The Vodka Kingdom.
It was one of the World Government's affiliated nations, and the homeland of Kaido.
Due to its poor economic development, the kingdom was forced to constantly wage brutal wars of plunder against neighboring islands just to acquire enough wealth to pay the Heavenly Tribute to the Celestial Dragons. Because of this endless cycle of violence, the Vodka Kingdom was notoriously known throughout the New World as the 'Land of Ceaseless War'.
Nine years ago, the King of the Vodka Kingdom made a calculated, ruthless decision. To secure one of the fifty coveted seats at the Levely (World Council) and improve his country's economic standing, he proactively betrayed Kaido—who was then a child soldier and the kingdom's strongest warrior. The King sold the young Oni to the Marines as a political bargaining chip.
That betrayal was the catalyst that drove Kaido to become a pirate.
Now, Atlas D. York, leading his massive Grand Fleet, was attacking this kingdom with a dual purpose: avenging Kaido's past, and annexing the country into his growing empire.
Through his previous conversations with Kaido, York knew that the land and natural resources of the Vodka Kingdom were actually incredibly fertile. If they weren't, it would be impossible for the nation to sustain a military capable of fighting constant foreign wars. What the Vodka Kingdom lacked was simply cash flow and normal, peaceful economic trade.
If they were freed from the crushing burden of the Heavenly Tribute, the Vodka Kingdom could be completely self-sufficient and live a stable, prosperous life similar to Alabasta.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As the 360-meter flagship entered the range of the Vodka Kingdom's coastal defense batteries, the enemy immediately unleashed a dense, coordinated barrage of heavy artillery shells.
"WORORORORO!"
Kaido let out a thunderous, sky-shaking laugh. He leaped from the bow, transforming mid-air into his massive Azure Dragon form, and soared into the storm of cannon fire.
"Boro Breath: BARRAGE!!"
Like spitting explosive water balloons, several massive fireballs of concentrated dragon's breath smashed into the coastal cliffs, causing a series of violent, earth-shattering explosions. The sturdy stone defensive fortifications were instantly shattered. The bodies of the defenders were thrown into the air, their artillery melted into slag by the sheer heat.
CRASH!!
With the coastal guns silenced, the Crimson Harvest flagship crashed heavily into the stone embankment as planned. The pirates cheered loudly, leaping from the high decks like a plague of bloodthirsty locusts.
"KILL!"
"SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!!"
However, the fierce shouts of battle were not just coming from the pirates. From inside the Vodka Kingdom's coastal fortress, an even larger number of heavily armored defenders rushed out, brandishing swords and spears.
The two massive forces clashed on the shoreline like crashing waves, instantly sending a spray of blood into the air.
"Evil pirates! You've chosen the wrong target for an invasion!" a Vodka Kingdom commander roared, his tone filled with absolute, battle-hardened confidence.
"The downfall of the Vodka Kingdom is today!" a Crimson Harvest squad leader yelled back, parrying a spear thrust. "Why, you ask?! Because Captain York has arrived!"
The Crimson Harvest Pirates were completely unwilling to show weakness. The two sides fought fiercely on the beaches, with blood, severed limbs, and broken weapons flying everywhere.
Kaido overlooked the massive battlefield from the sky, his draconic eyes sweeping over the chaos.
He immediately spotted several familiar faces among the Vodka Kingdom's army. These elite veterans had clearly become the mainstays of the kingdom's military forces over the last decade. Under their disciplined leadership, the Crimson Harvest recruits—who didn't have any of the core cadres actively fighting alongside them yet—were actually being steadily pushed back toward the sea.
"HANAFUDA!! DO YOU STILL RECOGNIZE ME?"
Kaido suddenly let out a deafening roar. He transformed back into his human form, plummeting from the sky like a meteor, and violently smashed his spiked club down towards a massive dinosaur-man who was wielding a chained scythe and a meteor hammer.
The dinosaur-man's weapon was connected by a thick iron chain. Seeing Kaido suddenly descend from the clouds, he immediately raised the shaft of his scythe, wrapping the steel in dense Armament Haki, and braced to block the incoming strike.
CLANG!!
The scythe's long handle, despite being coated in Haki, bent dangerously under the sheer, monstrous kinetic force of Kaido's strike. The dinosaur-man groaned, his feet skidding uncontrollably backward through the dirt for several meters.
Only after stabilizing himself did the dinosaur-man clearly see who had just attacked him.
"Kaido?! It's you!"
"Wororororo!" Kaido rested his spiked club on his shoulder, a ferocious, nostalgic smile on his face. "Hanafuda! Are you really still fighting for that foolish King?!"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Hanafuda's eyes burned with absolute fury.
"Kaido! You're a traitor to this country! How dare you show your face here!" Hanafuda roared, spinning his meteor hammer. "I, Hanafuda, will bring you to justice today!"
