Merged Blood

Rowdy Reverse Mountain
The sun shined bright over the entirety of Loguetown. Its intense rays gave off an extreme amount of heat, nearly unbearable to those incapable of dealing with high temperatures. A woman fanned herself with a paper fan as she strolled through the streets of the town. Sweat slowly dripped down her neck, creating a path down to her chest, slipping right between her breast. Her shirt had already been damp. The paper fan she held was being used as some sort of medium for cooling herself from the intense temperatures.

She wiped her other hand across her forehead and let out a deep sigh. She then began to fan herself even quicker than before. She threw her hands into the air and began heading towards a nearby bench. Taking a seat, she placed her damp shirt over her face somewhat cooling herself off. She placed her attention on the children within the town, who seemed to be playing through the heat as though it didn’t even exist.

The News Coo flew overhead, one deterred from its flock landing on the bench the lady sat on. Reaching into her pocket, she threw a couple into its back and reached for one of the newspapers. Opening it, the first main headline read a single word printed in bold font. Before reading more she looked up towards a building that bore the exact same word—”Marines”.

“I’ve got to say...” Finally, she spoke for the first time. “It’s been a lot more peaceful with those guys around. Yet, at the same time, it’s been pretty boring as well.” She turned her attention over by the docks.

West Blue Ops
At a Marine Base in the West Blue

Workers, all dressed in Marine attired plagued the docks. They lifted the anchors and saluted as the two ships bearing the flag of the Marines set sail, both following the same direction. One of the ships was much larger than the other which was probably due to the Giant that had been abord it.

The Giant was none other than Captain Stevens Orobio. The moving ship allowed wind to pass by his face cooling his over-sized body down a bit. Even though he was a large being, the breeze managed to lift his golden air as though it were flowing in the wind. He looked down to the man standing next to him looking out to the sea in front of them.

"Grehehehehe!" He laughed. "A simple spotting of a group of Pirates heading towards the Grandline at once got Lil 'Miss' Cecilia all geared up to go! Greeeeehahahaha! Once we're done Erel, waddya say to a drink?"

Though the breeze passed by and howled, it disturbed Erel only slightly, as his nose hunched up from time to time. However, this time to time was directly related to when a slightly stronger breeze went by. Erel made sure to be on point with the sea current. He stood tall, arms and legs crossed. As a Captain of the Marines, Erel had been personally called for this mission.

"Hmmm, of course!" His eyes widened as he smiled widely at Orobio. "Be specific though, what time? Regardless of defeating the pirates in time, we must be on point!" Erel nodded at each of his statements. Just like he had said yesterday night, he had woken up exactly 5:50 AM and cheered for everyone to wake up too. Ever since then, Erel has been blinking every two seconds.

Orobio threw his hands into the air, "Grehehehehehe!" He laughed yet again, but this time at Erel's words. "I can't give you an exact time, Erel! That's your kinda thing!" He reached for an oversized wooden cup next to him on the dock. He began drinking from it taking deeps gulps. Wiping his mouth he let out another laugh.

"Hey... Erel. You shave your own head, right? So, grehehehe, is there a time you choose to do that as well. Grehehehehehehe!" Honestly, Orobio was drunk, which was the reasoning behind his stupid question. Then at the same time, he was truly only taking a jab at Erel's obsession with sticking to his schedule.

"How sad..." Erel mused off at Orobio's non-care of the time, not even looking as a giant mug had been gulped down by Orobio.

Eyes peeked at Orobio, due to his comment about Erel's head, as the latter cocked one eyebrow, "Yes, I've done it by myself since I was a child." Erel shrugged with a smile, "9PM of each day, I check it up!" He closed his eyes, nodding at his own words. No hair would be left alone at the top of his head, Erel liked the breeze up there.

Looking forward as his eyes opened, Erel bore a neutral face, "When are we reaching our destination, my dear friend?" He pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes to improve his vision over the horizon, noticing the many waves hitting against their vessel.

"GREEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed for the third time, this time more uncontrolled than the previous. "So you've been bald since ya were a kid? Greeeehahahahaha!" Orobio could not stop laugh and laughed so much that eyes began to water up. "Greeeehahahahaha! Erel, you're too funny to even for your own sake. Grehahahahahahahaha!"

Overtime he was finally able to calm down. "I dunno." He answered in response to how long he thought it'd take to get to their destination. He then burped and began holding the cup upside down revealing its emptiness. "About thirty minutes to an hour seems accurate enough for me. I ain't too sure about the rest of the Blue Sea Ops though." Orobio leaned back and pulled his mask down a bit more to cover his eyes.

Erel only felt like smiling at Orobio's antics, eyes closed as he flashed his best grin at the giant beside him. He just... he just didn't have any other reaction, the other people around his rank were too serious for his own liking. So, Erel definitely appreciated someone as Orobio being as easy-going as he was being now.

"Oh, I see." Erel mused, opening his eyes to stare forward while Orobio mentioned the other Ops, "What are we, the West Ops?" He cocked one eyebrow up and simply stood there, arms crossed as he waited for them reaching their destination. Hopefully, they would arrive on time.

"We are whatever you want to call us pal." Orobio let out a deep breath. "Imma' take a nap, while we travel to our destination. I leave my sleeping life in your hands, Erel. Grehahahahahahaha." Seconds after his laugh the giant instantly fell into a slumber and began snoring. His snores were so loud that they began to disturb nature's peace. Birds made it their personal goal to avoiding come near their ship as his snores began obnoxious.

"Hmmm," Eyebrow still up, Erel adopted a grin, although his teeth didn't flash. "Feel free to, friend, I shall overlook our surrounds and wake you up if needed." He shrugged, smiling at the thought of waking Orobio... again.

Orobio's snores really were something, not unexpected for someone as large as him, Erel thought. The waves, the bird's songs, everything had been covered by Orobio's snores. Ah, there was a way to deal with them, and return peace to their surrounds, this plan made Erel's eyes narrow as a large smirk printed over his expression. A glint passed by his eyes, as his figure walked towards Orobio's sleeping one.

Erel had been training for this, and this was the perfect opportunity. Mouth shaped like a 0, Erel sucked in a large amount of air, puffing up his chest. His body hanging mid-air temporarily, Erel drew both his arms and legs back, head inching forward, "COOOOOOOOOCK-AAAAAAAAAAA-" A large gust of wind pushed everything over the deck away, the waves soaring off from the ship, "-DOOOOOOOOOOOODLE-DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" It seemed as if the shout would destroy everything around it, yet, it was loudly heard only around the two of them.

The sound of the waves and the song of the birds came back, as Erel smiled and cleared his throat. Orobio's snores had stopped, yet, he still drew breath, even if slowly, and slept soundly. However, a minute later, a snore came back... yet, they didn't continue.

Erel's outrageous outburst was nothing to Orobio. Despite the man's attempt at waking him from slumber, Orobio's snores grew ever louder than before. It seemed as though the shouting was like a means for helping him sleep even better.

He rolled over to his side, swinging his arm over as well. The giant cup just happened to be in his hand as well. Either Erel's positioning was just bad, or Orobio had enhanced senses while sleeping because the cup had its upside nearly about to cover Erel and lock him within. Regardless of him succeeding or not, he continued sleeping as though nothing ever happened.

The ship of the Dread Pirates made its way towards Reverse Mountain, having picked up a handy map from some idiots who thought it would be fun to sail around looking for adventure under a Jolly Roger. Maybe they had learned the hard reality that pirates aren't nice people in their deaths, but the Captain of this violent group of savages doubted it, smirking as he thought back on it. As pitiful pirates they made, he was thankful, in his own way, that they had their hands on a map leading to the entrance of the Grand Line, as what once was theirs now was his. And Roberts mulled over these thoughts, taking a heavy sip of his favourite rum, as he steered their commandeered ship, the Bluenose, for they still wanted for a proper Helmsman.

Standing up high in the crow's nest, Crickett Anne watched out into the horizon with her spyglass, as she had the best eyesight among the small group. She wasn't quite sure what exactly she was supposed to be on the lookout for, she was just told to keep her head on a swivel and to report anything that needed reporting. There were a large number of pirate ships ahead of them, all with their own unique Jolly Roger, though her Captain had mentioned that there was going to be a large rush of pirates trying to make their way into the Grand Line all at once. He had said that we might as well let all the idiots rush in before us, and that most of them wouldn't even know what they were looking for. Just a bunch of simpletons heading east, and some morons even trying to just go straight north from wherever they were.

"We have a map," he had said, "there's no need for us to show them where they're going." She could see the logic in that, but to her, all these ships just looked like fish in a barrel. Easy pickings for her to gun down. Just as she was thinking that, something caught her eye in her peripheral. Quickly turning, she looked through her spyglass to see two vessels that didn't belong among the pirate ships. Two vessels that, instead, were the bane to pirates everywhere, with one being significantly larger than any ship she was used to seeing. And on that ship, was... "Oh, that is just not fair..." she muttered under her breath. "CAAAAPTA~IN! WE GOT A BIT OF A PROBLEM!"

Having dodged Orobio's large cup, Erel bore the man no ill, holding a neutral expression- Then, his eyes widened at the sight of Pirate Ships. "Oi, Orobio-kun, you ought to wake up." Erel gently patted Orobio's head, moving his hands as to shake the entire giant's body. Not wasting any time, he gestured for the other men in their ship to quickly move the vessel in course against the Pirates.

"Those are Pirates, Orobio-kun." Erel smiled and turned to his men, "Guys, wake him up, please." Before they could question him, Erel jumped away in a myriad of parkour movements and landed near the front of their marine vessel, preparing to stand face to face with the many ships.

Erel's left hand opened, while his right hand had just the index finger pointing forward. His eyes sharpened and his mouth went thin, "And those are the... DREAD PIRATES!" But then, it opened widely as screams left it. His eyes could clearly see them, even if there were ships in front of them, those pirates weren't as dangerous, Erel didn't recognize their flags.

"Dreaded Roberts worth 40,000,000 and Buccaneer Anne worth 10,0000,000. A total bounty of 50,000,000!!!" Erel spat and pointed a shaking finger at them, veins visible in his being, while the other hand covered his face soundly.

White feathers appeared from his forearms, "You guys- COCK-A-DOOOOO- shall not pass!!!" Erel squeaked, strengthening his poise as to straighten the feathers with the hardness of Tekkai, "HAAAAAH!!!" Erel crossed out his arms in front of his torso, sending the many feathers flying like bullets against the many ships coming their way, most of which began to sink upon being hit in strategical places.

Earlier, Orobio exhibited the ability to nearly sleep through anything. Even grabbing his hand and patting his head was not enough to disturb what would appear to be an endless slumber. At this point, Orobio had been so deep into his sleep that a sleep bubble had formed from his nose. Each inhale causing it to get small while his exhales increasing its size.

"Pirates." The word rang through his head like a bell. No, that would be too subtle, it was like a venomous bite from a. Orobio's body sprung into the air as though he had been thrown up by the men attempting to awake him. Turning so that he could land on his feet, the impact from his large body falling down caused the ship to shake a bit, nearly pushing the water back.

"Fear not!" Orobio shouted, pulling his cape down so that it flowed in the breeze. He reached to his hip and drew his blade and stabbed it slightly onto the deck of the ship. Orobio grabbed the hilt of his blade with both of his hands, standing in a comical pose much like Erel. "Orobio, Superman, shall not allow any evil to past this point!" Orobio's voice was much more different from before. In fact he sounded much more like a common superhero from a western story.

"Hmmm, you're right. They brought a giant out to act as West Blue's gatekeeper to the Grand Line. That certainly is going to be a bit of a problem," Roberts mused after hearing Anne's report, keeping his eye on the now standing giant. "But even though he hasn't done anything yet, those other ships are sinking fast. Seems they brought a few monsters with them. Good thing we have that buffer of idiots in front of us." Thinking about the problem that literally stood before them for a brief moment, he then called together the entire group he currently called his crew. "Alright everyone! A serious Marine force is ahead of us. Do what you must to prepare for battle. If we can get through this, the Grand Line will be ripe for our plunder!"

"This should make for an exciting chapter of our journal," claimed Morgenstern. "I'm looking forward to seeing how it will play out." Taking up his sword, with a glass of red wine in his other hand, the Chronicler kept watch of everything that was going on.

"Hahaha! So the Marines are finally taking us seriously, huh? I like it," exclaimed the First Mate of the crew! "I just need to get changed, and I'll be ready for some action!" Dressed in his usual leather jacket, he rushed to put on his demonic pirate attire.

"Fufufufu, are you forgetting the time that the Marines poisoned our food with mold? Or what about when they tried to sink our ship with their weather manipulation device? The Marines have always been taking us seriously, Sinbad-san. This is just their most upfront method thus far. Fufufu."

Anne rolled her eyes. "There goes Syn with his ridiculous conspiracy theories again. Out of my way if you're just going to stand there laughing to yourself. I need to get my babies." She pushed her way past the gas mask wearing doctor to get to her designated room, so she could grab her various guns, before hurrying back to the deck so she could move the cannons to the front of the ship. "Come Masako-Ue, Beatrix-Ue. We need to get ready to greet those pesky Marines. Don't be difficult now, Leonore-Ue. I know you don't like to be moved, but it's important. Maria-Ue, Caroline-Ue, Diana-Ue, you too. Let's do this properly now." Setting up the six cannons so that there were three on both sides of the bowsprit, with each one expertly aimed at the Marine ship ahead, she placed chocks behind the wheels to keep them steady. Armed with a botefeux in each hand, she waited until the massive Marine vessel was within range, then fired the primed cannons two at a time.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Erel further narrowed his eyes, looking past the sinking ships, "Hmmmm, now I can see that the whole crew is there." Noticing the other pirates, he quickly remembered each of their Bounties, "The Minotaur Sinbad with 20,000,000... keep an eye out for him, friend." Erel mused, sideways, at Orobio. "Miracle Max and his 15,000,000, and finally, that former reporter of the West, Book Worm Morgernstern with his 20,000,000. Certainly, an uprising crew."

Not deciding which one of them would be the most dangerous- Erel's eyes widened as the opposing Crew prepared to fire several cannonballs at them.

"NOT TODAY!" Feathers formed from all the way of his ankles to his knees, quickly gaining size, "Tekkai!" He tightened his buttocks, straightening and sharpening his feathers, which were then launched forward, as Erel jumped and sliced in front of him. "Rankyaku: FLOCK!!!" The many feathers got enveloped by a blue air slash, taking the form of many birds, as they flew violently to meet against the six cannonballs.

An explosion followed suit, sending waves and wind crashing against both parties, "As of the moment, this is not over!" Erel yelled once again, on the prospect that Orobio would also do something, he continued to produce feathers from his legs, a direct product of his Zoan fruit.

Spinning horizontally, Erel continued, "FLOCK!!!" Many stars filled the view of whoever had been there, as these took the form of birds and travelled towards the Dread Pirates.

"Such high bounties for those considered Rookies! Nonetheless, they shall not pass us, Erel! For they are darkness and we are the light!" Orobio babbled to his partner-in-justice.

Orobio watched as his partner began an arsenal of attacks. The first to help defend the naval group from the enemies launch of cannon balls. His ability to defend against the attack did not faze Orobio as much, but it was something else. Specifically, Erel's unique legs. "You attack with pride, yet your legs show you have cowardice." Orobio had been referring to Erel's. Truthfully he thought the man was so scared, that he became delusional and began to turn into a chicken. Or maybe Orobio was the one who'd become delusional.

Regardless, he couldn't ponder in his partner's squareness and the waves of wind helped him snap back into reality. "It is fine, Erel! You shan't fear as Superman is here!" A smile formed on his face. He then pulled his sword from the deck of the ship, Orobio swung it with the force of two colliding admirals. A force of wind two times than that of what resulted in the explosion previously was sent crashing towards the opposing ship in front of them. A true testament to his raw strength as a Giant.

This powerful gust had two objectives. The first; increasing the overall speed of Erel's birds. By doing this he'd increase their piercing power. Additionally, a gust this strong would be able to slow the ship down if not push it back.

As soon as she had fired off the first six shots, Anne began readying the cannons to fire again when she saw the cannonballs get shot down by a skilled marksman of their own. Having her own shots get countered so easily angered her, so she decided to use the smokescreen created by the cannonball explosions to pull off a bit of a trick shot. However, she also knew that they would be sending more fire their way, so she armed two cannons with carcasses, and the other four with long chain-shots. "You think it's so easy to defeat me in a battle of artillery? Think again, you Marine scum." Spitting on the ground, Anne fired two of the cannons at a high angle, then fired the next four head on.

A flock of air slashes shortly pierced through the smoke, with the gust behind it blowing all the smoke away. Due to the long chains used on her chain-shots, they managed to knock all the birds down, while the incendiary carcasses she fired flew well above the impending gust, and were aimed to fall behind the giant standing on the ship so as to burst on the deck.

"Looks like those birds were flying on a tailwind. Wouldn't want to get caught up in that," shouted Sinbad as he ran forward to furl the sails so they wouldn't be damaged by the strong wind headed their way. Having spent years as a sailor, he was able to quickly get it done by himself before the unnatural wind blew by their ship. Waiting for the right time, Sinbad then unfurled the sails just before a strong breeze began blowing from behind again, jerking the ship forward just as it had began to slow. Before, they only had a few of their sails down, as their goal wasn't speed at the time. But now, Sinbad had unfurled all of their sails, showing off the true strength of this vessel initially built for speed.

Roberts steadily steered their ship, knowing full well that this obstacle before them was not going to be an easy challenge. But he also knew his smaller ship would ultimately be able outmaneuver the clunker housing the giant. The other Marine ship was still dealing with the scattered pirates, and may not necessarily even be a factor for his crew if they could slip past this behemoth. Though Roberts wouldn't stand for just sneaking away from an enemy like that without so much as putting up a fight.

Having gotten closer to the Marine ship pestering them, Anne fired six shrapnel shots that looked just like regular cannonballs, all at different angles so they would be more difficult to shoot down. Though if they were shot down, that would just cause them to shower the fragments inside sooner than intended, and that could still prove devastating at this closer distance.

Despite his intervalled spinning, Erel kept his gaze fixated upon the ship of the Dread Pirates, his eyelids almost not closing, despite the amount of seconds which had passed. "They aren't just any Pirate Crew..." His thoughts whispered at him as the pirates managed to use his own attack to move their ship. Erel had read all of the newspaper they were featured in, at lunch-hour of everyday, he made sure to check those.

Something which had plagued his mind for a long time... were Pirates truly the scum of their earth? In his short twenty eight years, in his even shorter six years of working for the Marines, Erel couldn't reach a solution, a decision. The Pirates he has met were so different from each other, the world had felt so vast for him who was merely a young chick. There were similarities between them, but, no set patterns.

Just like there were corrupt Marines, there were corrupt Pirates... it had all been an individual thing, he supposed. These pirates would determine their spectrum to Erel, without him even asking, his fixation was just that strong. Was it time for their journey to end, or was it time for an even dangerous sea? If Erel failed, his superiors would take the front and try to stop these people.

At the getting closer and closer, just as stated before, Erel kept an eye on everything, and that was why his chest inflated and his attacks stopped. As if he was about to launch a breath attack upon them, white feathers exploded from his figure, "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The veins on his face sprouted, as his scream engulfed everyone present within that large area.

And then, all of a sudden, despite the random aim of the cannonballs... they all exploded, seemingly in the same second, as a white blur passed by. If one had looked at it, they would notice that the birds far away from there took smaller intervals with their flapping, while the ones closest flew... normally.

A gust of wind followed, as if a big hawk soared through the skies, looking for its prey. But, instead, what everyone would see was a large white bird, which stood menacingly in mid-air... by beating its arm-wings. However, one would quickly notice that he was keeping himself mid-air by kicking the area below him, usage of Geppo.

The course of the battle changed twice following Orobio's previous attack. Cannonballs where shot, ships moved unnaturally, and to top it all off, his partner became weirder and weirder. Truly, he could not make light of the situation pertaining to Erel, but he continued to believe that the Marine was honestly frightened.

Well, actually he could. Orobio just felt that the story would be much better to tell if he mentioned Erel was so scared he actually became a chicken. That was if the duo would make it out of their current situation alive. "Very well then." His words flowing as he threw his blade into his right hand. His actions were cut short at the resonating scream coming from Erel, who's form seemed to have changed.

Each of the cannonballs exploded instantly after man's shout, leaving Orobio still for a moment. "Wonder, Chicken Little," Referring to Erel's most recent actions. "It seems when one is truly frightened, their true powers awaken. Maybe cowardice is your power and it shall be used to stop these invading foes!"

"Very well then." He continued on from before. This time he lifted his blade high into the air and the sword began to glow red. In a single swift motion, Orobio slashed at the atmosphere. "Red Hawk's Crescent." The three words where like a spell that caused the red light illuminated even more and once the slashing motion was complete, a crescent of red flames went flying towards the enemy ship.

Anne watched in shock as her six shrapnel shots were all destroyed simultaneously, and much faster than she could have predicted, as the shrapnel inside could not reach any of the men aboard the Marine ship. She also noticed that the bald man who had been standing at the bow was now nowhere to be seen after having crowed like a cock. Despite the unexpected readiness for her direct assault though, she found herself quite pleased. Her carcasses had gone unnoticed and would be crashing onto the deck soon.

Roberts saw the white blur move from the Marine ship to destroy all of Anne's shots. He was right about there being another monster sent by the Marines. With how conspicuous he is, the giant was almost more of a distraction so they might ignore this other beast. Sure, the giant would be no easy task to overcome, but they would almost certainly be eliminated if they focused solely on the obvious threat and ignored the one hiding in his metaphorical shadow. But now Roberts had his eye on the chicken in the sky. However, just then, he saw the giant making a move behind this now exposed monster. With a glowing red sword, he made an embellished sword slash, and Roberts instantly knew it was trouble. "ANNE! Fire short fuse shells with all cannons into the water right in front of us! NOW! Syn! Morgenstern! Help Anne load the cannons! Sinbad, throw as many impact shells as you can where Anne will be firing!"

Anne immediately grabbed six cannonballs with the shortest fuses she had, and threw three to Maxwell and three to Morgenstern so they could both load half the cannons while she aimed them down into the water. While they were doing that, Sinbad grabbed two full brass monkeys and tossed the cannonballs stored on them high enough into the air so they would land in the water shortly before Anne fired her cannons. Using three botefeuxes in each hand so she could fire all cannons at once, Anne fired.

BOOOM!!!

They hit the water right where Sinbad had thrown the other cannonballs. A second later, the six short fuse cannonballs exploded, causing the surrounding impact shells to explode in a chain reaction. This massive underwater explosion threw up a wall of water in front of the Bluenose just in time to douse the encroaching flames. Meanwhile, Roberts had begun turning the ship as soon as Anne fired, so he could get below the high end of the slash if it managed to cut through the first line of defense he had prepared. It was a good thing he did too, because while the water managed to extinguish the flames, the mighty slash continued right through and would have easily cut the ship in two.

Just then the two carcasses crashed onto the deck of the Marine vessel behind the giant, setting the ship on fire in two places and releasing noxious fumes. Anne silently celebrated when she heard them hit the ship and the cries of dismay from the seamen, who found themselves immediately affected by it, all while she prepared the cannons to fire again when necessary.

As he inevitably brought them closer to the Marine vessel, Roberts made sure to keep an eye above to search for where that chicken monster had made his way to. When they had gotten close enough, he gave the order to his crew. "Syn, Morgenstern, Anne! Prepare to board the enemy ship! Do what you can to ensure that they will be unable to pursue us as we make our dash to the Grand Line. And with those carcasses burning, you may want to wear gas masks."

The three of them agreed, and while she knew that it would be necessary, Anne couldn't stand the idea of having to borrow a gas mask from Syn. The three of them each made their way up to the end of a yardarm, and each threw a line with a grappling hook to catch the gunwale. Having secured their lines, they swung across the gap between the two ships to board the Marine ship. As she climbed on board, Anne reluctantly pulled her gas mask on.

As those three were boarding, Roberts spotted the bird he had lost sight of before. Pulling out his flintlock pistol, he fired a deadly accurate shot to get his attention. "Hey Chicken man! Let's see what you're made of, huh?!"

Erel, in his strange chicken form, squawked at the sight of fire within their ship. He had been so focused on taking down the straight cannon shots, that in his bliss, he didn't take care of those side attacks. Of course, Erel had Orobio as his comrade there... but, this wasn't the time for this, "Calm down, men!" His voice had gained a slight pitch to it.

The pirates boarding their ship would just prolongate the problem, that was definitely bad news, Erel had to act faster than ever. If they were wearing masks, the fire had more to it than it seemed, Erel wouldn't know, having shit his nostrils just in case. All of a sudden, his head ducked, prompting a shot to pass by nearly in a graze.

"Why, Chicken-Man, I am not!" Erel mused, his eyes widening and gazing at Roberts, "I am a... Chanticleer-Man!!! User of the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Chanticleer!" He flapped his wings in a successive manner. "Orobio!!! Get the others!" He yelled, flying towards Roberts with the use of his Geppo, Erel launched a myriad of feathers mid-way through his travel, spinning all the while so that they went erratically and his own body dodged Roberts' possible shots.

The explosive force from the cannons caused the Marine ship to shake and Orobio, because of his massive size, was nearly knocked over. Once regaining his balance, he heard the cries of his men below. While they all were different in sound alone, the purpose behind them was similar: agony. To make matters worse the pirates had infiltrated their ship.

At the moment there wasn't much Orobio could do, as a step could literally be the end of one his men. The flames limited his movement, yet his size allowed him to avoid the immediate effects of the gas, giving him a small window to act in. He then threw his sword to his hip.

"Will do, Chicken Little!" He shouted, bending his knees and swiping his hand to grab as many of the marine officers he could. His large arms caught a handful of the flames as evident by the giant's facial expressions. Still, it was a small price to pay if it meant the safety of his comrades. Still bent down, he tightened his calf muscles and veins began to sprout all over his forehead and arms. Moments later he lunged upwards high into the sky above. His massive size nearly enough to bring darkness during the day.

Finally descending he landed on the marine ship that had just been past his own. "This is how a real hero preforms!" Releasing the men from his grasp he stood straight up again, his heroic smile as lively as ever. The blade now back in his hands he pointed it up toward the sky. Pressing against the end of the hilt, he revealed a button which caused the "X" on the cross-guard of the blade to spin and replaced the current shell-like construct that was there with another.

"Chicken Little, sir! I will continue to assist you from afar with my Ultimate Dial Blade!" Following his shout, the blade began to spark with electricity. Pointing it towards the previous Marine ship that was now invaded by the Pirates, he let off a powerful condensed bolt of electricity which made its way towards the Marine ship with haste.

Roberts shot down the fearsome feather projectiles, firing the last few bullets that were still in his pistol before tossing it aside. Grabbing his twin estocs, he knocked the remaining feathers away. "Now, Sinbad!" Roberts thrust at Erel from below, while Sinbad jumped down from the poop, swinging his Punisher at the mutant chicken from above.

While the pirates three were just about to finish climbing their ropes to officially board the Marine ship, it suddenly lurched, causing the three of them to get thrown on-board. Anne took a moment to recover from being tossed on her ass. "What was that about," she mumbled to herself? Quickly realizing her situation however, she rushed to her feet, taking two pistols out to defend against any Marines from attacking her in a prone position. What she saw though was a serious lack of opposition, including no giant. Looking around in confusion, she saw the giant in the distance, landing on the smaller Marine ship. "Huh. He ran away... That was a lot easier than I expected." Looking down at her two companions, still lying down in a daze from their rough landing, Anne just sighed to herself, putting her pistols away. "Get up, you two. What if the Marines had been waiting for us to board, huh? You two would have been easy targets," she said while kicking them.

"Such an uncomfortable landing, I must say," Morgenstern complained, finally getting up with Anne's prodding. "There is no need to be so pugnacious, dear Anne," he said whilst dusting himself off. "Now what was this about someone absconding away?"

"Fu-! The giant is gone," Max exclaimed in shock! "He must have just been a large cutout to scare us into surrender... I told you giants were just a rumour spread by the World Government to keep the peasants in line! When they saw that we were about to board, they must have realized that we would see through their charade if they kept it here. Little do they know that my eyes have already been opened, and I know all about their precious secret."

"No you idiot," Anne yelled, slapping Max in the head. "He jumped over to the other ship the Marines brought." She made her way aft, while avoiding the burning fires, so she could get a better view of where their enemy had gone to. "He must have taken some of the Marines with him when he did, since I don't see anyone out here." When she got to her destination, she saw him prepare an attack in their direction. Recalling the strength of his last attack, she knew this would be trouble. Running so she could get to a lower position off the poop deck, she yelled to her crew mates. "GET DOWN! He's attacking us again!"

The bolt of lightning released from the tip of his sword shot towards the ship he previously occupied, and went right through the area Anne had just been standing. Striking the mizzenmast, it fell, crashing into the main and damaging it as well.

"Orobio-sama. Erel-sama. What's all this shaking up here? Do you need us to fire the cannons," a Marine, who came up from below deck, asked? Seeing Anne, with her bicorn pirate hat, he became confused. "What the-? A pirate? What's a pirate doing-"

Seeing the confused Marine, Anne pulled out one of her pistols and shot him right between the eyes. "Good shot, Moe-Bō." Rolling up to her feet, she called her comrades to arms. "Get up you guys! There are still some Marines below. You guys cover me while I go down with Demi-San." Putting the pistol in its holster again, she replaced it in her hands with the demi-cannon that was holstered across the small of her back.

"Fufufu. Alright, let's slaughter these giant-fakers. Fufu."

"I suppose it wouldn't be so easy as just that, now would it? Well then," Morgenstern said, unsheathing his sword, "I shall cut down any Marines that should happen to seek you harm."

The three of them made their way below deck, with Morgenstern and Max killing any Marines they came across. This was because Anne was saving her shots with her demi-cannon for specific locations.

Another squawk left Erel's beak, but, it was not because of any surprise. He was capable of using his power once again, and wasted no time, "COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!!!" Erel screamed, the sound filling everyone's ears along with a shockwave, making everything grey for but an instant. Same instant in which Erel seemingly disappeared through the air... and became that white blur from before.

With this ability, he would always be on time, while, everyone else wouldn't, but, not for long. It was extremely imposing on him, yet it was very effective, though only against living beings... his throat also hurt. After this one, he would rest.

Using this supposed sudden speed of his, "Geppo!" Erel attempted to double-kick and press his feet against Roberts' face, which would successfully send himself up and crashing against Sinbad's figure. Tekkai!" Erel yelled to no one, too fast for anyone to hear, his hardened body would smash on Sinbad's own. He would have tried to hit the other pirates, but, his time was short.

