One day later.
On the main island of the Yotsuba Kingdom.
Smoke billowed throughout the Royal City; the flag of the Yotsuba Kingdom was taken down, and the flag of the Goa Kingdom was raised.
The Royal Guard, nobles, and officials of the Goa Kingdom were spreading the news everywhere that the Yotsuba Kingdom had been merged into the Goa Kingdom.
Almost all the royalty and nobles of the Yotsuba Kingdom had been captured by Jake.
King Slock of the Yotsuba Kingdom was caught completely off guard by the sudden invasion.
When he discovered that the enemy invading their kingdom was actually the neighboring Goa Kingdom,
he found the result unacceptable.
Not long ago, he had even sent gifts for the wedding ceremony of Princess Sarie and Jake, and for Jake's enthronement ceremony.
How dare Jake, this new king, invade their Yotsuba Kingdom?
Even if the Yotsuba Kingdom wasn't one of the fifty nations participating in the World Government, it was still an Allied Nation.
"I give you two choices. First, peacefully merge into the Goa Kingdom, and I can reserve a Duke title for you."
"Second, all of you disappear."
Jake sat on the throne of the Yotsuba Kingdom, staring expressionlessly at these weak royal family members.
"Impossible! I am the King of the Yotsuba Kingdom!"
"I will report this to the World Government! I will report this to the Five Elders!!"
King Slock roared furiously, while the royalty and nobles kneeling behind him were filled with grief and indignation.
"Then your choice is the second one. I won't kill you either; I sentence you to the Punishment of Exile!"
In front of everyone, Jake directly exiled the entire Slock family into the void space.
As for the duration, who knew?
Perhaps after some time, Jake would find an opportunity to kill them.
Or perhaps decades later, they would be released only once no one recognized them anymore.
Seeing more than a dozen members of the royal family vanish so abruptly,
the nobles and officials of the Yotsuba Kingdom were terrified, begging for mercy and surrendering one after another, shouting that they wanted to join the Goa Kingdom, fearing they would be erased and vanish.
It was the first time mercenaries like Eric and Van Augur had seen Jake use his ability.
They were all so shocked that cold sweat poured down their backs.
They had no idea what had happened; those royals had simply disappeared right before their eyes.
On the way here,
they had heard about Jake's 'great achievement' of slaughtering five hundred Royal Guard members by himself, as told by the Royal Guard.
Only now did Eric truly understand that this king was not simple.
Just now, he had unleashed his might, using his Sickle-Sickle Fruit ability to slay many of the Yotsuba Kingdom's Royal Guard, thinking he could intimidate this pretty-boy king.
He hadn't expected the king's strength seemed no weaker than his own.
Van Augur watched Jake, who possessed such strange abilities, his eyes flickering as he wondered what to think.
Originally, he had planned to leave the East Blue and enter the Grand Line to become a Bounty Hunter or a pirate.
But now, things seemed destined for a change.
He sensed the desire for control in Jake's eyes.
He feared he might not be able to escape Jake's grasp.
Jake instructed the young nobles and officials of the Goa Kingdom to begin controlling everything in the Yotsuba Kingdom and to send a message back to the Goa Kingdom.
They were to come immediately to take over the Yotsuba Kingdom and report the annexation to the World Government.
The Yotsuba Kingdom was to be merged into the Goa Kingdom, becoming the Four Leaf Archipelago under the Goa Kingdom's banner.
Princess Sarie hadn't expected Jake to conquer the first kingdom in just two days.
It was too easy.
The entire Goa Kingdom began to stir; all the nobles became active and excited, extremely eager to take over the Yotsuba Kingdom.
The glory of the Empire! They had a share in it too!
Meanwhile, Jake had already set his sights on Marine Branch 153 located in Shells Town within the Four Leaf Archipelago.
The three Goa Kingdom warships set sail again.
They headed directly toward the Marine Branch located within the former Yotsuba Kingdom territory.
"Your Majesty, are you really going to arrest Colonel Morgan??"
"Even if we are an Allied Nation, we cannot attack the Marine!"
---Following Jake's order, not only were Eric and Van Augur shocked by the king's madness
—daring to attack an Allied Nation *and* a Marine Branch?
