"The Freedom Fighters never abandons their comrades!"
Gion's words were like a sharp sword, fiercely stabbing into Moa's chest.
"Impossible! The Freedom Fighters would never abandon a comrade!", Moa glared at Gion, and even though her throat was unbearably dry from dehydration, she still managed to shout with all her might.
Even though she herself had wavered just moments ago.
But deep inside, she would rather believe that Dragon was entangled by other matters than believe he would abandon a comrade.
"This is the truth. No matter how much you refuse to believe it, Dragon will not come to save you," Gion said coldly.
"Heh, you're just trying to break my psychological defenses so you can turn me into a toy for the Celestial Dragons, right? Let me tell you, I will never give in," Moa's eyes were filled with fury, and hatred glimmered in her gaze.
Though Rosse didn't know exactly what Moa had experienced in the past, seeing her obvious disgust toward the nobles gave him some clues.
"You seem to have misunderstood. If I wanted to turn you into a plaything, I wouldn't need to care about Dragon's involvement at all," Rosse chuckled softly, reached his hand into the cage, and moved to grab Moa's chin.
Moa quickly noticed Rosse's movement, and a trace of delight flashed through her eyes.
Just as Rosse was about to touch her body, Moa suddenly exploded into action.
In Moa's plan, as long as she could provoke this Celestial Dragon into making a move, she could seize the chance to capture him and use him as a hostage to force Gion into letting her go.
"Don't move!", Moa followed her plan and acted, but the result seemed a bit different from what she had expected.
She did manage to tightly grab Rosse's wrist, but she couldn't even stop him from continuing forward, let alone take him hostage.
Her resistance was so weak and insignificant that to an outsider, it might even look like a teasing act of push and pull.
"Why..."
'I have already used all my strength, so why can't I handle a single Celestial Dragon?'
'Didn't Dragon tell us that Celestial Dragons have no combat ability, and only their guards are strong?'
"That's a strange question. Why do you think you could take me down? Or rather, why did you think I'd be so careless?", Rosse shook his head, grabbed Moa's chin and lifted her up, pulling her directly in front of him.
If she hadn't attacked him, he might have been gentler.
But since she made a move, there was no longer any need for mercy.
"Let go of me... If you dare, kill me...", Moa glared at Rosse with hatred, struggling with all her strength, only to realize she couldn't escape his grasp at all.
Still, she kept twisting her body, trying to show her resistance.
"Kill you? Why should I kill you? I'm not restraining your actions. You can commit sui*ide if you want to," Rosse asked calmly.
"I...", Moa was at a loss for words. What Rosse said made sense, but how many people could actually bring themselves to end their own lives?
As for Moa herself, she couldn't suppress her survival instincts.
She didn't want to be defiled by Rosse, but in her heart, she still held on to a glimmer of hope, 'What if Dragon comes to save me?'
"It's simple, isn't it? With your strength, just strike your own chest, and your heart would stop. So why haven't you done it? Is it because you're afraid to die, or because you still believe there's hope?", Rosse's voice was unhurried, but Moa's struggle grew more intense, as if he had hit a nerve.
"No matter what, I won't submit to you. Don't even dream about it," Moa said angrily.
"Why would I want to win your heart?", Rosse smiled coldly and shook his head. Then with his other hand, he reached into the cage and tightly clamped Moa's slender waist like an iron claw. Then, with a sudden force, he yanked her outward roughly and recklessly.
Rip!
A sharp tearing sound rang out suddenly, as the fabric scattered like falling snow.
At the same time, the two iron bars of the cage, originally spaced closely together, were forced apart and deformed under the powerful pull, widening the gap significantly.
Those two iron bars, like ferocious fangs, were tightly stuck around Moa's waist. Her lower body was forced completely out of the cage, while her upper body remained trapped inside, creating a scene both pitiful and awkward.
Moa's eyes widened, her face full of horror and shame, her body trembling uncontrollably from the sudden event.
"Bastard! The Freedom Fighters won't let you go! Dragon will definitely kill you!"
"I'm looking forward to something like that happening. If this were a scene from a storybook, your prince on a white horse should appear right about now, defeat me, and rescue you. Since that hasn't happened, do you know what that means?", Rosse chuckled, then took out a whip and began to lash Moa.
"I don't care what it means... AH!"
"It means, you're not the story's heroine, and Dragon isn't a prince on a white horse. Your ending will be just like those tragedies you heard about in the Freedom Fighters."
"You see, even after joining the Freedom Fighters, nothing has changed for you."
The rugged terrain and bloodstained ground caught Rosse slightly off guard, and an unconscious excitement flickered in his eyes.
Compared to future Freedom Fighters commanders or Ginny, Moa matched Rosse's aesthetic taste far more. And with her D+ level strength, she whetted his appetite completely.
[Completed D+ Level Breakdown!]
[...]
"Ah... sob sob... Dragon... where are you?", Inside the cage, Moa cried like rain, mumbling Dragon's name over and over.
But unfortunately, no matter how many times she called that name, the person it belonged to would never appear before her.
———
[One Day Later]
[South Blue, on a Deserted Island]
On the beach, Dragon was commanding the Freedom Fighters to set up and rest.
"Dragon, are you really not going to save Moa?", Beside Dragon, a woman with some resemblance to Luffy had a face full of worry.
Just earlier, Kuzan from the Marines had contacted them, informing them that Moa was on Drum Island. If Dragon wanted to rescue her, Kuzan could persuade Garp to help.
After the Ohara incident, Kuzan began to question the Marines' justice and frequently communicated with the Freedom Fighters.
"Based on my understanding of Rosse, this is definitely a trap. If we go now, the newly founded Freedom Fighters will be finished."
"Besides, we have more important things to do. I'm going to the Elbaph. There lies technology left behind by Vegapunk. Only that can help the Freedom Fighters. Everything is for the revolution. I will remember Moa's sacrifice," Dragon clenched his fists, sweat dripping from his face.
He wanted to rescue Moa too. She wasn't just a founding member of the Freedom Fighters, she was also incredibly popular within it.
Since Moa's capture, Dragon had clearly felt the Freedom Fighters's morale take a major hit.
But now, he really couldn't go save her.
'Yes, I have more important things to do right now.'
'I have to rush to the Elbaph ahead of others, and according to Vegapunk's wishes, spread that technology and plant the seeds of rebellion in the allied nations against the World Government.'
'The World Government isn't that frightening. The Freedom Fighters will definitely overthrow them.'
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