(The next day, in the morning)
The Conomi Islands had several villages, not just Cocoyasi Village. Arlong and his crew had dominated many towns. But it was strange, even if the Marines on these islands were corrupt, had no one tried asking for help from the outside?
They did, and they failed...
To begin with, the Conomi Islands were an isolated region. Additionally, most of the population worked in agriculture, which limited the need to leave the islands.
Arlong wasn't stupid either and used all kinds of violent methods to control the population. If they dared rebel, ask for help, or attempt to escape, all that awaited them was death for themselves and their families.
The Fish-Man was also paranoid and kept a close watch on communications.
Many people were killed trying to ask for outside help, and over time people became afraid of even owning Den Den Mushis.
That was why, despite Arlong's fall, most villages still hadn't learned about it yet.
"Ah... hurry!"
Several men and women working in the fields watched a man running in terror.
The man wore a Marine uniform, but unlike the many recruits and petty officers, this one had a gray hood resembling a rat.
The man shoved aside anyone standing in his way until he reached his base. It wasn't as large as Morgan's, but the word "Justice" on his back and the shoulder insignia he wore revealed his rank. This man was a Marine captain.
Captain Nezumi.
Nezumi kicked the door open and entered, ignoring the Marines staring at him in shock.
"Captain Nezumi, is something wrong?" one Marine asked, only to be shoved aside by Nezumi.
"I don't have time!"
Nezumi ran down the hallway and entered the communications room. There he saw the Den Den Mushi connected to Marine Headquarters.
Panicked, the man grabbed the receiver and began shouting. "This is East Blue Division 16 to Headquarters! I request reinforcements immediately! The situation is critical, a pirate has invaded the Conomi Islands! This terrifying monster is killing everyone! You have to help us!"
If Nami, Nojiko, or any of the island residents had heard what Nezumi said, they would have exploded with rage.
It was absurd that the Conomi Islands had lived under such a disgusting tyranny for so long, yet all of it had been possible because of this man. One could say Nezumi was the true antagonist; he had sold the lives of thousands of innocent civilians for money.
And yet now that Arlong had fallen, he dared run crying to the Marines for help. Nezumi was infamous, slimy, ruthless, cowardly, a man so repulsive he shouldn't even exist, and yet, as had already been said before, the Marines welcomed him with open arms.
"Moshi Moshi, this is Vice Admiral Momonga..."
Nezumi froze. He hadn't expected to be connected directly to a Vice Admiral.
The Marine ranks were divided into:
Fleet Admiral, who stood at the top of the Marines; the three Admirals, who were the strongest power of the Marines; and beneath them were the Vice Admirals, followed by the Rear Admirals and Commodores.
Two ranks below Vice Admirals were the Captains. Of course, in the Marine hierarchy, a Captain was still an important position since beneath them were the ranks of:
– Commander
– Lieutenant Commander
– Lieutenant
– Lieutenant Junior Grade
– Ensign
It was common for Captains to lead the various Marine bases scattered around the world. Even so, when an ordinary Captain contacted Headquarters, they were usually answered by a Commodore or Rear Admiral.
What Nezumi didn't know was that Headquarters had taken the call seriously because Division 16 had been peaceful for many years, so peaceful that it was abnormal for something to suddenly be happening now, something undoubtedly tragic. It wasn't as if nothing had happened before; Nezumi and his Marines simply never reported anything.
"Vice Admiral..." Nezumi regained his composure. On the other side was a Vice Admiral, one of the highest positions in the Marine hierarchy. "Sir Momonga... I did everything I could, but we couldn't stop this tragedy."
"Enough excuses, Captain, speak only of facts!"
"Yes... The truth is— Ugh!!"
On the other side of the line, Momonga along with a pair of Rear Admirals looked confused as to why Nezumi had suddenly stopped talking.
"Y-you... ah!"
Captain Nezumi's cries of pain echoed through the Den Den Mushi.
Momonga immediately became furious. He could imagine what had happened, but this was unacceptable. No matter how reckless pirates were, they rarely attacked the Marines directly. Doing so would place them on the most wanted list and make the Marines hunt them down until their throats were slit.
"Who dares attack the Marines?!" Momonga's shout alerted several Marines, including Vice Admiral Gion and Vice Admiral Tsuru, who happened to be nearby.
"What's wrong, Momonga?" Tsuru asked as she entered the room alongside Gion.
Momonga looked back while restraining his anger.
