Vane had officially sworn his loyalty towards Gojo, the man who'd set sail into the seas to conquer the seven Warlords, the Four Emperors as well as the World Government in order to become the next pirate king after Roger.
After his battle against Jack, a subordinate of Kaidō, he was utterly stunned that anyone in the first half of the Grand Line could achieve such a feat of defeating him without breaking a sweat.
He never knew he would be defeated despite possessing the will of armament and observation Haki's alongside his devil fruit he'd consumed way back in the past.
Vane was utterly lost in the abyss of his own elusive thoughts as he trailed behind his new captain to locate the members of the pirate crew in tranquil to navigate away from Gravitas Island that was brimming with tons of marine fleets encompassing the whole terrain.
I lost?
His thoughts engulfed him, his body emanating a slight dark aura that Gojo felt from his subordinate for an extent.
"Don't think too much about it, Vane. It's all good now, you can rest assured." Gojo's voice startled the man, snapping him away from the abyss of his own thoughts.
He staggered, catching a better glimpse of the territory that'd laid in ruins from the recent battle. The marines were covered in their own blood as they lay unconscious, the buildings were utterly annihilated by the relentless assault and concussive impact, while the grounds lay shrouded in a tangle of spiderwebs, their surfaces fissured and cracked.
"He'll be back any moment from now," Vane said, sprinting beside his captain.
"He? Who's that?" Gojo asked, his curiosity skyrocketing.
Vane flared up into laughter not realizing when he exhibited such an act. "The White Hunter."
Gojo snapped his fingers while sprinting towards the island's port to locate Jake and Ryuken. "The marine soldier who's a Logia user?"
"Yeah," Vane shot him a glare. "Did you encounter him?"
"Yeah. He's a terrifying opponent for me as of now. Did you believe I couldn't land a single strike at him?"
"That's because you haven't obtained the armament haki used to inflict damage to a Logia user."
"Yeah I figured that out. I tried to learn the basics way back when I was at Amazon Lily. The Kuja warriors gave me some illustrations and guidance in order to unlock and obtain it."
"Amazon Lily? How'd you get the Kuja warriors to befriend you? I know about its whereabouts and Hancock who's currently the snake empress as well as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Long story short. It wasn't easy for me and my crew to gain the trust of the Kuja warriors."
"That's so like you," Vane chuckled, "did you know I was surveying you since the moment you hopped onto the island?"
"... nah."
"I was actively employing observation haki from my castle at the upper yard while surveying you."
"That's creepy," Gojo murmured, "possessing both haki sounds crazy. So, did you encounter the White Hunter?"
"Yes. He was pretty strong but in the end I'm way stronger than him despite him being a Logia user."
"That's good to know. We've got to hurry," Gojo muttered in a low tone, "a pirate who's shrouded in weird tattoos dealt with him by swapping him elsewhere within the island."
"That's Law. He possesses a very strong devil fruit ability and he's a rookie who'd made a name for himself in the North Blue before navigating into the Grand Line. It'll be bad if Smoker closes the gap between us."
"Besides Law, I also caught a glimpse of other strong pirates in the vicinity. It was thrilling." Gojo smiled, "I'm intrigued and eager to clash with them along the way."
"Are you a battle maniac?" Vane sighed, realizing he hadn't seen any pirate as kind as Gojo. "You always fascinate me for real."
"...eh really?" Gojo chuckled, flustering over his subordinate's comment.
Boom! Boom!!
The advancing duo halted in their tracks, Vane employing his observation haki to scan the island while detecting Smoker's approach.
He gritted his teeth, "we've got to move fast, captain," he said, sweats streaming down his brows, "the marines had already engaged the pirates on the port while Smoker is approaching way faster than I'd anticipated."
"We don't have much time to laze around anymore. It'll get troublesome if he catches up to us."
"Aren't you worried about your crew? They might be in danger."
"Knowing them, they'll be okay."
The duo advance further while Smoker closes the lapse between him and the fleeing pirates.
Wandering for a couple of minutes to pinpoint the destination of their vessels stationed at a hidden spot at the port, Smoker's silhouette emerged from behind startling the advancing duo.
"White blow!!"
