Through slitted eyes under the shade of trees, Hack, accompanied by members of the revolutionary army and the Kuja tribe, watched as their captains sparred beside the lake where they made their new encampment.
And so they stood discussing the close to an hour ongoing fight and came to a realisation.
'' They didn't land a single clean hit. '' Hack commented while wiping the dirt from his eyes. Their clashes changed the surrounding landscape, even during this subdued spar, the environment wasn't spared from heavy impacts.
'' I can see the captain starting to feel annoyed. Aside from the Leader, no one made him feel like this'' Bunny Joe chuckled, watching his captain struggle for the past hour amused him greatly.
'' Ha ha, you're right. '' Hack shared a laugh too, Dragon wasn't known to be merciful when it came to training his subordinates, especially Sabo.
To their side, Koala had been listening, she witnessed how her captain kept being beaten black and blue.
Which made her wonder about the identity of Alexander, this young man popped out of nowhere and he had been handling heavy hitters such as Hancock and Sabo with ease.
When she turned to the few Kuja warriors beside her, she had the urge to inquire about his origins.
'' Do you know where Alexander-san is from? ''
'' Oh, Alexander-sama is from Sabaody Archipelago. '' Rindo replied.
'' Why have we never heard of him before? Someone like him at least must have some renown somewhere... '' There was no information about Alexander, even after using the revolutionary army intelligence network.
He just came out of nowhere, not only was he the husband of the Shichibukai Boa Hancock, but he also had a great deal of strength and experience which she speculated should've been gained through numerous battles.
The evidence was before her eyes and the sunken Jack the drought.
'' Alexander-sama didn't leave his parent's side till adulthood, what you see is the result of his training… His father taught him everything about combat, and he never stopped training for a single day ever since he was a little child. ''
Rindo had learned about the history of their captain, or second captain, she never knew the answer, ever since he married their empress the title of the captain became a toss between the couple.
'' His father taught him… '' Koala showed a pondering expression, someone who could train Alexander must be a strong person.
'' Do you know who his parents are? '' Her curiosity had taken hold of her as she asked.
Rindo didn't respond, instead, she looked at her calmly in the eyes, there was something about them that warned her when her answer stalled.
'' I'm afraid I can't answer your question. You should ask Alexander-sama himself. '' She flatly replied then turned to watch the spar.
On the other hand, the answer's denial further piqued Koala's curiosity.
—-------------------------------------
Down where the fight was happening, an excited grin adorned Alexander's face as Sabo and Hancock attacked him from both sides.
They attacked simultaneously, a kick and a claw, both coated with armament haki. With hands coloured golden he reached and caught the attacks tightly, then with a light twist from his body he redirected them in the opposing direction.
He took a step forward directly appearing before Hancock, He swung his fist, to which Hancock raised her leg and clashed directly with it.
*BOOM*
Waves upon waves of Supreme King Haki clashed as lightning formed around them, the wind picked up speed and the fragile land they stood on started cracking.
Fortunately, their clash didn't last long, as Sabo attacked from behind diverting Alexander's attention to block, pushing back Sabo once more.
Alexander smiled happily, he loved the thrill of battle to the degree that he clashed his conqueror's haki against his wife.
'' COME AGAIN!! '' He shouted and jumped into battle once again.
He fought them both at the same time while holding back, only he knew how much power was still dormant inside his blessed vessel.
They clashed all over the wide area from the ground into the air, doing their best to one-up Alexander only for him to swing his fist while grinning, effectively burying them in a cloud of dust.
'' Cough-Cough enough, I've had enough… '' Sabo spat the dirt from his mouth while raising both of his hands.
At his side, Hancock took rapid breaths as she swept the sweat from her forehead, an action that turned Sabo red.
'' You don't even hold back against your wife '' he said, gritting his teeth in frustration.
Alexander tilted his head to the side in puzzlement.
'' But I've been going easy on you… as for Hancock. '' he took a few steps toward Hancock and held her waist with both hands.
'' My wife isn't weak, our fists and kicks are filled with love."
" Ah right.. " Sabo had no answer for this kind of logic.
" You're an unusual man Alexander. " He commented while dusting himself.
" I've been told that many times, my friend,'' Alexander commented, even his parents had the same idea and even him.
Living as a warrior jar, fighting monsters for years, bathing oneself with the fire of ruin. Those weren't the undertakings of someone ordinary.
Hancock held Alexander's arm while glaring at Sabo. She didn't like how he said ' unusual ' to her, it felt like a slight, she couldn't tolerate that.
" My husband is unique among men. " She said, while tilting her head upward, her tone haughty and filled with pride.
" Whatever you say... " Sabo laughed the matter off while evading her lingering glare.
" From what I've seen, I take it that you don't use a weapon Alexander- san. " He asked curiously.
