A Rising Revolt

**Date Completed:** July 7th, 2022
**In Role-Play Year:** 1580
**Next Role-Play**:
**Users Involved:** User:CoolBlackZ, User:BQD, User:GoldenPiece. User:jmayfie01
**Setting:** Paradise → Sindra
**Characters Involved**:
* **Pirates**: Arsen, Ruby Rose, Onyx, Hestia, Bell Q. Dan
* **Sindra Royalty**: Barbaros Humphrey III, Perseus, Cassandra, Barbaros Giano, Quincy Edgar, Tiera, Aslan, Garneta, Shinto
* **Sindra Resistance**: Zane, Antonine Yersi
* **World Government/Marines**: Al Khalifa Ain, Bon D. James

## Warring Country

Sindra.

To the outside world, it seemed like a prosperous and thriving country that any person would love to visit for both its beauty and its rich culture. In truth however, that only applied to those who lived within its capital city, Gaia, and who were recognized as nobility of Sindra. For those that weren’t, there was nothing pleasant about living in Sindra in the slightest as residents of the outer districts of the  country were treated no different then slaves and trash that could be found on the ground and tossed away.

As a country following a monarch rule, it could be said that the country’s depravity and strained relations between the common folk and royalty fall completely on the country’s absolute ruler, Barbaros Humphrey III. After inheriting the throne from his father, Humphrey’s biased laws and unjust treatment of lower born citizens were the trigger for a resistance rising up and banding together in order to remove him from power.

Now, the country is divided between the royal faction and the resistance as both sides aim to overpower the other and finally end the struggle between the opposing forces.

Within the capital city of Sindra known as Gaia, a summoning had been called by King Humphrey himself for the highest ranking Royal Knights, his personal guards to gather within the Royal Palace as quickly as their feet could carry them. Hundreds of soldiers marched throughout the palace before they stood at the side, creating a straight line as they welcomed the esteemed knights that were considered King Humphrey’s most trusted aides.

One by one they arrived and sat a a large round table, with the throne at the very top now holding the large figure of an obese dark skinned man with a crown on his head. Standing directly by his left side was a handsome young man with long red hair wearing golden armor and on the other side was a beautiful woman with short purple hair who wore a neutral expression and had piercing golden eyes. The man on the left was called Barbaros S. Perseus and the woman on the right was known as Barbaros S. Cassandra. They were Humphrey’s adopted children as the man refused to have blood related children of his own for private reasons and so he had adopted and taken in promising children who he groomed under the Barbaros family name.

“Hm?” King Humphrey frowned as he scanned around the room before his gaze turned to his children standing beside him. “Where is Giano?”

Perseus shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. He was briefed on the meeting as was everyone else” He turned to his adopted sister. “You got any ideas, Cassandra?”

Cassandra merely shook her head. “Not a clue. I’m not his babysitter so don’t ask me where he hangs around”

“C’mon, at least show a little concern. He is our younger brother after all” Perseus smiled a bit but Cassandra merely huffed and turned in the opposite direction, causing a sigh to escape Perseus’ mouth.

“I see you two still don’t get along” Humphrey snorted, leaning back into his chair. “Well whatever, you two can just-”

The sound of the door leading into the meeting room opened as Humphrey's expression changed and he beckoned the one who had just entered to join them.

“Your late, Giano. Hurry up and take your seat. What were you even doing?”

And hurry up he did, in his own way of course. Barbaros S. Giano walked with a certain cadence, each step a loud clack that came from his boots. Even when his father urged him, Giano's air of confidence, of excellency failed to disappear, as if he was unbothered by everything.

"Apologies, my king." A soothing voice escaped Giano's lips as he bowed slightly once he had stopped by his arranged seat. "I'm afraid I was dealing with the lower kind a little longer than expected, I had to make sure their scent didn't reach your chambers." Giano responded, he was squeaky clean. Luscious lavender hair, and clear skin, if his intent had been to wash off the scent of the 'lower kind', then he had certainly achieved it.

Humphrey waived off his explanation. "Your apologies are unnecessary, Giano. I know how bothersome of a task it must be to rid yourself of the lower class's stench. Now then, shall we proceed with our state of affairs?" He asked around the room as he received affirmative nods. Snapping his fingers, a man seated opposite of Giano stood up and bowed.

"Edgar, what's the situation down in the lower districts?" Humphrey questioned.

"Sir!" Edgar responded enthusiastically. “The resistance is gaining more followers by the day. That man called Zane is slowly convincing the majority of those riff raff to take up arms and join his organization. We’ve managed to quell any major rebellions but it’s only a matter of time until these small skirmishes turn into full blown engagements”

“Tch, that damn commoner” Humphrey frowned, resting his fat chin against the back of his hand as he tapped his finger on his throne. “It’s just as we feared, those vermin are banding together in order to seize my power. All that justice crap is nothing but nonsensical rubbish to mask their true intent of overthrowing the hierarchy! I won’t allow my father and grandfather’s work of establishing this kingdom to be ruined by those insects!” He smashed his fist onto the table, rage bubbling within his eyes as his anger was visible for everyone to see.

“Rest assured father. We swear on the Barbaros family name to crush anyone who would oppose your rule” Perseus assured with a resolute expression as the rest of the Royal Knights nodded. Humphrey was swayed by their resolve and nodded as well before he took a deep breath and turned to Tiera, the head scientist and doctor of the Sindra Kingdom.

“Tiera, how have your experiments been coming along? Has there been any progress?”

“Yes, my dear King” Tiera stood up and bowed with a cat-like smile towards her lord. “They’ve gone better than I could have imagined thanks to the funds provided by your excellency”

“There’s no need to thank me when the World Government is the one providing the resources. I’m merely doing my duty as king to provide you with the opportunity to show them your skills” Humphrey responded as grabbed a cup on the table and took a sip of his wine.

“Even still, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate the opportunity” Tiera winked before settling her gaze onto Garneta, the third female within the room who was gazing at King Humphrey with an obsessive gaze.

“If you wish to see my latest work, why not have Garneta over there show you during the next combat trial? I’m sure you’ll love the improvements I’ve made to her combat ability” Tiera boasted.

“Ooh! Please my beloved King! Allow me to demonstrate my powers to you!” Garneta stood up and pleaded with her lord with her big bubbly eyes. Some of the other knights within the room shuddered at the woman whose facial expressions could be downright nightmare inducing at times.

“P-Perhaps another time…” Humphrey said awkwardly, clearing his throat to change the subject as his gaze now fell on Aslan, who hadn’t spoken yet.

“Aslan, is there something on your mind? You're rather quiet today”

Situated in the far corner of the room a hooded figure stood tall against, hidden away from the world and slightly hunched over. The aforementioned man Aslan seemingly straightened up at the sound of the kings voice, shaking away whatever thoughts that once dwelled within his mind. "My apologizes my king, I was merely lost in thought for the moment." the hooded man replied as he turned his robbed head in the direction of the king and the rest. "It seems in my flurry of thoughts I failed to notice the arrival of Sir Giano." He continued as his eyes fell upon the King's advisor whom he knew would of arrived late.

"I hope I haven't missed anything of importance while lost in my own mind?" He questioned the room as he fully shifted his attention to the current meeting as opposed to his earlier thoughts. "Ah Lady Garneta, I would advise you reframe from terrorizing the king and your Knights with your "Devotion" for the time being." He added as a after thought once his eyes fell upon the blond haired woman whom he was slightly disturbed by due to her ecstatic personality.

"Huh? And when the hell have I ever taken orders from you hm? Do you wanna die?" Though she was still smiling, the tone and maliciousness behind Garneta's voice was as clear as day to everyone present in the room as her focused entirely on the distant Aslan.

"Oh boy, here we go" Tiera sighed as she could already forsee how this situation would play out if it continued. Garneta was not someone who would allow anyone other then the King or his children to speak to her in that kind of manner and she leaned over towards Giano for assistance.

"Hey Gia, mind lending a hand here? I'd normally ask Persy to handle this but she's much more receptive towards you" Tiera whisphered to him, calling him by the nickname she gave him as the duo were quite close.

Giano crossed one leg over the other, this wasn't the first time both Garneta and Aslan clashed, it often happened. One was easily excitable, borderline fanatic, and impulsive while Aslan was calm, composed and almost cold. It was said that no Knight was more devoted to the king than Aslan.

"So, my king, how will we take care of this rebellion? Does your majesty or sir Edgar perhaps have any plans?" Giano interrupted, his voice was slightly louder than usual, as to gather the attention of both Garneta and Aslan. "I believe an envoy from the government will arrive soon, and it'd be most beneficial for that little revolt to end before their arrival. I've traveled to the lower districts on more than one occasion, and all I can say is, their morale seems to be rising, surprisingly."

Giano’s plan to quell Garneta’s rage seemed to have worked as the woman’s smile returned to its usual cheerful tone as she clasped her hands and had sparkles in her eyes while facing Giano.

“Yes, of course we should focus on stomping out those riff raff! Leave it to our dear prince to keep us on the task at hand!” She sung his praises as the rest of the Royal Knights sighed and rolled their eyes at her flippant behavior.

Humphrey nodded following her words as he spoke to Giano. “Yes, you are correct my son. We must end this foolish rebellion before our esteemed guest arrives in our capital. In order to do that, we must strike at the heart of their little organization. Remove the head of a spider and its legs become useless” He stated as he turned to Edgar who nodded in response and reached into his jacket before pulling out two bounty posters to show everyone gathered in the room.

“The leaders of the resistance are these two individuals you see here” Edgar announced as he held the pictures of a young green haired man with spiky hair and a few scars along with a beautiful raven haired woman.

“I’m sure you’re all familiar with the young man called Zane, who is seen by all those in the lower districts as a “hero” and has even been called the “savior” of Sindra” Edgar said with no form of positivity in his voice. Glares were present on the faces of nearly everyone towards the source of so many headaches they had experienced this past year.

“His partner and second in command is this woman called Antonine Yersi. We’re still gathering intel on her but she seems to be a capable swordsman as well as a doctor that has treated countless commoners without asking for payment. It might not be a stretch to say she’s just as if not more important of a member than Zane himself” Edgar revealed.

“Antonine…” Tiera repeated, believing she had heard that name somewhere before. “It’s not ringing a bell but I’m sure it’s not important” She shrugged.

“If we wish to stop the rebellion, silencing these two should be our highest priority” Edgar stated.

“You should have just said that from the beginning” That voice came from a man sitting in the back with a bored expression as several swords and knives were seen strapped to his rather slim body. “We just have to assassinate them then, right? You can leave a mission like that to me” He boasted.

“You make it sound so simple, Shinto” Perseus crossed his arms as he spoke to the mercenary turned royal. “If simply killing them is all we needed to do, Sir Edgar would have proposed that plan a long time ago” He countered.

Edgar smirked. “As expected of the eldest prince. Indeed, killing them would be the fastest and simplest way to resolve this rebellion but it would only rile up the commoners who adore them even further. We need to break their spirits, to make them utterly give up on the idea of opposing us and to end their rebellion themselves”

“Yes, you're right!” Humphrey joined in with an arrogant smirk. “Without those two leading the charge, the resistance will fall apart and they’ll quickly disband without a pillar to support them. But how do we accomplish that? They’re not so easily broken I assume” He questioned as Edgar bowed.

“Your Majesty, I’ve already prepared a plan for such an occasion” He brought out a map of the entire Sindra Kingdom and marked four locations on it that circled the entire lower district.

“These four entry points are the only ways to enter and leave the lower districts outside of entering through the Great Wall. Since we have control over the Great Wall, we can isolate them once we gain control over these four points. Once we do that, it will mean that every commoner within the lower district will be unable to flee or run from us”

“But what would they be running from?” Humphrey questioned, intrigued by his advisor's plan.

“Death” Edgar suddenly said, smiling as shocked expressions appeared on the faces of everyone present. “If we set fire to the cities down below from those entry points, what do you think will happen to all those poor boys and girls that will have nowhere to go?”

No one needed to answer the question to know the outcome.

“Heartless bastard…” Cassandra whispered under her breath as Humphrey smiled widely at his advisor’s plan.

“Yes, I see! If we threaten those two fools with a plan like this, surely they’ll have no choice but to disband their little group. They care far too much about the commoners to ever allow this to happen. It's genius! Fararararara!” He laughed heartily as Edgar bowed, happy that his king found his plan to be usable.

Tiera was also on board as she smiled her usual cat-like smile. “Why stop at only fires? I have some explosives down below that I made awhile ago, why not use those as well and really show those commoners a good time?” She suggested with a giggle.

“A splendid idea, Lady Tiera” Edgar smiled as he looked around the room and found the majority of them to be receptive to his idea, especially Garneta who stood up and began singing as she couldn’t wait to watch the “fireworks”. Shinto didn’t seem to care along with Perseus but Cassandra looked displeased for some reason.

“*I wonder why she seems so upset…*” Edgar narrowed his eyes at her but decided to leave it for now before he turned to Giano and Aslan who hadn’t shared what they thought of it.

“Well, Prince Giano? Sir Aslan? How do you find my plan? Is it not to your liking?” He asked politely.

"Are we truly that heartless and remorseless that we would drag the innocent into our feud with the rebels?" Aslan questioned with a hidden frown. "I understand the need to put down the rebellion but to endanger our own civilians in the process is extreme." He continued making sure to keep his tone as blank and neutral as he didn’t want to cause to much conflict at the moment.

"Idiotic ideas such as these is the main reason why we currently have a rebellion. While an assassination would be sufficient it could also hinder the process of getting civilians caught in the crossfire" Aslan stated as two crimson orbs flew from beneath the darkness of his hood. "It would be best to hold such course of actions until to demonstrate our might after we decimate a percentage of the rebels, my king allow myself and another to draw out the rebels as while the rest of you were siting on your asses I have located a central base for their operation." Aslan finished as his head swerved towards his king hoping he would agree to his plan as he wanted to quickly leave this meeting before the shouting began.

"Excuse me, Sir Aslan." It was Giano who interrupted. "Since when do you sympathize with cattle?" His tone was poisonous. Calm, yet aggressive, as if each word carried meaning underneath. "We have a rebellion because sheep do not know their place. To attack points that would involve civilians would reinforce our reign over this country, it'll kill all morale instantly. In war, there is no innocence. Only those who dominate and those who are dominated. Make sure not to forget that." A single finger twirled Giano's hair. "With that said, I'd love to volunteer! To see this 'base of operations' you've found of course."

"You seem to be under some great delusion Giano, under our control you state? Since when was this our control? Is this kingdom not a dictatorship and not a democracy? Meaning the sole control reigns in the kings hand?" Aslan asked in his ever calm tone unbothered but Giano’s words as they were meaningless to him and his goals. "But perhaps I should clarify some of your misconceptions. I hold very little love for the "cattle" as you call them. I’m merely concerned for the future of the kingdom of we break them to much, whom will we slave to ensure the daily remedial needs of the kingdom is meet?" He questioned as his robes rustled slightly as if ready to unravel themselves.

"I can see that my opinion on the matter will fall to deaf ears so I will resend my suggestion and simply follow whatever command his majesty issues." Aslan concluded in a humble tone of voice while he awaited the kings response however mentally he was shaking his head in disgust at the idiocy of the moronic neanderthal that called themselves knights as well at the blubbering pig who fancied himself as a king. Aslan could already perceive where this civil war was going and the outcome as well. He would do his duty and serve his king but that didn’t mean he could go about doing things in his own manner, patience was a virtue that reaped the sweetest of benefits.

"If you care so little, then surely it doesn't matter whether we are 'heartless', no?" Giano clapped his hands together. "This kingdom has, since the beginning of time, belonged to those who matter, and it is ruled by those that matter. That means, nobility. That is who the King should pay attention too, in my humble opinion of course. Do not worry about who will perform work for us, I'm sure Tiera has that handled."

*"Pathetic sheep"* Aslan thought to himself as he merely nodded outwardly while his hand hidden beneath his cloak momentarily twitched and a small light barely shined it was quickly and silently snuffed out.

"Then by all mean carry on, if you require supplies I will be more than happy to provide them without issue." Aslan offered in a gesture to show he truly didn’t care of the situation.

Silence followed the heated exchange between the two high ranking members of the Royal Knights as everyone waited on the King’s decision on the matter. It didn’t matter what any of them thought about the plan; the final decision always rested on their lord.

King Humphrey gazed directly towards Aslan, who was the only one who had voiced opposition towards Edgar’s plan, and opened his mouth.

“Aslan, I value your opinion and insight on matters when we discuss them here as you are a rather sharp individual. However, I believe you've come under some misunderstanding . This plan will only be carried out if those two rebel leaders refuse our generous offer to cease their silly revolt. A threat, if you will. I am painfully aware of the potential losses we will suffer if we enact this plan but those losses will pale in comparison to the future damages we will suffer if we allow the resistance to carry on unchecked” A smile then crept onto the bloated man’s face. “However, out of respect for your service and loyalty towards the Barbaros Family, I shall do this” He stood up and addressed everyone present as they stood with him.

“This plan will only be carried out as a last resort if negotiations fall apart with the rebels. Is that understood!?” He announced with a thunderous voice.

“Yes, my lord!” The Royal Knights voiced in response as Humphrey nodded, pleased with the responses as he turned to Edgar. “Forgive me, Edgar. I know you worked diligently on this plan but I cannot carry it out immediately”

“Perish the thought, my king! I am humbled beyond words to have your majesty accept my proposal, even as a last resort” Edgar bowed as Humphrey nodded.

“Good. Now, the rest of you are dismissed. Carry out your usual tasks and please, do not hesitate to pitch a suggestion if you have any more ideas to quell this troublesome rebellion once and for all” He said before turning and leaving the room with Perseus and Cassandra by his side. Cassandra however seemed to glance over towards Aslan's direction but made sure no one notice as she left the room along with her father and brother. Meanwhile, the rest of the Royal Knights began to leave the room as well, either in pairs or by themselves.

Garneta, who was eyeing the retreating Aslan, felt someone’s hand on her shoulder as she turned and saw Edgar smiling at her.

“Is something wrong, Lady Garneta?”

“...It’s that bastard, Aslan” Garneta growled as she glared at the door he had just left through. “How dare he question a plan that was approved by his majesty. If we weren’t in such a holy place, I’d rip him to shreds and feed the remnants to the wolves” She spat.

Edgar chuckled. “I’m honored you would go so far as to defend my plan”

Garneta huffed as she brushed his hand aside. “Don’t confuse it, your plan is certainly interesting but I’m only defending the honor of his majesty who was fond of your idea”

“Right, of course” Edgar rolled his eyes before a frown appeared on his face and he stepped a bit closer so that his voice could only be heard by Garneta.

“I understand your anger towards someone like him. Haven’t you felt from the beginning that he is different from us?”

Garneta flinched as she spoke in a low voice. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve watched Aslan very carefully over these past few months and he does not seem to be as loyal or as dedicated towards his majesty as the rest of us. And it’s not just him either, there’s another who I’ve been very suspicious of as well”

“Who is it!?” Garneta eyed him with a hateful glare, as if the mere idea of someone betraying her king was beyond forgivable.

Edgar stepped back as he smiled. “Meet me by my chambers tonight and I’ll fill you in. I believe a partnership between the two of us can be beneficial in weeding out potential traitors” He said nothing more before he walked away, leaving Garneta in the spacious court room by herself, contemplating if there was an even bigger problem to deal with then the resistance.

## Unexpected Arrivals

"Oi Onyx this the island that bitch told us to come to right?" The loud and vulgar voice of Ruby Rose echoed across empty sea atop the special motorbike that she had claimed and modified as her own following her departure backwards from Fishman Island. "Sidra or whatever the fuck it was called!"

She had received a pleading invite to come and fight against the tyrannical king of the kingdom by a member of the rebel faction, one who had promised her a shit ton of Gold and treasure along side a few dozen people to help her get into the new world. "Do ya remember where we was suppose to meet up with the rebel faction cuz I ducking my forgot."

Onyx’s dark blue hair rustled with the wind as he sighed. “Yeah, it is, we’re supposed to meet at some location within the lower district. I think we should avoid all docks if possible.” Onyx said unenthusiastically. It wasn’t that he disliked Rose, far from it, at times he even found her endearing as foul-mouthed as she was. The problem lied with the fact that both of them wrote on the motorbike, Onyx having to clutch tightly to Rose’s stomach in order to hold on, despite his larger frame.

It was emasculating.

“A-are you ever gonna let me ride the bike, Rose? I built it after all…” He said, though in the back of his mind he already knew the answer.

"Sure sure I’ll let ya ride Wild Cat eventually I may be a bitch but I ain’t that cold hearted." Rose stated cheerfully outwardly but internally her mind was basically saying Fuck no get your own, but she couldn’t say that to her unwilling first mate. Well actually she could because she was Ruby fucking Rose the baddest bitch on this side of paradise.

"Now hang on tight lackey Mama’s gonna take off!!!!" She called out loudly as she reeved the bikes engine while her feet erupted in flames causing a turret of flames to shoot out the exhaust pipes, sending them both shooting forwards and soon into the sky and across the island and wall in style.

"R-rose, w-w-wait!" Onyx called but by then it had been too late, the duo flew out of the water into the skies, a myriad of flames visible from the skies, before they would crash into the island.

"Where the hell are they?" Hestia mumbled to herself; She'd been waiting on the two people she called to the island. Ruby Rose and Arsen, she barely knew them but had heard of their strength from many, so they seemed like good fits to help bring down a kingdom. She headed towards a market shop, looking at some potential ingredients for dinner, a popular hobby of hers was cooking but she preferred baking. It was possible that neither of them would show up considering they didn't owe her anything, but she figured they'd both take a chance to cause destruction as most pirates seemed to love it.

A loud sound snapped Hestia out of her thoughts, not too far from her location was a ship that'd crashed into the island, practically flying into the lower district. Quickly running towards it, Hestia readied her war fans in case of hostility from them. That was until she noticed one of the crew members was none other than Ruby Rose. "Figures... Are you okay?" She looked towards the two.

"Fuck yeah!!" Rose exclaimed in excitement despite crashing into the ground due to her inexperience flying the bike. "Oi Onyx let’s do that again." She called to her companion as she turned to look at him before quickly switching her attention to the bike to ensure it was not broken. "Ehh it don’t look fucked up but just in case you better take a look at it Onyx." She stated with a nonchalant shrug before she turned to face Hestia.

"Yeah I’m good" she stated towards Hestia before pausing and blinking a few moments as she finally registered that they weren’t alone. "Oi who the fuck are you?" She called as her hands moved towards her blades in preparation for a battle.

Luckily, very few civilians were nearby. An empty tent belonging to a merchant was the only thing that was damaged as Wild Cat and the duo crashed into it. While Rose appeared untouched, as she often did, the same could not be said for Onyx, who fell under the bike's weight, smushing whatever products the tent held instantly.

*"This...cannot be real-life man..."* Slowly, he pushed himself and Wild Cat up, attempting to dust off his now reddened jacket and jeans. "For fuck's sake, Rose you need to stop doing shit like that..." Sighing, Onyx finally caught sight of the person that stood in front of them.

Pink hair, darkened skin. It was the Hestia Rose had talked to, who she...apparently did not remember. "That's the woman you talked to a few days ago, Rose. I apologize in her behalf. My name's Onyx, you must be Hestia, I'm guessing?"

Hestia was glad to see that they weren't dead, the revolution would start eventually, and they needed every person they could get. "Yes, I'm Hestia." She stood there with her groceries, awkwardly looking at the crew of pirates. "Nice to meet you, Onyx." She put away her war fans, taking out a bag of cookies. "Do you guys want a cookie? I baked them while I was waiting for you to arrive."

"There's still another person I'm waiting on." Arsen, the other person she called upon had yet to arrive and she worried he might not show up. Though he came highly recommended by her uncle. If these people were as powerful as their bounty suggested, then they'd be great assets in taking down the corrupt family that ruled the Kingdom.

"Eh another person?" Rose questioned as she looked at Hestia after calming down when she realized they wouldn’t get getting attacked. "Makes sense I guess, no matter how epic I am, I ain’t gonna end a war by myself. I know I ain’t on that level." Rose affinities begrudgingly with a pout.

Onyx shook his head in response to Hestia. "Is it really that bad out here?" he looked around, a hand on his waist. "To need back up *besides* Rose I mean. It doesn't look like you guys are doing too bad for yourselves."

Hestia sighed, taking a cookie out of the bag and shoving it in her mouth. “I only came to this kingdom recently, mostly to figure some stuff out and to take a break from pirate activities.” She explained, motioning for the group to follow her as she headed deeper into the kingdom. “At first glance, the kingdom isn’t that bad. People are alive and most don’t look sick. However, when you get into the city, you’ll see that this lower region is where most of the citizens live.”

She pointed to the giant wall at the end of the city. “That’s where the nobles live. The tyrannical king and corrupt nobles have sparked a civil war within the kingdom, many factions such as the resistance are attempting to bring down their ruler.” Deeper in the city they got, the more the civil war’s effects were prevalent. Poor families huddled into tiny houses, dirty streets, many hungry children.

“The royal family isn’t weak either, the kingdom is allied with the World Government so the moment anything big happens, they can get reinforcements from the Marines. That’s why we need strong people to help fight.”

"I don't think it'd be the Marines you'd have to worry about," Onyx responded. His eyes remained glued to the ground, glances to the sides noticing the state of the lower district. Wooden, destroyed houses, dirt painted all of them. Plantlife was barely kept together. "It's whoever else they may call that's worrying."

Onyx remained walking behind Hestia. "If you don't mind me asking, are you paying Rose and this other person out of your own pocket?" He asked curiously, hoping the question wouldn't put her on edge. "Do you really care about this kingdom that much?"

"Fuck the kingdom how much money are you giving me?" Rose questioned seemingly unaffected by the kingdoms situation as she was a Pirate not a hero. "Cuz I’m a fucking Pirate not some pansy ass fairytale hero ya know?" She followed up to clarify her intentions.

"Whatever you’re relationship to the kingdom or ya stance on whatever is happening ain’t no consequence to me." She finished and she folded her arms before looking at Hestia awaiting her answer. "Don’t get any funny ideas either Onyx we’re here as mercenaries at best, pirates at worst so don’t be running around trying to kill yourself in some idiotic manner."

Hestia knew these people were pirates like her but they were different. She wasn’t a hero either, normally a kingdom falling into poverty wouldn’t bother her but recently a change in her life has made her wonder about what she’s doing. “I’ll pay all three of you my allowance. You can split it between yourselves.” She spoke, continuing her walk.

She wasn’t sure where Arsen was, or if they’d reach him in time but at this point she was just hoping to bump into him. “In total, you should each receive 3.3 million Belly.”

Letting out an impressed whistle at the amount that was offered Rose eagerly nodded her head."That’s a fuck ton alright." She agreed suddenly pumped up to burn down the main castle for the royal faction. "A girl could use the extra pocket money to get shit done in life." She added as the tallied up the amount in her head.

"Hold up quick question." She called out towards Hestia. "What about the stuff we pillage from the royal capital, is it free game or what?"

Hestia rolled her eyes. She didn’t like the idea of pillaging a kingdom that was going through a civil war but she knew she couldn’t stop Rose and this wasn’t her kingdom. “I’d advise you not to but personally, It’s not my business what a pirate does.” She shrugged. It was the truth, Hestia valued peoples ideals and as long as she knew she couldn’t stop them, she wasn’t going to try. On top of that, she needed these people’s help.

Turning a corner, the group was headed to a warehouse that was considered abandoned. This was where they’d plan their business and hopefully find their missing ally. If he didn’t show up, Hestia would be furious at her uncle. Arriving at the warehouse, Hestia waved her war fan in the air to signal one of the people watching to open the gate. Once inside, Hestia waved to some of the people there. “This is the resistance, a rebel group that wants to take down the nobles of the kingdom.” There were quite a few people of all backgrounds inside the warehouse, ranging from older people to teenagers.

“Hestia!” Several members of the resistance called out as they began gathering at the entrance of the hideout where Hestia, Rose, and Onyx stood. They exchanged welcomes and hugs as it seemed Hestia was quite a beloved member of the resistance who the younger boys and girls looked up too and respected. That said, they couldn't help but throw a few suspicious gazes towards the duo standing behind Hestia as whispers began spreading throughout the hideout.

“Glad to have you back, Hestia. Are these the two you spoke of?” A tall man with a few scars on his forehead stepped forward from the crowd as he crossed his arms and side eyed Rose and Onyx. His name was Garland and he was one of the resistance's more established members that was in charge of managing the organization while Zane and Yersi were away.

Hestia waved towards everyone, smiling at some of the familiar faces. It was moments like this that she fought to keep, saving the people of this kingdom was her top priority. Stopping in front of Garland. Looking up at the tall man, she awkwardly chuckled. “Sort of, this Rose and Onyx. Pirates that I guess are mercenaries for now.” She looked around, hoping to spot an unfamiliar face that could potentially be Arsen.

“There’s another one that’s supposed to show up but I’m not sure where he is…” Hestia took a deep breath, making sure to control her emotions, doing so would prevent her from heating up. “He’s a very skilled swordsman that I hope can help take down a specific member of the royal family.” Some of the royals had devil fruits, ones that made killing them a lot harder.

"Experienced Swordsman?" Rose perked up and asked a question. "Did you invite that flaky flower swordsman Arsen?" She asked in a joking tone, laughing aloud at her own joke.

"That's funny coming from a crazy bitch like you"

Everyone immediately turned to the source of that voice as they spotted a man whose body was covered in a brown cloak now standing at the entrance of the hideout. He briskly walked inside with a bemused expression as he made an apologetic face towards Hestia and the rest of the resistance members.

"Forgive me for being late, it turns out finding this place was harder then I thought" He explained before his gaze returned to Rose, a predatory smirk now surfacing on his face. "To think that the familiar presence I sensed was you. Wonders never cease in this world huh?" It was truly an amusing coincedence that he had run into Rose of all people again as the memory of them fighting one another on Saboady Archipelago and then working together to bring down the Atlas Pirates entered his mind.

"What the fuck? You really did invite this bitch?" Rose exclaimed in shock as her head darted towards Arsen with a grimace on her face. "Don’t you know this bitch and his kinky ass Elf whore totally fucked up my plan back on Saboady?" She questioned Hestia as her hands instantly went towards her blades in preparation to once more clash with Arsen.

"You need an actual brain to think of a plan, and stop lumping me and Xana together, she did that on her own!" Arsen retorted as he already had his blade at the ready underneath his cloak as the air around the two outlaws became tense. The younger resistance members around them slowly began to back up as they could sense the immense pressure being exerted by these two, scared that a fight would break out immediately.

"You wanna settle our score from before Rosey? Or have you gone soft since the last time I saw you?" Arsen taunted as his stance lowered a bit, ready to pounce.

"Meh fuck it you ain’t worth it when compared to the 3 million plus the other goodies on the line." Rose stated with a scowl on her face as she crossed her arm, for the first time turning down a fight due to the money on the line. "But after this shit is done, you best believe I’ll gut you like a fucking fish."

Arsen blinked, a bit surprised that the usually raring to go Rose had seemingly backed down from an obvious taunt.

"...It seems you did a little growing up since the last time I saw you. Heh, fine by me. Let's postpone our rematch then" Arsen smirked before he relaxed his guard, the mood within the warehouse settling as everyone around them sighed collectively as it seemed a fight wouldn't break out. Glancing around, Arsen would find Hestia standing next to Garland as he approached her and scanned her top to bottom.

"I got your letter. Your Atlas' neice, right? How has he been?" Arsen asked with a nostalgic face, having never forgotten the immense debt that he owed the revolutionary who had helped him advance his swordsmanship.

Hestia wasn’t aware what kind of past Arsen and Rose had but their petty fights weren’t going to be tolerated here. Hestia noticed both of them readying their weapons and in return, readied her war fans. Luckily, the two managed to calm down before the fight escalated into something more physical.

Arsen’s voice caught her attention, turning to him. “He seems to be doing good but I don’t talk to him that much, I asked him to come originally but he’s caught up in something with the Spartan Army. So he recommended you instead.” Putting her fans away, Hestia smiled. “I believe we spoke of what’s happening in the kingdom over Den Den Mushi, we have information on each member of the royal family, though some of it might be less accurate.”

"I see" Arsen nodded, grasping the situation as to why he was summoned here by his old acquaintance. “I owe your uncle a great debt so you can count on my aid for this mission of yours” He assured before his lips curved a bit into a smirk.

“That being said, I’d be lying if I said that was the only reason I’m here. You mentioned in your letter that there’s a warrior fighting on the kingdom’s side that would prove challenging for a swordsman like myself to defeat, isn’t that right? Tell me more about him, he sounds like he’d be a worthy opponent” Arsen asked, excitement bubbling on his face.

Onyx only looked at Arsen and Rose with discontent, his arms crossed over his chest. Sweat dripped down his temples as he remembered the events of Sabaody. "Err...sorry to interrupt. But more importantly, where the hell are the leaders of this thing? No revolution can go unorganized, I can tell you that for sure."

As if on que, a member of the resistance came rushing in from the front gate as he called out to everyone inside the warehouse.

"Zane and Yersi have returned!" He shouted as smiles and sighs of relief were seen across many of the resistance members. Everyone watched patiently as two individuals walked from behind the messanger, followed by a thid person whose face was covered by a hood. Arsen narrowed his eyes towards the trio as he spoke to Hestia who was beside him.

"Are those the leaders?"

"Yes, those are the leaders." Hestia smiled, looking towards the three. "Welcome back. I've gotten the needed members for our cause. After some convincing and mostly money, they decided to help." She looked at Onyx, Rose and Arsen. "Their names are Zane, Yersi and..." Hestia had a feeling that she wasn't supposed to say the real name of the hooded figure but couldn't remember a code name. She'd get just call the woman Hoodie. "And this hooded figure is Hoodie!" She grinned.

Turning over to Arsen, she slipped him a folder labeled "Perseus". "This has the information on that undefeatable soldier you asked about. Be careful while you read it, we don't need any of them knowing what kind of information we have." Moving back to the three leaders, she offered them each a cookie. "We're nearly ready, this is the chance to restore your kingdom to greatness."

"You have my thanks" Arsen nodded towards Hestia as he recieved the folder that contained information regarding the man who supposedly held the title of strongest within this country. He smirked as he tucked it away, planning on reading it fully when he got the chance before he focused back on the three individuals who entered the hideout. In particular, his gaze seemed to longer on the woman called Yersi as she bore a striking resemblance to someone he once knew.

The hooded person behind Zane and Yersi seemed to flinch at Hestia's rather amusing nickname as Zane held in a laugh.

"Don't tease her too much, Hesty. Nice work by the way gathering the members you said you could bring in. I knew we could count on you" Zane, the leader of the resistance praised with a face full of expectation as he turned to his partner beside him. "Things have been going well on our side as well, ain't that right Yersi?"

"We could be doing better, unfortunately." Yersi clarified, Arsen's gaze did not go unnoticed, though she showed no reaction to it. "So these are the members you've gathered Hestia..." Yersi eyed them repeatedly. "Could they really be of any help to us?"

Zane frowned a bit at Yersi's comment. "Hey, come on now. You don't have to-"

"I'm of the same opinion" The hooded woman interuptted him as she stepped forward and addressed Arsen, Rose, and Onyx. "I'll be frank; I don't trust any of you. What guarantees do we have that they're even strong enough to help us in our mission? Can we even trust that they won't run away when things get rough? This isn't a game, you'll have to put your life on the line if you want to defeat the enemies standing in our way. Do any of you have the resolve and strength to meet that challenge?" The woman questioned as the atmopshere within the hideout became cold and hostile as the lower resistance members shuddered at the woman's intimidating aura.

Arsen however, who stood near Hestia and Rose, merely smirked as he opened his mouth.

"You sure talk alot. Why don't you quit the charade and just come out and say it. You wanna fight us to see if we're up to your standards, ain't that right?"

The hooded woman remained silent towards Arsen's bold claim before her lips curved into a predatory grin, one that was unlike her usual calm demeanor.

"Was it that obvious?" She asked.

