Chapter 203: Analysis
If those words had come from a powerful figure, they might have carried some deterrence.
But from a child, they were simply laughable.
Nikler and his men froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
What had they just heard?
They had been threatened by a little brat.
"Do you even know who Boss Nikler is?" one of the men shouted. "He's a pirate who once had a bounty of fifteen million Berries!"
Only fifteen million?
Most of the pirates drawn here by the rumors of Pluton were people with shallow vision and mediocre strength. Even among them, however, there had been no fewer than ten pirates with bounties in the tens of millions.
And by now, those people had all become dead souls under Axel's hands.
How could Axel possibly care about a pirate worth fifteen million?
He did not even bother wasting words.
With a slight thought, the group that had been laughing a moment earlier lost their lives.
It happened in an instant.
The crowd only blinked, and the scene before them had already changed.
Theodore and Brad, who had rarely witnessed slaughter at such close range, felt chills crawl up their backs.
Tom remained calm.
After following Axel for a year, he had long since grown used to the boy's way of doing things.
Ain and Binz were also accustomed to it.
They were no longer the naive youths they had been years ago. On this sea, Marines and pirates were enemies by nature. Kindness to an enemy was often cruelty to oneself.
Through Zephyr's training, they had seen too much of the darkness of pirates.
So regarding Axel's actions, they chose to remain silent.
However, more important than killing those men was completing the mission.
"Why did you kill them?" Ain frowned. "We should have interrogated them first. Our mission this time is to investigate the cause."
Axel replied calmly, "Because I already know the cause."
"You know?"
This time, Ain and Binz were both shocked.
They had been present from beginning to end, but they had not seen any clear clue.
All they knew was that someone was preparing to build a ship and had hired pirates to oversee the work.
But what did that have to do with the World Government withholding information and refusing to let Marine recruits come here for training?
"Then tell us what the cause is."
"It wouldn't be any fun if I told you."
Axel's answer made Ain angry and left Binz speechless.
But he truly could not explain it.
His deduction was only a deduction for now, and it was based partly on memories from his previous life. Until it was confirmed, he had no intention of saying it aloud.
"Oh."
Ain's response was light.
Her actions, however, were not.
She stepped closer and stared at Axel from an extremely close distance, as if she could pry the answer out of his mouth through sheer pressure.
Axel kept his mouth firmly shut.
After a while, Ain sighed and gave up.
She knew Axel's temperament.
Although he often joked around, he was strangely serious even about his jokes. Once he said something, he rarely took it back.
After giving a soft acknowledgment, Ain turned and walked toward the door.
Binz asked curiously, "Ain, where are you going?"
"To call the investigation team," Ain replied.
They had not come alone this time. A specialized investigation team had come with them.
Since Axel was unwilling to speak, she would have professionals analyze the scene.
If Axel could see something, then those people should be able to find something as well.
Before Ain could take more than a few steps, Axel spoke lazily from behind her.
"No need. There will be results soon."
Ain stopped and turned back, puzzled.
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"On our way here," Axel said, "didn't you notice anything unusual?"
Ain lowered her head and began to recall.
At the same time, Theodore finally recovered from his shock.
At Marineford, he had rarely seen killing. The scene just now still left him unsettled.
He also remembered some rumors he had heard among the Marines, rumors that Axel was someone who enjoyed killing.
Brad quietly pulled his old friend aside and whispered, "What kind of people did you bring here? Why does what they're talking about sound so... serious?"
Theodore whispered back, "Don't be fooled by how small that kid is. He's a proper Marine captain."
Brad muttered, "Are Marine captains all this brutal? If they were, the sea would've been peaceful long ago."
After thinking for a long time, Binz still looked confused.
Everything had seemed normal on the way from the ship.
Was there anything strange?
Ain, however, seemed to catch onto something. She frowned, uncertain.
"Are you talking about the people?"
"Correct."
Axel nodded.
"Don't you think there were a little too many people near the shore?"
Under normal circumstances, people who lived by the coast did not spend all day running toward the shore.
It was not only a matter of lifestyle habits.
Staying near the shore for long periods was harmful to the body. The harsh sea breeze, the scorching sun, and the seawater were all factors.
"Is there anything unusual about there being many people?" Binz asked, puzzled.
Axel smiled.
"Let me put it this way. You don't need to do anything illegal. All you need to do is take your children for a normal walk or vacation along the coast, then report who landed on the island today. In exchange, I'll give you money."
He looked at Binz.
"What would your answer be?"
"I'd agree," Ain said softly.
Her expression stiffened.
She had not noticed such a fatal detail.
Their ship had clear Marine markings.
That meant their movements had already been exposed from the moment they landed.
"Many people brought their children to the coast," Axel continued. "At first, I thought there might be some festival, but after observing them, I found no props, decorations, or preparations related to any celebration. It looked more like ordinary leisure."
He raised one finger.
"Still, I didn't immediately reach a conclusion. It could have been a local custom."
Then he raised a second finger.
"But the age ratio of the people outside was strange. There were very few elderly people. The vast majority were young adults. If it were truly a local custom, that wouldn't happen. The ratio should have been more balanced."
Ain and Binz listened quietly.
"That imbalance ruled out my first two guesses," Axel said. "Which meant my earlier assumptions were wrong."
He glanced toward the direction of the coast.
"Now think back to their expressions. They looked at us calmly on the surface, but their eyes carried a trace of greed."
Axel's analysis left everyone stunned.
Even Tom, who was used to him, smacked his lips before lowering his head and continuing to examine the piece of Treasure Tree Adam.
"Theodore," Brad whispered, tugging on his sleeve, "have kids these days all become monsters?"
Brad lived on this island, so he knew Axel was right.
The island's residents had indeed been bought off, himself included.
That matter almost never leaked to outsiders, because selling information about visitors would damage the island's reputation too badly.
Because of that, Brad was certain Axel had deduced all of this by himself.
"How would I know?"
Theodore shook off Brad's hand, irritated.
His understanding of Axel was still stuck on the boy who had destroyed his little nest back then.
Who could have expected that the child was not only brutal, but also this sharp?
"Then who exactly bought them off?" Ain asked.
"I don't know."
Axel lied without changing his expression, then continued, "But we no longer need to look for them."
He glanced at the corpses on the ground.
"If this guy named Nikler doesn't leave after a while, someone will naturally come looking for him."
Axel found a place to sit.
"Instead of searching everywhere, waiting here is more convenient."
.....
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