Great Minds Think Alike

Into The Black Snow
Even though the clock had just hit 12:00 pm in the afternoon, outside it seemed like dusk. The streets were illuminated by dim light posts, and subtle rays of sunlight made certain places a bit more brighter than others. This was due to the thick clouds which extended to almost the whole island of Negrsneg. The island of the Black Snow was true to its name, as charcoal colored snowfall rained down, the product of snow merging itself with volcanic ashes. Constant blizzards were a common thing on this place, sometimes lasting for weeks. This only is made worse by the unholy tremors of an active volcano that shakes the entire island on a constant basis, which is located on the south. Not only that, but the entire piece of land sat upon a dormant super volcano, whose awakening would obliterate the entire island and the ones nearby.

This was a truly mysterious island, as sunlight barely hit the surface, almost all life on the land was just plain white. The locals were easily identifiable by their pale white skin and red eyes, whose eyesight had developed to adjust to the scarceness of light. But as with many locations in the New World, this island, with its strange colorless beauty, also had a darker shade to it.

Because of the harshness of the land, it is mostly inhabited by its pale locals, which settled in various villages and towns across the island, usually nearby one of the various natural hot springs. However, in the past, many foreigners stepped unto the island, mainly for work, as the island was home to various oil extraction and refinery facilities. Indeed, the island is also a rich source of natural materials such as oil. A fateful event occurred years back, which caused all operations to be abandoned, as well as creating resentment from the local towards the World Government, and slowly isolating the island even more from the outside world. But still, one factory survived. Only accessible by travelling through a geyser filled canyon, known as Geyser Path, sits a town full of criminals and refugees, where the only remaining oil extraction factory and refinery exists, as well as where many underground dealings are taking place every moment. The locals do have knowledge of the dark dealings going on in Taneko Town, but they simply turn a blind eye to it, as a certain group of pirates has made a deal with them; every illegal business will take place ONLY in the town, and the locals are to be left alone. The locals do benefit as well, as is with these businesses that they have access to food and products not found on their harsh home.

Today, the town was even busier than usual, as a certain event had caused that many individuals with scientific expertise had set foot on it. Eren Gyo, a scientist formerly employed by the Marines and World Government, had been working secretly with a group of researchers in order to create a devastating weapon, one that would cause widespread genocide to all the corners of the world. Following the clash between the Xros allied fleet, the Numerals, against the Marines and the "Black Ops", one of the pirate groups who participated in the event, the Reaper Pirates, continued with their momentum, and for some reason began attacking several Government ships and those belonging to countries and kingdoms, in order to abduct scientific experts for some unknown purposes.

Though these attacks received the most attention, several abductions in guarded locations were executed in a swift and stealthy manner at the same time. This threat forced Gyo's hand, and with his colleague, Wung Juno's resources, sent a message to many of those experts who were probably in danger, and offered them a deal. Gyo's plan was simple, aid him in finishing his weapon and making it even deadlier, send the weapon to Mariejois to serve as an example of its power, and later sell it through the underground. But there was a catch, the scientists would have a way of activating the weapon remotely, making the weapon itself "malfunction" when in the hands of their buyers. When the weapons were activated, those affected by it would have no other choice than to also buy the antidote from the scientists themselves.

Indeed, it was a biological weapon. A fast acting, deadly virus that once inside a human host, it evolves various ways to spread itself into other hosts. So far, it has been developed to the point that when an victim is infected, by the point it's effects are visible, it has already infected those around him. The virus's effects become visible after 12 hours on a body, on animals it takes double the time. It causes bodily decay from the inside out, while still keeping the victim alive for at least 72 hours. No amount of physical strength, willpower nor devil fruit will stop it's effects, although if the antidote is administered before the 48 hour mark, there may be a slight chance of survival. It also causes excessive blood hemorrhage, to the point the victim begins vomiting blood at the 12 hour mark.

Also, their bodily pores expand massively, and produce a type of fungus that produces a stench and spreads the virus to anyone nearby at 12 hours after infection, entering nearby bodies through their pores, noses, mouth, and even eyes. The virus then proceeds to consume it's host, fueling itself by destroying and consuming everything from it's cells, all the way to it's bones and organs. Even after an infected victim dies, the virus keeps consuming the remains, to the point of leaving only an empty husk of skin, bits of muscle and tendons. This is possible because of the virus's deadliest quality, it's almost undetectable to a body's defense mechanisms, and when the cells finally notice the virus, the foreign body is already to strong to eliminate.

Gyo and his team had developed quite the deadly weapon, but they wanted more, they wanted the virus to be even stronger, and be able to be completely controlled by them, maybe even aided my nanotechnology, or something that would make the chances of survival after being infected absolutely zero. He had spread this piece of information through the Wung Family's channels, resulting in the gathering of many high profile scientists on the island, some well, were forced to come against their will, as to not have them taken by the Reaper Pirates first, others came because of genuine interest of collaborating, and other, simply out of curiosity or other nefarious reasons.

Wung Juno walked towards Gyo. "I've already informed all the researchers that, in less than an hour, they are to gather at the refinery for your speech."

"Excellent. How many have gathered?", asked Gyo. "At least one hundred. Counting the ones you brought with you, it sums up to about a hundred and thirty," answered Juno, while the duo walked towards the oil factory under an icy blizzard.

Gyo chuckled confidently. Even if one of the scientists tried to take the weapon for himself, or sabotage his plans, they had contracted the support of a powerful mercenary army, known as the Iron Legion. No enemy, from within or without, would be able to cause any sort of disturbance on their plans...or so they thought, as this information had spread through a few channels that weren't intended. Without the scientists knowledge, the location and intentions of their gathering was leaked, whether intentional or not, the news would definitely attract the attention of unwanted visitors, aiming to crash the scientists plans for their own purposes. While the scientists made their way to the factory, in order to prepare for Eren Gyo's speech, some of the unwanted visitors would begin stepping foot on the island, while others, were already there. With all the opposing factions and forces gathering on a single island, there's no doubt the repercussions caused by this event would shake the island far worse than any volcano could.

At the entrance of the oil refinery, Nyctimene and Vrag were waiting for Gyo and rest of the guests. Their outfits contrasted greatly against each other, and so did their silhouettes. One was a woman statuesque only by normal standards, donning a scantily clad dress that left little to the imagination despite the rigidity of the climate, while the other was a wall of man, being twice over twice as tall as the average person and even wider, having pauldrons that accentuated the broadness of his shoulders. Both were wearing a piece covering their visages: a visor for Nyctimene and a demon red mask for Vrag.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Gyo-sama”. Nyctimene stepped into the snow, her bare feet sinking with a faint popping sound. Nyctimene could feel the cold permeating her body, though she had little to fear from it. “Our analysis of your virus has just been completed. We have tuned out the compatibility of the pathogenic agent with our nanomachines technology to 100%”.

“The airborne defenses of the island are operative also”, Vrag said. “Just look above you”. He pointed out at the sky. For normal eyes, it was a nothing than a gigantic black curtain of snow mixed with ashes, a mass of thick clouds spanning for miles and miles with little more to bring then a hails and snowstorms of obsidian. Sharper eyes- Gyo eyes were as sharp as they could be- could see dots mixed in the spot, tiny specks of metal giving away and nearly invisible glimmer. They were found spread on the ground, were fresh snow had just poured, and they were teeming in the dark nimbi above.

“We’ve been utilizing the dark hue of the snow to mimetize a net of small sensors, and used the snow current to diffuse them everywhere. We can spot the tiniest pebble coming near us with no fail and without cumbersome uses of Kenbunshoku Haki. Any intruder and would-be invaders will be dealt readily and swiftly”.

Ory snuck onto the island wearing a hood over his monitor-like head. The little cyborg didn't want to attract too much attention to himself, every doctor on this island would love a chance to disassemble and study him. but if the rumors of Dr. Domogato being on this island was true, that meant the closes thing he has to family was still alive, and seeing his father alive again would be worth the risk.

Travelling through the Geyser Path, Ishimasu and his escorts walked towards the refinery in the center of the island were Eren Gyo waited for them. They walked in silence, where the only noise was that of the Geyser collapsing. Shura interrupted the silence, asking Ishimasu: "Doctor, do you known what Gyo wants gathering this many scientists?". Ishimasu, with a serious expression, answered: "Just like you, I'm curious to know." At that moment, Koichiro interfered in the conversation. "Good it might not be. Otherwise, he wouldn't ask us to come to this ruined place." Ishimasu stopped suddenly, talking to his guards in a serious tone. "Be prepared for everything,. We don't know what surprises awaits us in this island." Said that, they kept walking through the canyon.

While one man decided to blend into the crowds another desperately wanted to stand out. White C. Ryan walked amongst the people with a swagger and power in his step looking down at hoards of geniuses he believed to be idiots in comparison to his own mental prowess. "Hmm look at em all the hoards drifting using their hollow little brains hopefully I can find someone of interest this lineup has yet to astound me" the skinny man thought as he slowly made around while he grasped a small item tightly clutched in his left hand "little do these simpletons know I have something their brains couldn't even begin to comprehend".

While all had been a tranquil stillness for those present on Negrsneg, on the horizon grew something that hadn't been graced upon the island in ages. Slicing through the deep waters of the ocean that surrounded the island of whiteness was not one, but seemingly two battleships. It was unknown how many followed the two, if any, but that didn't matter. These two massive ships posed an immense threat, as one was dressed with a marvelous show of lights, dancing on and around it's grand beauty. Yet, it knew better than to disturb the King in slumber that commanded the mighty Iridessa.

"Capt...I mean, Rear Admiral Gambi Marlow Sir!" Called out Lewis, standing before Marlow with nothing but respect for the Marine. Unlike most of the crew, who were still a bit wary of the Rear Admiral after the events that had taken place at Mahavira, Lewis kept an unwavering trust and faith. "We're closing in on Negrsneg, should I contact Gyokuryū now?" He stood in a salute, his shoulders keeping a short of lax position.

As Lewis spoke, the party of lights and the dancing that serenaded the mighty ocean had ceased. Out of fear, each and every strand of his kingdom looked forward to see how their master would react. Would there be anger? Delight? Even a hint of gratitude perhaps? There was no telling, which made even the life of the world pause to watch. "Appreciated, Lieutenant Lewis." Marlow stated with a sense of familiarity. The brightness gave a sigh of relief, as did Lewis.

"I'll be right on it, Rear Admiral Marlow." Lewis replied, ending his salute and kindly excusing himself from Iridessa's captain's quarters. That left Marlow, once more to reflect. He glanced at his hands, seemingly observing them. Before saying anymore, he clenched them, instead glancing over to the majestic show of grace and gruesomeness that was Balduriemma.

"It should've been by your edge." He calmly stated. "Only the tainted can truly be banished by the light." He continued, sitting once more in silence as he awaited the call from the other shit.

Hidden behind the mightiness of Gambi's vessels, another ship approached Negrsneg. It was rather small in size and its design was quite simple, yet sophisticated. The caravel-like watercraft, made of dark red wood and decorated with intricacies of gold, had both the speed and strength to fastly travel and survive the unsteadiness of New World's ocean, reaching safely the Island of Black Snow.

The tripulation was quite small too, as there was no room to fit many people on the ship. It was comprised of five individuals; four soldiers that roamed around the deck with their large coats and guns on hands, and a single man that stood quietly on the bow. His kimono moved with the harsh and cold wind in many directions, but his body stood still, like a statue, for the entirety of the trip.

"Captain Sanzo, we've arrived -oinc." Cho, a lumpy and pinky individual, called out Sanzo. Not only it was his duty in the crew to inform such things, but he was concerned about the state of his captain. Sanzo, however, only really opened his eyes and moved when a single snowflake touched his forehead.

"Thank you, Lieutnant." Sanzo said, his voice scarring Cho a bit as he thought his captain was already dead at this point. "Contact the other ships and wait for more instructions." With a salute, Cho left his side.

Sanzo took of his gloves, feeling the cold burning the skin of his right hand. With a snap of his fingers, the wind suddenly stopped blowing, the snowflakes fell in weird directions, avoiding the ship, and the ship was completely motionless. He waited once more in silence, putting on his gloves, as the other Marines arrived at the place.

The Den Den Mushi rang as a shadow blitzed through the ship to pick it up. "Huh!? Who's this? Hey Sanzo, Marlow! You guys there!?...I just wanna' say I hope ya' losers don't screw up! I don't wanna' have to clean up your- GUAAAAAHG!!!"...After making a terrified expression, the Den Den Mushi stood expressionless until a few seconds later someone answered again.

"My apologies, fellow comrades. I have a few annoying kids on my ship." A sweet voice spoke through the phone towards the other Marine Battleships. It was none other than Vice Admiral Gyokuryū. They were at least a half hour behind all the marine ships that were already nearing the island.

"I will not waste much of your time. Rear Admiral Gambi Marlow, as you know, you've been assigned by the higher ups to lead this operation. The other commissioned officers are to follow your orders. I, Vice Admiral Hale Osiris, have been assigned to act as support in the case of an unexpected situation. Rear Admiral, I know of your triumphs and honor, however, DO NOT hesitate to contact my ship if the situation gets out of hand." She took a brief pause, and continued.

"Once again, for the sake of all, I will relay the details of the mission...Our priority will be the capture of all criminal scientists and their associates, and the protection of the citizens. We must also prepare for unexpected visitors and interference from criminal organizations and pirates. That being said, when met with violent resistance, it is vital that the people of the island are unharmed. We will be not well received, and yes, the locals involve themselves with the criminals that come and go of the island. But right now, we are here to protect them in the name of Justice. We will deal with their "status" after the mission."

"Comrades, I wish you the best of luck." "Clank"

Osiris walked to the ship's deck, followed by Futaryu Toki who was knocked out unconscious by her fist just earlier.

"Damnit V-A, you never don't hold back....Uurrhg..." He massaged his head, still feeling the impact of her fist.

Hey, you're waiting for him to make a move, aren't you?"

Osiris glanced at his subordinate, and smirked when she saw him rubbing his head, still reeling from her strike. "I should've done something all those years ago...Back when I sensed that darkness inside you, Shiro...", she thought to herself.

"Now when you focus your haki don't force it you must let it flow like a river" a familiar voice spoke rounding the corner meeting with the Vice Admiral "a crashing stream is a danger to itself and the land around it you must be calm" Futaryu Monoma was given advice to a young marine.

"I don't understand whenever I try to make it flow it's like it all comes out at once I can't hold it" the young man was in fact marine Ensign ,Trigate Edwin. The young mans hands were dark as night coated in thick layers of armament haki. He attempted to spread the haki from his hands to his forearms but slowly the haki sparked and lost its flame as his eyes searched upwards he saw his superior and with a mighty salute cried, "Good day Vice Admiral Osiris".

"I'm ready for the mission lets see how those smart dudes go against these HAKI COATED FIST" the ensign yelled as he clashed his fist together both covered with armament, but within seconds died out "DAMN"

Amaro Rock who was watching Edwin's training greeted Osiris with a good day, then he approached her and asked, "Ma'am, Marlow will really be able to guide us to victory, I studied his history, even being highly decorated, I heard that suffered notable defeats, and has a very short fuse, can we really trust him as commander "

"Remember to be careful, you lot." Another voice on the corner of the ship spoke. The man was of an average height and build, boasting medium-length black hair and modest facial hair. He was wearing standard Marine attire with a doctor's cloak over the uniform. "We're dealing with criminals who have captured scientists to develop something heinous. You'll have to let me deal with the diagnosis on the front line." This was Guimmard Reiner a, but of a lower station than Marlow himself. He was not promoted strictly for his combat abilities, although he was by no means weak, but rather, his expertise in the medical industry and other sciences made him a core part of virtually any Marine squad he was assigned to.

He eyed Marlow in particular, "You're my commanding officer, Marlow, but don't forget we're equal in rank. If you make a stupid decision on impulse, I'm taking over the operation without any questions."

Lewis continued to stand with a respectful stance, yet closer to the Den Den Mushi that was connected to Hale's ship than his captain. When Reiner emerged to speak, Lewis remained calm and stayed in his place.

Marlow walked towards Reiner as he made his statement. All Marlow could think about was the immense disrespect that was being thrown towards him. First by Gyokuryū's lackeys and now by this man with an abnormally long yet magnificent display of facial hair. There had been not one, but two implications on Marlow's inability to lead such a mission. And that was one too many. The Oni gritted his teeth as he stood face to face with the other Rear Admiral, a clear power struggle seemed to be developing between to two by that simple comment.

"Don't worry about my job, I'll do what I have to. You just stay in your place, do your job and try not to too much about me. I happen to understand your expertise is babysitting, so feel free to find some toddlers to watch over." Marlow spoke, mostly in an attempt to reassert his authority.

On Gyokuryū's ship, the Vice Admiral walked over to Commodore Amaro Rock. "Commodore, you trust ME, right? Yet I have a tendency to be late, always give the enemy a chance to surrender, and have some weird way of calling people and my attacks, right? Is that enough for me to not be called competent? Possibly, but my record prove otherwise. Yes, I've failed, quite a lot. I've been criticized by my ways ever since I was a recruit, yet here I am." She turned around, looking at the Twin Dragons.

"You see this idiot right there, and his brother? Both are quite troublesome cases, and quite disrespectful sometimes, mostly Toki. But their desire to help those in need and the pride they have when they were those coats on their shoulders, that is something no one can deny...." She turned her head to look the Commodore in the eyes. "Yes, Rear Admiral Marlow may be short fused, and he may have failed a mission or two. So have you, so have I. Yet I feel this operation is in good hands...Who know's...The Rear Admiral may surprise all of us with his skills."

Smiling to the Commodore, she turned to Edwin, leaped into the air and punched him in the head. "You idiot!!! Who told you to stop practicing!!! 3,000 push ups HERE AND NOW!"

"YES MAM-VICE ADMIRAL" Edwin yelled in haste quickly saluting and then placing both his hands on the ground and quickly shooting up and down. He turned his head to the two twins and mouthed "she scares me". The two twins watched the recruit begin his difficult workout while Monoma whispered and both the twins let out a small chuckle. "Hey man things look like this is too easy for you. here let us help" the older brother spoke as they both stood on the Ensign's back slowing down his progress. "YOU BASTARDS..." Edwin looked up at osiris and continued pushing against the floor "I swear when I'm a admiral I won't have to put up with this...but I will admit...it's kinda funny".

After reflecting on his words and on what Osiris said, Rock with a respectful voice addressed her "my sincere apologies, ma'am let me go nets the campaign alongside Rear Admiral Marlow so that personally can prove his ability"

Hale Osiris had picked up the Den Den Mushi, but seemed somewhat hesitant. When he was done bullying Edwin Trigate, Futaryu Toki approached her. "Hey, V-A. You okay?", he said in a serious tone, a bit unusual for him.

"You know, Toki. It's shameful for me to admit, but more so than taking down the scientist's plan, and even saving the lives of the locals...I came for this operation, hoping he would show up.' She tightened up her fist. "I feel it is my responsibility to take him down."

"Oh, you're talking about that rookie? The one who forced these scientists into hiding? I remember you mentioning something about you two being close when he was working for the Government. Don't worry V-A, Monoma and I-oh and of course little Trigate will be by your side...But if he indeed shows up, I'd like get a piece of him before you or Marlow go for his head."

Vice Admiral Osiris gave a half smile, and picked up the Den Den Mushi. "Attention to all Marines on this operation, this is Vice Admiral Hale Osiris, again...I wish to speak about a certain matter, so please, hear me out quickly. You all must have heard that this "move" that the legal and underground scientists made, was because of a certain group of pirates began kidnapping them first from their homes, research centers and even Government ships. I-...have known the Captain of the crew for at least nine years. Sadly, I turned a blind eye to this man's "darkness", hoping he'd change...."

Osiris took a pause and a deep breath before continuing. "Rear Admiral Gambi Marlow! I won't overstep on your authority on this mission, but I do have a request. IF the Reaper Pirates's Captain shows himself before our forces, a kill-on-sight order should be given immediately."

Toki widened his eyes. The Vice Admiral, known for her "passive justice", for giving a chance for criminals to surrender and give up their ways, for pleading in favor of more humane treatment of criminals...is requesting a kill on sight order, and on someone she had known personally for years? This definitely seemed strange.

"He's dangerous." She continued. "And the worst part of it, it's that he's a monster created by our own Government. We must not let his pirating career advance, for our and the innocent people of the world's sake...That would be all. Any information regarding the pirate I can gladly give, if any are interested. Regardless, I don't mean to shift our goals for the mission, but I just wanted to give a heads up to you officers know about this." Clank

“What did you mean by him being a “monster” created by the Government?”, asked Toki, incredibly curious from that statement.

Osiris leaned on the edge of the ship, taking in the cold breeze. “Sigh. The World Government, specifically, the World Nobles, have always desired to possess even stronger and more loyal soldiers. They...took a page out of the Devil's Playground’s book. Several groups of children were recruited in order to undergo training as prospects for Chipher Pol 9, and eventually be promoted to CP-0, working directly under the Celestial Dragons. But the truth was, the training was going to be nothing like the usual. The training would be torturous, inhumane and cruel, they’d be experimented and drugged. It was...a literal living hell for those children. And out of that pilot group, made out of more than two hundred children, after four years, a twelve year old under the serial number 00663, was the only survivor. You’d probably guess who that kid grew up to be...” During all her explanation, Osiris never faced her men or looked at her eyes, somewhat feeling ashamed of the cruel methods executed by the government she loyally works for.

"Understood, Vice Admiral." Reiner affirmed, listening to Osiris' statement in detail. As a scientist and doctor of the Marines, he was well aware of the operation that Osiris spoke of. It was highly classified information, and theoretically she should be punished for revealing this information to other Marines. But in this case, he understood it.

"If you all don't understand what Vice Admiral Osiris is trying to say, let me explain it to you in layman's terms, especially you, Marlow." Reiner stood boldly between his fellow Marines. "The Captain of the Reaper Pirates, Umori Kenshiro, knows every Marine trick in the book. We cannot approach him half-hearted. You make one wrong step, and we all die."

