"Your Grace!"
"Are you alright, Your Grace?!"
"..."
At that moment, several pirates emerged from the lower decks and rushed to the main deck, crowding around Vlad Uren with anxious voices of concern.
"I'm fine. Settle down."
Uren forced a faint smile and waved his hand to dismiss them.
Pushing through the crowd, he made his way to the foredeck and gazed toward the distant landmass.
Before long, a towering, bald man, easily over four meters tall, strode over. His muscular frame gleamed in the sun, bare-chested, clad in red trousers, and a championship gold belt fastened around his waist. In a deep, booming voice, he asked, "Your Grace, shall we head into the port?"
"No. Avoid the port. Find another place to dock."
Uren shook his head and said quietly, "Baka, the Navy definitely knows about our crushing defeat in the New World. If we expose ourselves here in Paradise, they'll swarm us in no time."
"Your Grace, the Navy's nothing! If they dare show up, I'll smash their skulls in myself!"
The muscle-bound man called "Baka" raised his arms like a strutting peacock, flexing his massive biceps with a smug grin.
...
Impaler Pirates, Chief of Combat
Paramecia-Type: Muscle-Muscle Fruit User
[Gladiator Fiend] Oli Baka
Bounty: 588 million Berries!
...
"Paradise is the Navy's turf," Uren said slowly. "They can mobilize forces at a moment's notice. We've suffered too many losses to risk a direct confrontation. We restock, recharge the Log Pose, and then get out of here, fast."
"Your Grace, I fear we won't even make it off Carocal Island."
A cold, clear voice cut through the air.
Uren and Baka turned in unison to see a middle-aged man in a white lab coat walking toward them. His black hair was neatly cropped, and his expression emotionless, eyes glinting with quiet menace. In one hand, he dragged a bloodied man along the deck.
The dragged man was tall and thin, wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and black trousers. His face was covered in blood, and his limbs hung limp, as if he had no control over his body, like a marionette with its strings cut.
"Gero, what happened?" Uren asked. He recognized the limp man as one of his lieutenants, a trusted officer.
Thud.
Without a word, the man named "Gero" dropped the limp body at Uren's feet. Along with him, he threw down a small Den Den Mushi, blue and white in color, its receiver clicking shut.
Then, he finally spoke:
"This bastard's a spy. I overheard him reporting to the Navy just now, telling them we're heading to Carocal Island."
...
Former Special-Class Doctor of the World Government
Impaler Pirates, Ship Doctor
Paramecia-Type: Anesu Anesu no Mi Fruit User (Anesthesia)
[Polluter] Bel von Gero
Bounty: 375 million Berries!
...
"A spy?!"
Vlad Uren and Oli Baka's faces darkened instantly. They stared in disbelief at the paralyzed man on the ground.
A Navy mole... aboard their ship? That meant every move the Impaler Pirates made could already be in the hands of the Navy, and worse, the World Government.
"Your Grace, we need to change course," Gero said gravely. "The Navy's likely already lying in wait at Carocal Island. Sailing on would be walking into a trap."
Baka, despite his usual bravado, wasn't stupid. He realized the seriousness of the situation instantly. Stepping forward, he grabbed the spy by the throat and roared, "You bastard! Have you been feeding the Navy our intel this whole time?!"
"Heh… ptooey!"
The spy sneered and spat, but his body was so numb from Gero's anesthesia that the spittle didn't even land on Baka.
"Piece of trash!"
Baka growled, turning to Gero and barking, "Cancel the anesthesia! I'm going to beat him to death with my bare hands!"
"Calm down, Baka."
Uren's pallid face had grown grim. He reprimanded Baka softly, then turned to Gero and shook his head. "You've been tending to my wounds and medicine, so you didn't know, we only have enough fresh water and food left for two days. That's not enough to reach another island. And I don't have an Eternal Pose to any nearby location. We must go to Carocal Island to recharge the Log Pose."
"I see... So we've no choice but to brave it," Gero sighed, his tone resigned.
"Then let's go," Baka growled. "If we've got no other options, we head straight to Carocal. And if the Navy dares show up, I'll smash their warships to bits! I don't believe they've got anyone tougher than that fat hag Big Mom!"
At the mention of "Big Mom," a shadow of fear crossed the faces of both Uren and Gero. Their minds flashed back to the hellish nightmare that had been the Battle of Cullen Island just a few weeks prior.
That monstrous, balloon-like body, the divine and demonic aura that radiated from her, and that overwhelming, godlike strength, it was like facing a walking cataclysm.
Before encountering Charlotte Linlin, a.k.a. Big Mom, they had never imagined that a single woman could possess such terrifying power.
Guns, cannons, sword strikes, Devil Fruit abilities, none of it had left so much as a scratch on her.
Rumors claimed the Impaler Pirates had clashed with the Big Mom Pirates at Cullen Island for an entire day. But the truth, known only to those who fought in the heart of the battle, was far more devastating.
One day was all it took for the Big Mom Pirates to crush them.
A grand fleet of over ten thousand, bolstered by more than a dozen ships, had held out on Cullen Island for less than a day. And half of that time had been spent desperately buying time, allowing ten skilled coating artisans to coat five ships for deep-sea escape.
The outcome?
Four of those five ships had their coatings rupture the moment they entered the depths, obliterated along with their crews.
Only one ship, The Impaler, had survived by sheer luck.
"I've been to Carocal before," Uren said through clenched teeth. "It's a big island. Aside from Sculpture City Skoggy, the rest is wild forest full of swamps, venomous insects, and mountain beasts. If we dock at a hidden inlet on the island's far side, we can avoid being spotted."
He continued, voice low and steady, "Black Arm Zephyr is basically retired. The Hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp, is stationed in the New World. And the only active Admiral, Sengoku, is based at Marineford. None of them should be present."
"So, we stick to the plan. Head for Carocal Island. We still have a chance."
"We only need to stay hidden for two days. The Log Pose will lock onto the next island's magnetic field by then."
"And once we land, send people into Sculpture City Skoggy in staggered shifts. Buy fresh water and food in small quantities, never all at once."
"Skoggy's a major city. Outsiders come and go all the time. We've got two days. Take it slow and careful. Small amounts. Multiple trips."
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!