After speaking, Bogart adjusted the brim of his hat, his gaze remaining on the distant horizon where Lancelot's ship had disappeared.
"Keep a close eye on him, Smoker. As long as there are no fundamental mistakes... as long as his core sense of justice remains aimed at the right targets... the rest isn't an issue."
Smoker nodded, taking a long, slow drag from his cigars.
He understood Bogart's unspoken meaning.
The man was a pragmatist, just like his superior, Garp.
Bogart's warning was less about Lancelot's political ties to Mariejois and more a reminder that in their line of work, results often overshadowed methods.
Smoker, in turn, mulled over this as he watched the smoke curl into the sky.
Indeed, setting everything else aside, which of the current Three Admirals truly had a "good" reputation?
There was Borsalino, "Kizaru," a man who looked at everyone with that insufferable, mocking grin, his every other word a drawn-out, "How terrifying~" He was a creature of pure, frustrating ambiguity.
Then there was Kuzan, "Aokiji," a man who always seemed lethargic and half-asleep, a proponent of "Lazy Justice" who would occasionally ride his bicycle aimlessly across the open sea.
He was powerful, certainly, but his motivations were a mystery.
Finally, there was Sakazuki, "Akainu."
He saw all pirates as if they were his own father's murderers, a man of such "Thorough Justice" that when enraged, he wouldn't hesitate to attack his own allies, let alone sacrifice civilians for the sake of his mission.
Smoker let out a gruff sigh.
Compared to that trifecta of eccentricity, laziness, and fanaticism, what was the real issue with someone like Lancelot, who was merely a bit... overly fond... of beautiful women?
This was a world where strength reigned supreme.
As long as Lancelot's general direction wasn't fundamentally wrong—as long as he pointed his power at pirates and not the innocent—there was no real problem.
.....
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Life aboard the Dreadnought Battleship Saber had settled into a new, intense rhythm.
Lancelot, now a Lieutenant Commander, was not an idle leader.
He spent the days drilling his fifty marines, pushing Smoker's elite training to its absolute limit.
He was forging them from a disparate unit into his personal guard.
Lina, empowered by the White Tiger Fruit, was a terror in the training yard.
Her natural, genius-level swordsmanship was now backed by superhuman strength, speed, and agility.
She sparred relentlessly with Gin, her movements a blur of white, black, and silver.
Gin, in turn, had become the silent, brutal enforcer of the crew.
He was the chief training officer, and his methods were merciless.
He observed Lancelot's leadership, Lina's terrifying growth, and Johnson's fawning efficiency, solidifying his own place as the unshakable pillar of combat prowess.
Finally, just as Petty Officer Daniel had predicted, their ship's supplies were nearly depleted.
The long voyage had taken its toll, and on the horizon, a dark, jagged island rose from the sea like a broken tooth.
They had arrived at Black Thorns Island.
As their massive, Marine-flagged warship entered the harbor, it immediately sent a shockwave of alarm through the ships already docked there.
The harbor was, to Lancelot's surprise, packed.
"Sir..." Daniel's voice was tight with sudden anxiety.
Lancelot scanned the area.
His eyes, sharpened by Observation Haki, counted them instantly.
There were eleven pirate ships, many of them large, formidable vessels.
Daniel, proving himself a competent adjutant, was already pulling a thick stack of bounty posters from his coat.
His face grew paler as he compared the flags and figureheads of the docked ships to the papers in his hand.
"Blood Slaughter Pirates," he read, his voice strained. "Captain 'Blood Slaughter' Kriegan, bounty 18 million Berries."
"Black Bear Pirates. Captain 'Black Bear' Dorgo, bounty 16 million Berries."
"Kasli Pirates. Captain Kasli, bounty 13 million Berries."
"Trickster Pirates. Captain 'Red Fox' Rina, bounty 12 million Berries."
"Tempest Pirates. Captain Matthew, bounty 11.8 million Berries."
