The clone Morgan watched as the Marines got worked up, then quietly dispelled his clone. Now, only the real Morgan remained at the execution ground.
As the real Colonel Morgan watched the attacking bullets and cannonballs, his potential exploded. He used his axe to block vital areas and charged toward the Marines.
The wood clones, seeing Morgan charging fiercely, turned to the real Marines and said, "Brothers, I'll hold Morgan back for you. Just keep attacking, don't hesitate. Even if you kill us, you must defeat Morgan."
With that, all the wood clones condensed wooden swords as weapons and attacked Morgan. Don't underestimate these wooden swords; they were much harder than ordinary military sabers.
Clone A: "Damn Colonel Morgan, I'll punish you on behalf of the common people!" With that, he lightly slashed at Morgan.
Morgan: "Mere small fries looking for death—die!" Morgan swung his axe at the clone, and the clone immediately fell to the ground, unmoving, but no blood flowed out.
But no one cared whether there was blood or not. Seeing the fallen clone, the Marines who were shooting became even more enraged.
"Damn it, brothers! Let's work hard and kill him! He's truly going too far!" the Marines shouted in unison.
Other wood clones: "Holy crap, that's a lot of holding back! I'll join in too."
Then came the clones' various fancy ways of holding back: hugging Morgan's legs and not letting go, hugging his waist, pulling his clothes—some even pulling down his pants—and one even used Wood Release to condense a saw to saw at his axe. In short, not a single clone attacked Morgan; they just used various methods to drag him down, not giving him a chance to attack the Marines.
This scene brought tears to the Marines' eyes.
Finally, after a battle lasting more than ten minutes, Colonel Morgan's axe was sawed off, his clothes and pants were pulled off, and even his shoes were gone, leaving him with only a pair of briefs. His hands and feet were bloody from gunshots, and he fainted from excessive blood loss and exhaustion. It was truly the world of One Piece; so many gunshots still didn't kill Morgan. Although no vital organs were hit, it was still terrifying.
As Morgan fell, all the Marines cheered, "We won! We defeated the evil Morgan! Quickly, tie him up with chains! Someone go notify Marine Headquarters and report what happened here, especially highlighting Morgan's evil deeds." A lieutenant commander immediately began giving orders.
Luffy, Zoro, and Shin'ya, who had written the script, couldn't help but clap enthusiastically, saying, "Amazing, truly amazing!"
After watching the big show, Zoro looked at Shin'ya and asked, "Your ability is very interesting. You can create so many clones and even change into other people's appearances."
Shin'ya laughed heartily, "Of course! I told you, I'm very strong."
At this moment, the lieutenant commander who had finished giving orders walked over, saluted, and then looked at Shin'ya: "Thank you for your help. Those people who looked exactly like us were created by your Devil Fruit ability, right? You're right—we shouldn't willingly accept evil rule. We should have resisted sooner. Thank you very much this time. However, we still have to ask you to leave. We'll give you one day to rest. Tomorrow morning, we will mobilize all Marines to capture you."
Luffy laughed loudly, "Being captured by the Marines is how pirates should be, haha~" His laughter echoed in the air, as if without a trace of worry or fear.
Zoro seemed calmer. He glanced at Luffy and then said, "Let's go, let's go. First, let's go to the tavern and tell them they're safe." With that, he turned and walked toward the tavern. Seeing this, Luffy quickly followed.
Shin'ya turned to the lieutenant commander: "When we came to Shells Town, we also brought a group of pirates. You can send people to capture them later. I've trapped them all on Alvida's pirate ship. You should recognize this ship, right? I won't go. When you go, just touch this small piece of wood that's trapping the pirate ship, and it will automatically open a two-person-wide path." With that, Shin'ya gave the lieutenant commander a palm-sized wooden token.
The lieutenant commander immediately stood at attention, saluted, and said, "Yes, thank you for your contribution. You are the benefactors of this town. Please eat and drink to your heart's content today. We will pretend not to see you." With that, the lieutenant commander called a squad of people and ran toward the port, seemingly to capture the pirates and take them to the prison.
Before long, an announcement spread like wildfire throughout Shells Town. The announcement read: Colonel Morgan, who committed countless evil deeds, has been jointly captured by the Marines and enthusiastic citizens. The townspeople can now live in peace. This news was like a spring breeze, making all the townspeople cheer with joy.
For the entire day, Shells Town was immersed in a joyous atmosphere. On the streets, in the squares, and in the taverns, joyful laughter filled the air. People hugged and celebrated, thanking the Marines and the enthusiastic citizens who helped capture Morgan, and feeling fortunate for their future safety.
As night fell, Shells Town did not quiet down after the day's revelry. On the contrary, the entire town gathered together for a grand banquet. Bonfires burned brightly, illuminating the entire square. People sat around, sharing food and wine, singing and dancing.
At the lively banquet, people laughed and clinked glasses. The Marine lieutenant commander stood in the center of the crowd, smiling. His gaze fell upon Lilika, the owner of "Foodfoo."
The lieutenant commander walked directly to Rika and politely invited her to become the exclusive chef for the Marine base. Rika was a little surprised, but soon showed a joyful smile and readily accepted the lieutenant commander's invitation.
To show his appreciation for Rika, the lieutenant commander even specially gave her daughter, Lilika, the status of a probationary Marine chef, which made Rika feel very honored.
During a casual conversation with Luffy and the others, the Marine lieutenant commander accidentally learned that Koby, the short boy accompanying him, dreamed of becoming a Marine. The lieutenant commander was moved by Koby's determination. He unhesitatingly agreed to Koby's request and immediately granted him the rank of Third Class Private.
Koby was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He had finally achieved his long-held dream.
After the banquet, everyone was full and satisfied. Zoro suddenly turned to Luffy and asked, "How many crewmates have you found now? I heard you say you want to become the Pirate King, so you must have recruited a lot of people by now."
Luffy: "No, so far there are only three: me, Zoro, and Shin'ya."
Zoro: "Just the three of us? Can that even be called a pirate crew? And what about the ship? How big is our ship?"
Luffy: "What ship? There isn't one. I originally had a small boat, but I encountered a sea current vortex at sea, and the boat was swept away. When we came here, we defeated a pirate crew and made them bring us here, hahahaha."
Shin'ya walked over at this moment and said, "Don't worry about the ship. I can make a ship for short-distance voyages, but if we want to be the Pirate King, we still need to get our own ship."
Just then, Nami walked over and looked at the three of them, saying, "You're not going to the Grand Line without a ship, are you? And there are only three of you. How can you possibly cross the Red Line to reach the Grand Line?"
Luffy looked at Nami and said, "Ah~ It's you. I remember you. Come be my crewmate."
Nami: "No, I don't want to be a pirate with you. You don't even have a ship to set sail. Following you would just be walking to our deaths, wouldn't it?"
With that, Nami walked away alone.
The next morning, Luffy, Zoro, and Shin'ya had just woken up. While they were resting after breakfast at the Foodfoo tavern, a squad of Marines rushed in.
Marine Lieutenant Commander: "I heard you are pirates. Is that true?"
Luffy: "Ah, yes, I just found another crewmate. We just formed a pirate crew."
Lieutenant Commander: "We are very grateful for your help in liberating Shells Town and freeing its people from Morgan's tyrannical rule. However, since we know you are pirates, for the honor of the Marines, we must initiate an arrest operation against you. Please leave this island immediately, or we will proceed with the arrest."
Luffy looked at the lieutenant commander seriously: "Then let's go. Thank you, proprietress, for the meal."
Shin'ya also stood up: "Let's go, Zoro. We're ready to go to the next island."