"Huh?"
The pupils of the Marine Colonel standing at the very front constricted suddenly, his jaw dropping so exaggeratedly it almost hit the floor.
The surrounding soldiers, who had been so scared their legs were weak and almost fainted just a moment ago, stood frozen in place, their faces full of astonishment and disbelief.
Broly frowned slightly and repeated, "Contact your headquarters and change the name on my wanted poster."
Broly couldn't think of a suitable nickname for a moment, so he said, "Just write Broly. Using my own name will do."
Smoker, following behind Broly, was slightly stunned upon hearing this. He realized then that he still didn't know the other party's name.
The Marine Colonel was still stuck in his bewilderment, the thought echoing repeatedly in his mind: So... he broke into the base just to change the name on a wanted poster?
Although this Colonel had average strength, he had served in the Marines for over twenty years and handled countless pirate incidents, but he had never encountered anything so bizarre!
Seeing him delay taking action, Broly looked increasingly impatient. "Don't make me say it a third time."
The Colonel snapped back to reality and stammered, "I-I'm only a Colonel. I don't have the authority to contact Headquarters directly... I can only contact the Grand Line branch first, and then the branch will pass it up... It-It will probably take more than a week for the message to reach Headquarters."
He knew clearly that agreeing to the request of this devil named Broly was the best policy right now.
But with his mere rank of Colonel, he simply didn't have the qualifications to speak directly with Marineford.
Broly was slightly stunned, turning to look at Smoker behind him, who had a complex expression.
He understood now. Although the future Smoker was only a Captain when he first appeared, he could contact Headquarters directly.
The reason was simply that Smoker was a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user. With his strength, he would be more than qualified even as a Rear Admiral. He was probably only demoted to the East Blue because of his straightforward personality.
An ordinary Colonel naturally wouldn't have such privileges.
Broly thought for a moment and asked again, "How long does it take to get from here to Marineford?"
The Colonel clearly didn't expect Broly's question to jump so drastically, but he didn't dare hide anything. "If we don't make too many stops on the way and the weather is stable, we can arrive in about fifteen to twenty days."
Broly nodded, his tone still indifferent. "Alright, prepare a warship. I'll go over and talk to them."
As soon as these words came out, the Marines present were stunned again—for the sake of changing a name on a wanted poster, a pirate was going to travel alone to Marineford? Was there something wrong with their ears, or had the world gone crazy?
Puru puru puru—
Just then, the ringtone sounded from the Colonel's pocket.
Broly raised his eyebrows, signaling him to answer.
The Colonel braced himself, took out the Den Den Mushi, and pressed the answer button.
The Den Den Mushi, which originally had its eyes closed, instantly opened them and spoke, mimicking the caller's serious expression: "Hello, it's me, Vice Admiral Doberman."
The Colonel responded with a trembling voice, "Vi-Vice Admiral Doberman, what are your orders?"
Doberman's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, carrying the sharpness characteristic of hawk-faction generals: "We are on our way to the East Blue. We will select talented newcomers to send to the Marine Headquarters Academy to receive guidance from Instructor Zephyr. Have you discovered any potential newcomers in your jurisdiction?"
Broly interjected at this moment: "Let him come over."
The Colonel dared not disobey and could only answer quickly, "Yes, yes, Vice Admiral, yes."
Far away on the Grand Line, on the warship heading for the East Blue, Doberman nodded upon hearing this, then remembered something and asked, "By the way, is the Demon Child still in Loguetown?"
When saying this, Doberman's tone still carried thirty percent fear.
The Colonel quietly looked at Broly. Seeing him raise his hand in a gesture, he swallowed his saliva, forced down the panic in his tone, and answered, "He-He left yesterday."
Hearing this, Doberman breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though he was a famous hawk in the Marines, practicing Absolute Justice to purge all pirates, he didn't want to face that monster directly.
After hanging up, Doberman was in a great mood and shouted to his subordinates, "Full speed ahead-da, to the East Blue!"
