Yixiao dispatched a large number of troops to conduct a large-scale search against the Bankoku headquarters. Their target was naturally the Straw Hat Luffy and his crew who were rescued by Dragon.
The combination of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Revolutionary Army's Dragon possesses terrifying combat power, but the strong men stationed at the Bankaku Headquarters are no pushovers either. Now that they understand the threat posed by the other side and the combat power they possess, Yixiao naturally will not relax at all.
Aramaki, who had been chasing pirates outside, was recalled, and he led a comprehensive investigation of the entire Wano Country.
Aramaki is the user of the Nature-type Mori-Mori Fruit and is extremely powerful. If the generals chasing Straw Hat Luffy and Dragon were led by someone of average strength, even if they were found, they would not be able to hold the enemy back until reinforcements arrived, just like the defeated Smoker.
But if it was Aramaki, he could more or less slow down the enemy's escape from pursuit. Although Ichishao didn't think that Aramaki alone could defeat the Straw Hat Pirates, the only requirement Ichishao gave him was to search and entangle them.
With the power of the Sen Sen Fruit and the combat power possessed by Aramaki, it is not difficult to do this.
As long as the location of Straw Hat Luffy and others can be found, Yixiao will naturally lead the reinforcements personally to capture all the fugitives.
That’s right, Straw Hat Luffy’s pursuit priority has now been raised to the first echelon of the new navy’s pursuit sequence.
Although the Straw Hat Pirates have not caused any major damage to the lives of ordinary people over the years, what they did on Fishman Island was ultimately just a fuse, and the real culprits are still the World Government and the Five Elders.
Therefore, after Fishman Island, although the New Navy lost some face at the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates, the New Navy's main targets have always been those pirates who acted recklessly at sea.
Because those pirates have seriously affected the living environment of ordinary people in the New World, and if the new navy wants to gain a foothold in this place, it must have prestige and be able to protect the citizens under its rule.
Compared with the two, it is not difficult to understand why the Straw Hat Pirates have a lower priority.
However, with the Straw Hat Pirates successfully escaping from prison in Wano Country, this matter has been somewhat beyond the control of the New Navy.
Long's behavior is equivalent to slapping the New Navy in the face. If left unchecked, other forces will inevitably develop some inappropriate thoughts and think that the New Navy is weak and can be bullied.
If the new navy wanted to regain its face and wash away the shame, relying solely on the "public execution" planned by Tsugumi Yoshikazu was ultimately insufficient and could not achieve its full success.
If the New Navy wants to completely reverse its misconduct in this matter, it is necessary to capture the members of the Straw Hat Pirates and put them back in prison.
Yixiao has already talked with Yuichiro Tsuchiya and knows what Yuichiro Tsuchiya is planning. Therefore, on the Wanguo side, Yixiao also plans to take practical actions to help Yuichiro Tsuchiya.
The general sent, Aramaki, is one of the strongest men in the new navy, and the subordinates assigned to Aramaki are also one of the more elite troops in the new navy.
Elite soldiers and generals.
But even with such a combination, the frantic investigation within a week after Straw Hat Luffy escaped from prison did not yield any results. Not to mention finding the whereabouts of Straw Hat Luffy and his companions, there was no progress in even getting the slightest bit of information about them.
This group of people seemed to have disappeared out of thin air. There were dozens of islands among the Ten Thousand Countries, and more than a thousand ships came and went every day, but the new navy still did not find any suspicious ships.
The new navy investigated dozens of suspicious ships, but none of them belonged to Straw Hat Luffy and his crew.
This massive manhunt had reached this point and there was no way it could continue.
Helplessly, although Huang Mu was extremely unwilling to give up after a week of hard work, he had been searching for a long time without any clues. He could only suspend the search and return to Cake Island to report to Yixiao.
Cake Island Headquarters.
In Yixiao's office, Yixiao, sitting behind the desk, listened to Huangmu's report full of disappointment, with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Yixiao."
"These past few days, our unit has been working with the garrisons of the Ten Thousand Islands to conduct a thorough investigation of incoming and outgoing ships. At the same time, patrols in the open sea have doubled in frequency compared to before."
