Uchiha's personal opinion

Moreover, with the addition of the three pie-shaped warships equipped with heavy cannons that Big Mom had assigned to him, the number of warships under his command was now equal to the number of naval warships appearing on the sea.

"Battle line ready!"

"Drought," Jack immediately ordered.

Subsequently, the Mammoth and three Pie ships beneath it turned their bows and faced the naval bow.

Although Jack is a very arrogant and conceited person, he still knows how to adapt his behavior to the situation.

For example, he always showed great respect when facing his two older brothers, Jhin and Quinn; and he did the same when facing Minato Namikaze, who was the 'representative of the remnants of the Great Kingdom'.

Therefore, he was able to obtain some seemingly plausible but ultimately flawed experience in using heavy artillery from Minato Namikaze—such as the classic tactic of seizing the T-shaped formation and firing a volley at the enemy.

"...This guy isn't as brainless as the rumors say!"

Sakazuki, who was standing at the bow of the ship and looking ahead through his binoculars, also noticed the movements of Jack's squadron and couldn't help but exclaim, "These days, even pirates know how to use tactics. It's unbelievable!"

In his memory, pirates were far inferior to the navy in terms of ship and cannon performance, and they were poorly trained and only cared about showing off their bravery. Therefore, in the past, when the navy fought against pirates, they would often use ship cannons to bombard them from a distance, first disorienting the pirates before rushing in to end the battle by boarding them.

To avoid being put on the defensive, the pirates would brave the navy's gunfire and force their way in, intending to fight to the death by boarding the ship.

However, with the influence of the remnants of the 'Great Kingdom', especially the large influx of heavy artillery and other equipment into the New World, the pirates' tactics began to change. After all, the pirates' bravery was more of a desperate struggle for survival when they were at a disadvantage, and not many people liked to charge into the sea under the Navy's fire.

"Times are changing..."

Sakazuki's new die-hard follower, Aramaki, was also peering through binoculars at the pirates' warship formation, especially at the row of gun ports on the side, which filled him with emotion.

I thought the navy was the most powerful organization in the world, but I didn't expect it to be challenged so soon.

Moreover, if these pirates dare to engage in long-range artillery battles with the Navy with their disorganized equipment, then how difficult must it be for the Navy in the Paradise direction to face the 'Remnant Fleet'?

"Prepare the naval guns!"

On the naval warships, the naval officers began to command the sailors on board in a chaotic manner.

Meanwhile, some naval officers who were not in command began to gather at the bow of the ship, preparing to intercept the shells.

This is an experience that the Navy has summarized and popularized after repeated defeats in the East China Sea. It aims to use a small number of strong soldiers to attack with ship cannons and force them to close the distance to engage in close combat by using the speed of straight-line sailing. This is a complete reversal of the previous combat methods of the Navy and pirates!

What led to this change was the naval guns of the 'remnants'!

However, Sakazuki was not unprepared for this battle.

The four ships under his command were all equipped with captured heavy cannons from the remnants of the fallen. The reason they were still in a posture of forcing close combat was more to lull Jack's squadron into a false sense of security, so that they could catch him off guard.

"fire!"

As the naval formation approached, Jack's squadron, which had lowered its sails to slow its speed, immediately unleashed a salvo!

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

With a deafening roar of heavy artillery, dozens of shells were fired simultaneously at the naval warship.

The pirates then immediately began the second round of reloading.

Because his training level was far below standard, Jack had no hope of killing the enemy with one blow; in addition, he had always been confident in his personal bravery and was not afraid of close combat with the Navy.

In Jack's view, the officers and soldiers on the bow of the naval warships leaped up one by one, using various methods to intercept the pirates' cannon fire, but several cannonballs also hit the warships and set them on fire.

Jack watched this scene unfold, and his composure only grew stronger.

"Don't stop! Open fire now!"

Seeing that the salvo was progressing smoothly, Jack got tired of watching and left his lookout post to go up to the deck and urge the inexperienced pirate gunners on.

Just as Jack was shouting wildly, a roar suddenly came from the direction of the naval fleet that was already engulfed in smoke!

"This is……"

Before he could react, a loud bang came from the outer side of the Mammoth warship beneath him!

Then came a shower of flying steel fragments!

This shows the armor of the external device being destroyed!

The standard naval guns do not have that much power!

"It's the heavy artillery of the remnants!"

The pirates immediately let out a shrill scream.

Jack was initially furious, believing that the survivors were simultaneously trading weapons on both sides, but he quickly realized that X Drake of the Beasts Pirates had lost a batch of heavy cannons due to an ambush, which might have been loaded onto a warship by the Navy.

"Fight back! Fight back!"

Jack first nervously observed the situation on the ship's side, and when he found that only the external armor had been destroyed, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then immediately ordered the gunners to launch an attack.

However, the difference in training levels is vast, and the psychological advantage that the pirates had painstakingly built up was wiped out by a single shot from the Navy, which caused the pirates to reload even more slowly!

"Boom! Boom boom!"

The pirates' cannon fire began to become scattered, and they could no longer maintain a salvo.

Sparse shells are more likely to be completely intercepted by the well-prepared naval officers.

