It took Brynlee two years – two fucking years – to finally figure out the marine Captain's actual identity: Belo Betty, future Army Commander of the Revolutionary Army. She hadn't had much time to shine in the series, hence why it had taken Brynlee so long to remember her, but as soon as she did, Brynlee finally understood: with a vacant post of power in the boonies of the East Blue, the Revolutionary Army had seen the opportunity to gain a better foothold in the weakest of the seas.

No one to bother them, no one to notice as they slowly filled the ranks with more and more of their people, no one to see the documents and weapons ferried right under the nose of the World Government. And of course, no one to snitch when higher-ranked

Revolutionary Officers began dropping by to establish a proper network in the East.

Namely, higher-ranked officers accompanied by two extremely familiar faces - hence how she'd finally figured it out.

Of all people to come by today…!

"Hello! We're Captain Belo's niece and nephew! It's nice to meet you!"

Brynlee could only gawk at Koala and Sabo, who were standing before her and the rest of the children with easygoing smiles. But of course, it made sense – what better place to actively train their youngest agents in information gathering than a safe and relatively mysterious island away from the marines' influence? And since they were children, the villagers were much more welcoming despite their affiliation with the marine Captain – meaning they'd quickly learn the truth of their situation with the Fishmen.

Koala is here. Koala is here, and so is Arlong, and neither of them knows—!

This was different. This was unexpected.

This was an opportunity - two for the price of one, actually.

It could all go terribly wrong… but damn it, I can't pass this up!

So Brynlee decided to throw all caution to the wind and stepped away to scribble a note, which she subtly handed to Sabo as she walked past him before promptly heading for her cabin so she could prepare herself. She distinctly heard his gasp, as well as Koala's muffled curse.

Their cover was blown, and they'd have to tell their leading officer.

Brynlee had asked for the Captain to meet up at Arlong Park, where she was now waiting. Of course, she'd informed Arlong that a special guest was coming by – though not exactly in details. She feared telling him anything too soon regarding the Captain's true affiliations might not work in her favor, so she decided to wing it and hope the shock would be enough to give them some room for proper discussion.

Thankfully, when Belo showed up, she wasn't accompanied by the kids, which was a relief – if Koala had arrived up out of nowhere, it would have been a bloodbath.

"So you're the guest the brat is expecting," huffed Arlong.

"Where is she?" asked plainly Belo.

"I'm here." Brynlee jumped from the roof, swiftly landing as her wings fluttered in her back. She heard Belo gasp softly, and grinned. "Here's a question for you guys: part of Fisher Tiger's legacy, a wayward Lunarian, and a Revolutionary agent meet up in Arlong Park. What happens next?"

"… what the hell, brat?"

Good news: Arlong didn't tear her throat out and she no longer had to hide her wings since Belo and most of the men in the 16th branch were undercover revolutionaries – meaning the last thing on their mind was to sell her out to the marines.

Bad news: everyone was now wondering how in the seven hells she'd managed to blow their cover, and she was running out of excuses. However, she was seriously beginning to wonder if she needed one. It would be much simpler if she could tweak a couple more details from the original storyline, namely bringing Sabo's memories back, but that would imply revealing more impossible knowledge.

And then, the worst that could happen happened: Arlong dropped by the village while Koala was there. Brynlee had to physically step in to ensure he wouldn't tear the girl apart here and there, and he really looked ready to kill her – until she collapsed to the ground, tears and snot marring her face as she buried it into the dirt, babbling out endless apologies, claiming Fisher Tiger's death was her own fault.

Acknowledging it seemed to pause Arlong in his murderous tracks, and it gave Koala enough time to splutter out a proper explanation as to what exactly happened all these years ago - because everything was not as it seemed.

The marines had proclaimed that the villagers had betrayed Fisher Tiger and reported him in exchange for them overlooking the fact that Koala was the World Nobles' "property", and Fisher Tiger later on died of the blood loss resulting from his injuries. However, Koala claimed it had actually been a trap from the start, with the marines manipulating and threatening her family and village. They'd said that Fisher Tiger had kidnapped her and was coming to claim a bounty, of all things, and by the time they realized they'd been fooled, it was too late for the Adventurer. The moment he'd been dealt with, marines had then returned to the village to try and arrest her so as to bring her back to Mary Geoise, which is when her village took up arms and rebelled, managing to drive them out.

