Chapter 50: Please keep reading! Drag, sharpening his blade before battle!

Two massive sea vessels, each boasting four decks with two dedicated to cannon bays, sailed through the waves—one painted black and the other white. They flew Jolly Rogers that were nearly identical, save for the color of the cat ears. Under a relentless barrage of incoming shells, they desperately fled toward the northwest, weaving through towering plumes of water kicked up by the explosions.

Behind them, over a dozen Marine branch warships were in hot pursuit, continuously pouring endless firepower in their direction.

"Dammit, why?! Why have these Marines suddenly turned into mad dogs, obsessed with biting us, meow?"

On the white ship, 'Little Fishing Cat' glared furiously at the distant fleet, cursing loudly. Just then, the Den Den Mushi sitting on his palm spoke up.

"Calm down, White Cat. I suspect this is the work of those nobles from the South Blue. You know better than anyone how many noble ships we've plundered over the years, meow."

"Plus, three months ago, we broke into the palace of the Kingdom of Lenna and emptied their treasury. I think that incident completely enraged the nobility, so they've spent a fortune to have these Marines hunt us down, meow."

On the other ship, the black one, 'Three-Legged Cat'—who, aside from his black clothing, looked almost identical to the other 'Little Fishing Cat'—offered a calm deduction.

However, he also found it suspicious. Did the nobles of these nations truly possess such immense influence?

Ever since they were spotted by two warships yesterday, it felt as if they were being tracked. No matter where they went, swarms of warships would emerge to chase them. At the most absurd moment, they were nearly surrounded by warships from three different directions!

Furthermore, there was something strange: these warships always seemed to be intentionally maintaining a certain distance.

"What exactly do the Marines want, meow?" 'Three-Legged Cat' ignored the roaring cannon fire around him, scanning the nearby waters in thought.

"Argh, who cares what they want! I'm furious! Let's just find a target and pick a fight. Maybe if we beat them enough, they'll stop chasing us, meow!" 'Little Fishing Cat' shouted viciously at the Den Den Mushi.

Simultaneously, his eyes transformed into pale yellow, walnut-shaped cat pupils, his ten fingers extended sharp claws, and a pair of ears elongated. His entire being radiated the dangerous aura of a predator.

"It's happening! It's White Cat Boss's Zoan Cat-Cat Fruit, Lion Cat (African) Form!"

Nearby crew members, dressed in white fur coats and wearing white cat ears, began cheering excitedly.

To these South Blue pirates, who hadn't seen much of the world, Devil Fruit abilities provided a constant sense of novelty because they represented raw power.

"Don't do it, meow!"

However, the black cat, 'Three-Legged Cat,' stopped him decisively.

"There are too many warships. With the strength of our two ships, we can at most fight off three warships at once. But there are over twenty surrounding us right now. Do you want to go to prison with me, meow?"

"If you say you're willing, then I'd be happy to join you in there, meow!"

Hearing this, White Cat 'Little Fishing Cat' hesitated, the killing intent in his eyes gradually fading. Although he was impulsive and lively, he wasn't a fool, and he had no desire to implicate the other. Thus, he could only suppress his rage.

"Then what do we do, meow?"

'Three-Legged Cat' said, "Keep running. Judging by the direction, I highly suspect these Marines want to force us into the Grand Line, meow!"

The words had slipped out instinctively, but as he pondered them, they made more and more sense, causing his eyes to light up.

"Right, that must be it! These South Blue Marines have accepted the nobles' commission, but they're wary of our strength and don't want to suffer heavy casualties. So, they want to drive us into the Grand Line. That way, they achieve the goal of eliminating the threat to the nobles, meow!"

"So that's how it is, meow..."

White Cat 'Little Fishing Cat' agreed with the deduction. He asked, "Then are we just doing exactly what they want, meow?"

"What else can we do? It seems our actions over the years have completely enraged the South Blue nobles. There's no place for us to hide here anymore, meow," the latter sighed helplessly.

The former sneered.

"Hmph, it's just the Grand Line. If we have to go, we go! With us brothers working together, there's nowhere we can't make a name for ourselves. Besides, we can see just how rich the nobles in the Grand Line are, meow!"

***

On the other side, five massive warships, several times larger than the South Blue branch vessels, cut through the waves in a triangular formation.

In this part of the South Blue, they stood at the very top of the food chain.

"Rear Admiral Dragon, news has arrived from the 175th South Blue Branch! The Black Cat Pirates and the White Cat Pirates are currently being pursued by us and are heading your way. Distance: ten nautical miles!" a Colonel ran up to report loudly.

"I understand. Pass down the order: prepare for battle," Dragon nodded expressionlessly. Beside him, Rear Admiral Alvin let out a chuckle.

"These South Blue Marines are certainly enthusiastic!"

In truth, Dragon hadn't expected things to develop this way.

Originally, he had intended to use the capture of the 'Black Cat' and 'White Cat' as an excuse to take a detour toward the Kingdom of Thutmose, then arrive and notify the three nearby Marine branches to coordinate, catching the enemy off guard.

But who knew the various South Blue branches would act as if they had been injected with adrenaline, desperately trying to deliver these two "cats" right to his doorstep? It was even said they were prepared to provide immediate support if his battle became urgent.

What did this mean?

It meant that even if Dragon were nothing more than a "silver-plated cannon"—all show and no substance—they would find a way to let him feast on this "cat meat" and comfortably claim the military merit!

It showed just how ignorant these South Blue Marines were; their "frog in a well" mentality had kept Rear Admiral Alvin smiling for the past two days.

"Since that's the case, we might as well take them on our way. Two Zoan pirates with bounties nearing fifty million are indeed a significant threat in the South Blue. Consider it removing a menace for the people," Dragon said, gazing calmly at the sea ahead.

"Pirates with bounties under fifty million, and from the Four Seas at that... they likely won't have Haki. Sending a few officers should be enough," Alvin shrugged indifferently.

"No. I will take action personally to end the battle quickly, then immediately turn and launch a surprise attack on the Kingdom of Thutmose!"

As the saying goes, speed is the essence of war. The detour was for the "surprise," but the speed of the "attack" was the priority.

Alvin volunteered, "If that's the case, it might not be appropriate for you, as the commanding officer, to strike. I can handle it and guarantee a swift victory."

As the adjutant, he felt he should show his worth, and building a good relationship with Dragon was a wise move.

"Thank you, but I want to handle this personally to test my Devil Fruit ability," Dragon declined politely.

"Alright then~" Alvin didn't mind, thinking his superior simply wanted to show off in front of him and the rest of the Marines.

After all, possessing a Logia-type Hurricane-Hurricane Fruit gave him the capital to show off, and Alvin was quite curious to witness a Logia-type battle firsthand.

In reality, Dragon wasn't thinking about such trivialities.

Because he had only recently become a fruit user, and had used his abilities sparingly to hide the fact that he was a user to facilitate his defection, his combat experience with his powers was limited—aside from that one fight with CP0.

He intended to use this opportunity to devise a few useful techniques using those two "cats." After all, the "Slave King" he would eventually face was described in intelligence reports as being extremely powerful, with at least a decade of experience in Haki and even longer with a Paramecia-type ability.

It was, in a sense, sharpening the spear before the battle!