Re: [Arc] [St. Poplar Conquest] [Part 3] The St.Poplar's Fire Incident

Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:19 pm

The horses numbered four in total. Roji, Minerva, and Lucky had each taken one for themselves, leaving the 4th one to be led by the Envy Sin. The field outside of the Lunar Woods was spacious. While it was nice to be out of the woods and out in the open, it gave Roji far too much time to be alone with his thoughts.

The young pirate was so focused on the task at hand that he had sidestepped the opportunity for some closure regarding Georgie. Roji was not sure whether to believe Guinness and Tito, he knew that they had no real reason to lie to him, but Roji was certain that Georgie left their fight alive. The whole situation made Roji feel uneasy. He had always thought he had no qualms about taking another person's life depending on the circumstances. But this time was different. If what Guinness said is true, it meant that someone had died due to his negligence. That if Roji had held back just a little bit more, Georgie would still be alive.

A rustle in the tall grass brought Roji back to attention, two masked men jumped up towards Roji’s horse. Swiftly, the young man brandished his tonfa and clotheslined the sudden would-be attackers. Roji’s gut told him that he was not done, however. Looking up, the pirate could see that a larger man in similar clothing was also on the attack. Throwing his tonfa above his head in an x shape, Roji blocked the hit and threw the suspicious figure behind him.

Rearing his horse, Roji shouted to his team. “Head on a bit and stick to the plan! I’ll deal with this guy and catch up!”

Dropping off his stead, Roji noticed that the lone man was holding a poster. “I ain’t looking to bring ya in kid. We just want her.”

Roji slowly positioned himself near a patch of taller grass. “I see. Well, that’s not gonna be happening. I’ll beat you so bad you’ll have to retire if that’s what it takes to make you stop hunting my friends!”
Roji dove into the grass and ran around wildly. The bounty hunter let off as many shots as his repeater rifle would allow, but the combination of Roji’s speed and the hunter’s inability to see his opponent caused all of his shots to be wasted.

Once the shooting had stopped Roji slowed down. The Envy Sin crept forward, watching the bounty hunter keenly the entire time. After getting into range, Roji prepared himself for the takedown. The young pirate pounced out of his cover, fully extending his tonfa for the impact on the way down. The bounty hunter was fortunately not done reloading. Thus having no defense against the mighty hit from Roji.

The Envy Sin looked down at the bounty hunter and removed his festival mask. The young man was unable to see anything distinctive about the hunter on account of his clothes before. But under the mask was the face of a Fishman. It was interesting to see who it was, but it meant little to Roji.

Digging through the fishman’s pockets, Roji found a badge for the Flamelight Organization. Though the badge was old and hidden. The weird discovery puzzled Roji. If he wasn’t from the West Blue himself he would have been even more surprised to see a badge from that crazy lot.

Giving up on his amateur investigation, Roji went back to his horse. Upon mounting his trusty steed yet again he looked over his shoulder. A large cloud of dust was in the air and approaching quickly. Wanting no part in any of that, Roji kicked the stallion, sending it packing away to catch up with the rest of Team B.

Five Minutes Ago | Edge of Lunar Woods

Like an acorn falling out of a tree, Killian fell out of his hiding spot. The stocky Ensign hit the ground with all the grace of a beached whale. Shaking the blurry vision away, Killian took in his surroundings. Almost all of his soldiers seemed to be either unconscious, treating their wounds, or whining about their defeat. The closest soldier next to him, Guinness, seemed to be in the unconscious camp. Crawling over, Killian pushed the Junior Grade Lieutenant a couple of times in an attempt to wake him.

“I’d give up Killian, we already tried that, just let him sleep it off. No sense in making him fight again.” Tito leaned against the very same tree that he had been kicked into earlier. Killian moved his shoulder around, testing it for any pain after the fall he took. “You’re probably right. We got our asses kicked, bad. I know that crew is something but I didn’t even recognize two of those pirates.”

Tito laughed weakly. “Guinness and I recognize the regular guy. He lied his way into the base, and now look at what’s happening. The higher-ups have had their hands full trying to figure out what Nox's game plan is."

Killian, trying to boost his friend’s morale, joked. “Live and learn. We just gotta keep watch of our own stuff next time. Look at my horses. You think I would ever let them out of my sight?”

The lack of an answer from Tito caused Killian to panic. No matter how hard he looked, the horses were gone. Years of selective breeding and training down the drain. “I bet those no good pirates took them from me!”

Weaving through the scattered group of soldiers, Killian raced through the fields as fast as his short legs could take him. He was going to get those horses back, one way or another.

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:11 pm

[Arc] [St. Poplar Conquest] [Part 3] The St.Poplar's Fire Incident - Page 2 4ba43110

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Covering her entire body in Busoshoku Haki, the woman resisted the pressure from the weight of Newport's Jurassic form. Maintaining her Tekkai as well, it'd be akin to Victor stepping a metallic tact.

Stepping backward, the massive dinosaur roared out, striking fear in the hearts of the rookies who looked on in the distance from the G-43 Base. An alarm was sounded through the base and the city, and hoards of marine troops were summoned to the grounds of the base in an attempt to repel the threats.

Getting up from the ruined drill structures, Castor spat out a wisdom tooth or two, clearing away the debris by increasing the heat of the air around him, causing an explosion that obliterated the wooden pieces.

Unbuttoning the straps of his snazzy leather jacket, Nox locked all three of his eyes on Hornigold.

"I blame your arrogance on the weakness of this era marines. In my youth, scum such as yourself wouldn't dare attack Government issued bases with such zealous." Hornigold declared pridefully.

"You keep thinking it's such a complex ideology such as arrogance or belief. Regardless of who owned this base, rather it had been the NRA or the Marines, I simply decided to take it on a whim." Castor explained.

"That just makes my point even more paramount. Playing God is a slippery slope kid. Eventually, people such as myself who aren't the religious type... Will come along to test your majesty." Joseph responded.

"Who said anything about being a God? I am no different than a typhoon or a tsunami. I am just a natural disaster passing through." Nox concluded grinning.

St.Maria Outpost | Ceremonial Grounds of the Queen of the Spring Festival

The organizers wearing their arrangement of animal masks set up the bonfire at the beachside location, with thousands in attendance to watch the sacred ritual take place.

All of the ladies were dressed in white priestess robes, their faces shrouded by a thin cotton veil for the first round of the proceedings. Positioned in a circular manner around the bonfire's massive fixture, the cast awaited the start of the ritual.

Scattered across the crowd were several fox mask bearers, who waited to see if their pick of the litter would make it through the first round.

Several torch bearers approached the bonfire fixture, shoving the flames into the wooden hill to set it ablaze. Within a few moments, the flames rose to the heavens in a glorious hue of red and orange.

The instrumentalists began to play, an assortment of drums, flutes, and tambourines which played a familiar folk tune. Following the cue of the drums, the ladies began to dance around the flames.

After every rotation, a glass of rice wine was passed off to each participant in a wooden bowl. Emptying its contents, the women would keep the bowls on their person until the next time around, and the process would be repeated until a participant drops out.

According to the rules, you're not allowed to stop to drink, a runner follows the women refilling their cups so they can focus on maintaining a rhythm as they groove. Due to the nature of the ritual being, that if you stop, or hold up the procession, you're immediately disqualified.

The ceremony was a spectacle in itself to behold, and among the princesses, Serpina danced elegantly, the same steps that all the other women executed but there was a kind of bewitchment to Serpina's movements.

An elegance that couldn't be captured in words, it was as if spirits surrounded her, making her body shine supernaturally. Her glow was enough to make the most feeble of men fall in love and the noblest of which proclaim cries of jealously. Regardless of their pride or power.

Springfield Station | Absolute Chaos

The marines from the Enies Lobby regime arrived on the scene and tried to return fire on the Tin Man's body but the bullets simply bounced off from the bulletproof material.

With the crazed machine to their front, the members of the Nox Pirates who arrived in their chef getups removed themselves from the crowd, sneaking up behind the marine officers, relieving them of their guns and swords.

Within seconds, platoons of chefs came rushing through the Train Station doors, forming a huddle around their executive. Opening a compartment from his body, Duke released a stack of pamphlets that depicted the orders for the foot soldiers of the Nox Pirates.

