Soon enough, Nero returned, dragging Morgan's massive, unconscious form with one hand as if he were a sack of refuse.
Morgan, however, looked rather strange now, far worse than when Gin had merely defeated him.
His right arm, which had originally held a large, imposing axe, was now empty.
Only half of the arm remained above the elbow, and blood was gushing profusely from a fresh, raw stump.
His face was swollen badly, almost unrecognizable, and it was clear that several teeth—along with pieces of his signature steel jaw—were missing.
He had obviously been tortured, quickly and brutally, by an expert.
Lancelot found himself very puzzled.
What information could Morgan possibly possess that would drive a high-level CP9 agent to use such severe interrogation methods on a mere East Blue captain?
"Sha... sha... I used some... methods. Don't mind it," Nero said with his signature, scraping laugh, casually dropping Morgan's bleeding form to the cobblestones.
"Captain Lancelot, you can report his injuries truthfully. Say he... resisted arrest."
Clearly, Nero had already obtained the information he wanted.
Lancelot looked at the CP9 agent with a meaningful gaze, his eyes flicking from the broken Morgan to the disturbingly casual Nero.
"Returning him to me in this talkative state... is that alright?"
The implication was clear: Aren't you afraid he might reveal what you just asked him?
Nero just waved his gloved hand dismissively.
"No problem! He won't be talking to anyone who matters. He's all yours."
Lancelot raised an eyebrow involuntarily.
That was either supreme confidence in his methods or pure, unadulterated arrogance.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Captain. Farewell!" Nero said.
After saying this, he gave Gin one last, deep, and analytical look.
It had to be said, the ex-pirate who had mastered Soru in less than two months had left an extremely strong impression on him.
Then, with a single, silent Soru, he quickly departed, vanishing from sight.
Lancelot, Gin, and Zoro all turned their gazes toward the pitiful, groaning, and now one-armed state of Axe-Hand Morgan.
Morgan, barely conscious, looked up through a swollen eye at the three towering, monstrous figures now looming over him.
At that moment, he felt his hairs stand on end, a chill running straight to his head. He had a very bad premonition.
These men were not like the CP9 agent.
The CP9 agent just wanted information.
These men wanted his life... and his base.
"What did he want?" Lancelot asked, his voice cold and devoid of pity.
Morgan's mind raced frantically.
He was broken, defeated, and had nothing left to lose.
Perhaps... perhaps cooperation was his only path to avoiding a slow, painful death.
"He... he asked me three things," Morgan gasped, his voice a mangled rasp from his ruined jaw.
"First... the death of the King of the Goa Kingdom!"
"Second... the Arlong Pirate Crew!"
"Third... Germa 66's attack on the Cobia Kingdom!"
Hearing this list, Lancelot couldn't help but frown.
This was far more high-level than he had anticipated.
"And all three of these... are related to you?"
Having suffered two consecutive, crushing defeats and having just endured severe torture, Morgan seemed resigned to his fate. He spoke bluntly, wanting to get this over with.
"The King of the Goa Kingdom... he died due to a shipwreck. The ship sank not far from Shells Town, in my territory. I was the one who led the 'rescue' mission... But... although it was called a shipwreck, when we found the bodies, we discovered they had been... poisoned. Later... a noble party... sent me a large sum of Berries to... confirm... the official story."
He didn't need to finish his sentence.
The meaning was clear enough.
He was paid handsomely to cover up a regicide.
"As for the Arlong Pirate Crew..." Morgan coughed, spitting out a broken tooth. "Although they didn't send as much as Captain Nezumi gets, they still gave me quite a few Berries... every year. It was a retainer, so that us Marine officers would turn a blind eye to what he was doing."
"And... Germa 66's attack on the Cobia Kingdom... that was arranged by the Sorbet Kingdom, through my Marine channels. I... I was the middle-man."
After Morgan finished speaking, Lancelot's brows furrowed deeply.
'Sterry!'
When it came to the Kingdom of Goa, Lancelot immediately thought of that slimy, social-climbing little worm.
Lancelot knew this guy's entire story from his past life.
He was a truly ruthless character.
When he was just eight years old, his biological parents could no longer support him, and he was later adopted by Sabo's father, thus becoming an "official" noble.
But this guy, through cunning and deceit, successfully pushed the true heir, Sabo, aside and became the new genuine noble.
But becoming a noble was just his first step.
He then set his sights higher, eventually marrying the princess, Sally Nantokānetto.
Soon after that, the king and princes of the Kingdom of Goa began to die one after another under... mysterious circumstances.
In the end, having married the princess, Sterry himself became the king.
His methods were absolutely brilliant, in a purely sociopathic way.
From his perspective, he was the protagonist of his own story.
Starting from a destitute family, he had climbed all the way to become a king.
It was a truly dark counterattack.
So, Lancelot deduced, at this exact point in the timeline, Sterry had already married Sally Nantokānetto and had begun his bloody plot, targeting the royal family members one by one.