Reiner looked keenly at Marlow during this entire statement. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

No one...

Almost no one stood by the deck of the Bijou. White, silverish hair blew only slightly along the cold wind, while everything else rocked in very small intervals. He held his arms by the sides of his body, face bearing no expression. His trench coat was to be finally put to use, after all, those were often used to protect against the cold, yet, he did wonder what cold was even there, even though his body shivered.

William Parker simultaneously kept the cold soars of air at bay and made his own temperature stable by having his powers continuously shift through his body. Through it, Parker's body was set in a constant state of shivering, a common reaction found in many beings when they were faced with the cold, so as to keep the body warm. For that reason, layers of red surrounded his form.

Parker glanced back into the ship, waiting to see if his sole companion would even bother to show their face.

A single individual rose from the shadow of the deck of the ship. He walked with a certain air around him. Something about the way he carried himself radiated with supremacy. And each step he took seemed to reassure that dominance. If it hadn't been for Parker's presence, then Belialuin B. Samuel would be radiating the greatest strength in the area if not the entire island.

"Are you ready to conquer, Parker?" Samuel spoke with the upmost respect for the man, only knowing what would be a consequence if he hadn't.

Parker's attention remained in the scenario ahead, arms crossed and figure static. "I suppose as much, Hearts." He spoke out at him almost too quietly, making sure his low words reached Samuel through his powers. "I shall be evaluating your efforts," He nodded, again, without even a glance.

"Now entering Geyser Pass... Well, this is as far as I go for now." A man in a ragged cloak stood in the cold road, reading the sign. He walked back over to the town and into an inn. Walking over to the bar, he ordered a drink while he removed his cloak. Piercing red eyes and golden hair adorned the face and head of the mysterious man. He payed for the drink, and the phone he was going to use. For some reason, the Den Den Mushi on the bar had a device that prevented the call from being tapped.

This bar was located in a village called Rocky Ravine. Passing through the town was the safest way to travel into Geyser Pass, to eventually reach Taneko Town, which lied deep in the canyon. As it's name suggested, Geyser Pass was a narrow road that allowed passage through the canyon. However, only the locals knew the way through, which made Rocky Ravine a gathering place for people serving as guides through the canyon. It didn't matter what your business was on Taneko Town, as long as you paid the fee, the guide would guarantee a safe trip. Although, many never reach their destination, as the unforgiving conditions of the canyon play no favorites. Whether a geyser erupted, or one of many dangerous and/or poisonous creatures who made their canyon their home attacked, there was always something to be wary of. The trip should be done by foot, and it'll probably take about three to four hours...Although, for some, stronger individuals, the trip could be done in mere minutes...

"I've spread the "bugs". They should be on their way into the canyon." Said the blonde man as he talked on the phone.

"Good...And tell me, have you seen anything unusual?", responded someone.

"Well, almost all of the guides have been hired. Only a handful are left on the town. It's gotten quite busy."

"Excellent. Once the "bugs" are spread through the island, I'll have eyes everywhere....Fufufufu..."

"So, when will you deploy them?"

"Soon. Contact me in thirty minutes, Samhain. I'll tell them to get prepared." "Clank"

The man walked over to the bar and continued his drink. "Heh...bossy bastard." He said to himself while he drank his ale in one go, and slammed the bottle on the table, ordering another one. "I'll definitely kill you someday."

On Taneko Town, a group of at least a hundred individuals dressed in black suits stood under the snow surrounding what seemed to be a large umbrella. Under it, sat a man dressed in purple and gray clothing. A large, loose sleeve on his right arm, and a katana rested on the side of his chair. It should be noted that the suited ones all carried katanas as well. In front of the seated man, was a large table, with a white cloth covering it. On top of it sat a sharpened knife and a towel. One of the men approached the table, and got down on his knees, the man sitting in front looking down on him intensely.

"You know what you have to do, Kamizawa", he said to the suited man. The individual picked the knife, and while staring straight at the seated man's eyes, without a moment of hesitation, he cut off one of his fingers. He didn't scream from the pain nor flinched.

Heremias covered the man's hand with the towel, and signaled some of the other men to tend to his bleeding. "Okay! Now we can eat!." The intensity quickly dissipated, as in a moment more tables were brought, and each table was filled with an assortment of deliciously cooked food. Heremias walked over to the watermelon, a rather large one.

"Gather your strength and fill your bellies, brothers and sisters! As soon as Ishimasu arrives, our mission begins." The mood again got intense. "If anything were to happen, he's our top priority! We'll leave everything else to the Iron Legion until we have secured our target." He smiled back at everyone there, easing the tension once again. "Itadakimasu!", he yelled as a slight breeze blew through the table in front of him. One of the men was slowly reaching in for the watermelon, when suddenly, the watermelon was cut in at least fifty pieces.

"What just happened?", whispered the same man to a woman besides him, completely surprised.

"Oh you're new, right? To put it simply, the Commander cut the watermelon with the sword you see resting there on the chair."

He looked at Heremias, who was still with his hands in a prayer position and his eyes closed. "Whaa? But...I didn't see a thing!!"

"That's Commander Heremias's Iaido technique. He cuts with his sword faster than the eye can see....Oh and a word of advice, don't EVER touch Heremias's watermelon. Let HIM share it with you. Unless you want to die."

The man gulped and nodded.

Heremias sat back in his chair with a plate full of watermelon slices. "Sir, do you believe something will happen?"

Heremias looked at him while eating. "Hmm...of course. Well rather, I expect something to happen. I'd be disappointed if it didn't." He put his plate down and grabbed the table cloth to clean his mouth. "I'm expecting HE and his stupid group to appear. I have to pay him back for how they humiliated Yoshitomi and the others."

After completing his vigem through the Geyser Path, Ishimasu and his group cheated the city of Taneko, soon after entering the city Shura noticed that everyone in the city stared at them, having noticed this he approached Giriki asking him, "Giriki, because everyone in this city does not face this way," Giriki then said as he walked, this is not any city, instead of several criminals and affiliates of the underworld, they see us this way, because everyone here has or already had some deep connection with the underworld, ".They continued to walk with the snow falling under their shoulders, until Ishimasu stopped, after seeing a group of well-dressed people gathered together in a circle, then Giriki commented, "Looks like we found the commander."

As soon as Ishiamsu approached the Men gathered there they opened the circle, so that the scientist could pass, he next to his group approaches Heremias who was sitting savoring his watermelon, Giriki greets him, and Koichiro addresses him directly "Seems to be having fun commander"

Big Plans
Eren Gyo, Wung Juno and his associates had arrived at the oil refinery, where he had told the scientists to gather for their meetng. He looked towards Juno. "Hey, have you brought those who, well, we had to persuade to come?"

"Oh you mean those we had to kidnap, doing the same thing as those pirates were doing? Yes, my men should have brought them here to the refinery." Juno answered. Gyo scoffed at Juno's response, and proceeded to walk into the location of his grand reunion, but noticed something in the distance towards his left side.

"Juno, why are those people in cages? Are they locals?...Wait, there are non-locals there as well. What is going on?!" Just as he finished his sentence, Gyo's eyes turned a bright yellow, as he stared into the cages. "What is the meaning of this?!

"Oh...That. You see, just this morning, these people began acting quite weird and violent towards each other and anyone around. They even began to bite others, as if they were animals, and even bit themselves. My men and those yakuza fellows from the Several crew apprehended them. But now, they seem to have lost all that energy they had."

"I see." Gyo said as he scanned the insides of his targets with his visual ability. "They look as if they are dead now, but they're alive. Order your men to quarantine them. They seem to have a foreign body affecting their brain and nervous system. We don't know if it's a virus and if it's contagious" Gyo continued walking, trying to seem as if he was fine, but he clenched his coat tightly. "I have a very bad feeling about this," he thought.

''"This is pure idiocy." Ory followed behind the group of scientests, a good distance behind, in order to avoid being spotted "I saw Domogato die. Why the hell do I think I'm gonna find him here? This seems like the kind of place he would have loathed. Still. If it is true, Then I got to get him out of here, for his own good..and for mine." '' Ory does not enter the Refinery, he instead watches the going ons from a window in half cover.

———- “Samhain, it is time”. The golden haired man walked outside, again standing just to the side of a sign that said “Now Entering Geyser Pass”. He waved his right hand in a motion reminiscent to someone opening a gate. Indeed, he had opened a sort of spatial gateway that connected the current location with a distant one. From it, four individuals would walk through and step foot on the island.

One of them, a tall, muscular and monkey-like silhouette would scream at the top of his lungs just after setting foot.

“Hooooooooweeeeeeeeee!!! Finally! I was getting all stiff and bored waiting inside that weird dimension.” He walked over to Samhain, looking down on him. The snow falling unto him and around melting because of a warm heat produced by the man. He looked around briefly just to turn back to Samhain. “So...isn’t the guy from the Cheesy Pirates supposed to be here with you?”

Samhain looked up, clearly irritated by the approaching man. “Wallace Genki, I wasn’t informed about any of that. He’s supposed to rendezvous after you lot arrived.” He took a few steps back. “oh and...It’s the Cheeky Pirates, not Cheesy... That just sounds preposterous,” he added.

“Tsk! Don’t try to act all smart on me!” Genki quickly began heating up, the snow now melting on an even wider circumference around him than before. He took a deep breath before proceeding to shout so loudly a breeze of spit and sound was sent towards Samhain’s direction. “HEEEEYYY! Melviiin! Gerbyyyy!! Toooonnyyyy!!! Saaaam!!!!”

“This guy, he’s just randomly guessing and shouting names!? And that last one, he just gave up of even guessing one close to his actual name!” Samhain thought to himself as a drop of sweat came down from the side of his face.

“Um...hey. GENKI STOP SHOUTING!! His freaking name is KELBY! Kelby of the Cheeky Pirates!!!!!”, Samhain exclaimed, tired of the pirate’s nonsense.

“Uhhhg you bastard. You’re getting on my nerves! Why didn’t you say so sooner!?” Genki took a deep breath again, but just before he could scream again, Samhain covered his mouth while he leered at the Tontatta standing beside him, opening his eyes in disbelief at Genki’s nature, wondering how they actually have the patience to deal with such a character.

“Just...stop. I believe you’re supposed to call him via Den Den Mushi...”

“Oh! Right!”, Genki had just realized that was just the thing he was supposed to do. Finally speaking in a normal tone, he spoke through a baby den den mushi he picked out of his pocket.

“Yo! Are you there? Is this “Beverly from the Sleeky Pirates? This if Genki, from the Reaper crew...where are you?”

The small tontatta, Kire hoped up to his comrades ear lightly punched the side of his face to get his attention. He whispered Genki "It's Kelby and it's the cheeky pirates how are we gonna get respect as a crew if they think we are a bunch dumbasses".

Suddenly, the Baby Den Den Mushi spoke back. "Yes, this is Beverly of the Sleeky Pirates." As the gathering Reapers continued their own fun, the Den Den Mushi spoke yet again. "I'm just having a bit of fun. Where have you all gathered?" The tone behind the Den Den Mushi was beyond lax, soothing even. And it seemed to speak without a care in the world.

Genki turned his head to look at Kire, with his face having an expression that signified “I told you so”.

“See!? He said Beverly from the Slee-...he’s messing with me, right? HEY! Keberly! Are you messing with me!?........I like you, stupid bastard.”

Samhain rolled his eyes, he couldn’t fathom THIS being the crew of that man. He waved his hand, and a small gate opened on Genki’s hand, while another opened just above Samhain’s own, making the Baby den den mushi fall unto it from Genki’s hand into his own.

“Kelby. This is Samhain, from the Wung Family. We are on the outskirts of Rocky Ravine Village, just before the entrance towards Geyser Pass. I’d advise you get here quickly. The “scouting bugs” have detected several presences arriving on the island.”

Genki quickly changed his expression, and his eyes glowed as he activated his Kenbunshoku, which he had developed to certain stages that surpassed even his Captain’s own. His range widened bit by bit, as he took in the auras and intentions of the live beings on the island. Before he could expand further, towards Geyser Pass and Taneko town, he sensed several anomalies, probably belonging to the mysterious Iron Legion. He later took in the two incredibly powerful auras on the shore, several others also caught his attention, one of these was probably Kelby’s, while just arriving from the sea, several strong auras where emanating a powerful feeling of determination, which belonged to the Marines determined to uphold their justice.

His Kenbunshoku reaching even beyond the island and feeling the aura’s intentions was quite the feat, and one of the reasons he joined the Reaper Pirates on their attack on the Numerals. Although he himself didn’t participate in the battle, he had stayed in the island just before Megido, where his Captain and Kire would clash against the Numeral, in order to detect and take care of anyone who would intrude on their battle.

Returning his attention to what was happening in front of him, he spoke. “Kebelery, you seem to be quite relaxed...Cap’n ordered me to stay here at the entrance and to prevent any unwanted visitors from going any further...so, how bout you make me company and we take on those fools when they come this way, while Kire and the rest take care of the other stuff?”

At this point Genki had already taken the Baby den den mushi from Samhain’s hands. Samhain walked a bit further from them, and pulled out his own Baby Den Den Mushi.

“Hey. I just want to ask, is it okay to leave this part of the mission to Genki? I realize you trust your crew mates, and I understand you relying on Kire and the others, but he...he seems a bit childish for this…”

“Fufufu...we barely know each other and you are already voicing your opinions about my crew...Very well. Let me tell you a few things. Genki may be loud, naive, impulsive and much more, but his sense of loyalty has no equal and his power is undeniable. There is a reason why I put Genki in charge of detaining any intrusion attempts. His physical strength is seemingly boundless, even I can’t hold a candle to his raw power. Not to mention he’s capable of shrugging off attacks that would mortally wound any of us….

In any case, I’d advise to not question my decisions any further, Donquixote Samhain. Now, leave me be. I think I’ll go and have a “chat” with a certain four-eyed powerhouse.”

Samhain clenched his fist, angered by being treated as a mere subordinate. He, the one who carries godly blood on his veins. “Just endure it”, he mumbled to himself as he walked back to the group, which to his surprise were…”armwrestling?”

He put a hand on his face while he turned his back to them. “We’ll wait here for Kelby to show up. Once he’s here, the rest of us will go through Geyser Pass and into Taneko Town, to execute our mission. I hope by then our associate over there has done his part…” Samhain turned around to realize that, they didn’t hear a word he said.

Kire struggled as he attempted to land Genki's arm all the way through the dirt. "Yeah sorry I wasn't listening, but trust me I and my comrade will get the work done with haste. Also I wish for you to not treat either me or Genki here like common idiots we aren't on the Reaper Pirates to look pretty we are high class soldiers, fighters, workers, pirates, and as my okama friends would put it men of beauty. NOW WATCH THIS DRIVE"

Watching the friction between the three was Raizer, a member of the Reaper Pirates, who was accompanying Genki and Kire, upon seeing the feature of the ex noble upon hearing Kire's reply, he then said "I find Mr. Samhain worried, however do not worry, even though those two seem complete idiots, they are extremely strong and Mr. Kenshiro would not leave an important mission like this in their hand if they did not notice the message "

The tontattan suddenly rocketed into full force planning to smash Genki clean to the ground.

Listening to the commotion through the Den Den Mushi, Kelby let out a soft sigh. "Right, I'm on my way. And I hope you don't mind, but my captain decided to hook me up with a plus one." With that, the snail hung up. On the otherside of the line, Kelby began to stand up. He bit into an apple which already had quite a few bites in it. He tossed it aside without any further question. He started walking, yet looking back at his attending companion. "Hurry up Harlan. We've kept them waiting long enough."

Harlan nodded eagerly. It'd been a while since he'd last seen action. He remembered his fight against Marlow, in which he had lost. Since then, he had gotten stronger. And he had gotten closure with the rest of his old family. As such, Harlan was feeling better than ever, but on top of it all; more mischievous. "LETS FUCKIN' DO THIS!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

The fourth member of the Reaper Pirates there was a young man, lying down on the ground, apparently taking a nap in the midst of all the commotion. He opened his one eye and yawned loudly. “Genki, turn up the heat a little, it’s getting cold again,” said the man with an opened jacket, revealing his bare chest and abdomen.

He never took part in the crew’s arm-wrestling competitions, after all, he is physically among the weakest of the crew. Outside of it, the truth is he’s fairly strong, and a former rookie pirate from a few years back.

“Oh and Genki, dude, it’s Kelby, come on man...” Said Liam Grim as he slowly stood up, revealing various scars around his body as his jacket flapped in the cold wind, also sporting an eyepatch and a black hat on his head.

Kire looked over to his crew mate but did not release his grip with Genki "how the hell can sleep in this weather more importantly how can you sleep when there is a very serious mission? I want to get the hell out of this cold you guys think snow is bad imagine walking through it when it buries your entire body."

“The contagion has been already quarantined, Gyo-sama”. Vrag took a step forward. “Or, it would be more accurate to call it a “sabotage”: our technology has revealed the presence of microscopic insects having infected people as a way to scan the surrounding and gather information. Unfortunately, while not exactly primitive, their methods turned out to be rather… crude”.

A spike of amusement tinged the Legionnaire otherwise deadpan tone as if he was a parent talking about the well-intentioned yet still rough attempts of their progeny to imitate his work. Nyctimene just smiled, her bare feet still drenched in the obsidian snow, the visor on her mask obscuring any feeling she may have on the matter.

“We have provided our nanomachines to counter the bugs and destroy them from the inside, leaving the unfortunate victims as unarmed as they can be. Being virologists ourselves, we can’t afford being beaten at our game”. A smile etched on Vrag’s face. “But, if such noise disturbs you so much…”

With a snap of his fingers, Vrag commanded the snow to rise. Or, at least, it was something very much like snowflakes, buried in the mixture of white crystals and black ashes. Coils of grey powder begun to crest into coils, then into tentacles, then into a pricker bush. Slithering into bars of the cage, the grey taps wrapped onto the prisoners’ hand and feet, then they muzzled their mouth. The still screaming and kicking prisoners tried to oppose the seizure with every ounce of their strength, their eyes flickering in every direction as their muscles contracted in violent spasm. Those efforts were all for naught: the gray powder put them all supine on the ground and covered their bodies in form-fitting blankets. Once the process was finished, they all looked having been drowned in a swarm of bees, the occasional jerking of their hands barely distinguishing them from dead mummies.

“Nobody shall disturb us further, Gyo-sama. The fruit of our labor wait for us inside”. Vrag gave a nod to the scientist. The door opened automatically, sterile neon light and vapor coming from the laboratory.

“Tell me, Nyctimene, has Gyo already uncovered the source of the bugs?” Vrag asked his companions. Though that was not an accurate description: not a word was uttered from his mouth, he wasn’t even looking in the face of his comrade. Vrag and Nyctimene were performing a conversation akin to telepathy, made possible thanks to smart use of radio frequencies and a sprinkle of Kenbunshoku thrown in.

“There is over 90% of chances he hasn’t”. Answered Nyctimene. “''The pace of his breath, his perspiration and unusual level of adrenaline pumped through his body points to an anxious state of being. Also, he is not looking in the direction of Rocky Ravines, not even by chance, which is the place the electrical signals of the bugs point toward''”. The woman with a visor kept her smile frozen: thanks to her Deta Deta Fruit and the help of the B.140, she could visualize and process an uncountable number of data from the surrounding: from the droplet of sweats of their bodies to their P.H. to the composition of their blood and tissues… very, very little could be hidden before her very omniscient sight. Certainly not the nature and structure of the bugs, as well as the electrical fluxes coming in and out of them.

“Assimilation level is approaching 100%,” Nyctimene said to Vrag, witnessing billions, if not trillions of nanomachines infecting and seeping through the bug like pesky parasites, getting control over the would be controller. “''We are now connecting to their grid and taking over their sensors. The culprit is Donquixote Samhain, an executive of the Wung Family''”.

“''Well, a rather predictable answer, if I may comment. Our dossiers have always suggested a connection between those criminal groups. The alliance between scoundrels is now proof positive''”. Vrag whistled, though his eyes remained cold, almost unblinking. “''So, Gyo’s headhunters have stepped into the fray sooner than we expected. I wonder how many others are going after our guest’s brilliant head''”.

Believing the best answer was the one he could check for himself, Vrag connected to the island-spanning network of nanomachines, believing using too much Kenbun would reveal his presence to the more spiritually attuned enemy. Unsurprisingly, powerful opponents were all on the way of the Geyser Path. High tiers Marines, Pirates… even members of a Yonko crew, the Monks. Were they in for a second round, after the match between Cynthia and Mitushide? The perspective truly… excited Vrag, who had its lips curling ever so slightly.

“''Nyctimene, keep one of your eyes on Samahin. His spatial fruit could prove the most logistical trouble out of our enemies. We shall make our grand entrance and crack their antiquate system like a nut only if superior orders command it so. For the time being… we’ll be playing along their game and evaluate their worthiness''”.

“Roger”, said Nyctimene, and with that, she closed her mental communication, never breaking her polite smile toward her guests.

“Critical error, Kire. You got distracted.” Genki easily reversed Kire’s attempt and slammed him into the snow, winning the match, while winking an eye to him, both out of respect and teasing him a bit. So far, Genki was undefeated in arm-wrestling among the Reaper Pirates.

“Well then, you guys go ahead. I’ll stay here and wait for Parvy and his plus one....Kire! Make sure you keep blondie safe, you know how the Cap’n gets when things don’t go well.”

“Tch! You cretins...it’s not as if I need protection from you pirates,” mumbled Samhain under his breath.

Genki ignored Samhain’s remarks and sat on the floor with his legs crossed, waiting for Kelby and his companion.

On another location...”Captain Kenshiro! They haven’t been able to establish contact with your intended target. I think you should check the control room #3, something seems to be going wrong with the scouting bugs!”

Kenshiro sat on his cabin, leaning back on his chair, while his hat covered his face. Four Den-Den Mushi sat on the desk just beside him, along with a bottle of expensive wine. The Den Den Mushi that just spoke to him sat in the far right, which was the one who connected to the rest of the Shinigami. Without removing his hat, he stretched his hand and picked the phone, “I’ll be there in a moment.”

