Chapter 8: Close calls

Surprisingly, it took only about two days for us to reach Gecko Island. Guess it is a lot closer than I thought it would be.

The port that we docked in, named [Honey Docks] and no, it's not a made-up name even if I want it to be, isn't as extravagant as Loguetown's or commercial like Temasek's. If I were to put it into a single phrase, it would be 'plain'.

There are normal wooden docks that we anchored the Silver Fang, which are typical for these kinds of settings, and the town itself is a simple arrangement of white brick houses with blue or red stone tiles with a few wooden houses here and there standing out with a few shop signs and billboards nailed on the stores' roofs for all to see.

All in all, a simple port town with little to offer in commercial goods for other islands.

We are to docked here for just one day to resupply for the two weeks journey towards Gula, where we will be getting the sugar requested. From what the goddess' guidebook said (I'm officially calling it that from now on), Gula is one of the few largest exporters of sugar as well as having one of the biggest sugarcane plantations in the East Blue. Guess if we are delivering sugar, we are getting from the best.

Besides those that are roped into helping the moving of the new supplies, Silvia let the crew have a shore leave to rest up in preparation for the long voyage ahead, although she made it very clear that we are to return at least by nightfall or she is going to leave them behind.

That leads to me just wandering the streets, Sen getting roped into helping with the supplies so basically leaving me with a break from training for once.

Got to say, it has been a very long time since I have some time to myself. Back in Riza didn't count as I technically is on a date-NO! That was NOT a date! It is just… hanging out! That's it! Friends hanging out! FRIENDS!

Anyways, I'm left just walking around the streets of the town and taking in the sights. And I got to say, for being called Honey Docks, the port town isn't exactly 'sweet' to look at-wait, no, that's a terrible metaphor to use, please forget that. What I meant to say is that my original statement of it being called 'plain' is pretty accurate once I saw the main streets.

It is a bustling town, for sure. But unlike Loguetown which is more of a bustling city than anything, or Temasek that has the advantage of being called a trading port, Honey Docks is more of a pitstop than anything.

It has the usual bustle of a town but not crowded with people or sailors, the stores and shops are what you would expect from a seaport with no real speciality of the island on sale. All in all, it's just another port town you could probably find anywhere.

The warehouse near the docks does indicate something else, but I'm not sure.

Now then… what to do now…? We have arrived at about noon-ish so we had our lunch on the ship in courtesy of Gord magnificent cooking skills, which means I'm still full so that leaves out getting some food. And I have been in this town for about… fifteen minutes and I'm already bored with it.

What else is there to do? I can't exactly leave the town to go further inland because I have no idea the geography of the island not to mention the possibility of me pulling a Zoro and getting lost to the other side of the island. I could go for a nice flight, but Sen has forbidden me from using my wings outside of training, and if he finds out I did it anyway… I fear that he might add torture to my 'training'…

"Maybe I should have volunteered to help with the crates…"

"Ah! Look out!"

"Huh?"

I turned to the voice of warning in confusion, only to see a pile of decorated boxes fell on top of me, semi-burying me in them as I fell onto the floor with them.

"Oh no, Klahadore!"

"Oh, dearie me, are you alright?"

I let out a small grunt as I dug myself out of the present burial, "It's okay, I wasn't looking at where I was… going… either…" Then I felt my voice died in me as I saw who is standing in front of me.

With his hand extended towards me in a gesture of goodwill, with his dark hair slicked back by hair gel or grease if the oily surface is any indication and a pair of wide round glasses that seems to block his eyes by the light reflection, is the disguised Kuro of the Thousand Plans.

Oh shit…! what is he doing here?! Wasn't he supposed to be in Syrup Village busy tricking the villagers and Kaya?!

"Miss? Is something the matter?"

I blinked before quickly getting on my feet while, admittingly rudely, ignoring his hand, "Oh! Nothing! I'm fine! Fit as a fiddle!"

"I… see…"

"Oh, Klahadore… you should have watch where you are going!" A female voice behind him stated, a young blonde woman that is obviously a slightly younger Kaya peeked out with her hands around her hips. Huh? Wasn't she supposed to be sickly or something?

