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The island of Cragmour, one of the many islands The Brine Crown used to keep slaves, seemed to know exactly what took place within its borders. Heavy rain fell relentlessly, and an uncomfortable silence muffled the cries of multitudes.
The only sounds that managed to escape that silence and the raindrops were the overseers who kept the slaves locked up and prevented any escape, striking them when necessary (though never hard enough to damage the merchandise).
Dawn barely revealed the silhouettes of the watchtowers, built from wood and metal eaten away by salt. A quiet wind blew in from the sea, carrying the stench of the prisons where slaves were held until they were sold or transported elsewhere. A few campfires still burned, consuming low-quality coal and polluting the air with black ash that fell like dirty snow over everyone.
Not everything was waiting, of course. Most slaves were sent to work in the mines where coal was the main resource. Only the men were forced into the mines; women and children were the most highly prized by buyers who preferred that kind of "property."
Deep in the mine, right on the edge of the cliff, a group of slaves hammered away at the rock with old pickaxes. Their hands were skin stretched over bone. Their eyes no longer seemed to see anything. Only routine. Only the day repeating itself. Only the certainty that nothing would ever change.
At the back, an overseer lounged on a barrel. He was a big man with a jaw twisted from an old wound and a whip hanging from his belt. He watched everyone without expression, as if they were beasts of burden and not human beings.
"Faster," he muttered, too lazy to even shout.
The slaves sped up, not wanting to wake the beast and earn punishment.
One of them, a young man with dark skin and curly hair, muttered to himself:
"Someday… something… has to happen," his voice hoarse from dehydration and lack of speech.
The overseer, drinking water from his canteen, heard him.
"What did you say, piece of shit?" he asked from his barrel.
The young man swallowed and stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact.
"Nothing, sir." he tried to say to avoid the rage of the overseer
The overseer smiled without humor. He stood, uncoiled his whip, and cracked it through the air to loosen his arm before delivering a blow harder than ever to the boy's back.
But he never got the chance.
Something strange happened in the sky.
First came a wind that wasn't normal, a wind that didn't blow from the sea but from above… from very, very high above.
At the strange gust, the slaves looked up. Even the overseers froze.
"What the hell…?" one of the guards muttered.
The clouds parted as if sliced by a knife, and a gigantic figure, twenty meters tall with enormous wings, filled the sky. Everyone stared in shock at the sight of the bird.
But it wasn't a bird. It wasn't cannon fire. It wasn't a meteor.
It was a giant dinosaur with white scales and a Top hat.
"ALERT! ALERT! Enemy Attack" a voice shouted from the watchtower making sure everyone in the Island could hear him and pass the message.
But it was already too late to take action.
From the flying dinosaur, two figures could be seen on its back.
The first didn't wait. He leapt straight down and crashed onto the roof of the main tower where the man give the alarm.
The impact was so violent that the wood exploded outward, sending watchmen flying through the air like rag dolls as the tower itself collapsed under the force.
As the dust began to settle, Popeye stood up among the rubble. With his natural gigantic build, muscles like forged iron, and a sadistic, amused grin, he surveyed the entire island from atop the small mountain of debris that had once been the tower.
"Hahaha, now that was fun. And we're just getting started," Popeye said, the wind whipping at him.
A few meters away, the second figure smashed into the ground, kicking up dirt and leaving a small crater. Liro stood, brushing off dust and spitting.
"Garabato, you damn lizard! I wasn't ready to jump yet!" he shouted upward.
The third figure descended slowly, his massive white wings keeping him aloft, laughing as if they weren't attacking a slaver stronghold with guards ready to kill them.
"Did you jump or did you slip?" Garabato asked with thick irony.
Liro shot him a murderous glare.
"I swear one day when you're no longer useful I'll cut those wings off."
"Yeah, yeah… threaten me later. We have work to do," Garabato replied with a laugh.
The dock guards regrouped, aiming rifles and spears at the group.
"THOSE ARE THE ENEMY DONT LET THEM GET COVER! OPEN FIRE!"
The soldiers who had just arrived wasted no time loading their rifles and firing at the intruders.
Under the heavy barrage of all the soldiers, Popeye only smiled. Liro drew his cutlass from his belt ready to take action but before he can do something Garabato, in his full beast form, stepped in front and blocked every single bullet with his body. Not a drop of blood was drawn.
making a Beast Shield big enough to cover a big squad and unyielding to all kinds of attacks coming towards it
The soldiers stared in greater shock. How were they supposed to fight that when the guns they used could not even damage their skins ?
"Get out of the way, lizard. It's my turn to have fun," Popeye said, leaping forward and charging the soldiers.
They tried to fire another volley, but Popeye's massive fist slammed into the ground, shaking everything and throwing them off balance.
Chaos erupted faster than the overseers could react.
Liro moved among them like lightning, precise cuts to vital areas: necks, hearts, lungs, livers. Sometimes an arm flew off; the victims couldn't even react to his speed just trying to get a lucky hit that never happen.