In the control room, at least six people sat in front of a wall full of monitors, trying to figure their way out of some sort of situation. These people were handcuffed and also had chains around their legs. “Hurry and figure this out, before HE arrives!”, exclaimed some grunt standing behind them, holding a rifle, who also wore a jacket which bore the symbol of the Underworld Organization, the Wung Family. “Hurry up and do it!!”, he exclaimed once again loudly while he lifted his rifle and pointed it at the six individuals.

“I swear if you don’t resolve the matter in the next minute I’ll-“... His sentence was cut short, when suddenly he stood completely paralyzed and his eyes shone a bright white. The scientists sat there confused as did the other three guards in the room. A deep silence surrounded the area, and only the sound of wooden getta sandals approaching the room through the hallway was heard. As the steps got closer, the six scientists began to break in a cold sweat, and the three guards gulped, but the silence was such that they could’ve sworn their saliva went through their throat louder than ever in their life, and the sound of their own heartbeats was becoming deafening and unbearable.

Such was the presence of the man who had just entered the room. Everyone stood completely still, breathing ever so slightly while their eyes were set on Kenshiro and the mysteriously paralyzed guard. Kenshiro had his head tilted down a bit, enough so that his eyes were not visible to those present in the room. He moved his head to the side just slightly towards the direction of the paralyzed guard. Almost immediately after, the guard, still with his glowing white eyes, took the rifle and pointed it at his own feet...and shot himself. It was so unexpected everyone jumped in the same place they were standing or sitting. Just after he shot his foot, the guard’s eyes returned to normal, and a second later, when he took in the pain, he screamed and fell to the floor while holding his bleeding foot. He was about to furiously demand an explanation, when he saw the green-coated man he knew all too well.

He swallowed everything he was thinking of saying or doing, and struggling, he picked his rifle back up, and stood up, foot still bleeding, he tilted his head to the front in a saluting manner towards Kenshiro.

“You should go and get that checked...go on, you’re dismissed,” Kenshiro told the guard. Trying to maintain his composure, he made his way out of the room.

“Now...what is this little problem you’re experiencing?”

“W-Well, Sir. Everything was fine until a few minutes ago. We managed to draw a layout of the island, and figure out most of it’s roads, passage ways and also the location for almost everyone. But suddenly, we not only lost control of our tech, we were able to conclude, based on the safeguards we had implanted on the bug’s operating system, that they were actually taken over. To put it simply, Kenshiro, sir, we were hacked...”

Kenshiro finally lifted his head up and stared blankly at the monitors. “Hacked, you say?”

“U-um. Y-yes! But we managed to...well, here. You can see, we almost managed to get a full view of Taneko Town. We were close to figuring out were Gyo’s experiment could be hidden...”

“Hmmm. So you didn’t figure it out in time, right? And weren’t you people proud of these supposedly untraceable scouting mechanisms?,” Kenshiro asked, while still staring to his front. Slowly he shifted his gaze, passing it over each and every one of the six researchers held prisoners right there.

Another one answered this time. “Yes! Mr. Kenshiro. D-Do not worry, we’ll have the system back in our control in n-no time!”

“You better! I hope you don’t waste Mr. Kenshiro’s time!”, exclaimed one of the three guards standing behind.

“Silence...” said Kenshiro under his breath. The room felt...heavier. There was an intense amount of pressure emanating from Kenshiro. Even the three guards behind felt the need to gasp for breath, while the scientists felt Kenshiro’s gaze staring them right into their very souls. One wrong word, and slight movement, and their lives would be forfeited right then and there. That’s what the nine people there felt.

“Guys...I’m not in a particularly good mood. You’ll resolve this dilema and have everything back in order for me, yes?” When he spoke, they felt as if they were going to get crushed into the floor and sent down into a bottomless pit. Such was the overwhelming presence of Kenshiro, everyone on the ship felt his powerful aura.

“That’s the Captain...and he’s pissed...”, said Kaname Dimaria to herself, shifting her body towards the control room’s direction, having felt her superior’s intent all the way from the large ship’s outer deck. Her body was in a flight or fight mode, even though she knew this wasn’t directed at her, it was the body’s automatic, primal response towards something fearful.

“Yes”, said the scientists collectively, barely mustering the strength and courage to respond. Suddenly, everything went back to normal, the nine people in the control room felt much lighter and could breathe normally again. When they fully came to, they realized Kenshiro had already turned around and was walking out of the room, he had even picked up the data sheets and was carrying them on his hand without they realizing. The scientists immediately turned to the computers and continued trying to break through.

“Fufufu...It seems we have some worthy adversaries on the other side,” he said to himself as he made his way into the ship’s deck.

Finally reaching the deck, he walked all the way over to Dimaria, and stood beside her, giving his subordinate a slight smile. “ I guess I’ll establish contact my way.”

Kenshiro then closed his eyes for two seconds, and opened them, which revealed his eyes to be glowing a shinning white, similar to that one guard moments ago.

On Negrsneg island, a pale white man walked towards a rather dangerous direction. No doubt the local’s presence would be felt by the two Monk pirate members as he approached their ship.

His pale white snowy skin, visible on some parts not covered by a fur coat, would definitely intrigue every non-local who came across a Negrsneg native. But this one had another thing which, to those laying eyes on the island’s natives for the first time, it wouldn’t be strange for them to believe this feature was also part of their physiology...glowing white, pupilless eyes. As the man finally stopped, he stood on the shore where he’d be visible to the Monks.

“I never would’ve guessed I’d come across a man of your status on a place like this...William Parker...”

The albino man spoke with two voices, as if he was two people talking at the same time.

“My name is Umori Kenshiro, pleased to make your acquaintance...Pardon my rudeness, but I’m communicating through this vessel for the fact that I’m far away from here at the moment. May I ask...what business do the Yonko have on a remote island like this?”, said the pale man, as charcoal colored snow fell down all around them.

Parker remained unfazed when a figure suddenly popped into the area, another person, another thought, just that. He stared out into snow, this time, letting the rapid air hit his frame, prompting his hair and clothes to flutter. Instead of responding the figure before him instantly, Parker gestured with a swipe of his arm from Samuel to Kenshiro, "Pleased to meet you, Umori Kenshiro."

Even before Parker's gesture, Samuel already seemed to have started his walk towards the newly revealed individual. A soft smile had been drawn on his face, yet it didn't show the malicious intent he had for this vessel. The young man would leap down from the ship, a soft landing that lacked aggression.

Reaching towards the vessel, as if offering a handshake, not one, but both of Samuel's hands would slip onto the dome of the person. His hands were placed seemingly around the temporal bone of the skull. "Umori Kenshiro? You're that punk who attacked the Xros Numerals right? Talk about karma, you infiltrated and destroyed the territory of a Yonko crew - now Parker the Conquer has come." His eyes seemed to wander the first time around. But as his speech ended, all three of his glowing red eyes converged on the figure of this albino skinned individual. "Wait for me, Kenshiro. I've always wanted to battle a rookie daring enough to challenge the Xros."

As Samuel ended his talk, a sudden sensation would overflow the minds of the vessel. And as Samuel could tell, Kenshiro too would feel these effects. This wasn't a sensation of comfort, nor was it exactly some form of fear. It was a familiarity, but that type of familiarity that sends shivers down each and every one of your bones. Both, Kenshiro and his toy would see, hear, and even feel the monsters awakening within their minds.

A strange albino insect, perhaps a centipede, crawled out of the nearing forest. The beast, immense in size, seemed to feast upon numerous individuals. An albino male with blond hair, familiar to the possessed man. Along with it, a red cloth and some sort of furry appendage that matched the shade of the torn outfit, familiar to Kenshiro, were one of many things within it's maw.

Suddenly, Kenshiro and his unwilling accomplice would feel a stabbing feeling in their chest. This came from Samuel, who now revealed a massive sword in his hands that had dug itself into the skin of the possessed. The blood would splatter about as Samuel removed the weapon. The sound and smell of the red fluid would attract the centipede's full attention onto the body of the possessed.

During it's feast, it's eyes would land upon the single body. But it was a body that binded two spirits. The creature in all it's anger of being interrupted during it's feast, leapt at the imposture. It's mouth hung open, seemingly stretching on into oblivion as a bone chilling roar filled the ears of the two individuals, so much so they could feel each and every vibration the unholy screech produced.

But in reality, there was no sword, no blood or a massive centipede. A simple, yet effective technique to break anyone's concentration and plunge them into their darkest fears, a True Nightmare. The sudden emotional shock would be felt by both, rendering the vessel unconscious and destroying Kenshiro's control. Samuel let go of the man's skull, his body falling into the snow as Samuel looked back to Parker. "That should take care of that."

In Taneko Town, the distant explosions as the Warmongers paved their destruction hadn't been noticed by the town's inhabitants as of yet. The town was in the middle of a canyon and surrounded by a blizzard, so the chaos ensuing outside the canyon had yet to reach their attention.

“Well, I guess I did my best in entrusting our safety to you.” Said Gyo referring to the two Iron Legion members who had just displayed their effectiveness.

“In any case, I can’t let things like this distract me.” Eren Gyo finally arrived to a large room, where his guests, those who arrived willingly and unwillingly, gathered in order for Gyo to present to them his plans. Making his way to a makeshift stage, he looked around and noticed Wung Juno had vanished.

“Where’d that bastard go at a time like this?”

Outside the refinery, a man covered in a winter cloak stared at the events that had transpired there just moments ago. “Infections, weapons, and a secret scientist gathering. Rear-Admiral Reiner and Rear Admiral Marlow definitely need to hear of this!

An undercover Marine soldier had successfully infiltrated into the town. He picked up a Baby Den Den Mushi, “Rear Admirals Reiner and Marlow! The leaked information was correct. There is some sort of gathering of scientists taking place right now, and I overheard mention of a secret weapon that will threaten the Government! I’m in a town called Taneko Town, it is deep within the island’s massive canyon...I have a bad feeling about this...I repeat, Rear-Guaaaaaaaahgghg!!”

Invisible blades had pierced the soldier on his shoulders and legs. The culprit slowly revealed himself to be Wung Juno, using his Suke Suke no Mi. “Hmmm, Seems I found a little rat,” He said while taking the Marine’s Den Den Mushi from him, and pushing the blades deeper into the soldier’s body as his victim screamed in pain.

"Silence! Though, I hope the message managed to reach your superiors...It is part of our plan after all. Come now, you’ll serve as a perfect demonstration for Gyo’s weapon." He took the bloodied and beaten up Marine, dragging him all over the snowy ground, into the refinery.

Symphony of Destruction
Kenshiro was paralyzed in place, as he felt the world around him withered away, and he entered a void. Those surrounding Kenshiro would feel something was wrong, as just moments before he was speaking into the distance, making contact with the Monk Pirates, now he was completely still, his eyes almost lifeless. Dimaria would try to approach her Captain, when suddenly, as if an invisible force had hit Kenshiro's face, his head was struck back in a violent manner. He had to pivot his leg in order to keep his balance. Kenshiro had his eyes wide opened, wondering what he witnessed. His body was slightly covered in a chilly sweat, and as if instinctively, he reached into his nose, wiping it off, he noticed his hand was stained with blood. “The hell was that?”, he thought to himself as he recovered his composure.

“You lost control that easily?!! You STILL have a long way to go, Kenshiro!!! AHAHAHA!”

“If you only listened to us more often, we could’ve assisted you better!!”

The “voices” on his head began to speak loudly and annoying. “Shut up”, he whispered to himself.

He looked at Dimaria, she was close to him, and clearly worried. He patted her head and signaled with his eyes that he was okay. “Fufufu, it seems the Monks didn’t come here to chat...that’s fine by me. Get me the Den-Den Mushi!”

“Captain...are we, fighting those Monk members?”, asked Dimaria, not sure if now was the correct time to face such dangerous opponents.

“If we play this well, we basically can just force everyone else to just kill each other, while we just achieve our goal and leave…”

Kenshiro picked up the Den Den Mushi brought over to him. He also pulled out the documents with the data collected from the island. “Samhain, I want you to open ALL of the gates around sections B through F…”

Samhain picked up his Den Den Mushi and after listening to Kenshiro’s order, he grunted, “tsk! Really? This’ll take a toll on me…” Samhain knew all too well the locations Kenshiro spoke off, as he had been on the island for a few days, working in order to improve the accuracy of the scientist’s data, among other things, as no map of the island existed and because of the intense weather, it wasn’t as easy to chart a map of it.

His mission was also to install various “gates” around the island, that he could open and connect with faraway locations. The gates themselves are only detectable the moment they materialize into existence. Various portals around the island suddenly appeared, bringing in an ominous force.

Samhain picked his Den Den Mushi, calling the Cheeky pirate. “Kelby! Look around your area, there should be a few glowing “portals” nearby somewhere. If there’s a Blue Portal, enter it! It’ll transport you to my location, right here on the entrance to Geyser Pass. And I suggest you hurry, Kenshiro is about to bring upon hell to this place, we don’t want you caught in the crossfire!”

On Kenshiro’s side, he was grinning slightly at the thought of what came next. He began to glow with his body being surrounded in a deep dark red mixed with purple aura. Suddenly, a large “portal” appeared right in front of him, courtesy of Samhain’s powers. From this aura, Kenshiro expelled two spheres that entered the portal at great speeds. “Release, Musashi, Athena!”

On the shore where the Marines were headed to, and on the Monk Pirate’s side, various yellowish portals suddenly appeared, though they were still located deep in the forest and obscured by the falling black snow. Though what came out of it became visible to them.

From around the same location the albino vessel came to greet the Monks, various glowing eyes would peer from behind the deep forests, staring down the duo. Several feet in height, and at least a dozen pair of glowing eyes became visible. With the level of Kenbunshoku no doubt the Monks had, they would immediately notice, these new visitors were not human.

Designed from a project to expand on the Pacifista model, these new weapons would fit under their name, the Warmongers, as their one and only purpose was the utter and complete annihilation of their targets. Under mysterious circumstances, only a few prototypes were able to be completed because of a sudden attack at the research facility away from HQ, where they were being manufactured. To prevent criminals from getting their hands on them, the head of the project, Kenshiro himself, supposedly blew off the facility, destroying all the research papers and prototypes…

But now, it was clear it had been a ploy he had developed in order to get his hands on the project. As he revealed to Peg Nez just a week before, many of the disappearances of research material and experiments during his time in the Science Unit, was of course, his own doing.

As the weaponized creatures appeared, they began to march forward, with mostly their head visible, standing even above the trees on the area. Without warning, all the Warmongers opened their mouths in unison, revealing a dozens of nright red lights, even brighter than the one from their eyes. From the distance they were from their targets on both fronts, the glowing dots would no doubt make those witnessing it feel uneasy at what was targeted at them.

Just a few seconds was what it took for their charge to be complete, and the Warmongers fired off indiscriminately at their targets. Their fired beams were a deep red, and were designed to produce heat and power much greater than a Pacifista’s laser. Now, with at least a dozen on each front, the beams from the Warmongers made their way from the forest, above the waters and all the way to the ships. The dense snow and fog that covered the area was blown away by their attack as their traveled at astounding speeds to decimate their targets.

But the Warmongers weren’t the only thing the invaders would have to worry about, as behind them, units of strange looking soldiers marched at the cyborg’s side. An experiment that was supposed to have been shut down, the creation of a powerful, clone army, known as the Death Knights, revealed themselves to had been under Kenshiro’s command as well.

“Fufufufu. Even though their numbers are quite small as of yet, those clones are quite strong. They are much stronger than your average Marine or soldier, and far more resilient,” Kenshiro spoke out loud as some grunts brought to him a large, tube-like device, and he put it on his side, patting it as if it was his own baby.

“CAPTAIN!...I-Is that, the Ten Plagues!?”, exclaimed Dimaria, as she began to tremble and blush out of excitement. “And why did you release those two?”

The Ten Plagues, an experiment of Kenshiro’s own creation. An extremely powerful bio-weapon, that is capable of causing destruction on a widespread scale. Four years ago, the mysterious plague nearly decimated the Alibaba Kingdom, killing all it’s royalty and aristocracy, leaving only one prince who now rules as its king.

“Yes, this is the plague, one of my greatest creations. “Four years ago, I failed to properly use this weapon. Yet, being at ground zero as the staff in charge of studying and understanding the “phenomenon”, I gathered sufficient data in order to improve the weapon. Though I hope my hand isn’t forced to the point of using it. Fufufu… As for them, I know the forces of the Warmongers and Death Knights won’t hold our enemies forever, so I sent in some extra support.”

Even Hale Osiris’s ship, who was still quite distant from the rest of the Marines and the island, the explosions setting off on the island because of the laser beams of the Warmongers were visible as distant sparks illuminating the sea in the distance.

“SHIT! What is going on!”, Futaryu Toki exclaimed. He looked to his side and saw his superior, gripping the side of the ship, veins visible on the side of her face as she gritted her teeth. Osiris was furious.

The Warmongers kept appearing from the portals on almost every town on the island, and fired off their lasers indiscriminately.

Reaping Through Iron
Kire paused for a second and began to scratch his chin as if he was in deep thought. "Oh, right, I was supposed to be a guide that never crossed my mind" the Tontattan spoke with sudden surprise he feared that the total loss of his mission would  come back to haunt him "Genki don't tell the boss I forgot". The man waved his arm to signal to follow him as he escorted his allies to a canyon with walls of extreme height with steep, sharp cliffs "the cap'n choose me for my particular set of skills so trust me not a single hair on anyone's head will be so much as touched as I am here" Kire spoke as he planted both his legs down and shot himself into the air with great height surveying the area the land to see any on coming threats.

"Continue moving forward and keep close to each other I'll keep an eye from up here and move ahead a little" the tontattan yelled to his fellow pirates as his legs struck the air and launched himself forward so as to avoid a potential ambush.

The banned continued forward as Kire stayed on guard, his senses were a sharp as can be and his haki while a little fuzzy was able to at least keep track of his group which was all he needed. "Okay, we are getting close to our destination, Taneko Town so imma head up and check and see that it's all on the up and up" Kire's air steeps increased in speed as he dashed ahead of everyone, but still made sure to focus in on them.

Right on the outskirts of the town Kire felt a familiar presences that had been waiting for him so when he found everything to be to his standard he signaled everyone to continue forward and slowly descended onto the cold snowy ground. "Good day gentl-" Kire's speech was quickly interrupted by the snow giving way under his weight and burying him under its cold grasp.

Some time after finding Heremias and his group in Taneko, Ishimasu and his escort continued towards the refinery where the demonstration was scheduled. They were being accompanied by the commander and his division who marched not too far behind.

"Stop!" Ishimasu exclaimed. "What happened?" asks Shura, confused by the sudden order.

Focusing on his Kenbunshoku Haki, Ishimasu expands his detection area which covered a large part of the island. After confirming his original fear, he took a deep breath. "We have a serious problem, the whole island has been surrounded by large war machines and the marines are invading the island across the beach." He looked up in the direction of the disturbance. "And to make matters worse, they have a small group moving towards us. And they want to fight."

Arriving at the edge of town, Heremias stood with his band of yakuza as the Reaper Pirate group entered the town. He clenched his sword in the presence of the pirates.

"Huh, the Captain is not there...So he sent a bunch of nobodies to do his dirty work? Consider me disappointed." He glared at Kire who had been buried under the snow.

"Damn, this is a troublesome guy", whispered Samhain to the rest. "I'm still quite drained, so I can't use my gates yet. You'll have to deal with him yourselves."

Heremias took a step forward, and drew his blade. As the blade came out of the scabbard, a large air slash came with it, cutting down the roof of a nearby house.

"I won't let you idiots keep doing whatever the hell you want!"

The snow that had buried the tontattan was suddenly launched away as he emerged. "Well, ain't that too bad cause I don't see anyone around here who can stop us" the name "invisible bullet" became very apparent to the pirates as well as the yakuza as Kire's body appeared to almost teleport as he dissapears from his standing position to in front of Heremias.

"Are you seriously going to try and intimidate me with a roof? I know people who do that on accident all the time. If you seriously wish to challenge one of my cap'ns most trusted men and one of the greatest warriors my species has ever produced...raining dove swan song"

With great speed Kire raised both his arms and then began to bring them down with incredible speed and grace delivering a powerful enough gust of wind to at least knock Heremias off balance not meant to hurt him in any way but as a simple show of power "you're gonna need to show me a bit more, unless there is nothing more and if so then you might as well stop now".

Giriki and Kochiro, who had gone with Heremias, observe the attitude of their commander.

"Mr. Heremias seems to be very excited to face the Reapers, isn't it Koichiro ? "Giriki asks in an ironic tone to his brother.

"Let the commander face The Tontatta, he is eager to take revenge on Kenshiro and his crew for what they did to Yoshitomi and the others". Koichiro answers, and then completes, "After all, even if we wanted to, the little one is not an opponent for us, it is possible to realize from afar that he is not just any warrior".

"so we'll have to settle for not letting those two get in the way," Giriki says with excitement as he enters his hybrid form.

Giriki, already in his hybrid form, launches a quick sequence of punches towards Samhain.

"Damnit!" Samhain exclaimed as he tumbled in the snow, barely evading Giriki's flurry of punches. He looked around and saw Kire engaging the yakuza, and Grim...WHERE THE HELL WAS GRIM! Even in his short time with them, he had heard that Grim had a habit of falling asleep in the worst moments possible.

"I'm weakened. One hit and I'll be in trouble!"

He had not recovered completely, so the "gates" he could create were smaller ones. He created two, one in front of him, in order to block Giriki's punches. Giriki would find his punches hitting the "spatial gate". However, another gate opened just behind Giriki, and from there, the punches he sent at Samhain that were intercepted by the gate, were instead sent towards the second gate behind him. Samhain knew that this wouldn't do much, but he needed to stall for time.

Heremias stumbled at Kire's display of strength. His eyes widened in disbelief as the Tontatta was no joke. "I see, he's definitely strong."

