OP: Turtle Hermit

"Hey, marine."

A deep growl echoed through the smoke.

Komia stepped onto the Yoroki deck, heels crunching burnt wood, shoulders square. Her coat whipped behind her, ash clinging to the navy blue.

She turned—sharp, calm.

Across from her stood a mountain of a man—Cygel Moro, stripped to the waist, knuckles covered in iron gauntlets, jaw clearly reinforced with silver and black steel. His neck was lined with bolts. One of his eyes glowed faint orange.

"You lost, sweetheart. This here's Yoroki turf."

Komia raised a brow. "Yoroki turf? Looks like burnt driftwood to me."

"Feisty. I like that." Cygel cracked his metal jaw—krrrk—then slammed his fists together. The deck shuddered beneath him. "Don't worry. I'll crush that sass right outta you."

Komia didn't reply. She simply rolled her sleeves up—one smooth motion—revealing her arms. Her stance lowered, lean and fluid. A sharp glint in her eye.

"Come try."

BOOM.

Cygel charged—like a damn rhino. His boots shattered the boards beneath with each stomp. One massive punch came like a cannonball toward her head.

Komia disappeared.

CRACK!

She reappeared crouched beneath the swing, then slammed an open palm into his knee. A sickening POP echoed—but the metal reinforcement held.

"Heh… you're quick," Cygel grunted, pivoting hard with a backhand.

Komia slid under the strike like flowing water, spun, and drove her elbow into his lower ribs.

CLANG!

Like hitting a steel drum. She winced.

"Seriously?" she muttered.

"Iron plates. Head to toe." He grinned, licking a rivet on his chin. "Go ahead—wear yourself out."

"I don't need to hit you hard," she replied, circling him. "Just enough."

"Enough for what?"

"For pressure points."

Before he could respond—SHING!

Komia blurred—Shave-style footwork—and struck with two fingers right under his armpit.

Cygel jerked. His left arm dropped slightly.

"That's one," she whispered.

Cygel roared and spun in a vicious haymaker. She blocked—barely—sliding backwards and rebounded off the mast.

Then she vanished again.

Cygel turned too slow.

"Shigan."

She stabbed her finger just behind his jaw hinge—right at the nerve.

His head whipped sideways. His jaw sparked.

"GRAAARGH!" he screamed, now bleeding from his mouth. "You little—!!"

He grabbed a broken mast and swung it like a club. A full-on tree trunk hurtled toward her.

Komia ducked and twisted but she moved too late.

CRACK!

It clipped her shoulder and launched her into the ship's rail.

She grunted, pain flaring through her ribs, vision doubling. "Okay," she hissed, spitting blood, "that one hurt."

Cygel stomped towards her, dragging the log like a club.

"Still think you're clever, marine?! I'll turn your bones into powder!"

"Big bark…" Komia stood, rebalancing herself. Her finger bled. Her arm trembled.

"Let's see if that jaw's really iron."

ZOOOM!

She dashed forward—faster than before. Cygel swung the mast—she jumped onto it, ran across it like a bridge, and launched herself off the end—

Right at his face.

She jabbed straight into his mouth—two fingers into the corner of his iron jaw, piercing into the seam.

BZZZT—CRACK!

His jaw sparked violently.

"Told you," she growled in his ear, "I don't need to break you. Just hit the right spots."

"You—AGHHHHH!!"

He staggered back—his jaw twitching, malfunctioning. Sparks danced off his chin as smoke rose.

Komia landed on both feet. Then she blurred again.

Shigan. Shigan. Shigan. Shigan.

Each finger strike hit a nerve cluster—shoulder, hip, inner thigh, base of the neck. Cygel's limbs seized.

WHAM!

She drove her heel into his knee—finally shattering the joint.

CRACK!

The giant dropped.

Gasping. Trembling. Jaw twitching like a broken robot.

Komia walked toward him slowly, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Yoroki turf, right?"

She knelt down beside his twitching body.

"Well, Yoroki just got evicted."

She slammed a palm into his solar plexus—he spasmed once, and then passed out

"Damn." she said, popping her shoulder back into place with a CRUNCH. "Guy was all metal, no brain."

Suddenly in the distance—BOOM!

