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Chapter 37: Nezumi's World Goes Dark
The flames on Ace's fists surged, and the wind around Sabo swirled faster.
However, at this tense, critical moment.
"Hm?"
Luffy blinked, looking past Nezumi and the charging Marines, toward the forest further behind them.
The next second, a brilliant smile burst onto Luffy's dirt-streaked face!
He tossed the bone in his hand, raised his arms high, and used all his strength to let out a joyful, surprised cheer.
"Grandpa!!!"
That shout was clear and bright, filled with the pure joy of a child seeing his family.
Captain Nezumi scoffed.
He glanced at the excited Luffy, his face full of disdain and mockery.
"Hahaha!"
He laughed wildly, bending over.
"You'll even shout for your grandpa just to save your skin?"
"What a pathetic little brat! I despise you!"
Nezumi wagged his finger contemptuously.
"I'm telling you! Forget shouting for your grandpa! Even if you shout for all your ancestors to climb out of their graves, it's useless!"
"Get them! Ignore this idiot!"
He roared hysterically, his greed and madness on full display.
However, the scene of his Marines swarming forward, which he had expected, didn't happen.
The few Marines at the front had frozen in place, as if petrified.
The ones behind them, not knowing what was happening, nearly crashed into them.
The entire squad was caught in a strange standstill.
"What are you doing! Didn't you hear my order?!"
Nezumi's smile froze. He turned and roared in fury.
"Are you rebelling?! You dare to disobey my orders?!"
No one answered him.
The dozen or so Marines were all pale, cold sweat covering their foreheads.
Their eyes, filled with an incomprehensible terror, were staring straight past Nezumi. Their pupils were constricted in horror.
"What are you looking at?!"
Nezumi was unnerved by their ghost-seeing expressions. He muttered impatiently and turned his head.
"What's behind me..."
His words caught in his throat.
A massive, mountain-like figure was standing there. It was unknown when he had arrived.
A white Justice coat, a dog-head hood, dark skin, and a very annoyed expression.
That face... it was the legend engraved in the very bones of every Marine.
The Marine Hero, Garp the Fist!
Nezumi's brain shut down for three seconds.
Then, a wave of ecstasy washed over him!
Vice Admiral Garp!
Vice Admiral Garp had actually followed him!
His heart, which had been pounding with fear, instantly settled back into his chest, replaced by ten, a hundred times more arrogance and confidence!
He spun back around to face Ace and the others. His back was ramrod straight, his chin high enough to poke the sky.
"Did you see that, you little mongrels!"
Nezumi pointed behind him, his voice sharp and smug.
"The Marine Hero! Vice Admiral Garp is here in person! The net has closed!"
"Why aren't you surrendering?!"
Ace's and Sabo's expressions became extremely strange.
Garp didn't even glance at Nezumi. As if he hadn't seen the buffoon, he walked straight past him.
He walked to the edge of the thirty-meter, charred crater, looked down, then looked up at the circle of toppled, scorched trees.
The pungent, burnt smell still hung in the air.
Garp picked his nose. The annoyed look on his face slowly transformed into a giant grin that reached his ears.
"Bwahahaha!"
His hearty laugh shook the leaves in the forest.
He turned, his gaze landing on Ace and Luffy, his eyes filled with undisguised pride and approval.
"This forest... Is this you two brats' handiwork?"
"Not bad!"
"Just what I'd expect from my grandsons!"
Grand... Grandson?
The savage grin on Nezumi's face froze.
The color drained from his face at a visible rate, becoming whiter than a corpse.
His two comical whiskers trembled wildly as his lips quivered.
He stiffly, inch by inch, turned his rusty neck.
He looked at Garp's proud, grinning face.
He looked at Ace, who had an identical "you're so screwed" expression.
Finally, his gaze landed on the straw-hatted kid who was still grinning foolishly at Garp.
Vice Admiral Garp's... grandson...
The "ruffians" he was ordered to capture... were the Marine Hero's grandsons?
BOOM
A bolt of lightning struck Nezumi's mind.
Everything before him lost its color.
Nezumi's legs gave out, and he collapsed.
His world went dark.
Thud!
With a dull sound, Captain Nezumi's knees buckled, and he dropped straight onto the scorching-hot, charred earth.
He didn't just collapse.
He fell into a standard, kowtowing, full-on kneel.
I just... pointed at the Marine Hero's grandsons... and called them 'little mongrels'?
And ordered to 'kill them on the spot'?
Outlook III, that bstard!*
Nezumi's body trembled like the last leaf in an autumn wind. Cold sweat instantly soaked the cheap Marine uniform on his back, clinging to his skin.
Right! Damage control!
There's still a chance!
I have to fix this!
Nezumi snapped his head up, forcing a fawning smile that was uglier than crying onto his vulgar face.
He scrambled and crawled, moving forward on his knees, his posture as low as dust.
"A mis... a misunderstanding! Your Excellency, Vice Admiral Garp! This is all a misunderstanding!"
His voice was a high-pitched, tearful squeal, filled with infinite regret and flattery.
"I... As soon as I arrived, I saw this earth-shattering destructive power! And I thought to myself, what kind of phoenix among men could create such a divine miracle! This is definitely not the work of ruffians; this is a future legend!"
Nezumi's eloquence hit its peak. He pointed at Ace and Sabo, his eyes shining with a fanatic light, as if the man who had been screaming for their deaths wasn't him at all.
"Just as I expected! Just as I expected!"
He slapped his thigh and shouted, "Besides you, besides the bloodline of the Marine Hero Garp, who else in this world could produce offspring of such talent!"
"These two young masters, showing the aura of a conqueror at such a young age! I... I was just stunned by their kingly aura! I was testing them! Yes! That's it! A test!"
This shameless, black-is-white flattery made the other Marines, who were still standing, stare in disbelief, their entire worldview taking a severe hit.
"Pfft."
An undisguised scoff was heard.
Ace lowered his flaming fists. He looked at the pathetic figure on the ground, his eyes filled with a contempt and disgust so thick it was almost tangible.
"How... disgusting."
Sabo also turned his head away, his grip on his pipe tightening.