The cry of a baby…
As if pricked in the back of her head, Bell-mère instantly jolted awake. She propped herself up with her sword, forcing her body to stand, and followed the sound. Finally, under a collapsed shop, she found the source.
It was a baby girl, only a few months old, still in swaddling clothes. Fortunately, a fallen wall had blocked the collapse, forming a makeshift tripod that saved her from harm.
However.
As the rain worsened, the tripod gradually showed signs of collapsing. Dust fluttered down, and the baby girl in the swaddling clothes was in critical danger.
"I have to hurry, I have to hurry…"
Teeth gritted, the red-haired young Marine grabbed her entrenching tool and resumed digging.
Brick by brick, the rubble parted, and her distance from the baby narrowed inch by inch. But her body was beyond spent, her stamina completely drained—no matter how hard she tried, her speed just wasn't enough.
And the wall was starting to give out.
Panic surged in Bellemere's chest.
She kept digging, more frantic by the second… and just as she cleared a small gap—wide enough for a person to crawl through—her right hand slipped.
She accidentally activated her Devil Fruit ability—rusting through a critical steel support beam beneath the load-bearing wall.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Under the impact of the torrential rain, half the wall crumbled. Crushed stones and dust, like a flood, rolled down, directly covering the wailing baby girl below.
No—!!
Bellemere's pupils shrank in horror. She dropped the shovel and dove headlong into the breach—
Too late.
All she could do was watch, helpless, as the rubble buried—
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, a small figure flashed out from the ruins, passing through narrow passages that adults couldn't possibly navigate. It scooped up the baby from the ground and quickly rolled out a few times—
BOOM.
The wall completely collapsed, and outside the wildly falling dust, the small figure was breathing heavily, holding the baby girl as it stood up, revealing a similarly youthful, blue-haired face.
This was just a little girl, only two or three years old.
Thankfully, thankfully…
Bellemere, still shaken, clutched her bleeding shoulder and limped over.
"Is… is that your sister?" she asked, voice hoarse.
The little girl looked up at the bloodstained Marine and softly shook her head.
"…I don't know whose baby she is."
"Then…"
Before Bellemere could say more, her legs buckled. She fell to her knees, unable to support her weight any longer.
Guess this is it, she thought with a tired smile. She simply shuffled over little by little on her knees, then managed to pull herself together and looked at the baby girl in the swaddling clothes.
It was a remarkably delicate and beautiful little one with orange hair. She had long stopped crying and was curiously gazing at the blue-haired girl holding her.
And just then, as if sensing Bellemere's gaze, she turned her head.
Their eyes met.
The tiny girl's eyes curved into happy crescents—and she let out a delighted giggle.
Beneath the rolling thunder and pouring rain, amidst the tragic ruins littered with corpses, she laughed joyfully, kicking her legs in the swaddling clothes, tickling the blue-haired girl's face.
"…You really don't understand the mood right now, huh."
Bellemere couldn't help laughing. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she reached out, taking the baby from the blue-haired girl and gently caressing the baby's face.
The baby only laughed harder.
Bellemere bit her lip, gaze tender as she leaned down and kissed the dirt-streaked face.
Then she looked to the blue-haired girl, who was wiping her eyes.
"What's your name, sweetheart?"
The little girl blinked. "...Nojiko."
"And your parents?" Bellemere forced a smile. "We rescued a few more people—did you check if they're among them?"
Nojiko slowly shook her head, her expression dimming.
Another poor child
Bellemere pulled her close, holding her tight and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
The storm raged on. Rain soaked Bellemere to the bone. She hunched over the swaddled baby in her arms, shielding her as best she could, then lifted her weary face to the sky. It was hard to tell if the water on her cheeks was sweat or rain anymore—but even so, she managed a smile.
"Don't worry, Nojiko… you too, little one. This rain can't last forever. And the houses may be gone—but I'll build new ones. With my own hands, I swear…"
Nojiko nestled into her embrace, looking up quietly at the older girl who wasn't much older than herself.
The orange-haired baby, now safe in Bellemere's arms, had already drifted off to sleep with a peaceful smile.
The rain fell through the day, unceasing.
When morning came, the storm finally began to lift.
The remaining Marines completed the last of the rescue efforts and began burying the fallen with solemn reverence.
Together with the surviving civilians, they supported one another as they boarded the ship to return to the 16th Marine Branch base.
But, just then.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a flash of fire exploded in the distance, tearing through the dim dawn, startling everyone into instinctively turning their heads to look.
In the distant sea, amidst the heavy rain, several massive black-sailed ships could be vaguely seen speeding towards them. Even from a distance, the terrifying oppressive aura could still be felt.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Cannonfire roared to life, louder than the thunder itself.
Dark cannonballs flew in. Although most fell into the sea, a few still exploded on the Marine ship's deck.
Railings shattered. A mast cracked. Fires ignited. Chaos exploded once again. The exhausted Marines, caught off guard, suffered fresh casualties in seconds.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"All hands, prepare for battle!"
Inside the infirmary, Bellemere jolted awake.
She turned to the two girls beside her—the baby still sleeping, and Nojiko now sitting up in alarm, staring out the porthole with wide, fearful eyes.
"Stay here," Bellemere said, voice calm but firm. "Protect your sister. Don't leave this room."
Her body still wracked with pain, she nonetheless leapt from bed, grabbed her sword from the corner, and rushed out onto the deck.
The enemy fleet was closing in fast.
And now, even through the fading rain, their jolly roger was visible:
A monstrous skull adorned with black bat wings.
"It's the Black Bat Pirates!"
A Marine gasped, pale-faced. "No way—that's impossible! They were supposed to have entered the Grand Line already! Why are they here?!"
