A Rocky Relationship

A Lethal Problem
Junk Island.

It was a rather remote and small island located within that got its rather eye catching name from its signature junkyard, which had grown so large that it towered over the rest of the island’s landmarks. Heaps of metal were sprawled across the junkyard and in the middle of all the junk was a humongous factory that stood as the lone building among the sea of scrap metal.

This was known as the Junk Factory that was owned by the Margolo Gang, a notorious criminal gang that had taken up residence on the island and had begun producing special gadgets and weapons through the use of everyday junk. While the profits of the factory were extraordinary, there were also detrimental effects of the large toxic waste being poured out into the nearby ocean as the health of the islanders was beginning to deteriorate due to pollution coming from the factory.

Those that complained about the pollution however were quickly silenced through violence as the Margolo gang’s hired thugs were more than capable of beating up the lowly and weak islanders. The Marines, who the islanders saw as their last hope, had all but turned their backs on them and had been rumored to have made a deal with the Margolo Gang that involved them ignoring the clear atrocities being committed for a slice of the cut.

The situation couldn’t get any more bleak as a young man with a pompadour style haircut stood on top of a small house and glared in the direction of the factory, sheer hatred and contempt in his brown onyx eyes.

“Those bastards won’t get away with this”

Rock; that was the name of this young man dressed in a white overcoat who was the leader of one of the larger gangs on Junk Island and was known as the strongest street fighter around the block. For all his strength however, Rock had a passion for medical knowledge and had even opened up his own clinic near the outskirts of the town where his gang was mostly located.

“Hey Boss!”

Rock’s attention drifted from the factory towards the ground below where a few of his followers were seen carrying a heavily bruised and bloodied man on their shoulders.

Rock jumped down immediately and caught himself before rushing towards the trio with a worried look on his face. He examined the badly roughed up elderly man and noted the injuries across his body, identifying what he would need to patch him up. As for the origin of where these injuries came from, Rock already had an idea as he glanced at his two followers who nodded solemnly, as if they could read his thoughts.

“The damn fool. Trying to take on the Margolo gang by himself, that’s beyond reckless” Rock sighed but said no more as he motioned for the duo to bring him as he led them inside his residence.

Half an hour had passed and Rock had finished tending to the man’s major injuries as the elderly man was bandaged from head to toe and laid on the bed inside the medical room. Outside of a few broken ribs and a fractured nose and jaw, he didn’t have any other serious injuries so he’d make a recovery with enough rest.

“How is he?” One of the two men asked as he approached the bed.

“He’ll live. Whether out of pity or mercy, they let him walk out of there without any permanent injuries but he won’t be moving anytime soon. I’ll let him crash here until he’s feeling better”

“That’s a relief” The man expressed with a sigh and was once again impressed by how skilled their boss was when it came to being a doctor.

Rock placed the first aid kit back onto the table and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms with a serious look.

“Damn it!” Trevor, one of Rock’s followers, punched the wall beside him with a vicious look. “I can’t take this shit anymore! Those bastards get to do whatever the hell they want and we’re supposed to just accept this!?”

“Calm down Trev, you already know there’s nothing we can do” Carter, the other follower in the room voiced with reason as Trevor frowned in his direction.

“I know! I know that already but… it’s just so damn frustrating!”

Rock remained silent but agreed with them as he looked out the window of the room. The Margolo’s were simply too strong for anyone on this island to face off against. They had money, strength, and manpower and above all else; were even secretly being backed by the Marines. What could his little gang do against those kinds of odds? No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t fight an army. He wanted to help the people of this island but he was powerless to do so. He felt even more frustrated than his followers and just as he was thinking of marching into the factory to let loose his anger, a peculiar sight outside the window caught his attention.

“Hey, isn’t that a ship?” Rock said, causing Trevor and Carter to follow his gaze as they approached the window.

“That’s definitely a ship. It even has a jolly roger, a rather flashy one at that” Trevor snarked.

“It’s obviously a pirate crew. It’s been a few weeks since the last time a pirate crew came to visit this island. I’m sure they’re just here to resupply on stocks and check out the new island” Carter theorized.

Rock however, wasn’t on their line of thinking and narrowed his eyes in a hostile manner towards the port where the ship was approaching. He didn’t exactly dislike or hate pirates but the last time he saw a pirate crew, he had watched as they not only ignore the pleads from the desperate islanders, but also go on to support the Margolo Gang and purchase weapons from them. They then proceeded to pillage a few houses and cause even more headaches for the dwellers of this island.

There was no chance in hell Rock was going to let that happen again as he immediately rushed out of the room, causing Trevor and Carter to call out to him.

“Hey, where are you going?! Boss!” Trevor shouted and looked at Carter who had already bolted out of the room to follow their leader as they tried to catch up to him.

“If those Pirates aren’t here to help, then they shouldn’t be here at all!” Rock snarled as he sped towards the port, a fire in his eyes.

The Brawlers Are Here
The Brawler Pirates were on a voyage together. Their crew was one with seemingly no goal in mind, as their captain Ryusei Remilia had her mind set on finding strong people to face in battle. There were already a handful of people that shared her mindset, or agreed to come with her for different reasons. To her, they are more like friends that crew members however. As their captain, she wanted to prove to them that they can rely on her if things ever go south.

On their trip, they came across a part of the sea that was littered in trash. Scooping them up revealed that most of it was worthless junk, and thus was tossed back into the sea. They are pirates, and not a clean-up crew. The marine can take care of it for all they care. But the large amount of it was surprising.

"What is up with all this trash? Did a ship get sunk around here? Or maybe someone is littering. Perhaps other pirates? Nah, other pirates would probably keep this trash. But we? We are refined! We got our eyes on bigger things!" Remilia said, as she threw a piece of junk back into the sea that she was inspecting. Afterwards, she pointed at an island in the distance.

"Like that island over there! Everyone, set course! This place better have some good wildlife on there. What do you guys say? Perhaps we can get ourselves on some freshly cooked meat!" She grinned. The thought of getting some meat to eat again was more than enough for her to go on any island. And while is not a picky eater, something other than fish would be more than welcome.

But as they came closer, there were no greens to be seen. All that could be seen was mountains of trash. And those clouds they saw from afar weren't normal either... it all looked so sickly. So the trash they found wasn't from some sunken ship, but from that island. The sight of such a place would make anyone turn back and look for something better. But, no way they were gonna turn back now! Perhaps also some investigation on who is doing this. This seemed to be more than someone's personal garbage dump.

"We are approaching the island, everyone. I know it doesn't look promising now that we know that it is filled with trash, but we are certainly going to find something on there regardless. And even if we have to dig for it. It's a gut feeling. Let's check this place out."

Several minutes later, they finally docked, and Remilia didn't hesitate to jump off. The ground shook as she landed. She raised her hand, to signal to her crew members that they can come with her. It looked like some of the locals wanted to talk with them already.

At the sight of her captain’s signal, Shakti leaped off of the ship and landed beside her Captain as she took in the sight of the town before her. Her curious gaze unconsciously shifted to a disgusted look upon taking in the horrid smell of the island, feeling her lunch try to rise up before she pushed it back down and sighed.

"Gods above, this place smells worse than the alley behind my old bar. I’m gonna need to be sloshed off of my ass or else this smell is gonna get to me." She pinched her nose, preventing the smell from entering as she glanced about with a repulsive look.

"Hopefully, their booze is better than the way this place smells."

A vocal grunt of distress could be heard from behind as Jules inspected the ship after docking "Oy! What's all this then? Bloody Guck!" she shouted, peeling trash from the hull of the ship "let me get my hands on the monster who did this, Ol Brigade ain't a ship to stink and sink!" she grunted once more before standing tall and putting her goggles to her head, moving in more of an angry stomp after the others, her cheeks puffed out and her brow furrowed mad.

Some of the locals were hesitant to approach the visitors that had landed on the island as their last experience with pirates was far from pleasant. A young boy who was ignorant of such matters attempted to run towards them but was pulled away immediately by his mother who shot the group a nervous glance as she backed away with her child.

A short elderly man who walked with a cane steadily approached the group of girls, ignoring the protests from the villagers as he stopped a short distance from Remilia, who he assumed was the leader.

“Excuse our rudeness. I am the mayor of this town and I welcome you to Junk Island. I’m sorry we haven’t been more welcoming to you and your friends but we are just wary of pirates that show up on this island” He explained, still a bit cautious as he sized up the humongous woman.

“May I ask what your intentions are on this island?”

"Wait, you guys actually call this place Junk Island?! I am gonna be real with you; trash isn't exactly the best theme to chose for your island. I hope you are aware that your trash reaches far beyond just your island. Might as well call it the Junk Sea. Because of this, you got trash on our ship! We came here because we were hoping for some wildlife to go and get us something good to eat. This was the closest island, but now that I am on it, it only seems hopeless."

Remilia looked away from the mayor, whom she didn't exactly think of as competent if he let this island become like this. The trouble of having Jules clean up their ship has to be repaid for her somehow. She didn't like all the people staring at them either. It's not like they had any business with them.

"What are you punks staring at, huh?! You got a problem with us? You think we are the problem here, don't we?! Tch... don't you guys DARE to judge me, because we aren't the trash dwellers here. Jules, leave the ship alone for now. We should check this place out some more. We can always get back at it later. Shakti, come with me too."

She walked past the crowd, and even past the mayor with little to no respect. So far, the only opinion she had about these people is that they were trash dwellers who don't care about their own island. Why else would there be so much junk on and around the island?

"You got it, Remi. Let's get to moving before I spew my lunch over these guys." Shakti replied, rubbing her shoulders to relieve the stiffness as she walked after her Captain. She personally agreed with Remilia in telling off the people of this "Junk Island". It seemed almost ridiculous how the people of this town were acting towards them when they were living in literal trash.

"Though, it might be an improvement for these guys." She grumbled to herself as a man moved out her way in a hurry.

Jules held her nose through the entire conversation, looking to Remilia "Do we HAVE to stay?" she said, moving along with her captain "Even I know bloody trash when I see it, and I keep spare parts all the time." she sighed "bloody bog o' stench, is what it is"

The elderly man looked rather hurt at the words of the unfamiliar women as he tried to plead with them by stepping once again in front of the large woman.

“Please, we meant you no harm. We apologize for our rude welcome but you see, our last encounter with pirates was far from a pleasant experience and we’re just wary of travelers. Also, please don’t understand that, we don’t choose to live under these filthy conditions by choice. It’s just that…” The mayor hesitated, unable to finish his next choice of words as a loud voice echoed from on top of a nearby house.

“That’s far enough!”

All eyes turned towards the figure of a young man with an odd hairstyle choice wearing a white overcoat standing on the roof of a house as he glared at Remilia and her crewmates.

“You pirates have no business on this island and I won’t tolerate you guys talking shit to the old man!” The mysterious man proclaimed.

“Rock!” The old man yelled as he identified the young man and shook his head “You can’t cause trouble! I Don’t endanger yourself over something like this!”

“Save it old man” Rock jumped down from the roof and landed with a slight tremble in the ground as he approached the group with a nasty glare.

“These people have no idea what kind of shit’s happening on this island and yet they wanna run their mouths and judge us” He sized up the girls standing behind the massive woman first before his eyes finally settled on Remilia.

“If you aren’t here to lend a helping hand then you should pack up your things and leave. We don't need another headache on this island” He stated with a fierce look in his eyes, not intimidated at all by the woman standing before him. She was certainly strong, that much he could tell by her muscles and her dominating figure, but he didn’t care as he wouldn’t tolerate anyone making a mess of this island even further.

