Chapter 623
The most interesting clashes on the high seas right now are between the Evil Spirit Pirates and the Moonlight Pirates.
The Moonlight Pirates still hold the overall advantage, but the Evil Spirit Pirates are gaining momentum.
With the Wano Country arc over, these two forces are now the most prominent in the New World.
Of course, the world is vast, and the rising global powers are also attracting much attention.
In recent years, a new word has emerged that appears frequently in various contexts.
That is the Council, the West Blue Alliance, officially known as the West Blue United National Government, and its highest meeting is similar to Reverie held by World Government.
The entire meeting was called the West Blue Council, and any decision made by it could affect every aspect of the West Blue.
Compared to their political and economic performance, the most attention is focused on the powerful figures from all corners of the world, the young monsters.
This is an era of the strong. Only the strong can bring a sense of security. The New World is teeming with monsters, and the Navy and the World Government are filled with powerful individuals.
The world needs its own strong leaders; this is the demand of all its people.
Currently, almost every sea area has top-tier powerhouses in charge. Even the East China Sea, which was once known as the weakest sea area, has produced a few powerful figures who have close ties with the Navy "hero" Garp.
As the face of the East Blue Alliance, Otrulk Sabo has never disappointed, thanks to his masterful instruction, ample experience, and top-tier Devil Fruit abilities.
Today, Sabo enjoys a very high reputation throughout the East China Sea, which is also the result of the East Blue Alliance's covert efforts.
The immense potential and strength it has demonstrated have led the World Economic News Report to prematurely bestow upon Sabo the nickname "Flame Dragon King."
Because Sabo's ability is the Mythical Zoan, Dragon Fruit, Fire Dragon Form.
Sabo only twelve years old, yet he has already demonstrated formidable strength, having personally captured pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million.
No one doubts Sabo's future. The entire East Blue Alliance is waiting for Sabo to truly grow up. In just five or six years, he will become a true powerhouse.
Unlike Sabo, Crusado Serizawa, the monster who represents the West Blue, is now eighteen years old and has already demonstrated monstrous strength.
His naturally strong physique, coupled with his acquired experience, has given him the qualities of a king.
Obtaining the Mythical Zoan Behemoth Form, makes it even more formidable.
This is an extremely powerful Devil Fruit. Although it is Mythical Zoan, it does not possess the special abilities of Mythical Zoan; it only has ultimate attack and defense.
In other words, the Behemoth Fruit's ability to enhance the body far surpasses that of other Mythical Zoan.
After all, Behemoths are legendary creatures capable of tearing dragons apart with their bare hands.
Serizawa is now Vice Admiral in the West Sea Guard, second only to Seizer in West Sea Guard.
A pirate whose strength is enough to sweep across the entire West Blue.
However, Serizawa's background and experiences mean that he won't stay obediently in the West Blue.
Without Seizer, he would definitely have become a powerful underworld figure or a pirate.
His father, Caesar, was the same. As a hero of the sea, he was also a wanderer who looked down on the position of Admiral of the Western Sea Guard. If it weren't for the kingdom and his family's pleas, he wouldn't have agreed.
Even so, he was only a nominal Admiral. After only a few years in that capacity, he resigned and another powerful figure from the West Blue took over as the Guard Admiral.
This is none other than the former Admiral of the Tiresfa Kingdom, now seventy-five years old, Katrotzer von Hindenburg. Few people know that Hindenburg also possesses monstrous strength.
It also makes one marvel at the powerful foundation of the Tiresfa Kingdom. King Meinz himself is a monster, Logia-type Air-Air Fruit user with Conqueror's Haki.
Despite his advanced age, he still maintains formidable fighting power. He is Paramecia Devil Fruit User, which allows him to maintain limitless vitality.
This allowed him to maintain his combat effectiveness even at an advanced age, and he could even keep it up for another twenty or thirty years.
In reality, he was also an agent. There are many strong people in the West Blue, but not many top-level strong people. This is true in any sea area. Seizer was unwilling to take on the role, and the others might be weaker and not have enough deterrent power.
Therefore, on Meinz's recommendation, Hindenburg, who had already begun his retirement, stepped forward. As an Admiral of a powerful nation, he was fully capable of governing West Sea Guard well.
Once Serizawa's strength reaches that level, he will be able to step down and hand over his position.
Confining Serizawa to the West Blue is not conducive to Serizawa development. He likes to solve problems with force and also has a pursuit of power.