"Laughably so. I can tell that your just like me and the fire princess over there" He pointed to Rose who flipped him off. "You enjoy fighting and thrive at the opportunity to fight against skilled opponents. Call it a hunch I guess but you give off that vibe to me" He said.

Zane raised his eyebrow at what Arsen was talking about as he didn't understand how he could make a claim like that about a person he just met. To his surprise however, the hooded woman suddenly began to laugh at his response.

"You found an interesting guy, Hestia" The woman spoke towards her acquintance as she revealed a rapier she had been hiding underneath her cloak and rested it by her side as she glanced between both Rose and Arsen.

"Arsen was it? You were correct in your assessment. That being said, are you man enough to accept my challenge if I said I wish to see your strength for myself?" Her gaze then shifted to Rose. "Or will you take me on, Rose? I'm fine with either of you. You can even attack me both at the same time if you wish" She taunted, confidence oozing from her body as everyone began to back away from the trio.

Zane sighed as he couldn't believe things had ended up this way and shouted towards Hestia who was standing near Arsen and Rose.

"What do you think, Hesty? Should we let this continue? I have complete faith that the allies you brought can help us but apparently that's not good enough for our friend over there" Zane pointed to the hooded woman who was still smiling, as if she couldn't wait to get started.

Hestia sighed, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop Cassandra. "I don't think there's anything we can do at this point, might as well see if the people I recruited have what It takes to go against her. It'll give us an insight on how they'll do against the royal army." She took another cookie out of her bag, munching on it.

Zane was a bit surprised Hestia agreed to the fight as she usually forbade any combat that involved comrades. He figured that even she knew how important it was for her allies to gain the trust of Cassandra, who was a pivotal part of their plan. Turning to his partner, Zane spoke to Yersi.

"Do you agree with her?"

Yersi simply nodded. "We need people that can carry their own weight at least. Don't let it take too much of our time."

Zane ruffled his spiky hair, a bit flabbergasted that his comrades had so readily agreed to this duel between aliies. Although, he'd by lying if he said he wasn't interested in finding out exactly how strong Hestia's friends were as he raised his hand in the air.

"Alright then, we'll allow this duel. Everyone step back to give them some room!" Zane shouted as the resistance members began moving away from the trio as Cassandra stood across from Arsen and Rose in the spacious warehouse as everyone watched from the sidelines.

"I'm grateful, Zane" The hooded woman inclined her head to Zane, who nodded at her, before she glanced back at the duo and readied a stance.

"So, who'll it be? Or shall I face both of you?"

Crossing his arms, Arsen scoffed at her suggestion.

"A duel is meant to be one on one so you can forget about fighting us both. Besides, this fire cracker here would rather die than team up with me. Ain' that right?" Arsen teased as he turned to Rose.

Usually Rose would be the first to agree on Arsen’s statement as she sure as hell didn’t want to team up with him however something about the hooded woman made her reconsider. "Normally I’d say fuck you and threaten to slow cook your intestines with my blades." Rose stated bluntly as she glanced over towards Arsen with a serious stare to portray the fact that she meant every word that just exited her mouth. "However giving the fact that we seem to unintentionally work stupidly fucking well together and the fact that we aren’t moving as separate groups but rather one faction means that we’ll have to temporarily put aside whatever beef we got and work as a team."

After finishing her statement Rose literally spat at the ground as if she just tasted something utterly disgusting by suggesting she work with Arsen, a person she wanted to dominate. Glancing towards Cassandra with a frown and narrowed eyes Rose felt her body tense slightly in preparation for the on coming conflict that would occur. "Don’t get the wrong idea, I still truly want to cut off your tiny little manhood and disembowel your fucking ice bitch." She reassured Arsen that this as only temporary until they finish the job they were hired to do.

“Right…” Arsen smirked, having grown accustomed to Rose’s cutthroat way of conveying her thoughts as he stared down the hooded woman. The fact that Rose was willing to cooperate with him to face this woman meant that she was definitely stronger than she looked.

The only question was, how much? Unsheathing his katana from underneath his cloak, Arsen was dying to find out as he took a stance and spoke to Cassandra.

“I guess there’s no choice, we’ll take you on together. Show us what you can do then” He taunted.

“Oh don’t worry…” A malicious smirk spread across the woman’s face as her body vanished into thin air and then reappeared right behind Arsen, lunging towards him as she aimed to pierce her now drawn rapier through his back. “...I intend too!”

“*She’s fast!”* Arsen was almost taken off guard by the woman’s frightening speed as he spun on his heel and parried her strike with the edge of his blade. Cassandra, however, seemed to anticipate this as she spun her body and launched a roundhouse kick at Arsen’s chest. With little time to act, Arsen raised his arm as he blocked the kick but was sent flying backwards a considerable distance as he skidded across the floor.

“Her strength is no joke either…” He flinched a bit as he shook his arm that had blocked the kick, unable to believe she could hold that much power in her legs despite her slim frame.

Ignoring Arsen momentarily, Cassandra turned her attention to Rose as she regripped her rapier and aimed to impale the pirate in her unguarded stomach.

Thanks to her time training on Fishman Island, having to face people on a higher platform than herself, Rose’s body had naturally developed an sixth sense when it came to being attacked so it was as such that when Cassandra aimed to attacker her, a wall up fire erupted in between them blocking her path and halting the attack.

"Tch, fucking bitch." Rose grumbled as she used the diversion that she unconsciously created to draw her blades from their sheaths before impaling them in the ground and using them to shovel up a batch of rubble which she kicked forwards into the Fire wall. The stones would become engulfed in fire and become flaming projectiles aimed forwards Cassandra in a shotgun spray manner.

**"Punk Meteor Shower"**

While the little "meteors" flew towards their target, Rose would retrieve her sword and launch herself upwards before her blades were engulfed in green flames, which she would use to slash down towards Cassandra. Arsen would also find that his own blade was also engulfed in the green colored flames that seems to eat up the air around it.

“Oh? You can control flames huh? How oddly fitting” Cassandra smirked as she jumped backwards, dodging the flame-covered rocks that were sent flying at her. Her body moved in a majestic and finesse-like manner that it almost seemed like she was dancing as she skillfully avoided each rock without any excess movement.

Arsen, who had been watching her closely, couldn’t help but praise those movements as he could imagine the amount of training she must have endured to perfect such precise control over her body.

“Hm?” Noticing that his sword had been wrapped in green flames, Arsen glanced over towards Rose with a surprised expression before his face settled into a smirk. “Well I’ll be damned. Guess she’s serious about us teaming up huh? Alright then, let’s have some fun”

Taking a stance, Arsen drew in his sword before he swung it forward with near untraceable speed as a sharp green flamed bird shaped projectile was launched forward towards Cassandra.

Once she gained enough distance after dodging Rose’s rocks, Cassandra’s senses alerted her of Arsen’s surprise attack from her blind spot along with Rose’s approaching strike from above. It seemed the two of them really would face her together; the mere thought exciting Cassandra beyond belief as she raised her rapier into the air. Moments later, her rapier began to morph and change shape as it slowly turned into a long black whip.

“Recoil” She called as she began to twirl the whip around her body with such incredible speed and skill that it created a spinning barrier around her that deflected both Arsen’s and Rose’s attacks right off of her as a giant breeze began to gather within the hideout from the sheer force of her whip moving at such speeds.

“*Did her weapon just change shape? How is that even possible?*” Arsen had never seen such a thing but didn’t have long to ponder it as he noticed Cassandra redirect her whip towards himself as he narrowly dodged the attack by side stepping. The whip smashed into a wall, caving it in as Arsen’s eyes widened at the feat of such strength carried in that weapon.

“A word of warning but you should know my weapon here is stronger than steel. You’d be careful not to get hit by it” Cassandra taunted as she then suddenly aimed her whip at Rose who had just landed back on the ground.

*"This is such a bad idea..."* Onyx thought to himself. He didn't know what was worse, the fact that he hadn't even been considered as an option to fight, or that anyone thought this was a remotely good idea. *"They work surprisingly well together though..."*

"You can take your warning and stuff up your loose cunt." Was Roses immediate response as a second version of herself phased into existence directly in front of the real Rose grabbing the Handel of Suneater from the original to parry the whip before a third Rose sprung up behind Cassandra in a burst of flames aiming a high kick towards the woman’s head with blue fire covered the appendage.

While this was happening the original Rose dashed towards Arsen and slapped him on he back, causing his entire body to erupt in flames that wouldn’t harm him, instead the yellow flames seemed to act as a makeshift cloak that seemed to protect and empower him slightly.

"Come one pansy." She called out towards Arsen as she was once more on the dash this time towards Cassandra with Mooneater drawn. "Get your ass into fucking gear, I don’t want you complaining when I beat this bitches ass on my own." She yelled out to him before sending her own "whip" made of flames towards Cassandra.

"Pft, you wish you psycho. She's mine!" Arsen retorted with a smirk as he dashed forward, now covered with Rose's flames as the two of them headed towards where Cassandra was.

Meanwhile, Cassandra ducked her head as she dodged Rose's high kick and morphed her whip back into a rapier in a split second, slicing apart the third Rose with a horizontal sword swipe at her stomach that vanquished the body double.

Sensing an approaching threat, Cassandra’s body skilfully dodged Rose’s flame whip by jumping as she smiled at the woman while in the air.

“Copycat” She teased before landing and then dashed forward herself as she and Arsen were on a collision path towards the other. Moments later, the two sword wielders crossed blades against each other, the force of their clash causing a shockwave to erupt from within the hideout.

“Not bad” Cassandra praised whilst in the midst of holding Arsen’s katana back. “I can certainly see why Hestia believes you two can be useful to us. And despite your relationship, the two of you work quite well together” She noted as she looked at Rose.

“Don’t get used to it, it’s only temporary” Arsen mumbled before he began to exert more force in his blade as Cassandra was slowly being overpowered. The flames that Rose had coated him in seemed to amplify his strength as even Cassandra looked surprised before her face settled into a mocking grin.

“Come on, is that all you have? Surely you can do better than that, or do you need your girlfriend over there to do all the work?” She taunted before her rapier morphed once more into a whip and then swirled around Arsen’s sword like a snake as the samurai's eyes widened in shock.

“You let your guard down” Cassandra stated as she aimed a straight kick towards Arsen’s unguarded stomach, believing that the surprise from earlier had dulled his reaction time. Unfortunately for her, Arsen didn’t look worried at all as Cassandra’s kick landed but Arsen’s body didn’t budge, as if he was an immovable stone wall.

“How did you…?” Cassandra was stunned. Were his abs made of steel or something? In reality, Arsen had indeed hardened his abdominal muscles to the point of making them incredibly resilient, similar to the technique known as “Tekkai” used by Cipher Pol agents and Marine soldiers.

“A nifty technique I picked up during my travels” Arsen clutched onto Cassandra’s leg before he began spinning her on his foot before he tossed her with an incredible throw right towards where Rose was as he called out to her.

“She’s coming your way princess!”

Smirking Rose threw Mooneater upwards and cocked her fist back which soon erupted in multicolored flames. "You ain’t the only ones who picked up new tricky Sword boy." She called out as she punches straight forward sending a rippling shockwave forward that seemed to transmits the force of the impact through the water in a person's body which would easily bypass a person's defenses if struck dead on. It was one of the Fish-Man Karate techniques she learned during her time on Fish-Man island. When combined with her flames Rose was able to produce a shockwave akin to the Hasshoken with the added effect of the burning of her fire.

**"Punk Queens Blazing Fist"**

“Tch!” Cassandra clicked her tongue as she had underestimated the Wano swordsmen but she couldn’t dwell on that for long as she spotted Rose ahead of her getting ready to nail her with a powerful fist based technique.

“*There’s not enough time to dodge…*” She knew instinctively she didn’t have the time to avoid the attack so her only option was to meet force with force as she spun her body midair and morphed her whip back into a rapier. Gathering strength into her arms, the veins on her muscles bulged and her eyes began to change, becoming thinner and more feral as if she was a beast. Her silver rapier changed color from silver to black, indicating that she had coated the blade with Armament Haki. Not only that, a powerful gust of wind began to swirl around the blade from the sheer power that was being gathered by the woman's biceps.

After adjusting her body in mid air so that she was now facing Rose directly, Cassandra let forth a powerful thrust from her rapier towards Rose’s fist.

“Byrdwn Duw! (*Heaven’s Thrust!*)” She shouted as her rapier clashed head-on with Rose’s fist as the two opposing forces met one another and generated an earth-shattering shockwave that caused everyone within the hideout to cover themselves from the aftershock. Arsen raised a hand to cover his eyes from the dust and debris before his eyes narrowed towards where Cassandra and Rose were. The ground beneath them had been caved in as Rose’s fist and Cassandra’s rapier were connected as the two women stared at each other, both now riddled with a few injuries but looked relatively fine as they stood rather close to the other and crossed gazes.

“Rose was your name, wasn’t it? That last move of yours was damn impressive” A trail of blood fell from Cassandra’s lip as she licked it away and smirked.

For the first time since their meeting Rose actually took the time to truly look at Cassandra, it was like a sudden light had went off in her head as she felt her flames lick at her wounds healing them at a rapid pace. "Your’s wasn’t anything to scuff at either." Rose stated as she narrowed her eyes upon Cassandra. "Your name is Cassandra right?" Rose questioned as she glanced over at Arsen briefly before looking back to the woman before her.

Arsen immediately picked up on the meaning behind Rose’s gaze and was about to rush in for a follow up attack before Cassandra raised her hand into the air, altering everyone’s attention.

“Let’s conclude things here. While I certainly wouldn’t mind to keep dancing with the two of you, it would be disastrous if our hideout was destroyed because of our fun” Cassandra admitted as she sheathed her rapier and took a deep breath to calm her boiling blood. If the fight had gone on any further, *that* side of her might have taken over.

“Besides, you've both proven your strong enough to help us in our fight. Especially you, Rose” Cassandra spoke to Rose as she had been most impressed with the woman’s versatility and combat wit. “You ate a devil fruit, right? I can’t tell if it's a Zoan or a Logia but regardless, you’ll be a great help in the upcoming battle” She declared.

A sigh of relief came from Zane who had watched the battle as he was glad things had been resolved before the entire building had been wrecked.

“They’re both monsters” Zane said as he couldn’t believe the strength Arsen and Rose possessed as he spoke to Hestia who was standing next to him. “We owe you big time for convincing these two to join us. I just hope they stay on our side”

"Guess Uncle was right about Arsen." She knew Rose was a strong fighter which is why she called her directly, however she wasn't sure about Arsen and had only heard of his feats from Atlas. Nonetheless, he proved himself in the fight with Cassandra. "They are indeed monsters, worse comes to worse is that they kill us." Hestia said bluntly. "Anyways, what do we have left regarding preparation?" She wasn't war hungry and didn't love the thrill of a fight but if they were going to save the kingdom then it needed to be sometime soon, before more people suffer under the reign of the Royal Family.

"Well, we *were* good to go at any time but we've discovered some rather drastic information that requires us to change our entire strategy" Zane announced as both he and Yersi looked conflicted.

"What information?" Garland, who had approached the trio from the sidelines, asked as he couldn't remember the last time he saw Zane and Yersi look so disturbed.

"I can explain that" Cassandra said as she and Rose walked out of the crater together and now stood in front of the gathered Resistance members. Arsen joined in himself from the side as he felt that this was something he needed to hear as well considering his role.

All eyes were on Cassandra who removed the hood from her face and spoke to everyone with a somewhat grim expression as she revealed the insane plan concuted by the Royalty Faction to stop the rebellion.

## New Gameplan

“THOSE BASTARDS!”

A thunderous shout came from none other than Garland who punched a nearby wall, his face full of rage and frustration towards what he had just heard from Cassandra. As a double agent, she had revealed what had transpired during the meeting the Royalty Faction had made earlier this morning regarding their plan to quell the resistance. Their plan to set fire to the entry points of the lower district and essentially hold them all hostage was something even the toughest resistance members had a hard time swallowing.

“I can’t believe they’d go that far…” One member mumbled.

“They treat us lower than animals! Just what gives them the right to treat us like this!” Another shouted.

Panic and worry soon began to spread out among the resistance members as Cassandra sighed, already expecting a reaction like this. This wasn’t good, the group’s morale was beginning to drop and they were starting to doubt themselves.

“Would they really go through with something like that?” Arsen asked with a skeptical gaze. He didn’t know much about the royalty of this country but no matter how he thought about it, wasn’t that a bit too extreme?

“They would,” Cassandra responded immediately, disgust now present on her face. “Every last one of them would gladly sacrifice the lives of all the people living here in the blink of an eye. As far as they’re concerned, those who aren’t of royal or noble blood are no better than livestock”

"So basically we’re dealing with Baby World Nobles?" Rose commented with a disgusted snarl at the thoughts of those disgusting brutes whom called themselves gods. "Even is pirates, people whom are called scums of the world posses more humanity them people like them." She growled out as embers slightly like in her eyes before it was diminished.

"Don’t act so skeptical Pansy, you’ve been traversing the sea nearly as long as I have, so should be aware of the kinds of monsters that thrive on the misery of others." Rose called out towards Arsen as her mind briefly flash back to a image of a emotionless woman bathed in lighting standing atop the rubble of what was once her home. Shaking her head and clenching her fist, Rose turned to Cassandra with a small scowl. "So exactly what is the plan, I can feel we ain’t just gonna rush in and start blowing shit up."

“I’m sure *you’d* love a half assed plan like that, it suits you” Arsen retorted with a faint chuckle before his expression worsened as he couldn’t deny what Rose had said earlier. Corruption was a common thing to see in kingdoms like these and he had seen his fair share of that over his time in Paradise.

“...*This country is worse than I imagined*” Arsen thought as he was beginning to feel genuinely sad for the people that lived here. He then crossed his arms and asked Cassandra another question.

“Before we talk about plans though, there’s something I wish to know. Aren’t you a noble as well? Why are you helping these people? What makes you so different from the other royals?”

“Are you doubting if Cassandra’s on our side?” Zane asked defensively.

“No. I simply wish to know her motives on why she’s betraying her own family” Arsen stated. It was a fair question that a few Resistance members were also curious about as well since there were those who were still suspicious of Cassandra.

“....” Cassandra remained quiet as she stared at Arsen for what seemed to be an eternity before she reached for the zipper on her jacket. Unzipping it, everyone in the warehouse gasped as they saw a small crystal embedded right below Cassandra’s collar bone.

“Hey! You don’t have to show them that!” Zane shouted towards Cassandra but she merely shook her head.

“No, this is necessary. I want them to see and understand why I hate the Royals more than anyone else in this country” Cassandra began. “You see, I’m not actually of royal blood. I was a commoner before I was adopted into the Barbaros Family. The same goes for my other siblings as well, they’re not actually related to the king. We were all taken in by Humphrey due to the outstanding talent and ability we showed and were raised to believe we were royals. After I learned of about it, I knew that I couldn’t just ignore what was happening to this country. I couldn't live with myself knowing all the suffering we were causing and not do something about it” She explained.

“That certainly clears up some things but what exactly is that crystal?” Arsen asked with a a raised eyebrow.

Cassandra glanced down. “This is insurance. The King is a very cautious man and had these transplanted into myself and my siblings as a fail safe. If he ever believes that we have betrayed the royals, they'll break and release a deadly toxin within our bodies that will kill us in minutes”

“You’ve gotta be kidding!” Garland couldn’t believe what he was hearing as the rest of the resistance members were also shocked. Zane and Yersi looked angry as they stood behind Cassandra, having already been aware of her situation. Even Arsen looked a bit stunned after hearing that.

“I’m risking my very life just being here meeting with all of you but that doesn’t matter. If I can change this country and make the lives of those that live here better, then my life is more than a fair trade” She admitted.

Hearing Cassandra’s tale and resolve towards achieving her goal made Arsen look at her with a new level of respect as she was just like him and Rose; willing to bet her own life to accomplish her dream.

"The blood in your veins ain’t mean shit to me." Rose stated bluntly as she wasn’t really effected by Cassandra’s story having heard millions of similar tales. "It’s the actions you take that matter in my eyes, and so far as I can see you want these fuckers gone so I’ll ask again What is the plan?" Rose questioned once more after making her point clear on her stance of the situation.

"The king has the upper hand but I’m sure someone like you has already figured out a plan to subdue the kingdom, it’s why we were called in."

“As blunt as ever. You never change, do you?” Arsen laughed, having already expected a response like that from Rose. Cassandra on the other hand blinked as she stared at Rose with open eyes, surprised that the woman had just brushed off everything she had said and remained focused on aiding her in defeating her family.

“You won’t hear me say this often but I’m with her on that. It doesn’t matter where you came from, risking your life to achieve your dream is good enough of an answer for me” Arsen declared with a smirk.

“Rose… Arsen…” Cassandra repeated their names, gratitude and respect gleaming from her eyes as she smiled, something that most people never saw of her, before she turned to Zane and apologized.

“Sorry for taking up so much time, we can proceed with our plan now. I trust them” She stated.

Zane waved off her concerns. “Don’t worry about it. They seem more motivated to help us now so I should actually be thanking you” He chuckled before he reached into his jacket and pulled out a large map that detailed the landscape of the kingdom.

“Everyone gather around, I’ll go over the plan and the changes we have to make after getting Cassandra’s newest report. I’m not going to repeat it so you better listen up!” He shouted towards everyone and they all rushed in to crowd around Zane and Yersi as they began the explanation of their plan.

“Our main objective is to take down the King and remove him from power, which means that we’ll have to invade the capital city of Gaia and get into the Royal Palace. Before we can do that however, we need to get through this” He pointed towards the large wall that divided the nobles and the commoners. “The Great Wall is the only obstacle that’s stopping us from raiding the capital. We have to bring it down in order for our plan to even get started” Zane said before he looked up at Arsen, Rose, Cassandra, and Hestia.

“That’s where I hope the four of you will come in. You four are the strongest people here and also have the most destructive force. I’ll ask this now but can you handle this? The Wall is enormous and incredibly well built. You might not be able to bring it down”

Arsen felt a bit insulted that the man even had to ask as he side glanced at Rose. “He thinks we can’t bring a wall down” He chuckled.

"I believe all of us are capable of bringing down the wall, I can't speak for Rose and Arsen since I'm not sure how they plan to bring down their section of the wall but with my devil fruit, I can heat up the stone and cause it to turn into lava. Once it's done, the bottom of the wall will weaken and the rest of it will start to crumble. If needed, I can also control the fire that the nobles plan on placing at the entry point. I'm able to control external forms of heat like fire, lava and steam but I can't create fire." Hestia finished explaining her devil fruit, going back to munching on another cookie.

Sorrow filled Yersi's eyes only for a moment, a 'tch' escaping her lips softly. She'd examine Cassandra's crystal formerly, yet she still could find no way to get rid of it without harming her. Shaking her head, she focused on the plan at hand.

"I'm guessin' they don't know you're here either, eh?" Onyx mentioned, bare feet tapping against the ground. "Otherwise, I'm sure they wouldn't use fire. The element of surprise is our one advantage."

"Don’t worry about us, me and Onyx are more than able to bring down the wall without an issue." Rose stated with a smirk as she knew that Onyx was far more capable than how he portrayed himself. "The main question is what the fuck are we gonna do once we get in because I’m willing to bet my fucking virginity that they got ways of knowing when the wall is breached" was the rather crude question from Rose who was wondering what the real plan of action was once they got past the wall, would they be able to run free and fuck shit up….no that wouldn’t happen especially considering they are trying to free the civilians not make them homeless because of unnecessary damage.

"I know the sword pussy is more than able to be sneaky but what about me and my partner?" She questioned as she pointed towards Onyx. "We don’t do sneaking, it ain’t our style."

“You got that right” Arsen remarked as he crossed his arms. “Believe me when I say this crazy bitch isn’t exactly the type to follow any sort of game plan” He’d never forget the memory of when Rose ignored the plan Blake had created in favor of rushing crazily at the two pirates they fought on Saboady.

Zane blinked as he saw the confidence level of these outlaws in regards to bringing down the nearly impenetrable wall he had struggled to take down for years. It seemed he had truly underestimated these people as a relieved smirk appeared on his face.

“I’ll trust that you all can handle it then. We’re counting on you. As for your question Rose, you don’t have to worry about that” Zane began as he traced his finger over the capital city.

“Once we bring down the walls, that’ll be the signal for our army to rush the Royal Capital and take it over. Me and Yersi haven’t just been sitting on our asses these past few years you know? We’ve managed to gather hundreds of thousands of commoners willing to fight with us and end Humphrey’s reign” He stated as Yersi nodded to confirm his words.

Garland looked surprised as even he wasn’t aware that Zane and Yersi had managed to gather that many people. It truly showed how charismatic of a duo they were as Garland was beginning to gain hope that they could truly win this war.

Zane then looked at Hestia. “We’ll stop their insane plan of setting fires to the entry points on our own. Hesty, you need to go with them to take down the Royal Palace and their strongest fighters. They’ll need your powers for that” Zane ordered. He had faith in Arsen and Rose’s abilities but after learning how powerful the Royal Knights were from Cassandra’s report, it was better to pour all of their main fighting power into stopping them.

Zane’s gaze then fell on Rose. “As long as you don’t kill any of the civilians within the capital, you're free to rampage as much as you want. Try not to ruin the city too much if you can, it’s still valuable to us. Remember, removing Humphrey from power is our main objective and Humphrey’s strength is in the Royal Knights he’s so proud of. Take them down and he’ll have nothing left” Zane then smiled. “A simple job for fighters like you, right?”

“Indeed” Arsen smirked. “You can leave the one called Perseus to me. He’s mine” Arsen stated to everyone. “Hopefully the rest of you can hold up your ends of the bargain” He said toward Rose, Onyx, and Cassandra.

Cassandra rested her hand on her hips with an unconvinced look. “Don’t underestimate my brother, Arsen. He didn’t earn the title of strongest in this kingdom for nothing. Your certainly strong, but if what I saw earlier is your best then I'm afraid you-are you even listening to me!?” Cassandra shouted as Arsen didn’t seem to be paying attention to her words as he looked at the info Hestia gave him on Perseus.

Sighing, Cassandra spoke towards Rose as she rubbed her head. “Is this really okay? I’d feel a bit more confident if you were fighting against my brother instead, Rose” Cassandra said, implying that she believed that Rose was stronger than Arsen.

"Nah let the pansy face your brother." Rose stated as she pointed to Arsen. "He May look like a weak, bitchass, good for nothing flaky pretty boy with a sword fetish, but I can guarantee he’d be more than enough to beat your sibling." She concluded as she knew Arsen’s strength first hand form experience.

"Besides trust me when I tell you you’d want me close to the main action as much as possible, I tend to make thing disappear if you catch my drift." Rose stated as she casually discussed her habit of destroying things in her path. "Just point me at the next big fish and I’ll fucking reduce them to embers before knocking that fat ass pig of a king flat on his bloated ass." She boosted with a confident smile. "Just make sure you give my pal Onyx her a chance to shine, he might not look it but he’s crazy smart and quick with a wrench."

Cassandra blinked, a bit surprised by Rose's evaluation of Arsen's combat strength despite the rather rude remarks she called him by. Their relationship was something Cassandra couldn't grasp and it made her even more curious as to the history between the two.

Towards her mention of Onyx's skills, she glanced at the man while tilting her head as she analyzed him from top to bottom.

"Is that right? Forgive me if this sounds rude but I didn't take you for much of a fighter. I'm interested to see what your capable of if Rose speaks so highly of you"

Onyx scratched the back of his head. "That's fine. She's just exaggerating, as always." Onyx snorted.

Yersi remained in silence. "I'll be heading to their science lab personally. I believe it's one of the weak points we'd have to tackle."

"Sounds good" Zane nodded towards his partner. He knew she had unfinished business with the woman called Tiera who led the Royal's Research and Development faction and so he had no qualms with letting her go to settle her personal business.

"Isn't this whole plan thing kind of optimistic?" From the many warriors that surrounded the group, a single hooded figure spoke, the multitude opening to reveal their cloaked frame. "Choosin', pickin' who you're gonna fight, are you that confident that everything's gonna go along perfectly?"

All eyes turned towards the hooded figure as Garland narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar man.

"Your not a member of the Resistance are you? Tell us who you are!" Garland shouted towards the cloaked figure but Zane raised his hand to calm his subordinate down before he stared at the man himself.

"We believe in our plan and also the comrades that we have gathered here. There's no question that everything will go smoothly" Zane stated with conviction towards the hooded stranger, even smirking at bit as he threw a question back at him.

"You don't seem all that convinced though. Is that the reason you wanted to spy on our meeting?"

The man took off his hood, revealing a face all too familiar. That of the Rookie Pirate Captain, Bell Q. Dan of the Bell Pirates. "I've only come to help." Strapped across his back was a giant weapon wrapped around completely by bindings.

"And pretending to be one of us is how you'd achieve that?" Yersi responded, her hand moved to her sword as her eyes narrowed.

"I could've continued to pretend, y'know? My name is Bell Q. Dan, and there's something in this kingdom that interests me..." He said softly. "I don't expect you to trust me, or even understand really, but if I've come to Sindra by my lonesome, then you know it's for a good reason." He finished.

Yersi's eyes analyzed the pirate, disheveled hair, messy clothes, he'd certainly come from some sort of long journey. "I'll let Zane make the decision."

Zane remained quiet, still mulling over what to do with the unexpected newcomer that wished to join them. He seemed a little too suspicious for him to join their cause and Zane needed to run some background checks on the pirate that he had little knowledge of. Turning to Hestia, he figured someone like her who was quite well informed and plugged into the world would have some information on him.

"Do you have any info on him, Hesty? What's his story?"

”Hmm, I don’t know a lot about him but I’ve heard of his crew, the Bell Pirates. I remember my mother mentioning something about his ship, since it’s a party yacht. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of info but if it’s just him then we could use his help. Worse comes to worse, we melt him down.” Hestia shrugged, being indifferent about him helping.

"I've heard of him" Arsen chimed in as he stepped closer while crossing his arms "He's a rookie pirate that's been making some waves recently. I've seen his face on a few newspapers here or there. If I remember correctly, his bounty's even bigger than mine or the princess over here" He pointed his finger to Rose.

Cassandra's eyes widened at that as she glanced between them. "Is that so? How interesting" She was itching to see just how strong this man called Dan was if Arsen's words to be believed and also wanted his strength to aid them in their fight.

"Who the fuck?" Rose questioned aloud as she glanced at Dan for a moment trying to recall where she seen him before. She was positive she had seen his face somewhere. "A rookie? Nah Pansy your mistaken he ain’t no Rookie." She called towards Arsen as the name finally clicked in her mind.

"He apart of that generation that the Lightning Bitch is." She growled angrily. "Oi ain’t one for them fucking So-called Calamities alongside that lighting bitch Goldie Gold and that Windy idiot, yeah your that Calamity of Monsters, the person they call the Little Giant?" She questioned Dan as she glared at him for being in the same gen as Gold, a person she hated.

"Lightning Bitch?" Arsen repeated with a raised eyebrow, unfamiliar with the person Rose was referring too. He assumed it was someone that she had fought in the past judging by killing intent leaking out of her body like a broken gas tank.

"Huh, my reputation precedes me I guess..." Dan scratched the back of his head, sweat dripping down his temples. "I'd rather not be burned down...but yes, worse comes to worse you can deal with me I suppose." Dan shrugged.

"Word of advice," Yersi spoke. "Next time you think hiding amidst a rebellion is a good idea, reconsider." she said bluntly, to which Dan could only nod. "Now then, let's proceed. When will our attack take place?"

Zane nodded towards Yersi, the two of them communicating with their eyes that they agreed on Dan's involvement in their plan before Zane spoke towards everyone gathered in the room.

"We'll strike tonight at midnight. It'll be the perfect opportunity for us since they won't be expecting us when most the nobles are asleep. Finish whatever unfinished business you have now while you have the chance, we'll be at war in less than twelve hours!" He shouted as all the rest Resistance members within the warehouse roared alongside their leader. How could they not be excited? If everything went well, this country would be in better hands by tomorrow morning.

The various members of the Resistance began to split up and chat among themselves as they prepared for the night raid as Zane and Yersi walked over towards Arsen, Cassandra, Rose, Onyx, Dan, and Hestia.

"Before the mission starts, I'll be relaying our plan of attack to the rest of the resistance that are scattered in the lower districts. Your all free to do whatever you want until then. If you have any questions, Yersi or Garland here will help you as best they can" Zane pointed towards his subordinates before he raised his hand towards the group with a smile. "I'll be really counting on you guys" He said before excusing himself as he left the hideout.

"Well then, I'll be heading back" Cassandra suddenly said as she brought her hood back over her head. "My family will start to get suspicious if I'm out too long and you guys will need me on the other side to give you the signal for the operation to start. It was a pleasure meeting all of you, *especially* you three" Her gaze shifted from Arsen to Rose and then finally to Dan as her lips faintly curved into a smile. She would say nothing further before her body vanished into thin air, making one question whether she was there to begin with.

"What a strange woman" Arsen noted with a faint smirk of his own before he shrugged and then spoke towards Dan.

"Dan right? What exactly is it that your seeking by helping these people? Don't tell me your just after the royal family's treasure like this greedy pig is" Arsen pointed to Rose, who flipped him off.

"Treasure? Hmm...no, that's far too unimportant." Dan responded, though his eyes met Arsen's they seemed to stare past, far deeper and deeper into the kingdom. "I came to Sindra because it is my duty, or fate, I guess you could say." The weapon strapped across his back seemed to rumble slightly. "There's history in this kingdom, and I intend to find it."

"You can't really speak of greed, can you swordsman?" Yersi interrupted. "Are you not after the man a sword cannot cut?"

Arsen's gaze shifted to Yersi as he blinked, a bit surprised that she had spoken to him in such a way as he had perceived her as someone who kept to herself. Today was just full of surprises for the swordsman who chuckled at her question.

"Your right, I can't really judge someone as being greedy when I'm no better. And your free call me by my name. It feels a bit weird being referred to just by my occupation" He said before he scratched the back of his head and produced an apologetic expression. "Sorry about before by the way. It wasn't my intention to stare at you for so long its just that..." His expression saddend a bit. "...You resemble a dear friend of mine that I once knew" He admitted as the resemblance between Yersi and Sena was just too similar for him to ignore.

Yersi blinked several times before looking away. "...R-right. Well then, Arsen. You better be prepared. Taking on that man is no joke. He's perhaps the strongest out of them all."

Dan simply looked away, intrigued by the conversation between the two.

Arsen nodded firmly, a confident smile present on his face after hearing Yersi's warning. "Got it"

The conversation soon began to involve more people as the group of notorious individuals began to introduce themselves to the rest of the resistance members within the hideout. Hestia was also integral in that as her popularity and reputaiton made it easier for the resistance members to trust Dan who had been the newest addition to the team.

It didn't take long for hours to pass before the sun went down and the time of the operation was less than an hour away.

## Night Raid

Walking through the empty halls of the Royal Palace was none other than Cassandra, who had returned to her post a few hours ago after sneaking back in. No one seemed to have noticed her disappearance and she was able to blend back into the guards after reporting to her father that everything was normal. Though it seemed that he suspected her a bit with how curious he was towards her whereabouts these past few hours, he ultimately let it go and ordered her to remain on guard duty for tonight. Seeing as how that would only help the operation, Cassandra was more than glad to carry that order and was now heading towards the entrance of the palace.

Once she reached the entrance, Cassandra hid herself behind a pillar as a few guards walked past her to head back inside the palace. As soon as they were no longer in sight, Cassandra’s body vanished as she appeared running on several rooftops that belonged to the nobles living within the capital city. She ran swiftly as she headed towards the enormous wall that separated the lower district and the royals as the operation was scheduled to begin soon.

With her incredible speed, it didn't take her long to reach the towering wall and she spotted a few guards that were guarding the small entry point. In a flash, she reappeared behind the guards and knocked them out with a few chops to the back of their necks as she glanced down at them with a pitiful look.

“This is the best security we have to offer?” Cassandra shook her head and instead focused on her task as she reached into her jacket, pulling out a small signal flare as she tossed it into the sky with incredible force. The flare went off right above the towering wall that was sure to be seen by those on the other side as Cassandra crossed her arms and now waited for her allies to see her signal.

“There’s no turning back now” She said, her face full of resolve and unwavering confidence. Although, something in the back of her mind screamed that everything wouldn't go as smoothly as she believed it would and that she and her allies were in for more trouble than they could have imagined.

"There's the signal!"

Zane, who was standing on a watchtower near the Great Wall shouted towards all the Resistance members who had gathered down below in the central square of the lower district. Just on sheer numbers alone, there must have been thousands of them as they all carried different weapons and were anxious to begin the operation that would change their lives forever.

Jumping down from the tower, Zane walked forward and stood at the front of the gathered army as he turned to see Yersi, Arsen, Rose, Onyx, and Dan standing beside him as they were the key players in their revolt.

“Cassandra sent the signal, that means it's time for you guys to show us what you can do” Zane announced, surveying each of their expressions for any signs of doubt or hesitation.

“Are you all ready?”

Arsen smirked. "“Of course” He said as he stretched his neck a bit and rested his hand on the katana by his hip as he turned to his fellow pirates.

“What about you guys? Getting cold feet?”

Hestia was prepared for battle, fanning herself slowly as she looked at her allies. “I’m never cold.” She smiled, emitting heat around her from the excitement. Hestia didn’t know what she wanted to do in life so this was a good chance for her to figure out if the path of a revolutionary was the one for her.  Even if her teammates were a little strange, she figured most of them would do their job.

"The only thing that’s gonna be cold is your fucking corpse if you say that shit again!!" Was the quick response to Arsen’s joke, she was Ruby fucking Rose the baddest bitch on this side of the world, ain’t no way she gets cold feet. "Just cuz your pansy ass scared to catch them hands don’t mean the rest of us are." She continued with a huff as she glared at Arsen before turning her eyes away from him and focusing ahead as her body began to let off steam whirl her eyes ignited into pink flames.

"I was fucking born ready, I hope the rest of you lot don’t slow me down cuz I’m about to set this entire ablaze." She stated with a savage grin on her face before pausing and turning to Arsen with a blank look. "And before you even open ya damn trap I mean that metaphorically of course."

"Oh I'm *sure* you did" Arsen rolled his eyes sarcastically, a bemused smile on his face at Rose's enthusiam as he already knew the woman would be raring to go and stomp some heads in. He glanced over at the hundreds of resistance members behind Rose who were getting riled up by her energy and thought that for the first time, he was glad that she had the personality she did since it helped boost their morale.

"Slow you down? Please, I'll be finished with my opponent before you have a chance to mess everything up" Arsen smirked as he stretched his body before he glanced over at Dan who had remained quiet for the most part.

"Something wrong, Dan? Don't tell me your actually getting cold feet?"

Dan's hood remained over his head. The bandaged weapon across his back trembling again. His eyes once more seemed to move past the wall, past Arsen, far, far beyond. "Hm?" Finally, he blinked back to reality. "Cold feet? How could I? Knowing you rookies are here." The smallest of smiles formed on his lips.

Then came Onyx, his clothes dirty and his skin glistening in sweat. While the resistance was with them, what appeared to be more interesting was the fact that the majority of them carried weapons. Some carried rifles along with their swords, others held other ranged weapons. All manufactured by Onyx himself over the time they had spent waiting for Cassandra. This was not a fight that would be decided solely by the key members of the Resistance. No, every man and woman counted. Onyx flickered the sweat off of his forehead, before placing his hand in his pockets.

"There...I'm all done. I guess you could say we have...firepower." He chuckled dryly to himself, yet not a single person responded.

Yersi herself could only look forward. "This is it..." She noted to Zane. "Finally..." her fists tightened in anger. "They'll get what they deserve."

"Alright let’s fuck shit up" Rose cheered as her hands ignited in excitement. "Ya’ll better be ready cuz once we in best believe I’m gonna burn this day into history." She called out to the others with a wicked grin on her face.

"Oi Cassandra give the signal already cuz I’m ready to blow shit up." She called out as her body shook with excitement as she glanced over towards Cassandra awaiting her approval to start fucking them Royal bitches up. She was gonna be a fucking legend and this was just another page in her grand story.

"You better be ready for this shit onyx cuz we gonna be in the words eyes after this, so don’t fucking die without my permission." She ordered to her reluctant and unofficial first mate.

Zane nodded back towards Yersi, both of them understanding how monumental this day was as he turned to address the army before him.

“My comrades! Today, we shall liberate ourselves from this nightmare once and for all by bringing down the hierarchy of this kingdom!” He roared, resulting in an ear deafening cheer from the thousands of commoners who raised their weapons into the air. After hearing Rose’s bold words from earlier, their spirits had been energized and those who were having second thoughts were now committed heart and soul into this operation.

Satisfied with their resolve, Zane then turned towards the major players on his side and then pointed to the towering great wall that stretched for miles.

“Then let’s bring that son of a bitch down!” He reached into his jacket and let off his own signal flare into the air, giving Cassandra the signal that they were ready and were about to begin.

“It’s about damn time” Cassandra smirked as she now anxiously waited to see how Arsen, Rose, and Hestia would bring the Great Wall down from their side. She knew Rose and Hestia had the devil fruit powers to accomplish the task but she was a little skeptical of Arsen being able to bring down the wall with what she saw from him at the hideout but she figured he might surprise her.

“Alright!” Zane called out as he looked at Hestia and Rose who would be the opening act. “You two are up. Show us what you can do to melt that thorn in our path”

"Fuck yeah!!" Rose cheered as her body was literally engulfed in a multitude of colored flames. "I’m all fired-up." She called out as she took tot he sky in an explosive movement, shooting upwards in a pillar of flames without a second of hesitation. Reaching a decent distance in the sky where to anyone looking up towards her would believe she was a multicolored shooting star, Rose sprouted a fair of wings made up of fire from her back to halt her movement and hover in the air for a few moments.

"Time to set this fucking world ablaze." She shouted with a wicked grin on her face before she held her arms outwards to the side where a mixture of gold, pink and green flames began swirling in the palms of her hands before she clasped her hands together creating a ball of rainbow colored fire. Taking a deep breath, Rose then brought the ball up to her mouth and consuming it as the flames around her flickered before dying down entirely leaving her floating in the air. After a few moments of nothing, pure white colored flames erupted from her body before quickly engulfing her once more.

"Preparations ready baby!!" She called out wildly before smirking down at the group below. "Ya’ll better get the fuck away cuz I’m about to fuck up that shitty wall." She called out as she rocketed downwards towards the wall at a breakneck speed, her body engulfed by the white flames making her look like a while meteor. As she neared the wall Rose would pull back her fist which could glow with the same white flames except the previous mixture of flames were swirling within it.

**"Flame Queen’s Punk Meteor!!"**

She called out as she swung her fist forward which connected with the wall resulting in a massive explosion that shoot the entire surrounding area and creating a large mushroom cloud that engulfed the entire area. After a few moments the cloud would clear revealing what was once the large impenetrable wall now stood nothing but rubble as a large section of the wall was reduced to ash and embers.

"This was suppose to be the Great Wall?" The voice of Rose called out from atop the rubble with a look of disappointment on her face. "This piece of trash couldn’t even stand up to the weakest attack in my Flame Queen series." She grumbled dissatisfied with the lack of an actual challenge. "You mean to tell me you bunch couldn’t fucking break this shit by yourselves." She questioned as she glared at the group.

Hestia was on the other side of the wall, ready to bring it down. Placing her hands on the wall, she channeled heat into her palms and it quickly spread over the wall, turning it from stone into molten rock which began to bubble and sag. However, she knew she’d need someone for the final strike.

“Arsen! You’re up.” She yelled, stepping back.

“Got it” Arsen responded as he stepped forward, placing his hand on the sheath of his katana as he now stood in front of the bubbling melted rock. He dug his feet into the ground, gathering power into his strengthened legs before he shot off of the ground and was now hovering in the air right above the massive wall. He could see Cassandra on the other side of the wall along with the thousands of resistance members gawking at the incredible height but ignored them as he focused on the task at hand.

“Ittoryu Ogi…(*One Sword Style Secret Art*)” He began his grip on his katana still within its sheath tightened immensely, indicating he was going to unleash one of his stronger techniques. Immense power radiated from Arsen’s body as his crimson eyes gleamed in front of the beautiful full moon behind him.

“Tsubame no Ame! (*Rain of the Swallow*)” With one fierce shout, Arsen unsheathed his katana and let loose what could only be described as a hellstorm of sword slashes that were so fast that it seemed as if his hands had disappeared. As he continued slashing, countless projectiles of compressed air blades were released as they rained down towards the melted rock. The hundreds of air blades rained down on the bubbling rock as they were split cleanly and destroyed one after the other.

The Great Wall that had been a gateway to prevent the lower district from interacting with the nobles was finally brought down as all that remained of the towering figure were scattered chunks of melted rock.

Landing back on the ground, Arsen sheathed his katana and turned to the stupefied faces of the Resistance members that were in awe of what had just happened.

“What are you guys waiting for? Don’t we have a war to win?” Arsen asked with a raised eyebrow before Zane, who was also momentarily stunned, snapped out of it and addressed his men.

“T-They’ve taken down the Great Wall! Now my comrades, forward to the capital city!” He shouted and soon, roars of excitement followed from the Resistance as they marched forward and began storming the royal capital under Zane’s command.

Arsen walked towards Rose, Dan, and Hestia as he smirked at his handiwork.

“Nice work. You guys made my job a lot easier” He complimented, though he expected that Rose was not feeling the same way. It was true though, taking down the wall was a group effort that all of them had contributed to accomplish.

Scowling at Arsen words of Praise, Rose just held up her middle finger in his direction as a silent response. "Fuck all that bitchy shit, let’s get this show on the fucking road." She growled out angrily as she stomped past Arsen and the rest while clearing angrily at the wall as it was its own fault for not being strong enough to withstand her attack.

"Fucking shitty wall wasting my damn time and excitement." She muttered angrily to herself. "What’s the next fucking move because I’m in a seriously pissed off mood right now and I need to vent my anger on someone fucking ugly mug." She yelled out to the others as she was growing impatient and annoyed at the lack of challenge around.

"We go through." It was Dan who spoke, through the flames and heat, he walked through without hesitation. Was it trust in the others? That Arsen, Hestia and Rose had made for them? Whatever the case, his eyes gazed forward towards the castle, where the 'voices' could be heard.

Yersi followed, instead running through the path the others had made. "Let's head for the castle!" For one who was unusually quiet, Yersi spoke with presence, to the point where even Onyx and the rest immediately followed after her.

"Sounds like a plan" Arsen smirked as he followed them and the group, anchored by the thousands of roaring resistance members, charged forward into Gaia, the capital city of Sindra.

Cassandra, who had slipped back into the group after the Wall had fallen, reached Arsen and the others as she ran with them.

"You surprised me" She said as she spoke to Arsen. "It seems I really underestimated you. That move of yours was remarkable" She complimented, genuine respect coating her words and expression.

Arsen blinked as he looked at her before he looked back ahead.

"You haven't seen anything yet" He claimed and said nothing more as Cassandra smiled, starting to believe that Rose's confidence in Arsen being able to defeat her brother was well placed.

"In any case, the first step is done. The next one is the most important so let's use this momentum" She stated towards the group as they continued forward.

The moment the Great Wall was destroyed by the Resistance, an alarm went off within the capital city from soldiers who witnessed the act from several watchtowers on the opposite side of the city. Hundreds of soldiers rushed out of the barracks and headed straight for the entrance towards the city as they intended to quell the rebellion.

"What's going on!? What happened to the Great Wall!?" A soldier screamed.

"It's the Resistance! They're attacking!" Another shouted.

It wasn't before long until the Resistance managed to enter the city and began their assault, firing off their weapons at the soldiers that struggled to contain such a massive amount of rebels. The soldiers had better equipment and were stronger individually but against such a horde, that made little difference.

“Keep pushing forward! We have to make it to the palace!” Zane, who was at the front of the Resistance, screamed and everyone roared behind him as they continued firing and knocking out the royal soldiers.

Despite the advantage the resistance had, there were a few soldiers that were strong enough to hold their own and even overpower the Resistance members. They were the Elite Battalion of the Sindra Military and were the strongest unit the country had outside of the Royal Knights that were the King’s personal bodyguards.

However, even they couldn’t hold a candle to the special allies the Resistance had brought in today.

Arsen dodged several sword swipes from the Elite Battalion before he vanished and reappeared behind the soldiers, slicing the dozen or so of them up in the blink of an eye without any of them having seen him draw his sword.

Cassandra was also putting in work as she skilfully sliced down several soldiers with her rapier before it transformed into a whip and she mowed down dozens more with the extended reach of her whip.

"Dance bitches Dance" Rose cackled madly as she tore through the ranks of the Elite Battalion with her blades lit a blaze. Ducking low a smirking vindictively at the surprised attacked with her glowing red eyes, Rose entire body lit up like a bulb before a large torrent of flames pierced the sky, roasting everyone close to her alive.

"Come on you bitches, that all ya got??" She shouted gleefully from a top a small hill of charred corpses before once more diving into the fray of Soldiers.

"Tch," Yersi danced skillfully through the soldiers along with Arsen. Whether because of instinct or casualty, both of them moved about, swords slicing the bodies of several men. Yersi's attacks were paced, calculated, as to injure them, yet not killed. Noticing how Rose on the other hand quite literally *burned* them down made her wary, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Many of the soldiers used the weapons Onyx had made to counter against the battalion. "Let's keep 'em coming guys!" There was no need for him and Dan to attack, for the rest of them seemed to have it covered.

Hestia moved through some soldiers, calmly but quickly. Radiating her maximum heat, she released a wave of steam to burn her enemies and blow any nearby soldiers away. Despite her efforts, she had to be careful not to effect soldiers on her side.

“W-We can’t stop these monsters!” A soldier belonging to the Elite Battalion screamed as he watched his comrades fall one by one to the overwhelming strength these individuals siding with the Resistance possessed. Where did these people even come from? And if his eyes weren’t going bad, he could have sworn that the woman in the cloak was Cassandra, the first and only “daughter” of the king himself? How did that even make any sense?

Confusion, panic, and fear began to spread across the faces of the soldiers tasked with guarding the capital city and their formation collapsed, allowing the Resistance to gain ground and push their way through into the inner city. It wasn’t long before they were now standing at the entrance of the Royal Palace as more soldiers came tunneling through to intercept them.

“We’ve reached the palace!” Zane shouted as he addressed his comrades before turning to Rose and the others. “You guys go on ahead and take down the King and his Royal Knights. We’ll hold down the fort here and secure the city!” He said as his gaze settled on Yersi, the two of them exchanging nods as he knew she had her own score to settle with someone.

“Good luck to you all!” Zane declared as he turned back around and joined the other Resistance members in attacking the soldiers surrounding the palace.

Cassandra nodded at Zane as she addressed the group.

“We have to move quickly, they won’t be able to hold them down forever. Once we defeat my father and the Royal Knights, the rest of the soldiers will surrender and this war will end once and for all” She stated as she dashed forward and headed towards the royal palace.

“Right behind you” Arsen smirked as he followed her into the palace, his hand resting on his blade as he couldn’t wait to face off against the strongest warrior of the Sindra Kingdom.

"Epic!!" Rose yelled as she used her Flaming wings to boost herself forward ahead of the group, adrenaline pumping through her veins as excitement at the prospect of fighting stronger opponents filed her mind. "These bitches better be a real challenge cuz i’m getting bored roasting noobs." She remarked while flipping off Arsen for no apparent reason as she passed him.

"Better keep up pansy." She called out as she darted forward.

"Heh, don't get ahead of yourself bird brain!" Arsen retorted as a smirk graced his lips and he increased his speed, soon catching up with Rose as the two of them blitzed through long corridor of the palace ahead of the rest of the group.

"Wait! Do you guys even know where your going!?" Cassandra shouted at the two of them who didn't look like they could hear her as she sighed. "Those two are unbelieveable" She complained but also found their relationship to be intriguing as while they were constantly egging the other on, they also worked perfectly as a team. It really made her wonder what kind of history did they have with each other but she could get her answers a bit later as she continued running with the rest of the group.

"Y-yo, w-wait up guys! Rose! Arsen!" Onyx followed after the duo, his legs propelling him forward with every step. Yersi followed, yet she sidestepped into a corridor once they had reached the castle itself, taking on a different route than the rest. Dan himself followed the woman, much to her dismay.

"Why are you following me, explorer?" Yersi asked.

"Following you?" The weapon behind him continued to vibrate. "This is merely a coincidence. I'm sure we'll be parting ways at some point, doctor." He responded, causing a 'tch' to escape Yersi's lips.

Hestia followed the group, staying quiet and calm. She admired Rose’s fiery personality but couldn’t afford to lose control of her emotions, due to her ability being tied to them. “Let’s all stay prepared, underestimating our opponents could put us at a disadvantage.”

## Confrontation

As the group rushed down the corridor, Cassandra found it suspicious that they weren’t intercepted by any soldiers or guards as news of the rebellion reaching the palace surely should have reached her father by now.

“*I’m seriously getting a bad feeling here…*” Cassandra thought and continued with her allies until they reached an opening further ahead. Once they reached it, they now stood in a very spacious and highly decorated throne room where a rather fat man wearing a crown was sitting on an elevated throne. Behind him stood Quincy Edgar, the strategist and commander of the Sindra military who also looked down at Cassandra and the allies she brought.

“I’ve been waiting for you all. Welcome to my palace” King Humphrey said with a smirk as he looked down at the group.

“Father…” Cassandra repeated, not expecting that her father would be waiting for them in such a nonchalant manner.

“So that’s him huh?” Arsen stared at the man that was the cause of the civil war happening within the kingdom, his eyes darkening as he was itching to cut him down.

"Holy shit that Fat fucking Pig is your pops?" Rose called out seemingly shocked as she glanced towards the king whom she immediately deemed uglier and more disgusting looking than a pile of shit. "Damn your poor mother must of Ben crush having to lay under that lard ass enough to co conceive you." She continued with a grimace. "My condolences."

Having stated her piece Rose narrowed her eyes upon the king and every person present around her. "Ya know give your resemblance to a squealing hog, I can see why a lard-ass like you seemingly get his tiny pecker off on torturing his own people, shot with your face I doubt even ya mama loved ya." She called out towards the king with a disgusted look on her face. "But I ain’t here to talk about your short comings as whatever creature you are, I’m here to beat the fuck outta ya and set this kingdom free…..at least that’s what I’m getting paid to do." Rose called out with a nonchalant shrug. "Let’s skip all the stereotypical villain monologue and get straight to the part where me and my minions and that Pansy put a new head in that throne."

“What the bird brain standing next to me said. Your reign is over” Arsen stood next to Rose as he stared down the King and Edgar with a confident smirk.

“Such a vulgar group. I’d expect nothing less from allies of those trash” The King snorted before his eyes settled on Cassandra who was standing behind them, a look of pity and disappointment showcasing on his face.

“It’s like you said, Edgar. It seems my daughter really is a traitor” Humphrey claimed as Edgar chuckled.

“Of course, I had been keeping my eyes on her very closely and discovered she had been in contact with those rebel trash for months” Edgar revealed.

Cassandra felt her heart freeze when she heard their words, realizing that all this time she had been ousted as a traitor already.

“Hold on…” Cassandra’s face paled when she realized something else. “Does that mean-”

“That’s right,” Edgar interrupted her. “We never intended to set fire to the lower district from the start. We knew that if we enacted such a crazy plan, you would take that information to the Resistance and pressure them to act immediately. That made it rather simple for us to predict your next course of action and station our troops accordingly” Edgar explained.

“Of course, we didn’t expect that you’d find such capable allies in such a short amount of time but that won’t change anything in the end. We held a significant portion of our soldiers in the rear that are now encircling your pitiful Resistance. Take a look” Edgar pointed to a large window that everyone glanced at as they saw the Resistance being slowly overpowered by the reinforcements of the Palace army. They were holding on for now thanks to Zane but it was only a matter of time until they would be slaughtered.

“You bastards…” Cassandra grit her teeth ferociously as she glared daggers towards Edgar and her father. “All we have to do is take you two down and everything will end! Today is the day your tyranny ends!” She declared as she unsheathed her rapier.

Humphrey gave her a pitiful look.

“You poor poor child. You still have no idea what you are huh?” He said, confusion spreading across Cassandra’s face towards the meaning behind his words.

She would soon learn what he meant as Humphrey opened his mouth to utter a single command.

“**Awaken**”

“GAAAAH!” Immediately, Cassandra fell onto her knees as she gripped her head. An unimaginable sharp pain echoed through her mind as she felt as if her brain was being split apart.

Arsen was stupefied next to Rose as he witnessed Cassandra screaming on the ground, not understanding what was going on.

"What the fuck are you waiting for idiot, knock her the fuck out!" Rose yelled at Arsen as she unsheathed her blades and slashed an arc of fire at the king and Edgar. She had a general idea of what was going on, and she didn't want to deal with any filler arcs right now.

"We ain't going to let you do whatever you want Piggy." She slashed forward several dozen times, unleashing a typhoon of flame arcs that swooped down on the king and Edgar.

The King and Edgar didn’t even flinch as Rose’s attacks made their way towards them as a figure appeared from above and shielded them, blocking the flame arcs with his chiseled body and armor. Once the smoke began to settle, the appearance of a long haired man with crimson hair was seen by everyone as he smiled.

“I’m afraid I cannot allow you to harm my king” Perseus, the strongest warrior of the Sindra Kingdom and the eldest of the adopted children of Humphrey stated, his body unharmed from the flames produced by Rose.

“You were too late” Humphrey claimed with a mocking smile as he pointed towards Cassandra.

“**GAAAAAH!**” Cassandra’s screams continued to echo throughout the throne room as her eyes became bloodshot and veins began to appear over her head and her torso. Moments later, her screams suddenly stopped and her body went limp. She slowly stood up as her face was shadowed out and her head hung low to the ground, hiding her expression.

Arsen readied his stance as he stood near Cassandra and didn’t drop his guard. He could immediately sense that something was different about Cassandra, as if she had become a different person.

Humphrey and Edgar however, were all smiles as they knew exactly what had happened to her.

“**You're free to run wild, Cassandra**” Humphrey ordered.

“**HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**” Without warning, an explosion of maniacal laughter erupted from Cassandra as she raised her head and dashed towards Arsen. Her eyes were completely red and her usually stoic face was replaced with a psychotic look of battle lust as she swung her rapier at him, causing a sharp wind blade to be shot towards them.

Arsen and Rose dodged the attack as they got some distance from the woman who was now smiling menacingly and was deciding which one to go after.

“Hey!” Arsen called out to her. “The hell is wrong with you! We’re on your side!” He tried to reason with her but it was useless as Cassandra noticed him. Clicking his tongue, Arsen unsheathed his katana and blocked against Cassandra’s rapier as the two were in a deadlock.

“*W-What’s with this power? She’s a lot stronger than she was before!*” Arsen noticed as he had trouble holding her off before he aimed a kick at her stomach, causing Cassandra to jump as she landed on the ceiling of the throne room and used it as a springboard to bounce now towards Rose.

“Watch out! She’s faster and stronger than she was before!” Arsen called out to Rose as Cassandra’s body became a blur and she aimed dozens of piercing thrusts at Rose, all while she continued to laugh.

“**COME ON BITCH, LETS HAVE SOME FUN!”** She roared.

"Fuck." Rose cursed as her body briefly erupted in golden flames before twisting her body just enough to avoid Cassandra's attack. "I've seen enough fucking anime to know that this is a crappy power of friendship moment." She grumbled as she used her nimbleness to put some distance between herself and Cassandra before she sheathed her blades because she wasn't out to kill the girl. "Yeah sure, I guess we're going to do this shit." She stated as her eyes turned red.

After a brief pause, she turned to face the smirking king,"Don't think you're getting away Scott, free ya pig." She yelled, pointing towards them. "Just take a seat, because once I've whacked some sense back into her, I'm going to rip your fucking heart out through your fucking eye sockets."  she yelled out with a savage grin As a dome of Black Fire erupted around Humphrey and Edgar, trapping them for the time being.

"Now." She spoke as she turned back to Cassandra, cracking her knuckles. "I guess this is where I use the power of friendship to beat your ass." She called out just as she shot towards Cassandra at the very same speed Cassandra had used previously, thanks to the power of her Golden Flames, which augmented her abilities tenfold their normal capacity."Get Ready for a Major attitude adjustment cuz my money s on the line"

Cassandra merely howled in laughter at Rose’s provocation as she dashed forward herself and cocked her rapier back, intending to pierce right through whatever Rose threw at her.

“**YEAH THAT’S IT, COME AT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING GOT!**” She screamed as the two clashed in the center of the throne room, the golden flames of Rose’s devil fruit flailing around Cassandra’s sharp wind from the power of her weapon. They were dead even, locked in a power struggle as neither side gave an inch and were completely focused on overpowering the other.

Meanwhile, Humphrey frowned as he was trapped in Rose’s black flames alongside Edgar but remained unworried as he issued a command to Perseus, who had managed to avoid it and stood waiting right outside.

“My son, kill that annoying woman to rid us of these disgusting flames. With Cassandra keeping her occupied, you should easily be able to finish her off”

“As you command, my king” Perseus bowed before he turned around and locked in on Rose who was still clashing with Cassandra. Though it pained Perseus a bit to see his sister in such a sad state, he understood this was her punishment for defying their father.

“If only you had chosen the right side” He sighed before he focused on Rose and saw an opening as she was preoccupied with Cassandra. In a flash, Perseus dashed in with incredible speed that surpassed even Cassandra’s as his arm transformed into a long black blade, showing off the power of his devil fruit as he appeared behind Rose’s unguarded back.

“Farewell” He said and right at the moment he brought his blade down to cleave her body in half, his blade would be blocked by a silver katana as Arsen appeared behind Rose and had fended off Perseus’ strike.

“It takes a real piece of shit to attack an unguarded women when they’re back is turned” Arsen quipped with a hardened glare as Perseus blinked at the samurai with a curious gaze.

“*When did he…*?” Perseus couldn’t believe someone was capable of keeping up with, let alone blocking one of his fastest techniques.

“Hey princess” Arsen called out to Rose as they stood back to back while facing their respective opponents, a playful smirk gracing his lips. “Looks like we both know who we’ll be fighting huh? Your the only one who can knock some sense into that chick so I'll leave her to you. I'm afraid it might be too big of a job for you though, so try not to screw it up alright?" Arsen joked.

"Like I needed your help Pansy, I could of easily beat his and her ass at the same damn time." Rose called out as she turned to face Arsen showing her glowing red eyes indicating that she was utilizing Kenbonshoku Haki at the moment. "But fuck it you need something to do cuz your ass is rusty as fuck." She stated as she flipped him off and turned back towards Cassandra before jumping into the sky breaking the deadlock they had previously found themselves in.

As soon as she jumped up Rose pulled her swords free while turn on her body to create a cyclone made of golden flames which soon grew larger and larger as it neared Cassandra.

Cassandra responded to Rose’s cyclone of flames by transforming her rapier into a whip and then spinning it as it shielded her from the flaming cyclone. Once the cyclone had died down, Cassandra rushed at Rose again, a maniacal smile on her face as her instincts to slaughter her enemy were controlling her body.

“Whatever you say bird brain” Arsen rolled his eyes at Rose’s usual boasting, trusting that she could handle Cassandra before he focused his attention solely on Perseus who was staring down at him.

“It doesn’t matter which of you fights me as you're both going to die here anyway” Perseus boldly claimed, using his free arm to transform itself into another blade as he swung a horizontal swipe at Arsen’s unguarded waist.

“Is that a fact?” Arsen smirked before he jumped to avoid the slash, spinning in the air before he aimed a downward slash at Perseus who blocked the strike with both his transformed arms. The resulting clash generated a powerful shock wave that shook the palace as Arsen and Persus exchanged glares once more before they separated from the deadlock and gained some distance from one another.

“*...His strength is formidable. I’ll have to take care of him first*” Perseus thought before his eyes glanced at Rose who was battling Cassandra. They then moved towards Hestia and Onyx who had been watching in the back.

“*Those three might get in the way*” Perseus didn’t want any distractions in handling the swordsmen in front of him as he called out to Edgar who was beside the king in the black flames. “Sir Edgar!”

Edgar was quick to notice what Perseus was trying to say as he turned to his king. “May I?”

“Of course. As long as those scum are slayed tonight, you are free to do as you wish” Humphrey declared as Edgar bowed towards him and then smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a device. There were dozens of buttons and clickers on it as he began to click on several of them that caused the palace to begin shaking as if it were alive.

“I believe that should suffice for when it comes to choosing suitable locations for them” Edgar said as the floor where Arsen, Rose, Onyx, Hestia, and Persus were standing on began to shift and move.

“The hell?” Arsen noticed the change but didn’t take his eyes off Perseus who only smiled at him.

“Relax. You’ll understand once it's over” He said vaguely before he was raised into the air from the floor underneath. Arsen didn’t get a chance to respond before he too was also lifted up and taken out of the throne room by the floor.

At the same time before Cassandra and Rose could clash once more, the floor beneath them vanished and the walls above them came crashing down as they were forced down into the lower floor of the palace.

A wall then came down to separate Hestia and Onyx who were standing near each other as they were also moved to differections sections.

“Send Giano to take care of the woman and Shinto to deal with the boy,” Humphrey ordered.

“By your will” Edgar bowed as he contacted the two Royal Knights who had yet to appear and gave them their assignments. The throne room was now empty and devoid of anyone as each member of the Resistance had been moved to a different corridor within the palace and Humphrey smiled as he waited patiently to hear the good news of the Resistance being wiped out by his elite bodyguards.

Zane, who was battling the Sindra Army outside the palace, turned around as he could feel the palace shifting even from outside. A worried look appeared on his face as he had a bad feeling about what was to come but couldn't dwell on it for long as dodged a strike from a soldier's sword and then kicked the man in his chest that sent him flying.

"Damn it, there's no end to them! Those guys better hurry up!" Zane shouted as he continued to fight, praying in his heart that his friends would succeed and bring down the curtain on this corrupted country once and for all.

### To Cut What Cannot be Cut

Arsen and Perseus were lifted into one of the upper rooms where a large glass window could be seen above their heads. The room was spacious and practically empty; a perfect location for a fight as Arsen glanced around a bit with an intrigued face.

“So what do you think?” Perseus asked.

“It’s certainly big I’ll give you that” Arsen responded before his gaze settled back towards Perseus who was smiling at him. “It’ll do just fine”

“I’m glad to hear that. Now there shouldn’t be any distractions to stop me from cutting you down” He boldly declared as his arm transformed once more into a long black blade and he slowly began to approach Arsen. “And once I’m done with you, I’ll see to it that your allies are also brought down as well”

A scoff came from the samurai as he began walking toward Perseus as well. “You're certainly welcome to try. But you should worry about yourself before you start making empty threats”

The smile on Perseus’ face never left but the hostility behind that smile went up several notches as he increased his pace towards Arsen before his body vanished and reappeared behind the samurai. He aimed a downward strike towards Arsen’s head as he believed his speed was enough to catch him off guard but it clearly wasn’t enough as Arsen countered by blocking the strike with his katana as he raised it over his head.

“Aw, did I touch a nerve? You should try to keep that killing intent of yours down when you fight, it gives you away” Arsen claimed before he angled his sword, allowing Perseus to slide off it as he spun on his foot and aimed a kick towards the bodyguard’s hip. Surprisingly, Perseus neither dodged nor blocked as Arsen’s leg slammed into his waist but nothing of substance happened as a surprise look washed over Arsen.

“*The hell? What is his body made of?* Arsen almost felt like his leg had gotten bruised by kicking Perseus’ body as he jumped back to gain some distance and narrowed his eyes towards the red haired warrior. "Is that ability of yours from a devil fruit?"

"It certainly is," Perseus confirmed. "I ate the Supa Supa no Mi. I've become a bladed human" He said as he transformed his hand into that of a longblade.

Arsen blinked, surprise written on his face before he looked somewhat annoyed.

"You get to summon a blade whenever you want? Every swordsman in the world must hate you" He mumbled.

"I’ve been told that many times" Perseus chuckled, amused by Arsen’s words before he shrugged and now transformed his leg into a blade. "That should be the least of your concerns, samurai. '' He said before he began kicking the air in front of him, sending dozens of razor sharp projectiles at Arsen.

Utilizing his Kenbushoku Haki, Arsen avoided each projectile as he bounced around the room with incredible speed. He then jumped high into the air and unleashed his signature technique as he unsheathed his sealed katana with such incredible speed that it generated a dragon of wind right towards Perseus.

Perseus for his part smirked as he saw the dragon as his entire body turned black by coating himself with Busoshoku Haki. The dragon of wind slammed right into Perseus, who didn’t feel the need to dodge the attack and let himself be hit as his body was barely scratched even as Arsen’s wind dragon sliced him apart.

Landing back on the ground, Arsen clicked his tongue at seeing Perseus unharmed from his attack as he studied the man’s hardened body.

“*I’ve never seen someone coat themselves in Haki before like this. I’m starting to see why no swordsman has been able to take him down before*” Arsen thought before he smirked and began unsealing the dragon chains on his arms.

“Hm?” Perseus noticed Arsen doing something as he tilted his head. “Why are you taking those off?”

“You’ll soon see why” Arsen claimed before the chains fell to the ground and cracked the floor they were standing on.

“*What?*” Perseus’ eyes widened at the sight. “*He was wearing those things the entire time and could still move that fast?*” It was honestly hard to believe as he suspected those chains must have weighed several hundred pounds each. However, Perseus still held confidence that he could deal with Arsen’s increased abilities as he remained on guard.

Arsen stretched his back and his neck as he adjusted himself to his now unrestrained speed and strength as he took a stance and glared right at Perseus.

“Sorry for the wait. I figured that in order to take you down, I’d have to go at you with everything I’ve got” Arsen stated before his body vanished and reappeared right behind Perseus.

“*He’s fast!*” Perseus was surprised but was still able to catch Arsen’s newfound speed as he twisted his body and blocked a horizontal slash from Arsen’s katana with his own transformed arm. Steel clashed against iron as sparks flew between their clashes and Arsen began to slash at Perseus repeatedly while the Sindra warrior blocked and parried each blow.

“*He can still keep up with me huh?*” Arsen was stunned that even after he had removed his weights, Perseus was still managing to keep up with him. Any thoughts of ending this fight quickly were thrown out the window as he now fully concentrated on defeating the enemy before him as he parried another blow from Perseus before jumping away to gain some distance.

“Surprised, aren’t you?” Perseus said, a smile present on his face as he was able to tell that Arsen was surprised by his speed. “I’ve faced countless opponents who believed they could best me with speed because they foolishly thought I couldn’t keep up with them” He boasted before his body vanished as well and appeared right behind Arsen.

“!” Arsen immediately raised his sword to block the downward slash of Perseus’ arm as the floor beneath them cracked from the strength carried by the man.

“*So heavy!*” Arsen grunted a bit at the weight of Perseus’ blade, wondering how someone his size could move as quickly as he could.

“You are so naive. I’ll show you why those before you failed and why you’ll meet the same fate” Perseus claimed, transforming his leg before he aimed to impale Arsen’s back with his sword leg. Arsen reacted by falling forward as he narrowly dodged Perseus’ leg and then rolled on the floor to get away.

Perseus was relentless as he sent out more air projectiles with his legs that Arsen managed to avoid even as he rolled on the floor and then quickly stood up as he sheathed his blade and dashed towards Perseus.

“Ittoryu Iai: Jusekta! (*Cross Sector*)” Arsen drew his blade both horizontally and vertically in the shape of a cross and resheathed his blade all in one swift motion. It happened so fast that it seemed as if he hadn’t drawn his blade at all. That couldn't have been further from the truth however as not a moment later, a gigantic air projectile in the shape of a cross exploded out from where Arsen had slashed.

