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Chapter 100 is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
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Rich's eyes instantly lit up with naked lust—a greedy, transparent desire to strip Aki bare right there on the spot. Seeing that look, Aki paled and instinctively backed away.
"Hehe, my princess, where are you going? Stay and have dinner with me!" Rich smirked, oozing an arrogant confidence. He looked at Aki as if she were already a trapped prey securely in his grasp.
"Don't come any closer! I'm telling you, I already have a boyfriend!" Seeing Rich continue to advance, Aki shrank into a corner, her voice trembling slightly.
"Haha, boyfriend? Your only man is me. As for your ex-boyfriend, I'm sure he'll just happen to meet with some unfortunate accident and die. Dead is dead. Nobody will care anyway, right?" Rich threw his head back and laughed mockingly.
"I'm warning you, my boyfriend is incredibly strong! You better not mess with me, or he'll make you pay!" Seeing that Rich wasn't threatened in the slightest, Aki curled up tighter, defensively crossing her arms over her chest. Her face was deathly pale. In that terrifying moment, she truly realized how important it was to have someone to rely on.
"Will, take her away. Since she has a boyfriend, let's see if he has the guts to come save her when he hears the news." Rich suddenly stopped, a cold, cruel smile pulling at his lips.
"Yes, Your Highness!" The head guard, the towering brute named Will, replied with a savage grin. He kicked a table out of the way and scooped Aki up by the scruff of her clothes like a helpless little rabbit. No matter how much she kicked, punched, and struggled, the hulking man remained entirely unfazed.
"Let's go. We're heading back," Rich waved his hand, and the black-suited guards turned to march toward the port.
Meanwhile, the lackey Aki had slapped lowered his gaze, a venomous glint flashing in his eyes. She dared to hit me? I'll make sure she learns what happens when she crosses me. He knew Rich's temperament better than anyone. In less than three days, Rich would toss Aki aside like a pair of worn-out shoes. Once discarded, she would be his. And when she fell into his hands, he would make sure she understood just how pitch-black the hearts of men in this world could be.
"Wait, sir, you can't do this! You can't take Aki away, Baishui will be furious!"
Just as the assistant was lost in his malicious daydreams, an elderly voice rang out. He looked up to see a group of townsfolk blocking the intersection, begging Rich to put Aki down.
Hmph, trying to make Rich spit out something he's already set his sights on? What a joke. You people are just asking to suffer. The assistant scoffed internally. As one of Rich's closest aides, he knew the prince inside and out.
"So noisy. Kill them."
Predictably, without even furrowing a brow, Rich casually issued a massacre order and continued his casual stroll toward the port.
"Hehe!" The guards let out sinister sneers. They drew their firearms in unison, expertly cocked them, lined up, and under the terrified gazes of the townsfolk, pulled their triggers.
"No!" A villager screamed in terror, but it did absolutely nothing to stop the atrocity.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Amidst the deafening roar of gunfire, the townsfolk fell like scythed wheat, collapsing into spreading pools of crimson blood. Even as they died, their eyes remained wide open in sheer disbelief. They couldn't fathom that Rich would actually commit cold-blooded murder over this.
"Why?!" one of the few survivors roared, desperate for an answer. They couldn't just die for nothing!
"Heh, 'why'? Do I really need a reason?"
Rich didn't even pause his stride. His disdainful, flippant voice drifted back on the wind, making the remaining survivors clench their fists so hard their knuckles popped. Their bodies trembled violently with extreme rage, yet they were utterly terrified of the smoking guns in the guards' hands. Until Rich's group entirely disappeared from view, not a single person dared to step forward.
Meanwhile...
"Ngh!"
Sitting in the hospital waiting area, Baishui suddenly felt a sharp, agonizing pain pierce his chest. A massive wave of panic surged through him, accompanied by a hollow feeling of profound loss.
This feeling... Could it be... Did something happen to Aki?!
The moment the terrifying thought crossed his mind, he immediately grabbed his Den Den Mushi and called T-Bone.
Puru puru puru!
Ship-Cutter Island, Marine Training Dojo.
T-Bone was in the middle of his rigorous training when the Den Den Mushi on his person suddenly rang. His expression shifted. This was his direct line to Baishui. He didn't dare dawdle; he knew that if Baishui was calling him directly, it had to be an absolute emergency.
"Baishui, what's wrong?" T-Bone asked, trying to figure out what could have prompted the call.
"What?!" T-Bone listened, his face first registering sheer shock, then rapidly morphing into heavy solemnity. "Right, right, okay, I'll arrange it immediately!"
Setting the receiver down, he quickly dialed another line. "Hello, is this Captain Gard? Dispatch a unit to Kuro Island immediately. Yes, Kuro Island. See if anything has happened there. No matter what it is, report back to me via Den Den Mushi right away, understand?!"
Hanging up, T-Bone let out a heavy, shaky breath. He prayed with everything he had that nothing had happened on Kuro Island—especially not to Aki. Otherwise, the entire East Blue would be turned upside down. He had no doubts about Baishui's terrifying capabilities.
If Aki was truly hurt, T-Bone would have to report straight to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. This wasn't a minor scuffle that could be swept under the rug. One wrong move, and the seas would birth an unstoppably ferocious rookie pirate. That would spell outright disaster for the East Blue. Anyone who dared harm Aki would face Baishui's maniacal vengeance.
