The pirate ships turned their cannons.
They didn't hesitate.
A flare had already gone up—warning their crews that a new vessel was entering the field. But they still assumed the approaching ship was either a desperate merchant or an opportunistic scavenger.
Not hunters.
Not yet.
Aira angled their ship slightly into the wind, keeping speed without presenting a clean broadside target. The sea churned under the shifting current from damaged merchant vessels drifting nearby.
Smoke hung low over the water.
Screams carried faintly across the distance.
Kenji stood at the bow railing, both swords drawn but resting lazily at his sides. His posture looked relaxed—almost bored.
But his eyes weren't.
"…Two ships," he muttered. "Thirty… maybe forty pirates total."
Soren's voice drifted from above. "Thirty-eight visible."
Kenji smirked. "Show-off."
Ryu stood beside them, silent, watching the pirate ships' movements. One had pulled slightly ahead, cannons already adjusting. The second lingered near the damaged convoy, finishing its slaughter before turning fully toward this new threat.
They were confident.
Organized.
Experienced.
Good.
Ryu exhaled slowly.
"Fast," he said.
Aira nodded once. "Understood."
The ship surged forward.
—
The first cannon fired.
The iron ball screamed across the water toward them.
Soren fired.
One clean shot.
The cannonball struck the incoming round mid-air—just enough to deflect its trajectory. Instead of smashing into their hull, it plunged into the sea beside them in a massive plume of spray.
Kenji laughed. "Still showing off."
The second pirate ship fired.
Three cannons this time.
Aira turned sharply, using wave motion to shift their profile. One shot grazed past the stern. Another slammed into the water short. The third—
Ryu moved.
He stepped onto the bow rail and leapt.
Armament surged across both knives as he struck the incoming cannonball mid-flight. Not to stop it entirely—but to redirect its path upward and away.
It exploded against open water behind them.
He landed smoothly back on the bow.
Kenji shook his head. "You're getting dramatic."
Ryu didn't respond.
"Boarding," he said calmly.
---
Aira drove their ship directly between the two pirate vessels.
Not stopping.
Not hesitating.
Just enough angle—
Then collision.
Their hull slammed hard into the nearer pirate ship with a brutal crack of wood and rope. The impact threw several pirates off balance instantly.
Ryu jumped first.
He landed in the center of their deck.
Kenji followed with a grin that bordered on feral.
Aira came next, blade already drawn.
Soren remained above for two seconds more—then fired twice in rapid succession.
Two pirate gunners dropped before they could turn their cannons inward.
Then he jumped.
Landing light.
Controlled.
The pirates rushed them.
Not cautiously.
Aggressively.
Mistake.
--
The first pirate swung a cutlass at Ryu's neck.
Ryu stepped inside the arc.
One knife struck the man's wrist, breaking grip. The second drove into his chest in a clean forward thrust. Ryu pulled the blade free without slowing and stepped past him.
Another pirate lunged.
Ryu ducked.
A single upward slash across the torso dropped him instantly.
No wasted motion.
No flourish.
Just execution.
He moved forward through them like a current cutting through debris.
---
Kenji laughed.
Actually laughed.
Three pirates charged him together—two swords and a spear. He moved between them with fluid ease, his blade flashing in clean arcs. One pirate fell immediately, chest split open. The second lost an arm before he realized he'd been cut.
The third tried to run.
Kenji's blade caught him across the back before he made two steps.
Kenji exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah," he murmured. "I needed this."
He looked up at the second pirate ship approaching fast.
"Next."
---
Aira didn't charge.
She moved smart.
Two pirates attempted to flank her—one with pistols, one with a hooked blade. She shot the gunman first. The second closed distance quickly, but her Observation flickered just enough to feel the shift before his strike.
She sidestepped.
Her blade cut across his throat in one clean motion.
He dropped without a sound.
Aira didn't celebrate.
She moved on.
---
Soren moved like a shadow across the deck.
He fired only when necessary—each shot deliberate, each target chosen for tactical value. A pirate trying to light a signal flare dropped instantly. Another attempting to swing onto the merchant vessel fell mid-jump.
When one rushed him directly, Soren stepped aside and struck with his rifle stock before finishing with a short blade across the ribs.
Efficient.
Cold.
Professional.
---
The second pirate ship slammed into the first from the opposite side.
Their captain roared, charging across the connecting planks with a heavy saber and a dozen crew behind him.
He stopped when he saw the deck.
Bodies.
Blood.
His first ship already half-cleared.
Kenji stood waiting, blades dripping.
"…You're late," Kenji said.
The pirate captain snarled and charged.
Kenji met him.
Steel clashed.
The captain was strong—stronger than most they'd faced in recent weeks. His saber carried real weight, real experience. He pushed Kenji back half a step with the first exchange.
Kenji's grin widened.
"Oh," he said. "You're actually decent."
They clashed again.
Faster.
Harder.
Kenji's sword moved with growing precision, Armament coating its edges. Within seconds he found the opening—a slight delay in the captain's recovery after a heavy swing.
Kenji stepped inside.
One clean cross-slash.
The captain froze.
Then collapsed.
Dead before he hit the deck.
Kenji exhaled.
"…Still not enough," he muttered.
---
The remaining pirates broke.
Some tried to flee to the merchant ships.
Soren shot them.
Others dropped weapons and begged.
Ryu didn't slow.
If they'd been willing to slaughter defenseless crews minutes earlier, mercy wasn't owed.
Within minutes—
Silence.
Two pirate ships.
Cleared.
Bodies lay across both decks as smoke drifted from damaged merchant hulls nearby.
Aira wiped her blade and finally allowed herself to breathe fully.
"…It's done," she said.
Kenji looked around, then sheathed his sword slowly.
"Good," he replied.
Ryu stepped toward the edge of the pirate deck and looked at the surviving merchant sailors watching from their battered ships.
They stared at him like he was something unreal.
Not cheering.
Not approaching.
Just… staring.
Hunters.
Killers.
Saviors.
Ryu didn't speak.
He turned back toward their ship.
"Move," he said.
Aira returned to the helm.
Soren reloaded calmly.
Kenji stepped back onto their deck with a satisfied stretch.
Behind them, two pirate ships drifted lifeless on the North Blue water.
Ahead—
Rumors would spread faster now.
Because this time…
There were many witnesses.
And none of them would forget what they'd just seen.
___