Sinbad was sure that their two attacks would hit their mark. He would first crack him across the back, sending the chicken to be directly skewered on Roberts' sword, creating their own yakitori in the process. But then he suddenly felt completely winded, unable to breathe, his stave flung to the side as he barely held on with one hand, and flying backwards toward the sea. He was unable to even remotely comprehend what had just happened to him. All this with that damn chicken's squawk ringing in his ears.

Roberts wasn't sure exactly what had occured in that moment, wherein he found himself crashing backwards into the deck he was previously standing on, now with a bloody face, but he was sure about one thing. This man had crowed like that back when he became a white blur that destroyed Anne's cannonballs. This unnatural speed was likely connected to that bird's cry. What did he say it was again? A chanticleer? He supposed they might be similar in a way. Standing back up while sticking the points of his swords into the deck of his ship, Roberts casually stretched his neck to both sides, blew the blood out of both nostrils, one at a time, then wiped the blood from his face back into his hair.

"Goburahaha. I was right about you, alright. You are a monster," Roberts claimed, pointing at his opponent. "Allow me to introduce myself," grabbing his twin estocs from where he had stuck them into the deck, he continued, "I am the Dread Pirate Roberts, and, at least for the purposes of today, you are my foil. Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me your name. I simply must know the name of the man I will be killing here today." Roberts looked the Marine down, giving a viscous smile dripping with blood lust.

Anne made her way to the various gunrooms spread throughout the ship, containing the cannons, with Morgenstern and Max following closeby, killing the Marines who would try to attack the invading pirates. When she would reach a gunroom, Anne would shoot two smaller carcasses from her hand held demi-cannon into the room before leaving.

"I'm sorry, mina-Ue. I would bring you all back with me if I could," Anne voiced her regrets to the cannons, tears welling in her eyes. "Unfortunately, you are all imprisoned in your positions, and I don't have the time to rescue you today."

After finishing their business, and before making her way back above deck, Anne fired two more carcasses by the stairs before putting Demi-San away. Once above deck again, they made sure to lock the remaining Marines down below where they would either suffocate from the noxious fumes, burn to death by the flames, or...

'''BOOOM! BOOOM! BA-BOOOOOM!!!!'''

... Or get killed by the cannonballs that had just exploded from the fires that Anne had started in the gunrooms.

The fires started by the initial two carcasses had really begun to spread by this point, making above deck not much safer than below. But that being said, they couldn't leave a chance for any survivors, now could they? "Koari-Tan! Moe-Bō! Let's clean up the rest of them," Anne called out as she pulled out her two pistols again so she could shoot the panicked Marines who had escaped from below deck while they were busy lighting fires. "Alright, we're done here, don't you think," she asked her two crew mates when she finished shooting the last Marine who had been lucky enough to avoid being locked down below?

"I should say so," Morgenstern agreed. "This vessel will hardly prove to be any further threat to our journey into the Grand Line." Having said that, he deftly swung his sword, cutting the ship's helm from it's perch, to ensure that no one could potentially steer the burning ship to become a weapon against them.

"Well then, let's get off this viking funeral, and back the Captain up." They made their way around the fires to the poop deck to jump overboard. The Bluenose had already passed the burning Marine ship, but it had a rope with a buoy trailing in the waters behind it for them to grab hold of. And not just that, it would seem. "Hey, is that Sinbad floating in the water? The enemy must be stronger than expected! Let's hurry," Anne shouted, as she spotted the First Mate. The three of them jumped into the sea below in order to return to their ship.

With another squawk, Erel fisted his hairy chest, "My name?" He breathed in, and released another scream, though, a normal one, "GALLUS EREL!!!" Muscles flexed and feathers straight, a shockwave emerged from Erel's figure. Why had this man been smiling? Had he figured out Erel's ability?

Or was it because... he was having fun? Erel shook his head, he would be late to the battle if he thought too much. He needed more acting. Erel bent his knees, "Eject!!!" His many feathers erupted from his body, gently but steadily covering the entire area in a white sheat. As that had happened, Erel had spun his leg around, while the other pressed against the deck, serving as support for him.

The feathers on his hanging leg got straight, hardening through his Tekkai. Like a pivot, Erel danced through the many feathers and towards Roberts' direction, which he remembered, kicking the air several times like a saucer and cutting up many of the feathers easily, Erel dashed through the place in seconds, "Rankyaku: Torika!!!" He yelled when he was already closed enough to hit Roberts.

East Blue Ops
At a Marine Outpost in the eastern entrance of Reverse Mountain.

A woman adorned in a white military uniform, decorated with a large skirt across her waist that covered up to her ankles, paced around the base with anticipation. Despite being the one in charge of this operation, she was, at her core, frightened. "What if we fail?" Was the first thought circulating through her head, "What about our reputation?" She thought again, before her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of another.

"Captain Lambert! More Marine forces have made their way here, would you like us to let them in?" The officer spoke, bringing Captain Lambert Cecilia back to reality.

Lambert Cecilia was a Captain within the Marines and by virtue of her skill, was given authority to supervise Loguetown, a popular place for Pirates to gather to try and break into the, and observe where the Golden Age of Piracy began. She had organized this large Marine gathering for the sake of preventing a soon-to-be influx of Pirates into the Grand Line, stopping the seeds of chaos before they could bud into venomous plants.

However, Cecilia was still young. Her youth and inexperience gave her doubts, like any normal person. But she knew that if she had shown hesitation, the morale of her troops would crumble, and any success they could have would be broken. Accordingly, she responded, "I will greet them myself." She followed the soldier's path towards the entrance of the base, where she awaited the arrival of her comrade.

A tall woman with long, platinum blonde hair approached the Loguetown Marine base. Surrounded by ten of her own subordinates, Marine Captain Charlemagne Amira had been thus far unimpressed with the city. It was supposed to be a hotbed of pirate activity in this peaceful sea, and she was hoping that she could get some early fun in by cutting down any pirates she happened upon as she strolled through the town, and yet she had found nothing out of the ordinary. This had put her in a rather foul mood, so when she reached the base which acts as a stopgap for pirates from entering the Grand Line from this East Blue, she simply let herself in, throwing the doors open. She was certain that her vessel would have been seen by someone here, and that there would be some commanding officer coming down to greet her at the doors if she had waited long enough, but she was in no mood for such things.

On a roof far away from where Amira stood, an unknown figure laid flat on his stomach. He looked down the scope of a, that was held up on the barrel by a and at the recoil pad by a. The sight of the scope was much more advanced than seen wielded by most marines, take it marines didn't even use scopes. As he looked down the sight, he turned it on the blonde-haired woman.

"Target spotted." He stated, reaching for the gun by its handle and throwing it to his back, placing the strap over his chest. As he fully stood to his feet his appearance became known. The cut near his mouth and short cut straight hair gave away who he truly was; Ban a lieutenant commander of the Marines. Leaping to the streets beneath him, he ran over to the dock and boarded one of the two ships running to the highest point of the ship.

Cecilia had noticed another individual coming into the base, arms wide open. She recognized the figure, and made her greetings accordingly, "Welcome, Captain Charlemagne." Cecilia bowed, maintaining the dignity of a noble family. After all, she descended from House Lambert, a prestigious family that produced several different weapon types for the Marines. Even if she found the behavior of the individual before her audacious, she had to keep her wits about her...a difficult task.

"Have you, by chance, seen Lieutenant Commander Ban on your journey here? He appears to be running late." Cecilia inquired, anxious to begin the operation as soon as possible. "Granting those measly Pirates even seconds could be troublesome..." She thought to herself, clenching her fist to avoid tension appearing on her face.

Looking at the woman bowing before her, Amira could only frown. "I take it you are Captain Cecilia, the one who arranged this whole gathering. No, I have not seen the Lieutenant Commander anywhere," she said, glancing around the interior of the base. Setting her eyes upon Lambert, she then leaned in close to her fellow Captain, whispering into her ear. "Now, I wouldn't blame you or anything, but you wouldn't have already finished toying with those cute little pirates who were thinking of storming into the Grand Line, would you have?" Pausing long enough to playfully lick her ear before continuing. "Because I would be a little peeved if my coming to this sea had been a waste of time." Amira pulled back, giving a chilling smile.

"I see..." Cecilia responded, hoping that the Lieutenant Commander would make his appearance soon. She looked towards her fellow Captain, rising her head, and noticed that Amira's breath traveled down her ear, causing Cecilia to shiver. The sensation of being licked caused further confusion in Cecilia, who soon shot up and stood upright. She tried to control her hand from wiping at her ear, but was unsuccessful, and looked like a flustered maiden in front of her fellow comrade.

"Ah!" Cecilia squealed slightly to herself, remembering that Amira had been in front of her. "O-of course not." She responded to her query, "I-I believe the Pirates will soon move out, so I was hoping all the Marines for this area would be present soon..."

"Mmmm," Amira licked her lips, moaning with Cecilia's response, shifting from her chilled expression to one more heated. "That's lovely to hear, my sweet Captain. Mmm, and I do mean sweet," winking at the flustered Captain before blowing a kiss in her direction.

"Bure-bure-bure-bure-bure. Bure-bure-bure-bure-bure." The brief silence that was in the air was interrupted by Amira's Den Den Mushi. The subordinate tasked with holding it rushed forward to provide his Captain with the sudden call. "Bure-bure-gaccha," the ringing stopping with Amira picking the receiver up.

"Captain." On the other end of the call was a man wearing blood red armour, squinting as he was looking up towards the sky, shading his eyes against the sun with his free hand. It was one of Amira's top subordinate's, Vortigern. "Some weirdo with a gun ran onto the ship muttering something about camping and IRL. I don't know. Either way, he's sitting up in the crow's nest now," he explained to his Captain.

Hanging up the Den Den Mushi after being told all the necessary information, Amira pondered while the man responsible for carrying the communication device returned back to his original position. Posing a question to Cecilia, Amira spoke up. "This Lieutenant Commander that we are waiting for, does he happen to be a marksman?"

"Ah...yes he does. That Den Den Mushi must have been about him, then." Cecilia was baffled by the Lieutenant Commander's eagerness, though she found it somewhat admirable as well. "I suppose we were the ones keeping him waiting. Then let us depart swiftly, for we cannot be late." Cecilia beckoned to her comrade, beginning to walk towards the ship stationed for her.

"Mmhmm, it would seem as though he has already introduced himself to my crew, so to speak. Yes, I simply must agree. We wouldn't want to be late for our date with those naughty pirates." Amira turned on her heel and walked alongside Cecilia, grabbing her hand to hold as she walked toward the ship.

Flinching for a brief moment, Cecilia continued to walk onwards, with Amira's hand interlocking with hers. It was a very bizarre sensation for her, but she had to bear with it, until enemies came into sight, at the very least.

Both Amira and Cecilia had found their way to the two docked ships. Cecilia abruptly let go of Amira's hand in front of her subordinates, and recomposed herself with dignity appropriate for a commanding officer. "Captain Amira will take one ship with her own subordinates, and I will take another with Lieutenant Commander Ban under my supervision. We are to intercept any Pirates that come across our path, is that understood?"

There was a resounding sound of approval from the rest of the Marines present, although the Captain had a hard time tracking down Ban. No doubt he was on a vantage point, and would make himself known shortly.

Vortigern saw his superior walk on board the Marine ship holding the hand of Captain Lambert before she had pulled her hand away, and he also noticed the blush on her face. He chuckled knowing that this Marine Captain had become his superior's new plaything. Walking up to Amira, he addressed her on his present situation. "Captain. I've finished helping Captain Lambert's men prepare their ship."

Amira smiled at her subordinate for his report. "Why thank you, Vortigern. I appreciate the report. Well then, my dear Cecilia," Amira said as she turned to face the Captain. "I guess this is where we must part ways, for now. But I anticipate doing it with you," she said, emphasizing the word 'it' with a smack to Cecilia's ass, followed by groping it. Looking at her squirm, Amira laughed. Turning to leave the vessel together with her subordinate, she clarified herself to Cecilia. "Of course, by it I mean fighting pirates... unless you had something else in mind." With that, Charlemagne Amira made her way to her own ship where her crew awaited her.

"A second longer, capable or not, I'd have went to carry out the mission alone." Ban stated, staring down the scope of his previously held sniper which was aimed at Cecilia herself. Considering his rank and his fighting style, Ban was aware that he wouldn't be able to take on a group of Pirates alone if they were to reach a certain point.

Timing was everything to a sniper such as himself. A millisecond off could literally sabotage the perfect shot, so Cecilia and Amira's late arrival bugged him quite a bit. Nonetheless, they arrived and there was really nothing he could really do about the past. Turning to face the front of the ship he held his sniper over his ship. "I'd advise we depart with haste, I'm sure the rest of the Operatives have already reached their destinations."

Shivers went down Cecilia's spine as Amira spoke to her once again, and smacked her buttocks, before she finally departed. She had begrudgingly started to get used to this treatment. "Yes, let us leave." Cecilia stated, snapping back into reality before moving onto the ship and commanding her subordinates.

"Let us depart as soon as the ship is ready! When confronting enemy forces, make sure you heed the advice of Lieutenant Commander Ban! He is our eyes in this operation. Do not fire artillery without his guidance! Every cannon ball must hit its target without fail! Melee combatants, maintain your guard and ensure the artillery men are secure. I will fight directly with you all in this battle!" Cecilia announced to her men, raising their morale.

"We will not falter in our pursuit! We are justice! Remember that as we cut our enemies down!!" The Captain shouted once again, with her voice even reaching Amira's ship, no doubt. Resounding roars of affirmation filled the sky, and the determination of her subordinates would no doubt play a great role in this battle.

Cecilia had promised herself, from the moment she had submitted her plans to headquarters...she could not fail.

"What was that," asked one of the Marine soldiers aboard Amira's ship. Some unidentifiable noise, possibly of cheering, could be heard coming from the ship next to them. The noise was mostly drowned out by the noises of the harbour.

A pompous looking man with blond hair down to his shoulders looked over at the lackey. "How would I know what those intellectual inferiors would be doing? Someone such as yourself would be much better equipped to such a task as understanding those half-wits."

"YES! Of course, Michael-sensei," the Marine replied in fear. "How could I be so impudent as to imply that you might be equal to those ants over there. Please excuse this useless gnat!"

"By inferiors, were you referring to me, Michael-san?" Amira and Vortigern walked onto the ship, with Amira smiling menacingly at her subordinate.

"Of course not, Amira-sama. It is good to see that you two have returned. We may finally depart then."

Basking in the Sun
A lone ship sailed through the ocean. It was a sizable brig with four cannons on each side and flying green sails. Upon the deck sat what looked like a young boy. He was grinning from ear to ear as he played with an odd looking reptile that looked like a crocodile with odd protrusions on it's back and feet much like that of a geko. The boy was none other than Cicero D. Melodias, the 120 year old captain of the Dewdrop Pirates.

He pushed the beast off him with a laugh and rolled away, standing up and stretching his back. The creature stood on it's hind legs and walked over to the edge of the ship before jumping into the water and disappearing below the waves. Melodias quickly pulled out one of his books and began jotting down notes on the beast. "Hey Alva can you bring me a barrel from the lower deck?" He called out, continuing to scribble.

Alva stepped from the underdeck of the ship carrying with him an immense barrel. "Ay, that's no problem of course, but me wonder what ye need this barrel for kiddo?" Alva had actually known what Melodias planned on using it for; at this point, it was simply ritual for him to inquire about the necessity of pretty much anything Melodias asked. He was a crazy kid alright.

Still, Alva shook his head disappointedly. "Ye still documenting them beat in that notebook of ye?"

"Of course I am." Melodias chirped back as he grinned at the barrel, before placing his hand on it. A green flash enveloped the barrel before fading away, leaving an exact copy of the beast that was previously on the ship. Melodias studied it carefully, looking around and patting it as he added more notes to his book. "Seems like this guy is really versatile. He can use his feet to climb wall and get otherwise unreachable prey and even anchor himself to boats or rocks underwater to feed or save himself from bad currents. It also seems that his back has plates that can take in water and blast it out the other side, much like a propulsion system in an squid, only more advanced."

Asclepius watched with amusement as his Captain used his power. He always found it to be mildly amusing the way he would turn various objects into different animals. He floated around Melodias.

Beside the ship, at the water stood Aosame, a green-shark Fishman, who had been swimming for most of the Dewdrop's trip. He certainly liked staying in touch with his ambient, doing so with his back against the water, it was one of the best feelings ever, such a shame that some people couldn't prove of it. The aquatic life sung into his ears, as Aosame was constantly asking them about their surrounds.

"Cap'n," Aosame mused, eyes closed while a sharp smile bore into his expression. "These fishinos have been tellin' me we got company ahead," He rotated within the water, the fish dancing around him. His body submerged for an instant, and then, with a jet of water, it rose through it and beyond to the air.

Aosame spun vertically and landed just on the Dewdrop's deck, straightening his legs and opening his arms wide. The fish at the sea just splashed some water, as if congratulating his landing, somehow. Aosame opened one eye, "They are at the Reverse Mountain~"

"Aosame!" Melodias grinned, clapping at his landing. He was quite fond of his new crew member and quite intrigued by him to. Aosame was the first fishman he'd ever met and had only furthered his interest in the world, causing Melodias to demand that they eventually visit fishman island. "Company?" Melodias tilted his head. "Is there someone up ahead that wants to meet with us?" He asked, oblivious to the negative use of company.

A grin came at the clapping, Aosame was really fond of entertaining Melodias. "Indeed," He replied, looking towards where they were headed once again. "Not just any company. Marines, judging by the wavelength of their ships." Aosame rose a finger, while another rubbed his chin.

"Then we outta go the other way, yeah?" Alva quickly concluded. "Me will go turn the ship around about right now then. We probably don't wanna mess with those darn marines, right? Why don't we wait until nighttime or something when they leave, then we will head into the grand line."

Rumbling Sea
Grunting in distaste as his eyes glances towards the far distance already smelling the coppery scent of blood in the air Bluebeard scowled at the prospect that lay before him something that made his blood boil.

"In th' end it seems that we shall 'ave t' smash our way into th' Grandline aft all." he grunted out as he turned away from the sea to face his first mate with clenched fists. "Soko 'ave those maggots we hired prepare fer battle I plan t' sink any 'n all that get in me way." He finished as he makes his way towards his cabin.

"Aye, Captain." Soko responded. She turned towards the way her Captain was facing, welcoming the fresh scent of the blood. It meant that she would get to participate in whatever was going to happen.

She went to the lower deck, and slammed her fist against the ship wall. The 'maggots' shot up, groggily wiping their eyes. "Listen up! Get cha' filthy bottoms up and ready. We're going to be heading into combat, and if you're not ready in four minutes, I'll tear ya' from limb to limb. Do I make myself clear?" she yelled, a wild smile on her face. They nodded and began to prepare themselves. Soko went back up to the upper deck, still smiling.

The Grand Line. They were coming.

One-Amazon Army
A large raft was probably not the best vessel one could ask for while attempting to cross the Grand Line, even from the relatively more placid seas. For Deanna, that was what she managed to get: larger ships were simply too big to be maneuvered and maintained efficiently by a single person, and Deanna hadn’t found anybody worthy of sailing with her, not with the money she had collected in her lasting year as bounty hunter. Rents were rather expensive, while bounties were low.

Not that, in her opinion, the Marines had somehow underestimated the power and dangers of the local pirates. In all the time she had worked either as a bouncer for the local nightclubs or as a part time bounty hunter she had met perhaps one or two self-proclaimed sea wolves she couldn’t take out with a single slap, and no one she couldn’t beat as they were toddlers. That city, while beautiful, had disappointed the girl: given the record of the two Pirate kings coming out from the weakest sea, she had hoped to find some diamonds in the rough, someone with enough guts to set the world on fire. All people there were either losers or really nice people whom she liked to help but were unfit for the life of a pirate.

Deanna moved the mast constituting the helm with just one of her arms: even though she looked like a slender girl, she was strong, and could pack a hell of a punch. She didn’t need anybody: she knew how to fight, how to sail, and how too cook. While small, she had chosen a raft made of strong wood, one robust enough to sail on the current flowing up and down the Reverse Montain. Her storage was filled with enough food and medicine to carry Deanna’s on for more than a week. Th weather was excellent, a gentle breeze flapping her short twin tails under a shining sun. Everything at the moment was pretty much perf….

“Ah fuck!”

Well, nothing, except numerous marine galleons blocking the entrance of the Grand Line, lined up in war asset. Askance, the amazon noticed other Pirate vessels joining the fray, eager to storm through as she was there. For a moment, Deanna felt worry crawling through her ship: while it had good craftmanship, her ship was still a mouse heading to a snake pit, no cannons, no real deck. Then, everything turned in excitation, even jubilation. That was the challenge she had been waiting for, a Battle Royal to get through the Grand Line. Deanna had the opportunity to test and witness the true mettle of East Blue’s best and baddest.

“C’om, pals”. The warrior shouted; both her hands come to her wait, gripping two Kris. Her smile was turning wider and wider, her inner beast itching to rage on. “Lets how well you face against the pride of the Kuja!”

North Blue Ops
The thunder rolls, the lightning strikes. The sea roils and swells, rises and falls. The fury of nature, beautiful and terrifying in all of it's glory reigned upon this day. A thunderstorm, one of the largest in a decade, struck upon this day of battle and blood.

A pair of ships sat bobbing up and down, their helmsman struggling to maintain their position in the sea. Behind them sat a mountain, stretching so high that it pierced the clouds above. Each of these ships was nigh identical, sisters in name and design. Both bore the heraldry of the world, just as it bore the name of those who watched over it.

These ships were the ships of the Marines. A proud force dedicated to the protection of the world, and the destruction of those who would violate it. Today they sat here, waiting for those who would attempt to get past them, to leave the seas of the north to head to the Grand line.

Zheng Sih sat on the bow of one of these ships, sitting in the rain as she stared across the roiling seas before her. She had her trademark spear over her shoulder, waiting for those who would attempt to pass. Something she fully intended to make sure they failed at.

Serena’s gaze stared firmly at the dark horizon, her green, monocular visor stretching her focus to its furthest. She had taken the highest position possible, standing tall on the lookout post so she could spot her next preys as soon possible. On the ship deck below, marines were shouting orders, curses and prayers, firmly gripped on everything they could find, as each jump and pitch of the ship threatened to send an incautious sailor straight to the black depths of ocean. Serena couldn’t care less: her hands were busy keeping her blonde twin tails at bay, to not let them flail in the wind and whipping of her face or snag in her fangs. Her dad used to tell her she was, as with all fishmen and merfolks, a daughter of the seas, and that she couldn’t find a safer place than the cradle of water.

She could perceive small brigades coming closer and closer, floating and pitching in the roaring waters like a bunch of bugs or floating leaves. A promise of what was yet to come; pirates crews sailing in droves with the goal of reaching the Grand Lines. Morons destined only to die, either by the merciless tempest or the staunch hand of the Marines. More important than any of those, they were scrumptious meals to bite, crunch and gulp. She could savor already the delicious fattiness of human flesh swimming in her mouth, the perfume of blood inebriating her noise. So, so yummy…

Saliva started dripping from her mouth: good luck there was a storm to wash away any trace of her hunger. Serena needed to be careful to not show her unique “tastes” to her colleagues. The former monk was so fucking snobbish she would have thrown up in disgust; that cook with an animal fixation couldn’t have recognized good food if all the greatest chefs in the world started giving him lectures. Besides, taking out as many pirates as she could was the perfect occasion to get a promotion. Mommy and daddy always wanted to open a skylight in their new home, and she would love to give more money to help.

On the same ship as Serena was a far more humble-looking man. Adorned in a simple Marine uniform, he looked out to the horizon with an anxious, almost fearful glare. Shivering at the blistering weather, he was, unusually, wrapped by a giant white and blue snake, appearing reminiscent of a King Cobra. This man was Lieutenant Commander Bryant Leon, a beast-tamer that made his name among the low-ranking Marines for his unusual pets.

The snake that kept him warm and secure was named Vasuki, and was part of the King Cobra sub-species, Naga. "Sorry, Vasuki-kun..." Leon spoke in a somewhat mournful tone, "I'm so unreliable...but thanks for always being here! Now, we gotta get ready and keep those Pirates at bay!"

The snake's expression loosened, and his forked tongue licked Leon's face, before hissing comfortably with his owner wrapped around him.

Back over on the other ship, away from the fish and cook. Zheng Sih continued her watch, roving her eyes over the darkened horizon in order to spot the slightest hint that the pirates she knew were coming were about to show. For now at at least, she saw nothing. Nothing but the water, lightning, and the ever blasted wind.

She pulled a small snail out of her pocket, one that clearly had the same symbol as the ship. A den-den mushi. "Zheng Sih here, no sign of anything unusual on my end, though this storm will make it hard to intercept any ship at range. The pirates picked a good time to cross if they are in this storm. Anyone else have any better luck?" she broadcast, both to the various watchers along her ship, as well as to those on the other, waiting for a target to focus on.

Serena could hear her pocket den den mushi squealing like a pig; she brought it out, recalling Zheng Sih. As she suspected, the martial artist's crew had severe deficits in range of sight. Typical of the cheap equipment their superiors had provided them. She entered in the conversation to share her discovery with the colleagues.

"Here is Lieutenant Commander Gratzianowi Serena. I can spot few Pirates frigates coming north-northwest to the Reverse Mountain. There aren't many of'em, though: just a typical bunch of fools. The great breakthrough has yet to come, I suppose". She said. Her lips were curling in a sarcastic smile. "I was thinking I got really lucky to have bought my new experimental visor with my own money. Another cut to our funds, and we'll have to catch pirates in brasseries and underwear".

"Considering the mental fortitude I have seen from pirates, they'd probably be so distracted with the view to fight properly. Who knows, a budget cut might make our job easier then." Zheng responded with a slight bit of humor.

"As for the pirates, since you're the one with a visual, engage them now or wait for them to close?"

"Gratzhgratzhgratzhgratzh!" Serena expressed her amusement in her typical cackling. "Didn't know that monks were capable of humor! Or having naughty thoughts, for that matter". The monk was probably right though: given the beauty of the ladies involved, many delicacies would have fallen for their naked hotness before falling before Zheng Sih pole-arm or right in Serena's stomach. Turning to less trivial matters, the half-fishman started to map the terrain; her eye was not only focuses on calculating the distances between the Marines and the ships, but to gain the clearest view on every obstacle, every whirlpool, every stumbling cliff lurking in the turbulent waters.

"Since there are three of us, I'd say we better not break our formation. We could use long ranged attacks to take down every ship we can once their are close enough. There are many sharp cliffs waiting just below the surface; perfect to send boats crashing down, but can make us sink as well if we don't dive carefully. Wasting time and risking our necks to catch down small fries doesn't seem worth a damn effort. Whad'ya think?"

"Y-yeah...I agree..." Although Leon was normally confident enough, in the face of the two Lieutenant Commanders before him, he turned into a fumbling mess. Was it the storm? Or was it their overpowering personalities? It was anybody's guess. "I-if we attack now without looking at all the threats, a stronger crew might intercept us and prove troublesome."

Serena’s grin widened for the enthusiasm, turning shark-line. “Let’s get these appetizers swimming before the main course arrives!” She took a tennis ball from the many stored below her mini-skirt, so numerous they underpinned her lower garment like a yellow blanket. They were an excellent tool for long-ranged fights, one that not only complimented perfectly her passion for the sport, but was also useful to hide her most intimate and sweet part from horny gazes. She rose up the projectile just above her head, balling her weapon, an enormous racket jagged with teeth of steel, big enough to function also as a spade; after a quick lock on the target, lasting millisecond, she served her blow with a smashing motion.

The tennis ball flew high in the stormy sky, its bright colors making it stand out from the dark clouds. A helmsman in one of the many pirate frigates perceived a blurred, yellow line; once the projectile hit right between the eyes, the world flashed, and he passed out. Green, ominous vapor exuded from the ball while still embedded in the pirate’s forehead. The ship was soon covered in thick urticant haze: everyone inside him found his eyes burning and watering, completely blinded. Without clear guidance, the ship meandered for a while before stumbling in sharp cliffs which quartered its hull and sent the crew to the bottom of the ocean.

“That’s an ace, motherfucker!” Serena hollered in elation. Then she served her projectiles again and again; each of her attacks resulted in small fries crashing down against rocks. Yet Serena’s volley, which was an intentionally conservative display of force and ammo on her part, could properly affect only frigates sized ships. Bigger meals required greater effort, one that Serena was actually welcoming. She was starving for challening preys: two digits-pirates could just sink straight to hell.

"So noisy..." Zheng said as she heard the other woman's display. "But if she wants to let the storm take care of them, I guess I can oblige."

The world seemed to slow down for a moment as Zheng finally stood from her position on the bow of the ship. The wind seamed to cease and the rhythm of the waves became apparent as she focused on the world around her. She had finally started to see the ships of her foes come into view.

Up and down, up and down. She felt the flow of the ocean, how it rocked her ship up and down. She felt how the wind blew her hair and the rain lashed down upon her. There were a thousand things she had to take into account on her end alone, and a thousand more on the side of the pirates in the distance.

She raised her Guan Dao, pointing it directly towards the first frigate that her companion hadn't already taken care of. A shrill hum could be heard as the blade started to glow, heating up from the friction of the intense vibrations.

She watched carefully, waiting for the precise moment to strike.

She knew the moment the instant everything lined up, and her spear flashed forward, a line of flame extending from the tip. The spear of fire shot true, running straight towards the ship, cresting it's bow as the from of the ship dropped.

The last moment the helmsman of that ship would know would be watching the spear of flames pierce straight through his chest, searing his internals as if he was a well done steak.

"If that didn't get their attention, well nothing will..." Zheng said to herself as she prepared a second shot.

"T-they're here. Very well!" Leon exclaimed, trying to resolve himself. "Vasuki!" He ordered the naga, who soon slithered behind the Lieutenant Commander, where numerous cannon balls were placed. In addition to Serena's own artillery, Vasuki flung cannon balls with his incredible size and strength, intending on submerging small, vagrant ships that had not prepared themselves for confrontations.

He soon turned his attention towards his fellow Lieutenant Commander, and announced, "Lieutenant Commander Gratzianowi! I will assist in your artillery bombardment, just give me orders!"

A Large galleon-class ship can be seen crashing against the waves as it sails along with a rushed pace normally this wouldn’t be outta place if it wasn’t for the black colored sails adoring the ships masts, Sitting atop the figurehead of of the large galleon-class ship with ominous black sails.

