He was already furious at Ivan's actions, and now seeing Ivan's former superior—a mere captain—daring to defy him only fueled his rage further.
Without hesitation, he struck, delivering a fierce kick squarely to Smoker's chest!
Facing the Vice Admiral's furious attack, Smoker felt as if struck by a heavy hammer. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, sustaining serious internal injuries.
Onigumo coldly withdrew his foot, not even glancing at the fallen Smoker. He turned and bowed slightly to Alice Tina, speaking respectfully:
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I will personally handle this trivial matter."
But as soon as he finished speaking, a marine rushed over with urgent steps, stood at attention, saluted, and reported:
"Vice Admiral Onigumo, we've discovered traces of the Straw Hat Pirates! They are currently near the execution platform where Pirate King Roger was executed!"
"The Straw Hat Pirates?" Onigumo raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, a hint of surprise in his tone.
Although he was stationed long-term in the Grand Line, he had still heard of this rising star among East Blue pirates.
Straw Hat Luffy, who single-handedly defeated the few remaining pirates in East Blue with bounties in the tens of millions, was now the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue.
Thoughts racing, a sinister smile curled at the corner of Onigumo's lips:
"Perfect!"
He turned to the three Alices, his tone still respectful:
"Your Majesties, this Straw Hat kid is the newly risen pirate star of East Blue. Capturing him would be perfect entertainment for Your Majesties."
Upon hearing this, Alice's icy expression softened somewhat, though her tone remained cold:
"As you wish, as long as it amuses me."
With permission granted, Onigumo wasted no time. He immediately turned and barked orders to the marines standing by:
"Relay my command! All warships docked beside the cruise ship are to set sail immediately and fully mobilize to surround and capture the Straw Hat Pirates! They must be taken alive and brought before the three Majesties!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Onigumo!"
The marines responded in unison before turning and hurrying away.
Moments later, several navy warships slowly departed from the port, speeding toward the direction of the execution platform in Loguetown.
Meanwhile, chaos had already erupted in Loguetown's square.
The Straw Hat Pirates weaved through the crowd, charging toward the execution platform.
At that moment, Luffy was tightly bound on the execution platform. Buggy held a sharp longsword, poised to swing it down and behead Luffy.
Unlike the original course of events, due to Ivan's appearance, Nami had not joined the Straw Hat crew. Instead, Kaya, Usopp's childhood friend, had become a member.
She now followed closely behind Roronoa Zoro, rushing toward the execution platform.
"Luffy, we're coming back to save you! Hold on!" Led by Zoro and Sanji, the group swiftly knocked aside members of the Buggy Pirates one by one, trying to reach the execution platform.
However, pirates from the Buggy Pirates kept pouring in endlessly, significantly slowing their progress and preventing them from getting close to Luffy in a short time.
It seemed Luffy was about to be beheaded by Buggy. Yet, even at this moment, not a trace of fear showed on Luffy's face.
He flashed a brilliant smile and roared:
"Well, it looks like I'm going to die! But even so, I'm going to become the King of the Pirates!"
Upon hearing this, Buggy's face twisted into a sneer. "Save you? And you still want to become the Pirate King? Go to hell!"
As the long blade was about to fall and Luffy was on the verge of death, the Straw Hat crew wore expressions of despair. But at that critical moment, a fierce gale suddenly erupted!
A sudden gust of wind swept across the entire plaza, sending the pirates of the Buggy Pirates flying and tumbling in disarray, while the Straw Hat crew remained completely unaffected.
Even more astonishingly, the wind seemed to possess a consciousness of its own, slamming violently into the execution platform.
With a loud crash, the wooden execution platform was completely shattered by the gale, splinters flying everywhere and scattering across the ground.
After the platform collapsed, Luffy seized the opportunity to break free, flipping through the air and landing on the ground. He exclaimed joyfully, "Great! I'm not going to die!"
Immediately afterward, while Buggy was still stunned, the Straw Hat crew swiftly defeated him.
Before long, the remaining pirates of the Buggy Pirates were also completely routed.
From that point on, the Buggy Pirates had no strength left to resist!
Luffy stood triumphantly on Buggy, raising his fist high and shouting, "I won! Hahahaha!"
With the battle over, Roronoa Zoro sheathed his swords, and the rest of the crew relaxed, breaking into smiles.
The fierce wind in the plaza gradually subsided, and the Straw Hat crew had successfully overcome the crisis.
However, immersed in their joy, they were unaware that on a luxurious cruise ship not far away, Onigumo's gaze was fixed intently on them. A new crisis was quietly approaching.
Several Marine warships sailed into the port of Loguetown, docking just a hundred meters away from the plaza.
Soon, squads of Marine soldiers filed out one after another, armed with rifles, and charged toward the Straw Hat crew.
However, ordinary Marines were no match for the Straw Hat crew.
In just a short while, the Marines sent to capture them were easily defeated.
A Marine who managed to escape scrambled back to the luxurious cruise ship and reported to Onigumo, "Vice Admiral, we... we failed. The Straw Hat crew is too strong! We're no match for them!"
"Worthless!" Onigumo roared angrily upon hearing this. "A bunch of useless fools! Do I have to deal with mere East Blue pirates myself?"
After a moment of thought, Onigumo's eyes hardened with ruthlessness. "Pass on my orders! All warships are to open fire simultaneously, aiming at Loguetown Plaza. Level it to the ground!
Blast the Straw Hat crew into critical condition. If they survive the bombardment, capture them alive. If they die, so be it!"
"Vice Admiral Onigumo, you can't do this!" At that moment, a weak voice spoke up.
Awakened by Onigumo's furious roar, Smoker heard the command and, despite the excruciating pain in his body, vehemently protested, "There are still many civilians in Loguetown Plaza! If we open fire, they'll be blown to pieces! The casualties will be catastrophic!"
Onigumo glanced at him sideways, his eyes filled with disdain. "Civilians? They're nothing but weeds you can find anywhere. What does it matter if they die?
As long as this land remains, new civilians will sprout up. What's the big deal?"
"Bastard!" Smoker trembled with rage. Was this still the Marines? What difference was there between this and pirates?
No—this kind of evil disguised as justice was even worse than pirates!
At that moment, Smoker seemed to understand the actions of Shadow Garden. This world had long been rotten—only by overthrowing it and creating a new one could all evil be burned away!
The justice Smoker upheld made him unable to tolerate Onigumo's actions.
He could bear it no longer. Dragging his heavily wounded body, he abruptly drew the jutte from his back and charged toward Onigumo.
Even with the disparity in strength, he would stop this slaughter!
But the moment he rushed forward, Onigumo's eyes turned cold, and the long sword in his hand was instantly unsheathed!