chapter 21
The town was eerily silent after the battle, a stark contrast to the bustling scene when Rhode and his crew had first arrived.
"Rhode, should we deal with these two now?"
Rhode emerged from the side, dragging the unconscious Gladius by the collar. Bebo followed close behind, carrying the limp body of Manudo.
Glancing at a panting Luo, Rhode shook his head.
"You need to work on your stamina, Luo. One battle, and you're already worn out. The monsters on the Grand Line can fight for ten days straight!"
"Don't lecture me! I used my abilities multiple times after the fight!" Luo shot back.
After the battle, Luo had immediately used his powers to treat Gray and several injured townsfolk caught in Gladius's explosions. Exhaustion now weighed heavily on him.
"Fine, fine, you're right," Rhode replied dismissively, picking up a crate and walking ahead.
Before Luo could retort further, Rhode freed a hand and patted him on the shoulder.
"Take these two with you. I think our previous experiment might have been influenced by luck. I'll calculate the odds and try again on a better day."
"Calculate? You mean guess?" Luo asked, bemused, as he and Bebo followed Rhode toward the shore.
"Maybe I'll just blindfold myself and draw randomly," Rhode replied nonchalantly.
"That sounds like a surefire method," Nelu teased. "Let me do the drawing next time—it must be a lucky day for me!"
"You? Lucky? You've never won a prize in your life!" Luo chimed in, chuckling. "Nelu would probably cheat if we let him."
Nelu grinned but said nothing. Then, his expression suddenly turned serious.
Noticing the shift, Rhode and Luo turned to him with questioning eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a ship heading this way," Nelu said grimly. "It's the Navy."
"Strong?" Rhode's eyes gleamed with interest.
Nelu nodded. "There's someone powerful onboard, along with three others who shouldn't be underestimated."
"How long do we have?"
"Ten minutes."
"Prepare the ship for departure. We need to be ready to sail at any moment," Rhode instructed, his grin widening.
He had been slightly disappointed that he didn't get a proper fight with Gladius earlier, but this encounter promised to make up for it. Facing a few Navy officers during his debut? That sounded perfect.
The crew quickened their pace, heading toward their ship, the Polar.
---
On the approaching Navy warship, the scene of the ruined town came into view. The devastation at its center stood in sharp contrast to the intact streets surrounding it.
Major General Bastille surveyed the destruction with a wary gaze.
"This must be the work of Gladius, the Donquixote Family's Explosive Fruit user," he muttered.
Gladius had terrorized the North Blue for years with a bounty of 31 million berries. His recent stint in the New World had undoubtedly honed his skills further.
"Could this be Germa 66?" Bastille briefly considered the possibility but dismissed it just as quickly. If it were Germa, the town would have been wiped off the map entirely.
As the warship docked, Major Collaw and Captain Basto led soldiers to secure the area and tend to the injured. From a distance, they noticed several figures on a dark red sailboat docked in the port.
"That ship…" Colonel Barrow frowned as he noticed the crew staring back at them defiantly.
"Disrespectful brats," he muttered, clearly irritated.
Captain Drake, standing nearby, froze when his gaze fell on the ship. His pupils contracted.
"Gladius! Is that him?"
The deck of the sailboat featured a strange sight: a giant fish tank containing two headless torsos, soaked and limp from prolonged submersion. Beside the tank lay two severed heads.
Even with the mask and glasses obscuring one face, there was no mistaking it—it was Gladius.
"Hina is curious. Did you kill him?" Lieutenant Colonel Hina asked as she stepped forward, her curiosity piqued.
Rhode looked up at the approaching warship, his eyes gleaming with recognition.
"Well, isn't this a surprise?" he said with a smirk.
Among the officers, he recognized "Black Cage" Hina, the user of the Bind-Bind Fruit; "Red Flag" Drake, a future Supernova and undercover Marine; and Bastille, a Vice Admiral known for his strength.
"Interesting company," Rhode mused aloud.
"You… are pirates!" Hina declared as she leapt onto the warship's guardrail, pulling her gloves taut and glaring down at Rhode and his crew.
Colonel Barrow, however, appeared hesitant. "Are you sure? They seem like reckless kids."
"There's a black flag on their mast," Hina replied curtly, gesturing to the lookout. Sure enough, two boys were raising a freshly painted pirate flag.
It was undeniable.
"They're pirates!" Colonel Barrow exclaimed, his expression darkening.
Rhode smirked. "Let's make this interesting, shall we?"