Chapter 10: Look Closely, I'll Only Teach Once
Two hours later.
Inside the G-51 Marine Branch, the banquet had already reached its end.
Most of the Marines, who couldn't hold their liquor, were already passed out on the ground, while the remaining Marines were also mostly half-drunk.
"That Headquarters Captain today, Loy, huh? What an ignorant fool."
However, at this moment, Manager Mantel, who was hosting the banquet, had yet to pass out.
He was saying loudly.
"That's right! Just a fellow from a Detention Unit, yet he dares to speak to us like that!"
In front of him, Colonel Aspert chugged down the huge wine glass in his hand, then slammed it heavily onto the table.
"If this old man hadn't already been transferred to the branch, I would have certainly taught him a lesson today!"
He said in a lowered voice.
According to Marine regulations, Marine officers transferred to a branch, though possessing extremely high authority within the branch's jurisdiction, Headquarters Marine officers were outside their jurisdiction—because each Headquarters Marine had a direct superior officer from Marine Headquarters, and they managed each other independently.
For example, as a Captain of the Detention Unit, Loy's direct superior was Vice Admiral Bilos of Headquarters.
Therefore, although Colonel Aspert was very displeased with Loy's cold and stiff attitude today, he could do nothing about it.
"Don't worry, Colonel Aspert."
Upon hearing this, Manager Mantel grinned.
He lowered his voice and said, "The treasure you are helping us transport this time is only a portion of the 'Heavenly Gold'. This is a great achievement. I will clearly explain your contributions to His Majesty the King."
"By the time of the World Summit three years from now, His Majesty the King will certainly be pleased to recommend you to the higher-ups of the World Government for your merits. By then, you might even be promoted to a Headquarters General."
Perhaps having drunk too much, the promises he made were grander than usual.
"Really?!"
At least Colonel Aspert was very moved upon hearing this.
"Of course it's true! You should know, the Heavenly Gold we prepared this time amounts to a full 5 billion Beli, and it even includes a Devil Fruit. That's over a billion Beli more than what the government requires us to submit."
"This extra billion is for bribing the dignitaries of the government."
Manager Mantel said with a smile.
So Colonel Aspert quickly refilled a glass of wine: "Then I'll leave it to you, Manager, to speak a few good words for me to His Majesty the King. I'll drink this!"
"Oh, come on! In the future, we will still need your care for our Nismal Kingdom, future Commodore Aspert!"
For a time, host and guest were both happy.
But just at this moment...
"Drip! Drip!"
A piercing alarm sound echoed throughout the entire G-51 Marine Branch.
"Huh?! What's going on?!"
This made Colonel Aspert frown instantly, looking at a nearby Marine who hadn't passed out yet: "Go and check immediately. Did someone drink too much and accidentally trigger the alarm?"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine followed the order and left, then quickly returned.
But when he returned, his expression already carried obvious panic.
"Sir... it's the port, something happened at the port!"
He said anxiously, "The Ark Noah at the port has already sailed away, and all of its guards have been killed. Their bodies were thrown into the port."
"What?!" * 2
Upon hearing this, Colonel Aspert and Manager Mantel instantly sobered up.
"That Pirate... does he have accomplices?!"
Colonel Aspert immediately thought of this possibility.
Manager Mantel's face turned pale.
One must know, the Ark Noah was a royal merchant ship worth two hundred million Beli, and its guards were also royal guards.
Now all the guards were dead, and if the ship was lost again... he'd be lucky not to be punished, let alone receive merits!
"Immediately organize people to pursue! Send out all warships; we must get the ship back!"
Colonel Aspert also clearly knew this, so he immediately ordered.
"But, Sir..."
But the Marine looked troubled, glancing at the drunken Marines around him.
Thus, Colonel Aspert's expression grew even gloomier: "...Leave a few people to help them sober up, everyone else immediately go pursue! Move it!"
