"Victarion, it's your turn now."
"Don't worry, big sis, I won't let you down."
Victarion was one of the people rescued from the slave ship along with Hancock and the others. After that, he joined the Hundred Beasts and, through his talent, secured his position on the Shadow Fox.
Currently, he is in charge of artillery command. According to the pre-planned angles, the artillery on the Shadow Fox began bombarding directly.
"Everyone be careful! Don't load the wrong cannonballs! The white ones are for attacking the Nine Snakes' ship!"
Those cannonballs were specially made low-quality ones, that would only make a sound when fired, with very limited damage.
Victarion's booming voice instructed the gunners on the ship. As the artillery chief, having a loud voice was very important; otherwise, outsiders wouldn't be able to hear.
The situation on the Nine Snakes' ship was all thunder and no rain, while on the Navy's ship, it was different. Hancock had just undone their petrification when the high-explosive shells came exploding over.
"Watch out to evade, return fire, return fire!"
After all, they were a regular army and a Vice Admiral's direct troops. The sudden shelling didn't break them; under Comil's command, they quickly formed their battle lineup.
"It's the Hundred Beasts Pirates! That ship is... Illusory Calamity!"
"Those lunatics are at it again...."
Pirates actively attacking the Navy isn't a common occurrence in the first half of the Grand Line. If it had been someone else leading, Comil might have thought something was off, but with Olga leading, it all made sense.
She was the most talked-about figure in recent years, with Queen now famous within the intelligence system, while Olga was famous in the newspapers. Aside from the covert slave capture team hunts, she occasionally attacked Navy ships; it was her form of revenge.
Sometimes, she could be very petty. Back when Akainu and Tsuru pursued her for several months, though they didn't catch her, she bore a grudge.
However, such attacks happened mostly in the New World, which is pirate territory. The targets were mostly surveillance ships, and the frequency was completely random.
This is also the Navy's stance towards Great Pirate Gangs like the Hundred Beasts and Whitebeard: they can remain stationary, but they must be monitored, cannot be entirely clueless about their movements. Pirates would mostly choose to selectively ignore surveillance ships in the distance.
Because even if you sink one or two surveillance ships, the Navy quickly deploys more covert teams, along with retaliatory actions, making things more troublesome.
The Navy is continuously eradicating pirates, but for those who have become influential in the New World and pose a significant threat, they adopt a stance of major conflicts avoided, but minor skirmishes never-ending.
If Blackbeard hadn't voluntarily delivered Ace, giving the Navy a chance to fight on its own terms, they wouldn't have rashly launched such an annihilation battle.
"Increase artillery fire! Maintain distance; that woman can create phantoms. Letting her get close will be a big problem!"
The Navy's intelligence department isn't completely useless; at least they have some understanding of the enemy's abilities. For instance, they know Olga can create phantoms and deceive perception within a certain distance.
Maintaining a certain distance can at least prevent being deceived into a state of mutual slaughter.
"Sister Tsuru isn't here...."
According to known Navy intelligence, Tsuru's ability can counteract Olga's phantoms, but Tsuru has been busy chasing Doflamingo recently. That was a World Government order, given Doflamingo's unique status.
"Boa Hancock! As a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, I now order you to join us in dealing with the enemy!"
"I refuse. The agreement states that I must comply with the World Government's compulsory summons and pay a certain tribute to the government, but otherwise, I can move freely, without any interference from the government.
You do not represent the World Government, so I can ignore your demand."
"Are you joking?! You're also their target!"
"From the shelling patterns, it's evident that you're the main target, while these may just be stray shots. Staying away from you is the best option for now."
Hancock didn't directly agree to Comil's request. The previous bounty hunters already demonstrated that being friendly is not synonymous with obedience.
If she complied with every Navy demand, there would surely be more future tasks ordered of her.
The Navy can be seen as a corporation; within a company, the busiest person isn't necessarily promoted, but they're definitely the busiest. Besides, the Seven Warlords aren't even part of the Navy; they're at most subcontracted to the Navy.
Comil isn't the big boss, only a manager from another department. His words have no binding authority over Hancock.
As she said this, Hancock was already standing atop the serpent's head, preparing to return to the Perfume Snake.
"I now represent the World Government, and your reply hasn't been relayed back. I have the power to deem you unfit for this position!"
Although Navy Vice Admirals using Haki is a basic requirement, his soldiers couldn't use Observation Haki. According to Navy intelligence, those without Observation Haki would turn into tools when facing Olga, which is why he needed Hancock's combat support.
Although Hancock, at 15, is far from her peak strength at 30, she still reached the strength expected of an 18-year-old, demonstrating considerable combat power.
In Comil's view, her petrification ability would surely cause trouble for the enemy, but he didn't expect Hancock to be so uncooperative.
"Relay the reply back first, and I'll join this battle."
In the end, in this bargaining state, Hancock participated in the battle, although only she joined. Comil understood that ordinary personnel had no significance in this battle; too many people would only be exploited by the enemy.
Thus, the Perfume Snake left the battlefield, leaving only the Navy ship and Shadow Fox to engage in boarding combat. No matter how intricate the phantoms were, they were still phantoms. For realism, most of this battle was a real fight, also serving as a test for newcomers like Victarion.
"Be careful; that woman's ability can confuse perception. Rely more on what your Haki senses than on what you see and hear."
The Navy had some understanding of Olga's abilities but not comprehensively. They believed that as long as they kept Olga occupied in battle, her abilities wouldn't affect others.
Comil believed that combining his and Hancock's forces would be enough to challenge Olga. The Vice Admirals at Navy Headquarters were the Navy's backbone; even literary talent possessed some martial skill.
To prevent any accidents, he reminded Hancock, though it wasn't out of camaraderie. He feared that if anything went wrong, Hancock might mistake him for the enemy.
However, what he didn't know was that this whole event was a grand show, and from the very start, he was already embroiled in it. The relationship between the Nine Snakes and the Hundred Beasts was something they had no idea about.