dmims 57. Cadres are putting in the effort!
57. Cadres are putting in the effort!
"Stop! Stop!"
The colonel's voice trembled.
"This is the territory under the jurisdiction of the Navy branch! You...you cannot..."
The colonel's words suddenly caught in his throat.
Because he met Norton's gaze, which was not fierce, nor even murderous, but merely a calm glance.
But the colonel felt as if he were being stared at by a wild beast; his spine went cold and his legs went weak.
Considering the terrifying legends surrounding the silver-haired Norton that have been circulating lately...
"Fire...fire..." the colonel managed to squeeze out the order.
The soldiers raised their guns, fingers on the triggers, but no one dared to actually fire.
Nearly four thousand pirates stood densely packed in the harbor, like a black tide stretching as far as the eye could see.
The leading cadres, just by standing there, exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.
Norton took a step forward.
The naval soldiers all took a step back in unison.
"Where is your branch manager?" Norton asked.
"At, at the branch..." the colonel's voice was barely audible.
"Tell him," Norton said, "we're just passing through. If he's smart, he'll stay in the branch and not come out."
The colonel swallowed hard, nodded vigorously, and then turned and ran with his soldiers.
My shoes slipped on the gravel road, and I almost fell.
"These navy didn't even offer a symbolic resistance, how boring," Zoro said, scoffing.
"That's for the best." Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke. "It saves us time from fighting."
Norton turned to face the dark mass of pirates: "Everyone, listen to my command!"
The four thousand people fell silent instantly, with only the sound of waves crashing against the pier.
"Buggy, Al, Sanosuke," Norton called out.
"Here!" X3.
"The three of you will each take five hundred men and attack the inner island. Buggy will take the main road, Al will take the mountain path, and Sanosuke will take the coastline. Remember, what I want is wealth—Bailey, jewels, and works of art. Try not to kill anyone, but if anyone resists, beat them until they dare not resist anymore."
"Hehe, leave it to me!" Bucky crossed his arms, his body already split into more than a dozen pieces flying in the air.
El nodded silently and gripped the bone spear tightly.
Sanosuke bowed slightly to indicate that he understood.
"Clo, Mochi, Kabaji."
"Each of you take two hundred men and block all exits from the outer island."
"Yes." Chloe pushed up her glasses.
"Zoro, Sanji, Zeff, Gin, Paddy, Django, Sam, Buchi, Leigh, Palu—you guys come with me to the Marine branch."
"The rest of you stay at the port and watch the ships. Nami, Funing, you two come with us," Norton said.
The allocation is complete. Norton raised his hand and waved it down.
"action!"
The port instantly erupted in excitement.
This is what pirates should be doing!
...
...
Five hundred Pakistanis surged onto the main road like a flood, with Pakistanis at the forefront, their bodies split into dozens of pieces, like a bizarre flower blooming in the crowd.
"Men! Rob it! Take everything valuable!"
The main road leads to Boundary Street—the street that separates the rich and poor areas.
A checkpoint was set up at the street corner, where four private bodyguards stood nervously.
Seeing the pirates swarming in, they raised their hunting rifles.
"Stop, stop! This is a private area—"
Before he could finish speaking, Zoro appeared in front of the checkpoint and tapped each of the four men in the abdomen with the hilt of his sword.
The four bodyguards groaned and fell to the ground, their shotguns dropping to the floor.
"The obstacles in the way have been cleared." Zoro sheathed his sword and caught up with Norton's group.
Pakistan's troops rushed across Boundary Street and entered the inner island.
...
...
The streets of the affluent neighborhood are wide and clean, lined with exquisite shops and mansions.
Seeing the pirates swarming in, the shops all closed, but it was too late.
"Break down the door!"
Bucky's right hand flew out and smashed the jewelry store window with a punch.
The pirates rushed in and looted the counter.
On the other side, El's team traversed through the mountains and forests.
The Avenki warriors moved with ease, their withered deerskin coats casting long shadows through the green forest. They avoided the main roads, scaling the steep slopes directly, bypassing all possible defensive lines.
Behind the wall of a manor on the back side of the inner island, ten private bodyguards were patrolling nervously. They thought this direction was safe.
However, thirty Ivanki warriors leaped over the wall.
"What—"
The bone spear thrust out, not at a person, but at a weapon.
Ten guns were simultaneously deflected. Before the bodyguards could react, the Ivanki warriors were already close in, striking their joints, abdomens, and backs of the necks with the shafts of their spears. The movements were clean and swift.
Within ten seconds, all the bodyguards were rendered incapacitated and collapsed to the ground.
El stood on the wall, looking at the main building of the manor.
A fat, wealthy businessman peered out of the window, his face deathly pale.
