Reverse Mountain
On the high seas, three pirate ships sailed side by side. A month had passed since Teach and his crew left the Boka Boka Kingdom.
"Haha, these navy guys are really persistent. We've already sunk fifteen of their warships, and they're still causing us trouble." Wallace looked at the burning, sunken Marine warship in the sea, still carrying the scent of blood. The navy crew on those ships had been completely wiped out.
For the past month, the entire East Blue has known that the Navy is frantically searching for news of the Night Pirates, seemingly abandoning other pirate crews and focusing all its resources on finding Night Pirates.
In just one month, including today's warship, another eighteen warships have been destroyed by the Night Pirates.
However, every time the Night Pirates were spotted, Marine Vice Admiral Brom would lead his fleet to the scene, only to miss them each time, finding only a sinking warship.
Having failed to capture the Night Pirates time and time again, without even a direct confrontation, the entire East Blue Navy has undoubtedly become a laughingstock, with the entire East Blue Navy's strength unable to capture a single pirate crew.
They achieved no results, and consumed a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, losing so many precious warships.
The fact that they couldn't handle a pirate crew can only mean that the Night Pirates are incredibly cunning. They've become much less conspicuous, and once they spot a patrolling Marine warship, they destroy it in a short time and then quickly leave.
During normal rest periods and when purchasing supplies, they are usually placed on some deserted islands, where crew members disguise themselves to buy supplies, so they don't spend extra time on the islands.
For the past month, the Night Pirates have spent most of their time on the high seas.
Despite the strong blockade by the entire East Blue Navy, the Night Pirates always managed to evade them. This was due to Teach's Observation Haki and Baccarat's Lucky-Lucky Fruit ability, which allowed them to use their senses to guide them in the correct direction.
It would be best to avoid encountering Brom, as he didn't want to reveal too much of his strength.
After a month of sailing, the Night Pirates are finally heading to Reverse Mountain, a place they once visited and are now leaving from.
They were to travel from the East Sea to the West Blue via the Reverse Mountain.
"Let's go quickly. The navy probably hasn't guessed our destination yet. Let's head straight to the West Blue," Teach with a smile, looking at the crew members around him.
"Even if Brom got wind of our plans to leave the East China Sea, he won't be able to make it in time," Nelson chuckled. "He's pathetic, we've completely outmaneuvered him."
Upon hearing this, the other pirates burst into laughter, then returned to their posts and headed towards Reverse Mountain.
In the past month, the bounty of the Night Pirates has undergone tremendous changes.
"Captain of the Night Pirates, 'Claw' Marshall D. Teach, former member of the Whitebeard Pirates, is a heinous criminal, his life hangs in the balance, and his bounty is 187 million Beli."
"Night Pirates executive, Mink Tribe member, 'Hunter' Rain Gari, bounty 98 million Beli."
"Catwoman, a member of the Night Pirates, with Pito bounty of 72 million Beli, is a Zoan -Cat Devil Fruit User."
"Wallace 'Iron', a member of the Night Pirates, with a bounty of 83 million Beli, is a Paramecia Devil Fruit User, the Steel-Steel Fruit."
"Nelson, a member of the Night Pirates, with a bounty of 76 million Beli, Devil Fruit User."
"Kaguya, a member of the Night Pirates, known as the 'White-Haired Devil,' has a bounty of 45 million and is a Paramecia Bone-Bone Devil Fruit User."
"Night Pirates executive, gunslinger 'Instant Cry' Kos, bounty 86 million Beli."
"Baccarat, the 'Lucky Girl' and a member of the Night Pirates, has a bounty of 45 million Beli."
"Night Pirates executive, 'Mystic Butterfly' Xiouyapufu, bounty 74 million Beli, Zoan Devil Fruit User."
In addition, there are many pirates with bounties exceeding ten million Beli. Their total bounty has set a new record in the four seas, and even in the first half of the Grand Line, few pirate crews can match them.
After that, Teach rarely took action again. His bounty reached 137 million, and the remaining 50 million Beli was added after Teach identity as a former member of the Whitebeard Pirates was revealed.
