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"A Celestial Dragon was beaten on Sabaody Archipelago. Has that been confirmed?"
"Fully confirmed, sir."
"Rear Admiral Will, currently stationed on Sabaody, is requesting authorization to deploy the full Security Force to apprehend the perpetrators."
Sengoku's expression shifted. A small crease of concern settled between his brows.
Strange things had been happening with increasing frequency lately. The world had been calm for so long, and then all at once it wasn't, for no reason anyone could clearly identify. And now this. Someone had actually laid hands on a Celestial Dragon. He found himself genuinely curious, in a grim sort of way, about who had the nerve.
"Tell Rear Admiral Will to proceed with apprehension. At the same time, make sure the Celestial Dragon is brought out safely."
"Yes, sir!"
The officer saluted through the Den Den Mushi and the line went quiet.
Sengoku set it down and sat for a moment. The unease in his chest didn't go away. If anything it had gotten worse, as though the world were drawing a breath before something large happened.
He picked up another Den Den Mushi and dialed.
Pere~pere, pere~pere~!
"Moshi moshi! This is Kizaru, who's calling!"
"It's Sengoku."
In his office, Kizaru's expression shifted in a way that suggested he already knew what was coming. No assignment had ever arrived via Sengoku that turned out to be simple.
"Ah, Fleet Admiral! What can I do for you?"
He kept his voice perfectly easy.
"A Celestial Dragon has been attacked on Sabaody. Current condition unknown. I've already sent Rear Admiral Will in, but I'm not satisfied leaving it there. Head over yourself and make sure that Celestial Dragon comes out in one piece."
Kizaru was quiet for just a moment. Something moved behind his eyes.
"My, my. People are getting bold these days, aren't they. Hitting a Celestial Dragon of all things. I do hope nobody decides to hit me while I'm there as well."
"Kizaru."
"Yes, yes. I'm on my way."
He hung up, rose from his chair, picked up the Justice coat draped over the back of it, and settled it across his shoulders. Then he crossed to the window, opened it, and stepped out into a burst of golden light that vanished before it had fully formed.
"I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please, I'm begging you, just let me go! No more slaves, I don't want any of it! I'll give you whatever you want, just please stop!"
Smulet had curled himself into as small a shape as his body allowed. Every trace of arrogance had left his face. What remained was raw, undignified terror, and the continuous sound of a man pleading for mercy he was not going to receive.
Bang.
"Ahhh!!!"
One of the Security Force members put a rifle shot through his right leg without breaking stride.
"Hey, let me use that for a bit."
The man who had fired felt a tap on his shoulder. His companion was looking at the rifle with barely concealed longing.
"Where's yours?"
"I ran out in a hurry and forgot it. Lend me yours and I'll trade you my knife. There's still plenty of room to work with on this one."
The logic was sound. The exchange was made.
The man who received the knife went straight to work, bringing it down sharply between Smulet's legs.
"AHHH AHHH AHHH!"
The sound that came out of Smulet at that point was something between a scream and a squeal. Every man in the vicinity instinctively pressed his knees together.
Kaito was no exception. There was a meaningful difference, he had discovered, between doing something yourself and watching someone else do it.
Behind Sakuya, the girls were growing increasingly restless.
"Sakuya-sama, what's happening? We can't see anything!"
Ever since Zegion had vanished, their entire field of vision had gone blank. All they could tell was that everyone around them had run away very fast.
What they didn't know was that Kaito had quietly set up a barrier around them. He had learned his lesson after Shizu had taken him aside about it the last time. And whatever was happening on the other side of that barrier was genuinely not something children needed to watch.
The fact that these particular children had lived through things considerably more harrowing than the current scene was something Kaito had, at this moment, completely forgotten.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. You're too young for this sort of thing."
"Oh."
The girls accepted this without argument and asked nothing further.
The Marines under Rear Admiral Will arrived at the scene just as the Security Force members were hitting their stride.
Will took one look and stopped.
The regulation Celestial Dragon spacesuit was lying in a heap to one side. In the middle of the street, a heavyset man in nothing but a pair of underwear was being systematically beaten by a group of people in matching uniforms.
He looked more carefully.
That was the Celestial Dragon they had come to rescue.
"That is enough! All of you, step away from the Celestial Dragon and surrender immediately!"
Nobody so much as glanced at him. The beating continued without interruption.
"How dare they ignore me! Men, open fire! Take them down!"
"If you fire," Kaito said, turning toward him with a thoughtful expression, "we kill the Celestial Dragon. I'd like to see you explain that one."
"Hold your fire!"
Will's hand shot up. His Marines stopped.
He stared at Kaito. "What do you want in exchange for releasing Saint Smulet?"
Kaito considered this with every appearance of genuine deliberation. Then a grin spread across his face.
"How about this. All of you get on your knees and bow to me. If I happen to be in a good mood after that, I might let him go."
"Absolutely not."
Will's voice was flat.
Kaito said nothing. He walked over to Smulet, borrowed a rifle from the nearest Security Force member, and shot Smulet in the stomach.
Bang.
"AHHH! You useless Marines! Get down on your knees right now! If I make it back from this, I will have your entire families taken as slaves, every last one of you!"
Will stood very still. A vein was doing something interesting near his temple.
I came here to save you, he thought. I came here to save you, and you are threatening to enslave my family.
You absolutely deserve everything that is happening to you.
He was furious. He was also, underneath the fury, genuinely wrestling with the math. Kneeling was humiliating. But if kneeling was the price to get this man out alive, he could survive the humiliation. What he wasn't certain about was whether kneeling would actually end it, or whether it would simply be the opening move in a series of increasingly unreasonable demands.
Had Kaito been able to hear that thought, he would have said: "Your read on people is excellent."
"Well? Time is running out. Get down on your knees or this man is not going to make it."
Kaito's tone remained perfectly pleasant.
"I... I..."
"Rear Admiral Will, perhaps we should just..."
"He's right, sir. Just this once."
One by one his subordinates reached the same conclusion, and Will felt the last of his resistance give way.
Fine. Kneel first. Deal with whatever comes next when it comes.
He was just beginning to lower himself when a languid voice drifted in from somewhere above.
"My, my. Putting poor Rear Admiral Will through all of this... isn't that a little much, brat?"
Kaito looked up at the new arrival. A slow, knowing smile settled onto his face.
"Well, well. If it isn't Second Uncle Kizaru. What brings you all the way out here?"