Uchiha Madara worked with exceptional efficiency. In less than a few hours, he managed to intercept and capture another pirate ship from a distance.
The captain of this particular vessel had already been knocked unconscious by Madara beforehand. He then hauled the captured group of pirates onto their main deck one by one, forcing them to assist with Ace's operational duties.
"According to the charts in the logbook, reaching Shimotsuki Village... should only take a single day under normal circumstances. Even if we accelerate our progress, the crew still structurally requires rest. There is absolutely no reason to force them to navigate day and night relentlessly."
An old pirate who had been dragged over spoke with a thoroughly miserable and helpless expression. Madara demanding that they accelerate the ship's speed to reach Shimotsuki Village was indeed asking a bit too much of them.
Cruising at full speed sounded simple on the surface, but in actual reality, operating a sailing vessel of this size required an absolute baseline of manpower.
Under normal parameters, leaving a skeleton crew on night watch was merely meant to prevent the vessel from drifting off course due to the ocean currents...
Hearing these explanations, Ace nodded in silent agreement. He hadn't considered those practical details initially either. Now it appeared that even with the assistance of this group of veteran pirates, successfully making landfall at Shimotsuki Village would still inevitably require a full day's travel.
However, the gazes of these old pirates remained intensely guarded and filled with suspicion.
On the route toward Shimotsuki Village, they would have to pass by several minor Marine outposts. This group of pirates was naturally terrified that Shiraishi intended to hand them over to the Marines to claim their bounties.
"Claiming bounties? How much are you all even worth?"
Shiraishi seemed to read the underlying reason for their wariness at a single glance, leading him to pose an exceptionally awkward question.
"I'm... 150,000 Berries..."
"This old man has a bounty of 300,000 Berries!"
"Ahem... 100,000 Berries..."
As the pirates called out their respective numbers one after another, Shiraishi's urge to yawn grew increasingly pronounced: "Is there truly any practical meaning in turning in such minuscule bounties?"
Had he known earlier, he would have turned in Civco for his bounty instead; that fellow at least possessed 15 million Berries.
The cost of living and market prices of this specific era were completely different compared to over a decade later; a figure like that was practically equivalent to a pirate worth over 20 million in the future timeline.
However, financial currency was indeed a crucial necessity. After careful consideration, Shiraishi shifted his focus back onto the veteran pirates: "In that case, who are the pirates currently commanding the highest bounties within the East Blue?"
Seeing the pirates hesitate to speak, their expressions shifting as though remembering something utterly terrifying, Shiraishi didn't bother pressing them further.
Instead, he directly flipped open Civco's logbook: "On the way to Shimotsuki Village, it seems we have to pass right through Red Deer Island... which happens to be the established territory of the pirate Solar. Oh? This pirate's bounty stands at 22 million Berries."
Solar was currently an exceptionally massive faction within the East Blue, and a bounty of 22 million Berries effectively made him a supreme hegemon across these waters. Consequently, what Shiraishi cared about wasn't merely the bounty itself, but rather the structural resources and wealth backed by such a faction.
At the mere mention of Solar, the veteran pirates recoiled a few paces in pure terror: "That is the 'Red Deer Demon' Solar! He is one of the exceptionally rare Devil Fruit users in the East Blue. How could anyone actively choose to provoke him?"
Across the entirety of Red Deer Island, aside from the native villagers residing there, the Solar Pirates kept a fleet of six massive vessels anchored along the coast, deploying daily to distinct regions of the East Blue to conduct raids.
Of course, they would occasionally engage in trade and transactions with other pirate factions. For instance, Civco had previously visited Red Deer Island to resupply at their harbor docks. Naturally, one had to pay a strict standardized fee according to Solar's established regulations.
"You all merely need to execute the orders of our Captain, Lord Shiraishi."
Ace barked a stern reprimand, the sheer presence naturally diffusing from his frame causing the pirates to tremble in fear. Left with no alternative, they could only steel themselves and steer the vessel directly toward Red Deer Island.
They harbored a distinct premonition that absolutely nothing good would come from this group of bizarre individuals visiting Solar's territory.
Red Deer Island, functioning as a small island within the East Blue, was primarily famous for producing a specialized breed of crimson water deer, which historically attracted a fair number of visitors annually. However, following Solar's forceful occupation of the territory, no one dared to venture near the island anymore.
