Those Scum Really Deserve to Die!

Those Scum Really Deserve to Die!

After everything had settled, Vice Admiral Garp and the Marines led by Major General Rocca finally arrived at the Neil Kingdom's royal palace.

They were like those righteous allies in movies who always arrived late. They were never absent, but they were always late.

The raging hurricane outside the main hall dissipated, Aokiji released his power, and the ice wall before them crumbled apart.

Yoriichi and Aokiji walked out of the hall, just in time to see Garp and Rocca leading a group of Marines in surrounding the entire building.

Yoriichi's gaze lingered only briefly on Garp and Rocca before he could not help looking toward the palace walls in the distance.

A large hole had somehow appeared in the towering palace wall. Beside it stood the palace gate, which was also wide open.

Yoriichi was certain that the Mud-Mud Fruit user who had created the mud fortress had already been dealt with by the time Garp and the others arrived. Even so, Garp had still refused to take the normal route.

Seeing Yoriichi and Aokiji emerge from the hall, Garp and Rocca merely glanced inside before turning their attention to the two of them.

Garp grinned and patted Major General Rocca on the back, saying with a hint of pride:

"Uncle Rocca, my two brats have already taken care of this."

"You don't need to thank me."

"I'll let you have the credit. Just make sure you look after them if they run into trouble in the future."

Garp's smile was dazzling. With his Observation Haki, he had already grasped the scene inside the hall. The headless corpse lying beside the throne was clearly Tsugikuni Yoriichi's handiwork. As for the ice shards on the ground, they should have been Aokiji's doing.

Garp was very familiar with the fighting styles of those two!

When Garp had brought Tsugikuni Yoriichi from Dragon Roar Island, Yoriichi had personally wiped out a group of pirates, beheading them one by one with every slash. His ruthless methods were exactly the same as they were now.

As for Aokiji, his Devil Fruit power was no secret within the Marines. Besides, Aokiji had been under Garp for some time already, so Garp knew him well.

"Hmph!"

"Why would I thank you?!"

"It's already generous of me not to hold you accountable."

"The pirates had clearly already been dealt with by these two boys, yet you still had to destroy the palace wall."

"Do you think you won't have to pay for that?!"

"I'll report this to Kong and have it deducted from your salary!"

Rocca snorted and replied unhappily. Yet Garp felt not the slightest bit guilty. Looking entirely unconcerned, he picked his nose with his little finger, clearly not taking Rocca's words to heart.

Seeing Garp's shameless state, Rocca could only sigh. He summoned his adjutant and whispered a few words into his ear before walking over to Yoriichi and Aokiji. His attitude changed completely as he said with a smile:

"Young men, you've done very well!"

"I received intelligence that the ones who attacked the palace were the Nyuk Pirates!"

"Their captain, Nyuk, was a Logia user who had eaten the Mud-Mud Fruit, with a bounty as high as 200 million!"

"He caused plenty of trouble back in the North Blue. He was a troublesome fellow."

"He also had quite a few capable men under him. You did well to wipe out the Nyuk Pirates!"

"To accomplish something like this at such a young age—you were far more impressive than I was back then!"

Rocca made no effort to hide his admiration for Aokiji and Tsugikuni Yoriichi, praising them with a smile.

By then, Rocca's adjutant had returned to his side and reported, "Major General Rocca, there are no more enemies in the hall. The king's body has been found, and the queen and several maids have been successfully rescued."

"We also found the body of Nyuk, captain of the Nyuk Pirates, and have confirmed that Nyuk was killed."

"As for the rest of the Nyuk Pirates—"

Before the adjutant could finish, Rocca smiled and waved his hand. "Record them as completely annihilated. That will do."

"Young people these days are truly incredible!"

Rocca's gaze rested on Aokiji for a moment before shifting to Tsugikuni Yoriichi. Rocca knew about Aokiji's abilities, but compared to Aokiji, it was Yoriichi, this teenage boy, who truly amazed him.

Rocca's Observation Haki was exceptionally powerful, and he had long since understood the scene inside the hall. The state of Nyuk's corpse made it obvious that he had been beheaded in a single slash, with practically no signs of a fight left behind.

