Chapter 412: Guilds Rise, Third Party Arrives
"Report!"
A Marine Soldier ran quickly to Garp, saluted, and held a Den Den Mushi with closed eyes in his hand.
"Vice Admiral, an urgent notification has arrived from Headquarters."
Garp took the Den Den Mushi, nodded, and pressed the connect button.
The Den Den Mushi's eyes opened, and the call connected quickly.
"Hello! Is that Tsuru! What do you need? I've already caught up to the Roger Pirates."
Garp recognized the person on the other side of the Den Den Mushi at a glance and asked with a smile.
Having excellent imitation effects is a Special Ability of the Den Den Mushi.
"Put the Roger Pirates matter aside for now. The Mozartelt Kingdom is currently suffering an invasion by the Beast Pirates. A great battle has already begun in the Mozartelt Kingdom's Royal Capital. If the King dies, the responsibility will undoubtedly fall on us."
Tsuru said seriously; she had no intention of joking with Garp.
The Mozartelt Kingdom, as a powerhouse nation in the New World and a World Government Affiliated Nation, is one of the few Member Nations remaining in the New World and possesses considerable influence.
If the Mozartelt Kingdom were occupied by the Beast Pirates, the outcome would be imaginable.
Military budget might not decrease, but their reputation among Member Nations would certainly weaken.
The Byrnndi Pirates have been sustaining themselves through war, constantly plundering and recruiting Pirates.
In the prolonged war, they have thrown the entire West Blue into chaos.
Whether it's the Underworld Forces or the numerous Factions on the surface, including Member Nations, all have suffered heavy losses.
Some Factions have even secretly colluded with the Byrnndi Pirates, using their strength to eliminate hostile forces and rise up in the process.
In just half a year, the entire West Blue has undergone a major reshuffle.
This also completely disrupted the Marines' plan to resolve the Byrnndi Pirates within two or three months.
Amidst various open and hidden struggles, the Byrnndi Pirates were instead given more strength.
This has continued until now.
Under the incredibly chaotic situation, the number of Pirates and Underworld Forces is rapidly expanding.
Without resolving the Byrnndi Pirates, the vicious cycle continues.
The complaint letters from the many Member Nations in the West Blue to the Marines have piled up like mountains, even demanding a reduction in the share of the Heavenly Tribute for the next few years.
This is unavoidable.
Since Sengoku couldn't deal with World, the World Government sent the CP0 Director-General three months ago to provide reinforcements, hoping to resolve the Byrnndi Pirates once and for all.
Unfortunately, it failed.
The Byrnndi Pirates suffered heavy losses, and the reckless World also caused huge losses for the Pirates.
The combined battle losses from both sides exceeded twelve thousand people, and countless pirate ships and Marine warships sank into the Great Sea.
When World and CP0 Director-General "Zero" fought a great battle in the Sky, Sengoku below was completely unable to intervene.
Facing World, who could exhibit astonishing speed at any time, the CP0 Director-General, the "Celestial Dragons' Strongest Shield," was mostly under suppression.
A major reason this situation was maintained was the appearance of "Tyrant Dragon" Zak.
"Black Dragon" has been Zak's obsession for many years.
Upon receiving the news, he couldn't help but rush to the West Blue to tie down a Top Tier Combatant for the Byrnndi Pirates.
The continued activity of the Byrnndi Pirates in the West Blue is very beneficial to the Tyrant Dragon Pirates.
After a period of observation, the Tyrant Dragon Pirates finally understood that World was not interested in Territory disputes at all.
Instead, he is somewhat similar to the Roger Pirates.
However, the experience of the Rocks Pirates, after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, saw a large number of Pirates attach themselves to him, inevitably leading him down this path.
Adding insult to injury, in this situation, numerous Guilds established in the West Blue are rapidly rising.
By constantly accepting missions, they are resisting Pirates and the disruptive Underworld Forces.