Remilia understood if her crew didn't want to stay here. But they came this far and not getting anything of value would've been a total waste of their time. They need to make due with what they can get. Even if this place is just pure trash by the looks of it. But when the mayor got in her way again, she was about to push him away, until the voice of a man appeared all of the sudden. Looks like he must've made a name for himself. But if you asked her, "Rock" isn't exactly a name for a public hero. At least that's what she assumed he was supposed to be, considering everyone's reaction.

He had some guts coming at them like that. Normally she'd like that about a man, but... he wasn't quite her type. Also, that hair really wasn't helping with anything. Remilia didn't move an inch when he approached her and instead stood dead in her tracks. He was picking a fight with her right away, it seemed.

"Lend you a helping hand? What do you mean, you expect US to clean up this trash for you or what?! Do we look like we are here to help you clean up all this stuff? You guys got LITERAL mountains of this stuff! Honestly, i am surprised the marine hasn't showed up yet to do something about this. But these guys are all corrupted bastards, they wouldn't care about the sea getting filled up with trash. Doubt they would get payed to clean up a trashy island like this. But that does make me wonder... why don't you guys ever bother to clean this up, huh? Why don't you tell us, Poodle Man?"

Rock’s eyebrows twitched angrily at the nickname as he scrunched his face and stepped a bit closer.

“Who the hell you calling Poodle Man, you big foot amazon gorilla. Nobody said you had to help us clean the island, that’s not what the issue is. Besides, even if I did tell you what the real problem on this island was, who's to say you could even help? You don’t seem all that tough to me ” Rock challenged with an arrogant look as he rolled up his sleeves and grinned.

“Whadaya say, big girl? You up for a little one on one? Or are those muscles of yours just for show?” He taunted. This was perfect, now he could gauge this pirate’s strength and see if she was as strong as she looked. If she wasn’t, then he’d send both her and her crew off this island.

Veins were visibly bulging out from her head when he insulted her. But, she shouldn't lose her cool again. Not while like this are around, and while her crew is watching. She's better than this, she should've learned from previous encounters with other pirates. She inhaled, and exhaled slowly. The veins dissapearing again as she seemingly calmed down. He did just challenge her. But by the looks of his face, he just wants to test himself.

"Fine. If you want to see just how strong i am, then go for it. I am not going to move, dodge, or attack back. I'd be surprised if you'd even be able to put more than a little dent in me. Hell, if even. But you better watch it, because this is between you and me. Don't attack any of my crew members. Or else i will use you as a mop for my ship and use that greasy hairdo of yours to wax the floors! Do your worst, Poodle Man."

Remilia crossed her arms and just stood there. She actually didn't want to harm him, because she could tell that there was more to this man that she thought. Expecially because he talked about that they would need help. But if it's not cleaning up, then it must be something different, for sure.

There was one rule on the Brigade. Sophia is not to be awaken. If the ship is sinking and she is asleep? Then oh well. She wasn't the type of pirate most people were used to sailing with. A powerful woman in her own right...She'd clashed with the captain more times than anyone could count. Over everything. From matching outfits to getting her food too late. So to interrupt her peaceful dreams often meant death.

The captain often said peace and quiet only came when Sophia slept. Not surprising as she dreamed of her brother. Meeting him at the end of the Grand Line and proclaiming herself the Pirate Queen's sword. A world ruled by woman! And in that moment when they'd storm the holy land...What is that smell? Dammit Sakti did you let one rip?! Now of all times?!

Sophia shot up. Her face meeting the reflection before her. "What the fuck is that smell?!" She angrily threw on her clothes. Jumping out of the bed and running to an empty deck. Over the railings of the garbage covered ship, she saw what looked like her beloved crew fighting some Shounen wannabe. With a powerful breath, Sophia launched herself into the air and landed before the captain.

But this wasn't to defend the captain. No. Sophia was pissed the fuck off. This island's stench broke that golden rule. And now she'd make them pay. Sophia wasn't like the captain either. No talking. She found the person who looked like to be in charge...the man in the weird hairstyle and walked menacingly towards him.

Rock found the amazon women's challenge to be rather shocking as it was a tactic he himself employed towards his enemies to crush their hopes of believing they had a chance against him. That said, it went against his code to strike an opponent who didn’t aim to fight back, especially a lady (even if the woman’s physique said otherwise) and he hesitated for a moment.

Before he could dwell on it more, his attention was taken by the arrival of an unfamiliar face as she landed in front of the huge woman and approached him with a vicious glare. He assumed she was part of the group behind her, if her noteworthy bust and aggressive demeanor were any indication, and didn’t drop his guard as he stood there and sized her up.

“You need something, short stuff?” He humored as while the height difference wasn’t as big as the one between himself and the captain, it was still noticeable.

Humor? Without a word, the short-busty woman swung her fist towards the man's stomach with all the force she could muster. And it was a lot. Enough to explain this girl's ranking among the ship. She didn't hold back either. Her body twisting into a devastating hook.

"How dare your stench awaken me!?" She screamed.

Memories of Back Then
The gentle swaying of the ship almost put him to sleep. The captain sat at the head of the helm in a meditative state. His legs crossed and hands in the Chin Mudra. His ebony skin kissed by the warm sunlight, helping him leave his physical body behind.

"Captain Azrael, we are approaching Junk Island. " The voice of his subordinate interrupted his trance. Pulling his conscious back from above. "What are we doing here? I thought this was Captain Gremor's jurisdiction. Are we here to speak to him about the condition of the surrounding sea?."

The captain could tell the man was holding his nose shut by the nasally words. He opened his eyes to a sea of garbage and a stench strong enough to defend itself from intruders. It caused him to gag. He breathed deeply in attempt to regain his composure.

"Does this look like a properly cared for island?" Azrael asked. His voice as soft and low as ever. He remained seated but his fingers intertwined.

"Should we reach out to Captain Gremor? Surely there's an explanation."

"I'm not here to interfere with his job." Now that Azrael was a captain, he equaled that greedy little weasel. He remembered Gremor from his own academy days. That little rat would do anything for a dollar. This island's horrid condition was nowhere near surprising. But even as his superior, making enemies in the Marines only meant jeopardizing one's career down the line. Another captain appearing on his island could head back up to the higher-ups and be seen as Azrael trying to overstep his boundaries.

No. This trip had a different...more personal purpose.

"I'm here to visit an old friend I met during my earlier days as a sailor." Azrael stood up and brushed off his dress pants. His white dress shirt neatly tucked. Several knives were attached to his hip and neatly strapped to his body. On his hip was his favorite dagger, King. "Reach out to Captain Gremor and tell him we are only docking for a day's rest. I'm sure he won't mind showing an old friend some hospitality."

"B-but captain-"

Azrael, floating above the ocean with his two massive wings, turned to his subordinate with a charming smile. One which they grew to learn that everything was going to be alright. He soared over the trash covered sea with a sunken heart. But these islands tend to have some reason for this...Still...the ocean should be respected and cared for. Not treated as a disposal.

Five years ago, Junk Island was a small rest-stop for marines who needed their ship looked at. The shipwrights on this island could turn junk into treasure, hence where they got their name from. And one of the best shipwrights tended to Azrael during one of his earlier expeditions as a lieutenant. His ship had been damaged badly. So badly it would've gotten the poor boy in a lot of trouble with his superiors.

But Mr. Handy managed to repair that little ship to the best it'd ever been. He also taught Azrael everything he knew about naval strategy. Showing him unorthodox ways of using the ship as a weapon. Azrael promised to return...Just the tip's he'd been given earned him even more work as his success rate skyrocketed!

Azrael took a sharp turn. Landing on the dock would mean trouble. Surely that little rat has guards stationed throughout. He made his way around the approaching island, using his hands to cover his nose with a handkerchief. Having horrible eyesight caused Azrael to sharpen his sense of smell. This horrid stench was like trying to see in a painful blinding! He landed and retracted his wings. The sight of mountains of garbage brought tears to his eyes. These streets, once covered with singing children and gossiping wives, was reduced to being the forgotten relic of an industrial take-over.

"Gremor...what the fuck are you doing?" Azrael spat venomously. Flying throughout the island might garner the wrong attention. He grabbed a nearby cloak and wrapped himself with it. ''The superiors won't do anything about Gremor. Not when he won't allow anyone to come to the island without his notice. He probably cleans up enough just to keep up appearances.''

Azrael made eye contact with a sickly child. He approached and bent over. The child recoiling in fear. "It'll be alright." The captain promised. Pulling out a bag full of Beli. He gave the little girl a generous amount before continuing on his way.

Finding the old man was a bit challenging. But asking around with a bag full of money allowed him to complete what should've taken several hours in half the time. The inhabitants saw the man carried on a stretcher to a nearby house. The house of some local gang. He hadn't the time to waste playing investigator. Locating the house wasn't too hard either.

"Ay! Who da fuck are you?!" A man yelled from atop a nearby pile of trash. A watchtower? Uh oh. His words caused a small group of miscreants to appear in front of him from all over. Some dug through the ground. Others out the trash and a few from the house itself. "State ya business?"

"I'm looking for Mr. Handy. He's an old man." Azrael responded.

"Ain't no old man here punk. Beat it!"

Azrael stepped forward. Something within him...he could see the old man...laying on the bed. Azrael continued onwards to the door.

Swoosh!

A side step to avoid an oncoming bat. Followed by ducking beneath a knife. His body moving gracefully through a barrage of punches and kicks. He guided a leg into the stomach of another gang member. Used his forehead to knock the other unconscious. Azrael jumped and kicked a brash woman in the chest. Palming what he believed to be her boyfriend by the sound of his scream. Punches were met with kicks and kicks with thrust of his elbow. The worst these people could do? Probably dirty his clothes. And for that, he refrained from pulling out his knives. Instead choosing to dispatch the tens of wannabe gangsters.

Click.

Azrael turned the door knob and entered the house. Leaving the injured defenders rubbing their sore bodies. Some even ran for help. Surely to find their leader or something. He made his way through the filthy house and towards the top floor. He gently opened the door to what he presumed used to be a guest room and found him.

Mr. Handy bandaged.

His anger flared for a second. Almost causing him to go out there and deliver divine punishment...Yet something stuck out. The old man's pillow was recently fluffed. And a bowl of warm tea sat at the corner of the bed. Azrael took off his cloak and sat besides the sleeping old man.

I'll wait until you wake up and tell me everything. Azrael thought to himself.

Rock’s eyes widened at the speed of her punch but then took a deep breath as he braced himself, absorbing the impact of the strike towards his gut. He flinched and grit his teeth heavily as the ground trembled from the power behind that punch. He was not expecting the young lady to possess such impressive strength but he was far from done and smirked, reeling his own arm back as he put a significant amount of his strength into his arm.

“Hey, that was one hell of a punch short stuff. However..” He then shot it forward like a rocket and decked the tanned woman in the cheek, returning the blow he had received.

“You’ll have to do better than that” He smiled and took a stance, anticipating a full out brawl between them as his attention was now on the new girl instead of the captain.

Sophia took the punch. The mighty blow causing her face to almost pop off her neck. But those who knew Sophia knew why she took the full brunt of the attack. She wasn't like other warriors. She didn't brace herself. Rarely defended. No. She needed it. She wanted to suffer. It was almost sexual for her. Sophia slowly looked back to Rock. Her face bleeding from the attack.

Yet something seemed different.

Sophie, who only a second ago needed to look up to see Rock, appeared a littler bigger than before. Her muscles more defined...even bigger. Not by much-as expected by the punch of that little runt. She smiled.

"Do it again." Sophia commanded. Swinging her larger leg down in a devastating axe-kick.