A shockwave erupted across the battlefield. The air grew thick and heavy, she turned sharply.

"The evacuation ships!" She yelled and vanished as she moved towards where the shockwave originated.

~Rescue ships~

Kazuki was humming as he rocked a scared and tired MeeMee in his arms.

The four year old who said she was his sister, was another reason why he hadn't left for home yet, she had wormed her way into becoming someone important to him.

"Kazuki-nii, are we going to be okay." She whispered holding him tight.

"We are, because nothing will ever happen to you with me here." Kazuki said softly as he looked at Beany who rested her head on his shoulder looking tired but determined to look strong in front of the kids.

'Boom'

Suddenly the ship shook as a explosion was heard not near but also not far from them.

"Kazuki-nii." MeeMee said with fear as she trembled in his arms.

"Shh it alright, go to your nee-san for now while I check it out." Kazuki said handing her to a worried Beany.

"Kazuki… be safe, please." Beany pleaded wiping her teas that ran down her face and cradled a crying MeeMee.

Kazuki smiled rubbing her head before standing up and narrowing his eyes, and quickly rushed towards the top deck.

"Damn them, their trying to surround the ship.

"Go faster! We don't have the ammunition to fight them!"

Once Kazuki got to the top, he saw six massive ships coming from beside and behind them, canon balls and bullets we're constantly shooting at their ship..

Suddenly all of the ships brought out specialized canons and that they all began shoot at the rescue ship, blazing fire engulfed the canon balls that fell like meteors.

"Oh no, we can't stop that." A Marine women muttered in fear as she slumped to the ground in despair.

The rest of the marines looked in horror as the balls of fire raced down towards them.

Suddenly, she watched as a boy in all orange walked in front of her vision, then hopped onto the rail of the ship facing the canon balls without fear.

Kazuki growled throwing his hands outwards, a wild whirlwind whipped around him, blowing his hair as a white translucent KI barrier appeared around the ship just as the balls hit.

'Boom' 'Boom'

The marines watched as fire engulfed the barrier but the barrier prevented the explosions from reaching the marines and the civilians.

'Boom' 'Boom'

A sweating Kazuki breathed heavily as his arms trembled as the attacks finally ended. He glared at the mafia ships.

The area around the ship steamed, smoke still rising from Kazuki's Ki barrier.

Civilians gasped, while marines stared in amazement.

Kazuki stood on the front rail, arms slightly trembling, chest heaving, his bright orange outfit rippling in the wind. His hair whipped violently as his aura flared around him—white, wild, and loud like raging flames.

"You want to fight…?" he growled, lowering her stance and spreading his arms out reabsorbing the barrier.

"Then step up."

From the encircling ships, mafia grunts poured in—ropes slung, grappling hooks tossed, planks dropped as they flooded onto the rescue vessel like rats from a sinking ship.

"GET THE KID!"

"THAT'S THE ONE WHO BLOCKED OUR BARRAGE!"

"TAKE HIM ALIVE IF YOU CAN—IF NOT, BURN HIM!"

Twenty. Thirty. Forty.

All armed. All bloodthirsty.

Kazuki made sure to hold up a smaller barrier cutting him and the mafioso off from the rest of the ship, even if it strained against his body.

"Tch… you guys really drew the short straw."

Two arrogant mafioso rushed from either side—blades drawn.

Kazuki ducked the first slash, pivoted, and kicked one square in the chest, sending the man flying off the ship and into the water with a SPLASH.

The other lunged—Kazuki grabbed the wrist mid-swing, twisted it, and flung the man overhead like a ragdoll, slamming him into the deck.

He didn't stop.

CRACK!

He spun on his heel and elbowed a charging man in the jaw—spit and teeth flying out his mouth.

Another raised a rifle—Kazuki vanished.

WHAM!

He reappeared behind the gunman, flipped him by the collar, and roundhouse kicked him into two more behind him. All three crashed into theirs ships mast.

Ten down.

Kazuki exhaled sharply. The wind picked up, it was time to finally time to try a stronger KI enhancement.

His aura flared brighter now—glowing white flames, he grunted as it wrapped around his limbs like a living fire.

"C'mon," he taunted. "I haven't even started sweating yet."

A thug screamed and threw a bundle of knives in fury.

