Chapter 20

*Clang* With the sound of a key locking the bar, Rowan slowly came to a consciousness.

'Ugh... where am I?' His vision was blurry, and his head felt dizzy; he could not get a clear sense of what was going on around him.

'Key? Metal sound? Metal... met... Mad Treasure!!" Remembering what has occurred, Rowan jolted up, before grimacing in pain.

He looked at his body, which was wrapped all around with bandage. 'So I have... Mad Treasure managed to get away.'

His vision slowly cleared up, and Rowan finally came to view what situation he was in. He was lying on a hard bed made out of rock. There was a hole nearby for toiletry. Looking forward, Rowan saw metal bars. He was imprisoned!

"Heh, seems like you are awake." One of the guards, who was guarding Rowan's prison cell, exclaimed. "A big fish with 30 million Beli. The Demon of the East Blue, Grimheart Rowan. Who would have thought that you would be caught like this?"

"Why did you treat my wounds?" Rowan was visibly confused. Why wouldn't they just kill him? He knew from the World Government's antics, that he was nuisance to them.

"How would we know? All we heard is that you are to be transallocated to Dr.Vegapunk's laboratory in couple of days. The marine hero, Garp, will personally come to pick you up, haha!" One guard laughed. "Oh, don't worry. Soon, you will be suffering a fate worse than what your crew mates have gone through. Look forward to it!"

"Stop, just continue guarding." The other guard sighed while holding his hand up. Turning to Rowan, he sighed again and shook his head. "If only you didn't kill the marine captain before, you might have had your chance in marine. You brought this upon yourself."

Hearing this, Rowan couldn't help but give out a hollow laugh. "Haha, this is the so called justice of the marine? I have defeated or killed Arlong, Don Krieg, corrupted marines, and other evil-doers, all by myself. In fact aren't I closer to the definition of justice than you?" The guards didn't reply, and his words got ignored.

"In the end, what was the point? Were my actions, up until now, in vain?" Looking at his Seastone cuff over the bandages, Rowan growled in remorse. "Was it wrong to wish for everyone's safety? Was it too unrealistic? I just wanted to lead a safe and joyful life..."

Rowan could do nothing but only stare at the ceiling in sadness.

'Rambo, Jerry, Brandy, everyone... I am sorry.' The 1st division, all got executed without any hesitation from the marines. Previously, Rowan thought that all good wills his fleet has done, will bring good results. He saw the marines revealing good intentions to them in the past. It seems that he was naive; he has forgotten that this world was cruel, and has been viewing the world too optimistically.

There was nothing that he could do, except to wait for his fate.

For the next two days, Rowan lived through a torture. Minimal water and dry food. Continuous ridicules from the guards and the passers-by. He could handle those, for he still had a hope. This said hope crashed when he heard that the rest of his fleet betrayed him.

All he could think of was, 'Was my life in vain?'

And the third night has come. Rowan was lying down on the stone bed, with his eyes hollowed out, having ceased to think any longer.

*Thud* *Thud* All of a sudden, the guards in front of Rowan's cell fell. Although Rowan heard it, it invoked no response from him.

*Clang* A sound of key unlocking the lock was heard.

*Tap* *Tap* A sound of someone hurriedly running towards him. Said individual stopped in front of him, before taking out an another key to unlock his Seastone cuff.

Rowan lazily moved his gaze onto an individual who infiltrated into his prison cell, before his eyes widened. "You... you are-" His mouth was quickly blocked before it could speak any longer.

The figure standing was the girl with short light-purple hair, whom he has previous saved from Mad Treasure at the Aurum, 6 months ago!

"Shhh, I have barely managed to break through here! Geez, why are there so many guards stationed? Hurry, let's leave, they will find out in no time!" Grabbing his arm, the girl yanked him towards the exit.

"If I am correct, the second patch of guards will come to replace this group after an hour approximately. However, the patrol guards check this cell every 5 minutes. Their rotation is counter-clockwise, which means they will be coming from that direction." The girl muttered before pulling Rowan through the prison.

"Alright. Thankfully, the prison here isn't that big, due to the fact that all prisoners tend to get shipped to the Impel Down. Making through the entrance will be impossible, since it's heavily guarded..." Seeing that the girl seems troubled, Rowan placed his hand on the wall, before breaking the portion into pieces with his bounce.

"Oh, how convenient! Come on, let's go!" They swiftly managed to escape the prison. the girl let Rowan in such a way that they avoided any major street; they soon arrived at the harbour, where a small boat was anchored.

*BEEP* *BEEP* A high pitch noise ensued from the prison, signalling that a prisoner has escaped. The marines began to pour out of the base in hurry, quickly running to cover every direction.

"Hurry, get on the boat!" Rowan and the girl quickly got on the boat. Using his bounce force to blast off of the air, the boat propelled at a very high speed. By the time the marines reached the harbour, the boat was long gone from the sight.

As the boat reached in the middle of the ocean, Rowan stared at the night full of sky, seemingly amazed by the view that he hasn't seen for the past few days. After admiring the view, Rowan's expression became hollow.

"Why did you save me? Risking your life, isn't it too risky?" Rowan softly spoke.

"Hehe, you owe me 30 million Beli for saving your life!" In response, the girl simply held out his tongue and winked. Then, her expression turned serious. "Just joking, haha... I just happened to be there at that time, and I couldn't ignore the fact that the person caught is the savior of my life."

"It's funny how it turned out. My closest crew mates killed off without any compensation for good things they have done, just because they were already 'close' to death. The others from my fleet, turned their back on us and announced the establishment of Rowly fleet." Rowan said with a laugh. "Haha, all of this happened within a week. Isn't life so unpredictable?"

The girl stayed silent for a moment, listening to Rowan. As if contemplating something, she spoke up,

"Well, if you say it like that, I can't disagree. Disowned by my own father, surviving on the streets and making a living by thefts, encountering Mad Treasure... and you. You might not have known, but ever since I was born, you were the first one, who were good to me. From that moment, I knew, that you are a good person."

They stayed on the boat in resolute silence, as the wind directed the boat to somewhere that none of them knows.

"Hey," Rowan opened his mouth. "I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

"Heh, I was wondering when you would say that." The girl replied with a wide smile. "After all, what kind of person doesn't even know one's savior?"

"I am Carina, nice to meet you!" The girl, now known as Carina, grinned as she held out a hand. Smiling back, Rowan grabbed the outstretched hand and shook.

"Kinda late to say this, but thank you for saving me, Carina."