After reading the Captain's and Newport's strategy, their mouths seemingly dropped to the floor before regaining composure with a smirk. Clearing a path with his automatic guns, Duke allowed the disguised pirates into the city, each of them grabbing masks from the abandoned stalls along the route.

Keid - The Heavenly Sense of Touch:

Rocket - The Heavenly Sense of Taste:

Lester - The Heavenly Sense of Sight :

Lucy - The Heavenly Sense of Hearing:

@Roji

Total Word Count: 30,085 | Current Word Count: 788

^{Castor'sTracker}

Sun Aug 07, 2022 9:28 pm

Two large clouds of dirt billowed above the open field. Try as he might, Roji had been unable to shake his annoyingly persistent pursuer off. By Roji’s own estimate, he had about another twenty minutes before he would reach the others. The rest of Team B knew to wait a short ways away from the bonfire. Roji’s strategy for ensuring Lady Serpina’s plan victory was simple. Once the festival's contenders set off towards the cathedral, Minerva and Lucky would set the horses loose among the participants. While everyone is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the horses, Team B will make their move. Minerva and Lucky are to stay close to Lady Serpina. Roji, on the other hand, is going on the offensive. Every single one of the other women’s bodyguards and hirelings are a potential threat to the mission’s success. That risk goes down significantly if they are removed from the contest early.

The young man looked down at his horse. The steed seemed to finally be showing signs of exhaustion after running at its top speed for so long. Looking back, Roji almost thought he heard yelling from the still distant figure. Whether it was his mind playing tricks on him or noise drowned out by the sound of hooves hitting the ground, Roji didn’t think it was a good idea to turn around and ask.

Twenty Minutes Later | Outside the Ceremonial Grounds

His friends now in sight, Roji sighed and stood up on top of the horse. Hands in his pockets, the young pirate backflipped off the stallion. Turning at the apex of his jump, Roji landed facing the other direction, staring right at the still-approaching stranger.

After a short while of waiting. Roji could finally recognize his pursuer as one of the marine officers who attempted to stop Team B’s exit from the woods. The two men, now only 10 or so feet apart, stood speechless in front of one another. Gesturing to a nearby, small boulder, Roji broke the silence. “You seem a little out of breath. Feel free to take a seat, I’ll wait for you.”

Killian’s already red face grew even more comparable to a tomato after the playful jab. “You - Damn - Pirates!”

Catching his breath a little more, Killian tried to talk again. “Someone like you could never get it. I ran all this way for my friends who can’t fight you for themselves!”

Roji looked down at the Ensign, smirking. “If you truly cared for your friends, you would let them fight their own battles, and grow for themselves.”

Killian threw off his officer’s coat, revealing a full sleeve of marine-related tattoos. “Big words coming from a no-name like you. With the body count your captain racks up on each and every island you monsters visit, he probably fights all your battles for you too!”

Roji’s smug attitude was now gone, but he still didn’t break eye contact. “Don’t ever compare me to the likes of you fools.”

Fists raised, the Envy Sin lunged towards the Ensign. But before he could make the first contact, something strange happened. The marine’s body shifted, becoming more horse-like by the second.

The navy soldier, now replaced by a much larger equine creature, laughed confidently. “You were looking down on me moments ago. Where did all your bravado go now?”

Cursing under his breath, Roji got into a battle-ready stance. “This sucks. I can’t let my plan be ruined by this idiot!”

Over a short hill sat the rest of Team B. Luckily, the ceremony seemed to still be in its beginning stages. But it was unknown to the pirates how long that would be the case.

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:11 am

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Dashing through the surrounding hoards of marines in his elemental state, Castor released bursts of Haoshoku Haki to render the numbers game futile. Regaining consciousness, passing out from the shock of the electrocution, the former marine, Keid, covered in severe burns lunged back into the fray charging toward Nox.

"Rocket! Back me up!" Keid shouted, using short bursts of his flames to propel himself forward to intercept Nox's course.

Rocket heard the man's call, transforming into his full Zoan form, the man's speed increased significantly. However, due to the poison from Jazzy's bullets, the ex-marine attacks his troops. Due to the hallucinations caused by the toxin, before Rocket, was a field of Castors who stared at him petrified in fear.

"Ha! What's wrong pirate!? Fight me!" Rocket shouted before snapping a marine troop in half with a clamp of his jaw. "What's this trick you used on me Nox?! Huh!? I didn't know you can multiply!" Rocket shouted, discarding the limp corpse from his mouth onto the floor.

Peering over his shoulder to watch Rocket's crazed insurgence, Castor appeared before Keid, releasing a beam of lightning from his chest that pressed the man to the ground. Electrocuting the man once again, Keid instantly bounced back, transforming his arm into a gigantic flaming fist once more.

Charging a small electrical sphere, the two elements clashed. However, Castor's sphere impaled the gigantic arm, making an impact against Keid's chest, the final jolt charred the clown's body to the color of charcoal.

Jumping into the air, Newport covered the spikes on his back in Busoshoku Haki and began to spiral like a saw. Cutting through the battlefield, the top halves of grunts went flying in a bloody spiral until Newport made contact with the Raptor who attempted to crunch into the Stegosaurus.

Blackened enamel from his own Haki, a battle of wills took place.

Lucy and Jazzy's exchange was a test of speed and concentration. Jazzy with her pistols and Lucy with her wind blade finger flickers, the pair of debutantes volleyed deadly projectiles at each other.

Using their Sorus to escape, the duo came to a kind of stalemate of their own.

"You're pretty good sugar. I just don't get it. Why would someone so proficient in the arts serve a pirate?" Lucy inquired, digging into her bosom for a stick of lipstick to fix her face.

"Le mal n'a pas de visage. (Evil has no face.) In my eyes, both sides of the coin have committed atrocities. I'm just choosing to side with one who would throw his life away for me at the drop of a dime. How can a lady ever say no to that?" Jazzy stated with a grin, cocking her pistols.

"Ah. A one-sided love. So toxic." Lucy responded, discarding her stick of lips stick. Her attention turned towards the fashionista's demise once more.

Ceremonial Grounds | Within the Crowd

Minerva and Lucky stood side by side, watching as veiled ladies danced around the flames.

Lucky's eyes shone like Pearl's against the sunlight, "Beautiful." The Red Panda Mink declared beneath his Fox Mask and bulky green cloak.

The dancer within Minerva couldn't help but shuffle slightly, watching the woman groove, she also moved her feet on time to the rhythm of the drums. Before long, the fox mask bearer had attracted the attention of members of the crowd, who were captivated by the women's petite figure and elegant grooves.

Creating a ring around Minerva, separating Lucky from the woman, Minerva's admirers cheered, as the organizers watched the situation develop. Noticing she'd drawn too much attention to herself, Minerva ceased dancing, much to the audience's dismay.

~~Keid - The Heavenly Sense of Touch:~~

Rocket - The Heavenly Sense of Taste:

Lester - The Heavenly Sense of Sight :

Lucy - The Heavenly Sense of Hearing:

@Roji

Total Word Count: 30,688 | Current Word Count: 603

^{Castor'sTracker}

Mon Aug 08, 2022 5:25 pm

Large hooves stomped towards Roji. Had the young man not already become acquainted with the sound he might have been intimidated. Now standing much taller than the pirate, Killian reared back his arms, before slamming them into the ground. “Come on, Keep telling me about how you are so much better than us. It’ll make it that much more satisfying when I show the others who I brought back!”

Roji easily dodged the heavily telegraphed attack. Once he hit land again, Roji jumped up into the air, pausing in front of Killian's face. “If this is about those horses, I can give them back when I’m done with them.”

The horse-man’s arrogant smirk disappeared and was instantly replaced by a look of embarrassment and anger. “I didn’t forget about the horses. I am a horse! How would I forget! Do you think I’m stupid or something!”

Dragging his hooves across the ground, Killian threw a perfectly executed backhand, hitting Roji directly in the ribs. The Envy Sin soared through the air, the only thing saving him from a nasty landing being the beautiful field of grass and flowers below. Landing relatively softly on the bed of flowers, Roji clutched at the left side of his ribs. “Owwww. I think he might’ve broken one.”

