"Next stop: the nearest Marine base," Tabito told Nami, pointing at the bundle strapped to the tiger corpse puppet's back—the one containing Mad Treasure's head. "This thing should be turned into real Beli." Even with preservative treatment, hauling around a dead head on a cramped boat was ugly, and it took up space.
Nami quickly pulled up her East Blue sea-chart knowledge in her mind. "The closest town with a branch base is Shells Town. The Marines' 153rd Branch is stationed there. But… it's not close. Even if your 'tiger' is towing the boat, it'll still take over a week of sailing."
"No matter. Depart."
The small boat left the shore again, the tiger corpse puppet cutting through the waves as it towed them forward. Orange Town shrank in their wake, and Boodle's figure waving from the beach eventually became a tiny black dot. Tabito withdrew his gaze, calm and unmoved.
To him, Orange Town was just a mid-route supply stop. Buggy's Pirates were merely a batch of decent-grade "rations" delivered to his doorstep. Boodle's gratitude was nothing more than an irrelevant interlude.
The voyage was dull and long. Even with Nami's excellent navigation avoiding most storms and undertows, spending day after day on a rocking little boat still wore them down. During this time, aside from eating and resting when necessary, Tabito spent most of his hours quietly mulling over how to train Haki—especially how to blend the "Busoshoku Hardening" technique into his own fighting style.
After more than a week, the outline of Shells Town finally appeared on the horizon. It was a port town notably larger than Orange Town and looked more prosperous as well. The seagull emblem on the tall Marine branch building was clearly visible.
They tied the boat in a secluded corner of the docks. Tabito had Nami and Carina go buy finer supplies (seasonings, fresh fruit and vegetables, nautical charts, and so on). He himself took the bundle containing Mad Treasure's head and walked straight toward the imposing-looking Marine 153rd Branch base.
Inside the Marine 153rd Branch, the atmosphere was less "strict" and more a suffocating kind of sycophancy.
Captain "Axe-Hand" Morgan lounged behind a broad desk, chair tilted back, boots propped on the desk edge, a cigar in his mouth, his expression arrogant. His son Helmeppo sat off to the side, idly playing with an exquisitely made small knife, his eyes sweeping over Tabito with open disdain.
When Tabito undid the bundle and revealed Mad Treasure's head—treated to prevent decay, but still unmistakable—Morgan's eyes narrowed.
"Treasure Hunter" Mad Treasure carried a bounty of sixty million Beli. In East Blue, he was a bona fide big catch. Turning in that head meant a large chunk of credit and reward money.
However, Morgan's gaze immediately shifted to Tabito—
Young. Still a trace of boyishness in his face. Plain clothes. Alone. No attendants. No sign of some powerful background.
Greed and contempt instantly flooded Morgan's mind. He tapped the desk lightly, signaling the clerk beside him.
The clerk understood. He pulled out a small stack of bills and slid it toward Tabito, then said stiffly in a procedural tone, "After verification, this person is an ordinary Pirate. Bounty: ten thousand Beli. This is your reward. Take it and leave."
Tabito looked at the thin stack of cash, then lifted his eyes to Morgan's undisguised look—like he was sizing up a fat sheep—and Helmeppo's mocking grin. He froze for a beat, then nearly laughed out loud.
Black-on-black?
Tabito had roamed (and barely survived) the cultivation world for three hundred years. Killing people for loot, seizing souls to refine his banner—how could he not have done that? It had always been him robbing others. He never imagined that today, someone would set their sights on robbing him—so openly, so insultingly, and with such a clumsy attempt.
"Interesting." Tabito didn't touch the money. Instead, he studied Morgan with genuine amusement. "Captain Morgan, right? You sure a sixty-million-Beli 'Treasure Hunter' is only worth ten thousand? Or is it that you think I'm easy to brush off?"
Morgan's face darkened. He crushed the cigar hard into the ashtray and raised his voice. "Brat! Is this a place for you to haggle?! I say he's worth ten thousand, then he's worth ten thousand! If you know what's good for you, take the money and get lost! Otherwise, I'll charge you with fraud—claiming a bounty under false pretenses, forging a Pirate's head—and I'll throw you in prison!"
Several Marine soldiers stationed by the door showed discomfort and embarrassment. Some of them recognized Mad Treasure's face (wanted posters were everywhere). They knew exactly what was happening. One young Marine couldn't help stepping forward half a pace, as if to speak. "Captain, that really does look like—"
"Shut up!" Morgan snapped, glaring at him. "Who gave you permission to speak here? Carry out orders!"
The soldier's face went pale. He clenched his jaw, but in the end he retreated, lowering his head in shame. Under Morgan's high-pressure rule in the 153rd Branch, speaking too frankly usually ended badly.
Seeing that, the last shred of Tabito's thought—maybe we can do a normal exchange—evaporated. He couldn't be bothered to waste more words. Trying to reason with a man rotted through by power and greed was nothing but a waste of life.
His left hand still held the bundle. His right hand closed on empty air.
A dark glint flashed—his black iron greatspear, the Human Emperor Banner, was already in his grasp.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Morgan shot to his feet, shocked and furious. He hadn't expected this ordinary-looking boy to dare draw a weapon inside a Marine branch base. "So you're rebelling, are you?! Take this violent criminal down! Dead or alive!"
The order came down. Even though many Marines didn't want to, orders were orders. They steeled themselves, drew their weapons, and closed in.
"Courting death." A cold light flickered in Tabito's eyes. He snapped his spear—like a flood dragon bursting from the sea!
He didn't use much True qi. He didn't even use Haki. With nothing but his inhuman physicality, the exquisite spearwork honed through three hundred years of slaughter, and the sheer weight of the black iron spear itself, Tabito became a whirlwind of death.
Spear-shadows churned like a storm of pear blossoms in the rain. The Marines who rushed him were flung aside and knocked down like scarecrows. The crack of broken blades, the shatter of armor, the bursts of screams and panicked cries—all of it mixed into chaos. Tabito deliberately controlled his strength. He didn't go for kills; most were simply left unable to fight. Even so, the scene was already a complete mess.
"Monster! He's a monster!" Helmeppo yelped, scrambling under the desk.
Morgan roared in fury, snatching up his signature massive axe leaning by the desk and hacking at Tabito. "Die!"
The blow was heavy and forceful—there was some real menace to it. Unfortunately, to Tabito's eyes it was full of openings. He shifted his body and easily avoided it, then swept the spear shaft across in one smooth motion, striking Morgan's axe-wrist with pinpoint precision.
Crack!
The sound of bone splitting was clear.
"AAAGH!" Morgan screamed, and the huge axe flew from his hand.
Tabito stepped in, spearpoint pressing at Morgan's throat, pinning him back against the wall. At the same time, with a flicker of intent, a dark light flashed again—
Mad Treasure's corpse puppet appeared in the center of the office, chains wrapped around its body. The chains clattered and unfurled, and like giant serpents they blocked the doorway, tangling up the Marines trying to surge inside and whipping them down onto the floor.
(End of Chapter)
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