Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"Where are the shells? Send them up quickly."

……

Under the combined command of the five naval base commanders, the sailors fought valiantly to defend the naval base and uphold the dignity of the navy!

Justice will prevail! Victory is imperative!

Once the combined naval forces of these five naval bases disintegrate, the sea areas under their jurisdiction will become a playground for pirates.

At this moment, under the pirates' rampant attack, these marines were gradually aroused and fought back fiercely.

However, no matter how fierce the navy's counterattack was, the pirates, dressed in various styles but mostly looking arrogant and domineering, attacked from all directions like hyenas, relentlessly under the orders of their respective captains.

"Hahaha, that's great! I've been wanting to take a liking to these naval forces for a long time. Now it's finally our turn to attack their base."

Among the numerous pirate ships surrounding the entire island, on the deck of the largest pirate ship, sixteen pirate captains were holding a banquet, drinking and chatting while watching the battle below.

At the very top of this banquet sat a man dressed like a native tribesman, with two facial markings painted on his face—"Square" Diamanti, the highest-ranking member of the Don Quixote family.

At that moment, the captain closest to Diamanti didn't forget to flatter him.

"Lord Diamanti, this time we have to thank you for defeating that powerful navy officer and for providing us with many weapons for free."

"That's right, that's right. If we break through the 323 Naval Base this time, we'll become famous throughout the entire North Blue in an instant. Countless pirates oppressed by the Navy will flock to us and pledge allegiance to our reputation."

"Indeed, there is strength in numbers. Why don't we maintain our alliance and dominate the entire North Blue with our overwhelming military superiority, and then invade the Grand Line?"

"What this brother said is true. As long as we unite, no other pirates or marines will be our teammates. It doesn't even seem impossible for us to become the Pirate King."

……

As the pirate captains drank and praised him, Diamante remained silent, merely smiling slightly and raising his glass in agreement.

Diamanti then made an excuse to leave the banquet, found a quiet corner, dialed a Den Den Mushi, and reported the situation.

"Young Master, everything is going smoothly. These pirates have reached a complete stalemate with this naval fleet and have entered into a siege battle. If no other factors intervene, the battle will last for at least a week."

"Well done, Diamante," Doflamingo's evil and arrogant voice rang out.

"Fufufu, it's always been the Navy that's suppressing the pirates, which isn't good for our arms deals. But if we use the 323 Navy Base as a trigger to let the other pirates realize that the Navy is not invincible, then the entire North Blue will be engulfed in battle."

“That’s right, young master, we won’t lack a market for the weapons we’ve stockpiled,” Diamanti replied.

[Chapter 101: The Utterly Devastated Situation]

Unlike the underground forces in the West Sea, which were divided among various mafia groups, the underground forces in the North Sea were almost entirely dominated by the Don Quixote family.

The Don Quixote family's primary source of income was the arms trade.

Pirates, kingdoms, and member states of the World Government are all clients of the Donquixote Family.

After all, simple looting is not as lucrative as the arms trade, which is like a gold mine.

As long as there is conflict and chaos on the high seas, there will naturally be a demand for weapons, and the Don Quixote family will never lack business.

However, this joint punitive operation launched by Yann has changed the apparent situation in the North Sea.

The situation where the navy patrolled fixed routes and guarded naval bases, while pirates roamed and fought in every corner, has been transformed into one where pirates hide and try to keep a low profile.

This effectively halved the Don Quixote family's income in an instant.

Especially after the Hueco Mundo incident, which caused the Donquixote Family immeasurable direct and indirect losses and created an urgent need for cash flow to fill the gap, this situation was even more unbearable for Doflamingo.

Therefore, Doflamingo sent his top executive, "Diamond" Diamante, to secretly contact the pirate crew and provide them with military support.

On the surface, the Don Quixote family may have provided a lot of free weapons, but once their goal is achieved, they will have plenty of opportunities to pay double for these free weapons.

As for the mere North Sea Inspectorate Navy Headquarters Captain Tefimo Yann, who launched the joint expedition, Doflamingo completely disregarded him, even though intelligence indicated that he seemed to have an unusual relationship with Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

As Doflamingo had predicted, the situation in the North Sea developed as the Donquixote Family deliberately spread the news about the 323 Marine Base. The pirates who had been suppressed by the combined fleets of the various marine bases and dared not show their faces began to stir and began to consider forming alliances with each other.

As Doflamingo predicted, the only way for the North Blue Inspectorate now is to end the joint extermination operation and ease its suppression of the pirates.

Otherwise, pirate alliances would emerge all over the North Sea, and they would all continuously supply the Donquixote Family with treasures to purchase weapons.

The situation is...getting worse!

This situation was not only well known to Yann, but also to Lieutenant General Tsuru, who had just arrived at the edge of the North Sea.

"It seems trouble has indeed arisen."

Looking at the intelligence report on the situation in the North Sea, Lieutenant General He quickly made a judgment, realizing that the rapid deterioration of the situation in the North Sea must be due to some force secretly pushing things along.

"Heading towards Naval Base 323."

Vice Admiral Tsuru quickly issued the navigation order, muttering to himself.

"It seems that Captain Yern is also heading to that position, but if the Don Quixote family is causing trouble behind the scenes, Captain Yern's strength may not be enough to control them, and he may even encounter danger."

"Hopefully I can make it in time..."

"There won't be any problems, Sister He. That man's physique is a bit weak, but I have a subtle feeling that he is definitely not the kind of simple man."

