Chapter One
It was two years ago that the World Noble, Saint Charloss, ordered me to kill the Straw Hat Pirates. He had never given up on that, still holding a big grudge to this day and I was never given a different assignment, nor did anyone volunteer to help or take my place.
The Straw Hat Pirates had mysteriously disappeared at Sabaody two years ago without a trace, yet their ship still remained here. Then the Battle of Marineford took place over Portgas D. Ace's execution. It was a bloody war, with the deaths of Fire Fist Ace and Whitebeard himself as well as the near-death state of Monkey D. Luffy. During the War, it was too hard to get near the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, let alone kill him, for everyone was defending him so I didn't bother, instead focussing on the Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates. Later I was reprimanded for that, however I had my reasons; and now it couldn't be too difficult to kill him in his depressed state and that wound from Akainu. But I could never find him, or the rest of his crew.
The popular opinion was that he was dead, a forgotten legend that caused chaos while he lived. I wasn't sure I believed that, though it would have made my job a lot easier.
Aokiji and Vice Admiral Garp also left the Marines. I always wondered if Aokiji only left because he lost to Akainu and if Garp had left due to the death of his supposed adoptive grandson. Either way, it was a huge loss for the Marines. In a way, I even missed their easy-going (well, as easy-going as it got) attitudes to the Marines. But my curiosity was stronger than anything else.
I got dressed in the spacious room I lived in, much simpler compared to the other rooms in Mariejois but just as nice. It was large but simple with basic furniture and features as well as an extensive, custom-made wardrobe as even the assassins of Nobles had to look presentable.
My outfits were always very basic though; a maroon wrap-around shirt, white T-shirt, black jacket with a high collar and dark jeans and boots. My straight hair was always down and just long enough so it covered the permanent mark between my shoulder blades. I was also always required to wear a black cloak with a hood and whilst outside to conceal my identity from everyone else.
A loud knock almost made me jump as I closed my wardrobe doors, followed by a series of frantic knocking.
"Excalibur!" yelled a voice, male and panicked.
I quickly threw on my cloak, making sure the hood shadowed my eyes and opened the door, "What is it?"
The man breathed heavily. He probably ran a long way to my room so I gave him a minute before repeating my question.
"T-The Straw Hats!" he finally gasped.
My eyes widened in shock, "What?"
"The Straw Hat Pirates are here – on Sabaody!" he said, "They're stronger! They have allies!"
"Allies? Who?" I said, grasping the man's shoulders. The Whitebeard Pirates? Would they really come all this way just to back up Straw Hat Luffy?
I remembered the way they'd protected him at Marineford, like he was their family. Yes, yes they would.
"We don't know," said the man, "There are huge beasts, Okamas—"
"Okamas?" I said.
"And – and Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh!"
At that name, I ran back in my room and took my sword, running until I was out of Mariejois and running through the panicked crowds of Sabaody. All around me, I kept hearing the same name.
Straw Hat Pirates… Then they had to be genuine. No other group could cause this much chaos on an island.
An explosion suddenly erupted, in a grove to my right.
It had to be. I ran there, bursting into a clearing.
My foot caught on something. I looked down at a clean-cut line straight through the earth and several centimetres deep and stepped over to one side. I looked up at the scene.
About fifty marines all gathered on one side of the line, completely armed but frozen still.
What the hell are they doing? I thought in frustration. But then I realised who was standing on the other side of the line and charging at me right now, sword raised.
I blocked just in time, the force knocking me back a few steps.
Rayleigh didn't hesitate, thrusting his sword at my mid-section. I deflected it and went for the quickest kill, his heart but he blocked it.
For several seconds, we were locked there, neither giving way. Though unlike me, Rayleigh looked completely at ease.
"I thought you'd have left the Marines by now," he said lowly, so no one else could hear, "What's the nickname they gave you? 'Excalibur'?"
"I thought you'd have stayed retired, old man," I retorted, "Or 'Dark King' Rayleigh."
