Above the Sky

**Date Started:** September 30, 2019
**Date Completed:** October 8, 2019
**Previous Role-Play**: Cloud Nine? More Like Cloud Mine!
**Next Role-Play**: Below the Clouds
**Users Involved:** User:EmperorSigma,
**Setting:** Jaya, Skypiea
**Characters Involved**:
* **Pirates**: Bryant D. Kobe, Deadshot Pirates, Animal Pirates, Hatchcock Lucas, Daddy L. Legs
* **Marines**: Geyer, Logan, Nesho (Mentioned), Necho (Mentioned)
* **Other**: Scarface, Mont Blanc Drake, Hidora, Badger Charlotte

## Underground Demon

"What is this?" The purple-haired pirate of brown skin asked, holding a jolly roger design up as he looked to the sky above him. He then looked at the man standing before him as he shivered with fear. "Calm down, I ain't gonna' hurt ya. I only did it, cause yer crew didn't wanna join mine, now yer got no choice. But since we've gotten male dominance out of the way, yer ain't gotta be so scared." Bryant D. Kobe said, laying the flag back down in front of himself.

"The design is fine, yer go and eat with the rest of 'em and tell yer Captain' yer can leave! I can contact yer if I need ya'." Hand wagging, he dismissed the man from his presence. "And tell 'em don't try anything funny, I didn't kill 'em, cause I didn't want to. 'Member that!"

Head nodding, the man ran off as though his life depended on it, cause in actuality... it did. Looking back to the flag, Kobe chuckled and glanced at the man dressed in Marine clothing at his side. "This looks good don't it, Captain Geyer? Give me a report update on tha' Cloud Pirates since Gaia."

Clearing his throat, Captain Geyer held a piece of paper filled with writing on it. Before he could even begin reading a mental image of a destroyed Marine base flashed like a bad memory. Flesh crawling, Geyer shivered. "The Cloud Pirates infiltrated and looted Marine Base G-2, shortly after laying waste to yet another island--the Lulusia Kingdom before claiming it as his own in a three-way battle against the Deadshot Pirates and the Animal Pirates. Both crews have also fallen under Kobe's command and as such, he's began to amass a fleet for unknown reasons."

Kobe smiled, "Aye!" Handing dragging across the jolly roger he turned to face Geyer slightly, "I think I should change the color of the clouds.. Nah it should be fine." Holding his hand out, a stream of cloud spat out between the two, dissolving to reveal three members of the Animal Pirates. "Yer should turn these guys in, Captain' Geyer. It'll fill in gaps from ye story in any way possible."

Geyer bit his bottom lip as he looked to each of the pirates laying in front of his feet. *"Breakea, Onio, and Jefear, each worth 70,000,000."* Geyer thought to himself, changing his view back to Kobe. "If you don't mind..." Geyer said, almost hesitant to speak before calling his most trusted men over to lift the three pirates up and carry them away. "Could you provide me with a speculated date of when you will release my brother, Kobe?"

Standing to his feet, his six-foot six-figure looked down on Geyer's own six-foot stance. Lifting his hand to his forehead, he prepared a salute to Geyer. "I will release Captain Brenten when your services have fully fulfilled!" He said in a less serious tone before giving him a Marine salute. "Thank you for your service! Now get out of 'ere before my company arrives.."

A single Marine approached Kobe holding a folded jacket in his arms as though it were an ancient relic. "We've bought you the jacket you've requested, Kobe sir!"

"OH? Yer got me Sakazuki's old Fleet-Admiral coat!" Reaching out, Kobe took the coat from his arms and held it out in front of himself to see it in all of its glory. "What tha' Marines'll do for their comrades! Betrayin' yer oath to ensure yer' comrade won't die. Y'all don't get paid 'nough for this shit! Clahahahahahaha!" Flipping the coat around, he noticed a signature. "He even signed this shit! This'll be gooder!" He said, flinging the coat over his shoulders as though it were his own.

Looking to Geyer and the rest of the Marines, he flicked his hand once more. "Get outta' 'ere! Scram why don't ya'! Yer damn grave robbers! I'll be in contact with yer too!"

About an hour later in the same location but now inside of what seemed to be a makeshift base, Kobe sat with his arms stretched across the back of a green couch. The room was bland, white walls with nothing more than a few pieces of furniture and the occupying of two individuals; Kobe and his "company". Between Kobe and the other man was a table, which had items spread across the top of it.

Cuffs, bullets, guns, and even sealed boxes rested on top of the table. There was a silence among the two beings, their eyes looking from the table then to each and back to the table. "Yer weapons and seastone items yer asked for. But what's an Emperor like you gonna' do with measly shit like this, **Scarface**." Kobe said, leaning back slightly so that he could get a comfortable position.

"Absolutely nothing," Scarface said, fixing his tie so that it tightened around his neck. "I gave you a task and you performed. Gauging what you could do was my only concern." His Italian accent was heavy.

"I knew yer didn't need this shit. Why'd ya' waste my time like that, Scarface. I'm a very busy man, after all. A real swashbucklin' buccaneer."

"Reassurance," Scarface said as he was approached by a Marine holding a seat. Nodding at him, Scarface took the seat and sat in it, across his arms over his chest and one leg over the other he continued on. ""**Zeus**" is what they're calling you in the Underworld, it's better you start going by that name when doing dealings here. It's... professional so the speak."

Kobe laughed, "Clahahaha... right.. I heard tha' ones that survived call me that on my way out. Guess it's fittin'!"

"Tell me, Zeus, what was the point of nearly slaughtering those people? I read the recent paper too, three islands bloodshed? That's very bad for business, reconsider." Scarface suggested.

"Reconsider my arse! I've been lookin' for the Kumo Kumo no Mi ever since I read 'bout it in the library of the Cloudia Kingdom. It was just my initial statement, aye! I didn't mean to make enemies that day." Smiling, Kobe twirling his finger, "Now, what yer read about in the news was true."

Headshaking, Scarface already knew this, but for him to explain why sat uneasily with him. "Then, tell me, what is exactly your goal, Kobe? Why do you feel as though this destruction is necessary, I must know the motives behind them."

"Yer Scarface," Kobe said lifting his eyebrow. "soundin' like the feds. So much ya' wanna know about me, did yer bring what I asked for?"

Scarface shook his head once again, "Yes. The ship with its requested alterations. But, why'd you ask for it to be so... lackin'. It took those Underground shipwrights a week to build it. That's how little is in it." He then pulled the square-shaped suitcase on his side forward and slid it across the floor to Kobe's side.

Kobe held his hand out and his cloud substance exerted from his palm absorbing the suitcase and revealed a bag filled with berri in its place. Kicking the bag, it landed to Scarface's side. "Ye ask so many questio-"

Just before Kobe could finish his sentence, the wall of the building collapsed and almost instinctively, Scarface reached to his back and pulled his mask over his face. Leaping to his feet, he jumped back and stood to Kobe's side after picking up his money and causing it to disappear in his body.

Dust and debris slowly filled the room, where Kobe remained unphased. Even though the smoke, his laugh could be heard. "Clahahahaha, right on cue!"