An instant kill! An absolute instant kill!

Rocca knew that Aokiji definitely had not been the one capable of doing that.

Aokiji was already fairly well-known in the Marines, and that was not his fighting style. Since it had not been Aokiji, the one who had killed Nyuk was obvious: the boy named Tsugikuni Yoriichi standing beside Aokiji.

One slash to instantly kill a great pirate with a 200-million bounty...

"If I remember correctly, Garp told me you were only twelve, right, little fellow?!"

"Hehehe, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, was it? It's a waste of your talent to stay by Garp's side. Well, are you interested in following this old man instead?"

"I'll treat you as my successor and train you properly."

Rocca bent down slightly and patted Yoriichi on the shoulder. Major General Rocca did not hide his fondness for Tsugikuni Yoriichi at all, poaching him right in front of Garp.

Yoriichi was slightly stunned when he heard that. He had not expected the old major general to suddenly say such a thing. With a soft chuckle, he shook his head.

"Thank you for your favor, Major General Rocca, but I still want to sail with Vice Admiral Garp."

"I want to see a broader sea."

Yoriichi did not hesitate in the slightest when he turned Rocca down. Although Rocca was a kind old man and Yoriichi did not dislike him, compared to staying at a Marine Branch under Major General Rocca, Yoriichi would rather go out to sea with Garp.

At the very least, Garp was the strongest Marine he knew of. And Roger was still roaming the seas at this time. By following Garp, Yoriichi might have a chance to witness the Pirate King's strength. He still greatly yearned to meet those powerful figures who stood at the pinnacle of the seas.

Yoriichi was a simple person. He had no desire for wealth, fame, or power.

He only hoped that when he had the chance to travel this world, he would not always see ruined walls and fields strewn with corpses.

He hoped his strength would continue to grow, that he could fight all kinds of powerful opponents, and defeat them.

Training was addictive, really, much like working out.

Watching one's body gradually change for the better, watching one's strength steadily increase—such pleasure was difficult to describe with words.

Battle was addictive as well. Defeating powerful opponents gave Yoriichi an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

"Is that so? What a pity."

"I know you're not a Marine yet. Whether it's Garp or Zephyr, neither of them will restrict your freedom."

"Yoriichi, if you have time, you can come visit me."

The disappointment on Rocca's face flashed away in an instant, and he spoke with a warm smile. He did not continue chatting with Yoriichi after that, instead beginning to direct the Marine Branch soldiers to clean up the battlefield and comfort the victims.

What happened afterward had nothing to do with Yoriichi or Aokiji. A lieutenant from the branch briefly asked them about what had happened, then allowed them to leave.

Aokiji and Yoriichi returned to the snack street they had visited earlier, eating and wandering around. But because of the Nyuk Pirates, neither of them was in a very good mood. After strolling for only a short while, they hurried back to the Marine Branch.

"Pirates really are rampant!"

"For the sake of things like wealth and power, they freely harm innocent people. Those scum all deserve to die!"

On a lawn somewhere within the Marine Branch, Yoriichi sat beneath a tree with his eyes closed, meditating.

Sitting still and emptying one's mind in meditation was actually a very good way to relax.

Aokiji lay beside Yoriichi with both hands behind his head. Staring up at the azure sky, he suddenly spoke.

Several hours had passed since the battle, but Aokiji was still thinking about it. This young Marine was at the age when he hated evil with a passion, and the anger in his heart had not faded so quickly.

"They do deserve to die. Isn't that why you became a Marine—to punish people like them?"

"You did it too, so why are you still thinking about such upsetting things?"

Yoriichi asked somewhat helplessly. He was trying to meditate here, while this bastard kept muttering beside him and venting his anger. He truly had not expected the cold Aokiji from his memories to have been such a hot-blooded youth when he was young.

"Ha!"

"That's right. I became a Marine general to punish people like them!"

"And I did it too!"

Aokiji nodded at those words and murmured quietly. After speaking, he fell silent.

"Those scum really fucking deserve to die!"

Out of nowhere, after only a few minutes of silence, Aokiji blurted out another curse.

""