Vane and the others' movements were not flawless. When their ship set sail from Bliss Island, and when Vane himself and Meowth appeared on the streets, someone had already taken photos of them.
However, Bliss Island was that kind of place. The Marines knew full well that it was filled entirely with criminals, yet they would never make a move against it, because there were Marine interests involved there as well.
If this place were destroyed, where would the West Sea Marines go for entertainment? Who would compensate for the lost benefits?
It wasn't just the Marines—the World Government was the same.
The Thunder Fortress docked at Gold Mine Island, and Gold Mine Island was hardly airtight. The flag bearing Meowth's face on the Thunder Fortress had long since been obtained by the Marines.
After Strawberry learned of the situation, he formed a speculation in his mind: this king of the Six-Gold Kingdom had relied on the power of pirates to stage his restoration.
The Six-Gold Kingdom was a World Government member state. He couldn't just barge in and demand someone, so he ordered Marine informants within the Six-Gold Kingdom to monitor every move of the Thunder Fortress.
Once the Thunder Fortress set sail, they lay in ambush here, waiting for the enemy to walk into their net.
"Pirates on the opposite ship, listen up! This is the patrol zone of Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral Strawberry. Do not continue your meaningless resistance. Stop your ship obediently and accept the judgment of the World Government."
The Den Den Mushi kept repeating those two lines as the ships on both sides steadily drew closer.
The branch Captain looked rather relaxed. The powerful impression Strawberry had given him these days was deeply etched in his mind. He had assumed this battle would simply be both sides closing in, then Strawberry charging forward with his twin blades and slicing the enemy ship into fragments.
"The enemy is a major pirate with an 80 million Belly bounty. Tell everyone not to let their guard down. Prepare for a hard fight."
Unlike the relaxed branch Captain, Strawberry's expression was extremely grave.
Vane believed the strength gap between Marine Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals was sharply divided. The situation among pirates was no better—perhaps even more fractured.
The bounty system as a measuring standard was determined by a dual assessment: the degree of a pirate's crimes and their level of threat.
This meant that a pirate with an 80 million Belly bounty could have reached that height for two entirely different reasons.
One was rampant evil—killing countless people. For example, among the later Supernovas, the magnetism user Kid. As a rookie, his bounty was actually higher than Straw Hat's, who had rampaged through Enies Lobby and burned the World Government flag.
The Marines' stated reason was that Kid had killed far too many people—a pirate in the purest sense, destroying every place he went.
Straw Hat belonged to the category of high threat level.
The major incidents before were all caused by Luffy, so when Vane learned that Luffy's bounty wasn't the highest, he found it absurd. What made Kid worthy of that?
Later, thinking about Kid's temperament in the New World—destroying Yonko Big Mom's ship, plotting against Yonko Red-Haired with Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo, and finally engaging in a great battle with the suddenly encountered Yonko Kaido of the Beasts—
Equally restless by nature, he likely did plenty against the World Government besides destruction. A man bearing both rampant evil and high threat at once.
Rampant evil often represented destructive power—killing many people.
Threat level was largely tied to strength, or having done something that made the World Government feel "afraid." Being able to make the World Government feel "afraid" was rarer than sheer strength.
From Vane's perspective, before Luffy emerged, only Robin counted as half of one, and Revolutionary Dragon counted as one.
Of course, that was Vane's view. In Rear Admiral Strawberry's eyes, crime meant killing, and threat meant strength.
For Vane's first bounty to reach 80 million Belly, there had to be something special about him. Killing a king who was about to become a member state of the World Government might be the reason.
The branch Captain moved his lips. "There are quite a few 80 million pirates in the West Sea who are just for show. I've captured some around 60 million before. Their strength was actually just…"
Strawberry: "Captain, the ones you captured were old pirates. The one we're facing this time is a young pirate who reached 80 million Belly with just a single bounty."
The Captain looked puzzled. "Didn't he only get such a high bounty because he killed the king of a quasi–World Government member state?"
Strawberry felt a faint disdain in his heart. A mere quasi–member state king—being worth 50 million Belly on a first bounty would already be considered high.
After confirming who he might be facing, Strawberry had already requested information from Marine Headquarters that branch Marines couldn't access.
That was that Vane had defeated the former Marine Headquarters Captain Erkoya—later the leader of the Suit Pirates.
Strawberry had once met Erkoya. He had graduated two classes ahead of him from the Marine training academy. Erkoya's talent in Rokushiki was strong. Strawberry did not believe he had absolute confidence in defeating him.
"Prepare yourselves to die in battle."
Hearing the stern tone, the branch Captain's scalp tingled.
What? What's going on? Wasn't this supposed to be a fish pond match for easy hunting? How did it suddenly turn into a life-or-death battle?!!
The current Rear Admiral, just in his early twenties, was at the age of hot-blooded passion—knowing the enemy was strong, he would still charge forward without hesitation. The branch Captain was in his forties. The fire of youth had long faded. Unless it was an easy fish pond match, he would never set sail—preferring to hole up safely in the Marine base.
"Th-this… should we request Marine reinforcements?"
"There's no time. If we don't block them today, the only option will be intercepting them in the New World."
The number and quality of pirates in the New World were beyond anything the West Sea could compare to. Troublesome pirates would only become even more troublesome there.
So if they could be dealt with in the West Sea, they absolutely could not be allowed to enter the Grand Line.
"Open fire! Open fire!"
Cold sweat poured down the branch Captain's forehead as he hurriedly ordered the Marines under his command to fire at the enemy.
Since Strawberry arrived, most battles had been boarding fights. In fish pond matches, Strawberry fought with effortless ease.
Now that he knew it was a fight for survival, not using the Marine warship's powerful firepower would be idiotic.
However, remembering to use cannons at this point was somewhat too late. The distance between the two sides had never been far. Once they spotted each other, they charged straight at one another.
The warship was not slow—but the Thunder Fortress was even faster.
The forward cannons of the warship managed only a single volley. The Thunder Fortress's Lightning Projector, without charging, released a not particularly powerful arc of electricity that shot straight toward the warship.
Strawberry's gaze sharpened as his twin blades spun in a sweeping slash.
A slash shaped like the blades of an electric fan flew out and collided with the arc of lightning.
Boom!!
The sea surged, the wind howled, and the great battle was about to erupt.