On the palm of the Guanyin statue.
Onigumo's lips moved, revealing a mouth full of blood-red teeth. His voice was low:
"Luo Chen... I did indeed... underestimate you."
He managed a weak smile. "But framing you... is complete nonsense. Your crimes are a bloody fact."
Luo Chen's eyes were cold. He grabbed his twisted left arm and yanked hard.
The entire arm was torn off.
Onigumo let out a miserable scream, beads of sweat pouring down his ashen face. He was still smiling.
"Such childish methods. Do you think a Vice Admiral like me would be afraid?"
"If you have the guts, then kill me."
Luo Chen grabbed his right arm and questioned him again:
"What exactly is your relationship with Captain Nezumi of the East Blue, that you would send Gal Locke to massacre over five hundred people in Cocoyasi Village to silence them?"
Onigumo sneered sarcastically. "No... relationship at all... I was just avenging him by capturing you."
Luo Chen's eyes grew even colder.
If Onigumo was determined not to talk, then so be it.
Luo Chen exerted his strength and tore off Onigumo's right arm, his voice indifferent:
"I will make you die in the most miserable way possible, because you have killed too many innocent people."
A wooden dagger materialized in his hand.
The dagger sliced through the air, cutting a piece of skin from Onigumo's face.
Luo Chen ignored Onigumo's screams, his voice still chillingly cold:
"Five hundred and thirty-seven coffins in Cocoyasi Village, and Genzo."
"A total of five hundred and thirty-eight cuts. With your physique, you should be able to stay alive until I'm finished."
Onigumo's pupils shrank. He gritted his teeth. "Luo Chen, if you hate me, then kill me."
"If you don't kill me now, you will regret it!"
"What? Are you scared?" As Luo Chen spoke, the dagger fell again.
Another piece of skin was sliced off and floated away into the desert.
Onigumo screamed in pain, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at Luo Chen.
The wooden dagger was not fast, slowly cutting the skin and flesh from Onigumo's face.
After a few dozen cuts, the skin of Onigumo's entire face had been peeled off.
In the distance, the expressions of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji changed, as if they were seeing Luo Chen in a new light.
On the Wood Dragon's back, Carina, Usopp, and Chopper were so scared their faces were pale, their foreheads covered in sweat. They turned their heads, unable to look any longer.
They didn't dare to look at Onigumo, and even less at Luo Chen.
Even though Nami was biting her lip so hard it bled, she forced herself to stare at Onigumo's miserable state.
She understood that everything Luo Chen was doing was for the sake of avenging the deceased villagers of Cocoyasi.
Gmil and the other Marines' faces were incomparably grim, but also a little puzzled.
Smoker said in a low voice, "What is Luo Chen doing? He's never met Vice Admiral Onigumo before, let alone held a grudge. Why is he torturing him with such methods?"
He had voiced the confusion of Hina, Gmil, and the other four Vice Admirals.
The wanted poster stated that Luo Chen was a pest of the East Blue's 16th Branch, who colluded with pirates and preyed on the populace. After being discovered by Captain Nezumi, he had ambushed and killed him. Then he had killed the Headquarters Captain Gal Locke, who had been sent to investigate the case.
But from Luo Chen's words, and Genzo's statement before his suicide at the Loguetown execution platform, the group had vaguely pieced together another version of events.
It was Captain Nezumi who had colluded with the pirate Arlong.
Luo Chen had discovered this, killed Nezumi, and reported it to Marine Headquarters.
But Onigumo had an unknown beneficial relationship with Nezumi. He had dispatched his trusted subordinate, Gal Locke, to silence the witnesses.
He had massacred the more than five hundred villagers of Cocoyasi who knew the truth, but had been killed by Luo Chen in turn.
Thus, they had no choice but to start the process of issuing a wanted poster for Luo Chen.
This thought sent a chill down the spines of Gmil, Smoker, Hina, and the other Marines.