"Not with this much excitement on the island," he replied, ignoring his epithet; suddenly dragging his sword off mine, making a drilling screech and used his hilt to knock the sword out of my hand. It flew straight up, spinning.
Shit.
I watched as his sword curved, ready to slice me in two.
I raised an arm, watching it discolour and felt the sharp edge of the metal against it.
Even Rayleigh made a surprised sound at that, "Haki?"
I smiled and deflected his sword, getting pushed back as a result. My Haki wore off, leaving only a slight bruise. I frowned. I still had to work on that.
Suddenly, someone in a Marine coat pushed past me.
"Oi!" I yelled at whoever it was.
"Quit screwing around!" yelled back the man.
I hesitated, suddenly recognising him; Sentomaru, an assistant of Vegapunk. He wielded an axe and had been approved as a full-fledged marine officer over the two years, I remembered.
My sword was falling from the sky above me. I caught it and Sentomaru barked at me, "Stop engaging in pointless battles, Excalibur! Remember your mission!"
Capture and kill the Straw Hat Pirates. That was what I was supposed to be doing.
"Hurry up before they leave!" Sentomaru shouted.
I was reluctant to leave Sentomaru to Rayleigh by himself but I shook myself. The Straw Hats could become an even bigger threat than Rayleigh if I left them now. I nodded and ran.
Up until now, I hadn't even considered how troublesome it was to sneak onto a coated ship. Especially with a sword, while it was submerging.
But right now, it was one chance or none. I dived off the land into the ocean, relying on my Haki to sense any cannonballs flying toward me. But luckily, Boa Hancock, all of people, was helping me as well as the Straw Hats, stopping all the cannonballs with her power. I swam quickly, knowing that I had to get onto the ship before it fully submerged or they would see me clearly from their deck.
I wasn't ready to face him yet. With that thought, I swam quicker and reached the back railing in under a minute. Hoping for the best, I pushed my hand into the bubble and secured the dry railing. I waited. The bubble rippled but didn't break. I eased my sword in silently and climbed in as quietly as I could. As soon as I was in, I didn't take any chances and moved into the first room I saw. It was a storage room, I guessed with plenty of food neatly organised, rope, boxes, barrels and jars of some plants I didn't recognise. I squeezed myself between two large barrels so I wouldn't be seen right away if someone came in and contemplated my options.
The easiest strategy would be to cut the bubble. Four members out of nine couldn't swim and it would be easy to kill them in water. Then again, that left five able fighters up against one of me. One member of the five could guard a Devil Fruit eater each and one could fight me.
I could end up fighting him. An image of him as a child flashed across my mind and I immediately pushed that aside as soon as it came.
Freaking hell Kuina, you can't nitpick, I scolded myself. This was the best solution. The quicker the better. I stood up and checked outside for any people but they all seemed to be at the deck.
I opened the door and walked out, unsheathing my sword.
A huge collision rocked the ship.
I swore in my head, grabbing the door handle of the storage door to keep from falling.
"What now?" I muttered, sheathing my sword for now. I couldn't risk dropping it and making a sound. Quietly, I crept around to the edge of the wall and peeked around. I couldn't see who had intruded onto the ship and if he was innocent, I couldn't risk putting them in danger if I cut the bubble now.
Wait.
In my training, waiting was a double-edged sword. It was both a blessing and a curse.
Use your best judgement.
I unsheathed my sword. If there was some innocent guy, I would just have to save him or live with the fact that I killed him. If it was an ally of the Straw Hats or, better yet, a Devil Fruit eater pirate, then all the better.
Suddenly a Sea King swam past, pulling a huge pirate ship, easily twice the size of the Straw Hats' ship. I flinched and hesitated, unable to slice, knowing an innocent, scared Sea King would get hit.
After it left, I realised the seriousness of my mistake and swore in my head.
It was a pirate ship, Kuina! Thousands of Sea Kings were killed every day for food alone; all you were doing was bringing down a pirate crew with it!
