◉◉◉◉◉
Inside the grand hall, the once-boisterous room fell into silence as Krieg's lieutenants noticed their captain suddenly freeze at the entrance.
Every eye turned toward the doorway now wide open. There stood four mysterious figures clad in long, black cloaks, their faces obscured by deep hoods.
The tension escalated as a few of Krieg's men rose to their feet, weapons drawn, hearts pounding with unease.
"Who are you?" Krieg growled, hefting his massive war spear and pointing it directly at the one in front.
The lead figure responded by pulling back his hood, revealing a youthful face with a calm, almost playful smile.
Krieg's pupils shrank as he hissed through clenched teeth, "Aero…?!"
A wave of panic rippled through the room. The lieutenants recognized the name this was the most wanted pirate in all of the East Blue.
Weapons clattered as everyone in the room stood, pointing their blades and guns at the intruders.
One by one, the other cloaked figures revealed themselves: Eddie, with a 12-million bounty; Dylan, wanted for 13.5 million; and finally Gin, once Krieg's own handpicked enforcer, now standing behind Aero as part of the rival Hurricane Pirates.
"You've got some nerve showing your faces here!" Krieg snarled, fury rising in his chest. Gin's betrayal stung he had been promised the title of Battle Commander, and yet he defected. And just a month ago, Aero's crew had destroyed three of Krieg's ships.
Now, with only four of them here, Krieg saw an opportunity for revenge.
"Kill them all!" Krieg roared, swinging his war spear toward the intruders.
His men surged forward, bloodlust in their eyes. From the corridors beyond, more pirates poured in dozens, then hundreds. They smirked confidently, convinced they had the numbers to crush any resistance.
"I'm taking Aero's head myself!" shouted one squad leader, leaping into the air with his sword drawn.
But before his blade could reach its mark, Gin moved. His dual tonfa whipped into action one deflecting the blade, the other smashing into the attacker's chest with bone-cracking force.
The pirate was knocked unconscious mid-air, crashing backward through the crowd.
Just before the unconscious body could hit Krieg, the warlord caught him one-handed and flung him aside like trash. His eyes blazed with fury.
"What are you waiting for?! Wipe them out!!"
Krieg's shout rattled the room but no matter how many men rushed in, they couldn't overwhelm the four.
Still, he had one more card to play.
"Pearl! Get in there!"
Moments later, a hulking man covered in steel shields and with a massive gleaming pearl on his helmet stormed into the room.
"Iron Wall Pearl is here!" he bellowed, charging into the fray.
He locked eyes with Gin, the one who had taken his title. Pearl had once been Krieg's top enforcer… until Gin arrived. Now, Pearl burned with shame and resentment.
"Gin!! This ends today!!"
Enraged, Pearl's entire body ignited in flames his steel plating glowing red-hot as other pirates scattered from the heat.
Gin held his ground, raising his tonfa in a defensive stance.
Meanwhile, Aero hadn't yet joined the battle.
As the captain of the Hurricane Pirates, he held his position observing Krieg from afar. The enemy captain hadn't made a move yet, so neither would he.
But now, with his crewmates holding their own, Aero vanished. His body shimmered, then disappeared completely.
Freed from having to protect him, Dylan and Gin unleashed their full power.
Outside, Eddie was holding the line. More pirates were gathering by the second, and Eddie's bullets were limited to barely a hundred on him, weighing him down.
To conserve ammo, he shifted to hand-to-hand combat. Thankfully, these thugs weren't as tough as the Fishmen he'd fought before. But with growing numbers, he couldn't last forever.
He could only hope Aero would end this quickly.
Suddenly, inside the hall Aero reappeared, casually seated in the throne-like chair Krieg had been using. Legs crossed, head tilted with an amused grin.
Krieg whipped around, startled. "You—you're a Devil Fruit user?!"
Aero said nothing. He raised his palm toward Krieg.
A soft swirl of air gathered in his hand before erupting into a pale, condensed blast of wind.
Krieg's instincts screamed at him to dodge but pride wouldn't let him.
The attack hit. His prized golden armor dented inward with a deep thud, and he staggered back several steps.
Still, he remained standing barely.
"Not bad…" he muttered, steadied himself, and lunged forward with his war spear.
But Aero was already gone.
"BOOM!" The spear slammed into the empty chair, splintering it into a thousand pieces.
Krieg snarled, drawing a flintlock pistol. He whipped it around and from under his armor, more guns extended outward.
He opened fire.
Because right in front of him, mocking him, was that same cloaked kid, reappearing once again.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!