Offending the Wrong Person!

Close-quarters combat, boarding action.

When the Gāogǔ Pirates were still over a hundred paces away from the warship, Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses leaped into the air, charging forward with Geppo under their feet.

Most pirate ships in the first half of the Grand Line, unless immediately recognizable, are filled with weaklings.

And this was a ship that was battered to pieces by cannonballs, on the verge of sinking.

The setting for the Pirate King is that cannonballs can only create splashes.

How weak could a pirate ship be to be hit by cannonballs that only create splashes?

Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses weren't reckless; they simply didn't take the Gāogǔ Pirates seriously.

"Aren't you going? If you're too late, I'm afraid the pirates on that ship will all be captured by them."

Three people remained on deck. Roer's question was directed at Morito, naturally.

Morito originally had no interest in a bunch of weakling pirates; even if he were to earn military merit, it wouldn't amount to much.

But Roer's brother looked at him with anticipation.

"Together?"

"Okay."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

The three of them vanished from the deck simultaneously. The Marine Six Styles were considered profound martial arts in the Training Camp, but merely basic in the Elite Class.

They leaped onto the pirate ship using Geppo.

Morito noticed the battle was almost over. Over twenty pirates had already been subdued, yet he couldn't find Captain Gāogǔ, whom he had seen standing at the ship's bow earlier.

"The numbers don't add up."

His Byakugan's vision expanded, covering a certain area beneath the sea's surface.

Several figures were swimming underwater, heading rapidly towards the warship.

"Huh? Underwater?"

They used a dilapidated ship and dozens of weaklings to attract their attention, while the captain led a small main force to launch a surprise attack on the warship, intending to steal it and escape?

Morito had noticed when he boarded the pirate ship that half of its hull was submerged. It probably couldn't even travel a nautical mile.

Putting himself in their shoes, he would have made the same choice.

Steal the warship!

"Poor fools."

Knowing the pirates' plan, Morito wasn't worried at all.

The warship they were on was a standard patrol vessel. Although Morito and the others were ostensibly the combatants, the rest were just there for show.

In reality, the warship had officers, captains, sergeants, and ordinary Marine soldiers, all present.

This group of pirates attempting a surprise attack on the warship was just asking to be food.

Luomen and Roer exchanged glances, thinking: Are the people Vice Admiral Tarantula assigned too weak? Trying to ambush Morito with this strength? They might as well be delivering themselves to him.

"They were too fast; these guys really can't take a hit."

Kazan rubbed the back of his head with a somewhat simple-minded expression, as if feeling a bit guilty about eating alone.

Morito smiled indifferently. How much military merit could these weakling pirates be worth?

"Let's take them back first!"

"Okay."

Morito didn't care about the military merit from a few pirate grunts, so the Roer brothers had nothing to say. Besides, their objective wasn't these pirates anyway.

Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses grabbed the pirates and returned to the warship.

At the same moment, Captain Gāogǔ and his main force of subordinates, who had infiltrated underwater and approached the Marines, burst out of the water and leaped directly onto the warship.

The warship came under surprise attack, and Kazan, Momonga, and the others were drawn back into the fight.

This time, it was the core members of the Gāogǔ Pirates. Although their strength couldn't match the Marines, they wouldn't be instantly wiped out.

The battle immediately entered its most intense, heated phase.

Everyone was fully focused on engaging the enemy.

Seeing this, the Roer brothers, who had been lamenting the lack of opportunity, suddenly felt invigorated!

The people Vice Admiral Tarantula assigned really had brains; hadn't they just created an opportunity for them to be alone with Morito?!

If they couldn't handle the rest, it would be their own problem.

Roer no longer hesitated, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"Attack!"

Hearing his brother's roar, Luomen charged at Morito first, brandishing his sword.

The sword stroke descended, dragging a trail of fire across the deck.

"Don't blame us, blame yourself for offending someone you shouldn't have!"

"First, cripple his hands and feet!" Roer raised a flintlock pistol and, without hesitation, fired a shot at Morito.

"Don't worry, we won't kill you!"

Luomen continued to attack Morito's mental defenses with words.

If it were anyone else, being stabbed in the back by a companion would at least result in serious injury, if not death.

They would at least be shocked, and the Roer brothers were counting on that moment of shock to strike!

But the actual situation seemed a little different from what they had anticipated.

Morito's expression was calm, showing no trace of shock!

"Looks like there's no need for doubt."

Morito's movements were even faster. His hands shot out like lightning, and two fingers, imbued with Chakra, each tapped the other's chest!

With a soft poof, it sounded as if something had been injected into their bodies.

The Roer brothers' bodies instantly froze in place.

"Tanzhong acupoint!"

The center of the midline in front of the chest, between the two nipples.

One of the thirty-six deadly acupoints.

A mere injection of external force could cause internal energy to scatter, leading to panic and confusion, and loss of consciousness.

Seeing the Roer brothers stare at him in horror, disbelief etched on their faces.

"What are you so surprised about?"

Morito said speechlessly, "Next time you want to ambush someone, try not to show so much hostility, okay?"

"Even a blind man could tell!"

"Never mind, there won't be a next time for you."

Morito's appearance was too deceptive; in reality, he was no saint, and he never showed mercy to his enemies.

This wasn't the first time he had killed someone.

Nine years ago, Garp had already helped him shed his innocence.

The Roer brothers were just waiting for an opportunity to be alone with him, weren't they?

But Morito had also deliberately stayed behind.

From Roer's shout of 'Attack,' Morito had understood.

These two guys were indeed after him.

However, today was the first time he had met the Roer brothers, and it was impossible for them to hate him so much without reason.

Then there was only one truth.

The reason lay with Onigumo!

"Although I've already guessed the answer, I still want to ask one last question."

"Is it because of Onigumo?"

Morito asked, looking at Roer.

Blood trickled from Roer's mouth, his pupils bloodshot.

His blood rushed to his head, and his mind began to cloud, "Don't celebrate too early. You won't be arrogant for long after offending Vice Admiral Tarantula!"

"Oh? Then you go down and wait for me."

Morito's eyes turned cold, and he channeled a fatal surge of Chakra into his fingertip before shooting it out.

The Roer brothers' eyes rolled back, and they fell to the ground with a thud.

A memory flashed through Morito's mind of the middle-aged man he had caught a glimpse of on the back mountain of the Naval Academy last time.

"Vice Admiral Onigumo."

After dealing with the Roer brothers, Morito's expression did not relax.

The Roer brothers were just a pair of pawns sent by someone else.

The real trump card was still to come!

Before long, a pirate ship bearing a bald bird appeared on the horizon.