Beat Them Senseless, Let No One Escape

[T/N: Ahoy there, mateys! Four new chapters of One Piece: I'm Destined to Be the Son-in-Law King! have landed! 🎉 Get ready for some swashbuckling action! Let me know your favorite moments in the comments, and Power Stones are the treasure I seek! 🙏 Happy reading! While you're at it, check out the adventures brewing in Naruto Paradise: An Evil Uchiha's Rise and Young Master, Please Become Hokage!!

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About two weeks drifted by.

Somewhere in the vast West Sea, there was an island without a name.

High up in the warship's crow's nest, Linus peered through his binoculars. He scanned the island until he spotted it: the pirates' hideout. Their ship was nestled in a small bay, like a beast in its lair.

"Ensign Roya!" Linus shouted down to the deck. "Pirate stronghold straight ahead!"

"Lamus," Roya muttered, flipping through the tattered bounty posters. He found the one he was looking for.

"The Skinner" Lamus. A nasty piece of work with a 5.5 million Berry reward. The poster described his cruel habit of stripping the skin from his victims.

We've got him now. No escape.

Roya raised his binoculars, studying the stronghold's layout. He made a quick decision.

"Isca!" he called.

"Here, sir!"

"Take two squads and land on the side of the island. I want you at the back of that stronghold, cutting off their retreat, in thirty minutes! Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Isca's voice was firm.

Landing on these wild islands was never easy. The rough terrain made it a struggle just to move, let alone sneak around to the back of a pirate base.

But she wouldn't complain.

Pirates trapped in their strongholds usually had two choices: fight to the death, or vanish into the wilderness, hoping to lose their pursuers in the tangled landscape.

Roya turned to the others. "Fullbody! Jango!"

"Present!"

"Get the cannons ready. We start shelling them in half an hour!"

"Understood!"

The Marines moved with practiced speed. Isca led her two squads, twenty men in all, into a small boat that would take them to the shore.

---

Thirty minutes passed.

The warship charged into the bay, turning sideways to face the pirate stronghold. Its twelve cannons along the side, plus two heavy cannons on the bow, were primed and ready.

Roya drew his sword, the sunlight glinting off the blade. He roared, "FIRE!!!"

"Blast that pirate ship to splinters!" someone yelled.

"Give them hell! Don't let a single rat escape!"

The warship erupted in a thunderous roar.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The bay filled with fire and smoke. The pirate ship, trapped in the harbor, took the full brunt of the assault. Flames licked at its masts, turning it into a blazing wreck.

"We're under attack!" a pirate screamed.

The pirates, caught completely off guard, panicked. Their ranks broke, and they were unable to mount any real defense against the disciplined Marines.

Captain Lamus, who had been enjoying himself in his quarters, stumbled out, half-dressed and terrified. He saw the warship and his face turned white.

"Damn it! The Marines!"

We can't win against the Marines!

But he didn't flee immediately. He ran back into his room and threw his treasures into a heavy chest. Clutching it tightly, he scrambled out of the stronghold and into the island's dense interior.

A pirate never abandons his treasure, not even when facing death.

As he bolted from the stronghold, he saw a beautiful Marine standing in his path, her eyes as cold as ice, seeming to cut right through him.

The battle was short and brutal.

Without their captain, the pirates fought as individuals and were quickly overwhelmed. A few managed to slip away into the island's interior, but half lay dead, and the rest surrendered.

The Marines began the grim task of cleaning up the battlefield.

Fullbody approached Roya, his voice low. "Ensign Roya, you need to see this."

"Alright."

Roya followed Fullbody to the back of the stronghold. He stopped, his breath catching in his throat at the sight before him.

Inside a crude wooden cage, a dozen women huddled together. They were naked and painfully thin.

Hanging outside the cage were several human skins.

When the women saw Roya and Fullbody, they cowered, fear in their eyes, as if they were afraid of being chosen.

"Get them out of here," Roya said, his voice flat.

"Yes, sir!"

Roya turned and walked back to the coast.

The surviving pirates knelt on the sand, heads bowed. Isca dragged Captain Lamus forward, his face bruised and bloody, a truly repulsive sight.

These pirates would be taken back to the Branch, then sent to the East Blue court for trial.

Roya's gaze swept over the scene, cold and hard.

"Jango."

"Ensign!"

Roya pointed at Lamus. "Skin him alive for me. Can you do that?" His voice was calm, almost conversational.

"No problem, sir!" Jango adjusted his hat, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

As a former pirate himself, he was no stranger to such brutality. The weaker pirates always seemed to enjoy torturing innocent people.

There are levels to this pirate game.

"Hang the rest of these dogs!"

"Yes, sir!"

Roya turned and strode back to the warship. Isca followed, her brow furrowed. "Ensign Roya," she said, "this isn't in accordance with regulations. Criminals are supposed to be handed over to the court for trial!"

"Listen, Ensign Isca," Roya said, turning to face her. His smile was dangerous. "On my warship, my orders are the only regulations. Understand?"

"..."

Isca's breath hitched.

If I argue, he might throw me overboard. His eyes …they're terrifying.

Roya gave her an out.

"We're the Emergency Patrol! Our duty is to protect the innocent. Wasting time escorting pirates just means more people get hurt!"

"So," he continued, his eyes fixed on her, "I've decided that for these vile and unforgivable pirates, immediate execution is the most reasonable course of action!"

"Understand? Ensign Isca!"

"Understood!"

"Louder! I can't hear you!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!!" Isca shouted, her cheeks flushed red.

"Aaaaaah~~~" A scream echoed from behind them.

Isca hesitated, her earlier doubts returning. She lowered her voice. "Ensign Roya, does it really matter if we punish pirates outside the law?"

"I like it," Roya said, a glint in his eye.

"Huh?"

"I said, I like it."

Roya clapped her on the shoulder, giving her a knowing look.

A superior officer is allowed a few … eccentricities. If someone made him unhappy, he would repay them ten times over.

The regulations? Who makes the regulations? I'm clawing my way up so I don't have to follow them, so I can MAKE them!

---

Half an hour later, the warship set sail.

In the bay behind them, dozens of pirate corpses swung from makeshift gallows. Captain Lamus, still barely alive, writhed in agony, his skinless face a horrifying mask.

---

Inside the war room, the location of the unnamed island was marked with an X.

This wasn't aimless wandering. They were following a specific route, searching for any sign of pirate activity.

The sea was littered with islands, most of them deserted and uninhabitable. Pirates often hid their strongholds on these forgotten specks of land.

Patrolling these islands, responding to distress calls, and acting on pirate intelligence from the Branch offices was keeping Roya busy.

But it wasn't efficient.

Information grew stale quickly. By the time they reached the islands that had been raided, the pirates were usually long gone.

In the last two weeks, they'd only taken down three pirate crews, and the total bounty didn't even reach 20 million Berries.

I need to find a way to do this better!

"Ensign Roya, supplies are running low," someone announced.

"Mm," Roya murmured, thinking hard. He pointed to the Organ Islands, a short half-day sail away. An idea sparked in his mind.

"Head to Orange Town for supplies!"

"Yes, sir!"