Logan pushed himself through the hole he had made, coughing as a result of the dust and debris kicked up. Waving his hand quickly get rid of the mess, he turned his attention towards Kobe and Scarface with a glare. "Stop right there, you pirate scum!"

Activating his Devil Fruit, Logan transformed his right arm into that of a Pangolin, becoming gigantic and covered with brown scales before throwing a punch towards them while placing his entire weight into the strike. "DRACO METEOR!"

At the moment of Logan's punch being launched, Kobe's body broke down into his cloud form shooting across the room, wrapping around Logan since he insisted on being the center of attention so much. Kobe's entire physical form was gone.

"Aye, aye, that's rude you!" He shouted, letting his clouds billow in attempts to suffocate Logan.

Logan coughed, gasping for air as he swung his arm in a desperate attempt to grab Kobe with no avail. He could feel his body growing weaker with each passing moment and knew he needed to react quickly.

Raising his transformed arm as high as he could, he slammed it into the ground palm first and unleashed an omnidirectional gust of wind, disrupting the clouds which had previously surrounded him.

"Shit, a Logia..." Logan cursed, regaining his breath.

Clouds disperse from Logan’s strike, they remained covered a large portion of the area mixing in with the dust cloud created by Logan. Lights flickered for a few moments before the building shook.

“Yer wanted to know my reason, aye?” Kobe asked, his words aimed for Scarface who’d previously asked him a question he avoided.

His voice echoed throughout the room and everywhere a fragment of his cloud was, his voice was as well. “My goal of all this,” he said, still echoing before a clap shook the building once more. “is supremacy and to become tha’ king of the world!”

With his shout, electricity sparked the entire area that had found itself shrouded in his clouds. Everything, that had not been filtered out by Kobe, would find itself electrocuted by a hundred volts. Just enough power to not kill his opponent, but fry them for his own escape.

Logan could do nothing but scream in pain as the electricity shocked his body, being unable to react in time. He struggled to stay conscious but could feel his vision began to blur as he observed Kobe with a scowl.

"I won't stop until I've brought you to justice!" Logan cried out in defiance, glaring at the pirate before him. "I'll hunt you down even if it means I have to through the New World!" With his declaration made, he pushed his body to the limit and swung transformed fist as fast as he possibly could. With the speed of a machine gun, Logan unleashed a barrage of palm strikes with the intention of forcing the clouds away and strike Kobe.

Though each strike was produced with Logan’s surpassing limit, he seemed to have forgotten the functionality of logia fruit. Despite his sudden burst of extra power, each of his strikes would come up short to making contact with the rookie pirate. Kobe had not been hiding amongst the screen, but he had been the clouds themselves.

“Yer ain’t gonna’ be able to catch me in tha’ New World..” he echoed once more, “But ye hard to KO.. then I’ll up the voltage!” He said, sending a thousand volts across the room.

All while this had been going on Scarface managed to find a big enough window for him to escape.

Being struck by electricity once more, Logan screamed out once more as he was unable to do anything to prevent himself from being electrocuted. With his body suffering from various burns and smoke escaping his body, Logan finally lost consciousness as fell onto the ground like a sack of potatoes, his arm transforming back to normal as a result.

Despite the effort he had put in, it was clear that Kobe had outclassed the Marine Ensign without even breaking a sweat. The difference between the two in terms of ability was like comparing a puddle to a lake, the gap was quite obvious.

With that gap on his side and another burst of lightning, Kobe upped the voltage shocking all of the soldiers around killing half of them and knocking the survivors unconscious in a single attack. The lightning and clouds were all products of Kobe's devil fruit powers—the Kumo Kumo no Mi.

Commanding his clouds to spread out even further, darting past the hole in the wall Kobe gathered the substance together so that his body from his torso on up could form. "Clahahahaha!" he laughed, doning the elegant coat of Sakazuki. "Yer Marines're too damn easy! The world'll be in a shit storm soon!" With a sudden post of billowing clouds, Kobe shot from one side of the island to another. "Thank yer Marines!"

It took him no time to reach the coast of the island. There, rested the ship brought to him by Scarface vacant and ready for him to take stead. Body back in its physical form, Kobe rushed to the side of the ship and lifted the anchor while letting out his signature laugh once again.

He could see a platoon of Marines approaching with haste, each armed with longneck rifles. Shots were fired off in a wave and because these men were nothing more than grunts, their shots were all over the place. From where he stood, Kobe held both of his arms up in front of himself allowing them to change into clouds and jet forward while keeping his physical hands intact. Commanding them to latch onto the helm, Kobe spun the wheel turning his ship around in a single motion.

As he did, a whirlwind of waves formed under his ship before bursting out underneath the ship and shrouding it. Bullets traveled through Kobe's body, courtesy of his devil fruit powers before a rumbling on the ocean floor shook the sea. In the next moment, there was an explosion underwater, a stream of pressurized water shot straight up into the air, taking Kobe and it's ship with it.

"Aye damn, right on time!" Kobe said, moving from his position to the helm whilst holding his hand out to create a **Nimbus** large enough to sit underneath his ship and force it to hover over the stream as though it were levitating. "On my way, Skypeia!"

## Land of Sky

While manning the helm of his ship, Kobe reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded up map. As he unraveled it, its contents revealed and showed to be an in-depth map of Skypeia, a tool he received from a purchase in the Underworld. The entire vessel bursting through the clouds, his ship dropped on a "sea of clouds" resting on them and flowing along a stream as though he were on the Blue Sea.

"Aye, White Sea!" Kobe said, stepping away from the helm allowing the ship to flow naturally along the stream before taking up position on the main deck. Yawning, Kobe let out a stream of clouds which released four men dressed in Marine clothing.

Standing to their feet stiff and firm, they turned to Kobe giving him their undivided attention as though he were their true leader. "Yer gotta guide the ship while we move through the White Sea." Kobe paused to hold the map up so that he could see it through the light. "We're goin' to tha' Angel Island!"

With a simple nod, the Marines took off runnin' to various stations to guide the ship in the direction the shipmaster ordered. Kobe himself walked to the front of the ship and looked to the horizon. Though there was nothing but white cloud in the distance, he couldn't help but smile at the thought that he'd finally made. Though it wasn't his ultimate goal, coming to the land of Skype was always one of Kobe's dreams.

Turning to the door on the ship, Kobe walked through it to enter the actual vessel of the ship. Within the ship was a large room that had a general quarters area as well as a kitchen. "Well damn, Scarface. This is tha' power of an Underworld Emperor, aye?" Walking over to the kitchen, Kobe flung the fridge door open. Contrary to his belief, the fridge had been filled with fruit of multiple varieties. Dairy, meats, fruits, and all sorts of drinks that even Kobe could not legally partake in. Without another moment of thought, Kobe reached into it and pulled out a stem of grapes and began to devour them each individually.

While his "men" guided his ship, Kobe walked over to the general quarters and laid across the velvet couch. Hands resting behind his head, he closed his eyes and instantly fell into a slumber signified by the bubble that was born from his nose as he began to snore so loud that thunder roared in the bright sky.

An hour later, two of the Marines that Kobe had freed rushed below to wake Kobe. "Mr. Kobe! Mr. Kobe!" They shouted, running over to his couch and holding a stiff position. "Kobe sir, we've run into a really... really big problem!"