The Black Bat Pirates.
The mere name sent a chill down the backs of the remaining marines. All of them exchanged desperate looks.
They had survived a bloodbath, had endured to this point—but they weren't cowards. Not one of them feared a fight.
And yet, now—terror flooded their faces.
Because this enemy… was beyond overwhelming.
The Black Bat Pirates—a crew with twelve ships, boasting over three thousand men.
Their captain, "Black Bat" Morrey, had a bounty of 25,000,000 Berries just months after his debut.
He had repeatedly led his crew to directly repel encirclement efforts from various Marine branches, and had even personally slain two Branch Captains, causing widespread panic among all the branches in the nearby seas!
It wasn't until recently, when rumors spread that the Black Bat Pirates had successfully broken through the Loguetown Marine blockade and entered the Grand Line, that the Marines of these East Blue branches finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as though a god of slaughter had finally left.
But now…
He was back.
"Damn it…"
Bellemere's expression darkened. The commanding officer—a Lieutenant Commander—had been killed in the prior battle. That left her as the highest-ranking officer on this Marine ship.
She couldn't afford to panic.
"Return fire!"
She stepped forward to the bow of the ship, giving a sharp command, "Do your best to impede their speed, and at the same time, full rudder to the right, full sails! Break through from the south at maximum speed!"
Ultimately, the Marine ship was faster. As long as they could break through the Black Bat Pirates' encirclement, she and the remaining Marines under her command would be completely safe.
There was no way those pirates could catch up to them, no matter what!
"Yes, Ensign!"
The Marines also knew this was their only chance for survival and had to seize it firmly. They sprang into motion, scrambling to follow orders.
Bellmère, ignoring her weakened state, forced herself to a cannon, filled the empty position, and returned fire on the pirate ships.
...
"BAHAHAHAHAHA! Is that all they've got? It's like being tickled!"
"Pitiful! Absolutely pitiful!"
"Look at those pathetic Marines, they're scared out of their wits, haha!"
In the distance, on the bows of all the Black Bat Pirate fleet's ships, the pirates gathered on deck burst into thunderous laughter as they watched the Marine ship hastily returning fire, fighting and fleeing.
On the main ship, a tall figure, over two and a half meters tall and entirely shrouded in a black cloak, showed a disdainful expression.
This was Morrey, the "Black Bat," a great pirate with a bounty of 25,000,000 Berries, and a Zoan-type Bat-Bat Fruit user.
He should have already entered the Grand Line. So why was he still here?
Simple.
A few days ago, Morrey had struck a deal with a small pirate crew: they offered a rare Devil Fruit in exchange for protection and inclusion in his fleet.
But when the day came, they were nowhere to be found.
Investigation revealed the 16th Branch Marines had wiped them out here on this very island. The Devil Fruit was missing—either taken by the Marines or lost in the rain-soaked battlefield.
Unforgivable.
How could he, Morrey, tolerate such disrespect?
Unless he retrieved the Devil Fruit and slaughtered every last interfering Marine, there was no venting the rage boiling in his chest.
"Surround them," he snapped, voice sharp and cold. "Don't kill them all. Leave plenty alive."
He grinned. "Once we find out who took the Devil Fruit, we'll kill them slowly. One by one."
"Aye, Captain Morrey!"
His men howled with laughter. The fleet picked up speed, surrounding the Marine ship from all directions.
Within minutes, they'd closed the gap.
The Marines on deck turned, faces filled with dread. Bellemere's face, too, fell in horror.
She hadn't expected this.
Not only did the Black Bat Pirates have more ships—but they were also faster.
The intel hadn't mentioned that.
The shelling grew more frequent, and the accuracy improved. The deck was already ablaze, and to make matters worse, the mast was completely broken at this point.
The sails collapsed helplessly, and the Marine ship, having lost its primary propulsion, suddenly floundered like a headless chicken, swaying back and forth on the waves…
At this moment, all the Black Bat Pirates' ships completed their encirclement, like a sealed iron barrel, tightly surrounding the Marine ship.
Ropes were thrown out, hooking onto the Marine ship's side. The pirate minions shrieked, gripping their swords in their mouths, and began to climb en masse along the ropes. At a glance, they looked like a surging tide…
The Marines fought with their last breath, battling fiercely. Led by Bellmère, they cut down many of the pirates who first boarded, and for a time, they actually managed to firmly hold the initiative on the battlefield.
However, the difference in numbers was simply too vast.
As more and more grappling hooks were thrown, the deck was soon completely controlled by the pirates.
The Marines were either knocked unconscious on the spot or kicked roughly onto the deck and tied up with ropes.
Only Bellmère remained, using the advantage of the corner's terrain to fiercely cut down the surging pirates one after another, causing continuous screams. She actually hadn't been subdued yet…
"Interesting, a mere Ensign actually has this kind of strength?"
At the bow, Morrey raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the swords that Bell-mère had rusted, showing a look of keen interest.
"And a Devil Fruit user, tsk tsk tsk, truly a rare sight. It seems those idiots from Garry's crew must have fallen into the hands of this little lady…"
"What a pity."
His triangular eyes narrowed slightly, and his mouth curved upwards as he let out a chilling, cackling laugh, "You've met Lord Morrey, you can only count yourself unlucky…"
Swish!
Before his words finished, a black light flashed, and his figure suddenly vanished from his spot, transforming instead into a giant bat with a wingspan of five or six meters.
After a fierce flap of its wings, it soared upwards.
Its speed was terrifying.
In an instant, it appeared behind Bell-mère, its face sinister, its sharp claws heading straight for the back of the girl's head!