“Impressive. However…” Perseus dug his feet into the floor as he raised his transformed arms in front of him and took the attack head on. The cross shaped projectile clashed with his own arms as Perseus grit his teeth, struggling to hold off Arsen’s attack.

“IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” He shouted and overpowered the slash by spreading his arms apart.

“*He dispersed it!?*” Arsen couldn’t believe his eyes as he didn’t expect Perseus to use his own brute strength to overpower one of his unrestrained sword techniques. In that moment of distraction however, Arsen was a second late in noticing that Perseus had fired another projectile at him and narrowly avoided it by dodging to the right.

However, dodging in that direction was a fatal mistake as Perseus appeared right before Arsen and sliced him from the shoulder down to his waist as blood gushed from Arsen’s body. Following up, Perseus spun on his leg like a graceful dancer and delivered a Haki imbued kick to Arsen’s stomach as more blood came out from the samurai's mouth and he was sent flying into a wall.

“Letting yourself get distracted in the midst of a battle? How arrogant” Perseus said as he landed on one leg and stared at where Arsen had crashed into.

As for Arsen, he had managed to avoid getting himself slashed too deeply but the blow to his stomach had definitely ruptured some organs as he fell to his knees and took a few deep breaths.

“*Damn it. I can’t believe I let myself get hit like that. I’ve gotten too used to fights that end quickly…*” Arsen scolded himself, realizing that he hadn’t fought anyone truly strong in a while and that had gotten to his head and made him complacent.

His opponent was someone that could not only tank his strongest slashes but also move fast enough to land a blow on him even when he was unrestrained by his chains.

It seems that all the rumors he had heard about Perseus’ strength were well deserved.

“*Master would kill me if he saw me now*” Arsen chuckled to himself before he stood up, gripping his katana with a strong hold as he stared down Perseus who was smiling at him.

“You're certainly resilient, I’ll give you that” Perseus said before he shook his head. “Give up. You should understand now that there’s no hope of you defeating me. A swordsman cannot cut me” He declared.

Arsen listened to those words with a face full of excitement as he took a stance once more, the look in his eyes becoming much fiercer and more determined.

“There’s nothing in this world that cannot be cut. Your blood *will* stain my sword, one way or the other” Arsen responded, sucking in a cold breath as the muscles on his biceps bulged. The grip on his katana tightened to the point where the skin on his palm was being peeled off but Arsen ignored that as he concentrated, the air around him shifting as his killing intent began to envelope the entire room.

Perseus immediately felt the change as a cold sweat fell from his face, realizing that he had yet seen the true strength of the man before him. His instincts screamed at him to back away but his pride as the strongest warrior of Sindra refused to move and he braced himself by summoning as much Haki as he could to coat his body with. Not only that, he used the power of his devil fruit to harden himself like an iron blade, bolstering his already unbreakable defense as he called out to Arsen.

“Come” Perseus declared with the utmost confidence.

Arsen was not one to keep his opponent waiting as he uttered the name of one of his strongest techniques.

“Ittoryu Iai Ogi: Jotenretsu (*Heaven Splitter*)”

Once he had gathered the power he needed, Arsen unleashed his attack by drawing his sword in a clear arc at a hypersonic level of speed, far too fast for the human eye to keep track of. The moment that he did, an ultra thin but incredibly wide air slash was shot out of his blade right towards Perseus.

Perseus braced himself as the slash connected with his body and a shockwave of immense pressure erupted from within the room.

“**HAAAAAAAAA!**” Perseus shouted as he resisted the slash with everything he could. He couldn’t let up for a moment as he instinctively knew that the moment he did, he’d be cleaved right in two. The struggle between the two forces went on for what seemed to be an eternity before Perseus managed to deflect some of the slash by bringing his knee up that dispersed attack as the rest of the slash continued forward and cleanly cut everything in its path. The slash continued on and sliced apart several towers and walls covering the Sindra Kingdom as those outside the palace ran away as they saw several buildings come crashing down.

The room that Arsen and Perseus were in had been cut cleanly in half as it slid off of the rest of the royal palace and the night sky was now visible to the both of them who stood within the cut room.

Blood gushed from Perseus’ stomach as while he had managed to not get cut in half, his reinforced body was unable to completely  handle the sharpness of Arsen’s remarkable sword swing. Still, he was far from defeated as he showed a pained smile towards the stunned Arsen.

“...That move of yours was incredible. I’ve never met a swordsman… with such frightening strength before. You're the first person to have torn through my defense” He said as he did his best to endure the pain before taking another stance. “...But you’ll need more than that to bring me down for good”

“..*.This guy*” Arsen was at a loss for words but smiled nonetheless as he had met the first person outside of Harlan who remained standing even after he used that slash. He held nothing back with that attack but yet, the man called Perseus still stood.

“It’s a real shame that your on that bastard's side” Arsen shook his head. “Why do you even fight for him? Don’t you understand how sick that man is? You're strong enough to make your own decisions, right?” Arsen asked.

Perseus merely chuckled. “You wouldn’t understand. I owe my life to my king. I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for him. It doesn’t matter what I think, his word and orders are law and I exist to follow them” He stated with no hesitation, clear conviction in his eyes.

“...I see” Arsen said nothing more as he could tell by the look in his eyes that the man believed everything he was saying down to his core. It didn’t matter how warped Humphrey was or how messed up this country was; Perseus’ loyalty towards the man who had changed his life was unwavering. Even if Arsen didn’t agree with it, he respected the man’s resolve.

Taking their stances, Arsen and Perseus stared each other down as they knew the next move they made would be the deciding blow. They were both severely injured and so whoever landed the next big move would be the winner.

Nearly a minute passed without either of them so much as moving a muscle before the sound of a rock falling nearby spurred them both into action as they dashed forward towards each other.

Perseus made the first move as he morphed one of his arms into a spinning blade and aimed it right at Arsen’s chest. Arsen dodged that attack by the narrowest of margins and stepped in as he planned to unsheathe his sword to slash Perseus’ torso. However, Perseus predicted that and used his other arm to hold Arsen’s hand as he prevented the samurai from fully unsheathing it.

Quickly following up, Perseus morphed his knee into a blade and lifted it upwards as he sliced Arsen’s face and sent the man flying upwards. Blood poured out from Arsen’s wound as his hair tie came undone, letting his long hair fly out as he hung in the air.

“An opening!” Perseus screamed and jumped towards Arsen, intending to finish him off as he believed Arsen wouldn’t be able to recover in time to react to him. To his utter bafflement however, Arsen was already back into his drawing stance while in the air with a smile over his face.

“Thanks for the lift. You can’t dodge in mid air, can you?” He said, revealing that he had allowed himself to get flung into the air not only to give himself more space for his finishing move but also prevent Perseus from evading what he had in store for him.

“Y-You…!” Perseus couldn’t believe that he had fallen into Arsen’s trap and tried to brace himself for whatever move he had but it was too late.

Sucking in a cold breath as he recalled the movements of a certain marine captain, Arsen unsheathed his blade at such an incomprehensible speed that it seemed as if his entire arm had disappeared and moved with such smooth fluidity that Persues couldn’t help but admire his form as Arsen shouted the name of his final attack.

“Itoryu Iai Ougi: Torasenrei! (*Flowing Tiger Flash*)”

The resulting shockwave produced from Arsen’s hypersonic sword draw caused the air itself to rip apart and generate a gigantic air projectile many times bigger than what he had shown before. What was different however was the form of the projectile as it took on the appearance of what appeared to be a giant tiger composed entirely of razor sharp wind pressure. Opening its large mouth wide, the air tiger slammed right into Perseus who was powerless to evade the attack and couldn’t stop the overwhelming force bringing him down as it swallowed him whole.

“*I-I can’t hold it! How can a swordsman be capable of producing such a ridiculous attack!?*” Perseus couldn’t believe it and felt his body being slashed hundreds of times over within the tiger’s mouth. Each individual slash was not as strong as the one Arsen had used before that split the room but it didn’t matter as Perseus was being sliced so many times over that the damage would be the same, if not greater.

“*Forgive me, father…*” Perseus apologized to his king and his father as he felt his consciousness slipping and was slammed right into the floor down below; the entire palace shaking from the shockwave of the attack. Smoke and debris covered the destroyed room as Perseus laid in a crater, covered from head to toe with his own blood as his armor was torn to shreds and his eyes were white, indicating that he was out cold.

Arsen was now falling through the air as he landed in the room and fell onto his knees, panting heavily as he had used up most of his strength in that last attack to finish Perseus off. Without his hair tie, his long hair was now out and his face dripped with blood. He clutched his stomach, enduring the pain from when Perseus had ruptured his innards and laid himself against a nearby wall.

“That guy sure... was a tough one...” Arsen spoke in pained breaths as he couldn’t recall facing an opponent that had pushed him so hard before within Paradise. Still, he had kept his word towards Cassandra on defeating her brother and smirked as he glanced down at his sword that had some of Perseus’ blood on it.

“We did it, huh?” Arsen spoke to his sword as he “heard” it celebrating and scolding him for being so careless in their battle. Arsen made an apologetic face at his sword before he stood up and walked over towards Perseus’ defeated body, staring at the man who was called the strongest within this kingdom.

“I told you, didn't I?” Arsen began. “That I’d stain my sword with your blood” He said before he gazed up at the beautiful moon in the sky, smirking a bit.

“You should thank me as I’ve given you such a great view. I hope you appreciate it” Arsen said those parting words to the fallen Perseus as he left the sliced room, intending to find his way back to the throne room as he knew this war wasn’t over until Humphrey was brought down.

“*I wonder how the others are doing. Knowing that crazy nutjob, she’s probably already saved Cassandra and is on her way back too*” He thought, not realizing his prediction was a lot closer to home than he believed.

***Arsen vs Perseus***

***Conclusion: Winner - Arsen***

### What Girl Power?

Cassandra and Rose were dropped into a lower level of the palace as Cassandra landed on the floor while Rose was still flying in the air. Their surroundings had completely changed however as they were now surrounded by various paintings and drawings that encompassed the room.

Cassandra seemed to recognize where they were as she looked all around her.

“This is…” She mumbled as she knew this room all too well but quickly snapped out of her rationale as she laughed crazily once more and then glared at Rose.

“**So it’s just me and you now, eh Rosy!**” She smirked as her whip transformed back into a rapier and she pointed the tip at the flying Rose.

“**Now no one will get in my way of carving you up like a turkey on a platter!**” She declared before her body vanished and reappeared right behind Rose as she aimed her rapier at the woman’s back, intending to pierce it with a powerful thrust.

"Carve me up? The great and Sexy Ruby Rose?" Rose questioned with a look of pure sarcasm as she stared at Cassandra while using Kenbonshoku as she rotated her body enough to dodge her attack while jumping back and putting herself a few feet away from Cassandra, before she huffed and raised her fist in retaliation, her fist soon ignited in flames.

"Bitch I’m gonna be the ones to curb stomp ya crazy ass into submission and make you my bitch." She roared as her ignited fist seemed to double in size before she launches it forward as the eruption too the form of a dense column of fires shaped fist that soared directly towards Cassandra .

**"Fire Fist: version Punk Queen"**

The fist shaped column of fire would suddenly change color from Gold to a blazing Red and pink mixture with Golden highlights.

“**Then please, make me grovel at your feet if you can!**” Cassandra shouted as she dashed right towards Rose’s punk flamed fist and began to thrust her rapier rapidly, her speed almost untraceable as it seemed she had hundreds of arms.

“**Dawnscel**! (*Accel Dance*)” she said as she became a blur and her thrusts formed what appeared to be a typhoon of razor sharp projectiles that clashed head on with Rose’s flame fist. The flames were sliced apart by Cassandra’s thrusts at an insane speed as the typhoon slowly began to overtake the flames. The power behind both of their attacks was remarkable as the room they were in began to shake and the ground started to break apart.

“**THAT ALL YOU GOT!?!**” Cassandra’s roar echoed throughout the room and with one final push, her thrusts finally overcame Rose’s punk fist as her body emerged from the remaining flames, a maniacal grin on her face as she pounced like a rocket right towards Rose and aimed to pierce the woman in her stomach.

"You’re a tough bitch ain’t cha" Rose called out as her attacks was effectively overcame by Cassandra. "That’s some good shit cuz it would be boring otherwise." she called out as flames ignited under her feet propelling her forwards towards her foe, her arms once more ignited in her golden flames while her crimson illuminated eyes glared heatedly forward, a snarling smirk on her face while adrenaline pumped throughout her veins.

A shroud made of fire ignited and wrapped around her creating a thick cloak that increase her physical parameters and double as a protective shield, it was this added effect combined with her usage of Kenbonshoku Haki would enable her to dodge Cassandra’s initial attack and quickly change her direction to move herself behind Cassandra after she dodged the attack and with a quick pull of Mooneater, she aimed a downward slash at her unguarded back.

“**Heh**, **do you think your the only one who can use that shit, huh!?**” Cassandra boasted even as Rose aimed for her unguarded back and in one swift motion, she bent her body forward at a near ninety degree angle while extending her leg out right towards where Rose would bring her sword down. After using her Kenbushoku Haki to predict Rose’s move, she would then utilize her Busoshoku Haki and coated her foot with it as it clashed head on with Rose’s Mooneater, causing a shockwave to erupt between the two opposing forces. The strength carried in Cassandra’s legs was remarkable as veins appeared on her thighs and she was able to hold her ground against Rose’s weapon even in this position.

**“Aren’t I just flexible?**” Cassandra laughed before she broke the clash and placed her hands on the ground, swiftly going into a handstand as she spun her legs several times before launching a spinning kick that was still coated in Haki right at Rose’s waist.

Grinning as she also stood her ground, allowing the kick to connect with her side utilizing her own superhuman strength and durability which was enhanced by her flames to tank the hit. Letting out a hiss at the pain caused by the impact, Rose quickly shook it off as her flames went about healing the severely bruised area.

"Surprise Bitch!!" Rose exclaimed as she grinned savagely and quickly dropped Mooneater to the ground before reaching down and locking Cassandra’s leg to her side in a Vice grip.

"You ain’t the only ones that can coat her fucking body." She stated as her arms and side were coated in the protective armor of both her flame shroud and her Busoshoku Haki.

"Ya shouldn’t of done that bitch." Rose grunted out as her flame shouts began to burn away at the exposed flesh of Cassandra as Rose expanded upon its radius to also cover Cassandra under its burning shroud, engulfing her in the flame.

"Let’s see how you like this." Rose Roared while utilizing her strength to twist down on Cassandra’s legs before raising an elbow that was coats in Haki in preparation to break the bones in Cassandra’s legs.

“**Argh! Get off me!**” Cassandra yelled as she could feel the intense heat of Rose’s flames burning her skin as she struggled to remove herself from Rose’s locked grip. In her current state, her sense of pain was considerably nulled but even she couldn’t escape the burning pain of her flesh being incinerated as her instincts began to kick in to reverse the situation.

Watching as Rose brought down her coated elbow to break the bones in her leg, Cassandra reacted by using her free leg to sweep at Rose’s elbow as she kicked it away right before it connected with her locked leg. In that same moment that caught Rose off guard, Cassandra dug one of her hands into the floor as her arm muscles bulged and she used her incredible upper body strength to lift both her and Rose up into the air on one hand.

“**Eat shit you worthless cunt!**” Cassandra screamed and then proceeded to use the momentum of her lift to slam Rose’s body head first right into the ground next to her, shaking the room they were in immensely from the impact.

With the grip on her leg loosening from that attack, Cassandra slipped out of Rose’s lock as she backflipped to gain some distance and escape from the burning flames around Rose, glancing down at her burned leg.

“**Tch, that flaming bitch almost got me**” Cassandra clicked her tongue as she ignored the pain before she glanced at her rapier that was on the floor before she focused back on Rose’s figure that was emerging from the smoke.

"That fucking hurt you pea-brained cunt!!" The voice of Rose exclaimed from out of the smoke before it was suddenly cleared by a gust of wind as Rose’s body shot upwards to the sky in a ball of green flames.

"If it wasn’t for my flame clouds I’d have cracked my damn head open." She grumbled to herself as she glared down towards Cassandra with annoyance. Honestly if she wasn’t trying to save that fucking bitch, this fight would of been long over by now. "Fuck it I was content on going easy on ya since ya got mind-raped and all by that pig but I’ve had it." She snarled as she drops from the sky back towards the ground, any wounds she would have substanced had long since healed thanks to the power of her **"Resurgence Flames."**.

Snarling towards Cassandra, Rose unsheathed Suneater from her waist and slashed it towards the side momentarily where it combusted under an angry red colored flame before she took a deep breath.

**"Punk Armament: Wild Dress"**

Rose’s body was engulfed in a flurry of angry red and pink colored flames that seemed to wrap and bend around her body blocking the view of her flesh for a few seconds before it quietly died down revealing Rose wrapped under a flaming set of Armor that seems to cover her chest and limbs evenly, while the blackness of Busoshoku could be seen sparingly stretched across whatever exposed flesh was visible. Exhaling Rose opened her eyes to stare at Cassandra briefly before she blinked and vanished. Cassandra would soon find herself under a volley of flaming whips and slashes from all around while flurries of random flames danced about as Rose bounced about the area at an incredible speed.

“**So your finally taking this seriously, eh!”** Cassandra grinned at Rose’s flashy transformation as she knew the woman had been still holding back for some stupid reason. This is what she wanted, a fight to the death against an enemy she wanted to crush!

“*Wait, enemy? Rose is… an enemy?*” Cassandra’s thoughts rationalized for a moment as she held her head, wondering why she thought of Rose as an enemy. Wasn’t she an ally that had promised to aid her in taking down her father? So why were they fighting?

Before she could dwell on that thought, Rose’s body vanished and Cassandra was forced back into action as she moved to avoid the whips and slashes Rose was throwing at her.

“*Unbelievable!*” She thought as her body moved all over the room as she was narrowly dodging each attack by Rose. “*She’s a lot faster now! So this is your true strength huh, Rose!*”

Spotting her rapier that was on the floor, Cassandra dashed towards it and picked it up, transforming it into a whip of her own as she began countering Rose’s whip with one of her own. Despite specializing in speed herself however, Rose’s whip and sword combination was taking its toll as several bloody cuts and bruises began to appear on Cassandra’s body as she couldn’t avoid all of Rose’s attacks.

“***I’m barely keeping up as it is! I need more strength! I need more speed! I NEED MORE POWER!***” Cassandra shouted in her mind as veins began to appear all over her body and her muscles tightened and became incredibly dense. As that was happening however, the crystal that was embedded below Cassandra’s neck started to crack but Cassandra ignored that as she could feel her body becoming stronger.

**“YES, THAT’S IT!**” She laughed crazily as her body began to catch up to Rose’s speed and soon, the two of them were exchanging attacks evenly as they bounced across the room as whip marks and slashes appeared everywhere.

Having had enough of being on the defensive, Cassandra now aimed to go on the offensive once more as she transformed her whip back into a rapier, dodging the majority of Rose’s whip and slashes with her Kenbushoku Haki. Pulling her arm back, her silver rapier changed color from silver to black, indicating that she had coated the blade with Armament Haki as a powerful gust of wind began to swirl around the blade from the sheer power that was being gathered by the woman's biceps.

“**NOW DIE!**” She shouted as her amplified thrust towards Rose’s chest intended to impale the pirate and end this fight.

"You were better before" Rose stated as her body burst into a flurry of flames as soon as the rapier made contact with it signaling that it was either a clone or a afterimage created by the hot-headed pirate in quick succession.

"Fucking pathetic." Her voice whispered directly into the ear of Cassandra as she appeared directly beside her, reaching forward and catching Cassandra’s wrist, stopping any further actions before violently and forceful yanking her upwards while spinning her around a few times building momentum. "Whatever the fuck happens to you better clear up soon cuz right now." She called out as she harshly slammed Cassandra into the nearby wall before taking a deep breath and gathering a concentrated stream of fire inside her mouth before "breathing" it out into a huge, conical blast toward the area she had thrown Cassandra.

"THIS IS FUCKING BORING!!!"

“**B-Boring…?**” Cassandra repeated as her eyes winced while she was trying to regain her bearings after being slammed against the wall. She had been described as many things in her life but boring was something new to her as a swell of rage filled her thoughts and her body continued to push itself past its limits.

“**A worthless bitch like you dares to call me boring!?**” Cassandra eyes turned even redder and her teeth began to change a bit as she grew slight fangs resembling that of a beast. The crystal on her neck began to crack even more and Cassandra’s vision was beginning to blur but she shook her head to clear the distraction as her grip on her rapier tightened to the point where blood dripped from her palms.

“**WE’ll SEE WHOSE BORING AFTER I SKEWER YOU!**” Cassandra screamed before she dashed forward with blinding speed as her rapier turned into a whip once more but this time, it started to cover Cassandra’s entire arm as it fused with it and became what appeared to be a drill as it began to spin rapidly.

The gigantic flames that Rose had spewed towards Cassandra clashed against her drill for only a brief moment as the power behind Cassandra's drill bore right through the flames thanks to its overwhelming piercing power combined with her Haki. Even though her body suffered burns while doing so, Cassandra’s tolerance for pain allowed her to ignore it as she emerged from Rose’s flame blast and flashed right in front of her, intending to skewer the punk pirate right in the chest.

"Oh?" Rose stated with a Grin on her face as she watched Cassandra charge towards her. "No bad for a pathetic weak-willed bitch like you but you seem to forget." She stated with a teasing tone as he pointed upwards where the previously mentioned dancing flurry of flames confirmed to swirl about.

"Like I said before Bitch, you’re just plain boring". Raising her to the side in a welcoming manner as she allowed Cassandra’s attack to pierce her chest with a cocky smirk on her face. As soon as she felt her body get pierced, Rose reached forward and grabbed Cassandra in a makeshift Hug/grip, holding her tightly and crushing her arms against her own body with her enhanced strength.

"H-hope your ready for this bitch because it’s gonna fucking Rock." She stated with a wince as she allowed the flames coating her body to heat up to their maximum burning point before glancing back at Cassandra with a snarky smirk and a cringe at what she would say next.

"Be my friend Bitch!!!"

The dancing flames above the duo soon began swirling together before condensing and shooting down towards the duo at a fast pace engulfing them both in a instant and destroying the floor and area around them in a large explosion.

The floor beneath the girls caved in as the impact from Rose’s flames sent the two of them crashing down into a lower floor as the palace rumbled from the explosion. Most if not all of the paintings within the room they were previously in were destroyed and burned by the spreading flames and one painting n particular fell from the wall and began burning to ashes.

It was a family portrait of Cassandra with her father and brothers.

Cassandra’s body was seen in the center of a crater on the bottom floor as she looked barely conscious and her outfit was mostly torn and burnt. The after shock of pushing her body to such extreme lengths were taking effect as she could barely move and every bone in her body was aching from the stress.

“**You… crazy… bitch…**” She said as she couldn’t believe Rose had attempted such a suicidal move. To take her Haki imbued drill arm right in the chest just to explode them both with her flames was a move she believed no one with any form of sanity would think of.

And yet, the look on Cassandra’s face was one of genuine respect and excitement as she laughed crazily even as she laid on the floor staring up at where they had come from. Her eyes were no longer bloodshot as her face returned back to normal along with the veins that had been on her forehead and muscles. Whatever kind of state King Humphrey had forced onto her was clearly undone as she recalled everything while she was going berserk and spoke to Rose who was nearby and also heavily wounded.

“..Forgive me if I heard wrong but… did you just ask me to be your…friend?” She asked with a confused face, her tone and manner of speech returning back to how it was before she had changed.

Already feeling her flames to heal the wounds she substanced from having her chest punctured, Rose let out a painful grunt as the flames around them started the crawl towards her downed body seemingly being reabsorbed by her .

"Y-ya damn r-right you did." She grunted out as she slowly sat up and faces Cassandra before letting out a huff as the crawling flames sun sky burned green while washing over body Rose and Cassandra, slowly healing their wounds. "W-whatever that pig did to you seems to have worn off." She stated immediately afterwards as she didn’t want Cassandra to think she was some weakling who thrived in the power of friendship.

"You’re a tough bitch and gave me one hell of a fight, that’s something not even that sword Pansy could of done." Rose spoke up as she rolled her neck wincing at the pain that was being soothed by her flames. "A real fighter like you is someone I’d love to call a friend." She finished with a strained cocky smile on her face.

Cassandra blinked, laughing at Rose’ words before she winced at the pain. It was still too early to laugh but she was feeling better thanks to whatever kind of powers Rose had.

“Your amazing. That power of yours comes in handy huh?” She said before his smile faded and was replaced with a sad expression.

“Friends huh? As long as I have this damn crystal, I’ll never have-hm?” Cassandra tried to feel for the crystal below her neck but she only felt her own skin. She looked down and was shocked to see that the crystal was now gone.

“How did…?” She vaguely recalled that she could feel the crystal breaking during her fight with Rose and that the punk pirate’s flames during that last exchange must have burnt the remains of the crystal to ash, which prevented it from killing her.

Cassandra didn’t know how to respond as she was no longer bound to follow her father’s orders anymore. The feeling of being free for the first time in her life as a young woman caused her eyes to become watery as she covered her face with her arm to hide her tears.

“What the hell… why am I crying?” She said with choked words as she recalled Rose’s invitation of friendship despite all she had done. She had such a twisted split personality and yet someone wanted to still be around her in spite of that side fighting them nearly to the death.

“Your weird, wanting to be friends with someone like me” Cassandra said to Rose as she slowly brought herself up where she was now sitting on her butt. It was slight but a smile could be seen on Cassandra’s face as she smirked. “Are you sure? It’s not like that side of me is gone you know? It might come out again to try and kill you as payback” She said, almost sounding as if she was speaking about herself instead of a seperate personality.

"If that sides shows up I’ll beat it back into submission like I just did." Rose replied with a nonchalant shrug as she slowly stood up before offering Cassandra a hand as her flames continued to lick at their wounds while healing them over.

"Anyways don’t stress over the small shit, just take my damn hand in friendship and let’s go save the treasure….I mean the kingdom or whatever." She stated with a smirk as she pondered the choice to recruit her into her crew or just wait until a better moment.

Cassandra didn’t miss Rose’s slip of tongue and chuckled at the woman who had not only defeated her but also saved her life.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you” She said as she reached her hand out and grabbed Rose’s as she was pulled up and stood next to her friend, smirking as she nodded.

“Let’s go”

"What a touching conclusion to a spectacular match indeed." A gruff voice echoed across the chamber in which the duo had created with their clash. The hoodies form of Aslan soon revealed itself seated upon one of the man rubble created from their fight.

"Ah how nostalgic, The Five special flames of the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Fenghuang is still such a wonderful spectacle to watch even after all these years." He stated in a tone of remembrance and wishfulness as he began recalling a distant past filled with youthful adventures.

"W-who the fuck are you?" Rose responded quickly as she finally took notice of Aslan’s presence. "And how the fuck do you know about this shitty as fairy bird fruit?" She demanded as she glared at the cloaked man, pink flames ignited upon her fists. She was positive her fruit was one that wasn’t listed in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia seeing as no one seemed to know anything about it yet here was this weirdo in a cloak easily identifying her fruit when she hadn’t even used anything to indicate it true power beyond the basic flames that were gifted.

"Gararararar!!" Aslan laughed at the punkish personality of Rose as he stood tall and removed his hood revealing a face of a Lion-Mink with a scar running diagonally across this face with mismatched eyes. "Me? You can Call me Aslan." He stated with a fanged grin while his eyes glanced over towards Cassandra with interest. "It seems that you managed to destroy that little gift from King Humphrey that he used to control the darker aspect of the crown princess." He stated as he returned his eyes back to Rose whom still held her guard in preparation for a fight. "Ah worry not. I am not here to fight." He stated as he began digging into his pocket fishing out a few bottle with clear liquid inside before tossing them to Rose.

"The fuck is this shit? Poison?" Rose questioned as she eyed the bottles while also keeping an eye upon Aslan with a frown. In response Aslan merely rolled his eyes and waved his hand causing the bottles to suddenly shoot forward back into his palm. "If I wanted to kill you, I would of done so while you were down after your fight." He stated as he unhooked the cap of the bottle and allows a few drops to hit his tongue to prove that it wasn’t a trap. "This bottle contains the healing tears from the Chiyu Chiyu no Mi, it purpose is to heal all inflicted wounds and rejuvenate the body." He stated as he tossed the bottle back towards Rose whom caught it with slightly widen eyes as she knew of the fabled power of the Chiyu Chiyu no Mi.

"Wait why the fuck are you giving something this important to me?" She questioned as she tired to figure out his motives. "What shitty fetish do you have that makes you wanna help out your enemy?" She demanded as she glared up towards him while holding the bottles close. Her Haki had enabled her to know that he wasn’t lying about what he had spoken thus far but it was still a strange situation she found herself in.

"What a funny human you are." He stated as he looked at Rose with a amused smirk on his face at her blunt and straight to the point personality. "My reason are my own however I will say that I hold no love for the King and his action, I’m merely playing my role as commanded." He stated mysteriously as he turned to leave the duo to their thoughts before pausing and turning back to Cassandra for a few moments. "I hope you understand that your actions today will have consequences Princess, I just hope you are truly prepared to face what is to come." With his words stated Aslan’s cloaked body seemingly dissipated into thin air as if he was merely a ghost the entire time.

"What the fuck just happened ?" Rose spoke aloud confused on the events that just happened as she stared at the tears in her hand before passing Cassandra a bottle.

"I don't know" Cassandra said. "Aslan was always a mystery among the Knights in our order and he never seemed to be on board with my father's ideas. I suppose that means at the very least, he's not our enemy" She downed the bottle at her own risk and could feel her wounds healing immediately, surprised by how effective the bottle is.

"Fuck it I ain’t got time to be thinking about this shit, we got bigger fish to fry." She stated as she motioned for Cassandra to follow after her.

"RIght" Cassandra said and after she picked up her rapier that was on the floor, she followed after Rose to reach back up the the Throne Room where her father was.

"We'll end this today"

***Ruby Rose vs Cassandra***

***Conclusion: Winner - Ruby Rose***

### Burning Miasma

Hestia would find herself now standing in a long narrow corridor with numerous pillars filling the area as the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from a staircase nearby.

Hestia ended up getting separated from the rest of the group, no doubt it was that man’s fault. The sound of footsteps caught her attention, looking towards the staircase. The air in the area began heating up, she wasn’t sure what exactly she would be facing.

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

Steps, one after the other they came, at a constant cadence. The tapping wasn't slow, nor was it fast. It was timed as if the person behind them had no worries, no concerns despite the screams that came from many soldiers in the castle.

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

"Oh my, who would've thought it'd come to this?" A voice with the subtlety of a woman's yet the tone of a man could be heard through the corridor as the steps came to a sudden halt. Had Hestia bothered to look, she would've noticed him. Barbaros S. Giano, standing amidst the pillars and attempting to look beyond them. He flapped the hem of his shirt due to the sudden increase in heat.

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

"I wonder who I'll encounter first..." The steps continued again as he looked through the many pillars an enemy soldier could've hidden in, and slowly he approached Hestia. His hand on his rapier. "Which one of you filthy rebels will I slay first?!"

The sound of footsteps and a man’s voice caught her attention. Her skin tingled with heat, emanating throughout the room. “The only filth here is you. I may be a rebel but I’ve seen how your people treat this country.” She readied her war fans, narrowing her eyes at the assailant. “Don’t you feel anything when you see the faces of those you’ve made suffer?

"Oh," Giano smiled, the last thing he expected was someone like Hestia to appear. Her features, her clean clothes, her condition, they all pointed to the fact that she was indeed, not someone he knew. "I do feel something when I see them. Happiness!" The man proclaimed. His face twisted into a smile. "Seeing **trash** like them falter and burn. It's the most amazing feeling really." The man licked his lips.

"I'm sure I'll feel it again, as soon as I'm done with you!" Immediately, Giano thrusted his right arm forward, rapier with it. Attempting to strike Hestia's vitals several times.

“Don’t get so cocky, I’m not as well known as my other pirate allies but I’m still one.” Hestia readied her fighting stance, preparing for whatever the man was about to do. “I try to put a damper on my abilities when I’m with people because I don’t want them to get hurt. Thanks to your people, I can use my power to its fullest potential.”

She didn’t expect him to move so quickly, thrusting his rapier at her. Thankfully, she was able to grab the rapier’s blade, melting it into liquid as soon as it made contact. In an attempt to counteract, Hestia opened her mouth and began to blow heated steam into the room, filling the area with a hazy white cloud.

He'd felt it, as soon as he had walked in the room. How the temperature seemed to change ever so slightly, but to say he expected it to be as potent as it had been would've been a lie. The weight of Giano's rapier immediately dispersed as the blade melted into nothingness. And more than that, steam filled the room, causing his skin to ache slightly. He brought his hands to protect his face, before leaping backwards.

*"A Devil Fruit ability?!"* Giano thought to himself, steam continued to burn his skin slightly, yet at the same time, it also put him on edge. His eyes moved across the room, attempting to figure out where he could spot a figure, as he himself begun to move around. His hand, transformed in darkness, began to slowly release a polluted substance, while hopefully using the steam as cover.

A downside of Hestia's choice to use steam was that she couldn't see very well through it either. This was just to create distance from him, a way for her to think of a plan. The steam was heated but wasn't at a deadly temperature, even if this man was her enemy, Hestia felt that taking his life would be wrong. Now that she had made some distance from him, she twirled her fans to gather the steam in the room and disperse it. "Are you okay?" She looked around for Giano.

And just in that moment, when the steam dispersed, and Hestia's kindness caused her to lower her guard, Giano attacked. He reappeared behind the pirate, a reeking, polluted air reforming into the man before he'd attempt to attack Hestia. His hand turned into miasma, a pair of darkened crescent slashes escaping from it as he sought to cut the woman in twain.

Despite Hestia showing kindness, it seemed that Giano wasn’t going to return it. Hestia barely had any time to react as the man attempted to cut her in two with a dark substance. She wasn’t sure what it was but she knew she had to get out of the way. There wasn’t enough time to move to the side, luckily for Hestia she had a move that she preferred not to use.

Quickly blowing steam through her nose, she rocketed towards the ceiling like a jet. Avoiding the damage, but the attack ended up slicing part of her jacket. “This was brand new, you ass!”

"I apologize. I'll make sure not to miss next time!" This time, both of Giano's hands turned into miasma, and from them, a volley of compressed darkened bullets escape, aiming to pierce through Hestia wherever she went.

“I’m so tired of people like you. Whenever I’m fighting someone, I try to put a damper on my power so I don’t feel guilty about harming them. Though, the lack of empathy you hold for the people you’ve killed makes me feel nothing about this.” The temperature in the area turned to smoldering, Hestia had shifted to her maximum temperature. A wall of heat surrounded her, steam dancing on her skin. Hestia formed a tornado of steam, sending it towards him and the bullets.

Giano's eyes widened. Never had his powers so easily been dealt with. His fists clenched together in anger. To think other people like him existed outside the World Government, those that were gifted. It made him both curious and annoyed towards Hestia.

"Why would you hold back? Why would you show empathy?!" With no more than a single thought, Giano transformed into the darkened miasma in order to phase through the tornado, yet as quickly as he turned into the substance his body reformed due to its rotational power dragging him in. Steam reached his skin, burn marks forming before he was thrown against one of the pillars forcefully. Blood escaped his lips before he slowly stood up.

"T-tell me, what do you have to gain from defending **those** people. You're like us, aren't you?...A gifted one?" Giano asked.

Despite the Miasma not touching her directly, her outfit was still torn and she had started wearing down from the fight. “I feel bad for you, Is this really what they’ve taught you? That having a devil fruit makes you better? Your devil fruit is destructive but it doesn’t have to be used for evil. Mine is the same way. I didn’t want to fight you.”

Hestia reached into her pockets, grabbing a handful of small red rocks and shoving them in her mouth. “Do you give up?” She said, her voice muffled.

