The Hunters
5 years have passed since Admiral Keno led an assault on the supernovas. Only 3 made it to the New World that day. Kentaro The Setsu, now known as Kentaro The Red Wind for his war waging across the new world. Natasha The Judas, who made a much larger name for herself after eating a deadly devil fruit. And the now warlord Aya The Angel. But before we get to the return of the Supernovas who disappeared that day we must look at what happened to them and those who chased them, such as Emily the marine captain who has been chasing Hecate, Rock, Licoal and Xaroz since Vista Island.
Let's take a look at the happy-go-lucky Rock. Once Hecate had forced Rock and Co. to run while she held off The Unbreakable, the 3 decided to split up to train their own way. Rock went to a secluded island filled with mountains; his training plan was simple, punch a hole through every mountain. But what found him was something much more valuable than any training.
Rock was sitting on a rock wrapping his hands with new bandages as they bled from punching pure rock. When he saw it, a ship on the horizon; but this was no normal ship. This ship had the insignia of the Revolutionaries, the people his parents had become. On the ship was an old man with a bulky body. He was bald with a long white beard. When he jumped off the ship he held out his hand to Rock. His name was Gasparde, a revolutionary sent to train Rock. Rock had so many questions, but Gasparde only answered one of them; the question he answered was, "Why would you train me?" And the answer was quite simple. Rock's father had asked him to make sure Rock didn't die from lack of training from a proper haki master. Rock was taught the basics of Kenbunshoku, and Busoshoku was prioritized. But everything changed when Gasparde discovered Rock had Haoshoku. From that point on Gasparde trained him to master it, and in the process Rock developed his body, becoming stronger and faster, until he could punch through one of the mountains within an hour.
Xaroz's master came much faster. As soon as he split from Rock and Licoal he found Jin. The warlord that had fought Hecate was also the Pirate Xaroz met so long ago. Jin taught Xaroz in seclusion for 3 years, then he taught him on the Grand Line. Together they went off killing many Pirates, turning in bounties for the money needed for food. Whenever Jin was called off to Marineford he'd drop Xaroz off on a pirate infested island for him to slaughter. Thanks to this, Xaroz bounty rose very fast and was considered the only Supernova that didn't make it to the New World to not go dark. By the time 2 years had passed it was time for Xaroz to rejoin Rock. His bounty was 170m. Along the way, Jin taught Xaroz the aspects of Haki and how to properly use his sword. He also helped him acquire a second sword; Jidaromoshi, a Ryo Wazemono Grade.
Licoal's 5 years were a difficult time. He returned to an island much like the one he was trapped on as a child, and thus had nightmares every night. The only difference of this island was that it switched from a burning hot day to an ice like night within seconds. It was rough for the first year, but soon Licoal learned to change his body temperature in rhythm with the weather. Once he had spent 2 years he was discovered by the most unlikely person; an older man, in his late 50's. Long ago they knew him as The Blue Swordsman. This man was Erik, the current owner of the phoenix Zoan fruit. Erik taught Licoal Haki and how to correctly use the heat based properties of his fruit, teaching him the different effects of heat types.
Hecate's training was a harsh one. She trained under the mysterious figure who Admiral Keno had referred to as The Demon. This Demon made her train 18 hours a day. The remaining 6 hours were split up like this: 1 hour for all 3 meals, 3 hours put into studying various physics and electromagnetic research that her trainer "acquired" by various means. This was to help her develop new ways of using her power. The remaining 2 hours were for sleep. The island they trained on was dangerous, filled with sea king level beasts. The 2 hours she did get for sleep were often interrupted by a rampaging monster. Whoever named this girl The Demon had the right idea; she made those 5 years an utter living hell experienced in almost constant exestuation, and this in turn raised Hecate's stamina far beyond what she had before.
Akihiro and Arthur trained in a similar manner; Arthur decided to completely ignore developing Akihiro's devil fruit and instead focused on his physical training and Haki training. Out of all of the pirates who disappeared that day, they were the ones cut off from civilization the most. And Akihiro was the only one whose trainer died during the 5 year period. This left Akihiro with a year to spend training on his own. He spent most of it mourning his lost friend.
Cai was kidnapped. On the Archipelago, he went to the amusement park, finding a strange man buying up all the cotton candy. This man deemed him a worthy student and kidnapped him from the amusement park, training him in seclusion for 5 years. This man was the Warlord Edward the Demise.
