A Dragons Will

Template:Poperty

**Date Started:** N/A
**Date Completed:** N/A
**Previous Role-Play**: A Samurai Arises]]
**Users Involved:** User:Sekiro of the mist
**Setting:** south blue, Grand Line
**Characters Involved**: Sekiro Fuyuhiro

## Prelude to a new chapter

It was a bright cloudless day in the middle of winter. A lone island stood like a peak amidst the waves.

The faint winds of the east blowing in with a whistle like howl. Standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, Sekiro sits alone reading a book. It had only been two weeks since the events of A SAMURAI ARISE. Before he had left the company of his teacher. Sekiro was given a book about the martial arts and a mysterious force known as ryou. As he reads, Sekiro talks to himself and reflects on the contents .

“ I've been reading this ever since I got it and the only thing I understand is the martial arts portion. But this ryou i don't exactly get it. The only connection I can make is what my master taught me. ``Sekiro lets out a soft sigh and stands up. After looking at the ocean on the cliff for a short amount of time, he turns and walks off. Sekiro pondered about what became of his crewmates. As far as he knew the group had disbanded. Lazarus started his own group and made more of a name for himself. But sekiro had been gone for more than a year at this point. Who knew if the others had gone to the grandline or not. Meanwhile, Sekiro had been labeled a samurai by his latest master. However, he was labeled as a pirate. The title felt heavy. Yet it also gave him a purpose. Sekiro had found many answers to his questions. And gained new ones in the process. Though now he had a goal. He would reach Wano and find his true origins. That was his ultimate goal. Anything along the way is just stepping stones,

As Sekiro walks alone he can't help but wonder if he will see his friends again. Suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by distant screams. Sekiro, remembering that the island is uninhabited, is taken by surprise. Deciding he doesn't have much time to think, Sekiro rushes toward the direction of the sound. His light footsteps only cause a faint noise as they move in a rhythm.

Sekiro comes out into a clearing. As the trees clear up they give way to a beach shore. A ship is seen docked close. Cries and screams ringing out from it

Sekiro looking up at the ship figures that whatever commotion is going on, that is probably the source.

Bracing himself Sekiro takes a short breath and lunges at the ship

“Soru!” Sekiro moves like a flash of lightning closing the gap between him and the ship with one leap.

## An Albino Oni

Thump.

The sound of Sekiro’s feet touching the ship as he lands only alerts him as the sound was too faint for anyone else to hear. Being sure not to make any movements that could expose him yet Sekiro stands slowly and surveys the ship. Sekiro walks around the perimeter outside of anyone’s sight. Each of his steps are carefully placed so they make a nose only he can hear.

After a while Sekiro stops and looks down to the main deck and his eyes flair.

“ How corrupt are they? If marines are like this what has the world come to.” Sekiro says as he finally realizes who occupied this ship.

To Sekiro's surprise the ship belonged to a group of marines, however they seemed more like pirates. Whether that had been to keep their cover or they truly had fallen from the ranks it mattered not to Sekiro. His target was the prisoner who escaped

And was currently causing a ruckus. A young male seeming to be about the same age as Sekiro had escaped from one of the cells. The boy was tall and had pale white skin. His eyes were a striking golden amber color. His hair came down just past his neck and was a black blending into a light green. His right arm was covered in strange jade markings. But the feature that stood out the most. Was the boy's large white horns. He also had long claws like nails. He wore a long flowing kimono looking outfit. It consists of black grays and gold colors.

Isshin.

Isshin was being dragged toward the edge of the ship as he got closer his thoughts continued to race in his head.

( I don’t have time to be caught right now. And where did they put my stuff.) Isshin thought to himself, paying little mind that the marines were about to throw him into the water.

A marine looks down at Isshin and spits toward the ground beside him. Others begin to laugh in unison.  One of the marines look at isshin and  began to mock him

“You really think you're all that huh. Tell me what could a loly Oni like you know. The only thing you all are good for is being slaves. And you my doomed friend are a rarity among rares. A white Oni who's incredibly fit will fetch a high price on the market. Hell, I think you're only worth selling to a celestial dragon and knowing them some idiot kid whose parents spoiled them will buy you for way more than your worth. Well be rich.  *the marine says to isshin while getting closer to his face. “ if i were you i would enjoy this freedom you have and not cause any trouble because you are ours no…”*

Before the man even finishes talking, Isshin headbuts the man, knocking him to the ground. The sound of the man's impact echoing throughout the ship causes all laughter to cease. Isshin gives a light smirk and then speaks under his breath, the sound only loud enough for sekiro to hear.

“ well see whos laughing later, as far as i'm concerned all of you are ass good as dead. *The words send a smirk to appear on Sekiro's face as he sits back and prepares to watch the show.*

## Screw dying, Isshins escape

Isshin instantly gets up without warning and impales one of the marines with his horns. The marines' eyes go white and he falls over. In response all of the surrounding marines ready their weapons and guns at isshin. He then takes the liberty of getting up knowing that they can’t damage their fortune. He then runs over to the side of the ship and jumps off.  While his hands are still tied behind his back. A rope attached him to the ship.  Moving with much expertise. Isshin falls toward the sea before swinging back up to the ship. As he reaches the peak of his swing Isshin jerks his body forward. The momentum caused a loud snapp to be heard. His plan was to use the momentum from the fall and the swing to break free of his bonds. And it worked.

Now free, Isshin made a bolt toward the nearest marine and delivered a jumping knee to the man's face with great force. The impact caused the man's skull to crack and fall back before he had the time to react. The man's sword flew out of his hands and spiraled in the air. Isshin caught the weapon and threw it at the next marine that was closest to him. The sword spun in the air at such speeds the only thing the marine could do was watch as the spinning blade came spiralling toward him. Isshin, not giving the thought of a day to stop, continued to the next one.

Sekiro watched as Isshin moved between the marines like a white cloud of death. Tearing through their numbers one by one without sparing a moment to hesitate. Behind Sekiro though a group of marines began to make a circle around him and pointed heach of their guns at him. Meanwhile another ship had come into sight. This time the ship was a proper marine vessel and on it were more opponents waiting for the signal to blow the ship out of the water.

Sekiro glanced behind him and looked at each of the marines individually. One of them came up and showed a picture of sekiro.

“ Sekiro of the glitter pirates, you're under arrest. ‘ the man said with such confidence it was almost laughable. “

Sekiro nodded and stood up. Seeing that there were only a handful of marines he could take them all out at once. Sekiro then reached for his sword and quickly unsheathed it, bringing the sword in a crescent shape in the process. As Sekiro moved the marines each shot at him in unison. On Sekiro’s end a wave of pressure came from his sword. And shot through the marines like the slash of the blade. Sekiro turned around and brought his blade back to its sheath. The moment it locked back in place each marine fell to the ground with a pool of blood appearing underneath their corpses.