"Take the money, don't kill anyone," Al said in broken Common.
The wealthy businessman nodded, his voice trembling.
...
...
On the coastline, Sanosuke's team encountered some trouble.
A well-equipped private armed force of twenty men guarded the cliff path, including light artillery.
"Pirates! We'll open fire if you go any further!" the leading armed captain shouted.
Sanosuke stopped and raised his hand to signal the group to pause.
"Ninpo Technique: Crow Kunai!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sanosuke's body began to change. Black feathers began to grow from his body, and his arms transformed into black wings.
With a flap of his wings, Sanosuke hardened the feathers on his wings and flew out like a blade!
The armed men fired in terror, but the bullets were cut by the sharp feathers, which struck their faces and bodies, cutting through their skin and flesh.
The armed men screamed and fell to the ground in chaos.
Sanosuke appeared behind the armed captain, pressing a kunai against his throat.
"Surrender, or die."
The armed captain raised his hand, his hand trembling.
...
...
Three routes, three teams, like three scalpels precisely cutting into the inner island. The sporadic and feeble resistance was quickly crushed.
Meanwhile, the naval branch.
Major General Campbell stood at the second-floor window, looking through binoculars toward the harbor and the inner island, his face ashen.
Behind him, in the office, a communications soldier was frantically shaking a Den Den Mushi (a type of electric telephone).
"Headquarters! This is the Suzuka Island branch! The Norton Pirates are attacking! Repeat, the Norton Pirates are attacking! Requesting support—"
The Den Den Mushi suddenly froze, then its eyes turned into spirals, and it fainted.
The office door was pushed open, and Zango walked in, the hypnotic ring in his hand still spinning.
"Sorry, the communication time has ended." Zango adjusted his hat and smiled jokingly.
"You—" Major General Campbell turned around, his hand on his sword.
But reflected in his contracting pupils was the face of a silver-haired man!
Norton was walking into the branch compound, followed by the cadres.
Two hundred naval soldiers from the branch gathered in the courtyard, pointing their guns at them, but their fingers were trembling.
"Fire! Fire!" Campbell roared.
Gunshots rang out.
But the bullet hit something in mid-air!
Sanji leaped into the air the instant the gun fired, his legs leaving afterimages as he kicked away all the bullets.
"The Navy's food is pretty good," Sanji said, landing and flicking his trousers. "But the training is still a long way off."
Through his tireless practice day and night in addition to cooking, he has made his legs stronger than bullets!
Sanji, who was originally a cyborg, could do this without difficulty.
"All soldiers! Prepare for battle!" Campbell gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and rushed downstairs.
Upon receiving the order, the naval soldiers charged forward despite their fear.
However, when faced with Norton's officers, the Navy witnessed what true crushing dominance meant.
Zeff's wooden prosthetic arm is like a steel whip; one sweep can take down five people.
Ajin's iron rod whirls like a storm, causing weapons to slip from hands and bones to break wherever it goes.
Paddy and Kabaji stood back to back, one firing a lobster cannon and the other riding a unicycle, their blades flashing.
Sam's claws tore through the uniform, and Buzz's teeth crushed the gun barrel.
With a roar from Liki—the Lion of Mochi—three naval soldiers fainted instantly.
Meanwhile, Mochi himself rode on Liki, cracking his whip loudly, specifically targeting the wrists and ankles.
Palu charged wildly, like a war chariot.
El stood guard at the branch entrance with fifty Aivenki warriors, their bone spears pointing to the ground, like statues.
Any navy officer who wants to escape must first get past them.
Ten minutes later, the branch's courtyard was filled with naval soldiers lying down.
Major General Campbell was knocked unconscious by the back of Zoro's sword and tied to the flagpole.
Norton entered the branch building and went straight to the basement.
The heavy iron gate had three locks, but Sanji kicked it open with one foot.
The armory was neatly arranged with more than a dozen boxes of flintlock muskets, five small cannons, boxes of ammunition, and swords.
"Ah Jin, move everything out," Norton said.
"Yes." Akin commanded the pirates to begin moving the cargo.
Norton returned to the yard and looked at Rear Admiral Campbell, who was tied to the flagpole. The branch's naval admiral had woken up and was glaring at him with hatred.
"You'll regret this," Campbell hissed. "Headquarters won't let you get away with this!"
"That's a tough nut to crack..." Norton chuckled. "I'll be waiting here, but until then—"
He looked towards the inner island. Three plumes of black smoke had already risen, and the sounds of gunfire and shouts could be faintly heard.
"Let's finish this first."
...
...
The looting on the inner island reached its climax.
Pakistan looted five jewelry stores and three bank branches.
