Chapter 27: Naval Ranks
Cocoyasi Village. The Orange Grove. Nami's House.
Apollo signaled for her not to rush, asking slowly, "Who is fighting whom?"
His calm demeanor influenced Nojiko. She caught her breath, her emotions gradually settling. She said in a deep voice,
"A young man named Luffy—I remember you said he was your companion. He's fighting the Marines!"
"Luffy?"
Nami and the others spoke in unison.
"He arrived fast."
Apollo laughed heartily.
Nojiko was still very worried. "Is that okay? Those are the Marines!"
Apollo said indifferently, "What does it matter? They're pirates, after all. Conflict with the Marines is a perfectly normal thing."
Nami said with dissatisfaction, "These Marines... they were nowhere to be seen when Arlong was oppressing the village for eight years. Now that Arlong has just been defeated, they pop up instantly. How 'timely' of them."
"Nami, do you really think Arlong could have brazenly established a base and enslaved entire villages without the protection of someone inside the Marines?" Apollo asked pointedly.
He strongly suspected that the one clashing with Luffy right now was Captain Nezumi (Rat).
Nami fell silent.
Of course, she knew that. In fact, she had understood it when she was eight years old, which was why she had decided to save the village on her own rather than relying on the government.
"Let's go take a look, just to prevent any major trouble," Apollo suggested.
The others naturally had no objections. Led by Nojiko, they all walked toward the scene of the conflict.
"But Nami, why are you letting Apollo carry you? Are you injured?" Usopp asked curiously on the way.
"Because walking is too tiring."
"Eh? What kind of reason is that?"
Nojiko covered her mouth and chuckled, then proactively helped change the subject. "Everyone is very grateful to you for defeating Arlong. They said they want to treat you to a grand feast."
Apollo's lips curved into a smile. "You don't need to thank me. I just do things for money. Nami has already paid the reward, and I'm very satisfied. If they want to thank someone, they should thank Nami."
"Hehe." Nami laughed happily, hugging his neck.
Nojiko shook her head slightly. She probably knew what the 'reward' Apollo mentioned was.
If such a strong person capable of defeating Arlong could be hired with that, they wouldn't have suffered for so many years...
The group quickly reached their destination.
Many people were gathered nearby. Luffy and Sanji stood in the middle of the crowd, and at their feet lay a group of bruised and battered Marines.
"The battle is over already."
Apollo's eyes swept around, and he quickly spotted a familiar figure: it was Captain Nezumi, the rat-faced Marine who had been colluding with Arlong.
"Coming through!" Nami shouted loudly.
The onlookers turned to look at the sound, and their eyes lit up.
"Young man, you've arrived!"
"I really don't know how to thank you! You are our great benefactor!"
"..."
"Everyone, please make way. Let us through."
Under Nami's direction, the crowd finally parted, creating a path.
Seeing the group, Luffy happily waved his hand. "Everyone's here! That's great! Shishishishi!"
"Nami-swan..."
Sanji's face was full of adoration, but the next moment his expression changed drastically. "Bastard! That Apollo is actually carrying Nami-san... he's so lucky! I'm jealous!"
Nami jumped down from Apollo's back and asked, "Luffy, what's going on? Why are you fighting the Marines?"
Luffy looked innocent. "Oh, they wanted to capture us, so we started fighting."
"What a simple and unadorned reason," Nami said, speechless.
Luffy's expression suddenly changed, and he mumbled, "Nami, why did you suddenly leave earlier?"
Nami stuck out her tongue. "Something came up, but it's already resolved now!"
"Is that so?"
Luffy was immediately convinced. "Then let's set off now! Hehehe, the cook has been found! San... Huh? Where's Sanji?"
Usopp pointed into the distance. "He tried to get close to Nami's face, and Apollo punched him away."
"Hahahahaha! How interesting!" Luffy burst out laughing.
"What's so interesting?!" Sanji yelled as he got up from the dirt.
"Luffy, let's leave tomorrow. There's a party here today!" Nami called out.
"A party?" Luffy's eyes immediately lit up. "Meat?! Awesome!"
During this time, Apollo also figured out the specific situation.
It turned out that the Marines here were not all from the same group; they came from two different branches.
