"Is he immortal? He looked like he was about to collapse earlier."
"Maybe it was a trick to make us think he was finished. How cunning."
"Yeah, good thing we didn't attack him. Captain Morgan fell for it."
The Marines surrounding them watched as Tom used his feet to grab Morgan's giant axe and effortlessly throw the man. Fear grew in their hearts.
However, when they spoke of Morgan falling for Tom's trick, their tones carried a hint of schadenfreude. It showed just how much they resented their arrogant, brutal superior.
"Weren't you on death's door just a moment ago? How are you suddenly so lively? Were you pretending to be nearly dead just to trick me?" Nami asked, having recovered from her shock. She wiped the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes casually. Seeing Tom throw Morgan aside so easily, a completely different person from before, she couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Seeing the wound on Tom's back had stopped bleeding, Nami felt a little relieved. While wiping her tears, she had secretly smiled, a fact no one present noticed.
Damn it, even if I were bored, I wouldn't pretend to be dead just to trick tears out of you.
Tom shook out his hands and loosened up his joints. He was also very puzzled. How had he suddenly recovered a fair amount of stamina, and why did the wound on his back seem much less severe?
His strength also seemed to have increased slightly, which confused him even more. He knew for a fact that just a few minutes ago, he couldn't have possibly stopped Morgan's full-force axe strike with just his feet.
It had been difficult, but he had indeed done it moments ago. With just his feet, he had blocked Morgan's full-power attack.
Is this the power of a Devil Fruit?
A thought flashed through Tom's mind. I was truly at my limit, on the verge of death. But when I heard Nami say she was worried about me, I felt a current flow through my whole body, a tingling sensation, and then I recovered most of my strength.
Brink of death, then instant recovery, with a power-up on top.
Tom stroked his chin, deep in thought. Nami, who had been about to speak to him, decided not to disturb him.
The surrounding Marines, without Morgan's order, merely kept Tom and Nami surrounded. Not one dared to step forward and attack.
Nami, who had been secretly watching Tom, suddenly heard him muttering to himself: "Reviving from the brink of death and getting stronger... Doesn't that make me a lot like a Saiyan?"
"Saiyan? Is Sai your hometown? I've never heard of a Sai Village in the East Blue. Are you not from the East Blue?" Nami asked curiously, her words immediately making Tom freeze up.
Good grief, if I were really a Saiyan, I could blow Morgan away with a breath. Why would I fight so hard?
Tom looked at Nami speechlessly, his feelings a tangled mess. Seeing the faint traces of tears still on her smooth, pale cheeks, and remembering how she had cried out of worry for him, he couldn't bring himself to tease her.
The Marines who heard Nami's words looked at Tom, thinking: What kind of village is this 'Sai' place, to produce such a monster? It's too terrifying. When I apply for a transfer to another branch, I'd better investigate carefully. If there's a village called Sai nearby, I'm not going.
Tom was just about to explain to Nami what a 'Saiyan' was when he heard Morgan's voice. "You two still have the leisure to chat? Today is truly a day of disgrace for me, Morgan!"
Morgan slowly walked toward Tom. Though he had been thrown by Tom's feet not long ago and looked a mess, he hadn't sustained any serious bone or muscle injuries. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Tom and gave the order to the Marines. "All units, obey my command! Join me in exterminating these two scoundrels who dare defy my supreme authority!"
At Morgan's command, the Marines surrounding Tom and Nami attacked once more. Morgan, raising the giant axe on his right arm, also charged at Tom. The scene descended into chaos again.
Facing the tide of Marines rushing at him, Tom had no time to chat with Nami. A punch to the left, a kick to the right, he sent the approaching Marines scattering.
With the Marines interfering, Tom, fighting bare-handed against Morgan, found it genuinely difficult.
"You're quite nimble, but your strength is insufficient. You are destined to fall before me!" Morgan blocked Tom's punch with the axe on his right arm. As he spoke, he swung his left fist hard at Tom.
Tom hastily crossed his arms in front of his chest, taking Morgan's fierce blow head-on.
"Are you okay?" Nami, who was dodging left and right, saw Tom get knocked back several steps by Morgan's punch and asked urgently.
