Chapter 34

"Where are you taking him?" Mihar aimed his rifle at Teach when he was about to go to Kotatsu.

"Relax, we're not gonna kidnap him," Ace said. "My crew's doctor is on our ship. We can't really patch him up on our own."

Ace pointed at Kotatsu's nasty wound. Mihar looked at it and realized just how bad it was. The wound was large and deep enough to see some bones.

"Unless you can heal him properly, I suggest you just follow us," Ace said before leading the way. Teach walked behind him, carrying Kotatsu, and Mihar reluctantly followed.

…

"Vash! I need you here!" Ace shouted on top of the Ashen Dragon's main deck. A minute later, Vash appeared from behind a door.

"I'm here," Vash said before noticing Kotatsu and Mihar. His eyes darted to Kotatsu's terrible wound. "Set him down, Teach. I'll get what I need to treat him."

Vash ordered Teach to set down the big lynx, and Teach did so. He made sure not to make Kotatsu lean on his injured foreleg. Moments later, Vash darted out from within the ship carrying a case in one hand and a bucket of water with a ladle in the other..

With a great sense of urgency, Vash kneeled down beside Kotatsu. He opened up the case he brought and started bringing out tools he needed to heal Kotatsu.

"Wow. You look like you know what you're doing," Ace said as he watched Vash clean the wound of Kotatsu with water.

"Lucky for you guys, I also know some veterinary medicine," Vash said after cleaning Kotatsu's wound. He then began patching up the wound.

"Was the trap nasty?" Vash asked.

"It wasn't. It looked brand new," Ace answered.

"Good. Won't have to worry about that kind of infection then," Vash continued treating Kotatsu. Minutes later, a bandage was being wrapped on Kotatsu's foreleg.

"Aaaand done," Vash said after tying the bandage properly. "He really shouldn't be walking with that leg yet, though. But I think the pain will be enough reminder for him not to."

Kotatsu looked at his bandaged leg and meowed in delight. He hobbled over to Vash with his three good legs. He licked Vash's face in gratitude, eliciting a laugh from the doctor. Kotatsu then went to Ace and did the same. Next in his show of gratitude was Teach, and finally to Mihar. Kotatsu then leaned contentedly on Mihar.

"Thank you," Mihar said to Vash after letting out a breath he was holding in. He then bowed to Vash. "Before you guys leave, I promise I'll repay you somehow."

"Then, tell us something about the island," Ace told Mihar. "Its name, for starters. We still don't know what this island's called."

"Can't see why you should. You're still on the outskirts of the island," Mihar said. "This island's name is Bounty Plains. It's a pretty good island for cooks and hunters. There's lot of cows and other animals you can eat. Not many big predators."

"There should be a town somewhere here, right?" Vash asked.

"There's two. There's Circus Town and a village named Colo Village."

"A circus? Sounds fun!" Ace said.

"Don't go there."

Mihar immediately shut down Ace's enthusiasm to go see a circus. From the way Mihar looked, it seems Circus Town wasn't as fun as it sounded.

"Why not?" Ace was curious.

"Just… don't go there."

"What about the log, then?" Vash asked, steering the conversation to another topic. "How long do we have to wait for the Log Pose to record this island's magnetic field?"

"Just four hours," Mihar answered.

At that moment, Ace felt a group of people enter the range of his Observation Haki. They were heading straight towards their ship.

"They're quicker than I expected," Ace said, his eyes focused on the people approaching from the distance.

"What is it, Ace?"

"We got company."

Ace pointed to the dozen people who looked like trouble. They were wearing the same clothes as the two poachers Mihar killed. Vash, Teach, Kotatsu, and Mihar looked in the direction Ace was pointing at. They saw the poachers immediately since the area outside the forest was flat and open.

"Poachers," Mihar spat. He then picked up his rifle and aimed at them.

Mihar shot at them. But then, the biggest of the poachers stepped forward. He was carrying a large sheet of metal wide enough for all of them to hide behind. Mihar's shot hit the metal sheet. There was an audible ping. The bullet didn't pierce through.

The poachers laughed at Mihar's effort. They kept walking to the Ashen Dragon. Once they were within earshot, the big poacher shouted.

"Mihar! I knew it was you!"

"Huh?"

"I'm gonna make you pay for killing my men!"

"Who the hell are you?"

The big poacher was shocked and silent after hearing that Mihar didn't even know him. His face slowly twisted in anger.

"Oi, stop kidding around! It's me-!"

"Must be a random poacher, huh?" Ace asked Mihar.

"He probably is," Mihar said.

"How does he know you, though?"

"I have no idea."

"Maybe he's stalking you?"

"What? That's creepy."

"Matches his face pretty well, I'd say."

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" The big poacher was infuriated at Ace and Mihar casually insulting him by just talking about him.

"Mihar! I have your student!"

The shout of the big poacher instantly caught Mihar's full attention. He looked warily at the man. His face was twisted in fear and regret. Seeing Mihar's face put a disgusting smile on the poachers.

"Get out of that ship and come with us if you want her to live!"

"Cut the crap! I know you scum won't kill her!" Mihar screamed at the poachers.

"But we could hurt her. Badly. If we don't get back within the hour," the big poacher said at Mihar, sneering at him. "You pissed off the boss pretty badly! He wants to kill you himself!"

"Then, I'll take Eri back by force!" Mihar said, regaining his confidence. He aimed his rifle at the poachers.

"You sure about that?"

"You're pretty strong, but you're alone!"

"There's hundreds of us!"

What the poachers reminded Mihar instantly snuffed out his will to fight. His hands trembled in fear, and then resignation.

