章 32: Chapter 31 - A Village Without Living People
"It seems these guys were just a local bandit group," Shirakawa said after hearing the bandit leader's words.
"Yeah. Judging by their actions, they've done a lot of evil. I wonder if we can wipe them out completely," Shanks added.
"What? You want to go after them?" Shirakawa asked.
"If we can defeat them, I think we should," Shanks replied.
"Haha, that's Shanks for you," Shirakawa said, clapping him on the shoulder. He shared the same sentiment. He couldn't ignore such evil, now that he had the power to stop it. It wasn't about being a self-righteous hero, but simply wanting to see justice done.
"Wait, you're not serious, are you? We don't know how many of them there are or what kind of weapons they have," Buggy said, panicking.
He wasn't afraid of a few bandits, but he didn't want to face an unknown enemy.
"Don't worry. Stay back, and Shanks and I will handle the fighting," Shirakawa reassured him.
'I should have kept that gun for Buggy,' Shirakawa thought, looking at the broken weapon on the ground. 'He could use it for sneak attacks.'
"Besides, don't you know my ability? Even if we can't win, we can always run."
"Alright then," Buggy said, resigned. He knew he couldn't stop Shanks and Shirakawa even if he wanted to.
Since they didn't know where the bandits' hideout was, they continued on their journey, hoping to encounter another group who could lead them there.
As they walked, the forest thinned, and they found themselves on a narrow dirt path. There were no crops or people in sight.
"What is this place? Why is it deserted?" Buggy asked, looking around nervously.
"Maybe everyone moved away," Shirakawa said. He could see signs of former settlements on both sides of the path, now abandoned.
"There's a village up ahead. We can ask what happened there."
They cautiously approached the village, keeping an eye out for danger.
"What's that smell?" Catherine wrinkled her nose.
"Yeah, I smell it too," Shirakawa said.
"It's blood," Shanks confirmed.
"It's different from the blood on Dagmar. This is fresh blood, and it smells...rotten. It must be coming from corpses," Shirakawa said grimly.
They all looked towards the village ahead. The smell was coming from there.
"Be careful. Stay close to me," Shirakawa said.
"Okay," the others replied, their expressions turning serious. Buggy hid behind Shirakawa.
As they neared the village, Shirakawa activated his shield, ready to protect them.
The village was in ruins, many buildings burned and collapsed. The closer they got, the more their expressions soured. Catherine gagged, and Shirakawa fought back the urge to vomit.
"What happened here?" Catherine asked, her voice weak after throwing up. She looked at the devastation and retched again.
"There was a massacre," Shirakawa said, his voice heavy.
Corpses littered the streets, their positions showing the desperation of their final moments.
Shirakawa had never witnessed such a scene before. He had lived in a peaceful era in his past life and had never even experienced war, let alone a massacre. While he had been in a few pirate battles at sea, he had never seen anything this horrific.
"Whoever did this is inhuman," Buggy said, his voice filled with anger.
"It must have been the bandits," Shanks said.
"I agree."
"We can't let them get away with this," Shirakawa declared.
Shanks' expression hardened, and a murderous aura emanated from him. Even Shirakawa was slightly startled.
'He truly is the future Emperor Shanks, possessor of the most powerful Conqueror's Haki. Even now, his spirit is formidable,' Shirakawa thought. Shanks might not have awakened his Haki yet, but he was close.
"Shanks," Shirakawa said, placing a hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down.
Shanks' aura subsided, but his face remained grim.
"Shanks, what was that just now? You scared me!" Buggy exclaimed.
"I'm fine," Shanks replied curtly.
"He looked so scary," Catherine whispered to Shirakawa.
"That's normal. He's destined to become one of the Four Emperors of the New World," Shirakawa said. "If you live long enough, you'll hear his name."
"Are you cursing me to die young?" Catherine asked, playfully hitting him.
"No. I'm just stating the truth. If you live for another ten years or so, he'll be famous throughout the world. Remember, his name is Shanks. You'll be able to brag that you traveled with him."
"Really?" Shanks perked up.
"Of course. Even the Captain and First Mate recognize your potential."
"What about me, Shirakawa? Will I be famous too?" Buggy asked.
"Of course," Shirakawa replied, thinking of Buggy's infamous role in the Marineford War.
Catherine giggled, having overheard their conversation.
"Oops, I forgot about her," Buggy said, realizing there was a witness.
He looked at Catherine, who winked and made an 'OK' sign.
Buggy relaxed.
"What's so funny?" Shanks asked Catherine, confused.
"I'm just happy, thinking my mom might give me a little brother today," she replied with another giggle.
"Oh, congratulations then!" Shanks said, completely buying her lie.
Shirakawa had to suppress his laughter. 'What a ridiculous excuse,' he thought. 'She's seventeen or eighteen. Her mother must be in her forties...'
"Alright, let's rest and then continue our journey. We have a long way to go."
"Let's go," Shanks said, quickly regaining his composure. He knew they were all waiting for him.
"Let's go then."
After a few days of travel, Shirakawa was getting annoyed with Shanks, who kept asking him to use his gravity power on him for training.
"Now I understand how you got so strong so fast. You have a built-in training tool," Shanks said.
"You're just figuring that out now? I thought you knew the first time I used it," Shirakawa replied, exasperated. He was starting to regret bringing Shanks along on this journey.
Buggy, on the other hand, was unusually quiet. He was probably trying to avoid attracting any more trouble.
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