"So, it's war this time," Daz stated, his voice flat.
"...Sorry, Daz," I replied, sighing. "If things had gone as originally planned, we'd already be gathering numbers in the Grand Line by now..."
"We have the numbers, don't we?" he countered. "Seven ships—or if you include the transport ships and modified fishing boats, it's a grand fleet of 15."
"This is beyond 'unexpected'..." I muttered.
Well, the moment I picked up Robin, all those plans went out the window.
The night after I'd sparred with Mihawk, selected and sent out the reconnaissance personnel, sparred with Mihawk, made the rounds on all the reconstruction-related work, sparred with Mihawk, successfully finished Bege's audience with the Princess, and sparred with Mihawk.
It was guaranteed to get busy from here on out, so I was just lazing around in the men's quarters, trying to at least let my body rest.
"The Mogwa Kingdom, eh..." Mihawk mused, polishing his sword. "I haven't heard any rumors of famous swordsmen, but I'm interested in these 'reinforcements' they'll undoubtedly summon."
"Lord Mihawk, you certainly do favor the strong," Hack chimed in, pausing his own muscle training. "Well, I am a martial artist myself, in my own small way. I can't say I don't understand the feeling."
Mihawk and Hack were also spending their time as they pleased, one maintaining his sword, the other doing muscle training.
"Well, even if they're just hiring mercenaries, they'll probably call in some reasonably skilled ones," I said. "After all, they went to the trouble of sending in a unit composed of brand-new ships."
"...Isn't that why they lost?" Daz asked, his voice skeptical.
Daz probably thinks that because he prefers well-used, reliable things over new ships and weapons.
In reality, he's not wrong. He's not, but...
"From what I heard from you," I explained, "they probably built them specifically to specialize in long-range cannon warfare."
We tried putting one of those long-range cannons on the main ship, but as expected, it was huge, and there were reports that it got in the way of steering.
"Thier individual strength is one thing," Mihawk said, looking up, "but their tactic of focusing on cannon fire is just as much of a clear threat."
That's the assessment from a man who could cut through all that cannon fire and slice a ship in two with a single sword if he felt like it. I'm not happy about it.
"Hahaha, if you're serious about it, Captain Kuro, your ships can land hits even at night," Hack laughed. "The enemy must be terrified."
"...We can only pull off a trick like that thanks to Perona, though," I admitted.
Luckily, we obtained a large amount of the same type of gunpowder, so being able to conduct numerous test firings was huge.
We line up cannons with similar performance in a row, adjust their angles by fixed increments, and fire a volley.
Then we have Perona, who is observing from a high altitude via her ghosts, report on the impacts.
For example, let's say the impact points of cannons one and two bracket the enemy ship. One shell fell just short but was the closest, and the other was close but overshot it.
At that time, Perona divides the space between impact points one and two into ten parts and reports where the enemy ship is located within them.
For instance, if the enemy ship is slightly closer to number two, she'll report, "Between one and two, seven-three."
Our basic tactic is to adjust our aim based on that and keep applying pressure with more precise bombardment.
Whether it's a characteristic of the Holo-Holo Fruit, the fact that her vision through the ghosts works well at night was also a big advantage for us.
I'm confident we could get a perfect victory in a night battle, but that also depends on the enemy's strength.
"At the very least," Mihawk advised, "assume they aren't just about numbers. If they were, it would cost them even more money to assemble the numbers needed to overcome our forces."
"So they're an elite force," I surmised.
"Elite, and with a decent number of troops, I'd say."
Mihawk, you've got some nerve, smiling like that.
I want to spar, I want to spar.
That's what your smile is screaming, you bastard.
We already sparred for a total of over 8 hours today.
"Then, depending on the enemy's movements, will it be a naval battle?" Hack asked.
"...Depends on their numbers," I answered. "Unless you have Devil Fruit users who can be effective on the open sea, the number of ships ultimately decides the battle."
If we put everyone on ships, challenge them to a naval battle, and even one or two of their ships escape, it could be a disaster depending on the enemy.
We can't just be satisfied with "getting through it" like at the district headquarters.
"I'll have the Fish-Man team do a little work," I continued, "but it'll basically be a decisive battle on the mainland."
After all, we've got a fully automatic human-slicing machine over here who's already switched on and raring to go.
To make full use of his abilities, we need land, not sea.
The rest depends on how much information the recon team—aka the supply team—and Bege's group can bring back...
Just in case, I've ordered them to avoid Mogwa and gather information indirectly in the surrounding countries.
I could investigate the Mogwa by myself, but if I do that, we won't develop the personnel who can manage our territory and information while we're expanding our influence in the Grand Line.
Apparently, Bege is using an organization under his influence to investigate inside Mogwa... Is that really going to be okay?
"Oh, right, Kuro."
"What is it, Mihawk?"
"Well, it occurred to me that I never knew your original plan. Now you're undertaking this grand enterprise of a federation of non-member nations, but you must have had a plan as a simple pirate crew, didn't you?"
Daz flinches.
Ah, come to think of it, the only ones who know the original Grand Line plan are Daz and Perona.
I was planning to explain it to Robin eventually, but right after she joined, we ran straight into that Marine slave incident on our first job together...
"I trust everyone here, and that plan is meaningless now anyway, so I'll tell you... The goal was to take control of a certain island. Until we entered the Grand Line... and after we entered, we were to focus on building up our strength until we could take over that island."
According to the original schedule, it was a five-year plan at the absolute minimum.
The real part was supposed to start after I'd at least grown enough not to look like a kid anymore.
"An island, hmm," Mihawk repeated.
What is it, Mihawk?
I give him a light glare with that question in mind, and our Imperial Guard's de facto swordsmanship advisor takes a swig of wine and says,
"No, it's just a strange thought... but when you talk about conquering and ruling an island, I just pictured it prospering greatly, and it made me laugh."
The moment Mihawk said that, Daz and Hack burst out laughing at the same time.
You guys...
"I've been thinking this for a while," I said defensively, "but ruling by fear with only military might to back you up just seems... inefficient..."
I mean, if you have numbers on par with a Yonko—or at least on par with Krieg—that's one thing, but how did Buggy so brazenly rule a town with the strength of just one ship...
No matter how many powerful cannonballs like the Buggy Ball he had, if the Marines had gathered, he would have been helpless...
And Brownbeard... because he got all cocky the moment Whitebeard died, he ended up as that amusing creature...
"You really are the most un-pirate-like pirate," Mihawk observed, looking amused.
"You think so?"
I mean, I've raised hell against the Marines...
And this time, the enemy is a World Government member nation.
Though they're the ones who picked the fight.
"Normally, one becomes intoxicated with violence," he explained. "Well, such types usually die before entering the Grand Line, or immediately after."
"Wouldn't you just call that 'small fry,' not 'pirates'?" I retorted.
Even if that's the mainstream, I could never do it.
If I go to drink in a town from now on, the sake will taste bad if it's poured for me by someone trembling in fear.
"Kukuku. No, my apologies," Mihawk chuckled. "You're absolutely right."
"So, Captain Kuro," Hack asked, "Which island in the Grand Line did you want?"
"Hm? Oh—"
"Jaya."
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