In this process, their reputation is growing, and more people are choosing to join the Guilds.
The number and overall strength of the Guilds are expanding.
In some Sea Areas, the Marines have even become a foil under the brilliance of the Guilds.
More people are choosing to seek help from Guilds rather than the Marines.
This is a terrifying thing.
The Guilds, born in the late Rocks Era, after years of accumulation and development, exploded overnight and exhibit powerful vitality.
The chaos in the West Blue is promoting the emergence of this situation.
Originally, Guild missions were just minor daily matters, or dealing with small Pirates, local small Gangs, and small Illegal Forces.
Now, powerful Guilds can even exhibit terrifying influence and complete more arduous missions.
The West Blue's number one Guild, "Sword of Dawn," now has over five thousand Guild members.
Their mission range covers two-thirds of the West Blue.
In just the past six months, the Sword of Dawn has eliminated an Affiliated Pirate Group of the Byrnndi Pirates whose Captain had a Bounty exceeding one hundred million Beli.
They have also brought two warring Kingdoms to a ceasefire and reconciliation.
The rise of the Guilds has prevented the order in the West Blue from collapsing entirely.
However, the Marines' influence continues to weaken.
Especially in the Sea Areas where the Sword of Dawn Guild is most active, they are completely crushed.
It has even reached a degree where people only know the Sword of Dawn and not the Marines.
Of course, this is a bit exaggerated, but the fact that the Marines' sense of presence is constantly declining is true.
This is a very dangerous signal.
Perhaps the Marines and the World Government do not know that the birth of the Guilds was promoted by various Superpowers.
However, Guilds were born against the background of the World Government and Marines being suppressed by the Rocks Pirates.
It is a general trend and was originally a substitute for the Marines, certified by the vast majority of Kingdoms worldwide, not just Member Nations.
The Marines can take action against those reckless Dark Guilds, but they cannot act against these legitimate Guilds.
The competition between the two sides can only be fair and open.
And Guilds have a local advantage.
The rise of the West Blue Guilds has also sounded an alarm for the Marines.
Currently, the Byrnndi Pirates, who have offended half of the West Blue, are a common enemy of most Factions in the West Blue.
Including the Marines and the Guilds.
The war between the Marines and the Byrnndi Pirates even has the participation of those Guilds, which has eased the Marines' stress.
Garp doesn't know much about these matters, but the importance of Member Nations is unquestionable.
However, Garp also didn't want to let the Roger Pirates get away.
"Understood, Tsuru, I'll depart immediately."
As soon as his voice fell, Garp hung up the Den Den Mushi and shouted to the surrounding Marine Soldiers, "Everyone hurry, continue the pursuit! Don't let Roger get away!"
"Vice Admiral, what about Headquarters' orders?"
The Marine Officer beside him stiffened, a cold sweat breaking out inside.
They had all heard the call just now.
"Hahaha! Complete both missions at once! Drive the Roger Pirates towards the Mozartelt Kingdom! This old man is truly too clever!"
Garp laughed and picked his nose.
Although it sounded a bit unreliable, it must be said that it was a method.
The Roger Pirates would definitely need to find a place to rest and recuperate as well.
It's just that the time it would take to reach the Mozartelt Kingdom might be a bit slower.
Facing Garp's pursuit, the Roger Pirates' First Mate, Rayleigh, keenly sensed that something was off.
"Roger, that guy Garp seems to be chasing us in the same direction."
"If we keep going straight, where would that roughly be?"
Roger, hearing this, also felt that there was a problem.
The Navigator immediately took out a Sea Chart from behind, spread it on the ground, and checked it against the Eternal Pose.
"Continuing straight ahead leads to the Mozartelt Kingdom. Do we want to go?"
"Then let's go. Since Garp wants to drive us in that direction, it's a good opportunity for a great battle."
Roger waved his hand grandly, stood at the ship's bow, facing the sea wind, his red Pirate Coat fluttering in the wind.
(end of chapter)