Chapter 54

SWOOSH! A blade of energy sliced through the iron gate like it was butter. The fancy, expensive gate crashed down with a huge BANG, kicking up a dust cloud taller than a person.

Everyone inside - civilians and pirates alike - jumped out of their skin. They gaped at the entrance as Tony strolled in cool as you please.

Suddenly, a bald head popped out of a window upstairs. "What in the blazes is going on down there?!"

The voice was so shrill it could've shattered glass. This must be the dwarf captain - barely over four feet tall, but man, was he mad. His chubby face was jiggling so much you'd think grease might drip off.

Tony ignored the scared civilians huddled nearby and locked eyes with baldy. "You Dora? Captain of the Dora Pirates?"

"Yeah, that's me! You-"

BZZZZT! Before Dora could finish, Tony's sword started humming. It was hungry for blood, itching for a fight. Creepy tentacles burst out of Tony's skin, waving around like they had a mind of their own.

"What kind of freak show is this?!" Dora yelped.

Tony looked as confused as anyone. Next thing he knew, his sword was dragging him up to the second floor, his footwork all over the place.

"Ichi-jo Style: Arc Light!" Tony called out.

WHOOSH! One swing, and suddenly there was a crescent moon hanging in the air.

Now, Dora might have a 45 million berry bounty, but that was more for being a jerk than actually being tough. No way he could handle Tony's super-charged slash. Dude barely managed to twitch out of the way.

SLASH! Tony's sword tore through half of Dora's gut, leaving a gaping hole. Blood and guts spilled out as Dora's eyes bugged out of his head. He collapsed, clutching his stomach, but somehow still breathing.

Tony realized Dora's dodge hadn't really worked. His sword was just... sampling the guy? Even a small-time captain like Dora had to have some skills, right?

Seemed like when Tony faced someone half-decent, his sword liked to get a little taste first. If it liked what it got, it might go for the kill right away. If not? Well, dicing time.

Those creepy tentacles touching Tony's skin told him the sword was not impressed. Dora's blood didn't just disappoint it - the sword felt downright cheated and mad about it.

"The captain's in trouble! Get him!"

The Dora Pirates finally snapped out of it, charging up to the second floor in a rage. Tony gritted his teeth, trying to focus on the pirates flooding in.

He knew he'd messed up big time on this rescue mission. All those civilians dead... Even if some were forced to attack him, there was no way to sugar-coat it. He was ready to pay with his life if he had to.

But first? These pirate scumbags had to go down.

BOOM! Thunder cracked overhead. A downpour was coming.

When Loya rolled into Green Leaf Town, what he saw stopped him cold. It was like walking into hell.

Body parts everywhere. Pools of blood turning the streets red. Some of it was dried up already, leaving nasty black stains that reeked. Flies were having a field day with the corpses.

"Gross, but... nice work, Tony," Loya thought, striding forward. But then he froze, eyes locked on something in the corner.

It was a dark-skinned guy in work clothes, sliced clean in half from shoulder to hip. But that's not what got Loya. It was the pocket watch in the dead man's hand, with a photo inside.

The picture showed a man, woman, and kid. And in the background? Green Leaf Town.

This wasn't some pirate. This guy was a local, cut down just like the rest.

"No way... It can't be this bad," Loya muttered, shaking his head. But a nasty thought was creeping in.

The more bodies he saw scattered around, the more that thought started to feel real.

Loya's fists clenched, his eyes going dark with anger. He looked up at that fancy manor on the hill.

"Tony..." he growled."Please tell me you didn't do this on purpose."

SWISH! SWISH! It was a storm of swords and blood.

Tony was unstoppable. That plain iron sword of his cut through everything - people, weapons, you name it. Anyone who got in his way ended up in pieces.

All that was left in Tony's wake? Body parts and blood.

Kill! For the kids who lost their parents! Kill! For the wives who lost their husbands! Kill! For all the innocent people who died!

At first, Tony tried to get control back. But then he realized - if these pirates were the target, maybe being controlled wasn't so bad.

It was more efficient, more precise than Tony on his own. It satisfied that thirst for revenge even better.

Same body, but this new power was three times stronger than when Tony fought normally! He could even slice through steel now - something only top-tier swordsmen who'd mastered "cutting iron" could pull off.

So Tony let go, letting it take the lead. He figured he might learn something about high-level swordsmanship this way.

But slowly, the blood started getting to him. His mind got fuzzy. Soon, all he could think about was killing.

This is what Loya walked in on - Tony chasing pirates through the manor. But calling Tony "human" right now? That might be a stretch.

