A Vacation Interrupted, a Girl's Plea for Help!

A Vacation Interrupted, a Girl's Plea for Help!

"Kuzan, the Marines' salary must be pretty high, right?"

"You didn't even blink when buying all this food."

"This little bit of money must be pocket change to you."

On the snack street, Yoriichi held a drink in his left hand and a large food container in his right. Chewing on the specialty gummy candy he had just bought, he spoke indistinctly to Aokiji beside him.

Aokiji was much the same as Yoriichi. He carried a food container in one hand, while the other held a bottle of red wine. Apparently, the wine was made from grapes grown locally in the Neil Kingdom.

The climate of the New World was bizarre, and the Neil Kingdom received abundant sunlight. As a result, its specialties were all sorts of strange fruits and vegetables. Even a common fruit like grapes developed a distinctive flavor when grown in the Neil Kingdom. The red wine brewed from them had a unique character.

Though Aokiji was not much of a drinker, he would have a drink when he had nothing to do. He quite enjoyed that pleasantly tipsy feeling.

"How could that be?!"

"Buying this much stuff hurt my wallet too, you know."

"But it's fine. If it's you, I'll get it all back from you someday. Hahaha."

Rare free time had put Aokiji in an excellent mood, and he joked around with Yoriichi.

"Get it back from me? Then you'll have a long wait."

"Zefa-sensei wants me to join the Marines after I come of age. Kuzan, just wait."

Yoriichi answered with a smile. Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out farther down the street. The surrounding civilians all looked into the distance, where a crowd had already gathered to watch.

Faintly, Yoriichi seemed to hear someone crying for help.

"Hey, Kuzan, something seems to have happened."

"I think I heard someone calling for help. Should we take a look?"

Aokiji nodded in confirmation. "I heard it too. Let's go take a look."

As they spoke, their pace unconsciously quickened.

"Excuse us, please make way." Aokiji pushed through the crowd as he squeezed toward its center. Yoriichi followed behind him. Once they made their way inside, Yoriichi and Aokiji finally saw what was happening in the middle of the crowd.

Surrounded by the crowd was a young girl. Her luxurious clothes had been torn apart, and the shredded fabric hanging from her body could not conceal her skin at all, exposing glimpses of her body.

The girl's eyes were lifeless, filled with terror. A kind middle-aged woman hurriedly untied her apron and draped it over the girl, then crouched beside her and asked with concern.

"Child, what happened?!"

"What happened to you? Why are you like this?!"

Faced with the woman's questions, the girl only cried, "Save me," and refused to say anything else. Yoriichi and Aokiji exchanged a glance, and both their expressions darkened.

Aokiji stepped forward, parted the people on either side, and crouched in front of the girl. The kind woman was startled by his sudden appearance. She hurriedly hugged the girl and shot Aokiji a wary look, her eyes full of vigilance.

Seeing this, Aokiji took a small step back before asking gently.

"Miss, can you tell me what happened?"

"You don't need to be afraid. I'm a Marine. I'll help you."

As he spoke, Aokiji pointed to the Marine insignia on his chest, hoping to gain her trust.

Sure enough, upon hearing the word Marines, a glimmer of light appeared in the girl's eyes. She looked up, examined him briefly, and tears immediately spilled from her eyes.

"The Marines? Are you really with the Marines?!"

"Please save me. Save my family."

"Pirates... pirates... pirates attacked the palace. They killed my father!"

The girl's words stunned the surrounding civilians, followed by waves of shocked cries. Aokiji also froze, greatly surprised.

"The palace?!"

"Pirates?"

Aokiji knew the Neil Kingdom's situation well. Though he looked down on the Neil Kingdom's practices, he had to admit that its king was a highly capable man. The king of the Neil Kingdom had ruled for more than a decade, and nothing like this had ever happened before.

Moreover, the Neil Kingdom had its own army, and its fighting strength was not weak. Ordinary pirates could never defeat the kingdom's royal guard.

Even more absurdly, it was broad daylight!

