A Desperate Predicament

"Not bad, Rediat," Teach said with a smile, looking at the Transponder Snail.

Before him, a video was playing, showing Rediat, as the commander of Gaya Island, without telling Teach about his plans.

Teach was also surprised by the results of Rediat's plan; it was completely unexpected.

However, it makes sense, considering that Rediat was originally the first choice to inherit the throne of the Tiresfa Kingdom, receiving the best training and top-tier Devil Fruit, making him a true all-rounder.

Given the important national situation at the time, with the Kraken Kingdom being hostile and war imminent, Rediat had also received specialized training and study in military command, and even had practical experience on some small battlefields.

The current Golden Sea Battle is merely a stage for Rediat to showcase his abilities.

Teach, under immense pressure, engaged in the simplest yet most effective training.

Sweat soaked his body, dripping down his cheeks. Teach, shirtless, bulged his muscles as he performed repetitive movements.

At this point, the rate of improvement slows down considerably. The only way to maintain rapid improvement is to train under gravity.

The ground sank slightly Teach used his powers to create a gravitational core that released super-strong gravity, burying it underground. The powerful gravity transformed the surrounding area into a training ground with strong gravity.

However, Teach needs to constantly expend energy to maintain control.

Exercise can be addictive. Once you clearly feel your body's vitality and strength increasing, you can't stop exercising, especially since Teach had already gotten used to it early on.

It's not his time to make his move yet. When that time comes, Teach will surely unleash his strongest power. He's always preparing to reach the top.

The current reversal of the tide in the Golden Sea Battle will greatly extend the duration of the war, as long as the World Government does not concede defeat or compromise.

Compromise is Teach doesn't want to see, at least not now. After all, the stage has been gradually set up, and he hasn't even made his appearance yet, so how can it end so easily?

The grand opening will also have a shocking ending. Teach won't let it go without dealing some damage to the World Government.

Shiki shared this view. His enemy wasn't Whitebeard, but the World Government, and he had been working tirelessly to find information about the legendary Ancient Weapon, even inviting Roger to join him in the Battle of Edd War.

The Flying Pirates have always been seen as a thorn in the side by the World Government, and have drawn most of the World Government's and Navy's attention to the Night Pirates and other forces.

At least for now, and for the next few years, Teach hopes that the Flying Pirates will bear the main pressure.

After this battle, it's foreseeable that their momentum will soar, and Teach has many ways to make the Flying Pirates the center of attention. Whether it's news about Pure Gold or Ancient Weapon, there are just too many things he can use.

By now, Shiki should have obtained the Pure Gold, but Teach has never forgotten the divination he performed on Fish-Man Island.

Once the news gets out, it's easy to imagine that the Flying Pirates will not only face targeting from the World Government and the Navy, but may also be under pressure from other pirates.

The news of the Ancient Weapon could easily spur Shiki to take action and confront the World Government head-on.

Although there are four Sea Emperors, the one who can be called the strongest overlord and the strongest pirate crew is the Flying Pirates by Golden Lion Shiki.

The Night Pirates will need a gradual process to take its place.

The cooperation is only temporary; they will inevitably clash sooner or later. From the very beginning, Teach has been eyeing the highest throne, surpassing the Flying Pirates, surpassing Whitebeard, and he will take the title of the strongest.

Thinking this, Teach's gaze became even more resolute, and he let out a soft growl. After a long period of training, Teach's body had reached its limit, but he kept going. Only by breaking through and surpassing his limits time and time again could he become stronger.

But how much longer? Teach has already received intelligence that the World Government's funds can only last for three months at most. After all, the Time Government doesn't have the habit of saving money, which is why the Heavenly Gold is so important.

If the navy is the main force for the World Government to rule the seas, then the Heavenly Gold is the cornerstone of the World Government's stability and its absolute authority.

Not only would it require CP0, CP9, Marine Vice Admiral, and officers to personally transport it, but any problems would inevitably provoke the World Government's wrath, and even the highest-ranking Marine Admiral would be dispatched.

If the situation becomes more urgent, the World Government could use some means to allocate more funds, which would inevitably offend a large number of people, and that's exactly Teach wants to see.

To undermine the authority of the World Government, bring them down from their pedestals, and diminish their influence.

The war continues, and the forums are buzzing with activity. There are arrogant pirates and people worried about the alliance's defeat, but they are all watching closely, wanting to know what will happen next.

What will happen to the allied forces caught in the crossfire?

The mighty army, one in front and one behind, sandwiched the fleeing allied forces in the middle.

Alex and his crew have arrived, a fleet of thousands of pirates, a dozen pirate ships, and naval warships stolen from the Allied Forces.

