Arceus's Pirate Journey

Chapter 699: Chapter 698: The Dignity of an Affiliated Nation

”Hundred Beasts... since when did the Stanting Kingdom offend them?”

Auron Booth used to be an adventurer of the kingdom, and frankly, there wasn’t much difference between these adventurers and pirates except that the protection of the allied nations prevented them from being wanted, making them a different kind of legal entity.

He had a kind side that would unconsciously help the weak. Normally, after joining the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, he intended to plunder like pirates, but ended up launching a poverty relief movement because the places he raided were too poor.

However, this couldn’t hide his identity as a villain at heart, a Slaughter Dominator, a cunning adventurer, and the average person wouldn’t be given such a name. The nicknames on the sea held some credibility; at the very least, the nickname and the person would not be entirely unrelated.

As an ”adventurer” roaming in the First Half of the Grand Line and even the New World, having a keen eye was necessary. To survive in the New World, it’s impossible not to recognize the banners of the Sea Emperors; these were people they dared not offend.

Especially the BIG MOM Pirates, who frequently reminded the world not to forget the terror of the Sea Emperors. Among the current three great Sea Emperors, Whitebeard was most lenient within his territory and did not have many demands.

The Hundred Beasts spent most of their time in business, and for long-term deals, the islands within their territory also lived very peacefully.

But it was different with Big Mom. Due to the longstanding issue of Anorexia Nervosa, food was one of the most important matters in the BIG MOM Pirates, and if sufficient food wasn’t provided within the deadline, the entire island would be destroyed.

As one of the three great pirate groups, there was no reason the BIG MOM Pirates could do something that the Hundred Beasts and Whitebeard wouldn’t be able to do.

It seemed their twelve ships weren’t enough to handle this situation. They had a numerical advantage, but even if they sank three of the opponent’s ships, they’d still face an even bigger problem in the future.

The opponents were pirates, and regardless of the cause, they would retaliate if their ships were sunk. The Stanting Kingdom could not handle that madman Kaidou, so they might choose to seek aid from the Navy.

However, that was not a long-term solution. The Navy, or rather, the World Government wouldn’t break the balance they could maintain for one kingdom, meaning they wouldn’t proactively attack the Hundred Beasts.

Likewise, even if they stationed an Admiral in the Stanting Kingdom, it would only be a temporary solution. An Admiral couldn’t stay there forever, and once they left, the kingdom would face hardships again.

As for whether the World Government would be put in an awkward position, they wouldn’t. They have ten thousand ways to justify their reasons, such as other kingdoms needing protection, the casualties being too great, the opponent not having attacked yet, and so on.

These were the outcomes Auron Booth could foresee.

Then Auron Booth adjusted the angle of the telescope in his hand, and in the monocular lens, Jack’s figure filled the entire view.

”Steel Mammoth... Jack....”

The high-ranking officials of the pirate group were also on the important observation list. If the disaster-level high-ranking officials were the first tier, Jack was now the top official of the second tier. Auron Booth didn’t see himself as a match for him.

He excelled in legion-level operations, and his ”Admiral’s Authority” provided his subordinates with excellent discipline, with absolute compliance on the battlefield being one of the important factors to winning a battle.

But someone like Jack had already shattered the significance of numbers. The Steel Mammoth was truly a metal-bodied entity, not an ultimate brute trading ivory for bounties.

Besides, there were those two hideous, terrifying gigantic beasts, and he didn’t think they were inflatable toys meant to scare people.

Before he could ponder what to do, Tyranitar had already completed its lock-on.

A thick beam of light spewed from Tyranitar’s mouth, piercing through the hull in the blink of an eye with the Hyper Beam, resulting in large-scale sympathetic explosions. It wasn’t just the explosion caused by the Hyper Beam; it also included the ammunition depot being ignited.

A tremendous shockwave whipped up a massive tsunami, almost overturning the nearby ships.

After a single strike, Tyranitar’s body temporarily fell into rigidity, but this didn’t cause too much impact. Auron Booth’s men didn’t fight back, as the terrifying beam had frightened them speechless.

Even Auron Booth widened his eyes, watching Tyranitar from afar. He saw clearly that the monster released this terrifying attack after charging.

Moreover, Tyranitar still stood there, and he didn’t believe that the monster could only attack once. With one strike, it destroyed a ship. If it weren’t for the angle, he felt that the damage caused by the beam would have been greater, and more crucially, the ship was entirely out of their cannon range.

They didn’t know that releasing the Hyper Beam would lead to rigidity, and through training, the duration of this rigidity would shorten over time. The newly evolved Tyranitar hadn’t mastered this ability, and in Auron Booth’s view, this was just Tyranitar preparing to charge.

With such immense power, a longer charge time seemed like a reasonable display.

He didn’t order anyone to rescue, as under that scale of an explosion, survival was impossible unless one had jumped into the water beforehand. It was at this moment that the signal troops under Jack signaled their message.

”Admiral, those guys want us to hand over ten ships and then leave on our own.....”

”Those bastards.....”

”That’s right, Admiral, those damn pirates are too much. Why not just fight them to the end!”

”Why didn’t those bastards ask for the ships earlier...”

”....”

Auron Booth’s complaints reached the ears of those around him, rendering them incredulous. The tone they heard seemed to suggest their admiral intended to fight the opponent, but what Auron Booth had in mind was something entirely different.

Ships could be rebuilt, but once people were dead, it was the end. The Yotamaria Grand Fleet had developed under him, and these crew members were already his loyal subordinates. Compared to the King, they listened more to Auron Booth’s orders.

Ships could be rebuilt or repurchased since it was the kingdom’s funds at stake, but each loss of a subordinate was a personal loss to him.

”Admiral, do you mean...”

”Abandon the ships, those guys aren’t worth provoking. Let the King worry about it when we return. Oh, and remember to notify the Navy—this is beyond our capacity to handle.”

To minimize the losses, Auron Booth decided to retreat. So long as he had manpower remaining, he could accept the situation and leave the headache for the King to resolve.

In the end, a group of them squeezed onto a ship and fled using the large and small lifeboats they brought with them.

Jack was very satisfied with this outcome, believing that his plan was very successful. Under the threat of force, the other party chose not to engage in combat but rather handed over what they wanted, opting to pay the price to avoid disaster.

The King, upon receiving the news, was furious and strongly condemned Auron Booth’s act of fleeing without fighting, but there was nothing he could do.

The Stanting Kingdom still needed him, and it certainly couldn’t afford to offend the Hundred Beasts, so it had to choose to complain to the World Government, as the king of an allied nation held a sliver of status.

He demanded that the World Government impose the most severe sanctions on the culprits immediately; otherwise, he would lose all dignity as king. However, the outcome was evident as the World Government directly ignored the second half of his statement.

The World Government assigned the task to the Navy, resulting in the photos of Emboar, Tyranitar, Jack, and Queen being presented by Brannew at a Navy meeting table, once again being placed on the board.