I hope you enjoy this rewritten chapter! I'd love to hear any feedback or ideas you might have for future chapters, as your thoughts really help me shape the story. This chapter features the first proper fight in the fanfiction, so I'm especially excited to hear what you think about it. Thanks!
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The Silver Torrent cut through the waves, its cobalt hull glinting in the morning sun, whitecaps breaking against its polished wood deck. Tall masts swayed in the brisk wind, sails taut and edged with silver trim, catching glints of light as the ship rocked rhythmically.
The flag above the mainmast, a silver droplet suspended beneath a crescent sun, flapped sharply in the wind.
Celestia leaned against the railing, her long black coat fluttering behind her. A metallic laugh slipping through the wind...
She squinted toward the distant island, eyes scanning the horizon.
Flint, a tall, wiry man with spiky crimson hair streaked in green, bounced on the deck with an easy grin, juggling ropes with chaotic energy. "Bet you won't knock me off, sea!" he yelled, letting out a sharp, brash LILI-LILILILI as a spray of saltwater hit his boots.
Mira, short and nimble, blue hair tied in messy buns atop her head, darted between crates, giggling mischievously,
"mimimimi," echoing across the deck as she adjusted a loose sail...
Tobin, a hulking bald man with neon yellow clothing, hauled a crate of supplies toward the stern, his heavy hands steady.
The sea spray stung their skin as the salt and foam blended with the sun's warmth. Waves rose in sweeping waves with bubbles frothing at the crests. The horizon shimmered faintly where sky met the sea. Smoke drifted steadily from the island ahead, creating a brief grey haze against the blue sky.
"Flint, stop scaring the gulls for five minutes," Celestia called over her shoulder, her metallic voice cut through the chaos...
"I can't help it! "They are all looking at me wrong!" Flint responded by flinging another rope into the air and laughing, causing the deck to tremble.
The hours passed in the same steady beat as the water. The sun rose higher, waves rose and fell, birds circled overhead, and the Silver Torrent moved slowly onwards. Flint and Mira played amid the ropes and barrels, their laughter vibrant but muted by the odd glimpse at Celestia, perceiving the worry underneath her calm face.
Finally, the shoreline of God Valley emerged from the haze, Two jagged cliffs giving way to sandy coves and a scattering of rocks. Smoke from distant fires and the faint clamor of a festival drifted across the waves.
"Anchor," she said quietly, voice low, deliberate, and the crew obeyed instantly. Flint leapt to the ropes, securing the sails, Mira dashed to help him, and Tobin moved to drop the anchor. Water lapped against the hull as the Silver Torrent slowed, riding the wave toward the shore.
The first touch of wet sand beneath the keel sent a spray of foam across the deck. Crew laughter quieted, replaced with the soft creaking of ropes and the slap of water. Celestia took a measured step forward, her hand resting against a blade made from pure silver...
"This is it," she murmured, eyes narrowing toward a distant hill, where her Observation Haki told her that her children would be...
"Keep your eyes open."
Flint twirled a rope, grinning despite the tension. "I was born ready, Captain."
Mira bounced on her toes, hands clenched. "Let's find 'em!"
Tobin's low chuckle vibrated through the sand. "Stay sharp."
The four jumped quietly, boots slipping onto the sand. The salty air became heavier as they walked north, the beach's brilliance receding into the dark of thick trees and uneven ground. Celestia took the lead, her silver-trimmed coat glinting against the leaves, her eyes half-closed in focus as she took cautious steps. Observation Haki surging like a heartbeat...
Strands of consciousness extending through smoke, stone, and bush. Two tiny, flickering figures, faint but clear, calling out to her from somewhere beyond. Her children.
The realization steadied her steps, though her chest tightened with dread. Behind her, Flint snapped a twig beneath his heel, muttering curses
Mira followed close, brushing aside ferns with quick hands, humming nervously, while Tobin walked last, his massive frame shifting through the narrow path...
The climb grew steeper, with the forest floor breaking into rocky slopes covered in moss and dotted with roots. Smoke from the distant fires drifted between the trees, mixing with wet soil. The sounds of the festival had vanished completely now, just distant screaming and the echoing sound of blades striking against each other.
Celestia lifted a hand to stop the others and paused close to a ridge, the silver in her sword glinting softly. Ahead, two individuals emerged from the fog... men in pristine white suits, black gloves, and emotionless masks. The insignia on their collars marked them as CP8...
