"Mr. Arashi——!!!"
Seeing the Marines turn their guns toward Arashi, Bell-mère panicked completely.
She knew Arashi was strong—
But this was Loguetown.
And those standing before them were Marines.
If they became enemies of the Marines, not only would she truly become a criminal—
She would drag Arashi down with her as well!
Facing the gun barrels aimed at him, Arashi didn't stop walking.
Step by step, he approached Bell-mère and said calmly:
"Bell-mère… are they trying to arrest you?"
"I'm arresting you!"
Completely ignored, Major Nezumi snapped.
He raised his gun, aiming directly at Arashi, finger tightening on the trigger—
Ready to shoot him on the spot.
But—
The moment he lifted his gun—
Arashi turned his head and glanced at him.
In that instant—
An invisible, overwhelming pressure burst forth.
It swept across the entire area like a tidal wave.
One by one—
Every Marine present, including Nezumi—
Collapsed to the ground.
Eyes wide open.
Unconscious.
Or worse.
The sudden scene stunned even Bell-mère into silence, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"N-Not good!"
"The Marines… they've been killed!"
On the nearby street, bystanders screamed in panic.
Seeing all the Marines fall, they assumed the worst—
That Arashi had slaughtered them.
To them—
He and Bell-mère were now lawless pirates.
As people fled while shouting, a passing Marine patrol quickly redirected—
Surrounding the entire street.
Glancing at the fallen Marines, Arashi shrugged slightly.
"Strange… logically, after getting stronger, one's mentality should improve."
"So why couldn't I hold back just now?"
"Ah well… whatever."
By then, he had already reached Bell-mère.
His Conqueror's Haki, though only Level 5, was now perfectly controlled.
He could unleash it without affecting those he didn't intend to harm.
Still—
Bell-mère was shaken.
This level of power…
She had never seen anything like it.
Seeing her reaction, Arashi smiled gently.
"I don't know exactly what happened…"
"But if you get taken away, Nami and Nojiko would definitely be very sad."
"So… let's not let that happen."
"Mr. Arashi…"
Bell-mère quickly snapped back to reality.
Looking around, she saw that the entire street had already been surrounded by Marines.
"We… we might've caused big trouble…"
Before she could finish—
A voice boomed through a loudspeaker.
"The pirates ahead, listen up!"
"You are surrounded! Resistance will only lead to death—"
The speaker was a man in a Marine Colonel's coat, holding a loudspeaker, his tone aggressive.
He had just arrived in Loguetown—
And already, pirates were causing chaos, even "killing" Marines.
To him, this was a direct challenge to justice—
And to his authority.
But—
Mid-sentence—
When he saw Arashi—
His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Mr. Arashi?!"
Without hesitation, he threw aside the loudspeaker and rushed forward.
At the same time—
Bell-mère and Arashi turned to face the encircling Marines.
Just as they did—
The man ran up to them.
"Mr. Arashi!!! It's me! It's me!"
He shouted excitedly, almost jumping in place.
"I can't believe I'd run into you here! Hahaha—I'm so excited!"
"Eh?"
Bell-mère blinked in confusion, looking at the overly enthusiastic Marine—
Then turned to Arashi.
"Ah, hello there, Mr. Dung Beetle. Long time no see."
Arashi waved casually.
Bell-mère froze for a moment—
Then burst out laughing.
Dung Beetle…?
This man—
Was the newly appointed Colonel of Loguetown.
Stoker.
Hearing Arashi recognize him, Stoker laughed happily.
"That's great! I didn't expect you to remember me, Mr. Arashi!!!"
"Not bad."
Arashi glanced at his uniform. "If I remember correctly, you and your 'ant brother' were just Lieutenants back in Syrup Village. Now you're a Colonel?"
"That's all thanks to you, Mr. Arashi!!!"
Stoker scratched his head shyly. "If you hadn't sold those Devil Fruits at a bargain back then, I wouldn't have gotten this opportunity."
Even though he was now a Colonel—
In front of Arashi, he didn't dare act arrogant in the slightest.
After all—
This was someone who didn't even take Vice Admirals seriously.
"Wait—you're the Colonel of Loguetown now?"
Arashi looked slightly surprised.
Wasn't that position supposed to belong to Smoker?
Had things changed because of him?
"Y-Yes."
Stoker straightened up. "Vice Admiral Garp sent me here for training. It's temporary. After some time, I'll return to his ship, and headquarters will assign a new Colonel."
"I see."
Arashi nodded. "That makes things easier."
Hearing this, Stoker suddenly remembered why he was here.
Looking around, he frowned slightly.
"These Marines… they're from Branch 16? Isn't that Major Nezumi?"
"Nezumi, huh…"
Arashi glanced at the unconscious man on the ground and chuckled.
So it's him.
Just like in the original story—
A corrupt Marine through and through.
Stoker frowned and asked cautiously,
"Mr. Arashi… what exactly happened here?"
Bell-mère, now understanding their relationship, didn't hide anything.
She explained everything that had occurred.
"Outrageous!"
Before Arashi could say anything—
Stoker stepped forward and kicked Nezumi away without hesitation.
Then he turned sharply to his subordinates.
"Arrest all these corrupt Marines!"
"And send a unit to Fruit Street immediately—capture those pirates!"
"Wipe them out!"
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