Chapter 57: What Is a Pirate?
Axel did not head back to the shore the way he had promised.
The moment Lisila and Christine shut themselves inside, he raised a hand toward the forest and signaled Ain and Binz to move.
Once the three of them regrouped beneath the cover of the trees, Axel lowered his voice.
"The old man was lying. That urgency in his voice wasn't the kind people have when they're desperate for rescue. It sounded more like he wanted us gone as fast as possible."
Ain frowned. "So he was trying to drive us away?"
"Most likely." Axel glanced back toward the quiet village. "Whatever's really going on, we'll know more if we stay and watch."
Binz nodded at once. Ain did too.
The three of them split their focus between two locations: the house Lisila had entered with Christine, and the house where Axel had found the bread and flour.
The village remained silent.
One minute passed.
Then ten.
Then nearly an hour later, movement finally appeared.
Three figures came stumbling in from the distance, climbing up the path toward the village.
They were talking as they walked, loud enough that their irritation carried through the still air.
"What the hell is the captain thinking? The Marines are already here, so why are we still hiding instead of running?"
"Who knows? But if the captain stayed behind, then he definitely has a backup plan."
"That's true. With how sly that bastard is, he's probably already thought of everything. ...Hey! Hurry up! What are you dragging your feet for?"
The man being yelled at was lagging a few steps behind the other two. He looked thin, meek, and utterly unimpressive. The pirates in front of him clearly didn't think much of him.
"I don't even want lookout duty," one of the pirates complained. "Just thinking about those greedy bastards splitting the treasure without us makes me sick."
"Same here. That brat could've handled this by himself before, but the captain still made us come along. What a pain."
"And what's with that idiot anyway? Instead of helping search for the treasure, he stayed behind in this village to play lookout. He even cleaned up the corpses. The guy's got too much time on his hands."
"Who cares? We already looted the bodies and the houses. If he wants to do extra work, let him."
From their position in the forest, Axel and the others could see them clearly, but the distance was too great to catch every word.
Still, that was enough.
Pirates.
Without waiting for Axel to speak, Binz moved.
Plants silently rose from the soil behind the three men. Vines shot upward, looped around their ankles, and yanked hard.
The pirates cried out as they crashed to the ground.
Before any of them could recover, more vines whipped forward, binding their wrists, torsos, and legs in a tight knot. The whole thing happened so quickly it was over before any of them understood what had hit them.
After confirming no one else was nearby, Ain stayed in the forest to keep watch while Axel and Binz stepped out.
Binz tightened the bindings first, making sure the three of them couldn't wriggle free. Only then did he move in and search them.
He found several pistols, a flare gun, and a few pieces of food.
Axel crouched in front of them.
"Where are the rest of the pirates?"
One of the men immediately spat back, "I don't know what you're talking about. We're villagers. We only came out after the pirates left."
Axel did not bother replying.
He simply drove a kick into the man's side.
The force passed cleanly through the vines and into his body. The pirate let out a shriek that sounded like a pig being slaughtered.
Axel turned to the second man.
"Where are the rest of the pirates?"
The second pirate's eyes flickered. He was clearly thinking, probably weighing whether he could lie, bargain, or stall for time.
Before he could decide, the skinny man behind them hurriedly blurted out, "I know where they are!"
The second pirate twisted around in fury.
"You bastard!"
His anger was obvious. He'd been planning to use that information for himself, maybe to negotiate for a chance to escape. Instead, the skinny one had ruined it in an instant.
Axel kicked him too.
Another scream.
The man folded up around the blow, writhing helplessly.
Compared to the first two, the thin pirate was much more useful. Axel shifted his attention to him.
The man visibly flinched.
At first, he'd been more wary of Binz, whose build and Devil Fruit ability made him look far more dangerous. But after watching Axel calmly put the other two on the ground, that impression had changed. This pale boy with the pretty face was the real threat here.
Swallowing hard, the man answered in a small voice.
"The others are digging for treasure in a rock wall deeper on the island."
"Digging for treasure?"
"Yes. The captain found something on a treasure map. They've already dug up some valuables, so now they're all convinced there's more hidden there."
"How many pirates are left on the island?" Axel asked. "And how strong is your captain?"
This time the answer came immediately, as though the man had already been keeping count in his head.
"There are fifty-five pirates total, not counting the three of us. The strongest is Captain Bandrewyn. He's got a bounty of ten million."
"Only ten million?" Axel murmured.
The skinny pirate stared at him.
That calm reaction hit harder than any threat.
A pirate worth ten million was already enough to terrify ordinary people, yet this kid sounded almost disappointed.
Axel, however, was thinking about something else.
A captain with only a ten-million bounty, yet he hadn't fled when a Marine warship appeared near the island?
That didn't fit.
Even the weakest Marine warship still carried enough force to crush a pirate like that. If Bandrewyn had stayed, then either he was a fool... or he had something else to rely on.
Axel continued.
"Has your captain done anything unusual?"
The skinny pirate hesitated for a second, about to answer—
Then the door of the nearby house flew open.
"Let him go, you bastard!"
Christine ran out and planted herself in front of the thin pirate with her arms spread wide, shielding him the way a hen shields a chick.
That made Axel even more curious.
So he asked the most obvious question.
"Isn't he a pirate? Why are you protecting him?"
Christine glared at him without answering.
Before the silence could stretch, Lisila came hurrying after her. His steps were slow, but long. There was real desperation on his face now.
"It's because Todd is different," the old man said.
Axel's gaze shifted to the skinny pirate.
Todd.
Lisila went on.
"He was the one who gathered the bodies in the village. He covered up the entrance to our cellar. He even buried Christine'd parents."
The two pirates tied up beside him both widened their eyes in shock.
"Todd, you actually—"
They didn't get to finish. Binz calmly sent more vines over and gagged them both.
"I think it's better if they stay quiet," he said.
Lisila lowered his head.
"I'm sorry for hiding it from you. But please... let Todd go. If someone has to be arrested, then arrest me instead."
Axel looked at the old man for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh.
"Fine. Binz, let him go. We'll count this as two captured pirates."
Binz blinked.
"Uh..."
He clearly wasn't sure whether Axel was serious.
Before he could move, Ain rushed out of hiding.
"Axel, wait!"
She came to a stop beside them, staring at Todd in disbelief.
"He's a pirate! How can you just let him go?"
Axel turned and looked at her.
Then, in a calm voice, he asked:
"What is a pirate?"
.....
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