Cover Serial: Heart Pirates, Part 11 - "We'll definitely avenge the Young Master!"
The moment Corazon released him, Buffalo panicked and flew into the air. He stared fearfully at the three people standing on the coastal rocks, especially Corazon, whose demeanor had completely changed and who, more importantly, had actually spoken!
Buffalo gave Baby 5 one last look, but she didn't even glance his way. After shouting a final threat, he flew off alone over the vast sea...
…
A strange, headless figure strode toward the chief jailer, two beautiful eyes growing unnaturally from its muscular chest and staring straight at him...
"Uh..."
A strangled noise escaped the chief jailer's throat. His eyes rolled back, and he fell flat on his back.
After landing on top of his scattered subordinates, he quietly lifted one of their arms and draped it over his face.
The arm subtly pulled itself back.
The chief jailer cursed inwardly.
'Damn these bastards! Are they all pretending to be unconscious too?!'
Rustle, rustle...
Something began searching around the chief jailer's waist. He immediately held his breath and went completely still.
'Don't eat me. Don't eat me. Don't eat me...'
The headless muscleman, "Kento," bent down. Using the beautiful eyes on his chest, he removed the large ring of keys from the chief jailer's waist with a series of soft metallic jingles.
Robin controlled the Flower-Flower Fruit clone as it entered the half-destroyed cell. Carrying the ring of keys, Kento approached the imprisoned assassin.
The sight of Sienna's bloodied, miserable condition, her wrists chained and her feet nailed to the floor, filled Robin with sympathy. Naturally, it wasn't Kento showing the emotion, as the clone had no face; it was Robin's real body.
She and Liam had already followed the imperial guards out of the capital.
"All right, you can go back now."
Liam patted the lead guard on the shoulder and took the dragon decree from inside his robes.
The chief imperial guard was about to object, but the moment he met Giorno's eyes, his mind grew hazy. He closed his mouth and nodded blankly, allowing Liam to take the decree before leading the other guards back toward the Water Capital.
Liam opened the dragon decree and glanced over it. With a soft whoosh, flames sprang from his hand, reducing the document to ashes.
"How are things on your end?" he asked Robin.
At the same time, he felt the sensation of cold metal between his fingers.
Robin sighed. "She's in terrible condition..."
...
Sienna slowly regained consciousness.
The stench of blood filling her nostrils came from her own body.
It was the smell of death.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a monster with a muscular bare torso, two beautiful eyes growing from its chest, and no head above its neck.
She was briefly startled, then let out a faint sigh.
"So you're a Soul Reaper from the Underworld? Very well... Take me with you. Ryudo, let the two of us scout the road ahead for Big Sister and see how far it goes..."
She murmured to herself, but the Headless Monster said nothing. It merely crouched before her, busy with something.
Sienna was puzzled.
What was this soul-collecting envoy from the Underworld doing?
Suddenly, an excruciating pain shot through both her feet.
She looked down and saw the Headless Monster removing the iron spike pinning them to the floor. Its fingers turned black with Armament Haki, forcibly straightening the bent spike bit by bit before pulling it through her mangled feet.
"Ah!"
Sienna's face twisted in agony, a low cry escaping through her clenched teeth.
The Headless Monster caught her as her body nearly collapsed. The chains securing her wrists rattled loudly.
In its other hand, the monster held the ring of keys. After trying several in the lock binding her wrists, it found the correct one and unlocked the shackles.
Sienna fell weakly against the Headless Monster.
"Watch out... behind you..."
The jailers had raised their swords and were charging from behind.
No matter how frightened they were, they couldn't simply stand by and let someone rescue a prisoner from Sky Prison. Their lives would be forfeit either way!
The chief jailer roared, "You want my life? Then I'll take yours first!"
But just as his blade came down, he was shocked to discover that an identical pair of beautiful eyes had appeared on the monster's back.
Those eyes calmly watched the jailers attacking from behind.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After a rapid series of clean, heavy blows, the jailers were sent flying in every direction, ending up embedded in the stone walls.
The chief jailer crashed into the wall with a resounding boom, leaving a man-shaped crater behind. Helplessly, he watched the Headless Monster tuck the blood-covered female prisoner beneath one arm and stride toward the entrance of Sky Prison.
The chief jailer drew a deep breath and addressed his subordinates, who were also stuck in the cavern walls.
"Brothers, I intend to become a pirate. Which of you bastards wants to sail with me?"
Voices immediately rang out across the cavern.
