Chapter 244: The Vanishing of Hachinosu: Shadows Over the New World

At the entrance from Fishman Island to the New World, Golden Lion led his Flying Pirates, racing through night and day, until they arrived high above Hachinosu.

Standing on the edge of the ship, he looked down—only to see endless ocean stretching below. There was no sign of Hachinosu at all, and for a moment, he wondered if he’d gotten the wrong place. He quickly called for his men.

“If I’m remembering right, this should be Hachinosu, shouldn’t it?”

“Why does it look like this now?”

“We should have our informants on the island, right? Check in with them, find out what’s going on!”

The one Golden Lion summoned was Brie, the crew member responsible for information gathering.

After years of Rocks’ rule in the New World, most of the elite pirates had joined the Rocks Pirates and fought in the God Valley War. When that war ended in disaster, only a handful made it back to the New World—most died there.

So the New World was left in a dire state. Golden Lion hadn’t recruited many strong new crew members, filling his ranks mostly with fodder.

And with the Navy controlling Fishman Island’s entrance to the New World, new blood was scarce. Most of Golden Lion’s men were old members from the Rocks Pirates.

Brie checked his Eternal Pose, then carefully reviewed some recent reports before saying gravely, “Captain Golden Lion, the location of Hachinosu should be spot on. The Eternal Pose doesn’t lie. But all our spies there have gone silent.”

His voice faltered. “Most likely, they’ve vanished somewhere in this sea.”

“Captain, could we bring the fleet down to the surface and send some of our swimmers underwater to investigate?”

Brie made this suggestion because he was once part of the Rocks Pirates himself. Among those pirates—and other powerful pirates of the past—there were some true monsters. Destroying a whole island was nothing to them.

But what puzzled him was why the people on the island never managed to send out a warning. That part he couldn’t figure out.

Golden Lion listened, took the Eternal Pose from Brie’s hand and thought for a moment. “Then that’s what we’ll do for now.”

With a wave of the Golden Lion’s hand, the ship quickly descended to the surface. Several pirates who could dive stripped off their clothes, tied ropes around themselves, grabbed some gear and plunged into the sea.

“If an island this big can just vanish, then…” Golden Lion couldn’t help but remember the terrifying attack that fell on God Valley.

The force of that attack was so overwhelming that even standing on the edge of God Valley, he felt threatened to his core.

If this island really sank without anyone noticing and wiped everyone out before they could send word, could this be the work of the World Government?

But why would the World Government do that? What could they possibly gain? Isn’t the New World supposed to be their frontline outpost?

Or could it be that Karl’s already been here?

Back when news spread that Karl was dead, Golden Lion hadn’t believed it for a second. With no top-tier power to hold him down, Karl could have escaped God Valley easily.

Afterwards, his suspicions were confirmed. Charlotte Linlin returned to Cake Island like nothing had happened.

Splash! Splash!

The divers burst out of the water and were hauled back up by their crewmates.

“Reporting, Captain Golden Lion!”

“There’s definitely an island below—about 500 meters down.”

“And there’s an enormous round hole in the center of the island.”

“No idea what could hit an island so hard it sinks in one shot,”

As the divers took turns reporting, Golden Lion quickly got the picture of what was happening underwater.

“Is it really the Navy’s outpost Hachinosu down there?” To be honest, without seeing it himself, he still found it hard to believe.

“It is, Captain Golden Lion. Plus, we found this.”

One of the pirates pulled a few ripped pieces of Navy uniform from his pocket and handed them to Golden Lion.

Golden Lion examined the scraps in his hands, then nodded. “No doubt about it. That’s Navy gear. Looks like someone just did us a huge favor.”

“Gyahahahaha!”

Realizing Hachinosu had truly been sunk only made him laugh.

The Navy stationed at Hachinosu had been the main blockade, cutting pirates off from Fishman Island and the New World. Golden Lion never had anywhere to replenish his forces.

But now, with that obstacle out of the way, how could he not be in a good mood?

Thinking of something, he turned to his men. “I’m heading to Sabaody Archipelago. You all stay here and stand guard. If any fleets try to enter the New World, you know what to do.”

Brie stepped up and said, “Understood, Captain Golden Lion!”

Of course they knew. That’s exactly how most of them ended up under Golden Lion in the first place.

As for those who resisted… chances are, they had long since become nothing but bones in some sea king’s stomach.

Once everything was settled, Golden Lion soared off toward Sabaody Archipelago. He wanted to pay an old friend a visit—and maybe drop a few hints.

He couldn’t help wondering, who else in the New World could strike the Navy’s outpost like that except Karl?

What puzzled him was when Karl had gained the strength to destroy an island in a single blow.

He couldn’t figure it out. Had Karl gotten even stronger?

Or maybe he’d found Pluto, the weapon that could wipe out islands?

As one of the top pirates in the New World and a former Rocks Pirates officer, Golden Lion knew a few of the World Government’s secrets—but just barely.

When it came to intel, the Navy’s information network was far superior. But Golden Lion had no doubt—even on his own, Sengoku couldn’t stop him.

Indigo came clicking along, his steps making a ‘pooz pooz’ noise as he performed a bizarre slapstick pantomime.

Most of the crew had no idea what he was getting at. They fixed their eyes on Brie.

Brie was one of only two people in the Flying Pirates who understood Indigo’s pantomime acts.

Stepping forward, Brie waved his arm. “Take the ships and surround the entire sea area!”

“Until Captain Golden Lion returns, any pirate crew that shows up in these waters joins the Flying Pirates. No exceptions.”

Seeing Brie understood, Indigo started another silent performance off to the side.

His last pantomime needed no translation: a hand slicing across his throat. Everyone knew exactly what that meant.

In the blink of an eye, more than two hundred pirate ships fanned out across the sea, ready and waiting.

They kept a sharp eye for any pirate crews that pop up from below. If not for that clash with the Roger Pirates, their numbers would be at least five times greater.

Unfortunately, the Flying Pirates were a bit lacking in strength. A lot of their men just weren’t very strong—if they’d been, that last fight with the Roger Pirates might’ve gone very differently.

Without having to keep his ship airborne, Golden Lion was feeling much more energetic. In less than an hour, he reached Sabaody Archipelago.

He glanced at the pirate ships docked in the harbor and sneered. “How could I visit an old friend without bringing a gift?”

“Sengoku, your old friend is here!”