Hearing a horse's neigh, Roji immediately flinched, bracing himself for another hit. A couple of seconds passed, and Roji had still not been hit. Looking around, Roji immediately recognized his location. The hill he was now on was where the horses had been left to wait.

Realization set in on the young pirate, there were no horses around him, meaning that the sound he heard after landing wasn’t the Ensign fighting him. It was the horses he had stolen. Roji had no time to check where the stallions had run off to. But based on the fact that he couldn’t see any in front of him, Roji thought it best to assume the worst and think they had all gone down to the ceremonial fire.

Reaching into his jacket, Roji took out his fox mask and put it on. Jumping back to his feet, Roji fought through the pain and watched the marine officer stomp toward him. The horse-man, now in the gap between the two hills, picked up a boulder and launched it towards Roji. “My name is Killian! I never forget anything! After everything you’ve done to me and my friends, I’m gonna make you pay!”

The boulder would have surely hit Roji if it wasn’t for the strange mask-wearing individuals who jumped in for him. A mix of fox and spirit masks swarmed the area, fighting one another and Killian. Roji, unsure of who was even working for who anymore, joined in on the fighting.

On his way down the hill, the Envy Sin was intercepted by a small, elderly man wearing a spirit mask. “You youngsters are making far too much noise for this festival to take place, learn some respect!”

Roji’s grip on the situation seemed to be slipping by the second, if he didn’t come up with a plan to end the chaos quickly, he knew his mission would end in failure.

Edge of Lunar Woods

Tito, finally well enough to move around, gathered the few conscious soldiers remaining in the area. “Alright, guys. I’ll be honest with you all. We got beat. Badly. But that doesn’t mean we are done for the day. We don’t have any way to call for help here, so we have to go back to G-43.”

Tito pointed to Guinness, who had woken up only moments ago. “You’re in charge bro.” Waving for the soldiers to follow him, Tito set off towards the base. “Let’s head on out boys.”

Alone with only his thoughts to keep him company, Guinness stared out into the field of unconscious soldiers. “Wait a minute, I outrank Tito. I was always in charge.”

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:14 am

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Exhaling angrily through his mouth, the former Rear Admiral had seen enough. Walking over to the corpse of his fallen ally, he'd check Keid's pulse to verify what he'd already suspected.

Coating his arms and legs in a jet black coat of Busoshoku Haki, the sheen on his seemingly metallic limbs became darker. The coating spread across his entire body akin to that of a bacteria, inking every surface of the man's tanned skin in obsidian.

Disappearing before Castor's naked eye, the man's extremely fast movement forced Castor to activate his Kenbunshoku Haki to track Joseph's advance.

Standing at his flank, Castor swung around in an attempt to slash into the man's midsection but upon impact, the toughness of Hornigold's mid-section caused Nox's attack to be nullified.

Rejecting the blade's edge, Hornigold forced Zaigo from Nox's left arm, the kickback caused Nox's arm to go limp and his eyes to expand in a cartoonish manner. It had been the first time in years the Block Buster had been frozen in fear.

Then it commenced. Punch after punch, the massive man pummelled Nox in a combination of hooks, haymakers, and straights. Each time Castor would attempt to evade, a rocket-like fist was there to intercept his escape.

Ribs, shoulder blade, and jawline to name a few were all broken from the Rear Admiral's assault. Even blocking the coated missile-like punches with his own Haki proved futile, as it would be shattered through the intense rhythmic barrage of Hornigold's attack.

Watching on in awe, Jazzy aimed one of her pistols in Hornigold's direction, nervous for her Captain's chances. However, the moment of being distracted allowed Lucy to advance into her person, pinning the fashionista to the ground in an arm bar submission.

"My my... Worried about your Three Eye friend? You should be. Once Joseph gets like that, it's over.

They are three things that make Joseph an absolute pain in the ass to fight.

One. Once he's had a chance to analyze your movements - his specialized Kenbunshoku Haki gives him 'hunches' about how you'll respond. It's like he gets small prediction-based table stats in real-time on your next potential movement." Lucy explained.

Twisting the women's arm and reaching across to turn the submission hold into a cross face, "Two. Joseph's fighting style is based on the over 5000 fights he's had since becoming a marine. Silent Oni. Mentally picks apart an opponent's moves and cross-references them to fights in the past. Then hits you like a ton of bricks." Lucy continued.

Fading from consciousness, Jazzy bit down on her lip, drawing blood to stay awake. "Three. His Rokushiki has also been advanced to its peak. All of the Seven Principles are at his fingertips with ease." Lucy explained. Whispering seductively into Jasmine's ears, "The only person here whose prowess is even close... is me."

Nox didn't have much time to think, milliseconds after the last punch, the next one would come beaming in his direction. Right eye swollen shut, Nox had taken a brutal beating in a matter of one minute.

Winding up, Hornigold intensified the Haki surrounding his right fist once more. This time, crackles of black lightning would be emitted around the core of the punch. Hitting Castor square in his solar plexus, the punch would knock the wind out of the Pirate Captain, sending him flying from the G-43 Base.

Breaking through the base's shield with his body, Nox continued to fly East towards Saint Gantz's Crater which was almost a day's travel away from the capital. Yet, the Imp's body hadn't lost velocity. Giving chase, Hornigold's body shot off like a rocket.

Sky Walking through the skies, each kick placed Hornigold parallel to the soaring rookie's path. Continuing the assault mid-air, Hornigold repeated the series of mid-section punches, ripping away at the muscles in Nox's core.

"Ah. I'm losing. This is a new experience. His punches hurt." Nox thought to himself. "I can't even move like I want to... It's like I see the punch coming, adjust instantly and his fists are still there. Is he... predicting the path of my parry? That's crazy." Nox thought to himself.

The duo now exited St.Poplar Captial, from the ground it looked like two shooting stars had descended from the skies and soared skyscraper level across the city's skies. Summoning a pillar of lightning from the skies, Castor created a brief distance between himself and Hornigold.

Unable to change to course of his trajectory, due to the shared power placed behind Hornigold's successive strikes, released a blast of lightning to negate the speed at which his own body was moving. Temporarily suspended in mid-air, Nox assessed the damage taken and it wasn't looking good.

However, before he could've caught his breath, Hornigold shot back towards the skies from the forest area before and once again continued his assault until the duo crash landed in Saint Gantz Crater, a day's travel away from St.Poplar's Capital.

Barely conscious, Nox stumbled from the crater his body resided in, to see an ominously hovering Hornigold standing at the peak of the crater. Transforming into his element, Castor dashed towards the man, tackling him in a sphere-like fashion, pressing Hornigold to the ground.

The lighting takedown was met with Hornigold grabbing Castor by his skull, breaking his grip from around his waist, and using the Pirates head as a discus. Spinning around and around, Hornigold launched Castor back towards the capital, once again, Hornigold traveled first class alongside the Three-Eye glutton for pain.

Crashing through the dome's shield again, Nox's body landed in the 'Marine' painted insignia on the base's walls. Sliding off the side of the building like a fruit fly that had just been swatted, Nox was broken quite literally from the assault.

Falling onto the drill yard's ground, agonizing in pain, the man stomped his right boot into Nox's midsection, causing the man to screech out even more.

"Since a kid... I've been going to war. Day in, Day Out... All I did was fight. After a while, my sense of violence became sharp. You're out of your league kid. This isn't the Blues anymore." Hornigold commented.

Swallow Island | North Blue | Castor Age 20

Newport and Nox exchanged strikes with wooden sticks covered in Haki.

"I've taught you the basics. Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku. Unfortunately, I can't teach you much about King's myself." A Younger Newport commented, sporting an unshaven face.

"So this is Haki. Such a strange sensation." Twenty Year Old Castor exclaimed.

"From our clashes thus far... Busoshoku seems to be currently your favored style but that may change as you grow. In the Blues, you won't find many Haki users. However, a word of warning for when we make it to Paradise kid..." Newport stated, stroking his beard.

"Those who have mastered their Haki can specialize in certain niches. The abilities may vary but against Logia users such as yourself... That intangibility you favor now becomes mute. Which means there's only one option." Newport concluded.

"Gashi Gashi... My Haki has to become stronger." Castor responded.

"Exactly. You already have a headstart. The longer you have with your Haki, the more you'll use it in the fights ahead... It'll evolve into something spectacular. Just give it time." Newport concluded, readying his stance to attack once more.

Discarding his stick, Newport folded his fists and assumed a boxer's stance.

"I'll give you a taste of my real skills. I can't fight like this for very long due to my injuries but keep up if you can." Newport grinned, with a menacing aura leaking from his person.

Goosebumps began to form all over Nox's body, "Finally getting serious old man. Alright. I'll give it a shot." Castor declared assuming a defensive stance.

Wrapping his hands around Hornigold's ankle, Nox's Busoshoku-coated hands lifted Hornigold's leg from his mid-section, pushing the man backward into a stumble.

Extending his arm like a whip, Nox grabbed his famed blade Zaigo. Uses it as a crutch to return to his feet. Concentrating his Haki around his arms, Nox extended his Busoshoku to the Saijo O Wazamono, reinforcing its sturdiness.

His right eye swollen shut, Castor glared at Hornigold with his two remaining ones. Panting, spitting out blood and loose teeth from his mouth, an electrical field formed around the Azure Pheasant's position.

"Paku Paku Paku..."Nox laughed menacingly, showcasing some of his missing front teeth. Vanishing before Joseph's line of vision, Castor reformed his body from its lightning state inches away from Hornigold.

Suspended in the air, Nox rose Zaigo above his head in an attempt to slash against Hornigold's body horizontally. Getting a hunch, Hornigold attempted to step back but his ankle was shattered from Castor's grip on it earlier.

"Tekkai!" Hornigold shouted, reinforcing his body's toughness. Slashing with all his might, Castor's black blade sliced through the chest of Former Vice Admiral Joseph Lily Hornigold. First blood drawn, both Zaigo and Hornigold's wounds glowed a bright purple miasma.

Hopping backward with his good ankle, Hornigold noticed his body felt sluggish, almost like a sickness had begun to afflict him. The force of Castor's slash left a wide ditch trailing for several meters across the training grounds, a testament to the power displayed by the Block Buster.

As feet touched the ground, the earth trembled from his blade's impact. Conjuring several poles of lightning, Nox began to impale the weakened Joseph with an onslaught of lightning rods. Each pole punctured and electrocuted the massive man in a flurry.

Shortly after, a pillar of lightning descended from the heavens, pinning the Base Commander into a gigantic hole in the ground. Hopping into the crater, in a flicker of lightning, Nox stabbed Zaigo into Hornigold's shoulders, breaking steel-like skin once again.

The cursed weapon seemingly began to drink the blood of the marine, to which Hornigold responded by firing off a punch to Nox's chest swiftly. The shot sent the Imp flying from the crater, giving Joseph a chance to breathe once more but the damage had been done.

"His Haki... He's able to coat his blade properly now. It seems his weapon is cursed as well... Those are always a pain in the ass to deal with. I need to end this now." Hornigold thought to himself, sky walking out of the crater to surface level.

Keid - The Heavenly Sense of Touch:

Rocket - The Heavenly Sense of Taste:

Lester - The Heavenly Sense of Sight :

Lucy - The Heavenly Sense of Hearing:

@Roji

Total Word Count: 32,408 | Current Word Count: 1,720

^{Castor'sTracker}

Wed Aug 10, 2022 10:54 am

Swinging the wooden tonfa as it extended, Roji clipped the elder’s face, sending the poor old man flying to the right, and then down the hill. Ducking low to the ground, Roji dodged another boulder flung by Killian.

Extending his second tonfa, Roji sprinted down the hill, spinning his tonfa to clear a path to Killian. A trail of knocked-out security and bounty hunters alike flew up into the air and hit the ground following the Envy Sin’s attack. Reaching the bottom of the hill, Roji put on the brakes and looked up at the horse-man. “Hey, Killian! You hear that?”

The Ensign was too strong to deal with in a time-fashionable manner. Though Roji loathed the reputation that came with using such childish tactics, he only saw one way out of his current situation.

Killian looked over the much shorter man, his ears twitching while listening for the aforementioned noise. “Whaddya talking about?”

A moment of silence between the men passed, the only interruptions being the faint sounds of combat up the hill. “Hey! Those sound like my horses! You stole them didn’t you!”

Before the young pirate had any time to reply, Killian had already begun thrashing about, breaking apart the many boulders surrounding the two combatants. Roji bobbed and weaved the mindless attacks, but the close encounters were too much for Roji to keep up for long.

Turning tail, the Envy Sin used his last gamble. Waiting for the horse-man to follow, Roji wasted no time in taunting the Ensign. “You want to fight so bad? Come catch me!”

Prolonging his temper tantrum even more, Killian turned into the full form of a horse, albeit much larger still. At first glance, Roji had thought his plan was a failure until he saw the last leg try to go over one of the remaining boulders.

Killian tripped, falling to the ground with a resounding thud. The fighting stopped, all eyes now on the fallen marine who had started the conflict in the first place. At the summit of the hill, A fox mask looked towards the bonfire and pointed.“They are leaving! What are we doing here you fools, who is to protect the Goose Eggs if not us?”

The strangers' words seemed to strike a chord in the vast majority of the crowd below, including the people wearing spirit masks. Like a tribe that moves with the bison, the festival’s participants tailed Lady Serpina and the others.

Once past the few citizens who stayed behind to admire the bonfire, Roji enacted his next scheme. Since he was currently the caboose of this traveling circus train, he was going to make his way up to the front by taking out the competition. Preferably before Lady Serpina reaches the Cathedral.

Roji had complete faith in both Minerva and Lucky to stay close to Serpina. As long as Roji could keep his cool for this final stretch, everything would go according to plan.

Saint Maria | Marketplace

On the long, soul-crushing walk back to base, Tito decided to extend his journey as long as possible. With a bag of fruit slung over his shoulder, Tito brought back the remaining fruit to the shopkeeper. The streets were buzzing with energy, but whether it was excitement or anxiety Tito had no way of discerning.

The energetic mood had seemingly done little to alter the shopkeeper's mood, based on the fact the old man was still asleep. Tito cracked a half-smile while he and his men placed the fruit back in the correct places. After the work was done, Tito gave the man the bag as well, leaning it up against the merchant's chair.

The battered marines walked in silence until they had left the city for Saint Poplar. A seaman recruit spoke up. “Why did we go out of our way to return that stuff? Shouldn’t we have gone right back to base?”

Tito shook his head, laughing weakly. “If it’s to do the right thing, I’ll disobey any order or protocol. That’s what it should mean to be a marine.”

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Wed Aug 10, 2022 3:41 pm

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Stopping the Stegosaurus's spiral, Rocket bit down on Newport's body, with his razor-sharp teeth his breaking skin. Shooting off the scales on his back into the man's mouth, the veteran pirate forced the marine to break his grip. Landing firmly on all fours, Newport spun his tail coated in Haki around and swept the Raptor off his stubby feet.

Kicking off the ground, Newport would climb on all fours, several meters upward before entering into a spin again. "Dino UFO!" Newport barked, hovering in the skies like a flying saucer. Descending in a drill-like fashion, the wind generated from the top, created a vacuum that sucked the Raptor Marine inward.

Slicing his prehistoric body to shreds, Rocket was spat out of the tempest, reverting to his human form covered in small cuts. "Not yet!" Rocket screamed, returning to his feet once more, stumbling from side to side due to the damage succumbing.

Transforming into his half-Zoan form this time, the hybrid monster began to bounce around the battlefield like a spring. With each lung, the man's teeth would rip apart a segment of Newport's giant form, opting to use the speed and size difference to his advantage.

However, Rocket was fighting on borrowed time, the effects of Jazzy's poison had advanced due to the high psychically of their fight. Stumbling on his next jump, Newport seized the moment, firing off the newly regenerated scales on his back towards Rocket, this time, coating each of the stone-edged projectiles in Busoshoku Haki.

Rocket managed to avoid most of the projectiles, but the final shot sliced the man's jaw in two. Bleeding out onto the ground, his jaw shattered, and the premature Zoan user was left lifeless.

