After Fullbody fell, the battle on the deck quickly came to an end.
Sanji lifted the unconscious Fullbody. Threatened with their commanding officer's life, the Marines were ultimately forced to lay down their weapons.
"That's right, just like that. We don't want to cause any unnecessary casualties either. As long as you behave, I won't do anything to you," Sanji said calmly, a trail of smoke rising from the cigarette dangling from his lips.
Once the Marines dropped their weapons, the subordinate pirates immediately rushed forward, pressing their blades against the soldiers' necks.
With that, this skirmish was completely over.
Allen sat on the railing at the warship's bow, quietly watching everything unfold below.
Aside from charging in at the very beginning to kick off the battle, he hadn't lifted a finger or said a single word since.
Opponents of this caliber wouldn't pose any major problems. He intentionally wanted to observe the performance of Sanji and the Nyaban Brothers, while also giving the newly recruited Sanji a chance to establish his presence in front of the crew.
Sanji's performance left nothing to be desired.
By striking at the head of the snake—taking down Fullbody and using him to force the other soldiers to surrender—he minimized their own casualties and damages to the greatest extent.
It was a highly rational and textbook tactical mindset.
As for the Nyaban Brothers...
For better or worse, they were the first combat officers Allen had recruited. They were good at kissing up and acting attentive, and now the two brothers were determined to follow him into the Grand Line.
Unless there was a specific reason, Allen would never demote them.
But to be completely honest, their combat prowess was genuinely subpar.
They could bully small fry here in the East Blue, but once they entered the Grand Line, the two of them would be reduced to small fry themselves.
Fortunately, they were still relatively young, only in their twenties. Although they had been pirates for a few years, they had barely fought during their three years under Jango, leaving their potential largely untapped.
If he squeezed them a bit harder in the future, there was still plenty of room for their strength to grow. At the very least, serving as minor officers on the ship wouldn't be an issue.
Soon, all the captive soldiers were rounded up and escorted to the deck. Among them, an ensign glared coldly at Sanji.
"We've already dropped our weapons and surrendered! What more do you want? Hurry up and release the lieutenant! Don't tell me you're going back on your word."
"No need to rush. Your miserable lives are of absolutely no use to us," Sanji replied dismissively. He glanced back at Allen, shooting him an inquiring look.
Allen jumped down to the deck and walked past Sanji toward the ship's superstructure, waving his hand as he spoke.
"I'll leave everything here entirely in your hands. I'm going inside to catch a rat."
Whether it was combat power, potential, intellect, or even personality, Sanji was outstanding. His way of doing things was also steady and reliable, making him a highly well-rounded talent.
Allen intended to groom him to be the vice-captain.
Now that Sanji had displayed enough strength to convince the masses, his culinary skills as the head chef had already conquered the taste buds of the entire crew.
Next, he just needed to familiarize himself with the rest of the crew. When he eventually stepped up and ranked above the Nyaban Brothers, no one would have anything to say about it.
Arriving in front of the superstructure, Allen waved to the space behind him.
"Buchi, Sham, you two come with me."
"Coming, coming!"
"Hehe, wait for me, Boss!"
Sham and Buchi wore beaming smiles as they eagerly trotted after him.
They didn't possess any grand wisdom, but they had their own petty shrewdness.
After witnessing Sanji's strength, the brothers knew their status was no longer secure. Just like when Captain Kuro had Jango under him, they would be relegated to minor roles.
But it didn't matter. Sanji could be the vice-captain, and they could be the loyal lackeys; the two sides wouldn't interfere with each other.
Soon, the three of them arrived in the empty dining hall on the first floor.
Buchi furrowed his brow, seemingly sensing something, and leaped over to the trash can in a flash.
He reached inside, grabbed a rat by its tail, and pulled it out. Turning back with a wide grin, he said, "Hehehe, Boss, I caught the rat you wanted."
Allen and Sham rolled their eyes and glared at him, baring their teeth as they yelled, "Who the hell wants that thing?!"
"Oh, oh, my bad." Buchi nodded blankly, then pointed to another trash can and said, "There's another one over there."
Allen and Sham rolled their eyes again and roared, "It's neither of them, you idiot!"
"Uh, really?" Buchi blinked in confusion.
Sham sighed and facepalmed, saying in exasperation, "The Boss is talking about a person. A person sneaking around like a rat."
