Dusk.
Behind a hillside.
Fish-man Hatchan led the recruits to this spot and spoke: "I assume you all understand the mission objectives by now."
"The specifics of the attack plan will be up to you."
"Unless you encounter an enemy you absolutely cannot handle, I won't intervene."
"Be extremely cautious—these pirates are ruthless and cunning. Show no mercy."
His tone was low and grave, emphasizing the seriousness of this combat mission.
Pirates in the New World were like starving wolves—battle-hardened and steeped in bloodshed.
To ensure the recruits' safety, Hatchan had even transferred some Revolutionary Army officers from the coastal base.
"Yes!"
The recruits responded in hushed voices, many of them visibly tense—especially Rez and the others.
Pirates! Their strength and brutality were practically ingrained in their minds since childhood. No one dared underestimate them—those who did were already dead.
"Rhode, what do you think?"
Rez whispered to Rhode beside him.
Rhode gave him a strange look. "What do you mean? Just wipe them out."
"They're nothing but scum who don't deserve to breathe."
He held no goodwill toward pirates.
In this world, aside from rare exceptions like Luffy and Red-Hair, the vast majority of pirates were criminals drenched in bloodshed—the kind who would've been executed without hesitation in his past life.
"..."
Rez was speechless. Damn, you're ruthless. Not someone to mess with.
At that moment, Nia, Shano, and the other squad leaders approached Rhode as a group, inviting him to discuss the battle plan.
This was a world where strength determined status. Rhode's performance in the last mission had clearly earned him their recognition.
"The enemy leader is a formidable pirate with an 83 million bounty—codenamed 'Black Fist.' He's likely a martial arts expert."
"He may have already awakened Armament Haki. Shano, can you handle stalling him?"
"Once we deal with the underlings, we'll back you up immediately."
Nia seemed to be the tactical analyst, laying out the plan methodically. "We're slightly outnumbered, but that's not an issue.""Here's how we can do it, like this and that..."
She spoke rapidly, pouring out words without pause, clearly someone who had studied tactics extensively and was well-versed in this field.
The other captains nodded frequently, even the usually expressionless swordmaster Shano showed signs of agreement.
His strength hadn't yet reached the point where he could ignore numbers.
Beside them, Rhode secretly grumbled—since everything had already been decided, why bother calling him over?
...
This group of pirates seemed to have been forced off course by natural disasters like storms at sea, accidentally discovering the White Earth Island and landing to explore while repairing their ship.
A makeshift camp was set up on the open shore.
Some pirates were on guard duty, while others rested, and a few were sent to explore the island.
This was typical pirate behavior—whenever they encountered an island, they would explore it, hoping to stumble upon some treasure or other valuables.
At the center of the camp, "Black Fist" Slote stood with his hands behind his back, speaking calmly: "How much longer until the repairs are done?"
"Half a day," someone replied.
Slote nodded and turned to look inland. It was dusk, and the distant sky was filled with sand dust tinged with the glow of the setting sun, creating a rather majestic scene.
"What about the brothers exploring the island? Why haven't they returned yet?"
Slote narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss. He was a meticulous man who placed great importance on punctuality.
Under his command, anyone who was late would face severe punishment—whipping at the least, or even execution by firing squad for serious offenses.
His crew knew this well, so such incidents were rare.
"Something's wrong. This island is dangerous!"
Half a minute later, Slote ordered everyone to be on high alert.
Immediately, the pirates scattered along the beach began gathering toward the camp. Though startled, they remained composed, displaying remarkable combat discipline.
Boom! Boom! Boom! At the same time, dozens of cannon shots suddenly streaked from the distance, trailing flames as they struck the pirate camp.
The ground trembled, sending sand flying into the air.
"..."
Slote stood at the center of it all, unmoving.
His expression was utterly calm, having weathered countless storms.
This level of firepower wasn't enough to faze a veteran executive of the New World pirates.
Most of the other pirates shared his demeanor, showing no panic. Instead, their faces twisted with cold bloodlust.
After being battered by the storm at sea, the pirates were in a foul mood, craving slaughter to satisfy themselves and vent their frustrations. Finding a woman or two would be an added bonus.
Nia hadn't expected the bombardment to cause significant casualties—it was meant to divide the pirates and create chaos for their assault.
"Charge!"
The next moment, the captains led their teams in attacking the pirate camp from all directions.
The beach at sunset was soon filled with battle cries, the ground stained red with blood.
Thanks to the element of surprise, the trainees achieved decent results.
But New World pirates weren't to be trifled with. If not for the formidable strength of captains like Shano and Nia, and the trainees' superior equipment, casualties would have been inevitable.
"Ultimately, it's best not to engage head-on."
Watching the scene, Rhode shook his head lightly and headed toward the pirate ship.
His mission was to destroy the ship, cutting off the pirates' escape route—a task Nia had assigned him based on his abilities.
As he walked, he suddenly sensed something and glanced to his left.
Near a makeshift shelter, two tall pirates with unnaturally flushed faces glared at him with murderous intent."Truly reckless," Rhode's eyes turned cold.
Shave! A violent force erupted, instantly shattering the ground into spiderweb-like cracks.
At the same time, Rhode shot forward like lightning toward the pirates.
The murderous intent in the pirates' eyes hadn't even faded before their faces twisted in terror.
Snapping back to reality, they immediately turned to flee.
Yet they had barely taken a few steps!
With a thunderous crash, the makeshift shed collapsed under the force of the gale.
Simultaneously, a figure tore through the air, closing in rapidly.
The two pirates felt the increasingly fierce wind at their backs. Exchanging a glance, they gritted their teeth, roared, and their skin instantly flushed red. Their muscles bulged, veins writhing like earthworms across their bodies.
A fierce aura emanated from them.
As elite pirates of the New World, how could they survive without a few trump cards?
This was an advanced martial arts technique similar to Iron Body, temporarily enhancing physical strength—akin to berserking.
But the side effects were severe: blood depletion, mental exhaustion, and days of incapacitation.
Yet at this moment, they had no choice.
The sword-wielding youth charging at them was terrifying. Without going all out, death was certain!
"Die!"
The two prepared for a desperate struggle.
But as they turned, a flash of lightning streaked before their eyes—dazzling, fleeting.
After the lightning passed, space seemed to freeze, leaving only the howl of the sea wind.
Rhode calmly sheathed his sword.
Behind him came the heavy thuds of corpses hitting the ground.