"What are you standing around for?! Hurry up and take care of them!" After hearing Tom's shout, Morgan turned to look his way. He saw Tom being held by the orange-haired woman, his movements restricted. This was the perfect chance to finish him. So, while ordering the Marines to attack Luffy and Zoro, he began walking toward Tom.
"Get down, Zoro!" Luffy, seeing Morgan change direction and knowing he was going after Tom, lifted his right foot and told Zoro.
The Marines holding sabers, who were still frozen by Zoro's intimidating aura, saw Luffy raise his leg. They remembered him stretching his leg earlier and kicking an entire row of Marines flying. They all felt a jolt of fear.
"Rubber Whip!"
As soon as Zoro crouched down slightly, Luffy stretched his right leg and swung it in a powerful arc.
A dozen Marines behind Zoro, before they could react, were struck by Luffy's long leg and swept away like rubbish.
Even though he'd seen Luffy use this move before, Zoro was still somewhat surprised. He looked at Luffy. "What exactly are you..."
"I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit. I'm a rubber man," Luffy said, retracting his long, stretchy leg, which wobbled back and forth.
"A ru... rubber man?"
"Captain, we're no match for them! They're ridiculously strong!"
"They're too powerful! And we can't even beat Zoro!"
"Plus, many of us were already injured by that guy with the strange weapon. How can we handle all three of them?"
This time, the Marines truly lost their will to fight. Tom alone had beaten them soundly. Now, with the powerful Luffy and Zoro added, what courage did they have left to face them?
Morgan, who was fiercely attacking Tom, heard his men's words. His swollen face darkened. With an axe swing, he forced Tom, who was still holding Nami, to retreat. He then turned his head and said in a sinister tone, "I order you, by my authority as Captain! Anyone who bolsters the enemy's morale and undermines our own will drink a bullet and end their own lives!"
"I have no use for weak, incompetent subordinates like you!" Morgan's face, beaten into a pig's head by Tom, looked even more terrifyingly twisted as he roared at the Marines still stunned by his words. "Those who spoke those demoralizing words just now! Kill yourselves! That's an order!"
Hearing Morgan, the Marines' faces showed anger and resentment. But none dared to resist. After a moment's hesitation, cowed by Morgan's tyrannical authority, several Marines actually began raising their rifles to their own heads, preparing to shoot themselves.
"What kind of damned Navy is this?!" Tom finally had a respite from Marine attacks because the soldiers, disgusted by Morgan's order for suicide, genuinely no longer wanted to fight for him.
Not only Tom found this Navy abnormal. Zoro, a sword still in his mouth, said, "What's wrong with this military?!"
Koby, standing beside Zoro, wore an expression of utter disbelief. He had always dreamed of joining the Navy to uphold justice and fight evil. But the Navy he saw now not only confused right and wrong but also trampled on life itself.
Koby's body trembled uncontrollably. He felt something in his heart crack, causing him deep pain.
The Navy I yearned for... shouldn't be like this!
At that moment, Koby's eyes behind his thick glasses grew slightly red.
Nami, who had been clinging to Tom, now let go without hesitation and left his embrace.
"Well then, goodbye. If we have a chance to meet again, you can pay me back the money you owe me then." Nami's pretty face still showed clear tear tracks. But as she spoke to Tom, her face was lit up with a satisfied smile—a warm, heart-stirring smile.
Before Tom could react, Nami turned and ran off without looking back.
Watching Nami sprint swiftly out of the Marine base without a trace of attachment, Tom was completely baffled.
What the hell is this woman doing? She cried so many tears, soaking my clothes, and then says I owe her money next time we meet? I don't owe her a thing! What is there to pay back?!
Tom felt the remaining warmth on the front of his shirt. It seemed Nami's tears had been quite hot.
Seeing Nami about to disappear from his sight, Tom suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly shouted after her small, retreating back, "And those several hundred Berries you stole from me! Remember to pay me back next time! Don't even think about weaseling out of it!"
Nami, who had thought she might never see Tom again and was running away feeling sorrowful, stumbled at Tom's shouted words, nearly falling flat on her face.
Watching Nami run and nearly trip, Tom thought heartlessly: This woman, really. She can't even run without stumbling. She should learn from me. I walk steadily and surely. When have I ever fallen?
In truth, Nami had mentioned the debt hoping Tom might remember her occasionally in the future. She never expected that without her prompting, this guy would actually remember her over a few hundred Berries, making her feel she had completely misread the situation.
