Chapter 33: To food thy enemy
The bright afternoon sun shone down onto the stone banks of the captured island of Temasek.
On one of its docks stood an army of pirates, all armed to the teeth with firearms and swords of all varieties, looking as menacing as pirates could be.
Among them were a few that stood out from the rest, the captains of their respective crews and fleets, each of them having bounties worth millions on their heads.
Eldoraggo's massive gold armored figure overshadowed most of the pirates around him with the sole exception being his hired mercenary Golass, the feather crowned swordsman standing head to head with him with his massive blade on his back.
He wasn't the only one. 'Axe-hand' Morgan easily towering over the rogues; gray hair in a buzz cut, iron lower jaw slightly rusted from several days at sea, a jacket draped over his shoulders like a cape, he struck an imposing presence, despite still wearing a prisoner's garb.
'Orca Killer' Billy stood next to his two closest comrades, a long odachi sword resting on his shoulder that he allegedly used to split a killer whale in two with one swing.
The two of the Trump Siblings, Bear King and Boo Jack all stood with their crew; the eldest of the two towering over his younger sibling looking out with arms crossed and with a shit eating grin.
That was what the East Traders was met with when they returned to their captured headquarters, their vessels escorted by a few pirate ships that had cannons aimed at them.
'No wonder he's so confident…' Draconis thought, 'If we charged in guns blazing, we would be easily overrun in minutes… not to mention he can easily call them to'
With the Signoria leading the way, the patched-up ships all made landfall at each of the three docks, where several pirates hoisted a board onto the ships.
After which they board the vessels with other armed men, all having their muskets were drawn aimed at the sailors.
"Hands out in front of you!" One of the pirates shouted with ropes in his hand, "And no funny business, or else…!"
One of the pirates cocked the hammer on his musket to prove his point; that was more than enough to get them to follow his instructions.
With hands tied in rope, they were forcefully alighted off their vessels and onto the port and into the army of pirates.
The ruffians moved aside to open a path for them to walk through, several of them laughing and mocking them, with a few crude remarks thrown at the female members that made even the men cringe at their creepiness.
"This is such a bad idea…"
"Shush!"
While the sailors whispered of discontent among them, Draconis shared a glance with the captains with him, all glancing back with subtle nods that none of the pirates picked up on.
For the first part of their little operation had begun.
The night prior…
"We're surrendering!?"
My cries echoed across the quiet port; which was expected considering what I had just heard back from Kris, who himself had only recently heard the order from Lee.
Barely into the night, and the sudden bombshell dropped on Draconis and the captains' response to Tentol's threat.
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Kris loudly whispered to me.
"How can I!?" I cried, "We are giving in to that bastard's demands!"
"That's only what it looks like!"
"Huh?"
The fishman looked about the Going Merry, Gin and the awake Straw Hats nodding in response to his silent question before telling me in a hush tone, "It just looks like we're surrendering, but it is just a way to get Tentol out in the open."
"…Please elaborate."
"Tentol and his Devil Fruit power is how he's holding the hostages' lives in his hands. As such, it is agreed upon that he must be taken out first."
Logic was sound; all Devil Fruit abilities dissipate when the user was either unconscious or dead, so taking him out would free the hostages in one fell swoop.
And with them no longer in danger of suicide by command, the number of forces we had to content with and worry for would be cut down quite a bit.
"But what does surrendering have to do with luring him out?" I asked.
"Tentol seemed to hold a grudge against Draconis, so there's a good chance he will personally show up to gloat over him." He explained, "That's when we strike."
"Yeah, that bastard does sounds like the type to hold deep grudges." Saniji noted.
"So, we're to sail over and hand ourselves to them?" I asked.
"No; at least, not you lot." The fishman explained to me, "You guys and Sen are to keep a distance away from the East Blue Pirate Alliance. Once we give the signal, you guys are to charge in and take out as many of them as you could."
"In other words, we're the clean-up crew." Zoro pointed out.
"But what about in the event this whole plan backfires?" Nami asked, "You all will be walking in his hands."
"Lee did not say." Kris stated, "Just that you guys are to charge in when given the signal."
"…Ah, we're the backup plan." Gin concluded, "A final all-out attack."
Guess that made sense; if subterfuge failed, a frontal assault was all they could do.