"My apologies, Tsuru-san. It seems someone in the East Blue is looking for trouble."
Gion widened her eyes. A pirate attacking a Marine base was something possible in the Grand Line, but in the four Blues it was almost unheard of, and this was already the second time in a short period that they had heard about pirates attacking Marine bases.
"I'm not looking for trouble."
The voice that came from the Den Den Mushi wasn't Nezumi's, leaving everyone shocked. The man sounded young, perhaps a rookie pirate.
The sheer audacity of a rookie daring to speak directly to Headquarters was unheard of.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Momonga ground his teeth.
On the other side, Allen wiped the blood from his fingers with a handkerchief while stepping on Nezumi's head. The man cried as he tried to crawl away, but Allen's foot pinning his head down along with the five holes in his back, made by Shigan, prevented him from doing so.
Allen looked at the Den Den Mushi. It was a strange creature, like a half-snail, half-telephone capable of communicating across the entire world. The strangest and funniest part was that the snail mimicked the expressions of whoever was speaking through it, allowing Allen to see the Vice Admiral's anger.
"Kid... It's common for fools like you to want to prove something, but reckless people like that don't live long..." said an old woman from the other side.
Just from her tone and presence, Allen understood that this woman did not hold a low rank within the Marines.
"I'm not trying to prove anything, I'm just doing your job, useless bastards!"
All the Marines were stunned. Had Allen just scolded them? Had a rookie, a mere newborn pirate, just insulted them?
"You know nothing, do you?" Allen mocked.
Allen listened to Nezumi's words. This shameless bastard dared ask for help despite being the one who caused all of this.
On the other side of the call, Momonga exchanged glances with Tsuru. It seemed there was more than met the eye.
Momonga growled. "One minute, that's all you have to speak, but if what you say is nonsense then I—"
"Don't threaten me, Momonga," Allen interrupted him. At this moment, his feelings toward the Marines were simply negative.
Momonga swallowed his words. Gion nearly laughed seeing that.
"If you want to know, then I'll tell you. The Conomi Islands had been taken over by Arlong and his pirates for many years..."
"What?" Momonga froze. Gion and Tsuru were also surprised.
"That's right. A pirate enslaved the entire population, and guess what? This bastard named Nezumi allowed it." Allen pressed harder on Nezumi's head, causing him to scream. "Why don't you tell them yourself?!"
"Ahhh! Don't kill me! Fine, I did it!"
It was pathetic. Nezumi was so weak that he couldn't endure even a little pain before confessing. That was exactly the kind of person he was, a rat in every sense of the word.
"But... impossible." Momonga leaned against the table.
"It's true, it is impossible. Years of tyranny without anyone noticing would show a complete lack of supervision over your Captains, wouldn't it, Momonga? But how curious that this is already the second time..."
"...!" Momonga widened his eyes before connecting the dots. "You took down Morgan?"
Allen snorted. "Would you look at that, two corrupt and tyrannical Captains. But what can we expect from an organization that openly allows slavery, right?"
Momonga couldn't respond. Tsuru and Gion also remained silent. The Marines were the greatest hypocrites in this world. On one hand, they called themselves justice, yet openly permitted slavery.
Receiving no response, Allen prepared to leave, but not before pulling out a pistol and pointing it at Nezumi's head.
"No... no no wait! Don't kill me! I'll give you the money Arlong gave me! It's millions! It's all yours!"
Every word from Nezumi filled the Marines at Headquarters with shame.
Allen was unmoved by those words. Instead, with a look of disdain, he declared:
"No."
A gunshot rang out, and then there was silence for a moment before Allen spoke again.
"Captain Allen Walker bears witness that Nezumi's debt has been repaid in blood. However, I do not wish him peaceful rest, but that his soul descend into the Underworld in eternal torment."
Allen was about to leave when the Den Den Mushi spoke again.
"Kid, even if Nezumi was a rotten apple, you have no right to judge him."
Allen smiled. "That's where you're wrong. You follow laws imposed by a disgusting World Government and judge my actions as evil through them. I follow my pirate code and see your actions as wrong. In the end, the one who decides good and evil is the one with power, which is why when I take the Empty Throne, I'll change many things."
"What did you say?!" Tsuru exclaimed. This elderly woman, who had seen everything, had just been left in shock by Allen's words. This wasn't merely rebellion against the Government; he had openly declared something that would classify him as an enemy of the world.