And Morgan... Morgan was his local clean-up crew.
As for the Arlong Pirate Crew, Lancelot found that to be nothing out of the ordinary.
Arlong had been wreaking havoc in the East Blue for so many years; it was impossible that a mere Captain Nezumi could completely suppress the incident.
Of course other base commanders were on the take.
What did surprise him, however, was that Germa 66's attack on the Cobia Kingdom was actually carried out through Morgan's channels.
That was a significant, unexpected piece of intelligence.
He couldn't help but give Gin a meaningful look.
Gin, catching the silent order, immediately understood.
He hauled the broken Morgan to his feet and began dragging him away toward the holding cells on the Merry.
Their goal was singular: to get every last detail about these illicit channels and contacts.
They might prove... very useful in the future.
It just wasn't appropriate to conduct that level of "interrogation" in public.
"Good, good... excellent..."
As the townspeople watched Morgan—their iron-fisted tyrant—being dragged away like a dead dog by another Marine, they could no longer conceal their bubbling, explosive joy.
It was only because of Morgan's three-year reign of terror that they had developed such a deep-seated fear of the Marine uniform.
Otherwise, they would have already erupted in cheers.
Even so, they couldn't suppress the corners of their mouths from curling upward, revealing the first genuine smiles many of them had worn in years.
Lancelot, seeing this swell of positive emotion, seized the moment.
He stepped forward onto the platform where Morgan's execution post had once stood, his towering frame commanding the attention of the entire square.
He announced loudly, his voice booming with a new, powerful authority:
"First! Starting today, the 153rd Branch here in Shells Town is hereby dissolved! It will be reorganized into the new East Blue Inspection Headquarters! This entire island, including Shells Town, and all surrounding waters will fall under the direct jurisdiction of my Inspectorate!"
A gasp went through the crowd.
"All of the unreasonable, tyrannical taxes imposed by Morgan are hereby abolished! We will revert to the normal, fair tax rates from before Morgan's arrival!"
"Additionally, I must clarify one point for everyone! The Inspection Headquarters is responsible for overseeing the entire Marine forces in the East Blue! If any of you are wronged by any Marine, you can come directly to us! We will be your strongest support!"
This was met with stunned, hopeful silence. Lancelot pressed on.
"Second! I announce to all of you, and I will be announcing to the entire East Blue: My Inspection Headquarters will be implementing a new bounty system! Anyone who sees or hears of Marines violating regulations, abusing their power, or extorting civilians can report it directly to us!"
"If the report is verified, the informant will receive a fitting monetary reward! Moreover, the higher the rank of the reported Marine, the more substantial the reward for the informant!"
"We will also ensure complete confidentiality for all informants. Your safety is our priority!"
"Furthermore, if an informant not only provides a verified report but also presents irrefutable evidence, they may be exceptionally recruited into the East Blue Inspection force! Or, their family members—such as their children—may be given priority consideration!"
The crowd was now buzzing, whispers of "did he say... rewards?" spreading like wildfire.
"Third! I will be using my own funds and government resources to expand the port of Shells Town! I intend to develop this town into the central trade hub of the entire East Blue! But rest assured, you won't have to pay a single extra Berry for this!"
"What you will be able to do is participate! We will need builders, craftsmen, and merchants for this new, prosperous Shells Town! And, of course, you will all receive reasonable, high wages for your work!"
The crowd was silent for one long, processing beat.
"What? Taxes... taxes are returning to normal levels?" one woman whispered, her hand over her mouth.
"Rewards... for reporting on Marines?" a man muttered in disbelief. "With solid evidence, you can even... become an inspector?"
"He's... he's turning Shells Town into the trade hub of the East Blue? And... and paying us for it?"
Is this a dream?
At this moment, the townspeople of Shells Town stared wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
It took them a long time to snap out of the collective shock.
"This is wonderful...!" one person finally shouted, tears in his eyes.
"He... he saved us! He's a real Marine!"
"LONG LIVE CAPTAIN LANCELOT! LONG LIVE THE INSPECTOR GENERAL!"
This time, the townspeople erupted in a deafening, unified cheer.
Their gazes toward Lancelot had completely changed.
Gone was the previous fear and disgust, replaced only by a profound, burning respect and gratitude.
he younger ones, seeing his power, his authority, and now his generosity, even showed expressions of pure, unadulterated admiration.
After all, none of them were fools—they understood exactly how much benefit Lancelot's announcements would bring to their entire Shells Town.
Meanwhile, Lancelot turned his attention to the Marine soldiers of the 153rd Branch, who had been standing frozen, watching their tyrant captain be dragged away.
The Marines, hearing the cheers of the people, were also all smiling, a palpable sense of relief washing over them.
They understood, with absolute clarity, that the long, dark, and oppressive era of Axe-Hand Morgan's rule had finally, and spectacularly, come to an end.