Moge ignored Tashigi completely.
In his eyes, she was a bit of an idiot, and he didn’t want to catch her stupidity.
His gaze remained on Smoker beneath his foot as he mocked, “You’re supposed to be an elite from the Marine Academy, yet you’re so weak you haven’t even mastered Haki.
I have no idea how Zephyr let you graduate.”
“Hey…
you bastard!
If you’re going to kill me, then kill me, but don’t use those words to insult Teacher Zephyr!” Smoker’s face turned ashen with rage.
He struggled to resist, but with Moge’s foot firmly pinning his chest, moving even a finger was incredibly difficult.
He could only glare at Moge, his eyes filled with fury.
Moge applied a bit of pressure with his foot, causing Smoker to let out a muffled groan of pain.
He spoke slowly, “You’re a graduate of the Marine Academy, so you should know the Six Powers, right?
Tell me the cultivation methods for the Six Powers, and I’ll let you all go.”
“Impossible!” Smoker almost roared the words, his eyes resolute.
“I will never teach the cultivation methods of the Six Powers to a pirate like you!”
“Smoker, you’d better think this through carefully.” Moge smiled and pointed toward the surrounding Marines, his tone carrying an obvious threat.
“You wouldn’t want all these lovely subordinates of yours to die here, would you?”
“You…
how dare you!” Smoker shook with rage yet found himself utterly helpless.
He looked at the Marines around him who had followed him through life and death, and a flicker of struggle crossed his eyes.
He could disregard his own life, but he couldn’t stand by and watch his subordinates die for nothing.
Just then, a red light flashed in Moge’s eyes.
His Future Vision instantly sensed a large group of Marines rushing toward the plaza.
He stopped wasting words and exerted force with his foot, kicking Smoker away.
Smoker slammed heavily into the ground, coughing up a large mouthful of blood, his aura growing even weaker.
This was because a sharp Flying Slash had suddenly sliced horizontally toward him at an incredible speed, as if it were cutting through the air itself.
Red light flickered in Moge’s eyes.
He simply lowered his head slightly, and the sharp slash grazed the top of his head, passing by without harming him in the slightest.
“BOOM—!!!”
The slash struck the buildings around the plaza, instantly slicing several houses in half.
The severed structural remains collapsed with a roar, kicking up a cloud of dust that made the entire plaza tremble slightly.
Moge slowly raised his head and saw a tall figure stepping out from the dust.
It was a middle-aged Marine with healthy bronze skin.
He wore no shirt, only a Marine cape draped over his shoulders.
His well-defined muscles were packed with explosive power, and he radiated a formidable aura.
Moge narrowed his eyes and asked in a flat tone, “Where did you come from, Marine?”
“Menard?
Why are you here?” Smoker, who had been kicked aside, looked at the middle-aged Marine with surprise.
He called out with difficulty, not expecting to encounter Menard here.
Menard ignored Moge and walked quickly to Smoker’s side, asking with concern, “Smoker, are you alright?”
Smoker shook his head.
“I’m fine…”
Menard nodded, then explained, “I am the Marine responsible for escorting the East Blue’s heavenly tribute this time.
While passing through Loguetown, I saw the intense fighting here.
I had the World Government personnel proceed to the allied nation to deliver the heavenly tribute while I stayed behind to check the situation.
I didn’t expect to see you beaten like this.”
Only then did Menard turn to look at Moge.
“Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Menard!
Pirate, prepare to face the judgment of justice!” Having said that, he turned to the Marines he had brought and the remaining soldiers under Smoker’s command, barking an order, “All units, capture the pirates!
Do not let a single one escape!”
“Wahahaha!” Moge laughed out loud.
He glanced at Carina, Kuro, and Toniel, who were already fighting the Marines again, then turned back to Menard.
“You certainly are confident!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Moge reached back and drew the Yubashiri from his waist.
Almost at the same time, Menard charged at Moge with a massive longsword, carrying a powerful momentum as he swung the blade down toward Moge’s head.
“CLANG!!!”
The Yubashiri and the longsword collided violently.
The sound of clashing metal was deafening, and sparks flew in every direction.
From this single collision, Menard’s expression changed instantly.
A violent tremor surged through his palm, numbing his arm.
He couldn’t believe it; this strength far exceeded his expectations.
This pirate with a bounty of only 17.8 million Berries was actually this powerful!
Moge didn’t care about his shock.
With a slight flick of his wrist, the Yubashiri parried Menard’s longsword upward with brute force, and then the blade lunged straight toward Menard’s chest.
“Clang!
Clang!
Clang!”
The sounds of clashing weapons continued incessantly.
But before long, Moge’s movements gradually slowed.
With a tone of clear disappointment, he spoke flatly, “Is this all the strength you have?
It seems it’s time to end this.”
He had originally thought this Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral would be decent, but he hadn’t expected him to be so underwhelming.
This level wasn’t much better than Smoker’s; at most, he had mastered Haki, which fell far short of Moge’s expectations.
“One-Sword Style: Silver Moon!”
Moge flicked his wrist, and the Yubashiri moved in a rapid blur.
A silver-white crescent-shaped slash erupted, hurtling toward Menard.
Menard’s face paled.
He didn’t dare to be careless.
He gripped his longsword with both hands, instantly coating it in pitch-black Beginner Armament Haki.
He then braced himself, holding the sword horizontally in front of him to block the Flying Slash.
“BANG—!”
The slash slammed into the longsword.
Menard’s whole body jolted as his feet were forced backward across the stone pavement, leaving two deep furrows in the ground.
“Swish!”
An afterimage flashed, and Moge’s figure instantly vanished from his spot, leaving only a faint voice echoing in the plaza: “Can you see it?
The speed of a meteor, dazzling and brilliant.”
“Sheathe!”
The crisp sound of a sword being sheathed rang out as the Yubashiri was slowly returned to its scabbard.
Moge’s figure appeared steadily behind Menard.
Looking back at Menard, his longsword had snapped in two, and a massive sword wound had appeared on his chest.
Blood sprayed out, his body went limp, and he slowly collapsed, completely losing consciousness.
Moge shook his head slightly and said with disappointment, “This is what counts as a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral?”
He sighed inwardly.
The gap between Marine Vice Admirals was truly larger than the gap between humans and dogs.
The strong ones, like Garp or the Admiral candidates, had unfathomable strength; the mid-tier ones were comparable to pirates with bounties of 500-600 million; while the poor ones weren’t even as good as some Supernovas.
Moge didn’t know that in the original story, this Vice Admiral Menard had only defeated a pirate with a bounty of 67 million Berries during the Dressrosa arc before being easily defeated by Bartolomeo.
His strength was bottom-tier among Marine Vice Admirals.