Did Sean currently possess the strength to wipe out the Three Emperors?
He certainly did, though the price to pay would not be small.
After all, they were Emperors of the Sea. Taking down one wouldn't be difficult, and attempting two was feasible. However, fighting three simultaneously would inflict massive casualties on the Marines.
If he could simply spend six months elevating the power of his high-end combatants while ensuring that over a hundred thousand grassroots soldiers reached the minimum standard of 300 Doriki, he could then simply crush the Three Emperors.
Why rush now and pay a staggering price to achieve the same result?
Sean understood this perfectly. Therefore, from the very beginning, the objective of this operation was not to kill the Three Emperors.
The primary goals were to seize control of the former Whitebeard Pirates' territory and force the three Emperors to retreat, granting the Marines in the New World the time and space needed for further development.
The keys to achieving this goal were two people: Blueno and Princess Violet.
Blueno's ability allowed Sean to mobilize high-end combat power anywhere, at any time, with ease. Princess Violet's ability, on the other hand, provided precise intelligence on the locations and troop deployments of the Three Emperors.
With these two foundations, the entire operation became crystal clear.
First, using Princess Violet's ability, they would bypass the main forces of Big Mom and the Beast Pirates, avoiding every possible detection point along the route to arrive at the home bases of these two Emperors undetected.
Second, they would utilize fleet-scale forces and a large number of high-end combatants to exert immense pressure, forcing the Emperors to recall their main forces from the field.
Third, Akainu, who was already in position with his fleet, would strike the former Whitebeard Pirates' territory while the main forces of the two Emperors were retreating at full speed. He would then annihilate the garrison forces left behind.
Fourth, they would repel the two Emperors to ensure that once the main force departed and the fleet retreated, they would not suffer a devastating counterattack or pursuit by the Emperors.
Fifth, once Shanks took the bait, Sean would use Blueno's ability to instantly teleport most of the high-end combat power from the two "base-raiding" fleets to Akainu's fleet, creating total suppression over the Red-Haired Pirates.
Sixth, while withdrawing from Totto Land and Wano Country, the First and Second Fleets would deliver a heavy blow to the returning reinforcement fleets of the two Emperors.
These were the six stages of Sean's operation.
Currently, the first four stages had been successfully completed, and the fifth stage was underway...
"Fleet Admiral, should we pursue?"
"No need. They're diving!"
Sean shook his head, pointing toward the Red Force, located two kilometers away.
Akainu paused, then turned to look.
Sure enough, a bubble was expanding atop Shanks' Red Force. It quickly enveloped the entire ship and began to sink.
This was the ship coating technology unique to One Piece. With this coating, diving ten thousand meters was no problem at all.
As for Sean's fleet, not only were they unable to dive, but even if they had been coated, they lacked weapons suitable for underwater combat. Most importantly, underwater warfare was incredibly dangerous; if the ship's coating were accidentally breached, everyone on the warship would perish.
Sean saw no reason to take such a risk.
However, it occurred to him—perhaps he should have a chat with Franky and Barry. If he provided them with a few concepts, could they build submarines? Additionally, he should talk to Retes about developing depth charges.
If he had those tools, he would have a means of attack the next time an enemy tried to dive right in front of him.
Thinking of this, Sean nodded to himself.
"Alright. Now that Red-Haired has retreated, the Third Fleet will be completely decentralized. Assign one Admiral, one Admiral Candidate, or two Vice Admirals to every single warship."
"Using individual warships as units, conduct a comprehensive sweep of the former Whitebeard Pirates' territory!"
"Once the First and Second Fleets return, they will join this mission."
"All islands must be under our control within ten days!" Sean commanded with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
'''
"What did you say? The Boss was injured by Sean?"
"That despicable coward, Sean! If he has guts, he should face us head-on. What kind of skill is it to rely on sneak attacks?"
In a fleet composed of over twenty pirate ships, Jack was clutching a Den Den Mushi on the largest vessel, cursing incessantly.
Just then...
"Boss! Marine fleet spotted!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing the shout, Jack slammed the phone down and looked in the direction his subordinate was pointing.
Sure enough, about three nautical miles away, a Marine Ironclad Fleet was sailing.
He had heard from Queen that the Marine fleet was supposed to be blocking the entrance to Wano Country. Why were they here? Had they received intelligence that he was returning and decided to flee?
"Order the fleet to turn immediately! Charge in and wipe out that Marine fleet!"
"Jack, wait!"
Seeing Jack starting to act recklessly again, King quickly shouted to stop him.
Did he have a brain? Queen had already said that even the Boss was injured. Why the hell was he charging in now?
In terms of individual strength, Jack wasn't the strongest; in terms of fleet combat power, the gap between them and the Marines was astronomical. Was he charging in just to die?
King was utterly speechless at Jack's tendency to simply barge forward.
However...
Before he could finish his persuasion, the Marine fleet three miles away opened fire!
'Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!'
Although King had heard much about the combat power of Sean's Ironclad Fleet, and had witnessed during the broadcast of the Paramount War how those warships crushed dozens of Whitebeard's allied pirate crews, this was his first time facing them personally.
He immediately realized something was wrong. This wasn't a retreat—they had specifically come here to intercept the reinforcements!
"Intercept the shells!"
With a loud shout, King took to the skies.
"Jack, I'll go create a distraction. Use the opportunity to lead the fleet away! Do you hear me?!"
"Big brother, what is there to fear? Let's go kill these Marines together!"
"You..."
At this moment, King's mind was filled with countless curses, though he didn't know if he should say them aloud.
"Jack, if you don't listen to me today, don't ever call me big brother again!"
"This... alright, big brother!"
At a distance of three kilometers, even the Ironclad Fleet's accuracy wasn't perfect. Aside from one near-miss that caused a medium-sized pirate ship to leak, the rest of the first volley missed their marks.
Of course, this was only the first wave. The second and third waves, once calibrated, would be far more precise.
And since King had played the trump card of forbidding Jack from calling him "big brother," Jack was now being remarkably obedient. He ordered the fleet to retreat at full speed while simultaneously directing the officers to intercept the incoming shells.
'''
Flagship of the First Fleet.
"Admiral Hawkeye, an individual in pterosaur form is flying rapidly toward our fleet. It appears to be the leader of the Beast Pirates' Three Calamities, King the Wildfire, with a bounty of 1.39 billion Belly."
A Captain standing behind Hawkeye on the deck delivered the report.
Hawkeye, who had been sitting cross-legged on the deck to recover from his heavy exertion, slowly rose to his feet upon hearing the report. His eyes locked onto King, who was now roughly a kilometer away in the sky, as his hands tightened around the hilt of the black blade, Yoru.
Then...
He suddenly unleashed a devastating black slash!