A Heart of Gold

"Colonel Adkin, Colonel Adkin..." a Marine Ensign hurried to the meeting room door, his face flustered, and called out.

The Marine Captain sitting alone at the table, gravely staring at the sea chart spread across it, slowly raised his head. "Ensign Filman, always pay attention to your words and conduct. As a Marine Ensign, I hope you will always present the people with a calm and composed image!"

"Yes!" Filman saluted with an ashamed expression, then said solemnly, "Colonel Adkin, we discovered traces of the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates along the shore of the island ahead. All their ships are anchored along the edge of the coast."

"Does anyone live on the island?"

"There's a town called Falling Leaf Town on the island."

Colonel Adkin's expression instantly turned solemn. He asked sternly, "Can you see any firelight on the island right now, or... can you smell gunpowder drifting on the sea breeze?"

Filman was startled by Colonel Adkin's stern words. After swallowing, he said, "N-no... we haven't discovered anything."

"Giant Rhinoceros Alex is cruel and suspicious. If the slaughter were complete, he definitely wouldn't remain on the island. Since you saw no cannon fire, he most likely landed only recently... or he has taken the island's residents hostage and is preparing to negotiate with us."

Colonel Adkin's expression eased slightly. "Regardless of which it is, either outcome is far better than him causing another tragedy."

"Ensign Filman..."

"Yes!"

"Relay my orders immediately. Set every sail and make for that island at full speed!"

In town, many residents were carrying the "spoils" from the naval battle home, load after load. Suddenly, several runny-nosed little brats came running over on their short legs, shouting as they ran:

"This is bad, this is bad! There are... lots of big ships coming across the sea again!"

As soon as the words fell, the crowd erupted into a commotion.

"What? Are pirates attacking again?"

"Damn it! Could those pirates have their eyes on our spoils?"

"Damn it, let's fight them! Everyone has a flintlock now, and we even took several cannons off the ships. Unless they're willing to pay a huge price, even pirates can forget about taking advantage of us."

After repelling pirates several times over the past three years, the townspeople did not fear pirates as much as residents of ordinary towns did. As long as they weren't a notorious large pirate crew like the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates, they had no shortage of courage to fight them.

"What did you say? The Giant Rhinoceros Pirates were completely wiped out, and you even killed Giant Rhinoceros Alex?" Colonel Adkin's eyes widened. He almost suspected that the kind-faced old man before him was a spy sent by Alex to deceive them.

The group of Marine officers following behind Adkin also stared wide-eyed. The Giant Rhinoceros Pirates, who had escaped the Marines' grasp time and again, had actually been destroyed in an ordinary little town. It sounded even more absurd than a fairy tale.

"Huh? No, you've misunderstood!" The mayor had never seen such a high-ranking officer as a Marine Captain before, and he was flustered for a moment. He hurriedly explained, "The credit for defeating the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates mainly belongs to Longinus. We..."

"Aaaah! Damn pirates! I'll fight you..."

While the two were talking, a large group of townspeople charged out of town with flintlocks raised. After seeing the harmonious scene before them, they were dumbfounded. Those people were wearing uniforms that seemed to belong to the Marines, weren't they?

"Damn pirates, let go of Grandpa Mayor..." A few little brats who still hadn't figured out the situation shrieked and charged forward.

"You little idiots spreading rumors, they aren't pirates... they're Marines!" A quick-witted resident grabbed them and awkwardly explained.

"Huh? Are they the Marines that Big Brother Longinus sailed away to join? Then they're on our side?"

The little brats then said aggrievedly, "Besides, we clearly said earlier that lots of big ships were coming. You were the ones who said they were pirates..."

Several people thought about it and realized that seemed to be true. Unable to save face, they angrily slapped the little brats on their bottoms. "Children shouldn't talk nonsense."

"Big Brother Longinus said violence can't solve problems. Justice will ultimately stand with..."

The little brats' impassioned uprising was ultimately met with a violent suppression.

Smack, smack, smack!

