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Chapter 22: An Unlikely Savior
I guess I just can't help being a busybody.
After I finished removing the explosive collars from the captive slaves, I led them out of the Human Auctioning House, only to find a massive brawl already unfolding outside between the Marines and the trio of Luffy, Kid, and Law.
"Whoa, amazing. So this is how pirates with bounties over a hundred million fight. It's definitely flashy."
Luffy inflated his hand like a massive balloon and unleashed a gigantic punch. Kid gathered a mountain of metallic weapons to form a colossal arm and swept the Marines away. Law carved up the soldiers' bodies and rearranged them like puzzle pieces.
Are all these guys Devil Fruit users? It was quite the spectacle.
"Hahaha! They're quite reliable, aren't they!"
Ray-san, carrying a heavily injured Hachi under his arm, laughed heartily at the display.
Yeah, it looked like we could leave this to Luffy and the others without any issues.
"Alright, Ray-san, Esune. You two go on ahead and head back with Luffy's crew."
"Huh? What about you, Line? Aren't you coming with us?"
"I'm going to escort these guys to a safe place before I head back."
I glanced back at the former slaves I had just freed. Taking off their collars and just saying, 'Alright, bye, you're on your own now' was way too irresponsible. The least I could do was make sure they reached a safe zone.
"You're a busybody as usual. Well then, Line, I'll see you later."
"You're so amazing, Line! I just lo—cough, cough! I mean, it's nothing! W-Well then, we'll head back to Shakky's place first!"
With that, Ray-san and Esune departed alongside Luffy and his crew. Kid and Law exchanged a few words with Luffy about "meeting again in the New World" before going their separate ways.
"Right. Listen up, former slaves! We're moving out! I'll take you somewhere safe for now, so just follow my lead!"
"Understood! Chibi-bro!"
"Who are you calling Chibi-bro?!"
Don't all say it at the same time!
Blowing a sharp whistle through my fingers, I took the lead. I felt like Captain Olimar. My mission: escort these former slave Pikmin to a safe location without a single casualty.
And we needed to do it at a dead sprint before an Admiral showed up!
After scattering the Marines and parting ways with Kid and Law, the Straw Hat Pirates followed Rayleigh to Grove 13, arriving at Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
Finally shaking off the Marine pursuit, the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. Hachi had sustained heavy injuries, but they had successfully rescued Camie. All things considered, it was a massive victory for the Straw Hats.
"Huh? Speaking of which, where did Line go?"
"Ah, he mentioned he was going to help the captured slaves escape."
"Oh, really? Hahaha! I knew he was a good guy!"
"He is! Line is the kindest person in the world! The coolest in the world, and the manliest in the world!"
Once inside the bar, they laid Hachi down on a bed to rest and took a much-needed break. Shakky flipped the sign on the door to 'Closed for the Day,' giving the Straw Hat Pirates the run of the place. Everyone took a seat, relaxing with drinks on the house courtesy of Shakky.
"By the way, Luffy, what was the deal with that dwarf? Is he a friend of yours?"
"Yeah, we just became friends! I've decided to make him part of my crew! Usopp!"
"Eeeh?!"
"U-Um. Straw Hat. Line told you he wasn't going to join your crew, didn't he?"
"Enune! That's for Line to decide! Not you!"
"That's exactly what Line said! And my name is Esune, not Enune!"
And so began the formal introductions.
First, Esune introduced herself, prompting Sanji to immediately swoon with a noodle-legged dance. Then Shakky, and finally, Rayleigh introduced themselves to the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Eeeh?! Old man Rayleigh, you were on the Pirate King's ship?!"
"Yes, I was the vice-captain. Silvers Rayleigh. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"THE VICE-CAPTAIN~?!!"
The crew (well, some of them) collectively spewed their drinks, shouting in absolute shock.
"How does an octopus know a big shot like that?!"
"Well, you see. over twenty years ago, Hachi saved my life when I was stranded at sea."
