The Marine 16th Branch sat in a small town called Rimi.
Normally, Marine—especially those in the Blues—were placed inside towns. After all, sailors and soldiers need food. If a branch were planted alone on a tiny island, resupplying would mean sailing out to buy provisions all the time. So most branches were attached to towns: Log Town had its branches, Shells Town had its branch, and so on.
Rimi had been a quiet little place—until a pirate ship appeared and stirred things up.
Pirates rarely attacked towns with Marine branches. If you lacked the strength, you risked capsizing; if you were strong enough to try, the losses from a clash with the Marines could still be heavy. So such stupidity almost never happened unless personal grudges were involved. And those cases were rare.
Rimi had been peaceful for eight years—largely because of Colonel Nezumi. He'd struck a deal with the Arlong Pirates. Arlong ruled over more than twenty villages in the area, but he never touched Rimi; doing so would have been too obvious and might draw an inspection from higher-ups. Under that arrangement, the town looked stable—some might even praise Nezumi as a model Marine. Arlong would sometimes send the corpses of defeated pirate crews to Nezumi as "gifts," and the Colonel paraded those as proof of his achievements. Superiors saw tidy reports and had no reason to suspect. That was how Nezumi had covered Arlong's crimes for eight years—his position shielded the fish-man gang.
But today things were different. Adrian's crew had come.
"Yoriichi, you stay aboard and guard them," Adrian said.
"Zabuza, you come with me."
Adrian paused as he organized the plan and then told Yoriichi Momochi to remain on the ship. After several upgrades, Yoriichi was no longer a weakling. His Physique had climbed to Citycrusher , and he possessed Steel Skin and High-Speed Regeneration. Whether a Marine could break through his defenses was uncertain—but even if they did, his regeneration would shrug off most damage. He was a walking tank.
"Understood," Yoriichi replied.
"Nami, you sure about leaving only him on deck? Isn't that risky?" Nami glanced at Zabuza and worried. Zabuza's speed and lethality were terrifying, but compared to Yoriichi, he thought Yoriichi was the safer pick.
"Fine—bring him, too," Nami added, pointing at Yoriichi. Compared to Zabuza, Yoriichi's strength was clearly on another level; it made her feel more secure.
Adrian grinned at Nami's concern. "Look at you—already worrying about me. How considerate."
Nami immediately fell silent, flushed with embarrassment. She wanted to smack herself for even suggesting it—she and her sister had been forced aboard; why was she suddenly fretting about their host's safety? If she knew what Stockholm Syndrome was, she might have panicked. But in this world, she just clamped her mouth shut. Silence felt like the safest cover.
"You lot wait here. Nothing's gonna happen to your Boss," Adrian added confidently. Then he and Zabuza stepped off the ship. Nezumi was tied with a rope and forced to walk ahead. His severed stump was crudely bandaged—Adrian hadn't wanted him bleeding out before they reached the money. No use losing the prize before the heist.
As Adrian's party departed, the pirate ship receded into the distance.
On deck, Nojiko's daughter—Nochi? (Nojiko's younger companion)—huddled close to Nami and asked in a low voice, "Nami… do you like that man? The captain?"
Nami flinched. "No! Don't say that! He forced and threatened us—how could I like him?" She stammered, then hurriedly covered it: "I just thought… what he's doing to the Marine 16th Branch is in a way revenge for us. Nezumi and Arlong working together is why Cocoyasi Village suffered eight years. So I just warned him is all."
Nochi studied her big sister carefully, a little suspicious. Nami's explanation sounded plausible enough, but Nochi resolved to keep an eye on her sister.
Meanwhile, the Marine 16th Branch stirred to life as Adrian's gang arrived. The sentry noticed the pathetic, trembling form of Colonel Nezumi dragged forward—his torn, bandaged hand and the two imposing figures beside him made it obvious they were enemies. The alarm spread.
Inside the branch, officers and soldiers looked up as the gate crashed open. Footfalls. Shouts. Fear.
Adrian's crew were not subtle. They moved like a knife—quick, efficient, and terrifyingly calm. Nezumi led them straight to the Colonel's office, jaw clenched, hope flickering that perhaps he'd buy himself out of this yet. The Marines on duty scrambled, but morale collapsed as the reality of the situation set in: these weren't ordinary pirates. The two men at Nezumi's side radiated an aura that made even seasoned sailors feel their stomachs tighten.
"Hold your ground!" someone barked, but the voice trembled.
Adrian didn't need drama. He wanted the money, and he wanted it clean. He'd shown what would happen to liars and cowards already—the message was delivered. Now it was time to collect.
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