Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 419 I Actually Have a Father? The Prelude to War

Luffy suddenly sat up in bed and instinctively shouted.

He was covered in sweat and panting heavily, looking like he had just escaped from a nightmare. Usopp, who was sitting next to him, was so startled that he fell to the ground, chair and all.

"Ouch... Luffy, you're finally awake! You were unconscious for quite a while."

Usopp rubbed his head and got up, but his eyes were full of joy, even though the Revolutionary Army's doctor said Luffy was fine.

However, due to excessive physical exertion, his companions were still worried about him and took turns watching over him throughout the night.

"Usopp...where are the others? Why are we here?"

"They're resting in the next room. We were brought here by that big guy. This is the headquarters of the revolutionary army. Anyway,"

"Your father was actually the leader of the revolutionary army? Why didn't you tell us about this?"

Upon hearing that his crewmates were all safe, Luffy clutched his stomach and immediately started looking for food. A strong sense of hunger spread throughout Luffy's body; he was so hungry that he could probably even eat a leather sofa to fill his stomach.

This confirmed to Usopp that Luffy was alright; his ability to eat was the best proof. However, Luffy's eyes showed endless confusion when it came to the word "father."

"Dad? I don't even have a dad? Where's all the food? I'm starving...!"

Luffy's understanding of his father is beyond Usopp's. With Luffy's limited intelligence, it's practically impossible for him to deceive anyone, unless Usopp is assimilated by Luffy under certain circumstances, resulting in a certain degree of intellectual decline.

Therefore, Usopp can conclude that Luffy never felt he had a father.

Usopp didn't dwell on it too much. People who sail the seas generally don't discuss other people's pasts, and even people on the same ship have their own little secrets they don't want to talk about.

At this time, people from the next room also arrived one after another.

"I'm fine! Take me out to eat quickly, I've missed too many meals already, I'm going to make up for it all today!"

More than his companions' concern and care, Luffy just wanted to eat right now.

"After all these years, you're still the same, Luffy. You haven't changed at all."

At that moment, a food cart full of food was pushed in from outside. Upon seeing the food on the cart, Luffy didn't say a word. He stretched out his arm and grabbed a handful of food, demonstrating what it meant to swallow a large mouthful of rubber.

After a few moments of chewing, the plate, which had been cleaned with saliva, was spat back down.

"Thank you. Your voice sounds familiar. Have we met before?"

The food on the food cart was piled up like a small mountain, making it impossible to see who was pushing it.

Faced with Luffy's question, the person behind the food truck did not speak, and Luffy did not stop what he was doing. The mountain of food disappeared at a visible speed until Luffy saw that familiar top hat.

"Sabo...Sabo! It's you, Sabo! So you were here!"

Sabo was on a mission abroad and had just received the news and returned here. He came here immediately, so the Straw Hat crew had never seen him before.

Luffy was so excited that he pounced on Sabo, getting oil stains from his hands on him.

At times like these, no one cares about such trivial matters. The Straw Hat crew also learned that Luffy has an older brother and learned more about Kuma from Sabo.

"So, that big guy was actually a good guy?"

"He's a very gentle person..."

"Sabo! Sorry to interrupt your brotherly reunion, but this newspaper... you should take a look at it first."

Before long, Kerla arrived, holding a newspaper that Newsbird had just delivered.

The moment Sabo saw the newspaper, his smile vanished, and Luffy curiously peered over.

His expression then became unusually serious.

[Execution date set! Marine Headquarters will conduct a public execution of Portgas D. Ace at Marineford in one week!]

The newspapers published the time and location in detail, as if afraid that someone would not be able to find the place. Anyone with eyes could see that this was an open conspiracy against the Whitebeard Pirates, but for Luffy and Sabo, they only wanted to rescue their brothers.

The two exchanged a glance, clearly having made up their minds, but this idea did not receive the agreement of some people.

"I disagree with your actions. For this operation, the Navy has assembled all of its top-tier combat power, drawing elites from all over the world. People like you going there is like throwing eggs against rocks; you won't change the outcome of the battle at all!"

