Penn had stopped fighting. Gin was stunned.
In truth, Penn had disagreed with Vice Admiral Bastille from the moment they landed in Cocoyasi Village. Even if their mission was to deal with Ye Chen, did that mean they could turn a blind eye to Arlong?
Yet Bastille had chosen to let Arlong go. He wanted no complications, but it made the Marines look as though they were in league with him.
It pained Penn. Whatever else happened, the credit for taking on Arlong belonged not to the Marines, but to Ye Chen. No one could deny that.
Call Ye Chen cunning or despicable, but he was the one who had "forced" the Marines to act against Arlong.
So why hadn't Ye Chen dealt with Arlong himself?
For one thing, Arlong and his crew had served under Fisher Tiger. Ye Chen respected Fisher Tiger deeply and felt somewhat indebted to him. After all, Ye Chen had been the one behind the slave rescue in the Holy Land; Fisher Tiger had only helped him.
Yet the Marines had thrown enormous forces at Fisher Tiger while "temporarily overlooking" Ye Chen. Ye Chen felt guilty about that. He had been the one they should have gone after.
For another, Ye Chen had never been rigid in how he handled things. He disliked Arlong, and he couldn't stand Colonel Nezumi either. He wanted to set the two sides against each other.
Scheming and making fools of people came naturally to Ye Chen, and the prospect excited him. He had hoped for a good show. Unfortunately, Colonel Nezumi had proved hopelessly inept.
Squelch!
Locked in a fierce battle with Ye Chen, Bastille failed to dodge in time. Ye Chen's sword pierced his back.
Cold sweat broke out across Bastille's skin. He staggered and nearly fell, then