Chapter 321: Wapol's Treasure
Anticipating that Axel might try to leave, another group of Marines moved to block his path.
This time, however, they were not ordinary soldiers.
They were Garp's direct subordinates.
At their head stood a man in a brown suit and a flat, square-brimmed hat that cast a shadow over his eyes. A sword rested in his hand.
Axel took one look at the formation and accelerated.
Boom!
Snow burst beneath his feet as he shot forward.
He did not bother weaving through the Marines or searching for an opening.
He had just fought Garp head-on.
Why would he be afraid of Garp's subordinates?
That did not mean he lowered his guard.
Raw strength was one thing. A strange Devil Fruit ability was another, and the Grand Line was full of people whose powers could turn a careless mistake into disaster.
"Stop right there!"
The swordsman drew his blade.
A narrow slash tore through the air.
The flying blade was thin and concentrated, almost needle-like, but the force behind it was vicious enough to cut through steel.
Axel raised the wooden sword.
Tap.
He brushed the attack aside almost casually.
The redirected slash struck the ground beside him instead.
Boom!
Snow and earth split apart in a long trench.
Marines standing along its path scrambled away before they were caught in the attack.
Axel was already among them.
The Marines hesitated.
With him in the middle of their formation, opening fire would risk hitting their own people.
Axel had no such problem.
He kicked the ground.
Crack!
The frozen surface shattered beneath his foot.
Dozens of stones and fragments of ice shot outward like bullets.
"Get down!"
"Dodge!"
The projectiles tore through the surrounding formation.
Ordinary Marines were knocked from their feet almost immediately.
Only several officers wearing Marine coats managed to remain standing.
One of them charged.
"Damn brat!"
His hand hardened with Armament Haki.
He thrust one finger forward.
"Rokushiki: Shigan!"
The strike carried the piercing force of a cannon shot concentrated into a fingertip.
Axel did not dodge.
The finger struck his defense.
Crack!
The Marine officer's face twisted.
His finger bent backward at an unnatural angle.
"AAAGH!"
Axel continued past him without stopping.
He had no intention of wasting time fighting the rest.
More importantly, he did not want to give Garp another reason to come after him immediately.
Who knew what that old man might do if he kept beating up Marines right in front of him?
Then Axel noticed something.
A corner of his white clothing had turned red.
He looked down.
Several wounds had opened across his chest.
Blood was slowly spreading through the fabric.
His expression changed slightly.
So it had reached this point already.
His body could not sustain prolonged combat.
The earlier fight against Garp had placed far too much strain on it.
Even though Axel no longer felt pain normally, that did not make the damage meaningless.
His ability controlled vectors.
It did not heal wounds.
A torn lung was still a torn lung.
Damaged organs could still fail.
If his condition worsened far enough, physical consequences would follow no matter how well he manipulated blood flow or force.
That was precisely why he had resorted to threatening Garp with Drum Island.
Continuing that fight would have been foolish.
Axel bent his knees.
Then launched himself upward.
His body rose through the air with startling speed.
Several Marines looked up.
"After him!"
A few prepared to use Moonwalk.
Then they hesitated.
The memory of Axel tearing through their formation was still fresh.
So was the fact that the entire island had nearly been overturned moments earlier.
Their eyes shifted toward Garp.
The Vice Admiral remained where Axel had left him, repeatedly striking the ground at the point Axel had indicated.
No pursuit order came.
The Marines abandoned the chase.
High above them, wind gathered behind Axel.
Wind Wings unfolded from his back.
A moment later, he accelerated away from the snowy battlefield.
His destination was obvious.
Drum Peak.
The tallest mountain on the island rose roughly five thousand meters above sea level.
At its summit stood the royal castle of Drum Kingdom.
Axel had promised Kureha a castle.
There was already one available.
Why bother building another?
...
Dalton watched Axel disappear into the distance.
A bad feeling immediately settled in his chest.
He had no idea what the boy intended to do next.