“ Honestly, is there anyone competent on this ship? Though i still need to get used to that technique my movement was off. *Sekiro says to himself, returning to his sitting position.*

Iisshin at this point had taken care of a good amount of the soldiers. Now he moved below deck. As he jumped through the doors leading below. Multiple gunshots littered the walls and doors each missing their target. Frantically searching every room, Isshin finally came to a stop at what seemed to be a treasure room. In the middle peeking out from hoards of treasure. Was a green black and purple naginata. Isshin smiled at the weapon and picked it up. Now running back toward the upper deck he brought the polearm to his side and burst out into the open.

As he came out, Isshin moved with way more agility and speed. Now spinning to and from each opponent. He quickly cleared out all the marines on that level and stood in the middle of the path he left now looking up to where sekiro was sitting. Isshin walked over to confront the stranger.

When isshin got within arms reach or sekiro he spoke to him taking on a neutral but aggressive tone.

“ Who the hell are you or are you just some lost cosplayer?” isshin says to sekro looking at him with a puzzled expression.

## a Dragon and A demon

Sekrio in response to this looks up at Isshin and tilts his head. Responding to his words, Sekiro gives isshin a reply.

“ a cosplayer i don't think you are in position to say that considering our outfits are similar. And speaking of which, what are you anyway? “ Sekiro says to Isshin, curious about the boy's appearance.

Ishhin hearing this raises one eyebrow and gives sekiro a puzzled look.

“ What the hell do you think samurai?  *Isshin asked sekiro as if it wasn't plainly obvious that he was an oni.*

Sekiro looked at Isshin and simply answered his question in a semi normal tone.

“ I don't know, some horned race or something. Though I can tell you're not like me so there's that. But seriously, I'm curious.”

Deciding  to drop the hostility, Isshin glanced behind Sekiro . He saw the group of marines who were lying on the ground. He looked back at sekro and began to speak.

“ Well for one im guessing that was you. And two if you must know im an oni, a white oni to be exact. Also where the hell did you come from? ``Isshin said to Sekiro walking towards the edge of the ship and putting his arms behind his head.

Sekiro looked down and chuckled before getting up himself. Now looking toward the marine ship in the distance. Sekiro had an idea. He began speaking to Isshin while not turning away from where he was looking at the moment.

“ i was just in the area. Although it would seem we have guests. I have an idea though, i'm trying to get to the grand line however there is something i need to take care of first. If you don't mind you could tag along. But back to what I was thinking. “ Before Sekiro even explains, Isshin is already on board with the plan.

Walking up to sekiro and looking at the same thing, Isshin finished Sekiro’s sentence for him.

“ of either sneaking onto the ship and hijacking it or stowing away. In my opinion it would be better to just hijack it to save us the trouble of having to hide. Oh and by the way what are those things coming this way?  *As Isshin finishes, both look up and see an object hurtling toward the ship they were on.*

BOOM, the impact of the cannonball echoed through the ship. An explosion causing fires to start on the ship. Both Isshin and Sekiro watched as the fires engulfed parts of the ship and as more cannonfire started to come toward them.

Looking at Isshin, Sekiro shrugged and motioned towards the ship.

“ Well, no turning back now I guess,” Sekiro said to his new companion, who nodded in agreement.

Both jumped off the ship and plummeted toward the water each having a clear way to get across the sea in their own minds. As they fell the cannons each hit the ship causing explosions to erupt and fireworks to fly. The sky was painted a light shade of orange and smoke filled the air.

Making a swift motion both move harmoniously with each other. Isshin stabs the ship with his naginata and begins to slide down the side of the ship. At the same time Sekiro focuses on his feet and a light mist begins forming around him. The bottoms of his feet begin to form a light layer of ice. As he hits the water a wave of ice spreads throughout the water. Sekiro then uses soru to kick off the small patch of ice. Each time he creates a small amount of ice at his feet and kicks off to another.

On isshin's end he rockets off of the ship. As he travels through the air his body begins to change, and fins begin growing on his back and hands. His feet fuse together into a tail fin. All around his body white scales begin to cover his frame and morph into that of another. Sliding into the water instead of hitting it and sinking. Staying at just the right height he shoots through the water and reaches the ship at the same time as sekiro.

As they reach the ship and secure a hiding spot, sekiro looks at isshin and makes many attempts to speak before finally coming up with the words.

“You're a devil fruit user. Wait but why would you go into the water specifically because you're a shark and an albino one at that, those are rare, then again it could have something to do with you being what you are i suppose that wouldn't rule out the possibility plus no one fully knows how devil fruits work.” Sekiro says to Isshin who then decides to explain why he isn't afraid to go into the water.

“ For starters I have had this fruit since I was a child. And I was punished for it. At first I had to wear seastone everyday. Eventually my body adjusted to the burden and I could move as if I didn't have them on, that was after I had them for two years. Of course I still had to do training with everyone else but they were stricter on me. I had to make this precise moment every time or I would be punished. I got dunked in water and had to train waist deep that that became useless. At that point I could go about as if I was at full strength although my abilities have always been weakened but that's what my fruit gets me” isshin's words sting as he says them.

Now looking at Isshin in a new light, Sekiro grasps what his new companion is like. He nods knowing that no words need to be said. The two then prepare to launch their attack on the marines. Both ready to spring at any moment then as swift as the wind the bust into the main deck.

## Storm The Ship, Silver And White duo

Slam the doors opened with such force they slammed against the walls on the other side. Sekiro, Isshin and all of the marines stared at each other for what seemed like minutes until finally each partys moved and readied for batte.

Sekiro ran to the left and brought out his Benzaitens' Grace. In one smooth motion he swung the blade downward and moved his body in a semicircle. As he moves a large column of ice shoots out of the water below and engulfs some of the marines. Many retaliate with gunfire but there are some who are brave enough to face Sekiro head on. Sekiro moved to intercept the first one lunging forward with his blade at his side. The marine who wielded a club was much taller than Sekiro. He swung downward intending to crush Sekiro in one fell swoop. Moving his sword up Sekiro parries the attack sending the man off balance then brings it in a horizontal slash across his chest. As he looks up a volley of bullets are flying toward him. Rolling to the right to gain momentum Sekiro quickly recovers and runs to avoid the volly. Coming to more marines Sekiro moves in circular motions cutting down the marines in long coiling dragon like motions.

Panning to Isshin. He fights off marines who are surrounding him in a circle. Moving his naginata in wide arks and bo staff like motions he strikes a marine in to the right and then brings the polearm to spin in his hands behind his back. The movement allows him to dodge one attack and kill another marine. Now bringing it downward he winds up and lunges into the air moving to bring the naginata downward into a slam that cuts through one marine straight down the middle. As one marine comes in for a slash, Isshin pokes him with the end of his naginata and throws the man over him. Knocking him into a group of his allies. He quickly closes the gap and morphs his left arm to have his outer arm gain palates. With a sweep he cuts the marines in front of him and morphs his arm back to its original state. Now moving quicker he moves like a tornado and tears through a large number of the marines. More reinforcements come to aid their comrades.

