Marineford.
- Well, at such a critical moment something like this happens! - Kong frowned and hung up.
"Judging by your reaction, someone attacked Tenryubito?" Sengoku asked.
- Yes, but you and Garp have to escort Roger, the fastest of us, Kizaru, is on a mission, so let Akainu or Aokiji go!
- If I'm not mistaken, the commander of the garrison on the Sabaody Archipelago is Bernard now! I'll contact him, let him sort out the situation for now!
- There is no other way out. Besides, we don't know who attacked us yet and how strong he is. I hope he is not that crazy, otherwise we will have to organize a large-scale operation.
....
Pooh! - The collar opened.
Sheila cried out joyfully, feeling lightness in her body, and spun around in happiness.
"Run quickly, the sentries could appear here at any moment," Murphy said without stopping, and with a bunch of keys in his hand, he headed for the exit.
- Thank you! I almost became a slave... My name is Sheila, and yours?
- Murphy.
Thanks to the bubble ring, Sheila was able to keep up with Murphy with ease. After the rescue, she was, of course, genuinely happy about this event, but after the initial rush of joy passed, she still felt some anxiety, being next to a stranger.
Growing up on Fishman Island, she had heard since childhood how scary humans were, and now she saw it for herself.
"However... this young man dared to go against the powerful Tenryubito and saved me, perhaps he is different from the others," Sheila thought with some confusion.
She approached Murphy and asked timidly, "Murphy, how do we escape?"
"I haven't figured it out yet!" Murphy replied with some annoyance. It had all happened too suddenly, and he hadn't been prepared for a confrontation with the Tenryubito, much less planned on running into the admirals.
The hastily devised plan was to find a ship and go out to sea, but the sea route was fraught with many uncertainties - if they were intercepted, then no matter how much they screamed or prayed, no one would help.
They could find a place to hide and wait it out, but Murphy couldn't think of any suitable hiding places on the Sabaody Archipelago. And it was obvious that if the Marines started combing the island, they would be found anyway.
"I can take you to Fishman Island, the guards won't find us there," Sheila thought about it, but then made her suggestion.
"Find a ship with a coating and dive in?" Murphy rubbed his chin, considering the possibility of such a plan.
- No, that would take too much time, we wouldn't make it! So, I'll just swim you there!
"Swimming?" Murphy's eye twitched in surprise.
- A bubble the size of a person will be enough, it will be enough to reach Fishman Island.
- It seems you have a lot of experience in this matter?
- Oh! Oh, come on, I'm not one of those mermaids who secretly come up to land to have fun! - Sheila covered her mouth, clearly nervous.
"...So that's it, no wonder she was caught by slave traders," Murphy thought.
— As far as I remember, the depths of the sea are full of sea kings.
"Hmm, you know a lot about the sea... But don't worry, I'm very agile," Sheila waved her tail, as if demonstrating her agility.
"That still doesn't inspire confidence," Murphy thought.
The two of them walked out of the auction house. It was empty outside, and only a few slaves were still standing motionless in their places.
The news of the attack on Tenryubito spread like wildfire. And as dozens of buyers ran out of the auction house, anyone who was still around hurried away—no one wanted to get caught up in the mess.
Murphy walked right up to the Tenryubito slaves, and the first thing he saw was Stella's surprised look. Then he threw her a bunch of keys and said, "Here, it worked. Try opening it yourself."
Stella, of course, had seen the commotion at the entrance and knew that someone had beaten up Tenryubito. She had prayed that this person would also free them, the unfortunate slaves, but when the keys appeared before her, she could not believe that her savior was the same young man whom she had recently considered a disgusting and vile person.
Stella looked closely at the young man, bit her lip and, taking a bunch of keys, began to try to open the lock with them one by one.
Click.
The very first key fit.
She blinked, as if she couldn't believe her eyes, and when the shackles fell to the ground, her eyes filled with tears again.
"Thank you!" she said in a choked voice.
"Save yourself!" Murphy replied, turning away immediately. He didn't want to waste time.
The Devil Fruit was still in the bookstore, and he didn't want to give it up if he could help it.
From the image transmitted by the system, he learned that Akainu had just boarded the warship. Although he was not an admiral, the difference in strength was insignificant.
Marine Headquarters was not far from Sabaody Archipelago, but still not close enough to reach instantly, so Murphy had more than enough time to return to the bookstore.
"Wait…," Stella threw a bunch of keys to the other slaves and called out to Murphy.
"It's hard for me to take care of myself right now, so if you want to save yourself, you'll have to act on your own," Murphy said in an indifferent tone.
"No, no, I just never found out your name," Stella said quickly.
- My name is Murphy.
Murphy didn't stop and continued to move forward.
"Mr. Murphy, I will never forget what you did. May the winds fly your way!" Stella said, then solemnly knelt down and bowed deeply before Murphy.
After she finished her bow, she stood up and stared at Murphy, as if she wanted to imprint his image on her memory. She saw him raise his right hand and wave it as if saying goodbye.
When Murphy was out of sight, she didn't linger either and quickly left in an unknown direction.
.....
"Looking at you at first, I thought you knew each other, but it turns out she didn't even know your name!" Sheila watched this scene silently, not saying a word, and only when Murphy left did she speak.
— I can't say that we know each other, we just met once before.
Murphy told Sheila about his meeting with Stella, and also about her story.
- Oh, what a pity for them! Why didn't you take her with you?
— I told you, it's hard for me to take care of myself.
- If she gets caught again, wouldn't it be terrible? Although... I understand why you're not worried about her!
"What are you talking about?" Murphy tilted his head, question marks appearing above it.
"She was just bought by the Tenryubito, and like me, she hadn't been branded yet. She was crying so hard that few people had time to see her face. It would be more dangerous for her to go with you, so the safest option for her is to run away alone. Murphy, you thought this through so carefully!"
Sheila spoke with an air of sudden insight, then turned to Murphy and asked, "I guessed right, didn't I?"
It sounded pretty logical.
"Hmm…" Murphy hesitated for a moment, his lips twitching slightly, and then he agreed almost silently.
He himself hadn't even thought about it, but this girl had already thought of everything for him. What else could he say...