Although Marine Lieutenant Commander Axe-Hand Morgan was considered a rising Marine star and indeed possessed decent strength, in the eyes of the giants standing behind Tsuneo, he was nothing more than a combat-power bottom-feeder.
However…
Morgan still had one redeeming quality—a massive one. Even as a weakling, he had the heart to take on the entire battlefield by himself!
They called him Axe Emperor Morgan for a reason.
It wasn't an empty title.
In a split second
Right at that moment
Morgan swung the massive axe in his hands and brought it down toward the intern, Tobi. As expected, Tobi immediately let out a panicked scream!
Morgan assumed he had struck true.
But then…
His huge axe—and even he himself—passed straight through Tobi's body as if he had cut nothing but air.
Morgan froze.
What was that supposed to be?
Did he just slice the silence itself?
Again!
The Axe Emperor would never retreat!
He swung another ferocious strike
Tobi once again screamed, looking as if he was about to pee himself in fear.
But Morgan's axe again cleaved through nothing but empty space.
Another clean cut… of absolutely nothing.
"Hey! You damn pirate—are you toying with me!?"
"Heeheehee… No, no, that's not it at all. When someone swings such a huge axe at me, I'm really scared!"
"Cut the crap, you filthy pirate! A Marine would rather die than be humiliated! If you've got the guts, then kill me!"
Tobi froze, then glanced back at the great figures behind him.
They all nodded at him with approval.
"You want me to kill you? I've never heard someone make such a twisted request before. In that case… I suppose I'll have to grant it!"
"Wood Release: Piercing Technique!"
Without hesitation, Tobi formed a hand seal.
With a swipe of his right hand through the air, a black wooden spike manifested instantly—and shot straight into Morgan's torso.
In an instant
Morgan's body became like fertile soil.
Dozens of wooden branches burst through his flesh, sprouting in all directions.
Morgan lowered his head.
His blood was being completely absorbed by the black wood.
It was impossible not to imagine how terrified and shocked he must have felt at that moment.
These pirates… really dared to kill a Marine officer!
Not only that
"Such power…"
With his dying breath, staring at Tobi before him, Axe-Hand Morgan could only sigh in awe.
This pirate's strength was completely beyond his imagination.
"Hahaha! So there are monsters even among pirates… To die at the hands of someone like you… I suppose I die without regrets!"
"Uh…"
Hearing that, Tobi instantly broke into a cold sweat.
He waved his hands frantically:
"H-Huh!? A supreme powerhouse? N-No, no no! The seniors would get angry if they heard that! On this ship, I… I'm actually the weakest!"
"The… weakest?"
At that moment
Hearing those three words, Axe-Hand Morgan was utterly stunned.
Shocked.
Resigned.
Utterly overwhelmed.
Gathering every last trace of strength, he forced his eyes open and lifted his head to look past Tobi—toward the great figures behind him, and at Captain Tsuneo himself.
If this is the weakest…
Then what kind of monsters are the rest of them?
And how terrifying is the captain!?
Just what kind of pirate crew… is this!?
Wait… hold on
Right at the moment his eyes were closing for the last time, he caught a glimpse of Tsuneo turning away.
That silhouette… looked oddly familiar.
Oh! He finally remembered!
Not long ago
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had personally issued a notice.
A wanted poster showcasing the world's most dangerous rookie pirate…
And that back silhouette matched perfectly.
It was Tsuneo.
The very same one.
Sengoku had not lied
He truly was the most dangerous existence!
Unfortunately…
No matter how much regret he felt now, it was far too late.
Axe-Hand Morgan slowly closed his eyes and ended his ferocious, chaotic life.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. By using Conqueror's Haki proactively for the first time, your Top-Tier Conqueror's Haki Development has increased by 0.1%, reaching 1.1%!]
"…What!?"
Only a 0.1% increase for the first active use of top-tier Conqueror's Haki?
Trash mobs truly were trash mobs.
Even a mountain of them didn't compare to one clash with a top-tier monster like Red-Hair!
System…
Are you hinting I should go pick fights with top-tier monsters more often?
Heh. Yeah, right.
Meanwhile
Kakuzu casually stepped forward, hoisted Morgan's corpse over his shoulder, and prepared to leave.
Everyone present instantly frowned.
"Wait! Kakuzu, what are you doing?"
"Well, Captain, that Mountain Bandit King's head earlier was worth eight million. Looking at this guy… he should be worth at least ten million, right?"
"What the?!"
Tsuneo almost blacked out on the spot.
"Kakuzu! Are you stupid!? He's a Marine! A Marine! How are you going to exchange a Marine for money at a Marine base!? How do you even think of that!?"
Kakuzu paused.
Tsuneo's words made perfect sense.
Without another word, he tossed Morgan's corpse back onto the ground like trash.
"Tch. Marines can't be exchanged for money? Lame."
Muttering in annoyance, he walked back to the group.
At that moment, Tsuneo suddenly felt a deep… suffocating exhaustion.
Orochimaru causing trouble up front…
Kakuzu and Hidan's questionable IQ at the back…
Leading a crew of monsters was… really not easy.