After all, on the vast, boundless sea, never meeting again in this lifetime wasn't uncommon. That's why Nami had acted so differently from her usual self this time.
By now, Luffy had dashed to Morgan in a flash and swung his fist. "I'm an enemy of the Navy! Come and sentence me to death!" Luffy's words were full of anger. Clearly, Morgan's treatment of his subordinates' lives as worthless had thoroughly enraged him.
As Luffy and Morgan began to fight, Tom saw Nami actually run back. He happily waved to her. "Did you come back to pay me?"
Nami, her face dark, didn't even look at Tom. She walked up to him, bent down, and picked up the nunchaku lying on the ground—the weapon Tom had hastily fashioned from her staff.
"You should leave that with me. You don't know how to use it," Tom said, seeing Nami about to take the nunchaku.
"You idiot! This is mine, mine, MINE!" Nami gripped the nunchaku tightly in both hands. Her face was as dark as charcoal as she yelled directly at Tom, spraying him with spit. Gone was the gentle, tender woman who had held him tightly moments before.
The scene was strikingly similar to when Tom had cursed Nami out and sprayed her with saliva not long ago, only with their roles reversed.
Compared to the bright, sunny smile she had given Tom earlier, Nami was now practically a demon incarnate, startling Tom so much he shuddered and nearly took a defensive stance.
Tom, wearing a look of wariness, put some distance between himself and Nami. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when Nami gave him a mischievous, slightly charming smile. "I thought about it. You should have this after all. Come and take it."
Nami held the nunchaku out to Tom, her bright eyes full of sincerity. Tom replied with slight hesitation, "If I take this... you really won't do anything to hurt me?"
"Of course. How could I possibly hurt you?" Nami's smile grew even brighter, showing not a hint of malice. Tom's guard lowered slightly. "If you swear, then I'll believe you."
"Fine, I swear. If I take this thing back and then do something to hurt you, then I'll be in your debt for life. How's that?" Nami made the oath without hesitation. Tom, hearing this, instantly dropped all his guard. For a money-grubber like Nami to be in debt for life—what a vicious oath that was for her!
Thus reassured, Tom reached out to take the nunchaku from Nami's hand. Just as his fingers were about to touch it, Nami revealed her terrifying shark-like grin and delivered a powerful, Haki-filled iron fist to Tom's head. "All the money is MINE! You dare tell me to pay you back? I'll flatten you!"
"WAAAAAH!!!!!"
Tom clutched his head, letting out an earth-shattering scream. Nami then strode away, not running back this time.
A few Marines had thought about stopping Nami from leaving. But after seeing her "instantly defeat" Tom—the guy who had just beaten them all up—with a single punch, they turned pale with fear, their legs shaking. What courage did they have left to stop her?
While Tom suffered Nami's "violent treatment," Koby finally vented the pent-up frustration and dissatisfaction he felt toward this completely twisted Navy. He shouted to Luffy, who was fighting Morgan, "Luffy-san! Crush this rotten Navy!"
Though Koby's shout was loud, compared to Tom's deafening cry of pain, it was practically negligible.
"What's with that guy? He just got tapped on the head by a woman and he's wailing like the world is ending. Isn't that just embarrassing?" Zoro, a sword still in his mouth, watched Tom clutching his head and howling, utterly perplexed.
Poor Zoro. In the future, after tasting the invincible power of Nami's iron fist himself, he would remember his words today, look at Tom with a face full of guilt, and think, If only I hadn't looked down on you back then.
"That woman is really strong. She took Tom out in one hit," Luffy said, having just punched Morgan flying. His reaction was different from Zoro's.
Morgan, sent flying by Luffy, happened to soar toward Tom.
Tom was crouching on the ground, clutching his head, still wondering if Nami had a screw loose, always doing such inexplicable things, when he saw Morgan flying toward him. He leaped up and delivered a fierce kick to Morgan's grotesquely swollen face. "I'm annoyed right now! Get lost!"
THUD!
Morgan was sent crashing heavily by Tom's powerful kick, landing right in front of the Marines he had ordered to shoot themselves.
"Captain Morgan... he's just getting beaten up!"
The surrounding Marines were stunned, watching Morgan lying on the ground, unable to get up.
Luffy jumped onto Morgan, grabbing him by the collar. "What kind of Navy is this?! You ruined Koby's dream!"
BOOM!
Luffy began pummeling Morgan's swollen face. "And you hurt Tom! Unforgivable!"
Tom, crouching on the ground, hearing Luffy's words, grew even more frustrated. "The injury on my back wasn't from him. I got hurt because of you."
