Zoro VS Can Yue, The Oppressed Shells Town.

The giant axe swung down, its savage force whipping up a gust of wind around them.

"What crushing pressure! No wonder he's Captain Morgan!"

"That white-haired guy isn't moving at all—did Captain Morgan scare him stupid?"

"Looks like the Marines are going to win!"

"Poor pretty boy."

The giant axe was about to fall.

In an instant, Can Yue entered combat mode and glanced at Morgan.

His cold, vertical pupils reflected a terrifying killing intent.

The overwhelming pressure made Morgan feel like he was facing a ravenous beast.

Can Yue held his sword with one hand, the blade spinning at the wrist as he swung a single strike at Morgan.

A moment later, the two stood past each other.

Morgan remained frozen in his chopping pose, while Can Yue had already sheathed his sword at his waist.

The scene seemed frozen, neither making another move.

"What happened? Why did they stop?"

"Did Captain Morgan go easy on him?"

"That can't be right. Knowing Captain Morgan, he'd definitely kill that pretty boy."

"Shh! Do you want to die? Is that something you can say out loud?"

"Ah... I mean, Captain Morgan is an upright man who never shows mercy to criminals."

While the surrounding Marines were still chattering among themselves, Luffy and Zoro had already seen the truth.

Zoro's gaze was fixed on a spot dozens of meters away.

A tree so thick it would take several people to wrap their arms around had been cleanly sliced through. It just hadn't fallen yet because the cut was too fast.

"This guy... is he a swordsman? That casual strike was this powerful?"

Zoro's heart shook with awe.

Though Luffy was too carefree to notice the details Zoro had caught, he had been thrown into the mountains by Garp since childhood and survived countless life-or-death battles.

His combat instincts told Luffy

that Can Yue had won easily.

He couldn't help but remark, "Man, that white-haired guy's amazing."

Time ticked by, and still neither Can Yue nor Morgan made a move.

The atmosphere grew stranger, sweat beading on the foreheads of many Marines.

After a moment's analysis, the lieutenant commander barked orders: "Attack! Capture the traitor!"

Dozens of Marines pulled their rifle triggers, muzzle flashes flaring.

"Hahaha, leave this to me!"

Luffy stepped in front of Can Yue again, his Rubber-Rubber Ability ignoring ordinary guns.

"Guns are useless against Straw Hat Kid! Draw swords, close combat!"

Just then, Morgan moved. Trembling all over, he turned his head to stare at Can Yue in terror.

"With your strength, why are you in the East Blue? Who exactly are you—"

"Cough—ah!"

Before he could finish, blood gushed from every part of Morgan's body, his eyes rolling white.

As he fell, Morgan split in two from top to bottom, along with his metal hand axe.

"Captain Morgan!!!"

The Marines screamed in horror.

Then, the massive tree dozens of meters behind Morgan was also cleaved cleanly in half, crashing down to either side.

This sight terrified the surrounding Marines even more.

"Heavens. What terrifying strength is this?"

"Captain Morgan couldn't even withstand a single blow from him."

"By the way, now that he's just gone and killed Captain Morgan, what do we do?"

"Commander, give us orders."

The Navy Commander's expression was solemn, his fists clenched tight as he shouted out his command.

"All soldiers, hear me!"

At this order, over a hundred Navy men raised their rifles and stood at attention.

"They still want to fight?"

Zoro and Luffy watched this scene, naturally ready to continue the battle.

"Everyone, about-face! Double-time march, back to base, half-day off!"

Zoro, Luffy: "Huh??"

Moments later, the Navy men's voices rang out with excitement, their vigor soaring, cheers piercing the clouds.

"Yo-ho, that tyrant who bled the people dry is finally dead."

"Hahaha, thanks to the Champions, we can finally uphold justice openly and protect the townsfolk."

Some sailors even grabbed megaphones to shout, loudly proclaiming such joyful news.

Luffy watched the sailors scatter to spread the good news and burst into loud laughter.

"Looks like they're all good people."

Then, Luffy invited Can Yue and Zoro to a tavern for a meal.

The three of them, along with Koby, all got acquainted.

Of course, Can Yue kept a cold face the whole time and spoke very little.

After the meal ended, Zoro looked at Can Yue and put on his headband.

"White-hair, how about we spar in the town's empty plaza?"

Hearing this, Luffy was the most excited.

"Hahaha, you two fighting will definitely be fun, Can Yue, just say yes!"

Can Yue glanced at Zoro, said nothing more, and nodded in agreement.

Zoro's fighting spirit instantly surged, and he shouted, "I'll wait for you at the plaza!"

Then he immediately sprinted off.

"...He's probably running in the wrong direction," Luffy asked.

"Yes."

Navy Town Plaza.

A bustling crowd gathered, all discussing similar matters.

"Did you hear? A lot of people are saying Morgan is dead!"

"Watch your mouth, man, careful it's a trap to catch greenhorns like you!"

"My brother's a sailor, he told me himself when he came home—he wouldn't trick me."

"Wow, so he's really dead! Awesome!"

"Good riddance, good riddance!"

"Which hero killed him?"

"I heard it was a white-haired handsome guy, a straw-hat boy, and the Pirate Hunter—Zoro."

"Oh, so it was that Pirate Hunter who did it. Then I believe you."

"Tsk—watch your words! Watch your words, all of you! If this is a rumor, everyone here is done for!"

"..."

Just as the crowd was losing patience and about to beat up Shen Yan, the Navy Commander arrived at the scene. After deep thought, he decided to officially inform the townsfolk of the news.

"Fellow townspeople, today I have an announcement to make.

Former Captain Morgan is dead!"

When the Navy Commander said these words, the entire plaza's townsfolk erupted in excitement.

"Hahaha, wonderful, truly wonderful. My daughter, that bastard is dead!"

An old man over seventy laughed and cried at the same time.

More townsfolk shouted at the top of their lungs, releasing the pent-up frustration of being oppressed and bullied by Morgan in recent years.

The Commander watched the joyful scene in the plaza and smiled with relief—this gamble he'd taken with his career had truly been worthwhile.

He kept shouting. The people who participated in killing Morgan were three: the Pirate Hunter Zoro, the straw hat kid, and a white-haired handsome guy.

"Oooh, thank you, three benefactors, for avenging my big brother!"

Shen Yan suddenly jumped three feet high, a complete contrast to his earlier cautious demeanor.

Suddenly, a green figure flashed past, heading straight for the center of the plaza.

Naturally, it was Zoro, who had been in a hurry to spar with Can Yue, run the wrong way, and then come back.

"Wow, is that the Pirate Hunter Zoro?"

"That aura, so handsome!"

After that, Can Yue and Luffy also arrived at the plaza.

"Wow, a white-haired cool handsome guy!"

"Oh my god, that face, it's unfairly handsome."

"Who was just fawning over Zoro a moment ago?"

"Who? I don't know. I'm a die-hard fan of the white-haired handsome guy."

"Wait, look closely. The Pirate Hunter just drew his sword!"

"Wow, the white-haired handsome guy drew his blade too! Are they going to fight?"

The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger, completely surrounding the plaza.