Chapter 13+14 - Preview of One Piece: Reincarnated as Rimuru Tempest

Chapter 13: Assault on Marine Branch 16!

At Marine Base 16, in the East Blue...

"Strange. Why isn't that weasel, picking up the Den Den Mushi?" Captain Nezumi grumbled, fiddling with the transponder snail in his hand. A nagging feeling of unease gnawed at him. "Don't tell me he's trying to hog all the credit for himself. Should've gone myself."

If only Base 16 had a decent ship available. A small sailboat was too risky for this mission. He really wanted to head to Cocoyasi Village himself.

"No, just in case, I need to report Arlong's capture to the East Blue Garrison Commander first. Can't let that rat steal all the glory!"

Nezumi started dialing the Den Den Mushi.

BOOM!

Before he could press a single button, a series of explosions rocked the base. The force of the blasts sent him sprawling onto the floor.

"What was that?! Who in their right mind would attack a Marine base?!" Nezumi roared, scrambling to his feet.

Pirates were common, sure, but attacking a Marine base was practically suicide. Most pirates avoided Marines like the plague. There was little to gain and a lot to lose. It was a high-risk, low-reward endeavor that only served to increase one's bounty and attract unwanted attention.

"Captain! It's terrible!" A Marine soldier burst into Nezumi's office, panic etched on his face. "Two Marine warships are attacking us! And… and Arlong's leading them!"

"Marine warships? Arlong?!" The words hit Nezumi like a thunderbolt. Even he wasn't dense enough to miss the implications.

Arlong wasn't just alive, he had wiped out the three ships Nezumi sent. And now, he was coming for payback.

"Any other fish-men sighted?" Nezumi demanded.

"No, sir!" the soldier shook his head. "Just Arlong. The rest of the crew are humans! And… Nami's with them!" He recognized Nami from their previous visit to Arlong Park.

So, she survived the battle… A cold smile spread across Nezumi's face. "Hmph. If it were the entire Arlong Pirates, I might be concerned. But one fish-man trying to take a Marine base? He's delusional!"

"Alert all personnel! Prepare for battle! All coastal defense cannons, target those ships! Today, we, the righteous Marines, will bring down the great pirate Arlong!"

Nezumi watched the approaching warships, a nagging feeling of wrongness prickling his skin, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

…

"Sir, just a bit further and we'll reach the harbor of Base 16." A sailor said, eager to please. He was a former Marine from Base 16 and had gladly revealed the base's blind spots to curry favor with his new captain. Thanks to him, the two warships were now only three kilometers from the harbor—well within firing range.

"Good." Rimuru, disguised as Arlong, nodded. He tossed a pouch of Berries to the sailor as the other crew watched enviously. "You've earned this for your guidance."

The crew was used to Rimuru's Mimicry ability. They'd seen him transform into Ranga before. Seeing him as Arlong wasn't a shock. It only deepened their awe of his power.

"All cannons, open fire! Level the harbor!" Rimuru commanded.

"Aye, sir!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Cannons roared, sending a volley of explosive shells towards Base 16. The Marines were caught completely off guard. The harbor's small patrol boats were obliterated in the barrage.

Watching the harbor erupt in flames, Rimuru turned to Nami and Nojiko, their faces grim with determination. "You two are coming with me to deal with Nezumi. He won't escape."

"Right!" they replied, their eyes fixed on the burning base.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

After two devastating volleys, Base 16 finally returned fire. Three cannonballs hurtled towards Rimuru's ships.

Rimuru acted.

[Water Manipulation: Three Thousand Stinging Waves!]

He slammed his hand onto the ocean surface, sending a series of massive waves skyward. The cannonballs were swatted away like flies, and the remaining waves crashed into Base 16, leveling the harbor and destroying a coastal defense cannon.

"Damn it! How did Arlong get so strong?! Keep firing! Don't stop!" Nezumi bellowed, starting to regret his underestimation of Arlong. But regret was useless now. He had to press on. He frantically dialed his Den Den Mushi.

"This is Base 16! We're under attack! It's the Arlong Pirates! The Captain has 20 million Berry bounty on his head! We need backup! We can't hold out much longer…"

As Nezumi frantically pleaded for help, a massive shadow fell over him. He looked up in terror to see a gigantic wolf, descending from the sky.

And on the wolf's back were three figures: the demonic Arlong, staring down at him with chilling intensity, and Nami and Nojiko, the two women he had always despised.

"There he is! I'd recognize that rat anywhere!" Nojiko screamed, firing her pistol wildly. The bullets fell short.

Rimuru had locked onto Nezumi with his Observation Haki from kilometers away. He knew Nezumi had reported the attack as Arlong's doing. Nojiko, too, had Nezumi in her sights.

"W-What is that thing?!" Nezumi shrieked. "Fire! Shoot them down!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three cannonballs exploded harmlessly against Ranga's thick fur.

"A monster!"

With a deafening crash, Ranga smashed through the remaining coastal defense cannon.

"The walls are down! Charge!"

"Time to make our mark!"

"Rimuru-sama is amazing!"

"First one inside gets a 100,000 Berry bonus!"

"Attack!"

The pirates surged forward, overwhelming the remaining Marines. Without the cannons and with most of their forces already eliminated, the remaining Marines—mostly recruits and support staff—were no match for Rimuru's forces. They scattered, surrendering en masse. Base 16 fell in less than an hour.

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Chapter 14: Full Recovery Potion! Nezumi's Plea for Death!

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Base 16 had never been a formidable stronghold. Against Rimuru and his forces, it crumbled like a sandcastle. Within half an hour, the battle was over.

