What If Gecko Moria Refuses to Obey? Then Kill Him!

Boom!

The unceasing cannon fire echoed across the island for three days and three nights!

Not until the entire G9 Branch had been completely razed to the ground by the shells from those fifty warships.

Only then did Sengoku solemnly tell the soldiers behind him in a low voice, "Tell the other warships they can cease fire!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier who had been standing behind Sengoku immediately straightened up and respectfully saluted him. He then turned around, picked up a Den Den Mushi, and notified the entire fleet: "Attention, all warships. This is flagship number 3334, carrying Marine Headquarters Admiral Sengoku! Admiral Sengoku's orders are hereby relayed to all Marines: the target has been subdued. Suppressive fire will cease in ten seconds!"

After relaying Sengoku's orders to all the warships, the soldiers feared that some ships might not have heard clearly and repeated themselves: "I repeat, this is flagship number 3334, carrying Marine Headquarters Admiral Sengoku..."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

After the soldiers had issued Sengoku's command...

Ten seconds later, all fifty Marine warships finally ceased their bombardment.

Following Admiral Sengoku's instructions, they approached the island where G9 Branch was located.

Tap, tap, tap...

Then, amid countless dense footsteps...

The current Marine Headquarters Admiral Sengoku and the Hero of the Marines Garp, followed by a host of Marine soldiers, stepped onto the land that had been scoured by cannon fire and reduced to a charred wasteland.

"Sengoku, Garp! You really are despicable!"

Douglas Bullet, the Demon Heir, had barely clung to life on the island. He had held out for three full days beneath the Buster Call from fifty warships before finally collapsing from exhaustion...

Now, leaning against the blackened shore, he glared at Sengoku and Garp, who had remained aboard their warships until the Buster Call defeated him before coming over, and angrily denounced them.

"If it were Roger, he definitely wouldn't have been defeated by that bombardment!"

With both hands in his pockets, Garp stood before Bullet and struck straight at his heart the moment he spoke.

"I..."

Bullet seemed to want to say something. His mouth opened wide, but in the end, he could not say a single word.

"Take him away!"

Sengoku crossed his arms, not even sparing Bullet a glance as he lay on the ground. He merely spoke calmly to the Marine soldiers around him.

"Yes, sir!"

As Sengoku's words fell...

Bullet was immediately helped onto a stretcher. While several soldiers placed specialized shackles on him, others orderly lifted the stretcher carrying Bullet and transported him toward the flagship Sengoku had been riding! Criminals of Bullet's caliber were personally guarded by Sengoku and Garp, lest they attempt to escape once they recovered some of their strength.

At the same time, the news that Douglas Bullet, the Demon Heir, had been defeated by Marine Headquarters Admiral Sengoku and the Hero of the Marines Garp spread across the entire sea!

Three days later.

The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.

Shaya sat in the garden, leafing through the book in his hands while listening to Stussy's report beside him.

"Shaya, news just came from the Marines. Douglas Bullet has now been locked up on the sixth level of Impel Down."

"Should we start making our move as well? Didn't you say before that we could recruit Douglas Bullet? CP currently lacks a sufficiently powerful fighter we can use..."

Stussy's lower abdomen was slightly swollen. As she gently caressed it with her fair hand, she spoke to the languid-looking Shaya.

"Keep him locked up for a year first. Wear down his arrogance..."

"Oh, and tell the warden of Impel Down to add something extra to Bullet's meals. It would be best if he remained in a weakened state at all times..."

"Doesn't Bullet like training? Then once he enters prison, I'll make sure he can never train again! I imagine that once Bullet realizes he isn't getting stronger, but is instead steadily growing weaker from neglecting his training, he'll start to panic, won't he?"

Shaya remembered that Bullet had not been a peaceful prisoner after entering Impel Down. He had constantly trained in prison, accumulating strength for the day he got out and could continue pursuing his dream of surpassing Roger!

In Shaya's view, the administrators of the sixth level of the deep-sea prison had been far too merciful. They had actually allowed these criminals opportunities to train their bodies. If it were him, he would have long crippled every last one of these people who opposed the World Government...

"Hehe, Shaya, you're so bad. But I like it~"

After hearing Shaya's words, Stussy's alluring red lips curled slightly upward. She then took out a Den Den Mushi and, under Shaya's orders, began pressuring the warden of the deep-sea prison in her capacity as CP0.

"O sea! Begin to churn..."