"Not only that, we have deployed some sonar conches in the ocean, hoping to find the Straw Hat Pirates in this way."
"But unfortunately, these measures have not achieved the expected results. Until now, we still have no clues about the whereabouts of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"This is my dereliction of duty. Please punish me, Mr. Yixiao."
Huangmu is very powerful and entered the new navy system through the world conscription. Normally, he should be a proud person.
But in fact, such a long military career has also changed Huangmu's character, and he is very respectful when facing Yixiao.
When dealing with Yixiao, Aramaki no longer had the contemptuous pride he had when dealing with pirates.
This is because of the status gap between the two parties, and also because Huangmu admires Yixiao's strength. Of course, more importantly, Huangmu feels that Yixiao deserves his respect.
Although he has a disability, he still possesses such strong strength; although he has a difficult background and the road to climbing up step by step from the bottom is extremely rugged, Yixiao also has a strong chivalrous spirit, and the hard life has not distorted his character.
Even though he is powerful and holds a high position, Yixiao still looks approachable.
For Huangmu, Yixiao is a role model to learn from.
"Huangmu, don't be like this, get up."
"It's not your fault that we can't find the whereabouts of the Straw Hat Pirates. After all, we are the passive party."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with your approach."
"Perhaps, he has already left Wan Guo with the help of Long."
Although he said this, Yixiao's subconscious mind told him that this group of people would not leave Wanguo so easily.
Straw Hat Luffy
Although they didn't have any in-depth contact, Yixiao could see from the other party's behavior that the child was not the kind of guy who would give up easily. He would not give up until he achieved his goal.
"Yes, Dragon is the leader of the Revolutionary Army. According to intelligence, he is a natural ability user of the Wind-Wind Fruit."
"With his help, Straw Hat Luffy and his crew might be able to fly away from the Bankoku without being spotted by our patrol ships."
Hearing Yixiao's comforting words, Huangmu nodded, wondering in his heart how the other party would leave Wanguo.
"Um"
After hearing this, Yixiao pondered for a moment, but suddenly a flash of inspiration came to his mind.
Yes, Dragon is the user of the Wind-Wind Fruit, so Straw Hat Luffy’s ship really doesn’t have to sail out of the territory of the World through the sea.
But at the same time, if the other party did not leave Bankoku, but still stayed in Bankoku, then could the ability of the Wind-Wind Fruit possibly help the Straw Hat Pirates hide quietly?!
It's entirely possible.
Not every island in the World is well developed. Many islands have slightly more complex natural landscapes such as mountains and canyons.
If the Straw Hats had snuck into some island of the World from the sky at night, there would be no point in the New Navy foolishly investigating the ports and shoals along the coast where the ships might stop.
"Aramaki, is it possible that those members of the Straw Hat Pirates are hiding on an island?"
"After all, with the power of the Wind-Wind Fruit, the land can't stop their ships, right?"
Huangmu's words inspired Yixiao, and Yixiao's words also made Huangmu suddenly realize.
"Mr. Yixiao, I understand!"
"I'll go investigate right away!"
The more Huangmu thought about it, the more likely it seemed. His originally depressed expression became extremely excited at this moment. He wanted to leave anxiously to find the whereabouts of those pirates.
"Well, Huangmu, there's no need to rush for so long."
"There are many islands among the Ten Thousand Nations. If we were to investigate the inland, I'm afraid it would be impossible to thoroughly investigate them all in a short period of time."
"However, since I've already guessed this possibility, I suggest you seek help from the technological forces."
"Dr. Vegapunk's bionic beast can help you very well."
After all, Yixiao has more resources than Huangmu, and he can think of more methods. The bionic beasts that Yixiao mentioned are actually some biological experiments that Vegapunk conducted to create Seraph.
One of these experiments involved mechanically transforming the bodies of giant beasts, using human technology to mimic their biology. As part of this experiment, Vegapunk's laboratory created numerous mechanical sea beasts and giant mechanical birds.
These bionic creatures have strong combat capabilities and are also top-notch in intelligence gathering.
"A bionic beast?!"
