Chapter 116

(Terzo and Soma POV)

Terzo and Soma successfully escaped from the sudden ambush of marines and government agents in Pucci. Initially, they caught Terzo all alone. Luckily, he was in a call with Soma when they surrounded him.

Soma went to help Terzo and they were able to push back the marines and government agents together. Now, they were sailing in the open waters between Pucci and San Faldo using the boat that Soma secured.

Terzo and Soma shared a moment of somber silence. Terzo took this time to patch himself up, specifically his injured arm. It was a lucky shot by the marines, he said.

Meanwhile, Soma was looking down at his hands. They were dirty and blistered. A specific moment as they were escaping the ambush was constantly replaying in his mind.

"Fucking hell," Soma said, mostly to himself. "Owner Zeff is gonna kill me…"

Terzo looked over to see their young cook almost in tears. It wasn't tears of sadness. Terzo recognized that look. Those were tears of disappointment gathering under Soma's eyes. He knew that look since it was one he made in front of the mirror whenever his family made him feel he was worth less than shit for having dreams other than being a doctor.

With a firm hand, Terzo patted Soma's shoulder. The young cook's attention turned to the disheveled swordsman.

"Not all promises can be kept, Soma," Terzo said in a tone he hoped was comforting enough. "The fact that you regret it must mean something."

"I know. Still… I actually fought with my hands," Soma said with a small scoff directed at himself. "I know the old man enough. I don't think he'd be too mad for breaking my promise. Especially if it means my life or death."

"Then, why are you bothered?" Terzo asked.

"It's… I don't know," Soma said before curling up and hugging his knees. "I just… I don't want to disappoint him."

Terzo was silent for a moment. Unfortunately, he can't empathize with Soma. Terzo is unsure if he could say the same with his father or his mother. But, he still knows what love is.

"At least you're still alive," Terzo said. "If you were my son and you died trying to keep a promise between us… I don't think I'll forgive myself."

Hearing Terzo's words put a small smile on Soma's face. Seeing their young cook brighten up even just a tiny bit was enough for Terzo. Soma's small smile then turned into a chuckle.

"Thanks… Thirdy."

"That damn name again," Terzo said, sighing. "Was it Vash who said it first? I swear I'll cut him up."

"Aaaaand our sword fanatic is back," Soma said with a roll of his eyes. "Well, at least it's good to know you're not only good for swords."

"Whatever you say," Terzo said before taking two of the four oars in the boat. "C'mon. Let's get outta here. Our crew's waiting for us."

…

(Eri POV)

Eri was terrified. She was alone and their enemies were all around her, all over the island. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, her breath too loud for her ears inside the dark and cramp box as she waited inside one of the boxes her Sensei told her to hide in.

More than five minutes had passed and Eri was still hiding. She couldn't move. Hiding in the box made the sounds of rushing footsteps, gunfire, and explosions ring like thunder in her ears.

'I shouldn't stay here… Sensei is relying on me!'

Eri gathered all her courage. With shaking hands, she pushed open the lid of the box. What greeted her was a squad of marines. Eri froze. Thankfully, they didn't see her. She quickly closed the lid, leaving a gap wide enough for her to see outside and observe the squad she saw.

The squad of marines had their backs to her. They were close enough for Eri to hear snippets of their conversation. It seems that one of them, their squad leader, was receiving instructions. The squad leader then turned to his men.

"You two, go and find Squad 19 and 20! We've been assigned to escort the Admiral's prisoners!"

"Yes, sir!"

The squad leader then turned to his third subordinate.

"Go to one of our ships and request for two sets of seastone shackles. One for a child, another for an animal. If they ask, tell them Admiral Aokiji sent you."

"Yes, sir!"

Eri's world shook. She focused on what that marine squad leader said: a child and an animal. She is smart enough to know what that meant. Eri realized that Tanya and Kotatsu were captured.

Her sensei is fighting in vain.

'Sensei is in trouble… I need to save him!'

Instead of despairing at her discovery, Eri found courage instead. She knew her best friend and big sister Tanya and Kotatsu weren't the type to just get captured easily. They were fighters. So was her Sensei.

Meanwhile, there she was, hiding inside a wooden box hoping the marines would just go away. Eri slapped herself literally. All of a sudden… she wasn't so scared anymore.

With firm hands, Eri pushed off the lid and jumped out of the box. The squad leader she watched turned around after hearing the box's lid clatter on the concrete. His eyes widened when he recognized Eri.

"You-!"

Eri summoned two pink balls of energy in her hand and threw it at the marine. It zoomed forward and hit the marine. The marine shrunk until he looked like a twelve year old boy.

With the marine now almost as small as her, Eri shot forward and punched the marine right on his nose, immediately knocking him out. Eri's training was bearing fruit.

'Hang on, Sensei! I'll save you!'

…

(Mihar POV)

Mihar was exhausted. Far too exhausted. But, he had to keep fighting. He had to keep making noise. He didn't want the marines to focus on Eri, and he'll damn make sure to give them multiple reasons why they should focus on taking him down instead.

The battle between Mihar and the marines extended all the way to the docks of San Faldo near the train station where some of the marine ships were docked. Thankfully for Mihar, this part of San Faldo was relatively urbanized, giving him enough cover and maneuverability to shoot back at the marines without getting shot at himself.

"He's in the building! Fucking shoot it!"

Mihar heard the marines shout and cry for help. He was currently inside the train station, using the building to his advantage. The floor of the train station was stained with blood as corpses of marines shot down by Mihar littered the ground.

At that point, it was obvious for the marines that going inside the train station to try and find Mihar would mean suicide. They watched their comrades enter the train station and never return. Those who did make it out alive were shot in vital places. They didn't even see where the shot came from.

Mihar was quickly gaining a reputation for being much more skilled than they estimated. After all, only the captain of their crew as well as their swordsman were the ones who tended to make the most noise, attracting the most attention.

After shooting down the last of the most recent squad of marines that entered the train station, Mihar stumbled on his feet. The whole building shook and Mihar lost his balance for a moment.

"That's… not an earthquake," Mihar said to himself before hearing an explosion that rocked the whole building. "Damn it! They're using their cannons!"

Mihar immediately went out of the building by going out the back where the ocean was facing. He looked in the direction of the marine warships and noticed that they were indeed using their cannons to destroy the train station.

Thinking quickly, Mihar knew what to do next. The marines were now willing to try and shoot him down with their ship's cannons. Fighting the marines inside the buildings around the train station would only mean getting shot at again with cannons.

So, Mihar decided to bring the fight to them. The marines would not shoot cannons at his general vicinity if he was on a marine warship. At least, that's Mihar's guess.

Before anyone could see him, Mihar dived into the ocean with a deep breath. He then swam underwater towards the nearest marine warship. Even under the water, he could still feel his surroundings trembling. The marines were still firing on the train station, probably until it's nothing more than rubble.

Just as Mihar's lungs were about to give up, he surfaced right beside the warship. He then climbed up and entered through one of the openings where a cannon was protruding.

Mihar climbed up on the port side of the ship, away from San Faldo. Luckily, as Mihar guessed, the majority of the marines working the cannons below deck were busy on the starboard side helping with the barrage of cannon shots aimed at the train station.

Sensing an opportunity, Mihar stuck around to see where the marines kept their ammunition. Evading the occasional marine, Mihar found it: a storage of gunpowder below the deck of the warship.

A rare devilish grin made its way to Mihar's face as an idea struck him.