Admiral Creek

"Admiral Creek's men?"

Kuro nodded and said,

"No wonder. Disguising themselves as Marines to infiltrate the port, then launching an attack from within and without—that's that guy's specialty. Should we make a move?"

Gawain shook his head.

"Better to avoid trouble when we can. That guy isn't particularly strong, but he commands a massive fleet of several thousand men. With dozens of ships attacking together, the two of us could take them down by force, but we'd lose more than half the crew aboard."

"It wouldn't be worth it."

"Move faster. Once we've restocked our supplies, we'll leave."

"Alright."

Kuro acknowledged him.

Gawain turned to look at Akin, who was still standing on the deck. After exchanging a glance, Akin turned and headed toward the cabin.

Gawain quietly activated the Badge function and directly used a scan.

[Name - Akin]

[Potential - Bronze]

[Rating - Black Iron:

Repays kindness without fail, extremely loyal!

His talent may be ordinary, but no boss would dislike an employee like this!

]

"Repays kindness without fail, absolutely loyal..."

Looking at the keywords on the panel, Gawain immediately grew interested.

"His Bronze-Rank talent is nearly on par with Kuro's. He's a decent experience pack. If I get the chance later, I'll definitely take him in."

"But first, I need to deal with the supplies."

After closing the Badge interface, Gawain left most of the crew on the ship to guard against possible accidents, then followed Kuro to find Harbinger, the contact Kuro had arranged to meet.

Elsewhere.

After Akin returned to the ship, Pal had already awakened from his unconsciousness.

Seeing the shattered shield beside him and Akin's silent expression, Pal instantly realized what had happened and spoke apologetically.

"Akin, sorry."

"There's no point saying that now. Stay on the ship and recover. Leave what comes next to me."

Akin patted Pal on the shoulder, but Rat's unusual reaction kept replaying in his mind, and he began to form a faint suspicion.

He then took out the Den Den Mushi used to contact Krieg and dialed it.

Very soon.

A low voice came from the other end.

"Akin?"

"Is it done?"

"No."

Akin shook his head, his tone grave.

"Besides us, two other groups have arrived here."

"One of them is Marine Captain Rat, but he has already left, so he isn't much of a threat. The truly troublesome one is the other group."

"They scared Rat so badly that he couldn't even speak coherently without making a move."

"They're either powerful pirates or monsters from the Grand Line. Neither possibility is simple."

"Judging from their presence, the two leaders of that group are both stronger than me."

"Captain, should we postpone this operation and wait for another opportunity?"

Akin asked tentatively.

"Another opportunity?"

A scoff came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Akin, do you know how much it costs to support a fleet of five thousand men for a month? Do you know how long the food on our ships will last? Do you know how much ammunition becomes useless every day from dampness?"

"Fighting is your duty, understand?"

Krieg's voice suddenly rose, brimming with unmatched confidence.

"It isn't that I don't want to wait. It's that this road only allows us to move forward, never backward!"

"I command such a massive fleet so that there will be only one voice on this sea—mine."

"Dozens of Pirate Ships need only one volley to destroy an entire town. What meaning does individual bravery have before such power?"

"Besides, the weapon for survival has already been forged. I don't believe anyone can be stronger than me!"

"I understand."

Akin nodded. He would never defy Krieg's orders, even if certain death lay ahead.

Besides, deep down, he agreed with Krieg's words.

On this sea, individual strength ultimately had its limits. Flesh and blood could not withstand blades and guns, much less heavily armed warships!

After hanging up the call.

Akin's gaze gradually sharpened. After gathering enough men aboard the ship, he swiftly began acting, scouting the various troop deployment points throughout the city, as well as the locations where ammunition was stored.

He quietly stationed key personnel from the ship at those locations.

When the time came, a single command would be enough to directly dismantle the port's resistance. They could even take control of the entire port without losing a single man.

He had done such things countless times and had never failed. Every result had proven Krieg's unique strategic insight.

"This time, we won't be wrong either, even with other factors involved!"

Akin steadied himself and even personally led a team to monitor Gawain and the others' every move.

Elsewhere.

Krieg looked over the intelligence sent back from the port, his brows knitting slightly.

Two somewhat worn Wanted Posters lay on his desk.

"Captain, based on the intelligence Lord Akin sent back, we can basically confirm that the other force in the port is these two."

"Knight Gawain, Bounty: 8 million Berry."

"Hundred Plans Kuro, Bounty: 15 million Berry."

The assistant standing beside Krieg presented the information she had compiled and added,

"However."

"It has been some time since we last updated the Wanted Posters aboard the ship. This information may be outdated."

Krieg nodded.

"Pirates' Wanted Posters generally don't change much within a few years."

"It isn't a major problem."

"Besides, Gawain only made a name for himself in the past two years, while there are even rumors that Hundred Plans Kuro has developed thoughts of retirement."

"Heh."

Krieg sneered.

"For a pirate, having such thoughts means he isn't far from death."

"Still, they disguised themselves as Marines and entered the port. They must be planning to take control of Raven Port from the inside as well."

"It'll be troublesome if they get there first."

"The one who strikes first gains the upper hand! We'll attack directly!"

The assistant froze.

"But Lord Akin and Lord Pal are still in the port. Wouldn't that be a little..."

A cruel grin curled across Krieg's lips.

In his eyes, so-called subordinates were nothing more than consumables. As long as the plan could be completed, anyone could be sacrificed, including Akin, the ship's second-in-command.

"It's fine."

"I believe that with their strength, they'll definitely survive the attack."

"If they can't survive, that only proves they're nothing special. Crewmen like that can't become my right-hand men!"

The assistant swallowed, her eyes filled with fear.

She did not know when she too would be mercilessly discarded by Krieg like this. Perhaps it would be a long time from now, or perhaps it would be the very next second.

Yet the more she thought about it, the more desperately she wanted to prove her worth, and the less she dared to disobey Krieg's will.

While the assistant was gripped by unease.

Krieg had already turned around and raised a hand to gently stroke the golden armor placed nearby, his eyes revealing incomparable intoxication.

"This armor, forged from a special alloy, can withstand close-range bombardment from a Warship. Even the strongest swordsman would be unable to cut through it."

"Not to mention that beneath every piece of armor lies a deadly weapon."

"Armor-piercing shells, high-explosive bombs, poison gas bombs—each of them can easily take a person's life. And on top of that, I have this!"

Krieg gripped an exaggeratedly shaped spear in one hand, a weapon that weighed more than a ton by itself. Feeling the power within it, intense confidence burst from his eyes.

"The greater the force behind the swing, the stronger the explosion it triggers..."

"With this armor alone, there should be a place for me even on the Grand Line, much less in a tiny East Blue?!"

"Who can stop me?!"