His split body can enter multiple rooms simultaneously, with astonishing efficiency.
The pirates pushed a cart piled high with bags of Berries and boxes of jewels.
El's men were highly disciplined, taking only obvious valuables and avoiding damage to houses or civilians. If bodyguards resisted, they were struck down with the blunt end of their bone spears.
Sanosuke, on the other hand, acts alone, roaming the battlefields of the wealthy district, specifically targeting powerful enemies. His Kunai, once thrown, is invariably successful.
Roy possessed a unique approach to intelligence gathering. His special seabirds flew over the wealthy district, revealing the layout of every mansion, the location of guards, and the location of safes with crystal clarity. The pirates followed the map, getting straight to the point and saving a significant amount of search time.
The residents of the wealthy neighborhood were terrified, but they soon discovered that although these pirates were vicious, they didn't kill. As long as they didn't resist and handed over their valuables, they could live.
This led to a comical scene: the wealthy people would open their safes, pile their valuables at the door, and then hide in the basement.
The pirates took the valuables, leaving the house empty.
Of course, there are also those who don't believe in superstition.
...
In one of the largest estates, thirty heavily paid bodyguards attempted to fight back. They were well-equipped, even possessing rocket launchers.
But they were facing Roronoa Zoro.
"Three-Sword Style: Crow Hunt!"
The blade flashed like a flock of crows swooping down, slicing through all thirty firearms and cutting the rocket launcher into four pieces. The bodyguards stood frozen in place, their weapons now mere scrap metal.
...
...
Meanwhile, Sanji kicked down the cellar doors of seven restaurants—not to rob them, but simply to "taste" them.
He tasted a sip of each type of wine, then directed the pirates to carry away the best barrels.
"This is a technical assessment, a chef's prerogative!" Sanji said seriously to the questioning pirate. "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!"
...
Zeff encounters an old nobleman on the street who is trying to rebel.
The old man held up his ancestral sword, pointing it tremblingly at Zeff.
Zeff glanced at him, raised his leg, and gently kicked the sword away before walking past the old man.
"You're too old to be anything but," Zeff said. "That's not how you use a sword."
...
...
The robbery was basically over by 3 p.m.
The three teams met in the central square.
The square was piled high with spoils of war; boxes of pewter piled up like small mountains, jewels gleamed in the sunlight, and artworks were carefully wrapped in cloth.
"A rough estimate," Bucky rubbed his hands together, "is over four billion Berries in cash! Jewelry and art... worth at least 1.3 billion!"
Norton nodded. "Fifty-three billion Berries, that's acceptable."
Including what he took from Birch Town, his wealth is approaching 10 billion!
If converted to RMB, it would be nearly 400 million!
No wonder they're rich; they know how to make money, much richer than the pirates.
"Move everything onto the ship."
The pirates began to move the goods.
Boxes of valuables were carried out of the inner island, across Boundary Street, and through the slums.
The residents of the slum peered through the crack in the door, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
They felt a twisted pleasure as they watched the rich have their possessions stolen.
But what if these pirates rob them? The fear remains.
Then, when they saw the pirate crew passing by, they deliberately avoided the shacks of the poor.
Nami took the lead and threw the fresh bread she had stolen from the rich man's kitchen to the starving, emaciated children on the roadside.
By 4 p.m., all the valuables had been moved.
A newsbird flapped its wings and landed on the mast of the White Pearl.
It was a more robust bird than the other newsbirds, with a small leather bag hanging around its neck. It tilted its head, looking down at the crowd, and made a "coo" sound.
"Newsbird?" Nami looked up.
Norton reached out, and the newsbird flew down and landed on his arm. He took a folded note and something in a wooden box from the pouch around the bird's neck.
Open the wooden box, and inside is an exquisite permanent pointer. Inside the glass sphere, the pointer steadily points northwest.
The note was written in Morgans's scribbled handwriting:
"This is the permanent pointer of the Drum Kingdom. I suggest you set off as soon as possible. I have received news that Wapol is intensifying his suppression of the doctors in the country."
—Morgans
Norton finished reading the note and handed it to Nami. Then he picked up the Perpetual Pointer and examined it carefully.
The base of the pointer is made of brass and is dark blue, trembling slightly inside the glass bulb.
"Finally got it." Norton put the pointer into his pocket. "With this, I don't have to worry about getting lost on the Grand Line anymore."
"Morgans also reminded the armory," Nami said. "He's quite thoughtful."
"He wants me to make even bigger headlines, so he'd love for us to have more power... That guy is a madman who'd risk his life for news," Norton said in a low voice.
"So, what's next?"
"We'll rest on the island for a few days, then head to the Drum Kingdom."