Chapter 24: The interrupted vacation, the girl asking for help!
"Kuzan, the navy salaries must be very high!"
"You didn't even blink when you bought so much food."
"This amount of money is probably just a drop in the bucket for you."
On the snack street, Yunyi was holding a drink in his left hand, a large food box in his right hand, chewing the special gummy candy he had just bought, and talking vaguely to Aokiji beside him.
Aokiji was the same as Yoriichi at this time, except that he was dragging a food box in one hand and holding red wine in the other. It was said that this red wine was grown from grapes that were a specialty of the Neil Kingdom.
The New World's climate is peculiar, while the Neil Kingdom enjoys abundant sunshine, resulting in a wealth of unique fruits and vegetables. Even a common fruit like grapes, when grown in the Neil Kingdom, acquires a unique flavor, and the wine brewed from it possesses a unique flavor.
Although Aokiji is not an alcoholic, he will drink when he has nothing to do. He quite likes the feeling of being slightly tipsy.
"How is that possible?!"
"I've been really hurt buying all these things."
"But it doesn't matter. If it were you, I would eat it back from you one day, haha."
It was a rare opportunity for Aokiji to have some free time, so he was in a very good mood and was joking with Yoriichi.
"Eat it from me, then you'll have to wait."
"Teacher Zefa wants me to join the navy after I come of age. Kuzan, just wait."
Yunyi replied with a smile. At this moment, the street ahead suddenly became noisy. People all looked towards the distance, which was also crowded with people watching the excitement.
Faintly, Yunyi seemed to hear someone calling for help.
"Hey, Kuzan, something seems to have happened."
"I think I heard someone calling for help? Should I go over and take a look?"
Aokiji nodded and confirmed, "I heard it too. Let's go and take a look."
As the two of them talked, their pace couldn't help but quicken.
"Please make way, please make way." Aokiji pushed through the crowd and squeezed towards the center of the crowd. Yoriichi followed Aokiji and walked in. Yoriichi and Aokiji finally saw the scene in the center of the crowd clearly.
Surrounded by the crowd was a young girl. Her luxurious clothes were torn into shreds and hung on her body, unable to hide her skin at all, revealing her spring scenery.
The girl's eyes were dull and full of fear. A kind-hearted aunt quickly took off her apron and put it on the girl. Then she squatted beside the girl and asked with concern:
"Kid, what's wrong?!"
"What happened? Why are you like this?!"
In response to the aunt's question, the girl only whispered "Save me" and refused to say anything else. Yunyi and Aokiji looked at each other, their expressions darkening.
Aokiji took a step forward, pushed aside the crowd on both sides, and squatted in front of the girl. The enthusiastic aunt was startled by Aokiji's sudden appearance and quickly hugged the girl, giving Aokiji a wary look with a look of vigilance in her eyes.
Seeing this, Aokiji took a step back, and then asked softly:
"Miss, can you tell me what happened?"
"Don't be afraid, I'm a marine, I'll help you."
While Aokiji was speaking, he did not forget to point to the navy emblem on his chest, trying to gain the other party's trust.
Sure enough, when the girl heard the word "navy", there was suddenly some light in her eyes. She raised her head, looked around, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Navy, is it really the navy?!"
"Save me, save my family."
"Pirates. Pirates. Pirates attacked the palace, and my father was killed by them!"
The girl's words startled the people around her, and then there were bursts of exclamations. Aokiji was also stunned, with a look of surprise.
"The royal palace?!"
"Pirates?"
Aokiji knew the details of the Neil Kingdom. Although he looked down on the Neil Kingdom's actions, he had to admit that the king of this country was a very capable person. The king of the Neil Kingdom had been on the throne for more than ten years, and this kind of thing had never happened before.
Moreover, the Neil Kingdom has its own army, and the army's combat effectiveness is not weak. It is impossible for some small pirates to get rid of the kingdom's guards.
What’s even more outrageous is that it’s daytime now!
