"Set sail!"
With Roger's booming command, the massive anchor was hauled up and the brand-new sails unfurled with a resounding whoosh in the sea breeze.
The Oro Jackson, a golden vessel forged from dreams and craftsmanship, slid silently from the docks under the watchful eyes of all of Water 7.
It glided forward with effortless grace, its hull cutting through the surface so smoothly that not a splash of resistance could be heard only the gentle murmur of water, as if the sea itself were tenderly kissing its sides.
General's rule: a ship must sail!
"This ship… it's really dancing with the sea…" Blumarine ran his hands along the railing, feeling the subtle, living rhythm within the wood, his eyes filled with reverence.
"Tom!" Roger stood proudly at the bow, waving both arms toward the massive figure still on shore. "Thank you! This is the greatest ship in the world!"
Tom the shipwright stood on the dock, his colossal frame towering like a mountain. He didn't wave back. Instead, his wide grin stretched from ear to ear, and with all the power in his lungs he bellowed a parting call that shook the harbor.
"Go! Go and turn this world upside down! DON!"
The voice rolled like cannonfire, echoing over the port long after the ship had departed.
The Oro Jackson picked up speed. The majestic outline of Water 7 shrank on the horizon, reduced to a speck upon the waves. On deck, the crew leaned against the rails, unable to contain their excitement.
"It feels completely different!" Nozdon dashed across the spacious deck, shouting at the top of his lungs. "It's huge!"
"This is what a pirate ship is meant to be." Isaac leaned against the mainmast, hand resting on his sword. Even his normally stern face carried the trace of a smile as he surveyed the open horizon.
Kael approached the specially mounted main cannon, seamlessly merged with the ship's figurehead. He laid his hand on the cold metal, feeling the vessel's power thrumming through every plank.
"What's on your mind, Kael?" Rayleigh came over with a cup of wine in hand.
"I'm wondering… what kind of sound its first laugh will make." Kael grinned.
Rayleigh chuckled, raising his glass toward the horizon. "I imagine we'll find out soon."
As if answering his words, the lookout, Miller Pine, suddenly rang the alarm bell with urgent force.
"Enemy attack! Straight ahead an entire fleet of Marines!"
The cheerful atmosphere on deck froze in an instant. Everyone rushed to the bow. Out on the horizon, a swarm of black dots lined the sea.
As they drew closer, the ominous sight of yawning cannon muzzles, seagull flags snapping in the wind, and the sheer bulk of the warships closing in hit like a suffocating wall of dread.
At least twenty warships, fanned into a massive crescent formation, sealing off every path forward.
"No way…" Punklow sucked in a sharp breath. "Did they move an entire branch here?"
"No." Major Muguren bit down on his cigar, his expression heavier than ever. "Look at the flagship. That model… only Marine Headquarters equips those."
Kael's pupils narrowed. Sending out a fine pulse of electromagnetic waves, he scanned the flagship's deck. His mind's eye picked up the figures there: a man laughing while digging his nose; a stern-faced man with round glasses radiating authority; a tall, composed woman with quiet grace; and a towering figure with purple hair and a hulking build.
"This is trouble," Kael muttered.
"What is it?" Roger turned, not with fear but blazing anticipation.
"Garp is here." Kael paused. "And Sengoku… Tsuru… Zephyr too."
The Marine's rising generation of monsters had come out in force just to crush this single pirate ship.
Yet the next sound that shook the deck was not despair, but Roger's roaring laughter.
"Kuha ha ha ha ha!" He planted a foot on the rail, sword flashing as he leveled it toward the encroaching fleet. His eyes burned hotter than the sun. "Splendid! The perfect welcome for the Oro Jackson's maiden voyage! My lads!"
"Yeahhh!"
Roger's fire lit theirs. The crew's fighting spirit blazed like an inferno.
"Finally, a real challenge!" Isaac's body trembled with excitement.
"Let's show them what we've got!" Nozdon bellowed.
Roger lifted his sword high. "Kael! Let our new partner laugh at them for the first time!"
"Gladly!" Kael grinned, placing both hands on the main cannon.
Waves of compressed shockforce surged into the barrel. The twin maiden figureheads at the prow seemed to awaken, their golden eyes flashing.
BOOM!
No cannonball fired only a blast of condensed white shockwave tore forth faster than sound itself. The sky ripped apart in rings of sonic clouds.
On the flagship, Garp laughed and stepped forward, his fist hardened in Armament Haki.
