– Rivers –?

  Ten battleships. That had been the size of the Marine Squadron had sent to Kano upon Prince Ramen's request. That may not have sounded like much, but these weren't ordinary battleships. The titanic ships slowly lumbering towards the island kingdom were at least several times larger than the standard variants and packed up to the gills with hundreds of marines. For comparison, the Happo Navy, which was the dominant military force on Kano, only owned ten smaller vessels with a full crew consisting of about a hundred sailors. As if that weren't enough, Rivers could sense at least five individuals aboard those ten battleships who were roughly on par with the Captain.

  This was… a significant investment for the marines to make, especially in a kingdom as run down as Kano at the moment was. According to Ramen, they hadn't even asked for anything in return for this mind-boggling amount of support. This either meant that the marines were taking their duty to protect the member states of the World Government seriously for once… or what was far more likely, this wasn't meant as aid at all.

  Rivers' suspicions were soon proven correct when Bellamy emerged from below deck to give him the rundown.

  "Ramen just got off his call with Vice Admiral Momonga." His captain told the gathered crew. "He has half an hour to bring King Miso out to sea for pick up before they begin their bombardment."

  "Wait, they're going to shell the island? Civilians and all?" Sarquiss asked. "Are they nuts?"

  "Yes. Civilians and all. Ramen asked for protection and that's how they're going to provide it: by taking him and Miso into protective custody." Bellamy replied. "Ramen's assurances that the emergency has been dealt with and that the security assistance is no longer required didn't seem to matter to them."

  "They're not here for King Miso." Muret concluded. "They're here for Mr. Sabo."

  "Seems like it. And they're willing to destroy the entire island to get him."

  "It's a buster call." Robin joined the conversation, adding her own two cents. "Ten huge battleships and five vice admirals. It's a force powerful enough to overwhelm most national militaries."

  "What do you know? Apparently you're a higher priority than whatever kerfuffle Akainu's got going on with the Yonko." Bellamy joked, slinging an arm around the Chief of Staff. "How does that make you feel?"

  "Flattered. Definitely flattered."

  "Aren't you guys being a little too nonchalant about this?" Ross whined. "It's a bloody buster call. One of the strongest cards the World Government has to play barring the deployment of their Admirals."

  "What's this? Is Ross' inner scaredy-cat showing itself again?" Hewitt laughed. "It's been silent so long I thought we'd replaced you by accident."

  "Hewitt."

  "Yeah?"

  "Screw you."

  "Language!" Muret scolded, accompanying her chastisement of Ross' misdemeanor with a whack of her every trusty clipboard.

  "Oh, come on." Ross exclaimed, gently massaging his growing bump. "Muret, he started it!"

  "And I don't care. Not where Funkfreed can hear."

  "Bahahaha-OW!"

  "And stop riling Ross up, Hewitt. You're a grown man. Act like it for once."

  "You know Muret, I'm really tempted to place this crew on an extra high fat diet right about now. Just for you." Hewitt grumbled to which Muret gasped and wagged a finger at him.

  "Don't you dare."

  "Try me." Hewitt challenged. In response Muret reached into her pocket and withdrew a syringe. A big one.

  "Now that I think about it, you still haven't gotten your flu shot for this season, have you?" Muret smiled widely. "Unfortunately I'm rather disorganised when I'm stressed and I may misplace all of the regular size needles meaning you may just have to make do with the XXXL ones."

  When faced with an existential threat, Hewitt wisely decided that prudence was the better part of valor and backed down.

  "…on second thought, how does a crisp salad with balsamic dressing sound?"

  The entire crew erupted into laughter, even Ross chuckling along as Muret once more solidified her position aboard the Black Pearl. While subconsciously giving Fuza's neck a good rub, Rivers all of a sudden had an unbidden thought. What a large transformation his crew had undergone in less than two years. From struggling to survive against Enel and his four priests to laughing down a buster call. They'd really come far, hadn't they?

  "Okay, ladies and gents." Bellamy clapped his hands. "The World Government wants to kill us. What say we to that?"

  "Let them come!"

  "Kill'em before they kill us!" Lily shouted, fist high in the air.

  "Send them to Davy Jones' locker!" Wow, wasn't Mani bloodthirsty today?

  "Well, I'd say that paints a pretty clear picture." Bellamy threw his arms out wide with his back to the approaching navy. "And what am I but a nice, humble captain who listens to his crew?"

  "Oh, come off it captain!" Nero cackled, prompting Rivers to join in on the booing crowd.

  "Cap, you almost never listen to us."

  "Oi, that's slander!" Bellamy protested, but their first mate wasn't cowed.

