chapter 61: There are no trouble-free guys in the navy.

"Got it!" A naval officer draped in a soaking wet navy coat burst out from the pirate ship's cabin.

"!?" Seeing the marine rush out from inside the ship, even the dullest pirate first mate instantly understood—this guy had definitely gone into the ship to cause trouble!

As the chief guard on board, he naturally knew just how important the things inside the cabin were! They had been recording their voyage in the ship's logbook since they set sail, the helm control room was in there, and so was the armory where their ammunition and supplies were stored.

Now, he was completely panicked and desperately tried to break free from the entanglement of that grinning, squinting bastard of a marine.

Lindemann, however, was straightforward—he directly let the pirate land a hit and backed off, not bothering to drag out the fight. Taking advantage of the flustered pirate who had rushed into the cabin to check the damage, Lindemann's figure blurred into an afterimage—"Soru!"

Following the Rear Admiral's orders, Lindemann leaped to a high point and drew his sword, slashing the sails into shreds.

"We're out, we're out! Win and run!" Seeing that their objective was accomplished, the smiling Captain called for his subordinates to retreat. Even if "Thunder Lord" rushed back with reinforcements, this ship wouldn't be setting sail anytime soon.

The marines quickly lowered several lifeboats that had been equipped on the ship and rowed toward the spot where they had earlier stashed their communication tools and weapons underwater.

They hadn't even made it halfway when a heart-wrenching scream echoed from the pirate ship.

Lindemann turned his head, a little puzzled, and looked at the commander who had gone inside to stir up trouble earlier. "By the way, what exactly did you guys do in there? That scream sounded like we just killed his wife or something..."

"As per your orders, we destroyed the ship's helm control lever. We also went to the pirates' armory and spilled all their gunpowder barrels out, but since we were still on board, we didn't set them on fire." The commander answered in a disciplined manner, then thought for a moment before adding, "Oh, and I also tore up a stack of gravure photo books."

"....." The expressions of every marine on the boat stiffened—just how deep was the grudge here?!

The Captain forced a smile. "I suggest we row faster. I have a feeling that pirate is about to explode on the spot..."

"By the way, why did you tear up the photo books?" Lindemann couldn't help but ask, half laughing, half crying.

"Hmph! Justice cannot tolerate such wicked things! And they were all flat-chested!" The commander's face was filled with an expression of sacred righteousness—written as "holy," read as "perverted."

"....." Lindemann nearly stumbled and fell out of the boat. He didn't say another word—just kept rowing like mad along with the marines.

"...."

Sakazuki was a little puzzled. He called, but Lindemann didn't pick up.

He didn't believe for a second that Onigumo could have been wiped out by pirates. But ignoring his call clearly meant that the battle was still ongoing.

The Vice Admiral launched himself into the air, dashing across rooftops and eaves with powerful leaps. He regretted leaving in such a hurry earlier—he had only remembered that the pirate main force was stationed at Mangrove No. 19.

Although he was temporarily holding down the Eight-Armed General, "Thunder Lord" knew the situation was dire. He couldn't free himself, and his subordinates were getting caught up in bizarre and unfamiliar battle formations one after another.

"Bluurrp!"

The pirate captain's coat pocket rang with the sound of a transponder snail.

While Marcugai expanded the range of his electric strikes, he reached into his coat with his left hand to take the call.

His first mate wouldn't be calling without a good reason—something urgent must have happened.

"Captain!! The navy ambushed our ship! The boys are all dead! Requesting reinforcements!!"

"!?"

"Oh? Looks like Lindemann did a pretty good job over there!"

Onigumo smirked and slashed even faster, cutting directly into "Thunder Lord"'s body. "What now? Distracted?"

"Damn it!"

The pirate captain swung back, forcing Onigumo back a few steps. Blood gushed from his chest as he scanned the battlefield, seeing his officers struggling desperately to hold their ground.

"We're leaving!!"

He first moved toward the left flank, attempting to rescue his heavily wounded first mate from the marines' encirclement.

But the Rear Admiral who had been suppressing him had already anticipated this moment.

Onigumo completely ignored the electrified net slashing toward him, using Tekkai (Iron Body) to take the hit head-on. Then, he grasped "Thunder Lord"'s wrist, disarming him in a single strike.

"!"

Marcugai hadn't expected his opponent to willingly endure an attack just to trade injury for victory. He kicked Onigumo in the chest and used the recoil to escape what would have been a lethal blow.

But Onigumo, surprisingly, did not pursue.

Instead, he stared past "Thunder Lord", his expression dark and solemn. "Vice Admiral, I deeply apologize for the delay."

Before Marcugai could turn around, an overwhelming wave of heat surged from behind him.

From the first mate's perspective, he could see clearly—his captain was engulfed by a massive, molten lava hound, its dark-red magma churning as it swallowed him whole.

"Captain!!"

Distracted by the horrific sight, the first mate was simultaneously impaled by multiple swords, left skewered like a bloody pincushion.

Upon arrival, Sakazuki's first sight was dozens of navy corpses lying in pools of blood—of course, even more were the bodies of pirates.

"Get the medics here immediately! There are still plenty of soldiers alive!"

Turning to the beaten and battered Rear Admiral, Sakazuki barked out orders.

Within the battlefield, not a single pirate was left standing.

As the soldiers uncoiled from their battle formations, Sakazuki coldly added, "For those pirates who are down but still breathing—stab them a few more times in their vital organs."

Leaving a few unscratched officers to finish the pirates off, the wounded marines helped each other up and walked toward the medical team to receive treatment.

"Where's Lindemann? Didn't he come with you?" Sakazuki finally noticed that Onigumo's trusted subordinate was absent.

"I had him lead an attack on the pirates' ship while they were coating it—mission accomplished." Onigumo sheathed his sword as he explained.

Sakazuki had a good idea of his subordinate's capabilities and couldn't help but ask, "Why do you look so battered? That pirate shouldn't have been able to overpower you, right?"

"....His attacks carried electric shocks, which countered me somewhat. Besides, I was mainly stalling for time to let Lindemann succeed."

Onigumo took a bottle of alcohol from a medic, knelt down, and began disinfecting the wounds of the heavily injured Colonel.

The Colonel, already traumatized, stammered in terror, "R-Rear Admiral, I admit my poor command caused heavy losses, but I've bled for the navy, I've contributed to the marines... Please don't kill me!"

".....This is alcohol!!"

Onigumo growled through gritted teeth.

Only after carefully reading the label and confirming it really was alcohol did the Colonel let out a sigh of relief. Damn it, I thought Onigumo was about to poison me to death...

Sakazuki's face twitched as he barely held back a laugh.

Turning back to Onigumo, he asked, "I noticed the use of battle formations. How effective were they?"

Onigumo dipped a cotton swab in alcohol, letting it soak before replying, "Vice Admiral Sakazuki, I placed a recording transponder snail at the top of that clock tower."

"Smart move," Sakazuki nodded approvingly.

But Onigumo, unwilling to steal credit, corrected him, "That was Lindemann's idea."

Thinking of his meticulous subordinate, Onigumo's expression softened slightly—before quickly darkening again.

He glanced at the useless Colonel at his feet and muttered, "We're all Colonels, but the gap is so damn wide..."

His face turned cold once more as he violently pressed the alcohol-soaked swab onto the man's wounds.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"