"Did you pay them yet?! The arms dealers set the transaction location, so if something went wrong, they have to take responsibility. We need to call them and demand compensation!"
*Bang! Bang!*
Nami slammed the table with an indignant expression.
Gin stared blankly, saying, "Well... we haven't actually paid the money yet..."
"Eh? We didn't pay?"
Nami was stunned, but quickly recovered. "Then what are you afraid of? If it got robbed, it got robbed. It's not our loss."
The two stared at each other in confusion, neither seemingly able to understand the other's thought process.
Gin paused, trying to organize his words, and explained:
"But... we're pirates. Pirates are supposed to rob others. Now that we've been robbed, of course we have to get revenge."
"That's true, but this time is different. The rebel army isn't just a few dozen people; they have a military force of hundreds of thousands."
Nami put her hands on her hips and said righteously, "Are you sure you want to start a war with them over such a reason?"
"This... do they really have that many people...?"
Gin was left speechless. He genuinely didn't know how large the rebel army was.
Allen didn't say anything.
They were just well-equipped, not piloting over a hundred Gundam mechas.
The rebel army had hundreds of thousands of troops. Even if they just stood there and let them kill them, they wouldn't be able to finish them all. Even if the actual combat-ready troops were halved, it would still be an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Thus, Allen said, "Nami is right. We didn't suffer any actual losses anyway. We just need to contact the arms dealers for another transaction."
Nami nodded in agreement. "Mhm, exactly, exactly."
"The rebel army is too massive. A head-on conflict with them would just be asking for trouble," Allen added.
Nami nodded again with a satisfied expression. "Mhm, exactly, exactly."
Allen raised an index finger and grinned, baring his teeth. "So we can't fight them head-on. We should flank them and launch a surprise attack on their main base!"
"Mhm, exactly, exactly."
Gin and the Nyaban Brothers stroked their chins and nodded in agreement.
"Exactly my ass!!"
*Whack! Whack! Whack!*
Nami rolled her eyes in fury and brought her sandbag-sized fists down hard.
"We agreed not to cause trouble! No! Absolutely not! This is only our first day ashore, and we have to stay here for a week!"
Allen's eyes widened in surprise. "What did you say? Take down the rebel army within a week!"
"I said behave yourselves for a week!"
"What! We only need one day? Alright!"
*Bang!*
Allen stomped his foot heavily on the table, clenched his fist, and shouted righteously:
"We'll do as you say! We'll take down the rebel army in one day!!"
"Go to hell!"
Nami rolled her eyes fiercely, leaped up, and bit down hard on Allen's head.
...
In the afternoon, under the scorching sun of the desert.
In the nearly abandoned oasis city of Katorea, large groups of rebel soldiers wearing plain cloaks were continuously gathering from all directions.
Inside a dilapidated building in the center of the city, a man with short, messy blonde hair and a cross-shaped longsword strapped to his back stood in front of a wall.
Koza stared intently at the map covering the wall, his weather-beaten face showing a touch of firm resolve.
"Koza!"
*Bang.*
The door was pushed open, and a tall, burly man ran in, standing at the doorway and shouting excitedly:
"Koza! Hahaha, come look at this!"
"What is it, Kebi?"
Koza turned around calmly.
He saw Kebi wave his hand outside, and in the next second, several people began carrying wooden crates inside.
"Hahaha, you'll never guess what this is. Hurry, open all the crates and show the leader."
Several subordinates complied and opened the wooden crates, revealing countless munitions packed to the brim inside.
Koza couldn't help but look astonished.
Kebi's eyes shone with excitement as he spoke, as if claiming credit, "Didn't expect this, did you, Koza? We just harvested these today on our way here. If we're frugal, we can distribute them to a lot of our men."
"Where did you get so much ammunition?"
"Hehehe, we robbed it on our way here. While passing through Nanohana to rest, we ran into some pirates trading with arms dealers. Seeing that they didn't have many people, we made a move."
Kebi explained with a smile.
Hearing this, Koza frowned slightly. "This is a critical period. You didn't cause a huge commotion, did you?"
"Don't worry. Judging by their outfits, they weren't local arms dealers. Although there was a bit of a fight, it was on the outskirts of the city, so probably no one noticed."
"That's good."
Koza felt slightly relieved.
As long as it didn't cause too much of a stir, it was fine. As for robbing black market arms dealers and pirates, that was inconsequential.
Combined with the Royal Army forces that had defected to them recently, their current military strength was already enough to suppress the capital's defense forces.
