Chapter 94: New Location
Although there was some truth in what Axel had said, Commander Weasel was still their commanding officer.
Several Marines immediately rushed over to check on him.
It did not take long for the result to spread through the base like wildfire.
"Commander Weasel is severely injured!"
"He's unconscious!"
Axel was not surprised in the slightest.
He had thrown that punch with everything he had. The fact that Commander Weasel was still alive after standing there and letting him hit him freely was already proof that the man had some real toughness.
What interested Axel more was how the remaining Marines would react.
For a while, no one moved.
The men surrounding them stared blankly, as if they had yet to wake from a dream.
That was only natural. A superior they had feared for so long, someone who had ruled this base with absolute authority and overwhelming strength, had just been taken down in one blow by what looked like a neighborhood child.
Anyone would have felt like the world had turned absurd.
At last, a somewhat older Marine stepped out from the ranks.
He looked to be in his forties, his face lined with experience. Unlike the others, he forced himself to remain steady. While the younger Marines hesitated to even approach Axel, this man gathered his courage and slowly walked forward.
He stopped at a careful distance and asked, "Thank you for defeating Commander Weasel. But could you explain why you are here?"
Thank you?
Axel almost laughed.
What kind of superior had Commander Weasel been if his own subordinates thanked the one who crippled him?
Still, he did not answer that question. He simply pointed toward the depths of the base.
"Where are they?"
The middle aged Marine frowned. "They?"
"The people who were brought here as commodities."
Understanding flashed across the man's face.
So that was why they had come.
Most of the Marines stationed on this island hated Commander Weasel's filthy business. But hatred and resistance were two different things. Commander Weasel controlled the ships, the communications, the chain of command, and he was stronger than any of them. Resistance meant death, and death would change nothing.
In the end, they had all been dragged into becoming silent accomplices.
The man looked at Axel again.
"So you came here to rescue them?"
"Yes."
The Marine fell silent for a moment.
Then he said, "If that is your purpose, then please leave."
Axel blinked.
He truly had not expected that answer.
Issho tapped the ground lightly with his cane sword and stepped forward with a mild smile on his face.
"May I ask the reason?"
Although his eyes were blind, he still lifted his head toward the Marine in a way that made it feel like he was looking directly into the man's heart.
Axel had seen that look before. Issho only ever wore that expression around people he did not consider rotten.
The Marine hesitated, then answered, "We are Marines. Justice is supposed to be upheld by us. We will send those people back to their homes ourselves."
The moment those words left his mouth, quite a few of the surrounding Marines unconsciously straightened their backs.
Their heads lifted.
Their expressions hardened.
For a brief moment, it was as if the fear that had been pressed into them for years had peeled away, revealing something older beneath it.
Pride.
Not in Commander Weasel. Not in this base.
In being Marines.
Axel was not particularly surprised by that.
Marines were still human. Human beings felt fear. Not everyone had the courage to throw away their lives in a hopeless struggle. On this island, Commander Weasel had held every advantage. There had been no Den Den Mushi to send a report, no ship they could command, and no strength great enough to oppose him openly.
Most of them had come from elsewhere. Few Marines volunteered to sail far from home because they were selfish or cruel. Most had once wanted to do good.
They had simply been trapped, little by little, until compromise became routine.
Now that Commander Weasel had fallen, some of them had finally found the courage to look at themselves again.
Axel studied the man in silence for a second, then nodded.
"Fine. I believe you."
The Marine adjusted the brim of his cap, as if hiding his eyes. Then he lifted his chin and said in a stern voice, "We are grateful that you freed this base and this island from Commander Weasel. But your actions still violated Marine law."
"Violated Marine law?"
"You attacked a Marine commander. That is a serious crime." He paused, then continued, "For the sake of the honor of the Marines, please leave this island immediately."
Axel could not help snorting.
"You thanked us for beating him, then accused us of attacking him. You people are really conflicted."
A few younger Marines looked awkward at that. None of them could deny it.
The middle aged officer, however, kept his composure.
Then he lowered his voice slightly and said, "Out of duty, I will report this matter to Headquarters as follows. A group of unidentified criminals attacked Commander Weasel and fled before we arrived. Their whereabouts are unknown."
Axel's eyes narrowed slightly.
That was his way of repaying them.
Issho smiled.
"We can leave. But before we do, answer one more question. Where were those people sold to?"
The officer looked at Issho for a long moment.
He clearly understood what kind of path that question led toward. He also understood that the blind man standing before him was not someone ordinary.
At last he said, "I will report this matter to Marine Headquarters. There is no need for you to interfere."
Axel instantly understood what he meant.
The man simply did not think they had the strength to meddle in what came next.
Issho understood too.
"My confidence in my own strength is not low," he said, still smiling. "You may speak plainly. Since we are already involved, we might as well see it through to the end. You have your justice. I have mine."
The officer was shaken.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally made up his mind.
"The Sabaody Archipelago."
Axel inhaled sharply.
Of all places, Sabaody.
He had expected a hidden island, a black market port, perhaps another remote transit point. He had not expected the route to go straight from the North Blue all the way to the Sabaody Archipelago on the Grand Line.
Then again, only a Marine vessel with Seastone embedded in its hull could have moved such "cargo" across such a span so efficiently.
But Sabaody was a nightmare in its own right.
The worst part was not the Joker, nor Doflamingo's reach. The truly dangerous thing there was the Celestial Dragons.
Sabaody was their backyard.
The slave trade existed under their shadow. Wiping out one auction house or one trafficking ring might not stir them much. But if Issho went there and chose to uproot everything he saw, the matter would spiral far beyond a single rescue mission.
Axel could already picture it.
Given the nature of the Celestial Dragons, it would only take one moment of arrogance, one act of cruelty, for Issho to crush one of them without hesitation. And the instant a Celestial Dragon was harmed, the Admirals would descend.
Issho was already a monster who stood on that level.
If that happened, the result would be catastrophic.
Even Sabaody itself might not survive the aftermath.
"The Sabaody Archipelago..." Issho murmured softly.
Then he bowed slightly toward the middle aged Marine.
"Thank you for the information."
Not long after, Axel and the others left the base.
Before departing, they purchased some food and basic supplies from the town.
The island behind them still carried the stink of corruption and compromise, but at least one nightmare had ended there.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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