Dense shells tore through the curtain of rain. Amid the sharp howling of the wind, Shano's short black hair whipped wildly from the blast wave.
But Shano didn't move. He simply stood there, coldly staring at the warships in the distance.
Behind him—
Four figures burst forth simultaneously.
"Ichi-ji Heizan · Shika-I!"
With a fierce shout, Kuina stepped into the air using Geppo (Moonwalk). Her blade, Wado Ichimonji, was drawn in a flash, slashing a bright arc through the rain.
Vmmm!
Where the blade passed, the air vibrated, stirring up waves of rippling force.
Over a dozen shells were cleanly sliced in half. The gunpowder inside didn't even get a chance to explode before it was doused by the rain, letting off smoke as the fragments fell to the ground.
"Upper-Class Meat Hammer—SHOOT!"
Zeff flew toward the opposite flank, his metal right leg kicking out in succession. It looked just like he was calmly preparing meat on a cutting board.
The shells coming from the edges either fell into the sea or exploded mid-air, scattering into showers of lead dust.
Gin and Nojiko darted along the surrounding walls, borrowing force to leap forward again and again.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Moving in tight coordination, one using fists, the other using claws, they intercepted every last shell that had slipped through.
Pa!
In just over ten seconds, every shell was cleared. The four figures returned to stand behind Shano.
This second wave of coordinated bombardment—fifty to sixty shells in total—had failed to break through even once.
"Huh?"
Vice Admiral Onigumo raised an eyebrow in surprise, casting a glance toward the rooftop.
So they've hit a tough bunch?
Originally, he thought a few casual rounds fired into the plaza would be enough to clear the area.
That way, he could vent some pent-up frustration, and that fat pig Altai would get his satisfying fireworks show.
If HQ came asking, any civilian casualties from the shelling could be blamed on the pirates. A perfect win-win.
But then that troublemaker Smoker showed up, refusing to follow orders…
And now, this group of people—who knows where they came from—had suddenly shown up and stopped a barrage with their bodies?
That kind of power… no way a pirate crew from the East Blue could have that.
Looks like things are getting interesting...
"Hey, have them cease fire."
Onigumo casually lit a cigar, licking his lips with interest.
"I want to go ashore alone and have some fun with these pirates myself."
"Hound Dog, you and the other rear admirals stay on the ship and guard the royal guests. A battle like this doesn't need your interference. Just send a few commanders to seal all exits from the plaza."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Onigumo, sir!"
The rear admiral named Hound Dog quickly snapped to attention and saluted.
He watched Onigumo walk away with a hint of regret—he had wanted to go ashore and fight those pirates too.
…
Before long—
With a cigar between his lips, Onigumo stepped onto the dock.
Behind him, elite marines under his command marched past on either side, flooding into Loguetown and surrounding the plaza completely.
Around the dock, many local branch marines who had come to line up in welcome were now pushed to the sides, looking confused and unsure.
They couldn't understand why the warships had opened fire so suddenly.
—Even if the goal was to capture the pirates in the plaza, wasn't there a safer way? Like surrounding them on land, just like they were doing now?
"Vice Admiral, sir!"
A branch captain took a step forward and called out to Onigumo's back:
"Aren't you going to give us an explanation? Why didn't you notify us before opening fire? Don't you know that you could've hit the civilians on both sides of the plaza?!"
"And what about Captain Smoker? Where is he now? When the warship suddenly filled with smoke earlier—was he on board?!"
Hmm?
Onigumo paused, his brow furrowing.
"So noisy."
He turned, coldly glancing at the captain. Without hesitation, he pulled a pistol from his coat and fired directly at the man.
A mere branch captain? At HQ he'd barely be a sergeant. And he dares to question me?
Bang!
With the gunshot, the young captain fell stiffly backward, a fresh bullet wound in his forehead leaking blood.
"..."
The surrounding Loguetown marines fell dead silent.
Their stunned gazes bounced between the corpse and Onigumo's retreating back.
In the rear, Tashigi covered her mouth in shock, nearly screaming.
When she heard a high-ranking officer from HQ had come to the dock, she'd actually been excited, eager to see the vice admiral's grandeur with her own eyes.
She had even felt a bit better about missing the dinner with Lord Shano…
But now—
Posted on ⊥69⊥book⊥bar⊥first!
This was the kind of person he was?
Shooting a fellow marine without a second thought?
Someone like that… is actually a vice admiral?!!
…
Step, step, step.
Onigumo strode through the rain toward the plaza.
He paid no attention to the murmurs growing behind him. The opinions of low-level marines were utterly meaningless to him.
As for executing a subordinate on a whim?
He'd done it plenty of times. Even lieutenant commanders who disobeyed him were shot on the spot without hesitation. So what if it was just a minor branch captain in this backwater town?
In the wide plaza—
The pirates who had gathered there were now staring at the approaching figure. When they saw his epaulets, and recalled the terrifying firepower from earlier, they gasped in horror.
"—It's a Vice Admiral from Marine HQ!!!"
Someone screamed, and panic spread like wildfire.
"Damn it, if I'd known this would happen, I'd never have come to the East Blue! Why is someone like that here?!"
"Is that really important right now? Quit standing there! Run!!"
"It's too late! All the exits are blocked!"
…
Amid the chaos and fear—
Onigumo didn't spare the panic-stricken pirates a glance.
Swish! With a Geppo, he appeared on the rooftop and calmly looked over the few figures facing him.
Except for the one in the white hood whose face was obscured, the others were clearly just teens—no older than fifteen or sixteen.
"Interesting."
Onigumo raised his brows, exhaling a smoke ring.
"So the ones who caught my attention… are just a bunch of brats?"
"Hey, what's your problem?!"
From the second floor of the café, Nami popped out and shouted angrily, cutting him off.
"Why the hell did you start bombing us?! We're not even pirates!"
Not pirates?
Onigumo scanned Shano and the others. He couldn't recall ever seeing their faces on any wanted posters.
Still…
"Does it matter?"
He shook his head, his face cold and indifferent.
"You intercepted our shells to protect pirates. That means you've already made yourselves enemies of the Navy. Being treated as pirate collaborators and executed on the spot—that's only natural. Don't blame anyone but yourselves."