"Wh-What the hell is that woman!? She's going toe-to-toe with Magellan!?"
"You don't know, Buggy!? That's the 'Pirate Literary Master,' gane! She's a Pirate famous for reasons beyond brute force, but... I never imagined she was this strong! And wait, she was in Impel Down...!?"
Buggy and Mr. 3 stood frozen in disbelief, along with the prisoners trailing behind them.
Right before their eyes, Sue and Magellan were locked in a ferocious battle, clashing at such a tremendous pace that no one could possibly intervene.
"Hydra!!"
"Extreme Roar... Assault Play!!"
A massive Hydra made of liquid poison. An attack where even the slightest touch meant the end. Sue deflected it with a relentless barrage of strikes, slicing apart every last droplet of spray.
The reach of Sue's blade became an exclusion zone. Beyond it, not a single drop of poison could pass.
But Magellan showed neither hesitation nor alarm. Without pause, he worked his mouth in a chewing motion, like gnawing on gum, and inflated a bubble of poison at his lips.
Then he spat it toward Sue with a sharp puff.
"Chloro Ball."
Sue moved to cut it down as it hurtled toward her, but at the last instant, as if sensing something, she pulled her blade back and dodged instead.
The bubble of poison sailed past and flew all the way to the prisoners who had been watching like spectators from behind.
BOOM!
"Huh? Whaaaa!?"
"What is this... poison!? Damn it... ah, ACHOO!"
"M-My eyes are... it's Tear-Sneeze Gas!?"
Not lethal, but the gas assaulted their senses and stripped away their ability to fight.
On top of that, the very breath Magellan exhaled became poisonous gas, filling the space around them.
"Poison Cloud."
"Honestly... being a Poison Man, you really know how to wage a dirty fight. Paper Angel!"
But before the gas could spread and reach her, Sue gave a mighty flap of the Paper Wings sprouting from her back. Three pairs, six wings in total, large and sweeping. A tremendous gust of wind roared through the corridor.
Two or three beats were enough to generate a gale that filled the entire passage, sweeping away both the Poison Cloud and the Tear-Sneeze Gas, scattering them into nothing.
"H-Huh... I can breathe normally again..."
"WHOOOA! That's incredible, you saved us, lady!"
"...You're a difficult opponent to fight."
Faced with Sue's precise counters to every technique he deployed, Magellan furrowed his brow. He detached the horns from his hat and fitted them onto both arms.
Then he dove into the Hydra he'd summoned again, moving at high speed as if swimming through it, and closed in on Sue the instant she finished stowing her wings. He thrust out his fists, the horn-shaped gauntlets leading the charge.
Sue deflected them with her blade. Poison splashed from the impact onto the stone wall, hissing and sizzling as it ate through the surface. The prisoners went pale.
Parrying the poisoned thrusts that came one after another, two, three in rapid succession, Sue dove into his guard with her superior speed and swung her blade to cut him down. But just before she struck, she spotted Magellan's cheeks puffing out and instantly leaped back.
Magellan pursued, took aim, and spat out a mass of poison.
"Poison Pufferfish!"
The glob of poison didn't score a direct hit on Sue, but the small projectile contained a massive amount of compressed poison. When it struck the floor, poison sprayed across a wide area. She managed to dodge the worst of it and deployed Wall Paper as a barrier to block the fine droplets.
But then...
SPLOOOSH!!
At that very instant, a Hydra came crashing down from directly above at a timing impossible to avoid, scoring a direct hit, engulfing her entire body in poison.
"Ugh... GAAAH!?"
"No... it can't be..."
"Lady Literary Master!!"
Sue, who had been fighting Magellan on equal footing, was now drenched in lethal poison. Her Paper Wings, soaked through with the toxic liquid, could no longer beat. Countless prisoners looked up at the sight with despair in their eyes.
"Well, well. You certainly gave me trouble. But now all that's left is... what!?"
But just as Magellan judged Sue was finished and began shifting his aim toward the remaining prisoners, a chill ran down his spine. He snapped his gaze back to Sue.
There she was, having lost the power to stay aloft, falling limply through the air.
"Nooooo... just kidding!"
RRRIP!
The next instant, Sue's body, which had appeared limp and saturated with poison, tore cleanly in two down the middle. From inside, a completely unharmed Sue burst forth.
"""HUH!?"""
"...!!"
"Got you! One Sword Style... Death-Mourning Bird!!"
Launching herself like a bullet at blinding speed, Sue aimed for Magellan's face. His eyeball.