"Me?" Luffy asked, glancing at Tom in confusion while continuing to pound Morgan.
"Yeah. If you hadn't broken that statue, I wouldn't have gotten hurt," Tom said, rubbing his head, which was throbbing painfully from Nami's punch.
"The statue?" Luffy kept punching Morgan. The Marines watched, horrified and trembling, not one daring to intervene.
Then Luffy seemed to remember something, looking at Tom with shock. "Could that statue be..."
"That's right. You finally figured it out," Tom said, thinking Luffy had realized the truth.
Luffy's next words were completely off the mark. "Was that statue carved to look like you? Now that I think about it, it really did look like you! I'm sorry I accidentally broke it!"
For heaven's sake! In what way—appearance, personality, or substance—does that giant statue of Morgan resemble me at all? You should apologize, but for your eyesight, which is worse than a cross-eyed person's!
Tom was driven to distraction by Luffy's words. His previously somewhat gloomy mood from Nami's departure vanished completely. He now felt like strangling this guy. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead unconsciously. On what basis does this glutton judge anything?
Even Zoro, watching from a distance, murmured, "That statue really did look like him. I mean, they were both injured, after all."
Fortunately, Tom didn't hear Zoro's words, or he might have truly gone mad. The statue was broken at the waist, and Tom had a back injury. That Zoro therefore found them similar... that kind of thinking was beyond normal comprehension.
Just as Luffy continued beating Morgan, a voice suddenly rang out. "Stop!"
Luffy ignored it, still delivering a thorough thrashing to Morgan. The voice came again. "I said stop, you jerk!"
"If you want him to live, stop right now, or I'll shoot!" Helmeppo threatened Luffy, holding a pistol to a hostage.
What a familiar scene. Tom was almost moved to tears.
There was Helmeppo, body trembling, pointing a gun at the head of Tom, who was crouching on the ground. This made Tom feel utterly exasperated. Even though I'm crouching here motionless, even though I'm currently the weakest on the future Straw Hat crew, you can't use me as a hostage to threaten people! You idiot, do you really think I'm such a pushover?!
It couldn't be helped. Koby was under Zoro's watch. Only Tom was crouching alone on the ground. That's why Helmeppo had chosen him as the target.
"Young Master Helmeppo..." The Marines, seeing Helmeppo dare to point a gun at Tom and use him as a hostage, were instantly so shocked their legs went weak.
Didn't Helmeppo know that Tom had just beaten Captain Morgan until he couldn't fight back? How could he be subdued so easily?
"You should give up. You're no match for Tom," Luffy said, barely glancing at Helmeppo before continuing to punch Morgan.
"Hey, you brat! Don't move, or I'll shoot!" Helmeppo threatened Tom rudely, then said to Luffy, "I'll really shoot! Your friend will die!"
"Then shoot!" Luffy said indifferently. He paid no more attention to Helmeppo, continuing to rain punches on Morgan, making him howl in pain.
"Sigh." Tom sighed. Then he drove a heavy fist into Helmeppo's face. "You get lost too!"
Helmeppo didn't even see when Tom threw the punch before he was sent flying.
Tom then jumped up, stepped on Helmeppo's hands as he lay collapsed on the ground, and began giving him a thorough beating.
"This is for throwing your weight around!"
"This is for keeping that vicious dog!"
"This is for being a useless, spoiled brat!"
"This is for oppressing innocent people!"
"This is for taking me hostage!"
Tom poured all his pent-up frustration into Helmeppo. With each shout, he felt more convinced Helmeppo deserved this. So he proceeded with a clear conscience, continuing to punch the unfortunate young man.
The tragic Helmeppo became Tom's personal punching bag.
Some Marines, seeing Helmeppo howling under Tom's assault, wanted to help. But Zoro took a step forward, a sword still in his mouth, and swept a cold gaze over the Marines who were about to make a move. "You'd all better stay right where you are. Whoever moves, I'll cut them down."
Under Zoro's gaze, the Marines felt a chill run through them, as if falling into an ice cellar. None dared to move.
And so, in the Shells Town Marine base, Luffy sat atop Morgan, brutally beating the base's Captain, while Tom gave a thorough thrashing to the Captain's son.
The Marines stared dumbfounded as Luffy and Tom taught a harsh lesson to the father-son pair who had always been arrogant and overbearing. Hearing their miserable wails of pain, they felt like they were in a dream. This is a Marine base... What do you think this place is...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Support me and Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic