Time flies, summer goes and autumn comes.
Sea voyages are often tedious and monotonous, making it easy to lose track of time.
The warships left the Sabaody Archipelago, crossed the doldrums and entered the North Blue. After more than a month of sailing, they arrived in the waters near Minion Island, east of Haiyan Island.
Minion Island is located at a high latitude, close to the far north. It is currently autumn, but it has already welcomed its first snowfall.
Rain mixed with snow fell in a flurry, bringing a desolate chill.
The soldiers on the warship deck were all dressed in warm clothing, but one boy was still wearing summer clothes. While on guard duty, his hands never stopped, holding dumbbells weighing more than a thousand pounds.
Master Sergeant Shu stood on the lookout tower atop the mast, glancing at the boy from time to time, and said to his old friend, Master Sergeant Brannew, beside him:
"Is the captain even human? He's been training since this morning, and he must have done over 10,000 weightlifting reps by now, right?"
Master Sergeant Brannew grunted in response, his eyes darting around, appearing distracted.
During his training, through the resonance of the Flame Breathing and the Saint Thief, Damon's heart, lungs, large intestine, small intestine, stomach, triple burner, bladder, and lungs were all slightly vibrating, rhythmically tempering from the inside out, pushing Damon's physique to an inhuman level.
Superhuman cells and gourmet cells were active in every corner of his body, coexisting peacefully under the central coordination of the dragon bloodline. Blood flowed endlessly in his blood vessels like mercury, nourishing his meridians, flesh, and bones.
To outsiders, Damon appeared to be training diligently as usual, but in reality, he was multitasking. In addition to standing guard and performing his duties, he also focused some of his attention on the eyeballs scattered throughout the warship, keeping a close eye on the soldiers' actions.
Of course, during this process, he also saw some things he shouldn't have seen, such as what happened in Momousagi Gion's changing room, which he really didn't know.
He's just a child, what bad intentions could he possibly have?
Thanks to the information provided by Shakky, Damon learned that there were seven of Doflamingo's spies on this warship, and he had been searching for clues about them for more than a month.
However, if these seven informants were so easy to discover, then Vice Admiral Tsuru's long-standing mission to capture Doflamingo would not have failed.
It is worth noting that Vice Admiral Tsuru is known as a wise strategist within Marine Headquarters, second only to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Damon didn't believe that Vice Admiral Tsuru hadn't suspected internal problems after her repeated failures.
Judging from the fact that Fleet Admiral Sengoku adopted and influenced Doflamingo's brother Rosinante, making this second-generation Donquixote Family Heart a Marine spy and infiltrating Doflamingo's inner circle, the two sides had been infiltrating each other and their open and covert struggles had become increasingly fierce over the years.
Unfortunately, Rosinante was shot and killed by his own brother two years ago.
The key location that caused this accident was Minion Island, the island the warship was gradually approaching.
Two years ago, many things happened on this island that changed the fate of many people.
Drake, the top student in this year's naval academy, was the son of Diez Barrels, a former naval officer who left the navy for unknown reasons to become a pirate. He led his own pirate crew, which once occupied this island, trading the Op-Op Fruit with the navy's high command through the Donquixote Family, a group of shady middlemen.
In order to cure Trafalgar Law's illness, Rosinante risked getting involved in the deal and took the Op-Op Fruit, which led to a series of consequences, including his own death and the complete annihilation of Barrels and his pirate crew.
Because of his father Barrels' circumstances, Drake, as an orphan, hated naval soldiers with powerful connections, which was why he repeatedly targeted Damon when Damon first entered the naval academy.
The past was gone, all the sordid things had long been buried under the vast white snow.
Apart from the parties involved, not many people were paying attention to how this matter was developing.
Just like the naval soldiers who came to search after receiving the intelligence, how many of them knew about the past events that happened here?
On the mast lookout tower, Master Sergeant Shu, holding a telescope, finally spotted a ship that looked just like the Flamingo and immediately reported it to Damon.
"Captain, target spotted three nautical miles out at two o'clock!"
At that moment, Bellamy and his friends were unaware of the approaching danger and were having a party on the ship's deck.
Despite the weather turning colder, the banquet was quite lively.
A hot young woman wandered among the tables, pouring rum for the small-time thugs from a small town in the North Blue. She was frequently groped, and let out a coquettish cry that seemed to both refuse and welcome, which made the group of thugs laugh.
"Bellamy, this is life!"
