MTLNOVEL Chapter 34: Justice by Fist
Alex clutched his head and let out an earth-shattering scream of agony, while Nami coolly turned and walked away without looking back. She didn't return.
A few Marines had originally planned to stop Nami from leaving, but after seeing her "one-shot" the same Alex who had just demolished them earlier, they turned pale with fear, their legs trembling—where would they even find the courage to stop her now?
While Alex was suffering under Nami's "cruel hand," Koby finally found an outlet for his frustration and resentment toward the twisted Navy he had once admired. He shouted to Luffy, who was still fighting with Morgan:
"Mr. Luffy, please take down this rotten Navy!"
Though Koby's voice was loud, it still paled in comparison to the soul-piercing wails of Alex.
"What's with that guy? Just a light tap from a girl and he's howling like that. Doesn't he feel aShamed?"
Zoro, holding a sword between his teeth, looked at Alex with a puzzled expression.
Poor Zoro. After he experienced Nami's "invincible iron fist" himself in the future, every time he thought of what he'd said today, he'd look at Alex with nothing but guilt: "If only I hadn't looked down on you back then."
"That girl really is strong. One hit and she took Alex out."
Luffy had just knocked Morgan flying with a punch and reacted quite differently than Zoro when he saw Alex's pitiful state.
Morgan happened to fly in Alex's direction. While still crouched and rubbing his aching head, Alex saw Morgan flying toward him. With a loud "Hmph," he jumped up and kicked Morgan square in his swollen pig-like face:
"I'm already annoyed. Get lost!"
Bang!
Morgan was sent flying by Alex's powerful kick, crashing right in front of the Marines who had earlier been ordered to shoot themselves.
"Colonel Morgan… he's just a punching bag now…"
The surrounding Marines were stunned, staring blankly at Morgan, who lay sprawled and unmoving on the ground.
Luffy leaped onto Morgan and grabbed him by the collar:
"What kind of Navy are you, destroying Koby's dreams like that?!"
Boom!
Luffy unleashed a brutal flurry of punches on Morgan's bloated face.
"And you injured Alex too. Unforgivable!"
Still crouched on the ground, Alex heard Luffy's words and grew even more frustrated:
"My injury wasn't from him. It's your fault!"
"Huh? Me?"
Luffy glanced at Alex, confused, as he kept punching Morgan.
"Yeah. If you hadn't broken that statue, I wouldn't be hurt."
Alex rubbed his still-throbbing head from Nami's hit and glared at Luffy.
"Statue?"
Luffy kept pummeling Morgan. The Marines watching were terrified, trembling all over—none dared to intervene.
Suddenly, Luffy looked at Alex with shock:
"Wait… don't tell me… that statue was… you?! Now that I think about it, it really did look like you. Sorry for breaking it!"
What the—?!
Alex nearly lost it. His face, temperament, and vibe were absolutely nothing like that grotesque Morgan statue! You really should apologize—for your astoundingly awful eyesight!
Even the gloom from Nami's departure was blown away by Luffy's stupidity. He was so mad he broke into a cold sweat. What was this food-obsessed idiot basing his assumptions on?!
From a distance, Zoro mumbled to himself:
"That statue did kinda look like him. Both are injured…"
Thankfully, Alex didn't hear that. If he had, he might've gone full berserk. The statue had been split in half, and Alex's back was injured—that's your reasoning for resemblance? This logic is truly unfathomable.
Just as Luffy continued beating up Morgan, a voice shouted:
"Stop!"
Luffy ignored it, kept punching.
"I said stop, you bastard!"
"If you want him to live, you better stop now—or I'll shoot!"
Helmeppo had returned, pointing a gun at his hostage and trying to threaten Luffy.
It was a familiar scene—so touching Alex almost cried.
There stood Helmeppo, gun trembling in hand, pointed at the crouching Alex's head.
Alex was dumbfounded. Sure, he was crouching there alone, and yes, he was currently the weakest member of the Straw Hat crew… but seriously? Using him as a hostage?! You dumbass! Do I really look that useless?!
Since Zoro was watching over Koby, Alex was the only "unguarded" one nearby—so Helmeppo had targeted him.
"Master Helmeppo…!"
The surrounding Marines were stunned. Didn't he know Alex had just effortlessly beaten Colonel Morgan to a pulp? How could he possibly be taken hostage like this?
"You might as well give up. You can't do anything to Alex,"
Luffy said casually without even glancing over—still punching Morgan senseless.
"Hey punk, don't move! Or I'll shoot!"
Helmeppo shouted at Alex, then turned to threaten Luffy again:
"I'm serious! I'll shoot your friend!"
"Then shoot."
Luffy replied indifferently, continuing his beatdown of Morgan, ignoring Helmeppo completely.
Sigh…
Alex let out a long sigh, then suddenly delivered a heavy punch to Helmeppo's face:
"Get lost!"
Helmeppo didn't even see the punch coming before he was sent flying.
Alex jumped over, landed square on Helmeppo's hands, and began raining punches on him:
"This is for bullying the weak!"
"This is for keeping that vicious dog!"
"This is for being a spoiled brat!"
"This is for oppressing innocent people!"
"This is for using me as a hostage!"
With each shout, Alex vented all his pent-up frustration. Every time he yelled, he felt more justified in beating Helmeppo to a pulp.
And just like that, Helmeppo became Alex's personal punching bag.
Some Marines wanted to intervene, but Zoro took a single step forward, still biting his sword, his gaze cold as ice as he swept his eyes over the nervous Marines:
"You'd better stay put. Move, and I cut you down."
Just one look from Zoro sent a chill through their bones, freezing them in place.
And so, in the Shells Town Navy Base…
Luffy rode Morgan and beat the crap out of the base's commander.
Alex pounded the snot out of that commander's son.
The Marines stared blankly, listening to the anguished cries of this once-arrogant father and son duo. It was as if they were living in a dream.
This was supposed to be a Navy base…
What the hell had it become?
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