Shocking Change

PS: Thanks to 'Momo Mo', 'Rem loves Ram', 'Let someone be better', 'Blow away the story', 'Rely on you from now on', 'Shen Suan', 'Sad and painful', 'Fleeting Years Sing a Sad Song', 'Ask the book what it is', and others for their tips. Thank you for your support!

PS2: Sweat, I overslept today. I didn't get up to write until nearly seven in the evening, so I only managed to write about 6,000 words...

After resolving that small interlude, Bai Ina pushed his speed to the limit, reaching the vicinity of the dojo in less than ten minutes.

However, the moment he stepped into the dojo's perimeter, Bai Ina's expression shifted.

There had been a small grove surrounding the dojo where he had conducted his training for the past six months, but now, that grove had vanished. It had turned into... a patch of broken branches, with some trees looking as if they had been smashed into splinters by some terrifying force.

The ground was riddled with chaotic, massive craters, as if it had been strafed by bombs, yet there was no scent of gunpowder in the air.

All of this caused Bai Ina's expression to change drastically; the only thing that brought him a sliver of relief was that the dojo in the distance did not appear to have suffered major damage.

Rushing to the dojo, Bai Ina couldn't help but feel a sense of panic, terrified that what he would see after opening the door would no longer be the familiar scene he had always known.

'Creak--'

Accompanied by the sound, the dojo gate was quickly opened, though it wasn't pushed open by Bai Ina, but rather from the inside.

"You two?"

Bai Ina looked at Zongcilang and Hijikata Yoshitoyo as they stepped out, his brow furrowing. Both of them looked disheveled, their clothes covered in dust. Their expressions were somewhat frantic; even the usually cold Hijikata had a savage look on his face at this moment...

When they saw Bai Ina, their expressions froze for a moment before turning icy. Zongcilang spoke directly: "The teacher has been taken away!"

"What!"

Although seeing the disheveled state of the two had already given Bai Ina a bad feeling, his pupils contracted sharply upon hearing Zongcilang's words. He stepped forward, grabbed Zongcilang, and asked urgently: "Who took the teacher, and why?"

"The people who took the teacher claimed to be CP9. The teacher's identity is an operative within the Revolutionary Army." It was Hijikata Yoshitoyo who answered from the side. His expression had calmed slightly, but his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice carried murderous intent: "And according to those who came, the one who exposed the teacher's identity was Jande, who went missing half a month ago!"

"CP9..."

Bai Ina's expression changed several times in succession. Familiar with the original story, how could he not know of this organization?

CP9... the secret intelligence agency directly under the World Government. The organization's full name is Cipher Pol No. 9. It is filled with powerful individuals and, in the original story, nearly wiped out the entire Straw Hat Pirates.

"How many people came?" Bai Ina asked softly after a moment of contemplation.

"Four. It is said that there is one more officer who didn't come, waiting at the border town of the Goa Kingdom..."

Upon hearing this, a look of struggle appeared on Bai Ina's face. Finally, he gritted his teeth and looked at the two with a cold expression: "Go back!"

"What?"

The expressions of Hijikata Yoshitoyo and the other changed instantly. Zongcilang stepped forward, grabbed Bai Ina by the collar, and roared: "What did you say? You want us to go back? The teacher has been fucking taken away, and you want us to go back?"

"The teacher must have said something before he left!" Bai Ina's expression remained unchanged. He looked at the wavering Zongcilang and shook his head: "Go back. Based on my understanding of the teacher, he definitely gave instructions not to look for him when he left. Besides, even the teacher was no match for them; what use would it be for you to go?"

"..."

The two remained silent, their expressions looking extremely ugly!

"Yina, you've returned just in time, stop these two!" At this moment, Loxi seemed to have just noticed Zongcilang and the other leaving and hurried out of the dojo. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two being blocked by Bai Ina.

"The teacher told me before he left that if anything happened to him, I should preside over the dojo's affairs and under no circumstances should anyone go looking for him!"

Bai Ina took a deep, ragged breath, forcibly suppressing the impulse in his heart. Zongcilang and the others didn't understand, but Bai Ina knew the strength of CP9. This was absolutely not something they could contend with right now; even if they went after them, it would only mean throwing away more lives!

Just as Bai Ina was about to persuade the two again to abandon this suicidal idea, Hijikata and Zongcilang moved simultaneously. However, they didn't attack Bai Ina; instead, they grabbed Loxi, who had just run over, and held a sword to his neck.

Loxi was stunned and asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"

"I know... even if the two of us joined forces, we couldn't break through your obstruction!" Zongcilang looked at Loxi with an apologetic expression before turning to look coldly at Bai Ina.

"Let Loxi go first!"

Seeing this, Bai Ina's expression turned cold, his voice becoming icy.

"Let us leave--" Hijikata stepped forward, staring directly at Bai Ina: "We have followed the teacher since we were children; to us, he is no different from a father. We cannot imagine a future without the teacher!"

"..."

Bai Ina remained silent, the grief deep in his eyes growing more intense.

At this moment, Zongcilang walked directly into the courtyard. Before long, he returned with a massive chain: "Don't resist, otherwise we cannot guarantee that we will remain rational. I don't think you want to see Loxi get hurt."

Seeing this, Bai Ina glanced at the sword Hijikata held pressed against Loxi's neck. He finally sighed, choosing not to stop Zongcilang from binding him, and allowed himself to be tied to the pillar next to the dojo gate.

After binding him, Zongcilang took a large padlock from his waist, locked it, and whispered in Bai Ina's ear: "I'm sorry, but... don't come!" Having said that, he walked straight to Hijikata. The two looked at each other and nodded.

To prevent Loxi from helping Bai Ina untie himself, Zongcilang also bound him with rope. Once everything was done, the two turned and chased in the direction the CP9 members had left.

Seeing the two leave, Loxi said to Bai Ina with a look of shame: "Yina, I'm sorry, it's all because of..."

"It's fine."

Bai Ina interrupted him directly and turned to shout into the dojo: "What are you still watching for? Come out and untie us!"

Loxi was stunned, then looked at the students peeking out from inside the dojo, his expression dazed.

The children who heard Bai Ina's call hesitated for a moment before running out of the dojo one by one.

When they saw the large lock on the chain around Bai Ina, they were all dumbfounded.

"This is the lock we usually use for the dojo gate. Go check the cabinets in Zongcilang and Hijikata's rooms; you should be able to find the spare key for this lock!" Bai Ina said coldly.

Upon hearing this, the group of children scurried off toward the warehouse and the dojo in a flash, while Loxi, who had already been untied, said, "I'll go help look too!" With that, he also ran into the dojo.

About five minutes later, the children returned one after another from the dojo, stepping forward one by one to try the keys they had found. Yet, after all that fuss, not a single key fit the heavy lock.

Bai Ina's brows furrowed at the sight. He stepped past the crowd, looking toward the children and then at Loxi, who stood with his head bowed, lost in thought...

"Loxi... unlock it for me."

Loxi was startled by the request and instinctively asked, "Huh? Unlock what?"

"The key is with you, isn't it? Unlock it for me," Bai Ina said softly.

Loxi gave a wry smile upon hearing this: "As expected, I couldn't hide it from you after all!"

"Rest assured, I am only going to drag those two back; I won't be doing anything else..."