Cocoyasi Village.
As one warship after another docked, villagers, alerted by the news, gathered in the town of Windmill Village, gazing at the steadily disembarking Marines and discussing amongst themselves.
“What's going on? Why are there so many Marines here suddenly?”
“Are they here to arrest the Arlong gang?”
“Impossible. The Marines are in cahoots with the Arlong gang. They wouldn't possibly arrest them!”
More and more villagers converged on the town, their chatter growing louder.
However, almost all the villagers didn't seem excited, because they had long been disappointed in the Marines, who had been oppressing them under the rule of Arlong's gang for years. They didn't have any hope that these Marines who appeared out of nowhere could save them from their misery!
Among the crowd, a young girl with a tattoo on her arm stood out.
Upon seeing the Marines disembarking and heading straight for the village, she instinctively hid behind the crowd, ready to sneak away!
“Nojiko!”
As she reached a corner, a figure suddenly appeared, blocking her path.
“Aken!”
Looking up at the middle-aged man who had stopped her, Nojiko, the young girl, quickly lowered her voice and asked, “Did you see Nami today?”
The middle-aged man, with a windmill pin on his hat, shook his head, then looked towards the coast where Marines were continuously disembarking. He said excitedly, “Nojiko, this is our chance to rescue Nami! These Marines suddenly appearing in Cocoyasi Village, they must have discovered the crimes of the Arlong gang!”
“Mr. Aken, you're too naive!” Nojiko, the blue-haired girl, took a newspaper from her bag and handed it to Aken, continuing, “They’re not here to arrest the Arlong gang. It's probably related to this news!”
“News?” Aken blinked, then shifted his gaze to the headline of the newspaper.
When he saw the news of the Celestial Dragon being killed by a red rabbit, his entire face turned pale.
He was the village constable of Cocoyasi Village, although unable to protect Cocoyasi Village from the Arlong gang's oppression, he was still fairly knowledgeable about the Celestial Dragons!
The Celestial Dragons, who enjoyed all privileges and claimed to be descendants of gods, had been killed. This was definitely a world-shaking event.
If the Marines currently landing were searching for the red rabbit who killed the Celestial Dragon, Cocoyasi Village would also be caught in the crossfire, and they might even face mass arrests by the Marines!
As soon as this thought emerged, Aken couldn't help but tighten his heartstrings. His eyes flashed with the same despair he felt when the Arlong gang landed in Cocoyasi Village and forced the villagers to buy their lives with money.
However, even though he felt despair, the sense of responsibility he bore pushed him to not hide behind the villagers at this moment.
As the village constable of Cocoyasi Village, he had to stand up at this time.
Thinking this, Aken silently took a deep breath, then looked at the blue-haired girl in front of him with a serious expression, “Nojiko, whether they are here to arrest the Arlong gang or not, we need to fight for it! Because this will be our best chance to rescue Nami and drive out the Arlong gang!”
“Come on, let's go see the officer of these Marines!”
Without further delay, Aken pulled Nojiko and walked out.
Meanwhile, the first group of Marines who landed also entered the town. The leader was none other than Rear Admiral Tsuru from Marine Headquarters!
As Tsuru walked into the town, surrounded by Marine officers from headquarters, she curiously looked around. Seeing that all the villagers were showing fear upon seeing her group, a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.
Normally, wherever the Marines appear, the locals would be very welcoming, as the Marines represent justice in this world!
But the villagers in front of her were not only not showing any excitement, but they were also quite afraid of them.
“Rear Admiral Tsuru!”
At this moment, a Marine Colonel from headquarters quickly came to Tsuru, excitedly saying, “The building by the sea mentioned by the traveler does exist. I'll lead a team to go there now!”
Hearing that there was indeed a building by the sea in Cocoyasi Village, Tsuru didn't hesitate at all and decisively ordered, “Don't harm anyone before investigating clearly. First, control everyone in that building!”
“Yes!”
The Colonel, receiving the order, led dozens of Marines and accelerated towards the Arlong Park!
Although other Marine officers didn't receive orders, they followed closely behind.
In no time, only a few officers remained behind Tsuru.
One of them was none other than Mouse, the Colonel of East Blue's 16th branch.
He didn't go because he knew Arlong Park was already empty, and there was no point in going there.
Besides, he needed to stay with Rear Admiral Tsuru to prevent villagers from taking this opportunity to inform Tsuru about the things Arlong's gang had done in Cocoyasi Village and the surrounding ten miles, eight villages!
Aken, who returned to the town with Nojiko, also saw Mouse, the Colonel, quietly standing behind Rear Admiral Tsuru at this time. Having long known about Mouse's connection with the Arlong gang, upon seeing Mouse, the hope that had lit up in his eyes was instantly extinguished!
In his opinion, Mouse, being able to stand beside that Rear Admiral, was clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing!
However, he still wanted to try!
Taking a deep breath again, Aken mustered his courage and rushed out of the crowd, standing before Rear Admiral Tsuru.
“Rear Admiral, I'm Aken, the village constable of Cocoyasi Village!”
Before Tsuru and Mouse, the Colonel standing beside her, could react, Aken, in one go, said loudly, “Please, uphold justice for the villagers of Cocoyasi Village!”
Without any hesitation, as soon as he finished speaking, Aken knelt down with a thud.
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Today's third update, more to come!
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