Back on Sekiro’s end he moves in and out of the marines ranks cutting them all down with terrifying speed. All of his movements lead him into the next opponent without delay. After spinning into a slash that cuts down one marine Sekiro uses soru and closes the distance on one unlucky marine by himself. After sekiro passes the man he cuts him while still using soru. The man is stunned for a second but quickly gets cut and falls to the floor. Now a group of ten marines comes toward Sekiro; he repositions his sword and tightens his grip. Then a wave of ice came toward Sekiro and coiled around his sword like a dragon.

“ I'm glad I learned how to tone this down so it's not as taxing. ``Sekiro says to himself.

Finally Sekiro unleashes a flurry of sword slashes each hitting a marine and freezing them instantly. As Sekiro gets through the group he flicks his sword and sends slash behind him before returning his blade to its sheath. All at one the marines bodys shatter and disperse in clouds of mist.

Isshin approaches one last marine and goes in for a finishing blow. The marine however dodges and lands a right hook to Isshin, sending him stumbling back. Almost surprised by this, Isshin looks back over to the marine and braces himself. He then rushes the marine, making several poking moves with his naginata as he steps forward the marine backs away managing to dodge a good amount of the attacks. Still some find their mark and leave the man with several holes in his clothing. As the blood begins to trickle down the man's body and bleed through his shirt. The man signals to the others and prepares to attack Isshin. However Isshin perceives this and hits the man with the side of his naginata. The blow caused the marine to stumble and fall over the side of the ship. Isshin looked on as the last reinforcements were cut down by sekiro. Now walking toward Sekiro, Isshin surveyed the ship. The previously lively marine ship was now almost dead quiet. The dead bodys of the marines are littering the deck. The previously white floor is now stained with red. Still the two at the center of it all the two left standing had not a mark on them. Sekiro and Isshin spoke to each other and devised a plan going forward.

“ So what do you think most of them are pretty weak then there were some that got closer but they were still bad then again” Sekiro’s words trail off as his eyes are directed toward a door on the other side of the ship. Isshin follows his gaze and both look at each other. And then return toward the door.

Sekiro looks at Isshin and then motions toward the door. “ I got this one,” Sekiro says to Isshin, walking toward the door.

Sekiro walks through the door and leaves Isshin lookin around. Suddenly Sekiro is sent flying back through the door. He recovers and slides along the floor. Looking stunned, Sekiro gets up and takes up a defensive stance. Isshin, not wasting any time, takes up his own stance.

“ looks like a captain was hiding among them.  *Sekiro says to Isshin as they both watch as a hulking figure appears out of the door he looks around and sees his dead subordinates. The man begins to speak to sekiro and isshin and begins to speak.*

“ You two killed my underlings. You have no idea how severe the punishment for you will be. ILL MAKE SURE YOU GET NOTHING LESS THAN THE DEATH SEN. *As the man begins to shout, Sekiro and Isshin are already on the move. Sekiro comes to the right of the marine captain and jumps into the air and kicks the man with great force. Isshin follows this up with a jumping front kick. Sekiro again lands a triple kick to the man's jawline. And Isshin comes with a left hook. The two continue landing blows on the captain without breaking tempo. Having enough, the man lets out a roar and breaks the team's momentum. Grabbing Sekiro he throws the samurai into the nearby scaffolding. Sekiro, not seeing this coming has no time to react and hits the framing with a loud thud. The force of the impact caused the ship to shake a bit. Sekiro grimaces at the pain and falls toward the deck.*

Now looking down at isshin the marine reaches behind his back and pulls out a large pair of tonfa. And readys up his stance.

Isshin looked toward where sekiro landed and then back to the marine. After quickly spinning his naginata, Isshin takes up a stance of his own. The two brace themselves and get ready to make the next move. Isshin waits for the marine to move so he can intercept. Sekiro beats him to this and appears at the top of the lookout tower. The sounds of a crackling storm appearing at the same time.  Sekiro appears within view and charges up a powerful attack.

Sekiro stares down at the marine while in the middle of charging his attack sekiro uses soru and closes the distance between him and the others. Now appearing underneath the captain, Sekiro finally unleashes his attack. GRAND TEMPEST SLASH. Sekiro moves in an arc-like swing focusing soru into his arms to move at such high speeds that a great lighting ark forms and charges straight for the marine.

At such a close distance the marine is unable to dodge Sekiro’s attack. The current of lighting hits the marine and damages one of his eyes. The marine grabs the eye that was damaged and stumbles back. After taking a few steps backwards. He recovers himself but has lost one of his eyes. Now flaring with rage the marine goes to swing his tonfa at the two, his intentions showing fully.

Sekiro and Isshin move to intercept and strike the marine. As the swing comes at the two horizontally, sekiro slides under the tonfa and brings his sword up to slash the man's left collarbone. Isshin at the same time somersaults over the attack and winds up into a forward thrust aimed for the man's stomach.

The marine still enraged does nothing to stop this and is hit with the full brunt of both attacks stumbling backwards watches helplessly as the two swarm him with combined attacks each hitting there mark and opening for the next ones attack.

Isshin moves upward to the man's neck and brings his naginata in a choking position. Looking at Sekiro, Isshin calls out his intentions.

“ I could use a bit of help here if you don't mind.” Isshin says to sekior while still focusing on the marine.

Getting the message, Sekiro runs toward the marine. He then executes an acrobatic combo. Leading with a cartwheel into two back handsprings. And launches into the air performing a b twist side kick. The force of the combined movements together increases his momentum and speed. The kick drives into the marines head and combines with isshin pulling on him. The resulting force knocks the man over and sends him flying off the edge.

Sekiro and Isshin look over the railing and see the man hit the water with a loud slap. A large spray of water comes shooting up and falls back to the ocean. Satisfied with themselves, Isshin and sekiro high five each other and sit down for a bit. The day passes them by and falls into sunset. The sounds of the ocean and birds echoing in the distance.

## A Calm Aftermath

Looking at the damage they had done, Sekiro speaks to Isshin about how they are going to make the ship passable.

“ Well that was fun, although now we have to clean up the mess. How do you think we should do it? ``Sekiro says to isshin open for ideas.

“ Well I think first we should get rid of all these bodys i feel like your ability would be better than just throwing them in the sea since they would most likely just float. Then once that's done we should clean the floors and make sure everything is normal. Of course we could also get disguises but that can come later.” isshin says to sekiro while beginning to search for cleaning supplies.

With the plan set, Sekiro and Isshin work to make the marine ship as passable as possible. Going around to each marine, Sekiro freezes their bodys and disperses them into mist. It is good training for him and lets him get more acclimated to using more fine movements with ice as freezing the body to the level that it can be broken into mist takes a great level of skill sekiro remembers training it on pieces of sea king that zoryu his sister or himself would bring after hunting.