"Il était temps que je mette fin à cette petite bagarre mon amour. (It's about time I bring this little scuffle of ours to a close, my love.)" Jazzy declared, transforming the women's clothing into a giant scarf that wrapped her tightly like an anaconda.

Breaking the hold, Jazzy began to cough and gasp frantically trying to reclaim all of the lost oxygen she was robbed of within the women's clutches. Cutting through the scarf with a wind blade, the woman rose naked before the fashionista.

"Tch. I fell for your little magic trick." Lucy commented pouting.

"It seems the rest of my crew is finishing up. I hate being the last one. Reminds me of the Agent Pagent all over again." Jazzy sighed, unbuckling the first three straps of her jeans jacket. "Soru!" Jazzy declared disappearing.

"That won't work on me. I have a hypersensitive hearing. I know exactly where you'll reappear-" Lucy's declaration was cut short by Jazzy's next action. Resting her forehead against the women's own, within kissing distance, Jazzy would cover the women's ears with her palms.

"Six Queen Gun Pistol - Ragnarok!" Jazzy shouted, releasing the internal shockwave throughout the women's ear canal. The impact caused Lucy's brain to shake around in her skull, rendering her unconscious. As her body fell, Jazzy riddled the woman's major organs with puncture wounds from her Shigan technique.

The trained assassin had taken yet another life.

Sighing, "I had to make sure to finish her off... She's too dangerous to take chances with." Jazzy thought to herself, her hands trembling from the impact. "I've used my Queen's Pistol twice within a matter of days. I almost broke my wrists with that last one. I need to be careful using that technique in the future. Especially since I haven't trained seriously in years. If I'm going to continue with Nox, I need to begin retraining myself." Jazzy continued to ponder.

Castor and Joseph's clash continued across the facility.

Keid - The Heavenly Sense of Touch:

Rocket - The Heavenly Sense of Taste:

Lester - The Heavenly Sense of Sight :

Lucy - The Heavenly Sense of Hearing:

@Roji

Total Word Count: 32,999 | Current Word Count: 591

^{Castor'sTracker}

Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:44 pm

Like a rapidly spreading fire, Roji’s attacks jumped through the crowd of his traveling opponents. The Envy Sin charged his next target, a lanky man wielding a wooden staff. Roji, not wanting to waste any more time than he already has, remained unarmed for the duration of his long-fought battle against the entirety of the festival’s participants.

After baiting the bo-wielder to attack first, Roji easily knocked the man away. And then it was on to the next, and the next, and the next. As the battles commenced one after the other, Roji slowly began to find his footing, and his confidence once more. The main difference was that this time, it didn’t waver in the slightest. Every time that Roji challenged a new person, the fights got easier and easier. The Roji from just a couple of days ago would have been drained after just fighting one of the guards-for-hire, but now the young pirate barely had to think at all.

In the span of what Roji felt was just a couple of minutes, ninety percent of the men wearing spirit masks had been defeated. Of course, Roji wasn’t the only one fighting on the way to catch up to Lady Serpina and the other contenders. The very same man who had warned them all now approached Roji, rapier drawn.

The mysterious man lunged at Roji, who narrowly avoided the sudden strike. “My name is Sir Thommy, Don’t forget the ‘H’!”

Knocked out of his flow-state from the weird remark, Roji had to spend way more mental energy to avoid getting stabbed. Through the confusion, Roji was only able to form one thought in his mind. “Where does the ‘H’ go?”

While pondering the hypothetical spelling of Thommy’s name, Roji finally got his opening. Dodging to the right of the man, Roji pushed his enemy while grabbing the sword himself. Ripping the rapier from Thommy’s grip, Roji held the man at sword-point. “Get outta here. I would prefer not to kill everyone I see.”

Thommy stood tall, not letting himself be so easily gotten rid of. “Nay! I was paid handsomely to protect my client!”

Sighing, Roji flipped the sword and prepared to throw it like a javelin into the distance. The act immediately caused Thommy’s resolve to crumble. “No, Please! That sword is an heirloom passed down for generations! You don’t even know half of the glorious history the-”

“Yeah. OK. Whatever dude, chill out.” Roji held out the sword as if to signal Thommy to recover it. Once the strange man’s hands got too close to the blade, Roji threw it in textbook form. The rapier soared through the sky with a perfect spiral, disappearing into the distance.

After witnessing the most beautiful throw of his life, Roji ran past the heartbroken man. Thommy cried out in exaggerated agony. “Why must these things always happen to me?! And to think I was halfway to the Cathedral!”

Smirking, Roji’s spirits were raised. He only had a few stragglers to take care of before he could catch up with the rest of Team B. Assuming things went off without a hitch on their end, it seemed things would work out after all.

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Thu Aug 11, 2022 12:20 am

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Lucky hopped around from injured person to injured person, offering first aid as the Fox Masked battled to escort their valued Princess towards the cathedral. Minerva participated in the chaos, emptying rounds of her rubber bullets at incoming assailants to Serpina's ascension from the ceremonial site towards the Captial.

Trailing behind the woman by several meters, Serpina stumbled forth, highly intoxicated from the first half of the ritual. Needless to say, it'd be a while before she made it to the capital. However, with the damage caused by Roji and the other Nox Pirates, most of her competitor's aids had been wiped out.

G-43 Base | Supply Dock

The usual supply trolley had arrived to transport the monthly goods for the base. However, with all the chaos going on, there was no one to receive the packages this week. Most of the marines were busy boozing away in the city, and those who were on base were busy fighting for their life against Nox and Co.

According to Castor's plans, however, this was the perfect time to strike. Raiding the supply trolley, using the secret entrance into the base, the platoon of Nox Pirates who had received instructions from Duke began to invade the base.

Corridor by corridor, shotguns, swords, and pistols in hand, each of the group divided into parties of two, securing each segment of the base with their personnel. Entering the jailhouse section, the pirates liberated their Conrads and a few imprisoned nobles from the Ruth Family Tree.

With most of the marines either combatting Nox or running 'security' for the festival (more like partying their night away), the G-43 Base was now empty and free for the pickings. Cutting off all communications to surrounding marine bases, especially the contacts at Enies Lobby, Stage One of the Nox plan was about to be fulfilled.

Meanwhile, on the drill grounds, mountains of bodies plastered the battlefield. Jazzy and Newport collected the bodies of the Heavenly Senses - Keid, Rocket, and Lucy, only to realize, they were missing one more. "Wasnt there five of them when this shit show started?" Newport inquired.

Nodding her head in approval, "For once. I think you're right, Victor." Jazzy responded.

As Castor's blackened blade and Hornigold's fists clashed, the impact caused several fissures to occur across the encampment's grounds.

"Worolololo... The question is... How long can you maintain that Black Blade of yours?" Hornigold declared, bursting out into a menacing laugh.

"Paku Paku Paku... Not very long. I can feel the Haki being sucked out of me as we speak. Haven't exactly mastered using 'just enough yet. If I break concentration for even a second, it returns to its usual color." Nox responded, bursting out into a laugh of his own.

"I guess I wouldn't be wrong in saying, next strike wins it. I'm old now. Not exactly afraid to die but I won't go down without a fight." Hornigold declared smirking.

"Fine by me. You can go meet your precious Senses in the other life." Castor O. Nox concluded.

"Atlas Cutter."

"Oni's Straight."

Parrying the man's right straight using his Kenbunshoku Haki, Castor's slash released a compressed arc of wind in the form of a blade, that picked up Hornigold's steel-like body and set him flying in the direction of the Cathedral.

Nox's blade reverting to its regular state, the Three-Eye Tribesman passed out from the pain of his injuries.

The wind suctioned in the bodies of the other Heavenly Senses, and the gigantic pocket of compressed air flew across the base like a paper plane before taking off.

As the projectile traveled, the electricity trapped within the current began to electrocute all the bodies present, blackening their bodies with only their faces remaining identifiable.

A loud thud rocked the Cathedral walls which caused the Head Priests and Nuns who had been waiting in the courtyard for the Spring Queen's arrival to gawk up at the building. Four craters encased the bodies of the defeated marine Senses, all of them lined up next to each other, eyes dilated from the accumulated damage.

In a line, each of them had been injured. The Catherdral flew flags of both St.Poplar's government and the World Government's own. Beneath these flags hung the former faces of justice, an ironic symbolism indeed.

Newport took command of the Base's activities, while Jazzy searched for the missing Heavenly Sense. Castor had been picked up by his men and escorted into the base's command center, where he could oversee the whole town via the Snail Video Transponder System put in place.

The real question remained, where was Heavenly Sense of Sight - Lester?

Appearing at the train station with a platoon of his guard, Lester, the Heavenly Sense of Sight stood in front of his final obstacle in making it off this forsaken rock.

"It seems like you're trying to duck out the fun and games, Mr.Marine," Duke commented.

"I heard about the commotion at the Dock and decided to take a handle of the situation from the sea... Who knew the rodents had spread so far out." Lester commented frowning.

"Rodent? You must be mistaken! I am but a gentleman of leisure and class!" Duke shouted, aiming the barrels of his submachinegun towards the final of the marine's executive on the island.

Lester - The Heavenly Sense of Sight :

@Roji

Total Word Count: 33,879 | Current Word Count: 880

^{Castor'sTracker}

Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:57 pm

Having defeated two more hired guards, Roji pressed onward, eager to catch up to Minerva and Lucky. The pirate ran at his top speed, which was noticeably faster than it by all means should have been. He finally saw Lady Serpina in the distance, drunkenly waltzing to Saint Poplar’s Cathedral.

By the time Roji had actually caught up, he could see that his team needed no help warding back the folk that had been smart enough to not get dragged into Roji’s free-for-all. Keeping his speed from earlier, Roji flipped over Lucky, tapping him on the shoulder as if he wasn’t actively treating an injury. “Looks like you guys have it covered here. I’m going up to the Cathedral; I don’t want to deal with any more surprises today!”

Landing back on his feet, Roji waved his goodbyes before leaving just as quickly as he arrived. The rest of the run back to the nation’s capital was about as eventful as it could be, although it did grant Roji more time to properly reflect on what had happened, and what he was doing.

The last few months of Roji’s life had been a blur. The young pirate quit his work as a revolutionary because he believed that Castor’s methods and ideology led to real results way faster than the NRA’s. Roji still believed that to be true. Since arriving in the Grand Line and stopping at St. Poplar, Roji’s growth had skyrocketed physically and the crew was about to liberate an island from the World Government's clutches, something that Roji never did while with the NRA.

The thought that plagued Roji was all on the mental and emotional side. Recent acts that the pirate had taken would have never happened a few months ago. Robbery, Assaults, and even the killing of other people were all actions that Roji despised, yet had now done himself.

Roji was not a perfect man by any means, but his recent behavior was concerning, especially at the rate at which his power was increasing. Roji made a note to ask Castor, Newport, and the others some questions after this was said and done with.

“What do the strong owe the weak? Can everyone be free? Should everyone be free?”

Roji didn’t even notice he had arrived in the capital until he bumped into a young kid, knocking off his eagle mask. Roji helped the kid up and returned his mask before resuming his journey, now at a much slower pace.

The streets of Saint Poplar were teeming with marines, but the combination of alcohol-induced stupidity, Roji’s mask, and the fact no one knew who he was more than enough to move through the city undisturbed. It took an annoyingly long amount of time to even get close enough to the Cathedral to even see its spire. But that was to be expected considering it was the finish line of the festival’s main event.

Unable to tell if the coast was clear due to his middling height, Roji slowly began to push his way to the Cathedral. For the sake of the mission, Roji had to properly scope out this place. The Envy Sin couldn't fail, not at the very end.

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Mon Aug 22, 2022 9:39 pm

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Firing off the rounds of his automatic weapon into the streets of St.Poplar, Duke's onslaught left in its wake a plethora of broken glass and bodies. The trigger-happy scientist however ran out of rounds, and that's when the Rokushiki specialist opted to close the distance between the two, using his soldiers as human meat shields.

Puncturing several holes in the newly modified suit, Lester's Shigan broke several gears in the mechanical monstrosity. Releasing a plume of smog, the green gas filled the area, engulfing Lester and what remained of his stooges.

"Experiment 16 - Green Eggs and Ham! It's a toxic green gas that causes its victims to burp up stomach acid repeatedly. After enough exposure, the burps began to have a putrid smell. Similar to rotten eggs." Duke exclaimed.

Burping uncontrollably, the Rokushiki master took to the skies to avoid the gas range.

"Tch. Just a bunch of weirdoes. I need to get back to the base and call for reinforcements-" Lester declared, retreating from the station at rocket speed back towards the base.

Intercepting the fleeing marine's path, Miss Courtier had her eyes set on the final executive. Spinning her body in a sphere-like manner, the woman fired off several wind blades in Lester's direction. The trajectory of the compressed arcs of air sent Lester stumbling onto the Cathedral's veranda, above, the bodies of his compatriots lay pinned onto the wall like contemporary art.

Loading her pistol, Jazzy aimed Lester, landing shortly after the man's unplanned descent.

"Looks like you double-crossed us, Agent Jasmine," Lester announced frantically.

"No hard feelings my dear. I just switched over to the winning team." Jazzy retorted.

"You think he'll let you get away with this? That brat of yours is as good-" Lester's speech came to an abrupt halt, stalled by the impact of several shells on his torso.

"Don't you ever let my little one's name come out of your mouth again, punk." Jazzy declared, spitting on the elderly's marine corpse in disgust.

Picking up Lester's body, Jazzy tossed the man into the Cathedral's walls as well, assembling the final piece of the Heavenly Senses. Being sure to keep her appearance hidden, the woman disappeared from the Catherdral's veranda like a ghost in the night.

Murmurs from the crowd filled the streets as Princess Serpina arrived in the Cathedral's Garden, becoming one of the thousands of spectators who'd just watched the marine's top brass become ornaments to structure design.

A smile plastered across the woman's face from ear to ear but she didn't have time to celebrate, stumbling into the building, she'd rush to deliver her egg to the altar, and complete the ritual which would assure her victory.

@Rowan

Total Word Count: 34,326 | Current Word Count: 447

^{Castor'sTracker}

Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:22 am

In the short amount of time that Roji had before Lady Serpina and the others would arrive at the Cathedral, Roji carefully surveyed the surrounding area. Strangely, it seemed that he was the only participant in the festival left that had thought to go ahead of the competing women. Standing at the top of a nearby building, Roji caught a glimpse of the apparent commotion outside of the Cathedral. Using the balconies on the side of the restaurant he was on top of, Roji dropped down to the streets of Saint Poplar and set his sights back on the finish line.

Pushing his way through the growing crowd of cautious observers, Roji finally was able to get a clear look at the Cathedral and its garden. The Envy Sin did not know what he expected to see, but it was not the sight of all 5 Heavenly Senses down for the count this far from G-43. Then again, It was only natural after taking a moment to think. They had all decided to go against the Nox Pirates after all.

Shaking his head in a mix of pride and amusement, Roji pondered over what his next course of action would be given recent developments. The young pirate unbuttoned his green jacket, revealing a plain white shirt underneath. Stepping forward, Roji made sure his mask was still comfortably in place.

Sweat dripped down the pirate's forehead after he left the safety of the civilian mob. The hushed whispers of the puzzled townsfolk steadily grew in volume, both from Roji’s sudden appearance in front of the Heavenly Senses as well as the sighting of soon-to-be-princess Lady Serpina.

Now in a more suitable position for giving his speech, Roji turned around. The onlookers now silent in wait for an explanation for what they had witnessed. Clearing his throat, Roji looked over the festival’s spectators

“I am sure the majority of you are very confused and scared about what is going on here. Don't worry, I’m not gonna beat around the bush with you guys.”

Pointing to the bodies behind him for emphasis, Roji continued. “The famed Heavenly Senses that you see now were defeated by me, Roji of the Nox Pirates. As I speak the rest of this island’s marines are being dealt with by the rest of my crewmates.”

Following the reveal of his name, Roji threw off his mask, revealing his face for all to see. “I would not hold it against any of you to be afraid of what comes next. The end of the Spring Festival shall be the start of a new chapter in your nation’s history, in more ways than Serpina taking the throne.”

