SHADOW BEFORE CREATION Chapter 5 chapter 4

Rescuing the Foolish Captain

"For heaven's sake… is he stupid or what?"

Zoro shouted as he rowed with all his strength, his eyes tense and furious while the boat surged powerfully through the water.

"Why didn't the bird just fall from his weight? Why did it fly off with him?"

Arthur spoke with the sa astonishnt, gripping the oar firmly, his heart fluttering with both fear and disbelief.

The two of them pushed forward with all their might, but the bird was faster, soaring toward its destination at a speed they could not match.

The bird's domain was the sky,

while Arthur and Zoro's domain was the land—and they were at sea.

Thus, the speed of rowing was slower than the bird that shot forward through the air.

Even so, Arthur and Zoro did not falter or stop.

They continued until they reached a small village that was eerily deserted.

"What's happening here? Where is everyone?"

Arthur wondered, stepping forward cautiously, while Zoro walked beside him, his black eyes scanning the surroundings with sharp vigilance.

Monts later, they discovered four n lying asleep on the ground.

"Hm… perhaps one of them knows where Luffy went."

Zoro said as he observed the n carefully, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

Arthur looked at the n and realized from their clothes and physiques that they were pirates, so he did not truly care about them.

He bent down, grabbed one of them, and struck him hard in the stomach. The man cried out in pain and lifted his head, only to find before him a young man with short black hair and faint black eyes, his gaze charged with strength and terror.

The man trembled at the sight, then looked around and saw his companions unconscious, and rembered what had happened.

"Tell , did you see a boy wearing a straw hat, with a foolish smile on his face?"

Zoro asked, standing firmly beside Arthur, his voice sharp and direct.

Arthur swiftly extended his hand, seized the man's fingers, and in one quick motion broke his first finger.

The man scread in agony, his eyes filled with fear.

Arthur smiled calmly, yet piercingly.

"Lie, or delay your answer, and you'll enjoy more of this, you bastard."

Before Arthur could touch the second finger, the man shouted quickly,

"Yes, yes! I saw that person… he fell from the sky. We didn't know who he was, but that girl said he was her captain. When we tried to talk to him and force him to co to our captain, he beat us and went with the girl!"

Zoro looked at Arthur, then at the man, his voice tense.

"Where is your captain?"

Arthur gripped the man's finger again, nearly crushing it, but the man pointed weakly toward the captain's location.

Arthur smiled, then struck him and knocked him unconscious once more, without rcy.

The two rushed quickly toward Luffy. Suddenly, an old man erged from behind a house, holding a spear, panting heavily.

"Back off, you villainous pirates!"

The two looked at the man and realized he was one of the villagers. Despite his old age and weakness, he stood before them with courage—no strength, no numbers beside him, only his bravery and his aged rcy.

Arthur stepped forward steadily.

"Old sir, we are not here for destruction, theft, or anything evil. We are only trying to find our foolish captain, then we will leave. If you wish to believe , that is good. But if you try to stop us again… do not bla for my harsh thods."

Arthur finished his words with a gentle smile, causing sweat to pour from the old man's forehead as realization settled in his mind.

"You were questioning Buggy's pirates about soone wearing a straw hat, weren't you?"

Zoro stepped forward.

"Yes… do you know where he is now?"

The old man sighed.

"I'm not entirely sure what his relationship is with that orange-haired girl, but I saw her tie him up and send him to Buggy."

Arthur and Zoro's expressions shifted between shock and disbelief, but they rembered their captain's foolishness. Arthur sighed and said,

"It seems our foolish captain was deceived by a girl, Zoro."

Zoro raised his hand and struck his forehead.

"Fine… we have to save him. Damn it… why do I feel like I joined the wrong crew?"

Arthur smiled.

"Man… I'm thinking the sa thing."

The two smiled and continued forward confidently toward the pirates' location.

Shortly after, they arrived at Buggy's pirate gathering in a wide square.

There were many n, no fewer than about 150. A foolish clown with comical features sat on a chair, and beside him stood three n: one riding a lion, another holding a sword, and a third, a massive muscular man.

In front of them was an iron cage containing Luffy, with a cannon aid at him. The orange-haired girl stood behind the cannon, her hands trembling violently.

