In Cahoots?

"Ah-choo!" Xia Che rubbed his nose and frowned. "I have a feeling someone's cursing me!"

"Of course they're cursing you! If I were those pirates, I'd curse you too. Who would've thought you'd be this rotten?" Nami crossed her arms and looked at him disdainfully. "A righteous Marine and the commander of the 16th Branch, colluding with pirates to fleece so many pirates in the East Blue."

"Aren't you a Marine from the 16th Branch?"

"Of course I am, Colonel Xia Che. Hehehe~" Hearing Xia Che's words, Nami blinked mischievously, an equally sinister smile appearing on her face as she glanced around.

Especially at the densely packed pirate ships surrounding them...

That was right, they were no longer aboard the Moke Pirates' ship.

They were following the somewhat wealthier main pirate fleet toward the Konomi Islands.

"Hey, hey, hey, what do we do next? There are so many pirates." Nami still said worriedly, "Nothing unexpected better happen. Nojiko and the others are still on the island. Isn't this way too dangerous after all?"

Though she loved money, Nami did not want to put her family in danger.

"Relax, it'll be fine." Xia Che waved a hand. "Trust me!"

He was the Marine Genius Colonel—Dander Xieche.

After all these years, if he could not even deal with a bunch of ordinary small-time pirates, what was the point of continuing?

He might as well scam the insurance payout and go home!

"You told Nojiko, right? Did you notify her?"

"I already did. A Jian's side is ready too, but are we really keeping all these pirates?" Nami frowned, still sounding concerned. "Don't let them cause chaos on the island when the time comes."

"We'll just split them up and keep them farther apart. I'll also arrange for some Marines to go over, and have the Security Force watch them together with the Marines!" After thinking for a moment, Xia Che looked up at the familiar outline in the distance.

The Konomi Islands...

Xia Che stood and stretched, revealing the Marine uniform on his body that represented justice.

"Are we almost there? Let's go, it's time to get to work! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can head back. We're going to be pretty busy after this!"

"The Konomi Islands are up ahead!"

At that moment.

The pirates aboard the surrounding ships noticed it as well. When they saw Cocoyasi Village's newly built, luxurious harbor, greed immediately filled their eyes.

"Captain Moke was right. Cocoyasi Village is a wealthy town. Looks like we're going to make a fortune."

"Captain Moke and his crew held off the Marines for us. No one will stop us now."

"Don't let Captain Moke's kindness go to waste!"

"Captain Moke really is a good man! Everyone, charge! Charge onto the Konomi Islands! Take the women, take the Beli, take the booze!"

Greed filled the pirates' faces as they shouted for the helmsmen to sail faster. They could barely wait any longer.

And aboard Alvida's Pirate Ship...

A young man with a round, winter-melon-like face stared at the ever-nearing Konomi Islands, pacing about anxiously and muttering nonstop, "This is bad! This is bad! There are so many pirates—what do we do now?"

If so many pirates truly rushed ashore, the Konomi Islands would definitely become hell.

But...

There was nothing he could do!

He had no way to stop any of this.

"I have to notify the Marines stationed on the island!"

"Koby, what are you pacing around for?" A senior pirate aboard the ship watched Koby pacing across the deck and said unhappily, "Are you thinking of running away? Miss Alvida told you to behave yourself. Hurry up and scrub the deck clean."

"I... yes!" Having been yelled at, the anxious Koby could only lower his head. "I'll clean the deck..."

However.

Before he could finish.

"Someone's ahead! There's someone ahead! Those clothes, they look like... Marines?"

"The Marines are here? Didn't Captain Moke say he'd hold them off?"

"How many are there? Should we run?"

The moment they heard there were Marines, this ragtag bunch immediately grew nervous, and their first thought was to flee.

But then.

"It looks like there are only two of them."

"What? Only two? You scared me to death."

"They're probably Marines patrolling the island. Everyone, charge! Don't let Captain Moke's kindness go to waste!"

"Teach those Marines a lesson!"

After hearing someone say there were only two Marines, the pirates immediately perked back up, all of them raising their hands and roaring.

Koby, who had also heard that there were only two Marines, had initially brightened, thinking they were saved. But his expression immediately fell. Still, as he watched the ships draw closer, he finally gritted his teeth, rushed to the bow, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Run! There are..."

Elsewhere.

"Y-you-you... really have a way?" Although Nami was delighted to see so many pirate ships, facing such a dense mass of pirates still made her nervous. She clung tightly to Xia Che's arm. "They're almost here."

"Don't worry. It'll be over soon."

"Soon? How are you going to deal with this many people?"

"Like this..."

As he spoke, before the puzzled Nami could ask anything, Xia Che stared straight ahead.

Then...

It was as if a sharp gust of wind swept past.

And then...

Xia Che clapped his hands. "Done!"

That was right—he possessed Conqueror's Haki.

Otherwise, he would not have let Moke gather so many pirates. Though these pirates were not particularly strong, Marine Branch 16 did not have that many Marines. Even a straightforward battle would likely result in heavy losses.

And it had to be said, Conqueror's Haki really was an excellent skill for clearing out mobs!

Though he had yet to learn Armament Haki, it was more than enough to deal with these small-time East Blue pirates.

Looking at the pirate ships close at hand, their speed gradually slowing, Xia Che frowned. "Did you hear anything just now? It sounded like someone was telling us to run... Forget it."

After saying that casually, Xia Che paid it no mind. Lowering his head, he looked at Nami, who for some reason had slumped against him. "The ships are here. You can have Nojiko and the others come take them over. Remember to be quick. We still need to head to the other side. If anything happens, then just—"

However...