Warships and pirate ships spread out, seemingly intent on completely surrounding and annihilating the defeated army, leaving them no hope of escape.

The sound of cannons booming rang out, flashes of light streaking across the massive muzzles, and the sound of shells slicing through the air.

Looking up, you can see those raindrop-like black dots tracing beautiful arcs in the air, heading straight towards them.

The navy's cannons were already highly accurate, and there were many skilled gunners among the pirates. Coupled with the sheer number of cannonballs, they felt a sense of despair.

Even through the video screen, one could sense that these defeated soldiers seemed to have no way out but death.

But in their hearts, they still held a sliver of hope, hoping for a turnaround; this was their psychological effect.

On the forum, a large number of people have begun to predict the downfall of the forum. Since their identities will not be revealed, they are naturally unrestricted and can say whatever they want.

"Storm Break!" Upon seeing this, the Vulture spread its wings and spun in mid-air, creating an invisible Vulture that rapidly spread in all directions.

The shells were struck by the hurricane, and one by one they lost power and remained suspended in the air, before most of them fell into the sea.

Even the few shells that were about to hit the warships were easily dealt with by the other allied members.

"How many rounds of artillery fire can it withstand?"

One of the pirates sneered, and his companions behind him loaded the cannons, maneuvered them, and fired another shot at the Allied warships.

The second round of artillery fire came quickly.

"Dragon Breath!"

Rediat's massive form stood above the allied forces, unleashing another terrifying Dragon Breath, a dazzling black light, and a dark pillar of heaven descending from the sky.

"Let me handle this." Vulture couldn't manage both at once, so Kuzan leaped from the warship and jumped into the sea. The cold air beneath his feet froze the surface of the sea, creating a floating ice floe.

"Icicle!"

In an instant, a massive ice pillar rose rapidly from the sea surface, created by Kuzan's power. The ice pillar grew longer and higher, passing between the two warships and heading straight for the sky.

Visibly, ice was continuously condensing and growing on top of the icicles.

However, in the next moment, a terrifying Dragon Breath descended, striking the ice pillar and instantly halting its growth, shattering it.

As you can see, the ice pillars are being rapidly destroyed by the Dragon Breath from top to bottom. However, thanks to Kuzan's efforts, the solid ice he created has stopped the Dragon Breath from falling, and the broken ice is scattering everywhere.

To prevent Rediat from changing the direction of his Dragon Breath, Kuzan had to expend a lot of energy. The ice pillars had changed, resembling a giant ice-blue mushroom, protecting the warships beneath it.

This also blocked many shells, acting like a protective umbrella.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, it will be very difficult for them to leave this place. They are completely surrounded and there is no way to break through. This protective umbrella has exhausted Kuzan's remaining strength and can only allow them to hold on for a little longer.

Can it withstand Rediat's next Dragon Breath? I have serious doubts.

However, Kuzan had already given it his all. Kuzan body collapsed on the ice, panting heavily, radiating heat and sweating profusely—a rare sight for Devil Fruit User.

This also shows that Kuzan is in a very bad state. The use of Life Return has exhausted Kuzan's last bit of strength. He doesn't even have the strength to stand up and can only be carried back to the warship.

The incapacitated Kuzan dealt an even heavier blow to the defeated army, which could only be held up by Vulture alone, with Ice Mushrooms blocking the shells. However, after repeated adjustments, the shells were now able to hit the warships.

Even with the officers and soldiers on board working hard to clear the area, shells would still fall on the warships and hit them.

In a short period of time, four warships were sunk.

Rediat did not make another move. Even if he could kill Kuzan, he couldn't do it because it would offend the Navy terribly.

It would also offend top-tier veterans of the Navy like Garp and Sengoku; Kuzan could even be considered Garp's half-disciple.

Even navigating this vast ocean requires consideration of human relationships and social etiquette. Just like during the Paramount War, the Admiral showed mercy to Luffy, and Sengoku spared Ace to be rescued. This all demonstrates consideration for human relationships and a willingness to give Garp face.

Even from the enemy's perspective, it's acceptable to hold back as long as it doesn't affect the overall situation, because in Sengoku's eyes, Ace could live, but Whitebeard had to die.

Offending Garp and his crew would be incredibly damaging; an enraged Garp could turn the entire Night Pirates upside down, and even Teach wouldn't be able to withstand him.

Having witnessed Roger's duel with Whitebeard, Teach was quite clear about Garp's fighting strength.

Even if Kuzan really dies, it shouldn't be at his hands. Besides, Rediat doesn't want Kuzan to die because he's the mastermind and should bear the majority of the responsibility.