"Boom boom boom!!"

The Navy's second salvo came again and bombarded the pirate ship completely!

In terms of artillery, pirates are far inferior to the navy!

Moreover, based on the observations of the officers and soldiers in command of the operation, it was discovered that the shells could only break through the external armor. Therefore, the attack range was immediately adjusted, and the damage was changed to "washing the armor plate"!

"Boom boom boom!"

Before Jack's squadron could recover from the critical hit, the Navy's third salvo came again!

This time, even the mast of the Mammoth was broken!

"Prepare for battle!"

Jack took the sickle from the ivory stalks resting on his shoulder and shouted.

At this point, there was no chance to widen the gap again!

But he wasn't intimidated at all, after all, he had plenty of confidence in his own abilities!

"Boom boom boom!"

The navy unleashed another salvo, once again routing Jack's squadron.

"Aramaki, you take the marines to deal with those three big-mom's pie ships. Make sure to bring back all the heavy cannons on board."

Onboard the naval warship, Sakazuki began issuing orders: "I'll deal with Drought Jack and his Mammoth!"

"Ok!"

Huang Mu grinned, his expression quite chilling.

As a newcomer to the Navy recruited through the global conscription, he was able to rise to the rank of Vice Admiral in a short period of time, which Aramaki was quite satisfied with.

Although he didn't become a general-level general as initially imagined, overall it was still pretty good. Moreover, his tough-minded direct superior, Sakazuki, suited Aramaki's tastes quite well, so at least for the time being, Aramaki didn't have much interest in him.

As for the assigned task of dealing with the three pie ships, Aramaki didn't take it seriously at all, and at the same time, he was somewhat looking forward to Sakazuki's performance.

As the warships drew near, both sides prepared for battle.

"Netherhound!"

Sakazuki struck first, first gathering the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit in his arm, then quickly extending it and viciously striking the Mammoth's side with his magma-transformed arm!

'boom! '

As the side armor burst open, Sakazuki used his arm, which was pinned to the Mammoth's side, to propel himself into the air and charge towards Jack, whose face was filled with astonishment.

"It's Akainu!"

Jack showed no fear. He first had one of his men notify the two "big brothers" and the old lady, and then he also transformed into a half-beast and charged forward wielding a pair of hook scythes!

"A massive fireball!"

Sakazuki showed no mercy, first transforming his arm into a giant lava fist made of molten lava, then unleashing a series of molten lava fists that nearly enveloped the entire Mammoth battleship!

"Hoohoho!"

Jack, showing no weakness, relied on his strong defenses and unleashed his powerful Armament Haki to blast the enormous Lava Fire Fist into a sky full of stars!

But it's not over yet.

Under Sakazuki's control, the Lava Fire Fist that Jack had shattered quickly transformed into volcanic bombs powerful enough to sink a large warship, and once again hurtled towards the Mammoth!

Compared to Kuzan, who is also a general, Sakazuki's abilities are unsurprisingly more suited to large-scale battles.

After all, even their own naval warships were now experiencing sails burning under the lingering heat of the lava fire fist.

As for Jack's Mammoth, its fate was even more tragic.

Although Jack and his men did their best to intercept all the volcanic bombs, the sparks alone ignited various parts of the ship, and perhaps because the hull was damaged, the warship began to show signs of slowly sinking.

But Jack remained fearless, still brandishing his scythe as he charged toward Sakazuki, who had just landed on the deck.

"As expected of the strongest general in headquarters!"

Witnessing the battle, Aramaki couldn't help but sigh, feeling fortunate to have chosen the right person to follow. Not wanting to appear weak in front of his superior, he also raised both hands towards the three pie ships and unleashed his strongest attack—

"So solemn and abhorrent!"

Countless twisted tree roots sprouted from his hands, quickly transforming into a forest on the sea and spreading outwards. They swept towards the pie ship, also forming a fiery forest that isolated the naval warships from the Sakazuki battleground, preventing unnecessary collateral damage.

This thoughtful gesture moved some marines to tears of gratitude.

The Pie Ship, created by Big Mom and her offspring's Devil Fruit powers, including the biscuit soldiers on board, possesses a certain level of intelligence but shows no fear whatsoever. Even when Aramaki's 'Sea Forest' swept over, the biscuit soldiers still loaded and fired in an orderly fashion!

But the strength of the strong cannot be erased by external factors, especially at such close range.

The wild, overgrown 'sea forest' quickly spread over the pie ship, then rapidly twisted and bound it tightly!

Meanwhile, the biscuit soldiers on the ship were caught up with and killed one by one by the constantly swinging branches.

As for the heavy artillery that Sakazuki specifically requested to be captured, Aramaki thoughtfully used tree roots to roll it up and take it back to his ship.

"Relax and enjoyable!"

After easily defeating the three pie ships and capturing all their heavy artillery, Aramaki turned his gaze to the Mammoth not far away.

At this moment, Sakazuki is wrestling with Jack, whose size is vastly different from his own, by using his outward-emitting Armament Haki!

Despite their large size, Sakazuki appears to have a slight advantage in strength!