Chapter 616 Target, Hive! (2 in 1)

Tsugakuni Yoshiichi's Rising Star Plan began to move forward in an orderly manner. With the confirmation of the three candidates, Kuina, Zoro, and Yamato, the work of filling the remaining personnel also progressed very quickly.

Due to the appearance of Yamato, the Rising Star Project also expanded the selection scope and set the age of crew members to under 25 years old. A large number of new candidates reappeared in Tsugakuni Yoshiichi's sight, which made Tsugakuni Yoshiichi's job much easier.

For a normal human being, the peak period is often between the ages of 18 and 33. The threshold of is a relatively reasonable range. The behavior logic of new navy officers above this age is basically finalized, and their strength growth begins to slow down. They are no longer worth spending a lot of effort to cultivate.

However, relaxing the age limit will lead to a new problem, that is, the two children of Kuina and Zoro, who are designated as the leader by Tsugikuni Yoriichi, are relatively younger than the other crew members.

Even though their strength is in the upper-middle level among all fifteen people, the disadvantage brought by age cannot be ignored. After the team is formed, Yoshiichi Tsugakuni noticed that Kuina and Zoro were somewhat unable to suppress their companions with higher military ranks and older age.

As the initiator of this plan, Yoshiichi Tsugakuni could have personally stepped in to resolve such internal conflicts, but after realizing this, Yoshiichi Tsugakuni did not step forward to help Kuina and Zoro.

For young people of Kuina and Zoro's age, isn't it very important to learn to get along with companions who don't get along with them?

Moreover, Ji Kuniyoshi has confidence in Kuina and Zoro. In the world of pirates where strength is king, as they spend more time together, Kuina and Zoro will naturally be recognized by the crew.

And those crew members who originally had an unhappy relationship with Kuina and Zoro will naturally witness the powerful strength and terrifying potential of the captain and the vice-captain.

However, the only thing that made this person feel a little relieved was that Yamato, a guy whose combat power was even higher than Kuina and Zoro, got along very well with his two "little leaders".

Maybe it's because Yamato himself has no competitive spirit, or maybe it's because Yamato, Kuina and Zoro have naturally compatible auras. In short, Yamato and Kuina have only been together for a few days and have become good friends who can talk about anything.

In fact, there is one thing that Yamato and Kuina are very similar to.

That is, as women, they have ambitions that are not inferior to anyone else.

Kuina hopes to become the world's number one swordsman, while Yamato hopes to become someone like Tsugakuni Yoriichi and become the pillar of the new navy.

The two people with different personalities are extremely similar in some ways.

And Zoro is just like the other two. These three are relatively pure people and have already defined their own paths.

The International Shipyard built ships very quickly. In less than two months, the ship belonging to Guina's group of young people was completed.

Although Tsugukuni Yoriichi's original intention was to let Kuina and others go out to sea for training and expand the influence of their new navy in the four seas, this does not mean that their new navy would be stupid enough to let Kuina and Zoro go out to sea on a ship with obvious new navy logos.

The best way is to build a small warship and let Kuina and the others disguise themselves as pirate hunters to cover their tracks and act secretly.

As for how to expand the influence of their new navy after hiding their identities, Kuina and Zoro need to use their brains to think about it.

Autumn is deepening.

The osmanthus flowers blooming on Cake Island also withered one after another.

Today is the day when Kuina and her crew officially set sail. At a harbor somewhere on Cake Island, Tsugumi Yoshiichi has already ordered the evacuation of all idlers within a radius of several kilometers.

Apart from the crew members' families, the only people who could be present at the harbor to see these people off today were some of the navy's top leaders.

Yixiao and his men are busy preparing for the attack on the Hive, and the preliminary intelligence investigation work has come to an end. During this period, the New Navy has been dispatching troops to approach the Hive.

The troop transfer was done in secret, and so far, there has been no news that the new navy has begun large-scale operations.

Although it is impossible to completely conceal such an action, there are countless forces around the world who are watching our new navy.

But for the new navy, they did not expect that this action would go unnoticed. They just needed the people from the Hive to discover it slowly. After all, they could create a time difference and a combat readiness difference.

