The Blackbeard Pirates!
Their pirate flag fluttered above a crude bamboo raft, yet the sight bore down on everyone like a mountain.
The Marines tensed when they spotted the Blackbeard Pirates. Their relentless cannon fire gradually fell silent.
An enemy had arrived: Blackbeard and his crew, the newest of the Four Emperors.
Sensing his men's unease, Vice Admiral Onigumo took a deep breath. Resolve hardened his face as he ordered, "All warships, aim at the Blackbeard Pirates! Concentrate your fire!"
The Marines suppressed their nerves and trained the cannons of all ten warships on the raft. They loaded the guns with practiced hands, and at Onigumo's shout of "Fire!" they attacked.
A dense hail of shells streaked across the sky toward the enormous raft. After the shrill whistles came explosions that seemed to shake heaven and earth.
Black smoke billowed over the area, hiding the raft from sight. The air seemed to fall still. Everyone stared into the smoke, tense enough that the sound of someone swallowing was clearly audible.
No one knew what the barrage had done. Some Marines even naively hoped that so many shells might have finished off Blackbeard and his crew.
Onigumo and the other Vice Admirals watched the smoke too. They harbored no such illusions, but concentrated fire from ten warships was the only option they had. If it had any effect at all, that would be to their advantage.
As the smoke slowly cleared, everyone's eyes widened. The enormous bamboo raft came back into view!
The figures aboard it grew clearer. First came a broad, grinning face. The others showed no sign of injury, and the raft bore no trace of damage. That barrage had produced smoke and deafening noise, but it had not hurt the enemy at all.
But how was that possible?