Chapter 81: All Hands Engage!

Dense cannonballs tore through the rain curtain; amidst the sharp whistling, Siano's messy black hair was whipped into chaos by the shockwaves.

But Siano did not move, merely continuing to stare coldly at the distant warships.

Behind him.

Four figures had already surged forth simultaneously.

"Single-Stroke Horizontal Slash·Deer Fright!"

Sister Sister Guyina shouted sharply, stepping on Moon Step to leap into the air; Wado Ichimonji unsheathed, carving a snow-bright arc through the rain.

Hum!

Where the blade passed, the air rippled with layer upon layer of wave-like shockwaves.

Over a dozen cannonballs were neatly split in half; the gunpowder, drenched by rain before it could explode, emitted green smoke as they fell to the ground.

"Superior Meat Cut SHOOT!"

Zeff flew straight toward the other side, his metal right leg kicking out consecutively, handling the projectiles as calmly as if processing chunks of meat on a chopping block.

Those cannonballs attacking from the corners either plunged into the sea or exploded high in the sky, scattering into countless lead dust that drifted down.

Ah Yin and Nojiko, meanwhile, stepped along the walls along the way, constantly borrowing force to leap upward.

Swish swish swish; amidst their maneuvering, one used fists, the other claws, intercepting every single straggler.

Crack!

In merely ten-odd seconds, all cannonballs were cleared, and the four figures returned to stand behind Siano.

This second volley of artillery fire, totaling fifty or sixty cannonballs, had failed to breach the blockade with even a single shot.

Eh?

Onigumo raised an eyebrow, glancing unexpectedly at the rooftop.

Have we encountered a tough opponent?

He had originally thought that simply bombarding the square with a few rounds of cannon fire would suffice to begin cleaning up the battlefield.

This would allow him to fully vent the depression pent up in his heart while satisfying that fat pig Altai with a fireworks show.

Should higher-ups demand accountability, the responsibility for civilian casualties caused by stray fire could conveniently be shifted onto the other party.

Truly the best of both worlds.

As a result, first Smoker appeared, that insubordinate thorn causing trouble.

Then, out of nowhere, this group emerged, actually capable of blocking artillery fire with their bare bodies.

Such strength does not seem like something a pirate crew from the East Blue could possess.

Are things starting to become interesting...

"Hey, have them cease fire."

Onigumo casually lit a cigar, licked the corner of his lips, and said with great interest, "I will go ashore alone to play nicely with these pirates."

"Hound, you several Rear Admirals stay on the ship to guard Their Majesties; this battle does not require your intervention. Just dispatch a few Colonels to lead men and seal all exits of the square."

"Yes! Mr. Onigumo!"

The Rear Admiral named Hound hastily stood straight and saluted.

Watching Onigumo's departing figure, he felt some regret, as he too had wished to go ashore and play with this bunch of pirates.

In a short while.

Onigumo, cigar in mouth, stepped onto the dock.

Behind him, large numbers of elite marines directly under his command swept past him from both sides, entering Loguetown to surround and seal off the entire square.

Around the dock, quite a few Loguetown Branch marines had gathered to line up and welcome them.

At this moment, pushed into the corners, they were all at a loss, completely unable to understand why the warships had opened fire just now.

—Even if the goal was to capture the pirates gathered in the square, surely a more prudent method could have been adopted; isn't coming ashore directly to surround them, just like now, feasible?

"Vice Admiral!"

The leading Branch Captain could not help but step forward, shouting at Onigumo's back:

"Do you not intend to give us an explanation! Why did you open fire without even notifying us! Do you not know that doing so would cause civilian casualties on both sides of the square!"

"Also, where is Mr. Smoker! May I ask where he is now? Thick smoke suddenly rose from the warship just now; was he also on board!"

Hmm?

Onigumo's steps paused briefly, his brows knitting together.

"So noisy."

He turned his head and cast a cold glance, without the slightest hesitation pulling a pistol from his breast pocket and actually pulling the trigger directly at this Branch Captain.

A mere Branch Captain, who would only be a Sergeant in Headquarters, dares to question me?

Bang!

After the gunshot, the young Captain's corpse stiffly fell backward, a blood hole appearing on his forehead from which fresh blood gushed out.

"..."

The Loguetown Branch marines surrounding the area instantly fell silent.

Countless incredulous gazes swept back and forth between the corpse and Onigumo's back.

In the rear of the crowd, Tashigi also covered her mouth in shock, nearly screaming aloud.

Originally, upon arriving at the dock and hearing that one of the important figures coming to welcome them was unexpectedly a Vice Admiral from Headquarters.

She had been quite expectant, wishing to witness this Vice Admiral's demeanor with her own eyes; her depressed mood from previously failing to dine with Lord Siano had also improved slightly.

But as a result...

It turned out to be someone like this?

At the slightest disagreement, he would immediately attempt to kill his own comrades.

Does someone like this even deserve to be a Vice Admiral?!

……

Thud, thud, thud.

Onigumo, cigar clenched between his teeth, continued striding toward the square.

He paid no heed to the faint murmurs gradually rising behind him; what those low-ranking Marines thought was utterly irrelevant.

As for casually shooting a subordinate?

This was far from the first time he had done such a thing; even a staff officer holding the rank of Colonel would be executed without a second word if they dared defy him, let alone a Branch Captain in some remote backwater.

Above the spacious square.

The pirates gathered there also noticed the figure approaching through the rain; seeing the epaulets and recalling the terrifyingly dense barrage from earlier, they all gasped sharply.

"—It's a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters!!!"

Someone bellowed the words, and an atmosphere of panic instantly spread like wildfire.

"Damn it, if only I'd known, I never would have come to the East Blue! Why would someone like that appear in a place like this?!"

"Is this the time to be worrying about that? What are you standing around for? Run!"

"It's too late! All the exits have been sealed!"

……

Amidst the flurry of panic and commotion.

Onigumo couldn't even be bothered to glance at this motley crowd.

With a sudden swish, he used Moon Step to reach the rooftop in an instant, lifting his eyes to survey the figures opposite him.

Except for the one wearing a white hood, whose features were difficult to make out, the rest were merely a group of boys and girls, appearing to be only in their teens.

"Interesting."

Onigumo raised an eyebrow, exhaling a ring of smoke. "So the ones who managed to pique my interest are just a bunch of brats..."

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!"

On the second floor of the café, Nami suddenly popped out, shouting angrily and cutting him off. "Why did you randomly shell us? We're not pirates!"

Not pirates?

Onigumo's gaze swept over Siano and the others, quickly running through his memories; indeed, he had no impression of these faces whatsoever, having never seen them on any wanted poster.

It was just that...

"Does it make any difference?"

Onigumo shook his head slightly, his expression indifferent:

"By intercepting those cannonballs for these pirates, aren't you already opposing the Marines? Therefore, being regarded as pirate accomplices and executed on the spot is only natural; you have no one to blame but yourselves."

(End of Chapter)