The group of slaves were now being led up the gangplank of the World Government transport ship.
Chains clinked softly with every slow step.
Cipher Pol agents in black suits walked alongside them, their expressions calm and detached, as if they were escorting cargo rather than people.
Adam exhaled slowly.
Then he whispered under his breath.
"Let me try something…"
Anna tilted her head.
"Try what?"
Adam didn't answer.
Instead he focused on his powers.
The late afternoon sun stretched it long across the wooden dock.
For a brief moment nothing happened.
Then
His shadow twitched.
Almost imperceptibly.
A thin tendril peeled itself away from the dark shadow beneath Adam's boots.
The sliver of darkness slid across the ground.
Silent and flat, completely unnoticed.
It traveled between the boots of passing Marines, slipped around crates, and glided across the dock.
Adam kept his posture relaxed, arms loosely folded, but his eyes followed it carefully.
The shadow reached the base of the gangplank.
It climbed slowly.
Then it reached the slaves.
A woman stumbled slightly as she walked, the collar around her neck glinting under the sun.
Her shadow stretched beneath her feet.
Adam's shadow moved toward it, and then It merged.
Like a drop of ink dissolving into a puddle.
Gone, completely invisible, no one noticed.
No Cipher Pol agent, no Marine and no slave.
No one except Adam could see what just happened.
Anna was watching him closely now.
"What are you doing staring like that?"
Adam's lips curved slightly.
"What is your plan?" Anna asked.
Adam turned toward her with a faint smile.
"It's already underway."
Anna frowned in confusion.
Adam looked back toward the slave ship as the last of them disappeared up the gangplank.
Inside his mind he thought calmly.
'Currently I only have one shadow soldier…'
His fingers tapped lightly against his arm.
'But I only need one for this anyway.'
His eyes narrowed slightly.
'I'll get more later.'
He then turned back toward Anna.
"There is still time it seems."
Anna crossed her arms.
"For what?"
Adam gestured toward the Marine warship with the G-1 sail.
"You can stay with me on the ship if you want before we depart."
She raised an eyebrow.
Adam's smile widened slightly.
"And watch the show."
Anna blinked.
"…The show?"
Adam simply pointed toward the World Government ship.
"You'll see."
Anna hesitated for a moment before following him.
"You're being weird again."
Adam just chuckled quietly.
A young Marine soldier standing near the gangplank of the G1 marine warship immediately straightened.
He raised his hand in salute.
"Lieutenant Adam, sir!"
Adam stopped in front of him.
"We've been expecting you."
Adam returned the salute casually.
"Yeah."
He glanced toward the horizon where the sun was beginning to dip.
"There's still time before we set sail, right?"
The marine nodded.
"Yes sir."
"We depart tonight."
Adam gave a small nod.
"Good."
Then he asked casually,
"Who's commanding this ship?"
"That would be Rear Admiral Catacombo, sir."
Adam nodded again.
"Alright then."
Behind him Anna snorted quietly.
"Marine big shots."
Adam glanced at her.
She smirked.
"You think you can climb that high with your current powers?"
Her tone was teasing.
Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
He pointed a thumb at himself.
"I'm more than capable of doing that…"
He leaned slightly toward her.
"Lieutenant Anna."
She rolled her eyes.
"Don't start.."
Adam chuckled softly.
But then his expression slowly grew more serious.
"But honestly…"
He looked toward the harbor again.
"Rank doesn't matter to me right now."
Anna studied his face.
Adam's voice lowered slightly.
"All I want is to get stronger."
His eyes drifted toward the World Government ship in the distance.
"And it's better to keep a low profile."
Anna frowned slightly.
"Why?"
Adam looked back at her.
"Especially within the organization."
His expression hardened slightly.
"The Navy isn't as rosy as it looks."
He leaned lightly against the railing of the gangplank.
"There are some bad apples."
His red eyes darkened.
"Seriously rotten ones."
Anna didn't reply immediately.
She just looked at him quietly.
Then Anna sighed softly.
"You really have been thinking too much lately."
Adam smiled faintly.
"Aye."
But his gaze slowly drifted back toward the World Government ship.
His shadow soldier had already begun its work.
****
The interior of the World Government transport ship smelled of Hopelessness.
The lower deck had been converted into a crude holding area. Iron cages lined both sides of the corridor, their bars thick and cold. A single lantern hung from a hook above, its orange light swaying with the movement of the ship.
Chains clinked and boots echoed, at least those who had boots.
The slaves were shoved forward down the narrow hallway by several Cipher Pol agents. Their polished shoes struck the wooden floor sharply as they walked behind the prisoners like shepherds herding animals.
