Chapter 41

"The Marines confiscating the corpses of pirates, isn't that a matter of course!"

Nezumi clicked the safety off and said sinisterly, "You brat, you’ve been uncooperative, sneaky, and had a terrible attitude. Now I suspect you’re not clean either; who knows what unspeakable crimes you’re hiding. Come here, seize these people and the whole ship for me! Take them all back and interrogate them thoroughly!"

"Mr. Colonel!"

The sub-lieutenant beside him couldn't help but speak up. "This, doing this, isn't it a bit too inappropriate..."

"Shut up! Are you the officer or am I the officer?"

Nezumi was furious and backhanded him with a slap. The sub-lieutenant took the blow solidly and lowered his head, not daring to speak again.

Turning back, he saw Siano looking at him as if he were an idiot. "Is there something wrong with your brain?"

"Hmm?" Nezumi was startled, then immediately enraged. "You dare to insult a Marine officer! I think you’re truly tired of living!"

"Look, you still haven't reacted. You were so afraid of the Arlong Pirates that you didn't dare provoke them, and only dared to come out to pick up the scraps after they were dead."

Siano sighed slightly and moved his right hand a little. "Then the question is, where did you get the guts to provoke a stronger me?"

"Could it be that because I’m a civilian, you think I won't resist and will just obediently surrender?"

There was a giant rock four or five meters high on the shore, with the words "Cocoyasi Village This Way" written on it.

Siano grabbed it casually, and the giant rock rumbled as it was pulled from the ground. After weighing it in his hand, he smashed it toward the warship in Nezumi’s incredulous gaze!

Whoosh—Boom!!

Just as the giant rock was about to hit the top of the mast, Siano casually raised his fingertip and added a Qi Finger Gun. The giant rock exploded instantly above the warship, turning into countless fine stone powder that scattered down.

"This..."

The Marines still on the deck all kept their heads tilted, stunned.

And Nezumi’s mouth was wide open, enough to fit half a Chopper inside.

"Forgot to tell you, the entire Arlong Pirate crew didn't even last twenty minutes in my hands."

Siano smiled. "I wonder how many minutes you, this Marine branch Colonel, along with all the Marines on this warship, can last?"

Nezumi shivered and finally came to his senses.

At this moment, he finally realized.

—The person standing in front of him was no honest, sturdy villager, but a ruthless, fierce person several times more terrifying than Arlong!

"Misunderstanding!"

Nezumi’s face was trembling, and he barely managed to squeeze out a smile uglier than crying: "Misunderstanding, it was a misunderstanding. Go wherever you want; how would we dare to stop you? We’re leaving, we’re leaving right now!"

After saying this, he hurriedly turned and ran toward the warship. He tripped and almost lost his shoe, but he couldn't care about that and stumbled into the cabin in the blink of an eye.

Just like an ostrich, only when he couldn't see Siano did he feel at ease, and his shrill roar came from behind the door:

"What are you still standing there for! Hurry up and set sail, we’re going back to the base!"

Hahaha! The villagers watching from afar burst into a roar of laughter.

The Marines all lowered their heads and boarded the deck in formation, unable to hide their shame. The sub-lieutenant sighed heavily and quietly pulled up his collar to cover half his face.

"Following such an officer, I guess we’ll feel inferior when we see colleagues from other bases." Scar lay on the railing and sighed.

Then he looked at Siano, who was walking onto the deck. "Boss, shall we set off too?"

"No, you go first." Siano shook his head slightly and looked in the direction the warship was leaving. "I have something else to do."

What was this?

Scar widened his eyes, and then he saw Siano beckon and call them all over. "After you arrive at the Branch 77 base, do this and that... then just wait for me to come back. Understand?"

"Yes, Boss!"

Scar shuddered. He was truly worthy of being the boss; this was too ruthless, but there was really nothing wrong with it, and he supported it from the bottom of his heart.

The night grew deeper.

Under the moonlight, the sea shimmered, and the warship with white sails rode the wind and waves, sailing at full speed toward the Branch 16 base.

They didn't notice at all that outside their field of vision, a small boat had quietly followed behind at some point.

On the small boat.

Siano took a sip of wine and looked at the blurry little black dot in the distance with an indifferent expression.

He was a person who softened easily, but once he hardened his heart and truly felt someone deserved to die, it wasn't so simple to let them find another way to live.

Nezumi was on that list.

Don't look at how this guy was scared almost to the point of wetting his pants by his threat today.

But once he returned to the base, sat at his desk, and got used to the feeling of being in a high position and giving orders again, his resentment would soon surge up all at once.

And this guy happened to be the head of the Marine branch base closest to Cocoyasi Village; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the local official.

Sitting in this position, there were countless ways to disgust people in the dark, and once he left his hometown to officially go to sea in the future, who knew how the other party would retaliate against Cocoyasi Village.

It was better to strike first.

There was never a reason to spend a thousand days guarding against a thief; one should just catch them.

After confirming the wind direction and ocean currents, Siano ignored the warship in front, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and meditated quietly.

The warship’s speed wasn't something his little broken boat could compare to. If things continued like this, the distance would only grow, and he wouldn't be able to catch up, so he couldn't make a move yet.

However, the monk could run, but the temple couldn't. After sunset tomorrow, the two ships would arrive at the Branch 16 Marine base one after another.

By then, in the dark of the night, there would be plenty of time.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty hours passed.

In front of the gate of Branch 77 in the East Blue.

The big ship that originally belonged to the Arlong Pirates, now renamed "Orange Orchard" by Siano, was docked in the military harbor.

Scar led Nami, Nojiko, and the others, who were looking around curiously, off the ship. Before they even stepped onto the shore, they were greeted with warm applause and a welcoming line.

"You’re here very early, everyone. You’re several hours ahead of the time you told us on the phone!"

The female Colonel with a mohawk smiled brightly, smoking a cigarette as she came to greet them. "I am Sophia, the base commander of Branch 77. Welcome!"

"You’re too kind." Scar hurriedly took the initiative to shake hands. "Doesn't this mean you also arrived several hours early and were waiting here?"

"No, I just received the news and rushed over."

Sophia answered truthfully and laughed loudly. "But it was indeed right to come early. One cannot be too polite to the heroes who killed the Arlong Pirates!"

"I won't hide it from you; ever since I received intelligence that the Arlong Pirates had come to this area, I’ve been so worried I couldn't sleep well. I originally wanted to join forces with Branch 16 and my colleagues from Branch 24 in the north to catch them off guard while they were unprepared."

Sophia rubbed her temples with some distress.

"But who knows what that guy who just took office at Branch 16 was thinking; he kept stuttering and making various excuses to shirk responsibility, and back and forth, the best opportunity for battle was delayed."

(End of chapter)