Seeing his expression, the Marine naturally didn't dare to say anything more.
And after he left with his men.
Manager Mantel seemed to remember something, looking at Colonel Aspert, and their eyes met.
The next moment, both hurriedly left the banquet.
"Colonel Aspert, do you think the other party will... target the treasure?"
At this moment, Manager Mantel's fat face had gone completely pale.
That's right.
This was the thing he feared most at this moment.
The Ark Noah being stolen and the guards being killed made him anxious, but not to the point of panic.
But if the treasures he had hidden in the Marine branch, which were part of the "Heavenly Gold," were stolen, then the best outcome for him upon returning to the Nismal Kingdom would be death.
"Don't worry, they won't."
At this moment, Colonel Aspert was clearly very anxious too, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"Only we know the location of the treasure vault, and the key to the treasure chests is with you. The attacker took the Ark Noah, likely assuming the treasure was still on the ship."
Upon hearing this, Manager Mantel seemed to grasp a life-saving straw: "Yes! You're right! It must be like this!"
As they spoke, they had already arrived at the underground chamber of the G-51 Marine Branch.
Here were numerous storage rooms, packed densely – these were all for storing the branch's supplies.
Then, they came before a huge weapon cabinet.
Then, Colonel Aspert lightly tapped a wooden plank on the weapon cabinet.
And so...
"Thud!"
Accompanied by a loud sound, the weapon cabinet slowly moved aside.
Revealing the storage room behind it, as well as the mountainous piles of treasure chests inside the storage room.
And seeing that the treasures were still in place, Manager Mantel finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, they're still here..."
He seemed to regain his spirit: "Colonel Aspert, I'll have to trouble you next; we must get the Ark Noah back..."
As he spoke these words, Colonel Aspert's expression suddenly changed.
Because at this moment, he had already heard a loud sound coming from behind him.
"Thud!"
As if a giant rhino had charged from behind, the piercing sound made Colonel Aspert's entire body tense up instantly.
"Watch out..."
He turned his head, wanting to warn Manager Mantel, but before he could even open his mouth, he felt a huge force coming from his back.
And Manager Mantel was no different. Colonel Aspert even saw his corpulent back being struck by a fist, the immense force instantly deforming his body.
"Crack."
He even heard the sound of the other party's bones utterly shattering.
The next moment, both their figures were simultaneously sent flying.
"Bang!"
They heavily smashed into the thick wall of the storage room, and a huge crater instantly formed on the wall.
Amidst the rising dust, a figure slowly walked into the storage room.
"When people panic, they subconsciously ensure the safety of their most precious possessions. This is common sense."
Loy, wearing a Rooster mask, stepped into the storage room.
"Thank you for leading the way for me."
Saying this, he looked at the piled-up treasures, his gaze carrying a hint of satisfaction.
However, he didn't immediately step forward to touch the treasure chests.
Instead, he turned his head and looked into the dust.
"But I didn't expect, Colonel Aspert, that you'd be a bit more resistant than I imagined."
As he spoke, Colonel Aspert indeed walked out from the dust.
At this moment, this Marine Colonel's uniform was completely tattered, revealing his muscular upper body.
And at this moment, the muscles on his body were constantly bulging, looking like blocks of steel.
At this moment, Colonel Aspert spoke in a hoarse voice: "Iron Body: Hard Wood."
As he spoke, his gaze briefly swept towards Manager Mantel – the latter was already in a state where his head and body were bent at three unnatural angles, clearly showing no signs of life.
"You fellow... How dare you kill a royal manager of a World Government Member Nation?!"
He gritted his teeth, as if furious to the extreme.
Upon hearing this, Loy shook his head: "Firstly, I don't know what's with your obsession of having to shout out your technique's name during a fight."
"Secondly, what royal manager? I merely cleaned up a piece of trash."
He sneered.
Then, his gaze turned to Colonel Aspert in front of him: "And you, you're trash too, and you also need to be cleaned up."
