The pungent smell of gunpowder spread from the alley, mingling with the scent of blood as it drifted out.
The lead marine captain glanced expressionlessly at the two mangled corpses on the ground and waved his hand.
"Clean up the scene."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers set to work with practiced efficiency, clearly no strangers to such tasks.
The captain then turned and led the shaken girl out of the alley.
Under the streetlamp at the alley entrance, Tesoro and Bacara remained standing where they were, clearly not expecting the captain to say one thing and do another.
The moment he spotted them, the captain halted mid-step.
His previously mild gaze instantly sharpened.
Instinctively, he shifted to shield the young girl behind him, his right hand subtly moving toward the gun at his hip.
His entire demeanor shifted rapidly from that of a law enforcer to a wary hunter.
"You're still here?" His voice turned cold as he stared intently at the pair. "Or are you with those two scumbags from earlier?"
Bacara's heart tightened.
She immediately stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Tesoro, and offered a professional smile.
"You've misunderstood, sir," she said politely, bowing slightly to adopt a humble posture.
"We're traveling the Grand Line under the Fleet Admiral's orders to observe the people's conditions."
"The Fleet Admiral?"
The captain's wariness was instantly replaced by a stronger, more fervent emotion.
His hand moved away from his gun, his body unconsciously straightened, and his eyes filled with fanatical admiration.
"You've met the Fleet Admiral?"
"Of course," Bacara replied, straightening her back with pride. "Otherwise, why would we be traveling under orders?"
"I see!" The captain''s expression cleared with sudden understanding.
"So, you're interns following the Fleet Admiral to the New World for training?"
"Not exactly," Bacara responded swiftly, weaving a more plausible explanation from his assumption.
"We happened to meet the Fleet Admiral during our journey. Admiring his demeanor, we expressed our desire to join the Marines. The Fleet Admiral suggested we travel for a while to think it over before making a decision."
The explanation sounded perfectly reasonable.
The captain''s excitement grew even more pronounced, and his gaze toward them warmed considerably.
"So, future comrades it is! Well then, let's see you salute?"
It sounded like an offhand joke, yet also carried the weight of a final test.
Bacarat didn't hesitate for a second.
She snapped her heels together, straightened her back sharply, raised her right hand high, and stared intently ahead, enunciating each word clearly.
"Loy! al! ty!"
Her voice was crisp, her posture flawless, and her presence full of conviction.
The captain nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, you've got the spirit."
He completely let his guard down, his tone becoming much more cordial.
"Since you're future comrades, you'll need to be extra careful. Though the world has improved a lot, there are still reckless scum out there. If you run into trouble—whether it's lawless pirates or despicable human traffickers like those—you can always seek help from the Marines."
Tesoro, who had remained silent until now, suddenly looked up and asked, "What if we encounter Celestial Dragons? Can the Marines help then?"
The smile faded from the captain''s face, but he didn't evade the question.
Instead, he met Tesoro's gaze directly and replied firmly, "Of course."
"If Celestial Dragons trouble you without cause, you can come to the Marines. Because the Fleet Admiral signed the Mary Geoise Treaty with the Holy Land, the Marines now holds the authority to arrest any Celestial Dragon who breaks the law. If a Celestial Dragon causes you harm, the MArines has the power to apprehend them. They will then be handed over to the God's Knights for final judgment!"
Tesoro's heart shuddered violently.
Arrest Celestial Dragons?
Hand them over for trial? Has the Marine's power really grown to such an extent?
He instinctively pressed further, his voice trembling in a way he hadn't even noticed himself.
"What if the God's Knights let the Celestial Dragons go..."
"Impossible!"
Before Tesoro could finish his sentence, the captain cut him off.
"When the God's Knights carry out final judgment on Celestial Dragons who have committed crimes, there must be at least one marine Headquarters officer present! This is a rule set by the Fleet Admiral himself—no one would dare bend the law for personal gain! Not even the God's Knights, and certainly not the Five Elder Stars!"
Baccarat's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.
She caught the key detail in his words and tentatively asked, "Does the Fleet Admiral's authority really hold sway over the decisions of the Chamber of Power?"
Hearing this, the captain laughed.
"It seems you two really have been cut off from the world for too long. You need to properly understand the current situation in the Grand Line and who's really in charge of the World Government. Otherwise, once you enter the Marine Headquarters, you'll definitely make fools of yourselves!"
He leaned in closer, lowering his voice mysteriously.
"Let me put it this way: whether it's in Marineford or Holy Land Mary Geoise, the Fleet Admiral holds absolute power. The Five Elder Stars? They're nothing! If they dare to boss the Fleet Admiral around, I guarantee they won't live to see another sunrise!"
Tesoro's pupils contracted sharply.
"Fleet Admiral Orion would even dare to kill the Five Elders?"
"It's not a matter of whether he dares," the captain waved his hand impatiently, as if correcting a child's ignorance.
"It's a matter of whether the Fleet Admiral wants to kill them!"
Seeing the stunned, wide-eyed expressions on Tesoro and Baccarat's faces—the look of people who had never seen the world—the captain decided to drop another bombshell.
"You know the former Environment Warrior God, Marcus Mars and the former Agriculture God Shepherd Ju Peter, right?"
Tesoro and Baccarat instinctively nodded.
"Because they colluded with forces from the underworld and secretly tried to help Kaido counterbalance the Fleet Admiral," the captain's lips curled into a cruel smile, "in the end, not only were their families' assets confiscated, but the two of them were publicly executed by the Fleet Admiral."
"Shocking, isn't it?"
"In a nutshell, anything the World Government can handle, the Marines can handle too. And anything the World Government can't handle? We can handle that as well!"
"Act first and report later? That doesn't exist, because the current world order is dictated by the Marines!"
"No—it's dictated by the Fleet Admiral!"
At this point, the captain suddenly raised his hand and gave Tesoro a heavy pat on the shoulder.
"Trust me, joining the Marines and following the Fleet Admiral will be the wisest choice you ever make!"
"I hope to see you two at the new recruit training in Headquarters someday!"
With that, the captain put on the demeanor of a veteran looking at fresh recruits, grinning widely.
"This captain has high hopes for you!"
Before his words had even fully faded, the captain straightened his back, turned, and strode out, leaving Tesoro and Baccarat standing there in a daze, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
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