Dusk fell over the ruins of Arlong Park.
The sunset burned like blood, dyeing the land—still echoing with the aftermath of catastrophe—in a bleak, crimson orange.
The once-arrogant Arlong Park was now nothing but broken walls and shattered stone.
Collapsed towers, ruined pools, and fish-men strewn across the ground all silently proclaimed the end of Arlong's tyrannical reign.
Ronan, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp stood atop the ruins, each of them carrying a massive bundle on their backs.
Inside those bundles was treasure looted from Arlong's vault—the ill-gotten wealth he had extorted from countless villagers over the past eight years.
"Phew… this is heavier than it looks," Usopp muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Even as he complained, his grin was brighter than the sunset itself.
Just as they were about to leave with their captives, a white warship slowly appeared on the horizon.
"Woooo—"
A low foghorn cut through the quiet of dusk.
Usopp squinted at the seagull flag fluttering from the mast and said in surprise,
"It's the Marines? What a coincidence. We just finished off the Arlong Pirates, and now they show up? Feels like they're here to clean up after us."
"It's not a coincidence."
Nami's voice suddenly turned cold.
She stared at the approaching warship, disgust practically dripping from her eyes.
"That's the ship of Marine Branch 16. Captain Nezumi."
"It was them—taking bribes from Arlong, turning a blind eye to everything that happened here. They even helped him seal off information from the outside world."
"Because of their collusion, the Arlong Pirates were able to rule and oppress this place without restraint for eight whole years!"
The relaxed atmosphere froze instantly.
Zoro's hand settled on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, his gaze icy.
"So that's how it is… A bunch of scum hiding behind the banner of justice."
Ronan set the bundle on his shoulder down, gripping his eight-foot iron spear with one hand as he calmly looked at Luffy.
"Hey, Luffy. Trash like that just causes more trouble if you leave it around. Want to… wipe them out?"
His tone was casual, like he was discussing dinner, but the killing intent beneath it made the air itself feel colder.
As someone who knew exactly how rotten the Marines could be on the inside, Ronan felt zero hesitation about dealing with filth that was worse than pirates.
Before Luffy could answer, Sanji took a deep drag from his cigarette and frowned.
"Ronan, calm down. They deserve it, sure—but they're still Marines with official status."
"Openly killing a Marine captain changes things. The consequences would be serious."
Sanji exhaled a ring of smoke, thinking it through.
"Marine Headquarters wouldn't let that slide. If we kill him, we'd probably be hunted relentlessly. At the very least… we'd end up with massive bounties."
"Bounties?!"
The moment those words left Sanji's mouth, the seriousness on Luffy's face vanished.
His eyes lit up, sparkling as his grin stretched from ear to ear.
"That sounds awesome! I've always wanted a bounty poster!"
"Awesome my ass!!"
Usopp nearly jumped out of his skin. He grabbed Luffy by the shoulders and shook him frantically.
"Luffy! Don't be stupid! Getting a bounty isn't a joke! We'd become targets for the entire world!"
While they were arguing, the warship docked.
The gangplank dropped, and a squad of fully armed Marines ran down in formation. After them came a man with an utterly sleazy appearance.
He wore a hat decorated with mouse ears, his face sporting a few ridiculous whiskers.
His beady, green-bean eyes darted around restlessly. He looked nothing like a soldier—more like a rat sneaking around to steal oil.
Marine Branch 16's captain: Nezumi.
Captain Nezumi strutted ashore arrogantly—until he saw the scene before him.
The smug expression on his face froze solid.
"Th-This is…?"
Everywhere he looked, there were ruins.
The Arlong Park he'd always treated with wary respect had been reduced to rubble.
And the vicious fish-men were either dead or bound like dumplings on the ground.
"Arlong… lost?"
Nezumi's heart lurched.
He knew how strong Arlong was—a fish-man with terrifying brute force.
For a group of young nobodies to completely wipe out a crew that had ruled the East Blue for eight years…
These people were dangerous.
Fear flickered through his mind—but only for a moment.
Greed swallowed it whole.
His gaze shifted to the massive bundles behind Ronan's group, then to the unconscious Arlong.
"All the treasure Arlong's hoarded over the years… and Arlong himself, a wanted pirate…"
Nezumi swallowed, calculation gleaming in his tiny eyes.
"If I take it all, I'll make a fortune—and earn credit with Headquarters. Promotion and riches, all in one go!"
Greed crushed what little caution he had left.
Nezumi straightened his collar, puffed out his chest, and marched up to Luffy with his soldiers, adopting an overbearing, official tone.
"Hey. Who are you people?"
"I'm Captain Nezumi of Marine Branch 16. I was just about to launch an operation against the Arlong Pirates."
He pointed at Arlong, then at the treasure, his expression righteous to the point of parody.
"But since you no-name pirate hunters got lucky and beat them first, we'll take it from here."
"Hand over the criminals and the stolen goods. Then get lost. I'll be generous and overlook your illegal fighting."
As he finished, he smugly stroked his mouse-like whiskers, as if he'd done them an enormous favor.
The air went dead silent.
Nami lowered her head, her entire body trembling.
Not from fear.
From rage.
"You said… hand it over to you?"
Luffy slowly raised his head.
Under the shadow of his straw hat, there was no trace of a smile—only burning fury.
Before Nezumi could even react, Luffy moved.
"Gum-Gum—Pistol!!!"
BAM!!!
No words. No hesitation.
Luffy's fist shot out like a fired cannonball and smashed straight into Captain Nezumi's sleazy face!
With a sickening thud, Nezumi's features twisted grotesquely.
His body flew backward like a rag doll and slammed into the rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Y–You…"
Luffy pulled back his fist and walked toward the fallen Nezumi step by step, his voice low and terrifying.
"It was you…"
"You're the one who teamed up with Arlong…"
"The one who bullied Nami!!!"
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