OP: Turtle Hermit

"Kazuki!"

A yell sounded out as Beany banged on the door which opened up to show a sleepy Kazuki who rubbed his shirtless defined chest as he looked at a red Beany in confusion.

"What's up? Why are you banging on the door." Kazuki yawned.

Red faced Beany shook her head. "Now isn't the time, get dressed! We have to evacuate." She yelled in fear.

Kazuki narrowed his eyes as his demeanor shifted and he rubbed her shoulders to calm her down.

"Hey what's going on?" Kazuki asked as he calmed Beany down to where she explained that there was a huge battle that was happening near the island.

"The marines have told everyone to evacuate onto rescue ships to take us away, in case the battle moves towards the island." She said hugging him in dread.

"Okay I'm coming." Kazuki nodded quickly dressing and following her to the port.

Rescue ships were docked, with an over crowed port, piled with desperate people wanting to get away from the nearby battle.

Kazuki and Beany searched around then found the kids of the orphanage who waiting outside a crowed ship.

"Thank god you guys are safe." Said a worried Jess, who tightly hugged Beany.

Kazuki looked around seeing the small staff of marine soldiers getting overwhelmed helping the large crowd board the evacuation ships.

~West Blue — Neutral Waters Torn Asunder~

At first, there was only silence.

The five great mafia fleets—ships from the Yoroki, Bianchi, Moriyate, Uzuhana, and Capone families—hovered in an uneasy circle, like wolves eyeing each other from the shadows of a dying campfire.

But that silence was soon shattered.

"You will not lead us into the abyss, Jio," growled Zetri Uzuhana, his withered eyes burning.

"If peace dies here, it won't be by my hand…"

"Then it'll be by mine!" shouted Romeno Moriyate, his face twisted in fury.

"For every Moriyate blood spilled by your games, I'll answer with rivers of yours!"

Jio Bino stood silently, white cane in hand, white hair fluttering. No words.

Only intent.

He raised his cane—and slammed it into the deck.

"Yoroki—FIRE!"

And so, hell broke loose.

The Yoroki flagship's cannons roared like thunder, belching smoke and flames.

Dozens of iron cannonballs launched from their reinforced hull, tearing through the Moriyate and Bianchi ships, splitting decks and snapping masts like toothpicks.

Explosions rocked the sea.

"RETALIATE!"

Zetri roared, and the Uzuhana vessels fired back, their firepower more precise, targeting the Yoroki's gun ports with terrifying accuracy.

The sky turned black with smoke and the water red with blood.

~Deck of the Bianchi Warship: "Red Glutton"~

The grotesque Don, Roy Bianchi, roared with laughter as he kicked open a crate of chained beasts.

"Let the dogs out!"

The doors opened—and from within came monstrous brutes in chains: muscle-bound experiments, men infused with his devil fruit ability and driven mad by pain.

"RRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

They were unleashed across with grappling hooks onto a Yoroki vessel.

Swords clashed. Gunfire thundered. Limbs were severed mid-air.

A Yoroki enforcer swung twin axes, splitting one of Bianchi's beasts in half before catching a harpoon thrown at his chest from behind.

~Bridge of the Moriyate Ship: "The Gorgon's Gun"~

Romeno Moriyate stood tall in his long black coat, blood already staining his sleeves as he slashed through Uzuhana soldiers who boarded from the side.

"You old bastard Zetri—your men have no teeth!"

He parried a blow, spun, and blew a hole through a man's chest with his sawed-off shotgun.

"FOR THE MORIYATE!"

His men chanted as they followed, descending upon an Uzuhana destroyer in a brutal boarding maneuver.

~Uzuhana Gunship: "Silent Hammer"~

But Zetri was not to be underestimated.

"Unleash the children."

From behind his elite guard came a group of young assassins, all under the age of twenty, trained since infancy in swordplay, gunslinging, and death.

They moved like wraiths—silent, elegant, horrifying.

A young girl with silver eyes sliced through five Yoroki men in seconds. A boy with dreadlocks leapt from a mast, twin pistols spinning, leaving trails of bullets behind him.

Romeno's reinforcements were cut down before they reached Zetri's deck.

On the Yoroki Flagship, Jio Bino stood at the helm as cannon fire rained overhead. He whispered to his right-hand enforcer.

"Bring out… The Doubles."

A heavy hatch opened.

From beneath the deck, crawling on all fours, came a team of Yoroki special ops—clad in all black, no eyes visible, wearing masks bone white

"Aim for Bianchi," Jio said coldly.

They leapt from the ship like shadows, swinging across ropes and underwater currents. Moments later, Bianchi's flagship shook as explosions erupted from below.

Sabotage, Jio smirked coldly.

~On the Capone Vessel: "Floating Fortress"~

Capone Bege stood at the rail of his monstrous ship, watching the chaos unfold. His men stood ready, unsure.

"Boss, should we move?"

Bege stared, unmoving.

"No."

"But—Moriyate's down two ships! Uzuhana just lost their scout boat! Yoroki's wiping the floor with Bianchi!"

