Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I don't think I could be quite so buddy-buddy with Masashi Kishimoto just cause of my issues with it. Not to say I couldn't work it out over time, but it'd be a bit too cordial at first before things smoothed out.

More importantly Oda clearly has a lot more solid planning than I do, considering the number combinations of chapters and their correlations in information—not just the last chapter but the one before it as well! And to combine 5-6 different ideas was pretty amazing! I wish I could've come up with something like that!

Chapter 7: Understanding

While most who were born on the Grand Line would be far less surprised by it, it is often based on circumstances and which island they lived on most of their lives. What most wouldn't expect, however, is how few islands actually find their world so dull normally upon their ocean—Fishman Island even more so thanks to their incredible isolation beneath the Red Line.

Even so, those that leave their home into the open seas often grow more expectant and experienced, and so it was for the Arlong Pirates. Sailing across the Grand Line with Fisher Tiger, it was not hard to see many people and places in their protest against the Marines and the World Government. When Jinbe exiled his crew into East Blue—called "Weakest Ocean" by many pirates—the return to 'normality' hammered into their heads the overwhelming strength they had by comparison, forged in battles along waters that were home to them yet hell to humans.

Admittedly, we had a major wake-up call when Nami brought back her new nakama that had wiped the floor with us, or so I've gathered. Considering oxygen deprivation and all the blows to the head, I can live with forgetting one day. Shame to forget the man that took me down though; Smoker only had his tenacity compared to his quick thinking under pressure.

But even within that strangest of oceans there remained the most fantastical tales and myths. Some, like Devil Fruits, were passed by word of mouth and distorted as their powers rose and faded across the years. Others had been whispered since the gathering of those twenty rulers and their sovereignty over the world. Even if there was truth to either end of the spectrum and all those between, it was never completely true—the most impossible bits being false, but the core sometimes true.

So then what's more impossible: Dragons or Immortality...? When considered as such, it was easier for Kuroobi to keep his surprise in check, though as the beast before him roared to its brethren the smirk on Koala's face told him he had not been completely successful. Then again, it would be expected of her to be testing the waters of where we stand. Still, that tricky smile isn't one I thought I'd see on her face. Or perhaps it was there all along, lost in the trauma...?

"Soooooo...?" The dragged out vowel pulled the ray fishman from his ponderings as the human martial artist inquired for a listen. "Pretty crazy, don't you think?"

Is it really that interesting that I find mythical being so unexpected, out here in East Blue, of all seas? "...feathers...?" Ignoring her deadpanned 'What' she uttered, he spoke up to relate his musing as a cover for his surprise. "I never would have thought dragons would have feathers."

Koala hummed in thought. "I suppose that's fair. Maybe all those government studies of dinosaurs are wrong then, or at least contradictory. They claim they're closely related to birds—why not feathers?"

Kuroobi allowed his lips curve slightly upwards. "Now that's a bit of a stretch... For one, how do we know dragons and dinosaurs are even related enough?"

"Now you're just playing Devil's Advocate..." she huffed with a knowing smirk that revealed her understanding of his own.

"What's a dinosaur?" Both martial artists turned to regard Apis, her head tilted in confusion.

Dark-blue eyes lit up as she snapped her fingers. "That's right, the World Government doesn't have any stance here. You don't get the papers from News Coos on a regular basis; the one from this morning was special because of the updated wanted posters." Getting a negative shake of her head in response, Koala knelt down to regard her friend. "Well, dinosaurs are creatures that lived long before humans ever evo—er, existed."

The blonde pouted at her friend's correction. "I know what evolution is..."

"Oh, I didn't change it for you," the brunette denied, "It's..."

"...a theory that's not exactly foolproof in the broader scope of things," Apis looked up at Kuroobi as he finished the thought with noticeable distaste, "particularly in regards to the idea of other races beyond humans."

Like fishmen... Reading the unspoken implication, the Warship Islander could only look down with a quiet, "Sorry..."

"Pfft, no need to apologize. It's not like you came up with evolution or anything," Koala chastised her friend briefly before giving her fellow martial artist a pointed look.

Clearing his throat, the gray fishman nodded. "Indeed."

Turning back to her friend, the female pirate returned to the topic at hand. "Unlike Sennenryū and Dragons in general, people have been finding fossils of these large reptilian creatures that died millions of years ago. Since life began in the ocean, the first creatures to rise to the surface were ancestors to amphibious, reptilian, and later most life on land for so many years."

"Ah, I get it!" Apis exclaimed as she made the connection. "Reptiles came up first, they had the advantage and grew much larger!"

"Something like that," her close friend chuckled lightly. "And the rulers of that age were the dinosaurs, often the greatest predators in their respective food chains. We learn so much about the past and future by their remains alone, alongside others below them."

The Whisper Woman paused while more and more Millennium Dragons appeared. "Wait, then where did they all go? Oh! Did they return to the ocean and evolve into Fishmen?"

"While I'm honored at the suggestion," the ray fishman spoke somberly with a shake of his head, "the official story is that an immense meteor crashed down from the sky some millions of years ago, wiping dinosaurs from the land as the disasters in its wake cleansed much of the world."

"Unfortunately, there are other factors that don't mesh with this fact, such as the World Government's explanation of why the Red Line exists and the inability to check or contradict their claims. The fact that Ryu-ji and his family exist adds several suspicious bits as well, such as the feathers—hence Kuroobi's surprise." Turning to him, the brunette made no mystery of her opinion on the matter with a thin smirk. "Or so he says..."

Sighing at her persistence, Kuroobi tried to turn things back on his fellow martial artist. "I can see you did your research, Koala—"

"I'd accept your compliment," she cut him off, unconcerned with his follow-up, "but I'm wondering how you know so much of these things. I had reason with Apis' search, but you...?"

"I've dealt with a fair share of humans who were vastly misinformed on such facts and tried to claim we were weak as a result," he explained. "Education in such matters made things far more clear—know thyself first."

"Please," The brunette chuckled as she gave him a joking punch, "don't use 'thyself' before you bend over backwards trying to puff out your chest."

Her fellow martial artist blinked before shaking his head. "Well that's one way to put it."

"If you guys are done catching up...?" Behind them, Apis had already walked over and started climbing up the elder Millennium Dragon's back, "I fell like you guys aren't appreciating the level of awe expected for seeing a flock of dragons!"

As she started to get aboard, Koala walked over and grabbed her lightly by the collar. "Hey, don't go hopping on him just yet—you're still wearing the sweat and grime in that set of workout clothes!" Blushing, the blond relented the climb with a mumble of apology as her friend continued, offering one a handle of the elephant-kusarigama as it shifted itself to wrap about Apis' waist, "But I'll certainly join you to meet Ryu-ji's family if that's what you'd like. Can't have you fall off of him, anyways. All three of us! You'll get back faster if you go with Umizoui, anyways."

Getting an affirmative trumpet from the animated object, the native nodded back with a brighter smile. "Alright! I'll go grab a fresh set of clothes and be back real quick!"

"What about you, Kuroobi?" the brunette turned to inquire with a smirk while Apis ran up back towards her grandfather's home, "Are you interested in flying high in the sky?"

Letting out a small sigh, the fishman answered, "I'll pass thank you. Coming up to the surface was one thing, but Reverse Mountain is plenty of flying for one lifetime."

Koala blinked. "Wait, what? When did you ride up Reverse Mountain? With Arlong?"

"With the Sun Pirates, the year before we took you aboard. Or did you think we spent 4 years wandering Paradise?" Seeing his fellow martial artist blush in embarrassment, Kuroobi let himself smile visibly before he went on. "In any case, we spent some time hunting down a slaving ring run by pirates in the North Blue. It was easier to arrive from Reverse Mountain at the time, and later on we returned to Fishman Island in the other direction from the New World."

"Slavery in the North Blue...?" The former slave gripped her face as she muttered, feeling dizzy as she tried to calm down at the thought of the harsh things that came to mind. "By pirates?"

"It seemed that way at the time. Sadly, we never caught the guys at the top, but there were some rotten things out there." Aware of her discomfort on the topic, Kuroobi paused to let her calm down for a moment. "We all did our part for the short time we were out there to end some of the injustices we saw there, but Tiger was always trying to track down the underground broker."