Having found where the marines kept their own cleaning supplies he began to work. Going after sekiro has cleared the bodys and bega cleaning up the bloody stans and generally cleaning the deck and ship. The task took them well into the night but their efforts were fruitful. All of the marines were cleared out, the floors were cleaned and showed no traces of battle. The only unaccounted for was the marine captain though sekiro and isshin were sure he was swallowed by the sea.

Sekiro explains to Isshin the reason he wanted to hijack the ship in the first place while they shared a meal together.

“ You know I don't think I ever told you my reason for wanting to take this ship. Originally I had made a promise with one of my friends and our captain that we would rescue his sister who had been taken to a marine prison. Although not too long after that I watched that same friend die right in front of me. Now before I go on to the next part of the world I want to at least make it so that me and my captain can keep that promise. So I want to find him and rescue her. What happens next, who knows.

## Word Gets Back To Base

Meanwhile somewhere at a navy base.

A marine runs down a well fashioned hall and bursts into the head office. The marine speaks to his superior with sporadic breath. Now gasping from the rush he was in.

“ Sir, I have terrible news. One of our ships was completely taken out.”

Hearing this the head marine stands up abruptly from the chair he was sitting in and slams his hands down on the desk.

“ WHAT BY WHO,WHEN WAS THIS! Give me the full details NOW!” the head marine says to his underling who just presented him with bad news. Although he doesn't have to say anything as the only major ship sent out the day was to intercept and destroy a marine unit who had gone rogue.

Preparing for the news the head marine steadies himself and motions for the newsbringer to speak

“ We found the location of the rogue unit and found they were planning to sell some species to the celestial dragons. However one of the prisoners escaped and began to cause a ruckus

“ We sent our ship out to intercepteft the rogues. However one of their prisoners escaped capture. And began to cause a ruckus. However on the island they had docked, there was someone who moved onto the ship and watched the event play out. The escaped prisoner was an oni, how they managed to get their hands on one we have no idea. The oni managed to escape and then began to take out the surrounding marines. While the commotion begins. Our ship took the chance to fire, there were no complications and the ship was blown up without ours taking any damage. While we were in the middle of celebration two people boarded the ship without the crew knowing. The two were the oni prisoner who escaped the rouge unit and sekiro Fuyuhiro, of the Glitter pirates. The two waited for the right time and launched a surprise attack onto our ship. Although we mobilized quickly the pair were too strong and wiped out every marine on the ship. After they killed all of our men. Sekiro went to explore the ship but woke the acting captain of the ship. After being knocked back sekiro and isshin mobilised and used combined attacks to overwhelm him. After trying time and time again. The captain was defeated by their last attack and was tossed overboard into the sea. As of now we have no idea where they are. “

After the marine finishes his statement the head marine sits back into his chair. After letting out a long sigh he looks at the young marine who just reported to him a mixture of good and bad news. Looking down at his desk once more the marine gets up and escorts the young marine out the room, talking while they walk.

“ send word to headquarters, have them write a report and see to getting pictures of both of them.  Still we had a win in ridding ourselves of that rogue unit. They have been smudging the name of the marines with their actions and now they have been dealt with. Also send a recovery crew to that location. If we are lucky we can have at least one survivor. I'm sure they will be waiting to get even with those two.`` The head marine finishes and sends the young one off. Stopping by the window he stares into the distance ideas filling his head of how they will deal with this new development.

“ So they all have finally resurfaced; it's only been a year since the glitter pirates disappeared. And now one of the top three of that group have come back into the light.” the marine says looking out to the world.

## Sekiro And Isshin Learn About Each Other

The stolen marine ship has been sailing with no problem for a week now. With the time passing its crew now had only two men. Spend their time getting to know each other.

Isshin walks around the perimeter of the ship scanning every nook and cranny while he takes careful steps. A movement comes into the corner of his eye. Reacting quickly, Isshin spins on an axis and intercepts a fist aimed for his head.

Sekiro, who had just launched the attack, smiles and pulls back, coming back around with a spinning back kick. The move intended to hit Isshin in his arm. While moving, Sekiro speaks to Isshin to make conversation.

“ So what have you been wanting to ask me this whole time? It doesn't take that much to know you've been holding something back from me.  *Sekiro says to isshin.*

Moving to block the attack, Isshin just barely avoids the blow by moving his leg to block the hit. Responding to a serious question, Isshin comes with his own curious about where they were even headed.

“ Well for starters you don't seem to be a human, at least not entirely. Your smell gives off something different, something more reptilian or mythical like. But you're not an oni. I know how I smell. However I do have a question for you: what are you planning to do now? Or did you just want to sail around the blue sea looking for adventure.” Isshin asks Sekiro while moving into a frontflip while kicking out in a stomping motion.

Seeing the attack coming, Sekiro steps back and jumps onto his hands. Using the movement of his body to carry him back into a kip up. Sekiro answers back with his intentions now sure that he's ready to begin the next part of his journey.

“ Well that question is yet to be confirmed. At least the first part I have my ideas though. As for your second question. We are about to head to the first half of the grand line once getting there. I plan to link up with some old friends and pull a prison break. Saying that brings back memories since we all met in a prison break which started our journey together. Short Lived but it was good. “ Sekiro says to Isshin, continuing to trade blows with the oni. “

While the two continue to spar against each other they travel around the ship and converse with each other. The ship sails through the waves and heads for the grand line. The journey ahead will leave the two with many opportunities to get stronger. Sekiro watches as the sunsets into the sea the sounds of splashing water overwhelm his ears. Being the only sound for miles, Sekiro takes in all the things he's been through in this sea. While also thinking about what lies in wait for him. Thinking of Zoryu and his sister, Sekiro begins to smile, something he hasn't done in a long time on his own. The thoughts of his family bring him a momentary joy that fills his heart. However the thoughts quickly fade away and Sekiro returns to his normal expression. The smile fading back into a face of calm determination. But hiding a sadness that sekiro thought he long let go. Getting up from his resting spot, Sekiro walks around the ship and brings his hands to Benzaitens' grace. Beginning to talk to the sword feeling like it's the only thing he has to talk to with no fear of giving too much information.

“ I'm not sure how long I'll be able  to keep to myself. To be honest i feel a bit scared going into this next phase. Perhaps Sapphire's death affected me more than I know. Now i'm hesitant to make new friends and even more so to keep them close i left yomi behind in hopes she could at least keep herself safe. I don't want to lose any more people close to me, not if I prevent it. That's why I need to get stronger. I need to be able to keep myself and those I care for in this realm of existence but I feel like something is missing. Holding you now feels more like holding apart of me than just holding a weapon. I wanted to thank you for protecting me so far and helping me through my life. I'll make sure I'm not a disappointment to anyone else. “ Sekiro says while looking at Benzaitens' grace. While he stares deeply into the silber and blue blade of the katana. Sekiro sees the reflection of a figure in the shadows of the ship. Across from where he is sitting and into the captains quarters. Sekiro sheaths his katana and approaches the room.

