Ambush

Kane's secret meeting with Ivankov and Kuma did not take much time. What mattered was obtaining intelligence on Mary Geoise and the Celestial Dragons from them.

After all, they were a professional revolutionary organization, and they possessed a wealth of information Kane might need while searching for Ginny's whereabouts.

After clearly memorizing the information, Kane smiled at Ivankov and Kuma, then dispelled his clone under their watchful eyes.

"What an incredible guy! Hee-haw!"

Ivankov made an exaggerated expression, his enormous eyeballs looking as though they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Kuma remained expressionless as ever, though a trace of shock flashed through the eyes behind his glasses.

He caught a petal that had scattered when Kane dispelled his clone and watched it gradually vanish in his palm. His longing for Ginny grew even stronger.

Back at the camp, Kane checked the time. There were still three hours until dawn. He stood and stretched his body, which had grown stiff from sitting too long.

"Youth is wonderful. Your energy is simply outrageous."

Tsuru's voice suddenly rang out. Kane turned and saw that Tsuru had appeared by the campfire at some point, sitting on the ground and stirring the flames.

Kane immediately put on an indignant expression and pointed angrily at the tents filled with snoring.

"You haven't slept, yet how dare these people sleep? I'll drag them up to keep you company right now!"

"Sit."

"Oh."

Kane obediently sat beside Tsuru. He even thoughtfully poured a cup of hot water from the kettle by the fire and offered it to her with both hands.

Tsuru paused for a moment before casually accepting it, her gaze toward Kane filled with curiosity.

"Why do you always give me the feeling that you're both reliable and unreliable at the same time? Like..."

Tsuru stopped, seemingly pondering something. Kane asked curiously,

"Like what?"

"Like that idiot Garp."

"Hey, weren't you just insulting me?"

Tsuru smiled. She raised the cup to her lips, gently blew on it, and took a small sip. Warmth flowed down her throat and into her body, driving away the chill of the late night.

After a moment of silence, Tsuru suddenly asked,

"Reaching the Red Line doesn't mean we'll be safe. Even at full speed, it will take ten days to reach the Sabaody Archipelago. How do you think we should travel that stretch?"

"Me? I've never been there."

Kane shook his head, then suddenly looked in a certain direction and asked curiously,

"That's Mary Geoise, right? Can I go in and take a look when we pass by? I've always been curious."

"Without a travel permit, no one can enter Mary Geoise."

Tsuru frowned. "Why are you interested in a place like that?"

Kane shrugged. "I just want to see what the Celestial Dragons who ride on our heads and lord it over us look like..."

"Quiet."

Tsuru snapped softly. Her eyes swiftly swept over the surroundings as she warned in a low voice,

"The closer we get to Mary Geoise, the more you need to know what should and should not be said.

"Those people are nothing special, but you'd better pray you never have to deal with them in your life.

"We will indeed pass by Mary Geoise. You can look at it from outside then, but don't do anything unnecessary."

After saying that, Tsuru rose to her feet and carried her cup toward the tent where Doflamingo's group was being held. Before leaving, she gave one final reminder.

"Doflamingo may have secretly contacted forces other than Kaido. Be careful on the road."

"Understood."

Kane stood and watched Tsuru leave, silently wondering who Doflamingo might have contacted.

Time passed quickly. When the first rays of morning sunlight fell over the camp, Hina stormed out of her tent and headed straight for Kane, who was preparing to put out the campfire.

"Hina told you to wake Hina in two hours! Why did you..."

"Oh, I wanted you to sleep a little longer."

Kane gave Hina a gentle, easygoing smile, then dumped a basin of water over the campfire.

Sizzle...

The campfire went out instantly. Rising steam blurred Hina's vision, but it did not blur Kane's smile in her eyes.

"But you clearly... Hina had already prepared..."

Hina felt as though the anger in her heart had also been doused with water. Only a lingering warmth remained, leaving her at a loss. In the end, she could only offer a weak warning.

"Next time, don't treat Hina's words like they went in one ear and out the other!"

"Got it. Let's have breakfast."

Kane smiled as he patted Hina on the shoulder.

"If you really feel bad about it, you can stand watch tonight."

"...Mm."

Hina agreed reluctantly and unwrapped a lollipop, putting it in her mouth. Yet the little stick protruding from the corner of her lips bobbed happily.

After breakfast, everyone immediately set out. Kane, meanwhile, climbed into a carriage and fell sound asleep.

Unlike traveling by sea, carriages constantly jolted and rattled, and they often encountered other travelers on the road. It was far noisier than sailing.

Robin worried that Kane would not sleep well, so she laid thick cushions inside the carriage and rested Kane's head on her lap.

Yet when Kane's hot breath brushed over her skin, it made her thoughts wander.

In the carriage behind them, Monet still had no idea that the person they were escorting was the young master she longed for. As she watched baby-5 sleeping soundly, her thoughts drifted toward Kane's carriage.

What she did not notice was that Doflamingo's image in her heart was gradually fading, while her memories of Vergo were growing ever more vivid.

But just as Monet was thinking fondly of Vergo, she suddenly frowned. A nearly instinctive disgust rose from the depths of her heart.

As she focused carefully, she felt that the air entering her lungs seemed to carry an extra trace of heat.

At the same time, Kane, who had been sleeping deeply, suddenly opened his eyes. He sat up as though nothing had happened, lightly kissed Robin on the forehead, and said,

"Don't come out."

"Okay."

Robin did not understand what had happened, but she trusted and obeyed Kane's words without reservation.