Raising his fist in the air Roji began to speak with more conviction. “But the time is now for your nation to regain its independence! Us Nox Pirates have given you the opportunity to live freely without the World Government breathing down your neck! Rest assured, Should anyone set their sights on this place without our say-so, I shall personally return and stomp them out!

There was a stark difference between the thoughts in Roji's head and the words coming out of his mouth. This speech was not in the plan at all. Roji did not know what compelled him to make a promise to protect St. Poplar. Perhaps it was the young man’s way of repaying the island for the experiences it had brought him. Through all the growth the island had brought Roji, he wanted to see St. Poplar grow on its own too.

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Tue Sep 06, 2022 5:11 pm

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Mixed emotions befell the onlookers of the festival. On one hand, a new Queen had been selected. However, the winner was none other than a descendant of the hateful Ruth bloodline. The very nobility that caused the island to come under the World Government’s control in the first place.

Now, before them stood pirates who had defeated their heroes. With Joseph Hornigold among the losers, the audience immediately understood what this meant for the future of St. Poplar. The bodies of the once famous marine executives stunned the onlookers. Arriving moments after Roji began his speech, Duke couldn’t help but to chuckle within his suit of armor.

Assembling a cannon launcher, the mad scientist took aim for the World Government flag that hung above the cathedral, and meanwhile, at the base, the Nox Pirates grunts followed suit with similar actions. In an instant, the flags were sent into flames, and since it was done from a distance, it’d been timed to end the new Nox recruit’s monologue. With the World Government's flag diminished to mere embers, a new flag hung from the church and the base, that of the Nox Pirates.

The people cried out in fear and hysteria, many rushing to the local seaport to flee the island. However, all they would find would be Nox’s men guarding the areas, reinforcing a kind of martial law. The men wouldn’t harm or plunder like most pirates would on an island in this kind of political turmoil; instead they’d inform the people of their captain’s orders.

Castor Message wrote:'Enjoy the festival. Drinks and food are on me.’

The message spread throughout the town and left many puzzled, though, unable to leave the rock, they were now offered a much more bizarre and fun alternative. Emerging from the church with members of the clergy now at her side, Serpina grinned from ear to ear. Her dream had now been accomplished.

Many of the crowd choked on their emotions of regret and anger. These pirates had helped their worst nightmare ascend to the throne, and based on the church’s previous actions of just following whoever's rules suit, the future looked gloomy. Especially with a well-known pirate in her pocket, Serpina was practically invincible in the eyes of the people.

Walking into the crowd of people, the white-robed Queen dropped onto her knees, dirtying her ceremonial dress before breaking down into tears.

"I know my family has brought shame to the name of Saint Poplar. I am truly sorry for that. There are no words I can use that will be able to expunge all the hurt caused by my ancestors and peers. Though the World Government took advantage of an already corrupt system's failure, that doesn’t erase the fact that it was inherently flawed! " Serpina shouted.

"Even I admit that selling my soul to the likes of pirates to regain my rule is flawed, but I cannot sit by and let those bastards ruin what made our country strong. Independence The freedom to choose our enforcers, our own traditions, and our way forward.

That is why, as of today, I discard the Ruth name and take on the last name of the first saint, Poplar. I shall restore this island and its people to even a greater state of prosperity. Though the marines offered protection, until this festival, many of our people struggled for tourism due to rumors about Joseph Hornigold’s brutish ways.

As such, my first declaration as head of the state goes as follows: all members of the Nox Pirates are to cease and be arrested! "

Especially the one named Rowan, who by his Captain's orders has managed to seemingly defeat the Heavenly Senses single-handedly! " Serpina announced.

The Red Devil smiled within his suit when he noticed that the ‘officers’ coming to ‘arrest’ him were members of the Nox Pirates in disguise. This was a plot of his own. Of course, even if they took the base by force, the World Government would immediately take action if a pirate state had arisen in the heart of the sea train route. This political game gave Duke and the others time to plan their next move wisely.

"Word will be sent to the World Government about today's events! For now! The festival will continue! Take this scum away! " Serpina ordered. The newly enforced "White Coated" officers, who bore the sigil of Serpina’s household animal, the snake, escorted the remnants of the Nox Pirates to the G-43 Base.

The festival finished successfully. The bodies of the five marines were removed from the cathedral walls, properly dealt with, and shipped off on a ferry to Enies Lobby, along with a full report of the events that had transpired politically. The sham only lasted for a few days, and rumors began to spread about the formerly proud and bold ‘G-43’ branding being replaced by ‘N-1’, aka, the Nox One Base, Castor’s first foothold in Paradise.

Serpina continued to be the head of the Church and handled the political matters, whereas Castor’s crew were enlisted as the new military for the independent state. Within days of the new Hieress’s regime taking over, the cultural shifted from a tourist spot to a safe haven for ruffians across the Sea Train route and Paradise. The Nox Pirates' numbers were bolstered tremendously, and the world was now informed of Castor’s new commanders:

Rowan-The Newly Dubbed Vice Captain who defeated the Heavenly Senses, including former Vice Admiral Joseph Hornigold.
Victor Von Newport, Second in Command, who helped with the sacking of the G-43 Base.
Jazzy Coutier-The World Government Defector and Regional Fashion Icon who helped by using inside information.
The Tin Man: wanted for the murder of thousands of Marine soldiers, called the Marine Killer.
Minerva-Former Three-Star Hunter who has now been disowned by the Hunter Association and is wanted by the BHA and World Government alike.
The Red Panda Mink - Doctor of the Nox Pirates, Lucky, who helped nurse their forces and injured pirates who sought haven under Nox’s flag.

Five days later,

A feast was held within the base to celebrate the new pirate stronghold that had been established under Castor’s lead.

@Rowan

Total Word Count: 35,352 | Current Word Count: 1,026

^{Castor'sTracker}

Wed Sep 07, 2022 11:31 pm

Unsurprisingly, it seemed as if Roji’s newfound love for St. Poplar and its people was not to be requited just yet. Just as the young pirate finished his attempt at an inspiring speech to the crowd a cannonball was shot at the cathedral. As the smoke dissipated from the scene, the onlookers could see that the Nox Pirates flag proudly flew in place of the World Governments.

Only through seeing dozens upon dozens of people fleeing the scene was Roji able to see how he must have looked to the townsfolk. A young, previously unknown pirate has come out of the woodwork, seemingly defeated Joseph Hornigold and the Heavenly Senses, affiliated himself with a Blockbuster, and then burned the World Governments flag moments after inciting rebellion against said government.

The Envy Sin glanced over his shoulder, staring at the unmoving retired marines. “The press is totally going to paint me as a villain huh?”

The only interruption to Roji’s inner monologue was the appearance of the island's new Queen. The pirate remained silent through her own speech, if only in hopes that she would be able to ease the people's spirits after his overly zealous rally a minute ago. Of course, things were never that simple in reality. When the pirate's real name was revealed by Queen Serpina, Rowan’s confusion was only eclipsed by the anger he felt in having his real name revealed. “I have a feeling I know exactly who was the one to find out my real identity. I was doing so well keeping that secret too.”

But that confrontation was to be had another day. Rowan still had to complete his performance as the intense pirate who paved the way for Serpina to take the throne. When the disguised Nox Pirates “arrested” Rowan, he was more than happy to get out of the spotlight for a little bit. The onlookers cleared a path for the “soldiers” to take Rowan away. Leaving the cathedral, at last, there was only one thing left for Rowan to say. “Think about what I have said today long and hard. We have given you a great opportunity, but that only matters if you decide to take it!”

Five Days Later… | N - 1

Despite the wishes of his many comrades, new and old, Rowan wanted nothing more than to get some peace and quiet. The pirate found himself in a secluded room somewhere in N - 1. A light breeze made its way through the rooms through the single window. The only other things of note were Rowan himself, a chair, and his transponder snail. The only thing that he really wanted however was a simple bowl of fruit, but Rowan could not dare go back into the base's cafeteria. Not unless he wanted to be forced to yet again recite the tale of his great battle against the Heavenly Senses.

Just as the Envy Sin began to drift into sleep, the Transponder Snail’s eyes snapped open and announced a caller.

