"You bastard!"
"Who did this?"
"Damn pirates, don't let me find you, or I'll cut you into a thousand pieces."
Bastille gripped the Shark Cutter, his veins bulging, his face flushed with immense anger.
What greeted their eyes was a village filled with the scent of blood, where men, women, and children lay dead, having suffered destruction and plunder.
This village was within his patrol range, one of the villages belonging to this island.
But there were five such villages.
However, as he led the Marines to eliminate any pirates who might still be on the island, they discovered they were too late.
The island had been completely massacred an hour before their arrival.
At this point, with no way of knowing where the perpetrators had fled, pursuit was impossible.
"Bastards, bastards, bastards..."
Bastille, with nowhere to vent his fury, could only roar and curse.
After a while, Bastille calmed down and quickly said, "Everyone, get to work and bury them."
As the Marine soldiers moved, Bastille's expression was grim. He took out a Den Den Mushi and reported the events to Momonga.
Upon hearing the news, Momonga was also shocked and extremely angry.
"Bang!"
"These damn pirates!"
"Do they really think the Marines are just for show?"
Momonga knew very well the unparalleled allure of ancient treasures to so many people.
For every group of pirates the Marines eliminated, another would appear.
This time, by consolidating their forces, they had become a laughingstock to those pirates, and had caused such a massacre.
"Report, Officer, we've made a discovery at a combat scene. We found warriors suspected of wearing Xuanwu Marine uniforms, and based on on-site investigation, they..."
Just as Bastille was reporting the intelligence to Momonga, a Marine Sergeant hurried over and loudly reported.
Upon hearing this, both Bastille and Momonga on the other end of the Den Den Mushi were invigorated.
They both thought of one thing: if this were true...
"Where?" Bastille reacted quickly, asking with a serious expression.
The Marine Sergeant, hearing this, nervously saluted and said, "Over there. According to our investigation, a unit engaged in a fierce battle with the island's forces there, suspected of being Xuanwu Marines causing trouble..."
"Soldier, you'd better think carefully," Momonga's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, stern and serious.
The Marine Sergeant, hearing this, nervously saluted crisply and said loudly, "It's absolutely true."
Bastille let out a cold snort and said in a deep voice, "Lead the way."
"Yes, Officer!" The Marine Sergeant responded and jogged ahead to lead the way.
"Basti, this matter must be handled with extreme caution. Investigate thoroughly," Momonga's voice reminded Bastille through the Den Den Mushi. "Photograph the scene and record it."
"I know!" Bastille quickened his pace.
Meanwhile.
On the other side of the island, in an area not yet searched by Bastille's troops, Buggy, leading the Clown Squad, landed with the treasure they had found.
If he couldn't find the treasure, he would use the gold and silver he found to purchase plenty of food and wine.
"Hahaha, little ones, work harder. If we find the treasure, we'll have a grand feast and eat and drink to our hearts' content."
Buggy floated in the air, holding a treasure map, looking at the lush island before him with immense excitement.
A few days ago, on a small island, he had coincidentally obtained two treasure maps from a wandering poet.
He had already visited another island, a location marked on one of the treasure maps.
Indeed, there was gold and silver treasure there, estimated to be worth ten million Berries, which made Buggy incredibly excited.
Searching for treasure, even after the diligent teachings of the reformatory, remained his lifelong dream.
Therefore, after the first successful retrieval, he became carried away and, with the treasure, headed to the island indicated by the second treasure map.
Buggy firmly believed that the second treasure map was also genuine.
Thus, except for a few individuals left to guard the warship, Buggy led everyone else ashore and ventured deep into the island.
"Treasure, treasure!"
"My treasure!"
"Here I come!"
"Hahaha, I am indeed the luckiest person. I wonder how many Berries the treasure on this map is worth?"
"It's simply too exciting."
"Everyone, hurry up! Once we find the treasure, we'll buy a lot of food and wine, and we'll celebrate wildly for three days and three nights."
Buggy muttered to himself, lost in his excitement, his voice growing louder with his fervor.
As he flew ahead, he didn't notice that as he passed through a patch of jungle, the footsteps of the Xuanwu Marines following him gradually slowed down, while he continued forward.
The special forces who were summoned, possessing extremely high military discipline, looked upon the devastated scene of villagers lying in disarray with terrified expressions, their faces becoming solemn.
As for the other soldiers, they paid little attention to Buggy's reaction.
This was Buggy, their somewhat eccentric superior.
They spread out tacitly and searched for any traces in the surroundings.
"Officer."
A heavy voice broke through Buggy's fantasies.
This made Buggy very angry, but as he was about to curse furiously, he suddenly realized the hellish scene surrounding him.
The strong scent of blood, the tragically dead men, women, and children, the dilapidated buildings, and the blood-soaked ground.
"What is going on?"
"What happened here?"
"Who did this?"
Buggy appeared extremely shocked, even a little frightened, and fired off a triple question.
A Marine Sergeant looked towards a corner where several corpses lay. They were wearing Xuanwu Marine uniforms, and more importantly, he could clearly sense that these were Xuanwu Marine warriors. He said gravely, "Officer, we are in trouble."
"What trouble? Is it pirates? No matter how many there are, we'll capture them all," Buggy, with his carefree nature, didn't immediately grasp the gravity of the situation, making smacking sounds.
The Marine Sergeant's expression shifted slightly.
However, Buggy was still his superior.
Just as the Marine Sergeant was about to explain, his expression changed again, and he quickly became alert.
The Marine Sergeant looked at the other soldiers, whose expressions were grim, and who had already entered a combat-ready state.
"It's you?"
"Damn Xuanwu Marines."
"Clown Buggy, hmph! A leopard can't change its spots."
"As expected, it's you. Even after joining the Xuanwu Marines and donning the cloak of justice, you can't change your pirate nature."
"Today, we Marines from Marine Headquarters will avenge the wronged villagers and kill you."
Bastille, leading the soldiers from the East Blue Marine Base, burst out from all sides with their weapons and quickly surrounded Buggy and his group.
At this moment, seeing Clown Buggy, the Xuanwu Marine warriors, the gold and silver treasure, and the Xuanwu Marines killed by the villagers, Bastille became absolutely certain that the villagers of this island had been killed by the Xuanwu Marines led by Clown Buggy.
"Kill!"
"Fire!"
The battle erupted. Before Clown Buggy could fully react, he was nearly sliced in half by Bastille.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, he split himself, narrowly escaping.
The Xuanwu Marine warriors also engaged in fierce combat with the Marines from Marine Headquarters at this time.
"You damn bastard, you almost killed me."
Buggy narrowly escaped and finally reacted, then brandished his short blade, engaging in a fierce struggle with Bastille.