Instead, it was weapons, equipment, food, and fresh water that were in extreme shortage, falling far behind their numbers. This batch of ammunition would somewhat alleviate their urgent needs.
"I've already contacted the other forces to set out from various cities. They should finish assembling in the next few days."
A look of determination appeared in Koza's eyes as he looked back at the map on the wall.
Their supplies wouldn't last much longer. This would be the final decisive battle. The target.
—The royal capital, Alubarna!
Right at this moment, faint sounds of chaos echoed from outside.
"Who are you people?! Take them down quickly!"
*Boom!! Boom!!*
"It's pirates! Enemy attack!"
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!!*
"Bastards! I told you to take off these stupid coats! What kind of surprise attack is this?!"
"Shut up, Sanji! Just tell me if we're heading straight for their main base or not! Charge!"
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!!*
"Uwaaah!"
Explosions, terrifyingly dense gunfire, and wails of agony rang out continuously.
Koza's expression changed, and he hurriedly ran out in a panic to check the situation.
*Crash!!*
The wall shattered violently, and a figure flew in, crashing onto the ground. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Leader Koza... Captain Kebi... The pirates... The pirates we robbed are here!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, panic flashed in Kebi's eyes.
Koza gritted his teeth, already feeling a strong sense of foreboding, and hurriedly rushed outside.
*Boom!! Boom!!*
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!!*
Upon stepping outside, a massive cacophony of noise flooded Koza's ears. Gunsmoke rose from all sides, and everywhere he looked was a scene of devastation.
Countless subordinates were hiding behind cover, completely suppressed by the insane barrage of firepower, not daring to poke their heads out.
The ones attacking them were only five people!
"Woohoo!"
"Blow them up!"
*Boom! Boom!*
The Nyaban Brothers were ecstatic, each shouldering a cannon and indiscriminately bombarding the surroundings.
Sanji had a cigarette clamped in his mouth as he and Gin covered the rear. The barrels of their two Gatling guns spun rapidly, spitting tongues of fire.
At the very front.
"This is way faster than fighting with our bare hands, hahaha!"
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!!*
Allen laughed, his mouth wide open, holding two newly purchased automatic machine guns in his hands, spraying wildly at the front.
The chambers devoured the ammunition belts while spitting out bullet casings. The bullets poured out, creating a suppressive fire so intense that no one in the entire alley ahead dared to show their face.
The five of them continuously advanced. As they passed through the alleys, the Nyaban Brothers would fire a rocket, quickly clearing out the rebel soldiers hiding behind the corners.
Some rebels would fiercely leap out with swords, only to be sent flying by a direct kick from Allen.
"Boss! I see their leader!"
Buchi shouted. Spotting Koza running out, he immediately turned his aim and fired a rocket.
*Whoosh—Boom!!*
The rocket flew across the street and exploded in front of the building. A fierce flash of fire rose along with billowing smoke.
Koza dove out of the way, caught in the shockwave of the explosion, and rolled miserably on the ground several times before looking up with a furious glare.
"Did I miss? Damn it, watch me fire another one."
Buchi gritted his teeth and was about to fire again when Sham hurriedly interrupted him.
"Stop shooting, you idiot! That's our hostage. Once we run out of bullets, are you going to run out of here while surrounded by tens of thousands of rebels?"
"Oh, oh, alright."
Buchi sheepishly lowered the cannon barrel.
From the moment they were discovered and started fighting until now, only two minutes had passed, but the number of people surrounding them from all directions was increasing.
In a little while, the surrounding streets would be completely blocked off by tens of thousands of rebel troops. By then, it would be troublesome to escape without a hostage in hand.
"Sham! Go capture him!"
"Leave it to me, Boss!"
Sham leaped out in response, transforming into his full beast form in mid-air. He turned into a massive, ferocious caracal, using all four limbs to run along the walls and roofs, darting across the street with incredibly swift and agile movements.
"A Devil Fruit user...!"
*Schwing!*
Koza hurriedly drew the cross-shaped longsword from his back, his eyes fixed intently on the ferocious giant cat sprinting toward him.
The next second.
*Whoosh—!*
Under Koza's shocked gaze, Sham suddenly accelerated, his figure almost disappearing from sight.
"—Urgh!"
A strong sense of suffocation hit him as Koza's neck was wrapped up by a cat's tail.
Sham swatted the sword out of his hand with one claw and lifted him up by the tail around his neck, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.
"Checkmate...!"
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