"I'm fine. His weak punches are just right for scratching an itch," Tom said with a weak chuckle. His words were light, but inwardly he was wailing: For heaven's sake, why can Luffy take Morgan down in three punches, but even after I hit him with everything I have, he can still get up and cause trouble?
In truth, Tom understood that his current strength was indeed significantly lower than Luffy's. Just like when they sent the obese female pirate Alvida flying, he knew Luffy surpassed him in raw power.
What Tom didn't know was that Morgan was also cursing him inwardly. This kid is like a cockroach you can't crush. No matter how hard you hit him, he keeps getting back up. It's utterly despicable.
Dammit! If I had a proper weapon, I'd beat the crap out of them!
Thinking this, Tom avoided Morgan's attack but couldn't counter because several nearby Marines swung their sabers at him simultaneously. He had no choice but to dodge, or he'd be chopped to mincemeat in minutes.
Even though Tom felt stronger after recovering from his near-fatal state, dealing with an enraged Morgan and a horde of Marines was still strenuous.
It wasn't that Morgan's combat power had skyrocketed; it was that while fighting both the Marines and Morgan, Tom also had to look out for Nami, whose combat ability was relatively low. If he were alone, he could have taken the absolute initiative, and the situation wouldn't have become like this.
Morgan was now fighting with everything he had. After taking that heavy punch from Tom and suffering a major setback, he no longer dared to underestimate him.
Leading the Marines in this围攻, not daring to be careless in the slightest, and with Nami there to distract Tom, Morgan was actually fighting Tom to a standstill.
"Stay away from me!" Nami pulled out the three-section staff tied to her left leg and knocked down a Marine charging at her with one swing.
Seeing the staff in Nami's hands, an idea flashed in Tom's mind. He feinted a kick, forcing Morgan back, and shouted to Nami, "Give me your weapon!"
"Huh?" Nami, hearing Tom, was stunned for a second before throwing her staff toward him. "Do you know how to use a staff? I can't believe you know so many things."
After saying this, Nami suddenly realized: I gave him my weapon. Now I'm unarmed!
What's wrong with me? Why did I listen to him so obediently?
Thinking this, Nami barely dodged another Marine's attack and immediately scowled, speaking to Tom quite rudely. "You idiot! Give my weapon back! Are you trying to get me killed?"
Whoa, this woman's mood changes faster than flipping a page!
Tom disassembled Nami's three-section staff into three separate short rods. He then threw one of them, about thirty centimeters long, back to Nami. "Use this for now."
Nami caught the short rod Tom threw back and nearly froze on the spot. Her pretty face darkened as she yelled at Tom, "You fool! How am I supposed to use a rod this short?!"
If Marines weren't surrounding her, Nami might have resorted to violence against Tom.
"You're good with a staff, right? You can make do, can't you?" Tom said, sweeping the legs out from under several Marines in front of him. While they were flailing on their backs, he quickly pulled off their military boots and yanked out the shoelaces.
"Make do?!" Nami looked at the thirty-centimeter rod in her hand, then at the meter-long, sharp sabers in the Marines' hands. Her face, once pale and beautiful, was now as dark as charcoal, a sight to behold.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely protect you. Just give me a little more time. I'll be done soon," Tom said, dodging several more attacks from Morgan and the Marines. He casually picked up a saber from the ground and poked it a few times into the two wooden rods in his hand.
Nami's expression had softened slightly upon hearing Tom say he'd protect her. But then she saw him actually stabbing the rods with a knife and thought he was destroying her weapon. For some reason, she felt unusually angry and was about to speak when four or five Marines surrounded her, raising their sabers to cut her down.
Nami instinctively raised the rod in her hand to block. Then she remembered the rod was only a third of its usual length. How could it possibly defend her?
It's over. I'm dead.
Just as she was about to be struck by several blades, in that moment, Nami instinctively looked toward Tom. You big idiot, you've really gotten me killed. What will happen to the people in my hometown?
Just as Nami's hope vanished, a figure flashed past, wrapped an arm around her waist, and spun her around several times. Then she vaguely saw the Marines who had been about to cut her down get sent flying by someone using a rod that... bent? Their screams filled the air.
Huh. Her waist is really slim.
