Rat Captain

Dusk, the ruins of Arlong Park.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing this land that had just experienced a catastrophe into a mournful orange-red.

The once-arrogant Arlong Park was now nothing but a stretch of ruined walls.

Collapsed towers, shattered pools, and Fish-man pirates lying everywhere silently testified to the end of Arlong's evil reign.

Ronan, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp stood atop the ruins, carrying large bundles on their backs.

The bundles were stuffed with treasure looted from Arlong's vault—the ill-gotten wealth Arlong had plundered from countless villagers over the past eight years.

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"Whew... this is really heavy."

Usopp wiped the sweat from his forehead. Though he complained, the smile on his face was brighter than the sunset.

Just as the group was preparing to leave with their prisoners, a white warship slowly sailed in from the horizon.

"Woo—"

A low horn broke the stillness of dusk.

Usopp squinted at the seagull flag fluttering in the wind and said with some surprise:

"The Navy? What a coincidence? We just finished off the Arlong Pirates, and they show up? It's like they're here to clean up the mess."

"It's no coincidence."

Nami's voice turned icy cold.

She stared hard at the approaching warship, her eyes dripping with such intense disgust it could curdle milk: "That's the Navy 16th Branch, Rat Captain's ship."

"They're the ones who took Arlong's bribes, turned a blind eye to the suffering here, and even helped him cover it up."

"Because they were in cahoots with him, the Arlong Pirates were able to rule and oppress this place without restraint for eight whole years!"

At these words, the relaxed atmosphere instantly froze.

Zoro's hand rested on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, his gaze chilling: "I see... so they're a bunch of scum wrapped in the cloak of justice."

Ronan set down the bundle on his shoulder, hefting the Zhangba Iron Spear in one hand, and looked calmly at Luffy:

"Hey, Luffy. Leaving trash like this around will only cause more trouble. Want to... wipe them out?"

Ronan's tone was as casual as discussing what to eat for dinner, but the killing intent behind it dropped the temperature of the surrounding air by several degrees.

As a transmigrator, he knew all too well the rot within the Navy. For scum even worse than pirates, he felt no moral burden at all.

Before Luffy could respond, Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette, furrowed his brow, and said:

"Ronan, calm down. Sure, these bastards deserve to die, but they're still commissioned Navy officers."

"Openly wiping out a Navy branch captain changes things. The consequences would be serious, wouldn't they?"

Sanji blew out a smoke ring and analyzed: "Navy Headquarters won't let us off. If we kill him, we'll probably face a never-ending conflict of pursuit, or at the very least... they'll put a hefty bounty on our heads."

"Bounty?!"

Hearing those two words, Luffy's previously serious face instantly fell, replaced by barely contained excitement.

His eyes lit up, and the corner of his mouth stretched to his ears:

"That sounds great! I've always wanted a bounty poster!"

"Great my ass!"

Usopp nearly jumped out of his skin, frantically grabbing Luffy's shoulders and shaking him.

"Hey, Luffy! Don't be impulsive! Getting a Navy bounty is no joke! We'll become targets for the whole world!"

While the group was arguing, the warship had already docked.

The gangplank lowered, and a squad of fully armed Navy soldiers marched down in formation. Right behind them, a man with an extremely sleazy appearance stepped ashore.

He wore a hat decorated with mouse ears, and a few ridiculous whiskers adorned his face.

His small, bean-like eyes darted around shifty, making him look less like a soldier and more like a rat sneaking a drink of oil.

This was the 16th Branch Captain, Rat.

Rat Captain strutted arrogantly onto the shore. But when he took in the scene before him, his smug expression instantly froze.

"This... this is..."

Everywhere he looked, there were ruins.

The Arlong Park that had even made him wary was now reduced to a pile of rubble.

And those vicious Fish-men were either dead or tied up like dumplings.

"Arlong... lost?"

Rat Captain's heart jolted.

He knew Arlong's strength—a Fish-man with terrifying monstrous power.

For these few unremarkable-looking young men to have completely wiped out the Arlong crew that had dominated the East Blue for eight years—they were definitely not to be trifled with!

Fear flickered through his heart for an instant, but immediately after, an emotion called "greed" seized his mind completely.

His gaze fell on the huge bundle behind Ronan and the others, then shifted to the unconscious Arlong.

"All the treasure Arlong hoarded over the years... and Arlong's head as a wanted criminal..."

Rat Captain swallowed a mouthful of saliva, a calculating gleam flashing in his small eyes:

"If I can get my hands on all this, not only will I strike it rich, but I can also claim credit with headquarters! Promotion and fortune—today's the day!"

With that thought, greed overpowered reason.

Rat Captain straightened his collar, put on an air of official authority, and strode with his soldiers right up to Luffy, speaking in an arrogant tone:

"Hey, who are you people?"

"I'm Rat Captain of the Navy 16th Branch, and I'm here to suppress the Arlong Pirates."

He pointed at Arlong, then at the treasure, putting on a face of "righteousness" as he said:

"But since you nameless pirate hunters got lucky and mopped up Arlong's crew... then leave the cleanup to us Marines."

"Hand over the criminal and the stolen goods, and you can scram. This Captain will be merciful enough not to hold you accountable for fighting without authorization."

Having said that, he smugly stroked his rat-like mustache, as if he were doing Luffy a huge favor.

The air was dead silent.

Nami lowered her head, trembling all over.

Not from fear, but from rage.

"You say... hand it over to you?"

Luffy slowly raised his head, and beneath the brim of his hat, his eyes held no trace of a smile—only burning fury.

Before Rat could react, Luffy had already moved.

"Gomu Gomu—Pistol!!!"

"BAM!!!"

No wasted words. No hesitation.

Luffy's fist, like a cannonball leaving its barrel, slammed squarely into Rat Captain's sleazy face!

With a sickening muffled sound, Rat Captain's features twisted and distorted in an instant.

His whole body flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing heavily into a pile of ruins, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"It... was... you..."

Luffy pulled back his fist and walked step by step toward the fallen Rat, his voice low and terrifying:

"You're the one... who teamed up with Arlong's crew to bully Nami!!!"