Emily went to Marineford to learn Haki and train her mind and body to help with her chase of Hecate and The Rock Pirates. She trained under Vice Admiral Amanda the Nova. In the 5 years Emily gained 4 ranks, becoming Vice Admiral Emily the Puppet master; and she hated her title. She was at Marineford when the news about the supernovas resurfacing reached her.
Now that we know what everyone did in the 5 year gap, let's go to the day that the 6 pirates arrived on the Archipelago for the 2nd time.
Two women in black cloaks stepped onto the island before a burst of wind pushed the hood off one of them; this was Hecate. Her hair was a bit wilder and slightly shorter than it was before and she had a scar down her left cheek. She looked down at a pocket watch before grinning. "He better show up," she said before turning to the other cloaked woman. "You sure you don't wanna stick around? I understand you kn-" She was cut off by a hand coming and the woman's head shaking. "I gotta get back, I've been gone 5 years," she said before jumping off, shooting through the sky at high speeds.
Meanwhile; the ocean began to boil and dry up as a sort of pathway appeared going to the ocean floor. The source of this was Licoal. He was walking…on the ocean floor. "Stupid Erik not giving me a ride here," he said grumpily before making it up onto the Archipelago. Nearby, a small dingy sailed into the dock. On it was Xaroz. He had a long black trench coat on and two Katana at his hip. And not far, Rock was saying goodbye to Gasparde. In the 5 years Gasparde had become like a father to Rock; this was the second adoptive farther he'd said goodbye too. He looked down at his vivre card for Hecate before noticing Xaroz waving happily as he ran up to him.
On another part of the island a man with a marine hat was crouched on a tree. He had bright blond hair and a red marine justice coat. Beside him was a shark-whale Fishman with his own red marine justice coat. "Looks like the Intel was good. 5 years. Admiral Keno has good hearing for his old age," the man with blond hair said, standing up, taking out a mini Den-Den Mushi. "This is Rear-Admiral Zeru, the targets have arrived. Get ready to engage on my signal." He turned to the Fishman that was standing beside him, "Ready?" The Fishman gave a toothy grin. "I'm always ready to hunt in Lady Victoria's name," he said, jumping down off the tree. Zeru laughed before shooting off at high eyes, his bright green eyes creating a blurring light trail.
Hecate was running to where she had sensed the 3's aura's with a grin on her facing, noticing how much they had changed. When she suddenly stopped, turning over to a part of the island, her eyes became bright blue. "Well then…what other way to test how much stronger I've gotten," she said with a grin. Her eyes moved quickly as she followed the movements of one of the stronger auras and predicted where it'd go. She used her powers to fire 3 small blocks of metal, creating mini-beams of energy. The aura dodged each one and went towards where they had come from. Within moments she saw a flash of red before it stopped not far from her. "Well well, the Shock Princess in person. I've heard a lot about you," Zeru said with a smile.
"Well I can't say I know who you are," she said looking at him. Zeru did a bowing motion. "Rear-Admiral Zeru, the leader of The Hunters, at your service," he said slightly sarcastically. "The Hunters? Must've been formed in the last 5 years," Hecate said as she started to build up energy. "Yes, yes. Lady Victoria formed us from her top units, thus the red coats, just like her." Hecate gulped slightly as she remembered the devastating power and sense of pure power she felt from Victoria on Drum Island. "Now…I'm going to kill you," Zeru said, kicking up a piece of earth, firing it at Hecate, creating a small explosion when it impacted the area around her. "The hell was that…" Hecate said looking at him. "Try and figure it out," Zeru said now going towards her with the same speed that he had fired the piece of earth.
Meanwhile; Rock and co. were being approached by the Fishman and a group of other marines in red coats. "My name is Commodore Fablord, Warlord of the Sea and second in command of The Hunters. Surrender now; or don't and it'll result in the same outcome!" the Fishman shouted loudly. A flash of red passed Rock and Licoal, heading straight for Xaroz. A long Nodachi swung down on him only for a clash of sparks and the sound of metal ringing off metal to boom through the area. When Rock turned to look over at Xaroz he saw ripped cloth as Xaroz had raised his left arm. Once he tore off the remaining cloth Rock could see a metallic arm in the place of his cut off arm. "Sorry, but you'll need something sharper," he said, drawing his new katana, slicing at the man only for it to be dodged by a Soru. The man had a long cut down most of his face. "He's only gotten stronger…he's progressed too fast!" he said looking over at Xaroz with a rage-filled look.