"A-Aren't they putting too much f-faith on u-us!?" Usopp cried, "We're just eight guys! What can we do against an entire fleet!?"
"You literally saw Sen take out a ship with a cannon ball. And Luffy destroyed an entire building with his foot." I pointed out to him, "I'm pretty sure we are more than capable for dealing with a few ships."
"Ah! T-That's true…! As long as we have Sen with us, I guess we'll be fine then."
"You know, saying it out loud is just asking to get jinxed."
As the long-nosed sniper screamed at the moss-haired swordsman for saying that, Kris slipped something into my hand without anyone but me noticing. I gave him a look and he replied with a finger to his lips.
Orders that cannot be said out loud, perhaps? Considering that the traitor had yet to be found, this was probably the best way to handle it without alerting him or her.
"Then I'll be heading back. Have a good night."
"You too, Kris."
The fishman jumped off the Going Merry and started heading back to the Silver Fang, leaving the Straw Hats to discuss about this turn of events in private.
"Hm? Rein, what's that in your hand?" Gin asked.
"Not sure; he slipped it into my hand when you guys aren't noticing." I replied as I opened up the folded slip of paper; the writing inside was that of Sen's, and it looked to be written in quite the hurry.
As I read its contents, the reasons for its secrecy immediately made sense; if that traitor found out about this, this whole operation would fold in an instant.
"Your mentor really is something else…"
"You're telling me…"
I made sure to memorize the words before tearing up the paper, tossing the pieces into the ocean for good measure.
"Alright then… hey you guys! There's something I need to tell you guys!"
Draconis and the rest of the 'captured' sailors were escorted to the center of the formation, where the leader of all these criminals and the one responsible for this crisis stood almost triumphantly.
And the one they needed to take out first.
With the Trump Siblings standing on either side was Tentol, the man wearing an attire similar yet less regal to Draconis's, the addition of a feather on his tricorn hat acting almost like a mockery to him.
And standing behind him were several rows of people, all holding a pistol and pointing it at their foreheads, body shaking with eyes wide in fear; the hostages being controlled by the Slave-Slave Fruit's powers.
"Marie!" Bronz cried out when he saw his wife among them.
Draconis gritted his teeth in anger, but tried to keep his face as passive as he possibly could; though he was already mentally picturing tearing the bastard limp from limp.
"Well, well, well… now isn't this quite a sight." Tentol smirked as he walked up to Draconis, "I seemed to recall something similar to this happening once before. Don't you?"
"Do enlighten me."
"…Tch, always with the quick comebacks. That's what I hate about you!"
"Grgk!"
"Draconis!"
A backhand met his face that sent the elder captain falling to the ground, which was followed by a boot was slammed onto his head.
"Then let me enlighten you." Tentol growled, grinding his heel on his scalp, "Years ago, you dragged me like this and ruined my life! Years of blood and sweat, all gone because of you!"
"You have yourself to blame for that, Tentol!" Bronz shouted, "You're the one that started all that illegal shit!"
"Tch! Why can't any of you ever understand that I'm just trying to make the East Traders better? But that doesn't matter now. Soon, you all will be working with me to that end yourselves, whether you like it or not."
"Where is she!?" Lee screamed at him, "Where's Silvia!?"
"Ah, you must be Lee." Tentol noted in surprise, hand under his chin in thought, "Lil' Silvia has told me all about you; though she seems to have exaggerated your features a little…"
"If you lay a finger on her…!"
"Haha, way too late for that, I'm afraid. But don't worry, she'll be taken care for to the best of I am able; family is still family after all, even if they have betrayed you before."
"YOU BASTARD–Guh!"
Lee charged forward at him, but only managed to get two steps in before one of the pirates stopped him with a gunstock to his face, knocking him off his feet and tumbling to the ground.
"Tch, tch; temper, temper…" Tentol gave him a mocking wagging of his finger, like he was scolding a child for misbehaving, "Don't you forget, I'm the one with the cards here. Another fit like that, and it is…"
He mimicked a gun with his hand and put it at his temple, twitching his thumb like cocking the gun's hammer with matching sound effects.
Lee grunted in anger at the silent threat, but kept his mouth closed as he was helped up by his fellow sailors.