"You heard me. By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Captain Allen Walker, Pirate Lord and future King of the World. It's a pleasure."
Allen left the Marine room without waiting to hear their response. It was complete madness. Who could be insane enough to declare something like that?!
[You just became an enemy of the world, you know?]
Hearing Lenalee's words, the realization of his actions finally hit him.
"Shit!"
[You really are a brat...]
Lenalee sighed. There had been no need for what he did. He could have waited for Nezumi to finish the call or attacked him before he made it. Now he had gotten himself into trouble with the Marines and, in the worst-case scenario, the World Government.
[Well, maybe it's not that serious...]
"Really?!" Allen smiled. He was impulsive and sometimes acted without thinking. He really had a talent for getting himself into trouble.
At that moment, the world slowed down, and before Allen could react, he was already in his room holding his forehead.
....
All of his memories returned, along with the regret over what he had just done.
Gwen – Well, it's not that bad. You only picked a fight with the world's top powers while being Level 1. What's the worst that could happen?~
"Gwen, I don't need sarcasm, I need solutions... my life is the one at risk."
Allen cursed his immature One Piece version. This little brat had absolutely no idea about the power scale of the people he was dealing with.
Telling the Marines that he was aiming for Imu's throne and planned to overthrow them when he didn't even have the strength of a hundred-million-berry pirate?!
It was madness!
Rías – Haha... It's true, you're a cute guy. I like that stupidly reckless attitude, like a teenager with too much testosterone~
"Yeah, everything's great until they send an Admiral after my head."
Rogue – Well, we're exaggerating. I don't think that'll happen.
Nikky – You think? To me, Allen's declaration sounded serious enough for them to send the Holy Knights after him.
Rukia – Mmm, maybe Rogue is right...
"That doesn't reassure me," Allen said while leaning against his desk, though he wasn't actually worried.
MJ – Yeah, just think about it. Right now, you're not Allen Walker, destroyer of multiversal entities, just an insignificant rookie brat from the East Blue who doesn't even have a bounty yet!
"You didn't have to insult me to make your point clear."
Despite his words, Allen and the rest of the Chat understood what the girls meant.
Allen had made a declaration bold enough to become the World Government's number one enemy, however, those words came from a nobody.
If Allen were at least a pirate with a bounty of hundreds of millions, maybe there would be consequences, but him? A rookie? An ant? Who would take him seriously?!
Allen leaned back in his chair and formed a faint smile. "I hope you're right. For Kaya and Nami's sake, I don't want their dear idiot captain dragging them into trouble with the World Government... yet."
He spent an hour talking with his Chat before deciding to take some time to relax. He left his room and spent time with Natasha, Gwen, Felicia, and MJ, though after a while the girls from High School of the Dead also arrived.
....
Once the "break" ended, Allen returned to the world of One Piece and, fortunately for him, the Chat's assumptions were right.
Momonga slammed the table furiously. He wanted to board a ship and head to the East Blue for Allen's head that very moment. However, Tsuru stopped him and scolded him for taking a child's threats so seriously.
That was reality. In the end, Allen's words carried no weight. He didn't even have a name yet; they were merely scandalous declarations because of the circumstances, but nothing serious enough for the Marines to send a Vice Admiral after him.
However, he also wouldn't be ignored. Allen had openly attacked two Marine bases and their Captains. Regardless of whether those Captains were corrupt, he had no right to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
"We need to inform Sengoku. It's insulting that this brat is running around without a bounty..." Tsuru said before leaving the room with Gion following behind her.
"Allen Walker... I'll remember you, brat. Come to the Grand Line so I can show you what happens when a pirate doesn't know his limits..."
....
After leaving the base, Allen stopped and sneezed. Someone must have been talking about him, or maybe it was just a cold?
[Wait, you're leaving?]
"Mm?"
Allen looked back. The Marine base was silent because, although Allen had only knocked out the other Marines, he had dealt with all of them.
"What else am I supposed to do?"
[Oh come on, did you already forget Nezumi's last words?]
Allen blinked before widening his eyes. That's right, Nezumi had said he had millions.
"That's true!"
Right now, Allen desperately needed money, enough so that he wouldn't get killed in the near future. Because even if his strength was incredible in the East Blue, it meant nothing in the Grand Line where there were pirates with bounties worth hundreds of millions, not to mention the Marines who had plenty of people capable of competing with those pirates.
