"Slap"
"Who gave you permission to speak? Did you get our permission? And you, you big bald guy, doesn't your head get cold in this freezing weather?"
I just got slapped twice by the captain because of you! If you dare say another word, I'll slap you twice across the face!
The bald pirate who had just been slapped Double Axe by the double axes slapped the long-bearded doctor who had spoken, knocking his hat askew, and then threatened the bald old man next to him.
"Kill me now if you dare! I will never leave my homeland! Mr. Dalton! Charge! We are not afraid to die!"
The long-bearded old man straightened his hat and spoke without fear, but was immediately slapped hard across the face by the bald pirate. Dalton watched this scene and almost ground his teeth to powder.
"I'm really not the doctor on this island! Otherwise, I would definitely buy a hat. It'll get chilly on my head and I'll catch a cold!" the bald old man muttered to himself, his voice not even reaching the bald pirate's ears. He was too old to handle this.
" Dalton, I'm giving you one last chance. There are about forty people here. You just need to cut off your own arm or leg, either one will do, and you can choose ten doctors to leave safely."
Of course, you can continue saving more if you want! We don't need anyone else, we only want you, the one who ate Devil Fruit!"
If the henchman with the knife wanted to leave this place more safely, then crippling Dalton was the best way. At the same time, he wanted to see just how far Dalton would go for these doctors.
If Dalton refuses to do so, his reputation on the island will be severely damaged, and he might not even be able to remain the country's chief of guard. Wouldn't it be safer to arrest the doctor here next time?
"Mr. Dalton, you absolutely mustn't do that! Drum Island can do without us, but it absolutely cannot do without you!"
"Yes! Mr. Dalton, even if you really cut off your own arm, they won't let us go. Even you might be in danger!"
"Mr. Dalton, go back and defend Drum Island well. The doctor's flame will never be extinguished!"
Several older doctors among the hostages were calling out to Dalton, saying they would rather sacrifice themselves than let Dalton be in danger, which shows how popular Dalton is on Drum Island!
Such a person might be suitable as a king, but he is absolutely unsuitable as a general. Although he is admirable for leading from the front, bearing hardships and sins himself, an army with such a leader cannot win battles.
Hearing these words made Dalton even more reluctant to leave, but he had no way to solve the problem, and he felt powerless.
"We don't have that much time to waste. Make a decision quickly. If we don't have an answer within fifteen minutes, we'll leave this island with these doctors."
Dalton! Does he want to be the hero who saves the doctor, or choose to stand by and watch someone die, choosing to be Gunko?
"Dalton! What will you choose?" The henchman with the knife pressed closer, not wanting Dalton to be persuaded to go back; that was not what he wanted.
Time slowly passed, Dalton struggled internally. Reason told him that the best way was to rush in and start a massacre, but emotion pulled him to the other side.
The soldiers behind him looked at Dalton's tall figure with complicated expressions. They all knew their commander and knew that he was unlikely to make the decision to order a full-scale attack. So there could only be another outcome, and they were prepared to stop him.
Time flew by, and a quarter of an hour passed quickly...
"Time's almost up. Have you made up your mind? If you don't want to save them, then get out of here. Dalton just an eyesore! Hahaha!"
Double Axe was thrilled to see Dalton's expression. In the past, he could only use force to make his enemies despair, and could only appreciate the expressions of despair and resignation to death. But he had never seen such a twisted expression on Dalton's face before, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment.
" Dalton! Remember! You are the guardian of the kingdom. Your emotions should be used where they are useful! This is a corner where you shouldn't be letting your emotions get the better of you. Get out of here immediately!"
It was that old doctor with the long beard again. His face was swollen from the beating, but he remained calm and fearless.
"Shut their mouths! They talk too much nonsense!" Double Axe shouted, raising his right axe above his head.
" Dalton, that's forty lives! Are you really going to give up? Do you know why we're capturing them?"
Sold to nobles as slaves! Some lucky ones might even become slaves of the Celestial Dragons! The Celestial Dragons! Hahaha!
The henchman with the knife dealt Dalton another blow, a truly ruthless one, a white knife going in and a red knife coming out.
Dalton's eyes immediately turned red. He was overwhelmed by those words. He pulled out the zither-like saw from his back and slashed directly at his left hand.
He was prepared to trade his own hands for the doctors' freedom, but the soldiers who were already on guard behind him rushed forward and pinned Dalton down, turning him into a small mountain of people, with Dalton's limbs completely separated.
"Mr. Dalton, you can't do this! Your body is the wealth of the entire nation; you can't make that decision on your own. Stop!"
"Yes, Mr. Dalton! We need your leadership, and the nation needs your protection!"
"Mr. Dalton! Just back down this time! Nobody will say a word against you!"
"Mr. Dalton, let's lead the charge this time!"
Hearing the soldiers' voices overhead, Dalton burst into tears. He hated his own incompetence, his own weakness, and his own lack of resolve.
Dalton was consumed by rage and slammed his fists into the ground. Black hair gradually grew on his body, his form grew larger, and his face began to resemble that of a bull.
Dalton, having transformed into a minotaur in his self-loathing, flung aside the twenty-odd soldiers pinning him down and charged toward the Double Axe, brandishing his saw blade.
"What are you doing?" Seeing Dalton go berserk, Double Axe pulled a doctor from behind and swung his axe at the doctor's head.
"Stop!"
Seeing the doctor about to die, Dalton roared and stopped just before reaching the Double Axe, then swung the saw directly at his own hairy left hand.
That was actually his real purpose: to avoid being hindered by the soldiers. His decision was to sacrifice himself to save all the doctors. However, only someone like him would have such a naive idea, along with Nami who hadn't yet met King Luffy.
Seeing that Dalton was about to harm himself, the Double Axe stopped swinging his axe. Doctors' lives were worth money, and he couldn't bear to kill him; he was only using him as a hostage to threaten him.
To put it bluntly, it was still a gamble on Dalton's resolve, but he gambled correctly. Dalton's power had absolutely no effect on them; this was true killing without a knife.