Chapter 24
There was no more of the cheerful, relaxed, and annoying pirate she knew before her. He no longer looked playful, as if he just did what he did for fun. Now she could see his true form, his true nature.
"Snow!"
She called out to him, feeling stupid for thinking that there was a decent man under all that annoying act he put on. But now, she was brought back to reality. This was Snow the Gravedigger, a murderer and the worst pirate of the North Blue. If she let her guard down even for a second, she would be killed.
"Sorry," his smile didn't reach his eyes. "I think this is the end of me playing around. As you can see, even a pretty girl like you will have to do your best not to be killed."
She had fought him before; she knew him. At least that's what she thought, before he rushed at her with explosive speed and strength. The weight of his umbrella was immense against her sword. Even blocking the strike, she felt her bones rattle.
She couldn't defend against his strikes and was forced to retreat. But he was relentless. Blood was still dripping from the umbrella as he struck again and again. She could only glance at the Marines on the ground, bloody and broken, before having no choice but to retreat even further from him.
She should have come with them the moment the messenger informed Lord Vas of what was happening in his manor. But Vas seemed adamant about not letting her go before the local Marines took a look first.
In the end, she had to sneak out by herself to come, as she suspected Snow's involvement. But even then, it was too late. Now she was faced with the true nature of Snow the Gravedigger. As his relentless attacks continued to push her back, she could only defend herself.
"Is that all you have to offer?" Snow asked, getting close to her face with a mocking smile on his face. "Is this all your strength?"
"Shut up, you scum," Gion didn't let herself be overpowered. "I'm going to kill you."
Now that she had calmed down and could see properly, she knew what she had to do. She was one of the best swordsmen in the Marines; she couldn't lose so easily to brute strength. Her skills were far more advanced than this. And she had justice on her side.
Letting the umbrella slide along her sword as she lowered her stance, she looked for the perfect moment as he stumbled too close for him to defend himself. Her sword was fast and sharp, and blood spilled as she ran her blade through his torso from his stomach to his neck, cutting his shirt and cloak.
But she was shocked the next moment and couldn't move for the next slash. Those countless scars on his chest made her sick. They were old, some of them far older than others. That meant he got those scars when he was younger. Who could do that?
"Don't be distracted, or you will die too quickly." She snapped out of her thoughts as his umbrella stabbed at her chest.
She was sent flying through the trees, deeper into the woods, now completely out of sight of the injured Marines on the main road. She spat out the saliva stuck in her throat to breathe again as she stood up and looked at Snow slowly approaching.
The wound she inflicted on him didn't seem as deep as she hoped it would be. All she did was cut his shirt apart, exposing his chest. He didn't even seem to feel the wound as he lit a pipe and took a puff of it, completely relaxed as he looked at her. There was no emotion in his eyes as he coldly stared at her.
"Is this the best the Marines can afford?" Snow asked. "If that's so, then you don't have what it takes to stop me."
"You won't be leaving this place alive, Snow," she promised him, lifting her sword and readying her stance.
It was she who burst into explosive speed now. She might not be able to overwhelm him with her strength, but she was sure that she was faster than him. And as heavy and big as that umbrella was, he couldn't move it as fast as she moved her sword.
Every slash from her sword should make him slower and slower at moving that massive chunk of metal. Even as he continued to match her slashes, blocking her sword, she could feel it, his limits.
As sparks rang through them as their weapons collided, Gion finally saw an opening. Swift as her moniker suggested her to be, she changed her stance, and before Snow could react, she stabbed her sword right through his chest.
"Got you." "Got you."
Both of them spoke at the same time. And Gion realized that she had made a mistake as she couldn't pull her sword out. Snow's hand clutched it in place. The spot she stabbed was his choice, not hers; he chose it and let her do it, because it didn't damage any of his organs.
"Don't seek death so early, girl," he said as his umbrella hit her shoulder, bringing her to her knees.
A kick to her face sent her flying through the trees once again. But this time, she couldn't get up once she landed on the ground. This was his true strength. Only a couple of hits were enough to bring her down. And now she was going to die as he approached her.
He pulled her sword out of his chest and dropped it at her feet. He hadn't even used his Devil Fruit powers, and he was already so overwhelming. Had he gotten stronger, or was he always holding back? It was her mistake to look down on him.
"It was fun while it lasted, Vice Admiral," Snow said, and for the first time today, Gion saw emotion in his eyes; it was sadness. "But everything comes to an end. And today, it's just your unlucky day. Khhk! Hack!"
Before he could finish his words, he succumbed to a coughing fit, desperately clutching his pipe as he inhaled the smoke coming from it. She saw blood drip between his lips as he finally stopped his fit and leaned against a tree.
"You can't escape." She didn't know what it was, but she couldn't let this chance go by as she slowly got back to her feet and took her sword. "You think I will let you get away with what you've done? By now, every Marine on this island is mobilized and will come for you. There's nowhere for you to hide."
