The Arlong Park had been reduced to rubble, with its once-proud flag nowhere to be seen.
"Could they all be dead...?"
After coming to this conclusion, Captain Nezumi casually pointed at two Marines.
"You, and you—head to the nearest village and find out what happened."
"Yes, sir!"
The two Marines saluted and left, heading toward Cocoyasi Village.
Captain Nezumi shifted his gaze from the departing Marines to the ruins of Arlong Park.
"Follow me."
At that moment, Nezumi's mind was filled with thoughts of the Arlong Pirates' assets as he briskly made his way toward the ruins.
A group of Marines followed him, entering the shattered remnants of what used to be Arlong's stronghold.
The once-expansive territory was now mostly covered by collapsed debris.
Near the sea pool, a few fishman corpses, heavily covered in dust, could still be seen scattered across the ground.
"So, the Arlong Pirates really are finished..."
The sight of the ruins, which seemed to have endured a massive earthquake, only solidified Nezumi's earlier judgment.
"You lot, start clearing away this rubble immediately!"
Nezumi barked orders at his subordinates, who began moving the debris.
The complete collapse of the buildings was clearly the result of a battle.
Moreover, from the state of the ruins, it was evident that no one had scavenged the area yet.
This meant that the Arlong Pirates' treasure might still be buried somewhere under the wreckage.
Whether that was true or not, Nezumi wasn't about to leave without checking for himself.
The Marines of the 16th Branch, though weak in combat, were surprisingly efficient when it came to manual labor.
Under their diligent efforts, the towering pile of rubble was being cleared at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, the two Marines sent to Cocoyasi Village returned, bringing with them Genzo, the local sheriff.
Genzo, dressed in his sheriff's uniform, arrived just outside the broken walls of the territory. Seeing the Marines hauling away the rubble, he tipped his hat slightly, concealing a fleeting look of disdain.
"You're Genzo, right? Wait here," one of the Marines said as he passed through the gap in the wall to report to Captain Nezumi.
"Captain, the sheriff from the nearby village is here. He knows—"
"Let him wait outside," Nezumi interrupted impatiently, raising a hand.
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine saluted again and then joined in the effort to clear the rubble.
Twenty minutes later, the Marines had cleared away all the debris.
Nezumi watched the entire process closely.
However, instead of uncovering any treasure, they had only unearthed dozens of fishman corpses.
"That's it?"
Nezumi's face twitched violently, his simmering frustration erupting into uncontrollable fury.
"Who the hell did this?!"
It was one thing for someone to destroy the Arlong Pirates, but leaving not a single berry behind was unacceptable.
How was he supposed to collect his bribes now?
"Damn it."
Nezumi stormed forward, kicking one of the fishman corpses into the sea pool in frustration.
After venting, he remembered the sheriff waiting outside and led his Marines through the wall gap to confront Genzo.
"Who did this?"
Nezumi demanded, his cold gaze fixed on Genzo.
Genzo hesitated for a moment, recalling the words left by Maude before his departure. After a brief pause, he answered truthfully.
"Bacardi Maude."
"That name... sounds familiar."
Nezumi's thoughts momentarily faltered, but he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he launched into a tirade of curses directed at Maude.
As a Marine, he should have been familiar with the names of wanted pirates. But Nezumi, being a lazy and corrupt officer, never bothered to remember such things.
"That bastard! If I ever run into him—hmm?"
One of Nezumi's aides approached and whispered something into his ear.
Nezumi's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"
The aide nodded emphatically, his face pale with fear.
Nezumi's body trembled, his rage dissipating like smoke, replaced by a bone-deep chill.
His previously sly expression twisted into one of utter terror, as if he were a duck being strangled.
The scene fell into an eerie silence.
Genzo observed the Marines' reactions, puzzled.
Could Maude be a notorious pirate? But if so, why had he never heard of him before?
Images of Maude began to form in Genzo's mind—a young man with a clean, honest smile, yet carrying an air of indifference, almost bordering on apathy.
Perhaps "apathy" wasn't the right word. "Detachment" might fit better.
Still, Maude seemed far more composed than...
Genzo glanced at the comically frightened Captain Nezumi.
The mere mention of Maude's name had rendered the Marines speechless.
In their minds, a pirate with a 20 million bounty like Arlong was already a fearsome figure—the most dangerous in the East Blue.
But now, a pirate with a 68 million bounty had shown up in these waters.
What kind of monster invades a fish pond just to blow it up?
"Why are you all standing around? Fall back to the branch immediately!"
A full minute later, Nezumi finally regained his senses. Without further questioning—or even acknowledging Genzo—he hurried toward the warship docked at the shore.
A name like that alone was enough to speak volumes.
"Damn it, no wonder the Arlong Park ended up like this."
"Bacardi Maude... Could he still be lingering in the nearby waters?"
The thought sent another shiver down Nezumi's spine.
Haunted by imaginary fears, his only desire now was to retreat to the relative safety of the 16th Branch.
Genzo watched silently as the Marines scrambled away like frightened rats.
For the mere mention of Maude's name to provoke such a reaction...
Genzo mused over the name in his mind.
Though unfamiliar with it, he reasoned that Maude, as a pirate, must have some record. With a little effort, he could surely uncover information about him.
Meanwhile, Nezumi and his men returned to their warship.
Moments later, the vessel departed the shoreline and sailed out to sea.
Back aboard the ship, Nezumi finally calmed down.
Today's trip to Arlong's territory had been intended as a routine shakedown. Instead, he had encountered this disaster.
The loss of his steady income from the Arlong Pirates was a bitter pill to swallow.
With a frustrated slam of his hand on the ship's railing, Nezumi muttered darkly to himself.
"The Arlong Pirates are gone. In that case..."
An idea began to form in his mind, black and vile as tar.
If Arlong was gone, he could always foster a new Arlong.
Beneath a cloudless sky, Maude stood on the deck of a mast ship, gazing at three large vessels in the distance.
Lafitte approached, having secured the money, and stood beside him.
"Maude, those two warships carry plenty of worthy prey. However, it's not without risk."
A hint of malice flickered across Lafitte's pale face.
Since learning of Maude's ability, Lafitte had taken to scouting potential targets for him.
And those two warships, he concluded, were likely tasked with escorting royalty from an allied kingdom to Mary Geoise.
Quite the coincidence.
"Risk, huh..."
Maude didn't immediately make a decision.
At that moment, gunfire rang out from the direction of the warships.
Bullets whizzed through the air, splashing into the sea near the mast ship.
"Oh?"
Maude's eyes turned cold, his aura shifting instantly.
Activating his Observation Haki, he sensed the source of the gunfire.
It was just a brat.
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