Swallowing his fury, Colonel Nezumi turned to one of his men.
“Go find out exactly what happened here.
I want every detail.”
Then he went to Arlong Park’s warehouse himself.
The warehouse was empty.
Completely cleared out.
Colonel Nezumi’s fury boiled over.
“Those bastards.
Every last Berry is gone!”
He didn’t know exactly how much the Arlong Pirates had accumulated over the years.
But it had been substantial.
Now the warehouse was bare and the money was gone.
The loss was a genuine physical pain.
“Did the Buggy Pirates take it, or was it those miserable villagers?”
Colonel Nezumi drew a long breath.
Something cold entered his eyes.
“If the villagers took it, there’s still a chance to get it back…”
If the Buggy Pirates had it, that was a lost cause.
But if the people of Cocoyasi Village had taken it, he still had a way to reclaim it.
With that thought in mind, he left the warehouse.
His men came back with what they had found out.
The Buggy Pirates and the Arlong Pirates had clashed.
The Buggy Pirates had wiped out the Arlong Pirates.
Listening to the report, Colonel Nezumi ground his teeth hard enough to crack them.
“The Buggy Pirates.
So that’s who you are.
Hiding this much strength all this time.
I won’t forget you.”
Those damned Buggy Pirates had killed his meal ticket.
He would remember that.
He would report to Marine Headquarters immediately and escalate the Buggy Pirates’ threat classification.
Get Headquarters to dispatch more Marines to eliminate them.
Personal revenge dressed in institutional language.
“Move out.
We’re going to Cocoyasi Village.”
He pushed down the anger and swept his hand forward, leading his Marines toward Cocoyasi Village in force.
The Arlong Pirates being wiped out by the Buggy Pirates was established fact.
He had one remaining question.
Who had taken Arlong’s assets?
At the coast.
A vessel with a menacing hull, jagged serrations at the prow, and the Arlong Pirates’ flag hanging from its mast was docked at a deserted stretch of shore.
The Arlong Pirates’ ship.
“There he is.”
He watched the Marines’ movements and caught sight of a familiar face among them.
A mischievous grin crossed his face.
“Pirates killing pirates isn’t enough to establish the Buggy Pirates as truly dangerous.
A Marine branch colonel dying in the mix should raise their reputation by another level.”
“Sorry for the extra weight you’ll be carrying, Buggy…”
Buggy was going to be carrying that one whether he liked it or not.
There would be no room left in the East Blue for the Buggy Pirates after this.
The only road open to them would be the Grand Line.
Cleaning house for the East Blue, in his own way.
Kuina jumped down from the ship.
“I think you’re overreacting.
How could the Marines possibly stoop to something that underhanded?”
“If they would do that, what’s the difference between them and pirates?”
In the half day that had passed, they had moved the Arlong Pirates’ ship and its stored valuables to this deserted stretch of coast.
Because Rocks had said something: the Marines might try to seize what the Arlong Pirates had plundered.
Kuina thought he was making too much of it.
The Marines’ purpose was to stabilize the seas.
They wouldn’t stoop to that.
“There are decent pirates and corrupt Marines.
Don’t underestimate what people are capable of.”
Rocks said it matter-of-factly.
“Why do you think the Arlong Pirates were able to operate so freely for so long?
Burning villages, taking whatever they wanted?”
“Their strength is part of it.
But without a Marine on the payroll, do you think they could have lived that well for that long?”
“Pirates with a Marine connection?”
Kuina’s brow drew together slightly.
“A corrupt Marine.
So that’s why you think the Marines would treat the name Rocks as a threat on its own?”
“Kill first, ask questions later.
Eliminate threats before they can grow.
There are plenty of Marines who think exactly that way.”
“And there are even more who do genuinely terrible things in the name of justice.
That kind is worse than pirates.”
“If Marines like that really exist, that’s a frightening thing…”
Kuina let out a slow breath.
Doing terrible things in the name of justice.
The thought alone was unsettling.
The harm something like that could do to ordinary people was worse than any pirate.
“Of course, there are Marines who genuinely carry justice in their hearts and work sincerely for peace.
On the whole, the Marines deserve more trust than pirates.”
Rocks smiled and cracked his knuckles.
“Let’s go.
We have something to handle.”
He looked toward Cocoyasi Village, that mischievous smile still on his face.
“Time to add a little more to the Buggy Pirates’ legend…”
Cocoyasi Village.
Colonel Nezumi had asked around and gotten nowhere.
He was furious.
He was convinced these worthless villagers had organized to deceive him.
They had clearly pocketed whatever Arlong had left behind and were keeping it out of greed.
“Withholding information is a crime!
You understand that?!”
Colonel Nezumi was barely holding himself together, something cold and sharp entering his eyes.
“The Marines don’t go easy on criminals.
Are you prepared for the consequences?”
These people daring to defy him, him who ruled this stretch of sea like a petty emperor, made him absolutely furious.
What made it worse was that the villagers kept up expressions of complete ignorance.
The one they called Genzo, the town sheriff, insisted firmly that the money had been taken by the Buggy Pirates.
These damned people.
Colonel Nezumi’s fury burned hotter.
He wasn’t buying a word of it.
He thought viciously: need to find a reason to make an example of them.
Need to squeeze something out of them.
Otherwise the next tribute payment was going to be a problem.
For the sake of his own position, he needed to extract money from somewhere.
With the Arlong Pirates gone, his primary income source had dried up.
That had to come from somewhere else now.
Or his position wouldn’t survive.
Colonel Nezumi’s eyes shifted.
Something came back to him.
Back at Arlong Park, he hadn’t seen a body for the girl called Nami.
She was a member of the Arlong Pirates and a resident of Cocoyasi Village.
Going after her might give him leverage over these villagers and something to squeeze out of them.
After all, Cocoyasi Village had been paying Arlong a monthly protection fee.
Why not pay someone new?
“As a matter of fact, I received a report earlier…”
Colonel Nezumi’s resolve settled, and he let a smile back onto his face.
“Someone reported that there’s a person in your village named Nami.
A member of the Arlong Pirates, apparently.
Also a thief…”
He looked around at the gathered villagers, his tone going oily and cold.
“As a Marine, I have zero tolerance for criminals.
Surviving members of the Arlong Pirates must be taken into custody.”
“You must know where she is right now.”