Chapter 10: In the Name of the Government and the People, I Sentence You to Death by Firing Squad!
The naval soldiers trussed up like parcels, were left in the town for the townspeople to deal with. As for Helmeppo, Ralph carried him along like a chick.
On the way to the execution ground, Koby looked at the weeping and sniveling Helmeppo and hesitantly proposed an idea: "Mr. Ralph, could we... use him to threaten Colonel Morgan? Make him release Mr. Zoro and change his policies toward the town..."
Ralph shook his head directly, pointing out the naivety of the idea: "First, Morgan's current state is no different from being insane. Would a madman care about hostages? Besides, I don't think this waste has much value in front of his father."
As if to confirm Ralph's words, Helmeppo wailed in admission: "It's useless! Dad said I'm too useless, not even worthy of him stepping in to teach me a lesson... If I dared to defy him, he'd definitely kill me too!"
Koby's eyes widened in shock, stunned both by Morgan's cruelty toward his own son and by how such a person could hold the position of naval base colonel.
"See?" Ralph continued, his tone tinged with sarcasm. "Second, you want to threaten a dictatorial ruler into changing his policies, or even overthrowing his rule? How is that possible..."
Halfway through his sentence, Ralph paused. He stroked his chin, his expression turning peculiar.
Wait... this is the world of One Piece! It seems... it might actually be possible!
After all, there's the concept of the ultimate hostage here—capture the right person, and even top-tier powerhouses can be threatened!
How terrifying!
Too bad it doesn't work on Morgan.
In this regard, he truly lives up to his title, Axe-Hand Morgan!
The three of them brought Helmeppo to the execution ground. Zoro, tied to the cross, frowned immediately upon seeing them, especially Helmeppo.
Ralph succinctly explained how Helmeppo had led soldiers to execute Rika earlier.
"What?!" Zoro erupted in fury, his beast-like eyes fixed intently on Helmeppo, his voice gritted out between his teeth. "Helmeppo! Did you forget our agreement?! You promised you wouldn't trouble that little girl!"
"It's... it's not my fault! It was my dad! All my dad's orders! I didn't dare disobey!" Helmeppo was scared out of his wits, desperately shifting the blame to Morgan.
Ralph snorted coldly, pressing the dagger against Helmeppo's throat again. The cold touch instantly silenced his wails.
"Don't evade the main issue," Ralph's voice was devoid of emotion. "I'm asking you: even without your dad's orders, would you really have kept your promise to Zoro and released him after a month?"
Under the threat of death, Helmeppo's psychological defenses completely collapsed. Weeping, he confessed the truth: "I... I never intended to let him live! In two more days... in two more days, I was going to execute him! All because he killed my wolf! Waaah..."
"Bastard!!!"
Zoro trembled with rage, the ropes binding him creaking under the strain as veins bulged on his forehead. Being deceived, toyed with, and especially the other party breaking their promise to harm an innocent little girl had completely ignited the fury of this "monster."
He abruptly lifted his head, looking at Luffy, and declared resolutely, "Hey! Lufia! I agree to set sail with you! But first, help me get my swords back! I want to cut down this lying bastard with my own hands!"
"Hehe! No problem!" Luffy immediately responded cheerfully.
However, Ralph's eyes widened instantly.
Hey, hey! You damn seaweed-head! After just a few words with Lufia, how dare you call her so familiarly?! Who gave you permission to call her that!
He suddenly regretted his earlier plan.
Originally, he was supposed to deal with Morgan, while Luffy would retrieve Zoro's swords, and they would handle the minor soldiers together. But this way, wouldn't it create an opportunity for this seaweed-head and Lufia to be alone?!
But it was too late to back out now! He had already promised Lufia he would "personally defeat Morgan." How could a man easily break his promise? Going back on his word would definitely lower her opinion of him!
The only course of action now was... to take down Morgan as quickly as possible, end this battle, and eliminate any chance of unexpected developments!
"Stick to the original plan!" Ralph suppressed his jealousy and said gravely, "Lufia, take this trash to find the swords. Koby, untie Zoro. I'll go find Morgan!"
With the plan set, Luffy grabbed the limp Helmeppo like a sack and dashed toward the base's main building. Koby, flustered, began untying Zoro's ropes.
Meanwhile, Ralph pushed his speed to the limit, using Soru to sprint toward the naval base's main building. As he hurried, he frantically reassured himself in his mind:
It's fine, it's fine! These two—one only has "Pirate King" on her mind, and the other only cares about becoming the "World's Greatest Swordsman"—shouldn't have any unexpected developments... right? But how did their relationship progress to the point of using first names?! Once this is over, I must get to the bottom of it!
As for Morgan... just die quickly! Don't waste my time!
Ralph's confidence stemmed not only from Soru and his basic Observation Haki but also because, at his waist, besides the not-so-sharp dagger, he carried a flintlock Pistol seized from the marines!