"Phew." Snow got away from the tree he was leaning on and exhaled a puff of smoke before putting down his pipe, dropping what was inside it to the ground. "Hide? From who? You? Your toy soldiers? Don't make me laugh. It isn't me who should be hiding; it's you. So, I suggest you start running now."
Gion only stared at him with full intentions of killing him today, no matter what. He got her good, sure, but he wasn't in good condition either. If he could last a bit longer, reinforcements would come, and together they would be able to stop him.
Snow threw his umbrella in the air as Gion prepared to fend off any attack that might come at her, only for him to turn into his pitch-black and bronze bird form and fly up. His wings outstretched, blocking the moonlight.
And then she saw, like rain, iron spikes drop on top of her. Dozens, if not hundreds of them, rained down. There was no escape for her, as she bit her lip and got into a stance. Her sword moved faster than it ever had, blocking and deflecting the spikes.
But even with her best effort, she couldn't block them completely. Her legs were pierced first, then her arms, and just as she thought that it was over for her, as she could no longer hold her sword, the iron rain stopped.
Snow was gone. And she could only fall to the ground in pain as she had no strength left inside her. She was completely defeated. What a fool she was to think that she alone could handle him. All this time, he was playing with her, and now he was done playing around, and she could only watch as he wreaked havoc as he wished.
…
Snow sat on top of the tallest tree he could find and watched as Law led the former slaves away, avoiding anyone. It was good that he managed to direct his fight with the Vice Admiral away from the main road, so the new Marines coming wouldn't encounter them as they came to Gion's location.
Damn, that girl sure stung like a bee. Although he avoided any damage to his organs, the stab pierced his chest, and if not for his Devil Fruit powers, he might have been in trouble. But by turning his skin into iron and burning the wound, he managed to stop the bleeding easily enough.
Well, all was fine now. But there was still work to do. After all this, the lord of this island wouldn't let it go so easily. He would gather all his manpower and make sure that none of them escaped.
There went his relaxing stay. Still, it was fine. It was much more fun to watch human scum fall before him. Though the Celestial Dragons visiting this island made everything far more complicated than it had to be. If things escalated any further, even Snow wouldn't be able to handle it.
Well, as long as those old monsters at Marine Headquarters didn't come, Snow should be able to manage anyone on the island. And once Bege took up his request and left the island with the former slaves, he would be able to leave with Law and the rest without too much trouble, hopefully.
…
When Snow arrived, the whole town seemed to have gathered in one place. So nobody saw him fly over them to look at the harbor, which was filled with Marines. If he had any wish to count them, Snow was sure that he would reach a thousand at least.
The Polar Tang and the rest of the crew had set sail a bit away from the island. Snow could still see it in the distance, and it wouldn't be too difficult to get to the ship. The Marines wouldn't be able to stop him if he took Law and Caribou with him and flew over.
But there was no way Law could bring all those people here without the Marines noticing. And Bege's ship was still here; it would be difficult for him to depart safely, and Snow didn't want to risk the lives of innocent people.
"You again?" Snow landed on Bege's ship once he saw that the captain was there. "What do you want? It seems you've already made some trouble."
"I need your help," Snow had to make sure Bege could be trusted before Law came. "I have a job for you. It will pay you very well."
"After all that you've done, you think I'll work with you?" Bege asked, looking a bit surprised at Snow's naivety or stupidity in the idea.
"There will be chaos in town; it'll surely bring those toy soldiers away from the harbor, leaving you safe to depart. But I need you to bring some people with you."
"You already cost me quite a lot of business, and now you dare order me around?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Snow snapped back at Bege. "Who are you trying to pretend to be? I'm offering you a job, and you're refusing it? How does that make any sense? Unless there's something you want, what is it?"
"Why should I tell you anything?"
"Because I can make you."
"Hmph, you're getting over yourself. But I guess I can't do anything about it. Fine, I have some information on why the most famous singer in the world is here. And it isn't for her own good. The Celestial Dragons were going to kidnap her in secret and make her their slave."
"They do know whose daughter she is, right?"
"That's why they'll do it in secret. Even the World Government doesn't mess with a Yonko so easily. And that's why I'm here. It's the best opportunity to make a connection with Red-Haired Shanks. So I was preparing to save her, but that seems to be impossible now since you meddled in my plans. So, I'll have to wait until the deed is done and sell the information about it to the highest bidder."
"Hahaha, ridiculous," Snow didn't know what to think. "Well, since it came to this, there's nothing for you to worry about anymore. They won't get to Uta; I'll make sure of it. So, take my job and earn some money."
Snow wasn't going to back off, and finally, it seemed that Bege knew it too. In the end, it was Snow with the money and the power. So, if Bege wanted to get off this island with even a bit of profit, he would be smart to listen to him.
A.N. As always. Thanks for reading and supporting me. If you want 7 more chapters of this story and 42 chapters in total with all my current stories, please consider supporting me on pa treon ironworlf852. Thanks in advance.