Chapter 14
"A gift?"
Nezumi instantly tensed up. His nervousness synced perfectly through the Den Den Mushi.
"Skwahahaha~"
Arlong burst into laughter. "You're definitely going to love it."
Hearing that laugh, cold sweat poured down the Den Den Mushi's face.
Nezumi forced a calm voice.
"Thank you for the kind thought, Captain Arlong. I'm not at the branch right now. I'll come visit in person later."
"Got something to do. Hanging up."
Buru~
The Den Den Mushi's head drooped.
"You dare hang up on me? Then don't blame me for being rude."
Arlong laughed again.
"Skwahahaha~"
"Blast the gates open!"
With that,
Arlong leaped high. His left foot stomped hard in mid-air.
BOOM!
A sonic boom rang out as his body shot upward.
Geppo—one of the Rokushiki.
His massive weight made each step sound like an explosion.
BOOM! BOOM!
Step after step, like Wudang's Cloud-Ascending Ladder, he charged straight for the base walls.
He needed to destroy the cannons before they could target his ship.
"When will I be able to do that like Big Bro Arlong?"
On deck, Nojiko watched with envy.
"You can talk after you catch up to my progress," Nami replied smugly.
"I'm already stronger than you!" Nojiko puffed out her chest.
"Hah~"
Nami rolled her eyes and pointed at Nojiko's bust. "Besides that part being bigger, how are you better than me?"
Nojiko (σ°?°)σ..:*☆: "Flat is justice—whoever's smaller should be embarrassed."
Nami (￣へ￣): "You cheated. That's just the Devil Fruit."
Nojiko remained perfectly calm. "Flat."
Nami started getting worked up ψ(*｀ー′)ψ: "I'm still growing, okay? Big Bro Arlong said I've gotten bigger lately."
Nojiko looked triumphant o(′^｀)o: "Big Bro Arlong told me I'm still growing too. In the end yours will still be smaller."
Nami: 彡(-_-;)彡
…
Attacking a Marine branch was a serious crime.
Yet the two sisters were casually debating bust sizes.
The soldiers on the wall, however, were stunned speechless.
Rokushiki was something even regular officers weren't qualified to learn. A pirate—and a fishman at that—knew it? Unbelievable.
How lax was Marine secrecy?
"Everyone, concentrate fire!"
A colonel with a small mustache raised his saber.
When Arlong entered range, he swung it down and shouted, "Fire!"
BANG BANG BANG~
A hail of bullets flew at Arlong. He didn't dodge.
Clang clang clang~
The metallic impacts were drowned out by the gunfire.
The colonel assumed Arlong had been riddled with holes and laughed triumphantly.
"Yoshi! 20 million berry pirate or not—he still died to my rifle squad."
The soldiers holding the guns let out relieved sighs.
Many of them had grown up terrified of Arlong's reputation.
The bickering sisters heard the intense gunfire and looked over, worry on their faces.
"Big Bro Arlong will be okay, right?!"
"He's made of iron. He'll be fine."
Nojiko recalled stabbing him back then and spoke with certainty.
…
Then Arlong's terrifying laughter rang out.
"Skwahahaha~"
"Mere bullets think they can hurt me?!"
Seeing him completely unharmed and full of energy, the Marines collectively reeled in shock!
"Soru!"
Ten meters out, Arlong vanished and reappeared atop the wall—targeting the mustached colonel.
The colonel hadn't recovered when he sensed something approaching. Instinctively he raised his saber.
He never brought it down.
Intense pain exploded in his chest.
"AHH!"
Arlong withdrew his finger and kicked the colonel flying, bowling over at least seven or eight others.
"Kill him!"
Over a dozen soldiers charged at Arlong.
They were all fresh recruits, full of conviction, undeterred by his strength.
Arlong didn't care. Relying on his overwhelming power, he barreled through the crowd.
Anyone he collided with suffered broken bones.
Screams filled the air, mixed with Arlong's excited laughter.
WHOOO~
Alarms blared across the base. Marines grabbed rifles and rushed from buildings, gathering in the central square.
After clearing the wall, Arlong began destroying the cannons.
…
Meanwhile, Colonel Nezumi hid under his desk, dialing Navy Headquarters.
It rang twice before connecting.
"This is Navy Headquarters."
"This is Colonel Nezumi of Branch 16, serial number 00733, requesting immediate support!"
"What is it?"
"Pirate Arlong and the Arlong Pirates are attacking the branch!"
"Useless! Can't even stop a small-time East Blue pirate? Wait for Headquarters' punishment!"
Buru~
The call ended.
"Hey! Hey! What about my support?!"
Furious, Nezumi hurled the Den Den Mushi away.
"If you can't rely on others, rely on yourself."
He stripped off his uniform and started packing valuables from the safe.
…
Outside the base
The Shark Sparb entered firing range.
The panel in the shark's mouth slid open, revealing a massive cannon barrel the size of a man's head.
"Fire!"
A shell streaked through flames toward the main gate.
BOOM!
One blast reduced the shoddily built gate to splinters.
"Yeah!"
Nami and Nojiko high-fived excitedly.
"Hmph~"
Then both turned away from each other.
…
Dust cleared.
Branch 16 lay fully exposed.
The inner harbor—formed from a natural bay—held over a dozen warships of varying sizes.
Just ordinary patrol ships. Not a single proper warship.
Branch 77 had an old retired one, but Hatchan and the others had already sunk it.
Not that the Navy was poor—East Blue simply had no real threats worth heavy investment.
"Quick! Board the ships and counterattack!"
A warrant officer in the square paled at the sight of the Shark Sparb.
He frantically urged the Marines to board.
Those ships were half the branch's assets. Losing them would ruin it.
Too late.
"Fire!"
BOOM!
One after another, the patrol ships sank under relentless cannon fire.
"It's over…"
The warrant officer went ashen.
The hundreds of Marines gathered in the square had considered returning fire, but the dark cannon barrels aimed their way made them obediently drop their weapons and surrender.
Humiliation!
Absolute humiliation for Branch 16.
In all its years in the East Blue, no pirate had ever openly challenged them like this.
Arlong scanned the crowd—no sign of Nezumi. He headed straight for the half-round building with the rat head on top.
At the door, he ran right into the fleeing Nezumi.
Nezumi's eyes bulged at the sight of Arlong.
Plop. He dropped to his knees.
"Lord Arlong, mercy! Everything in this suitcase—it's enough to cover all the bribes I took from you!"
Arlong took the case without hesitation and asked mentally,
"System, can I store this?"
[Ding! Yes, Host.]
The suitcase vanished into thin air.
Nezumi was about to beg for his life when he saw it—his eyes widened forever.
Back on the ship,
Arlong pointed at the rat-head building. "I hate rats."
"Fire!"
A shell flew straight at it.
BOOM!
A massive explosion sent stone and dust flying.
Terrified Marines scattered.
When the dust settled, Nezumi's office was rubble.
"Urk!"
The Marines looked horrified—Nezumi was definitely dead!
"Arlong killed Colonel Nezumi!"
…
Nami and Nojiko leaned against Arlong, eyes curved into happy crescents.
Their last worry was gone. They could now sail without regrets.
Nami Affection +1… Nojiko Affection +1…
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. Nami's affection has reached 90. Reward: 1 Silver Treasure Chest.]
"Sorry I couldn't let you take revenge personally."
Arlong's voice carried a hint of apology.
The sisters were about to say it was fine when Arlong suddenly burst into laughter.
"Skwahahaha~"
Amid the laughter, the Shark Sparb sailed away from Branch 16.
==============================================================
Support me and be 100 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/inkshield