"Damn Marines! You still dare fire at me? Hah! Now you see which side's stronger, don't you?"
A bald, burly man wearing a captain's hat roared with laughter. He looked up toward the execution platform, eyes full of reverence.
"Even a Marine Vice Admiral couldn't defeat you! Hey, Boss Shanu! Take us in! From now on, we'll follow you anywhere!"
His shout instantly ignited the pirates' frenzy. Voices of agreement rose one after another—
"That's right! With you leading us, who in all the East Blue could stand in our way? The whole sea's ours for the taking!"
"Are you blind? Forget the East Blue—we should follow Boss Shanu and plunder the entire Grand Line together!"
"What are we waiting for, brothers? With Boss Shanu backing us up, these town Marines are nothing! Let's loot the whole town first!"
"Empty out Loguetown! Cut down any Marine that gets in our way! Offer all the treasure to Captain Shanu—kill them all!!"
At the edge of the square, pirates broke into wild laughter as they smashed through the shattered doors of the remaining shops.
Women's screams and children's cries echoed out from inside.
How could this be happening?
The citizens of Loguetown were thrown into panic.
That man named Shanu—hadn't he been famous across the East Blue for punishing the wicked and protecting the good?
How could he now stand among the cruelest pirates?!
BOOM!
The chaos had barely begun when two crescent-shaped waves of pale-blue energy swept down from the execution platform.
Dozens of pirates were instantly blasted away like bowling pins, screaming as they flew.
Those unlucky enough to be hit head-on by the sharp edges of the Rankyaku were cleaved clean in half, blood misting through the air.
The impact's intimidation was unmistakable.
The pirates who had already stormed into the houses broke out in cold sweat, too terrified to continue.
They cautiously backed out into the square, gazing up at the platform in confusion.
"B–Boss Shanu…"
The bald pirate captain who'd spoken first forced a nervous laugh.
"We—we just wanted to offer the whole town to you as a gift to show our loyalty! You… what do you mean by this?"
"You people seem to have misunderstood something."
Shanu lowered his leg and looked down coldly at the pirates below.
"Before lumping me in with the likes of you, did you forget why I became famous in the East Blue to begin with?"
"When it comes down to it, I've only ever killed one… no, maybe two Marines.
But the number of pirates who've died by my hand? Hundreds—no, thousands of times more."
What—what did he mean by that?
The pirates looked at one another.
And in that instant, the fervor that had just burned through them vanished, as though drenched in a bucket of ice water.
Their limbs went cold with dread.
Aboard the warship.
Smoker lay weakly against a wall, staring dazedly through the rain.
His mind was still hazy; he hadn't fully regained consciousness.
He remembered fighting that man, Onigumo—then blacking out after only a few blows.
When he'd barely opened his eyes again, he'd vaguely seen two figures atop the distant execution platform.
One of them was pinned to the ground, struggling for a moment before falling completely still.
That outline…
Was that Onigumo?
Onigumo… dead?
Impossible.
Smoker let out a self-mocking chuckle.
Had he come to hate the man so much that he'd started wishing for his death?
There was no one in Loguetown who could possibly defeat him—it had to be an illusion.
He gripped the railing and struggled to his feet, when a shrill, furious scream erupted nearby:
"Move! Are you all deaf, huh?! I said get me out of here, now! Didn't you hear me?!"
That voice—familiar.
Smoker turned toward it and saw the obese, pig-like Altair, waving his golden scepter wildly as he struck the head of a nearby Marine officer.
"Your Majesty, please, calm yourself. Now is not the right time," the tall, thin lieutenant colonel pleaded, his head bleeding from repeated blows.
"We still have many men on the island retreating this way. The enemy doesn't seem to be pursuing us. We must wait for the rear units—especially the rear admirals in command—to board first, or I'll be court-martialed…"
"Wait, my ass!"
Altair's face twisted into a grotesque snarl.
"You mean to tell me we're waiting for that? For a bunch of useless commoners?!"
"Don't forget your top priority is to ensure my safe return home!
If we stay any longer, we'll die here with that worthless fool, Onigumo!!!"
BANG! BANG!
He suddenly pulled out a gold-plated pistol and fired wildly in all directions.
Several Marines clutched their chests and collapsed instantly.
"See that?! Get this ship moving!"
Altair then aimed the pistol squarely at the lieutenant colonel's head.
"If you wait one more second, I'll kill another man—starting with you! Let's see if you still dare—"
THUD!
A dull crack cut him off.
Altair's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed forward in silence.
The bloodied lieutenant colonel stared in shock at the figure standing behind the fallen man.
"C–Colonel Smoker… you… what are you doing?"
"That loud, squealing voice… annoying as hell, you fat pig."
Smoker muttered, his expression blank, hands still cuffed with seastone restraints.
"How did I ever put up with garbage like this before…?"
THUD!
He brought his bound fists down again and again onto Altair's head.
Before long, half of Altair's skull had caved in.
Still unsatisfied, Smoker grabbed the golden scepter from the floor and drove it down with all his strength—
Squelch!
A fountain of blood sprayed out, splattering both men's faces.
Only then did Smoker toss the scepter aside, panting heavily, finally wearing a faint, grim smile.
"You…"
The thin lieutenant colonel touched the warm blood on his cheek, trembling.
Suddenly, he screamed in sheer terror.
What now?
Smoker shot him an irritated glare.
"Hey. Tell me what's going on in Loguetown right now."
From what he'd overheard earlier, it sounded like the Marines had been completely routed.
Could it be that what he'd seen—wasn't an illusion after all?
"Wh–what's going on?!"
The lieutenant colonel stumbled back several steps, pointing at him in horror.
"Y–you bastard! How dare you ask that! Do you have any idea what you've done?! You've doomed us all!!"
Not answering, huh?
Smoker sighed. He couldn't care less anymore.
Gripping the railing, limping heavily, he headed down the gangplank toward the dock—moving against the flow of panicked Marines fleeing the shore—and back toward the square.
He had to see it for himself.
What in the world had happened… at the execution platform?