What was the Marines’ justice built upon?
Slaughter?
Arthur’s strongest impression of Sakazuki was exactly that.
A man devoid of emotion, as though only his mission existed.
Without hesitation, he ordered an indiscriminate bombardment of another island in the distance that had fallen under pirate attack.
Suddenly, the Marine warship Arthur was aboard was lifted into the air by a raging storm.
Monkey D.
Dragon leaped off the ship, hovering in midair as he flew toward Apollo on the island.
“Karasu, I’ll clear a path so you can land safely.
Lead the soldiers and wipe out every pirate on the island.
Arrest every last one of them.”
He intended to face Apollo alone, buying everyone else enough time to suppress the pirates occupying the island.
“Understood!”
After receiving the order, Major Karasu gathered all eight hundred Marines onto the deck.
The warship flew toward the center of the island’s town and, under Dragon’s control, landed smoothly.
“Move!
Move!
Split into eight squads and secure every defensive position in town!”
“For justice!
Defeat the pirates!”
Fully armed with his rifle, Arthur jumped down from the warship as well.
Standing in the middle of town, he swept his gaze across the streets.
Pirates were looting shops without restraint, robbing civilians, abducting women, and forcing terrified captives into submission..
In war, women had become commodities, seized like spoils by rampaging pirates.
“Arthur!
Arthur!”
Seeing him frozen in place, Major Karasu rushed over and shouted.
The instant Arthur stepped onto the battlefield, a ringing filled his ears.
His first battlefield.
He didn’t know what he was feeling.
It felt like…
Fear.
The same fear he had experienced when he first arrived in this world—venturing into the forests of the East Blue’s Rapeseed Flower Village alone in search of food, forced to confront terrifying beasts just to survive.
The Marines stationed on the island had nearly been wiped out.
Had they arrived any later, the island would already have fallen.
Cooper remained close behind Arthur, watching their surroundings vigilantly.
When Arthur failed to respond, Karasu used his powers to create a flock of crows that knocked him to the ground before turning to the rest of the Marines.
“Squad leaders, listen up!”
“Drive out and arrest every pirate harming civilians, no matter the cost!”
“If an officer falls, the next takes command!
If he falls, the non-commissioned officers step up!
Understood?!”
“Yes, Major Karasu!”
The Marines assigned to each district answered in unison.
“Protect the civilians at all costs!
We’re not like the bunch serving on Sakazuki’s ship!”
Those words ignited everyone’s fighting spirit.
Every Marine aboard Dragon’s warship now felt they were fighting for their duty…
Fighting to protect others.
Fighting for the justice behind them.
One after another, they rushed toward their assigned fronts and clashed with the pirates.
Arthur stood stunned for only a moment before shaking himself free of his fear.
His lifelong ability to adapt to harsh environments quickly steadied his resolve.
“Haa…”
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to adjust to the chaos of bullets and explosions.
Seeing him recover, Karasu grabbed his arm.
“Arthur, you’re coming with me to reinforce the Marine Base.
The others will clear out the pirates in town.”
“Cooper, stay close.”
Arthur still couldn’t shake his fear of guns.
Even after ten years of training in the world of One Piece, he had no illusion that his body could simply shrug off bullets.
Protecting Cooper as they ran, Arthur followed Karasu straight toward the ruined Marine Base.
“Cooper!”
The eagle hopped forward on his talons before breaking into a run behind Arthur, his sharp eyesight and hearing constantly scanning for ambushes..
“…”
Karasu noticed Cooper’s behavior.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
“I already told you—I don’t like chickens!”
Arthur lowered his head as he ran.
“He’s an eagle, Major Karasu.”
At those words, Cooper’s face darkened.
Ignoring Arthur’s reminder, he spread his wings and soared into the night sky, surveying the entire island from above.
Watching him fly away, Karasu pointed upward.
“Now that’s an eagle.”
Lionheart Island — Marine Base
Several burly pirates radiating overwhelming killing intent stood amid the flames, dragging the bloodied base commander by the collar.
“So what’s wrong with today’s Marines?”
“You don’t know Haki.”
“You don’t know Rokushiki.”
“Have you all grown soft after living in peace for too long?”
“Hahaha!”
The commander gritted his teeth.
He had already fought with everything he had.
Smiling despite his injuries, he declared,
“We may not be elite Marines from Headquarters…
but history will remember that we stood against evil pirates until the very end!”
The pirates killed him without hesitation.
Just then, everyone’s attention shifted toward the sea outside the island.
Enormous crimson magma fists blazed across the sky.
Sakazuki’s attack evolved from gigantic magma fists into countless infernal hounds plunging from the heavens onto a neighboring island.
“What the…?”
“So the magma brat has grown even stronger.”
The man called Lake stared toward the horizon.
Volcanic ash drifted all the way to Lionheart Island.
That alone showed how terrifying Sakazuki’s power had become.
“Heh.”
“The Marines’ new generation of monsters has arrived…”
“You’re finished.”
Even mortally wounded, the base commander had managed one final smile before dying.
Purururu…
Purururu…
The Den Den Mushi on Lake’s belt rang.
He tossed aside the dead commander’s body and answered.
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Apollo’s expression.
“Lake!”
“The three Logia monsters from Marine Headquarters have arrived as reinforcements.”
“Garp’s son’s warship has already broken through and landed.”
“I want every one of them dead.”
The sounds of fierce combat echoed through the line.
Dragon was already battling Apollo with everything he had.
“…Understood, Colonel Apollo.”
