The Puppet Master [One Piece]

Captured

~Marco’s POV~

                It had been a few days since the paper revealing Ace’s capture had gone out. Everyone was devastated, the girl had been right, which meant she was probably right about the rest. The marines would soon set a date for his execution. Oyaji was fast devising a plan of action. Everyone waited for the newspapers dreading what they would see. We were all worried they’d set the execution date too soon that we wouldn’t be able to act.

                The squawk of the mail bird set everyone on edge and I found myself feeling anxious as I accepted the newspaper. Everyone crowded around me in anticipation as I fumbled with the paper. My hands were trembling how much longer did he have? After a few seconds, though they felt like endless hours, I managed to unroll the paper only to gape in awe at the cover. There were two pictures side by side on the front of the paper.

                First a wanted poster with a fearsome girl with blood tipped snow white hair standing before a blazing fire. Her eyes glowed like hellish fire and there was more blood dripping from her fingertips. The heading read “Captured: The Demon of Funesto”. Funesto? Isn’t that where the girl was from? My gaze swept over the second picture, it was her! Echo was half slumped between two marine soldiers weighed down by heavy shackles on her wrists and ankles. Her snow white hair fell in her face making it impossible to tell if she was conscious or not.

                “Marco, what is it?” Oyaji called over in concern.

                “They caught Echo.” I replied still in awe at her wanted poster. If the wording was true she may have less time than Ace. In the miniscule script above the bounty it read: “Wanted Dead”. Why would they want her dead? It was hard to believe, looking between the two pictures it was the same sweet docile girl we’d met.

                “This may work in our favor.” Jozu, the third division commander, a large man with tan skin wearing old fashioned plated armor across his chest and bulky looking iron shoulder pads noted.

                I threw him a curious look.

                “The little one that can see the future?” Oyaji asked me thoughtfully.

                “That’s the one.” I nodded.

                Izo a man who was more fond of wearing women’s clothing and wore his long raven hair in a traditional geisha style stepped forward and peered at the article over my shoulder, “She’s worth 600,000,000?!” He gaped before looking at the actual picture on her wanted poster, “I’d never have believed this was her after meeting her. She didn’t seem like a fighter.”

                “Wanted Dead?” Someone else chorused reading over my other shoulder, “Why did they apprehend her rather than kill her on the spot?”

                “It was a hoax to make her a top priority target.” Oyaji grumbled.

                “What do you mean, Oyaji?” Izo pondered.

                “The little one is from Funesto, it was once an island thriving with devil fruit cultivators, but they were mysteriously wiped out of existence. I suspect it was because they refused to make devil fruits solely for the government’s purpose. They probably plan to use her to make devil fruits for their own personal gain.” Oyaji replied.

                My stomach turned at the thought, “She wouldn’t help them.”

                “That’s probably why they’re taking her to Impel Down, to change her mind.” Oyaji grimaced, “I’m more concerned that the red haired brat will go on a rampage and be more harm than good.”

                A few people shifted uneasily, Shanks had made it very clear that the white haired girl was something very precious to him. He’d threatened me to get his point across, if he didn’t keep his cool it would no longer be a war the government would have to deal with, it would be a massacre.

….::: Meanwhile:::….

~Shanks’ POV~

                I wasn’t a fan of her idea. She was certain the marines wouldn’t kill her as she was the last devil fruit cultivator alive. They needed her. But that didn’t exactly mean she was safe.

                “Boss?” Yassop called softly through the door of my cabin, “The paper is here.”

                Hesitantly I made my way for the door praying she was right, praying they needed her alive and that her wanted poster had been a hoax. Yassop offered me a meager smile, she was alive. The entire crew was against her plan, but no one could say no to her.

                I accepted the paper Benn extended to me and felt a spark of rage burn through me as I glanced at the picture of her capture, she looked unconscious, they’d used unnecessary force. She was going to make it easy for them so they wouldn’t need to. My grip around the paper tightened as my fingers clenched into a fist.

                “She’ll be okay.” Benn attempted to reassure me.

                “She’s wearing those freakish wires.” Yassop added. “Even bullets can’t pierce through.”

                They were right, but those wires also made her very vulnerable to attacks to the back of the neck. If anything happened to her, I couldn’t live with myself for allowing her to go through with this plan. I should have tried harder to stop her, but she was stubborn, she would have found another way.