"I said… no."

He took a drag from his cigar and turned his back to the carnage.

"Let 'em kill each other."

~Marine Fleet~

The sea was on fire.

Wooden wreckage floated like driftwood coffins. Ships burned. Screams drowned beneath cannon thunder. And above it all, from the bridge of the Marine vanguard ship, Commander Nehishi surveyed the slaughter with calm fury.

His knuckles gripped his naginata like a butcher holds a cleaver.

His priorities were the safety of the civilians first and foremost, then ending this brief war.

His lieutenant stood beside him clenching her fist as she surveyed the battle.

"The civilians ships are far enough now, have the marines surround the area, force all enemy ships towards the center." He ordered as he grabbed his naginata.

"We're going to take out each ship left and right, chip away their forces till we get to the leaders and end this." He ordered as his lieutenant nodded and relayed his orders.

The battle became fierce with the entrance of the marines who took out ships already locked in fight.

"Damn marines!

"This isn't of your battle damn dogs!"

The battle was fierce as marines and mafia fought and cut, shot killing each other left and right.

Nehishi glared seeing his man die and clutched his naginata in rage.

"Sterling take command, time for me to enter the battle." Nehishi grunted as he spun his naginata. "Lieutenant come, it's time to fight."

"B-but Sir?"

Sterling!" he barked in anger.

The young officer flinched. "Sir!"

"You're in charge of formation. Rotate the perimeter. Close the noose on the mafia fleets."

"I'm going in."

The third commanding officer— lieutenant commander Sterling Gerkin—looked around the room, sweat dripping down his face. His decorated coat weighed heavier than ever but he nodded at the command.

Nehishi and his lieutenant took off, leaping and jumping from marine ship to ship, till he landed in the middle of a crowded mafia ship.

Naginata-ryū: Saikororōru(Dice Roll)

Nehishi roared sliceing through mafia soldiers and ships as blood splashed against his marine coat, he grunted and continued fiercely slaughter all that didn't jump off the boat

Nehishi spun the naginata once—a blur of glinting steel—and leapt from a railing.

The man didn't fall. He launched himself, sailing through the air like a missile, crashing onto the nearest mafia ship with a shattering BOOM that caved in the top deck.

Wood splintered. Screams rose.

Before the smoke even cleared, his voice rang out like a war drum.

"Naginata-ryū… Saikororōru."

With a flash, he spun into a low sweep, the blade of his naginata severing ankles and knees in one fluid movement. Blood misted the air like ocean spray. A mafioso tried to counter—Nehishi sidestepped, rammed the end of the staff into the man's gut, and vaulted over him, flipping in the air.

CRACK!

He came down heel-first on the man's skull. The deck broke beneath the body.

"One ship down!" Nehishi snarled. "NEXT!"

From the opposite end of the battlefield, Uzuhana assassins leapt onto the mast, their movements swift, whisper-fast. Young, masked, trained to kill.

But Nehishi was already moving.

WHAM!

He caught the first with a mid-air clothesline, ripping him out of a flip. The body tumbled like a ragdoll, slamming into the mast with a sickening crunch.

Another dove at him—silver blades flashing.

"Shigan!" shouted Komia, his lieutenant, bursting onto the deck behind him.

Her finger struck like lightning—jabbing the assassin's neck. POP! The skull snapped sideways as the body crumpled.

"Their you are" Nehishi grunted, slashing his naginata in a circle, forcing the remaining assassins to retreat.

"Fashionably," she shot back, cracking her neck. "You're hogging all the kills."

Nehishi shook his head in amusement, her personality always changed when she enters a battle.

They both blurred.

Clash—whirl—crack—CRUNCH!

The two moved in tandem: Nehishi cutting wide, Komia sliding under his sweeps to jab vital points. Each movement sharp, measured, brutal. Together, they danced through gunfire, blades, and screams.

A Moriyate bruiser jumped them, swinging a steel anchor like a morning star.

"YOU'RE DEAD, MARINES!"

"Try me," Nehishi smirked.

He ducked, anchor rushing overhead. Before the enemy could recover, Nehishi leapt forward, planting a foot against the man's chest.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!

Three consecutive strikes with the haft of his naginata smashed ribs inward, caving in the chestplate like a crushed barrel.

The bruiser coughed blood—and dropped.

Komia flung her hand out. "Look behind you!"

Nehishi pivoted just in time as a Bianchi berserker dove from the crow's nest—chains around both arms, serrated blades out.

The marine commander grinned.

"My turn."

With a flick, he spun on his heel, dragging the naginata low across the deck in a carving spiral. Wind whipped into a vortex around the blade. Water from the shattered hulls spiraled upward with it.

The berserker came down screaming—

—and Nehishi launched upward, meeting him midair.

KRAKOOM!

The blade struck the berserker's torso in a diagonal arc—bone shattered, blood sprayed, and the chain-wielding man went spiraling into the sea, screaming as he burned on entry.

Both Marines landed light. Komia smirked.