Tom, holding Nami by the waist, spun around on the spot a few times. Using the weapon he had hastily fashioned, he had managed to save Nami just in time.
Why did my rod bend?
Nami hadn't yet processed what she had seen, her face still a picture of shock.
Tom, with one arm holding the dazed Nami, wielded the weapon in his other hand, beating back the Marines, sending them scattering with cries of pain.
"Captain! We're no match for that strange weapon of his!" A Marine whose face had been struck a dozen times by Tom's weapon, swollen like a pig's head, crawled and scrambled over to Morgan. His words were barely out before Morgan kicked him to death. "I have no use for subordinates who undermine morale!"
Morgan walked toward Tom. He saw the weapon in Tom's hand was simply two rods connected by a rope. It looked utterly ordinary. "You think making such a ridiculous weapon can defeat me?"
"Ridiculous?" Tom swung his right hand, using the nunchaku in his grip to knock down three attacking Marines. He looked at Morgan, the corner of his mouth quirking up. He wiped his nose, shook his index finger at Morgan, then gave him a thumbs-down gesture. Finally, he turned his palm up and beckoned to Morgan. "Since you look down on it, I'll let you taste just how powerful it is."
That's right. Using Nami's rods, Tom had fashioned a pair of nunchaku. He found them incredibly easy to use. In one word: satisfying!
Morgan saw Tom using a gesture one might use to call a dog, along with all those挑衅 moves. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets with rage as he charged. "You dare look down on me like this?! I am the most outstanding Captain in the Navy! The elite of the elites! Naval Captain, Axe-Hand Morgan!"
"I don't know if you were pretending to be gravely injured before, but I will execute you here today! And the pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro! And that straw-hat-wearing brat! And this woman with you! I'll execute them all! I'll make sure they die without a burial plot!" Morgan's eyes were savage, the veins on his forehead bulging. He was furious beyond measure. Raising the giant axe on his right arm high, he brought it down toward Tom.
"You dare touch them?! You're asking for death!" Tom's anger was also ignited by Morgan's words. He sidestepped, dodging Morgan's axe, and swung the nunchaku in his right hand hard. It curved around the giant axe Morgan used to block and smashed squarely into Morgan's face, making him cry out in pain.
"Watah!" Tom struck Morgan's face with another blow. Morgan, having taken two heavy hits to the head, felt dizzy. His defensive movements slowed.
"Yah-tah!" Tom mercilessly swung his nunchaku, left and right, beating Morgan until his face was bruised and swollen, unrecognizable, with no ability to fight back.
Zoro, tied to the post, stared blankly at Tom. "He's pretty good with that kind of weapon."
"That Captain Morgan has no strength left to resist," Koby said, pushing up his thick glasses slightly. He had witnessed the entire process from Tom gradually falling behind to now completely turning the tables. His heart was in turmoil, though he wasn't sure what he was thinking.
"Stop!" Just as Tom was mercilessly beating Captain Morgan, a voice, not very loud and even trembling slightly, reached his ears.
"I told you to stop! Did you hear me?!" The same voice again. Tom gave Morgan one more strike, sending him to the ground, unable to get up, before finally ceasing his attack for the moment.
Morgan's face was now a swollen, mangled mess, nearly unrecognizable. Even his son, Helmeppo—the one who had just told Tom to stop—could barely recognize him.
"F-Father? Are you okay?" Helmeppo's body trembled slightly. He held a pistol, aiming it at Zoro and Koby. He also ordered about a dozen Marine soldiers to aim their rifles at Nami. He threatened Tom, "If you dare move recklessly again, your friends' lives are forfeit! Step back! Get away from my father!"
Son of a—! I was so focused on beating Morgan, I didn't notice when this guy showed up.
Tom frowned. He couldn't understand why Helmeppo was here, but Luffy was still nowhere to be seen.
"Heh heh heh... As expected of my good son!" Morgan said, spitting out a few bloody teeth. His eyes were badly swollen, so he could only squint to see. He slowly sat up from the ground and said to Tom, "Drop that weapon and stand in a line with that woman! If you don't obey me, you'll bear the consequences!"
