Worth a Small Fortune

Yak opened his bovine mouth wide and shouted at Kuta.

"Brat, I'm a Yak-Man who ate the Zoan-type Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Yak."

"Not only do I have limitless strength, I also have a pair of horns that can pierce

anything."

He dropped onto all fours, lowered his head, aimed his horns at Kuta, and charged.

"Die, brat!"

Bang!!

The same palm, in the same place, stopped Kubi Rudd's unparalleled strike with the same effortless ease.

Kuta looked at Kubi Rudd and gave him a forceful shove with his palm, easily sending him flying. He crashed onto the deck behind him with a bang.

Kubi Rudd lay on the deck, shaking his head over and over.

He felt as though a meteorite had struck his skull. Stars danced before his eyes, and his brain had turned to mush.

The pirate lackeys watched Kubi Rudd fall, not daring to breathe.

They looked up at Kuta in horror, screaming inwardly.

What kind of monster is this guy?!

The captain is nothing but a toy to him. He can play with him however he likes.

Kuta jumped down from the railing and walked toward Kubi Rudd.

As he walked, every pirate lackey aboard rolled their eyes back and collapsed unconscious.

"I don't know what your past was like, and I don't want to know."

"All I know is that what you've done these past few months is enough to send you to hell!"

As he spoke, he expanded his spatial domain and pinned Kubi Rudd in place, giving him no chance to speak.

He was ready to end this game.

It's getting a little boring, isn't it?

All kinds of tragedies happened in this world every day, and plenty of people had suffered more than this man.

Yet those people hadn't suddenly become crazed, murderous monsters!

He wouldn't pass much judgment on someone who lived in darkness, suddenly gained power, and decided to take revenge on the whole world.

After all, someone who hadn't suffered another person's pain had no right to tell them to be kind.

All he knew was that people chose their own paths. Once they made that choice, they had to endure every hardship along the way, right up until death.

Besides, what this man had done was a thousand times worse than anything his master had done.

So he deserved no sympathy.

Kuta drew Zankū and slashed at Kubi Rudd's head.

Then he sheathed his sword and quickly returned to the Freedom.

He paid no further attention to the Crazy Bull Pirates.

Noticing that Kuta seemed a little down, the Ahua Trio didn't ask any questions.

They quickly lit torches, tossed them aboard the Crazy Bull Pirates' ship, and set sail.

Kuina stayed beside Kuta, holding his hand. She said nothing, simply watching him with gentle eyes.

By the time Kuta came back to his senses, the Freedom had sailed some distance away. Behind them, the flames continued to consume the Crazy Bull Pirates.

He turned to Kuina and reached out to ruffle her hair, his usual smile returning to his face.

"Don't worry. I'm fine!"

He had long known how disgusting this world's nobility was, and he had prepared himself for it.

But seeing firsthand what a slave had endured still left him sick at heart.

After all, he had never seen a body covered in so many scars.

Worth a Modest Hundred Million

While Kuta and his companions were encountering the Crazy Bull Pirates...

Marine Headquarters was discussing them.

Inside a large office in the towering building at the center of Marine Headquarters...

This time, it wasn't just Sengoku and the other two. Practically every vice admiral currently stationed at headquarters was gathered in the office.

They sat on the floor in two rows.

Sengoku sat at the head of the row on the right.

Looking at the only person standing, Sengoku said, "Brannew, go ahead. What's on the agenda for this meeting?"

"Yes, Fleet Admiral, sir!"

Brannew saluted.

In private, they generally called Sengoku "Mr. Sengoku," but in public, they still addressed him as Fleet Admiral.

Brannew composed himself and said solemnly, "There are two main matters to discuss today."

"The first concerns a pirate crew in the East Blue."

"The second concerns Fire Fist Ace."

"Hold on, Brannew."

A burly man on the right interrupted him with a smile, smoking a cigar. His eyes looked almost closed even when open, and he had a thick brown beard and wore a double-breasted orange suit with a dark red tie.

"What is it, Vice Admiral Yamakaji?"

Brannew looked at Yamakaji questioningly.

"Nothing much. I'm interested in Ace, but what's so special about a pirate crew from the East Blue?"

Yamakaji had bluntly voiced the question on most of the vice admirals' minds.

It wasn't that they looked down on the East Blue. It was simply that, since Pirate King Roger, it hadn't produced another pirate they needed to take seriously.

The vice admirals all turned to Brannew.

"Please be patient, everyone. I was just about to explain."

