No Hope Now!


South Blue: Naikawa Island


It was evening, the sun had long set and now the full moon hung over the sky alongside thousands of stars. Lieutenant Commander Tides and the three recruits under his care, Corona, Harper, and Lucy stationed themselves in front of the warehouse where a cargo ship would soon be making its delivery for the day. This part of the mission was crucial for this was going to be their only chance at capturing the Savior since no one on the island would give up any important detail regarding his identity.

The four marines were not alone though. In case something was to go wrong, Mr. Oswald had suggested for the police force to work alongside the marines to ensure of the Savior's capture. Though there was a short dispute in who would be in charge of the little coalition, Tides wound up being the leader since he had far more experience with catching criminals than the Captain of the police force. Knowing that having a large group of officers in one place would be a bad idea, the Lieutenant Commander ordered the majority of the police force to lie in wait until the Savior arrived. If the Savior didn't show up because there were too many officers around, then the objective of his 'personal mission' would end up in failure.

Now that everything was in place for the upcoming confrontation with the Savior. All Tides and the others had to do now was sit back and wait patiently for the cargo ship and the Savior to arrive. It was currently eleven. The cargo ship would be arriving near the island in around ten to twenty minutes give or take the speed of the wind. Having nothing else better to do, the marines chatted amongst themselves and compared notes to what they could make of this mission so far.

"So you two couldn't find any useful information regarding the Savior?" Harper rolled her eyes in disappointment at the two marine recruits. "Perhaps I should have investigated the town more while you two investigated the docks."

Corona obviously wasn't taking too kindly to Harper's snooty remark. "Oh, so you found useful information regarding the Savior?" A small smirk etched onto the young marine's face once she saw Harper turn her head away from her in defeat.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you got useful information." Tides informed his recruits. "After we manage to get our hands on him, we'll get all the information on him that we need."

"Are you sure that we're going to need these though?" Corona indicated to the cutlass sword in her hand. She had only been a marine for a few days now and didn't have much experience in combat other than the one hour combat training the other day. She honestly didn't feel too comfortable holding a real weapon in her hands in such a short amount of time without having proper training.

"The Captain of the police force mentioned that the Savior is an expert martial artist. Having a weapon on you will be the best course of action to defend yourself." Tides assumed.

"Unless he knows karate." Corona muttered under her breath.

"Quit your complaining and prepare yourself." Harper ordered. "We have been given strict orders from Mister Oswald to protect the cargo ship. Regardless if the people consider the Savior a hero or not, we will capture him tonight if he's foolish enough to show himself."

"Lucy? Are you sure that you don't need a sword or a gun?" Corona completely ignored Harper and noticed the chain flail within Lucy's hands.

"I'm fine. I'm more accustomed with this type of weapon." Lucy smiled.

"Here comes the cargo ship." Tides announced as he pointed out to the sea where the cargo ship was slowly approaching the island. Once the ship had reached the island and safely docked, the marines made their way onto the ship and helped move the cargo into the warehouse without any problems.

"Was that the last piece of the cargo?" Harper asked as she watched Corona and Lucy struggle to carry in one large box into the warehouse.

"We think so...hey! How come you aren't helping us?" Corona frowned.

"I'm keeping a vigilant watch on the cargo." Harper replied while checking her nails. "I'll leave the heavy lifting to you since you have those gorilla fingers."

"Gorilla fingers?" Corona prepared to lunge at Harper and wrap her so called 'gorilla fingers' around Harper's tiny little neck until Tides got in between the two to prevent any unnecessary conflict.

"Enough you two; start opening the cargo and see what we're protecting." Tides ordered. Corona and Harper postponed their little cat fight and complied with their superior officer's orders. All of the marines opened the boxes around them and found nothing out of the ordinary. Some of the cargo contained food, books, medicine, and antiques. Everything seemed to be clean until Corona opened up one box that contained a treasure box with a jolly roger on it. Upon finding the mysterious treasure box, she called over her comrades to come and take a look for themselves.

