East Blue, Cocoyasi Village.
Inside the central tower of Arlong Park.
"Squeak, squeak—"
A man in a Marine Captain's uniform, with shifty, rodent-like eyes and a thin, sleazy mustache, was rubbing his hands together while letting out a sly laugh.
Marine Branch 16's Captain — Nezumi.
Across from him sat a towering, muscular sawshark fish-man — Arlong.
Arlong.
His broad, bare chest bore the distinctive sun tattoo on the left side, and his jagged, saw-shaped nose made him instantly recognizable.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha-ha—!"
Arlong extended his webbed, clawed hand and shoved a thick stack of Belly across the table toward Nezumi.
"Nezumi, this month's 'management fee' — count it."
"Arlong-sama, you're always so generous!"
Nezumi's eyes gleamed as he eagerly wet his fingers and began counting through the notes at lightning speed.
He carefully went through them twice, confirming the exact total, before his wrinkled face blossomed into a grin like a chrysanthemum. He handed the money off to one of his trusted aides to put away safely.
"When it comes to friends, I've always been generous! Sha-ha-ha-ha!"
Arlong bared his rows of razor-sharp teeth, picked up a wine glass beside him, and lazily swirled the liquid inside before casually asking,
"By the way, Nezumi..."
"I've heard some rumors lately — apparently, your Branch 16 has got quite the capable man on your side?"
"They say he's been cleaning up a lot of wweakling in the East Blue, even taking down several pirate crews with bounties over ten million Belly."
"Sounds like you've got quite the subordinate there, Nezumi."
Arlong's tone carried a playful edge, as though testing whether this rising star would interfere with their "business arrangements."
"You mean that kid, Hawke?"
At the mention of the name, Nezumi's face twisted into a smug grin as he raised his shrill voice.
"That brat! Everything he has today is thanks to me!"
"Back then, he was just a lowly Seaman Recruit. But I — the great Captain Nezumi! — saw his potential!"
"I was the one who handpicked him, nurtured him, promoted him!"
"All those pirates he took down? Without me covering his back and handling the 'paperwork' for Marine Headquarters, you think he'd have climbed to the rank of Commander?"
Nezumi puffed out his chest, wearing an expression that screamed,
"Without me, there'd be no Hawke."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Arlong's smile didn't waver.
"Then, tell me... what happened to the bounties on those pirates?"
"The bounties...?" Nezumi let out a squeaky, nervous laugh, rubbing his hands together. "Squeak, squeak, squeak—"
Of course, the bounties had all ended up in his own pocket.
"Heh—"
"Nezumi, you'd better keep your 'good kid' under control," Arlong's tone suddenly dropped, his gaze sharpening.
"Don't let him work without permission... and definitely don't let him bite someone he shouldn't."
"Understand, Captain Nezumi?"
"Understood!"
Nezumi jolted under Arlong's icy stare, hurriedly thumping his chest as he swore,
"Don't worry, Arlong-sama! Branch 16 is completely under my control!"
"That kid Hawke is absolutely loyal to me!"
"He will not defy the instruction!"
"Heh-heh-heh—"
Arlong chuckled darkly, raising his glass.
To him, Nezumi was nothing more than a greedy but obedient guy.
And thanks to this "cover" of his, Arlong had managed to terrorize Cocoyasi Village in the East Blue for so long after leaving the Grand Line — all without drawing the attention of Marine Headquarters.
As for that so-called "Blood Hawk"...
If that man dared to interfere, Arlong wouldn't mind personally "removing" him.
He'd make sure that fool understood the unbridgeable gap between humans and fish-men.
"Sha-ha-ha-ha!"
Arlong tipped back his glass and downed the wine.
"To our successful partnership — cheers!"
"Cheers, cheers!"
Nezumi quickly raised his glass too, plastering on a sycophantic smile.
Meanwhile, in his mind, he was already scheming how to "discipline" Hawke once he got back.
He needed to make sure that brat knew who the real boss was — and stop causing him trouble.
But just as the two exchanged fake smiles and prepared to toast again—
BOOM—!
A deafening crash echoed through the tower!
The heavy wooden doors of Arlong Park burst inward, splinters flying in every direction!
The two fish-man sentries stationed by the entrance didn't even have time to react before the shockwave flung them across the room, smashing them against the walls.
They were dead on impact.
Immediately after, a unit of heavily armed Marine soldiers stormed inside in tight formation.
Within seconds, the entire Arlong Park was completely surrounded.
"What's going on?!"
"Marines?! How the hell did they get in?!"
The officers of the Arlong Pirates paled as they scrambled to grab their weapons.
"What about the outer guards?!"
Hatchan cried out in disbelief, "What about Mōmu?! Where's Mōmu?!"
Mōmu.
Impossible.
Arlong Park wasn't just defended by dozens of patrolling fish-man warriors — the waterway entrance was guarded by Mōmu, a massive sea beast Arlong had brought back from the Grand Line!
How could the Marines have gotten this far without even making a sound?!
"Nezumi!!"
"You sold me out?!"
Arlong slowly turned his head, his cold, predatory eyes locking onto Nezumi.
His gaze radiated pure killing intent.
Marines surrounding them?
The fish-man guards outside, the carefully arranged sentry points, even Mōmu himself... all neutralized without a sound.
This kind of strength...
Only Marine Headquarters' elite forces were capable of something like this.
And it just so happened to occur during his secret meeting with Nezumi?
Could it be...
Was Nezumi using this "transaction" as bait to gather evidence against him?!
Suspicion flared like wildfire in Arlong's mind.
"No! It's not me!"
Nezumi was trembling so violently his little mustache quivered, shrieking in panic.
"I... I don't know anything about this!!"
Step— step—
At that moment, steady, unhurried footsteps echoed from outside.
The Marines instinctively parted to either side, opening up a path.
A tall, broad-shouldered young Marine Commander stepped into view, his silhouette cutting sharp against the light.
He wore a crisp, perfectly tailored Marine uniform.
His cold, chiseled features looked as though carved from stone.
His deep, obsidian eyes seemed to pierce straight through one's soul.
Following closely behind him was Lieutenant Commander Dane, his expression utterly stoic.
"..."
Hawke didn't pause as he entered. His sharp gaze swept across the entire room before finally settling on Arlong and Nezumi.
A cold, razor-thin smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
So, everyone was here.
Perfect.
Today, he was leaving with everything he came for.
"Hawke!"
Nezumi froze for a moment, then exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his face contorting with a mix of shock and rage.
He puffed up his chest, putting on the airs of a superior officer as he screeched:
"Commander Rayne Hawke!!!"
"What do you think you're doing here?! Who gave you permission to storm this place with soldiers?! This is outrageous! Completely outrageous!"
"This has nothing to do with you! Take your men and get the hell out of here, right now!"
But Hawke walked right past him without so much as a glance.
Thud—
He strode directly to Arlong's seat — and sat down without hesitation.
Leaning back slightly in the chair, Hawke calmly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow, deep drag before exhaling a thin plume of smoke.
His voice was low, deliberate, and icy:
"Abandoned manor basement. One hundred and thirty-five million, four hundred and ninety thousand Belly..."
Hawke lifted his gaze, his eyes locking onto Nezumi's trembling form.
"Nezumi... you're really greedy."
"..."
All the color drained from Nezumi's face.
Cold sweat streamed down his temples, his knees nearly giving out.
"You..."
"How did you..."