Tentol let out a chuckled at his expression as he looked over the captees, one of them made him grin widely, "Glad to see you keep your end of the deal, Draconis."
Standing among them, still wearing a fedora and with his bandaged hands cuffed by metal cuffs, was Sen.
The first out of many hiccups in their original plan.
"…You jinxed it, Usopp."
"Ugh… you don't have to keep rubbing it in…"
The reason for Usopp's whimpering was of the sudden and massive change in plans, which was that Sen was not to come with us and instead joined them in surrendering.
It was a condition Tentol had added the moment Draconis had 'surrendered' that morning, that Sen had to be handed over to him.
That definitely put a wrench in the initial plan, considering how much it and the back-up plan relied on his immense strength.
"Hah… This is so going to backfire big time…" Nami sighed.
"How many times are you going to say that?" I asked.
Nami turned to me with a glare that made me flinch a little, "I mean, isn't it!? What kind of plan requires them to surrender to the enemy!? That's the kind of idiotic planning that's guaranteed to backfire!"
"No point in getting angry at me! I'm not the one that came up with it!" I cried out.
"Ah~ An angry Nami is so cute~"
"Idiot."
"What was that, mosshead!?"
"Exactly what I said, idiot cook!"
As Zoro and Sanji began anotherfight in the background much to the dismay of the others, I looked over to the additional member on the Going Merry they sent to try and balance out Sen's absence.
"This is the first time I'm sailing with pirates instead away from then." Balck bemused, an amused smile on his face, "Guess if you lived long enough, anything is possible."
The silver haired man had volunteered to take Sen's place and Draconis had no reason to object; the man was touted as one of, if not the most skilled combatant among us, with many tales about his martial prowess being told among the sailors.
Though some of them were of dubious origin, like the talk that he had sunk an armed galleon with nothing but his bare hands.
Unless Haki was involved, with the number of users in the East Blue easily counted with one hand, I would take that with a grain of salt.
"Though it would be great if my captain's blades weren't used for petty squabbles…" He looked over at Zoro with a worried expression, "Please be careful with them. I don't want to have to bring back broken swords."
"It'll be fine; this guy could possibly dent them with his weakass kicks."
"I'm going to make you eat your words, you shitty bastard!"
Balck let out a sigh as Sanji increased the number of kicks he was dishing out at the swordsman, Zoro blocking and parrying each and every one with his rental blades.
I was beginning to understand why Nami was so fed up with them all the time.
Speaking of the navigator, my eyes then wandered to the two additional personnel that were definitely not sent here by Draconis.
"You have to tell me your secret." Dva asked Nami, "Like girl, your body made mine look like a stick in comparison."
"Oh, please, your figure is great
for your age." The former thief assured her, "With the right clothes, I bet you will take the breath away of every guy around you."
"You really think so?"
"Honey, I know so. Speaking of which, your clothes look amazing. Where did you buy them?"
Their conversation escalated to clothes that I immediately tuned out; and seeing Steve trying so hard to stay away from the interaction, he was of the same mind.
The two of them boarding the Going Merry was a complete curveball, and one that was most likely done on the insistence of the captain of the Beneavor; it was clear what his intentions were for sending his daughter away from the trap was.
Considering that his wife and other kids were currently held at literal knife point, the thought of his eldest getting caught up in it was most likely unbearable.
Though why the young man was included in that equation, I was not sure; but I have a few theories.
"So, if you don't mind me asking…" Steve walked over to Luffy, the pirate captain casual sitting on the ship's figurehead being uncharacteristically silent, "Why are we heading away from–?"
"Steve, she's the one you should be asking." I pointed to Nami as I told him.
"But… isn't he the captain?"
"Just trust me on this one."
"…Alright then…?" He turned to the navigator and asked, "Excuse me, miss. Why is this ship not facing the blockade as it had originally planned?"
"I'm curious about that as well." Balck interjected, "Why aren't we at the planned location?"
Like he had said, we were not facing the blockade of pirate ships that were guarding the destroyed gate into Temasek; if anything, we were sailing away from them.
As for the reason why…
"There's another plan in motion." Nami explained as she pointed at me, "One given to her in secret."
"Another plan? By who?" He asked me.
"By Sen." I told him, "Originally, it was going to include him, but as you know…"
"…What was the plan?"
