Brothers, I'm Here to Save You!

Brothers, I'm Here to Save You!

"Is that... Colonel Smoker? Why is Colonel Smoker here?"

"What do we do now? Did something unexpected happen?"

"The Moke Pirates' ship is under attack. Who are we supposed to help now?"

"..."

The Marines on the shore of the 16th Branch had noticed the scene as well, and Sergeant Udo's face fell.

This matter was practically over. All that remained was for Moke to bring the pirates over, then they could swarm them and divide things up however they saw fit.

And something like this had to happen at such a critical moment?

When had Colonel Smoker come to provide support?

Why hadn't they received any notice?

What were they supposed to do now?

Help Colonel Smoker, or help Moke?

At that moment.

Just as Udo was anxiously fretting.

"Don't worry." Robin, who was still drinking tea beside him, raised her head. Unlike the other Marines, she did not seem anxious at all. With a calm smile, she said, "Moke is fine, and the pirates on the ship have already been poisoned."

She had used her ability to investigate the situation aboard Moke's ship just now. When she saw that Moke realized greeting Smoker was useless and immediately ran away, Robin stopped worrying.

The only thing they needed to watch out for now was probably making sure Smoker's Marine forces did not actually arrest Moke.

Besides...

Robin gently blew on the still-steaming black tea, took a sip, and said with a smile, "The BOSS is already here."

"The BOSS?"

Hearing Robin's words, Udo froze for a moment, but he quickly realized who Miss Robin was referring to.

Unlike the rest of them, who called him Boss or Colonel, only Miss Robin had always called Colonel Xia Che BOSS within the 16th Branch.

Udo's face immediately lit up with excitement. He turned and glanced around, asking anxiously, "Where's the colonel?"

"He's already made his move!"

As Robin finished speaking, the Marines seemed to understand something. They all raised their heads and looked toward Colonel Smoker.

Sure enough, they saw a figure already standing on Colonel Smoker's warship.

The sudden Marine pursuit left Moke speechless.

Weren't they supposed to be on the same side?

Why was Smoker firing cannons at him?

The pirates aboard the ship, who had originally doubted that the East Blue Overlord was working with the Marines, were equally dumbfounded.

Working together?

This didn't look like it!

The other side was clearly firing real cannonballs!

But why had they suddenly been poisoned too?

The suffering pirates were full of confusion, but when they felt the ship shake violently, they knew this was not the time to think about such things.

Why had Captain Moke, who had been fleeing, suddenly stopped?

"Run, Captain Moke!" one pirate suddenly shouted. "The Marines are already chasing us!"

"We've been poisoned. This might be a Marine plot—there's no need to continue!"

"That's right, Captain Moke! We may have fallen for the Marines' trick!"

All the pirates shouted over one another, urging Moke to run.

They looked at Captain Moke standing at the edge of the ship, arms folded as he faced the Marine pursuit. Even under the Marine bombardment, he remained utterly calm. Though they admired him and felt ashamed for questioning the East Blue Overlord earlier, this was not the time for that.

They had only come to join the excitement. They had not truly come here to die!

If they didn't run now, then when would they?

Could it be that, in the face of the Marines' scheme, the East Blue Overlord was absolutely confident he could handle it?

They raised their heads again and looked at the figure draped in a golden cape. Sure enough... the pirates immediately saw a smile on Moke's face.

Their anxious hearts seemed to calm once more.

It was a smile of confidence and composure.

That was right. He was the East Blue Overlord—how could he possibly be captured so easily?!

Little did they know...

At that moment, Moke raised both hands and stared at the figure that had suddenly appeared on Smoker's ship, a delighted grin immediately spreading across his face. "The boss is here!"

With that.

"The boss?"

The East Blue Overlord had a boss too?

The pirates who had been about to continue persuading him were stunned again. They all raised their heads and looked toward the Marine warship, where they indeed saw a figure that had suddenly appeared aboard the opposing vessel, seemingly stopping its commander.

But...

"Another... Marine?"

"Senior Smoker, welcome back."

"Dander Xieche." Smoker frowned as he looked at Xia Che, who had suddenly appeared to stop him. Especially after seeing Colonel Xia Che interrupt his ability with nothing but a sword, his expression grew even more solemn.

After seeing the Marines deployed along Marine Branch 16's shore, as well as Moke—the pirate who had brought an entire ship of pirates and was even greeting him—Smoker roughly understood that his guess might have been wrong.

As for why he had still attacked?

It was definitely not because that bastard had called him Smoke Man. As a Marine, wasn't it perfectly normal to attack pirates when he encountered them?

Smoker raised a hand to stop his subordinates, removed the cigar from the corner of his mouth, and expressionlessly glanced at the sword in Xia Che's hand. Finally, his gaze settled on Xia Che's smiling face, his tone carrying a hint of deeper meaning. "Colonel Xia Che, you really made fools of the entire Marine Headquarters!"

Was that Armament Haki?

As expected of a swordsman prodigy who had graduated after only two and a half years of training, someone even Teacher Zephyr had praised!

At that thought, Smoker cursed out the Marines who had compiled Xia Che's file yet again.

