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Dragon Swordswoman(MAN, Dammit!)

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Colin Yeo said:
Okay! I know this is out of nowhere, but I wanted to know if you want to see a Rising of the Shield Hero fic from me?
I have this idea in my head that is just going to explode if I don't write it. And no, it's not a SI.
Also, I have this older fic from at least five years ago that I planned on posting here. A crossover fic between Negmia and KHR. I know these two fandoms are pretty ancient, but I'm pretty confident in this one.
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herm... Sure for the first? but what are you planning? an OC native? or an AU? give us info man! either way, i'll read at least the first three chapter.

As for the crossover... i don't have much knowledge on either 'verse to judge, but sure, go for it!
 
Eury said:
herm... Sure for the first? but what are you planning? an OC native? or an AU? give us info man! either way, i'll read at least the first three chapter.

As for the crossover... i don't have much knowledge on either 'verse to judge, but sure, go for it!
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It's a reboot of my first fic, of a native OC with a bit of an AU with a gender bend character. And thanks for the support.
Also, those two mangas are pretty long, got a very slow start but once it reach a certain chapter, it became quite amazing!
 
Colin Yeo said:
It's a reboot of my first fic, of a native OC with a bit of an AU with a gender bend character. And thanks for the support.
Also, those two mangas are pretty long, got a very slow start but once it reach a certain chapter, it became quite amazing!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
OOOH i just understood KHR is Reborn! go for it! i know the broad stroke of Negima, and read Reborn for a while before stopping, and never got around to finish it!
Go for it, seems like a fun crossover.
 
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Chapter 13
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 13: Twilight Isles, Part Four
    ​
    I couldn't begin to list all the things I want to say right at that moment. But if there's one thing I wanted to say right now, it would be…

    "Is the one commanding the coup an idiot?"

    "No, but he definitely isn't smart either." Deuce stated, "That is so goddamn obvious for a 'secret' base."

    "Guess he thought that being a forest means that no one would ever find them." Ace noted.

    "Well, regardless if he is an idiot or not, we found the place." Luna stated as we all keep a lookout over the obviously guarded cave entrance, "Now, we just have to get inside and get evidence of that bastard Reginold's double cross…"

    "Wait, your advisor's name is Reginold?" I asked her.

    "Yeah. Didn't I mention that before?"

    "No, you did not."

    "You've been calling him 'the advisor' every time you refer to him." Deuce pointed out, his captain nodding in agreement.

    "Huh… guess I did…" She muttered, before snapping, "But not the time for that right now! We got to get into that cave and find those documents. The coup is three days from now, which means we have both today and tomorrow to accomplish this. But with our boat being inaccessible right now–"

    "Thanks to a certain someone…" I muttered; Ace blew out an innocent-sounding whistle in response.

    "–It'll be in our best efforts to deal with this by the end of today." She pointed out, "That way, we'll have the whole of tomorrow to find a way to get back to the mainland."

    "Okay, any plans on how to get in there?" Deuce asked.

    "I could beat the crap out of those two dudes down there, and then go in guns blazing." Ace stated cracking his knuckles.

    "Nope, bad idea." I stated, "We can't risk alerting anyone inside, especially with their operation date so close. They could simply blow the base up and destroy the evidence with it."

    "Good point…" His first mate noted much to a disappointment of the freckled faced pirate, "That leaves only one option. To sneak in undetected, get those documents, and escape without alerting anyone."

    "That's lame…" He pouted.

    "It's the logical solution." I pointed out, "Not everything can be solved by blasting it to bits."

    "Okay, then our next course of action is set." Luna stated, "But how do we sneak in? From what I can see, there's only one entrance."

    "There might be another entrance, but searching for it might take too long…" Deuce stated, "We'll have to go through the main gate."

    "There has to be a changing of the guards soon, or…"

    I then notice something in the distance. Resting a few meters away from the cave entrance on the dirt beaten path is a large caravan with a horse next to it with its rider, in a similar attire as the guards, possibly feeding the ride animal something. The caravan itself is covered in a white hooded cloth roof, with several barrels and crates visible being the white cloth flaps.

    If I were to guess, that has their supply run from town. Go figure, they got to feed the people in the base somehow. And judging by the amount of stuff they have, there are a lot of people in the base.

    And then, it hit me.

    "Guys, I got an idea."
    "Afternoon, fellas." The caravan drives up to the two guards, its rider waving his hand at them, "How's the shift?"

    "Boring, really." One of the guards stated with a yawn, "I still don't get why we have to stand guard over a cave. Wouldn't that make it obvious that there is something inside?"

    "Oh, quit complaining. Besides, it's captain's orders." His partner scolds him, "Anyway, how's the shopping trip?"

    "Pretty good." The rider tells them, "Got quite a haul, along with a few… 'extra' supplies. Got to tell you man, it ain't easy getting it."

    "Come on, it's not like you didn't want to get it yourself!"

    "Yeah, yeah. So, mind moving aside for me to go through?"

    "Just one sec." One of the guards walks towards the back of the caravan, checking the undercarriage along the way. Using his rifle, he pushes the cloth aside and took a good look at the series of crates and barrels, "Looks clear. Let him through."

    The two guards step aside, letting the caravan ride into the cave.

    A few moments of riding through near darkness, the caravan exits out into a large open space. The cave expanded outwards to the size of a small town that has several poorly constructed wooden houses of various sizes and disrepair along a couple watch towers of similar states, with a good portion of it opened to the skies and leading into the ocean.

    The small 'port' has several small ships flying the black jolly roger, a skull inside a large cog, with one of them with men bringing aboard several large crates of various sizes, with a few of them having rifles barrels and handles sticking out of it.

    The supply caravan rides and park itself near a large shack that seems to have an open-air kitchen. "The supplies are here!"

    A shirtless burly man with a pot belly wearing a white apron walks out towards the caravan with a few other men in similar attire following behind. "About time!" The chef-looking pirate shouted rather impatiently, "We were wondering if you got lost on the way back!"

    "Sorry, I had to stop to feed ole Trippy here." The rider stated stroking the horse's mane, "You know how cranky he gets without his meal."

    "Believe me, I know." The chef huffed, "Alright, boys! Get to work! We have a lunch rush coming soon, so the faster you finish this, the quicker we can get to cooking!"

    The men all took to a rush, carrying out barrels after barrels of food items and rolling them into the kitchen with several of them rolling into the wooden storage shed behind the shack. As the last barrel is rolled into the shed, the last man pats his hands and leave the room, closing the door behind him.

    Little did he realised, that some of the barrels are a little heavier than usual.
    I let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding when I heard the door shut. Good, we're in.

    I pushed up against the barrel's lid above and lift it off of me, crawling out of the barrel of potatoes, "Is everyone here?" I called out as quietly as I am allowed to, while feeling and removing a potato that has fallen into my pocket before pulling out Nanashi from inside the barrel.

    "I'm here." Ace stated as he pushes himself out of a crate, pouring out a few beetroots that got in his hat before taking a bite of one.

    "Same." Deuce announced as he squeezes himself out of another barrel, spitting out a few beans that got into his mouth, "Didn't think I could fit in there…"

    "You're telling me." Luna stated as she got out of a crate, before fidgeting a little and pulls out a banana from between her cleavage, "I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere."

    "I can think of several…" The masked pirate muttered to himself.

    "I'm more surprised that no one found us out." I stated, pulling out my bag from another barrel.

    Allow me explain!

    We need to get into the secret base without anyone noticing, and in order to do so, I came up with an idea to do as such.

    There was a caravan that's a good distance away, driven by a person wearing a similar outfit as the two guards. As such, I made the assumption, which I was right on point by the way, that the caravan belongs to the little rebellion group and we could use it to sneak in unnoticed.

    Thankfully, the rider seems to be very engrossed in feeding and pampering his horse to notice us getting on board and hiding in our respective barrels and crates. Had to dump out at least half of their contents to get in, though…

    "Regardless, we made it inside." The princess noted as she walks up to the door, "Now we just have to-Huh?" She tries to open the door, but found it not budging at all. She then pushes with all her might but to no avail, "Um…"

    "They must have locked it up." Deuce helpfully summarizes for us.

    "Why would they need to lock up the food storage hut!?"

    "Well, most likely to prevent food theft." Ace noted as he chomps the last bite of beetroot.

    "That's… surprisingly true…" She nodded, "I think the kitchen back at the castle did a similar thing with the fridge too."

    "Good thing we're not in the fridge." I pointed out with a shrug, "Thankful for small mercies…"

    "Despite the reason, it doesn't change the fact we're trapped here with no visible way out." Deuce stated, "Unless you accounted for the small openings up there." He pointed to the small gaps on the walls above us, "But that's too high for any of us to reach."

    "Yeah." Ace nodded, "I don't see a ladder in here anywhere, and I don't think stacking all the boxes here would be enough."

    "Well…" Luna looked over to me, "We do have someone here who could reach it."

    I blinked in confusion before realising with a face-palm "…Oh right, I have wings…" Unfurling my wings, I flew up to the small gaps on the walls, but… "Sorry, no good. These things aren't big enough for any of us to go through."

    "Have you try sucking in your stomach?" Ace asked.

    "I'm not that small, jackass."

    "You could at least try!"

    "These things are only the size of my fists!! I couldn't even put my head through!"

    "Can you at least see what's outside?" Deuce asked.

    "Ah, wait a moment."

    I peeked through the gaps, looking about the place the best I can. In our small bumpy journey into the base, I did hear the sounds of waves. This means that we might be near the ocean in some way, and that means that Ace's idea on how they smuggled in their weapons is on point.

    And I was right. From the gaps, I could make out a couple of big ships docked in what looks like a rough stony harbour of a small lake that leads out into the open sea if the blue sky in a small opening in the distance is any indication. This place must be at least close to sea level, and the lake is deep enough to house those two large frigate-sized ships.

    And judging by the jolly rogers tied to the masts of one of the ships, they are pirate ships.

    "Well, this is definitely their base." I tell them, "Also, they seem to be either using pirates to smuggle their weapons, or are pirates themselves. I don't recognise their flags though."

    "I knew it." Luna muttered, "This is their weapon supply depo!"

    "Good for you, I guess." Ace noted as I heard him bite into something else. Is he eating!?

    "Do you see anything else?" She asked me, "Perhaps their command post?"

    "…No, not from here. Let me try the other side." I flew over the other end and took another look, "Mm… there are several buildings about, but not too noteworthy. Oh, but I do see a large hut. And…" I squinted my eyes in an attempt to make out the people in the distance, "There are a lot of people walking in and out, a few of them are in different clothing than the ones outside."

    "Different how?" Deuce asked.

    "Well… they look more… expensive, I think? I mean, they are wearing large coats. One of them even has this crazy hat that looks like a pirate hat with a rooster crown in the shape of… a cog for some reason."

    "Really?"

    "Yeah. Is that a thing with pirate captains?"

    "That must be the captain, or at least one of the people in-charge of this operation…" She stated, "That must be where their command post be. The documents of the coup must be in there!"

    "That's great and all, but that means nothing if we're still trapped in here." The masked man pointed out.

    "I could break the door down!" Ace stated while cracking his knuckles.

    "And give away our position!?" I cried out in shock, "That's a terrible idea!"

    "Well, do you have a better idea?"

    "Um…"

    "Then it's settled!"

    "No, it's not!!" Luna cried as she walks right in front of him before he could get to the door, "Just brute forcing through thing isn't going to fly here. We need to think things through first!"

    "What's there to think!?" He asked, "We run out, beat their asses, grab whatever we need, and get out! Easy-peasy!"

    "We have no idea how many of them are out there." Deuce pointed out to him, "We could get overrun within moments, not to mention they are all armed to the teeth. You may be invulnerable to bullets and blades, but the rest of us aren't. We wouldn't stand a chance in a full-on assault."

    "He's right." I stated as I landed back down, "We don't know anything about our enemies at all. Just rushing out there is reckless and suicidal."

    "…Fine. But what are we going to do then?"

    "First, we need a way to get out of here without arousing their suspicions-"

    *CLICK*

    The sound of the lock clicking caught me off guard before the door of the shed is pulled open.

    "Trevor, is that you!? How many times do I have… to…" We all froze as a shirtless burly man in a white apron look at us with eyes wide, obviously not expecting our presence here. "Um… you're not Trevor."

    "No. No, we're not." Deuce noted.

    "Huh, I see…"

    When he took a deep breath, Ace quickly got to him in a choke-hold before he could even breathe out a word and drags him in the shed and closing the door behind him. After a quick scuffle here and there, with a little creativity by Luna, we manage to bound the pirate with a mix of some of my rope and her mantle as well as a whole lot of bananas being stuffed into his mouth in a form of a gag.

    "His mouth sure can pack a lot of bananas." I stated in surprise.

    "But we made quite a ruckus doing that…" Deuce noted, as the sounds of footsteps echoed behind the door, "This is bad…" He then tilts his head for a moment before snapping his fingers, "We could use this to our advantage."

    "Huh?"

    "Follow my lead."
    The pirates on kitchen duty all crowd around the food shed, some wielding flintlock pistols or rifles while a few wielded stolen navy cutlasses, and one is…

    "Why are you using a frying pan?" One of them asked the guy.

    "The armourer got mad after I broke my fifth cutlass this week." He explains.

    "Ah yeah, that make sense."

    "Hush!" The one in front of the shed's door tells them, "Stop talking! They could hear us!"

    "Relax, there's only one entrance." One of them tells him, "They have no place to run."

    "Just, be vigilant, will you?" He snaps back as he raises his pistol, "On three. One, two–"

    He kicks down the door, running in with pistol aimed to kill with his comrades fanning into the store with weapons ready. All they found was their head chef, bounded and gagged, squirming about in his tight binds while his screams are muffled by the gag of ripe bananas. None of his assailants are to be seen.

    "Olie!" One of them ran up to him and proceeds to cut him free, "Are you okay?"

    "You idiots!" He screamed at him, "Get out, quick! It's a trap!!"

    "Huh?"

    His warning came far too late, as the door soon shuts behind them, along with the click of the lock, locking them inside the shed.
    When I finish locking up the wooden door with a large iron padlock with the key we pilfered from that chef-looking pirate, the captive pirates already started banging on them hard. Thankfully, the banging isn't that loud to attract any attention but if they got close, that's a different story.

    "Good thinking." Ace praised his first mate with a D-worthy grin, "Killing two birds with one stone."

    "What can I say? I'm a great planner!" He replied with a thumbs-up.

    It's a good thing the shed has little in terms of lighting, making hiding and going around those pirates a cinch! And with their attention solely on their bounded friend, it made it even easier to sneak past them and lock them up in the shed. We got out, and manages to keep our anonymity in the base. Got to admit, Deuce can come up with good plans!

    "But people would start getting suspicious if they don't show up…" Luna grimaced at that fact, "We need to move fast. Rein, can you remember where that building is?"

    "Yeah." I looked around before finding and pointing that building out, "Right there. It's quite far, but we might be able sneak inside without any trouble."

    "Okay, you'll take the lead."

    And such, we took to sneaking through the base as quietly and sneakily as we can. Hiding behind buildings whenever someone came too close, ducking between covers, we manage to get through the base unseen by any of the pirates as we made our way towards the command centre of this base.

    When we reach the large wooden hut of a house, we hid under the window that is facing away from the port and is obscured enough to avoid anyone noticing us.

    Luna took a peek into the room, before nodding with affirmation, "Yup, this is the command post." She tells us, "And I noticed a few papers on the table there. If there's any inflaming evidence against Reginold, I bet my money it's in there somewhere."

    "Great!" Ace nodded, "Let's go get them, then!"

    "Unfortunately, it's filled with a lot of people. We'll be spotted if we just barged in." She added, before blinking a little, "Huh, it's really in a shape of a cog. Is that a thing pirate captains do? Wear funny looking accessories for some unknown reason?"

    I took a look at Ace, before turning to her and shrugging my shoulders, "Maybe."

    "Wait, what does THAT mean?" The pirate captain huffed.

    "Something we can all discuss later." Deuce tells him with a pat on his shoulder, "For now, we need a way in. Let's look around for an empty room to enter."

    We made sure to stay under the window as we, as softly and quietly as possible, make our way around the hut to look into another window. This time, the window is a lot higher so I was the one to check it out, via awkwardly flapping my wings to slowly ascend upwards before taking a peek inside.

    This room seems to function as their storeroom, if the rows of shelves along the walls are any clearer indicators. Luckily, no one seems to be inside the room at the moment, and the window while small, isn't too small for someone of Luna's stature to go through. Unfortunately, that can't be said about our two pirate companions.

    When I pass down this information, Ace and Deuce understood and tell us enter through there, while they find another way in.

    "Try not to get spotted, okay?" The masked man reminds us as Luna stepped on my shoulders to get through the window. I doubt I'll be able to carry her up to the window silently if that time with the Strider demonstrated my weakness in the strength department, which led to me being a human stepladder for her sake.

    Thankfully, the skirt is long enough to avoid the infamous panty-shot in such situations. We do get a nice view of her shapely rear though… never going to get that image out of my head now…

    At any case, we managed to get into the storeroom without making a sound. The storeroom is pretty dark, but bright enough for us to make out what was on the shelves.

    Filed papers filled the wooden shelves with a few books and maps in them, some of them are stacked rather haphazardly between each other. I pull out a stack of them, finding several sea charts that were labelled with several map-like lingo of sorts. No idea what they meant, though.

    "Any idea what these are?" I asked the princess as I show her the charts.

    "Sea charts, obviously." She stated while she flips through them, before pausing for a moment, "…Of the capital city. They must have spent years drawing these much. How long has they been planning?"

    "Any idea what's on these?"

    "I'm not a cartographer, I'm afraid. I only know the location because it looks like the map around the capital."

    Well, that is useless. For all we know, these might be the point of attack for the coup…

    "But…"

    That got my attention as Luna referred to one of the charts in her hands, "One of these seems to outlined an abandoned tunnel leading into the capital."

    "A tunnel?"

    "During the last years of the Hundred Year War, the rebellion army have dug a tunnel through the mountains right into the capital for a surprise attack." She explained, "But after the war, my grandfather has the tunnel collapsed and sealed off to prevent another similar attack pattern to happen to us as well. But such information is only known to the royal family with a few exceptions! No one should know about this!"

    "My guess, that advisor of yours found out about it and decided to use that tunnel in a similar tactic." I theorized.

    "This is bad…" She starts to shake and breath in small gasps. "The tunnel's entrance, or exit in this case, leads in the castle itself. If they use this to attack…No one could… they could easily…"

    "We'll stop them." I place a hand on her shaking shoulder, "We will not let this coup to pass."

    "…Right." Her shaking stopped as she pockets the chart into her skirt pocket, "Doesn't look like any of these would be any use against Reginold. We'll have to look elsewhere."

    With that in mind, we slowly went to the door and slowly and silently pushes it open. From the small opening we pushed out, there lies several pirate-looking people standing and discussing around a large wooden table. On the large table itself is a map spread across it with mugs and plates placed on top of it, as well as a few stacks of documents among other miscellaneous items.

    What stand out the most on it is the Den-Den Mushi sitting right there snoozing away. A large whitish snail connected to what looks like printer of some kind with the usual transceiver I've seen so many times before.

    I was wondering how they got information down here. That Reginold guy must have been using that Den-Den Mushi to send information he gathered from the capital to this place. That printer must act like a fax machine of sorts to send all those maps over.

    If there's anything discriminating towards that guy, it would be there. But before we can search for it, there's a small issue we have to deal with first.

    "There's nowhere we can hide." Luna pointed out.

    "Yeah, we'll get spotted once we enter that room."

    Not to mention that the fact that one of them looks like the pirate captain of the group. A rather tall man with a dark brown goatee, wearing a grey overcoat with a green shirt underneath and a pair of reddish-brown loafers with dark leather boots that has bronze buckles, on his head is the same hat I noticed in the distance, a black tricorne with a cog-shaped accessory that made it look like a rooster's crown with the cog-themed jolly roger imprinted on it in white.

    And all over him, in holsters and leather belts, are several flintlock pistols of various sizes with a couple of blunderbusses in the mix.

    I may be bulletproof but I know Luna isn't, and our size difference is too wide for me to act as her shield. She'll be swiss-cheese once she got spotted!

    "What do we do? Wait for them to leave?"

    "Who knows how long that would take." The princess tells me, "And we are on a time limit. Longer we wait, the more likely for their coup to succeed."

    "So… what then?"

    "…" As I thought, she has no idea what to do either.

    As I observe the room a bit more, one of the people talking to the pirate captain caught my eye. A young woman in at least her early twenties, if her hourglass figure mean anything, with long dark brown hair in braid that acts like a headband for some reason, wearing blue button shirt under a leather vest that has a golden insignia on the back in a shape of a three-leaf clover inside a shield with a pair of dark purple pants and high leather boots.

    On her waist is a longsword in a leather sheathe with a bronze hilt shaped like a clover and a handle tied in black rope with a pommel the shape of a cross fashioned in steel.

    This girl is different from the pirates we've seen in the base so far. In fact, she's not the only one. I spot a couple of men standing next to her in similar outfits, just without the vest and has more plain sabers instead of the longsword. If I remember right, the Latian Kingdom's insignia is that of a clover. These guys must be the actual coup force, and she must be the actual commander and leader of this little operation.

    One of the pirates walked up to them with a small salute, "The first supply ship is ready for deployment, captain!"

    "Excellent!" The pirate captain grins, "Tell the men to disembark on my arrival!"

    "Aye-aye, captain!"

    When the pirate walks off, the captain let out a small chuckle, "Looks like things are moving along smoothly, my good lady! Your little coup is going to be a great success!"

    "Don't count our chickens before they hatch, Captain Tok." The woman tells him, "It wouldn't be a success until we take back the capital from those damn Britts."

    "Tok…" Luna mutters out loud, "As in Gear Head Tok?"

    "Know him?"

    "I know OF him." She replied to my question, "Gear Head Tok is the nefarious pirate that has been wreaking havoc in our country's waters for the past couple of years, attacking our trade ships and being a damn nuisance. He is the reason my father is having most of our resources moved to developing our naval defences."

    "And he is working with the coup." I pointed out, "He must be their supplier for smuggled weaponry."

    "Talk about a party-pooper." He shakes his head at her response, "You got lighten up a little. All work and no play would make little miss Desiree a dull girl."

    So, her name is Desiree…

    She turns to him and gave a fierce glare with those sharp violet eyes of hers. He let out a small nervous chuckle before regaining his composure, "Besides, we have been planning this for years. Not to mention that our men has replaced more than half of the castle's guards now. They don't stand a chance at all."

    "There's still the issue with our little loose end that Reginold has informed us about."

    "Psh, the wee-little princess?" He chuckles, "There's nothing to worry about! She'll never find this base! It's literally in the middle of a rural island miles away from any forms of civilization! It would take a miracle for her to find it!"

    At that point, a random pirate burst into the room in a hurry. "We have intruders in the base, captain!!"

    "Intruders!?"

    "You were saying?" Desiree mocked him with a raised eyebrow.

    The pirate captain could only let out a growl at that response before turning to his underling, "How!?"

    "We don't know! We just found Chef Olie locked in the food storehouse with all of the kitchen staff!"

    "The supply runs." His partner-in-crime concluded for him, "They must have sneak in through the caravan."

    "Damn it!" He shouted before turning to the other pirates in the room, "Send out an alert! Search the entire base for these intruders! And if one of them is Princess Luna, do not kill. Capture her and bring her to me!"

    "Roger, captain!"

    Just as the pirates prepare to leave, an explosion is heard coming from outside, "What was that!?" Tok cried out.

    "Captain!!" Another pirate bursts into the room, "We have a massive problem!!"

    "What is it!?"

    "We found one of the intruders!" He tells him as another explosion is heard, "And he is setting fire to everything!"

    "WHAT!?" He and the other pirates ran out of the room, followed by Desiree and her soldiers.

    Setting fire to everything…? Only one person came to mind.

    "What is Ace up to now!?" I muttered in exasperation, "What's the point of being sneaky if you burn down everything!?"

    "But now the room is completely empty." Luna pointed out, "This is our chance to get the evidence!"

    With that being said, we quickly sneak out of the storeroom and into the room. We then proceed to look through all the papers and files we can find. What we found are papers detailing information on the Britt Kingdom's defences, patrol patterns, profiles of people that we assumed are either bribed or replaced with their own men, and so much more.

    Then, I found something that we can use.

    "Luna, look at this!"

    The princess quickly ran to me and took the papers I offered to her. It is a call log that details our buddy Reginold telling Desiree and Tok about the secret tunnel and its destination. With it are a few others that spoke in great detail on people that he manages to replace and bribe, along with the schedules of the trade ships coming in and out of Port Royalise. There's even one for the Silver Fang, even though we're just stopping for resupply.

    "This is it!" Luna nodded happily, "Reginold wouldn't be able to talk his way out of this one!"

    "Let's grab these can get out of here!"

    I stuff all those papers into my bag before we quickly made our way towards the exit. With the way the pirate has been describing, Ace must have gone town against the pirates with all he got and drawn all their forces to him. That means that no one should be around the command centre, allowing us to leave without catching anyone's attention–

    *CLICK*

    I stare in shock as several rifle and pistols meet us at the exit. At least several dozens of pirates surrounded us with firearms drawn and aimed at us, with the two Latian soldiers having their sabres drawn behind them. Even the pirate captain has two of his pistols aimed at us, a toothy grin visible on his face.

    "Well, well." Desiree walks up to us with her sword drawn and raised towards us, "Thought you can sneak past us, did you?"

    "…Shit."

    …
    To be continued…
    Yup! Cliffhanger right here! Can't have things go on that smoothly, can it? It would be against the One Piece formula, and against Murphy's Law.
    Man, this arc is a blast to write! Didn't think I would write this long! But we're now at the midway point, yup, MIDWAY. This is a long arc for me, and I'm going to make it as epic as any One Piece arc deserve!
    So yes, two more OCs added into my plate of one-off OCs! Gear Head Tok and Desiree. Oh, I have many plans for those two, especially Desiree.
    On a side note, I have posted a new story on the website as well as SpaceBattles and Sufficient Velocity where I'll be posting a few 'Pilots' so to speak of a few stories I'm thinking of writing. It's a work in process and would not reflect on the final work but the core idea would still be there.
    The first one I have posted is one on the     The Rising of the Shield Hero, or Tate no Yuusha no Narigari for the weebs out there (Nothing against weebs). I have quite a fun time writing it, so tell me what you think! If a lot of people like it, I might turn it into a story proper.
    The next one would probably about Neptunia but I have come around to writing it yet.

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 14
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 14: Twilight Isles, Part Five
    ​

    "Well, this quite a predicament we are in."

    "You would say that. Seriously, how did things go downhill so fast like this…"

    "Zzz…"

    *WHACK*

    "OW! What was that for!?"

    "For this! For ALL of this!! Who do you think is responsible for this!?"

    "You can't pin this on me–Zzz…"

    *WHACK*

    "OW! Damn it, stop doing that!!"

    "Stop falling asleep already!!"

    As you can tell from the dialogue above, we are in quite a debacle. As for we, I meant me, the son of the Pirate King and future commander of the Whitebeard pirates, along with his first mate.

    After we got caught by the pirates and rebellion group, including our two pirate friends, we are tossed into their ship's brig bounded in ropes with what I can assume is sea-stone cuffs on our only Logia user. They even took our weapons! Sen is going to kill me if I lose Nanashi! Luna, however, is separated from the rest of us and seems to be placed in a different location, escorted by our two head honchos personally.

    Which leads to our little dialogue exchange in our cell and my righteous anger towards the freckled pirate captain.

    On the plus side, thanks to the sea-stone, I can know hit Ace without risking him burning my feet on contact.

    "What were you thinking!?" I screamed at him as I slams my foot into his head, "Burning down the base just give yourself away!! Couldn't you think of something else!?"

    "To be fair, we kind of panicked." Deuce stated, "And then one thing leads into another…"

    "Seriously, think before you act!" I shouted at the pirate captain, "And how did you even get caught! You're made of fire!!"

    "I got captured and they threatened to blow my head off if Ace doesn't surrender." His first mate helpfully interjected.

    "Damn it…" Ace groaned sluggishly with my foot placed firmly on his head, "Why can't I turn into fire…? and my body feels so heavy…"

    "Because you have special handcuffs on." I tell him, removing my foot and making sure not to touch the obviously sea-stone handcuffs, "Those cuffs are made of sea-stone, a material that emits the same energy as the ocean would. It's the bane to all Devil Fruit users."

    "Stone that feels like the sea?" The masked pirate questions in confusion, "That doesn't seem possible at all."

    "Trust me, I'm still wrapping my head around the idea of it EXISTING."

    "Wait, how come you're not wearing one?" Ace asked me, "You're a Devil Fruit user too."

    "It must that they didn't see her change forms, or that they have only one pair available to them." Deuce explained, "We could use this to our advantage."

    "Problem is how we can use that." I pointed out, "We have no idea where Luna is behind held. For all we know, she could be on the other ship. Not to mention the fact if we just bust out right now, we're just going to get rounded up and brought back here again."

    "What do we do, then?"

    "First, we need information, intel about this ship. The size of it, the number of troops on it, whether or not the ship is still docked, those kinds of things. After that, we need to find out where Luna is being held."

    "How do you suggest we do that?"

    "I'm… still working on that part…"

    Thankfully, these people seem to believe that we can't possibly escape our cell, as such left no guards here to watch us. If there are guards here, our plans would have been leaked and who knows what their counter strategy would be. Although, this does make getting information pretty difficult.

    "This is proving to be way more difficult that I envisioned…" I mused.
    Luna jerks around in her bindings, her hands bound together by rope. 'Damn it! These knots are tight!'

    After she was separated from her companions, she got dragged into a room that she thinks is that damn pirate captain's quarters. With the bed and side table, along with bookshelves that houses a few books, it doesn't seem like the usual crew quarters of a sailing vessel.

    As for why she is brought here instead of being tossed into the brig with the rest of her companions, she can think of several reasons.

    And none of them are pleasant at all.

    She stops her struggles when she heard the door to the room opened, as the armed woman from before walked in. Her violet eyes burn holes into her as she slowly makes her way towards the bounded princess.

    "So, you're the Britt Princess?" Desiree stated, "The one Reginold warn us about?"

    "…"

    "…The silent treatment, eh?" She paces about in front of her, staring daggers into her, "Well, I don't blame you. I wouldn't like to talk to my kidnappers, either."

    "…"

    "Although, I have to wonder: How did you find our base? We're on the most remote part of the island surrounded by dense forest filled with dangerous animals, and we're in a cave no less. Yet, here you are. Of course, getting to see Tok get all flustered and panicking is a treat for the eyes."

    "…"

    She then leans up to her face till their noses are almost touching. "Is it the supply group? Did you follow them to us? Or perhaps, you managed to eavesdrop on our men in town?"

    "…"

    Seeing that she is getting no reaction from her, Desiree took a step back. "…No matter. The 'how' doesn't make a difference. You're here now, trapped, and with no way out. No one is saving you this time. Soon enough, your kingdom will fall, and Latian would take its rightful place as–"

    "Why?"

    "Hm?" She turns to the princess who just uttered that single word, "I thought you weren't talking?"

    "Why are you doing this?" Luna asked with a scowl on her face, "The war ended several decades ago! There's no reason for you to attack us!!"

    "…No…reason…?" Desiree stomps up to her before lifting the princess by her shirt as she growls at her, "I have plenty of reasons for doing so!! You Britts stole away the land that my people, my family has been living on for generations! Not only that, our people are hunted and slaughtered by your accursed army for years! All under the orders of that damn king of yours!!"

    "No! That's not true!!" She argued, "Grandfather would have never given that order! He only executed those that would restart the war!! Everyone else, he only has them banished! He would never agree to mindless slaughter!!"

    "Is that so!?" The armed woman shouted back before shoving her onto the wooden ground, "Then explain why ships donning your kingdom's flags destroyed my town!"

    "Eh?"
    I look out of our cell's window; the sky's turning orange and is slowly getting dark, signifying the end of the day. "That's one day gone… we only have two days left, now…"

    "And we are still no way closer to getting out of here." Deuce sighed.

    But the ship isn't moving, from what I can tell and hear, so we might still be docked. Not to mention that I can still make out parts of the cave, meaning that we haven't left the base yet.

    *GROWL*

    I glare at our freckled pirate captain who let out a moan in response to his stomach's complaints, "I'm starving…"

    "Is food all you think about!?"

    "I'm hungry too…" His first mate stated tiredly, "But I highly doubt that they would serve prisoners food."

    "And if they do, it might be either rotten or poisoned." I pointed out, before letting out a sigh, "Damn it, is there no way to find out what's going on out there!?"

    I then heard footsteps in the distance, I clamming up as I waited with baited breath. Deuce does the same, but his captain just let out another groan.

    A few moments later, the cell's door swings open and a young man walks in. He is wearing the same outfit as Desiree, even has the same coloured eyes and hair as hers with the exception being that he has more of a wolf war tail going on compared to her braid hairband thing.

    His weapon is the same as well, with some little changes like it is a short sword instead of a longsword and its cross guard resembles the one of a roman gladius with a four-leaf clover design.

    I wonder if he is related to her?

    "Hey." He greeted, a small bundle of cloth in his arms, "Thought you might be hungry, so I got some bread from the mess for you." He then tosses the bundle and its lands in front of us, unravelling itself to show its contents of brown bread.

    "Um…" I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

    He then realised, "Ah, right. Handcuffs."

    That is later followed by Ace crawling with his shoulders and then burying his face into the baked goods, loud chewing is heard later.

    "That's… something…"

    If I can move my hands, I would face-palm.

    "You're pretty nice for a pirate." Deuce noted, "Or are you part of the rebel army?"

    "Pirate, no." He stated as he leans against the wall in front of us with his arms crossed, "Rebel? Eh, a little on the nose there."

    "You're attempting a coup d'état." I pointed out, "I think that means you are a rebel, so to speak."

    "True, true." He nodded, "Although, it's less of a coup then a revenge plot."

    "Revenge? What are you talking about?"

    "Ah, right. You probably don't know." He then kneels in front of us, "My sister… Oh, you might know her. She's the leader of our little 'rebellion', the one that caught you people and tossed you in here."

    "That girl's your sister?" Deuce blinked in surprise.

    Ah, so he's Desiree's brother. "That might explain the whole hair, eyes, and clothes thing." I noted.

    "Yeah, yeah, I know; we look nothing alike." He chuckles, "Anyway, my sister started this whole thing just to get back at the Britts for what they did to our town."

    "Your town? What happened?"
    Desiree let out a huff as she starts to explain, "Ten years ago, when I was just a little girl, my entire town got bombarded by cannon fire from several ships, all of them wearing the colours of your kingdom!!"

    "W-What…?" The princess couldn't believe what she just heard, "B-But…"

    "We weren't fighters, or soldiers either! Heck, we weren't even near the Twilight Isles!! We were just a small port town, far from your kingdom's territory. And yet…" Desiree's hands clenched into a fist, "…A lot of people died that night. INNOCENT people. None of them would bring harm to your kingdom, yet you still blew them all up!! I found my own parents buried under our house!!"

    "I-I…"

    "You ask why I'm doing this?" She walks up to the princess with poisonous glare, "I'll tell you why. It's because you Britts are nothing more than thieves and murderers!! Your people has stolen Twilight Isles from us, and now I'm going to steal it back."

    "Even if I'm going to burn it all down to do so."​

    As the leader of the rebellion group left the room, Luna is left speechless and filled with questions of her own family, her heroic grandfather actual deeds and what that meant for the position of her kingdom.

    'Did grandfather… lied to everyone?'
    I couldn't believe what I just heard. Ships flying the flags of the Britt Kingdom just bombarded and annihilated a port town just because they are descendants of the late Latian Kingdom. That's not something I was expecting to hear at all. To think that their reason is something this intense…

    But still…

    "After that…" He carries on, "Reginold shows up in our town. He is the one that told us about the whole being chased by the Britts, and that they would nothing to completely destroy anything that has anything to do with the old Latian Kingdom, lineage or otherwise. He then gave us an idea, to take the fight to them, to take back the Latian Kingdom."

    "By infiltrating the Britt Kingdom, and then slowly switching out people from within with your own men." Deuce concluded, "So when the time comes, you already have an army inside."

    "The whole thing was Reginold's idea." The man explains, "He planned to earn himself a spot within the kingdom's inner circle, which he uses relay important information to us to prepare for our attack. After that, we just bid our time."

    "How long have you guys been waiting?" I asked, "And why attack now?"

    "I believe it has been around… five years, or so?" He replies after thinking for a moment, "As for why we move now… I think you know why."

    "Arthurious Peragon's passing…"

    "Yup." He nodded, "Reginold is afraid of the old king; he didn't even attempt to assassinate him at all. Once he died, Reginold decided to start the countdown."

    "Is he really that dangerous?" Deuce asked, "The founding king, I mean."

    "Can't say for sure, I've never met the guy myself." The man stated with a shrug of his shoulder, "Well, it doesn't truly matter at this point. Once tomorrow comes, we would strike regardless."

    "Tomorrow!?" I screamed in shock, "You guys are attacking tomorrow!?" That can't be right!! We should still have at least two days till the attack!!

    "Pretty much." He nodded, just as the ship starts to shake and swerve a little, "And that's the sails unfurling. We should be on our way now."

    "Why are you attacking now!?" Deuce asked, "You have planned to attack two days from now!! Why the sudden change!?"