## An Unexpected Guest

Knowing that Isshin is asleep at this point, Sekiro is careful not to take any unnecessary moves and is sure not to give away his position to the stowaway.

As Sekiro walks toward the captain's quarters and suddenly bursts through the door. The room is empty aside from the bed and a few commodities Sekiro set up. As Sekiro looks around he finds nothing that shows signs of a person being there. Dropping his guard, Sekiro blows a gust of cool air through his nostrils and turns around to walk out.

As sekiro turns, Yomi leaps onto his tackling sekiro and pushes him onto the bed. Looking stunned, Sekiro stares up in astonishment for a couple of seconds then flares up with rage.

But before sekiro gets to scold yomi and fuss her out for appearing on the ship. She leans in and kisses Sekiro, stopping him from braiding her with why she shouldn't be on the ship.

Looking up at his partner, Sekiro feels himself letting his anger go at her presence but still moves to question as to how she ended up on a marine ship let alone this specific one.

“ yomi the hell are you doing here. I thought I left you at the island. And how long were you here? `` Sekiro asked Yomi the simple yet urgent question.

Smiling at how frantic Sekiro just became, Yomi moves into a sitting position, while still on top of sekiro but preventing him from moving so he doesn't make any rash decisions. Hearing her explanation.

“ Well for starters, how could you leave me on the island by myself. I'd say I'm in more danger in that situation than if i were with you. But I guess I owe you an explanation. To start with I saw you sneak onto that first ship since I was already in the area not knowing what was going on. I followed close enough to see that there was fighting going on and then when I saw the cannons being fired at the ship I began to panic. I didn't know what happened to you and I watched as the hip just burned down. A couple hours had passed and I saw something approaching me from the water. I was about to run away but the thing called out to me and said he was with you. It turns out he had saw me following you and noticed before you both jumped off the ship and confronted this one, taking it over. He brought me back and told me to keep a low profile, a nice fellow to be honest you should be more like him. But that's how I ended up here and now I have you alone so I might as well have told you.” yomi says to sekiro her long black hair flowing down and covering her shoulders.

Not waiting for a response from Sekiro, Yomi leans back into him. The sound of the sea getting louder and rocking as the night passes by.

## A Storm Brews, The Final Hurdle

Morning comes and brings in the smell of light rain. Mist slowly moving away from the water and dissipating into the air. Isshin looks around and watches as a flock of birds flies overhead. The sound of their calls growing and shrinking as they pass by. He walks over to  the room Sekiro normally slept in and got opened the door about to inform him about what neared them.

“ Yo sekiro we might be near an island. WOOAH ahem sorry wrong room ``Isshin says quickly trying to walk out of the room and turn back but quickly comes back in more of a hurry. His face now widened.

Sekiro wakes up with a stir and looks over at Isshin then back at Yomi who lies next to him enveloped in his arms. Her hair taking up a whiled look despite the calm sleeping position. Sekiro suddenly jumps up and addresses isshin. Pushing yomi off the bed shortly afterward.

“ ah this wasn’t, I didn’t, so what’s up.” Sekiro says to Isshin who now looked at him with a sceptical face.

Isshin stared Sekiro down before speaking and telling him about what’s happening outside.

“ Well for one, put a shirt on two meet me outside. And as for you I told you to keep a low profile not go low. “ Isshin says, addressing both Sekiro and Yomi who looked at him with embarrassed faces.

After waiting a bit Sekiro finally joined isshin out on the deck once there isshin points westward into the distance Sekiro not sure what it means follows the direction and instantly his eyes widened

Up ahead a massive red mountain sticks out of the water it’s peaks reaching so high they are obscured by the clouds. Just in front of them though a navy fleet makes a blockade halting the ships passage.

Sekiro states in awe while Isshin only shows an expression of uncertainty. Behind them Yomi walks out from the room and her jaw drops.

Quickly sekiro isshin and yomi begin to make adjustments to the ship. As they draw closer to the marine blockade their movements become quicker. Now sure that they have been discovered, Sekiro and Isshin head up to the front of the ship. Now headed straight for the marines, Sekiro walks and decides to pay the marines a visit. Telling the rest to be ready to launch an attack at the signal. That signal of course would be either him coming back or the marines starting to fire.

“ Well well such a bold welcome party. Well I guess at this point it would be a parting gift. So many ships though i suppose now would be a good time to go all aout what do you think”

Sekiro says to the rest. Not having to look behind him as he knew the others were more than ready.

Now walking toward  the edge, Sekiro steps off the ship. And begins speeding toward the head ship of the marines.

Sekiro comes up on the ship and launches himself out of the water. Taking one last powerful step and using soru to propel himself upward. Sekiro lands on the ship, seeming to appear out of thin air to the surrounding marines.

One the marines' side.

Preparing to mobilize and send out a call to the stolen marine ship a marine captain walks out from his quarters. The man is tall, his white coat flowing down past his knees with fur adorning its length. The man has brown hair that comes down to his shoulders. His strong jawline protrudes outward. One of his eyes is covered by a patch showing scars from his last battle. The marine is the very same that sekiro and isshin encountered and fought to take over the ship they now occupy.

“ Excuse me, Captain Kazumasa, the pirates are in proximity should we begin to fire. “ one of the marines said to kazumasa as he watched the sea, sure that someone was approaching.

Suddenly sekiro appears out of thin air seeming to just pop up to most of the marines. But to Kazumasa he saw the young man using soru and landed on his ship.

Now walking up to the young man, Kazumasa signals for the rest of the marines to back off and give him a chance to talk with the samurai.

“ If I'm being honest I should just have you gunned down on the spot, considering what you did to my crew and ship. Hell i still have the scar to prove it. But that's besides the point. Being that you're still a person, I'll make you an offer. Come with us quietly and your companions will be spared. Of course you'll be put to death but at least they will make it out alive.

His words hold no lies within them as Kazumasa makes the offer to sekiro.

Hearing this sekiro stares the marine captain down. While he can tell the man is not lying, Sekiro has other plans of how the situation would go down. Now walking back toward the edge of the ship, Sekiro looks back at the marine captain and responds to his proposal.

“ Well you seem to be a generous man. However, I'll have to refuse that offer. Now I'm going to go back to my ship and we can proceed with this attack, if we die then you will be able to avenge the rest of your crew. Although there's something that tells me today isn't that day for me. Hell, I'm sure that won't happen for another thousand years. “ Sekiro says, jumping off the ship and rushing back to his own. As he rushes back kazumasa smirks and then returns to him men giving them their orders.

“ ALL MEN PREPARE TO ATTACK THE PIRATES. IT SEEMS THAT OUR GUEST WANT TO GO OUT IN AN HONORABLE WAY SO LET'S GIVE THEM A GOOD SEND OFF . *Kazumasa yells out his orders now preparing to launch his assault and sink the ship.*

## Skirmish At Reverse Mountain.

Back with sekiro and the rest

Sekiro lands on the ship and looks toward the others. Telling them about what happened with the marine she talks about how the captain they fought survived and is now leading the blockade. While both are willing to fight it out. The game would be whether the pirates died or made it to the grand line. Of course the winners in this would be them.

