Crippling Captain Nezumi

The port of Cocoyasi Village.

Nami was saying her goodbyes to the villagers, and everything was going smoothly.

The wealth collected over these years had been distributed by Nami; the portion taken from the Arlong Pirates' territory was returned to the villagers of the nearby islands, while the rest was, of course, the earnings of the Moya Adventure Group.

Nojiko's orange orchard was handed over to Genzo to manage.

At this moment, several standard warships flying the seagull flag appeared on the horizon, and the villagers cast hateful glares at the late-arriving Marines.

Moya watched the warships drawing closer with an expressionless face.

Before long, the warships reached the port, and a captain who looked remarkably like a rat stepped off the ship, his face twisted into a sinister grin.

"I suspect you of colluding with the Arlong Pirates and oppressing the common people. I am here to arrest you in the name of the righteous Navy."

Hearing Captain Nezumi's words, the villagers immediately began cursing the black-hearted Marines, and the crew of the Moya Adventure Group was equally furious; veins began to bulge on Moya's forehead.

"Yohoho, you dare to resist! Open fire, sink them!"

Captain Nezumi ordered.

"It seems this was unavoidable. Why seek your own death? 'Righteous Navy,' indeed—you are truly hopeless!"

With a look of contempt, Moya slowly clenched his fists.

[Slip-Slip Fruit · Silent · Instant Slide]

Moya appeared behind Captain Nezumi in an instant, grabbed the captain's head with one hand, and slammed it ruthlessly into the deck.

Bang~

Bang~

The warship trembled incessantly as a figure hammered punch after punch into the pathetic Marine officer lying on the deck.

The sailors stood dumbfounded, watching this demon pummel their superior; their bodies were completely frozen in shock, unable to move, forced to watch as Captain Nezumi was beaten to a pulp by Moya.

"Uh, Moya, weren't we supposed to keep a low profile?" Buggy stepped forward to stop him.

"That was because I lacked the strength! That's why I kept a low profile."

"Now, I should fear no challenge and meet difficulties head-on. Only by forging ahead can my spirit grow stronger! Only then will my Conqueror's Haki have the chance to grow stronger!"

"However, I am not an unreasonable person."

Moya said to one of the Marines whose rank was second only to Captain Nezumi.

"Give me the Den Den Mushi you use to contact Loguetown. I will speak to Smoker myself."

Captain Nezumi's adjutant tremblingly handed a Den Den Mushi to Moya.

"Moshi moshi~ Please connect me to Captain Smoker."

"Who are you? What is this about?"

"I have a Marine captain here who has been colluding with pirates and bullying the people. I want to find someone who can actually handle this."

"Understood, connecting you to Captain Smoker immediately."

"Hey, which bastard is this? If you dare waste my time, you can wait to rot in prison!"

"Hello, Captain Smoker. I am Moya, captain of the Moya Adventure Group. I have just crushed the Arlong Pirates who were entrenched in Cocoyasi Village."

"Furthermore, I have captured Captain Nezumi, who was colluding with Arlong and oppressing the villagers. I wonder how you 'righteous' Marines intend to handle this?"

"So it's you. Fullbody told me about you. I didn't expect you to have some skill, actually taking down Arlong. However, I will investigate the matter regarding Captain Nezumi thoroughly. What have you done to him now?"

"This scum, Nezumi, has been beaten to a cripple by me. I wonder if that will affect my ability to take Arlong to Loguetown to claim the bounty?"

"You actually dared to assault a Marine? Are you not afraid of being put on the wanted list?"

"From what I understand, Captain Smoker is a truly righteous Marine, unlike these dregs. If you insist on labeling someone like me—who is upholding justice—as an assailant of the Navy, then I have nothing more to say."

"I have no intention of opposing the Navy, but this Captain Nezumi colluded with the Arlong Pirates and bullied the villagers; I hope you Marines investigate this clearly! However, if you insist on putting out a bounty on me to cover up your scandal, then I fear no challenge!"

"After all, it is your Navy that has been in bed with pirates, and we are the ones who exposed it."

Hearing Moya's firm words, Smoker fell silent.

"I will come to investigate personally. Don't let me find any illegal activities on your part, or I won't let you off."

"Then, can I still collect the bounty for Arlong?"

"If the investigation confirms you have committed no crimes, the bounty will be paid. Do you dare to come to Loguetown to face the investigation?

I have investigated that you have defeated several pirate crews and also taken in quite a few pirates. Are you preparing to become a pirate yourself?"

"Captain Smoker, I have done a good deed! I have subdued these pirates and turned them toward the light, maintaining the stability of the sea. Instead of praising me, you are threatening me?"

"Any pirate with a bounty must be judged by our Navy; it is not up to you to decide who has 'turned toward the light'!"

"Fine, since Captain Smoker has said as much, I will let this dead rat go for now. We shall meet again, goodbye."

Hanging up on Smoker, Moya returned to his ship and began to set sail, not forgetting to shout one last thing at the Marines.

"Get lost immediately, and do not harass this village ever again! Smoker will come to interrogate you himself."

After a flurry of chaos, the lieutenant commander of the naval ship immediately ordered a retreat, picked up the Den Den Mushi once more, dialed Loguetown, and rattled off a report.

From the other end came the sound of Smoker's furious cursing.

Smoker deliberated for a moment before deciding to report the matter of Moya to Marine Headquarters; he was not skilled at analyzing such things, so it was better to leave it to the higher-ups.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

"The East Blue has produced such a figure? The Alvida Pirates, the Buggy Pirates, the former Black Cat Pirates, the Krieg Pirates, and Arlong's Fishman Pirates."

"It seems the Oto Oto no Mi user, the El Drago Pirates, has also been subjugated. That is quite an achievement."

Sengoku praised, though in truth, he did not place much importance on such characters in the East Blue, a sea generally considered weak.

"Current intelligence indicates that while he does not fly a pirate flag, based on the headcount, he has incorporated every pirate crew he has defeated. This is not a good sign."

Tsuru, the Great Staff Officer of the Navy, calmly deduced based on the intelligence.

"Perhaps he is lying low to enter the Grand Line; there is a high probability he will become a pirate, though he is indeed currently helping civilians."

"He has done quite a bit of work for that bunch of useless marines in the East Blue, yet he has not turned these wanted pirates in for bounties. This alone is enough to judge that he is a man with ambition."

"The most immediate justification would be to issue a warrant for him on the charge of harboring wanted criminals. Is that necessary?"

"Forget it, let us observe him a while longer. Once he reaches Loguetown, before he enters the Grand Line, we shall conduct a thorough investigation to see if he truly intends to become a pirate. Notify Smoker in Loguetown to keep a close watch on him—make him a priority."

On the Yanhuang, Moya guided his various officers in their training. Looking at this sizable fleet, he realized their actual combat strength was not very high, and he began to consider whether he should streamline them. Should he take the elite route?

Moya was somewhat conflicted. A massive fleet was too bloated; when faced with true powerhouses, they would be utterly defenseless. How could he maximize his benefits?

After a brief moment of thought, he realized these people currently served only one purpose: to help him find the owner of the Bari Bari no Mi, Bartolomeo, in Loguetown as quickly as possible.

It was merely to facilitate Moya's recruitment of Bartolomeo, and nothing more.