    "Orders from Reginold." He explains, "The princess is the last part of our plan. With her as our captive, we can easily take over the capital with no bloodshed."

    "You're going to use her as a hostage!" I concluded.

    "Pretty much." He nodded with a sigh, "Not the most moral of options, but if it means lesser blood on our hands, then I say go for it."

    "…You're weird."

    "Huh?"

    Our pirate captain slowly sat back up, crumbs still around his face, "You're weird. You came down here to give us food, which was delicious, and then proceeds to tell us all about your plans, your reasoning, and what is going on out there. Why would you do that, especially to captives like us? No matter how you look at it, it's weird."

    "…I guess that's true." The man chuckles as he stands up straight away from the wall, "To be honest, I don't really like this whole rebellion and revenge thing. Sure, they might be after us, but it has been several decades since our kingdom lost the war. The people who gave that order to begin with might be dead, or retired at this point. There's no point to all of this."

    "Then why go through with it?" I asked, "Why take part in all of this!?"

    "It's Desiree."

    "Desiree? Your sister?"

    "She has it in her head that the Britt Kingdom is the cause for our parents' death, for the death of countless of our fellow townspeople." He explains, "And she'll stop at nothing to get revenge for it; she calls it rightful justice, but with each passing day, I saw what it is doing to her. How that hatred has took a hold on her, change her into something she's not. If we don't do this, I'm afraid she'll break, and I don't want that!"

    "You're willing to sacrifice an entire kingdom just to save your sister's sanity?" Deuce pointed out.

    "Yes!" He shouted, "She's all that I have left! And we're family. Family always take care of each other."

    "Then you should have stop her!" I shouted at him, "Revenge isn't the right answer! It never is!"

    "Then what is it!?" He shouted back, "What should I have done!? Tell me!"

    "…"

    "Yeah, that's what I thought."

    "That doesn't explain why you are telling us all of this." Deuce noted, "Why are you telling us?"

    "To be honest… I don't know why I told you guys myself." He stated, "Maybe it's because I needed to de-stress myself from all of this, or maybe I just wanted to someone to talk to that isn't a pirate outlaw or rebel soldier, or maybe…"

    Then all of a sudden, echoing footsteps can be heard as a young man in the same attire as the two people standing next to Desiree back in the base walks up to him and gave him a salute, "Sir, Madam Desiree requires your presence."

    "She's probably wants to go over the attack strategy…" He mutters, "Well, it has been a good talk, but I got to go-"

    "Wait!" I call out to him, he stopping in his tracks, "What's your name?"

    "Why are you asking?"

    "I just want to know the person who is willing to tell us his entire plan."

    "…It's Vi."

    And without another word, he walks off, closing and locking the cell's door behind him.

    "…Well, that was a fun time." Ace commented.

    "I didn't imagine that they would have such a reason for doing this…" Deuce stated as he slumps down against the wall, "To think that the Britt Kingdom bombarded a town for having refugees… guess every nation has its dark side."

    "Yeah… can't say that I blame them for doing such a thing." I stated, "But still… something feels off…"

    "Off?" The two pirates look at me, "What is?"

    "The whole thing with the town." I explained, "It has been few decades since the war ended, and somehow a town that so happens to be home to several descendants of the war's refugees gets bombarded by the war's victors? Don't you think that's a little too coincidental?"

    "Sounds just fine to me." Deuce nodded.

    "Yeah, some kingdoms are just that much of an asshole." Ace stated with a scowl. He must be thinking about what happen with Sabo, and the Goa Kingdom in general… but even so…

    "Even so, ships just so happen to be flying the Britt Kingdom's flags?" I pointed out, "There's not a single vessel bearing the kingdom's colours in Port Royalise, not even a trade ship! And Luna has told me that it was only recently that they started focusing attention on their naval forces!"

    "But then, what about the ships Vi told us?"

    "That, I do not know for certain…"

    All of this just feels like a setup, a move within the most cliché of motives ever conceived in a such a scenario as this one. If that's the case, who is the one truly responsible? The 'puppet master' of this entire plan, the one that will be the only one benefitting from this whole thing?

    I only have two people in mind, and cliché as it might be, either one is possible.
    The sun has just set a few moments ago, leaving the night sky shimmering with countless stars. Most of the crew are in bed, minus the one manning the rudder and night guard on duty.

    Vi let out a small yawn as he walks onto the empty deck, a small table already prepared with the diagram of their objective's location spread across it with the important points indicated by pins along with a Den Den Mushi on call with Reginold, if the frown on the mollusc is any indication. Due to it being in the dead of night, there's a small gas lamp being lit next to it.

    Around the table is his sister Desiree, the leader of this little rebellion, as well as the pirate captain of the two sailing vessels they are currently using, Gear Head Tok.

    Gear Head Tok… he remembered the first time he met the pirate captain himself. Reginold has stated that they need the manpower for his plans to succeed, and that while unsavoury, they are the best option they have at the moment. And to be fair, they don't have many options to begin with, so he reluctantly agrees to work with him.

    From the start, no one likes the pirates. They are loud, brash, and straight up unruly for their taste. There are times in which they all proudly proclaim their victorious plunder and even their loot and… well, let's just say there's a reason why Desiree isn't willing tolerate the pirates who wishes to 'conquer' her. One of them is missing several fingers as a painful reminder of that.

    But despite all that, he had to admit that they deliver what they are ordered to do. Smuggled weapons of all kind come in droves once they recruited his aid, and their forces is further bolstered with the addition of his pirate crews.

    What was once a squadron of about a few dozen troops now became a small army of at least a hundred men strong.

    Though, there were set backs with Tok going full off-course and decided to plunder a few trading ships which draw the attention of the Britt's military and cutting off any possible ideas of a naval assault.

    "You're late." His sister tells him.

    "Sorry, sorry." He apologizes as he walks up to three of them, two if you exclude the snail on the table, "Have to deal with something first."

    "Down in the brig, you mean?" Tok asked with a devilish grin, getting a flinch from second-in-command, "Did that little lass down there piqued your interest? Did you have your way with her, while her friends watch–"

    His sentence is cut off when Desiree has drawn and placed her sword's blade dangerously close to the pirate captain's neck, he raising his hands in surrender and freezes in place.

    "Enough of your foul words, Tok." She warns him as she pushes the blade onto his skin, "Do I need to remove your fingers too?"

    "Tsk, tsk; temper, temper…" He mutters before he relaxes once the sword is off of him. He clears his throat while rubbing it, "Anyways… you call us here, Reggy. What is it?"

    "Do not call me Reggy, pirate." The 'advisor' tells him before continuing on, "I wish to go over the plan with you people one last time."

    "That's it!?" The pirate groaned at that, "You woke me up from the best wet dream I ever have since the start of my career just for a briefing!?"

    "There's no harm in going over the plans one more time." Desiree points out.

    "No objections here." Vi nodded.

    "Urgh, fine… let's just get this over with…"

    "Right." Reginold nodded and went on explaining the plan.

    Once they made it to the place allocated on the map by daybreak, they are to arm up and report in to him before making their way into the tunnel with their hostage at hand. It's just one straight path through the mountain so there shouldn't be any major problems, but the size of tunnel isn't that big, so they would need to split the army into small platoons so to head through faster.

    A few meters in, they would come across a blockade of boulders. Once reached, they are not to do anything until Reginold gave the green to go ahead. Once the signal is received, they are to blow up the blockade using the explosives they acquired. If things went as planned, the troops they sent to infiltrate and replace the guards in the castle would be waiting for them.

    Regardless, once the explosives went off, they only have a little amount of time for all their troops to move into the inner castle before the actual guards come for them. Once that is settled, the true action begins.

    Tok and his pirates would rampage throughout the castle as a distraction to draw all the guards to them, while Vi and Desiree with a platoon of Latian soldiers sneak through the castle into the main throne room where Reginold is waiting with the current ruler of the Britt Kingdom.

    There, using his dearest daughter as leverage, they would seize control over the capital, and force him to surrender all rights of Twilight Isles to them. After that… that's up to Desiree.

    "Are you all clear of your roles in this?"

    "Crystal!" Tok smirks while cracking his knuckles, "Head into the castle and go wild, right? That's easy!"

    "Do we really have to bring the princess?" Desiree asked with a scowl, "Can't we just leave her here? We have a visual Den Den Mushi, don't we?"

    "The king wouldn't believe us unless we give him solid and undeniable proof." Reginold explains, "We need her to be there in person."

    "Grr…"

    "While we're on the topic of hostages, what about the three we have in the brig?" Vi brings up, "What purpose do they serve?"

    "The ones accompanying the princess, yes?" Reginold thought for a moment, before deciding, "Kill them. They are a waste of space, anyways."

    "Kill them?" The young man wasn't expecting an answer so cold from him, "Are you sure? Surely, they could be of some use?"

    "What's the matter, Vi?" Tok chuckles with a wangle of his eyebrows, "Took a fancy to them, or perhaps that young girl is your type? Then it's simple! Kill the guys and enslave her! She could be your new pet to fulfil your every desire!"

    "WHAT!? How could even suggest such a thing!!" He shouted at the pirate captain.

    "Oh, then can I keep her? It's been a while since I tasted such an unripe fruit–"

    "Shut it!!" Without a second thought, he drew his sword and slashes at the pirate captain. Tok then simply raises his hand up and the blade is stopped in its tracks. Vi himself is stopped mid-swing; his entire body frozen in mid-air. His eyes darted about as he struggles to move even an inch to no avail.

    "Ah, ah, ah~" The gear-themed pirate chuckles as he walks up next to the rebellion's second-in-command, "You really shouldn't have done that, boy. I'm an important ally, you know? And let's be real here, you couldn't lay a finger on me even if you wanted to."

    "Ur-Urgh…!"

    "Now, what are you going to do about this?" He added, patting the young man's cheek, "How are you going to make it to me, hm?"

    "Tok. Release him at once."

    "Tch. Party pooper."

    The pirate snaps his finger, Vi starts moving again and completes his swing before stepping back a few steps away from him.

    "…Vi."

    "Y-Yes, sir?"

    "I want you to kill those three yourself." Vi's spine tingles at that command, cold sweat sliding down his forehead, "Make it like they fall off the cliff. I expect no failures from you, understand?"

    "…Yes, I understand." He nodded.

    "Good. Then that concludes this briefing. Godspeed to you all."

    …
    To be continued…

    Yes, yes! Finally done with this part! Man, I can't believe I took this long to finish this!
    So, yeah! Another new character! Vi, a simple name, yes? To be honest, I was just lazy with coming up with a name for him…
    This arc is heading towards its climax! The reason for the coup is revealed, intrigues all around! Goddamn, this chapter is hard, but heck of a lot of fun to play around!

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
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    Possible Danmachi Si
  • Informational
    • Okay, just a small info dump for you all.

    I'm planning on writing a Danmachi semi-SI fic in the near future, maybe after I'm done this arc. It'll follow some random OC that died due to some accident (Yes, Isekai shit. We all know the drill by now) and is transported into the Danmachi universe and got dragged into the Hestia Familia with many adventures with Bell Cranell and main cast.

    But he's not the only one. There are two more people that are going with the same shit, and only one of them has any idea of what the plot of the series is while the other is just here for the ride.
    I'll be posting my pilot on another of my threads that I post all my one-shots at called, One Shots Galore, where I've post my pilot on an idea I had for a Rising of the Shield Hero fic. Check that out if you want and tell me what you guys think.

    That is all. The next chapter would be out soon!
     
  • Informational
    • Chapter 15: Twilight Isles, Part Six​
    Luna let out a groan as she got back up, having spent the night sleeping on the hard wood floor. Desiree never shows herself again, not even the pirate captain has entered his own quarters for the night. That fact confuses her, and worries her to no end.

    Not only that, the ship has begun moving for reasons she has no knowledge about. The scheduled time for their attack should be at least two days away, so why move now?

    Did they change their schedule when Reginold found out about her eavesdropping? Did he move the time forward so she wouldn't make it in time? All these thoughts races through her head even as she falls into slumber.

    'What is happening out there…?'

    As she thought that, the door to the room opens and Desiree walks in with a scowl on her face.

    "Get up." She commanded as she pulls on the ropes binding her wrists together, pulling her up with little effort as she pushes her captive out of the room.

    Luna winces from the sudden exposure to the morning sun; her eyes soon adapted to the daylight as she took a look around her and realises where they are right now.

    The ships are docked at a cliff-face surrounded with stone worn down by the waves over several centuries, effectively creating a natural stone plateau of sorts that can act like a docking platform. Carved into the cliff-face is a large man-made cave that held up by several wooden arcs that looks like it has been there for decades, the wood has starts to worn down and there is some form of waterlog present in them.

    'That must be the tunnel grandfather told me about…'

    Around the stony plateau are several tents pitched up with what looks like to be pirates and the resistance army wearing the same form of apparel as Desiree's crowd wandering about, talking to one another and wielding flintlock muskets and pistols; some of them also have cutlasses and sabres strapped to their waist in leather holsters or held in place by leather belts.

    There's even a pole with a flag she recognised, one that her grandfather has shown her many times before.

    A blue flag with three four-leaf clovers posed in a triangular pattern, each representing some virtue of the Latian Kingdom that she didn't quite remember.

    'The rebellion… they must be the force that is planning the coup…' She thought, 'There's a lot less people that I imagine it would be… although, it is possible that most of their forces must have infiltrated the castle already…'

    "Move." Her captor growled as she pushes her along, leaving the ship onto the plateau. On the way, she notices coming off of the ship are three individuals that she knows very well, one of them is being dragged along by a chain held by one of their soldiers while the other two are getting pushed forward like her by a man wearing the exact same uniform as Desiree.

    "Luna!" Rein called out in shock.

    "Rein! Deuce! Ace, too!" She stated in equal shock.

    "What a nice reunion, isn't it?" A rough voice stated with a chuckle, as Tok walks up to them with a dirty grin on his face, "Hello there, princess. How nice to finally meet you in person, and may I just say that rumours of your beauty is truly lacking."

    "You're… Gear Head Tok."

    "In the flesh!" He laughed with a mock bow, "I see that my reputation precedes me!"

    "Never… heard of you…" Ace groaned from his place on the ground.

    "What's wrong with him?" Luna asked Rein.

    "Sea stone cuffs." She explains, "Drains the power of a Devil Fruit user on contact."

    "Manages to pilfer a couple from a marine vessel we raided couple months ago." The pirate captain stated as he walks up to the downed freckled pirate, "Came in pretty handy, didn't it?" With that, he stomps on Ace's head, "Can't even muster a spark now, can't you?"

    "Fuck… you…"

    "Too bad it can't mute you, though."

    "Tok, enough." The man holding her three companions warns him, "You don't have to rough him up."

    "What? Can't let a guy de-stress, Vi?" Tok stated as he stomps on the freckled pirate's head a few more times, "This guy burned down my base, all my hard work is in ashes because of him! At least let me have this much!"

    "H-Hey! Stop that!!" Deuce shouted angrily.

    "That's quite enough!" Desiree shouted at the pirate captain, her spare hand reaching for her sword, "Or do I have to make an example out of you?"

    "…Tch." He clicks his tongue, begrudgingly remove his foot from Ace's head, "Whatever. At least you will be out of our hair soon enough."

    "What are you talking about?" Rein asked.

    "Oh, right! We forgot to mention!" The pirate captain laughed, "We are given orders to execute the three of you. Or rather, Vi here is going to do so."

    "E-Execute!?" Luna shouted, struggling against her bonds, "You can't do that!! Leave them out of this, it is me that you're after!!"

    "No can do, dear princess." Tok chuckles, walking up and patting her cheek, "You see, Reginold has made his orders pretty clear. It's a shame, though. I really wanted to have a taste of that little girl before she has to go."

    "Screw off, you sick bastard!!" Rein shouted at him, "There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near me!!"

    "Tok."

    "I know, I know." He chuckles as he walks away, "She's Vi's problem to deal with, so stay out of it. No need to tell me twice. But can't I at least–"

    "Tok!"

    "Okay, okay, I was joking. Sheesh, what's up your ass this morning?"

    Luna could watch as her three companions are being dragged away by man named Vi. She couldn't believe it. Three people that have extended their hands to help her is going to die because of her. She was taught that being royalty means having responsibility over her subjects that looked up to her for guidance, that every action she makes will have consequences for them and their lives.

    But she didn't think that…

    "Aw… look at the poor little prinwess~" Tok cooed, "Oh, how I wanted to just pushed her down and have my way–"

    "Finish that sentence, and losing your finger would be mercy compared to what I'll do to you." Desiree stated angrily, "Round up the men. We have an attack to prepare for."

    "Aye, aye, ma'am." He mock-salutes her before walking off.

    "Move it, princess." She stated as she pushes Luna forward, "We have a coup to get ready for."
    I grunted out in pain as I'm shoved into the hard and stony ground, Deuce and Ace landing next to me from the same treatment. The future Fire Fist groaned out in pain as he is sluggishly trying to get up on his feet, the sea stone cuffs definitely draining his stamina very badly.

    "Leave us." Vi tells the soldier that was dragging Ace, he saluted before walking off. He then turns to us, drawing out his sword.

    "Execution, huh?" Deuce stated with a grimace, "I knew it would be my fate once I became a pirate, but never would I thought it would come so soon…"

    "I told you don't like violence and bloodshed!?" I asked angrily, "Why are you doing this now!?"

    "If it's any consolation, I didn't want to do this." Our executioner sighs as he readies his sword, "But… orders are orders. Forgive me."

    I growled at the man, "Forgive this!" I transform my arms into their dragon forms and easily tore out of my ropes. Seeing Vi's shock, he mustn't have thought that I have Devil Fruit powers as I have suspected. But seeing him regain his bearings instantly shows that he is definitely one of the upper echelons of his group, as he stabs his sword towards me.

    I quickly avoiding his attack, his blade sliding against my cheek and drawing some blood but I ignore it and slams my scaly fist into his face, knocking him back and onto his back. "Ow, ow… what kind of Devil Fruit is this!?"

    "Strong scales, enormous strength." I listed off as I fully transformed into my half-dragon form, slamming my fists together, "What do you think?"

    "…Dragon…!?"

    I turn to Deuce and used my claws to rip his apart his rope bonds, freeing his hands, "Get Ace, we're going to find Luna and stop this rebellion."

    "We need the keys to his cuffs first." Deuce explains as he lifts a sluggish Ace over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, "He's useless like this, and I'm not so sure I can take down an army and take care of him at the same time."

    "I can take him… no… problem…"

    "Good point." I nodded, ignoring our very weaken pirate captain's moans and turning to the groaning man on the ground, "Where are the keys to his cuffs?"

    "Can't say." Vi stated, wiping some blood that leaked out of his lips as he gets back on his feet, getting into fighting stance, "But I can't let you guys go. We have too much at stake for this plan to fail now."

    "Do you really think you can stop me right now?" I pointed out, cracking my fingers a little, "Last I checked, I've knocked you down easily."

    "You caught me by surprise, that's all." He stated, shifting his short sword into a reverse grip, "I'm not falling for that a second time."

    I really didn't want to fight him unarmed. That time with Gin, as much as I hate to say it, was a fluke. I don't think I'll have another chance to take him out with one hit. Not to mention the fact that I'm not that skilled in unarmed combat beside very amateurish punches and kicks. But Deuce is unarmed as well, not to mention that Ace is dead weight until we can get those cuffs free.

    That leaves only one option.

    "Deuce, grab Ace and head into their camp. The keys might be in there somewhere." I tell him, "I'll stall him till you get back."

    "Got it! Just hang tight!" He stated as he ran off with Ace in tow.

    "Hey! You're not leaving!" Vi runs to stop them, but I dashes up to him and blocks his path, "Out of the way!"

    "You're dealing with me, Vi." I stated, getting into a brawler-ish sort of stance.

    "If that's your wish…" He muttered as he raises his sword up, before his blade strikes at me.
    Deuce quickly runs towards the camp, his captain dangling from his shoulders.

    As he reaches the first tent, the soldiers and pirates are already arming up and preparing heading into the tunnel. Desiree is leading in front with Luna in her grasps and Tok not too far behind.

    "Princess!"

    "Deuce! Ace!!" Luna screams in shock.

    "Tch, Vi screwed up, huh?" Tok stated with a scoff, "That's siblings for you. Letting you down when you need them the most."

    "Shut up!" Desiree shouted at the pirate captain before turning to her troops, "Men! Take them down! Those with the first platoon, come with me! We have no more time to waste!!"

    "Yes, ma'am!"

    A few of the soldiers armed with muskets took aim and fired, Deuce barely dodges past the rain of lead that would have filled both him and his captain with holes before running away from them. A quick glance behind to reveal several of the soldier with a few pirates coming straight for him with swords drawn and pistols aimed at him.

    "Zzz…"

    "Are you seriously sleeping right now!?" He screams at the snoozing freckled pirate, as he barely avoided another lead round that grazed his side, "Damn it! Where's that key!?"

    Another group of pirates and soldiers cut him off, flanking him on both sides. One of the soldiers decides to take the initiative to slash his sabre at him. He manages to duck under the slash and lands a sucker punch into his face, knocking the soldier unconscious.

    "Ah! He took out Kenny!"

    "That bastard!!"

    All the soldiers all took aim at Deuce, who is starting to freak out at the situation.

    'Crap, crap, crap!' He looks around, 'Trapped, and with nowhere to take cover! What do I do!?' He then looked down at the unconscious soldier, and a devious idea pop into his head, 'I'm a pirate, aren't I? So I'll fight like one!'

    With that in mind, he grabs the 'body' of the soldier and raises him up as a form of human shield. "Come on! Shoot! I dare you!!" That got an immediate effect as the soldiers all hesitant and lowered their muskets, "What, chicken!?"

    "Damn it! Using Kenny as a shield!! Have some damn respect for the unconscious, damn it!" One of the soldiers shouted.

    "What's the hold up!?" A pirate shouted as he took aim with his pistol, "Fill him with lead already!!"

    "Don't shoot!" The soldier tells him, grabbing his pistol by the barrel, "You'll hit Kenny!"

    "Yeah, so?" The pirate shrugs his shoulder, wrenching his pistol off the soldier's grip. "He's tough. He can handle a few bullets. Besides, it's that idiot's fault that jumping in like that and then getting caught in the first place!"

    *SMACK*

    "OW!? What the fuck, asshole!?"

    "That idiot is my boyfriend, you dick!!"

    The pirate grabs the soldier by the scuff of his collar. "What do you just call me, faggot!?"

    "I call you a dick, pirate scum!!" The soldier shouted back, letting loose another punch into his face.

    "Hey! Hey! Knock it off!!" One of the soldiers shouted as the two of them are locked in a scuffle, "Now is not the time for this!"

    "Let them fight." Another pirate tells him as he took aim with his rifle, "I'll handle this."

    "I just said not to shoot!" He tells him as he pushes the rifle aside, it went off prematurely and hits another pirate in the thigh.

    "AIIEEE!!" The pirate screams in pain, clutching his injured thigh in pain before tripping over and dropping his cutlass, its blade somehow landing and stabbing into the feet of one of the soldiers.

    That causes that soldier to scream in pain and clutch his feet in agony which resulted in tripping onto the pirate behind him, who ended up accidentally firing his pistol which hits through another soldier's ear, resulting in HIM screaming in pain which causes the pirate in front of him to flinch and misfire his pistol and hitting another soldier and so on and so forth.

    This series of unfortunate of shooting and stabbing went on and on until pretty much everyone is either on the ground groaning and screaming in pain and agony or in a fist fight for some reason or another, leaving Deuce still holding onto the unconscious body while the duo from before are still brawling away.

    "…Huh." Deuce could only stare and ponder on the sheer amount of luck he has in the situation, for not a single bullet that has accidentally fired has hit him once.

    "Hm…? What happened?" Kenny then took this time to wake up.

    *SMACK*

    "GAH!"

    Only to be put back on ice with another punch to the face.

    "This was… a whole lot easier than I thought it would be…" He muttered as he tosses the unconscious body aside. As he did, sounds of something metallic dropping onto the ground caught his attention. He turned to the unconscious soldier, before slowing making his way up to him. "Now that I think about it… he kinda looks like the guy that was dragging Ace around just now…"

    With that in mind, he dug his hands into the soldier's pockets, and felt a metallic item with his fingers. "Jackpot!"
    "Grk!!"

    I blocked another slash from Vi with my scaled arm, his blade skidding off my hard scales.

    We have been fighting for who knows how long now. I didn't keep count, but it has been quite a good while. His blade can't cut through my scales, but his relentless attacks aren't letting me do anything besides guarding; not to mention the fact that he keeps trying to get past me to get to Deuce and Ace.

    "Die already!" He shouted, twisting his body and slashing upwards from below me.

    "Not happening!" I shouted back as I block his attack again.

    Vi steps back, twirling his sword into a reverse grip. "Look, I know you don't like the whole executing thing. But you have no idea what's at stake here! I have no choice!"

    "I think you do!!" I tell him, "Look, I get that this is supposed to help your sister cope with her feelings, but this isn't the way! If she ended up going through with this, it's not going to end well! Revenge is never the right way!!"

    "It's the only way that we have left!!" He shouted back, swinging his blade in wide slashes at me while I block and dodge all of them, "We have put too much, waited too long to back down now!! Too much is riding on this for it to fail in our face right now!!"

    His sword stabs towards me, I crossed my arms to block it. Not a word is getting to him at all! From what I can tell in our conversation last night, Vi doesn't really want to take revenge at all, that he isn't someone who is motivated by revenge or hatred. If anything, he cares more for his own blood then anything else.

    I then uncross my arms and pushes him back. But his desire to help out his only remaining family is definitely not to be underestimated, even if the actions he took isn't the proper way to go with her current situation…

    "Goddamn it!!" After regaining his footing, he swings his blade at me and slashes into my scales with no effect. But he followed up on that attack with a kick into my stomach, knocking me back onto my back. After gasping for a moment, I quickly rolled out of the way of his blade stabbing down at me.

    After getting back on my feet, "Ora!!" I dug my foot in forward and slams another punch into his gut.

    "Grk!!" I managed to knock him several steps back with that attack, before he got his bearings back and charges at me with a stab ready. I crossed my arms again to block the attack, only for him to toss his weapon into air midway. And when my attention followed the spinning sword up, I felt his fist painfully dug itself into my sternum hard.

    "Gah!!" I let out a gasp in pain, coughing slightly from the unexpected attack which is then followed up by an uppercut to my chin, knocking my face upwards just as I saw his spinning sword fall down towards me as he grabs onto his weapon and slashes down.

    I wasn't able to react in time, only able to move my head slightly as his blade slashes across my face. Thankfully, his attack misses either of my eyes but by the sudden searing pain that came from my right temple, I say his attack at least left a bit of a mark.

    A few staggering steps back later, I felt my wound and saw the tip of my fingers dyed in blood. "Damn…" Great, another wound to my face. Why do people keep aiming for my face!?

    "I thought so." He twirls his sword around before pointing the blade's tip at me, "Your scales may be tough, but they only covered only small parts of your body like your lips and part of your head. But your face and joints? That's a no brainer. And if I were to guess, I say your chest and gut area aren't so protected either. Why else would you protect them?"

    He definitely has that part of me figured out. Yes, my scales are tough, but Sen has pointed out that only some part of my body is covered by them, most notable are my limps and my head. For some reason, my frontal chest area isn't that well protected with scales only covering my ribs but not my chest, for some reason.

    Sen never has a proper explanation for that, but I think it has something to do with the fact that breasts are needed to ween the young. That, or the idea of Oda coming up with a super sexy dragon girl is up there. I mean, Nami's attire definitely leave nothing to the imagination, and yet she barely suffers any major damage to her gut and chest areas.

    Anime logic, everyone.

    "Now that's apparent." He spun his blade before holding it in a reverse grip, "I know where to aim for now."

    'Like you haven't aimed for them before…' That thought crosses my mind as I got back into a fighting stance.

    But before any of us can continue our fight, a pillar of flame erupts from the camp site. And knowing of only one person who can create such a spectacle, I let loose a small chuckle. He sure took his time, didn't he?

    "I'M BACK, BITCHES!!"

    With that loud cry, Ace flew up into the sky and came crashing down between us in a ball of fire.

    "Quite an entrance." I noted with a small grin.

    "What can I say?" He chuckles as embers floated off of his body while he tilts his hat with a flaming finger, "I like to leave a great impression."

    What a show-off…

    "…Okay, that's it. No fucking way I'm doing this." Vi sighs as he sheathes his weapon, raising his hands up in surrender, "I'm out. I'm not fighting two Devil Fruit users, especially when one of them I can't even hit."

    "Oh, come on. Really?" Ace stated with a groan, "I've a lot of pent up stress I want to release by beating people up and you're not even going to fight back?"

    "Not worth the effort." He states with a shrug of his shoulders, "Besides, I think I've kept you people here long enough."

    "What do you–"

    My question is answered when a loud boom can be heard from the cave, as smoke starts bellowing out of it. Wait, what the hell!? Did they blow up the cave!?

    "What was that!?" Ace asked.

    "We need some way to getting through," He explains, "and what better way to unplug an underground tunnel than with some good old TNT?"

    "Then they have made it into capital!" I concluded to my horror. Their coup is already on the way!!

    "Yeah, and to top it off…" Ace turns to me, "Deuce saw them drag Luna with them into the tunnel."

    "WHAT!?" This is bad! Luna might get caught up in the fighting at this rate! "We need to chase after them!"

    "Way ahead of you! Deuce already went on ahead! Let's hope he's not caught in the explosion!"

    With that said, we all took to a run towards the tunnel's entrance.

    But then I stop for a moment and looked back at Vi. This guy is definitely strange. Just before, he has me on the ropes, not to mention his determination to do right for his sister is unparallel as far as I know of. But once Ace is freed, he just gave up? Why go through all of that only to give up at the end?

    Unless…

    "Vi, you…" He looked up at me as I said my piece, "Do you want us to stop your sister?"

    "…" He put down his hands down before a small dejected chuckle slip through his lips, "You had me figured out, didn't you?"

    "Why else would you tell us your whole backstory?" I pointed out, "This was your plan all along, isn't it? You want us to stop your sister from going through with this."

    "…That's right." He chuckles, "…I can't stop Desiree. No matter how much I asked her to stop, she wouldn't listen. Reginold has gotten into her head that this is something she needs to do, that this was revenge for our parents, for our town. That this would bring her closure."

    "But I know what he's really after. He wants the Twilight Isles, to become its ruler. He wants to become king. And once he had it, he would just throw me and Desiree away! He just using the attack on our town as a goddamn excuse to push her forward, to drag her into this path of vengeance!"

    "If you know all of that, can't you just tell her that!?" I asked, "Why carry on helping her with it!?"

    "You think I didn't try that already!?" He screams at me, "I've told her that, and she just didn't care! She would willingly die if it meant getting revenge! No matter what I say, it wouldn't convince her! So, I have no choice but to help her with it. It's the only option I have left!"

    "…Vi…"

    "When I heard princess has found out about the coup and is working to stop it, I thought that this might be it." He continues on, "She might be able to put a stop to this, even if it meant life-sentences for all of us. But then you guys got captured, and now we're here."

    "And when Ace is freed, you thought that we have another chance to stopping her." I concluded, "Is that what you are saying?"

    "…In a way." He nodded, "It's all the hope I have left. You guys are the only ones that can stop Desiree."

    "…No." I looked at him as he stares back in either shock or horror. This isn't the way he has to do this. "We can't be the ones to stop her. You have to stop her, Vi. You, and no one else."

    "I told you, I can't! She wouldn't listen to me!"

    "Then keep doing until she does!!" I shouted back angrily, "If your family is about to do something stupid that would hurt themselves, it is your duty to stop her from doing so! You don't get to give up after trying and failing once! You have to keep on trying and trying again and again until it gets through her thick skull!! Otherwise, who else will!?"

    "…You are definitely right…" He muttered, clenching his fists, "But what else is there for me to do!? What can I even do at this point! It's far too late now!!"

    "No, it's not."

    His look of confusion is more than enough for me to know that he doesn't know the full picture. "She wants revenge against the ones responsible for your town's destruction, right? What if the ones responsible isn't the Britt Kingdom? What if it's someone else?"

    "Someone else? Who else would–" When his eyes widen, I knew he probably know who, "You don't mean… HIM!?"

    "Yeah. Your good 'pal' Reginold." I stated, "Think about it. He just so happens to come across your destroyed town, and just so happens to know who destroyed it with a flag to back his claim, along with a plan to help you guys get 'revenge'. And you said it yourself, he wants the throne to himself. Put all of the pieces together, and you get your answer."

    "He… I knew he is despicable, but for him to do something like this…!" Vi let out a growl at that, "THAT NO GOOD SCHEMING BASTARD!!"

    "Vi." I looked at him, "We need to tell your sister the truth. We won't be able to stop her from taking revenge, but at least this way she wouldn't die due to a scheme by her family's murderer."

    "…Right." He nodded, "Let's go."

    With that, we all dashes into the tunnel with another mission in mind. Well, two if you are being specific.

    Stop Reginold, and stop Desiree.

    …
    To be continued…​
    Yup! Finally done! Damn, it was tricky on how to write this! Didn't think it would be this hard! Welp, with this up, this arc's climax is only couple of chapters away! Didn't think it'll take this long, but I did it!

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!
     
    Chapter 16
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 16: Twilight Isles, Part Seven​
    Brittia, the capital of the Britt Kingdom.

    It is the largest castle town on all the island that has a population of about a hundred thousand people. The town itself is situated at the base of the island's lone mountain with a deep moat dug around its perimeters as well as tall defensive walls surrounding the town with a bridge for both travellers and traders to cross, remnants of the late bloody civil war.

    Its buildings consist of wooden and brick houses with clay tile roofs, all separated into several districts. Each district is designated a coloured banner of its governing body, more than often being the ones that holds an official position in the main government office

    In the centre of it all, stood the symbol of the Britt Kingdom itself and the home of the royalty that rules over this land, Brittia Castle.

    A large castle made of white bricks with light blue roofs and two towers that acts as lookout points on its side with the kingdom's flag fluttering proudly on top of its cone-shaped roofs, it is a monumental fortress that serves as both the royal court and the kingdom's main government office for all its ministries.

    And right now, it is the place of havoc and chaos.

    Gunfire echoes within the walls, blood splattered all over the grass and brick-layered pavement, bloodied and sometimes horribly mutilated bodies of loyal soldiers scattered all over as the armed men continued their rampage.

    It all began with a large explosion somewhere at the back of the castle that was built into the mountain along with screams of soldiers and guardsmen who are unlucky enough to be caught in the blast. After that, groups of armed men rush out shouting, shooting and killing all the soldiers in the area.

    At the same time, many places around the castle has experience mutiny of their one, with random soldiers turning on their fellow men, to some of the guards attacking and sometimes killing the government officials that were assigned to. It is pure chaos, with no signs of it slowing down.

    Naturally, all soldiers posted in the capital, with exceptions to the ones guarding the city gates, are called to the castle as reinforcements to help quell the mayhem. But they aren't able to, due to the fact that some time before this all started, the castle's gates are closed and locked down, preventing anyone from entering or exiting.

    Despite this, the ones that are posted inside the castle are able to react with much urgency and as swiftly as they could, managing to keep the rampage locked in a single location. The few trained elite units are more than capable of stopping the terrorists from spreading their violence any further.

    Even so, they are kept in a deadlock against the terrorists. They are lacking in the required manpower to deal with them, holding them back is all they can do.
    One of the soldiers posted here hid under the window overlooking the courtyard, his musket smoking from a freshly fired shot. His white uniform shirt soaked with sweat and soot, his dark blue pants covered in dirt and gravel, while his cap has a few gashes from a few close-calls from enemy fire.

    He let out a tired sigh as he reloads his musket, turning to his partner who just finished reloading, "This situation looks bad, doesn't it?"

    "Understatement of the decade." He stated as he took aim from the window ledge, "We are outmanned and outgunned. There are no reinforcements coming, so we're on our own. And to top it all off…" He fired a shot into enemy lines, "I'm down to my last round."

    "I'm the same." The soldier sighs, cocking back his musket's trigger, "We are so screwed…"

    "Man, this is not how I expect today to go at all…" His partner groans, "And just when I've decided to propose to Elise too…"

    "Oh, that was today? Do you had it all planned out?"

    "With the dinner and the music and everything. Now… I'm not sure if I'm even going to survive long enough to do it."

    "She's going to be bawling her eyes out at our funeral."

    "Oh, definitely."

    "…Brother." He looks at his partner with a resigned smile, "It's an honour fighting alongside you."

    "…Same to you, brother." He nodded; a sob croaked out of his throat.

    "So…" The soldier stood up, gripping his musket tightly, "One last shot to end this?"

    "Yeah." His partner followed suit, "Let's greet death with a bang-"

    *BOOM!*

    They blinked at the sudden explosion, before peeking out of the window; just as a large column of flames bursts out of the hole the terrorists came out of. A large fireball flew into the air, before descending and crashing into the courtyard in an explosion of flames.

    And from that fireball, comes out a single man with embers emitting off his body, his mouth curled up in a smirk as he holds his orange hat in place. "Payback time, bitches!"

    "…What the fuck just happened…?"
    I let out a groan at the entrance that Ace has just did. Does he really have to do that? I get that the plan involved him dealing with the rampaging pirates but he doesn't need to make a show out of it.

    Then again, this is the Gol D Roger's son we're talking about here; and if what Rayleigh says is true, then he is equally as boisterous as his father. Guess there are some things that are linked together by genetics….

