[Frontispiece Serial: Heart Pirates, Part 2 — "ROOM!!"]
[Rosinante struggled for a long time, waving his hands and wildly experimenting with the Birdcage. Eventually, he managed to create a spherical field that enclosed both himself and Law. Rosinante immediately realized he had a degree of control over everything inside the sphere... and he suddenly understood how Giorno had been able to make Law blink through the air at will, and why he could slash Vergo apart from a distance without hurting Law.]
Yu, the girl carrying the bamboo pole, glanced toward the sound but didn't stop, continuing to run toward the village ahead.
A chubby little boy crouching by the roadside suddenly jumped out and called nervously after her, "Hey, don't go! The Dragon Flag Army is here! They're really scary..."
"The Dragon Flag Army?"
"Yeah, yeah..." The little boy sniffled, his face pale with fear. "At first, it was just the local soldiers coming to collect taxes. Grandma the village chief and the adults were trying to scrape together enough money, but then a whole bunch of Dragon Flag soldiers suddenly showed up. The local soldiers got scared and said they'd come back another day to collect... Huh?"
Who was speaking behind him?
The little boy turned around and saw only a pair of legs. He tilted his head way back, until it was almost parallel to the ground, before finally seeing a tall, handsome big brother standing there.
*Wait, is the art style supposed to look like this? Did I somehow jump from a pirate fanfic into an alternate-history novel?*
Liam was speechless. But then he remembered Wano Country over in the New World and decided Kano Country wasn't actually that weird by comparison.
Robin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bent down. "What is the Dragon Flag Army?"
"The Dragon Flag Army is... the Dragon Flag Army..." The little boy blushed slightly, still looking frightened. "There are some in every district..."
"Every district?"
Robin was even more confused.
"Let's go take a look. We'll find out," Liam said, already stepping forward.
The girl, Yu, had already entered the shabby little village ahead of them.
Sensing the area with his Observation Haki, Liam picked up a group whose presences were noticeably stronger than ordinary people. They were clustered together in distinct groups, surrounded by rings of ordinary—or even weaker—signatures.
Liam hadn't even reached the village yet, but he could already picture the scene: soldiers from the Dragon Flag Army on horseback, surrounding a crowd of gaunt, starving villagers.
And when he and Robin stepped into the village, that was exactly what met their eyes.
"I'll say it one more time. If anyone knows where the remnants of the Yao Alliance are, you'd better speak up now..."
A dozen fully armored soldiers sat on horseback. Their leader, clad in dark blue armor, slowly rode back and forth along the village road, his cold gaze sweeping over the terrified villagers standing silently by the roadside.
Many of the villagers had visible injuries—bruises, whip marks, and open wounds. They kept their heads lowered, trembling in fear.
"You'd better think carefully. If someone knows something and deliberately keeps quiet, and we find out later..."
The officer in dark blue armor held the reins in one hand and a whip in the other. He snapped it through the air with a sharp *crack!*
"...Everyone in this village dies."
Several villagers flinched, ducking their heads even lower.
"My lord, we truly don't know anything about the Yao Alliance remnants..."
An elderly woman with graying hair stepped out from the crowd. She was short, using a bamboo twig as a hairpin. She walked up to the Dragon Flag officer's horse and sighed.
"Village chief..."
"Granny Tongling, don't!"
The villagers cried out in alarm.
The officer looked down at the old village chief and said coldly, "People of a condemned land. Who gave you permission to stand in front of my horse?"
He raised his whip and brought it down.
*Crack!*
A figure rushed out from behind the village chief and took the hit.
Yu clutched her arm, where a bloody welt was already forming. She looked up at the officer, tears welling in her eyes.
"...!"
The village chief was horrified. She grabbed Yu's injured arm, heartbroken and furious with herself.
"You... Yu, you silly child!"
Yu gave her a silly little smile, which only made the old woman's eyes fill with more pain.
"Well, well..." The officer laughed from atop his horse. "You dare block my whip?"
A flash of white light glinted in his hand.
He swung the whip down again, even faster and harder.
Halfway down, a large hand caught it firmly.
Yu hadn't flinched or closed her eyes, so she clearly saw the person who had suddenly appeared in front of her and her grandmother.
It was Giorno.
The Dragon Flag soldiers were stunned, their horses whinnying and rearing in panic.
The officer's pupils shrank.
"You're... Giorno Giovanna?! What are you doing here?!"
Liam looked at him and said, "Beating an old woman, then beating a little girl. You're a real class act, aren't you?"
He casually yanked the whip.
The officer was yanked straight off his horse.
The man clearly had some skill. He twisted in midair, aiming for a clean landing, but Liam stepped forward and kicked him.
*Bang!*
Before the officer could even fly a meter, Liam vanished and reappeared directly in front of him, raising a foot and slamming him into the ground.
Looking down at him with annoyance, Liam asked, "I pull you off your horse, and you think you're allowed to land on your feet?"
The villagers stared in shock and disbelief, instinctively backing away.
"You—"
The officer under Liam's boot turned bright red with rage. He tried to yell, but Liam pressed down harder on his chest, forcing the air—and whatever words he had left—right back down his throat. He couldn't even manage a cough.
Liam kept one foot planted on the man's chest and calmly straightened up.
"Have you guys thought about what happens when you point those things at me?"
Around him, the Dragon Flag soldiers had already drawn their long guns. Still reeling from how fast it happened, they raised them in unison, aiming straight at Liam.
