First Battle [Seeking Collection]

Faced with the incoming barrage of cannonballs, they had no choice but to constantly intercept the shells to ensure the ship's safety.

Under such circumstances, once the pirates grew exhausted from the relentless defense, the physically fresh Navy soldiers would naturally hold the advantage in the subsequent boarding battle.

In naval combat, the Navy generally held the upper hand at sea thanks to their warships' superiority—after all, the technology behind those vessels was the result of countless shipwrights' research and craftsmanship.

Of course, the ships that warships could crush did not include those belonging to Luffy or the Four Emperors.

But that aside, while powerful individuals could turn the tide of weather or decide the outcome of a single battle, well-crafted ships represented a strategic advantage that wouldn't be diminished by any one person.

Moreover, elite warships combined with artillery fire could form an even more intimidating presence—the Buster Call!

This slaughter, which used concentrated cannon fire to blanket an entire island, served as a deterrent within the Navy, requiring a massive fleet and devastating firepower to annihilate the whole island.

"Target, twelve o'clock ahead! Report confirms pirates! Gunners, fire!"

Orders were rapidly relayed across the deck.

The gunners, after judging factors like wind direction and distance, adjusted their cannons, aimed at the pirate ship, and unleashed the most brutal bombardment upon that pitiful, helpless vessel!

Endless cannon muzzles spewed fire without pause.

After adjusting the angles, the round black cannons once again roared to the heavens, spitting flames and shells toward the distant pirate ship.

But as the saying goes, "You have your Zhang Liang's stratagem, I have my scaling ladder." Facing the Navy's tactic of clearing the way with cannon fire, most pirates had a trick or two for blocking shells with their bare hands.

After all, this was a basic skill every pirate needed to master! (Heavy fog)

A pirate who couldn't block cannonballs barehanded wasn't a qualified, good pirate.

As an excellent pirate, you could be too weak to defeat your enemy; you could be the ship's pet with a bounty of only 50 Berries.

But once you boarded a pirate ship, you had to master attacks—bare hands, abilities, slashes, shots, tools, whatever—to destroy incoming shells before they wrecked the vessel.

As a pirate's fundamental skill, if you couldn't even withstand a few volleys of Navy cannon fire, why bother being a pirate at all!

But this time, these pirates truly became the "disgrace of pirates."

Because they had the misfortune of running into the fleet escorting the Pirate King, Roger.

And even though this was just the vanguard, once assembled, its firepower surpassed even a Buster Call!

Fortunately, after nearly half the pirate ship was destroyed, the bombardment stopped.

Because the ship was so weak, it had been chosen as the first target for Dawn and the others.

With Dawn and these young calves being sent to test their mettle, the pirates aboard encountered misfortune's silver lining—since their opponents were rookies like Dawn, they might just keep their lives and end up in Impel Down to "pick up soap."

"Prepare for battle!"

As the ships drew closer, the fearless young calves eagerly itched for action.

On the other side, aboard the trembling pirate ship.

"Cabron, Captain! Navy ships spotted ahead, closing in!!" Among the panicked crew, the lookout shouted through his spyglass in terror.

On this battered pirate ship, its sails destroyed by cannon fire, hung a half-burned pirate flag.

The half-destroyed black skull flag still fluttered arrogantly in the air, but its owner had turned into a coward.

Cabron was just some lucky bastard from the North Sea, who had formed a pirate crew relying on his exceptional physique.

After arriving on the Grand Line, like many newcomers, he quickly got knocked down a peg.

Once Cabron faced reality, he promptly joined a big organization through a fellow's introduction and became a glorious slave trader.

As a slave trader, Cabron lived quite well.

Plenty of money to squander for the whole crew, while he, as captain, enjoyed the most luxurious life—women were never lacking, and whenever he fancied one during a slave hunt, he'd help himself first.

But knowing his own strength all too well, Cabron always stayed cautious, skirting the first half of the Grand Line and only grabbing defenseless ordinary people.

This time, Cabron had strayed from the islands near the Four Seas because his superiors had captured a large number of slaves and ordered him to take a share and transport a batch to Sabaody Archipelago.

He thought he'd been careful enough, but as fate would have it, the moment he left familiar waters, he ran straight into this massive Navy fleet!

"I'm ready to surrender... at least we'll keep our lives." Cabron's face twisted with a grim expression as he forced out the words.

"Captain, that ship—it looks like only a few soldiers are on board, the rest are brats!" The first mate, still holding the spyglass, shouted.

"Huh? Let me see." Cabron snatched the telescope and looked toward the ship his subordinate pointed at.

"Damn Navy, sending a bunch of kids after us! They're using us as a whetstone?"

Cabron was smart enough—otherwise, he wouldn't have faced reality and found a backer to become a slaver.

"Perfect. We're surrounded now, and it doesn't look like they plan to take us alive. Those brats are our only way out." Cabron's tone turned dark.

Even if he always followed his heart, seeing the Navy send a bunch of kids at him still stoked his rage.

Realizing there was absolutely no escape from this massive fleet, Cabron saw those brats as his sole chance to break free.

"All hands, listen up! Make sure these brats learn what terror really means. Capture them alive—that's our only path—don't kill them!"

Cabron watched the approaching warship, a savage grin spreading across his face, and shouted with madness: "Let these brats be our talisman and carve us a way out!"

"Ohhh!"

Cornered, the pirates erupted with fierce momentum, everyone going wild to fight for their last shred of hope.

"Get them, boys!"

"BAM!"

His cool factor lasted barely three seconds. The moment he finished his rallying cry, Dawn burst into the air with speed unleashed by Shave. His fist—not particularly large—wreathed in Red Ring and carrying terrifying force, slammed into Cabron's jaw in an instant.

Cabron, after shouting his slogan, hadn't even had time to draw the weapon hanging at his waist before he felt a sharp pain in his jaw. Several bloodstained teeth spun through the air before clattering onto the deck.

"Captain!!" The vice-captain's heart tightened, and he moved to go to the rescue along with the surrounding underlings, but Hina and the others, who had been in hot pursuit, intercepted them.

For a moment, the pirates were both shocked and enraged. But in Dawn and the others' eyes, that was nothing more than the howling of beaten dogs!