Sure enough, when Shirakawa and Jola turned around, they saw that the newcomers were Marines, and there were quite a lot of them. It looked as if they had gathered every Marine in the area.
The Marine at the head of the group looked menacing. Judging by the cape draped over his shoulders, he must have held a fairly high rank. He might even have been the base commander of this Marine Branch—the captain.
"Are you the one who injured my son?" the leading Marine demanded. His words confirmed Shirakawa's suspicions: he was the Marine Captain. It looked like he was abusing his authority, too, ordering so many Marines around.
"If you mean that idiot, then yes, I did it." As a man, Shirakawa naturally had the courage to stand by what he had done.
"Good. Since we've found the right person, that's all that matters. Didn't you know he was my son?"
"I did. That's why I figured you weren't a good person either. Otherwise, you wouldn't have raised such a disobedient son."
"Good. Good." The Marine Captain laughed in anger, as if amused that Shirakawa still didn't understand the situation.
"What about the person beside you? Is he your companion, too?" He shifted his gaze to Jola.
"That's right," Shirakawa readily admitted. Without using Conqueror's Haki, these Marines would be a bit of a nuisance to him. It would be all the better if someone could share the burden.
And Jola was just the person for the job. He was strong enough to handle a bunch of Marines with ease.
Hearing Shirakawa's words, Jola looked at him in surprise, as if asking when he had ever become his companion.
"Don't worry about it. You've wasted so much of my time—you owe me some compensation. These Marines will make