It was a sad tale of racism and grievances, one where only the victims got the blame.

"Our rebellion drew a lot of attention, including the Revolutionary Army's, who managed to evacuate the island before the World Government could retaliate," she explained through her tears, still refusing to lift her head and meet Arlong's accusatory, murderous glare. "Our entire village was relocated to a safer island, and- and that's how I joined the Revolutionary Army..." She gritted her teeth. "Tales of his feats are shared with each generation. This debt of life will not go unpaid, no matter what!"

Brynlee was carefully monitoring the situation. It would seem Koala's retelling of the events had been enough to make him pause, at the very least, but there truly was no telling how he would react. His fists were still clenched, ready to strike, and there was no ignoring the killing intent practically radiating from him.

"Arlong… I still bear Tiger's mark," added Koala, sniffling as she showed off the Sun tattooed on her skin. "And it- it may not mean much to you anymore, but I- I intend to carry on his legacy. I need to make him proud, and to do that I need to take down the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. I need- I need to do my best to finally stop this cycle of hatred between our races, starting with those- those monsters. That's why- that's why I ask you to wait. You want my head? Fine, it's yours. But please- please give me a little more time so I can make a difference, first. So I can at least catch a glimpse of the future he wanted to achieve…"

"Koala was never to blame for his death," Brynlee insisted – she could see Arlong's anger simmering, still ready to explode, but also an opening. "She was a victim in all this, her family was manipulated, and one of the greatest men to have ever lived died that day. Not because of her or her family or her village – because of the marines, and the World Government, and the Celestial Dragons who put that insane bounty on his head. Fisher Tiger... His dream was to put an end to the cycle of hate between Humans and Fishmen. He couldn't bring himself to, no matter how hard he tried, but he still believed that this ideal was achievable for the younger generations." He stiffened, his anger briefly leaving place to shock, because what Brynlee was insinuating was the Sun Pirates' greatest secret, after all, but she forged on. "This is it. Can't you see? His dream is real. It can be achieved. And it starts with Koala, and me, and all of the other kids of Cocoyashi... and one day, we'll grow up, and pass down this peace to the newer generation." She finally dared to step between him and Koala, her head held high and meeting his gaze without fear. "But know this: if you kill her now, then you will lose your only shot at helping achieve Fisher Tiger's dream. You're smart, so carefully think over your eventual losses rather than your immediate gains, would you?"

A heavy silence ensued as they stared each other down, the little crowd of civilians and fake marines gathered nearby watching with growing tension, unsure whether to intervene or let Brynlee handle it. After a few more seconds that felt like hours, though, Arlong looked away first with a scoff.

"Come back to Arlong Park in three days."

That's all he said before turning heels and walking away, still distinctly bloodthirsty, but walking away, nonetheless. Brynlee heaved out a small sigh, relieved. This definitely could have gone a lot worse.

[FEAT UPDATE]

Silver Tongue

Level: 8/20

+ 1 bonus (Will of D.)

There, now we're getting into it!

I'm a little surprised no one saw Belo coming, there aren't that many purple-haired characters in One Piece xD but glad I could surprise you guys! Also, for anyone wondering, cannonically, Belo Bety hasn't yet been appointed Commander of the East Blue Army. She's currently of an unknown rank, hence why she doesn't have a bounty yet. The way I see it, she simply wouldn't have made it further up the marine ranks in cannon and would have eventually abandoned her cover altogether to become Commander. But now, with Brynlee's interference finally giving her and the Army a proper foothold, well...

And hey, I did tell you I was going to change things up ;)

And yes, in case anyone missed it (it was kind of just thrown in there), there was a TWO YEARS TIME SKIP! That's also why her FEAT is a little more advanced, since she had time to level it up. But anyway, if you guys have any questions or want to clarify some stuff, feel free to ask!

Later!