  "One word, captain." Sarquiss replied. "Bonbori."

  "Ah, that was one time." Bellamy tried only for SMILE user to knock him down.

  "The Knock Up Stream."

  "Ok, two times." Bellamy admitted. Sarquiss was quick to correct him.

  "Marineford."

  "…I get no respect around these parts." Rivers' captain complained. "All I wanted to do was give a proper, dramatic speech and you guys just had to ruin the moment."

  "Wanna try again? We promise we'll cheer at all the right moments."

  "Bah, forget it. The moment is gone." Bellamy answered, shaking his head in disgust. "None of you have a proper appreciation for a proper dramatic moment."

  "As much as I enjoy this, the marines are approaching artillery range." Sabo interjected before Bellamy and Sarquiss could continue their good-natured banter. "Since King Miso named you our nominal commander in chief for this mission, I'm going to assume you've got a plan."

  "You know, one of the wonderful things about being in charge, is that you can use this wonderful little power called delegation."

  "...Bellamy…"

  "Jokes aside, I don't think we really need to do anything complex today." Bellamy shrugged. "Don Chinjao, we'll keep the vice admirals busy. Think you can handle the rest?"

  "Of course we can, Bellamy-kun. My boys will make short work of those marine brats." Chinjao answered, thumping his chest in a show of confidence. "They're all excited and raring to go. Not often that you get the chance to capture buster call class warships from the marines."

  "What about me?"

  "I trust your judgement Sabo, so freeroll I suppose. Support the Happo Navy where you think you'll do the most good."

  "Alright."

  "Eddy, Lily, Nero on me. We're going to draw the vice admirals out…" Bellamy ordered, calling out some of the top combatants amongst the crew. Rivers wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed to not be amongst their number. Nico Robin on the other hand, clearly knew exactly how she felt about it.

  "You're not leaving me behind this time, Bellamy."

  "Wouldn't dream of it." Bellamy smiled, extending a hand to his girlfriend, which she easily took. "The rest of you, protect the Black Pearl. Sarquiss, you've got command."

  "Aye aye captain."

  "And Rivers?"

  "Yes, cap?"

  "Give them a knock before we reach them, ok? It's only polite." Bellamy said, clapping the sniper firmly on the shoulder.

  "Of course, captain." Rivers nodded, unshouldering his rifle and loading it before leaping onto Fuza's back.

  "So, with that out of the way, there's only one more thing left for me to say." Bellamy jumped onto the railing like a proper captain should. Meanwhile Rivers took aim and pulled the trigger. Not long after that, the main gun of the center most battleship blew up in a fiery display, providing a magnificent backdrop for Bellamy who took full advantage of it. Like Lily had once commented, Bellamy clearly had a thing for theatrics.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Even from afar, the shock and surprise of the marines was obvious as their decks suddenly came alive with activity.

  "Ladies and gents, the last time we ran into a marine, he kicked our collective asses well and proper." Bellamy grinned. Rivers and his friends eagerly matched his expression, instinctively knowing what was coming next. "Let's go return the favor."

  – Nero –?

  Rivers, Laki and the others back aboard the Black Pearl were doing a magnificent job shooting the artillery rounds out of the air, which the marines were firing at them from their oversized guns. The Happo Navy was also more or less successful in making their approach in one piece, thanks in part to their elite officer core, Sabo's aid and support from the Black Pearl. Which meant that Nero didn't have to worry about the wider battlefield and could focus on the task at hand.

  Find and beat up the opposing Vice Admiral. Of course, should beating them prove difficult, merely keeping them busy long enough for the Happo Navy to neutralize all ten battle ships was an acceptable compromise. Thing was, Nero didn't really have a proper frame of reference when it came to their power. Izou once claimed that Nero along with a few others had reached the same general tier of strength, but the former agent never had the opportunity to put that claim to the test. The two clowns on Argent Isle didn't count.

  A bit odd if one considered that Nero and co had fought everything from petty officer to Warlord as well as surviving an encounter with an actual Admiral. Sarquiss & Lily had faced a Rear Admiral on Tequila Wolf. But strangely enough, despite the Vice Admirals objectively not being that few in number, the Bellamy Pirates hadn't encountered one of them yet. So, imagine Nero's surprise when the officer jumping up to meet him via geppou was someone he knew rather well.

  "Hound?!?"

  "The one and only. It's been ages since bootcamp, hasn't it?" The Vice Admiral said conversationally by way of greeting.

  "What the hell are you doing here?"

  "You'd think that would be obvious considering where we stand right now." The lanky blonde officer briefly paused to look down. "Well, where we're hopping on thin air but you get my point. The Gorosei ordered a buster call. I'm here to deliver."