To Loya, it looked like some messed-up version of Squidward, tentacles waving everywhere. Kind of like that boss from Resident Evil 2, actually.

Tony's right hand? Pure tentacle now, wrapped in weird, bumpy tissue. That big lump of tissue? Probably his sword.

Tentacles were popping out all over, skewering pirates left and right. When they pulled back, these fleshy mouths opened up, chomping down on whatever they'd grabbed.

After each "snack," new flesh would sprout from Tony's skin. It was seriously messed up.

Loya recognized Tony right away - thank goodness most of his face was still normal. But the kid was clearly not okay.

The moment Loya showed up, those tentacles came at him full force. Like they could sense how dangerous Loya was, they weren't holding back this time.

"Whoa, easy there! What'd I do? Is walking by a crime now?"

Loya watched those tentacles coming at him, Tony's "hand" sword at the ready. He clenched his fist and threw a punch.

"Ice Make: Blizzard!"

Out of nowhere, a frosty hurricane exploded all around them. Ice and snow went flying everywhere, crashing into everything in sight.

CRACK!

Even as some tentacle monster, Tony was no match for Loya. Those tentacles met the blizzard and instantly froze solid, then shattered into a million pieces.

The storm kept going, slamming into Tony and turning him into a human popsicle.

"That's enough," Loya muttered, brushing ice off his hands. "How'd a good swordsman end up like this?"

He started walking towards Tony's frozen form.

The pirates who'd been running for their lives felt that icy breeze and turned around. Their jaws dropped when they saw the monster on ice.

They all stopped, wondering what the heck was going on. Did they remember how Tony had been fighting for justice before he went all tentacle-crazy?

"So... he turned on his own side?" the pirates whispered among themselves, fresh off their own civil war drama.

Loya was about to crack Tony out before he froze to death when he noticed the pirates had gone quiet. He turned, surprised.

He almost burst out laughing. "Seriously? You're scared of tentacle-boy but not me? That's just disrespectful!"

So Loya hoisted the Tony-sicle onto his shoulder and Moon Walked up into the sky.

He puffed out his cheeks, and a massive blue magic circle appeared in front of him. Looking up, he took a deep breath, opened wide, and let loose with an Ice Dragon's Roar.

BOOM! After that explosion, everything went dead quiet.

The Dora Pirates were kicking themselves. Why'd they stick around to watch? Now they were all gonna die!

Back on the ship, Loya started barking orders:

"Mingde! Get me the strongest rope you can find! Tie this guy up tight!"

"Aludo! Quit bawling! We can't bring back the dead. Now go fetch me some sea stone cuffs!"

No matter if Tony meant to or not, a Marine killing civilians? That's major league bad news.

Even if Tony got jumped and couldn't tell friend from foe, it doesn't change the fact that a bunch of civilians ended up dead.

Mingde, still groggy, rubbed his eyes and booked it to the warehouse for rope. Aludo, tears in his eyes, put down the little girl he couldn't save and went hunting for cuffs.

They brought the stuff to Loya quick. He slapped the cuffs on Tony first, then went to town with this Sea King tendon rope. Wrapped it so tight it was digging into Tony's skin. Aludo winced just watching.

When Loya finished up, Mingde asked, "So... what's Tony's deal?"

"Oh, him?" Loya lit up a cigar he'd snagged earlier, getting back into his smoker groove after months off. He took a long drag, savoring it before blowing out a cloud. After making sure the coast was clear, he dropped the bomb: "He offed dozens of civilians in Green Leaf Town."

"WHAT?!" "No way!"

Aludo and Mingde's shouts had heads turning. They clammed up quick when they realized how serious this was.

They hauled Tony and Loya into a cabin. After getting Tony settled, Aludo burst out, "What gives, Loya? Tony killing civilians? That's end-of-career stuff!"

If this was some backwater branch, they might've been able to sweep it under the rug. But they were HQ's elite squad! With three warships on their tail! No way this stays quiet. Tony was looking at a court-martial for sure.

Best case? He loses everything. Worst case? He loses his life.

If Tony had a reputation as a killer, maybe it wouldn't be so shocking. But everyone knew Tony as a good guy. Sure, he had that swordsman's itch to test himself, but murder? That wasn't Tony.

Mingde didn't say a word. He just leaned on the door, eyes locked on Loya.

But Loya didn't answer right away. He turned to look at Tony, out cold on the bed. "Yeah, why indeed? Care to explain yourself, Mr. Tony Miller?"