The young Marine's words first stunned Genzo, Nojiko, Nami, and the others, then filled them with uncontrollable rage.
Luo Chen's eyes grew even colder.
After killing all these people, this group of Marines was planning to frame him for it.
"Gal Locke, is this your idea, or is it an order from the higher-ups in the Marines?"
Luo Chen did not act immediately.
He had to understand the whole story. Why would a Captain sent from Marine Headquarters want to kill him and massacre the villagers?
Gal Locke dusted off his black suit and said lightly:
"Whose idea it is doesn't matter."
"You, Branch Major Luo Chen, colluded with the Arlong Pirates, deceived your superiors, and exploited the villagers for eight long years."
"After being discovered by your superior officer, Captain Nezumi, you conspired with Cocoyasi villager Nojiko to ambush and kill Captain Nezumi."
"With the death of a Branch Captain, the exposure of your crimes became inevitable."
"To protect yourself, you framed the deceased Captain Nezumi for your evil deeds, while also killing Nojiko, who knew the truth."
"You even went so far as to inhumanely massacre the hundreds of villagers of Cocoyasi to prevent Nojiko from telling her fellow villagers the truth, lest someone expose you in the future."
"In order not to arouse suspicion about your relationship with the Arlong Pirates, you then killed Arlong and his fish-man pirates."
"Originally, all your lies were flawless, but you never expected that I would arrive at the island seven days ahead of schedule and discover the truth."
"In the end, you resisted arrest and were killed."
Gal Locke smiled and asked, "How is that? Are you satisfied with the story of your exploits?"
Luo Chen was silent. He truly couldn't understand why things had developed in this direction.
In the original story, there were no repercussions after Captain Nezumi was defeated by Luffy. Why was it that in his case, he was being framed by a Marine from Headquarters, and the deceased Captain Nezumi was being exonerated?
'Does Nezumi have someone powerful backing him?' A guess popped into Luo Chen's mind.
He stared coldly at the young man. "The lies are well-crafted, but they are predicated on your ability to kill me."
Gal Locke shook his head and sneered. "What, did defeating Arlong with his twenty-million-Berry bounty give you some confidence?"
"In a place like the East Blue, the weakest of the seas, this is the limit of your vision."
"I have killed no fewer than ten pirates with bounties over fifty million."
"The strength of a Headquarters Captain is not something you old, weak, sick, and disabled bunch from the Branches can even imagine."
When Gal Locke stated his achievements, the faces of Genzo, Nami, Nojiko, and the others turned slightly pale.
He had killed no fewer than ten pirates with bounties over fifty million?
Arlong's was only twenty million... could Luo Chen win?
Gal Locke took off his "Justice" coat and tossed it to a Marine soldier behind him.
He walked forward slowly and said calmly, "I hear you're a Devil Fruit user who controls trees."
"Devil Fruits can indeed be impressive in a weak region like the East Blue."
"But today, I will show you that a truly strong person never relies on the power of a fruit, but rather on their own inherent strength."
A sound like an air explosion suddenly erupted from under Gal Locke's feet, and his figure vanished from the spot.
His voice came from the right side of the crowd.
"Did you see that? The Six Powers. They are powerful physical techniques that you Branch Marines could never learn in your entire lives."
"Mastering just one of the Six Powers makes one no weaker than any Devil Fruit user."
Genzo, Nami, and Nojiko were still searching for Gal Locke's figure. They hadn't even noticed when he had appeared to their right, and a look of alarm appeared on their faces.
Luo Chen was expressionless as he turned his head to look. "Shave?"
Gal Locke was slightly surprised. "You have a keen eye. To think you could recognize it. Even at Headquarters, only commissioned officers can learn it..."
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. The next moment, the sound of an air explosion erupted from under his feet, and his figure also vanished in an instant.
The words in Gal Locke's mouth came to an abrupt halt. His eyes behind his glasses suddenly widened.
He threw a punch to his left.
BANG—!
Luo Chen's figure appeared, his right leg whipping out.
Fist and leg collided. The immense force created a shockwave, and the dust and leaves on the ground were blown in all directions as if by a gale.