One of the agents kicked the back of a thin man who had stumbled.
"Move!"
The man nearly collapsed forward but caught himself against the bars of an empty cage.
"Don't slow us down," another agent muttered with annoyance.
A young woman clutched the arm of an older man beside her. Her breathing was shallow and uneven.
"Please… where are you taking us?" she whispered weakly.
The nearest agent snorted.
"What? Where do you think?"
He grabbed the back of her collar chain and yanked her forward.
"The Holy Land of course."
He said it casually.
As if it were nothing.
Another agent laughed.
"Congratulations."
The woman's eyes trembled.
"You've been promoted to property of the Celestial Dragons! There is no greater honor than this for you lot."
More laughter echoed from the men.
The prisoners lowered their heads.
One man clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
But he could say nothing.
None of them did.
They had seen what happened to people who spoke.
One of the agents suddenly shoved a slave violently toward a cage.
"Inside, now!"
The iron door creaked open.
The man hesitated only for a second.
A sharp kick landed against his back.
"Did I say hesitate?"
He stumbled forward and fell to his knees inside the cage.
Another slave a young boy was shoved beside him.
More followed.
One by one.
The cage slowly filled.
Metal clanged loudly as the door slammed shut.
The Cipher Pol agent locked it lazily.
"There."
He dusted his hands off.
"Comfortable enough."
The agents leaned against the bars casually, watching them with amused expressions.
A tall agent crouched slightly to look through the bars.
"Listen carefully."
His voice was cold.
"The trip isn't long."
His smile widened.
"So don't bother trying anything stupid."
He tapped the metal collar around the neck of one slave with his finger.
"Because these?"
He gave a quiet chuckle.
"They explode."
Another agent added with a laugh,
"And trust me… it's not exactly a quick death."
One of the slaves shivered.
A man near the back of the cage stared blankly at the floor.
The young woman who had spoken earlier whispered softly.
"…I don't want to go there…"
No one answered her at first.
Then an older man sitting beside her sighed quietly.
His face looked empty.
Exhausted.
"Stop thinking about it."
His voice was dull.
The woman looked at him.
"…How can you say that?"
His eyes remained on the floor.
"Because hope will kill you faster than they will."
The boy sitting nearby looked up at him.
"But maybe.."
"There is no maybe."
The old man interrupted softly.
"If you don't want to die…"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"…then give up now."
The woman's breathing hitched.
The boy lowered his head slowly.
Around them the other slaves remained silent.
Some stared at the floor.
Others simply leaned against the cage bars like empty shells.
Outside the cage the Cipher Pol agents burst into laughter.
"Listen to them."
One of them mocked quietly.
"They're already training each other."
Another chuckled.
"Saves us the effort."
One of them stretched his arms lazily.
"Alright."
"Quiet down in there."
He knocked his knuckles against the bars.
"Enjoy the ride."
They turned away from the cages.
Their footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Soon the sound of their voices faded.
The lantern continued swaying gently.
The cage remained silent.
For several long moments nothing happened.
Then
One of the slaves suddenly froze.
"…Did you see that?"
The boy looked up.
"See what?"
The man slowly pointed toward the floor.
Near the feet of the young woman.
Her shadow stretched across the wooden planks beneath the lantern light.
And it was… Moving.
Not with the sway of the lantern.
Not with the movement of the ship.
Something was seriously wrong.
The woman slowly noticed it too.
Her breathing stopped.
The shadow began to peel away from her feet.
The shape stretched outward unnaturally.
The slaves backed away slightly, pressing themselves against the cage bars.
"…What…?"
The shadow rose.
Slowly.
It pulled itself upward from the floor.
The lantern light flickered slightly as the shape grew taller.
Longer.
The slaves stared in frozen horror.
The boy grabbed the old man's sleeve.
"…Is that… a devil fruit power?"
The old man didn't answer.
His eyes were wide.
The shadow continued rising.
Then it formed a shape.
A humanoid figure made entirely of darkness.
Its body looked like that of a pirate.
Its eyes glowed faintly, purple.
A whisper of fear passed through the cage.
"What… is that thing?"
The young woman pressed her hands against her mouth.
"Is it… a ghost?"
No one knew.
The shadow soldier stood silently outside the cage.
It didn't even look at them, It didn't acknowledge them.
It simply turned its head toward the direction where the Cipher Pol agents had walked.
Then it began moving.
Walking down the corridor.
The slaves watched it go.
The boy whispered shakily,
"What is going on..."
The old man slowly leaned forward against the bars.
His tired eyes followed the shadow disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.
"I don't know..."
He murmured quietly.
"But…"
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"…something is about to happen."
/-\
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