"You... how could you..."
The Rat's voice sounded as if an invisible hand were squeezing his throat, shrill and sharp with fear.
His beady little eyes locked onto Hawk, filled only with terror and disbelief.
Impossible.
This was impossible.
Thirteen million, five hundred and forty-nine thousand Beli.
Rein Hawk had spoken that exact number aloud... perfectly.
The Rat remembered it so clearly because every week, without fail, he would go down to the abandoned manor's basement to count it himself.
And to savor that intoxicating scent clinging to the stacks of Beli.
"You... what have you done with my money?!"
Reason shattered beneath a wave of rage and panic. The Rat jabbed a trembling finger at Hawk.
"Guards! Someone, get in here! Arrest this insolent bastard! He dares to steal Navy funds!"
"This is treason!"
"This is open rebellion!"
His loyal cronies immediately reached for their pistols.
But before they could even raise them, Hawk's men moved with cold precision, subduing the traitors in an instant.
"You... what are you doing?!"
The Rat's face turned purple with fury as he screamed.
"I am the commanding officer of the Sixteenth Branch! Do you dare defy me?!"
The only answer was silence.
Around him, the Marines he had treated like trash, cheated of rations, and abandoned without supplies... were staring at him with eyes full of icy contempt.
To them, he wasn't a commander. He was a clown, performing his last pitiful act alone on stage.
Commander?
Ha.
When he had stolen their wages, ignored failing equipment, and let men starve or bleed without medicine, had he ever remembered he was their commander?
Now, Hawk had uncovered his hoarded fortune.
And Hawk had declared: seventy percent would be returned to the people the Rat and Arlong had crushed, and twenty percent would be divided among the Marines who had fought and bled.
That money wasn't just going back to the civilians.
It was going back to them.
How many of their families lived in these waters? How many had suffered under the Rat's corruption and Arlong's cruelty?
That wealth returning home meant their own loved ones could finally breathe again.
And now, this corrupt coward dared expect their loyalty?
If Hawk hadn't ordered restraint, half the unit would have already beaten his teeth out and left him crawling in the dirt.
…
Arlong had remained still all this time, quietly studying Hawk.
This young Marine officer had silenced the outer guards without a sound.
Even the sea cow, Moo, hadn't made a noise.
That was not the work of a mere branch commander.
This was far more dangerous.
…
The Rat's eyes darted toward Arlong, seizing his last hope.
He stumbled forward, nearly falling as he shrieked:
"Arlong! Arlong, help me!"
"He's rebelling! Kill him for me!"
"Kill all these disobedient Marines!"
Arlong didn't move. To him, the Rat was nothing more than a dog wagging its tail for coins.
Now the leash was broken, and the dog's yapping only grew more pathetic.
The Rat's panic spiked. His face twisted with pain as he shouted desperately:
"Money! Thirteen million, five hundred and forty-nine thousand Beli!"
"That bastard stole it! Kill him, and we'll split it fifty-fifty!"
At that number, Arlong's gaze finally shifted.
Six million...
That was no small sum.
His creed was simple: money was everything. The most reliable thing in the world.
And besides...
He wanted to see what this young Marine was truly capable of.
A mere Navy commander, daring to walk into Arlong Park and sit in his chair?
How arrogant could he be?
"Kyahahaha..."
Arlong rose slowly, his towering frame radiating menace. His eyes locked on Hawk.
"Boy," he rumbled, his voice heavy with contempt, "humans are always the same. Greedy. Foolish."
"Your time has come."
In an instant, Arlong launched forward, his massive body like an arrow from a bow. His shark-like hand sliced through the air, aiming to cleave Hawk's skull in two.
The natural strength of a Fishman exploded in that strike.
…
But Hawk's eyes remained calm.
When he had chosen his path of combat, the system had offered swordsmanship and countless other techniques.
Haki and physique were fundamentals. Non-negotiable.
But for martial arts... he had chosen fists.
Why?
Because nothing was more satisfying than a fight where every punch connected, bone to bone, flesh to flesh.
The sound of bones breaking was the sweetest symphony to his ears.
He rose slowly, crushing the last ember of his cigarette into the ashtray.
"Come."
A single word left his lips.
Jet-black Armament Haki spread across his fists, gleaming like obsidian.
He sank into a forward stance, left foot ahead, right foot back, as steady as a mountain.
His right arm drew back, muscles coiling like steel cables.
Then he struck.
"Forward Step... STRAIGHT PUNCH!"
The iron fist collided with Arlong's face.
The sound of shattering bone echoed across the hall.
Arlong's eyes bulged in disbelief.
No... impossible.
His nose, his teeth... shattered in one blow?
Before he could even register the pain, his body was flung backward like a ragdoll, faster than he had charged forward.
He crashed through the wall with a thunderous boom, debris and dust erupting in all directions.
And then silence.
…
The hall fell deathly quiet.
The Rat's shrill curses died in his throat. His eyes bulged, staring at the smoking crater where Arlong had been embedded.
No.
This wasn't real.
Arlong, the tyrant of the East Blue, the monster who ruled unchecked... Get up!
You can't be dead! If you're dead, what happens to me?!
…
Arlong's officers stood frozen, their weapons dangling uselessly at their sides.
Their leader, a warrior from the Grand Line itself, felled by a single punch from a human Marine?
Impossible.
…
The Marines who had stormed in with Hawk now stood taller, their chests swelling with pride.
They had always known their commander was strong, merciless toward pirates.
But this?
One strike. That was all it had taken.
This was the power of Commander Rein Hawk.
The Bloodhawk of the East Blue.
The soldiers roared to life, cutting down the stunned remnants of Arlong's crew.
[Ding! Pirate Arlong, bounty 20,000,000 Beli, eliminated.]
[Justice Points gained: 2,000.]
[Current balance: 24 + 2,000 = 2,024.]
Hawk glanced at the system panel, satisfied with the new influx of points.
Then his eyes shifted back toward the Rat, who had collapsed onto the floor, pale and shaking.
"Hawk!"
The Rat scrambled toward him, his face contorted with terror and desperate flattery.
"I was the one who promoted you! Don't you remember? Back when you were just a third-class recruit..."