“She’s… bigger?” Rock gawked as he saw the woman in front of him grow a little. He blinked his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming for a second but perished that thought quickly enough as her words of “Do it again” rang in his ears like a bell.

She wanted more? What was she, a masochist? Or did she just like fighting that much? Damn, he had just met the chick and was already beginning to like her as he smirked.

“Let's see what your made of” He responded to her axe-kick with a roundhouse kick of his own that he aimed towards her head as the two were on a collision course towards each other.

"God damn it..."

Remilia said under her breath. Sophia was once again causing trouble. She's the closest thing that Remilia had to an annoying younger sister. And while she is quite bothersome, at the same time she is also endearing. But this was going too far now. Sophia insisted on getting hit, as per usual. She was very similar to Remilia in that regard. Except that she did it to strengthen herself with her Devil Fruit Powers, while Remilia did it because she's too tough anyways, but still wants to get tougher. But this has reached a point where it got too much.

In the blink of an eye, Remilia got in between them. Despite how large and bulky she was, she was considerably fast. Taking the hit of both of their attacks. Her tough muscles completely absorbing the attacks like it was nothing. She's had numerous encounters before, even before she had a crew of this size, that had toughened her up even more. A handsome man with an eyepatch and an excentric yet charming lanky guy were the first to come to mind that helped her shape her up into a more proper and powerful pirate. As well as show her just how powerful people out here were, which inspired her to toughen up even further.

"CUT IT OUT, RIGHT NOW!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs. Her screams were so loud and powerful that the ground shook and powerful gusts of wind emitted from her. Like the sheer pressure of it was too immense. She then picked up both of them by the collar like misbehaving children, and putting them back down far appart from another.

"This was supposed to be something between me and him! You should've stayed in bed, Sophia! Bad girl! As for you, Poddle Man, i did tell you not to attack my crew! You've got some nerve for someone who looks like he styled a dog that died on his head into his hair! Is grease clogging up your ear or something?! Tch... this test of yours is over. You hit me, and you didn't hurt me. Now tell me what your problem is."

Remilia stayed surprisingly upfront. She could just go berserk and beat this guy up for hurting one of her beloved crew members. A girl that gets stronger when she gets hurt and a captain who doesn't like her crew getting hurt is one hell of a dangerous combo. Hitting Sophia means double the pain. But, Remilia could tell that Rock might not even be the true enemy here.

Her leg hurt from slamming against Remilia. There was a reason that the curvaceous beauty was the captain. But rather than argue, Sophie growled and took her place besides the captain.

"How can I sleep when this guy is stinking up the ship." She spat. Crossing her arms as she slowly shrunk back to her normal size. "His problem is he doesn't know how to take a proper shower and clean up."

Rock was stunned after his attempt at kicking the short tanned girl had resulted in the amazon woman absorbing his kick with little to no effort as he narrowed his eyes at her, analyzing her.

“''I wasn’t holding back with that kick either… she’s strong. Very strong"'' He hadn’t met anyone yet who could shrug off an attack from him in such a casual manner and he couldn’t say he disliked that as he had begun to respect the muscular woman.

That respect however turned into irritation when both her and her subordinate started bad mouthing his pompadour hair..

“Watch it. Only a real man can pull off this hairstyle” He boasted before sighing. “But you did win our wager so I guess I’ll fill you in on what’s happening. You might actually be what we’ve been waiting for all this time” He then turned to the younger girl with an annoyed look at the jab at his supposed “smell”.

“The smell isn’t coming from me you idiot. It’s from the junk on the island. The trash that’s been built up thanks to the factory is what’s causing the disgusting smell” He explained before turning around and pointed in a certain direction.

“Follow me, I’ll explain at my house”

Just as he was about to leave however, two of his gang members had run out from the crowd.

“Boss! We’ve got a big problem!” One of the men proclaimed with a worried face.

Rock raised his eyebrow. “What’s the problem?”

“Some random guy showed up at your house and started beating up our boys! You’ve gotta come back quick!”

A look of anger and fury appeared on Rock’s face, one very similiar to the look Remilia had made when she watched as her comrade was hurt, and his fists trembled before he sent a murderous look over in the direction of his house.

“Not on my fucking watch”

That was all he said as he hit the ground running, sprinting off in the direction of his house as his followers gave chase.

With the little "battle" finally over, they could get down to business. And it looked like there was indeed more to this trashy situation than expected. Some sort of factory, as he had just told them. But if it's a factory, it's not exactly hidden. No protests? No one trying to stop them? There must be someone bigger behind all this then. Remilia shouldn't have been so judgemental right away. She really needs to learn some manners. But then again, it's not like she had to mind her manners for anyone. She's a pirate for crying out loud!

And it looked like that Poodle Man's buddies got into some trouble. Some guy just appearing and beating them up? Sheesh, seemed like that the Brawler Pirates were going to be the least of their worries after all. To think that he tried to test their strength, and how Sophia just had to get herself into trouble again.

"Huh, guess your buddies couldn't look out for themselves. If only you hadn't come across us and actually stayed with them instead of trying to pick a fight."

Remilia taunted him as he made a run for it. Nontheless, she followed add a casual pace. Looking over at her crew members.

"Shame we got dragged into this. I promise you, if this whole ordeal turns out to be worthless for us, we'll just turn around and head back out on the sea. I honestly didn't want to go too quickly because who knows what we might find on here. Another man's trash is another man's treasure, after all. Or maybe we can get some coin out of the folk living here."

Sophia growled and followed her captain. She didn't want to get involved with this junk island. But...she couldn't leave her captain behind to fight.

An Unexpected Alliance
On a nearby Marine Warship, a man dressed in a snazzy business suit was devouring a rich and expensive meal at his fancy table before the Den-Den mushi on the table began to ring. He frowned before he answered it, already knowing who it was from.

“I already told you not to disturb me during my meals”

“I thought it would be important to call ahead and let you know of a certain development that’s happened on the island”

Gremor, the Marine Captain in charge of Junk Island, frowned when he listened to his partner on the other end and put the fork in his hand down.

“Go on”

“''It seems a Marine Captain has come to this island and has already stepped foot on the island. Apparently, he has an acquaintance on living here and is searching for him''”

Gremor furrowed his brow, already going through every captain ranked Marine he knew that would have any connections to this island. He eliminated more than a dozen until it was narrowed down to one particular eye sore he remembered.

“Azrael….” Gremor growled under his breath, his mood plummeting at the news. That pest was such an pain in the ass and Gremor knew the man had a penchant for sticking his nose into things that weren’t his problem.

“''I do hope that this Marine is only here to check up on his supposed friend. It’d be quite ... troublesome if he were to do anything that would ruin our business here''”

“Worry not” Gremor reassured. “Azrael doesn’t have the authority to overrule my decisions. As long as we clean up the island enough for it to be serviceable, no one from HQ will take his word over mine. I’ve already bribed some higher ups so it shouldn’t be an issue getting them to postpone the check up”

“''I’m glad to hear that. Oh, there’s also another development I heard about near the port. Apparently some pirates showed up on the island and got into an altercation with that gang leader who has a clinic in the South District''”

Gremor raised his eyebrow. Was that really something worth reporting? Pirates visited every so often and every one of them were pitifully easy to sway with money, women, and some weapons.

“I’m sure your side can take care of that. Just offer the same hospitality to those simple minded pirates and the problem will go away by itself. Leave that wannabe punk to his own devices, he’s powerless to do anything” Gremor laughed mockingly.

“''You got it. Heh, I’ll see you soon partner''”

The Den- Den Mushi cut off as Gremor laid back in his seat and sighed, still thinking of Azrael’s sudden appearance on the island. That was actually a bigger issue than he let on as he began thinking of ways to get him off this island as quickly as possible.

The journey back to the clinic was a short one as Rock’s determination carried him through the streets and he arrived at the front gate rather quickly, eyes widening when he saw a few of his guys and girls on the floor clutching various parts of their bodies.

“What the hell happened here?” Rock asked no one in particular as he walked forward, alerting everyone’s attention as they were beyond glad their leader had come back.

“Boss!”

“Thank goodness, the Boss is here!”

“Hell yeah! That bastard’s done it now!”

Cheers erupted from around the house but Rock ignored them and bent down towards an injured young woman who was clutching her chest.

“Gina, who did this?”

The woman called Gina pointed to the clinic and spat on the floor.

“Some punk came here and started asking around for some old man. We thought he might be working for Margolo so we tried to block his away but he was too strong. Damn, that asshole kicks really hard…” She cursed and rubbed her aching chest as Rock reached into his pocket and pulled out a small container.

He opened it and dipped his fingers inside the creamy substance before rubbing it on the girl’s bruised chest area, careful to keep his hands strictly above her breasts as the woman blushed a bit and looked down.

When he was finished tending to her wound, he placed the container in her hand and stood up.

“You should be fine. Use that on the others who are injured, it should take care of their bruises. Tell everyone else to stay back, I’ll handle this”

“G-Got it…” Gina’s admiration for her boss grew but she snapped out of her daydream and rushed to tend to her bruised comrades.

After watching her leave to tend to the others, he focused his attention back onto the house and removed the coat he was wearing, tossing it to the side as his muscular torso was revealed and he took a deep breath before shouting with all his might.

“WHOEVER’S IN THERE, YOU BETTER GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE BEFORE I COME IN THERE AND BEAT YOUR ASS!” He shouted with all his strength as a few of his followers closed their ears at the man’s thunderous voice. Rock was steaming and ready to brawl once more as he crossed his arms and awaited whatever fool had dared to hurt his friends to come out.

The door slowly opened. Revealing a brown skinned man. Neatly dressed in a dress shirt and pants. In his hand was a cup of tea which he sipped as his lips pulled a cigar to the side. Azrael's sharp eyes looked at Rock.

"Can you keep it down? Mr. Handy is sleeping upstairs." He asked politely. Opening the door fully, standing face to face to Rock.

The appearance of this new unfamiliar challenger confused the battle ready Rock as he looked at him from top to bottom. Rock’s memory was second to none and he’d never forget a face, especially one as unique as the man standing before him and yet despite searching through his most recent memories, he was pretty sure he had never met or even heard of this man before.

Well, that wasn’t really what was important here and Rock narrowed his eyes and pointed at him.

“This is my house punk and I’ll yell as much as I damn want too. I don’t know who you are or what you want with the old man upstairs but I can’t let you walk away with hurting my crew the way you did. So put em up, I’m gonna teach you some manners” Rock declared as he took a stance and readied himself for another brawl. He didn’t underestimate this one like he did the amazon or her friends; he could tell immediately this guy was no pushover, if it wasn’t already obvious by how easily he dispatched his crew.

Today was just one thing after another and Rock wondered if he had been cursed with how crazy of a day he was having.

"Wait. Wait. Wait." Azrael said with a playful smile. "If you're the one who saved Mr. Handy. Thank you." He bowed slightly before rising back up to Rock's gaze. Seemingly ignoring the attempts at starting another fight. Although several years his senior, the poodle-headed man didn't feel too much of a dangerous threat. Not because of his power...No. The man's heart was different from the usual gangs that one encountered on these kind of islands.

"I used to visit this island as a sailor. And that old man upstairs saved my ass once." Azrael chuckled. "Though I'm disappointed in what you guys did with this island. It used to be an oasis for shipwrights."

“Mr Handy?” Rock repeated, his guard lowering as the man’s politeness and lack of aggressiveness worked on calming the gang leader down. “Your talking about the old man right? I knew he was a shipwright but I had no idea that you knew him personally”

Rock shoved both his hands into his pockets and walked a bit closer as he kept his gaze on the unfamiliar man who didn’t seem to have any malicious intentions. Perhaps there was a reason he attacked his crew? Whatever it was, it better have been a damn good one as he was at least willing to hear him out.

