章 24: Chapter 24: The Marines Arrive; Captain Shu

Out in the vast and endless sea, specifically in the south blue, you'd spot three ships of varying size, yet each one was blue and had the symbol of the Marines painted on the ship's hull as they sailed through the ocean unhindered.

The first ship, and the biggest of them all, capable of holding more than one-thousand men, had four masts in total, two large ones and two smaller ones; many cannons surrounded the edge of the ship, signifying its status as a marine battleship as it sailed at the foremost.

The second ship, which sailed just to the left of the battleship, while much smaller, was still relatively large and had a total of three masts, one large one and two smaller ones, although the ship didn't have nearly as many cannons, there was still enough to defend themselves from possibles attacks, solidifying its status as a standard marine ship.

The last and final ship, which sailed directly behind the foremost ship, was only slightly smaller than the battleship while still containing a total of four masts, yet it had one large and three small masts; although it was a marine ship, the number of cannons was pitiful, causing one to wonder if it was truly a marine ship; however, it's lack of defense was made up for with the sheer amount of resources one could see from merely the deck, denoting its status as a marine transport ship.

While the three ships sailed the sea, off in the near distance, a blurry image of an island slowly became more and more apparent, causing the lookout, who was sitting at the topmost of the mast, to come rushing down as he made his way towards the captain's office.

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"May I come in, Captain Shu?" Asked someone in a dignified voice from behind a door, causing the captain to look up from his stack of papers.

"Enter." Replied Captain Shu, who wore a large white marine hat and a white veil surrounding half his face.

Although I heard the marine enter my office, I just glanced at him before focusing back on my dense stack of papers.

"Petty Officer, reporting for duty, Captain Shu. I've just laid eyes on Karate Island, ETA, 40 minutes!" Stated the officer as he saluted before Captain Shu, his words grabbing the man's attention.

"I see; Inform Vice-Captain; he'll take command of docking at Karate Island." Said Captain Shu while continuing to focus on his stack of papers, though the office just nodded before leaving the room.

I wanted to finish my work before arriving at Karate Island, but those forty minutes passed by in a blink of an eye, and before I realized it, we'd already docked.

"Captain, all three ships have successfully docked; the nobles of Karate Island have come to greet you." Stated a rough-looking man who opened the door without so much as a warning, causing Captain Shu to sigh.

"I understand, Vice-Captain Camp; I'll be out in a minute; just let me finish this paper, so until then, occupy the nobles." Said Shu, his words causing Camp to scowl in annoyance, but he still obeyed the orders of his superior.

With Camp leaving, I quickly finished my paper before setting it in the completed stack to the side, which was only about the same size as the uncompleted stack, causing me to sigh in frustration, though thankfully, I could finally take a break.

Exiting my Office, I passed by numerous marines before finally leaving the battleship as I arrived on the dock, and in the near distance, I saw Camp seemingly speaking with several nobles, though when he noticed my presence, he pointed at me, causing all of the nobles to eagerly run towards me while Camp disappeared amongst the crowd of marines.

As I spoke with the scared Nobles, they constantly mentioned the so-called 'Dojo Hunter' and his apparent deeds; however, after my relentless attempts to appease them, I finally managed to calm them down somewhat.

"I understand, but now that we marines are here, we'll protect this Island, swiftly capture this murder and restore justice." Stated Shu solemnly, his words causing the various nobles to breathe a sigh of relief.

"T-Thank you, Captain Shu; I already feel safer with you here." Said one of the female nobles, who was wearing a little too much makeup.

"I can't tell you how many times I've dreamt nightmares of that criminal entering my home and killing me; your presence puts us all at ease." Said a rather plump middle-aged noble while sweating.

"Also, if it's not too much trouble, could you check up on the Nobles at the Voyage manor; they've been acting quite suspicious in the past year, and although we've attempted to visit them numerous times, we've been chased away by the sounds of beasts." Said an older gentleman while everyone else quickly agreed with his words.

"I'll check out the house, but allow me to get everything squared away first since we've decided to set up an outpost here; it's quite a big job and requires me to overlook it constantly." Stated Shu with a nod as he spoke with the nobles for a few more minutes before finally leaving and returning to the ship.

"Haa, these next few weeks are going to be exhausting." Muttered Shu while sighing.

