After the completion of the Hundred Beasts King, the dock within the Hundred Beasts Territory began constructing a second ship, a flagship belonging to Arceus. However, due to issues with materials and craftsmanship, it will take some time before the ship is completed.
The ship Arceus is currently on was acquired by Kaidou and his group from the Natehuo Kingdom. As the first ship of the Hundred Beasts Pirate Crew, it has been through many battles, but it still sails strong upon The Sea.
People always feel a sense of attachment to old things; even with objects used for so long, they won't easily discard them.
The hundred or so people on board maintained high spirits; Mandfeish's good luck came this way. They all believed they were no less capable than Mandfeish before he gained his abilities and were all waiting for a chance to prove themselves.
"Big Brother King, we're half a day away, but are we really going there?"
"This is the order of the Great Sacred Beast and the arrangement of fate. Is there any issue with that?"
The so-called arrangement of fate was Arceus randomly using his energy hand to grab a piece of stone and toss it onto the nautical chart. Where it landed was the next area to search.
It was clear that the place they were heading to this time was not very safe. Although the members of the Hundred Beasts craved more, they were also fearful of the unknown.
"No problem, it's just that I heard it's quite chaotic there, after all, they call Galtsburg the land of endless wars..."
Galtsburg, a country located in the New World, but that name has long been forgotten by history; now more people refer to it as the Nation of Eternal War.
This name comes from the fact that there's endless warfare here, with the King of Galtsburg having met an untimely death many years ago, leading to the country splitting in two.
The country wages war both within and without, resulting in many orphans domestically and minefields littering the land. Approaching a battlefield could lead to an unfortunate encounter with a landmine.
However, as they were sailing, they were unaware that the long-lasting war in the Nation of Eternal War had already ended just a few days prior, and it was ended not by an army but by a single person - Douglas Bullet.
Bullet was born 14 years ago here; however, he was a war orphan. His father had died on the battlefield, and his mother abandoned him shortly after his birth.
However, he was adopted by a country's soldier with the intent to raise child soldiers tasked with clearing mines and opening paths with bombs, essentially suicide missions.
These child soldiers were called Bullets, which is the origin of Bullet's name, with his surname coming from the highest officer of this unit - Douglas Gray.
Six years ago, Bullet, using the name 'Nine', became one of the soldiers under Gray's command.
In battle, the most outstanding performer could earn a medal, and for Bullet, who grew up with only weapons for company, that medal was what he desired most. But just as he was about to achieve his goal, he was betrayed by his comrades.
Nearing death, he killed his betrayers, reclaimed his medal, but lost trust in others, choosing to act alone from then on.
A year ago, Bullet became a formidable hero on the battlefield and the strongest of child soldiers. In another dire operation, he was once again on the brink of death, but by chance acquired the "Merge-Merge Fruit."
The Paramecia-type Merge-Merge Fruit allows one to merge inorganic materials with their body or with each other, rearranging them to form new weapons.
The battlefield is never short of weapons, and the Merge-Merge Fruit's abilities made Bullet ever stronger.
Recently, Bullet was hailed as the nation's hero, and his country was on the brink of winning the war.
Douglas Gray, thanks to Bullet's efforts, became the country's General.
However, Bullet's growing power made Gray feel threatened. He believed he couldn't control Bullet's strength, so he promised Bullet freedom as soon as the war ended.
This was originally a lie; he thought Bullet would die in battle, allowing him to reclaim the territory conquered by Bullet and become the true "Hero."
However, he underestimated Bullet's strength, not expecting him to single-handedly defeat the enemy army. When Bullet realized Gray had also betrayed him, in his fury, he destroyed the country and its military, drawing the attention of the World Government.
Because Gray intended to join the World Government after the war. They were once a member of the alliance, and as a military nation with the ability to plunder the Heavenly Gold, the World Government granted his wish.
With Bullet's appearance, his actions garnered significant attention from the World Government, and forces had already been dispatched to capture him.
These incidents took place a few days prior, and Arceus and his crew had not received the news, so they proceeded as planned. Upon reaching shore, they found nothing but dead silence.
Vultures pecked at corpses, unfazed by the newcomers. Some even showed intentions of attacking the Hundred Beasts' crew, indicating how well-nourished the vultures had been to attempt attacking humans.
But with two gunshots, the vultures dispersed, leaving behind only scattered feathers.
"It's really miserable here...."
"Yeah, to think it's come to this..." Even as pirates, they felt uncomfortable witnessing such a scene.
"Boss Arceus! Shall we go further in?"
"Yes, proceed. Also, see if there are any survivors." The area is extensive, and to search for the plate, he needed to scour the surroundings thoroughly; he didn't mind lending a hand to any survivors, even if helping them wasn't the primary mission.
Humans are incredibly fragile, yet they often possess a strong will to survive. Among the ruins, they did encounter quite a few surviving individuals.
Those who could move had already left; the ruins contained those buried and, without help, they faced a slow demise.
"Hey, someone come help! There's someone alive here, but this stone is too heavy!"
Footsteps responded, and with their combined efforts, the weighty stone was finally moved aside. But the atmosphere fell silent in the next moment.
"Navy?!"
"Pirate?!"
The blue and white Navy uniforms and the white pirate flag tattoos were iconic identifiers, revealing the identities of both sides. Initially blocked by the boulder, neither had realized the other's identity. Now, with the obstacle removed and visibility restored, they recognized each other.
The sound of bullets being chambered echoed, and the two groups, who had just worked together to rescue, now found themselves tensely facing each other.