Head shaking, Kobe lifted himself up from the couch. Reaching for his forehead, he gripped it. "My nap was just gettin' good. Ye better hope this is an urgent problem like ye claim... Or I'll kill yer all for fuckin' with my nap."

The ebony stood to his feet and flung his coat across his shoulders before walkin' outside the room and to his deck. He hadn't been sleeping for long, but he knew for a fact that it was not time for nightfall.

"Trying to catch me, Marines?!" A thooming voice roared, standing on the clouds whilst looking down over the vessel. He'd been speaking primarily to the Marine handing the helm, his figure bringing about a shadow over the entire vessel. Over his shoulder rested a freakishly large mallet, though because he was a man of fifteen feet more than capable of wielding such a weapon.

Kobe's eyes widened as he began to laugh, "Clahahahahaha! A'right, a'right, you guys. Yer get to escape death today. This is a real big problem." Grinning, Kobe bent his knees slightly while holding his hands out to side clenching them as though he were preparing to attack.

"Kobe, this guy.. this guy is the one who escaped Nesho and Necho's ship and their both Commodores!" The Marines warned, "He's the **Titan** Mont Blanc Drake worth 150,000,000! We should steer the ship the other way and get out of here!"

Still grinning, Kobe squatted even further. "Aye! I knew I've seen that damn acorn ass head somewhere!" Clouds emitting from his body, Kobe allowed the white substance to form around the ship as a form of protection. "Yer should sit down somewhere."

Pulling the mallet from his back, he spun it in the middle of his palm before swinging it to his side unleashing a gust of wind that spread the upper clouds apart. "I'm not," he began, allowing smoke to be output from his cigar while pulling the mallet over his head and twirling it once more. "goin' back!" He shouted, dropping the hammer on top of the ship with the hopes of destroying it in a single strike.

"Clahahahaha!" Commanding the clouds to do so, they moved beneath Drake's feet and their sudden shift of position caused the Titan to lean over and strike an area of the clouds that the ship had not been on. Still, in control, the ship lifted from the White Sea, levitating over Drake to which then Kobe leaped from so that he could stand atop the clouds and face Drake on his own.

Clouds swallowing his own body, Kobe reappeared holding a flintlock pistol on one hand and a small dagger in the other. Pushing his palms out, he sends a stream of clouds to wrap around Drake's body. In a moment's notice sparks of electricity dance before there as a full-fledge release of lightning on them shocking Drake in the process.

"ARRRRGGGG!" Drake shouted, holding his arms across his chest and pushing outward, dispelling the lightning and clouds off of his body. "Fuck you damn Marines!!!" He screamed, shaking even the clouds as though it were solid ground.

Eyebrow lifting, Kobe looked to Drake and cuffed his hands around his mouth. "I ain't the Marines yer damn idiot."

Looking down at Kobe, Drake halted his rage and squinted his eyes before leaning forward to get a closer look at the boy. "I'd be an idiot to believe you are not a Marine while wearing that coat! Are you trying to trick me?"

"Yer dumb ass, I ain't a Marine! I just said it. If I wanted to trick ye, I wouldn't do it this way. I know yer a wanted man, but I ain't the one looking to capture you. Liars and idiots." Kobe said, "Yer Mont Blanc folk sure are crazy. I told this coat from Sakazuki's grave. If yer want answers, just ask."

Scratching his own head, Drake set his emotions aside to let everything sink in. "Okay, I guess that makes a little bit of sense. Then why didn't you say that to begin with? I thought I was gonna have to crush you. I think everyone's my enemy! But you're a pirate, so that makes everyone your enemy too."

Taking a seat on the clouds, the red-haired man let off a slight grin before sighing of relief. His muscles relaxed as he tried to slowly open his wounded eye only to fail horribly. Inhaling on his cigar, he released a cloud of smoke that nearly covered his entire body.

"Now that yer calm," Kobe began, taking up the same position as Drake sitting on the clouds. "why'd ya' bring yer big ass up to Skypiea. Yer ain't got no business up here, aye?"

"An explorer, explores, just like a Pirate steals." Drake responded letting out a slight chuckle. "Crehaha. Us Mont Blanc folk have a bit of history up here. Cause I'm on the run from tha' Marines, I figured comin' up here would be safe. Yesterday there was a knock up stream so I swam up it."

It was then Drake remembered something which caught his attention once more. "Wait, didn't you say you stole that coat. Then, what about those guys, I'm sure they are Marines."

"Clahahaha..." Kobe burst into laughed, gripping his abdomen in the process, because the laughter had caused pain to his side. "Yer swam up the knock up stream and I see not a scar or bruise on ya. Yer gotta' tough body, Mont Blanc Drake." Holding his index finger down, the ship that had been sent to float into the sky dropped down behind him shaking the clouded sea.

"Hm... Oh yeah, those guys're my hostages. But I don't treat 'em like hostages cause there ain't really a need to right now." Kobe said, throwing his finger towards his returned ship with the trio of Marines standing on the deck. "I like chaos as much as Shiguma, but ain't no need for me to bother these people 'ere. They're good, even listen to everythin' they're ordered to do. It's good to have connections everywhere, aye?"

Shaking his head, Drake agreed with Kobe's statement. "So you're chaotic, but you have morals in a way, huh?" Drake asked, bringing his hand up to his chin. *"He's young, but he ain't stupid."* Drake thought to himself just before removing his hand from his chin. "I told you why I'm here, why are you here?" He asked.

Finger lifting, the teen's eyes widened. "Morals, aye, more or less. I like to see shit burn and destroyed, but I need a break too. Yer can't run off of dreams afterall. Ye wanna' know why I'm here? Everyone askin' my goals recently, weirding me out. Itchin' my palm an' shit." Said Kobe. "My powers tha' Kumo Kumo no Mi—cloud control. Skypiea's a point of interest, ye know? If I wanna get skronger with ma fruit, then a place that revolves around clouds it tha' best play to go! Plus, there's a cube here somewhere and I need that info for personal satisfaction."

"So our plans are the same in essence?" Drake asked, standing to his feet. "I can't read them, but before you steal it, I wanna see if I can learn something about Noland!"

"Are yer joinin' my crew? Yer gonna' need to join my crew if yer wanna read that. Yer strong and ye don't have any other place to turn. The World Government wants the both of us! Yer can be my right-hand man and we can protect each other." Point to Drake's back, Kobe shook his head. "I'll let and help yer explore the World's History as yer see fit, just protect me with that mallet!"

"A Pirate crew?" Drake mumbled, closing his only opening eye. "Never thought I'd see myself as a Pirate. Would be a weird turn of events. What can someone who crafts weapons provide to a Pirate Crew?"

For a moment, Kobe was stunned. "A blacksmith yer say? Then yer got more than 'nough qualifications. Make weapons and guide tha' ship and we'll be the best on the seas."

"Then you've got me," Drake began, bending over slightly with a closed fist waiting for a bump. "Pirate Captain', uh?"

Closing his own hand into a fist, Kobe bumped Drake's oversized fist which his normal-sized one, "Bryant D. Kobe, Mont Blanc Drake." Kobe responded.

