Sorry for the wait… I didn't realize that so many days have passed since the last update already. Felt like it was only a few days ago I updated…
In case people are wondering why the Thousand Sunny is all right after being shot by Javelin's destroyer, that's because it is made out of the Treasure Tree Adam, whose wood is extremely durable and can withstand getting shot with ease, so trying to destroy the Thousand Sunny isn't an easy task.
Chapter 13
Mission Report
After making sure that they successfully escaped the Marines, the Straw Hat slowed down the speed of the Thousand Sunny and settled down to take a breather. "Well, that was fun, like always!" said Luffy happily while reclining against the railing.
"Have some sense of danger for once, will you…?" Nami said to him.
"Don't worry; he's not so dumb that he will get himself and all of us killed," Zoro told him.
"I wouldn't say he never came close to getting us all killed…" Usopp reminded him.
"You should be thankful that your captain did a good job keeping you all alive up till now," Jinbe told him as he helmed the ship.
Franky came out of a cabin and said, "Can we talk about what we saw earlier? Man, I've never seen such a ship like that! I didn't know the Marines have something like that!"
"I am admittedly surprised by such a thing as well," said Jinbe.
"The way that girl pulled it out is quite something as well," said Robin. "I can only imagine it is some kind of Devil Fruit."
"I didn't know that the Marines have such beautiful members," said Sanji, still thinking about Taihou. "It's a shame we're not on the same side of the law…"
"Jinbe and I met a couple of female Marines as well, and they have some cool-looking mechanical stuff on them that can shoot stuff and send out flying things!" said Luffy.
"Yeah, Zoro was fighting a female Marine with a sword who was also able to create small flying things," said Franky. "I would love to get my hand on one of those and get a better look at it! Perhaps I can create something that can fly myself!"
"Whatever the case is, it seems that the Marines have improved their technology by a great margin to be able to create flying contraptions. I cannot think of anyone else other than Vegapunk being responsible for this," said Jinbe.
"I would love to meet that guy, honestly," said Franky. "It was thanks to coming across his old lab when we got separated by Kuma two years ago that I was able to make myself this way today and even come up with our current rides! If I made these things based off his old ideas, even what sort of things he could be making now!"
"I'm more curious about why the woman I fought have brown blood," said Zoro, and then he looked at Chopper. "That shouldn't be normal, right?"
Chopper nodded. "Yeah, that's not normal. The little girl Usopp and I fought also coughed out brown blood when we injured her. And even though I can hit very hard if I try, she does have quite a tough body. Almost felt like punching steel…"
"Somehow, the thought of human experimentations come to mind," said Robin. "Perhaps those girls were put through inhuman and cruel experiments to have their bodies modified, screaming in agony throughout the entire process as they haven't been given anesthetics. I can only imagine the looks of horror on their faces as they watch their bloods being drained and their organs being removed."
"I'd tell you stop saying such horrifying things, but then I'm used to hearing all these coming from you already…" said Nami, shuddering at the thought of it.
"Whatever the case is, it seems quite clear that the Marines are developing new ways to combat pirates, so we have to be more careful than usual," Jinbe told everyone, and they all nodded in agreement.
Koby and Tsuru's ships have returned to New Marineford from their scouting and also reported to Sakazuki about their fights with Big Mom and Kaido's crew members respectively.
The ship girls and the captains that led them were in the office, reporting their results to the fleet admiral. According to Tsuru, they were able to round up the Beast Pirates and even arrest Jack, and they were currently on another Marine ship taken to Impel Down.
"That's good to hear," said Sakazuki, approving of what he heard.
"Now lies the problem of when Kaido will strike in order to rescue Jack and also avenge him," Tsuru told him. "Do not take Kaido for an uncaring person. Despite his violent tendencies, he does care about his men and will fight for them if he has to."
"Then the ones in charge of sending them off to prison better do a good job at it, or else there will be hell to pay!" said Sakazuki. He then looked at the ship girls. "You girls did good! I am honestly surprised that you fought one of the Yonko's pirate crew and managed to live to tell the tale! It's not something you can boast about. It seems that you are better than I think you are!"
"We are pleased to be of service to you, Fleet Admiral," Bismarck said to him while saluting. "We will continue to fight our best for the peace of the world!"
He then dismissed Tsuru's group and then looked at Koby's group. "All right, so you're telling me that you fought Big Mom's pirate crew and had to be rescued by the traitorous Kuzan, and then you left without apprehending them? This is as good as having lost a fight and bailing!" He said this while slamming his fist onto the table.