At the mention of the oasis this island used to be, Rock frowned.

“If you want to blame anyone, blame that blasted Margolo and his group of hired thugs who run this island now. They’re the ones who are behind the shit infested crap hole you see today” Rock admitted with hidden fury behind his eyes but calmed down as he stopped in front of the unfamiliar man.

“I’m Rock by the way. I’m the leader of these guys that you treated so well” He spat sarcastically and inclined his head.

“You got a name?”

"My name is Azrael." The marine captain started. But he knew where that line of questioning lead. And the last thing he needed was for a bunch of punks to run around spewing about a marine captain on the island. So he quickly latched onto the subject that mattered the most.

"Hired thugs? Hard to believe some no-named gang managed to turn this entire island into a junk heap." Azrael said with a slight ponder. "Isn't there a marine captain in charge of this island? The World Government would be upset with the way this island turned out under his watch."

Azrael? He had never heard of someone like that before. Aw well, not like it mattered.

“You must not be from this island if you think they’re small time. Sure, they’re nobodies to the world outside this island but in this town, they run this place as if they’re royalty”

He spat on the floor with disgust as Azrael mentioned the Marine captain.

“Oh that pansy? I think he was called Grem something but I couldn’t care to remember the name of some btich who sold us out. I don’t know all the details but I’ve heard he struck a deal with Margolo and lets all the shit that happens here fly by on his radar. So much for the Marines being saviors” He muttered under his breath, unaware that the man he was currently talking too was in fact a Marine.

Noticing the sound of footsteps, Rock turned to see the amazon and her crew finally catching up as they arrived near the front gate.

“I’ve seen grandma’s run faster than you slugs. What were you guys doing?” He questioned.

"Excuse me, we were watching our step so i wouldn't slip on the grease traps coming from your hair that you were leaving behind. That's your home? I wouldn't have been able to tell, honestly. And who are you even talking to the whole time? I've only overheard some words from afar. Dropping some odd, new names there. Could've told us about this sooner before bringing us to your little home here. Are you having some issues with your..."

As Remilia got closer, she got a peek at the person whom Rock was actually talking to. And when she saw him, she was stunned for a moment. Her awful habit was once again showing itsself.

"...boyfriend...."

The tough woman was slowly melting away, and she averted her gaze and pulled down her cap to obscure her face. A wavy, nervous looking mouth being the only thing from her face that was still revealed. She cleared her throat and tried to pretend like that she didn't say everything out loud just now.

"Ah... hello..."

Azrael looked beyond Rock to the newcomers. More gang members? But that didn't matter. The fact this lowlife knew what little of Gremor's name meant Azrael's worst fear came true. There had been countless stories of marines who used their power for selfish gain. Conspiring with pirates. Allowing the unholy to run amok. And due to the vast power and reach of the World Government, the poor people who suffered didn't stand a chance against the oppression.

He took a deep breath and pulled from the cigar. This got a little bit more complicated. I could go back and file an official report...but that'd take weeks...even months once that weasel gets word of it. That little rat would do everything in his power to hide all this madness. Besides, I'm sure he got more connections up higher in the food chain.

Azrael, so deep in thought, failed to notice the greetings from the woman.

Sophia appeared after the captain. "Whose this chump?" She asked brashly. "And why doesn't it shock me that you live in such a trash heap?"

Rock was about to say something back to the woman’s constant jabs at his majestic hair before he noticed her face flushed and she pulled her hat down to cover her face. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the woman incredulously as he waved his hand in front of her.

“Hellllo? Earth to amazon woman?” He was getting nowhere and he only heard her keep mumbling nonsense. After awhile, he just shrugged his shoulders and turned to the just arriving Sophie.

“His name’s Azrael, I just met him” He scowled when she insulted his living quarters “Shut up. I get it the place is a mess, it’s not that hard to see. It’s just hard to clean around here when we’re more focused on keeping our members alive and securing resources”

Realizing it was a waste of time to argue about that, he turned back to Azrael with a serious expression.

“We should talk inside. Despite how the place looks on the outside, we take good care of it on the inside and we can discuss what we can do to fix this blasted situation, if you don't mind. Plus, we can get away from the smell you guys keep whining about” He turned his head over to the amazon and her followers.

“That means you guys as well”

He said nothing more as he stepped inside the house and expected the rest of them to follow.

Azrael followed Rock in. The house was spotless! More so than before. Not only that, tea was being prepared with dinner already set. Getting food didn't take long when the host can grow wings and fly to other parts of the island. Azrael had actually took this man's home and made it a gem among trash.

"Please wipe your feet." He said cheerfully.

Sophie followed her captain into the house while grilling Rock. That poodle-headed idiot wanted to get his face bashed in. "Typ-a name is Azrael anyway." She grumbled. But two steps in and she realized....

"Captain!" She screamed.

On instinct Azrael looked back. But turned forward...hoping no one noticed.

Rock noticed Azrael's sudden shift and raised his eyebrow at the action but didn't think much of it as he shrugged and continued in.

Sophia grabbed her love-struck captain and dragged her into the house. "Really?! You can probably pummel that guy!"

Remilia was still in a state of being completely stunned. She didn't move a muscle until Sophia dragged her inside. That was when she finally got a hold of herself again and could speak normally again instead of just mumbling. She cleared her throat and tried not to look at the handsome newcommer. Rather, she looks at Rock's stupid hair, because that put her at ease real quickly.

"I... overheard some things so you don't have to repeat everything again. Something about a gang, and some guy called... uh, GREG?! Yes it was certainly Greg. Sorry that i missjudged you, Poodle Man. Guess where was more to this trash than just lazy people living on a remote island. Also, i saw that you helped a girl earlier... are you some kind of doctor? Huh. You don't look like one, you know."

Remilia's eyes slowly inched their sight towards Azrael, whom she is unsure about as to who he actually is. But what she did know already was that from looks alone, he was totally her type. Considering that her only other choice on this island so far was a guy with a ball of grease on his head, she was certainly more interested in him. She walked over towards Azrael, and her normally intimidating, yet beautiful expression changed into that that would resemble a flustered school girl.

"My name is... uh... Remilia. You can call me Remi, if you want... H-hi."

Azrael pulled from the cigar and smiled at Remilia. He forgot his manners! Despite nearly kicking in the chest of some girl earlier, Azrael was a gentleman nonetheless. He bowed to the woman. Rising with a graceful look. "Well Remi, my name is Azrael. It is nothing but a pleasure." His low, sultry voice complimenting his sharp eyes. She wasn't quite that bad looking herself...Lucky for her, Azrael found muscle-woman who can kick his ass six-ways to sunday extremely attractive. If it wasn't for the mountains of junk and suffering, Azrael would've probably invited her out to drink. BUt...that'd have to wait.

However, this situation left his heart in a conundrum. He couldn't just bring his people to this island. Gremor, a fellow captain, possessed the same amount of power as Azrael. He could stop them from coming anywhere near as this place is his jurisdiction. Even Azrael being on this island would cause for numerous complaints. He sighedd. Still, it was his duty to vanquish evil. Meaning he had no choice but to act...

Perhaps if he did so without anyone knowing?

"So," Azrael addressed Rocky once more."where are these Margolo losers?" He leaned against the wall. "And captain Gremor? Do you know if he visits their headquarters?"

Remilia immediately butted in before Rock could get a word out. She wanted to talk with Azrael more before the Poodle Head gets to hog him again. She wanted to get something out of this too. If these two were friends, then she wanted to get on his good side.

"Hold up! You see, Rock asked me if i wanted to, uh, help him out! Yeah, that is why we are here. Rock's got trouble, and it wouldn't be nice to just leave a friend like Rock hanging! We are friends, did i mention that? We are friends! Now you know. Hey, where do you live? Come around here often? This is my first visit!"

Remilia wrapped an arm around Rock and pulled him closer all buddy-buddy style. Meanwhile she was totally unaware about who Azrael actually was.

Azrael was shocked. But his face melted into a genuine smile. He loved seeing friends helping one another out. It made the world go round. Hell, half of his adventures would've ended much worst if not for Adam and Reeves back on the ship.

"I'm a sailor who lives on a ship. Though that's all I can say for now. I love your dedication to your friend though." Azrael chuckled. "But don't worry. I'm going to take care of everything."

Rock found it hard to get a word in, what with the amazon chick constantly butting into the conversation to try to court the attractive man before them. Oh yes, he had long figured out that this woman called Remilia was quite obviously infatuated with Azrael and was doing a rather poor attempt at hiding it.

Though he couldn’t say he wasn’t surprised. So pretty boys were her type huh? He honestly pegged her for being into manly men with muscles like himself but considering her constant jabs at his “poodle hair”, men like himself weren’t even on her radar, not that it bothered him..

As she pulled him into a shoulder hug while proclaiming their supposed “friendship”, he could only give her a blank stare as Azrael seemed to believe her words with that smile he flashed. Well, if she was willing to lend a hand in getting rid of the Margolo’s, then he’d accept it, no matter what her motives were.

In any case, before any ass kicking could commence, he had to inform them of what information he had gathered.

“I’m grateful you guys want to help, even if your motives aren’t the purest” He said dryly while removing himself from Remilia’s grasp. He then walked to a section of the room and opened a drawer, pulling out a large paper as he brought it to a nearby table, spreading it out as it transformed into a map. It was incredibly detailed and highlighted every section of the city.

“This is a map of the island I’ve been working on for many months.. If you’re looking for the Margolo’s and that Marine asshat Gremor, you’ll find them here” He pointed to a large rectangular drawing on the map.

“This is the Junk Factory, also referred to as the Margolo Hideout. It’s their base of operations and where they conduct their business. If we want to stop the pollution from spreading and the junk forming around the island, we’ll have to either take out the Margolo Gang or destroy the factory itself. Be warned though, it’s heavily guarded with thugs and mercenaries crawling all over the place”

He looked up from the map and glanced at the two of them.

“This island isn’t rich or even has much to give but it’s still something that I believe is worth saving. Even if you two back out, I’m going there to put an end to all of this once and for all. The people of this island need help and they’re damn sure going to get it. But I know I’m not strong enough on my own so I’d be eternally grateful for your assistance ” He proclaimed as he lowered his head to the two of them. Normally his appearance as a gang leader would prevent him from lowering his head to others but Rock didn’t care about that now as these two new allies would be the key to finally lifting the nightmare on this island.

He believed it with all his heart.

“Damn, that was really fucking beautiful.” Shakti said, being touched by the words of the boy-no, the man in front of her. She could feel the compassion and determination within his voice. It almost reminded her of her...her husband. Such a stubborn man like the one before her but he was willing to do anything it took to help those he could. It was what drew her towards him in the past.

“Raise your head, boyo! I’ll help you with cleaning this mess up and we’ll have a grand drink to celebrate afterwards!”

She grabbed a nearby bottle, not paying attention to the clearly black liquid inside before downing it like it was water. Mere moments passed before she spat it out and was wiping her tongue with disgust, looking at the label of the bottle title “Motor Oil”. She stared for a second before shrugging and drinking it again

Remilia tried her hardest to pull herself together again so that she could actually follow what's going on. She also overheard the words "take out" and "destroy". Both of which are things that she loves to do. Getting here for some fun seemed like a valuable choice indeed. But in the end, they'd do it for something bigger. Something more important. Something... good? Unlikely for a pirate to do work that the marines should take care of. But, it looked like that none of them cared. Rock had a just cause and wanted to help this island. It reminded her of Bravado Diego, whom she fought bcause of her losing her temper and picking an unecessary fight with a man who just wanted to help his daughter.