Before I could answer him, Usopp called out from the crow's nest, "I see the cave! On the portside!"
"Oh, I see it now." Sanji noted.
Looking at the mentioned direction, our destination was in sight; a small opening on the face of the cliffs, one big enough to fit a wagon through and currently blocked by haphazardly nailed wooden planks.
According to Sen, that opening leads to a secret passage into a warehouse in the Wood Division's district, it was how Tentol managed to keep his smuggling operation a secret for so long.
"Rein… what's going on?" Balck asked, "What was the plan Sen came up with?"
"Infiltrate Temasek and rescue the hostages."
"Wait, what!?"
The warehouse district within the Wood Division was close to where the jail cells were located, and where Tentol had kept most of his hostages.
If we could free them before he caught on, Draconis and the other captains would have no reason to go along with the bastard's demands anymore.
"That's extremely risky!" Steve cried out, "If Tentol notices…!"
"Yeah… Draconis's plan will be for naught…"
There was also the risk that he might have placed them somewhere else not as apparent, that he had them close to him as a precautionary measure.
It was also a good chance that he had also laid traps in the secret passage, and entering it would bring immediate attention to Tentol within seconds.
But that was a risk we would have to take.
"True, though the advantage gained from it would be great." Balck pointed out, "Very well; I'll join you guys on it. You will need someone to guide you to the brigs, and I'm pretty sure Rein isn't familiar enough with the district to do so."
I had to agree with him on that; I had never truly visited the Wood Division aside from flying over them in my daily flight training, so I wasn't too sure with the district topography.
"W-Wait, Balck, sir!" Steve cried out, "What about the original plan!? If we aren't at the a-appointed location when they give the signal…!"
"Actually, only a few of us would be rescuing the hostages." Nami pointed out, "The rest of the crew will remain on board and prepare for the signal."
"As they say."
"E-Even so, we need you on the ship! Your strength is needed when—"
"I'm going too."
We all turned to Dva in simultaneous shock over her words, which was compounded by the resolve in her eyes; she was being completely serious.
"No, Dva! I can't let you!" Steve cried out, "Captain Bronz made it very clear that I am to keep you away from danger!"
"Please; when has that ever stopped me? Besides, I know of all the hidden spots around the district that we can use to avoid detection. Like, I'm way more suited to lead them around than Balck."
"But if they catch you, you'll be another hostage for Tentol to hold over us!"
"…this might be the only chance we get to rescue my family, Steve." Dva pointed out, "As the eldest, it is my responsibility to look after them. And I can't do that just waiting here."
"D-Dva…" Steve stumbled back a bit, before letting out a tired sigh, "Oh, what's the point… it's not like I could ever stop you."
"I'm sorry, Steve."
"Eh, I'm used to it at this point. But know that I'm coming along; your father will literally have my head if I didn't."
"Oh please, daddy isn't, like, that bad."
"Yes, he is… Oh, yes, he is…"
With their inclusion into the infiltration settled and confirmed, Nami turned to me and said, "We will need to shift about the teams a bit."
"Yeah, I'm aware." I noted; with the inclusion of those three, we would need to rethink who to join in the infiltration.
They had to be stealthy, quiet, and–
"Gum-Gum Rocket!"
And my choice was made for me as Luffy suddenly slingshot himself off the ship's bow and broke right through the wooden planks like a giant rubber bullet.
The sound of Nami face-palming was heard seconds later.
"…I knew it was too quiet." Sanji noted with a groan, "That damn idiot…"
"…Is he really the captain?" Balck asked with an almost amused tone.
"Unfortunately, yes…" Zoro sighed, "Couldn't tell you how many times he made me regret my choice to join this crew…"
"I… see… Then, shouldn't we go after him?"
"Hey!" Luffy waved his hand from within the cave, "You guys coming or what!?"
"Yeah, we're coming! Just keep your voice down, you rubber idiot!" Sanji shouted, "You'll bring their attention to us!"
"Oops! Shishishi~! My bad!"
…I was beginning to think that Nami might be right…
Tentol couldn't keep himself from smiling from ear to ear when Sen stepped out from the sea of captured sailors, the looks of anguish on their faces only making his grin even wider.
He had long been informed by his insider that this little surrender of theirs was nothing but a ruse, and that they only did this to bring him out in the open for them to take out.
