Forming an Army

Chapter 040: Forming an Army

"How could such a thing happen..." Hearing Leo's words, everyone let out a heavy sigh of relief.

The idea of the Marines allowing seeded contestants to hunt down pirates they couldn't defeat sounded utterly absurd.

But when they considered their own situations, they could see that everything Leo said was true and real.

This was how the World Marines operated.

And in the end, several Marine Vice Admirals would capture them, either executing them on the spot or sending them to Impel Down to live out their miserable lives.

Except for prisoners with political representation, most others, especially Devil Fruit users, would be sent to Impel Down. These incredibly dangerous Devil Fruit users served two purposes: first, they could be used for Vegapunk's experiments to transfer Devil Fruit abilities; second, their Devil Fruits would reappear elsewhere after their death, and if another pirate ate one, it would create another major pirate. It was better to just imprison them.

Those without Devil Fruit abilities had to fend for themselves.

"So, you have a group of Marines following you?" Leo asked Ace, who was staring blankly.

"Yes..." Ace couldn't accept it, clearly having some feelings for Lieutenant Iska.

"Then, defeat them and capture them," Leo said with a grin, rubbing his hands together.

"Attack the Marines directly?!" Masked exclaimed in shock.

"Aren't you the Shichibukai?" Michael also couldn't understand at all.

"Us?" Leo smiled. "Isn't it you?"

!!!

"Lieutenant! They should be just ahead!" On deck, the Marines were nervously preparing their weapons. They were only a squadron, and it was already a concession from their superiors to pursue the Spade Pirates at Lieutenant Iska's insistence.

And this was still the first half of the Grand Line; they had the support of numerous Marine bases. The further they went, the smaller their chances of capturing the Spade Pirates would become.

Furthermore, the Spade Pirates' Log Pose might not have recorded the previous small island, meaning they could be drifting aimlessly at sea.

Although they were only a medium-sized ship, they had a significant advantage in firepower, with over twenty cannons and a hundred crew members. They could overwhelm the Spade Pirates with sheer force.

"Found them!" the lookout in the crow's nest shouted down to the Marines nervously preparing for battle.

"There's a large ship ahead!"

"Isn't that the Spade Pirates' ship?" Iska felt a bit disheartened, but as Marines, they had no choice; all pirates encountered were to be eliminated!

"Uncover the cannons!" In naval combat, preventing gunpowder from getting damp was crucial. Water could easily enter the cannon muzzles, so they were always covered with oilcloth. They would only be uncovered when preparing for battle.

Now, the Marines became serious. The lookout constantly monitored the large ship ahead, but failed to notice another ship stealthily approaching from behind them.

"Hey, are we really leaving it to them? That's the New World Marines... these guys..."

Ace wasn't on his small boat; they had all transferred to this large sailing ship equipped with ten cannons, standing at the very back.

They watched the disciplined, human wall-like formation and muttered to themselves.

While the Cutlass Pirates were indeed not weak, even having the same bounty as him at fifty million Berries, the Captain and First Mate of the Cutlass Pirates were clearly with them. It seemed they expected these ninety-odd people to fight against a hundred Marines.

As everyone knew, in terms of individual combat ability, large pirate crews like this couldn't compare to the Marines.

From the simplest aspect of nutrition supply – small elite pirate crews could carry plenty of food to provide their members with the protein needed for training, but large pirate crews couldn't achieve this.

Large pirate crews could barely ensure their crew members had enough food and water daily.

Especially in the Grand Line, not every island offered supplies. They might encounter an island like Little Garden, filled with meat, no, dinosaurs, allowing them to replenish their meat supply, but on most other islands... just landing was dangerous enough, let alone finding food.

The Marines, on the other hand, had their own military bases everywhere, allowing them to easily resupply food and openly requisition food from merchant ships. In terms of resources and logistics, pirates simply couldn't compete with the Marines.

Therefore, in terms of individual physical quality and conditions, they naturally couldn't be a match for the Marines.

Moreover, in battles between ordinary people without Haki or Devil Fruits, weapons, cannons, and warships played a crucial role.

The enemy's twenty cannons and a hundred Marines, all equipped with firearms.

Did Leo really think their ninety-odd people, with less than fifty firearms and a ship with ten cannons, could fight against them?

Only by having skilled fighters charge into the enemy ranks and disrupt their formation could they win the battle.

Ace and his crew had extensive experience fighting the Marines.

But this wasn't what Leo wanted.

"Alright, stand below and watch carefully," Leo slowly began to climb the mast. These guys below had undergone half a month of tempering and now showed some promise, standing perfectly still even now.

Next would be a baptism of blood and fire, allowing them to be reborn.

"Closing in on the enemy! We can board!" the lookout on the enemy Marine ship reported loudly.

Iska gestured to her superiors to acknowledge the report, but a sense of unease grew within her. They were already less than three hundred meters away, and the enemy hadn't fired yet. Had they run out of ammunition?

Logically, the pirates should have fled and fired warning shots when they were over five hundred meters away!

Or perhaps the people on board had starved to death? Been killed? Was this a ghost ship?

"Not good! The enemy is forming ranks on deck! It's not a ghost ship!" The lookout, sharing Iska's thought, finally got a clear view of the deck, hidden by canvas, at two hundred meters.

It was a formation so neat and orderly, unlike anything he had ever seen, as if they were welcoming their arrival.

"It's the Cutlass Pirates! They're waiting for us on deck! They're preparing for a boarding battle!"

He shouted down to his men.

At this distance, even Leo could clearly hear his voice.

"So noisy! Shoot him down, but don't kill him. Michael!" Leo commanded the Spade Pirates' crew, as if he were naturally directing his subordinates.

PS: First update.