"I believe this lovely and intelligent captain, full of justice, will make the right choice, right?"
As he spoke, lightning flashed from Lin's fingertips.
The crackling sound cast a solemn look on the faces of all the marines present.
"You actually threatened me!"
Hina, hearing the unquestionable tone in Lin's voice, was both shocked and skeptical.
She turned her gaze towards the marines on the ship.
Seeing their faces filled with anger, she felt nothing but helplessness.
He first put her on a pedestal, praising her as full of justice, then spoke those threatening words.
But she couldn't ignore them, because there was no way she could stand by and watch these marines die.
As their commanding officer, she had a duty to ensure their safe return.
Her sense of justice wasn't just for the common people.
It was also for the Marines who had fought alongside her in Paradise!
Thinking of this, she closed her eyes in pain. Her rosy lips trembled slightly.
Just as she was about to utter words of surrender, she was interrupted by an angry shout.
"Captain Hina, don't agree to that."
"We'd rather die than have you sacrifice your lives for ours."
Hina quickly opened her eyes, trying to find the person who had spoken and wanted to rebuke him.
But Lin was too quick to react.
"Hmph! Such a noisy mouth! Then die! Thirty Million Bolts: Thunderbird!"
Lin snorted coldly and waved his hand.
A giant bird composed of lightning quickly took shape.
It let out a fierce cry, then struck the talkative marine, charring him to a crisp and killing him on the spot.
"No!"
Hina quickly lashed out with her iron bars to try to stop it, but she was a step too late.
She clenched her fists, her teeth grinding audibly.
Her eyes blazed with fury as if she wanted to burn Lin to death.
Lin ignored her reaction and continued to move his hands. "I'm not kidding. My time is limited. I don't have time to mess around with you marines!"
"Million Bolts: Thunder Chain!"
With that, the circling thunderbirds scattered.
They transformed into a long, narrow lightning chain.
It linked together every marine except Hina.
The screams and groans of the Marines continued incessantly.
They eventually lost consciousness and fell into a deep coma.
They were pulled together, bound together by the lightning chain...
"You... You killed them all?"
Hina couldn't bear to look at their miserable state and turned her head away in distress.
If she knew Armament Haki and could hit Lin, she would have already rushed up to fight to the death.
"Don't worry, they're just unconscious."
"Killing them won't do me any good."
"On the contrary, keeping them alive will allow you to willingly become my consort."
"This is better than rebelling and seeking death later."
Lin waved his hand, urging her with his eyes.
"Captain Hina, make your choice!"
"I don't think you want to follow in Admiral Zephyr's footsteps, do you?"
Hearing this, Hina's mind instantly thought of Zephyr.
A few years ago, the ship he led was attacked by pirates.
All of his beloved students, except Ain and Binz, were killed.
Even his right arm was severely injured.
Thinking of Zephyr's tragic condition, Hina sighed deeply. Then she raised her head and said with a resolute tone: "I agree, I'll become your consort! But you must not attack my subordinates again, and you can't damage the ship. Otherwise, what difference would it make from them being killed?"
"Don't worry, they're unconscious now, and if they don't provoke me, I'm too lazy to attack them again."
Lin laughed heartily and readily agreed.
Then, in a flash, he appeared beside the marines.
"What are you doing?"
Hina's heart tightened as she watched his actions, and she demanded loudly.
"Don't worry, I'm only taking necessary measures."
"I don't want you going back on your word or trying to kill yourself after you leave with me."
As he explained, Lin placed his hands before his chest, fingers curled like claws.
Dark lightning flickered between his hands.
When the energy built to the right level, he released his hold on it, pushing it mercilessly toward the marines.
"Dark Thunder Seed!"
The dark lightning instantly enveloped the marines. With a chaotic hissing sound, dark lightning pierced their hearts.
Their lives would soon fall into his hands.
Lin chuckled softly.
This way, Hina would be deeply trapped in his control.
As time went on, her feelings would grow, and she would become even more unable to extricate herself.
"I've already agreed to be your consort. Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"
Hina's face darkened.
Is there really no escape from his clutches?
It seemed she could only wait for rescue from the Marine Headquarters.
"You should think of it this way. The fact that I'd gone to such lengths to do all this shows how much I value and love you."
Hina froze, unable to find a rebuttal to his twisted reasoning.
It seemed that only her parents could care so deeply about her.
"Magnetic Pull!"
"Ah!"
Lin raised his hand to Hina, drawing her into his embrace.
He gently stroked her cheek and whispered softly in her ear: "You see, even our Devil Fruit abilities are so compatible. I wave my hand, and you come right into my arms."
After a brief moment of panic, Hina closed her eyes and remained silent.
Only her flushed cheeks and red ears betrayed her current restlessness.
Lin was quite pleased by her amusing reaction.
But he didn't continue.
There will be plenty of time together in the future, so there's no need to rush.
He released her, letting her sit silently on the ground.
His Observation Haki had already spotted several unconscious pirates in the cabin.
One of them looked familiar.
"It seems you've captured quite a few pirates on this voyage."
Hina steadied herself, stood, and pulled a cigarette from her coat.
With a click, she lit it.
She took a deep breath. Then she blew a large puff of smoke at Lin's back.
Seeing he didn't react, she replied somewhat listlessly: "Just a few rookie pirates. They're members of the foxy pirates."
"Unfortunately, their captain, Foxy the Silver Fox, was too cunning and managed to escape."