On a Marine warship.
A Marine officer who resembled a rat was lounging lazily on a recliner.
Nezumi.
He was the captain of the 16th Marine Division and had a despicable alliance with Arlong. His sailing route was headed towards Cocoyasi Village.
"How long until we reach?"
"Report, Captain, we will arrive at Cocoyasi Village in ten minutes."
"Hmm."
A hint of disgust flashed in Nezumi's eyes. Although the fishmen were his cash cow, just seeing them made him feel sick.
The dirty fishmen were revolting to him. If not for the Arlong Pirates being his cash cow, he wouldn't want to see Arlong or the fishmen at all.
At that moment, a soldier observing the sea suddenly spotted a ship and quickly ran to report to Nezumi, "Report, Captain, a ship has been spotted to the right of our ship."
"A pirate ship?"
"No pirate flag was seen."
"Could it be a transport ship?"
Nezumi's brows furrowed. The only place this route could lead to was Cocoyasi Village, which was already under Arlong's control. Transport ships shouldn't be going there.
Nezumi was worried that his shady dealings with Arlong might be exposed, and a trace of murderous intent flickered in his eyes.
"Fire upon them."
"What?"
The soldier looked at Nezumi in confusion and stammered, "But Captain, that ship is not a pirate ship."
You fool.
Nezumi's anger flared, and he said darkly, "What if it's a transport ship disguised as a pirate ship? Can you take responsibility?"
"Are you the Captain or am I?"
"As a soldier, you only need to follow orders."
Seeing Nezumi's grim gaze, the soldier shivered at some rumors he had heard and quickly replied, "Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, Ryujiro's ship had also spotted Nezumi's warship.
Usopp, worried, said, "Should we avoid that warship?"
"To avoid a conflict."
"No need, keep going."
Ryujiro replied.
Hearing this, Usopp obediently fell silent.
Ryujiro was leisurely enjoying a freshly squeezed drink made by Sanji. He was considering the possibility of bringing Sanji onto his own ship.
"Ryujiro, something seems off!"
Yosaku and Johnny, with sharp eyes, noticed the cannons on the warship moving slowly.
Suddenly!
A deafening cannon shot rang out, and the dazzling fire of the cannonball lit up the scene.
"Damn! Those marines are attacking us!"
Johnny and Yosaku were both shocked and enraged.
What are these marine soldiers doing? Their ship doesn't even have a pirate flag. Why are they attacking us?
The black cannonballs headed straight for their ship, and Luffy leapt up, grabbing a few ropes on the ship. Using his rubber powers, he turned himself into a giant net.
When the cannonballs hit Luffy, they were instantly deflected back.
On the warship, Nezumi, who had been leisurely relaxing, was startled by the cannonball explosion and fell to the ground as the ship shook violently.
The soldiers rushed over to help Nezumi up, "Captain, it's bad."
"The enemy fired at us."
"Then fire back!"
"Fire! Fire back with everything!"
"Make sure that ship sinks to the bottom of the sea. Anyone daring to attack the marines must be a pirate!"
Nezumi raged, shouting angrily.
"Boom! Boom!"
Cannons roared as another round of attacks was fired at Ryujiro and his crew.
However, this time, the cannonballs didn't land on Luffy but stayed suspended in mid-air.
Huh?!
Luffy looked at the suspended cannonballs with a puzzled expression.
Then, under the influence of a repulsive force, the cannonballs were deflected and ruthlessly struck Nezumi's warship.
"Useless! Useless! What are you all doing!"
Nezumi was both furious and frightened. Was he going to meet his end at sea today?
Did those pirates anticipate their ambush at Cocoyasi Village?
"Captain, it seems the enemy has a Devil Fruit user."
"What?!"
"A Devil Fruit user?!"
Nezumi was immediately stunned.
As a Marine Captain, he was well aware of what a Devil Fruit was. Devil Fruits were known as treasures of the sea. Eating one granted special abilities.
Currently, the three Admirals at Marine Headquarters were all Devil Fruit users, with powers capable of devastating destruction.
How could a Devil Fruit user appear in such a place? Such figures should be in the Grand Line!
"Boom—"
Another cannon shot struck, tearing through Nezumi's warship. The explosion's force ripped the ship apart.
Endless seawater flooded into the ship's hull, and the ship swayed precariously, on the verge of sinking.
The soldiers would never understand that those cannonballs flying towards them were, in fact, their own.
No matter how intense their cannon fire was, they were doomed.
Thus.
The warship turned into ruins under the concentrated cannon fire, sinking into the sea.
Luffy jumped down and curiously asked, "What happened with those cannonballs? How did they bounce back?"
"That was my ability."
Hinata replied.
With the sea breeze blowing, Hinata's long black hair fluttered, making her look even more beautiful.
Ryujiro admired Hinata's appearance, feeling that having good wine and a wife made the voyage less dull.
Luffy was curious about how Hinata and Ryujiro, who weren't Devil Fruit users, could use such special abilities.
His curiosity was shared by everyone else on the ship.
To the others on the ship, Ryujiro and Hinata were shrouded in mystery. They could hover in the air and possessed a variety of powers.
Both were powerful, yet why were they here in the East Blue?
Even in the Grand Line, they would be considered strong.
After about ten minutes, Luffy and Usopp finally reached the shore and saw their Merry.
"Great, Going Merry hasn't been sold by Nami."
Usopp's heart, which had been in suspense, finally relaxed, and he sighed in relief.
Luffy stretched out his hands, grabbing the Merry and bouncing over.
After carefully checking the ship, nothing seemed to be missing.
However, Nami was not on the ship.
So, this is Going Merry, the ship with a spirit?
Interesting.
This ship was a really important part of Luffy's crew in the original story.
Most of them shed tears when it was burned and during the final farewell.
"Set sail! Let's go find Nami in the village!"
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