“Nami…”
Seeing the girl being brought in by the Marines, Nojiko couldn't hold back and rushed over immediately.
“Nojiko, what…what happened?!”
The girl named Nami blinked in confusion. She had been drawing in the attic of the Arlong Park when she suddenly heard a commotion coming from the park.
Immediately after, Arlong's crew dived into the sea and disappeared.
At the time, she thought they had gone out to rob passing ships, but she didn't expect that a few ships would appear in Cocoyasi Village waters shortly after.
Before she could understand what was happening, a group of Marines rushed into Arlong Park, turning everything upside down, searching for something.
She had seen with her own eyes the Marine Branch Colonel colluding with Arlong's crew, so she didn't dare show herself and hid in the attic.
But she was eventually discovered and brought here.
Before Nojiko could explain, Rear Admiral Tsuru walked over quickly and went straight to the point, asking, “Nami, I have a few questions for you! As long as you tell the truth, everything that happened in Cocoyasi Village, and Arlong's crew, I will handle it fairly!”
“You…what do you want to ask?” Nami asked cautiously.
Tsuru didn't waste time, asking, “Did Arlong's crew raise a pet rabbit wearing a red plaid shirt? Or did Arlong's crew have a red rabbit and a Doberman?”
“Red rabbit? Doberman?”
Nami blinked in confusion, then shook her head decisively. “No! Arlong’s crew only has a sea beast named ‘Moo Moo’!”
“No?” Tsuru’s brows furrowed slightly, and she couldn’t help but recall the scene when she met Xia Yu at sea.
From Xia Yu’s eyes at that time, she could basically tell he wasn't lying!
But Nami's reaction was also very real, she didn't seem to be lying either. This meant that one of Xia Yu and Nami was lying to her!
Could it be…
Suddenly, Tsuru’s heart moved, and she thought of Xia Yu’s identity!
Xia Yu, as a traveler, may have come to Cocoyasi Village.
Perhaps he learned that Arlong’s crew was oppressing the villagers, so he used the red rabbit incident to deceive her to come here. As soon as she arrived, she would encounter Arlong’s crew unexpectedly!
And the fact that Arlong’s crew suddenly withdrew before they appeared was likely because they had heard something!
The most likely person to have passed this information to Arlong’s crew was Colonel Nezumi, because if he was really colluding with Arlong's crew, he naturally wouldn't want them to be caught!
After a round of analysis in her head, Tsuru was almost certain that the traveler Xia Yu wanted to use her hand to eliminate Arlong's crew, this scourge of the East Blue!
Thinking of this, Tsuru shook her head and smiled wryly.
If everything was as she had deduced, then Tiana, who was on her way to Syrup Village, might have encountered a similar situation!
Although she was slightly unhappy about being tricked by Xia Yu, she was, after all, a Rear Admiral of the Marines who held justice in her heart. Now that the villagers were suffering, she naturally had to help!
Not only had to help, but she also had to take this opportunity to clean up the corrupt Marines in the East Blue branches!
…
As dusk descended, Tsuru did not leave Cocoyasi Village. Instead, she conducted a public investigation of the Marines from Branch 16 on the spot!
All the officers and soldiers from Branch 16 who came with Colonel Nezumi were questioned separately, and the truth gradually came to light.
Aken's testimony not only didn't exaggerate, but it was merely the tip of the iceberg of the crimes that Colonel Nezumi had committed over the years at Branch 16.
As the officers of Branch 16 who had been involved in collusion with the pirates over the years confessed one after another, Tsuru no longer had the heart to continue the questioning. She immediately had Nezumi escorted to Cocoyasi Village town square and announced his punishment in front of all the villagers.
Nezumi was stripped of his rank as Branch 16 Colonel and immediately escorted to the Loguetown Marine Base for final judgment.
Hearing Tsuru's public announcement of the punishment for Colonel Nezumi, the Windmill Village residents who had gathered in the town square cheered.
The most excited were Nojiko, Nami, and Aken.
When they heard that Colonel Nezumi would be escorted to Loguetown Marine Base for final judgment, the three of them couldn't help but shed tears.
“Rear Admiral Tsuru, thank you!”
Although Nojiko was excited, she didn't lose her composure. She quickly walked up to Tsuru and bowed, “Thank you for upholding justice for the villagers of Cocoyasi Village, thank you for saving everyone!”
Looking at the blue-haired girl who bowed in gratitude, Tsuru felt a pang of guilt. It was their negligence as Marines that led to the suffering of the villagers here. If it hadn’t been for that traveler, she wouldn't have come here in person. At most, she would have learned about the situation through the branch commanders and let it go!
Tsuru was about to speak when the Den Den Mushi in her arms rang again, “Gion, what's the situation on your side? There's no trace of the red rabbit in Syrup Village. That traveler dared to deceive the Marines, Tiana is very angry!”
Hearing the slightly exasperated voice from the Den Den Mushi, Tsuru couldn't help but want to laugh, “Same here, there's no information about that red rabbit in Cocoyasi Village either! Let me guess, did you encounter a pirate crew in Syrup Village?”
A surprised voice came from the Den Den Mushi, “I did indeed catch a pirate crew on the Syrup Village coast. The captain is a pirate named Kuro, with a bounty of 16 million berries! How did you know? Tiana is very confused!”
Hearing this, Tsuru had no more doubts. Xia Yu lured them to Cocoyasi Village and Syrup Village, just to use them to capture the pirates who were plaguing those two places!
After ending the call with Tiana, Tsuru slightly raised her head and looked at the darkening sky, softly murmuring, “Traveler, thank you.”
Before her words finished, Tsuru suddenly remembered that there was still a blue-haired girl standing beside her.
She quickly regained her composure and said seriously, “Don't thank me, it is our duty as Marines to capture pirates. If you really have to thank someone, thank that traveler. If not for his kind lie, we might have come, but we might not have been able to understand everything that happened here!”
“Traveler?” The blue-haired girl blinked, curiously asking, “Who is that?”
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Fifth update today, more to come!
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