"Fist Bone: Impact!"
The collision of forces ripped the air and sea alike. A thunderclap boomed as the ocean caved into a vast pit, tidal waves crashing against the nearby warships.
"All ships, fire!" Sengoku's calm command cut through the chaos.
A hundred cannons roared at once, steel shells blotting out the sky as they rained upon the Oro Jackson.
"Light Mirage!"
Kael pressed his palms together. Light warped around the ship, casting three identical phantoms across the waves. Most of the cannonfire exploded harmlessly, but several shells still locked onto the true hull.
"I'll handle this!" Jabba roared, swinging his massive axes into a whirlwind that battered the shells away.
"Break their line!" Rayleigh's eyes flashed. "Isaac, take the left wing!"
"On it!"
They leapt from the ship, sprinting across the spray left by the cannon fire. Rayleigh's blade streaked like lightning, Marines dropping in droves. Isaac struck with ruthless precision, his sword cutting rudders and masts to cripple enemy vessels.
"Energetic bastards, aren't they?" On the flagship, Zephyr flexed his blackened arm. "Sengoku, I'll take that Rayleigh."
"Careful. His sword is fast," Sengoku cautioned.
"Good grief. What a headache," Tsuru murmured, watching the Oro Jackson weave through the barrage. "We can't let them push closer."
The warships shifted subtly, tightening the net into an impenetrable wall of fire.
"They're closing the trap!" Spencer shouted.
"Then we'll tear it apart first!" Roger laughed, unleashing his Conqueror's Haki in full force.
The invisible wave smashed across the battlefield. Weaker Marines collapsed foaming at the mouth as the Oro Jackson surged forward, cutting into the encirclement.
"Tide Roar!" Kael slammed his palm to the waves. Twin tsunamis rose and crashed down upon the warships, opening a path.
Battle descended into close quarters. Miller Pine's hammer smashed holes in decks. Nozdon plowed through Marines like a raging beast.
But numbers told their own story.
Rayleigh clashed with Zephyr, the force of their duel shaking a warship apart. Roger locked horns once again with his lifelong rival, his best friend, his equal Garp.
"Roger!" Garp's fist sent him flying onto another deck.
"Not enough, Garp!" Roger only laughed harder, charging again.
Kael fought through the melee, his naginata flashing. Yet no matter how hard they struck, they couldn't break free. Sengoku's commands were flawless. Tsuru's tactics were merciless. The Marine net tightened with every moment.
"Roger! We have to retreat!" Kael shouted.
Roger forced Garp back with a swing, glanced at the battle, and grinned. "My lads! We've had our fun time to go!"
"You think you can just leave?" Garp roared, charging after him.
"Kael!" Roger's voice rang out.
Kael planted his feet on the deck, lifting his naginata high. Waves of energy rippled outward. The sea boiled, the winds howled.
"What is that?" Sengoku's eyes widened, a chill racing down his spine.
"Vortex Azure Dragon Spiral!"
Kael slammed his blade into the deck. Waves and sound intertwined into a furious storm. Sea and sky merged into a towering waterspout, swallowing the Oro Jackson whole.
"Impossible!" A Marine's scream was drowned in the roar.
The massive tornado lifted the ship high into the sky.
"No! Don't chase!" Zephyr grabbed Garp. "It'll shred you apart!"
The storm carried the Oro Jackson up and over the Marine blockade, hurling it away at incredible speed.
On deck, the crew clung to anything they could, the ship tilting and soaring within the vortex.
"Woooah! Sugoi! We're flying!" Nozdon pressed his face against the planks, hollering in joy.
When the waterspout finally dispersed, the Oro Jackson splashed back onto the sea miles away, leaving the Marine fleet far behind.
The deck was a wreck. The crew battered and bruised. But laughter rang louder than the waves.
"Kuha ha ha ha! Exhilarating! That was beyond exhilarating!" Roger wiped seawater from his face, tears of laughter streaming down.
They had tested their new ship against the fiercest of foes and glimpsed the might of the Marines.
Kael collapsed to the deck, panting hard, his naginata at his side.
Rayleigh handed him a water jug, clapping his shoulder. His eyes spoke the words Kael's tired body couldn't hear.
Roger planted a foot on the railing, gaze fixed on the distant fleet.
"See this, World Government! This is our ship! Our comrade!"
The sea breeze tugged at his straw hat, billowing the sails of the Oro Jackson as it bore these outlaws of freedom toward the farthest depths of the Grand Line.
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