Chapter 465 Discovering the Island
Barnett was not too worried about the problem of food and fresh water, because there was another insurance on the warship, that was Vic, who could easily handle these things.
Vic's natural ability allows him to quickly get to nearby islands to get food and fresh water, or to electrocute fish in the sea or extract fresh water from seawater. However, Barnett doesn't want to trouble Vic with these trivial matters. Vic's practice is the most important thing now.
It was a calm and sunny day. Vic's warship was sailing on the ocean of the Grand Route as usual, and the people on the warship were doing their jobs.
There were marines fishing on the side of the ship, a lookout on the mast looking for islands, Rebecca and the others on the deck were whispering, afraid to disturb Vic who was sitting quietly at the bow, and Ian was testing his abilities on an orange tree at the stern, which Vic had asked him to bring.
"Report! Lieutenant Colonel Barnett! There is a suspected island at the nine o'clock direction, but it is too far away and cannot be fully confirmed. I hope the warship will move closer to the nine o'clock direction and take a closer look!"
One of the two lookouts on the mast was looking through a telescope at the nine o'clock position when a fleeting reflection appeared in his telescope.
He looked up at the sun behind him and knew that it couldn't be the reflection of the sun on the sea. It was most likely caused by other substances.
One possibility is that the birds are holding reflective objects in their mouths. Many birds like glass beads and gems that glow or reflect light, so the lookout suspected that there was an island over there and immediately climbed down from the mast to report to Barnett.
Although they couldn't be completely sure, they had to go and take a look if there was a possibility. This was also the order Barnett gave to their lookout men.
They were very anxious about the food shortage on the warship, so they worked hard to look for it. Although Barnett was a bit serious, he didn't have any airs. As long as it was serious matters, there would be no problem in asking him for help.
Even if they went to see that there was no island this time, but it was the reflection of a fish jumping out of the sea, Barnett would not say anything to them, so even if there was only a slight possibility of the existence of an island, they reported it immediately.
Sometimes it is like this. When the leader has a bad temper and is arrogant, the subordinates will not report everything to him. That would probably lead to them getting scolded, which is a thankless task.
But often some small things seem insignificant at first glance, but from the results they turn out to be the fuse and the key to success or failure, and some people just turn them away.
So Vic had warned Barnett before that the situations reported by his subordinates can be prioritized, but they cannot be perfunctory and their attitude must be good. They cannot let people think that you don’t care, and they cannot be impatient and yell.
In this way, no one will come to you to report abnormal situations in the future. In this world with all kinds of magical powers, many abnormal situations are related to the ability of devil fruits. The result of not paying attention may be annihilation of the whole army. It is nothing more than spending more time and being patient. Details determine success or failure. Victor has seen too much.
"Well! Then let's sail towards the nine o'clock direction. Helmsman! Turn left and sail towards the nine o'clock direction. If you see an island, don't rush to approach it!"
Barnett took the lookout's information seriously. If there was an island, he would definitely go and see. Since it could be seen through the telescope, it was not far away. He didn't mind taking a little time, so he immediately arranged for the helmsman to turn the ship.
Not long after sailing, the lookout really saw the island appear in the telescope. Barnett knew what was going on when he got the news, and he planned to resupply on this island.
It doesn’t matter whether it is an uninhabited island or an inhabited island. There are usually many wild animals and fruits on uninhabited islands, and you just need to send people to catch and pick them. Of course, it is better if there are inhabited islands, and you just need to spend money to buy them, which saves time.
When the warship got close to the island, Barnett knew that this was a relatively prosperous island, because there was a prosperous-looking town on the high ground in the center of the island, and there were also some small villages surrounding the edge of the island. Seeing these, Barnett stopped the warship not far from the island and ordered the small transport ship to be lowered.
"Barnett! Want to ask Vic to come along?"
Looking at Vic, who was still sitting motionless with his eyes closed at the bow, Rebecca asked Barnett. She now had some trauma about Vic not going to the island, as some accidents had happened several times when Vic did not go to the island.
"There's no need to wake Vic up. There shouldn't be any danger on this island. Look, there's smoke rising from the island. If there really is danger, it wouldn't be so peaceful."
This time, Barnett plans to personally lead people to the island to purchase. He will be responsible for all of this in the future, so he needs to be familiar with dealing with the merchants on the island.
"Are you sure? Every time you say that, something bad will happen. Good things won't work, but bad things will. Why don't you call Vic along?"
Wendy was very familiar with Barnett's bad mouth. She was not worried about the situation on the island at first, but since Barnett had spoken, she had to be on high alert, so she took out her sniper rifle.
"Really, don't worry. The island is so small. If something unexpected happens, Vic can get there in an instant with his speed. Let's go. Don't disturb Vic's practice."
Barnett said helplessly, with their current strength, how many opponents can they face in the first half of the Grand Line? Rebecca and Wendy's worries are completely unnecessary.
Rebecca and Wendy thought about it and it made sense. If something unexpected happened, they could use the Thousand Mile Sound Transmission to alert people. Vic's practice was at a critical stage now. He had been sitting there without moving for several days. Waking him up rashly might really interrupt Vic's perception. Perception is something that can only be encountered by chance. As a swordsman, Rebecca understood this all too well.
In this way, several people came to the small transport ship. Barnett also called some marines who were carrying food to come up. Rebecca was still holding Ian in her arms. Although she also came to the boat, what she was stepping on was not the plank but the flying sword. She was still prepared to be on guard first.
The transport ship docked at the pier of the fishing village, where several small fishing boats were also docked. Nothing unexpected happened during the period, which made Rebecca and Wendy feel a little relieved. They were people with special abilities, and they were still a little worried when they were at sea, but it was different when they were on the island. Even if something really happened, they would be able to deal with it.
The pier by the sea is still hundreds of meters away from the fishing village. After everyone got on the pier, Barnett did not rush forward immediately. He is now a cautious and mature naval general.
He stood on the dock and observed the fishing village. Smoke was rising from the roofs of several houses. Adults came in and out of the doors from time to time. Fishing nets were drying in front of almost every household.