Another half an hour had passed since Kobe and Drake met and the latter decided he'd be joinin' Kobe's crew. During this time Kobe and Drake took the time to catch up, Kobe told Drake his dreams of ruling the World for better or for worse. Drake had his own opinion on it, but as Kobe continued to break down his thought process, Drake slowly began to understand and accept his Captain's goal.

Kobe went further to catch Drake up with the current events of the World, even the information he learned about the Xros Pirates' war: **World War X**. "Chaos and Order bring balance to tha' world," Kobe began, his words of wisdom holding grand meaning. "Tha' World Government tryna' rid the chaotic force will not be as good as they think. An' I'll make sure they don't even get tha' chance to figure that out."

After his small exert Kobe offered Drake food, befitting as the man's new captain. It was a new dawn of piracy and Kobe could only hope to its face with his first mate Drake under the banner of the Cloud Pirates.

"Kobe sir!" The trio of Marines shouted in unison. "We've arrived at Angel Island!" Grinning yet again, Kobe stood to his feet and so did Drake, watching as their ship sat at the port of Angel Island.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kobe leaped from the deck of his ship onto the clouded land with Drake standing at his side. Before the Cloud Pirate duo could take their first step on the island, they were met with the militia of Skypiea. Each member armed with rifles, swords.

Kobe was calm. Unusual for someone to act who always seemed to be on go no matter who it was. Focused, Kobe stood without saying a word to anyone. He waited to be greeted verbally by the people of this land he sought to learn from. "State your reason for treason." A woman said, her arms folded across her chest as she looked over the port.

The teen stood in silence, wiping away his grin. His heart dropped. Not at the words of the Skylanders, but at the fact that one of his two goals had been achieved. His journey had only recently begun and fifty percent of his dreams had already been accomplished in such a small amount of time.

Dropping his head, Kobe looked down to his feet right before closing his eyes. "I would kneel, but that's not my kinda thing. And I dun' wanna get my pants dirty! Can yer people," he paused dramatically. "Teach me how to control my clouds." the pirate captain ended, raising his hands up commanding a wall of clouds to rise behind him like a wave of water. The sun rays changed their illumination to him and him only, highlighting his body like a mythical creature.

## Bell of Secrets

There had been nine days since Kobe and Drake arrived to Angel Island and asked the people of the island to teach him everything they knew about clouds. Though it was a short nine days, there was so much Kobe had learned within that short amount of time.

He learned exactly what clouds were. How they were created. Different types of clouds. Ways they affect everyday life. What would happen without them, etc. The one tasked with tutoring him was a young lady by the name of Badger Charlotte. Despite her age, she was extremely intelligent in the arts of what Kobe sought to know. However, this information was just the beginning of what he truly had sought to learn from the Skylanders and the second half of the nine days was spent teaching Kobe density manipulation and control that would further augment his capabilities with his own devil fruit.

They were a long nine days and Kobe took neither for granted and was grateful for the help the Skylanders gave unto him. It was the nicest Kobe had ever been to anyone so far but it was for the greater purpose. He saw something in Charlotte and Charlotte saw something in the young pirate captain. Together the two created techniques that Kobe would have only dreamed to achieve on his own.

"That's all for the nine day training," Charlotte said, batting her wings at Kobe while pulling her silver mane over her shoulders. "You're an extremely fast learner. You even squeezed into dial functionality as well."

"Yerp! Aye, aye, Char!" the ebony teen yelled back at his skin-complexion twin. "Yer a great teacher. Yer should get offa' this island though. Yer limiting your mind and not puttin' it to more use."

Head shaking in agreeance, Drake sat his mallet over his lap. "I agree with Kobe. You are a VERY wise woman for your age. That wisdom could be used elsewhere, Charlotte. I think you should consider guiding those who really need it."

"I can' do that." She sighed, "Sometimes, I feel like I'm all they have." She pointed towards the group of Skylanders playing around, flapping her own wings once again. "And my wisdom keeps their heads on straight. After all, I need to be able to guide those that come to this island looking for whatever the case may be. Such as I've done for your crew as well."

Kobe was silenced by her words, but it was all respect. "I thank ye, for yer help, Char. Yer makin' me much stronger!" Reaching into his pocket, Kobe drew a dial and held it in his hand. "If I were down below," he began, referring to the sea, "I'd be able ta get this Artificial Intelligence Dial to work a bit better. I was limited by the technology up here."

Then he looked to Charlotte, "Not knockin' the dial tech that's up here, though. I love it." He didn't intend to give off any wrong impressions as though he were ungrateful for what her people have done for him.

She simply smiled. "No, no, I understand. We don't have anything that advanced here and can understand your frustration. I'm sure you will be able to go to the Blue Sea and find what you need to complete it. I am happy I was able to help even if by a little."

Drake grunted. "Damn, Kobe. You didn't have to say it like that, you know. Instead of complaining, you could have at least thanked her for helping you come up with a solid ass invention and even giving you a militia supply of dials. The All Dial was a great innovation, Kobe."

"I agree, Kobe. You should not be down for the lack of what you could not achieve here, but what you could while limited. The All Dial has compacted all the other dials' capabilities into one. That was no simple feat."

"There ye go, Char. Being all wise and shit." Kobe said to Charlotte.

"So," Charlotte said, her wings flapping ever so slightly. "Now that you have completed that, Kobe. What will you find yourself doing next. What's next in your quest to become king?"

Tapping his chin, Kobe lifted his left eyebrow. "Aye, good question, Char. Yet, my journey here on Skypiea ain't done just yet. On this island, is a block about ye indestructible and this big. On tha' 'Blue Sea' we call 'em Poneglyphs."

"Hm.." Charlotte began, only to soon take up the same thinking position that Kobe did previously. "Then you're going to need to go to Upper Yard and go the base of the golden bell." With her finger she pointed upward. "It's location is up there. Though, because I like this group, I shall warn you both. Everyone who has come here and asked of this "Poneglyph" leaves in disappointment."

Kobe asked, "Why?"

While Drake asked, "Why is that?"

"Because they are incapable of reading the text inscribed on the block." Charlotte responded. "If I were you lot, I would not waste my time only to be angered by this handicapping feature. However, you two seem special, so I'll trust your judgment. I'll grab a more in-depth map of Skypiea for you two to look at."

Laughing, Kobe smiled. "I ain't gonna' be disappointed, Char. Trust me. I wouldn't go there if I didn't have a plan or would be okay with comin' up short. In my Kingdom, tha' brain is the brawn. We take a primary specialization in weather analysis, but we got some other stuff up our sleeve too. Innovation and historical shit."

"Yes, Charlotte. I believe, for some reason, that Kobe has a plan." Drake added, a loyal follower of his captain an ideal First-Mate to any pirate crew.

"Then, if you are certain, I will get the ma-"

As Charlotte turned around, she was met by a platoon of warriors that safeguarded Angel Island. From within the center of the group, a man bearing a long white beard walked out and stood before her. "Well now, Charlotte." The man began, "Why give them a map, when it would be advantageous to take the journey with them."

Charlotte stood in silence. "What do you mean, Professor Hidora? I can not just up and leave Angel Island."