    "Rein, we need to go, now." Deuce tells me, knocking me out of my thoughts as he and Vi ran towards the castle, with me quickly catching up to them.

    On our way through the tunnel, Vi has outlined the plan Reginold has concocted for today's events to us, as well as his decision to use Luna as a bargaining chip/hostage against her father. After that, Deuce has come up with a plan to deal with it and save the princess.

    First, Ace has to draw the pirates' attention away from the soldiers, allowing them a chance to counterattack. When the pirates are distracted by him, we head into the castle and find the throne room. With luck, we'll make it there before Desiree and call out Reginold for what he did. After that, we'll deal with Desiree and rescue Luna.

    But, in the likely scenario she made it there before we did, we have to stop the deal from happening and rescue Luna. If needed, we have to save the king too.

    "You do know where you are going, right?" I asked Vi, just as Ace fires off another Fire Fist into the crowd of pirates, no doubt barbequing them to a crisp.

    "Don't worry." He nodded. "Reginold got us the schematics of the castle and outlined the shortest path towards the throne room."

    "Wouldn't we run into Desiree on the way there?" Deuce pointed out, "We could rescue her then."

    "If we're lucky." Vi stated, "But Desiree has quite a head start from us. I doubt we'll be to catch up to her before she reaches it."

    "Then we need to hurry." I noted as I pick up the pace, "Could you tell us more about Reginold? Any gimmicks we need to be aware of?"

    "Nothing in particular, to be honest." The former rebel shakes his head, "I hardly communicated with him myself; only Desiree has any real contact with him over the years. I do know that he is a decent swordsman, but that's about it."

    "Then he might have other things we do not know about…" Deuce noted.

    Just as we are about to enter the castle, a loud laughter can be heard from the pirates that drew our attention.

    From the group of pirates, Tok shows himself with a flintlock pistol in his hand while his hand is raised towards a blast of flames that is coming towards him. But on further examination, something is off.

    The fire blast that Ace has fired seems to be frozen in place, not in ice but stopped moving completely. The fire, that would normally be flickering about like all fires should, looks stiff like it's a prop and not an element of heat and destruction that it is.

    "Hahaha! Man, what a shocking turn of events!" The pirate captain laughed, "I thought my men had butchered you back in the camp, but I guessed I've thought wrong!"

    "What did you do!?" Ace shouted at him, "Why is my fire all weird?"

    "Geez, I wonder…?" Tok smirked with a shrug of his shoulder, "Maybe your Devil Fruit is acting up?"

    "Tch, but this is great." The freckled pirate captain snickers as he ignites his fist, "I was hoping to run into you! I'm going to pay you back for that kicking you did just now!"

    "Be careful, Ace!" Vi shouted out, "Tok has a Devil Fruit power too! He can stop anything in its tracks, no matter what it is!"

    "Huh? Stop things? What do you mean?"

    "Oi, oi, what's the deal, Vi? Why are you selling me out like that!?" Tok shouted at him, "You betraying us, betraying your sister?"

    "No, I'm saving my sister." He stated firmly before turning back towards the castle, "Come on! This way!"

    "Damn you… Stop them!!"

    With the command from their captain, the pirates all ignore the flames and rushes towards us. I prepare to transform into my half-dragon form to fight, only for Deuce to run past me before slamming his fist into the first one he runs into. "Deuce!"

    "You're dealing with me!" He shouted at the pirates, his fists up in a semi-boxing stance, "Come on!"

    "You're dead meat, asshole!!" One of the pirates shouted as he swings his sword–Hey, wait a minute there!! That's Nanashi he's holding!!

    "Hands off my sword!" I shouted as I rushed forward and lands my scaly fist into his cheek, knocking him out instantly as I grab my weapon out of his grasps and grimaced at the sticky handle, "Urgh, now it's all sticky…!"

    "Did you really have to do that?" Deuce asked me as I plucked the sheathe from the pirate's waistband.

    "This sword is a rental." I tells him as I sheathes Nanashi, "And I'm afraid what Sen would do to me if I lost it to some random pirate." Shivers went down my spine at the thought of the possible torturous training regiments he could force me to do if he finds out. "I can feel the aching muscles already…"

    "Sheesh… That's one hell of a mentor you have there…"

    "…Why are you idiots just standing there!?" Tok shouted angrily, "Get them already!!"

    "A…Aye-aye, captain!!"

    "Don't you look away now!!" Ace shouted as I saw him fires a fire blast at the pirate captain, who raises his hand again and stopped the blast in its tracks, "Damn it, again!?"

    "Rein! Deuce! We don't have time to mess around!!" Vi calls out to us, "We have to go now!!"

    "He's right." Deuce nodded as he turns to me, "You go on ahead! Just leave these guys to me!"

    "You sure?" I asked.

    "Better you than me. Besides…" He gestured to Ace fighting Tok, "If that Tok guy is as dangerous as that rebel guy says he is, Ace going to need some backup."

    "…Alright. I'm leaving them to you!"

    He nodded before rushing to meet the pirates coming towards us. I quickly run back to Vi, and we both run into the castle with him taking the lead.
    Ace fires another blast of fire at Tok, who once again stopped the attack by raising his hand up to it much to his irritation. He then walks around it and fires his firearm at the freckled pirate, who simply took the attack at face value as the bullet just goes through him with no effect as his 'wound' seals itself up with a slight flicker of flames.

    "Your attack won't work on me." Ace stated as he readies another fire blast, "But damn it, how you are stopping my flames!? What kind of Devil Fruit does that!?"

    "You really want to know?" Tok chuckles as he reloads his pistol, "Sure, I'll tell you. I've eaten the Stop-Stop Fruit and became Stop-Human."

    "Stop-Stop Fruit?"

    "I'm capable of stopping anything." He explains, "No matter how big or how impossible it is, it would be stopped. Stones, water, even fire. No attack could touch me."

    "Oh yeah? Let's test that theory!!"

    Ace fires another fire blast right at the gear-themed pirate, who simply raise his hand to stop it. The blast, however, isn't aimed at him and blast into the ground in front of him, blocking his view with flickers of fire and ember. Tok blinked at the sudden change in tactics, before Ace leap through the fire and ready his fist to punch him.

    "Eat my fist, you gear-head asshole!!"

    Tok's eyes widen at that, before he smirked and raises his hand up to his attacker. Ace's eyes widen as he suddenly stopped in mid-air, his body stiff as stone. 'W-What the hell!?'

    "Wow, I've never seen a bigger idiot in my life!" Tok laughed as the freckled pirate's eyes darted about in a panic, "Hahaha, you moron! I've said it before, didn't I? I can stop anything! That includes human being too!"

    'Crap! I can't believe I pulled a Luffy!'

    "Oh, but that's not all." He added as he raises his pistol and aimed at Ace's shoulder. He then proceeds to cock back the hammer and pulls the trigger, firing a round into the freckled pirate. Normally, the lead bullet would just go right through due to his body being made of fire, but this time something unpreceded happened.

    The bullet instead pierces into his shoulder with a splutter of blood.

    'O-OW! What the fuck!? I shouldn't be able to get hurt like that!'

    "I can tell you are surprised." Tok chuckles as he reloads his pistol, "When I said I can stop anything, I meant stop them in all sense of the word. Their velocity, their movements, all of them stopped! From what I can tell, your body turns itself into fire whenever you got shot. But now that your body has stopped, it can't turn into fire!"

    'T-This is bad!'

    "Which means!" He cocks and aims his firearm at the freckled pirate's forehead, "I'm now able to kill you."

    'S-Shit!'

    Tok's grin widens at the prospect of ending his life as he slowly closes his finger around the trigger. He then took his sweet time to pull the trigger, slowly moving the trigger back as to savour the moment of finally killing the man that caused him so much trouble.

    But just as he is about finally fully squeeze the trigger, a handcuff is slapped onto his wrist.

    And not just any handcuff, it's the very same sea-stone handcuff that was around the freckled pirate's wrists just a few moments prior.

    "W-What the hell!?" Tok cried out, before dropping to his knees as he felt his strength left him. That immediately freed Ace from his power's grasp, the freckled pirate dropping onto the ground with a loud thud.

    "Kept that just in case." The gear-themed pirate turned to see Deuce walking up to him. The masked pirate has a few bruises here and there, but otherwise is pretty much unscathed and spotting one of the smuggest faces that ever graced the East Blue.

    "Y-You!? How!? What about my men!?"

    "Oh, took care of them." He points at the unconscious pirates lying all over the ground, "I may have dropped out of medical school, but I've learned enough of the human body to know where to aim to deal the most pain."

    "T-This can't be…!"

    "Oi."

    Tok flinched at the voice, turning to see Ace has walked up to him and is slowly cracking his knuckles with wide grin on his face, "Payback time."

    "W-Whoa there! Let's not get too hasty now–"

    What follows is the most satisfying beatdown Ace ever given since the start of his pirate career. The amount of violence against this one pirate is too much for words to describe. But the results are till the same.

    Tok is left groaning in pain and agony with multiple bumps and bruises, while the freckled pirate has the most satisfied smile on his face.

    "Whew! That's refreshing!"

    "Only you would think of beating someone up as refreshing…" His first mate muttered.

    "Hey, he has put me through shit since yesterday! I deserved this much!" He stated.

    "Damn it…" They heard Tok manages to grunt out, "This is not worth that hidden treasure he promised…"

    That caught their attention, as they turn their attention back to the groaning pirate who had realised what he just said, "What hidden treasure?"

    "Um…"
    Painful gurgle escapes the mouth of one of the elite guardsmen who collapsed onto the carpet along with his brethren-in-arms, cut down by one of their own.

    The current ruler of the Britt Kingdom, a man with dark brown hair in noble clothes of blue and white with an eye patch that goes by the name of Solaria Peragon, could only witness in shock of the betrayal by his most trusted advisor.

    The main throne room of Brittia Castle is the sole largest room in the entire building, designed to host at least several hundred men in one sitting. Its interior reflects on the kingdom's national colours of white and red with a dash of yellow in some of the finer details, a large carpet is rolled out from the entrance to the thrones of the royal family, each designated to the current ruler's family members.

    "R-Reginold…? What are you doing…!?"

    The carpet, once a beautiful shade of red with yellow lining, is stained with patches of wet blood dripped from the traitor's broadsword. The former advisor snickers at the king's surprised face, "Isn't it obvious? I'm staging a coup."

    "A coup!? Why!?"

    "Why else?" He flicks the blood off his weapon's blade, just as the doors to the throne room is opened, "To usurp you from the throne, and to return the Twilight Isles to its TRUE ruler." Desiree then proceeds to walk in, dragging his daughter with her as several men in similar attire to hers followed suit.

    "F-Father!" Luna cried out.

    "Luna!!" Solaria turns to Reginold with a glare, "Unhand my daughter at once!!"

    "I'm sorry that's not possible." The traitor tells him as he walks up to her, holding her head up by the chin, "For you see, I needed a little insurance against you."

    "Let her go, Reginold!!" The king shouted as he stood up from his throne, his prostatic peg of a leg visible from his pants' legs.

    "Ah, ah! Not so fast!" The noble man raises his blade up to the princess's neck, its tip dangerously close to her windpipe, "Unless you do as we say, she'll be bleeding quite intensively."

    "Y-You…!" Solaria gritted his teeth while a growl vibrated from his throat. And with great reluctance, he sat back down, "Fine…what do you want?"

    "Oh, I'm not that one with the demands." He gestured to Desiree who shoved their hostage into his arms.

    The rebel leader stomps up to him, drawing her sword out as she glares dagger at the ruling king, "Ten years ago. Do you remember ordering an attack on a small port town?"

    "W-What?"

    "Answer me!!" She raises her longsword to his neck, "Do you remember ordering an attack on a small, innocent, insignificant port town, all because some of us has the blood from the Latian Kingdom!? Did you have that town razed to the ground, just because I have the blood of Latian Royalty!?"

    "Latian… Royalty…?"

    "Yes!" Reginold cheered, "This girl right here is the granddaughter of the late Latian King, King Charles Constantine the II! By birth right, she is the rightly heir to the throne–"

    "Shut up, Reginold!!" Desiree turns to him with a cold glare, "I'm the one making the demands here, not you."

    "…Very well. Please proceed."

    She turns back to the king, her eyes burning with anger and vengeance, "Answer me, oh great ruler of this land. Did you have my town razed to the ground or not!?"

    "…I do not know what you are talking about." He stated in confusion, "There was no such order given–"

    "LIES!" She shouted, slamming her sword into the gold-plated wooden throne to his shock as she got right up to his face, "Your kingdom flags were on those ships!! Your soldiers are spotted manning them!! It can only be your men who destroyed my town!! Tell me the truth!!"

    "Like I said, I have no idea what you are implying!" Solaria stated, "I have issued no such order! Are you sure you are not mistaken?"

    "…Fine. Keep lying." Desiree growled, "It doesn't matter if you admit to it or not. All that matters…" She pulls her weapon free before pulling back, aiming the blade's tip at his throat, "…is that you pay for what you've done."

    "FATHER!!" Luna screams in horror as the rebel leader prepares to stab the king's throat.
    "A right turn here and down this corridor!" Vi instructed as we race through the castle with much haste, "The door to the throne room should be on our left."

    "Are you absolutely sure?" I asked.

    "Yes, I'm sure. The door is pretty big. We can't miss it."

    As he said that, I notice in the distance a pair of large red doors that are at least several times larger than a normal door. That must be the throne room. But the door's opened. This can't be good…

    "FATHER!!"

    Luna's screams caught my attention, the horror in her voice can't mean anything good. I quickly pick up the pace and dashes through the opened door, just as I witness Desiree ready to stab her blade into the man that can only be the current king and Luna's father.

    "DESIREE, STOP!!"​

    Vi's shouts from behind me had me springing into action, my feet quickly turn dragon as well as my tail grew to provide balance as I dash towards her at top speeds. For this distance, I have to strike fast. With that thought in mind, I have my hand on my sheathed sword while my other hand is gripping on the handle tightly. I have to use that form; the fastest form Sen has taught me so far.

    "Dragon Sword Style, Fourth Form: Lunging Fang!"

    The moment I reached her, I took to a stereotypical Iai stance, twisted my sheathe and performs a quick draw at her. Desiree was able to react and has turned her blade around to block my slash, my blade hitting her weapon with a loud ring. Seeing how her blade vibrated, my attack has hit strong and on point.

    "You…!?" She cried out.

    "Sorry, no kings are dying today…" I grunted out as I struggle to push my sword forward. The rebel leader let out a murmured curse and undid our little sword lock with a flick of her wrist, I barely managed to stop myself from falling by using my tail to steady myself.

    Once I got my bearings, I took to a fighting stance to prepare for any additional attacks.

    "R-Rein!? You're alive!!" Luna cried out in sheer relief.

    "Vi!? What is the meaning of this!?" The man holding Luna hostage shouted. From what he just said, he must be Reginold.

    "I'm putting a stop to your plans, Reginold." Vi stated firmly as he unsheathes his sword, "You're not going to use me, Desiree, or anyone of us anymore."

    "Vi…?" Desiree looked at her brother completely dumbfounded.

    "Using you?" Reginold chuckles, "What are you saying? I'm doing this for your sake–"

    "Quit it with your lies! I know what you did!" The former rebel accused as he pointed his sword at him, "Ten years ago, it wasn't the Britt Kingdom that destroyed our town. No, it was you, wasn't it? You destroyed our town!"

    "Huh?"

    "Wait, seriously!?"

    "He's the one that…!?"

    "Come to think of it… he was very suspicious from the start…"

    "That son of a bitch, he has set us up from the beginning!!"

    "I can't believe I've trusted him!"

    Murmurs spread among the armed Latian soldiers, some of them even agreeing with Vi's accusation. If this keeps up, we could turn the tables on him! This could be our chance–

    "…What nonsense are you saying?" Reginold huffed, "Me? Destroy your town? For what purpose would I do that?"

    "Isn't it obvious!?" Vi shouted, "You wanted to use us to start this coup, to take the crown for yourself!"

    "I could've easily done that without your help." He pointed out, "Sure, it'll take longer, but the crown would've been mine anyway. There's no need for me to fake the attack on your town just to get you guys on my side! In fact, it would be an even bigger hassle to do that! Why should waste my time doing such things?"

    "Grk!" I flinched at how good he is at defending himself. With a silver tongue like that, no wonder he has everyone fooled…

    "That is true…"

    "Why would he need to go so far just to start a coup?"

    "Maybe Vi is thinking a little too much into this…"

    Oh boy, this just backfired on us… If this situation was any less grave, I would have chuckled at how I'm witnessing what essentially is Ace Attorney: One Piece Edition.

    "B-But!" The former rebel stayed firmed, "Isn't it too much of a coincidence that the Britt Kingdom just so happens to find out about us, bombarded us, and then just leave? And then YOU showed up out of nowhere and just so happened to know all this history and the identity of the ships that attacked us?"

    "That's all it has been. A simple coincidence." The former advisor chuckles, "Or fate, maybe? It did help us lead to this point. Regardless, what you are suggesting is nothing more than over imaginative daydreams. Why would I have to gain in this whole debacle? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing."

    "Grk!"

    "Unless, you have proof of such?"

    "I-I…!"

    Oh crap, this doesn't look good! If we can't prove this to everyone, especially Desiree, then Reginold would have gotten what he wanted from this!

    Although, he did have a point.

    What did he have to gain from this? The crown is good and all, but that's not worth the effort to trick an army into doing his bidding… Is there something else in it for him? Some kind of secondary objective to achieve by doing it this way?

    "If not, then it's settled." Reginold stated, "Vi. I don't know what that girl has told you for you to have such an imaginative idea, but I'm willing to overlook it. On the condition that you kill this girl right here, right now."

    "Huh!?"

    "No! You can't!!" Luna screamed, only to grunt in pain as her captor put some strength into his grip.

    "Luna!!" The king cried out.

    "It's now or never, Vi." He stated firmly, "Kill her. Now."

    "I… I…" Vi stuttered as he turns to look at me, his eyes betraying his feelings as he reluctantly raises his sword towards me. Damn it, is this it!?

    "NOT SO FAST!!"​

    With that loud entrance, Ace leaps into the throne from adorn in flames. His fist ignites as he cocks his arm back, "Newly named special move! FIRE FIST!!" He then punches forward, blasting a fist-shaped fire towards Reginold who could only stare in shock at the sudden attack.

    Luna took his misdirected attention as her chance to escape, and stomps on his foot as hard as she can, which causes him to scream in pain and letting her go as she got out of the way of the attack.

    Unfortunately, the attack missed him and hits semi-harmlessly on the carpet. That, to our dismay, started a small fire that is slowly growing.

    "Ah! Fire!!" One of the soldiers cried out in a panic as they all rushed to stomp it out.

    "Ace, what the hell!?" I screamed at the freckled pirate, who has the gall to look sheepishly at his handiwork.

    "…Whoops?"

    "Ace! Rein!" Luna cried out as she ran towards us. Huh, she saved herself in the end. Not that I mind. Less work for me to do, and now Reginold has no insurance over what the king could do.

    "Hey, princess." The freckled pirate greeted with a wave, "I've saw what you did back there. That was badass, especially for a princess!"

    "Hehe, thanks!"

    A realization then hits me. "Wait, why are you here?" I asked him, "What about Tok and the pirates?"

    "All taken care of." He laughed, "Also, we may have found out something that might be important."

    "Huh?"

    As if on cue, Deuce walked into the throne room dragging with him a heavily bruised Tok. His face is swollen akin to a grape with some of the bruises already turning purple, and he seems to be missing a few teeth as well. Damn, what did Ace put him through? Did he go full JoJo on him? Did I missed him going full JoJo on him!?

    "Deuce! You're okay!" Luna stated happily.

    "More than okay." The masked pirate stated with a grin as he lifts up Tok in front of him, "Go on! Tell them what you've told us!"

    "I…I won't sa…say another… wo…word …!" The gear-themed pirate mumbles out with an edge of a trained warrior.

    All that façade is then broken when Deuce simply presses the knuckle of his index finger on Tok's temple and twists, getting a loud scream of pain from him, "Okay! Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

    What came out of his mouth more than seals the deal of Reginold intentions, it also revealed something we have no idea about up till now and places even more questions in our mind about the secrets of the Britt Kingdom.

    "Reginold claims that there's hidden secret treasure hidden in the Brittia Castle!"

    "What!?" The king shouted in shock, his face pale as a ghost. Is there something we don't know about?

    "And…?" Deuce asked, knuckle already touching his temple. That got the pirate captain to start spouting out more information.

    "He promised me a cut if I go along with his plan!"

    "And what plan would that be?" I asked.

    "…" A crack of a knuckle joint from Ace got him to continue in fear. "I'm to take my crew and bombard a port town to kingdom come wearing a flag from this place!"

    That got a gasp from both Vi and Desiree, and a flinch from Reginold. "Tok, you idiot!"

    "Hey! When I agreed to help you, you didn't say I'll get my ass handed to me by some wet-nosed rookie!!"

    "Wait, why go so far to do such a thing?" Luna asked, "There's no point in tricking them if all he wanted is some treasure."

    "He mentioned that only those of Latian Royalty can enter the place!" Tok confessed, "So he needed those two to get it!"

    Only Latian Royalty can enter? Then, this treasure must be left behind from the Latian reign?

    "Then…" Desiree looked at Reginold with anger in her eyes, "You lied to me? About everything!?"

    "…Tch." Reginold clicks his tongue, "And it's all going so well… Guess it goes to show that allying with a pirate is never a good idea."

    "Reginold…!" The king got up from his throne, his eyes glaring at his former advisor, "How could you…!?"

    "Then, it's true then!?" The rebel leader growled, "You're the one behind the attack!?"

    "Guilty as charged." The former advisor stated with a shrug of his shoulder, "Although to be fair, I didn't think I've managed to pull this off so well. You are such a gullible fool."

    "REGINOLD!!"

    With a roar, Desiree charges towards him with her sword ready to end him. Reginold simply smirks before opening his mouth and speak one phrase.

    "May the horns blow."

    Once those words left his lips, the anger in Desiree's eyes seem to fade as she slowed down her run until she stood next to him, slouched over and unmoving.

    "D-Desiree…?" Vi called out, confused and scared of what just happened.

    "What did you do, Reginold!?" Luna shouted.

    "Hahaha, oh, the wonders of hypnotism!" Reginold laughed as he explains, "I knew that Tok could, and would, betray me, and I'm no match for someone as youthful and strong as Desiree. As such, I have a certain phrase implanted into her head with the help of sleep hypno-therapy, that went spoken, give me full control over her actions."

    "T-That's…!" The king of Britt has his eyes wide in horror, "That's the method once used by the Latian Kingdom as the means to create the ultimate toy soldier! But my father should have all records of it destroyed years ago!"

    "It was, but I was able to find out from the source." He chuckles, "For I, Reginold Steward Hufflepuff, is the son of the noble man who has created it in the first place!"

    I have to hold back my laughter at his reveal. Seriously!? His middle and last names are Steward and Hufflepuff!? What kind of name is that!?

    Unfortunately, Ace didn't hold himself back and proceeds to howl in laughter, "WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! That's the stupidest and dumbest name I've ever heard!!"

    "Grr…" The traitorous man obviously didn't take this very well with how his veins are bulging at his temple, "Let's see who's laughing after I have you all killed. Desiree! Kill them all, starting with that interfering princess!!"

    With that command, Desiree robotically stood straight up, readies her sword and dashes right towards Luna with every intention to stab into her.

    "NO! LUNA!!" The king shouted in horror.

    "Luna, stand back!!" I managed to get in front of the princess in time and raised my transformed arm to intercept the attack, her blade scrapping against my tough scales. This isn't over, as she starts slashing against me as I struggle to block her attacks with both Nanashi and my scales.

    "Desiree! Stop it!!" Vi shouted as she proceeds to land slash after slash, I barely manage to block some of them with a few manages to scape against my scales, "You can't let that man control you! Fight it!"

    "It's no use!" Reginold laughed, "The hypnotism is deep and unbreakable! Nothing you do will bring her out of it!"

    "Damn you!!" Ace shouted angrily, "Come here and fight like a man, you coward!!"

    "Wait, what about me!?" Tok cried, "You can't just leave me here, Reggy!"

    "You've served your purpose well, Tok." Reginold stated as he walked up to the king, his sword pointing at him, "But you're a loose end I can't allow to keep existing. And also…" He turns his head back and glares at him, "Don't EVER call me Reggy."

    As he got close to the king, he grabs the older man by the collar and places his blade near his neck, "Now, you're coming with me. You're going to lead me to the vault."

    "T-The vault!? S-So you knew!?"

    "I've only heard rumours, and I also know that only the king knows of its existence and location." The traitor pointed out with a smirk, "So, what is it going to be?"

    "Father!!" Luna cried out.

    "Farewell, dear princess!" He stated as he drags the king to behind the throne room where there's another smaller door, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to have you and your father have a happy reunion in the afterlife!" And with that last sentence, he closes the door behind him.

    "Damn you!! Get back here!!" Deuce shouted.

    "Grgk!!" I felt her weapon manages to graze my side, the part of my half-transformed state that is no protected by the scales. Damn it, her strikes aren't as precise as Vi's, but they hit way harder. Even with my sword, I'm not sure I'll be able to last long.

    "Sis!!" Vi screamed, "You have wake up!!"

    "Everyone, now!!"

    "We need to stop her!!"

    "Pin her down!!"

    "Sorry, Desiree!!"

    It is at this moment that a couple of the Latian soldiers took action and grabbed their leader by her limps as they struggle to hold her back. "Run, princess!!" One of them shouted out while the remainder of them crowds in front of us with sabers drawn, "You have to get out of here!"

    "Y-You guys!" Vi cried in shock, "What are you doing!?"

    "We have to atone for what we did! Every one of us!" The soldier holding her by the neck shouted.

    "But if we can at least keep Desiree from making the biggest mistake of all…!" Another that is holding her leg added in, "Then it's worth risking our lives!!"

    "No! Stop!" He cried out, "Get out of there!"

    In no time at all, Desiree freed herself from their hold and proceeds to hack and slash them to the ground to our horror. Once they are bleeding out on the carpet unmoving, she robotically turns back to us, her gaze fixed on Luna, who is stunned in horror that the brutality of what just happened.

    "No…! They're all…"

    I quickly got back into position and prepared to block her next attack with the rest of the soldiers taking defensive positions around us as well. Desiree first took to a jog, before sprinting right toward us with sword ready to stab right through me. Crap, crap, crap, here she comes! I ready my transformed arm, ready to intercept her attack with my scales.

    What I did not expect, to my upmost horror, is for someone to step right in front of us and took the attack.

    "VI!!!!"

    …
    To be continued…​
    There! Finally done this!!! Oh My God, this is one is one heck of a ride, from start to finish! Man, I'm having way too much fun writing this ending, so much that I've decided to split the climax into two parts. The second part would be uploaded shortly after, so stay tuned!

    That being said, the latest chapter of One Piece (Chapter 951, if you are wondering) is one heck of the interlude, with all sorts of things gearing up for the finale of the Wano arc. Although, I am curious about King's race. I thought he was human, or at least sky people if the wings on his back is any indication, but I guess he is some other form of winged species?

    Also, a second clash between Yonko!

    Sky splitting, the sea's roaring, man I knew they are going to fight, but I didn't expect to get the same phenomenon as when Shanks clashed against Whitebeard. Guess that's the thing that happen whenever two Emperor-level pirates fought?

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 17
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 17: Twilight Isles, Finale​
    I couldn't stare in horror at what just occurred, everyone around me is also dead quiet. The scene in front of me isn't something I wanted to witness at all, especially after what we been through.

    "V-VI!!"

    Right in front of us, with a sword pierced right through him from the gut, Vi stood firm as he grasps his hypnotised sister's arms with blood spewing from his wound and forming a growing puddle under him.

    "G-Got you…!" He breathlessly chuckles, "I'm not letting…! you go…! this time…!"

    "No, Vi! He got shish-kabob-ed!!" One of the soldiers screamed.

    "What are you doing, Vi!?" Another of them cried out.

    "Quick! We need to get him free!!" One soldiers bravely prepare to run up to them.

    "No! S-Stay back!!" Vi shouted at them, stopping the soldier in his tracks, "L-Leave this…! t-to… m-me…!

    "The kid's nuts!" Tok stated in utter shock, "Why would he take the sword through the gut like that!?"

    "He cares too much for his sister…" Deuce pointed out, "He'll do anything for her…! Even if…"

    "Yeah, but that's crazy!" The gear-themed pirate cried out, "Even then, is he really planning to break her out of the hypnotism like that!? That trance should be unbreakable!"

    "S-Sis… Please…!" He coughed out, staring into the blank stare of his sibling who is already struggling to get out his grip, "You have to… snap out…! of it…! You can't… let that man… control you…! Please, Desiree…! Please…! I can't… afford to lose you… like this…!"

    "…Vi…?"

    "D-Desiree…!?"

    "W-What!? That's impossible!!" Tok cried in shock, "Reggy's hypnotism should be unbreakable!"

    "Their bonds…" Ace muttered, "Her connections to Vi manages to overpower Reginold's control!"

    "Vi? What's going on? Why–!" Her eyes widen in shock as she realised something, "Why… are you…?"

    "Hehe… damn it… you took so long to… wake up…" He coughed out, "But I'm glad… to have… you… back…"

    With those last words, he collapsed onto the ground in front of her, blood continues to spill out of his wound.

    "V-Vi!?" She screamed as she kneeled next to him, looking at the familiar sword in his gut in horror, "Did… did I did this…!?" Without must hesitation, she pulls the sword out of him, took off her vest and pressed it against his wound as hard as she could, "D-Damn it! It's not stopping!!"

    We could only look on in both horror and pity as the sister desperately tries to save her dying brother. This isn't right… this isn't how it supposed to go, damn it!!

    Then, Luna runs up to them, kneeling next to the brother before doing something I didn't think she would do. She proceeds to rip into her skirt, pulling out ribbons of cloth which she then uses to dress the wound as best as she can.

    "P-Princess?" Desiree is stunned silent at what is happening.

    After witnessing her actions, I affirm myself and ran up to them as well. I took off my jacket and uses it with Luna's pieces of cloth to create a makeshift band-aid, not that it will do much with how severe the gut wound is. If we can't get treatment for it soon, Vi could still die.

    It was then that sounds of heavy footsteps can be heard coming from the outside. I then saw Britt soldiers rushing into the room, armed to the teeth with muskets and sabres ready to be drawn, "Your highness!!" The leader of this platoon called out, a man of great physiology and posing one heck of a moustache that puts the Armstrong stache to shame.

    Like, damn! That is as masculine as any man can get!

    "General Strongbody." Luna greeted, as I struggle to keep my laughter in check. Really!? His name is Strongbody!?

    "I'm sorry for taking so long!" He saluted her, "We've just manages to capture the last of the rebels around the castle!" He then turns to the Latian soldiers and their leaders, "Are these the last ones?"

    "D-Damn it…" Desiree cursed as she grabbed her sword. All the Britt soldiers quickly went for their sword and firearms in response.

    "Weapons down!!"

    The soldiers could only look at each other confusion over their princess's orders.

    "There will be no fighting here." Luna stated firmly, "We have a heavily injured casualty in need of immediate medical care. Get him to the doctors right now!"

    "B-But your highness, aren't he part of the rebels?" The general asked confused, "Why are we helping out those terrorists? They are the reason the castle is in such a disarray!"

    "Even so!" The princess glares at Strongbody, who flinches under it, "They are still people that needed help! I would not have someone die if I can do anything to save him!"

    "B-But–"

    "But nothing, general!" She shouted, "When my grandfather founded this kingdom, he made it clear that we would not be as the very enemies we've fought! If there's someone in need of saving, whether or not they are once our greatest enemies doesn't matter!"

    "…you're right. You're absolutely right." The general nodded with a firm salute, "Your orders are received, Princess Luna! Men! Escort the injured to the medical bay! And have the doctors prepared for surgery!"

    "Sir, yes, sir!!"

    With that, the soldiers all rush towards the injured, with one of them gently carries Vi to not worsen the wound any further. I could only look in awe at the speed the soldiers performed their medical assistance. Talk about efficient!

    "…Why…?"

    Luna turns to Desiree who could only look at her with stunned confusion, "We've hurt your people… we have caused so much destruction… so why are you helping us!? Don't you hate us!?"

    "…I would be lying if I say I didn't." The princess stated, "But even so, you were used by Reginold like the rest of us. Not only that, you've lost your family due to him as well."

    "So, you pity us then…?" The rebel leader growled.

    "No, not pity." She stated, "Just… empathy. My grandfather has taught me that people would sometimes do bad things for bad reasons. But that doesn't mean they deserve the worst of fates. An eye for an eye would turn the whole world blind, you know?"

    "Eye… for an eye…" Desiree chuckles, before blowing up into laughter, then slowly descends into sobs as she hugs herself, "Damn it… why didn't I…?"

    I found myself a third wheel of this situation, unsure of what to do next. This is really awkward for me… I'm technically an outsider in this whole debacle, so I'm not sure where I'm fitting in.

    "*Sniff* Oh, this is so touching…!"

    The awkwardness is replaced my irritation when our captive pirate captain starts opening his damn mouth.

    "Ace, can you–"

    *WHACK*

    "BUARGH!"

    "Thank you!"

    "Not to spoil the mood, but we still have to deal with Reginold." Deuce point out, "He still have the king."

    "Ah! That's right!" I realised. Due to the situation with Desiree and Vi nearly dying, I've completely forgotten about that crucial fact. Damn it! That bastard has to be a long gone by now! And we don't even know where this 'vault' thing he is looking for.

    "Vault…"

    Luna's musing got our attention, the princess seems to be deep in thought, "Vault… I think I remember seeing a vault somewhere before…"

    "Really!? Where!?" Ace asked.

    "Hm…" She thinks for a moment, before snapping her fingers in realization, "Ah! The tomb!"

    "Tomb?"

    "Yes! My grandfather has built a tomb under the castle where his late companions are put to rest! I remember him bringing me down there when I was younger! There's a large door close to it, one that he has told me that it shouldn't be opened at all cost!"

    "And do you know where this tomb is?" I asked.

    "I think I do!" She nodded.

    "That's great! You think you could you lead us to it!?"

    "Yes, I can!"

    "I'll stay behind." Deuce informed us, "It's not much, but I should be able to help out some of injured."

    "Got it." Ace nodded, "I'll punch Reginold once for you." His first mate gave him a nod in response.

    The three of us then book it to the exit, but I stopped when I saw a familiar weapon on the ground. Vi's sword is lying on the ground with blood staining its handle and the underside of the hilt. He must have dropped it when he collapsed…

    "…"

    "Hey, Rein! Hurry up! He'll get away if you don't move!!"

    "Ah! R-Right!"
    The traitorous Reginold grimaced as a drip of water from the stalactites above him.

    After leaving the throne room with his hostage, he has his 'king' lead him towards the vault that he has heard so much about. His blade is still drawn and placed at Solaria's neck, making sure the old man doesn't get any funny ideas. 'Just a little more. Once I've got the treasure, I'm going to be richest man in the East Blue! Then, I can finally ditch this place and live out the rest of my life in luxury!'

    'And all thanks to my dear old dad's little scheming plans…'

    His father, one Ronald Steward Hufflepuff, was once a noble among the royal court of the Latian Kingdom. He was in-charged of the R&D department in the military, tasked with creating weapons of war against their uprising commoners, in where he was raised in status with the founding of hypnotising soldiers to be loyal and unfeeling killing machines.

    Ronald, however, is a very greedy individual. Through connections with the underworld and having a great sense in human trafficking trade, he has accumulated wealth that far outshines any other nobles of his time. So much that every noble in the royal court with exception to the royal family sucked up to him in hopes of getting even a tiny fraction of his fortune.

    But despite acquiring such immense wealth, he still wanted more. He is so addicted to money and luxury, that he would do anything to get more. Which is when he found out about a secret 'vault' under the royal castle, where the fortune inside is worth at least several hundred of his own.

    Being the greedy nobleman that he is, he schemed to find this vault and secured the fortune for himself, going as far as to kidnapped several individuals connected to the royal family and torturing them for information. Despite his best efforts, he could only confirm its existence but never its location.

    And then, the rebellion won the war and secured the disbandment of the Latian Kingdom, paving the way to the founding of their own kingdom, the Kingdom of Britt.

    Like many nobles that refused to accept their new rulers, he too was banished from the island and forced to live the remainder of his life as a 'filthy commoner'. Ronald couldn't even stand to live such a modest life, choosing to remain living out his luxurious life. In the end, he ends up bankrupt and is driven into a life of poverty, and ended up dead on the road somewhere.

    Reginold was then born from one of his many sex slaves that were set freed after the war is over. His mother, however, was too broken after years of tortured and committed suicide soon after he was born, leaving him an orphan at the young age of three.

    Since at the such a young age, Reginold possess the same greedy personality as his late father. As he grew up, he became more and more obsessed with the idea of acquiring so much money that he would never has to worry about being poor again.

    Through his silver tongue that he has honed to perfection, he performed cons after cons, scamming people of their money and building his fortune step by step. He gotten so good, that a woman he conned into giving him her life savings still doesn't believe that she got scammed at all.

    And then, when he too found out about his father's plans in the ruins of his old mansion, he plotted to take the fortune for himself as well.

    "We're here."

