Krieg Attacks

The East Blue, somewhere at sea.

On a large warship, a seagull flag fluttered in the wind.

An old man with somewhat graying whiskers and a dog-head mask was eating senbei as he asked a Marine navigator, "How much longer until we reach our destination?"

The navigator gave a standard Marine salute. "Reporting to Vice Admiral Garp, we should arrive in approximately thirty-five hours."

Garp smiled kindly. "Good, I understand. I'll go get some sleep first."

Shelz Town.

The huge commotion Leiyin had caused did not attract Krieg first, but the Marines stationed in Shelz Town.

After investigating, the Marines discovered that the people killed were pirates. They also knew that the three of them were pirate hunters, and killing pirates was only natural, so they said nothing.

What the Marines did not know was that, for them, the seeds of disaster had already been sown.

"Big Brother, are we really going to wait here for Krieg?" Joseph could not help asking Leiyin.

Leiyin replied calmly, "Of course."

"O-okay, okay."

Although Joseph and Johnny acknowledged Leiyin's strength, their opponent this time was Krieg, after all—the leader of the Greatest Pirate Crew in the East Blue, an utterly vile villain. He had nearly three thousand subordinates and more than thirty warships. Even if Krieg did not fight personally, his sheer advantage in numbers would be enough to overwhelm anyone.

Leiyin seemed to see through their thoughts. "Why don't you two run while you still can? Krieg will probably arrive here in a couple of days."

Unexpectedly, Joseph changed his usual attitude and declared righteously, "What are you saying, Big Brother? Since you intend to stay here, how could we possibly abandon you in your hour of need?"

Johnny stepped into position beside him in perfect symmetry. The two stood one on either side, both propping their chins up with their fists.

"Since we've followed Big Brother..."

"We're willing to live and die with Big Brother!"

"Joseph."

"Johnny."

"Please continue to guide us, Big Brother!"

Leiyin watched their ceremonial performance, his head covered in black lines. "I-I get it."

The reason Leiyin insisted on waiting here for Krieg was not because he had nothing better to do. He had discovered that the stronger the enemy he killed in direct combat, the more experience he gained, allowing his "ninja level" to rise faster. It was just like a game system: killing small fry yielded little experience, while killing a boss yielded much more.

"If I can defeat Krieg this time, I might be able to unlock that directly..." Leiyin thought, murmuring to himself.

While they waited, the three returned to the ship. Leiyin, unwilling to waste even a moment, continued training.

First, Leiyin stood on the surface of the sea and gathered chakra in his hand, forming the shape of a Great Ball Rasengan. Then he compressed and solidified it further. The chakra sphere in his hand gradually seemed to grow larger. Naturally, things did not go smoothly at first, so Leiyin practiced over and over.

A day later, the person he had been waiting to see finally arrived.

Krieg had finally come.

From far away, Marine sentries spotted dozens of warships sailing toward them. The flagship at the head was Krieg's Deli Donord-Sabel.

The imposing sight sent the Marine sentries rushing to report to their superiors. The colonel of Shelz Town also grew extremely anxious upon receiving the report.

The bespectacled, refined-looking colonel of Branch 153 mentioned earlier was named Short. The only reason he had become a colonel was that he had gained seniority over the years; he had never experienced a real war. Krieg's arrival made his little heart unable to bear the pressure.

Krieg was certainly powerful in the East Blue, but no one had expected him to be so arrogant as to come straight to a Marine base.

As for the three of them—especially Leiyin, who knew the anime well—he had determined that Krieg would definitely come. Krieg worshiped strength to an extreme degree and was domineering and arrogant, more overbearing than a crab. How could he tolerate something like this?

Leiyin's guess was almost identical to Krieg's thinking. You destroyed three of my warships and killed so many of my men. If I don't teach you a lesson, how am I supposed to make a living in the East Blue from now on?

However, Leiyin and the others did not see Krieg's huge force arrive right away.

What had happened?

Shelz Town had two ports. Leiyin's ship was docked at the eastern port, while Krieg entered through the northern port.

Northern port.

Krieg folded his arms across his chest and planted one foot on the flagship's railing as he ordered, "Men, search every inch of this place if you have to. Find those three damned pirate hunters for me!"

"Yes!"

"Raagh!"

The pirates grabbed swords, firearms, and all kinds of other weapons before jumping off the ships and charging into Shelz Town.

Krieg had not brought such a massive force because of some noble sense of loyalty and brotherhood, seeking to avenge his fallen men. The incident had struck a blow to his pride. Besides, he did not know whether those three pirate hunters were still in Shelz Town, so this full-scale assault was entirely meant to bolster his own presence.

A branch colonel's division had, at most, around a thousand men. Krieg, meanwhile, had three thousand. If he defeated Marine Branch 153, he could make a name for himself and further expand the prestige of the Krieg Pirates. Then, even if his casualties were heavy, he could still recruit more men.

Krieg had caused such a tremendous commotion that the Marines naturally could not sit back and do nothing. Though Colonel Short was afraid, he still ordered his men to organize a counterattack.

Branch 153 was, after all, merely an ordinary Marine branch. Its artillery was limited in both quantity and range. Before it could mount an effective attack, the pirates surged in all directions like a tidal wave...

Some of the pirates had received Krieg's order to search for the three pirate hunters. As a result, the innocent civilians in town suffered terribly. They had encountered cold-blooded, vicious pirates who cut down anyone they saw and robbed everything they could.

Pirates were pirates, after all. Their instinct for murder, arson, and plunder could not be changed. They claimed to be looking for someone, but with so many people here, how could they call themselves pirates without doing a little invading?

The residential district had become a living hell, but the Marines simply did not have enough manpower. Krieg had more than three thousand men, while the Marines had only a pitiful seven hundred or so in total. The small Marine force guarding the residential district had already been slaughtered, and the few hundred remaining had all gone to protect the Marine base.

At that moment, the sounds of battle cries, wails, clashing blades, and the sporadic booming of cannon fire rang throughout all of Shelz Town...