"Oh, quite the contrary, Charlotte. You've spent eighteen years on this island and half of that dedicated to making sure we are all well taken care of. Big update, we are all well taken care of, Charlotte." Holding his hand out at the rest of the people present, "We've seen the way you looked at Kobe and Drake while they've been here. It's been with an eye of curiosity. We would be unmoved people to not allow you to take a journey of your own for once. Don't you think that *power* of yours would be much more useful to those guys as opposed to us."

Head dropping, the girl twirled her foot in the clouded ground. "You guys said you never want me to leave. You said you never wanted me to leave your side, remember that?"

"We know and you won't leave us. You'll always be in our hearts. But we've listened to the goals of Kobe, though a bit chaotic I admit, he wants to create a free world. As the King, he'll remove all the limitations of oppression. He'll need wisdom like yours to guide him in the right direction." Hidora ended.

"But how will.. how do I leave?" Charlotte asked.

All while this had been going on, Drake and Kobe both rose to their feet the Pirate Captain bore a great grin. "What do yer mean, how?" Kobe asked, walking over to Charlotte grabbing her by her waist with his entire arm. Two **Nimbus** clouds formed and Kobe jumped to the smaller one, while Drake leaped to the bigger one.

"Like this!" He said, commanding the clouds to mentally launch themselves upwards into the sky, their destination was set on the place that Charlotte called "Upper Yard". "Old man Hidora, watch after tha' Flying Nimbus, aye!" Kobe shouted out. "Tha' paint just finished and is probably still dryin'. The ole purty face of my first slain Sky God! We'll be back to get 'er in a bit!"

Meanwhile, four days prior, a man of pale skin, silver-hair, and glasses stood before the poneglyph with a cigarette in his mouth. He stood in silence initially, tracing his hands across the fine engraved printings on the Poneglyph. An ancient language written by the long-deceased Kozuki ancestors of the past.

Paper in his hand, he wrote down the symbols and began to piece and place them together as though he were playing some sort of game. He pushed his glasses up on his face with the base of his left palm, dumping the ashes of his cigarette at the same time. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a den den mushi and rang someone up.

"Hoy," the man started, holding the piece of paper up to the light. "I may have something that interests you, **Titanboa** in the form of a Poneglyph and the blood of **Amaterasu**. I'll do my best to guard this until you come."

It took Kobe not time to take his crewmembers from Angel Island to the ancient city of Shandora. By this time it had been rebuilt to a prosperous land had seemingly been on good terms with the Skypieans to the point they verbally led Kobe and co. to the location of the
ancient poneglyph.

Leaping from Nimbus, the trio decided to take the rest of the journey on foot. From what they were told it was not far away. He also took this time to think about his travels up until now. But more importantly, he was thinking about what could he do to make this work in his favor while also making the World Government look like total fools.

At the very end of that thought, Kobe smiled while he reached into his pocket and drew a dial. As the trio approached the "Sacred Alter" Kobe generated a puff of clouds revealing two Marines that stood at his side. In their hands were two different den den mushi types: a Proko and a Cameko.

Kobe continued to walk, "Yer ready, Marines?" he asked, turning to Drake who had a relatively large smile on his face and Charlotte who had a more gentle one on her face. Halting, Kobe turned around and the rest of his group stopped. The Marines continued to face the Cloud Pirates while the Cloud Pirates stood tall at his side. Charlotte on his left and Drake on his right.

"Rolling." One of the Marines shouted, initiating the broadcasting of Kobe and his crew. They made sure to stay behind the two den den mushi to ensure they were not seen. All apart of Kobe's plan to remain in control.

"Aye!" Kobe said to the recording snail. "Beautiful day, world. Yer gonna' love what I've got in store for ye today! I'm accompanied by mer first mate, Mont Blanc Drake--the **Titan**. Ironic considerin' his kin is ole commander of Titan Pirates, Mont Blanc Burling." Twirling his finger, Kobe held his hand out in front of Charlotte. "This 'ere, is Badger Charlotte, look at her wings. Ain't they purty?"

The ebony teen then pointed towards the passage behind him. "Yer little surprise is down yonder." Turning around he waved his hand for the Marines to follow him, "Let's go!"

Taking the walk down Kobe entered an overly large room and once he did, a light flashed on illuminating the giant cube that sat on the back wall. The group approached the block and Kobe took center stage once again. "Look at what I've got for yer, a Poneglyph!" he said, slowly approaching it while Drake and Charlotte remained stationary.

On their way to Upper Yard they had discussed how this would play out and after Charlotte approved, they confirmed this would be their course of action. Everything that was about to happen had been planned out by their captain.

Kobe slid his finger along the framework of the Poneglyph, underlining each of the ancient inscriptions. "This Poneglyph," he began, pausing while continuing to drag his finger along, mumbling under his breath. "tells us about an Ancient Weapon. Tha' name; "*Poseidon*". Two of the three ancient weapons capable of mass destruction."

Turning to face the broadcast, Kobe smiled. "Aye! Yer better be in hidin', Poseidon. If I get ta' find it, yer gonna' be mine. A tool for the King of the World to use as his own mass destruction! Clahahahahaha!"

"Bryant D. Kobe-son, yes?" A voice question in the crevasses of the room's corner. From the dark corner, a man with silver-hair and spectacles walked over to Kobe's side. The broadcast continued rolling, even though a newcomer had appeared.

"Aye? Who're ye?" Gawd asked.

Reaching into his pocket, the man took out a cigarette and lighter, lit it and then placed it onto his lips. With a single exhale a cloud of smoke released from his mouth. "Hatchcock Lucas, ally of the Black Widow Pirates, son." Lucas said, "You've got a weird way of expressing yourself. It's... too bright."

A slight gust of wind blew and after a single blink, Drake moved his figure along with the subtle breeze, standing before the Black Widow affiliate with his mallet high over his head. He didn't need the command of his captain to move to his attack, because even though they had only known each other for a week, Drake knew that the Yonko themselves were Kobe's natural enemies.

*"He's fast..."* Lucas said, his eyes following Drake's body as though they two had been spiritually linked. Lucas coughed, *"He might just hit me..."*

Before Drake could drop his mallet over Lucas to crush him under his brute strength, a stream of clouds wrapped itself around the base of his mallet. "Aye aye, **Ares**. Yer should wait before yer strike. He could be of great use to us. We can't kill 'em just yet. Let's test 'is waters."

Drake nodded and flung his mallet back to his shoulders, before inhaling on his cigar. "Understood, Capt."

"Well, I'll be damn. Mont Blanc Drake, you weren't in the newspaper I read the other day." Lucas was curious when that encounter transpired.

"Aye! Ye shouldn't be questionin' my first mate like that!" Kobe said, twirling his finger in the air. "We have more important things to discuss. Can yer tell me where Legs is?"

"Thank you for stopping Drake, son. Though, don't be so hasty, son." Lucas suggested once again, puffing on his cigarette once more. "Princess Koyuki would be livid to hear from you."

Kobe looked to the cameras and then to Charlotte. "Char!" he shouted, smiling as wide as he could. "Can I take him?"

Sliding her left hand along her hip, Charlotte poked her hip out slightly. She took a few seconds to evaluate Lucas until she finally responded, "Yes. By my analysis of the current situation, you can defeat him easily with the aid of Drake and alone you can still win." She responded.