“Kaccha~”

Removing his feet from the window sill, Rowan spoke first. “I thought I told you yesterday, I’m done skulking around and feeding you guys information.”

A familiar voice berated him on the other end. “No way! You can’t quit on us now! You’ve been with us for over a year now, where’s the loyalty!”

Rowan leaned over the snail. “Loyalty? To who? You guys? I have always been loyal to a cause, my ideals. And my ideals have not changed as much as you think they have. Only my method of achieving them.”

Rowan held his hand above the snail’s shell, ready to hang up as soon as he was done speaking. “I’m sorry if this upsets you in any way, but I’m done hiding around. I’ve learned that people are more keen to listen when you actually stand by what you believe in.”

“Kaccha~”

Rowan stood up and made his way back to the more populated sections of the base. The young man watched himself walk through the reflection of a nearby window. “All my aliases and identities are crashing into one another. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise for things to get revealed this way. Next time the public sees me, I’m gonna show them the real me!”

Word Count:

@Castor O. Nox

Thu Sep 29, 2022 2:20 pm

Sanpaku (산빠쿠)

Tied up within her constraints, the muffled Queen of Saint Poplar lies squirming before the executives of the Nox Pirates.

Still groggy from his late-night binge reading fest, the Captain of the Nox Pirates sat ahead of a dining room table, at which the restrained Serpina lay on a platter in the middle of the table with an apple in her mouth.

"Newport. I get that you're a strange individual. However. This is sick even for you." Castor said, sighing as he'd nodded his head in disapproval, darting his eyes down at the novel in front of his person in between discourse.

Covered in ladies of the night from head to toe, the boozing half man, half dinosaur swallowed his congratulatory drinks and chuckled at the hogtied noble.

"Bwahahaha... Serves her right. She announced to the whole world that she 'detained' us.

Noble Brat. If Hornigold couldn't stop us no one can! Right ladies?!" Newport exclaimed in delight.

The woman screeched in ecstasy, strung up on the same amount of party favors and alcohol that the former Vice Captain had consumed.

"Also. What's this nonsense about Roji defeating the Heavenly Senses single-handedly? The rumors have spread all across the Sea Train circuit. It was you, me, Miss Sunshine over there that kicked their asses in the end? Huh? Where is that bitch Roji? I got a bone to pick." Newport snarled.

Jotting away at the finances of the crew in her log, Jazzy calculated the new wealth they stemmed to inherit after seizing the churches and the past nobles' confiscated heirlooms. Dressed in a peach strapless dress, 4-inch wedges, and reading glasses with golden frames, the White Haired witch peered up from her factory plans and addressed the situation at hand.

"I'm completely fine with Roji taking the credit. The world is officially naming him Castor's demonic right-hand man. Looks like your spot has been taken, Mauvais Perdant. The longer the world thinks we're captured the better.

Gives us time to set up my factory- I mean. Establish our foothold before branching out.

Besides. Since Zanato and Alexi have been working on Jyestha, we'll be able to sail to Water 7 immediately." Jazzy declared.

"It works out if they are going to use Jazzy's daughter against her as well. Even if they find out we escaped, the narrative should be that Jazzy is either dead or our hostage until we have enough to raid Karakuri. I've been there once with Juice. Without a guide or invitation, it's a suicide mission for a regular ship or crew." Minerva chimed in, dressed in traditional female Chinese wear, compliments of Jazzy's Garb Garb Fruit.

Sulking in the corner was Lucky who had been dragged into all of this. Labeled a 'commander' in Nox's forces and he hadn't even officially joined the crew yet. However, given the terrorist actions of Minks in the world and how infamous his face had now become, a haven under Castor's flag was better than being a sitting duck in the forests of Maria.

"Sis. I can't believe I'm a pirate." Lucky murmured in despair.

"Y'all are so noisy," Castor exclaimed, shooting off a dart of lightning which caused the apple in Serpina's mouth to explode.

"I'm the one who told the 'Queen' here to make that speech. We need cover if Jazzy's daughter is a bargaining chip. In a few days, they'll send a search party for the Enies Lobby Captain as well as to retain us. Since Hornigold... from my research, his family members have great prestige in the marines.

Won't matter. We'll be gone by then. I'll a platoon of my men on the island to guard the ports from marines docking here. Also, the base weapons are being modified by Duke to be able to fire out at Sea.

This will be the perfect trading port for the non-government affiliated. Revolutionaries, Pirates, and Brokers alike can use here as a trading city at a price of course.

Now that we've beaten Juice, we might be on Yonkou's Commander's radar. We'll need all the resources we can get." Castor explained, closing the novel at its halfway point.

"Castor! This isn't what we agreed on. You said we'd share St.Poplar. I would be able to restore my family's name through service!" Serpina shouted, wiggling towards Nox's position at the table.

Grinning, Nox stood up from his seat and leaned towards Serpina, resting his arms on the table.

"Miss Serpina. You forgot one thing. We're pirates. Betrayal is a part of the occupation. The Ruth Family was restored... for one day. This island... belongs to the Nox Pirates now." Castor concluded exiting the secluded room within the Cathedral.

Turning to the head nun who guarded the room, "I can trust you to ensure that Miss Serpina sticks to her studies as a newly converted woman of the church?" Castor declared smirking.

"Why of course Mr.Nox. After your most generous donation to the Church, you're en route to becoming anointed as a Saint. Besides. The council agreed we know nothing about the affairs of war. The military and protecting this land falls on its rulers.

As long as our people have a place to live in peace. Whether it is the Ruths, the Marines, or a pirate... We will continue to support the victor." Matron Nun explained.

2 Hours Later | N-1 Base | Cafeteria

A large banquet spread across the base's cafeteria. Nox Pirate members of new and old gathered for the arrival of the executives so they continue the celebrations.

Of course, Jazzy had a dress code enforced for this particular occasion. Every member was styled as a rich lord and lass, inside a white button-up dress shirt and a black overcoat or waistcoat.

Strutting towards the center of the room, the Nox Pirates leaders assembled at the head of a large dining room table. Taking their seats, a new chapter in history was about to be written.

"Gashi Gashi... Tonight. We party! Tomorrow! Our voyage continues. I'll leave a bulk of you here to hold our position on the island. The rest of us will be going after a new vessel at Water 7. Then we'll regroup here before our next major mission. Karakuri. We have a crewmate to save." Castor announced.

Fin.

@Rowan

Total Word Count: 36,396 | Current Word Count: 1,044

^{Castor'sTracker}

Fri Sep 30, 2022 11:48 pm

Shortly After the Banquet Started

Rowan sat atop a large barrel of undrunk rum. Below him were the many pirates who demanded to hear of his legendary battle firsthand. Not that Rowan could blame them for their intense curiosity, but the truth often has its way of becoming twisted when it has traveled through so many people’s ears.

Only now, the young pirate was stone sober. The Envy Sin had not drunk a drop of anything other than water since his speech at the Cathedral, for he feared that anything impure would cause his silver tongue to turn heavy, and his reputation to go down the drain.

Clearing his throat, The Vice-Captain prepared to tell his audience what really happened that fateful day. “So you want to hear how I defeated all 5 of the Heavenly Senses?...”

Ten Minutes Later

“... And it was at that moment that I sent Hornigold and those other old geezers flying to the Cathedral with just one punch!” At the climax of the story, Rowan stood up and punched the air, as if acting out what he was saying had made it any more true.

After the applause had died down a bit a lone grunt spoke up. “But Roji, how did you know about the parts that none of the Nox Pirates were there for?”

Roji internally facepalmed after the question. Obviously, his theory regarding alcohol and its effects on his speeches held no weight whatsoever. But just before the Vice Captain would have had to answer the question, he was interrupted.

“Roji! We just got a hold of this from another island on the Sea Train Route! It’s your first bounty poster!”

With his curiosity piqued, The Envy Sin dropped down from his perch and snatched the poster out of the messenger’s hands. “That’s a pretty good picture they got of me. They really did use the ones that Jazzy took of us…”

Squinting, Rowan did a double-take at the name on the poster. “They put my name down as ‘Rowan Roji’? That’s so stupid! Roji’s not even my last name!”

The End