"Can we not go faster you lot" shouted out the woman as she turns away from the sea to look at the scattered lot of men and woman aboard the ship, all who were dressed in various semi-luxurious clothing.

Stepping forward a overly burly man dressed in a suit that seemed to strain against his muscular frame saluted towards the woman causing his suit to tense and strain even more. "If we imcrease our speed anymore Captain Quinn, we’ll be likely to be thrown off course as we’re nearing the Reverse Mountains and it’s dangerous currents" he replied as he stars up towards the newly named Quinn.

Smirking towards her hired lackeys, Quinn merly stood upon the figurehead casting her single eye across every person upon the main deck. "I ain’t hire you to tell me what I can and can’t do, remember this you lot I’m A woman who does whatever the hell she wants" she spoke as her visage brakes out into a savage and feral smile. "I can flip this World upside just for my own amusement, I can steal the Moon from the sky because I want it, I can drown the Devil himself and conquer the very sea, and you know why that is ?" Questioned Quinn as she hops down from atop the figure head and walks towards her gathered crew mates who all spotted similar smiles to hers. "Because I’m/Your Catarina Quinn and I/You do whatever the hell I/You want". they finished along with her as the aforementioned burly man yells for them to release full mast and speed up, while the rest of the crew begins to sing Binks' Sake as Quinn herself once again seated herself back upon the figurehead overlooking the sea. ''"I hope your ready for a little Chaos World". She thought as her smile once again became feral.''

A wave of feathers shot out to meet one of the explosives arcing out towards the pirates, detonating it prematurely.

Phim D. Sera, captain of the Feather Pirates stared impassively across the storm as the snow white attached to her shoulder pulled back. She was obviously soaked, but completely ignored the discomfort. She had been standing at the bow of the ship the entire time they had traveled towards the mountain, prepared to protect the ship from whatever response that was thrown at them.

"Seems that the Marines knew we were coming." She said to no one in particular as she bit her lip. They were going to have to break through.

"I guess this is going to be harder than we thought Augus. But I guess we don't have a choice."

The cold wind hit against an unruly black hair, which reached down to his cheeks. Hand on a book, this person paid no mind to what had been happening, as his captain had had everything in control ever since a long time, no matter how much he tried to help, he would be turned down. A tea had his other hand occupied, drinking it while reading this fascinating story while in the cold was certainly nice. Damn, Augus had to act more like a pirate now.

Brisei Augus shot his head up at the mention of his name, eyes narrowing, "Oh my... that's certainly some defense..." He eyed the Marine ships, but then, saw some Pirate ones as well, "It is evident we have company, my Captain," This time, August took a glance at the nearby Pirates, were they going to be allies or enemies too? They seemed to be singing something he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Do you want me to take a closer look?" Augus smiled, closing the book without any marker, as he would remember where he stopped, and throwing the tea cup somewhere.

"If you want, Augus. I should be sufficient to protect the ship" Sera replied as she adjusted the gauntlets encasing her lower arm. While no longer a knight, she still wore the gauntlets and greaves of one.

"Just be careful."

Augus hummed in response, also nodding at Sera with a smile, she shouldn't have to worry too much. The atmosphere would help him hide his own presence within all the rain and the fog, for sure.

Suddenly, his muscle mass began to expand, as his skin shifted into a darker tone, claws surfacing from his fingers. His hair's size increased, falling back like a wave, and gained horns atop it, while his body size had him twice as he was normally large. This was his Hybrid Form, product of his Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Flying Fox, the largest species of bat in their world.

Wings wrapped around himself, Augus looked out at the sea, "Man, it really feels nice." He mouthed, mostly to himself than to Sera. Entering this form always increased his senses, and as a reader and historian, it always felt nice to take everything in. "If anything happens, I'll send you an echolocation signal, okay?" Augus turned his blank eyes at Sera, and on the situation that she confirmed it, he vanished, almost like a shadow.

The thunder and rain greatly overshadowed the beating of his wings, as he steadily flew through the storm. His echolocation allowed him to determine everyone's locations in some seconds, prompting him to turn himself upside-down and hook into the mast of one of the marines' ships. It was the mast with the weakest signals, so, it was less likely that someone would find him there. Wings blocking his figure, Augus calmly observed this ship and the other one, looking for anything useful.

Biting Down Wings
While Leon was supporting Serena's attack against the enemy ships, he soon found the cannon ball fire to come to a halt. As Leon turned towards Vasuki's position, he found the Naga unresponsive to said commands. Instead, the majestic blue serpent's eyes focused towards the mast of their ship, and his long, forked tongue was pointed upwards towards the mast's location, vibrating with great intensity.

"Miss Serena." Leon referred to his comrade, who had been firing repeatedly against enemy ships. "I believe Vasuki has located an intruder on our ship's mast." He said quietly, while directing Vasuki to come closer to Leon. "What do we do? He's probably noticed us already..." Leon said, slowly turning more nervous.

After hearing Leon’s report, Serena hummed. Her peer was a spineless crybaby with the culinary talent of a lobotomized sperm whale, but maybe Vasuki’s pleas were a bit savvier in its judgement. Unless Leon constant cuddling and pampering had somewhat ruined his animal instinct, which was a possibility, given how mollycoddling the Lieutenant Commander could be at times. Regardless of her feeling about her colleague, an intruder in located on the mast could mean two things only: either the Naga was mistaken, or a Devil Fruit’s user had intruded on the sly. The latter case posed a considerable danger both to their lives and reputation as Marines.

“If you are 100% sure that we have enemies at board, then give the alarm, you are fucking moron!” She growled on the Den Den Mushi. “We can’t allow any lowly scum to just come and sit idle on our ships! All Marines need to keep their attention high, lest not getting screwed over by some sneaky bastard”.

To unravel the mystery, she stared at the horizon, when two stronger brasses had made their entrance: the Quinn Pirates and the Feather Pirates, their galleon flapping up and down over the roaring waves. She reasoned that only a Devil Fruit user with powers related to flight or teleportation could have crossed the impetuous sea without she and the rest of the Marines noticing anything. She recalled that both pirate captains had eaten a fruit with such properties, incredibly rare and powerful Zoan. Yet Quinn was still standing on the Santa De la Cruz with a defiant smile, while Sera was directly staring at the two Marines’ frigates with grim defiance.

An underlying was the responsible, then? But who and for what crew? A memory suddenly flashed out: the second in command of the Feather Pirates had also eaten a Zoan Fruit. Brisei Augus has come to pay a visit. Serena tightened her grip on the racquet, her hands trembling for the rage, hunger and sheer excitation.

“To all the Marines, here is again Lieutenant Commander Gratzianowi Serena”. She spoke again in the Den Den Mushi. “An intruder had managed to sneak up on our ship. His name is Brisei Augus; according to our sources, he had eaten a Zoan Devil Fruit with the power to shape-shift in a bat. He is the first tough cookie we’re facing, the exact type of bastard we need to keep out of the Grand Line.

Here is how we deal with all of’hem: Zeng Shin, you will tackle the Santa De la Cruz. It’s quite big, so it will make a great barbeque. Leon and all the marines out of there, you will have to engage with Augus right here. Do not lose sight on Phim D. Sera: she might decide to fly and help and her partner, should he struggle. She must be kept at bay at any cost, for from our frigate, or we’ll sink in even deeper shit. Our honor as defenders of Justice is on this table; we must not let these scums get away at any cost. Over and Out”.

As for Serena… she jumped straight out of the lookout post, her thin frame and scarlet racquet plummeting straight in the dark waters. “If Phim D. Sera is so eager to play board games,” She thought, diving deeper and deeper until she was invisible to the naked eye. ''“I’ll give her just a taste of her own medicine. Let’s see how well hens can swim''”.

At the sound of his name in their lips, Augus shivered, his shoulders going up and his eyes widening. They had fount him out sooner than he expected, and here he was, trying to soothe his presence by sending signals everywhere with his echoing voice... so much for that. Why... he was a failure as a bat now, he couldn't look at his ancestors-

With the sound of people walking over the deck, Augus' ears perked up, his eyes glancing down at them, while the rest of his body was shrouded in the storm's fog. Breath, Augus swiftly dived into the air, opening his wings, and snatching one of the soldiers in an instant. Breath, he was back at the top of the ship, and the soldier had been shut down, a quick blow to veins on the neck.

Breath, another soldier, who struggled more. Nevertheless, he was soon quiet. Augus focused on the lonelier soldiers, that kept drifting away from the main group and the other commander. All the while, Augus sent different echoes throughout the place, as if to confuse everyone of his true presence.

"That's enough!" Leon commanded, "Vasuki!" He roared once again, and in the instant that the bat-like form attempted to take another lonely soldier, the snake swiftly moved to intercept the man's actions, intending to wrap himself around the bat and hold it in place. Meanwhile, Leon took out a rifle from his back, and wielded it facing towards the bat, that was in the middle of flying to the top of the mast once again.

It might escape the senses of humans, but a Naga's sense, once they found their prey, were forever locked on. Brisei Augus would not escape this place unharmed.

"Nghh!" Augus grunted, eyes wide as the serpent wrapped itself around his wings, which had been circling his body. He made sure to have them expanded wide, if not, the snake would likely crush his body. How did it follow that man's exact commands? Was he from some sort of tribe? Augus' eyes shone, he never thought he would find anything rare in the entrance already.

Yet, Augus didn't stand still, a gust of wind followed. Even with the snake circling around him, Augus took immediate flight, once again, and spun side-ways through the air itself. It would possibly unbalance the snake itself and allow for Augus to aim head-on against Leon.

Vasuki struggled against the rising Augus and was forced to untangle himself and leap away from the bat, leading him to land on the ground with a degree of impact. He was a small distance away from Leon.

As Augus was swooping towards Leon, the Lieutenant Commander was not going to go down without a fight. He shot two bullets towards the incoming Augus, attempting to divert the man's flight patterns to allow Vasuki to traverse the distance between them, and hopefully bite Augus from behind.

Eyes widened at the pistols aimed for him, Augus let a gasp come out of his lips. However, instead of his body simply going to the left or the right, he ducked under the bullets and increased his speed, "HAAAAAAAAH!" A cry from him followed, as Augus came close to colliding against Leon himself.

Sera saw the marine jump into the water, wondering briefly what they were about to do. But she didn't have much time to think about it. It was time to return the bombardment.

A dozen glowing Spears pointed towards the nearer of the two Marine ships, shining through the rain and surf. Constructs of light, they were more than powerful enough to break the bow of the larger ship, sinking it in one fell swoop without endangering her partner in the area.

"Let's see you try and stop these marines..." Sera said rather darkly, taking aim before launching the volley of light out. "At least you will get a little bit of what I owe you."

The coal-like ocean was shimmering under Sera’s light; Serena could see her brightness from well below the surface. The hen above was evidently preparing for an attack, trying to sink hers and Leon’s ship, taking down many Marines while helping her partner in the boarding. On a gut level, she thought that Sera’s attack might prove to be beneficial on the long run: should the hen succeed in sinking the Marine frigate and Serena attacking the hull from below, the pirate would have been cut from any viable mean of navigation. No matter how skilled or strong as a pirate Sera could be: without a boat, it would be game of anybody, let alone Devil Fruit users.

Still, she remembered a few chatters with her dad, all concerning his time back in the Neptune’s army. He used to talk a lot how much the fulfillment of a mission should be balanced with the care of one’s comrades, as they constituted the backbone and flesh of an army. “Through unity comes strength”, an echo rang in her head. Serena has always taken her dear father’s advices to her heart, she did want to live up with the same standards as he did. Minus the cannibalism and torture, regrettably, but human flesh and screams of pain were just too yummy for the Marine to resist.

To save that fool of Leon from an impending sink, Serena grabbed a large mass of water with both hands, balling and molding it in a globe as the liquid was a dough. A technique of Fishman Jujutsu, a prime skill of her race to manipulate ambient water and turning it a devastating weapon. Serena struggle to keep the ball consistent, liquid was slipping through with each struggling movement of her wrists and fingers. Compared to her dad’s, Serena’s technique was still sloppy and amateurish; she had just one shot, and one she had to deliver at close distance. Still more than enough. She shot herself up from the water, interposing from a flock of light spears and her vessels.

“So that’s all what you got? It’s not even a fucking proper ace!” She hollered. “I’ll teach ya. Murasame”.

She hurled both spheres of water: due to the centripetal force, their form morphed, becoming that of many hungry white sharks. A veritable school which slammed against the constructs, their impact shattering both light and water in a rainbow-colored rain. Serena ogled again at the hen standing on the dock, who was at the Marines with a snobby and snotty air like she was the daughter of a freaking Duke or something similar. Serena would have loved to turn that stone-like stoicism into screams of pure agony. With those feelings in mind, she dove back in the deep, swimming to Sera’s vessel.

"A fishwoman, lovely..." Sera said dryly to herself as she watched the other woman destroy the spears of light. It was only a small setback though, her opponent probably spent far more energy there than she did. "Would explain their diver." Either way, she couldn't let the woman attack the ship directly.

Once Serena fell back into the water, Sera laid out her plans. "Everyone clear the foredeck, I am going to draw her right to me. Keep the ship moving towards the mountain. I will handle this!" She yelled as the ship's crew either went below deck or clustered by the helm.

Sera stood there as streams of golden energy radiated from her feet, flowing across the deck before snaking over the rail in all directions. She coated the hull of the ship in the light, reinforcing it to the extreme against attacks. Serena would find this ship to be one tough nut to crack. Sera herself was confident she could maintain this barrier until they reached the mountain if need be. All that would be left is to deal with the meddlesome Marines in the meantime.

Seeing Sera’s ship beaming with angelic light made Serena grinning with anger. That damn idiot of Leon owed him a big one, given that she gave up the element of surprise to save his ass and his crew of losers. The hull was probably unbreakable, at least for the viable time Serena had before the hen and her crew managed to slip through and give their middle fingers to the Marines. Well, like hell they would have gotten it so easily. If Serena couldn’t break the ship from below, she’d done it from above. Fishman Karate comes a lot in handy not only in underwater struggles, but also when a fishman want to exit from water. With a bang. She inhaled oxygen while bringing both her legs near her chest; a way to accumulate energy and momentum, before releasing all at once.

“Five Hundred Bricks Jump Kick”.

Serena propelled herself upwards, far above the waters. Higher and higher, until she placed herself right above the galleon's mast. Spinning midair, the half-fishman retook control of her movement. Her right hand gripped her weapon; with her left, she selected a bunch of tennis balls to throw against the ship below. She smashed a cascade of yellow spheres over the deck, all filled to the brim with her trademark urticant gas. It did not matter if Sera had destroyed the projectiles airbone or let them fall. Either way, the air was going to be poisoned by green mist. Among them, she had hidden a few nasty trick shots: Greek fire bombs, the all-time solution when it comes to turn wooden decks into fuming infernos.

She prepared for the imminent rise of fog and smoke by holding her breath and closing her unprotected eye; meanwhile, she had landed on the ship look out post with impressive grace. Her good eye’s focus came back and forth to Sera and rest of the ship, analyzing it in greater detail. Admiring a soon to be roasting, blazing ship and its fried crew.

The Marine was out of water, that much worked properly. However instead of going after Sera directly like was planned, she resorted to throwing more of those bombs around.