"I am not seeking a fight, son." Lucas took another puff of smoke. "Simply to rekindle a lost fire. It seems someone has given Princess Koyuki information pertaining to you, ya know? Your mother Ama-"

"SHUT THA' FUCK UP!" Kobe shouted frowning for the first time and at the same time, a shockwave exerted from his body. "Don't wanna hear that bitch's name near me. Yer just initiated ye self-destruct sequence." Crossing his arms in front of each other, cloud leaked from every part of his body before covering him like a bear's fur.

With a single clap, wind blew to spread the clouds out across the room. Kobe then rubbed his hands together allowing sparks of electricity to dance around them. "Yer should've stayed on the other side of the Grand Line, old man. This side ain't too kind to ye old fuckers!"

Spreading his hands apart from each other, Kobe created a whirlwind of air within the palm of his hands that continued to expand as he spread his palms apart. Though, before he could make another move Lucas reached to his hip and drew one of his signature *Golden Wing* pistols from his. Sticking his finger through the trigger weld, he flipped the pistol around it and let off three shots at Kobe.

"I will not kill you, Kobe son. However, judging by your anger, you know of the person I intended to say." Each shot was aimed at a dead spot. One in his left leg, one at his right foot, and the other for his left shoulder. Such precision and accuracy befit someone considered one of the best sharpshooters in the world.

*"Shit.."* he thought to himself, watching as the bullet aimed for Kobe's shoulder was off by a few centimeters. That curse was then followed by a soft cough. *"My vision is killing me. I just need to drag this out until Titanboa gets here.."* Eyes slowly transitioning to Drake. *"And if he steps in, I'm a goner."*

When his eyes moved back to Kobe, two of his bullets passed right through his body curtesy of his logia devil fruit powers. While the bullet aimed for his shoulder had missed completely. "Ya read the paper but forgot 'imma logia, aye? Well, 'ere, let me educated you old fart!" Kobe began, as the tornado continued to increase in size before dancing in electricity.

The clouds that had spread across the room branched off and formed over their heads. "Tha' Kumo Kumo no Mi allows manipulation and generation of clouds, aye? Well, yer should know, it also allows me to not only generate clouds but complete control and ova' tha' weather and it's elements!"

"Control over all weather elements?" Lucas asked himself out loud, reaching to his hip while simultaneously ejecting the clip of his pistol down to the ground and inserting his new one. "You are able to read Poneglyphs and have a relatively good understanding of your devil fruit, in Paradise. You're a problem! I simply wanted to allow you to meet with Legs so that you could discuss *her*, but the newspaper seems to have described you just well." He said, firing two more shots at Kobe, but these were much more accurate and the bullets that were fired were much different.

Rather than their full metallic silver that previously held, there were now glossy white seastone embedded hollow-tips aimed for his chest with the intent to kill. While the shots had that intention, Lucas' own was not to kill him but to hit him in a vital point so that he would be incapable of continuing their battle.

Captain Zeus transitioned his frown back to his heavenly smile. "Read the Poneglyphs? I dunno' bout that, Lucas. Tha' doctors of the Cloudia Kingdom diagnosed me with dyslexia when I was seven years old. Explained to me that I see and read differently than the normal being. I took what I was told I read wrong and just taught myself to flip those letters so that they made sense. So maybe that's got somethin' to do with it. I dunno. And ya' ain't say my whole arsenal..."

Kobe paused and his eyes widened, slowing down everything around him but most importantly, the speed at which the bullets traveled. Ducking, Kobe was able to completely dodge the bullets and he continued on with what he had been saying. "I learned "*Mathra*" as these people call it. We coulda' maybe had a discussin' of events, but ye had to bring that bitch up. And he who speaks her name, must die."

*"That, just now.. it was without a doubt... haki!"* Blinking his eyes rapidly, Lucas couldn't help but address one of his biggest problems he faced at the moment. *"And his clouds are making it hard for me to see with my already dwindling eyesight."*

On the move, Kobe flew across the ground by transforming his feet themselves into clouds and darting across the ground to close the gap between himself and Lucas. With his hands joined and interlocked, Kobe stated: "**Lightnin' Beam—Howl**!" A brilliant flash of light covered his hands before bursting out into several beams of compressed lightning all aimed at Lucas. Due to their composition, they were just as fast as any other lightning attack and because there were several they were that much harder to evade.

Even then, despite his hindering eyesight, Lucas had haki on his side. He followed each of the beams of light and positioned himself in a way that he could evade them. The marksman reached to his hip once again and drew another clip holding it up and as he did, the lightning beams attracted to it.

"Tch!" Lucas grunted in pain as the lightning shocked his hand to which he threw the magazine up against poneglyph and the lightning followed it. *"My haki is failing me, yes. Though, I wish that was the sole reason I am incapable of keeping up with him fully. He's enhancing his movements by altering his feet into his element of clouds. It's giving him hovering abilities and the amplification of electricity is increasing his speed."*

All while their battle had been unfolding, the broadcasting continued under the Marines' command. Charlotte and Drake both stood ready to act accordingly with whatever it would be Kobe commanded. They followed the battle all the way and though Drake wanted to intervene at multiple moments, he stood idly.

Kobe turned to face the broadcasting Den Den Mushi. *Click* was the only sound that rang throughout the room as Lucas took this moment to pull the trigger, clapping the hammer on his loaded bullet. **BA**!, there was an explosion in the chamber as the bullet traveled from down the barrel striking Kobe in his left shoulder.

"Gah!" Due to the bullet being a hollow tip, the seastone enhanced bullet pierced directly through his shoulder leaving a small hole that drooled with blood. Kobe clenched his shoulder and in that sudden moment, everything produced by his devil fruit disappeared. "Yer done damn shot me."

Lucas spun his pistol over his finger, "You pushed me to it, Kobe son. I didn't even think I'd have to get to anything violent either." Panting heavily, Lucas' sight continued to detour only to have gotten much worse than it was previously. *"Luckily I got a shot off. I can barely see."*

Straightening his stance while continuing to pant, Lucas withdrew his pistol. "I simply came to inform you of your mothe-" Before Lucas could finish his sentence, blood spat from his mouth. His eyes widened as he froze in place. His eyes slowly looking down, he discovered a hand that had been thrust directly through the middle of his chest, breaking through his sternum as though it were a piece of paper.

"Y-You..." Lucas struggled to say, spitting out blood in the process. "How'd you strike me?"

Kobe stood behind Lucas, hand roaring with lightning and blood that had been stabbed into Lucas' chest. "I noticed yer weakness when your first shot missed me." Kobe said, whispering into Lucas' ear as though the duo were an intimate couple. "And, even when yer decided how to handle tha' beams. Yer could've easily shot enough bullets to disperse them... but yer didn't and only confirmed my hypoth'sis."

"Yer bullet pierced through me, bad call to use a hollow on someone ye ain't intendin' to kill. It was a short moment and once tha' bullet passed through me, I could use ma' power again. "After yer should me, yer monologued didn't yer? I knew yer would, I amplified MY body with lightin' and increase the wind speeds to get behind yer before yer'd notice and struck yer with **Raiken**. It's a new technique I done created, did know if it'd work. But ye an old man, bones weak and skin wrinkly. This was tha' best time to test it."