"Give up? I offer you a chance to change your ways...to *accept* who you are, and you want me to give up?" Giano's eyes narrowed. His arms turned into darkened air before he'd thrust both of them forward. Two beams of the poisonous substance escaped forward as well, both aimed towards Hestia right after she'd shoved the rocks in her mouth.

Hestia was saddened that someone could go down such a dark path, stuck in their ways. However, this was a fight and the fate of this kingdom depended on her winning. She couldn't show mercy, even if it hurt to do this. "I'm sorry." She whispered, placing her hands on the ground. As the beams of miasma shot towards her, she sent out an eruption of lava from her mouth towards the beams as well as Giano, though unknowing if they would hit him. Her palms heated the floor below her, turning the rock into molten rock, slowly filling the area with lava.

Immediate heat filled the area, parts of the stone melted, and sizzled even. No longer could the crackling of flames be heard but the roar of erupting lava instead. He had no exit, the eruption's width was far too wide, and the attack moved way too fast, for him to react in any other way than he knew how. Relying on his logia. As the floor melted into molten rock and lava came toward him, he transformed. His body turned into dark miasma, yet the second it did, he was forced to reverse. For Hestia's fruit had even the air heating up.

"W-what?!" Giano screamed as he took on the full brunt of Hestia's blow. His skin burnt instantly, and even tissue was visible. Only when the flames stopped when the orange glow disappeared that Giano spoke again, his body bruised and burnt. "Y-you...are...w-wasted talent..."

**Hestia vs Giano**

***Conclusion: Winner - Hestia***

### An Assassin's Tool

Onyx now stood in a large banquet hall with several tables and chairs inside, clearly indicating that this was a room where the Royals would have their meals.

"What's this now? You don't seem to be particularly strong"

That arrogant voice came from above as Onyx would look up to find a young man clad in black clothing standing upside down on the ceiling. His outfit made him look like a ninja as he even had a short blade strapped to his back.

"Orders are orders so I'll kill you quickly" Shinto, one of the Royal Knights assigned to guard King Humphrey, claimed as he fell from the ceiling and now stood across from Onyx.

"W-woah!" That was all Onyx could reply with as he looked towards the ceiling. There was anger, shock, amazement, so many emotions that reached his brain, yet only shock manifested itself at first. Immediately he leapt back as to build some distance between them, and that was when it followed.

Anger.

"O-oi! What do you mean I don't seem particularly strong?! What the hell man?! That's not fuckin' cool!"

Amazement.

*"D-damn...he's kinda badass..."* Onyx thought to himself as he scanned his opponent more accurately. He shook his head as to bring himself back to reality. "Wait, wait, they ordered you to kill me?" Onyx blinked. "Why?"

“It doesn’t matter why you're as good as dead anyway” Shinto said as his body vanished and reappeared right behind Onyx, his blade having been withdrawn as he aimed to slash at the man’s back.

"W-woah!" Onyx could not sense the man, he couldn't tell when he moved, when he disappeared, hell, he couldn't even tell when he struck. The blade made contact against his skin, tearing through his jacket as a gash of blood escaped from within. Onyx's eyes widened, teeth clenching together. It wasn't pain that he felt, no, once more it was anger, a desire to defend himself suddenly manifesting.

An instant after the man's attack had made contact, and Onyx had managed to remain standing, his leg extended outwards towards the man's stomach. His leg exploded with power, so much that upon contact, a miniature explosion would ensue, and with that strike, Onyx hoped to place distance between the two fighters.

Shinto's eyes widened at Onyx's response as he barely managed to cover his stomach with his blade as he blocked the strike but wasn't expecting the explosion that followed as smoke covered the dining hall. Emerging from the smoke, Shinto would backflip through the air until he landed on a nearby table and stared at his sword, that was now broken after absorbing the impact of Onyx's explosive kick, with a frown.

"*Tch, this thing is useless now. Just what kind of technique was that anyway?*" Shinto wondered. He had never seen someone capable of producing such friction with their feet that made it possible for their kicks to explode on impact. In any case, that short exchange right there told Shinto enough about what kind of fighter Onyx was and he devised a new approach as he reached into his pocket and pulled out several kunai.

"I'll just kill you from a distance!" He said before he jumped into the air and threw the dozen or so kunai at Onyx's figure. He wouldn't stop there as he pulled out even more and bombarded Onyx with a hailstorm of kunai from different direction as he jumped around the dining hall.

"I don't know who you are man, I don't even know why we have to fight..." Onyx's eyes narrowed, barely trailing Shinto's figure. As the man's hand reached his pockets, Onyx knew what would come next. His torso lowered so that his head was nearly against the ground, hands making contact with the stone cold pavement. His body twisted, legs extended and up into the air, as Onyx begun to spin, almost as if he was breakdancing. With every rotation, the winds seemed to gather around the longlegs' extremities. Any kunai that was thrown towards Onyx was immediately redirected to the miniature vortex that formed around him.

"But if you insist, I'll have to retaliate. **Spinning Gears!**" Onyx declared, and with a final rotation, he extended his right leg, redirecting the storm of kunais back towards Shinto. Blood continued to spill from his back due to the man's former attack, though he did his best to ignore the pain. After his attack, Onyx blasted towards wherever the assassin would be, attempting to deliver an axe kick towards his skull.

Shinto clicked his tongue in annoyance at his kunai being deflected and dodged each one with his incredible speed. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice Onyx sneaking up on him as he landed on the ground and was barely able to react to the man’s axe kick as he raised his arms above his head to block it.

“Kuh!” Shinto grunted as he felt the immense weight and strength of Onyx’s legs in his arms as the bones within his arms felt like they were broken. He endured the pain of those strikes as he took the opportunity to reach into pocket and pull out a short blade as he aimed it right at Onyx’s chest while the pirate was close to him.

He could endure the pain, but after Onyx's strikes, any movement that involved Shinto's arms would no longer be the same. Onyx's eyes matched the assassin's own. "You lack them." His eyes narrowed as the short blade came towards his chest, in response Onyx ducked, the blade barely grazing his head as he squatted. Eyes remained locked with the assassin as Onyx shot upwards, this time attempting to deliver a powerful knee strike to the man's chin. "The eyes of a killer!"

With his speed, Shinto was able to narrowly avoid Onyx’s knee to the chin as he pulled his head back as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. Throwing it hard towards the ground, a large puff of smoke surrounded the dining hall as Shinto’s body disappeared from Onyx’s sight.

Retreating behind a table, Shinto clicked his tongue as he could feel that his arms were useless to him thanks to that devastating kick he had endured.

“*That bastard. How could he have that much power in his legs?”*  It seemed that he had underestimated the pirate as he would make sure not to repeat the same mistake twice. He then pulled out another blade as he shoved it into his mouth and stood up, using the cover of the smoke to avoid Onyx’s sight as he circled around him and dashed towards his back.

“*With this, you’ll die! I'll show you my eyes of a killer!*” He thought as the blade in his mouth aimed to impale Onyx in his back once more where he was previously injured.

*Cough, cough*

Onyx's vision was filled with smoke, nose assailed by the smell of the substance. His senses overloaded, Onyx coughed repeatedly, as Shinto completely disappeared from sight. Eyes moved to many locations, though they were only met with grey. "Fuck...if I can't see him then..."

Onyx raised his leg and brought it down with intense force. The entirety of the floor shook vigorously, almost as if a miniature earthquake ran over it. The smoke dispersed, and with it, hopefully, Shinto would trip over himself before he could reach Onyx.

Shinto wasn't expecting that response as he lost his footing from Onyx's leg slam and fell on his knees right before he could reach Onyx. The smoke was beginning to disperse and Shinto's body was becoming visible but he cared little for that as stood right back up and continued his assault towards Onyx's back as he was only mere moments from slicing it apart. It was against his assassin teachings but he couldn't allow Onyx's words to go unpunished as he threw away his teachings to kill the pirate before him.

For Onyx, smoke turned into darkness as his eyes closed for an instant. Darkness then shaped itself into a vision, a vision in Onyx’s mind he had once lived.

You know, you can’t keep doing this, right?” A man, wearing a black suit spoke.

“Doing what?” It was Onyx that responded, he too, wore an all black suit along with a tie.

“Going on missions off by yourself, trying to burden it all, it’ll get to you.”

“Eh, it hasn’t so far.” Onyx replied sarcastically.

“Onyx,” the man grabbed on to Onyx’s shoulders, eyes locking on to his own. “Look, CP9 is a team for a reason. Nobody can burden all that killing, all that lying by themselves...remember that.”

Onyx looked away, taking the man’s hands off of his shoulders. “Tch, it was just easier, okay? If I can do it, ain’t none of the others gotta get in the way.”

“Yeah? Can you say that confidently? Onyx? Look behind you. Look at it!” The man pointed at the scenery of the town behind them. Blood sprayed from every corner, children, the elderly, mothers, all of them wiped out and killed. There had been nothing left behind, nothing but corpses that could tell no tales.

Onyx glanced only for an instant, before putting his hands in his pockets, slowly he walked away to CP9’s ship.

“You don’t have them Onyx! The eyes of a killer!”

“R-rule number one for an assassin…d-don’t let your emotions get the best of you!” A sniff escaped Onyx, eyes watery as he attempted his best to keep his emotions under control. '*“Now, you comin’ or nah?!”*

The smoke cleared and from it, the emerging assassin came. His steps were loud, his figure far from hidden. Yet with the little distance that remained between them, for Onyx to dodge was no longer a possibility.

No, he’d receive the attack, he had to. That was the only way. “Tekkai.” Onyx uttered as the last second. His muscles tightened to their utmost limit. His back became an impenetrable fortress of hardened skin and muscle, one which Shinto’s blade would be unable to pierce.

“Rule number one for an assassin...”

A breathe escaped Onyx as his body relaxed once more. He spun on his toes, before jumping in the air attempting to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick at Shinto’s temple. His body tensed once more as his leg hardened once more under the effects of Tekkai.

“Master your emotions!” Onyx’s eyes narrowed, the memories of his former days as a CP9 agent now powering his attack. At the last second, his traveling leg became ablaze. And with the natural strength of a member of the Longleg tribe, he’d attempt to smash it into Shinto in order to hopefully defeat him. The wind blew apart, the crackling of flames increasing along with the temperature in the room. “Burning Wrench!”

Shinto’s blade would shatter upon impact with Onyx’s iron-like skin as his eyes widened in shock, delaying his reaction time enough that he was unable to dodge or block the roundhouse kick Onyx sent towards his temple. The flame-imbed leg would smash directly into the assassin’s face as the impact sent his body flying towards a nearby wall as dust and debris scattered throughout the dining hall.

As the smoke cleared, Shinto’s body would be embedded into the wall as his face was bruised and smoldering from the heat off of Onyx’s leg. His eyes that were barely open, stared at Onyx’s figure that had landed on the ground as a weak, pitiful smile surfaced on his face.

“You were more… of an assassin…. than me….” Those words barely managed to escape his lips as his brain drifted into unconsciousness, signifying the end of the battle between the two assassins.

***Shinto vs Onyx***

***Conclusion: Winner - Onyx***

### Revenge Is Best Served Cold

The group had effectively separated itself as best as they could. Each one for their own purpose, or at least that was the case for both Dan and Yersi. With the former storming off by his lonesome when both of them had reached the underground of the castle, Yersi instead headed to a location she was incredibly familiar with. Sandra's science lab. That's where *he* should've been experimented on. That's where Yersi could find a cure, where it all started, and where it all would end.

"Just wait for me, Tiera..." Yersi spoke. Unlike the rest, she didn't outright knock guards out. No, she moved stealthily, calmly. Striking at certain pressure points that either put them to sleep, or caused enough pain to paralyze them. In truth, Yersi was against killing. Hell, she was against violence, unless there were no more choices. Slowly, she made her way to the lab, all without making a scene.

Yersi would find herself entering a rather spacious laboratory filled with books and machinery that looked incredibly complex and expensive.

“Oh? What do we have here? A little rat managed to sneak their way in”

That voice came from above Yersi who would find none other than the lead scientist of the Sindra Kingdom, Tiera looking down at her from on top of a staircase and she slowly made her way down while smiling at the swordswomen.

“So what can I do for you? What business do you have with me?” She asked, genuinely curious as to why such a prominent figure in the Resistance would seek her out.

"I think you know why, don't you?" Yersi replied, her eyes immediately narrowing. Her hand immediately moved to her sword in caution. She knew what Tiera was capable of, even moreso than other people. She had *studied* the woman extensively, especially given their history.

"I've come to end your reign of terror! Yours, and Humphreys. I'm going to take off that damn smirk off of your face!" Yersi exploded with speed, and immediately, her blade escaped its sheathe. The wind whistled several times, and with it, Yersi attempted to stab Tiera repeatedly across her vitals. Wrists, legs, across the neck, wherever Tiera's prominent veins were, Yersi sought to strike in order to make her bleed out.

“Oho? How ferocious you are. I’m just *shaking* in my boots” Tiera taunted with a smirk, not budging at all even as Yersi shot towards her and intended to cut her down in several vital places. Before any of Yersi’s strikes could land however, Tiera merely snapped her fingers and two figures emerged from behind her and shielded her as their bodies were cut by Yersi’s blade but their iron-like skin prevented the wounds from being too deep.

“Oh sorry, where are my manners? I’d like to introduce you to my friends here” Tiera said behind the two tall figures who had stitches all over their bodies and were missing their eyes and noses, resembling mannequins.

“These are my cute little guinea pigs I’ve been working on. Aren’t they just adorable? Boys, why don’t you show her what else you can do?” Tiera ordered as the two experiments roared as they jumped into the air and brought their fists down to pummel Yersi into the ground.

"You witch!" Yersi responded in anger, she barely managed to leap back as the creatures' fists met the laboratory's floor instead. Though her blade remained by her side, knowing their attacks could not make the mannequins budged slightly stressed her. Her mind raced, looking for openings before the duo could close the distance between them again. Her eyes moved along with her mind, looking for weak spots, openings.

*There!*

Yersi took a step towards the mannequins, positioning herself so that her front would face one of them and her back the other. Rather than outright attack them. She instead waved her sword towards one of the mannequins as if to get his attention. Her sword whistled through the air with every feint.

“Grrrr!” The mannequin on the left growled as it was annoyed by Yersi’s sword taunt and began chasing after her before it lifted its arm into the air and aimed a punch right at her, not noticing that the other mannequin was right behind her.

And that was exactly what Yersi wanted, she weaved away from the mannequin, his arm just barely grazing her before the other one would receive the full blow. With both of them engaging with each other, Yersi swiped and thrust her sword over wherever she found "weak" points in the mannequins. Hoping to dismantle them before they could react.

"Graaaaah!" The mannequins screached in pain at Yersi's cuts as they're tendons and joints were slashed, leaving them utterly useless on the ground. They thrashed about, trying to get up but it was pointless as Tiera clicked her tongue in annoyance at them.

"Worthless" She said before she chuckled and threw away her lab coat, revealing her outfit to be a slim fitting crop top and jeans as her body was incredibly toned. Certainly more so than anyone would have imagined for the scientist.

"Those two guinea pigs were merely my way of gauging your technique, speed, and power. Now that I know what they're at, I can safely crush you by myself!" Tiera said as her body vanished and reappeared right in front of Yersi, aiming a punch at the woman's stomach as her enhanced speed was shocking to say the least.

Yersi managed to defend herself at the last second, raising her blade as to protect herself from Tiera's blow. Though it took the brunt of her force, she still skidded against the earth a few feet, teeth clenched together. "That's your problem, Tiera...you see everyone else as guinea pigs!"

Yersi dashed forward once more, her sword arm thrusting a myriad of times. Her attacks were carefully aimed at Tiera's soft spots including her neck, wrists, etc.

"And why shouldn't I?" Tiera smirked as she endured Yersi's thrusts as her body had numbed her sense of pain and become durable enough to shrug off slashes from such a sharp weapon. She even managed to catch the swordwoman's blade in her hand as she brought her face close while sporting an almost maniacal grin.

"Progress cannot be made without sacrifice!" Tiera shouted as she kicked Yersi right in her stomach that sent the woman flying right into a test tube as water gushed into the labratory. Placing her hands on her hips, Tiera slowly began to walk towards Yersi as she opened her mouth.

"You of all people should know about sacrifice, considering what fate befell your beloved father" She revealed.

"You..." Yersi began. "How could you?! He was only trying to help people...and you, you took him! What'd you do with him Tiera?!" She rapidly stood up from the ground, as she began to move around some of the tubes in order to surprise Tiera.

Tiera snorted, arrogance oozing off her being as she watched Yersi's pitiful attempt to catch her off guard.

"What do you think? Your father was a valuable test subject in one of my latest creations. He was the only one who didn't completely lose his mind after his body was modified and experimented on. That made him the perfect vessel for this project" She began as she whipped her arm to the side, destroying several tubes as she believed Yersi was hiding behind them but had guessed wrong.

"Imagine a creature that could run as fast as a cheetah, soar through the air like a falcon, rip its enemies to shreds like a wolf, and howl like a banshee! A fusion of some of the strongest creatures to walk the face of the earth! That's what your father ended up becoming and you should be proud of it! Your once worthless and weak father was transformed into the unstoppable creature known as Kimera!" Tiera shouted with a menacing expression as she whipped her hand once more towards several tubes, frowning a bit as she had guessed wrong again.

"It's pointless for you to resist. Just give yourself up and surrender your body to me. I'm sure that I can make an even stronger beast with a specimen like you" Tiera had cleared out most of the tubes except for one large one in the back and guessed that's where Yersi was hiding as a smirk appeared on the scientists face.

"Just submit already!" Tiera dashed forward, her fingernails growing as they became razor sharp and were intended to pierce through the tube and hopefully Yersi as well.

"You...you don't deserve mercy!" Yersi sidestepped the tube, her eyes opening once more. Their color changed into a bright blue. Her pupils themselves seemed to rotate. "My father always taught me that, everyone, no matter how wicked, has a weak point. **Analytical Eye!**" she called out. Her brain worked faster than it ever had, analyzing Tiera's posture, her stance, every single position of her body parts, and from it all, she found it. A weak point. Her rapier moved to strike right at that specific weak point in her structure. A strike so precise and focused that it would cause the rest of her body to stop functioning as Yersi would hit what appeared to be one of her pressure points.

"What!?" Tiera screamed as Yersi managed to cut at the only weak spot on her body that was right below her left breast. She had no idea how Yersi was able to find it but that mattered little now as the scientest coughed blood the moment Yersi' sword struck the pressure point and her body became unresponsive as her limbs went numb. For all of her strength and improved abilities, Tiera was unable to move a muscle once her weak spot had been struck and she sported a terrified expression while being face to face with a clearly furious Yersi.

"L-Let's talk about this alright? If you kill me, you'll never be able to save your father! Is that what you want? Aren't you here to save him?" Tiera pleaded, essentially begging for her life.

"Kill you? Killing you would be showing you mercy! You'll have to live knowing what you did, reflecting over it through a lifetime." Her sword attacked once more, this time hitting Tiera's temple, causing her to pass out.

"Bitch." Yersi called out afterwards, before she'd proceed to free whatever experiments remained.

***Yersi vs Tiera***

***Conclusion: Winner - Yersi***

## Last Hurdle

Some time had passed since King Humphrey had ordered Edgar to send the rebel allies to different areas within the palace to face off against the Royal Knights. Humphrey had been waiting on his throne alongside Edgar as the black flames conjured by the woman called Ruby Rose were no longer there as they had disappeared quite some time ago. Humphrey didn’t look amused he was being kept waiting so long as a frown appeared on his obese face.

“What’s taking them so long to finish off those scum? Those wretched flames summoned by that woman are no longer here and yet Cassandra has yet to return” The King asked Edgar.

“Please try to be more patient, my king. It is possible those rebels possess more strength than we gave them credit for. There’s also the possibility their fight is still going on and the flames' disappearance doesn’t translate to that woman's demise” Edgar theorized.

Humphrey didn’t look pleased to hear that as was just about done with waiting.

“We have no choice then. Call forth Kimera” Humphrey said as Edgar looked stunned at what he had just heard.

“M-My king, surely there’s no need to-”

“Are you questioning me, Edgar?” Humphrey cut him off as his icy glare froze Edgar in his boots and he quickly bowed to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I-I wouldn’t dare my king! Forgive me for speaking out of turn, I was just wondering why go to such extremes when we clearly have the advantage in this war?”

“Hmph” Humphrey huffed. “There’s nothing wrong with being extra careful. We must stomp out any glimmer of hope they may think they have in order to crush their spirits.  Do you understand?” Humphrey asked.

“...Yes, your wish is my command” Edgar needed no further convincing and pushed a button on the remote he held in his hands. The palace began to shift once more as a large hole appeared from the center of the throne room and began lifting something that was chained down to the floor. It was a huge humanoid beast with several animalistic body parts that included a snake’s tail, a tiger’s head, a griffin’s wings, and a wolf's claws. Its eyes were shadowed, indicating it was currently asleep as Humphrey smiled as he saw the masterpiece that was created by years of experimentation led by Tiera. Through extensive research, the mad woman had created a monster with human-like intelligence and the abilities of several ferocious beasts compiled into one super monster.

It was the true trump card of the Sindra Kingdom.

“Release it” Humphrey ordered.

“Of course,” Edgar nodded, pressing another button as the chains restraining the beast snapped, its eyes slowly opening due to the loud noises heard around the palace. It slowly stood up, shaking its head as it gazed around its surroundings.

“Kimera” Humphrey called out to it.

Kimera heard that and turned its head towards the source of the voice, recognizing it as the voice of its master. It growled before it took several large steps forward and got on its knees in front of Humphrey and Edgar, the latter of whom looked a bit anxious seeing the beast unrestrained.

“That’s a good boy. I want you to search the palace and kill any intruders you find that are still alive. Disregard the Royal Knights that you find, they are not your enemies. Do you understand?” Humphrey ordered.

The beast known as Kimera didn’t respond initially, only staring at Humphrey with its slit-like eyes for almost a minute before it slowly nodded and turned in a certain direction.

“GRAAAAAAAA!” It suddenly shouted as its voice shook the entire palace down to its core, prompting Edgar and Humphrey to both cover their ears as they had no wish to go deaf. Once it stopped screaming, the large wings on its back opened up and lifted its body into the air before it dashed forward with astounding speed and broke through a wall, intent on carrying out its order.

“...There it goes,” Edgar said with a worried expression. Kimera was a wild card that he didn’t want to resort to using as he recalled the numerous times it had gone on a rampage and slaughtered so many of their soldiers. Even with all of the brainwashing and restraints they placed on it, he couldn’t help but feel this was a mistake but he trusted his king’s judgment and hoped that this war would end soon.

Humphrey on the other hand was all smiles as he believed the Resistance was as good as finished with Kimera now on the loose.

"Alright where the fuck are we Cassey?" Rose called out to the princess who was tailing her as they ran through the expansive halls of the castle. "I’m positive we passed this creepy fucking pairing at least five times already" she growled out in annoyance while gesture to one of the many painting decorating the hall.

"Unless that pig has super crappy taste which I bet he fucking does." She stated as she continued to rush forward with half a mind to just blow a hole through the walls.

“We have” Cassandra answered, following right alongside Rose as the two ladies dashed through a long corridor full of paintings and decorations. Her eyes darted across the walls as she tried to figure out exactly they were but she shook her head.

“The palace is capable of moving its rooms around so my knowledge of its structure won’t help us find our way” She explained with a frown before she stopped as the entire corridor they were in began to shake due to the sound of something screaming. It sounded almost beast-like as she looked around to find out where it had come from.

“...What in the world was that?” Cassandra asked, her gut telling her that something ominous was about to happen.

After pausing to look at Cassandra for a good solid minute for allowing her to run around in circles like a fucking idiot, Roselet out a growl as fire ignited in her palms. "I don’t fucking know but I’m about to fucking find out." She roared as she condensed the flames in her palm and fired them at the wall sides then making a new path.

"Let’s fucking Go Cassandra, I gotta find Onyx cuz it’s been far to quiet without his sissy whimpering." She stated in a rough tone while masking the worry she felt for her unofficial first mate. "That bastard better not have died or I’ll bring him back and kill him myself."

"Your concern for your crewmate is touching" Cassandra said sarcastically with a smile as she followed after Rose through the now burnt walls the latter had created, intent on getting to the source of what had made that ear deafening scream.

Meanwhile, Arsen was running down another corridor and darted his eyes from left to right trying to figure out where in the world he was.

“Shit, I think I’m just running around in circles. I’ll never understand how rich people find their way in places like these” He complained before his ears picked up the sound of something screaming and he narrowed his eyes towards a nearby wall that stood in his way.

“...Guess there’s only way to find out what that noise was” He unsheathed his katana and proceeded to cut through the wall in front of him, creating a new path as he dashed towards the source of that voice.

With Arsen and Rose both cutting and burning their way through the walls in the palace, they were able to make their way towards the center of a large room with several statues and pillars within it. On one side, the wall exploded and from it Rose and Cassandra entered and from the other, the wall was sliced into small blocks as Arsen stepped through it.

“Huh?” Cassandra was quick to notice a person standing in the room and was shocked to see the samurai. “Arsen?”

“Hm?” Arsen glanced over and noticed Rose and Cassandra standing in the room and looked surprised as well. “Oh, it’s you two” His eyes focused on Cassandra and noted that she looked fine, if not a bit roughed up as a smirk appeared on his face.

“Looks like you're back to normal. The bird brain actually managed to save you huh? So miracles do happen” He joked as he already suspected she would but was still nonetheless surprised she managed to pull it off.

“...Yeah, she did” Cassandra smirked as she glanced at Rose with a grateful expression.

"Aww you’re still alive." Rose stated with a depressed sigh at the sight of Arsen seemingly fine. "There is always next time I suppose." She mumbled to herself before flipping Arsen the bird because she could and it was the polite thing to do.

"Anyways have you see my minion-I mean Onyx?" She questioned towards Arsen with a frown.

"That fellow that's always following you around? Nope, haven't seen em. Did you really just call him your minion though?" Arsen asked with a raised eyebrow, somewhat pitying the man called Onyx.

As Cassandra watched Rose and Arsen bicker, a realization soon crossed her mind as she examined Arsen's current state and recalled who he was last fighting before they were seperated.

"Hold on a minute. The fact that your here means that... did you... defeat my brother?" She asked.

Arsen blinked at Cassandra's question before his face settled into a smirk and he nodded.

"Yeah, I did. He gave me one hell of a fight, I'm lucky to have gotten off with just these wounds" He pointed to the slash around his shoulder and some blood that was leaking from his forehead.

"*...He really did it...*" Cassandra was at a loss for words as the idea of her brother losing a fight, to a swordsman no less, was just unthinkable. She recalled Rose's words from earlier and how confident she sounded that he'd be able to do it despite her clear dislike of him. And on Arsen's end, he claimed he was shocked by it but his expression looked as if he already knew Rose would save her. How could the two of them have such faith in each other when they clearly weren't even friends? It didn't make sense to Cassandra but she didn't have a chance to dwell on it further as she immediately felt something coming their way and darted her head up to the ceiling.

"Something's coming!" She shouted and at that exact moment, the beast known as Kimera broke through the ceiling and roared towards the trio down below as it landed in front of them, its mouth hanging open as drool escaped its mouth and it looked ready to feast upon them.

Taking his guard, Arsen narrowed his eyes at the beast before him that looked like a biology experiment that had gone horribly wrong.

"It’s just one thing after the other with this damn kingdom” He cursed. “So I guess this is the source of that loud voice I heard earlier. Hey Cassandra, you got any idea what the hell this thing is?” He asked her.

“...It’s called Kimera” Cassandra said in a grim voice. “It’s a monster created by Tiera that I never wanted to see again if it was possible” She said, not wanting to remember the horrific way it had killed so many soldiers within the palace during its rampages.

“The fact that it’s unrestrained and in front of us now means my father can’t wait any longer and wants this war to end now” She explained.

“Yeah that sounds like him” Arsen sighed.

"Kimera?" Rose mumbled as she stared at the beast before her with a puzzled look. "That shit looks badass!!!" She suddenly exclaimed with excitement, Fire literally burning within the Ruby gems she called eyes. A plan formed in her mind as a wicked eyes firm split on her face. "Oi Cassey, Sword Fucker." She called out towards the duo besides her.

"Don’t you fucking kill that shit." She ordered as she turned them with a devious smirk. "I’m gonna make it my bitch !!" She said while her brain formulated her plan to subdue and eventually tame the Kimera because it would be so ducking badass to have as a pet.

Igniting her hands in her flames Rose grinned wildly as she dashed forwards in preparation to beat the Kimera into submission.

"W-Wait, Rose!" Cassandra called out to the fiery woman as she dashed towards Kimera while Arsen ruffled his hair in exasperation.

"Why am I not even surprised that crazy bitch would pull something like this. Crazy and crazy, it's like a match made in heaven" Arsen said as he crossed his arms and observed the situation. He wasn't planning to follow Rose's no killing order in the slightest but he was curious to see how Rose would fair against the monster that clearly wanted to kill them.

"H-Hey, we have to back her up!" Cassandra said to Arsen with a worried look.

"Oh we will, but let's see how it fights first" Arsen responded as Cassandra gave him a stunned look at how casual he was about this situation before her eyes returned to Kimera and Rose.

"Grrrr...." Kimera's attention was now focused entirely on Rose as it growled before it began building up power in its cheetah like legs and then suddenly shot forward like a rocket, surprising everyone with its insane speed for its size as it now appeared in front of Rose and aimed its rather large fist at her face.

"Wha-" Rose began before she was smacked away from the Kimera and crashed into the wall behind Arsen and Cassandra with a ton of rubble falling upon her body covering her from view. After a few moments of silence the rubble suddenly exploded upwards as Rose once more shot forwards, however this time she was covered in a cloak of dark pink-almost red fire.

"Fuck you hit hard." She exclaimed with a wild Grin as she once more darted towards the beast. "I’m definitely making you my bitch now, can’t wait to house break you like the good little bitch you are." She yelled as her body began burning up to the point that the surrounding structures began melting away due to the heat she was generating. Narrowing her eyes at the beast, Rose felt her body lighten up immensely as she began spreading her flames evenly throughout her body. Golden flames burned along her limbs in a manner similar to veins. She knew that Arsen and Possibly Cassandra wouldn’t follow her orders to not kill the creature so she had to hurry up and subdue it before they had a chance to act.

"Time to burn supernova baby!!" She exclaimed excitedly as she continued to burn hot as if she was a miniature sun, before move or say anything Rose shit forward in a blitzing speed, circling around the Kimera while throwing numerous supersonic and condensly heated punches which would appear a numerous gigantic fists that would strike the beats from all angles dealing both burn and blunt damage.

Kimera was helpless against Rose’s onslaught of punches as its body was pummeled from all directions by her flame coated fists.

“Poor thing” Arsen cringed at the beating the beast was getting. “She’s not throwing her punches at all” He noted as he watched the monster become Rose’s personal punching bag. He didn’t understand what Cassandra was so worried about as he glanced over at her but looked surprised to see a concerned look on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Keep watching” Was all Cassandra said as Arsen’s eyes drifted back to Kimera that was still being pounded by Rose. His eyes narrowed however as he noticed something peculiar after each blow Rose landed on the beast’s body.

“...Is it healing?” Arsen noted as each time Rose’s fist struck on the beast’s body and left a burning dent, the wound would soon heal itself as if it was never there. Also, despite being torched by the incredible heat Rose was able to produce, it didn’t seem as if the beast was affected much by it at all.

“Don’t let its appearance fool you, that thing is extremely intelligent and was pumped up with so many different drugs and painkillers that it doesn’t even register pain anymore” Cassandra said with clear disgust in her voice at what Tiera had done to create such a monstrosity. “It doesn’t mind letting Rose pummel it as it’s waiting for its chance to strike”

And just as Cassandra predicted, Kimera saw its opportunity to act when Rose let up her punches for the briefest of moments and surprised everyone as its arms bent themselves in the opposite direction and grabbed her running body. It didn’t seem to care at all that its skin was being burned by Rose’s intense flames as it held the woman in its arms, smiling grotesquely as it began to squeeze her with titanic force.

“Uh oh” Arsen said with a stunned look at how the tables had just turned.

“Rose!” Cassandra shouted as she dashed forward, unsheathing her rapier as she charged towards the beast to assist her.

“That idiot” Arsen cursed as he followed after her.

"No you fucking don’t." Rose roared out as golden flames erupted around her body boosting her already boosted abilities. "I won’t allow a fucker like you to bets me." She stated as she used her newly tripled strength and intense heat to forcefully blow op the hand of the Kimera. Rose was very careful in her approach as she didn’t want to disintegrate it’s hand when she wasn’t aware of if it could regenerate it.

"Alright fucker time to take this to the sky." She called out as she quickly appeared under the creature before sending a powerful high-kick which had enough force to launch the creature high into the sky burning bursting through the numerous ceiling and floors of the castle. "Cassey!!" She called out towards the rebel princess as she briefly turned to glance at the duo. "You and Arsen go see about that piggy, I’ll deal with the Kimera before catching up with you both." Without giving them much of a choice to respond, Rose shot to the sky towards the Kimera where she once again began assaulting it in a similar manner as before but this time with more force and heat, each strike create a shockwave that sent melting heat towards near by structure.

**Wild Rose Sun Rodeo**

If one were to look up during this confrontation they would see what could only be described as a miniature pinkish Sun burning away in the sky.

"H-Hold on a minute!" Cassandra called out but her voice clearly couldn't reach Rose who had chased after Kimera as they shot through the ceiling into the night sky. A frustrated look appeared over Cassandra's face as she couldn't believe Rose had done that.

"God, she just doesn't listen!" Cassandra complained.

Arsen however, could only chuckle at the situation. "You got that right. She's as stubborn as a mule. Good luck trying to stop her from doing something she wants to do '' Memories of their team up on Saboady Archipelago flooded in Arsen's mind and how she had done a similar thing back then as well.

"What do we do? I know Rose is strong but she still doesn't know about all of Kimera's abilities'' Cassandra bit her lip, trying to decide between aiding her friend or finally taking down her father who was practically defenseless right now.

Arsen saw that struggle and smirked, placing his hand on her shoulder as she looked at him.

"Go help her. I don't think she'll lose but something tells me she'll need your help in bringing that thing down" Arsen said.

"Are you sure? What about you? Are you going to follow her order to deal with my father?" Cassandra asked.

"Don't get it twisted," Arsen said with an annoyed look as Cassandra flinched at the unpleasent expression on his face. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I follow orders from that crazy woman. But it's true that we need to deal with your father in order to end this war. So I'll leave Kimera or whatever it's called to the two of you"

"...Alright. Thank you, Arsen. Truly" Cassandra said as she bowed towards him with a grateful look and then jumped as she began following after Rose's trail, leaving Arsen by himself within the empty room as he glanced in a certain direction, sensing his targets with his Haki as a smile surfaced on his face.

“So that’s where they are huh?” He said as he began running towards what he assumed would lead him to Humphrey and Edgar. He briefly glanced backwards towards where Rose and Cassandra would be fighting at with a curious expression.

“*I wonder if they can really tame that thing*”

As Kimera was flung high into the night sky after being pummeled once more by Rose, its rather large wings opened and it flew up to gain some distance as it floated in the sky and stared down at Rose. The injuries Rose had inflicted on it began to heal once more as it seemed the only thing she had accomplished in doing was pissing it off.

“Grrrrr…..” Kimera growled, killing intent pouring out from its body as it bore its fangs towards Rose, anger and rage fueling its emotions. Even if its master hadn’t ordered it, it was determined to kill the woman called Rose no matter what.

“GRAAAAAAAAA!” It screeched, shaking the entire kingdom to its core as those outside the palace looked up in horror at the monstrosity in the sky.

“W-What the hell is that thing!?” A member of the Resistance shouted as Zane, who was fighting and had sustained several injuries, was at a loss for words.

“...Just what exactly is happening inside there?” He wondered, hopeful that his friends and allies were alright.

Meanwhile, Kimera flapped its large wings and began to fire off thousands of feathers towards Rose, each with the sharpness to cut through solid rock as they aimed to skewer her body that was flying towards it.

