The Plan
"Heh! I'm just an unknown nobody, so let's not talk about me." Lafitte wasn't angry at the minister's words; he twirled his cane behind his back.
"Lafitte, the violent Security Officer of the Nonoak Kingdom, is notorious for his excessive use of force, earning him the nickname 'Devil Cop.'" The Minister of Press, leaning back in his chair, looked at Lafitte, thought carefully, and recognized Lafitte. "Not long ago, he was personally invited by Captain Teach of the Night Pirates to join the Night Pirates."
Upon hearing this, the minister shut his mouth. Although Lafitte was not yet famous on the high seas, anyone personally invited by Captain Teach of the Night Pirates would be quite distinguished, and as an officer, he was qualified to be here.
"Heh, what an honor, that someone knows my name, but that's not important." Lafitte gripped his spinning cane tightly, holding it horizontally in front of him, casting a shadow under his hat brim.
"My purpose in coming here today is to stand in for our captain at this meeting to discuss the specific timing of the operation and to gather intelligence on the Kraken Kingdom." Lafitte's gaze swept over the people present, sensing the imposing presence of those in high positions and the powerful aura emanating from some of them, yet he remained unfazed.
This alone is enough to make people look at him in a new light and reduce their underestimation of Lafitte.
"After all, time is of the essence, as is the concealment of one's abilities and speed." With a smile, Lafitte's bat wings suddenly spread out from his back. With a gentle flap, his body disappeared from the spot in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Lafitte appeared under a beam in a corner of the palace.
Hanging upside down at that speed made them realize the necessity of his arrival.
He returned to his original position, reclaimed his abilities, and reverted to his original form.
"In that case, please take a seat. Let's continue the meeting." Seeing that Lafitte's performance had basically won everyone's approval, King William nodded and said.
This is the first time in all these years that pirates have attended a meeting of the Tiresfa Kingdom. Although the Night Pirates are outsiders, this is a major event concerning the fate of the kingdom, and their own prince has already joined the Night Pirates. They also have high hopes for the Night Pirates' potential.
Given their shared objective, the Night Pirates are indeed credible.
After all, the key to this war is the Night Pirates. As long as the Night Pirates succeed, the rest will be easy.
"We can't offer you much help in the entire war against the Kraken Kingdom, as there are many things happening behind the scenes that require our people to handle," King William told Lafitte. "However, during the war, our people will keep all information under wraps to prevent leaks as early as possible."
"This is a map showing the distribution of the entire Kraken Kingdom city." Holding a document in his hand, he handed it to Lafitte, and at the same time, an image of the distribution map appeared directly in the space.
"There are ten captains of the city's guard in the entire royal city, each of whom is quite powerful. Some of them rose through the ranks on the battlefield, and some are even capable individuals. As captains of the 100,000-strong city guard, they are the ones we must deal with."
"Since your captain possesses such Haki, then we need not worry about these 100,000 city guards."
"However, they must be dealt with, because they are fiercely loyal to the king. This is their distribution, along with intelligence: two pairs positioned in the four directions of the royal city, and two guarding inside and outside the palace."
"Finally, we need to deal with King Pande of the Kraken Kingdom. Pande is currently in his prime, at the peak of his life, and has obtained the Ancient Species Kraken Fruit. With his strength, he can develop it to a higher level in a short time, greatly increasing his power."
At this point, William shifted his gaze to the Protector General Black, who was sitting quietly in the shadows below.
"Tell me about Pande. The intelligence files on the other city guard captains are all there, but there's less information on Pande."
"Okay." Blake nodded. Lafitte's gaze fell on him. His powerful strength and dark, cold aura made it clear at a glance that he was someone hiding in the shadows, behind the scenes.
"Joseph Pande, King of the Kraken Kingdom, and currently the head of the Joseph Family of the Kraken Kingdom family. I won't go into details about the Joseph Family; that was a long time ago."
"As the king of a war-torn nation, he displayed astonishing talent even before inheriting the country. He was born with a powerful physique, trained from a young age, and joined the army incognito at the age of fifteen, rapidly rising through the ranks with his formidable strength."
"They led several major victories, which brought them great fame and prestige within the army. This made it easier for the Kraken Kingdom family to control the military, a tradition that has been passed down through the Joseph Family for many years."
"Park is Joseph Pande's only son, though he is clearly not as talented as Pande. However, he has also distinguished himself in the army. In the period leading up to the start of the war, Park's identity was exposed, and he returned to the royal city to avoid being assassinated."
"The main reason is Joseph Pande, a king with a tough hand. It is because of this that the Kraken Kingdom has reached its current state. Otherwise, the kingdom would have collapsed many years ago."