"A treasure box? What's inside?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know, perhaps treasure?" Harper replied sarcastically to which Lucy responded by sticking her tongue out at her.

Corona stared at the treasure box for a moment before she held it up to her ear and shook it around; trying to get a good listen in on what could be inside the treasure box.

"Whoa! Whoa! Stop!" Tides snatched the treasure box away from the female recruit. "Don't just shake a treasure box like that. What if there was a bomb in there?"

"Oops! Sorry!" Corona repeatedly bowed her head to her superior officer once she had realized her mistake. "But it didn't sound like a bomb in there at all."

"What's Mister Oswald doing with a treasure box anyway?" Lucy asked.

"I remember him mentioning that he collects valuable treasure. This must be one of them." Harper replied.

"Let's open it up and see what it is and..." Tides stopped in mid-sentence and focused his attention on the Jolly Roger. The Jolly Roger was a picture of a heart with two daggers stabbed through it. "I've seen this Jolly Roger somewhere before."

"Really? Where?" Corona asked.

"Can't remember at the moment. But I don't like how Mister Oswald is carrying cargo with jolly Rogers on them." Tides frowned.

"We should definitely confront him about this." Harper stated.

"But before that. Let's open up the treasure box and see what's inside." Lucy reached for the box in an attempt to open it. When her hand had gotten too close to it, a volley of shurikens rained down from the ceiling and lodged themselves into the box. All of the marines looked up to the second floor to see the Savior standing there with several more shurikens in his hands.

"So you finally decided to reveal yourself?" Tides eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly on the vigilante dressed in a black cat suit. "I assume that you're the proclaimed Savior?"

"Indeed I am." The Savior said with a deep masculine tone of voice. "You must be the marines that the people of the island were talking about. Have you come to capture me?"

"That depends. Are you truly a hero?" Tides asked.

"I am. I have had it with the crime on this island. I lost someone very dear to me because of it." Savior informed him.

"I'm sorry to hear that. How about you come down here so that we can discuss this down at the police station?" Tides smiled.

"No thanks. I cannot allow myself to be captures by the enemy." Savior shook his head.

"The enemy?" Corona stepped forward. "The marines and the police aren't the enemy. We're here to help."

"That may be the case at first. But then when someone comes along with a large wad of cash, you lose all of your morals and beliefs just so that you can spend a week at an island resort." Savior growled. "If your words are true, then hand over that treasure box. You all have no idea what you're doing by protecting that box."

"Since you seem to know so much about the box, why don't you tell us what's inside?" Lucy asked.

"That's none of your concern. If you wish to be of use to the people of this island, then hand over the box so that I can discard of it properly." Savior said.

"No thanks." Tides shook his head. "This box belongs to Mr. Oswald. It's our mission to protect it. If you attempt to steal this from us, then you will be branded as a criminal."

"You're all the true criminals." Savior jumped down from the second floor and landed safely on the first floor. "Prepare yourselves."

"Looking for a fight now are you?" Harper stood forward in front of her group and took a fencing stance. "So be it then. I shall defeat this foe all by myself."

"I don't think so." Corona and Lucy joined Harper, standing side by side with her; their weapons were raised as they prepared themselves for battle.

"We're going to do this together." Lucy said.

"Whether you like it or not, we're going to help you." Corona said sternly.

"No matter how many of you stand in my way! I will save this island from your evil!" Savior hurled his shurikens towards the three female marines.

Lucy took a step forward and deflected each shuriken into different directions with her chain flail. Since the Savior was now unarmed and considered defenseless, Harper used this as a moment of opportunity for an attack. She rushed for the vigilante and performed several sword thrusts, aiming for neutralizing spots such as his knees and shoulders. Despite being unarmed, Savior proved to be quite agile for he easily managed to evade Harper's blade. Lucy snuck her way around the Savior by hiding behind several cargo boxes inside of the warehouse.

