Axe Over Head

I watched as Gibby closed his jaws around a Marine galleon, turning the ship sawdust. Then my own ship rocked as another wave of cannon fire hit an enemy ship, blowing a hole in the hull.

The war efforts were going well, with some islands rebelling and declaring their independence from the World Governments. Before I could even give the order, Dragon had recruitment camps set up on said islands, and our numbers soared once again.

Though most volunteers were noncombatants, we needed all the help we could get. There was a darker side to the war as well. The World Government had declared their version of Martial Law, bypassing everyone's right to a fair trial.

There had already been several mass executions by so-called rebels, who were really just examples by the World Government telling everyone their fate if they didn't stay in line. But an unforeseen was the sudden abandonment of Marine grunts who couldn't stomach the injustices committed by their higher-ups.

I had even heard rumors that Smoker, Fujitora, and even more secretly Sengoku had resigned from the marines. In a recent meeting, Dragon had somehow gotten a list of all the marines that had deserted or left over the past month.

I didn't question how but nonetheless, I was curious about how many spies he had in the marines and what positions they held to get that type of information quickly. Another round of cannon fire rocked the ship, and I snapped back to reality.

"Soren, Dragon needs to speak to you." Turning around, I locked eyes with Sabo, who had regained his memories during my coma. I held out my hand, and Sabo placed a Den Den Mushi, which I quickly activated.

"Dragon, what's the problem?" I could hear him sigh from the other side, and my heart started to race, "The Fiver Elders have done something stupid, I'd never think they would be this ballsy, but they went ahead and did it."

My gaze turned steely, "What happened?" Dragon exhaled, "They released several prisoners from Impel Down, but only those contained on Level 6 Eternal Hell." I cursed my mind racing, trying to remember everything I knew about the secret level of Impel Down.

However, the only thing that surfaced was that the people held there weren't tortured because they were strong enough to resist all means of pain. And that several held grudges against Whitebeard.

"Do we have any clue about who those prisoners are?" I asked on the edge of my seat. "No, and it's been done secretly out of the public's eyes. Hold on tight. Things might start getting ugly."

I laughed darkly, "I don't want to see how it can." Tossing the snail back to Sabo, I looked at Gibby and locked eyes with the monster, "Stop playing with your food. We need to get back."

The creature roared before breathing large gout of flame, burning the rest of the ships to a crisp. The entire ride back, my mind was racing, there was an ax looming over my head, and I didn't know who was holding it.

Pushing aside the flap to the familiar tent, I made my way over to Abby, whose antenna was lighting up like crazy, "Do you need help." She blinked, "Sorry, I didn't get that. What did you ask?"

Smilin,g I reached into my pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, "You just answered it, but no matter, take a look at this." Abby flipped open the letter, and I watched her eyes moved left from right when her eyes shot open, "This can't be real, can it?"

I nodded, "I need you to get the word out to all of our informants in the News Industry, make sure they can't spin it on us." I had watched enough television to see the rebels suddenly get blamed for and crime they didn't commit, and it always infuriated me.

Leaving the tent, I walked right next door, entering my second home, the lab. The original one-room building had been expanded as our need for medical supplies exploded. But the actual room was restricted to me and Evos, which I entered after passing by the three separate guard checkpoints.

Throwing on a coat, I walked over to Evos, who toiled over a lab bench mixing a clear liquid. Then I watched as he poured the concoction down his throat. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and muffled a burp.

"I'll never get used to you doing that." Evos turned around and smiled, "That serum of yours is a miracle worker. I'd never think that I would be able to ingest poisons and expel them from my skin."

I smirked, "The serum has a way of sensing what the hosts needs. There's a reason why the only people who know how to make it are in this room." Evos nodded, "Thanks for the leap of faith. Who knows, I could still be a spy trying to steal all your secrets."

Rolling my eyes, I moved over to the deep freezer and pulled out a long string of glass spheres filled with a neon blue liquid. Have you had any luck with this? We discovered it on a Marine ship carrying unauthorized weaponry."

Evos shook his head, "I didn't want to break one of the vials until you go here. I can't be sure, but my guess is a type of poison. But again, back be sure." Plucking one of the orbs, I moved over to the fumigation hood, "Then how about we crack this one open and see what's inside."

Not waiting for an answer, I put the orb inside and used the inbuilt gloves to grab and small hammer and crack the glass structure over a beaker. Unexpectedly the fluid was like syrup as it slowly poured into the vial.

"What the-?" Holding it up to the light I could see individual crystals inside that made up the liquid. "I don't think that's poison."