"You just don’t learn do you?" Rose questioned as the feathers collided with her burning aura and were immediately burnt to crips, disintegrating into the wind as if nothing. "Your really out matched beastie." She stated with a smirk but inwardly was beginning to sweat due to the strain on her body utilizing her supernova mode. Adding on top she was already running low on energy from her constant usuals of her devil fruit and haki.

Knowing she had limited time to accomplish her goals, Rose prepared to move once more but paused for a second as something hit her sensory. "Didn’t I tell you are Arsen to go secure the king?" Rose called out as her eyes fell upon Cassandra who was rushing towards her. "Damnit Cassandra there was a fucking reason for that." She called out as she pointed towards the now melted area. "If you get any close your gonna be reduced to ash soon enough, I’m a fucking bomb right now." She yelled hoping Cassandra would understand and stay back.

"But I want to help you!" Cassandra yelled back as she reached the rooftop of one of the buildings and pleaded with Rose. "I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you so it's the least I can- **WATCH OUT!**" Cassandra's heartwarming speech was cut short as her eyes widened at the sight of Kimera who now suddenly appeared behind Rose while she was distracted from talking with Cassandra.

Opening its mouth extremely wide, Kimera swallowed Rose whole before she had a chance to react as it had been waiting for this perfect opportunity. It took one huge gulp and began cackling as it believed it had won the fight since nothing it had ever swallowed before could survive inside its stomach that had acidic bodiliy fluids.

Cassandra had watched that entire exchange with a stunned expression before her face contorted with rage and she withdrew her rapier and jumped right towards Kimera, killing intent bursting through her eyes.

"**You son of a bitch, I'll end you**!" Her tone had changed once more to what she used when she lost control. Pulling her rapier back, she built up power in her arms before she threw it forward as a tunnel of piercing wind was launched right towards Kimera. Snorting, Kimera merely blocked the wind as it cut through its arm and then launched its free arm right towards Cassandra who was still travelling through the air.

"Shit!" Cassandra cursed and raised her rapier in front of her body to block the strike as the impact was beyond what she expected and she was sent flying right into a tower near the palace. Lifting herself up from some rubble, Cassandra slowly raised her head to glare at Kimera who was floating in the middle of the air with a grotesque smile on its face, as if taunting the rebel princess.

"Just hang in there Rose, I'll get you out of there" Cassandra vowed as she prepared to attack again before she noticed a burning light come from the center of Kimera's stomach. Not only that, its body was beginning to turn red as steam started to evaporate from its skin.

"GRRAAAH!?" Kimera didn't understand what was happening as it began to scream and twist while in the air while Cassandra immediately realized what was going on.

"R-Rose?"

From the stomach of the Kimera the blade of Mooneater suddenly erupted in a blaze of fire before Suneater joined her brother and punctured the beasts stomach as well. In a few moments the blades suddenly sliced both horizontal and diagonal across the beats stomach creating a burning cross on its stomach.

"Fucking son of a bitch!!" The angry voice of Rose called out as she forcibly ripped her way out of the stomach of the Kimera in a grousing manner.

"You’re seriously making it hard as fuck to not disintegrated your bitchass to fucking dust." She angrily growled as she finally pulled herself free while covered in the sizzling blood and other intestines of the creature she had just split open. "You better be great full for the same mercies of the great and benevolent Ruby Rose-Sama." Rose stated as she turned and glared at the creature before her hair suddenly became engulfed in flames while her skin gained a multicolored hue, her eyes suddenly flew bright orange.

"I’ll say this once Beast, submit and bow your head now." She stated viscously before the area suddenly became increasingly hot while the sky suddenly lit up as of the sun was suddenly pulled closer. "Or continued to struggle and I’ll beat you to the inch of death, mentally break you to the point that you won’t event hesitate to take your own fucking life if I commanded it. I’ll shackle your fucking soul in so much despair your fucking descendants will fear me." She promised as the area continued to heat up drastically.

"I don’t fucking care if you can’t understand me, or if your brain is to fucking small to comprehend what I promised." Rose stated as her eyes flew brighter as did her skin and hair.

**"SUBMIT"**

Kimera looked down at its gut spilling stomach with a hard to read expression as it began to tremble, as if it had reached some sort of epiphany. Its burnt innards weren’t healing anywhere as quickly as its outward skin and the hole in its stomach was closing at a much slower speed as well. Soon after, a tear fell from its right eye as Cassandra looked utterly baffled that such a monster would be crying. Was it caused by fear? No, it didn’t look scared at all.

It was almost as if it was crying… out of joy?

“*Wait… could it be that it’s…?”*  Cassandra seemed to have realized something about Kimera but couldn’t open her mouth to say anything as the beast howled loudly once more, alerting the attention of everyone that lived within Sindra’s borders.

Once it was done shouting, it flew straight towards Rose as it raised its claw high into the air and brought it down in order to rip her to shreds.

"This is Fucking bullshit." Rose grumbled as she raised her hand and caught the Kimera claw without any issue. "You just had to fucking have emotions aint’cha?" She questioned the beast who’s heart was resonating sadness, anguish and hope something she could easily sense thanks to her Kenbonshoku Haki.

"Fuck this pisses me off, I fucking wanted to make you my damn bitch." She huffed irritably as her arms lit up in flames which crawled all across the Kimera setting it on fire. "Tch I’m a bitch but I ain’t a heartless bitch." She stated somewhat softly as she feared back her leg and kicked the Kimera into the sky before shooting after it while the glow around her body began to pulsate rapidly. Once they reach a good distant that wouldn’t do any damage to the kingdom Rose gave the Kimera a look of pity and acknowledgment.

"I fucking hope you don’t get delayed another shitty hand in ya next life." She stated before gripping the Kimera’s face as her body flew brightly to the point that it illuminated the sky.

**"Punk Annihilation Bomb"**

As soon as the words left her mouth the sky was engulfed in a massive and bright explosion, on the covered the entirety of the kingdoms sky, forcibly burning away even the clouds.

Kimera resigned itself to its fate as it felt its body being disintegrated by Rose’s flames whilst in the sky. It didn’t put up a resistance or even make a scream; it just accepted that it was finally free from the nightmare that was called living as its regenerative powers were helpless to prevent the intense, almost sun-like heat from melting away its body.

As its grotesque body was finally destroyed, the face of the human being that had been the base of the monster seemed to have appeared before Rose with a warm smile.

“*...Thank you….*” It said, its voice no higher than a whisper as it felt immense gratitude towards Rose for being able to finally let it rest. The only regret the man had was that he was unable to see his daughter’s face one last time before he passed on and he said her name moments in his final moments.

“*Yersi…*”

Soon after, the explosion in the sky began to die down as those on the ground watching from below were utterly speechless as to what had just happened.

“D-Did that woman just blow herself and that monster up?” A soldier said.

“I think so. I can’t believe someone was capable of killing that beast” Another chimed in.

“Hey idiots! Focus! This war ain’t over yet!” A burly soldier screamed that snapped the other soldiers back to reality as they continued to fight against the rejuvenated Resistance members. They were inspired by Rose who they saw fighting that monster in the sky and had no plans to give up just yet when she was still fighting.

“Keep it up! We’re not finished yet!” Zane shouted as everyone roared and did their best to hold off the overwhelming number of soldiers that were trying to wipe them out.

Meanwhile, Cassandra opened her eyes after Rose’s blinding explosion and saw a burning figure falling down towards the palace.

“Rose!” She shouted and jumped from the tower she was in as she landed back on the ground and headed straight towards where Rose would crash.

Following her attack Rose’s body would slam into the earth like a comment, decimating some of the surrounding in the process. What she had done was something extremely stupid especially giving the current situation but in the end she couldn’t afford to drag out the fight.

Once Casandra got to the crash site she would immediately notice that it wasn’t the damaged or burn body of Rose that was stationed in the crater, no instead there situated in the center of the crater was a tiny almost chick sized burn with smoldering feathers and multicolored tails. The youthful bird could be seen struggling to get up while chirping quietly in the process.

"R-Rose?" Cassandra sputtered as she wasn't expecting to see Rose in such a small and defenseless form. "...Is that really you?" She crouched down so that she was closer to the weakened bird, finding its vibrant colors to be quite captivating to look at.

"Turning its head towards Cassandra the Bird let out a happy thrill upon seeing a famously face before it’s body suddenly began growing and becoming more human like. After a few moments Rose’s human appearance could be seen once more however unlike previous Rose didn’t seem like her usual fiery self, in fact she seemed subdued as he kept nervously glancing around insecurely.

"Y-yeah I-it’s m-me." She stuttered nervously as she glanced at Cassandra before quickly looking down to the ground while playing his her shirt.

"P-please d-don’t be m-mad." She whispered as tears filled her oddly pink eyes. "I-I Pro-Promise to do better n-next time."

Cassandra’s eyes widened in complete disbelief as she witnessed Rose become a stuttering mess in front of her eyes. Who was this woman? There’s no way that she was the Rose that Cassandra knew.

“Uh R-Rose, are you feeling alright? Your not acting like your usual self” Cassandra said as she walked a bit closer and examined the woman. Did she hit her head or something when she came crashing down? Or was this personality some sort of drawback from her own powers? In any case, Cassandra was worried about Rose’s injuries as the woman looked like she had been through the ringer.

“How are you feeling?”

"I-I’m fine." Rose stuttered out as she became patting around her pockets. "T-this I-| just t-the result o-of me b-burning m-myself our." She continued while frantically searching her pockets even more.

"M-my fruit is l-linked to my e-e-emotions In a s-sense." She furthered explained. "Whi-while I am usually f-fiery, w-when I overexert m-myself I e-enter a c-cool down mode or "B-burn out M-mode." She finished with a small shy smile as she pulled out the Chiyu tears that she had received earlier and didn’t drink due to her flames healing she at the time.

"J-just give m-me a moment." She muttered softly as she quickly downed the tears, letting out a content sigh as she could feel the embers relit inside her body. Glancing up towards Cassandra, the princess would notice that Rose’s eyes once again changed colors, this time they held a deep sudoku color while he expression went from shy to a more relaxed and calm one.

"What you just say was the result of me reaching zero flames or basically the drawback of using all my flames at once, it shifts my personality from my usual hot-headed extrovert one to a more introverted shy persona." Rose explained in a calm and cool tone as she beagle checking over her body for any external or internal injuries.

"Currently I’m at roughly 45% of my max capacity after injecting the tears we were gifted earlier, which he put me in a sort of cool and calm persona until I recover enough to became my usual self." She continued as she rose up as attached a bit. "For now you’ll have to deal with me as such but enough of my predicament, we should hurry after Arsen and the King." She advised as she liked towards Cassandra once more.

"Uh... right..." Cassandra said with a stupified expression as she didn't know how to respond towards such a casual explanation of Rose essentially being bipolar due to her powers. Although, she wasn't really one to talk considering her own twisted personality that hid underneath the surface.

"...Let's head back then. With Arsen's strength, he shouldn't have a problem subduing my father or Edgar but we should still check on him" Cassandra suggested as she began running towards the Palace with Rose and headed straight towards the throne room once more, hopeful that the war would finally be over.

Back in the Throne Room, Humphrey was smiling to himself as he believed his prized pet known as Kimera was stomping out the remaining members of the Resistance. However, his strategist and advisor, Edgar, looked worried as his instincts were telling him that things weren’t going according to plan.

“*...Perseus is late. He should have defeated that samurai already and returned by the king’s side. It couldn’t be that he…?”* Edgar didn’t want to think of that possibility as he remained hopeful that the mightiest warrior of Sindra would return.

His dreams however were shattered once he heard the voice that came from the hole Kimera had created.

“I finally found you two”

Both the King and Edgar turned their attention immediately towards the hole where a silhouette appeared in the darkness before they stepped into the throne room, revealing the appearance of Arsen who was smirking at them.

“*No!*” Edgar’s face broke out into a cold sweat at seeing Arsen appear whereas the King frowned heavily.

“What is the meaning of this? You should be taken care of by now. What is that fool Perseus doing?” Humphrey complained.

“Sorry, but your son won’t be coming to save you” Arsen stated as he walked towards them, his hand placed on the sheath of his katana. “You should be proud. He was quite the challenge”

Humphrey finally seemed to realize what Arsen was implying as he immediately stood up from his throne, sweat dripping down his face as he looked frightened.

“I-It can’t be! Y-Y-You defeated Perseus!?” Humphrey stammered while Edgar beside him took a step in front of his king to shield him.

“*It’s as I feared. The situation is far worse than I could have imagined*” Edgar’s anxious feeling earlier had been right all along. With Perseus defeated and Kimera off doing god knows what, the king was practically defenseless as Edgar knew his combat abilities were pathetic compared to the likes of Perseus or Cassandra. He racked his brain to try and find a solution out of this mess as Arsen’s steps got closer and closer.

“Give it up” Arsen suddenly said, which alerted both Humphrey and Edgar. “This country doesn’t need a piece of garbage like you running it. So either step down as King and pay for your crimes” He began as he slowly unsheathed his blade. “Or I’ll cut the both of you down where you stand”

Killing intent oozed out of Arsen’s body as Humphrey and Edgar were paralyzed by it. He wasn’t joking; the resolve in his crimson eyes and stance showed that if they refused to surrender he really would kill them. No matter what angle Edgar’s mind looked at this from, the only future he was able to see was that the reign of King Humphrey was over.

“*No, that cannot happen! This country is ours and ours alone! I won’t allow it!*” Edgar screamed in his mind as he suddenly charged at Arsen while reaching into his pocket to pull out a small pistol.

“Flee, my king! If we lose you this country is doomed! I’ll buy you some time!” Edgar shouted as he aimed the gun at Arsen’s face.

Arsen sighed, pitying the man called Edgar for his loyalty towards such an unworthy man. With no other choice, Arsen’s body vanished and reappeared right behind Edgar, his blade having already been sheathed as the strategist couldn’t even process what just happened as he still pointed the gun forward where Arsen had been.

“A foolish decision” Arsen said, walking right past Edgar as a large gash wound appeared on the man’s shoulder down to his waist. Blood poured out of that wound as Edgar slowly fell to the ground, dropping the gun he was holding before he glanced back at his frightened king.

“Run…away…” Was all he said before he hit the floor, covered in a pool of his own blood.

The only thing that could be heard now within the throne room were Arsen’s steps as he slowly got closer and closer towards Humphrey, who began taking several steps back with a cowardly look.

“S-Stay back! Stay back! You don’t understand! This country needs me to rule it! Do you think those disgusting peasants could have made this country as successful as I did!? What would some battle hungry outlaw like you know about politics or running a kingdom huh!?” Humphrey shouted desperately towards Arsen, who didn’t stop or even acknowledge Humphrey’s words.

“I cannot die here! No matter what! I shall survive!” He said before he turned around and began fleeing rather clumsily as his obese body struggled to move.

Arsen, who had stopped walking, glanced back at the body of Edgar that was lying on the ground with a sad expression before his gaze hardened at the retreating figure of Humphrey.

“*Ridiculous. His subordinate was just cut down in front of him and he doesn’t even care about it. He shows no compassion or worry for those that believe in him. I held back and showed mercy to that one because of his loyalty*” Arsen thought before he unsheathed his blade and narrowed his gaze at Humphrey’s fat neck. “*You will not receive the same kindness*”

Resolving himself, Arsen dashed forward as he appeared right behind Humphrey and aimed a fatal horizontal slash at the man’s neck, intending to end his miserable life and bring down the curtain of this corrupted country.

The sword inched closer, and closer, and closer...

*SCHWING*

The peaceful blade known as Shohei glistened, even in the darkness, and its shining steel met that of another famous blade of Wano. One that Arsen would no doubt recognize. A blade of darkness known as Autumn Water. Or as the residents of Wano called it, Shusui.

Sparks flew in between the two blades, Arsen's attack perfectly met by another source of strength. Were he to look up, he'd see her. Standing in between him and Humphrey. Black raven hair, red glowing eyes, and a menacing, almost empty stare. The Shichibukai known as Al Khalifa Ain interrupted what would be Humphrey's death.

"Stand back," she commanded. Whether this was calculated or just a random chance remained unknown. But one thing remained certain. The revolutionaries' luck had now run out, for the Notch's crow had arrived.

Arsen’s face that was dead sent on cleaving Humphrey’s head off his shoulders twisted into shock at the woman who now stood between him and the man as her majestic blade had blocked his own. Crimson eyes met crimson eyes as the two sword wielders exchanged stares with each other as time seemed to stop at their brief clash.

“You…” He mumbled, having already come to know the face of the woman standing before him. How could he not? Every person worth their weight knew the faces of the Shichibukai that aligned themselves with the World Government. They were individuals who stood among the strongest in the Grand Line and were both feared and respected across the seas.

This woman, known to all as Al Khalifa Ain, was one of the two Shichibukai that Arsen had kept his eyes on, the other being the carrier of the title Arsen longed for; the strongest swordsmen in the world, Bimore O. Jack. They both carried legendary blades that, along with his Shohei, were counted among the Meito.

Towards her command of standing back, Arsen pulled back his sword as he rested it by his side and now stared down Ain. Closing his eyes, he took a quick breath to calm his body that was just itching to engage Ain in combat to see how strong she truly was. Once he regained his cool, he opened his mouth to speak to her.

“I never would have imagined I’d meet someone like you here” Arsen said with a faint smirk. "I can't tell if it's bad luck or good luck"

Humphrey, who had now fallen to the ground, looked behind him as he recognized the woman that had protected him with an elated expression.

“Y-You! I know you! Your part of those pirates that are employed by the World Government, aren't you? I’m saved!” Humphrey cheered as he crawled on his hands and knees and grabbed Ain’s leg. “You have to save me! This cretin and his allies have ruined my kingdom and killed my people! They’re nothing but terrorists!” He pleaded with a pathetic expression.

Arsen clicked his tongue in disgust at Humphrey’s frantic plea before he spoke to Ain.

“I take it that you're here to protect that worthless piece of garbage?” He asked her.

Without much effort, Ain moved her leg away from Humphrey's prying hands. A gaze of calm anger stared down at Humphrey before Arsen's words shifted her focus.

Her wrist twisted several times, her sword moving in between her fingers, all without a single cut forming on Ain's skin. "Protect? No. Those weren't the orders..." she mentioned. "Destroy whoever threatens the kingdom. That's what I was told."

Ain thrust her arm forward, her sword pointed at Arsen. "You're threatening this kingdom, no?" Shusui's intent could be felt oozing from the blade. Arsen leaped back, the distance between him and Ain widening, but that mattered little for the government's latest warlord. If she could see her opponent, then certainly, she could cut him, or at least try to.

Raising her sword arm above her head, with a simple, rather effortless swing, Ain brought her arm down, Shusui moving along with it. The wind whistled initially for a brief second, before the sheer force of her swing condensed into a massive air slash that tore through the air. It didn't even touch the ground the duo stood on, no, there was no need to make a mess. It traveled through the air, widening by the second before it'd threaten to cleave Arsen in half, if not push him back kilometers back if it made contact.

Arsen’s eyes widened at the speed of Ain’s draw as she brought her sword down, sending a razor sharp projectile of air towards him. The motion was smooth and effortless as the samurai inwardly praised the woman’s excellent technique. Having already taken a step back, he had enough space to dodge the slash as he jumped to the right and watched as the air slash tore through the walls behind him like a hot knife through butter and left a large mark on the wall.

“...Right for the kill, huh?” Arsen said as he looked back at Ain, whose deep red eyes showed her resolve towards ending whatever she deemed was a threat. That said, he guessed that attack was something like a test for him as it seemed like she was also gauging his strength. If that was the case, then it was only fair he responded in kind.

“...Very well then” The atmosphere within the throne room dropped several levels as a wave of hostile intent oozed out of Arsen’s body. Clutching his katana, Arsen took his signature quick draw stance before Ain as red eyes met red eyes and in the next moment, he unsheathed his blade in the blink of an eye.

“Itoryu Iai: Jinryū (*Swift Dragon*)”

The speed and skill at which Arsen had released his katana created a compressed air projectile that moved at incredible speeds and took the form of a large eastern dragon made entirely of wind as it was aimed directly at Ain. Humphrey, who sat behind the woman, screamed as the ferocious air beast was headed straight towards them.

"Be..." a voice that was both dark and resentful came from Ain as she bent her knees slightly. Many swordsmen would be unable to counter or even tell what Arsen did. He moved with such technique, such speed, that his blade literally created a creature out of nothingness, or at least that was the illusion it gave. Perhaps someone like Jack, or Abhi would've reacted with a display of equal if not more finesse to match Arsen. Such was the way of Balance-Type swordsmen. But Ain was far from someone that specialized in technique. No, she focused on sheer power. Her right hand held on to Shusui's hilt, as she shifted into a sideway stance. She winded up her sword arm, the roaring dragon approaching. It tore through the air with strength, its roars seemingly pushing the wind away from it as it inched closer and closer to the Warlord.

"Quiet!"

The roaring stopped as Ain's arm swung forward. Her entire body twisted along her arm as the blade's length made contact with the dragon. Almost as if she was holding a baseball bat, Ain pushed forward with incredible strength, veins popping for only an instant as her feet sunk into the earth. A second later, Ain followed through, and the wind dragon that once aimed to destroy her now returned back to its owner with even more speed and strength that it had initially been made with. It appeared akin to a blur, as if Ain's strike wouldn't even allow it to maintain its shape.

Arsen’s eyes would widen in shock at Ain’s masterful counter towards his signature technique. Of all the moves he had been expecting from her, a deflection was the last one he could have imagined her doing and it only further confirmed her strength in his mind as a member of the Shichibukai.

With no time to dodge, Arsen could only face power with power as he raised his sword above his head and closed his eyes. The muscles in his arms bulged as veins appeared all over his biceps as he gathered an incredible amount of raw power into his hands. Opening his eyes to meet Ain’s counter attack, Arsen let loose a downward thrust that clashed head on with the reflected air pressure as the throne room shook from the strength of those opposing forces.

“Haaaaaa!” Arsen screamed as he stood in a deadlock with Ain’s attack, the floor beneath him cracking from the pressure as his blade grinded against the attack. He couldn’t let up for a second unless he wished to be ripped apart by his own original attack. Cracking a smile, Arsen truly was glad he had come to this kingdom for allowing him to encounter Ain. With one final push, Arsen finally broke through and dispersed the attack after his sword hit the ground; the wind pressure from those attacks scattering throughout the room as Humphrey clung to the ground in terror.

Silence soon enveloped the spacious room as Arsen stood upright, resting his katana by his waist as his mouth curved into a smile towards Ain.

“It seems your the real deal. Reflecting my own attack back at me like that? Your one scary woman” He chuckled, still feeling the numbness in his fingers from that clash. He respected Ain’s strength greatly after that exchange, even if she was aligned with the World Government and was protecting that pig.

Still, he was short on time and he needed to take down Humphrey to finally bring an end to this blasted war that was still going on.

“Can’t you just step aside? I’d love to keep fighting with you but this country can only be saved once we remove that tyrant from the throne” He pointed towards Humphrey who was still hiding behind Ain with a cowardly look.

Tyrant?” Ain’s head swiveled along with her torso to look at Humphrey. He was scared, and rightfully so. Her eyes moved to Shusui, almost as if she could feel something from it as she looked at Humphrey. Moving her sword to the side, Ain’s gaze returned to Arsen.

“Say he died right now, swordsman. Then what?” Ain questioned. “Someone else will replace him? Likely someone worse than him. Perhaps even worse, you lot all do manage to get rid of him, refuse to cooperate with the government and then your entire country is destroyed. Can’t you see?” Ain asked.

“It’s meaningless.” Her eyes narrowed, yet her gaze seemed to go past Arsen into somewhere far, far away almost as if she was reminiscing. “Evil will always be replaced by another evil. This is where it ends.”

Ain’s knees bent slightly. Shusui’s hilt gripped on gently as the sword remained in front of her horizontally. A single, almost unnoticeable step propelled her forward. A blur of red and black was all that could be seen before Ain reappeared a meter or two from Arsen. She didn’t wish to close the distance, though she could, no, she stopped her momentum at a perfectly calculated distance where Shusui would thrive.

Another step halted the acceleration she had built up before she leaned forward. The strength of her entire body amassed, her foot cracked against the earth as that force too, was transferred onto her sword arm as she twisted.

Shusui moved diagonally, attempting to cleave Arsen in half from his leg up to the opposite shoulder. An attack so powerful that the wind roared, causing dust and debris to rise and disperse. Ain’s hair billowed in the wind, her expression as stern as always. It was an attack of sheer strength, one that very few wanted to take head-on. And so, expecting Arsen to somehow dodge, there would come the second move.

Whether her attack connected or not, once her sword had reached his shoulder, Ain would immediately reverse her grip, and once more, reverse her momentum. She’d pull back Shusui in the same direction it had come from. And as a result of the rapidly opposing forces, a vortex would form in between the two. One that Ain commanded and whose intention was to drag Arsen towards it, all for Ain to deliver a bone-shattering kick powered by her Oni bones!

“Meaningless huh?” Arsen worded with a frown, believing that the warlord had written them off far too early. How could she possibly know that there were no better candidates for the throne? Had she lived in this country long enough to determine that? Had she seen the atrocities that this pig had committed towards the people of Sindra? There was one person that Arsen knew in his heart would be a better leader for these citizens and that man was currently fighting with his life on the line to better the lives of everyone here.

Anger and resolve rose from within Arsen’s heart and he understood that getting through to Ain with words was clearly not going to happen. So he’d make her understand with his blade, one way or the other.

The moment that she accelerated towards him, Arsen had already closed his eyes and was utilizing his Observation Haki to sense Ain’s movements. Trusting his eyes against someone of her speed would delay his reaction time and thus, he opted to leave everything to his supernatural senses as they picked up Ain’s movements the moment she entered his radius.

Seeing that she intended to cleave him from his leg up to his shoulder with an immensely powerful swing, Arsen’s instincts told him that she expected him to dodge and had prepared a second attack whether the first one landed or not. It was a testament to her skill and experience for being able to position herself to unleash a second attack instantly.

However, Arsen’s own vast experience battling countless swordsmen in the Grand Line would allow him to see through that as he spun on the heel of his foot, generating his own momentum that would be directly opposite of Ain’s. Jumping forward while spinning, Arsen would unleash his sword swing downwards diagonally that would clash against Ain’s own upward slash as a shockwave erupted from within the throne room and a vortex of wind swirled around the two swordsmen.

Because he had jumped forward, Arsen had removed the distance between himself and Ain and had eliminated the space necessary for her to follow through with her second attack. The two Meito blades, Shusui and Shohei, were grinding against each other as their wielders were only inches apart during their deadlock as two sets of crimson eyes glared at each other. Blood fell down from Arsen’s arm however as Ain’s initial swing had been stronger than he expected and he was unable to counter all of it due to his unfavorable position. Still, he endured the pain as he contiued to glared right at Ain and opened his mouth.

“I made a vow to a friend that I’d help save this country and I intend to keep my word, no matter what” Arsen stated right in Ain’s face as their swords continued to push against each other, neither side backing down.

Not a moment later, Cassandra followed by Rose would arrive back in the Throne Room as they looked around to see a destroyed room with four people inside. An unconscious and wounded Edgar on the floor, the cowardly and obese king cowering in the back, and Arsen and a woman engaged in a sword struggle in the center.

“What in the world happened here?” Cassandra asked no one as she glanced at her father before her eyes settled on Arsen and the unfamiliar woman he was fighting.

“Who is that?” She asked.

"**Ember Phantasm** Al Khalifa Ain." Rose muttered in a tone that converted her awe even in her current state of emotion. "Why is one of the Seven Great Warlords here?" She questioned as she glanced over towards Arsen as if he knew the answer.

Outwardly she appeared cool and collective as her flames were still rather lukewarm, but internally she was having a rather out of character moment as she now stood before her idol and one of the two inspirations that set her on the path of piracy, the sole woman she respected above all else in the world. As her crimson eyes meet the crimson of Ain, Rose couldn’t help the shiver of excitement and fear that ran down her spine, she knew of the feats the woman before her had accomplished, she had a whole damn journal about her exploits after all.

"Cassey I wasn’t aware your father held connections with the Shicibukai or the Notch Pirates." She questioned the princess to try and understand the situation more clear.

“I wasn’t either…” Cassandra said with a shocked look as she never expected to meet one of the Seven Warlords here. She had heard of them of course but she always thought they were too important to waste their time on this country. Her father had never mentioned it before either so her surprise was warranted.

“If she’s a member of the Seven Warlords, that can only mean one thing” A drip of sweat fell from the side of Cassandra’s face as she uttered her next words. “It means the World Government sent her here to protect the country from the Resistance. And that means wiping us out” She said, connecting the dots on why Arsen and Ain were fighting one another.

"I was afraid as much." Rose stated while inwardly cursing herself for overexerting and burning out herself, she knew was nowhere close to being strong enough to seriously challenge the Shicibukai even at her maximum strength, however at her max flames she was confident that she could escape with everyone life if things went south.

"I take it that you have no intention of simply allowing us to finish what we started?" She questioned towards her idol while her eyes once more sought to check on Arsen to ensure he wasn’t injured, he would prove to be a crucial and key player if a fight happened. "No.. there is no need for you to answer that, I already know the answer as it’s one I would give." She continued as she shook her head with a frown while glancing around for anything flammable as she was positive her currently recovery rate still wasn’t good enough seeing as the tears were less effective thanks to her flames abilities.

Smirking a little at the inevitable she once more focused on Arsen who was still locked in the power struggle.

"Arsen!"

She called out after a few moments. "Statistically what are our chances of survival?" She questioned with a smirk almost reminiscent of her true personality.

Because Arsen was fully concentrating on his battle with Ain, he wasn’t aware of Rose and Cassandra’s presence until the former had called out his name. He already expected that Rose would be triumphant in taking down that monster called Kimera so he wasn’t surprised to see her back so soon as he spoke to her without breaking eye contact with Ain.

“How the hell should I know tha-huh?” Arsen blinked, realizing something was very wrong in how Rose had referred to him and her tone of speaking as he broke the deadlock with Ain and jumped back a considerable distance. Once he had landed, he turned to both Rose and Cassandra with both a confused and baffled look on his face.

“...Did you just call me by my name?” He asked as he couldn’t recall the last time Rose had called him anything but Pansy or Bitch. “And what’s up with that calm tone?” His eyes traveled to Cassandra for some answers. “That *is* Rose, isn’t it?”

“...It’s a bit hard to explain but yes, that is her. I’m still getting used to it myself” Cassandra said with an awkward expression.

"I’ll explain later" Rose stated unbothered but Arsen’s confusion, something she found amusing. "Our top priority is defeating or distracting Ain long enough for one of us recapture if kill the king." She advised what she deemed the best and most logical plan.

"Given that both of us together might still not be enough to match even a fraction of her power, I suggest we play it out in a Similar manner to our adventure on Saboady." She stated while looking directly towards Arsen before turning towards Cassandra.

"You’re most likely going to be the one to deal the final blow to your father while we keep Ain occupied, I trust that you can accomplish that without sentimental feelings getting in the way?" She questioned the princess with a none suggestive tone.

"That won't be an issue" Cassandra said as she glared at her father who finally seemed to notice her existence and looked even more scared than before.

“C-Cassandra!? What is the meaning of this! You were supposed to kill that pirate!” Humphrey barked at her before he noticed that the crystal on her neck was no longer there. “Impossible! H-How did you remove it!?”

Not that she expected it but the fact that her father showed no concern over her well being and instead criticized her annoyed Cassandra more than it should as her expression turned cold.

“Sorry to disappoint you but I’m *done* taking orders from you” She stated before she unsheathed her rapier and pointed it towards him, startling the man. “Now, *you will* step down as king and relinquish your control over this country or else” She threatened.

"Hah!" Humphrey laughed. "Since when did you learn to talk so big? Don't you see this behemoth before me?" He pointed towards Ain. "Do you honestly believe your a match for one of the Seven Warlords? Know your place you insolent girl!"

Cassandra's eyes shifted towards Ain, who seemed to be observing the situation, and opened her mouth.

"Royal Warlord Al Khalifa Ain, is it truly the wish of the World Government for this country to continue to suffer under this wretched man's rule? Is there no way we can open your eyes to the truth of this corrupted kingdom?" She pleaded.

Though it didn't seem like it due to her silence, Ain paid attention. From the tidbits of conversation between them, she could pick up on information, though now was far from the time to make conclusions. Her eyes remained on Shisui for a second, before Cassandra spoke to her.

"The government's wish, no, the government's command is to erase anyone who threatens Sindra's existence. And as far as I can tell, that would be you." She pointed Shusui straight at the group of rebels. "You must all be very confident in your abilities to make a plan in front of me, either that...or you're foolish."

Ain's eyes narrowed, Shusui returning to her side. "Very well then, rebels. Show me. That your confidence isn't just insolence. Stand up for what you believe in. But beware, an immovable obstacle stands before you..."I'll take those burning souls of yours," Ain's eyes glowed only for an instant before returning to dullness. "And I'll **snuff** them."

Cassandra was intimidated by that glare as sweat fell from her forehead, sensing Ain’s intent to make due on her words of snuffing out their lives. Those deep crimson eyes were paralyzing to Cassandra and made her realize how immense the gap was between herself and someone who held the title of Shichibukai.

Despite her fear however, Cassandra still felt it necessary to try and convince Ain with words.

“But surely there can be another way to-

“That’s enough”

Cassandra’s plea was cut off as the former princess turned to the source of that voice that belonged to Arsen, who was wearing a serious expression on his face.

“Give it a rest, Cassandra. It’s painfully obvious that you won’t get through to this one with words” Arsen said before he began walking in Ain’s direction as he held his katana by his waist. “Actions will speak louder than words ever will”

Cassandra couldn’t respond or even disagree with that statement as she wore an anxious expression, unable to hide her worry for her comrades. She just wanted to avoid any needless bloodshed if it was possible and she knew that both Rose and Arsen had sustained injuries during their battles while Ain looked about as fresh as a fighter could be.

“You heard the samurai, Cassandra. Let’s leave it to them” Humphrey said with a mocking tone as Cassandra glared at him. She was just itching to bring her father down a peg but she couldn’t, not with Ain protecting him.

Arsen stopped walking and stood facing Ain from a medium sized distance. His gaze fell down to the sword called Shusui that was in Ain’s possession as Arsen “heard '' its voice calling out to him while his own blade, Shohei, was also screaming in his arms.

“Your blade sounds like its excited” Arsen chuckled as he spoke to Ain. “My own sword is saying the same thing. It’s dying to clash against your sword once more to prove its the stronger of the two” He revealed.

"Hm?" Ain's brows furrowed slightly at the mention of Shusui. In a sense, he was right, Shusui was definitely reacting to *something*. It was why Ain's gaze so often washed over it. His words, though cryptic, intrigued her, yet at the same time, they were suggestive. That a blade stronger than Shusui could exist.

"Stronger?" Ain questioned. "Let's see if you'll be as confident after this is all over..." she brought Shusui in front of her, her knees slightly bent. For the first time, in the fight, Ain did not attack. It was a sign of respect, that Rose and Arsen commanded her to for once, stay on the defensive.

Arsen narrowed his eyes at Ain’s change in posture, noting that she had switched to a defensive stance. It seemed like she was finally taking him seriously as an opponent as his lips curved into a smirk and he spoke to Cassandra and Rose.

“I let you guys have that monster from before. So don’t interfere, she’s mine” Arsen stated as he shifted into a different stance than his usual one. His knees were bent and he was holding his sword with his left hand instead of his usual right.

“H-Huh!?” Cassandra couldn’t believe her ears after what Arsen had just said. “Are you insane? This isn’t the kind of opponent you can face by yourself! If we’re going to have any chance, we’ll have to bring her down together!” She voiced.

“Perhaps, but I won’t know unless I try, will I? Besides, until Miss Firecracker over there is back to normal, I don’t think she’d last long against her” Arsen pointed to Rose, who for once didn’t give him the middle finger even after those light jabs at her. It was a refreshing change if he thought so himself.

