Moonlight stretched across the docks of Elbaf, pale and fractured, as if the land itself sensed what was coming.
Then the wind changed.
Five figures stepped out of the darkness.
White capes snapped sharply behind them, cloth cutting through the night like the wings of predatory birds. Their masks reflected no emotion—only purpose. No insignias. No hesitation.
They were not visitors.
They were executioners.
Gray stepped forward, placing himself between them and the unconscious body behind him.
Blue arcs of Electro crawled across his fur, snapping between his claws, lighting his silhouette in sharp flashes. His stance lowered, balanced and lethal, every instinct screaming.
"As long as I'm standing," he said quietly, voice steady despite the pressure in the air,
"you aren't getting anywhere near our Captain."
Silence answered him.
The masked figures didn't move.
Gray narrowed his eyes and began to read them—not as men, but as threats.
At the center stood the Leader. Too tall. Too thin. His arms hung unnaturally long, joints bending just a fraction too far. The hooked-beak mask stared back without blinking.
To his left stood the Vanguard, broad-shouldered, iron mask seamless and mouthless, body angled like a shield meant to break armies.
Something flickered at the edge of Gray's vision.
The Ghost.
A hunched shape that didn't fully exist in one place, its movements skipping like a corrupted image.
Above them, perched among the beams of the dock house, the Weaver watched silently. Six hollow eyes carved into porcelain. Fingers twitched, unseen threads humming with intent.
And furthest back—
The Shooter.
Calm. Still. Already loading a long black blowgun with slow, deliberate precision.
Gray didn't look away when he spoke again.
"Spruce," he said evenly,
"take Ripple. Get the Captain out of here."
Spruce stiffened.
"But Gray—resu—"
"Now."
The word cracked like thunder.
"GO."
Spruce swallowed hard, hands trembling as he grabbed Ash's collar.
"I'll slow them down too—resu—!"
Gray was already gone.
Lightning tore across the dock.
"Electro: Raimei Dash!"
Stone exploded as Gray reappeared inside the white-clad formation, claws slamming into the Leader's crossed forearms. The impact cracked the dock itself, shockwaves ripping outward.
That was the signal.
"Move!" Hajrudin roared.
The New Giant Warrior Pirates surged forward. Stansen's hammer swept the air, the sheer pressure forcing the Vanguard and the Ghost apart as stone and splinters flew.
"Elbaf does not yield its guests!" Hajrudin bellowed.
"Not to assassins!"
The battle ignited.
It didn't stay contained.
Like wildfire, it tore its way from the docks into the winding mountain paths above.
Spruce ran.
Not away—but through.
His breath came sharp and fast as massive footsteps thundered around him.
"Get back—resu!" he yelled, silver flowing over his arms.
"Mercury Pillar—resu!"
The ground ruptured.
Dense silver spikes erupted upward, launching the Ghost skyward as if gravity itself rejected it.
From the bay below, the sea roared.
A compressed jet of water exploded upward, slamming into the cliffside.
MROWWW!
Ripple churned the ocean like a living engine, tail spinning violently as Water Bullets ripped through the air, severing invisible wires mid-flight.
Spruce spun his Mercury Hammer instinctively.
"Nice shot, Ripple—resu!"
High above, the fight had turned savage.
Gray was bleeding.
A blade of compressed air tore across his ribs before he could fully evade. Blood sprayed against the stone. Another strike carved into his shoulder, deep and punishing.
Electro sputtered—but did not die.
"You're slowing," the Leader said calmly, stepping closer.
"Injured. Distracted."
Gray wiped blood from his muzzle, eyes burning.
"I've been worse."
He leapt.
"Electro: Heaven's Wrath."
Gray hurled himself toward the storm clouds overhead. For a single heartbeat, the world held still—
Then thunder answered.
A massive bolt of natural lightning crashed down, engulfing Gray before detonating outward in a blinding dome of blue destruction. The mountainside groaned. Stone fractured.
For a moment—
Hope.
Then—
THUT.
The sound was small. Precise.
Spruce's body jerked violently as a black-coated needle punched through his shoulder, pinning him to a tree.
Sea-Prism.
His mercury collapsed instantly, draining away like lifeless water.
"G—Gray—resu!" he gasped.
The Leader didn't hesitate.
"You looked away," he whispered.
His leg blurred.
"Rankyaku: Sever."
The blade tore through Gray's side first—flesh, bone, blood—then continued onward, cleaving the cliff beneath him.
Gray screamed.
Not in fear.
In rage.
The ground gave way.
Below him stretched the Underworld—an endless vertical abyss of snow, wind, and darkness.
Gray twisted mid-fall, body breaking, blood trailing behind him.
He locked his gaze toward the distant shore.
"CAPTAIN—SORRY!"
The howl echoed across Elbaf.
Then he was gone.
"GRAYY!" Spruce screamed.
The bay erupted again.
The Shooter adjusted his aim.
Explosive shells and Rankyaku blades rained down onto the sea.
Ripple didn't retreat.
He turned, placing himself between the fire and the fleeing ship.
MROWWW—!
The cry cut short.
Red spread thickly across the water as Ripple's silhouette vanished beneath the waves.
Hajrudin stood frozen.
"…No," he whispered.
The CP0 agents regrouped, masks turning toward Gerd—and Ash.
The Leader raised his hand.
Then—
The sun rose.
And the world froze.
A crushing pressure descended.
Conqueror's Haki.
At the ridge sat a man with twin axes and circular glasses.
Scopper Gaban.
He looked down at the blood, the abyss, the broken body in Gerd's arms.
"…That face."
His breath shook.
"Roger…?"
The CP0 fled.
Gaban knelt beside Ash and brushed his hair aside.
"I thought the world was done with this face."he murmured softly.