In the cramped living room, after listening to the young woman's account, even Fujitora—a rear admiral who cared deeply for the common folk—let out a series of heavy sighs.
Though he had blinded himself years ago after witnessing too much of humanity's cruelty, he still hadn't expected the world's lowest-class civilians to sink to such depravity.
Aqua and her mother had fled here roughly six years ago after their hometown was pillaged by pirates, thinking they'd found refuge—only to leap from the tiger's den into the wolf's lair.
As outsiders, Aqua and her mother were never welcomed by the villagers of Keen Village.
They first subjected Aqua's mother to endless harassment, with some villagers coveting her beauty and resorting to threats, using the infant Aqua as leverage to force her compliance.
Once such acts began, they couldn't be stopped.
In the end, Aqua's mother traded her body for temporary shelter.
Some of the village's able-bodied men left to seek livelihoods elsewhere, and with the Orenfence Kingdom's recent oppressive taxation, Keen Village was left with only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.
To Aqua's mother's surprise, just as she saw a glimmer of hope, despair returned with the arrival of the royal nobles from the Orenfence Kingdom.
The villagers of Keen Village, eager to please these nobles, once again pushed Aqua and her mother forward, seeing them as outsiders who wouldn't feel shame or guilt for their actions.
Perhaps already burdened by emotional torment, Aqua's mother could bear it no more.
After entrusting Aqua to a young woman who had been exiled from the royal city by the king of Orenfence, she chose to end her life in despair.
It would be no exaggeration to say that in the persecution of Aqua and her mother, almost no one was innocent.
Even children Aqua's age, encouraged by the adults, would bully her—spitting on her or ganging up to beat her.
After her mother's death, Aqua endured not only physical violence but also psychological torment, as the children hurled cruel words at her.
Fortunately, while sorting through Aqua's mother's belongings, the young woman found a photograph of Aqua's father with Fleet Admiral Orion and noticed two messages written on the back.
At that very moment, they also saw a live broadcast from the Marine Headquarters featuring the young Fleet Admiral—recognizing him as the "tiny soldier" in the photo.
After hearing the young woman's account, Dunn's eyes turned bloodshot.
He stood up silently and walked out.
The young woman, meanwhile, had long been sobbing uncontrollably during her retelling, as she too had nearly fallen victim to some of Keen Village's villagers.
To protect Aqua and avoid sharing her mother's fate, she had gone months without bathing, smeared coal on her face daily, and let her once-prized hair become a tangled mess.
Though crude, the method worked—allowing her to wait safely for months for a response from the Fleet Admiral at Marine Headquarters without facing harassment.
"Captain!"
As soon as Dunn stepped outside, a Marine petty officer rushed forward with eyes equally red as him and shouted.
"Can we kill them all?!"
"Captain, Can we kill them all?!"
"Captain, Can we kill them all?!"
"Captain, Can we kill them all?!"
"Captain, Can we kill them all?!"
"Captain, Can we kill them all?!"
"Captain, Can we kill them all?!"
Every Marine soldier, upon learning that not only nobles from the royal city but also the villagers of Keen Village had tormented Aqua and her mother, stood with bloodshot eyes, shouting at Dunn.
Dunn glanced at the hundreds of figures herded to the village entrance by his soldiers.
Without hesitation, he decisively raised his hand and commanded.
"Kill them all. Leave none alive."
Instantly, terrified pleas for mercy erupted, followed by the deafening roar of gunfire outside.
The gunfire lasted over ten minutes, starting as a relentless barrage before tapering into sporadic shots, then fading into silence.
When the final gunshot rang out, the young woman inside could no longer hold back.
She collapsed to her knees, hugging her legs and wailed like a wronged child.
With his powerful Observation Haki capturing everything happening outside the building, Fujitora, who always cared deeply for the common people, found the Marine's execution method too extreme.
However, he did not step forward to stop it.
After a brief silence, Fujitora sighed inwardly, then stood up gripping his cane sword and faced the young woman.
"I still don't know your name."
"Luna! My name is Luna!"
Having just broken down into uncontrollable sobs moments ago, the young woman hastily wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood up.
"I'm sorry, Marine sir, I... I lost my composure just now!"
Fujitora shook his head gently and said in a kind tone:
"From now on, you need not address anyone as 'sir' except for Fleet Admiral Orion."
"Kindness begets kindness, blessings return to those who give them."
"Miss Luna, your future has arrived."
"Let us go now, to the docks to welcome Fleet Admiral Orion!"
"Huh?"
Luna's pupils contracted slightly in disbelief.
"Fleet Admiral Orion... is coming too?"
*****
Somewhere in the North Blue waters.
Several large Marine warships that had departed from Marine Headquarters immediately locked onto the village of Keen within the Orenfence Kingdom's territory upon entering the North Blue, then proceeded at full speed in parallel formation.
On the deck of the lead warship, Orion stood alone at the bow, clad in the Fleet Admiral's cape.
Behind him, Marine officers including Gion, Hina and Morgans stood in two neat rows, all gazing intently at the turbulent sea ahead.
Since boarding the ship, Orion had remained silent, tightly clutching the letter and photos sent by Aqua.
No one dared to break this silence, creating an unusually heavy atmosphere aboard the vessel.
"Gion, how much longer?"
Suddenly, Orion—who hadn't moved from the bow for a long while—turned slightly to look at Gion.
"Have we made contact with Doflamingo?"
"We should reach Keen Village in about half an hour," Gion stepped forward and continued.
"Ten minutes ago, Doflamingo sent new information. Through interrogation, he learned that the Orenfence Kingdom has been collaborating with human trafficking rings for the past decade, selling their own citizens to traffickers. They claim it's to gather Celestial Tribute, but in reality most of the profits were embezzled by the kingdom's nobility!"
"What about Aqua?"
Orion had no patience right now for the atrocities committed by Orenfence's nobility—he only wanted to know if Aqua was safe.
-----------------------------
Please read my new fic : One piece : Scum of the Marine!
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator