70 Chapter 70

"Seriously, this post sucks!"

"Tell me about it."

Two marines on guard duty chatted away as they stood on the adjacent sides of the gate they were posted at. They nuzzled their chins closer to their chests to try and fight the cold winds blowing at them. Despite wearing clothes fit for winter, the sheer cold of the island sometimes got to them.

"Three more months and I return home," one of the two guards said, musing out loud as he imagined what he would do once he was done with the assignment given to him.

"Same here," the other guard said. "Wanna know the first thing I'll do?"

"What?"

"Give my wife a biiiig hug. I miss her warmth."

"Tch. Are you just showing off? Ohh, look at me! I have a wife!"

"HAHAHAHA! You'll find one too, someday."

"You sure about that?"

"Of course! I know it!"

Suddenly, both guards felt a shiver crawl down their spines. They stood straighter and lost the mood to chat as they felt a different kind of cold chill their hearts.

"What the hell was that?" one of the guards asked his partner, not really expecting an answer.

"You felt it too?"

"I did," the guard answered with a nod.

"That… was that really just the cold?"

"Hopefully…"

"Hey… what's that?" The guard pointed in front of them.

"I don't see anything," the other guard said, trying to look for something - anything - through the wall of falling snow. "What is it?"

"It's… people?"

"Where?" The guard squinted his eyes and looked closer. Then, he saw it too. Multiple silhouettes of people, calmly walking towards them.

The two guards raised their rifles at the incoming figures. 

"Stop right there! Or we'll shoot!"

…

The marine base built on Karakuri Island was suddenly rocked by an explosion. The marines stationed there were caught off guard, surprised that there was even an attempt to attack them at all. As a result, they didn't have the best response to the attack.

"What's happening?"

"Are we being attacked?"

As if answering the questions in their minds, another explosion rocked the whole base. If ever anyone was sleeping or resting, they were surely woken up now.

At the top floor of the marine base was the room of operations where the highest ranking marines in the base usually gathered to meet and discuss plans. All communications via Transponder Snail also occurred in that room. Currently, the marines inside the room were panicking.

"What the hell is going on?" the Vice Admiral in charge of the marine base asked the marines in charge of communications. "Why can't we contact the Transponder Snails?"

"I-I-I don't know, Vice Admiral!" one of the marines said. "They're not responding!"

"Well, figure it out!" the Vice Admiral said. "We can't make any announcements!"

"What announcement is there to make, Vice Admiral?" one of the Rear Admirals said. "We still don't know who our attackers are!"

"It doesn't matter!" the Vice Admiral said. "The fact is, we're under attack! Did you forget that the Surveillance Transponder Snails are also not responding?"

"Apologies, Vice Admiral! I just arrived," the Rear Admiral who spoke up immediately apologized.

If it was in any other situation, the Vice Admiral would have spent more time reprimanding his subordinate. But, as the situation stands, he can't afford to waste any time to discipline his men. They were being attacked, and they couldn't respond properly.

"What the hell happened to the Transponder Snails!"

…

"This is surprisingly easy," Terzo said as he cut down two more marine infantry with a single swing of his sword. "I thought we would be swarmed by marines by now!"

"ZEHAHAHAHA! You'll have to thank Ace for that," Teach said as he kicked a barely conscious marine on the ground, sending him flying to a far wall. "He got rid of their visuals and communication!"

"Conqueror's Haki?" Terzo asked Ace, to which the latter nodded to.

"A small burst, enough for Transponder Snails," Ace said. "Would you rather I didn't make it easier for us?"

"Nah, this is good. It's like a warm up!" Soma said as he ducked under a sword swing, to which he responded with a solid elbow to the gut that floored the marine attacking him.

"Ohh! Look at this, everyone!" Enel said, catching the crew's attention. He held up an unconscious Surveillance Transponder Snail in his hands. "Is this another one of those Transponder Snails?"

"Nice find, Enel!" Ace said. "Say, can I trouble you to loot the unconscious snails? I'm sure we can find a use for them someday."

"No problem, Captain," Enel said before turning into lightning and crackling away to do what Ace asked of him.

"Sometimes, I really envy him for having such an awesome power. It's so… showy," Ace said with a small smile. "Anyway, I feel like I'm getting distracted. You guys run wild, loot and kill. I'll find our little Soul of Rebellion."

"I hear you," Teach said before running off alone in a direction.

"I'll go back to the gates when I'm done," Terzo said before running off in a different direction.

"I take it that's our rendezvous point, Captain?" Augur asked.

"Yeah. Once we're done, we meet at the gates," Ace said with a nod to confirm. "Tell that to Teach and Enel if you see them."

"Yes, Captain," Augur said before disappearing with a pop.

"Man, my crew is awesome! HAHAHAHA!"

"Can I come with you?" Soma asked.

"Sure," Ace said. "Let me just find where the prisoner is first."

Ace closed his eyes and focused. He reached out with his Haki and his senses to detect where the prisoner was being held. He focused on the lower parts of the base where dungeons usually were.

It didn't take Ace long to find out where the dungeon was. With his Haki and extended senses, Ace made a mental map of the Karakuri Island marine base. If he was moving alone, he only needed three minutes to get there. Since Soma was tagging along, it would take him longer than that.

"Say, Soma," Ace said as he turned to Soma. "I'll be much faster if I was alone."

"...sorry," Soma said, looking down dejectedly.

