The ship on the horizon did not try to hide.
That was the first sign something about this sea was different.
East Blue pirates usually crept. Circled. Tested.
This one sailed straight toward them.
No hesitation. No caution.
Just intent.
Ryu stood at the bow with arms relaxed at his sides, eyes fixed on the approaching vessel. The wind tugged at his black hair as he studied its silhouette carefully.
Larger hull. Reinforced bow.
Cannons visible. Crew already on deck.
Organized.
Kenji stepped beside him, hand resting loosely on his sword hilt. "That's not a fishing ship."
Aira adjusted the helm slightly, keeping them steady but not retreating. "They've spotted us."
Ryu nodded. "Yeah."
The pirate ship closed distance quickly. Its sails were dark blue with a jagged silver emblem painted across them—a stylized wolf skull biting through a chain.
Kenji whistled softly. "Dramatic."
Aira squinted. "That's not a Jolly Roger I recognize."
"That's because we're not in East Blue anymore," Kenji replied.
Ryu didn't respond.
He was watching the crew on the enemy deck.
They weren't laughing.
Weren't drinking.
Weren't shouting wildly.
They were preparing.
Weapons checked. Positions taken. Cannons aligned.
Professional.
Kenji noticed too.
"…Oh," he muttered. "These aren't idiots."
The distance shrank.
Soon they could make out faces.
Hard ones.
Scarred ones.
Men and women who looked like they'd been fighting for years, not months.
Aira swallowed quietly. "North Blue welcome party."
A voice suddenly boomed across the water.
"UNKNOWN SHIP! HOLD COURSE AND IDENTIFY!"
Kenji blinked. "They're… announcing themselves?"
Ryu stepped forward slightly and raised a hand to his mouth, projecting his voice calmly. "We're just passing through."
A pause.
Then laughter rolled across the water.
Not wild drunken laughter.
Sharp laughter.
Predatory.
A tall man stepped onto the enemy ship's bow, coat snapping behind him in the wind. He was broad-shouldered with steel-gray hair and a long vertical scar cutting across his face. Two curved sabers hung at his waist.
His gaze swept over Ryu, then Kenji, then Aira.
Cold.
Assessing.
"Well now," the man called out. "That's a small crew for this sea."
Kenji leaned on the railing casually. "We travel light."
The man smirked. "You'll travel dead if you don't turn that ship around."
Aira muttered under her breath, "Charming."
Ryu's voice remained level. "We're not looking for trouble."
The man's smirk widened into something darker. "Then you sailed into the wrong ocean."
Kenji glanced at Ryu. "He's got jokes."
Ryu didn't look away from the man. "What's your name?"
The man rested a boot on the bow railing, posture relaxed but predatory. "Captain Varek. Of the Silver Wolf Pirates."
Aira stiffened slightly.
Ryu noticed.
"You've heard of him?" he asked quietly.
She nodded once. "North Blue bounty. Around thirty million last I checked."
Kenji's grin returned. "Oh. So we get a mid-tier welcome."
Varek's eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't seem worried."
Kenji shrugged. "Should we be?"
Varek studied them again—more carefully this time.
Three fighters.
Calm posture.
No panic.
Interesting.
Then his gaze fell to their flag.
Or lack of one.
"…No Jolly Roger," he muttered. "Not merchants. Not Marines."
His eyes sharpened.
"…Hunters?"
Ryu didn't answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
Varek's smile returned, sharper now. "Well. That explains the confidence."
He turned slightly and spoke over his shoulder.
"Ready the cannons."
Metal shifted.
Gunpowder moved.
Cannon barrels angled.
No theatrics.
Just execution.
Kenji exhaled slowly. "Ah. Straight to violence. I like the efficiency."
Aira snapped, "This isn't a joke!"
"I know," Kenji replied, drawing his sword with a smooth metallic whisper. "That's why I like it."
Ryu stepped forward onto the very tip of the bow, feet steady despite the rolling waves.
"Last chance," Varek called out calmly. "Turn away. Or sink."
Ryu's expression didn't change.
"We're not turning," he said.
Varek sighed.
Then dropped his hand.
"Fire."
The first cannon roared.
Aira yanked the helm hard. "Hold on!"