" A weapon huh? " Alexander looked at his arms, he always considered his body to be his greatest weapon but it's not like he never wielded any weapon during his long years, he just never kept them to himself when he couldn't exert their full potential with his Jar body.
" I never thought about using a weapon, and I doubt I'd be able to find a suitable one. I'm not a swordsman nor do I have experience using other heavy weapons "
Sabo thought for a moment then asked.
'' Have you ever heard about sentient weapons? ''
'' sentient weapons? '' Alexander and Hancock asked, both surprised.
Sabo understood their reaction after all this was a rare occurrence that rarely happened.
'' a sentient weapon, is an inanimate object that had eaten or rather merged with the essence of a devil fruit. There are few known cases of it ''
'' I think I might have come across such a weapon before.. ''
Hancock felt like she may have heard of someone from the marine in possession of a sentient weapon, but she never paid it any importance so she wasn't clear about its nature.
'' Why would you mention it now? '' She asked.
'' I know a place that holds a sentient weapon. '' He told them directly and waited for their response.
But several seconds later, just staring at the air, he continued, irritated at their non-reaction.
'' Do you want to know the place? ''
'' But why would you tell us about it? Don't you covet it yourself? '' Hancock replied calmly, why would he tell them when he can snatch it for himself, this puzzled her.
'' I don't need it. '' He replied, then looked at Alexander.
'' And I can't stray away from my mission, I thought that maybe you would be interested in the information considering that the place isn't far away from here. Moreover, you've called me a friend. ''
He smiled at Alexander, ever since they made shore, he had been observing Alexander and his action. How Alexander treated him and his crew made him feel rather close to the man.
Hancock turned to Alexander, as long as he was interested she'd go the extra mile to get it for him, she lightly caressed his arm then asked.
'' Alexander, are you interested? ''
Alexander thought about it and felt like it wasn't a bad idea for their next journey. He looked at Sabo with anticipation in his eyes.
'' Where's it? ''
—-----------------------------------
Marineford.
A rather calm and steady footsteps echoed through the upper floor of Marineford.
A man quickly walked the lengthy corridor, he was a tall man with black afro hair and a long goatee, his body was wide and muscular, he wore a white suit adorned with golden trimming and medals with a long white cloak, on its back, the word ' justice ' was inscribed.
He held a peculiar seagull hat in his hand and wore black-rimmed round glasses.
Sengoku, the fleet admiral, felt his composure slip as he tried to ignore the crunching sound from his right side.
'' GARP!! Would you stop God damn it. '' Sengoku shouted with veins popping on his head.
'' AHAHAHA what got you so worked up Sengoku? '' The legend of the marines laughed out loud, showing no care for his superior's rage while filling his mouth with even more rice crackers.
'' We have a situation at hand, I want none of your sloppiness inside the meeting room. '' Sengoku said while gritting his teeth.
'' you're getting old Sengoku AHAHA ''
'' A Shichibukai is not worth worrying about. '' He said not paying attention to the fuming fleet admiral.
Sengoku had a frightening look in his eyes, he opened his mouth to say something but suddenly changed his mind as he snatched the bag of rice crackers from Garp's hand and threw it outside the window.
''AHH MY CRACKERS!! '' Garp tried to catch it but he could only watch helplessly as it pummelled down.
'' I've had enough of you, Garp. '' Sengoku gritted his teeth and pushed the door of the meeting room open.
The space within the room was wide, the walls painted white, and in the middle was a long table where three admirals of the marines were sitting, namely Kuzan, Kizaru and Akainu.
None of them moved after he entered, followed by the upset-looking Garp.
Everyone took their place with Sengoku at the head of the table while Garp sat far away, his hands already on the tea set.
Sengoku gave him a glance then sighed. He opened an envelope on the table and distributed a couple of pictures to the Admirals.
'' Today's meeting is concerning the action of the Shichibukai Boa Hancock,'' he said.
" Her recent actions had been dangerous and could potentially spark a war with the beast's pirates. "
" Ohh! What did she do? " Kizaru replied, he had his hand under his shin seemingly feeling bored.
Songoku glanced at him, the way he sat didn't sit well with him. He had to question why most of the Marine higher-ups acted this way.
" Boa Hancock had been spotted sailing for Fishman Island, after which we lost track of her ship. "
He drank a cup of water and continued.
" Two days ago, we were sent some intel from CP0 Boa Hancock and her crew clashed against the beasts' pirates, as for the reason, it had been held classified as confidential under the CP clearance. "
" Why would CP hold this information confidential? " Akainu asked while puffing a cloud of smoke from his cigar.
CP had withheld numerous intels from them and it didn't sit well with Akainu as it obstructed his sense of justice.
" They held it because it pertains to their master's interest AHAHA " Garp interjected, CP served directly those from above he knew all too well their nature of actions.