    His former employer told him as they exited the cave, and into a large rocky room with eight coffins lied down with armoured knights carved into their lid. For some reason, there's a large hole in the ceiling that let the sunlight shines in, illuminating the entire room. Grass filled the ground with a few flowers are planted around the coffins, their beautiful petals blooming under the bright afternoon sun.

    "The royal… tomb…?" He turns to his hostage with anger in his eyes, "I said to bring me to the vault!! Not to the resting place of some dead people!!"

    "You did, so I did." Solaria looked at him before pointing at another entrance on the other end of the room, "Through there is where you'll find the vault."

    "Tch, then said so!" The traitorous man huffed in anger as he pushes his hostage along.

    After passing through another cave, they came face to face with the very thing that Reginold truly desired.

    In the large rock room, illuminated by the sunlight coming in from a small gap in the ceiling, there is a large gate carved out of rock locked into the stone wall, covered in moss and several artistic carvings of sorts. The wall it is in is covered from top to bottom with strange symbols carved into the stone.

    "This… this is it…!" He laughed as he tosses his hostage and weapon aside and rushes towards the door with a maniac look on his face. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!! After so long, I've finally found it! The treasure, oh, the fortune! I can almost smell it behind this gate!"

    His maniac smile dropped when he saw no way of opening the gate. No keyhole, no lever, no nothing. He then turns to the king and asked, "How do you open this!?"

    "Who knows?"

    "What do you mean by that!?"

    Solaria got into a more comfortable sitting position, "When dad shown me this, all he told me about it is that this gate should never be opened at all cost. He never said anything about how this can be opened."

    Reginold let out a growl as he searched the wall frantically for a way in. 'There has to be something here! A switch? A hidden mechanism?'

    Unbeknownst to him, Solaria has got back on his feet, picked up his captor's weapon and is slowly sneaking towards him with sword raised to kill. Once he got close enough, he took a deep breath and slashes down at his former advisor with the intention of beheading him right then and there.

    Unfortunately, Reginold has noticed his attack and duck down the arcing attack, swinging out foot out and tripping the king. Solaria dropped onto the ground on his back with a loud thud, which his captor took advantage of and stomps onto the king's peg leg, smashing it into pieces.

    "D-Damn…"

    "Do you really think I wouldn't notice?" He asked as he kick away the broken peg leg, "Wood on stone is pretty distinct."

    "You wouldn't get away from this!" Solaria shouted at him, "Even if you did get the treasure behind the vault, everyone knows about your betrayer by now! You could never escape!"

    "Oh, but you're forgetting my little gift to your daughter." Reginold stated with a smile as he walked over and pick up his sword, "Desiree would kill everyone in that room, and then if anyone enters that room, they would die too. No one would ever know what I've done."

    "You bastard…! Are you that obsessed with treasure!?"

    "Yes, I am!" He proclaims proudly, "For you see, money is power, and power is strength, and strength is life! Money is the one truth in this world! Everything runs on money, and with enough money, I'll be able to run everything!"

    "There's no way I'm giving the Britt Kingdom to you!"

    "Oh, you misunderstand!" He tells his former king, "I have no desire to rule over anything! All I want is to have so much money that I'll be living the luxurious life that I want for the rest of my days. So much money that I wouldn't need to work for a day! That is all."

    "And achieve that, you're willing to destroy an entire town, to manipulate innocents to committing treachery!? All for getting rich!?"

    "I wouldn't call it manipulating." He stated, "It's more like… persuasion."

    "You traitorous bastard!" Solaria growled, "I can't believe I've ever trusted you!!"

    "…You know what." He walks up to the king and steps on his gut, his sword aimed at his throat, "Now that you have no more information for me, I've no more use for you. No point in leaving behind a loose end."

    "You'll never get away from this…!" The king growls, still ever defiant despite his position.

    "You know, if there's one thing I've respected about you, it's your tenacity." Reginold confessed, "A shame, really. I've a feeling we could've been friends if the circumstances are different. Oh well. Say hello to the princess for me!" He raises his sword, prepares to pierce the windpipe–

    "FIRE FIST!"
    The moment we enter the second room after the tomb, which looks gorgeous by the way, we are met with the sight of the traitor ready to plunge his sword into the king's throat.

    Without a moment's hesitation, Ace charges in and fires a Fire Fist at him. Reginold unfortunately dodges it, the flame blasting against the enormous stone gate on the opposite end of the room.

    "Damn it, stop dodging!!" The freckled pirate shouted at him.

    "How!?" The traitor shouted at us, "How are you still alive!? Desiree should have killed you all!"

    "She broke out of your control, Reggy." I stated with what I felt like the most savage grin I've ever did in my entire life, "With a little help from the power of bonds."

    "T-That's impossible!!" He stated in horror, "My father made it so that the hypnotism is unbreakable!!"

    "Everything is possible with the power of love!" I proclaimed happily, revelling in the cheesiness of my words. Hey, if there's a time for cheese, it's here.

    "It's all over, Reginold!" Luna shouted, "You've lost! There's nowhere else to run!"

    "No, no, no…!" He mutters in shock, "Not when I'm so close…!" He seems to get an idea and went to grab the king, lifting him up into a chokehold and raised his blade up to his neck, "No body move! Unless you want a headless man as your king!"

    "Father!"

    "You damn coward!!" Ace shouted angrily, "Let him go!"

    "Nah-ah!" Reginold smirks as he places the sword very close to the king's neck, "Not until I get what I want! Now, princess… tell me how to open the vault!"

    "Huh?" Luna could only blink at the sudden question.

    "You're wasting your breath, Reginold." The king tells him, "Not even Luna know how to open the gate."

    "Shut up!" The traitor shouted as he knocks his sword's pommel against his hostage's head, getting grunt of pain in response.

    "Father! Let him go, Reginold!" The princess commanded angrily.

    "Then tell me! How do you open the vault!?"

    "Like I said…" The king groans as blood starts dripping from the head wound that he has just gotten, "She doesn't know…!"

    "And I told you to shut up–"

    "I know how!!"

    Everyone is stunned silent at her sudden proclamation, her father especially looked extremely shocked. "Luna…? How do you…?"

    "T-Tell me!!" Reginold suddenly shouted, "How do we open it!?"

    "Okay first, you have to… um… let me think…" She posed to be deep in thought, slowly turns her head towards Ace for a moment, before turning to me and her eyes just that gestured forward to my confusion. Huh? Why is she…? I then looked at Ace, who gave me the same expression with a grin. Why is he–Oh. Oooh~! I get it…!

    "Come on, hurry up!" The traitor shouted with irritation heavy in his tone.

    "Let me try to remember… I think it has something to do with–NOW!"

    With that command, my sword is drawn and my feet transformed into their dragon state, just as Ace fires a smaller version of his Fire Fist right at Reginold. The traitor saw this and quickly moved one side to avoid the fire attack, which means it's my turn to act.

    With my dragon speed, I made it across the room within a single moment with my sword poised for a thrust while my other hand is behind my back in a typical fencing stance. With this, I unleashed my attack aimed right at his head.

    "Dragon Sword Style, Third Form: Tail Spike!"

    I stabs forward Nanashi like a fencing sword, adding a little curve due to the fact that I'm wielding a katana. My blade flew and strikes towards Reginold's head like a bladed dragon's tail. He is quick enough manoeuvre his sword and direct my attack off course with his hilt, causing my attack to miss completely.

    Just as a smirk crept up his face from his assured victory over my attack, I pull out my hidden trump card from behind me.

    Before he can react, I plunge Vi's gladius, which I've picked up from the throne room before coming here and has been hidden in my sash this whole time, into his shoulder blade as deep as I can get it in.

    This elicit a loud scream from him as he is forced to let go of the king, which I took advantage and uses my tail to wrap around abdomen. I then pull out Vi's sword before retreating back to Luna with her father in tow, just as Ace came in with the finishing blow, as he proceeds to send a non-flaming fist to his face that sent him flying.

    "You are quite the bluff master aren't you, Luna?" I stated as I put the king down on the ground gently.

    "I'm just glad you managed to get my message." Luna stated with a sigh as she looked over her father, "Are you okay, father?"

    "Y-Yeah… I'm fine…" The king assures the princess, before looking at Reginold unmoving body, "Is he…?"

    "Nah, he's alive, I think." Ace stated, "I pulled my punch at the last minute."

    "Why didn't you just use your Fire Fist?" I asked him.

    "Punching the guy with my bare-fist is much more fun." His answer just got a face-palm from me, especially when he said that with such a straight face.

    "Then… it's over?" Luna asked.

    "Yeah." I nodded at her question, "It's finally over."

    That got a huge sigh from the princes as she collapsed like a puppet who got its strings cut, falling onto her father's lap, "Finally…"

    "You've worked hard, Luna." The king assures her, "I'm sorry I have to put you through all of this."

    "No, it's fine." She tells him, "As the crown princess, it's my duty to fight for my kingdom, no matter the odds."

    "…True, so very true." He nodded with a smile, "I'm just glad you are okay."

    "But still…" Ace walked up to the large stone gate in front of us, "He did all that nonsense all for this? Kind of a wasted effort, if you ask me."

    "Just out of curiosity…" I turned to the two royalty in front of me, "Is it possible to open this gate in the first place?"

    "Well, grandfather said that this gate mustn't be opened at all cost." Luna stated, "So there must have been a way to open it. Sadly, he never told anyone before he passes."

    "It's the same with me." The king nodded, "It just made me curious of why this vault shouldn't be opened at all. Not that I'll open it at all."

    "…Hey! Come look at this!"

    Ace suddenly calling out to us got us curious about what he found. We then slowly made our way to him, I having to support the king in my half-dragon form due to his broken peg leg. When we made it to the stone wall, the freckled pirate proceeds to wipe away at some of the moss on the wall to reveal something curious and strangely familiar on the wall.

    "Well, this is peculiar…" The king noted, "Never saw that before."

    "It looks like a keyhole." Luna stated, "And this slight indent… it kind of looks like a–"

    "Clover." I concluded. I looked down at Vi's sword, turning the weapon so that I can view it from the front. Comparing it to the keyhole we found, I made an astonishing discovery.

    "It's the same shape…! The gap is the size as the blade too!"

    "Whoa, seriously!?" Ace cried, "Then, that sword is the key!?"

    "Huh, that's quite an interesting set up." The king noted, "No one would expect a weapon to be a key."

    "But is it really?" I wonders, "It could be just a coincidence that it's the same shape."

    "No, wait…" Luna thinks for a moment, "I think I've read somewhere that all Latian royalty has two types of weapon. A longsword like the one the leader has, and a short sword like the one you're holding."

    "Is it the same as this sword?" I asked her.

    "Yeah, I believe so."

    "Only one way to find out." Ace stated pointing at the keyhole, "Thrust it in, Rein!"

    "That sounds… so wrong…" I muttered in embarrassment at the hidden sexual joke, before doing exactly that. The moment the sword is all the way in, there's a small click sound, before the sound of what seems to be gears turning can be heard.

    The ground starts to the shake as the large stone gate slowly slides open in front of our eyes.

    "No way…" The freckled pirate stares in awe, "It's actually opening…!"

    "Is this a good thing… or a bad thing…?" I wondered out loud. We were told not to open it, after all. And yet here we are, opening the damn thing.

    "I'm sure it's fine." The king assures us, "As long as none of you mention any of this to anyone else outside. If you do… there will be consequences, understand?"

    "Y-Yes, sir!" I answered with a salute out of habit.

    "Sure, no problem." Ace shrugged, "But if there's treasure in there… do you think you can let me take some? Just a little pinch–"

    "KYAH!"

    "Luna!?"

    We all turned around, to see Reginold holding Luna in a chokehold with his blade near her neck in a repeat of what has happened to her father.

    "Damn it, I thought I've knock you out!" Ace growled.

    "No one move!!" Reginold growled at us, "The treasure in there is mine, you hear!? MINE!"

    "Let her go, Reginold!!" The king shouted at him.

    "Not until I get my treasure!" He shouted angrily, "Unless you want your daughter to be a headless princess, I suggest you back away from the vault and give… me the… trea…sure…"

    I raised my eyebrow in confusion over why he suddenly trailed off. I then turned around to follow his sight and saw what he has saw.

    Instead of mountains of shiny treasure that was promised, inside the vault is filled with rows and rows of bookshelves, each one packed to the brim with books of various colour.

    "Books?" Ace wonders as he walked up to one of the shelves and pull a book off of it. Flipping through the pages, his eyebrow raised in confusion, "What the…? These books have doodles on them."

    "Doodles?" I walked up to him as he hands me the book. I skimmed through the pages and realised to both my awe and horror over what was written in the book.

    While I can't understand it, there's no mistaking the text of the Poneglyphs. Any true One Piece fan could recognised the writings with a glance. This both intrigued me and confused me, 'Why are there books written in the same language as the large indestructible stones that contains information about the Void Century? And why are they doing on an island in the East Blue of all places…? Unless…'

    "Books…?" Reginold mutters out, letting go of Luna who quickly moved away from him, "All of that planning… all those years of waiting… for some BOOKS!?"

    "It would seem to be the case, yeah." Ace nodded.

    "Hehe…hehehe….hehaha…hahaha…" The small chuckles spill from his lips which escalated into full blown laughter. Soon afterwards, he stopped laughing and collapsed onto the ground, truly unconscious this time if his eyes rolled back into his head is any indication.

    "…so, NOW, it's over?" Luna asked worriedly.

    "…Yeah, I guess so." I nodded.

    There're still many questions I have about the vault, about the books and what connection it might have to the Void Century. But for now, I guess it can wait.

    Man, I need a nap…

    …
    To be continued…​
    Yup! Finally done! Arc is finally over! Man, this has been one heck of wild ride, and I'm grateful for the people who stick by me all the way through.

    So, yes! Hidden vault and mysterious books!! What could all of this mean? Why did Luna grandfather want it to be sealed? What are those books? All those questions will be answered soon!

    With this, the Twilight Isles Arc has officially reached its climax. So next up, is the epilogue!

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 18
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 18: Twilight Isles, Epilogue​
    Sen lets out a loud yawn as he watches the waves passes by.

    The Silver Fang has done its business with the Goa Kingdom and is on its way back to the Twilight Isles to pick up one of their companions. Thankfully, the exchange with the nobles went pretty smoothly, if a bit rushed with how impatient the people greeting them were, allowing them to made it in time.

    "I wonder how Rein is doing…"

    The secret semi-immortal dragon thought about his student, one that he hasn't have in several centuries. After how disastrous the last one turned out, he wasn't too keen of teaching anyone anymore. The guilt is too much for his long life, one that he felt has been too long for his liking.

    There are times that he cursed his own long life, on how long he would be around in the world while those that he befriends and form bonds with slowly aged before death inevitably took them. Even some of the few Giants friends he once had ended up living very short lives with how their lives revolves around glory and honour in battle.

    Then Rein came along, and brought along her one heck of a baggage, in both figuratively and literally.

    In his terrifyingly long life, this is the first time he has ever met someone who was reincarnated, and he has been on the Grand Line for several centuries at a time! Not only that, she possessed knowledge of future events, information that if leaked out, will attract attention from the Five Elder Stars; or as he likes to call them: The Five Douchebags.

    If they ever find out about this, then her life would be in jeopardy. Especially if they know that she is in possession of one of the most powerful Mythical Zoans of all.

    The Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model White.

    Among the Zoans, the Dragon themed ones are often labelled under Ancient Zoans for some reason he could never understand; although he did theorize that it has something to do with how some dinosaurs resembles dragons in some shape of form. However, those labelled under Mythical Zoans? Those are a whole new can of worms.

    Those Dragon-themed Devil Fruits are said to possess unparallel brute strength in the ENTIRE Devil Fruit catalogue, with exceptions to a couple Paramecia.

    Each model all shared one key element: the physical abilities of the dragons of legend. Incredible strength, strong jaws, powerful wings, tough scales as hard as diamond in some cases, superior senses, all of it. No other Zoans can compared in that department with very few exceptions.

    Some can be comparable to his own race, and he has known of some which can shatter islands if they really wanted to.

    However, what truly terrifying powerful about them isn't their physical prowess. It is their mystical abilities.

    Not much is known about all the mythical dragon Zoans, but what is known to all is that they all have abilities associated with their respective models. As an example, the dragon Devil Fruit the Emperor Kaido is using is based off the dragons of Wano's old myths and legends, as such he has similar powers as well; which includes creating thunder clouds among many others.

    For Rein's model, Sen believed that she may have hit one of the jackpots in terms of mythical Zoans.

    If what he has read is to be true, along with dragon-like strength and stamina, the white dragon Devil Fruit is capable of various elemental breath attacks including fire and in some occasions metal for some reason, its senses are sharper than any other, and its scales are practically impenetrable with exceptions to Sea Stone.

    But what's most impressive is its adaptability.

    The white dragon mythical Zoan is well known for changing its abilities to match up with the environment it is in. If it's in the desert, its scales will be thin and weaker, but its fire breath would be insanely powerful. If it's in the snowy mountains, it would grow fur and gain the ability to generate blizzards with its breath.

    If anything, this is one Devil Fruit catered SPECIFICALLY for the Grand Line's insane weather and climate.

    Which makes it very valuable for the Five Douchebags.

    If they catch wind of this, they would stop at nothing to capture her and extract the DF from her by any means necessary. They might activate Buster Call if they need to.

    With Rein as she is now, she wouldn't be able to harness her fruit's power to its upmost limit, which leaves her powerless against the World Government's forces if they ever made a move against her.

    Of course, he hasn't told her any of this. She would react rather badly to such information, and would put unnecessary burden on her that would distract her from training. That's what he believes anyway.

    "Worried about her, Sen?"

    His captain's question picked him out of his musing, Silvia walking up to him and leans on the wooden railing, "You're not the only one. I just saw Gord beginning another stress cooking session. We might have to prepare for another potato party tonight."

    "And so many croquettes… so many…" He dejectedly muttered under his breath, "And you?"

    "Oh, definitely." She chuckles, "It's funny. She has only been part of the crew for no more than a month, and now we can't be without her."

    "It's definitely different without her around." Sen nodded.

    "I'll say. It's like the Silver Fang isn't the Silver Fang without her around." She nodded, "She became an irreplaceable part of the crew now."

    "She definitely has…" He smiled.

    "Twilight Isles, dead ahead!!"

    The crow's nest's call got everyone attention as the crew members all run about to prepare the Silver Fang for landing. Sen took a moment to look over the horizon towards their destination, pondering if his student and his old friend's granddaughter manages to succeed in their little mission.

    His thoughts about it were put to a halt when he saw a familiar white and blue ship docked in the harbour, the ever-noticeable white flag showing its symbol to the world with pride.

    'Huh. I wonder why the Marines are here?'
    [/hr[
    It has been a few days since the failed coup. And a lot of things has occurred during that time.

    After rounding up all the rebels, Reginold is found guilty of all his crimes and sentenced to the dungeon where he waits for the Marines are to come and transported to a proper prison, along with Tok and the rest of their pirate accomplices. From what Luna had told me, they might be looking at a life imprisonment or worse.

    Vi manages to pull through, his condition finally stable and on the way to a full recovery. He was really lucky with how quickly they are able to perform the surgery, not to mention that Desiree manages to miss most of his vital organs in that stab.

    The Latian soldiers are sentenced to the dungeon too, but are given a lighter sentence of free hard labour at Irenia as part of the next expedition happening next month, as both an attempt to expand Flut Village further inland as well as to help study the wildlife of the island better. In the king's words, their five years on the island are too valuable to waste rotting in a cell.

    Desiree, on the other hand, got the short end of the stick.

    For leading a coup, despite being tricked to doing so, and attempting assassination of the crown, she is unfortunately sentenced to the same thing as her deceiver and will be awaiting transport to prison as well, possibly Impel Down if what Luna has told me is to be believed. Vi would have suffered the same fate if weren't for his attempt to stop his sister and selfless act of protecting the princess that got him off the hook.

    He… didn't take that news too well…
    "This isn't right! I don't deserve any of this!"

    Vi's voice echoed around the throne room where he kneels in front of the Britt's monarch and crown princess, prostrating himself as he cries out his pleas. "Please, give me the same sentence as Desiree, as all of them! I'm just as much fault as they are! I don't deserve any less!!"

    Luna sat next to her father with a slight resigned look on her as she turned to the king, who rubbed his forehead in both empathy and slight irritation.

    "That is true." Solaria agreed, but added on, "But in light of your actions you have taken, I deem it fair that you would receive a lesser sentence."

    "B-But I'm the one who's at fault!!" He cried out, "If I didn't try harder to stop my sister, this coup would have never occurred in the first place!! All of it due to my inaction, so I should share the burden!!"

    "Vi." Luna's voice got Vi's attention, she staring firmly at him with a poise suited for someone of her standing, "Verdict has been chopped and signed. No amount of begging isn't going to change it. You need accept that."

    "I… but it's not fair!" He shouted angrily, "Why is Desiree getting all the punishment and not me!? She doesn't deserve it!!"

    "…If you must know…" Solaria says to the prostrating man in front of him, "It was thanks to your sister that your sentence is lifted in the first place."

    "D-Desiree…?"

    "She pleaded with me to let you go, that she should be the one to take all the punishment." He stated, "That you do not deserve to spend the rest of your life rotting in a prison for a crime that she started. If weren't for her words and Luna here, you would have the same sentence as her."

    "Desiree…" He muttered, gritting his teeth in frustration, "Why…? Why do you have to do that…?"
    From what I've heard, Vi has left Brittia with Desiree's sword and is last seen heading towards Port Royalise. No other news about him has come since.

    For the rest of us, Ace and Deuce somehow managed to rebuild the Strider and decided to take their leave from the island. As the good friend that I am, I decided to see them off.
    "I'm surprised you managed to rebuild that thing from scratch." I pointed out as I watch the two pirates load up their supplies on a separate boat connecting to the Strider by rope. We are currently at the stony docks at the exit/entrance of the secret tunnel that had led into the castle. The king has orders for it to be sealed off soon, and they took this chance to make a getaway from here as to not arose any suspicion.

    "We've built it on a deserted island with just some trees and rocks." Deuce points out, "Now with proper tools and material? It's a cakewalk. Not to mention that the wood they have are quite high quality."

    "I hope it is sturdier than the last one…" Ace pointed out with a small chuckle.

    "But are you sure you guys can't stay?" I asked them, "I mean, they have come up with the whole ceremony for us and you're just going to bail like that?"

    "I'm sure you understand, Rein. We are PIRATES." The freckled pirate points out, "And pirates don't get ceremonies from kings and princesses. It just ruined the point of being a pirate!"

    "There is a feast afterwards, you know."

    That line got Ace's attention, I can hear him swallowing his drool at the prospect of eating that much food before shaking his head, "Nope! Not going to work on me! I'm not Luffy, damn it!"

    Huh, I guess being a glutton isn't just a Monkey family's trait. Then again, he is raised by Garp of all people…

    "Just give it up, Rein." Deuce tells me, "We're leaving, and that's final. Besides, what if we get our bounties and people recognised us, wouldn't that get Luna and her father in trouble?"

    "Hm, I have never thought of it like that before…"

    In the end, they finally managed to get all their supplies on board and has board the yellow banana boat in preparation to leave. "Well, that's all of it." Ace noted as he claps the dust off his hands, "Deuce, you got the map ready?"

    "Yup. And this time, I've learned some basic map reading skills." He stated with pride, "No way we're getting lost this time!"

    I would say that is raising the flag for them eventually getting lost again, but who am I judge?

    "So, this is farewell." I stated, "For real, this time."

    "Yup, I'm afraid so." Ace nodded with a grin, "A pirate's home is in the open seas, after all."

    "Ha. I guess that's right." I chuckles, raising my hand up to him, "It has been quite an adventure with you, Portgas D. Ace. May you have safe travels."

    "Same here, Rein." He grasps my hand in a tight grip.

    With those last words, the Strider came to life and jettisons them away from the island into the sunset. As I watch them leave, I could only think of the future that would be ahead of him. His struggles, his triumphs, his new bonds, and his eventual downfall and death.

    Portagas D. Ace is fated to die within at least two years. That much is certain.

    Even so, this journey of his is going to change a lot of things, and set in motion a lot of plans down the line. And honestly, even if I could theoretically find a way to change his future, I don't think I ever want to.

    This is his journey, after all. I have no right to be interfering with it.
    Luna didn't really take them leaving that well, but she accepts it either way.

    As for me?

    Well, before we captured and escorted Reginold out of the tomb, I managed to nick a book from the 'vault' before the king sealed it up for good. While I do not know how to read it, I'm hoping that Sen would be able to and probably help translate it for me. That, or he'll find a way to destroy that vault. Either one is possible.

    I've also been in the castle's library digging up on both Britt's and Latian history to try to find an answer for the vault's existence.

    There has to be a reason for that vault, of why a library filled books and tomes of the Poneglyph's writings is hidden under the castle, and why is there a library of secret and forbidden tomes in the first place.

    So far, I've only uncovered a few trivial facts, like how the castle has been standing here for almost thousand years, and has been rebuilt over and over again over the centuries by the kings of Latian who has been ruling the island for just as long. Or that there are clues indicating another thing hidden on Irenia too. Nothing too concrete to explain why a vault is needed at all.

    Of course, it could be related to Crocus's theory of the World Government's plans to eradicate every proof of their defeated 'enemy' from history all together, and that the library is basically another form of the Poneglyph given form as a giant hidden library. Still doesn't explain why there's a need for a giant library in the first place.

    Regardless, the mystery of the vault remained unsolved even as I am getting prepared for an awarding ceremony for my involvement in stopping the coup, which was originally also included Ace and Deuce, but they already left before they could do so.

    Which brings us to today, in the early afternoon, with me being forced to wear a certain attire that I really didn't want to.

    "Argh! It's so hard to move in this!! Why do ladies even want to wear these? They are just too stuffy to be practical!"

    "It's a formal attire, Rein. Practicality isn't what it is made for." Luna tells me with a huff, "And you can't wear your usual outfit in the ceremony. It just sticks out too badly!"

    "B-But I can't even walk right in this!" I stated with a groan, feeling my thighs starting to feel sore.

    The accursed attire that I'm referring to is the long formal dress that Luna has forced me into. A long red fluffy Victorian-styled dress with short sleeves, made of high-quality cloth that drapes down past my knees with white fluffy lace along edges of the sleeves and collar. Under it, I wore a dark pantyhose to my absolute dismay and matching red high-heels.

    My hair is tied up in a small bundle on the back of my head and fixed in place by a golden ornament that has a red flower, my arms are in white cloth gloves that reaches up to my elbows with a similar flowery ornament tied around my wrist to complete the look.

    All in all, I look like a goddamn noble lady, and I hate every single second I'm in it. Heck, she even put makeup on me. MAKEUP!! The thing just feels weird on my face!!

    "Come now. It's only until after the ceremony." Luna assures me. "It'll be over soon, so keep it up!"

    She too is in different outfit, a similar Victorian dress like mine but in sky blue and strapless shows off her shoulder and collarbone while also emphasizing her incredible cleavage that are tucked into a bluish-green corset. Under the dress, she wears a pair of white stockings and matching light blue high-heels.

    Her pink hair is not in a braid today, instead it is let down with a beautiful silver tiara on her head. Her hands too are in similar white gloves like mine and possess a golden bangle on her wrist. And completing the look is a shiny necklace that has a moon-shaped pendant around her neck.

    "That easy for you to say…" I muttered, "You probably wore that all the time."

    "Not really. This one is only for those special occasions, like this ceremony."

    The door to the dressing room opened with one of the Britt soldiers saluting, "Ma'am, the ceremony is about to begin. Are you ready?"

    "Yup! We're ready!" Luna tells him before turning to me, "Come on. We can't keep the masses waiting."

    "Hah… Fine…"
    I find myself standing in front of the familiar large door to the throne room, Luna standing next to me with the same soldier from before in attention behind us.

    "Well, this is it…" I muttered anxiously.

    "You'll do fine." She assures me with a smile.

    I nodded at that, as the large door is opened with some grandiose manner in time for us to walk in. Hands together and posed in front of me, back straight and head held high… let's hope I can keep this up as long as I can.

    "–to welcome our heroes; my darling daughter Luna, and her companion-in-arms, Rein of the East Traders's Silver Fang!!"

    I was greeted to a large applause, with two rows of people in aristocrat-looking outfits that screams nobility and wealth with a few journalists mixed in taking pictures with their Visual Den Den Mushi. Aligned along the large carpet I am walking on are the Britt soldiers in full uniform and still like statues with their hands behind their back.

    I felt my nerves boil up inside of me with each step I took behind Luna. All my life, in both this and my old one, I didn't expect to find myself celebrated like this. Everyone all looked so posh and proper, and their glittering clothes are blinding to my eyes. Did they put gold on their clothes, or they're using some kind of special silk to do that? I think I have heard of similar looking silk once more…

    I was brought out of my mind with Luna verbally clear her throat, I glancing to her in a curtsy and quickly followed suit.

    Sadly, thanks to my inexperience with wearing things with high heels, I lost balance and ended up falling onto my side, much to my embarrassment.

    The small amalgamation of chuckles around me just increase the heat in my cheeks even more as I hastily got back on my feet and redid the curtsy again. Even the king is silently chuckling under his hand. Damn it, this is why I hate high-heels!

    The king let out a small cough that silenced the audience of nobility, before starting his speech.

    "Luna, our beloved crown princess. You have done well to uncover the nefarious plot in the shadow and despite failing to stop it, manages to put an end to the coup and apprehend the culprit behind all of it. And you, Rein of the Silver Fang, thank you for protecting her and assisting in her endeavour. For that, I am honoured to award you the Dragon's Cross."

    The marine officer next to him, one Lewis Strongheart that is in a somewhat formal attire that is too tight for him with how tight and defined his muscular chest and limbs are stretched under his suit with his Marine coat on his shoulders like a cape, stepped forward and spoke with a lower but firmer tone than usual.

    "And for your services for saving an affiliated nation, the World Government is proud to present you with an award of our own; the World Government's Medal of Service."

    As I let the Britt and Marine soldiers hang the two medals around my neck, I thought back to what I was told about those two.

    From what Luna had told me and what I can find in the Goddess's Guidebook, the Medal of Service is just as its name implies. It is given to any civilian who has done a great deed that is recognised by the World Government, which includes stopping a coup for an affiliated country like the Britt Kingdom. The medal itself is that of the World Government's symbol in what I can tell is silver with a strap blue cloth tied to it.

    As for the Dragon's Cross, it's the same thing but is considered the highest honour to be given to anyone in the Britt Kingdom. The medal is that a dragon's head inside a shield tied to a white strap that has a red line in the middle.

    Both me and Luna turned around, showing to the world our earned medals as the king proclaimed to the audience.

    "I present to you all once more, our brave heroes!!"

    Hands start clapping and flashes of our pictures getting taken lit up once in a while; both me and Luna stood there looking pretty as everyone took a good look at us.

    As much as I hate getting this much attention, I can't lie that this doesn't feel good.
    After the ceremony, everyone is invited to a large banquet at the ballroom. The room itself is huge, as stereotypical for a ballroom to be. Chandeliers hang about on the ceiling being shiny and glaring down on everyone, with curtains of similar shade as the ones in the throne room.

    Scattered about the room are long tables with various high-quality dishes on them, all looking every fancy and expensive. Clams, lobsters, marbled beef, fatty tuna, fresh abalone, I think I saw some caviar spread on some kind of biscuit, all high-quality gourmet-level food that normal commoner folk like me most likely can't afford on the daily basis.

    That didn't stop me from picking them and devouring them all, though.

    All the noblemen and women all wander about, chatting and gossiping to one another while a small band played some fancy tune in the background to set the mood for everyone. All in all, it is as typical of a banquet as it can be.

    I found myself hanging away from the corner with a plate filled the brim all the food I can find. Luna has wandered into the crowd of noblewomen and is already chatting up a storm about something.

    Thankfully, most of the aristocrats took a glance at me from afar and never approach me, most likely due to me stuffing my face with delicious shellfish. They sure know how to cook their scallops, and their crabs are out of this world. I have never tasted lobster before, and now I know why they are such a great seafood.

    "I'm glad to see you enjoying yourself."

    A familiar voice spoke to me as, Suiren walked up to me in a navy-blue waistcoat and dress pants with shining leather shoes, white dress shirt underneath and a red rose corsage in her right breast pocket. Her hair is in the usual ponytail and she wore white gloves over her hands. All in all, she looks like a wonderful gentleman that any girl would fall for.

    The beauty of reverse traps is truly mind-blowing…

    Also, you guys are probably wondering why Suiren and Lewis are here. Well, you see, they and their marine branch are here to help transport our pirate prisoners to a proper World Government prison, after which they are also instructed to present the medal to me and so on and so forth.

    "Hey, Suiren." I greeted, swallowing the bite of lobster meat in my mouth before presenting her with my plate, "Want some? Their crab is to die for."

    "Thanks, but I'm rather full just watching you eat." She chuckles as she stood next to me, "How are you doing?"

    "Pretty good." I stated as I bite into some beef skewers, "The high-heels are killing my thighs, but the food took my mind off of it."

    "Yeah, that tumble of yours is pretty funny." She chuckles.

    Let loose a small groan at that comment, "Please let that NOT be on tomorrow's news…"

    "Also…" She looks up and down at my attire, "Didn't expect you to wear such a dress. You look amazingly cute in it."

    My cheeks burned at her comment as I fought back my beating heart. I keep forgetting how much of a natural flirt she can be, especially with the type of faces she makes when doing so. Damn it, Suiren, you damn gigolo! Stop making my heart beat so hard already!

    "D-Damn it, don't just suddenly spring that on me!" I cried as I hid my blushing face with my spare hand.

    "Ah, sorry, sorry…"

    "Quite the womanizer you are, Suiren." A rather pompous voice spoke, "As expected of our branch most desired bachelor."

    A young man in a stripped suit walks up to us with a small self-important smile on his face. His pink hair is well-combed and he has a scar on his right cheek. In his hand is a small glass of champagne where I can see steel bolts on where his knuckles are.

    He looks awfully familiar, like I have seen him somewhere before but can't quite remember where…

    "You know I hated that term, Fullbody."

    "Hey, I'm not the one that came up with it."

    Then I hit me. Fullbody! Of course! That one marine that got his ass kicked by Sanji before befriending Jango and ends up working for Hina! He was such a minor character that I have forgotten about him! Isn't he a Lieutenant before?

    "So, are you going to introduce me?" He says to Suiren who then turns to me.

    "Oh right. Rein, this is my partner, Lieutenant Fullbody." She introduces me, "Fullbody, this is Rein."

    "A pleasure to meet you, miss Rein." He greets as he pulls my hand up to his lips, "May I first say how beautiful your dress is. Not as beautiful as you, though."

    Wow, that is such a cheesy compliment that it made Samerson's own cheesy pick-up lines feel tempting. Also, personal space much, buddy?

    "Fullbody, that line is way too cheesy…" Suiren sighs, "And can't you tell she doesn't like you doing that?" As she says that, I pull my hand away from his grasp.

    "Yikes. Haha, quite a fierce one…" He nervously laughed before muttering under his breath, "That always works, though…"

    Yeah, maybe against cheap girls who would easily buy into his suave words, but as someone who is also a dude and has used the same words before…? Nope. Not happening.

    "Also, what are doing here?" She asked him, "Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the room?"

    "Well, you look like you are flirting with our good heroine here, and I wanted in on the fun." He chuckles, "Can't have you breaking another heart, after all."

    "We've met." I tells him, "And I know she's a girl, as baffling as it sounds…" Then what Suiren said hits me, "Other side of the room? What, you two in undercover or something?"

    "…You're the one that blew it this time." Fullbody points at Suiren, who groans at that.

    "A slip of the tongue…" She says before whispering to me, "Rein, don't raise your voice, okay?" I nodded and she continues, "Captain Strongheart wanted to be sure that there aren't anymore revolutionaries hidden among them, so we are to act like guests while we keep an eye out. Fullbody here is supposed to be on the other side doing the same thing."

    "I still think Captain Strongheart is overthinking it." He stated, "The evidence is obvious that Reginold is the one behind the whole thing, not the Revolutionary Army."

    "Oh, is that so?" I muttered. Well, it's better to be safe than sorry, I suppose… Although, I doubt Dragon would want to start a revolt in this kingdom, especially considering its history with such a thing. From what I can see, they aren't like the ones that he would target.

    "Even so, orders are orders." Suiren tells her partner, "So if you don't mind…?"

    "Yeah, yeah, I know." He sighs as he walks off, "Try not to break anymore hearts, okay?"

    "Just go, already."

    As the Lieutenant disappear into the crowd, Suiren turns to me and sighs, "Sorry about that. Hope this doesn't put a downer on the celebration."

    "It's fine." I assures her as I shove the skewer into my mouth and pulls out the stick, "At least he isn't those over flirty guys."

    "He's not that bad, once you get over his… well, I would say womanizing, but the only ones that fell for his words are his one-night-stands and hostesses." She chuckles, "But he's a pretty good person. In fact, he helped me a lot when I first transferred here."

    "Ah, I see."

    "Now, if only he would stop trying to act all suave for the ladies…"

    We both let loose a chuckle at that. And I thought Samerson was the worst. Looks like even Marines have their equivalent…

    "Rein!"

    A very familiar cry can be heard, I turn around to see someone I didn't expect to come here running up to me, dressed in black evening dress with a v-cut on the front to show off her impressive cleavage, along with a slit open on one side to show off her thigh and the same sandal high-heels she always wears.