"His strength was already formidable, surpassing some veteran vice Vice Admiral of the Navy. Now, having obtained the Ancient Species Kraken Fruit, his raw power is no weaker than Prince Rediat's. However, in a real battle, he will undoubtedly be defeated by Prince Rediat."
That's for sure. With the ability to read minds and a powerful Mythical Zoan, if the battle really goes on, Rediat will definitely be the ultimate victor.
"But they shouldn't be underestimated. A prolonged battle between two masters of physical combat would be disadvantageous for you." As he spoke, Blake's gaze fell on Lafitte.
"You here" refers to the Night Pirates, or rather, Teach. Pande is definitely left to Teach to deal with.
"Understood." Lafitte nodded. He had witnessed the battle between Rediat and Teach and could classify Pande as either Teach or Rediat, but he was actually weaker in combat.
Even so, it seems that a day or two is not enough to solve this problem.
That depends on the captain's performance. Moreover, the Kraken Kingdom's Curry contains the power the captain desires. Once obtained, the captain's strength will increase significantly, making it much easier to deal with Pande.
That's the ability the captain has always wanted; it must be incredibly powerful, so he's not worried.
Then, something occurred to him. "Could it be that the Kraken Kingdom has no other people, no previous kings, or some hidden powerful figures?"
Lafitte looked at them and asked, he couldn't believe it.
"Well, the previous king should still be alive. His Bond. Although he is not bad, he is still somewhat inferior to Pande. Moreover, he is now nearly seventy years old, and his strength has declined significantly." The elderly Admiral Hindenburg thought for a moment and said.
Hearing this, Lafitte breathed a sigh of relief.
So, he had basically obtained all the information about the royal city, and he had also obtained information about the king of the Kraken Kingdom.
The remaining task is to discuss the specific details of the cooperation between the two parties.
"When will the great war begin? Our actions must be taken before the war starts." Lafitte had done his homework before coming. Teach handed over the intelligence about the Kraken Kingdom that he had obtained from Shakky to Lafitte. Although it was not as good as the intelligence about the Tiresfa Kingdom, it still gave him a basic understanding of the current situation of the two countries.
All eyes fell on Admiral Hindenburg. "It wasn't us who decided when the war would begin, but the Kraken Kingdom. They started preparing for war long ago, so we've already put ourselves in a passive position."
"However, we have much more resources and money. We've been preparing for this for some time now, so we can be ready to respond to any sudden outbreak of war."
"Currently, most of the Kraken Kingdom's army has arrived at the rear of the battlefield, and the remaining troops are still arriving one after another. According to our intelligence, and Bixia Staff Department, it will take about half a month, in addition to the supplies also needing to be transported to the battlefield."
"Before the war begins, there's a traditional rally in the capital of the Kraken Kingdom. The main purpose of the rally is to boost morale, with the king himself taking the stage. The event is broadcast live to the battlefield. Therefore, we cannot allow this rally to succeed. Our attack will take place when the rally begins, which will greatly demoralize the soldiers on the front lines. At that time, our people will also assassinate high-ranking officers of the Kraken Kingdom's military."
As he spoke, Hindenburg became somewhat excited, clenching his fists tightly, his face flushed slightly, and he couldn't contain his excitement.
"With that in mind, everything else will be much easier."
The meeting continued, covering various matters, but none of them seemed to concern the Night Pirates, so Lafitte left midway through.
Teach is still on the ravaged island, where the members of the Night Pirates are. They have received news that Lafitte is on his way back.
Before long, Teach could sense Lafitte's presence from afar. He looked up at the black dot in the sky, which was getting closer and closer. After a while, Lafitte gently landed on the ground, and the wings on its back retracted into its body.
"I have accomplished my mission." Lafitte smiled, took out the stack of documents, and placed them in front of Teach.
These materials were unfolded and placed in front of Teach. Among them were two maps: one was a map of the royal capital, and the other was a map of the location of the National Treasure, along with a partial diagram of the treasury's internal structure.
Below is information about the city's garrison.
Looking at these documents, Lafitte recounted what he had said in the meeting. Lafitte had an excellent memory, and he remembered all the important information related to the Night Pirates very clearly.
"So, King Pande will be left to me to handle, and the remaining ten city guard captains will be left to you officers. My Conqueror's Haki will wipe out most of the 100,000 city guards, and the rest will be yours."
Looking at the documents before him, and considering what Lafitte had conveyed, Teach stroked his chin and said.