" Garp Shut up! "Sengoku shouted, he had to shut Garp's mouth otherwise he'd say something crazy, and he'd have to question if he should arrest him.
" Sorry, Continue, forget that I'm here. " Garp scratched his beard then transferred his attention back to the boiling water.
Sangoku had to massage his nose bridge before he continued.
" I don't need to explain, read the files and we'll continue the discussion. "
The rest did as he said, they opened the several pages long report and read in silence.
At the end of their page flipping, Akainu suddenly slammed the table with his fist jolting everyone within the room.
" Prosperous!! Hancock dares to work with the scum from the revolutionary army. "
" We don't have the exact info regarding their dealing, but indeed we have to discuss her Shichibukai position. " Sengoku calmly replied.
" Who's the young man who fought Jack? " Kuzan, who had been silent throughout the meeting, asked, feeling curious about this unknown pirate.
" Unfortunately we didn't find any information regarding his identity. "
Sengoku replied they found no traces of his existence in their channels which means they'll have to do a more thorough search.
Kuzan lifted the picture depicting a black-haired young man with piercing golden eyes. He calmly studied it then spoke.
" It's safe to say that he's extremely dangerous, the speed at which he dispatched Jack is definitely not of a rookie. We need to pay more attention to him since he seems to be sailing with the Kuja pirates. "
" I agree as well, which brings us to the final decision. " Sengoku organised the papers he held in his hand and spoke solemnly.
" Regarding Hancock, the higher-ups as well as me have decided to revoke her title as a Shichibukai. Her clash with the Beasts pirates could provoke a war that strayed from the agreement signed for her title. "
Seeing that everyone had been listening, he continued, save for Garp who didn't even bother to look his way.
" The nature of her actions with the revolutionary army operative remains unclear, but the mere sighting of their meeting seals the matter regarding her title revocation. Now we should discuss the course of our actions. "
Sengoku put his arms on the table and waited for their opinions.
" A new bounty should be issued for her and the young man as well. " Kizaru was the first to speak.
" Yes, we'll put this in immediate action after the meeting and gather enough information about the young man. " Sengoku agreed.
" I suggest we send a buster call on the island effectively eradicating those vermings, " Akainu said, his blood boiling at the thought of the rebels running free under their noses.
Sengoku shook his head, although the matter was important for the Marines' reputation, it didn't reach the degree of sending a buster call.
" No, we won't do that. Aside from the presence of the pirates. Boa Hancock alone could possibly wipe out the entire fleet… you know how her beauty and power affect men…
"
Kuzan on the other hand seemed to ponder deeply about the matter, he looked at Sengoku and spoke.
" I advise against any clashes with Kuja pirates, we should send five warships. Their primary target should be the Revolutionary Army members. Meanwhile, they can demand the surrender of Boa Hancock. We can wait until further developments to take action. "
Sengoku had to admit that Kuzan was always the voice of reason within the room, so he looked at him and nodded.
" Agreed, we'll adapt this approach. Until we see the stance of Boa Hancock. ''
" Now, we'll discuss the personnel leading the mission. " Sengoku spoke and prepared himself for another round of discussion.
______________________________________
A week later.
The New World.
Gin'iro island.
Several big pirate ships surrounded the waters. Each carried different flags and hundreds of crew members. At the forefront of each ship, on the deck of the five largest ships stood figures wearing clocks on their shoulders.
Their expression looked solemn as they gazed at the island and the vortex spinning in the middle. Lightning would descend from the sky and strike the undead army aimlessly guarding the island shores.
*Vroom*
A loud trumpet sounded, silencing every pirate.
" The old convention begins. " A loud voice.
A silver-haired female standing among the five leaders, turned around and looked at her competitors and licked her lips, her facial expressions more feral than a human.
" Be ready, to burn your flag and come under my feet. "
" Like you'd be able to pass the horde. " A three-metre tall axe-wielding man scoffed.
" We'll see, we'll see. " She smiled, her black pupils transformed into vertical slits.
No one spoke after this, they knew the rules, it was an old pirate convention where several fleets of pirates competed for who'd reach the centre of the storm where the storm raged and the non-stop grinding sound of chains came from.
They'll have to pass through the hordes of the undead and their deranged master.
Everyone bet on the most precious thing they held: their ships, crew, and them.
The winner or the one who reaches the storm wins, if they fail, they die and will join the undead in their never-ending trek.
" Ready! " the voice bellowed.
" Start! "
The five pirate captains didn't wait a second, as they jumped from their ships into the air and descended into the midst of the undead.
*BOOM*
Many undead were sent flying with the sand as five figures began their onslaught on the island.
Far behind, unaware of what's happening a ship pulled by two sea serpents was rapidly approaching.
______________________________
I intend for Alexander to have a weapon, and no it won't be a sword.
It'll be something he'll be able to incorporate into his close combat.
Thanks for reading, your feedback means everything.