The ship girls were shocked at his rage, and Koby was nervous and trembling, though he tried his best not to show it. "I sincerely apologize, fleet admiral!" Koby said to him. "Given the situation, we saw it more important to rescue the civilians, so we decided to leave without apprehending the pirates…"
"I know you do not like the fact that we are rescued by someone considered an enemy," Hood told Sakazuki, referring to Kuzan, "but because of his presence, all of our men were able to preserve their lives. Had he not intervened, the number of casualties would have been unthinkable, given that we are having a hard time with our opponents. Is not the lives of people more important than bringing down one's opponents?"
"What this world needs are people who can get rid of evil! What use is justice if it cannot get that kind of thing done?!" replied Sakazuki angrily.
"With all due respect, fleet admiral, saving lives is a justice," Belfast told him. "I can also ask what is the use of justice if it cannot ensure the survival of good people? There is more to justice than bringing down evil."
"Indeed, you should be grateful that we are able to save the lives of innocent people and bring back all your men unharmed," Akagi told him. "I do agree that letting the enemies go free is indeed a pity, but it's not like we did not leave a huge dent on them. This should definitely give them a scare so that do not underestimate us in the future! Plus…" She then looked at Belfast. "…shouldn't it be something of a feat that one of us here did the unthinkable of winning a fight against a high-ranking member of a Yonko?"
"You're trying to reason with me and get yourselves out of trouble, aren't you?" Sakazuki said to them while crossing his arms and reclining against his chair. "You're new here and don't know the way our world works, and you think you know better than me, your superior?"
"With all due respect again, you are only our superior temporary. If our commander is here, his orders take priority for us," Belfast said to him.
"Well, he's not here right now, is he? Since I am your superior at the moment, then you should obey me!" Sakazuki said to them.
Belfast bowed down a bit. "I apologize if what we said offended you, fleet admiral. While we do think that we did the correct thing by rescuing the civilians, perhaps it was indeed right that we let the enemy run free. Given our circumstance that time, we more or less had no choice, but we will be sure to not let this opportunity pass by again. The next time we come across an enemy, we will see to it that he is eliminated with extreme prejudice."
Sakazuki grumbled under his breath and then said, "Whatever… You are newcomers here, and I'd say that you actually did quite well on your first day, so I'll overlook this for now. It's a good thing that all of our men made it back unharmed for the most part, and from what I've heard, the civilians were thankful for us rescuing them, so I'll let this pass. Next time when you come across an enemy, make sure that you finish your job properly!"
After Sakazuki was done lecturing them, they left the room, and Koby sighed with relief. "Thanks goodness we managed to get out scot free…"
"The vice admiral is a scary person, isn't he?" Ayanami asked him.
"Scary doesn't even begin to describe the kind of person he is…" Koby told her. "Quite a lot of people were actually opposed to him becoming the new fleet admiral, actually…"
"I can see why-nya…" said Akashi.
"But man, you sure are fearless, trying to talk back to him!" Koby said to some of the ship girls. "Not many dare speak to him in that way! I'm surprised he didn't burn us to death!"
"While a maid shouldn't disobey his master, it is still important that she tells him what she has in her mind and try to improve his behavior, and I believe I have made my point regarding our circumstance," Belfast said to him.
"Honestly, I don't like that guy…" grumbled Akagi. "It's one thing to have be ill-tempered. He isn't even attractive-looking…"
Ayanami looked out the window at the side of the hallway and noticed a ship approaching the deck, but she realized that it wasn't simply any ship. It was Javelin's destroyer.
It was quite a surprise to see the destroyer arriving at New Marineford, probably even more so when the people on board weren't just the ship girls but also Smoker and his detachment of Marines. This made the other Marines wonder where the ship they took off with went.
The other ship girls also arrived at the port to meet their returning comrades. "Look who's finally back!" said Z23 as she approached Javelin and Laffey.
"We're back…" Javelin said to her, looking bit depressed.
"What's with the down face?" Z23 asked her. "Looks like something bad happened…"
"You can say that…" said British destroyer.
Belfast bowed down in the presence of her homecoming comrades and said to them, "Welcome back! I hope that you had a successful time out there."
"It was anything but successful…" said Enterprise, also looking depressed.
"Oh my… You sure look very down," Akagi said to Enterprise. "I know you're usually not the most cheerful of the bunch, but you look even more down in the slums than you're used to!"
"Those bitches! How dare they make a mess out of my beautiful body!" said Taihou angrily, stomping the ground hard as she walked. "I'm going to completely mangle them the next time I see them!"