"Haha, don't worry, if we can't even handle those guards, we're doomed." The crew members of the Night Pirates were all very confident.
Brandishing his weapon, Teach couldn't help but smile, looking at the intelligence report on the ten city guard captains. "Take a look," he said, "See their intelligence reports. Who will deal with them when the time comes?"
The captains of the Kraken Kingdom's city guard are all quite powerful, as can be seen from the intelligence reports.
"Xinzi, captain of the Eastern City Guard, a powerful warrior who fought his way up from the army. His weapon is a greatsword, and his strength is estimated to be no weaker than a pirate with a bounty of 100 million Beli."
"Kankani, the deputy captain of the Eastern Guard, is also a strongman who fought his way up from the army. He is a master of individual combat and has always served as Xinzi's deputy. He should be somewhat weaker in terms of strength."
"Masolin, captain of the Western Guard, born into nobility, a Paramecia Permeation Devil Fruit User, a sharpshooter, who once killed a pirate with a bounty of seventy million with a single shot."
"Legart, the vice-captain of the Western Guard, is also of noble birth and an excellent marksman, but as Masolin's second-in-command, he also possesses considerable swordsmanship."
"Dink, captain of the Southern Guard, was originally a powerful bounty hunter with experience hunting down pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million, before being recruited by the Kraken Kingdom."
"Teyera, vice-captain of the Southern Guard, is a former bounty hunter who has hunted down pirates with bounties as high as 80 million. She is also a Devil Fruit User, Paramecia Hedgehog Devil Fruit User."
"Kayo, captain of the Northern Guard, is a Paramecia Wave-Wave Devil Fruit User and a pirate with a bounty of 110 million."
"McGill, vice-captain of the Northern Guard, a master of physical combat, belongs to the same pirate crew as Kayo and was recruited together. His bounty is as high as 70 million."
"Oakes, captain of the Central Guard, a strongman trained by the royal family, a master of physical combat, and Devil Fruit User the Zoan Black Panther Fruit."
"Haocheng, the deputy captain of the Central Guard, is also a strongman trained by the royal family. He is a Paramecia Rage-Rage Devil Fruit User, and the angrier he is, the stronger he becomes."
"It's very clear now. The Five Guards, each with two captains, one captain and one deputy, each representing one of the five factions."
"Military, nobles, royalty, pirates, and bounty hunters—overall, the two captains of the Central Guard are the strongest. You've all seen their files. Now, choose your opponents." Teach smiled, looking at them.
"Leave the Western nobles to me, you two gunmen. I'd love to meet them, but one of you will come with me," Kos said with a smile, pointing to the two captains of the Western Guard.
"In that case, I'll partner with you." Lafitte lightly adjusted the brim of his hat and smiled.
"Hmm." Kos nodded upon seeing this, acknowledging Lafitte's abilities.
"I want the two from the central region." Gari's tone was arrogant, wanting to take care of the strongest captain of the central guard himself.
No one else objected; it was just right to hand it over to Gari.
"I'll handle the bounty hunters then," Wallace said, setting his sights on the two from the Southern Guard.
"I'll leave those two pirates to Miles and me to handle perfectly." Xiouyapufu gently stroked his platinum-blonde hair, raised his head, and seemed to be shining brightly.
"I have no problem." Miles nodded without refusing. He was quite strong, and with the power of the Mighty Lion Fruit, his strength had greatly increased in recent days. He would leave the Rogue- Devil Fruit User to Xiouyapufu, and with his strength, even if he couldn't beat McGill, his vitality would be enough to hold him back.
"Then Pito, Kaguya, you two will handle those two captains in the East." Seeing that Pito and Kaguya were still silent, Teach made the decision for them.
"Uh-huh."
The two nodded in agreement.
"And what about me?" Nelson's eyes widened. They had all chosen their cadres, leaving only him. What was he supposed to do? Was he just going to stand there and watch the show?
"Nelson, you have more important things to do." Teach's gaze fell on him, and his serious expression made Nelson nervous.
"Remember the structural diagram of the Kraken Kingdom's treasury. Once the battle begins, take out this Devil Fruit and give it to me directly. This is the Devil Fruit I want to eat."
At that moment, they all realized that what Teach wanted from the Kraken Kingdom was this Devil Fruit in its Curry.
Above, there's also a picture of the Dark-Dark Fruit, a pale purple Devil Fruit shaped like a pineapple, which is the power Captain Teach desires.
At this moment, Nelson realized the importance of his mission, patted his chest, and said, "Don't worry, leave it to me."
"Well then, let's make the most of the next month and train hard," Teach said seriously. "This battle cannot be lost."