There was no doubt that some of them were hiding weapons in their clothes, small arms like knives and pistols, and there were people hidden on the ship arming the cannons in secret.
Just a signal from Draconis would have them whipping them out in seconds and unloading lead shells and musket balls all around them.
Unfortunately for them, he knew of the perfect counter of that; the additional condition that Sen was to be handed over to him first.
'You think you are so smart with your schemes…'
"Devil Fruits truly are amazing, isn't it?" Tentol pulled Draconis back on his feet via pulling his hair while whispering to his ear, "With just one touch of my hand, and you are beholden to my every command. A loyal puppet."
"Grr…"
Before the elderly captain could act, he shoved him back to his crew as Sen walked up to him with his fedora covering half of his face, lips curled in a grimace.
Once he was in front of him, Tentol raised his hand up and placed his hand up by the man's neck, imprinting his power's sign on the skin and enslaving him to his every words.
"Rarara… RARARARARAH! Finally! Victory is MINE!"
Laughter came bursting out of his mouth, overjoyed at the fact that he had truly won, that there was nothing Draconis or anyone could possibly change that.
For he had the most powerful monster of a man on his leash.
"Now then…!" He uncuffed Sen from his metal bindings, "Sen! Your first order as my slave! Kill Draconis as brutally as possible."
Almost like a mechanical puppet, the man took a step forward, teeth gritting as he futilely fought back against the commands as he slowly made his way towards the elderly captain.
His crew gathered in front of him to defend their captain alongside the other captains, but they were moved aside by him as he stood his ground.
Sen soon stood before him, and he stiffly cocked his fist back, Draconis still standing strong with eyes glaring straight at Tentol in silent defiance.
'Glare at me all you want. It won't change a thing.'
Then, with great anticipation, Sen swung his fist down at him, and Tentol let out a loud cheer as Draconis face was–
"Boop."
"…huh?"
Instead of a devastating punch, the elderly captain was lightly poked in the forehead; Draconis now spotting a confident grin while his comrades had their jaws dropped.
"W-Whuh…?" Tentol shook out of his shock as he commanded his new slave once more, "Kill him! Kill Draconis!"
But far from following his orders, Sen simply turned around with a smirk, "Don't want to, jackass."
"Wha… What's going on…!? Why aren't you killing him! You're my slave! You have my mark! You should listen to me!"
"The Slave-Slave Fruit is indeed powerful. But like all Devil Fruits, it too has its own limitations. For example…"
Sen adjusted his fedora and revealed the cotton lodged in his ears, "Your orders are a moot point I can't hear it."
"T-That can't be…!" Tentol cried out, "T-This is ridiculous!"
'My powers are easily blocked by some cotton!?'
"Now, here's what is going to happen." Sen took a step forward while cracking his neck and knuckles, "I'm going to walk up to you, and then I'm punching your lights out; and there is nothing you can do to stop it from happening."
"G-Grgk…! D-Don't forget! I still have my hostages–"
"HAH!"
"MNGH!?"
In an instance, Sen closed the distance and slammed his fist into Tentol's face, smashing his nose and teeth inwards with a sickening crunch. That was quickly followed up with a dropkick, slamming the hard heel of his boot in the top of his head.
That was more than enough, as Tentol's eyes almost immediately went dull and he fell face forward onto the ground, unmoving as blood pooled around his head.
The silence afterwards was deafening, jaws were dropped from both sides of the conflict from the speed he was quickly taken out of the picture; it was almost anticlimactic.
The effect of it, however, was made apparent quite loudly, as the captives immediately lowered their weapons with almost half of them dropping to them outright, much to the shock and confusion of the pirates around them.
For Draconis, it was the moment he was waiting for.
He immediately turned to the sky before bellowing out as hard as he could, letting his words echoed throughout and beyond the cliffs of the island.
"LET FREEBIRD COMMENCE!"
With those words, the battle for Temasek began.
…
To be continued…
To those who guessed what Draconis's plan was last chapter, sharp thinking and nicely done; thought it was kind of obvious.
So yeah, the next chapter is going to be fights and fights, and more fights. It would be an all-out brawl between the East Blue Pirate Alliance, and the East Traders.
Who would come up on top? Find that out in the next chapter!
With that, I thank you all for reading this!