It was time to do some good for once. Pirates aren't all about the bad ways after all. Expecially not the Brawler Pirates. They are free spirits, like their captain. Remilia agreed to help out, and banged her fist against the table.

"Alright! I am in! You got guts, Poodle Man! And i do have to admit, i love that about a man just as much as good looks! These bastards are gonna pay for what they have done to this island! Oh, and, i can't remember asking you for your name, Poodle Man. My name's Remilia. And this here is-- WHAT THE HELL, SHAKTI?!"

Remilia tore the bottle of motor oil away from her drunken crew member and chugging it out of the house. Essentially littering herself. She then grabbed her by the horn and started pulling like she was trying to get her younger sister to behave.

"Stop drinking everything that you can get your hands on, dammit! I am not surprised that i haven't seen more of your kind around if you all drink anything that remotely resembles a liquid! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

Remilia snapped back to her usual self due to the influence of her idiotic friend. She then looked back over at Rock with a furious expression.

"WE'RE HELPING YOU OUT, ALRIGHT?! THAT'S MY POINT!!"

Now it made sense! Her name seemed so familiar. And her moving to a more lit area allowed Azrael to recognize that beautiful, ferocious visage. The leader of an up-and-coming Paradise pirate crew. The Brawler Pirates. But Azrael wasn't on duty. Performing any arrest might draw the wrong attention. And besides, the pureness radiated from the woman actually made him think twice about his duties. No. He wanted her to succeed.

He wanted them all to succeed. Especially poor Rock. He'd serve better as a marine than some rancid gang member. A conversation for later perhaps.

"You have my help." Azrael smiled. "I was gonna go there alone but some extra manpower might make this easier." And draw the attention from the winged demon raining retribution upon those thugs!

Azrael went to a mearby closet, ignoring the shennanigans of the Oni. He helped himself to a hooded cloak and a white mask which he wore beneath the hood.

"I'm not the most humble guy. But I love to help people. Just promise me one thing. Do not use my name in that factory." Azrael said cheerfully. "I have some bad debt with that weasel Gremora."

Rock blinked as he took in the reactions of all those present, a bit flustered at how willing all of them were to help. This wasn't their fight or their concern, well except Azrael possibly, and yet they still offered to lend him a hand. He had even completely forgotten about seeking revenge against the one who harmed his crew mates and smiled genuinely for the first time, in a really long time.

"Thank you everyone, I'm in your debt" He lowered his head sincerely before turning to Azrael as the man had requested secrecy on his identity for whatever reason.

"You have my word" Keeping a secret like that was far from difficult as Rock checked around the room, nodding with each person as they were all prepared and ready to head out. He then pounded his fist and smirked, ready to finally bring an end to the Margolo's tonight.

"Let's go kick some ass"

Raid on the Junk Factory
The sun was still high in the sky on this rather hot day and many of the thugs hired by Margolo were seen chatting away at the entrance to the Factory with not a care in the world. They were all seated in front of a poker table and were seen playing cards.

“Man, I’m bored. I wish more idiots like that old man showed up so we could mess with em” A sleazy bald thug scoffed as he threw down a few cards on the table.

“Tell me about it. Did you hear what he said? He sounded like some wannabe hero from a children’s fairy tale screaming things like ‘I’ll never forgive you!’ hahaha” A rather obese man laughed as he threw his own cards.

“You guys are terrible. At least show some decency to the elderly” A muscular woman with several scars on her face interjected while picking up a card.

“Like you’re one to talk. You were the first one to kick the man while he was down and even spat on him when he called you ugly”

The woman shrugged. “I couldn’t help it. You know how sensitive I get about my face”

“We all know that’s not the only sensitive part about you” The bald man snickered as the woman flipped him off while the others laughed heartily. They continued to do so until one of the mercenaries got up from his seat and stretched his body.

“I’m getting thirsty. I’ll go grab a few drinks from the store in town” He said, barely acknowledging his comrades who asked for their own personal drinks as he made his way to the entrance door while whistling. When he reached to open the gate, he thought he felt a tremor outside the door and raised his eyebrows.

“What the- FUCHASFH!” He could utter nonsense as the door was blasted into smithereens as he was blown back along with the rubble several feet, crashing into several other mercenaries as everyone was immediately alerted.

“W-What the hell’s going on!?”

The smoke began to clear at the front entrance as the figures of eight people were seen standing before them with varying expressions on their face. None of them looked even remotely familiar to any of the mercenaries, especially the gigantic muscle woman to the right, except for the man standing in the middle who they assumed was the one who had broken down the door.

“Y-You…. You’re that punk who runs that clinic!” One of the thugs screamed as Rock cracked his neck and knuckles.

“Yup. And we’re here to put an end to Margolo and this god damn factory once and for all. Do you hear me!” He shouted in a thunderous voice as more and more thugs began to show up from all of the doors in the factory.

“Get them!” One of the men screamed in the back as the endless thugs charged at the group of eight. Some of the men on the higher levels even began to fire at them with their bullets as Rock turned to his new allies and smiled, a look of anticipation on his face.

“Shall we get started then?” Rock dashed in, along with his two other followers that had accompanied him, and began dodging the bullets shot at him with impressive speed before jumping straight into the horde of enemies, punching one and kicking another as he began knocking them out one by one.

While this was going on, several dozens of mercenaries began gathering around the Brawler Pirates and Azrael and launched their attack on them as they made the foolish assumption they weren’t much of a threat.

Was hoping for a more quieter approach... Azrael sighed. But this would surely still be a story for the books. The marine was about to jump into the fray when he noticed a bullet whistling pass him. Snipers? Understandable. Having a ground force and people in ariel positions to cover them...only someone working with a marine had access to this kind of battle formation.

Someone'll recognize me if I use my wings and start flying. Azrael thought while rubbing the back of his head. He had only one option. Surely that power one won't attract too much attention. Besides, it's the power he excelled at. Azrael jumped into the air. Seemingly stepping higher and higher using the air itself as a stepping stones.

Geppo.

He reached the first level rather quickly. Kicking the first gunman out of the window with a devastating roundhouse. The marine captain learned to use Geppo in conjunction with his martial arts. A rare trait indeed. Azrael caught himself and jumped to the next. A powerful punch followed with a stomp on the gunman's stomach. He flipped out of the window and continued stepping upwards. Soon tossing another poor mercenary onto the ground.

"I'll let you deal with them down there. Lets keep this fair." He teased. Bodies seemingly raining from above.

Now that the fun finally started, Remilia was actually getting kind of pumped. But before every big fight, there would be dozens of thugs that they would take to care care of first. Typical, this reminds her so much of useless marines. Rock could hold his own, and that was something that she was glad to see. There was more to the guy than a silly hairstyle. And Azrael surprised her too. He had some strange technique that she had never seen before... it looked like he could fly. Must be awfully handy in a situation like this.

Remilia casually strolled forward like she owned the place. Each one of her steps made the ground tremble. Like a hulking giant taking its gigantic, slow body forward. Unlike Rock though, she didn't bother dodging any bullets fired at her. After numerous encounters with other, just as powerful pirates ever since she started her own career as a pirate herself, Remilia had toughened up to a point where mere bullets no longer harmed her.

"Seriously, that's the best you wimps got in store for me? If you want to actually hurt me, you better use some cannons instead of a couple of toy guns like this! Your minds are clouded with the stench of trash around you, and so you won't even realize just who you all are facing!"

Remilia continued walking forward while bullets that dug into her skin quickly bounced off again. Turns out not dodging any attack ever would eventually turn you into a brick wall. Too bad none of her crew members will ever get that far, considering how she doesn't like seeing them get hurt. But for this once... they may do whatever they want.

"Shakti! Sophia! You guys can go have your fun. I am heading straight for the factory and i will try and find the guy who is responsible for all this. Yeah, i could crush the whole factory in mere seconds if i wanted to. But, i am not the one who should enjoy the moment of taking out the guy responsible for it."

She said. Afterwards, she looked over at Rock and grinned. This guy had to live on this rotten island in its current state, and didn't have the chance to fight back until now. It would only be fair to have him be the one to finally put an end to the person responsible for it. Thus Remilia continued forward, not bothering that people tried to attack her. Shrugging off bullets and punches on her way towards the factory. Her right eye was glowing in bright, inspried red color. A playful, yet oddly terrifying grin appeared on her face. She doesn want to be present for the moment where Rock takes out his pent up anger for the big moment that's surely going to come.

"Hey boss you better come back alive. Or I'ma go and kill you myself!" Sophia screamed. The woman was much larger before. With muscles which almost rivaled the captain. She swung her massive arms with tremendous force. Sending loads of earth rising. Pulverizing groups of mercenaries. Each step taking out a small militia on its own. She grabbed another mercenary and used him as a shield against the onslaught of bullets.

After slugging another mercenary in the face, Rock’s eyes widened in surprise at the capabilities shown by both Azrael and Remilia, and even the bratty Sophie, as his mouth hung open a bit. Well hot damn, he knew they were stronger than they appeared but this was something he certainly wasn’t expecting. Especially Remilia; she was basically a human tank as her muscles alone deflected the bullets being fired by the thugs.

“I should probably watch what I say from now on around her” He joked but then noticed that the towering woman wasn’t engaging in the fight at all, only briskly walking forward while ignoring the attacks being sent her way. She even glanced over in his direction a few times with a half expectant look, as if she was allowing him to be the one to lead this assault.

Rock understood that look immediately and nodded, his respect for the woman growing even more as he focused back onto the fight and began shredding through the enemies one by one.

“If we’re gonna take down Margolo and Gremor, we’ll need to clear a path and get rid of these bums first!” He shouted towards his allies and jumped into the air, using the head’s of the scattered mercenaries as platforms while moving through the crowd. He made his way over to one of the large lifting machines as he kicked through the window and landed in the seat, turning on the power with a button and began steering it.

He had plenty of experience operating these machines during his time working on several construction sites and maneuvered it flawlessly to the gathered crowd of gathered mercenaries. He stepped on the gas and then at the last moment, jumped out of the broken window as the machine kept going and was on a collision course with the gang members as they all ran for their lives.

It was far too late however and the machine crashed right into the Margolo thugs, knocking out countless mercenaries and hired goons as Rock had landed on a nearby platform where Azrael was standing and dusted himself off while giving him a smile.

“That should take care of most of the gutter trash. What’d ya think?” He boasted as he had just built an open path to the main factory while the Margolo gang had been dealt a heavy blow to their formation.

"I think that was fucking awesome." Azrael chuckled. The white mask covering his warm smile. He looked to Remi and waved. "And you're amazing!" Azrael screamed.

"But with all that ruckus. I think they will be coming this way. We should go through the first floor. Cut them off or sneak by."

Remilia was impressed at how creative Rock got when it comes to fighting these guys. Looks like he had experience. And it honestly made Remilia wonder how he didn't take care of all these goons by himself before, because he does seem rather capable. Expecially when he has some of his gang members backing him up. But, it never hurts to be safe. Remilia will make sure that Rock will get to beat up the very guy responsible for this, as well as make Azrael fall for her even more! Just him telling her that she was amazing got her all pumped!

As she got closer to the factory, more and more people jumped at her. And while she didn't bother at first, a lot of them started to grapple on and making moving forward quite a bit more difficult. And, considering how pumped she was now, she simply couldn't just keep on walking forward without doing anything!

Thus, Remilia raised her right arm and had it change in appearance in an instant. Her arm looked like it was made out of burning rock instead of flesh. She transformed her arm into meteoric material, that caught on fire like a meteor falling from the sky!