With a frustrated sigh, I raised my sword again but was interrupted again by an ear-splitting crack and a colossal shadow enveloped me. I looked up in alarm at the orange tentacle shooting up and moving erratically as if it had a mind of its own. I searched the ocean for the source of the crack sound. All that remained were splinters of wood, the retreating back of the Sea King and a group of floating bodies.
"They look like a school of jellyfish," I heard someone remark from the deck.
Despite my best intentions, I couldn't help a twitch of a smile.
But this was a problem. I had heard legends of a Kraken in the ocean, a mythical creature that no one had survived to tell the tale.
Just one fucking thing after another, I cursed, but I couldn't risk leaving now and killing the Kraken in case I couldn't get back in in time. I just hoped the Straw Hats dealt with it.
From the sounds of it, they sent three people out, one definitely being the captain from his voice. I guessed they used some coating around themselves to protect them from the ocean, considering the captain was a Devil Fruit eater.
I'll have to wait for them to come back. There was no point in popping the bubble now, killing the remaining members on the deck and then fighting three others in the ocean, with limited oxygen. When they returned from killing the Kraken, I could pop the coating, steal the bubble suits and complete my mission. It seemed fairly straight-forward.
But fighting a Kraken was no easy task. The ship rocked so much, I had to retreat back into the storage room and keep about twenty small glass jars from breaking around me. I propped my sword against them to keep them from moving.
Suddenly the ship almost spun in a full circle, causing all the jars to fall off the shelf at once. I grabbed my sword and balanced each of them along its length whilst my other hand grabbed a box to keep balance. The ship righted itself only to make a sharp right which threw me against the wall and smashed the jars, the contents spilling like rain around my feet. The ship flew left, then upside-down and right as if someone was gripping the ship and shaking it violently. Shakily standing up, leaning against the door, I sneaked a look outside. All I could see was a deep navy blue and occasional grey rocks, spinning around outside the coating.
They're caught in a sea current, I thought as the ship spun again, lifting boxes off the ground. I inhaled a short breath of a gasp when my head hit against the wooden shelf, the only thing perfectly still in this hell. I was aware of landing among the broken pieces of glass but the little scratches I received were nothing compared to the throbbing headache I had.
I blacked out.
When I woke, I realised I slept for a hell of a long time, hours, maybe even longer. My head still throbbed and I dropped little circles of blood from my arm when I moved it. The ground was a bit damp for some reason and my clothes and hair were soaked. When I coughed, some salty seawater found its way to my throat. Had I almost drowned while I was unconscious? My head throbbed again; it probably had a wicked bruise.
But my thinking was still fairly functional.
The ship should have been the deep ocean, dark and mingling with dangerous sea creatures. The ship should still be coated and dry. Where was the ocean anyway? I squinted my eyes against the light that filtered through the storage window and stood shakily, my hand still gripping my sword. I made my way to the door and pushed it open, standing in the warm natural sunlight that filtered through the trees.
Trees, in the ocean.
Around the ship were many remains and wrecks, contrasting with the green grass and soft light.
Where am I? I tried to make sense of what happened with no luck. My mind was too foggy.
A figure approached me from the railing, slightly startled at the door opening so suddenly, "Well now, who are you?" he asked. His tone was light and friendly. The light shone against his back, causing his front to be dark with shadows. I couldn't make out his face.
I kept my hand on my sword and asked in a quiet, shaky voice; my voice threatening to break, "Where am I?"
The light changed, softly illuminating the left side of his face and I flinched, a surprised sound escaping my throat. But my eyes flicked down. He had a tail.
My head tightened even more on the hilt of the sword. If I was really on this island, the fact that I was a human alone, an armed human, meant a target on my back.
The guy's eyes noticed my death grip on my sword but didn't bat an eye, keeping his same tone as he spoke.
"Fishman Island."
So! Just a note… If you've watched/read about this arc already, you'd know about what happened in the island's history involving World Nobles and Fishmen. So the next chapter is pretty significant.
After that, the story will split off into its own storyline so no Punk Hazard or anything.
Read and Review~~