Chapter Sixty-One: The Unexpected Monka

"Not necessarily dead?" The pirate burst out laughing, as if he had just heard an utterly ridiculous joke. "What I seek is not 'not necessarily dead,' but 'definitely won't die.'"

"If Captain Krieg hadn't given us orders, maybe we would have simply given up. But since Captain Krieg has already persuaded Steel Blade Ruto and that useless Colonel Mouse, now we have the guts to take a chance."

"No matter how impressive that brat is, he's only one person—how can he compare to us? It's laughable that Morgan and the Black Cat Pirates didn't even have the courage to take a chance."

The pirate strode toward Koby, explaining all this as he went. As a chef, he had tampered with the brat's dinner last night, and to avoid arousing suspicion, he had only touched that particular dish. He knew that on the entire ship, the only person with any real strength was that brat; the rest, even the so-called pirate hunter, were hardly formidable opponents. As long as the brat was dealt with, the others were insignificant.

With their lineup—two captains and a colonel—could they not handle a mere pirate hunter?

"Damn it! Mr. Roland was kind enough to spare your lives, and you still want to kill him!" Koby shouted, veins bulging on his forehead, his eyes red with fury.

Mr. Roland was so good, so upright—how could he possibly die at the hands of such scum?

"Oh? Even a coward dares to shout at me now? This is getting exciting. If you'd always stayed timid, killing you would've been boring." The pirate grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. He was a seasoned killer, and his favorite pastime was tormenting his enemies, watching them die slowly in agony.

"I won't let you succeed—" Thinking of Roland's tireless guidance these days, Koby's rage burned uncontrollably. Such a good man, with such lofty ideals—how could he stop here?

Grabbing a wooden stick, Koby rushed at the pirate. He had trained hard these days, never once complaining, and his progress was evident. Fueled by anger, Koby's speed was astonishingly fast; in the blink of an eye, he was in front of the pirate, swinging the stick fiercely at his head.

He didn't like killing, but for Mr. Roland, for the man who stood for justice, he wasn't afraid.

"Is that all?" Koby's speed surprised the pirate a little, but not enough to bother him. Among these captive pirates, every one had fought their way through countless battles; without strength, how could they commit such heinous crimes? Did Koby really think that when they slaughtered townsfolk, everyone just lay down and waited to die?

Sneering, the pirate caught Koby's attack and kicked him away. He admitted that Koby had improved a lot since first boarding the ship, and given time, the kid would surpass him. But Koby no longer had that time.

"I will never let scum like you kill Mr. Roland—"

Struggling to his feet, Koby wiped the blood from his mouth and charged at the pirate again. "If shouting were useful, there wouldn't be so many towns massacred by us," the pirate mocked, watching Koby's powerless, desperate cries. He'd heard countless such pleas, but had any of them worked?

If you can't win, you can't win—shouting louder won't change your strength.

"Very well. With just these words, I can declare your death sentence!" Roland's voice echoed from somewhere unknown, instantly sending cold sweat down the pirate's back. All his bravado vanished in a heartbeat.

"Mr. Roland!" Koby called out excitedly toward the infirmary. Through a thin mist, he saw a familiar figure.

"Well done, Koby. You're braver than I imagined," Roland said, appearing beside him with a gentle smile.

In fact, five days earlier, Roland had already sensed that some pirates were stirring, but he kept silent, waiting for today. After the incident in Cocoyasi Village, Roland gradually felt that pirates guilty of such atrocities deserved a thousand deaths, not pity. Only because he had promised those pirates they would live to face naval justice had he held back.

But now, some pirates had secretly contacted Krieg, planning an uprising today. Learning this from another group, Roland smiled—weren't they handing him a perfect excuse to kill?

He had sensed the standoff between the pirate and Koby. And recalling that, in the anime, Koby had once been a deserter during the Summit War, Roland decided to wait and see. He wanted to know if, after following him, Koby would still run away.

If so, Roland wouldn't abandon Koby outright, but he certainly wouldn't put him in a position of trust. Imagine—if, in a future battle, Koby as an officer deserted, what catastrophic consequences would follow?

Thankfully, this time Koby didn't flinch, but chose to fight the pirate head-on. Losing wasn't the problem—Roland cared about Koby's attitude.

Lack of strength can be fixed with training, but a bad attitude is fatal.

"Thank... Thank you, Mr. Roland." With Roland's arrival, Koby felt relieved, and a simple word of praise left him grinning foolishly.

"Mr. Roland, please, let me expl—explain," the pirate stammered, dropping his steel blade, desperate to say something. The moment Roland appeared, he knew the operation was over. He had witnessed Roland's terrifying strength firsthand in Cocoyasi Village, which was why he had tampered with Roland's food, ensuring he wouldn't wake during the uprising.

He knew that as long as Roland was awake, even ten Kriegs, Rutos, and Mice wouldn't be his match.

"Explain what?" Roland sneered. "Weren't you just so arrogant, calling me a brat over and over? What's wrong now? Knees gone weak at the sight of me?"

"If you could keep that backbone, I'd almost respect you. But sadly, you're not worthy!"

Roland had no intention of letting the pirate keep talking. With a swift swing of his short saber, he ended the tedious farce.

"Go find Zoro; he's waiting outside Nami's room. Once I've dealt with Krieg and the others, I'll come for you," Roland said to Koby, then strode off in the direction indicated by his Observation Haki.

Through his Haki, Roland suddenly realized Morgan was actually a man of courage, daring to take on Krieg and the others alone. No wonder he hadn't sensed any disturbance all morning—it turned out there was this twist.

Arriving at the warehouse door, Roland slashed twice, shattering the entrance.

"Who’s there?" Colonel Mouse was the first to react, turning toward the door. At the sight, his uniform was instantly soaked in cold sweat. How could it be him?

Facing that hated, unbeatable brat, Mouse's face went pale, his mouth opening and closing, unable to utter a word.

"Heh, I knew it..." Morgan quickly noticed Roland too. Seeing the tall, upright man, he collapsed on the spot.

He had committed many wrongs under Jango’s hypnosis, but he never intended to side with Krieg or Mouse. He came to Loguetown with repentance, ready for prison. As for the sentence or its length, he cared not.

"Tsk, tsk. Colonel Mouse, look at Morgan—a fellow branch colonel. Isn't it ironic?" Roland shook his head, seeing their stark contrast. Same rank, same predicament—yet they made completely different choices.

"Brat, die!" Krieg seized the moment while Roland was reflecting, rushing at him with a steel blade.

"I have to avenge my brothers!" Steel Blade Ruto roared as well, brandishing his weapon.

"You know why I didn’t kill you earlier?" Roland looked up at them, his short saber flashing across their chests. "Because I wasn't used to taking heads for credit."

The two stared in terror at their chests, watching a thin red line appear, blood gushing forth in torrents.

And then, their consciousness faded away forever.