"Give the money back? What money? You're insane! Do you know what this place is? You're just a pirate—how dare you cause trouble at a Marine branch! Do you have a death wish!"
Commodore Nezumi clutched his bruised and swollen face, scrambling to his feet from his embarrassed position. He stared at Tom in fear, having been sent flying by a single punch that crashed him into several Marines behind him. His entire body ached as if his bones had been dismantled; it was unbearably painful.
The surrounding Marines, having heard Tom declare himself a pirate and then proceed to punch their Commodore across the room, were stunned, frozen in place, their eyes practically popping out of their heads in shock.
"Compared to you all, I know exactly what I'm doing!"
Tom looked at the Commodore, whose face was now so swollen it was barely recognizable. "Looks like you don't want to return the money willingly. In that case, I'll have to make you suffer a bit first, then deal with you properly!"
The Marines stationed at Branch 16, with a superior like Nezumi who would take bribes and collude with pirates, hadn't engaged in actual combat with pirates for a very long time.
Now, facing a pirate like Tom who dared to storm a Marine branch directly, the first thought for most Marines here wasn't to fight bravely, but to turn and run.
Tom glanced at several Marines who were already panicking and fleeing the area. He didn't chase them, nor did he block their path.
He remembered the Marine base at Shells Town. Those Marines, though forced by Captain Morgan's tyranny to act against their principles, at least still had some fighting spirit and would courageously battle pirates.
But looking at the Marines of Branch 16, Tom understood. No wonder they could remain unmoved upon learning about the entire village of Coco and the brutality of the Arlong Pirates. They had fallen, fallen, fallen to the point where they didn't even remember their own purpose.
"Anyone who wants to run, feel free to get the hell out of here. I won't stop you."
Tom coldly swept his gaze over the surrounding Marines, taking out the fishing rod from his left arm sheath, extending it as he prepared to act.
"Don't be afraid! There's only one of him!"
Commodore Nezumi, seeing his men's morale broken by Tom's simple words and their desire to flee growing, hurriedly spoke with feigned gravity. "Do you want to be deserters? That's no light offense, and it could implicate your families! If you dare run from here, I will definitely report you to Marine Headquarters! You should know the consequences, consequences, consequences!"
"Are you really Marines?"
Tom watched as Nezumi, to force his men to obey, actually threatened them with their families. It was utterly despicable, despicable, despicable. Even third-rate bandits probably wouldn't sink so low.
"Laugh all you want now! Don't look down on me. I am the Commodore of Marine Branch 16. What I say here goes."
Nezumi gave a cold laugh, waving his hand with great momentum. "We have nearly four hundred men! If we all attack together, we can definitely subdue this vicious pirate!"
Here, Nezumi pointed at Tom, addressing his Marines. "Whoever kills him on the spot will be credited with a major achievement! Headquarters will even award you a medal!"
Hearing Nezumi's words, the Marines who had been dissatisfied about the threat to their families all changed expression. Their gazes upon Tom turned fiery. If Marine Headquarters really awarded them a medal, promotion would be inevitable. Their futures would be bright.
Where there is a heavy reward, there will be brave men. With Nezumi's offer on the table, many Marines began to stir with eagerness, slowly surrounding Tom.
"Fine by me. I never intended to let any of you go from the start anyway."
Tom watched as more and more Marines closed in. His pupils swiftly shifted to a dark blood-red color. He moved, his rod sweeping fiercely toward Nezumi's position with tremendous force.
On the other side, at the Arlong Pirates' base, the situation was subtle.
Luffy had wanted to tell Zoro and Sanji about his predicament, but Zoro's attention was captured by the approaching Hatchan, and Sanji, seeing Hatchan was a six-armed octopus Fish-Man, was professionally explaining how octopus should be cooked for best taste. Neither noticed Luffy's abnormal state.
As a result, Luffy, with his feet stuck deep in the ground and unable to dodge, was sprayed head-to-toe with ink by Hatchan, turning completely black.
Usopp, providing support from behind, saw Hatchan lift a large rock and walk toward the motionless Luffy. His eyes bulged in shock, and he urgently yelled for Luffy to dodge.
To which Luffy replied bluntly that he currently couldn't move and couldn't see.
Hatchan raised the large rock to smash Luffy flat. Luckily, Sanji kicked the thrown rock to pieces, saving Luffy.
"What a headache. I actually followed such an idiot captain," Sanji said, raising his leg and shattering the rock aimed at Luffy.
"I feel the same," Zoro deeply agreed.
Usopp, seeing Sanji easily destroy the large rock, stared with wide eyes, his jaw slack. "He's amazing!"
"The captain might be an idiot, but compared to those scum who hurt a lady, he's a hundred times better!" Sanji stated, cigarette in mouth, looking toward the several Fish-Man officers opposite.
"Naive." As a cartilaginous Fish-Man, Kuroobi remarked that Sanji was quite strong from a human perspective, but he thought it was naive for a pirate to cling so strongly to chivalry.
"Want to experience firsthand if my chivalry is so naive, you stupid fish?" Sanji flicked the ash from his cigarette, addressing Kuroobi. As someone who prided himself on loving ladies, he most disliked anyone looking down on his steadfast chivalry.
While Zoro and Sanji confronted the three Fish-Man officers, Usopp seized the chance to grab Luffy's head, trying to pull him out of the ground. He only succeeded in stretching Luffy's neck and body like rubber, failing to free his deeply embedded feet.
Hatchan, seeing Usopp ignoring them to tug on Luffy, grew angry and lifted another large rock to smash Usopp. Usopp immediately screamed in terror, hugging Luffy's body and running forward for dear life.
