Destroying the 16th Marine Branch (Part 1)

"Mark, we're here!"

Daisy stood on the deck, gazing toward Orange Town in the distance.

Cocoyasi Village... they had arrived.

Mark looked at the little town buried deep in his memories and fell silent for a long time.

It had not changed. It was still that same town.

"Daisy, tell me directly which direction the 16th Marine Branch is from Orange Town!"

After all, more than ten years had passed. He could no longer remember where the Marines' base in Orange Town had been.

"Mm... let me look..." Daisy said.

The 16th Marine Branch was the branch managed by Colonel Nezumi, a place inhabited by a pack of scum masquerading as Marines. It was located within Orange Town.

The Ensign Nezumi of ten years ago had become the Colonel Nezumi of today.

The irony was overwhelming. A Marine who had once been nothing now sat in the position of branch base commander.

His method of rising through the ranks had been to substitute civilians for pirates and count their heads as achievements.

"There probably weren't many people who knew the truth back then. Maybe I'm the only one left..."

Mark's voice was somewhat heavy.

Those people would seize civilians by the dozen. After taking them away, they would issue notices claiming those people had been killed by pirates. Then they would announce that the pirates had already been killed by them, producing the unrecognizable civilian corpses and passing them off as so-called pirates.

Yet these people represented justice on the seas.

What bitter irony.

"Mark, I found it! It's right here!"

Daisy pointed toward an island adjacent to Orange Town. It was very close to them.

Mark looked at the island, raising an eyebrow. "They moved?"

After all, the 16th Marine Branch had still been in Orange Town more than ten years ago.

"That isn't surprising. Ten years have passed, after all. Some changes are normal," Daisy said.

Mark's eyes turned cold.

"Chiu Chiu, sail the ship over!"

"Yes, Captain!!!"

The island where the 16th Marine Branch was located was small, roughly half the size of Orange Town. Thick woodland covered its edges, concealing everything within the island completely.

"Stop the ship here. Daisy, watch the ship! Chiu Chiu, come with me!" After reaching the shore and dropping the anchor, Mark turned and gave his orders.

"I want to go too!" Daisy said unwillingly. "Mark, I'm a Repair Fruit user. I can definitely help you in battle."

Mark refused without hesitation. "No. I won't be at ease if you go. Stay here and look after our ship. If anything unexpected happens, the ship will be our only means of escaping. Nothing can happen to it."

Of course Mark knew about Daisy's ability. But they were attacking a Marine branch this time, and there were too many unknown factors. He still did not want Daisy to take the risk.

Mark's attitude was firm. Daisy pursed her lips and stared stubbornly at him for a long while, but he still showed no sign of agreeing.

At last, Daisy's resolve deflated. With a dejected expression, she said, "All right. Mark, you have to be careful."

She turned to the somewhat excited Chiu Chiu. "Help me take care of Mark!"

"Don't worry, Boss Daisy!" Chiu Chiu had gotten along well with Daisy over the past few days and naturally placed itself third in the pecking order.

Flap, flap. Chiu Chiu spread its wings and flew onto Mark's shoulder.

Perhaps because it had been eating well these past few days, Chiu Chiu stood about five feet tall with its neck stretched out. When fully spread, its wings spanned nearly fifteen feet. Coupled with its golden feathers, it looked exceptionally majestic.

It extended one wing and patted its chest, promising, "Don't worry, Boss Daisy. The boss won't be in danger. Besides, I can carry him while flying now. When the time comes, we'll make those Marines eat our dust from behind!"

"Be careful, both of you!" Daisy said worriedly.

Mark patted Daisy on the head to comfort her, then turned to Chiu Chiu on his shoulder.

"Chiu Chiu, let's go!"

"Hold on tight, Boss!"

Chiu Chiu extended a sharp claw, and Mark understood, grabbing it with one hand.

"Let's go!!!"

Whoosh! Golden wings spread wide, dazzling beneath the sunlight like those of a legendary divine beast. With one beat of its wings, it leaped more than thirty feet into the air.

Strands of electricity crackled over its wings, and it flew through the sky at tremendous speed.

Daisy watched their retreating figures, the worry in her eyes impossible to hide, along with a trace of stubbornness.

"Mark, I'm strong too!"

During her year adrift at sea, she had grown greatly, especially after obtaining the Repair Fruit and training under Donquixote Doflamingo for a long time.

Her combat ability was now quite formidable as well.

Unfortunately, Mark would not allow her to enter the 16th Marine Branch with them, so she could only remain here to guard their ship.

But one day, she would prove to Mark that she could fight alongside them too.

One man and one eagle crossed the towering cliff and flew onto the island.

Marines guarded the front of the island, so they chose to enter from the cliffs at the rear.

This would not only conceal their tracks, but also give them a way to escape if anything went wrong.

After climbing the cliff, Mark and Chiu Chiu proceeded on foot. Chiu Chiu stood on Mark's shoulder and suddenly said in a low voice, "Boss, there are people ahead!"

Mark followed Chiu Chiu's line of sight and looked over. Sure enough, there was a Marine standing guard.

"I didn't expect Marines to be guarding the back of this island too. But judging by the situation, there aren't many of them!" Mark calmly surveyed the surroundings, extending his Observation Haki across the area.

He found only a few Marines.

"Chiu Chiu, you deal with that Marine. I'll take care of..."

The man and eagle quickly finished making their plan.

This was not the time to expose themselves yet. If they could avoid revealing their tracks, they would do so.

Otherwise, if that rat escaped, it would not be worth it.

Just as the Marine guarding the forest was feeling bored out of his mind, a golden afterimage suddenly flashed before his eyes. Before he could see what it was, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and his consciousness sank into endless darkness.

Seeing Chiu Chiu take one down, Mark did not hold back either. He sprang from the bushes and chopped off the heads of two Marines with a single axe blow.

Working together, they quickly dealt with all the Marines standing guard.

When Chiu Chiu returned, it was clearly excited.

Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was an aftereffect of the IQ experiments. It did not resist killing. It even found it exciting.

"Boss, the one you want is that Nezumi, but aren't these Marines we killed innocent..." Chiu Chiu asked suddenly after calming down.

Mark glanced at Chiu Chiu in surprise. He had not expected such thoughts to come from its little head.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "They were innocent, that's true. But they were blocking my path now, so they were no longer innocent."

"Then what's the difference between us and that Nezumi?"

"There is one!"

"What difference?"

"Our purposes are different. He did it for promotion, while I'm doing it for revenge."

"Emmmm, I don't understand!"

"Chiu Chiu, we're pirates. What we need to consider isn't whether they're innocent, but whether they're blocking our path. You have to understand, pirates... never consider whether killing is right or wrong."

Mark's words plunged Chiu Chiu into deep thought.