Thanks to the system's mini-map, Allen managed to locate the treasure quickly. Nezumi, being the rat he was, had hidden it beneath a false floor.
When Allen smashed the floor apart, a huge chest full of gold bars and jewels appeared before him.
It was dozens of millions...
"Bingo!"
Allen had obtained nearly fifty million. Most likely, Nezumi hadn't spent all the bribes yet and planned to retire and disappear onto some island once the Marines discovered him. Unfortunately for him, his fortune had now fallen into Allen's hands.
"Hahaha."
[Sorry to interrupt, but isn't that money from the people of these islands?]
Allen looked offended. "Nonsense. I'm not Robin Hood. I already did enough by giving them freedom and allowing them to be blessed by my presence. This is for me."
[Well, let's say you're half right. So, are you going after Arlong's treasure too?]
Allen froze. He remembered Arlong had offered him two hundred million. Did that shark really have that much money?
Allen regretted not realizing it sooner, so he ran back to Arlong Park.
When Nami and Kaya went looking for Allen, they found him desperately clearing away rubble from what used to be Arlong Park. It was a little embarrassing for their captain to act like this, but once they heard he was searching for Arlong's two hundred million, Nami immediately started helping too with eyes shaped like money symbols.
By the end of the day, they didn't find two hundred million, only seventy. The old shark had been a liar, though it was still an enormous haul.
....
When they returned to Kaya's house, Allen told Nami, Nojiko, and Kaya that he had disappeared to go after Nezumi. The scumbag had already asked for help with the intention of pinning everything Arlong had done on him.
"That rat!" Nami growled through gritted teeth.
"How despicable!" Nojiko cursed.
"I don't even know him, but I already hate him," Even sweet Kaya couldn't help but feel contempt for Nezumi.
Allen crossed his arms with a smug smile on his face.
"Don't worry, that bastard is worm food now."
The girls exchanged glances before relaxing.
"Sorry, I almost forgot about that rat Nezumi," Nami said.
"He was a truly despicable guy, every bit as bad as Arlong—if not worse. I'm glad he's dead," Nojiko said with clear disdain, but she quickly smiled and walked over to Allen, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Hey, little brother, you've done so much for us and we haven't done anything for you. How about your big sister rewards you for everything~?"
Nojiko's flirty smile caught Allen off guard. He didn't answer right away—his mind was completely occupied by the feeling of her breasts pressed firmly against his chest.
"Sister!"
"Awa wa…"
Nami looked like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on, while Kaya began stuttering. This shameless seduction was too much for her pure heart.
Instead of pulling back, Nojiko pulled Allen's head deeper into her chest.
"Hehe, don't get jealous, sis. I'm not going to steal him from you. Still… It's a shame you're not giving our hero a proper reward~"
Nami blushed, unsure how to respond. Nojiko's sly smile made it look like she was just teasing, but Nami knew her sister well. She wasn't the type to act this shamelessly unless she was serious.
Both Nojiko and Nami had avoided any kind of romance before. After all, their lives hung by a thread depending on Arlong's mood. What kind of future could they have imagined with men in that situation?
Now that wasn't a problem anymore. However, Nami had no intention of letting her sister set her sights on Allen.
In a burst of courage, she stepped forward, snatched Allen away from Nojiko's chest, and pulled him into her own.
"Sister, I love you a lot… but I'm not giving you my captain!"
Nojiko narrowed her eyes. "Looks like you've become really selfish… But sorry, I really like this little brother."
Nojiko snatched Allen back again and pressed him against her chest once more.
Nami was left speechless. Her sister had always been incredibly good to her and never denied her anything, but now she was being completely selfish.
Nami wasn't about to let that happen. She yanked Allen back and hugged him tightly against her own chest.
"But he's MY captain!"
"Don't be selfish, Nami!"
"You're the one being selfish!"
The two sisters looked like they had gone back ten years, fighting like little girls over a stuffed animal.
As for Kaya? Her eyes were already spinning in circles.
As for Allen? The bastard hadn't said a single word. He simply let them fight over him, his face moving from Nami's chest to Nojiko's and back again. And the worst part was that he somehow managed to look dignified the entire time.
'There are times when I regret being this handsome… but then I ask myself, if I weren't the most handsome man in the world, who would be? And just like that, the regret disappears.'
[Right now I really wish I had a body so I could kick your shameless ass.]
'I love you too, Lenalee~'
[...]
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A/N: "🗿" Allen's expression as the two sisters fight over him.
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