The flow of energy from Sera's feet reversed itself, drawing itself back from underneath the ship, rendering it vulnerable again. She didn't want to pull it, but she knew she couldn't handle encapsulating the entire ship in her light. It formed a layer of energy over the top of the ship and the lower portions of the mast, and in particular creating a bubble over the remaining crew on the deck. Sera herself merely wrapped her wings around her own body, shielding it from the wave of fire that splashed across the deck.

The fire found no purchase on the light, quickly trickling away under the rain. It flowed off the deck of the ship, leaving a line of fire burning on the ocean to either side of the ship.

Sera's wings opened as the fire trickled away, breathing in deeply as she walked through the gas. She had the ability to purify the poison around her, expending stamina to clean the air.

She pulled in the light one more time, moving it up and away from her. She used the barrier to clear the rapidly dissipating gas off the deck, before finally letting it fade away, it's purpose served.

She leapt into the air, carried on wings of white, climbing up to the mast of the ship, where one of the Marines was perched.

"I don't suppose I can convince you to just get the hell out of my way, now can I Marine?" Sera said to the larger woman with more than a hint of disdain in her voice. "Though I expect I will have to beat you into compliance with my request."

From a close distance, Sera looked so far tastier. Serena examined the former knight up and down, left and right, foretasting the moment her jaws would have crunched her flesh and bones. Youthful and puffy cheeks, easy and delicious to chomp down. An athletic and fit figure, yet not overtly skinny and muscular. An healthy fair skin, which indicated good constitution. The only thing that ruined such scrumptious picture were Sera's wings, but that was nothing that Serena couldn't have solved with an hour or two of plucking, if that was necessary.

"Beat me in compliance, sweety?" Despite the seductive choice of words, what emerged from Serena was an entirely different, and far less wholesome, kind of lust. "I am here to savor every moment of our confrontation. To draw every inch of sweat, blood and pain out of you. Just after I'll be sure you and your chicks won't escape from the dinner table, mother hen..."

Fast as lightning, she juggled above her head two balls, just a shy from her eyes, then drew her breath. She prepared another hit with the racquet, but done with an entirely different goal in mind: instead of serving a direct on her opponents, she sliced the two balls with the spiked trims of her weapons. Like with haphazardly cut fruits, the projectiles gushed a green mist, enveloping both fighters in a urticant haze.

The perfect distraction. Profiting of her protected eye, Serena flipped her way down to the helm, landing just between the wheel and two thugs she quickly pushed back with a kick. Just by pushing it, she spun the steering wheel in a mad revolution, enough to divert the ship trajectory. The she hammered down her racquet, a 1-ton tool of death, between the wooden spoke. The weapon carved its way down to the pedestal. The ship wheel was cracked down in two useless lumps of wood. Sera's ship was left at the mercy of the cruel seas and sagged, lurking cliffs.

South Blue Ops
On the Southern Sea nearest the entrance of the Reverse Mountain

A cruiser-class vessel with three masts, two with two sails and one with a lateen sail, six cannons on each side of its hull and four larger cannons situated on the bow. A large circular structure is located in the middle of the ship, and the Marine symbol and name was painted on the sides and sails can be seen steadily drifting along the clashing tides of the sea as the Will collides with the large sails pushing and guiding the vessel towards it’s destination.

Aboard the vessel situated among the blustering masses of the ships main deck, steadily standing facing the waters infront and observing the distant shadow of the looming continent that is know as the Red Line with naught but a single smile nor emotion within her eyes is Lieutenant Commander Fairisles Margaret who is one of several marines tasked with the mission of preventing pirates from breaking into the Grand Line during the chaos of the looming war between Yonko.

Turning away from the distance structure the Lieutenant Commander focused her visage upon a small ship toward the west of her current vessels's location, this small ship however was boasting a particular color scheme one which she never liked seeing, for this small vessel hoisted the black flag of piracy and that was something she couldn't idly by pass her as she was a proud member of the Marines and all who hung the colors of criminals will face justice.

Without a ounce of emotion nor mercy Margaret commanded the crew to open fire upon the smaller vessel and within minutes the much smaller vessel was nothing more than a burning pile of wood and metal as she commanded the crew to arrest any survivors and kill anyone violently resisting before returning her eyes back toward her destination. "I shall ensure naught a single Pirate enters the Grand Line on this day." were the thoughts of Margaret as the vessel once again began making its approach towards the large continent.

Snore. Within the confines of that same vessel that Margaret had been in, stood another "high" ranking officer of the Marines, the Captain Middwun, older brother to Lildwun and younger brother to Bigdwun. Snore. The waves hit against the sides of the ship, producing a variety of calm sounds, which Mid took advantage of to stay calm as possible.

Donning an intricate armor, Mid sat at a bed, forearms resting against his knees as his head inched forward. The armor had rough edges and high pauldrons. Snore. Indeed, having been quite calm, Middwun was sleeping as the Marine vessel headed for their destination, he paid no mind to his companion in the outside. Snore.

As the Marine vessel neared the passage which would eventually lead to the entrance of the Red Mountain while maintaining a steady pace, Margaret took the opportunity to make her way down towards the interior section of the ship down toward the cabin area where she knew her companion for this voyage was currently situated and by estimate has been slacking of for the last few hours, something she would rectify.

Upon making her way towards the exact cabin, her companion was currently located Margaret merly flung the door open not caring enough to knock, which resulted in the door hitting the wall creating a loud Bang which made the few scattered items along side it scatter towards to floor.

"Captain Middwun, We are nearing the entrance for the Reverse Mountain and I belive it’s time you awoken." Spoke Margaret in a emotionless tone as he uses her foot to literally kick Middwun off of his current resting location.

A bang, but, then, a snore. The cold weather of the outside filled the cabin, reaching Middwun's figure, the wind soared, it would give him a similar sensation to listening to the waves. Yet, Middwun's position shifted not any single bit at Margaret's own arrival. Snore.

As she began to speak, every other sound went unheard and Middwun's eyes shone a bit, as even if his head was inched forward, his face was still facing the door of the cabin. A kick- Snore, cold breath, Middwun didn't budge. Snore... not.

There was no sensation at all from the impact of Margaret's kick, yet, another cold breath came through, "Mmm." Mid seemingly agreed, face still inched downards.

Glancing towards Middwun with her continued blank stare as he continued to snore clearly ignorant of the world around him, realizing that regular methods would not awaken the slumbering Captain, Margaret instead decided to utilize a different method one which she knew would get the desired reaction she wanted.

Place her right palm near the head of Middwun, Margaret shifted her entire focus toward her limb while mentally calling upon the powers of her recently acquired Devil Fruit, watching in satisfaction as electricity began building around her hand before she light placed her palm upping his head sending a stream of electrify coursing through the body of the Captain in an attempt to awaken him, while the amount of electricity she used wasn't enough to leave severe damage it was strong enough to paralyze the victim even at its smallest amount as such was the power of the, however that wasn't something Margaret was to worried about.

A cough came through Middwun's throat, as the electricity zapped through his entire being. Mixture of smoke and small amounts of blood went out, along with the cough, as Middwun simply stood there, once again. After some seconds, Middwun stood up, glancing silently at Margaret's figure.

His hand rested on the sheath of his weapon, and with a simple gesture, it rose quite quickly and aimed for Margaret's figure- A thumbs-up formed from said hand, directed at Margaret, indeed, as Middwun silently nodded. Gesturing for her to go out of the cabin, he made sure to follow behind her to the outside.

Watching Middwun finally rise from his albit in a non-conventional manner, Margaret merely nodded her head in a silent celebration of this mini battle that was won something one would never suspect to have even been a thing in the first place.

Entirely lost in her thoughts she completely missed Middwun's thumbs up gesture aimed towards her developed figure but did manage to catch his gesture indicating her to leave the cabin something which she complied but only after making sure he would be following behind her.

As the Duo reaches the main deck of the ship, the looming figure that was the Reverse Mountain was well within sight casting a ominous shadow upon the vessel and its crew, as the water current became a bit faster and violent causing various men and woman aboard the ship to rock around.

"It would appear we will be reaching our destination within a manner of minutes, Captain". Margaret stated as she stares upon the giant crimson flesh of the enormous mountain with what is akin to wonder and awe slightly visible within the very depth of her eyes.

Despite the rumbling provoked by the Reverse's vicious waters, Middwun remained unshaken, arms crossed as he reached the deck alongside Margaret. Surprisingly, his armor made no sound, the same for his steps against the wooden floor.

Looking over at the large mountain before them, Middwun's eyes sparkled a tiny bit. It seemed they were the first to arrive at the destination. "Hmmm," Middwun responded at Margaret's statement, hand going back to the hilt of his weapon.

It hadn't been the first time he has fought alongside her, and it wouldn't be the last, Middwun gave no care at both his brothers fighting in the New World. As long as he could help the people, and the rest of the Marines, he would be content.

Snapping back into reality for the brief lapse in her own wonder and awe Margaret began ordering the troops on the ship to tighten the sails and strap down all loose equipment and items before grabbing hold of Middwun and dragging him up towards the ships helm.

Glancing over the side of the ship as watching as the rough sea current began pulling the ship forward in a ever increasing pace toward the narrow passageway that shit straight up towards the summit of the Reverse Mountain, Margaret nodded towards the twin burly marine officers holding the helm in place preventing it from moving off course and colliding with the walls of the passage.

Having worked with Middwun for quite a while on numerous occasions Margaret already knew that the Silent Captain would attempt to brave the ship in verticality which would result in more problem than what was necessary at the moment so she took it upon herself to chain him to the main mast of the ship before settling herself against the metal slab that she had purposely added to the ship befor partial transforming her feel into electricity and partially merging herself with it creating a makeshift shackle that would prevent her from flying off the ship as she ensures that the vessel makes it to their destination Margaret discretely flicked her arms towards the wall of the Red Line throwing something against it.

All the while that Margaret did so, Middwun kept himself quiet, not bothered one bit on her actions. They were necessary, he deemed, and he knew she was famous for only ever doing the necessary courses of action. Middwun had experienced it countless times, and not once, had Margaret failed him, he doubted the latest time would be the last.

In fact, Middwun only crossed his arms as it all happened. However, something clicked on his mind, as a breeze passed by, and his head turned sideways, glancing at the seas. Were those ships? Weren't the pirates going to be on the other side? Maybe, maybe it was just the immense amount of fogginess around.

Glancing towards Middwun and catching the confused look in his eye Margaret merely returned her eyes back forward full aware of exactly what she was attempting to accomplish. "There is no need for such confusion, Captain we will not be entering the Grand Line this is merely a single step in a grand orchestra of plans". Margaret called out towards Middwun as she watches as the sea begins to drift upwards the mountain.

As the ship reached a quarter of the way towards the mountain Margaret allowed a rare smile to grace her visage as she allows herself to become unmerged with the metal slab to be flung backwards towards the tied up sails of the ship, which she with flexibility not many knew she possessed grasped the ropes tying them up and severing them before repeating this action twice more with the other sails.

As the last sail became undone Margaret settled herself against her wrapping her arm within the loose bundle of chain that was attached to the last mass of the ship before glancing down towards Middwun who she knew was watching her while attempting to figure out the reasons for her actions before she turned her head towards another tow burly marine who began to angle the sails in a upward station which caused the ship to begin to submerge within the sea as it became covered by a large bubble like substance that expanded and enveloped the vessel within.

As the men continued to angle the sails, the ship eventually began to submerge itself into the water disappearing from sight beneath the roaring currents which granted them a great vantage point of any and all ships that sail above their location, this was a tactic she borrowed from one of the Yonkos of the past, who uses it to sneak within the fortified base of Marineford during the War.

"No one within the Four Blues would suspect anyone to utilize coating to submerge their ship beneath the sea, this is perfect strategy to ambush and eliminate those pirates before they realize it is a trap". Thought Margaret as her eyes were filled with pride and excitement as her plan began to come to fruition.

Enroute to the southern sea that led to Reverse Mountain a man, no a young boy, stood on the deck of a small ship. Despite the ship's small structure it managed to find space to have a set of cannons installed on its canvas. The boy jumped on top of the cannon at the front of the ship to let the winds of the world brush up against his face. A smile grew on his face as he continued to stare onto the sea.

He threw his hands into the air, "Allllllrriiiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhtttttttt!" He shouted, giving off a loud laugh after he did. This high-spirited boy was none other than Buster D. Zack. Today would be a milestone to remember for the boy, it would be the day he set out to become a pirate. Like many of the other pirates who planned to purge the Grand Line at the same time, he too was considered a rookie. For years he annoyed his mother and her crewmates about one day setting off to become a pirate and today that dream had finally come true.

The thoughts of his dreams filled his head and gave off a tingling sensation throughout his body. That somewhat sensation found itself short lived after the boy spotted a single Marines ship up ahead.

Turning around to look at the back of the ship a man stood seemingly guiding the ship along its path. "BIGBY, WE GOT MARINES UP THERE! GET US CLOSER WITH THAT SKIPPING THING YOU DO!" Unlike the other crews that would make their appearance, Zack's crew only consisted of two members including himself. Funny enough his crew had no name either, hence the lack of a Jolly Roger resting on the sail.

At the helm of the ship sat an imposing figure, Badwolf T. Bigby. Former Bounty Hunter turned Pirate, he once, and tangentially at that worked alongside the Marines to purge the Pirate menace in South Blue. But they were allies of convenience, nothing more. Having culled their numbers, Bigby soon found himself without worthy foes to face and so turned his blade against the World Government. Now he sits upon this tiny ship as First Mate to the adopted child of a Yonko. His gaze swept across the imposing sight of Reverse Mountain, and his sharp eyes penetrated through the thin mists, chaotic storm and brief flashes of lightning. His feral grin threatened to split his face, as he too shared in the excitement of his only crew-mate and Captain casting his gaze toward to the exuberant youth.

"Aye aye Captain," he shouted back. With that he went to work. Concentrating he allowed the powers of his Devil Fruit to flow freely, casting their ship in hazy red glow - the telltale sign of his Aida Aida no Mi. Space around the ship bent, and twisted upon itself, the visage of Reverse Mountain painted across strange field. A warble, followed by the sound of crashing waves and their ship flickered like a still-image, crossing the distance in the span of a few breathes. Above one of the two scouting Marine vessels, a massive shadow spread from the helm to the deck of the ship. The Marines stared up in shock and awe as the pirate ship appeared midair, falling. Amidst its descent, twin human comets fell like stars on their humble ship. That same red haze surrounded them, space itself folding into itself and then they were on the Marine ship, crouched and coiled like wild animals.

"Lovely ship you have here." Bigby said conversationally. He stood to his full height, a towering mass of rippling muscle, wreathed in crimson Wano-styled armor, he held a long blade in hand ready to draw. Stunned silence greeted him and his Captain. "Oh? What's that you say? You want to gift it to us? Well, we'd be poor guests if we refused such a kind offer, right Captain?" Behind him their pirate ship crashed into the waves, shattering on impact punctuating their arrival.

Middwun couldn't help himself, he stared deeply at his surrounds as Margaret made incredible work with their ship. He would really like to know why she caged him, however, as he would be capable of helping with the sails. Maybe the men present were enough, or maybe, that was because he ended up splitting the last warship in two. The breeze there... felt nice though, and it made his mind drift from the events at hand.

He had seen his brothers use this... sensation before, yes, use it. This nice sensation the breeze gave him, prompting his eyes to close and his head to slightly arch back, settling against the wooden mast. It changed, of course, as their ship sunk further and further within the water, yet, Middwun kept his eyes closed and his breathing steady.