The blue-haired youth with a middle parting crossed his legs, grabbed the slender waist of the girl next to him, pulled her into his arms, tasted the grapes she fed him, and sighed:
"So this is what it's like to be a vassal of the Donquixote Family! We have no shortage of money, supplies, or women, and they even gave us this pirate ship. If only we hadn't been thugs back then, we would have joined the Donquixote Family long ago!"
Bellamy glanced at his childhood friend Satchis, raised his glass full of rum, and shouted:
"Long live the Donquixote Family! Long live Doflamingo!"
The group of thugs quickly followed suit, shouting "Long live!"
Some shrewd thugs, with fawning smiles, flattered him:
"Brother Bellamy is intelligent, brave, and insightful. I think he has the potential to become a hero!"
"Yes, yes, yes, long live Bellamy!"
After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.
Bellamy was completely drunk. In his moment of triumph, listening to the flattery of his underlings, his confidence swelled up. Even Doflamingo, whom he had always admired, seemed insignificant. With a young female delinquent in his arms, he uttered a series of boastful words.
"Once we've recruited enough soldiers, we'll also set sail for the Grand Line!"
"I... will become the Pirate King!"
Sometimes you really can't get arrogant, or even God won't stand for it.
No sooner had Bellamy uttered those words than a fireball twenty meters in diameter descended from the sky.
These petty thugs knew nothing about military operations or warfare, let alone how to assign people to scout the enemy. They were all so engrossed in the banquet that they didn't even realize what was happening until the fireball was right in front of them.
"Boom!"
Amidst the deafening roar, some died under the fireball, while others were thrown off the deck by the aftershocks and plunged headfirst into the icy, bone-chilling sea.
Bellamy was a tough guy. When he saw the huge fireball falling overhead, he immediately pushed the young girl next to him out as a shield and sprinted away at top speed. He managed to avoid the center of the explosion and survive, but he was also affected by the aftershocks. The blond youth was sent flying backward and his back slammed heavily against the mast.
Bellamy felt a burning sensation on his back, and his internal organs felt like they were being churned. He sobered up instantly and struggled to his feet. Then he saw a group of sailors appear on the deck like divine soldiers descending from the sky.
Fortunately, this pirate ship was funded by the Donquixote Family. Not only did it resemble the Flamingo in appearance, but its sturdiness also far exceeded that of ordinary ships. It did not break in half; only half of the hull was engulfed in flames.
These experienced naval officers, before the surviving thugs could even react, subdued them and shackled them one by one.
A flintlock pistol was pressed against Bellamy's forehead when Master Sergeant Shu shouted:
"Hands behind your head, squat down!"
Bellamy felt completely confused and couldn't understand what was going on.
The effects of alcohol can make people do things they wouldn't normally dare to do, such as confessing to their crush, beating up a roommate they've disliked for a long time, or slapping their boss who's been giving them a hard time.
Bellamy could almost hear the flattering words of his underlings echoing in his ears. Looking at Master Sergeant Shu, who was masked and didn't seem particularly intimidating, Bellamy suddenly felt powerful again. He first pretended to put his hands behind his head to lower Shu's guard, then suddenly attacked, clenching his fist and slamming it into the man's face, shouting loudly:
"I'm going to be the Pirate King! How could I possibly be arrested by a mere Marine!"
Don't be fooled by how timid Shu looked in front of Damon. He was a seasoned naval officer who would not be easily attacked by a petty thug.
Master Sergeant Shu tilted his head to the side, dodging the oncoming punch. He grabbed Bellamy's arm with his left hand and pulled up his sleeve with his right. Then he suddenly turned around and slammed Bellamy to the ground.
"Crack!"
Bellamy's eyes still looked somewhat dazed as the heavy shackles were fastened to his wrists.
At that moment, Bellamy noticed a boy much younger than him walking over. The naval officer who had just given him a hard time immediately stood at attention and saluted, as if this boy was some kind of terrifying being.
Damon originally thought that this pirate ship, which looked very much like the Flamingo, even if Doflamingo himself wasn't in charge, at least had Donquixote Family executives in charge. That's why he used the giant fireball to test the waters. The result was unexpectedly successful, and Damon almost thought that the enemy was setting a trap to lure him in.
Now, the moment Damon saw Bellamy's face, he realized that the Navy had been tricked by Doflamingo.
Even after being captured by the Navy, Bellamy remained defiant and unruly.
Damon grabbed Bellamy by the collar, lifting him up, his eyes turning crimson, the three tomoe spinning rapidly. He said:
"What kind of king did you say you wanted to be?"
When Bellamy met those devilish eyes, he felt completely terrified.
The moment Damon lifted Bellamy up and made eye contact with him, it was as if fate had gripped his throat, and he could no longer utter a sound.
