Grand Admiral: The Three Brothers’ Path to the Navy

c6: My Prey, No One Can Escape

"Stop!"

Just as Luo Ye was about to crush Arlong's skull underfoot, an enraged voice interrupted him.

Luo Ye turned, spotting a Marine officer in a white coat with a rat-like face and distinctive round ears.

Nami's expression turned pale. "Colonel Nezumi…" she muttered, her voice filled with suppressed rage.

The man in question Colonel Nezumi of the Marine 16th Branch stood at the head of a group of armed Marines, his beady eyes narrowing at Luo Ye.

"Colonel Nezumi, hurry! Arrest this man at once!" Arlong, bloody and beaten, gasped from the ground.

Nezumi, seeing the state of the feared Fish-Man, scowled. "Who dares cause trouble in my jurisdiction?! Release Arlong immediately!"

When Arlong first took control of Cocoyasi Village, Nami had foolishly believed that Marines could help. But when she had approached Nezumi for aid, she had discovered the truth he was already in league with the Arlong Pirates. In exchange for bribes and a cut of the Fish-Men's stolen treasure, Nezumi had turned a blind eye to the atrocities in the village.

Luo Ye's gaze flickered with disdain. "So, you're Nezumi of the 16th Branch?"

Nezumi smirked, puffing out his chest. "Since you recognize me, you should know better than to disobey my orders. Release Arlong at once!"

Luo Ye chuckled, his lips curling into a smirk. "Let him go? Are you admitting that you were aware of everything happening here?"

Nezumi barely hesitated before sneering. "And what if I was?"

"Good," Luo Ye said flatly. "Then the 16th Branch needs a new commanding officer."

Before Nezumi could react, Luo Ye slammed his foot down, crushing Arlong's head into the bloodstained ground.

A sickening crunch echoed through the ruined Arlong Park.

For years, Arlong had tormented Cocoyasi Village, forcing its people into slavery. Now, with his death, that nightmare was finally over.

Nami collapsed to her knees, covering her mouth with trembling hands. Her whole body shook not from fear, but from overwhelming relief. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, "He's… he's really gone…"

Nezumi, who had been expecting a mere scolding, turned pale.

"You… you actually killed him?" His voice cracked in disbelief.

Then his expression twisted with fury.

"You dare defy me?! Marines, seize him!"

The sailors hesitated.

They had known about Arlong's crimes. Many of them had even wanted to act against him, but any who spoke up had been swiftly silenced by Nezumi. And now, standing before them, was a man who had done what they had always dreamed of destroying the tyrant of Cocoyasi Village.

Luo Ye took a step forward, his eyes sweeping over the group.

"Are you truly loyal to this man? The one who has profited from the suffering of innocent civilians?"

The hesitation in the Marines deepened.

Luo Ye's voice hardened.

"I am Luo Ye, Admiral of the Marines. There is a warship anchored offshore. If you doubt my words, go and see for yourself."

His words sent a ripple of shock through the group.

Nezumi, however, was the only one who refused to believe it.

An Admiral? Impossible! The Marines only had three Admirals: Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji!

But if Luo Ye was lying, why did he seem so confident? And why had he come with a warship?

Fear finally settled into Nezumi's gut.

If Luo Ye was telling the truth, then there was no way he could survive.

There was only one option run.

Without a word, Nezumi turned and bolted, dashing toward the shore as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

The Marines gawked in disbelief.

"Colonel Nezumi is running away?"

"Mr. Admiral, should we pursue him?" one of the 16th Branch officers asked.

Luo Ye shook his head, drawing his saber from its sheath.

"The prey I set my eyes on has never escaped."

A single slash cut through the air.

A devastating blade of compressed wind surged forward, slicing clean through Nezumi's fleeing form.

His body fell to the ground in two pieces.

Nami, who had watched Nezumi torment her village for years, felt no sympathy for the man. If anything, she found a sense of justice in the swift and merciless execution.

As the reality of what had just happened sank in, she turned and threw herself into Luo Ye's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Thank you… thank you, Mr. Admiral…!"

For years, she had been forced to steal, to lie, to deceive, all in the hope of one day buying back her village.

But in the end, it hadn't been money that saved them.

It had been Luo Ye.

And for the first time in a decade, Nami felt truly free.