As everyone knew, in the world of One Piece, punches, kicks, high falls, and sword slashes might not necessarily kill, but if you couldn't withstand bullets, you'd be shot dead! This was one of the highest laws of the East Blue, this "beginner's village"!
...
At that moment, Morgan was on the top floor of the naval base, supervising the soldiers as they erected a statue of his "great" image. The massive stone figure was slowly being hoisted by ropes, about to stand tall.
Just then, as if an invisible gust of wind swept through—
"Swish!"
The thick hemp ropes binding the statue were cleanly severed! The giant statue lost its support and crashed down, shattering into several pieces on the rooftop, sending debris flying.
"Worthless! All of you, worthless! Can't even handle such a simple task!" Morgan roared in fury, raising his axe-hand to berate the soldiers.
"Scum like you, worthy of a statue?"
A cold and familiar voice came from atop the wall.
Morgan whipped his head around and saw Ralph standing there, his clothes fluttering gently in the wind. He was startled at first, then boundless rage overwhelmed his reason: "You?! How dare you show yourself before me! You're asking for death!"
In his fury, Morgan swung his massive axe-hand with a shriek that tore through the air, aiming to slice Ralph in half at the waist!
Yet Ralph merely shifted his body slightly, and the axe blade missed him by a hair's breadth.
Just as expected! Ralph felt reassured. Previously, after using Soru, his speed would increase, but his own reactions and dynamic vision sometimes couldn't keep up. However, after receiving the "gift" of Observation Haki (Beginner) from Koby, this issue had greatly improved.
Morgan's enraged, straightforward attacks were crystal clear in his perception, making them effortless to predict and allowing him to choose the most efficient and precise evasion method, which conserved his stamina significantly.
"Arrogant brat! Open fire! Shoot him dead!" Morgan, seeing his attack miss yet again, flew into an even greater rage and immediately ordered all the soldiers on the rooftop to fire.
A barrage of gunshots rang out, filling the air with smoke.
But this was exactly the opportunity Ralph had been waiting for! The moment the soldiers' attention was diverted and Morgan was briefly distracted by giving the order, he moved again!
"Soru—Frenzy!"
His figure transformed into an elusive blur amidst the smoke, weaving through the soldiers like a ghost, making it impossible for them to aim. The next instant, he appeared directly in front of Morgan, channeling the explosive force of Soru—dozens of instantaneous stomps—and unleashed it all once more onto Morgan's detestable face!
"Thud!"
Morgan was sent reeling backward again, his massive body staggering unsteadily. Unfortunately, he was standing right at the edge of the rooftop at that moment!
"Crash—!"
The guardrail shattered under the impact of his heavy body, and Morgan let out a piercing scream as he flailed his axe-hand, plummeting straight down from the high rooftop!
As everyone knows, in the world of One Piece, aside from the Supreme Grand Staircase, no one ever dies from falling from a great height!
This thought flashed through Ralph's mind, but his movements didn't hesitate in the slightest.
His eyes sharpened, and he leaped down after Morgan!
In mid-air, he adjusted his posture precisely, stomping hard onto Morgan's broad back to use him as a cushion while mentally calculating the height.
At the very instant before they were about to crash into the ground—
"Soru—Skywalk!"
Ralph's feet erupted with powerful stomping force once more. The reactive force generated by dozens of instantaneous stomps against Morgan's body drastically reduced his own falling speed.
"BOOM!!!"
A dull, thunderous impact, like a meteor striking the earth! Morgan served as the perfect cushion, landing face-first and carving out a shallow crater in the plaza in front of the marine base, sending dust billowing everywhere.
Ralph, using the cushioning effect of Soru, executed a nimble backflip and landed steadily. Though his feet were numb from the impact, he was otherwise unharmed.
Panting, he stared intently at the center of the dust cloud.
This time... he should be more injured than last time, right? Even if this world defies physics, with all these extra "add-ons," there should be some effect!
As the dust slowly cleared, the scene in the deep crater made Ralph's pupils contract slightly.
Morgan... was actually still conscious!
He lay at the bottom of the pit, shaking his head with the steel jaw, struggling to prop himself up. His temple was split open, blood gushing out, staining his vision and turning the world before him into a crimson haze.
In this blood-red world, he vaguely saw a young man slowly approach the edge of the pit, looking down at him from above. Then, the young man raised his hand—a pitch-black gun barrel exuding an aura of death—and aimed it squarely between his brows.
Ralph looked at this so-called "colonel" at the bottom of the pit, who had been arrogant and trampled on justice and life, and recalled the townspeople oppressed by him, the young Rika who had nearly been executed. An indescribable emotion surged in his heart.
Even if it wasn't entirely your fault that you became like this, didn't you bear any responsibility at all?
"On behalf of the government, on behalf of the people…"
He paused, his finger on the trigger slowly applying pressure.
"I execute you!"
Bang!
The deafening gunshot exploded across the deathly silent square of the naval base.
Ralph had only intended to pay homage to a classic line, but he hadn't expected that aside from Morgan, who was on the verge of losing consciousness, there were others who heard it.
"The... the government?!!"