Fighting against the strong and witnessing the vastness of the sea will allow him to grow rapidly, become composed, and truly become the Admiral of the West Blue that the West Blue Alliance hopes for.
That place was the New World.
After some discussion within the West Blue Alliance, they finally agreed to allow Serizawa to sail freely, intending to take Serizawa's world to the New World via the Calm Belt.
But Serizawa didn't want to arrive so easily; he stubbornly wanted to reach the New World via the Grand Line.
In the end, the West Blue Alliance compromised. No matter what, they were all considering Serizawa's safety and hoped that he could grow better and become a pillar of the West Blue Alliance, the stabilizing force of the West Blue.
Compared to Seizer, a monster who made a name for himself on the high seas early on, Serizawa had been trained by the West Blue Alliance, making him easier to win over and giving him a stronger sense of belonging.
Therefore, a specially modified, massive warship carried eight hundred members of the West Sea Guard, led by Serizawa, most of whom were his subordinates when he dominated Serizawa Suzuran Island.
They are strong in combat and lack nothing in all aspects, including navigators, shipwrights, doctors, cooks, and so on.
The warships flew the flag representing the West Blue Alliance.
This is actually an adventure ship disguised as part of the West Blue Alliance, completely different from pirates.
Serizawa, representing the West Blue Alliance, aimed to showcase its strength and expand West Blue Alliance global influence on this trip, though this was only one of his objectives.
They can sail freely, but there are some islands they must reach, such as World Government Member States that cooperate with the West Blue Alliance, including the Marine Headquarters. These various forces need to be visited, and there are also several dedicated administrative personnel on board.
But this does not include World Government.
To ensure Serizawa's safety, Seizer sailed with Serizawa, which is why the West Blue Alliance needed to create another Guard Admiral.
With Seizer around, Serizawa and the others' safety is guaranteed.
The banner of the West Blue Alliance is enough to solve most problems; very few people dare to risk offending the West Blue Alliance by taking action against them.
Facing the Marine Headquarters alone, Serizawa alone wouldn't be enough; the main challenge would be Seizer. As a hero of the West Blue, Seizer also has a resounding title. "Green Demon." Thanks to one of Seizer's past actions, people realized just how strong Seizer truly was.
Serizawa is not yet qualified to stand in for the West Blue Alliance against the Marine Headquarters.
Once you reach the New World, you won't have any specific goal. As long as you don't easily offend the top powers, Seizer can handle everything else. You can explore the New World for a while, eventually reaching the Night Sea Domain, and then returning to the West Blue Sea via the Night Sea Domain?
This is roughly the general path; the West Blue Alliance cannot allow Serizawa to act recklessly on the sea.
Since Serizawa wanted to venture out to sea, the West Blue Alliance devised this voyage plan, adding some objectives.
Serizawa has already agreed to this.
Due to the repeated blows suffered by the World Government and the Navy in recent years, a large number of pirates have accumulated on the entire sea.
After all, while pirates may suffer internal losses, their numbers will only increase if they are not captured.
The sheer number of pirates, coupled with the constant influx of pirates from all corners of the world along the Grand Line.
In the past, when the four seas were weak, the number of pirate crews that traveled from the four seas to the Grand Line each year could be counted on one hand.
In places like the East China Sea, it might take several years before anyone manages to break out of there.
But things are different now. The overall strength of pirates has increased, giving them the ability to sail on the Grand Line.
The Four Seas Alliance consciously drove away pirates, forcing them to go to the Grand Line.
Of course, the Four Seas Alliance has an advantage in high-end combat power against pirates, but in terms of mid-to-low-end combat power, apart from having better warships and cannons, it doesn't actually have much of an advantage.
The power of pirates should not be underestimated. The spread of the Six Powers has rapidly increased the average strength of pirates, and pirates with good potential can grow rapidly in just a few years.
I yearn for the sea, I yearn for freedom.
Even without the pressure of the Heavenly Gold, many people among the Affiliated Nation of the Four Seas still want to set sail and become pirates, whether to adventure on the high seas or to make a name for themselves in the world and establish their own empire.
This is unchangeable; this is the main theme of the ocean.
The advent of the video era has shown the world what real pirates are like.
Not just savage, but also brutal.
Friendship and companionship are also things you can see.
Some pirates like to record the scenes of their pirate crew's banquets on video and then post them online.
