Chapter 25
The concert area was filled with people listening to quite intense songs. Completely immersed in the vocals and the meanings of the songs. Giving their full attention to the performer on top of the erected platform.
The young girl's voice sure was something. Not only her singing, but also her dancing was enchanting. Simple movements made by the grace of the red and white haired girl captured many men's hearts. Too bad he didn't have a chance to enjoy it, as he found a nice place to land and survey the area.
It wasn't hard to spot the lord and the Celestial Dragons, as they were sitting in what Snow could guess were VIP rooms, above everyone else, watching the common masses from their seats. Like kings, but even they couldn't get their eyes away from the charming performance before their eyes.
It was quite a nice display of lights and all in a seemingly newly built platform, as they seemed to dance with the music. Every single man and woman in the crowd cheered on the singer, more than happy with her performance.
It was a really intense display. Even the dozens of most hardened Marines who surrounded the area couldn't keep their eyes away from her for more than a second. Still, it would be quite hard to hide here with this kind of right security.
Good thing he wanted the opposite to happen. He jumped off the ledge where he was surveying the area. Snow landed on the main platform where the singer performed, just after she finished her song. He was a pirate, but even he had to agree that her song was too good to interrupt in the middle.
"Hello there," Snow said as he grabbed the singer in a chokehold and turned to the VIP section to see the lord who had pissed him off so much. "Sorry about this, girl, but I'm taking you as my hostage."
Snow was sorry for the girl, but it was for her own good that he was the one to come to her. Though he never expected her to be the same girl in the gardens. Well, it could be counted as him repaying the favor he owed her.
"Who are you? What are you trying to do?" She, the security, and everyone else asked the same thing.
"Didn't I explain it?" Snow asked back, a bit confused. "I am taking you as my hostage."
"What are you all doing? Take him down!" The lord of this island almost burst like a balloon from anger.
"Hey, hey, hey. I would choose your next words carefully. Don't you care about this girl?" Snow asked, keeping Uta close to him. "Now, let's all calm down and listen to my demands, shall we?"
Snow looked around but kept his eyes on the lord and the Celestial Dragon, who seemed more than happy to just whine about the situation from what Snow heard. The lord seemed to evaluate the situation while the crowd was getting rowdy.
"Let me go!" Uta stomped hard on Snow's toes and hit his stomach with her elbow. "You damn pirate. All you do is destroy the peace and abandon all your responsibilities as a human being. Scum like you should just go and die."
"Listen to me carefully." Snow would be in a lot of pain right now if he hadn't turned his skin into iron. "I need you to play with me for a while. That bastard up here is a slave trader. I just came out of his manor and have dozens of people who need safe passage from this island to their freedom. But there are too many Marines, so I need them all to gather here so the people I freed have a chance to escape."
"Why would I ever believe you?"
Good question. Snow had no answer to it. But in the end, he didn't need to find any answer at all. He had already achieved his desired results as more and more Marines came to surround him, and the crowd of people started to disperse.
Snow walked back into the dressing room as more and more guns were pointed at him. But it was still way too early for him to get out of this situation, as he wanted more attention. And he also would like to beat up the bastard standing next to the celestial dragons.
"It isn't just those people I freed that the celestial dragons want," Snow tried to explain the situation. "But they also want you. The moment you ended the concert, you would mysteriously disappear."
"Hmph, like I would ever believe a pirate."
Again, there was probably no way Snow could explain to her for her to believe him. He could only continue to back away as he looked around. They didn't seem to even want to hear his demands, only to take care of him and secure his hostage. But then it hit Snow.
"Don't move!" He yelled out, looking straight at the celestial dragon. "I am taking her with me. She is mine now, so back off!"
"No, she isn't!" Snow smiled as he heard the celestial dragon yell back, ignoring the lord's advice. "She is mine. I already bought her, you damn thief! Kill him and take back my slave!"
So stupid that it was quite funny. The moment Snow indicated that he took possession of something the celestial dragon already thought was his, he got all riled up, making his case quite more believable now.
He saw the lord facepalming himself as he looked at the celestial dragon next to him. Uta went stiff for a moment before she glared at them. The Marines stopped moving for a moment, as they were quite shocked to hear what they did.
"Capture the girl and kill the pirate!" the lord ordered.
"Well, that's all I need from you," Snow said before stuffing her into the dressing room just outside the platform, away from the guns and swords of the Marines.
"What are you doing?" Uta asked behind the door.
"Stay still, you are of no use to me anymore," Snow replied. "Wait it out until it is all over. I will take care of these toy soldiers first."