Gal Locke's elegant figure was forced back. He had to stomp heavily on the ground several times to stabilize himself.
His expression was one of utter astonishment, which quickly turned grim and ugly. He managed to force a single word from his throat: "Shave?"
Luo Chen sneered. "You have a keen eye."
With that, his figure instantly vanished again.
When he reappeared, he was in front of Gal Locke, throwing a fierce punch.
Gal Locke had no time to process his shock and quickly crossed his arms in front of him.
A heavy blow landed. Gal Locke was sent flying backward, breaking several trees before landing messily on the ground.
His clean black suit was now covered in dust and dead leaves.
His arms were trembling noticeably. His voice was filled with disbelief. "How can you be so strong?"
Among Headquarters Captains, he was not at the top tier, but he was at least average. Yet in a contest of strength, he couldn't beat a Major from an East Blue Marine Branch.
It was common knowledge that the strength of a Branch Marine was generally three levels lower than a Headquarters Marine of the same rank.
Moreover, Luo Chen's Shave was even more proficient than his, and even faster.
This made Gal Locke feel a sense of absurdity.
How could a guy with this kind of strength be a Major in an East Blue Branch? He could have a place even at Marine Headquarters.
The strength Luo Chen displayed was a far cry from what Gal Locke had imagined.
"Gal Locke, I'm going to wring your neck," Luo Chen said coldly.
He used Shave again, appearing in front of Gal Locke as if he had teleported.
This time, Gal Locke didn't dare to block with his arms. Instead, he roared, "Iron Body!"
In an instant, his entire body became as hard as iron, his presence as solid as the earth.
Luo Chen's punch slammed into his body. He felt a powerful repulsive force, and his arm throbbed with pain.
Iron Body. It was one of the defensive techniques of the Six Powers. In the Iron Body state, the body was as hard as iron, impervious to swords and bullets. The drawback was that one could not move.
Although the defense of Iron Body was strong, the power gap between the two sides could not be too large, otherwise one would still be injured.
Luo Chen looked at Gal Locke's slightly swaying body and knew that his current strength was not enough to break through his Iron Body defense in one hit. He would probably need to raise his Taijutsu to the level of a Marine Rear Admiral to do that.
However, if one punch wasn't enough, he would throw ten, or a hundred.
With Gal Locke using Iron Body, he was nothing more than a stationary meat shield.
Luo Chen's fists flew wildly, throwing hundreds of punches in a few seconds, each one packed with power.
If it were an ordinary human body, it would have already been injured by the repulsive force of hundreds of punches. The bodies of people in the world of One Piece generally had poor durability.
But Luo Chen was different. The Taijutsu level increased by the system not only strengthened his power but also his body's endurance and toughness.
Once his Taijutsu level was high enough, Luo Chen estimated he could go toe-to-toe with the inhuman physiques of the Four Emperors like Kaido and Big Mom.
In a short time, hundreds of punches were thrown.
Fear and pain were evident on Gal Locke's face. His body began to sway violently, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He suddenly let out a roar and voluntarily deactivated Iron Body. Taking the full force of one of Luo Chen's punches, he was sent flying backward, using the momentum to escape into the distance.
Gal Locke didn't even dare to look back. The sound of an air explosion came from under his feet again, but this time it wasn't the instantaneous movement of Shave, but a direct charge into the sky.
He looked back, his face full of resentment.
"Colluding with pirates, killing your superior officer, massacring villagers! For committing such heinous crimes, you will surely become a wanted man by the Marines!"
"Next time, it won't be me who comes for you! Luo Chen, just you wait for death!"
Seeing that he had successfully taken to the sky and was getting farther and farther away from Luo Chen, Gal Locke slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Moonwalk. It was a footwork technique that allowed one to walk in the air for a short time.
For this Branch Marine Luo Chen to have mastered Shave was already incredible. It was impossible that he also had a way to pursue him into the sky.
As for that wooden dragon from before, Gal Locke had seen it. Although it could fly, summoning it would surely take time. Enough time for him to get far away.