Not long after Shirakawa and the others left, Tom and the rest all woke up. When they saw the empty clearing, they were a bit dazed.
There had been so many people just yesterday morning when they fell asleep, yet when they woke up this morning, every single member of the Silver Pirates had vanished without a trace.
"Master, where did they go?" Franky asked Tom, his expression tinged with sadness. Perhaps he already knew the Silver Pirates had left, but he didn't want to believe his own guess.
"They've probably already gone. After all, for them, the sea is their final destination."
"Damn it, those guys are so inconsiderate—leaving without even saying a word. Next time we meet, I'll make sure they get what's coming to them."
Franky vented his frustration fiercely. Although he hadn't known the Silver Pirates for long, as someone with almost no friends, just one day together had already left a deep impression on his heart.
About four hours later, Shirakawa and the others were finally nearing their destination—the island filled with that peculiar, wonderful fragrance.
"Captain, look! Something's wrong with that island."
Hearing Mohr's words, Shirakawa quickly turned to look. In his line of sight, the island was engulfed in raging flames.
Seeing this, Shirakawa furrowed his brow. A sudden sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
"I'll go ahead first. The rest of you follow behind."
With that, Shirakawa flew off.
"Captain sure is impatient. Still, I hope nothing bad has happened to the people on that island."
"Did they run into pirates?" Shirakawa felt both anxious and puzzled. But if it were ordinary pirates, the locals should have been perfectly capable of handling them.
He thought of the little girl's father. His strength was definitely not weak—dealing with ordinary pirates, or even slightly stronger ones, should have been more than enough for him.
But as Shirakawa flew closer to the island, he didn't spot a single pirate ship. What he saw instead was an extraordinarily luxurious and noble vessel—white hulled with gold trim.
The materials used were all incredibly special, far beyond what ordinary people or even ordinary nobles could afford.
And when it came to nobles with that kind of wealth, only one possibility surfaced in Shirakawa's mind: Celestial Dragons.
"Who are you?" The moment Shirakawa landed on the island, he was spotted. A man in a black suit and sunglasses pointed a gun at him and demanded.
"Did you do this?" Shirakawa's voice was ice-cold, as if completely devoid of emotion.
"That's right. What are you going to do about it?"
The bodyguard who heard Shirakawa's voice swallowed hard. For a moment, he had felt like a wild beast had locked its gaze onto him. But when he remembered who his backer was, he steadied himself considerably.
"A life for a life—that's only natural." The moment Shirakawa finished speaking, the man's body suddenly burst apart.
Following the path from memory, Shirakawa hurriedly flew toward the little girl's house. Along the way, he found the ground strewn with the corpses of the island's original inhabitants.
As for those black-suited bodyguards, Shirakawa killed every one he saw—one by one, two by two.
Soon, Shirakawa caught sight of the little girl's village.
But when he saw the state of the village, Shirakawa was utterly consumed by rage. Although five years had passed, he still recognized the little girl at a glance.
Her father was holding her in his arms, and his back was riddled with weapons. He had long since stopped breathing.
"Hahaha! Grab that little girl for me. She's so delicately pretty—she'll make a fine little slave."
At that moment, the man with a bubble on his head gave the order to his subordinates.
"Yes!" Hearing their master's command, they dared not disobey. They felt not a shred of sympathy for the little girl, because they had witnessed this scene countless times before.
The little girl in Shirakawa's eyes had a face streaked with tears, her eyes hollow. But when her gaze fell upon the Celestial Dragon, it was filled with pure hatred.
Just as the bodyguards were about to reach the girl, a blade of sword energy suddenly slashed across the ground before them.
In an instant, everyone present froze in shock. Shirakawa landed in front of the little girl and spoke: "Long time no see, Taeyeon."
Hearing that familiar voice and seeing that familiar face, Taeyeon—who had thought her tears had long since dried up—felt them streaming down her face once more.
Even though five years had passed, his appearance hadn't changed at all. His smile still gave off that same warmth as before.
"You finally came. I thought I'd never see you again."
Taeyeon smiled as she said this, then fainted, her body tilting backward. Shirakawa instantly appeared behind her and caught her in his arms, keeping her from hitting the ground.
"Don't worry. Now that I'm here, no one will ever hurt you again."
Shirakawa murmured softly, his voice full of tenderness.
Perhaps it was because seeing Shirakawa felt like seeing hope itself—the moment she laid eyes on him, her taut nerves instantly relaxed, and then an overwhelming wave of exhaustion swept through her spirit.
By now, the rest of the Silver Pirates had all arrived as well. Seeing the gruesome state of the island, every one of them wore a grim expression, and a few even showed extraordinary fury on their faces.
"Who are you people? How dare you not kneel before me!"
The Celestial Dragon spoke without a care in the world, as if he still hadn't grasped the situation he was in.
"Kill them all. Leave no one alive."
Shirakawa ground out these words through clenched teeth. Everyone could feel the killing intent radiating from his body as he spoke—it was almost tangible, pressing down on the enemy until they could barely breathe.
"What are you doing?! Let me tell you, Saint Doriel is a Celestial Dragon! If you dare lay a hand on him, the Navy will never let you get away with it!"
One of the bodyguards, seeing that these people were clearly not to be trifled with, tried to intimidate them using the Celestial Dragon's status.
"The Celestial Dragons are exactly who we're killing."
The Silver Pirates knew perfectly well what the consequences of killing a Celestial Dragon would be. But when it came to their captain's orders, they would carry them out without question. Besides, they were no longer the same people they had been five years ago.
Even if a Navy Admiral showed up, they were confident they could make sure that admiral never returned.
While the Silver Pirates went to work, Shirakawa continued holding Taeyeon, his gaze fixed coldly on the Celestial Dragon. His crew, very tactfully, left the Celestial Dragon untouched—perhaps they intended to leave him for Shirakawa to deal with personally.
"Captain, what now?" By this point, all of the Celestial Dragon's bodyguards had been dealt with, leaving only one Celestial Dragon, paralyzed with terror.
"Tie him up and bring him aboard. As for what to do with him, we'll decide once Taeyeon wakes up."
"Yes, Captain."
/-\
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