Chapter 10: Watch Closely. I'll Only Teach This Once.
Two hours later.
Inside the Marine G-51 Branch, the banquet was coming to an end.
Most of the Marines who couldn't hold their liquor were already passed out on the floor. The ones left were half-drunk.
"That captain from Headquarters today... Roy, was it? Hic... He really doesn't know what's good for him," Steward Mantal slurred, still clutching his drink in the center of the hall.
"Yeah! Just some punk from the Detention Unit, daring to talk to us like that!"
Captain Astor, who was opposite him, drained his own massive mug and slammed it on the table.
"If I wasn't already transferred to a branch, I'd have taught him a lesson myself!"
He lowered his voice. According to Marine rules, although a branch commander had high authority in his own jurisdiction, he had no authority over Headquarters personnel. Every HQ Marine had their own direct superior.
For example, Captain Roy, as part of the Detention Unit, reported directly to Vice Admiral Viroth.
So, as annoyed as Astor was with Roy's cold attitude, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Don't worry, Captain Astor," Mantal grinned, leaning in. "The treasure you helped us secure... that's part of the 'Celestial Tribute.' This is a huge service. I will personally inform His Majesty of your contribution."
"When the World Conference happens in three years, His Majesty will be happy to sing your praises to the World Government leaders. You might even be promoted to a Headquarters Admiral."
Perhaps the alcohol was making him extra generous with his promises.
"Is that true?" Astor was completely hooked.
"Of course! This time, our Celestial Tribute is a full 5 Billion Berries, plus a Devil Fruit. That's over a billion more than the government required."
Mantal laughed. "That extra billion? That's to... 'grease the wheels' with the big shots."
Astor quickly refilled his cup. "Then I'll be counting on you to put in a good word... I'll drink to that!"
"But of course! We'll be counting on you in the future, Commodore Astor!"
The two men roared with laughter.
But at that exact moment...
BEEP! BEEP!
A piercing alarm suddenly blared through the entire G-51 Branch.
"Hmm!? What's going on!?"
Astor's brow furrowed. He looked at a nearby marine who was still sober. "You! Go check... Did one of these idiots get too drunk and set off the alarm?"
"Sir!"
The marine ran off, but returned moments later, his face pale with panic.
"Sir... It's the port! The ship at the port... there's a problem!"
He said anxiously, "The Eikjörn... it's left the port! And all of the Eikjörn's guards... they've been killed! Their bodies were dumped on the dock!"
"What!?" (x2)
Both Astor and Mantal were instantly sober.
"That pirate... did he have accomplices!?"
Astor's mind immediately jumped to this conclusion.
Steward Mantal's face was white. The Eikjörn was a 200-million-Berry royal vessel, and those were royal guards. Now the guards were all dead, and if the ship was gone... forget a reward, he'd be lucky to only be executed!
"Organize a pursuit! All ships, now! We have to get that ship back!"
Astor, clearly understanding the stakes, began to bark orders.
"But sir..."
The marine gestured helplessly at the room full of drunken soldiers.
Astor's expression darkened. "...Leave a few to sober them up! The rest of you, go! Immediately!"
Seeing his face, the marine didn't dare say another word and ran off.
As he left, Mantal looked at Astor. Their eyes met. A new, shared, and far greater panic had just struck them.
In unison, they both bolted from the banquet hall.
"Captain Astor... the treasure..."
Mantal's fat face was completely bloodless.
This was his real fear. The ship was bad, but if the Celestial Tribute was stolen... death was the best he could hope for upon his return.
"Calm down. It's fine," Astor said, though his own voice was tight with stress.
"Only we know the vault's location. You have the key... The thief took the ship, he must have thought the treasure was still on board."
Mantal grabbed onto that idea like a lifeline. "Yes! You're right! That must be it!"
Speaking, they rushed to the G-51 basement. It was filled with storage rooms for branch supplies.
They stopped in front of a large weapon rack.
Astor tapped a specific plank on the rack.
RUMBLE...
The weapon rack slowly slid aside, revealing a hidden room behind it, piled high with treasure chests.
Seeing the treasure was still there, Mantal finally let out a long, shaky breath.
"Thank God, it's... it's still..."
He seemed to regain his composure. "Captain Astor, I'm counting on you. You must get the Eikjörn..."
He was cut off by Astor's expression, which had just twisted in horror.
