'Thud!'
Before anyone could react, three pirates crashed to the ground. As they fell, the figure of Lucci was revealed standing behind them. Only then did the Marines realize that their Captain had already made his move.
Twenty meters.
The targets were nothing more than third-rate pirate lackeys with zero combat skill. Even with hostages in their grip, they were no obstacle for Lucci. A single Soru would have allowed him to kill them all before they could even blink.
However, Lucci hadn't done that. He had a use for these three.
"Search the village! See if there are any survivors!" Lucci commanded. "Additionally, send a squad to collect the remains of the villagers!"
The Marines leaped into action immediately. One team searched for survivors, while the other began the grim task of gathering the dead. Everyone knew that in a village of over a hundred people, there were likely no survivors left aside from the five young women.
Half an hour later, 137 bodies were laid out in the open area near the village entrance. Among them were many children and elderly.
Luffy and Ace fell silent.
"So," Lucci asked flatly, glancing at Luffy, "do you still want to ask me why I killed those pirates?"
He then turned his gaze toward Ace.
"And you, Ace. Commodore Sean asked me to deliver a message to you, though I don't quite grasp the meaning of it myself..."
"Do you intend to set sail as a pirate and further fuel this Great Pirate Era, or will you shoulder your original responsibility and personally bring an end to the most wicked age Roger unleashed?"
"Think on these things during our return to the branch. For now..." Lucci paused. "Wake those three pirates up!"
Upon the order, several Marines approached the three men Lucci had knocked unconscious and drenched them with cold water.
The pirates jolted awake. As the reality of their situation sank in, they began to tremble and beg for mercy.
"Give them an example," Lucci ordered.
"Yes, Captain!"
The Lieutenant didn't hesitate. He raised his rifle and pulled the trigger.
'Bang!'
A bloody hole appeared in the pirate's forehead. The pleading stopped instantly as the man collapsed, motionless.
"Give them the guns!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Two Marines stepped forward and handed their rifles to Luffy and Ace.
"Look at these innocent villagers. Some weren't even old enough to understand what was happening. What to do next is up to you."
Luffy stared blankly at the gun in his hand, completely bewildered. Ace's reaction, however, caught Lucci by surprise.
Ace grit his teeth, gripped the rifle with both hands, and marched straight up to one of the pirates.
'Bang!!'
The second pirate fell.
Lucci nodded, satisfied. Everyone then turned their attention to Luffy, who remained frozen in place.
"Go on! Kill me!" the last pirate suddenly shrieked, no longer begging. He burst into a manic laugh. "In all my years at sea, I've killed dozens of people and slept with even more women! I've lived my fill! I've lived plenty!"
Luffy looked up at the maddened pirate, his expression lost. "Why did you kill these villagers? Aren't pirates supposed to be about going on free adventures with your nakama? Why would you kill innocent people?"
"Pfft! 'Free adventures'?" The pirate stared at him, speechless. Even the surrounding Marines were stunned. "Are you out of your mind, kid?"
"Is this really Vice Admiral Garp's grandson?" one Marine whispered.
"It is. How could Vice Admiral Garp have such an idiot for a grandson?"
"If I were Vice Admiral Garp, I'd probably die of anger seeing him like this."
"Sigh, it's always the naive ones who make the world more chaotic."
"I wonder what Commodore Sean was thinking. Why insist on letting a guy like this into the 16th Branch?"
"You idiot, Vice Admiral Garp obviously asked Commodore Sean to look after him. After all, our 16th Branch is right here in the East Blue!"
"I guess that makes sense, but still..."
The Marines continued to whisper among themselves. Luffy's theory on piracy was simply too absurd to even critique. If you wanted to go on an adventure, just be an adventurer. Why the hell did you have to be a pirate? No sane pirate just "adventures." There were plenty of explorers in the world—like the legendary Mont Blanc Noland. Why insist on flying a pirate flag just to explore?
Luffy remained motionless. Lucci felt a wave of disappointment. 'This kid... is hopeless.'
Suddenly, a woman lunged forward and snatched the gun from Luffy's hand. In his daze, Luffy didn't even react.
'Bang!!!'
The final pirate fell.
The Marines were stunned. Lucci, however, was not. He could have stopped her if he wanted to, but he chose not to. Instead, he walked up to Luffy and kicked him flying.
"Useless. You're not even as good as a civilian!"
Lucci then looked at the woman. She was still holding the gun, but her hands were shaking violently.
"Bury all the villagers!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The Marines sprang into action. Lucci stepped toward the woman.
"What is your name?"
"Sophia... those pirates killed my parents. They didn't even spare my little brother, who wasn't even ten..."
"Don't worry. The Marine will not hold you responsible for the killing. What do you plan to do now?"
The trembling stopped, and Sophia's gaze became resolute. "I... I want to be a Marine. I want to kill every last pirate!"
"Very well. Once we finish here, you will return to the branch with us."
"Yes! Thank you, sir!"
Two hours later, the 137 villagers were buried. The Marines and the five surviving women held a simple memorial service. Afterward, the five women departed the village with the Marine.
With Sophia deciding to join the Marines, only four women remained from the entire village. Everyone had been slaughtered, and the village had been burned to the ground. Even if they could try to rebuild, everyone knew what would happen to a village inhabited by only four young women in this godforsaken era.
Knowing that Sophia was leaving with the Marine, the other four had approached Lucci to ask if the Marines could take them in as well.
Lucci didn't give it much thought and agreed immediately.
After all, these women were essentially homeless, and most had no family left. While they might not be cut out to become Marines if brought back to the 16th Branch, they could still serve as cooks under Makino or handle the laundry for the soldiers.
He was confident that Sean wouldn't refuse.
With that, he gathered everyone and began the journey back. As for Luffy, the moment they returned to the warship, Lucci had him locked in an iron cage. He would leave the boy for Sean to deal with once they arrived.
'''
Marine 16th Branch.
Inside Sean's temporary office.
Calling it an office was a stretch; it was actually just a military tent. The entire island was currently a hive of activity, and the old branch building had already been torn down to be rebuilt from the ground up.
"I see... Understood. Once those women are brought back, assign them to the logistics department. As for the one called Sophia, since you think so highly of her, let her enter the training camp with the other recruits. However, she still has to pass the final graduation exam."
"Yes, Commodore. But what about Luffy?"
"Give him one last chance. If he still can't make it, then even with old man Garp's request, there is nothing more I can do!"
"Understood!"