"What… What happened to her…? In fact, what happened to you all-nya…?" asked Akashi.
"They've witnessed the true power the New World has to offer," Smoker said to the ship girls. "They're lucky to still be alive."
"So you're saying… they got into a fight with powerful enemies and lost?" asked Kaga in disbelief.
"Don't remind me of that…!" grumbled Shigure. "I'm so angry I feel like tearing someone apart with my fangs like a wolf!"
"Man, you're really giving off the vibes of a sore loser…" said Z23. "But then, I'd probably feel the same if I were in your shoes…"
Smoker and the recently returned ship girls reported to Sakazuki their mission. Needless to say, the fleet admiral wasn't happy to hear that the Straw Hats escaped again.
"Darn those Straw Hats…!" he said. "It seems that no matter how hard we try to bring you down, you just refuse to stay down!" As he said this, the ship girls noticed that his fist, which was on the table, was starting to glow red and give off heat.
"Is that… the power of his Devil Fruit…?!" Enterprise said in her head.
"Straw Hat grows stronger all the time, as much as I hate to admit it," said Smoker. "Ever since the former Shichibukai Jinbe joined them, his fighting force has become stronger."
"I don't need you to remind me of that!" said Sakazuki loudly all of a sudden. He then looked at the ship girls and said, "Is this the best you girls can do? Your friends in the other groups performed much better than this!"
The ship girls were ashamed to hear this. "We deeply apologize for this, fleet admiral…" said Enterprise.
"Cut them some slack!" Smoker said to Sakazuki, trying to defend them. "It's their first time getting into a fight in this world, and I'm sure the opponents they face here and back in their own world are not on the same level! You can't expect them to be pros on day one!"
Sakazuki grumbled and said, "I'd say more about this and also your attitude, Smoker, but I'm tired from having done lecturing a while ago, so I'll let this pass for now. You lot better put up a better performance next time, or else I have no use for you all!"
"We will, fleet admiral! Thank you for giving us another chance!" the ship girls said to him, and then they all left his presence, still looking ashamed and feeling bad.
Afterwards, the ship girls had their warships given maintenance on them because of the damages done fighting out there.
Gascogne's ship was the most damaged, with easily visible cracks on various spots.
While watching repairmen working on said ship, Belfast said, "It's incredible how hard the people of this world can hit. Back in our world, if a human tries to punch us, he will most definitely break his bones."
"I'm surprised as well. I didn't actually expect them to be this powerful, even though we still won against our opponents," said Hood.
"It must be hard for Enterprise's group," said Belfast, looking at Javelin and Laffey, who were watching their ship forms being checked on alongside Ayanami and Z23.
"Surely so," said Hood with a nod. "Come to think of it, we have never lost fights against Sirens. We sometimes have it hard, but we always managed to win in the end, even if this war has been going on for years already. Sometimes I think we are coming to full of ourselves because of this."
"Let this experience be a lesson for us, then" said Belfast.
Enterprise was not too far away, watching her ship form being checked on as well, and then Akashi came over to her and said, "Do you have time to spare?" When Enterprise asked her what is it, she replied, "The scientists here want to know more about, like, our biologies. Perhaps if they get a better understanding of our bodies, they can help us learn how to use haki and have an edge in combat in the future."
Enterprise liked the sound of it, so she agreed to perform checkup.
Several minutes later, Enterprise had done a full checkup in a lab.
"It's a shame that Doctor Vegapunk himself isn't here at the moment. I'm sure he would've been thrilled to learn more about the biology of you living battleships," a scientist said to Enterprise while looking at some papers.
"I told you we are special-nya!" Akashi said to him. "Good thing I prepared needles strong enough to pierce the skin of warships, or else you wouldn't have been able to get our blood sample."
The scientist then held up a vial containing a small amount of reddish-brown liquid. "The results I got from the machine was shocking, because it isn't identified as any type of known blood type! In fact, it's not even considered blood!"
"I don't exactly know the details, but supposedly, it's closer to oil than blood," said Enterprise.
Akashi nodded. "Correct. We warships do not have the same type of blood as humans. Its components are closer to that of oil than blood! That explains the coloring, and this special oil can only be found in our bodies, yet we are capable of receiving transfusion from any kind of oil, as long as it used for fueling ships. Once the oil enters our body, our system will automatically convert it into the same component as the rest-nya!"
The scientist then turned to an x-ray photo of skeleton that had the internal organs faintly visible. "Your insides are even more amazing! The bones are made of solid steel, and your organs are, like, a halfway between organic and inorganic! This is completely unlike anything you can find in the world!"
"I believe a good term for this would be techno organic," said Akashi. "Not only does it make our bodies harder than normal flesh, they also heal more easily-nya!"
"If we can dissect one of you and get a better understanding of things, it will surely be a huge step for both science and medicine!" said the scientist. "Imagine Marines with powerful and durable bodies that function like machines! They will be able to fight like no other!" He then noticed that Akashi and Enterprise had creeped out faces and assumed that it has something to do with the dissection part. "Just kidding...! We will never cut you open! At least when you're still alive..."
Enterprise cleared her throat and then asked, "About the actual reason you called me here... Whether or not we warships can use haki..."
"Ah yes, about that..." said the scientist while looking at the results on the papers. "Long answer short: no."
The two ship girls were surprised to hear this. "Come again-nya?!" said Akashi.
"I'm surprised myself... You see, haki is a part of all living things since birth. It's a matter of whether or not you've learned how to harness this natural born power," explained the scientist. "As far as I'm concerned, everyone has haki, but Doctor Vegapunk still went ahead and invented an instrument that can be used for detecting haki in people, probably to see how weak or strong it is. You know that I used the instrument on you earlier, and surprisingly enough, there is no haki detected at all within you!"
"Do you know why?" Enterprise asked him.
"Honestly, I've never seen a situation like this before," said the scientist while scratching his head. "It may have to do with the fact you are not humans. You were originally warships, right? Nobody has ever heard of nonliving things having haki, other than people channeling theirs into them for combat purposes. Or perhaps..."
"It has to do with us coming from a different world, and different world have different laws, even when it comes to biology," said Akashi, finishing what he wanted to say.
"Yes, I'm thinking that is the second reason," said the scientist. "Whatever the case is, you have no haki within you, so it is unlikely that you will be able to harness its power."
After returning to the other ship girls, Enterprise and Akashi shared their findings with them. "So we can't harness the power of haki?" asked Bismarck.
Enterprise nodded. "It seems biologically impossible for us... Whether it's because we are not human or if it has to do with us coming from a different world, we don't know..."
"That's unfortunate... I was looking to having some form of strength increase," said Prinz Eugen.
"Damn... That sucks! Are we going to continue having problem fighting the folks here in our current power level?" asked Shigure.
"We may have won against our opponents, but it was by no mean an easy feat," said Hood. "I doubt we will be so lucky next time."
They all look depressed after learning about this, and wanting to cheer up everyone, Akashi said, "Don't worry-nya! I'll ask Doctor Vegapunk and see if he can do something about this, or least provide some form of alternative! I'm sure there is some way for us to get stronger-nya!"
The next day, the ship girls were hanging around the base, waiting for new orders and also news on Akashi finding a way to strengthen them all. Enterprise and Bismarck were killing time by watching Marines train in the training grounds.
As Enterprise and Bismarck watched the Marines train, Garp came over to them and asked, "What do you think? You think those boys are doing a good job in becoming future protectors of justice?"
"I'd say that some of them will have to put more effort into their training," replied Bismarck. "That one over there looks like he is falling asleep and not giving it all in swinging his sword."
Garp laughed. "Haha! You have good eyes! Yeah, these boys really have to put in more effort, but still, they're low in ranking at the moment, and not everyone are experts in combat from day one. Even I wasn't such a powerful man like I am today when I first joined, though I was still stronger than your average recruit that time because I've trained myself intensely before joining the Marines. Is that not the same for you girls?"
"On the contrary, we already have fighting experiences when we obtained these bodies for the first time, since we were warships built for combat," replied Enterprise. "Our memories of fighting at sea in our original forms were imprinted into our mind, so we were able to fight like it is something natural to us. However, we still obtain more and more fighting experiences as time went on and learned new skills."
"Then you did become stronger over time! It will be the same for these young ones. They may not be that impressive at the moment, but someday, some of them may become admirals and even the fleet admiral!" said Garp. "I heard about what happened during your scouting missions yesterday. Don't feel bad; not everyone is successful on the first day of their jobs. I'd say you already did pretty well making it back alive in an okay condition!"
"It is still shameful for enforcers of justice like us to lose to evil..." said Enterprise, sounding unsatisfied. "If only there is a way for us to become stronger..."
"We found out that for some reason, we are unable to use haki," said Bismarck. "If haki is what it takes for us to survive in combat in this world, then we are at a severe disadvantage not being able to harness that power... I can't imagine any of us going that far fighting in our current states, as much as I need to admit it..."
"That is a bit unfortunate, but still, it's not like you are completely helpless being unable to use haki," Garp told them "I know quite a few people who are still able to be monstrous in battles before they learned how to use haki. I'm sure that if you make the best use of what you have, you can still do very well!"
"One of us is currently working with Vegapunk to find a way to boost our powers and make up for the lack of haki," Enterprise told him.
"That is good news, then! Vegapunk is a smart fellow. In fact, smart doesn't even begin to describe the kind of genius he is! You can count on him to make you something great!" said Garp.
That night, all the ship girls were gathered together in one of the guest rooms they use.
"So I've been working with Vegapunk in coming up with ways that can help us find our footing in combats against the folks of this world, since due to our inability to use haki, we are at a severe disadvantage," said Akashi. "And I don't think any of us here are exactly fond of consuming a Devil Fruit either-nya… For all we know, it could even render us unable to move on top of water…"
"Yeah, what good is a ship that can't move on water…?" said Z23.
"Therefore, Vegapunk came up with a suggestion," continued Akashi. "And that is to apply Seatstones onto our ships-nya."
"Seastones?" said Alabama curiously.
"It's a special type of mineral found in this world that is capable of nullifying the effects of Devil Fruits," explained Akashi. "Marines use this often when dealing with Devil Fruit users in order to get an advantage over them. They mold Seastones into things like bullets, swords, handcuffs, and more so that any defensive capabilities of Devil Fruit users will be nullified when struck by these things-nya."
"Sounds useful!" commented Javelin.
"They also coat their ships with Seastones to make them less noticeable to Sea Kings or any other dangerous creatures, as the Seastones masks the presence of ship to trick Sea Kings into thinking there is nothing in front of their eyes-nya!" continued Akashi. "Because of this, I'm thinking that we can perhaps apply Seastones onto our ships."
"That way, we will be able to nullify Devil Fruits powers and deal critical damage to them with our attacks?" asked Zuikaku, finishing things for her.
"Exactly-nya!" said Akashi, pointing at her with her sleeve-covered finger. "Since we cannot use haki, this is our best solution to putting up a fight against Devil Fruit users, especially Logia users! Seastones are also as hard as diamond, so chances are possible it will increase our defenses as well-nya!"
"Sounds great! I can't wait to get some of this Seastone on myself!" said Gangut.
"As long as it will give us an edge over our adversaries, I am all for it," said Enterprise. "The experience we had yesterday has taught us that we should not pull any punches against the enemies of this world, or else we will lose our lives…"
"All right! More power and luck to us!" said Shigure while punching the air with excitement.
"On a similar note, in regards to the golden Wisdom Cube…" said Akashi.
"What of it? Have you found a way to make it return us to our own world?" Kaga asked her.
Akashi shook her head. "Sadly, Vegapunk and I are still trying to figure out that mystery. This Wisdom Cube is unlike the ones I've seen in the past-nya… However, I did find out something interesting about it that can still benefit us during our stay here-nya!"
"What is it?" asked Akagi.
"As you know, Wisdom Cubes are what granted us our current forms. We were originally lifeless warships with no sentience whatsoever, but humans used the cubes on us and gave us physical bodies and functions just like them," Akashi told everyone. "It also lets us turn our original warship bodies into riggings that we carry around in combat, but what if this cube can do more than that?"
"I'm not exactly sure I get where you are going with this…" Hood said to her.
"This Wisdom Cube has a powerful energy output, unlike other cubes I've seen," said Akashi. "While I haven't figured out how to use it to bring us back home yet, I have at least managed to find a way to harness it in a way that will make us even more powerful! Perhaps it can let our riggings take different forms and give us tremendous power-nya!"
"Wow! That sounds great!" exclaimed Shigure.
"That is indeed interesting!" said Prinz Eugen.
"Won't there any negative side effects? asked Belfast. "After all, this Wisdom Cube came from the Sirens, so chances are likely that they have planted something undesirable inside it that will affect us negatively…"
"You do realize that the same type of object also made us who we are today, and without consequences, right?" Akashi asked her. "Granted, our human creators probably undid whatever negative is in there first, so if they can do it, I can definitely do it and use it to benefit us-nya!"
"How long will you be able to finish your research on this?" Enteprise asked her.
"I'm sure with Vegapunk's help, I will be able to find out everything I need to know about this Wisdom Cube soon!" Akashi said with confidence.
TO BE CONTINUED
So yeah, the ship girls won't be able to use haki for the reasons mentioned, regardless of which one it is, but they're still going to obtain a power-ups that will let them fight better. Please look forward to how things turn out!