Sakazuki let out a faint chuckle.
"I already knew," he said. "Don't bother with them. The Sorbet Kingdom is a member nation, and the queen dowager there has ties with the government. Just record their electromagnetic signatures. We'll deal with them later."
Enel's bright tone returned. "Understood."
Click.
The call ended. Sakazuki casually set the Den Den Mushi aside, then lay back on the slightly tilted boulder, basking in the sun until he drifted off. Relaxation bred laziness.
He didn't know how long he slept before a crisp sound jolted him awake.
Splash!
He sat up, grabbing the newspaper that had been covering his head. He glanced at the sunset, then at the news bird flying away. Shaking his head, he smiled slightly.
"It's already evening, huh?"
He got to his feet, stretched his back, and let out a slow breath. "Hu…"
Pulling the paper up to his face, he flipped it open. The headline on the front page caught his eye immediately.
"So it's happened."
Bold letters screamed across the top:
"The Fish-Man Who Attacked the Holy Land of Mariejois–One of the Most Dangerous Criminals!"
Beneath it was a huge wanted poster. The image showed a fish-man with a fierce expression, glancing back over his shoulder, eyes locked with the camera.
The name read: Fisher Tiger.
Bounty: 230,000,000 Berries. Dead or alive.
* * *
The night before.
The sun had just dipped below the horizon, stars beginning to fill the sky. Tiger surfaced from the sea, a large pack slung over his back. He looked up at the towering Red Line before him, its height vanishing into the clouds. His eyes narrowed, and he drew in a deep breath.
Crack! Crack!
His hands gripped the steep rock wall. He began to climb, not slowing, pushing on into the dead of night.
Thud.
At last, he tossed his pack over the cliff's edge and pulled himself up. The skin on his chest was rubbed raw, his hands and feet scraped down to bone. But he didn't care.
He opened the pack, took out a long blade and a container of lamp oil, and started toward the Celestial Dragons' quarters.
He'd been a slave here for three years. He knew Mariejois well enough. He also knew that if chaos broke out in the Celestial Dragons' residences, every guard would rush there first. No one would think to check on the slaves right away.
That was his chance.
* * *
Mariejois. Slave holding grounds.
This was where most of the Celestial Dragons' slaves were kept. Only those they were particularly fond of remained in their private residences, to suffer unspeakable torment.
The rest, no matter the race, giants, fish-men, humans, were locked up here. After all, their slaves came in all shapes and sizes. It was impossible to keep every one of them at home.
A guard on duty suddenly stared into the distance in shock. He rushed inside to alert the others resting there.
"Bad news! There's a fire!"
Everyone sprang up.
"What!?"
"Where!?"
"There! Over there!"
The panicked guard pointed, and they all ran outside. Then they stopped dead in their tracks.
"This… this is insane!"
"Hurry, put it out!"
Far off, the Celestial Dragons' residence, "Domain of the Gods" was engulfed in flames. The blaze spread as if it meant to burn the entire Holy Land to the ground. Numerous attendants ran toward it to fight the fire.
Nobody dared hesitate. If even one Celestial Dragon died, the consequences would be unthinkable. Everyone present… would be executed.
* * *
Once the guards had run to help, Fisher Tiger stepped into the giant prison, blade in hand.
Rows upon rows of cells filled the place, packed with countless slaves. The commotion had woken them, unease and fear rising in their chests as they wondered what was happening.
When they saw Tiger charge in, many were stunned. They had been locked up together for years and knew each other well. But him… wasn't he dead?
"You're… Tiger?!"
"Weren't you…"
He walked to one cell, looked at the shocked slaves within, and smiled. "I came back to life. I'm here to free you."
Click.
The lock on the cell door snapped.
"The keys are by the entrance. Go on ahead."
Even as they stepped out, they stared at the fish-man who'd spent three years with them. Finally, someone blurted out, "What about you!?"
His reply was firm. "I'm freeing the rest."
Click. Click.
The sound of locks breaking echoed again and again
* * *
One by one, the slaves ran out, regardless of race. In the end, Tiger had freed everyone in the massive prison.
Many fled in tears, escaping this living hell.
After it was done, he stood at the prison entrance, glancing at the blaze in the distance.
Then he turned and headed in the opposite direction from the others. He had to block some of the pursuers.
The three Boa sisters passed him, their heads turning to watch him go. They fixed their eyes on him, as if engraving the image of their savior deep into their hearts.
* * *
Elsewhere, Tesoro, who had become a slave searching for his lover, had endured a year of humiliation. When he learned she was dead, hope had died within him, and he merely clung to life.
But now, staring at the broken chains, that hope surged back violently.
"I will live. I will have my revenge. I'll become richer than anyone in the world! Even richer than the Celestial Dragons. I'll make them kneel before me! With enough money… anything is possible!"
He bolted after the others in a frenzy.
"I will live! I will become rich! When I am rich beyond measure… will you come back to me, Stella?"
* * *
Mariejois did not sleep that night.
With the flames extinguished, the soldiers began to investigate. From the testimony of unconscious pursuers near the slave prison, they learned it was the work of a red-skinned fish-man.
The description matched a slave thought long dead, yet the biggest question remained: where had he come from?
Every checkpoint had been properly manned. There was no sign of negligence. It was impossible for him to get in.
It was as if he had appeared out of thin air, a mystery no one could solve.
The soldiers who had fought the fire had no rest. Teams were sent to follow the slaves' tracks, hoping to recapture some.
But it was useless.
One squad followed a trail of footprints to the edge of a cliff. What they saw left them speechless.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"No way!"
"He… he climbed up from here!?"
The cliff was silent, save for the stunned soldiers and the dried brown stains on the Red Line's rock face.
The captain leaned over the edge. A dark trail stretched all the way down from an unimaginable height at the base of the Red Line… to this very spot.
**
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