Lorne stopped what he was doing. Since he couldn't hide, he wouldn't.
He knew very well that no matter how excellent his small sloop was, it could never outrun a standard Navy Warship in terms of speed.
Lorne let the small boat drift with the waves and stood straight, waiting composedly for the uninvited guest to arrive.
He wanted to see what exactly the Marines of the 16th Branch wanted to do.
The Warship was extremely fast and quickly cut across Lorne's path, forcing the small boat to stop. Its massive hull cast a shadow that completely engulfed the small sailboat.
Creak~
A thin figure poked out from the railing on the side of the Warship.
The man wore a Navy officer's cap decorated with mouse ears. His face was sleazy, and two thin mustaches gave him an air of craftiness and vulgarity.
It was Colonel Mouse of the 16th Branch of the Marines.
Behind him, two rows of Marines lined up quickly along the edge of the deck with rifles, their dark muzzles silently aimed at the tiny sailboat below.
Mouse's gaze swept over Lorne and his boat, filled with condescending inspection and undisguised greed.
Through his intelligence network, he had learned that the Arlong Pirates, who had been entrenched in nearby waters, had been wiped out by a mysterious person. That was Arlong! The wealth he had accumulated was definitely not small.
In his view, he couldn't afford to provoke Arlong, but surely a mysterious person who popped up out of nowhere wouldn't dare to oppose the Marines, right?
So he had specifically brought men to patrol these waters, ostensibly to hunt pirates, but in reality, to "pick up scraps."
"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"
Mouse let out a harsh laugh and initiated the confrontation.
"Kid, why run when you see a Navy Warship? Are you a pirate, or is there something unspeakable hidden on your boat?"
He immediately pinned a label on Lorne. This was his usual tactic: use intimidation to break the opponent's psychological defenses first.
Lorne was too lazy to answer such low-level questioning and just stood quietly at the bow, letting the sea breeze blow against his clothes.
A sharp-eyed Marine beside Mouse seemed to have discovered something. He leaned forward, whispered quickly into Mouse's ear, and discreetly pointed at the open cabin of Lorne's boat.
A flash of doubt crossed Mouse's small eyes, and following his subordinate's guidance, he squinted and tried hard to look into the cabin.
When he saw the two Fishman heads casually tossed in the corner, dead with their eyes wide open, he froze for an instant.
That was... Arlong!
And that octopus Fishman officer!
The shock lasted less than a second before it was replaced by a flame of ecstasy and extreme greed.
The mixture of malice and ecstasy made his already sleazy face look even more distorted.
He had struck it rich! This was a huge merit worth tens of millions of Berries!
His face changed instantly; the sourness and meanness vanished without a trace, replaced by an extremely hypocritical, enthusiastic smile.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak~ So it's the hero who defeated the Arlong Pirates!"
Mouse patted the railing and praised him with a smile, as if he weren't the one who had been aggressive just a moment ago. He rubbed his hands together.
"Sir, my apologies! Hurry, please come aboard the Warship. We need to make a detailed report on your great achievement!"
He issued an enthusiastic invitation, trying to lure Lorne to his territory. Once the person was on the Warship, wouldn't they be completely at his mercy?
"This is a massive contribution!"
Mouse continued to entice him.
"As long as you hand over the heads of these two pirates to me, I guarantee the bounty will be issued soon, and I'll make the call to give you a large share!"
The implication in his words couldn't be clearer. As for the so-called "share," how it would be divided and how much he would get depended entirely on Mouse's mood!
Lorne watched his clumsy performance with no ripples in his heart; he even wanted to laugh.
This guy's calculations were practically written all over his face.
A share?
He was probably going to swallow the entire bounty and claim Arlong's treasure for himself too.
"No need."
He replied coldly and directly.
"I am preparing to go to the 77th Branch to submit them, so I won't trouble the Colonel!"
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