Heremias recovered his balance, and took a firm stance, gripping his sword on the side.

"Well then, Tontatta. I'll give you a taste of my "Calligraphy Sword Style", in combination with my "Wind Slicing Iaido", techniques invented and taught to me by the late master swordsman, Musashi!!"

Heremias drew his sword, and waved it at great speed, but with fluidity, like writing in the air. He drew an hexagon using his sword as a paint brush. The hexagon appeared, and glowed a bright blue. He was using air slashes to perform this feat, with such mastery his drawing just stood there, until, with another swing, he commanded the hexagon to divide itself into six, ragged air slashes that quickly closed in on Kire with great speed and force, aiming to slash the small warrior, or at least force him on the defensive.

"Your attacks are like a dance with your blade" the warrior waved his arms through the air as if slicing through it like a blade "if it's a dance let me show you my moves". As the blade moved towards him his body was calm then he quickly swayed his head back and forth to dodge the first to attacks. "Swan song dove's furry" with a quick and graceful palm strike he launched forward powerful wind dissipating the next two blades.

"NOW, OKAMA CH-" before Kire could finish his motion he was distracted looking over to Samhain to see he was in trouble. His mission was to escort the group and if he let his crew get banged up too much he would fail "GIMME A SEC I-" the soldier was cut off once again by the two blades slicing him right across the left and right side of his stomach.

"God damn, Ohikae Na Fouetté" Kire launched himself towards Heremias and delivered a powerful downward kick, but not nearly as powerful as he wished since he was still in the midst of recovering from the attack. Before even seeing if his attack landed Kire hit the ground and bolted to his companion with an "okama dash" and stood beside Samhain in a defensive stance.

"Attacking a clearly weakened opponent disgusting!!!"

After receiving the blows ricocheted by Samhain, Giriki rises calmly as he stretches.

"It's a good thing I take it easy or I'd be in trouble right now," says Giriki with a sigh of relief.

Soon after that he assumes again a combat posture, getting ready to attack again.

"Giriki, haven't you noticed that the Tontatta is in the way?", Koichiro then interrupts his brother and exclaims "Shit, Heremias!, what's wrong with you, you couldn't even hold this guy".

Monk See, Monkey Do
Parker eyed the fallen body of the man that Kenshiro used to talk to him and Samuel, such an unusual way to contact them, but nothing surprising at all. "You did take care of him," He commented in a nod to Samuel and took a few steps through the snow, body still not taking in the many breezes and snowflakes around him. Absorbing whatever he could whenever was surely a good measure, everything had motion, even if everything wasn't alive.

"And you plan to take care of him directly, YOURSELF?" Allowing his usual self to slip, Parker glanced back at Samuel. His eyes shone red for a moment, prompting him to scan throughout the whole island yet again, "I shall be on the watch, I sense disturbance UP ahead." No, he really shouldn't hold himself so much, he usually did, but why even more now? Parker sighed coldly.

Samuel took to Parker's observation. He looked into the forest up ahead, and while he wasn't sensing in the same sense as Parker, the young man could hear the rustling of something approaching. No. The sounds coming from ahead, there was no way it was something. There were multiple, an army. Approaching slowly, yet confidently to the battle field. "Ah. My apologies, I almost forgot this was your island to conquer." Samuel hopped onto the deck of the ship, his leg strength immense. He even took the initiative to move back even more. It was mostly for his own safety at this point however. He knew the power that Payback could unleash, and no part of him wanted in it's destruction.

As it happened on the beach, it also happened on the Monk's location. The Warmongers revealed themselves, towering over the trees, and without prior warning, opened their mouths wide, charging a blinding reddish light, just mere moments before shooting a massively destructive beam. At least a dozen Warmongers targeted the Monk's ship, threatening to sink it into the ocean.

"What!? Damnit! That Mervin and his friend! Tch! They went to the coast!" Genki sat on the floor, legs crossed as he thought his next move. He concentrated his senses. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, glowing red from Kenbunshoku while staring in a specific direction. "There!"

Genki stood up, squatted, and jumped with tremendous force, landing all the way into the forest outside of town. He immediately grabbed a tree branch, and jumped to the other, traveling at great speeds through the forest like a real monkey would. He was closing in on his targets quickly. He looked to his side and noticed something else travelling at a similar speed to his own.

He focused his eyes, and saw the image clearly. "Woah, you're!"

Genki grinned as he went in the direction of the dozen warmongers who were already in the near distance, visible from over the trees. "This is going to be interesting. I'm getting fired up!"

If these Warmongers thought of themselves as undetectable or unpredictable, Parker would usually be ready to punish them out, but that could be left for another time... he closed his eyes and remained static. Samuel had jumped back into their ship, and both of them now stood under attack of these warmongers, a breath escaped Parker's lungs and he blinked faster than usual. Air and wind shifted around his figure, tinged with his blue energy, it all spun inwards.

The oncoming beams of scarlet were expected to blitz over and around him, as they were mainly aimed to destroy the Monks' transportation. But, this kind of tactic only cemented pattern of the attackers, they thought they could reach their objective from the get-go, just like that, quite easily.

Instead, even before they made contact with Parker or the ship with Samuel, the red streams met with the kinetic-influenced air from around the former. Kinetic was movement, all had movement, even semi-formless attacks such as those. Their forms distorted and swam off their initial, straight course, hissing against the very atmosphere since they were obstructed with very little resistance. Rings of these red tones formed in a wide form circulating Parker, mixed in with the colors of his own energy for a purple, however, this purple soon turned into something else, the blue swiftly overtook the red. More hisses permeated the area, the dying wails of the warmonger's attacks as they were swallowed, dissipated into Parker's form.

Just like that, all of the attacks vanished before Parker's presence, who made sure they would not go to waste. He continued to glare into the distance, ready for what the Warmongers could throw at him, if he used his future sight, it was going to be even easier to manage this, yet, once again... "Jack of Hearts, do you wish to fight?" Parker gestured with his hand.

Genki approached the location of the monks, with a mysterious partner on his side. He knew something was wrong, as from a distance, he saw the Warmongers shoot at some target, but nothing exploded. Something must have happened.

"Let's hurry, Athena!"

Genki finally arrived on the shore, where he saw William Parker on top of the ship. His senses also alerted him of another, strong one in the ship as well. He saw behind him, the massive frames of the Warmongers once again charging up a blast.

The half mink extended his hand up," Warmongers, amphibian mode." The Warmongers closed their mouths, and jumped into the sea. This was their greatest strength. While they lacked the mobility of pacifista's, they made up for it with stronger beams and the ability to be aquatic. From below they once again charged their attacks, and fired unto the ship, aiming to completely obliterate it.

Genki stood there, waiting for the aftermath. Just beside him, a tall, beautiful woman, wearing both a spear and a shield made her presence known.

"I don't expect that attack to take them down, so be on your toes," said Genki.

"Of course. I'm the master's impenetrable defense."

"INSISTENCE can be good and bad," Parker remarked, his lips curving down fiercely as his glasses flashed white. Since Samuel opted not to engage in battle just yet, Parker saw no other choice but to attend to these matters by himself.

For him, even without Haki, the beams seemed no different, they merely seemed to have a more robust or concentrated form, it hadn't mattered if the attackers positioned themselves closer or attacked differently. Just like Genki himself expected it, the beams diverged on their paths through the air and homed into Parker's figure, yet, no explosion followed, their forms shrunk and entered his own, which vibrated in a blue hue. However, one could see not all of them disappeared into him, merely tranversing over his figure, before being shot off as thinner streams of light.

They painted the atmosphere once again, though much briefer than before, zapping through the scenario and aiming to land back into their original senders, the Warmongers. Parker had easily influenced the movement of some of those beams, quickly redirecting them with a more refined power, evident by their new forms. In fact, they had been so thin and went by so swiftly that there was not any distortion in their figures, figures visible under the blink of an eye even to trained ones. Naturally, Parker supposed that the Warmongers possessed some sort of defense or resistance against their own attacks, therefore, his counter attack was not as simple as it looked to be.

If the Warmongers dodged it, the beams would give them chase and once they landed, piercing through their armor or not, they wouldn't disperse. No, through Parker's kinetic control, upon contact the beams would envelop and directly sip into the Warmongers' shells, allowing no room for any defenses to be erected, something that could only mean the doom of those weapons. Against his power, barely any defenses could continue to exist, the power of William Parker.

In a mighty flash that enveloped the area, the Warmongers fell prey to Parker's attack. Using their own beams against, them, but with even more power, the cyborgs stood no chance. They ruptured and exploded as the beams penetrated through their tough metal, disintegrating with their own empowered attacks. Now, only two remained, glancing at the Monk Pirates who for some reason, still remained on their ship.

Genki grinned. He began jumping up and down excitedly at Parker's display of power. Athena slowly turned her head to see the half mink craving a taste of battle. From her memories, she recalled her master, praising Genki's strength. Kenshiro, at one time claimed that he wasn't sure that he could even land a finishing blow on Genki, attributing to Genki's incredible toughness and power. But against these two elite fighters, would their power really be enough?

"Ahoooooo! Hou! Hou! Houu!!!" Genki howled as he rapidly waved his arms up and down. He lifted his right leg, and smashed it violently into the ground, followed by his left, doing the same. He squatted, taking a sumo-wrestler stance. The muscles on his legs tightened, and those on his arms as well, increasing in size. His eyes flashed a bright red, as he analyzed his opponent's aura. Genki was warming up for what was about to ensue.

In a flash, Genki exploded from his position, and launched himself head first into the ship. The heat he produced could be felt even by Athena, who by now was quite distant. She reacted to Genki's unexpected move.

"Wait! We shouldn't attack carelessly!"

Genki continued to make way into the ship, travelling ten times faster than a speeding bullet.

"HA! Don't mind me! With both our defenses, there's nothing we can't endure!", he exclaimed as his figure closed in on the Monk's ship. As he drew closer, Genki cocked back his arm, heated up immensely by an unknown source, aiming to strike the Monk's ship. Haki coated for added defense and power, Genki's single punch would undoubtedly decimate the entire ship if it connected. He wasn't physically the strongest Reaper Pirate for no reason.

The order was issued. In that moment, something would blitz past Genki in an instant. A blur of read and black, dancing and dashing past the Reaper in an instant. Not without doing something to prevent the attack however. Genki would feel a sudden grand amount of strength clash against his arm from the underside, and if he hadn't moved his body or reacted in time, he'd feel a slash go across his left hip with just as great an amount of strength, perhaps even greater. This strength could only be described as something that would dwell in the pits of hell, a strength beyond what any mortal should be able to produce. The force of Genki's punch would be directed upwards, sparing the ship any unneeded damage.

And on the beach stood the one responsible for directing and attempting to deal damage to Genki's person. Samuel had joined the fray, only because he regretted that moment of uselessness he had just seconds before. But now he stood on the land, where he was strongest. However, the Monk had something in his hand. It was a sword of great length, a pitch-black blade that bore a slight curve at the end of it's length. It had an abnormally long crossguard that almost gave the appearance of a cross. It would be nearly hard to believe, a second glance would be needed to confirm it. But it was no denying it, it was Yoru. A shadow loomed over the pirate's face as he awaited the result of his attack.

Genki had directed his punch with enough force to crush the entire ship with that single punch. However, this mysterious three-eyed warrior managed to deflect his strike upwards. And in that same instant, a powerful slash hit Genki from the left, sending him flying a distance, as he was airborne.

However, Genki had read the attack. He knew exactly where it would strike, but he didn’t even attempt to dodge it. As he was sent flying with quite a bit of force, he crossed his arms and thought to himself.

"Ohoo! That one’s capable! I’m glad!”

He smashed into a nearby rock formation, near the beach they were in. Though, Samuel would’ve undoubtedly felt what happened in that instant. The second Samuel attacked and blitzed past Genki, the mink would smile, and move his eyes towards the spot where Samuel would strike again, following his movements. At that moment, a great amount of heat would generate from his body. The sheer force created by his heat would enable Genki to safely counter his opponent’s strike. Merely hitting Genki would prove harmful to most individuals, as only the toughest could pass through his defense.

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t a product of a Devil Fruit. No. Genki was simply capable of using his “chi”, Haki, or the spiritual energy produced by his body, to enhance his own bodily heat to abnormal levels. It was hot enough that it could increase the temperature in a certain radius around him, affecting others and the environment itself.

Athena observed as the three eyed individual landed on the island, and Genki crashed against a mountain side. However, she didn’t seem concerned, as she kept her shield to her side.

A loud noise came from Genki’s direction, as rubble suddenly exploded everywhere. Genki was completely fine, and walking towards Samuel.

“Huwaaah! That was good! It seems five points is not enough!’

Genki sat on the ground, and analyzed Samuel. He crossed his legs and stroke his chin with his hand.

“Wait...No...That...That Sword!! That’s!” Genki’s eyes widened, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“T-That sword...is...SO COOL!!!”, He jumped upwards, and made an excited backflip. He jumped up and down for a few seconds until he finally calmed himself, and again, took his sitting, thinking position. He tapped his forehead with his finger, as he apparently reached a conclusion. He grinned back at Samuel, standing a few meters away from him.

“Well, five points was enough to destroy that ship, but not enough for you...I guess, I’ll use fifteen!” Genki jumped to his feet, and cocked his arm backwards, clearly preparing for a punch. Even with the distance between them, Genki didn’t stop smiling. “Here goes!”

Before Genki launched his strike, Athena slammed her shield on the ground, and ducked behind it, protecting herself for what was incoming. Genki had launched a straight punch at Samuel from a distance. However, this punch carried with it a ridiculous effect. As he finished extending his arm, the ground in front of it caved in by the incredible power his punch carried, the wind itself had no choice but to obey the stronger force, being pushed forward in a powerful shockwave that destroyed anything in its path.

The trees were ripped from the ground, roots and all. Some were crushed, as the entire area that his strike encompassed bent to his might. Samuel would feel as if a hurricane would be sent directly towards him in a concentrated, powerful strike. But this wasn’t all. Incredible heat followed suit, as even the snow itself melted from it. The attack threatened to launch Samule quite a distance, as it was doing to the trees in its path and behind the three eyed, simply ripping and blowing away before the mighty blow.

Athena braced herself from the devastating shock wave that shook the vicinity, all produced by a single punch Genki had launched from a distance.

“So...this is Genki’s strength, the one Kenshiro praised so much.” Athena’s memories flashed to a moment where Kenshiro praised Genki. “That mink, as goofy as he seems...I don’t know, even if I give it my all, if I’d have enough firepower to completely and utterly defeat him. It’ll take all I have, and even then, I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”

Athena smirked slightly, as Genki’s shock wave continued onwards, travelling for a few kilometers and ripping everything apart on its path.

“Show me, mink. The strength of the strongest Reaper pirate!”

Samuel assessed the situation, after all, he was amongst the Hearts Division of the Monk Pirates, and was expected to be tactical as a result. "High body temp, physical contact would be unwanted without use of Haki. He seems to be quite durable, it'll take a lot of damage to take him out. Even further, he looked at the same location the sword would strike as if he knew where I was aiming. It wouldn't be beyond my beliefs that he can use the precognition famously associated with Observation Haki. At the very least he stands amongst the 4th Dan." Samuel ran through all that he'd observed in that moment in time, and within an instant, he knew how to proceed. He released what seemed to be Yoru from his grasp, the sword turning to small cubic particles.

As Genki's powerful wave came through, wrecking havoc on anything that either wasn't durable or prepared enough to take the shock, Samuel kept a powerful and stubborn stance within the Earth. "Immovable." He spoke to himself, whispering more so than speaking. His hands opened, Samuel moved them past one another, covering his face and revealing it soon after. His eyes had been closed, and as he moved his hands back, reversing the movements he'd made before, his eye's shot open with bulging veins.

Suddenly, Samuel threw up his right hand as if he were uppercutting someone, however his feet and lower body as a whole was heavily rooted in his position. To move would be to weaken his stance, and his techniques would wane as a result. The stone before Samuel's figure would raise in response to the man's hand movements, his dominion over it all showing without fail. A large rectangular slab of Earth shielded the man from Genki's assault, and covered more than his own size. The untamed winds slammed against the stone shield with force that would shatter a mountain, yet that same stone stood unchanged by the destruction that ensued around it. It was a sanctuary, a temple, and stood valiantly. Not only had the collision of the immovable stone and Genki's power cause an odd sound to reverberate through the area, but once the assault had calmed down, not even a single crack or pebble of that same stone wall would become dislodged or visible. In fact, it appeared as if it had never even been subjected to any form of damage or weathering in it's existence.

Following the brutal assault, Samuel leapt upon the stone slab that allowed his defense against the otherwise perilous attack. He looked towards Genki with all three of his eyes, he patted down on his head, a small cube vanishing as he did so. His eyes fixated on his prize, Samuel wasted no time in his advances. Feet planted firmly on the stone slab, he pushed off of it with such force that a miniature shockwave had been born from the act. The sudden disturbance on the air not being enough to cause something of Genki's level, but enough to the point it seemed to disturb the environment on a small scale. He charged towards Genki, closing the distance that rested between the two.

Your Justice vs My Revenge
That scent. That dastardly scent that Harlan would never forget. The hybrid had been beaten before, but again Marlow’s defense he had stood no chance. Despite Harlan’s bragging that he was an offensive prodigy, he had lost. He and Kelby were supposed to help out the Reapers, Harlan had promised Kerrim. And Harlan did care about Kerrim, like a weird brother. But right now, Harlan had the chance to fight and hopefully beat that damned Oni now. “Kelby!” Harlan exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I gotta go to the shoreline. I have a chance to kick some ass right now. You can hop on through with ‘em, I’m heading to the shore.” he finished. “I know I made a promise, but my need to kick that Oni’s ass is even more important than that.”

Kelby was nearly stepping through one of Samhain's portal when Harlan started to cry out. Kelby turned around, looking at Harlan as he continued to talk about his need to take on someone. An Oni? Kelby had known that Harlan was considered dead some while ago by an individual of the name Gambi Marlow. But he didn't know much else about the situation beyond that. Kelby looked back through the portal, sighing at the situation. "I'll come with you!"

Whoever this Marlow was, he had to be a Marine right? If Marines were here, then they likely were here on the intent to capture any pirates. So in one way or another, Kelby and Harlan would be fulfilling their end of the bargain by taking them out. Kelby took off to join Harlan in his impending rampage. Kelby may not have been as powerful as the mink-hybrid, no where near in fact, but he could do something during the clash. After all, if he couldn't, he'd have no right being amongst his captain's elite.

Harlan noticed Kelby chasing after him, but the hybrid could tell that he wanted to come with him. Plus, his ears had picked up what Kelby had said. So the boy came to a halt, letting Kelby catch up to him. Harlan grabbed onto to Kelby, holding him like a spear. “I’ve always wanted to do this, but Judy’s spear is fuckin’ heavy.” he said, before throwing Kelby towards the shoreline at breakneck speeds. Harlan followed closely behind the projectile that was Kelby as he ran on all fours; as a wolf would.

Without even the slightest of input from himself, Kelby was picked up and thrown like some sort of toy spear. He wanted to yell out as it first happened, this wasn't something he was used to after all. But at some point of the flight, it went from sheer horror to a joy ride to remember. As he closed in, Kelby once again was met with a sight of devastating laser light cannons. A rain of death and destruction, not unlike that from the town he and Harlan had just departed from. He came to a screeching halt as he looked at the show. The sky glistening in a bright, blinding luminescence as the onslaught continued. A battle of light. Who would win?

Marlow walked towards the deck as he shot Reiner a quick, condescending glare. His eyes turned back to the party of sunny death beams that could spell the end for Iridessa or the Marine party as a whole. He gave a broad smile, his dagger-like teeth showing. The lasers grew closer and closer to the ship, the heat and intensity growing stronger by the moment. The Rear Admiral's eyes went crazed by the sight, as if being betrayed. After all, that's exactly what was happening. He reigned over light, and for it to be used against him was an insult to say the least.

Nevertheless, the beams continued flying towards the Marines. Impact would be coming within an instant. Some may have braced for it, thinking Marlow was suicidal. But Lewis smiled with delight at the show he bore witness to.

All the beams had become stationary, floating mid air as they got a certain distance near the ship. Marlow held an open hand up into the air, as if awaiting to clench something. He opened hand turned to simply two fingers, he quickly twirled his fingers around, the stationary beams following his whims. Marlow's smile remained through it all, the beams forming a sharpened end that pointed back to the shore. "I'll banish you all to hell." The man called out, he threw his hand forward, and as he did so, the beams followed.

All the beams that were meant to rain on him were now heading back to their source. As the stray beams from the robots collided with the beams repurposed by Marlow, only his remained despite the others vanishing. Unlike the beams from the robots, Marlow's were physical and extremely durable, it could easily hold out against the assault. Eventually, Marlow's attack would rain upon the shoreline, striking and possibly destroying the machines sent to attack the Marines by Kenshiro. The possibility also remained that they would liter the terrain, or even strike the approaching combatants by accident.

As Harlan came to a halt on the beach, he pushed through the various fights, kicking down Marines as he hunted down the source of the smell. And he found him. So, the hybrid came to a halt, getting back onto his legs to stand upright. “Hey, bluey.” Harlan called out within earshot of Marlow. “Ya miss me?"

At the call, Marlow turned his head to look Harlan dead in his eyes. "You..." Marlow spoke, remembering that day at Parshva. He let out a brief sigh, turning his gaze back to the remainder of the battle. "I knew I should've stayed a little longer."

Harlan made some finger guns, clicking his tongue as he did so. “You goofed there, bud. And now I’m alive.” Harlan said, teasing the Rear Admiral.

"I'd suggest you run along. Otherwise you won't get up next time." Marlow finished, telling Harlan off.

Harlan placed his hands on his chest, right where his heart should've been. "Aw, bluey." he began, an exaggerated pout on his face. "You're gonna hurt my feelings."

"Demons like you don't have feelings. Now leave before you wish you stayed dead." Someone who has only done evil deeds. Threatened to murder innocents, and even gone as far as to resurrect from the dead? For all intents and purposes, Harlan for sure wasn't something normal.

