Nero of CP9

Morgan, who had always presented himself as cold and ruthless, wore a smile at this moment.

He even sounded somewhat fawning. "You must be the Chief Inspector, sir! I'm Colonel Morgan of Shells Town. These are a small token of my appreciation. I hope you'll accept them."

Ener raised an eyebrow at the sight.

It had to be said, Morgan did understand a thing or two about social etiquette.

Look at that—five large chests right off the bat. There was no need to guess; they were surely filled with treasure or something of the sort.

But... what he wanted was all of Shells Town.

A few chests of valuables could not satisfy him. He gave Gin a look, and Gin immediately understood. Turning around, he dragged Kuro of a Hundred Plans before Morgan.

"Th-this..."

Morgan recognized Kuro at a single glance. After all, it was because he had supposedly killed Kuro that he had risen through the ranks, becoming the base commander of the 153rd Branch in Shells Town before eventually becoming a colonel.

His jaw had also been crushed beneath the foot of the man before him.

So even if he forgot everyone else, he could never forget Kuro.

"Y-you... weren't you already... already... handed over to Lieutenant Colonel Kiki from headquarters by me? How could you possibly be here?"

The expression on his face froze, then turned to shock. He even stuttered as he pointed at Kuro.

He knew that any pirate who fell into headquarters' hands would be sent to Impel Down.

That was a place one entered but never left.

No one could walk out of that place alive.

Ener could not help feeling a little sympathy for him.

This man had once been a passionate new recruit, his heart filled with justice. But during his encounter with Kuro, every Marine aboard the Warship had been killed by Kuro of a Hundred Plans, while his own jaw had been crushed beneath Kuro's foot.

Kuro had played a part in turning him into what he was now.

It was Kuro who had ordered Jango to hypnotize Morgan, making him believe that he had captured Kuro. He handed the disguised Kuro over to the Marines and became the lieutenant base commander of the 153rd Branch because of it.

Jango's hypnosis had also changed his personality, gradually making him sinister and shameless.

But no matter what, it could not erase the things he had done in Shells Town and the 153rd Branch over the years.

Ener's expression turned stern. "In my capacity as Chief Inspector of the East Blue, I am placing you under arrest for deceiving headquarters and releasing the pirate Kuro, as well as for ruling Shells Town and the 153rd Branch through exceptionally brutal means all these years. Do you have any objections?"

"What?"

As soon as Ener said that, not only were the Marines of the 153rd Branch behind Morgan stunned.

The onlookers on both sides of the street also widened their eyes.

Their faces were filled with shock, as if they had just heard the most unbelievable thing in the world.

"What did you say?"

Morgan's face darkened, and his eyes narrowed. Over the years, he had been like a king in the 153rd Branch and Shells Town.

When he said one, who dared say two?

Lowering himself to welcome the other party today and offering up valuables had already been his limit.

If he had not been wary of the other party's status as Chief Inspector of the East Blue, he would have split him in two with his axe long ago.

"If you need more valuables, you can say so. I can have a few more chests brought over." Morgan clenched his fists as he spoke.

This was his final limit, and also the other party's last chance.

If Ener remained so insatiably greedy, Morgan would not mind taking ruthless action. The 153rd Branch and Shells Town were under his control. Even if someone came to investigate afterward, he could simply destroy the evidence and leave no witnesses behind. What could they possibly uncover?

"Heh. Once I take you down, not only will these few chests be mine, but the entire 153rd Branch and Shells Town will be mine."

How could Ener fail to see through Morgan's change? He sneered. What kind of strength did Morgan have?

He was only about as strong as Alvida before she ate the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, relying entirely on brute strength.

But among Ener, Gin, and Zoro, which one was someone he could compare to?

And he actually harbored the intent to kill Ener. He truly did not know the difference between life and death.

"You're courting death!"

Morgan flew into a rage.

Without hesitation, he swung the massive axe attached to his severed arm at Ener.

Ener neither dodged nor moved. He merely said coldly, "Take him down."

A man like this was not even qualified to make him act personally.

Gin, standing to the side, directly met the attack with his tonfa hammer. The giant axe and tonfa hammer collided violently in midair.

Gin merely swayed, while Morgan looked as though he had suffered a heavy blow. He staggered back several steps before stabilizing himself.

"How is that possible?" he cried out.

It was not that he was overly confident. Among all the Marines in the East Blue, he was considered one of the strongest. Otherwise, he could never have been given such a prosperous posting as the 153rd Branch and Shells Town.

Many branches were built on barren islands.

But he had never expected that he could not even withstand a single subordinate of the other party. Only then did he seriously examine Gin...

Normally, a mere lieutenant would not have been worthy of his attention.

But the moment he took a closer look, his face immediately became extremely grave. He had recognized who the lieutenant in Marine uniform before him was.

Gin the Man-Demon, formerly of the Krieg Pirates.

Shave!

Gin vanished from where he stood. When he appeared again, he was already to Morgan's left. He swung his tonfa hammer, striking directly at Morgan's left ribs.

"Pfft..."

Under Gin's overwhelming strength, Morgan's ribs shattered instantly. The intense pain made him clutch his left side and drop to one knee.

A mouthful of blood then sprayed from his lips.

"How is that possible?"

The Marines of the 153rd Branch and the townspeople of Shells Town who witnessed the scene all stood with their mouths agape.

Morgan had been the symbol of invincibility in the 153rd Branch and Shells Town.

Yet now, he was kneeling before someone else, so utterly vulnerable.

"Heh..."

Gin sneered disdainfully. With strength like this, even before learning Shave, he could have dealt with Morgan easily.

That was right.

By now, Gin had already begun to use Shave. However, because he had not mastered it completely, he could only use it three or four times in a single battle.

Otherwise, his legs would be the first to give out.

Even so, Gin's talent in the Six Powers left Ener greatly astonished.

"Sha sha sha..."

At that moment, an extremely peculiar laugh sounded from nearby.

"Hm?"

Ener, Gin, and Zoro all turned to look.

A rather thin man stood not far away, staring at Gin with surprise written all over his face.

Ener raised an eyebrow. This man gave him a familiar feeling, so he carefully studied him. In this world, anyone who gave him such a feeling...

Had to be someone who had appeared in the original story.

This man was dressed very distinctively. Two necklaces hung around his neck. One was a simple green-bead necklace.

The other was larger and more exquisite, strung together from numerous rubies.

It was clearly worth a fortune.

He wore a glove on his left hand and a bracelet around his wrist.

He wore a dark brown T-shirt, orange pants, and a hat adorned with red feathers.

"Nero, the new member of CP9?"

That was right. Ener recognized him. The newcomer was Nero, a new member of CP9—but why was this man here?