What "he degenerated after coming to the East Blue," what "he had achieved nothing for years," what "his strength had not improved in the slightest"?!

If this guy hadn't improved at all, then what was he?

Someone who had made no progress whatsoever?

Glancing at the Moke Pirates' ship slowly approaching, he said coldly, "Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

However.

"Many thanks for Colonel Smoker's assistance." Faced with Smoker's questioning, Xia Che simply laughed it off and changed the subject, speaking righteously. "If not for Colonel Smoker's help, Marine Branch 16 would surely have suffered tremendous losses and countless casualties under the attack of the East Blue Overlord, the Moke Pirates."

Before Smoker could say anything, his brow twitching and face darkening, Xia Che continued with a solemn expression as he pulled Colonel Smoker along. "Come on, come on, let's go ashore and continue discussing how to deal with the vicious and ruthless Moke."

With that.

A rough voice came from behind them.

"Boss, what are we doing now?" His tone carried a trace of grievance. "Colonel Smoke Man suddenly joined in without telling me. I almost didn't know how to keep acting."

"..." x2

At that moment.

Smoker silently swept his gaze over the pirates who had boarded the warship and were now equally silent, then expressionlessly looked at the equally expressionless Xia Che before him.

Did this guy really take him for an idiot?

Not long after.

With the assistance of the Marines from Branch 16, Xia Che led the dark-faced Smoker and the pirates ashore.

Although there had been a small unexpected development tonight, from a certain perspective... the result had still been a success.

As for Colonel Smoker, because of his agreement with Garp, as long as Xia Che did nothing inappropriate, there would be no problem for the time being.

After having the pirates—who looked weak and were cursing Moke for having no pirate honor and actually siding with the Marines—taken away, Xia Che turned to Udo. "Arrange for the Marines to keep a close watch on the pirates. Don't let anything happen."

They could discuss how to deal with them tomorrow.

As for the Krieg Pirates, he had already finished dealing with them. All that remained were those pirates who still had no reputation and weren't worth much, temporarily left for Guina to train against.

"Robin, help out too. Keep an eye on things from the side. Don't let anything happen."

"No problem, BOSS~"

After receiving Robin's reply, Xia Che turned around.

Looking at Moke, who was sadly stroking his battered pirate ship, Xia Che thought for a moment. "Stop touching it, Moke. I've prepared a new ship for you. This one has been around for too long anyway; it's time to replace it. I'll need you to take over the next part."

With that.

The sorrowful expression on Moke's face immediately turned into a gleeful grin. He hurried over. "Boss, what kind of ship is it? Is it big? Is it pretty?"

"The Krieg Pirates' captain's personal pirate ship. Do you think it's big?"

"That huge sailing ship with three decks? Boss, you're giving it to me?" Upon hearing Xia Che's words, Moke's face immediately filled with excitement. Then, remembering that the boss had a task for him, he promptly stood tall with his chest out. "Please give your orders, Boss. What are the arrangements? Are we tricking another pirate ship? Or do I have to memorize some difficult lines again? Moke will definitely complete everything."

"No need to be so nervous. It's just some cleanup."

After saying that to Moke, Xia Che turned and smiled at Colonel Smoker beside him. "Since you're already here!"

"What are you trying to do?"

Though he had promised Vice Admiral Garp to keep what happened here under wraps for the time being, Smoker would never cooperate with pirates.

Just as the impatient Smoker was about to say he had no time and would not help with anything—

At that moment, Xia Che patted him on the shoulder and continued righteously, "The pirates are a formidable force. I hope Colonel Smoker can assist Marine Branch 16 in arresting the pirates responsible for this outrage."

Before long.

Elsewhere.

The pirates who had been arranged to come ashore at a slightly more remote location discovered that the moment they landed, they were surrounded.

Surrounded by countless Marines.

And that female Marine at the lead... was actually so strong?!

No one could stop her. With a sword in hand, she cut down countless pirates wherever she passed.

Looking at the dense mass of Marines before them and the terrifying female Marine swordswoman leading them, a despairing thought immediately surfaced in the pirates' hearts. Had they... fallen into a trap?

Where were the Moke Pirates and the Krieg Pirates?

Just as everyone was panicking and despairing, Suddenly—

"The Moke pirate ship! That's the Moke pirate ship!"

At someone's shout, the despairing pirates all turned to look toward the sea.

Then—

A battered pirate ship came into view, charging through artillery fire while being pursued by Marine warships behind it.

On the pirate ship, a figure stood at the rail with his arms crossed, his golden cloak bathed in the bright moonlight.

Even amid the bombardment, he wore a calm smile, fearlessly drawing closer to them.

That was none other than the East Blue Overlord—Captain Moke.

Just as the pirates were shocked and overjoyed, Captain Moke let out his distinctive laugh and shouted, "Wahahaha! Brothers, I'm here to save you!"

At that moment, All the pirates cheered.

But they failed to notice behind them...

Aboard a Marine warship, another figure stood with a livid expression, a cigar clenched between his teeth, seemingly making some sort of sound.

It sounded extremely unpleasant!