The rhythmic footsteps echoed in the quiet ship's cabin, leaving Lucky Roux and the others momentarily stunned.
Why was someone coming in again right after they'd just left?
When they saw the figure emerging from the darkness was Kyle, their hearts couldn't help but tremble.
It really wasn't that they had weak minds; it was just that Kyle's aura earlier had been truly too terrifying, scaring them quite a bit.
Arriving in front of the cell, Kyle casually waved his hand, and a chair materialized before him. He plopped down, reached out, and another drink appeared in his hand.
After taking a gulp of the drink, Kyle couldn't help but let out a comfortable sigh.
???
Question marks collectively floated above the heads of Lucky Roux and the others.
Seriously?!
Even though you're strong, doing this should be, might be, possibly not quite right, right?
Have you considered our feelings at all, hey!!
Kyle glanced at the few of them and spoke calmly:
"Wake up your captain and first mate. I don't want to have to say what I'm about to say twice!"
...
"Um... how exactly should we wake up the boss and the others?!"
Lucky Roux asked weakly, simultaneously shaking his plump body. Of course, it wasn't to show off a dance move in front of Kyle, but to demonstrate that they were all currently tied up tight and couldn't free their hands or feet.
Kyle's face was expressionless.
Damn it, too focused on looking cool, forgot about this!
"Ah!"
Kyle sighed.
"In that case, I'll just have to be the one who knocked them out, to wake them up!"
He slightly raised his hand, purple lightning flickering at his fingertips. With a crackling sound, two bolts of purple thunder shot out, slipping through the gaps in the cell bars and striking the unconscious Shanks and Beckman.
Boom—
Purple lightning flashed, emitting aura.
The others nearby couldn't help but look over, watching with interest as their own captain and first mate got zapped.
They had all been zapped just now. As the saying goes, share blessings yourself, share hardships together. So the bosses definitely had to get zapped too, a little for everyone. That way, they'd feel more balanced inside!
Soon enough, the two unconscious men couldn't help but let out a series of screams, followed by them snapping their eyes open in unison.
The lightning Kyle released this time wasn't aimed at powerful attack power, but at the goal of causing the most pain. The damage wasn't high, but the pain...
Was super intense!!
As the purple lightning slowly dissipated, the already scorched bodies of the two men looked even blacker. The smell of cooked meat filled the air, and their souls seemed to slowly ascend to heaven along with the black smoke they exhaled.
Just then, a delighted voice came, pulling their ascending souls back.
"Boss, you're finally awake!!"
Shanks and Beckman took a moment to recover, then turned their gaze in unison towards the source of the voice. They saw Yasopp looking at them with a broad smile.
Their gazes were deep. After a long moment, Beckman suddenly spoke:
"Seeing us like this makes you happy?!"
"Of course, I'm way too... heartbroken!!!"
Mid-sentence, Yasopp suddenly felt two killing intents envelop him. He immediately changed his tune, shouting instead, and even tried hard to squeeze out a couple of tears to show how sincere he was. But after trying for a while, he just couldn't squeeze any out. He grinned at them and said:
"Boss, let me brew on it a bit more, okay?!"
Shanks: . . . .
If they weren't tied up right now, they'd definitely make Yasopp experience something called 'the boss's loving care'!!
"Phew~"
Exhaling deeply, Shanks turned his gaze towards Kyle outside the cell, one eyebrow slightly raised.
"I say, Rear Admiral Kyle, isn't this a bit harsh on unconscious prisoners, directly using electric shocks?"
"There's something I need to tell you all right now. I'm going to sleep soon and don't want to delay until later, so I had to wake you up!"
Kyle stated calmly.
Hearing this, Shanks immediately ground his teeth. Damn it, what a great reason!
Couldn't you just wait for us to wake up naturally, after you've also woken up, to talk?
But being a prisoner now, Shanks didn't say much more.
Outmatched, he accepted it. But this guy Kyle better pray that one day he doesn't fall into *his* hands!!
"What is it? Out with it?!"
"Uta came looking for you."
!!!
Shanks' pupils abruptly constricted, but quickly returned to normal. He pretended to look at Kyle with a confused expression.
"Uta who? What's that? A person?!"
In the brief instant after Kyle finished speaking, a myriad of thoughts flashed through Shanks' mind.
Like why would Uta come looking for them, and how did Kyle know Uta's name?
But regardless of the situation, he only had one thought: no matter what, don't reveal his relationship with Uta.
That's right! Just clam up and deny it!!
Having interacted with Kyle twice, although he'd left them somewhat disheveled both times—this time even destroying their ship and capturing them—Shanks could sense that Kyle was different from many of the Marines he'd met before.
He was a... well, he didn't know how to describe it!
Anyway, even if Kyle suspected a relationship between Uta and them, he wouldn't lay a hand on Uta, a little girl who couldn't even defend herself.
Shanks was sure of this one thing!
But what he didn't see was the guilty expressions on Lucky Roux and the others behind him after his stubborn denial.
Kyle also showed a faint, knowing smile at this moment, looking at Shanks teasingly and saying:
"Are you sure you don't know Uta?!"
Shanks' brow furrowed slightly. Seeing Kyle occasionally glance at the people behind him, his heart skipped a beat. He abruptly turned his head and looked at the crew:
"You all..."
"Um, boss, a little accident happened earlier!"
Lucky Roux said awkwardly, then briefly explained what had just occurred to Shanks.
After he finished, Shanks showed no expression, no words, just stared at them with a deep, profound gaze and said:
"You guys are just great!!"
Lucky Roux and the others collectively shrank their necks, their hearts filled with bitterness.
Shanks was truly angry this time. If Shanks had yelled and screamed, they wouldn't have been as afraid, because that would mean he wasn't *really* angry. It was this kind of silence that scared them more.
"You should thank Rear Admiral Kyle. If he hadn't knocked Uta out in time, and you big mouths had actually spilled the beans, *that* would have been the real trouble."
Benn Beckman spoke calmly, then turned his gaze to Kyle, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"From Rear Admiral Kyle's tone, it seems you know something about Uta?"
"What are you referring to?"
"The former singer of the Red Hair Pirates? Or..."
"The true culprit behind the Elegia Incident?"
!!!
...
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