"Justice will ultimately stand with the dictator..." the little brats muttered while rubbing their bottoms.

Colonel Adkin watched the scene before him with amusement. He had become interested in the Longinus they kept mentioning. A young man who could defeat Giant Rhinoceros Alex and whose heart leaned toward justice was truly a rare find.

"The one who defeated Giant Rhinoceros Alex is this Longinus you keep mentioning? Could you tell me about him?"

When Adkin brought up Longinus, the Young Cadets around him instantly felt that this imposing Marine wasn't so frightening anymore, and they all began speaking at once.

"Let me go first, let me go first! Big Brother Longinus came to our town three years ago because of a shipwreck. Because of that, he helped us defend against dozens of pirate invasions, both large and small, over these three years."

"Mm-hmm! Even that vicious giant bald guy from yesterday wasn't Big Brother Longinus's match. Big Brother Longinus is the Guardian Deity of Falling Leaf Town!"

Seeing that everyone was giving the same account, Adkin was deeply moved. At the same time, he forced himself to accept this seemingly absurd conclusion: the Giant Rhinoceros Pirates, who had escaped Marine pursuit time and again, had ultimately been destroyed by a young man who had yet to set out onto the sea.

"Longinus... is he a Devil Fruit user?"

The townspeople looked at one another, clearly unaware of what Adkin meant.

Seeing this, Adkin understood. On an isolated island with little contact with the outside world, it was normal for them not to know the legends surrounding Devil Fruits. So he rephrased the question: "Longinus... can he swim in the sea?"

"Of course he can!" The townspeople looked at Adkin strangely, secretly grumbling to themselves. How many men who grew up by the sea couldn't swim?

This Marine isn't stupid, is he?

The younger boys began to cheer even louder. "Big Brother Longinus dives into the deep sea every day to train, and he even catches a Sea King to improve everyone's meals!"

"He catches a Sea King on the side?" The corners of the mouths of the Marine officers behind Adkin twitched. If it had merely surfaced, that would be one thing, but killing a Sea King in the deep sea was something even a Marine Commodore might not necessarily be able to accomplish.

Seeing the townspeople's rosy complexions and robust physiques, the Marine officers couldn't help feeling faintly envious.

As the overlords of the sea, Sea Kings not only had delicious meat, but were also rich in vital energy. Eating them regularly could fundamentally strengthen the body, making them the finest food in the entire sea.

Even Colonel Adkin, the highest-ranking officer among them, could only eat Sea King meat once or twice when returning to Marine Headquarters to report on his duties. Yet from the townspeople's words, it seemed they could eat fresh Sea King meat every day. It was enough to drive the Marines mad with jealousy.

"Sea King meat really is delicious. It's just a shame that after eating it continuously for three years, even the tastiest food gets a little tiresome," a townsman sighed.

"Yeah, now that Big Brother Longinus has left, we can finally change things up." Baki ignored the murderous gazes of the Marines and said it without a hint of awareness.

Colonel Adkin worked hard to calm his restless heart and asked casually, "From what you're saying, he joined the Marines?"

"Yeah. Big Brother Longinus said he was going to take part in the World Military Draft at the Marine 'G2 Branch.'"

"It's the Marines G2 Branch." Adkin first corrected him, then muttered to himself, "To defeat Giant Rhinoceros Alex through sheer physical strength, his abilities are already on par with those of an average senior officer. If he receives advanced training at Headquarters, he might become a Big Shot at the level of a Rear Admiral or even a Vice Admiral. No, I have to get back to the G2 Branch quickly and recruit him before anyone else can make a move."

Seeing that Adkin seemed about to leave, the mayor hurriedly called out, "Excuse me... General, can you exchange Giant Rhinoceros Alex's head for the bounty and give it to us?"

Adkin was moved again. "That young man... actually left the head worth thirty-seven million Beli to you?"

"Mm-hmm. Big Brother Longinus said he wasn't interested in money. He had never touched money."

"Ah! That young man named Longinus... truly has a heart of gold!"