"Ma'am, we are going to reach Asuka Island in about half an hour." A Marine lady stepped behind an aged, tall woman who was intently looking in the direction of the said Island. "What are your orders?"
She received no reply for a while, and soon her eyes too were drawn to the storm clouds that were rushing in the direction of where they were heading.
"A storm is coming..." She lightly whispered.
"Perhaps." The aged woman spoke and narrowed her eyes. "Brace!" Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise and she hurriedly called out to everyone on their three Warships. However, there was nothing she could do as the powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki washed all over them, and everyone on her Ships lost consciousness.
Haggard and rattled beyond what she had been in all these years, the old woman dropped to her knees, worriedly looking in the direction of Asuka Island.
She woke up the Captain of her main Warship after she caught her breath.
"Ma'am..."
"Go, wake up everyone and have them assemble on the main decks. And pump up our speed. We need to get to Asuka Island as soon as possible.." She commanded.
"Yes, Ma'am!" The Captain nodded to her and immediately got to work. Thankfully, whatever phenomenon had made them all faint had not really harmed them, and within a few minutes, everyone onboard was awake.
The decks of the three ships were soon filled with all the Marine Soldiers, being led by their respective Captains, and all of them were waiting for the old woman to give the orders.
"There's a powerful person present on the Island where we are heading. We don't know if he is an enemy or not, so, be prepared to fight." The old woman lightly spoke, but everyone heard her words.
"Ma'am, what happened to us?" The pink-haired Marine Captain asked curiously.
"You lost to the Will of a Conqueror. It was the fabled Conqueror's Haki, but this one was gravely potent. Something I have never seen before." She ominously spoke and folded her arms on her chest. Her proud Vice-Admiral Coat with Purple epaulets fluttered under the ministrations of a gust of wind.
Her words made the hearts of her soldiers palpitate in fear. And seeing their usually empathetic Great Staff Officer so serious, only added to their nervousness. However, none of them voiced their worries and did as they were commanded.
All the Female Rank officers on her Warships gathered behind her as they entered the waters of Asuka Island.
"Ma'am, there's a Pirate Ship on the docks!" The only Commodore on her Crew called out as she looked through the telescope. "The Jolly Roger..." She turned silent after she saw the Jolly Roger. "It belongs to the Blackstar Pirates, who have recently been listed as an A-Class Priority. And everyone on the Docks is on the ground, unconscious."
"Any signs of fighting?" The Pink-haired Captain asked.
"None." The lemon-haired commodore answered her.
"Wake everyone up on the docks, and surround the Black Ship. Ask around what happened here." The old woman lightly said.
"We are not seizing the ship?" The Commodore curiously asked.
"No." That was the only reply she got before she watched their Great Staff Officer jump up in the air and head towards the Island using Moonwalk.
....
"Calm down, Bonney!" Sin tried to wrap his arm around the pink-haired girl who was fuming with rage, but ended up with a hard punch digging into his abdomen.
"Calm down?!" She yelled at him. "Why the hell do you have to be so reckless?!"
Sin winced in pain that shot through him. It was a really hard hit, but he just straightened his back and laughed it off, looking right into the eyes of the pink-haired girl.
"I am sorry." He finally apologised to her, and her anger visibly deflated.
"You are mean." She lowered her head, and finally let out the tears fall that she had been holding back. "You shouldn't have..."
"I know." Sin wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her against his chest. "Let's go and check on Nami and Nojiko."
As soon as he spoke their name, Bonney escaped his arms and disappeared into the woods, heading in the direction of the Village where the two little girls were.
Bepo and Hachi burst out laughing as they watched their Captain feign pain at being left hanging by Bonney like that.
"You deserve it," Hancock commented and chased after Bonney in the woods.
The rest of the crew slowly departed as well, leaving Robin and Sin to leisurely walk back to the village.
"You haven't shown us the blade yet." She smiled at him.
"Here..." He drew the Shichiseiken out of its scabbard and smiled brightly at seeing Robin's awe.
"It's beautiful!" She honestly said and her eyes were glued to the Verse and Sin's name on the sword. It was as if there was some sort of glowing liquid flowing through the blade, emanating that beautiful green light, which added to the sword's mysticism.
"Thanks." He chuckled and put it back in its scabbard. "The Sword can talk too."
"What?" Robin frowned at his words and narrowed her eyes at the sword.
"Yes, it can talk." Sin nodded to her.
"How?"
"Well, according to it, everything that has a Will of its own can talk." He shrugged and answered her. "I am not sure what happened, but I have some guesses. The sword was surprised that I could hear it." He thoughtfully said.
"You awakened some sort of ability?" She raised her brow. "Observation Haki? or Conqueror's Haki?"
"Don't know." Sin shook his head. "I will think over it later." He smiled at her and pecked a kiss on her soft lips, making her smile brightly at him.
"Let's..." Robin was about to say something when they both sensed a strong presence in the Village, fighting against their Crew.
Sin did not waste any time and grabbed onto Robin's waist before teleporting away with a bolt of lightning.
"Stand back!" He sternly called out to his Crew, stopping them from rushing at the Old Woman who was sitting on top of the fallen Bepo.
Hancock was about to go all out, and her arms were already dematerialised into Hellfire, scaring the life out of all the Villagers present there. But as soon as she heard his command, she stopped channeling her power and came to stand behind him.
No one on the Crew questioned his order, they did as he asked. Even Bepo stopped struggling, displaying complete confidence in his Captain.
"Why are you here, Granny Tsuru?" He narrowed his eyes at the Great Staff Officer of the Marines.
Tsuru lightly smiled at him and looked him right in the eyes.
"This is my home Island, little Sin." She playfully spoke. "And my, my, you have grown a lot in these six years. Just as tall as me now." Tsuru gently patted Bepo's head, activating her Devil Fruit Powers, but kept her eyes on Sin, observing his reaction.
"Your power won't work on him." Sin smiled at her.
"I see." She said and nodded when she found no trace of evil in Bepo. "Unlike you, this kid has no evil in his heart. Lucky." She giggled before standing up, freeing Bepo from her hold.
Bepo was surprised that he was let go just like that, but he did not waste any time mulling over it and hurriedly rushed over to stand behind Sin.
Tsuru calmly ran her eyes all over his Crew, scrutinising each and every one of them, before her eyes settled on Robin, and she frowned.
"So you found your sister." The old woman smiled at Sin after a few minutes.
"Yes." He nodded to her, and his smile grew wider. "How's Simmy doing? And last I read, Gion got promoted to a Vice-Admiral, so I suppose she's not with you anymore?"
"Yes, little Gion is not here." Tsuru nodded to him. "And Simmy should be taking care of your ship right now." She said and narrowed her eyes at the Shichiseiken he was wearing on his back. "That sword doesn't belong to you."
"Fortunately, it does belong to me, Granny Tsuru." He grinned at her, and pulled the sword out of the scabbard, earning gasps of awe and surprise from everyone.
Tsuru's eyes grew serious when she looked at the blade that seemed harmless in Sin's hand. She had already guessed that he was the source of that strong burst of Conqueror's Haki, but now she was sure of it.
"Who would have thought that the cute little boy who fell from the sky onto my ship, six years ago, would become such a dangerous man one day." Tsuru sighed and untied her Vice-Admiral Coat, letting it fall to the ground. "You are not going to surrender, right?" She lightly asked with a smirk.
Sin smirked back at her, and put the sword back in its scabbard. He took off his coat and handed it to Robin along with both his Swords.
"Never!"
The two of them disappeared at a breakneck speed, and then a loud boom was heard as their Haki-clad fists collided against each other, spreading shockwaves all around them.