"You punks couldn't have jumped in during a worse moment! I am PUMPED! My friends up there are gonna find your leader and absolutely destroy his ugly mug! And as for you, i will show you just how bad of an idea it was to jump on me like this! Eat this! METEOR SLEDGE!"

Suddenly, her arm increased in volume and grew to a size just as big as herself. And after that she swung her now massive arm at the group of thugs that jumped at her '''! BOOOOM!!''' Her arm downright EXPLODED upon impact, unleashing a powerful shockwave of intense heat, flames, and shards of meteoric rock. Dozens upon dozens of thugs went flying into the factory. Breaking through the windows and walls, alongside large bits of meteorite. As for her arm, it was completently gone! At least, until she called back some shards that went flying. Reconstructing her arm into its former shape and size, before transforming back into a regular arm.

"Cut me some slack, i rarely ever use my power! But this... i just couldn't resist, i am just WAY too hyped! I am gonna turn your whole factory upsidedown, ya punks!"

“Looks like she has that covered” Rock said amusedly as he and Azrael observed Remilia just completely blow away dozens of Margolo’s cronies with what he assumed to be her devil fruit powers. As someone who lived in the Grand Line, Rock knew all about the strange powers that one of those cursed fruits granted someone but knew it was quite common for strong pirates to possess one. Still, her strength was so overwhelming he believed all the devil fruit did was already enhance her destructive capability.

At the very least, Remilia gave them a perfect distraction and path to get to the Factory from the first floor as Rock nodded towards Azrael.

“Your right. Let’s move from the first floor, those punks down there may be weak but they’ve got numbers. Even if you beat hundreds of them, more will come to take their place” It’s the reason Rock had never been successful before when he came to raid this place. His stamina had completely run out before he could make it to Margolo who surrounded himself with numbers that exceeded over a thousand.

“Hey, Remilia! We’re going on ahead!” Rock shouted from the top of the platform and he began moving forward towards the Factory by jumping from the rafters, expecting his friends to soon follow suit.

Azrael leaned against the window and screamed. "Meet us inside! Two prong strategy!" A benefit of his marine training was the understanding of numerous strategies. This way, although Rock wasn't as powerful as Remi, Azrael could help scramble their forces. Azrael followed Rock.

"I have a question to ask you when this is all finished, Rock." Azrael said. Keeping pace with Rock.

“A question? For me?” Rock briefly looked over his shoulder at the words spoken by Azrael and it was impossible to tell what the man was thinking with that mask. Shrugging, Rock only nodded in acknowledgment.

“Ask me whatever you want, after we take down that bastard”

"Go ahead captain! Me and Shakti will hold it out here." Sophia screamed. Currently a hulking giant slamming people with one another.

Remilia knew that she could trust her crew members. And with Rock and Azrael alerting her that they were going inside, there was nothing to hold her back from entering the factory. Thankfully she made herself a couple of opening that allow her to freely enter. But more people came rushing at her that would just slow her down. She had to do this quickly. Remilia blocked her face with both of her arms and just began rushing forward. But more strength in her step than speed, which became very noticable when every step she took made the ground shake. Thugs lunched themselves at her, but she just kept running.

She ran and ran towards the factory, until she finally reached it! Sadly, not at an opening that she just made. Which meant that she had to sadly make yet another one... by running into it like a bull! '''CRASH!!! CRACK!!''' Remilia bulldozes through the walls of the factory, and also lost all of the thugs clinging onto her after the impact. As soon she was inside... she was greeted with EVEN MORE thugs looking at her. And this place on the inside was HUUUUGE! What a factory. Who'd even have all the coin to run all this.

"Well, well, well. Check this place out. Quite large, roomy... smelly, and full of useless, soon to be destroyed trash! Oh, and junk too. Lots and lots of junk. Hey! If you guys don't wanna get hurt by your buddies, you better tell me who your boss is and send him out right now! I've got a friend who'd like to have a word with him."

Opposite of Remi. Azrael dispatched oncoming thugs with a silent swiftness. His body jumped from wall to wall. Twirling in midair as if born off the ground. His strokes carried power. Each causing a loud crack as the oncoming thugs fell uncknscious. He refrained from killing them. As they needed to face judgement before the judge.

Azrael made sure to keep Rock safe. Taking care of the ones that appeared quite trained. But one jumped from a nearby door. Slamming a massive club dpwn on Azrael. His head was one of those delicate areas he couldn't play with his life.

Tekkai

The club collided against his cranium. Bending into an odd shape from ths force. Before the thug could realize what had happened, Azrael drove his palm deep into the man's chest. Sending him flying through a window.

He continued forward as if nothing happened.

“Show off” Rock smirked as he witnessed the mysterious masked man send that thug flying after tanking that enormous club without even flinching. Rock seriously wondered just was the identity of this masked man, already having a theory in place but refrained from mentioning it for numerous reasons. He was an ally right now, and in the future hopefully, so his identity didn’t really matter all that much to him as Rock continued forward while knocking out a few thugs of his own on the way.

He looked down from the higher floor to see Remilia land right in the middle of the factory and surrounded by unwelcome company as Rock tried to formulate a plan. His thoughts were interrupted however when the voice of a familiar man entered his ears.

“Well well well, what do we have here?”

Rock, Remilia, and Azrael all turned to a large door on the middle floor as it opened and revealed the forms of a white haired man wearing a fur coat and a brown haired man wearing glasses and a Marine Captain outfit as they walked across the platform.

Rock snarled when he got a good look at them.

“That’s him, Margolo. And the four eyes next to him is Gremor. I didn’t think they’d come to welcome us” Rock spoke to Azrael who was standing next to him.

“I’m surprised” Margolo began as he frowned heavily at the intruders who had invaded his home. “To think that when I got the report that some idiots were making a ruckus on my property, it would be because of some useless pirates and a fool whose hair is as ridiculous as his ideals” He snarked, causing Rock to narrow his eyes at the man for insulting not only himself but also his new friends.

“I’ll say. It’s a rather unfortunate turn of events” Gremor on the other hand was focused on the mask wearing stranger who was standing next to Rock and frowned. He didn’t recognize him but he had a sneaking suspicion this masked stranger was someone he knew very well but for whatever reason, they chose to hide their identity which threw him off as the person he was thinking of wasn’t someone who hid from others, especially him.

“''Wait, I get it now. If he were to oppose me openly, he’d have to suffer severe consequences due to my backing. By helping these fools anonymously, he can then claim he had nothing to do with it and was just a bystander. Clever''” Gremor had him figured out and decided to play along with his little game. It didn’t matter, there was nothing he could do to stop the two of them anyway.

Margolo took this chance to interject as he stared right at Remilia with a curious gaze.

“Why have you come to my factory, pirate? You have no business interfering with what goes on this island. Did Rocky boy over there compensate you for assisting him? Is that it? Pft, I doubt it. He's dirt poor. There’s no way he could afford to hire a woman with your strength” He taunted as he opened his arms wide.

"Come to my side! We have everything you could possibly ask for and we'd certainly treat a woman of such beauty and strength quite well. I'd even forgive you for beating up my boys and give you the spot of top officer! What do you say?" He offered as the expensive jewerly hanging off the man's hands and clothes were unecessarily flashy.

Remilia was certainly caught off guard by all this. A large door just randomly opening and the big evil man himself, alongside his partner in crime revealing himself to the people trying to put an end to him once and for all? Remilia was just taunting the thugs when she said they should send their boss to get beat up. She didn't expect them to actually so as she says! But there they were. Prancing on like the slick slugs they were. Worst of all, neither of them were attractive in her eyes!

As the gamble went on, an odd offering was shot her way. An offering that an INSANE woman might accept. Remilia crossed her arms and glared at the two men with one of her eyes glowing in a vicious red color. She was not having this again, there were too many people asking her to come on their side for Remilia's liking! And it was about time she put her foot down.

"Listen here, i am not interested in you fools! Most of you don't seem to get that i am a pirate because i like being free, and not belong to some weirdo group that wants to push me around, just because they offer me some shiny stones and gold coins! I've got a desire to be free, and beat people up that i don't like, while constantly moving forward and finding even stronger people! All while i get to do whatever i want, with a group of friends who are by my side no matter what happens! Rock has got a good reason to go up against you. And i can't help but support his cause! Long story short, you idiots are going DOWN!"

Azrael met the man's gaze from behind his mask. There was a certain familiar energy between the two. One that could never be hidden...regardless of the disguise. Azrael took several steps forward. Seemingly standing in front of Remilia and Rock. He lifted his hand and pointed to Margolo. Changing to sliding his finger across his throat. A subtle yet deadly message.

Margolo’s reaction to Remi’s outburst was one of disappointment and also genuine pity as he believed that recruiting this walking behemoth of a woman would have made the losses today worth it but unfortunately for him, it seemed she was one of those self-righteous pirates who always went about helping "the people".

“What rubbish" He sneered "It seems even your brain has become nothing but muscle. What a shame” He shrugged, turning to his partner who was staring daggers at the masked man.

“What’s the problem? Do you perhaps know that masked stranger?” Margolo asked.

“...No, I’ve never seen him in my life” Gremor lied as he smirked. “I can tell that he’s dangerous though and we should focus on getting rid of him as quickly as possible”

Margolo nodded, not catching on onto the deceit. “You couldn’t have said it better, partner. Although, if you ask me that muscular woman is the real threat. We can ignore the other two for now and focus on eliminating her”

Gremor didn’t seem to fully agree but nodded nonetheless as he believed they’d all be taken care of eventually.

Turning back to their adversaries, Margolo proceeded to walk over to a nearby wall and press the red button lodged into the surface The entire factory began to shake as Rock stumbled on his feet, unaware of what was going on. Even the goons that Margolo had hired were in the dark as the ground floor spread apart and lifted something off the ground as Rock, Remilia, and Azrael jumped back a few meters to gain some distance.

“W-What the hell is that?” Rock said with widened eyes as he stared at what appeared to be a towering mechanical monstrosity with several arms and weapons attached all over its junk ridden body. There was a window that had a pilot seat for two people as both Margolo and Gremor piloted the machine and began operating the junk monster as the thugs around them began to cheer out loud, assured of their victory.

“Heh, I hope you all like what you see. This is the culmination of all the research and weapons we’ve made and we’re pleased to test its destructive capability on you weaklings! Say hello to the Junk Decimator!” Margolo laughed as his voice was transmitted through the machine while Gremor followed up with his own boast.

“You’ll understand how futile it was to come here, starting now!” He controlled one of the arms and had it point directly towards the trio as the cannon on its palm began to charge up. Some of the mercenaries from earlier who were cheering before immediately felt danger and began to back away slowly.

“Run for your lives!” The mercenaries darted out of there as fast as they could before the Junk Decimator’s cannon arm finally finished charging as it then let out a giant hailstorm of scrap metal, each piece being as sharp as a knife, heading straight towards Rock and the others at a insane velocity.

“We gotta move!” Rock shouted and hastily jumped out of the way, hoping his comrades had done the same.

This was surely something. Probably that weasel's plan to mass-produce these things and sell it for a quick buck! It caused him great pain...to have to enjoy kicking his slimy ass. Usually Azrael could take his normal sloppy approach to battle. For he'd face death countless times before. But with the lack of life nearby...Azrael couldn't take any chances against the duo.

Soru

Azrael vanished into thin air. Jumping through the barrage of scrap metal with only pieces of his cloak getting torn apart. He continued to dance. Moving as elegant as ever. His final step pulling three knives from his belt and throwing it at the pilot glass with extensive strength.

