Chapter 10

Within forest some distance away from where the battle happened, Rowan, still in a wounded state, was lying silently.

Though the sky was cloudy and sun wasn't visible by any means, the day began to close. The light slowly faded away, and eventually, the night has risen.

Then, Rowan's eyes abruptly opened, indicating that his consciousness returned.

"Huff... huff..." Realizing what condition he was within, he quickly checked his surroundings—

"...You've finally woken up. Few hours passed, and…"

—Rowan turned his eyes to the blue-haired girl, Carina, who was looking at him grimly. But ignoring her momentarily, Rowan looked around once again. Finally, he asked urgently, "Where... where is Nami."

Carina closed her mouth, refusing to talk.

Rowan, out of desperation, stood up wobbly and proceeded to hold Carina by her collar, with his trembling hand.

"Tell me... Carina."

Rowan, uncaring of the fact that the two of them were currently hiding, asked in a shaky tone, "Where...? Where is she...?" He looked as if about to collapse at any second.

"...Nami's caught."

Carina whimpered, finally opening her mouth,

"Mad Treasure returned while we were in his treasure room. I managed to sneak away while his subordinates were going crazy and creating a mess, but Nami... she was the one who was first targeted by Mad Treasure. And during my run, I came across you... which I assume that you tried to stop Mad Treasure on your own, and failed."

"...Vahahaha."

Losing the strength in his arms, Rowan lost his hold on Carina. Slumping, he laughed hollowly.

'…The worst possible scenario, it seems…'

Of course he already knew what her answer was going to be. From the moment he didn't see Nami here, he could deduce what was going on. However, he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe in the fact that he, once again, failed—

'...No.'

—Nami was 'caught,' and not 'killed.' She was still alive, and as long as she was... there still was a chance.

Honestly speaking, his entire body was screaming of pain. His skin was tore due to the strong grip of chains. His face, thought the blood was wiped, was swollen in couple areas. He felt out of energy, and his brain was still ringing—signaling that he shouldn't be going to another fight.

But nonetheless, he couldn't back away. No, he couldn't dare to.

He hated this world—the world that forced Nami to steal. He hated how the strong ones abused their power to intrude the peaceful lives of the weak. Arlong—he wanted to rip that fish-man apart limb by limb, and grant that devil the worst death possible. To some extent, revenge was what motivated him to become strong, even if it was proven in many instances that he was, by no means, talented or naturally blessed in combat.

And that day, when the villagers were killed, Rowan promised to himself,

'...That I won't let another of my close ones die.'

…Tap.

Rowan ignored the pain all over his body and took a step forth.

Tap.

Carina, watching as Rowan began walking, toward the direction in which Mad Treasure's ship lied, asked weakly,

"...Are you going back?"

"…"

Rowan didn't respond, but continued his walk. Carina, who shivered from the cold and the intruding fear, then shouted with a pale expression, "You... you'll die without a doubt this time around!!" She held her head and trembled, "What's the point of going back and throwing your life away like that?! What's the point of accumulating all that wealth if you are going to die?!"

Rowan stopped on his track. He turned his head and glanced Carina from the corners of his eyes. Within his eyes lingered, not Carina—the girl skilled at thievery—but his young self, staring at him with disbelief.

"...That's what I used to think in the past. But when I lost my father, I came to learn,"

He stated with an underlying sorrow,

"that losing your loved ones, and living a life after, hurts far more than a mere death."

He turned away from his young self and resumed walking… into the darkness, without looking back anymore.

…

Carina stared as Rowan's figure disappeared into the darkness, with the trembling of her body stopped.

<Hey,> Nami asked her back then, <Why are you so adamant over becoming rich?>

<Duh, it's because I want to be able to buy all that I wish for! Until I become the world's richest, I'm not going to stop!>

<...I see. That sounds like a big dream to have.>

Carina's head lowered. With her bangs covering her eyes, she gritted her teeth out of the frustration that was building up within her.

<...You know, I just need 100 million Beli. There is this pirate named Arlong who's been controlling the lives of those in the village that Rowan and I belong to, and he promised me that with 100 million, he'll leave the village.>

"You idiot..." Carina whispered, "...How idiotic must you be for you not to realize... that a pirate like that one will never keep his promise?"

Carina didn't know why she was doing this. Her body moved on its own; she slowly stood up, and began running into the night, through path that Rowan took.

__________

BOOM. Nami watched in a horror as Mad Treasure impaled the final one of his crew member out of anger.

"Useless. Useless as hell..." Mad Treasure growled in rage, "Twenty full-grown men, unable to prevent two kiddos from entering my ship and stealing my treasure... there is no point in your existences then."

The coast was filled with twenty corpses. The grass was coated by the blood, and the entire area reeked of metallic scent of blood. It was quite a dark night with a moon having been covered by the cloud; the only source of light was a bonfire that blazed nearby.

