of other 'professionals' who were also hired.
As the project progresses, the number of people involved will likely increase further.
Rebuilding a giant ship is no easy task.
While the Hell Pirates were developing in an orderly manner, various news frequently emerged from the New World, the most attention-grabbing of which was about Whitebeard Jr..
A woman Sturdale, leading a group claiming to be Whitebeard's offspring, wiped out many former Whitebeard Pirates forces, including some captain-level members, such as the AO Pirates. Interestingly, not only were Whitebeard's remnants affected, but some of Shanks's men were also eliminated by Whitebeard Jr..