Even the subordinate nobles, officials, and Royal Guard felt like they were going crazy!
How dare this king do such a thing?
He actually intended to arrest the commander of a Marine Branch—was he insane?
"Colonel Morgan of Marine Branch 153 cooperated with a pirate, used a fake pirate to gain promotion and wealth, and oppressed the common people."
"Since Marineford cannot handle this matter, then I shall handle it."
"Furthermore, the Yotsuba Kingdom is already part of the Goa Kingdom, so the affairs of Marine Branch 153 are the affairs of this King!"
Jake waved his hand, making the final decision. He intended to use the matter involving the pirate Kuro and Colonel Morgan to stir up trouble with Marineford.
He needed to find a somewhat plausible excuse for annexing the Yotsuba Kingdom.
Although the World Government wouldn't care about wars between Allied Kingdoms, he still needed a small reason; he couldn't cause trouble for no reason and had to give the World Government a bit of face.
This Morgan and Kuro were Jake's 'enemies'!
"After capturing Morgan, we will immediately go to Syrup Village in the neighboring Gecko Kingdom to arrest Kuro of a Hundred Plans, who colluded with Morgan."
Jake didn't care about the trivial matters between Morgan and Kuro.
He just needed an excuse to strike at the Yotsuba Kingdom and Morgan.
By involving Kuro of a Hundred Plans, who was hiding in the Gecko Kingdom, he might as well drag the Gecko Kingdom into the mess too.
Jake was certain he would take these two small kingdoms.
Van Augur, Eric, and the nobles, officials, and Royal Guard of the Goa Kingdom were all rendered speechless by Jake's decisive and swift actions.
Did this crazy king intend to conquer several nearby kingdoms in just a few days?!
---An hour or two later.
They arrived at Shells Town, the small island where Marine Branch 153 was located, having sailed from the main island of the Yotsuba Kingdom's Royal City.
The sudden arrival of this kingdom's fleet nearly led the Marines on the island to mistake them for invading pirates.
Fortunately, the flag of the Goa Kingdom was quite famous in the East Blue.
The Marines on the island did not block the three kingdom warships from docking and landing.
Even Colonel Morgan, whose personality had become sinister and brutal, had to appear, along with his subordinates, Lieutenant Colonel Ripa, Lieutenant Rocac, other Marine Officers, and a host of Marine soldiers, to welcome the King of Goa.
However, what happened next seemed to be a bit unexpected.
"Morgan, you colluded with Kuro of a Hundred Plans, helped him fake his death and escape, and then used the fake Kuro's corpse to get promoted yourself!"
"You are also tyrannical and cruel, oppressing the residents of Shells Town. I arrest you in the name of the King of the Goa Kingdom."
"By the way, the Yotsuba Kingdom has now merged into the Goa Kingdom, so Shells Town is also my territory from now on."
"All other Marines, step aside."
Standing on the kingdom warship, Jake directly declared Colonel Morgan's crimes in front of the Marines below.
"What? Kuro of a Hundred Plans faked his death and escaped?"
Lieutenant Colonel Ripa was greatly shocked, looking at Colonel Morgan in front of him with disbelief.
"The Yotsuba Kingdom merged into the Goa Kingdom? When did this happen?"
Lieutenant Rocac and a large number of Marines burst into an uproar, wondering why they hadn't heard this news.
"Bastard! I am a Marine Colonel, the commander of Marine Branch 153! What right do you have to judge me?"
Upon hearing Jake's judgment, Colonel Morgan's face instantly turned ashen. His memory became extremely muddled, recalling some things related to Kuro, and he suddenly grew incredibly agitated.
The next moment, several Wind Blades shot directly toward Colonel Morgan.
None of the Marines at Marine Branch 153 had expected that the people from the Goa Kingdom would actually dare to attack them.
"Daring to attack the Marine, you are all criminals! Open fire! Annihilate them!"
Colonel Morgan swung his axe and shouted orders, attempting to forcefully blast apart the Wind Blades.
But in just one exchange, streaks of blood appeared on his body.
After Eric made his move, Van Augur immediately followed suit, firing three shots that struck Colonel Morgan's legs and shoulder.