Chapter 591: Risky Strategy! (2 in 1)

"You two, please come in first."

Bell-mère's words eased the embarrassment of the two young men, Ace and Sabo.

Under Bellmère's guidance, several people walked into the room one after another.

Bellmère's house is very large, with an area of ​​probably about 200 square meters. It is a two-story detached house. The first floor is a combination of the living room, kitchen, and study, which is simply separated in the middle by a bookcase, and the bookshelf is filled with all kinds of books.

There was even a spear and a notched saber hanging on the decorative stand, which seemed to be the weapons that Bellmère originally used in the navy.

Although the house covers a large area, the furnishings inside are not flashy. The furniture in the living room are all made of solid wood and the workmanship is not delicate. It is only coated with a layer of varnish for anti-corrosion.

The gentle sunlight shines in from outside, making the wooden living room look warm. On the small square table in the living room, there are some freshly picked oranges with bright colors, and the house is filled with a faint smell of firewood.

Ace took a quick look around the living room and already had a basic idea of ​​Bellmère's family situation.

In the village of Cocosia, Bellmère is definitely not considered a poor person.

But it's not to the extent that it has anything to do with wealth.

In a small village like this, land is actually the least valuable property. Take Mount Gorpo where Ace and Sabo once lived for example. As long as they wanted, they could enclose any area for building houses, and no one would care.

"What do you two want to drink?"

"Would you like to try our tea?"

“It tastes pretty good.”

Bellmère brought Sabo and Ace to the living room and sat down around the square table. Bellmère was quite polite, which made Ace and Sabo a little reserved.

"Then trouble you."

The two children, Nokigo and Nami, followed Bellmère the whole time, their curious eyes never leaving Ace and Sabo. There were too few outsiders coming to Cocosia Village, and the local residents were aging very seriously. They had hardly come into contact with many people of their own age.

The gazes of the two girls made Ace and Sabo feel a little uncomfortable. After looking around, Ace finally remembered the purpose of his coming here:
"Lieutenant Bellmaire, to be honest, we heard almost everything that happened between you and that man in the barn just now."

"We have also seen your letter. The reason we came to Kokosia Village is to investigate the things you mentioned in your letter."

"There are no outsiders here now. Could you please tell us in detail about the 16th branch?"

Ace took off his hat and placed it on the table, ruffled his hair, and looked at Bellmère who was making tea for the two of them, his expression becoming somewhat serious.

"Everything I said in the letter is true."

"You can draw a conclusion by just walking around the village and asking a few households."

"If there is any evidence, the things piled in the barn are the evidence."

"Those things will be handed over to the navy next, and the rats will take them away."

"If what I said in the letter was all lies, how could these people appear on the island?"

"The vast majority of people may not even have enough food to eat in the second half of the year."

"This winter will be very difficult for many people."

"The same goes for us."

Two cups of tea were placed in front of Ace and Sabo. The teacups did not contain any precious tea leaves, but dried green tangerine peels.

When soaked in boiling water, it emits a faint fragrance.

Sabo lowered his head slightly to glance at the tea in front of him, then curiously picked up the cup and took a sip. The slightly sour taste made him raise his eyebrows slightly, as if he had not expected that orange peel could produce such a flavor.

Looking up at Bellmère who was sitting opposite him, Sabo couldn't help but feel a little distressed:

"Ace, if that's all, there's very little we can do."

Although they are colonels of the headquarters and one level higher, strictly speaking, they and the 16th branch are under the same general and there is no hierarchical relationship between them. Faced with such a thing, all they can do is report the situation to the headquarters and let the generals of the headquarters make the decision.

If Colonel Mouse only amassed wealth in this way, being dismissed from the army would be the most severe punishment. There is a high probability that he would only be demoted.

Colonel, this rank is considered a high-ranking figure in the naval system of the world.

Even the Navy Headquarters would be extremely cautious when dealing with officials of this level, especially the officers who guard the four seas, and would sometimes be treated leniently.

The direct superior of the East China Sea officers is Lieutenant General Doberman, known as the fighting dog, and his superior is Admiral Sakaski. The East China Sea, which was originally under the charge of Kuzan, has now been transferred to the hands of Sakaski.

