One Piece: Invincible from the Start

Yak opened his bovine mouth wide and shouted at Kuta.

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

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

anything!"

He dropped to all fours, lowered his head, and charged at Kuta with his horns aimed straight at him.

"Die, brat!"

Bang!

The same palm, in the same spot, stopped Kubi Rudd's overwhelming blow with the same casual ease.

Kuta looked at Kubi Rudd and gave him a shove. Kubi Rudd flew backward and landed on the deck behind him with a bang.

Kubi Rudd lay on the ground, shaking his head nonstop.

It felt as though a meteorite had struck his skull. He saw stars, and his thoughts were a complete mess.

The pirate underlings stared at their fallen captain, hardly daring to breathe.

They looked up at Kuta in horror, screaming inwardly.

What kind of monster is this guy?

Our captain's like a toy in his hands. He can do whatever he wants with him.

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

As he moved, every pirate on the ship rolled their eyes back and collapsed unconscious.

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

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

He spread his Space Domain and pinned Kubi Rudd in place, giving him no chance to speak.

He intended to end this game.

It had gotten a little boring, hadn't it?

Tragedies happened every day in this world, and plenty of people had suffered worse than this man.

Yet they hadn't all turned into murderous monsters!

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

After all, you couldn't ask someone to be kind when you'd never endured their suffering.

He only knew that people chose their own paths. Once they had made that choice, they had to bear every hardship along the way, right up until death.

And what this man had done was a thousand times worse than what his master had done.

So he deserved no sympathy.

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

Then he sheathed his blade and hurried back to the Freedom.

He paid the Crazy Bull Pirates no further attention.

Seeing that Kuta was in a bad mood, Ahua and the other two didn't ask questions.

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

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

By the time Kuta came back to himself, the Freedom had sailed some distance away. Behind them, flames steadily consumed the Crazy Bull Pirates' ship.

He turned to Kuina and ruffled her hair, his usual smile returning.

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

He had long known how disgusting the nobles of this world could be, and he had prepared himself for it.

But seeing what had happened to a slave for the first time still left him heartsick.

He had never seen a body covered in so many scars.

Worth a Hundred Million

While Kuta and the others were encountering the Crazy Bull Pirates, Marine Headquarters was discussing them.

The meeting took place in a large office inside the tall central building of Marine Headquarters.

This time, it wasn't just Sengoku and the other two. Nearly every Vice Admiral currently at headquarters was seated in the office.

They sat on the floor in two rows.

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

He looked at the only person standing. "Brannew, tell us what's on the agenda for this meeting."

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"

Brannew saluted.

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

Brannew composed himself and spoke gravely. "There are two main matters."

"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, cigar in hand. His eyes looked almost closed even when they were open, and he wore a thick brown beard and an orange double-breasted suit with a dark red tie.

"What is it, Vice Admiral Yamakaji?" Brannew asked, puzzled.

"Nothing much. I'm interested in Ace, but what's 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. But since Pirate King Roger, no pirate worth their serious attention had emerged from there.

The Vice Admirals all turned to Brannew.

"Please be patient. That crew is exactly what I'm about to discuss."

He turned and pointed to several photographs on the blackboard.

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

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

No one knew when the Marines had taken it.

Kuta and the others had set fire to Arlong Park as soon as they took the money.

So the photo must have been taken while Kuta and Kuina were fetching Ahua and the other two to help move it.

Brannew pointed to a photo of Kuta's group confronting the Krieg Pirates.

"We first spotted this group during their fight with the Krieg Pirates."

Then he pointed to the photos of Kuina, Kuta, and the Giant Ship Cut in Two.

"Based on our analysis afterward, their captain, Kuta, should be a master swordsman. And this young girl, Kuina, should be at least an accomplished swordswoman."

"A master swordsman?"

The Vice Admirals set aside their disdain, their gazes turning grave.

Brannew glanced at Sengoku before continuing. "Since we saw no dangerous behavior from them at the time, and they weren't flying a pirate flag, we didn't pursue the matter."

Sengoku nodded. "Yes. That was what we decided last time. Since it didn't seem important, we only informed the East Blue branches, not everyone here."

Then his eyes sharpened. "But this time is different. The government wants us to issue bounties."

As soon as he had received the news, he had ordered the Marines in the East Blue to investigate the whole affair.

Naturally, he had learned that Captain Nezumi had colluded with the Arlong Pirates.

If Nezumi had survived, that would have been one thing. But now that he was dead, this was no longer just a matter involving pirates.

The World Government's position was clear: the public could not learn what Nezumi had done, and even within the Marines, they had to play it down as much as possible.

It was hardly something to be proud of.

"Continue, Brannew," Sengoku ordered.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral."

Brannew turned and pointed to the remaining photographs.

"As these photos show, after Kuta's group defeated Krieg, they went to the Baratie. Their route makes it clear they had originally been heading straight for Loguetown."

"But for some unknown reason, they changed course at the Baratie and headed for the Gollome Islands, where they went straight to the Arlong Pirates' longtime base."

"The Arlong Pirates?"

Yamakaji asked, "Is that the crew formed by Fish-Men who served in the Sun Pirates alongside the Shichibukai Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea?"

"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."

He pointed to the photo of the Arlong Pirates. "Their captain, Arlong, and his officers Kuroobi, Chew, and Hachi were all members of the Sun Pirates."

"Ah, no wonder he looked familiar. It's Arlong the Fish-Man."

Yamakaji nodded. "Sorry, Brannew. Go on. I was the one who arrested him and sent him to Impel Down six years ago. I was just wondering how he ended up in the East Blue."

Yamakaji was a Vice Admiral stationed in the New World and paid little attention to the four seas, much less to a small-time pirate with a twenty-million-berry bounty.

So he hadn't known Arlong had been released and formed a pirate crew.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Yamakaji."

Brannew paused, then continued. "From what we can tell, either they were after Arlong from the start, or they received some information that led them to him."

"We don't yet know why."

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

"Then what happened to Captain Nezumi?" another Vice Admiral asked.

"As for Captain Nezumi..."

To be honest, Brannew didn't care in the slightest that a disgrace to the Marines like Nezumi was dead. If Kuta's group hadn't killed him, headquarters would not have let him off.

But since Nezumi had died, it had become a different matter.

For the sake of its reputation, the World Government had no intention of letting Kuta's group go.

As far as the government was concerned, it would just mean one more pirate crew.

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

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

"I see..."

The Marines present weren't fools.

One look at Nezumi told them he was a coward. There was no way he would have dared go after the Arlong Pirates.

They knew something was wrong with the story, but none of them asked.