The ship veered sharply as the cannonball screamed past, smashing into the sea behind them and exploding into spray. Two more followed immediately, one grazing the water near their hull, the other slamming into the side railing and shattering wood into splinters.
Kenji kicked off the deck and landed atop the railing, balancing easily despite the rocking. "Permission to board?"
Ryu nodded once. "Don't sink them yet."
Kenji grinned. "Got it."
He vanished.
One step on the railing.
Second step on open air.
Then he landed on the enemy deck like a falling blade.
The Silver Wolf crew reacted instantly.
No panic.
Three fighters rushed him together—sabers drawn, movements coordinated. Kenji met them head-on, steel flashing as he parried the first strike and pivoted under the second. The third attacker swung low; Kenji leapt over the blade and drove his knee into the man's jaw, sending him crashing backward.
He landed lightly.
"…Okay," Kenji admitted. "Better than East Blue."
Back on their ship, Ryu watched calmly.
"Aira."
"Yeah?"
"Keep us steady."
"Always."
Ryu stepped onto the railing.
Then jumped.
He didn't land as dramatically as Kenji.
Just quietly.
But the moment his boots touched the enemy deck, three pirates froze instinctively.
Observation.
Pressure.
They felt it.
Ryu moved.
Fast, but controlled.
He slipped between two attackers, knocking one's weapon aside with a short knife while his elbow drove into the other's ribs. He didn't linger—just moved through them like a current, disrupting, disarming, dropping opponents without killing unless necessary.
Kenji, meanwhile, was having fun.
"Come on!" he called, deflecting another coordinated strike. "This is North Blue? I expected worse!"
A heavy axe came down toward his head.
Kenji sidestepped and slammed his hilt into the attacker's throat, dropping him instantly.
Then—
Pressure shifted.
A presence stepped forward.
Captain Varek drew one of his curved sabers slowly, eyes fixed on Ryu.
"You move like a trained killer," Varek said calmly.
Ryu faced him. "You too."
Varek tilted his head slightly. "Interesting crew. Small. Confident. Skilled."
He rolled his shoulder once.
"Let's see if you survive this sea."
He moved.
Fast.
Not East Blue fast.
North Blue fast.
His saber flashed in a tight arc aimed straight for Ryu's neck. Ryu leaned back just enough for the blade to pass, then stepped inside the captain's guard with a short knife strike aimed at his ribs.
Varek twisted, blocking with his second saber.
Steel rang.
They separated.
Kenji glanced over mid-fight and whistled. "Oh. He's decent."
Aira, still on their ship, muttered, "Don't die…"
Back on deck, Varek's eyes narrowed.
"You're injured," he observed.
Ryu didn't deny it.
"Still healing," Varek continued. "And you're fighting me anyway."
Ryu rolled his shoulder once. "We're all working through something."
Varek's lips twitched.
Then he attacked again.
This time faster.
Blades moving in alternating arcs designed to overwhelm. Ryu met them cleanly, Armament coating his knives as he deflected and redirected. The impact traveled through his arms into his ribs, sending sharp reminders of Hale's strikes—but he adjusted, compensating smoothly.
Kenji finished his last opponent and stepped back, watching with interest.
"…Not bad," he admitted.
Then more pirates rushed him.
He sighed. "Alright, fine."
The fight spread across the deck.
But something else shifted.
Aira felt it first.
A faint ripple.
Not from the battle.
From the sea.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked toward the horizon behind the Silver Wolf ship.
"…Ryu," she called out sharply.
He heard the tone immediately and disengaged, stepping back from Varek's next strike.
"What is it?"
Aira pointed.
On the far horizon—
Another ship.
Bigger.
Much bigger.
Black sails.
And the kind of presence that made even the Silver Wolf crew feel… small.
Varek noticed too.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Damn," he muttered.
Kenji followed their gaze.
"…Okay," he said slowly. "That one looks like a problem."
Ryu's expression hardened slightly.
The North Blue wasn't easing them in.
It was throwing them straight into its teeth.
Varek sheathed one saber halfway, still watching the distant approaching vessel.
"You picked a bad day to sail here," he said quietly.
Ryu met his gaze.
"Feels like the right day," he replied.
The larger ship drew closer.
And the real North Blue began to reveal itself.
___