Chapter 16
Something Big This Way Comes


Sakazuki was in his office like usual, and along with him were Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, Kizaru, Fujitora, and Brannew.

Looking at the two current admirals present, Sakazuki asked, "Am I correct in saying that Rokugyu has no intention of coming?"

"You know the kind of person he is," Kizaru told him. "If he doesn't think it's something so important that it requires his presence, then he won't show up."

Sakazuki grumbled under his breath about how people weren't taken their jobs seriously. "Forget it…" he said afterwards, and then he looked at Brannew. "So regarding the information I told you to look into, it really is confirmed that it will happen five days from now, right?

Brannew nodded. "Yes, according to reliable information from experts, it will indeed happen five days from now."

"That's sooner than expected, but still, there should be enough time for us to come up with a plan and prepare," said Tsuru.

"If we do things right, then it will be huge haul for us," said Sengoku.

"Which is why it is important that we make sure nothing goes wrong!" said Sakazuki, hitting the table with his fist. "All right, announce for a meeting this evening! We have to make it is known to everyone that this is serious matter! Nobody is to miss this out, and I mean it!"


No sooner after Sakazuki demanded that this important message be broadcasted, such a thing was done, and everyone on the island received the message from various Transponder Snails designed for large-scaled broadcasting, telling them there was an important meeting happening during the evening, so everyone was expected to go to the auditorium, or least they had to tune into live broadcasting and get the message.

The Marines were talking about what it could be that got the fleet admiral so act up. Even the ship girls were talking about this.

Javelin, Laffey, Z23, and Ayanami were seated together on a bench in front of a snack shop, enjoying dango and tea, when they heard this. Looking at a nearby Transponder Snail broadcasting this from atop a metal pole, Javelin said, "I wonder what this big news is that got the fleet admiral so act up."

"Considering his personality, it likely has to do with taking down dangerous pirates and whatnot," said Z23.

"If it's so important, then we should attend this meeting," suggested Ayanami. "I'm sure he is expecting us to be there as well."

"Right, we should," nodded Javelin in agreement before taking another bite out of her dango.

That evening, the auditorium was pack full of Marines, to the point there were no seats left. Ones that cannot attend for some reason were watching the through live broadcast.

The ship girls were also present, seated close to each somewhere up front.

Everyone waited eagerly for the presentation to start, and eventually, Sakazuki appeared on stage with a few other high-ranking Marines. Approaching a white screen that was at the back center of the stage, Sakazuki used a Transponder Snail that came equipped with a megaphone to speak out loud to everyone.

While he was still getting ready to speak, Zuikaku said to Akashi, who was sitting next to her, "Seriously, what's with the snails and telecommunication in this world…?"

"Apparently, they have the ability to receive and transmit radio waves, but I still don't know the details of things-nya…" replied Akashi.

Sakazuki then began the presentation. "Listen up, everyone! The reason I gathered every one of you here is because something big is coming up in five days, and I want as many of you as possible to be ready for it! First off, this is Delta island."

The white screen then showed an image projected onto it by another Transponder Snail. It showed the image of an island that was split into multiple deltas by rivers that are actually the sea running in between each of them.

"Some of you may or may not have heard this rumor before," continued Sakazuki. "Supposedly, the One Piece isn't the only big treasure that the Pirate King Gold Roger has in his possession. It is believed that his wealth is so big that he couldn't contain everything on Laugh Tale, so he hid some of them on Delta Island instead."

This immediately got all the Marines talking. Some didn't know about this and were genuinely surprised, and those who had heard about this before were still surprised that this was finally confirmed, or they were surprised that something like this would be brought up now.

"According to our intel, the treasure is hidden in the body of water right in the center of the island," said Sakazuki as he used a long baton to point at a circular body of water in the middle of the deltas. "The treasure is hidden underwater, which would normally make it hard to obtain. However, once every few years, a giant Knock-Up Stream will occur in that particular area, and everything underwater will be shot up into the air for at least an hour."

This immediately got the Marines talking again. The ship girls were also intrigued by what they heard, even if there were some things they didn't understand. "What's a Knock-Up Stream?" asked Dido.

"I can't say I came across that term when I was at the library doing research on this world…" said Hood.

"Surely a large news like this is well-known among pirates, so they will undoubtedly go there on that day to obtain the treasure for themselves," continued Sakazuki. "You can expect big shots to be there, perhaps even a Yonko." Hearing this made the Marines tremble in fear due to the possibility of facing off against a Yonko there. "But this also presents the perfect opportunity for us to capture or wipe out as many pirates as possible!"

"I see… So this is why considers this an important message that must be made known among all the Marines," said Bismarck.

"While obtaining the treasure is not exactly necessary for us Marines, it is something that we can still try to get our hands on," said Sakazuki. "Better to let things like those fall into the hands of justice than into the hands of evildoers! So… the plan is that we Marines will go to that island on that day and launch an attack while the pirates are fighting for the treasure! If we pull everything off correctly, we will be able to round them all of up an instant! I'm even considering allowing the use of Buster Call to destroy the island if I have to!"

Hearing the words Buster Call brought huge shock to the Marines, and the auditorium became noisy, with everyone talking about how it was an over-the-top decision to use something like that. The ship girls were confused, however. "What's the Buster Call? It's getting everyone act up…" said Alabama.

"I did read about that…" said Hood, looking a bit nervous. "Apparently, it involves using the Marines' largest and most powerful battleships to fire at a single target simultaneously until said target is completely annihilated. Because of the cannons' tremendous firepower, entire islands can be destroyed completely and get wiped out from maps…"

The ship girls were shocked to hear this. "Wipe out an entire island…?! That's incredible!" said Shigure in disbelief.

"I don't think any of us here are capable of doing something like that…!" said Taihou, also in disbelief.

"The Shichibukai will be told about this as well in order to get their support, but whether or not they will actually comply and show up is unknown," continued Sakazuki. Hearing this got the Marines talking once again. To acquire the assistance of the Shichibukai means this is a serious mission that the fleet admiral seriously wants to accomplish no matter what.

Sakazuki talked a bit more about this plan, and then he dismissed everyone, telling them that details about the plan would emerge over the days and that they should be prepared for this important mission. The Marines, after replying that they got it and would fight for the success of this mission in order to achieve justice, stood up and got ready to leave.

As everyone was leaving, Sakazuki made another announcement directed towards the ship girls, "Azur Lane, I want you at my office right after this! I have something important to speak to you about!"

The ship girls got curious when they heard this. "I wonder why he wants us at his office," wondered Graf Spee.


The ship girls did as Sakazuki said and gathered together at his office. The fleet admiral got there eventually and took his seat behind his desk. "All right, you're all here," he said.

"You inquired that we come before your presence?" Hood asked him.

Sakazuki nodded. "Yes, because I want to let you know your roles in this upcoming operation. I'm sure you know already that you are expected to take part in this."

Enterprise nodded. "Yes, we were expecting to some part in this operation, perhaps even the most important one."

"Good! I hope you heard everything I said in the auditorium and understood them all," said Sakazuki. "Don't make me repeat everything!"

"We understood what you said, sir," Kaga told him.

Well then, I need to know better about each of your powers," Sakazuki told them. "You all got new powers yesterday from that golden cube, right?"

"Indeed, we have all obtained brand new powers, and powerful ones at that, through the usage of that cube," Belfast told him.

"I don't believe I've seen what you're all capable of doing yet, so I would like you to give me a better understanding of your powers so that I can decide what roles you will play in this upcoming operation," Sakazuki said to them.

Enterprise nodded. "Yes, we will demonstrate them to you if you wish so."

"I hope you are able to perform to your fullest on that day," Sakazuki said to them. "I would like you to stick around until this is over, then I will allow you to go back to your own world, assuming you have found a way to do so already."

"According to the Siren I came in contact with, it appears that it is up to their decision on whether or not they want us to return," said Enterprise. "They seems to want us to entertain them enough before letting us back…"

"Honestly, I can't say I trust the words of an enemy…" said Bismarck.

"Putting that aside for now, I remember a report I received this afternoon and wanted to tell you about it when suddenly I learned about what will happen at Delta Island," said Sakazuki. "Did you not tell me yesterday day that your enemies, the Sirens, said they would drop by in our world?"

"Yes, Observer Beta did say that, but I am not sure if she is serious or not," replied Enterprise.

"Well, I think we may or may not have a confirmation regarding that," said Sakazuki. "This afternoon, there was a report that a ship carrying some Celestial Dragons was attacked by what they claim to be women with pale skin moving around in the air and on the water using black machines."

The ship girls widened their eyes in shock upon hearing this. "That sounds just like the Sirens!" gasped Kaga.

"So they really did come to this world…!" said Enterprise in disbelief.

"The only survivor of the attack was a guard serving the Celestial Dragons, and he was the eyewitness to what I told you," said Sakazuki.

"How terrible…!" said Dido, sounding horrified. "Those poor innocent souls…!"

"Looks like you brought your world's problem to ours…" said Sakazuki, not sounding happy. "But I'm not going to blame you for this. Criminals always do what they want, whether you like it or not!"

"Do you want us to go after the Sirens?" Enterprise asked him.

"There hasn't been any reports of these Sirens afterwards, so sailing around the sea searching for them without any kind of lead is a waste of time, but I will keep an eye on things and let you know as soon as anything related to Sirens show up," Sakazuki told the ship girls.

After saying all this, Sakazuki dismissed the girls, telling them they that were free to turn in for the night and that they were going to give him a proper demonstration of their new powers and riggings tomorrow morning.

The girls left the room and headed down a hallway to leave the building and return to their living quarters. While on the way, they talked with each other regarding what they heard about the Sirens. "I can't believe the Sirens actually showed up in this world…" said Javelin.

"We really brought our problems to this world, as if this world doesn't have enough problems already…" said Z23, not sounding happy.

"I feel bad for those who died in their attack…" said Dido.

"Actually, I wouldn't feel too bad for those people, if you know anything about them," Hood told her.

"Why is that?" Dido asked her.

"I read up the Celestial Dragons before, and… they really are terrible people…" replied Hood.

Bismarck nodded. "Yes, I am very much horrified by the kind of people they are."

"What's wrong with them?" asked Alabama.

"Celestial Dragon: descendants of the founders of the World Government," said Gascogne. "They are wealthy nobles who reside on the headquarters of the World Government, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. They have the reputation of being cruel and self-centered people who sees themselves as gods. Whenever they leave Mary Geoise, they bring with them their own oxygen supply, as they refuse to breathe the same air as what they refer to as commoners.

"They commit acts of crime such as robbing, killing, enslavement, vandalizing, and more, and are able to get away with it because of their status, and no one is to question their actions, lest they be punished or even executed. Any form of physical harm done to a Celestial Dragon will result in the dispatching of an admiral to deal with the offenders."

"Whoa… Are you kidding me? They really let people like that get away with this?!" said Shigure in shock after hearing all those.

"They see themselves as above the law and therefore have the right to do such things," said Gascogne.

"How terrible…!" said Dido in shock.

"Now you know why it's better to not mourn for their deaths, even at the deaths of the Sirens," Bismarck said to her, sounding angry. "The way I see it, that got what they deserve!"

"Man… I sure wouldn't want to run into any of them…" said Shigure.


Somewhere out at sea in the dead of the night, there was an uninhabited island containing nothing but a jungle and various wild animals that live in there. There was also for some reason a wrecked ship resting on the shore.

Currently on the shore next to said ship, five people could be seen there, each of them accompanied by machineries ranging from medium-sized to large-sized. With the exception of one giving off blue light, the others were giving off orange light.

"Yahaha! That was fun! Watching the horrified faces of those bastards as their ships sank!" said Purifier. Her hammerhead shark-like rigging was floating above her as she sat on a rock.

"They had what was coming to them, spouting crap about us," said Smasher. Standing behind her was her large crab-like rigging.

"At least they did praise our beautiful looks, which I like!" said Tester Beta. Her manta ray-like rigging was floating in the air behind her. "Though I didn't like it when that old geezer wanted us to become his wives…"

"He sure has the nerves to say something like! I'm glad we drowned them all!" said Scavenger with an annoyed look. Her dual riggings shaped like a guitarfish was floating on both her sides.

"Be glad that there are people charmed by our good looks. I wouldn't mind getting a husband who looks like a handsome prince! Heehee!" said Arbiter. Her massive rigging shaped similar to that of a basking shark was partially resting in water, and she was sitting on a seat located in front of its "mouth."

"Too bad all of them look like ugly barnacles! Haha!" laughed Purifier.

"Either way, I hope you all enjoyed your first kill today in this new world," Arbiter said to them. "But I must warn you not to get too cocky. The people of this world are much different compared to the ones back in our own world."

"Tsk! I don't see how dangerous they can be if they have worse technology than us!" said Smasher, looking unimpressed. "I'll admit that they have strange powers going on here, but as long as they have flesh and blood, a properly aimed gunfire is more than enough to blow off their heads!"

"If the people here are as powerful as the reports claim, then I'm surprised that the Azur Lane haven't met their demises yet," said Scavenger. "Looks like they are better than they seem…"

"Looks like putting them into this world is more interesting decision than it seems!" said Arbiter. "Who knows what the Creator and the Inquisitor are thinking or planning though, but as long as there is something fun to get out of this, why complain?"

"I'm surprised that you were called to come here, since you rarely leave headquarters," said Tester Beta, looking at her.

"I don't mind, since staying indoors all the time can get boring," said Arbiter. "I feel honored to be chosen to visit this new world where there are new rules and things to discover!"

"This is going to be the best field trip ever! Yay!" said Purifier loudly and cheerfully while throwing her arms into the air.

"Well, then let's make the most out of it before going back home! Let's hope both the Azur Lane and the people of this world can entertain us enough!" said Arbiter with enthusiasm.


TO BE CONTINUED

If what Sakazuki said during the presentation sounds familiar to you and is what you think it is, then you're right. It's literally the plot of the One Piece movie Stampede! The following arc will be an adaptation of that movie, but it will have one major difference: Bullet WILL NOT be present at all. I will be omitting him from this arc in order to avoid being too similar to the movie, so please look forward to the upcoming adaptation that incorporates Azur Lane!