章 118: The Girl Under The Fire, Iska
After initially taking over the underground world, Arías assigned Solomon the task of locating Nico Robin.
Arías and his team then crossed the Upside Down Mountain and headed to the Capital of Seven Waters. With Tom's assistance, the construction of the sea train was progressing rapidly. If things went well, it would be completed by mid-year; otherwise, it might stretch to the end of the year. Arías needed to keep a close watch on this project.
As Arías was preparing to leave, he noticed a fire burning on the island. The flames were spreading, engulfing wooden houses, and the sounds of fighting and terrified screams filled the air. It was evident that this was an ordinary pirate raid—a common occurrence on the seas.
However, this time the pirates were particularly unfortunate. They had started a fire and were in the midst of looting the villagers when they encountered Yamato and Hiyori, who were staying at a villager's house. The pirates were swiftly defeated.
The sea, under the influence of the mysterious God of Dakou, extinguished the fire with freezing air. Yet, despite the intervention, many villagers had tragically lost their lives to the pirates' violence and the fire.
Yamato and Hiyori were now helping the villagers clear the ruins and rescue those trapped under the debris. Hancock, meanwhile, remained seated quietly in a teahouse with Salome behind her, massaging her shoulders. She did not take action, merely observing the situation.
Arías arrived at the island aboard the Daybreak and went to the center of the chaos to assess the situation. He found Yamato and Hiyori diligently working to extinguish fires, provide aid, and recover bodies from the rubble. Indifferent to disaster relief work, Arías instead approached Hancock, ordered a pot of tea from the teahouse owner, and waited for Yamato and Hiyori to complete their tasks.
Among the ruins, Yamato discovered two bodies under a collapsed beam. One of the victims had a knife stuck in his chest, a sign that he had been killed by the pirates. After removing the bodies and laying them with the others, Yamato heard some noises coming from underground.
Upon clearing the debris completely, they uncovered a basement. Opening the basement door revealed a red-haired girl, who crawled out, coughing, and immediately began searching for her parents. A neighbor directed her to the bodies, and she wept uncontrollably upon finding her parents among the corpses.
The villagers, overwhelmed by grief, mourned their losses. Yamato and Hiyori continued their work throughout the night, receiving the villagers' gratitude.
The next day, as Arías was preparing to leave, the orange-haired girl approached them.
"Master Yamato, can I become your disciple?" she asked earnestly.
Having learned of Yamato and Hiyori's role in defeating the pirates, she wished to gain similar strength to protect others.
Yamato looked at Arías for guidance, as she herself was a student of his and felt unqualified to take on a disciple. Seeing both Yamato and Hiyori looking to him, the girl realized that Arías was their leader.
"Sir, please accept me as your disciple!" she pleaded, kneeling and pressing her forehead to the ground.
"What's your name?" Arías asked, noting the resemblance to Zoro's apprenticeship with Mihawk.
"Iska!" the girl answered confidently.
The name sounded familiar to Arías. Upon reflection, he realized that Iska was the Marine who had an affair with Ace in the Ace Gaiden. If it was her, accepting her as a disciple could be beneficial.
"Why do you want to become my disciple?" Arías asked.
Iska replied, "I want to kill pirates and protect the weak!"
While this answer was expected, it was not what Arías wanted to hear. "But in this world, there are more malevolent forces than pirates. Provoking them could make you an enemy of the entire world."
Iska did not understand whom Arías was referring to but responded firmly, "No matter who it is, as long as they commit evil, they should be punished!"
"What if it's the Marines?" Arías inquired.
Iska was taken aback. To her, the Marines were paragons of justice.
"There are scum within the Marines who collude with pirates, extort villages, take bribes, and oppress the weak. They wear the cloak of justice but are still corrupt. What will you do when you encounter such scum?"
Iska thought deeply before resolutely stating, "Even if they are Marines, as long as they do evil, they should be punished!"
Arías nodded in approval. "Good, but I do not accept mediocrity. Within three years, you must kill a pirate with a bounty of at least 30 million alone. If you fail, I will kill you. Do you accept?"
"Yes, no problem!" Iska replied confidently.
Arías then took Iska from the island and began teaching her Qi training. Yamato and Hiyori occasionally offered her additional guidance. At thirteen, Iska was at an ideal age for training, and her natural aptitude led her to grasp the sense of energy within just fifteen days.
Meanwhile, Dawn County arrived in Logue Town, drawn by curiosity. This was the final stop before the Grand Line, where Pirate King Roger was born and executed. It was also Bartomeo's hometown, and Arías suspected that the Barrier Fruit might have appeared here after Kurozumi Semimaru's death.
In the central square of Logue Town, Arías and his party visited Roger's execution platform. The area was bustling with visitors, and after dealing with a few troublemaking pirates, the crowd around them grew quieter.
In a restaurant nearby, three diners observed the commotion.
"Is that him?" a cloaked man with a tattoo noticed the disturbance and was quickly drawn to the five people at the center of it.
There was no denying it; Arías and his team were conspicuous.
"Yes, he's the one who bought the Daybreak from me. He mentioned that his goals were similar to ours. Perhaps he could be an ally."
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Lisandrin32
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