"I'm sorry, Mistress Kaya." He apologized to her with a sheepish smile, but his eyes glanced at me for a moment, and in that single moment gave me a peek at the cold and calculating man under the façade. This is bad, did my flinching tip him off? I have to get out of here, before he gets any ideas…

"I apologize for my butler's mistake, miss." Kaya bowed to me, to ME of all people, "Is there anything we can make it up to you?"

"Oh, no. It's fine, really."

"Oh! There's this café I know of! I could treat you to some tea. And the cake is so delicious!"

"Seriously, it is fine!"

"No, please, I insist!"

She sure is persistent, I give her that… I know she means well, but I really don't want to go near that 'butler' of hers without my wooden sword AND my all-cutting knife (And for the record, I have checked the knife for its claim. Nearly poked a hole in Sen's old dinghy of a boat with it too).

Just as I was about to give up and just book it, I saw my opportunity just turning around the corner.

"Sorry, but I really got to go!" I tell her before dashing past her and latching onto my saviour hand with an iron grip, "Found you!"

"Wait, wha-?"

"Seriously, you always wander off like that! Mom said we have to stick together!"

"What are you-?"

"And wasn't the older brother supposed to be the one guiding me?!"

After a quick glance to check that Kaya and her 'butler' of hers are gone, I let out a sigh of relief. That was close. TOO close.

"Oh, my. Rein." I looked back at Sameson who has the most surprised expression I have seen on his face, before adopting a sly grin of sorts, "If you are into brother-roleplay, you could just ask. I would gladly play the role of the hot older brother lusting for his sexy younger sister-GAK!"

Grunting as he cups his poor bruised nether regions from me kneeing them, I let go of his hand with a scowl on my face, "Don't misunderstand. I just needed an excuse to turn them down."

"Yeah… I…I ca-can imagine…" He lets out a squeak before leaning on the wall in pain, "Glad to be of help…"

The rest of the day spent in Honey Docks went by as slowly as it could have for me, with my paranoia of Kuro possibly suspecting me of suspecting his true identity and would come to force me to 'keep quiet' burning metaphysical bon fires in my head.

As if by fate or some damn miracle, nothing happens to me by the time we are set to sail for Gula.

To be honest, that just scares me a little more than I wanted it to, but after two days out in the sea with no signs of the Black Cat Pirates anywhere, I can finally rest easy knowing that the scheming pirate didn't catch wind of me.

Not sure if that would be a good thing, though…

By not revealing his real identity, I may have doomed Kaya and, in extension, Syrup Village to his villainous plans. From that brief interaction, it is obvious that Kaya is a gentle soul unworthy of the era she is born into, if a bit naïve looking. To leave her with that cold-hearted monster of a man, it doesn't sit right with me…

Should I inform someone about this? Tell someone of the lies that the Kuro of the Thousand Plans is still alive and is about to enact a devious plan that may spell the end of an entire village?

After thinking about it for a few days, I decided with a heavy heart to just let the plot be. After all, no matter how 'perfect' Kuro's plans may be, it is by fate(plot armour) that Usopp and Luffy would overheard and put a stop to his plans all together. Even without my interference, he would be stopped regardless.

With that out of the way, I return back to my usual routine on the Silver Fang.

But even if Kuro is out of my mind, there is a danger coming closer to the ship, one that I have never imagine encountering at all.

It is only a week after we departed from Honey Docks.

We are currently now passing through what is known as the Orange Straits (Again, I'm not making any of these up), a stretch of ocean that acts as the makeshift border between the island of the now-defunct Oykot Kingdom and Conami Islands.

These waters aren't ideal for massive vessels like galleons and a few of the larger Marine battleships due to the small dots of land that too small to be considered islands that are scattered along the sea into a somewhat maze of currents that would beach any of them onto them the moment they entered.

But for smaller ships like the Silver Fang, who is only half the size of the largest galleon available anywhere else, the channel is the perfect shortcut to go through towards Gula that cut the trip to about a half a day. In comparison, the usual route taken by the larger vessels have to circumvent Oykot, since the waters near Conami is occupied by the infamous Arlong Pirates, which takes about three to five days to complete.

And in these maze-like waters, is where I have one of the most dangerous encounters to date.

"Captain! Ship sited off the portside!"

A call from the crow's nest alerted the crew, most of us stopped what we are doing and took a glance at the stated direction.