Daniel's hands were shaking slightly as he lowered the posters.
"Sir... my apologies. It seems we've come at a... very bad time. This gathering includes nearly half of the most notorious East Blue pirates with bounties over ten million. This isn't a pirate nest; it's a full-blown convention."
Lancelot's eyebrows rose slightly.
He had thought this place would be an easy target for him to blood his new crew and secure funds.
This, however, turned out to be a genuine challenge.
Daniel, however, was now frowning deeply, his professionalism overriding his initial fear.
"Lieutenant Commander, I must advise we retreat temporarily. We can resupply at Broto Island, the next island over. We... we are not equipped for this."
He desperately wanted to earn merits for promotion, but that didn't mean he'd throw his life away foolishly.
He quickly assessed their situation: Lancelot, whose full strength was still a new discovery; Gin, a former pirate with a 12 million bounty; and the enigmatic Lina, whose power was a complete mystery to the crew.
Lastly, there were his fifty marines.
Against eleven pirate crews? In this situation, he felt that unless Captain Smoker himself came, no one in the entire East Blue could handle this.
Charging in would be no different from suicide.
If they could see the pirates, the pirates could naturally see them.
Aboard the various ships in the harbor, hundreds of pirates watched as the massive, triple-decked Marine warship—a vessel larger than any of theirs—approached.
Some wore expressions of pure terror, already looking for an escape route.
Others looked excited, seeing a massive prize.
A few, however, revealed bloodthirsty, jagged grins.
On the deck of the flagship, the Blood Slaughter, a massive man with a braided red beard and a cruel-looking axe on his back sneered viciously.
He was the vice-captain, and he licked his lips with a perverse glee.
"Well, well. Where did these marines come from? Daring to bring such a pretty boat to Black Thorns Island—are they looking to die? Then I'll gladly oblige..."
He turned and bellowed, "All hands... FIRE! SINK THAT SHIP AND TAKE THEIR GOLD!"
"Boom... boom... boom... boom!"
Once the Blood Slaughter Pirates opened fire, several other pirate ships in the harbor, emboldened by the flagship's aggression, joined the attack.
A dense barrage of cannonballs screamed across the water, blackening the sky as they flew toward the Dreadnought Saber.
"Damn it!" Daniel's face paled. "Evasive maneuvers! Starboard side, brace for impact!"
With so many enemy ships firing at once, it would be nearly impossible to evade such a dense, overlapping barrage.
"Swish—"
The next moment, a white-and-black blur shot past him.
Lina, now in her hybrid tiger form, had dashed to the railing.
Her sword flashed from its sheath as she became a whirlwind of steel, her blade moving faster than the eye could follow, slicing through the incoming cannonballs with precise, powerful strokes.
"Kaboom—! Kaboom—!"
The severed cannonballs exploded harmlessly in mid-air, showering the sea in fire and shrapnel.
Seeing this, Lancelot burst into laughter.
After consuming the White Tiger Fruit, her frail body was a thing of the past.
Her physical abilities had improved dramatically, and even in her hybrid state, she possessed terrifying strength and speed.
Daniel couldn't help but widen his eyes, and neither could the other fifty marines.
The sheer, overwhelming strength Lina displayed—intercepting a full cannon barrage by herself—instantly stunned them all.
A moment later, that stun transformed into pure, unadulterated joy.
Their morale, which had been plummeting, soared uncontrollably.
They weren't on a suicide mission. They were on a ship with monsters.
Even Gin, who stood ready by the railing, narrowed his eyes slightly.
His gaze toward Lina had changed completely.
Before this, he had seen her as the Captain's woman, a beautiful, potentially dangerous variable.
He had never expected her to possess such formidable, front-line power.
It immediately put pressure on him.
Originally, he had believed he was the undisputed top subordinate under Lancelot.
But now...
He pulled out his twin tonfas, spinning them in his grip.
