"Stop shouting."
"I have taken Morgan and all your subordinates prisoner."
Noah walked up to Kuro and, with a crisp snap, locked an explosive slave collar around his neck.
"Tend to his wounds."
Noah ordered the royal guards behind him.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
A swarm of guards rushed forward, binding Kuro with chains and dragging him out of the mansion.
Only then did Kaya and Merry stumble out from hiding, faces pale and filled with fear.
"Your butler is the pirate Kuro of a Hundred Plans. You are now suspected of harboring a pirate. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Before Kaya could even ask about Kuro, Noah had already thrown a heavy accusation her way.
Explain? That was never going to happen. Only others had to explain themselves to the king.
"How dare you! You stand before His Majesty Noah, King of the Goa Empire!"
"Kneel and answer!"
A Goa Kingdom official shouted harshly, startling Kaya and Merry into collapsing to their knees, trembling.
"Your Majesty, please have mercy. We truly had no idea that Butler Klahadore was a pirate."
Merry shouted in panic, while disbelief filled Kaya's eyes.
That kind, gentle Klahador was actually a pirate?
"Considering your poor health, I'll let you off this time. When you recover, report to the Goa Empire. My Queen Sarie is in need of court ladies."
Noah spoke coldly. He had no interest in pursuing the matter further and turned to leave the mansion.
He was in a hurry to attack the Kingdom of Moonlight and had no time to waste on a little rich girl like Kaya.
Once he conquered the Kingdom of Moonlight, a single order would be enough.
Kaya would be summoned to the palace.
That was how domineering he was.
As Kaya and Merry stared blankly at the departing troops—royal guards and bounty hunters marching proudly behind Noah—the words they'd prepared to explain themselves died in their throats.
"It's over now, Miss Kaya."
Merry breathed a sigh of relief, as though escaping death.
The fierce expressions of the guards and officials had nearly scared them to death.
"Report to the Goa Empire when I'm better?"
"Was he talking about me?"
Kaya asked Merry, still dazed.
"It seems Her Majesty Sarie needs more court ladies."
Merry replied cautiously. He hadn't expected the king to draft the ailing Miss Kaya.
"Court ladies?"
Kaya frowned. What if she didn't want to leave Syrup Village?
For now, she could only take things one step at a time. After all, there was no way they could oppose a king.
.......
As Noah and his forces returned to the port, there was no sign of Usopp anywhere.
That coward had likely gone into hiding.
"Set course for the main island of the Kingdom of Moonlight!"
Noah wasted no time. He needed to conquer these kingdoms before the nearby nations and the World Government could react.
If Vinsmoke Judge could seize four allied nations in the North Blue and execute their kings in a short time, then there was no reason Noah couldn't do the same in the East Blue.
Especially since the local Marine officers were all corrupt scoundrels, each worse than the last—officers who lied to their superiors and oppressed civilians.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Four warships left Syrup Village's port, sailing toward the capital of the Kingdom of Moonlight.
Half a day later.
Jango, along with the Nyaban brothers and other slave conscripts, stormed the royal palace alongside Eric and Van Augur.
With the Moonlight royal family violently overthrown and exiled by Noah, his new title began to spread wildly among guards and bounty hunters.
The Exiled King.
While overseeing the conquered territories of the Moonlight Kingdom, Noah came across a small island named Shimotsuki.
This caught his attention.
He hadn't expected Usopp and Zoro to come from the same country.
But Noah didn't have time to set foot on Shimotsuki Island himself. He was too busy waging his conquest.
Three days later.
The neighboring Organ Kingdom also fell to the advancing forces of the Goa Empire.
The Organ royal family was exiled just the same.
However, Noah didn't find the Buggy Pirates in the town of Orange within the Organ Kingdom. It seemed the lucky fool Buggy had managed to slip through unscathed.
In just one week, Noah had conquered three kingdoms, sending the Goa Empire into a frenzy.
Nobles, officials, even ordinary citizens were eager to join the effort to govern and control the newly annexed lands.
By the time the World Government started taking the Goa Empire's aggressive expansion seriously, Noah's fleet had already invaded the Kingdom of Conomi.
The justification? That the Kingdom of Conomi had insulted King Noah and Queen Sarie by sending only a meager tribute of a hundred thousand berries and ten thousand pounds of oranges.
When the Goa warships breached the Conomi royal palace, the head of Marine Branch 16, Captain Nezumi, began to panic.
He quickly reported Noah's violent actions to Marine Headquarters.
Hoping they would intervene to stop Noah and the Goa Empire's unchecked expansion.
Nezumi was genuinely terrified that Noah would discover his secret dealings with Arlong. After all, Morgan of Branch 153 had already been captured by Noah.
Inside the 16th Branch base:
"Yes, yes, that brutal king of the Goa Empire has exiled four royal families. People in the East Blue are calling him the Exiled King!"
"He even arrested Captain Morgan from Branch 153. He's trampling on Marine authority!"
"Noah is out of control!"
"His crimes rival Vinsmoke Judge's infamous four-king execution in the North Blue!"
Captain Nezumi shouted into the Den Den Mushi, portraying Noah as a tyrant and a pirate no different from the worst scum of the sea.
........
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, Garp munched on rice crackers with a scowl.
Upon hearing about the Goa Empire's reckless expansion, his brow furrowed deeper. He didn't want to see his peaceful homeland turn into a kingdom of war.
"That upstart king—who the hell does he think he is, dragging my homeland into chaos?"
"The Exiled King? I'll show him the fist of love!"
Garp roared and pulled out a Den Den Mushi, calling the village chief of Foosha Village, Woop Slap, to check if the village had been affected by the war.
Though reassured that Foosha Village remained untouched, Garp's rage still burned.
"Sengoku, I'm going back to the East Blue! I won't allow my peaceful sea to fall into ruin."
"Also, didn't that so-called king arrest a Marine captain? I'm going to knock some sense into him!"
Garp said as he turned to leave.
"Hold it, Garp!"
"The Goa Empire has already formally requested and received approval from the World Government to annex the three kingdoms."
"And before Nezumi made his report, Goa's officials had already provided evidence of his collaboration with the Arlong Pirates."
Sengoku rubbed his temples. The new king of the Goa Empire was methodical and strategic, leaving no room for interference.
It was clear he had come to terms with the World Government on the matter of the Heavenly Tribute. Which explained why the Government had given its quiet approval.
Sengoku couldn't even intervene in the Goa Empire's affairs. In fact, he had to thank Noah for rooting out the rot—Morgan, Kuro, Nezumi.
And now, Morgans was beginning to take notice.
A king who exiled four monarchs in a week? He just might be the next tyrant to rival Vinsmoke Judge.
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