"Stop the ship here!"
"We'll enter the Navy's cannon range if we go any further."
Kong Tai gazed at the distant shore, at the cannons, and said softly.
This wasn't a dock, and there were no deep-water areas for them to anchor, so they could only stop here.
"Understood!"
A Tao replied, and quickly pulled A Luo and A Hua to turn and stop the ship.
Kong Tai looked at Bada and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't be nervous, these few people can't stop us."
"Mmm!"
Bada's stiff body instantly relaxed after Kong Tai's pat. The closer they got to the mining island, the more tense he became.
Nearly ten thousand citizens of his Bas Kingdom were on this island!
He didn't know how they had managed for the past three years.
He knew it certainly wouldn't have been easy.
Because the World Government wouldn't support tens of thousands of people for free without asking them to do anything.
"Are you not going to advance any further?"
Melasen frowned as he looked at the two small sailing ships stopped in the distance, then relaxed his brow.
Since the other side had come, they would definitely land. There was no rush; they just had to wait.
"Silver Hair, how will you get onto the island?"
He knew Kong Tai could fly, but he couldn't fly two ships, could he?
He was indeed correct; Kong Tai's spatial domain couldn't currently encompass two ships.
After the two ships were stopped.
Kong Tai took the lead, jumping off the Freedom, and landed steadily on the sea's surface.
The sea below him, as he jumped, seemed to have solidified into a solid state, rising and falling with the lower layers of seawater.
Gu Ina looked at Kong Tai and followed, jumping down and landing lightly beside him. Then came A Hua, the other two, and Indigo.
"Amazing!"
*Bang—!*
Bada jumped down after Indigo. He stomped on the sea surface a few times, making a "thump-thump" sound, as if stepping on solid ground.
"Alright, call your subordinates down. Try not to stray too far from me."
Kong Tai looked ahead, his eyes swirling with nebulae, a slight curl at the corner of his mouth, in good spirits.
Judging by the opposition, there were not only four CP0 martial arts monsters but also an old Vice Admiral from the same era as Garp. He hoped it would bring him some enjoyment!
Seeing Bada's subordinates leave only a few to guard the two ships while the rest jumped off, Kong Tai turned his head and walked forward.
Since they couldn't fly over or sail over, walking was the only option.
As Kong Tai walked, the sea surface in front of him instantly solidified, while the sea behind him quickly melted.
Between the front and the back, a patch of solidified sea was always maintained for their group to walk on.
"What the hell is this now!"
Hei Qi looked at Kong Tai, who was walking at the front in the distance, with a look of shock on his face.
"It seems Silver Hair's abilities are far more complex than he's let on!"
Corvus looked at the distant sea surface, his eyes narrowing.
"Let's act!"
"Okay."
Hei Qi replied, reaching behind him and taking off the large sniper rifle he always carried.
Holding the gun in his left hand, he gripped the rear handle with his right, placed his index finger on the trigger, raised it to his eye, and peered through the scope.
In the scope, the distance to Kong Tai and his group seemed to shrink infinitely, making them appear almost within arm's reach.
He roughly gauged the wind speed, and a surge of Armament Haki flowed down his arm, wrapping around the bullet in the barrel.
In the first half of the Grand Line, no pirate had ever evaded his sniper shots. He wondered how Silver Hair would deal with this.
A flicker of excitement flashed in his eyes, and he unhesitatingly squeezed the trigger, aiming at Kong Tai's head.
*Bang—!*
The sniper rifle let out a gunshot like that of a cannon. A tremendous recoil acted upon Hei Qi, but he remained motionless.
The bullet, which had once injured Bada, shot out of the barrel with a "whoosh," tearing through the air like a meteor in the night, flashing sparks, and in the blink of an eye, it reached the area in front of Kong Tai and his group.
"Lit..."
Before Bada could finish "tle," the bullet, which felt like it had resided in his heart for three years, suddenly stopped in front of Kong Tai as if time had frozen.
"Truly formidable."
Kong Tai did not stop walking. He continued forward, and when he reached the bullet, he reached out and caught it in his hand.
He felt the scorching heat emanating from it and the lingering Armament Haki.
With a pinch.
*Pfft—!*
The bullet in his hand, like a muffled fart, let out a "poof" and disappeared with a puff of smoke.
"Just an armament?"
Kong Tai raised his head, staring at the few CP0 standing on the giant rocks in the distance, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"If it's just an armament, then these CP0 are completely useless!"
No.
They could still serve as a whetstone for Gu Ina.
With this thought, he lost interest in these CP0 and instead turned his gaze to the veteran Navy Vice Admiral "Melasen," standing at the forefront of the beach.
He figured this one's Armament Haki wouldn't disappoint him!
"So easily?"
Hei Qi clearly saw in his scope how Kong Tai had blocked his bullet. A tremor ran through his entire body.
If he could block his bullet so easily, then he could block their attacks just as easily. How could they possibly fight?
"No."
He shook his head. If he were truly that powerful, Silver Hair would have become famous worldwide long ago and wouldn't have waited until now.
There must be some limitation he hadn't discovered.
With this thought, his eyes filled with renewed fighting spirit. They were CP0, the World Government's strongest shield.
And his superior...
He looked at Corvus's back, his eyes full of confidence.
"Vice Admiral Melasen, aren't you going to act yet?"
Just then, Corvus looked at Melasen at the front of the Navy and said calmly, "Don't forget the orders you received."
"I know, and I don't need you to tell me how to do my job."
"Don't forget your own identity, Melasen... Vice Admiral."
Corvus stared at Melasen with a sinister gaze.
Melasen met Corvus's gaze, his brow furrowed. He slowly raised his left hand, brought a cigarette to his lips, bit down, and took a deep drag.
Then he turned to look at the sea, raised his right hand, and gestured downwards.
"Fire."
Since they were pirates, there was nothing else to say. He had no psychological burden in engaging them.
"Understood!"
The Navy soldiers, upon hearing Melasen's order, quickly lined up under the commander's direction. The commander then waved his hand.
All the cannons were aimed at Kong Tai and his group, and the fuses were lit simultaneously.
With a loud bang, thick smoke billowed, and dozens of cannonballs flew towards Kong Tai and his group at extreme speed.
The commander didn't stop and continued to direct the cannons. The second volley of cannonballs was quickly fired.
The third volley!
The fourth volley!
...
Only when the barrels glowed red and could no longer fire any more cannonballs did the commander finally cease his gestures.
Their opponent was a pirate with a bounty of 500 million. They couldn't give him any chance to breathe.