As they all waited for the upcoming Pirates, which... suddenly appeared close to their armada, while they had been submerged. Middwun glanced up, looking at the internal waves provoked by the ship's arrival... almost as if space itself had been bent. He looked at Margaret this time around, waiting for what she would do... and if she would set him free.

Making her way over toward Middwun, Margaret began the process of unchaining him from the mast all the while maintaining her blank expression, not showing a single piece of the previous excitement that laid within her eyes not to long ago. "I Apologize Captain Middwun for imprisoning you the ships mast however I could not risk anything not going according to what I had planned out". stated Margaret as she finished unlocking the chains freeing Middwun.

Upon finally releasing the lock on the chain holding Middwun against the mast something she knew in reality wouldn't have did anything if he was serious about escaping, Margaret turned her visage upwards to Watch as all manner of aquatic life swim about around them without a shrewd of care. "Every movement I calculated has moved along without a single problem, from having us both occupy a single vessel instead of separate as the orders stated and utilizing the second vessel as a decoy to lure any pirates sailing along this path into a false sense of security to having the ship coated before departure for our underwater ambush." Finished Margaret as her mind continue to process her next movements.

Her eyes briefly drifted towards the far south of their location where she knew the decoy ship was currently located and began processing the route she advised them take to lure the Pirates into a trap before pulling up her Baby Den Den Mushi to attempt connection with the Decoy Vessel, The Den Den Mushi rant out for a few minutes before being answered. "Beta Team this is Lieutenant Commander Ginyo, are all movements proceeding as planned?" Questioned Margaret using the codename she came up with to hide her true identity and maintain secrecy on the open sea.

It was like a rodeo for Zack, who'd landed unharmed onto the vessel of the Marine's ship. While Bigby did the initial talking, Zack jumped into action, something that was usually never the case. At other times, Zack would be the one doing the talk and Bigby would use his blade to carry out his captain's orders.

The young pirate held his right arm out and bones began to grow from it like spikes. Bones on the outside of the body? Ah yes! This was the work of the Devil Fruit ability granted by the Hone Hone no Mi. With his left hand, he reached underneath his jacket and drew a flintlock revolver aiming it at the crowd of Marines that stood before him.

As mentioned, it usually wasn't Zack's memo to take action before he spoke. But in this case, where any man who bore the uniform of the Marines, deserved combat by his hand alone. Without accounting for much more, Zack lunged forward spinning while holding his arm out allowing his bones to cut his Marine foes down.

"What the hell?! Did he just grow his bones ou-" A Marine shouted just shortly before being cut down by the young pirate.

Zack lifted his gun and pointed it at the group of Marines before him, slightly pulling down on the trigger. "This ain't the main force is it? That's pathetic."

Having been freed by Margaret, Middwun quietly shook his head, not at her actions, but, at her apologies. He knew she wasn't too worried about it, yet, nevertheless, Margaret needn't to say that, it was all for the plan. Middwun would only wait as Margaret contacted their partners, if he acted too soon or too late, the plan would be sunk.

He took silent steps towards the front part of their ship, sparing no words at Margaret, it seemed as he had not been even there, and his calmness would just help hide his emanating aura. Just because they had a decoy, it didn't mean the plan would surely go as planned, it didn't mean they wouldn't be spotted.

Eyes shining a green, Middwun reached the corner-front of the ship, looking up to observe the ship of their enemy. The way these people on the outside... ressonated, Middwun could certainly feel what they had been talking about, what they had been doing. Only because they were so loud. Hand gripping his weapon, Middwun, without taking his eyes off his enemies, took it out of its sheath, revealing it to be a sword between a short and greatsword.

Then, with a rotation of his hand, the sword grew in size suddenly, appearing to be thrice as much than before, both in length and width. This was his true weapon, Wailing Dark.

"Doesn't matter. The Marines like to think their clever with their penchant for using recon units as bait. The main force should be nearby. Watching. Waiting to spring their trap." He said matter-of-factly to his Captain. He was intimately familiar with the strategies and tactics of the Marines, having worked alongside them before. Although this particular bunch. . . Lightning cackled around his form, writhing and arcing it danced down his body like a snake, coiling at his feet. He stomped on the deck eliciting a shattering and booming wave of roiling power that swept through the gathering of Marines. Their bodies were bathed in rush of electricity, bursting from forked tongues that emanated from his foot, sending them hurtling into the air and into the savage sea below.

Only a few remained. Their faces were frozen in a rictus of awe, the attack happening in the span of a moment, a single breath, a finite mote of time. They were nothing to him, their lives, their duty, all of their sacrifices meaningless before him. Those who were left alive fell to their knees, their mouths agape in silent terror as bloodlust rushed from the man-shaped-beast, his eyes cold and hungry, there was nothing human in them.

"You will give your commanding officer this message. You will tell them that you have found pirates and have captured them for interrogation. Several have revealed that an even larger fleet is due very soon. They must request reinforcements. Inform them that you will return. Do this your brothers in arms will be released unharmed. Do not, and you will watch as I provide for them the most creative of endings. Will you save your brothers and live to fight another day? Or die in obscurity. I will give you thirty seconds to make a decision."

He began the countdown. Halfway through the captured Marines cracked. Minutes later, those who were alive solemnly made their way to the bridge and contacted the remaining fleet.

Having finished her check up with her beta squad Margaret returned her focus back upon Middwun, in a slight captivated look, dispite having witnessed this very same chain of events on numerous occasions she would always find herself captivated even if she doesn’t show it. Making her way towards Middwun with her usuals emotionless facade, she ran her eyes across the blade with slight wonder before ultimately returning her eyes to the ocean above. "It seems an unknown group has made contact with the decoy crew, Beta squad has stated there is no known data on these individuals however considering their strength and the ease that the defeated the decoy crew it’s highely possible that they are either a veteran sailing in from within the Grandline or New World which seem unlikely considering if such a person was to return to these seas we would already be aware, it’s more likely they are a recently created band of Pirates of not worthy skill." Margaret spoke as she turns her eyes back towards Middwun.

"I have also received word that the other Marines stationed at the four corners of the Reverse Mountain have all began to make contact with various notable pirates" she finished as her eyes once again return to the blade that was within his grasp.

Middwun only glanced sideways at Margaret when she started to talk, staying silent in response. She had been right, these were simply pirates that they didn't get any clue about in the past... nor did he, their... their spirits weren't familiar to him. And the trail they had left, it definitely came from that sea, so, they couldn't have come from the Grand Line itself.

A head shake had been given at Margaret's mention of the Grand Line, while a nod came at her mention of a recent crew. If the others had begun fighting, they would have to hurry, so that they could find a way to help their comrades.

Despite her intense stare at his weapon, Middwun never budged, nor did he ever scold her at it. He appreciated it, and now, they ought to take action. With a twist of his wrist, several things clicked within the sword's large body, dust leaving it. Middwun stepped forward and jumped, drawing his sword back slightly, while his entire body glowed green.

Approaching the bubble's borders, Middwun suddenly swung his sword horizontally and upwards, making it glow green. Due to his location, the slash had been launched already from outside the bubble, not risking any damage to it, and rose through the water steadily. Middwun fell down, yet, it seemed as if his sword had extended itself, having been separated in many segments, like some sort of centipede. All of which had happened at the same time as the slash went up, leaving off a strange trail.

The slash quickly reached the fresh air above the water, located just in front of the enemy Crew's ship. It was supposed to be a normal slash, but, it didn't come from a regular sword. As it reached just above the crew's ship, the green energy divided itself into many smaller slashes, which had the same appearance of the sword's segments and rained down upon them.

This was the Graveyard Rain.

"Imma leave tha' strategizin' to you, Bigby!" Finally, Zack was back to himself. Evident by his previous sentence alone. He stood idle while his First Mate made the instruction to have the Marines contact their main force, instilling fear into them as he did. Just like back in the South Blue at Welch Island when he and Bigby first met. It was his menacing glare alone that made Zack choose to ally with him rather any make another enemy.

His thoughts interrupted by the screams of the Marine officers being thrown off of the ship thanks to Bigby's, still unknown to Zack, electric ability. Even then, now was no time for a trip down memory lane. It was time for him to truly put what he had learned from all those years on Leg's ship into action. To actually "test" it.

An unnatural sound caught the boy's ear. "What was...?" He thought to himself before leaning over the side of the ship to look into the water. At the very moment he did, a slash of green energy just barely missed his face. Almost clipping his nose had he been just a centimeter closer. The speed at which the beam travel was strong enough to create its own wind current, pushing Zack to his buttocks onto the ship's foundation.

His gaze was now on the atmosphere above, where his eyes locked onto the green energy slash that broke off into many different ones that rained down on the stolen Marine vessel.

Zack was forced to think quick and that he did. Smashing his hands together so that his fingers on one hand locked with the other, he slowly pulled them apart and bones began to grow from the tip of his fingers. Smashing them together allowed for his bones to lock up, continuously growing in size creating a net large enough to cover the entire ship. "Bone Net!" He shouted as all of the slashes cut up against the bone construct not even leaving a dent in them.

Simply put, this was the work of Zack's devil fruit powers, the Hone Hone no Mi. He could manipulate and generate bones to his liking, even strengthening them to the point of being unbreakable. Truly a fierce ability if used correctly.

Once he finished protecting the ship his bones disappeared and he looked back over the ship into the water once again. "Gotcha!" Holding his hand over the ship a thick bone grew out of his palm. In just a few seconds the bone had fully transformed into... well... another hand just without the cover of skin. With his command, the hand grew more than ten times larger. The palm alone was larger than the current ship they stood on and with a simple push, it dove into the sea. "Bone-Hand Grappling Hook!"

The hand-constructed of bones swiftly made its way underwater now trying to claw its way into grabbing the ship that had been hiding underneath them. Had he succeeded, he'd place all of his efforts into pulling the ship out of the water. A feat that wouldn't have been easy, but doable nonetheless.

Glancing upwards as Middwun finished his attack, Margaret eyes lingered upon the split within the ocean with interest. "No matter how mantimes I witness that I always find myself in awe" though Margaret before her sharp eyes caught sight of what appeared to be a group of bones quickly making its way towards the vessel.

Without turning to face the marines stationed upon the ship all whom noticed the bones as well, she raises her hand signalling them to do nothing as the bone latch upon the ship. "A Foolish attempt" she muttered grasping the bones and allowing electrify to cruise throughout her body and into the bones watching in satisfaction as the lightning begins to travel upwards in a blinding speed.

Turning towards the crew she ordered them to begin preparation for reemergence behind the vessel above them as she herself discards her white suit jacket and top to reveal a deep black tank top along with a belt with various knives lined along it before throwing off her hat and tying her hair into a ponytail. "Prepare for our counter strike". She called out as she watches as the ship came closer toward the surface before breaking through.

After grabbing ahold of the enemy ship, Zack leaned back and began to pull the ship upwards to the surface. This was no simple feat. A ship submerged into the water was one of the-, no scratch that, the heaviest things he tried lifting in his life. Even then he did not waiver one bit.

He began to reflect on his training with Old Man Indie. A crucial part of their training was conditioning and increasing his physical strength beyond what his feeble body was meant for. He decided not the dwaddle in the thought too much, and instead decided to put that enhanced strength to the test.

With the help of his free hand, he created another one of his gigantic bone arms leading to a bone hand. Throwing it to the other side of the sea, he grabbed ahold of the mountain and began to pull towards it. This provided Zack with the necessary support of pulling the ship from the sea so that Bigby could make short work of the exposed vessel.

A sensation on his ship-holding hand purged his body. "What the-" He thought to himself, "Oh fuck no!" Quickly jerking his hand back, he severed ties with the construct allowing it to sink into the ocean floor. Doing the same with his other hand he looked down at them both. "Hey, Bigby, skip ahead again!"

Middwun was sure that his figure could be seen even before they had emerged from the waters, but, he flinched not at it. As Middwun's head passed through the limit between water and air, it vanished, the rest of his body following the same as it surged off the water, due to the ship having erupted from it, courtesy of Margaret's plan.

A green, ominous energy danced around the air, faintly seen by everyone's eyes, as all of a sudden, Middwun had been above the pirates' ship. Both hands clutched the hilt of Wailing Dark, and quickly spun it around, generating a small twister around his body. Green energy, once again, built up around it and Middwun pressed down, sending a spiraling wave of energy through the mast of the enemy's ship.

This was his Graveyard Digger. Middwun stood mid-air, green shining eyes glancing at his opponents.

In the darkest holds of a Marine ship, a glass tank filled with water sat next to the iron bars of what seemed to be prison cells. Inside, there was a woman with the tail of a shark, who seemed to be attempt breaking the glass despite the metal shackles around her wrists and neck. The woman slapped her tail against the side of the glass, creating a loud thud but in the end producing not viable way for her escape.

The woman attempted to reflect back on her situation, and how exactly she became a prisoner to whoever was ordering this ship. Her memory was hazy and the last detail she could recall was that she was sailing her personal ship to the Red Line, in hopes of getting in on the action between the pirates and Marines and securing a one-way ticket to the New World. But alas, it appears that her plan went awry, and she could very well be on her way to any kind of Marine prison.

Zack watched as Middwun emerged from the water, in a way he did not know was possible. The man's body became shrouded in an energy that would appear faint to most, but easily seen by his eyes. Before he knew it, the green spiral of green energy sliced its way through the mast of their ship.

Despite having the mast of the ship they were on destroyed, Zack took it upon himself to keep himself focused on the man who flew in midair. "How're we gonna' sail without that damn thing!" Zack shouted, pulling his flintlock revolver from his waist and aiming it at Middwun.

Pulling the trigger back twice, the gunshot off two bullets that were refined and made of seastone, an anti-devil fruit user material that he'd looted from a Marine ship back when on the seas with Jack Frost At the moment of the bullets firing off, the mast fell to the rear of the ship, hanging over it halfway submerged into the water.

"Imma' have to settle for shots right now." He thought to himself, keeping his gun aimed at Middwun. "He's got long and short-range cover. I exhausted Hone Hone no Mi use for now. Anymore and it'll go all out of control like on Amazon Lily." Zack couldn't help but think about how he had to be cautious of how he'd use his devil fruit abilities, thinking about how uncontrolled of them he was. Even then, he still seemed to have some sort of plan.

As the smoke vanished, Zack's bullets were shown to hit head-on against Middwun's figure, but then, they had passed straight through him, their noises ressounding through the entire place while they hit nothing but air itself. Many Middwuns were seen, and, they were just after-images.

"Who was it, that you were aiming for?" A breath came on to Zack's neck, leaving wet lips and going muffled through a helmet, as Middwun's darkened figure stood behind Zack's own. He had shining green eyes, and mimicked Zack's position, almost as if he were his shadow. As Middwun did so, it seemed as if a green substance oozed off his eyes and body, filling some of the area with a transparent green fog.

Should Zack even turn back or use a reflexive bone attack, Middwun had already disappeared from behind him, leaving a trail of dust. For a second, he had appeared before Zack's front, gripping his pistol so that it would be dropped, but then, he had disappeared once again.

"What the-." Zack exclaimed trying to make way of the current situation. With his own two eyes he saw his bullets hit his target, then they didn't. Then Middwun disappeared only to multiple himself around the vicinity, yet the after images were the least of those that surprised him. He seemed to be caught up more as to how he could have missed his target.

While caught up in his thoughts, he lost focus of his opponent until he felt an ominous presence behind him. Opting to not turn around, he instead fired a shot right in front of him, signs of a warning shot. As soon as he fired, Middwun appeared in front of him for a split-second gripping the boy's gun then disappearing yet again.