Once she was within the Savior's range, she twirled her chain flail above her head, allowing it to gain some momentum. She then hurled the chain flail at the Savior, aiming for the back of his head to end the battle quickly. Savior quickly whipped around after dodging another one of Harper's attacks and caught the chain flail once it was literally inches away from his face. He stepped aside to avoid being stabbed by Harper's sword and then he wrapped the chain around the sword. He tugged on Lucy's chain as hard as he could and sent the female marine crashing into Harper, disarming both marines in the process.

He chuckled in delight upon watching the both of them crash into a cargo box containing fish which they were soon buried under. Though she was amazed on how one man singlehandedly took down two marines with much effort, Corona sprung into action and challenged the Savior herself. Despite not having much proper training, she was somehow managing to force the Savior back by swinging her sword around wildly. Eventually the vigilante was forced back against a large crate. Corona thrust her sword forward and pierced it through the crate inches away from the Savior's face.

"Enough of this. We're not the enemy here. We're here to help." Corona informed him.

Savior blinked in surprise about Corona's actions but then shook it off and jammed his fist into her stomach. He then jumped up and kicked Corona away from him.

"What the hell was that? Why didn't you just stab him in the shoulder or something?" Harper asked after she had clawed her way out from the pile of fish she was buried under.

"I was trying to convince him that we're on the same side." Corona coughed a small amount of blood while clutching her stomach.

"There's no point in doing so. His target is Oswald. We're working for his target. We're his enemy." Harper pointed out.

"She's right." Savior grabbed the sword lodged into the crate and pulled it out. "As long as you continue to work for that man. You are my enemy."

"Why though? What has Oswald done for you to target him?" Corona asked.

"Isn't it obvious yet? You all saw the Jolly Roger on the treasure box right?" Savior pointed to the treasure box in Tides' hands. "Can you four marines not piece together what is happening here?"

"He's mocking us." Harper clenched her hands into tight fists while gritting her teeth. She was usually the person that mocked people. So being mocked herself made her quiet furious, plus she was being talked down by a criminal. She believed that there was a pecking order in the world and that a criminal was definitely beneath her in that pecking order. Being talked down to by a criminal only added the fuel to the fire which was now burning deep inside of her. She let out a loud war cry as she charged for the vigilante despite being unarmed.

"Stay back!" Savior thrust his sword forward, aiming for Harper's shoulder. The blonde haired marine recruit side stepped the attack and grabbed the vigilante's wrist with her left hand. She then landed a sharp elbow strike against his face in which he flew back and crashed against the wall of the warehouse.

"Impressive." Tides muttered after watching Harper easily disarm the vigilante.

"You have some nerve to attempt to strike me down with my own blade." Harper scowled fiercely at the Savior as he struggled back up to his feet. He shook off the damage he received earlier and lunged for Harper, preparing to face off against her in a sword fight using Corona's sword. The fight did not last long for Harper had easily disarmed him and had both swords within her possession. She took one step forward and thrust her sword forward to slice the left side of the vigilante's cheek.

Savior winced in pain upon being cut and prepared to immediately retaliate until Harper held one of her swords inches away from his neck, preventing him from making any sudden movements at the threat of being killed.

"You're under arrest. Make any sudden movements to continue with this foolish resistance will result in your immediate execution." Harper warned him.

Savior did not heed Harper's warning and performed a back flip, thus landing a swift kick against Harper's chin in the process. He made his way around her and set his sights on Tides. Corona stood in the vigilante's way; but without a weapon in her hand, she was easily cast aside. It was now Lucy's turn to intercept the Savior from his target. She swung the chain flail outward and grinned once it wrapped its way around the vigilante's waist.

She spun around in circles at a fast speed, sending the Savior crashing through several crates. She soon stopped spinning for she figured that the vigilante had enough. This didn't turn out to be the case for the Savior shot up from the ground and tossed a shuriken high into the air. The shuriken cut through the rope that kept a large crate above Lucy's head. Without the rope there to support the crate, gravity took its course in the world and the crate came crashing down onto Lucy, pinning her down to the ground under its weight.