Popeye advanced like a living wall. Bullets, blades, and blows did absolutely nothing to him. Every so often he grabbed a guard by the neck or shirt and hurled him into an entire group, using the mens as weapons while laughing, because none of them seemed worthy of giving him a real fight.
Garabato flew low, laughing as he occasionally streaked past at full speed, slicing soldiers in half and leaving the ground littered with bodies that never even understood what had hit them.
"Garabato, stop getting in the way! I've had to dodge you several times already!" Liro shouted, wiping blood from his face and blade.
"Ryu ryu ryu, not my fault you're in the middle. Pay attention. Olbap-sama wouldn't like it if you died," Garabato replied laughing while scanning everything
"Hahaha, this is what I was hoping for. Though it'd be better if there was someone strong enough to make me sweat," Popeye said, walking over to the other two.
The slaves watched from their positions, not understanding anything. They didn't know if they were being attacked or rescued. They didn't know who these three savages were who had fallen from the sky and start killing all the guards.
The young man with the pickaxe stood frozen, stunned by everything that had happened in mere minutes, before the overseer could even finish beating him.
"Are they… angels?" whispered an old man beside him, staring at the three who now seemed to be arguing.
"I don't know, old man, but they look more like demons than angels," another man replied.
As the fight continued, the trio advanced toward the main building killing all the mans that tried to stop them: a long warehouse where most of the slaves were kept and have the den den mushi to contact with the other island.
Three overseers in armor and wielding heavy swords blocked the entrance.
"You're not getting past us!" one shouted, raising his weapon.
Popeye didnt wait and Splitz blitz the leader in the blink of an eye, grabbed him by the helmet, and smashed his head into the ground breaking the dirt with his force with his head .
"Looks like you still don't understand you're not enough to entertain me," Popeye said, feeling the blood on his hand with the crush head under his hand.
The other two guards didn't even have time to move. In one fluid motion from Liro and Garabato, they were dead.
Garabato walked in whistling, not looking back at the body.
"You know your technique has a name?" he said to Popeye. "I saw it in a book once. They call it 'Hammer Fist.'"
"I don't give a shit what it's called. I just punch people to death," Popeye replied.
"Yeah, yeah… good thing you don't do the thinking."
Liro kicked the door open and looked around.
"Garabato, go up. The tower must have the Den Den Mushi," Liro ordered.
"On it, on it," Garabato answered, rising again. "Don't blow anything up without me!"
Popeye and Liro took only a few steps before a foul stench hit them. Covering their noses, they pressed on until they reached their destination.
Now they could see cell after cell of women, children, and a few men, all in terrible condition. The slaves, hearing all the commotion outside, looked toward the door and saw Popeye and Liro.
Liro moved fast, breaking every lock that kept the cells sealed. The heavy metal doors swung open on their own.
But the slaves didn't move. They only stared at them.
"Do you want to stay here or do you want to live?" Popeye voice boomed, clear and strong for everyone to hear.
Silence grew even heavier.
An older woman stood up from the back, shielding several little girls behind her so they would feel safe.
"Live…? Do you really mean that, or are you just toying with us?" she asked.
Popeye just nodded.
"We're here on our boss's orders. This island no longer belongs to The Brine Crown as of this moment," Liro said, taking the lead from Popeye.
"And who sent you if you're not part of The Brine Crown?" someone asked from another cell.
Liro looked at him calmly before answering.
"Rabocse Olbap."
Many didn't recognize the name. Some thought it sounded vaguely familiar. But there was something in the way Liro said it, as if he were naming someone truly important and powerful enough to go against the The brine crows.
Amid the silence of the former slaves, new screams came from the tower where Garabato was, making Liro shake his head annoyed .
"Hahaha, looks like Garabato's having fun up there," Popeye said, looking upward.
"He doesn't know how to do anything quietly."
The young slave from the mine stepped forward and stood in front of Liro, who regarded him curiously.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to be free?" Liro asked.
"Sir, I thank you and your boss, but I think everyone here has nowhere to go. They've already taken everything from us. Even if we leave, we have nothing left to live for," the young man said. His eyes were empty; Liro realized he wasn't speaking to a child as he had thought.
Most of the others nodded, leaving Liro confused. He looked at Popeye, hoping for some kind of answer.
"Well, if you have nothing to live for, how about you work for Olbap? What do you think? Olbap did say we were short on manpower. I see plenty right here," Popeye said.
Liro stared at him as if he were an idiot.
"Popeye, sometimes I wonder how you're still alive. You really think people who've been enslaved for years are going to want to serve someone else?" Liro asked, searching for any logic in Popeye's words.
"Eh? Why not? Olbap will surely pay them, and they can choose what to do in the organization. I don't see the problem. I even sounded smart," Popeye responded with his chest puffed out at their words
Liro shook his head and turned to the now-forming line of former slaves. Their eyes held a new spark at Popeye's words.
"No way… you actually like that idea?" Liro said, completely shocked at the rows of ex-slaves.
End of the chapter