The Showdown

"Wuwu... no...!"

"Wuwu... save us!"

Sensing the threat of death, the women cried out for help, but it only made Marcus smile more cruelly.

Just as they fell into despair, another black shadow appeared... Clang!

Jabra's claws collided with Marcus's, the crisp, ringing sound spreading outward... Then Reg's Tempest Kick carved a deep wound across Marcus's back.

"Another one here to die. You people of the World—" Marcus suddenly roared.

"Shut up!"

Reg appeared with Shave and delivered a heavy kick to his head, cutting Marcus off.

Seeing Reg injured, Jabra's eyes turned bloodshot, and his speed abruptly doubled... He continuously slashed wound after wound across Marcus's body, giving him no chance to speak at all.

Faced with such fierce attacks, Marcus said nothing more... No matter how furious he was, he would not gamble with his own life.

With blood flowing from his wounds, Reg approached the four women huddled together. "There are some things you shouldn't have heard."

Reg knocked them unconscious, then casually tore off part of his clothing to bandage himself... They were slaves who had been captured and were not part of the mission.

But if they had heard the World Government's dirty secrets... even if Reg and Jabra did not kill them, they would be silenced during the subsequent investigation.

Slash... Marcus blocked with his arm, but Jabra seized another opening and added a massive wound to his back.

Even with such severe injuries, Marcus, transformed into a half-bear, remained extraordinarily fierce... His swinging bear paws smashed everything around him to pieces.

Yet he could not even touch a corner of Jabra's clothes... The enemy also had a Devil Fruit, and wielded it far more skillfully than he did. Marcus gradually began to despair, but that did not mean he would obediently wait to die.

Facing an enemy far faster than himself, Marcus transformed into his beast form and focused on defense... Jabra's attacks immediately did far less damage, and even Reg's Tempest Kicks could only leave shallow wounds.

After a series of collisions... Jabra and Reg exchanged a glance, then stopped in front of Marcus.

"Iron Body: Wolf Fang!"

After briefly gathering his strength, Jabra's arms bulged... Seeing this, Marcus abruptly shifted into his half-human form. "Die, you arrogant brat!"

The next second, his enormous bear paws were covered in countless afterimages... Jabra's claws, swinging at high speed with Iron Body, directly overwhelmed Marcus.

As the claws pressed forward, Marcus tried to retreat, only for Reg to appear behind him and kick off his escape route... Splat, splat!

As though he had been struck by shotgun pellets, Marcus's chest became riddled with dense holes... There were even more than a dozen gashes where his heart had been.

Thud... Marcus died with eyes full of hatred and unwillingness. His black fur quickly faded, and his body eerily returned to human form.

Although Reg knew that after a Devil Fruit user died, the fruit they had eaten would reappear somewhere in nature... seeing it with his own eyes still made him frown.

Was this connected to the Great Kingdom Dr. Clover had spoken of?

Was it connected to the people in the murals on the moon?

Why was the moon's name "Birka," the same as Enel's hometown?

Why was his dream the moon known as "Endless Vearth"?

The people in those murals could be powered by electricity... was that related to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit Enel had eaten?

There were too many secrets hidden in this world. Even with the memories of his previous life, Reg still knew very little about it.

But Reg also knew that this was not the time to think about such things... The mission was over, and he needed to lay his cards on the table.

Those unconscious women could also conveniently help guide the story of his "death."

"Jabra, put down the Transponder Snail we use for contact first."

Reg wiped the sweat from his forehead, interrupting Jabra's movement.

"Big brother?"

Although confused, Jabra still set down the Transponder Snail wearing a black hat.

"Let's go to the house in the middle. There's a safe there."

"Hehe... alright."

Jabra gave a strange laugh and slapped his forehead before quickly heading over... They only needed to hand over part of the unexpected wealth gained from missions.

The part they kept was a kind of indirect bounty... Colin had specifically explained that.

Reg turned to glance at the four unconscious women left behind, shook his head, and walked away... He could only leave the cleanup to Jabra.

Crash... There was no need for a key. Jabra casually smashed the door apart.

There was no need for light either. Jabra's eyes glimmered faintly, and then he pounced forward... Riiip!

A piercing sound rang out, and Jabra soon emerged carrying the safe... His wolf claws had easily sliced open the side of the iron box, revealing gold, jewelry, and stack after stack of Beri inside.

"Big brother, there isn't much gold or jewelry... probably about 50 million Beri." Jabra poured everything out with a clatter.

Reg nodded. "I need 000 Beri."

"Just take it all... It's no use to me anyway." Jabra scratched his head.

"No. Next, listen to me..."

Reg did not look at the Beri. Instead, he spoke seriously.