Realizing that even a poison defense wouldn't come in time, Magellan reflexively thrust an arm out to shield himself. But Sue swerved around it with a curve so sharp it defied belief and kept coming.
She didn't manage to pierce his eye in the end, but she gouged a deep, sizable wound across his cheek before tearing past behind him.
Magellan, who had never been seen taking any real wound before, was bleeding. A pained groan escaped him: "Grgh...!"
The reversal from what had seemed like certain defeat sent the prisoners' excitement soaring ever higher.
As for Magellan, while the damage itself wasn't critical, the prisoners' rising morale was one problem, and Sue's strength, far beyond what he had expected, was another. His wariness ratcheted up yet another notch.
"Like a snake shedding its skin... I never imagined you could neutralize my poison that way. Between that and dispersing my gas, it seems my powers are at a slight disadvantage against you."
"Seems like it. Honestly, it was unexpected for me too... but it doesn't look like you're the type to give up just because of that."
"Of course not. I am not so negligent in my duties that I would leave prisoners at large, especially defiant ones. And naturally, you are no exception."
Wiping the blood from his cheek along with the poison oozing from his own body, Magellan took his stance again.
But he didn't attack right away.
"...If I'm being honest, right now I feel a great deal of regret. 'Pirate Literary Master'... I had heard you were part of the Moderate Faction, that you preferred peace. That you never caused harm to civilians... and that more than a few Marines questioned why you were even classified as a Pirate."
'Well, obviously... I didn't make myself a Pirate. That was the Government's... well, no point complaining about it now.'
"If those accounts were true, I had hoped you might respond favorably to our 'proposal.' Furthermore, the Government and the Marines have shared with me everything they could uncover about your past. Including the fact that you were once saved by Former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr."
"...Oh, you're well-informed. Which time? Thirty years ago? Or fifteen?"
"Both. And regarding the latter... while I don't know the full details of what transpired, I was told that you showed goodwill and cooperation toward Zephyr and the Marines."
"..."
"It may seem strange to say this to a prisoner in the middle of a fight, but I'll say it anyway. Your life was saved... and afterward, you clearly stated with your own words that you respected Zephyr. Do you feel no shame toward him? Toward the Justice he has upheld and defended? Using the life he saved to walk a path of Evil...! Or was the gratitude you expressed at that time nothing more than empty words, spoken in the moment!?"
Various voices rose from the surrounding prisoners.
Some were bewildered by the sudden, incomprehensible speech Magellan had launched into. Others heckled: "Getting cold feet, Magellan!?" "What's this, a sob story now!?" A few were uneasy at hearing a well-known name mentioned. Not quite on the level of the Three Admirals, but a recognized figure nonetheless.
But neither Magellan nor Sue paid any of those jeers any mind. After a brief pause, Sue spoke.
"Hardly. What I said back then was nothing but my honest feelings. If anything, I still respect Zephyr-san to this day, and I'm still grateful to him."
She continued.
"But even so... I have a line I absolutely will not cross, not if I want to live as myself, true to who I am. And when I think about that, your 'proposal' was something I could never accept. Even if accepting it would help Zephyr-san, my benefactor, this is something I absolutely, no matter what, cannot yield on. I can't nod my head to it."
She stated it flatly. A clear and total refusal.
Having heard her out, Magellan said a brief "I see" and prepared to abandon persuasion and return to the fight.
"...Oh, but actually."
Sue, whom everyone thought had finished speaking, opened her mouth again as if something had just occurred to her.
She continued, addressing Magellan directly.
"This might be unnecessary, but something's been bugging me, so let me ask. Chief Warden Magellan. Why did you just try to persuade me in the first place?"
"...What?"
Unable to grasp the intent behind the sudden question, Magellan asked her to clarify. Sue went on.
"Setting aside the whole 'in the middle of a fight' part... did you think that by bringing up Zephyr-san, I might feel guilty enough to stop fighting? That I'd reflect on my actions, put away my weapon, and start doing what you told me like a good girl?"
"...Yes, that was my hope. Though it proved fruitless, regrettably."
"...I already told you my reasons for refusing. But aside from that, there's now one more thing I need to say."
"?"
"...How much do you think you can look down on me?"
"...? What do you mean?"
The words made no sense to Magellan.
But Sue, standing before him, had eyes that practically screamed displeasure. This wasn't some empty psychological ploy. She was genuinely irritated, genuinely angry about something.
"...You really can't figure it out unless I spell it out? I thought you were someone who, setting aside your dedication to duty and your coldness, was genuinely sincere and understood people's feelings."
Sue let out a sigh and began to speak.