Indeed, over in the open waters to our left lies a lone ship drifting about in the currents. Its caramel-toned wooden body waterlogged and punctured with holes resembling the result of cannon fire, its sails torn and stained grey and yellow, and its stern and rudder completely smashed to shreds. On its deck are a bunch of sailors that seems to be waving a bunch of stuff in an attempt to attract our attention.

"Looks like a drifting vessel." Lee commented.

"What of the crewmen?" Silvia asked.

"Simple sailors, from what I can see!" The lookout replied, "None of them are armed. I think I saw a few corpses onboard with them."

"Must be the victims of a pirate raid…" She concluded, "Get the ship close, Samerson." An 'aye' from the helm can be heard, "Lee, inform Justin and prep the medical team for refugees. And get Kris to go over there to look about the waters, to keep the ship from drifting too far."

"Got it." Lee replied before rushing below deck.

"I'll get Kris." I noted before running to the rope tied to the railing.

I've probably failed the mention this before, but besides Temasek, Kris does not land on any of the islands we visited, choosing to stay near the coasts of the ports and about the waters around the docks. He actually spent more time under the water than above it, not sure why but it's his thing, I guess. So, whenever we need him up on deck to receive orders, we use a heavy weight that looks like a clam shell tied to the rope which we then toss over board into the water as a signal for him.

After I went did exactly that, Kris' head pops out of the water a few seconds later. "What is it?"

"There's a drifting ship to the portside." I explain to him, "Silvia wants you to check it out."

"Understood." He nods before diving back under the water.

Returning to the portside of the deck, I waited patiently as our ship turns around and slowly made its way towards the drifting vessel.

"Something feels wrong." Sen commented as he made his way to the railings.

"What does?" I asked.

"You can't see from this angle, but the rudder looks like it has been torn out without affecting its hinges in the stern." He explained, "Cannon fire wouldn't be able to do that."

"That means that-"

Not a second sooner, gun fire can be heard from the 'victims' ship, followed by a smoke flare firing into the sky leaving behind a long trail red tainted smoke.

"IT'S A TRAP!"

The very moment that infamous meme of a phrase is shouted out, columns of water burst out from around the ship.

From afar, over the horizon and sailing towards us fast, are at least two pirate themed ships with light and smoke signalling firing cannons. They are at least the size of the Silver Fang, with darker wood planks and black sails shown proudly with the infamous Jolly Roger painted on.

And not just any Jolly Roger, mind you.

It is the skull and crossbones with two hourglasses, the very insignia of the Krieg Pirate Fleet.

"Don Krieg?! Here?!"

"What is the captain of the largest pirate fleet in the East Blue doing here?!"

"An 'abandoned' ship that acted as bait…" Silvia noted as the boat shakes with the wave from another cannon shot hitting the water, "Classic pirate ambush tactics… Can't believe I didn't see that one coming a mile away."

"What now?!" Lee asked worriedly.

"…Samerson!" She commanded, "Get us out of here and fast! Everyone else, bring the sails to full mast! We're not gonna be Don Krieg's mark this day, you hear me?!"

"Aye, aye!"

Everyone clamper to their stations with a few dashing across the deck to prepare the cannons for fire, crates of cannonballs are carried all about with several sacks of gunpowder not too far behind.

"Rein!" Silvia calls out to me, "Head to the skies! You and Kris will draw their cannon fire away to give us an opening! Slow them down if you can!" She then pulls something out of her cleavage (Because OF COURSE she'll keep stuff in between those mountains) and tosses something towards me which I hastily stumble to catch, "Use that Baby Den-Den Mushi to stay in contact! Once we're in the clear, you are to come back immediately, got it?!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" I mock saluted before perching the snail on my shoulder. The snail is light-grey with a blue shell, on the sides of it are bronze speakers while its eye stalks are half-closed with a drowsy expression. I think Sen has shown me how to dial one of these once before…

"Stay calm and remember to flap your wings to gain speed, but glide for long distance." Sen tells me placing a hand on my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze, "You got this."

I nodded at his advice and unfolds my wings. I then proceed to leap off the railings and took to the air, my wings flapping hard as I launch myself towards the assaulting ships. Below me, I can see the silhouette of our fishman crewmate swimming under the waves towards the same target. The very moment we reach the leading ship, I ascend to bleed off my speed before landing on the deck with a grin.

