Who Do You Think We Are?

"Who are you?"

Holding the Den Den Mushi, Lynn returned from the warship to the grasslands of the Uninhabited Island.

The resting Marines gathered around when they saw him, but just as they were about to speak, Lynn stopped them with a wave of his hand.

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

Quiet. Listen.

The Marines silently gathered around him.

"You're not from Foosha Village, are you? Why did you answer this Den Den Mushi?"

At the same time, the mustached man on the other end ignored Lynn's question and burst into laughter instead.

"Hahahaha! BOSS Lynn Barek, Captain Kuro asked me to send you his regards!"

That Hundred Plans Kuro?

Lynn frowned deeply.

He recalled that when he had traveled to Foosha Village aboard Granny Siya's merchant ship, he had crossed paths with Kuro's Black Cat Pirates.

But according to Jango at the time, Kuro had not been aboard the ship, so Lynn had not given it much thought.

After all, aside from that so-called "Silent Step," which had piqued Lynn's curiosity somewhat, Kuro was nothing more than a minor figure, not worth his attention.

But now, it seemed the situation had clearly not been so simple.

"What are you doing in Foosha Village?" Lynn asked with a frown.

"Visiting." The mustached man chuckled. "Captain Kuro already guessed that you would contact Foosha Village again, so he sent us here to wait for you and deliver a message."

"What message?"

"You know a woman named Makino, right?"

The moment the mustached man spoke those words, the Marines around Lynn suddenly felt a chill run through them.

It was not caused by any change in temperature, but by an oppressive force that weighed on their minds.

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

It was the face of someone whose rage had reached its limit, only to become calm.

"Go on. What are your demands?"

The mustached man burst out laughing. "So you really do know her. That woman didn't lie to us."

"I'm warning you."

Lynn's expression was terrifyingly cold. "If anyone I know gets hurt because of you, I swear I'll 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 hopes you'll come meet him alone. Otherwise, Captain Kuro won't hesitate to kill the hostage!"

Lynn sneered. "A guy worth a mere sixteen million berries dares set his sights on me?"

"Hahahaha, Captain Kuro knew you would ask that!"

The mustached man said excitedly, "He told me to pass along a sentence."

"What?"

"As long as one uses everything at one's disposal, even an ant can shake a tree."

"Are you that eager to be crushed?" Lynn said slowly.

"Hahahahaha!"

The mustached man laughed loudly. "Lynn Barek, Loguetown awaits your arrival! By the way, the liquor in this village is really good!"

Click!

Before he had even finished speaking, the Den Den Mushi had already been hung up.

At the same time, the entire Uninhabited Island fell silent.

Every Marine silently processed the news they had just heard.

Then Lynn stood and slowly headed toward the harbor.

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

"Isn't it obvious?" Lynn clenched his fist and answered, "Loguetown."

Meanwhile, some Marines had already found Kuro's Bounty Poster and information.

"Kuro. Bounty: Sixteen million berries. Alias: Hundred Plans. Weapon: Ten-Blade Cat Claws. Skilled in schemes and plots. Has escaped Marine pursuit multiple times."

Smoker lit a cigar as well and said,

"If that Kuro intends to threaten you through kidnapping, the normal meeting place should be some Uninhabited Island, where it would be easiest to set an ambush or arrange manpower. It shouldn't be Loguetown."

Smoker flicked away some ash. "That Kuro must be planning something."

Of course Lynn understood that.

Kuro had set the meeting place in Loguetown—a densely populated town with routes leading in every direction. It was indeed highly unusual.

But to Lynn, it made no difference.

He clenched his fists, veins bulging across them, and grinned at Smoker.

"Who do you think I am?"

He was BOSS Lynn Barek!

Before absolute strength, every scheme and plot was useless!

Smoker was shocked by the absolute confidence of the man before him, but he still took a puff of his cigar before speaking.

"What about the villagers of Foosha Village?"

That question truly left Lynn silent.

The situation should be this: one group of pirates had kidnapped Makino and taken her to Loguetown, while another group remained in Foosha Village.

In other words, both Makino and the villagers of Foosha Village were hostages in Kuro's hands!

Even if Lynn defeated the enemies in one location, the hostages in the other might still be subjected to the enemy's desperate retaliation.

Or perhaps Lynn would go alone to Loguetown, only for Kuro there to threaten him with the villagers of Foosha Village, leaving Lynn completely helpless!

"Calm down. No matter how strong one person is, he can't handle both sides at once."

Lynn frowned. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Rely on us."

Smoker answered.

He used his ability to pull a table over from afar.

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

Then, without any direct communication, the Marines rapidly filled the map with the information and intelligence they knew.

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

Those Marines worked together as though they had planned it beforehand!

"Hey, I heard you branch types are all brutes who only know how to fight. You can understand the symbols I marked, right?"

"Are you looking down on us, bastard? You should be more worried about underestimating my fighting ability. I don't want my battle to be too boring!"

"Stop arguing. I'm studying the operation routes."

"I already figured them out. You're too slow!"

"That plan won't work. Mine is ten times better!"

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

"You're going to help me?" Lynn asked in surprise.

"Help a wanted criminal? What kind of joke is that?" Smoker stared at the map with a deep frown.

He snorted. "This is a serious case of pirates kidnapping civilians. As Marines, there's no way we can ignore it!"

One Marine patted Smoker on the shoulder and smiled at Lynn. "Ignore him. He always looks unhappy, but when it comes to dealing with pirates, no one is more suitable than us Marines!"

"Yeah, yeah! This is the perfect chance to test the results of all our training on the island!"

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

"Bastard, if you've got guts, fight me one-on-one after this is over."

"Bring it on. Who's afraid of you?"

"..."

The Marines all talked over one another, but they were saying the same thing—

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

This was the best possible news. With enough manpower, the hostages' safety could be ensured.

Thinking that, Lynn stepped forward and analyzed the situation as well. "The warship can't sail directly to Foosha Village, or the pirates there will spot it in advance."

"..."

A long while passed after he finished speaking, yet no response came from the Marines.

Lynn looked up at them in confusion, only to find that every Marine wore an extremely displeased expression and had no desire to pay him any attention.

Had he said something wrong?

At that moment, Smoker snorted and threw Lynn's own words back at him.

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

Only then did Lynn remember that the Marines before him were all elite recruits selected from various branches to study Rokushiki under Garp.

In other words, among the new generation of Marines, they were all the most outstanding geniuses!

Everyone on this island, Lynn included, possessed a pride that would not tolerate being challenged!