Forceful Suppression

When Jon arrived at Baterilla Island, he found it completely surrounded. As soon as his ships docked at the harbor, a team of marines approached.

"Identify your branch and commanding officer!"

Jon stepped forward and addressed the leading Marine colonel, "Rear Admiral Lyons Jon, Marine Headquarters. I've brought troops from the 47th Branch under orders from Admiral Sengoku to join the operation."

Upon recognizing Jon, the Marine colonel immediately saluted and greeted him respectfully. "So it's Rear Admiral Jon. No need to inspect your men—please disembark immediately."

"No, inspections are still necessary," Jon replied. "Once they're done, I'll need you to arrange accommodations for my troops. I need to report to Admiral Sengoku right away."

"No problem, Rear Admiral Jon. I'll make sure everything is handled. Please, go ahead."

This colonel was also a Marine Headquarters officer and was familiar with Jon, who was fairly well-known. Though Jon's rank was just one level above his own, Jon had a promising future ahead—unlike the colonel, who had likely reached his ceiling.

After giving Hymer a few instructions, Jon took Pemberton with him, following a Marine guide into the island interior.

"Admiral Sengoku, I've returned. As ordered, I've brought 1,000 soldiers from the 47th Branch."

Jon soon met with Sengoku, who had stationed the main force in a town on the island. Sengoku himself was working out of a large compound serving as the headquarters.

"You've come at the right time," Sengoku said. "We've confirmed that Roger's bloodline is likely hidden somewhere on this island, and we're preparing to launch a full-scale search. Your abilities are crucial—I need you to use Observation Haki to ensure that no one can hide on this island."

"At the same time, you're to remain vigilant for any enemies that might appear. If anything seems off, report to me immediately."

"No problem. Leave it to me," Jon replied.

Jon's Observation Haki could cover a vast area—at full strength, it could likely envelop the entire Baterilla Island. As long as he was willing to exhaust his mental energy, he could investigate every inch of the place. In theory, no one could escape his detection.

Of course, that was under normal circumstances. This world was full of strange abilities—some strong individuals could suppress their presence entirely, or there might be special items that blocked his detection. But such cases were rare.

"Admiral Sengoku, do we have any specifics on Roger's bloodline?" Jon asked cautiously.

Sengoku didn't hold back. "According to our intelligence, Roger's bloodline hasn't been born yet. That's why we're ordering medical checks for every pregnant woman on the island. We must not miss a single target, and we cannot allow Roger's child to be born."

"A search of this scale… won't it cause unnecessary chaos?"

Jon's expression grew troubled. He remembered how the anime depicted this search—while not shown in detail, it undoubtedly resulted in countless bloody tragedies.

Sengoku stared at Jon, seemingly surprised, before stating, "Finding Roger's bloodline is our top priority. Above all else."

Jon's heart skipped a beat. He understood Sengoku's meaning—and the higher-ups' directive: Better to kill them all than let one escape.

"Yes, sir."

Jon and Pemberton left Sengoku's compound. Jon had been tasked with searching the outer areas—his job was to ensure no one escaped the island or entered to rescue someone.

The mission wasn't extremely dangerous, but it wasn't simple either. Jon planned to use the soldiers from the 47th Branch for this task.

"Jon, you were a little reckless just now."

Once they were some distance away, Pemberton spoke sternly. "I know what you meant, but you have to understand—this order comes from the very top. We're just pawns. We can't change anything. Don't act impulsively."

Pemberton had seen Jon act on impulse before—he was genuinely worried Jon might do something rash and cause serious trouble.

Jon understood and chose not to respond. The World Government's stance was clear: Err on the side of slaughter.

Jon had only asked that question because he knew what tragedy was about to unfold. But even knowing the outcome, with his current power and rank, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"I understand. It's just… sigh, forget it. Let's go do our job."

Jon sighed and dropped the subject. He turned away with Pemberton and went back to work.

If he wanted to stop this tragedy, there was only one way.

Three days later, Jon wandered Baterilla Island alone. Officially, he was carrying out the task given to him by Sengoku—but in truth, he had his own plan.

He was trying to prevent the massacre in any way he could. The only way to do that… was to find Roger's bloodline first.

No one else knew who Roger's lover was—but he did. Still, after searching for three days, he hadn't found any trace of Portgas D. Rouge.

That puzzled him. He remembered Rouge had an estate and servants on the island. With a clear goal and what he already knew, the chances of finding her should've been high.

But he had come up empty. After three full days—no sign of Rouge.

Jon suspected that Garp might have already found her and had her relocated.

During those three days, Jon witnessed Marines rounding up all the pregnant women on the island. Many husbands tried to resist—only to be beaten or killed. The women were taken by force, regardless of condition.

Jon wanted to intervene multiple times—but in the end, he held himself back. It wasn't that he lacked humanity—he had simply grown more rational. He knew his efforts would be meaningless.

With nothing to show for his search, Jon prepared to return. As he passed through a village, he saw a group of Marines clashing with locals.

It was a scene he'd seen many times over the past few days. He didn't want to get involved and turned to leave—until suddenly…

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. Jon's face changed and he vanished in a flash.

"Back off! That shot was a warning! Try to stop us again, and I'll kill you!"

A Marine soldier held his gun, the muzzle pointed at a young villager lying on the ground. His tone was vicious.

The young man clutched a wound on his shoulder, crying out in anguish, "Please! Spare my wife! She's done nothing wrong! We're just ordinary people—we haven't committed any crimes! Why are you taking her?! She's pregnant!"

A crowd of villagers had gathered around, but none dared speak. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. These simple, honest villagers—faced with gun-wielding Marines—had no thought of resisting.

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