Accidental Discharge

Uta lowered her telescope and turned to inform Louis of the ship's characteristics.

"Four-masted, with dragon-shaped decorations on the sides, and a dragon head hanging from the bow..."

"I see, it's the Winter Grama. It's a sailboat belonging to the Brave... no, the Revolutionary Army."

A flicker of understanding flashed in Louis's eyes as he confirmed the other party's identity.

If that was the case, the strong individual on the opposing sailboat should be the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon. He, who was also known by many netizens in his past life as the Sweat King.

Louis offered no comment on this.

He himself was extremely mysterious. Apart from his name and a small part of his past, people knew almost nothing about him.

Even Louis himself knew very little about Monkey D. Dragon.

"Monkey D. Dragon..." Louis whispered.

Meanwhile, aboard the Winter Grama.

A minion wearing headphones and a flintlock on his back lowered his telescope with a solemn expression and sounded the alarm.

"Southeast direction, a ship five nautical miles away, suspected to be a warship!!"

As the words fell, someone immediately scrambled up the watchtower and asked anxiously:

"Are you sure it's a warship?"

"Un... uncertain, I can only make out a silhouette in the storm."

"But it's definitely the unique structure of a Navy warship!" The minion handed the telescope to his companion beside him.

"It really is a warship..."

As outlaws who roamed the seas, they were very familiar with the structure of warships, precisely to quickly distinguish the Navy in the darkness or during storms.

"Quick... quickly turn the cannon platforms!"

In an instant, Revolutionary Army soldiers quickly entered combat readiness.

Broadside cannons were aimed at the distant warship, ready to fire as soon as it entered range.

Just then, figures clad in cloaks emerged from the ship's cabin, standing on the deck braving the wind and rain, quietly observing the distant warship.

"It's not a warship!" A tall figure slowly lowered his telescope and said to the figure about 2.5 meters tall beside him.

"It's an unknown pirate crew flying a pirate flag. They probably stole a warship to sail."

"Continue to be vigilant, the opponent's strength cannot be underestimated." Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon's gaze was deep, his tone solemn.

"That ship... is alive!"

Within Dragon's Observation Haki perception, there was a powerful aura on the deck, rarely seen even in the New World, and the warship beneath his feet had a life reaction unique to living beings.

"A living ship?!" The tall figure was dumbfounded, thinking she had misheard.

"Is it a sea beast disguised as a ship, something like an island turtle?"

"No, it's just a normal warship," Dragon replied calmly.

"So amazing..." The tall figure doubted her own senses.

Beside her, an even taller figure spoke, his voice quite gentle.

"Ivankov, have you forgotten? We've also seen a living ship..."

The "woman" called Ivankov was stunned, then subconsciously exclaimed, "That Charlotte Linlin?!"

"Is this her Homies?"

"The Big Mom Pirates came to the East Sea?"

"It shouldn't be, it's probably another Devil Fruit ability." Dragon shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

After a long while, under the increasingly fierce hurricane, the distance between the two sides grew closer, reaching within 3 nautical miles.

This distance was within cannon range, and the members inside the Revolutionary Army's warship were fully prepared. Standing two meters behind the cannons, they gripped the traction ropes, ready to counterattack the moment conflict arose.

In front of the fence, the tall figure leaned down and, in a gentle tone, instructed his companion standing beside him with a flintlock, "Tell the comrades at the broadside cannon positions to be careful. We can't open fire unless they attack us."

"Okay!" The other figure, wrapped in a cloak, responded and left.

Then, Ivankov looked at Dragon and voiced his concerns, "Dragon, should we go take a look?"

"This batch of food is crucial. The fact that we encountered the opponent at this time makes me uneasy..."

Dragon nodded upon hearing this, then said, "I'll go. You might be in life danger facing them."

"..."

The two were stunned and exchanged glances.

The unease in their hearts grew even stronger.

Such a powerful person appearing in the East Sea, and encountering them transporting food in this storm.

Could this... really be an accident?

Then, the tall figure said in a deep voice, "Be careful, watch out for ambushes."

"I will, Kuma."

Dragon nodded in response, then placed a foot on the edge of the fence, ready to go and investigate.

Just then, the storm intensified, whipping up waves dozens of meters high on the sea, crashing against the sailboat with immense force.

This caused the giant sailboat to toss and turn in the waves, constantly tilting and swaying.

Inside the ship, on the broadside cannon platform.

The violent shaking caused the hull to tilt precariously. Many Revolutionary Army soldiers were instantly thrown to the ground.

Among them, on one soldier's hand, the rope tied to the cannon firing mechanism was pulled taut, instantly triggering the firing mechanism.

"Boom..."

Accompanied by brilliant firelight illuminating the night sky, a black cannonball shot out of the cannon bore. With a piercing whistle, it flew out.

"..."

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone on the ship.

A hint of shock appeared on Dragon's face.

"Who fired the cannon?!" Ivankov's face turned ashen.

Inside the cabin, cries of alarm erupted.

Several people learned that it was an accidental discharge caused by the recent waves.

Kuma slowly removed the glove from his hand and said lightly, "This is troublesome."

He knew that those who grew into strong individuals on this sea shared a common trait—stubbornness.

It was fine if things were peaceful normally, but if one side fired first, things would head in an unpredictable direction.

Pirates who roamed the seas, always with their lives on the line, wouldn't believe it was an accidental discharge!

Even if they knew it was an accidental discharge, so what?

Pirates who felt provoked wouldn't care about all that.

"Lower the sails! Those inside the cabin, protect the food!!" Dragon immediately issued the highest priority order.

Clearly, Dragon had no intention of getting entangled with the other party here. Even if he had the ability to defeat them.

On one hand, their side was in the wrong.

On the other hand, the opponent's abilities were unknown. If they couldn't defeat the opponent immediately after engaging, it could lead to unnecessary casualties among their own personnel.

At this moment, the most important thing was to protect this batch of precious grain. Everything else could be put aside.

Meanwhile, after Yelena looked at the flickering firelight in the distance, her pupils constricted, and she immediately pulled Uta behind her.

Seeing this, Louis slowly drew the Seven Star Sword.

A dark cannonball streaked across the night sky, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound, landing more than ten meters away from the warship and erupting into a spray dozens of meters high.

Perhaps due to the sea breeze, the shelling from 3 nautical miles away had missed the warship.

Yelena subconsciously tightened her grip on her warhammer and looked at Louis, "Louis, they've opened fire!"

"Probably an accidental discharge!" Louis replied casually.

Just then, Island Cloud descended from the sky, directly engulfing the entire warship and lifting it into the air.

Uta peeked out from behind Yelena, looking hesitant, and tentatively asked, "Then... should we fire back?"

Hearing this, Yelena looked at Louis's retreating back and remained silent.

"Of course, whether it was an accident or not, they did open fire after all."