"Hey, octopus. Can't you see they're busy?" Zoro blocked Hatchan's path, sword resting on his shoulder. "I'll play with you!"
Hatchan, seeing Zoro, remembered how Zoro had tricked him earlier. Enraged, he threw the large rock in his hands at Zoro. "You not only tricked me, you cut down many of my comrades, comrades, comrades! I won't let you go!"
"I'm not interested in that old story. It doesn't matter why you want to kill me. The situation has changed now."
Zoro drew his sword. The cold gleam from its blade made him seem even more murderous. "It's not that you want to kill us. It's that we want to kill you!"
Usopp, seeing Zoro block Hatchan, sighed in relief, wiping sweat from his brow. Then he quickly realized he had, without thinking, let go of Luffy.
"Oh no! I let go!" Usopp cried out in alarm, his eyes nearly popping out. He then saw Luffy, accidentally released, snap back like a rubber band and crash into another observing Fish-Man officer, Chew.
Chew, knocked to the ground by the suddenly rebounding Luffy, got up and glared maliciously at Usopp, immediately scaring Usopp so much his legs trembled and tears welled up. He weakly stammered, "S-sorry…"
"It seems you really want to die by my hand!" Chew completely ignored Usopp's earnest apology and immediately set off to chase him.
Seeing Chew give chase, Usopp was scared out of his wits, letting out a shrill scream, turning tail and running as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Usopp—big brother, big brother, big brother!" Johnny and Yosaku, outside the gate, saw Usopp flee at incredible speed, soon vanishing into the distance. They tried to call out to him, but it was too late.
"Isn't that the guy who attacked in the village to save Nojiko?"
"He's a pirate too?"
The villagers of Coco Village remembered Usopp vividly for bravely stepping forward, stepping forward, stepping forward to attack Arlong, indirectly saving Nojiko. But seeing Usopp now fleeing in panic, he bore no resemblance to that heroic figure.
Chew chased to the stone gate and saw the large group of Coco Village villagers holding weapons. His face darkened. "Seeing you armed, you must be planning to rebel. Might as well kill you all!"
The villagers, seeing Chew's murderous intent, all felt a chill. Just as they prepared for a desperate fight, they heard Usopp's voice.
"Fire Star!"
Chew took a hit from Usopp, falling backward with a pained cry from the explosion.
"Your opponent is me!" Usopp, who had run far away, saw Chew wasn't chasing him but instead intended to slaughter the villagers. Without hesitation, he took out his slingshot and attacked Chew, successfully drawing his attention.
"Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!" Chew was indeed enraged by Usopp. Ignoring the villagers, he sprinted after him.
Thus, Usopp once again screamed in terror, tears, snot, and cold sweat streaming down his face as he ran. "Waaaaaaaaah!"
"That long-nosed young man saved us."
"Brave one moment, running the next. What an inconceivable man."
By now, Arlong had arrived before Luffy. Luffy, feet still stuck, rudely stretched his arm and threw a punch at Arlong. "Your opponent is me!"
Arlong tilted his head, easily dodging the attack. He grabbed Luffy's extended arm, his gaze full of bloodthirsty killing intent fixed on Luffy. "Do you really think you can win against us?"
"What if we do?" Sanji replied confidently.
"We won't lose!" Zoro stated firmly.
"Idiot! That's exactly what we think! Now let me go, you… you guy with gills on the sides of your mouth!" Luffy shouted angrily at Arlong, mistaking the holes on Arlong's face for gills—they were actually the wounds left by Tom.
"I won't let you die comfortably!" Arlong's fierce eyes flashed with cold light. He crouched and pried open the ground under Luffy's feet, lifting both Luffy and the chunk of rock high into the air. "Then let's play a game!"
"Devil Fruit users become powerless in water. But even without a Devil Fruit, in his state, thrown into the sea he wouldn't last long! Let's see who goes first: your captain dying, or you being killed by us!"
After saying this, Arlong prepared to throw Luffy into the seawater pool. Seeing the danger, Luffy urgently attacked Arlong's face. "Gum-Gum Pistol!"
"Ow, that hurts!" Arlong bit down on Luffy's arm, drawing blood.
"Damn it, let go!" Luffy bit down on Arlong's arm in return.
Before Sanji and Zoro could move, Arlong threw Luffy, together with the rock, into the seawater pool.
"I'll go save him right away!" Sanji shouted, but Zoro pulled him back. "Wait!"
"If we jump into the sea, we'll be playing into their hands. There's only one way to save Luffy!"
"You mean… defeat the Fish-Men here on land first, then jump in? Good idea!" Sanji agreed.
"Can you really save him? What a pity." Arlong touched his ruined mouth and spoke sinisterly. "If your other companion were here, maybe you wouldn't struggle so much."
As Zoro and Sanji began their battles, at Marine Branch 16, Tom was panting heavily, completely exhausted.
He had taken multiple gunshot wounds. The bandages Nami had rewrapped were once again soaked deep red with blood. Around him lay Marines scattered everywhere, silent and unmoving.
The training ground was devastated—cracked earth, collapsed walls, and Marines embedded into structures.
This was the first time Tom used Soru at full power without restraint. In just minutes, he defeated nearly four hundred Marines—but it left him completely drained.
Now only two remained standing.
Tom and Nezumi.
"Don't come closer, monster! No—demon! Demon from hell!" Nezumi screamed in terror.
"Now…" Tom said coldly, golden light flaring around his blood-red pupils.
"Look into my eyes."
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T/N :
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