Naval Bombardment

The sky darkened as black clouds surged in like a rising tide. Fierce winds swept across the sea, making the Marine warship's sails flap loudly. Having left the Calm Belt, the warship rode the wind and waves toward the homeland of those civilians.

Before long, sparse, heavy raindrops began to fall. They splashed into little flowers on the deck and sent ripples spreading across the sea.

As the warship drew closer and closer to their homeland, the rescued people felt both happy and afraid. They had been forced to leave their homes because of the pirates' rampage.

They looked at the Marines around them, and their fear eased somewhat.

They had been powerless to resist before, but now they were aboard a Marine warship. Under the Marines' protection, they felt much safer.

As the warship continued forward, they were no longer far from their homeland. Even through the curtain of rain, they could vaguely make out several ships beside the small island ahead. Before long, they could see the markings on those ships, and everyone aboard the warship was astonished. The Marines, in particular, showed traces of excitement on their faces.

What Wuli had not expected was that the first ones they encountered were neither the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates nor the Blackbeard Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, but the Marines!

"Could the Marines have learned of the chaos on those islands earlier and sent forces to suppress it? Even if this is only the edge of a Four Emperor's territory, it would still be very easy to clash with one of the Four Emperors, wouldn't it?" Wuli asked doubtfully.

"You Marines are pretty good after all. We misunderstood you before. I never expected that we, who hated the Marines, would first have our lives saved by them, and then see them come to save our homeland too." The middle-aged man spoke with emotion. Over the past few days, his impression of the Marines had changed greatly, especially after seeing several Marine warships arrive together.

"But why are they only stopped here? The island ravaged by pirates is still several hours away, isn't it?" Shu asked in surprise.

Now that Shu mentioned it, that really was the case. But they could only wait until they rendezvoused with the other side to learn the answer.

On the warship beside that small island, the Marines were all looking north. One Marine spotted them and shouted, "Report! A ship is approaching us!"

"Hm? Aim at the target. The moment it enters attack range, attack immediately!"

A tall man wearing a cape emblazoned with "Justice" gave the order without turning around.

"Yes..." The Marine had intended to answer, but after clearly seeing the Marine warship's markings, he looked at the tall figure wearing an ancient helmet, with a small flying dragon atop his head and a long red plume hanging from it, smoking a cigarette, and said, "Vice Admiral Onigumo! That appears to be a Marine warship!"

Upon hearing the report, the tall man turned around, revealing a cold, cruel face. His gaze did not linger on the Marine, but instead fell from his half-closed eyes upon the Marine warship sailing toward them.

"The order remains the same. The moment it enters attack range, attack immediately!" Onigumo commanded.

"But that's a Marine warship..." the Marine said hesitantly.

"This is a specially sensitive area, and Headquarters never informed us that a warship would be sent here. It is highly likely that pirates are deliberately using a Marine warship to deceive us. How can we fall for such an obvious trick?" A cold glint flashed through Onigumo's eyes as he spoke in a low voice. The pressure he gave off frightened the Marine.

"What if those really are our Marine comrades? If we attack, we might hurt them." The Marine spoke weakly.

"Shut up! We cannot let them pass simply because they might be Marines. Until their identities are truly confirmed, the attack order will not change. They can only blame themselves for appearing in the last place they should have appeared." Onigumo spoke coldly. He would never miss any chance to strike at evil. Besides, given the current circumstances, he had sufficient reason to believe that the other side were pirates in disguise. That was enough.

Hearing Vice Admiral Onigumo's cold words, the Marine shuddered. Looking at the Marine warship that was about to enter attack range, and under Onigumo's icy gaze, he still went to relay Onigumo's order.

The warship's cannons rumbled as they turned, aiming at Wuli and the others. A hand rose, and the moment Wuli's ship entered attack range, the order to fire was given.

Cannonballs tore through the rain with piercing whistles, hurtling toward Wuli and the others!