The strong smell of gunpowder permeated the alleyway, mixed with the stench of blood.
The leading Navy Lieutenant glanced at the two mangled corpses on the ground and waved his hand expressionlessly.
"Clean up the scene."
"Yes!"
The soldiers began to handle the situation with practiced ease, clearly having done similar tasks many times before.
The captain then turned and led the still-shaken girl out of the alley.
Under the alleyway lights, Tesoro and Baccarat were still standing there, clearly not expecting that the Navy Lieutenant would say one thing and do another.
The moment he saw the two, the captain paused, his previously gentle gaze instantly turning sharp. He instinctively shielded the girl behind him, his right hand subtly moving towards the gun handle at his waist, his entire demeanor shifting swiftly from that of a law enforcer to that of a vigilant hunter.
"You haven't left yet?" His voice turned cold, his gaze fixed intently on the two men. "Or rather, are you in cahoots with those two scumbags from before?"
Baccarat's heart tightened, and she immediately stepped forward, blocking Tesoro's path. With a professional smile, she politely said, "Sir, you've misunderstood."
She bowed slightly, adopting a very humble posture, "We are traveling along the Grand Line on the orders of the Lord Marshal to observe the lives of the people."
" Lord Marshal?"
The captain's vigilance was instantly replaced by an even stronger surge of fervor.
His hand moved away from the gun handle, his body instinctively straightened, and his eyes filled with fanaticism and worship. "Have you met the Lord Marshal?"
"Of course," Baccarat straightened her back, her tone filled with pride, "Otherwise, why would we be ordered to travel?"
"I see!" the captain Satori. "So, you're interns who came to the New World with the Lord Marshal for an internship?"
"No, that's not it." Baccarat reacted quickly, weaving a more plausible explanation along the lines of the other person, "We met the Lord Marshal by chance on our journey. Because we admired his Lord Marshal and wanted to join the Navy, Lord Marshal told us to travel around for a while and think things through before making a decision."
This explanation was reasonable, and the captain's excitement intensified, his gaze towards them becoming even more affectionate.
"So you're my future colleague! Well then, give me a salute!"
It sounded like a casual joke, yet it also felt like a final test.
Baccarat did not hesitate at all.
She brought her legs together, straightened her back abruptly, raised her right hand high, and stared intently ahead, uttering each word clearly. "Loyalty! Sincerity!"
The voice was clear and crisp, the posture was perfect, and the presence was impressive.
The captain nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, that's getting the hang of it."
He completely lowered his guard, and his tone became warmer. "Since we're future colleagues, you'd better be careful. The world has improved a lot, but there are always some scum who aren't afraid of death. If you run into trouble, whether it's a lawless pirate or a despicable human trafficker, you can seek help from the Navy."
After hearing this, Tesoro, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up and asked, "What if we encounter Celestial Dragons? Can the Navy help too?"
The captain's smile faded, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he looked directly into Tesoro's eyes and answered decisively, "Of course."
"If the Celestial Dragons cause you trouble for no reason, you can come to the Navy. Because the Lord Marshal signed the Mary Geoise Treaty with the Holy Land, the Navy now has the right to arrest any Celestial Dragons who break the law. If Celestial Dragons has harmed you, the Navy naturally has the right to arrest them and then hand them over to the Knights of God Knights of God final judgment!"
Tesoro's heart trembled violently.
Arrest the Celestial Dragons?
Transfer to trial?
Has the navy's power reached such an extent?
He instinctively pressed on, his voice trembling without him even realizing it. "If the Knights of God let the Celestial Dragons go..."
"Absolutely impossible!"
Before Tesoro could finish speaking, the captain interrupted him, "When the Knights of God make their final judgment on Celestial Dragons has committed a crime, at least one Marine Headquarters Officer must be present! This is a rule set by the Lord Marshal, and no one dares to bend the law for personal gain! Not even the Five Elders, let alone the Knights of God!"
Baccarat's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.
She grasped the key information in his words and tentatively asked, "Can the Lord Marshal's power influence the decisions of the Chamber of Power?"
Upon hearing this, the captain smiled.
"It seems you two have really been out of touch with the world for far too long. You need to catch up on the current situation on the Grand Line and who really is in charge of the World Government. Otherwise, you'll definitely make a lot of fools of yourselves when you join the Marine Headquarters!"
He leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "Let me put it this way, whether in Marineford or in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, the Lord Marshal wields absolute power. The Five Elders? They're nothing! If they dare to point fingers at the Lord Marshal, I guarantee they won't see the sun tomorrow!"
Tesoro's pupils suddenly contracted.
" Marshal Akira dares to kill even the Five Elders?"
"It's not a question of whether we dare to kill them or not," the captain waved his hand impatiently, as if correcting a child's ignorance, "But whether the Lord Marshal wants to kill them!"
Seeing the utterly shocked expressions on Tesoro and Baccarat's faces, the captain decided to give them another dose of shock, "You know the former Environmental God Markas Saint Mars, and the former Agricultural God, Shepard X. Saint Shepherd Ju Peter, right?"
Tesoro and Baccarat nodded subconsciously.
"Because they colluded with forces in the Underworld and secretly assisted Kaido of the Beasts in his attempt to counterbalance the Lord Marshal," the captain's lips curled into a cruel smile, "In the end, not only were their families raided, but the two of them were also publicly executed by the Lord Marshal."
"Aren't you shocked?"
"In short, what the World Government can handle, our navy can handle too; what the World Government can't handle, we can still handle!"
"Act first, report later? That's impossible, because the current world order is dictated by the navy!"
"No, it's the Lord Marshal's decision that matters!"
At this point, the captain suddenly raised his hand and patted Tesoro's shoulder heavily. "Believe me, becoming a Marine and following the Lord Marshal will be the wisest choice you'll ever make!"
"We hope to see you all participating in basic training at headquarters in the future!"
With that, the captain adopted the air of a seasoned general looking down at greenhorns, grinning as he said, "I have high hopes for you!"
Before he finished speaking, the captain straightened his chest, turned around, and strode out, leaving Tesoro and Baccarat standing there, unable to come to their senses for a long time.
--