"Hey there!" I greeted.

"The hell?! She has wings!"

"Are those horns?!"

"It's the devil! The sea devil has come for us!"

Ignoring the slightly panicking pirates, I continued, "I'm Rein, and you guys are attacking my ship. And I will be extremely grateful if you all not attack it."

"You idiots! She's no devil! That's just a kid with Devil Fruit powers!" The one I presume is the captain of this ship who is NOT Krieg, thank goddess almighty, spoke up, "Shoot her!"

The sounds of flintlocks being cocked is warning enough as I took off into the air once more, narrowly dodging their bullets as I flew above and about their ship. With an idea in mind, I flew close to their sails, slowing down for a moment for them to get an aim at me before flying away just in time for the lead rounds to miss me while poking holes into their sails.

I then flew a few more laps zig-zagging around their masts and sails with similar results, with one occasion in which one of them has leaped off the mast to try and catch me in the air which failed spectacularly as not only did he missed, he also landed on his crewmates, effectively body slamming a few of them into the deck hard with sounds of broken bones being very clear even with the wind blowing past my ears. By the time I lap around the fifth time, their sails are nothing but swiss cheese.

"DAHAHAHA! Thanks for your help!" I laughed their faces when they finally realised what I was doing, "And for the record, I'm TWENTY!"

A few more rounds fired as I flew away from the ship, just in time to see Kris burst out of the water in a large torrent of water around him as he lands on the deck with a large splash, soaking the cannons and bags of what I assume is gunpowder. He then proceeds to flip them off before diving back into the sea.

"And for safe measure…"

I then flew to their stern and with one strong huff, slams my transformed feet into the rudder's hinges, smashing right through it. Satisfied with my work, I flap my wings and head towards the next ship.

"Same method?" Kris asked me as he pops his head out of the water while swimming towards the ship.

"Yup!" I nodded with a thumbs-up before making a dash for the pirate vessel.

Once again, I perform the similar act as I did for the previous ship and again with similar results. Although, for this ship, something went differently the moment I did my third lap around.

This time, there's another person on the mast ready to jump onto me but instead of it going terribly wrong for him like previously, it went horribly wrong for me. For one, he didn't jump off above me, he jumped at me the very moment I slowed down next to the mast. As I was too busy baiting the other pirates, I did not notice him until it was too late.

At one moment, I was in the air with a smug grin.

The next, I'm suddenly pushed down onto the deck with a loud and painful thud, face landing first to my dismay. I may have broken a nose from that…

"Got you now, you brat." A calm and cold voice spoke as I felt what seems to be a round metal something leaning against my neck. Twisting my head to get a glance, I notice the light gray headband and jacket, the black iron ball the size of my head that is connected to an equally black iron rod, and finally the cold eyes of the person that is kneeling on me.

"Alright, way to go Gin!"

"As expected of our Combat Commander!"

"He took her down without a cinch!"

Gin? As in THAT Gin, the one that went toe-to-toe, or tonfa-to-feet if you want to be specific, with Sanji of all people?! Oh crap, I didn't think he'll be part of this! This is bad! Really, really bad! I am no way able to fight against someone of his level! This is impossible!

"I don't really like to do this to kids, but you are making too much of a ruckus." He tells me, "So, sorry for this."

My mind immediately remembered one titbit about him, the one in which he is completely ruthless and cruel, and that information gave me dread. Crap, he is about to bludgeon me with his monster of a weapon, isn't he?! Crap, crap, crap! What do I do?! What do I-Wait, I have Devil Fruit powers!

I immediately change my head, and most of my limbs on instinct, into scales and retract my wings, just in time too as I felt the metal weight impacting against my skull hard, the ringing of metal clashing rang out from the resulting clash. Urgh, I can feel my brain vibrating from the attack…

"What in the…?"

Sensing the surprise in his voice, I use this moment to push myself upward, effectively pushing him off as well, and clampers out of the lock. Taking a few steps, I turn around to face the beast that is Gin, his mouth tensed and body poised for another attack.

Compared to in the manga, which is after he was nearly starved to near death, Gin looks rather well-fed. There's still a sense of scruffiness in his hair but the lack of eye bags means that this guy is in tip-top condition, and is fully ready to kill at a moment's notice.