And after everything he had just witnessed, the phrase whatever he wants had become considerably more frightening.
Dalton transformed.
His body expanded as his Devil Fruit shifted him into his bison form.
Then he charged after Axel.
...
"King Wapol!"
Kuromarimo hurried forward.
"The treasures in the castle have all been gathered!"
Wapol turned.
Behind Kuromarimo lay a massive pile of wealth.
Gold.
Jewelry.
Precious ornaments.
Bundles of Berries.
Rare objects accumulated by the royal family over the years.
The pile glittered so brightly that several nearby guards had trouble looking away.
A few swallowed unconsciously.
Five hundred million Berries?
A billion?
Perhaps even more.
No ordinary person could stand beside that much wealth without feeling at least a little temptation.
Yet none of the guards dared touch a single coin.
This was Wapol's treasure.
Stealing from him was not merely dangerous.
It was suicidal.
They had personally seen their king swallow things no human should have been capable of eating.
People included.
What good was stolen treasure if you ended up inside Wapol's stomach before you could spend it?
Wapol chewed loudly while examining the pile.
Crunch.
Crunch.
His expression gradually darkened.
"That's it?"
Kuromarimo blinked.
Wapol pointed angrily at the treasure.
"How can there be so little?!"
The guards lowered their heads.
Wapol became increasingly offended.
"This is the wealth of the Drum Kingdom?"
"How am I supposed to live on this?"
He glared around.
"Are you all trying to starve your king to death?!"
Several guards immediately shrank back.
They knew Wapol well enough not to meet his eyes when he was searching for someone to blame.
Chess stepped forward.
"King Wapol."
Wapol looked at him.
"All the treasure stored in the castle has already been brought here."
Wapol's anger faded into confusion.
"That can't be right."
He scratched his head.
"My father left behind far more treasure than this."
"Where did it all go?"
Chess answered carefully.
"Your Majesty's daily expenses are quite substantial."
Wapol blinked.
"Especially your food."
Chess glanced at the metal in Wapol's hand.
"Drum Island cannot produce many of the metals you prefer to eat, so they have to be imported from other countries."
"At very high prices."
Wapol considered this.
"Oh."
Then he nodded.
"Well, that can't be helped."
He took another bite of metal.
"I can't let the king go hungry."
Crunch.
"Treasure is important, but food is more important."
Then his eyes lit up.
"Besides, if we run out of treasure, we can just collect more from the commoners!"
Chess and Kuromarimo immediately bowed.
"As expected of King Wapol!"
"Truly brilliant!"
Wapol puffed out his chest.
"Wahahahaha!"
He laughed proudly.
Then stopped.
His expression became strange.
"Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
"Can't we also collect food from the commoners?"
Silence.
Wapol stared at nothing.
"And wouldn't collecting food be easier than collecting treasure?"
"..."
Chess said nothing.
Kuromarimo said nothing.
The guards suddenly found the snow beneath their feet extremely interesting.
Even Wapol seemed to realize that he had just undermined his own brilliant idea.
The atmosphere became painfully awkward.
Several seconds passed.
Then Wapol slapped his stomach.
"Whatever!"
His confidence returned immediately.
"It doesn't matter!"
He spread his arms.
"The treasure is mine!"
"The food is mine!"
He pointed down toward the kingdom.
"Everything the commoners own is mine!"
His grin widened.
"In fact, everything on this island belongs to me!"
Chess and Kuromarimo immediately began praising him again.
"Exactly, King Wapol!"
"As expected of Your Majesty!"
Wapol laughed.
"Wahahahaha!"
Then an unfamiliar voice cut through the praise.
"Not anymore."
The laughter stopped.
Everyone turned.
A white-haired youth stood not far away.
No one had seen him arrive.
He looked exhausted.
His clothing was stained in places, and there was a sleepy heaviness in his crimson eyes.
Axel raised one hand to his mouth and yawned.
Then he glanced at the castle behind Wapol.
"From now on..."
He pointed toward it.
"This place belongs to me."
....
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