The massive axe whistled through the air, creating a powerful gust of wind.
"Whoa, look at that power! Captain Morgan isn't messing around!" someone in the crowd of soldiers yelled.
"That white-haired guy isn't even moving! Is he frozen in fear?"
"It's over for him!"
The axe was about to land.
In a flash, Ray's calm expression vanished.
His eyes locked onto Morgan, and his pupils seemed to narrow into cold vertical slits, radiating a terrifying killing intent.
Suddenly, Morgan felt a wave of pressure so immense it was like he was facing a giant beast about to eat him alive.
With one hand on his sword, Ray flicked his wrist and swung the blade in a blur of motion.
A second later, the two men stood still, back-to-back.
Morgan was frozen in his attack pose, while Ray had already slid his sword back into its sheath.
The entire scene was dead silent.
Nobody moved.
"What happened? Why'd they stop?" a soldier whispered.
"Did... did the Captain let him go?"
"No way. You know Morgan. He would've finished that pretty boy for sure."
"Dude, shut up! You wanna get thrown in the brig?"
"Ah—I mean, Captain Morgan is an upstanding Marine who would never go easy on a criminal!"
While the soldiers were whispering, Luffy and Zoro already knew what had happened.
Zoro's eyes were glued to a spot dozens of meters away.
A tree, so thick it would take three people to wrap their arms around it, now had a perfectly clean slice through its trunk.
It was only standing because the cut had been too fast for it to fall.
'Is this guy a master swordsman? To do that with one casual swing…' Zoro was completely blown away.
Luffy, as usual, didn't notice the little details like Zoro did.
But after being thrown into the mountains by his grandpa Garp and fighting for his life since he was a kid, his instincts were razor-sharp.
He could feel it.
Ray had won.
Easily.
He couldn't help but grin.
"Whoa. That white-haired guy is awesome."
…
More time passed, but neither Ray nor Morgan moved an inch.
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and soldiers were starting to sweat.
Finally, the lieutenant commander broke the silence.
"Open fire! Take them down!"
Dozens of soldiers aimed their rifles and pulled the triggers.
"Hahaha, leave this to me!" Luffy shouted, jumping in front of Ray again.
The bullets bounced harmlessly off his rubber body.
"Guns don't work on him! Draw your swords and fight them up close!"
Just then, Morgan started to tremble.
He slowly turned his head, his face filled with pure terror as he looked at Ray.
"With that kind of strength… why are you in the East Blue? Who… who are you—"
"Gah!"
Before he could finish, a torrent of blood burst from his chest.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed.
As he fell, Morgan—and his giant axe-hand—split perfectly in two.
"CAPTAIN MORGAN!" the Marines screamed in horror.
Then, with a loud crack, the massive tree behind where Morgan had stood also split in half, crashing to the ground.
Seeing that, the soldiers were even more terrified.
"Oh my god… what kind of power is that?"
"He took out Captain Morgan in a single hit."
"Wait, he just killed the Captain… Now what do we do?"
"Lieutenant, give us an order!"
The lieutenant commander's face was grim.
He clenched his fists and yelled his command.
"All soldiers, attention!"
At his order, hundreds of Marines snapped to attention, rifles raised.
"Are they really gonna keep fighting?" Zoro muttered, getting ready for another battle.
Luffy cracked his knuckles.
"All personnel!" the lieutenant shouted.
"Back to the base! You've all got a half-day off!"
Zoro and Luffy just blinked.
"Huh??"
A moment of silence was followed by an earth-shattering cheer from the marines.
"YAHOO! That bastard is finally dead!"
"Hahaha! Thanks, you guys! Now we can finally be the kind of Marines who actually protect people!"
Some of them even grabbed megaphones and started broadcasting the good news all over town.
…
Watching the marines run off to spread the word, Luffy laughed.
"Shishishi, Looks like they were good guys after all."
After that, Luffy invited Ray and Zoro to grab a bite to eat at the tavern, where they all officially met, along with Koby.
Ray, of course, kept his cold expression and barely said a word the whole time.
Once they finished eating, Zoro looked at Ray and tied his black bandana around his head.
"Hey, white-hair. Let's have a duel. Town square."
Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Hahaha, a fight between you two? That's gonna be awesome! You gotta say yes, Ray!"
Ray glanced at Zoro and gave a slight nod.
Zoro's fighting spirit instantly flared up.
"I'll be waiting for you at the square!" he shouted, before taking off in a sprint.
"...Isn't that the wrong way?" Luffy asked.
"Yep."
…
Shells Town Square
A huge crowd had already gathered, all talking about the same thing.
"Did you hear? They're saying Captain Morgan is dead!"
"Keep your voice down! What if it's a trap to catch people talking bad about him?"
"No, my brother is a marine! He just came home and told me himself!"
"Whoa, so it's true?! That's fantastic!"
"Good riddance! The tyrant is finally gone!"
"So who's the hero that did it?"
"I heard it was a handsome guy with white hair, a kid in a straw hat, and the pirate hunter, Zoro."
"The pirate hunter? Okay, if he was involved, I believe it."
"Shh! All of you, be quiet! If this is just a rumor, we're all gonna be in deep trouble!"
…
Just as the crowd was about to yell at the nervous guy to shut up, the Marine lieutenant commander walked onto a platform.
He took a deep breath and decided to make it official.
"Everyone! I have an announcement to make!" he yelled.
"The base commander, Captain Morgan… is dead!"
For a second, there was silence.
Then, the entire square erupted in celebration.
"Hahaha! That's great news! Honey, that monster is finally gone!" an old man shouted, laughing and crying at the same time.
Cheers and shouts filled the air as people released years of frustration from living under Morgan's rule.
Watching the people celebrate, the lieutenant smiled.
Risking his career was worth it.
He went on to explain that three people were responsible: Zoro the pirate hunter, the kid in the straw hat, and a handsome man with white hair.
"WOO-HOO! Thank you, saviors! You avenged my brother!" the same guy who was just telling everyone to be quiet yelled, jumping for joy.
Suddenly, a green blur shot through the crowd and landed in the center of the square.
It was Zoro..... who had finally found his way back after getting lost.
"Wow, is that really Roronoa Zoro the Pirate Hunter?"
"He looks so cool!"
A moment later, Ray and Luffy arrived.
"Whoa, look at the silver-haired guy! He's so handsome but looks so cold!"
"Oh my god, it's not fair for someone to look that good."
"Weren't you just fangirling over Zoro a second ago?"
"Who, me? Nope. I've always been a fan of the silver-haired hottie."
"Wait, look! The Pirate Hunter is drawing his swords!"
"And the silver-haired guy is drawing his sword, too! Are they going to fight?!"
More and more people rushed over, completely surrounding the square to watch.