Shaya paid no attention to the working Stussy. He merely calmly set down the newspaper in his hands and looked into the distance...

The headline on the newspaper Shaya had set down read: "The Unstoppable Gecko Moria and His Pirate Crew!" The article stated...

Ever since Roger had been executed by the Marines in Loguetown and the Great Pirate Era began, Moria and his pirate crew had been the most aggressive among all the new generation of pirates in expanding their influence! In only a few short months, Moria's bounty had reached one hundred million, making him an undisputed rising star. A year later, he charged headlong into the New World...

After entering the New World, Moria's bounty continued soaring without any sign of slowing down. At the same time, his pirate crew advanced triumphantly, constantly crushing their enemies! They seemed poised to challenge the monsters who ruled the New World!

Morgans, president of the World Economic Journal, commented: "If it's Moria, there definitely won't be any problem! He will become the man most likely to become an Emperor of the Sea in the new era ushered in by Roger!"

And so, two months later!

New World, Wano Country...

Moria and his pirate crew fought in Ringo against Kaido of the Beasts Pirates, a former apprentice of the Rocks Pirates and now the Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates.

That day, rain poured from the sky, as though even the heavens were weeping!

Amid countless corpses strewn together in pools of blood, Moria, the captain, kept gasping with a pale face. Rain mixed with his tears and ran continuously down his cheeks as he muttered hoarsely, "Hahaha, they're all dead! Every companion but me is dead! How could that bastard Kaido possess such terrifying power? Can humans really defeat a monster like that? No, humans can't! I need power greater than Kaido's. Only a monster can defeat another monster..."

This battle had been Moria's first defeat in his pirate career, and the price had been every one of his companions, all buried at the hands of Kaido of the Beasts...

Yes, a pirate's voyage was no child's game. A single defeat often meant the complete end of a pirate's entire career!

With just one defeat, all of Moria's fighting spirit seemed to have scattered!

"Hey! You damn bat..."

"You're not dead yet, are you? If you're alive, make a sound..."

"Someone wants to talk to you!"

Just as Moria grieved over his own weakness and wailed for his fallen companions, Crocodile, dressed in a long coat with two cigars clenched between his lips as he puffed out clouds of smoke, somehow appeared at Moria's side.

"Sand Crocodile?!"

Moria merely glanced at Crocodile beside him and recognized who he was. The pirate world was only so big, and there were only so many famous figures...

Even if they were unfamiliar with one another, they had seen each other's bounties and read newspapers about one another...

Crocodile ignored Moria and calmly placed a Den Den Mushi before him.

"Den Den Mushi..."

"Click~"

Then, accompanied by a burst of electronic ringing...

Crocodile picked up the Den Den Mushi in front of Moria and answered it on his own.

"Hey! Moria, after fighting Kaido, you should have realized just how weak and powerless you are, right? See clearly—this is the gap between you and the New World!"

The moment the call connected, Moria was met with a barrage of mockery.

"If you called just to mock me, then stop now!"

"The price I've paid is already great enough! So great that I can't bear it!"

Had this been the Moria from before his battle with Kaido, he would have mocked the other person without mercy. But now, he no longer had that spirit.

"Moria! Who do you think killed your subordinates? Kaido of the Beasts?"

"No! The one who killed your subordinates wasn't Kaido of the Beasts! At most, Kaido was merely the fuse. Without Kaido, there would have been Charlotte Linlin, or Whitebeard Newgate..."

"The one who truly killed your subordinates was you—the one who failed to fully understand the strength of yourself and your crew, yet rashly went to the New World to challenge Kaido of the Beasts!"

"Admit it! If you, as their captain, hadn't made such a reckless decision, your subordinates would not have died. Listen, Moria: every misfortune that befalls you in this world is born from the inadequacy of those involved..."

Yet the voice from the Den Den Mushi showed no sign of stopping, continuing to speak to Moria, who lay on the ground too weak to move.

"Enough! Enough! I said enough..."

"I told you, if you called to mock me, this is enough!"

Moria shouted, an unprecedented pain showing in his expression.

Not even the blows Kaido had rained down on him had caused him this much pain!

Because everything the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi said was true.

Lies did not hurt people. The truth was the sharpest blade...

"Mock you? Moria, I don't have the leisure to call you and say all this just to mock you!"

The man on the other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed to disdain Moria's words.

"What exactly do you want?"

Moria stared coldly at the Den Den Mushi before him.