"You know this guy Xaroz?" Rock said questionably. "I think I fought him before," Xaroz responded. "HOW COULD YOU FORGET ME," the man shouted. "LOGUE TOWN. YOU NEARLY KILLED ME. I WAS DEMOTED BECAUSE I LET YOU GET INTO THE GRAND LINE," he yelled more furious now. "Sorry, no clue who you are," Xaroz said, putting his katana back into his sheath. "Enough talk!" Fablord said, raising his fist. "Karakusagawara Seiken!" A shock-wave was sent at the 3. Each of them dodged the attack. The hunters reacted by charging them, 10 towards each of Rock's crew. In a split second, the 10 who went towards Rock passed out. Licoal and Xaroz grinned, seeing it was true; that he had that Haki. "At least we can see you didn't just sit on your ass these 5 years," Xaroz said, pulling out both of his katana, slicing through the Hunters like a storm. Licoal burned their skin with immense heat before taking out a broadsword to cut them down. Suddenly Zeru flew past them crashing into a tree. "Is that all you fucking got?" Hecate called out, walking towards the group.
20 pieces of earth shot past Rock and co., headed straight for Hecate. "Didn't you learn… That won't work!" she said as lightning struck the ground, black sand shooting up destroying the pieces of earth as they touched it. Hecate grinned as the sand formed various blocks as she held up her hand in the shape of a gun. "Boom," she said, enacting a firing movement with her hand, firing the railguns at the marines. Only Zeru and Fablord remained. "Tsk, annoying," Hecate said as she held up her hand, a blade of black sand forming in it, the blade itself vibrating. She dashed off at Zeru, static flying from her feet as she stopped just at Zeru's neck. "This blade is vibrating at such a speed that it would melt through 10 layers of steel, and it's imbued with Haki. The only question is; are you going to keep fighting and die? Or are you going to walk back to your masters with your tail between your legs and tell them how you failed?" Hecate grinned, watching the discomfort on his face. Shortly after Zeru backed off. "Okay okay, we give up," he said turning to Fablord. "Pick up any of the ones this she-devil didn't kill and get them back to the ship," he said, looking at Rock and co. "Watch yourselves…I know of a Vice Admiral who vowed she'd hunt you 4 down to the locker," he said before his body shot up into the sky and over to a dock.
A metal object flew at Rock as he grabbed it, feeling a slight shock from it. It was the pocket watch he had given Hecate. "Told you I'd return it," she said with a smile. "So, 5 years. Looks like a lot changed," she said turning away, motioning for them to follow. "Tell me everything, but over a hot meal," she said, walking off towards the more civilized part of the island.
They entered a large building made mainly out of wood with a stone foundation. What they didn't know was this place doubled as a slave trade house. Hecate got a table for 4 and they all sat down and began catching up. "Haha! YOU HAD TO WALK HERE?!" Hecate said laughing as Licoal told his story. Xaroz told them about how he was trained by Jin and had bought a robotic arm to replace his left one. "It's made of pure steel and the knuckles are tipped with sea stone," he said, showing off the arm. "Greeeat, more people with sea stone weapons," Hecate said, looking over at Rock. "I actually kind of broke my gauntlets during training. I just use my fists now," he said with a smile.
Out of the corner of her eye Hecate saw a rather attractive girl with hair much like hers except more long and wild and the fact that it was pure white. It reminded her of her mother. She almost felt like approaching the girl; then she saw it. A sea stone collar around her neck with a chain that went all the way to the hand of a man in an odd suit that had a sort of fishbowl over his head. Everyone cleared the path for him as he was carried by 4 men with 2 men in suits behind him. "Now that our featured guest has arrived, let us start the auction!" The woman stood not far from the man that Hecate knew to be a Celestial Dragon. Her arms were crossed, her rather generous breasts resting on top of them. Her eyes were dull, the life gone from them; those eyes reminded her of her mother. No light, no life, a crushed soul. "I think I'm going to throw up," Hecate said watching the auction.