Snow smiled at the countless Marines rushing at him. But that wasn't enough; he needed more of them to come to him. He needed everyone's attention for himself. He wouldn't be satisfied with anything less.
…
Gion was finally able to move. After spending who knows how much time bandaging her wounds, she finally got to her feet. First, she came to the Marines who fought Snow. They were still here, but after looking over them, none apart from one was dead. Though they had broken bodies and wouldn't be able to move for a long while.
Still, looking at the commander whose head had exploded, Gion felt rightful anger rising from her once again. He was a fellow Marine, someone who fought for justice like her, and to die in this horrible way wasn't what she wished for her worst enemies, not to speak of her allies.
Next, she moved to the manor. She needed to find medicine and see if anyone was left alive there for them to send help to those poor Marines. At first, as she approached it, it felt empty and quiet. She thought the worst had happened until she got inside the manor.
"Ugh, bring some water and bandages."
"Ahh!"
"Stop screaming, we need to set your bone straight, or you will be a cripple for the rest of your life."
"Found another one. He looks fine, just passed out."
The guards treated each other's wounds as Gion walked past them. Once they saw her, they quickly tried to straighten up, but Gion waved her hand to stay still as she continued to look around the manor. It looked stripped away.
She had only been here once. When she came to report to the Celestial Dragon, she still remembered the paintings, expensive vases, and other decorations that were now gone. As she was going through the manor, she stopped as she saw open doors to the basement.
"Ma'am, you can't go there," one of the guards who saw her tried to stop her.
"Stop it, man, isn't it enough?" another guard, nursing his stomach, said. "Haven't we done enough? It's over. The lord, that piece of shit, got robbed of everything. We have nothing to fear now. What is he going to do? Threatening to make our lives on this island miserable? After all of this, I don't think he will be keeping his position for long anyway."
"But still."
"Oh, shut up, would you? I'm tired of this shit after all he forced me to do. I am going home and not looking back. I dare the so powerful and great lord come to find me. I will shoot him with the same gun he gave me."
Gion didn't ask what they were arguing about as she climbed down. It didn't take long for her to reach the bottom of the basement. And she felt her stomach churn at the sight of it. Cages and chains were everywhere. Blood colored the floor and walls. The dried blood indicated how long it had been here, and the fresh blood told her that there had been people not long ago.
Though they were empty, she still somehow could imagine people chained up by those bloody chains. Animals in the cages were nothing but blood and fur left now. She could imagine their expressions and what they must have experienced here.
Gion's mind was occupied by her imagination, so she wasn't able to hear someone approach her from behind. She only heard the rifle cocking, ready to fire. A second later, her hand moved, and she drew her sword and spun around, cutting the rifle in half.
"Umm?" One of the guards, older than the others, looked at his rifle and back at Gion.
"Tell me what this is all about," she said, putting her sword to the guard's neck and demanding.
"Sergei, you damn idiot," the guard from before came down, still clutching his stomach. "Do you think this will hide what we have done? Haven't we done enough already? Just give it up. We are the bad guys here. Just accept it."
"Explain," Gion had no energy to play around; she wanted answers. "What is this place?"
"It is where the lord kept the slaves he was selling to the World Nobles. Not just people, but various beasts and anything that moves and could entice the World Nobles to buy them."
She wanted to call it bullshit, a lie. But she knew better. As much as it was outlawed, slavery still existed. The World Nobles were the only ones who could keep them. But they weren't the ones to capture them. She knew it, and yet she never thought too much about it.
It now made sense why that bastard Vas could rise so high in society. He was one of the suppliers to the World Nobles. They filled his pockets with money, and he would provide them with slaves.
And what is she doing here? She was ordered to come here for an increase in security since the World Nobles sponsored the most famous and arguably talented singer to come to this island to sing for them.
Uta. It couldn't be. It was an open secret, as nothing could escape the World Government's intelligence, especially when it came to the Yonko. And Red-Haired Shanks didn't seem to hide the fact of his relationship with Uta. So, even if not many discussed it, most knew that Uta was his adopted daughter.
She wasn't to be touched. Not only because she was innocent and posed no danger to the world, but also because of what would happen if anyone put their hands on her. But would the World Nobles understand that? Could they even care about it?
Gion needed to make a call and make sure that nothing happened that shouldn't have happened. And she would deal with Vas herself. He wouldn't escape from justice even if he tried to hide behind the World Nobles. Her justice was unquestionable.
A.N. Hopefully, you all got better holidays than I did. Somehow, my whole family got the flu after Christmas. And since my health wasn't good to begin with, I still have it. Only yesterday did I finally get better enough to get up from bed and not feel like I was dying. Good start to the new year.
As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.