And Nami, currently tied up by ropes, gulped as she sweated profusely. The instinctive fear of death intruded her and sent chills down her spine. However, she was whispering,

"...Don't come. Don't come, Rowan..." Nami whispered in plea, "...Run. Leave me and run..."

Mad Treasure was a monster in Nami's eyes, almost in par with that Arlong. This man, generating and wielding those frightening chains that mercilessly impaled, coiled around, and struck, seemed like something akin to a war god in her eyes, and she knew right away that Rowan, by no means, could defeat him.

"And now," Mad Treasure, with the last one of his crew member taken care with, turned and glared at Nami, "what to do with you?"

Slap.

Mad Treasure, with his huge hand, slapped Nami on the cheek. Nami's cheek immediately swelled, and her eyes teared up from the pain.

"Oi, oi, OI!" Mad Treasure then roared in a crazed manner, peering Nami into the eye, "Do you know what you've tried to do?!! You bastard... weak one should stay weak!! Look what you did, making me kill those useless crew of mine as a result!!!"

Slap. Nami was slapped on the same cheek once more. The tears freely dripped down from her eyes, and she, biting her lips, tried to suppress her fear as much to possible but to no avail.

"And thanks to your futile resistance back then," Mad Treasure barked right in front of Nami's face, "THAT OTHER GIRL!!! SHE ESCAPED!!!!!"

BOOM. Nami's body flinched as Mad Treasure's fist slammed onto a ground right next to her.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...!!!!" Mad Treasure cursed hysterically, "I bet that that other girl managed to get something!! My trophies, the proofs that I conquered many mysteries throughout my voyage...!!!"

Then, he sighted a barrel full of rum that sat nearby. Enraged by the sight of it, he immediately blasted a chain and destroyed it in one go. The alcohol splashed out and soaked over the blood-covered grass, which overall worsened the stench.

"..." Mad Treasure then clicked his tongue, abruptly calming down. Looking at Nami again, he said, "Jararara... what a headache." He raised his left fist up, and in correspondence, the chains shot out and wrapped around it, "Just die."

Nami closed her eyes tight, expecting a death-inducing blow onto her. Her life flashed as her heart drummed faster than it ever has, and she thought of Bell-mere, the peaceful scenery of Cocoyasi, of how Rowan used to visit Bell-mere whenever he could, of how she used to throw a tantrum, saying that there wasn't enough money for her to buy a book to study navigation from.

'...But as long as Rowan lives on...' Nami, even while consumed by the fear, formed a slight smile, '...Cocoyasi can be saved. I know that he can do it—'

"Treasure? Are you talking about this?"

Nami's eyes opened wide in horror. Mad Treasure's fist didn't reach her, and instead, there was Rowan standing nearby the bonfire, patting his fat left pocket.

'W-why…!!!'

"...You," Mad Treasure raised his eyebrow, "You are that loser treasure hunter who was pummeled by me just couple of hours before." Mad Treasure, finding that something was strange, ignored Nami and began walking to Rowan, "And treasure...? Whatever it may be in your pocket," Mad Treasure frowned deeply, "What's your purpose of provoking me?"

Rowan initially put on an act, "...Heh, I'm here to pay you back for—" but stopped in the middle, unable to keep it on.

"..."

He was livid. And desperate. Nami was hurt, but... alive. In the end, chuckling lightly, he took out a rock from his left pocket and dropped it.

"WHY?!!" Nami, emotional from the mix of relief and at the same time, fear for Rowan, cried, "WHY DID YOU COME BACK?!!"

Ignoring her cry,

"...Hey, Mad Treasure," Rowan gazed coldly at Mad Treasure and stated, "that thief over there is my family."

Rowan's body tensed up, for he knew that his strength far paled against the user of Chain Chain fruit. However, he wasn't scared. And he knew that this was a fight that he couldn't lose no matter what; after all, his loss will lead to Nami's death.

"Don't you dare touch her any further."

"...Family? So you are coworkers... you, this girl, and the other one that escaped." Mad Treasure finally deduced, "And that's why you were blocking my way back then... to prevent me from finding out that two girls were stealing what is mine."

Within the darkness, Mad Treasure's eyes flashed murderously. He snarled,

"Living you alive was a mistake, it seemed. I should've killed you back then—

…no, never mind." Mad Treasure then grinned madly, "Actually, it's better this way. Now, instead of a simple death, I can grant you a torture beyond your imagination."

Rowan grimaced. Within his sight, he saw a silhouette of Carina, sneaking her way around, to where Nami was tied at. Taking in a deep breath, Rowan then watched as Mad Treasure lowered his posture before propelling himself off his feet.

BOOM.

Upon Rowan back-stepping to dodge Mad Treasure's chain-covered fist, the second round began—within the darkness.