    "Silvia!?" I cried out in surprise as my captain ran up to me, "What are you doing here?"

    "We were brought here." Her vice-captain walks up behind her, Lee is dressed in a white suit under a black dress shirt with a white bowtie along with a pair of white dress pants and brown leather shoes. "Some guys with the royal crest waited for us at the docks and gave us invites to come here. They even use a carriage and everything."

    "You are really amazing, Rein!" Silvia tells me with a wide grin, "To think you'll save an entire kingdom!! Oh man, wait till the rest hear about this! We are definitely going to Disco Island after this!"

    "Who else came here?" I asked them, "Is Sen here too?"

    "Just us and Sen, I'm afraid." Lee stated, "But Sen went off somewhere the moment we entered the castle. Who knows where he might be?"

    "Huh…" I thought about whether I should be worried, but then I decided to not think about it. After all, he has been here before, didn't he? He has to know his way around. I doubt he is like Zoro in that regard.

    But one can't help wonder where he would even go…
    Sen walks up to a coffin within the tombs under the castle, one which has the name [Arthurious] engraved into the stone tablet in front of it. He kneels down in front of it and lays down a small bundle of flowers next to the stone tablet.

    "Hey there, Arthur." He says to the coffin in front of me, "Sorry for not coming to your funeral. Didn't know about it until a week ago." He pats on the stone coffin, feeling the grains under his fingertips. Many emotions filled him; many memories run through his head as he stands there in silence for his dead friend.

    The time they first met where he introduced himself as Meron due to unable to come up with an alias for himself until he saw a melon that he procured just moments ago.

    The times he spent instructing him in the ways of swordsmanship after he had persistently asked so many times.

    The time in which he was asked to join him with the rebellion to achieve his dream of liberating Twilight Isles from the Latian's corrupted grasp.

    That one time that he has to break him out of prison and laughed his head off after he was told how he got caught in the first place.

    The moment in which he gave Grimsalve to him, only for him to change its name to Elderburn moments later.

    That moment in which he came out with the Latian King, bounded in chains, and proclaims the end of the war.

    The moment the flag of the Britt Kingdom was first raised into the air.

    When he got married and he was the priest.

    When Solaria is born.

    When Solaria is married and he was once again the priest.

    When Luna was born.

    When he officially stepped down and past the crown to his dearest son.

    When his wife died of illness.

    When the two shared one last drink one year ago, where he has asked the old king if he had finally realised his dream. And his answer, till this day, is one that he couldn't bring himself to forget.

    "My dream of freeing the land is fulfilled." He says as he down the shot of rum, "And now, my dream of assuring the kingdom's prosperity would go on, by my son's hand, by my granddaughter's hand, by her son's hand and so forth. Even now, my dream is still going strong."

    That was the last time he has ever spoke to him, and the last time he would ever have a drink with him.

    He uncorks the bottle of rum he has brought with him, and proceeds to pour it all over the coffin with reckless abandon.

    "Your dream is still going strong, huh…?" He wonders before chuckling, "Indeed it is." He raises the bottle in a toast, "To your dream, my dear friend. May you rest in peace."

    He then chugs the rest of the rum, tears flowing down his cheeks with each gulp.

    "Pwah, so salty…"
    It is now late in the evening, the orange sunset shimmering in the distance.

    After the banquet is over, I have gathered my things and met up with Silvia, Lee and Sen, and we all went back to Port Royalise to re-join the rest of the crew on the Silver Fang. Luna is also here to see me off.

    "So, you're finally leaving." She stated with a smile, "Hard to believe we only known each other for just a week. And now…"

    "We are friends." I smiled back.

    The few days I have spent in the castle, besides researching for the vault, I have spent some time with Luna as we prepared for the ceremony. We have talked, have a somewhat awkward sleepover which ended up rather… raunchy to say the least, and overall formed a bond with each other.

    "Be sure to write often." She tells me.

    "Of course." I stated with a grin, "Not sure what I would write about, though."

    "Anything is fine!" She stated, "What are you doing at the time, what you have for lunch that day, stuff like that!"

    "That feels more like an exchange diary then anything…"

    "…Sorry, I have never had a pen-pal before… and…"

    "It's fine." I assures her, "I'll to write, but don't expect too much."

    "I won't."

    "Hey."

    We both share a chuckle at that, before she walks up and embraced me in a hug. I welcome it and hugs her back. "I'm going to miss you."

    "Me too."

    Soon enough, I board back on to the Silver Fang and we sail off into the distance. I turn back to the docks, where Luna is waving her arms at me, shouting her goodbyes. I then replied back by waving my arms as well.

    With that, the curtains fall for the Twilight Isles.

    …
    To be continued…​
    Finally, done!! Oh god, this epilogue is way harder than I thought it would be. I sure hope the last few parts doesn't feel too sloppy, as I have run out of things to say… Also, yes, there are some development off-screen but I'll try to address them.

    So yes, with this, the Twilight Isles Arc has finally come to a close!! How do you all feel about it? Let me know, please! Criticism is most welcomed!

    And on a side note, with this, I may take a small break from this fic. I'm not abandoning it, just wanting to focus on a new fic I have ideas for.

    Keep a look out for when it will drop!

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Colin Yeo said:
    I am now able to go on a full circuit around the Silver Fang's deck twice without breaking a sweat.
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    So about 100 yards?
    How bad is your stamina?

    Colin Yeo said:
    From what is written down, the previous rulers were pretty much selfish pricks that just did whatever they damn pleased. From over-taxing its citizens, especially the lower class like farmers, to just capturing people who has caught their fancy, or has wronged them in some way, to be used as slaves.

    Eventually, the tension finally snapped when a commoner straight up attacked and killed a member of the royal court in broad daylight. That single act of rebellion sparks the start of an uprising from the commoner folk which later evolved into a bloody civil war that tore the kingdom from the inside and outside.

    In the end, the rebellion is triumph with the Latian Kingdom getting overthrown with its royalty are either executed or exiled from the island all together, and is renamed the Britt Kingdom, after the person who has killed the first noble all those years ago. And after that, they manage to rebuilt the entire kingdom and made it even stronger than before.
    Click to expand...
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    Good start!
    Now just repeat the experiment on the World Nobles!

    Colin Yeo said:
    "You're almost a millennium old!?"
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    Just think, you could live to be 1000 years old too!
    And you'd be mistaken for 15 the entire time!

    Colin Yeo said:
    "…Master Meron. I need you help in stopping a coup."

    "…Huh?"

    Well, and I thought this day couldn't get anymore hectic as it can be. Damn you, Murphy's Law!!
    Click to expand...
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    Could be worse.
    She could've asked for help staging a coup.

    Colin Yeo said:
    "If you didn't have any cash, why did you even eat there, anyways!?"

    "It's just how I roll!"
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    Ace secretly hates restaurant owners.
    He eats a large quantity of food.
    He falls asleep in the dish, ruining more food.
    He runs away without paying the bill, and if they chase him, he adds injury to insult.

    Colin Yeo said:
    A young woman in at least her early twenties, if her hourglass figure mean anything,
    Click to expand...
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    One day, you'll look at a girl, assess her as 15 years old, then realize she's bigger than you.
     
    Blaflaix said:
    So about 100 yards?
    How bad is your stamina?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Pretty bad. I haven't exercise for over two years.
    Blaflaix said:
    Good start!
    Now just repeat the experiment on the World Nobles!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Sadly, Rein is not Cross.
    But Sen on the other hand...
    Blaflaix said:
    Just think, you could live to be 1000 years old too!
    And you'd be mistaken for 15 the entire time!
    Click to expand...
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    Rein would have grown a little before entering Canon. But she/he would still be mistaken for a middle schooler.
    Blaflaix said:
    Could be worse.
    She could've asked for help staging a coup.
    Click to expand...
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    Now that would be a fun ride. Maybe I should have went with that...
    Blaflaix said:
    Ace secretly hates restaurant owners.
    He eats a large quantity of food.
    He falls asleep in the dish, ruining more food.
    He runs away without paying the bill, and if they chase him, he adds injury to insult.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    And he politely thank the cook just for laughs!!
    Blaflaix said:
    One day, you'll look at a girl, assess her as 15 years old, then realize she's bigger than you.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Considering Oda's taste in huge 'plots', highly doubt so. Until we get to Sugar, at least.
     
    Chapter 19
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 19: Disco Island​
    "Hey, guys! Hey guys!! The latest copy just dropped!"

    "Oh, sweet! Quick! Find that article! Let's see how she look!"

    "Already on the case!!"

    It has been a few days since we left the Twilight Isles and the Britt Kingdom.

    The seas have been mostly calm, with a few wild winds and some heavy rainstorms here and there, and we are slowly making our way back to Temasek. Or at least, that's where I THINK we are heading to.

    For some reason, a lot of the crew seems to be excited about something for the past couple of days since we left Port Royalist, and I have no idea why. The guys seem to be taking good care of their oral hygiene for some reason, and the girls are really attentive towards their make-up as well. Heck, I see Silvia checking her hair at the porthole window every once in a while.

    Heck, even Sen seems to be doing it!

    And that is terrifying…

    At any case, that has nothing to do with case at hand as the moment the News Coo landed on the railings, someone immediately buy the latest copy and start flipping through it like crazy.

    "What've gotten you all excited?" I asked after another strenuous training session with Sen. Him being in a good mood doesn't seem to make the training any easier. If anything, he seems to be making them even tougher by the day, now adding spars with actual swords with me now permanently the wielder of Nanashi.

    "Oh, like you don't know~"

    "Really, I don't. What are you looking for?"

    "Ooh~! Found it~!" The crewmember with the newspaper, I think his name is Joey, reveal to the article to us, a full page spread from the looks of it.

    When I saw the photo on it, I let out a moan of embarrassment as I tries to cover my now blushing face as much as I could.

    "[Princess saves Kingdom from a future Rebellion!]" He reads out loud, "[With the help from a brave young lady in employment the East Traders!]! Hey, Rein! You're on the paper!!"

    "Oh man, what is she wearing?"

    "I don't know. I think it suits her."

    "Really?"

    "Man, look at that expression! Hahaha, you look so out of place!"

    "I think this is the first I've ever saw her in an actual dress."

    Comment after comment came out of my crewmates much to my increasing shame and embarrassment. Damn it, I knew that is going to come up in the papers, but still!

    "Oh… someone, just kill me now…"

    "Relax, Rein." Gord assures me with a pat on the back, "You look great in that outfit. Way better that I thought you ever could."

    "That dress really suits you, to be honest." Kris added.

    "Not you guys too…!" I moaned as I brought my knees to my chest in a fetal position to try and hide my burning face.

    "Hey, hey, what's all the racket!?" Silvia calls out as she came to the deck, "Why aren't any of you at your post!?"

    "The latest newspaper is out!"

    "Oh, sweet! Is Rein's article in there!?"

    "Right here!"

    "Let me see!"

    "God damn it, Silvia!!" I groan out, "It's just one article! It's nothing to make such a big fuss about!"

    "Rein, you literally saved an entire kingdom from regressing into civil war." My captain stated flatly, "I think that desire this much fuss."

    "It's not like I did it on my own…"

    "Regardless! It's still fact that you are on the news! And with this, the East Traders' reputation will skyrocket into new heights! All thanks to you!"

    I'm not sure how to feel about that. I mean, the only reason I even helped Luna out in the first place is due to Sen pushing me into it. And then I dragged Ace and Deuce into it, and through sheer fucking luck and some super lucky coincidence that we managed to foil Reginold's plans. Not exactly awe-inspiring, that's for sure…

    "Man, they sure are putting you up there." Joe noted as he reads into the paper, "Taking down an entire platoon of armed terrorists all by yourself, and with nothing but your sword? Those are some high exaggeration! The World Government sure doesn't cut corners on this."

    "That's the World Government for you." Gord sighs, "If there's any news on an affiliated kingdom, especially when it is to do with civil unrest, they would go to all lengths to overdramatise the entire event."

    "That, or 'Big News' Morgans really likes to overexaggerate with his words." Lee pointed out.

    "Or both." Sen stated, "It could be both."

    "Alright, men! It is now decided!" She snatches the newspaper out of Joe's grasps before raising it into the air like a trophy, "When we arrive at Disco Island, the first thing we are going to do is celebrate like sailors! Everyone gets shore leave for the day!!"

    "HOORAY!!"

    "Huh? Disco Island?" I blinked in surprise. That's where we're heading to this whole time?

    "Seriously, Rein?" Gord raises his brow at my expression, "Silvia stated that we will head there on the return trip, remember? Before we left Temasek?"

    "Ah…"

    Now that he mentioned it, she did say something like that before, didn't she? I must have forgotten about it with all the stuff that has been going on back at Twilight Isles…

    "You can seriously be a bit of an airhead at times, huh?" Sen chuckles.

    "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, why don't you?"

    "Ah, but someone needs to stay behind to guard the ship." Lee points out.

    "Alright! Let's have a rock-paper-scissors tournament!" Silvia announces, "Loser has to guard the ship for the night!"

    "What, seriously!?"

    "Damn it, I can't afford to lose!"

    "Oh crap, I'm terrible at that! Argh, my shore leave!!"

    "Hey! That's completely unfair!"

    Kris opens his mouth to speak, no doubt to volunteer to stay behind-

    *BOOOM!!*

    The sea next to the ship suddenly exploded in a tower of water, one as tall as the mast with the resulting displacement splashing down on all of us. The shockwave shakes the ship extremely wildly that has almost everyone falling and tripping over themselves to try and stay upright.

    "What was that!?"

    "Captain!! Pirates off to the portside!!"

    The lookout's announcement spooked everyone on the ship as we all quickly rushed into battle stations to prepare for another fight. The cannons are aimed and armed with boxes of gunpowder and cannonballs are being dragged out of storage, swords and various forms of firearms are armed and ready.

    I thumbed Nanashi's tsuba nervously as I waited anxiously for the upcoming brawl.

    "Who is it?" Silvia asked.

    "The Buggy Pirates, captain!"

    Wait, the Buggy Pirates? The one with the comical ass of a captain that is pretty much the guy whose luck is either so bad or so good to the point of hilariousness? The one that looks like a fucking clown even without any makeup or fake noses? The ass of the joke and meme of the fandom, Buggy himself?

    I didn't think I'll run into him at all. Then again, he has a pretty hefty bounty in canon, so he has to be pretty active before Luffy came and wreck his ass. While he is pretty pathetic in Grand Line standards, he is very, very dangerous in the East Blue.

    His tricky Devil Fruit ability aside, his custom cannonballs aren't some run-of-a-mill ammunition, each with enough firepower to level a row of houses with just one shot. Not to mention his more portable Muggy Ball that he kept within his shoes that he can fire at any time and with no reduction of its destructive power.

    Not only that, his Lieutenants are no pushover either. One's a tamer of a massive lion that is pretty strong, while the other is a not-incompetent swordsman with a bag full of deadly tricks that had Zoro on the evasive for majority of their fight.

    I may have a tough time dealing with them-

    "Huh? Lil' Buggy? Didn't think I'll run into him in this decade…"

    "Hm? You know him?" I asked Sen in surprise. From the way he said it, it's like he knew of the clown pirate personally, and for a pretty long time too.

    The only way he could have known him would have been that he… no, that can't be. It can't be that much a coincidence, can it?

    "HAHAHA!! Hear me, you East Traders!!"

    A booming, but rather unthreatening, voice calls out from the pirate ship that is coming closer every few clicks.

    "That shot I flashily graced you with is from my special cannonball, the Buggy Ball!" Unmistakably Buggy shouts out over from his pirate ship, "If you don't want that to hit you, I suggest you surrender and hand over all your gold, silver and all things that glitter! If not, we're happy to take it from your wreckage!"

    "Damn, that was from one cannonball? How powerful is that Buggy Ball?" Joe wonders worriedly.

    "If that thing hits us, a hole in the hull would be the least of our worries." Gord noted.

    "What's our plan?" Lee asked Silvia, "Should we do as he says?"

    "It pains me to say it, but…" She muttered out; her tone clearly indicates how frustrating it is to her, "Everyone, weapons down. Let them board."

    "C-Captain!!"

    "We can't just surrender!"

    "I-I'm sure I can hit their hull from here!"

    "I can swim over there and take them down, no problem!" Kris pointed out.

    "And then they'll sink us without any mercy!!" She shouts out to the crew, silencing their complains instantly, "I would rather have our lives and this ship not sinking if it just means giving up on some shiny metals! We can earn the money back, but we can't bring the dead back. Let them board, that is an order."

    "…Yes, captain, ma'am…"

    "If I may interject…" Sen spoke up from the crew, getting everyone's attention, "You don't have to give them anything, if you wanted."

    "Sen?"

    "Just leave that clown to me. I'll have it settled without a single fight."

    We are all confused by his words, but decided to trust in them regardless. If it is Sen, I'm sure he'll be able to pull it off. After all, it is clear that he knows Buggy.
    Soon enough, after Silvia gave the order to raise a white flag in surrender, the Buggy Pirates' circus-themed ship sails up to us and drops a boarding ramp on our railings.

    "I'm glad you guys are smart about this." Buggy gleefully walks onto the deck, "To be honest, hunting for your gold from a wreckage would be such a pain."

    He is as ridiculous-looking as Oda made him out to be. Crossbones makeup with lips coated in red, orange pirate hat with his pirate-clown Jolly Roger on it, orange fur-lined pirate coat draped over his shoulder, red striped shirt and green pants with those pointed jester shoes, not to mention that big red nose of his.

    He is a 'clown' from top to bottom.

    And that's not mentioning his crew, who has all adopted similar attire to reflect the circus theme they are clearly going for to match with their captain. Heck, they might as well be the circus if they weren't wielding swords and flintlocks.

    Also, I'm not sure if I'm misremembering, but was the tamer's hair always that white, and looks so much like fur?

    "Now, as we ordered, your gold, silver, and all things glittering. Into the bag they go." One of his men walks up with a large bag open for us, clearing waiting for their precious loot. "If I ever catch a glimpse of even one person attempting something foolish, it is goodbye to your ship-"

    "Wow, did your nose gotten bigger? Ho-ly shit, that is amazing!"

    I can literally hear his nerve snapping as his crew clearly flinches and steps away from their captain with great haste.

    "Who's the fucking bastard who said that!? Step forward and I'll show you who has a big nose!"

    "Gladly~!"

    As soon as Sen steps out, Buggy's face immediately drops several shades of every colour colour and became as pale as a bleached white sheet. Even his lips became pale, and they are coated!

    "E-Eh…?"

    "Long time no see, Lil' Buggy!"

    "S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-SEN!?"

    With bulging eyes and chattering teeth, the clown-themed pirate screams out in both shock and panic. Not to mention his hilarious expression that is befitting his namesake and appearance. Damn, I didn't think lips could pucker up that much without looking like a kiss!!

    "W-What are you doing here!?"

    "What? Am I not allowed to roam the East Blue?"

    "O-Oh! O-Of course, n-n-not! You can sail wherever you like!!" He nervously chuckles, "J-Just, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

    "Heh, you know how it is with me." Sen states with a smirk, "Wandering with no destination, in mind. But enough about me, let's talk about you! I see you are making quite a name of yourself! A loyal crew, a pretty high bounty, and a ship to call your own! You are really moving up in the world."

    "A-Ah, yes! Of course! A pirate to the end, like the captain always says!"

    "Yes, yes, like he says. And a pirate you are to the end, right?"

    "Y-Yes…?" Buggy's face starts to tense up a little, "O-Out of pure c-curiosity, what are you doing on this here ship?"

    "Oh, I'm currently working as this ship's guard."

    "I-I see…"

    "And you are planning on plundering this ship of its valuables and goods, so I have to step in to stop you." Buggy's face became even paler than before, "Just as a heads-up, I don't hate you for what you are doing. You are just doing what all pirates do, after all. It's with the career."

    "O-Of course…"

    "With that being said…" Sen smirks, "I value the bonds I made over the years, so I can be a little lenient on this. So, I'm going to give a painless solution!"

    "W-Which is…?"

    "Leave within the next ten minutes. And if I ever see you coming after this ship again…"

    A crack of a single finger joint is more than enough motivation for him to start running back to the ship like his ass is on fire, his confused crew not too far behind. Within the next five minutes, the boarding ramps are pulled back to his ship, the anchor is raised and the circus pirate ship is speeding away as fast as a wind-powered ship is capable of going.

    "SORRY FOR THE TROUBLE!!" Buggy shouts out over the horizon as the pirate ships sails further away.

    "…And that takes care of that." Sen pats his hands free of any imaginary dust, "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

    "…"

    "…"

    "…"

    "…"

    "…"

    "…Guys?"

    No one can say anything, especially with how low our jaws have dropped by the display of absolute dominance by Sen. I know Sen has immense strength, but for Buggy to run away in a panic like that without so much as a single punch or bullet fired? And with just his sheer intimidation alone?

    And at that point, everyone on the ship just collectively decides to never try to offend Sen ever again. And to find a way to have Sen stay as this ship's guard permanently.
    By the time the sun starts to set and the night begins to roll around, we all made it to the island everyone has been hyping up about.

    And to be their benefit, they have a reason to do so.

    Disco Island is like its namesake, a bustling island city that may as well be the East Blue equivalent to Las Vegas, but more disco dancing and drunk partying with less casinos and gambling. I guess that is to expected with an island that seems to have a huge culture centring around the beauty of 80s disco culture.

    Heck, I can see a lot of fashion choices that would fit perfectly in the 80s that are just wandering the streets, not to mention the insane dance parties ongoing all around the island.

    The island's buildings aren't that different from a regular city of this world, with stone houses made with white bricks all around that can go as high as five stories at least. And when I said city, I mean it.

    You see, the island itself isn't very big, and such the buildings are built similar to big metropolis like New York but in a more sailing ship era setting. That meant that besides the main streets and city square, every building is built pretty close to each other, and that leads to lots of alleyways in between. If you were to wander about here, you can get lost pretty quickly and easily.

    Thankfully, that is not the case for me this time as the moment we landed on the island, we all went straight to the largest bar for a celebration.

    "A toast! To our shortest member yet-"

    "HEY!"

    "-and the great hero that saved a kingdom!! To Rein!!"

    "CHEERS!!"

    In no time at all, everyone all starts drinking and partying like no tomorrow. Beer are poured and chugged every few minutes, laughing and cheers all around. Some were even starting to sing and dance about the place, piss drunk or otherwise. And boy, some of them are piss drunk and is screwing up the song badly. And yet, tone deaf singing surprisingly fits this place.

    "Having fun, Rein?" Sen asked after he down what looks like his fiftieth mug.

    "Kind of." I nodded as I sips my root beer. Yeah, turns out root beer exists in this world, and are non-alcoholic so it is safe. "It's kind of fun to see what everyone else is up to."

    I think I saw Sam already making some moves on the local ladies with very high possibility of a one-night-stand. He might be getting a threesome with twins by the looks of things.

    And Gord is starting a Congo line for some reason? Hell, he is even wearing the large Mexican hat with all the accessories and everything. All he needs to have some maracas and he is set!

    And Silvia is at the corner nursing a drink and-Is she making out with Lee of all people!? Not only that, they are practically humping each other!

    "Um, is Silvia and Lee…?"

    "They are dating, if that's what you are thinking."

    "Does everyone know about this?"

    "Pretty much. There were subtle hints here and there, you know."

    Wow. I didn't even notice at all. I did think they were pretty close, but I assumed it was because of their positions and such-and they are groping each other now. And Silvia is taking off her jacket-

    "Go to the bathroom, at least!!"

    Justin's shout manages to get them to head there before they start 'riding' each other in public. Wow, they must be really drunk, or pent up from being out at sea that long.

    "Too bad Kris can't come here, huh?" I pointed out.

    The fishman has volunteer to stay behind on the Silver Fang as the night guard, as expected of him. I get that he can't really join in as he can't come onto the island without tripping some alarm and getting the Marine involved, but I would like it if he could show up.

    "You know how it is." Sen stated, "With Arlong ruining the reputation of Fishmen in the East Blue, he would just bring the Marines down on us."

    "I know, I know. Just…"

    "…Let's get him a barrel to chug when we get back, huh?"

    I nodded at the idea before draining my mug.
    Soon enough, when close to everyone is either blacked out or vomiting on the streets, we all returned back to the Silver Fang to rest up for the night. Excluding Sam who has a nightly rendezvous.

    Sen is still drinking though, with no sign of him getting even a little tipsy.

    After giving Kris some high-quality rum from the bar, we decide to take over his shift and let him enjoy a little drink for the night. At least there are a few people who still hasn't drink enough who are willing to join him, Justin being surprisingly one of them. Gord seems to still be functioning well enough to add some snacks to go with it.

    "This is a good night." Sen nodded as he empties another bottle in one long chug.

    "Man, I know I have said this before, but you really can hold your alcohol." I pointed out.

    "Yup. Several centuries of drinking can do that to you."

    "Guess that explains it…"

    Thankfully, tonight seems to be a cloudless night. So all the shimmering stars are free to be seen and the full moon is shining down on us, letting us have a good view of the deck even without a lantern.

    As the salty sea breeze blew against me, my shoulder length hair fluttering in the wind, I thought back to all my time in this world.

    Getting saved by Sen having dropping into the ocean, eating the nasty Devil Fruit and nearly drowning in the process, getting new clothes and joining the East Traders, the time in Riza and my almost crush on Suiren, Sen revealed to be a Dragon, that battle with the Don Krieg pirates, meeting Garp and then Ace a few days later, and my adventure with Luna to save her kingdom.

    Man, all of that happened just within the span of a couple of months…

    "A lot has happened, huh…?"

    "Hm?"

    "Ever since I came here into this world, it has been on full throttle non-stop." I explains to him, "Event after event after event, I have been through quite a bit of a journey."

    "It's not too bad." Sen stated, "You seems to be having a great time at least."

    "Yeah, I am. Back in my world, the farthest I have ever gone is to my college and back. Maybe to my sister's house sometimes for a visit or to deliver some things, but that's the extent of where I have gone outside of my house."

    "That sounds rather boring…"

    "It is, but I didn't really desire anything outside of it, outside of my comfort zone." I added, "But now, I have been turned into a girl, eaten probably the worst fruit to have ever existed, joined a trading company, and now I have saved an entire kingdom. All of that, I wouldn't have imagined myself doing at all."

    "Do you now?"

    "Somewhat. Maybe a little, but I wouldn't change it any other way."

    "I see." He nodded, "I guess that means you wouldn't mind me upping the difficulty of your training?"

    "Oh please, have mercy on that end."

    We both let loose a little chuckle at that, before returning to that peaceful silence.

    As the night went on, my mind starts to think back to the book I have in my room right now. The book I have swiped from the vault back on the Twilight Isles. And its hierographic content.

    I knew that Sen has purposely forbids me from even attempting to search about anything about the Void Century, but with that book, I might have some clue to its truth. The One Piece fan inside me is screaming at me to find out the truth, about this and everything.

    Actually…

    "This is going to sound out of leftfield, but…" I turn to face my mentor, "Back at Twilight Isles, Reginold had told Vi that your friend Arthurious has issued an order to kill off all Letians and anyone related to their royal bloodline. Is that…?"

    "…Yes, and no." He sighs, "That part of their history is one that Arthurious is not proud of. Even with the war won, there's still some deep resentment towards the Letians. While he wanted them to just leave them alone and live alongside them, there are those who wants vengeance on all of them, whether or not they are involved in the fighting. It has gotten so out of hand that there were forged orders that permitted the genocide of at least several thousands of civilians, all of them just distantly related to the Letian Kingdom."

    "So… what Reginold said is true?"

    "In one hand, yes. But Arthurious was able to put a stop to it in the end. He didn't want this to happen again, so he has the rest of the Letians all banished from the island and all records of such a thing ever happening was erased. After a while, that is accepted as fact."

    "Man… even the greatest saint has the darkest secrets, huh?" I noted. I have absolutely no idea that such a deep secret was erased from history. It is kind of like the World Government, huh…?

    "Mhm." He nodded, "Say, what brought that up? Still thinking about that guy Vi?"

    "No, not really, just…" I wonder if I should say it, and decides to just bite the bullet, "When I was in the tome under the kingdom, there was a vault that can only be opened by a certain item."

    "Ah, right. Arthurious did mention something like that before his coronation. Says that it must not be opened at all."

    "Yeah, well… we opened it." I flinched at his twitching eyebrows as I felt his Conqueror Haki starting to leak out of him, "B-But! There was nothing but books in it!"

    "…Books? He didn't say anything about books…"

    "Yeah, but here's the kicker…" I look around to make sure no one for sure is listening in before telling him, "In those books, are written text that looks like the letters on the Poneglyphs."

    "WHAT!?"

    "SSHH!! You want to tell everyone!?"

    He grumbles a little before asking, "Are you absolutely sure about this? They aren't some other strange lost language?"

    "No, those are definitely the same kind of letters as the ones on the Poneglyphs." I stated, "If you want a comparison, I have one of the books in my room."

    "You took one out!?" He screams at me, "Are you fucking insane!? If the World Government, if those five bastards found about this, they are going to declare war against the Britt Kingdom!!"

    "I know, I know! But I can't help it! That book might contain information that not even Clover was able to found out!! Information on the missing history!!"

    "Which is why I want you to get rid of it right now!! No amount of knowledge is worth risking a Buster Call over!!"

    "It doesn't have to be that way! It's just one book! That's all! Please, at least translate it for me before getting rid of it!" I begged him, "I have to know what it says!"

    "…You could be hunted for life, you know."

    "I highly doubt that this one book happens to have information about the Ancient Weapons, Sen."

    "…Find. Just bring it here. But I'm destroying it afterwards."

    "Sure, no problem! I'll be right back!"

    With haste, I dash into my room and brought back the forbidden text to him.

    He carefully opens it up and skims through the pages a little. When his eyebrows raise up in what I can only guess is confusion, I knew from that it has nothing to do with all that he is afraid of.

    "This… is just a history textbook."

    "A textbook?" That's it? It's just a dumb textbook!?

    "Yeah, but one that predates even the World Government." He added, "And… yup, the Ruroa Empire. That hasn't existed for a very long time."

    "So, it's just a textbook…" I sighs in dejection, "Man, I was kind of hoping for some kind of hint about the Void Century."

    Sen says nothing as he easily rips the book into pieces before dumping them into the sea below. "But why would a history textbook be sealed within a vault?" He wonders.

    "Yeah, that's a good question." I nodded. For such a secure vault, for it just house textbooks would a big question mark for all of us.

    "…Say, Rein." My mentor asks, "Why are you so curious about the Void Century?"

    "Hm? Oh, no real reason." I noted, "It's just that back home, there were A LOT of theories about what the Void Century is since its reveal in the story, and I have read through all of them in my free time. Guess that the thought of being able to either debunk or proof one of them is an enticing one."

    "I see…"

    "But damn, it would nice if one of them could be true…"

    I lean back against the railings and watch the stars, letting the wind blow through my hair.
    …
    To be continued…

    Man, oh man! I am back, baby!

    And boy, this chapter is hard to write.

    I've already had the overall plot planned out, but I'm still not sure how to portray Rein's desire to know about the Void Century.

    And yes, I might be copying Robin on that aspect, but there are slight differences here and there. You just have to wait and see.

    Just a heads-up, I won't be focusing too much on this story for now, so expect pretty rare updates for this. I wouldn't abandon this fic yet, just having a burnout from writing this chapter.

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • To be fair, I think that if practically any of us were dropped in Rein's shoes we'd be wanting to know the exact same thing; 'The fuck is up with the Void Century?!'
    I know I would be...but I'd also be trying to figure out Haki and Rokushiki too. knowing me I'd end up with Observation Haki if I had access to it.
     
    Chapter 20
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 20: Baratie​
    I felt the wind blow against my face and through my hair as I stood on the main mast's rope riggings, looking out into the ocean without a care in the world with the morning sun shining down from the clear blue skies above; the ocean waters reflecting the rays off them like sparkling blue gems.

    It has been two years since I've entered the One Piece universe and changed into a woman against my will. And two years since I've joined the East Traders' Silver Fang.

    And in those two years, my body has grown to be more… womanly.

    I've grown a good head taller, that's a given, so I'm no longer being look on like a kid, instead is more of a somewhat short high school girl. I'm still the shortest person around, though. My figure has filled up quite a bit, with my bust growing from a small AB-cup to a full B-cup.

    I have to get a new bra, annoyingly…

    And thanks to my training, my limps are toned with defined muscles as well as a slight six pack, most which are half covered under my new halter top. Never in my life would I have even conceive having a tone stomach.

    Speaking of which, my wardrobe has been given a little of an upgrade as well.

    Gone is my dark blue tube top, changed into a white sleeveless turtleneck halter top that barely covers my toned belly but shows off a bit of my belly button; over it is now a dark blue cropped short-sleeved jacket with a red hood. My grey pants are now a pair of black slacks that cut off halfway up my shins and my usual brown leather boots is replaced with a pair of sturdy leather sandals.

    I still got the same white cloth sash is tied around my waist though, with Nanashi hanging from it.

    My hair has also grown out and has remained grown down past my shoulders to the middle of my back, despite my desire for it to be short boyish cut. For some reason, Silvia and Justin really don't want that, saying that it is such a waste to do so.

    Long hair really gets in the way, though…

    And they are a real pain to maintain and keep clean…

    I usually just tie them up as a simple ponytail.

    Besides those bodily changes, these past two years has been a pretty wild ride. From Sen's harsh and brutal training, to helping out on the ship's many long voyages, I've been through a lot and encounter quite a lot.

    Like for example, Lee and Silvia got married last year!

    Yeah, no kidding! We have a ceremony and everything!

    Thanks to the harsh training, I'm now well trained and fully equipped with a set of skills that even if I quit the East Traders and goes off on my own, I could easily navigate the seas with relative ease and hold my own against most pirates.

    Speaking of pirates, I have been keeping taps on the news to see if anything about Luffy or the plot rearing its head for the past two years.

    Ace got his first bounty, as expected, as Fire Fist Ace of the Spade Pirates just last year. And there have been constant talks about a certain swordsman now pretty much becoming the most infamous bounty hunter in the East Blue. Rumours about a pirate stealing thief seems to be circulating around too.

    But no signs of any of the Straw Hats forming up with each other yet, especially about their captain.

    There had been an article about a certain Axe hand marine captain and his corruption and tyranny over his base about a month ago, so at least I know that canon is long underway.

    "Hey, Rein!!" My captain, Silvia calls out to me from the deck below with some of the crew around her. "Get down here! I need to brief about this job!"

    I comply and leaps off the rigging onto the deck. Right in front of her.

    "Nice landing." She noted before turning to address us, her crew, "Baratie is just a few clicks away and we have ingredients needing to be unloaded. So, the people who will be unloading are…"

    I tuned out her list of names as I thought about this new delivery trip.

    When I heard that we are actually delivering ingredients to THE Baratie, I was floored! East Blue's only seafaring restaurant, the one fictional restaurant that I thought would be an awesome place to visit if I ever get the chance to! I didn't think that the East Traders would have a contract with them, especially with how much of a grumpy hardass Zeff is portrayed in the manga.

    I wonder if we get a chance to have a meal there…?

    Also, it is the working place of one blonde kicking future pirate cook of the Straw Hats and former North Blue noble, Sanji Vinsmoke. Or just Sanji.

    I really doubt he would have liked being called that, especially with his 'family' history…

    It is also the future battleground for Luffy and Don Krieg. With the canon plot now chugging along, there's a small chance that I might ended up right in the middle of it. As much as it would be nice to see Sanji kick some ass, I would rather not get the Silver Fang caught up in it, especially with a certain swordsman coming to kick up a storm.

    If he can cut up a huge galleon with no real trouble, I'm afraid of what would happen to our smaller ship if we get caught in the crossfire…

    "Rein!! East Blue to Rein!!"

    I was brought out of my musing when Silvia waves her hand in front of me.

    "Yes!! W-What is it!?"

    "Good to have you back from lalaland, Rein." She stated in annoyance as some of the crew starts chuckling to my embarrassment, "You are part of the group helping unload the cargo. Take extra care not to overexert yourself. We all remember what happened last time you did."

    I groaned as laughter exploded around me. Just one time I tried to carry way too much boxes and accidentally drop them into the ocean, and they hang it over my head forever.
    When the seafaring restaurant comes into view, I was once again shocked over how much of Oda's design seems to fit in with the world.

    The Baratie looks exactly like how it is in the manga; A three-layered 'ship' themed after what I think might be a grouper. Though calling it a ship might not be right. It looks more like those floating restaurants you often find off the coast of a marina, but with sails and a fish fin rudder.

    At its entrance, or at least I think is its entrance, docked a row of ships of all sizes, with a few rowboats among them, most likely from the larger vessels anchored a bit further away. Some of them looks to be private yachts and passenger ships.

    Then, one of them caught my attention immediately.

    A small ship with a goat head figurehead and a certain jolly roger painted on its sails and black flag.

    A smiling jolly roger with a straw hat.​

    This must mean that we came at the time either Luffy just destroyed part of the restaurant, during the period which he is working as their chore boy, or just before Don Krieg arrives with his half-wrecked galleon and starving crew.

    And seeing that there are some tarp covering over a part of the top floor, I dare wager it would be either during the period or before Don Krieg.

    "Hm? Something caught your eyes?"

    I turn around to see Sen walking up to me with curious glint in his eyes. I pointed at the Going Merry among the anchored ships, "That. That's the Going Merry."