Learning that Broly had left, the morale of the thousand soldiers on the ship also rose greatly—when they received the order to go to the East Blue for recruitment earlier, every one of them was terrified, knowing that the Demon Child was in Loguetown, East Blue.
After the call ended, Broly turned and left the Marine base, leaving hundreds of Marine soldiers and the Colonel slumped on the ground as if drained of strength.
The Colonel took a long time to recover before muttering, "I-I thought I was going to die here."
The adjutant beside him, covered in sweat and still in shock, asked in a low voice, "Co-Colonel, is that monster really going to Headquarters? Just for this trivial matter?"
The Colonel quickly covered the adjutant's mouth and lowered his voice. "Idiot, do you want to die? Do you want him to hear you?"
The scene instantly fell silent. Everyone held their breath, terrified that Broly would return.
After a full hour, confirming that Broly had gone far, the Colonel breathed a sigh of relief. "Whatever he wants to do, let him go. An opponent of this level is definitely not something we can contend with. If he really breaks into Headquarters, at least there are Admiral-level combat forces there to deal with him."
But just after saying this, the Colonel felt something was wrong. After all, wasn't Admiral Sengoku instantly killed two days ago?
...
Broly had been waiting at the Loguetown harbor pier for three days, quietly awaiting the arrival of Doberman's warship.
Precisely because he had been stationed here for these three days, many reckless youths influenced by Roger's last words who wanted to go out to sea and become pirates didn't dare act rashly, fearing they would be targeted by Broly.
"Doberman..."
Sitting on the pier, Broly muttered to himself in a low voice. After a moment, he finally remembered—this person was a Marine hawk and a follower of Akainu.
The only reason he remembered Doberman was because of the future Egghead Island battle.
That spider Five Elder knocked Doberman out cold with just a look, leaving his fate unknown.
Thinking of this, the corners of Broly's lips curled up, revealing a contemptuous smile. "When they transformed, I thought they were so awesome, but in the end, they only killed an ordinary soldier and severely injured a Vice Admiral."
Reading manga in his youth in his previous life, he always thought the strength of those five elders who held meetings behind closed doors all year round was unfathomable. In the end, he discovered they were all fucking useless.
From the time they took action until they were killed by Im, they only managed to kill two of their own people, and one of them wasn't even necessarily dead.
This reminded Broly of the Konoha Elder Council F4 in the Naruto world, also submissive to outsiders but striking hard against their own.
"Stupid leaders really are all the same."
As soon as his voice fell, a small black shadow appeared on the sea horizon opposite him, constantly enlarging.
He gazed intently; it was a large warship—the sail was painted with the Marines' signature seagull holding a scale, with the word "MARINE" printed below. Another sail prominently displayed the word "JUSTICE."
Seeing this, Broly chuckled again.
On the deck of this warship capable of holding a thousand people, Doberman was sitting in a chair, wiping his saber with an alcohol swab, his face full of smugness as he said, "Hahaha, the Demon Child isn't here, I am invincible!"
When he first received this mission, he was trembling inside too. Everyone knew the Demon Child was in Loguetown, East Blue.
But now, receiving a report from his subordinates that the Demon Child had already left, he got high on the spot.
At this moment, a soldier standing on the lookout platform on the mast saw Broly and shouted down in a lost voice, "Vice Admiral! It's that devil! The Demon Child is there!"
Doberman's hand wiping the saber trembled, and the blade fell to the ground with a "clang."
In the next second, Doberman ignored picking up his saber and rushed to the bow of the ship. Looking up, he saw Broly sitting cross-legged on the pier, locking eyes with him.
Doberman was scared straight into a meme face. "What's going on? Didn't they say he already left?!"
But the surrounding Marines were already scared out of their wits; no one answered his question.
Immediately after, Broly's figure suddenly disappeared as if he had never appeared.
The next second, a child's voice came from behind everyone: "Take me to Marineford."
The Marines turned their heads violently, almost snapping their necks.
They saw Broly sitting with his legs crossed on the chair Doberman had just occupied, leisurely basking in the sun.
All the Marines broke out in cold sweat.
How did he get up here? We didn't see him at all.