"If you were younger, that move might've been cool."

"When I was younger, that move ended tons of pirate crews."

"Yeah yeah—tell the kids a bedtime story later."

They both than separated, taking on different sides of the battle field to wiltle down the mafia soldiers.

Thud.

Boots slammed against the scorched deck of the Moriyate flagship, wood cracking beneath the weight.

Romeno turned at the sound, trench coat swaying in the smoky wind. His face bloodied, sleeves torn. The sawed-off shotgun still smoked in his left hand. A glint of gold teeth in his grin.

"Well, well… look who finally stopped barking orders from a safe boat."

Nehishi straightened, naginata resting across his shoulders. His coat fluttered, stained with the blood of five crews. His gaze was cold steel.

"Your fleet's burning, Romeno. You've got one ship left. Surrender and your men might live." Nehishi grunted in annoyance.

Romeno raised a brow. "And miss my curtain call? Nah. We ain't done dancing."

He tossed the empty shotgun aside. With a click, he drew twin trench knives from behind his belt. The blades gleamed in the firelight—old, stained, chipped. Deadly.

The two combatants stood ten meters apart. Waves smashed against the hull beneath them. Smoke curled through the air. Neither moved.

Then—CRACK!

Nehishi blurred forward.

Romeno grinned and lunged to meet him.

CLANG!

Steel kissed steel—naginata vs knives. Sparks flew as Nehishi swung with an overhead arc. Romeno blocked with crossed blades, boots skidding across the deck from the force.

He snarled, broke the lock, and spun low, slashing at Nehishi's legs.

The commander flipped backward, his naginata spinning overhead before landing in a ready stance.

"Tch. You're faster than you look, old man," Romeno said, flicking blood from a fresh cut across his forearm. "Not bad."

"And you're dumber than you look," Nehishi shot back. "Still fighting with pride while your crew's dying."

"Correction." Romeno smirked. "They're dying gloriously."

He charged.

SHING—SHING—CLANG—WHOOSH!

A whirlwind of movement. Romeno ducked under the naginata's sweeping arc, stabbing upward—but Nehishi twisted, caught one wrist with his free hand and headbutted him right between the eyes.

Romeno reeled, blood spurting from his nose—but countered on instinct with a gut punch that made Nehishi grunt and take two steps back.

THWACK!

Romeno followed up with a roundhouse kick—but Nehishi dropped low, sweeping his legs.

The Don crashed onto his back—but immediately rolled and slashed upward, slicing Nehishi's cheek.

They both skidded back.

Both bloodied. Both grinning.

"Feels good," Romeno laughed. "I haven't bled like this since the Gokudo Clash in '93."

"And you won't bleed again after this," Nehishi replied ruthlessly. "I'll make sure of it."

Romeno cracked his neck, then dug into his boot.

Click—BOOM!

He fired a concealed flintlock with his toe.

Nehishi deflected the bullet midair—with the shaft of his naginata.

"Oh come on!" Romeno barked. "That was my ace in the hole!"

"Your holes are all aces," Nehishi smirked. "You leak more than a prison bitch."

Romeno roared and launched himself forward with renewed rage. Blades flashing.

He slashed high—low—twist—fake—stab—left feint—REAL right—uppercut—

But Nehishi was beyond him now.

Every strike met air.

Nehishi vanished, then reappeared just behind him.

Naginata-ryū: Gekidō no Hōrō(Path of Wrath).

He spun the naginata like a cyclone.

The staff cracked Romeno's elbow.

The blade sliced past his ribs.

The back end struck the base of his spine.

Then, with a two-handed grip, Nehishi drove the butt of the naginata straight into Romeno's gut.

THUD.

The Don flew backward—his body crashing into the ship's mast, shattering it.

Smoke drifted. Wood creaked. The battle around them paused, momentarily silenced by the display.

Romeno coughed blood. Then laughed.

"Still not dead…"

"You will be if you stand up again," Nehishi warned, spinning his naginata once more.

"Then…" Romeno wheezed, slowly rising, blades trembling in hand. "I guess I'll die on my feet."

"Stupid to the end," Nehishi sighed, and took his stance again.

But before either could move—

"MARINE SHIPS APPROACHING, SIR! REINFORCEMENTS!"

Sterling's voice rang out from across the water. Nehishi held his strike.

Romeno blinked, swaying.

"Call it," Nehishi said. "You lost."

"Tch…"

Romeno looked up—flames reflecting in his eyes.

"Fine. Take me in. But don't expect me to be quiet in prison."

"Quiet or not, you'll rot just the same."

With one final swing, Nehishi knocked the blades from Romeno's hands.

They clattered against the deck like the end of an era.

Suddenly in the distance—BOOM!

A shockwave erupted across the battlefield. The air grew thick with Ki. Nehishi turned sharply.

From a nearby ship… a familiar white flame aura bloomed.

"…Kazuki," he muttered.

The aura was wild, but focused. Controlled. Somewhere across the chaos, that stubborn brat was standing tall.

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To be continued…

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