A Show of Force? I Came Here to Kill

After reading the secret order, Rochi felt no headache at having to take over this mess. Instead, a terrifying crimson glow surged wildly in the depths of his pitch-black eyes!

Kill off a batch of utterly rotten Marines?!

He had thought that after becoming a base commander, he could only hunt pirates at sea for experience. Who would have expected the branch itself to prepare a batch of "legal" internal experience packs for him!

Corruption? Tumors?

Before his absolute violence, they were all nothing more than walking experience points!

"What a... blood-boiling welcome gift."

A cruel smile curled across Rochi's lips. He casually crumpled the classified document into a ball, then flexed his fingers sharply. With a bang, the paper ball instantly burst into scraps that scattered through the air.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire ship. His voice was like a frigid wind blowing from Nine Nether Hell, resounding throughout the naval harbor:

"All hands, heed my command!"

"Set course for the G-8 Branch! Sail out—!"

"Yes, Navy Colonel!"

Five hundred elites roared as one. The massive warship cut through the waves and sailed grandly out of Marineford.

The voyage to the G-8 Branch would take two days and two nights.

During those two days, Lace diligently observed her young superior, trying to figure out his temperament and habits.

But the results of her observations made her increasingly alarmed, until her scalp went numb!

Because for a full forty-eight hours!

Aside from three high-calorie meals a day, Rochi had not lain down to rest for even a single minute!

During the day, he trained in extreme hand-to-hand combat on deck amid raging wind and rain, his punches powerful enough to shatter the raindrops crashing down on him;

At night, he sat in meditation inside his cabin with his eyes closed. The almost tangible fluctuations of Observation Haki radiating from his body pressed down on the veteran sailors so heavily that they did not even dare breathe loudly!

"He's like a mechanical monster that never knows exhaustion, born solely for slaughter and becoming stronger..."

Lace stood on the bridge, watching that figure still throwing punches madly beneath the night sky.

Following a commanding officer like this, they would either make their names famous across the seas or die on the battlefield. There was absolutely no chance of living an ordinary life!

On the morning of the third day, the thick sea fog gradually dispersed.

A row of massive military fortresses built along the mountainside slowly appeared ahead of the warship.

Grand Line, G-8 Marine Branch!

The warship slowly docked at the spacious harbor pier.

Yet the moment the gangplank was lowered, Lace's face on the bridge turned livid, and uncontrollable fury blazed in her beautiful eyes!

The enormous branch dock was completely deserted!

The sea wind sent several discarded newspapers spinning through the air, while a few seagulls perched on rusted mooring ropes and cried mockingly.

Forget a grand welcome formation.

There was not even a single officer coming out to receive them on the dock, not even a guard standing watch!

"This is outrageous!"

Lace trembled with rage, her knuckles cracking as she clenched her fists.

"The new base commander is taking office, yet the entire branch has shut its doors and refused to come out! They have no regard for Headquarters, and no regard for you, Colonel!"

This was an open show of force! They were displaying the might of their local power to this young colonel who had been sent in from above!

"What is there to be angry about?"

Rochi stepped onto the stone slabs of the pier. There was not a ripple in his pitch-black eyes; instead, they gleamed dangerously, like a hunter spotting prey.

Advanced Observation Haki instantly spread outward, enveloping the entire fortress.

The next second, a teasing sneer lifted Rochi's lips.

"Let's go. I can hear where they're hiding."

"Since they won't come out to welcome us, we'll go say hello to them ourselves."

After passing through the cold, empty docks, Rochi strode at the front with his cape billowing behind him.

Lace gripped the pistol at her waist tightly and followed close behind, her face frosty.

Behind them came five hundred Headquarters elites, their eyes grim and their muskets in hand.

The group climbed the stone steps. Before they had gone far, an exceptionally noisy, chaotic din drifted over from behind the high wall ahead.

"Sixes! Drink!"

"Hahahaha! You lost! Finish that cup of wine!"

"Again, again! The officer said it today—no stopping until we're drunk!"

This was no Marine branch. It was clearly a bandit den without the slightest discipline!

What came from inside were not training chants at all, but the sounds of dice rolling, drinking games, and even drunken teasing!

Lace's expression darkened further. These parasites stationed on the Grand Line had utterly disgraced the Marines!

The group arrived before the entrance to the enormous semi-open training ground.

"Halt!"

Along with an extremely arrogant shout, two guards wearing their Marine sailor caps crookedly and with more than half their uniform buttons undone staggered in front of Rochi's group, liquor bottles dangling from their hands.

One of the guards, red-faced and reeking of alcohol, let out a belch. He rolled his eyes disdainfully and shouted:

"Which blind idiots are you? This is the restricted area of the G-8 Branch! The officers are inside 'training behind closed doors'! All unauthorized personnel are forbidden from entering! Get the hell out of here!"

"Insolence!"

Unable to suppress her fury any longer, Lace strode forward and slapped Rochi's colonel appointment papers and her own major's identification directly onto the guard's face, roaring sharply:

"Open your damn eyes and look carefully!"

"Standing before you is the new G-8 base commander appointed by Headquarters, Colonel Rochi!"

"Move aside at once and summon all your officers to line up and welcome him!"

Yet in the face of Lace's thunderous rage,

the two guards showed not the slightest panic. Instead, they exchanged glances, and mocking sneers even appeared on their lips.

"Oh, so you're the new base commander? You're so young—haven't you been weaned yet?"

The guard casually slapped away the appointment papers, raised his chin, and spoke in an exceptionally arrogant tone:

"My apologies, Major, but us brothers are low-ranking. We only follow the branch's orders!"

"Those above never gave us any notice to welcome a new commanding officer! Even if the king of heaven himself came today, without our deputy base commander's approval, you'll have to wait obediently outside!"

Defying orders!

And right before five hundred Headquarters elites, two gate guards actually dared openly defy a colonel!

The killing intent of the Headquarters elites behind them surged instantly as they pulled back the bolts of their muskets in unison!

Just as the conflict was about to erupt—

"Oh my, what are you all doing? Put down the guns. We're all friends here. Why wave weapons around and hurt everyone's feelings?"

An exceedingly slick, sarcastic voice came from inside the training ground.

Immediately afterward, a middle-aged Marine officer with a thin mustache and a huge beer belly emerged at a leisurely pace, his hands clasped behind his back and an expensive cigar clenched between his teeth.

The shoulder insignia on his uniform clearly bore the rank of lieutenant colonel!

He was none other than Bard, the G-8 Branch's second-in-command and its true power holder—the deputy base commander!