  "That's not what I meant and you know it! How the fuck is a cipher pol agent wearing a marine uniform?"

  "Eh, people leave or join other groups for a variety of reasons. Surprised the hell out of me to hear you'd joined a pirate crew of all things. Where'd the good little soldier go?"

  "He died when the world government stabbed me in the back."

  "Pity that. You were one of the more talented ones. Not as much as me, obviously, but enough to be almost worth remembering." Hound shrugged. "As for the coat, they gave it to me. The suit, on the other hand, now that's all me. HQ has a horrible sense of fashion."

  Hound wasn't answering the question, but he no longer needed to. Not after the Vice Admiral had dropped enough hints for Nero to figure out the rest. The world government kept its military arm and its intelligence department strictly separate to maintain a system of checks and balances. After all, the civilian administration of the world needed a way to control the most powerful military force on the planet.

  "You're a plant."

  "Ding ding ding. Got it in one." Haunt clapped in fake delight. "You always were too smart for your own good."

  Cipher Pol, despite its reputation for dealing with dissidents to the current world order, fulfilled far more functions than just making the odd person fall out of a hospital window. Or hunting down elusive reporters who somehow kept slipping defamatory articles into the newspapers. And while the strongest divisions, such as CP9 or CP0, served as the primary tool of choice for the Gorosei or the World Nobles, most of the lower divisions were tasked with seeking out traitors from within. Having one of their agents infiltrate the senior marine leadership wasn't that unusual if one thought about it.

  "I'm surprised you're talking so openly about it. Aren't you worried your comrades will find out about your other identity?"

  "Nope. One, none of rank and file are capable of overhearing us and those who potentially could all seem rather busy fighting your friends. So, unless either you or I start blabbing, my secret is safe." Fur began covering Hound's skin while his face took on a distinct canine quality. "And two, whatever makes you think you'll be alive LONG ENOUGH TO DO SO?"

  It was a reunion a decade in the making, characterized by elevated emotions and fiery passions as both combatants went full throttle from the very beginning. A dogfight ensued, the two zipping about in the air faster than most could see and only reappearing sporadically. Haunt's attempt to break Nero's fist with his face failed, as did the latter's efforts to gift his former colleague a new windpipe via shigan. Fangs sought to rend and claws sought to tear Nero's flesh from his very bones but broke upon muscles and skin harder than steel like waves against the rocks. Sadly, they grew back not long after the opening jabs were exchanged.

  "Oi, since when do dogs regrow teeth?"

  "And since when do you know Jabra's little trick?"

  "Since I killed the bastard." Nero replied, falling into a stance.

  "…that looks so lame, you know that?" Hound said, his thumb pointing down. "It might have been cool if you were actually scary, but you really are not. All you do is look like a stupid weasel trying to dance on its hindlegs."

  "At least I don't dress like a pimp."

  "You take that back!"

  "Make me."

  "Fine, I will. You're not the only one with a new trick." Hound growled, going down on all fours. "GATSUGA!!!"

  It started with a rotation of the body around a central axis. Which was then followed by another and another at an ever-increasing pace until the vice admiral had turned into a rapidly spinning mass of claws and fangs hurling itself head-on at Nero's position. And that at such speeds causing the approaching attack looked like a featureless worm even to Nero's trained eyes. Thankfully for Nero, he hadn't been limited to his five senses for quite a while now.

  "Tekkai Kempo: Itachi's Dance."

  Hound hadn't been too far off when he'd mocked Nero's stance, for a dance had been its inspiration. After realizing that he'd been doing something right in having fun, Nero had explored all manner of activities in a bid to find a hobby he really enjoyed. While it had started out as a bid to optimize his power gain, learning how to dance from Lily had turned out to be some of the most fun he'd had in his entire life. So much so, that he'd practiced so often that some of the dance steps had snuck their way into his combat style without him noticing until it was too late.

  "First step."

  All of which was to say that samba dancing out of the way of the incoming whirlwind time and time again was almost second nature by this point. Reaching out at just the right time to trap the leg passing by was a little harder, but still manageable. Hound's desperate struggles to free himself bounced off Nero's tekkai, getting more frantic as Nero went into a crouch. And judging by the light dawning behind his eyes, Hound understood.

  "Oh, crap crap crap crap! Don't do it, Nero! Please!" Hound pleaded, his fingers scrabbling at the pirate's iron grip. "Buddy, you don't have to do this! We were friends? Right?"

  "You didn't have to hurt Koala either."

  "…Koala who?"

  "That's what I thought."

  Nero dove into the ocean.

  While still holding onto Hound's leg.