"Captain, I forget," Liam called out to Robin as she strolled over. "What are we again?"
Robin answered, "Oka Shichibukai."
"Oka Shichibukai..." Liam nodded. "That doesn't make us criminals, right?"
"No."
Liam turned back to the soldiers aiming at him.
"Then why is your country pointing guns at me? What, are you trying to declare war?"
One of the soldiers couldn't help yelling, "You attacked us first!"
Liam frowned. "Pretty sure he whipped me first."
*Bullshit! You stepped in front of it on purpose!*
The officer under Liam's foot was so furious he nearly spat blood. He slapped the ground repeatedly until his hands were nearly numb before Liam finally lifted his boot.
The man gasped for air like a drowning man hitting the surface. Struggling back to his feet, he glared at Liam and Robin, gritting his teeth.
"Giorno Giovanna, Jolyne Cujoh... Why are you two here?!"
"Is he discriminating against us?" Liam turned to Robin. "That's kind of what it sounds like. Like he's saying we aren't qualified to be here."
Robin nodded. "It does seem that way..."
*Bullshit! That's not what I meant at all!*
The officer finally realized these two had zero intention of being reasonable.
Typical savage pirates.
"You... you two..."
He took a deep breath, climbed back onto his horse, and barked at his men, "Move out!"
*Clip-clop, clip-clop!*
The Dragon Flag soldiers galloped off, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.
Liam watched them ride off before turning back.
The villagers had backed up quite a distance, staring at him with far more fear than gratitude.
Robin teased, "They don't seem very grateful."
"Eh, whatever."
Liam didn't care. He looked down at the old village chief and chuckled.
"Old lady, playing dumb while hiding your strength almost got you killed."
Robin was slightly surprised.
Liam's Observation Haki was sharp enough to gauge exact levels of strength. Which meant...
She turned to look at the short, elderly village chief.
The old woman didn't answer. She just sighed, gently touching Yu's arm where the whip had left a bloody gash.
Yu didn't seem bothered by the wound. She just looked up at Liam and asked, "Aren't you afraid of them?"
Liam glanced down at himself, genuinely puzzled.
"Do I look like someone who's afraid of anyone?"
Yu started to raise her hand, but the village chief caught it and gently shook her head.
Robin crouched down, resting her cheek against her hand as she smiled at the girl.
"Why don't you keep playing dumb?"
Yu gasped, her lips parting in shock. She took half a step back, then froze and stared at Robin.
"When did you figure it out...?"
Robin smiled.
"Back by the shore. The way you were looking into the distance... Were you dreaming of setting sail?"
*She saw through me from the start?*
Yu bit her lip, suddenly unable to meet Robin's eyes, and looked away.
"We can talk about this later," Liam said.
Robin looked up.
He pointed in the direction the Dragon Flag soldiers had gone.
"There's something fun happening up ahead. A few kilometers out, some pretty strong guy jumped out and started chopping up those Dragon-whatever soldiers. If we don't hurry, we'll miss the show."
The village chief's expression shifted as she processed his words.
"Could it be...?"
She gasped.
"Foolish child!"
Yu grabbed her arm.
But Liam was already walking off. Robin offered the little girl a quick smile before following him.
Through his Observation Haki, Liam could sense someone weaving through the dozen or so Dragon Flag soldiers. Several of their presence signatures had already snuffed out.
Just as he thought the stranger would wipe them all out before they got there, something unexpected happened.
Among the surviving soldiers, one man's presence suddenly spiked, skyrocketing in power and sending the attacker flying back.
That soldier hadn't even been one of the stronger ones a moment ago.
Now, he was practically a berserker, driving the stranger back step by step.
"Strange... Very strange..."
Liam slipped an arm around Robin's waist.
"Hold on tight. Uncle's stepping on the gas—"
Robin's face flushed. She immediately slapped a hand over his mouth.
She felt Liam grin against her palm.
A second later, the scenery blurred around them.
Using *Soru*, Liam shot forward at blinding speed, covering several kilometers in the blink of an eye.
Like most of the surrounding landscape, the area ahead was a barren wasteland, barely bearing a single blade of grass.
Fresh blood stained the cracked earth.
A dozen horses had bolted in panic, leaving five or six blue-armored Dragon Flag soldiers lying dead in pools of blood.
About ten others were still fighting.
The soldier whose power had spiked had blood-red eyes and a blade drawn, locked in combat with a masked man dressed in black. The remaining Dragon Flag soldiers circled from the flanks, harassing him with swords and gunfire.
The masked man was already struggling against the powered-up soldier. With attacks raining down from every direction, he was quickly overwhelmed and forced onto the defensive.
He needed to finish this fast.
Using the recoil of a heavy blade clash, he leaped back several yards. A furious roar erupted from beneath his mask.
His blade instantly coated itself in pitch-black Armament Haki.
*Whoosh!*
A slash crackling with black Haki lightning cut through the air.
Blood sprayed from the throat of the buffed soldier, and he crashed to his knees.
The masked man panted heavily, leaning on his Haki-clad sword.
He looked up, only to see the remaining Dragon Flag soldiers staring back with grim resolve.
Just like the soldier he'd just killed, each of them pulled a small paper packet from inside their armor.
They didn't even bother unpacking them properly—they just shoved the paper packets straight into their mouths.
*Poof!*
Fine powder puffed into the air around their faces.
Within seconds, their eyes turned blood-red. Their breathing grew heavy, and their bodies bulked up, swelling a full size larger in an instant.
(End of Chapter)
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