The generals who originally controlled the East China Sea were all from the Garp faction, or doves. But since Garp's death and Kuzan's departure from the Navy, the doves of the Mesozoic era have lost their leaders and are now very few in number. Most of them have been recruited by the hawks.

The hawkish officers basically focused their energy on the first half of the Grand Line, which was one of the most important bases of the navy. At the same time, the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line were much more dangerous and much stronger than the pirates in the four seas.

It is precisely because of this policy orientation that the Navy's control over the officers at all seas has weakened.

If Bellmère had not had the means to contact the garrison officer in Rogue Town, no one would have revealed what happened to Colonel Mouse.

"For such a person, is it just a matter of dismissal?"

"It is even possible that our department will just demote him as punishment?"

"He colluded with pirates and killed many innocent people. Can't the Navy Headquarters even deal with such a guy?" Hearing what Sabo said, Bell-mère's face was full of disbelief.

She hadn't expected that after waiting so hard for the school officer from another branch, she would only get such a result in the end.

This was something Bellmère could not accept no matter what. Who could avenge those people who died in vain in the winter?
Bell-mère became a little agitated. Nokiko and Nami stood on Bell-mère's left and right, wanting to speak to comfort her, but they didn't know how to start.

Although they heard the conversation between several people, they had no idea what their mother and the two strange young men were discussing.

"Lieutenant, calm down."

"What Sabo said is just one of the possibilities."

"You said that the rat colonel was colluding with the pirates. Can you tell me more about it?"

"How did he collude?"

With Ace's comfort, Bell-mère's emotions finally calmed down a little. Hearing the other party's questions, Bell-mère did not hide anything and told Ace and Sabo everything that had happened on the island and her guesses.

She did not avoid mentioning Nojiko and Nami when she said this. It was not until now that the two girls knew that the navy of the 16th branch had been oppressing the people on the island and squeezing the living space of ordinary people.

The logic is smooth and the feasibility is very high.

Ace and Sabo looked at each other, and in their hearts they already believed Bell-mère's guess.

If you don't pay the protection fee, you will be attacked by pirates.
There is actually no way to lie about this kind of thing, unless all the people on the island can work together and speak with one voice.

Otherwise, such things can be clarified with just a little investigation.

However, it is impossible to attack Colonel Mouse directly based on Bellmère's words.

Ace and Sabo are both marines, and if they attack their colleagues without reason, it will bring trouble to Sengoku.

The main problem was that there was no evidence. Bell-Merre had no way of proving that Colonel Mouse was indeed in league with the pirates who cleansed out the Cocosia Village.

Say the timing is coincidental.
This will be completely evaded by the other party with excuses like "accidental".

"It's not impossible to make that rat colonel receive real punishment."

"If your guess is true, then there is actually a way to find evidence of his connection with the pirates."

"It just requires the cooperation of those on your island."

Although Ace is careless, when something really happens, his mind works very quickly.

Although they don't have relevant evidence on hand, it doesn't mean they can't get evidence!

Bellmère looked at Ace suspiciously, with a hint of confusion in his eyes. On the contrary, Sabo, who was standing beside him, showed a look of understanding after hearing this, and smiled silently with the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Second Lieutenant, can you gather the people to directly resist that rat colonel?"

"Don't worry, if he dares to attack you, we will be able to capture him on the spot."

"If he can bear it."

"According to what you said, I think the Cocosia Village will be attacked by pirates soon, right?"

"We two will help you resist the pirates. As long as we can capture them alive, you can ask them anything you want to know!"

Ace and Sabo both have full confidence in their own abilities. In a place like the East China Sea, they act without any scruples.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any evidence of Colonel Mouse’s crimes.

As long as the other party does have problems, isn't it easy to seduce him/her into making mistakes?
This can't be considered a sting operation, it just gives Colonel Mouse a stage to "perform".

"This"

Ace's plan made Filmel hesitate. Although she had confirmed the identities of the two navy men in front of her, her trust in these two young men was extremely limited.

And in Bellmère's view, this plan also comes with huge risks.

