Chapter 85: The Death of Altair [Seeking First Subscriptions]

"Stinking Marines, you still dare to bombard Laozi? Haha, now you know who's more powerful!"

A bald burly man wearing a captain's hat grinned ferociously, then looked up at the execution platform with eyes full of reverence:

"Even a Marine Vice Admiral couldn't defeat you! Hey! Boss Siano, take us in; from now on, we'll follow you!"

This voice instantly ignited the pirates' frenzy, and more voices of agreement rose and fell in succession—

"That's right! With you leading the way, who in the entire East Blue can stop us? Everything will be ours!"

"You lack insight; what East Blue? We should follow Boss Siano and plunder the entire Grand Line!"

"What are we waiting for, brothers! With Headman Siano backing us, what do the Marines in this town amount to? Let's loot this broken town first!"

"Loot Loguetown! Kill every Marine who dares to stand in our way! Dedicate all the treasures to Captain Siano. Charge!!"

At the edge of the square, many pirates immediately laughed wildly and recklessly, bursting through the shattered doorboards of the remaining shops, from which came women's screams and children's cries.

How could this happen?

The residents of Loguetown instantly fell into panic.

Wasn't that person called Siano famous throughout the entire East Blue for a series of deeds punishing evil and promoting good?

How has he now turned into a vicious pirate!

—Boom!

The commotion had barely erupted for a few seconds when two crescent-shaped dark blue shockwaves swept down from the execution platform one after another, instantly sending dozens of pirates flying with screams like bowling pins.

Several unlucky bastards hit squarely by the Storm Leg blades were even sliced in half at the waist on the spot, with blood mist spraying everywhere.

The deterrent effect of this strike was undoubtedly significant.

Those pirates who had already broken into the houses immediately broke out in cold sweat, daring not to continue their actions, and cautiously retreated to the square, looking up blankly toward the top of the execution platform.

"Boss Siano..."

The pirate captain who had spoken first chuckled awkwardly, "We wanted to dedicate the entire town to you as a gift for joining your crew; what, what do you mean by this?"

"I say, haven't you got something wrong?"

Siano withdrew his right leg, looking down coldly at the pirates below:

"Before arbitrarily categorizing me as one of your kind, you seem to have forgotten exactly why I became famous in the East Blue back then."

"In the end, the number of Marines I've killed so far seems to be just one... no, two, but the pirates who have died at my hands are hundreds or thousands of times that number."

What did this mean?

The pirates looked at each other, simultaneously realizing something; their previously excited and frenzied emotions instantly felt as if a basin of cold water had been splashed in their faces, making them feel ice-cold all over...

On the warship.

Smoker lay weakly against the wall, drowsily gazing into the distance through the curtain of rain.

He had not yet fully regained consciousness, and his mind was still somewhat confused.

He only remembered that after fighting Onigumo, he was knocked unconscious within a few moves; later, when he vaguely opened his eyes, he dimly saw that two figures seemed to have appeared on that towering execution platform in the distance.

One of those figures was pinned to the ground, struggled for a while, and soon fell silent.

That silhouette...

Could it be Onigumo?

Is Onigumo dead?

How could that be possible... Smoker shook his head in self-mockery; had he originally hated the other party so much that he wished him dead?

Where in Loguetown is there anyone capable of defeating him? It's eighty percent likely an illusion.

Smoker struggled to grab the railing, and just as he stood up, he heard a hoarse, desperate scream coming from not far away:

"Move! Are you all deaf, huh? I told you to escort me away immediately; can't you hear me?"

This voice sounded so familiar... He followed the sound and looked, and sure enough, it was that pig-fat Altair, frantically beating the head of a Colonel before him with his golden scepter.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger; it is not yet the time."

That tall and thin Colonel, beaten until his head was bloody, dared not move, "We still have many people on the island withdrawing over here; the enemy does not seem to intend to pursue; we must wait for our comrades... especially after the several Major Generals responsible for command board the ship, before we can leave, otherwise I will surely be held accountable by Headquarters..."

"Wait my ass!"

Altair's expression suddenly turned ferocious, "So it was for such a ridiculous reason; a bunch of lowlives, what is there to wait for!"

"Don't forget, your primary mission is to safely escort me back to my country! If we stay here any longer, we'll have to be buried with that good-for-nothing Onigumo!!!"

Bang bang!

He pulled a gold-plated pistol from who-knows-where, pulled the trigger, and fired randomly in all directions, causing several Marine soldiers to clutch their chests and collapse to the ground immediately.

"Did you see that! Set sail and leave immediately!"

Altair aimed the gun at this Colonel again, shouting angrily, "Wait one more second, and I'll kill one more person, starting with you! Let's see if you still dare..."

Thud!

With a dull sound, Altair suddenly rolled his eyes back and fell forward.

That tall and thin Colonel, beaten until his head was bloody, stared dumbfounded at the figure appearing behind Altair: "Co... Colonel Smoker, you, you, what is this?"

"Always screaming, so annoying, damn fat pig..."

Smoker muttered as if he heard nothing, holding his hands cuffed with Seastone high up, "How exactly was I able to endure such scum in the past..."

Thud!

His tightly clenched fists suddenly smashed down on Altair's head again, one blow after another.

Seeing that half of Altair's head had caved in, still not feeling satisfied, he grabbed the golden scepter on the ground and thrust it down with all his strength—

Squelch!

A large gush of blood sprayed out, splashing both of them in the face; only then did Smoker toss the scepter aside, panting heavily, revealing a refreshed expression for the first time in ages.

"You..."

As for that tall, thin lieutenant colonel, he touched the warm bloodstains on his face with trembling hands, could no longer suppress the fear in his heart, and suddenly let out a high-pitched scream.

"What are you making such a fuss about again?"

Smoker glared dissatisfiedly: "Hey, tell me, what exactly is the situation in Loguetown right now?"

Judging by the information revealed in that conversation just now, has the Navy already suffered a crushing defeat and fled? Could it be that what I saw vaguely before was not an illusion?

"What situation?!!"

The tall, thin lieutenant colonel retreated several steps backward in terror, pointing a finger at Smoker: "You, you bastard! You actually have the nerve to ask what the situation is? You've caused a catastrophe of epic proportions, do you know that!! Are you trying to implicate us all?!"

"Don't want to answer, huh?"

Smoker sighed, too lazy to bother with him any longer.

Grabbing the railings along the way, he limped up onto the pier, walking in the opposite direction of those Navy soldiers who were fleeing toward the shore with faces full of panic, heading instead toward the square.

What exactly happened over at the execution platform...

(End of Chapter)