What idiot would attack a member state of the World Government, the Nier Kingdom protected by Whitebeard, in broad daylight? And on Nier's own soil?! Are they out of their minds?!
Aokiji certainly couldn't have imagined that Newk's ambition and desire had made him arrogant, and he didn't take the navy or Whitebeard seriously.
However, Aokiji did not doubt the girl's words. After all, this kind of thing was too easy to disprove, and there was no point in lying.
"Kuzan, what do you say?"
Yoriichi stood behind Aokiji and suddenly asked. He heard the girl's words, and his current thoughts were simple. Now that he knew the exact location of the pirates and the victim was in front of him, he could just kill them and be done with them.
However, when it comes to dealing with pirates, Aokiji, who is about to be promoted to major general, has more say, and Yoriichi is still willing to listen to Aokiji's opinion.
"Is that even a question?!"
"Miss, where is the palace? I'll rush there right now!"
Hearing this, the girl finally showed some joy on her face, as if she had found a savior. But when she came to her senses, she did not point out the direction of the palace, but said anxiously:
"The palace is under siege."
"There are many pirates, many, many."
"And it was very powerful. The garrison was all killed. I escaped secretly through a secret passage. My lord, you are going alone. It would be better to call your companions to go with you."
When Yunyi heard this, he stood beside Aokiji, scratched his head, and said:
"I'm not alone, right? Even though I don't have the ability, I can be considered his companion."
"We'll go together. If the opponent is really strong, we'll call for backup."
"Miss, please don't say so much. Where is the palace?"
This time, without waiting for the girl to reply, the helpful lady pointed directly towards the street to the north and said, "Go straight down this road and you'll see a very, very wide road paved with bluestone."
"That's King's Road. You'll be able to see the palace once you get there."
As soon as the aunt finished speaking, Aokiji and Yoriichi looked at each other and immediately ran forward in the direction the aunt pointed.
Not long after, the two saw the King's Avenue paved with bluestone. However, when they looked around, they did not see the so-called royal palace. Instead, a mud fort that was more than ten meters high and a hundred meters wide in the distance caught the attention of Aokiji and Yoriichi.
Some residents on the street were also looking towards the mud fort at this time, their faces full of astonishment and surprise.
“That should be it.”
"It should be the ability of the devil fruit, maybe the nature type!" Aokiji looked at the mud fort in the distance, his expression became solemn.
Originally thought to be just a hot-headed thief, but seeing this scene, Aokiji no longer had such thoughts in his mind. Natural Devil Fruits are extremely rare, and every user of Natural Devil Fruits is extremely powerful.
Aokiji is very clear about this.
"Yuichi, go to the branch and inform Vice Admiral Garp and Major General Roca. I'll go over and take a look first."
Aokiji realized that the opponent might be a little tricky, so he planned to let Yunyi go back first. However, Yunyi shook his head and said:
"With such a big commotion, someone should go and notify the branch."
"It doesn't matter whether I go back now or not."
"Let's go together. I can see that that should be the ability of the Nature Fruit, right?"
"I can't say how much I can help you, but I won't be a burden."
As Yunyi spoke, he drew his long sword from his waist. Seeing the determination in Yunyi's eyes, Aokiji said nothing more and ran towards the mud fort first.
When he arrived at the mud fort, Aokiji took a quick look and found no trace of the door. Just as he was about to use his ability to create a passage, he noticed that Yoriichi beside him had already taken action.
Breathing of the Sun - Form One - Round Dance!
The long sword swung violently, and a ferocious flying slash shot out from the edge of Tsugikuni Yoriichi's blade, and the invisible air blade directly bombarded the mud fort. In an instant, mud splashed everywhere, and a narrow gap was torn through the mud fort from bottom to top, penetrating the entire mud fort.
Aokiji and Yoshiichirō flashed and disappeared from the spot almost at the same time.
After the two entered the mud fort, the surrounding mud slowly covered the gap again. In just a few seconds, the mud fort returned to its original state and enveloped the palace again.
(End of this chapter)
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