Chapter 7: Gao Wen

"Monka is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Gao Wen slashed upward with his sword, lifting Monka’s severed head.

His voice was not loud, yet it caused both sides engaged in combat to freeze instantly.

The once fervent marines, upon seeing Monka’s headless corpse, felt as if plunged into ice.

The desires ignited by Monka’s few words vanished in an instant—this scene was far too different from what they had expected.

"Lieutenant Monka... is dead?"

One marine turned pale as death; had it not been for the cut on his arm, he would have thought himself trapped in a nightmare.

"What kind of joke is this?"

"How can we bow to pirates?!"

Hss!

Before he could finish speaking, his head was severed by Gao Wen’s sword; blood sprayed outward, splattering onto nearby marines.

"Warm. Salty. Tastes of iron..."

"This isn’t a dream—I..."

The marines who had been confident in taking Gao Wen’s head to earn glory now trembled uncontrollably from fear.

After all, if even Monka couldn’t stand against Gao Wen, what meaning was there in their resistance?

Clang~

With the sound of metal hitting the ground, the marines dropped their weapons and knelt where they stood.

The fighting on the island ceased.

Only after Gao Wen ordered his men to bind the marines did the pirates snap back to reality, staring at Monka’s corpse, then at Gao Wen—his clothes spotless.

In their pupils burned a flame they had never known before.

"Our captain... actually defeated Monka?"

"Defeated?"

"That was an instant kill!"

The one wearing the hood stared at Monka’s corpse, touching his own neck, his eyes filled with awe.

"This time, our captain will become legendary throughout the East Blue!"

"Even the monsters of the Grand Line may not be his match!"

"Ah."

"I have this feeling—the East Blue can’t hold him. No, the East Blue can’t contain him."

"Lan Se’s death completed his transformation!"

"His mindset, his strength, his will—they’re all utterly different from before. It’s as if... as if he’s become someone else!"

The pirates gazed at Gao Wen’s back, their eyes holding not only awe but a confidence never seen before.

With Monka’s defeat, the situation on the island was quickly brought under control.

All marines who had accompanied Monka ashore were bound and gathered in one place.

The warship left at sea was easily seized by Gao Wen’s intervention; all marines aboard were captured.

When the chaos on the island settled, a red sun rose on the horizon.

Gao Wen stood on the warship’s deck, facing the captured marines.

"Captain, what should we do with these men?"

The helmsman in the hood stepped forward and asked respectfully.

Since Lan Se’s death, he had become Gao Wen’s temporary second-in-command, and his abilities were still among the best in the crew.

Gao Wen glanced at the captives, paused thoughtfully, then spoke:

"Leave them here."

"Captain, these men have shed the blood of many of our brothers. Are we just letting them go?"

The helmsman instinctively objected.

"Are you teaching me how to do my job?"

"No, sir!"

The helmsman dropped to his knees instantly, eyes wide with terror.

Only then did he realize: this was no longer the merciful knight he once knew, but the true pirate Gao Wen.

The man who had once chased them down couldn’t survive a single blow from Gao Wen.

And over the past month, Gao Wen had spent most of his time guiding their cultivation—proving he had concealed his true strength all along!

He wasn’t weak—he simply had no desire to fight. It was us, and the Marines, who crushed his mercy and together forged this monster!

In an instant,

countless speculations flashed through the helmsman’s mind; the more he thought, the more his fear of Gao Wen became impossible to suppress.

"Good. You understand."

Gao Wen’s tone was cold. He glanced at the helmsman, then turned back to the captives on deck.

Killing marines in battle and torturing prisoners were two entirely different matters—the former still had room for compromise; the latter meant absolute, irreversible enmity.

He wasn’t ready to fully break with the Marines—not yet.

Looking across the pirate world, aside from extreme cases like Mihawk, great pirates inevitably end up carving out kingdoms for themselves.

Crocodile seized Alabasta, Doflamingo ruled Dressrosa; in the New World, the Four Emperors Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom were de facto kings ruling over territories.

Even Shanks commanded his own massive fleet.

The sole reason these great pirates all chose this model was:

Stability.

A life of pure plunder—eating one day, starving the next—was acceptable in the early days of a crew’s formation.

To keep doing so in the later stages meant either true stupidity, or a crew like the Straw Hats—more adventurers than pirates.

Even then, the Straw Hats had gathered a vast following.

From Fish-Man Island to Wano, every place flying the Straw Hat flag—regardless of its own intentions—had effectively become their sphere of influence.

For Gao Wen, who held the Captain System, the more stable his crew, the faster his underlings would grow—and the faster he himself would advance.

To build a stable power base, create a virtuous cycle, and avoid the Marines’ endless harassment,

you must either be strong enough that even Marine Headquarters thinks twice before acting—like the Four Emperors—or gain the World Government’s official license as a Warlord of the Sea.

Having realized this, Gao Wen’s first goal became clear:

Rebel first, then seek amnesty!

As for how to become a Warlord, Ace and Blackbeard had already provided two examples.

Either overpower a current Warlord and have powerful backers to protect you—and then you take their place.

Or wait for a vacancy and volunteer yourself.

Both paths had merits and flaws, but both required one thing above all: raw strength.

Gao Wen, who hadn’t even left the East Blue, clearly lacked that strength—but that didn’t stop him from placing joining the Warlords on his agenda.

Yet,

his immediate priority remained boosting his own power.

After leaving the captives on the island and performing basic repairs on the ship, confirming it was seaworthy, Gao Wen led his crew onward, following the map toward a nearby town for supplies.

Gao Wen did not replace the Marine flag on the warship.

After all, to enter ordinary towns for supplies or other purposes, this flag was far more useful than a pirate banner.

Several days later.

Marine East Blue Branch.

The conference room was thick with smoke, heavy and solemn.

Marine officers from every East Blue branch base were gathered here, staring grimly at two bounty posters on the table.

One wore an orange cap, freckled, smiling brightly.

The other wore sleek black leather armor, handsome and tall, his posture elegant as if stepped from a knightly tale.

Captain Blandeu stood before them, his tone grave:

"Gentlemen."

"The situation in the East Blue is graver than we imagined."

"The Logia user, Fire Fist Ace, wreaked havoc on Marine Branch 151, causing massive casualties."

"Knight Gao Wen killed Branch Commander Monka. According to the marines present, Gao Wen struck only once—from start to finish."

"The bounties for these two must be revised!"

(End of Chapter)