The warship cut through the sea, splashing white waves.
"Boss... Captain Roman,"
Beside him, Captain Bolkin, looking hopeless, couldn't help but ask for the nth time.
"Is it really okay for us to set sail like this?"
"What's wrong with Marines fighting pirates?"
Roman, sitting on a deck chair, lifted his eyelids. For Roman, fighting pirates with the Straw Hat crew or as a Marine was the same. The essence of the task didn't change, after all:
It's not like we'll encounter big pirates every time, right?
"If you're scared, jump off the ship and swim back to Marine headquarters. I won't consider you a deserter."
"Uh... never mind,"
Bolkin twitched his mouth. If he had the ability to swim back to headquarters, would he be afraid of mere pirates? In the Grand Line, sea kings dozens of meters long were 'normal' sea creatures.
Jumping off would just be a snack for them.
"Then stop talking and go change shifts!"
"Boss, I'll miss you—"
"—I think you're just lazy."
With Roman cracking his knuckles, Bolkin reluctantly walked towards:
The white training ground at the back of the warship!
This warship carried over three hundred Marine soldiers... well, among them were a hundred officers, a ratio that even Roman found ridiculous. In any case, everyone was divided into three teams by Roman, rotating day and night for training, rest, and sailing. If you ask why:
Even pirates train every day, so Marines must train even harder! To Roman, this was reasonable, but to the young Marines on the ship:
"We... we survived!"
"Finally, it's time to change shifts—"
"Help me, I can't even lift my legs..."
A group of sweaty Marines, looking like they just came out of the water, crawled out of the training room! Meanwhile, the girl wielding a huge dumbbell was unfazed.
"Lieutenant Commander Isuka, training time is up, please leave."
"I can still go on..."
"Lieutenant Commander Isuka, training time is up, please leave."
...
Facing the 'White Instructor'—a white paper doll in uniform holding a whip, programmed by Roman to follow orders—the sweaty girl had to stop.
She put down the hundreds of kilograms of training 'equipment' and headed to the officers' bathroom.
---
"Lieutenant Commander Isuka, do you crave power?"
Even though she looked like a cute girl, her intense training like a female version of Zoro caught Roman's attention.
"Who in this world doesn't crave power?"
Faced with the girl's question, Roman touched his chin and thought seriously. He had to admit she had a point.
"Did a Marine friend die in the battle a few days ago?"
"...Sort of."
The red-haired girl lowered her eyes. In her heart, that man should have become a Marine. His actions were worthy of the word justice, but fate played a cruel joke...
"All of this is because I'm not strong enough!"
Ah, girl.
That kind of thinking is dangerous... but:
"If you seek power, training and fighting are both essential. — At 9 o'clock, 40 nautical miles away, there's a pirate ship. Notify everyone to prepare for battle."
"Oh oh oh! We get to fight too!!"
Just as Bolkin and the other Marines in the training room were getting excited, thinking they finally didn't have to train:
"Don't panic, keep training, and come out when the battle starts."
???
Oh my, there's going to be a battle, and we still have to train? What kind of devil instructor is this? ... And aren't they afraid we'll be too tired to fight the pirates? This is just...
"The 'Plague' Wilson Pirates?"
"Yes, based on the image you provided, it's confirmed to be the 'Plague' Wilson Pirates."
Entering work mode, the red-haired Lieutenant Commander Isuka became serious. After receiving the image Roman drew with his scouting paper bird, she quickly identified the enemy.
"'Plague' Wilson, bounty of 95 million. A virus fruit user. Once you get close to him, you'll start coughing, have a fever, and feel dizzy; then it quickly turns into coughing blood, convulsions, and fainting; finally, you die in pain...
He spread plagues in several villages, causing many civilian deaths! He's a notorious pirate."
I hadn't heard of this guy before. But that's normal, since the previous storyline always followed Luffy and his crew. Just because someone or something didn't appear doesn't mean they don't exist.
"Get closer and take him down."