"Join us, Moria..."

The man behind the Den Den Mushi said coldly.

"Join you?"

Moria froze for a moment, hesitation in his eyes.

"You want to become my companion?"

"Hey! Didn't you see it? The price I paid for challenging Kaido..."

"The people who become my companions always meet miserable ends!"

"They're all dead..."

At this point, Moria's expression carried a trace of loneliness.

"Moria, you misunderstand! I don't intend to become your companion. I want you to become mine! From now on, work for me..."

The voice from the Den Den Mushi answered Moria coldly.

"You want me to be your subordinate?"

As Moria spoke, his voice rose several pitches and became somewhat shrill.

"Rest easy! From now on, I will protect you—protect you, who was utterly incapable of protecting your own companions when faced with a powerful enemy, you who are so incredibly weak! The moment you join us, I guarantee that today's sacrifice will never happen again..."

The man on the other end of the Den Den Mushi spoke.

"I..."

Moria fell silent at those words. He was utterly lost right now...

He had no idea how he was supposed to answer the man on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, who claimed he wanted to become his protector.

"You don't need to answer me now! I'll give you three days. If you want to join us, contact me with this Den Den Mushi. If you haven't contacted me after three days, I'll take it that you don't wish to join. Then, regrettably, our fate together ends here..."

Without giving Moria a chance to respond, the Den Den Mushi continued speaking.

After saying that, the man on the other end seemed to recall something and introduced himself to Moria. "Oh, right, I haven't told you my name yet! My name is Shaya! People across these seas generally call me Figarland Shaya Saint! Click..."

The moment Shaya finished introducing himself, the Den Den Mushi shut off, and everything fell silent.

Only Moria remained, staring wide-eyed at the Den Den Mushi beside him as he murmured, "Figarland Shaya Saint! Could the owner of this Den Den Mushi be a Celestial Dragon?"

Unfortunately, no one answered his question...

After putting down the Den Den Mushi, Crocodile left on his own.

On a hill roughly a kilometer away from Moria, Crocodile held a Den Den Mushi in his hand, seemingly speaking with someone.

"Griffin, what if Moria doesn't intend to join us?"

Crocodile asked into the Den Den Mushi.

"Then kill him outright in Wano Country! These seas have never lacked people who can take Moria's place in the plan."

"At the same time, let the world believe that Moria was killed by Kaido! It would count as bringing his legendary life to a perfect close..."

A moment later, Shaya's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha..."

After hearing Shaya's words, Crocodile laughed slowly, one word at a time.

"You and that flamingo are both rotten to the core!"

That was Crocodile's assessment of Shaya's character.

"Click~"

On the other side, Shaya, who was in the Holy Land, could not be bothered to deal with Crocodile and simply hung up the Den Den Mushi. As a Celestial Dragon, being called rotten to the core was clearly high praise for his moral standards.

"Next..."

Shaya turned his head toward the girl standing before the villa's entrance. She had an eye-catching, voluptuous figure and seemed somewhat bashful upon seeing him.

"Fig... Fig..."

"Figarland Shaya Saint!"

"Marine Headquarters Major Doll, here to pay her respects!"

The Marine major introduced herself to Shaya. She had short black hair, lovely features, and looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, in the prime of her blossoming youth.

"Don't be nervous. I know you! You're a subordinate of Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Jaguar D. Saul, right?"

Shaya smiled at the beautiful Doll.

"That's correct! It is my honor to be remembered by you, my lord!"

Doll replied with a happy smile.

"Hehe, the things that will make you feel honored have only just begun..."

With a smile on his face, Shaya walked toward Doll.

If Shaya remembered correctly, Saul had just received orders from the World Government to hunt down archaeologists researching the Poneglyphs all across the seas...

In order to get ahead of a certain white-haired archaeologist, Shaya decided to plant a spy beside Saul—and that spy was Doll~

Of course, Shaya had absolutely not transferred Doll to the Holy Land because she was pretty. He, Shaya, was not such a sleazy man. He simply appreciated Doll's talent!

Still, it had to be said that Doll's talent was truly very, very impressive...

"Hehe, he really is a beast!"

Stussy, who was recuperating on the second floor, merely glanced at Shaya downstairs as he instructed Doll in the 'Marine Rokushiki' and immediately understood what Shaya was thinking! She first snorted coldly, then praised Shaya.

To be continued, a four-thousand-word chapter! Please keep reading, brothers~