thefictionvixens Chapter 89: A Sleepless Night
Chapter 89: A Sleepless Night
Chapter 90: A Sleepless Night
The salty sea breeze at dusk, carrying the sound of waves, rubs against the shore of Elbaf.
Oro, using gold to maneuver his wheelchair, arrived at a secluded bay. He took out a pure gold pocket watch, checked the time, and then waited patiently.
He is currently only about two meters tall. After learning the Life Return technique, he has kept his height at that level in his daily life. After all, being too large is inconvenient in places other than Elbaf.
Before long, a small merchant ship flying the golden sun flag of the Kingdom of Gaya quietly approached.
As soon as the ship docked, several young Shandian warriors carried a fine metal box off the ship and walked in unison to Oro.
They moved swiftly and were well-trained; after putting down the boxes, they all stood at attention and saluted Oro.
"Your Excellency President! The 1st Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 7th Sky Guard Regiment is reporting for duty!" the squad leader reported in a loud voice.
Oro nodded, his gaze sweeping over the box and the warriors, then he waved, "You timed it perfectly. You've done a great job."
"It's no trouble at all, sir!"
Seeing Oro's signal, the guards gave a standard attention salute, then turned and boarded the ship with practiced ease.
The small merchant ship quickly sailed away from the coast and disappeared into the vast twilight.
After the merchant ship sailed away, Oro maneuvered his wheelchair closer to the sealed long box.
He flicked his fingers and tapped the side of the box with his knuckles. Immediately, a suppressed "humming" sound came from inside the box, as if something was wriggling inside.
With a slight thought, Oro manipulated the gold to silently unlock the box and lift the lid.
Inside the box was a blonde woman dressed in a tight black night suit, bound hand and foot, with a small pink velvet ball stuffed in her mouth.
As soon as she saw Oro, she began to struggle. Her slender body, bound and confined, twisted in the limited space, emitting even more urgent "whooshing" sounds.
Looking at the indescribable scene before him, Oro remained remarkably composed and spoke in a calm tone: "This tortoise shell binding is quite well done, with a bow tied in the hair. Newgate said, did you ask these ropes to be thrown into the box along with yourself? Did you tie yourself up like this inside the box?"
The blonde woman in the box stopped struggling. She blinked obediently, nodded vigorously, and her eyes were full of cunning and ingratiation.
"The technique is good."
Auro, expressionless, offered a compliment as if appraising a work of art. He manipulated the gold to remove the velvet ball from the woman's mouth: "Buckingham Stussy, according to your own confession, you went to great lengths to infiltrate my base just to demonstrate your worth?"
"Ahem—" The woman coughed lightly twice to clear her throat, then looked up at Oro with her beautiful yet somewhat wild face, her tone sweet: "Hmm, if I were going to the office on Jaya Island, I'm afraid I wouldn't even get to see you, Mr. President~"
Oro remained noncommittal and cut straight to the point: "My design department wouldn't leave such an old-fashioned loophole as ventilation ducts in the base."
"Those ventilation ducts are so big that even a child couldn't squeeze into them. How did you manage that?"
Stusi didn't answer directly. Instead, she twisted her waist inside the box, making the curves outlined by the ropes even more pronounced, and asked, "Could a child tie herself up like this in such a narrow box?"
Oro paused briefly. This woman was not only promiscuous but also erratic, with a kind of manic madness that disregarded the opinions of others, exuding a highly purposeful allure.
"Your performance showcasing your talent was truly original."
He concluded by skipping over the question about the ventilation ducts: "So, what do you want?"
"Climb into your bed, the kind where you'll never be thrown off."
Stussy's answer was unwavering and shockingly straightforward. She even deliberately shook the heart-shaped bow in her hair, adding, "My only requirement is that the bed and bedding must be 100% pure gold!"
"...
—
The woman's undisguised desire truly surprised Oro.
He chuckled softly, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm or admiration that was hard to decipher: "What a money-grubbing woman, but this frankness is unexpected. It sounds like you just want to be the Golden Emperor's concubine, and don't care who the Golden Emperor actually is."
