Genzo stared with his mouth wide open in disbelief.
Th-this… how was that possible?
How could someone get slashed by a blade and be completely fine?
"Officer Genzo, now you believe in our strength, right?" Smoker said with a grin.
Genzo nodded stiffly. "I believe you, I believe you! Two officers—I'll take you to Arlong right away."
"There are quite a lot of them. They're all gathered at the Arlong Park that's currently under construction. It's not far from here."
Karl rubbed his chin and glanced at Smoker. Smoker immediately understood and pulled out a Den Den Mushi to start calling for backup.
"Y-you… are you Marines?"
Karl turned his head. No one at eye level.
He looked down. Ah—there she was.
A little girl with short lake-blue hair and slightly tanned skin stood there. She wore a headscarf and looked both lively and delicate. Her eyes were filled with cautious hope as she looked up at Karl.
Karl chuckled, crouched down, and gently patted Nojiko on the head.
"That's right. We're Marines."
"T-then… are you here to help us defeat Arlong?" she asked anxiously.
Karl shook his head.
"No. We're here to bring down the corrupt Marine captain—Nezumi."
"As for Arlong… that's just along the way."
The moment Karl said the first part, Nojiko's eyes dimmed.
But the instant she heard the second half, her face lit up again.
As expected—women mastered the art of facial expression from a young age.
"That's great!" Nojiko said eagerly. "Big brother, there's something I need to tell you."
"Sure."
Nojiko took a deep breath and began carefully:
"My name is Nojiko. I have a younger sister named Nami. Nami has a talent for drawing nautical charts, so Arlong's crew forced her to become their cartographer, promising to buy our village for 100 million Beli in exchange."
"But she's not a bad person! If you really can defeat Arlong, please—please don't hurt my sister."
Karl laughed, gently pinching Nojiko's cheek.
"Don't worry."
Relieved, Nojiko smiled—then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added,
"Oh! Nami has short orange hair. She's a bit younger than me—about eleven years old."
Karl nodded and stood up.
"Got it. If you're still worried, come with us later."
Nojiko's eyes widened. She pointed at herself.
"Huh? M-me? I can go too?"
"Of course," Karl said calmly.
"Don't you want to see how Arlong ends up?"
At those words, Nojiko thought of Belle-mere—her and Nami's mother.
Her expression hardened.
"I'll go with you!" she declared loudly.
A few minutes later, Nelson arrived with a squad of Marines and saluted sharply.
"Reporting, sir! Combat squad assembled and awaiting orders!"
"Move out. Target—Arlong Park."
"Yes, sir!"
Arlong Park
Arlong sat lazily on a domineering throne, chin resting on his hand as he looked down at the "human slaves" below.
"Sha-hahaha~ Humans really are born cheap," Arlong sneered.
"They won't work properly unless a few of them die. If they'd behaved like this earlier, things would've been so much easier."
"Boss! Boss—this is bad, boss!"
The pale-skinned Fish-Man Kuroobi rushed in, sweat pouring down his face.
Arlong raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
"Th-the Marines are here!"
"Marines?" Arlong snapped.
"That rat is getting way too greedy! Didn't we agree on payments every three months?!"
"It's not Nezumi!" Kuroobi shook his head frantically.
"It's a different group of Marines—I've never seen them before!"
Arlong shot to his feet.
"What?! Did that rat sell me out?! Otherwise why would Marines show up?!"
"I don't know, boss!" Kuroobi gasped.
"Their ship is docked on the western coast. Fully armed Marines everywhere—I ran here the moment I saw them!"
Arlong's face darkened. He glanced at the human slaves hauling bricks and showed a cruel grin.
"No need to panic. They're just Marines."
"Before Fish-Men, they're nothing!"
"Officers, this is the place," Genzo said nervously.
Karl looked at the half-finished Arlong Park and let out a soft chuckle.
Far too familiar—almost exactly like Sabaody Archipelago.
His gaze shifted to the nearby inlet.
"NELSON," Karl said.
"Take a few men and block off the sea exit. Don't let anyone escape."
"Yes, sir!"
Nelson immediately left with his squad.
"Smoker, Ain," Karl continued,
"the pirates inside are yours. Try not to kill them—I need them alive to testify against Nezumi."
Smoker and Ain nodded and led their men straight into Arlong Park.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Inside Arlong Park
"Pirates! Drop your weapons and surrender immediately, or face the consequences!"
Arlong stared down at Smoker arrogantly and laughed.
"Don't dream! You think the likes of you can catch me? What a joke!"
"Iron Teeth Technique!"
Arlong grabbed his own teeth—crack—ripping out his entire set, fitting them onto his hand like a weapon, then punching straight at Smoker.
"Die, Marine!"
Smoker felt absolutely nothing—if anything, he felt like laughing.
Right—
A pirate worth 20 million Beli was really only this level.
Puff—
Arlong's ferocious punch went straight through Smoker's chest—producing only a cloud of smoke.
Arlong froze.
That sensation…
It reminded him painfully of years ago, when he'd been completely crushed by a lecherous-looking man.
"Had enough?" Smoker said coldly.
He clenched his fist and swung backhandedly—
BOOM!
Arlong flew like a cannonball, crashing into the ground and rolling more than ten meters. His sharp teeth scattered everywhere, his nose bent grotesquely—like a dead fish.
Hearing the commotion, an orange-haired girl quietly slipped out from a room.
She stared in shock as Arlong lay sprawled on the ground, completely wrecked.
"Ah—!"
Nami covered her mouth, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Then she noticed the Marines nearby and quickly hid.
Did Nezumi and Arlong fall out with each other?
"Boss!!!"
"Damn you humans—I'll fight you all to the death!!!"
Ain snorted coldly and charged, knocking down a blue-skinned Fish-Man with protruding lips in a single punch.
"Stop!" someone shouted desperately.
"Drop your weapons or I'll kill them!"
Ain turned her head.
A white Fish-Man was holding a gun, pointing it at more than a dozen trembling villagers.
Ain immediately raised her hands, signaling her men to stop.
"Surrender!" she called out.
"Your boss has already been defeated. Don't make pointless sacrifices!"
Kuroobi swallowed hard and shouted stiffly,
"Shut up! Tell your people to get lost, or I'll kill them all!"
Bang!
A bullet punched cleanly through Kuroobi's forehead.
He collapsed, eyes wide in disbelief.
Not far away, Karl exhaled softly and blew the smoke from his gun barrel.
"Arrest all of them."
"Yes, sir!!!"
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