Blood?"
Morgan reached up and touched his nose, which had been smashed and deformed by Tom's kick. His hand came away covered in the blood flowing from his nostrils. The vivid, glaring red made his eyes bulge with rage. "You insignificant brat!" he roared at Tom. "You dare wound me!"
"Did you see that? The Captain was hurt by that kid's kick."
"To think the Captain would be at a disadvantage..."
The Marines watching from a distance exchanged uneasy glances, their faces full of disbelief.
"Hurting you is nothing to boast about. I take no pride in it at all," Tom said, panting heavily and spitting on the ground. He fought against the dizziness washing over his head as he addressed the furious Morgan.
His words were disrespectful, but they were the truth. If Tom felt smug about injuring Morgan, how would he ever face enemies who were countless times stronger in the future?
The wound on his back, aggravated by his violent movements, was now a mangled, bloody mess. The bleeding hadn't stopped; it had worsened. This was inevitable. After being injured, Tom had fought the Marines without any treatment, and now clashing with Morgan had pushed him to his limit.
Even if Morgan's strength as a Marine Captain was somewhat lacking, he was still far stronger than the common grunts.
Ugh... At this rate, I might really die here.
This thought surfaced, and a flicker of panic—a feeling he'd never experienced before—rose in Tom's heart. It was an innate human instinct: the fear of death.
"Leave a few men to guard that pirate hunter! Everyone else, attack with me! Today, I swear I will chop this brat who repeatedly defies my authority into mincemeat, or I am not a man!" Morgan's bloodshot eyes radiated murderous intent as he barked the order to the surrounding Marines.
"What a shameless man. Knowing you're not his match, you resort to such underhanded tactics. If you were any kind of man, you'd finish this duel one-on-one!" Zoro, tied to the post, wished he could cut Morgan down himself. He could see Tom was in bad shape and knew Morgan had noticed it too, hence the order for a group attack. Such a despicable method filled him with contempt.
Next to Zoro, Koby's flabby body trembled slightly. His fists were clenched, his face etched with confusion. "This is the Navy, which always claims to stand for justice? Is this what I yearned to join?"
"Keep howling, Roronoa Zoro! After I kill that brat, your execution is next! Only drifting trash like you would believe in something as naive as a fair duel!" Morgan shot a cold glance at Zoro and sneered.
"What did you say?" Zoro's expression darkened, his eyes turning cold and sharp, like a ferocious beast locking onto its prey. The look sent a chill down the spine of anyone who saw it.
Meeting Zoro's gaze for just a moment made Morgan feel a deep, uncomfortable cold seep into his bones. As expected of the man called 'Pirate Hunter'... What a terrifying glare. But under my authority, even you are just a lamb to the slaughter.
"No point wasting words on this kind of man!" Tom's voice cut through. "A man rotten with power has no integrity left. How could someone like that have the courage to fight fair and square? I never expected him to fight honorably. I'm not surprised it came to this."
As he spoke, Tom felt the unease in his heart lessen. He suddenly laughed aloud, looking at the Marines and Morgan slowly closing in. "You think you can take my life? What do you think I trained myself to the bone for, every day for the past month? You think I set out to sea on a whim? You think I'll die so easily here? You want to kill me? Are you even worthy?"
Five successive roars, each louder than the last. The intimidating aura radiating from Tom grew stronger with each shout, actually stunning the Marines present.
"Still running your mouth when you're at death's door! What are you standing around for? Attack!" Morgan, snapping back to his senses, immediately barked at the dazed Marines. He was furious. This heavily wounded boy had momentarily cowed even him with sheer presence alone.
This was unacceptable to Morgan, who always considered himself a Naval elite. How could a nobody of no status or rank make him feel such gut-wrenching fear, even for an instant?
"RAAAAAH!"
Tom's roar seemed to scatter much of the fear that had gripped his heart. Mustering every last ounce of his spirit and strength, he charged toward the Marines.
In that moment, Tom suddenly understood. The moment he decided to set sail with Luffy, he was destined to face countless dangers. If he couldn't conquer his fear of death, if he let it control him, then he was truly finished.
So he hardened his heart, deciding to think of nothing else and fight with everything he had.
Ever since setting out with Luffy, Tom had always believed he might encounter danger, but never mortal peril. Luffy and Zoro were reliable. If he were in trouble, they could help him.
But looking at the current situation—Luffy missing, Zoro temporarily unable to fight—it was all on him. For the first time, Tom realized that if he didn't strive, if he didn't dare to fight, he would really die.
This was, in effect, Tom's first true life-and-death crisis since joining the Straw Hat crew. One misstep, and it was over.
For the first time in his life, he felt Death's breath so clearly, so close.
If I back down here, my adventure, my voyage, ends right here.
Since I can't run... I can only fight.
Tom knew if he turned and fled without hesitation, his chances of survival were decent. But if he did, Morgan would order Zoro's execution, rendering all his previous efforts meaningless.
Furthermore, choosing to run would be no different from abandoning a comrade in a crisis.
To forsake a companion in peril out of fear of death… that was the height of cowardice!
Tom never considered himself a noble person. Even now, with Death calling, his heart was filled with trepidation.
But if he chose to save his own skin and abandon a comrade here, even if Zoro miraculously survived, how could Tom ever face Luffy and the others on the same ship again? How could he call himself a member of the Straw Hat crew?
If Zoro weren't tied up and could fight normally, Tom might have actually run. With Zoro's skills, he'd be fine, and Tom could find a place to tend his wounds.
Unfortunately, Zoro was tightly bound to that damned wooden post. To put it bluntly, even a weakling could kill him right now. How could Tom leave him in such a state?