On the dock, Shimotsuki Koshiro was gently stroking his daughter's head and giving her detailed instructions:
"Be careful when you go out to sea. Never underestimate anyone. The cunning and cruelty of pirates are unimaginable to others."

"When you go out to sea, never trust others easily. Your partners are the ones you can rely on the most."

"I heard your team isn't getting along very well?"

"You have to take your time with things like this. Don't think that just because you're the captain, others should listen to you."

"You didn't recruit these crew members yourself. Although you are the captain, it is natural that you lack prestige. As time goes by, people's true character will be revealed. You just need to do your best and everything will fall into place naturally."

Koshiro Shimotsuki really cares about his daughter. Since the new team was formed, Koshiro would often inquire about his daughter's situation through Yoriichi Tsugumi.

There were some things that Koshiro had never told Kuina before. He was just silently worried about his daughter in his heart. It was not until today when they were about to set sail that Koshiro could not help but say these words.

He really wanted to take care of his daughter's self-esteem, knowing that a child with such a strong opinion like her would definitely not be willing to listen to the nagging of an old man like him. But seeing that his daughter was about to go to sea, Koshiro, as a father, was still worried.

However, what surprised Koshiro was that his daughter, who originally didn't want to listen to his nagging, didn't show any impatience today. Instead, she listened quietly with a faint smile on her face:
"Dad, I know everything you said, and I will keep it in mind."

"Don't worry, I will definitely bring everyone back to Wan Guo safely."

Perhaps it was because Kuina had been spending more time with crew members with very different personalities during this period, Koshiro felt that his daughter had matured a lot. Just looking at her performance, she didn't look like a teenager at all.

“I’ve really grown up.”

It was as if Kuina had grown up overnight, and even Koshiro could hardly recognize her.

After murmuring softly, Koshiro seemed to have suddenly thought of something and said, "This time you go out to sea, you must visit the four major seas in the southeast, northwest, and northeast. If you return to the East China Sea, you must visit Shimotsuki Village."

"Although your grandfather is buried in Shimokatsuki Village, I know that his greatest dream is to return to his hometown."

"Our new navy has established new ties with Wano Country. I plan to find a time to send your grandfather back to Wano Country for reburial."

"If you go to the East Sea, remember to bring him back."

Kuina didn't know much about the affairs of her elders, but since it was her father's request, she naturally would not refuse.

During this sea experience, Tsugumi Yuichiro gave them enough freedom.

As for when they would be able to return after training, Tsugikuni Yoriichi did not say. Yoriichi only told them two sentences:

"When you are able to hear about your reputation in the new world, your training will be halfway completed."

"When the new navy can be proud of you, then your training will be officially completed!" Does Jigoku Yuichi have a standard? Yes, but it is not very clear.

However, Kuina and the others quickly understood what Tsugakuni Yoshiichi meant, and one by one they made promises to Tsugakuni Yoshiichi.

Afterwards, the crew members boarded the ship under the watchful eyes of Ji Guoyuan and others. As the sails were raised, the ship slowly sailed out of the harbor and quickly went away.

As soon as the ship left the harbor, Kuina gathered all the crew members on deck.

As they officially set sail, they still had a very important thing to do.

"From today on, we will be temporarily separated from the new navy."

"Next, it's our own adventure."

"I propose to name our team Dawn!"

"Back then, Mr. Tsugukuni Yuichi started with the Dawn Sword Marine Branch as the base. We must follow his path and then walk out our own lives!"

After the crew was gathered, the first person to express his opinion was Yamato rather than Kuina. As soon as he opened his mouth, he attracted everyone's attention.

The other crew members were stunned at first, but after hearing Yamato's proposal, they all responded. They were all in high spirits having just set out to sea, and Yamato's proposal was exactly what they wanted.

The name of the fleet was quickly decided through voting. After a few people gathered together and chatted excitedly for a few minutes, they went to their respective posts. The one at the helm took the helm, and the other crew members did what they were supposed to do.

