Turn This World Upside Down!

Fortunately, Will had already told everyone that he would take care of the potential threat along the way.

So the villagers weren't overly worried.

Just before they were about to set sail.

Nami reluctantly hugged everyone in the village goodbye one by one. Then, with determination in her eyes, she turned and boarded the ship with Will and Carina.

"Goodbye~! Everyone~!" Nami called loudly, waving hard from the stern.

The villagers stood along the shore, shouting toward the ship.

"Take good care of Nami, Will!"

"Take out those rotten Marines! Every last one!"

"Stay safe!"

"Will! Turn this world upside down!"

"Good luck!"

"Will! You're the man! Keep your spirits up!"

Listening to the people around him calling out, A Jian smiled faintly.

He couldn't help feeling that some of their words were a little strange, but he didn't pay them much mind.

He took the book Will had given them from his coat and glanced at it. Even now, his heart was full of gratitude.

"A person has to rely on themself..."

Remembering what Will had said back then, A Jian looked toward the ship as it gradually sailed away and silently vowed:

"Don't worry, Will. We'll use this strength to protect our home!"

Several hours later.

With Nami at the helm.

The three of them sped across the sea, and before nightfall, they reached the area near Marine Branch 16 without a hitch.

They dropped anchor and secured the ship in place.

The three of them stood on deck, carefully observing the nearby Marine branch through binoculars.

Rat-head sculptures decorated every building inside Marine Branch 16.

It was clear that the place had become Rat Captain's lair, serving as his private military base.

Marine Branch 16, located on the island, had also spotted Will and the others' ship.

Will hadn't tried to hide it. Instead, he'd stopped right across from the Marine branch, with nothing around them to provide cover.

Watching the activity over there, Will lowered his binoculars and said expressionlessly, "You two stay on the ship and get dinner ready. I'll be back soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Will vanished before their eyes.

"Should be fine, right..." Nami murmured to herself, watching his figure streak through the air.

She trusted Will's strength.

But this involved her village. She couldn't help worrying that if things went badly, it might put the village in danger later.

"Don't worry." Seeing her expression, Carina smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Even someone as strong as Arlong was easy for Will to deal with."

"You don't think these Marines can give him trouble, do you?"

Nami looked surprised, then quickly explained, "You've got it wrong. That's not what I'm worried about."

"I'm just afraid a few Marines on the island might escape. If word gets out, things could get troublesome."

"Huh?" Carina paused, then the corner of her mouth twitched.

"You... I've noticed that after spending some time with Will, you've started handling things more and more like he does."

"Have I? I hadn't noticed." Nami looked puzzled.

"Of course you have," Carina replied. "Will likes to take care of anyone who might cause trouble in one fell swoop."

"Now, when you're faced with a group of Marines who might threaten the village, you're thinking just like Will."

Then Carina changed the subject and couldn't help laughing. "But I don't think there's anything wrong with doing that."

"And I've realized that even my own thoughts aren't all that different from yours."

After spending several days with those simple, kindhearted villagers, Carina, who was kind by nature, didn't want them to suffer Marine retribution either.

She just hadn't said so as plainly as Nami had.

Carina knew very well that when Will dealt with the Marines at the branch, he'd be even more thorough than they could imagine.

"You... and you've got the nerve to tease me?" Nami said with a helpless smile.

Still, after talking with Carina, she felt less worried than before.

She turned and headed into the cabin, beckoning as she went. "Come on, let's make dinner together."

"Hmph, Little Thief Cat."

Carina gave a playful scoff, then followed after her at an unhurried pace.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

After quickly covering a great distance through the air, Will landed steadily in a spacious clearing inside Marine Branch 16.

It looked like the Marines used the area to assemble or drill.

As Will surveyed his surroundings, a large number of Marines with rifles quickly surrounded him. They lined up and aimed their guns at him, appearing well-trained.

"Who are you? How dare you barge into Marine Branch 16!" shouted the Marine sergeant leading them, eyeing the tall intruder warily.

Will ignored his question and quickly used Observation Haki to scan the island and locate everyone there.

He wanted to make sure no one escaped later.

But after sensing the area, Will looked puzzled as he turned toward a spot underground.

Seeing that the man was completely ignoring him, the Marine sergeant grew furious.

"Damn intruder!"

"What did you come here to—"

Before he could finish, Will furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes. Two red glints flashed in them!

Vmmm—!

In the next instant, an overwhelming aura burst from Will once more, enveloping everyone except those in a certain spot underground.

The Marines felt as if the entire sky had collapsed upon them.

They were like tiny ants, crushed beneath it and utterly powerless to resist.

The next second, every Marine in Branch 16—more than a hundred in all—rolled their eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing that everyone around him had fallen, Will immediately stopped releasing his Haki.

After all the fighting along the way, his patience for the small fry who kept jumping in front of him had worn thin.

Using Conqueror's Haki to deal with them was the quickest and easiest way.

After confirming the situation again with Observation Haki, Will headed toward a nearby building.

Inside it was a concealed passage leading underground.

Because of his height and build, Will had to widen the path by hand as he went. Fortunately, the underground space was fairly spacious.

As soon as he went down, a damp, fishy stench hit him.

Will continued farther inside without changing expression, his gaze sweeping past the many empty cells on either side.

It looked like the Marine branch used this place to hold prisoners.

He walked straight to the end.

There, in the largest cells in the underground area, dozens of people were locked in each one.

As soon as he approached, the prisoners in the cells stared at him in terror, instinctively shrinking back.