What kind of idiot would attack a World Government member nation, attack the Neil Kingdom under Whitebeard's protection, and do it on the Neil Kingdom's own soil in broad daylight?! Was he out of his mind?!

Of course, Aokiji could not have known that Nyuk's ambition and desire had made him utterly arrogant. He did not regard the Marines or Whitebeard as threats at all.

Still, Aokiji did not doubt the girl's words. After all, something like this was far too easy to verify. There was no point in lying.

"Kuzan, what do you think?"

Yoriichi, standing behind Aokiji, suddenly asked. He had heard the girl's words, and his thoughts were simple. Since they knew the pirates' exact location and the victim was right in front of them, they just had to charge in and take them down.

However, Aokiji, who was about to become a major general, had more say in dealing with pirates. Yoriichi was still willing to hear Aokiji's opinion.

"Do you even need to ask?!"

"Miss, where is the palace? I'll head there right now!"

At those words, a trace of joy finally appeared on the girl's face, as if she had found a savior. But after coming back to her senses, she did not point out the palace's direction. Instead, she said anxiously.

"The palace has been surrounded."

"There are lots of pirates. So many."

"And they're very strong. The royal guards have all been killed. I secretly escaped through a hidden passage. Sir, you're alone. Wouldn't it be better to call your companions and go together?"

Hearing that, Yoriichi stepped up beside Aokiji, scratched his head, and said.

"It's not like he's alone. I may not be very capable, but I count as his companion."

"The two of us will go together. If the enemies really are strong, we'll call for reinforcements."

"Miss, let's not talk so much. Where is the palace?"

This time, before the girl could answer, the kind middle-aged woman from earlier directly pointed toward the northern street and immediately said, "Follow this road straight ahead, and you'll see an extremely wide road paved with bluestone."

"That's King's Road. Once you get there, you'll be able to see the palace."

As soon as the woman finished speaking, Aokiji and Yoriichi exchanged a look and immediately ran in the direction she had indicated.

Before long, the two saw King's Road, paved with bluestone. However, after looking around, neither of them saw the so-called palace. Instead, a mud fortress several dozen meters tall and a hundred meters wide caught their attention.

Some of the residents on the street were also staring at the mud fortress, their faces filled with bewilderment and shock.

"That should be it."

"It should be a Devil Fruit ability. Possibly a Logia!" Aokiji stared at the distant mud fortress, his expression turning grave.

He had initially assumed it was just some reckless small-time pirate, but the sight before him completely changed his mind. Logia Devil Fruits were extremely rare, and every Logia user was exceptionally powerful.

Aokiji knew that well.

"Yoriichi, go to the branch and notify Vice Admiral Garp and Major General Rocca. I'll go take a look first."

Realizing that the opponent might be troublesome, Aokiji intended to send Yoriichi back first. However, Yoriichi shook his head and said.

"With such a huge commotion, someone has probably already gone to notify the branch."

"It makes no difference whether I go back now or not."

"Let's go together. I can tell that's a Logia Devil Fruit ability, right?"

"I won't claim I can help you much, but I shouldn't hold you back."

As he spoke, Yoriichi drew the long sword from his waist. Seeing the determination in Yoriichi's eyes, Aokiji said no more and took the lead in running toward the mud fortress.

When they arrived before the mud fortress, Aokiji gave it a quick inspection but found no sign of an entrance. Just as he was about to use his ability to blast open a passage, he noticed that Yoriichi beside him had already made his move.

Sun Breathing—First Form—Dance!

The long sword swept out fiercely, and a powerful Flying Slash shot from Tsugikuni Yoriichi's blade. The invisible air blade slammed directly into the mud fortress. In an instant, mud splattered everywhere, and a long, narrow gash was violently torn through the fortress from bottom to top.

Aokiji and Yoriichi flashed forward, vanishing from where they stood almost simultaneously.

After the two entered the mud fortress, the surrounding sludge slowly flowed over the opening again. Within mere seconds, the mud fortress returned to its original state, once again enveloping the palace.