"Beautiful..." Blaize muttered as he gazed at the coral reefs in the distance. They are much more stunning than any coral structures that can be seen on Earth.
"What is the name of the Island?" He asked Regis, appreciating the picturesque scenery. The chain Island is full of palm trees, surrounded by white coral sand shores.
"One of the most protected islands under Whitebeard territory — Gold Pearl Island," Regis replied, looking at the report in his hand. He continued,
"It's a chain of coral Islands with few native people. The Island and the people are famous for producing Golden Pearls that are more valuable than gold.
The Whitebeard pirates earn a considerable amount of belly from selling pearls, every year."
Blaize nodded. In the distance, he saw the Jolly Roger of Whitebeard pirates fluttering above the tallest palm tree.
All the Yonkos have many such Islands under their names that provide steady income. It's also the reason why they are much wealthier than other pirates.
--
At that moment,
A huge pirate ship bearing Whitebeard's Jolly Roger appeared in the distance. As soon as the Marines trespassed into their territory, the nearby Division commander was notified.
A pirate standing on the bow of a ship peering through a brass spyglass gulped a little and shouted. "Bad! Commander Fossa, it's not good. It's Vice Admiral Blaize, one called the 'Strongest Marine'.
We should inform Dad and the other commanders."
"Ease up! It's just a single marine ship, not a platoon. He may be called the 'Strongest Marine' but before Oyaji, he's nothing." Division commander Fossa scoffed, paying no heed to Blaize's title.
Still, he reported the 'encroach of Marines' to Moby Dick, being a dutiful son.
--
"It's the commander of the 15th division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fossa!" Seeing through the spyglass, a Marine soldier informed.
"He earned the Epithet, 'The Blazing Katana Fossa' with his swordsmanship. He may not be as good as Flower Sword Vista, but he's still a formidable combatant." Regis explained.
An unknown Division commander didn't evoke slight of Blaize's interest. Compared to other Yonko commanders, Whitebeard commanders are indeed weak, growing under Whitebeard's majesty.
The air turned solemn as Commander Fossa's ship neared. The Marines clearly saw the appearance of the division commander Fossa who was standing on the bow of the ship.
Fossa is a large, muscular, older-looking man, with a bald patch on the top of his head, a white mustache, and a scar running diagonally across his face.
He tattooed Whitebeard's symbol in crimson on his right deltoid. He sported an open dark blue sleeveless jacket with loose light brown pants tucked inside his boots.
"Marines, what are you doing inside our territory?" Fossa roared in a superior tone.
"Arrogance! Even Whitebeard won't speak in such a tone before Blaize-san. Who do you think you are?" Kuina took a step forward and snorted in an equally arrogant tone.
Hearing her words, everyone was stunned into speechlessness, including Blaize.
"You are more arrogant than him! Where did you learn to speak like that, Kuina?" Though Blaize said that, he silently lauded her fearless spirit.
"Let's see whether you are as strong as the newspaper characterizes..." Infuriated by Kuina's arrogance, Fossa lighted the cigar and unsheathed the katana off his square tsuba that was attached to his belt.
With a light swing and twirl, the sword burned bright red. Imbuing the sword with Armament Haki, he leaped high in the air and delivered a high-speed vacuum slash.
The slash burned in flames and surged toward the Marine ship, seeking to cleave the ship into two.
Without anyone's command, Kuina stepped forward to welcome the slash. Grasping the hilt of her blade, she bent down a little before withdrawing the sword from its sheath.
'Schwing!'
The sword draw was fast and smooth, launching a half-moon-shaped pressurized slash that was no weaker than Division Commander Fossa.
Both their slash collided in mid-air. But, contrary to everyone's expectation, Kuina's slash shattered Fossa's flame slash and dashed forward.
Fossa's pupils shrunk in astonishment as he didn't expect his attack to be overpowered by a little girl. Reacting quickly, he deflected the air slash with his katana.
Sheathing the Katana back into her scabbard, Kuina jumped from the ship and landed on the sea. As her feet touched the seawater, it crystallized everything within a 500-meter radius.
"Ohh!" Blaize's eyes brightened, seeing her display of devil fruit ability.
Aside from devil fruit awakening, her fruit ability is nearly as good as the previous fruit user 'Crystal'. Once she awakens the Crystal fruit, her strength will skyrocket.
"You are not strong enough to let Blaize-san take action. Let me witness the majesty of the Whitebeard pirates?" She boldly challenged the pirate.
With her Marine coat fluttering in the air, the Marine soldiers behind her sensed a heroic aura exuded by Kuina. It boosted their morale and eased their nervousness about facing the Yonko group.
The Whitebeard pirates onboard the ship were enraged by Kuina's arrogance, in a sense, it directly challenges the strength of Whitebeard himself.
Some of the pirates, who revers Whitebeard as God and the only family, were ready to jump off the ship and deal with Kuina themself.
But, Division Commander Fossa stopped them. "Since the enemy is a single person, I will go!"
He noticed the Marines before him were completely different from the usual ones they faced.
Even though they encroached on their territory, they didn't fire their cannon blindly and wantonly destroy the surroundings. From this, it can be inferred they didn't come causing trouble.
'I need to find their purpose before others arrive.' Thinking to this point, Fossa jumped off the ship and faced Kuina.
'As a commander of Whitebeard pirates, he has some character!' Blaize thought.
"Division commander Fossa, show the Marine girl what we Whitebeard pirates are truly capable of!"
"Yea!!" The pirates screamed and pounded the ship's surface.
"Who do you think will win?" Blaize asked.
"With outstanding swordsmanship, powerful devil fruit ability, and Haki mastery, Kuina excels in everything. I don't think this division commander is her match.
Of course, against their top division commanders, it would be a different result." Regis voiced his opinion, aware of Kuina's strength.
--
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