Zack grew furious and frustrated, evident by the vein growing out of his forehead. "I AIN'T COME HERE TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK DAMMIT!" He shouted into the sky.

This time, then, two hands gripped Zack's pistol, trying to smash them. Middwun had appeared before him once, in front of him. "I am sorry, ghosts tend to play often." He mused, bloodshot eyes gazing into Zack's own. Zack now would have inhaled the fog that had been drifting off from Middwun's very body, as there was no sign of Zack protecting himself from it.

Middwun wasted no time, as Zack would possibly be a bit dizzy due to inhaling his fog, derived from some ectoplasm he had produced with his Eku Eku no Mi. Gripping the hilt of his sword, Middwun sliced the air in front of Zack horizontally, delivering a simple sword slash against his stomach.

He had to test if Zack could still use those large devil fruit powers of his, otherwise, Middwun would have just aimed for a more fatal point. Like, Zack's legs.

Zack could not move due to his dizziness and how nauseous he had gotten from taking in the unknown fog into his lungs. He leaned a bit, barely being able to stand to his feet, but soon being saved by his opponents attempt at grabbing his revolver. Jerking away from the man, Zack had nearly fallen to his back had he not been saved by the railing of the Marine vessel.

Now leaning up against the rail, Middwun had attacked him again. His dizziness and daze kept him from being able to properly see where Middwun and because of this, he could not actually see where the man would be attacking from. "Damn." Zack thought, trying to get a hold of his own conciousness, but failing to do so.

An attack was directed at his body but Zack was completely unaware of it. Yet, completely unaware of his surroundings, from his abdomen his rib cage ripped through his skin, extending out to protect him. Much like when he first ate the Hone Hone no Mi, back on Amazon Lily. He had lucky, the accidental probability that happened to work in his favor this time protect him from the blade of Middwun.

Zack flopped to the ship's deck, screaming in pain not from Middwun's attack, but from his own body's reaction.

For the first time that day, Middwun's eyes had widened at the sight before them. The sight of bones bursting off from his opponent's rib-cage, he clicked his teeth as they sprung and deflected the blow of his sword. His attack had not been a long range one, and that was why, Middwun's pupils went bloodshot, with the bones tearing through his armor and cutting some of his flesh open.

So, this had been the ability which defended them from his opening attack. Despite the blood pouring out, and the roughness of the bone against his skin still present, Middwun let out no sound, not any grunt, not any heavy breath... he simply stared at Zack's figure. His eyebrows cocked at how much blood was still going out, maybe, he had refilled and didn't remember.

"That was wise of you," Middwun started, voice quiet, as he went towards Zack's screaming body, "Wise to not deal lasting damage." One hand pointed at his own body, as he clenched his other hand around Wailing Dark's hilt. What an odd comment it would be on Zack's ears, why would this man dive into a fight and compliment his opponent for not dealing a fatal blow?

Zack had no control of his own self, he continued to squirm on the ground in pain as he went through flashbacks of the day he first ate the Hone Hone no Mi. He had no idea what was happening back then and the same thing had been happening right now. It was as though another force had been controlling his body.

His skin began to open in a circle pattern all over his body and from different portions, small pellets of bones shot out at Middwun in different directions. Like before, these actions were made completely against Zack's will and honestly with his current situation, he didn't have much of a choice.

Before he even let out a response, Middwun gasped, as blood poured out of his body, which had been struck with Zack's devastating bone bullets. His shoulders, forearms, stomach, and legs had holes drilled into them. Then, there had been no wind, no water, no birds... everything was out of focus for Middwun.

"You..." Middwun trailed off, indeed, no grunt, no breath... he only spoke, once again. His eyes lowered their gaze, hovering over the visage of his many wounds, "The limit has been reached... once again." Eyelids closed, Middwun let out a breath, despite Zack continuing to scream.

Muscles flexing, he rose both his hands, open into palms, and put them in front of his face. "HOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The air itself got denser, and, all of a sudden, a rainbow burst from Middwun's mouth, as his head arched back. The rainbow flew off in all directions, Middwun's figure straight and close to Zack's own, "AWAKEN, MY MASTER!" He yelled, sparkles flying around.

The first Zack would have seen after the rainbow, was the same green mass from before materializing into a big pale hand, which erupoted from Middwun's mouth and instantly gripped his face. "Noisy," Cold fingers cupped around his skull, as more flesh came out of inside the Marine, liquid and gaseous rainbows flew off. An entire arm could be seen, and inside Middwun's mouth, shining green eyes and mouth... along with shining eyebrows?

A flash illuminated the entire area, as this figure came off, revealing its large and well-built body. He had ashen blonde hair, long enough to reach his shoulders and cover a good deal of his face, notably, however, one would notice his oval eyebrows first. He only had pants on, green energy oozing off from his entire being, as he stared at Zack and smiled.

Sadly for Zack, he could not enjoy the moment of seeing beautiful rainbows as he struggled to even gain control over his own body. As time passed, his screams and wails seemed to have been calming down as silence shrouded him, yet he continued to grip his sides obviously still in pain.

He laid there for the entirety of Middwun's little body switching act, yet had no intentions of keeping an eye on his foe. Foolish of someone on the battlefield but he couldn't bear the overwhelming pain. It was like having someone stab him with two knives on his sides constantly. Something society referred to as a serial killer.

He reached for the nearby rail while still laying on the ground, trying to gather his strength so that he could stand again, despite the pain he'd been going through. "You can change all ya' want..." Zack's words were slurred, yet it wasn't difficult to hear him at all. "I'm gettin' into the Grand Line!" He shouted, holding his palm out and sharp bone grew from it. With his raw speed, he closed the small gap between himself and Middwun instantly, slashing at him with everything he had.

Moved by anger he seemed unbothered by his pain. That very emotion, anger, made him sluggish terrible moves made on his end counterable by even a toddler.

Still smiling, Middwun cracked his neck and glanced at the hand which had gripped Zack's face, something which no longer rested there. In fact, his smile only widened, "You are really resistant, young sir." His pupils went back to Zack's figure, lips almost dry, Middwun hadn't eaten or drunk anything with his real body in a while.

He pushed his hips aside, hands over his head, effectively dodging the first of Zack's slashes. "Oh," Middwun cooed and pressed backwards with his butt, evading another slash, "You say even when..." His eyes glinted over Zack's shoulder and his feet rotated against the deck, another slash. "-Even when there are these Ghosts plaguing you." Indeed, Middwun could see the faint visage of a female lingering around Zack. "The ghost of a woman."

"Before you even ask," Middwun mused and closed his eyes, spinning as Zack screamed and slashed at him, "With the power of my Devil Fruit, the Eku Eku no Mi," He aimed a swift rounded-kick to Zack's ribs, all the while dodging his weakened attacks. "I don't produce Ectoplasm," Middwun swung his hips from left to right, "I am Ectoplasm itself." From right to left. "It is a Special Paramecia, after all."

"I ain't ask that!" Zack should, flailing his arm continuously trying to make contact with Middwun as best he could while using his other hand to aim his revolver for a good shot at him. Seems the opportunity for a good shot hadn't revealed itself, so he continued to rely on his bone knife to slice through him.

Among his aimless wailing, he could hear Middwun talking, but a work among his many words stood out; "ghost". Zack stopped in his tracks and stood still in shock. He began to have flashbacks of an island erupted in flames and people's body's bathed in their own blood. Marine officers ran destroyed everything on the island using all of the tools at their disposal. He could never forget the smug look on those two men's face as they order the Marine officers to do their bidding.

Zack began to pant heavily as if he were losing breath. Could it have been from his most recent assault or the painful memories of that day? "Huff... huuuffff.. huuuufffff." His breathing grew heavier with each passing moment.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!" He shouted, taking a villainous stance as bones spikes began to sprout out all over his body. As they did blood spat from each one of the spikes that were made, now resting on the tips of them. As he rushed towards Middwun, he spun around in a circle hoping to impale the man with one of the various spikes all over his body, whether it be from his arms, chest, or legs, it made no difference so long as Middwun no long stood in his way.

Middwun smirked, with the power of the special fruit, he could mold his body, as if it were pure ectoplasm, and dodge Zack's pistol shots. As he did so, Middwun walked straight towards Zack, one feet coming in front of the other, as one hip went back and the other went forth. Though, he would agree, Zack hadn't asked about any information, there it was again, his constant talking.

Seeing the pirate breath heavily, Middwun arched one eyebrow, ready to do a strike in. But, Zack beat him to it, "Find another way!" He snarled back, teeth showing, as he stood still, was this pirate truly foolish enough to only fight his way through with violence?

Despite Zack's rotating attack, Middwun merely shapeshifted his entire torso, head whipping around and legs buckling under Zack's own. His strange form moved around Zack's spikes and merely reformed itself behind him. Middwun moved to press his hand against Zack's head, "Special Paramecias are as such, because they have power beyond those of normal Paramecia, just like my friend's Mythical Zoan~" He mused.

Should he succeed in pinning Zack down, an impact would travel through the entirety of the ship, its deck cracked. Middwun would continue on his rant, "And you, your power is clearly on its limits, yet, you continue to use it." Mouth twisted, his eyes hovered over the blood coming from Zack's bones. However, those same eyes suddenly darted to his sides, as the ghost from before pushed at him.

"You-" Middwun started, lips parting for a moment, "-you are Amaterasu, are you not?" Eyelids half-way open, that fact left his mouth. Middwun knew about her really well, if he had to be frank, how could he not? Then, he glanced at Zack, once again, "Then... who..." Even as his thoughts flew high, Middwun's grip would stand firm over Zack's head.

Run Like the Wind
Middwun succeeded in pinning Zack down, a feat easily achievable by a man of his caliber against a boy who couldn't even control his own power. Honestly speaking, it had been the first time one could see someone's devil fruit power so poorly utilized. But this kid, Zack, has minimal control. As his entire body smashed against the deck it began to crack, Zack laid flat on his stomach.

With Middwun's hand gripped onto the back his head he managed to pin the boy down easily. Zack faded in and out of consciousness and could only hear the words Middwun muttered. "Big talk..." Zack thought to himself, trying to move and wiggle, but his body just wouldn't respond. "I can't even get into the damn Grand Line."

Again, without his command, a bone spike emerged from his body but this time from his back looking to pierce Middwun, who with a simple sway was able to dodge it. Soon after, Zack passed out, his fatigue had caught up with him and he could no longer even maintain consciousness.

He slipped into a slumber and as he did, entered his own psyche and began to reflect back on how terribly he'd failed. Images of those he deemed his comrades flickered in his psyche; Bigby, Indie, Vincent, Legs, then finally his mother. The image of his mother lingered much longer as he remembered the day she met her demise and passed him the "Golden Flame".

Amaterasu.... He thought as he repeated the word multiple times. "Momma.... momma!" He shouted loudly throughout his psyche but he was all alone. "I AIN'T GIVIN' UP MA' I SWEAR!"

Middwun was mute to all of this, he had no ability to see the things going on in Zack's inner world, but had powers that still made him supernatural. Ghost, he continuously spoke about ghosts.

An aura shrouded Zack's body. The sensation of the aura felt ominous and demonic in a sense. The aura would leave his body and stand over Middwun, slowly trying to make itself form in a similar manner like the Marine's own Eku Eku no Mi. Behind Middwun's person, the flickering image of a skeletal being covered in a black hooded cloak breathed down the man's back.

Was the ghost Middwun spoke about all those times before? No, no. This was something much more sinister. It had the feeling of... death. The skeletal figure only showed its face, which as mentioned was nothing more than bare bones. It made no moves nor sounds. Just continued to breathe heavy releasing smoke from its mouth. This was the Grim Reaper; the personification of Death itself in all its glory right here over Middwun.

A slight breeze of wind passed, capable of slight pushing the ship along its way.

Arching one eyebrow, Middwun cooed at Zack still trying to hurt his form, did he just not explain about his powers? Nevertheless, no resistant seemed to come from the Pirate, so, Middwun loosened his hand slightly.

Just like he had been seeing Buster D. Amaka, a sensation crept through Middwun's figure, and it took a form. "Hooo," Middwun cooed once again, eyeing the figure behind him, as it stood alongside the other Ghost. "You have... much more than you gave yourself credit for."

A smile came into his expression, then, he turned back to Zack, "Have you come for him...?" Lips parted, pupils dilated, "Or, is this the sensation he is feeling, manifested?" Middwun moved a hand to grip the form of Death, even though he knew it was to no avail, ghosts couldn't be touched. And, they couldn't touch him.

In the end, Middwun just went back to looking at Amaka, giving the other ghost no thought and sitting atop Zack. He was ectoplasm itself, he knew what was and what wasn't. Amaka's ghost glared into his own soul, lips moving as words tried to come out, but, whatever would have even be said, was muffled by the wind. Some of his golden locks flipped to the side, this spirit... this spirit was the spirit of a living.

"It looks like something has headed our way," Middwun commented, eyelids half-open as they glanced around, "I wonder how our compatriots are doing." Indeed, as strong as Margaret was, he pondered just how much the other Pirate would do.

The power of the gust of wind began to increase and by doing so, the faint image of Death began to blow away and hid back into the body of an unconscious Zack.

Middwun was a bold man though. No one would ever dare to challenge Death, let alone try and grasp it with their hands alone. His smile only added to his sadistic actions and he began to stare at the side of Zack. To those Marines around him, it would look like he'd been looking at the air alone, but he had special abilities. Those that granted him the see those transparent beings that normal humans could not. Truly, devil fruits were abilities beyond comprehension.

Zack remained lying out on the deck. It was safe to say that he had been defeated by the hands of Middwun. The Marine Captain was well of this fact, going as far as to loosen the grip on Zack's head.

The young pirate still found himself trapped in his psyche. It was as if he'd been trapped in a loop of consistently seeing those mentioned being over and over again. He had no knowledge of what had been going on in the real world, but he was able to grasp he'd been defeated. "Damn.... damn.... DAMNIT!" He shouted into the endless void that only echoed own words. He knew he was defeated, but he refused to accept it.

Meanwhile, the wind's speeds continued to increase. Middwun's who'd been thinking about his partner would easily have been able to notice it. The speeds continued to increase beyond normal levels catching the attention of the few Marines soldiers that were left alongside Middwun.

FUU The wind had been moving so fast that it could be heard. The wind's force multiplied by at least three, pushing those surviving Marine soldiers to the rails or even falling to their rears. Fuu, again the wind cried out this time, much stronger than the last breeze, strong enough to obstruct their view even the might Middwun wouldn't be able to continue to look without trying to cover his eyes from its force. Well, unless he wanted his eyes to fill up with water.

Once they took whatever precautions necessary to protect their eyes and removed said cautions, they'd see the appearance of a newly introduced woman. She had a mane of orange hair that reached her mid back and dressed in an all black gown. On her shoulders, she wore a pink scarf that hung over her back in a "U" shape. Her lips shined from the lipgloss she had on them. Even her breast had their own shine to them.

The Marine soldiers resting on the deck were all drooling at the mouth. Their eyes filled with harts literally popping out of their sockets. She stood in front of Middwun, held her hand up, and a gust of wind was released from it hoping to be enough to push Middwun off of Zack. "I'd been on my way to meet back up with Captain Lieselotte. The wind brought the words of a boy named Buster D. Zack." She turned her vision to the boy lying on the ground. "Is this true, Middwun, pirate turned Marine?"