As night fell and the sky grew darker, everything was swallowed by dimness.
At the entrance to the assembly hall, countless husbands, children, women, and elderly people waited anxiously. They carried all kinds of baskets filled with food, pleading with the guards at the door.
"Please, even if you won't let us see them, at least take this food in for them. They're pregnant women and children. If they go hungry too long, their bodies won't hold up."
The guard at the entrance looked annoyed and was just about to refuse, but then his eyes lit up as a thought struck him.
"What a pain... Fine, leave it all here. We'll bring it to them later."
The moment he said that, the people around him all looked overjoyed. They thanked the guard repeatedly and piled the baskets by the entrance.
A few of the other guards nearby came over quietly, confused, and whispered,
"Hey, why'd you agree to that? You looking for extra work?"
The guard glanced around, a sly look in his eyes, and lowered his voice.
"We've been standing watch here for days and haven't had a single decent meal... Besides, we're going to be stuck here a few more days yet..."
He did not finish the sentence, but the others already understood. Their eyes lit up as well.
While all the noise here drew everyone's attention, beside a small house not far from the assembly hall, Fes and Aming watched everything with cold eyes.
"Follow the plan. Once we get inside, I'll go to the broadcasting room. You go to where they're holding everyone and explain everything clearly. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Aming nodded firmly.
Still not quite reassured, Fes added,
"Don't act rashly. These people are all dangerous, so be careful. As for them setting fire to the assembly hall, since that man said to leave it to him, then leave it to him. Your job is just to explain everything to the women being held there."
Normally, Aming would have gotten impatient hearing this, but at this moment, she obediently nodded.
Only then did Fes relax a little.
"Then let's move."
As soon as the words fell, both of them vanished from sight.
The two of them had lived on this island for more than ten years. Aming in particular had practically grown up treating the assembly hall as her own home, and after inheriting her father's position, she had become the sheriff. She knew the layout of the place like the back of her hand.
There were even hidden passageways into the assembly hall. Forget the outsiders from the World Government, even very few people on the island knew about them.
Using one of those secret tunnels, the two slipped into the assembly hall. But the moment they saw what it was like inside, both of them frowned.
It was far too quiet.
They had come prepared to move carefully and avoid being discovered, but after actually entering, they found there was hardly anyone inside at all. The silence was terrifying.
"What is this...?"
As the two climbed out of the tunnel and their feet touched the floor, Fes immediately felt that he had stepped in some kind of sticky liquid.
Realizing something, he crouched down, touched it with his fingers, then brought them to his nose.
His face changed instantly.
"It's lamp oil!!!"
"Huh?!"
Aming froze, then immediately understood.
Looking around, she finally noticed that the corridors of the entire assembly hall had been drenched in thick lamp oil. One tiny spark would be enough to turn the whole place into an inferno.
Aming's face changed drastically. She was about to explode, but Fes grabbed hold of her.
"Don't waste time. Remember what we came here for. In a way, this is actually good news. There probably isn't anyone left in the building. Put your weapon away while you're moving. Be careful not to cause any sparks."
Aming nodded, and the two split up.
Although this was the first time Aming had entered the assembly hall since it had been sealed off, she did not even need to think to know where the women and children were most likely being held.
After all, the only place big enough to imprison that many people was the great chamber once used for council meetings.
And sure enough, as she carefully made her way closer, she could already hear the faint sound of children crying from a distance.
In a panic, she pushed open the heavy stone doors, and the sight before her made hot blood rush to her head in fury.
Inside the vast circular chamber, women and infants lay weakly across row after row of seats.
They leaned against each other, their eyes already devoid of light, yet they still clutched the children in their arms with all their strength.
A nauseating stench filled the air, a mixture of sweat, excrement, and rotting filth.
She could already see that many women and children had closed their eyes and slumped there, unable to endure such conditions any longer. Some of the pregnant women had blood soaking through the clothes below their waists.
Just then, the women who were still alive, their eyes full of despair, seemed to notice the movement by the door. They turned their heads with little hope, but the figure they saw standing there lit their eyes with the spark of life again.
At that moment, even though Fes had repeatedly told Aming to be careful, she still could not stop herself from shouting at the top of her lungs,
"Everyone, hold on! I'm here to save you!"
...
Fes and Aming truly did not need to worry too much.
After making all their preparations, the World Government personnel had already slipped away long ago.
There was no way they would stay inside the assembly hall and risk being burned to death.
In fact, the CP9 officer in charge was already aboard the warship docked at the shore. He had not left yet, however. With his head lowered and a Den Den Mushi in hand, he said,
"There are ten minutes left. Once the fire starts, we can return to Enies Lobby. After that, the CP3 people on the island can handle the cleanup."
"Whether this island truly has Roger's bloodline or not, after this fire, even a sinful bloodline will be burned clean away."
"Don't hate me. If you want to hate someone, hate the Pirate King Roger. This is all the sin he created."
"You will become sacrifices for maintaining order in this world!"
Just then, all of a sudden, a multicolored light appeared in the dark night sky. It spread across the heavens and turned into something like a giant screen, with the figure of a man appearing on it.
That figure was extremely familiar to the CP9 man, but that was not even the most important part.
"What is that?"
The CP8 subordinate beside him stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered.
"That looks like the function of the giant visual Den Den Mushi in the assembly hall's broadcasting room."
The CP9 officer reacted at once, and a wave of unease suddenly rose in his heart.
If that image had appeared in the sky, then did that not mean the assembly hall had already been infiltrated by that man?
His response was immediate. He roared into the Den Den Mushi,
"Don't wait. Set it on fire now!"
As long as the flames started, with the way they had arranged things, the fire would never be put out unless rain suddenly fell from the heavens.
He looked up at the sky.
The night was clear and bright, without a single cloud in sight.
And he was not disappointed.
The instant the order was given, in less than half a minute, surging flames lit up the dark night sky.