His eyes narrowed with a mix of tension and brutal excitement.
He understood that this was the time to prove himself.
Otherwise, his position as Lancelot's right-hand man might become unstable.
The next moment, Lancelot also charged forward, drawing both Frost Demon and Flame Dragon.
He joined Lina, his twin blades becoming a vortex of ice and fire, slicing through the few remaining cannonballs that had slipped past her defense.
At the same time, he barked an order, his voice booming over the explosions.
"Full speed ahead! Close the distance!"
"AYE, SIR!"
By now, Daniel and the others had their fighting spirit fully ignited.
As an excellent adjutant, Daniel immediately began fulfilling his role. He didn't just assign tasks; he roared them.
"Helm, straight for the Blood Slaughter! Ramming speed! Port and Starboard batteries, load grapeshot! Prepare to fire on command! Rifle squad, to the railing!"
Though there were only fifty of them, they were all elite soldiers hand-trained by Smoker.
Their counterattack began swiftly.
The pirate ships on the other side, chaotic and disorganized, lacked powerhouses like Lancelot and Lina.
Moreover, as Lancelot had guessed, those left behind to guard the ships were never the top fighters of a pirate crew; the captains and their core officers were likely on the island.
Thus, no one could intercept the cannonballs they now fired.
"BOOM—!"
Several smaller pirate ships caught in the middle of the harbor were immediately struck.
The Saber's cannons blasted gaping holes in their hulls, rendering them useless in an instant.
This, in turn, cleared a direct path for Lancelot to close in on the flagship.
"Daniel, hold this ship with your men! Rake them with cannon fire!" Lancelot commanded.
"Aye, sir! We'll give them hell!" Daniel roared back.
"Gin! Lina! Follow me! We're taking their command!"
With that, Lancelot took the lead, charging forward.
He dashed to the bow of the ship, which was now plowing through the water toward the pirate vessel.
Then, with a powerful push from his legs, he launched himself high into the air, soaring across the 50-meter gap.
He was heading straight for the deck of the Blood Slaughter.
Gin and Lina, a second behind him, leaped as well, two deadly projectiles aimed at the heart of the enemy.
"Bang! Bang! Bang—!"
Daniel, battle-hardened as he was, immediately directed his rifle squad.
"Covering fire! Clear that deck for the Commander!"
A volley of precise musket fire rained down, forcing the pirates on the Blood Slaughter's deck to dive for cover, shielding the trio as they flew through the air.
The three landed with a thunderous crash on the enemy deck—Lancelot in the center, Lina to his left, Gin to his right.
They were like wolves among sheep, and they immediately began their slaughter.
Gin, needless to say, was a former pirate himself.
He was always ruthless, and in this situation, he had no reason to hold back.
He was a whirlwind of steel-shod tonfas, breaking bones and shattering skulls with every brutal, efficient strike.
Lina was a blur of white and black, her hybrid form granting her inhuman speed.
Her sword flashed, but so did her new claws. She was a graceful, terrifying reaping machine.
As for Lancelot, he understood perfectly well that to intimidate all eleven crews in this harbor, merciless, overwhelming, and fast killing was the only way.
They were at a crippling numerical disadvantage; they had to win by shock and awe.
Just then, the massive, red-bearded vice-captain led a group of pirates forward to confront them.
The moment he saw the trio—already standing in a circle of their own dead—fury erupted within him.
Yet, he didn't charge recklessly.
Anyone with eyes could see how terrifyingly powerful these three were.
His men were being cut down like vegetables; none could withstand even a single move.
He had to use numbers.
With a wave of his hand, he commanded his riflemen: "FIRE! ALL OF YOU, FIRE—!"
He directed the squad of riflemen to aim at Lancelot, instantly recognizing the towering, twin-sword-wielding Marine as the leader.
"Bang! Bang! Bang—!"
A desperate, close-range volley of bullets poured forth like rain, all aimed at Lancelot.