"So, this is the power of a Devil Fruit user, huh?" He stated, twirling one of his tonfas, "Good to know. Now I know how much I need to put into my strikes." He then dashes towards me, swinging his weapon at me.

Not sure it is due to training with Sen for so long, or because my Devil Fruit enhances both my physical and mental capabilities, Gin's strike actually looks somewhat slow. Not as in slow motion, but slow enough that my reflexes kicked in and I duck under the overhead strike rather effortlessly.

"Oh? Then how's this!?"

He continues to swings several more strikes at me, twirling and spinning every few moves to add momentum and strength to his attacks, and each time I dodged them just in time. Of course, I'm still panicking when doing so, with a few manages graze my cheek or gut, add to the fact that I'm backing away while he is advancing spells out the direction this fight is going to take.

Although I got hand it to Sen, he knows how to train someone if just over a month training means able to dodge strikes that could obliterate ribs in one hit

"Whoa! This kid is actually going toe-to-toe with Gin!"

"This is the first time I have seen our commander having this much trouble with someone that young before!"

"Go for it, Gin! Knock her head clean off!"

"Devil Fruit or not, she is no match for a real Demon!"

"Show us the power of the Man-Demon!"

Well, aren't the peanut gallery having a good time? That being said, shouldn't they be helping instead of cheering? I mean, they are PIRATES, after all…

A few steps back and I found myself with my back against the wall, or in this case, back against the mast. "Got you now!" Gin, with the ferocity to match his namesake, swings down in an overhead strike that is clearly aiming to smash my skull in. I quickly raise my arms up in a cross, just in time to block the attack which slams into my forearm hard. The power behind that strike had my arm shaking from the impact as I struggle to hold back the strike.

Damn, he hit just as hard as Sen! Even in my half-dragon form, his attacks are almost breaking through my scales!

I then felt the weight on my arms just suddenly lift off, causing me to stumble forward for a second before another attack hits right into my gut hard. In the split-second sensation, he must have slammed his knee into me the moment I stumble, blasting the air out of my lungs on impact. I only have a second to gasp for air before another weight slams into my face hard, knocking my head against the mast so hard that I can hear the cracks being formed on the wood.

"Grrgghh…"

"You're alive after that…?!"

I let out a groan as his weapon is lifted off me. Owowow… I think my nose nearly broke from that strike… And I may have a concussion from the impact. Guess my face isn't as well protected as the rest of my head…

"Guess I just have to hit harder!" He shouted angrily, spinning his tonfas faster and faster ready to strike down.

Not sure if it is due to the concussion or my animalistic instinct, but the moment I saw him spinning his weapon, I lashed my fist out at him, just as he is about to swing down his weapon which he did and misses my head by a small margin, and punches right into his chest hard. I can feel his ribs collapsing a little under my knuckles as I actually sent him flying with that attack, knocking down a few of the pirate peanut gallery along the way.

I was left stunned by my actions, looking down at my transformed fist with only one question in mind. Did I actually just do that?

"Commander!"

"She actually sent Gin flying! Devil Fruit users are crazy!"

And to add salt to injury, sea water splashes into the deck and soaks everyone AND me from top to bottom. "Rein, we got to go!" Kris's voice calls me out, pulling me back into reality as I immediately prepare to run off, before remembering to do one last thing.

I turn back to the mast and grabbing it with both of my transformed arms, I squeezed as hard as I can. A few notable seconds later, I can feel the wood splintering under my strength before with one final squeeze, the portion of the mast I was squeezing gave way, leaving a large gouge mark on where my arms were.

"Done." I nodded with a grin before turning back to them, "And for the record, I'm TWENTY!"

With that said, I ran and leap off the side of the ship, unfolding my wings mid air and with a flap, sends me flying away from the ship, just in time to hear the sounds of the mast toppling over into the deck.

I let out a hiss when the salty breeze blows against my nose. It may not be broken, but Gin may have left a rather nasty bruise on it. Not to mention the taste of blood in my mouth from I can guess is a cut lip…

Then my mind was pulled back by the sound of cannon fire in the distance, coming from where the Silver Fang has sailed to.

