After a brief moment of stunned silence, Garp suddenly stood up, his eyes wide as he glared at Morgans and snapped furiously.

"Morgans, do you want a taste of my fists?"

"Hmph!"

Morgans gripped his axe defiantly.

"My axe has never been dull!"

"You—"

Garp's eyes widened further as he clenched his iron fists and strode aggressively toward Morgans.

Morgans didn't back down either, stepping forward and pressing his forehead against Garp's.

Surprisingly, Orion made no move to intervene.

Instead, he leaned back in his chair, watching the suddenly explosive confrontation between the two with undisguised amusement, his smile impossible to hide.

Had it not been for him existing in this world, these two would have crossed paths six years later.

Morgans, after being betrayed by pirates, would have fallen from a passionate Marine to a brutal branch captain, only to be defeated by Luffy after he set sail and subsequently captured by Garp.

Yet the irony lay in what followed—Garp, tasked with escorting Morgans, would stumble in the hands of a mere branch captain.

Not only would Morgans land an axe strike on him, but he'd also manage to escape.

Orion had assumed their paths wouldn't intersect much due to his presence.

Yet here they were, locked in a standoff in his office—one threatening with iron fists, the other defiantly raising his axe.

Just then, The office door suddenly swung open.

Gion and two female officers strode in.

"Huh? Garp-san? Captain Morgans?"

As soon as she entered, Gion's beautiful eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Garp and Morgans facing off against each other.

"What are you two...?"

Similarly, the two officers behind her stared in shock, clearly stunned by Morgans' audacity—not only standing up to Garp, the Marine hero, but even raising his axe.

Ignoring Gion and the others, the two men remained butting their forehead, their expressions fierce as their auras surged wildly.

Seeing this, Gion shifted her gaze to Orion who seated calmly at his desk with the unmistakable look of someone waiting for a spectacle.

Unable to hold back a chuckle, she said, "Fleet Admiral, aren't you going to intervene?"

As she spoke, she quickly approached Orion with the newly received intelligence report from the East Blue.

Orion took the report and skimmed through it, his brow instantly furrowing.

According to the intel, two Marine bases in the East Blue had deployed soldiers but failed to control the situation.

On one overrun island, thousands of frenzied beasts were wreaking havoc in the town.

The Marines sent for rescue had suffered heavy casualties, managing to save less than a tenth of the civilians.

"They've released this many frenzied beasts? Shiki isn't just experimenting anymore—he's deliberately retaliating against the Marines and the World Government!"

With that, Orion set the file down decisively. "Garp, head to the East Blue immediately and resolve this. If the town is already lost and there are no survivors left on the island, don't waste lives sending soldiers ashore. Just bombard it from the ships."

At Orion's command, Garp and Morgans simultaneously took a step back.

Then, Garp pointed at Morgans.

"We'll settle this when I get back!"

"No need to wait—I'm coming with you!"

Before the words even faded, Morgans immediately turned to Orion, "Marshal, I request to accompany Garp on this mission. The East Blue is my homeland too!"

"Go ahead," Orion nodded. "Just don't pick fights with Garp along the way!"

Morgans saluted, "Rest assured, Marshal. I know what's at stake! I'll settle things with him when we return!"

*****

...

East Blue, a certain sea area.

In a smoke-filled town, massive saber-toothed tigers, huge octopuses, giant mantises with razor-sharp foreclaws and various other ferocious beasts roamed the streets, rampaging indiscriminately through alleys and avenues.

Among these countless frenzied creatures, some unleashed powerful electric currents, others spewed wild flames, while most relied on terrifying brute strength to wreak havoc.

At the town's harbor, civilians rescued by the Marines ignored all order, desperately swarming onto the warships in a life-or-death scramble.

The chaos inevitably led to trampling incidents.

The cries of children, the wails of the fearful and angry shouts intertwined, painting a scene of apocalyptic despair.

On a street leading to the harbor stood over a hundred Marine soldiers.

Ahead of them, a colossal enraged black gorilla was locked in combat with several saber-toothed tigers.

Soon, after taking down multiple tigers, the gorilla too collapsed, unable to continue.

As both the tigers and gorilla fell, a horde of frenzied beasts immediately charged from the other end of the street.

Leading them were several black scorpions, each as massive as a moving fortress.

Above these scorpions, equally gigantic mantises soared through the air.

"Damn it!"

Seeing the overwhelming tide of beasts charging toward the harbor, a Marine Captain at the forefront cursed under his breath.

He swiftly raised his rifle, aiming at one of the airborne mantises.

"Hold the line! We must buy time until all civilians are aboard the ships!"

"Fire!"

At his command, the hundred-plus Marines simultaneously pulled their triggers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A deafening barrage erupted as a storm of bullets tore through the air, instantly killing the leading scorpions.

The mantises above were shredded by the concentrated firepower.

However, during the brief moment the Marines reloaded, even more frenzied creatures converged on the street.

Undeterred, the Captain decisively pulled out a Den Den Mushi and ordered, "Mortars and naval artillery, stand ready!"

"Sir!"

The response came immediately through the snail.

"All mortars and ship cannons are ready!"

Without hesitation, the Captain barked, "Fire at will!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thunderous roar of artillery followed as canon balls arced from the warships in the harbor, soaring over the Marines' heads before crashing into the street ahead.

In an instant, the newly gathered beasts were obliterated by the devastating shockwaves.

The few creatures that survived the initial blasts and emerged from the smoke were swiftly gunned down by the Captain and his men.

As the guns fired, the mortars positioned at the port's final line of defense also commenced their bombardment.

After two rounds of shelling, not a single frenzied beast remained on the street leading to the port.

With the explosions fading and the smoke dissipating, the group of marine soldiers blocking the street's exit collectively let out a sigh of relief.

Yet, at that very moment, a faint cry for help suddenly echoed from the far end of the street.

Before the captain and his soldiers could react, several figures emerged one after another on the rooftop of a building to the right of the street's end.

One of them even held up a flag high, sobbing and shouting desperately for rescue.

"What's going on?"

The captain's expression darkened abruptly upon realizing there were survivors in one of the buildings on this street.

He grabbed his adjutant by the collar and barked, "Didn't you tell me there were no survivors left in the city?"

The adjutant replied helplessly, "Captain, with the city in such chaos, frenzied beasts everywhere—how could the soldiers possibly conduct a thorough search and rescue?"

"Damn it!"

The captain released his adjutant, then decisively drew his sword and declared firmly.

"Who will come with me—"

Before he could finish, over a dozen marine soldiers had already rushed past him.

"Huh?"

Reacting quickly, the captain grabbed a rookie who had just dashed past him.

"Aren't you a fresh recruit who just joined the branch? What are you doing here?"

"Captain, saving lives comes first!" the soldier urgently replied. "If you want to punish me, wait until I've rescued them!"

"Save who? Focus on keeping yourself alive!" The captain yanked the soldier behind him.

Since the others had already charged ahead, he wasted no time and sprinted after them at full speed.

"Captain, I can save people too!"

The pulled-back soldier protested indignantly, shouting after the captain.

"Don't think just because I'm new to the branch that I don't embody the marine's justice!"

"My idol is the Fleet Admiral himself!"

With that shout, the soldier mustered all his strength and shot forward like a striking leopard, swiftly overtaking the captain and catching up to the marine soldiers ahead.

--------------------------------

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