Stussy shook his head this time, his expression becoming slightly more serious: "First, I can be more than just a concubine. I've gone to great lengths to avoid being treated as a pretty vase that you can collect."
"Secondly, I still care quite a bit about who the Golden Emperor is."
She looked directly into Auro's eyes and said clearly, "I have my eye on the Golden Emperor who owns the Kingdom of Jaya."
"Power without money has no charm. Money without power has no soul. But you, Orikum Oro, have both."
"Heh, that's an interesting remark."
Oro chuckled. This woman had a twisted but logically consistent set of values: "If you don't want to be a pretty face, then let's see if you have the guts to keep up with me."
He said no more and manipulated the gold to loosen the complicated knots binding Stussy.
At the same time, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, and golden liquid metal rapidly surged out, condensed, and shaped, forming a stable platform that lifted the two of them into the air.
Once the golden platform reached a sufficient height, it suddenly accelerated, flying away from the coast of Elbaf at an extremely fast speed, leaving the homeland of the giants far behind.
November 26, 1492 (Haiyuan Calendar), late at night.
Most of Marineford, the naval headquarters, has fallen asleep, with only the lighthouses and lights at key posts still burning.
Sengoku, who had recently been promoted to lieutenant general, finished his long discussion with his friend, Lieutenant General Tsuru, about the current chaotic situation at sea, and dragged his slightly tired body back to the officers' quarters located behind the headquarters fortress.
-
This dormitory was nominally shared by him and Garp, but that energetic guy was either chasing the Roger Pirates all over the world or running back to his hometown in the East Blue to visit his wife and children, so he almost never lived here.
Zhan Guo rubbed his temples, habitually reaching for paper and pen to calm his chaotic thoughts and clear his mind by practicing calligraphy.
However, just as he spread out the Xuan paper and ground the ink, a violent yet unusually deep rumbling sound came from underground, followed by the shaking of the entire dormitory building!
At first, it was just a slight shaking, and the teacups on the table made a crisp clinking sound, but the vibration became more and more violent!
Dust settled on the walls, and the pen holder on the table rolled to the ground. The vibrations and noises continued, as if a giant sea monster was frantically crashing into the foundations of Marineford.
"earthquake?"
This was Sengoku's first reaction, but he immediately rejected his guess, as the way the vibration was occurring and the source of the sound were both wrong!
The entire naval headquarters was awakened by this sudden change; the piercing alarm shattered the night sky and echoed mournfully between the buildings.
The soldiers' dormitories, where the lights had already been turned off and everyone was asleep, were suddenly brightly lit. Countless naval soldiers and officers rushed out of the doors in a panic, grabbing their weapons, without even having time to get dressed properly, and headed to their respective assembly points.
The shouts of officers, the footsteps of soldiers running, and the sirens mingled together, stirring up the once quiet Marineford.
Sengoku rushed out of his dormitory the moment the tremor struck. He didn't even have time to put on his Justice Coat before he flashed to the front line of the Marineford defense perimeter at top speed.
The situation here was even more chaotic. Searchlight beams swept haphazardly across the sea and the port area, but could not illuminate any trace of the enemy.
Some facilities near the shore have developed noticeable cracks and even small-scale collapses.
"What's the situation! Is it an enemy attack?!" Sengoku grabbed a lieutenant colonel on duty who was trying to stabilize the troops.
The lieutenant colonel, still looking shaken, quickly reported upon seeing Sengoku: "Lieutenant General Sengoku! We can't confirm it yet! There's nothing on the sea! No ships have been spotted! But the tremors and sounds seem to be coming from—from underwater!"
As they were speaking, an even more violent rumble and earth-shaking sound came again. This time, Sengoku clearly felt the ground beneath his feet tilting!
From the right side of Marineford Fortress, the sound of buildings twisting and breaking could even be heard!
"Damn it! What on earth is going on?!"
Sengoku's face was ashen as he gazed at the pitch-black sea, a strong sense of unease rising within him.