"Surprise" from the Sky

On the top floor of the Marine base, inside the colonel's office.

Heavy curtains blocked out the sunlight, making the room seem gloomy.

"Soldier, tell me."

Colonel Morgan sat behind an enormous mahogany desk, half his face hidden in shadow. Only the metal jaw embedded in his chin glinted coldly.

"I'm the greatest man in this world, aren't I?"

The Marine standing before him nodded frantically.

"Yes, yes! Colonel Morgan! Your greatness is beyond doubt!"

"Then why..." Morgan's voice was low. "Have the treasures the townspeople offer up been decreasing lately?"

"Uh... well..." The soldier broke out in a cold sweat and stammered an explanation.

"Because the townspeople's financial situation is limited, and there have been pirate disturbances recently..."

"Hm?"

Morgan suddenly raised his head, his fierce eyes locking onto the soldier.

"That is not an excuse," Morgan said coldly.

"The problem is that they do not fear me enough."

"As long as they fear me enough, even if they have to sell their sons and daughters, they will gather the money."

"Colonel Morgan!"

Just then, the office doors were violently slammed open.

The two Marines Victor had driven away earlier stumbled inside, their faces pale as paper.

"B-Bad news!"

"What are you panicking for?!"

"Pirates! Pirates have broken in! They even said they want to challenge you!"

One of the soldiers panted heavily as he shouted in terror.

"If you don't go down, they'll kill Young Master Helmeppo..."

The room instantly fell into deathly silence.

Morgan slowly rose to his feet. His already towering body now seemed even more oppressive.

His eyes widened, as if he had heard some unbelievable joke.

"Pirates? Challenge me?"

Crack—boom!

Morgan suddenly swung his arm, and the previously pristine mahogany desk was instantly cleaved in two by a flash of cold light. The cut was smooth as a mirror.

Wood chips flew everywhere, frightening several Marines so badly that they nearly collapsed.

Attached to his arm was an enormous double-bladed axe, its edge still covered in splinters.

"Someone actually dares provoke me, Axe-Hand Morgan?!"

Morgan roared, his voice making the windows buzz.

"Listen up! Since I am your colonel and hold the highest rank!"

"That means—I am the strongest and most correct person here!"

He strode out from behind the ruins of his desk, his gaze dark and terrifying.

"Pass down the order! Everyone is to go to the rooftop immediately and raise my giant stone statue!"

"To celebrate my imminent execution of those ignorant rats, I will let all of Shells Town witness my magnificent figure!"

"As for those pirates..." Morgan sneered and tightened his grip on the giant axe. "Before that, I will personally chop off their heads!"

"Yes, Colonel Morgan!!"

Meanwhile, in a corridor inside the base building.

"Hm? Where is it?"

Luffy looked around while carrying Helmeppo, who had already been beaten beyond recognition.

Seeing that the guy remained silent, Luffy simply stopped and gave that swollen face several more resounding slaps.

"Hey, butt-head, wake up! Tell me where Zoro's swords are!"

Helmeppo wanted to die right then and there.

First, that red-eyed devil had crushed his wrist. Now this straw-hat lunatic was using him as a punching bag and slapping him around.

His face had swollen into something like a pig's head, and his eyes had been squeezed into thin slits.

"W-Waaah... stop hitting me... They're... they're in my room..." Helmeppo cried unclearly.

"Oh? Where's your room?"

"Up there... Please, don't hit me again..."

Having gotten his answer, Luffy immediately raced upstairs with Helmeppo in hand. Before long, he kicked open the door to a lavishly decorated bedroom.

Various expensive ornaments hung on the walls, but in one corner, three swords rested quietly against the wall.

One had a white scabbard, while the other two had black scabbards.

"Found them!"

Luffy's eyes lit up, and he rushed over to scoop up all three swords.

"Hm? There are three? Which one is it?"

He tilted his head in thought, then broke into a grin. "Whatever. There are three of us, so one each! So cool!"

Luffy expertly strapped all three swords to his back, then casually tossed Helmeppo onto the floor like a piece of trash.

Just then, hurried, dense footsteps sounded from outside in the corridor.

A large group of Marines was shouting as they ran toward the roof.