"Forget it. Let's go check the kitchen," Allen sighed, waving his hand. He led the Nyaban Brothers toward the kitchen at the back of the dining hall.
Meanwhile, inside the kitchen.
'To think they took care of a warship so quickly... Just who is that guy?'
Hearing the commotion outside, Gin couldn't help but grow tense.
He had only sneaked in a moment ago, having just finished eating to recover some stamina and retrieve his weapons while he was at it.
He had originally planned to take advantage of the chaos to scavenge some food and bring it back to the main ship to regroup with his leader, but he never expected the battle outside to end in the blink of an eye.
"Tch, these Marines are completely useless," Gin scoffed indignantly. He drew two pitch-black tonfas with solid iron balls attached to the ends and carefully peeked outside.
Fortunately, only three people had come.
Now that he had recovered some of his stamina, taking on their entire crew single-handedly was unrealistic, but capturing these three as hostages to exchange for some food and a safe exit shouldn't be a problem.
At this thought, a flash of resolve crossed Gin's eyes. He tightened his grip on his iron-ball tonfas, holding his breath as he listened to the steadily approaching footsteps outside.
Bang!
The moment the sound of the kitchen door being kicked open rang out, Gin, who had been hiding behind the counter, instantly exploded into action and leaped out!
Spinning his tonfas a few times, he brought the massive iron ball crashing down heavily toward Buchi, who was at the front.
Seeing the ambushing figure, Buchi's pupils shrank in shock. He instinctively raised his ten-bladed Cat Claws, crossing them to block.
Clang—Bang!!
Sparks flew. Although he managed to block the strike, the terrifying force transmitted from the iron ball sent Buchi sliding backward until his back slammed heavily against the wall.
"Buchi!"
Sham panicked for a second before glaring at the attacker with gritted teeth. Baring his ten-bladed Cat Claws, which gleamed with a sharp, cold light, he viciously slashed forward!
Gin retracted his tonfa and sidestepped to dodge the claws. Then, stepping forward, he swept his iron ball out, smashing it toward Sham's waist!
However, the tonfa passed right through, failing to deliver the expected sensation of impact.
The Sham before him dissipated into the air like a phantom, leaving Gin startled.
The next second.
Swish!
Sham appeared behind Gin in a flash, his Cat Claws tearing down furiously at his back!
Rip—!
Gin hastily spun around and swung his iron ball with all his might, but he was still too slow to dodge completely. The sharp claws tore through his clothes and sliced his skin, drawing a few beads of blood.
At the same time, however, the solid iron ball he swung landed a heavy blow on Sham's shoulder.
The exaggerated force sent Sham flying. He crashed onto the kitchen counter and slid for several meters, sweeping a large number of utensils onto the floor with a loud, chaotic clatter.
By this time, Buchi, who had been knocked back earlier, had recovered. He seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack from behind Gin!
"Die, you bastard!"
Buchi roared furiously. His Cat Claws tore through the air with a whistling sound, slashing down swiftly from above!
Sensing the movement, Gin instinctively raised his right hand, quickly holding his iron tonfa horizontally above his head.
Clang!!
Relying on his powerful combat intuition, Gin successfully blocked Buchi's claw strike. He immediately followed up with a rapid spin, fiercely swinging the tonfa in his left hand!
Bang!
"Pfft—!"
The iron ball violently smashed into his abdomen. Buchi's face twisted in agony, and unable to hold it back, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, stumbling backward until he retreated to Allen's side.
In less than five short exchanges, the victor was clear.
Gin shot Allen a vicious glare. Without any hesitation, he spun the tonfas in his hands and charged forward.
Allen watched Gin expressionlessly, standing perfectly still with his hands in his pockets. It wasn't until his opponent closed the distance and swung the tonfa ruthlessly toward his face that he moved.
Allen's body suddenly dropped low! Dodging the iron ball, his right hand whipped out of his pocket at a speed Gin couldn't even track!
Bang!
With his five fingers curled and his palm facing upward, Allen's gaze turned ferocious as his wrist bone delivered a swift, agonizing strike to Gin's jaw!
Crack—!
His two rows of teeth slammed together heavily, emitting a sickening ache as if they were about to shatter, and streaks of blood squeezed out from between them.
Gin's eyes rolled back, his pupils trembling violently. He nearly lost consciousness from that single strike, leaving only one unbelievable thought echoing in his concussed mind.
'So fast...!!'
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