One Piece: New Order

Chapter 350 350: Sakazuki and The World Government

Carlo placed a hand on both of them and said, "Let's go."

Whoosh!

With his Devil Fruit ability activated, the three of them vanished instantly. As the wind and sand swept across the area, even the faint footprints disappeared without a trace.

Crocodile had no idea he had just brushed past death. He remained lost in his thoughts, imagining the moment he would obtain Pluton…

* * *

New World, New Marineford.

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Sakazuki fell into brief thought after listening to Carlo's report.

"Pluton? Handle it as you see fit. It won't matter anyway."

Even if Pluton truly appeared, it would make no difference. Crocodile would never be able to hold onto it. Whether it was Sakazuki or the World Government, either side could crush him with ease.

At this stage of the war, the overwhelming tide of the world could no longer be stopped. Small changes would not stir any real waves.

The struggle for dominance over this sea seemed like a contest between multiple forces, but in truth, there were only two real players: Sakazuki and the World Government.

One was supporting the Revolutionary Army through Vegapunk. The other was backing the pirates through Shanks.

Both sides were waiting for the right time to strike and eliminate the other completely.

* * *

New World, Rice Island.

One of the islands taken by Shanks lay close to the Marines' sphere of influence. It was also one of the current garrisons of the Red Hair Pirates, where pirates continued to gather in large numbers.

Late at night, the counterattack force organized by the Red Hair Pirates had already assembled. But when it was time to set out, no order came from Shanks.

The pirates were confused, yet they waited patiently, all eyes fixed on the large ship carved with a red dragon.

Inside the Red Force.

The core members of the Red Hair Pirates were gathered in the meeting room. Outside, Lucky Roux, Bonk Punch, and the other fighters stood guard.

Shanks took out several pieces of map data with a hint of mystery and placed them on the table.

"Take a look at this."

The planned attack that night had been delayed because of these sudden documents.

Beckman, Yasopp, Building Snake, and the others picked them up and began to read.

As he looked, Beckman's eyes suddenly widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. "Hiss! This is… deployment maps of some of the Marines' islands, and a detailed sea chart of the New World. Where did you get this?"

He stared at Shanks with shock and confusion. The value of this information was enormous. Even without the Marines deployment maps, just the detailed sea chart of the New World alone was priceless.

Snake, as a navigator, could not take his eyes off it. After all, what navigator wouldn't dream of having a complete map of the world?

Yasopp clicked his tongue. "This is unexpected. To get something like this…"

The value was simply too great. It would make dealing with the Marines much easier.

Shanks smiled slightly. "I had people trade with some high-ranking officials in the World Government to get these. Sakazuki's methods are too harsh. He's made quite a few enemies within the World Government. With a bit of cost, these things were obtained without much trouble."

He said it casually, but everyone knew the price must have been high. If the World Government ever found out about this leak, killing the traitors ten times over still wouldn't be enough…

What they did not know was that those were all just excuses.

These materials had been handed directly to Shanks by the Five Elders. Their purpose was for him to spread them among the pirates, keeping the Marines tied down in the New World for one or two years.

By then, once all the Marine branches across the Four Blues collapsed due to funding issues, the forces in the New World would no longer matter.

After the power that controlled the world was gone, what did Sakazuki's strength matter? In the end, he would still die. Imu-sama was invincible…

Looking at the maps, Beckman could not help but sigh in admiration. "The cost may be high, but the value of these is beyond anything else. With this, our strategy needs to change."

They did not have anything like the precise sand table in Sakazuki's office, nor his powerful intelligence network. Previously, the Red Hair Pirates' counterattacks were based mostly on instinct and rough estimates.

Now, with these detailed sea charts and the Marines' deployment maps, they could create a proper battle plan. It would save them a lot of trouble.

Shanks nodded in agreement. "Exactly. That's what I was thinking. By comparing these maps, we can see many flaws in our current deployments. What we need to do is fix those gaps."

Yasopp scratched his chin. "Then what about tonight's attack? Do we still go ahead?"

Shanks replied, "We continue, but we change the target. According to the information from the World Government, that guy Enel is stationed near the original target island. So tonight, we avoid that area and attack somewhere else."

Enel's ability was troublesome for them. Observation Haki Killing worked on most people, but his power could bypass it.

It was not that they could not defeat him, but they simply could not catch him. If they could not catch him, then with the long-range power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could keep attacking from afar. They might be fine, but the pirates under them would suffer.

If they could take another island with minimal cost, there was no reason to waste a large amount of fighting strength.

Beckman nodded as he studied the maps. "That makes sense. We've received word from Knox. It seems the Marines are planning to split their forces. And from the rear, we got news that Kizaru has appeared in our territory. Looks like he wants to cut off our retreat."

Shanks said with a smile, "Then let's see who cuts off whose retreat first."

Would they and Knox cut off the Marines' route from Whole Cake Island and Wano first, or would the Marines' forces splitting from those two places cut off their retreat first?

* * *

South Blue, Hannabal Island.

Sabo led a group of technicians who had studied under Lindbergh, working day and night on research and modifications. Their goal was to convert the warship blueprints obtained from Vegapunk, ships capable of crossing the Calm Belt, into versions suitable for the Revolutionary Army as quickly as possible.

Evening.

After a full day of work, the technicians left the laboratory in small groups.

Sabo was the last to come out. He rubbed his arm and locked the door.

Whoosh!

A breeze passed by, gathering into form as Dragon appeared. "The ships have already entered production…"

**

**

**

Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:

P@treon/SilverShark769

Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!

Your support means a lot, thank you!