Chapter four
Not too soon later, another one of the Heart Pirates joined the group. There was nothing particular that stood out about him, but he had a similar physique to Shachi, and in his arms was a large sheathed sword he handed over to his captain.
Sana still looked at the pirates with cautious eyes. She was the one who has asked them for help, but she wasn't sure whether she was being too naive trusting these strange men. Her life so far had been very black and white; a good man could only do good, and a bad man could only do bad. These thoughts made her more hesitant to move forward with whatever Law had planned. This bad man was helping her do a good deed.
"Please, let's try not to harm anyone if it's not necessary." Her voice was very quiet, clearly alarmed by the weapon.
His crew was very small, they were clearly outnumbered going against the hundreds of guards at the temple. But Law showed a casual demeanour adjusting his sword behind his back. Not to mention, he managed to sneak his crew mate, Penguin, onto the island lifting just one hand. The coastline was heavily guarded, and she was afraid of the pirates being caught in the process, but he executed his plan out discretely without attracting any attention.
Law offered no comment at her plea. If it was required of him to draw his sword to stop someone from interfering he won't hesitate to do so. After all, it wasn't just the poneglyph but also the books at the ancient library of Taewe he can gain out of this deal. He turned his attention to Penguin instead.
"Bepo's still on the ship?"
"Yes, captain. He said he'd melt in this climate and is going to watch the ship."
"That's fine, we would've needed someone on the ship with this many people guarding the coast anyway."
"By the way," Penguin trailed off, occasionally glancing over Laws' shoulders. "who's the pretty girl?"
Just then Penguin felt a pat on his shoulder, only to turn and see his crew mate Shachi.
"Trust me, not worth it. I've had to run for my life several times already."
Once again, Law chose to ignore his men's idiotic topic of discussion, not even bothering to point out that Sana was probably younger than even he was. Now that he had gathered the whole group together, he decided to talk through his plan.
"On this island, there's only one person the people would listen to above the temple," he told, before looking over at Sana. "You're the High Priestess. The people here consider your word above the law."
"I can't do anything as the High Priestess at the moment without drawing the attention of the guards."
"Don't worry about the details, captain's plans always work out!" Shachi exclaimed with a sense of pride, and beside him Penguin offered a genuine smile too.
Law began to explain the entirety of the plan to the group. Noon was steadily approaching, but there was still a good amount of time until then. The High Priestess, Sana, was planned to make her way through the crowd and offer her blessings for the upcoming year. The Heart Pirates had already established that she was a devil fruit user, but Law thought about it further and concluded that it was actually her voice that gained the ability from the fruit. The day before he witnessed her whispering something to Shachi, before he announced that he wouldn't abandon Sana and Siah. Penguin and Shachi were in fact fools around women, but their loyalty towards the Heart Pirates was never threatened by it.
Sana and Siah on the other hand looked displeased and uneasy when Law announced that they would make their way to the High Priestess' temple first. He continued explaining that most of the key figures who would disrupt his plan was there. From her father, to the brothers leading the temple guards, they must have all been orchestrating things from there. Sana's descent from the temple couldn't be interrupted by anyone when she makes her way through the streets. So, Law and Shachi would remain at the southern temple during the ceremony, and Penguin who's wanted poster wasn't posted around the island, would accompany Sana as her guard.
Sana would then address the crowd and announce the end of the reign of the southern temple and the long line of High Priestesses. Law opened a tattered brown bag Penguin brought from their ship and took out a small shell like item.
"This is a type of tone dial I acquired on a different island. It can amplify your voice to make it louder and extend its reach."
"I've never really used my voice on such a large crowd before, so I don't know whether it'll work."
"Penguin will accompany you. If you can't do it in one go, then you will have to work your way through the crowd."
Sana hesitantly agreed, before warning them that her devil fruit ability doesn't work on everyone. People were simply immune to it if they're significantly mentally stronger. Law expected this, but a lot of believers were in a vulnerable mental state to begin with, so he thought it wouldn't pose a problem to the majority. But, there was a small minority of people he was concerned about.
"The guys that were just following us earlier, I figured out who they are."
Sana looked stunned at his announcement. There was a lot more she knew about the country and its people, yet she couldn't think of anyone but her father and brothers who would tail them from a distance and pose a threat to her and her sister. Law who had just arrived a day ago, it was dangerous how much he was able to figure out on his own.
He explained, "The temple ruins we stayed in last night, it wasn't long abandoned like you thought. There were traces of people having stayed there until recently."
It was pretty dark, and the comfort of knowing that it was an abandoned temple was enough for Sana and Siah to rest there until the morning. Law ended up being the only one who noticed the ashes of a recently put out campfire and an army of ants surrounding food crumbs that were left behind.
"Where there is a group with an agenda controlling the masses, there is a group to oppose them. This country was once greatly devoted to their ideals and beliefs passed down generations. Not everyone's going to be happy to let go."
"So, the men following us back there..."
"They were also trying to take you, but to disrupt the festival instead." He didn't give her much of a chance to finish off her sentence. "Penguin, you will stay with her when she walks through the crowd. You're the only one whose face they haven't seen yet."
In response, Penguin stood up straight and saluted at Law. "Yes, captain!"
"Shachi, you're coming with me."
"Yes, captain!" Shachi exclaimed as he mimicked Penguin's motion.
"Now, we just need to find an easy way into the temple without causing too much ruckus."
Sana raised her hand slowly, as if trying to get permission to speak. "There's a way to get into the temple from underground."
As if their ears just perked up, the Heart pirates all turned her way. There was a glint in Law's eyes, as if there was a hint of excitement in him. After all, this was just one of the final pieces that would allow his plan to be put into full motion.
"The ruins of the old northern temple has an underground passageway that leads to the old southern temple. You can easily get to the High Priestess' temple from there."
Law looked sort of apprehensive about this secret underground passage, and even Shachi and Penguin looked rather concerned. It was such a convenient piece of the puzzle that just managed to fall in place without much struggle.
"Only me and my older brothers know about this tunnel," Sana added, trying to justify herself. "My older brothers would use the tunnel when they were younger, but stopped once they reached a certain age. I've watched my brothers in the past couple of years, and none of them ever uttered a single word about this tunnel to our father. I'm sure they will keep it secret until it gets found out by other means."
"And exactly how many older brothers do you have?" Shachi asked, genuinely curious.
"I have four older ones. Kai, whom you have met already, Vasu, Yaz and Kal. If we do encounter someone in the tunnels, it will be one of them."
"We'll see about that."
There was a clear confidence in Law's voice. It gave her a sense of comfort that regardless of what problem they were to encounter on their way, he would have an effective solution to it. Was Khaso finally going to win its freedom back?