Huangmu knew some information about bionic beasts, and he immediately understood the meaning of the smile and nodded.
"I understand. I'll ask the Doctor for help. His bionic bird will probably be able to explore the entire world within a few days."
Yixiao nodded and smiled when he heard this. Huang Mu, who had gained something from Yixiao, also left in a hurry.
Hazelnut Island.
The Straw Hat Pirates have been hiding on this island for a week. During these days, Vivi and Nami have disguised themselves and entered the town several times to gather intelligence. Seeing that the new navy still has tight control over the harbor, they also realized that now is not a good time to go out to sea.
The two of them were women, so it was easy for them to let down their guard, and there didn't seem to be a bounty on the New Navy's wanted posters, so the risk of being exposed was almost zero.
After the investigation was completed, the two people who returned to the ship also contributed the information they received to other crew members. For a while, the atmosphere in the cabin became a little depressing.
Luffy, who was already active by nature, felt bored after living like this for so many consecutive days. In fact, he could no longer bear it.
However, with the persuasion of Sanji and others, Luffy was still able to stay safely on the ship, but Sanji and others also understood that this was not going to work.
It’s not that there are not enough survival supplies, but because Sanji has realized that Luffy can no longer hold back and wants to go out to “have fun”.
Just as Luffy and the crew were meeting to discuss what to do next, Dragon suddenly opened the hatch and walked in, then said to Luffy and the others:
"Luffy, let's sneak into Cake Island tonight and steal the text of Road Sign History."
"We don't have much time left."
Hearing what Dragon said, all the crew members in the cabin except Luffy were shocked.
"Tonight? So urgent? We don't have any plans, are we just going to act rashly like this?! How can this be possible?"
Weiwei was the first to object, saying that this action was too hasty.
"Mr. Long, why is it so sudden? Why don't we wait a little longer until the new navy lets down its guard?"
Sanji also looked at Long in confusion, not understanding why Long was so anxious.
Only Luffy was laughing, as if he was happy that he didn't have to hide anymore.
"Well, I feel like I can't hide it anymore."
"I wonder if you've noticed that there are more birds flying over our heads these days?"
"I'm afraid our hiding place will soon be discovered."
"And I have important things to do."
As Long said this, he was holding a roll of newspaper in his hand. During the time when Luffy and his friends were meeting, Long was reading the newspaper on the deck. The content of the newspaper and the lifeless birds that occasionally flew overhead made Long feel that something was wrong.
Seeing that these young people still looked confused, Long sighed softly and explained in a low voice:
"There was no such thing as a 'right time' from the very beginning when it came to pirating the historical text of Road Sign."
"Cake Island is the headquarters of the new navy. Regardless of whether the 'ship interception' incident occurred, the defense of Cake Island is extremely tight."
"From the beginning, we actually had nothing to prepare for."
"I think you should consider finding out about Cake Island's topography and even its specific location, and if possible, sneak in to check it out first?"
"Give up these ideas. Seeking information about Cake Island will only expose ourselves and make their defenses even tighter."
"It's impossible to stalk a place like that."
"We only have one chance. Once we get to the island, we must achieve our goal. Otherwise, we must leave before the other strong men react."
"Being well prepared or not being well prepared is the same thing."
Long did not explain what important things he had to do, but explained to those people that there was actually no preparation to be done for the pirated text of the road sign history.
Smart people like Nami, Vivi and others can actually easily understand what Long means.
"You mean no matter how much we prepare, we will still face the same difficulties?"
“That’s certainly true.”
Sanji pondered and agreed with Long's statement.
Seeing this, Long nodded slightly and continued:
"Let me plan this for you. Follow my plan. If it succeeds, it succeeds. If it fails, forget about it for a while."
"Tonight, I will take you to Cake Island. I will then attract the top experts from all nations, and you will take this opportunity to search for the historical text."
"Bankoku was originally the headquarters of the pirate Big Mom. Under the main building, there is a pirate treasure house."
"Now that the new navy has taken over this place, I think they will still use that treasure house."
"Your goal is to investigate that treasure trove. If there's one, there's one. If not, then there's a high probability that it's gone."
(End of this chapter)
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