The members of the Arlong Pirates were tightly bound and kneeling in a neat row in the courtyard beside the pool. Although they were all more or less injured, with their hands and feet shackled, they did not beg for mercy in humiliation.
Instead, they all glared furiously at Smoker and Morgan, the two Captains standing opposite them.
The burly Morgan, with a blood-stained axe slung over his shoulder, stood imposingly with Arlong, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, pinned beneath his foot.Despite bearing several gruesome wounds himself, Morgan felt no pain.
Instead, his expression was fervent, slightly agitated, and every time Arlong moved, the axe on his shoulder would come crashing down, striking Arlong with its blunt side. It wasn't that he didn't dare to kill Arlong, but they had received news that Fleet Admiral Orion was about to arrive.
If not for this news, every single one of these fishman pirates would have been slaughtered without hesitation.
However, Arlong strength far exceeded his expectations. If it hadn't been for Captain Smoker of Loguetown joining him in the fight, he might have met the same fate as Captain Stock, sinking into the depths of this sea.
Setting aside the other members of the Arlong Pirates, Arlong alone was impervious to the cannon fire from their warship. In fact, when faced with incoming cannonballs, Arlong would open his gaping maw and bite them apart.
It was precisely because of Arlong strength and the presence of several officers from the Arlong Pirates that several soldiers were severely injured in this battle. Even as a captain, he was bitten twice by Arlong and nearly had his arm severed by the large saw blade in Arlong hand.
Even though Smoker had already taken down two of the Arlong Pirates' officers and came to assist, it still took considerable effort for the two of them to subdue and capture Arlong alive.
"The entire park has been thoroughly searched!"
"No remnants have been found!"
A deputy quickly ran up to Captain Morgan and added.
"However, according to a confession from one of the fishman pirates, they have another companion named Momoo, a sea cow!"
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Morgan eyes as he said in a deep voice.
"Find it and kill it. Stew it to nourish the brothers."
"Not just the sea cow, but even the earthworms in this park—dig them up and crush them!"
The soldiers immediately carried out the order. In no time, the soldiers Morgan had brought from Branch 153 actually found hoes and shovels and began digging up the entire yard.
More soldiers quickly donned diving gear and jumped into the pool one after another, heading out to the sea to search for Momoo.
Hearing that Morgan wasn't even sparing the earthworms in the yard, and seeing the soldiers actually carrying out the order, Smoker, who was standing nearby with two cigars in his mouth, couldn't help but twitch his lips.
However, he didn't voice any objection.
Instead, he looked solemnly toward the sea ahead.
The arrival of Fleet Admiral Sengoku in the East Blue was something he hadn't anticipated. While he knew Orion was fiercely protective of his subordinates during his time at headquarters, he hadn't expected that even after becoming Fleet Admiral, Orion would maintain the same style.
He had personally rushed to the East Blue with such urgency because of the sacrifice of one of his colonels, and now he was about to arrive. This meant that Orion had set out from headquarters at full speed the moment he received the news.
Although Smoker had once been known as a problem child at headquarters, he understood very well that Orion personal visit to the East Blue wasn't solely because of Captain Stock sacrifice. There were likely further actions to come!
These actions wouldn't just be an opportunity to clean up the East Blue, they might also involve the implementation of new policies within the Navy itself.
Villagers from Cocoyasi Village, having heard the news, began to arrive one after another, gathering outside the gates of Arlong Park.
Since Navy soldiers were still cleaning up the battlefield and the gates of Arlong Park had been destroyed, the villagers outside could clearly see Arlong and his crew tied up and kneeling on the ground, with Captain Morgan even stepping on Arlong!
After confirming that all members of the Arlong Pirates had been captured, the gathered villagers could no longer contain their emotions. Some wept with joy, others shouted slogans like "Long live the Navy," while many simply collapsed to the ground in relief.
Ever since the Arlong Pirates had entered Cocoyasi Village, the villagers had lived in constant fear.
Especially when the pirates came to collect protection money, even though they had prepared the money to save their lives, they were still on edge, terrified that the pirates might suddenly open fire and kill them for no reason.
At the front of the crowd, Gen and Nojiko remained calm, as they didn't see the familiar figure they were looking for.
"Gen, I... I don't see Nami!"
After carefully scanning through the members of Arlong's crew and confirming that Nami was not among them, Nojiko grew increasingly anxious.
Throwing caution to the wind, she ignored the Marine soldiers blocking the entrance and squeezed between them to enter the park. Once inside, she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Hey, hey, little girl!"
Two soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield quickly rushed over to stop Nojiko.
"You can't come in here!"
"I'm looking for my sister!"
Nojiko choked back tears as she shouted.
"My sister was taken here by Arlong crew! Please, Marine officers, help me find her!"
At that moment, Tashigi approached. She signaled for the two soldiers to step back and then took a step forward to stand in front of Nojiko.
Before Tashigi could ask Nojiko what was going on, Gen pushed past the soldiers and stumbled toward Tashigi, urgently saying. "Marine officer, Nojiko is just a child. Please, don't—"
As if she already knew what Gen was trying to say, Tashigi spoke up.
"Don't worry. We are the Marines of justice. If your family member has truly been captured by Arlong crew, we will definitely help! Of course, I also know that the former Marine captain of this district caused you harm, but that's all in the past now. The Marine captain who colluded with Arlong crew has already been executed!"
After a brief pause, Tashigi shifted her focus and asked Nojiko.
"Are you sure your sister is in this park? We've just searched it and didn't find any humans other than fish-men!"
Nojiko nodded firmly. "Nami told me she lived there!"
With that, Nojiko pointed to the top of the towering building within the park.
"Let's go. I'll take you to look for her!"
Without hesitation, Tashigi turned around, ready to lead Nojiko in another search.
Just as Tashigi turned, she saw Morgan and all the Marines from the 153rd Branch suddenly stop what they were doing, stand at attention, and salute toward the sea.
Even Smoker instinctively straightened up, his expression solemn as he gazed at the large warships that had suddenly appeared on the horizon.
Following Morgan and Smoker gaze, Tashigi was caught off guard and widened her eyes in surprise. She then hastily shouted,
"The Fleet Admiral has arrived!"
"Attention, everyone!"
Before her words even finished, Tashigi immediately stood at attention, along with the other Marines from the Loguetown base, and turned to face the sea.
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