Task:

Anton was eerily calm as he walked down the streets of Shell Town, approaching the marine base that seemed to lure over the town like a beast. While he originally saw the base as a symbol of protection, now, after hearing what he had heard, it cast an oppressive shadow over the town, and it got the marine's blood boiling.

As he approached, he could see the marines flooding out of the base towards him, led by none other than the commanding officer of the base, Captain Varon. Judging from how many were coming out, it seemed like they were all hiding in there when the fighting between him and Melissa broke out. Anton's eyes narrowed, quietly fuming as the captain approached him. "Commodore!" the weasely man spoke up, his voice tense, "We heard reports that Melissa had arrived early! Where is she!?" "Melissa is gone," he replied quietly, his voice level. Varon didn't seem to register that something was wrong as the captain smiled in relief. "Wonderful! I knew we'd be safe with you around."

"About that..." Anton spoke up, causing the the captain's smile to fade slightly, "I learned something very interesting about your operations here." Varon looked confused for a moment. "What do you mean?" "I mean," Anton's eyes narrowed dangerously, "About your little '80 days' game, and how you've been doing it to everyone regardless of their crime." Varon stared for a moment before a sharp look appeared on his face. "What has that witch been telling you?" "Is it true?" Anton spoke up sharply, "Have you been using this absurd law and your own power to rules these people with fear?" Varon stood up straight, an angry look on his face. "How dare you! We are the marines! We are the absolute justice of this island! We're the ones keeping the peace here!"

"Like hell you are!"

All eyes suddenly turned to a man stepping out from one of the nearby buildings. Neither a marine, nor a pirate. He was probably one of the civilians who hadn't evacuated the town yet. Varon took a step towards the man, but a raised hand from Anton stopped him. The commodore spoke up. "Have something to say?" he knew that Varon was fuming right now. The man nodded. "Damn right I do! These guys don't care about the law! They just use it to get away with whatever the hell they want! And anyone who stands up to them? They're branded as criminals and strung up for their own amusement!" "Shut the hell up!" Varon shouted, "If you all just did what you're told, then you wouldn't have anything to worry about!"

"Well, that's all I needed to hear."

Varon blinked and looked back at the commodore. "What?" The captain flinched when he saw the look in Anton's eyes. "When I confronted Melissa, she told me what you had all been doing, that the very reason she was attacking was to put a stop to your cruelty. Quite ironic isn't it? A pirate acting more like a defender of justice than the marines, who are SUPPOSED to uphold justice!" he took a step towards Varon, who backed up slightly. "And to be honest, the only reason she's not here utterly destroying this place now, is because I told her I would handle this situation myself. These people have been oppressed for too long. It's time for them to see how a real marine acts!

Captain Varon, I am placing you under arrest!"

Everything was silent for a moment, Varon staring at Anton in complete and utter shock. The marines behind him were shocked and surprised as well. Even the lone civilian who had come out of hiding was surprised by this turn of events. Just showed how long this town had gone without any real justice.

"Under...arrest?" the marine captain stammered, "Me? You cannot be serious!" "I'm very serious," Anton replied coldly, "Abuse of power is a very serious offence Varon, and one I will not tolerate. We are the  supposed to enforce justice, not use it to get away with murder!" Varon's face twisted into a hideous scowl, his mind scrambling to find something to say in response before a twisted smile spread across his face. "You said you heard this information from that filthy pirate, correct? And that you made a deal with her? That sounds like treason to me. I wont be the one being arrested, but you, 'Commodore La'croix." He raised a hand towards his men, "And I think we'll skip straight to the execution! Men! Destroy this traitor!"

Anton scowled. So they were actually going to do this. Behind Varon, his men took aim with their rifles, all pointed at the commodore. Anton wasn't going to wait for them to make the first move. The marines watched in shock as Anton shifted into his insectoid hybrid form, sword ready to fight. "Fire! Fire!" Varon yelled out, backing away from the zoan commander. After a brief moment of hesitation, the marines fired. "C Sharp!" Moving quickly, Anton rubbed his legs together sharply, a piercing sound emerging from the grasshopper zoan. Anyone watching would be shocked to see the air around Anton ripple with the shock wave, catching the bullets in mid air and knocking them back. Varon was knocked back as some of the attacking marines were hit by the repelled bullets, falling to the ground in pain. Anton stood tall, looking at the remaining marines as they stepped back.

Varon scrambled backwards across the ground, putting more distance between himself and the commodore. "What are you waiting for?" he yelled out, clearly panicked, "Attack him!" The marines paused, before yelling out and charging towards Anton, as Captain Varon moved to get behind them.

Stats:

5 T0 marines defeated by bullet blowback

The marines would soon find that subduing the commodore was going to prove a much more difficult task than they had anticipated, even with their superior numbers. For one thing, Anton's exoskeleton made their attacks pretty much useless. The second was that, well, Anton wasn't exactly standing around and allowing them to hit him. He was fighting back, and rather well. Marines were flying as Anton lashed out with some rather strong kicks. Nothing that would kill them, but enough to knock them out and more importantly, get them out of his way. Anton had a feeling this men will keep going until either they all drop, or their leader, captain Varon, was defeated. And as satisfying as it was to be beating on these corrupt bastards, he really wanted to get this done as quickly as possibly, and before the corrupt captain escaped.