"Chief, why didn't you say so sooner?"
"I've wanted to quit for ages!"
"It's not like we can keep working here anyway. If we don't run now, we'll be the next ones locked inside Sky Prison..."
"Being a jailer here is too damn rotten, even a dog wouldn't do this job! Boss, I'm with you!"
"Can I be the captain?"
"Go to hell!"
...
With Sienna tucked beneath one arm, the headless Kento leaped from Sky Prison, high upon the sheer cliff...
Robin might not have been able to use Geppo with her own body, but she could perform it easily while controlling Liam's monstrously powerful physique.
Her control over his strength was far rougher than Liam's own, and using Geppo through the clone consumed more energy than usual. Still, Liam's Flower Clone possessed a body identical to the original monster, so the additional strain was negligible.
Step! Step! Step!
Carrying Sienna, "Kento" raced through the air and soon landed beside a mountain stream. The woman was covered in blood and desperately needed to be washed.
However, after recovering a little strength, Sienna began struggling fiercely in his grasp.
"Let go of me!" she screamed hoarsely. "Let me go... Let me go!"
The headless Kento tossed her into the stream.
A thick cloud of crimson immediately spread across the water.
With a splash, Sienna surfaced. Water streamed down her face, though it was impossible to tell how much was from the stream and how much was from her tears.
"Isn't it better to be alive?"
Sienna froze.
The headless man stood on the bank. Aside from the beautiful eyes on his chest, a pair of red lips had now appeared over his navel.
"If you survive, you'll still have a chance to do what you want, won't you?"
"...Jolyne Cujoh?!"
Sienna stared at him in shock.
She remembered that voice. But her mind was in such turmoil that she had neither the energy nor the desire to think about how this was possible.
Her face twisted in anguish as she looked toward the distant mountains, where the imperial palace stood.
The beautiful eyes on Kento's chest blinked before turning in the same direction.
Sienna clutched her head.
"Why did you save me...? How can I go on living by myself...?"
...
Imperial Palace - Winterbloom Garden
Flames raged as countless people rushed about in panic.
"Put out the fire!"
"Hurry! Put it out!"
Palace maids, guards, and eunuchs desperately threw water from basins and buckets. Some had even resorted to using wine cups and rice bowls.
It was hopelessly inadequate.
The flames spread rapidly throughout Winterbloom Garden, already threatening to reach the surrounding palace buildings.
Suddenly, a long serpentine shadow appeared within the flames.
Everyone looked up sharply.
An enormous Black Dragon blotted out the sky, its head and claws emerging from the clouds. Its eyes burned with cold fury.
The dragon opened its jaws and unleashed a massive torrent of water.
Amid the screams and startled cries of the palace servants and guards, the flood swept across Winterbloom Garden, extinguishing both the inferno and everyone's futile attempts to fight it.
A long draconic silhouette descended through the towering clouds of black smoke. It transformed into a small, slender figure and landed among the smoldering ruins of the king's Winterbloom Garden.
The remains of charred trees lay scattered everywhere. A few sparks still flickered among them while thin trails of gray smoke drifted into the air.
The king walked through the devastation without expression.
Before long, he reached a secret location deep within the garden, somewhere no outsider could possibly have found.
At the center of a spring-fed pool dozens of meters wide stood a small island. Upon that island was supposed to be a flowering tree.
The Sacred Fruit Tree.
It was the most important tree in the entire garden.
Now, every fruit and flower had been reduced to ash. The Sacred Fruit Tree itself had burned down to its roots.
Blackened branches and scorched leaves drifted across the water surrounding the island. Occasionally, a charred fruit could be seen floating among them.
The king's expression darkened beyond measure.
He stared coldly at the figure leaning against the remains of the Sacred Fruit Tree.
Half of Ryudo's body had been burned black. Across the water and through the thin gray smoke rising from the ruins, the young man in coarse clothing raised what remained of his face and flashed the king a toothy grin.
"Now... you're the last Black Dragon left... Hehehe..."
"You damned bastard!"
The king trembled with rage.
In an instant, he transformed fully into the Black Dragon. With a thunderous roar, he lunged toward the young man beneath the burned tree, opened his enormous jaws, and bit down without mercy.
...
Back in the mountain stream, Sienna wiped her face. Her eyes were red as she gritted her teeth.
"Ryudo... I'm sorry. Your second sister failed you... Just wait for me. Please, wait for me..."
'Can someone please erase everything about giants from my mind...?'
(End of Chapter)
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