Chapter Sixty-Three: What Is Going On Here?

“So this is Loguetown? How bustling!”
Standing at the bow, this was Koby’s first time seeing such a flourishing town. Compared to this place, even Shells Town was nothing more than a rural village.
On the docks, there were likely thousands of ships moored, of all shapes and sizes—fishing boats, merchant vessels, cruise liners, and even a few warships.
The only thing missing were pirate ships.
But Koby knew well that in a town as prosperous as this, the absence of pirates was impossible. The reason there were no pirate ships here was most likely because anything pirate-related had been hidden away.
With Loguetown garrisoned by Navy headquarters, pirates, no matter how reckless, would be fools to cause trouble here.
“We’ve finally arrived?”
Looking at the bustling port and the endless flow of ships, even Zoro seemed somewhat interested.
But what caught his eye wasn’t the town’s prosperity, but the merchant vessels coming and going.
With so many merchant ships passing through, there would surely be quality swords circulating in Loguetown.
If he could just borrow some money from Rowlan, perhaps he could buy himself two fine blades here—ones that would serve him well for a long time.
“Will we live here from now on?”
Little Donna’s eyes sparkled; clearly, she was taken with the place.
“No, we’ll head to an even greater city in the future.”
Rowlan ruffled Donna’s hair, smiling.
This was only his starting point; there was a vast world yet to explore.
The Navy in Loguetown arrived even faster than Rowlan had anticipated.
Just as he was about to disembark, countless navy men emerged from who-knows-where, surrounding the pirate ship on all sides.
From their midst, a man in an officer’s uniform stepped forward—judging by his insignia, he was a captain.
“Which one of you is the captain?”
Having received orders from above—learning that the body of the great pirate Krieg was hanging from this ship’s mast—the captain’s tone was rather amiable.
“The captain? I suppose that would be me, more or less.”
Leaping down from the pirate ship, Rowlan approached the captain.
“You’re the captain?”
Gazing at the almost unfairly handsome youth before him, the captain frowned slightly.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Rowlan, but the young man seemed far too youthful to have the strength to defeat Krieg.
“If you insist on calling me that, then so be it. But I think these formalities aren’t particularly important, are they?” Rowlan smiled.

“That’s true enough.”
The captain nodded, accepting Rowlan’s words, then got straight to the point. “I’ve received orders stating that Krieg’s body was found aboard the Dreadnought Sabre. Is that correct?”
“Orders, is it?” Rowlan glanced up at the distant high tower, instantly understanding the situation.
It seemed that hanging Krieg’s corpse had been the right move after all.
If not for Krieg’s body on the mast, they might have been sunk by navy cannon fire before ever docking.
“Zoro, Nami, bring Koby and little Donna ashore. This ship is no longer of any use.”
Rowlan called out to those on board.
Once the four had disembarked, Rowlan said to the captain beside him, “Alright, as for the rest still on board, they’re no good. Arrest them all.”
“???”
The captain looked puzzled—what did he mean by arrest them all?
Hadn’t the report from Anthony just said that quite a few of the crew were operating the ship for him? Now he was saying the rest were all unsavory sorts?
Seeing the confusion in the captain’s eyes, Rowlan shook his head and explained, “Besides the four who just came ashore, everyone else you see moving freely on the ship are Krieg’s crew. They’re only following my orders because I captured them.”
“Other than the three bodies hanging there, there are more prisoners in the hold. Make sure none slip away, and don’t be surprised. When Smoker arrives, I’ll explain everything to him.”
After Rowlan’s explanation, the captain was still somewhat bewildered, but it didn’t stop him from issuing orders to his men.
“Take more men and go check the ship!”
At his command, the navy soldiers sprang into action.
A small group remained by the captain’s side, keeping a close eye on Rowlan, while the rest surged onto the pirate vessel.
“This is—”
No sooner had they reached the deck than the marines spotted the three bodies hanging there.
Seeing the horrifying wounds in their chests, the sailors realized these were indeed corpses, not some trick or mistake on Anthony’s part.
Comparing them to the wanted posters, even though they had been prepared for this, the marines were nonetheless shaken by how perfectly the dead men matched the bounties.
“Krieg, Warlord of the East Blue, confirmed!”
“Iron Wall Pearl, confirmed!”
“Steel Blade Ruto, confirmed!”
Once the identities were verified, the marines cautiously stepped forward and took down the bodies.
It was only upon closer inspection that they discovered each had been killed with a single strike—no other wounds on their bodies.
“Was this all done by that pirate hunter Zoro? Incredible!”
One marine gulped in awe.
“You, carry these three bodies to the captain. The rest, follow me to the hold!”

The marines split into two groups: one of six carried the corpses off the ship, while the majority hurried towards the hold as Rowlan had described.
But when they reached the hold, they were stunned.
What on earth was this?
A crowd of fierce, savage pirates had tied up a group of marines, including a colonel and several men who looked to be pirate officers.
Strangely, the brutal pirates, upon seeing the marines arrive, showed no surprise at all. Instead, they tied themselves up with ropes, joining the captured sailors in a line.
“Are my eyes deceiving me?”
One marine rubbed his eyes with a handkerchief. The scene before him was simply surreal.
Pirates had captured marines, and now, upon seeing their rescuers, were not resisting but obediently binding themselves.
What in the world was going on?
“Ahem, what’s the meaning of this?”
One sailor mustered his courage and stepped forward to ask.
“Reporting, sir! We are all Krieg’s crew, now prisoners of Mr. Rowlan. Please give us your orders!”
A pirate stepped out, standing at attention as he answered.
“...”
“So you’re surrendering to us voluntarily?”
The marine found it hard to believe.
He had come here with Smoker from the Grand Line, and in all his years as a sailor, he had never seen pirates surrender so willingly. Even defeated ones would rather die charging or fleeing than submit.
“Since our capture, Mr. Rowlan has enlightened us daily. We now deeply regret our past ignorance and crimes, so we surrender ourselves to accept your reform.”
The pirate replied sincerely.
“And these marines?”
Another navy man asked his biggest question.
Pirates he could understand, but why were there marines here? Was this Mr. Rowlan provoking them?
“These are all subordinates of Colonel Nezumi of the 16th Branch. The colonel colluded with pirates and was defeated by the righteous Mr. Rowlan. Out of respect for their status as marines, Mr. Rowlan chose to take them prisoner rather than kill them.”
The pirate answered truthfully.
“Corrupt, greedy marines, is it?”
Upon hearing this, the group of sailors sent from headquarters no longer bothered to hide their scornful expressions.