Chapter 56: The End of the Road

Has the Gao Wen Pirate Crew left?

Yes, their ship has already departed—and it appears they took the woman who was previously mocked by A Long’s gang.

Good!

Now it’s our chance!

Branch base.

Mouse, hearing the message from Breeze, leapt up from his chair in excitement.

Without a moment’s hesitation.

He immediately assembled a large force of marines and dispatched three warships, setting sail from the harbor and riding the current straight downstream.

…

Half a day later.

Mouse stared at the approaching harbor of Cocoyasi Village, his hand gripping the pistol trembling uncontrollably.

After the Gao Wen Pirate Crew’s departure, the villagers left behind were nothing but meat to him.

After all, I can’t control the fish-men—but can’t I control a few stubborn peasants?

Breeze stood beside him, watching the civilians coming and going in the harbor, his heart finally softened:

“Commander… do we really have to go this far?”

“There are at least a few thousand people in this village—all of them…”

Suddenly.

Breeze shuddered, his voice cutting off mid-sentence, too afraid to continue.

Because Mouse had already pressed his flintlock pistol against his temple:

“Useless pity.”

The next instant.

Bang!

A bullet pierced Breeze’s skull, spraying red and white matter from the back of his head.

Blood splattered.

It landed on Mouse’s face, making his expression even more grotesque.

He came here to claim credit for defeating A Long’s crew, seize A Long’s wealth, and above all, eliminate any evidence linking him to A Long.

The latter was even more important to him!

Watching Breeze’s body fall, Mouse was eerily calm now, slowly awakening from the fog of triumph that had clouded his mind.

Life matters more than glory!

Everyone who knew of his collusion with A Long must die!

“Set sail!”

Mouse’s roar jolted the stunned crew back to action.

They glanced at Breeze’s corpse and hurriedly redoubled their efforts, terrified they’d be next.

Soon.

In the harbor.

A familiar pirate flag appeared in Mouse’s line of sight: a round shield base with a skull emblem—the Gao Wen Pirate Crew’s banner.

What sent cold sweat pouring down Mouse’s back was the rotting fish head impaled atop the flag.

“Is that A Long’s head?!”

A pirate planting a flag on an island.

How could Mouse not know what that meant?

But now, terrified his link to A Long would be exposed yet greedy for the glory of crushing the Evil Dragon Pirate Crew, Mouse no longer cared.

After all, if he destroyed the evidence and claimed the credit, he could be promoted—and move to a new post, even the Marine Headquarters itself.

“Enter!”

“Take control of everyone!”

Mouse ordered through gritted teeth.

The three warships swiftly entered the harbor; hundreds of armed marines disembarked, spreading rapidly through the village, dragging villagers from their homes and herding them into the harbor.

Amid the crowd’s confusion, Jian rushed over, shielding the trembling Nokigao, frowning at Mouse:

“Commander, what is the meaning of this?!”

“Are all the people here?”

Mouse did not answer Jian’s question. After scanning the crowd, his expression relaxed. He turned and sneered at Jian:

“What do you think of this script? The Evil Dragon Pirate Crew massacres the village—then Marine Colonel Mouse heroically defeats A Long?”

“Can you still call yourself a Marine of justice?!”

Jian, furious, silently thought:

So the kid was right—Mouse really planned to strike Cocoyasi Village!

Recalling the words Gao Wen had spoken before leaving,

Jian’s heart steadied. He looked up and met Mouse’s mocking gaze:

“Ha! Only the living can judge justice!”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you—this harbor flies the Gao Wen Pirate Crew’s flag. Even a monster like A Long was killed by him. You’d better be ready to fight him!”

Jian snapped back.

Mouse remained unmoved, resolute in his intent to strike Cocoyasi—and raised his flintlock pistol.

Jian gritted his teeth:

“Before he left, Gao Wen left you a letter. You’d better read it.”

“A letter?”

Mouse froze, frowning:

“Give it to me.”

Jian pulled a letter from his chest and handed it to Mouse.

Mouse opened it, glanced at it once—and his face turned deathly pale. Sweat visibly dripped from his forehead.

Jian even saw Mouse’s body trembling. He instinctively asked:

“What did he say?”

“Get out!”

Mouse, terrified and shocked, stared at the letter before him:

“I hold all evidence of your collusion with A Long. If even one person in Cocoyasi is harmed, these letters will be on Black Ma Tian Zheng’s desk at the Marine Crime Investigation Division by tomorrow.”

“Even if you end up in Impel Down, I’ll find you—and kill you the same way I killed A Long!”

As he read the final character, Mouse’s hand visibly trembled. He looked up at Jian:

“How did A Long die?”

Jian’s lips curled into a cruel smile:

“Do you know how to kill a fish? Have you ever eaten sashimi?”

“What do you mean?”

“Scale it. Bone it. Open its belly.”

As he spoke, Jian’s face radiated pure, unspeakable satisfaction:

“When I saw A Long’s body, he’d been cut into pieces.”

“His corpse still lies in the Evil Dragon Amusement Park. No one’s willing to bury him. Go see for yourself.”

The image flashed in Mouse’s mind—he felt a chill crawl up his spine, turned, and hurried away with the nearby marines.

“Madman!”

“A complete madman!”

“To go this far… for those worthless trash?!”

Mouse cursed loudly, but his increasingly pale face and trembling voice betrayed his inner panic.

A few minutes later.

Mouse gradually calmed down:

“So the evidence is still in that guy’s hands. I won’t get the glory—but at least I won’t be immediately investigated by the Crime Division.”

“Good… good…”

Still shaken, Mouse could only reassure himself—and a faint color slowly returned to his face.

The Marine warships came as fast as they left.

Jian patted Nokigao’s back, watching the departing warships, then glanced at the pirate flag standing tall in the harbor, murmuring:

“This time, we don’t have to worry about Cocoyasi’s safety anymore.”

“Not from pirates… nor from the Marines.”

Suddenly, Gao Wen’s calm face flashed before his eyes. He shook his head unconsciously:

“He’s a reliable man… though he’s a bit older than Nami. But…”

Jian looked down at Nokigao, who asked curiously:

“Jian, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing much, I just think you’re getting to the age where you should find a boyfriend—would you like to…?”

“Get lost!”

……

……

……

The next day.

Rat returned to the East Sea Marine Branch 16 base with three warships.

He had just stepped down the gangway.

A familiar figure hurried toward him from afar, while the unfamiliar marines at the port instantly raised their flintlock muskets and aimed them at Rat’s head.

Rat naturally recognized the person’s identity and frowned:

“Brinbrin Brigadier? What’s this about?”

Brigadier Brinbrin regarded Rat with clear disgust, his tone icy and hard:

“Your crimes have been exposed. Don’t make this harder for us.”

Rat instantly realized he had been betrayed by Gao Wen; seeing the surrounding setup, his legs went weak:

“Brigadier Brinbrin, there must be some misunderstanding—I—!”

“Hmph.”

Brigadier Brinbrin let out a cold laugh:

“Save those words for the Criminal Investigation Division!”

(End of Chapter)