Rock was gripping his fist tightly, blood starting to flow from it, "Treating living beings as mere property…this is wrong." There was a shadow casted over Licoal's face. "We have to do something," he said in a low voice. "Rock, before…you went to have the ship coated right?" Rock nodded. "Just how long did the person say it'd take?" she said as the air became static. "Uh…it'd probably be done now," he said, wondering why she asked. "So…we can make an escape…after that thing is dead," she said, pointing at the Celestial dragon. "Even if he's a monster…we can't kill him!" Rock said. "You sit here in your no-killing fantasy then. I'm going to make the world a better place…and turn some trash into dust," she said as she got up, stepping forward. In a split second, the white haired female moved so fast that even on Hecate's Aura radar it was like she teleported. Hecate barely had time to bring up her arms to block the kick. This is when she noticed more of the girl. She was wearing a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned enough to show a good bit of cleavage. She was also wearing a short black skirt coupled with black stockings and black boots. Her boots had a long heel that seemed to be tipped with seastone as Hecate felt slightly weakened when it hit her arm.
"Impressive…but sadly not enough to keep me from killing you. Shame though, you're pretty," Hecate said with a grin as she let out a burst of lightning. The girl brought up her own arms blocking the lightning. "Pretty tough…" Hecate said as her eyes turned from red to blue as she got a huge grin. "But are you tough enough!" she said as her hair began to rise as she increased the lightning output, pushing the girl back. "Just kill her already!" the man yelled. The girl opened her mouth, "If you remove my collar, I'll kill her and the 3 she was talking with…sir." The man thought for a second before throwing her a key. The girl got a smile that showed off her teeth as she unlocked the collar and turned to the celestial dragon as the collar dropped. "You've made your final mistake," she said, her words were filled with hate; Hecate felt as if a giant wolf was talking. Then she noticed the strangest thing about the girls Aura. She didn't question it and proceeded to watch as the girl effortlessly took down the celestial dragon's guards. Taking a steak knife, she slowly sliced open his throat after she had shattered his glass helmet.
"Nice to see you weren't made mindless," Hecate said as the girl turned to her. "A sea stone collar…what fruit did you eat?" Licoal asked, knowing what kind of sick things the celestial dragons liked to do. The girl got a grin on her face, lifting a fist, "Want to find out?" Rock stood between them. "We really should get going before we run into another admiral…" he said, smiling at the girl. "We?" she asked. "Well we can't just leave you here; we sparked what caused your release!" he said happily. "Xaroz, Licoal, free the rest of the slaves, every single one here! Then we'll go!" The girl had a smile as she went to help them. "Inviting a random girl with untold power, are you replacing me?" Hecate said sarcastically. Rock scratched the back of his head. "No…she just seems like she needs friends. That's all…" he said as he went to help free the slaves.
The 5 set out to find Rock's ship and Hecate was met with a hit from the past. In front of their ship stood a man with scars all across his body. "J-James!" she cried out happily as she ran up to him, hugging him. "You know him?" Rock said, catching up. "He was part of my father's crew…" she said smiling. "It's been a while, Hecate. I've kept up with your adventures," he said, taking out a newspaper. "Been causing a lot of havoc, just like the old man…" he said, his face turning grim as he talked about him. "Yep! And Elizabeth has made quite a name for herself. I saw her 5 years ago, had her own armada and everything." James had a warm smile. He felt proud that the two girls he had watched grow up were still moving forward. "Well, I'm going to guess the death of that celestial dragon was from one of you kids. You should get going before one of the admirals show up." He hugged Hecate one last time as a group of Marines in red coats caught up. "Tsk, them again," Hecate said. "HOLD THE PIRATES UNTIL THE ADMIRAL GETS HERE," Zeru shouted. "Go, I'll take care of this," James said as he walked forward, cracking his knuckles. "Should we really leave him? That's a lot of pirates," Rock said as he got onto the ship. "Don't make me laugh… James was one of the original members, each of them were Yonko level." Hecate said, her eyes gleaming.
As the ship sailed off, James threw the marines around like rag-dolls as one flipped through wanted posters. "R-R-REAR ADMIRAL! THAT'S JAMES OF THE LOST SEA!" Zeru coughed up some blood after being hit. "So?" He asked. "He…He has a bounty of 1.4b beli Sir!" Zeru's eyes widen with fear and amazement, "What the hell is he doing here…It doesn't matter! Run! We can't fight him!" The marines retreated as James sat down on a chair outside his shack, looking off at the sea where Hecate and the others had went down in. "Cause some chaos…create another black era just like your old man," he said, smiling as he took a drink from a bottle of sake that was beside his chair.
Hecate smiled, her eyes tearing up as she watched the island disappear as they descended deeper into the water. She turned to the girl who they had picked up, "So, what's your name?" The girl paused for a second before speaking up. "I'm…Sokkyo, and this is…" she said as she blinked, her eyes becoming brighter, full of life, and her voice slightly high pitch. "AND I'M KYOKU!" she said smiling. "WHA-!?" Rock yelled. Hecate sighed, "She has multiple personalities or whatever… I guess caused by the enslavement." Her eyes turned dull and lifeless again, her voice lowering. "That's right, Kyoku couldn't take the trauma, so I was formed from it. Kyoku herself is much like a child, while I am like a beast. Born from the will to protect," she said, looking out at the dark sea. "So what happens when Kyoku has the ability to protect herself?" Hecate said. She stood next to Sokkyo, looking the other direction. "Well…death is a melody as sweet as any other, isn't it?" Hecate had a smile on her face. "Yeah…it is" she said as she walked off, asking Xaroz where the sake cellar was.
The water shifted fast as a large snake-like object swam through it. Hecate sensed its massive aura as it shifted towards them. "What the…" shee said as Sokkyo cried out. "SOMETHINGS COMING," she said as she gained the attention of everyone. "She can sense…no I feel it now…pure bloodlust." Suddenly they were surrounded by it; the devil of the sea, the Leviathan. "What the hell is that…?" Xaroz said. but Rock's eyes were gleaming. "Gasparde told me about how my mother conquered a great sea king when she went to fishman island. He said she used it to move her ship through the tough currents of the ocean floor…I WANT IT," he yelled. "Of course you do…" Licoal said, sighing as he caught something Hecate threw at them. "Go ahead, Rock Pirates," she said with a slight smile as they used the object, forming personal bubbles. "YOSH! LET'S GO!" he yelled as he dashed out of the ship.
Xaroz and Licoal weren't far behind him as Xaroz drew both of his Katana. "I'll stun him!" he yelled as he sped up, becoming a blur as he passed the beast, putting his Katana back into his sheaths. "End," he said simply as various cuts appeared on the beast. Rock yelled at him for injuring their soon-to-be comrade before focusing his Haki in his fist; at first it became black but shortly after it turned into a purplish tint. "Yosh!" he said as he turned at the beast, letting out a small burst of Haoshoku Haki, warning it that he was coming. Suddenly he disappeared within an instant. He was in front of the beast, landing an upper cut. As his fist landed he released a large burst of Haoshoku Haki. "GRIM…KNUCKLE!" he yelled. The beast fell back before getting back up, whimpering slightly. Rock held up his hand and the beast slowly moved forward until his hand touched its forehead. Rock rubbed the head softly in a petting manner. Shortly after he had chains on the horns that extended from its head and back and connected them to the ship. "YOSH! TO FISHMAN ISLAND!" he yelled.
Meanwhile; on Sabaody, while Rock and co. had fought against marine hunters and a celestial dragon, the pirates Akihiro and Cai had a different adventure. Akihiro was walking through the streets of Sabaody, his Katana on his hip. Although he was wearing slightly different clothing to stick out less, he had a blue crystal connected to a chain that was around his neck. "This is it old friend…don't worry, I'll make sure your message is delivered to th-" He was stopped mid-sentence as he tripped over something. "What the hell!?" he yelled as he turned and looked down at the dark-skinned boy who was passed out that he had tripped over.
Cai was eating various plates of food as Akihiro sat on the other side of the table. "Why the hell did I decide to help this kid…" he said as he thought about how much Beli this was going to cost. After the bill came Akihiro looked at the kid and sighed, "Okay kid…when I say go…run for it." Cai looked at him with a puzzled look and Akihiro sighed again before grabbing him by the arm and running. "SORRY I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY," he yelled as he ran off, dragging Cai with him.
They breathed heavily as they reached the docks. "You…think…I…can…come…with…you…" Cai said, breathing between each word. "Only if you can pull your weight…" he said right after a group of marines approached. "No one is to leave the island until we clarify who killed the celestial dragon!" one of the marines yelled. "Okay…I'll pull my weight!" Cai yelled as he created various storm clouds, lightning striking down on the marines. "Okay…maybe you got talent," he said as he got on his now coated ship. "Let's get going then!" he yelled down to Cai only for Cai to float up on a cloud.
***Sorry this took so long, I procrastinated this forever while also working on project flame and then I ended up rewriting more than half of it.
***I'm trying a new editing strategy. I hope I'm doing better now qq – Elementninja111
