"Surround the entire base! Don't let that Straw Hat brat or the guy who dared to insult me with a pebble get away!"
Captain Morgan slowly made his way toward Alex , barking loud orders to his men.
Alex wasn't having a good time—in fact, it was downright brutal.
First, the wound on his back throbbed painfully, making it impossible for him to fight at full strength.
Second, he was completely unarmed, while the marines attacking him wielded sabers and guns.
Third, he was heavily outnumbered. No matter how strong he was, two fists were no match for a sea of enemies. And right now, he wasn't even in peak condition.
If it were just ten regular marines, Alex could probably grit his teeth and power through them.
But there were at least thirty marines here, and what made it worse was that some of them were shooting at him from a distance—he barely had time to dodge, let alone fight back.
Damn it! Bullying me when I don't even have a weapon!
As Alex zigzagged and dodged bullets with lightning speed, he cursed in frustration.
When he first set sail with Luffy, he had thought about what kind of weapon he might use in future battles… but he hadn't settled on anything yet—and now he was stuck in a tough fight with nothing but his bare hands.
At this rate, if the marines don't shoot me dead, I'll probably die from sheer exhaustion.
Spinning around quickly, Alex knocked out a pursuing marine with a clean strike, then rolled to the left and kept moving—always on the run.
His goal was to make it harder for the marines with guns to get a clean shot.
Unlike Luffy, Alex wasn't immune to bullets. A few well-placed shots could absolutely kill him.
Think. Think. Gotta find a way out of this.
Then it clicked—I need to take out the marines with guns first.
Alex made his decision and immediately started circling the wide plaza of the naval base, making a wide arc to flank the riflemen from behind.
Earlier, thanks to Alex's warning, Nami had already fled to safety. Hiding in the shadows, she watched him fight desperately, her heart racing as he narrowly dodged bullets and blades again and again.
Nami bit her lip hard, brows furrowed. She'd nearly rushed out to help several times—but each time she held back, remembering her village, her people… the ones still waiting for her.
She couldn't throw herself away—not yet.
Idiot. Who in their right mind picks a fight with the Navy out in the open like this?
She cursed him inwardly, panicked as she saw the blood on Alex's back flowing more freely now.
It must've been because of all the running—the increased circulation was making his wounds worse.
By now, Alex had successfully rushed into the group of rifle-bearing marines, disrupting their formation completely.
Once he got close, the guns were no longer a threat. Within minutes, he'd knocked them all down. They wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
"Cut these ropes and I'll help you out!"
From not far away, Zoro—tied to a wooden post—shouted at him.
Damn, I'd love to free you, man, but these marines aren't giving me a break!
Even though Alex had taken out the gunners, he was still surrounded and couldn't get away long enough to help Zoro.
Koby, having taken a bullet to the right shoulder, tried multiple times to untie Zoro using just one hand—but it was hopeless.
Got it!
Seeing a marine charging at him, blade raised, Alex's eyes lit up. He punched the man in the gut, grabbed his sword in one fluid motion, and hurled it toward Zoro.
That should cut the rope, right?
But before he could finish the thought, Zoro cursed loudly: "You idiot! What the hell was that?!"
What?!
Alex dodged a trio of attacks, then whipped his head around—and sure enough, his throw hadn't cut the ropes.
Instead, it had slashed Zoro's left arm, which was now dripping with bright red blood.
"Sorry!"
Alex took down a few marines and sheepishly apologized to Zoro.
"Sorry?! What the hell does that help?!"
Zoro was pissed. Starved and tied to a post for three weeks, and now this—injured by his own would-be savior before even getting to fight. Honestly, the fact that he didn't try to murder Alex on the spot said a lot about his self-control.
Alex winced with guilt.
He was usually pretty accurate with throwing stones—but apparently, throwing swords was a different story.
He hadn't meant to hurt Zoro—on their first meeting, no less. Now he felt terrible about it.
Too embarrassed to look at Zoro, Alex focused on the marines still surrounding him.
CLANG! CLANG!
With a grin, he picked up two swords from the fallen marines and clanged them together—producing a sharp, metallic ring.
"He knows how to use swords?"
Zoro looked over in surprise and asked Koby, who was still beside him.
"I… I don't know."
Koby replied honestly. He had completely given up on untying Zoro. With the bullet wound sapping his strength, standing upright was hard enough—using force was out of the question.
Standing tens of meters away, Captain Morgan watched all this unfold.
Seeing that Koby was in no condition to help Zoro, he decided to ignore them both for now. In his eyes, Koby wasn't worth worrying about anyway.
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