"Captain Roman... we don't have enough protective suits on our ship."
Facing Lieutenant Commander Isuka's reminder, Roman shook his head.
"We don't need protective suits."
—————
"Captain, there's a Marine warship approaching us!"
In the captain's cabin of the 'Death Reaper,' a man wearing a luxurious court dress embroidered with gold threads, but still exuding a gloomy and decayed aura, looked up at the pirate who burst through the door, instantly making him lower his head in fear.
"It's just the Marines, why panic?"
In this room filled with various corpse specimens, the captain who controlled the virus wasn't worried at all because:
"Use the 'plague bombs' to take them out."
"Yes!"
When it comes to ship cannons, pirates can't compare to the Marines. But as a virus fruit user, Wilson had created many weapons called 'plague bombs' with his powers.
Once these bombs explode, they can spread dozens of viruses over an area of several dozen meters. Compared to regular cannonballs that can be intercepted by experts, these 'plague bombs' are definitely naval battle weapons!
And in his captain's cabin, the surrounding 'specimens' were filled with various deadly viruses, ensuring that any living being would never return! But:
Rip!
A tearing sound suddenly came from the roof of the captain's cabin, and a white figure dropped down.
"Who—?"
"Be careful, the enemy is using 'plague bombs' made by a Devil Fruit user!"
As the two ships got closer, they started a cannon battle!
Lieutenant Commander Isuka used Geppo to leap into the sky, changing the direction of incoming cannonballs from the Vice Admiral in mid-air, struggling to protect the warship, while on the deck, Roman was:
Meditating?!
Whoosh—
Boom!
Despite the red-haired girl's best efforts, some cannonballs still exploded near the warship! The Marines, knowing the enemy's notorious reputation, quickly moved away from that area and fired back, trying to sink the enemy ship first—
"Cease fire."
??
Roman, who had been meditating, opened his eyes and calmly gave the order.
This...
"Move the ship closer, prepare for boarding."
Is he crazy?
Just as Isuka was about to argue, she noticed the area where the enemy's cannonball had exploded. According to the information, the soldiers there should have already shown symptoms... Could it be?
"Follow the order!"
With Lieutenant Commander Isuka also giving the command, the warship stopped firing and quickly approached the enemy ship. The enemy's 'plague bombs' continued to fall around and even on the deck, but:
"Huh, this?"
"Why are we okay..."
"Could it be that the enemy— is actually a fake 'Plague' pirate crew?"
While the others were still unsure, Isuka noticed the chaos on the enemy's deck and a big man with a giant anchor roaring in rage! That was the 'Plague' pirate crew's combat leader: 'Crusher' Harper.
Without a doubt, the enemy was indeed the 'Plague' pirate crew, so:
Why were their plague bombs failing, and why hadn't their captain 'Plague' Wilson appeared yet?
"Shoot, shoot!"
"In the name of justice!"
"Maintain formation, cover each other—"
Despite their questionable character, these 'second-generation Marines' had good physical abilities and combat skills. After Isuka used her agile Geppo to engage 'Crusher' Harper, the Marines charged and cleared out the other grunts. Then, under concentrated fire, the big man with the giant anchor and his weapon finally fell in a pool of blood.
"Did we win?"
"That was so easy..."
"A pirate crew with a total bounty over 100 million, and this is it?"
"Don't let your guard down!"
Pushing up her brown glasses, Isuka frowned. The enemy's captain hadn't appeared yet, and his bounty was 95 million Berries...
"Slash!"
With a powerful sword strike, she split the captain's cabin door in half! As everyone stood ready:
Hiss~~~
Blond-haired Bolkin gasped because:
The gloomy man in a luxurious court dress embroidered with gold threads was already pinned to the cabin wall by a white longsword. His open mouth and wide eyes were filled with fear!
"This..."
Could it be him?
Everyone instinctively glanced at Roman, who was meditating on the deck, their pure fear mixed with a hint of respect.
—————— ----
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