Lucas gasped for air and every time he tried speaking, he was met with a blank gawk. *"Damn. Have I really gotten that weak? Cancer, huh?"* He thought to himself, images of his past flickering in his last moments. Legs, members of the Hunting and Black Widow Pirates with smiles flashed. Then, it fell upon the image of a young woman. She had long blonde hair and purple eyes, *"Zoe... Papa loves you..."* His final words were mumbled past his gasps before falling face forward to the ground.

Panting heavily in the same way that Lucas did, Kobe turned around the face the broadcasting den den mushi. The two Marines, Charlotte, and Drake all stood in awe. Once Charlotte deemed that Kobe could defeat Lucas, the group had faith in their captain but once it actually happened, it was just as surprising.

"He actually defeated him..." One of the Marines said, "Hatchcock Lucas, Black Widow Pirate mate, worth at least 400,000,000 has been... killed!!!!" They shouted in unison.

## White Widow

Fukuoka Koyuki usually spent her lunch breaks dining on the finest foods that her chefs could prepare, and occasionally asking her attendants to sneak her glasses of wine before Isshin, her husband, could discover that she had been drinking. What had seemed to be countless eons ago, Isshin outlawed Koyuki from drinking alcohol during the work week, and out of respect and love for her significant other, she obeyed some of his command. After all, he was the one who essentially ran her empire in her stead, while she met with diplomats, signed papers, and made public addresses. It wasn't like she wasn't busy herself, but there was no doubt that Isshin was under an immense workload to ensure that she could eventually begin to do her job. She had to respect the wishes of someone like that. Well, she had to respect them publicly at least.

However, Koyuki was perched in the chair of her balcony that overlooked the gardens behind her immense palace; it was a massive orchard that dedicated itself to various fruits, vegetables, herbs, and whatever else that her chefs, doctors, and florist saw fit to grow. Over two decades ago, Koyuki had decided to move the castle of the Imperial Family to the massive Mount Fuji, using it as a way to construct a palace that would be capable of housing her and could support her daily affairs. Over the course of her time on Wano, Koyuki had learned that the hardest part about everything was retuning the buildings of the nation so that she, and the rest of the Kumamushi, could occupy them.

Mount Fuji was the perfect place for her to move her imperial castle. It was a massive mountain that towered even her large frame, and the mountain was host to a variety of resources, and beautiful springs. With Fischer's technological innovations, and Barney's expertise of infrastructure, the imperial palace was transformed into a bustling town of sustainability. Everything they needed to maintain the daily affairs of the palace was on this mountain. There were animals bred in the massive forest and gardens of mount Fuji, the water was derived from the lakes that were created from the prodigious snow that melted from the peak of the mountain, and etc.,

Koyuki overlooked all of this from her balcony. It was her reminder of what she had created, and of the people who had helped her get this far. However, it was of more significance than that. This balcony was where she often traveled when she needed opportunities to reflect on modern events. She came here after she had originally heard of Fukuoka Soren's death, Heili's awakening, and now, Hatchcock Lucas's fall. Lucas hadn't appeared in the news just yet. In fact, it hadn't even been minutes since his fall, but for all of her close friends, Legs had ways to determine when their end was approaching.

*"You're an Empress now. You must not concern yourselves with the affairs of old men..."*

*"Lucas, we can have Thatch and everyone else work on it! You understand?"*

*Lucas shook his head side to side. "No, all I need you to do is to let me fulfill my duty until the bitter end."*

*Legs sighed. "Okay, Lucas. At least allow me to use **that**. So that I can monitor your activities better. So that when you finally..."*

*"Haha, well, I don't plan on kicking the bucket just yet," Lucas replied, turning around, as he began to walk out of the room. "But when I do, try not to cry too much."*

As Lucas's body crashed against the hearth of the sky, an ominous aura erupted around his lifeless corpse. It was a ghastly red energy that oozed from his body, as if the stench of his dead body took form and manifested into power. It was a visible power to everyone in the immediate vicinity that laid their eyes on Lucas's vessel.

The energy whipped and lashed into a whirlpool and tornado of pure energy that coiled and wrapped around itself until a figure appeared from within; Koyuki, Titanboa, Daddy L. Legs herself emerged from within the tornado of power.

The tornado itself seemed to be a portal that was connected to Lucas. For all of her Fukujin, and close allies, Koyuki had devised a mechanism so that she could emerge appropriately and randomly to the location of those she cherished, like a divine savior. However, the inquiry was whether she was simply too late.

"I see. Was this the time that you spoke of, Lucas?"

Koyuki's voice bellowed throughout the sky, echoing across the heavens as her massive voice suffused the environment with its tonality. What was there to do other than reflect? Had his cancer gotten to him, within a matter of days?

No. Not with those injuries.

Koyuki's eyes traced along the ground until she found the group of individuals standing before her. Her eyes stopped as she came upon Kobe.

"Boy, tell me," she begun, pointing her finger towards the marine. "Tell me, that you, Amaka's kin, was not responsible for harming my comrade. Tell me, that it was those marines over there."

Simultaneous, quick, and most importantly unexpected. A new figure appeared within breaths of Lucas' fall. Hell, Kobe hadn't even enough time to properly catch his breath and because a new figure appeared, it made him difficult to do so.

It was a woman of blue mane, flowing even though there was no wind and she dwarfed even Drake in both weight and size. One of her breasts was the size of Drake, he was nothing when compared to the woman before them. No introduction to the group, but she didn't need one. She was known and *feared* throughout the seas as one of the four people who ruled the other half of the Grand Line.

"Amaka..." the name, it had finally been fully spoken. Lucas' tried twice the first time he was interrupted and the second his life was taken from his body. He stood behind his words of not wanting to hear that name, as those five letters made his blood boil. But why? What had she done that was so bad, he'd not want to hear it. His goals for his chaos had nothing to do with her, so why was the name so foul to him?

Kobe bit his lip and furrowed his brows before shaking as though he had been suffering from a nervous breakdown. Though he was dark his skin turned red. Clouds began to leak from his body wrapping around him lightly but forming above the group as though they were outside. "I SAID DON'T BRING THAT BITCH'S NAME UP!" He shouted, shaking the room with violent winds until the very infrastructure of the room began to crumble under the immense force.

Both Drake and Charlotte lifted their hands over their face, protecting their eyes from flying debris. "Kobe!" Charlotte shouted through the wind storm, hoping her words reached her Captain. "No!" She screamed.

Drake ran over to Kobe's rear, ready to have his back for whatever was to transpire next, but he was hesitant on what to do. Unlike Kobe who had been blinded by rage, Drake still had his head over his shoulders and was completely composed. He knew who this beast before him was, Legs--a Yonko--and much like Charlotte had warned, Kobe was not ready to take her on.

A trigger. That's what Charlotte's words were. The winds settled and Kobe returned to reality. "Yer Yonko? Aye, I am not responsible." He said, holding his hands behind his back. With his working hand, he pointed to one of the Marines. "It was not both, just the one on the right. I came to read tha' poneglyph and these Marines attacked us."