Like wolves, the agents advanced silently and deliberately, their eyes immediately focussing on the pirates. As Celestia's cloak fluttered in the wind, her metallic laugh; clear, cold, and purposeful. Slipped out of her mouth once more. "It appears," she said quietly as her fingertips touched her weapon's hilt.
"So this is how far the World Government's hounds have sunk… thinking you can stand between a mother and her children."
Celestia's smile turned devilish as she continued,
"Tell me... how long will you keep wagging your tails before you're crushed beneath your master's boot?"
The weak light coming through the smoke caught the white jackets of the two CP8 agents as they looked at each other. With a sinister sneer, the taller one moved forward, his voice silky but coloured with hate.
"Children?" he said sarcastically. "Oh, you're referring to the two little insects who darted across the square? They are most likely dead by now if they were yours.
The shorter one laughed dryly and without humour. It's a pity, in fact. would have been suitable captives. However, you yourself are quite the prize, aren't you?
He produced a crumpled bounty poster from inside his coat. A shrewd-eyed woman with silver strands in her hair and a sword shining at her hip was revealed when the paper flapped in the breeze.
"You know... We knew you'd be here so... We figured... We'd take this opportunity to kill you off, after we've slaughtered your traitorous offspring..."
"Celestia 'D Rtut," he read aloud with exaggerated clarity, "a hundred million berries. A swordswoman who burns auction houses, attacks nobles, frees slaves… and thinks herself righteous." His grin widened as he tilted his head. "You've made quite a name for yourself, pirate. So much that your bounty doesn't even read Dead or Alive. Just Dead... Not even Impel Down wants you. You're a stain they'd rather see you erased from existence...
Celestia clenched her jaw, the faint glow in her eyes intensifying into molten silver. Her crew tensed behind her, Flint's grin turning darker, Mira's hands curling into nervous fists, and Tobin's breathing slowing and heavy.
The breeze brought the subtle hiss of her power stirring, and a metallic fragrance rose from Celestia...
She raised her sword, its edge glinting cold and wet like liquid steel. "Then come," she said quietly, her voice low but brimming with hate. "Try to erase me."
For a heartbeat, no one breathed. The waves crashed softly against the shore, and even the wind seemed to pause.
Then...
In the distance... BOOOOOM
A thunderous explosion shattered the horizon, a fiery bloom rising from the port. The shockwave rolled over the forest, snapping branches and hurling dust into the air. Birds scattered in panicked flocks as the sea roared in response.
Everyone turned, the agents, eyes wide in fear, as a second explosion echoed, this one deeper, angrier.
From the distant smoke, a shadow of a massive figure stepped through the flames, his enormous bisento dragging through molten stone.
"GURARARARA!!!" A blonde haired man laughed in excitement...
"Captain!!! We will save your family.... GURARARARARA!!"
Edward Newgate and the Rock's Pirates Had arrived...
The shockwave rippled through the port, rattling barrels, ships and the dock allike... From his vantage point high above the festival grounds, the old man in the black suit stood motionless, hat tilted slightly downward, eyes reflecting the inferno blooming at the port.
The explosion's echo faded into a low, trembling hum. Dust and smoke curled upward like a dark halo around the burning coastline. Beneath his gloved hand, the earth itself seemed to pulse with tension.
He exhaled softly, not in surprise, but in irritation.
"So," he murmured, voice barely above the crackle of distant fire. "Another variable."
The wind caught the tails of his coat, whipping them around his legs as he turned. The scar over his left eye caught the flickering light, the faint glint of something inhuman beneath his skin. Beneath the surface of his composed face, a presence once again stirred...
"Your timing is… inconvenient," he said to no one, the words directed at the chaos itself.
From the shadows behind him, a voice, tense and uncertain, filtered through:
"Lord Saturn, an explosion at the port. Pirates… we believe it's Edward Newgate..."
The old man lifted a hand, cutting the report short. "I can see that." His tone was quiet, the softness of it far deadlier than a shout.
He looked eastward, where smoke from another hill rose softly, curling into the bright sky. The shouts and gunfire below started to mix into a single noise.
"This vantage is no longer sufficient," he said, adjusting his hat with a measured motion. "I want a clearer view of the battlefield."
He stepped forward, boots crunching over loose stone. A pair of Cipher Pol agents flanked him instantly, silent and tense.
The agents hesitated, uncertain. "Sir, that area's closer to the chaos..."
He didn't look at them. "That's the point."
Back in the valley, sand and splinters flew as steel collided with steel. Celestia's sword, a sparkling arc of silver light, cut through the haze like a comet. Her coat flew behind her as she whirled, her eyes blazing with rage, mercury glinting faintly at the tips of her fingers.