"Hmm..." Koala murmured to herself as she walked towards the coast, her hair shadowed as she let her hand drop from her cheek. "I suppose he would since he was a slave, too..."

...eh?

"Ah, that's right!" And like that, the brunette rebounded to her previously bright attitude as she smiled back at her former shipmate, "Hang on, I have something for you!"

Realizing where she would have left it, the ray fishman called out to her too late as she leapt into the water. As she dove, his thoughts ran wild as he processed her passing words. When did she...? How did she learn Fisher Tiger was a slave to the Tenryūbito...?! Was it something he shared with her before us...? The thought of the Sun Pirate Captain trusting Koala back then made Kuroobi clench his fists before calming himself. No, it was hard enough for him to tell us, let alone a human child. Even if he hoped children wouldn't grow up with their parents' fear and hate, he wouldn't have shared his trauma so easily to her...

...which makes her knowledge even more impossible, the martial artist realized. Even as they fought, Arlong never fully told her, so how... No... No, she couldn't be...?

"RROOOOOOOAAARR!"

The sudden roar broke the fishman pirate from the train of thought as he whirled around to face the elderly dragon. "E-Eh? What?" Rearing its head skyward to its brethren, Ryu-ji roared again to the sky and took off. "What happene—!"

*BOOM*

—-—-—

Apis perked up as the sounds of cannon fire reached her supernatural ears a brief moment before the explosions rocked the earth beneath her feet. "What was—!" Focusing outside her normal range of hearing, she confirmed that there were— "Flying ships...? What the hell?" Nearly pulling the used shirt fully on, the native islander stumbled at yet another tremor shook the island, sending her barreling into another room. "Ow, that hurt... Ah! Grandpa!" Pulling her shirt up, she ran over to her grandfather's room calling to her grandfather. "Grandpa Bokuden! Are you oka—huh?"

Amidst the chaos from fallen furniture and possessions her grandfather continued sleeping peacefully on his back, murmuring words that sounded familiar to her. "In the 1500th generation of..."

Apis let out a sigh of relief, straightening her attire out without thinking. "Of course you'd sleep right through Lost Island rising from the sea..." Shaking her head for focus, she turned about with a whisper of, "I'll be back soon, Jii-san," and turned to open the window. "Umizoui, let's hurry!"

Chains unraveled from her waist as a kama launched itself out of the house and caught onto a nearby tree. Dragging her out from her grandfather's room, the twin kusarigama blades began transforming into tusks of the full-sized elephant as weapon and girl flew out the window, the red and blue wrappings of the handles spreading into its colorful head-dress and seat-coverings. The living weapon let out a grunt of agreement as its chain-tail helped swing the Whisper-Woman aboard before he charged down the hillside. Ryu-ji... Please be all right...

Unbeknownst to her, the old man behind in the house opened his eyes to watch his granddaughter leap into the chaos with a sigh on his lips. "And here I thought she'd stay and prepare for the return of the Millennium Dragons. Well, not that any of the boys her age give her the time of day anyways. Guess she's got plenty of time to come home..." Sitting himself upright with his staff, he bowed his head in sleep with a final thought: You bring my granddaughter back safe and sound, Koala. Heh, wouldn't have it any other way...

—-—-—

*BOOM*

"Seems things have gotten quite lively..." Nelson chuckled as he stepped from sandy beach to grassy fields, Marines from his vessel behind him. "I can feel the cannons rumbling the earth through my bones! Uuuhehehehehee~!"

Tch, more like your fat... Eric thought derisively as he followed suit, keeping an eye on the Marines from the side. The ex-Teikoku had purposely disconnected the Den Den Mushi so their sailors would be unaware of their fugitive status, but it paid to be sure—quite literally in this case. Pausing as he passed the threshold of the sand, he took note of the rumbling the large man had noted. It's not ending... Reaching down, he placed a hand down to feel the tremors first-hand. An earthquake? No, but something...

Noting his hired hand stop, the former Marine's mustache twitched at the delay as he called out to the purple-suited man. "What is it, Eric? I'd be surprised if your wounds still troubled you..."

"It would appear that cannons are not all that make the earth tremble here," the Kama Kama user replied cryptically to match. You have some surprising connections, but you waste their secrecy for cheap taunt. Grinning while he waited for his employer-of-convenience to grow irritated, he explained as he rose from the ground, "I can't be sure, but it would seem that Lost Island itself may be nearer than we thought."

That put a matching grin on the False Admiral's face as he turned further to address his 'subordinates' with glee. "This is it, men! Hunt down the pirates and capture one of the Sennenryū!"

Unknown to the large man as the Marines let out a rallying cry at their charge, Eric's mouth had continued its curvature into a much more devious smile as he chuckled to himself. I'm not sure what kind of plan you have in mind, Nelson Royale, or how you managed to heal me so well with out doctors, but I suppose you've proven your worth. Perhaps I'll let you share in the elixir after all. Looking to the rising smoke from another part of the island, his lips stretched his visage even more into something truly feral. In any case, with my immortality at hand, I'll be sure to kill Kaijōsei once and for all. Well... if CP9 doesn't take her down first.

—-—-—

As the smoke cleared from ground zero into the air, Kuroobi stood firm with his hand on the crumbling cutlass he'd used to deflect the cannon fire. "Tch, and here I thought the Marines would have better craftsmanship," he muttered as he crushed the guard in his hand and let the broken weapon drop.

"I know, right?" From the rocky coast, Koala rose up and tossed the martial artist a large saber in a black sheath. "This ought to be more to your liking, right?"

Drawing the oversized blade, the ray fishman slid a hand across the weapon with curiosity. "A lot of Kairōseki for one unbalanced zanbatō, don't you think?"

"Nah, it's unbalanced because it's only lined with Sea-Stone," she corrected before taking a moment throw her hair about, brunette locks flinging water out until her hair was perfectly dry, "I don't know if the guy I got it from was just that cheap or got totally ripped off, but for your size it might be decent."

Kuroobi took a moment to swap the weapon's sheath for the cutlass' beneath his belt before looking up into the sky. "Crap..." he sighed at the irony of the sight above him, "I just said I wasn't in the mood for flying...?

"Flyi—eeeeeeeeeeehhh?!" Craning her own neck up she comically cried out at the ships hanging in midair at a broadside angle to them, sails fluttering in the unnatural breeze. "That's so cool!"

"Be impressed later!" her fellow martial artist chided, eyes narrowing in on the variety of black-flags with skulls and crossbones, "What did you do to piss off a group of pirates with flying ships, anyway?"

"Never seen them before in my life!" Koala replied irritably, dropping her more positive manner at being shot down, "And judging by the ropes they're descending on, I'd say you probably don't have to worry about flying. Where's Ryu-ji and Apis?"

"Apis is still up by there with Umizoui," he supplied before levying a serious gaze to the former slave, "but the dragon freaked out and flew out towards the island. Speaking of which... Is there a reason the island is still shaking?"

The brunette swore before answering his inquiry. "Best guess? This island once was in the Calm Belt if not the Grand Line itself, shifting to the East slowly over the course of multiple millennia. It would explain Nanimonai-shima, and more importantly 'Lost Island' surfacing every thousand years..." Ignoring the raised eyebrow of the former Arlong Pirate, she returned to the matter at hand. "They might already be attacking others for Ryūkotsu...! I'd better clear the air with these guys first. I trust you can handle yourself enough?"

With a tightened grip on the Sea-Stone Saber the swordsman nodded. "Yeah. If any of those ships get in range, I'll cu—!"

"Wrong! Protect Apis, and don't die; that's all!" Meeting the hard stare that dared him to question what the brunette wanted, he relented with a nod before she turned back to face the enemy. "Geppō!" Leaping into the air, Koala zagged across the sky towards the central quintet of ships bombarding them, blowing the ray fishman's hood sloppily over his face.

As the flying ships circled about, more ropes descended and brought down numerous pirates all across the risen landmass. Within moments the martial artist was surrounded by hundreds of men and women with blades and guns drawn and ready for use. "Hehehe, lookie here! A little fishie out of water!" Kuroobi stood unmoving with his face shadowed by the garment as the outlaws inched closer in response to the outspoken woman amongst them. "What's the matter, fishie? Can't speak without 'dem gills, ey?" Upon closer inspection, the feminine pirate noted he was still staring up into the cloth. "Hey I'm talkin' to ye, fishie!"

Though the crowd grew restless at the perceived inattention, nothing could be further from the truth—just not the way they had in mind. When did she learn how to fly?! the fishman repeated in his head. It took nearly all of his concentration to not balk in front of the assembled outlaws due to shock. When she was chatting about flight with Apis earlier, kicking off the air like that is nothing like what I was expecting her to mean...!

"Hey, you piece of shit!" Another pirate called out with growing impatience as he cocked his pistol, "You keep standing there ignoring us and we'll gut you like the fish you are!" Again, there was no response. "You hear me?!"

He shook his head not at the words about him but at his own thoughts. No, calm down Kuroobi... You got too flustered and forgot to ask about Fisher Tiger. There's only so many possibilities even accounting for G-2, and not a lot of them are positive... Could she really have known all along?

*BANG*

Everyone froze as the talkative pirate grinned and let his weapon drop, smoke rising from the barrel of the flintlock after it's bullet fired through both ends of the fluttering hood. "Heh. Sleep with the fishies, yo—!" His arrogance fled quickly like the rest of them and left behind only fear as the hood's wearer slowly reached up to lift and look at the two holes in its fabric. Looking it over, the martial artist failed to display a single emotion beyond his untouched stone-gray face as the shooter turned to his allies in a panic. "Hey, stop messing around! Hurry up and shoot him full of holes already!"

"...really...?"

The gun-toting pirate availed himself of his arms with a cry at his former target's murmur and leapt into the crowd. "F-Fire!" In the hysteria the whole round of pirates opened fire around the crier, but in the thick of it Kuroobi calmly shifted the blade in his hand to deflect and slice specific bullets—all the while moving with a trained subtlety into the safe-zone he was creating. Shots fired unhalted by him continued their trajectory past him into their encircling midst and riddled those unprepared opposite the vocal pirate before they could fire themselves.

At the center of confusion and pain the ray fishman swung his blade as one would to remove blood as flintlocks clicked empty, looking upon the persisting dark streaks intently. They use such messy gunpowder and ammunition to still stain such a sword as this. Disrespectful... Focusing on the pirates around him, knowing the train of thought from before would have to wait, he continued his address to his attackers as he moved the zanbatō to his side and gestured to the damaged hood. "You know how difficult it is—how hard it is—to come by things like these?"

"Be careful," the woman from before called out from the injured side with a hand clutched to her shoulder, "he's got to be gearing up for a technique or somet—!"

"Technique...? I don't need such things against scum like you." Before she could finish forming another word the martial artist leapt into the air towards the uninjured crowd, the oversized saber by his left side as if it rested in a second sheathe. Descending into their midst as he closed his eyes declared, "Your chances of victory were zero from the start."

—-—-—

"Howdy neighbors!" Koala spoke up as she landed on deck of the nearest galleon, ignoring the cries of surprise and fear as she cheerfully greeted them. "So... Nice ships you've got here... Don't recognize the flag, though..."

"S-shit!" one of the pirates stammered as he drew a flintlock. "Die, Kaijōsei!"

"Hmmmm...? That's nice." As the man pulled the trigger, the martial artist simply muttered "Rankyaku." and kicked a visible blue blade of compressed air towards the man as his bullet left the chamber. As it whizzed toward her the bullet split in half and bored into the deck at either side while the mast behind the shooter simply floated upwards into the air, separated at a close line behind him. "Oh... The mast still floats? That's convenient. Devil Fruit, I take it?"

The pistol fell from the man's open hand as he stared agape at her nonchalant musings. "She just cut the mast clean off our ship—!"

"—And yet your ship still sails on, smooth as quicksilver!" she interjected into his sentence, walking up to him as she stared up at the mast. "Mast too, even. I must say I'm quite impressed. How do you anticipate that kind of separation? Or is it automatic...?"

Before any of the other pirates could react, the brunette seemed to pull water from her skirt before making to throw it up at the mast with a call of, "Uchimizu!" In an instant the handful of water shot from her throw straight through the mast, chunks of moist wood falling to the ground while most of the mast remained in air.

"What the hell do you think yo—?" Despite the pirates' growing irritation, the former slave simply walked over to the whole she had made, finding a floating piece only half-dripping with water. "Hey, stop ignoring me!"

"What am I doing, you ask?" The pirate who'd spoken up flinched as she spoke up before she smiled again and gave her audience an enthusiastic 'thumbs-up' gesture. "Science, my undereducated acquaintances! Science..." Letting the wood float before her, she made a motion to drag the water through the chunk until the whole piece was wet, before it dropped to the deck. "Devil's Fruit indeed. Nice to know salt-water is as reliable as always, though it seems to require more than simply partial coverage. I wonder if salt is the crucial element...?"

Just as the pirates aboard started to lock into the mindset, she leapt clean overboard in one visible jump and lost them physically on top of mentally. Across the way, one of the other ships less privy to her words tried to rally them together. "Where did she go? Find her!"

"There she i—EEEEEEEEEEEE?!" Voices rang out from another one as they stared at the young woman with her arms crossed at the chest, her legs kicking off the air rapidly in a sound that was amazingly reminiscent of metal-on-floor rather than rubber-in-air.

"What?" she chuckled with sarcasm heavy in her tone and expression, "You act like you've never seen someone do a levitating tap-dance before..."

"Will somebody just shoot her already?!"

"Geppō!" And with that she was bounding subtly downwards from the chunk of the pirate fleet, which quickly charged as quickly as they could after her with cannons blazing. "Well, if Apis is going to be saying goodbye to Ryu-ji, I suppose it's time for a merry chase then—that'll hold their attention for awhil—!"

"FIRE!"

The sudden explosion rocked the underside of the floating pirate ship nearby the airborne pirate, flinging burning shrapnel her way and sending her barreling to the ocean as she caught a glimpse of her attacker. You have got to be kidding me...!

—-—-—

"Shiki-oyabun, the main attack ships are pursuing Kaijōsei now!"

"Idiots. If they're in pursuit, they've already lost... Best we begin, then." Rising from a dark throne, the Flying Pirate stepped forward on bladed legs as he dismissed the man who had reported. Raising a hand, a number of golden shells rose up to him and clicked audibly as he began to speak:

"To all my faithful associates who wish to join the growing number of crews in our alliance of the Golden Lion Pirate Crew: I have gathered you all here in this weakest of oceans because of a particular pest that continues to gnaw upon my sensibilities. Intentional or no, this pirate has belayed my plans for far too long."

Grinning as he paused to light a cigar, the Golden Lion let himself float about the shells as if pacing. "Of course, anyone else who might get in your way could also be delivered to me to try and prove your worth, but only to the pirates whom bring to me—alive or dead—the wench known as Kaijōsei Koala will a place in my armada be guaranteed! As for the island, do as you see fit. Think of it as a taste of what is to come—for you, and this pitiful ocean! Jihahahahahaa!" And with his laughter, he completed the recordings and sent them on their way down to the encroaching rabble below.

All across Warship Island the shells were sent to the pirates that had gathered in interest to join up with the Legendary Pirate, listening in to the recorded message that he had delivered...

—-—-—

Atop a brightly colored submarine-ship, the sounds of guitar echoed over the waves as the vessel's black flag fluttered in the turbulent winds of the coast, its sombrero and maracas about the pointed skull across the dark fabric matching the crew's outward theme of a mariachi band—albeit lacking a greater variety of instruments. Stepping from the shade of the submarines rear cabin, the guitarist continued his music without a glance at the ensuing combat that quickly began to engulf coast, his tall form bowed in mocking concentration on his music.

"Shik-shik-shik-shik..." From beneath the tremendous sombrero he wore, a sad-sounding laugh echoed from his dark grin, shifting his light-red foulard and brown locks and mustache against his contrastingly angular face. Raising his head to banish the shade of his hat, the guitarist stowed his instrument away, allowing his elaborate purple poncho to envelop his open black jacket and pants as it rippled in the wind. "Amore, beloved little brother Corto: Let us see what Señor Shiki's ambition can provide for us."

"Yeah, Big Bro!" From the left of his taller brother stepped a larger man wearing a large sombrero, his own face concealed by a red and gold luchador mask that still showed off his chin's stubble. Like his brother, Corto stood decked out in an embroidered yellow poncho and green foulard as he chuckled to himself. If there's one good thing about being this early, there's no way Big Bro will have a siesta right now. "Listen up, men!"

Before the brothers, the assembled men stood with rifles and weapons, normal sombreros and charro suits, ready in a row as their Vice-Captain made his speech before them. "Today we'll offer up our prey Kaijōsei, and secure the Amigo Pirates place as brothers to the Legendary Pirate Shiki! She's tough, but we'll be able to take her down! Failure is not an option, you hear? Let's get her!"

"Órale!"

As the men rushed to make land, the two brothers walked forward with abilities and weapons subtly readied beneath their ponchos. As they stepped forward calmly, one of their crew paused as he offered the captain a hammer. "Now that I think of it, why were you crying earlier Captain Largo...?"

Largo grinned and let out his mistaken laugh once more before he answered, staring out at the rumbling seas before them. "Shik-shik-shik... Underdogs will always perish; such is the way of the world. Truly it is a shame to have to end the life of such a beautiful señorita." As he took the hammer from his subordinate, his face darkened with an odd sense of glee as he finished, "Perhaps as a requiem for her fall, she will enjoy a mucho mucho beautiful inferno colored by despair and screams as much as I will...!"

—-—-—

"Shaaa... And here I thought this mission was going to be boring." Amidst the panic of the burning pirate ship under attack, the man pocketed the golden shell in his orange pants, the bangles clinking about by his gloved left hand as he did so. Though his face was hidden beneath his black hat, the red plume shifting about in the turbulent air while the fires drowned out all sounds, his captive audience could see his whiskers twitch and his dark-brown t-shirt and necklaces flutter with his laughter.

As the inferno continued to consume ship and crew alike, most already bleeding heavily from large gashes and cuts, one of the men behind their attacker slowly stood, his breaths raspy from the smoke. Gathering his breath while his left hand clutched his own wound in vain, his right clenched ever tighter around his broken sword's grip. "Damn you... You monster!"

As the man charged, his enemy stood unmoving until the dulled blade nearly dug into his shoulder before he seemed to flutter out of the way with only a chuckle of "Kami-E" and "Rankyaku" as the man's left arm and injury were cut into by the whiskered man as his decorated shoe ghosted by him in a light kick. As the man fell back into the bulwark, he went on with his previous thoughts as if he hadn't been attacked. "Not only is there plenty of pirate blood to spill, but there's a famous big shot too? This is too much..."

"Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru..." Looking to his other picket, the man withdrew a Marine's Baby Den Den Mushi with a long black mustache as it rang. Sighing for a moment as the snail went on ringing, he chuckled as he took the call as the man on the other end spoke up. "Nero, what's the status of the pirates?"

"No threat, Hardy-Chūshaaa," Nero replied with plenty of mirth in his voice as he hopped onto the bulwark closest to Warship Island. "At the current rate of this sinking tub, I'll be able to hop over to the island in a moment or so. Feel free to sink it once I'm out."

"Can't anyone ever just call me Chūsa properly? I get no respect..." The Den Den Mushi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as the new Marine Commander went on. "I take it this mission you have will be no problem for you, CP9? I hear you're pretty wet behind the ears."

The Cipher Pol agent chuckled at the inquiry of his skills. "It's true that I'm not a master of all six techniques, but the four I've mastered are more than enough to take down a bunch of East Blue guppies drawn in by a golden lure."

"Just don't want you biting off more than you can swallow," the man replied over the call, not sounding nearly as casual as his words led Nero to believe. "If you fail at large things it means you have not large ambitions."

"I'm not sure how to feel about a man who can only Geppō critiquing me, Shaaa..." Nero replied chidingly, finding the situation rather odd in a strangely amusing way. "Besides, you waited for ages getting the specific promotions you needed to work against that Nelson guy. Now that wouldn't be a big deal, except that you didn't end up succeeding at the 'large thing' by yourself anyways."

Whatever the whiskered man had been expecting to hear back from Hardy, chuckling himself into full-blown laughter was quite far on the other end of the spectrum. Calming himself eventually, the man didn't even dignify himself with an average explanation, choosing instead to speak cryptically, "Concentration, focus—that is all. The aptitudes come, the tool forge themselves."

Hearing the ship moan as the fires wore at the wood beneath his feet, the self-titled Yonshiki-user simply gave up trying to chat with the Marine officer, hanging up the Baby Den Den Mushi with only a derisive, "Whatever..." as he leapt out off the air towards Warship Island. The only 'large thing' about this assignment is the importance and payout; I'll have Kaijōsei in custody in no time, and we'll see how surprised Chief Spandam is when I bring this intel on the Flying Pirate...!

—-—-—

"Tch..." Hardy sighed out loud as he made another call through his Den Den Mushi, turning to the Marines working other lines. Despite his recent promotion he still wore his usual sailor attire beneath his coat, his arms actually using his sleeves as he gestured to his trio of subordinate sailors in uniform. "Anything from the other Marines we've been contacting, Yamanaka-Jun'i?"

"No pirate activity further out in East Blue," Yamanaka replied as she moved her one long, blond bang from her face so both blue-green eyes had clear view map at the center of their round table of Den Den Mushi and their receivers. "However, most ships within about one-hundred knots of Warship Island can feel massive amounts of seismic activity!" She shook her head with a sigh, her longer blond ponytail trailing shifting off her shoulder down to her lower back as she lamented, "And despite that half of the are still hitting on me..."

The heavy-set Jun'i met her exasperated eyes before patting her on the back, his small black eyes supportive of her plight. Hardy couldn't help but smile as the two zoned out into their own moment before he cleared his throat to get their attention. "Akimichi-Jun'i, your report?"

Scratching his own long brown locks that were far more thick and unruly, Akimichi replaced his cap and turned to his commanding officer apologetically. "Right. There was a report of two pirate ships in combat from one of our ships exiting the Calm Belt, but they reported that they easily sunk one of them. When they went aboard the other, most of the crew had been killed with and the ship was slashed up as if by a clawed monster. The other ship was decently damaged before they opened fire."

"Troublesome..." The third sailor sighed as he sat up from the nearby bench where he had been laying, sorting his hair into a proper black ponytail that wouldn't get in the way of his own Marine cap. "After we confirm that burning wreck Nero hit goes down, we should head there as soon as possible."

Noticing the hard beady-eyed stare from the laziest of the trio, the Commander paused with a quick glance at the bench before levying him a similar look back. "What is it, Nara-Jun'i?"

Cracking his neck with one hand at its base and the other sliding his cap on about his hair-tie, Warrant Officer Nara answered the inquiry without wavering at his comrades' confused faces, "Nero seemed far too certain about lots of pirates being drawn in by a golden lure, but the other enemy ships are nowhere in visible range... And as for a golden lure, it's very likely our friend the Sea Weasel's already been caught—hook, line, and sinker."

The other male Jun'i narrowed his eyes in thought as his comrade spoke, his own focus straying about the same zone his friend had rested... No, you were too quiet to have been napping. And if you were awake, then—! "You saw it...?"

"Yeah..."

Only growing more confused, the blond Marine finally threw her cap down on the table and started shaking her lazy crewmate by his shirt. "Stop talking in riddles and explain things already! What the hell is going on?" Not waiting for the trio to break from their usual chain of reactions, Hardy-Chūsa simply turned to leave only to be called after by her. "Hey, Commander...!"

Pausing with the doorknob in hand, the Marine officer simply, "I am a poet in deeds—not often in words." Ignoring the exasperated sigh he received in reply, he exited out to deck to set their new course. "Alright men, set a course for the other side of the island, and man your stations. Prepare for battle!" As the crew saluted and rushed out to put wind in their sails, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself at his earlier turn-of-phrase before his face cooled solid in focus. One of these days, huh...?

—-—-—

Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, the Marine stood as still as he could to avoid the blade at his throat sinking in any further, blood trickling down to the long-sleeved coat of 'justice' resting on his shoulders as he let out a whimper, "T-There, I reported my status as fine, so—!"

"Ah, quite so. You've played your part perfectly."

And like that the blade shifted and slashed straight down the man's chest, the horrid sound of the steel grinding against his sternum echoing out before he collapsed, leaving his thinner, taller attacker in his wake behind him. Struggling to breathe with the incredible pain, the Marine tried to call out after him only for a sudden kick from nowhere to smash into his back, sending him into unconscious,

Removing his striped shoe from the officer's fractured spine, the man swung his hands out to flick the blood from his long-bladed gloves, keeping his black suit and neatly slicked hair untouched in the midst of the burning warship. Lifting the palm of his hand up, he pushed his round-glasses further up his nose to avoid cutting himself with his unique weapons. "Your resolve is only matched by your cowardice and want of life. Considering what happened to Morgan, I'd be amused to see what you'd get up to if Jango were here to hypnotize you..."

From the broken door to the deck, a man with a pair of ears and eye make-up to look like a cat leaned into view. "What's next, Captain Kuro...?"

Walking outside, Kuro walked out to greet his remaining subordinates amidst the dead and the crumbling ship. "Thankfully the Marines are pretty open about information to one another—it seems the Golden Lion's offer is legitimate. The plan goes on, men! We'll hunt down and butcher that tramp, and then we'll finish off Straw-Hat once and for all!"

As his men cheered, it was almost hard to hide his sneer at their foolishness. Pawns to the last... I have no need of revenge against Straw-Hat so long as I can be done with this fighting; it's almost perfect that Shiki has a plan of his own—and with that woman's death, I can wrap up at least one loose end and move a step closer towards being done with piracy forever!

—-—-—

"Haha! Not so tough now, are you? You ocean wench, sink to the bottom of the ocean and die!"

Of all the pirates that had to sneak out and come back to attack, it had to be the rookie... Koala thought as she heard the target of her disbelief let out a long laugh above the waves. It's nice that he doesn't notice I faked my fall into the water, but does he have to be so damn confident about it? And he's still calling me that stupid name...

Swimming to a good angle so the approaching ships lined up decently—already deep enough so her body wouldn't be visible—the brunette noticed the familiar five-million bounty rookie waving a golden shell about towards the floating ships like a badge of pride, somehow calming her pursuers down despite being shot at. Seriously, how much damage did Arlong even do to Loguetown's prison? Or did Smoker actually loose track of such a wea—

"What do you mean, I need a body? You all saw her fall, right?"

Tch, she chided herself as she heard the surface conversation grow heated once more, if I wait too long, they'll just open fire and flush me out. Well, Koala, you're the one who wanted to try other techniques after you managed so much on the fly fighting Arlong. At least Kuroobi can't freak out about using it against these small fry... None of the currents are large enough to completely cover a whole ship, not to mention moving a whole current above water is a bit much.

Which means... Gathering her hands together, the martial artist closed her eyes and concentrated on the ocean waves to feel out what she had to work with. ...I'll have to try that move out. As the ocean waves shifted about her, she locked onto a particularly strong movement and reached out to grip it with her hands, drawing it in her cupped hands to her side as if charging the energy of the ocean. Hopefully there are no crossed wires among fellow sea creatures.

"Grrr... Fine then, we'll just blow her corpse sky high then!"

Shit, it's not strong enough ye—! As she began to panic, she felt the ocean tremble as a force began pushing beneath her towards the surface. This is...? Yes...! With this, I can make it work! Got to focus...

—-—-—

Even from the sky, the floating pirate ships trembled with the sea as earth rose from beneath the waves, threatening to maroon the single oceanic galley with its crescent moon skull and crossbones in their moment of triumph. Before anyone could call for the ships to move, the water seemingly parted before the row of ships to reveal—

"You damn insect-collecting wench!" cried the galley's captain, his orange beard outlined in black trembling as he grated his molars in rage, "Why won't you die?"

"You know..." the brunette began dangerously calm, her eyes closed and her from crouched with her hands behind her, "That insect thing you said was funny the first time we met. But now...?" As she spoke a tangible pulse in the air punctuated her words as the water rushed towards her and flowed down her arms to her backside. "Now you just piss me off. Time to wake up and face the music! Merman Combat..."

Behind the grinding of Galley's teeth and the roar of gathering pressure, the pirates aboard the closest floating vessel were privy to what no one else was as they saw the immense volume of water being drawn behind her. Knowing what she had tested before them only minutes ago, they had an idea of what to expect. "Evasive maneuvers, now!"

Looks like I made it with time to spare. "Too late! Ultramarine!" Launching her hands up toward the line of ships, the ocean water behind Koala expanded beyond her size with tremendous force, creating a pressurized cylinder of water big enough to nearly surround entire ships. Washing over the upper deck of Galley's ship, it moved unbidden by gravity straight over the fleet of flying ships, sweeping away sails, cannons, and crew alike.

—-—-—

"Ack!"

Clutching her ears in pain, Apis nearly fell off the saddle of Umizoui until the elephant-kusarigama could slow its pace and support her with an extended chain-tail. Despite the living weapon's trumpeting worry that she could hear in the background, the sound that overran her supernatural hearing was an immense strain on her thoughts.

What is this sound? It's like... Wait! "Umizoui... Can you lift me up above the treeline...?" Koala's companion hesitated; hoping to convince her to wait, it laid out its thoughts—knowing her Devil's Fruit would translate the meaning. Despite the pain that wracked her face, she insisted with a wavering volume as she did her best to not reveal their position. "Please...!" Relenting, the elephant reached up with its truck and gently lifted her skyward.

Managing to open her eyes at the sight to confirm, she stared agape as the pain began to lessen. "That attack..." It's just like earlier with Kuroobi: the sound of the ocean tearing away at the shoreline—realistically it's the water in the human body wearing against it. Even though the column of water isn't meant to do so, the wave is still strong enough to transfer that kind of shockwave through to every person caught in its wake. How can she—?

Before she could continue her train of thought, the trunk lowered back down to the elephant's eye level. "What is it, Umizoui? Do you hear something?" Letting off a quiet trumpet, the weapon turned so the blond girl was facing where they'd come from as she turned her focus that way. "A tremor? No wait... Footsteps...? And weapons being drawn?" Closing her eyes Apis let out a deep breath to calm her pulse and listen out above the marching clods of shoes on earth.

"Come on. I think the plan is rather nice: instead of fighting Kaijōsei, we take the girl and the village hostage and bring her in ourselves!" "Tch, yeah sure. You're just happy we get to pillage the village." "And you aren't? Besides, this kills two birds with one stone!"

"Oh no..." the Warship Island native murmured, her eyes still closed while her face echoed her concern as she spoke to her ride. "Pirates are heading to the village! And there's so many... Wait...!"

"I mean I'm glad we don't have to go toe-to-toe with Kaijōsei no Koala, but catching a kid and some weapon?" "Child or not, she's being defended by a wanted criminal. Even if she's not supporting her, she's the key to keeping her down so Eric and Nelson-Teikoku can finish their mission." "*sigh* This is not what I enlisted in the Marines for at all."

Finally opening her eyes, Apis looked down to the elephant-kusarigama. "The Marines are here too, but they're here to take you away and use me as bait for Koala." As Umizoui let out an angry trumpet in response while her ability completed a more detailed understanding, the Whisper-Woman patted the animal the head with a small grin. "That's what I thought you'd say. The Marines are closer to the village, but if you can lure them to the pirates, then that ought to tie them up long enough for me to get Koala."

At that, the weapon gave her a hard stare that she knew to be concern without her ability. "I'm plenty capable of avoiding threats, you know. But if you're really that concerned for me, then take that concern and put it towards the villagers I'm concerned about. Besides, I never said you couldn't take the rest of them down yourself and catch up. Alright?" After a moment, the living weapon let out the equivalent of a sigh and set her down on the ground, gesturing pointedly at her with its trunk. "You be careful, too."

Satisfied, Umizoui began to transform while swinging its tail and trunk out, launching itself back to the village as Apis turned back towards the coast. With a nod to herself she closed her eyesand leapt off.

After a moment a figure leapt down from a distant tree, binoculars in one hand while his other adjusted his feathered black hat. "Splitting up, then? Well now... Who shaaall Ihunt down first?"