“No! Don’t kill me! It’s all a misunderstanding!” Nezumi pleaded, his earlier bravado replaced by abject terror. “Arlong, we had a deal! If you kill me, the Marines will hunt you down! Just let me go, and I’ll pretend this never happened!”

Rimuru didn't kill him outright. He had other plans for the man who had tormented Cocoyasi Village for years.

“Let you go? Sure. But you’ve made a lot of money off the East Blue. Now that I'm leaving, you should repay me… with interest.”

“That’s right!” Nami chimed in, playing along. “We invested a lot in you over the years. We know all about your shady dealings, squeezing the villagers dry and selling weapons on the black market!”

“Yeah! Every last Berry!” Nojiko added, pointing her pistol at Nezumi’s head. “Pay up, and maybe we’ll spare your life!”

As if… Both sisters thought in unison.

Nezumi’s heart sank. Leaving the East Blue? His leverage was gone. His protection had been Arlong's shield against the Marines. If Arlong left, Nezumi was expendable.

“I… I have 30 million Berries in my safe! That’s all I have! Please, let me live!”

“30 million?” Nami scoffed, slapping Nezumi across the face. “You think we’re stupid? You’ve extorted way more than that from Arlong alone!”

Nojiko added a swift kick for good measure. “And don't forget the millions you stole from the villagers!”

“Please! I have to pay my superiors! They take the lion's share! I don't have that much left!” Nezumi wailed, his pleas punctuated by the sisters’ blows.

If Rimuru hadn’t mastered Advanced Observation Haki, granting him a degree of telepathy, he might have believed the act. But he could read Nezumi’s thoughts clearly. The rat was lying through his teeth, still clinging to the hope that Marine reinforcements would arrive.

“It seems your life has no further value.” Rimuru shook his head. He already knew where Nezumi had hidden his fortune, thanks to his telepathy.

“Since you won’t cooperate, Nami, Nojiko, he’s all yours.”

Nezumi felt a chill run down his spine. Before he could beg for mercy, Rimuru materialized two swords and handed them to the sisters. With a nod from Rimuru, they each sliced off one of Nezumi's legs.

"AAAAAHHHHH! My legs!!" Nezumi screamed in agony.

Two more swift cuts, and his arms were gone.

The screams drew a crowd. As the onlookers watched in horrified fascination, Rimuru produced a vial of shimmering blue liquid.

[Full Recovery Potion]

Cheap, effective, and child-safe. Just a bit of magicule expenditure to create.

He poured half the potion onto Nezumi’s wounds. To everyone’s astonishment, Nezumi’s limbs regenerated at an alarming rate.

"N-no way!"

"What is that stuff?! It regrows limbs?!"

"A miracle! It's a miracle!"

"Did The Captain just create that? He's a God!"

Even Nezumi, momentarily forgetting his pain, stared in disbelief at his newly restored limbs. They felt… real.

“You… who are you?” He finally understood the unease he had felt from the start. This wasn't the Arlong he knew. He remembered the initial intel: a giant wolf and a young man had fought the Arlong Pirates.

"You're not Arlong! Who are you?!" A sense of dread washed over him.

“You’re just figuring that out now?” Rimuru smirked, his Arlong disguise melting away. “You called for reinforcements, right? And you told them it was the Arlong Pirates attacking?”

As Nezumi watched in abject terror, the fish-man transformed into a blue-haired youth with piercing golden eyes. He radiated an aura of power that made Nezumi tremble.

“Nice to meet you. You can call me Rimuru, Emperor of the Devouring Empire.”

“I… I’ll talk! The money… it’s hidden in the armory, third floor, under a loose floorboard! And there’s a basement under my bed! And…” Nezumi confessed everything, desperate to avoid further torture. He knew he had lost. Utterly.

“Too late… If you’d cooperated earlier, I might have granted you a quick death. But some people just have to play games…” Rimuru produced several more vials of the potion and handed them to Nami and Nojiko.

“You have half an hour to… persuade him to be more forthcoming. We leave after that.” Rimuru walked away, leaving the sisters alone with their prey.

"Half… half an hour?!"

"Please! Just kill me! Kill me!" Nezumi begged, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Even his former subordinates turned away. Only his screams and desperate pleas for death echoed through the base.

…

Meanwhile, at the East Blue Marine Headquarters...

“Commander, we’ve lost contact with Captain Nezumi. I fear the worst…”

Vice Admiral Rosen, listened to the report with a mixture of surprise and annoyance.

“Base 16? Two bases attacked in two days…” He had just reported the destruction of Base 153 to Headquarters yesterday. What was happening in the East Blue?

“Attacking a Marine base is a serious crime. Arlong is no small fry. With our forces already stretched thin, we need to inform Marine Headquarters immediately.” Rosen sighed. This was turning into a nightmare.

“Yes, sir!”

“Arlong… He was a Sun Pirate officer. Imprisoned, then released by Jinbe nine years ago. Vanished without a trace. And now he suddenly reappears in the East Blue? Something doesn't add up.”

“What are you suggesting, Tenma?” Rosen asked, his eyes narrowing.

Rear Admiral Tenma, head of the CID and currently in the East Blue investigating Revolutionary Army activity, shook his head. “I’m not questioning the East Blue Marines, Commander. It's just… unusual. Coincidentally, I have agents near Base 16. I'll send them to investigate.” He dialed a Den Den Mushi.

“Captain Hina, Base 16 is under attack. The perpetrators are the Arlong Pirates. Provide immediate assistance.”