Arthur and Zoro assessed the situation. As they prepared to move forward, a foolish man shouted with enthusiasm and arrogance, shoved the girl aside, and lit the cannon.

Arthur smiled at Zoro, and the latter understood his plan without a single word.

The two dashed forward at high speed, each toward his target—Zoro toward Buggy, and Arthur toward the cannon.

Before reaching it, Arthur noticed the girl's hands reaching toward the fuse, pressing firmly. He was surprised by her resolve as she extinguished the fla. At that very mont, three n lunged at her, ready to kill her.

Arthur smiled calmly and launched toward the first man. Within re seconds, he struck him three precise and decisive blows. Then he turned to the other two and took them all down in only fifteen seconds.

At the sa ti, Zoro succeeded in slicing Buggy into several pieces, and the captain fell, leaving Luffy and Arthur in mixed shock and joy.

But Buggy's crew did not move. Instead, they laughed, as though nothing had happened.

"Are they idiots? Isn't that their captain who just died?"

Arthur was bewildered by the scene before him and approached Zoro. Suddenly, both of them sensed danger approaching swiftly. Before they could react, they both fell to the ground, blood flowing from their mouths.

Arthur looked behind him and saw a severed hand that had stabbed his side and stabbed Zoro at the sa mont.

Arthur's eyes widened in true shock.

He was a renowned and famous killer, an expert with a long history in stealth and silent assassination.

And now he had been ambushed off guard.

Where was the logic in this…? But there was no logic—only the reality of Devil Fruits.

Arthur thought quickly and reached to grab the severed hand, but it suddenly moved and tore free from his side, blood gushing heavily like a river flooding the ground.

The three n gathered around Buggy and advanced toward Arthur and Zoro with confidence and deadly arrogance.

The muscular man stepped forward, grabbed Arthur's head, lifted him high, then slamd a powerful punch into his stomach.

Blood burst from Arthur's mouth and side like a blazing fountain, while Luffy roared in furious rage, slamming his head violently against the cage, blood spraying from his forehead—but the cage did not break.

The swordsman approached Zoro and struck his wound, causing Zoro to writhe in pain as blood poured heavily from it.

Seeing his companions tortured before him, Luffy shouted with all his strength,

"Arthur! Zoro! Get out of here, now!"

Buggy laughed with contempt and arrogance.

"Where will they run today? Everyone will die here!"

In that mont, both Arthur and Zoro smiled a devilish smile—a mixture of anger and anticipation.

Arthur was still held by the muscular man, blood streaming from his mouth, but he used all his strength. He grabbed the man's arm, pulled it back with his free hand, then swung it with all his might toward the man's neck.

The strike was far faster than the muscular man could react. The severed hand slamd into his opponent's neck with trendous force. The man's body shook from the impact and he collapsed to the ground, dead.

Everyone stared at their fallen comrade, a dreadful silence overtaking them. The blow had been lethal, breaking the man's neck and nearly severing his head from his body.

At the sa mont, Zoro leapt up, gripped his swords, and launched three consecutive slashes at the swordsman.

First the man's hands fell, then his body trembled violently in agony, and finally his head dropped—dead.

Arthur moved swiftly toward the cannon, grabbed the matchstick beside it, and lit it at once.

He crouched beneath the cannon, inhaled deeply, pressed his feet firmly against the ground, lifted the heavy cannon, and turned it toward Buggy and his crew.

Buggy and his crew froze in place.

Everything had happened at such terrifying speed that they remained stunned by the succession of horrors.

Within re seconds, without warning, the cannon fired, blasting a large portion of the square apart.

Half of Buggy's n were killed and torn to pieces, while Buggy and the man riding the lion disappeared amid smoke and chaos.

Zoro rushed swiftly toward Luffy, gritted his teeth, and lifted the cage, with Arthur following behind him without delay.

Nami stood amid the destruction Arthur and Zoro had caused, overwheld by the force of the scene, and began to vomit from the intensity of the chaos she had witnessed.

Then she hurried after Arthur and Zoro, fearing that Buggy might be nearby and attack her. She had been the cause of all this destruction—she had led Luffy to Buggy, triggering the massive wave of violence that erupted in the square.

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