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Chapter 109: The Transformed Goa Kingdom and the Shocked Marines
Golden Lion Shiki's words were like poison-dipped barbs, piercing the hearts of every Marine present.
Humiliation!
Naked, unadulterated humiliation!
"You b*stard!"
Finally, a young Marine Captain could no longer suppress the anger burning in his chest. With a turn of his wrist, his snow-bright blade began to unsheathe.
Killing intent erupted!
However, his sword was only drawn an inch.
A pale, slender hand pressed down on the back of his hand with even greater speed.
That hand looked delicate, yet it contained a power that allowed no resistance, firmly forcing his partially drawn sword back into its scabbard.
"Vice Admiral Gion!"
The young Captain turned his head abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, his face written with unwillingness and humiliation.
Gion did not look at him. Her cold, phoenix-like eyes remained fixed on Shiki's face, which was filled with mockery and provocation.
"I will say it one more time. Stow your weapons and suppress your killing intent."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling penetrating power. "That is an order. Do you not understand?"
"But..."
"There are no 'buts'," Gion interrupted him. "Do you wish to disobey a direct military order?"
The young Captain's body stiffened. His lips quivered, but in the end, he hung his head dejectedly and released his grip on the sword.
The other Marine officers also wore faces of ashen rage, their fists clenched tight, yet they could only watch helplessly.
They watched as that legendary Great Pirate paraded his prowess in front of the Marines' elite.
"Jihahahaha!"
Golden Lion Shiki let out an ear-piercing, manic laugh. It was a laugh filled with a sickly sense of satisfaction and release after being suppressed for so long.
It felt good!
He no longer looked at the group of Marines who dared to be angry but dared not speak. He turned around, putting his back to them, and swaggered away, floating step by step toward the inconspicuous little shop in the distance.
That retreating figure was arrogant to the extreme.
It was as if he were silently declaring that on this island, he, the Golden Lion, could do whatever he wanted, while the Marines, representing the face of the World Government, didn't dare to make a single squeak.
It wasn't until Shiki's figure completely disappeared around the street corner that the suffocating, oppressive atmosphere at the port eased slightly.
"Vice Admiral Gion... are we just going to..."
"Let's go."
Gion coldly interrupted her subordinate's question, turning to walk in a different direction.
"Where to?"
Gion's steps didn't pause in the slightest. "To find that b*stard who knows where to hide and enjoy himself."
...
Goa Kingdom, Central District.
The luxurious High Town, which once symbolized the privileges of the nobility, was now completely open to commoners.
The streets were bustling with people, brimming with a vitality and joy that felt like a rebirth.
On the walls, places that used to display wanted posters were now covered with brand-new propaganda posters.
"Warmly Celebrate the Liberation of the Goa Kingdom! Everyone is Equal, Labor is the Most Glorious!"
"Revolutionary Army's 'Five Insurances' Policy Fully Implemented! Medical, Pension, Unemployment... The Revolutionary Army Escorts and Protects Your Life!"
Gion led a team of Marine officers through these streets, feeling completely out of place with everything around them.
The Marine uniforms they wore seemed exceptionally glaring here, attracting quite a few gazes filled with vigilance and scrutiny.
A young Marine Captain looked at the people spontaneously organizing to clear trash and repair houses on both sides of the street. Seeing the heartfelt smiles on their faces—smiles he had never seen on the faces of the lower class before—he couldn't help but lower his voice and mutter to his colleague beside him.
"Is this place... really occupied by the Revolutionary Army?"
"I thought it would be arson, murder, and looting... a landscape of ruins... but look at them. Everyone is..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the confusion and wavering in his eyes said everything.
This ran completely counter to the education he had received since childhood and everything he had learned at the Marine Academy.
Wasn't the Revolutionary Army an evil organization that incited riots and destroyed order?
So why was the kingdom under their rule even more... thriving than when it was ruled by the King recognized by the World Government?
Another Vice Admiral with more seniority looked gloomily at a propaganda poster.
The poster depicted a man in a hood bending down to hand bread to a child in tattered clothes. Beside it was a line of large text: "The flame of revolution is lit to illuminate hope for everyone."
His fist quietly clenched at his side.
This was not just a military defeat; it was an ideological collapse.
These images, every smiling face, every slogan, felt like silent slaps across the face of the "Justice" they believed in.
They fought bloody battles, but what exactly were they protecting?
Was it just so those high-and-mighty nobles could continue to exploit these people, who deserved to smile, with peace of mind?
Once such terrifying thoughts were born, they grew madly in the heart like vines.
"Shut up."
Gion's cold voice rang out, interrupting their thoughts.
She didn't look back, but that icy aura instantly silenced everyone.
"Watch where you look and mind what you think."
"As Marines, you only need to obey orders, execute Justice, and do what you believe is right."
Although she said this, Gion's own heart was also churning with turbulent waves.
Looking at this revitalized city and the people with light rekindled in their eyes, she knew better than anyone what this meant.
It meant that the leader of the Revolutionary Army was not merely a destroyer.
He was also a builder.
What he led was not a mob of rioters, but a torrent named "Hope" capable of shaking the World Government's rule from its very foundation.
This was a hundred times, a thousand times more terrifying than any pirate in the world.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind, and her eyes became firm and sharp once again.
No matter what, she was a Marine.
Her sword would only be unsheathed for Justice.
Ignoring everything around her, she walked straight through the crowd and finally stopped in front of a brilliantly lit building from which waves of decadent music drifted out.
"Number One Kabukicho."
Gion looked at the massive signboard, her eyes growing increasingly cold.
She pushed the door open and walked in.
Inside the room, a warm fragrance wafted through the air, accompanied by the sound of stringed instruments.
Marine Admiral Kizaru was leaning diagonally on a soft tatami mat. He held a sake cup in one hand and rested the other on the shoulder of a geisha beside him. Wearing his signature sleazy smile, his eyes were narrowed, looking as if he were already drunkenly hazy.
"Oh my, oh my~, dear customer, your tolerance for alcohol is truly good..."
"Not at all, not at all~. It is you, Miss, whose dancing is so good; it leaves this old man's heart rippling..."
Gion just stood at the doorway, watching quietly.
The noise inside the room formed a stark contrast with the icy chill radiating from her.
Finally, Kizaru seemed to sense something. He lazily lifted his eyelids. When he saw the valiant figure at the door, the smile on his face stiffened slightly.
"Oh my, oh my~... isn't this Little Gion?"
He slowly sat up straight and waved his hand, signaling the surrounding geishas to withdraw.
"You've finally arrived. This old man has been waiting for you; it's been tough."
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