"Demon? Is that what you're gonna have 'em put on my posters now?" Harlan taunted. "Pft, clearly you got the brawns in your family."

Marlow continued to look away from Harlan, examining the battle at hand. Opening a hand, a ball of light seemed to phase from his body, floating into the air. As it did so, it's size expanded and it grew spikes on the exterior. "Posters? You won't have any once I'm done with you." Closing his fist caused all of the spikes to rain down, exclusively striking the cyborgs and those alone.

"That was nice and shiny." Harlan replied, pulling out his shotgun. It looked slightly different, as if it had changed every so subtly. He pumped it once before sheathing it yet again. "Now, are you gonna 'finish me'? No homo, of course."

Marlow gave out a chuckle at the end of Harlan's comment. He turned his head to look the mink in the eyes, holding the gaze for as long as possible. He licked his lips, winking at Harlan afterwards. "I'm fine with a little 'homo' if you are." He teased, letting out a loud laugh. "KOSAHAHAHA! LEWIS! Handle this punk for me. I've got more important things to deal with."

The young man, Lewis, stepped out. His silver hair somehow staying in place despite the strong shockwaves from the clash, almost as if it was an immobile force. He extended a fist at Harlan, showcasing his rings with a blank expression. "You're not worth Rear Admiral Marlow's time."

“I remember you!” Harlan exclaimed. “You were there on that island too. Man, why’re you getting in my way?” the Hybrid asked. Within an instant, Harlan had unsheathed his dagger and thrown it with precision, going to send it blitzing through Lewis’ knee.

Before Lewis could even retort about Harlan headbutting him, he was met with the dagger plugging into his knees. "AHHHH! WHAT THE-" He screamed out, falling onto the floor and rolling back and forth in pain.

But that wasn’t it. Ever since Harlan had fought Marlow, he had become more cautious. And so, Harlan had thrown that dagger already having imbued Electro into it. So logically, that shock would be coursing through Lewis, most likely incapacitating him for quite some time. “So, bluey.” Harlan called out. “We dancing or what?”

Marlow looked over at the panicking Lewis, lifting him up with one hand and tossing him over into an empty barrel. The young lad was still conscious, but the pain and added electricity had caused his muscles to tense up to the point he couldn't move his leg.

A quick sigh escaped the Oni's lips, his eyes turning to look at Harlan yet again. "Your persistent, but still not worth the effort. I'll have Lewis handle you when he gets back." Marlow turned his gaze over to Lewis, raising his voice higher as he did so. "And he'd better hope that shameless display was because of FOGGED GLASSES!"

Harlan sighed, unsheathing his shotgun. He clicked a button on its side, and it split from the middle, creating dual “swords”. The easiest way to think of them would be as one barrel shotguns. “Nah, he’s just slow. And come on, you sure thought I was worth the time when you attacked me at Nevada.” Harlan retorted.

As the battle behind them ensued, Harlan seemingly vanished as a loud noise was made. In reality, Harlan had just charged forward, keeping his centre of gravity low to the ground to hasten his lateral movement. The hybrid passed right under the legs of Marlow before halting to slam the shotguns into the back of Marlow, the pair imbued with the half-mink’s latent Electro.

Marlow simply ignored the massive explosion. It didn't matter much to him. Explosions came with war. And that's exactly what this was. One massive war over the island of Negrsneg. The Marines, Reapers, and unbeknownst to Marlow, even the Monks were here to take over the island for their own. But the explosion wasn't the think that made Marlow act. It was the retched smell of the young mink's person.

As Harlan pulled the trigger, Marlow effortlessly jerked his torso to avoid the shot. The bullet flew pass his body, Marlow raising his elbow and continuing the torn, aiming to hit the Pirate square in the jaw with a powerful blow. Whether the attack hit or not didn't matter, but it would push Harlan back from his opponent. "We battled at Parshva you fool! You were only worth while then due to the notoriety you held. But then you fell to me, your reputation tarnished. I've conquered you, and there is nothing left to interest me. Leave my sight!"

“Must’ve slipped my mind, ya know?” Harlan replied. As the fist travelled towards him, Harlan threw the shotguns into the air, weaving under the fist. Using Marlow’s arm as a pivot, he spun off of it and into the air, grabbing his guns. “Conquered me? Didn’t you fail at that? After all, I am alive.” he continued. The hybrid landed on a nearby spire, watching the Oni. “Won’t your reputation tarnish if people found out that you failed to kill me?”

"I see your best gimmick are those parlor tricks." Marlow stated, allowing himself to angle towards Harlan this time around. "It doesn't matter that you're alive. Any influence you had died along with your identity as the Haunted. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a shell of a foolish child." The Marine went on, holding a balled up fist forward, imitating what Lewis had done just seconds before. "Bold of you to assume my reputation is based on the fact I defeated you at Parshva." Marlow threw in at the end, lowering his hand afterwards, eliminating any possible significance it held.

More than half of the cyborgs perished after Marlow's attack. What remained now faced the forces of the Marines, alongside the Death Knights. A squad captain, recognizeable by the pair of horns on its head, drew his sword and dashed over to Lewis's direction.

The Marines shot bullets and tried to cut the Death Knight captain, but it was for naught, as the sword didnt pierce its skin and the bullets just bounced off, thanks to their tougher-than iron exoskeleton. He prepared for a downwards strike on Lewis.

From the forest behind the ensuing battle, another "entity" was moving closer at great speeds towards their location.

Still stuck within the barrel, Lewis couldn't help but find himself panicking at the sight of one of the Death Knights charging him. He held his clenched first forward, allowing the rings on his middle and index finger to release their elements; wind and lightning. The two elements collided with one another before becoming one. A pressurized, linear blast of wind that had become shrouded and electrified by thunder. "Anemos Lepída - Tási Atmos!" He fired the assault at the incoming Death Knight, yet the recoil caused the man to be pushed even further into the barrel he was lodged in. A minor price to pay for his life.

Harlan snarled. “Fine, I’ll just kill your lackey over there.” he spat. “Maybe he’ll actually try to live. Plus, seeing them squirm is always a blast."

Marlow scoffed at Harlan's threat. Of course he would do such a thing, Harlan had never been above hurting people, especially those weaker than himself. "Sure, attack him while he's handling that demon robot. Interesting thing about his fighting style. The power gap between you two is virtually worthless. In the end, it's you versus the forces of nature. And men far more ruthless than you have fallen to it."

"What's it those idols say?" Harlan began. "Lol?" he continued. "It's a still a dude controlling it, and I'll kick his ass. Just, fuckin' fight me, Bluey."

Marlow looked at Harlan, he titled his head up a bit, a smile creeping on his face. "You underestimate the Art of Weather, Maurier. But, seeing as you're so willing to battle me-" Marlow reared himself back, however he mostly did so with his right hand, as if powering up a punch. "Who am I to deny you the satisfaction of death?" As his statement ended, Marlow threw forward his fist, however there was a distance between the two. How would that punch connect? The force and speed of Marlow's fist unleashed a shockwave that advanced towards Harlan with great ferocity. However, the force of the attack wasn't visible since Marlow wanted to prevent any force from being lost in it's journey to it's prey. The shockwave was small, and was used with precision in mind. A hit from it could likely impale Harlan, which wouldn't be the best way to start this battle.

Really? Marlow was using this kind of an attack? It was nothing in contrast to their last fight. It was like a pebble compared to a mountain at this point. So Harlan moved to do what was logical. Harlan’s body had long stopped moving on instinct alone. During the time he had been “dead”, he had trained. And from it, he learned something far more valuable; intuition. The shockwave travelled towards him at a rapid rate, but nothing Harlan couldn’t deal with. He spun his dual shotguns around with a new grace, before slamming them straight through the shockwave. The energy was split in two, bursting towards the left and right. “You see bluey,” the hybrid began. “I’m not trying to die again, ya know?”

Marlow allowed himself to determine Harlan's prowess after their last meeting. One thing was for sure, the young mink had become somewhat smarter following his experience of being brought to the brink of death. Marlow could take pleasure in that fact, for now he knew that, even if slightly, he would find immense joy in erasing this pest from his sight. "Fine, I'll bite." Marlow lifted his axe. The weapon favored by the sun and in Marlow's eyes, blessed by the Gods to be held by their champion on Earth. Balduriemma, the Holy Axe. "I'll take immense pleasure in being the one to end you. Permanently."

As another one of the cyborgs fired a laser, Marlow would raise a finger. Placing the light under his command, he'd cause it to fly towards Harlan in an upward angle. Suggesting it hit, the blunt force would easily carry Harlan into the air. The solidified laser would come from Harlan's backside, and from Marlow's experience, he'd known that Harlan seemed to be able to sense when things came towards him. It, on top of the mink's speed, is what made battling him just that more difficult. Nevertheless, Marlow was still in that phase of testing Harlan's worthiness.

Harlan's ears twitched, signalling that he had heard the approach of the laser. He gracefully leaped backwards, his back arcing as the laser passed beneath him. The half-mink landed, shifting to a position on all fours. "Come on, bluey!" he exclaimed. "Remember how much fun we had last time? Do something BIG!"

Most of the Warmongers on the beach had been defeated by Marlow's attacks. A few still remained, making it difficult for the Marine soldiers to advance. That, and the army of Death Knights that were much stronger than your average Marine.

The Death Knight captain attacking Lewis was pushed back by his attack, but almost zombie-like, it stood up, without flinching. Sword in hand, it made way again straight to his target.

Still struggling to pull himself from the barrel, Lewis would see the Death Knight recover from his previous attack. Eyes wide, Lewis desperately attempted to remove himself from the barrel quicker than before. "C'mon! C'mon!!" He continued pushing against the barrel, but ultimately, his efforts had gotten him nowhere. "FUUUU-" Lewis screamed out, the final struggle caused the barrel to tip over, with him inside of it. However, due to the sudden swap in position, the Death Knight's blade cleaved the barrel, causing it to crumble in on itself. Such a clumsy move had otherwise saved Lewis's life. The Marine seemed to twist his ring a bit, getting into a fighting stance as he looked at the Death Knight. "Bring it!"

Other two Squadron Captains Squared up behind Marlow, drawing their swords and swinging at him with great force. However, there was another "entity" drawing closer to the battlefield. One that would become apparent soon enough.

Marlow watched as Harlan dodged his attack, suddenly causing Marlow to smile a bit. "You underestimate me, mink." Marlow ended with a cocky smile. Directly after Harlan had avoided the beam, Marlow would cause it to cease movement dead in it's tracks behind the mink. It would start to radiate with intensity, and within seconds after Harlan had believed himself in the clear, the beam of hardlight with detonate in an massive explosion, catching Harlan in it's chaos.

Meanwhile, Marlow would keep a grip on Balduriemma as the the two Death Knights approached. "Out of my way, imbeciles!" Marlow shouted angrily, swinging the massive axe in a circular motion to cleave the Death Knights in two. Strength was one of Marlow's greatest aspects. That and his immense durability as well. The reach of Balduriemma's handle would allow Marlow to otherwise dispatch the squadron captains before either of the two could get in striking distance of himself.

“An explosion? Really?”

Harlan stood a few feet behind Marlow, rolling his eyes. Once the hard light had began to fizzle to expand, it created a sound that Harlan could pick up. More so, he could feel the heat. And he didn’t want to get himself back into one of those heat blasts Marlow could do. “Can you actually do something interesting?”

Clenching his fangs, Marlow had just about reached his limit with Harlan's annoying behavior. He was fully reminded of why he wanted to kill this idiot in the first place. "You little-" Marlow spoke, his patience wearing thin. "You want interesting? I'll give you interesting!" Marlow spoke. He lowered his head to an angle, his forehead looking towards Harlan as if he were to ram the boy. "Devil Edge: Kamaguchi!" Marlow shouted out. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Marlow's horn would emerge from his skull. However, it wouldn't end there, no. It's length would reach extraordinarily freakish sizes, allowing it to reach all the way towards Harlan with a deadly pierce in store. However, the sudden burst of speed and the force it moved with caused a powerful burst of wind to follow behind it's power. It's force would also hit Harlan, even if Kamaguchi missed it's target. The winds could, at the very least, disorientate Harlan's movements with it's force. At most, it would send the mink flying.

The sudden burst. The voice of an angry Rear Admiral. The incoming horn. Harlan’s body sensed the threat before he consciously recognized it. With a twitch of his ears, he set into motion. He had shockingly run towards the horn, wanting to close the distance between him and Marlow. Yet the winds from the sudden strike was shocking to Harlan, he hadn’t expected it. As such, the winds pushed back, and he lost his footing. But before he could hit the ground, he rolled to the side and got back to his feet to charge at Marlow.

The half-Mink’s hands became encased in his Busoshoku Haki, and then he began to integrate the Electro. He shaped it into one of his original Wolf Cloak techniques; Mjölnir. Before, the hybrid could only manifest one. But now? He was able to create two, and now they were gauntlets of sorts, draining Harlan less. What he had done during his “death” had only made the boy stronger. Still charging towards Marlow, Harlan smiled. “Kinda horny of you to do that, huh?” he taunted.

"Hmph" Marlow snarled. While the Oni spent a majority of his time following his battle with Harlan to discover new techniques, the mink had spent more of his time advancing what he already had. In some way or another, this brought a balance to the skill sets that both men had. Nevertheless, Marlow had somewhat hoped that his attack wouldn't end Harlan just like that. This time, the Oni wanted the pleasure of seeing the mink-hybrid suffer after he beat the confidence straight out of the younger male.

Retracting his horn, the Oni stood to his full height in preparation for the incoming Harlan. He placed his right hand onto Balduriemma's grip. However, he hadn't fully drawn the weapon, only keeping it close for precaution. With his free hand, the left, Marlow swiped it before himself in a horizontal fashion. Between Heaven's and Hell's warriors rise a massive wall of spikes. It had such an immense height that it reached up to past the sails of Iridessa, and it's width was enough to nearly cover the entirety of the deck, only leaving room for the clash between Lewis, Reiner and the newly arrived Avatar who Marlow didn't have much time to process the arrival of.

Back onto Marlow's attack, the jagged edges of the massive wall would continue to sprout, charging towards Harlan as he charged at Marlow. The mass of hard light would be nearly impossible to dodge. It was designed with the intent to be able to pierce and stabbing Harlan into submission. He could also deliver a blunt strike depending on how Harlan would approach it. But nevertheless, the mink would likely walk away with a few scratches and blood dripping from his person.

Oh, how Harlan had wanted something like this to happen. Not this exact situation, of course. But a chance to display just how far he had come. Developed those techniques of his weren’t easy, he spent many sleepless weeks. But in the end, the half-Mink deemed his efforts to be worth it all. He sheathed his weapons, running through what he had to do. Firstly, he screeched to a halt.

His body took note of everything around him. He felt the tremors Marlow had created as a result of his attack. The tremors of everything else going on around them. He could feel the increasing heat from Marlow. He could feel the sea breeze within the aggressive gust Marlow was creating.

He could smell the sea salt from the ocean. The scent of everyone around them. And the sweet smell of adrenaline, something he had become accustomed to due to the nature of his Devil Fruit. Harlan could even discern the scent of Kelby, wherever the boy had gone off to.

The hybrid could hear it all too. The sound of the spikes launching towards him. The steady hum of the mass of hard light coupled the sizzle it created as it sliced through the air, going towards Harlan. The creak of the dock as Harlan had come to a screeching halt. The buzz of the nearby Avatar.

Most importantly, he could see the chaos around him. He had been here for what? 5 minutes? And it was already this chaotic? Harlan, despite the stupidity he possessed, knew if that too many high-ranking reinforcements came, he’d be in trouble. And thats why he was doing what he was about to do. And all of this? Processed within the matter of a second.

“Mjölnir: Thunderclap!”

The Hellhound slammed the two gauntlets he had created together and for the briefest of moments, there was tranquility. It was as if there was a bubble around the two combatants, where sound could not enter. But then reality processed what had happened, and it all came crashing down.

Harlan’s Wolf Cloak techniques had advanced vastly. As his will became more powerful, so did his techniques. And apparently, dying has quite the effect on a person. Supposedly, it boosts ones yearning to not die once more. Makes them all the more willful. And as such, the shockwaves produced by this technique were devastating.

The waves of willpower collided with the spikes. It quickly reduced it into rubble, pieces smaller than pebbles. The light, ironically, faded even quicker. Harlan’s willpower shoved its way into its inner workings, reducing it to nothing more than mere atoms. The tremors were aimed, a chunk for that ordeal, the rest for something more grand.

It had travelled behind Harlan, above the island. It sliced into it, splitting a fair portion of the island and sending it blitzing away. The dock they were attached too was yanked alongside it all. But it finally came to a halt, the water around their piece of land steaming. Electricity coursed through it, making it a sadistic moat of sorts. Within the matter of one move, Harlan had created an arena for him and Marlow and dealt with the obstacles he had been presented with ease.

Electricity arced from the water onto Harlan’s gauntlets periodically. When the boy looked up, there was look in his eyes unlike anything anyone would have seen from him before. It wasn’t intimidation, or anything of the sort. It wasn’t a look of sheer bloodlust. It was as if his eyes lacked the light that all life had. It was as if he was the inverse of a person, and that was what would send sharp shivers down the spines of others. “Now, Gambi Marlow..” Harlan murmured. “When are we starting this fight?”

"You're cocky. You're arrogant." Marlow spoke, he could feel his blood boil. Harlan's attack tore through the air and sliced the island with it's sheer power. Marlow could not only feel the hotness running through his veins, but he could feel the scorching heat against his skin from the immense attack that was the mink's Thunderclap. Marlow felt it himself, the deafening call. The call from the ascended. They bestowed a power upon the Oni unlike any other. And to remind him of that power, everything he felt, matched the last bout he had with Harlan. Reminded of his dominance, Marlow raged internally at the blatant disrespect. But to let it show would go against everything he had learned.

Instead, Marlow kept his cool. As cool as he normally was anyway. Planting a foot firmly into the the ship, Marlow gathered all the strength needed in his legs. And with it, he pushed the entirety of his weight and strength against the wooden floor that made Iridessa's deck. Doing so, Marlow's body reacted as all things should. Becoming airborne, Marlow allowed his body to soar over Harlan's own location. He extended a hand forward, taking in the fresh air. His air. At Marlow's command, from the atoms that made up Marlow's previous attack, numerous projectiles of hardlight manifested around Harlan from all sides, encircling him to restrict his movement.

However, Marlow refused to end there. He would much rather beat his opponents into submission by overwhelming them with a wave of attacks. Either tiring them out or destroying them into they can no longer resist his command. And Harlan was no exception. Gripping Balduriemma tightly, Marlow allowed his strength to course through the mighty axe. And it's strength into him. Unifying themselves, as all weapon and master should be. And then, it would happen. Moving at speeds so quickly that he didn't even seem to move, Marlow rotated three times whilst in the air. The shock from the sudden movement would all be directed into one direction. Downwards. The shock from each of the three rotations would form three horizontal lines. The force of Marlow, Balduriemma, and the concentrated strength all in one.

"Great Demon's Carving Talons!" Marlow shouted, the talons racing towards Harlan quicker than they had appeared. However, as their movements ensued, the same would happen for none other than the hardlight projectiles. All of the attacks would converge on Harlan at the same time, a synchronized destruction. Harlan was fast. Yes, fast indeed. But even the fastest of beasts were helpless with no room to run in. And that's exactly what Marlow planned to do.

“Someone’s overcompensating...” Harlan murmured. Despite Harlan’s childish remark, he had to admit. Marlow was impressive. And something told the half-Mink that the Rear Admiral wasn’t going all out yet. If he had, he’d be in that weird Bone Armour he had pulled out last time. An attack would come from his sides, and a variety of shockwaves would travel down towards him from above.

Harlan prided himself on his unnatural movements, how easily he was able to weasel his way out of things. Harlan was definitely a speed-based fighter more than brute strength. His only truly strength-boosting based technique were his Mjölnir techniques. But right now, he had no escape route. And that was what irked the boy, he needed a way out so he could strike. But he had trained for situations like this, back in the Iron Legion. If he had no way out, he’d have to make his own.

He planted his feet into the ground, encasing himself in Busoshoku Haki to protect himself from the attacks that would inevitably come to strike his sides. He looked upwards, lifting his arms into the air. Harlan brought his arms closer together so that the Mjölnir Gauntlets were touching. He took in a deep breath. The hybrid was betting on this. The two amalgamations of Electro and Haki merged, changing form. It shifted and it squirmed, but it settled on a new shape; a massive cannon.

“Mjölnir!” Harlan yelled, the hardlight constructs slamming into him, his Haki saving him from at least that. “Ragnarok!”

A burst of Harlan’s Wolf Hide energy was released towards the incoming shockwaves. The air around them quite literally was pushed away, digging into the island arena. The water only increased in heat, and thousands of volts now arced through the water as easily as a butterknife did through warm butter. Perhaps the energy would be enough to neutralize the shockwaves, but if it wasn’t; it was no worry to the hybrid. The boys plan wasn’t to make an escape route by countering Marlow’s attack, it was to create an escape route *downwards*.

Harlan had basically burrowed into the ground, releasing two more subsequent blasts to position himself behind Marlow, leaving more of his blasts to cause a spectacle. The blasts were large and bright enough enough to be seen from the main island with ease. Now behind the great warrior that was Gambi Marlow, he aimed his arms towards him now; firing another Ragnarok straight for the warrior.

Tch. Marlow spoke from the corner of his mouth. As Harlan endured the wave of attacks Marlow had thrown at him, the Oni couldn't help but become more enraged. What he didn't want was true, Harlan had grown stronger. And for him to have grown stronger could only mean that Marlow, against all that he wanted, was becoming weak. He wouldn't let that happen. He COULDN'T let that happen.

Within the moments leading up to Harlan's attack, Marlow could feel it all. The immense shockwaves, the increase of electricity in the air, his hairs standing up as they sensed the high level of voltage. However, nothing could compare to how his body felt once Harlan at appeared behind him, his massive cannon in hand as he prepared to blast the Oni into oblivion.

