The Compass Pirates arrived at Clockwind Island under a sky smeared with smoke and soot.
The island itself wasn't natural — a massive gear-shaped metal platform drifting on the sea, kept afloat by buoyant chambers and powered by a never-sleeping system of pistons and turning wheels. Buildings jutted out of the gears like teeth, steam pipes hissing with every rotation. Time here was law. Bells rang every hour, and with each chime, people moved in precise, mechanical routines.
Late? Punished.
Slow? Fined.
Out of sync? Exiled.
And at the heart of it all was the island's warden: Kurogane the Iron.
---
Iron Order
Before the Compass Pirates even set foot on the central platform, a platoon of armored enforcers blocked the docks. Their armor glinted black and silver, stylized like gears, eyes hidden behind metal visors.
A voice boomed through speakers mounted atop the docks:
"Unauthorized entry detected. Identify yourselves."
Kairos stepped forward, cloak fluttering.
"Kairos. Captain of the Compass Pirates. We're here to speak with someone."
A pause.
Then: "No entry without work tokens or approval from Lord Kurogane. Turn back or face forcible rejection."
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Nice island. Real friendly."
Kairos cracked his knuckles. "We've got a schedule of our own."
---
Entering the City of Time
The crew fought their way past the dock guard with quick strikes and clever swaps. Kairos used his Devil Fruit sparingly: swapping stamina with enemies to drain their will, swapping sound to confuse patrols, and once, even trading gravity with a cannonball mid-flight to send it spiraling backward.
Inside the city, every street ticked like a clock. Bell towers towered over walkways, marking each minute with shrill chimes. Civilians moved like synchronized cogs, staring at the pirates like they were smudges on polished glass.
And in the center of it all, high above the city, sat Kurogane's Citadel — an enormous tower crowned with a spinning gear halo.
Zoroko was said to live somewhere below it.
But first, they'd have to deal with the iron tyrant himself.
---
The Warden Appears
As they reached the central lift to ascend the citadel, the gears froze.
The whole island shuddered.
Then, from a catwalk above, a heavy voice echoed:
"So you're the one who's been disrupting my island."
A man dropped down from above — not leapt, dropped — with the weight of a falling forge.
He stood over seven feet tall, draped in a mechanical exosuit with steam-powered limbs, a spinning drill arm on one side, and a molten-glow furnace mounted on his back.
His jaw was metal. His eyes burned red beneath a visor.
Kurogane the Iron.
---
Duel Initiated
Kairos stepped forward.
"I'm not here to break your island. I just need to speak with someone you've trapped here. A swordswoman."
Kurogane tilted his head. "Zoroko? The 'Clockbreaker'? She refused the schedule. She refused order. She refused me. Now she serves beneath the gears. Her will is being... corrected."
Kairos clenched his fists.
"She doesn't belong to you."
"Then take her," Kurogane growled. "If you can still stand after I break every bone in your body."
---
Kairos vs. Kurogane
Kurogane attacked like a siege engine — no finesse, just overwhelming force.
His drill arm came first, boring toward Kairos at terrifying speed. Kairos dodged and tagged the spinning drill.
Swap: Rotation → Static.
The drill arm locked mid-spin and snapped backward, sending Kurogane stumbling.
Kairos rushed in.
Swap: Weight.
Kurogane's feet lifted an inch off the ground. Just enough to ruin his balance.
Kairos landed a punch—only to stagger in pain.
The impact hurt him just as much.
He grinned anyway.
"You hit like a fortress," Kairos said, "but I don't need to knock down the walls…"
He reached out again.
"…I just swap the foundation."
Swap: Strength.
He touched Kurogane's chestplate — then blasted him with a palm strike that hurled the iron warden through a tower wall.
But Kurogane rose, steam bursting from his furnace.
"Fascinating. A child with god's mischief in his hands."
He slammed his fists together.
"I'll crush that arrogance."
---
Trick After Trick
Kurogane activated Overheat Mode — turning his armor red-hot, too dangerous to touch.
Kairos adjusted. He didn't have to swap with Kurogane directly anymore.
He grabbed the floor beneath him and swapped temperature with the ground below Kurogane's feet.
In a split-second, the floor beneath the Iron Lord melted.
Kurogane sank.
Kairos vaulted over him and landed a swap directly to the furnace — stealing a burst of steam pressure to launch himself high into the air.
From above, he descended with one final swap:
Swap: Impact.
He struck like a comet — the blow he delivered transferring its force from his own body into Kurogane's entire frame.
A shockwave rang through the city.
Kurogane's armor cracked.
And the tyrant fell.
---
The Bell Tolls Free
As the Citadel's gears jammed and stopped turning, the bells above rang not on schedule — but wildly, chaotically, beautifully out of sync.
Citizens paused. Watched. Whispered.
And from beneath the city, in the gearworks below, someone stepped into the light.
A woman in black training robes.
Carrying three swords.
Eyes sharp. Arms scarred.
Zoroko.
She stared at Kairos.
"You the one who shook the tower?"
Kairos, breathless, grinned. "Depends. You looking for freedom?"
Zoroko tilted her head. "I'm looking for a reason to draw my blades again."
He extended a hand.
"Then join us. Be one of the points on the Compass."
She looked at the fallen Iron Lord, then at the rising sun.
And she smiled.
"Alright, Captain. Let's mess up the world's idea of order."