Before he could finish speaking...

Xia Che: ...

Looking at Nami, who had also fainted, he fell silent, his expression changing.

Damn it. In his rush to clear them out, he had forgotten to control the range. He had only paid attention to behind him and ignored the side.

Xia Che helplessly covered his face.

He could already imagine Nami pinching him in displeasure again once she woke up.

And now...

He had to hurry over and deal with the other side too!

Just as Xia Che was wondering whether he should hand Nami over to Nojiko for the time being and give her a day off while he was at it—

Suddenly...

"Colonel Xia Che, thank goodness you're here."

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"We came ashore from the other side. Luckily, we made it in time. When I saw you here, I came over."

Xia Che turned around and, sure enough, saw a familiar figure behind him.

"Guina? What are you doing here?"

"Guina?" Tashigi pushed up her glasses and looked at Xia Che in confusion. "Colonel Xia Che, I..."

"Oh, it's Tashigi!" Xia Che came to his senses and looked at Tashigi before him in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"Who is Guina? Oh, right!" Though puzzled, Tashigi did not forget her mission. She quickly stood at attention and said with a serious expression, "We received word from Marine Headquarters that the Moke Pirates were preparing to massacre Marine Branch 16, so Colonel Smoker immediately led us here."

"Smoker came too?" Xia Che seemed to realize something. The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked behind Tashigi, but he did not see Smoker anywhere. A bad feeling immediately rose within him. After hesitating, he asked, "Where is he now?"

"Please rest assured, Colonel Smoker has already gone to Marine Branch 16 to provide support." Seeing the bewildered expression on Colonel Xia Che's face, Tashigi thought he was worried and quickly gave him a reassuring smile. "Colonel Smoker said he would definitely arrest the Moke Pirates. That guy, honestly!"

As she spoke, she puffed out her cheeks and raised a fist in dissatisfaction.

"Colonel Xia Che trusted him so much, yet he betrayed Colonel Xia Che. Sure enough, not a single pirate is any good. Colonel Xia Che, you mustn't trust pirates again in the future. Although Colonel Xia Che had other reasons for doing so, but... Eh? Is this Miss Nami? What happened to Miss Nami?"

While Tashigi was grumbling indignantly, she reached out and hurriedly caught the figure Colonel Xia Che handed her. Then she looked up at Colonel Xia Che, who had already jumped onto the small boat she had arrived in.

"Colonel Xia Che, where are you going?"

"Help take care of Nami." Xia Che directly steered the small boat toward Marine Branch 16. "I'm borrowing this boat for now."

"What about these pirates..."

"They've already been dealt with. They probably won't wake up anytime soon. Oh, and please help the town guards keep an eye on them. Make sure the pirate ships don't get damaged."

"They've already been dealt with?" Tashigi watched Colonel Xia Che gradually disappear into the distance. She lowered her head to look at the still-unconscious Miss Nami, then raised her head to look at the pirate ships, which had indeed stopped. A trace of surprise appeared on her face. "When did he deal with them? How did he do it?"

She did not seem to have seen Colonel Xia Che make a move at all!

She turned toward the direction where Colonel Xia Che had already vanished, frowned, then sighed. "It seems Colonel Xia Che is very anxious too! That makes sense. After all, it was a pirate Colonel Xia Che trusted, yet he did something like this."

Colonel Xia Che must be furious right now and wanted to personally deal with the Moke Pirates!

"Eh? Why did I suddenly start feeling awful all over? My head's a little dizzy."

"Damn it, me too."

"You too? Everyone feels this way? Have we been poisoned?"

"Where did the poison come from?"

As if they had thought of something, the great pirates aboard Moke's pirate ship, who had suddenly begun feeling unwell, changed expressions. They looked up in panic at Captain Moke, draped in a golden cape.

Moke, under their gazes, wore a satisfied smile on his previously stern face. Looking at Marine Branch 16, now close at hand, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back to the pirates before him. "Congratulations, you lucky bastards."

"?!"

Hearing Captain Moke's words, the pirates seemed to realize something. Their expressions turned grim as they looked up at Captain Moke, then at the nearby Marine branch.

Could the East Blue's new overlord and the Marines...

A terrifying thought suddenly surfaced in their minds. Just as they were about to question Captain Moke—why the mighty East Blue Overlord would do such a thing—

"Boss Moke, there's a warship..." one of the Moke Pirates' underlings suddenly said. "It's heading toward us!"

"Isn't that obvious?" Moke looked at his underling in annoyance. "Did you forget what we did? Isn't it normal for the Marines to come after us?"

"No, it doesn't look like Marines from Branch 16!"

"Not Marines from Branch 16? What's going on?" Moke scratched his head and walked toward the side of the ship.

Sure enough, they were not Marines from Branch 16. And standing at the bow of the Marine warship was someone he knew.

Colonel Smoker?

Why was this guy here?

Had the boss called him over to help?

Still, seeing Colonel Smoker put Moke at ease. He quickly raised a hand and waved at Smoker with a grin. "Hey, Smoker..."

However.

Before he could finish speaking.

At that moment.

Across from him, Colonel Smoker, standing at the bow of the warship, removed the cigar from his mouth, his lips twitching.

Then.

Ignoring Moke's call, he put on a stern expression and said coldly, "Captain of the Moke Pirates, you are under arrest!"

As soon as the words fell.

Bang!

A cannon blast rang out, and the entire pirate ship shook violently.

Moke: ???

He stared in complete bewilderment.

Why had they suddenly fired on him?

What was going on?

This scene wasn't in the script the boss gave him!