What is happening?
Nami was completely bewildered.
She had assumed her old "clients" had finally come for revenge, yet somehow… this turned into a flattering invitation?!
How does he know I can navigate!?
Who leaked my info!?
Was it… Karina!?
Countless thoughts spun through Nami's mind, and she couldn't figure any of it out.
But since she'd been caught red-handed and had no room to maneuver, she quickly decided to swallow her pride and join them for now!
Then find an opportunity to steal their treasure and slip away.
Just like the countless times before.
Nami's eyes flickered—she'd made up her mind.
She was just about to open her mouth, agree, and maybe even cozy up to Arelon and the others when—
Suddenly, rapid footsteps thundered overhead.
Followed by an enraged roar:
"Quick! Search everywhere! Someone dared cause trouble on my turf! Whoever it is, I'll never forgive him!!!"
Not good!
Nami froze and instantly realized the commotion they caused had alerted the Marines upstairs.
She scanned the people in the room and quickly said:
"The Marines are coming!"
"You guys don't want to get trapped here, right!?! Let's escape through the window!"
With experienced hands, Nami pulled a rope out of nowhere and rushed toward the window.
But at her words, Luffy and Zoro both turned their heads toward her, confused.
"Escape? Why run?"
Luffy cracked his knuckles excitedly and grinned at her.
"We came here to rob the Marines in the first place!"
Zoro looked equally fired up.
He'd already eaten some snacks while they searched Helmeppo's room and recovered plenty of stamina.
He hadn't swung his blades in ages and was dying to cut something!
He even threw the door open and shouted down the hallway:
"HEY, MARINES!!! WE'RE RIGHT HERE!!!"
"You gotta be kidding me! What are you doing!?"
Zoro's insane behavior scared Nami half to death.
She immediately ran to Arelon, grabbed both his hands, and shook them desperately.
"Hey! Those two are idiots—surely you're not an idiot too, right!?"
"Make them run! If not, we're all doomed!!!"
A single person escaping was too obvious a target—Nami was counting on fleeing together with Arelon to split Marine attention.
But just as she tried to drag him toward the window, a steady force suddenly pulled her back.
"Don't worry, Nami. We're very strong."
Arelon gave her a confident smile and held her firmly to stop her from slipping away again.
Nami was startled.
"What are you doing!? If you want to die, don't drag me with you!"
No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free of Arelon's rock-solid grip.
Zoro's yell had already alerted the Marines.
Within moments, squads approached from both ends of the hallway, surrounding the room.
A row of black gun barrels aimed inward, trapping Arelon and the others.
Then the Marines parted, opening a path.
From the gap walked a towering man whose right arm had been replaced with a massive battle-axe—
Marine Captain Morgan.
His huge frame forced him to duck just to enter the room.
"We're dead, we're dead…"
Nami's bright eyes dimmed instantly.
She wasn't escaping this one.
Morgan scanned the broken ceiling and then the intruders.
Cold anger erupted in his gaze.
"Brats… who gave you the courage to cause trouble on my turf!?"
"Dad!!!"
Helmeppo, who had been cowering in a corner earlier, sprang up like he'd found salvation and scrambled toward Morgan.
Crying loudly, he wailed:
"Kill them! Dad, kill them all!"
But what greeted him—
was a vicious flying kick.
BANG!
Morgan booted Helmeppo across the room.
The boy coughed and looked up in disbelief at Morgan's cold, unfamiliar eyes.
"Useless trash! You actually brought criminals into the base!?"
"Remember this—"
"The one who rules this place is your father—ME!!!"
"You… are nothing!!!"
After disciplining his irrelevant son, Morgan turned his attention back to Arelon and the others.
"Speak! How do you want to die?"
"Die?"
Luffy grinned.
"I won't die before becoming Pirate King!"
He raised his fist, ready to attack.
But—
"Wait, Luffy. Zoro."
Arelon suddenly released Nami and stepped forward.
"This guy is mine today."
"I want to test a new move."
"Huh?" Luffy blinked.
This was the first time Arelon had ever volunteered to fight.
After thinking for a moment, Luffy nodded.
"Okay, I'll leave him to you."
In Luffy's memory, Arelon was weak enough that he couldn't even beat that five-meter black bear behind the mountain, but he never really got hurt either.
So Luffy wasn't worried.
Zoro, who had been eager to fight, sheathed his blade again.
"Alright then—let me see what my vice-captain is capable of."
"That might disappoint you. Fighting isn't really my specialty."
Arelon chuckled as he walked right up to Morgan.
"You? You want to die first?"
Morgan lifted his axe-arm menacingly.
But Arelon didn't even look at him.
He simply raised his hand.
"Ancient Power!"
In an instant, a primordial energy surged around Arelon, materializing into jagged stone boulders mid-air.
The moment they formed—
They shot forward like cannonballs.
"What—!? Magic!?"
Everyone had the same thought.
Especially Morgan.
But the stones gave him no time to think.
BOOM!!!
The first boulder crashed into him and exploded violently.
Then the next.
And the next.
Under the relentless bombardment, Morgan was blasted backward, smashing through the Marine base's solid wall before plummeting from above.
A one-hit KO.
Gulp.
Every Marine swallowed hard in unison.
They stared in disbelief.
Just one attack—
Their Captain had been defeated!?
Impossible!
Silence filled the hallway.
And then—
Clatter.
A rifle hit the floor.
Then another.
Soon every Marine dropped their weapon and—
cheered.
"YES!!!"
"We're free! Morgan is defeated!"
"Woohoo! No more tyranny!"
"Freedom!!!"
"..."
"..."
The room filled with wild cheers.
Even the usually clueless Luffy looked confused.
"What's with them?"
"Hehe, probably got oppressed by Morgan for too long," Arelon replied casually.
"Looks like there's no fight left," Zoro walked over, annoyed. "What a letdown. I thought we'd get a big battle."
"Oh~? You really wanted a big fight?"
Arelon looked at him mischievously.
Zoro froze for a moment, then forced himself to nod.
"O-of course I do…"
"Excellent!"
Arelon clapped excitedly.
"In that case, afterward you two can borrow the Marines' training grounds—"
"And you can have a nice big fight with Luffy!!!"
Perfect time to show Zoro the true power of a Trainer.
Hope after Luffy crushes him, you'll still be as tough as you are now, young Zoro~
~~--------------------------
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