He turned sideways and pointed to several photographs on the blackboard.

Alongside the photographs previously shown in Sengoku's office were pictures of the Arlong Pirates.

One of them was a close-up of the decapitated Captain Nezumi.

Who knew when those people had taken the pictures?

Kuta and his companions had burned Arlong Park down as soon as they took the money.

So the photographs must have been taken while Kuta and Kuina went to fetch the Ahua Trio to help move it.

Brannew pointed to a photograph of Kuta's group facing off against the Krieg Pirates and spoke.

"We first discovered this group during their battle with the Krieg Pirates."

Next, he pointed to photographs of Kuina, Kuta, and the giant ship cut in two.

"Our subsequent analysis suggests that their captain, Kuta, is a Great Swordsman, while this young girl, Kuina, is at least a Swordmaster."

"A Great Swordsman?"

At that, the vice admirals put aside their dismissive attitudes, a trace of gravity flashing in their eyes.

Brannew glanced at Sengoku before continuing. "Since we hadn't observed any dangerous behavior from them, and they weren't flying a pirate flag, we didn't pursue the matter further."

Sengoku nodded. "Yes. That was our decision at the previous meeting. Since it wasn't a major issue, we didn't notify everyone, only the branches in the East Blue."

Then his eyes sharpened, and he said gravely, "But this time is different. This time, the government has ordered us to issue

bounties."

As soon as he received the news, he had the Marines in the East Blue investigate the entire incident.

Naturally, he had learned about Captain Nezumi's collusion with the Arlong Pirates.

If Nezumi were still alive, the matter would have been easier to handle. But now that he was dead, it was no longer just a matter involving pirates.

The World Government's position was clear: the public could not be allowed to learn about Nezumi's dealings, and even within the Marines, they were to downplay them as much as possible.

After all, it was hardly something to be proud of.

"Continue, Brannew."

Sengoku looked at Brannew as he gave the order.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral, sir."

Brannew turned and pointed to the remaining photographs.

"These photographs show that, after defeating Krieg, Kuta's group first visited the seafaring restaurant Baratie. Their course makes it clear that they were originally heading straight for Loguetown."

"But for some unknown reason, they suddenly changed course at Baratie and headed for the Gollome Islands, going straight to the Arlong Pirates, who had been based there for some time."

"The Arlong Pirates?"

Yamakaji asked, "Isn't that the crew formed by the fish-men who used to belong to the Sun Pirates alongside the Shichibukai, 'Knight of the Sea' Jinbe?"

"Yes, Vice Admiral Yamakaji."

Brannew replied, "Their captain, Arlong, was originally imprisoned in Impel Down. Jinbe used his privileges as a Shichibukai to secure his release."

Pointing at the Arlong Pirates' photograph, he continued, "Their captain, Arlong, and officers Kuroobi, Chew, and Hachi were all members of the Sun Pirates."

"Right! I was wondering why he looked so familiar. It's Arlong the fish-man."

Yamakaji nodded, then added, "Sorry, Brannew. Please continue. I was the one who sent him to Impel Down six years ago, so I was just wondering how he ended up in the East Blue."

He was a vice admiral stationed in the New World and rarely paid attention to affairs in the Four Blues, much less a minor pirate with a bounty of twenty million.

That was why he hadn't known that Arlong had been released and formed a pirate crew.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Yamakaji."

Brannew paused before continuing. "Based on our analysis, they either intended to target Arlong directly or suddenly received information that prompted them to go there."

"As for their reasons, we don't know yet."

He knew the reason, but he couldn't say it. He could hardly tell them that a pirate had gone there to defeat Arlong and liberate the villagers!

"Then what happened to this Captain Nezumi? How did he die?"

Another vice admiral spoke up.

"As for Captain Nezumi..."

Honestly, he didn't care in the slightest about the death of a disgrace like Nezumi. Even if Kuta's group hadn't killed him, headquarters wouldn't have let him off.

But now that Nezumi was dead, it had become an entirely different matter.

To save face, the World Government had no intention of letting Kuta's group get away with it!

As far as they were concerned, it was just one more pirate crew.

After a moment's thought, Brannew decided to stick to the script.

"According to the World Government, Nezumi received orders to eliminate Arlong's crew. He happened to encounter Kuta's group and was killed."

"I see...!"

The Marines present weren't fools

, and one look at Nezumi was enough to tell them he was a coward. How could he possibly have dared to take on the Arlong Pirates?

Though they knew something was wrong with the story, none of them asked.