Kicking aside an attacking marine, Anton suddenly shot straight upwards, leaping high into the air to try and see where Varon had disappeared to. Sure enough, he could see the captain running down the street away from the melee. The damn coward was using his own men as cannon fodder while he fled! Remembering his own men, the three that had been killed by Melissa defending scum like him, it caused the commodore to snarl in anger.

Like hell he's getting away!

Coming down atop one of the marines, Anton began leaping at high speed, quickly putting distance between him and the pursuing marines. Thankfully, being able to leap over building made losing them even easier. It wasn't long before he caught up to the captain, coming down in front of him. The corrupt captain let out a surprised yelp as he slid to a stop, Anton's gaze boring down on him. "Going somewhere?" Anton spoke up coldly, holding his sword in front of him, "There's the little matter of your arrest, Varon." The captain snarled, drawing his sword. "Like hell I'm going to some prison like a common criminal! I'll squash you like the damn bug you are, and then this whole unlawful town is next!"

Swords clashed as the two men dueled it out in the street. Fueled by anger, fear, and manic zeal, the corrupt captain Varon swung his sword wildly, trying everything he could to destroy the bug that had upset the little kingdom he and his men had established here. However, Anton's heightened reflexes, training, and his devil fruit abilities, allowed him to keep up. Not that he was any less angry than Varon, probably more so, but right now Anton was focused on bringing this man to justice.

"You wretched bug!" Varon seethed,"Defending this unlawful scum, cavorting with pirate harlots, you're nothing more than a damn disgrace!" He swing his sword hard, only for Anton to catch it in his hand, the hardened skin preventing the blade from cutting into him. "I'm the disgrace?" Anton's face turned into a vicious snarl as he suddenly pushed back, swinging his sword and raining blow after blow onto Varon, the captain barely having time to block the strikes, "You use the law to terrorize and lord over these people, and anyone who speaks out against you is killed instantly! You lied to my face about what Melissa was really doing here, and to top it all off, here you are, running to save your own skin while you had your men throw themselves at me like they're trash!" "It's their station in life!" Varon yelled out, "They should gladly give their lives for their superior officer!"

As Varon said those words, the faces of the three men Anton had lost that day flashed through his mind. With a roar of rage, he lashed out with a foot, catching Varon in the stomach sending him reeling back. "I lost three good men today because of you, and I'll be damned if they're going to die, just so you can terrorize these people! This. Ends. Here!" Anton shot forward, moving faster than Varon could respond. Blood flew as the sword struck, the captain letting out a cry as he collapsed to the floor. Anton's sword was trembling in his hands as Anton stood over him, trying to calm himself down. It was done. Varon was beaten.

It was at that point that Varon's men finally caught up to them. They instantly halted the moment they saw their leader on the floor, not dead, but heavily wounded. They looked back and forth between the two men, Anton giving them a hard glare. "Stand down." "I'd do as he says," came a response. Anton looked back to see none other than Celia approaching them, pistols drawn and her head bandaged. Anton smiled. "Celia! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Celia gave a pained smile. "One hell of a headache, but I'll live. Though I get the feeling it will get worse when you explain to me what happened here." Anton smiled. "I'll explain everything. But in the meantime, could you place the captain here under arrest?"

It had taken quite a bit of time, but eventually Varon and many of his men (the more corrupt of the bunch) were imprisoned in the naval base (and yes, Anton saw the irony of it). Inside they had found documentation (obviously forged) justifying the rampant executions and Marine HQ had been informed of what was happening. A new officer was to be dispatched to the island to oversee the marines, one who would follow the word and spirit of the law. As for the rest of Varon's men, while he couldn't arrest all of them (many were merely following order after all), he did have them placed on probation. By this time, the people of Shell Town we're returning, and word was spreading out about what this man had done. Needless to say, they were surprised that it was a marine that helped them out.

People had begun to gather outside of the marine base, as Anton, standing up on a small stage that had been quickly set up, addressed the crowd. "People of Shell Town," he spoke out, "As you may have already heard, Captain Varon and his men have been placed under arrest. Their reign of terror over this island has come to an end. My only regret is that we didn't do this sooner. Many more lives could have been saved." Many in the crowd lowered their heads in a respectful silence for the lost. After that moment, Anton began speaking again. "As we speak, Marine Headquarters is sending a new officer here to run the base, and I can assure you this one will do things right. As marines, it is our duty to protect the innocent, using the law as a shield, not as chains to bind people to our will.

With that being said, I am now opening up recruitment for the marines here on Yotsuba Island, to replace those who have fallen into corruption. If you wish to protect those you care about, to help give them the lives that you deserve, then I advise you to give it a try. We won't turn anyone away. We more than welcome anyone. Let us bring in a new, bright era for Yotsuba Island!" The crowd applauded as Anton gave a bow and turned to step off of the stage, many of the people already heading to the recruitment table. After all the animosity between the people and the marines, it was good to see things taking a turn for the better.

Celia, who was standing behind the stage, gave Anton a warm smile. "Not a bad speech sir." she said. Anton sagged and gave a small smile. "You think so? I thought it was a little corny to be honest. Never claimed I was a good public speaker." The commander smiled. "Well, you got the people believing in the marines again, that's certainly one hell of an achievement. We can only hope that it sticks." Anton nodded. "Well, the Noble Justice is going to be under repairs for a bit, so in the meantime, we can make sure things go smoothly here. I hope you don't mind being stuck here for a couple of days." Celia shook her head and smiled. "Sir, as always, it is an honor to serve you."