    "Okay? What about it?"

    "Remember two years ago, when I told you about a… certain someone?"

    "Two years ago-Oh! Wait, is that his ship?"

    I nodded before whispering to him, "His first one. Since that is here, there's a small chance that he would be here as well. And a possibility of Don Krieg attacking this restaurant."

    "Don Krieg? Why would he attack this place?"

    "Long story short, he got his ass busted by the Grand Line and now wants to rebuild his fleet."

    "And he starts here?"

    "Again, a long story. The main point is that he might attempt to take over the Baratie today."

    "Might?"

    "I'm not too sure of the timeline, so–"

    "What are you guys whispering about over here?"

    I nearly jumped when Lee suddenly makes a point to budge into our whispered conversation. He gives us a pointed look, "Well? Spit it out."

    "U-Um…"

    How do I explain to him that a dangerous pirate is about to try to hijack the seafaring restaurant!?

    "Rein just wants to dine at the Baratie." Sen helpfully answers for me, "I mean, it's not everyday we get to come to the famous Baratie. What do you think? Mind letting her take a break after work to dine to some fine dining?"

    "Hm… It would be a shame not to do so…" He noted, "I'll run it by Silvia and let you know what she thinks."

    "Thanks, Lee!"

    As the quartermaster walks away, we both let loose a huge sigh of relief, "That was way too close…" I stated.

    "No kidding…" Sen nodded, "So, about Don Krieg."

    "Ah, right. I don't know what the exact moment he might arrive. It could be today or tomorrow, who can say? But there's still a small chance that he'll try to hijack this restaurant. So, mind keeping a look out, just in case?"

    "Sure. Better to be safe than sorry." He noted with a smile as he chuckles, "And I'm kind of curious how bad the Grand Line screw him up."

    "…You are one sadistic bastard, you know that?"

    …

    After our little discussion over the matter, the Silver Fang anchors a good distance away from the other ships at the opposite side of the restaurant.

    The ones who will be handling unloading most of the cargo would be: me, Sen, Lee, and Gord. The rest of the crew are to take a short break in the meantime, which either means that sleeping or drinking the afternoon away. Thank goodness that we only need to unload ten crates worth of stuff.

    "You guys with the East Traders?"

    The head chef of Baratie, Chef Zeff greets us in all his peg leg and braided moustache glory. Lee answers back, "Yes, we are the Silver Fang of the East Traders. I'm the quartermaster of the Silver Fang, Lee-"

    "Don't care. Show me the stock."

    With a disregarding wave, he belts out his demands for his order which we hastily brought out for him. With a crowbar, we open a barrel filled with fish laid over ice, which he inspects each spud with a careful eye, "Hm… good, good… and the vegetables?"

    "Huh?"

    "I'm sure I order some vegetables as well?"

    "A-Ah, of course!"

    We quickly brought out another crate which we also open up for him, this one filled with fresh leafy vegetables kept with packs of ice. He gave a nod after checking them over.

    "Alright. Take them to storage over there."

    "Of course, sir. We also need to get your signature for confirmation-"

    "I know, I know. I'll sign it after you store it over there." He waves Lee's words off with no regard to him.

    "He is quite a character, huh?" Gord whispers to me.

    "Yeah." I nodded. I mean, he used to be an infamous pirate, so I was expecting someone not too keen on polite talk but he sure is straight to the point…

    "That's a given, considering he used to be a pirate and all that." Sen noted, "But to be fair, he has mellowed out over the years. You should see him at his prime."

    "You met him before?" Gord asks him.

    "Oh yeah, many a time! There's this one time which-"

    "Alright! Talks are over! Get at move on, everyone!"

    "Y-Yes sir!"

    As we follow the head chef, I can hear the sounds of food sizzling away from behind the slightly opened door. It no doubt leads to the main kitchen. A small peek through the gap has me seeing waiters yelling orders over to the busy chefs, knives chopping up vegetables, even the ever presence flambe at work at one station.

    So, this is what the main kitchen of a fancy restaurant looks like…

    I think I can see a few familiar faces among them, like that one guy whose hands looks like Popeye is any indication. I think I saw Sanji among them too, in his usual black suit and all.

    "Rein. This way."

    "Ah, right!"

    I swiftly caught up to Gord who waited for me.

    Zeff opens up the door to the storage room, and he flinches for a moment before yelling out, "CHORE BOY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

    "…Having a snack."

    "Like hell you are!! Your last break was over an hour ago!!"

    I peek around my crate and got a good look at who Zeff is yelling at.

    Black messy and oily hair? Check.

    Stitched scar under his left eye? Check.

    Red vest and blue puffy pants? Check.

    Straw hat on his head? Oh, definitely check!

    Sitting on a crate while cradling his head in pain is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and most likely future Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy.

    "Huh. Didn't know they even have a chore boy." Sen noted.

    "Yeah… one with a straw hat…" I emphasised for Sen, who gave me a look which I nodded in response.

    "Huh… I can see the resemblance there…"

    Now that he pointed that out, I can see some of Garp in Luffy. Their cheeks are similar, for one.

    After the peg legged chef left with the future pirate king in his grasp, we all start to unload the crates into the storage room. My mind wanders off to the possibility of Don Krieg actually showing up going up.

    From what I can tell, Luffy has no doubt been here for a while now, a day or two perhaps. If that's the case, there's a high chance that today might be the day that Don Krieg will attack this restaurant.

    The problem is what am I to do about it?

    If this was two years ago, I might jump at the chance to join the Straw Hat pirates.

    My knowledge of the plot would be the most useful on their crew, and the idea of touring around the high seas with what might be the most cheerful and mostly morally good bunch of outlaws is pretty inviting. Not to mention that Luffy is a powerhouse of a fighter, and he is willing to fight for his crewmates till the bitter end so I'll definitely be well protected.

    But after spending two years with the East Traders, that didn't seem that inviting anymore.

    While not adventuring pirates, they are pretty fun to be around. They can be crude at times, but they can be kind as well. Not to mention it has a pretty steady income. It's stable and secure, and safe from all the craziness and wackiness of the Grand Line.

    "Hey, do you guys hear screaming?" Gord suddenly pointed out.

    I strained my ears and listened. As he said, there seems to be screaming coming from the restaurant. Did something happen?

    "Puru puru puru puru."

    Lee took out the ringing mini Den-Den Mushi from his pocket and answers it, "Hello?"

    "Lee, get everyone back to the ship right now!!"

    "Is something the matter, Silvia?"

    "It's Don Krieg! Don Krieg is coming here!!"

    My eyes widen at what she said. This is no doubt going like the plot states! But if that's the case, Don Krieg and his men are most likely starving and thirsty, not strong enough to hijack this restaurant right now.

    "Don Krieg himself!? Are you sure!?" Lee asks.

    "There's no doubt. That's his flag on the wrecked galleon that just docked."

    "Wrecked?"

    "Yeah, the whole ship looks to be barely holding together. It's a miracle that it hasn't fallen apart yet."

    No doubt, the Krieg pirates are definitely severely weakened by their encounter with Mihawk, not to mention starving. If we are fast, we can get out of here before Sanji feeds him.

    "Hey, Sen! Where are you going!?"

    "To see what's all the commotion is about."

    I turn around to see Sen walking into the kitchen despite Gord calling out to him. I quickly gave chase after him, Gord following close behind with a groaning Lee who no doubt wants to leave right now.

    We follow him through the kitchen and out onto the dining room, where we saw a skinny and starving man who is no doubt Don Krieg stumbling in with a pale and skinny-looking Gin supporting him.

    "Please…may I… have some… food and… water…?" He gasps out, "I've got money… lots and lots of… money…"

    "That's Don Krieg?" Gord asks, "He doesn't look as intimidating as the wanted posters. Heck, he looks more like a dead man walking than a fearsome pirate."

    "Yeah…" Lee nodded.

    When he falls over, stomach growling up a storm, I'm quite certain that if no one feeds, Krieg would no doubt perish right here and now. I glanced over at Sen, who just stare at the pirate admiral with a very bored look on his face. What, was he expecting more? I mean, the guy literally just escaped hell, what more was he expecting?

    "Food and water, please!!" Gin quite literally begged, "The Don is on the verge of death! If you don't help him, he'll die!! Please! We have money this time! We're paying customers!"

    "Hahahaha! How rich! What a laugh! Is this really the dreaded Pirate Admiral, Don Krieg!?" The chef with the Popeye arms laughs, "Hey! Someone go alert the marines! They wouldn't want to miss the chance to catch him! And no one feed him a single crump!"

    "Y-Yeah! If he regains his strength, there's no telling what he'll do!"

    "He's a pirate, and a killer! Starving to death is too good for him!"

    "He deserves to die, so let him!"

    One by one, the diners in the restaurant all shouts out their opinions of the pirate in front of them, all of them filled with anger and disgust. Heck, one of them straight up tell him to go kill himself!

    As they do, the starving Don Krieg got on his knees and starts to beg, "Please… I won't harm anyone… feed me… and I'll leave quietly… I beg of you… please help me…"

    "Don Krieg, don't! Don't grovel! This is beneath you!!'

    "Please… even just leftovers… anything…!"

    "Don Krieg…"

    "Lee? Lee, are you still there?"

    "…Um, Silvia." Lee calls on his still on mini Den-Den Mushi, "You're not going to believe this, but Don Krieg is literally begging on his knees for food."

    "Whoa, whoa, are you serious!? THAT fearsome Don Krieg!?"

    "You know, I kind of feel bad for him." Gord whispers to me, "Sure, he is a bloodthirsty pirate, but starving to death? That's not a good way to go…"

    "Yeah…"

    Sure, he might be bluffing, but you can't fake an empty stomach growling. Even so, this guy is no doubt a killer of hundreds of innocent people. And would kill even more if someone feeds him. Wouldn't starving him to death be the right thing to do?

    "Hmph! Trying for sympathy now? Get real! No one would-"

    "Move it, Patty."

    The Popeye cook got kicked to the side by Sanji as he walks up to the starving pirate with a plate of fried rice and a bottle of water, "Here, Gin. He can eat this."

    "Sanji!"

    "T-Thank you!!"

    "Huh. Guess there are nice guys here as well." Gord noted.

    As Krieg stuff his face with food, one of the cooks shouts out, "Sanji, take that food away from him!! Don't you know who he is!? He's Foul Play Krieg, the tyrant of the eastern seas!"

    "He started at prison, and lied his way onto a marine ship before killing all the officers and took over! That's how he got started as a pirate! Flying a marine flag, he sails into ports and attacks both town and ships! Sometimes he flies a white flag, only to open fire afterwards! He'll stoop to all kinds of low just to win, that's Foul Play Krieg!"

    "At full strength, he'll be unstoppable! He says he'll go if we feed him, but can we trust his word!? That two-faced scoundrel should starve!! The world would be a better place without him-"

    "GRK!"

    "S-Sanji!!"

    Without any warning, Krieg slams a haymaker into Sanji, knocking the blonde cook away and tumbling across the floor.

    "Don, why!?" Gin cries out to his captain, "You swore you wouldn't hurt anyone if I led you here!! That man saved our lives-ARGH!!"

    "Thanks for the meal." Krieg shoves his lieutenant aside as he got back on his feet, "I can feel my strength returning. This is a nice restaurant. I'll take it."

    As he says so, every paying customer all book it to the exit as fast as they can, some stumbling over each other in their mad rush.

    "Lee? What happened!?"

    "Someone feed Don Krieg, and now he wants to hijack the Baratie!" Lee cries into the Den-Den Mushi.

    "WHAT!? You guys need to get out of there, now!!"

    "No need to tell me that…! we've got go!"

    "Yeah!" I turns to my mentor, "Sen, let's go!"

    "You guys go on ahead." Sen tells us, "I want to see where this is going."

    "Are you crazy!?" Lee shouted at him, "This is Don Krieg, we're talking about!! And there's likely to be at least a hundred of armed pirates still on his ship! We'll all be killed!"

    "Not likely." He stated to our quartermaster's confusion, "Those hundred pirates are near death as we speak. The only one capable of even fighting is Don Krieg and his right-hand man over there."

    "A-Are you sure?"

    "Yeah, I'm sure."

    "My ship is a wreck, you see." Don Krieg continues on with his demand, "I'm in need of a new one. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. You still have something to do for me. I have about a hundred men on my ship who still draw breath. They are dying of wounds, hunger and thirst. They need a hundred rations of food and water. You will prepare them. Some of them have already starved to death. There's no time to waste."

    "You expect us to feed a hundred pirates who would take over our ship!?" The same cook from before shouted out, "We refuse!!"

    "Refuse? You misunderstand something here. This isn't a request. It's an order! Do not defy me!"

    "Eek…!"

    "Damn it, Sanji!! You got us into this mess!"

    The cook that the blonde cook kicked aside before got up and shouted at him. He just ignores him and walks away, "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

    "To the kitchen. We have a hundred meals to prepare."

    "WHAT!?"

    "Heheh, that's good boy." Krieg chuckles.

    With no time at all, all the chefs pull out guns from under their aprons and surround the blonde cook, firearm aiming straight at him. "Are you Don Krieg's dog, Sanji!? We can't let you into the kitchen! We're not going through with this! This is an outrage!"

    "Then shoot me." Sanji states to their shock, "I know they are unredeemable evil men, but I'm a cook. Feeding hungry men is part of my job. Whether or not they are a paying customer or a pirate doesn't matter."

    "Sanji… you…"

    "What a guy…" Gord blinks in shock.

    "Yeah…" I nodded in response. The way he speaks of such a thing is more than just an ideal way, it is his own code of conduct as a cook. There's no doubt he wouldn't turn away from it even if he wanted to.

    "Ah, Patty!"

    The Popeye chef from before slams his fists onto Sanji, knocking him to the ground, "Hold him down!" He tells his colleagues, in his hand is a clothed something, "Sanji, I know you feed the people I chase off. Maybe you're right to do that sometimes, but this time you're dead wrong! Now just stay put! I'm going to defend this restaurant."

    "Patty, you…!"

    "He may be Don Krieg, but he is just one man! He can't beat all of us!" He then removes the cloth to reveal what looks to be a lobster shaped cannon, "This is the Baratie! We deal with rowdy pirate all the time! And we know what kind of customer service to give them!!"

    He then aimed the weapon at the pirate admiral. "Have some dessert, on the house!! Indigestion Meatball Cannon!"

    "You son-of-a-!!"

    The cannon fires and hits Don Krieg square in the chest with a huge boom, sending the pirate flying out of the restaurant.

    "Don Krieg!!"

    "Shit. I busted the door down." The Popeye chef noted, "Head Chef is going to have my hide."

    "Don't worry about it." One of the cooks tells him, "It's a small price for saving the Baratie."

    "What about the men on Krieg's ship?"

    "Hm… how about we smear some butter on the ship and set it on fire?"

    The cooks all let out a chuckle at the idea. I, on the other hand, wasn't sure now is a good time to joke around. After all, there's no way a pirate who got a bounty of over 10 million beri would be so easily taken out by a simple hand cannon of all things.

    "Well, that was pretty anti-climactic." Lee noted as he clicked on the mini Den-Den Mushi, "Um, Silvia. I think Don Krieg just bit the dust by cannon ball."

    "Really? That was anti-climactic."

    "That was what I've said!"

    "I didn't think Don Krieg will be taken out like that." Gord nodded.

    "It's not over yet." Sen stated to their confusion, "He's not dead yet."

    "What do you-"

    "That was a lousy dessert."

    Everyone immediately turns towards the smoke by the entrance as Don Krieg walks through, body covered with shiny armour. "A little too heavy for my taste. Hardly worth a four-star meal."

    "Lee!? What now!?"

    "I was wrong! Don Krieg is alive! He is very much alive!!" Lee cries out, "And he is wearing armour!"

    "What a dirty trick, hiding armour under his clothes!" The Popeye pirate tosses the cannon aside as his colleagues tosses him one of the many dining utensil styled weapons, "Everyone, rush him!!"

    Following his lead, the cooks all charge at him. Krieg scoffs at them and pulls out two pistols with parts of his armour unfold to reveal hidden gun barrels, "Impudence!"

    The cooks weren't able to stop themselves in time as the pirate unloads his rounds at them. The lead bullets pierces through all of the cooks, not one is spared from the barrage. A couple of stray shots came our way but I managed to block them all with my transformed scaled arms.

    "No one defies Don Krieg!! I am stronger than anyone!!" He loud boasts to us, "Arms of steel, stronger than any flesh! A carapace of the strongest wootz steel available!! Diamond fists to demolish anything! And an array of built-in weaponry! I command 50 ships and 5000 fighting men! I've never lost a battle!! I'm the Don of the Pirate Armada, the strongest man of the East Blue, Don Krieg!!"

    "PFT-DAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

    Everyone all stunned into silence when Sen lets out a bellow of laughter. Lee, Gord and I all turn to him with a glare that just screams 'what are you doing!?'.

    "What is so funny?" Krieg walks up to us. We all took a step back from the laughing Sen as the pirate glares at him, "Why are you laughing!?"

    "Dahaha, it's just-pft, it's just how stupid you sound just now." He noted with a barely contain laughter, "Arms of steel? Diamond fists? You're nothing more than some cowardly smuck who covered himself in powerful weapons with no actual strength to use any of it! No wonder you ran away from the Grand Line, you absolutely suck-"

    Krieg did not waste any more time and interrupts Sen by slamming his fist into him; he easily takes the blow to his forehead without moving, a loud bang can be heard from the impact. He let loose a snicker, before his smirk quickly vanished as Sen is still standing right there with a smirk on his face, "See, what did I tell you? No actual strength."

    "It didn't faze him at all…!"

    "Who is that man…?"

    "A-Amazing…!"

    The cooks along with Luffy all voices their shock over Sen's overwhelming power and might, which I can sympathise. After all, it's not everyday someone just takes a hit from a 10 million bounty pirate like how Sen did.

    "Not only that, didn't you hear what he said?"

    "So not even Don Krieg couldn't handle the Grand Line…?"

    "What kind of place is it, the Grand Line?"

    And then words of shock and horror echoes among the murmurs. Seeing as the natives of East Blue has no idea what to expect from the Grand Line, it is no wonder that the place seems even more terrifying now.

    "I-Impossible!"

    "Impossible?" Sen wraps his fingers around Krieg's wrists and grip on tight, "You went to the Grand Line and you call me impossible? Looks like I was wrong. You didn't run away from the Grand Line at all. You didn't even enter the sea from the start."

    "I-I can't move my wrist…!" Krieg tries to pull his arm free from my mentor's grasp, but to no avail, "W-What are you!?"

    "Allow me to introduce you…" Sen raises his arm, fist clenched as his grin widen, "To what the Grand Line actually holds."

    Just as he is about to slam his fist into the pirate's face and no doubt smash his skull in like it was nothing…

    "Here. Food for a hundred men."

    Zeff nonchalantly slams a large bag of food next to the two men, "Take it to your men."

    "H-Head Chef Zeff!?"

    "Why are you giving him the food!?"

    "Z-Zeff…!?" Krieg chokes out, "Did they just call you Zeff!?"

    "Is that a problem with that?" The former pirate asks with a glare.

    "I-It can't be… aren't you Red-Leg Zeff!?"

    "I was once called that, once upon a time." The head chef then turns to Sen, "And Sen, really? Do you have to make a ruckus in my restaurant every time you come here?"

    "For your info, he attacked first." Sen pointed out, "I'm entitled to self-defence."

    "And I wish to keep my roof less damaged, thank you very much. We're already trying to patch up one hole, and I don't need to patch up another."

    "Yeah, I guess that's fair."

    Sen lets go of Krieg's wrist; the pirate admiral lets loose a controlled sigh before turning to Zeff, "So, Red-Leg Zeff. You're still alive, I see."

    "Yeah, and what is it to you?" He asks, "I'm not a pirate anymore, just a humble chef now."

    "Ha! You said it like you had a choice. But from where I'm standing, you have no choice but to be a cook!" Krieg scoffs, "To speak of Red-Leg Zeff is to speak of his powerful kicks. Kicks so powerful that they shatter rocks and dent steel. The blood of your enemies stained your feet with each kill, dying it red, thus the name 'Red-Leg Zeff'. It was said that you died in a shipwreck years ago, but I see that rumour is false. You are still alive, but you have lost one of your precious legs."

    "I have lost one of my legs, yes. And what of it? I can't fight as well as I used to, but I still got my hands to cook with. But I highly doubt that what you want from me. So, what is it you want?"

    "Red-Leg Zeff!! You once sailed that devilish sea, the Grand Line for a whole year. And you returned from it, unscathed. You must have kept a record of that voyage in your logbook. Give it to me!"

    "Whoa, you been to the Grand Line too, old man!?" Luffy cries out in awe.

    "Aye, I did." Zeff nodded, "And yes, I still have that logbook with me. But I won't give it to you. It is a testament to me and the men that sailed alongside me on that year-long voyage. I won't give it to the likes of you!"

    "Then I'll just take it from you!" Krieg declares, "It is true that I didn't succeed on the Grand Line! But I am Don Krieg, the mightiest of them all!" Sen let loose a snicker at the proclamation, "Weaklings do well to shun that dark route. But I have the ambition, the strength! The only thing I lacked is intel. That's what stop me! I just didn't know enough. I will have that logbook, along with this ship!"

    "You can't have it!! This ship is all we have!!"

    "Yeah! We've each been reach cast out from everywhere else!"

    "Head Chef Zeff is our saviour! He took us in when no one else could!!"

    "We would never let you take this ship! Never!"

    All the cooks declare their loyalty to Zeff one by one. With how rough and vulgar looking those cooks looked, it is no wonder most restaurant wouldn't even hire them. To them, Zeff is more than a boss.

    I glanced at Gord to see him misty eyes at their proclamation. Seeing as Gord has been kicked out from the marines and was jobless until Silvia invites him on board the Silver Fang, it is no wonder he sympathised with them.

    "Fools!! No one can defy me!!" I saw him glanced at Sen for a moment; my mentor sticks his tongue out at him in response, "You've seen that I'm the strongest of all!! I'll take Zeff's logbook, assemble another pirate armada, capture the One Piece, and lord over the Great Pirate Era as the new Pirate King!"

    "HEY, HOLD IT! The one who will be Pirate King is ME!"

    Everyone all turned to face the one that shouted that out, as Luffy stood there firmly in front of Krieg with his arms on his hips.

    "C-Chore Boy!?"

    "What are you doing, kid!? He'll murder you!!"

    "I can't. Not out of this!" Luffy stated firmly.

    "Did you say something, boy?" Krieg scoffs, "Don't you want to take that back?"

    "Nope. I was only stating the facts."

    "This isn't a game."

    "Obviously. Are you an idiot?"

    Lee stares on with his mouth wide open, while Gord just rubs his face with an annoyed groan. "That kid, he is going to get himself killed…" Gord stated.

    "Weren't you listening!? The Grand Line is too much even for Don Krieg! Can't we call it off!? Going there is suicide!"

    "Quiet. Stay out of this."

    We all turns to the source of the whispering. And sure enough, there sat two of the original Straw Hat Pirates crew in their long nose and mossy green hair glory.

    "Time to fight, Luffy?" Roronoa Zoro asked with a grin, "I'll lend a hand."

    "Ah, Zoro, Usopp. You guys are here?" Luffy blinked in surprise, "It is fine, I can handle it."

    "Heheh… hahahaha!!" Krieg burst out laughing, "That's your crew!? A pretty small crew, don't you think?"

    "Wrong! There are two more!"

    I saw Sanji face-palming at the proclamation.

    "Don't be so cocksure, brat!!" The pirate admiral shouted, "I have a fleet of 50 ships and over 5000 men!! But in just seven days, we were smashed to bits in that demonic sea!!"

    "Seven days!?"

    "The pirate armada was destroyed so quickly!?"

    "What could have even done such a thing!?"

    Everyone all voiced out their shock over it, including me. But I wasn't shocked that they got destroyed in only seven days. I'm shocked that they lasted seven days. I guess I remember the plot of this arc a bit poorly. I've always thought that they only lasted a single day when Mihawk shows up at Twin Peaks and rip them to shreds.

    I guess they were a little tougher than I thought…

    "Such reckless impudence…" Krieg scoffs at Luffy as he picks up his bag of food, "Watch your mouth, or I'll kill you right now!"

    "As if you can." Luffy stated with his tongue sticking out mockingly.

    "Tch… Now listen carefully." The pirate admiral turns to the rest of us, "I'll give you all a chance. I'm taking this food to the men on my ship. If you don't want to die, you better be off this ship when I get back. All I want is this ship and the logbook. But if you are so eager to die, wait for me. I'll bury you all in the sea."

    With those last words, he left the restaurant, leaving behind a downtrodden Gin.

    "Well, you heard what he just said." Lee turns to us, "Let's all get out of here before it is too late."

    "Agree." We all turn to Sen, who just shrug his shoulders.

    "Sure. But before that…"

    He adjusts his fedora and walks over to an excited Luffy, who is talking with his crewmate as we speak.

    "Hey, kid!" He waves at the future Pirate King, Luffy gives him a confused look, "I saw what you did there. It's pretty ballsy to declare to be the next Pirate King out loud like that."

    "I'm just saying what's true." He stated.

    "That's quite a statement there." He chuckles before pointing at him, "But to be Pirate King is to be the one that rules the high seas, the one that untattered to anyone in this world, and the one that rises up this era of strife and chaos. Do you have what it takes?"

    "…Naturally." Luffy smirks.

    "…Hm, I see. That Straw Hat truly fits you."

    "Sen!"

    "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."

    With that, he follows us back through the kitchen and towards the Silver Fang.
    "There you guys are!" Silvia greets us as we walked up the wooden ramp, "I was worried sick! What happened? You guys suddenly cut off."

    "Well, Don Krieg gave us an ultimatum, and we obliged to flee while we still can." Lee explained.

    "We would have left sooner, if Sen didn't want to watch the show." Gord pointed out.

    "Oh, just chill, will you?" Sen stated, "It's not like that smuck is going to do anything-"

    His eyes suddenly widen and looks around in a panic, much to our confusion. "We need to move, now!"

    "What's the matter?" I asked.

    The moment I said that, parts of the sea suddenly split open, creating wild and strong waves. The waves rock the ship heavily, sending most of us tumbling onto the deck with loud thuds.

    I was unluckily the last one to board the ship, which meant that I was very close to the empty spot on the railing. When the ship rocked back and forth, my momentum has me overcompensating and falls through the gap and off the ship.

    "Rein!!"

    Those were the last words I heard before plummeting into the cold waters below.

    …
    To be continued…
    I AM BACK!!! Oh boy, I missed writing this fic, and boy was this a doozy of a chapter. It was easier to write than most, seeing that I mostly followed the plot along a certain path, but here it is.

    So, yes. There is a time skip between this chapter and the last one. It is mostly to pad out time as there isn't much I can elaborate on that isn't just omakes and side stories. And so that I can get to the canon timeline faster. Rein got a new wardrobe, like all time skip tends to do, and he is much more skilled than before, which you'll all see in the next chapter.

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I kinda want Rein to join the Straw Hats, but I also want her to stay with the silver fang.

    Maybe the silver fang should end up meeting them over and over again?
     
    Chapter 21
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 21: Dracule Mihawk​
    My limps feel numb and weak as I felt my body sink further into the watery depths. I can see the surface getting further and further with each passing second, all the while my body is locked up under the influence of my biggest weakness. My vision blurs as I can feel my consciousness slowly fading.

    Moments later, I felt an arm grabbing me before I was yanked upwards and broke through the water surface. I let loose several coughs before I was tossed onto a heavily rocking wooden floor.

    "Are you alright!?"

    I coughed a few more before turning to answer my soaked saviour, "I'm fine, Gord. Just water in the lungs, is all."

    "Seriously…" I hear Sen stated as he pulls me shakily to my feet, "It's like the sea wants to drown you…"

    "Hey, it's not like I want to drown!"

    I swear, the only consistent things that happen to me for the past two years are getting hit in the face and suddenly drowning…

    "Liya! Gord! Sen!"

    We both turn to the voice as we watch the Silver Fang slowly drifting further away from us.

    "Silvia, we're fine!" I calls out to her.

    "Great! You guys get back here, quickly!" She shouted over the rocking waves.

    "No! Leave us behind!" Sen shouted.

    "WHAT!? Are you crazy!?"

    "It is the only way!" Sen tells her, "I know who did this, and he has most likely sensed me already! Just being on board is dangerous for you guys!"

    "You know someone that can split the sea apart!?" Lee shouted from the ship.

    "At least get Rein back aboard!" She shouted back.

    "If any of us make any movement to board, he'll strike again! And he won't miss the next time!" Sen stated, "Just go on ahead! We'll meet up with you guys back at Temasek!"

    "…Oh, fine! Raise the anchor! We're getting out of here, asap! You guys better keep yourselves safe, you hear me!? None of you are to die before we meet again!"

    "Understood!"/ "Aye, aye!"/ "Just go already!"

    Soon enough, the Silver Fang unfurls its sails and sails away into horizon. Seeing that staying in the back would do no good if the pirate overwhelms the cooks, we slowly make our way around the outside of the restaurant.

    "…So, I'm stuck with you guys, huh?" Gord noted with a nervous grin, "And we have to deal with the entire Krieg pirate armada too… maybe I have jumped the gun a little…"

    "I highly doubt we're fighting the entire armada." I tells him, "Didn't you heard him? Almost all of their ships and men are destroyed in the Grand Line."

    "He also states that he has at least a hundred men on that galleon." He added, "And a hundred pirates from the strongest pirate armada in the East Blue? That's not something we can handle, even if the fighting cooks' help."

    "Nah, they are comparable small fries, in the scope of things." Sen tells him, "And I can assure you that Krieg smuck is just as pathetic as his men. Hiding behind a suit of armour and his fancy toys, toys that he himself has no way of using properly besides aiming and pulling the trigger."

    "How can you be so sure of that?"

    "Well, he is no doubt being freaked out by that sword slash-"

    "That was caused by a sword!?" Gord cries out, "What kind of sword can do that!?"

    "The strongest sword in the known world. But it's just a weapon. It is the one wields said blade that Don Krieg should be afraid, the one that followed him to this corner of the world." Sen sighs, "Jeez… that guy must be really bored to do this."

    "You think he did this because he is bored!?"

    "Gord, I think you need to keep quiet." I tells him. When he is about retort me, I point at the scene of destruction in front of us.

    The large galleon that Don Krieg came in is now in multiple large chucks, with his men all scattered across the shipwreck. To see such a large vessel completely in pieces like this, with some pieces that look cleanly cut right through by something sharp, you got to admit how terrifyingly skilful and powerful Mihawk is.

    "What could have done this?" He asked.

    "Not what, who."

    We followed Sen's finger towards the wreck, where the world strongest swordsman is floating on by on his coffin of a boat, all the while sitting there like he like the boss that he is. Even under the shade of his impressive hat, his sharp yellow eyes can be felt as he notably stares right at us.

    "Who is that?" Gord asked.

    "I think that's the guy that cut the ship in half." He

    "Why is he looking at us…?" Gord whispered.

    "I… don't know…" I whispered back before turning to Sen, "So…?"

    "Hah… He's looking at me, not you." He stated with a sigh, "He hasn't changed a bit…"

    "Do you two know each other?"

    "We go way back." He stated, "That's Dracule Mihawk, the world's strongest swordsman. The current one, anyway."

    "THAT'S the strongest swordsman in the entire world!? One of the Seven Warlords!?" Gord cries out, "What's he doing here!? Shouldn't he be in the Grand Line doing… whatever a Warlord does?"

    Just as he asked that, a random pirate on the shipwreck cries out, "You monster! Why are you doing this to us!?"

    "…to kill some time."

    "…" Gord turns to Sen with a pointed look, who just shrugged his shoulders.

    "D-Don't screw with me!"

    The enraged pirate fires his flintlocks at him. Mihawk wordlessly unsheathes his massive sword from his back and with a twist of his wrist, the tip of the black blade slightly shifts the bullet's trajectory, causing the lead rounds to miss him completely.

    "W-What in the-You missed!?" The pirate's friend cried out.

    "That's impossible…!" He cried out, "What did you do!?"

    "Don't bother. You're wasting your shots."

    They froze in shock as Zoro walked past them to face Mihawk, "You deflected the bullets with the tip of your sword. I've never seen such subtle swordplay."

    "A sword without subtlety is nothing but an iron bar." Mihawk drones.

    "You split this galleon with that sword?"

    "I did."

    "I see… you are definitely the world's strongest…"

    Zoro unravels his bandanna from his arm, "I went out to sea for the sake of finding you."

    "Why?"

    He tightens his bandanna around his head, "To be the greatest. You want to kill time? And have a duel with me."

    "Pathetic." Mihawk states as he walks onto the wreckage, "If you're a competent swordsman, you don't need to cross swords to know that I far surpass your skills as one. Does the courage to point your sword at me comes from confidence, or ignorance?"

    "It's from my ambition." Zoro tells him as he draws out all three swords, "And from a promise."

    "Wait… three swords…?" Gord then realises, "Isn't he the Pirate Hunter!?"

    "Ah, so he's that famous bounty hunter I've heard so much about." Sen noted in surprise, "But for him to challenge Dracule Mihawk like this… he must either be really confident with his sword skills, or he is severely underestimating him."

    "I think it is former." I noted, I'm an amateur as a swordsman, but even I can tell that Mihawk is out of his league.

    "Hmph… how futile." Mihawk, being the confident badass that he is, decides to pull off his pendant and draws out the hidden dagger.

    "Oi, what is that?" Zoro growled angrily.

    "I'm not a brute who hunts a rabbit with a cannon." He tells him, "You may have a reputation as being the strongest, but it is only in this ocean, in the weakest of the four seas, in the East Blue. Sadly, this is the smallest blade I have on hand."

    "There's a limit on how much you are underestimating me…! Well, I hope you don't regret it after I kill you!" Zoro dashes right at Mihawk, three swords drawn back for an attack.

    "Ignorant little frog, croaking in your well. It's time you learn how big the world is."

    "Demon Cutter!"

    Zoro's blades all swing as one right at Mihawk, the man nonchalantly raises his knife and blocks all three swords intersecting mid-swing.

    "Wait, what!?" Gord cries out, "Is that even possible!?"

    "It is for Dracule." Sen noted as Zoro stepped back before rushing back in with ferocious swings, swings that Mihawk easily parries with his tiny knife, "His skills are above the rest, way better than anything the Pirate Hunter could even hope to handle."

    I grimaced when Mihawk parries so hard that Zoro actually lost balance and fall onto his back. This did not deter the former bounty hunter, who immediately got back up and rushes back in swinging harder than ever.

    But no matter what he did, Mihawk would parry back each attack with little effort, with not a single drop of sweat drop from his brow.

    "N-No way…!" Gord mutters in shock, "Even the Pirate Hunter is having trouble with him…"

    "This is the strength in the Grand Line." Sen tells him, "Strength that that man could achieve if he wasn't so impatient."

    "What burdens you?" He asked, "What drives you to fight so hard in a battle you cannot hope to win, weakling?"

    With another hard parry, Mihawk sends Zoro tumbling across the wooden wreckage. He quickly got back and charge in with another technique.

    "Tiger Hunt!"

    Mihawk easily got in close in his charge, and stabs his knife right into Zoro's chest, drawing first blood. I cringed at the possibly fatal wound. How the heck is he not dead right then and there!?

    "Hm? Why aren't you stepping back?" Mihawk asked, "Do you want your heart to be pierced?"

    "I don't know…" Zoro gasps out, "I feel that if I take even a single step back… I'll lose something very important to me… an oath, a promise or whatever it is… it will be irreversibly broken. And I can no longer return back here again…"

    "Yes. That is defeat."

    "If that's so… then I can't ever step back."

    "Even if it means death?"

    "I would much rather die."

    Wow, talk about resolved to the end… I can feel the shivers going down my spine from his words alone.

    Mihawk, a pause in his actions, withdrew his knife from Zoro's chest. "…Tell me your name, swordsman."

    "Roronoa Zoro." He states as he raises his two swords up in front of him, with a pommel against another's handle.

    "I shall remember it. It's been a long while since I've met a warrior like you. As a show of respect for your conviction," Mihawk unsheathes his black sword from his back, "I will strike you down with this blade blade, the strongest blade in the world."

    "…So, he found him." Sen smirked.

    "Who?" I asked him. And he replied: "His successor."

    "Fall."

    Mihawk dashes right towards Zoro, large black sword ready to slice down on him. The pirate hunter prepares to face him and starts spinning his two swords.

    "Three Swords Style, Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!"

    All three swords strike at him in tandem, one after another in one smooth strike. But Mihawk saw through the attack and strikes them down in one single strike from his black sword, shattering all but one of Zoro's swords and slicing into Zoro's gut.

    When Mihawk turns around to strike the finishing blow, Zoro sheathes his last remaining katana and stood facing him with arms to the side, as if welcoming it."

    "What are you…?"

    "Wounds on the back is a swordsman's shame."

    "Heh, good."

    With one smooth swing, the blade slices into the pirate hunter's chest.

    "B-Big Bro!"

    I glanced to the side to see Johnny and Yosaku jump into the waters after him, just as Luffy roars out and stretches his arm towards Mihawk.

    "Is his arm stretching!?" Gord cries out in shock, "How is that possible!?"

    "As possible as a guy who can change into a dragon?" I pointed out, shifting my arm to my dragon form to further emphasize my point

    "Ah. Right, Devil Fruits… that would make so much sense." He gingerly chuckles.