"Wow. So, is that dwarf guy you mentioned a similar kind of acquaintance?"
"No, Line is my son."
"THE PIRATE KING'S VICE-CAPTAIN'S SON~?!!"
Once again, the crew (some of them) violently spat out their drinks, screaming in disbelief.
"And by the way, this is my daughter."
Rayleigh gently patted Esune's head.
"THE PIRATE KING'S VICE-CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER~?!!"
For the third time, the crew (some of them) spat out their drinks, raising their voices in absolute shock.
"Usopp! That's gross!!"
"Blergh!"
He understandably got yelled at.
And so, the introductions continued with shock, shock, and more shock. Rayleigh calmly explained that the Pirate King hadn't been captured, but had actually turned himself in. Then he bragged about Line. He talked about Shanks, who had saved Luffy's life. Then he bragged about Line. He even brought up his unnecessary history with Buggy. And then, he bragged about Line some more.
"I feel like we just heard some heavily guarded world secrets."
"It almost sounds like Roger intentionally created this Great Pirate Era."
"And just so you know, Line is a wanted man with a bounty of 480,000,000 Berries. Hahaha!"
"More than half of this conversation has just been him bragging about his son."
"It's kind of surprising to find out the Pirate King's vice-captain is actually a doting father. Wait, did you say 480 million?! What the hell did he do to get a bounty that high?!"
"He broke into Mary Geoise, assaulted a Celestial Dragon, and turned the tables on a Marine Admiral."
"EEEEH?!!"
After chatting for a while longer, they finally got down to business. Luffy and his crew formally requested Rayleigh to coat the Thousand Sunny with Sabaody bubbles for underwater travel. Rayleigh gladly accepted.
"Understood. Leave it to me. However, I have a prior commitment. I'll have to coat your ship after I finish the first one. Is that alright?"
"Well, I suppose that can't be super helped."
"I believe it will take me about three days to finish coating your ship."
"So it's survival mode until then! We have to make sure the Marine Admiral doesn't find us. Yohohoho! How terrifying!"
Rayleigh handed each member of the Straw Hat crew a piece of his Vivre Card before they temporarily disbanded. Shakky and Esune stayed behind at the bar, Rayleigh headed off to work on Line's ship, and the Straw Hats wandered outside with no particular destination in mind.
"So, where should we go while old man Rayleigh works on the ship?"
"Wanna go to the amusement park?"
"Luffy! Were you even listening?! There's an Admiral after us!"
"I know that. That's why I said we should hide in the amusement park."
"You just want to play! Obviously!!"
As they bickered and wandered down the path.
Thud!!
"Eh?"
Standing directly in the path of the Straw Hat Pirates was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Bartholomew Kuma.
What the Straw Hats didn't know was that Marine Admiral "Kizaru" and his subordinate "Sentomaru" were already closing in on their location.
"Chibi-bro! Thank you so much for freeing us!"
"If you hadn't come along, we would have definitely spent the rest of our lives as slaves, Chibi-bro!"
"We can't thank you enough! Chibi-bro!"
"If you're really thankful, stop calling me Chibi-bro!!"
I had successfully guided the former slaves to a safe Grove and let them go. I'd been sweating bullets the whole time, paranoid that an Admiral might suddenly drop from the sky, but the mission went off without a hitch.
"Alright, see ya. Try not to get caught again."
"Thank you! Chibi-bro! If we ever meet again, we swear we'll repay this debt!"
"I won't hold my breath."
Now that I had finished saving the soon-to-be-slaves, it was time to head back to Shakky's bar. I spun my tail like a propeller and hovered into the air, fully intending to fly straight back, when my Observation Haki suddenly snagged on the aura of an intense, violent battle.
"Huh?"
Curious, I headed toward the commotion and peeked out from behind the thick roots of a massive mangrove tree.
"!!"
KABOOM! CRASH! SMASH!
FLASH! BOOOOOM!!
Waaaah! Aaaargh! Eeeeek!
There, in the clearing.
