After that one slash, the pirate crews finally understood. Whether the Navy traitor with a bounty of one billion berries was all reputation or not, they couldn't be sure. However, with this level of strength, taking them down would be an easy task!
The reason for avoiding battle earlier was likely because the enemy was deliberately showing weakness, luring them in for an ambush, just like now, where they could be wiped out in one go!
Due to the earlier feat of splitting a pirate ship in half, these lesser-known pirate crews in the New World realized the gap in strength. They began to turn their ships around, trying to flee from the danger.
But with such easy prey before him, Wood wasn't about to let them escape.
Wood's feet danced swiftly through the air, closing the distance between him and the pirate crews instantly with the Moonwalk technique from the Six Powers.
"Fire the cannons! Shoot him down from the sky!"
Seeing Wood rapidly approaching, the pirate captains hastily ordered their crews to open fire on him.
With so many pirate ships, aiming wasn't even necessary. A barrage of cannonballs filled the sky, covering the entire area.
But in the world of pirates, old-fashioned cannons were more of a joke. To be honest, the iron balls they fired had far less impact than Garp's hand-thrown projectiles.
"Hyakki Yagyō Sword Style: One Sword Style: Wind Blade!"
Ferocious winds raged around, and flashes of sword light crisscrossed through the sky filled with cannonballs. Before the iron balls could reach Wood, they were sliced into countless irregular fragments, all of which fell into the sea.
The enemy had come for the bounty on their heads and the treasure aboard their ship. Against such foes, there was no need to hold back.
People die for wealth, just as birds die for food. This has always been true. Unfortunately, these pirates were too greedy and lacked the strength to back it up.
There were over a dozen pirate crews present, with nearly a thousand men in total.
However, there weren't many skilled fighters among them. Killing them wasn't much more difficult for Wood than slaughtering a hundred prisoners at Impel Down.
From the dozen pirate ships, Wood and his crew managed to collect nearly a billion berries in treasure, not counting the bounties on the pirate captains.
After this pursuit, Wood and his crew not only suffered no losses but even made a hefty profit.
When the captured pirate captains, bound like bundles of straw, heard that Wood planned to hand them over to the Navy for their bounties, their faces twitched in fear.
They had long heard about the horrors of Impel Down.
Ever since Shiki the Golden Lion's successful escape, Impel Down's defenses had grown even tighter, and the treatment of prisoners had become even more brutal.
To prevent prisoners from having the energy to attempt a breakout, those entering Impel Down were tortured to exhaustion daily. Their treatment wasn't much better than that of the World Nobles' slaves.
If they were going to be sent to Impel Down, they would rather die at Wood's hand.
But Wood wasn't about to grant them their wish for death.
Although dead pirates could still fetch a bounty from the Navy, as former Navy officers, Wood and his crew knew that delivering dead pirates often led to the Navy withholding part of the reward. This was one of the many unspoken rules.
"Captain, at three o'clock, there's another ship approaching. Judging by their course, they seem to be heading straight for us."
Wood's general whereabouts were still being tracked by the black market. For a bounty of sixty-five billion berries, it wasn't surprising that others would take the risk.
The pirate crews Wood had just dealt with were clearly not the last. They had been the closest, but now more "fish" were smelling the blood and coming.
"Forget them. Full left rudder! We're heading to the nine o'clock direction.
"It's too much trouble to deal with them one by one. Once enough of them have gathered, we'll take them all out at once!
"Looks like we'll make another big score this time. If I'd known robbing for berries was this easy, I would've sold my information to the black market sooner. I could've made extra money from intelligence fees."
The larger pirate crews in the New World weren't fools. Anyone who could get the better of Donquixote Doflamingo and leave him helpless was clearly not a simple character, despite what the rumors said.
While these pirate crews were also interested in the treasure on Wood's ship, they weren't reckless enough to make a move right away. Who knew if this was all part of a larger scheme by one of the New World's powerhouses?
The information about Wood had been released by Doflamingo, and Wood had clearly offended him badly. With Doflamingo's vengeful nature, why would he spread the information rather than deal with Wood himself?
The stronger pirate crews weren't avoiding action because they didn't want to. They were just waiting for the weaker, greedier pirate crews to test the waters for them.
If Wood didn't have some hidden strengths, they would strike afterward.
And if Wood were taken out by the lesser-known pirate crews before they acted, all the better.
That would prove that Wood's reputation was all hot air and that he had no real background.
As for the stolen treasure, they could just kill the pirates who had defeated Wood and take it back.
Upon hearing Wood's orders, Ruth and the others immediately adjusted the sails and steered the ship in the opposite direction of the approaching pirate vessel, making it seem as though they were fleeing in a panic.
As expected, the pirate ship at three o'clock raised its sails and began chasing them.
The captured pirate captains aboard the Dark Maru now looked at the pursuing pirate crew with a sympathetic expression.
It seemed like they were about to have company. The number of prisoners at Impel Down was about to increase by a few more.
"This Navy traitor is too devious. He could easily defeat us, yet he always pretends to retreat, making us walk right into his trap.
"I've been a pirate for so long, and I've never seen anyone so despicable…"
Before the captured pirate could finish his sentence, his scruffy face was slapped by a hand that suddenly grew from someone's shoulder.
"Shut up! You scum of the sea! What right do you have to judge others?
"If you disturb my reading again, I'll knock all your teeth out."
To Robin, both pirates and the Navy were equally despicable, but Wood was different.
What right did a bunch of trash pirates have to criticize Wood's actions? They only fell into his trap because of their own greed. Why should Wood take the blame for that?
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 350+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a