Whether going to Impelton or Marineford, you need a boat. Including the Sunny Merry that was shot down by the bear, the ports near Baltimore are under the control of the Revolutionary Army.

The ships need Dragon's permission to leave, but Dragon believes the Revolutionary Army will never get involved in this war. Even if Luffy and Sabo wanted to rescue Ace, Dragon would not agree.

"But leader, Ace is..."

"I know about your relationship, but Sabo, you alone cannot change this war. You are not capable of doing so right now."

"I don't need your help! I've never heard of me having a father. All I need is for you to give me back my ship! I'm going to save Ace!"

Sabo could at least listen to a few words from Dragon, but Luffy didn't want to listen to a single punctuation mark and directly stated his own ideas.

Dragon knew that talking about father-son affection with Luffy was meaningless at this point; that kind of thing simply didn't exist between them.

Or rather, Luffy has absolutely no feelings for Dragon.

"Didn't your previous battle with that person teach you a lesson? Do you know how many people in Marineford possess that kind of strength, or even stronger than that person?"

"You can go if you want, as long as you let me take one step, I won't stop you anymore."

The dragon offered them a seemingly simple condition. Sabo knew the dragon's power and did not act rashly. Instead, he tried to find the dragon's weakness, since the condition the dragon offered them was not victory.

Luffy, however, didn't have that patience. He swung his fist and attacked, only to be easily thrown away.

"Ouch... Your fist is just like Grandpa's... Yes, you're also Grandpa's son, so you also know that 'Iron Fist of Love'..."

"This is the power of dominance. You understand nothing right now; in this war, you're nothing more than cannon fodder. What you should be doing is waiting for your opportunity."

Luffy and Sabo naturally couldn't do anything about Dragon, but that didn't stop them from rescuing Ace. Sabo outwardly agreed to Dragon's request not to do anything, but secretly launched his operation at night.

He agreed with Dragon's words and didn't even call out to Luffy, but instead wanted to go over quietly by himself.

Unfortunately, Luffy and Sabo had the same idea. He didn't want to take Sabo with him, nor did he want to involve his own crew. That's how the two met under the cover of night.

Neither of them could convince the other, and they eventually slipped out of Barudigo together.

After the date for the public execution was set, the naval surveillance ship near the Whitebeard Pirates was sunk, and the navy lost track of the Whitebeard Pirates' movements for a time.

However, they did not panic. No matter what Whitebeard wanted to do, his final destination could only be Marineford. Therefore, what the Navy needed to do was strengthen the defense of Marineford and wait for the enemy to appear.

Inside the naval operations conference room, the navy has begun announcing its operational plans.

"Whitebeard Edward Newgate, the remaining fourteen captains under the Demon Lord, and the forty-three affiliated pirate crews, with a total strength of approximately fifty thousand people, are the enemies we are about to face."

We must assume that the other party is going all in and make thorough preparations.

The fixed forts and large warships surrounding Crescent Bay will be our first line of defense. These pirates will have to pay a heavy price to break through our defenses...

Sengoku was explaining the specific operational strategy for this battle to his senior generals. Known as a wise general, he had formulated numerous battle plans, and with Tsuru's assistance, no one raised any objections.

At that moment, a discordant voice rang out.

"What if the Warring States marshals went underwater?"

"Underwater?"

"What if they return to the first half of the Grand Line via Fish-Man Island and instead of surfacing, they enter Marineford harbor directly underwater through the entrance, bypassing our first line of defense?"

Gaspard chose an opportune moment to express his opinion, which was quickly accepted. However, Sengoku did not change the battle plan, but instead formulated a second contingency plan.

"Lieutenant General Gaspardy, your suggestion is very timely."

If they do that, Kuzan, you should freeze the sea and give these pirates a chance to land and launch an attack. Once the battle is at its most intense, immediately withdraw our forces.

Sakazuki, at this point you melt the ice, letting them sink directly into the sea. The pacifist forces and the encirclement wall will also be activated afterward.

