"Then let's interrogate him."
Raleigh lazily rose from his deck chair, casually grabbed the Mikazuki Munechika, and hung it at his waist.
He examined the pirate ship before him.
Though large, it was worn-out and shabby.
It looked like a ship that had been hidden away for years and just recently dragged out to set sail.
"What's your name?" Raleigh asked, looking directly at the pirate captain kneeling before him.
"M-Marine sir, please spare my life." The pirate captain was trembling.
He never would have imagined that, after over a year since his last voyage, he would encounter two terrifying Marine officers.
He had thought that with their numerical advantage—forty to fifty pirates against two young marines—it would be an easy victory.
But to his surprise, the rough-looking marine possessed astonishing strength, sending his first mate flying into the ship's cabin with a single punch, leaving him unconscious.
Moreover, his defensive capabilities were astonishing; neither blades nor firearms could leave a wound on his body.
They could only watch helplessly as Tokikake rampaged.
As for the female marine, the pirate captain initially felt a flicker of lust towards her, but the moment he saw the flying slash she unleashed, he was utterly terrified.
A flying slash!
That was the hallmark of a master swordsman!
Who could have imagined that such a young-looking female marine would be a master swordsman?
Had he fallen so far behind the times after just over a year?
Seeing his crew suffer heavy casualties, the pirate captain had no choice but to kneel and surrender.
"My name is... Melville Sandy, captain of the Hyena Pirates. Sir, please spare me. It's been a long time since I've done anything pirate-related. I just recently raised the pirate flag again... I haven't committed any crimes yet."
Watching the pirate captain kowtowing before him, Raleigh roughly guessed he was telling the truth.
"So, you're saying you hadn't been active as a pirate for a long time and only recently decided to set sail again, is that right?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Sakazuki's methods were far too brutal over the past two years. My crew and I decided to hide our pirate ship," the captain confessed.
"We concealed ourselves in this small town with the treasures we had plundered before. Now that I've heard Vice Admiral Sakazuki is being transferred, I thought it was time to gather my old crew and set sail once more."
A cold glint flashed in Raleigh's eyes.
Just as he had suspected.
Over the past two years, although Sakazuki's operations in the North Blue had achieved significant results, even more pirates had simply chosen to lie low.
These scoundrels had an incredibly sharp sense of smell.
While Sakazuki was around, his presence kept them from brazenly committing robbery.
Most either left the North Blue or chose to live in obscurity, waiting for the right moment.
The people on this ship were a prime example.
They had hidden, fearing Sakazuki's reputation, and their decision to return was solely because they had heard he was being transferred.
They thought they had finally waited long enough.
"So, if we hadn't arrived, you would have already headed to a nearby island to pillage, wouldn't you?" Raleigh's voice was icy.
"And before you went into hiding, your hands were undoubtedly stained with the blood of innocent civilians, weren't they?"
The pirate captain, who had been bowing, suddenly looked up.
"N-no... that's not how it is, Sir Marine. Please let me explain."
Raleigh turned to Cleveland. "It seems the reason for the unrest in the North Blue is precisely because Vice Admiral Sakazuki is being transferred. How interesting. The rats that can never be fully eradicated are now boldly emerging as the cat prepares to leave."
Having obtained the information he needed, Raleigh and the others didn't waste any more time.
They needed to reach the North Blue Naval Base as quickly as possible to report this.
Such emerging threats must be nipped in the bud.
As for the pirate captain, Raleigh had already sentenced him to death.
A simple execution would be too merciful.
Cleveland threw a torch onto the deck before leaving.
Watching the flames spread, the desperate pirate captain cursed, "Damn Marines! You can't stop pirates from setting sail! This is the tide of the times! You can't resist this wave and will ultimately be crushed by it! Damn Marines, remember! I, Melville Sandy, will be waiting in hell to see your downfall!"
"Hah," Raleigh expressed utter contempt. "Since when do trash from the sea have the right to curse the Marines?"
Pirates were just pirates.
Almost all of them got supplies by plundering civilians.
Only the big shots, like the Four Emperors, were smart enough to "protect" their territories in exchange for protection money.
Pirates were hypocrites, too.
When they faced the Marines, they'd beg to surrender, knowing they'd just end up in a cell like Impel Down.
But pirates didn't follow those rules with each other.
When they fought, the loser either joined as cannon fodder or died.
No prisons, no wasted resources.
Regarding such pirates, Raleigh believed Sakazuki's approach wasn't wrong—capture them and execute them directly.
However, his methods were too brutal, sometimes disregarding civilian casualties.
There were better ways to change public perception.
'Sakazuki,' Raleigh thought, 'I'll prove with time that I can govern the North Blue better than you.'