P.S. Thanks to Mo Mo Mo, Lei Mu Cao La Mu, Rang Yi Ge Geng Hao, Blowing Away Stories, Cong Ci Yi Lai Ni, Shan Suan, Shang Xin Tong Ku, Fleeting Years Sing a Sad Song, Wen Shu He Wei, and everyone else for the tips. Thank you for your support!
P.P.S. Ugh, I slept way too late today. I didn't get up to write until nearly seven in the evening, so I only had time to write almost six thousand words...
After dealing with that little interruption, Bai Ina pushed his speed to the limit. In less than ten minutes, he had reached the area near the dojo.
But the moment he stepped into the dojo's grounds, Bai Ina's expression changed.
There had always been a small grove around the dojo, where he had done most of his training over the past six months. But now the grove had vanished, leaving behind... a field of broken branches. Some trees had even been smashed to pieces by some terrifying force.
The ground was riddled with chaotic craters, as if it had been strafed by bombs, yet there was no smell of gunpowder in the air.
Everything he saw made Bai Ina's expression change dramatically. The only thing that eased his mind was that the dojo in the distance didn't appear to have suffered any major damage.
Bai Ina raced to the dojo, his expression turning anxious. He was afraid that when he opened the door, the familiar scene inside would be gone.
Creak—
As the door creaked, the dojo's entrance swung open—but Bai Ina hadn't pushed it. Someone had opened it from within.
"You two?"
Bai Ina frowned at Zongcilang and Hijikata Yoshitoyo, who had emerged through the doorway. Both looked rather battered, their clothes covered in dust. They looked frantic, and even Hijikata, who was usually so cold, had a grimace on his face...
When they saw Bai Ina, their expressions first froze, then turned cold. Zongcilang spoke at once. "They took the teacher!"
"What?"
Seeing how battered they were had already given Bai Ina a bad feeling. But when he heard Zongcilang's words, his pupils suddenly contracted. He rushed forward, grabbed Zongcilang, and demanded, "Who took the teacher? Why?"
"The people who took him called themselves Cipher Pol 9. The teacher was a cadre in the Revolutionary Army." Hijikata Yoshitoyo answered from the side. His expression had calmed a little, but his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was laced with murderous intent. "And according to what those people said, it was Jande—the one who disappeared half a month ago—who exposed the teacher's identity!"
"Cipher Pol 9..."
Bai Ina's expression shifted several times. How could someone familiar with the original story not know about this organization?
Cipher Pol 9... the World Government's secret intelligence agency. Its full name was Cipher Pol No. 9. It was full of powerful fighters and had nearly destroyed the entire Straw Hat Pirates in the original story.
"How many came?" Bai Ina asked quietly after a moment's thought.
"Four. Apparently, their commander didn't come. He's waiting in Border Town, in the Goa Kingdom..."
A look of inner conflict crossed Bai Ina's face. At last, he clenched his teeth and looked at the two of them, his expression cold. "Go back!"
"What?"
Hijikata Yoshitoyo and Zongcilang's expressions changed at once. Zongcilang stepped forward, seized Bai Ina by the collar, and roared, "What did you say? You want us to go back? They fucking took the teacher, and you're telling us to go back?"
"The teacher must have said something before he left, right?" Bai Ina's expression didn't change. Seeing Zongcilang's face shift, he shook his head. "Go back. Knowing the teacher, he definitely told you not to look for him. And if even he couldn't beat them, what good would it do for you to go after them?"
"..."
The two said nothing, their expressions utterly grim!
"Ina, you're back just in time. Stop those two!" Loxi seemed only then to realize that Zongcilang and Hijikata had left. He hurried out of the dojo, and when he saw that Bai Ina had stopped them, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Before the teacher left, he told me that if anything happened to him, you were to take charge of the dojo. No matter what, you mustn't let anyone go looking for him!"
Bai Ina took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the impulse in his heart. Zongcilang and the others didn't understand, but Bai Ina knew how powerful Cipher Pol 9 was. They had no chance of standing against it as they were now. Even if they went after them, all they'd do was get themselves killed!
Just as Bai Ina was about to try once more to talk the two out of throwing their lives away, Hijikata and Zongcilang moved at the same time. But instead of attacking Bai Ina, they rushed straight toward Loxi, who had just come out, and grabbed him, holding a sword to his throat.
Loxi froze in shock. "What are you doing?"
"I know... even if the two of us worked together, we couldn't get past you!" Zongcilang gave Loxi an apologetic look, then turned to Bai Ina and spoke coldly.
"Let Loxi go first!"
Bai Ina's expression turned cold, and his voice grew icy.
"Let us leave." Hijikata stepped forward and looked Bai Ina straight in the eye. "We've been by the teacher's side since we were children. He's no different from a father to us. We can't imagine a future without him!"
"..."
Bai Ina said nothing. The sorrow deep in his eyes grew heavier.
Then Zongcilang walked straight into the courtyard. Before long, he came back carrying a huge chain. "Don't resist. We can't guarantee how much reason we'll have left right now. I don't think you'd want Loxi to get hurt."
Bai Ina glanced at the sword pressed against Loxi's neck and finally sighed. He didn't stop Zongcilang from tying him up. Zongcilang bound him to a pillar beside the entrance to the academy.
Once he had finished, Zongcilang took a large padlock from his waist and fastened it. Then he leaned close to Bai Ina's ear and whispered, "I'm sorry, but... don't come after us!" With that, he went straight over to Hijikata. The two exchanged a look and nodded.
To keep Loxi from helping Bai Ina get free, Zongcilang tied him up too. Once they had finished, the two turned and chased after Cipher Pol 9 without looking back.
After they left, Loxi looked at Bai Ina with a guilty expression. "Ina, I'm sorry. It's all because of—"
"It's fine."
Bai Ina cut him off and called toward the dojo, "What are you all standing around for? Come out and untie us!"
Loxi froze, then looked at the children peeking out from inside the dojo. His expression turned understanding.
Hearing Bai Ina call them, the children hesitated for a moment, then ran out of the dojo one after another.
When they saw the huge padlock on the chain around Bai Ina, they were dumbfounded.
"That's the lock we usually use on the dojo's entrance. Check the cabinets in Zongcilang and Hijikata's rooms. There should be a spare key for it!" Bai Ina said coldly.
The children immediately scattered toward the storeroom and the school hall. Meanwhile, Loxi, who had already been untied, said, "I'll help look!" Then he ran back into the dojo.
About five minutes later, the children came running back from the dojo one after another. They tried each of the keys they had found, but after all that effort, none of them fit the padlock.
Bai Ina frowned. Then he looked past the crowd at Loxi, who had his head down, seemingly lost in thought...
"Loxi... untie me!"
Loxi jumped in surprise and asked instinctively, "Huh? Untie what?"
"You have the key, don't you? Give it to me and unlock this." Bai Ina spoke quietly.
Loxi smiled wryly. "I knew I couldn't keep it from you!"
"Don't worry. I'm only going to bring those two back. I won't do anything else..."
Before you continue