"Alright, you two," Ace said, exasperated, grabbing one of them by the shoulder and separating them. "If you want to compete, do it properly later."
These two had been rivals since childhood, fighting almost constantly.
But Zoro had improved rapidly. From being completely dominated by Sanji, he now had the strength to hold his own.
Compared to him, Kuina…
"Hmph!"
Eyebrow guy and green-haired guy snorted at each other at the same time, silently vowing to show their strength later.
"They really are full of energy."
Kuzan, who had just finished his call with Jinbei, sighed as he watched them.
Looking at these young people reminded him of when he had just joined the Navy.
He hadn't felt such passion and excitement in many years.
Time really flew. In the blink of an eye, it had already been six years since he joined the Beasts Pirates.
When this news first leaked, it had sent shockwaves across the seas.
"The Sun Pirates will be here to pick us up soon. Get ready, young ones," Kuzan said with a smile. "What's coming up is probably the first real battle of your lives."
At that, all the young men couldn't help but reveal expressions of eager anticipation.
Kuzan understood perfectly; he had felt much the same the first time he participated in an operation as a Marine.
But still.
Some trouble really does find you when you least need it.
Kuzan sighed.
Being stationed here was already frustrating enough, and now a bunch of senseless fools had to come and stir up trouble.
The reason these young men had appeared here was simple: Fish-Man Island was about to face a crisis.
Jinbei and the underwater patrol force he had organized had largely solved the problem of pirates from the Paradise flooding into the New World.
One could say they had made an indelible contribution to the current stability of the New World.
However, their existence also made the pirates from the first half of the Grand Line despise them to their core.
Pirates bold enough to sail and break into the Grand Line were hardly novices.
A significant number of them would inevitably give up on entering the New World due to the Beasts Pirates' deterrence.
Yet, there were still those who, despite the threat of the Beasts Pirates, wanted to enter the New World and contend with Ian for the title of Pirate King.
At this moment, all these pirates were being blocked from entering the New World.
Anger and resentment had been building, eventually leading to the current incident.
A massive number of pirates had banded together, preparing to attack Fish-Man Island and completely destroy the Beasts Pirates' blockade that prevented pirates from entering the New World.
It was said that by now, these pirates had formed an unusually large allied fleet in the Sabaody Archipelago.
They were smugly convinced they had kept it a secret and were planning to launch a surprise attack on Fish-Man Island.
Little did they know, the Beasts Pirates already knew everything—even how many bottles of wine they had drunk the night before.
However, according to Ian, the appearance of this pirate fleet wasn't just a spontaneous action by the pirates.
The World Government had, of course, played a significant role in it as well.
In the past, the World Government hadn't prevented pirates from entering the New World; they had even treated it as a breeding ground for pirates.
Now, they hoped even more that pirates would enter the New World and completely destroy the fragile stability that the Beasts Pirates had painstakingly created.
Kuzan couldn't help but reflect inwardly: after this battle, the elite pirates who had emerged over the past two years would likely be wiped out.
Honestly, compared to the Beasts Pirates, the Marines' speed at cleaning up pirates was far too sluggish. From this perspective, the Beasts Pirates were more deserving of representing justice.
Thinking back to his own actions when he was in the Navy, Kuzan couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
It didn't take long for the others to appear. Soon, the Sun Pirates emerged from the sea.
Gigantic sea beasts surfaced in the harbor bay. Except for the two leading beasts, which were dragging a huge elliptical cabin with chains, all the other sea beasts were equipped with heavy weaponry.
"Long time no see! Uncle Jinbei!"
Ace waved enthusiastically, greeting Jinbei as he emerged from the cabin.
"Let's go," Jinbei laughed heartily. "To Fish-Man Island! From here on, it's up to you all!"
They were all old acquaintances, so no formalities were needed.
The group entered the cabin and headed straight down toward Fish-Man Island.
While the younger members marveled at the underwater world through the portholes, Jinbei chatted with Kuzan.
"Lord Ian really asks a lot of us," Jinbei sighed. "Clearly, we could have handled those pirates with our own strength."
It was almost a joke. Even if all the pirates joined forces, could they possibly defeat the official Fish-Man Army in the sea?
Not to mention that this team was led by an expert like Jinbei.
Unless there were two Marine Admirals secretly among that fleet, Jinbei couldn't think of any reason they would lose.
There was no need for reinforcements, especially ones coming all the way from the Wano headquarters—a squad of young kids.
"The kids from back then have grown up now."
Kuzan said, "If we don't let them train hard now, there might not be time later."
The final war was likely approaching sooner than anyone thought.
The Beasts Pirates and the World Government would eventually clash in that final battle.
Jinbei nodded.
He was still worried—where could he let the younger ones truly show their abilities? He certainly couldn't allow the pirates to land on Fish-Man Island itself.
But if the battle took place in the water, the younger ones wouldn't be of much use.
"Lord Ian, you really do give me difficult problems."
Almost at the same time—
Near the waters around the Sabaody Archipelago.
Pirate ships gathered here, and just the sight of their towering masts alone looked like a dense forest.
The amassed fleet itself formed what seemed like a dark cloud, ready to cover the sky and sea.
"Once the coating is complete, all units dive! Attack Fish-Man Island!"
Someone shouted loudly from the fleet, "We must destroy Fish-Man Island in one decisive strike!"
Not far away, on the shores of the Sabaody Archipelago—
"My, my," An old white-haired man adjusting his golden-rimmed glasses while fishing chuckled, "Just looking at the scale, this is even more outrageous than Golden Lion's fleet back in the day, isn't it?"
After all, this was the combined strength of dozens of pirate crews.
Next, it was up to Ian to see how he would respond.
**********
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