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The past few weeks left me with little to no time for myself, as I was constantly required to overlook this critical operation of the outpost being built while also protecting it from any criminals, mainly this Dojo Hunter; however, he didn't once attack this place, which I'm thankful for. Though, it seems our presence hasn't scared him at all as he still continues his nightly adventures of massacring people and killing Dojo Masters, along with a new criminal that'll leave dried-up husks of men throughout alleyways.

As the outpost has been mostly built and fortified, I'm finally allowed to step away from the operation while having my lower-class officers handle the miscellaneous stuff; currently, I'm heading toward the Voyage manor. Approaching the gates to the estate, I noted that there were no guards present while I entered the estate, yet as I traveled deeper, I also noticed there wasn't a single servant in sight, causing me to frown as I felt something was off about this place.

Approaching the manor, I knocked on the door, expecting possibly a servant to open the door, yet to my utter shock, the person who opened the door was the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on; with just a glance, I could tell she was the definition of perfection if personified. She was even more beautiful than the newly appointed Warlord, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, the most beautiful woman alive, though after seeing this woman, she was now the second most gorgeous woman alive.

"Is there something I can help you with, young Marine?" Asked Freyja with a charming smile that nearly caused the man to be consumed with lust, though he was strong enough not to allow his emotions to control him.

"Y-Yes, I-I'm looking f-for V-Voyage Kaitlyn; h-have you s-seen her anywhere?" Replied Shu while avoiding eye contact as he continuously stuttered his words.

"Yes, in fact, you're looking at her. How may I be of help to you, Marines?" Remarked Freyja as she further opened the door, allowing Shu inside, who was too flustered to even remember that the woman before him looked nothing like the picture of Voyage Kaitlyn he had.

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"Just remember, if you ever need me, I'll always be willing to help." Said Freyja with a warm smile while sending off the intensely blushing Shu before closing the door, causing a certain someone to appear suddenly.

"Hehe, he's quite strong, not to mention he gives off a scent similar to you; he must've also eaten a devil fruit." Said Diddy with a grin while chuckling as he appeared upside-down on the ceiling.

"So, did you manage to succeed or not?" Added Diddy curiously as he fell from the ceiling before silently landing on the ground.

"Unfortunately, no, he still has a mind of his own, but my presence has deeply impacted his psyche; I'm sure, given enough contact, he'll eventually turn into my slave." Replied Freyja with a frown while eyeing Diddy.

"Well, if the captain turned out to be weak, I would've killed him and have the Marines send someone stronger, but seeing how strong he was, it wouldn't really be a smart idea; it would take me some time to defeat Shu in combat, so one of the superiors would most likely be stronger than me. Not to mention, I have no idea what his devil fruit ability is." Remarked Diddy with a thoughtful expression.

"Hearing those words leave your mouth just makes you sound scared." Declared Freyja, though Diddy merely erupted into laughter before blasting her with his killing intent, something she's gotten used to, so it didn't surprise her.

"Scared!? Hahaha, I'm not scared; in fact, it's taking everything I have right now not to kill that Captain just so the Marines can send someone stronger!" Stated Diddy with a viscous grin while eying Freyja as he laughed chaotically.

"This place still has some valuable things left for me to acquire, so until I take everything and deem myself ready to finally leave this fucking island, I'll keep the beast within me caged, at least to the best of my ability." Added Diddy with a bloodthirsty expression while desiring to fight and cause chaos.

"How long until you deem yourself ready; how long until you leave the island?" Asked Freyja solemnly, to which Diddy merely smirked before replying.

"Five years, once I turn fifteen, I'm leaving this place, whether I'm ready or not; you coming, Freyja?" Replied Diddy as he reeled his killing intent while glancing at Freyja.

"Of course, everywhere you go, I'll follow you." Said Freyja, her words laced with deep killing intent as she eyed Diddy with a hardened gaze.

"Hahaha, then I suggest you get strong since I have no intention of slowing down for anyone; if you can't keep up with me, I'm leaving you behind." Remarked Diddy with a devilish grin as he turned around and headed deeper into the manor.

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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, also it works this time; I've reset it, https://discord.gg/eX83nz2q

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Elven Legacy (Chapter 144: Elif's Victory!) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 24: Secret Stash!) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 34: Sebas Visage) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]