Chapter 147: Public Enemy
"No means no, Perospero. Don't make this difficult for me. Be a good boy and turn the ship around."
Nanamo stood alone on the head of a shark, blocking Perospero's path. Even though he tried to play the family card, all he received was a heartless rejection.
Rules are rules. Once a set rule is broken by even one person, it can no longer be called an iron law.
This floodgate could not be opened; once opened, it would be difficult to close.
"Big Sis, the time for the Tea Party is fast approaching. I've been waiting for a long time. If we delay any further, we might not make it in time..."
"Then go kill that damned Harding, and won't I let you pass? Not a single plank of wood is allowed to cross; this is Father's order, and it applies to everyone.
I've already given you a lot of face, Perospero. Don't force my hand."
Seeing water currents gathering in Nanamo's hand, Perospero ultimately chose to retreat. The fact that his "Big Sis" didn't share the surname Charlotte already explained her stance.
If this dragged on any longer, based on Perospero's understanding of Nanamo, she truly would attack.
"Brother Perospero, they won't let us pass here. What should we do..."
"What else can we do? Contact Katakuri! Tell him to ferret out that guy named Harding in the shortest possible time, at all costs!
Either kill him, go challenge Nereus in the deep sea, or face Mama's wrath. You choose."
Perospero sat directly on the deck with a look of utter helplessness, his tone even carrying a hint of despair.
Precisely because he understood all too well, Perospero knew the latter two options were impossible. Catching that Harding had become their only choice.
Meanwhile, Morgans had also received a series of reports: the failure of the pirate alliance, the issuance of the new underworld bounty, and so on. Feeling that the time was right, he immediately began serializing Harding's exact locations.
This acted like a shot of adrenaline for those who had been agonizing over Harding's whereabouts, instantly filling them with excitement.
"Kill him! The faster we kill this guy, the smaller our losses will be!"
"Kill him! That's a fat sheep worth 1.1 billion Berries, but with the strength of only 50 million! Kill him, and we won't have to risk our lives ever again!"
Underworld assassins, bounty hunters from everywhere, and even pirates who originally had no intention of crossing the border were spurred into action by this massive bounty.
There weren't many individuals whose bounty didn't match their strength, and there were even fewer where everyone knew their strength was weak but they were just good at escaping.
And at this very moment, Harding had just sailed into the waters of Totto Land.
Waking up from a nap, thinking everything was fine, he suddenly noticed that the way his subordinates were looking at him had turned very strange.
"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"
Harding didn't understand why his subordinates were giving him such looks—looks as if they were staring at some rare, priceless treasure.
"No, Commander, but... see for yourself..."
The subordinate didn't know how to explain and could only hand over the newspaper they had just received.
[Pirate Alliance Annihilated...]
[Underworld Raises 1 Billion Berries...]
[Harding's Current Location is...]
Harding could temporarily ignore the other matters, but upon seeing his location updated in the newspaper, he could no longer remain calm.
"Everyone, it seems... we might have a traitor among us."
Harding's voice was low, his eyes heavily sweeping across each of his subordinates. Being able to pinpoint their exact location—this was the most severe issue in Harding's eyes.
He was human too; he needed to rest. If someone was reporting his location at all times, he'd be in serious trouble.
Harding could dodge ranged attacks relying on his Devil Fruit ability, but if he encountered a close-quarters assassination attempt, he might not have time to activate it.
"Commander, selling you out does us no good. Our families are all in the Doel Kingdom. If anything happens to you as our commanding officer, we will be executed by the King when we return."
"Besides, those pirates and underworld assassins won't bother distinguishing between us. If they find us, the most likely scenario is them launching an indiscriminate attack."
"After all these years of camaraderie, do you really think we would betray you?"
Harding's subordinates voiced their opinions one after another, and what they said made perfect sense. But if there wasn't an inside mole, how else could his location be discovered...
BOOM! BOOM!
Before Harding could figure out the reason behind this, a barrage of cannon fire suddenly erupted. One shell landed squarely on the deck, and a flying splinter of wood left a gash on his face.
"The Big Mom Pirates... Damn it, we've never offended them..."
Blood trickled down his cheek, wetting the newspaper in Harding's hand, the crimson stain soaking the words "1 Billion Berries."
Regardless of why the other party was attacking, Harding had no intention of fighting them. He immediately activated his Devil Fruit ability, taking the ship beneath him and fleeing.
"Who told you to fire... Didn't the intelligence make it clear? That guy is a Teleport-Teleport Fruit user. If we don't kill him in one hit and let him activate his ability, we can't possibly catch him."
On the other pirate ship, Katakuri stared expressionlessly at Opera, who had just ordered the cannons fired.
"Brother Katakuri... I'm sorry, I was too anxious..."
"You... Sigh, keep chasing. Tell the surrounding outposts to keep a close eye out and see which direction he ran. I refuse to believe he can keep activating his ability indefinitely."
Katakuri sighed and ultimately just patted Opera's shoulder without saying much else.
The pursuit by the Big Mom Pirates was merely the beginning. After continuously activating his Fruit ability and frantically escaping the waters of Totto Land, Harding leaned against the ship's rail, panting heavily.
"Hah... Hah... Good thing we didn't go too deep into Totto Land, or we might not have made it out... Don't stop, keep sailing. Those guys might just chase us all the way out."
The Teleport-Teleport Fruit's instant movement with zero wind-up made it incredibly difficult to track their movements. Harding's ship bought a brief moment of peace. But as night fell and Harding and his crew prepared to rest, a group of assassins silently approached them.
"Enemy attack!"
"It's Peclo's men! The assassins from the Mortuary!"
The Major Undertaker Peclo, a kingpin among underworld assassins. Facing the massive bounty pooled together by the others, it was impossible for him not to be tempted.
A large number of assassins infiltrated the deck under the cover of night. Harding no longer had the time to distinguish who among the people on board were his own men.
To conserve stamina, Harding abandoned everyone, taking only a single escape boat, and activated his Fruit ability to flee, leaving the others to be slaughtered by the assassins...
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