An hour later.
Puru puru puru!
Captain Gard's dedicated line rang. T-Bone answered, but Gard's first sentence made his heart plummet into his stomach.
"Yes... there's been an incident."
"Who did it?" T-Bone asked, practically grinding his teeth to dust.
"The Prince of the Green Fruit Kingdom, Aurora Rich!" Gard's low voice came through the receiver, carrying a very noticeable tremor.
"What happened?" T-Bone demanded.
"Aki... was taken."
Those words hit T-Bone like a thunderbolt. His body shuddered involuntarily as a bone-deep chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head. If it had just been a general incident on Kuro Island, it might have been salvageable. But Aki being kidnapped... T-Bone couldn't even begin to fathom the impending bloodbath.
Sometimes, exactly what you fear most comes to pass. Just as he was racking his brain trying to figure out how to explain this disaster to Baishui, his Den Den Mushi rang again.
It was Baishui.
"How is it?" The Den Den Mushi morphed to mimic Baishui's expression—eyes heavy with a suffocating, boundless pressure that made T-Bone instinctively flinch.
Forcing himself to sound as calm and normal as possible to avoid giving anything away, T-Bone replied, "I don't know yet. My fleet hasn't arrived. Give it a little more time, alright?"
T-Bone had to stall Baishui. His plan was to personally set sail for the Green Fruit Kingdom immediately and have a very serious talk with their King. They had to rescue Aki. If they didn't, it was all over.
"Alright, got it," Baishui replied flatly.
There wasn't a single ripple of emotion in his voice, making it sound as though he genuinely believed T-Bone's excuse.
But in reality, Baishui was standing on the highest roof on Ship-Cutter Island while taking the call. An hour ago, he had watched with his own two eyes as a Marine warship set sail in the direction of Kuro Island. By his estimation, an hour was exactly how long it would take them to arrive. That was precisely why his follow-up call had been timed so perfectly.
Yet, T-Bone had just told him the warship hadn't arrived and the situation was still unknown. Impossible. The only explanation was that something terrible had happened on Kuro Island, and T-Bone didn't know how to handle it. And there was only one thing in the world that would make a seasoned Marine like T-Bone panic: Aki. Only something involving Aki would leave him completely at a loss for words.
"Very well. Someone actually dared to touch my, Baishui's, wife. I'd love to see who has that kind of death wish." Baishui sneered softly. A chilling, absolute murderous intent flashed in his eyes as he turned and leaped off the roof into the wind.
Marine Headquarters. Fleet Admiral's Office.
"WHAT?!" Sengoku suddenly shouted, slamming his hands on his desk, his face a picture of absolute shock.
"Don't panic! Whatever you do, absolutely do not tell him the truth, do you understand?!" Sengoku roared into his Den Den Mushi. "I'll immediately mobilize all Marine vessels in the East Blue to search! I'll give you all the support you need. We have to find Aki's location and stabilize him! Otherwise, it'll play out exactly as you fear!"
Even a legend like Sengoku found himself breaking out in a cold sweat. If Baishui turned to piracy with his overwhelming strength, the seas would instantly gain a uniquely atrocious and unmanageable threat. It would be a massive headache for the Fleet Admiral.
Rubbing his throbbing temples, Sengoku immediately opened a line to all Marine bases across the East Blue. Under his ironclad command, scout ships and fast-attack vessels launched in droves, casting a massive, suffocating dragnet across the ocean.
Though the East Blue was known as the weakest of the four seas, its sheer size was undeniable. Finding a single ship on this endless expanse of water was no easy feat, and an hour was more than enough time for a vessel to put serious distance behind it.
Almost instantly, the atmosphere in the East Blue grew incredibly tense. Countless pirate crews tucked their tails and went into hiding, cursing under their breath, wondering if the Marines had gone insane to suddenly launch such a massive military drill. Naturally, they had no idea this terrifying mobilization was entirely focused on hunting down just one ship.
Biao Port, Green Fruit Kingdom.
Rich lounged on his luxury yacht as it finally pulled into the royal harbor. His face was flushed with sick excitement. He was genuinely looking forward to seeing how Aki's boyfriend would try to rescue her. He was completely oblivious to the sheer scale of the disaster he had just provoked, and thoroughly ignorant of the violent storm his actions were about to bring crashing down upon the East Blue.
An hour later. Marine Headquarters.
"Report. Do we have any news?!" Sengoku demanded, addressing the East Blue command via Den Den Mushi.
"We found some clues. All signs point to the Prince of the Green Fruit Kingdom, Aurora Rich!" a Marine officer reported hastily.
"Are you certain?!" Sengoku perked up, pressing for solid confirmation.
"I'm seventy percent sure. According to my investigation, this prince has a notoriously foul reputation. He's an arrogant, domineering tyrant known for bullying civilians and kidnapping women. I strongly believe the incident on Kuro Island is directly tied to him!" The officer's tone dripped with pure disdain for the Green Fruit royalty.
"Good! Dispatch a unit to the Green Fruit Kingdom immediately. Demand an official audience. You must secure Aki's whereabouts, understood?!" Sengoku barked the order, pointing the formidable spearhead of the Marines directly at the Green Fruit Kingdom.