Part 10 - Who ordered sushi? 10/??

And now, the main instigator of the changes affecting one-sixth of the world and impacting the remaining parts in one way or another was aboard Nezumi's ship with his crew. Could they be blamed for not being eager to exact revenge on Zoro for the killed first mate? Despite the blood already spilled, all the present sailors sincerely hoped that the situation could be resolved, if not peacefully, then at least without a fight. Nezumi, being more sensible and perceptive, harbored no such hopes. The swordsman's expression spoke for itself—there would be blood!

"You joined the Marines," Zoro continued after a while when no one answered him. "You swore to serve and protect, to uphold law and order... You made a commitment and did not fulfill it. You didn't fail to fulfill it because you couldn't, but because of pitiful money. You violated your oath for personal gain... In other words, you're a bunch of damn traitors, and I've already said how I feel about traitors."

The severed head fell onto the deck, right into a pool of blood, and Zoro reached for the hilt of his second sword. Instantly realizing what was about to begin, Nezumi screamed in desperation:

"FIRE!!! I SAID FIRE!!! SHOOT HIM!!!"

There were over sixty people on the ship, and while Zoro spoke, they had managed to form a semi-circle around him. Sixty-seven guns were aimed at the calmly sitting swordsman. Logic told the marines that from such a close range and with so many guns, it was impossible to miss. However, the fear that cut to the bone refused to agree with the logic, and, mirroring Nezumi, it screamed for them to run immediately. Although logic was on their side, on the other side of the guns sat the "Pirate Slayer." From this same logic's perspective, they and their crew could not possibly handle ten thousand pirates at once. Yet somehow, they had managed, and no amount of rational arguments could justify it. For all these reasons, when Nezumi gave the order to fire, no one pulled the trigger. Nor did they the second time. Only on the third try did the habit of obedience finally overcome the paralyzing fear, and the sentries fired in unison.

There was a deafening crash, bullets rained down on Zoro... And then, flattened, they began to fall onto the deck as if they had been fired at a solid steel block. After a few seconds, the marines slowly lowered their rifles, staring in shock at the unscathed swordsman. Their worst fears were not only confirmed, but exceeded all expectations. While shooting, they had subconsciously anticipated that the "Pirate Slayer" would do something extraordinary, but they couldn't have imagined this outcome. Caught in a hail of bullets, the famous Roronoa Zoro did nothing... And yet it spoke louder than any of his words or actions. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with their own eyes was completely different. Through his "inaction," Zoro made it abundantly clear to the marines who they had dared to confront. And it wasn't just about the swordsman himself, but Nami as well. It all started when Nezumi became so greedy and overconfident — insane? — that he decided he could get away with going after one of the "Pirate Slayers." If he hadn't made such a foolish move, then whether he took bribes from Arlong or not, no one would have bothered to chase him down.

Contrary to marines' expectations, Zoro didn't immediately cut them down... Although, as they soon realized, it would have been better if he had. Instead of a swift execution, the swordsman opted for cruelty and sadism. He chopped off one marine's arm, waited until the bleeding stopped, and then cut him in half along with a significant portion of the deck and several other watchmen. Zoro truly hated traitors, but he didn't mention that he despised these particular watchmen even more. If they hadn't taken bribes from Arlong, they could have prevented much of what Nami had to endure, freeing her village long before their encounter. And that's why the swordsman felt especially strong revulsion towards Nezumi and his subordinates.

Luffy had a talent for imposing various ideas and habits, and first and foremost, he instilled in all family members the importance of caring for one another. In any other situation, Zoro would have simply killed all the marines on the ship and left it at that, but this was no ordinary situation. Because of them, albeit indirectly, Nami had to go through many extremely unpleasant experiences, and he had no intention of forgiving something like that. Moreover, he never forgot the current incident: anyone who dared to harm the family or any of its members would be utterly destroyed! Luffy mentioned something about sending a message? Zoro intended to do just that! A message so clear that no one would dare to mess with them again! Destroying ten thousand pirates wasn't enough? So, if they weren't pirates, then anything is okay? Then it's time to show that even being part of the Marines couldn't guarantee safety! Especially now that their family had finally raised the pirate flag.

Nezumi screamed orders, desperately trying to stop the invincible monster that was Zoro. But what could ordinary people do against such power? Bullets couldn't harm the swordsman. Use swords? Against the best swordsman in the East Blue? A few tried and instantly turned into prime examples of why one shouldn't attack Zoro with a sword. There were plenty of cannons on the ship, and Nezumi even managed to organize a few volleys against the swordsman, but again, what was the point? All the cannonballs were either deflected, resulting in several new corpses, split in half, or even sent back towards the cannons, causing more deaths and destruction. Some, fully realizing the hopelessness of their situation, tried to flee the ship by jumping overboard, but they still didn't understand who they were dealing with. At best, the marines who jumped overboard reached the water in pieces, and in most cases, they were cut down while still on the ship. In the end, the few remaining, in a desperate attempt to save their lives, all attacked Zoro at once, with a predictable and entirely expected result.

Ten minutes later, it was all over.

Of all the marines, the only one left alive was Nezumi. His future life, with severed arms and legs, promised to be extremely unpleasant. And it was no surprise, given the captain's order. If Zoro "merely" hated it when someone threatened his family, then Luffy... Frankly speaking, it was hard to say for sure how such situations affected the guy. Outwardly, he didn't react, but Zoro once had the chance to see his eyes, and they told a completely different story. The swordsman had no doubt that one day in the future, when some other fool in power decided to raise a hand against one of them, the whole world would learn the truth hidden deep in Luffy's eyes. And the world would shudder.

The last thing Zoro did before leaving the wrecked, corpse-strewn ship was to place a Den Den Mushi on Nezumi's chest, who was lying unconscious, then pick up the microphone and activate the SOS signal. Frankly, the swordsman didn't fully understand the point of his actions. Nezumi couldn't move, he was unconscious, which meant he couldn't say anything, and without that, even if someone received the distress signal, no one would know his location. However, a captain's order is a captain's order, so Zoro did everything required of him.