Arrival at the Marine Base

At Koby's words, all the nearby townspeople ran away too, as though Morgan's name were a plague.

Seeing this, Luffy burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! This town is really interesting."

Liu Qing said as well, "Yeah, the people of an entire town are actually afraid of the Marines, who represent justice. Even hearing a Marine's name scares them into running away. This Marine Base must really be rotten."

Luffy said, "This Marine, Morgan, must have done something bad."

As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance to the Marine Base.

Luffy jumped straight onto the top of the Marine Base's fence and lay across it, looking inside.

Liu Qing used Wood Release to create a very wide staircase and walked up it with Koby.

"Where's the Pirate Hunter?" Luffy shouted excitedly, his eyes scanning their surroundings like radar.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped on the Marine Base's training ground, where a huge wooden cross came into view. Tied to that cross was someone wearing a green bandanna on his head and a belly band around his waist. It was none other than Roronoa Zoro!

An ecstatic smile spread across Luffy's face. He pointed excitedly in that direction and shouted to his companions, "Ah! Found him!"

Everyone looked where Luffy pointed and, sure enough, saw Zoro tied to the cross. His body and both hands were tightly bound, leaving him unable to move.

Luffy laughed and pointed at Zoro. "As long as I untie the ropes on that guy, I can set him free, right?"

Koby's face was filled with terror as he shouted in a trembling voice, "How can you let someone go so recklessly? He must have committed some serious crime to get arrested! If we just release him like this, no one can predict what will happen. He might attack us and kill us all!"

Liu Qing, however, said casually, "Don't worry. With Luffy and me here, he definitely won't dare try anything. We're stronger than you can imagine, haha!" As he spoke, Hashirama laughed smugly.

Just then, Zoro, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke. His gaze fell on the three people lying across the fence, his eyes cold and sharp, as though they could pierce through their bodies. Without a shred of courtesy, Zoro shouted at them, "Hey, you three over there! Stop being an eyesore and get lost!"

Koby was so frightened that he fell straight off the stairs. Fortunately, Luffy caught him. Koby said in terror, "Mr. Luffy, Mr. Liu Qing, do you really want him as your companion? Looking at him, I'm afraid he'll end up cutting you both down..."

Before Koby could finish, another small ladder was propped up beside them. The newcomer was a cute little girl. She climbed the ladder, made a shushing gesture at the three of them, then took a coil of rope from behind her and lowered it. The little girl slid down the rope into the training ground where Zoro was being held.

They watched the little girl run straight up to Zoro and take out three rice balls, holding them out to him.

"You must be hungry. I brought some rice balls. You haven't eaten anything all this time, mister. I've never made rice balls before, but I made these myself." As she spoke, the little girl raised the rice balls in her hands to Zoro's mouth.

Zoro paused, then looked at the little girl and said, "Kid, stop being an eyesore. Besides, I'm not hungry right now. Hurry up and leave, or I'll beat you up."

Just then, the training ground's iron gate opened, and a sleazy-looking man with a butt chin, blond hair, and a bowl cut swaggered in with two Marine soldiers.

With an expression that begged to be slapped, he said, "Well, well, I didn't expect you to still be so lively after all these days. Just what I'd expect from the Pirate Hunter known as a beast."

At the sight of the newcomer, Luffy wore the expression of the old-man-on-the-subway meme. "What a weird guy. Why does he have a butt on his face?"

Helmeppo walked up to Zoro, looked at the rice balls in the little girl's hands, and snatched one, putting it into his mouth and eating it.

Then came a "Blech! Cough, cough!" Helmeppo spat it out, his face full of disgust, and yelled between coughs, "What the hell is this stuff? Does sugar not cost Beli at your house? You clearly just put a few grains of rice in some sugar!" His voice was shrill and grating, as though filled with contempt and revulsion for the food in the little girl's hands.

Next, Helmeppo reached out without any courtesy and snatched the two remaining rice balls from the little girl's hands. His movements were rough and quick, with no regard for her feelings whatsoever. Then he hurled the two rice balls to the ground like garbage. They rolled a few times, becoming covered in dust.

Helmeppo did not stop there. He raised his foot and stomped on the two rice balls with all his strength, crushing them beyond recognition beneath his foot.

Watching helplessly as Helmeppo ruined her rice balls, the little girl's tears poured out like floodwater bursting through a dam. She cried loudly, "Don't step on them! Don't step on my rice balls!" Her cries were filled with despair and helplessness, making anyone who heard them feel pity.

Helmeppo, however, remained unmoved by the little girl's cries. Looking at the crying girl with an expression that begged for a beating, he sneered, "A notice was posted in town. Anyone who helps Roronoa Zoro will be sentenced to death."

As he spoke, Helmeppo took a notice from inside his clothes and held it in front of the little girl for her to see.

Finally, Helmeppo turned toward the Marines who had followed him and ordered imperiously, "Hey, go kick this brat out of here! Did you hear me?" His tone was extremely stern, leaving no room for discussion.

Just then, someone jumped down and walked toward Helmeppo.

Liu Qing truly could not stand watching any longer. When he had watched this part of the anime in his previous life, he had already thought Helmeppo badly needed a slap. Now that he was seeing it in person, his irritation had reached its limit.

Liu Qing looked at Luffy and said, "Luffy, I want to beat this brat up." Without waiting for Luffy's answer, he jumped straight into the training ground and slowly walked over, saying as he went, "There are a few kinds of people I can't stand. Ugly people who love showing off, ugly people who waste food, and people whose looks alone make you want to hit them. Unfortunately for you, you meet every one of those conditions."

Seeing the newcomer approaching menacingly, Helmeppo immediately said with an arrogant expression, "So what if I do? My dad is Captain Morgan! Here in Shells Town, who would dare stop me? I do whatever I want. What, you want to hit me? Hahahaha! Do you dare lay a hand on me?"

Liu Qing looked coldly at Helmeppo, who was still showing off in front of him, and could not help feeling a surge of helplessness. He really could not be bothered to waste any more words on this fellow and decided to show him in the most direct way whether he dared to strike.

Liu Qing clapped his hands together. "Wood Release: Fatherly Love Education Technique!" The moment his words fell, powerful Wood Release chakra surged out of his body.

In the blink of an eye, a huge tree abruptly appeared behind Helmeppo like a ghost. Two thick branches, like a pair of giant hands, bound Helmeppo tightly with lightning speed.

Immediately afterward, dozens of sharp vines dropped from the branches. Like whips, they lashed through the air with heart-stopping whooshes.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! As the vines lashed fiercely, crisp whipping sounds echoed through the air, every blow landing hard on Helmeppo's backside.

"Boohoo... Stop hitting me! My dad is Morgan! Just you wait! Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! Boohoo..." Caught in this sudden whipping, Helmeppo had no way to fight back and could only scream while begging for mercy.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Koby had already run over at the sound and stood to one side, watching the scene with great interest.

"Haha, this power is so much fun! You can even use it to whip people." Looking at Helmeppo, who had been beaten into a pitiful state, Luffy could not help bursting into laughter.

A few minutes later, Helmeppo's cries gradually weakened, until he no longer even had the strength to cry. Only then did Liu Qing, satisfied, release his "Wood Release: Fatherly Love Education Technique."