Kobe's eyes fell upon Charlotte for a brief moment, who then placed hers upon Drake. It seemed like nothing initially, but it was a signal sent to the crew that something needed to happen and it needed to happen now. The broadcasting continued and to the world--most Paradise--Legs had now stood before Kobe.

Koyuki squinted. "You're telling me that it was that marine that killed Lucas. Then tell me, you outnumber them four to two, boy. Why do they sit there, looking in awe? Why is Lucas dead when you both had the same goal?"

She lifted her right arm up in the air, watching as her famous Saisho spawn into existence in her hand like magic. Her blade was massive, befitting a woman of her immense stature. The blade was approximately 175 feet long, and weighed nearly 8 tons; it was a claymore for a woman her size, and here she was, gripping it with but a single arm.

"Just because you are Amaka's kin, doesn't mean that I will accept lies that you spit from your tongue, boy. Tell the truth, and I may just let you live...out of respect for your mother."

"She's just cute!" Kobe screamed, pointing to Charlotte. His words completely off topic from what Legs had asked, yet he said it in accordance with how much he had not been taking this situation seriously. Closing his right eye while huffing and puffing, Kobe looked up above the group only realizing just how massive the room had actually been.

"Thou asked of me to tell thine that I art not responsible for thine murder." His tone and pattern of speech altering to that of a twelfth-century film. "Thy simply did what thy were requested. Art thou wench dissatisfied with what thine asked of me?" Kobe bit his lip again, the pain from the open bullet wound could still be felt and blood continued to pour from it.

Legs then drew her weapon at Kobe to which he leapt back to increase the gap between the two. "Do you quarrel ma'am?" he said, sliding his hand down his hip to grip the hilt of his saber. "Oh! Shall I draw my long sword?!" He said, pulling the blade from his own hilt and holding it up at Legs. "Or will you duck your ass back onto the New World?!"

Koyuki exhaled deeply. "No, I won't duck my ass anywhere, Kobe. Lucas fought you with everything he had left; Apologies Amaka, but there's no hope for this one."

She stepped forward and lifted her blade behind her. "You'll die here, child. Prepare your last words."

"I can't do that for ye, Legs." Kobe said, pointing up to the ceiling as loud thunderclaps could be heard within the sacred room. One after another they clapped shaking the room with each boom, debris, and bricks collapsing under the sonic booms. The wind picked up speed before shifting transitioning into a raging windstorm thanks to being mixed with the debris.

Bolts of lightning struck the ground in an organized sequence. There was one, then another, then another, each happened right after each other before three bolts of lightning struck at the same time, all around Legs in a triangular formation. Extending his hand out once again, he emit a cloud stream that traveled across the room gathering around Charlotte and the Marines swallowing them and taking them away, by extension protecting them.

Drake stepped out in front of Kobe with his mallet ready to strike with an underhanded swing at Legs. Normally, his strikes were meant to crush an opponent from their head and cause their skeletal system to collapse on them. But this time because Legs was much larger than he was. So to accommodate for it, he spun his mallet around hoping to sweep her off her foot in a moment of escape for his captain. "**Mallet Top**!" He shouted.

Koyuki gripped her blade tightly; the very act of her muscles flexing to strengthen the hold of her blade proving powerful enough to conjure the winds to act in her name. However, the winds were unusually powerful. As the lightning bolts surged towards her as speeds befitting their nature, they found themselves simply deflected backwards by the utter strength of the wind gust manifested by the flex of Koyuki's hand, as well as everything around her massive body. It was almost as if the wind was aided by the gravity of the planet.

"There's no way that a mortal like you could ever challenge the might of a god," Koyuki spoke, swinging her blade downwards, crafting an enormous slash of air that condensed the air so much that it ionized and became a blue line of pure plasma. The slash split the hearth of the sky like a knife through hot butter, intent on rejecting Drake, who stood right beneath her foot, as well as Kobe who rested behind him.

Kobe was well aware that he could not win this battle, at least not right now. From the moment Charlotte told him no, he had already devised a plan to not defeat Legs, but to get away from her with his life even if not in the same way he came there with it. Everything from the winds, to the lightning, was apart of Kobe's plan. An increase of winds befell the room at the moment of Legs' strike but in the opposite direction that Legs swung as to reduce the output force.

Even then, her might was much more than Kobe had predicted and his opposing force of wind would not be even close to enough. "Ye too strong!" Kobe shouted, yet at the same time he relished the challenge. Through a commanding of mental force, the clouds above split while he held his hands out and a thick source of iron clouds traveled from his palms wrapping around his own body and Drake's. These were clouds produced by the Eisen Dial that had been implanted into Kobe's palms. His intent was to stop the force of Legs' strike entirely, but as a woman who held the strength of ten titans, she managed to break through the kumo clouds and eisen clouds and strike Kobe and Drake alive.

For Drake he suffered a slash to the eye, increasing the size of the former wound that had already been there prior to his meeting with Kobe. On Kobe's end, Legs' weapon broke through his clouds giving him a slashing scar right on his chest. "Gaah!" Kobe spat, blood spilling to the floor ro mix in with the vearth. With his hand still out, he swallowed Drake's figure into the clouds storing his first mate into his pocket dimension alongside Charlotte.

His own body broke down into the composition of vapor before seeping into the creaks of the vearth falling through it into the clouds in attempts to escape Legs. Blood soaked the small area, his body began to show serious signs of fatigue thanks to Lucas and Legs' overwhelming strike. "I-I'll get you back..." he mumbled to Legs.

Koyuki lowered her weapon, and jammed it into the floor of the sky island.

"When we meet in person child, there will be no escape...That, I promise."

As Kobe plummeted towards the blue sea, his body smashed through what appeared to be a glass boundary. When their bodies passed through it, a blink was all that was needed to reveal Koyuki's clever ruse. Everything that had happened was nothing but an illusion; glancing back up towards Skypea was enough to show that.

Koyuki was a giant of nearly 150 feet tall, with a sword twenty feet longer than her own frame, yet her body and blade were completely gone. The fissure that she created in the vearth was also non existent. The only thing that seemed to remain on the sky island were Kobe's clouds that had launched gust of wind, and destructive lightning bolts that had lit Skypea on fire and had spread that fire across it.

The entire time that he had thought he was fighting the Yonko, he was actually fighting absolutely nothing. His attacks had done nothing but destroy the very land that he occupied. Without interference, everyone who watched the broadcast was certain that Skypea would burn to the ground; quite literally. However, marines and citizens of Skypea moved to quell the flames, as the broadcast slowly flickered out, leaving the people of the lower world completely uncertain of its fate.

As for Kobe's and Drake's injuries, they remained, having been afflicted by the Yonko through an illusion. It was a technique that Koyuki used often. By mixing her Busoshoku Haki with her illusions, even they could attack the substantial body, allowing them to deal damage to people in reality. It was a powerful technique that allowed her to fight individuals, and assassinate her foes, without actually ever being in the area. It was how she conquered Wano in but a single night. Very few every survived the technique, and now, Kobe and his crew had joined a rare group. Even as they sustained heavy injuries, damaging skypea, and surviving Koyuki's illusion was surely nothing to scoff at. However, to the rest of the world, who remained within the radius of her illusion, it looked as though Kobe and his crew had just clashed with the Yonko and survived.

'*FIN*.