Was a man carrying a massive axe who looked exactly like Kintaro.
A towering man with a bear-like head.
And an Admiral, Kizaru.
"A-An Admiral. He really came."
Kizaru and his forces were currently in the middle of a one-sided slaughter against the Straw Hat Pirates. They might have been promising rookies with combined bounties in the hundreds of millions, but an Admiral was far too heavy a burden for them to bear. Luffy and his crew were being absolutely decimated.
Watching the carnage, I pressed my hands together in prayer. Rest in peace.
Was I going to save them? Of course not.
Luffy and I weren't crewmates. At the end of the day, they were pirates. Criminals. It was only natural for the Marines to hunt them down. I had lent a hand with Camie because I felt partially responsible, but this was out of the question. Even I didn't want to fight Kizaru a second time.
"Well, you did punch a Celestial Dragon, Luffy. You brought this on yourself. Just let them arrest you quietly."
Hiding behind the mangrove, I analyzed the battlefield.
That guy with the bear head. That's a Warlord. I saw his face in the newspaper. His name was literally just 'Kuma'.
And the Kintaro guy. I didn't know who he was, but he was incredibly strong. He was actively using Haki.
And Kizaru went without saying. Calling him a monster was an understatement. Logia abilities were just straight-up cheating.
FLASH! PEW! KABOOM! KABOOM!!
It didn't look like anyone in the Straw Hat crew knew how to use Haki. Objectively speaking, their chances of defeating Kizaru were an absolute 0%.
Like I said, I had no intention of jumping in. So it really was 0%. If it were Esune or Rozuo being attacked, I would have charged out there without a second thought, but I had zero obligation to risk my life for the Straw Hats.
We had played together at the amusement park, sure. but that was the extent of our relationship.
Even if I did step in, it wasn't like I could beat Kizaru anyway.
Walking away and ignoring this was the smartest choice.
FLASH! BOOOOOM!!
"Waaaaah!! Zoro~~!!"
"Z-Z-Z-Zoro-san took a laser point blank!!"
"Hey, Zoro! Hang in there!!"
"A bounty of 120,000,000. 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro. Knocked out in one hit? You must have built up quite a lot of fatigue. You should take a nice, long rest in the afterlife~"
A green-haired man—Zoro—collapsed heavily to the ground, entirely incapacitated by Kizaru's attack. Kizaru stood over him, his foot glowing with blinding, lethal light.
"He's in trouble! Zoro's gonna die!!"
"Hey, is he gonna shoot another laser?! If he takes that at this range, he's dead!"
"Get away from Zoro! Dammit! Why?! Why aren't my attacks hitting him?!"
"My sword just phases right through him! What do we do?!"
"It's no use. I'm a Light Human who ate the Glint-Glint Fruit, a Logia, you see"
I could see the light energy rapidly condensing at the tip of Kizaru's foot. Zoro. looked like he was desperately trying to drag himself away, but his body wouldn't obey. The damage was too severe.
"No way?! He's really going to die!"
"Zoro! Run~!"
"It's no use! He's at his absolute limit!"
"Viente Fleur! Dammit!"
"I won't even let you move him. It's no use, he dies right here"
My Observation Haki projected the future into my brain.
A few seconds from now.
If this continued, the laser fired from Kizaru's foot would effortlessly pierce straight through Zoro's heart—
"!!"
Before I even realized it, my legs were already kicking off the ground. And then!
"Rraaaah!!"
"!!!"
CLAAAAAASH!!
Right as the lethal beam was about to obliterate Zoro, I swung my Haki-clad tail with everything I had, parrying Kizaru's glowing leg and deflecting the attack into the sky.
"You again~. 'Invisible Phantom Thief'!!"
"H-Heh. Hehehe! L-Long time no see, Kizaru. It looked like you had some crap stuck to your shoe again, so I knocked it off for you! You're welcome!"
"LINE!!!"
Luffy's battered, desperate shout echoed throughout Grove 12.
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