Near the prison gates, Loa stopped.
"Just as I thought. The gates are shut."
He eyed the large group of soldiers on patrol and pursed his lips. "No holiday even for New Year's? Being a Marine sure is tough."
But he had never planned to leave that way. He looked around, picked the least guarded route, and slipped through.
The route led to the prison warden's office on the second floor aboveground. Normally, a Headquarters Vice Admiral guarded it. The man belonged to Akainu's hawkish faction, and Loa was hardly on friendly terms with him. If he spotted Loa, a fight would be inevitable.
Loa's methods were hardly as gentle as Kuzan's. He was known for dealing with pirates swiftly and decisively. But he had trained under Kuzan and had always called Kuzan his teacher—unilaterally, at least. As far as everyone else was concerned, that put him in Kuzan's camp.
Even as fellow Marines, the hawks and doves couldn't stand each other. Loa had to be careful, creep upstairs, then leave through a window facing the wasteland.
It was a good plan. Death Power let him sense living beings, so he could usually detect an enemy first. But some things still caught him by surprise.
Like now.
"What a stylish entrance! Aaaah! Uh—"
The voice approached from beyond Loa's sensing range. A figure smashed through a window, leaped into the corridor, and landed in front of him.
They both froze.
"Matasu Lan." Loa said the name softly, his gaze sweeping dangerously over the muscular man before him.
"Uh, Vice Admiral Loa—mmph!"
Rear Admiral Matasu was about to salute, but Loa lunged forward and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Shh. Keep it down." Loa raised a finger, glanced around, then asked once he was sure no one was nearby, "What