And then it happened. Releasing the energy within, Harlan fired his gigantic Ragnarok. The thunder tore through the sky with no effort, as it always did. A force of nature it was indeed, it gave off an ominous sound, the vibration of the unstoppable recoil could be heard far and wide. So this was his power. The power of Maurier Harlan. However, Marlow was a champion of the god's. Harlan was a force of nature, but Marlow was a force beyond the material world. In his mind, he was a divine force. Placed here to rid the world of people like Harlan, having played God once, would he be able to pull of such a feat again?

He would have to if he wanted to survive this battle, for Marlow's Kosa Kosa no Mi provided him with power that completely overruled anything that Harlan could put out. As Harlan's cannon fire came towards Marlow, the Oni made no effort to dodge. No. He wanted it to hit him. He desired to be swallowed alive by it's power. And in turn, he would swallow it. Feeling the force of Harlan's attack wash over him, Marlow gritted. He could feel the immense and destructive power behind it. Hellhound had no right to wield something of this magnitude. No. It was Marlow's power. All that stood between it was Harlan's will. His Haki.

However, Marlow knew all too well how the phenomenon of Haki worked. And therefor, he knew how to destroy the only thing keeping this strength from him. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Marlow bellowed from within the hell storm of thunder and electricity. And at that moment, Harlan would see it. Golden sparks would arc above and around the blast that was his Ragnorak. And he would feel his control over the attack vanishing. The entirety of the blast seemed to stop, then it would all converge onto one point, forming a mold reminiscent of Marlow's body.

And there he was, the bright lights would give away as their master commanded them. And behind the golden curtain was a Champion. Marlow stood there, but there was something different. He was coated in something, surrounded by a majestic spectacle of an armor. He opened his eyes, their dagger gaze looking deep into Harlan's own. No. They weren't staring at Harlan. Instead, they stared at what the boy held within. His Electro.

"You like it, Maurier?" Marlow teased, taking pride in what he had accomplished. "I wonder what to call this. Ah. I know." The Oni marveled at this gift of his own creating, although he'd be lying if he said Harlan hadn't played a part in it as well. The armor was decorated with a few spikes along his back and shoulders, however they were beautifully and gracefully crafted and placed. However, the best part was it's crown, the headwear was designed with three spikes as well, yet of a much smaller size. The middle being the tallest of course. And, while he was lost in admiring his newest technique, he'd nearly forgot what he wanted to name it.

"Thunder God's Champion: Fulgora. Has a nice ring to it, right?"

“Okay, thats fuckin’ cool!” Harlan exclaimed. “This is what I wanted!” he continued as he landed. His gauntlets sputtered away, running out of juice. He’d be unable to use that technique for a while. “I like this kinda stuff. The whole fancy shit. Ya know, it’s probably the coolest thing you’ve done yet. And you killed me too.”

The hybrid took a step forward, Electro beginning to ebb its way into the Busoshoku that he had active. It became a part of him, not just an extension of his will; but integrated within it. “Wolf Cloak,” the boy grumbled. “Tonbokiri!”

The boy took on that hellish look of his, reminiscent to the new version he had debuted during their first fight. In this form, Harlan wasn’t just a Pirate. He was a being that had returned from the dead, he was a Hellhound. Marlow may have been a champion of God, but what was God to a nonbeliever? And that made Marlow just another man in the boys’ eyes.

“You’re upgrading yourself, so, I’ll try it out too. To be fair, Harry had mentioned it might work. Apparently my Haki is compatible enough with my Devil Fruit, yada yada yada, Doriki, yada yada math. You know where this is going, yeah?” Harlan asked. Suddenly without warning, the miasma Harlan was able to manipulate via his Devil Fruit burst out of him, and into Tobokiri. It tainted his Electro an obsidian hue, black lightning arcing off of him. A lightless electricity almost, as if it shunned light away from it; made light fear it. Harlan roared, his voice warped and deeper. There was more adrenaline than expected, it was euphoria in a sense. Like a drug addiction.

“This is the new Tonbokiri, Bluey.” Harlan stated. “You likey?”

Watching as Harlan had a countermeasure, Marlow now realized that, contrary to what he believed, he still had a fight ahead of him. Before, Harlan likely wouldn't have put much thought into how to prevent Marlow from simply taking over all of his attacks. But now, Marlow could see it. Whatever the boy had done following his defeat, and whatever this Harry had told him, truly seemed to hold a weight on the mink's actions now.

He bit his tongue, metaphorically of course. "Fine. I'll give it to you, Maurier. You really have evolved. And what in incredible pain in an ass you've become." Once again, Marlow would push a mass of his force into the ground. However, this hadn't been to leap. More accurately, he would push off against the ground many times within the blink of an eye. Soru. Within an instant, he would vanish from his location. And now, he would reappear only slightly above Harlan's own height.

Leaning in to the strike, he wielded Balduriemma within his hands. Manipulating the electrified hardlight, Marlow would allow it to course down Balduriemma's length onto her blade, magnifying the power of the attack that the maiden of the sun was sure to unleash. Marlow would relinquish control over that fragment of lighting, a small percentage of the armor that formed his Fulgora. Now back into it's natural state, it held all the properties of usual lightning, meaning it would hurt Harlan internally far more than it would as hardlight. Which instead, would've harmed more externally.

Marlow leaned into the attack more and more, adding his body weight into the strike. Then, Balduriemma's edge would be covered in a benevolent shine. Harlan should hopefully recognize this technique, as it was merely an electrified and augmented version of Marlow's Radiant Smite. Giving it all his strength as he aimed to tear through Harlan from head to toe, the attack would serve a use regardless of whether it would hit Harlan or not. For behind Marlow was the power of a God, the power to shape the world. And even destroy it, if he so chose to.

Balduriemma's might would tear into the small fragment of the island Harlan had made. And in it's mission, it aimed to reduce what Harlan had already done. The attack would cleave the drifting rock into four sections, the other three sections would crumble to dust and debris by Marlow's wishes, leaving the final section for the Mink and Oni to do battle.

Marlow was fast. Especially with his new armour, he was far faster than Harlan had ever been. But right now, in this moment; Harlan was much faster. As Marlow came down to strike, Harlan was already gone. Where the hybrid had once stood was an outline of him, leaving a moment in which that spot was enshrouded by pure darkness. Then light overcame it as Marlow’s attack slammed straight through it, shattering the small arena Harlan had made.

Marlow’s attack was truly that of a God’s. The pieces of the island he had removed were reduced into rubble, the pieces sent flying outwards towards the mainland. The powerful electricity only added to the “acidity” of the moat around them. The heat rose a few degrees, but none of it mattered. This new Tonbokiri sheltered Harlan from it all.

Harlan reappeared a few inches away from Marlow, his hands surrounded in Miasma; making claws. These claws were unlike his other attacks, and had been something that Maurier Helen had talked to him about during his death. He had to advance his Devil Fruit, and decided on this. An attack that would bring up the opponents fears in temporal flashes to bring them off their game if the claws made contact. No physical damage, just mental damage. Harlan swiped the claws towards Marlow at a catastrophic speed, unlike tiers the pair had seen before.

Harlan's claws tore through the air in a deafening swipe. Although Marlow would never see it, he would hear all that came with it. However, he wouldn't have to. That attack would have been Harlan's first mistake. Whether he took it into mind or had simply forgotten, Marlow's body was tucked within the armor of Fulgora. As such, a mental attack wouldn't be able to breach the physical armor, ultimately leaving Harlan's attack useless.

This had been entirely in Marlow's favor, having not to put any effort into dodging or defending. Instead, at the moment Harlan's claws would come into contact with the armor of the Gods, Marlow would allow the section Harlan struck to lose form. This would cause an intense voltage to course through Harlan's claws and into his person, shocking him and nearly frying his arm as the electricity tore through his insides like a hungry lion being presented with a feast of helpless zebras. And much like how that lion would tear it's prey asunder, the otherworldly thunder of Fulgora would tear the flesh and tissue in Harlan's arm until it was completely useless. The further voltage of the attack would also cause Harlan to be launched back as his muscles would tense at the touch. The crackling lightning itself belittled Harlan's own, as, even if he was in a sense it's parent, they were taken under the command of a mighty champion to the divine. And thus, they had a sense of superiority to the Mink's Electro.

On its own, Marlow’s newly acquired lightning was leagues ahead of Harlan’s Electro. The half-Mink couldn’t deny that, he admired it, in fact. But Harlan’s Electro wasn’t on its own. His body was encased in Tonbokiri, a technique of his Wolf Cloak. Something so obscenely versatile, it was almost ridiculous.

The substance coating Harlan wasn’t just his Haki, it was a mixture of his three abilities; the Devil Fruit, Electro and Busoshoku Haki. The three had merged into one substance, something that gave Harlan his true strength. The bolts of lightning Marlow released travelled up Harlan’s arm, but it didn’t strike him. No, the base substance of Tonbokiri acted almost like a lightning rod. It travelled across Harlan, as if were a performer sprinting across a tightrope. Then, Harlan opened up the layers of his Busoshoku Haki, where his own Electro resided. And it seemed as if the boy was trying to making Marlow’s lightning into his own, to power Tonbokiri even more.

But the lightning that Marlow had sent up Harlan was deadly. It was a force of nature, a gift from God. It wouldn’t be tamed willingly. But in Harlan’s eyes, he had to have this. He needed more power channelling through him, he couldn’t just let Marlow’s lightning run rampant. And so, Harlan decided to command the lightning, to become its king.

From the hybrid, a flash of purple was emitted. It was Haki, and with one solid “whip”, it forced the force of nature into Tonbokiri. This new Haki Harlan had used wasn’t Busoshoku, no. It was something only one in a million could do; to command the Haki of a King. Harlan had awoken his Haoshoku, and while he hadn’t used its full capabilities, he used it to tame a deadly force.

As soon as the lightning was integrated into Tonbokiri, it’s light was gone. Harlan’s Ifu Ifu no Mi flooded into it like his own Electro, making it his own. Harlan landed on the ground, and let out a guttural roar as he felt more power surge through him. The lightning of a Champion flowed through him, and the roar caused cracks to appear across their small arena of an island. The winds blew viciously, the acidic waves bubbled with might.

Then he was silent, and the hybrid looked up at Marlow. “Fulgora, was it?” Harlan asked. He smiled. “I like it.”

Witnessing his conquered domain give way to Harlan, a buzzing sensation had been brought along with it. It was as if everything froze, with even the natural forces refusing to intervene in the confrontation of a King and a God. Marlow had felt this before. From him. "Another conqueror." Marlow spoke to himself, but loud enough for Harlan to hear as well. How does one combat a King? Many have done so before, and a fancy form of Haki wouldn't be the thing to stop Marlow now. Not after all he had left to unleash.

Marlow had hoped to hold off on doing this for as long as possible, but it was at this moment Marlow fully remembered why he had come to this island in the first place. And it wasn't to play around with Harlan. And now, Marlow allowed himself to release a fragment of his fury. Black streaks would flood into the body of Fulgora, a design almost reminiscent of tribal tattoos was imbued into Fulgora's body. The beautiful flame like decal turned the already majestic Fulgora into a truly godly creation. Marlow finally allowed himself to wear his Busoshoku Haki. His new form so elegant it even seemed as if a bright light was radiating from his being even after his Haki had been released.

Suddenly, Marlow held up four fingers at Harlan, a serious expression on his face. He would suddenly let one fall, keeping a steel expression. "You have this long until I kill you. Leave this island now, my business has nothing to do with you." Marlow stated, suddenly looking over at Lewis, his voice rang. "When the eclipse comes, contact Gyokuryū." His eyes would instantly return to Harlan, not giving the Mink any time to move. "Calling her was the last thing I wanted to do. But the more time I waste dealing with Maurier, the more time Kenshiro has to construct that weapon."

“yOu hAvE tHiS lOnG bEfOrE I kiLl yOu.” Harlan mocked. “That’s such an overused threat. I was told that when I stole apples when I was like…eight.” he continued. “And what are you going on about? Another congo?” Harlan asked, having misheard one of the Oni’s statements. “You’re on some kind of medication, aren’t you? Like, really intense melatonin or something.”

The miasma of the Ifu Ifu no Mi crackled against Harlan, showing him the fears of Marlow. But the half-Mink had been ignoring it, he wanted to beat the Oni to a pulp. Maybe he’d follow through with Harry’s plan later, but for now Harlan would keep fighting. “Well, if you’re going to kill me,” Harlan began. “Let’s get this party started!”

Marlow had ignored any and all of what Harlan said. Or to be more exact, he let the taunts, comments, and the ever annoying voice of the mink-hybrid marinate in his mind. An ever devastating result. He struck his feet into the ground with all his might. However, the Earth beneath his feet had been unharmed by the amount of strength he had been building up. Gripping Balduriemma, it was almost as if Marlow aimed to strike yet again.

Through the might he had been bestowed by the Gods, Marlow mustered the power of many men in an instant. His power and presence was so immense that, even after he left his location, it continued to shine with a faint glow to symbolize the resting place of a man with the strength of the divine. Marlow held Balduriemma, a golden arc would creep up it's blade before fading into the air. With all the strength he had, Marlow leaned forward as he prepared to deliver a cut into Harlan's body, a powerful and deep slash that would go all the way from the bow's shoulder blade to the opposite hip.

The air parted and the light danced as it witnessed this show, the area momentarily flashing bright as it did so. What had mostly flashed however was Marlow, who Harlan more than likely would've had his sights on. The brief increase and decrease in brightness would temporarily blind Harlan, leaving him open to Marlow's incoming attack. Three

The bright light would’ve been effective against anyone else. But, Marlow had forgotten something crucial. Harlan didn’t merely rely on one sense, he used them all effectively. Harlan’s ears twitched as it picked up the hum of the Marlow’s Fulgora, the rippling of air as Marlow’s axe approached Harlan’s shoulder. And while Marlow was ridiculously fast, speed had always been Harlan’s strong suit. Alongside this version of Tonbokiri, the hybrid was far faster.

Harlan flickered out of existence, and where had once been there was nothing except an absence of light, created by the obsidian lightning he had coursing through Tonbokiri. He stood a few feet away, before laughing. “Man, your Fulgora lightning is SOMETHING, man!” he exclaimed. “I gotta learn how to generate that shit casually.”

As Harlan laughed, Marlow's movements seemed not to cease. No, he continued to move forward even after taking not of the mink's disappearance from the location. Reaching the other edge of the island opposite of the one he had originally come from, the arena only grew brighter as a result of the man's growing determination. As Harlan had appeared closer to Marlow's original location, he would suffer the consequence. To control one's strength is the greatest asset, and that's one led Marlow to this upcoming attack.

The ground he had left from earlier gave off a sudden crack. It was a delay, as if Marlow had expected Harlan to dodge his attack. No, he depended on Harlan having dodged it as that would put him near the shockwave on it's count down. It would suddenly release the massive wave of pressure in an spherical manner, leaving no room for Harlan to jump through, over, or under. And as that took place, Marlow held Balduriemma forward as if she were a crossbow, letting the power of his Devil Fruit manifest on her blade. "Divine Arrow: Tracking Mode..." Marlow called out with a calm and cool air, quickly striding to the right as he fired it.

The arrow quietly and peacefully cut through the air, yet it blitzed like nothing could get in it's way. The ever eternal speed of the arrow soundlessly tearing through the air with no effort. And better yet, if Harlan dodged, it would simply follow. A golden light shined dimly from it's starting location, as yet again, it simply served to show Marlow's dominance of the area around him. Yet, even as the arrow took it's path towards Harlan, the mink also had the shockwave to deal with. Both would collide with Harlan at the same time, aiming to squeeze him between their combined weight and power. Two

The shockwaves weren’t really an issue. In his past, he had halted a hurricane that she had made. God, he hated her. But for some strange reason, he couldn't wait to see her again either. With the new force that was this Tonbokiri, Harlan ran towards the shockwaves, passing through it. The force at which he travelled neutralized the force, sending an even more powerful shockwave towards Marlow.

“I remember the arrow!” Harlan called out, as he slid beneath it on his knees. The arrow simply whipped back around, flying towards Harlan. “Gotta say, it gave me some good ol’ inspiration for when I was, uh. Dead.” he ranted, bringing his forearm up to face the arrow. The substance of the new Wolf Cloak began to manifest onto the hybrid’s forearm, shifting into a new form; a crossbow. A crossbow bolt composed of the Fear Lightning and Busoshoku Haki already nocked onto the weapon. "Wolf Cloak: Apollo!”

The bolt was fired at the arrow Marlow had produced. Once the tips made contact, the bolt proceeded to “consume” the arrow made by that damned Oni, before fizzling into nothingness. “Ya like? Thought I should have some long-range things. Well, that was more Heather’s idea, but you know. I made it.”

However, Harlan merely believed he'd destroyed the arrow, but it would cleave directly through the middle of the mink's Apollo with ease, completely unscathed from the attack. But how? The abilities of the Kosa Kosa no Mi relied heavily on light manipulation, but not creation. Marlow couldn't create light to fuse his constructs, instead using light from his surroundings. As such, the light produced by the sun fueled Marlow's arrow. And in the end, it was nearly limitless in the area. As long as there was light shining on Marlow's location, his constructs were nearly indestructible.

And so, the sky, earth and anything in-between would grow even brighter as Marlow stood on the edge of the make-shift arena. His arrow would continue to hone in on Harlan, it's speed greater with every second it spent in existence. As time continued to go, it's silent yet swift hunt would only fill the arrow with greater adrenaline, until it would skewer the mink directly through his chest. A cocky grin rested in the Oni's face, for he wouldn't falter in the slightest. His goal in sight, he would add the Divine Arrow in it's pursuit. Gripping Balduriemma, Marlow would feel the cold steel of the axe bequeathed the blessings of the heavenly. Yes. This is how things would be.

Leaning forward again, Marlow would aim to cut through Harlan from behind as his arrow came for the front, however, it hadn't been quite what one would expect. Now, Harlan's movements put him between Marlow and his final destination. Instead of going for a direct swing, Marlow would bring his axe up to his right side as he blitzed past the mink's backside, delivering a horizontal slash across his spine. However, there was the issue of Harlan's shockwave. Or the issue that could've been.

No, Marlow hadn't need worry of such things. The Gods knew of his prophecy, of his destiny. He wouldn't lose here, not in the slightest. And so, they gave him exactly what was needed to make that attack. And then, in an instant, it happened. Nothing could have registered it in time. Moving at such a great speed that Marlow had practically teleported, not a single sense could have detected him before it had happened, before his Soru had gotten the job done. Marlow now stood at his destination, yet awaiting to see what his attack would have done before ending it all. One.

Perhaps now, Harlan could use Harry’s plan. What Harlan lacked in certain skills, he made up for it in instinct. Marlow’s on his own wasn’t at Harlan’s speed. But Soru had him exceed it by a margin, and Harlan’s brief moment of where he didn’t expect it was what would get him hurt.

But instinct was what would make sure he wouldn’t die. The axe sliced into his back, grinding against his Busoshoku and Electro mixture. While it didn’t leave a scar, the force behind it rattled Harlan’s bones, causing him to yell out in pain nonetheless. The energy behind the attack sent Harlan catapulting forwards, towards the arrow. It slammed into him, exploding. Another roar of pain.

As the smoke cleared, Harlan remained standing. He panted heavily, and there was blood beneath the armour that was Tonbokiri. “Bluey, pal.” he began. “That was, uh. Good. Really, good.” it pained him to speak, his bones were still shaking.

The hybrid raised his palm despite it, miasma crackling on top of it. “So, I got a gift for you.”

“When I died, that wasn’t enough to kill me. But, uh. I can, uh. Whats it called? Now I can raise the dead.” Harlan spat out. While the hybrid talked, the miasma flickered through Harlan as well, showing Harlan fears rooted within Marlow. Earlier, Harlan had made subtle contact with the Oni, and that was enough to ignite the conditions for his Devil Fruit. “And while we’ve been doing this tango over here, a, uh. Spirit! Yeah, a spirit reached out to me.”

The Fruit found one fear, one memory, that was quite prevalent. And quite frankly, it was the only one Harlan could pronounce. The boy could barely read after all. “Her name’s Ishana, and she wants to speak with you.”

"Ishana" Marlow thought. His heart skipped a beat as all his movements ceased. Eyes shot open and wider than the sun itself, the Oni couldn't move a muscle. His hands, no, his figure shook with an intense vibration. How did he know that name? "This has to be a trick. I know it!" Marlow thought to himself. But no matter how hard he tried to fight it, he couldn't fight it. His mouth slowly inched open, something was coming out. "You can't fool me..." Marlow spoke, although determined, there was the lingering thought that Harlan could be telling the truth.

“No fooling here, blue man.” Harlan replied. The miasma flickered. “I can talk to ‘em. Hell, I can bring her back. As long as we try to not get my ass killed, ya dig?” he continued. The Half-Mink placed his hands onto the sand, palms down. His miasma leaked into the ground, bursting upwards continuously like a geyser. Marlow hadn’t seen him use his miasma like this before, so the boy hoped that it would look good enough.

The entire area around them seemingly flickered into a void of darkness, as if nothing except them existed. But it returned back to normal before anyone could really process it. Harlan stood up onto his feet, shaking. “Okay. So it didn’t work. But in my def—“

The hybrid was cut off short, as if from seemingly nowhere a hand had wrapped around his neck. A woman stepped from the shadows, squeezing on the boys neck before tossing him aside, into the acidic moat. The woman turned to face Marlow, and colour returned to her. Dark curly hair fell down to right above her waist. Tanned skin gleamed against the sunlight. A black shoulderless top, with dark pants.

But unlike what she would’ve been in life, her pupils were obsidian. The woman turned towards Marlow, a friendly smile on her face. It was welcoming, almost motherly. Her mouth opened, and her soothing voice filled the air. “Hey Marlow. D’ya miss me?”

