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Chapter 120is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
The Marine Captain shuddered involuntarily. "Thirty kilometers west of here!"
Before the Captain could even finish his sentence, a sudden rush of wind roared past his ears. Shiro had already vanished from sight.
Looking up at the sky, the Captain watched as a massive pair of energy wings unfolded from Shiro's back. With a single, powerful beat of those wings, he instantly cleared dozens of meters.
The air shrieked and popped, the deafening sonic booms tearing through the silence of the heavens. Within a single second, Shiro was nothing more than a tiny black speck on the horizon.
Sokia Island!
That was where Aki was.
She had only agreed to act as a nursing assistant at the invitation of a good friend she'd met at the hospital. Who could have predicted that less than two hours after their battleship departed from Marineford, they would be intercepted by pirates?
And not just any pirates—a crew led by a captain with a bounty exceeding 200 million Berries. Even the Vice Admiral on board was outmatched, coughing up blood under the relentless, overwhelming assault.
"Gahahaha! Who knew Limping Henry's luck would be this good?" The speaker was a middle-aged man with a bum right leg. His greying hair was a tangled rat's nest, and a pitch-black patch covered his blind right eye. "We were just running low on women and grub, and a Marine ship practically sails into our laps! The heavens are smiling down on me!"
Despite his bulging stomach and typical pirate garb—complete with a cutlass strapped to his waist—the man moved with a terrifying, vicious agility. Had he been sporting a hook for a hand like Crocodile, he would have looked exactly like a relic from the Gol D. Roger era.
"Damn it!"
The Vice Admiral fighting him was a familiar face—Bastille, the same man whose mask would eventually be shattered by Sabo.
"Gahahaha! Give it up, you wet-behind-the-ears brat!" Henry cackled. "You're no match for me. Be a good boy, hand over the supplies and the women, and I might just let you live!"
Henry's mind was entirely consumed by vile thoughts, his lecherous gaze sending violent shivers down the spines of the women huddled on deck.
He swung his blade in a frantic, heavy flurry, slamming it repeatedly against Bastille's Same-kiri Bocho, forcing the towering Vice Admiral to retreat step by step.
But even drenched in his own blood, Bastille held his ground. He stubbornly refused to fall, even though he and three young Ensigns were the only Marines left standing on the entire warship.
"In your dreams! I will never let you lay a hand on them!" Bastille roared. "If I let you hurt these citizens, it would be my greatest sin! I wouldn't find peace even in death. If you want them, you'll have to step over my corpse!"
With a furious bellow, Bastille gripped the Same-kiri Bocho with both hands and surged forward, unleashing a vicious, flying slash.
"Fine! Have it your way!" Henry sneered. A cold glint flashed in his remaining eye as he lunged forward like a hunting leopard, dodging Bastille's strike with ease.
Then, he brought his blade crashing down.
Clang!
Bastille raised his massive sword to block. The terrifying shockwave from the clash of their blades forced Aki and the other women to cover their faces and recoil in terror.
Spurt!
Bastille suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Henry had landed a brutal, underhanded kick squarely on his chest, sending the Vice Admiral staggering backward until he barely caught his footing right in front of Aki and the others.
"Strong Fist!"
Seizing the opening, Henry closed the distance instantly and threw a devastating punch at Bastille's chest.
Spurt!
With no time to mount a defense, Bastille took the full force of the blow. Another spray of blood erupted from his lips as he collapsed to one knee, his face deathly pale.
"Hehehe… finally. No one left to get in my way."
Stepping past the defeated Vice Admiral, Henry chuckled darkly as he began to close in on Aki and the women.
"We won't let you pass!"
The three remaining Ensigns stepped forward, their expressions resolute as they formed a final, desperate human shield in front of Aki and the terrified nurses.
"If you're in such a rush to die, I'll happily oblige!" Henry's face darkened with malice.
With a blinding flash of cold steel, the three Ensigns' heads were sent flying into the air. Blood sprayed like a geyser, showering heavily over Aki and the women behind them.
The crimson rain soaked right through the women's thin clothing, making the fabric cling tightly to their curves and inadvertently highlighting their figures.
Seeing this, a depraved light erupted in Henry's eye. A wicked smile spread across his face as he ran a foul, scarlet tongue over his lips. "Gahahaha! Let's see who's going to save you now!"
Reveling in his absolute control of the situation, Henry spread his arms wide and lunged toward his prey.
The terrified women clustered together in a panic, their faces pale with horror. Trapped in a corner with no room to flee, they were completely paralyzed.
Please, Shiro, hurry! Aki prayed frantically in her heart. Shiro, please get here!
Behind Henry, his pirate crew mirrored his sickening grin, throwing themselves at the defenseless women like a pack of starving wolves.
"No!"
"Stay away!"
"Ahhh!"
The pirates descended upon them, their faces twisted with impatience as they began to forcefully grab at the women. The deck was instantly filled with agonizing screams, desperate pleas, and the horrific sound of ripping fabric.
"Please, don't—!"
Squelch.
