Fire!

The speedboat gradually reached the harbor, and the pirates lying in ambush in the shadows began rubbing their fists in anticipation.

Long blades in hand, bullets loaded.

The moment Bourne gave the order, they would rush out and chop down the Marines as easily as slicing vegetables!

The speedboat reached the shore, and Akita leaped off first, landing on the island.

Morito and Kazan were preparing to disembark when a Navy Ensign accompanying them stopped them.

He frowned at the two of them and said in an unquestionable, commanding tone, "You two stay here and guard the ship. Leave the search of the island to us. Understood?"

Kazan's expression darkened, and he was about to speak, but Morito beat him to it.

"Yes, sir!"

Was he worried someone would compete with him for the chance to get their heads handed to them?

Morito was already too exhausted to complain.

The Navy Ensign was very pleased with Morito's attitude, and his expression softened slightly. "Stay here and wait. The speedboat is relatively safe. We're doing this for your own good!"

With that, he turned and leaped onto the island.

"Losers should know their place!"

"You think this is a chance to earn merit? Don't end up throwing your lives away!"

Several nearby Marine soldiers mocked them, then followed by jumping off the speedboat and landing on the island.

Kazan's face darkened further and further. He tried several times to open his mouth, but he did not know what to say. He had never been one for verbal sparring.

Morito, however, looked completely unconcerned. There was no point arguing with a bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well.

No matter how much one explained to a toad, it could never understand the vastness of the sky.

The group of Marine soldiers disembarked in a clamor.

Only Morito and Kazan remained on the speedboat. Vice Admiral Akita had already gone deep into the island and had not noticed what was happening behind him.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with the Navy Ensign's order.

They had to leave one or two people behind to guard the boat.

Otherwise, if the Bourne Pirates sailed the boat away or destroyed it, wouldn't they become turtles trapped in a jar?

Kazan had not had much contact with Morito, but he always felt that Morito was not the sort to let himself suffer a loss.

"Do you have something in mind?"

Kazan stared intently at Morito. Although it was phrased as a question, his tone was extremely certain.

He was sure Morito had a plan.

Morito did not answer. Instead, he directly activated the Byakugan's field of vision.

On both sides of the narrow valley leading from the harbor to the small town deep within Frances Island, more than two hundred pirates were hidden in the forests atop the cliffs.

They held the high ground and enjoyed a superior position.

They carried firearms and cannons concealed among the trees, giving themselves the initiative.

An ambush on the cliff walls on both sides of the road was hardly a sophisticated strategy, but simple tactics were often the most effective.

"If we don't do something, I'm afraid all twenty-odd people except Vice Admiral Akita will be wiped out here."

Morito muttered to himself, then turned and walked toward the interior of the speedboat.

As a Marine speedboat, it naturally was not an ordinary civilian craft. Even this small boat was equipped with a sophisticated artillery system.

It could not compare with a warship's cannons, but at least it could make some noise, right?

If they had not known there was an ambush on the island, the deaths of these Marines would have been honorable sacrifices. Morito would never have felt sad or guilty over them.

Marines hunted pirates, and pirates killed Marines.

The sea was no child's play. Anyone who went out to sea had to be prepared for the consequences.

However, since Morito knew there were pirates lying in ambush on both sides of the road, he could not stand by and watch his comrades offer up their heads for free.

"Do you know how to fire a cannon?"

Morito pushed a cart of cannonballs out of the storage compartment. The Naval Academy taught the fundamentals of combat, including the use of firearms, cannons, swords, and other weapons.

Unfortunately, Morito, who skipped class every day, had never studied seriously.

He could certainly fire a cannonball into the water and make a splash, but whether he could hit a person would depend on fate.

"What are you trying to do?"

Kazan did not have the Byakugan and could not see the hidden pirate ambush on the island.

But he felt that Morito would not do anything pointless.

"Aim at that spot above the cliff—the one with the huge banyan tree. Fire there. Make sure you hit it!"

Morito was pointing directly at Bourne's hiding place, which was also the best position in the ambush.

Kazan did not question him. He immediately adjusted the cannon and aimed it at the old banyan tree above the cliff.

Aim, adjust, ignite, fire!

It was all done in one smooth motion!

There was a bang from the speedboat, and a cannonball shot through the air.

Vice Admiral Akita's group, heading inland from the harbor, and Bourne's group of pirates atop the cliff all focused their attention on the cannonball that had suddenly entered the battlefield!

As the cannonball traced an arc through the air, the gazes of the Marines below and the pirates on the cliff finally met.

"There really is an ambush!" Akita drew his saber and shouted, "Prepare for battle!"

"Get out of the way!"

Bourne leaped away at once, while the pirate underlings nearby immediately cried out in alarm.

Although the cannonballs in the setting of One Piece could only make a splash—

who would be stupid enough to test that with their own body?

Without needing any warning, the pirates hidden deep in the forest on the cliff quickly leaped out before the cannonball struck and exploded.

Rumble—!!

A tremendous shock wave erupted, and a mushroom cloud suddenly blossomed above the cliff.

Hundreds of pirates realized they could no longer remain hidden and bared their fangs. One pirate holding a gun raised his hand and fired.

Whoosh!

A bullet tore across the battlefield and struck a Marine soldier directly.

Blood burst forth, and the soldier collapsed.

The battle erupted at once!

"Why is a cannonball being fired at us?"

Bourne's face turned purple with rage. If the Marines had taken just ten more steps forward, they could have detonated the explosives buried at the entrance.

Then they could have swarmed in and wiped out the remaining enemies in the blink of an eye.

But a stray cannonball had exposed them!

"Take action! Suppress the mountaintop with artillery!"

Vice Admiral Akita truly was a seasoned elite Marine commander. The fall of the Marine beside him did not cause even the slightest trace of panic to show on his face.

He immediately shouted an order into the Den Den Mushi: "Aim at the forests on the cliff walls on both sides of the entrance. Fire the cannonballs in an arc and send them into the woods!"

"Yes, sir!"

The adjutant, who had been holding a spyglass the entire time, had noticed the situation on the island long ago.

He had been puzzled by the sudden cannonball fired from the speedboat at the cliff by the entrance, but now that he thought about it, the two Marines aboard must have discovered the enemy and used it as a warning!

An adjutant aboard a warship was not merely an adjutant. He also served as a staff officer, so his intelligence was obviously up to par.

"If that warning cannonball hadn't alerted him, Vice Admiral Akita would probably already have fallen into the enemy's ambush!"

The adjutant secretly wiped away a bead of cold sweat and quickly composed himself.

Now was not the time for exclamations. He had to bring the warship closer, suppress the pirates with artillery, and give the Marines a chance to land and fight!

"Angle cannons one, three, five, seven, and nine upward. Aim at the spot where that cannonball exploded. Fire!"

"Yes, sir!"

Clack, clack, clack!!

The cannonballs were loaded, and the cannons adjusted their aim.

Then a dense barrage of cannonballs was fired, forming a steel rain that crashed toward the mountaintop.

"Aim cannons two, four, six, eight, and ten! Stand by!"

"Fire!"