Corona cried out in horror as she rushed over to her comrade and attempted to lift the crate off her. With none of the other recruits standing in his way, Savior made his way over to Tides. He knew that Tides would be tougher to deal with than the others. He didn't want to waste anymore time fighting. He pulled out a flash bang and hurled it towards the Lieutenant Commander. The flash bang exploded and emitted a bright flash of light for a few seconds, forcing Tides to drop the treasure box to shield his eyes.

Savior quickly grabbed the treasure box and made a mad dash for the entrance where he would make his daring escape from the marines, unfortunately his escape route was blocked off by the police force that now had the place surrounded. He made a quick u-turn and ran up the stairs to the second floor where he planned to jump out the window to make his escape. Harper recovered from the cheap shot earlier and chased the Savior up the stairs.

"Harper! Harper! Please help me get this crate off of Lucy!" Corona pleaded for some assistance.

Harper stood in place for a moment and looked between Corona and the Savior. She had a decisive decision to make at the moment. Though it didn't take her long to choose the mission over her comrades. She immediately took off after the Savior who had recently jumped out the window to escape captivity.

"God damn it!" Corona cursed loudly as she continued to try and lift the large cargo off of Lucy. Things seemed to be hopeless for her, she didn't have enough strength to lift something so heavy. Each passing second caused Corona to panic for she thought that she would already lose a friend on her first mission. Tears of sadness and despair trailed down her face as she continued to strain herself to lift up the crate. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she was going to save Lucy.

"Step aside." Tides walked over to the crate and easily managed to flip it off of Lucy.

"Lucy!' Corona moved over to Lucy and immediately checked her pulse. "Oh thank god. She's alive." She sighed in relief and wiped her tears away after realizing her friend was alive.

"That vigilante was definitely no push over. I'm beginning to wonder if my plan will succeed." Tides sighed while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your plan?" Corona asked.

"Forgive me Lieutenant Commander. The vigilante somehow managed to escape from me." Harper sighed as she made her way back into the warehouse.

"It's fine. I purposely allowed the Savior to steal the treasure box away from me." Corona and Harper's eyes widened after hearing Tides' blunt statement. "Take Lucy back to the ship. I'll be there in a moment to check on her." Both Corona and Lucy complied with their superior officer's orders and carried Lucy back to the ship while Tides stayed behind.

"I remember where I saw that jolly roger before. Let's see how you react to this Mr. Oswald." Tides frowned before he walked away from the warehouse to meet his subordinates back at the ship.

The next following morning, the marines found themselves inside of Mr. Oswald's office only to be chewed out by their client for their inability to capture the Savior.

"We apologize for the inconvenience." Tides saluted Oswald, only furthering the man's visible anger.

"Inconvenience? Do you realize what kind of treasure was inside of that box?" Oswald yelled.

"That's exactly what we were wondering. What kind of treasure was inside the treasure box?" Corona inquired.

"And why was there a Jolly Roger on it?" Harper added to the question.

"What is this? An interrogation? I'm the client and now the victim here!" Oswald dodged the question.

"Answer the question. What was inside of the treasure box that's got you this worked up?" Tides glared at his client.

"Why are you even questioning me? I told you before that I collect rare and valuable treasures. There was a jolly roger on the treasure box because it obviously belonged to pirates before my friend found it." Oswald sighed before he took a seat in his chair and covered his face with his hands. "But now that the Savior has the treasure box. This island is doomed."

"This island is doomed you say?" Harper stepped forward, unsheathed her sword, and held it inches away from Oswald's neck. "You're going to tell us everything that's going on here or else."

"Seems a little rash there Harper. But yeah, you're going to tell us everything that we want to know." Tides sighed.

"You can't do this! You're supposed to be marines!" Oswald began to panic.

"We are marines. But we don't enjoy being screwed over by our clients. You're hiding something from us and we want to know what it is." Tides scowled fiercely at the cowering Oswald, intimidating him even more.

"Wow. This is the first time I've ever seen marines act like this. It's so amazing but at the same time so frightening." Corona thought as she watched Harper and Tides threaten and intimidate Oswald.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you everything!" Harper then lowered her sword after hearing Oswald's cry. "The treasure box was so important because there's a powerful devil fruit inside of it." An expression of disgust appeared on Harper's face as she backed away from Oswald.

"A devil fruit?" Corona looked over to Tides with a confused expression on her face. This was her first time ever hearing of devil fruits. "What's a devil fruit?"

"It's a mystical fruit in this world that can give any eater many different and varying kinds of strange and interesting powers. Like the power to breath fire or summon tsunami's." Tides explained.

"Whoa! There are fruits in this world that actually allows that? How come I've never heard of them until now?" Corona gasped in shock.

"Because devil fruits are actually rarely seen or even heard of in the Four Blues. You'll see a lot of them in the Grand Line and New World." Tides replied before he turned to face Oswald.

"How disgusting. If I had known that we were guarding a devil fruit, I would have handed it over to the vigilante in an instant." Harper frowned.

"Speaking of the vigilante. What are you going to do about him? Do you understand what he could do to this island if he were to eat it?" Oswald asked.

"Relax. We're actually about to find the Savior right now." Tides said as he pulled out a den den mushi. "I placed a tracker inside of the keyhole of the treasure box before I allowed the Savior to steal it from me. This den den mushi will lead us straight to the treasure box and the vigilante." He said as he handed it over to Corona.

"You allowed the Savior to steal the-" Oswald stopped in mid-sentence once he heard a loud crash coming from his son's room. He shot up from his chair and was prepared to go check on the noise until Tides forced him back into his seat.

"Stay right there and don't you dare think about moving! I still have some questions that I want to ask you!" Tides said before he faced Corona and Harper and ordered them to check out the noise.

Corona and Harper rushed over to Richard's room and burst through the door to see Richard lying face down on the ground covered in blood. Corona immediately rushed over to the young boy and turned him over onto his back to check his pulse. Harper on the other hand rushed over to the open window and stared outside to see Sebastian, the butler, running out from the mansion with the treasure box in his hands.

"Harper! Help me tend to Richard's wounds! These are looking pretty serious!" Corona looked over to the empty space where Harper had been standing seconds ago. She got up and looked out the window to see Harper chasing after Sebastian. "God damn it! She did it again!" She rushed over back to Richard to tend to his wounds.

"Don't...don't worry about...me..." Richard struggled to sit up. "That's...that's not Sebastian...you have...to stop him..." He clenched his teeth in pain once he placed his hand over the slash wounds on his torso, the blood seeped through the cracks in his fingers.

"We will Richard. But first I need to get you to Tides so that he can fix you up and-" Corona stopped in mid-sentence once Richard pushed her aside.

"Go! I'll be fine! Go after the fake Sebastian!" Richard yelled before he went into a coughing fit. Though she hesitated to leave at first, Corona eventually left Richard alone and rushed out of the mansion to chase down after Harper.

Meanwhile back inside of Oswald's office, Oswald was being pressed against the wall by Tides, trembling in fear that the marine was eventually going to do something that he was going to regret.

"Do you realize the danger that you've put three marine recruits through today? Why the hell have you been working for that pirate? Do you understand the dangers of working for a man like him?" Tides yelled.

"Not completely! But he promised this island protection as long as I kept his cargo safe for him! Now that the Savior has the treasure box! He'll surely come to this island and retaliate!" Oswald whimpered.

"God damn it." Tides released his hold on Oswald and pulled out another den den mushi from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Oswald asked.

"I'm calling in for back up. This mission has now become too dangerous for three mere recruits to handle." Tides frowned.


That's the end of the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Now it's time for the preview for the next chapter!

Next time on One Piece: The Fight For Justice!

Triple Threat!

Corona: You're not going anywhere with that treasure box!

Harper: What did I tell you about getting in my way?

Lucy: We have to work together to defeat this guy!

?: Foolish recruits! Don't you understand that I cannot be captured?


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