Standing beside Vice Admiral Tsuru, Gion, tall and with stunning curves, spoke confidently.

At this moment, the rank on Gion's uniform was clearly that of a Navy Headquarters Captain.

Compared to her slightly immature self six years ago, Gion has matured considerably. She possesses both the gentleness of a girl next door and the allure of a ripe peach, and her every word and action exudes the charisma of a high-ranking naval officer.

"Hahaha, Gion, you seem to have a lot of faith in this kid, Aon," Vice Admiral Tsuru said with a smile.

"Of course, although it may seem a bit like thuggish behavior, that man did defeat me. The North Sea alone could not drown him."

"Hopefully, otherwise Sengoku will be secretly heartbroken for quite some time, and it will also be a significant loss for the navy," Vice Admiral Tsuru said.

At this moment, Yann was completely unaware that Vice Admiral Tsuru and Gion, who had been promoted to Marine Headquarters Captain, had already arrived in the North Blue and were heading in the same direction as him.

With its communication with the outside world cut off by the pirate alliance, the 323 naval base is gradually running out of not only daily necessities but also military supplies, and the battle situation is deteriorating.

Next, if the navy defending the 323 naval base wants to stop the hyena-like pirates from invading, then they can only rely on close combat between their soldiers.

"Has the reinforcement arrived yet?"

The commander of the 323 Naval Base questioned him, his eyes bloodshot.

Below, a massive swarm of pirates was already attacking the gates of Marine Base 323.

Behind the gates of Naval Base 323, however, were not rows of rested and recuperating naval soldiers, but rather rows of lightly wounded soldiers.

If the pirates break through the gates of the Marine base, the Marines, who are currently only relying on their terrain advantage, will have no choice but to fight to the death.

"Almost there, almost there! The Inspector General is about to arrive!" the messenger shouted.

"What is the exact location? What is the exact location of the Inspector General?" asked the commander of Naval Base 323.

"No, I don't know."

The messenger replied, "The warship carrying the Inspector General is still quite a distance from the base. The Inspector General left the warship and used Moonwalk to get here."

"Then... it's over."

The five naval base commanders around him immediately showed expressions of despair, and all hope was lost!

Currently, the number of pirates besieging the 323rd Naval Base has reached several thousand. If elite naval soldiers brought from the Naval Headquarters by the North Sea Inspectorate were to rush to the battlefield, there would still be some hope of victory.

But... even if the rumored frail and sickly North Sea Inspector Stefim Yarn arrives, it probably won't be of any use.

"Even if they get there, they'll probably just die alongside us for justice," the commander of Naval Base 323 said with a sorrowful expression.

A naval base commander spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have listened to that brat's orders and formed a combined fleet. I really regret it."

"Oh!"

Just then, the door to the office located at the highest point of Naval Base 323 was suddenly blasted open, and a burly man covered in bandages walked in.

"Lord Yann, is he someone you have the right to question?" Lieutenant Hope, whose face was pale, questioned with displeasure.

However, even in this life-or-death situation, the naval base commander showed no fear and said...

"Isn't that right? He clearly promised that he would deal with these pirate alliances, but has he done so? Instead, the situation has deteriorated to this extent."

[Chapter 102 Hope's Beliefs]

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Hope's expression turned particularly grim.

Lieutenant Hope believed that it was entirely his own incompetence that led to the deterioration of Yann's plans to this extent.

"That despicable bastard..."

Lieutenant Hope recalled the man dressed like a native who had ambushed him from the shadows.

Originally, Lieutenant Hope, following Yaon's orders, intended to cooperate with the naval fleet to defeat the so-called pirate alliance.

Lieutenant Hope, relying on his own strength, single-handedly confronted those pirate captains who were nothing more than remnants of the sea.

However, to Lieutenant Hope's surprise, among that group of henchmen was a Devil Fruit user who was proficient in Armament Haki.

Even if Lieutenant Hope were to confront someone of this caliber head-on, he might not have much of a chance of winning, let alone when the opponent launches a sneak attack.

Lieutenant Hope was seriously injured after just a brief contact.

Fortunately, the pirate minions of the North Sea were no match for a strongman like Lieutenant Hope, which allowed Lieutenant Hope to escape by sheer luck.

Just then, the iron gate of the naval base, which had been holding on for so long, was finally breached, and a large number of pirates, with cruel and excited expressions, swarmed in through the gate.

Upon seeing this, Lieutenant Hope, without bothering to argue with the naval base commander, smashed through the window and jumped down, standing in front of the pirates.

"Bang bang bang!"

Despite still being severely injured, Lieutenant Hope's punches and kicks were almost as powerful as a tiger among sheep, and in just a few moments, he defeated the pirates who had broken into the naval base.

"It's that navy guy again."

The pirate captains who were watching and directing the battle from a distance subconsciously showed expressions of fear.

Having witnessed Lieutenant Hope's strength firsthand, they knew very well that the two were not on the same level at all.

If Diamante hadn't intervened last time, Lieutenant Hope, who was skilled in physical combat, might have actually accomplished the feat of breaking into the pirate alliance and capturing many pirate captains.

"It's alright, don't worry, that guy's injuries haven't healed yet."

"That's right, the bandages are starting to bleed."

"Don't get close to him, take him out with bullets, men, fire!"

Immediately, under the command of these pirate captains, many pirates kept their distance from Lieutenant Hope while continuously firing their guns at him.

"Naval Type 6 Iron Body"