"Basically, what you were trying to say was this, right? Stop being stubborn and walking the path of 'Evil,' accept your 'proposal,' and walk a path that benefits people instead. The persuasion just now, and the daily torture too, they're all means to that end. Because doing so would be for my own good."
"..."
"And if I accept, from that point on things won't go badly for me. It'll be a much better outcome than continuing to be a criminal. That's what you're saying."
"...That's correct. What about it? Is there some problem with the proposal?"
Hearing that, Sue scratched at her head in irritation with the hand not holding her sword.
"...Man, how do I even put this... it's honestly hard to express it precisely. Fine, I'll just say it straight. In summary, Chief Warden Magellan, what you're telling me is this:"
"I was put on a wanted list at the Government's convenience."
"For fifteen years I was treated as a criminal, hunted, my life targeted."
"I went through experiences that nearly killed me before I was captured."
"They tried to force me to do things that go against my principles."
"When I refused, I was subjected to horrific torture, left in pain, suffering, and humiliation."
"I was threatened over and over that it would only get worse if I didn't say 'yes,' and it did get worse."
"In the end, they tried to force me into a position that looks like freedom but isn't freedom at all."
"And I'm supposed to accept that... not complain about any of it, including everything that came before, and feel grateful. Feel happy."
"...No, no, no... how can anyone hear that and NOT lose their temper!?"
***
[Sue's Perspective]
No, seriously. What the hell do they think I am? I want to absolutely lose it right now.
Sure, Magellan is probably just following the Government's orders, and maybe he doesn't even know the part about how I was made a Bounty Target on false charges.
But even so, being presented with demands like this in a situation like this, and then being told it's normal or even expected to accept them? Of course I'm going to be angry!
You know what I've been through since I was locked up in Impel Down, don't you?
On the Beast Floor, a life-or-death game of tag called "The Move."
On the Starvation Floor, torment from hunger and thirst without enough water or food.
On the Scorching Heat Floor, heat so intense it felt like being burned from the inside.
On the Freezing Cold Floor, labor in a biting cold that nearly froze my hands and feet stiff.
Whipping torture, where I was struck across my back and rear hundreds of times until I cried from the searing pain.
Water torture, where I was plunged underwater again and again until I nearly drowned.
Suspension torture, where ropes cut into my skin and I thought my joints would break from the agony.
Beating torture, where I was bludgeoned so badly I thought my bones would shatter and my organs would burst.
Electric shock torture, where jolts were run through me over and over until my mind went blank.
Poison gas and poisoned food torture, where inescapable pain and suffering attacked me from inside my own body, on and on.
Public Spectacle torture, where I was stripped naked and humiliated in front of strange men.
That's what it's been like for me, just since entering Impel Down.
There were tortures so severe that I thought, if not for my Superhuman recovery, the injuries might have been far worse. Might have left permanent scars.
I was humiliated again and again. Among the spectators around me right now, there might even be people who saw me during those times I was made a Public Spectacle, or dragged around during a Prison Parade. Just thinking about it makes me want to die of embarrassment.
And beyond all that, there's no shortage of hardship from living as a Bounty Target out in the world.
In terms of raw, momentary intensity, sure, the torture here might rank higher. But those experiences still happened to me. They're painful memories that will never disappear.
And you want me to forget all of it? Let it all slide?
You inflicted suffering so terrible it wouldn't be strange if it left scars on my heart that would never heal, but if I just obey the Government and do as I'm told, you'll forgive everything, so hurry up and accept?
Because it's the right thing to do? Because it's the righteous path the Government has chosen?
You think you can brush it all aside with a throwaway line like that? That I'm such a pushover you think you can get away with it?
Whether I agree or not, you think that once I accept, you can treat everything that happened as if it never occurred, never let me complain about the past, and just make me work for your convenience? And that's supposed to be natural?
You want me to happily accept being treated like a slave, in a position that looks like freedom but is anything but!?
Ha! What else would I expect from the Celestial Dragons' lapdogs.
Your absurd logic and your complete lack of self-awareness about it are a perfect match for your masters.
"How cheaply and lightly do you value people's lives when you try to use them for your own convenience!?"
Framed on false charges and put on a wanted list, subjected to torture and all manner of cruelty!
And on top of it all, they want to exploit the rest of my life for their own benefit!
I'm not such a saint that I can stay a "good person" even in a situation like this!
Sure, maybe you think treating criminals and prisoners this way is only natural! But make no mistake, that IS how you're treating us!
Even if that can't be helped, don't act surprised! Don't look at us like you can't understand!
We're human beings with emotions too! We're not just numbers on a document! Don't forget that, and don't act baffled when we push back! How naive can you be!?