Focusing back on Ain, Arsen tuned out Rose and Cassandra and directed his full attention on the enemy before him. Building up power as the veins in his leg muscles grew, Arsen suddenly dashed forward like a jet rocket and began circling around Ain as his body became a blur. The inhuman levels of speed Arsen was moving at caused a miniature cyclone to circle around Ain as Cassandra watched the spectacle with shocked eyes.

“W-Was he always that fast?” Cassandra couldn’t even keep track of his movements anymore as Arsen continued to run around Ain, who hadn’t moved a muscle yet.

“*Not fazed huh? I didn’t think she’d be*” Arsen thought while moving around her. “*I already know her power can match and even surpass my own, but what about her speed? Let’s find out!*” He thought as he began slashing the air as he circled around the warlord, shifting and directing the wind currents so that they would take shape into miniature eagles.

“Ittoryu: Washikari! (*Eagle Hunt*)” Arsen shouted as his hundreds of eagle projectiles swooped in on Ain from all directions and intended to tear her body apart with an unrelenting barrage of wind.

Immediately, Ain's grip over Shusui tightened. Her eyes followed Arsen's almost blurring figure. He was fast, that much was true, especially for someone in Paradise but he was far from the fastest Ain had faced. During her time as a member of the Purgatory Pirate Alliance, Ain had more than once sparred against Maurier Harlan, and well, in comparison to the Yonko, Arsen was...

"Slow." Ain declared. She didn't need to match Arsen's speed, doing so would be unnecessary. No, all she had to do was pay attention to him. The direction in which he moved, the angles that his sword took to release the slashes, and where they were performed exactly. It was all manipulation of air currents, currents that moved in certain ways. And if Ain did that, she could react.

Her right leg slid behind her left, both of her knees bending slightly. As the slashes came towards her, hair billowing in the wind due to the intensity of Arsen’s attack, Ain took a single step forward with her right leg, landing on her toe. As she stepped, her body twisted completely, spinning along with Shusui, in a direction opposite to Arsen’s own rotation. Her strength moved from her toe, up to her torso, to her shoulder, and into her sword arm. The wind accumulated on Ain’s person, creating a massive 360 degree slash that clashed against the many hundred of projectiles that Arsen threw at her. Even the miniature tornado that had formed would disappear into nothingness due to the two different rotations clashing.

“You already know you can’t match me…yet, you fight by yourself.” In that same movement, Ain would use the momentum she had built to propel herself forward. Her figure disappeared from sight, reappearing in front of wherever Arsen would be.

Flames accumulated at Ain’s leg as she’d swing the limb forward with such strength that rings of sheer air pressure formed around it before sizzling. Her intent was to kick Arsen into Rose and Cassandra, sending the trio tumbling, while seriously damaging the rookie in the process.

“I-Incredible!” Cassandra said in awe as Ain had managed to easily neutralize Arsen’s attack. Could she have done that? Even in her enraged state, it would have been difficult given the samurai’s speed. The more Cassandra watched this battle, the more she realized how out of her league she was in comparison to the both of them.

Arsen’s face showed no surprise that Ain had been able to overcome his technique as she reappeared in front of him and aimed a flame-imbued kick towards him. Her speed was terrifying and it normally would have caught him off guard had he not already been using his Kenbushoku Haki to predict her next attack. Having also experienced the overwhelming speed of Harlan, Ain’s speed was definitely a step or two slower and was well within his ability to react too as he noticed that the warlord’s power was her more dominant and specialized trait.

With his eyes closed and his senses focused only on Ain’s aura, Arsen recalled the dance-like movements of his second mentor, Armani D. Atlas, as he smoothly side stepped Ain’s flame leg with precise footwork, the intense heat of Ain’s limb passing his chest right by. Without missing a step, Arsen followed up his movement by spinning around Ain’s left as the spin’s momentum carried his sword and he brought it down towards Ain’s shoulder that was unguarded.

Ain's response was simple. In truth, she expected Arsen to dodge, or at least contest her attack. It's what he had done all throughout their fight. As Arsen spun, Ain's shoulder flexed, muscles strengthening together. The blade clashed against her shoulder, shockwaves spreading throughout. It wasn't that his attack was weak, no, far from it, in fact, Ain's teeth clenched together and her feet dug deep into the earth as to prevent her from moving, but the bones of an Oni were as strong as diamond. The second the blade made contact, the flames increased. From her leg to every pore in her body as he was mid-spin. Both intensity and the area the flames affected grew, so much that the floor around Ain melted, and the air warped around due to the intense heat waves. There was almost no escaping for Arsen, for the flames could move way faster than he could given his current position, he would at the least, suffer some amount of burns before he'd be able to move away.

Rose didn’t know why or how it happened and later down the line she would raise hell about her actions today but for whatever reason she found her body moving on it’s own. Green flames erupted around her covering her body instantly while creating a makeshift pair of wings which she used to propel herself forward faster than one could blink.

In a matter of seconds she was upon the clashing duo just as the flames released from the Shicibukai erupted forward to burn Arsen, Rose knew that her being able to do what she was about to do was only possible because Ain had her focus full aimed on Arsen while dismissing her and Cassandra for the moment, something she will make the Oni regret. Acting on pure instincts Rose Kicked Arsen out of the way ultimately breaking the duo’s struggle while knocking them both off balance and allowed the flames to shoot towards her, something she wasn’t worried about due to the nature of her Devil Fruit.

**"Punk Flare Blitz."**

She intoned softly as her as she created a wave of flames just before before was engulfed by the flames of Ain, normally one would be worried but Rose wasn’t as her Resurgence flames were still cover her body. grunting in irritation Rose began to manipulate the flames she had spewed earlier in a desperate last resort as she knew she couldn’t clash against Ain in her current state. Suddenly she could feel it, a lit ember in the pit of her stomach, a raging inferno that was quickly building, it seems that the tears she had injected earlier hadn’t failed but was merely delayed in its functioning, perhaps it was because of the nature of her Resurgence flames or perhaps it was because of her bodily strain but all she knew was that thing were about to heat up, suddenly her body exploded in small fiery explosion of Pink flames that shot straight up through the roof and into the sky.

"FUUUUCKKK YEEEEAHHHH." The rough and vulgar voice of Rose called out from within the turret of pink flames before it suddenly disappeared revealed Rose smiling savagely at Rose as her red eyes lit up with excitement.

"Thanks for the Fucking feast Bitch, I was getting tired of being in that pussy ass state." She suddenly called out to Ain before turning towards Arsen with a scowl. "And you Fuck Face, who the hell told you to try and be the leader?" She questioned as she flipped him off. "You’re my bitch remember that and stay below my heel like." She finished before turning to Cassandra.

"Oi Cassey the fuck you doing woman hurry the fuck up and do some shit while me and Bitch Blade beats this bitches ass respectfully."

"...Oh uh, sorry" Cassandra was snapped out of her bewilderment by Rose's words as she withdrew her rapier and took a stance, intending to join in with the duo against the warlord that stood in their way.

Meanwhile, Arsen flipped in the air as he skid across the floor after being kicked by Rose in his shoulder.

"The hell?" Because he had been entirely focused on Ain, Arsen was unable to react to Rose's kick as an annoyed glare formed on his face towards the punk pirate. Any form of gratitude he had for her actions, that had probably saved him from being roasted, immediately vanished as he listened to her condescending words while she flipped him off.

"You bitch. I'll carve you up like a damn turkey if that's what you want!" He stood up and shouted at the woman as the two outlaws comically exchanged curses at one another while Cassandra sighed at the sight. These two would never change.

A heroic effort by Rose had the swordsman saved in the nick of time. As quickly as the pink flames had come towards the roof, they seemed to bend and curve, all converging upon a single location.

That of Al Khalifa Ain.

Rose’s kick had proven effective in saving her comrade, but could the same be said for her? There she stood, in front of the Shichibukai herself. One whose flames had only been enhanced by the consumption of Rose’s own.Images of Maurier Harlan and Umori Kenshiro replaced that of Rose and Arsen. Their voices transformed into those of the New World’s greatest. Their bickering not unlike that of both the Great Pirates.

Ain hesitated only for a second, her eyes widened at the similarities between the duos before her onslaught would continue.

“You…” Ain’s arm immediately reached Rose, the floor underneath her sizzling and melting thanks to the heat that now passive escaped her body. “Talk too much.” A swiping claw approached the rookie, one who at the last second, grew massively in size. Into that of an Ifrit. A limb of pure heat nearly thrice the size of Ain’s own body shot forward at the last second. Hoping to cleave cleanly through Rose, if not immediately burn through her. Her room for dodging was limited, for not only was the partial transformation sudden, but she had spent her time bickering with her teammates. The air sizzled immediately, the floor around them melting as the arm would push forward, likely reaching Arsen and Cassandra in the process. Intense heat waves escaped from the limb, along with extremely warm air. The true fight had just begun.

It was thanks to her years of combat and fighting above her level that alerted Rose of the impending attack. Darting her eyes over she instinctively knew that dodging would be near impossible, and even if she did magically dodge she wouldn’t escape unscaved, something she sure as hell couldn’t risk at the current moment.

"Fuck!!" She cursed in annoyance as she raised her arms up in a X formation to block and negates away some of the impending damage. "This will fucking hurt." Gritting her teeth in preparation Golden flames erupted across her body, it’s bright pattern running underneath her skin in a manner similar to her veins leaving a clear imprint on her skin while also enhancing and strengthening her body in a hole to avoid a huge imprint of damage.

"ARSEN, CASSEY YOU BITCH BETTER FUCKING MOVE!!" She yelled out last second before she was struck by Ain’s hand and launched backwards in a rather brutal fashion.

Arsen and Cassandra were able to immediately feel the intense heat generated by Ain's flames even from such a wide distance as they raised their guards to shield them from the pressure. Rose's loud voice alerted them in front as they watched the punk pirate be sent flying towards the duo.

"Rose!" Cassandra shouted and took action immediately, jumping forward as she spread her arms out in an attempt to catch Rose. Arsen however, knew that such an attempt would only end badly as he jumped out of the way as Rose flew right by him and slammed right into Cassandra's chest as the force of that impact sent the two ladies tumbling backwards as they collided with a nearby wall.

Landing back on the ground, Arsen spared a glance at where the duo had crashed into before he focused back on Ain as sweat fell from the side of his face at the pressure the warlord was giving off.

"She's serious now. This isn't good..." Arsen mumbled, wondering how they were going to be able to defeat the behemoth that stood before them. Even with the three of them attacking together, their chance of winning was still bleak at best. They needed something else, something to turn the tide of the battle. The only question was what.

"Is that all? What happened to all that bravado before?" Ain questioned. Flames amassed throughout Shusui's length, coating the blade in a layer of sheer heat. The stone surrounding them had melted, smoke beginning to fill the room, yet Ain appeared as if she was thriving more than anything. "Don't you understand? Your efforts are futile. The World Government *always* wins. This little rebellion of yours...it ends NOW!"

Ain's eyes shined a bright red for only an instant as she swung Shusui. From her blade, a massive fire-shaped slash formed, covering the entirety of the room's width. Sheering heat emanated from it, immediately proving to be at the very least, distracting, before the slash would meet its mark against the rebels of Sindra.

"Oh, hell no, you don't!" A new voice called out, one that Rose and Arsen would instantly recognize. As the slash traversed forward, a blurring limb struck to meet it. That of Onyx, Rose's Shipwright and First Mate. His own, flaming limb, caused Ain's fire slash to disperse from the sheer air pressure. "Oi, I don't know who you are...but why the hell are you gunning for my Captain?" Onyx proclaimed. "You guys okay?!" Onyx asked with concern.

Pulling herself free from the wall she had intimately became introduced with, Rose coughed up a bit of blood before wiping her mouth clean and glaring at Ain.

"Just fucking peachy." She replied as she turned her glare upon Onyx. "Where the fuck were you?" She questioned her first mate with a raised brow.

"Me and the sword Pansy been getting our asses handed to us by her and Cassandra seems to be in some fucking trans or some shift cuz she ain’t do Jack-shit yet." She grumbled angrily at the prospect of admitting she was getting her ass beat like a drum, deep down she knew they had no chance against Ain after all she was the woman she admires the most in the world so she had to be strong.

Standing up and shaking her limbs loose Rose once more glared at Ain. "Fucking bitch ain’t easy at all, plus she standing in the way of my money."

"Ugh, I'll take that as a thank you" Cassandra whined as she stood up from the rubble and collected her bearings after being knocked for a loop by that impact. She didn't have the strength or will to argue with Rose as she rejoined the group.

"What did you expect?" Arsen side glanced Rose. "She's a warlord. We knew this wasn't going to be easy" He reminded as his gaze shifted to Onyx, who he hadn't expected to show up here after being seperated from the group. "Well aren't you just full of surprises? You managed to deflect one of her attacks away, that's no simple feat" Arsen praised with respect gleaming in his eyes for the shipwright.

"You might be the turning point we've been waiting for" Arsen smirked, regaining his hope as there now stood four enemies against the woman called Ain.

"Calm down, calm down! Guys, we already beat someone like this once...Sabaody remember? Arsen, let's just get an opening for Rose, all we have to do is distract her. I'm guessing our goal is to reach that pansy behind her, yeah? We'll leave that to Cassandra. He's...your dad after all, somehow just manage to convince him to let you in close."

"*There's more of them?*" Ain thought to herself. Upon a closer look, she noticed Onyx. Dark blue hair wore no shoes, and possessed incredible kicking ability, she recognized him. "So you must be him, hm?" Ain concluded. "It won't matter anyway." There wasn't much else to say as Ain prepared to enter combat once more.

Her arm, engulfed in brilliant flames, shot forward with incredible precision, and from it, a myriad of fireballs emerged. Each one faster, and bigger than the last. Seconds later, the arena would be filled with a meteor shower of fireballs that sought to consume the group. The ground underneath Ain beginning to heat up and melt.

"Shit, shit, let's move!" the first one to strike was Onyx. He disappeared from sight, dancing around the fireballs. Initially, he managed to dodge a few by the skin of his teeth. He would twist, turn, and even somersault over them and when that wasn't possible, his leg, engulfed in flames, aimed to break through some of the fireballs.

Ending up on her right diagonal, Onyx spun on his hands, which were near the ground, and twisted the rest of his body, aiming a rotating kick right at Ain's temple. It obviously wouldn't be enough to deal with her, but coupled with a strike from Arsen and Rose? Well that was a different story.

"Tch, looks like we don't have a choice. You better not waste this opening, bird brain" Arsen said to Rose with a neutral expression before he dashed in himself after Onyx towards Ain. He skillfully evaded the fireballs that fly past him as he jumped around the throne room in an attempt to distract Ain as she focused her attacks on himself and Onyx.

Meanwhile, Cassandra focused her attention onto her father who was safely hidden behind Ain as she slowly began to make her way towards him as she tried to think of a way to get closer to him without arousing suspicion.

"Oi you’re my bitch" Rose called out to Onyx as she flexed her muscles willing them to stop quivering before her flames relit along her body. "Don’t you dare order me around." She exclaimed annoyingly that her first mate was trying to take her thunder.

"You bitches follow my command." She shouted as her five colored flames burst forth and began swirling around her wildly while mixing and marching together in a manner reminiscent to what she had previously done on Saboady those months ago. "Ya’ll better not mess this up cuz we only got once chance!!!" She called towards Arsen and Onyx as her crimson eyes fell upon Ain while her colored flames skillet began to seep within her skin cloaking her in a golden white hue with multicolored veins running across her skin, not before she willed some of her golden flames to cover both Arsen and Onyx to boost their abilities.

"Cassandra get ready to kill that fucked when we make the Opening, I’m counting on ya." Rose stated as she boosted forward at a tremendous speed with her golden cloaked hand cocked back with 100% of her current power focused into it.

"...Right" Cassandra said with slight hesitation as she continued walking towards Humphrey, who had taken a few steps back from Ain in order to not get roasted by the heat she was giving off.

"Why don't you fools just surrender gracefully already! You can't defeat a Warlord of the Sea!" The man boasted, believing it was inevitable that the Resistance he loathed so much would finally die out today. "This country belongs to me and me alone! You filth could never overthrow my home!"

"*He just doesn't shut up does he?"* Arsen thought with mild annoyance as he dodged another fireball and landed on Ain's left side. Seeing Rose finally spring into action, Arsen knew their chance was now as he felt Rose's flames engulf his body and he smirked a bit.

"So Miss Punk finally wants to work as a team huh? It's about damn time" He said before he dashed forward, gripping his katana with incredible force as he gathered power in his arms while running towards Ain. Wind began to circle around Arsen's sword, combining with the flames that had surfaced thanks to Rose as Arsen drew his sword into his sheath before unsheathing it at a inhuman level of speed that carved the air while he shouted the name of his newest technique.

"Ittoryu Ogi: Atsui Ryūga! (*One Sword Style Secret Art*: *Burning Wyvern Fang*)" Arsen shouted as the air itself from where he had slashed ripped apart and formed what appeared to be a gigantic wyvern covered in both flames and wind as it roared and soared straight towards Ain, intending to both rip her to shreds while also burning her from the boosted flames of Rose.

"Team? Nah you just my back up bitches." Rose responded as the blow around her body became more prominent. "You’re just an extra on my path to greatness." She continued smugly as the flames that licked her fist soon became coated with Haki.

Rose then places her fist facing forward in front of her face with one hand and then taps it with her other hand, formed into a fist, which creates a massive amount of mixed flames and air pressure.

Grinning she pulls her fits back once more before once again thrusting she it forward harshly. The air pressure that was released soon condensed into a one thus launches the air pressure towards Ain in the shape of a massive hungry wolf bathed in multi colored flames and air.

**"Sky devouring Punk Wolf."**

Continuing moving forward Rose was prepared to follow up her attack with a Haki coated fist if attack missed or hit.

First came Onyx, as both he and Arsen dashed forward, her eyes attempted to track the duo amidst the flames. Her eyes glowed a bright red, Kenbunshoku Haki could not track a person without intense focus, and much less could it track several different moving targets, it could only serve as a precaution for whatever attacks would follow.

Her knees remained bent, hand on Shusui's sheathe, while the other one clenched slightly. Her eyes glowed once more, Onyx's attack revealing itself to her as he attempted to strike her, his attack powered by rotational force. Her free arm moved to counter, Onyx's gold-coated leg clashing against her diamond-esque forearm.

At nearly the same instant came Arsen's attack from the other side, a slash so powerful that a cracking sound could be heard as it escaped forward. Once more Ain's Kenbunshoku warned her of the attack, but little did it tell her about its speed and strength. The air parted in half as Arsen cleaved it in twain, the crackling of flames, and with it a wyvern made out of sheer flames and wind. The "creature" came towards her left side, clashing against Shusui's blade as her arm shot to the side. The sheer power of the attack caused Ain to struggle, her arm shaking as it struggled against the attack. Her teeth clenched together and her eyes narrowed, and just as she appeared to focus on the two attacks, there came a third.

Flying in was Ruby Rose, a wolf made out of sheer pressure came towards Ain, it crushed through the debris and the air itself, aimed at Ain's mid-section. Much like Arsen's wyvern, the attack clashed against her with incredible power, yet unlike it, there was no possible defense Ain could muster against the attack. Not at the speed that it came in, and much less with the two other attacks serving as a distraction. Ain began to be pushed back, a biting, crushing force felt throughout her entire frame. A grunt escaped her as veins bulged from her temples.

Wyverns, wolves, kicks, punches, slashes. All of it came towards Ain rapidly one after the other, in perfectly coordinated fashion. It was apparent from the way they moved, that they had worked together previously. It appeared as if Onyx's appearance lightened the duo's load, perhaps there was a light at the end of the tunnel after all.

Dust rose, and explosions ensued from the different points of contact. "It's working!" Onyx thought to himself as he continued to push forward, hoping that his attack would contribute in harming Ain.

A figure could be seen through the smoke, one that was way bigger than Ain, way stronger as well. Rose's second attack came, a punch covered in golden flames with all the strength she could muster at that point. And as it traversed forward, it would meet her, no, *it*.

The smoke instantly cleared, and standing in Ain's place was a mythical creature. Covered completely in fur, with bulging muscles, easily three or four times the size of all the present combatants. Horns were visible from its head, as well as fangs that escaped its mouth. Ain had transformed, into a mixture of a demon and a human. A half-ifrit.

No longer was she being pushed back, no, she held a steady stance as Rose's attack met her figure. A forehead covered slightly in Busoshoku met Rose's punch, aiming not only to defend but to outright break her hand. Not only did her willpower, which was clearly more developed than Rose's cover her forehead, but she possessed the natural toughness of an Oni and the durability that her fruit granted her. It was the same triple-layer of defense that allowed her to withstand the trio's efforts. On her left side, a cut of blood could be seen underneath her fur, a similar mark formed on her stomach from Rose's attack, but beyond leaving superficial damage, Ain appeared completely fine.

It wasn't just her durability that had allowed her to survive the onslaught, it was something else the trio hadn't taken into account; the fact that two of them chose to use flames. Ain's mythical ability, as she had shown earlier, allowed her to consume any and all forms of heat. The golden flames that coated their attacks? Ain had absorbed them. The fire that made up part of the Wyvern? It served as energy for Ain. The multi-colored flames that accompanied the massive wolf of air pressure? It had become her nourishment. Each attack had some of its force siphoned away through Ain's consumption of flames. All of which would simply empower her.

"Tch," Ain voiced. Perhaps the rookies' resolve wasn't as strong as she'd thought. "Just wanting to win isn't enough..." she voiced. "You all need to face reality! In this world, there are those stronger than you. MUCH stronger than you!" With her voice, the earth itself seemed to quake, the castle's pillars followed, almost as if they'd tumble at any given time. "It won't matter how much you train, it won't matter who you associate yourself with. If fate is against you, you won't survive." Images of Hecate and Ain's battle flashed on her mind, of a force that no matter how hard she tried, she could not beat. That was the World Government, a force no pirate could ever oppose not forever. "Allow me to show you!" For once Ain's voice rose, and with it, her will traversed throughout. A suffocating force would be felt by the trio, a force that could only belong to a Conqueror.

Onyx himself felt his consciousness falter, and in that exact same moment, Ain grasped onto his legs, utilizing it to batter Rose away, before sending the rookie flying towards Arsen.

Rose already knew their attack would be futile so it wasn’t a suppose when she got knocked away by Ain using Onxy, however it was because she had anticipated such outcome enabled her to avoid colliding into Arsen and instead pivoted her body angle just right enough to fly into the far corner of the room, the perfect location where she knew one of the support beam that was used to hold the roof up was located.

Most of the fight Rose was purposely damaging the surrounding area, and when she had "relit" herself and created a gaping hole in the roof of the room. This was a premeditated plan she had thought up when she was in her "mellow" stage, a last resort so to speak.

As Rose collied with the structure the entire room gave a shudder before cracks began appearing all across the room before with a load groan the entire room began to crumble. The roof which was partially broken and melted easily gave way and began raining down upon the room while the walls crumbled and crashed down.

This was a near suicide attack but it was the only chance they currently had to get the king. Frowning as she felt her body began to morph into her full Zoan transformation to protect herself from the crumbling room, Rose let out a tired breath as she closed her eyes for a moment confident in Arsen to act accordingly.

"That crazy...!" Arsen figured out rather quickly whose handiwork this was as he dodged a large boulder that aimed to crush him and landed near the center of the room. He knew things were desperate but he couldn't have imagined that Rose would try something this drastic!

The moment that Arsen landed back on the ground, he immediately spotted Onyx flying straight towards after being flung by Ain. Sheathing his blade, he opened his arms and caught Onyx as he skid across the floor due to the impact but he came to a stop as he dropped the shipwright onto the ground as he noticed Cassandra in the corner of his eye moving towards Humphrey.

"*Don't tell me she's...!*" Arsen thought as he knew what she was intending to do.

Cassandra on the other hand, didn't notice the falling rubble as she charged straight at the cowering Humphrey, blood lust filled in her gaze towards her adopted father. Recalling the torture she had endured throughout her life thanks to him and how much the people of Sindra had suffered; Cassandra slowly slipped back into her berserker state as she gripped her rapier tightly and cocked it back before aiming a piercing thrust towards Humphrey.

"**DIE YOU SON OF A BITCH!**" Cassandra shouted that alerted both Ain and Humphrey, the latter of whom was dumbfounded that he was being attacked in this situation.

"C-Cassandra!?!" Humphrey shouted but it was futile as Cassandra didn't hear him and was moments away from piercing the obese's man body. Before her rapier could do so however, it was parried by Arsen's own katana as the samurai appeared in front of her while carrying Onyx with his other hand.

"!?" Cassandra was stupified on why Arsen had stopped her or where he had come from but she didn't get a chance to dwell on it for long as Arsen swiftly closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around Cassandra's waist as he jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding several large boulders that would have crushed both Cassandra and Humphrey had she gone through with her attack. Now carrying both Onyx and Cassandra in his arms, Arsen continued to evade the rocks as he kicked away any boulders that came near him, searching for a safe spot as he aimed for a small hole near the staircase they could hide in.

Cassandra’s killing intent was one that oozed from her at the last second, so much that Ain was able to sense it at the last second, albeit, she was unable to react in due time. For as Arsen stopped her from attacking, the ceiling fell down upon them due to Rose’s machinations. It was a future Ain could not predict, much less expect.

“That girl!” Ain thought, immediately, she jumped towards Humphrey, boulders began to fall, almost all simultaneously, making them hard to avoid. Even in Arsen’s case by carrying the weight of both Onyx and Cassandra, his movement would be slowed down.

Onyx himself, barely holding on to consciousness could only scream “ROSE!!!” His body too weak to move, his eyes barely opened. His pain could be felt, sensed by any user of Kenbunshoku.

Ain appeared surprised not only at the ceiling that threatened to destroy all of them, but at the fact that in both Arsen and Onyx’s case, they showed not only worry but actual care for their comrades.

A blink of red followed as the ceiling neared the entirety of the group, and Ain’s arm transformed into that of a full Ifrit. A massive limb of flames blossomed into existence, immediately melting through the rock that fell from above. So powerful was this heat that even the walls themselves appeared to melt slightly, leaving the king’s chambers completely exposed.

There it could be seen, the destruction and chaos that Humphrey had caused. Fires so intense they could be seen from miles away, weapons, gases, explosions, sheer destruction. It was a sight Ain was all too familiar with, war.

As the ceiling evaporated, saving the group from further destruction, Ain’s mouth opened, yet before words could leave, another newcomer managed to enter the room through what was left of the stairway.

“HUMPHREY!” It was no other than Yersi, tears rolling down her face. “Your once worthless and weak father was transformed into the unstoppable creature known as Kimera! That’s what Tiera said! How could you Humphrey?! What’d my father ever do to you?!

"H-Huh?" Humphrey blinked as he stopped cowering and glanced upon the figure of the crying woman that was berating him. Standing up, Humphrey snorted as he regained his usual composure and looked down at Yersi.

"Hah! Both you and your father should be grateful that he was able to become a useful tool for this country. Besides, that peasant dared to have the nerve to stand up to me and tried to incite a revolt before you lot did. I was going to have him executed in front of the entire country but Tiera suggested something much more fitting and he was turned into my beautiful pet you all know as Kimera!" Humphrey laughed before a scowl emerged on his face. "But it seems that my pet has been taken care of by you filthy outlaws. I'll be sure to use one of you as the next experiment subject" He claimed before his attention turned to Ain and he pointed towards Yersi.

"Well? Don't just stand there! She's another threat to this country that needs to be erased! She's no daughter of mine anymore! I should have known that a worthless commoner like her would eventually betray this country. Of course, I'll pay you handsomely of course once you have eliminated all these eyesores" Humphrey declared.

The girl's screams were something that called Ain's attention, her eyes narrowing as the girl berated the king. And then, Humphrey opened his mouth. He didn't deny the allegations, no, he completely accepted them, and even seemed proud. Ain's hand grasped onto her sheathe tightly, as if she attended to contain herself, her Ifrit arm returning to normal. Her eyes moved to Rose, Onyx, Arsen, Cassandra. Battered, bruised, both mentally and physically drained. It caused her mind to flash back, to when much like them, she was a rising Super Rookie.

*"What's the worst part about being a pirate for you, Ain?" A beautiful woman, one whose elegance was clear from afar asked, as her and Ain sat in a group of crates, in the most informal of settings.*

*"Hmm...I don't know. The fact that there's nowhere to call home, nowhere long at least." Ain mentioned. "What about you, Freyja-san? What's the worst part for you?"*

*"Hmmm...if I had to say, dear, it'd be the fact that being a pirate...it severs bonds." Freyja responded with a smile.*

*"Hm? What do you mean? You and I are still as close as ever." Ain responded.*

*"No, no, I don't mean it like that sweetheart, fefefefe! You see, no matter where we go, there'll be fights, there'll be deaths. It breaks my heart knowing that every time we step into an island or fight the Marines, we're threatening the lives of families, taking away a parent from their children. It breaks my heart...knowing that kids will be raised without knowing love...god knows I could not bear that pain. That's why I started this crew! Promise me Ain, you'll be better than me, and you'll end that constant cycle of suffering" Freyja smiled once more.*

*"I promise. And do not worry. Our family? It will never be broken apart." Ain said, and Freyja could only nod happily in response."*

*SCHWING*

Ain's blade tore through the air once more, this time it wasn't aimed at Arsen, or Rose, or Cassandra, or Onyx, or even Yersi. No, this time her blade travelled cleanly through the air in order to cut through Humphrey's neck. "Die, you vermin."

## Changes

"Eh?"

Humphrey couldn't even process what had just happened as his head was cleaved right from his shoulders and flew through the air before landing on the ground. Blood gushed out of the headless body as it slowly fell backwards and collapsed into the floor as silence filled the destroyed throne room. Everyone in the room except Ain looked either shocked or stunned at what the warlord had just done, considering how adamantly she had fought to protect him earlier. There was no one who was more affected however than Cassandra, who gazed at the corpse of her adopted father with a complicated expression.

Her father was a monster and someone who didn't deserve to live after the atrocities he had committed but he was still her father as she closed her eyes and hoped that in his next life, he'd become a better person.

"...He's really dead huh?" Arsen mused as he sheathed his sword and sat down against some rubble, exhaustion and relief now filling his body. He winced as he felt the wound on his stomach open up a bit but endured it as he never took his eyes off Ain who was staring at the corpse of Humphrey, wondering why she had changed her mind so suddenly.

"I thought you were under orders to protect him? What made you change your mind" Arsen decided to ask as he spoke to the still silent Ain.

"You're mistaken," Ain responded. "My orders were to destroy anyone who threatens Sindra's kingdom. And that man...he was most definitely a threat."

"...Is that right?" A small smirk appeared on Arsen's face at Ain's response as he gained a profound amount of respect for the Warlord for her actions just now.

Yersi looked confused, wiping the tears down her face, as Ain continued to speak. "So, who do you intend to replace that...king with."

Arsen snorted, lazily pointing his finger towards the city down below that was now visible due to the throne room being destroyed.

"That should be obvious. There's only one person who deserves to sit on the throne to rebuild this corrupted country" Arsen said as everyone followed his finger to see the sight of a bloodied Zane lifting his arm into the air as whatever remained of the resistance cheered at their victory. Through nothing but a miracle, they had managed to not only hold their ground but also defeat the overwhelming army of Sindra. If one took a closer look however, dozens of soldiers belonging to Humphrey's army were now standing with the Resistance as it seemed they had switched sides due to their dislike of their king and how he treated the commoners.

"My brothers and sisters! We have won!" Zane shouted, running on nothing but pure adrenaline as his body looked like it needed serious medical attention. "I'm sure our comrades within the castle have defeated Humphrey and are waiting for us! Let us join them!"

"**YEAH!**" The resistance shouted as their voices echoed throughout the entire kingdom.

Arsen found their cheering amusing as he turned back to Ain. "I think that settles the matter, don't you think? Who else can you imagine running this country? That nutjub over there?" Arsen pointed towards where Rose had taken cover.

"I’d fucking suggest Cassie but that bitch is my minion now." The disgruntled voice of Rose erupted from the wreckage as a wing made from pure flames erupted outwards brushing all the debris away revealing a slightly large bored made of multi-colored flames while ignoring Arsen’s jab.

"Fucking hell this She hits hard." She grumbled as her body slowly began to revert to her human form while panting is clear exhaustion. "Gotta say tho this was a fucking anticlimactic way to end all this shit." As she looked towards Zane with a calculative look in her eyes while a plan formed him her mind.

"Fuck you by the way, I’d make a fucking awesome Queen." She commented towards Arsen before glancing over to make sure everyone was all in one Piece, Rose turned back towards Ain with a frown. "So what now? You plan to take us in to your masters like a good little world government bitch?"

“The World Government will remain watching over Sindra, and when it is rebuilt the Heavenly Tribute shall be paid. Remind your king about that.” Ain noted. “There is no need for me to take any of you, after all there are no threats here, at least for now.”

"*...For now huh*?" Arsen hadn't missed that comment by Ain as he glanced down at his sword. He couldn't even muster up a counter towards Ain's claims as he hadn't been able to defeat the Warlord or even come close really without assistance from Rose and Onyx. It was the first time since his battle with Harlan that he felt he wasn't good enough and that there was still a rather tall wall to climb if he wished to reach the summit of strength that existed within the world.

"*...I've spent too much time here*" Arsen thought, having made his decision to return to the cruel and unforgiving sea known as the New World in order to report back to his master on what he had learned in Paradise and how he could become even stronger.

"This will bite you in the ass down the road." Rose stated as her mind made the connections that she was letting them go for her own occurred rather than capture them. "I personally don’t give a fuck about the Pansy but know that I’ll be making waves in the world in a matter of months, my name will be fucking known, then I’ll come beat your ass." Rose stated with a grin.

"Just wait once I hit it big I’ll return and make this place my territory." She vowed before pulling out a crumbled wanted poster from her jacket pocket and blushing slightly. "So since that’s done can I." She started before pausing to take a deep breath. "Can you sign that?" She asked tossing the paper to Ain which when opened would reveal Ain’s own bounty poster.

Ain looked at the poster as it slid across the ground. Ain blinked once, twice. She looked at Rose, then back at the paper. *"She seems to have more mood swings that Freyja-san during her time of the month..."* Ain thought to herself. "What do you want me to sign this for?" she asked.

Chuckles could be heard coming from behind Rose as Arsen was openly laughing while Cassandra did her best to hide her chuckle by turning her head away.

"Apparently, Miss Firecracker wants your autograph. It seems she's a really big fan of yours. Ain't that just the cutest thing?" Arsen chimed in with a teasing smirk.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to laugh. That just... caught me off guard" Cassandra apologized with a half smile. Her mood had definitely improved from before and she was glad to have something take her mind off of her father's death.

"Oh." Was Ain's only answer. Not once during her pirating journey had someone asked for an autograph. Internally, the warlord was both shocked and surprised. Had it really been that long since she had been a rookie that others knew about her? It was surprising, to say the least.

Ain tossed the bounty poster back at Rose. "I can't sign that." She said plainly, and for a second it seemed as if that was the end of it. "However, in lieu of the resolve, you showed..." Ain reached into her hair, reaching for one of the golden kanzashi pins that adorned it as she closed the distance between them, before handing it to Rose. "Here you go. When you are strong, strong enough to oppress the government, come look for me and return these. That pin should keep you from killing yourself since I know you've already attempted that here." Ain tried to joke.

If anyone ever stated that Rose squealed like a fan girl upon receive the pin from Ain, she would forever deny the claim them brutally murder said person. She didn’t squeal, no she took the pin and nodded her head like she always did.

*"OH MY GOD I GOT A GIFT FROM AIN-SAMA!!!"* She mentally yelled in joy while her face remained blank on the outside. *"I’LL FUCKING CHERISH THIS UNTIL I DIE."* She continued as she mentally bounced about like a kid in a candy store.

"Was hoping for the autograph but if you’re offering such a gift then I’ll accept it of course." She stated calmly outward while flipping of Arsen and Cassandra for their comments.

