One Piece: Bai Ye Deputy Captain of the Straw Hats

Translator: PapaSmurf0700

A surviving Pacifista's optical sensors scanned the new arrivals, its internal database cross-referencing the images.

"Searching... Search complete. Four targets identified."

"Dorry the Blue Ogre: Former captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates. Bounty: 100,000,000 Beri. Disappeared 100 years ago."

"Brogy the Red Ogre: Former captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates. Bounty: 100,000,000 Beri. Disappeared 100 years ago."

"Kashi and Oimo: Former members of the Giant Warrior Pirates. Recruited by the World Government to serve as gatekeepers of Enies Lobby. Defected during the Straw Hat Pirates' invasion."

"Gagyagyagyagya! To think they'd still remember us after a century, eh, Brogy?" Dorry laughed, his shield and sword held at the ready.

"Kehahahahaha! How could they forget, Dorry?" Brogy boomed, hefting his colossal axe onto his shoulder. "After all, they are the ones who deceived our comrades!"

"That's right," Dorry agreed, glancing back at Kashi and Oimo, who looked ashamed. "You tricked our friends into serving as your watchdogs. That is a crime we can never forgive!"

"And now, you dare to attack our new friends!" Brogy roared, brandishing his axe. "The Straw Hat Pirates are our allies! To attack them is to provoke us!"

"SO HERE WE ARE!"

With a unified cry, the four giants leaped from their ship, their massive forms landing with an earth-shattering tremor on the port of Marineford. They pivoted as one, forming an unbreakable wall between the pirates and the Pacifista army led by Sentomaru.

Though no words were spoken, their expressions conveyed a simple, absolute message.

This path is closed.

From the execution platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's face was grim. "Kizaru. Go. Overwhelming their lesser forces is a faster path to victory than dueling their top commanders one by one."

"Oooh, if you insist," Kizaru drawled, making no comment on the order. He was the only one present who could execute such a maneuver efficiently.

But just as Kizaru began to dissolve into a particle of light, a talon wreathed in blue flame and hardened with Armament Haki plunged from the sky.

"Phoenix Brand!"

BOOM!

The admiral was slammed back into his solid form and blasted into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Marco, the Phoenix, did not relax his guard. He flapped his fiery wings, descending slowly, his eyes locked on the smoke.

As expected, Kizaru's lanky figure emerged from the haze, brushing a non-existent speck of dust from his pinstripe suit.

"My, my, Captain Marco," Kizaru said with his signature infuriating smirk. "You took a few of my lasers yourself. To recover so quickly... you truly are a scary monster." He raised a finger, a point of light beginning to form. "But are you sure you want to get in my way?"

Marco was unmoved. The immortal blue flames enveloping him burned even brighter.

"You think you can just shoot our old man and walk away, Admiral?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

-----

"Hm?"

Sengoku, still observing from the platform, sensed a shift in the battle and turned his gaze to the distant plaza. Luffy, who had been sent flying by Kizaru moments before, was back on his feet. This time, his expression was utterly serious.

He raised his left arm, already coated in gleaming black Armament Haki, took a deep breath, and bit down hard on his own thumb.

"Gomu Gomu no... Muscle Balloon!"

Air rushed into his limbs, inflating his musculature to immense proportions. Steam vented from his body as it expanded, and strange, tribal-like patterns materialized across his torso.

"Gear Fourth: Boundman!"

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Bouncing on the spot with compressed power, Gear Fourth Luffy had arrived. Months of brutal basic training combined with five months of specialized tutelage had allowed him to master the form that originally took two full years to develop. This version was even stronger. His Haki was denser, his physical power on another level entirely. The sheer aura radiating from him was enough to make even Fleet Admiral Sengoku take notice.

But he wasn't finished.

Luffy glanced at the specialized gloves Bai Ye had given him and closed his eyes. After a moment of concentration, they snapped open.

"Heavenly Furnace," he whispered. "Spirit, Awaken!"

Instantly, flames erupted from his fists—not red, but a brilliant, sun-like gold. For a fleeting second, a shimmering, ethereal figure that looked just like Luffy flickered into existence behind him before vanishing.

Watching from afar, Bai Ye couldn't help but smile. Just as he predicted, of the crewmates who received his soul-tempering instructions, Luffy was the first to ignite his "heart-fire." This fire was no ordinary flame; ignited by the soul itself, it carried the terrifying ability to damage the spirit directly. From this moment on, every punch Luffy threw would be a twofold attack: one of overwhelming physical force, and one that struck his opponent's very soul.

The phantom that had appeared behind Luffy, however, gave Bai Ye pause. Normally, it would take years of nurturing for a weapon to develop a spirit of its own. It was not unheard of for that spirit to resemble its master, but Luffy was nowhere near that stage.

Unless... the spirit was already there.

A possibility clicked in Bai Ye's mind: the Devil Fruit Luffy ate. From a certain perspective, a Devil Fruit that held the will of a past being was itself a kind of sentient weapon. It would explain how the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika had evaded the World Government for eight hundred years. A sentient weapon chooses its master.

So, was it Luffy's actions or his indomitable will that finally earned Nika's recognition? Bai Ye mused. Still, Luffy showed no signs of a full Awakening. Perhaps his raw determination had simply ignited the heart-fire, and that in turn had startled the dormant consciousness of the Sun God within the fruit. Whatever the case, Bai Ye knew the Nika fruit was a critical piece of the puzzle. He had a premonition that to face the final enemy at the end of their journey, they would need Nika's power.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Luffy bounced across the battlefield, his massive form closing the distance to the execution platform with impossible speed. But just as he prepared for his final charge, he stopped and looked up.

High above, a shadow fell over Marineford. A small island, impossible and surreal, descended from the clouds, hovering directly over the execution platform.

A single figure leaped from its edge, his wild laughter booming across the bay.

"SHIHAHAHAHAHA! NAVY HEADQUARTERS! I'M BACK!"