Tom glanced at the Marines aiming their guns at Zoro, Koby, and Nami. He promptly dropped the nunchaku in his hand onto the ground. "I see. So this was your trump card. In case you weren't my match, even without your foolish son's help, you would have called them out to make me surrender obediently."
"Not your match?! How could I not be your match?!" Morgan struggled to his feet, roaring at Tom.
"I've already dropped my weapon, and you still don't dare come near me. You really are a coward." Tom's words completely enraged Morgan. Morgan divided his Marines into three squads. Two squads took positions on either side, aiming their rifles at Nami and at Zoro's group respectively.
This way, even if Tom tried to rescue someone, he couldn't save both sides at once.
The remaining squad aimed in Tom's direction.
"Brat, if you dare make a move, they're dead!" Morgan's grotesquely swollen mouth let out an unpleasant, cold laugh. He ordered the third rifle squad, "Aim carefully! Don't kill him! Aim for his limbs! I want to... properly entertain him!"
"Wait!" Nami, about ten meters to Tom's left, suddenly shouted.
"What do you want? Eager to go to hell?" Morgan's inhuman, ghost-like appearance frightened Nami. She stole a glance at Tom. The kid's face looked grim, but there was no fear in his eyes. She looked at the nunchaku Tom had dropped on the ground in front of him, and a complex, indescribable feeling welled up inside her.
"No, it's just... I suddenly have a stomachache. Can I go to the bathroom?" As soon as Nami said this, the entire area fell into stunned silence. Tom felt his whole world spin. What is this woman doing? If you're going to make an excuse, at least make a believable one!
"You want to execute me, right? Then let me be the guide! Shoot me now!" Just as Morgan was about to yell at Nami, Zoro's voice rang out.
"Roronoa Zoro, you are currently an important tool for me to subdue that brat! Don't worry, once I deal with him, it will be your turn soon!" Morgan raised his right hand high and gave the order to the Marines aiming at Tom. "Ready!"
Looking at the dark, menacing gun barrels aimed at him, Tom held his breath, but his heart was calmer than it had ever been.
I did my best. What a short voyage it's been.
Just as Tom was thinking this, Morgan gave the command.
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as Tom was about to close his eyes and await death, he saw a figure leap in front of him, blocking all the bullets.
"Hehe!"
Tom looked at the person who had blocked the bullets for him. When the bullets struck his body, they didn't penetrate. Instead, they made his body protrude in many spike-like shapes.
One of the spikes growing from his back even touched Tom's nose behind him. Tom could even feel that the tip of the spike still held the residual warmth of the bullets.
Looking at Luffy's back, Tom could hardly contain his excitement and thrill. Thinking he was about to die, only to be saved suddenly—this feeling of a narrow escape from death made his blood feel like it was boiling, his heart burning fiercely.
"Straw Hat...!" Morgan said through gritted teeth, his face dark as he looked at the boy before him.
"It's you!" Zoro exclaimed, seeing Luffy standing protectively in front of Tom.
"Luffy-san!" Koby shrieked.
The Marines who had fired their rifles were also stunned by Luffy's sudden appearance from who-knows-where.
"It's that troublemaker!" Nami voiced her true thoughts.
"IT WON'T WORK!" With Luffy's spirited shout, the bullets, to the stunned eyes of Morgan and the others, all bounced back.
While the Marines and Morgan were dumbfounded by Luffy's bullet-rebounding ability, Tom yelled, "Luffy!"
"Yeah!" Luffy responded succinctly.
Then Tom quickly used his foot to flick up the nunchaku lying quietly on the ground. With speed faster than lightning, he hurled the nunchaku toward the squad of Marines aiming rifles at Nami.
At the exact same moment, Luffy stretched out his leg, sweeping toward the Marines aiming their guns at Zoro's group. "Rubber Whip!"
As Luffy's stretched leg sent the Marines on the right, aiming at Zoro, flying, the nunchaku Tom threw smashed in a straight line through the rifles held by the Marines on the left aiming at Nami, shattering every single one.
It couldn't be helped. Those Marines stood in such a neat, orderly line, making it perfectly convenient for Tom.
In moments, through the cooperation of Tom and Luffy, the crisis for Nami and Zoro was successfully resolved...
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T/N :
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