Chapter 285: Touched

Having disposed of the ignorant Celestial Dragon, Drake lightly flicked his hands. Although the splashing blood had been blocked outside by spatial fluctuations, he still habitually flicked his hands out of routine.

Sorting through his thoughts, Drake approached the girl who was now clinging to her last breath and fed her a Senzu Bean.

Only after turning the girl's body over did Drake get a clear look at her face. Though it was stained with blood and tear tracks, her delicate features were still faintly visible beneath the grime.

At this moment, the girl's face was distorted with immense agony. Drake could tell that she was merely an ordinary person; enduring such brutal torture would likely...

Leave an indelible scar in the deepest recesses of her soul!

"These Celestial Dragons... deserve to die!" Drake's eyes reddened slightly. He knew he was no saint, nor had he ever intended to play the world's savior.

Yet when he possessed the power to make a difference, how could he stand by and watch such inhuman atrocities unfold without lifting a finger?

Living in this world, he didn't know why he had been brought to the One Piece universe he had once so passionately admired, but he was truly here—and he had been granted a system.

Even though... this system constantly worked against him, it gave him a deep sense of grounding. Only when bickering with the system could he clearly recognize his true self.

To let people live in peace and happiness—that was what Drake felt he ought to do. If he wielded such power yet did absolutely nothing with it, he would despise himself.

Abolish all nobility and feudal privilege!

Drake had firmly made up his mind!

"Y-You... who are you..." The girl, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly scrambled up and curled herself tightly into the corner of the wall. "Please... don't hand me over... okay?"

"You're awake." Drake was delighted at first, but then he froze. "How are you feeling?"

"I beg of you, don't hand me over to the Celestial Dragons! I... I'll kowtow to you!" As she spoke, the girl fell to her knees and began desperately banging her head against the stone, causing fresh blood to seep from the skin that had just been healed.

"I beg of you..."

The girl's voice trembled uncontrollably. The weather was exceedingly cold, yet she wore only a single thin garment, leaving her slender calves exposed to the biting air, turned red from the chill.

The emotions Drake had just managed to calm were suddenly touched by something profound, and a scorching fire abruptly ignited within his chest—a fury that filled his entire being.

In his past life, in China.

That was a peaceful, prosperous nation so blessed that the entire world envied it. Children at this girl's age were still quietly studying under the loving care of their parents.

Even if they weren't spoiled like young lords or princesses, their lives were undeniably happy and fulfilled.

Yet this girl, possessing the pure, angelic face of a young maiden, who should have grown up cherished by her parents and eventually found her own happiness, had been dragged to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise by these evil Celestial Dragons to endure such subhuman torture. What in the world was wrong with this world?!

Why!

Drake repeatedly asked himself: Was the One Piece world he had once so desperately longed for truly this vile?!

No!

What was vile was not this world, but the ones who ruled it!

"Get up, quickly. The Celestial Dragon from just now has already been killed by me." Drake slowly knelt down and gently helped the girl up.

Taking out a clean cloth, he delicately wiped away the dirt and bloodstains from her face. Before the girl could snap out of her paralyzed shock, most of her face had already been cleaned.

"Ah..." Realizing what was happening, the girl let out a startled cry and tried to push Drake away, only to find herself held completely motionless by an invisible force.

A gentle voice resonated softly in her ears, "Don't move. A girl as pretty as you needs to stay clean."

The girl stopped struggling. Though her eyes still held a trace of panic, she had largely calmed down, allowing her to carefully examine Drake's face for the first time.

In the eyes of the man before her, she saw a gaze she had never encountered before—an emotion and feeling she couldn't quite identify.

Why? Why did this man's eyes look like sadness, yet not quite?

What exactly was that...

It wasn't until a long, long time later... that she learned that look was called compassion.

This unexplainable gaze gradually soothed her. Looking around, she noticed a strikingly conspicuous pool of blood on the ground behind Drake.

It was as if she suddenly understood everything. Her gaze toward Drake grew increasingly curious. Who... was he really?

"All done," Drake said with a sudden smile. "Here, wipe down the rest of yourself." With that, Drake handed the girl another clean cloth and turned his back.

"Ah! Okay, okay." Only then did the girl snap back to reality, her cheeks involuntarily flushing red as she hurriedly accepted the cloth he handed her.

Looking at Drake's back, for reasons she couldn't explain, the girl suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of warmth. That silhouette seemed like the warmest light in the world, making one instinctively want to draw closer.

A moment later, the girl stood quietly behind Drake.

"What's your name?" Drake asked.

"Aiya."

"Hmm... Aiya, you'll stay with me for the time being. I need to rescue someone right now, so come along with me. Don't worry, I'll protect you." Drake reasoned that since he had gone to such lengths to save Aiya from that living hell, abandoning her now would be giving her false hope.

If he did that, would he even be human?

At worst, if they ran into any extreme danger, he could simply send her into his spatial dimension to take shelter for a while.

"Mm!" Aiya nodded vigorously, letting out a deep sigh of relief. If Drake didn't take her with him, she truly wouldn't know what to do next.

A massive war was raging outside—a conflict that an ordinary person without a shred of combat ability like her couldn't possibly get near.

If she stayed here, she would inevitably be captured again, and she truly didn't dare imagine what kind of horror her future would turn into.

Afterward, Aiya stayed right behind Drake. Whenever they moved at high speeds, Drake would hold her to take her along.

During the journey, Aiya opened her mouth several times as if wanting to say something, but seeing Drake's brows furrowed in deep thought, she didn't dare disturb him.

"This isn't right! He should be in this exact area." Drake's brows were tightly knit. The coordinates displayed on the scouter indicated the target should be right in front of him.

Yet all that stood before him was an empty plaza!

If he walked any further, it was a dead end with absolutely no visible entrances.

Where had Im hidden Aokiji? Why couldn't he find him anywhere?

The location provided by the system was only an approximate area, failing to pinpoint the precise coordinates.

"How about this, let's search around first," Drake turned and said to Aiya. As he turned his head, he happened to catch her looking as if she had something on her mind.

So he asked, "What is it?"

Drake was a bit puzzled.

"Um... may I ask your name, savior?" Aiya mustered up her courage and asked.

"Oh! How could I forget to introduce myself? My name is Drake. Alright, let me take us over there," Drake slapped his forehead with a laugh.

Saying that, he naturally took Aiya's hand and spatial-warped onto a nearby rooftop, slowly closing his eyes to push his Observation Haki to its absolute limit.

Since he was certain the target was within this specific perimeter, Drake believed his Observation Haki should be able to sense him.

Feeling Drake hold her hand, Aiya's heart fluttered and beat wildly against her chest, though she didn't make a sound to interrupt him.

High up in the sky, piercing through layers of thick clouds, stood a crimson silhouette. Weitian's eyes glowed with a purplish-red light, capturing everything below in her sight.

Including, of course, Drake and Aiya at that very moment...