Isshin looks at sekiro now toting his naginata ready for the oncoming battle and rushes to his position. The sounds of his footsteps carried throughout the ship. One in position. He uses his eyesight to watch the marines and waits for them to make their move, wanting to give them at least a fighting chance.

With a bang the battle kicks up the marines fire onto the ship sekiro and the others had stolen. The smell of gunpowder and ash fill the air as a cloud of smoke begins to blanket the air.

At once all of the ships fire onto Sekiro’s ship multiple cannonballs rain down from the enemy ships and make their way to sekiro. Without sparring any movement, Sekiro unsheathed his sword and stood near the mast. Concentrating on the trajectory of the cannon balls. While he focuses. Sekiros pupils begin to dilate then disappear altogether. His skin becomes like a blend of flesh and scales. Every breath he takes is more focused than the last and leaves a light mist from the drop in temperature.

While all are aimed for the ship some of the cannonballs fall short of their target and drop into the water. Louch splashes and waves surge from the volley. The resulting movement causes the sea to begin to surge forward and back the surface looks like that of a storm and the clouds look like thunder.

Sekiro, finally ready to meet the assault, looks up and tightens his grip on benzaiten. Making one fluid motion he slashes at the air with such force a blue wave of energy bursts in front of him and slices a group of the cannonballs in two. Looking back he spots cannons of his own. Quickly running over to them, Sekiro slashes the fuse and starts the fire by friction of the slash alone.

With a loud band the cannons fire onto the marines. Two meeting their marks and piercing the hulls of separate ships. An explosion erupts from the impact and sends some of the marines rocetingt overboard. Isshin watches as an abundance of cannonballs come his way.

Moving his naginata to send them back, Isshin executes a move with such precision it was like he practiced it every day.

Moving he stabs one of the cannons so quickly the cut doesn't cause the cannon to explode. Now moving in a 180 degree turn, Isshin spins and sends the cannon back at the rest. Upon colliding a chain of explosions sets off and lights up the sky.

Sekiro, eager to win this battle jumps up into the air and emits a cold wave of energy into his sword. Now channeling this sekiro drops toward the water and freezes a patch for him to and on. Now manipulating the waves to his advantage, Sekiro sends a strike spiraling directly for one of the marine ships. The attack comes out as a horizontal column of ice that looks like a dragon arising from the sea. Engulfs the ship. The marines , helpless to defend against it, are overtaken by the ice and immobilized.

Now moving toward the marine ships sekiro continues to make an onslaught of ice towards several of the marine ships as he draws closer his radius of ice expands and gives opportunity for some of the marines to drop down and confront him. Sekiro moves in between the marines one by one and slices them down. After clearing out a group of them, Sekiro jumps on their ship and heads for the wheel. While doing parkour to get to the wheel in the quickest way, Sekiro jumps over the last obstacle and rockets overhead. The marine who had been at the wheel looks up in surprise and fumbles for his gun.

Sekiro, too quick for the man, drives his foot into the man's dome and knocks him unconscious. Now picking the man up, Sekiro throws him toward the group of marines and knocks them all down in one fell swoop. Now taking the wheel, Sekiro makes a wide turn and snaps the wheel causing the ship to go off course and head straight for another of the marine ships.

Many of the marines begin to panic as the ship heads barreling straight for them. However this makes them obvious to the cannonfire that sekiro launches while the ship is in the middle of turning. Each hit the ship and set off explosions that make fires rage and take over the ship.

Sekiro hops off one ship and heads over to the next moving in a line, taking over one ship and setting it on a course for the next. He runs down the falling mast of one of the ships and jumps toward another ship as sekiro rolls to cushion his landing a tonfa heads straight for his face. Sekiro, taken by surprise, jerks his body but does not manage to dodge the blow completely; the force of the impact sends sekiro backward a bit. He looks up and sees kazumasa waiting with his tonfa in hand. He looks down at sekiro shakes his head.

“ my friend i hope you didn't think i wasn't going to notice that did you. Sigh you just keep giving me more and more problems. Honestly the only reason I lost my temper the first time was because I had just woken up although that was rare. I'll admit I enjoy the excitement you bring your friends over there holding their own too though. The line for you though ends here. “

As he finishes talking. Kazumasa launches himself as sekiiro. The two leaders of their groups clash and engage battle while the others focus on keeping their ships afloat. Isshin watches the surrounding ships either fall or send cannonfire their way. Continuing to block most of the projectiles while giving yomi orders to fire back. The two moved with surprisingly good coordination even though this was their first battle together. Isshin also was surprised by yomis calmness and her ability to move throughout the ship so well. However, thinking about Sekiro made sense since he would go for someone who could hold their own.

Sekiro and Kazumasa continued their duel even while the surrounding marines were still firing on sekiros ship. Sekiro on the offensive at this point lead with a downward slash towards kazumasa. Trying to land the hit and delivering a crucial blow that would allow him to escape.

Seeing the attack kazumasa maneuvers his tonfa and blocks the attack from sekiro. While he is blocking a light layer of ice begins to creep up the top side of his tonfa. Pulling back, Kazumasa quickly shakes the ice off of his tonfa and is ready to catch the next attack.

Sekiro runs towards kazumasa and switches from holding his katana with two hands to a one handed stance as he races forward sekiro uses soru and blitzes kazumasa. As he pops in and out of soru sekiro stabs and slashes him in a pattern as sekiro goes in for the last hit, he jumps into the air and spirals downward aiming to stab him in one of his pressure points. The other attacks charged with small amounts of lighting to shock his nerve system and keep him from stopping the rest. Sekiro learned this attack from Yasuharu during his year training with the old samurai.

“SASTUGAI SEIKA” Sekiro yells out as he lands the last blow of his attack sequence.

As he pulls back, Sekiro returns his other hand to the blade and waits. If the attack is strong enough it could kill someone in one execution. However Sekiro knew well that his opponent was no footer and could withstand the onslaught just fine.

Kazumasa, although stunned for a split second, recovers from the attack. And retorts with his own taking the opportunity given by sekiro having to stop for a second to catch his breath. Kazumasa gets within arms reach of sekiro and uppercuts him into the air. Jumping up to meet the height of the throw, Kazumasa delivers a downward smash to sekiro with his tonfa. Causing the boy to be sent rocketing toward the deck of the ship. Now moving straight for him, Kazumasa brings one of his tonfa back so that it is in line with his fist. The attack aimed to knock sekiro off the side of the ship completely.

“HOWLING FIST” he yells the name of his attack as it is just inches away from Sekiro’s body.

