Chapter 6

Law managed to block most of Sana, Siah and Penguin from view. With enemies on both sides Law played safe using his room ability. Kai who had seen the guards being chopped into pieces and juggled around the room knew not to step inside the sphere.

"Oi Vasu, don't step into his circle."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Vasu lashed out at his older sibling, whilst obediently listening to his advise and staying out of Law's room.

Law ordered his subordinate to stop gawking around and make a move. "Penguin, go!"

Penguin gripped Sana's wrist tightly and dragged her along with him towards the staircase leading to the third floor. Kai and Vasu watched on as they had no way to go after them. Instead, they were met with Law in the middle, looking back and forth between them with haughty smirk.

"We shouldn't be leaving your captain behind." Sana tried to protest, occasionally glancing back. He was clearly outnumbered, and regardless of seeing how strong the Ope Ope no Mi made him, knowing how terrifying her older brothers could get scared her. Law might need Penguin more than she did.

"The captain doesn't take unnecessary risks." Penguin reassured her. These weren't just empty words, from the trust he had in Shachi to the confidence he placed in Law he sounded genuine. "My job is to make sure you are safe. I won't leave your side unless my captain instructs me to."

"Thank you, truly."

Penguin offered her a smile. There was something about Shachi and Penguin's appearances that made them come across as rowdy. However, the bad guy image ended right there. They were loyal to their captain and each other and earnest to her who asked them for help.

"I'm sure Shachi and the captain would be happy hearing you say that to them."

The third floor was deserted, but the noise from the scuffle downstairs echoed through the long corridor. There was a sense of security, knowing that Law and Shachi were attracting majority of the attention towards themselves. The confidence the pair had popped as soon as a door opened and they came face to face with another member of the Zenndiqque family.

Penguin assumed a fighting position in front of Sana and Siah, also considering that he will have to be quick to continue escorting Sana to her chambers. The young man however only spared them a single glance before turning away. He took neither a defensive or an offensive stance against them, deciding to simply ignore and walk past them.

Sana stood dumbstruck, not having expected that turn of event, and sensing this confusion coming from her, the young man stopped walking and turned around.

"I'm leaving Khaso."

It took some time for her to absorb what was he said. "What?"

"Father is dead, and I don't trust anyone to take his place. I have nothing else but you that's tying me to this island, but soon you'll leave too."

Kal had no good relationship with any of his brothers, and neither did he have a good relationship with his father. But he had a point, Sana was the only one tying the whole family to Khaso. She was the High Priestess of the nation, the sun of the people, the representative of the Zenndiqque clan. Sana's words were enough to determine the fate of the family.

"Where are you going?" Unlike the tone she used to speak to Kai, Vasu and Yaz, the voice she used with Kal was gentle, just like the one she used with Siah.

"I have no home, so I can go anywhere."

The pain of losing their mother they both shared together. For the longest time, Kal was the only one of the two aware of the fact that it was their father who murdered their mother. Kal kept this a secret from Sana whilst she was being told by everyone else that their mother ran away. It wasn't until recently that Sana too started to mourn the loss of the mother only them two shared.

It took some hesitation from his side, but he eventually decided to say it anyway. "Come with me. I'll take you away from here."

This was what Sana wanted all along, someone to safely take her away from the battlefield. The Zenndiqques only thought about themselves, so not even a single one of them offered to help her and Siah escape. If Kal asked her this same question weeks ago, she would have accepted the offer, taken Siah along with her and would've been on another island by now. Her resolve now was different though.

"I'm staying."

Not only was Kal surprised, Penguin also looked extremely shocked by this. He turns to whisper to her, "You do realise he could easily get you off this island. Much easier than us."

"Oh, you're right!" She exclaimed as it suddenly occurred to her. "But I can't leave when the people here are still living a complete lie."

"You don't have to act like everyone's saviour anymore. You can leave and forget any of this ever happened."

"But the people here would continue to suffer."

"You need to think of yourself first before you think of anyone else."

Kal's logic made too much sense, and a childish pout appeared on her face.

"I said I'm staying. I'll think about myself later!"

Kal let out an exhausted half laugh, half sigh. He then turned to Penguin, "You heard the lady."

He was surprisingly nice, Penguin thought. Her family had already made a bad impression on the Heart Pirates after having met a handful of them. Kal on the other hand didn't want trouble, although he could've followed his brothers' path. He also respected his sister's wish to stay behind.

"In that case, take care."

It was a very nonchalant goodbye on his part. Leaving Khaso and venturing out onto the open sea meant that he might not ever see his family again.

"Kal?" Sana called out to him, after which he briefly stopped in his tracks. "Can you take the younger ones with you?"

