"Bring the criminal!"
As ordered by Luffy.
Morgan, now dressed in black and white striped prison clothing, with shackles on his hands and feet and a black bag over his head, was escorted by several Marines to the trial platform.
In addition to him, his son, Helmeppo, was also present.
"Kneel!"
The soldiers hit both of them hard with the butts of their weapons.
Helmeppo fell to his knees with a thud, without any courage, his heart filled with fear.
Morgan, on the other hand, didn't want to kneel. Instead, he spoke coldly:
"You think you can judge me?"
"Zoro."
Luffy motioned to the green-haired man next to him.
Zoro stood up and drew the sword from his waist, placing it against Morgan's neck.
Morgan felt the blade cut into the skin of his neck, and a trickle of blood oozed out.
He felt immense anger in his heart, vowing to take revenge on everyone.
But at that moment, he had no choice.
He knelt down.
Seeing this, Zoro retracted his blade and took a few steps back.
The soldiers then removed the hoods of the two prisoners, and the morning sunlight blinded the father and son.
As his vision gradually returned, Morgan saw a sea of people.
His expression went from surprise to a gradual transformation into hatred and anger.
"Kill him!"
Someone in the crowd gritted their teeth and shouted, "Morgan, you're finally going to meet your end! Three years ago, my sister accidentally bumped into you and you beat her until she was covered in blood and died! Today is the day of reckoning." After all, Luffy-sama will judge her on our behalf!"
Morgan glanced coldly at the crowd.
There were many people and he couldn't understand who was talking.
Furthermore, he couldn't remember if he had killed a woman three years earlier.
In fact, it would be strange if he remembered.
Because it was a setup.
Seeing that his ploy was starting to take effect, Luffy immediately announced:
"Don't worry, everyone. Today's public trial is an opportunity for everyone to speak their minds freely."
His intention was not to falsely accuse Morgan.
The main objective was to get someone to be the first to speak.
Morgan has accumulated power here for a long time. Without some tricks, the crowd might be too scared to speak, which would be embarrassing.
And the effect was better than Luffy expected.
Soon, a wave of furious screams filled the air.
"We can't forgive him at all! Luffy-sama, ever since this guy got here, taxes have been increasing, he took all our wealth!"
"That's right, this bastard extorted a large amount of money just to build a statue of himself!!"
"His son is no good either! He does all kinds of bad things, mistreating men and women! Not paying for meals is just a small matter!"
"Many people lost their homes because of them!"
"He even forbids us from fishing in the sea unless we pay for a fishing license!"
"Two years ago, my son was in the navy. He discovered that Morgan was embezzling military funds and tried to stop him, but was beaten to death by him!"
"My father was arrested and died in prison because he didn't have money to pay taxes!"
------
One accusation after another ignited the anger of the crowd.
Someone picked up a rock from the ground and, in anger, threw it at Morgan.
Boom!
Morgan's head was hit, blood oozed from the wound. His face turned extremely ugly as he glared fiercely at the people below.
"Kill him!"
"Kill him!"
Initially, only a few people were shouting, but gradually the protest turned into a collective outcry.
"Shut up, all of you!"
Morgan shouted angrily, "In this world, those who possess power are the greatest! I'm a marine captain! I'm here to protect you, and all I ask for is a little compensation. What's wrong with that? You guys should just obey my great commands! Who gives you the right to execute me here?!"
For a moment, the scene was silent.
It sounded like Morgan's voice had scared them.
Suddenly, a laugh echoed.
Morgan turned his head abruptly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Luffy. "Garp's grandson, even if I did something wrong, there is a military court to judge me."
Upon hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Luffy's lips, barely hiding his joy.
"Hahaha, Morgan, you might have got something wrong. Who do you think you are when people are demanding the death penalty?"
Plus, I'm a pirate.
Who cares about your military court? What I want is real justice!
Either way, you can't die in a military tribunal.
"Let me tell you something: when the law fails to bring justice to the parties involved, private revenge becomes just and even noble from this moment on!"
Luffy's smile disappeared, and he calmly gave the order: "Fire."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several of the sailors who were already armed and ready pulled the trigger at that moment.
Morgan's pupils suddenly contracted.
He couldn't believe that this kid dared to publicly execute him.
It was only when the bullets hit his chest, staining his prison uniform with blood, that he truly remembered something.
This guy is a pirate!
He doesn't follow the rules!
Beside them, Helmeppo was so scared that he lost control of his bodily functions and couldn't even make a sound.
After the sound of gunshots, Morgan fell dead without even closing his eyes.
The scene became silent, not even the sound of breathing could be heard. It took more than ten seconds before applause broke out.
"Long live Luffy-sama!"
The applause was even louder than when Morgan was on trial, drowning out everything else.
Amidst this overwhelming wave of sound, Helmeppo screamed with phlegm and tears streaming down his face.
"Don't... don't kill me, don't kill me! I was wrong, I..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Another round of shots rang out and he died too.
Luffy looked at the people of Shells Town, stood up and said to his companions:
"Come on, it's time to go to Cocoyasi Village."
(End of chapter)