As both a Devil Fruit capability user and a prominent pirate, Solar maintained exceptionally strict discipline over his subordinates.
His vessels were mandated to patrol the surrounding waters daily, plundering passing merchant ships. Over a prolonged period, Solar had systematically accumulated a vast mountain of treasure on Red Deer Island.
"I've actually heard of this 'Red Deer Demon' Solar..."
While the rest of the crew went below deck to handle their chores, Ace pondered for a moment: "Historically speaking, this guy wasn't destined to remain arrogant for very long anyway. Sometime before the Pirate King's public execution, my grandpa conducted a sweeping purge of the East Blue pirates, and one of his primary targets was precisely this Red Deer Solar..."
It was entirely obvious that in the original timeline, Solar had been personally captured by Garp and thrown into the depths of Impel Down.
Under the continuous prompting of Shiraishi and the others, their vessel rapidly approached the harbor docks of Red Deer Island.
Because of Solar's dominant presence on the island, any pirates arriving here to rest or resupply would generally dock their vessels in exceptionally low-profile, secluded sectors.
Furthermore, according to Solar's explicitly enforced rules, any pirate vessel entering these waters was strictly required to lower their Jolly Roger halfway.
The pirates arriving on the island to trade behaved with extreme discipline, with rarely any reckless hotheads causing trouble. Consequently, the island's residents simply chose to turn a blind eye to the pirates' presence; after all, it wasn't as if they didn't pay for their goods.
However, the residents making a living at the docks today were thoroughly astonished to see a clear pirate vessel boldly charging straight into the center of the harbor without a single shred of concealment.
The patrolling vessels of the Solar Pirates instantly spotted this strange, massive ship: "Is that crew completely out of their minds? Directing their vessel right into the docks while flying their flag proudly?"
"Probably just some greenhorn pirates who just debuted..."
Amidst the rising waves of murmurs and discussions, the vessels of the Solar Pirates fully reacted to the intrusion, countless cannon muzzles pivoting to lock directly onto Shiraishi's ship.
Despite the severe, booming warnings, Shiraishi completely disregarded the shouting of the surrounding pirates, his gaze locked strictly onto the far distance.
A pirate crew of this scale should inevitably possess a fair amount of valuable treasure...
At this thought, Shiraishi executed a swift flick of the silver blade in his hand. Amidst the glittering arcs of the blade, the heavy barrage of cannonballs tearing through the air was forcefully sliced clean in half.
Immediately following the deflections, his silhouette dropped directly onto the solid ground, his senses rapidly scanning the layout of the entire island.
"Die!"
Executing a precise sidestep, Shiraishi smoothly rotated the longsword in his hand to wound an attacker, turning simultaneously to deliver a swift kick that sent another pirate flying backward through the air.
Dressed in his white martial arts uniform, Shiraishi systematically dismantled the pirate ambush with clean, clinical efficiency.
Meanwhile, Ace's hands erupted into roaring, brilliant flames; a dominant wave of fire raged across the surface of the sea, utterly destroying the two vessels attempting to close a blockade around them.
Witnessing Fire Fist Ace unleash his iconic flames, Uchiha Madara merely let out a cold sneer. Under the control of his nine-tailed beast, countless spectral ghost-fires shot forth with terrifying velocity, rapidly engulfing the pirates continuously gathering at the docks.
The visual illusions generated by the ghost-fires quickly caused several pirates to perceive one another as enemies, turning their weapons on their own allies and triggering an even more chaotic scene.
The sheer presence of a Logia and a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit capability represented an absolute, crushing disparity in strength in a backwater place like the East Blue.
This group of low-tier pirates possessed highly limited knowledge, completely failing to recognize the specific nature of these mystical fruits...
Standing at the bow of the ship, Kikyo drew the heavy bow in her hands several times, her arrows cleanly detonating multiple incoming explosive projectiles. In contrast, Unohana Retsu remained entirely motionless, calmly observing the combat operations of the rest of the crew.
"What kind of monsters are these people..."
The low-tier pirates who had been forcefully captured onto Shiraishi's vessel stared at Ace and the others with faces full of utter bewilderment.
They had seemingly never imagined that this group of eccentrics possessed such terrifying, preposterous combat strength, allowing them to clash head-on against the formidable Solar Pirates with absolute ease.
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