"They sank all the merchant ships and are still bombarding the water. Is this really the Marines? Could they be pirates in disguise?"
Rosen watched as the merchant ships, already submerged, continued to be shelled by the approaching Marine fleet, ensuring that any potential survivors were completely wiped out.
"This is really strange. Normally, merchant ships and the Marines maintain a good relationship since taxes are a major source of revenue for the Marines," Nico Robin said, resting her chin on her hand, clearly puzzled. "And this level of brutality is too extreme."
In this world, even the most ruthless pirates are usually captured alive if possible—prisoners have value, while the dead are of little use.
Even if their target was a pirate crew, the Marines would typically cease fire after sinking the enemy ship. Surviving at sea, where dangerous sea beasts roam, is nearly impossible without a vessel. Unless there's a deep grudge, few would go the extra mile to ensure total annihilation.
"Everyone, stay alert!" Rosen waved his hand, signaling his crew. There were only about twenty of them, but manning the cannons wasn't difficult.
"It's not over?" Robin watched as the Marine fleet didn't withdraw but instead approached the site where the merchant ships had sunk. She then noticed a large number of Marines, their expressions cold and lifeless, casting massive nets into the water, retrieving bodies.
One corpse after another was dragged onto the ships and gathered in a pile. Occasionally, when they found a survivor struggling in the water, they would execute them with a single shot.
This behavior was nothing like what a proper Marine force would do—it was even more ruthless than pirates.
"The Marines have spotted us," Robin observed, noting the Marine ship signaling with flags.
"What are they saying?" Rosen asked.
"They're asking what we're doing here," Robin replied, understanding the signals, whereas Rosen did not.
"Reply: just passing through, resupplying," Rosen instructed. Robin immediately had a crew member send the message back in flag signals. Naturally, he wouldn't reveal that they were here looking for pirates.
Meanwhile, on the main Marine ship, a commander frowned. Unlike most Marine officers, he wasn't wearing a standard Marine uniform but rather a fitted white suit, resembling a businessman. However, he was actually a special envoy directly dispatched by the World Government.
He was also one of the commanders overseeing the main Marine base across the eight surrounding islands. Even within the Marines, most only knew him as a high-ranking officer sent by the higher-ups—his exact rank was unknown.
Because he served the World Nobles, his authority was comparable to that of a Vice Admiral.
Commander Reser was a Celestial Dragon's personal enforcer stationed here. Only a select few knew of his origins within CP0.
"Base Commander, the Shichibukai's ship has responded, stating they are merely passing through and stopping to resupply," a Marine officer reported to Reser.
"Inform them that the island ahead is Lantis Island, which is currently off-limits. Tell them they may choose any of the other eight islands for resupply, but emphasize that unauthorized entry into the Lantis Sacred Sea (Sanctuary) will result in Marine retaliation," Reser ordered, his brow furrowing.
He had been keeping an eye on recent news regarding Crocodile. He hadn't expected that instead of continuing along his route, Crocodile's crew had veered sideways to this location. Were they really just here for supplies? The route seemed too deliberate.
Recently, Island #2 had been attacked by a rookie pirate. Now, a Shichibukai had arrived, and black market activity was increasing. Had information about Lantis Island leaked?
But that shouldn't be possible. The official explanation had been an industrial accident at a chemical plant, and the area had been completely sealed off. There shouldn't be any reason for trouble.
"They're denying us entry to Lantis Island. Weren't we told before that people just couldn't leave but could still enter? Does a Shichibukai not even have the right to enter a controlled island? That doesn't make sense," Rosen muttered, puzzled. After all, even Blackbeard had been allowed to request entry into Impel Down.
How could a Shichibukai like himself be denied access to a mere controlled island? Something wasn't right.
"I'm not sure, but the Marines are being very firm about it. The flag signals repeated the restriction twice and warned that entering the Sanctuary would make us their enemy," Robin said gravely. The Marines' attitude was extremely strict—just to prevent them from landing? Even a Shichibukai was barred, with threats of immediate hostility if they entered.
Was something hidden on this island? If the Celestial Dragons were still there, such strict measures would be understandable.
But the Celestial Dragons were no longer present. This was, at most, just an ordinary nation now. Even if there were some local disasters, they wouldn't need to keep a Shichibukai out entirely.
"Boss, what do you think?" Robin asked.
They were already very close to Lantis Island. In fact, standing on a high point with a telescope, they could see the island's outline.
"No rush. If that's the case, we'll land on one of the weaker Marine-controlled outer islands first and gather intelligence. The outer eight islands are still accessible, though it's clear that the restricted waters and the Sanctuary are being tightly controlled," Rosen said thoughtfully.
"Understood. Then we'll adjust our course to Island #3, Frans Island. According to reports, it has the weakest Marine presence right now. Island #2 was recently devastated, so some of its Marines were redeployed from Frans. It's also a pirate hideout," Robin analyzed.
The eight outer islands surrounding Lantis each had a number from 1 to 8. They were once given the titles "Guardian 1" through "Guardian 8" by Lantis Island, though each island also had its own name.
While none of these islands were very large, they were still sizable—each equivalent to a big city, completely surrounded by the sea. Even though each island had a Marine base, pirates could still easily sneak in and hide.
In this era, pirates were as numerous as locusts, and it was impossible to catch them all. No matter how many were captured today, another wave would arrive tomorrow from somewhere else.
As a result, Marine bases generally only conducted routine sweeps, capturing as many as they could. But if the pirates caused too much trouble and multiple Marine bases had to respond, they would be wiped out with no room for complaints.
Such incidents occurred frequently.
As they altered their course, Rosen's ship managed to avoid direct confrontation with the Marines. However, not long into their new route, they encountered a disturbing sight—countless wrecked ships drifting across the sea, charred bodies floating in the water.
There were many of them. The entire crew fell silent, their spirits sinking. Robin's expression darkened as well.
Their new course had taken them through the waters surrounding Lantis and the outer islands.
Were these wrecks from Lantis Island, or from the Guardian Islands?
From the way they were dressed, many of the dead were civilians—whole families among them. That was what made the sight so unsettling.
"Did something happen on Lantis Island, or were these ships trying to reach it and got sunk?" Robin murmured in confusion. Dozens—no, hundreds—of wrecked ships. How many people had died here?
Creak…
Before Rosen could respond, their ship suddenly lurched to a halt, struggling to move forward.
It felt like they had run aground. But they were nowhere near land, and no visible reefs were in sight. That meant the water was deep enough—so why were they stuck?
Something must have blocked them.
"Boss, we've hit something—probably the remains of a sunken ship," said Migs, an experienced sailor, making a quick assessment.
"Stop moving forward. Check what's under the water first," Rosen ordered. Forcing their way through without knowing what was in the water could damage the ship's hull.
"Ahh!"
Just then, a piercing scream came from the stern.
It was from the crew member standing guard at the back.
"What happened?!" Rosen's brows furrowed as everyone instantly went on high alert.
(End of Chapter)
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