The mast towered high, and the Marine flag snapped loudly in the sea breeze. The bow split through the waves, kicking up walls of spray and leaving a long white trail in its wake.
Sunlight poured across the broad deck, while the ocean wind carried the salty scent of seawater.
A man lay comfortably at the bow, bare-chested and bronze-skinned.
A folded layer of clothing was spread beneath him. His body was relaxed, his hands clasped behind his head, and a blue Marine cap rested low over his face, shielding part of the sunlight.
With his eyes half-closed, Mo Wu was enjoying this brief moment of peace.
It did not last long.
"Major Mo Wu! Today's newspaper!"
Drake came jogging over, slightly out of breath, clutching a pale-yellow newspaper tightly in one hand as he hurried to offer it to the now-upright Mo Wu.
"Thanks for the trouble, Second Lieutenant Drake. You bring me a paper every day."
Mo Wu smiled at him. Whether it was because he had "accidentally picked up" a paper last time or not, the albatrosses of the South Blue now fled the moment they saw him, refusing to sell him even a single newspaper. Left with no choice, he had handed the task of buying papers over to Drake.
The World Economic Journal was an indispensable source of information.
Some news appeared there before even the Marines had grasped it.
"It's nothing, Major."
Drake scratched his head awkwardly, looking a little unsure of what to do.
When it came to the man before him—who had rocketed upward in rank after joining the Marines, even overtaking him to become a branch major first—what Drake felt was only admiration.
There was a reason for that.
Ever since Milenko revealed that Mo Wu had been the true hero who killed Hungry Bird, the man had conquered the entire South Blue Branch 32.
And even more than that—over the past seven months in the Marines, he had displayed terrifying strength.
By himself, he had thrown the entire South Blue into panic, reducing the overall strength of pirates in the region by nearly thirty percent.
At the same time, he kept smashing promotion speed records. In just seven months, he had already reached the rank of major. Even Drake, who had originally been a warrant officer, was no longer qualified to serve as his direct adjutant.
A superior like that was rarer than a lantern in broad daylight.
Tossing Drake a hundred Berries, Mo Wu silently calculated the date in his heart.
At this point in time…
That event should be about to happen.
Sure enough, the moment he unfolded the World Economic Journal, the bold headlines across the front page matched his expectations perfectly.
Sea Circle Calendar 1498, August
"The Pirate King Roger Has Appeared Again!!!"
"Pirate King Roger Spotted! How Will the World Situation Change?!"
"The World Government Holds Emergency Meeting, Vowing to Capture Gold Roger!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates on the Move! Missing from Marine Surveillance!"
Gold Roger, huh?
The World Government really does have a guilty conscience.
Judging by the timing, Roger should now be drinking beneath the cherry blossoms with Whitebeard. After that, he would go find Garp and surrender himself.
The peaceful days are about to end.
The pirates of the South Blue are far too small to satisfy my ambitions.
Wait for me, Roger.
A smile Drake couldn't quite understand pulled at Mo Wu's lips. He looked up at the sky, then handed the newspaper back to Drake.
Scratching his head, Drake found it a little strange. Mo Wu had only glanced at the front page and lost interest.
"Major, keep reading. Your name made it into the World Economic Journal too!"
Taking the paper back, Drake flipped through it in a hurry until he found a small section. He quickly pointed it out to Mo Wu.
"Look, it's talking about your exploits—South Blue's rising Marine star! Marine Major Thunderfire Blade Mo—"
Boom!
A deafening cannon blast from the sea interrupted Drake's words.
"Enemy attack!"
Panicked shouts erupted from the deck.
Drake's heart jolted. He immediately looked forward, waiting for Mo Wu's orders—
But Mo Wu was already gone.
Could it be—
Whoosh!
A sharp sound of air being split rang out.
With two quick steps, Mo Wu had already sprinted onto the surface of the sea. Using Moonwalk, one of the Marine Six Powers, he stomped across the air and cut the incoming cannonball clean in half.
Boom!
The broken shell plunged into the sea, exploding into a towering spray.
And along with it, the terror in the Marines' hearts also shattered.
"Major Mo Wu!"
"Major Mo Wu is amazing!"
"Just watching the major fight makes my life worth it!"
Seeing Mo Wu so effortlessly eliminate the danger, the Marines threw off their fear and burst into wild cheers.
"He's… too strong!"
For the first time, Drake witnessed Mo Wu fighting with his own eyes.
No wonder the pirates had given him the nickname Thunderfire Blade!
Wait, is this really the time to be thinking about that?!
Slapping his own stunned face, Drake saw that Mo Wu had already boarded the enemy pirate ship. He immediately shouted,
"Stop clapping! Enemy attack! Turn us around and close in! Full pursuit!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines shouted in unison and immediately sprang into action. The helmsman turned the wheel under the support of the ship's power system.
Several Marines grabbed planks, ready to lay them down for boarding at any moment.
Meanwhile, Mo Wu, using rapid Moonwalk, landed on the attacker's ship in an instant.
With one casual slash, he cut down a pirate beside him, severing his head and instantly intimidating the others who had been rushing forward.
Mo Wu narrowed his eyes.
The Transparent World activated in his mind as he searched for the strongest presence aboard this ship.
After all, as the saying went—
Catch the bandit chief first.
Without the captain, a pirate crew was nothing but loose sand. That was the lesson he had learned over the past seven months while hunting pirates.
"It… it's Thunderfire Blade Mo Wu!"
"Quick! Get the captain!"
Recognizing Mo Wu's face, the pirates instantly panicked. They had never expected to kick an iron plate this time—
No, not iron.
Steel.
"Thunderfire Blade?!"
Mo Wu's mouth twitched, and his expression darkened. Whether he was angry or just offended, his chest rose and fell sharply as his breathing intensified.
"No need to call for him."
"I'll bring him out myself."
"Shave!"
His figure blurred and vanished on the spot, leaving only the shattered deck where his foot had crushed the planks apart.
"W-what?!"
"He disappeared?!"
A moment later, Mo Wu reappeared, holding a greasy-looking man with a vulgar face in one hand, his blade resting across the man's neck. He jumped straight down from the second deck, then looked around at the pirates who had already thrown down their weapons and were clutching their heads in surrender.
He suddenly found it all rather dull.
"Do you want me to tie you up…"
"Or are you going to do it yourselves?"
Still holding his blade to the neck of the strongest man on the ship, Mo Wu smiled faintly before tossing him onto the deck.
"Major Mo Wu!"
Drake hurried across the plank the Marines had just finished laying down. Arriving late, he could only offer an awkward smile.
Didn't get to help at all.
Mo Wu didn't bother with it. He simply nodded to Drake and yawned.
"Tie them all up, then hand them over to the town."
"Understood!"
…
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