What if, what if these two young men are not strong enough, or they are not on her side at all. The Cocosia Village without the protection of the navy will be directly exposed to the pirates, and what will happen then will not be something she can control.

Ace and Sabo were naturally full of confidence, but Bell-mère was full of concerns.

But if Ace and Sabo's plan can be carried out smoothly, Cocosia Village can be completely liberated from the clutches of Colonel Mouse.

This is also a huge temptation for Bellmère.

Bet. Or not bet.

The multiple-choice question was handed back to Bellmère.

At this moment, Nojigo, who had been silent, suddenly stood up and walked to the wall. He took down the rifle hanging on the wall, skillfully found the bullets wrapped in oil paper from the cabinet under him, loaded the bullets and pulled the bolt in one go, and then pointed the black muzzle directly at Ace and Sabo.

"Hello!?"

"what are you going to do?!"

Ace and Sabo noticed Nokigo's actions and stood up from their seats, their eyes turning towards Nokigo with a bit of coldness.

Bellmaire, who was still struggling, tried to stop them: "Stop it, Nokigo! They are from the navy of Rogue Town, and they are not in the same group as the rats."

"It's too dangerous to point a gun at someone, put it down now!"

Bellmère was afraid of an accidental discharge and became a little anxious.

"Bellmaire, isn't it very simple to verify what these two people are saying?"

"Two guys who haven't even grown all their hair yet are so arrogant that they want to help us resist pirates."

"If they really have this ability, they wouldn't be afraid of a girl like me, right?"

"Those pirates who attacked our Kexia village back then were all strong men, and they had more guns, didn't they?!"

As he spoke, Nojigo had already raised his spear and pointed it at Ace who was not far away, then he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"boom--"

Loud gunshots rang out directly in the room, but Ace and Sabo had no intention of dodging. They just stood there and looked at the girl who was shooting with cold expressions.

The bullet shot rapidly between Ace and Sabo, creating a hole in the thick wooden wall.

In fact, from the very beginning, Nojiko didn't really target Ace and Sabo, he just used this method to scare the other party.

If these two guys whose hair hasn't even grown out yet are scared to death, then isn't it obvious what decision Bellmère needs to make?
As for now.
Nokigo looked at Ace and Sabo who were standing there motionless, and a faint smile appeared on his face. However, the smile did not last long. Bellmère still took a step forward and rushed in front of him, took away the gun barrel with one hand, and then slapped Nokigo in the face.

"asshole!"

"Do you know how dangerous this is?!"

Bellmère's scolding sounded in Nokigo's ears. Nokigo was a little confused. He stared blankly at Bellmère in front of him, feeling very surprised.

This was the first time she was beaten by her mother since she was a child.

The next second, Nojigo felt his body tighten, and Bellmaire embraced him:
"Your recklessness will get you killed, idiot."

Tears welled up in Bell-mère's eyes as she said this, and her actions completely dispelled the faint anger that was rising in Ace and Sabo's hearts.

Neither of them liked being pointed at with a gun, and Nojigo's behavior had actually touched their bottom line.

It's just that Bellmère had already taught his daughter a lesson, and both of them did sense that the other party had intentionally shot wide, so no bad consequences were caused.

Under such circumstances, Ace and Sabo had to be more generous and let the matter go:
"Second Lieutenant, I'll leave this matter to you."

"If it doesn't work, all we can do is report Colonel Mouse's money-making behavior. As for what kind of punishment will happen afterwards, it's beyond our control."

"If we succeed, if pirates really attack Cocosia Village, we will have a chance to bring Rat to justice."

“It’s all up to you”

After what happened, Ace and Sabo didn't want to stay there any longer. After saying a few words, they pushed the door and left, disappearing from their sight.

"There are rules and regulations, and I don't abuse my power."

"Marshal Zhan Guo has educated them both very well."

At the base of the wall outside the wooden house, Jiguo Yuanyi, wearing a black robe, leaned against the wall. He raised his head with emotion and looked at the clear sky, with a hint of sigh in his eyes.

Time flies so fast, those two snotty-nosed kids have grown into outstanding young men.

(End of this chapter)