Smoker propelled his body forward, disconnecting his fist from his body, altering it into a fist of smoke that shot forward in a flash.
Vane leapt forward, the impact of his feet compelling the dust on the ground to hover in zephyr, employing armament haki on his leg, he remodeled and struck Smoker's fist with his leg cladded in haki.
"We don't have time to play his games anymore."
Gojo plunged forward grasping the collar of Vane's trench coat which startled him for a brief extent, reverting their silhouette instantaneously dematerialized from the vicinity and left Smoker to sink into the depths of his own thoughts as he watched the pirates figures fade away without any trace.
"Wha–"
The cigarette declined off Smoker's lip as he tried to comprehend what'd just occurred in the blink of an eye. Despite the information broadcast by the World Government, he had been informed that a certain pirate possessed a "mysterious" Devil Fruit, which, it was said, enabled him to demonstrate multiple, disparate powers simultaneously.
Smoker once doubted himself when the information about Gojo demonstrating numerous variety of powers in Impel Down were unleashed upon him like a deluge hurling itself against an unyielding wall.
If he hadn't eaten a devil fruit, he would've been convinced the rumours were true. But how about now? He was utterly stunned and dumbfounded. How is he able to demonstrate such a variety of powers? Is a devil fruit capable of accomplishing such a feat? But wait! Isn't it rumored to grant a user an instant death to those who digests more than a single fruit?
Smoker's brain goes bankrupt as he tries to analyze what's just transpired. "What kind of man is he?" He swallowed hard. "Is he an acquaintance of Satoru?"
Smoker went numb for a minute. "Don't tell me… Vane is part of his pirate crew?" He clutched his fist, unable to unravel the truth behind the event held in the island.
Was it all part of his plan?
His body flared up into clouds of smoke, skating through the heavens to locate Tashigi and the other marines.
…
Vane's eyes widened in disbelief. What had just transpired? He could not decipher the cacophony that had befallen him.
Did I just teleport?
Gojo tossed him away, extracting his grasp on his crewmate collar.
"... eh? Where am I?"
"Still at Gravitas Island. I guess I made the right choice to flee from the Hunter." Gojo winced.
"D-Don't tell me… you're the one who teleported the both of us here?" Vane couldn't explain, in a flash his silhouette faded away from Smoker into the depths of the forest of Gravitas Island.
"... ehh, I guess I'll have to paraphrase my ability to you later." He let out a sigh. "Up ahead is the island's shore. The marines are still visible so we'll have to be precise."
"Wait wait wait!" Vane scratched his temples, "you'll have to give an exceptional description once we yield the marines encompassing the vicinity."
"Yeah."
The duo surged forward as the bombardment of marine cannonballs thundered across the island, the relentless barrage unleashing its full fury upon the pirates who were attempting to sail away from the shore. Each explosive impact ripped through the air and earth, yet the two pressed onward without hesitation, engaging their fleeing adversaries amidst the chaos.
The pirates, struggling to navigate their vessel away from the island, found themselves caught between the cannonade's havoc and the duo's unyielding pursuit.
The cannonball shook the engrossed silence of Gravitas Island like an earthquake; the animals stationed in the forest fled for their lives, while a band of nameless pirates terrorized the townsfolk—stealing and murdering amidst the chaos.
The marines dispatched from marine Headquarters to Gravitas Island were utterly annihilated in an instant by the pirates, whereas Tashigi and her subordinates from the G-5 division were struggling significantly—and with great difficulty—to apprehend the very same adversaries.
Tashigi displayed a very charming swordsmanship with her graded sword forged by a master swordsmith. Blood streamed down her brows as she gasped for breath after the relentless assault while ensuring the safety of the people in order to grant Justice to them.
Amidst the relentless assault between the pirates and marines, few of the pirates were able to set sail into the seas while Gojo and Vane reunited with their crews who were seen clashing against some marines officers.
"We're back, guys." Gojo waved, a wide smile visible on his lips.
Ryuken ducked, evading the marine officer who swung his sword horizontally to cleave the him in half. Shifting his eyes to catch a glimpse of his captain, he kicked the marine officer to skate backwards before spilling blood from the latter by slashing him with his one sword-style.
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