“Commander Adekin! Commander Adekin!” A Navy ensign hurriedly reported at the door of the meeting room.
At that moment, a Navy commander sitting alone at the table, studying a sea chart with a serious expression, slowly raised his head. “Ensign Fellman, please always pay attention to your behavior. As a Navy ensign, I expect you to always present a calm and steady demeanor to the public.”
“Yes, sir!” Fellman saluted with a face full of shame, then solemnly reported, “Commander Adekin, we have found traces of the Giant Rhino Pirates on the coast of the island ahead. All their ships are anchored along the shoreline.”
“Is there a town on the island?”
“Yes, there’s a small town called Leaf Town on that island.”
Commander Adekin’s expression instantly became serious. He asked sternly, “Can you see any fires or smell gunpowder in the sea breeze?”
Fellman was startled by Commander Adekin’s stern tone and swallowed nervously. “No… we haven’t detected anything.”
“Alex the Giant Rhino is ruthless and paranoid. If the massacre were complete, he wouldn’t stay on the island. Since you haven’t seen any cannon fire, it suggests he might have landed recently… or is holding the townspeople hostage to negotiate with us.”
Commander Adekin’s expression softened slightly. “Regardless of the situation, it’s better than him causing another tragedy.”
“Ensign Fellman…”
“Yes, sir!”
“Relay my orders immediately. Raise the sails and head to that island as fast as possible!”
…
Many villagers were busy transporting the spoils from the sea battle to their homes in the town. Suddenly, a few snot-nosed kids came running, shouting:
“Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! There are a lot of big ships coming this way!”
The crowd immediately became agitated.
“What? Are more pirates attacking?”
“Damn! Have those pirates set their sights on our loot?”
“Curse them! Let’s fight! Now we each have a musket, and we’ve even dismantled a few cannons from the ships. Unless they pay a heavy price, no pirate will get anything from us.”
Having repelled pirates multiple times over the past three years, the villagers were not as fearful of pirates as other towns might be. They had the courage to fight as long as it wasn’t a notorious crew like the Giant Rhino Pirates.
…
“What did you say? The Giant Rhino Pirates were completely eradicated, and even Alex the Giant Rhino was killed by you?” Commander Adekin’s eyes widened, almost suspecting that the kind-looking elder before him was a spy Alex sent to confuse them.
The Navy officers behind Adekin were equally astonished. The infamous Giant Rhino Pirates, who had repeatedly escaped the Navy’s grasp, were defeated by a simple town. This sounded more absurd than a fairy tale.
“Ah? No, you misunderstood!” The mayor, meeting a high-ranking Navy officer for the first time, was flustered and quickly explained, “It was mainly thanks to Rougishu. We…”
“Ahhh! Damn pirates, I’ll fight you…”
As the two spoke, a large group of villagers brandishing muskets rushed out from the town. Seeing the harmonious scene, they were stunned. The people they thought were pirates were actually in Navy uniforms.
“Damn pirates, let go of the mayor…” A few kids, still confused, yelled and charged forward.
“You little brats spreading false information, they’re not pirates… they’re Navy!” A quick-witted villager grabbed them, awkwardly explaining.
“Huh? Are they the Navy that Rougishu joined? So, they’re on our side?”
Immediately,
A kid said indignantly, “We did say big ships were coming. You were the ones who assumed they were pirates…”
The adults, realising this was true, felt embarrassed and angrily smacked the kids on the butt. “Kids shouldn’t talk nonsense.”
“Rougishu said that violence can’t solve problems, and justice will always prevail…”
More smacks quickly silenced the kids’ righteous speech.
Smack! Smack!
“Justice will always stand with the tyrant…” the kids mumbled, rubbing their sore bottoms.
Commander Adekin chuckled at the scene. He was intrigued by the mention of Rougishu. A young man who could defeat Alex the Giant Rhino and had a sense of justice was rare.
“The one who defeated Alex the Giant Rhino is this Rougishu you mentioned? Can you tell me more about him?”
Hearing Adekin mention Rougishu, the “young soldiers” no longer found the imposing Navy officer so scary and eagerly began talking.
“Let me go first! Rougishu came to our town three years ago after a shipwreck. Since then, he’s helped us fend off dozens of pirate invasions.”
“Yes! Even that big bald brute yesterday was no match for Rougishu. He’s the guardian of Leaf Town!”
Seeing everyone say the same thing, Adekin was moved and forced to accept the seemingly absurd conclusion: the notorious Giant Rhino Pirates were defeated by a boy who hadn’t even set out to sea.
“Rougishu… is he a Devil Fruit user?”
The villagers looked at each other, not understanding the implication of Adekin’s words.
Seeing this, Adekin realised that not knowing about Devil Fruits on this isolated island was normal. So, he rephrased his question: “Can Rougishu swim in the sea?”
“Of course, he can!” The villagers looked at Adekin strangely, thinking, what kind of man by the sea can’t swim?
This Navy guy must be an idiot!
The younger boys added, “Rougishu dives into the deep sea to train every day and catches Sea Kings to improve our meals!”
“Catching Sea Kings?” The Navy officers behind Adekin twitched. It’s one thing to catch them on the surface, but killing Sea Kings in the deep sea is something even a Navy Rear Admiral might struggle with.
Seeing the villagers’ healthy, robust appearances, the Navy officers couldn’t help but feel envious.
As the overlords of the sea, Sea Kings’ meat was delicious and rich in life energy, enhancing one’s physique when consumed regularly. It was the finest food on the sea.
Even Commander Adekin, the highest-ranking officer present, only got to eat it once or twice when reporting back to headquarters. Yet, these villagers seemed to eat it daily, driving them crazy with jealousy.
“Sea King meat is indeed delicious, but after eating it for three years straight, even the best food gets tiresome.” A villager sighed.
“Yes, now that Rougishu is gone, we can finally have some variety.” Bachi said, oblivious to the murderous glares from the Navy officers.
Commander Adekin calmed his turbulent emotions and asked casually, “From what you’re saying, has he joined the Navy?”
“Yes, Rougishu said he’s joining the Navy ‘Chicken’ branch for the world recruitment.”
“It’s the Navy G2 branch.” Adekin corrected them, then muttered to himself, “To defeat Alex the Giant Rhino with pure physical strength, his power rivals that of an average officer. If he trains at headquarters, he could become a major or even a lieutenant commander. I must rush back to G2 and recruit him before anyone else.”
Seeing Adekin preparing to leave, the mayor hurriedly said, “General, can we exchange Alex the Giant Rhino’s head for the bounty?”
Adekin was moved again. “That young man… left a head worth 37 million Belly for you?”
“Yes, Rougishu said he wasn’t interested in money and never touched it.”
“Sigh! This boy named Rougishu… truly has a heart of gold!”
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