Besides execution, our target is Whitebeard's head, and to eliminate as much of the Whitebeard Pirates' remaining forces as possible!

While the war plan was being meticulously arranged in the naval conference room, Marineford also began a new round of large-scale relocation, with residents of the town beginning to move in an orderly manner to the islands behind the city.

The town is only a hair's breadth away from the front line. The Navy is well aware of the terrible aftershocks that would result from a battle fought here, especially one between monsters of the caliber of the three admirals and the four emperors.

Back then, Shiki alone turned most of the Marine Headquarters into ruins. Now, facing tens of thousands of pirates, the consequences will only be more severe.

They would only return when the war ended, and the vacant houses were temporarily requisitioned by the navy to serve as temporary dormitories for naval personnel from all over the world.

After all, this is a navy of 100,000, and Marineford's standing military facilities cannot accommodate so many people.

They were all elites from various places, so there were no problems with their order. However, the atmosphere at the Navy Headquarters became very serious, and everyone was on high alert for this major battle.

Justice coats are ubiquitous. Within the naval system, only officers of the rank of lieutenant or above are qualified to wear them, which indicates that the lowest rank among these naval officers is warrant officer.

Navy officers below the rank of warrant officer don't even qualify to be cannon fodder.

The vice admiral of the giant race, the Pacifistas led by Sentomaru, and other special forces took their places one after another, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea also appeared at the Marine Headquarters one after another.

First Crocodile and Weevil, then Moria and Hawkeye, and counting Blackbeard who has remained at Marine Headquarters, five of the Seven Warlords of the Sea have now gathered at Marineford.

As for Hancock, she is currently in a situation where she doesn't want to accept the conscription but also doesn't want to give up her position as a Shichibukai, and has not yet given a clear answer.

Luffy hasn't been filmed on Amazon Lily, Hancock hasn't triggered her romantic impulses, and she hasn't changed at all. Only Hancock herself knows what she's really thinking right now, and whether her personality will allow her to compromise for Amazon Lily remains to be seen.

While Hancock was still dawdling there, Oran's men had already arrived at Naval Headquarters.

"Here he comes! The professor is here!"

"It seems like they brought quite a few people. The Doctor is more supportive of us than those pirates."

"What's that covered up? It's as big as a mountain. ::"

"Haven't you heard? That's the Doctor's weapon of war. With this, the war will definitely go much more smoothly."

The other Shichibukai either came alone or with a few trusted subordinates, but in terms of numbers, all of them combined were not even a fraction of the people Oran brought.

The Navy also demonstrated what differential treatment means. Although the Navy was "polite" enough in dealing with the previous Shichibukai, many Navy personnel had a deep-seated disgust in their eyes.

They were being polite because these Shichibukai were powerful, and the Navy needed their military strength.

The aversion stems from their identities; many of the Seven Warlords of the Sea have enemies within the Navy. For example, Hawkeye, the former "Naval Hunter," has killed many of his colleagues among the Navy forces gathered from all over the world.

Oran was different; on the contrary, he was a benefactor to many of the navy.

Very few new recruits arrive on this battlefield, since, apart from a few monsters, it is difficult for new recruits to become elites directly.

These elites are all veterans of the Navy, and many of them have visible prosthetic bodies. Although these prosthetic bodies are not their original parts, they have given them a fresh start.

From the moment he landed, Oran received treatment completely different from the other Seven Warlords of the Sea, and his residence was directly arranged in the Marine Headquarters building.

"Reporting to Marshal Sengoku, Dr. Oran has arrived. In addition to special weapons of war, he has also brought a medical team of several hundred people and a large amount of medical equipment."

"A medical team? That would come in handy. The casualties in this war will be considerable... Tsuru, the Doctor can stay with you then. Although we're both Shichibukai, there's no need to send him to the front lines."

Just as Gaspard once said, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are basically on the front line of combat, but Oran is an exception.

After careful consideration, Sengoku decided to have his old friend Tsuru take charge of the other side's safety, since this was a battlefield and no one could guarantee that any place was absolutely safe.