"That's why, I want you to try and keep up," Ace said with an encouraging pat on Soma's shoulder. "You know, since you don't have a Devil Fruit. You need an extra strong body!"

"I hear you," Soma said before stretching his legs. "Give me… a moment."

"Sure," Ace said as he watched Soma do a quick stretching routine.

"Okay," Soma said with a huff. "I'm ready."

"If you can't keep up, don't beat yourself up," Ace said.

"C'mon, I'm sure you're not THAT fast…"

Ace only replied with a smirk. Then, in seemingly an instant, he disappeared into a blur that Soma barely followed with his eyes.

"...motherfucker."

…

"Hooooly shit, this really is a future island," Doppol said with a gasp of awe at seeing Baldimore for the first time.

The architecture of the buildings were strange for someone like Doppol who's never been on any futuristic island. The other Royal Aces, except Hepha, had a similar reaction at seeing the cold, frozen, and metallic feel of the Future Country Baldimore.

"Language," Mihar said after hearing Doppol, despite his obvious desire to voice out his surprise similarly.

"Holy shit, it's a robot dog!" Eri said with a gasp as she pointed at a dog that had robotic body parts peeing on a tree.

"Eri!"

"Let's go," Vash said, staying focused despite waiting to stop and gawk at the sight that lay ahead of them. "We have a job to do."

"I don't suppose we can just ask around where the laboratories are?" Tanya asked no one in particular. "Are you sure Doctor Vegapunk has a laboratory here, Hepha?"

"Positive." Hepha answered without any hesitation. "Vegapunk was a born genius. He has this instant grasp of the sciences, and in turn, technology. While other kids ran around playing, he sat with his toys tinkering."

"You seem to know a lot about this Vegapunk," Tanya said.

"Well, why wouldn't I? He's one of the reasons why my home was destroyed," Hepha said nonchalantly.

"Ohh… I'm sorry. I didn't know," Tanya said.

"It's alright, Tanya," Hepha said with a small smile at Tanya. "I'm not that bothered about it anymore. I have a family now."

To Hepha's surprise, she felt a tiny figure run up and hug her leg. She looked down to see Eri beaming up at her. Eri's beaming smile was reflected on Hepha's face. She picked up Eri and carried her in her arms.

"Pfft. Hepha and children?" Doppol was trying, and failing, not to laugh.

Hepha wasn't too bothered. She didn't say anything, only kicked Doppol away. Vash watched everything from the side, a small smile on his face.

Deep down, he felt the same as Hepha. Ace had a way of making people warm up to him.

And it wasn't because of his Devil Fruit power.

The Royal Aces in charge of looking for technology and knowledge that will help them on their journey continued their walk towards Baldimore. At a distance, they already saw the metallic and advanced ambience. They were bound to have a fruitful endeavor.

"Stop," Vash and Hepha said at the same time. They were at the lead of the group, so the rest behind them also stopped.

"We got company," Vash said as he summoned his Levolvers, setting them to be .22 calibers, practically toys.

Hepha was glad to see that Vash was using the weapon she made for him. Her pride as forgemaster would undoubtedly take a hit if she saw her own crew preferred weapons she didn't make using her own hands.

"Who are they?" Tanya asked.

"Marines," Hepha said. "Apparently, some of them are stationed in Baldimore as guards. I shouldn't have been surprised, honestly."

Before she could take out Clear Sky from her thigh holster, she was stopped by Vash. They locked gazes, and she instantly understood. Vash wants to deal with them alone.

"You sure?" Hepha asked.

"I can take them," Vash said confidently. "If I can't, you guys are here."

"Good point," Hepha said with a chuckle. "Since a newbie is with us, you should show her just why you're the Vice Captain."

"Haha." Vash laughed mockingly, mostly to himself. "I swear, I'll get stronger than you someday."

"I'm sure you will," Hepha said with a smirk.

Then, Vash Flickered away. Tanya heard the whole conversation and was once again curious about the dynamic of the crew she temporarily joined.

"You're not the Vice Captain?" Tanya asked Hepha. "I thought you were the second strongest?"

"I don't know who told you that, but I'm not," Hepha said. "I'm not sure I'm even the second strongest. But, one thing's for sure. Vash is our Vice Captain."

Seemingly proving Hepha's statement, screams from the marines who were still far away sounded out and reached the crew. They all turned to watch Vash assault them like a lion among sheep.

"He's… not killing them?" Tanya asked, eyes widened slightly after observing how the marines were shot in non-lethal places. 

The marines who were shot squirmed on the ground before being paralyzed by the special bullets Vash were using. Those who got close to him were kicked away. Vash was using a strange fighting style that allowed him to use guns even in close range combat.

"Nope. Vash rarely kills," Mihar said. "I respect him very much for that."

"But why?" Tanya asked. "It seems… pointless."

"A man must keep his promise!" Doppol said, clutching the part of his butt where Hepha kicked him. "That's what Vash is doing."

"Uncle Vash is so cool!"

"Mreow!"

…

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Soma was a huffing mess as he stood beside Ace. They were currently standing in front of a dimly lit cell where the prisoner called the Soul of Rebellion was supposedly in.

"HAHAHAHA! Not good enough, Soma!" Ace said with an encouraging pat on Soma's back. "When we get back, I'll train you more! A strong body is important! Isn't that right, Jesus Burgess?"