"Heh" Arsen chuckled at the sight, lifting himself off the rock as he walked towards Ain while Cassandra went to Rose in order to see the gift she had recieved from Ain. Stopping right in front of her, Arsen glanced down at the sword called Shusui that the Warlord carried as he could hear its voice as he opened his mouth.

"It seems like your blade agreed with your decision to kill that pig. It's still celebrating right now" Arsen said with a faint smirk before his face settled into a more serious expression. "Your strong, Ain. It was truly an honor to fight against someone like you, even if wasn't that long. You showed me my current limits and what I should be striving for"

Ain's eyes narrowed slightly, though not in anger, but in weariness. "You...you can talk to Shusui, can't you? I had a feeling. You remind me of someone I used to know. Perhaps that is why Shusui liked you..." Her words were cryptic, but if Arsen knew about his ability's history, then he'd be able to understand exactly what Ain was talking about.

"Huh?" Arsen blinked. "...You actually believe that I can hear your sword? That's... a first" He scratched his head sheepishly. This was the first time he had met someone who didn't think he was crazy when he mentioned being able to hear weapons. Her mention of someone else having that ability sparked Arsen's interest as he opened his mouth again.

"Please, if there's anything else you know about this power then I'd be grateful to hear it" Arsen asked in a respectful tone, a stark contrast of the attitude he took when he spoke to someone like Rose.

"What you have...it is known as the Voice of All Things. It is exactly what the name entails. An ability that only a select few possess that allows them to talk to the world. Living or not. It is likely why you could hear Shusui and your weapon. In the right hands, it could be incredibly powerful." Ain concluded.

"The Voice of All Things..." Arsen repeated, edging that name into his memory as he knew that this power was something he'd need to learn more about it if he was going to become stronger. It was a path he never would have even thought of crossing had he not met Ain here today and his gratitude towards the warlord continued to rise as he slightly bowed, showing his thanks.

"HEY! ARE YOU GUYS ALRIGHT!?"

That loud voice came from Zane, who was being supported by several Resistance members outside the palace as everyone was hopeful that they had managed to defeat Humphrey.

"Looks like they're waiting for us" Arsen chuckled before he turned back to Ain with a curious expression. "So what do you plan to do? I can't imagine the World Government will be thrilled that one of their powerhouses killed the king of the country they were supposed to protect" He asked before a realization soon hit him and he smiled. "...Well, since the only people who saw that happen are currently standing here, I guess your secret's safe as long as no one says otherwise huh?"

Ain looked out the window as marching and a young man's voice could be heard. "I'll handle it." was all Ain claimed. "Good luck, rookies. Perhaps you two will be the ones to end the cycle..." And with that, Ain disappeared into thin air, not even a mark left behind in her wake.

Unbothered by Ain’s disappearance Rose stood up and brushed past the group before making her way towards the corpse of Humphrey. Looking down at the disgusting sight she scowled a bit before kicking his fat body before roughly grasping his dismembered head and holding it up to her face.

"Ya know this fucker actually looks better with this froze look for shock of his face." She stated with a wicked smile as she once more stomped upon his corpse a few times. "It would of been better with fear if I cut his head off but I can work with This." She muttered to herself before glancing up at the crumbled roof with narrowed eyes for a bit then back towards the group with a smile.

"See ya fuckers in a bit, Mama’s gonna go end a fucking rebellion." She stated as she used a small stream of flames from her feet to propel herself upwards onto the roof of the crumbing palace. Upon reaching the roof she quickly set about moving towards the end where she got a great over look of the entire kingdom. Taking a deep breath she held up the head of the former King high to the sky to show the entire world.

"OI YOU FUCKERS YOUR FUCKING PIG OF A KING IS DEAD, I’LL GIVE YOU ONCE CHANCE TO BOW YOUR HEADS LIKE THE GOOD BITCHES YOU ARE BEOFRE I PERSONALLY GUT YOU LIKE I DID HIM." She bellowed loudly across the kingdom to the remaining loyalist who might have had thoughts to continue fighting.

"THIS SHITTY CIVIL WAR IS OVER!!!!"

Immediately, everyone’s eyes and ears focused on the figure of Rose standing on the destroyed roof of the royal palace as her voice echoed throughout the entire kingdom. The sun was rising right behind her on the horizon as her figure appeared majestic towards those watching down below. The sight of her holding the detached head of the tyrannic king caused every royal soldier to drop their weapons while those who were in the resistance began to fall to their knees as tears fell from their eyes.

Zane himself was speechless before he smiled and lifted his hand into the air, following Rose’s lead.

“THEY DID IT!” He screamed, causing ear shattering roars to erupt from throughout the kingdom. Celebrations began to start as resistance members hugged one another and the commoners who were still in the lower district that were being informed what was transpiring, joined in on the celebration as well.

King Humphrey, the tyrant and the glutton was dead! It was truly a wondrous day to be alive!

“ROSE! ROSE! ROSE! ROSE! ROSE!” The crowd began to cheer in order to honor their hero, the one who had not only saved them from the terrifying monster that had appeared before but had also been the one to slay the gluttonous tyrant. She wasn't the only one of course as they also began cheering for the other heroes that had stormed the castle such as Arsen, Cassandra, Onyx, Hestia, and Yersi.

“She's a real piece of work” Arsen commented from within the throne room as he stared up at Rose on the roof with a faint chuckle. Having said that, Arsen didn't mind Rose soaking up most of the attention and glory and actually preferred it as he already got what he came form in the form of battling both Perseus and Ain. The fatigue of the battle seemed to finally kick in as Arsen laid back against some rubble and rested, knowing that the war was finally over.

Meanwhile, Cassandra had wrapped the decapitated body of her father with a blanket, briefly glancing up towards the figure of Rose as a smile formed on the former princess’ face, one that was filled with both happiness and gratitude.

“She sure is”

**Resistance vs Royal Army**

**Conclusion: Winner - Resistance**

Several days had passed since the Resistance had won the war against the Royal Faction and dramatic changes were taking place within Sindra as a result. With Humphrey dead, the Royal Faction had lost most if not all of their authority over the country and were quickly stripped of their titles. Nobles and soldiers who refused to cooperate and were corrupted by Humphrey’s ideals were imprisoned while those that immediately turned sides avoided severe punishment but were still being put to work in order to fix the war torn country.

With the Great Wall now destroyed, the barrier between royals and commoners ceased to exist as Zane declared that the resources hoarded by the royals would be shared by everyone. The capital city, Gaia, would also be rebuilt and combined with the lower district in order to create a brand new city that everyone would be permitted to live in. Countless decades of discrimination and unspeakable atrocities committed by the Royal Family were being washed away as a new era of stability and just treatment was now upon those that lived within Sindra.

Zane, who was standing on a tower alongside Garland, smiled as he watched the people of Sindra still celebrate and party throughout the streets of the capital city. It had been several days already but they were still having fun and celebrating, as if they never wanted it to end. He couldn’t blame them at all as he waved towards a group of young children that pointed at him and looked awe struck.

“Your popularity is still growing huh?” Garland chuckled.

Zane scoffed “That’s nothing compared to our beloved heroes” He pointed towards a large gathering of men and women who were standing outside the royal palace. They were being held back by several Resistance members who were blocking them from storming the castle to meet the outlaws who had managed to save their country. Rose and Arsen especially were two figures who were beloved the most among the crowd as they constantly cheered the duo’s name.

“Let us meet the heroes!” One man in the crowd complained.

“Yeah! We wanna see them!” Another chimed in.

“We already told you, they’re resting and recovering! When they’re ready to come out, you’ll see them!” A soldier tried to explain but the crowd wasn’t having it as they complained even more.

“They just won’t quit huh?” Garland shook his head.

“Seems so” Zane smirked before he began walking down the watchtower and headed towards an area behind the castle as they entered what appeared to be a cemetery. They walked through it until they reached an open field where they found Yersi, on her knees as she sat in front of a grave that had numerous flowers presented on it.

Zane and Garland stopped next to her and joined her in mourning as they closed their eyes and said their prayers. Once they were done, Garland nodded towards Zane who nodded back and Garland soon left the duo alone in the cemetery.

“I’m sorry, Yersi” Zane apologized as he sat next to her. “If we had only started the revolt sooner, we might have been able to save him before that crazy woman got to him”

Yersi looked down, atop the grave was a stethoscope, signifying the end of her father's brilliant career in medicine. "My father lived a noble life," she spoke out loud. "He spent his formative years studying medicine after his village had begun to grow sick and there was no one to take care of them. Eventually, that grew into neighboring villages visiting him, and before we knew it, he was the people's doctor. So helpful he was that he couldn't even have time to raise me..." Yersi finished.

"Do you know why I studied medicine, Zane?" Yersi asked though it seemed rhetorical. "So I could grow closer to my father. So I could understand him, and for a while, I did. I understood that he did it out of the kindness of his heart, to help others, to give them that extra hand, but once more, I am left confused. What has my father gotten to show for all his kindness? He was turned into a monster, pulverized into nothing, and now he won't even be remembered..." Yersi's fists clenched together, as if that would hold back the tears that rolled down her face.

"I knew this world was unfair...but for the scales to always be tipped against us...tch. It's bullshit!" she called out. "In the end, I couldn't even honor him...I-I couldn't even see him. I...couldn't do anything for him!"

Zane shook his head as he placed a comforting hand on Yersi's shoulder. "That's not true. You were the one who gave him the courage to stand up against the injustice of this country. Whenever I saw him, he'd always ramble on about the daughter he was so proud of and that he wished to change this country not for himself but for you. You were his strength" Zane revealed, his eyes drifting to the grave once more as a proud smile edged onto his face.

"And don't worry. I'll make sure that your father's name and heroic will shall never be forgotten to all those that live in this country. Even after we pass and our descendants live here" Zane assured his lifelong friend.

"T-thank you, Zane." Yersi sniffed. "W-we'll make him proud, so that no one else in this country has to go through what he went through...we'll do this for Sindra!"

"Right" Zane nodded, relieved that his words had managed to soothe his friend's heart and encourage her. He offered her a hand which she took and helped her up before he gazed backwards towards the castle.

"For now, why don't we go and visit our friends who made this dream possible?" He said as they began travelling back towards the royal castle.

*Puri. Puri. Puri.*

*Puri. Puri Puri.*

*Click.*

“So, how’d it go?” Bon D. James’ voice could be heard through the Den-Den Mushi, the snail calm and relaxed as it spoke.

“He’s dead.” Ain responded. “King…what was his name?”

“Eh? Humphrey?! How’d that happen?!” James asked somewhat concerned.

“I was too late. Or rather, it was reported too late. You should’ve at least sent Marines into the area?”

“Marines? Sindra likes to remain autonomous, you know that, I shared the report with you. Plus, I don’t think there’s many Marines in Paradise that could’ve dealt with those two…are they finished?”

“They too, escaped. Again, I was too late. The castle was nearly entirely destroyed by the time I was there.”

The Den Den-Mushi’s eyes narrowed. “Right…, have you at least secured the Poneglyph?”

“Yes, I have…though it appears someone was there before me…” Ain answered.

“I see…as long as you’ve secured it that’s all that matters.”

“I’ll be taking my leave then.” Ain finalized.

“Wait, Ember-kata. I find it hard to believe you were late, though I can’t prove it. I know what game you’re playing…and to be frank, I don’t think it’ll keep working. Do not fail any other missions from now on. Not if you want your crew to remain safe. Bring the poneglyph and remain on standby.”

*Click*

Ain sighed. "I hope that group proves me right...someday, they’ll be strong enough."

It didn't take long for Yersi and Zane to reach the castle that was currently undergoing reconstruction as they walked up some stairs and took several lefts that would lead them to a large door. Opening it, they walked inside to find a spacious room filled with food and beds as several people were inside either chatting, celebrating, or wolfing down the food available. Almost everyone involved within the resistance was present in this room as it was exclusive towards those that had fought in the war as it was being used as both a banquet hall and a recovery room.

A crowd was gathered in the center of the room as Yersi and Zane were confused and walked towards them, eyes widening as they saw a drinking contest being held between several people and of course the one at the center of attention was none other than Ruby Rose, who drank an entire barrel as several men collapsed around her, unable to keep up with her drinking.

"Holy shit, that's her fifth barrel! This chick's an animal!" A member shouted in disbelief as the crowd cheered Rose on.

"She's a freak of nature!" Another yelled.

Zane and Yersi could only stare blankly at the scene before they spotted Arsen, Cassandra, Onyx, and Hestia sitting at a nearby table enjoying their own meals as they watched the festivities go on.

"Glad to see your all doing well" Zane greeted the group before he pointed at Rose who was taking on another group of challengers. "...Is that normal for her?"

Arsen took a sip of his drink and shrugged. "Beats me. But her being able to outdrink several dozens of guys is the least surprising thing about her"

"Agreed" Cassandra said with a faint smile, clapping as Rose once again defied the odds and outdrank another group.

Hestia stood up from her seat, currently on a call with someone over a Den Den Mushi.

Yes, I know. Okay, I've gotta go mom, Yes, I love you too." She hung up, groaning. "For an Underworld Emperor she sure takes forever to talk on the phone." Hestia mumbled, hanging up the Den Den Mushi. "Arsen and Rose, come here." Hestia's voice echoed throughout the room. A voice of authority wasn't something she normally used but she needed to get their attention and figured that was the best way to do it.

Arsen raised his eyebrows at Hestia's calling, placing his drink down as he called out Rose who was still in the middle of drinking.

"Hey, party girl! Your employer is calling you!" Arsen shouted at her.

"What?"

Rose stated as she returned her gaze to Arsen, dropping the now-empty barrel next to the other four discarded cases. "Bitch Don't you see I'm having a good time here?" She called back to Arsen, flipping him off, but hopped off the table and started walking towards Hestia none the less.

"This better fucking be good, because those chumps owe some beli, bunch of bitches couldn't even hold their liquor." She frowned and grumbled.

Hestia chuckled; she was going to miss the fiery woman. "It's time for your payment." Hestia whistled, as three men dressed in suits came into the room, carrying bags of Beli the size of an elephant. "One for you, Arsen and Onyx. Each contains 3.3 million Beli. It's my allowance for this month, which will now go to you."

"Oh..." Arsen had completely forgotten about the arrangement of money Hestia had promised them as he stared at the hefty bag with a blank look. Money was the absolute last thing on Arsen's mind as he hadn't joined in the war just for some monetary paper. He had done it to battle against a powerful adversaries and also change the state of this country after seeing how corrupted it was.

Shaking his head, Arsen rejected the money as he sat back down. "Thanks but I'm good. Give it to Zane and the others. They'll need it more than me after the mess this war created" He said, earning several surprised and shocked reactions.

"W-We couldn't possibly take this!" Zane hurriedly said. "You fought with your life on the line just like the rest of us and deserve to be rewarded for your contribution!" He argued as several people nodded alongside him.

Arsen merely shrugged in response. "I already got my reward. If you really feel bad about it, just feed me enough food to pay for that and we'll call it even" He offered and Zane could only resign in defeat at Arsen's offer as he bowed his head alongside Yersi and several other Resistance members, showing how grateful they were.

"You truly are one of a kind, Arsen" Cassandra said to him as Arsen waved her off with a smile before the man pointed to Rose who had taken her share without any hesitation. "Forget about me, I'd be more worried about her. You really think she'll be satisfied with only that much?" He pointed out as several eyes now turned to Rose who was eyeing her share of the money.

Rose had already snatched up her reward creating a comical sight of a small woman holding up two enormous bags containing money. "Damn right I’m not" she agreed with a happy smile on her face as she rubbed against the bags lovely.

"But since you are in desperate need of money I’ll just take something from the piggy’s ….I mean ''Your'' treasure room." She stated while putting emphasis on the fact that Zane was king now and that she would hold him responsible for anything that occurred in the kingdom going forward. "Usually I’d demand tribute and make you all bend you’re knees and be my bitches but you already been through enough….I’m a Bitch but I ain’t heartless." She stated as she gave Zane a hard look while continually fondling the bags of money.

Zane blinked as he shared a look with Yersi, who nodded approvingly before Zane smiled and spoke to Rose. "You got it. It's the least we can do for you after what you did for this country" It was true they were in desperate need of money in order to rebuild the country and also pay the tribute once it came around but repaying a debt always came first. Plus, they were planning on selling most of the treasure since they didn't need it so they could survive for awhile until they began to earn money on their own once more.

With that arrangement settled, the party continued as Rose got back to her drinking while the rest of the Resistance enjoyed their food and drinks. Zane and Yersi joined in on the fun as the room became a lively gathering between comrades and friends that had risked their lives together. It was truly a wonderous event as the sun came down, time being lost on everyone as they were all laid on the floor and on the beds, sleeping peacefully.

Slipping through the room quietly so they wouldn't be seen, Cassandra opened the door and closed it as quietly as she could before she walked towards the balcony of the castle, staring at the beautiful moon in the sky. A gentle breeze blew her hair in her eyes as she softly moved it and sighed heavily, unable to hide the conflicted emotions weighing her down in her mind.

"Can't sleep huh?"

Cassandra immediately turned to the source of that voice on her left as she spotted Arsen, sitting against the wall beside her. When had he shown up? She didn't even sense his approach.

"Yeah..." She decided to answer him as she turned back around and stared off into the slumbering city. "You guys are leaving tomorrow, right?"

Arsen shrugged. "Seems like it. We've overstayed our welcome here. I don't know what that crazy woman is planning to go after this but I'll be heading back home"

"And that's a place called Wano, no? I heard it's located in the New World, which is considered the second half of the Grand Line" Cassandra had now turned around and was facing him. "And I hear is incredibly dangerous"

"You better believe it is. The monsters hanging around there are on an entirely new level then the ones living here" Arsen revealed as he recalled the figures of the Four Emperors that ruled the New World along with other noteworthy individuals that had made name for themselves. "They're the real deal"

Cassandra looked both intrigued and anxious at hearing at as she recalled the overwhelming strength of Ain and how she was powerless against that. The way Arsen spoke of this place, it seemed they were even stronger than her and that mere thought made Cassandra fear for both his and Rose's life.

"And Rose is planning on going there?" Cassandra asked worriedly.

"Of course. She's not the type to be satisfied in these rather calm sea. She's definitely planning on making a name for herself there"

Cassandra was afraid of hearing that as her grip on her balcony tightened, causing Arsen's eyebrows to raise at the sight.

"Why are you asking all of this? Aren't you joining her crew? She should have filled you on this" He said but recieved no answer from Cassandra as his curiosity spiked up even further. "...You *are* joining her crew, aren't you?"

"...I don't know..." Cassandra replied, staring back at the moon in the sky. "Of course I want to go, exploring the world with Rose and the others seems like it'd be a great experience. And I want to help her if she's heading to such a dangerous place. But what about the country? We've just started rebuilding, trying to fix the mistakes of my father. How is it fair to leave these people and indulge in my own selfish wishes?" Cassandra explained, frustration and conflict showing on her face.

Arsen listened to Cassandra's turmoil with a neutral expression, understanding that it wasn't such an decision for the former princess. Of course, he figured if Rose heard all this she wouldn't give a shit and just take Cassandra with her. The thought actually made him laugh at how much he had come to understand about the kind of person Rose was.

Feeling a bit nostalgic as he too had faced a similar decision in the past, Arsen decided to give the best advice he knew.

"Just do whatever makes you happy. You've endured and suffered enough to make your own decisions. Your a free woman now, you don't have to feel obligated to this country because of the mistakes of your father. I'm sure everyone would say the same thing"

Cassandra's eyes widened at those words as she recalled the gratitude she had recieved from the commoners of Sindra whenever she had snuck away to help them before the war. Despite being a royal and Humphrey's adopted daughter, they accepted her and trusted her in spite of that. A few tears began to fall down Cassandra's face as she wiped them away and looked at Arsen with a smile, one that was truly from the bottom of her heart.

"Thank you, Arsen. I'm truly glad I met you" Cassandra said, having already made her decision.

"Don't mention it. And likewise, coming to this country was one of the best decisions I ever made" Arsen said as Cassandra was surprised to hear that but smiled nontheless and nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll be heading back now" She bowed before she left the balcony, leaving Arsen sitting on it by himself as he stared off at the moon in the sky, enjoying the comfortable silence that entered his ears. Whatever decision Cassandra made, he was sure it'd be one that she wouldn't have regrets over and that was enough for him as he yawned, intending to head back in a minute or so.

"So she was distressed about leaving this place like I thought." The voice of Rose suddenly spoke up from a dark corner, the fiery woman stepping into view right after Cassandra returned inside. She had stepped outside to confront the princess about her fears but it seemed Arsen had beaten her to it. "Can’t say I blame her." She mumbled a bit before staring up at the nights sky.

"You really planning on heading to Wano next?" She questioned Arsen without looking away from the sky.

Arsen wasn't surprised to see Rose appear from the shadows as he figured she'd be interested in this conversation. "Someone's nosy" He joked before settling into a nostalgic expression when she mentioned his home.

"Yeah, it's about time I returned. I've been in Paradise way too long. Almost three years now I believe. I've met so many different people here and learned alot from all of them. Including you if you'd believe it" Arsen said with a chuckle as he laid his katana by his side and stared off into the night sky.

"What about you? You heading for the New World right away? Or do you plan to mess up another island in these parts to kill time?"

"I don’t know." Rose stated in a uncharacteristic humble tone. "Clashing with Ain showed me that I still got a long way to go in terms of power and strength. There are real monsters out there that make even Ain look tamed and as much as I like to brag even I know my limits." She admitted with a casual shrug as she thought about her next possible move after leaving the kingdom.

"At the same time, I ain’t never been one to shy away from impossible obstacles so I suppose I could try the New World next." Rose muttered before finally glancing towards Arsen. "If I die then so be it I suppose." She stated with another shrug truly unbothered by the fact that she could die any day. Reaching in her pocket she pulled out a small white square sheet of paper before walking over towards Arsen and placing in the wall beside him along side a bottle of rum before nodding to him and walking away.

"Try not to die Arsen, it would be a shame to lose a rival like you before we topple the world." With those final words, Rose left Arsen alone.

Arsen stared at the piece of paper and bottle of rum for awhile before glancing to the direction where Rose had left as a quizzical look appeared on his face at her rather bizarre attitude towards him.

"*Did she lose her powers again?*" It was a thought to consider before he smirked and drank some of the bottle before placing it down. "Same to you" was all he said before he settled into a peaceful silence once more.

"You know I don’t know if I should be jealous of the amount of woman who seem to be around you recently."

Once again, a voice interuptted Arsen's peace as a soft and chilly voice echoed from the very wall on which Arsen sat, as behind him a flash of light blue could be seen briefly before the area became freezing cold. "It would seem that you have been up to no good as always…..Arsen." The voice teased as a feminine body suddenly manifested out of tiny frost crystals to form the body of Aurgelmir Xana who sat on the wall with an amused look on her face.

This time, Arsen showed surprise at the person who had visited him as he could never forget the face of the elf who he had fought against all those years ago when he had just arrived in Paradise. She looked different now as her hair had grown out and she radiated a much more mature aura about herself than the flustered elf he had known before. She was already a beauty when he first met her but now? He'd be shocked if she didn't already have a list of suitors lining up for her.

"Today's just full of surprises huh? It's been awhile, Xana" He settled into his familiar smirk as he exchanged gazes with her, chuckling at her mention of trouble. "Please. I'm practically a saint compared to whatever kind of messes I'm sure you've gotten yourself into. I hear you've done a number on the underground market. Is it connected to why your here in this country?" He asked with a curious expression.

"Indeed." She confirmed this by taking the bottle of Rum from Arsen's grasp and taking a swig. "I've had my eye on this kingdom for a while now, and I've even dispatched one of my own agents here to gather intelligence." She stated as she returned the bottle to him. "Imagine my surprise when I learned that you and "Unruly" Rose were mentioned as leaders of a rebellion against the king." She continued, her silvery eyes twinkling with delight at some of the information she had heard.

"I never expected the Ember Phantasm to appear and murder the king." Xana stated that she was aware of what really happened at the end of the war.

Arsen received the bottle back from Xana and took another sip, humming in interest before he placed it back down. “Can’t fool you huh? And believe me, I wasn’t expecting to see Rose, or Ain for that matter, either. I always seem to encounter people I’ve met before in the strangest places” He chuckled before his gaze shifted down to his katana, a grateful expression appearing over his face.

“Honestly, meeting Ain here made coming to this country worth it. She helped me understand what my current limits are and gave me a hint towards the path I should take to become even stronger. She may be a Warlord and work for the World Government, but she’s someone in my eyes that’s worthy of respect” Arsen stated with no hesitation before he felt the temperature in the air become even colder, if that was even possible. He glanced over at Xana who just stared right back at him with her usual stoic face and he wondered if he had imagined it. That was probably it.

“It’s only been a few months since I last saw you at Sabaody but you definitely seem different” Arsen said, reaching his hand out as he held a strand of Xana’s rather long hair in his hands. “Just look at your hair now. What, you prefer it like this? Doesn’t it get in the way during a fight?” He asked.

"You should know from personal experience that nothing gets in my way when I'm in combat," Xana teased, recalling their first and last encounters. "I am glad you met the Ember Phantasm because you should now have a critical understanding of how vast and powerful the New World's players are." She stated solemnly, recalling her time in the new world and the deadly battles she had to face.

"It's also great that you've made such powerful allies." She kept pointing to the Vivre Card Card that Rose had given him. "Perhaps I won't have to worry about your safety as much now."

“Allies? I’m not sure she even knows what that word means. We just had a common enemy is all” Arsen denied, although his expression didn’t seem to agree with his words as a small grin appeared on his face as he stared at the vivre card.

Xana’s words regarding his safety drew Arsen’s attention back to her as he could only laugh at how things had changed since the first day he had met her. It really made him realize how much time had passed since that eventful day they had met each other and had battle due to a case of mistaken identity.

“You should be more worried about yourself. I hope you have some reliable comrades to watch your back since I’m not there too” He teased back.

Before Xana could utter a word the deep gruff voice of Aslan echoed from another darkned corner altering the duo of his presence.

"It’s time we depart My lady." Aslan began as his eyes drifted over towards Arsen for a moment with a respectable nod before turning his eyes back towards Xana. "I have gathered what we came for and our allies have already began spreading word of what happened here." He stated bowing his head slightly as Xana silently hopped off the walls and over towards the hulking mink with a pleased and affectionate smile on her face.

"Excellent my darling Knight, once more you have pleased me." She stated softly as she gently caressed the side of his face while placing her head on his chest.

"I live to serve my lady." Was his sole response as Xana continued to pet his mane affectionately, despite his stance on serving her as her knight Aslan couldn’t stop the bubble of pride and happiness that sung in his chest as his adoptive daughter reflected true emotions.

"*So he works for her huh*?" Arsen didn't recognize the mysterious man that served under Xana but he could tell that he was someone who could hold his own and was greatly trusted by the ice elf based on how she treated him. He had never seen Xana so open towards someone beside himself and he didn't know why but it bothered him for some reason as he shifted his gaze in a different direction. He had said his earlier words as a joke but it really did seem like she had capable subordinates that were looking out for her. That was good...right?

"Seems like I'm not the only one with reliable allies" He said, nodding back at the man as they exchanged glances; a mutual respect and understanding forming between them.

"I leave her too you" Arsen acknowledged as he knew he couldn't go with Xana so he trusted that the man could watch over her.

Nodding, Aslan watched as Xana returned to Arsen before vanishing back into the darkness, leaving the two alone once more. Xana paused for a moment before leaning down and planting a frosty kiss on Arsen's cheek. "Take care of yourself, Arsen; I suspect we won't see each other for a while." With one last smile, Xana's body disintegrated into ice shards and vanished into the wind, leaving the Samurai alone.

Arsen was left alone on the balcony of the royal palace as his hand was currently placed on the cheek that Xana's cold lips had touched.

"Damn her. I let my guard down" He said as his face burned a slight red and he looked somewhat embarrassed at what just happened. He felt the rattling of his katana below him as he ignored the teasing voice of Shohei that only he could hear as he frowned and looked away. "Shut it"

Glancing at the beautiful moon in the sky, a smile had formed on the young samurai's face as he finally got to enjoy the tranquil serenity of the night.

### Placeholder

*Elsewhere...*

"OK minion, it's time we fucking prepared to set sail, we've been Lollygagging around here for far too long." Rose shouted at Onyx as she marched towards the dock in the middle of the night to see the ship.

"I heard you assisted some of the town shipwrights in constructing a ship for us." As they continued to move towards the harbor to look at the new ship that was made, she questioned her first mate.

"Yeah, yeah...right after that hardcore fight, I got straight to work. You should be proud of me y'know? Some people would say I'm MORE than a minion, some people would say I'm cool even, that I'm awesome! They'd be thankful of their first mate." Onyx chuckled to himself.

"Anyways," the duo finally reached the harbor, a massive shadow revealing itself. "This is...the Black Mistress!" Onyx said proudly. A ship, constructed not only of wood, but incredibly light metals could be seen. It had been painted completely in black and purple, its mast and overall size spacious enough for the various members of the crew. "It's not only made out of wood, but metal, which'll help our defenses. And since I know how much you hate steering, it can also autopilot! Under decent weather of course. There's a lot more like cannons and all that, but who cares about that?!"

"Hell fucking yeah, Onyx, you're shaping up to be a proper First Mate." Rose exclaimed enthusiastically as she began buzzing around the ship in delight. "I can't believe we have an actual ship now, fuck this calls for a new beginning." She exclaimed as she grimaced towards Onyx, her red eyes dancing with excitement.

"We came here as the **Skylines**, but fuck that name; I'm not sure where that bitch Coi is, but that ain't my problem right now." She exclaimed, dismissing any concerns about her elder sister because she knew she could handle herself. "From now on, we'll be known as the Punk Pirates!!!" She declared as she pulled a Jolly Roger from her cleavage. "And this is going to be our flag."

"U-uh...I have so many questions, but I won't even ask them..." Onyx murmured. "Hooray? I guess? Yep, Hooray!" He said, attempting to be excited.

## Departures

The beautiful morning sun was shining over the kingdom of Sindra as the day had finally arrived for the kingdom's heroes to depart. The people were sad and dejected of course to see their heroes leaving but they knew they couldn't stay forever and wished them well as practially all of kingdom's citizens were gathered around the port outside fo the capital in order to see them off. It was rather crowded as people were standing on stools and rooftops in order to see what was happening.

"Quite a crowd we have here" Zane chuckled as he was standing next to Yersi along with Arsen, Rose, and Onyx. He whistled to a group of royal soldiers who nodded and began carrying several chests filled with treasure and gold in them as they laid it down in front of the pirates. They had been stored in Humphrey's secret treasury that had been discovered by Cassandra who had a key.

"I know it can never repay the debt we owe you guys but please accept this" Zane offered with a smile. The kingdom already had more than enough treasure to sell to get back on their feet so they had no qualms with handing over this share of the treasure to their heroes.

"Iight Fucker get the fuck outta my way, I fucking know I'm the great and beautiful Ruby Rose, yes I helped free you all, yes you're all my bitches now," she says. Rose's vulgar voice echoed across the port as she yelled at the people loading her treasure onto the ship. "Come on bitches, let's get this going; I want to get to the sea before sunset because a bitch got bitch stuff to do." She ordered the crowd before turning to face Zane, Yersi, and Arsen.

"You're all done  sobbing like twats? Let's get moving before those nosy Marines poke their disgusting noses here." She grumbled, longing to leave the island and return to the freedom of the sea. "By the way, where the fuck is Cassandra? That bitch owes me her life, so she better hurry up and get here before I bury my damn boot up her Royal cunt." She exclaimed as she noticed the rapier user's absence.

"I'd like to see you try"

That voice came from above as everyone raised their heads to see Cassandra falling from the sky as she landed in front of Zane, Yersi, and Arsen. She slowly stood up and smiled as she stared face to face with Rose.

"I made my decision. This country doesn't need me anymore since they'll have a capable ruler watching over it" She turned to Zane who was surprised by the compliment by Cassandra and nodded at her. She nodded back before turning to Rose and extending her hand out.

"Besides, someone needs to watch over you so you don't end up getting yourself killed by doing something stupid" Cassandra said. "So take care of me alright, captain"

"The Punk Pirates officially welcomed their third member with the addition of that bitch." Rose exclaimed with a smile on her face as she imagined the greatness they would experience. "Let's fucking get moving and piss on the fucking world. Our legend has already begun." She yelled at/gave orders to her crew before turning towards Casandra with a raised brow.

"Bitch I’ll need to keep an eye on your bipolar ass to make sure you don’t fuck us over." She bluntly reminded Casandra that she was the problem child of the crew as she firmly grasped the outstreched hand of her newest member.

Cassandra merely rolled her eyes at her captain before she turned to Zane and Yersi and bowed before them.

"I'm leaving the country to you. Please watch over it well"

"You got it" Zane along with Yersi nodded at her as Cassandra lifted her head and smiled. She knew she could trust the both of them to lead Sindra in her stead and any worry she had over departing had been extinguished.

“Hey”

Arsen suddenly called out as he walked over towards Rose as he stopped in front of her; the two of them staring at each other as everyone watched the staredown between the two figures who had done the most to save the country.

Reaching into his jacket, Arsen pulled out a small piece of paper and held it towards Rose. It was a Vivre card, like the one she had given him the night earlier.

“Someone might kill me before you get the chance too so you might want to hold onto this so you know when that happens” He smirked.

She smiled and accepted the paper from Arsen, giving a small nod of recognition. "You had better hang on until our next subsequent encounter." She stated as after everything they had gone through over the past several days, she finally felt ready to recognise the swordsman as a rival.

"Make sure no one else claims your head before me. We have a match to settle." Rose extended her arm to Arsen for a handshake as she tucked the Vivre Card away.

Arsen was surprised initially at Rose's change in attitude before a smirk graced his face and he firmly shook her hand as Cassandra along with everyone else present smiled and cheered at the interaction.

"Count on it" Arsen said before he turned around and began walking away but was stopped by Cassandra who grabbed his hand.

“...Why don’t you come with us, Arsen?” She leaned in and whispered to him. “I know you two don’t get along well but I’m sure even Rose would want you on board. That goes for me as well” She asked.

Arsen blinked, glancing at Rose who was still bragging and boasting to the crowd, before his face settled into a smirk as he shook his head.

“I don’t intend to serve under anyone, it has nothing to do with Rose. I like to go at my own pace. Besides, I’m sure we’d end up trying to kill each other if we were to be stuck on the same ship” Arsen joked as Cassandra chuckled at that before her expression looked a bit sad and she let go of his arm.

“...I see. That's a shame, truly. Please take care of yourself then. I’ll repay the debt that this country owes you someday, I swear on my life” She bowed towards him.

“Don’t worry about it” Arsen turned around and began leaving before stopping as he looked over his shoulder and spoke at a volume that only Cassandra could hear.

“Watch over her. I can’t have my rival dying on me before we settle things, can I? I intend to become the greatest swordsman in the world and she will become a legendary pirate eventually. So until we both reach our goals, make sure you keep her alive”

Cassandra was stunned for a bit at those words before she smiled and nodded at him.

“Understood”

With that, Arsen merely waved as he the crowd said their goodbyes watching him head to the small ship that Zane had prepared for him. It wasn’t anywhere near as big as the ship Rose had but it was enough for a single person to use and was filled with food, water, and other essentials for his journey.

Cassandra stared at him leaving for a bit before she returned her gaze to Rose and Onyx, her friends who she was proud to journey alongside with.

"Shall we?"

Grinning at Cassandra Rose nodded before turning away from the dock.

"Alright, fuckers, let's get out of here" Rose exclaimed as the Punk Pirate herself turned to take another look at the kingdom as she and her crew boarded the Black Mistress.

"You fuckers better be prepared to fly my flag in a few months because I'm about to bring the entire globe to its knees." She made a public vow to the cheering crowd before planting her foot firmly on the ship's center and igniting it, which caused the ship to briefly light up before taking off into the water with a thunderous explosion.

It was uncharacteristic of Rose to leave in such a strange and extravagant manner.