Kazuki blurred—weaving between every blade—then he front-flipped off a broken rail, diving into a trio of goons mid-sprint.

WHUD! WHUD! WHACK!

Three bodies hit the ground before they knew what hit them as their eyes turned white.

One tried to grab him from behind but Kazuki leaned forward, launched off his hands, and mule-kicked the idiot so hard his body flipped into the air and landed on the cannon.

Fifteen left.

The remaining mafia paused, eyes darting. Their bravado shrank.

"W-WHAT IS THIS GUY?!"

"H-He's not normal—is he using marine rokushiki arts or something?"

"Form up! Surround him! Attack together!"

Kazuki crouched slightly, breathing slowing. He whispered to himself.

"Alright… this is going to hurt like hell."

Suddenly, his body relaxed. His stance lowered. His feet glided instead of stepping.

He moved like water.

A synchronized charge—three on the right, four behind, two leaping from above.

Kazuki exploded forward.

SMASH!

He uppercutted one leaping thug straight into the others midair, sending them tumbling into the ocean.

WHIP—WHOOSH—CRACK!

He spun and swept three legs in a blur, then drove his elbow down into a skull as the last behind him lunged.

Another came from behind holding a raised hammer high as he brought it down..

Kazuki turned without looking, catching the hammer, breaking it, as it crumbled in his bare hand.

Then he headbutted the goon.

CRACK!

"Now," he whispered, "my turn."

Kazuki jumped high into the air. Aura swirling.

"Cyclone Barrage!!"

He flipped upside down—and rained down a hailstorm of spinning kicks like a human tornado.

Each kick landed with an explosive sonic crack—like cannon shots—blasting the last six mafia grunts off the deck, into the rails of their ships, into unconsciousness.

Smoke and silence followed.

The entire deck was littered with groaning, twitching bodies.

Kazuki landed gently on one knee, panting. A breeze sweeping through his hair.

"…That all of 'em?" he muttered.

From behind, a Marine officer stepped forward, eyes wide.

"Wow… who are you?!"

Kazuki cracked his neck, stood up straight, and spun the Power Pole once before slamming it into the deck beside him

"Kazuki Tsuki." He said proudly as he blacked the last thing he heard were worried shouts and rushing feet.

~Amber Cone Island-Harbor District~

The town, once ablaze, now stood frozen mid-collapse—shattered structures encased in thick ice, fire snuffed out in mid-roar, statues of flame turned into jagged frost sculptures.

Icura glared as his explosions where frozen solid before they could damage the town, he observed a tall brown men in a white vest and pants, walked slowly brushing frost off his blue collared shirt.

"And a new challenger appears." Icura chuckled conjuring more white balls that spun around him.

"Ara ara, you sure have caused quite the damage here, haven't you." Kuzan muttered as he looked at the destroyed town that was in flames before he came.

Kuzan—Admiral Aokiji—exhaled a lazy breath, steam curling from his lips. His gaze swept across the devastation. Beneath the ice, T-Bone's charred form lay still but intact—entombed in a protective dome of frozen air Kuzan had conjured just in time.

"You're lucky, bonehead," Kuzan muttered, disappearing and reappearing, crouched beside the scorched Marine and laying a palm over him. Frost seeped into the wounds, cooling the embers of his burning flesh. "Still breathing. Tough bastard."

Icura Sylvester stood beyond the ice field, a glimmer of amusement in his stance. Dozens of his glowing white spheres hovered mid-air like a twisted halo, each one pulsing faintly with deadly energy.

"You're a cold one, Kuzan," Icura mused, pacing atop the ice without a sound. His reflection danced beneath him. "Cold enough to kill. Cold enough to save. But is your cold enough… to stop me?"

Kuzan stood up slowly, cracking his neck. "Tch. You're not special, y'know. I've frozen sea kings bigger than your ego."

Icura's grin widened behind the mask. He spread his arms.

"Then show me. Because I'm about to make this town into the ultimate playground." Icura chuckled clapping his hands in a loud clap.

Then his orbs descended.

Dozens of them spiraled forward, darting like intelligent hornets, ricocheting off frozen walls, spinning through the air in dazzling patterns of death. Some embedded in ice, burrowing like drills. Others chased behind like tracking missiles.

