One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 36: Accidental Fire

Uta lowered her telescope and turned to inform Louis of the other ship's features. "Four masts, a dragon-shaped decoration on the side, and a dragon's head hanging from the bow..."

"I see. It's the Wind Granma. It belongs to the Self-Pro... no, the Revolutionary Army." A flash of understanding crossed Louis's eyes as he confirmed the other party's identity.

In that case, the powerhouse on that ship should be the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, a man also known by many netizens in his past life as the "Sweat King." Louis had no comment on that. The man himself was extremely mysterious. Besides his name and a small part of his history, people knew almost nothing about him. This was true even for Louis; he knew very little about Monkey D. Dragon.

"Monkey D. Dragon..." Louis whispered.

Meanwhile, aboard the Wind Granma.

A grunt wearing headphones and carrying a flintlock lowered his telescope, his expression grave. He sounded the alarm.

"Ship spotted five nautical miles to the southeast! Suspected to be a warship!!"

The words fell, and someone immediately scrambled up the watchtower, asking urgently, "Are you sure it's a warship?"

"Not... not sure. We can only make out a silhouette in the storm."

"But it definitely has the unique structure of a Marine warship!" The grunt handed the telescope to his comrade beside him.

"It's definitely a warship..." As illegal elements sailing the seas, they were very familiar with the structure of warships, precisely so they could quickly identify Marines in the dark or during a storm.

"Quick... turn the cannons!"

In an instant, the soldiers of the Revolutionary Army quickly entered a state of combat readiness. One by one, the side cannons were aimed at the distant warship. As soon as it entered range, they would be ready to fire.

Just then, several figures in cloaks walked out from the cabin, standing on the deck in the wind and rain, quietly observing the distant warship.

"It's not a warship!" a tall figure slowly lowered their binoculars and said to a figure beside them who was about 2.5 meters tall. "It's an unknown pirate crew flying a Jolly Roger. They probably stole a warship to set out to sea."

"Maintain alert. The opponent's strength should not be underestimated," the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, said, his gaze deep and his tone solemn. "That ship... is alive!"

In Dragon's Observation Haki, he could sense a powerful aura on the deck, one that was rare even in the New World. And the warship beneath his feet had the unique life signature of a living creature.

"A living ship?!" The tall figure was dumbfounded, for a moment thinking they had misheard. "Is it a Sea Beast disguised as a ship, or something like an Island Turtle?"

"No, it's just an ordinary warship," Dragon replied calmly.

"How magical..." The tall figure began to doubt their reality.

Beside them, an even taller figure spoke, their voice surprisingly gentle. "Iva, have you forgotten? We've seen a living ship before..."

The "woman" called Iva was taken aback, then subconsciously cried out, "That Charlotte Linlin?!"

"Is this one of her Homies?"

"Did the Big Mom Pirates come to the East Blue?"

"Probably not. It's likely a different Devil Fruit ability," Dragon said, shaking his head, a hint of confusion in his own eyes.

After a long time, driven by the ever-intensifying hurricane, the distance between the two sides shrank, closing to about three nautical miles. This distance was already within cannon range. The crew members inside the Revolutionary ship were fully prepared, standing two meters behind and to the side of the cannons, their hands gripping the lanyards, ready to counter-attack at the first moment of conflict.

In front of the railing, the tall figure bent down and instructed a comrade standing by with a flintlock in a gentle tone: "Tell the comrades at the side cannons to be careful. If the other side doesn't attack us, we are not to open fire."

"Understood!" Another cloaked figure responded and departed.

Then, Iva looked at Dragon and voiced their concern. "Dragon, should we go over and take a look? This shipment of food is crucial. Encountering them at this time... it makes me a little uneasy."

Dragon nodded. "I'll go over myself. If you all go, you might be in mortal danger."

"..."

The other two were stunned, exchanging glances. The unease in their hearts grew stronger. Such a powerful person, appearing in the East Blue, and encountering them in this storm while they were transporting food. Could this... really be a coincidence?

Then, the tall figure said in a low voice, "Be careful. Watch out for an ambush."

"I will, Kuma."

Dragon nodded in response, then placed a foot on the edge of the railing, ready to go and investigate.

...

Just then, the storm intensified. A wave dozens of meters high rose on the sea, striking the ship with the force of ten thousand tons. The massive vessel was tossed back and forth in the waves, constantly tilting and swaying.

Inside the ship, at the side cannon battery, the violent rocking caused the hull to tilt to a dangerous degree. Many of the Revolutionaries were instantly thrown off their feet. In one soldier's hand, the rope tied to a cannon's firing mechanism was pulled taut, instantly triggering it.

BOOM—

As a brilliant flash of fire lit up the night sky, a black cannonball instantly left the muzzle. With a piercing whistle, it shot out.

"..."

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone on the ship. A look of astonishment appeared on Dragon's face.

"Who fired that cannon?!" Iva's face was ashen.

Inside the cabin, a series of gasps rang out. The others learned that it was an accidental discharge caused by the recent wave.

Kuma slowly took off his gloves. "This is trouble," he said flatly.

He knew that people who grew strong on this sea had one thing in common—they were stubborn. On a normal day, it would be fine, but if one side suddenly opened fire, things would veer off in an unpredictable direction. Pirates, who lived with their heads on the line every day, would never believe it was an accidental fire!

And even if they knew it was an accident, so what? A pirate who felt they had been provoked wouldn't care about such things.

"Lower the sails! Everyone in the cabin, protect the food!!" Dragon immediately issued the highest priority order.

It was clear Dragon had no intention of getting entangled with the other party here, even if he had the ability to defeat them. On one hand, his side was in the wrong. On the other hand, the opponent's abilities were unknown. If a fight broke out and he couldn't defeat them instantly, it could lead to unnecessary casualties on his side. Right now, the most important thing was to protect this precious shipment of food. Everything else could be set aside.

Meanwhile...

Yelena's pupils constricted as she saw the faint flash of fire in the distance. She immediately pulled Uta behind her.

Louis, seeing this, slowly drew the Seven Star Sword.

A black cannonball streaked across the night sky, whistling as it approached. It landed more than ten meters from their warship, throwing up a spout of water dozens of meters high. It seemed that due to the sea wind, the shot from three nautical miles away had missed the warship.

Yelena instinctively tightened her grip on her war hammer and looked at Louis. "Louis, they've opened fire!"

"It was probably an accident," Louis replied casually.

Just then, the Island Cloud descended from the sky, swallowing the entire warship and carrying it upward.

Uta poked her head out from behind Yelena. She looked a little hesitant. "So... are we going to shoot back?" she asked tentatively.

Yelena heard this and looked at Louis's back, remaining silent.

"Of course. Whether it was an accident or not, they still fired."