"Puru puru puru puru."

The Mini Den-Den Mushi then rings to my surprise, almost forgetting about the mollusc on my shoulder who surprisingly haven't fallen off in my tussle with Gin, and I picked it off my shoulder to answer.

"Rein! You and Kris-AH! *SPLASH* You and Kris need to get back to the Silver Fang, pronto! Krieg got both ends covered and is pinning us down! We need your help!"

"A pincer attack…!" I muttered in realization before speeding forward as fast as I could muster towards the assaulted ship.

Back with the Silver Fang, its captain is facing one hell of a naval warfare ahead.

She originally planned for both Rein and Kris to distract the two ships, disable them if they could, which might give them enough time to sail out of the strait to the safety of the open waters. Knowing about those two's capabilities, the fishman more than the newbie, she expects that the both of them would be able to make it back alright.

What she wasn't expecting is for another pair of pirate vessels waiting near other end, and with a large man-o-war at the mouth blocking their only way out.

That brought them to their current predicament, getting flanked on both sides by cannon fire with the added mortar shots from the large ship afar. They are barely fighting back, cannons firing back and forth from all four ships, but with a few mortar rounds hitting really close to the ship, Silvia knows that it is a losing battle.

Even with Sen's help, who is basically tossing cannonballs into the incoming shots and detonating them in mid-flight, they aren't doing too well. Sooner or later, their limited ammo supplies are going to run out and they would be open for a full volley of cannon and mortar rounds. They need to turn the tide somehow.

"Status report!" Lee calls out after reloading his rifle.

"Cannon balls are about to run out!" Gord calls out.

"And we're still no closer to the exit!" Samerson added franticly, "That dumb ship is in the way!"

"At this rate…" He mutters out, bracing the moment he hears a cannon firing as a large column of waters blasts right next to the ship, spraying sea water all over the deck.

"I could take care of that galleon." Sen points out as he tosses another cannonball that detonates in mid-flight, "But just defending against those two brigs is taking all I had. If only we can take those two down…"

"That's impossible!" One of the crew shouted in a panic, "Our cannons can't fire that far away! Not to mention we are already low in ammunition!"

"We just need to hold out for a little longer!" Silvia tells her crew with holding on a Mini Den-Den Mushi, "Kris and Rein are on their way back! Once they take care of those two pirate ships, Sen will deal with the galleon. Samerson! Once the route is clear, get us out of here!"

"Roger!" They all replied as one, only to get pull back into the action when another cannonball hits very close.

"I sure hope they make it back soon…" Lio noted lighting the fuse and braced for the bang, the cannon fires out loudly towards the pirate ship, "Because I think their aim is getting better…"

On one of the pirate brigs, its men are lighting and firing volley after volley of cannon rounds. The captain of that ship, a thug-looking man with an eight-o'clock shadow under his chin and a red bandana over his greasy hair, smirks widely as he saw the results of his admiral's plans coming to fruition.

"Just a little more!" He commanded, "Keep them rooted there!"

"It sure was smart of Admiral Don Krieg to come up with such a devious plan." One of the pirates noted.

"Of course, it is! He's the Pirate Admiral, Don Krieg!" Another tells him, "The mightiest pirate of all the East Blue!"

"To think we get to take down an East Trader ship! Oh, how much loot do you guys think they have?!"

"I'm betting at least five chests full of gold and Beris!"

"We'll know once the cage is set!" The captain laughed, before rubbing his chin in thought, "But it's strange… Gin's ships should have arrived by now…"

"Captain!" One of the pirates in the crow's nest shouted out, "There's something coming towards us from the stern!"

"Huh? What is it?"

"I can't tell for sure… It looks like… a person? It's coming really fast-What in the hell?!"

"What are you saying?!" He shouted at the lookout, "What did you see?!"

"It's a girl!"

"A… girl…?"

"A young girl with demon wings!" The lookout screams, "And she's coming straight for us!"

"A girl with wings?!"

"A demon! They have an actual demon on their side!"

"Oh god, I'm too young to end up in Davy Jones' Locker!"

"I didn't even lose my virginity yet! I don't want to die a virgin!"

