Carroll took out his notebook:
"The collection is complete."
"Currently, the forces in the New World are beginning to consolidate."
Sakaski skimmed through it and found no issues.
He handed it back to Carroll and thought for a moment:
"Leave it for now. Although I can't see any flaws."
"But those scholars from Ohara specialized in this kind of research."
"It's probably not easy to fool them."
"Continue to monitor them."
"Find an opportunity slowly."
Carroll nodded and hummed in agreement.
Sakaski suddenly said:
"The soldiers on the ship have almost reached maturity, haven't they?"
Carroll replied:
"Almost. Most of them can skillfully use Haki."
"It's enough to suppress the pirates of the Four Seas."
Sakaski nodded:
"Then let's begin."
"Send these soldiers and some other soldiers trained at headquarters."
"To the various branches in the Four Seas to accumulate strength and wait for the right time."
"Make sure to deploy personnel to all branches of the Four Seas."
"If necessary, arrange for people to eliminate those rotters and take their positions directly."
He mused for a moment:
"Control the numbers."
"The number of branch leaders who die in accidents each year cannot exceed five."
"The era hasn't gone wild yet."
"Too many deaths would be unreasonable..."
------------
New World, Nanksha Island.
The port by the shore had already been cleared.
Only the members of the Black Mist Pirates were standing there, waiting for something.
The captain of the Black Mist Pirates, the smoke-smoke fruit user of the Logia-type – Dean Langfell, stood with his arms crossed.
Smoke emanated from his body, compressing towards his hands.
His gaze sharpened as he looked at the large ship appearing in the distance:
"They're here."
The massive ship was covered in a fiery red hue.
A ferocious skull flag was adorned with streaks that resembled steam.
It was the Steam Pirates, one of the three major powers of the New World.
Suddenly, a figure flew from the ship.
WHOOSH—
The sharp sound of steam tearing through the air.
BOOM!
It crashed onto the ground.
Amidst the dust that filled the air, an arrogant and ruthless voice rang out:
"Langfell, have you considered it?"
"As long as you join me, I can let you keep your current territory."
"You only get one chance, don't misjudge yourself."
"Crack-a-la-la-la-la."
Langfell's eyes narrowed:
"Then thank you for your kind offer."
"The renowned Lord Steam Knocker."
Heat waves surged from the crater on the ground, dispersing the surrounding dust.
Hell Knocker seemed not to notice the sarcasm in Langfell's tone:
"So, what's your choice, Langfell?"
Langfell sneered.
The dense smoke compressed even faster towards his hands.
Hell Knocker's mouth split into a grin:
"You ungrateful fool."
BOOM!
A massive impact force and steam erupted from Knocker's body.
He transformed into a two-hundred-meter-tall steam giant, pressing down on the members of the Black Mist Pirates.
Langfell let out a cold snort:
"Extinguishing Dust!"
With that, he threw the compressed smoke bomb in his hand towards the steam giant.
BOOM!
It exploded on the steam giant's chest.
Countless fine dust particles eroded and corroded the steam giant's body.
In the blink of an eye, half of the steam giant's body was destroyed.
Then, an endless dense fog formed a giant as large as the steam giant, and it charged at Knocker with an Armament Haki-infused punch.
Knocker looked at the charging Langfell, and a cruel laugh echoed:
"Good, very good."
With that, the remaining half of his giant body grew by over three hundred meters.
He directly grabbed the fog giant and pinned it down.
Cracks appeared on the steam giant's body.
Langfell, who had transformed into a smoke giant, narrowed his eyes. An infinite sense of crisis washed over him.
The giant he had transformed into rapidly shrank and compressed:
"Dust..."
Before Langfell could counterattack.
Knocker's indifferent voice came:
"Explosive Steam Kill."
Hiss—
A sharp steam whistle, like that of a pressure cooker, sounded.
BOOM!
Followed by a deafening roar.
A white, mushroom-shaped cloud, half the size of the island, shot into the sky and spread outwards.
The crew on the Steam Pirates' ship, which had not yet reached the shore, exclaimed in awe.
"Wow."
"Boss used that move again."
"How pathetic."
"I wonder how many people on this island will die this time."
"It's always so shocking to watch."
"Hey, hey, stop for now."
"The island isn't suitable for landing yet."
"Quickly get back to the cabins, the heat is coming!"
"Quick, quick!"
The world knew the Steam Pirates as cruel and ruthless, having established themselves in the New World through various means.
This often made them overlook their inherent strength.
Few people knew that the captain of the Steam Pirates, Hell Knocker,
was a powerful individual who had pushed his devil fruit abilities to their limit.
With a single move, "Explosive Steam Kill," almost everyone on the island was instantly vaporized.
The act of razing islands and leaving no survivors had become synonymous with the Steam Pirates...
Similarly, because there were no survivors,
some pirate crews, unaware of their true strength, often ignored Hell Knocker's recruitment attempts.
This was one of Hell Knocker's perverse pleasures.
He would deliberately appear weaker, only to then cruelly kill his opponent with absolute power.
On the steaming beach, Langfell lay on the ground, spitting blood, with countless crew members' corpses behind him.
He looked up at Hell Knocker in terror:
"How... how is it possible..."
"Cough cough..."
A mouthful of fresh blood gushed out.
Hell Knocker walked up to Langfell, squatted down,
grabbed his hair, and lifted him up to face him.
Hell Knocker let out a maniacal laugh:
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
"That's the expression!"
"It's so beautiful~"
His hand was covered in Armament Haki, and his ability was in motion.
Endless superheated steam enveloped Langfell's head, forming a dome.
Watching Langfell struggle,
Hell Knocker's cruel voice rang out:
"Yes, yes, just like that!"
"Struggle! Struggle!!"
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Langfell's head slowly turned red... and he became still...
Hell Knocker casually tossed him to the ground and kicked him away.
Spreading his arms, he took a deep breath.
Inhaling the scent that filled the beach, a mixture of steam and something else.
He slowly exhaled:
"Hoo—"
"It's truly wonderful..."