Chapter 1807: Kidd's Downfall

“This... this is already over?”

With Penggeles’ strength, dealing with those pirate lackeys was a mere formality.

He hadn’t even taken part in the fight himself; while observing Zoro battling Killer, he was also keeping an eye on the Marines under his command.

The moment he noticed any Marine in danger, he would rush out at the last moment to prevent harm from coming to them.

The reason for waiting until the last moment was that he wanted those Marines to hone their skills properly.

Now, facing a newly arrived pirate crew just entering the Grand Line, he still had the capacity to look after them.

But what if in the future they encountered even stronger pirate crews? What would happen to these guys if he couldn’t intervene?

When Penggeles saved a Marine and habitually glanced back at Zoro, he found the fight on that side was already over.

Zoro, clad in his Marine uniform, had struck down Killer, who bore a bounty of 38 million berries, with a single slash.

The entire battle had lasted less than five minutes.

More importantly, Zoro had not suffered a scratch; not even his Marine uniform bore a tear.

Penggeles knew Zoro was gifted and willing to work hard, so he had always boldly speculated about his strength.

But now it seemed this guy’s power was perhaps excessively formidable.

When he first met Zoro, they had exchanged swordsmanship skills, and Zoro was no match for him at all.

And now? In less than a month, after spending half that time at the Marine base, this guy had directly caught up to him. The speed of his improvement was terrifying.

At that moment, Penggeles felt a twinge of sourness in his teeth, as if he had bitten into a lemon.

Turning away, he chose to stop paying attention to Zoro to avoid feeling further unbalanced.

With a growing sense of admiration, Penggeles shifted his gaze to the island, increasingly impressed with Colonel Moran.

Having a navigational genius like Nami was already surprising, and now adding a swordsmanship prodigy like Zoro—had the East Blue been completely emptied of talents? Otherwise, how could Colonel Moran have brought so many geniuses into the Marines?

Speaking of which, Koby must also possess abilities beyond Penggeles’ imagination, right?

Yes, very likely!

After all, Koby joined the Marines alongside Zoro and Nami and was directly under Colonel Moran’s command; it wouldn’t make sense if he lacked some special skills.

“Looks like your deputy isn’t holding back!”

Although focused on the battle with Kidd, Moran’s attention remained fixed on Zoro’s fight.

It wasn’t that he doubted Zoro, but he didn’t want to miss such a historic and iconic moment.

Whether or not the original story included the battle between Killer and Zoro, Moran couldn’t quite recall.

But since they were contemporaneous Supernovas meeting ahead of time, it was quite interesting.

The outcome was both expected and unexpected to Moran.

He knew Zoro would win, but he hadn’t anticipated such an effortless victory.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

After five minutes of fighting, Kidd’s initial anger and excitement had turned into despair.

He realized Killer was right—Marines at headquarters were indeed stronger than the worthless ones at branch offices.

Especially this renowned Moran, whose strength was terrifyingly formidable.

Despite Kidd’s prolonged attacks, he had neither injured Moran nor even managed to draw his attention.

Moran’s focus on the other battle was clear to him.

At first, Kidd had looked down on this, thinking anyone distracted during a fight couldn’t be powerful.

But now, it seemed he had seriously underestimated things.

As a pirate with a bounty of 197 million berries, he was probably nothing in Moran’s eyes.

“The incident at Saron Town—that was you, wasn’t it? I’m curious why you were so cruel as to burn an entire island to ashes?”

Moran withdrew his gaze and slowly looked at Kidd without a flicker of emotion.

Under Moran’s stare, Kidd suddenly felt a chill, as if some terrifying presence had noticed him.

Yet when he heard Moran’s question, he somehow found the courage to look him straight in the eye and replied resolutely, “Anyone who mocks my dream must die. Those who dare question me don’t deserve to live.”

Listening to Kidd’s answer, Moran’s perception of him shifted.

He had overheard Kidd’s dream while infiltrating the pirate ship: like Luffy, Kidd also aspired to become the Pirate King.

This was understandable; besides those who simply pillage and burn, most ambitious pirates shared that dream upon setting sail.

Moran had largely forgotten the original story about Kidd, only remembering he was one of the Supernovas from Luffy’s generation.

Now it seemed this man’s conviction rivaled that of Luffy, no wonder the two ended up crossing paths.

“Thinking about it, it feels like Roger’s death was far too cheap an end for him.”

Moran shook his head and suddenly said.

“What do you mean?”

Kidd was puzzled.

“Because of a single phrase, you people have swarmed after the One Piece treasure, and that has caused tragedy after tragedy.”

Moran spoke slowly.

It was the first time he had said such things to a pirate, and it felt somewhat strange.

“Just as expected of you, Colonel Moran. The papers say you’re a different kind of Marine, and now I see that’s true.”

Kidd grinned.

If anyone else had spoken ill of Roger, Kidd would have torn their head off and used it as a chamber pot.

But hearing it from Moran, he dared not retort; instead, he pondered Moran’s words carefully.

“I know how you are. Pirates who fall into your hands rarely survive, so I don’t expect much. But I have one request. I wonder if you can grant it?”

Kidd suddenly said.

“You may speak.”

Moran said this almost instinctively, having grown somewhat impressed with Kidd.

“I’ll surrender, but I want a proper send-off for myself and my crew.” Kidd said calmly. “But Killer—I want you to bury him here on this island. Back on Saron Island, he kept urging me not to go through with it and even secretly let a few people escape.”

“So, I deserve to die. You can deal with me like you did Kuro at Loguetown. But I don’t want Killer to share my fate. At least when there was no reason to slaughter, he didn’t take part.”

Kidd’s frankness left Moran momentarily silent.

By his usual standards, Moran would never agree to such a request. But Kidd’s expression and tone seemed genuine, which gave Moran pause.

Soon, however, Moran came to a decision: it was just Killer. Burying him wouldn’t have much impact. To intimidate the pirates, Kidd alone was enough—after all, Killer’s fame paled in comparison.

“I agree. So rest easy and don’t be a pirate in your next life.”

Suddenly appearing before Kidd, Moran’s blade pierced straight through his heart.

Leaning close, Moran whispered in Kidd’s ear.

“Thank you...”

Kidd smiled, blood flowing from his mouth as his eyes gradually lost their spark.