As Drake surrendered, the chaotic battlefield finally quieted down. The three Marine officers were all tied to the execution scaffold.
From the moment they infiltrated, their fate had been sealed.
"Damn Marines! How dare they threaten my little Page's safety!" Ulti raged as she viciously beat Drake, her high heels stained with blood. If not for her younger brother pulling her back with all his strength, she might have beaten Drake to death right then.
Page One's expression was grim. Though these Marines had defeated him, he still respected them as opponents. Even if they were to be executed, it shouldn't be done like this.
"Stop hitting him! He'll die!"
"Hah? So what?!" Ulti grew even more furious, delivering another brutal kick to Drake's abdomen—her entire heel sinking into his flesh.
"Guh—!"
Drake's back arched violently as his eyes rolled back. A torrent of blood mixed with organ fragments gushed from his mouth, his consciousness fading rapidly.
Death was approaching.
At this critical moment, Gurd spoke calmly.
"Ulti, stop."
"..."
Ulti's raised leg froze mid-air.
The next second, the young woman burst into tears and threw herself into Gurd's arms.
"Waaahhh! Gu Jiang, thank you for saving little Page! If anything happened to him, I wouldn't want to live anymore!"
"Eh? Did Gu Jiang save little Page... for my sake?"
"Sob I'm so touched!"
"Gu Jiang, how can I ever repay you?"
"I know! Let's get married!"
Gurd: "..."
While pretending to be cute and clingy, Ulti secretly observed Gurd's reaction.
Damn Gurd, always flirting with random women. Now that this beautiful maiden is throwing herself at you, let's see how you resist!
After about ten seconds of silence...
Seeing Gurd remain unmoved, Ulti immediately flew into a rage. She lifted her leg and kicked Gurd hard in the shin.
"You bastard! Say something, damn it!"
"Tch."
With a resigned sigh, Gurd grabbed Ulti by the scruff of her collar and lifted her up like a kitten.
Then, with a swing of his arm—
Yeet!
"Waaaaahhh—!"
As the girl disappeared into the distance, the world became noticeably quieter.
Gurd dusted off his hands in satisfaction before turning to the ruined tavern. After some waiting, the captains gradually returned.
Each face burned with fury.
Marco approached Gurd's side, frowning instinctively at the sight of the three bound Marines.
Today's plans had been completely derailed.
In the current situation, asking the captains to meekly return and pacify their crews would only make them appear weak and incompetent.
Pirates never tolerated attacks without retaliation.
Everyone in this world knew the consequences of provoking the Whitebeard Pirates. If they didn't demand justice, where would their pride go?
And then there were the Beasts.
Since Gurd's group had captured these Marines, the decision of how to handle them rested with him. Marco couldn't interfere.
Gurd swept his gaze across the assembled captains.
"How do you want to deal with these Marines?"
"Execute them, of course!"
The captains' anger blazed.
They'd been happily enjoying the banquet, drinking to their hearts' content, when suddenly these damn Marines came out of nowhere bombarding them!
Where was the justice in that?!
"You're absolutely right!"
Gurd grinned, raising his voice.
"Hachinosu Island is the Pirate Paradise, a Pirate Sanctuary where the Navy must never set foot! Yet now, these arrogant Marines dare to reach their hands here!"
"We will never allow such a thing to happen!"
"Hachinosu Island without the Navy is the true Pirate Paradise!"
"Lord Gurd speaks the truth!" the captains roared in fervor.
Gurd's expression turned cold as he raised his massive sword. "Spread the word—tomorrow at noon, I will publicly execute these damned Marines in Pirate Plaza!"
"Ooooh!!!" The captains bellowed in excitement.
A public execution of Marines! Just the thought of it set their blood boiling with exhilaration!
This was a warning to the Navy!
Marco frowned. Killing Marines was one thing, but a public execution would humiliate the Navy, and they wouldn't sit idle.
Gurd glanced at Marco, a grin spreading across his face. "Scared?"
"Hmph, not a chance!" Marco snorted. He simply didn't want unnecessary trouble, but that didn't mean he feared provoking the Navy. Over the years, the Whitebeard Pirates had sunk countless warships. This time, it was high time they showed the Navy their place!
The news spread rapidly.
The next morning, as word traveled, the pirates of Hachinosu Island erupted into celebration. The announcement of a public Marine execution ignited their fervor, and they flocked to Pirate Plaza.
Meanwhile, in the southwestern sea.
Inside the warship's strategy room.
"Damn pirates!" The officers' faces twisted in rage. Even the usually composed Kizaru wore an uncharacteristically grave expression.
With the entire island in uproar, how could they not notice?
Only three hours remained until the execution.
Reinforcements from headquarters wouldn't arrive in time. If they wanted to rescue Drake and the others, they'd have to rely on the three warships they had.
The one silver lining was that Whitebeard wasn't on the island. Not long ago, the Moby Dick had departed Hachinosu. They'd initially feared an ambush, but no trace of the ship had been found. Whitebeard had truly left.
Now, the question was—should they attempt a rescue or not?
Vice Admiral Momonga took a deep breath and spoke rationally, "Drake and the others are Sword. We shouldn't risk saving them."
"..."
The officers fell silent.
Sword was composed of Marines who had already submitted their resignations. They didn't need to follow orders, could act freely, and could even engage the Four Emperors without permission. But with that freedom came restrictions—the Navy could abandon Sword unconditionally if necessary.
The current predicament was the result of Sword's reckless actions. They should bear the consequences of their failure.
They all knew how many pirates had gathered at the execution plaza on Hachinosu. With their limited forces, attempting a rescue would likely end in their own demise.
No one wanted to throw their lives away needlessly.
But a public execution was different. If the Navy did nothing, it would deal a severe blow to morale.
The officers turned to Kizaru, awaiting his final decision.
Kizaru stood before the tactical board, staring at Gurd's photo pinned there. Behind his glasses, his eyes were filled with resignation and gravity.
"These youngsters nowadays are truly terrifying."
It had been a long time since pirates had led him by the nose like this. Though the situation seemed coincidental, his instincts told him someone was pulling the strings from the shadows.
And the mastermind behind it all was likely the unknown man in the photograph.
"Vice Admiral Momonga, Vice Admiral Dore."
Kizaru turned to face the two vice admirals.
They had to save Drake and the others.
The safety of those three wasn't just about the Navy's reputation and morale.
Drake was his friend—he couldn't just stand by and watch the kid die. And Kujaku was Tsuru's beloved granddaught
er. If he didn't bring Kujaku back to headquarters, he wouldn't be able to face Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Who would have thought he'd act recklessly for once.
"Immediately assemble an elite squad of captains and above. We're going to bring those three brats back!"