Kuzan barely moved.

"Ice Saber."

In a flash, a massive blade of sculpted ice formed in his hand. Elegant, translucent, humming with subzero force.

He swung once—just once—and the entire field shifted.

SHING—SHHHHRACK—BOOM—CRACK!

The frozen saber cleaved through the air in a wide arc, sending a cascade of sub-zero pressure outward. Dozens of orbs froze mid-flight—then shattered like glass, their explosions silenced in crystalline deaths.

The few that slipped through? Kuzan vanished.

"Soru."

He reappeared mid-leap, flipping backward with almost lazy grace. As an orb zipped past, he snapped his fingers.

"Ice Mine."

The space the orb entered turned to solid ice instantly—trapping the explosion, which detonated within its prison, the shockwave contained, refracted, extinguished.

"Come on, come on," Icura sang, launching more. "You're boring me, Kuzan! Where's that Admiral fire?!"

"You're not worth that level of effort."

Kuzan skated forward—literally—forming a slick ice path beneath his boots. With calm speed, he weaved through the barrage like a breeze weaving through flames, his saber dancing like an extension of his will.

But Icura wasn't idle.

The next volley came from below.

He'd planted spheres inside the frozen earth—tunneling beneath the ice dome. A trap.

The street cracked.

Then erupted.

KA-KRAKOOM!

Icura's Underground Bloom exploded upward in a geyser of flame. The crater widened—blasting Kuzan skyward in a storm of shattering ice and heat.

Above, Icura blurred forward—cloak rippling, spheres orbiting faster now.

He appeared beside Kuzan in midair, arms wide.

"Estallido: Mariposa Blanca!"

The spheres joined, forming a massive glowing butterfly that exploded outward—wings of flame swallowing the sky.

But Kuzan was already preparing.

"Ice Coffin: Avalanche Shell."

A burst of supercooled vapor surged from his body, instantly forming a layered shell of diamond-thick ice. The butterfly's wings hit it

KRAK-KRAK-BOOOM!

The collision was massive. A mushroom cloud of fire and ice swallowed the sky, shattering clouds, turning raindrops into steam and snow.

Both men crashed downward like meteors.

Kuzan hit the earth with a thud that cracked the street in five directions. His ice saber shattered. His shirt was torn. Blood leaked from his temple. His breath came slower—but steady.

Icura landed moments later—on his feet with excitement.

Smoke curled from his coat. His hat was gone. The edges of his porcelain mask were chipped.

"…That was beautiful," he whispered. "Almost worthy of a picture." He chuckled.

Kuzan coughed once and stood again.

"Not done yet huh."

"Not even close to it."

Icura flexed his fingers. The spheres around him now pulsed like a heartbeat—brighter, faster, erratic.

"You know what happens next, right?" he said, stepping forward. "The final act."

Kuzan exhaled.

"Ice Age."

The world screamed.

Frost exploded from Kuzan in every direction. Every building, corpse, crater, and flickering ember—everything froze solid in an instant. Even the light seemed slower.

But Icura moved through it.

He spun—his body no longer bound by normal movement. The heat from his orbs repelled the freeze, carving a bubble of burning light around him as he advanced.

They clashed.

Fist to frost.

Explosion to blade.

Sword of ice met spheres of fire. Ground crumbled. Skies split.

For thirty seconds, the island became a storm.

And when it ended—

Both stood.

Barely.

Kuzan's right arm was slightly burned but he quickly encased it in ice. Icura's mask was broken in half revealing a handsome, unscarred face beneath, eyes glowing blue with madness and intellect.

They stared.

Neither could finish the other.

Not yet.

Sirens wailed in the far distance.

More ships. More Marines. More death on the way.

Kuzan sighed. "You gonna run?"

Icura smiled. "No. I'm going to retreat theatrically."

He snapped his fingers—and the last sphere dropped at his feet.

"Estallido: Finale Act."

The blast sent him flying backward, straight into thick smoke that began to cover the entire port and his ship, vanishing like a ghost into the distant sea—leaving behind a crater of glass and ash.

Kuzan stood amidst it all, breathing slow.

T-Bone still lived.

The town was in ruins.

But the monster was gone…For now.

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To be continued…

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