"Please… don-" Whatever Mihar was about to say, he was interrupted by Ace.

"Hey, Vash. Those poachers are pretty terrible, right?"

"They are."

"Wanna kill them? They did say they kidnapped a child."

"Leave the big one to me, Captain!"

"Go wild."

Ace released a controlled burst of Conqueror's Haki. There were twelve poachers. Ten instantly went unconscious. One collapsed in a shivering mess. The big one was unaffected.

"Hey, you guys! What's wrong with-"

The big poacher was confused at seeing the men with him instantly collapse. He wanted to find out what happened, but the pain in his shoulder interrupted him. Vash's bullet was lodged inside it.

Vash then Flickered in front of the big guy. Ace was impressed. Vash never stopped training. His Flicker was fast.

Before Vash's prey could even react, Vash emptied his two revolvers at him. WHen there was one bullet left, the poacher was forced to kneel down in front of Vash.

"Who are-"

Vash didn't let him finish his words. With the last bullet, Vash shot his prey in the head.

Seeing that Vash was done, Ace jumped down from the ship. Then, he reached out his two hands. One hand emitted green lights for each of the corpses in front of him. The other hand detached from the wrist and flew at the remaining poacher who was just a quivering mess.

The green lights touched the corpses and turned into flames that engulfed them. The hand that went for the remaining poacher clutched him by the throat and reattached back to Ace with the poacher still in its grip.

"Lead us to your base," Ace said to the poacher as he stared into his eyes.

The poacher nodded vigorously and Ace let go of him. The poacher quickly stood up and started walking in the direction of their base. Then, Ace interrupted him.

"Ahh, wait!" Ace called out to the poacher, and the man stopped. Then, Ace turned his head to Mihar who was still aboard the ship. "Mihar, do you know where their base is?"

"I do," Mihar answered after being snapped out of his daze.

"Good," Ace said before putting a hand on his cutlass. With a quick draw and a Flicker, Ace cut off the remaining poacher's head. "We won't need him."

"Vash, you coming with us?"

"Sorry, Ace. Hepha told me to come back quickly. She got me trying out the prototypes she made."

"I see. That's too bad," Ace said before looking at Teach who was eerily silent. "Mihar! Lead the way! Teach! Come with us!"

Mihar, Kotatsu, and Teach jumped off the ship. They grouped up with Ace.

"Hey, Kotatsu isn't in any condition to run or fight!" Vash wanted to stop Kotatsu from going with Ace, Teach, and Mihar.

"Growrrr!" Kotatsu, surprisingly, growled at Vash.

Ace felt Kotatsu's voice. Kotatsu's voice felt afraid. Anxious. Desperate.

"Mihar's student. Eri, was it?" Ace asked Mihar and got a nod in return. "Eri is Kotatsu's owner."

"More like a best friend," Mihar sighed.

"I see." Vash immediately understood what Ace meant. He then knelt down to Kotatsu's eye level. "Again, try not to use your injured foreleg. You can't save your best friend if you're in a bad condition."

Kotatsu meowed in response to Vash. He looked happy that Vash supported him.

"Let's go! That big oaf said they'd hurt your student if he doesn't get back in an hour," Ace reminded Mihar.

Mihar quickly took the lead and ran to the base of the poachers after Ace reminded him. Ace, Teach, and Kotatsu followed him. They quickly went back to the forest under Mihar's lead.

"You sure you're alright, Kotatsu? We can carry you if you want." Ace didn't want Kotatsu to push himself.

"Mrow!" Kotatsu meowed. Ace felt what he meant. Kotatsu felt happy at his concern, but he didn't need help.

"Well, if you say so."

"You can understand him?" Teach asked Ace.

"Kinda."

After around ten minutes of running, the line of trees thinned down and opened up. An actual circus big enough to be a town appeared in front of them.

"I can see why this place is called Circus Town," Teach commented.

"Looks awesome! If not for the fact that this place was actually the base of poachers and kidnappers," Ace added.

"The people who live in this town are the poachers," Mihar said to Ace. "We're here now. Are you really going to help me save my student?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't we?" Ace asked.

"It's just… I don't see how you'll benefit from this," Mihar confessed.

"We're pirates," Ace said with a shrug as if that would answer everything. "We do what we want. I'm just acting on a whim."

"Really?" Mihar looked at Ace deeply. "Pirates are a strange bunch."

"That we are!" Ace laughed. "So? Where's their base?"

"It's at the town's center. It's where the poachers' boss Poach lives."

"Wait, wait. The boss of the poachers is named Poach?"

"Yes…"

"Huh. No wonder he's the boss. He was born for it," Ace said as he stretched. "Alright! Let's go kick asses!"

"Wait!" Ace was about to use his Devil Fruit to attack, but Mihar interrupted him.

"What is it? Don't tell me you're the one who doesn't want to save that poor student?"

"Of course not!" Mihar said through gritted teeth. "It's just… not everyone in this town is a poacher. This town gets a lot of visitors from Colo Village. Circus Town is here for their entertainment… and their oppression."

"Come again?" Ace can't figure out how entertainment and oppression can go hand in hand.

"It's complicated. Nevermind that." Mihar waved off Ace's confusion. "I just don't want the locals to get hurt."

"So, these poachers aren't local?"

"They're not."

"Well, how do I differentiate locals then?"

"Just don't hurt those who aren't in a poacher's uniform or a circus outfit."

"Fine."

Ace decided not to use his Devil Fruit. Not hurting the locals would be a good step if they want to make this island their territory. Can't really find refuge in a hostile island, after all.