Kaido's eyes narrowed dangerously. He no longer bothered to offer explanations. He simply gripped his club with both hands and charged, engaging the fierce dinosaur-man in a brutal duel.
York stood calmly at the bow of the pirate ship, looking down at the massive war below.
Sweeping his Observation Haki across the island, he suddenly realized that the Vodka Kingdom's overall military strength was actually slightly less than he had imagined. Most of their fighting force consisted of exhausted veterans and conscripted citizens.
'Considering I plan to recruit these soldiers as my subordinates after I take the throne,' York thought pragmatically, 'if my pirates slaughter too many of them now, it will be incredibly difficult to resolve the hatred and govern them later.'
York decided to use his Awakened abilities to quickly and bloodlessly end the battle.
A sacred, blinding white light began to emanate from York's entire body. He activated the AoE suppression of the Light Sun God form, and a soft, hypnotic whisper emerged from his lips, echoing directly into the minds of everyone on the battlefield.
"Sleep. Embrace the absolute joy of slumber."
Under the illumination of the gentle, suffocatingly blissful Holy Light, the battlefield—which had been a chaotic, screaming deathmatch just a second ago—gradually fell dead silent.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Weapons slipped from relaxed hands. One by one, the battle-hardened soldiers of the Vodka Kingdom, as well as the bloodthirsty pirates of the Crimson Harvest, simply collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep, euphoric sleep.
In the blink of an eye, the entire beach was littered with thousands of snoring bodies.
The only person left standing was Hanafuda, who had just been locked in a deadly clash with Kaido.
Of course, even with his incredible physical endurance, Hanafuda was only barely struggling to resist the overwhelming, mind-melting drowsiness. His knees buckled, and his eyelids fluttered.
Kaido stopped his attack, resting his club on his shoulder.
York leaped down from the ship, landing softly on the beach. As the source of the Holy Light drew closer, Hanafuda ultimately could not contend with the reality-warping ability. The Vice Admiral-level warrior vaguely saw a human-shaped sun walking toward him, before his eyes rolled back. He fell to his knees, face-planted into the sand, and fell deeply asleep.
York slowly stepped forward. He watched Hanafuda's Devil Fruit transformation recede, watching him devolve from a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex back into a towering, muscular human possessing thick, demonic horns on his head—exactly like Kaido.
"A younger brother of the same Oni race?" York asked gently, looking at Kaido.
Kaido grunted, a hint of deep, complicated displeasure in his voice. "Just a foolish younger brother."
"If that's the case, then he has immense value for recruitment," York noted, assessing the sleeping giant. "Especially considering his Devil Fruit ability. That appeared to be the Ancient Zoan-type: Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Tyrannosaurus Rex."
The strategic value of a loyal Ancient Zoan user was astronomically high. As an Emperor building a global military force, York had absolutely no reason to let an elite, Vice Admiral-level prospect like Hanafuda slip through his fingers.
As he spoke, York deactivated the AoE suppression. Countless microscopic Holy Light tentacles emanated from his body, whipping out across the beach to specifically touch the sleeping Crimson Harvest pirates, instantly retracting the hypnotic ability he had imposed on them.
The thousands of Crimson Harvest pirates groaned, standing up and rubbing their newly awakened heads. Seeing that all ten thousand of their former enemies were still fast asleep on the ground, they were instinctively startled, before quickly realizing this was a demonstration of their Captain's god-like power.
York immediately issued a new, absolute command.
"Tie up all of these Vodka Kingdom soldiers! Strip them of their weapons and armor! In the near future, they might become your comrades!"
The Crimson Harvest Pirates were more than familiar with tying up captives. Since departing from Skypiea, this crew had existed in a constant cycle of war and recruitment. It was a simple fact that a massive portion of the current Crimson Harvest fleet were once prisoners tied up in this exact manner.
Before long, under the busy hands of over 4,000 pirates, nearly ten thousand snoring Vodka Kingdom soldiers were thoroughly disarmed, stripped of their armor, and bound.
They actually ran out of spare ropes and iron chains from the ships to secure them all. In the end, Kaido had to release solid rings of Flame Clouds to act as magical bindings for the remaining prisoners.
After clearing the battlefield and securing the coastline, York divided his forces.
Stussy, Shakky, Ivankov, and about 1,000 pirates were left behind on the beach to guard the massive host of captives.
York personally led Kaido, Dragon, Ginny, Kuma, Magha the Great Serpent, and the remaining 3,000-plus pirates inland, marching directly toward the capital city.
"The previous orders still stand!" York roared, his voice echoing through the marching ranks.
"You may execute the nobles and the royal family without a shred of mercy! But you must not harm a single unarmed commoner!"
York drew his sword, the steel glinting in the afternoon sun.
"Disobey, and die!"
.....
.....
.....
Support me and read advance chapters on patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter