"Be careful — there are Devil Fruit users over there too." I raised my voice so everyone could hear, my gaze scanning the horizon cluttered with masts and rigging. The sea breathed heavily; each wave sent back echoes of clanking and hurried footsteps on the docks.
"Luffy, the others are back. We do this as planned: you lead the assault, you and everyone else land while I protect the Merry. As soon as you're ashore, Meumeuh pulls the ship back and I'll join you."
Luffy brandished his golden shield; the sun sent blinding flashes off it. "Let's go!" he shouted, his voice trembling with excitement. "I can't wait!"
Sanji, already lighting a cigarette, wore a sly grin. "For my dream, I'll become strong — and if I must make a name for myself, so be it." He exhaled smoke, relaxed as ever, ready to slip between enemies and strike at the right moment.
I allowed myself a short smile. "After this, we might get a bounty. Those who panic can still turn back." I joked, and nobody moved. The silence that followed wasn't fear but determination.
Kuina crossed her arms and chuckled softly. "Sooner or later, we'll all have our bounties. As long as we stick together, it doesn't matter."
Kaya shifted into her cute hybrid form, rubbing her arms. "I don't want to be a burden. With the power I was given… I can fight." Her voice was small but full of confidence.
Usopp, Zoro and Nami climbed back onto the deck, breathless but alive. Usopp hauled himself up onto the rail, still buzzing from the boarding: "This is no joke — they can be vicious. I downed two Devil Fruit users, but only because I exploited their openings. Don't feel invincible." His eyes shone with a mix of pride and seriousness.
Luffy put a hand on Usopp's shoulder. "Don't worry. As long as we watch each other, we'll be fine. And Jordan gives us gear, right?" He spun his shield with a confident flick.
Zoro settled beside Kuina, blade ready, scanning the horizon with an impassive look. The calm before the storm.
Nami stepped toward me, holding something in her hands: two clusters of little spheres, one deep blue, the other glowing red. "Look what we recovered." She offered them with the almost playful glee she reserves for a good find. The spheres pulsed faintly, as if something lived inside.
I leaned in to inspect, and to my surprise the two clusters slowly vanished, sinking into the very wood of the Merry. The contact with the hull felt strange under my fingers, as if the planks were swallowing the spheres' light. A shiver ran down my neck: I felt, clearly, a partial lock had just appeared.
"What the—" I murmured, frowning.
Nami shrugged mischievously. "Perfect. The Merry's getting a little more valuable."
"Not more valuable — alive," I corrected with a smile, placing my hand on the hull as though feeling its pulse. "Form the assault teams and don't lose sight of each other. Luffy and I will team up when I get back."
"I'm going with sister Kuina and brother Zoro," Koby announced in a voice steadier than usual; the two swordsmen flashed approving smiles at the kid lining up beside them.
"All right — you three, direct assault. Don't expose yourselves to enemy snipers; keep formation tight." I gave them a brief nod.
On deck, the small support party took shape.
"I'll be with Nami, Usopp and Kaya," Sanji said, rubbing his hands together, charming as always.
Nami shot him a cold glare. "If you look away, you'll end up frozen below. Got it?"
Sanji stepped back, wounded and comical, while Kaya and Usopp stifled loud laughs.
"Sanji, Kaya — you'll cover the long-range fire. Keep anyone from getting close." I said simply.
"Understood." They both nodded; Kaya, proud, added: "This time, I'm protecting Usopp." The sniper blushed, happy and thrown off at the same time.
Nami took the wheel, eyes of steel and fingers precise. "We're getting close. Be ready.""This is the moment to scare them a little," I murmured to Luffy. "Launch yourself into the air right after my move." He nodded with that mix of childish excitement and restrained fighting spirit that was so him.
I gained altitude, hovering a few dozen meters above the landing ramp, the salty breeze whipping my coat. Ahead, the enemy line had gathered — soldiers, officers, and a few snipers hidden away, their weapons flashing briefly in the rising sun. I took in the smell of powder, burning wood and distant shouts for a second, then I channeled my mana.
A sphere of fire formed in the hollow of my hands, small at first, then swelling until it became titanic. Its surface crackled with blue and yellow sparks, and the heat radiated so strongly the air shimmered before me; you could almost feel the Merry's rigging tighten. The whole port was bathed in an orange glow: the enemy silhouettes squinted; some cried out in fear.
"Stop him, he's going to destroy the port!" shouted a bounty hunter, panic in his voice.
The cannons answered with a metallic thunder, but their shots were clumsy — the Merry moved, the wind played, and the target wasn't easy. "We can't hit him, he's too high and the ship dodges everything!" grunted an officer as the gun crews tried to correct their aim.
With a sharp motion I launched the monstrous fireball. It cut through the air with a high whistle, leaving a trail of heat.
Mountain Black — a hulking man in armor — snorted and slammed the flat of his hand down on the ground. The quay vibrated; a shockwave ran along the dock; from his fist rose a rampart of earth that rose like an artificial cliff and swallowed most of my blazing sphere. Dust rose, rubble tumbled, but the barrier trembled under the heat.
"Is that all you can do?" bellowed Mountain Black, confident, raising his head to celebrate his block — and at that exact moment Luffy appeared.
"GUM GUM ROCKET!!!" Luffy shouted.
The impact rang out, a clean blow that sent Mountain Black flying thirty meters back, like a snapped tree hurled by thunder. The giant crashed into a stack of crates, which exploded into a shower of wood and tools. Plumes of spray erupted where the wreckage struck the quay.
Around us, the soldiers stumbled back — the force of the Gum-Gum Rocket had literally blown the defensive line apart. The air still hummed with dust, ash and burning energy. The bounty hunters hesitated: they had just realized they were facing foes nothing like ordinary pirates.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Nami turned the Vogue Merry toward the shore.
"To the attack!" I shouted from above, my voice covering the clamors and the gunfire.
My silhouette stretched and lengthened, my arms hardening, my skin covered with dark scales. My jaw widened and I let out a cavernous growl. In a second I had become a colossal crocodile — monstrous and powerful in my full form.
My tail swept away half a dozen cannons, sending crews and their ammunition flying in a chorus of screams. Cannonballs scattered; some exploded when they hit powder stores. A series of blasts lit the port, tossing figures like disjointed puppets.
Zoro and Kuina leapt from the Merry at once. The two swordsmen carved a path through the human wall of bounty hunters: Zoro slashed, Kuina pierced, and bodies fell before even hitting the ground. Koby followed behind, quick as a shadow, his cutlass spinning but deadly — each strike toppling an enemy like a silent storm.
To protect the firing position, I raised a two-meter-thick ice platform from the sea—a translucent bastion. Nami and Usopp climbed aboard immediately: Nami coordinated with Usopp, taunting enemies while hurling stalactites at them, as Usopp fired magical arrows with surgical precision. Each shot took down a sniper, shattered a barrel, or triggered a chain of explosions that cleared entire sections of the battlefield.
Not far off, Sanji and Kaya held off any boarding attempts.
"Come on over! I've got plenty left to serve—today's special!" Sanji shouted, spinning like a top and sending several bounty hunters flying.
Kaya, for her part, used her speed and surgical scalpel with eerie precision. With every move, a soft pink glow pulsed along her skin — her rabbit hybrid form made her almost blurry to the naked eye. She darted, struck, dodged. The sight became truly terrifying when she asked Usopp for compliments while covered in blood, nearly making him scream in fright.
I returned to my human form, claws retracting with a crack of bone, and called Eisah from my shadow.
"Protect the Merry. Take it farther back, under Meumeuh's cover," I ordered. The spirit obeyed immediately, steering the ship toward safer waters as I dove back into the fray.
"Fighting this many at once is exhilarating," I laughed, having changed my Keyblade into twin daggers. I carved through the enemy ranks like a cyclone. Sparks and screams erupted with every strike.
Suddenly, a thunderous voice cut through the chaos.
"HOW DARE YOU CAUSE SUCH HAVOC IN MY BRANCH!" roared a deep voice laced with echo. The ground shook beneath my feet, a shockwave rippling across the beach.
From the harbor, a massive grizzly bear appeared — five meters tall, wrapped in chains and crude armor embedded with metal plates. Each step made the earth tremble. His eyes gleamed with cruel intelligence. Behind him, the bounty hunters parted, too afraid to be trampled by their own leader.
"Luffy!" I shouted as another giant stepped forward — Mirks, a towering colossus of a man, had appeared behind the beast. "I'll let you have fun with the old guy. I'm taking the bear!"
"Not cool, Jordan!" Luffy yelled, dodging Mountain Black's attacks while countering with his shield.
I leapt, shifting into my hybrid form — half-man, half-crocodile — teeth bared, muscles tensed. The impact of our clash kicked up a cloud of dust and a shockwave that blew away nearby hunters. Several were sent flying, others rolled across the ground screaming, dazed. The beast staggered back, but its roar shook the port's windows.
Meanwhile — Koby, Kuina, and Zoro
A lightning bolt suddenly split the battlefield, shooting down from the sky like a golden spear. Zoro barely had time to react; he blocked with his main sword, but electricity surged along the blade and into his arms. The shock dropped him to one knee, muscles trembling, blue sparks crackling on his skin.
"Roronoa Zoro…" a mocking voice rang above the chaos. A teenager with hair the color of amber stepped forward calmly. Arcs of lightning danced between his fingers. "I've heard of you. They say you're the best independent bounty hunter in East Blue? I'm gonna fry you 'til you're crispy." He sneered, revealing a cocky grin.
"Watch out, boss!" one of his men shouted — too late. Koby shot forward like an arrow, his movements nearly invisible. He struck with a swift jab, grazing Yellow Thunder's arm. A trail of blood splattered the ground.
"INSECT!" roared the youth, fury flashing in his eyes. He raised his arms and unleashed a storm of lightning bolts, striking the earth and sky alike. The battlefield became a hell of light and ozone.
But Kuina, focused, slid through the lightning like a mirage. Her blade, ignited by the heat of her Fire Tongue technique, drew a crimson line. She pierced Yellow Thunder clean through, just below the ribs. A sharp cry of pain split the air; the teenager collapsed to his knees, convulsing, then fainted from the pain and the backlash of his own power.
A brief silence fell around them, broken only by the residual crackle of electricity in the air.
Zoro slowly stood, placing a hand on Kuina's shoulder, offering a half-smile.
"Not bad. I was supposed to be the one to slice lightning."
Kuina wiped her blade with a fluid motion, not even looking at him.
"You can practice next time."
"AVENGE THE CAPTAIN!" screamed a bounty hunter—before being instantly shot down like a fool, causing the rest to flee toward the city and reducing the bounty hunter army by at least a quarter.
Usopp, Nami, Sanji and Kaya's sideThe battlefield was a storm of organized chaos: smoke, screams, gunfire, shards of glass and crackling electricity, all bathed in the red glow of the rising sun behind the city. At the center of the carnage, Kaya moved like a specter — light, graceful… and terrifying.Her eyes gleamed with a crimson glow, and her aura pulsed like a tide of blood. Around her, bounty hunters dropped one after another, drained of their blood in seconds — not dead, but incapacitated, their wounds opened with surgical precision.
"Kaya, stop doing that! It's creepy!" Usopp shouted, half-terrified, half-fascinated, as she passed near him, leaving a dark red trail on the ground.She turned her head, her gentle smile contrasting horrifically with the blood spattered on her cheek. "I can't help it… it's stronger than me."Before he could step back, she vanished in a blur — only to reappear behind him, her slender arms wrapping around his waist. Her warm breath brushed against his ear. "But with you… I can calm down, right?"Usopp turned beet red, frozen like a statue."Please, not this…" he whimpered.
A few meters away, Sanji rolled his eyes, pulled the cigarette from his lips and murmured with near-religious solemnity:"Lord, give him the strength to endure."He then crushed a bounty hunter with a single kick, sending the man flying like a ragdoll, before repositioning himself in front of the group.
Suddenly, a female voice rang out above the chaos:"STOP THE FIGHT!"The voice cracked like divine command. The gunfire ceased. Bounty hunters froze, their weapons still trembling in their hands.
"Let White Tornado through!" screamed a panicked man. "She'll deal with that crazy chick!"But he didn't get to finish his sentence — a white blur cut through the crowd. An instant later, a bloody slash opened across his cheek, and his rifle fell apart in pieces.Kaya was already beside him, her fingers sliding across his shoulder like a snake."Were you talking about me?" she asked sweetly, her face wearing an innocent smile.The bounty hunter turned pale, his legs shaking like jelly. He stammered something unintelligible before collapsing unconscious.Kaya sighed, wiping a drop of blood off her cheek absentmindedly. "Pff, coward." Then she calmly returned to Usopp, still frozen, wrapping her arms around him again with a small, satisfied laugh.
But that eerie calm was quickly shattered by a completely unexpected scene.Out of the smoke of the battlefield emerged a female figure, dressed in a slightly torn white uniform, her silver hair flowing in the wind. Her blue eyes lit up the moment they landed on Sanji.
"Master Sanji!" she cried, rushing toward him at breakneck speed.She literally threw herself into his arms, hugging him with burning fervor. The bounty hunters around them stared, dumbfounded."I never thought I'd see you again! Miss Reiju told me that if I ever crossed your path, I should serve you completely… body and soul." Her voice trembled with a mixture of respect, nostalgia, and emotion.
Sanji, stunned, looked at her without comprehension. His fingers trembled slightly around his cigarette."I'm not… with that family anymore," he said coldly, trying to pull away.But the young woman clung to him tighter, tears welling in her eyes."It's not for them… It's for you. You protected me from Niji and Yonji when I was a child. You taught me to love cooking, to believe in myself…" She looked up at him, sincere. "I want to stay with you."
Silence fell over the battlefield.Even the bounty hunters didn't dare to fire anymore.
One of them, gripped by suicidal madness, tried to shout:"White Tornado has betrayed us! Shoot h—"
Spouch.Usopp's shot rang out. A magical arrow lodged itself precisely between the man's eyes. His body collapsed limply.
Usopp calmly slung his rifle over his shoulder, still held hostage by Kaya clinging tightly to him."Shhh. I want to see what happens next," he said with a raised eyebrow, amused.
Nami, a bit further away, watched the scene with her mouth slightly open, torn between irritation and a hint of jealousy.Two couples, right in the middle of a battlefield, acting out a bloody romantic comedy.
She crossed her arms, sighed deeply, and muttered:"Seriously… this is supposed to be a real fight."
But despite herself, a small smile tugged at her lips.
The Merry wasn't just a crew — it was a family.And even in chaos, everyone found a reason to smile… or to love.
A silhouette appeared in her thoughts before she shook her head, blushing."Not yet," she whispered to herself.
(Author's note: That's it for this week! As for White Tornado — yes, it's on the island of Kotzia where Sanji was freed by his sister, and the island was attacked 13 years ago… so, surprise ^^)