"Captain-san," Robin reported, "Amisu and Hancock's teams are moving north just fine. Mihawk is... well, he's doing whatever he wants."
"That's fine," I said. "It is, but... the enemy isn't scattering to the south as I thought. Cazarie, have we destroyed most of the ships here?"
"Sir," Cazarie replied, "all ships we can see are unable to sail."
"My mini-hollows are also sinking any small fishing boat-sized ships, just in case," Perona added.
"...All right," I ordered, "send a message to Amisu and Hancock on the Den Den Mushi. Tell them to move more quietly. We will draw all the enemy's attention. They should use that chance to make saving the captured people their top goal."
"Yes, sir! Right away!"
Trying to confuse the enemy was a good idea, and it's going as planned. But they are too confused, and their movements are too slow.
Are these guys really pirates? They're worse than street thugs.
If this were Bege, he would have his men under control by now. He would have one or two plans to escape... no, he would have had them ready from the start.
"This... this is how the 'Black Cats' fight?" Rear Admiral Munchkin asked, stunned.
"Yes, Rear Admiral Munchkin," one of the nearby Marines answered.
We decided the main force for this battle should be from the West Blue. That's why Commodore Taki was suggested as the leader. The problem was the people from Headquarters.
Headquarters had tried to help, but they couldn't do anything. Their ships were sunk, and they lost almost all their people and supplies.
Then, they had to be saved by the West Blue Navy they were supposed to help, and that Navy's pirate allies... In short, they were completely embarrassed.
On top of that, the few people they managed to save are almost all getting medical treatment.
The ones who decided they had to join the fight, since they could still move, were...
"They are this confused," Hina stated, stepping forward. "If we join the fight, it should end quickly, don't you think? Hina is confused."
...Rear Admiral Munchkin and Hina. Seriously?
"For now, there are two bad things I don't want to happen," I explained to the officers. "First, the weak pirates scattering. If we let a lot of them escape, the damage will spread fast."
Well, honestly, I'm not too worried about that.
These fools didn't even post lookouts. They were just drinking and partying.
Thanks to that, they are all in one small area, which makes them easy to handle.
"But in this case, there are no islands nearby. Any pirates who escape without supplies will probably die. We just need to watch the islands they might be able to reach, and we should be fine."
Still, starving to death at sea is awful, so we will try to find them if we can.
"The second bad thing is letting the leaders who have an escape plan get away," I continued. "This is the worst, of course."
If possible, I want the Navy to capture anyone who can lead them to the person behind this whole mess.
If that Pink Bird is involved, I'm not sure how serious the government will be about this... but if they are a suspect from the start, it might hold them back... maybe.
If it's not Pink Bird, then I really want them to hurry up and find out who it is.
Honestly, it's impossible for us to get a 'perfect victory' now.
I don't know how long they planned this, but if they put this all together in a short time, that person is very dangerous.
To be honest, that person is scarier than most pirates or Marines.
"We probably won't find any clues leading to the main planner," I said. "The enemy is very smart. So, we should at least try to get small pieces of information that we can put together later."
"So you are staying back and watching the battle," Munchkin observed.
"If this was just a simple group of pirates, and their only threat was their numbers, I would already be on the front lines..." I replied.
No, if that were the case, the guards' surprise attack would have been enough.
I've been thinking this since our training and practice battles, but the 'Stealthy Step Style' is most dangerous when used by a group.
"Unless we catch the leaders holding these pirates together, they could cause huge problems again in the West... or in any sea."
The harvest season has started, so pirates now have things to steal.
After this big mess, it's pretty much certain that more people will start stealing to survive in the West Blue.
If someone uses those people, a second pirate alliance could appear... or rather, that's what I would do if I just wanted to cause trouble.
"After talking with Commodore Taki, we decided the most important things right now are to keep our soldiers from getting too tired and to keep the area surrounded, just in case."
Also, I didn't want to show them all our tricks, so I wanted to use a simple, direct attack.
Commodore Taki is fine, but it seems the Rear Admirals are here to study us.
It was the same when we fought before. This person's weakness is that they can't hide their guilt.
I wish he would learn from Hina's nerve.
She is openly studying me. Well, I guess that's fine.
"On the northern front," I explained to the room, "Daz's main guards, the second and third ship crews, and the teams led by Captain Vigle and Captain Collie have blocked the road to the port. They are pushing forward right now."
"Are there any problems working with the pirat—excuse me, the 'Black Cats'?" Munchkin asked.
"Captain Collie has worked with us on many missions before," I answered. "And Captain Vigle's soldiers are good at working in different situations. There are no problems."
Besides, Captain Vigle's soldiers have worked with us a lot. After the help we gave them the other day, their spirits are high.
If I put them in the back, it would probably cause problems later.
Commodore Taki said it was okay, so it should be fine. I put Miakis with them, just in case. She's good at fighting crowds.
We need one more person to hold the front line... No, if I start thinking like that, there are tons of people I need.
Fighters, of course, but also an operator to help Robin. Or a scout to help Perona.
For our home, we need people who are good with numbers, or farming, or building ships, or medicine... We need people with skills.
How can we, just a pirate crew, get those people... We can't just kidnap them.
"...Kuro," Munchkin said, his voice hesitant.
"Yes?"
"Do you... know about all the officers and soldiers?" he asked.
"I knew some soldiers would not want to work with pirates... So I tried to find out who they were quickly, to earn their trust... I gathered as much information as I could and memorized it."
It was also needed so I could spot any government spies.
I knew people would try to kill Robin during this, and a few actually did. Mihawk and I caught them and handed them over to Kuzan.
Man... it was so hard to match all the names and faces...
"But they are weaker than I thought," I said, turning away. "Perona, how is the battle?"
"We're crushing them," Perona's voice came from the Den Den Mushi. "I mean, most of the enemies are dizzy. They're all drunk."
"Are they stupid?" I muttered.
Are they pirates? Did they forget they are supposed to be chased?
I know pirates like to party, but... shouldn't they take turns standing watch?
"...Let's just push through. Cazarie."
"Sir!"
"I'm using your team and Chris's team," I ordered. "First, have Chris attack from the west. Shake the enemy up a bit more."
"And me?" Cazarie asked.
"By that time, some of them will probably try to use hostages. The twelve people I put on your team are expert archers trained and approved by Hancock. They won't miss at medium range."
"I see..." Cazarie realized. "A support team to rescue civilians in dangerous areas."
"Right. I'm counting on you."
"Understood. I will meet with Chris and start the plan."
That takes care of the enemy.
Now...