Chapter 317: Collecting Ships
West Blue
The Rockefeller Pirates had now been sailing through the West Blue for over two months.
They had experienced many sights and customs across this sea… and participated in numerous battles.
For Caesar and his group, the past month or two had been constant warfare—fighting sea battles nearly every two days.
Charlotte never intervened.
He left everything in their hands.
In fact, to ensure they didn't rely on the Poseidon, the warship of the gods, Charlotte deliberately had several cannon-equipped sailboats prepared for them—to train their naval combat abilities.
As pirates, the sea was inescapable.
They needed to understand the danger and unpredictability of the ocean as early as possible.
The sooner they were trained, the better.
Because once they returned to the New World, the Great Pirate Era would be upon them.
When that time came, swarms of pirates would flood the seas, putting immense pressure on Charlotte. He wouldn't have the energy to protect his children.
They had to grow stronger—to stand at his side, to carve out their own territories when the Great Era began.
Currently, the New World was already on shaky ground in Charlotte's absence.
Carter and the others had tightened their defenses, concentrating their forces around Carmel Island to fend off pirate ambitions.
Fortunately, Charlotte's name still carried weight.
Everyone knew the Rockefeller Pirates hadn't been defeated—they had just left to sail the Four Blues. So the big-name pirates didn't press their luck. They only operated outside Rockefeller territory.
As for Wano Country, it remained peaceful, thanks to its remote location and excellent geography.
There were still remnants of samurai resistance trying to restore the nation, but most of Wano's warlords had been purged when Charlotte stayed there.
All the major daimyo had been slain—only the usurper Kurozumi Orochi remained in hiding.
But Orochi lacked the influence to rally all of Wano's warriors.
So for now, Wano was safe.
Still, Charlotte had to ensure that Kozuki Oden didn't learn what had happened in Wano.
If he did, things would get complicated.
Dealing with Oden had to be done quietly.
If the situation exploded publicly, the Whitebeard Pirates would never stand by.
That would force Charlotte into direct conflict with Whitebeard.
He wasn't afraid—but there was no need to fight a war of mutual destruction. That would only benefit Golden Lion, Big Mom, or worse—the Navy.
Charlotte was sure Whitebeard didn't want that either.
Still, whether Whitebeard would avenge Oden was uncertain. Oden had left the Whitebeard Pirates on his own.
Charlotte wasn't sure whether Whitebeard still considered him family.
But from what he knew of Whitebeard, it was likely a fight would happen anyway.
Though probably not to the death.
Whitebeard wouldn't want to risk his sons for an outsider—not like he did for Ace.
The road ahead was full of challenges, and Charlotte needed to prepare for them.
And power was the foundation of everything.
That's why he had been deliberately training his children—so they wouldn't be eliminated in the coming storms.
—
"Dad! It's done!"
Caesar returned with a relaxed grin on his face.
Charlotte nodded without saying much.
He didn't praise him either.
The pirates in the Four Blues posed no threat to Caesar and Esdeath anymore.
How could pirates who didn't even know Armament Haki or Observation Haki possibly defeat kids who had already mastered the latter?
If not for their young age and underdeveloped bodies—preventing them from awakening Armament Haki—they would already be Vice Admiral-level fighters.
As it stood, Charlotte judged them to be more than capable of holding their own against a Rear Admiral.
Especially Caesar—combined with his Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Fruit, he could probably wrestle with a Vice Admiral already.
"What's our next destination?"
Charlotte turned to the navigator.
"Up ahead is the West Blue's strongest nation: Flower Country. But before we reach it, there's a massive iceberg we need to navigate around."
The navigator had already memorized the entire map of the West Blue and responded promptly.
"Iceberg?" Charlotte muttered.
He remembered clearly—the iceberg supposedly held the Hundred Treasure Navy's centuries-old treasure.
And right next to it was the Flower Country.
That made Charlotte very suspicious that the Hundred Treasure Navy's treasure was hidden inside the iceberg.
He smiled.
"No need to go around. We head straight for the iceberg."
The crew blinked.
The navigator frowned.
"Captain, that area is filled with reefs and jagged ice. Very dangerous. Shipwrecks happen constantly. No one in the West Blue goes there."
He tried to dissuade Charlotte.
"Can our ship get through the ice?"
"It's too big. The chances of striking something are high."
Charlotte furrowed his brows.
He definitely wanted to go.
The Hundred Treasure Navy's hoard was extremely tempting.
Even if it meant offending Don Chinjao—Charlotte wasn't afraid.
Still, he had to admit—the risk of grounding the Poseidon was real.
He paused, thinking.
No one disturbed him.
Then—Caesar scratched his head and asked,
"Why not take a small ship in? We've seized plenty of pirate ships lately. We could use one to scout ahead."
The hall fell silent.
Everyone stared at the firstborn son in surprise.
Even Charlotte jolted, lifting his head.
Of course!
So simple!
He'd been too deep in the weeds to think clearly. Sometimes, the clearest vision came from the sidelines.
"How many ships do we have?"
Charlotte asked urgently.
Caesar scratched his head again.
"Since you told us not to kill unnecessarily and just take treasure… we've been letting most pirates go after looting them. So, we only have five pirate ships in our hands."
Charlotte's forehead twitched.
Right… he had given those orders.
A pirate robbing other pirates? It didn't sit right with him.
No wonder his reputation among pirates in the North and West Blues was terrible. No one wanted to join him as a subordinate.
But… Charlotte had never planned to recruit them anyway.
"From now on, collect more ships. We'll need them to enter the iceberg."
His brief moment of awkwardness passed as he gave the next order.
"Yes, Captain!"
Everyone quickly saluted and ran off to organize the mission.
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