"Quick! Move faster! Colonel Morgan has ordered us to raise the statue immediately!"

"They need more people over there! Go pull the ropes!"

Luffy's curiosity was instantly piqued, and he ran to the corridor's edge to peek out.

"Wow, why are so many people rushing around?"

Hearing this, Helmeppo, who was lying on the floor, had a malicious gleam flash through his eyes.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

His father might be on the rooftop right now.

If he could trick this idiot into going up there, his father would definitely tear him to pieces!

"Cough, cough... Mr... Pirate..."

Enduring the agony, Helmeppo forced out a smile uglier than a sob. "At the very top... is the most precious treasure in our base..."

"Treasure?!"

Those two words were like some kind of switch. Luffy's eyes instantly turned into glittering Beli symbols, and his tongue even stuck out.

"Really?! Is there tasty meat and treasure?"

"Of course..." Helmeppo sneered inwardly and continued to lure him in. "Only strong people are allowed to go there."

"Alright! Thanks, butt-head!"

Luffy did not doubt him at all. He turned and charged toward the stairs leading to the rooftop along with the stream of Marines.

Watching Luffy's disappearing back, Helmeppo revealed a sinister smile.

"Go die, idiot! My father will definitely chop you into minced meat! Hahahaha—ow!"

Because he laughed too hard and pulled at the wounds on his face, his sinister laughter instantly turned into a scream.

On the rooftop of the base building.

The wild wind howled.

Dozens of Marines shouted in unison as they used pulleys and thick hemp ropes to laboriously pull a huge object covered by canvas.

"One, two! Pull!"

Just as everyone was sweating heavily, a straw-hatted figure shot up onto the roof with a whoosh.

"Treasure! Where's the treasure?!"

Luffy looked around with shining eyes, only to find nothing besides a group of exhausted Marines and a huge rock covered by canvas.

"What the heck..."

Luffy pouted in disappointment as he looked at the statue that had only been raised halfway.

"What an ugly chunk of rock. Is this treasure too?"

Bored, he walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down.

The moment he did, he saw that the atmosphere on the parade ground below had already become tense.

Victor and Zoro stood alone against a group of fully armed Marines.

And across from them, a tall man with an iron axe attached to his hand was walking toward them with a murderous expression.

"Ah! Oh no, oh no!"

Luffy smacked his forehead. "I got so busy looking for treasure that I forgot Victor was waiting below! I still haven't brought Zoro's swords to him either!"

Jumping from this high up would not kill him, but it would be too slow.

Luffy's eyes rolled, and his gaze landed on the enormous stone statue behind him that had only just been pulled halfway upright.

"Hehe, got it!"

Luffy took a few steps back, then suddenly thrust out both arms.

"Rubber Rubber—"

His hands instantly stretched out like two elastic ropes, tightly wrapping around the neck of the enormous stone statue.

The Marines pulling the ropes froze as they watched the strange scene.

"What... what the hell is that? His arms got longer?"

Luffy ignored their shock entirely. Using the rebound force of his rubber body, he retreated all the way to the rooftop's edge, his body pulled taut like a bow ready to fire.

"—Bazooka!!!"

Boom!

The enormous elastic force was released in an instant!

Luffy shot toward the parade ground below like an arrow leaving the string.

However, everyone had underestimated the force of Luffy's attack, as well as... how unstable that statue was.

Under the tremendous pulling force, Colonel Morgan's statue, which had not yet been secured, let out a teeth-grinding scrape.

Crack!

The ropes snapped.

"Ahhh! The statue! Colonel's statue is falling!!" the Marines screamed in terror.

The enormous stone statue was forcibly yanked over by Luffy's pull.

Rolling along the trajectory of Luffy's flight with a thunderous rumble, it then slipped over the edge of the rooftop—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Luffy flew ahead while the several-ton stone statue followed closely behind, carrying an earth-shattering momentum...

It crashed straight down toward Colonel Morgan below, who was just about to put on a show...

"Victor! Zoro! I'm coming!!"

Luffy's excited shout rang out from midair.

Below, Colonel Morgan had just reached the center of the parade ground and was preparing to deliver an imposing speech when he suddenly felt the sky above him darken.

He looked up in confusion.

"Hm?"