"Good girl."

Kane gently stroked her cheek and strode out of the carriage.

There were few pedestrians on the road outside. Several cargo carriages covered in dust cloths approached from ahead, about to pass the Marine convoy.

Kane swept his eyes over them, reached out, snatched a gun from the nearest Marine, and pulled the trigger at one of the cargo carriage drivers.

Bang!

The sudden gunshot startled everyone. The driver clutched his chest in pain and fell over, revealing the hand hidden inside his clothes. It was holding a pistol.

Several horses were startled by the shot and reared up with shrill neighs. The carriages behind them shook violently, and faint cries of alarm came from within the cargo compartments.

Everyone around them was stunned, but Kane could not even be bothered to glance at them. Before anyone had time to react, he smoothly swung the muzzle toward another driver.

Bang!

The gun rang out again. The driver, who had already drawn a gun from his clothes, screamed and fell from the carriage.

The compartment behind him exploded apart, and several burly men carrying weapons leaped out, shouting as they charged at the Marines.

By then, even the slowest Marine understood what was happening. They raised their guns at the cargo carriages and the charging men, rapidly pulling their triggers.

In an instant, gunfire erupted across the road, accompanied by unending screams.

Yet Kane, who had caused this massive chaos, remained calm as he sat steadily atop the carriage.

He silently watched the chaotic battle, only firing to save Marines when they were in danger and shifting slightly aside whenever stray bullets came his way.

The battle had begun suddenly, and it ended just as quickly.

Before the Marines could even recover from the tension of battle, the enemy had already fallen all over the ground, dead or wounded. Only a scattered few escaped.

Kane said nothing as he looked at the shaken Marines. As they gradually calmed down, they all looked toward him as well. Yet whenever their eyes met Kane's, they instinctively lowered their heads.

"Heh. You all performed really damn well..."

Kane's cold laugh made the hearts of the Marines shudder.

Although Tsuru was the highest-ranking officer in this unit, Kane had long earned their awe through his terrifying combat strength and ruthless conduct against enemies.

Especially since Tsuru had strictly ordered everyone in the unit to obey Kane's command, granting him immense authority.

Now that Kane's face had darkened and his icy gaze kept circling over them, how could they not be afraid?

Just as the prolonged silence began making their hearts pound, Kane finally spoke again. But his fragrant greetings made their skulls buzz.

"I'd like to ask every idiot present: are you monkeys wearing human skin? Or some kind of rare beast whose intelligence degenerates the moment it comes ashore?

"The enemy was practically at your throats, and not a single one of you noticed!

"You actually pulled off a nightmare beneath my very eyes that I wouldn't even dare dream about! Are you all fucking blind and deaf?

"Do you know there are enemies watching us from the shadows? Do you know you're supposed to be on guard when someone passes by?

"You let the enemy swagger to within ten meters of you! Thank you all for broadening my horizons so much!"

The Marines who had been scolded until they could not lift their heads flushed red. The Marine whose gun Kane had taken was especially uneasy. He wanted to retrieve his gun, but did not dare speak.

Kane slapped the gun into the Marine's chest and gave him a cold glance.

"Name."

"H-Hans."

"Very good, Hans. You're the most useless piece of trash in this unit."

Hans's face instantly turned pale, but Kane continued scolding him without mercy.

"Your vigilance was so pathetic that you failed to notice an enemy already aiming at you, and you even let me take your gun with ease. What a promising future you have.

"You look big and strong, so you must eat a lot. Did you join the Marines because the meals here are free?"

Hans was so ashamed that he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground, but Kane's orders had already begun pouring out like a barrage.

"Everyone, one hundred squats on the spot. Hans gets two hundred, plus night watch tonight.

"Count the exact casualties and losses as quickly as possible. We move in ten minutes.

"You should be grateful we're on a confidential mission right now. Otherwise, I'd beat you into the intensive care ward so you'd learn your lesson.

"As for these scum who attacked us..."

Kane paused, then said coldly,

"Keep three alive. Kill the rest. Notify the nearby security officers to deal with the bodies."

Kane spoke every word clearly. Everyone present felt a chill run through them. One thug who had been playing dead even suddenly jumped up and begged for mercy, asking only to be one of the three survivors.

Inside the carriage, Robin gazed at Kane through the window with infatuated eyes and secretly smiled.

She had spent three months at Kane's Marine base and knew very well just how brutal yet efficient his methods of disciplining subordinates were.

What was happening before her was elementary stuff to Kane. Robin even felt a little sympathy for the Marines who had been scolded into shutting down.

In another carriage following closely behind Kane's, Monet had been watching Kane the entire time. Her eyes glittered, and an unnatural flush rose to her pale face.

"Vergo..."

She murmured softly. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, completely captivated by the dominance and strength Kane had displayed.

She even felt somewhat envious of Hans and could not help imagining herself being punished and controlled by Kane.

Kane noticed that both Robin and Monet were watching him, but his gaze turned toward the depths of the forest beside the road.

Someone was hiding there.

Someone was recklessly releasing Observation Haki.

Kane knew that person was observing.

Observing the Marines, observing him, observing the causes and course of the battle, observing every detail of this unit.

Kane suddenly smiled. He raised his right thumb and made a throat-slitting gesture toward where that person was hiding.

The next moment, a scorching wind howled from the forest, carrying an aggressive wave of heat!

Yet after the heat wave passed, the forest remained as silent as before, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

The smile on Kane's face grew ever more disdainful and brilliant as he silently mouthed toward the forest.

Cowardly little...

Trash!