One unit belonged to the 16th Branch, led by Captain Nezumi. The other unit was from the 77th Branch, led by Commodore Pudding Pudding.
It was Commodore Pudding Pudding who had wanted to capture Luffy; Captain Nezumi was purely caught in the crossfire.
Unlike the corrupt Captain Nezumi, Commodore Pudding Pudding was a Marine truly committed to justice. In the original story, he had led his subordinates and bravely challenged Arlong to save the village, but unfortunately, due to insufficient strength, his entire unit was wiped out at sea.
Thanks to Apollo's intervention, they had survived this time.
"Pirates, we have lost. Kill or torture us, do as you please!"
Commodore Pudding Pudding's name, hairstyle, and strength were all quite comical, but his courage and will were worthy of respect.
Apollo squatted in front of him, pointed to his own face, and said, "Look closely, Commodore Pudding. I am not a pirate."
"My name is Pudding Pudding."
The Commodore first emphasized his full name, then stared at Apollo's face for a moment before sudden realization struck. "You are that Pirate Hunter... 'Iron Fist' Apollo!"
"It seems I'm quite famous," Apollo said with a smile.
"Because you share the same title as the legendary Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Garp, everyone pays more attention to you."
"No wonder."
Apollo nodded and got down to business. "Commodore Pudding, do you know that this place has always been controlled by Arlong?"
"My name is Pudding Pudding... never mind."
Commodore Pudding Pudding sighed, his voice hoarse. "I've heard rumors, but only today did I understand the full situation."
Apollo dragged Captain Nezumi over by the collar. "Then do you know that this guy has been colluding with Arlong, concealing Arlong's true activities from Headquarters in exchange for money?"
"I didn't! Don't talk nonsense..."
Captain Nezumi was still trying to be stubborn, but Apollo slapped him, making him dizzy and unable to speak.
Commodore Pudding Pudding's face darkened. "I also heard some rumors about this, but... Captain Nezumi has an older brother who serves as a Rear Admiral at Marine Headquarters!"
Apollo understood completely.
Although 'Commodore' and 'Rear Admiral' sounded like they were only one rank apart, the ranks in the Branch bases of the Four Blues were roughly three levels lower than those at Marine Headquarters.
In other words, a Commodore like Pudding Pudding in the East Blue would only be equivalent to a Lieutenant Commander at Headquarters.
And in the East Blue, Pudding Pudding's rank was already near the ceiling. No wonder Captain Nezumi was so reckless, yet remained untouchable. This was the dark side of the bureaucratic Marines.
Apollo waved his hand. "Zoro, come here."
Zoro turned to look. "What is it?"
Apollo briefly explained Captain Nezumi's actions to him, and finally said, "It's very difficult to punish him through the Marine system due to his connections. Just cut him down; consider it eliminating a menace for the people."
Question marks appeared above Zoro's head. "Why don't you do it yourself?"
Apollo said seriously, "I'm a Pirate Hunter, a righteous citizen. How can I kill a Marine officer? You're a pirate; killing him is justifiable."
Zoro's mouth twitched, and he decisively refused. "I'm not interested in cutting guys who have no will to fight."
"Hey, hey!"
No matter how Apollo called out, Zoro ignored him.
"This guy."
Apollo muttered to himself. Do I really have to do it myself?
Pudding Pudding's expression changed for a moment. Then, he gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Apollo, leave him to me! I will make sure he receives his punishment!"
Apollo was startled. "Are you sure? His brother is an HQ Rear Admiral."
"I'm sure! Justice is absolute!"
Pudding Pudding looked resolute.
"Alright, then I'll leave him to you."
Apollo breathed a sigh of relief, clapped his hands, and stood up.
Captain Nezumi had a strong background. If Commodore Pudding Pudding were to move against him, he would certainly encounter difficulties, perhaps even ruin his career.
But Apollo believed he had saved Pudding Pudding's life today, so asking him to handle something troublesome didn't make him feel guilty.
"So the matter is resolved, but... how did punishing Captain Nezumi become my responsibility? It had absolutely nothing to do with me. All this hard work and effort is for Nami. If I don't get some extra benefits, it really doesn't make sense!"
He muttered to himself and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He turned back to the trembling Nezumi.
"Did you bring money? Is it enough for 20 million?"
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