His heart stopped as his mind started racing. That face, that hair, that beautiful, motherly smile that just made you want to break down and tell everything that's been troubling your mind. Marlow couldn't help but loosen his grip on Balduriemma until it could do nothing more but dangle from his fingertips. How did he? How could he? Did Harlan truly possess the ability to revive the dead? Despite the logic, despite the lingering doubt, Marlow couldn't stop himself from giving in.

"I-I" His words would tremble on forever. His mouth would quake for as long as time. "I-I-I" And with every passing moment, Marlow couldn't tell if his heart was breaking more to coming back together. "I-I-I-I It was a worrying yet addictive limbo. One that balanced on and wouldn't quite weigh out.

"I'm sorry..." Marlow fell to his knees, his voice going from a yell and into a roar, one that would pierce the ears of those from islands away. "I'M SORRY!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I NEVER WANTED YOU TO DIE!" His roars turned to cries as something wet trailed down his face. Balduriemma falling to the side.

Ishana kept smiling, laughing when Marlow fell to his knees. “Hey doofus, it’s okay.” she replied. “You did what you had to. I’m proud of you, Marlow.” the woman continued, edging forwards towards Marlow. “All of me is proud of you, alright? Now get up and wipe those tears, cause right now Marlow, you look shorter than normal.”

Tears continued to flow, Marlow couldn't stop them. He kept his head down, unable to look the woman in the face. She took him in when no one else would. She raised him as if he were her own. And he repaid her with an arrow through the chest. "I'm so lost right now. I-I don't know what to do. Please, tell me what to do. Please." Marlow pleaded, unable to think clearly.

Ishana stepped forwards. “I’d ask for you to get me some rum, but we’re having a serious moment.” she jested. She adjusted her hair, plopping down in front of Marlow. She reached her hand out to caress Marlow’s cheek, but was met with a jolt of electricity. “Mmm, ouch!” the woman whispered harshly.

She brought her hands down to her lap, looking at Marlow. “Hey, Gambi. Come on, chin up! What do you mean you’re lost?”

"I don't know where I'm going...I keep doing these missions, advancing the marines ladder, hoping that I'll find closure. But the higher I climb, the more I feel like I'm slipping away. Please, mom, tell me what to do...I'm scared." Marlow spoke, still unable to look her in the eye.

“Closure for what? Shooting me in the chest?” Ishana asked. Yet, even as she said the words, she held no malice in them. They were said in almost a jokingly matter. “Look, I’m proud of you. What kinda person would I be if I wasn’t? You did your duty. And for that, I’m beyond proud.” she stated, trying to reassure the Oni. “I’m sure you’ve gotten high-up on the Marines ladder, despite being so short. Like their ace, or something.”

“But, I know what I say won’t fully give you that closure. I can try, but in the end, its up to you.” the woman continued. “I know you’re in a...dark place, but just know that I am proud of you.”

She gave him a look-down, finally taking note of the armour. “Whats up with the shiny thing you’ve got on?” Ishana asked, trying to take Marlow’s mind away from the guilt and instead to focus his attention onto her.

Marlow couldn't push it away, the pain, the torment. It had all been too much. And now, she said it again. She'd forgiven him. Marlow gritted his teeth, their sharp and pointed design coming into view, his anger seeping in. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU ALWAYS FORGIVE ME?! I FUCKING KILLED YOU, DON'T YOU GET THAT?! YOU'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF ME, GET ANGRY! KILL ME! JUST STOP WITH THE BULLSHIT ISHANA!" Marlow let loose, Balduriemma radiating once more now that her master reignited his warrior's heart.

Ishana didn’t move. Instead, she looked up towards Marlow with a puzzled expression on her face. “Would you rather me blame you?” she questioned. “Why do you want to be blamed? Why would I fuckin’ kill you?! I’m not mad, because I raised you. I raised you to be yourself, to be strong. And you proved yourself! Thats why I’m not mad, you doofus. Because you became the person I wanted you to become!” the woman spat. “Now calm down before I beat your ass.”

"You wouldn't stand a rat's ass of a chance." Marlow spoke, throwing it all away. Was this an opportunity of a lifetime? Indeed. But what difference would it make? It was just the same thing as before. There a flash of images, Marlow in the current day and Marlow back when Ishana was still alive. His hair was shorter and more tame, but his eyes still hadn't changed.

A slight chuckle came through the Oni's mouth, he couldn't help but find amusement in this. "Heh, you know. I thought this time around it would be something different, but it's all just the same. I thank you, Hellhound, for giving me the chance to try and resolve this. But it's only served to widen the crevice in my hea-mind."

But the entire thing had been nothing more than a charade.

Harlan had trapped Marlow within a Mindscape, a spot in his mind where he would live out a fear. Relive a memory. In the meanwhile, Marlow’s body would be unconscious. Unmoving, motor and involuntary functions no longer active. While Marlow had been within his own mind, Harlan had manifested Almace, it too now crackling with the dark lightning he had recently developed. Harlan was mere inches behind Marlow. Not only that, Marlow would be trapped within it for quite some time. It was the nature of the Ifu Ifu no Mi. Harlan had learned that from experience, when he accidentally trapped himself within his own mind. It was haunting to say the very last.

Throughout this battle, even with all the ridiculous power-ups the pair had done, Harlan was still faster. While Marlow possessed unfathomable physical strength, Harlan had speed. They were like two sides of a coin, almost synonymous with each other. And despite their hatred for one another, there was no doubt that the two working together would be a virtually unstoppable force.

Harlan brought Almace up with speed unlike he had displayed before. While the hybrid knew that he wasn’t strong enough to break the bones of an Oni, much less Marlow’s, he knew that Almace would be able to easily cleave through skin. And potentially even dent Marlow’s neck bones.

The hybrid had been aiming for a specific spot, a spot that which he had been slashed into various times during the Iron Legion. If it hadn’t been for the Iron Legion’s medical unit, he wouldn’t be able to feel his body. It was a nerve cluster, and while it wouldn’t kill the Oni, it would paralyze him for enough time that Harlan could ask a question he had been dying to ask since he saw the Oni once again.Not only that, Harlan had no intention to kill Marlow. The half-mink saw him as a “friend”, in a strange way. One that he enjoyed fighting against, despite the Rear Admiral being the one to have “killed” him in the past. All that remained now for Harlan was to see if his attack would meet its target.

A jolt would go through Marlow's body. First he felt it, then he didn't. His vision, touch, smell, taste, and hearing all came back to where they should've been all along. The true world. Marlow's eyes flashed open, so Harlan had gone for it again, his scummy mindscape ability. Marlow had been witness to it before, but this time, he was vulnerable to defend. Harlan's Almace tore through the flesh of Marlow's neck, severing the nerves and paralyzing the Oni in the process. "No! NO! NO!!!" Marlow thought, and even after he had just barely thought of letting the Mink go for allowing him to converse with Ishana once again, even if it were a figment of his imagination. But now, any chances of that, had been squashed.

Marlow fell face first into the ground, his muscles going limp, the weight of Balduriemma causing him to fall even faster, his right hand touching the ground first. Balduriemma would be released from his grip as he lost the strength to carry her. First, a warrior severed from his strength, now from his weapon. How much more worse could this become? Marlow's descent ended with a somewhat loud thud, likely caused by the combination of the speed he fell at and the muscle mass he had, which was an outstanding amount at that. But now, it meant nothing. Not if he couldn't gather the power it took to even move a finger. "I'm still miles away..."

Once the deed had been done, Harlan's blade vanished. It become part of him, his Haki and his Electro retreating to hide within him. "BOOYAH!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. Victory. He had won against the powerhouse that had killed him before. But he had won through trickery, not through brute force. But it still felt...good. Maybe Harry had a point. Maybe Harlan should try to think things out beforehand.

"Nah." he thought to himself.

The hybrid stepped forwards, lifting Marlow's head out of the sand. "Now, before I skedaddle, I've got a question." he began. Images flashed through Harlan's mind, one of his nightmare. The same one he had been having nonstop since he had 'died'.

"Who the hell is Wolfgang?"

Marlow suddenly had a huge grin on his face. Harlan likely wouldn't comprehend why, after all, Harlan failed to note even of what the Oni had been doing. Moments ago, before even the mindscape, Marlow felt the cold steel of Balduriemma's hilt. A weapon that, due to it's core, usually radiated an intense heat. But now it was cold? Marlow had set this up from the beginning, and Harlan had failed to realize any of it.

The holy after images left behind weren't a simple byproduct of Marlow's radiating aura. No, he was planting pieces of the Sun Maidens heart around the small patch of land the two had engaged in battle on. The area illuminated yes, on part of Marlow's powers, but that had faded long since his consciousness left. But he didn't need it now, not since Harlan made the foolish attempt to touch the Oni directly.

Marlow would harden the light that connected Harlan's hand to his head, ensuring the boy didn't have a sliver of a chance to escape. Suddenly, Marlow would start to stand, almost as if his nerves had never been severed. "You're tricky, but I'm determined to kill you now. BURN IN HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!" Through his use of Life Return, Marlow hastened the recovery of his nerve cluster, completely undoing Harlan's efforts. And yet, his final attack had yet to land.

Suddenly, the scattered fragments of Balduriemma's core would begin to radiate, brighter than ever before. "THIS, MAURIER HARLAN, IS THE ECLIPSE!!!" Marlow spoke, basking in the power of his beloved weapon. Sadly, it came at a cost, for both himself and Balduriemma. Marlow would be forced to endure the attack with Harlan, but his greater pain tolerance, durability, and endurance would allow him to hold out against it, even if greatly weakened. Harlan would likely suffer greater than he had during their last fight, his life yet again on the line. And Balduriemma? Her core was a crucial part to her design. With it removed and scattered, the axe had been useless, breaking apart in her final moments.

"Wolfgang? Hmph, don't worry. He's someone you'll never be able to meet. That's when it happened. The eclipse had begun. Each piece of the scattered core reached it's maximum luminescence, and at that moment, an immense explosion ensued. No, not just any explosion. An explosion of fire and light, the energy tearing through the last bit terrain that the duo had left. It came from all sides, with the Mink and Oni standing in the middle of it all. The earth wasn't all it tore into, no, the air in it's way had also been decimated and consumed in the fiery wraith. No, in fact, the air became the explosion, it's forces succumbing to and adding to the destruction of the behemoth demolition. It was a suicide bomb, but one Marlow believed he could outlive.

The heat coming along with the explosion was far greater than anything before. Even the flames Marlow used upon Harlan in Parshva would be viewed as an infant to it's wrath and fury. Marlow himself would even feel his skin being burned and singed at the bewildering heat of the monster of an attack. Balduriemma too, would be consumed by the inhumane power that she once held, the weapon and everything it did and stood for, becoming swallowed by her former glory. Surely there was some form of poetry in there. The unfiltered flames could be felt far beyond it's intended range. Likely even reaching into a town on the island itself. A large amount of the snow and ice on the side of the island that Marlow and Harlan engaged in war on would either have been melted in an instant, or begun the process of melting without fail. This was the Eclipse, the final attack that would eat all in it's path whole. And Marlow and Harlan would feel the greatest of it's fury, bound together, enemies until the end.

Maybe Harlan was right. If he had been thinking, this attack would’ve been lethal at close range. But Harlan was a being of instinct and intuition. Whatever his body sensed, he’d react in an appropriate way. Harlan had picked up the killing intent with his nose moments before Marlow acted. And those moments had been crucial.

In fact, those moments would’ve been useless if Harlan still hadn’t had Tonbokiri on. The hybrid wouldn’t have had the speed to react. As the hard light burst out from Marlow, literally tearing apart the air, crystallizing the sand, Harlan moved backwards. But to no avail, he was unable to move. Marlow's construct wouldn't allow for it. The light was just as fast as the half-Mink however, if not faster. Harlan had mere seconds before the attack enveloped him. The flames edged closer, the light blinding.

A blob of Bushoku Haki and Electro shaped around Harlan. It took on a shape, one of a Knight's armour, and Harlan roared. “Aegis: Mirror Force!”

Unlike Aegis normally would, this form wouldn’t absorb and store the kinetic energy. It’d absorb it, but then redirect it immediately after. Like light bouncing off of a mirror. The energy from Marlow’s attack was sucked in, and sent right back towards the blast. It was two forces colliding; unmoving. “GRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

And then it ceased.

Aegis vanished, and Harlan was still standing. But not all of him. Harlan’s left hand had been blown clean off, splashing into the acidic moat around them. All of the energy in the moat collected around the hand, dissolving it completely; bone and all. His hand, gone. Reduced to nothingness. Had fighting Marlow really been worth it? All of this chaos, all of this hate? The boy had burns beneath his armour, his reserves almost drained. He could barely see out of one eye, his legs were barely able to stand. If he hadn't been willing it with his Haki, he would've collapsed and drowned yet again. His ribs were probably broken, the hybrid had broken them plenty before so he recognized the feeling.

Harlan was in an agonizing pain. He howled, clenching his stump. “FUCKIN’ HELL, FUCK YOU BLUEY!” he spat, grimacing underneath his Tonbokiri armour. Harlan took a step back, glaring at the Rear Admiral. “Whatever, you look like complete shit anyways! And I won this round! Ya hear me?! I’ll get information about Wolfgang another way! FUCK YOU FOR THESE BURNS! AGAIN?! REALLY?! FUCK OFF! AND FUCK WHOEVER ASSOCIATES WITH YOUR STUPID ASS!” he ranted, coughing up a blob of blood.

Deposit having lost his arm, Harlan tried to pick up the scent of Kelby. He was going to keep his promise to Kerrim. But then a thought occurred to him. Kelby would hate Harlan now, he had abandoned him. Would Kelby even want Harlan around? More of these thoughts came into his mind. Would the Round Table even want him back after all of this? Harlan turned around while standing on the ocean, knowing of one place that would always want him. An island not too far, where he had come from. A days trip, but he'd need rest. There had to be somewhere he could hide. And he set off, running across the surface of the water with Tonbokiri as if he was ice skating.

But after a few metres, Tonbokiri vanished and he started to fall About to make contact with the water that he had been using.

The Death knight Captain prepared to fight Lewis. It squared up, and dashed forward.

"Stop! Soldier!" The Death Knight stopped in its tracks.

In front of Lewis, a massive shadow was being cast down upon him. Behind him stood a very large man, a bit more than nine-feet in stature. He had long, silver hair that almost touched the ground. On his shoulders, he had shoulder pads reminiscent of those worn by the samurai on Wano, and on his hips, two katanas that were about Lewis's size.

Slowly, the huge samurai figure lowered his gaze while keeping his head straight, staring down Lewis. "Marine soldier, my name, is Musashi. If you wish to fight me, turn around and face me like a warrior, if not, I can end it quickly right here and now. Your choice."

This mysterious entity was giving a very dangerous and powerful aura. To give a fair comparison, Lewis was about the threat of an ant compared being faced by a sea king. Marlow and Harlan would definitely notice with their Haki, it  was not human. But what was it?

Musashi eyed Harlan next, again without moving his head in the slightest. "Boy, do not fret. I am on your side."

Several Marine soldiers closed in on Musashi, pointing their guns and swords at him. "Excuse me," he said to Lewis. In a graceful and masterful fashion, Musashi drew his sword, sheer pressure would befall on the area, and by the time it was back on the scabbard on his hilt, a few dozen Marines had been sliced clean in half. The slash kept travelling, cutting trees, the air itself in the distance, even cutting the mast of a Marine ship at the sea, and beyond. The slash cut straight through the cloud of fog covering the island in the direction it went.

Musashi returned to his starting position, right behind Lewis. "I await your answer, soldier."

As the Marine ship was tipping and turning, Guimmard Reiner was trying to stabilize those people riding the ships and performing duties supplementing Marlow's authority. However, the moment that the Samurai had appeared on the ship, all of his alarms began to ring. He leaped forward, out of the cabin and quickly made his way to the Samurai. What his eyes beheld was not a fascinating sight.

Marine soldiers, by the dozen, had been cut in half by the power of the Samurai, who turned towards Lewis. Reiner's disposition had become fueled by anger. To see so many of his precious subordinates cut down — it was a sign of his negligence. He had stopped in his tracks. It seemed the Samurai cared dearly about honor, but then, looking at his white hair and red shoulder armor carefully, Reiner's eyes opened up.

"Musashi...That man is a deceased Samurai!" Reiner's eyes lit up a bright red, as he narrowed his vision on the deceased man. It was not only Kenbunshoku Haki at play with Reiner's eyes, but also the power of his Devil Fruit, Foka Foka no Mi, the ability for him to focus his senses onto any point without fail. At this moment, his eyes could see through the true nature of anything, and focusing purely on Musashi's back, Reiner had realized...this man did not share a human's anatomy.

"Umori Kenshiro...!" Reiner thought to himself in anger, and propelled himself forwards. His movement, despite being incredibly fast, produced very little sound, as a result of his training, and so he managed to be the second wave of enemies Musashi had to deal with from behind. He focused the bulk of his physical strength onto his right hand, using the power of his Devil Fruit, by which point it had been radiating with a red steam. He sought to utilize the power of Musashi's reflexes to grab a hold of the sword he will inevitably swing, and break it into pieces with the strength now available in his hand.

The wind shifted. That was all Musashi needed to feel Reiner's incoming attack. "Such stealth, reminds me of someone", he whispered to himself, as he grabbed hold of his wakizashi, and swung it as his body shifted backwards to strike the marine.

However, the blade didn't withstand Reiner's attack. It shattered to pieces after a brief struggle. Musashi leapt backwards, as one of his eyes widened in surprise to the strength behind the attack.

"Interesting. It seems this one is strong. I'll have to adjust my own strength if his attacks will be this powerful." Withdrawing his katana, it would prove to be incredibly long. However, it seemed that just by removing it from its scabbard, air slashes were sent forward, and the wind revolved around the blade.

"Soldier, let's have an honorable fight. In life I was known as "Wind Commander Musashi", and I'll honor you by showing just why they gave me that name."

Musashi grabbed his sword with one hand, and as if drawing in the air with his blade, several symbols appeared. It took the form of a large japanese Kanji, but made with and in the air, while it glowed a bright silver. As he finished his masterful calligraphy sword writing, the kanji exploded into a few dozen slashes, each line bending in different directions as it made its way towards Reiner. Anything in their path would be sliced, as Reiner would notice by a few slashes that didn't stop even if people stood in their way.

The slashes would go forward, before unexpectedly bending sideways, then upwards, then down. The dance of sudden and unexpected slashes would near the Marine, enveloping him from nearly every side as they approached at great speeds, dangerously threatening of maiming the Rear Admiral.

"I already know that, you damned corpse." Reiner said, aggravated by the realism in Musashi's voice. In any other situation, he would have prided himself on being a warrior and responding in kind. But it didn't matter right now. All Reiner needed to do was defeat this overwhelming swordsman, even if it meant keeping Marlow on the fence.

Reiner's eyes continued to shine a bright red, and he looked towards all of the slashes in explicit detail. He could see every angle, the exact depth, width, height of every single slash. Within that maelstrom of masterful swordsmanship, Reiner found the exact path that would carry him through with the least injuries.

Without delay, Reiner shot forward. Among the Marines, Reiner did not stand out for his physical attributes or combat skill. What he did have, however, was among the greatest perception within the Marines. It took him nary a glance to perceive the truth behind his opponent's skills, and respond accordingly. Unfortunately, he was not physically capable of evading every slash that Musashi threw at him.

Reiner somersaulted into the maelstrom, narrowly getting nicked by a slash above his right arm. Sliding on the ground, another slash grazed his leg. He winced, but it wasn't over. With every acrobatic performance, he had avoided the bulk of the slashes, yet allowed one to hit him. To Reiner's fortune, this particular Musashi did not have the power he possessed in life. Should he have performed this same maneuver as a living human, Reiner probably would have come out a lot more bloody.

Finally, after what felt like eons, Reiner escaped the grasp of the storm that Musashi had sent his way. Behind him, the wind howled and the ship's cabin and structures had been sliced into pieces. For now, Reiner had to ignore the collateral and focus on who he was fighting. Any distractions could have killed him.

Reiner had formulated a plan to approach the Wind Commander in his mind through his evasion of the slashes. He transferred the focusing power of his fruit from his eyes to his right leg, which despite slight wounds, was still fully movable. Reiner suddenly anchored on his left foot and stopped running, transferring his momentum up to his right leg, which he raised upwards in a flash. The speed of this movement sent a compressed slash of air towards the dead swordsman, which was a maneuver that Musashi had specialized in. Indeed, the technique Reiner had just employed was of the Rokushiki.

Reiner's plan wasn't to disable Musashi with the Rokushiki movement. In fact, it was completely the opposite. Reiner understood that Musashi was an honorable Samurai. No matter what method cold logic would work on his brain, what Musashi emphasized above victory was honor. If he did not obtain victory without showing his superiority, especially in the field he specialized in, what sort of man would he be?!

The most appropriate course of action against this Rankyaku was, of course, to evade it. But Musashi wouldn't do that. In Reiner's mind, Musashi would strike against this Rankyaku with one of his own compressed air slashes. The resulting vortex would give him enough time to dash around his right side, hopefully reaching his blind spot and enabling him to freely strike his back with a powerful punch empowered by his Busoshoku Haki and focusing abilities.

Reiner began moving, irrespective of Musashi's actions, hoping to silence his movement through very faint steps on the ground and an almost wobbling motion across his body. This was the technique, which enabled him to silently move across the floor through loosening his muscles to such an extent they made no impact when on the ground. He continued with this motion until reaching parallel to Musashi's neck, at which point he dashed inwards without care for stealth, before leaping upwards to match Musashi's height. He focused his power on his left arm, and within the leaping maneuver, hoped to deliver a decisive blow onto Musashi's neck with a karate chop, fueled by the power of his focus abilities and a coat of dense Busoshoku Haki.

There it was, Lewis could not just see the explosion, but an intense wave of force and heat would wash over him as the Eclipse took place. So this is what the Rear Admiral had been holding in this entire time? It was, in Marlow's eyes and Lewis's, nothing short of Godly.