Lake’s expression turned serious.
Even he was wary of Marines from Headquarters.
Ever since Zephyr retired as an Admiral and became Headquarters’ Chief Instructor, the soldiers he trained were monsters in their own right.
They couldn’t be compared to ordinary branch Marines.
Bare-chested, covered in battle scars nearly as numerous as Apollo’s, Lake possessed a body built purely for combat.
His brutal appearance alone was enough to intimidate.
“Garp’s son…”
“So he’s the one who summoned that hurricane and made things miserable for us.”
“Vice Colonel Lake!”
“Two Marines are approaching!
Looks like it’s Karasu, that hotheaded bastard!”
A pirate standing atop the watchtower spotted Arthur and Karasu running toward the base.
“Is Garp’s son with them?”
“No.
Just his lieutenant, Karasu.
Garp’s son must be fighting Colonel Apollo near the shore.”
As he spoke, he heard an eagle circling overhead.
“Cooper!”
The eagle cried sharply while circling above, clearly locking onto a target.
“What…”
“Why would a bird still be flying around during a battle?”
Confused, the pirate raised his binoculars.
Normally, once humans started fighting, birds and wild animals fled immediately.
Something felt wrong.
In the blink of an eye—
Cooper folded his wings and dove.
The pirate reached for his pistol.
Too late.
Below the tower, Lake reached for the base’s steel gates.
BOOM!
The massive iron doors exploded inward.
Lake barely dodged as the gates shot past him, smashing through a nearby building.
His eyes widened.
“Karasu doesn’t have strength like that…”
“…and he barely fights with his fists.”
Through the dust stepped two figures.
Arthur walked forward with his fists clenched, heart pounding.
“Cough…
Cough…”
“Your entrance is way too violent, Arthur!”
Karasu emerged behind him, sweat running down his forehead.
Even he was shocked by Arthur’s monstrous strength.
Scanning the square, Karasu quickly spotted the base commander’s corpse lying in a pool of blood.
“…We’re too late.”
Suddenly—
“AAAAAH!”
A pirate screamed from the watchtower.
Like a cannonball, he was launched into the plaza by a single kick from Cooper’s talons, smashing a crater into the ground.
Standing atop the tower with his wings spread wide, Cooper screeched furiously.
“Cooper!” (I’m not a chicken!)
Lake glanced at his subordinate.
“What happened?”
“You got kicked off by a chicken?”
“Cough…”
“That eagle…
isn’t normal…”
He pulled open his scorched shirt.
Six bloody puncture wounds covered his chest, along with two distinct talon marks.
Moments later, he stopped moving.
“Cooper!”
Unable to tolerate being called a chicken again, Cooper shrieked and dived toward Lake.
He intended to tear every human insulting him to pieces.
“You beast…”
“Who do you think you’re attacking?”
Lake’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
His entire aura changed.
Consumed by rage, Cooper ignored the warning and slashed with his talons.
After training beside Arthur for years, he’d yet to encounter a human capable of defeating him.
A suffocating killing intent spread across the Marine Base.
Arthur felt it immediately.
“Come back!”
“He’s not someone you can handle!”
But he was more than over thirty feet away.
There was no time.
From years of hunting in the mountains, Arthur’s instincts screamed one thing.
Lake…
…was a monster.
“I haven’t seen such a reckless rookie in a long time.”
Karasu dissolved into soot and shot forward at incredible speed, passing straight through Lake and the surrounding pirates.
Black soot condensed into enormous swords erupting from the ground.
The pirates around Lake were skewered instantly.
Only Lake remained.
The instant the giant blades emerged, he shattered them with his fists, reducing them back into soot.
Cooper’s kick struck one of the black soot blades instead.
Unable to break it, he immediately beat his wings and flew back into the sky.
“Obsidian Coal!”
Karasu appeared behind the pirates, crossing both arms as he unleashed another technique.
“Long time no see, you hotheaded bastard.”
“You’ve gotten even stronger since we last fought.”
Lake grinned and charged.
“You should know by now…”
“No matter how exhausted you get, you’ll never touch me.”
Karasu transformed into soot without the slightest fear.
The two collided head-on.
Arthur raised his rifle, tracking Lake carefully.
“Karasu has the Soot-Soot Fruit—a Logia.”
“Friendly fire shouldn’t be a problem.”
He steadied his breathing.
Bang!
The shot rang out.
Lake turned toward Arthur.
He casually raised his palm.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
“So he’s trying to absorb the bullet’s impact with his hand…”
Then his expression changed.
Lake’s forearm suddenly became coated in a pitch-black armor that looked like heated steel before instantly cooling.
Arthur’s pupils shrank.
“Armament Haki?!”
Clang!
The bullet struck his palm.
Sparks flew.
The shot bounced harmlessly away.
“So this is what a real battlefield is!”
“Hahaha!”
Lake roared.
His Haki-coated fist smashed straight into the mass of black soot before him.
Karasu’s face changed instantly.
“Armament Haki?!”
His calm disappeared.
For the first time…
Fear.
Lake’s fist ignored his Logia intangibility.
“You surprised?”
BOOM!
His punch struck Karasu’s true body.
“GAH!”
Karasu coughed up blood.
The terrifying impact sent him flying straight through the burning Marine Base.
Smoke billowed.
When it cleared—
Karasu slumped against a cracked wall, blood pouring from his mouth.
He had completely lost the ability to fight.
Arthur stared in disbelief.
“One punch…”
“He took down Major Karasu with one punch…?”