They even have the potential to become Great Pirate like the Dark Emperor, the Beasts, Whitebeard, establishing their own power base, ruling over a sea area, gaining fame and fortune, and becoming superior beings.
The ocean is vast and magnificent; having witnessed its immensity, how could one be content with a peaceful life?
This era is showcasing the allure of the sea and the allure of pirates, drawing countless people to the ocean, whether as pirates, bounty hunters, or lone wolves.
With the sheer number of pirates and the Navy's recent efforts, Impel Down has become increasingly crowded, leading to a significant increase in the consumption of resources.
Even though a batch of pirates are humanely eliminated every now and then, many pirates are still sent in.
Especially the recent tragedy at the Marine Elite Training Camp, the losses inflicted by the pirates' counterattack were devastating for the navy.
The culprits have already escaped, especially Edward Weevil Whitebeard II, and his mother, Bakin.
According to intelligence, they have now fled to the Night Sea Domain, squandering their treasures and indulging in endless pleasures.
The Marine Headquarters dispatched troops to capture the pirates involved. A large number of them have been captured, and several thousand more have been sent to Impel Down.
This has Impel Down in a severe shortage of manpower, requiring the recruitment of more staff and the addition of more jailers to maintain order.
Although Impel Down now boasts two top-tier fighters, Magellan and Isaac, the ordinary jailers are the foundation that maintains the entire Impel Down.
Therefore, at Magellan's request, the Marine Headquarters sent a group of members, nearly two hundred people.
Going to Impel Down is not mandatory; it's entirely voluntary. Finding two hundred people is already considered good, since not many people like the life of a jailer.
If it weren't for the improved benefits and the fact that Impel Down is a good place to retire, even fewer Marines would be willing to come to Impel Down.
To prevent the exposure of secrets, the use of Transponder Snail is prohibited within Impel Down, allowing only Den Den Mushi for communication purposes.
This is hard for people accustomed to a life centered around images to accept.
The arrival of the two hundred new recruits was quickly assigned to various positions in Impel Down, greatly reducing the pressure on the other jailers.
Three years have passed, Lawrence has long since officially become the Chief Warden. Due to his Snow Wolf Fruit, he is in perfect harmony with the fifth level of the Extreme Cold Hell, and to a certain extent, he can suppress the snow wolves of the Extreme Cold Hell in terms of bloodline.
In his own way, he has become the alpha wolf of this pack of fierce snow wolves, capable of giving simple commands.
He had two deputies by his side, one Colon and the other Cardoso.
Both of them were newcomers, and they were immediately trusted by the Chief Warden, a situation that was extremely enviable, and even some of the prison guards were jealous.
It's a pity, but these two newcomers know the Chief Warden! And they're quite strong too.
Colon and Cardoso were naval elites who graduated from the Marine Elite Training Camp, one year after Lawrence.
The three were very familiar with each other, having teamed up in the elite training camp and fought side by side during their training.
Before entering Impel Down, both men were already colonels. In just two years, they were promoted from major to colonel, a rapid rise of two ranks, and they were not far from Commodore.
Tired of constantly capturing pirates, he found it too exhausting and wanted to switch to an easier job, so he took the opportunity to voluntarily transfer to Impel Down.
Some of them were also affected by what happened in the elite training camp. Other naval personnel thought so too. There were quite a few such naval personnel at headquarters who were affected to varying degrees.
The Sengoku had no reason to refuse such a request.
In reality, they were all spies sent by the Night Pirates, instructed by the Night Pirates to help Lawrence.
In Impel Down, Lawrence's strength alone is too weak, and he is likely to be blocked if he tries to take action. Isaac alone is already a problem.
Therefore, Lawrence needs to strengthen his support system.
Lawrence also has a Bald Eagle Fruit the Night Pirates had previously intended for him to eat, which he could use for escape. After that, the Night Pirates will give them another Devil Fruit.
In this way, the three ability users gathered a powerful force.
"Mr. Bullet, this is your dinner for tonight." Lawrence walked to a cage at the deepest part of Infinite Hell, took a deluxe meal and brought it inside. Lawrence was already very familiar with this place.
Bullet, too, was keeping a close eye on the major and minor events happening at sea, with a thick stack of newspapers folded in the corner.
Looking at the tall shadow inside, although its size hadn't changed, Lawrence could clearly feel an even stronger sense of oppression.
Douglas Bullet, the "Heir of the Devil"!