As the attack reaches sekiro isshin steps in and parries the blow for sekiro. Throwing sekiro off the ship, Isshin quickly turns his attention to kazumasa. And begins to block an oncoming volley of blows. Each aimed to put Isshin out of commission he moves backwards while maneuvering his naginata to deflect each strike. Each time Isshin blocks it looks like heis moving the poleam at blinding speeds and combating the attacks with his own. After two minutes of this cycle pass, Isshin is backed to the side of the railing. Kazumasa looks at Isshin and grins.

“Well now looks like this is the end of the line for you two although i will admit you put up quite a fight” he says to the boy who now is at his mercy.

Isshin watches the marine and begins to chuckle the sounds of gunfire and cannons light up the bright sky as the battle nears its close. Isshin looks down as kazumasa and then gives the marine news he had not hoped to hear.

“ Actually you know the only reason I'm up here and threw Sekiro overboard was simply to get him on the ship afterall we are right on the reverse mountain. To be honest the last obstacle was just you, your forces and companions however have been taken care of. As for us, well I guess we'll be seeing you on the grand line my friend. Good luck” with those last words isshin bolts down the railing and jumps off as he flies through the air their ship finally comes into view sekiro and yomi waiting for him before they hit reverse mountains stream. Isshin lands on the ship and rolls to cushion the fall. Now turning back to the marine captain isshin waves the man goodbye as the rest hit the stream and are carried upward.

Kazumasa stood alone on his ship, now the only one left. He looks to his left and right and sees that his forces have been decimated. The ships lighting the sky up in an orange and red display as the fires overtake each ship except for those sekiro that have frozen. Now walking along the ship as it falls apart. Sais unfurling and falling toward the deck causing crashes. Papers flying to and fro while burning to a crisp. The embers of the battle fill the air and are carried off by the wind. A deathly silence that is only broken by the sounds of fires burning and ships collapsing rings in the ears of kazumasa.

“ chuckle, well how about that. I swear one of these days those dam brats will push me over the edge. Well guess all that's left to do now is report back to base. Good riddance at least this sea won't have to worry about them anymore. “ Kazumasa says to himself looking up at the mountain. As the pirate ship rose into the sky.

## An Ode To New Beginnings

She pushes through the soaring clouds and emerges into a realm unlike any other

The water so pure and clean turns to gems that sparkle and gleam.

Rising with the tide and soaring with the sun. she prevails and journeys to a path begun.

A grand adventure on the rise, to cross the line leading to sunrise.

Ahead lies uncertainty but a chance for opportunity.

The mountain leads us away and delivers us to a new dawn. “

“Yo sekiro i don't mean to cut off your poem but we kinda are about to drop out of the air in a second. ``Isshin's words interrupt Sekiros thought process and bring him back to reality.

Sekiro looks down to the others as he realizes that they were in the middle of traveling up the mountain. Looking around him, Sekiro sees the mountain pass by them in a flash propelling the ship forward at unusual speeds.

Isshin moves past sekiro and runs toward all the supplies still left on the deck quickly hurried to get them all below and secured before they hit the drop. Yomi follows his lead and moves to and from various areas of the ship making sure everything is fastened and in its correct position. As the two finish up with their work sekiro leans over the edge and sees the dropoff isshin was talking about

All three of them look down and then at each other. Sekiro smiles at the rest and then speaks

“ Well then my friends it's a whole new world once we drive in the grand line. I guess the only thing I can say at this point is let's try not to die while we are at it. “ sekiros words come to the others and then are cut off as the ship begins to lean forward.

Quickly sekiro, isshin, and yomi find something to hold onto as the ship fully drops down the other side of the mountain. The speed and velocity threaten to rip them away from the ground if they dare let go. It all happened in a flash and suddenly the ship hit the water and washed a wave of sea water onto the ship. Isshin looks up at the wave with a widened look in his eyes.

Sekiro, remembering that he is a devil fruit eater, quickly unsheathed his sword and slashed the air in a cross motion. The power of the swing sends a slash through the air and disperses the wave just enough to have it rain down instead of coming all together and cashing into them.

As the downpour clears the group looks out into the new part of the world. Looking down at the sea they seem almost overwhelmed by the new sights. Despite many being similar to the ones they've grown accustomed to.

The trio make their way to a nearby harbor village and dock the ship. Getting off they walk towards a nearby supply shop.

## A Mysterious Village, The Samurai And The Dragon

Getting off they walk towards a nearby supply shop. While purchasing the required supplies isshin walks off in search of someone who can repaint their ship. Leaving sekiro and yomi by themselves. As Isshin leaves many people turn towards Sekiro’s direction. And begin to whisper amongst themselves. Sekiro noticing this looks toward the direction before yomi turns his head back to the shop. While they discuss the matter of witch they will pay for the necessary supplies the shopkeeper looks at sekiro and questions him a bit.

“ say mister what's a samurai like you doing all the way out here. By the looks of you. You remind me of one of the daimyo of wano and that sword your carrying it must have some important history. Would you mind taking your mask down so i can have a better look at you. “

The shop keeps saying to sekiro now prying even more.

Sekiro, curious about the man's words, is about to comply but is stopped by a sudden tug on his clothes. Looking down he sees a small child who strayed away from the group. She looks up at Sekiro and gestures for him to come down to her level. Kneeling down to meet the girl, Sekiro chats with her and then is surprised when the young girl reaches for him to pick her up. Confused by the gesture, Sekiro picks up the young and hears a laugh coming from yomi.

Trying to search for the child's caretaker, Sekiro looks through the crowd but finds out from the kid and the shopkeeper that she is on her own. Finding this out, Sekiro decides to watch the child for now, not sure whether or not it was a wise decision at the time.

Isshin walks through the streets of the village and hears rumors about a samurai who just came into town. Knowing full well the person they are referencing is sekiro he doesn't pay the rumors any mind. That is until he reaches the village square, stopping dead in his tracks, Isshin looks upward at a statue of a samurai who is accompanied by a dragon. The image itself makes him stop in his tracks but what is even more confusing is the resemblance to sekiro the two look almost identical. Deciding to keep a mental note of it he continues to walk throughout the streets in direction to a house near the square. If his informant was correct there was someone who could and would paint the ship so that they could get rid of the obvious giveaway that it's a stolen marine ship.

Walking up to the doorstep of the house isshin prepares to knock but is interrupted by the door flinging open. Isshin sees a man in his prime looming 6 feet and 7 inches tall. The man has a well kept goatee and looks at Isshin with interest. As Isshin goes to speak, the man replies and says what Isshin was about to say. “ you're looking for someone to paint your ship. I can help with that. Also don't worry about how I know. When you're the only guy in town who does something if someone isnt coming to you about paint. Then there probably not coming at all “ the man says to isshin inviting him inside. The interior of the man's house was wall decorated. While having a modest look to it. Several paintings lined the hallways and showed off several kinds of art and scenes.

Impressed by this, Isshin made a remark about how nice the house was.

“ It's a nice place you have here. The decorations are lively and you have some really nice paintings. “ Isshin says to the man as they walk into the man's living room.

Not paying attention to the weapon Isshin has strapped to his back the man cuts straight to the chase.

