Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Observation Haki spread across the entire patrol ship like a vast, invisible tide. At this moment, aside from him and Cyrus, not a single living soul remained aboard.
He gave the control room a brief but thorough inspection, glancing over the carnage. After a few moments spent examining the bodies of the fallen Marines, Yoriichi already understood what had transpired here—he didn't need Cyrus to explain a thing.
"Yoriichi, I—"
Cyrus started to speak, guilt flickering across his face, but Yoriichi raised a hand, cutting him off. His gaze had fixed on the desk at the center of the room.
Spread across it was a nautical chart, a few scattered pencils… and a Den Den Mushi.
The snail's eyes were open. Someone had been listening.
Seeing this, Yoriichi walked over, lifted the receiver, and said calmly:
"Is anyone there? This is Marine 133rd Branch, Patrol Ship No. 06."
"I'm a member of Sergeant Santos' squad—Private Third Class, Tsugikuni Yoriichi."
A moment later came a sharp click. The snail's eyes slid shut.
Yoriichi's expression cooled.
"Yoriichi, what's going on here?" Cyrus asked, his voice tight.
"When the pirates attacked, I followed your advice and came to the control room to check the situation," Cyrus explained. "But by the time I arrived, Sergeant Santos and everyone else in the room had already been gunned down."
He gritted his teeth. "The culprits were the men from the combat unit."
"But… why?"
Cyrus still couldn't make sense of it. Why would members of the combat unit attack their own comrades? Why target him? And why now—when the ship had been under pirate bombardment? Shouldn't they have been fighting the enemy instead of turning on fellow Marines?
Nothing about it made sense.
"Why would they do that?"
Yoriichi's answer was calm but grim.
"Their ultimate goal, I suspect… was to kill you and me."
He met Cyrus's stunned gaze.
"Those pirates weren't a random encounter. They were organized, prepared, and their mission was clear—to destroy this patrol ship and wipe out every Marine aboard."
"For them to find our ship's position so precisely on the open sea means someone leaked our patrol route."
"And that kind of information could only have come from within the Navy itself."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"The combat unit attacking the control room at the same time as the pirate assault was no coincidence. They were coordinating with the enemy."
"The combat squad and those pirates likely share the same master."
Cyrus's fists tightened.
"I suspect even those Marines were being used," Yoriichi added quietly. "To whoever's behind this, they were just disposable tools."
"After all… the pirates' orders were to kill everyone on board."
Cyrus listened in silence, his face set in grim concentration. Eventually, he frowned, spotting a hole in Yoriichi's reasoning.
"Our lives? But we're just two new recruits—barely arrived at the 133rd Branch! Who'd go so far just to kill us? And for what?"
"Whoever could command both Marines and pirates must be someone powerful… but we haven't even been here long enough to offend anyone."
He ran a hand through his hair, baffled.
Yoriichi's eyes flicked toward the Den Den Mushi on the desk.
"I have a few guesses," he said at last, "though I can't be sure I'm right."
He reached into his cloak and pulled out another Den Den Mushi—one that looked oddly human, complete with a shock of purple "hair."
Purururu... purururu...
Click!
The snail's eyes opened, and a deep, energetic voice boomed from the receiver.
"Oh! Yoriichi! You finally called! So, how is it—have you reached the 133rd Branch yet?"
At that familiar voice, Yoriichi couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Hello, Instructor Zephyr," he greeted warmly. "Cyrus and I arrived yesterday. We joined a patrol this morning... but ran into some trouble."
The other end of the line went silent for a few seconds. When Zephyr finally spoke again, his tone had hardened.
"What kind of trouble?"
Yoriichi briefly explained everything—the pirate ambush, the massacre aboard the ship, the betrayal of the combat squad—and shared his suspicions.
He didn't name the "Lolo Trading Company" outright as the culprit; that was too narrow. Instead, he suspected something deeper: that someone high up in the 133rd Branch was hiding something serious from Marine Headquarters—something that, if exposed, could cost them not just their position, but their life.
It made no sense otherwise. He and Cyrus had only just arrived; no trading company should have known about them so quickly.
And from what Yoriichi understood, anyone who could freely switch between "merchant" and "pirate" identities would never intentionally provoke the Navy. Doing so would only jeopardize their business.
"It's possible," Yoriichi continued, "that our arrival from Headquarters made someone in the branch nervous—nervous enough to try and silence us before we learned too much."
Zephyr listened quietly. When Yoriichi finished, the veteran instructor asked in a low, deliberate tone:
"Do you have anyone in mind?"
Zephyr didn't question Yoriichi's story—nor did he blame Cyrus for killing fellow Marines. He trusted his students completely.
Yoriichi considered a moment before replying.
"It's hard to say. We've had little contact since leaving Headquarters, so Major Kane's involvement seems unlikely… though it's possible he waited until we returned to his territory to act."
"It could also be one of the branch's field officers. Lower ranks wouldn't have the influence to command both Marines and disguised pirates."
Zephyr fell silent again, thinking. Finally, he said:
"You wouldn't be calling me unless you had a plan, Yoriichi. What do you intend to do?"
Cyrus glanced at Yoriichi, waiting for his answer.
Yoriichi smiled faintly.
"It's simple," he said. "We'll detain everyone who might be involved. Once they're under control, Instructor Zephyr—you can send investigators to handle the rest."
"It looks complicated, but really, it isn't. Cyrus and I can manage this."
On the other end, Zephyr went completely silent. It seemed even he hadn't expected such a bold, straightforward proposal from his usually calm and composed student.
After a long pause, Zephyr sighed.
"Fine. Handle it as you see fit. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
"Just—be careful. And try not to kill anyone unless you have to."
"I'll dispatch a team immediately."
Then, with a touch of weary humor, he added:
"And Yoriichi… do yourself a favor and stay away from Garp. Stupidity is contagious."
(End of Chapter)
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