"Hmph!"
Upon hearing this, Colonel Aspert, however, scoffed.
He waved his hand, and his muscular arms dispersed the surrounding dust.
"Who do you think I am? I am Aspert Campbell—Marine Colonel, the administrator of G-51 Marine Branch!"
He walked step by step out of the rubble on the ground, donning his Marine coat.
"I trained diligently to master the 'Marine Six Powers,' a martial art that surpasses human limits."
"You, a fellow who appeared from who-knows-where, do you think you can kill me?!"
His voice was full of fighting spirit.
Upon hearing this, Loy actually became slightly serious.
Indeed, Colonel Aspert's strength was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Within Marine Headquarters, the channels to learn the Six Powers were actually not hard to find.
The difficulty in learning these techniques mainly lay in one's physique – one needed a body strength exceeding 500 Doriki to be able to learn the Six Powers, and the stronger the body, the easier it was to learn.
Therefore, a Marine Colonel who had mastered the Six Powers was definitely considered to be at an above-average level among their peers.
So he hadn't expected that a fellow like Colonel Aspert would actually master 'Iron Body'.
However, considering that he was, after all, an administrator of a Marine Branch in the Grand Line, it was normal for him to possess this level of strength.
"Then I'll just get a little serious."
And seeing the opponent's rampant fighting spirit, Loy also clenched his fists, preparing to move his body slightly.
It was also at this very moment...
"Are you ready, invader?! I'll show you the power of the Marine Six Powers! Take this... Rankyaku: Wind Cutter!"
Colonel Aspert roared, stomping his right foot violently on the ground.
Then...
"Bang!"
Loy was astonished to see the opponent instantly shoot towards the storage room's exit like an arrow released from a bowstring.
"Running away?!"
It was only then that Loy finally reacted.
Damn his Rankyaku! The opponent was clearly trying to escape!
And indeed, it was so.
At this moment, the fleeing Colonel Aspert had no intention of fighting at all.
In fact, upon closer inspection, one would find a ferocious fist mark on his back – though it had been covered by his coat earlier.
"That monster... fighting him is just seeking death, I can only..."
And at this moment, as he endured the pain and fled, he muttered inwardly.
"My Iron Body can't defend against his attacks at all."
This was also the place that made him most terrified.
He had indeed mastered 'Iron Body' among the Six Powers; this was his proudest achievement and the biggest reason he could be promoted to Colonel.
But under the opponent's punch just now, with the fist mark as the center, he didn't know how many bones in his body had broken.
This also made him decisively make a judgment – fighting was seeking death, escaping was the only way to survive.
And at this moment, as he fled desperately, Colonel Aspert turned his head.
Then he saw Loy still standing in his original spot.
"He didn't catch up! I succeeded!"
This sight made his heart race with wild joy.
But the next moment...
"Sure enough... trash that associates with slave traders won't have any courage."
Colonel Aspert, however, heard the opponent's calm voice.
"Didn't you say you'd show me the power of the Six Powers?"
"But it looks like you're not very good at Rankyaku."
Then...
Colonel Aspert saw the opponent slowly raise his right leg.
Without a sound, he seemed to see the opponent's leg become even thicker.
[Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit: Snow Rabbit Form - Leg Strengthening]
[Ox-Ox Fruit: Giant Rhino Form - Leg Strengthening]
"Since that's the case... Look closely, I'll only teach once."
As these words fell, Loy kicked out with one leg.
"Rankyaku: Wind Cutter!"
Uttering the exact same technique name as Colonel Aspert.
The next moment, Colonel Aspert saw something unbelievable...
The ground instantly cracked and split apart, and a huge trench formed, accompanying the sweeping slash.
The stone bricks inside the storage room instantly shattered.
That's right.
What was kicked out from the opponent's leg was indeed a massive slashing air blade, over five meters long!
That was also the last scene he ever saw in his life.
(end of chapter)