Only those with unwavering willpower or Haki could instantly break free from the illusion cast by the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Bellamy was not a person of strong will to begin with. Coupled with being drunk and suddenly attacked by the navy, his mind was already in chaos. The moment he came into contact with the illusion in the eye, he immediately fell into the boundless illusion and could not distinguish between reality and illusion.
In the final moment before losing consciousness, Bellamy's face showed bitterness, and he thought to himself:
"Pirates with dreams are all idiots and scum!"
Although this naval operation seemed successful, it only resulted in the capture of a group of thugs from the small town of Nautilus in the North Blue. No Donquixote Family executives were caught, and more than a month was wasted. It was clear that Doflamingo had tricked them badly.
Therefore, even though the naval soldiers were busy cleaning up the battlefield, their overall morale was low, though they didn't show it.
After handing Bellamy over to Momousagi Gion, Damon crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly keeping a close eye on everyone's busy work, but actually paying attention to the system prompts.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host, for reciting a classic line from One Piece. You have been awarded one chance to draw a prize. Would you like to start the prize wheel?"
A lottery wheel appeared in Damon's vision, but no one around him noticed.
The lottery wheel was divided into two categories: Devil Fruits and Techniques.
Devil Fruits: Dark-Dark Fruit, Flame-Flame Fruit...
Techniques: Navy Six Powers, Fishman Karate, Transvestite Kung Fu...
[Thunder Bagua]: A superior attack technique that combines Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
As one of Kaido's signature techniques, Thunder Bagua had very strict prerequisites: one must simultaneously master both Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki.
But you should know that on this vast ocean, only the strongest individuals knew how to imbue their weapons with Conqueror's Haki.
The more demanding the conditions, the more powerful this unique skill must be.
In fact, the stronger the user of Thunder Bagua, the greater the power of this move. The speed of the attack was like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Even if one had Observation Haki and could predict this attack, there was a high probability that one would not be able to dodge it.
Information about the training and use of Thunder Bagua appeared in Damon's mind one by one.
"Now, all that's missing is Armament Haki, and then I can start training Thunder Bagua."
Damon composed himself and watched as everyone finished cleaning up the battlefield. They scavenged some treasure from the pirate ship that resembled the Flamingo. However, given Bellamy and his gang's endless squandering, it wasn't much. They only had two or three hundred thousand Berries left, which was better than nothing.
After interrogating the surviving thugs, especially Bellamy who, under Damon's illusion control, had revealed everything, Momousagi Gion reported to Vice Admiral Tsuru with a somewhat unpleasant expression:
"Upon investigation, the group on the ship were not pirates, but rather thugs from the town of Nautilus in the North Blue. There were a total of 127 people, of whom 83 died, 20 were seriously injured, and 24 were slightly injured."
"These people accepted Doflamingo's recruitment more than four months ago and became vassals of the Donquixote Family. They were responsible for disguising themselves as the Donquixote Family and conducting activities in the waters near Minion Island in the North Blue in order to confuse the tracking and surveillance of naval surveillance ships."
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned, lost in thought.
Doflamingo spared no expense in building hundreds of ships that resembled the Flamingo, which he then gifted to his vassal forces to operate in various places. What earth-shattering conspiracy was he hiding?
Vice Admiral Tsuru had fought Doflamingo for many years and knew very well that this was a ruthless tyrant who would not do anything without profit. Doflamingo was willing to spend hundreds of millions of Berries to set up this deceptive scheme, obviously in order to earn even more astonishing wealth, or to obtain something more important than wealth.
So what exactly was it?
The reason why Vice Admiral Tsuru chose to attack the pirate ship suspected to be the Flamingo near Minion Island was because the Donquixote Family originated from the North Blue, and Minion Island was also the place where Doflamingo's brother died. There should be a high probability that the other side had Donquixote Family executives stationed there.
But clearly, Doflamingo had anticipated Vice Admiral Tsuru's prediction and completely outmaneuvered her.
Just as Vice Admiral Tsuru was puzzled, Damon walked toward Bellamy, who was being held captive.
With a clang, the sword was drawn, its blade pressed against Bellamy's neck. Damon, looking down at him, said:
"If you don't want to die, tell me right now what the Donquixote Family members are up to."
The group of naval soldiers had strange expressions, feeling that Damon's interrogation was too straightforward and lacked any skill.
Master Sergeant Brannew shrugged at his friend, Master Sergeant Shu, and whispered:
"It seems that our captain lacks experience in this area."
Then, Master Sergeant Brannew chuckled softly, the meaning of which was unclear.
________________
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