—-—-—

"No way... How can a fish be so skilled with a blade?" Cowering on the ground amidst his defeated allies, the last man flinched as his opponent swung his blade harshly from a distance, only to slap him with his fellow pirates' blood as the martial artist cleaned the saber as best he could. He didn't even notice I was there... The pirate almost chuckled to himself as he fainted dead away with one last thought... What a monster...

Sighing to himself, Kuroobi held the weapon both hands—taking care not to cut his hand foolishly and further mar its sheen. "I suppose the ocean ought to be able to cleanse it well enough as Kairōseki, but... Either way, it feels like a waste of effort and blood." Seeing the turbulent seas, the ray fishman widened his stance before the island's tremors could bring him to the ground. "...So there really is a Lost Island surfacing here, huh...?"

"Ultramarine!"

Whirling his head out to sea at the familiar cry, the martial artist stood agape as he witnessed the aerial spectacle—the entire flying fleet enveloped in a violent column of water. "That technique...!" Kuroobi muttered in awe, but in his head his thoughts were reeling. If that was Ultramarine, then... Merman Combat? But even if Jinbe wrote about it, he shouldn't be able to detail enough for...!

Despite having barely said a word, the fishman pirate shook his head at his own thought as he watched his fellow martial artist's distant figure leap into the watery path from the sky. No... I've been attributing Koala's skill in our Karate and Jūjitsu to Jinbe's ability to teach through written word and diagram, but if she's managed this well in not only Fishman and Merfolk styles, but this Rokushiki...? Then—

"—There's no way a human can use the techniques of a Mermaid... right?"

Before the person behind him could even finish his interjection into his thoughts, Kuroobi had already begun to swing his blade to bear. Instead of no resistance, he felt his blade blocked and pushed back to distance them from him.

"Whoa there!" Landing on their feet was a green fishman of similar stature, their loose dark tie and dress pants matching their spiky short hair. Straightening his bright blue button shirt out as fins behind his ears ruffled beneath the straps of his own orange goggles, his other hand shifted his grip on the sword in his hand. "Well, that was a thing."

"Hmm... A Sailfish-Fishman, I see..." the martial artist murmured out loud, shifting back into a guarded stance.

Hearing the observation, the other fishman simply chuckled. "Well aren't you observant—though I prefer sailfish-man for simplicity—just what I'd expect from an Arlong Pirate Officer. I must admit I had hoped to play the mystery out a bit more, but..." Shrugging his shoulders, the sailfish fishman's blade still swung in the way of his opponent's slash as he grinned. "I always figured you'd be all business, Kuroobi-sama."

Unlike his stoicism before, the ray fishman didn't give the parting comment a single thought as he stared through their crossed blades. "I hope you don't expect me to care how you know me. You hide your intentions from your face, but no one could be ignorant of your bloodlust."

"Fine by me," he replied as they both pushed, sparks flying between their blades. "I'll spare you the trouble: the name's Kitajima. I take it you know why I'm here, then?"

The martial artist blinked as they each stepped back, blade idle at his side. "Honestly? I haven't the faintest."

"W-What...?"

"You comment on Kaijōsei's technique and you clearly are among this riffraff, but you offer platitudes of familiarity and clash blades with me instead. But if the latter is what you want," he paused as he readied his blade once more, "I don't need to know your motive—I'll simply cut you down."

As his opponent went for a lunging stab, Kitajima sidestepped and went for his own, both of them bringing their weapons in for another clash as he grinned. "Not like you weren't thinking about the girl's technique—What's so weird about admitting it? It's like I said: there's no way any human can use our powers, merfolk or fishmen."

Kuroobi scoffed at that as they started trading slashes in a growing cacophony of sound. "You doubt a fighter's strength right before yo—?"

"You've got it backwards, Kuroobi-sama..."

Seeing his opponent raise an eyebrow to the claim, the well-dressed pirate grinned as he suddenly let go of his blade and leap into the air for a roundhouse kick. Not showing surprise as he clashed with the unresisting blade, the ray fishman simply continued his swing and guarded the kick with his fins. "In what way?" Muttering while shifting the saber to his other hand only, he swung out to cut off the offending appendage or force his enemy to remove himself.

Leaping back to his sword stabbing into the earth, Kitajima could only grin at finally keeping a conversation going. "No one can deny her strength at techniques far beyond human skill. She's certainly no fishwoman or mermaid, and using those powers and being able to swim means she has no Devil's Fruit..." Sneering out at the rising island, he took hold of his blade and pointed it to the current battle. "No other reason Shiki-oyabun needs to put her down—she's a pure-blooded monster."

"..."

"Okay... Not exactly what I was going for..." the sailfish-man muttered to himself at the thoughtful silence his opponent allowed to permeate. I thought he'd either agree or more likely get angry; anything but ponder would have made sense. What gives?

"..." A monster, huh? Kuroobi's brow furrowed as his webbed fist tightened about the hilt of his zanbatō. It's such a pointless attempt to goad me, yet... "Every sentient being on this earth has the capacity to be a monster at some point in their lives, just as much as they have good in them. I've always said that before you know your enemy, you must know yourself. What many fail to understand is that it's not a one-time thing—you keep reaffirming and confirming who you are and what you want; your goals, resolve, morals, emotions; everything."

Chucking a bit, Kitajima smirked wider and opened his mouth to speak only to nearly eat Sea-Stone and steel as his opponent's sword was thrown straight at his mouth tip-first. Trying to bat the weapon away with his own, he regretted it instantly as it did nothing but sparked against it and burned his lips. Barely crashing to the ground in time with a panicked back-roll, the oversized saber had sliced apart his goggles and left a dripping gash in his forehead as it passed before it sunk itself deep into the ground. "AH! Shit, that hurt! The hell?!"

Kuroobi stood in the same position as if he hadn't moved a single inch, save for the shade over his eyes that came with his darkening expression. "Following in Arlong's exile, as I've come to realize, was where I lost my way. My misplaced anger went unchecked and I lashed out and destroyed so many things blinded by my own emotions, lying to myself that Arlong's beliefs were infallible... But before that time—when I knew who I was, and my ambitions for the future—I began to study what I had believed to be my enemy."

The disheveled pirate blinked as he parroted, "Believed...?" in growing disbelief, putting pressure on his head injury with his free hand while pushing himself back up and readying his own sword. "So you're a traitor to you—!"

"You—" he interrupted, his tone of voice mirroring the fire in his eyes that left no room for more argument, "—you don't deny that she can use our power. There are two quotes on power that seem fairly common in the minds of humanity... The first? Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

That made the sailfish-man chuckle, shaking the blood off his hand as he let out an audible swallow, beginning to walk a circle around towards his opponent's blade in the ground. "Not exactly a ringing endorsement..."

If the martial artist had noticed his intentions, he refused to show it as he continued, following the walk with his entire bodily focus as he readied his stance with clenched fists. "Perhaps... Though I'd never be arrogant enough to believe our arts to be 'absolute power', and neither would you."

"And why do you say that?" Kitajima replied with more spittle flying from his mouth than he expected.

"Well for one, you're inching towards my own weapon for its added range and better temper than your own paltry blade."

The injured pirate paused as the ray fishman smirked, only adding to his growing irritation before he grinned back, "A blade is a blade. So long as it cuts down my enemies then what does it matter?" And with that, he threw his own at Kuroobi and wheeled around to draw his opponent's zanbatō. "Your sword is just fi—hrk!" His banter was cut short as the Kairōseki-lined saber failed to budge from its earthen sheath. "W-What? Come on!"

"You should watch where you throw these things..."

The sailfish-man froze with a cold sweat as he heard Kuroobi whisper into his ear, an odd sense of pressure weighing down on him like a fisherman about to gut his catch. Whirling around with a loud cry, his arm swung in a wild reverse haymaker that met with nothing, the martial artist missing. Before he could turn again he felt his bones creak as a hard chop slammed into his upper-spine, sending him stumbling towards the coast before he could get a grip on one knee.

Behind him, the gray fishman chuckled as he drew his saber from the ground. "You've certainly got some toughness to you, since you didn't go down from that. Perhaps I should have actually used a technique...?"

Hearing the clatter of his own sword, Kitajima turned carefully to see his enemy had passed him back his cutlass. "What's the point of giving me back my weapon?" he questioned as he took it in his hands and rose to face him as he looked at his own.

"Because it's yours," Kuroobi replied simply, swinging his sword to remove some of the earth from its sheen. "Wouldn't want you to think I was challenging you with my stronger art. Rather than force you down and crush you completely, I choose to give you the freedom to choose—fight against my blade, engage me in martial arts, or to surrender.

"Surrender...? Don't screw with me!" the green fishman spat, his facial fins spread wide in anger as he brandished his blade. "What makes you think I'd wimp out like that?"

Settling into a horse stance with his blade before him, the swordsman cleared his face of emotion as he clarified. "It is not disrespect to you, but acknowledgement from me. The second thing that humans say about power is thus: With great power, there must also come great responsibility."

Kitajima just blinked. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Sighing, he went on without a single change of face as he and the sailfish-man began clashing blades once more. "It is the counter to the corruption of power. Put simply, it is the responsibility of all who have power to use it for the good of others. Of course that phrase seemed meaningless to me in the face of the Tenryūbito's incredible corruption, but..." Suddenly he forced the sailfish-man to leap with a low horizontal swing, a grin forming on his face despite his efforts against it, "...pirate or no, I'd say she has a pretty good head on her shoulders for good."

"You just keep running your mouth all of a sudden..." his opponent replied with his brow furrowed in irritation, having to wipe the blood dripping from above it once more. "I'm really regretting getting you to open those lips of yours, Kuroobi-sama..."

"Heh... Be careful what you wish for. In any case..." the martial artist let his chuckling run its course before settling into his neutral poker face once more. If I really think about it...

"I suppose he would since he was a slave, too..."

I can't help but wonder how long you suffered, Koala... Were you a slave for that long, or did you simply remember more? You've been dealt a terrible hand and yet in spite of the pain you keep walking forward. "...if any human could use the arts of Fishman Island for the good of our people, it'd be Koala; I really think she can do it."

—-—-—

"I can't keep doing this... Guh...!"

Below the torrent of water that now flowed above and beyond her into the skies, Koala coughed up another round of blood into the new lake before her, her reflection muddled by the shaking of her arms in its waters and the blood mixing in the waters already stained by others. The skirt of her black dress beneath her knees released water to flow towards the lake, slowly pushing back the crimson tide as she tried to recover.

"At least... the island's rising will... hold the current for now..." she began panting out, actively wiping and washing the blood from her face and hands. Taking in a deep breath in and out as she cleansed the last of the red from her skin, she spit blood harshly into the lake as she rose and turned to see the current. The high point she had stood on had been the head of a calcified dragon; its open maw in conjunction with her attack made it seem almost as if it breathed the water itself. "Nice to know the Sennenryū have my back," she chuckled before turning back to look upon her handiwork.

From within the aerial vortex, the row of shops tumbled down from the sky as the ocean waters cleansed the effects of the Devil's Fruit from them. Many had been pushed back into each other, the collisions as they fell surprisingly explosive as the ships crashed into one another and the newly risen earth below. Only the vessel furthest front was still afloat, having turned to keep just enough of the 'whole' dry.

Crescent Moon Galley's ship, on the other hand—It's probably a galley, but I can't give him the satisfaction—took the most damage up front, the deck cleanly torn off from the ship and its crew and innards completely ripped off and thrown into the torrent. The remaining men inside drowned or bled out very quickly into the new lake that had risen near where the brunette stood. Interestingly enough they'd prepared for their encounter with water-protected explosives, which had been dragged past the flying ship and down the current where they'd collided and exploded, slowly breaking the current from the far end.

Sighing at the explosions dotting her current, Koala couldn't help but shake her head. "I know he liked his treasure so money wouldn't be an issue, but where does that rookie keep finding all this stuff... Hmmm?" Hearing commotion back at the floating ship, she saw the remaining men on deck were scrambling about and readying the cannons. Reaching out to the column of water tentatively, the brunette let out a sigh of relief as her hand touched the stream. "Good thing it's no longer damaging... Better sink this last ship before they start shooting at me."

—-—-—

Coughing up the last of the blood and water in his lungs, Galley rolled over onto his back as he gasped for air in pained breaths. His easily recognizable hair styling was shredded, more than a few patches of ripped out roots visible upon his scalp and chin. His right arm clutched his left, blood oozed into his shredded clothes as he tried to keep his fractured bones stable amidst the pain of breathing.

Slowly trying to sit up, he could see the carnage across the ship he now laid upon. Among the dead or downed men speckled across the deck, only one or two weren't members of his crew. They were only a fraction of his men, and yet all of them were bleeding heavily. As for the ship itself, over half was overtaken by the torrent of water that was still peeling pieces of the hull away like an onion.

Is this... a nightmare...? Galley wondered in terror, having never seen such bloody devastation wrought. I've heard of pirates capable of this, but... At that, he keeled down from his sitting position to clear his nausea, his last meal and stomach blood joining the coughing survivors and the silent corpses.

Throat raw from already hacking up blood once, his esophagus burned from the unbidden passage of his stomach acid. With a small amount of stability, he inched his way over to the current. So desperate for relief, he didn't hesitate to gather water in his hands and swallow it greedily, only for his throat to reject its salty burn and force him to expel it again. Falling back flat on his ass again, his lungs continued to gasp for more air in protest, only exasperating his condition. Out of habit, he started to curse only for his vocal chords to refuse his call with a tang of dull pain. That wench... What the hell has she done to me...? To my crew?!

Just then a dark shadow blotted out the morning sun from the other side of the current. Looking back down, the form of a woman swimming lightly against the current was silhouetted by the sun on her back. Flowing black tea-length sundress rippling effortlessly in the torrent, her face remained shaded by her unruly locks of brown hair. As she drew one hand back to her waist, palm open against the white belt-like strip, the image clicked in his head. Kaijōsei!

"Debatete."

As the word resonated out from the current her hand shot out in a blinding flash that Galley couldn't follow, her hand returned to the task of swimming as she came towards them. But in the moment she stepped out onto the dry deck, there was a quiet rumble before the roar of water echoed below. Stumbling to his feet, the ragged captain looked on in shock as the entire ship slid in half—the submerged half all the way from mast to keel quietly plummeting to the ocean as water filled their own deck from the current.

As their own half started to wobble, the salt water draining away the Devil's Fruit ability keeping it in air, the other surviving pirates scattered across the deck could only look on in horror at the devastation their target had wrought upon their flying formation. Hearing her footsteps as she walked towards them, there was an immediate outcry of terror as they tried to crawl away. Many tried to leap off the ship, forgetting the newly risen island below that led most to fall to their deaths. Others couldn't find the strength or began coughing blood again out of exertion.

Amidst the chaos of fear Galley stood wobbly before her, his voice unable to carry his denial-ridden anger as she approached. But as he stared her down a gust of wind blew her soaked hair back, he realized that she wasn't looking at him but at the men that now fled. A strange look of disgusted horror was frozen on the martial artist's features as she took in the gruesome injuries and deaths she had caused.

You bitch...! Crescent Moon Galley thought, still straining to make his vocal chords echo him as he marched forward with his fist clenched to punch her in the face. Mocking me with false concern! I'll teach you to ignore me! Throwing his attack, there was an audible crack as his remaining good arm fractured from the strain.

The pirate captain let out a strangled cry of pain as he fell back onto the deck while Koala began to speak. "You're pathetic, Galley. I didn't even use Tekkai and your arm went out on you. And yet you still stare at me with those vengeful eyes, whilst your crew runs and cowers in fear." Picking him up by the neck, his arms hung loosely at his sides as she walked him over to the remaining half of the mast. "Luffy was right: remembering you has been a pain in my ass."

Coughing up more blood at her grip, Galley tried to utter his revenge once more, but only managed to choke unintelligible sputters before she tightened her grip to silence him. After a moment, the brunette let out a sigh and loosened her grip and let him gasp for air against the remaining half of the mast. After a moment, the orange-haired captain caught his breath and wheezed out, "You'll...pay for this... for everything..."

"Not from you," she replied, "You're just a sad, sorry little man, and you have my pity. Besides..." Pausing, she let a small grin inch up on her face, "You've got your own debts to pay, don't you?"