Treated as less than human, having our wills bent and being exploited day after day... and the Government considers it "natural," doesn't offer a shred of gratitude, and I can already see them puffing out their chests saying "You should be honored that a Pirate gets to be of use to the Government!" I can already predict it ending with being used up and thrown away!
If you're going to call living a life like livestock "the right thing to do"... if you're going to deny my entire life, my worth, my future, deny every last bit of it and call THAT "Justice"...
Then of COURSE I'm going to say "To hell with living righteously!"
We're criminals! We're prisoners! But we are absolutely, undeniably human!
Even if you forget that, lose sight of it, stop seeing us that way... we will never let go of it, never forget!
If you would deny even that without realizing what you're doing, if you would steal our futures... then I will resist it with everything I have, to remain who I am!
Burn this into your eyes! And know this! Or remember it!
This is how I live. This is how WE live!
...Apparently, I'd been saying that last part out loud.
The moment I finished, a deafening roar of "WHOOOAAAAAA!!" erupted around me, and the prisoners' excitement hit an absolute fever pitch.
"You're amazing, Lady Literary Master! That's exactly right!"
"Yeah, well said! Our lives, our futures, we're not handing them over to the Jailers! They belong to us!"
"Yeah... that's right, that's how it was! I'd completely forgotten, and you just reminded me!"
"I absolutely refuse to spend my whole life rotting in a cell! We're getting out, no matter what!"
"Listen up, you lot! Steel yourselves once more! Follow Captain Buggy, 3-bro, and the Great Sensei! We're getting the hell out of this prison!"
"Come on! Nobody here's scared, right!? Don't you dare chicken out now!"
"Damn right! After hearing that... any man who doesn't feel the fire isn't a real man!"
"What are you talking about? The women are just as fired up!"
"That's right! As if I'd let it end in a place like this! If we don't stand up here, we don't deserve to call ourselves women!"
"We're going to seize a brighter future... glory, happiness, we'll grab it all for sure!"
"Let's go, Lady! We... we'll follow you!"
***
[Third-person perspective]
Cold sweat was running down Magellan's face as he watched the scene unfold.
"...Just as I feared. The worst-case scenario has come to pass."
From the very beginning, Magellan had understood this and dreaded it.
The Pirate Literary Master's most terrifying weapon was neither her sword nor the powers of the Paper-Paper Fruit.
It was her words. Spoken from her lips, woven by her pen.
What the Government feared most was her influence.
The power to move entire nations with a single casual phrase, a single thought. That immense, formless power.
Magellan had just witnessed it firsthand.
A mere few dozen seconds of what could only be called a speech, a broadcast of raw emotion and conviction. It had set fire to the hearts of the prisoners gathered around like spectators, catapulting their morale to its absolute peak in an instant.
That something like this was possible, apparently without even being deliberate, was a truth Magellan now understood viscerally.
'It's no use... this woman absolutely cannot be left free...!'
Without a word, Magellan began oozing poison again, shaping it into the form of a dragon.
But this time, it was not a three-headed dragon.
"Wh-What the hell is that!? Magellan's Hydra is only supposed to have three heads!"
Three times as many. Nine heads.
"I never said that was all I could produce. Pirate Literary Master... you truly are dangerous. If you won't accept the proposal, then I'll eliminate you here! Nine-Headed Hydra (Ouroboros)!!"
Magellan summoned behind himself, not above, a grotesque nine-headed dragon made of poison, sending all its heads surging toward Sue in a simultaneous assault.
But in the very next instant,
"Paper Razor Blizzard... Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!!"
In that instant, Sue activated her Awakening technique.
A massive eruption of Paper Flakes, their violent storm engulfing the attack. All nine heads were severed, sheared away, blown to nothing.
And the countless paper blades still had power to spare. They didn't stop after annihilating the poison dragon. They surged onward, dozens upon dozens of them assailing Magellan himself, and a considerable number pierced and embedded into his body.
The prisoners watched in stunned silence as Sue effortlessly defeated a technique that looked even more vicious than the Hydra and wounded Magellan yet again.
Even so, Magellan showed no panic. He maintained his guard without a single step backward.
Not yielding an inch, he formed another nine-headed dragon from his poison.
'There is nothing left to say... from here on, I need only fulfill my duty as Chief Warden!'
Sue could not have heard those words, spoken only in Magellan's mind.
And yet, at precisely the same moment, without a word, Sue too readied herself. Hundreds of millions of paper blades at her command, she leveled the tip of her sword at Magellan.
To be continued...