Quickly, the Luitenant would run to grab the Den Den Mushi, doing exactly as he was told.

"Gyokuryū-sama, we need you. We've been met with heavy resistance from Kenshiro's allies on the beach. We can take them out, but it's taking too much time. There's a valley on the southwestern portion of the island that you can take. Kenshiro shouldn't have any defenses set up on that end. They've had far too much time to construct the weapon." Lewis spoke into the Den Den Mushi once it had been picked up, not allowing a fragment of time to go by.

"Why..... How... WHYYYYYYYY!!!!!!".

An unholy scream cut through the rumble of the fizzling water and the drifting rocks cut from the moat; a bellow resounding of pure, unbridled agony, like those of a squealing hog bound before the butcher's knives.

"WHY.... WHY OF ALL PEOPLE HAD YOU BEEN GIFTED BY THE HAKI OF KINGS!!!!"

Grey particles appeared above the broken moat, some of them clinging on Harlan, preventing his body from drowning, other amassing close by. A mist took form, or better yet, a massive cloud of dust, swallowing up every trace of the devastation just wrought by the struggle between Harlan and Marlow. Nothing could be heard or seen from it, not Harlan nor Vrag, who had seemingly taken place near his technical junior in ranks.

The larger man stared to Harlan with a mixture of shock, disbelief and utter disgust. His eyes had gone both bloodshot by rage and vacant for the sheer numbing reality, his hands jittering while pressing on each side of his head.

"This completely defies every parameter of logic, common sense or even decency". He whispered, lacking the strength to say it loud. "A complete and utter mongrel, a disgusting, pitiful hoodlum with no wits, no subtlety, no grasp for the higher concept, all debased instinct, and no finesse, having been blessed by the gods with the will to shape reality. Unthinkable... unprecedented".

With his lack of social grace and stubborn attitude, Harlan had made few friends in the days back of the Iron Legion. Few couldn't stand him more than Vrag, a man who treasured discipline and higher goals like no others. Every time it was his turn to train the boy, he would beat him to a pulp, leaving barely a bone unbroken or a tendon back in his place. Vrag surely would have loved to squeeze that idiot neck till eyes popped from their socket, it only due to the Legion's strict protocol on soldier termination and Vanagandr and Dazang's intercession that he had not killed the half Mink personally many times over. Well, a few times he had stopped his heart from beating, but Harlan was always brought back.

That match would have been a perfect occasion to get rid of the pest without Vanagrand throwing a fuss about. He had watched the fight trespassing before his very eyes, musing at the adequate display of force and interesting array of strategies coming from both combatants was pleasurable enough. Sure, seeing Harlan being throw around and cut like a dummy was always great for stress relief, though he had to give him some credit for his clever usage of his natural abilities, Haki and skills.

But Conqueror's Haki... this was just a cruel trick on the gods part. Now Vrag had to save him, he had to dig through the boy to find some inner potential use for the Legion's plans. Possessors of Haoshoku were treasured beyond belief by the shady organization.

"Let us what we've have got here..." He said, his eyes glistening: the Legion's medical assessment and triage system was in function, analyzing Harlan's medical condition thoroughly.

"Several broken ribs, a severed hand, few second-degree burns, a beginning of an internal hemorrhage. You should we thankful we have everything ready back in the facility for a through medical treatment". Vrag was dry and concise, praying Harlan wouldn't start with his small talk nonsense and just have to think back about the greater picture.

Harlan groaned, barely unable to move. He would’ve moved his arm to slap Vrag, but the bones in there were shattered. That left Harlan with one way to communicate with Vrag, and that was with his words. And everyone who had met the hybrid knew that he was never the best at communication, especially civil conversation.

“Oi, dickweed…” he murmured. “Lets hurry up here…I gotta go back…”

Dickweed. Dick. Weeed. Dick. Weed. Dickweed dickweed dickweed. Words of unimaginable stupidity tumbling inside the perfect bastion of order Vrag had built within his mind. Slowly turning around to Harlan, he gave him a death glares for the epoch, one that would make the devils of hell chill and pray for their lives.

"You cocky, insolent... bastard!"

Cocking back his arm, Vrag threw a punch... against his own face. Then it threw it again, and once more, more and more punches he slammed against his cheekbone. He was brutalizing his own body as he would do with an enemy, moving his arms with breakneck speed, giving rise to shockwaves that would have dissipated the clouds in the vast sky above had he not carefully used his Awakened Logia powerful. That feeling of confusion and loss, that pain singing through his mind... he had to find a way out of it, or it would have driven the man insane. That need to kill and main had to find a voice.

"Listen to me, boy. You have no idea how much I wish my face was yours so that I could turn into mash potatoes with my fists. Alas, orders compel me to save you, so, please, for the love of every existent and non-existent deity in the cosmos, just keep your mouth shut. Pretend to be a person with an I.Q. higher than a jellyfish just for this occasion, understood?"

Harlan squinted. "Bitch, please." he retorted. "Heal me...real quick...get me a new hand...and I'll get out of your ugly...fuckin'...mug..."

For once, Vrag had to conceal that the boy had few good wits: though he felt his blood boiling, his condition required immediate treatment, time could be squandered further. He summoned a cloud of grey asbestos below his feet, shaped like a platform, thick enough to sustain the boy's weight. He commanded the base to rise upwards, flying across the fog of asbestos he was still maintaining. The two reached considerable altitude, the ravines and villages looking like dots from distance, facing down the black snow plummeting down and the wind currents growing more savage.

Vrag's mean of locomotion kept his steady pace, the raging elements turning into grey elements as they came by their paths. It lanced straight across the dark nimbus of clouds, completely disappearing in the dark shroud. Yet hidden in the clouds, the iron Legion had positioned an emergency spot, a base in the sky where curious eyes could not reach.

The base looked like a submerged shell, black as obsidian, with glowing dots around its windows. They glistened stronger as Vrag and Harlan approached. He spoke a sequence of numbers, a retina scanning came out, and the door opened. Inside, alongside tubs and massive tendrils, there was a bed, where Vrag put the younger mand to rest. Assistant robots flew to Harlan, measuring the entity of his wounds, spraying the fresh ones with a mixture for instant cauterization and disinfection.

"You won't be dying here, as much as I wish it otherwise". Vrag almost barked, standing close to Harlan. He was still in disbelief about Harlan getting the Haki, the mere idea of it outraged the man to no end. Man of far greater mettle, far stronger moral values had not been blessed by such gifts. Men like Fuyuki; men like him. Why destiny would award a sewer rat receive the mark of Kings and Heroes?

"You'll be healed in no time. We are already prepared a 3d print for a new hand. The permanent means of your recovery shall also be decided soon". Perhaps Dr. Weil would deem Harlan worthy of premier genetic enhancement: the RNA-treatment perhaps. An other utter unthinkable disgrace.

"Now, out of curiosity, could tell me what quarrel you could have with the Maneater? Doubt one about fighting: that animal could and would pick your bones clean if you ever get him on his bad side". Vrag asked, having heard every piece of conversation between Harlan and Marlow.

Harlan didn’t say anything. He let out a sigh of relief and euphoria as the bots got to work, healing him quickly. He could feel a rib snapping back into place, a feeling that Harlan had enjoyed many times before when training with Vrag. But then the ugly bastard asked him the question, and he involuntarily flinched.

“None of your business, Vrag.” Harlan replied. For once, he hadn’t insulted the man. Which was surprising, considering that it was Harlan. The hybrid slowly sat up, grimacing. “I need to talk to that Wolf-man guy thing.” he began, coughing. A few more minutes, maybe less, and he’d be up and running. The Iron Legion was amazing, beyond the reaches of normal science to be able to restore the boy so quickly.

“How long does it take to make a hand? Spit it out already.”

"Aaaahhh... so you are thinking I'll be sitting here just playing the lovely nurse for you, tending back the wounds of this little pup as a prize for his gallant triumph!"

Vrag saunted closer to Harlan, his face looming over the boy. He stared at him with jet-redded eyes, oozing with rage and contempt.

"Pardon me, I've never understood that all times I've tried- and failed miserably, in all evidence - to drill into how superior orders are absolute and indisputable it all came to you like a big, stupid joke. Truth be told, I may consider pursuing a career as a clown. I should, indeed, work on my pie-throwing..."

He grabbed Harlan's head, feeling the half Mink muttering on his palm.

"And there is no best practice than smash your FUCKING HEAD!"

Vrag rose his arm and slammed Harlan's body against the facility wall which, despite being made by an alloy harder than tempered titanium, crumpled to fit the young man's frame as it was tinfoil. Medical robots began scurrying around, their signals blaring the immediate need for further medical treatment.

"Let me be crystal clear and dig this inside your hollow shit hole you refer as your cranium: I make judgments here. As your superior, I decide what is my business as well as yours. And I can decide to make my business every goddam trivial detail of your personal life if I deem so, up to and including your shitting preferences".

Vrag's hand squeezed harder, it almost grafted into Harlan's cheekbones. Little more pressure, and the half Mink's head would poop in blood, bone splinters and gore.

"If you dare to insubordinate again or answer like a moron, no Haoshoku or Vanagandr will save you from death so painful you'll be praying for Marlow to finish his job. So, I'll be repeating you this once more only: what is your business with Wolfgang?"

Harlan roared with immense pain as Vrag beat up on his weakened state. He would’ve died if it weren’t for the nano machines that repaired him faster than Vrag could hurt him. The hybrid rose, a brief aura of purple radiating from it. It quickly shattered the air currents, rending them to be nothing in its wake. But it quickly retreated back into the hybrid.

Taking a step forward despite the ridiculous amount of damage that had been done to him, he spit on the ground. His eyes glanced to the machine on his left. 93.8% complete. Harlan could still feel Vrag’s hand around his head. The machines were working overtime now, as if they knew Harlan had to be fully healed as soon as possible.

“My business with Wolfgang isn’t your business, turdface. If you have to know, I’ve just got a question for him. Only a Mink would understand.” he said. “If that answer doesn’t make you happy, let me heal up, and then I’ll kick your ass. Now, I’ll be taking the hand once its done. And leaving. That shouldn’t be too complicated for your ugly face to understand, right?” he mocked, despite the situation he was in.

If words capable of expressing Vrag's sheer outrage could be put down on a paper, they would resemble an incoherent ramble of curses and screams filling whole pages with ink. He was fed up with Harlan's lack of respect, done with his utter idiotic bravado, done with his rotten luck far outweighing his merits and loyalty to the Legion. He promised the wolf mink that any insubordination on his part would be the last, and he would deliver.

Rumbles overtook the room, tremors that made the bed close to Harlan skid on the outside, and robots alarms flare-ups. They were but faint echoes of the turbulence happening the clouds, resulting in miles upon miles of black clouds, the entire curtain that made Nesgreg sky so clouds, swirling around each other in a pseudo cyclonic formation. That was a testament of Vrag skills and power as a Logia master, the ability to infuse the environments with his asbestos and exercise utter dominance over it. As for the man himself, he stared at Harlan with growl plastered on his face, killing intent pulsing so strong it lowered the temperature of the room almost to polar level. His free arm form collapsed in a bundle of grey fiber, then it assumed the shape of a butcher blade down to its forearm. From the other hand, that clasping Harlan's head again, little tendrils begin to crawl, subtle threads not unlike those forming tapestries, yet sharper and harsher than barber wire. "About your face, I'll begin to rip yours from your head, then plug my tendrils inside your worthless brain". Vrag started to enumerate his threats to Harlan, taking gusto at each of his words. "Once you’ll grey matter will become a flaming, singed mess, I'm going to cut down each of your remaining fingers; after that, I'll be going after your limbs. You'll be done as an immobile, limp, mutilated, agonized thing begging for the sweet release of death for the rest of your insipid life".

"You should order to stop the construction of Harlan new prosthetic hand, if so. Weren't you all about not wasting precious resources at any cost?"

A deadpan voice pepped out, coming from a microphone mounted on the wall right above the duo. Recognizing its provenience, Vrag let his bladed arm fall by his hip. That gravely, metallic, almost monstrous bass, almost always invariably addressing the man with a blend of contempt and sarcasm almost as infuriating as Harlan's foolhardy attitude.

Vanagandr was never leaving Vrag be, not even when justice was due, and punishment required.

"With all due respect, sir, the standard protocol with the insubordination of any kind prescribes with the utter subjugation and/or elimination of all recalcitrant elements. I am the one following the rules here". Vrag spat out with pain, gritting his teeth.

"Well, rules have changed right now. Just as you have the power make Harlan's calls, I make yours. And my current judgment is that if Harlan says that his private shit with Wolfgang his is own goddam business, you are going to shut your mouth and fuck off until I say otherwise, turdface".

Humiliation and scorn were making Vrag's body tremble, shattering what was left of his composure. A dream, that it was, the only way he could rationalize the sheer absurdity of Harlan's good luck and the World's malice against him. He, who had always striven for the Greater Good, sacrificing everything on the altar of purification. Frustration raged inside till it exploded in a scream which made all medical robots plummet on the floor. Then Vrag threw Harlan's on the floor like a piece of rag, digging another large dent.

"Glad that Weil's indoctrination had not screwed with your wits entirely". Vanagandr addressed laconically, though perhaps with a sliver of amusement.

"And good to meet you again, Harlan. I'm glad you have survived this long while being the same suicidally retarded braggart as ever."

"ROBO-MAN!!" Harlan exclaimed, standing up from the dent he had made by being thrown into the ground. The nanobots were working at a higher pace now, as if they recognized who had appeared before them. Vanagandr was the one man who Harlan truly respected with every fibre of his being. The one person that he let trashtalk him, but he knew it was in good spirit. The warrior was his mentor, his teacher; perhaps even a friend. "Long time no see, tin can!" he replied, raising his fist towards him for a fist-bump.

A ding was heard as the 3D printer had completed its production of Harlan's prosthetic hand. But he'd get to that later, first, he wanted to greet his teacher.

"Things are going the way they have always gone, Harlan. At least I hope you are having a good time down with the Pirate Alliance". Valerius responded equally good spirit. He too was fond of Harlan, one of the few people whose relatively innocence and boyish simplicity were among the few things to put him in a good mood. Admittedly, the boy could be a stubborn, impatient moron with the social tact of a hippo with swollen teeth and a hernia, but Valerius knew that for great things you have always to look past the surface; behind it, the boy was a fine man and a fine warrior. Besides, anybody with the power to drive Vrag livid was bound to be on Valerius’ good side.

"Seem that your waltzing around has gotten you in the right place at the right time. As we are officially part of the WG, it would be a pain in the ass if the Marines ever discovered our involvement in the dirty businesses down there. We've got big plans involving the Reapers Pirates, but things are not ready yet”.

The voice stopped, hearing a beeping sound followed by a few words uttered robotically:

“ENH02-PROTESHYS: COMPLETE”.

“Looks like we’ve got a fresh hand for you, Harlan. Take it as a gift for your job done. Vrag, would mind describing what this new shit is about?”

“Of course not!” Vrag snarled proudly. Rageful as he was, his reverence toward the Legion technology and philosophy outweighed even his hatred toward Harlan and Valerius, if just barely.

“The ENH02-PROTESHYS is a limb made of nanites with a core made of an electromagnetic crystal. Its shape, composition and even strength can be altered as it fits, provided you are within the boundaries of the hands mass and the crystal’s storage capabilities. Not only that, but it is also equipped to connect to your electro via a biometric connection, acting as a catalyst for much stronger reactions…”

“In layman terms?” Vanagandr asked, to make sure Harlan understood everything. Vrag sighed, feeling his knowledge mortified.

“Fine. It makes your Electro far stronger in correspondence to your new hand. Significantly more powerful than that of most pure-blooded Minks, actually. The voltage would be so high you can concentrate the electricity in powerful electric blasts. Works doubly as well with your bladed shotgun”.

The Power of Science
Walking back into the monitor room, Kenshiro saw as the scientists struggled to regain control of the scouting bugs.

"W-We're sorry. The enemy's technology is too strong, we can't do anything about it."

Kenshiro sighed, and extended his right arm forward, with its palm opened. "Yes, you can do something about it...become my PAWNS!" The scientists screamed in pain, as their bodies began to be consumed by this blinding light. The began to merge until their minds were completely consumed by a new one. The four scientists disappeared, now in their place, a small entity appeared.

"Let's see what I can do." said Kenshiro as he ordered the little, newly created avatar, to enter the computer system.

It dispersed into intangible, wireless computer codes as it entered the virtual system. Kenshiro had just created a non-combat avatar, one, that with the combined minds of the scientists, and its evolved powers, could travel through the virtual, coding world as if it was a virus.

"Hmm...I see. The defenses put in place are tough indeed. It seems retaking control is out of the question. The, let's just take them down."

The virtual avatar spread itself into the tough defenses put by the Iron Legion on the scouting bugs, and sent a burst of malware, with the purpose of overwhelming their control and forcing them to shut down their influence on the bugs, even though it would render them useless after this.

Inside the facility, Eren Gyo had already begun his explanation to the scientists, of how they would improve on his already created Bio-weapon, quite the destructive one, and would sell it to everyone who had the coin for it. They would then detonate remotely all of these weapons, and also control the selling of the cures only THEY would have.

It was a plan destined to bring down everything, the Government and Pirates alike. It was a dangerous plan indeed.

"What do you say, fellow GREAT MINDS!? The time for reckoning is among us! No longer will we be just pawns in THEIR little games! With out brilliant minds, we will take over everything!!" Exclaimed Gyo as many of the scientists there cheered him on, while others cowered in fear.

Wung Juno appeared besides Gyo with the captured marine soldier. "Sir, we have a situation. Also, here, use him to demonstrate your weapon."

"Huh, excellent...And don't bother telling me, just you and the Iron Legion go and deal with it."

“Here we go” Said Vrag flatly, strolling past the crowd of cheering scientists. His phrase carried a twofold meaning: one referring to the inevitable immolation of the foolish spy on the altar of science, the other being about Kenshiro’s unique form of counter-hack commenced on the Legion’s network. One Nyctimene was prepared to face and neutralize, though one could not notice from her face, as she kept her polite smile intact and candid like a porcelain doll.

Staring at the wall of flesh and robes looming over him, the unfortunate Marines felt the already overwhelming sense of terror gnawing at his sense of reasoning. He jerked back behind Juno’s back, his fidgeting arms and forehead covered in a sheen of cold sweat, praying for mercy or swift death. Pitilessly, Vrag snatched the guinea pig from the executive of the family, clasping it between his massive, trunk-like arms.

“Please, no -no-… no”.

The man started crying and squealing, Vrag even smelled the faint stench of urinary execution. Uncouth, disgusting. To stop that, Vrag jammed a headbutt onto the poor man’s head, powerful in the exact amount required to knock it out without crushing his bone marrow. Once a level of decorum was restored in the refinery- though, piss, regrettably, still spilled forth in a grease colored puddle, Vrag took out a strange sphere from its robe. It looked gray and somewhat jelly, its texture made of seemingly countless grains put together, and was no bigger than a golf ball, midget’s side compared to the man’s hand. With a twist of his wrist, Vrag let the ball fall on the ground.

No thud was made as the sphere connected, for it splashed across and released trickles of particles as it was made of some kind of pudding. A grainy stain lasting for about a second, then it suddenly evaporated and took the form of vapor soaring by the prisoner. Vrag put his hand forth while a glyph shone on the corresponding particles; the grey particles came back together, perfectly recreating the ball on the man’s palm.

Seeing surprise, even shock, painted on many of his guests’ face, Vrag explained the meaning of his action.

“What you have just witnessed was the fruit bore from the Eren’s genius and my organization’s consummate expertise with nanomachines. A sphere made of nanodrones each bound to a strain of the virus, which can devolve into areal particles that will infect whoever inhales it even just slightly. The exact trajectory of every grain is constantly monitored and guided by an A.I. system making use of quantum computing”. He showed the responsible device to the public, disguised as a wristwatch.

“With such means, our plague can strike the intended target with 100% accuracy and spread thin enough for large-scale pandemics at the same time, allowing for every range of infection we see fit.”

Vrag pointed at his wristwatch further and pressed its screen; a large, azure lighted hologram emerged from the surface. It showcased various sets of data compiled in an orderly and accessible manner, skirting myriads of dots arranged in a way that perfectly resemble the Marines' body scrambling on the floor in a crawling position. The vast majority of those dots were blue, though a part of it in the areas of the nostrils and trachea bore a sicker purple hue, a color that was overtaking the closest points like a rapidly expanding oil stain.

“Here it is displayed the rate of infection in real-time. It won’t take long before it reaches up the 100% and overrides the entirety of the host’s organism.” Said Vrag. “However, the nanomachines are keeping the virus in a quiescent state, unnoticed by the host immune system. In this state, the virus can cohabit the host's cells for years before we decide to active the infection, at which point it would take less than 6 hours, half than the time prescribed, to fully manifest. Unfortunately, such time is excessive for rapid demonstration, so you have to witness the virus effects from the monitor”.

Once more, Vrag touched at the wristband. The displayed dots, having all acquired a purple color, underwent another transformation, blazing into vivid crimson.

“Eren brought the virus as a raw material for our goals; we added refinements and tools for absolute control. Our grip shall be unescapable; our dominance irresistible.”

As if another plagued had spread in, excitement and lust for power passed over the scientists’ faces as the possibilities and prospects given by the virus were made manifest in all their nefarious scope. Claps thundered across the room, ushered with cheers teeming with ardor. Leaving the victim numb on the floor, Vrag turned back and addressed Wung Juno’s request about the pests swarming through the area.

“According to our network of sources, Juno-san, the Reaper Pirates are currently dealing with the Reaper, while the rest of the invading forces is caught in many dogfights spanning throughout the entirety of Nesgreg. Nobody is coming close to us. So, we have all the time to prepare effective countermeasures.

If you wish to discuss such together, my suggestion is to outside. You can never be too safe when it comes to spies, moles, and traitors, don’t you agree?” Vrag seemed to allude, but his tone was too vague, and his facial expression as inscrutable as ever.