Remilia had to admit that she was caught off guard when it turned out that these guys had actually worked on a machine like this! So much junk, so much pollution, just to create a massive piece of junk? What a total waste, and what a stupid reason to destroy an entire island over. Shrugging off the irony in her thought, she had no time to think about what was happening, and what she should do. But when that cannon started charging, she was actually getting kind of excited.

"Move? No way, i am gonna let that thing hit me and see if putting all this trash together actually worked out for these fools! Come on, do your worst you punks!"

Her usual self was showing itsself again. One would wonder if she was trying to prove something, or just not scared of dying. Nontheless, when the cannon started firing tiny piece if scrap metal, she stood still and didn't move from the spot. Metal was flying past her, scratching her when it just barely missed the mark, as well as fly towards her exposed skin. This was definetly a step up from regular bullets. The sharp shards of metal were actually leaving some minor bruises and sticking into her skin. But not damage that would actually last. Still, this was quite an impressive feat considering what has happened before.

"Not bad! This hunk of junk actually packs more punch than a rifle. To an average pirate, this would certainly be really dangerous. Too bad that i am no average pirate!"

Even while being fired at, Remilia started rushing forward with absolutely no regard to the countless amounts of weapons attached to the thing. She was on a one way course towards the machine. It was quite huge, but nothing that couldn't be brought down. As she got closer, she jumped forward and aimed a powerful punch into the middle of the creation. Her attack happened basically at the same time as Azrael's.

“Be careful! You could still get an infection from those unwashed pieces of metal if they cut your skin enough!” Rock shouted from one of the platforms he had landed on after dodging. He didn’t understand what the woman was trying to prove as he winced when he saw the sharp pieces of metal scratch her exposed skin, both impressed that her body could withstand the assault without taking much damage and worried she was far too reckless in how she treated her body.

“Heh, I knew she had muscles for brains when I saw her” Margolo sneered as he watched Rock and Azrael dodge the decimator’s scrap cannon while the muscular woman just stood there and took it. He had to admit he was impressed with her toughness and tenacity, even if he did fully believe she was a complete fool.

“I knew it was you” Gremor smirked when he saw the knives being thrown towards the cockpit by the “mystery” man and controlled one of the arms of the decimator to block their path. The knives collided with the junk arm and couldn’t penetrate further than the outer layer that was covered in mountains of junk.

“Try this!” Gremor activated another weapon as the arm that had shielded the cockpit transformed into a much larger cannon and fired off several condensed balls of junk directly at the still airborne Azrael with fearsome speed. Each ball of junk was equipped with a bomb detonator that would clearly go off the moment it touched the marine. Even with his Geppo, Gremor believed he wouldn’t have enough time to avoid the blast radius.

Meanwhile, Margolo was focused back on the approaching Remilia who planned to sock him with her fists as the man laughed at such a simple minded woman. He utilized one of the many arms of the machine and had it transform its arm into a massive drill, aiming that drill towards Remilia.

“Drill Cannon!” He fired off the drill arm towards Remilia and the two opposing forces collided with one another that shook the entire factory. The drill arm was spinning at an insane speed as it crashed against Remilia’s empowered fist and it looked as if Remilia had the advantage due to the drill arm being pushed back inch by inch from the women's sheer power.

“My word, how strong are you? Your far more of a beast than I could have imagined” Margolo admitted, no sense of worry in his voice as an evil grin appeared on his face. “So why don’t we triple the fun?”

The now empty hand that had fired the drill arm suddenly re-grew another drill arm and fired off two more drill arms right behind the first one as the added momentum of adding two more drills caused the balance of power to tip drastically back in Margolo’s favor. Suddenly, Remilia was the one being pushed back as she began sliding backwards while still clashing with the drills and looked as if she was going to be rammed into the wall behind her.

To think that Remilia was being pushed back in such a pathetic manner! She is going to look bad in front of the handsome man, and that is something she absolutely could not happen! She wants to impress him and win his heart. This is the chance to prove herself and get the attention of Azrael, as well as show Rock that he put his trust into the right person. Also, she kind of just realized that she could use both hands to attack. It's easy to forget that when ending most fights with one punch.

Remilia raised her leg and smashed it down into the ground with great force. Practically digging herself into the ground with one foot. Then she raised her other leg and did the same thing with it. She was now completely stationary with her feet stuck into the ground. It was time to dish out some damage.

"I am impressed at your machine, i have to admit! To think that you could make something like this out of mere junk is quite impressive. But, in the end all it is is nothing more than a large pile of scrap, while i am 100% human! And unlike your little machine, i can improve all on my own by merely living! Also, training and eating well. I will show your bucket of bolts something it has never seen before. THAT'S RIGHT, TWO HANDS!"

Remilia finally used her second arm to fight back. Finally they seemed to be on even footing. But this wouldn't suffice for Remilia. She had to do more, and use this moment while she had the chance. Those drills will have to go, so they can't damage Rock, nor the pretty boy. The brawler slowly inhaled and focused. A spark of red light emitted from one of her red eyes, gleaming with determination.

"...ooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-- --RARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!!!"

Immeasurably powerful punches came flying from her arms like a human gattling! The speed of them was so great that the untrained human eye wouldn't even be able to properly see them. The strength and speed put behind them made each impact create a powerful shockwave, sending off a powerful gust of wind that would knock anyone standing close to this onslaught of punches flying like they were caught in a tornado. A relentless onslaught of punches with little regard for Remilia's own body. Using this, she only has one intention. And that is to dish out as much damage as possible! In the matter of second, hundreds of punches have been thrown. And there was no sign of her stopping. Her powerful voice echoed through the factory in the form of an aggressive battlecry that made the ground tremble.

Yet still, she was holding back just enough to not decimate the two people sitting inside of the mechanical creation made of junk. In the end, she still wants Rock to receive what he has rightfully earned. Beating up the guys that have ruined his home! She isn't going to hurt them. Just, soften them up a bit and break their toys.

Azrael didn't want to reveal himself in such a manner. But being caught in mid-air with no way to escape made things a bit more complicated than he wanted. Two wings exploded from his back and carried him out of the way of the explosive metal ball. His demonic form illumonated in the explosion.

He darted through the air. Sporadically dashing as if swimming from one angle to another. Like a bat out of hell. Hoping to keep Grem's attention on him. Remi could handle that idiot thug. But a body being piloted by two people would surely fail. Espcially considering that Azrael aimed to lead Grem's arm across Margelo's.

''Hopefully Adam is almost done. No doubt he knows who i am.''

“I-Incredible” Rock watched from afar as he barely kept track of how many punches Remilia had thrown towards that walking pile of junk and counted his lucky stars he hadn’t actually fought her. He turned his gaze towards Azrael who had sprouted wings and blinked before smiling nervously.

“So he’s got devil fruit powers too? Insane…” Rock almost felt a little jealous of the two of them as he watched them respond magnificently to the junk machine’s onslaught and he gripped his fist tight, a feeling of helplessness washing over him. He couldn’t just sit here and let them do all the fighting. This was his home damn it, he needed to help!

However, Rock was no fool and knew jumping in without a plan would only make things worse. Instead, he simply kept observing the machine and tried to look for a weakness or vulnerability he could exploit.

Meanwhile, Margolo was becoming anxious towards seeing how much power Remilia wielded as he watched her use her brute force to crush their drill cannons while Gremor was distracted by the now flying Azrael.

“Quickly, deploy the Junk Shield!” Margolo shouted towards Gremor who was ignoring him and trying to stay focused on the pesky Azrael.

“Hey, watch what’s in front!” Margolo pleaded once more but it was far too late as Remi’s fist barrage collided with the Junk Decimator’s body, pummeling the machine from every angle as hordes of junk were sent scattered across the hall. The machine was then catapulted backwards, colliding against a wall as the damage to its core body was beyond extensive and only thanks to Remilia not deciding to destroy the cockpit did the two humans inside not take any damage.

“Nice one!” Rock shouted from the sidelines. Perhaps they didn’t need his help after all?

Margolo tried to regain his bearings as he shook his head, glaring daggers towards the also dizzy Gremor.

“You idiot! Are you trying to get us killed!” Margolo shouted.

“...Sorry, I was distracted” Was Gremor’s response that caused Margolo to seeth his teeth in anger at the incompetence displayed by Gremor but was surprised when the man suddenly started laughing.

“What the hell’s so funny?” Margolo raised an eyebrow, demanding answers for such a weird display in the middle of battle.

“There’s no need to worry. We can still win this fight if we play our cards right. Both of those pests are devil fruit users right? We can use that to take care of them, can we not?”

Margolo widened his eyes at what Gremor was implying as a devious smirk appeared on his face. He had missed it since he was so angry before but that mysterious masked man was definitely a devil fruit user and if he was, then their trump card would surely work against both of them.

Before that however, they needed to address the damage the machine took and nodded towards each other.

With their plan set in motion, the duo operated the decimator to stand once more as the machine looked incredibly beat up and barely functional after the beating it took. It didn’t seem like it would be much of a threat anymore until Rock and the others watched as several mechanical arms appeared from different sectors in the factory, carrying with them strange tools and junk that began to repair and fix the damages taken by Remilia’s attack.

“What the hell? So this factory also acts as a repair station for that blasted thing? That's just great” Rock grumbled. This wasn’t good, there was no telling how much junk there was inside this factory. If that thing only needed more junk to heal, it might have been impossible to destroy unless they took out the entire factory.

Earlier That Day "Bass!" Adam screamed. "Bass!" She wandered the calm ship. Watching as the small group of marine sailers under Azrael took the day to themselves. Some played games while others enjoyed a drink or two. Stories were told to one another in glee. A calm, peaceful day among a sea of junk. But something felt off...People were actually enjoying their day. And that, to Adam, was the ultimate evil! "Bass!"

"Yes Adam." Bass answered. The tall man was sitting atop the edge of the deck. His legs facing the sea. His hands meticulously glided over his famous rifle, Big Iron. Making sure every last speck of dust was removed. Surely his idea of a good day spent.

"I don't like this." Adam complained. Her clothes belonging to that of a nunnery as opposed to an actual military force. But taking this girl lightly cost countless criminals their lives.

"You don't like anyone having fun." Bass replied nonchalantly.

"That's not true!" Adam barked. "But I mean...Things are going too smooth. And captain doesn't attract smooth days like this. He might need our help."

"Maybe."

"Soooooo?" Adam pleaded.

"He ordered us to stay here. That is his order...we must follow it."

"Always so fucking serious dammit." Adam groaned. "Fine! I'll be in my quarters reading my holy book then. Since no one cares that evil is coming" She roared.Stomping off to her room. She could tell Bass hadn't taken his eyes off that gun for one second. A man whose mind worked like a machine...

When she reached the room, however, Adam was faced with a pleasant surprise. A paper resting peacefully on her pillow. The woman's innocent grin turning into a demonic hunger. She squished the paper and darted off the edge of the ship. Jumping on the air itself towards the island.

"Bass, watch the ship! The captain gave me orders!" She screamed back. To no avail...as Bass hadn't stopped focusing on his gun.

This fucking factory...

Azrael could only groan as this seemingly simple task only became more tedious. He wanted to be done with it. Take care of the disgusting trash and head back to his ship! Maybe even properly introduce himself to Remilia. She'd caught his eye. Especially as the woman who could demolish a war machine in a single minute. Things like that turned him on. But...the fact she wasn't old enough to share a drink??? People would definitely never shut up about that horrible fact. Still, he couldn't keep his eye off her. Something pulling him towards her. He lowered himself. Azrael's wings flapping slowly to keep him hovering above the ground.

