It wasn't long before
the warship began to slow, coming to a steady stop near the southern gate of Arlong Park.
Large numbers of Marines sailed into the courtyard in numerous small boats, then came ashore beside the swimming pool connected to the sea and formed ranks.
At the center, surrounded by nearly a hundred armed Marines, stood the leading Marine.
He wore a hood, with a pair of mouse-ear decorations on it.
He even had whiskers resembling a mouse's growing on his face, and his eyes and expression looked exceptionally sly.
"Gihihihi."
Rat Captain chuckled under his breath, discreetly surveying the surroundings. A flicker of shock passed through his eyes.
Judging by the scene at Arlong Park, Arlong's gang had clearly been defeated—and thoroughly crushed at that.
And he hadn't even been able to deal with those fish-men, so there was no way he could take on the person who had beaten Arlong.
But Rat Captain wasn't the least bit flustered. Instead, he remained perfectly composed.
He was sure the person who had defeated Arlong was either one of those detestable Bounty Hunters
or some helper these foolish villagers had found from who knew where.
In any case, it definitely couldn't be a pirate. Otherwise, how could all these villagers still be standing here safe and sound?
And as long as the person wasn't a pirate, they wouldn't dare lay a hand on him, a Marine captain.
The Marines were the true rulers of these seas, after all!
So Rat Captain wasn't particularly worried about his own safety.
Originally, he'd brought his men here to collect the regular payment from Arlong.
So when he discovered that Arlong's gang had been defeated, he instinctively grew furious.
But then Rat Captain had a sudden thought: perhaps he could use this opportunity to claim all the treasure Arlong had left behind.
After all, Arlong and his fish-men had been entrenched here for so many years. The amount of treasure they'd plundered was almost unimaginable.
"Gihihihi."
At the thought, greed flashed in Rat Captain's eyes, and he couldn't help laughing again.
Then,
Rat Captain completely ignored the villagers around him and turned his attention to the tall man present who seemed most likely to have defeated Arlong's gang.
Then, acting as if everything was under his control, he spoke with a sinister grin:
"So you're the one who dealt with Arlong's gang."
"Fine. You're no longer needed here, so take these villagers and leave at once."
"From here on, the Marines will handle things."
Nami suddenly remembered something and hurriedly interrupted him. "Wait, he defeated Arlong, the fish-man with a bounty on his head. Shouldn't he get the bounty?"
Rat Captain's eye twitched. He shot the talkative woman an irritated glance and casually brushed her off:
"That's right, of course there's a bounty."
"Arlong the fish-man's bounty... I remember it was one thousand... uh, no, I think it was five million Berries."
The Adjutant Sergeant beside him immediately caught on and hurried to back him up. "That's right, Captain. Arlong's bounty is five million Berries."
"Gihihihi. Looks like I remembered correctly."
Rat Captain gave a sinister grin and nodded, then waved at Will:
"Fine. You can come collect that five-million-Berry bounty at Marine Branch 16 in a few days."
"What did you say? Only five million Berries?!"
Nami's face filled with disbelief. How could she possibly have forgotten Arlong's bounty?
She immediately frowned. "Arlong's bounty has always been twenty million Berries. When did it become five million?"
"It's five million Berries. It was lowered recently. You might not have heard."
"If you don't believe me, ask them."
Rat Captain wasn't fazed in the slightest. Grinning slyly, he turned to the Marines beside him and asked:
"Come on, tell her. How much is the bounty on Arlong the fish-man?"
The armed Marines understood their captain's meaning perfectly. They all sneered and answered in unison:
"Five million Berries!"
"Gihihihi. See? I was right."
Rat Captain looked at Nami, arms crossed, and sneered.
"Damn... He's doing this on purpose. He's probably trying to steal Arlong's bounty outright."
Nami understood his intentions perfectly well by now, and anger surged through her.
She'd only ever heard of bounties being raised. She'd never heard of one being lowered.
These Marines were shameless. They were clearly enemies, not allies.
Nami couldn't help feeling worried.
After talking for a while, Rat Captain was beginning to lose patience. He frowned and barked:
"Enough! Why are you all still standing around here?"
"Get out of here! Don't interfere with the Marines' extermination of the remaining pirates!"
But when he finished speaking, the people in front of him still didn't move.
Rat Captain's expression darkened. He threatened them viciously:
"If you don't leave, I'll treat you all as accomplices of the Arlong Pirates and arrest every last one of you!"
At that,
Will, who had been silent all this time, quietly watching the clown's performance from the side, finally spoke with an expressionless face:
"You're a Marine, yet you're threatening us ordinary civilians. That's some authority you're throwing around."
By now, Rat Captain was eager to get his hands on Arlong's treasure, and he couldn't be bothered pretending anymore.
He raised his brows and spoke with a brazen, mocking grin:
"Gihihihi. Kid, don't think you're so impressive just because you took down Arlong's gang."
"You should know that here in these waters, Marine Branch 16 calls the shots!"
He glanced at Will with disdain and taunted him. "What, are you thinking of attacking a Marine captain like me?"
"If you dare lay a hand on me, the Marines will put a bounty on your head immediately!"
"After that, there'll be nowhere left for you in the entire East Blue!"
"You dare threaten me?"
Will's expression turned cold. With his hands in his pockets, he strode forward, murderous intent plain in his eyes:
"You've sealed your own doom!"
"Huh?!" Rat Captain's face filled with alarm.
He hadn't expected Will to actually attack. He hurriedly waved his arms and shouted in panic:
"How dare you defy the Marines! Soldiers, get him!"
"Arrest him at once! If he resists, shoot him on the spot!"
"Yes!" the Marines shouted in unison.
A dozen nearby soldiers immediately charged at Will with their guns raised.
Several of them even lifted their gun barrels toward him.
Will stared straight at Rat Captain, not even bothering to dodge the guns pointed at him.
Whoosh—!
With a rush of wind, Will vanished from where he stood.
He became a zigzagging afterimage, darting past the Marines who were trying to surround and capture him.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The next second,
the dozen Marines were suddenly sent flying backward as if they'd been struck by a heavy blow.
They hit the ground hard and let out a few low groans.
Then their heads lolled to the side, and they lay motionless on the ground.
"Eh?!" Carina, Nami, and the others were stunned.
Clearly, none of them had expected that even against the Marines, Will would show no mercy at all.
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