After the crowd dispersed, Yamato and Kuina looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Kuina and Yamato have a good personal relationship. In order to prevent herself from being unable to command the older crew members and to prevent herself from being refuted in person and thus depleting her already limited prestige, Kuina plans to remain invisible in some things and let Yamato act as the "vanguard".

As the captain, Kuina doesn't actually need to be at the forefront of everything herself. She just needs to be the decision maker and side with one side when there is a conflict among her crew mates!
This is what Kuina figured out on her own. She is learning how to be a leader.

The Rising Star Program has come to an end.

Tsugikuni Yoshiichi also freed up his hands and began to prepare to help the new navy eliminate all forces in the new world that posed a threat to maritime security.

The criteria for determining whether there is a threat are also very simple.
Whether to take action against ordinary people.

This is the most basic bottom line. Any force that touches this bottom line will be marked by the new navy and will be eliminated in due time!

And the first target of attack after Kuniyoshige returned to the new navy was the revived Beehive Island.

"Wow—"

Dozens of warships were approaching the direction of Beehive Island. When the warships of the new navy appeared in the waters around Fengsha Island, the pirate patrol boats in the nearby waters were also swept away by the new navy.

On a certain command ship, Kuzan, wearing a new navy uniform, stood at the bow with his hands on his hips and wearing sunglasses, looking calmly at the island that appeared in the distance.

"honeycomb."

"Who would have thought that Wang Zhi could have successfully escaped from Yuan Yi's hands back then?"

"I'm afraid I won't be so lucky this time."

The new navy was deployed on a large scale. Apart from Yoriichi Tsugakuni who was hiding in the dark, the person who openly led the attack on Beehive Island was Kuzan.

In addition to Kuzan, Xiong and Abel both led the troops and provided assistance.

The combat power configuration of the New Navy is even enough to fight a war with the Navy Headquarters. By dispatching so many top combat forces to Beehive Island, they intend to defeat the enemy with a devastating force and restore the reputation of the New Navy. At the same time, they also intend to use the destruction of Beehive Island to warn all pirates in the New World.

"The ocean currents near Beehive Island are weird. It's impossible to land directly at Rocky Harbor."

"Kuzan, use your ability to build an ice platform two miles away from the hive, and seal off the surrounding sea area."

"The ships will first pass through the ice platform and attack from below, carrying out a covering bombardment of Honeycomb Island, and then proceed to land on the island and fight."

Just as Kuzan was looking at the Beehive Island in the distance and thinking about how to advance, a breeze blew by his side, and a figure in a black robe appeared beside Kuzan. A clear voice came into Kuzan's ears. Hearing this, Kuzan did not hesitate at all, took out the Den Den Mushi and directly issued an order to all the commanders in the fleet:
"Everyone, prepare for battle. When I use my power to freeze the sea, all ships will aim their guns at the hive and fire at my command."

"Everyone, be prepared for close combat. Our goal in this war is to achieve a great victory with minimal casualties!"

The person who appeared next to Kuzan was none other than Yoriichi Tsugikoku, whose identity was hidden.

Wang Zhi's power cannot be underestimated, and Jigoku Yuichiro is personally in charge of this, not wanting to give Beehive Island another chance to revive.

Responses from commanders at all levels were heard one after another through the receiver of the Den Den Mushi.

"So many warships. This scale is beyond the reach of even the Navy Headquarters' Demon Slayer Order."

Kuzan looked around the surrounding waters and couldn't help but let out a sigh at the mighty new navy fleet.

This was the first time he had commanded such a large-scale operation since joining the new navy. The spectacular sight of tens of thousands of ships launching at the same time was enough to make even a man like Kuzan excited.

"Demon Slayer Order?"

"That kind of thing poses no threat to the truly strong."

"Clear up the minions first, as for the main character, you and Mihawk will have to take action."

"A beehive. It really lives up to its name. It's just that a few bees were missing, and another nest like this one grew out."

"This time, we must get rid of Wang Zhi, the 'Queen Bee'!"

Ji Guoyuan's expression was cold, and his eyes were filled with strong murderous intent.

His observation Haki can already reach Beehive Island. It has only been a few years, but now Beehive has once again become a paradise for pirates and hell for ordinary people.

(End of this chapter)