Loguetown.
Known as the town of beginnings and endings, it lay in the East Blue near the entrance to the Grand Line. The heinous Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, had been born in Loguetown and executed here as well.
Afternoon.
A group of Marines appeared here, led by a female Chief Petty Officer wearing glasses and a katana at her waist. Judging by the situation, they were here to welcome some officer.
"Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, who are we here to welcome?"
A Marine asked in confusion.
Their eyes were full of admiration and respect for Tashigi, because their Chief Petty Officer was upright and selfless, strong and courageous—the dream girl of many of their brothers.
She was also forthright and steady. When facing enemies, she never backed down and fought bravely.
Under the leadership of Chief Petty Officer Tashigi and Captain Smoker, they had been able to intimidate those vicious pirates, making Loguetown far more peaceful and secure than before.
It was just that there had been more pirates recently, leaving them extremely busy these past few days.
They had heard that the Arlong Pirates, who had dominated the East Blue and committed countless crimes, had been defeated by a pirate crew a few days ago. Their captain, Arlong, had carried a bounty of twenty million Berries. That crew seemed to be called the Straw Hat Pirates.
The key point was that the Straw Hat Pirates had also apparently landed in Loguetown. Their captain, Straw Hat Kid Monkey D. Luffy, had even received a bounty of thirty million Berries, currently the highest bounty in the East Blue.
"The person we're welcoming is Major General Wilton."
Tashigi pushed up the glasses on her nose with one finger, her pretty face carrying a slightly solemn expression.
"A Major General?"
Some of the Marines behind Tashigi swallowed hard. That was a Major General—an officer they might never meet in their entire lives. Even Officer Smoker was only a Captain.
Within Loguetown, he was already the Marine officer with the highest authority and status.
"Yes. Captain Smoker said that Lord Wilton is a Headquarters Major General. He has come to Loguetown on a mission this time, so make sure you stay sharp."
"Yes!"
All the Marines nodded seriously.
Very soon.
Only ten minutes passed.
"He's here!"
Tashigi looked at the ordinary warship approaching from the horizon. Besides the fluttering Marine's Jolly Roger, there was another banner bearing a Dumbbell Emblem.
As the warship docked at the harbor, a gangplank was lowered to shore. A group of Marines emerged and lined both sides of the road, standing ramrod straight with stern expressions and their eyes fixed forward.
The sunlight was somewhat blinding.
Tashigi instinctively looked toward the warship. A tall, burly figure appeared there, and once her vision cleared, an atmosphere that made people tense washed over her.
Some Marines did not even dare breathe too loudly, standing straight as javelins.
He wore a well-fitted, heavy yellow hoodie with the word Justice printed on the back. He was clearly over three meters tall, and his bulky physique could not conceal the perfect muscles and lines beneath the hoodie.
He wore black athletic compression shorts below.
He gripped two enormous black dumbbells in both hands, constantly working his arm strength and biceps.
"Another bright and sunny day."
A vibrant, hearty laugh rang out. Wilton leaped into the air from the warship, spun several times, and landed steadily in front of Tashigi, raising the dumbbells and striking several bodybuilding poses.
He leaned forward at a forty-five-degree angle, flexed his biceps in place, showed off his glutes, and even busted out a moonwalk.
It was incredibly smooth.
That move genuinely left Tashigi stunned.
After all, her first impression of this Major General was that he was a complete goof, despite looking so sunny and handsome.
"Major General Wilton, I'm Chief Petty Officer Tashigi under Captain Smoker. There have been many pirates in Loguetown recently, so Captain Smoker went to deal with them and sent me to welcome you."
Tashigi came back to her senses, saluted solemnly.
The Marines behind her did the same.
"Wihahaha!"
"It's fine."
Wilton did not feel slighted because Smoker had not come. That guy was famously unruly; otherwise, he would not have been left out in the cold for so long. A dignified Logia-type Devil Fruit user had actually been assigned to Loguetown.
Besides, he was only here to carry out a mission this time.
Come to think of it, he had only met Smoker once.
They were not familiar with each other.
Smoker also had connections at Headquarters, and Wilton was not the sort of petty, narrow-minded person who kept score over everything.
"Captain Smoker really wanted to come, but he's just been very busy with work."
Compared to Smoker's willful, low-EQ behavior, Tashigi was much more composed. She was still explaining things on Smoker's behalf, though Wilton had not taken it to heart at all.
"It's fine. Take me to the Loguetown Marine base first!"
Wilton continued his strength training with the dumbbells in both hands, thinking about replacing them as soon as possible. The two dumbbells, made from a special heavy material and weighing three tons each, no longer satisfied him.
He needed heavier ones.
"Alright."
Tashigi nodded and took the lead. The group headed toward the Marine base, but an accident occurred after they had only crossed one street.
Boom—
An explosion came from nearby. Thick smoke rose into the air, accompanied faintly by cries of battle and the screams and wails of civilians. There was no need to look to know that pirates were causing trouble.
"Major General Wilton, there's an emergency. I need to handle it first, so Sergeant Yale can take you to the base!"
Tashigi's pretty face darkened.
She withdrew her gaze from the explosion. She would never allow pirates to harm civilians.
Huh?
Where was Major General Wilton?