Despite the blood carrying fresh oxygen to his head, his face grew incredibly pale. "W-What?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" the former slave questioned rhetorically with a shake of her head. "Kairōseki isn't just expensive for its uses but in how hard it is to get without the Marines noticing; same with those explosives you had that could blow despite being wet. You must've taken a hell of a loan for all that and a fresh ship, all for revenge on me?" After a moment of relative silence, she prodded him once more. "Hmmm? What's wrong? Not going to declare your revenge again?"

"Just kill me already."

Koala blinked. "It can't be that much can it?"

Galley spit blood off to the side, her grip loosening in surprise. "You said it yourself before. I'm just a 'waste-of-space rookie' in the Weakest Ocean. If you can mop up all these guys like this, then they really are gonna eradicate us. The fact that you're already suspicious of the methods is all the reason they'll need." Sighing as he slid down his support, he let out a sardonic chuckle. "We're already dead men, Kaijōsei. My crew may not have known for sure, but ultimately they made the right choice jumping off to their death—might even be less painful."

By now her hands were clenched tightly, her nails digging through skin and drawing blood, yet she stayed silent at his fatalistic attitude. Looking up Galley could see her dark-blue eyes were trembling with shock and anger. "Don't give me that look, you wench..." he found himself shouting, forcing him to cough up blood again from the strain on his vocal chords. "You won. The dead don't need the pity of the living."

"Answer me one question." Meeting her eyes, he found himself shaking with her at the blackness that seemed to drag his focus into its depths as he stared into her eyes. "These guys with flying ships, like the ones even higher up in the sky... Are they the ones who will come for you?"

Shaking his head slowly, the injured captain chuckled mirthlessly. "If he had flying ships, I would've taken one myself. These guys just offered an alliance and a plan—kind of hoped it might have helped get some security with that revenge. Now finish it."

"Very well."

Without seeing a single motion, Crescent Moon Galley felt the hit to the back of his head. She really won't do it... he thought as he fell to the side, the darkness overcoming him.

—-—-—

Resting Galley with the other living men down on the island, Koala looked back at the crashed half-ship that joined the Crescent Moon Pirates' own in the lake. The smell of blood lingered across the lake, making her nose cringe as she shook off the last drops of water from when she'd washed her hands. Looking skyward as the Sennenryū descended, she spied the retreating form of a larger flying vessel—its style and design reminiscent of the fleet's. With a mutter of 'Geppō' she leapt into the air after it, but her thoughts remained in what had transpired below.

Images of bloodied corpses flashed through her mind, so many that she couldn't always tell when they had met—or if she had met them at all, or if they were just more of her recurring nightmares. What have I done...? The thought resounded in her head over and over, her shaded eyes flickering to her limbs that still felt unclean. Why does this keep happening?

Gripping her abdomen in her other hand as she leapt higher, she felt her nausea increase further. It wasn't supposed to be like this...! Overtaxing herself in the use of Fishman Karate and the like had always resulted in pain—something the self-taught martial artist had attributed to being a human attempting to be a fish. How do I... how can I keep doing this...?! But she'd never seen the aftermath of those efforts, and had no idea that the damage she took was only a paltry amount compared to what happened to those on the receiving end.

...until today.

*sniff* "Damn it... Damn it...!" Far in the sky above the sea of green feathers, her tears instantly evaporated into the air as she narrowed her eyes in on the enemy ship. "Why can't I stop killing people?! Damn it all! Geppō!" Launching herself down towards the ship, the former slave left stream of tears behind as she barreled towards the deck with her hands outstretched and clapped together. "Debatet—!"

No! Shaking her head, she spread her limbs to slow her descent as she focused in. I need to find out what is going on, and I can't do that if I stab straight through their ship. "Tekkai: Suisaiga (Iron Body: Water Calamity Bears Fangs)!" Hardening her body with her hand outstretched in an open palm, the upper deck of the ship offered so little resistance that it rippled into splinters, sending her below to the stone layer below that cracked and fractured for a good twenty feet away. From around her entry point everyone was launched back harshly by a burst of air, slamming them into structures or off the edge. Those that weren't immediately knocked out quickly started coughing blood, clutching their chests from the attack.

Breathe, Koala... Following her own mental mantra, she tried to calm herself down before the pirates recovered. You almost lost it again and tore through another...wait... Pulling her hand from where she'd stopped, she gathered a bit of water in her palm and pressed it into the crack to get a sense of the material. Cobbled stone? No wait...bedrock? Then this isn't just a ship, but a floating island.

"Report to Oyabun immediately—we're under attack!"

Oyabun, huh...? Jumping back topside she looked over injured splayed across the deck, her eyes shaded beneath her hair trying to withhold her own self-disgust as her fists clenched. Even if this 'Boss' of theirs isn't the ability user, I owe them a solid fist in their face. I was finally calming down after Arlong; I cannot loose my focus again, not with Apis and the village right below! "Soru!"

—-—-—

"An attack...? How many?"

"O-one, sir! The intruder is Kaijōsei herself! Ah—!" And like that, the Den Den Mushi went out.

"Heh..." On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Shiki the Golden Lion chuckled as he turned to look at the ship, smoke rising and gunshots audible from his own floating perch. "She came up on her own after all. How is it, Dr. Indig—!" Mid-inquiry, the man's head impacted with every squeak of his associate's shoes as he sighed. "Again with the squeaky shoes...?"

Rather than vocally replying, his compatriot began to make elaborate gestures and dance moves, his lab coat flowing in the wind with his polka-dot scarf as he mimed his way from the feathered wing of a partly sedated Sennenryū to the floating rock platform provided by his Captain. With his white make-up, purple sunglasses, indigo tuffs of hair matching his overalls, and perpetual toothy smile, he looked the spitting image of a clown or mime portraying a physician.

Starring at the strange performance before him, the sword-legged man stared for a time before he nodded. "I see. In that case I'll send you back to advance the plan; we've been behind long enough." As he continued talking and Dr. Indigo continued to perform, his comrade's earthen transportation began to float away towards the Calm Belt. "Scarlet should be able to handle her with his new strength, but I can't miss Kaijōsei suffering such an ironic death. Besides... It'd be a shame if she grew up into a pretty little thing only to get it beaten out of her. Jihahahahahahaa!"

As he floated further away from the action while Shiki floated the other way while he laughed again, Dr. Indigo froze in place staring off at his captain for a long moment as they flew separate ways. "...HE UNDERSTOOD?!"

Techniques

Merman Combat: Ultramarine (Ningyō Jūjitsu: Ultramarine; 人魚柔術: 潤虎真臨). Referenced in Jinbe's book of techniques with help from Aladdin, this technique is the Merman equivalent of Fishman Jūjitsu's Ocean Current Shoulder Throw (Kairyū Ipponzeoi; 海流一本背負い). Rather than altering an existing current, it creates a new one with brute-force instead that can be an effective attack above and below the ocean. Though the technique is Katagana emulating 'English', Koala imagines the technique with the kanji for 'wet/be watered', 'drunk', 'reality', and 'look to/face', roughly translating to "Splash the drunk, face reality."

Tekkai: Suisaiga (Iron Body: Water Calamity Bears Fangs ; 鉄塊: 水災呀). Koala's version of Tekkai "Sai" (Iron Body "Smash"; 鉄塊 "砕"), the shockwave produced via Fishman Karate is a burst of water vapor from her dress that protects her landing. As with Debatete: Senkouki, the power is increased further based on continued descent and pushing with Geppō. The name is a pun on Watercolor painting—水彩画—while both 'sai' are interchangeable in certain words.

Sorry to keep you guys waiting; this whole chapter continued to grow and evolve as I wrote and re-wrote across two notebooks. And then Hardy showed up and in no-small-terms made himself inseparable. Despite the trouble it caused, I do enjoy having more character autonomy that I can feel and observe beyond just Koala. The most important thing is being able to put a chapter up again (and one that has resonant significance with the day), but it definitely confirms that I shouldn't be multitasking my writing—at least till I graduate.

That unfortunately also includes a lot of reviewing that I was hoping to do, my ability to keep up with some writing functions, and even a few story readings as of late. I do hope to be more active, but ultimately I have to focus in on my own content first. Thank you for bearing with me, and I hope that it won't be nearly as long before I update again—especially after that roadblock of a cliffhanger... Until next time!