The most critical question was: Where the hell is Luffy?!
Tom had no time to dwell on that now. He dashed into the crowd of Marines, throwing punches with all his might, each blow aimed at taking a Marine down with one hit.
"He's insane!" a Marine holding a saber yelled, his legs going weak from the sheer, desperate ferocity emanating from Tom. The words had just left his mouth when Tom's fist slammed into his face, sending him flying backward into several comrades.
"I've prepared myself to die here! If you want to take my head, have you prepared yourself to be sent flying?!" Tom snarled, snatching the saber from the fallen Marine's hand mid-stride and swinging it with all his remaining force at Morgan.
Clang!
Morgan swung the giant axe embedded in his right arm, shattering Tom's saber. Seeing the sharp, blade-like glint and the chilling light in Tom's eyes, he involuntarily took a step back. "Why are you still standing? Why won't you fall?!"
Raising his axe-arm high, Morgan bellowed and brought it crashing down toward Tom.
BOOM!
Morgan's axe struck the ground like a thousand-pound boulder, splitting the earth open.
Tom leaped sideways, barely avoiding the blow. Then, clenching his right fist, he drove it hard into Morgan's right cheek. "I staked my life to set sail! Someone like you, who only knows how to rely on authority, could never defeat me!"
THUD!
Morgan was sent flying in a straight line, a few yellow teeth flying from his mouth along with him. He landed like a cannonball about twenty meters away, throwing up a cloud of dust.
"Staked his life...?" Koby stared blankly at Tom's back. He remembered Luffy saying something similar before—that he would risk his life to become the Pirate King.
"So... he's the same as Luffy-san. No wonder he's Luffy-san's companion," Koby muttered to himself, his words overheard by Zoro tied to the post beside him.
"A shame he's not a swordsman! A good thing he's not a swordsman!" Zoro said, looking toward Tom and uttering this seemingly nonsensical statement.
"Captain Morgan... was sent flying by him!"
"What a terrifying man. He looks half-dead, yet he still has such power."
The surrounding Marines looked at Tom, who swayed unsteadily as if he might collapse any second. Not one dared to step forward; instead, they collectively retreated three steps.
"What are you doing? You dare retreat without my order?!" a deeply阴沉 voice snarled as the Marines backed away.
Morgan, crouched on the ground, spat out a few mouthfuls of bloody saliva and slowly stood up. Step by step, he walked back toward Tom. His face was covered in blood, making him look even more ferocious. "I admit... that punch of yours really hurt. But this is the end for you. In this world, the winner is always king!"
The Marines around them saw Morgan take such a heavy blow and still stand. No one cheered; their faces only grew grimmer.
"In that case, I'll just give you another punch. Then you'll understand who the loser is," Tom said with a weak chuckle, his body swaying as he gasped for breath. He was at his absolute limit.
"Shut your mouth!" Morgan roared, his eyes bulging. He raised the giant axe on his right arm high and brought it down viciously toward Tom.
At that moment, a slender figure dashed in and tackled Tom to the ground, saving him from the blow.
Morgan's axe struck empty air. Seeing the pretty girl with short orange hair who had pushed Tom aside, he sneered. "It's you. You should have stayed hidden. Did you come out just to die?"
Nami ignored him. Seeing Tom seemed to have lost consciousness, she promptly and unceremoniously slapped his face several times. "Wake up!"
Slap! Slap! Slap!
What the hell? Who's hitting me? And aiming for the face? What's wrong with them, jealous of my good looks?
Tom quickly regained awareness, feeling dizzy and his face stinging painfully. Before he even opened his eyes, he caught a faintly familiar scent of hair.
"Nami? Is that you, Nami? What are you doing here?"
"Idiot! Why did you have to fight so desperately? Don't you know I'd worry about you?" Nami saw Tom was still dazed and raised her hand to slap him again.
Hearing Nami's words, Tom's heart skipped a beat. Somehow, strength returned to his body, and the searing pain in his back lessened somewhat. He snapped his eyes open just in time to see Nami's hand coming toward his face.
Damn it, not again! A few more slaps and I'll look like a pig's head!
Tom caught Nami's wrist firmly. Her skin felt incredibly smooth and soft under his grip, like polished, cool jade.
Huh? Her skin is really this nice?
He saw Nami biting her lip, staring at him dumbfounded. Her usually bright, sharp eyes were now brimming with tears.
A single, clear teardrop trailed slowly down her smooth, jade-like cheek and finally dripped onto Tom's face.
Was that tear warm or cool? Tom couldn't tell. But one thing he was sure of: when he saw Nami's tears, his heart clenched painfully, yet also felt strangely warm.
Almost instinctively, Tom reached up and wiped the tears from the corner of Nami's eye. He was about to say something when he saw Morgan raising his giant axe, bringing it down toward both him and Nami.
Dammit! I'm having a moment here, and you have to ruin the mood? If I don't punch you now, I'm not human!
Tom hurriedly pushed Nami aside, but doing so left him no time to dodge Morgan's axe.
Just as the axe was about to cleave into Tom, it stopped dead.
"He... he stopped the Captain's axe with his feet!"
The nearby Marines stared, utterly petrified, as Tom—still lying on the ground—clamped the descending axe blade tightly between his feet, freezing Morgan in place.
Even Zoro watched with his mouth slightly agape, momentarily speechless.
Nami, beside Tom, had thought he was done for. When Morgan's axe came down, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
"Get lost!" Tom yelled, and with a powerful twist of his legs still clamped on the axe-head, he flung Morgan to the side.
Tragically, Morgan was sent crashing to the ground once more, raising another cloud of dust.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic