The old woman raced through the streets, clutching her cane in her hand as she moved like lightning. Despite her age, she hurried with a speed that was practically supersonic, swerving around street corners. She couldn't wait around – she had to keep moving as quickly as possible.

She skidded along the rain-soaked street as she turned another corner, her brows furrowing as she spotted her hotel up ahead. She grit her teeth, quickly darting towards her temporary residence. But as she got closer, she found herself visibly shaking at the sight of the scene.

The door was off its hinges, having apparently been broken down. Stepping through the doorframe, Yoshie entered the building and looked around. All around her was broken and overturned furniture in the lobby.

The old woman raced down one of the corridors, her thoughts fixated on her granddaughter. Already, things were looking bad. With no time to spare, the old woman rushed around a corner to find herself facing a broken down door – the very one that led to the room they were staying in.

"Madoka! Madoka!" Yoshie cried out, rushing into the room. But it was too late – aside from overturned furniture and broken glass, there was nothing. Still, Yoshie persisted, running into the room and looking around. Her eyes darted left or right, but there was no sign of the young girl hiding away. The old woman's fist shook.

It was then she found herself stepping on something. Looking down, she took her foot away to see a tome lying on the floor – a book on navigation she herself had written. It lay shut on the floor, having been knocked off the table – or perhaps out of someone's hands.

The old woman knelt down, reaching for the book and picking it up. Her silver bangs fell, partially obscuring her face as she looked down. Holding the book close to her chest, the old woman stood up and tightened her already firm grip on her cane.

These pirates had made the worst mistake of their lives.

"Let me go!" the young girl cried out, swuirming in the hold of the much larger man. She'd been pinned against him as he held her up in a headlock. Her arms clutched around his much bulkier one, attempting to tear him away but to no avail. A single one of his arms was enough to keep her restrained. But of course, the purpose wasn't just to keep her restrained.

It was also to restrain the Marines.

Before them was a group of at least a dozen men, but most of them had already been knocked out. The Marine Captain knelt in front of them all, supporting himself with his sword like it was a cane. Blood was trickling down the side of his face as he stared up at the burly man who held Madoka hostage. A group of half a dozen Pirates stood alongside him, none of them possessing even a scratch.

"What's wrong? Is this all West Blue's Marines can do? You make me weep, Captain," the burly man, Ushitora, spoke. "My takeover of West Blue will be far too easy at this rate!".

"Coward!" Captain Tristan snapped back, pushing himself back onto his feet. "You're just hiding behind hostages for cover!".

"It's not cowardice. It's intelligence!" the Pirate Captain retorted, smirking. "Marines like you, dedicated to maintaining peace, just can't keep up with Pirates! If you were really dedicated to peace, you'd kill even this little girl for the sake of the rest of the island!".

Madoka found his hold on her tighten a little. She attempted to try and break out, but it was to no use – the Pirate Captain was far too strong. Reaching for the iron club on his back, Captain Ushitora grasped the handle firmly and raised it into the air, allowing the Marines a good look at his weapon.

"But Pirates aren't held back by such rules. Goodbye, Marine Captain!" the Pirate remarked. Swinging his club down, Ushitora managed to knock the Marine Captain off his feet, the force of the iron club knocking into him being more than enough to throw him through the air and crash through the ranks of his men. The man skidded and bounced down the cobblestone street like a rock skipped across the water, eventually coming to a stop. After that, the Marine Captain didn't appear to move. Ushitora laughed as Madoka watched, trembling. But soon their thoughs were interrupted by a loud crashing sound.

Turning his head, the Pirate Captain looked off to the side, where far down the street a building could be seen collapsing into rubble. He raised a brow, confused. "Strange, I didn't order another shot…".

"It's probably nothing, Captain!" one of the Pirates spoke up. Someone with a cannon probably just got a bit trigger-happy!".

"Yeah," Captain Ushitora spoke, shaking his head. "That must be it. C'mon, men. We've got a base to capture!".

The Pirates strolled along, walking past the ranks of fallen Marines as Madoka stayed still in Ushitora's grasp, not daring to move. Still, as she thought about how that building collapsed, she couldn't help but wonder if it was really a cannon. The other cannon they fired earlier had struck the Marine Base, but it had caused much greater damage. Could an ordinary cannon hit a target this far inland?

She wasn't sure what caused that destruction, but she knew she didn't want to get in its way any time soon.

"Uaaaagh!"

Another pirate cried out in pain as a fist smashed into his face, knocking him to the ground. His hands moved up to clutch his nose, which was bleeding profusely from the punch. He quickly scurried away in fear as his allies, even as they surrounded the figure, stood back and watched her warily.

She shouldn't have been this physically powerful. She stood fairly tall, of course, easily at least six feet in height, if not taller. Her figure definitely made her seem even bigger than that as she possessed a very full, rounded shape. But no single person should be this strong, they reasoned. No single person – some random civilian, too – should be able to knock them away so easily!

The brown haired woman sighed, her fists raised as she looked around at the group of four. Letting out a yell, three of the men rushed her at once - two from the front and one from behind. Each one brandished a weapon, whether it was a sword or a club. But she showed no intimidation or fear for herself.

Instead, the hefty woman spun around, grabbing the man that had approached from behind before he could make his attack. In the same move she continued to rotate, swinging the man around as a makeshift weapon and throwing him into his crewmates, knocking the three of them down at once.

The three of them scrambled to get back to their feet as Alyona sighed, putting her hands on her hips. They really weren't worth much of her time, but they just wouldn't quit it. One would think that having the advantage of numbers would make it easy for them, but it was already quite obvious that none of them were a match for her.

"You know," she began, raising a finger. "If you'd just tell me where your Boss is and leave this island alone, we don't have to do this".

"Like hell we don't!" the man with the bleeding nose snapped back as he held up his cutlass. "Now that Ol' Man Whitebeard's dead, every Pirate is gunning for power! The World Government's gonna have to do everything in its power to just control the Grand Line! This is our shot to make it big in West Blue!".

With a loud yell the man rushed forwards, raising his sword. Alyona was ready to fight back, but it seemed their battle was to be cut short – the wall of the building to their right suddenly broke apart, with debris flying outwards. The two stopped, looking towards the wall for a moment. But in that single moment, a figure already made it's attack.

It moved incredibly quickly, racing towards the pirate and swinging its leg with such force that the pirate was soon flung through the air, his body crashing through the wall of another building behind him. Alyona gasped, looking back to the figure as the pirates screamed in fright. The group she'd been fighting had been quick to run, but Alyona was willing to let them leave. The figure standing before her was a far worse opponent.

Standing almost as tall as she was, he was far leaner in figure yet nevertheless his body was defined with strong, toned muscles. His skin was a dark tan, with stripes covering his body that were a shade darker. His only clothing consisted of worn, old rags and his arms were bound behind his back with a pair of handcuffs. His body looked injured and beaten, but even so there was a savage glint in his eye – of someone looking for a fight. His dark hair was like a wild mane.

"You…!" she spoke, recognizing the Fishman instantly. The Fishman stared back, baring his sharp teeth as he cracked his own neck. Alyona frowned, keeping her fists up. Before, she managed to get away with knocking him out by attacking a weak spot with his back turned. But now, his attention was focused entirely on her.

The Fishman immediately lunged forwards, his jaws snapping furiously as he attempted to bite the woman again and again. Alyona immediately caught him by the shoulders and pushed back, attempting to hold him away from her as he continued snapping his jaws. Before she could respond however his foot came up, slamming his sole into her stomach. Alyona stumbled back from the blow, which gave the Fishman a chance to bite.

Still, Alyona was hardly done. As soon as he lunged in, she swung with her fist, managing to land a right hook in his face that knocked him off course. Despite his raw strength, he fell to the ground once he was knocked off balance. But the Fishman quickly rolled around, rolling back onto his feet quickly before Alyona could follow up with another attack.

Once more he dashed towards her, his teeth bared. Alyona swung her fist again, but he quickly dodged her hook with a ducking maneuver, his body twisting as he raised his leg. A powerful roundhouse kick slammed into Alyona's side, causing her to stumble sideways before falling off balance and hitting the floor. She cringed from the force of the kick, one arm clutching her side as she kept her eyes on the Fishman. Even now, weak and bounded, he was a strong opponent.

"I might even need to transform…" Alyona thought to herself, watching as the Fishman now rushed towards her and swung his leg again. Blocking the attack with her arm, she quickly wrapped her arms around the limb and rolled over, pulling the Fishman with her and slamming him face-first into the ground. Alyona quickly attempted to pin him down, but the Fishman quickly tried to bite her, which was enough to get her to back off. Rolling away from her, the Fishman rolled back onto his feet again, standing before Alyona as she got to her feet.

"I don't want to hurt you!" Alyona spoke, attempting to reason with the Fishman. "I don't know why you're angry, but-".

"Of course you wouldn't know!" the Fishman snapped back, racing towards her. His leg snapped up, forcing Alyona to block as he now delivered a series of continuous kicking attacks, forcing her on the defense. His furious offense kept forcing Alyona to step back, keeping her defense up to protect herself. Despite not having the use of his hands, he was still an effective fighter. Or rather, it seemed almost as if he'd fought with bound arms many times before.

"Alright, there's no getting around it. I have to-" Alyona stopped in her thoughts for only a moment. Just over the Fishman's shoulder, she could see another person rushing straight towards him. His body was garbed in a black cloak, with a hood raised over his head. The Fishman was about to lunge in with a biting attack, but Alyona was too distracted to defend against the strike.

But then, the same could be said of the Fishman.

Before he managed to sink his fangs into the chef, a strong blow slammed into the back of his head. The Fishman fell forwards from the strike, his head crashing against the ground first. Everything in the Fishman's vision soon blurred and turned black as he fell unconscious once more. This time, standing over him was the cloaked figure, who held an arm outstretched that was clad in a dark sleeve and a black glove.

"B-Baldric!" Alyona spoke first, surprised by the sight of the cloaked figure. Indeed, beneath the cloak was the dark-haired young man with the scar across the bridge of his nose. Rather than answer the chef directly however, the young man looked down at the Fishman, poking him with his foot.

"Man, it's just not his day, is it?" Baldric spoke, bemused. Kneeling down, the young man looked at the handcuffs on the Fishman's wrists and touched them, inspecting them. "Yeah, looks like it's Seastone alright. They sure are thorough…".

"W-What are you doing here?" Alyona asked, confused by the young man's sudden appearance. Baldric looked up, smiling to the young woman.

"Well, I was originally running an errand, but it looks like things have changed. Can you help carry this guy?" Baldric asked, gesturing to the Fishman.

"Carry him?" Alyona asked, a little incredulous.

"Of course," Baldric responded, standing up. "I've got it all worked out. By the end of tonight, the island will be safe and I'll have finished my errands!".

Alyona stared, a brow raised.

"Your errands?" she asked, looking at the cloaked figure. Baldric chuckled again.

"Recruiting. What else?".

Capturing the Marine Base was little effort to the Pirate Captain and his men. Swarming the base, using hostages as shields – it hadn't taken them long to overcome everyone who came towards them. And any who did dare to attack anyway swiftly met with Ushitora's iron club.

The Pirate Captain laughed boisterously, swinging his club with reckless abandon as he kept the young girl pinned up against him as a meat shield. The Marines were thrown left and right as he strolled down the corridor, swatting away enemies with a casual ease.

"Is there not a single one of you capable of fighting? Poor show! Poor show!" Captain Ushitora laughed to himself, knocking down another Marine. The rest were beginning to flee, realizing they stood little chance. He continued to laugh, watching them run with their tail between their legs, but the Pirate Captain began to hear a whisper.

He looked around for a moment, but he soon realized that the whispering was coming from the little girl he currently had in a headlock. He smirked, amused as he looked down at the young blonde in the kimono.

"Muttering your prayers?" he asked bemusedly. The little girl shook her head.

"No," she began, looking up out of the corner of her eyes. "I'm just saying… Once my grandmother gets here, you'll regret capturing me".

The Pirates collectively let out a haughty laugh, amused by the young girl's words. The Pirate Captain shook his head, recollecting himself as he continued to walk with Madoka in his arm.

"Is that so?" he responded, a brow raised. "Then let her come – Maybe she'll fare better than these dogs!".

They all laughed again in amusement, but the little girl chuckled quietly to herself. They'd soon regret their actions. They always did.

Author: Things are beginning to get a bit intense! Baldric's setting his plan into motion and Captain Ushitora has practically conquered Orsus Island. I hope you guys like this chapter! And as always, be sure to leave a review letting me know what you think of the story!