Interrogation, West Blue [TU] 24: Chapter 24: Threats?
Interrogation, West Blue [TU] “Next time, I’ll kill ten.” The cold words shattered the last shred of hope the pirates had been clinging to.
A sea of men dropped to their knees in unison.
Trembling, they pointed at the pale-faced Hall and cried out desperately, “It’s him!
He’s the captain!
We’re just underlings!
He forced us to do it!
Please spare us, sir!
Have mercy!” “You traitorous bastards!” Hall cursed at them, but the confidence in his voice was gone.
His face was white as paper as he stared at the boy whose eyes were colder than ice.
Even as he shouted, his feet kept retreating on their own.
Shinsuke simply looked at him and said, “You.
Come here.” Hall’s body stiffened.
The fear in his eyes was instantly replaced by desperate viciousness.
Without warning, he lunged forward and grabbed Nina from her mother’s arms.
His thick arm locked around the little girl’s throat while a gleaming dagger pressed against her delicate neck.
“Don’t come any closer!” he roared with bloodshot eyes.
The blade dug even deeper into her skin, drawing tiny beads of blood.
“Take one more step, and I’ll kill her!” “Nina!
My child!” Her mother screamed and tried to rush over, but Hall kicked her hard in the chest.
She crashed onto the deck, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and could only watch helplessly as her daughter was held hostage, sobbing in despair.
Hall’s face twisted with madness as he clung to the little girl like his last lifeline.
Shinsuke’s expression never changed.
To him, the hysterical scene unfolding before his eyes was no more significant than crushing a noisy insect.
Beside him, Yashiro and Yakumi exchanged a glance.
Both of them looked utterly contemptuous.
They had survived mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the ninja world.
Between them, they had killed hundreds, if not thousands, of enemies.
Using an unarmed child as a hostage?
To them, such a cheap trick was laughably childish.
Did this fool really think a ninja who had survived countless battlefields would suddenly become softhearted?
The people of this world clearly placed far too much importance on tricks like these.
Seeing Shinsuke continue walking toward him without the slightest hesitation, Hall’s courage collapsed.
His grip on the dagger trembled uncontrollably, but he still forced himself to shout.
“Hey!
Open your eyes!
She’s just a child!
Are you really going to watch her die?!
Aren’t you afraid…” “AAAAH!!” Before he could finish threatening him, a flash of cold steel sliced through the air.
A chakra infused kunai pierced straight into his exposed eye with flawless accuracy.
Blood erupted instantly.
A heart-rending scream burst from his throat.
Instinctively, he released the girl’s neck and clutched at his ruined eye socket, writhing across the bloodstained deck in unbearable agony.
Shinsuke didn’t spare the trembling little girl even a glance.
He walked straight up to Hall, bent down, and casually pulled the kunai out of his eye.
“AAARGH!!
My eye!
My eye!!” The excruciating pain made Hall’s entire body shake violently.
His screams grew more miserable with each passing second as he rolled across the blood-soaked deck, splattering blood everywhere.
Watching Hall writhe on the ground, Shinsuke frowned slightly, undisguised impatience flashing across his eyes.
The next second, the saber at his waist left its sheath.
A flash of cold steel pierced straight through Hall’s shoulder blade, pinning him firmly to the deck.
“Quiet.” The icy command fell like a hammer, carrying an unquestionable authority.
Shinsuke pressed the blade down another fraction, making Hall’s entire body jerk from the pain.
“Scream one more time, and I’ll carve the flesh off your body piece by piece before throwing it into the sea to feed the fish.” “Y…
Yes…
Sir…
Please spare me…” Pinned to the deck, Hall couldn’t move an inch.
Blood and cold sweat soaked his body as he clenched his teeth to suppress his screams.
Even his pleading came out in a trembling, broken voice.
He could clearly feel the murderous aura radiating from the blade.
One wrong move, and his head would leave his shoulders.
Looking down at him, Shinsuke rested one hand on the hilt and spoke in a calm, emotionless voice.
“From now on, I ask.
You answer.
If you waste even one word, I’ll gouge out your other eye.
Understood?” “Y…
Yes!
Understood!
Ask me anything, sir!
I’ll tell you everything!
I swear I’ll only speak the truth!” Hall nodded frantically, terrified of bringing that agonizing pain upon himself again.
“What’s your bounty?
And who’s the toughest person you’ve ever killed?” “Huh?” Hall froze.
His pale face was filled with confusion.
He had imagined countless questions, but never expected something so unrelated.
His mind went blank for a moment.
That brief hesitation was enough to provoke Shinsuke.
Without a word, the young man gripped the hilt and twisted the blade nearly half a turn.
“AAAAAH!!” A bloodcurdling scream burst from Hall’s throat as steel scraped against bone.
His body convulsed violently, and more blood splattered across the deck.
“I’ll talk!
I’ll talk!!” Hall cried, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“My bounty is eight million Beli!
The only important person I’ve ever killed was a Navy lieutenant from a branch base!
That’s all!
Please spare me!!” Shinsuke loosened his grip slightly, no longer torturing him.
After a few moments of silence, he fired off another string of questions, each one striking Hall’s frayed nerves.
“Which of the Four Blues are we in?
How many days is it to the nearest island?
Where’s the closest Navy base?
And who’s the strongest officer stationed there?” “The West Blue!
This is the West Blue!” Hall answered in a panic, afraid he would be punished if he hesitated.
“The nearest island is Rascamp Island!
Following the ocean current, it’ll take about a month to get there!
“The closest Navy base is Branch 74.
It’s commanded by a Navy Colonel, but I really don’t know his name or what he’s can do!” Crying miserably, he spilled out everything he knew in one breath.
“I’m just a small time pirate scraping out a living around these waters.
I’ve never dared provoke anyone from a Navy base!
Please spare me, sir!
Please have mercy and let me live!” “The West Blue…” Shinsuke repeated the words quietly, his fingers lightly tracing the cold hilt of the saber.
After thinking for a moment, his gaze returned to Hall.
“What year is it in the Sea Circle Calendar?
And what’s the biggest news on the seas right now?” …