Two hours later, Belluth successfully received the protection money. The moment he stepped out of Arlong Park's gate, he couldn't help but spit fiercely.
"These Fish-Men are so damn disgusting. If it weren't for the Captain's orders, I wouldn't set foot in this slime-covered den for anything!"
A Sergeant next to him immediately chimed in obsequiously, "Captain Belluth is right. Those Fish-Men reek of a fishy stench, it's simply nauseating. But... this is the first time the Captain has arranged for you to collect the protection money. It means you, Captain, are about to be highly valued!"
Another subordinate quickly added, "That's right. It's a good thing I chose to follow you two years ago, and not that idiot Raymond. Otherwise, I'd have to go swab the decks with him tomorrow!"
At the mention of Raymond, Belluth's interest was instantly piqued, and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "That guy is probably running around like a headless chicken looking for clues right now... How foolish. Of course, after stealing from the Marines, you should leave the scene of the crime immediately. Who would be stupid enough to stay put!"
The three of them walked and laughed. When they reached the edge of a forest, they suddenly found Raymond sitting under the shade of a tree, wiping his sword. The brim of his hat cast a shadow over his eyes, revealing only his tense jawline.
"Well, look who it is! Our dear Lieutenant Raymond!"
Belluth spread his hands dramatically, turning to wink at his two followers. "I bet you couldn't find a single trace of the robbers, so you're wandering around this forest like a stray dog, right?"
The Sergeant next to him immediately agreed, "You give him too much credit, Captain. With his skills, he probably couldn't even make sense of the crime scene!"
Hearing this, Raymond remained leaning against the tree trunk, his gaze terrifyingly calm, like the sea before a storm.
"Hm? What did you just say about me?" His voice was low, almost devoid of any emotion.
Belluth laughed as he approached, his outstretched index finger almost poking Raymond's nose. "I said you're a piece of tra—"
Shing!
The flash of a blade cut through the air like lightning.
Belluth's words were cut short, replaced by an inhuman scream.
He staggered back, clutching his mouth as warm blood gushed from between his fingers. A gurgling sound came from his throat, like a leaking bellows, his wide eyes filled with incredulous terror.
"Next time, remember, if you speak ill of me again, it won't be just your tongue... Oh, my apologies. It seems you won't have a next time!"
Raymond slowly stood up. Droplets of blood from his sword tip stained the withered leaves with dark red patterns, like blooming flowers of death.
"Raymond! What have you done!?"
The Sergeant reacted the fastest. He almost instinctively drew his flintlock and aimed at Raymond's head. But the moment he pulled the trigger, he saw his opponent's body had already shifted slightly to the side. The bullet grazed past his ear and exploded into a shower of splinters on the tree trunk.
Then, Raymond lunged forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. The Sergeant didn't even have time to fire a second shot before he felt a cold sensation on his neck.
He subconsciously raised a hand to touch it, only to feel gushing blood. He fell heavily to his knees, the terror in his eyes frozen forever.
"What did I do? As Marines, you colluded with pirates to oppress civilians. Dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough!" Raymond's voice was like ice, the blade of his sword reflecting a blindingly cold light in the sun.
He turned to look at the last soldier, who was staggering backward, a wet patch spreading across his trousers.
"Sp... Spare me, Lieutenant Raymond! I didn't curse you just now!"
"Oh? You didn't curse me just now... then you must have cursed me plenty before. You really deserve to die!"
With a swift motion of his hand, Raymond's sword fell, and the soldier's head flew high into the air, tracing a bloody arc under the sun.
At this moment, Belluth was curled up in a pool of blood, the excruciating pain from his severed tongue making him almost faint. In his blurry vision, a pair of blood-stained military boots was approaching step by step. He tried to crawl away, but Raymond had already stepped on the back of his head, pressing his face hard into the dirt.
"You were laughing at me just now, weren't you? Having fun? Still laughing? Why don't you laugh again!" Raymond's boot ground hard against Belluth's face, the sickening sound of bone being crushed filling the air.
Suddenly, he lifted his foot, grabbed Belluth's hair, and lifted the bloody, mangled face. "It seems you can't laugh anymore. Let me help you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy punch smashed into Belluth's mouth. Accompanied by a horrifying cracking sound, three front teeth mixed with blood and foam flew out!
"Laugh!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Laugh for me!!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The punches fell like rain, each one accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking bone.
When the ninth punch landed, Belluth's entire head was deformed like a crushed pumpkin, a mixture of red and white fluids seeping from his shattered skull.
