Gathering Clues #61

Author's note: one of the previous chapters reached 200 power stones, so here's the promised double release. But no more freebies. Next double release will be at one chapter reaching 300 power stones or two chapters reaching 250.

...

"The bandits are dead. My men will be here any minute, but until then, I want every able body bucketing the fires," I instructed as I turned the civilians after putting a bullet in the bandit leader's face.

I quickly realized something was wrong as I looked at the civilians and noticed all of them were old. They looked fearfully at me as I approached them with a knife, and I couldn't blame them, but I didn't overthink it either as I untied the nearest two elders.

"You two, untie everyone else, then gather up the injured and bring them to that building over there..." I said as I threw two small knives at the now free-civilians and gestured toward a relatively intact house.

"The rest of you get the fire under control," I added as I turned around and headed for the said house, pausing as I heard no footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw the civilians frozen in place, prompting me to frown.

"The fire is about to destroy your town, and there are people dying! Get off your asses and get to work!" I exclaimed, and my voice seemed to snap the civilians out of their daze as they immediately started moving.

...

As she walked into the town, Warrant Officer Isuka couldn't help but frown at the sight of dozens of elderly towns folk frenziedly running around, bucketing the fire and trying to keep it under control.

She noticed the corpses splayed on the ground, and her frown only seemed to become more pronounced. She prepared to ask one of the elders what happened but swallowed her words as an old woman approached her first.

"Excuse me, young lady..." The old lady said as she stopped before Isuka and the ten marine soldiers behind her. "Are you with that young, scary marine soldier?" She asked in a hesitant tone.

"We are," Isuka replied with a nod. "What happened here? And where is the marine soldier you speak of?" She asked, getting a bad feeling as she noticed the old lady's cautious expression.

"He's in the mayor Coho's house treating the injured..." The old lady said, heaving a sigh of relief as she gestured toward a relatively big house in the middle of the town. "He told us to send you his way as soon as you arrived..." She added as she turned around and walked away without waiting for a response.

Confounded, the warrant officer could only watch the old lady leave in silence before sighing and turning to the mayor's house. "You lot, help the towns folk. I'll go find Commander Strode," She instructed, and the marine soldiers instantly complied without hesitation.

Isuka nodded in satisfaction at the actions of the marine soldiers before making her way toward the mayor's house. Once there, she found the door open and allowed herself inside.

The warrant officer's eyes widened as she heard groans of pain coming from the living room. She hurried there and promptly froze as she saw Cedric skillfully wielding a medical needle and thread as he operated on an injured man, his hands already covered in blood.

"Is that you, Isuka?" Cedric asked without bothering to turn around as he heard footsteps behind him. "If it's you, have the soldiers help the towns folk with the fire. If not, sit down and wait for your turn..." He went on without waiting for a reply.

"It's me, commander," Isuka said as she cleared her throat. "I've already instructed the men to help the people here... do you have any other instructions?" She asked as she watched Cedric bandage the man on the table and help him to his feet.

"That I do..." Cedric said as he dismissed his patient and called for the next to come. "Apparently, a pirate crew attacked this town before the bandits and kidnapped most young men here..." He added as he started working.

"Talk to the people and find out what happened... it might be related to our target..."

...

Having treated the civilians and saved everyone who wasn't beyond help, I smiled as I finished bandaging my broken finger and leaned into the chair, reaching for the rum bottle beside me.

In truth, the sudden deployment couldn't have come at a better time, as I was getting close to my limit after spending so much time at Marineford without drinking (as much) and whoring.

The urges were getting stronger every day, and though there were plenty of attractive women in the Marine Corps, I honestly had no time to work my way into their pants, busy as I was with training.

Add to that my less-than-steller reputation, thanks to my unique circumstances, the rapidly growing urge to destroy everything and anything, and the lack of brothels, and you had a severe case of blue balls. Well, I did anyway.

Still, the urges were gone, and I'll be sure to stop at a proper island and find a brothel along the way, so that's that. Hopefully, capturing Gasparde would also fix my awful reputation in Marineford as a thug, so I'll have an easier time working my magic.

Besides solving my blue balls problem, the deployment would help me consolidate what I learned from Z-sensei and integrate the six powers into my fighting style.

Even that little skirmish with the bandits helped me overcome the last hurdle of learning Tekkai already, so a proper fight with Gaspard and his crew should prove even more beneficial to my training.

Ultimately, the sudden breakthrough with Tekkai wasn't my only harvest from the fight. I was close to achieving a higher level of muscle control thanks to learning three of the six powers, and I reckon a good battle will give me the nudge I need.

Thinking about the results of my training, I took a swing from the rum bottle and sighed in relaxation, but that was short-lived as Warrant Officer Isuka walked into the room with an old, short, thin man.

"This is Elder Coho. He's the town's mayor..." The warrant officer said as she gestured toward the elderly fellow. "He'll explain what happened to the town before we arrived..." She calmly explained.

"Greetings, commander. Thank you for saving our little town," Elder Coho said as he politely bowed to me. "Even my life would have been gone if you didn't arrive when you did..." He added with a sigh as he raised his head.

"Don't mention it. I'm only doing my job as a marine officer..." I said with a careless shrug as I took another swing of rum. "So what's this I hear about pirates raiding the town and kidnapping your youngsters?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aye... they came in one of them big steam-powered ships..." Elder Coho replied. "It was the biggest I'd ever seen with a gilded hull and a dragon for a figurehead..." He explained with an awed expression.

"We thought she was one of yours from the distance due to the marines symbol on her sails..." He added with a bitter smile. "We only realized she was manned by stinkin' pirates when she came close, and we saw the X on the symbol... alas, it was too late..." He added, shaking his head.

"The damned pirates were upon us before we could react, and even if we did, I doubt it would have made much difference..." The town's mayor said, his expression downcast as he spoke.

"They killed everyone who got in their way, robbed us clean of any valuables, then took every youngster still standing to stoke the ship's boilery..." He concluded.

"That sounds like Gasparde's ship... the Salamander..." I muttered as I turned to Isuka, and she nodded in agreement. "You didn't happen to see the pirate captain, did you?" I asked with a frown as I turned back to the elderly mayor.

"I'm afraid not... but I saw a tall fellow with a hideous face tattoo and long metal claws on his hands..." The mayor replied after a brief pause he used to squeeze his brain. "Needless... that's what the other pirates called him," He added, nodding at no one in particular.

"And that should be his first mate..." I said as I lowered my head and rubbed my chin in thought. "By chance, did you hear where the pirates were heading?" I asked as I turned back to the mayor.

"I'm not sure where they're heading, but I heard one of the pirates say something about joining the Dead End race..." The mayor replied with a troubled expression. "I'm afraid that's all I know about the pirates..." He added, shaking his head.

"That's fine... you already told us what we needed to know," I said with a smile. "Feel free to leave, but do come back if you remember anything else," I added, to which the mayor nodded before excusing himself and leaving.

The village mayor felt both amused and offended at how he was dismissed from his own home, but he could only sigh and oblige as he left without saying anything.

"We'll stay here for the day but have the men prepare to set sail first thing in the morning..." I said as I turned to Iskua.

"Our destination will be Hannabal Island..."

...

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