Chapter 15: Parade of the Vanquished
The rhythmic clank-clank of iron chains echoed down the main thoroughfare of Sabaody Archipelago's Grove 8. It was a sound of finality.
"What are you looking at, you bastards?! You wanna fight?!" Jewelry Bonney snarled, her fiery temper undimmed even in captivity, glaring at the onlookers lining the street.
Civilians flinched back, retreating behind doors and peering nervously through windows. Bounty hunters watched with a different kind of intensity, their gazes fixed not on the prisoners, but on the young, unhurried figure leading the procession. Their eyes held a mixture of raw awe and burning curiosity.
And then they looked at the chain of prisoners behind him—seastone cuffs on their wrists, heavy anklets linking them together—and a deep, primal horror took root.
"That's 'Gang' Capone Bege… 'Big Eater' Jewelry Bonney… 'Roar of the Sea' Scratchmen Apoo… the deserter 'Red Flag' X Drake… the 'Mad Monk' Urouge… My God! They're all Supernovas! Bounties over a hundred million each!"
"Is this the Fourth Admiral?! He's just… collecting them? One after another?"
"I heard they were all taken down from a distance! They never even saw him fight!"
"You're joking! That's impossible! No Admiral is that strong! These are hundred-million-berry pirates! Monsters! You can't just… subdue them without a fight!" The disbelief was rampant. Even if this new Admiral was powerful, the idea was inconceivable.
This era had been buzzing with talk of the "Worst Generation," the eleven dazzling Supernovas whose chaos culminated in the Straw Hats attacking a Celestial Dragon. Their infamy was real.
"It's true! I've got Den Den Mushi footage! When these guys went down, Admiral Black Crow and Vice Admiral Gion were nowhere near them!"
"Seriously…?!" With visual evidence, the last shreds of skepticism crumbled.
"The Fourth Admiral… is on a completely different level!"
"Is it a Devil Fruit power?"
"Admiral Black Crow!" From the crowd, a bold, attractive young woman waved and called out, sending a flirty wink his way. High rank, youth, immense power—he was the fantasy of many. And he stood on the side of "justice."
"Still… is the Celestial Dragon's influence really this immense? Sending an Admiral and a Candidate Admiral… that's a force that could challenge an Emperor's crew!"
"Are the Celestial Dragons really worth the Marines protecting like this? Hmph…" Not all voices were admiring. Life on Sabaody had exposed many to the Celestial Dragons' casual, profound cruelty. To them, the Marines' "justice" seemed tainted by servitude to such masters.
"Marines? Admirals? Pah… just lapdogs for the Celestial Dragons!" A hunched, scar-faced man, his body bearing the marks of past torments, spat a thick wad of phlegm onto the cobblestones.
"What did you say?!" Gion's head snapped around, her eyes blazing as she took a step toward the man. His insult—calling an Admiral a lackey—struck a raw nerve.
"We Marines shed blood on the front lines! We die for order! Who are you to judge us?!" Gion's conviction was fierce. She had seen too many comrades fall on the path of what she believed was justice.
"What he said isn't entirely wrong," Levi's calm voice cut through her anger, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to him, disbelief etched on her face. "If you're in this position, you should understand the reality of the Celestial Dragons."
"Do you even know what the Celestial Dragons do?!" Gion shot back, her voice tight. Her life's pursuit had been to reach a position where she could enact real justice. The hardest pill to swallow was that Admirals answered directly to the World Government. As a Vice Admiral, orders filtered down from Sengoku, allowing some… flexibility. Levi, as far as she knew, had been secluded on an island until recently. How could he understand the complexities? And as an Admiral now, such careless words could be dangerous.
"Is it strange that I know?" Levi asked, genuinely wondering. Of course I know.
"If you know, then why become an Admiral? An Admiral is a direct subordinate of the World Government…" Gion was confused, her own internal struggle mirrored in her question.
"You don't want to hear me talk about 'justice,' do you?" Levi asked with a faint smile.
"Isn't that why we're here?"
"Of course not. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't carry that particular burden. Maybe you do." His smile was casual, almost dismissive.
Seeing her continued confusion, he added, "Being a Marine Admiral is just… convenient. What I'm doing now benefits me. I won't throw my life away for a Celestial Dragon. Similarly, I won't throw it away for the Marines. It's simpler to view it from a… business perspective."
"What perspective?"
"An employment relationship. A transaction. You provide me certain… conveniences. I remove certain problems for you. That's the contribution. By the way… you're not going to report me, are you?" His smile turned subtly challenging.
"I'm not that petty!" Gion retorted, but she was taken aback. Suddenly, the gulf between them felt smaller. This was the first time she'd ever heard anyone describe the pinnacle of Marine rank as merely "convenient." It made her lifelong goal feel… oddly trivial. "But you should be careful who hears that. Especially anyone from the World Government. Your seat might not remain so comfortable."
"Basil Hawkins is just ahead," Levi said, changing the subject smoothly as they approached another of the fading light pillars. "Then come the main courses. You might want to prepare yourself."
"Weren't they all subdued already?" Gion asked, hand instinctively moving toward her sword hilt.
"In life," Levi said, his eyes looking ahead where the last beams of light still stood against the darkened sky, "there are always a few surprises."
✨✨I will release an extra chapter for every 5 reviews !!! ✨✨
Or
For every 50 power stones 🥳🥳