Chapter 55

Loya's words jolted Aludo and Mingde awake. They spun around, and sure enough, Tony's eyes fluttered open on the bed.

The look in his eyes was haunting.

Anger, despair, pain, regret, sadness - a maelstrom of emotions swirled in those dark orbs. One glance was enough to stir pangs of sympathy in even the hardest of hearts.

But these three were made of sterner stuff. They wouldn't let Tony's piercing gaze crack their resolve.

Seeing him awake, Mingde's anger flared. He pressed his mace against Tony's throat, growling, "Got a death wish or something? I'll gladly oblige if that's what you want!"

He ground the weapon down harder. The sharp spikes easily broke skin, puncturing blood vessels. Crimson streams trickled down Tony's neck, staining the sheets beneath him.

But Tony seemed oblivious to it all, his vacant stare fixed on the ceiling.

"Mingde, cool it!" Aludo lunged forward, grabbing the mace. In the elite camp, his raw strength was second only to Loya. He held firm, and Mingde couldn't budge the weapon an inch.

"Enough!"

Loya's roar cut through the tension. He'd been perched silently on an ice floe, but now his fury chilled the very air around them.

Both men flinched, their hands dropping to their sides in unison.

Aludo, however, planted himself in front of Tony's bed. He nudged Mingde aside, his stance eerily reminiscent of how he'd faced down Loya back at the camp.

Loya sighed, resigned. He rose, gliding towards the door with his Moon Step technique. "Fine. If you won't talk, I won't pry. But remember this - when push comes to shove, we're all blind and deaf."

He paused at the threshold, adding with a bitter chuckle, "Because that's what it means to be in the Navy."

With that, he left without a backward glance.

If Loya didn't maintain his pseudo-dragon state now, he knew he couldn't stay airborne for long. Even with Moon Step and Shape Magic, he was barely keeping afloat.

Moreover, Tony's broken spirit reminded him of a grim saying: "A man without hope is a man without fear."

Someone who no longer fears death won't yield answers, no matter how much you press them.

Loya could only pin his hopes on Zephyr now. That instructor had a knack for getting through to people.

Seeing Loya leave, Mingde and Aludo exchanged glances before reluctantly following suit. They left Tony alone in the dim cabin, his lifeless gaze fixed on the ceiling above.

Outside, Aludo couldn't help but ask, "Hey Mingde, what was Loya getting at back there?"

Mingde snorted, shaking his head. "You really are thick sometimes."

His expression turned serious as he locked eyes with Aludo. "Just remember this - whatever happens from here on out, you didn't see or hear a damn thing about Tony. Got it?"

Aludo scratched his head, confusion plain on his face. "Oh, so basically keep my mouth shut about all this, right?"

"Close enough, I guess," Mingde sighed, giving up on a more detailed explanation.

Truth was, Aludo wasn't actually stupid. His brilliance just shone through in combat, not social graces. It often took him a while to grasp nuanced conversations, but Mingde was used to it by now.

Dawn was just breaking over the horizon. A chilly morning breeze swept across the faces of the patrolling sailors, making them shiver involuntarily.

Up in the frozen crow's nest, the lookout dozed, bundled in a quilt atop a wooden plank. Exhaustion had finally caught up with them all.

Since the rescue efforts began yesterday, many hadn't rested for a moment. Lack of supplies, medicine shortages, refugee resettlement, maintaining order - the problems seemed endless. Even Loya and his men hadn't caught a wink of sleep.

Loya noticed the sleeping sentry but chose to ignore it. There were bigger concerns right now.

On his signal, three warships that had departed separately soon appeared on the horizon. The ice dragon's frozen bay served as a perfect beacon, guiding the massive vessels towards the shore.

"Sound the- No, wait!" Loya began, but it was too late.

"Yes, sir!" Aludo bellowed, and alarm bells clanged across the coast.

Panic erupted among the refugees. People scrambled from their tents, toppling support poles in their haste.

Loya's eye twitched as he rounded on Aludo. "You idiot! Why'd you sound the alarm? Don't you realize how on edge everyone is?"

"Uh..." Aludo glanced at Mingde, who was already moving to calm the crowd. He offered a sheepish grin. "Force of habit, I guess? We always do it when ships dock. Sorry, I forgot."

"Damn it all," Loya muttered, feeling the weight of fatigue settle over him.

Mingde's reassurances, coupled with the awe-inspiring sight of the approaching warships, soon quelled the panic. These weren't ordinary vessels - they were massive ore transports, easily dwarfing standard Navy ships.

"It's the Navy! We're saved!" "Thank the seas, help has come!" "Please, sir! My child needs urgent care!"

Mingde did his best to comfort the surging crowd, following Loya's orders to prioritize the wounded. Those crying out from hunger would have to wait - saving lives came first.

Loya stood like a statue on the rocky shore, arms crossed. The morning light caught his eyes, and he squinted against its glare. There was still so much work to be done.

On the lead warship's deck, Admiral Akainu stood tall, his Justice cloak billowing in the breeze. A cigar dangled from his lips as he mirrored Loya's stance on the shore.

Their eyes met across the water. Akainu offered a nod, his trademark kind smile crinkling his eyes. Loya exhaled slowly, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

As Zephyr's students, Loya and Akainu shared a similar approach, much like other lieutenants such as Momonga. Their unspoken understanding required no words - a glance was enough to convey volumes.

Watching Loya reappear instantly on the coast, Akainu muttered around his cigar, "That Loya... what a piece of work."

Meanwhile, on the shore, an elderly woman clutched dry bread and water to her chest, tears streaming down her weathered cheeks as she bowed to a young sailor. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

The sailor, flustered by her gratitude, steeled himself and continued distributing supplies.

Akainu maintained his genial expression, puffing on his cigar from a portable stool. Only Loya dared approach him, the others keeping a respectful distance.

Gazing at the dawn sky, Akainu casually asked, "So, about that gold mine..."

Loya replied evenly, "The palace treasury held about 12 billion berries worth of gold, already smelted. I checked the mine itself - the rich veins are close to the surface. Easy pickings."

"Excellent," Akainu chuckled. "Good thing, too. No matter how many lives we save, the teacher would have our hides if we botched the main objective."

Despite outranking Loya, Akainu found he could no longer treat him as a mere subordinate. This mission had changed things.

Beard's Devil Fruit ability was infamously tricky. He'd terrorized the New World for over a decade. The fact that Loya had defeated him spoke volumes about his strength.

Akainu's tone shifted, becoming more serious. "By the way, Loya... where's that swordsman, Tony Miller? Haven't seen him around."

Loya let out a long, weary sigh. The moment he'd been dreading had finally arrived.