    I changed my arm back to normal as I saw the two bounty hunter brothers pull the fatally injured pirate hunter onto their little sailboat. As they did so, Dracule Mihawk raises his voice for all to hear.

    "My name is Dracule Mihawk! It is too soon for you to die. Know thyself! See thy world! And become strong, Roronoa Zoro! However long it may take, I shall await you at the top! So forge on ahead! Hone your blade, and strive to surpass mine! Surpass me, Roronoa!"

    "…And acting all showy like that…" Sen chuckles heartily, "Dracule is definitely having quite a good time out there."

    "Is that good thing?" I asked.

    "Well, he is well satisfied now, so he would stop his slaughter on the Krieg Pirates." He stated before grimacing, "But he might make me fight…"

    "Huh? Why would he-"

    "L-Luffy…? Ca-Can you… hear me…?"

    Zoro's weak voice calling out got our attention as Luffy answers, "Yeah, I hear you."

    "I'm sorry for… worrying you… I know that if I don't become… the world's strongest swordsman, it will only embarrass you…! *cough* I swear! I swear that I'm never going to lose again! Until the day I fight him again, and win… I swear! I won't lose ever again! Any problems with that, Pirate King!?"

    "Shishishi, nope!"

    "That… was intense…" Gord noted in awe.

    "Indeed." I agree with him.

    Sen let loose another small chuckle, "Both of them are quite a duo…"

    "Hey, Hawk-eye!" Don Krieg struts forward with a condescending smirk, "Didn't you come for my head? The head of the Pirate Admiral Don Krieg?"

    "That was initial intentions, yes." He stated, "But I have my fun, and now I have other business to take care of. Sen."

    We flinched as the eye hawk-like eyes of Dracule Mihawk stares right at us, or more specifically at Sen. "I thought I've sensed you. You remember the deal. And I doubt you are someone who would go back on one."

    "Yeah, yeah…" Sen sighs as he appearing right next to him before we could blink. He gives Luffy a look; the Straw Hat pirate nodded with understanding before running off to talk to Usopp and co.

    He looks around for a moment, before walking over and picking up a sheathed cutlass from a nearby floating wreck. He unsheathes it, tossing away the sword and gives the scabbard a few practice swings before turning to face Mihawk.

    "Ready whenever you are." Sen noted as he took a simple stance.

    "Always." Mihawk nods as he got into the same stance when he struck Zoro down.

    The tension in the air suddenly got stiff. Even though they aren't moving, it is obvious that those two aren't on the same level as us, as the East Blue. Their eyes remained nailed to each other, even when Mihawk shifts his stance to a low one which causes Sen to change

    "Oh… oh boy… what's going to happen…?" Gord mutters to himself. I gulped down my saliva as I waited patiently for the eventual clash.

    And just as the tension reaches its peak…

    "Take this and die!"

    Don Krieg took advantage of their diverted attention and fires his all hidden guns right at them. Sen didn't even so much glance at the armored pirate's direction as he raises his foot up and slamming it down on the wreckage hard, sending part of the wreckage up into air which blocks the lead rounds.

    At the same time, Mihawk dashes right at Sen, his massive black sword swinging up towards his neck. Sen reacted and swings his scabbard down to meet the blade. The two weapons clashes, the scabbard the blurs, and…

    "Grgk!"

    Almost instantaneously, Mihawk was knocked him off the ground by something while Sen in a low stance, scabbard's mouth by his hip.

    "Did Sen just sent Dracule Mihawk flying!?" Gord cries out.

    "Yeah, he did!" I stated in shock as Mihawk lands on the wooden wreck, rubbing his aching throat.

    That one movement was so fast that I could just barely make it out.

    Right at the moment that the black blade is swinging in close, it was parried away by Sen's scabbard. And in the same movement, the scabbard's tip shoots forward and slams right into Mihawk's neck.

    All that happened within a span of a second.

    "Ramming Horns. The Dragon Sword Style's eighth form:" Sen drones in as he rests the scabbard on his shoulder, "It's a technique that combines the parry with the counterattack into one move. It works best when dealing with swordsmen, so it's pretty situational, but a useful move nonetheless." He then suddenly points at me, "You have better remember my movements, Rein!"

    "G-Got it!"

    Ah, so that explanation is for me… guess this must be the next technique he'll be teaching me…

    The Dragon Sword Style is the style of swordplay Sen has been teaching me. It consists of ten forms/techniques, each pretty powerful but pretty difficult to use.

    So far, I have only managed to learn seven of them and mastered three.

    "As expected of you, Sen…" Mihawk noted, "Your skill is as unparallel as ever."

    "Yeah, yeah. Now that the duel's over, can you leave? If the marines heard that you are loitering around here, you are going to get into all sorts of trouble." Sen tells him, "And you can keep your title. I'm not a swordsman, so me having the title of Strongest Swordsman is pretty ignorant."

    "Heheh… very well." Mihawk chuckles and sheathes his massive sword, "I'll take my leave."

    "H-Hold it!" Don Krieg shouted, "I'm not done yet."

    "Done what, exactly?" Mihawk asks, "All you did was just standing looking pathetic."

    "Ouch! Gonna need some burn ointment for that~!" Sen smirks, "I think Zeff has some in the back-"

    "RAAWRRR!"

    Without another word, the enraged armored pirate admiral fires another round from his wrist gauntlet, an explosive from the looks of it when the wreckage exploded only moments later, along with parts of the ocean around it.

    Sen flew through the air and lands on the railing just as a long stretchy arm grabs onto it and Luffy comes flying back in.

    "Usopp! Set sail!" He shouts out to the small sailboat.

    "A-Aye, aye! Zoro and I will go after Nami! You get that cook to join us! And once we got everyone back together," Usopp tosses the iconic straw hat to his captain, "We'll set sail for the Grand Line!"

    "Right! Let's do it!" Luffy agrees as he puts his hat back on before turning to Zeff, "Hey, old man! If I chase those guys off, can I stop being your chore boy?"

    "Sure, why not? I kind of wanting to fire you, anyways. You would have wrecked my ship if you stayed for a year." The old cook agrees. He then turns to us with a scowl, "And why are you guys still here?"

    "You mean why I am still here?" Sen stated with a grin as he casually tosses the scabbard aside and somehow embedded it at the wreckage's mast, right next to one of the pirates who lets out a shriek in response, "Or why didn't I just deal with all these bastards myself?"

    "…Yes."

    "Well, that's just how he is." He strolled into the restaurant and took a sit on one of the chairs, elbow on the table and cheek resting on his palm, "Once Dracule senses me, he would do whatever he can to get a duel out of me. It's a huge pain in my neck, honestly…"

    "I didn't know you two have a history." Zeff noted.

    "There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Sen pointed out with a grin, "Also, I'm kind of tired from fighting Dracule, so I'm planning on taking a nap. I'll leave the rest of the cannon folder to you guys."

    "Huh!?"

    "Don't screw with us!"

    "At least help us out a little, you lazy bastard!"

    I facepalmed at my teacher's lazy antics that riled the cooks up. It got some getting used to, as much of an annoyance it can be, but I think that he only does this when he knows that it's an enemy that we can handle it.

    That, or he is just generally lazy by nature.

    "What was I even expecting…" Zeff sighs, "Fine, nap for all I care. Just don't go snacking in my pantry."

    "No promises~! Ah, almost forgot." He snaps his fingers and point at me, "Rein!"

    "Yeah?" I turned to my teacher.

    "No powers." He stated, much to my confusion, "Those smucks out there aren't worth it. Defeat them with only your sword. Think of it like a test or something."

    "Um… sure?"

    "And if you use it anyways…" He points at me with a sinister grin, "Well, failing a test means punishment, right…?"

    "G-Got it!"

    Shivers went down my spine at that proclamation. I can't even imagine what kind of cruel punishment awaits me if I used my DF powers…

    "Can you even fight, missy?" One of the cooks asked with a raised eyebrow, "I can't even imagine you doing anything with those thin arms of yours-OOF!"

    I slam my fist right into his gut hard, knocking him over as he clutches his stomach in agony, "Call me missy again, and it would be your balls next."

    "D-Duly noted…"

    "Yeesh… You really need to work on your temper, Rein." Gord noted.

    "Shut it."

    "Heh, quite a lady…" Zeff comments in the background.

    "And no calling me a lady, either." I growled at him.

    "Yeah, yeah." He sighed to my annoyance.

    "Alright, you scallywags! Let's go get us a new ship!"

    "Sir, yes sir!"

    The pirates all roars out from their wreckage of a vessel, each of them letting out battle cry in response to their leader's call.

    "Wow, they are getting fired up!" Luffy states in awe, "This is going to be fun!"

    "Hm? Where's Patty and Carne?" Sanji asked around.

    "Ready and itching to go!" One of the cooks tells him, "Those two are great at times like these!"

    "But only at times like these… Ah, whatever. Head to the control room and open the fins."

    "Huh!? Are you sure? Won't that give the pirates a foothold?"

    "That's the point." He tells him, "If we wrecked the restaurant any further, the old geezer is going to blow a gasket."

    "What was that, you brat?" Zeff turns to his protégée with a knowing smirk, which Sanji scoffs. "I said you'd scream like a baby, you old fart."

    "Hand over that ship, you dumb cooks!" One of the pirates yelled out as they run over the shipwreck towards us with sword drawn and flintlock cocked.

    "Gum Gum Rocket! And… Gum Gum Giant Scythe!"

    Luffy slingshots himself out into the fray, and stretches his arms out in a giant rubber lariat that sends the first wave of pirates flying into the ocean.

    "Ooh! Good job, chore boy!" The cooks cheered.

    "The Grand Line's crawling with people like that, huh?" Sanji commented.

    "Oh man, that is freaky as all heck…" Gord stated, "Arms aren't supposed to stretch like that…"

    "You got used to my powers, though?" I noted.

    "Yeah, but yours is a little easier to stomach. That's straight out body horror right there."

    "FORWARD! Baratie naval warfare weapon! Mackerel Head I!"

    "Anyone who doesn't want to die had better swim for it!"

    We both turned to see what's the sudden commotion is all about. For some reason, the fish head of the Baratie has separated from the main ship and starts slowly paddling away towards the shipwrecked pirates.

    "The…fuck…?" I voiced out my disbelief at the ridiculous-looking and super slow paddle ship. Was the fish head supposed to do that…? Oh man, it has been so long that I forgotten most the finer details of the arc…

    "…If that's our fighting force, then we're screwed…" Gord groans with a palm on his forehead.

    Slowly, but surely, the fish head paddle ship finally got in close and fires its onboard cannons, destroying another squad of pirates and the wreckage they are standing on within seconds.

    "…Huh." Gord noted in stun silence, "Shame on me for judging a book by its cover."

    "Don't look down on Mackerel Head I!" One of the cooks tells us, "It may look stupid, but it packs enough heat to take most pirates out no problem!"

    "So you admits that it looks stupid."

    "Wow, so cool!"

    "Well, someone thinks its cool." I noted at Luffy's exclamation over the mini battleship.

    "I'm spreading the fins!" Someone calls out from inside.

    Moments later, a large platform rises up from under the water and locking in place on the sides, giving us plenty space for us to fight on.

    "Ah, 'fins'!" I realized with a small chuckle. Clever wordplay you got there…

    "Hah! What can mere cooks do against pirates!"

    "Don't you underestimate us sea cooks!"

    The two forces clash with each other in a huge brawl. Me and Gord instantly got into the fray, Nanashi drawn in my hand.

    "I'll take the right, you take the left!" Gord tells me.

    "Got it!" I gave him a thumbs-up before we separate to face those pirates.

    "Hah! What can a girl like you do?" Says one of the pirates came at me with a cocky grin as he swings his cutlass at me. I easily duck under the blade and then slashes upwards at his chest. His eyes widen as blood spurts from his wound and he collapses onto the wooden deck.

    "W-What the-GRK!"

    I immediately charge at the pirate behind him, who was too stunned my actions to react to me slicing into his throat and staining the wooden deck with his blood. The other pirates all stare at me with eyes widen in shock and horror. I smirked as I swipe the blade to the right to get rid of some of the blood on the blade, before raising my middle finger up at them.

    "D-Don't you fuck with us, girly!"

    The enraged pirates all charge at me with abandon and I prepare to answer in kind.

    The pirates pose no real threat to us as each of them fall pretty easily to our blades, and their attacks are so predictable that we could easily dodge all of them and counterattack almost as easily. One by one, the pirates all fall to our swords, and none of them even can even attempt to stop us-

    "Ah, look out!"

    The sudden warning came in time as I pushes an attacking pirate aside and leap away, just as Sanji leaps into the and kicks the Mackerel Mark I battleship away, as it came crashing into the deck right next to where I was standing just moments before, crushing through the wooden boards and a few pirates along with it.

    "Where did that come from!?" I cried out in shock.

    "Are you alright, my lady?" Sanji asked while on his knees as he hold my hand, "It would be a shame if a pretty lady like yourself get crushed by that ugly boat."

    "Um..." I groaned out. Sam was bad enough as it is...

    From within the paddle boat, the popeye cook and his friend burst out from under the wooden boards screaming angrily, "Sanji, you jerk! Are you trying to kill us!?"

    "…Hm, yeah, maybe?" The blonde cook states nonchalantly.

    "WHAT!? Why you…!"

    "You nearly killed two valuable fighting assets, you jerk!"

    "I'm surprised that didn't kill you guys already…" I muttered to myself. It keep surprising me of how tough the average person is in this world…

    "Fighting assets? Don't make me laugh." A pirate snickers as he slams his foot on one of the fallen cooks' head.

    "D-Damn…!" The cook groaned out under his foot.

    "What are you swabs losing so easily for!?" The Popeye pirate cried out.

    "That's right!" His partner agreed, "Are you fighting cooks or wimps!?"

    "Hahahaha! Fighting cooks? What a joke! Fighting is our profession!" The pirate laughed, "Cooks are still cooks. Don't think we're the same as the lowly thugs that you losers have driven off before! We are the Krieg Pirates, the rulers of the East Blue!"

    "Really? Because I've took down a couple dozen of you guys with no problem at all." I noted while gesturing to the fallen pirates scattered about around me. One pirate tries to sneak up on me, only for me to turn around and slices his head clean off. "See?"

    I ignore Sanji flinching at the sight of me decapitating someone.

    "W-What!?" The pirate cries out in shock, "H-Hey, you guys! Quit screwing around and take her down already!"

    "T-That lady… is too tough…!" One of the fallen not dead pirates groaned out, which prompts me slam my foot into his face hard and possibly unhinged his jaw in the process.

    "Don't call me a lady!"

    At the same time, a pirate was sent flying and crashing into the same noisy pirate, knocking him off his feet. I turn to see Gord removing his two most likely stolen cutlasses from two pirates' chests, with quite a number of dead pirates around him. "Man, this is almost too easy. If these are the men Krieg brought with him, no wonder they all got wiped out."

    "I know, right?" I noted, "You would think that the ones under the one called the 'rulers of the East Blue' would be tougher shit then this."

    "I'm glad those two are on our side." One of the cooks noted in awe.

    "Yeah. Those pirates are way tougher than the sharks we have tangled with before…" Another agreeing with him.

    "Quit yapping about like losers!" The Popeye cook shouted at them as he picked up a fork weapon, "We are the fighting cooks of Baratie! We are way tougher than this!"

    "That's right!" His partner agrees with vigor as he picks up a large kitchen knife, "Besides, this is our home! Are you okay with letting outsiders protect what is ours!? Because I sure don't!"

    "Patty… Carne…"

    "Oh, just shut the hell up and give us the ship!" The pirates shouted as they charged at us.

    I look at the small crowd coming at us and readies my sword. If I recall, for dealing with crowds, the form is…

    "Dragon Sword Style, Second Form: Dancing Talons!"

    Maneuvering into them and taking care to change my stances after each step forward, I slices through the pirates one at the time and not letting any of them time to even react to them. At the same time, the two fighting cooks and Gord are taking out their own groups with equal enough vigor, none of them stood a chance against us.

    It would be faster if I use my dragon form and sent them all flying, and scare the ever-living shit out of them in the process… but that would mean punishment from Sen, so…

    "Hm? They're backing away?"

    I'm left confused when the pirates all start moving away for some reason. Huh? What's up with them-

    "Pearl Surprise!"

    "GWAH!"

    "Patty! Carne!"

    The two cooks are suddenly sent flying towards the restaurant, blood dripping from their bloodied face with their noses dented in.

    What was that!? What just happened!?

    "Wahahahaha! The invincible, the peerless me is here!"

    "Pearl!"

    A pretty obnoxious laugh caught my attention as I turn to see what I can only describe as…

    "That looks so stupid."

    "Grk!?"

    I mean, he is basically just wearing two large round discs as 'armor' with bucklers in his hands, knees and elbows, and that stupidly round helm that doesn't look like it is nothing more than a decorative piece. And don't get me started on that curl… I know Oda loves his colorful characters, but this guy just looks like a kid who wears cardboard boxes and pretends it is armor.

    "D-Did you just call me, the Invincible Pearl, stupid!?"

    "Ah, Pearl. I was sensing a theme there." I remember him now. Isn't he that weird guy that Gin will obliterate with just one move?

    That would explain the helm. It's just a large pearl hat.

    "Hahaha! It is over for you, girl!" One of the pirates shouted at me, "Your blade can't hope to harm the Invincible Pearl!"

    "Mhm~ That's me." Pearl grins as he clanks his two shields together, "I am the invincible shield of the Krieg Pirates! Not a blade nor bullet can harm me!"

    "You just have a metal disc covering your body." I flatly pointed out, "And you look ridiculous in that."

    "Your venomous words would do nothing to me."

    "You reacted to it just seconds ago." Gord pointed out.

    "I-I was caught off-guard, that's all!"

    "Right…"

    "I-It's true! Your words would do no harm to me!"

    We both looked at each other with an exasperated look. There's no doubt, this guy is an idiot. A strong idiot, but an idiot all the same.

    "URGH!"

    Several pirates came flying out and crashing into unflinching Pearl, who took the group hit in stride. "Wh…What happened…" The pirate with a caved in face groans out as he and his comrades fall limp at Pearl's feet.

    "A chef's knife is his soul." Sanji stated while holding a kitchen knife, "A crap-bum like you don't deserve to touch it." He then hands the knife over to the Popeye cook, "Here. Hold onto it tightly this time. Leave those bastards to me."

    "Hah! What can a mere cook like you do!?"

    As they charged towards him, the pirates all come to regret those words as moments later, Sanji unleashes a fury of kicks to their faces and sends them all flying off the deck and into the ocean.

    "A 'mere cook', you say?" Sanji scoffs through his lit cigarette, "I'll make you eat those words."

    "Ha! So you beat them all down with kicks alone." Pearl noted, "You seem pretty clever. Is that your fighting style?"

    "A cook's hands are his life." Sanji explains to him, "I can't afford to risk damaging them in battle. I'm going to finish you with just my feet."

    "You? Finish me? Oh, what a laugh!" Pearl laughs, "You may protect your hands, but I protect my whole body. In all 61 fights I have been in, I've won them all without losing a single drop of blood. Not a bruise or a scratch may appear on my body, that's how tough I am! And I'm handsome to boot!"

    "Narcissistic much?" Gord noted.

    "You sure can brag a lot." Sanji noted, "Let's see if you are as invincible as you say!"

    Sanji acted first and slams his feet at Pearl, who simply raises his buckler up to block it with a laugh, "Hah! Not even a cannonball from a marine's battleship can harm me! Your puny kicks wouldn't even leave a scratch on me-Ugh!"

    Moments later, Luffy came barreling in from nowhere and slams into Pearl's head, slamming his face onto this own buckler.

    "Huh?" We all blinked at the sudden interruption.

    "Phew, that was scary!" Luffy sighed in relief, "I'm sure glad I didn't fall into the ocean from that."

    "Where did you even come from?" I asked in confusion.

    "Ah, you see, that Krieg bastard broke the mast I was holding onto and-"

    "B-Blood…?"

    We turn to Pearl who is staring at his finger in shock, blood dripping from his bruised nose. Is bleeding such a big deal with him?

    "Oh no! It's blood!"

    "C-Calm down, Pearl! It'll all be okay! It's just a nosebleed! It's not a battle wound or anything! J-Just take it easy!"

    I looked at the shocked pirates all confused. What's so bad about bleeding? I mean, it's just a nosebleed, nothing too serious.

    "My invincible shield failed…!" Pearl mutters out, "This is dangerous!"

    "What's up with him?" Sanji asked, "He's acting all weird…"

    "No idea." Luffy stated, "It's just a nosebleed."

    Gord turns to me with an eyebrow raised, which I response with a shrug of my shoulders.

    A few clanks got our attention and we turn back to Pearl who is now furiously slamming his two bucklers together, all the while mumbling out, "Danger…! Danger…!"

    "Stop, Pearl!" Krieg shouted at him, "It's just a nosebleed! You're not in the jungle anymore!"

    "Danger! Danger! DANGER!"

    All of the sudden, to our disbelief, his discs and bucklers all simultaneous ignited in bright flames. How does that even work!? Even his knee discs are on fire, and they aren't even hitting anything!

    "Oh no, it has started!" The pirates cried out, "Pearl grew up in the jungle with wild beasts, so whenever he senses danger, he makes flames!"

    "Yeah, but how does hitting his shields together create fire!?" Gord cried out.

    "Get away from me! Fire Pearl, Special Treat!"

    Pearl took out several small balls from somewhere and throws them all over the place, which somehow caught on fire as well and would have burned us like some of his pirate comrades if we didn't move out of the way in time.

    Unfortunately, the flaming balls also hit parts of the deck, lighting it on fire and spreading it all around us. Some of the pirates has saw it wise to abandon the burning vessel and leap into the ocean to escape.

    "This is bad!" One of the cooks cried out, "He'll burn the whole restaurant down!"

    "We need to stop him!" Another stated, "But the flames are too big! We can't get close!"

    "Crap, this is bad." Gord noted.

    I put up my arms up as the flames got really big. "At this rate, the entire ship would be burn to cinders!"

    "Burn!" Pearl cries out, "With my fire and flaming shield, I am truly invincible!"

    "Like hell you are!" Sanji shouted, "This ship isn't yours to burn!"

    "Wait, Sanji!"

    He charges into the flames, despite the other cooks crying out to him to stop. He then leaps into air and over the wall of flames, before launching a kick at Pearl who blocked it with his flaming buckler. "What!? Not even wild animals would jump that wall of flames!"

    "Idiot. You can't be a cook if you're afraid of fire."

    "Darn! This one is smooth as refined silver! Flaming Pearl Surprise!"

    Sanji ducks under the flaming buckler punch, before pushing with his hands and slamming his foot into Pearl's face, knocking him over and toppling to the ground with a loud thud.

    "Whoa, that guy's strong!" Gord cries out.

    "Yeah, he is." I noted with a grin. As expected of one of the Straw Hats' monster trio. Such a thing isn't an effort to him.

    "H-How dare you! This is guy is dangerous! Eat this! Fire Pearls!"

    Pearl throws more lighted balls at us. I managed to hit those coming at me away, but a few overshot me and are aiming right at Zeff.

    "Chef Zeff! Get out of there!"

    The cooks' worry is of naught, as Zeff calmly and swiftly swings his peg leg and put out the flaming balls with the gust of wind generated by his kick. "That's nothing." He notes with a smirk as the not non-flaming balls lands next to him harmlessly.

    "Whoa, nice moves, old man!" Luffy noted in awe.

    "That Pearl, always complicating things! Before you can set fire on that ship, I'll sink you, fins and all!"

    "Ah, Sanji, look out!"

    Krieg suddenly throws out a large spiked meteor hammer and swings it down at Sanji and Pearl. It would have smashes them into pieces, if Luffy didn't jump in to diverted it away.

    "Gum Gum Bazooka!"

    He stretches his arms back behind him before slamming his two hands into the spiky metal ball, sending it flying away. The metal ball flew back towards Krieg, and crashes into the mast behind him.

    The mast broke and it falls, slamming into Pearl while Luffy and Sanji manages to barely avoid it, The resulting impact must have knocked the shield man out as he slumps on the broken mast, completely unconscious as the flames all died out with him.

    "Wow, that's anti-climactic." Gord noted.

    "Well, what else can you expect from an idiot?" I stated with a shrug of my shoulder.

    "Argh!"

    "Hold it right there, Sanji!"

    We all turn back to see Gin with a flintlock aimed at Zeff's head, the broken peg leg visible in his other hand.

    Ah… crap. Forgot about this part…

    …
    To be continued…
    Yup! This is done! Oh boy, it took me a while to finish, but I did it!

    So yeah, Sen is on equal footing with Mihawk in terms of combat prowess. But if Sen can win, that depends on the situation. And Sen meant it when he says he's not a swordsman.

    He can wield a sword, but he primarily uses his fists most of the time.

    Someone asked if Rein is Bi, and the answer to that is… yes, he is. It wasn't admitted outright, but he is Bi. He just doesn't think he is yet.

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 22
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 22: Dragon Sword Style, unleashed!
    ​
    "I don't want to kill you, but…" Gin stated as he stood on top of Zeff's back, his broken peg leg in his hand.

    "Gin!?"

    "I don't care if he was a living legend or whatever." He tells us, "He's now just a cook. I got no problems spattering his brains on the deck."

    "That bastard!! He broke Chef Zeff's peg leg!!" The Popeye cook cries out angrily.

    "That traitor, I'll send him flying!!"

    "Wait." Sanji stop the enraged Luffy before turning to Gin, "What is it you want, Gin?"

    "You want this old geezer to live? Then get off this ship, Sanji!"

    "Get off this ship? I refuse!"

    "Wha-Don't provoke him, Sanji!!" The cooks cried out, "Chef Zeff is-"

    "You look pathetic, you crap-geezer." Sanji scoffs, "You're setting a real bad example for the fighting cooks."

    "Hmph. I don't want to hear that from you, Eggplant." Zeff scoffs back.

    "Don't call me that, you crap-geezer!! Stop treating me like a child!!"

    "Sanji, this is no time for that!!"

    "Tch! …Gin." Sanji points to him, "Aim your pistol at me."

    "WHAT!?"

    "Are you crazy!?" Luffy cries out, "You'll be killed!"

    "Maybe." Sanji shrugs his shoulders, "But at least this way the crap-geezer would live."

    "W-What…?" Gin could only stare in shock, "Sanji… why?"

    "If you want to die so badly, then allow me the honor!"

    We look back to see Pearl getting back up on his feet, blood spilling down from his nose and mouth which curls into a scowl, "I never imagined that I, the Invincible Pearl would get two bloody noses in one battle. I'm feeling threatened by you, so don't you move. If you do, Gin will blast that chef's head off!"

    Sanji said nothing as Pearl draws back his buckler, "Pearl Surprise!!" The buckler slams into the blonde cook and sends him tumbling across the deck.

    "Sanji!! Why you…!"

    "Don't touch him, chore boy!!"

    Sanji's words stopped Luffy who is ready to pummel the shield man, "Why didn't you dodge!?" He asked.

    "That crap-underling…" He struggles back on his feet, "…He'll kill the shitty geezer if I do…" Gin's eyes widen in shock, "It's not fair, Gin. I can't do as you asked."

    "Why not!? It's easy!!" Gin tells him, "Just leave this ship and you all be spared!"

    "This ship… it's the geezer's pride and joy." Sanji tells him, "I've took everything that old man had. His strength, his dreams, everything! So I'll never… never ever let anything else be taken from him again!"

    "This is no time to be spouting rubbish, Eggplant…" Zeff stated.

    "Shut up! I told you to stop treating me like a kid!!"

    "Ah, Sanji, look out!!"

    "Pearl Cymbals!!"

    Pearl has somehow sneak up behind him and slams his two bucklers into Sanji's head. I can hear his skull cracking under the hit while blood pours out of his mouth and nose, as he collapses onto the deck.

    "I'm tired of listening to his problems." Pearl notes with a sinister grin.

    "Sanji!!" The cooks cried out in horror.

    "Damn it, what can we do!?" I noted. If we do anything to either Gin or Pearl, Zeff would have his head blown off.

    "Crap, this is really bad!" Gord noted, "Hey, Sen! Can't you do something!?" From inside the restaurant, snoring can be heard. "You're actually taking a nap in there!?"

    "Gord, this is Sen." I noted with a nervous grimace.

    "Yeah, I know! But isn't Zeff his friend!?"

    "That's pretty up in the air…"

    "Oh, that's a good idea!!"

    We turn back to see Pearl punching the deck and pushing himself into the air, and is right on top of Sanji as he moves so that his pearl helm is pointing downwards towards his target.

    "Grr…! That's a cheap shot, Gin!!" Luffy cries out angrily.

    "We fight for keeps, kid!!" He shouted at him, "You brought this upon yourself!! If you'd just hand over the ship, you could have gone in peace!!"

    "Sanji, move!!"

    "Refined Silver Surprise!!"

    Despite the cries of his fellow cooks, Sanji would not move and took the diving attack to his back hard. "Wahahaha! I'm invincible!"

    "Sanji!!"

    "Oh god, his back…!"

    "…You… ate your own foot." Sanji struggles back onto his feet, blood dripping all over, "Leaving all the food for me… you've saved my life."

    "My word… how did he survive a direct hit?" Pearl mutters out.

    "I won't let you have this restaurant, and I won't let you kill the crap-geezer either. That food sacrifice himself to save a worthless boy. So I'll repay my debt to him, even if it costs me my life!"

    "Sanji! I don't want any favors." Zeff tells him, "I'm not so pathetic that I need a baby eggplant to protect me!"

    "Who did whom the favor?" The blonde cook asked, "If you hadn't eaten your own foot for my sake, you'd never lose to these fools."

    "Why… Why did you get up, Sanji…!?" Gin mutters out loud.

    "Wahahaha!! So you want more of Pearl's surprises? You can't possibly win, you know!?" Pearl laughs, "In this world, it's winner takes all, and losers get nothing! And whatever that prize, the winner crushes the competition! Isn't that right, Don Krieg!?"

    "Yeah, that's right." Krieg agreed.

    "Right, Gin!?"

    "…"

    "Well, I don't have to ask. You're our ruthless battle commander, after all." He turns back to Sanji, "We're going to crush you, and there's nothing you can do about it. So why bothering standing up? You're just wasting energy!"

    "…So that for a moment longer, this place can remain a restaurant."

    "Hah! Your words are slicker and polished silver! But it is now closing time for this restaurant!" Pearl laughed as he readies his buckler, "From now on, this is a pirate ship!! Doublecheck Pearl Surprise!"

    "Argh!!"

    The buckler slams into Sanji, sending him tumbling away and slamming against the railing. He coughs out blood and tries to get back up again.

    "Sanji!!" The cooks cried.

    "He can't take anymore of this!!" One of them cried out, "He'll die!!"

    "Wahahaha!! You can do something about this!" Pearl taunts him, "If you don't mind the old man dying, that is! Wahahaha!"

    "Argh!! I can't take this anymore!!" Gord shouted as he charges at Pearl with cutlass ready to strike. I took note and charge right at Gin, my feet charging to my dragon form's.

    "No, stop!!" Sanji cries out. "Don't interfere-"

    "Gum Gum…!!" Luffy stretches his leg high up into the air, before his rubber limp recoils back down, "Axe!!" He slams his recoiled foot into the deck, smashing through the wooden boards and smashing the entire 'fin' into pieces. I was barely able to keep on one of the pieces by embedding my talon's claws into the wood, while Gord tumbles about and would have fallen into the water if I hadn't reach out and grab him by the collar.

    "H-He shattered the fin!!" One of the cooks cried out.

    "That kid's up to something! Gin! Blow Zeff's brain out!!" Krieg shouted out.

    "Huh? B-But…"

    "Hey, I never touched you guys." Luffy states to Gin, "All I did was bust up the fin."

    "What do you think you're doing, Chore Boy!?" Sanji cries out angrily.

    "I'm going to sink this ship."

    "WHAT!?"

    Both pirates and cooks are in an uproar over Luffy's declaration. Even Gord is furious, "What the hell!? I thought you were fighting for this ship, not destroying it!!"

    "Are you crazy!?" Sanji grabs him by his vest, "Don't you realized why I've slaved away all this time on this ship!?"

    "But if I sink it, they've got no prize to take." He explained.

    "Wait, that's your excuse!?" Gord shouted angrily. I noticed Zeff having a small smile at the proceedings. I guess even he knows how foolish Sanji is being.

    "My enormous debt… the way I feel about this place… you could never understand!!"

    "So you're going to die for this ship? That's stupid!"

    "WHAT!?"

    "Getting killed is no way to repay your debt!!" Luffy shouted as he grabs a stunned Sanji by his collar, "He didn't save his life, just so you can throw it away like that! Only a coward to do that!"

    "T-Then how else can I stop them from taking old man's ship!?"

    "Now stop squabbling, you two." Pearl states as he walks up to him and ignites his two bucklers, "It was simply your misfortune to meet up with the Krieg Pirates. And there's nothing you can do about it now! Not when we've got a hostage!! Now burn and die!!" Pearl charges right at the two of them with flaming bucklers pull back to strike them down.

    Within moments, Gin suddenly moved and slams one of his heavy weighted tonfas into Pearl's body shield, shattering it in an instant.

    "G-Gin… Why…?"

    "Sorry, Pearl. Step aside."

    "Gin, you bastard!!" Krieg shouted out angrily, "How dare you betray me!!"

    "I'm sorry, Don Krieg. But we both owe Sanji our lives." He stated, "At the very least, let me be the one to end him."

    "H-He smashes that hard shield like it was nothing…!" Gord noted in shock.

    "Well, no surprise there, seeing as his attacks nearly went through my scales." I stated. Seeing his confused look, I explained further, "I encountered and fought him two years ago. You know, when we got ambushed at Orange Straits?"

    "Oh, now I remember. He was there?"

    "Yup. Nearly smashes my head in if I didn't transform in time."

    "Sanji, I've hoped you'd get off this ship without getting hurt." Gin notes, "But I guess that's not going to happen."

    "No, I'm afraid not." Sanji tells him.

    "I see. Then the best I can offer you, is to kill you myself."

    "Yeah, thank you. But go suck a dick."

    "Rude, much?" I noted with a deadpanned expression. How can someone like him be so polite yet so crude at the same time?

    "You too, Straw Hat." Gin tells Luffy, "You should have left with your crew when you had the chance to."

    "Why? It's not like I can lose to bunch of wimps like you." He stated.

    That statement got every pirate riled up and angry, all of them started shouting at him, "You lots are getting pretty cocky with our battle commander!! Don't you know who we are!? We're the damn Krieg Pirates! The strongest pirate armada of the East Blue!!"

    "You're not strong. You just have the most people on board."

    "Grk!!"

    "…I think you may have hit a nerve there." Sanji noted.

    "What? It's true." Luffy shrugs his shoulders.

    "Now that you mention it, attacks by them are mostly ambushes with overwhelming force, or brute overwhelming force. I guess that's their only threat is strength in numbers." Gord noted, "Besides Krieg, none of them are even listed on the wanted list, not even Gin."

    "You… You… YOU!!" The pirates all armed themselves and prepare to board back on Baratie, "We'll kill you-"

    "Enough!! Stand down!!"

    They all stopped at their captain's commanded, if a bit unwillingly. "B-But, Don Krieg!!" One of them shouted, "Those guys, they…!!"

    "Getting worked up over being called wimps only means that you've acknowledged your weakness." Krieg stated calmly, "The outcome will tell us who's strong, and who is weak. Understand, you scurvy dogs?"

    "A-Aye-aye, Don Krieg sir!!"

    "That's some authority he has over his crew." Gord noted, "As expected from the boss of the 50-ship armada."

    "See now, boy?" The armored pirate noted with a smirk, "This is how a pirate worthy of the title of Pirate King should be. So, who do you think that title should truly belong to-?"

    "Me, obviously."

    "G-Geh!?"

    Gord slapped his palm on his face as the cooks all screamed at Luffy to cut it out with his confident remarks; not that it would do it any good. Luffy is as dumb as shonen protags can get, if not dumber.

    "…That's it. I have had it with you."

    Krieg, veins popping from his head, unbuckles on his massive pauldron that could be mistaken as a shield and aims it at us, "I'm going to show you what true strength is."

    "T-The MH5!?" The pirates all cried out.

    "Hm? MH5? What's that?" Luffy asked, "If it's a cannonball, I'll bounce it right back at him."

    "Wait, Don Krieg! Not that!!" Gin pleaded, "Please, just let me kill them myself!"

    "It doesn't matter whose hand kills him." Krieg tells us, "Sentimental tripe like 'honor' and 'mercy', I hate all of that! This is war! And in war, all that matters is victory! Victory by any means necessary!" The 'jaws' of jolly roger on the pauldron/shield opens up to reveal what looks like a cannon barrel. "Even if that means using a poison gas bomb!!"

    "P-Poison gas!?" Gord cried out, "That would wipe out all of us, including his men!!"

    "Don Krieg!!"

    "Just one whiff of this noxious gas would kill you all within seconds! Now, boy! Witness true strength!!"

    The pauldron/shield fires a cannon shot right at us, one that looks like an actual missile. Almost everyone dived under the waves to escape it, or put on gas masks in the case of the pirates.

    Luffy, being the stubborn guy, decided to take his chances and run towards the fired round, "It's no big deal! I'll just knock it into the water!"

    "Stop, you fool!!" Sanji cried out.

