Back at the dock, Amon had already felt something was off about that ship.
There had been no Marine flag.
But when he saw men in Marine uniforms appear on deck, he assumed they were here to investigate Arlong's incident, so he did not dig deeper.
Now, hearing Nojiko say the "Marines" had rounded everyone up, his heart sank.
He immediately activated his own Observation Haki.
The instant it opened, everything happening in Cocoyasi Village stamped itself into his mind.
In front of the village's largest market square, more than a hundred villagers were squatting in dense rows. Old and young, men and women, all of them with their hands clasped over their heads.
Standing in neat formation before them were a dozen or so "Marines," each holding a rifle, the muzzles pointed directly at the villagers.
They wore Marine uniforms, but their faces were fierce and vicious, nothing like real soldiers. Yet their formation was orderly, their movement disciplined. They also did not feel like the loose, swaggering rabble of pirates.
That made Amon even more suspicious.
What exactly were they here to do?
Keeping his Observation Haki trained on the scene, Amon led Bell-mère and Nojiko down the mountain at once.
…
"Don't move!"
In the market square, the leader, a Marine soldier holding a long rifle, paced back and forth in front of the villagers, barking coldly.
"Anyone who dares move even once, you'll be killed on the spot."
At the same time, the village constable Genzo and several others were squatting with their hands over their heads, not daring to budge.
"Sir… may I ask why you've come here?"
When a man in a Major's uniform stepped forward, Genzo forced himself to speak.
The man had shifty eyes and a rat-like face. If Amon were standing there already, he would recognize him instantly.
Because this was the same man from the original story who colluded with Arlong.
Captain Nezumi.
Only right now, he still held the rank of Major.
The reason he came today was simple.
Arlong's crew had suddenly stopped sending word.
They were supposed to hand over ten million Beli after collecting rent, but Nezumi had waited and waited with no message.
So he decided to come in person and see what was going on.
That brought him to this very scene.
"This officer received a report that you villagers have been colluding with pirates."
Nezumi had already prepared his excuse before arriving.
After all, even dirty work needed a "proper reason" to justify it.
"So I'm here to collect evidence and investigate."
"Sir, that's a lie!"
Genzo's voice cracked with anger and fear.
"We're just ordinary villagers. We hate them so much we can't even sleep. How could we possibly collude with pirates!"
Genzo had immense prestige in Cocoyasi Village, but in front of these violent, unreasonable "Marines," he did not dare act rashly.
To the people of Cocoyasi, the Marines were their nightmare.
"Heh."
Nezumi sneered.
"If you say you're not colluding, then answer me this."
"We clearly saw Arlong's crew enter this island, but now we don't see a trace of them. Don't tell me they left. We've been watching the sea for a long time and didn't see any ship depart!"
There was, of course, another reason behind his anger.
Arlong was supposed to meet him on the sea and hand over his cut. Nezumi would then suppress the information for them.
Together, they would keep squeezing Cocoyasi Village, treating the people like sheep penned in a corral, shaving them again and again without mercy.
"Sir, sir… we truly didn't collude with Arlong."
Genzo's face tightened, then he spoke quickly.
"They did come. But they were defeated by Mr. Amon!"
"Defeated?"
Nezumi paused.
The name "Amon" felt strangely familiar, like he had heard it somewhere.
But today, he did not come mainly to find Arlong.
He came for money.
A new Marine Captain was about to take over. Nezumi needed a fat bribe, or he would never climb into that position.
So he pretended not to understand Genzo at all and shouted harshly.
"Heh. Our Marines were following behind them. If they were defeated, how could we not know? And Arlong's crew is the most vicious pirate group in the East Blue. How could anyone possibly defeat them! Besides, in such a short time, Arlong's crew just vanished into thin air? Do you think that's believable? This is clearly you trying to shelter pirates!"
"Men!"
Nezumi's voice turned razor-sharp.
"Drag this old man out. Execute him for harboring pirates!"
"…Yes, sir!"
The Marines he brought were all his trusted lackeys, men already steeped in filth. They did not question him for a second.
The villagers of Cocoyasi did not expect Nezumi to order murder so casually. Their eyes filled with red fury.
How was this any different from pirates?
When pirates came, at least they took money and left. They did not slaughter people on the spot.
But these so-called Marines not only took the rent money Arlong had collected, they also pinned crimes on the villagers and threatened to execute them.
The villagers finally snapped.
They rose to their feet.
"Let go of Genzo!"
"You're killing people without proof. How are you any different from pirates?!"
"We'll go to Loguetown and report you!"
The moment Nezumi heard that they wanted to report him to Loguetown, his expression twisted with rage.
"Men!"
"Take all these rebellious peasants who collude with pirates and execute them!"
"I'll show you what happens when you 'collude with pirates.'"
With that charge slapped onto them, he roared orders and had the troublemakers dragged forward.
The remaining villagers burned with hatred, but they did not dare speak again.
Nezumi was very satisfied.
This was exactly what he wanted, to slaughter a few and scare the rest into silence.
He prepared to kill the two villagers who had just shouted the loudest, a public warning to everyone else.
"No… no… don't…"
"Y-you… you can't… how dare you pretend to be Marines…"
At that life-or-death moment, a voice rang out from outside the square.
Amon had arrived, with Bell-mère and Nojiko right behind him.
The moment the villagers saw Amon, the despair on their faces shattered, replaced by sudden, blazing hope.
They knew what Amon could do.