"Silence!" The captain shouted, silencing the pirates instantly, "You bunch of pussies, isn't it obvious by now?! Those rumours about those fruits that grant people powers!" They all looked at him with a blank and lost stare, he let out a huff of disappointment while muttering about how did he end up a captain for such idiots, "She ate a Devil Fruit, you numb nuts!"

"Oh…"

"And if the rumours are true…" He picks up a rifle and took aim, "Then they sink like a hammer in the water!"

Pulling the trigger, he fires a round right at the flying girl in the distance. His smile widens when he saw the girl slopping down afterwards, thinking that he got her.

He didn't.

As he soon finds out after turning back to issue a command, something human-shaped slams into the mast hard. An agonising second later, the mast leans backwards before with several snaps, the wooden pole is broken off of the deck and slams into the mizzen, almost snapping that on impact if the way it bends is anything to be indicated.

"What hit us?!" He shouted.

"Me."

A girlish voice tells them, they all looked up with either jaws dropped or eyes as wide as they could be.

Hovering above them with a pair of reptilian wings flapping to keep her airborne, is a young girl that couldn't be past the age of fifteen who has one of the smuggest grins ever conceived. She has glossy black shoulder-length hair and dark brown eyes that seems to have slit pupils, white scales cover the sides of her face and ears with scaly limps and legs that clearly doesn't look human at all, and a pair of long ivory-white horns sticking out of her forehead that semi-curved back over her head.

"Hi. My name is Rein." She greeted in a rather masculine fashion, "I'm here to stop you from shooting my ship."

"…Haha…Hahaha…HAHAHAHAHA!" The captain starts laughing away without restrain, his crew joining suit with stiffer and forced chuckles. As the laughter subsides, he pulls out a pistol aimed and fired, the lead round missing her head completely, "Shoot her down!"

Rein easily flies away from the incoming lead rounds and calls into her Mini Den-Den Mushi, "Okay, got their attention off you!" She flinches as one bullet grazes her horn, "Whatever you need to do, better do it fast!"

"Got it! Just hand tight!" Silvia nodded at her own snail-phone before turning back to her crew, glancing at the ship where the young dragon girl is at to check if the rifle sounds are real.

At about the same time, Kris splashes out of the sea and landed on the deck with soft thud, "The other ship is disabled now. Gunpowder wet and useless while their rudder is smashed beyond repair." He then added on, "Also, I punched a hole in their hull which they are most likely trying to patch right now."

"Dude, that's savage!" Gord commented, "Glad that you're on our side." The fishman gives him a thumbs up in response.

"Alright, Sen!" She calls out, "Whatever you are planning on doing, you got your chance! And you better make it quick!"

"Roger that!" He replied as he steps on the bow of the ship.

He raises his hand up facing the large man-o-war, his index finger pushing his thumb in a to-flick motion, with his spare hand holding onto his wrist as a stabilizer of sorts. He adjusted his aim a bit, before with a small grin on his face, he flicks his finger outwards at the large gunship, and releases a storm.

A large burst of wind blasts right across and through the waves, before smashing right into the large vessel. The sheer impact of it cracks and splinters the ship's entire side, before it flips up loop-de-loop style and splashes back down into the sea hard, resulting in the entire ship being snapped right down the middle.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Everyone stopped what they are doing when that happen with jaws slacked, as they saw the shipwreck that was the man-o-war slowly sinks to its watery grave with most of its crew following soon after.

"…Okay. It is official." Lee says to Silvia, "Getting Sen back is truly the best idea you ever had."

"Thanks… I guess…?" She stated in the confusion, before shaking herself back to reality, "Samerson! Get us out of here now!"

"Ro-Roger that!"

She then dials up her Mini Den-Den Mushi again, "Rein! Get back here, pronto! We're leaving!"

"Go-Got it!" She replied, "Also, just out of curiosity, was that…?"

"…Rein. Let me be the first to say the Sen is a monster that I want no one to face, ever."

"D-Duly noted…"

…

To be continued…

There! Chapter finished! Wow, this is a long one, longer than I anticipated. Guess writing naval battles aren't as easy as I originally thought.

Now, I want to know if Rein's whole power set is properly balanced. After all, I did pin her against Gin of all people, and we all know how powerful he is. I just want to check if I've made her too strong too fast, and may have accidentally turn her into a Mary Sue…

With that, I thank you all for reading this!