Astor had heard a sound behind him.
BOOM!
It felt like being hit by a rampaging rhino. A piercing sound, and then Astor felt an immense force slam into his back.
He saw Mantal's obese body deform as a fist struck him, too.
KRR-SHACK!
Astor literally heard the sound of the steward's bones disintegrating.
The next moment, both men were blasted off their feet and slammed into the vault's thick wall.
As the dust settled, a figure stepped calmly into the room.
"When people panic, they always check on their most valuable possession. It's common sense."
The man in the rooster mask walked into the vault.
"Thanks for showing me the way."
He said this as he glanced at the piles of treasure, his gaze satisfied.
He didn't move to touch the chests, however. Instead, he turned back to the rubble.
"But I am surprised... Captain Astor. You're tougher than I thought."
And just as he spoke, Astor stumbled out of the dust. His Marine uniform was shredded, revealing a body of knotted muscle.
At this moment, his muscles were bunched, hard as steel.
"Tekkai... Hardwood," Astor grunted.
He glanced at Mantal's body, which was now folded in three. He was clearly dead.
"You... how... how dare you kill a royal steward of a World Government member nation!?" Astor gritted his teeth, as if in a fit of rage.
Roy's clone shook his head. "First, I'll never understand this obsession you people have with shouting your move names. Second... 'royal steward'? I just took out the trash. And you're next."
"Hmph!"
Hearing this, Astor actually laughed.
He waved his muscular arms, clearing the dust.
"You think you know who I am? I am Astor Campbell! Marine Captain! Commander of the G-51 Branch!"
He stepped out of the ruins, pulling his tattered Marine coat back over his shoulders.
"I trained relentlessly to master the superhuman martial art, the 'Rokushiki'!"
"You... this... thing from nowhere... you think you can... kill me!?"
His voice was filled with fighting spirit.
Hearing this, Roy's clone actually looked a little more serious.
Astor's strength was a bit beyond his expectations. At Marine HQ, it wasn't hard to find a way to learn the Rokushiki. The difficulty was in the body: one needed a Doriki (Power Level) of at least 500. The stronger the body, the easier it was.
Any officer who mastered it was "above average."
He hadn't expected a corrupt slob like Astor to have mastered Tekkai. But, considering he was a Branch Commander on the Grand Line, it wasn't that shocking.
"Alright then, I'll get a little serious."
Seeing his opponent's battle-ready stance, Roy's clone cracked his knuckles, ready to get physical.
And at that exact moment...
"Prepare yourself, intruder! I will show you the power of the Rokushiki! Take this... Rankyaku: Wind-Cut!"
Astor roared, and stomped his right foot.
And then...
BOOM!
To Roy's absolute astonishment, Astor launched himself like an arrow... straight for the exit!
"He's running!?"
Only then did Roy's clone finally react.
To hell with Rankyaku—the man was just running for his life!
And it was true.
Astor, fleeing at top speed, had no intention of fighting.
In fact, if one looked closely, they'd see a perfect, caved-in fist-print on his back, which he had hidden with his coat.
"That guy... is a monster... fighting him is suicide, I have to run..." he screamed in his mind, ignoring the pain.
"My Tekkai couldn't even block his attack..."
This was what terrified him. He had mastered Tekkai, his greatest pride and the reason he'd been promoted. But under that single punch, the bones beneath the fist-print were shattered.
His decision was instant: fighting was death. Running was the only way.
As he fled, Astor glanced back.
He saw the masked man still standing in the vault.
"He's not chasing... I made it!"
He was ecstatic.
But in the next second...
"I knew it... trash who hangs out with slavers has no guts."
Astor heard the calm voice echo behind him.
"Weren't you going to show me the power of the Rokushiki? It seems... you're not very good at Rankyaku."
Astor turned, his eyes wide.
He saw the masked man slowly lifting his right leg. The leg itself seemed to... thicken.
[Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit: Leg Strength]
[Ox-Ox Fruit: Leg Strength]
"In that case... watch closely. I'll only teach this once."
The words fell, and Roy's clone kicked.
"Rankyaku: Wind-Cut!"
The same move name.
The next instant, Astor watched in absolute horror...
As the ground in front of the clone tore apart, and a massive, swirling blade of compressed air—over five meters long—erupted from the kick.
It vaporized the stone wall and shot toward him.
It was the last thing he ever saw.