"I'll consider it."

Penguin guarded the door, waiting for Sana to change into her ceremonial clothes and come out. Having just run into Kal, he suddenly felt on guard. Did her brother really have a change of heart, or would they soon be greeted by a hoard of guards?

However, the floor remained abandoned. It did lead him to wonder why Sana didn't just go with him if she knew her brother had no bad intentions. She went through the trouble of stealing a pirates' boat to flee the island, so why did she decline her brother's offer?

'Freeing the people of Khaso' sounded idealistic, and the men around Sana knew this very well. A country without leadership in place would bring in new problems, and the people would need to undergo many struggles to adapt to their new lives. They'd be out of their temporary pain, but will suffer more in the long term.

Sana eventually came out of her room, wearing her white and gold ceremonial clothes and having dressed her sister up to look inconspicuous. A part of Penguin felt for her, and that her end goal may not be what she wanted. At the end of the day, Law was still going to gain his end of the deal either way. Maybe advising her to flee with Kal would be better than whatever Law had planned to happen.

Penguin took a moment to shake those thoughts out of his head. His captain never had any ill intentions towards anybody, including Sana. But Penguin's loyalty lied with Law, not Sana.

"I'm ready, let's go!" she broke the corridor long silence. "But before we go, I want you to watch my sister and not me."

Penguin stood quietly as he watched her run ahead with her sister in her arms.

Two days later Sana ended up on the ship of the Heart Pirates.

The wind was definitely not blowing in Sana's direction. The last thing she imagined was getting swept up in the same ship as pirates, and to top it all off, her younger sister was there with her. Although the ship was at a humble size, Law arranged for a small room for the pair to rest. As her sister rested beside her, Sana could hardly believe what happened over the past two days.

Law's plan was not simple, but he was holding up her older brothers, and that was all he could do for her. With Penguin by her side protecting her, it was up to her to carry out the plan he entrusted her with.

The crowd was large as it always was and she could never get used to the sheer size of it. These people trusted her and they were here because of that fact. Guards who had no idea of what was happening within the building were already stationed to control the pushing crowd.

"This is it," Penguin said letting out a sigh. It felt as if he was preparing himself for the worst that could happen too. Although Sana specifically told her to watch her sister, who was now donning the same dark robe as the rest of the nation, Sana was his responsibility too.

"There are guards out there, how are we going to handle them?"

Sana's hand gripped the shell like device Law gave her earlier. He said it was a sort of tone dial that could amplify her voice.

"Your captain said that I should speak into this shell and that it should help me." Sana replied. "If they hear a command from me then they will listen."

Penguin was still skeptical of her abilities. After all, only Shachi and Law have seen her use it before. It was his immense trust in Law that stopped him from interfering.

Sana stepped out in her ceremonial robes, and although the crowd became even rowdier at her sight, the guards became alarmed. There was no news on her return from the temple, and there was just one guard beside her.

"The sun graces its beloved people of Khaso. I request for you all to stand still to avoid anyone in the crowd getting hurt."

The crowd quietened down, and as Penguin listened, he found himself witnessing her devil fruit powers for the first time. Sana spoke into the tone dial, and the sound echoed far enough to reach even those in the back. Just as she asked everyone to stand still, he wasn't able to move from his spot either. He looked towards the line of guards on either side of the people and found that they too were rooted in their positions against their own will.

"Unlike the previous years, last night I saw a prophecy for the entire nation of Khaso." Sana started story telling into the dial. "I saw a future where the children of Khaso healed the sick, fed the hungry and housed the poor. They led the country, built schools and fought against injustice. There were many streams of water flowing through the land which flourished with crops and harvest. I saw Khaso struggling for years to be built back up, but I also saw smiles of the people as the enjoyed the fruits of their labour."

There was excitement in the crowd hearing of a promising future without suffering. If the sun of Khaso was saying this, it must be true they thought. She was sent by the gods to save the land, and her prophecy proved it. But it was her next words that caused a bigger uproar.

"But I saw no future for a High Priestess of Khaso. Khaso's future will have one sun, and that one sun is all it needs. We carry all the power in ourselves to change the country."

It felt blasphemous hearing the High Priestess say these words. The temple and its people had guided the nation for decades. Without the High Priestess, there was no future for the country.

The way they felt doused in cold water hearing of their bleak future, Sana felt the same. But in her case it wasn't just a figure of speech. The people watched in sheer horror as red blood stained her ceremonial garb and dripped onto the floor.

A bucket full of animal blood was dropped down on her. And just like that with her faltering resolve, the people under her spell broke free and all hell went lose.