Once the Navy put their mind to finding Teach's origins, it was impossible not to find him. Teach would leave traces along his journey, from the East Blue to the first half of the Grand Line, and then to the New World. They quickly found out Teach's origins.
This shocked countless people. However, the Navy's intelligence capabilities were somewhat insufficient, and all they found was evidence of Teach's killing of a Marine Vice Admiral when he was fourteen years old.
There's also his relationship with the White Bird Pirates and Mostima.
Even so, what caught the attention of many was Teach's potential; at only sixteen, he was an old man who had been on Whitebeard's ship for four years.
Now, Teach is also one of the Supernovas on the high seas, living in the same era as Crocodile and Moria.
The Night Pirates quickly left, and not long after, Vice Admiral Brom, having received the news, led his warships to the scene, only to find the sea filled with the remains of wrecked warships.
"Those damned pirates, they got away again!" Brom angrily punched the air. These days, he had been under tremendous pressure, having mobilized the entire East Blue's forces to capture the Night Pirates.
He thought he could quickly capture the Night Pirates, but the result disappointed him.
The result was that the East China Sea, without the suppression of the navy, descended into complete chaos. In just one month, countless people became pirates, and some even broke away to openly attack islands, plunder the territory of Affiliated Nation, and commit numerous atrocities.
If he had captured the Night Pirates, that would have been one thing, but he didn't. He has already been complained about by the World Affiliated Nation, which is undoubtedly a disgrace to him. His adversaries in the Navy who are at odds with him have all used Den Den Mushi to mock him.
Such complaints cannot be ignored even by the Marine Headquarters. The Navy's military budget comes from the World Government, and the World Government's funds come from the Heavenly Gold of its Affiliated Nation. If the Affiliated Nation are angered, the Navy will have to bear the cost of the reduction in Heavenly Gold.
This is unacceptable to the Navy, especially given the ongoing turmoil at sea. The Navy is planning World Military Draft to expand its forces, which undoubtedly requires substantial funding.
Offending Affiliated Nation would reduce military spending, which would cause the Navy's World Military Draft plan to fail and become unfeasible. Nowadays, the Navy's strength is becoming increasingly inadequate, unable to suppress the seas, and every day, a large number of naval personnel are sacrificed around the world.
In just one month, he visibly aged considerably, but even more so, he was filled with anger. As Marine Vice Admiral and a veteran who had traversed the seas, he had never suffered such humiliation.
In front of him, photos of members of the Night Pirates were firmly pinned to the table.
There are many rumors circulating outside, and they have intensified recently, accusing the navy of incompetence and his incompetence, yet he is unable to defend himself.
To clear his name and remove this stain, the only way is to capture the Night Pirates, eliminate them, and send them to Impel Down.
"Keep investigating. The Night Pirates are in these few sea areas. We absolutely cannot let them escape." Brom had said this many times before, but the marines below seemed to have lost interest. They were all very tired from the constant patrols over the past month.
At night, Reverse Mountain is close at hand. The sky is covered with dark clouds. Under the deep blue and somewhat dim sky, Reverse Mountain looks like a sleeping ancient giant.
Teach and his companions planned to travel under cover of darkness, passing through the Reverse Mountain directly into the West Blue.
They were not discovered by the Navy along the way. In order to prevent pirates from entering the Grand Line, Marine warship have been patrolling in front of Reverse Mountain.
However, Reverse Mountain is extremely dangerous at night, and virtually no pirate crew dares to climb Reverse Mountain at night to enter the Grand Line.
Therefore, the navy was somewhat relaxed at night, and the three Marine warship only noticed the Night Pirates when they got close.
"Oh no! A pirate crew is approaching, only two hundred meters away!" the Marine who spotted the pirate ship exclaimed, breaking the tranquility of the night.
"How is this possible? What pirate would dare to come to Reverse Mountain at night?" The warship's commander couldn't believe it.
The marine who first spotted the pirate crew, holding his binoculars, trembled involuntarily, his lips shaking. Although it was night, he could clearly see the situation on the pirate ship.