Tashigi froze. Wilton was nowhere to be seen. The space before her was empty, with only them left standing there.
She turned her head.
At the end of the road, only an afterimage remained from someone sprinting away.
"Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, Major General Wilton probably went to join the excitement. He'll come back after it's over."
Wilton's subordinates were used to this. They explained it to Tashigi first, then leisurely ran toward the explosion, not the least bit anxious.
Because their officer loved joining the excitement.
Even if two passing dogs started fighting, he could squat down and watch them for an entire day and night. Then, as he watched, he would fearlessly join in, ultimately teaching them deeply what a tough man's justice of mutual destruction meant.
"Then let's hurry!"
Tashigi looked anxious, afraid that arriving even a moment late would mean one more civilian getting hurt.
Several streets away from the harbor was Loguetown's famous Weapon Street. Basically, any pirates coming from the East Blue and hoping to enter the Grand Line would stroll around here when they arrived in Loguetown.
When you were out making a living.
Weapons were indispensable.
At that moment, two groups of pirates were engaged in a fierce battle on the street. Both sides had roughly twenty people. Many residents were screaming as they fled, while some had been caught in the crossfire. Others watched the show or cursed loudly.
It was utter chaos.
"Luffy, let's go."
Among the crowd.
Five figures were eagerly watching the commotion, but one man and one woman were extremely nervous and wanted to leave. They were Nami and Usopp. Neither of them wanted to get caught up in the fighting.
Their captain had a bounty of thirty million Berries. His head was worth a fortune. They had heard that the Marine officer stationed in Loguetown was a Captain, and he had surely already received word of this place. He might come rushing over at any moment.
It would be troublesome if they were spotted.
"Nami, Usopp, let's watch a little longer."
Luffy was being pulled by Usopp, his entire right arm stretched long, yet his body remained rooted in place. That was until Nami slammed a fist into his forehead.
He let out a scream.
Luffy clutched his head and squatted down, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.
"Idiot! With such a huge commotion, the Marines have definitely been alerted. If we stay here, they'll notice us."
Nami looked at him like he was hopeless. With her hands on her hips, she was every inch a tigress. After speaking, she grabbed Luffy by the hair and dragged him like a dead dog, immediately turning to leave.
Without her, this pirate crew would be finished sooner or later.
Other than herself, not a single one of them had normal intelligence.
But after they had taken only a few steps, all five suddenly stopped. Luffy, who had been dragged along, sprang up in an instant, his expression becoming unprecedentedly serious.
Zoro instinctively placed a hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Sanji's curled brows furrowed, his gaze solemn.
Even Usopp, who had always been timid and afraid of trouble, instinctively swallowed. Nami's earlier arrogance vanished as she quietly stepped behind Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro.
Coming toward them.
A tall, burly figure held two massive dumbbells in both hands, each several times thicker than Nami's butt. He blocked out the sunlight as he looked at them in surprise.
"This is bad."
Just what they had feared.
The huge word Justice carved into those frightening dumbbells was clear enough for even someone with a thousand degrees of nearsightedness to see. This hulking man was obviously a Marine.
"The Straw Hat Pirates."
Wilton was not surprised to see Luffy's group.
He had come to Loguetown this time on orders from Vice Admiral Dalmatian, to escort Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates, to Impel Down. Normally, such a task would not require him; there was no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
But Arlong was connected to Shichibukai Sea Knight Jinbe and Fish-Man Island. To avoid unnecessary complications, Dalmatian had sent Wilton, who was currently in the Grand Line and relatively close to the East Blue.
So there was a decent chance he would run into the Straw Hat Pirates in Loguetown.
"Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, we can't get held up here. We need to leave as soon as possible."
Nami was anxious.
Fortunately, there was only one Marine. As long as they dealt with him quickly, they could leave. There was no need to think about it—the Marine reinforcements would definitely be behind him. If they wasted time here and had to face a large Marine force, they might really get captured.
"I'll handle this big guy. You guys go first."
At a critical moment, Luffy's brain was still working.
Without any hesitation, he charged at Wilton.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol."
As Luffy rushed forward, his right arm rapidly stretched long behind him. He clenched his fist and launched it at Wilton with lightning speed. Enhanced by elasticity, its force was quite formidable.
They needed no reason to fight. Their identities as Marines and pirates alone were enough.
With a collision.
Wilton did not move an inch. The charged, stretched fist struck the rock-hard, bulging chest beneath his loose hoodie with a deep, heavy thud. Luffy felt as though he had hit a wall of bronze and iron, and intense pain shot through his fist, making him cry out.
"Dumbbell Charge."
Before Luffy could retract his limp arm, Wilton gripped a heavyweight dumbbell in his right hand and brought it down in a plain, unadorned strike. In that instant, the world lost all sound.
A massive shockwave in the shape of a colossal dumbbell, ten meters high, tore through the hard ground with a roar. Luffy was swallowed before he even had time to react. Explosions spread fifty meters outward, and a building instantly collapsed, throwing up clouds of dust and wood splinters.
"Luffy!"
Zoro and Sanji, who had not yet left, immediately widened their eyes. Nami and Usopp went pale with shock.
Dumbbell Charge.
An ordinary Armament Haki emission.
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