Chapter 316: Why are you here?

Dialogue "sample"

Thoughts 'sample'

Author notes -sample-

Disclaimer: One Piece and all of its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda.

"Why would you want an old man like me? It must be a jest." Old Hyo asked.

"No, I can tell that you are strong," Luffy told him with absolute confidence.

The old man grinned.

"You have sharp senses, young man. My name is Hyogoro, but most call me Old Man Hyo. As for your offer…I will have to politely decline it. My loyalty will not change until the day I finally die. Besides, I'm too old to become a pirate now."

"That's too bad…" Luffy pouted.

"Can we leave now? time is of the essence!." Usopp yelled.

"I'm sorry but, there is something else I would like to free before we leave this place."

Old Hyo pointed to a nearby dark cell that was carved into the rocky walls.

"You can't free that prisoner!. He is too dangerous!" Some of the guards attempted to stand in the way.

"None of the prisoners can leave!"

"Master Dabon, we need your assistance!. At this rate, the prison will be emptied!"

Some of the remaining guards went to plead with the pink hippo to open its mouth.

But the beast glanced towards Luffy with an expression of terror and refused to open its mouth.

"Move!" Luffy told the guards while activating his Conqueror Haki.

Most of them fell unconscious and the few remaining ones were quickly disposed of by Vivi.

"This cell?" She asked the old man, who was still trying to recover from the shock of seeing Luffy using his Conqueror Haki.

"Oh…yes. But now we don't know who has the key. These bars are specially reinforced to resist-…."

Vivi yanked three of the steel bars out and tossed them away.

"To resist what?"

"Never mind…who are you exactly?" Old man Hyo questioned.

"We can leave the introduction for…"

Someone came out of the cell at a stunning speed and directed a palm strike at her. The attack was easily blocked by Vivi.

"Later…so this is the one you wanted to save? He looks a bit….ill." Vivi said while observing this person's skin tone.

"Kawamatsu, stop!. She is not an enemy!" Old man Hyo hurried to warn him.

"Really?...my apologies, young lady. I must have lost my manners after being locked in there for so long."

The man took off his hand, revealing his true features. He was tall, almost ten feet (3mt), with green skin, a round body, and some extremely long and wild orange hair. He didn't look human at all.

'He looks like one of those kappa from Japanese folklore….so he must be at least a…'

"A fishman then."

He retreated his hand and she let him go.

"Fishman?..."

He covered his head back with his hat. It was obvious that the stares made him uncomfortable.

"My name is Kawamatsu, may I know the name of my rescuer?"

"Is Vivi….but it was that old man Hyo who requested your freedom…oh…"

Vivi looked behind her.

"There are a lot of people approaching this place."

"Huh?, how can you tell?" The old man looked confused.

"Oh no!, we are screwed!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Is the Emperor among them?" Robin decided to ask.

"That depends on how good he is at concealing himself. But I don't think so. If he is half as arrogant and confident as Big Mom, he would never conceal his presence." Vivi answered.

"Even if that is the case, we must not delay any longer," Robin suggested.

"I'll carry him." Zoro approached and took Usopp from her, then he threw him over his shoulder so Robin didn't have to support him.

The entire group, including all the prisoners, made their way out of the yard since there were no more guards to stop them.

A few minutes passed and the pink hippo finally opened its mouth after feeling it was safe.

"Ah!, were you trying to kill me?, you damn beast…"

The warden looked around the place and noticed all the chaos.

Broken cells, some of his men were dead while others looked unconscious…and there was not a single trace of the prisoners.

"What the hell happened here?... Master Queen is going to kill me…"

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On the outside, a big group of people left through the hole that remained after Luffy destroyed the entrance door.

"Freedom!"

"Yes"

"Finally!"

"We are free!"

The prisoners celebrated with joy.

"How long has it been?" Old man Hyo stared at the sky in contemplation.

"Thirteen years for me…never thought I would see the sun again," Kawamatsu commented.

The old man approached Luffy.

"Tell me, young man. What do you intend to do here in Wano?" He observed Luffy with care. Like he was trying to measure his character depending on his answer.

"Mmm?" Luffy seemed to consider the question.

"I came here to kick Kaidou's ass and to help a friend."

"You want to fight the Emperor directly?" The fishman asked with shock.

"What is your name?" Hyo asked.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!. The man who will soon become the King of all pirates."

Usually, people would laugh when Luffy made those claims. No one was laughing now. Someone who was confident enough to come here to directly confront one of the most dangerous beings in the world was definitely not someone you want to laugh at.

"I see now….I thought you reminded me of 'that man'. He wore a straw hat, just like that one you have."

The old man smiled. He then turned around to glance at the prisoners.

"I have made my decision then…"

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