Raymond methodically wiped the sticky substance from his hand, then bent down and took Belluth's mouth, which was already crushed beyond recognition, and tore it open at the sides, forcibly creating a grotesque smile.
"See? Now you're smiling." Raymond's voice was chillingly calm as he turned his gaze back to the panel in his vision.
[After a struggle, you have killed Marine Branch Captain Belluth]
[Your physical constitution has received a small boost!]
"Not bad!"
Dismissing the panel, Raymond looked towards a large tree nearby, a faint curve playing on his lips.
"Hey, they're all dead. You can come out now!"
Nami dropped from the tree, her face pale, her orange hair stuck to her cheeks with cold sweat. Her eyes were fixed on the three Marine corpses on the ground, especially the inhuman shape of Belluth, which made her stomach churn.
"Why did you kill them?" Her voice trembled, completely devoid of her usual cunning and composure. The image of Raymond's torture was still vivid in her mind.
Raymond answered nonchalantly, "What else? Let them go back and report, and then have both of us hunted by the Marines and Arlong?"
"But they were just ordinary Marines! And... you're a Marine too!" Nami gritted her teeth, a flash of anger and fear in her eyes.
She had stolen treasure from countless pirates and even tricked many Marines, but she had never thought of killing anyone.
And this Marine before her, for just a few million Beri, had turned his blade on his own comrades. Not only that, but to such an extent...
Raymond glanced at her, a cold sneer on his lips. "Ordinary Marines? They were Captain Nezumi's trusted men. They came to Cocoyasi Village every month to collect 'protection money,' which is another form of exploiting the villagers. Do you think they were innocent?"
Nami was at a loss for words, but she quickly retorted, "That still doesn't mean..."
"Doesn't mean what?" Raymond interrupted her, his gaze suddenly sharp. "You think you can make Arlong let Cocoyasi Village go with theft and negotiation? How naive! Even if you satisfy Arlong's crew's appetite, there will be another crew after them, and another... Woman, don't use your pitiful kindness to judge the desires of others. Weakness is the original sin. Only blood can water the tree of true freedom!"
Nami's pupils contracted violently, clearly not accepting Raymond's extreme views.
After a moment, she took a deep breath, stared with her stubborn eyes, and threw the sack in her hand to the ground.
"The supplies I stole yesterday, and the treasure equivalent to the seven million two hundred thousand Beri you demanded, it's all here! Give me the money!"
Raymond slowly squatted down, retrieved the blood-stained twelve million Beri from Belluth's corpse, but didn't immediately toss it to Nami. Instead, he used his sword to untie the sack and began to inspect the contents.
The crisp sound of metal clinking rang out as he checked the ammunition and treasure piece by piece, his fingertips making a soft rustling sound as they brushed against the treasure, as if enjoying some kind of morbid ritual.
After a moment, he nodded and tossed the cash to Nami.
This money had been handled by the Fish-Men and still had a special fishy smell. Holding onto it was like holding a ticking time bomb, so he naturally had no intention of double-crossing her.
"Pleasure doing business with you!"
"There won't be a next time!" Nami gritted her teeth, her eyes as cold as ice.
She couldn't understand Raymond's methods, much less the almost fanatical madness in his eyes.
She swore she never wanted to have anything to do with this Marine ever again.
However, to her utter astonishment, after receiving the goods, Raymond didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he brandished his sword, performing an elegant flourish. The tip of the blade drew a beautiful, tragic arc in the setting sun, and then—
Shhh!
The sharp sword plunged into his own abdomen without hesitation, a bewitching flower of blood instantly blooming on his white Marine uniform.
Nami's pupils shrank suddenly. Her knees buckled and hit the soft sand, her throat feeling as if it were being choked by an invisible hand.
"You... you're a madman!"
She had seen Arlong's brutality in tearing villagers apart, witnessed the cruelty of pirates burning and pillaging, but at this moment, facing this self-mutilating Marine, all the blood in her body seemed to freeze.
In that instant, she finally understood that humans were far more terrifying than Fish-Men. Fish-Men, though bloodthirsty and cruel, at least wouldn't harm their own comrades without reason. But some humans, on the blade that tore away their disguise, were stained with the purest form of madness.
The setting sun was like blood, casting Raymond's figure into a twisted, demonic silhouette. As he staggered forward, pebbles and blood spattered beneath his military boots, accompanied by a roar that tore through the twilight:
"Justice will prevail!"