Loshue never wanted a Marine bounty. Not because he feared them but because it was simply annoying.
With the Jackie Chan Adventure System at his side, his confidence in his own strength was absolute.
"Humph… time for a massacre."
"Hah! You won't be leaving here today!" Captain Nezumi sneered. Having his bribe rejected, the Marine officer dropped all pretense of civility.
He raised a hand and shouted, "Fire!"
Instantly, the Marines already on edge pulled their triggers.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dark bullets roared from their barrels, sparks bursting through the air.
"Watch out!"
From behind, Nami's terrified voice cracked as she saw the line of rifles aimed straight at Loshue. She shut her eyes tight, too afraid to witness what came next.
But Loshue didn't even flinch.
The guns in the hands of these ordinary soldiers were nothing more than toys to him.
In his previous life, if someone had claimed that humans could dodge bullets with pure speed, he'd have laughed in their face called them an idiot who'd skipped physics class.
Now, though?
Now he was that impossible.
Dodge bullets?
Child's play.
Whoosh!
Just as the bullets screamed toward him, Loshue vanished from sight. His body became a blur, weaving through the storm of lead like a phantom.
The sound of gunfire filled the air, but not a single bullet touched him.
Captain Nezumi's narrow eyes shot open wide, trembling with disbelief. He could barely track Loshue's outline just a flicker of shadow darting between the soldiers.
Then came the screams.
One after another, Marines collapsed, their rifles clattering uselessly against the ground.
In less than ten seconds, the squad was wiped out.
Nezumi's face drained of color. "Y-you… you dare kill Marines?!" His voice trembled, but he tried to mask it with anger.
He didn't get another word out.
Loshue was suddenly in front of him, one hand clamped around his throat, lifting him off the ground like a rag doll.
"I gave you a chance," Loshue said coldly. "You didn't take it."
Nezumi's eyes bulged with panic. "Y-you can't kill me! I'm a Marine captain! If you do this, you'll be hunted for life!"
His voice cracked, the smell of fear thick in the air. He kicked uselessly, his boots scraping against the dirt. "I'll I'll put a bounty on you! You'll never escape the Marines!"
But Loshue didn't even blink.
"I'll give you money! As much as you want!" Nezumi cried, desperate now. "Five million Berries! Ten million! That's all I have! Just let me go!"
Still no answer. Only that same calm stare.
"Please! I'll give you everything!"
Loshue tightened his grip.
A sharp crack echoed through the silent ruins.
Nezumi's body went limp.
"Pathetic," Loshue muttered, tossing him aside like trash.
From the corner of his eye, a faint movement caught his attention Arlong, dragging his wounded body, trying to slip away through the shadows.
"Running again?" Loshue's voice cut through the air.
In an instant, he was gone from sight reappearing before the fleeing fishman like a wraith.
Arlong froze mid-step, his face twisting with rage and fear.
"You escaped the Grand Line just to hide here, and now you're running again?"
Arlong's voice cracked as he roared, "If you kill me, the Warlords will avenge me! Jinbei will never forgive you!"
Loshue's eyes narrowed. "Jinbei isn't like you."
"He saved your life, and this is what you do with it? You disgrace your crew, your captain Fisher Tiger, and everything the Sun Pirates stood for."
Those words hit like a spear to the chest. Arlong's bravado faltered, the fight draining from his eyes.
"How do you know all this…?" he whispered, voice trembling.
Loshue didn't answer. He reached for the broken blade beside him the weapon once wielded by Arlong himself.
"Don't resist," he said quietly. "I'll send you off."
"Who are you?" Arlong spat, even as he bled and shook. He knew there was no escaping now.
But he was once a pirate of the Grand Line. Even in death, he wanted to know the name of the man who ended him.
Loshue met his gaze.
"Loshue. No Devil Fruit. One of the Eight Demons."
The blade flashed.
Blood painted the stone red.
The tyrant of the East Blue ruler of twenty villages fell.
Arlong was dead.
Nami's eyes widened as the truth sank in. For years she had waited for this moment dreamed of it through tears and sleepless nights.
Now, watching Arlong's lifeless body collapse, her heart broke open.
She fell to her knees and sobbed.
"Bell-mère… you see this, don't you?" she whispered to the sky, tears glistening. "Arlong is gone. The Arlong Pirates are finished."
"Cocoyasi Village… is free."
Loshue stayed only long enough to finish what he started. Every remnant of Arlong's crew met their end. Then, with a silent flick of his wrist, he set the ruins ablaze.
Flames devoured the hall, climbing toward the heavens as if cleansing the world of its filth.
By dawn, Arlong Park was nothing but ashes.
An hour later, the news spread like wildfire across the region.
"The Arlong Pirates… destroyed?!"
When it reached Cocoyasi Village, joy erupted.
Families ran into the streets, tears and laughter spilling together.
For the first time in years, the people felt what freedom truly meant.
And the name Loshue the man who liberated them was etched into every heart.
Two hours later, at the village harbor
The townspeople gathered to bid farewell to their savior.
Each brought a gift handmade trinkets, charms, or baskets of food. Their gratitude overflowed, but Loshue accepted none of it.
He stood on the bow of a small sailboat, his coat fluttering in the wind.
"Farewell, everyone," he said with a faint smile. "Take care of your home."
He hadn't taken Nami's hundred million Berries either.
Money meant nothing to him. He had come only for the third Rabbit Talisman and the command points.
In a world ruled by strength, gold was secondary. Too much of it only brought unnecessary trouble.
Now that his purpose was complete, it was time to leave.
No wall could hold back the truth forever. Word of what he had done the destruction of Arlong and the slaughter of Marines would soon reach Marine Headquarters.
Staying here would only bring the Navy's wrath.
"If you ever need a place to return to," Nami said softly, tears welling in her eyes, "Cocoyasi Village will always welcome you."
Loshue nodded once. "I'll remember that."
The sea breeze carried his words away as the sail caught the wind.
The boat drifted from the shore, farther and farther until his figure was just a speck against the horizon.
On the dock, Nami could no longer hold back her tears.
For over an hour, she wept until her eyes were red and swollen, and the sea breeze dried the last drops on her cheeks.
Staring out at the endless blue, she whispered to herself,
"One day… I'll draw the map of the entire world… and find you again."