    As he did so, I noticed something off, like the fact that Krieg isn't putting on a gas mask despite firing a poison gas grenade. Does he have an antidote to the poison, or…?

    "Wait, something's not right!" I shouted, "I don't think that's a-"

    I was too late in my warning, as instead of detonating into a poison gas cloud, the round instead explodes and unleashes many shuriken stars flying all directions, some manages to cut into his rubber body. Many of them flew past him and in our directions which I and Gord quickly dodge or deflect away.

    "H-Hey! That wasn't poison gas!!" Luffy cries out angrily as he clutches his wounds, "You tricked me!!"

    "Hahaha!! You don't use something as valuable as a poison gas bomb for something this insignificant!" Krieg laughed, "Just one of those bombs could easily annihilate an entire village! You think I'll waste that on scum like you?"

    "Ah, I see! That's a good point."

    "He sure is taking this calmly…" Gord noted with a sweat-drop.

    "This is war, brat! I have many different ways of killing you!" The armored pirate exclaims, "So tell me again, who among us do you think the title of Pirate King truly belongs to-"

    "Me, of course!" Luffy stated nonchalantly, "You don't have what it takes."

    "K-Kuh…!" Krieg grits his teeth so hard that you can actually hear him scrapping the enamel off of them, "Gin! You better do your duty and kill off that stupid cook! As for this ignorant brat, I'll kill him myself!"

    "…understood, Don Krieg." Gin noted as he turns to Sanji, "Sorry, Sanji. But you can't beat me."

    "Hmph. We'll see about that, you shitty scoundrel…" Sanji noted as he took a whiff of his cigarette.

    "Hold on." I took a step forward and got in front of Sanji and raises my sword up to block him off, "You're still too injured from that beating you just took. You're in no condition to fight. I'll fight him in your stead."

    "Wait, Rein!!" Gord cried out, "Are you sure about this!? Didn't you say that he nearly broke through your scales with one of his attacks!?"

    "I just don't have to let him hit me, that's all." I assure him. And compared to my inexperience self from two years ago, I'm way more skilled now. Things would go very different than last time I've faced him.

    And I kind of want to get some payback for two years ago if I can.

    "My lady, it would do me a dishonor to let a delicate flower like you fight in my-OOF!"

    I stop his words with a fist to his gut, which brought him to his knees instantly, "Don't you call me a lady." I tells him, "And I can assure you, I'm no delicate flower." I points Nanashi at him, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

    "…Sorry, but have we met before?" Gin asked.

    "…You don't fucking recognize me?" The nerve of him-How dare he forget!! "I have broken two of your ships masts on my own!! I've punched you and sent you flying!! Don't tell me you have forgotten all of that!"

    "…Wait. Don't tell me… you're that little girl from two years ago-"

    "Who are you calling a little girl!? I'll have you know, I'm almost thirty!!"

    I'm pretty sure the scene of me shouting at a dumbfounded Gin is very comical to everyone looking in, but I couldn't give a damn about that anymore. Seriously, I'm pretty sure I'm at least close to Nami's height at this point!!

    "Wait, you're in your late twenties? At that size-"

    "Oh, I have had it with you!!"

    I decided to let my anger decide my next course of action and charge at him, slashing towards his shoulder. He quickly dodges my preemptive strike, before spinning his weighted tonfa at me in retaliation. I stepped back to dodge the attack and countered with a thrust which he parries away, leaving me open for a wide attack from him that I barely managed to block with my handle, the force behind it rattling the wooden hilt and knocking me away from him.

    I skids to a stop before prepping a technique, "Fifth Form; Rising Claw!!"

    With my blade poised low, I charged right at him, just as he is dashing at me with his spinning tonfa. The moment I got close to him; Gin swings the tonfa down at me with every intention to smash my head in.

    I twist my body to dodge it, his metal ball grazes against my forearm a little, and at the same time, swings my sword upwards at him, cutting into his chest. "G-Grgh…!" He groans out and retaliates by swinging his other tonfa at me from the side, which I quickly duck under to avoid before leap away from him.

    "S-She drew blood!!"

    "N-No way…! Did Gin just got hurt…!?"

    "And by such a small girl…!"

    I would have shouted at them for calling me small, but the fact of the matter is that I can't afford to put my attention elsewhere. Even if Gin is bleeding from his torso and heavily panting bleeding from his mouth. That slash, by all account, should have immobilized him, but he is still standing.

    Gin, as malnourished at he is, is definitely still as strong as the first time I've faced him. I can feel the pain from my forearm, friction burn from his grazed attack; it is a damn miracle that the hilt isn't broken from that strike alone.

    His movement, on the other hand, are pretty sluggish compared to two years ago, a possible significant side effect from being starved for weeks on end. That means I can get in close where his weapon cannot reach me. That will be my winning strategy.

    The sea behind me exploded, which we both view as the starting signal as he charges right at me, both tonfas spinning and swinging down at me. I jumped out of the way, the metal balls smashing into the wooden planks and breaking them on impact. At mid jump, I slashes at him, nicking him on the ear before landing and preparing to strike back.

    He wouldn't let me do so, and swings his tonfas at me at all directions, prompting me to go on the defensive and try to block them all away. Each attack hit hard; my blade rings loudly each time his weighted tonfas slams on it, my arms ache each time I block his attack. Is this his strategy, to wear me off with heavy attacks after another? If so, then it is definitely working-

    "Grgh!!"

    Air left my lungs as I felt his metal ball smashing into my sides; ribs breaking under his strike before I was sent flying by his attack. I tumble on the ground and slamming against the railings of the seafaring restaurant. I let out a wet cough, iron taste in my mouth as I struggles to push myself up.

    "Oh god, Rein!!" Gord cried out.

    "Hahaha!! That's right!" One of the pirates shouted out, "That's what you get for messing with our battle commander!!"

    "Gin is going to destroy, girly!!" Another cries out.

    "Give it up. It's over." Gin noted, spinning his tonfa in ready for another attack, "You can't beat me."

    "Yeah… who's the one that decided that…?" I stated as I finally got back up.

    "Miss, you're badly hurt!!" Sanji stated worriedly, "You have done enough! Let me-"

    "Stay out of this." I stated as I pushed him aside, "I've got this…"

    Despite the bravado I just put up, it is obvious that his attack really messed me up. I can feel at least three ribs are cracked; with one of them almost breaking. I can't afford to take another hit from him, or I'll be dead for sure. I have to settle this with the next attack.

    "…I see. Then, die."

    Seeing as I am not moving from my spot, Gin charges at me with his tonfa swinging down at me, metal ball aiming to crush my skull.

    "Second Form; Gliding Wing."

    I moved my sword upwards, angling the blade so that the metal ball would glide down the edge to my side and missing me entirely. As he is stunned by how I diverted his attack, with my sword now raised, I complete the technique and slashes down at Gin, cutting into his collar and down his torso.

    "GAH!!"

    Gin let out a cry of pain before dropping to his knees, hand on his now cross-shaped wound on his chest. As he did so, I place my blade against his neck, "Now, it's over."

    "N-No way…! Gin… that Gin is…!"

    "T-This is impossible!!"

    "N-No way, that little girl just took down the Krieg Pirates' battle commander!!"

    Pirates and cooks alike all cry out in shock at what just occurred, all of them of disbelieve. I ignore all of that and look at Gin, who just stares back at me.

    "Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked, "Do it. End me."

    "…"

    "Go on! Kill me already!!"

    "…No."

    I took the blade off his neck, swinging it once to great rid of the blood on it before sheathing Nanashi with a loud click.

    "W-What are you-?"

    "You weren't going to kill Sanji from the start."

    Gin flinching at my words. I got to thank Silvia for teaching me how to read one's body language, because it is paying off big time! I continued on, "When I choose to butt in and fight for him, your body relaxed. You are relieved that you don't have to fight Sanji, the guy that has no doubt saved your life before. And back then, you could have killed Zeff right then and there as your captain had ordered, but you didn't."

    "So-So, what?"

    "That means that you're not someone who would repay kindness with betrayal, that under that ruthless demon persona, you're still a pretty decent person deep down. Pirate or not, you have a decent moral compass. And I'm not willing to kill someone like you."

    "You killed like all of the other pirates as easily, though." Gord pointed out.

    "They are idiots who just followed orders without thinking of the consequences of their actions. If anything, they are the ones who marched to their death like morons."

    I'm pretty I've hit a nerve with many of the pirates around me, but it's not like they can do anything to me in any shape or form.

    Gin's eyes widen in shock at my explanation, "T-That's… I…"

    "What are you waiting for, Gin!?" Krieg shouted at us angrily, "She's unarmed and completely defenseless!"

    "Don… Krieg…?"

    "Hurry up and kill her!!"

    "B-But sir…!"

    "All that talk about sentimental nonsense is bullshit!!" He stated fiercely, "You of all people should know the principals of the Krieg Pirates!!"

    "…Victory at all cost…"

    "That's right! No matter the method, even if it is 'cowardly', 'dishonorable', all that crap; if it can bring you victory, and use it!"

    Understanding his captain's words, Gin struggles back onto his feet, tonfas in his hands and starts spinning one of them in preparation to slam it down on me. Just as I was about to response to that, Sanji got between me and him.

    "H-Huh? Sanji!?"

    "If you want to kill her, you have to go through me first." He stated firmly.

    "Sanji, this is not the time to be suicidal!!" The popeye cook shouted at him.

    "Hahaha! If he is such a hurry to die, then let him!!" Krieg shouted, "Do it, Gin!! Kill that stupid cook!!"

    "GRRAAAGGGHHHH!!"

    Gin swings his spinning tonfa down, no doubt with the sole purpose to kill me.

    But, as I have predicted, the metal ball misses me completely and slams into the wooden planks next to me. "…I knew it."

    "What is wrong with you, Gin!?" Krieg shouted at him, "She's just in front of you, how can you miss!?"

    "…I can't." Gin noted with gritted teeth, tears pouring from his eyes, "I can't do it, Don Krieg! I can't kill him!"

    "…what…did you just say…!?" Krieg shouted angrily, "I dare you to say that again, Gin! Don't tell me you're betraying me now!?"

    "I would never betray you, Don Krieg!! I respected your strength, and I don't regret anything I've anything I have done in service to you! But I couldn't bring myself to kill the man that showed me so much kindness! So please… maybe…" He turns to his captain with tears and mucus dripping off his face, "Maybe we can… spare this ship…?"

    "W-What did he just say!?"

    "H-Has Gin gone mad!?"

    "Commander, how could you…!!"

    "What has gotten into you, Gin!?"

    The pirates all cried out in shock over Gin's words, not believing what their battle commander has said. Their captain is quite obvious; Krieg's veins are quite literally popping on his head, his face gone purple from sheer rage alone, which I didn't think it was actually possible.

    "It's inexcusable that you, my most trusted officer, would not only refuse to obey my order, but to demand such a thing from me! What madness has possessed you!?" He shouted as he raises his shield/pauldron at us.

    "Crap, it's the MH5!! For real this time!!" One of the pirates cried out.

    "Don Krieg, please!!" Gin begged his captain, "These cooks saved our lives-"

    "Throw away your mask, Gin." Krieg stated angrily, "You are no longer part of my crew."

    "E-Eh!? B-But… Don Krieg…"

    "You think I'd let you shoot that!?" Luffy rushes at Krieg from the fallen mast. The armored pirate take note and fires several stakes from his shield/pauldron at him. Luffy quickly dodges them and crawls under the mast where Krieg can't aim at him. Krieg, not letting the straw hat pirate to get any closer, slams his fist into part of the mast next to him, breaking it and sending it sinking into ocean, and Luffy would have followed suit if he didn't get back up top.

    That brought Luffy to the open which gave Krieg the chance to fire more stakes at him. He narrowly avoided them and leap back onto the broken Fin. "Gin! Don't you dare obey that pansy Krieg!!" Luffy tells him, "I'm going to clobber him-!!"

    "Don't you belittle Don Krieg!!" Gin shouted, "Don Krieg is the mightiest man alive. A runt like you could never defeat him!"

    "Stop deluding yourself, Gin!!" Sanji shouted as he grabs his collar shoulder, the pirate commander looking at the gas mask in his hand, "Your hero is trying to kill you!!"

    "Of course he is. I'm a coward who let foolish sentiment get in the way of my duty. I deserve to die."

    With those words, Gin tosses the mask into the sea, leaving himself in the merciless hands of his former captain.

    "Rein, get out of there!!" Gord shouted at me.

    "Die!! Poison Gas Bomb; MH5!!"

    Krieg's shield/pauldron fires something similar missile-esque cannon round from earlier, only this one has Krieg putting on his gas mask immediately after. That was enough to clue us into the bomb's actual contents.

    "I'm borrowing these!!" Luffy's arms stretched and grabs two of the pirates' gas masks, tossing them at us that Sanji quickly caught.

    "Miss Rein, here." He passes the mask to me, which I took before throwing it back at Luffy, "Miss Rein!?"

    "I have a better idea!"

    I grab both Sanji and Gin by the collar, disregard all the fears of Sen's future punishment for what I'm about to do, and changes into my half-dragon form before leaping high into the air as hard as I could. At the arc of my jump, I unfurled my wings and fly up as high as I can, just as the gas bomb detonates into a massive cloud of purple smoke.

    Thankfully, I was able to fly high enough that the gas couldn't reach us, "Phew…That was way too close…" I noted in relief.

    "Y-You have wings!?" Sanji cried out in shock.

    "Devil Fruit powers." I told him, "A Mythical Zoan-type, to be exact. The Dragon-Dragon Fruit."

    "…Why?"

    "Hm?"

    Gin looks up at me, "Why did you save me!? Just let me die! I deserved it after what I did!!"

    "Oh, stop that loyal dog bullshit and open your eyes!" Sanji shouted angrily, "Your captain, the man that you look up to, is trying to kill you!! And for what!? Not killing!?"

    "Sentiment is weakness!! And I let that weakness stop me from doing what my captain ordered me to do!"

    "Then stop following his orders!! You're a person, not some emotionless, unfeeling monster!!"

    "Would both of you shut up!!" I screamed at them, "Your struggling is making it hard to keep a grip on you two!!"

    "O-Oh, sorry." Sanji apologized.

    "And Gin." I look down at him as said, "I didn't spare your life just so you can throw that away for some bastard captain that doesn't appreciate your services."

    "…"

    Soon enough, the cloud is completely cleared, letting us see Luffy is still on the broken Fin with his gas mask around his face. Krieg is still on his wrecked ship, although his body language indicates that he is shocked by the absence of the three of us. And judging by the way Luffy is looking around, he is too.

    I don't see Gord or any of the cooks and pirates nearby, and there aren't any floating bodies about, so I can safely assume that they are most likely safe.

    "Where are you!? Gin!! Sanji!! Small lady-"

    "Who are you calling small lady!?"

    The response to Luffy rude words came out of my mouth before I can stop myself, getting both the Straw Hat captain's and the armored pirate's attention as they look up at us. Luffy's reaction is predicable, with eyes sparkling in awe at my half-dragon state, while Krieg's jaws dropped at the sight my wings.

    "So cool~!!"

    "W-Wings!? Another Devil Fruit user!?"

    I sighed as I decent down onto the broken Fin, dropping off Sanji and Gin to the ground. As I did so, the pirates all started to acted weird.

    "White scales, horns and wings!? Oh god, isn't she that white devil from two years ago!?"

    "Oh, my god! She most definitely is!! I recognized those wings and scales anywhere!!"

    The pirates all start to scream in terror at appearance of my dragon form, some even praying to god to save them. I guess my actions at the Orange Straits is still remembered even two years from then.

    Still, what's with the 'white devil' moniker? I don't look that scary, do I?

    "I see… You're that 'white devil' my men were telling me about two years ago." Krieg stated, "I've always thought they were overexaggerating, but now I see they were telling me the truth. Even so, for the identity of that 'devil' to be a woman of your stature… It makes your supposed actions back then seems unreal."

    "Want me to go over there and show you how unreal they are?" I noted as I show him my clawed hand to prove a point. I can most likely reach him from here, if I use my legs to their max strength. And I doubt his armor is stronger than my scales-

    "Grgh…!!"

    "Gin!!"

    Suddenly, Gin collapsed onto his knees, clutching the sword wounds I have inflicted on him that seems to have widen a little, his blood pooling under his feet. Ah crap, did his wounds worsen from how I rough handled him just now!? At this rate, he'll bleed to death!

    "Hmph, it seems that the MH5 might not been needed. Those wounds would have killed you if I just left you behind." Krieg scoffed, "Gin, I'm really disappointed in you. To think that someone who embodied my principals so well as you, turned traitor all for some gratitude of some little food given by some stupid cook."

    "D-Don… Krieg…?"

    "Gin, you have chosen the wrong person to follow." Sanji stated angrily.

    "Hahahaha!! You feel sorry for that worthless piece of rubbish?" The armored pirate laughed, getting some furious stares from Luffy and Sanji, "A fool who lost sight of what's important and refused to obey my orders is no use to me. Who's to say he wouldn't betray me again?"

    "That shitty bastard…!" The blonde cook growled angrily.

    "Rein!! You're fine!!" Gord exclaims as he ran out from the restaurant, Zeff and his two chefs not far behind.

    "Gord!" Thanks goodness he is alright and well. "You know some first aid, right!? Can you help patch up Gin here?"

    "Well, sure, no problem. But isn't he the enemy-"

    "That doesn't matter!! If he loses any more blood, he'll die!!"

    "B-But, Rein…!"

    "Patty, stitch up his wounds." Zeff tells the popeye chef, "Carne, get the first aid kit and all the extra bandages we have from the storeroom."

    "Geezer…" Sanji noted in stunned surprised.

    "Huh!? But Head Chef! He was about to kill you just moments ago!" The chef cried.

    "Didn't you hear me!? Get to it, on the double!!"

    "Y-Yes, sir!!"

    The two cooks followed his command and the popeye chef rushes towards the bleeding Gin. Gord, a bit reluctantly, followed him and help him carry him by his shoulders.

    "Thank you, Gord." I thanked him.

    "It's only because you asked me to, okay?" He tells me as he lifts Gin's arm over his shoulder.

    "Don't die, Gin." Luffy tells him, "Don't prove that asshole right! Live on to spite him, okay!! I'll send him flying for you!!"

    "No… don't… go against Krieg…!!" Gin coughed, blood dripping from his mouth, "He's…too strong…! You can't win against him…!!"

    "Calm down, chore boy!!" Sanji calls out to him, grabbing onto him by his arm, "If you charge right in, you'll be playing into his hands! You'll be killed!!"

    "I won't die to him." He tells him, shaking his grip off of him before charging right at the armored pirate, "Go ahead and shoot me all you want!!"

    "W-Wait!!"

    "The sea is your nemesis, hammer boy!! Beyond that fin, your grave awaits!!" Krieg declares as he tosses some small ball bearings into the water, which detonates into a big water wall that blocked Krieg from Luffy's view. Krieg then aimed his shield/pauldron and fires countless stakes into the water wall, with the sickening sounds of them sinking into flesh being heard just moments later.

    "Heheh, so he'll rather die than-what!?"

    Luffy dashes out of the water wall, pikes impaled in his limps but he still keeps on running. Krieg raises his weapon up to continue firing, only for the rubber pirate to flip over and slams a stretched leg into the water in front of Krieg, blinding him the same way he did to him.

    As he did so, he leaped into to water wall, arm stretched as far back as possible. "Gum Gum…"

    "Fool!! Go on! Try and punch me if you can!!" Krieg boasts as the water wall clears away, showing him covered in a spiked cape, "There's no way you can hit me-"

    "Pistol!!"

    "PWAHH!?"

    Ignoring the painful spikes on the cape, Luffy slams his recoiled fist into it and hits Krieg square in the cheek, knocking him to the ground hard, stunning everyone with his reckless act.

    "So, is this your grave, or mine? Like hell it is." One by one, the rubber pirate pulls out the impaled pikes from his limps, all the while a fearless smile is on his lips, "You don't get to decide my grave. This isn't where I'll die."

    …
    To be continued…
    Yup! Done with this chapter!

    Man, I wasn't sure where to end this part, but I manages it in the end! So yeah, as the title says, this chapter is mainly to dedicate to Rein's growth from the start of this fic till now. From some guy/girl who barely got by with a powerful DF power, to someone who is skilled enough to NOT need it to defeat someone as skilled as Gin.

    And the fact that he/she fought against Gin is no coincidence, either.

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • I have just started reading this and I've got to say that you really need an editor. Most of the grammar mistakes aren't too bad, but if you could get someone else to look over your work it would do wonders for readability.
     
    Chapter 23
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 23: True Strength​
    "D-Don Krieg's been knocked down!?"

    "I've never seen the Don go on his knees before, let alone getting knocked down!!"

    "What is that kid!? He punched through the porcupine cape just like that!!"

    The pirates are all in a frenzy over their captain's supposed invulnerability getting overturned by some rubber kid. It's kind of funny to witness.

    "That kid's crazy…" Sanji noted in shock.

    "Watch him closely, Sanji." Zeff tells him as he wombles up to us with a crutch, "Once in a while, a fool would come along who, having set his sights on something, won't quit fighting until he dies."

    "Won't quite fighting, huh…?"

    "It's a nuisance to have a feller like that for an enemy. Whether he wins or loses this fight, I admire a man like that."

    "This isn't your grave, you say?" Krieg states as he slowly gets back up, "If this isn't your grave, then whose is it!?" He charges at Luffy and slams his shield/pauldron into Luffy, which detonates something on impact, "Yours, is it not!?"

    "No, it's yours!!"

    Luffy somehow manages to leap over the attack and hooks his foot on Krieg's collar, before pulling him back down onto the ground hard. That got the pirate all into a frenzy yet again, all unable to believe that Krieg's bag of tricks are useless against someone like Luffy.

    "T-The Don's down again!!"

    "What's going on!? Enemies are supposed to die without even touching Don Krieg!! He supposed to be invincible!!"

    "Has Don Krieg finally meet his match…?"

    "Don't be ridiculous!!"

    Krieg raged on as he got back up and slams his two shields/pauldrons together. From within it, extended a spear tip and long shaft, creating a very top-heavy spear which he then slams into the wreckage hard, creating an explosion on impact.

    "Ah! It's Don Krieg's ultimate weapon, the Great Battle Spear!" The pirates cheered.

    "Let's see how long you can survive now, hammer boy." The armored pirate scoffs as he removed his cape, "This spear is way more destructive then those small stakes. Just one hit from this will blow you to pieces!!"

    As a demonstration, he slams the spear into the wreckage, creating an explosion that sends Luffy flying into the air. He stretches his arm to the nearby wreckage and pulling himself on board to avoid drowning into the ocean. His knees, however, wobble under him before he drops onto them.

    "This is bad…! He has lost too much blood…!" Sanji noted in worry.

    Krieg, definitely taking notice of Luffy's weaken state, charges at him with a thrust from his spear, which the rubber pirate manages to avoid. He then proceeds to swing very wildly at him to try and get a hit in. He manages to corner the rubber pirate at the edge of the wreckage, which he immediately swings at him. Luffy leap into the air to dodge to blow, but found himself unable to avoid another swing from the armored pirate, who no doubt lure him to the air and swings at the rubber pirate with the very intent to kill him right there and then.

    Fortunately, he didn't actually hit him.

    "Whew, that was close." Luffy noted in relief, hanging from the spear's shaft.

    "Why you… little insect!!" Krieg slams his spear onto the planks to take him out, which Luffy immediately jumps off and into the air, once again faced with the same dilemma moments ago which the armored pirate take note and thrust his spear towards the rubber pirate.

    Luffy, just before the spear hits him, slams his fists into the spear blade, which did nothing more than detonate the weapon in his face.

    "Chore boy!!" Sanji cries out.

    The charred rubber pirate flops onto the wreckage, still very much alive and not blown to pieces, and immediately struggles back onto his feet.

    "Hmph, still alive? Well, I can fix that!! I'll blast you into chum!!"

    Krieg swings his spear at Luffy, who immediately move to meet the spear's blade with his fist, detonating the weapon once more, sending him flying off once more and flopping on another wreckage.

    "Heheh, now do you see?" The armored pirate scoffed, "My power is unparalleled!"

    Luffy got back up, a grin on his face, "Oh, really?"

    As he says so, the spear tip of Krieg's weapon cracked and broke off, much to the armored pirate's shock, "M-My Great Battle Spear!! What did you do!?"

    "I've punched the blade off. Without it, it's nothing more than a bomb on a stick." Luffy stated with a grin, "And now, there are plenty of room for me to beat your ass."

    No doubt, the wreckage they are on has way more space than the small wreckage they were fighting on moments ago. Did Luffy lure him there to get more space to maneuver about without the worry of dropping into ocean?

    "A bomb on a stick? Hmph!" Krieg scoffed at him, "Perhaps! But I still have more military might to blow you away. You are badly injured from the blasts you took from my Great Battle Spear. I think all that tough talk are a bluff."

    "No, it's not." Luffy stated with a grin.

    "Krieg's right." Sanji noted with a grimace, "The kid's got busted up pretty good from all the attacks he has taken. Just one more blast from that spear would no doubt kill him. It's no good, Krieg just has too much firepower!"

    "Even a man with a thousand powerful weapons can be skewered by a spear of sheer guts." Zeff noted with a grin. That got Sanji's attention as the old cook continued on, "In a life or death battle between pirates, he who hesitates is dead."

    "What are you saying?"

    "I'll say this: For that kid, there's no give in him. In the end, it's not about the weapons. Sometimes, guts can pierce even the strongest of steels."

    Krieg charges right at Luffy and swings at him with his broken spear. Luffy easily dodges the wild swing that detonates the ground it grazed, the rubber pirate stretches his arms and grabs a fallen mast's yard and pull himself up and away from Krieg, "Try and hit me~!"

    "You damn monkey!!"

    "Ookey-ookey!"

    Luffy mockingly acted like a monkey, greatly enraging the armored pirate which leads to him smashing his broken spear into the mast, exploding and breaking it off its roots. The rubber pirate breaks the yard and kicks the broken mast towards Krieg, who simply smashes it away. As he did so, the falling Luffy throws the yard at him like a large javelin from behind the generated smoke. The armored pirate is unfazed by the attack and unleashes a blast of flame from his bracer, burning the broken yard into cinders.

    "Gum Gum Gatling!!" Luffy didn't stop his assault and unleashes a barrage of stretched fists at Krieg. The punches all slams into his armored torso, doing absolutely nothing to him.

    "Hahahaha!! Idiot! This is wootz steel! Your puny punches wouldn't put a dent in it-"

    "Bullet!!"

    Luffy ignores his boasting and slams another recoiled punch into Krieg's gold plated cuirass, which didn't accomplish anything aside from widening the puncture wounds on his arm, and enraging the armored pirate even more.

    "You insolent fool!!" He shouted as he swings his spear at Luffy, who quickly got out of the way of the resulting explosion, "That was pathetic!! You actually thought your puny monkey fist could shatter the strongest armor in the world!?"

    "A few more should…"

    "I am the world strongest man, armed with the best equipment!" Krieg rushes at him with another heavy swing towards Luffy, who quickly dodges under it. He then rushes towards Krieg with every intention of slamming another fist into him.

    The pirate admiral smirks as he jumps onto the wreck's broken mast while tossing behind some black explosive beads behind him and states, "All who oppose me die, anchor boy."

    Within moments, the deck around the fallen mast exploded into splinters. Krieg laughed as he stood on top of the splintered mast, clouds of smoke covering the now destroyed deck, "Hahaha!! As always, the strong has prevailed!"

    "And that would be me!!"

    Krieg's eyes widen in shock as Luffy dashes up the falling mast through the cloud of smoke, arm stretched back for a familiar attack.

    "You persistent maggot!!"

    Krieg slams his explosive former spear into Luffy, the resulting explosion hitting the rubber boy head on. But that is not enough to deter him as Luffy, covered in soot and burns, power through the attack and slams his recoiling palms into Krieg.

    "W-What-!?"

    "Gum Gum Bazooka!!"

    The rubber attack hits straight into Krieg's armor, sending him flying into the air. The metal cuirass cracked under the attack, but remains unbroken.

    "Hahaha! You've failed!! Your strength is now gone!! But I applaud you! You managed to put a tiny crack in my armor!" Krieg laughed as he is now starting to fall over the ocean, "And with the deck under us gone, you have no where to run! Drown with the pride of cracking my armor, boy!!"

    "Gum Gum…!"

    "W-Wait, what!?"

    To the absolute shock to everyone except me, Luffy did the insane thing of leaping off the mast after Krieg, arm stretched upwards as a fearless grin decorated his face. Naturally, he went om and charges right in, despite the watery weakness under his feet. After all, one cannot become strong with the will to risk your own life to become so.

    And Krieg would pay for not doing so.

    "Bazooka!!"

    Luffy's palms slams down into Krieg's cuirass one more time, this time the metal armor buckled and shattered under his attack, plowing into him as the loud cracking of ribs can be heard. Blood is coughed out as the now armorless pirate admiral plummets down into the sea.

    "D-Don Krieg!!"

    "Silence, you fools!!"

    Krieg did not admit defeat there and pull another trick out of his metaphoric sleeve, although in this case is quite literal, as he tosses an iron net towards Luffy, trapping him within. "Hahaha!! You won't be escaping this iron net!! The sea is just below us, boy!! You may sink like an anchor, but I don't! I'm the one who would get the last laugh!!"

    "Chore boy!!"

    I knew that Luffy would no doubt win this. That he would prevail over this lowly pirate scum. But even so, I couldn't just stand here and watch!

    "Not so fast!!"

    I went half-dragon and leaps towards Luffy, grabbing onto him and halting their descent completely. The two of them are heavier than Gin and Sanji, but it's not unbearable for my wings. Though it is a killer on my broken ribs.

    "You're…!"

    "You, the dragon girl!?"

    "Luffy! You still got some fight in you, right!?" I asked with a smirk, "Take him out."

    "…heh, was already planning to!"

    Luffy pushes his arms and feet out of the net's small openings, before spinning his legs towards Krieg, sandwiching his face between his rubbery feet. As the pirate admiral struggles to get those feet off of him, he commanded his men, "Shoot down these pests!!"

    "Aye-aye, Don Krieg-Gwah!!"

    I glanced to my right to see Sanji stomping onto the pirates' faces with no remorse. Gord is among them as he held some at blade point with his two cutlasses.

    "End it, chore boy." The blonde chef smirked.

    "Finish him!!" My ship's cook shouted with glee.

    "Let's do this, dragon lady!!"

    "You got it!!"

    I let go and grab onto his rubbery arms, just as Krieg begins to spin as the twisted rubber legs begin to unravel like a top. With a roar, I pull him over my shoulder and down towards the deck, letting the momentum and gravity do the rest.

    "Gum Gum Dragon Hammer!!"

    The spinning Don Krieg smashes into the wrecked fin with a loud crash. Splinters flew, planks broke and shatter, and Don Krieg is finally defeated for good.

    "…Dragon Hammer?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Shishishi! It fits, doesn't it?" Luffy snickers.

    "…Dahaha. Yeah, I guess it does." I noted with a chuckle, before flinching at my broken ribs starting to hurt a lot more.

    I slowly descend down onto the broken Fin, putting Luffy down gently on the wooden deck. With great difficulty, I pull the net off of him, just as he falls unconscious.

    "Zzz…"

    Or fall asleep, apparently.

    "How is the hero of the day doing?" Gord asked as he walked up to us with a first aid kit at hand. Sanji is nearby smoking a cigarette, as standard of a chain smoker like him.

    "Sleeping, apparently." I tells him with a shrug, "But most likely losing more blood than it is healthy."

    "I'll say." He noted as he opens up the first aid kit and pulls out a-

    "Is that a giant plaster bandage?"

    "Eh, who am I to judge ones first aid kit contents?"

    "I don't believe it…" Gin walks towards us as he looks at Luffy, "Don Krieg lost… against him…?"

    "It goes to show that there are always bigger fish in the sea." Zeff tells him, "And to be honest, Krieg really isn't the strongest man in the world. That role belongs to Whitebeard. And he doesn't hide behind all that shiny armor like a turtle."

    "…I see…"

    "I AM THE STRONGEST!!"

    A shout got our attention as we all turn to see Krieg back on his feet once more, only it is obvious he is not lucid right now. His eyes are rolled back, and he is swinging around wildly like a mad man while his crew tries to hold him down to apply treatment.

    "Stop it, Don Krieg!!"

    "You're hurt! You have to stand still!!"

    "NO ONE STANDS BEFORE ME!! UNTIL TODAY, NO ONE HAS EVER DEFEATED ME IN BATTLE!! NO ONE CAN STAND BEFORE MY MILITARY MIGHT!! I WILL CONTINUE… C-Continue to *cough*!"

    "Hold him down!!"

    "He's out of his mind!!"

    "I… I am… the STRONGEST MAN IN THE-"

    "Shut up."​

    Everyone froze at the proclamation, even the crazed Krieg. From within the Baratie, Sen walks out onto the broken Fin with a simmering glare. With every step he takes towards Krieg, the air seemingly grew thicker.

    "Why do you have yell like a madman? I'm trying to take a nap."

    "I…I am… strongest man in…"

    "I don't care what you think you are, little turtle."

    Sen steps in front of Krieg, hands in his pocket as he glares into the empty white pupils of the crazed pirate admiral.

    "Strong…strongest man in the…"

    "…Just, sleep."

    With a focused glare, a familiar heavy pressure erupted from him and blankets over everyone. All of the pirates fall unconscious within moments, collapsing onto the deck.

    The only people that remain upright are the cooks, me, Sanji, Gord, Gin, and Zeff.

    "Can't a guy get some proper shuteye these days…?" Sen groaned.

    "Only you would try to sleep during a crisis like this…" Zeff sighed, "At least you didn't rummage and eat clean my pantry."

    "Heh, you are lucky I wasn't feeling hungry at the moment."

    "And I sure wish that luck would keep up."

    Sen chuckles before turning to Gin. "So, what are you going to do now?"

    "Huh?"

    "You were kicked out, weren't you? And your 'invincible' captain has been defeated by some no name upstart. I'm sure that's a world changer for you. So, are you going to keep your loyalty to him, or are you going to plan out your own route now?"

    "…Heh, you know… now that you brought it up, I'm not sure what I should do now." Gin noted with a tired sigh, "I was originally a nobody, just some homeless kid you can find on the streets. Don Krieg gave me a chance to be someone different, better, stronger. I owe my life to him."

    "Which he repays by booting you off the crew and then trying to poison you to death." Gord pointed out, "Give it up, Gin. Krieg would only see you as a weapon, a tool in his massive arsenal. No matter how loyal you are to him, it would never pay off in the end."

    "Even so, it was thanks to him that I'm what I am today."

    "…But that's not what you have to be." I pointed out to him, "Strength doesn't have to mean being cold ruthless killer. Sometimes it can be as simple as just protecting a single ship."

    Sanji twitched at that comment. Although I'm going to stand by that comment. Not everyone has the conviction to risk their life to protect one's home to the end.

    "…Rein, what are you implying?" Gord asked with a worried tone in his voice.

    "What if he joins the Silver Fang?" I asked, "We could always use more combatants."

    Not to mention it could be fresh start for Gin. He is obvious someone with a decent moral compass, just heavily misguided. I'm sure serving on a descent vessel like the Silver Fang could change his overall outlook on life.

    "WHAT!? Are you serious with that suggestion!?" He shouted at me, "He's a wanted criminal!! One with a hefty bounty on his head!! If he joins, the East Trader's legality would be put into question!"

    "We can change his identity, modify his appearance a little." I stated. I wonder if he'll look good with dark orange hair…?

    "Are you even listening, Rein!?" Gord groaned, "Even so, letting him join isn't up to any of us. Only Silvia has the authority to do so."

    "Yeah, well…"

    "…If you'll have me, could I?" Gin asked, "Could I join your ship?"

    "See, Gord?" I pointed out, "Please? You saw how strong he is, and if he has lots of experience on a huge vessel! Don't tell me you don't see him as a valuable battle asset. Not mention he is a pretty decent guy, despite the whole pirate shtick."

    "…Hah… fine. But that would have to wait until we reunite with the Silver Fang." He noted, "Which we are unable due to a lack of a ship. And we need to wait for your ribs to recover."

    "Ah, right. Also, I think it's digging into my lungs…"

    I groaned as I sat back down, flinching at my broken ribs.

    "Oh, that's reminds me." Sen noted as he kneels in front of me with a devilish smile, "You used your DF powers, didn't you? Even when I told you not to."

    "Ah! W-Well, it was an emergency and well, it was the only way for all three of us to survive-"

    "You'll get your punishment after your ribs has healed."

    "Y-Yes sir…"


    …
    To be continued…
    And there we go! The Baratie arc is finally done! It's a bit shorter than my previous fic, mostly due to lack of material for me to use.

    So, yeah. This is basically the same Luffy vs Krieg fight, with a few liberal changes here and there. Gin might also join the Silver Fang because the guy really can't catch a break in the manga, so might as well, right?

    But yeah, in the end, Sen's OP-ness is the one that end it. For I feel like the best way to end him in this fic is for him to feel the overwhelming difference in strength between him and literally any Grand Line veteran, especially when there's the New World to consider.

    Seriously, even if Krieg gets his way and build up his armada for another go at the Grand Line, I'm sure if they choose the Whiskey Peaks route, they wouldn't made it past even in the most minor Baroque Works bounty hunters.

    With that, I thank you all for reading this!    ​
     
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