The unidentified fleet seemed unaware of the Hades' arrival. It simply drifted quietly in the void, as if waiting for something.
From time to time, several of its exhaust ports released streams of Necrons ions, counteracting the pull of a gas giant hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
Whitebeard nudged Kaido's shoulder and asked:
"How should we fight?"
It was their very first space battle. Even for Whitebeard—battle-hardened as he was—there lingered a faint unease. For once, he actually sought Kaido's opinion.
Kaido chuckled darkly:
"How to fight? The stupid way, of course!"
Whitebeard nodded repeatedly. Kaido's idea matched his own.
When ships were scarce, yet the targets were numerous and overwhelmingly outnumbered you, there was only one solution:
Send raiding parties aboard every target simultaneously, prioritizing the seizure of propulsion systems and crippling the enemy vessels.
The World Government's trade fleets had suffered plenty at the hands of this exact tactic.
Whitebeard stroked his beard and said:
"The two smaller warships—we'll take one each. As for the transports, let each of us claim what we can. Agreed?"
Kaido laughed again:
"Every man for himself? I've got no problem with that."
Though Whitebeard commanded larger numbers, Kaido's Beasts were elite to the core—each of his men was strong enough to be a pirate captain in their own right.
And this style of operation—crippling a ship's propulsion system with small, precise strike teams—was practically tailor-made for Kaido's brand of elite raiders.
The two exchanged grins before leaving the bridge to prepare their assault.
It wasn't that they disrespected Roya's authority. They simply knew such minor targets wouldn't even register in his eyes.
If the objective were a Pyramid-class ship like the Seventh Overlord's flagship, they would certainly defer to Roya's command.
But this—this was their first space raid, and the thrill was irresistible. Neither noticed the faintly amused looks Roya and Im shared as they watched them leave.
Soon, both Whitebeard and Kaido had chosen their strike teams. They gathered at the assault pods, ready for launch.
These pods were retrofits of old Navy models, still using Vegapunk's outdated "explosive rock" thermal propulsion system. Heat was converted into high-pressure steam for thrust. In space, the efficiency was abysmal—barely workable in a vacuum.
The truth was clear: the Hades' baseline technology still lagged far behind, worlds apart from the core components salvaged from the Pyramid-class ship.
Twenty assault pods launched at once, each targeting a ship.
Thick clouds of white vapor spewed from their exhausts before dispersing instantly. The display looked grand, but their actual speed was tortoise-slow.
Only halfway across the distance did the pods finally accelerate to a respectable pace under their sputtering propulsion.
And then—they had to start braking.
Without deceleration, the pods would simply slam straight into the targets in suicidal collisions.
Though every raider was an expert, clad in fully protective combat armor, the reality was unnerving:
It was like stuffing dozens of smaller tin cans—containing flesh and blood—inside a bigger tin can, and hurling them into an enemy ship.
What would happen if they actually crashed? No one, not even Whitebeard, felt certain.
Hesitating, Whitebeard was about to give the order to slow down—
—when he saw Kaido's ten pods showing no sign of braking. On the contrary, they suddenly accelerated even further by some unknown method, hurtling toward the target fleet at reckless speed.
"Damn it! These beastly lunatics!"
Whitebeard cursed angrily. But now he had no choice.
If he slowed his own forces, Kaido would seize all the spoils.
The twenty pods, venting trails of white vapor, split into two waves—slamming head-on into the stationary enemy ships.
Sound could not travel in the vacuum of space.
But Roya's spiritual sense captured the vibrations of impact, recreating the clanging echoes in his mind.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The so-called "silent raider assault" had turned into a full-on frontal charge.
Whitebeard hefted Murakumogiri, slashing a path through the welded seams where pod met hull, cutting open an entryway before charging in.
Marco followed close at his flank, shielding his side.
Whitebeard had chosen ten targets for himself, and since he personally led the raid, Marco—the First Division Commander—had little choice but to play bodyguard.
Behind them, a hundred elite pirates surged forward, sweeping corridors and securing junctions as they advanced.
Yet all the way through—no resistance.
The massive warship was like a ghost vessel. Not a single moving figure.
And this was supposed to be one of the two heavily armed escort warships, the ones with the terrifying energy signatures!
Whitebeard's burning excitement quickly cooled. Crestfallen, he pushed onward, intending at least to find the bridge and seize control.
At minimum, he thought, he could locate a communications system and report back to Roya.
But after circling the entire interior with Marco close behind, they found nothing—no bridge, no control room.
The ship's design utterly defied their understanding of warships.
No command center. No crew quarters. Just three barren decks.
The lower two decks were lined with rank upon rank of necro-warriors—at least ten thousand in total.
The upper deck was stacked with cubic ingots of biometal, countless in number.
Whitebeard was stunned.
Kaido was stunned.
And the pirates who had just seized the other eighteen transports were stunned as well.
The lack of resistance didn't matter. Ten thousand inert necro-warriors weren't frightening, not yet.
The problem was that all twenty ships were nothing more than giant metal coffins.
No propulsion systems. No control systems. Nothing recognizable.
How were they supposed to capture these ships and turn them to their own use?
As they stood baffled, the vessels suddenly shuddered, beginning to drift toward the Hades.
At the same time, Im's voice resonated through every ship:
"Everyone, remain calm. These twenty vessels have already been taken over by the Hades and are now being mounted for integration. Once the process is complete, please return to the Hades through your assault pods."
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