"I was still feeling frustrated, but just a few days later, I suddenly heard that the Arlong Pirates had been taken down, and now, the heroes who rid the people of evil are standing right before our eyes!"
As she spoke, Sophia's expression suddenly turned solemn. Then, she took the lead in raising her right hand.
"Marines, all personnel, salute the heroes!"
— Shua, shua!
The surrounding marines snapped to attention and saluted in perfect unison.
This sudden movement startled Nami and Nojiko so much that they jumped.
"Hey, Nojiko,"
Nami's little face flushed red, and she whispered into Nojiko's ear,
"Don't you think the marines at this base are way better than those guys at the 16th Base?"
"Really?"
Nojiko tilted her head, shook it slightly, and said,
"As for combat strength, that's not necessarily true, but their appearance is definitely much better. They look much more imposing. Seems like this Colonel Sophia is way more competent than that Nezumi."
"Thank you, thank you so much,"
Bar Scar was overwhelmed by such treatment, grinning ear to ear.
Even though he knew it was all because of his boss's reputation, he couldn't help but feel proud.
With his face glowing red, he quickly said,
"But we don't deserve to be called heroes. The entire Arlong Pirate Group— it was our boss Shano who took them down single-handedly."
"Ah, I know. I heard you mention it over the phone,"
Sophia smiled and nodded. She glanced around, then asked curiously,
"Hm? Where is Lord Shano? Didn't he come?"
"He did come, but he just fought a big battle, and his injuries haven't healed yet. Plus, he caught a cold at sea, so his body is still weak and it's not good for him to meet people. He didn't disembark. I hope you can understand."
Bar Scar apologized and pointed toward a spot on the ship.
Sophia looked over.
Sure enough, she saw a strong figure draped in a black cloak, with a long sword strapped to his back, leaning against the railing and waving toward them with a smile.
But right after that, a fierce fit of coughing overtook him.
Clutching his chest, and supported by two sailors, he limped back into the cabin.
"I heard Lord Shano is very young, that he won the Swordsmanship Tournament on Shallow Sakura Island just last year, and now he's even defeated a fearsome enemy like the Arlong Pirates. His swordsmanship must have improved a lot. At this point, calling him the strongest swordsman of the East Blue wouldn't be an exaggeration."
Sophia withdrew her gaze, her face full of regret.
"What a pity. I'm a swordsman too. I was hoping to seize the opportunity this time to spar with Lord Shano, to have him give me some guidance in swordsmanship."
I-Is that so?
Bar Scar let out a dry laugh.
He recalled the scenes he had personally witnessed on the mountain — the hollowed-out mountain, the flying giant trees, the skin that bullets couldn't even dent...
Boss Shano, he... he probably could still count as a swordsman, right?
…
At the same time, at the top floor of the 16th Branch fortress.
Nezumi stomped through the door to his office, his face dark and gloomy.
He marched straight to the wide desk, plopped himself into the familiar leather chair, and gritted his teeth in anger.
"That brat..."
His fists clenched, his teeth grinding audibly.
Where the hell did this guy pop out from?
When did the East Blue produce such a dangerous monster?!
With that kind of strength, he should be making a name for himself on the Grand Line, not hiding out in a small village farming!
"Just you wait..."
Nezumi seethed with hatred. Right now he couldn't afford to provoke him, but one day that brat would leave his hometown.
By then, his family... and those foolish villagers who dared to laugh at him...
Brrru brrru~!
Suddenly, the transponder snail on the desk started ringing.
Snapping out of his dark fantasies, Nezumi hurriedly picked up the receiver.
"Hello— Eh? It's you, Major General, sir? Didn't we agree to contact next week? Why now..."
"It's just a few days early, what's the difference? Tell me, my share of the money, it's ready, right?"
A deep, magnetic voice came through the receiver.
At the same time, the transponder snail somehow put on a pair of sunglasses and started puffing on a cigar.
"Prepared, prepared!"
Nezumi answered immediately, hurriedly pressing a red button under the desk.
Behind him, a bookcase suddenly spun around, revealing a giant metal safe.
Opening the safe, it was stuffed full of crisp green stacks of ten-thousand Beli bills.
Roughly counting, it looked like at least hundreds of millions.
"A total of ten million Beli. Don't worry, sir, I'll go to the bank tomorrow and deposit it into your account,"
Nezumi said, taking out a stack while grinning.
"Ten million Beli?"
The man on the other end paused, then his voice turned cold.
"Nezumi, you're not joking, right? Our agreement was thirty percent for the first year. You're about to finish your first year. Don't tell me you only made thirty million Beli?"
"Sir, making money is hard, eating shit is harder!"
Nezumi hurriedly whined,
"This place is remote and poor, most villages are barren! I actually haven't even made thirty million, but I scraped up ten million to make it a nice round number, plus to thank you for your guidance dealing with Arlong recently."
"…Barely acceptable. Fine, just this year."
The magnetic voice said coldly,
"But next year, the number must not be less than thirty million. Remember, it was because of the military merits I shared with you that you got the base commander's seat. It's worth far more than this little money."
"Yes, yes, I understand, Major General, sir!"
Nezumi nodded like a pecking chicken, hesitated, then spoke again:
"Speaking of which, sir, I've recently offended a guy. That person is deeply hidden, I'm a little scared he'll come for revenge. I was wondering if maybe I should strike first and..."
"Deeply hidden?"
The magnetic voice sneered,
"In a place like East Blue, what so-called 'deeply hidden' experts could there be? What's his name?"
"His name is—"
Boom!
At that moment, the glass window behind Nezumi suddenly shattered violently.
A black figure that had been eavesdropping outside for a while suddenly burst into the top-floor office.
Nezumi instinctively turned around at the sound, but before he could react, a strong, iron-grip hand seized his throat.
Like an eagle snatching a chick, Nezumi was lifted off the ground.
I-It's you!
You actually dared to come straight here?!
Seeing the black-haired young man's cold, expressionless face, Nezumi's eyes bulged in terror.
He struggled desperately, wanting to shout, but could only produce low, painful "Mmm mmm" noises.
"Nezumi? Nezumi!"
The urgent voice came through the phone,
"Hey! What's happening over there?!"
No one answered.
In the reflection of Nezumi's terrified pupils, the black-haired youth grinned grimly—
Then grabbed Nezumi's entire head and smashed it forcefully into the iron safe's door!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Once, twice, three times...
Shano's movements were swift and fierce, not giving Nezumi any chance to resist.
"Mmm, mmm..."
At first, Nezumi let out some weak groans, but soon he fell completely silent.
The metallic door of the safe gradually became stained with blood and brain matter, denting inward little by little...