One woman begged for mercy, but in the very next second, her head was severed from her shoulders. Her beautiful eyes, wide with disbelief, slowly lost their light as she crumpled to the floor.
"Shut your mouths! Anyone else makes a racket, you get the same treatment!" Henry barked, his smile dripping with murderous intent. "Heh. Serve us well, and we might just be merciful enough to let you live. But if you don't know what's good for you, I don't mind spilling a little more blood!"
Instantly, a dead silence fell over the deck. The women clamped their hands over their own mouths, stifling their sobs even as tears streamed endlessly down their faces. Absolute despair settled heavily over them all.
Riiiip!
"Ah!"
Henry violently tore a woman's blouse open. She shrieked in terror, immediately crossing her arms to cover herself. Then, remembering his threat, she desperately slapped her hands over her mouth, staring up at him with wide, horrified eyes.
"Don't come near me!"
Finally, one of the pirates approached Aki. He chuckled lecherously, his eyes burning with bestial lust. "Go ahead, scream! Scream until your throat bleeds! Nobody's coming to save you, so just be a good girl and give in!"
Watching Aki shrink back into the corner, helplessly hugging her knees to her chest, the pirate was practically vibrating with excitement. He knew there was zero chance of a rescue. Marineford was a full forty-five kilometers away. Even if someone had managed to dial a Transponder Snail, it would take a warship two or three hours to arrive. By then, the crew would be long gone.
Shiro, hurry! Please, you have to hurry!
Aki screamed in her mind. Shiro was her absolute last line of defense. She didn't know if he could make it in time, but the moment she was in danger, he was the only person she thought of.
She believed Shiro would come. He had to.
She had never doubted him before, and she wasn't about to start now. It had been exactly two minutes and forty-five seconds since she made the call.
"Come here, pretty little thing! Let's have some fun!"
The pirate reached out and violently tore Aki's uniform, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her forward. He clamped a rough hand around her throat and pinned her wrists together.
No!
Aki cried out in silent despair. She turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut, a single tear rolling down her cheek. The man was so utterly repulsive it made her skin crawl. The stench of his breath and the thought of his foul tongue made her want to retch.
"Realized you can't fight back, so you're just gonna close your eyes and enjoy it? Hehehe, I like that!"
The pirate dragged his tongue across Aki's cheek. Just as he reached for her chest, a voice colder than the deepest trenches of the sea suddenly echoed from the sky.
"Don't you dare!"
The voice boomed like rolling thunder, roaring like a tidal wave. The sheer, overwhelming pressure of it rippled across the heavens, carrying a terrifying aura that made everyone on deck pale in horror.
Startled, Henry snapped his head up just in time to see a blinding flash of white light.
In an instant, Aki vanished from the pirate's grasp.
As for the pirate who had been about to assault her? His head slowly slid off his shoulders, hitting the deck with a wet thud as a fountain of blood erupted from his severed neck.
Consumed by despair, Aki hadn't even registered the thunderous voice. All she knew was that she was suddenly enveloped in a remarkably warm, familiar embrace. The comforting, nostalgic scent of him filled her senses.
She hesitantly opened her eyes. Looking down at her was Shiro, his face etched with worry, his eyes completely bloodshot. Instantly, her own eyes welled up with fresh tears.
"Are you hurt, Aki?" Shiro asked, wrapping his own Marine coat around her trembling shoulders to cover her.
"Waaaah! Shiro! You finally came! I was so scared... I was so scared you wouldn't make it in time!"
The moment she saw him, all her fear, terror, and anxiety evaporated, replaced by an overwhelming sense of joy and absolute safety. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably, her small body trembling against his.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here now, aren't I?" Shiro murmured softly, gently patting her back to soothe her. "Don't cry. You're turning into a little mess."
Despite his gentle tone, his eyes betrayed a profound, lingering dread. If he had been even a second later, Aki would have been ruined.
Thank god. Thank god I made it.
From the exact moment Shiro appeared, Henry had felt a subtle but deeply oppressive pressure bearing down on him, leaving him entirely unsettled.
"Who the hell are you?"
Henry recognized Shiro's rank epaulets, of course. But in all his years sailing the sea, he had never seen a Marine Major this young—or this terrifyingly strong. A mere Major shouldn't be capable of emitting an aura like that!
"Who am I?" Shiro countered, glancing over at the fallen Vice Admiral. "Taking down Bastille... color me impressed."
"I am Limping Henry! Bounty of 280 million Berries! State your name, boy!" Henry puffed out his chest, his face full of arrogant pride. A bounty of 280 million was a massive achievement, especially here in the first half of the Grand Line.
"Not bad. Almost three hundred million," Shiro said with a slight, mocking smile, though his eyes remained icy and dead. "What's the matter? Couldn't cut it in the New World, so you decided to scurry back to Paradise and throw your weight around?"
"Hmph. Enough talk," Henry snarled. "Put the girl down and I'll let you walk away. Otherwise..."
Before Henry could even finish his threat, Shiro cut him off.
"Otherwise? Otherwise what? If I want to leave, do you seriously think trash like you could stop me?"