Santa Claus

Robin stood there, pitiful, weak, and helpless. She did not even intend to defend herself. She had never stolen anything from anyone, and her Devil Fruit ability was even less something that could be shared.

After being captured, she had known that if her ability were exposed and she were locked up with Seastone, she would never be able to escape again. That was why she had carefully concealed her ability until those pirates let down their guard, then used it to escape.

Yet those pirates had instinctively assumed that she had stolen their captain's Devil Fruit. They were even so stupid that they had never thought to verify it.

Robin also knew that although the other slaves said nothing, they might have resented her in their hearts. But it did not matter. She no longer held any hope for this world, so there was no need to care what others thought of her.

(It seems many readers were unhappy with yesterday's setting that Robin did not eat the Devil Fruit in Ohara, so does this count as me forcibly patching it up? (☆^ー^☆))

Bang!

The door was violently shoved open.

"Brat, you were right. The one at fault has always been this world!" A man in black walked in with a large group of pirates, dragging a Wolf Fang Club across the floor and sending sparks flying.

"I also want to know why my dad wasn't the richest man in the world. Why my mom wasn't a high-ranking government official. Why I couldn't be some noble who got to play with women every day. It's because life is fucking unfair from the moment we're born that we ended up taking the path of pirates!"

"If we had a choice, who wouldn't want to be a good person?"

"Hahaha! Boss is right! We're all good people!" The other pirates chimed in.

The noisy, chaotic prison instantly fell silent. Even the little boy who had been spouting off earlier became as quiet as a cicada in winter. In the end, he was just a brat who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

"Hehe! This brat can be groomed. In my experience, the ones who work hardest at catching slaves are often people like him."

Seeing that the brat was too frightened to answer, the black-clad leader lost interest. He gripped his Wolf Fang Club and continued toward Robin. "Little girl, it seems we treated you too well before. You didn't know how to appreciate that rare privilege. Not only did you dare to run away, you even stole the captain's Devil Fruit. This time, I'm breaking one of your legs."

"Anyway, those Big Shots only care about what's in your head. As for the rest..."

"Brother Longinus, we..." Seeing Captain Ginyu raise his Wolf Fang Club high, seemingly about to bring it down on Robin's frail body the next moment, Hina finally could not bear it and cried out softly.

"Mm! I'll—"

"Aaaah!!!"

Just as Longinus was about to make his move, a heart-rending scream rang out from the prison. The despair and deathly stillness contained in that cry made even his body tremble slightly.

Longinus focused his gaze and saw that Captain Ginyu's Wolf Fang Club had fallen to the side. The man himself was bent over, clutching his groin, his face deathly pale as bead-sized drops of sweat continuously dripped from his forehead.

At that moment, Longinus recalled the shocking act Robin would perform in the original trajectory of that otherworldly soul's memories—the same treatment Franky had suffered.

"According to that otherworldly soul, this guy had become a 'Santa Claus,' hadn't he?" Longinus felt a chill run through his body. It had nothing to do with anything else; this was the normal reaction any man would have upon witnessing such a sight.

"Grab... grab that damn brat for me! I... I'll smash every bone in her body!" Captain Ginyu shrieked furiously, his voice now carrying a trace of effeminacy.

The surrounding pirates looked at one another, yet not a single one dared step forward. That was a punishment even more terrifying than death!

"You bunch of trash, are you looking to die?"

Captain Ginyu berated them furiously, while the other pirates guiltily lowered their heads.

Now!

Longinus seized that fleeting opening and sprang out from the corner. With the cleanest, most efficient move, he shattered Captain Ginyu's heart. Then he appeared amid the densest cluster of pirates and swept out with a whip kick. The force, enough to break steel, instantly shattered their limbs.

Blood sprayed everywhere and severed limbs flew through the air. The scene was exceptionally gruesome, drawing terrified screams from the captured slaves.

This was the helplessness of a Martial Arts strong individual. Without having learned Rokushiki, he lacked a decisive wide-area attack, leaving Longinus unable to hold back in the slightest.

The other pirates also snapped awake. Stimulated by the blood, they charged at Longinus irrationally, though a small number who recognized the situation silently slipped away toward the rear.

The more he killed, the calmer he became!

Amid the slaughterhouse of flesh and blood, Longinus first targeted the few musketeers who posed the greatest threat. It was not that they endangered his life, but that they threatened his perfect rescue operation.

Under his lightning-fast assault, the seven pirates carrying pistols were taken down before any of them could even fire a single shot for fun.

Once the threat of pistols was gone, the cages that should have been restraints became the best protection for the slaves. Longinus could finally fight without restraint, and in just three seconds, he killed every pirate who had not fled.

"Th-this is the Marines coming to save us!"

"Great, we don't have to become slaves!"

"Waaah, Mom, Dad, I miss you!"

Although the scene was somewhat bloody, aside from a small number of Mothers, none of the slaves held any goodwill toward those pirates. Every one of them wished those pirates dead, so naturally no one felt uncomfortable.

"The... the Marines..." Amid the jubilant cheers, only Robin's little face turned pale as she kept backing away. It seemed that only the cold cage behind her could give her even a little comfort.

"Brother Longinus, here are the keys!" Hina happily pulled out a ring of keys from that "dead eunuch" and proudly presented them.

"Then I'll leave the task of rescuing them to you, little Hina."

"Hina guarantees mission completion!"

Longinus walked outside. He needed to deal with the danger he had left behind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Damn it, that idiot Ginyu locked the door!" The fleeing pirates pounded on the gate, venting the anger in their hearts. In their terror, they had long forgotten the strict hierarchy aboard the pirate ship.

"Why... why have all the sounds of fighting disappeared?" one pirate said tremblingly. "Have they already been killed?"

"Don't scare yourself. How long has it even been?"

"But Captain Ginyu was killed in one exchange! That Marine brat is a monster!"

"Hurry and find a way to open this iron door—"

Boom!

Without any warning, the speaking pirate fell straight to the ground.

"Damn it, it's a silenced pistol! Hide!"

"Six pirates, exactly six bullets. I'll give every one of them to you."

With the support of powerful Observation Haki, and with their lack of long-range attack methods, Longinus naturally would not give up the assistance of a pistol.

Although the few pirates hid tightly behind cover, they had nowhere to hide under Longinus's Observation Haki.

Accompanied by several dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground, the battle quickly came to an end.

Longinus slowly returned to the prison. Hina, who had been eagerly awaiting him, and the trembling rescued people all erupted into loud cheers.

"Great, we're finally saved!"

"Brother Marine, thank you!"

Longinus smiled. His gentle smile seemed to possess an invisible power that settled everyone down. "Everyone, rest for a while. Before long, Marines will come and take you home."

"However, before that, there is one final sinner who must be judged!"