One Piece: Please Call Me Godfather!

This —— this ——

Genzo cautiously hid outside Arlong's music hall in the forest, watching the entire battle unfold before his eyes.

No one could match the group of fishmen, whose strange powers dragged them out of the water, then struck down that symbol of Cocoyashi Village's tragic history, the Arlong music hall skyscraper!

The navy, they truly came to destroy the Arlong Pirate Crew!

"Finally, they've arrived, finally they've arrived!!"

At this moment, Genzo's face was filled with tears.

The people of Cocoyashi Village had waited too long.

But, why did they only arrive now?

Although they were late, still, he begged that they must win!!

Genzo's heart was strengthened by the navy's contribution to their cause.

But when he saw that huge monster spitting water out, his thoughts immediately became dazed. A monster like this, could the navy really defeat it——

"Fwoosh!"

Just as he thought this, a huge wound appeared on the neck of the monster that had been showing off moments before, blood gushing out. The giant body flipped backward, crashing heavily into the sea.

"…"

Genzo widened his eyes in astonishment,

"They can win! They can win! This time, they can definitely win!!!"

"I want to go back and tell everyone! I want to go back and tell everyone!!!"

Francklin fell onto the mast above, his long sword in hand, shaking off the blood. His body had transformed into a feline-like state.

But a mere Sea Beast, to him, really wasn't worth paying attention to at all.

"Prepare to disembark."

With no more obstacles, the warship moved directly into Arlong's territory, into the inner waters. Francklin jumped onto the side of the ship, looking down at Arlong's fishmen below.

"Fishmen Arlong, prepare to receive death."

"Human!!!"

Arlong's pupils contracted to the size of small dots, his entire muscular body trembling. "Human!!!"

That look! That look!

The look from when Tiger, the great Marine, was killed! The look from that Marine who captured me all those years ago!!

It was the same look!!

"I'll kill you!!!"

Arlong roared, his body shooting upwards, cutting through the air, his large saw-like sword aimed at Francklin.

"Such a cute little shark." Reinhardt shook his head gently.

At this level of combat, he really felt no excitement at all.

The massive serrated saw blade stopped.

A long sword struck into the gaps of the jagged teeth. Though there was a slight tremble, it remained firmly blocking Arlong's strike.

"What ——"

Arlong trembled.

He remembered facing that flashing Marine and feeling helpless.

"Just a fish, and yet you're not honestly lying on the chopping block?"

Francklin reached out and grabbed Arlong's sharp nose, then twisted it downward by 90%.

"Aaah!!!"

Arlong screamed in pain as his nose was violently twisted and broken. Then, in the blink of an eye, a flash of sword light appeared, and Arlong's chest was cut open by a large gash. His body was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily into the solid stone of the ground.

"Well done, Francklin," Reinhardt clapped and stepped forward, sincerely congratulating him. "You've successfully eradicated the criminal and once again upheld the majesty of justice."

Francklin felt a deep sense of discomfort inside.

"Everyone, aren't you going to give your Colonel a round of applause?" Reinhardt turned to look at the group of sailors.

Only then did the sailors realize and eagerly begin to cheer.

"True to his rank! In an instant, he took down that 20-million-bounty fishman Arlong!"

"Isn't that expected? The Colonel is from the Grand Line, from the Marine Headquarters!"

Hearing these words of praise, even Francklin, who had been internally suffocating with resentment, couldn't help but feel a little pleased.

However, he soon heard another voice mixed in with the cheers.

"Though, indeed, the gap between the Colonel and the Admiral is still too great."

"What foolish words are you saying? How can the Colonel be compared to the Admiral?"

"That's right, can't compare, can't compare."

These damn fools, are they really treating me like the Marines?

Francklin was troubled inside, and with a cold snort, he said, "What are you still standing there for? Quickly capture all the criminals!"

"Yes!"

The sailors, filled with excitement, hurriedly moved across the deck, first tying up Arlong, then retrieving the other fishmen who hadn't died yet from the wreckage.

After all, these were achievements.

Even though Francklin was in charge, could they at least get a bit of credit?

On the warship, Reinhardt watched the busy sailors below and casually said, "My friend, the food's been served, are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied, but I still don't understand why you had to personally come here," Francklin replied. "I don't think the Arlong Pirate Crew was worth you making the trip yourself."

Although if it weren't for Reinhardt's words, this mission to eradicate the Arlong Pirate Crew would not have been so easy, Francklin still couldn't understand why someone of Reinhardt's status and strength would keep insisting on handling it personally.

Reinhardt smiled and said, "No matter where you are, talent is always the most important thing, and here, there is someone worthy of me making the trip personally."

Francklin was somewhat doubtful.

The more he interacted with Reinhardt, the more he could sense the deep abyss hidden beneath the kind and gentle exterior.

What kind of person could make him go to such lengths?

"My friend, I think what you should be doing now is going and receiving the heartfelt gratitude from those villagers of Cocoyashi, especially their sincere thanks."

Reinhardt pointed to the large gate of Arlong's domain, where the villagers of Cocoyashi had already broken through, rushing in.

Seeing Francklin's somewhat surprised expression, Reinhardt patted his shoulder.

"Cheer up, Francklin. Today, you are the hero. All you need to do now is smile. Heroes should smile and accept the flowers and applause."

Francklin felt a bit confused.