The sun had already set in the west.
Before long, the sky was draped in twilight, and a sea of stars revealed itself overhead.
Kuzan stood silently at the ship's rail, gazing up at the starlit sky, utterly unaware of how much time had passed.
Eventually, the deck grew quiet as the Marines returned to their cabins to rest. Only five or six night-shift guards remained on duty—some on the lookout post, others patrolling the deck.
They had all noticed Kuzan, who had been standing at the rail for hours, but none dared interrupt him.
"I knew it... I still can't stand by and watch this kind of thing unfold before me."
As he spoke, Kuzan's figure faded into icy mist, vanishing from the deck.
Night deepened.
Darkness shrouded the entire coastline.
The weather that night was unusually cold. The Marines on duty clearly felt the winter chill seeping through their coats and into their bones.
Huddled together, they whispered a plan and decided to head inside to add a few more layers before resuming their post.
Why did they all go together? The reason was probably no different than why little boys and girls in school prefer going to the bathroom in pairs.
Not long after the night guards left the deck, Kuzan appeared at the cabin door. He placed his hand on the handle, and with a quiet hum, froze the entire entryway with his powers.
From beneath the green warship docked at the port, a frozen staircase extended outward and down to the pier.
Boom—
A muffled thud rang out as a gaping hole was suddenly blasted open in the lower deck, leading straight into the warship's brig.
"Huh?!"
"What the... What's happening?!"
"Someone's here to rescue us?!"
"Quick! Let's go!"
Inside the brig, the Sharon Kingdom's royal guards were instantly roused by the noise. Seeing the massive hole in the cell wall and the ice path stretching straight to the harbor, their spirits soared. They huddled together and rushed toward freedom.
Fortunately, these men weren't entirely brainless. Realizing someone was helping them, they stayed silent, held their breath, and tiptoed toward the port.
Strangely, not a single Marine guard remained in the brig.
"Wait, the door won't open!"
"Is the lock broken?"
"Too cold... maybe the lock's frozen?"
Meanwhile, a few Marines who had gone to change clothes were returning to resume their watch. But when they tried to open the door back onto the deck, they found it completely sealed.
No matter what they did, it wouldn't budge.
They didn't dare shout and instead scrambled to find tools to pry the door open.
On the deck, Kuzan concealed himself in the shadows of the mast, watching silently as the "prisoners" slipped away toward the harbor. His expression was unreadable.
After a long while, he removed his sunglasses and rubbed his temples, clearly troubled.
Elsewhere inside the ship, Yoriichi Tsugikuni lay fast asleep in his cabin, his breathing slow and steady.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
In an instant, his Observation Haki swept across the entire warship like a storm.
Within seconds, Yoriichi furrowed his brow, grabbed the sword by his bedside, and walked barefoot, dressed only in thin sleepwear, straight out the door.
As he entered the hallway leading to the upper deck, he spotted several Marines frantically fiddling with the frozen lock.
They had been trying to open it without making too much noise, afraid of waking the others. But the lock was frozen solid, and their careful attempts were useless.
Hearing footsteps behind them, the Marines turned their heads. When they saw Yoriichi, they stiffened instantly, snapping to attention and saluting.
Just as one was about to explain, Yoriichi drew his sword.
"!!!"
"Captain! We just went to change clothes—no need to cut us down for that!"
"Captain Yoriichi, I was wrong! Please don't kill me!"
The Marines panicked, stammering as Yoriichi, expression cold, approached. Without a word, he brushed aside one of the junior officers and, with no visible swing, unleashed several slashes directly at the door, shattering it completely.
He stepped past them onto the deck. Tilting his head slightly, he spotted the fleeing "prisoners" racing toward the dock.
"An escape attempt, huh..."
"I already spared your lives once. That was the greatest concession I could offer."
"And now, you don't even have the courage to face the punishment you deserve?"
Yoriichi walked calmly to the railing. His eyes grew colder as he watched the fugitives sprint across the frozen dock.
Raising his blade, he prepared to unleash a flying slash.
But at that moment, Kuzan suddenly appeared behind him.
"Don't do this, Yoriichi."
"Let them go. They had no choice."
As he spoke, he reached out toward Yoriichi's wrist.
But just before he made contact, Yoriichi turned sharply. His blade hand dropped, dodging Kuzan's grip, and in a flash, he reversed the hilt and slammed it hard into Kuzan's stomach.
Thud!
The impact sent Kuzan flying, crashing into the deck with a heavy thump that carved a fresh dent in the wood.
The Marines who had just stepped out of the cabin saw a white blur shoot past. When they turned, they found their superior officer Kuzan embedded in the deck, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Kuzan, it seems you still don't understand your position."
"I told you, these people aren't harmless little rabbits."
"If you let them go, can you guarantee they won't attack other Marines?"
"The moment they attacked the Marine base alongside King Sharon, they were already marked for death."
"I gave them a chance to live. They didn't treasure it."
"Kuzan... it's your fault they're going to die."
With that, Yoriichi leapt into the air, using Moonwalk to propel himself toward the dock.
The Sharon Kingdom's guards still wore heavy ankle shackles, and thanks to Yoriichi's early detection, even the fastest one had only just reached the steps leading up from the dock.
As Yoriichi's figure landed before them, the escaping soldiers froze, terror-stricken as they stared at him.
Bathed in moonlight, Yoriichi slowly raised his head. His face was expressionless as he looked at the dozens of fleeing men. White mist curled from his mouth with every breath.
"I'm sorry, Royal Guards of the Sharon Kingdom."
A sudden thunderclap cracked through the dock. In the dead of night, a golden bolt of lightning flashed and vanished. At that moment, Yoriichi disappeared from the dock.
Back on the warship, under the moonlight, Yoriichi reappeared silently, watching the frozen dock from the railing as he calmly sheathed his sword.
"Yoriichi, what have you done?!"
Kuzan had just recovered and rushed to the ship's edge, shouting toward the dock.
But as his eyes landed on the scene below, the horror struck him.
Dozens of guards collapsed in unison into the snow, blood spilling from slashes across their necks, soaking the ground red.
Yoriichi turned and stepped back onto the deck, heading toward the cabin.
As he reached the entrance, Kuzan's strained voice called from behind,
"Yoriichi... I'm the Rear Admiral here!"
"You..."
Before he could finish, Yoriichi cut him off without even turning around.
"I know. So what?"
And with that, he disappeared into the cabin.
Kuzan stood there, momentarily stunned. The pain in his gut flared up once more as he looked at the bloody dock.
With a heavy sigh, he flew down to the dock, stood for a long while, and then began gathering the fallen bodies of the "fugitives."
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 150 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!
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