Who Do You Think We Are?

"Who are you?"

Linley returned to the grassland area of the deserted island from the warship, holding the Den Den Mushi.

The Marines who were resting saw this and surrounded him. Just as they were about to speak, Linley waved them to stop.

Linley pointed at the Den Den Mushi and mouthed a few words.

"Quiet, listen."

The Marines quietly gathered around.

"You're not from Windmill Village, are you? Why did you pick up the Den Den Mushi here?"

At the same time, the mustached man on the other end of the Den Den Mushi didn't answer Linley's question but instead burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha, [BOSS] Lynn Barek, our Captain Kuro sends his regards!"

That "[Hundred Schemes] Kuro"?

Linley's brow furrowed.

He recalled that when he was on Granny Siya's merchant ship heading to Windmill Village, he had a brief encounter with Kuro's Black Cat Pirates.

However, according to Jango at the time, Kuro wasn't on the ship, so Linley didn't think much of it.

After all, besides the so-called "Silent Step" that made Linley a little curious, Kuro was a nobody, not worth his attention.

But now, it seemed the situation was clearly not like that.

"What are you doing in Windmill Village?" Linley asked, frowning.

"Visiting," the mustached man on the other end replied with a smile. "Captain Kuro had already guessed that you would contact Windmill Village again, so he sent us to wait here to give you some news."

"What news?"

"You know a woman named Makino, right?"

After the mustached man said this, the Marines around Linley suddenly felt a chill.

It wasn't due to a change in temperature, but a psychological pressure.

They had never seen the usually carefree Lynn Barek wear such an expression.

It was a face that had reached the peak of anger and then become calm.

"Speak, what are your demands?"

The mustached man laughed heartily upon hearing this. "It seems you really know her. That woman didn't lie to us."

"I'm warning you."

Linley's expression was terrifyingly cold. "If anyone I know gets hurt because of you, I swear I will hunt you down to the ends of the sea!"

"Don't be so hasty, [BOSS]!"

The Den Den Mushi displayed the mustached man's smug face.

"That woman is already in Loguetown. Captain Kuro wants you to meet him, and you can only go alone. Otherwise, Captain Kuro won't hesitate to kill the hostage!"

Linley sneered, "A guy with a bounty of merely sixteen million Beli dares to set his sights on me?"

"Hahahaha, Captain Kuro had already anticipated you would ask that!"

The mustached man said excitedly, "He told me to relay a message to you."

"What message?"

"Even ants can shake trees if they use everything."

"Do you really want to be crushed to death?" Linley said slowly.

"Hahahahaha!"

The mustached man laughed heartily. "Lynn Barek, we await your arrival in Loguetown. By the way, the alcohol in this village is really good!"

Click!

Before he could finish speaking, the Den Den Mushi call was hung up.

At the same time, the entire deserted island fell silent.

All the Marines were silently processing the news they had just heard.

Meanwhile, Linley stood up and slowly walked towards the port.

Smoker saw this and called out, "Hey, where are you going?"

"Does that even need asking?" Linley clenched his fist and replied, "Loguetown."

On the other side, some Marines had already found Kuro's Bounty Poster and profile.

"Kuro, bounty of 16 million Beli, nicknamed '[Hundred Schemes]', weapon is the Ten-Blade Cat Claws, skilled in schemes and tricks, has escaped the Marines' pursuit multiple times."

Smoker also lit a cigar and said, "If that Kuro intends to threaten you through kidnapping, a normal meeting place would be on some deserted island, which is the most suitable for ambushes or arranging personnel, not in Loguetown."

Smoker flicked the ash from his cigar. "That Kuro must have a scheme."

Linley naturally understood this.

Captain Kuro had chosen Loguetown—a town with a large population and convenient transportation—as the meeting place, which was indeed extremely unusual.

However, this didn't matter to Linley.

He clenched his fist, veins bulging, and grinned at Smoker.

"Who do you think I am?"

He was the BOSS, Linley Barek!

In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks were useless!

Smoker was shocked by the absolute confidence of the man before him, but he still took a puff of his cigar and said, "What about the villagers of Windmill Village?"

This question did indeed make Linley fall silent.

The current situation was that one group of pirates had kidnapped Makino to Loguetown, while another group of pirates remained in Windmill Village.

In other words, both Makino and the villagers of Windmill Village were hostages of Kuro's side!

Even if Linley defeated the enemy in one location, the hostages in the other location could still be killed in a desperate act by the enemy.

Alternatively, if Linley went to Loguetown alone, Kuro there could use the villagers of Windmill Village as a threat, leaving Linley with no way to respond!

"Calm down. No matter how strong one person is, they can't be in two places at once."

Linley frowned. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Rely on us."

Smoker replied.

He used his ability to pull a table from a distance.

Another Marine placed a map of the areas around Loguetown and Windmill Village on the table.

Then, without any direct communication, the Marines present quickly filled in the map with the information and data they knew.

Linley stared at the scene before him, too shocked to speak.

The Marines were cooperating as if they had planned it all in advance!

"Hey, hey, I heard your branch is full of guys who only know how to fight. Can you understand the symbols I'm marking?"

"Are you underestimating us, you scoundrel? Rather, don't misjudge my combat power. I don't want my fight to be too boring!"

"Everyone be quiet, I'm studying the action route."

"I already decided, you're too slow!"

"This plan won't work, mine is ten times better!"

Without anyone giving orders, these Marines devised several rescue plans for Windmill Village at astonishing speed.

"You're going to help me?" Linley asked, somewhat surprised.

"Help a wanted criminal? Are you kidding me!" Smoker looked at the map, his brow furrowed.

He snorted. "This is a heinous incident of pirates kidnapping civilians. As Marines, we can't just ignore it!"

A Marine patted Smoker on the shoulder and smiled at Linley, "Don't mind him, he always looks unhappy. But when it comes to dealing with pirates, there's no one more suitable than us Marines!"

"That's right, that's right. We were just about to test our training results from our time on the island!"

"I think you're just too lazy to train!"

"You scoundrel, if you have the guts, let's have a one-on-one after this is over."

"Bring it on, who's afraid of you!"

"..."

The Marines were chattering, all saying the same thing—

They had decided to suspend their training and go rescue the hostages kidnapped by the pirates first!

This was the best news. With enough manpower, the safety of the hostages would also be guaranteed.

Thinking of this, Linley stepped forward and analyzed, "The warship can't sail directly to Windmill Village, otherwise the pirates there will discover us in advance."

A long time after he finished speaking, there was no response from the Marines.

Linley looked up at them in confusion, only to find that the Marines' expressions had become extremely displeased, and they had no intention of paying attention to him.

Did he say something wrong?

At this moment, Smoker snorted and retorted with Linley's own words.

"Linley Barek, who do you think we are?"

Only then did Linley remember that the Marines before him were all elite recruits selected from various branches and trained in Rokushiki by Garp.

In other words, among the new generation of Marines, they were the top geniuses!

Including Linley, everyone on this island possessed their own pride that could not be challenged!