As for Vulture, there's no need to say anything more. Whether he lives or dies is irrelevant. Excluding the Navy, the World Government doesn't have many forces that it can openly deploy.

Moreover, the World Government and the Navy are not of one mind. There are many ways to restrict the Navy. The World Government should weaken them as much as possible, gradually making them lose control of the seas.

The rapid rise of the Revolutionary Army can also suppress the power of the World Government, or at least restrain some of its World Government. With the Affiliated Nation overthrown, the World Government's share of the Heavenly Gold will also decrease.

A chaotic sea is what the World Government wants to see, because only in this way can the World Government and its navy play their role, attracting more countries to seek refuge and join the World Government as World Government Member States.

However, when chaos reaches a certain level, its impact on the World Government is enormous. Just like now, the chaos among the Affiliated Nation has caused them to lose trust in the World Government. The World Government ignores their demands and goes its own way, and many countries are already considering withdrawing from the World Government Member States.

Since it failed to fulfill its intended purpose, why was such a huge sum of "Heavenly Gold" still being handed over?

The sound of the wind quickly spread.

The West Blue Dark Council is rapidly expanding its influence.

The chaos accelerated the expansion of the Dark Council, which used clandestine means to collect large sums, but far less than the Heavenly Gold, to protect the stability of these countries' borders.

By using such methods to cooperate with these kingdoms, they are also further undermining the World Government's and the Navy's influence in the West Blue.

As it turns out, the West Blue Navy was completely incapable of maintaining stability in the West Blue, and the war in the Golden Sea further eroded the Affiliated Nation' trust in the World Government.

Since that's the case, it's better to cooperate with the Dark Council. The Dark Council mainly deals with the dark world and won't interfere with them. Even if they deal with organizations within the Dark Council, the Dark Council won't stop them unless it goes too far.

After all, the competition within the Dark Council is also very fierce, especially in the chaotic sea, where there are more interests, and the chaos and fighting have never disappeared, but have become even more intense.

The organizational structure within the Dark Council has now been changed by one-third.

The Dark Council is the central hub of the West Blue's dark world. Many of its internal forces are either half-legitimate and half-illegitimate, or they control local gangs; none of them are truly clean.

Even if it were eliminated, it would only be considered nothing special; there are simply too many forces that could replace it.

The Dark Council's role is primarily to maintain the stability and development of the West Blue's dark world, not to encourage the expansion of evil forces. They are also people of the West Blue, so naturally they must consider the West Blue.

It is precisely because of this nature that many kingdoms cooperate with the Dark Council.

With the solid foundation laid by Teach and his team, the Dark Council is developing better and better.

Seemingly inspired by the Dark Council seeing the enormous profits in its organization and operations, some kingdoms in the West Blue, especially powerful ones, began to consider forming an alliance.

With the covert instigation of certain forces, a proposal called the "West Blue Alliance" has been put forward in the turbulent West Blue.

This is an alliance of kingdoms, involving economic cooperation and trade among them.

The Dark Council has made a good start, and those with ambition will naturally not shy away from it. While learning from its experience, they will adapt it to suit their own needs, which will require a long period of discussion.

The emperor who ruled the entire dark world of the South China Sea single-handedly, "Feathered Serpent" Kukulkan Koyatl, was also secretly expanding his influence.

They want to seize control of the kingdom's power, eliminate the influence of the World Government and the Navy, and completely control the entire South China Sea.

Kukulkan Koyatel had long regarded the entire South China Sea as his own private domain, and now that this was a good opportunity, he naturally wouldn't let it slip by easily.

Moreover, he wouldn't allow his territory to become so chaotic, as this would seriously affect his interests. Therefore, he wanted to stabilize the South China Sea to a certain extent, only in this way would those kingdoms submit to him.

Those kingdoms seemed to be enjoying themselves, no longer having to pay huge sums of Heavenly Gold, and the World Government wouldn't target them, only dealing with "Feathered Serpent." If "Feathered Serpent" really fell, they could distance themselves, claiming they were threatened, and then return to the World Government's allegiance.

This can be described as a tacit understanding, which benefits everyone involved.

Other forces and ambitious individuals are preparing and taking action for themselves. They have already seen the decline of the World Government, its corruption, and its incompetence.

They went a step further, secretly undermining the power of the World Government.

The Revolutionary Army is rapidly expanding in secret, taking advantage of the chaotic and corrupt kingdom to spread revolutionary ideas, invite comrades, expand, and strive to overthrow the rule of the World Government.

Perhaps, by the time the World Government realizes this, it will find that this world is utterly unfamiliar.