"They were selling children," she snarled, her voice rising over the noise of fighting. "If that makes me a monster," She deflected his attack, sparks shooting as metal shrieked. "...then I'll wear the title proudly."
The first CP8 agent lunged again, his form flickering as he vanished in a blur, "Soru."
Celestia turned just in time, her blade catching his.
Her foot twisted, pushing off the cracked ground. She spun, striking him square across the mask, leaving a deep gash that split his pristine white uniform....
He stumbled back, coughing, but before Celestia could advance, the second CP8 member dropped from above, heel slicing down in a lethal "Rankyaku."
The shockwave hit, tearing through the earth where she'd stood moments before. Dirt and splinters exploded into the air, but before the agent could land his next blow, Flint and Tobin slammed into him from opposite sides.
"Oi, you forgot to look both ways!" Flint barked, wild grin stretched across his face. "LILI-LILILILI!"
His twin daggers gleamed as he slashed upward, one blade catching the agent's forearm while Tobin's massive fist, coated in thick, blackened Haki, crashed into the man's ribs.
The CP8 operative's body folded under the strike before flipping midair with unnatural grace. He landed in a crouch, blood dripping from his lip, eyes cold.
"You think numbers will change the outcome?"
"Yeah," Tobin grunted, cracking his knuckles,
Flint lunged first. His movements reckless, almost dancing, knives carving arcs through the smoke. The agent ducked and twisted, fists blurring into a flurry of "Shigan," each thrust breaking air like gunfire. Flint barely kept pace, blades intercepting finger strikes with a metallic chorus.
Behind him, Tobin charged. Slower, but with crushing force. His arm swung like a battering ram, coated in Armament Haki so dense it shimmered a faint purple.
The CP8 operative flipped over the blow, heel slamming down into Tobin's shoulder, then spun to intercept Flint's next slash.
For a heartbeat, they were nothing, but flashes, colliding in a storm of motion and sound. Flint's grin widened as the man overextended.
"Gotcha!"
He caught the agent's wrist mid-strike, twisting. Tobin's fist came crashing in, hammering the man's chest like thunder. The impact drove him backward into a shattered cart, dust and blood erupting from his body.
Celestia barely spared them a glance; she was locked blade to blade with the first CP8 agent again, their weapons grinding as they fought for ground.
"You fight like you're desperate," he hissed. "Your crew's strong... but your children are dead. You should've stayed in the New World where your kind belong."
Celestia's expression didn't flicker. She shifted her stance, mercury dripping off the blade's edge.
Then she moved.
Her sword flashed once, a clean horizontal sweep, and the agent's weapon shattered under the blow. He tried to step back, but a massive wall of mercury blocked all of his escape routes.
His body cloaked in liquid mercury...
"Melt," she whispered.
A hiss erupted His uniform bubbled, metal buttons liquefying, the man screaming as he stumbled, corrosive mercury coating his skin...
Across the clearing, Flint and Tobin were still locked with the other operative, bloodied, breathing hard, but grinning. Flint dove low, Tobin came high, and together they forced the agent onto his knees.
Before he could escape or attempt any further maneuvers Celestia jumped from nowhere her arm transformed fully into mercury coated in a purple sheen. It exploded on contact with his body killing him instantly...
The First CP8 continued, still defiant as he burnt alive... "Even if you kill us… there's no saving anyone here. Orders came straight from the Gorosei... No one leaves alive."
Celestia tilted her head, silver eyes gleaming beneath the shadow of her hat. "Then I'll make sure we're the exception."
Celestia wiped the edge of her sword clean against the grass. The air still hummed with the aftershock of battle, blood, smoke, and the faint metallic tang that always followed the use of her devil fruit...
She paused, stood still, her pupils narrowing, her Observation Haki flaring in annoyance and worry. Through the haze of chaos, she felt them...
"They're still alive."
Mira blinked, still catching her breath. "You sure?"
Celestia didn't answer. Her hand clenched, and the faint silver sheen across her palm pulsed.
The smoke thickened as they ran. The air reeked of ash and salt; faint screams carried on the wind. Celestia pushed harder, her heartbeat syncing with the earth beneath her feet...
She wouldn't let them die... If it was the last thing she did...
As they reached the edge of the hill's base.
A figure remained ahead, facing the brush which Celestia accidently stood in front of, his attention remained fixed on something hidden among the tangled leaves...