If this was true, then the matter was too terrifying.
Did the higher-ups in the Marines, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, know about this? Had they had any suspicions?
Gmil's voice was tense. "Let's not make wild guesses. We can't rule out the possibility that Luo Chen is deliberately putting on a show in front of us to legitimize the words Genzo used to deceive the world."
Hearing this, Smoker slowly nodded. "There is indeed that possibility. But why would Luo Chen want to portray himself as an innocent person?"
Everyone fell silent.
It was difficult to speculate on such matters. Who knew what plans or schemes Luo Chen had?
Gmil said, "Let's go. Calling for reinforcements is the priority. We can't save Vice Admiral Onigumo."
Luo Chen's strange behavior today had left a deep impression on them.
The truth of the matter left several of the Marine officers in doubt.
But they believed that whether Luo Chen was deliberately putting on an act or had really been framed, the truth would one day come to light.
Just as Gmil and the others were about to leave, the crisp sound of a bicycle bell rang out from the distance.
Gmil, Smoker, and the other Marines.
Ace.
Luffy's crew.
They all turned to look.
In the distant desert, a long, narrow ice path stretched toward them.
On the ice path was a man riding a bicycle.
The man was middle-aged, tall, and wore a white suit vest with a dark blue shirt, and a Marine "Justice" coat.
He had long, black, curly hair, a slightly long face, a green eye mask on his forehead, and was yawning with a lazy expression.
Gmil and the others were stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, their surprise and delight plain to see.
"It's Admiral Aokiji!"
"He actually came in person!"
The Marine side was ecstatic.
Ace, being a pirate, became extremely grave, his eyes fixed on the man riding the bicycle.
He suddenly turned into flames, appeared next to Luffy, and his tone was unprecedentedly solemn.
"Run, Luffy! Take your crew and run!"
Luffy was stunned.
Zoro and Sanji were also a little confused, then their eyes narrowed.
For someone to make Ace this nervous, their strength must be immense.
Ace explained the identity of the man on the bicycle with a grave expression.
Zoro's and Sanji's faces also became solemn.
"One of the three Marine Admirals, Aokiji?"
"Ace, are you no match for him either?" Luffy asked.
Ace shook his head decisively. "An Admiral. That's a powerful Marine who can trade blows with my old man. The highest combat power of the World Government. I am no match for him."
Luffy's group's expressions changed again.
Ace's old man was the world's strongest man, Whitebeard.
They delayed no further and quickly rushed toward where Carina, Usopp, and the others were.
On the Wood Dragon, Robin had already collapsed onto the dragon's back, her usually elegant and intelligent beautiful face filled with terror.
She said in a trembling voice, "Admiral Aokiji! What is he doing in Alabasta?!"
Twenty years ago, Robin's home island of Ohara was destroyed by a Buster Call. She was the sole survivor of the entire island.
At that time, "Aokiji" Kuzan, then a Vice Admiral, was one of the Vice Admirals in that Buster Call.
Robin had personally witnessed Aokiji's immense strength.
Even the former elite Headquarters Vice Admiral, Saul, had been easily and instantly defeated by the Aokiji of twenty years ago.
Twenty years later, having long since become a Marine Admiral, just how terrifying would Aokiji's strength be now?
Robin couldn't imagine.
The fear of this man had long been buried deep in her heart, unable to be erased.
Nami, Carina, Usopp, and the others had no concept of how strong a Marine Admiral really was. But for someone to scare the 79-million-Berry wanted Nico Robin into collapsing, it was enough to show the terror of a Marine Admiral.
Ace, now in his flame form, brought Luffy's group of three onto the back of the Wood Dragon and said to everyone with a grave expression, "Run! A Marine Admiral is not someone we can deal with!"
Hearing this, the faces of Nami, Carina, Usopp, and the others grew even paler.
Even the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates was this nervous.
That Aokiji on the bicycle must be incredibly terrifying!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]