Once the repairs were finished, the Junk Decimator was as good as new as a cackling laugh emerged from the cockpit.

“What did I tell you fools? Your little invasion was doomed from the beginning since we’re invincible as long as we’re in this factory!” He mocked as the machine took a few steps closer, eyeing both Azrael and Remilia with a murderous gaze. In order for their plan to work, he needed to first dispose of the muscular woman as she was the biggest threat due to both her strength and durability.

Raising one of the mechanical arms, it shifted into a huge cannon but instead of scrap metal being fired, the Junk Decimator released a large mass of purple gas towards Remilia and Azrael.

“You claimed you were a tough girl weren’t you?” Margolo taunted as he tried to bait the muscular woman. “So why don’t we see if your tough enough to handle this? Your not afraid of a little pollution are you?”

“That stuff looks dangerous, better not get too close” Rock planned to jump to higher ground and from his sights, it seemed Azrael planned to fly away as well. Remilia however, hadn’t moved an inch yet and Rock paled when he saw this.

“What are you doing! You can’t let that stuff-shit!” Rock tried to warn Remilia, scared that the woman had been baited into wanting to prove her toughness but couldn't’ as some of the gas was approaching his area quickly and he immediately jumped to the higher levels.

"What kind of cheap trick have you got in store now? You think your deodorant cannon is going to scare ME of all people off?! I am just getting started! I am far from done with you! No matter how many times your hunk of junk repairs itsself, i will keep going until i have crushed your toy into tiny specs of dust! You... foool! Hrruugh!"

Remilia's movement was starting to become sluggish for some reason. She couldn't explain why. She wasn't feeling exhausted by any means. But it felt more like her body was trying to prevent her from moving forward. But she had total control of her body, there was no way it was just going to fail her now. She kept taking small steps forward. It was getting really difficult to just walk forward. Curses, what was gas?! Remilia was right when she called it a cheap trick. It was most certainly doing something to her body that made it difficult to move. It even started to make her limbs feel dumb. An uncomfortable feeling indeed.

"What... the hell is going on?! Is that the gas?!"

She just realized, and finally decided to hold her breath. But it was far too late already. Her movement has become too sluggish to do anything of damage. Those punches from before couldn't have been done in this state. Nontheless, Remilia smirked and stared at the two men inside of their machine.

"Heh... funny how you need to rely on a... cheap trick like this to try and have a shot at me. Come on, what are you going to do now while i can't fight back, huh?! Drill me some more? Shoot at me with a massive cannon? Step on me with your machine? Go on, i want to know how you want to try and capitalize on your situation."

Remilia taunted them with a cheeky grin. But her smirk was quickly wiped off when she tried to look at Rock who was standing from afar. A concerned expression, like she was trying to tell him to stay back, even if her situation didn't look optimal. She clenched her teeth, and braced herself for whatever is going to come. She is confident that she can take it either way. What matters is that Rock and Azrael don't get hurt, and that Rock can have his victory in the end.

“Damn it!” Rock cursed as it was too late to do anything about Remilia’s condition. He cursed Remilia for her clearly awful habit of never backing down from a challenge and cursed himself for not being strong enough to prevent it from happening. Judging by the symptoms, that poisonous gas must have had a tranquilizing effect that was messing with her nervous system that caused her body to quit responding.

“It’ll probably take awhile for the stuff to get out of her body and during that time, she’ll be defenceless…” Rock feared for the worst and turned back to the Junk Machine that was emitting a hearty laugh from the amused Margolo's voice.

“Bahahaha, I never thought the idiot would actually fall for it!” Margolo had to clutch his face as the laughter kept pouring out but Gremor didn’t laugh, more concerned with finishing them off as quickly as possible.

“Let’s not waste time” Gremor was about to activate the trump card before Margolo stopped him, a malicious grin now appearing.

“Aw, what’s the rush? She’s defenseless now, let’s have some fun first!” Margolo was quicker than Gremor and activated the decimator’s cannons as they fired both razor sharp scrap metals and miniature bombs towards the unmoving Remilia who could only block their attacks as best she could. She was tough and could easily bear the pain but her body’s appearance grew worse by the second, scraps and cuts now appearing all over her body as blood dripped from her wounds. Her already shaggy clothes were beginning to become torn and shredded but she kept blocking, refusing to yield.

“Remilia!” Rock shouted with worry and pain as his teeth gnashed against each other, watching her bare the full onslaught. This couldn’t go on! He’d rather die than watch someone get hurt for his sake! However, there was still some gas nearby and he couldn’t afford to go down there but he couldn’t just sit still and do nothing. He darted his eyes to the side and saw a huge crane in the upper corner, having gained an idea.

Meanwhile, Margolo had satisfied his desire to tortue the girl long enough and ceased the fire as he looked down at his partner.

“Now, we can finish her off”

Gremor rolled his eyes. “We should have done this from the beginning”

He wasted no more time and pressed a red button on the bottom of the control panel, causing the decimator to reveal a small rifle just below it’s torso as it honed in on Remilia’s chest area.

“It was fun while it lasted and it does pain me to see such a powerful woman die but aw well, you made your own choices and those choices led you here. To your death!” Margolo shouted, giving Gremor the okay to fire the rifle as a bullet was launched forward, it’s course set to penetrate Remilia’s chest.

“You’ll find this bullet a lot different from our other ones as it’s made out of sea-stone!” Margolo gloated.

The word sea-stone caused both Rock and Azrael’s ears to flicker as they both knew what that entailed for the defenseless Remilia. Rock was about to climb into the crane before he heard those dangerous words and he shouted with all his strength and feared for the woman's life.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY, REMILIA!”

To think that she had gotten this far only to be mocked and humiliated. She couldn't do anything but stand there, not being able to move and endure the damage. It didn't even really hurt her. This could be thanks to her incredible pain resistance, or the fact that she is basically paralyzed and her body won't do what she wants to do anymore. The damage it was doing to her body was not as bad as having to stand there all defenseless. Is this her punishment for holding back and not attacking the men right away, because she wanted Rock to have this glory moment? It felt like a whole minute has passed since they attacked her with their junk creation. And she was still standing, despite everything. Like her body refused to fall over, despite everything.

"Damn you... i am glad that my crew members aren't here and don't have to see their captain be emberassed like this. I am no role model, and not someone they should look up to. Rather someone they can trust, and be someone that can make them feel at ease. What would they think if they saw me like this..."

Remilia talked to herself. She couldn't stand this awful feeling. Plus Rock and Azrael probably watching her, standing there without being able to fight back. This was much worse than any pain in the world. She glared at the men with a vicious stare. Despite everything, she won't let them feel at ease. They should know that once this all finally blows over, they will be done for. Even that silly rifle they got wouldn't do anything. That was, until the words "sea-stone" came up. She was confused, because she had no idea what that meant.

"What... sea-stone?"

She asked, before she heard the panicking scream from Rock. Her pupils shrank due to sheer shock. That voice made it sound like she was about to die if where to get hit by this. She had to move out of the way. But she couldn't. Even if she wanted to.

Azrael had flown out of the gas's path. In all his years as a marine, as someone known as the Undead, his mentor had taught him only fools play with their lives. There are always bigger fish! Remilia was extraordinarily powerful. A woman who he'd want to follow into the New World and clash against. Her might a premonition of the glory to come. But she wouldn't reach that plateau if she continued being so reckless. Azrael could tell this was her first battle against a real threat. Trickery and deceit is the name of the game. Rare are actual enemies who fight battles upfront.

He was going to substitute himself in when he heard that cursed word. Seastone! Much like the dagger in his sheathe, the World Government cultivated this technology for people like Remilia. Logia users who forget the fragility of mortality.

Why did you join the marines lieutenant? Azrael remembered hearing that question for the first time. Adam, then a simple Ensign, asked.

''To save this world from evil. No matter the flag. But in order to do that...he needed to kill that thing'' in him. He saw countless high ranking marines sacrifice their lives for the greater good. They lacked it. ''The fear of death'- he prayed that reaching their level would remove that cowardice from him. ''

In that moment, Azrael used his powerful wings to shoot himself to Remilia. Grab King. He repeated to himself mentally. But his body seemed to ignore his command. As if, deep in Azrawl heart, he knew the only propable course of action. He only had enough time to do one thing. The winged marine smacked into the paralyzed pirate. Sending her flying out of the gas's range. But more importantly, out of the bullet's path.

Azrael fell with a hard thud. His frozen body sliding several feet before stopping. He tried to move...but the pain radiated from his heart was different. The seastone drained away his stamina. His heart exploding from the excruciating pain.

Thank god for the mask...or the world would have saw the tears falling. That evil cowardice inside of him still existed. For the only words that came to mind were...

I dont want to die...

There was dead silence in the area before a cackling laugh exploded out from Margolo while Gremor shook his head in disgust. He knew Azrael was many things but to think he’d be so foolish as to throw away his own life for the sake of some pirate; it was beyond stupid and could only look on with pity as he watched the poor bastard fall to the ground, seemingly lifeless.

“Well, considering they were both gonna die anyway, I guess it doesn’t really matter who goes first! Bahaha” Margolo continued to mock the deadman he saw in front of him before his eyes turned to Remilia who was looking at Azrael’s “corpse” with wide eyes.

“Now it’s your turn!” Margolo and Gremor were now ready to finish off Remilia as they commanded the Junk machine to head straight towards her, ready to shred her to pieces with their mechanical weapons. However, they had completely forgotten about someone’s existence as the sound of someone yelling altered their attention.

“YOU BASTARDSSSSSSS!”

Just as the machine turned to see what was going on, a powerful force slammed straight into the Junk Machine. Rock had operated the construction crane in the corner and maneuvered it to slam its body right into the Junk Machine as it sent the machine flying to the side, slamming into a nearby wall as Rock landed back on the ground with a vicious glare on his face.

He wanted to rip them to shreds, to beat the ever living shit out of them; but that had to wait as Rock turned to the lifeless body of Azrael and dashed over towards him as fast as he could.

“Azrael!” He shouted, not caring for the promise he had made to not call him by his name as he checked the man’s pulse immediately, praying that the worst had not come. It was quiet at first but he could faintly hear the slow sounds of a fading heartbeat and his eyes widened.

He was still alive! It was a miracle!

“There’s no time to waste!” He immediately ripped off the man’s coat and shirt, eyes widening as he saw the amount of blood that had surfaced from the chest hole caused by the sea-stone bullet. At this rate, he’d bleed out. Rock opened his own coat and brought out a small emergency first aid kit and got to work. He had to remove that sea-stone bullet lodged into the man’s chest before those bastards attacked again. He worked with incredible efficiency and wiped the scattered blood with a small towel he carried, using small pincers as he dug through the man’s chest and eventually found the lodged bullet.

It could have been useful for the future, so he decided to keep it in his pocket. Good, the worst had been avoided. Now, he just needed to get Azrael back to a hospital to perform proper surgery on that wound and lifted the man bridal style, careful not to reaggravate the wound.

He looked over at Remilia who was still staring with wide eyes and shouted at her.

“He’s not dead! Get ahold of yourself! I know you were trying to hold back in order to let me have a shot at them but that naivety is what led to Azrael sacrificing himself for you! I appreciate it, I really do… but right now… that’s not what I need from you…” He ignored the sound of the Junk Machine getting back up from the rubble and glaring at him as he shouted with all his might.

“WHAT I NEED IS FOR YOU TO CRUSH THEM!” His words vibrated throughout the whole factory. He backed up when he saw the Junk Machine set its sights towards him as he was prepared to run off with Azrael but felt a chill down his spine when he looked back over at Remilia.

Something was… happening to her.