“ Alright so I just need you to give me the location of the ship and I'll talk about the fee if you are lucky you might not be charged at all. Now do you have any questions for me? “ the man sits back in his chair and awaits for isshin's response

After hearing the man speak about his demands. Isshin chooses to inquire about the statue in the middle of the village. “ Actually I did have a question. What was with that statue of a samurai in the middle of the village. And why does everyone seem to be talking about the one who just came into town. “ Isshin asked the man, curious about the past behind it. .

Amused at the boy's curiosity. The man decides to tell him all he knows about the statue and the village's clear liking of the swordsmen from wano.

“ Well to begin with the statue itself is kinda a symbol of the villagers' praise for them. Apparently some years ago way before you were born. There was a samurai who washed up on the shore of the village. While he was being cared for the swordsman told the villagers about where he was from and how he was the daimyo of a part of wano. It was all going well and he helped out as much as he could one day however a ban of pirates came through and attacked the villagers. They had prisoners with them at the time both from their adventures and from the village.

The samurai stopped them and managed to rescue every single one of the hostages. While in the middle of it a dragon was let loose from the pirates prisoners. However the samurai seemed to befriend said dragon who actually just turned out to be a woman with the ability to become one. Although they thought it was a devil fruit the woman still retained some of those features looking more like a hybrid between a dragon and a human. And that was even when they had dunked her in water.  However, the premise of the story is that the villagers seem indebted to the man and hold all samurai to such high regard. “

Hearing the man tell isshin the story, he wonders if the man had anything to do with sekiro it would kindof explain the resemblance and the smell that sekiro gives off. Suddenly remembering a key part. Isshin leans in more and asks the man what his sword style was like.

Now even more surprised about the specific question the man stands up and walks over to the door opening it. “ I don't know, I never saw the man but apparently it's something to do with a dragon style or what not. I'm not sure but that's enough chatting lets go to this ship of yours. “

The man says as he leaves for the docks Isshin had told him the ship was on.

Isshin walks back through the village and makes his way to yomi and sekiro now seeing the young child that is clinging to sekiro isshin gives the man a disappointed look.

“ don't tell me you stole a child sekiro we just got here and you're already trying to get us chased out of here. ``Isshin says to Sekiro not knowing what to make of the little girl.

Already in a slightly annoyed mood, Sekiro simply gestures at Isshin waving his head in the process.

“ Now why would I steal a child? Besides, she has nowhere to go so I thought I would look after her for the time being. Although i'm not entirely sure what we are going to do when we leave this place “ sekiro says to isshin sure the oni is thinking of ways to dump him off the side of a mountain and watch him fall.

Yomi now stepping in between the two addresses the situation and brings sekiro a mixture of good and bad news.

“ Well as much as I'm sure you two want to scold each other, now is not the time. I just heard word that some pirates entered the grand line not too long ago. Apparently they sounded like some vikings and had just narrowly escaped a skirmish with the marines. Also there was word that some prisoners from the blues got transferred to a prison here. Something about a fishman almost making an escape and almost killing every guard in the prison. “

Sekiros ears perk up after hearing this and then his tone shifts into a more serious one than normal.

“ vikings huh that must be a lazaruses group. So that battle thirsty maniace is here too. And the prisoner, I can only guess who that is. I had almost forgotten about her but I saw a letter to one of the marine stations here talking about their last transfer of prisoners and it included her name. “

Sekiro talks to the other two, minding how loud his voice was.

Isshin, taking a look around him before talking to the rest speaks to sekiro and ask him a question.

“ So what do you plan on doing? I can only imagine some resentment could have built up over that much time. Plus how do you know they will recognize you? It has been a year after all. “

Isshin says to sekiro

Looking at the oni , Sekiro walks forward a bit and answers his question.

“ Well I can only imagine how much they have changed plus they have always been on the more violent side. Still I suppose it won't hurt to try to give them a call. “ Sekiro says to the rest as he makes his way to the ship.

As the trio gets to the ship they all stop in their tracks. Each was taken by surprise as the ship had been completely remodeled. Walking away from the ship the man Isshin had met looks at the trio of teenagers with a look of pride. So how do you like it?

The ship was now painted a black white and silver color. The ship looked completely brand new aside from the overall framework and design of the ship. However you wouldn't be able to tell it was a marine ship in the present state. The man looks up at the ship and puts his arms out as if presenting it to the group as if it were a present. Sekiro ran up to the ship and explored the whole ship coming back to Isshin and the rest like a young child who is in a candy store.

Calming himself, Sekiro goes to greet the man who has painted their ship and decides to thank him. Upon taking a look at sekiro the man's eyes widen and he steps back with surprise. Sekiro not knowing what is wrong with the man he goes over to the rest and only looks at the man.

Taken aback the man walks back over to sekiro and puts one of his hands on his shoulder.

“ I've just decided that I wont charge you all to consider repaying a debt. And you young one don't let the hardships break your spirit. Ah and while I was painting the ship I added a den den mushi since i saw the one that was there previous one is gone. “ After the man gets what he has to say off his chest the trio boards the ship and prepares to set sail.

Isshin looks at Sekiro and begins to speak with him about the village.

“ seems you're popular with the locals there. Do tell “ isshin says to sekiro trying to tease the samurai while he already knows.

Sekiro looks off into the distance. The wind began to pick up and howl. Its direction blows north and carries through sekiros hair. While he looks into the distance, Sekiro takes down his mouth cover. Not entirely sure about what to make of the village nor whether or not it was coincidence. Regardless, he answered isshin the same.

“ You know I'm not sure who knows, maybe I'm some long lost heir to a clan. Or maybe my parents made their way to that village and left a mark on the world for me. Regardless, it doesn't change what I'm going to do. So i could honestly care less. Oh yea and i left the little girl at the village no sense in dragging her along with us after all we are labeled as pirates. “

Isshin chuckles and punches Sekiro on the shoulder. Now looking in the same direction as him, Isshin notes that it would be a fun adventure either way. Whether it was all planned or not.

As the two talk a streak appears behind the two causing them to turn around suddenly. Then like a wisp. The little girl from the village appears on the other side of the ship.

Taking both sekiro and isshin by surprise they try to get the girl off until they realize they have already set sail. Cursing the two chase the little girl around for almost the entire day making sure she doesnt kill herself.

## Sekiro Makes A Call

Sekiro walks over to the den den mushi, and pauses for a couple of seconds, seeming almost reluctant to pick up the device. After a few more seconds go by he lets out a deep breath and reaches for the snail.

BERO BERO BERO… BERO BERO BERO…

The sound of the snail ringing echo out through the air and fill the almost quiet night. No clouds appear overhead and give way to a clear starry night. The waves flowing all across them crashing into the ship and filling the air with the smell of the sea .

The den den mushi rings for about a minute. And suddenly stops. Now being replaced with the sound of a click.

Sekiro closes his eyes for only a split second and finally speaks.

“ Yo bunter, it's been awhile. “