The dim lights above revealed crew members holding weapons, seemingly ready for battle.
The pirate flag on the mast, the crossbones behind the three skulls, and the darkness of the night made it look extremely sinister and terrifying.
More importantly, he had already recognized the three pirate ships; the obvious symbol belonged to the now- Daimyo Night Pirates.
"The Dark Night Pirates," he murmured involuntarily, unaware that his body was already drenched in sweat.
Although his voice was soft, it was clearly heard by the surrounding marines. Because of the actions of the Night Pirates, the entire East Blue Navy was exhausted by the Night Pirates and was very sensitive to the name "Night Pirates".
Hearing those words, they perked up, but fear quickly followed. Although they hated the Night Pirates, that didn't mean they wanted to face Night Pirates.
One warship after another was destroyed by the Night Pirates; such power was beyond their ability to contend with.
"What, what should we do?"
"What else can we do? Quickly notify Vice Admiral Brom and request backup!" shouted the lieutenant colonel, the officer in charge on the warship. Although he was nervous, he was also clear-headed and knew what he had to do.
"Quickly, fire! Keep your distance. We're close to Loguetown; we should be able to delay the Vice Admiral until he arrives!" the lieutenant colonel shouted, rousing the surrounding marines. None of them had ever truly faced the Night Pirates before, and his words spurred them on.
However, the lieutenant colonel was not entirely confident. Compared to the other marines, he knew that the power of the Night Pirates was beyond their ability to withstand, but this was the only way.
They were the closest warships to the Night Pirates. The other two warships, which were further away, had already received the news and were on their way to provide support.
One thing they were clear about was that the Night Pirates had formidable firepower; every member of their crew was a master gunner, and they had never lost a naval battle. This was undeniably ironic, especially for the Navy.
"Quickly destroy these three warships. Nelson, Gari, Wallace, one warship each. At the same time, prepare the cannons." Looking at the three warships in the distance, Teach turned to his companions and laughed.
"Yes, not a single one will be left alive." Nelson was already very experienced in this kind of thing. "He'll be back soon."
The figure vanished from its original spot in an instant, then reappeared a hundred meters away, flashing repeatedly at an incredible speed, constantly switching positions with the air.
In the blink of an eye, Nelson appeared a thousand meters away, his body descending from the air. Looking at the warship below, Nelson couldn't help but smile. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed his ability, which transformed into an invisible giant hand that directly grabbed the warship.
The next moment, the entire warship disappeared from the sea. The Steal-Steal Fruit's power was truly revealed at this moment, and the massive warship was stolen directly into Nelson's space.
However, at the same time, Nelson's body was under immense pressure, almost tearing him apart, due to the weight of the warship pressing down on Nelson.
Blood trickled from the corner of Nelson's mouth. His head was lowered, trembling, and his strength was rapidly being depleted.
I felt as if a mountain was pressing down on me, and in those three short seconds, it felt like an endless time had passed.
Using his ability once more, the vanished warship reappeared on the sea surface. The immense pressure instantly descended upon the water, creating massive waves that surged across the ocean.
Looking at the navy above, they had all lost all life. Nelson's space was a void, where living things could hardly survive. These marines would die as soon as they entered his space, or rather, they would die from the compression of the space.
Teach had also been in Nelson's space before. The space was extremely fragile and had no effect on a powerful person like Teach. It could only be used to clear out small fry.
Once full power is used, the spatial barrier of Nelson's personal space can be broken, allowing him to escape.
Otherwise, this ability would be too overpowered; it's impossible for someone to just be dragged into the space and die instantly.
Then, Nelson went back to the ship. "Nelson, let's not use this trick again. Just capture people, why bother capturing warships? The weight is too much for you to handle right now, the side effects are too great, and the cost-effectiveness isn't high."
Looking at Nelson's disheveled appearance, as if he had been beaten up, with his skin cracked and bleeding.
Nelson paused for a moment. That's right, he could have just arrested the people himself, why did he have to arrest the warship too? Wasn't he just asking for trouble? He couldn't help but slap his head, feeling that he had been a bit stupid.