Early Grand Line — the waters around Maran Island.
The Stevenson Pirates' flagship had just plundered a tiny kingdom known as the Kingdom of Mora.
A nation like that didn't have the wealth to pay the Heavenly Tribute. Without the ability to pay, they weren't recognized as a mber state of the World Governnt.
And for the World Governnt, such kingdoms were nothing more than illegal regis—whose people weren't even considered human in the eyes of the law.
For slavers and pirates, these places were open hunting grounds. Raiding, looting, even enslaving the population—none of it would draw a single Marine warrant. The World Governnt would simply look the other way.
Stevenson's crew knew this well. They always chose their prey carefully.
— — —
On the George, the Stevenson Pirates' flagship—
A portly pirate with a scarf around his neck and a katana at his hip ca jogging out from below deck, face alight with excitent.
He hurried to the bow, where his captain, Amison Stevenson, stood with the wind whipping at his back.
Lowering his voice, the man reported with barely-contained glee—
"Captain! We've struck gold!"
Stevenson turned his head slightly, curiosity in his eyes.
"Oh? And what exactly have we found?"
"In the Mora treasury… I found sothing. A Devil Fruit! I've already stashed it in your personal chest."
"…Is that so?" Stevenson's eyes glimred with interest. "Do you know what kind it is?"
The fat man scratched his head.
"Not exactly… but the shape looks like a Paracia. I've seen sothing similar in a book once."
Hearing that, Stevenson's excitent dimd.
As a swordsman, he'd never eaten a Devil Fruit—not because he couldn't, but because he was waiting.
His aim was to find a Logia, or at least a high-tier Zoan—sothing that could truly sharpen his blade in combat.
A Paracia? Unless it was a perfect match, he wasn't interested. Taking the wrong fruit would an two new weaknesses: the inability to swim and vulnerability to Seastone.
Still… before making any decision, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
"Show ," Stevenson ordered, stepping back toward the captain's cabin. The fat man followed closely behind.
— — —
Inside the treasure hold, the Devil Fruit sat on a bed of deep crimson velvet.
Its skin was mottled and covered with intricate swirls, like so strange hybrid of pear and durian—distinctly unnatural, unmistakably a Devil Fruit.
But even Stevenson didn't recognize the type.
Devil Fruits were scattered across the world, but detailed knowledge about their categories and abilities was never made public.
The World Governnt was the only entity that truly understood them—Marines themselves only received fragnts of that knowledge.
So it wasn't surprising that Stevenson had never seen this one before.
The fat man, however, had his own theory.
"Captain, it looks a lot like the Ito Ito no Mi—the legendary String-String Fruit."
Stevenson narrowed his eyes.
"…Wasn't that one already eaten? I heard rumors a few years back."
In this world, the rule was simple—no two identical Devil Fruits existed at the sa ti. Once a user died, the power would reincarnate into a random fruit sowhere in the world.
If this was the Ito Ito no Mi… then its previous user was dead.
"…If it really is the String-String Fruit, it'd fit perfectly," Stevenson murmured to himself.
Indeed, for a swordsman, the ability to manipulate threads could be a deadly complent to close combat and battlefield control.
But whether this fruit was truly the Ito Ito no Mi… no one on the ship could say for certain.
— — —
Three days earlier — aboard the Blue Dragon
Amos closed the receiver of his Den Den Mushi, his expression grave.
After a mont of hesitation, he stepped out from the office onto the sunlit deck.
There, Tachibana Kyūjō lay stretched out on a deck chair, eyes closed.
Amos straightened, his voice sharp.
"Vice Admiral Seiryū! We've just received an ergency call from the Kingdom of Mora. They report being attacked by the Stevenson Pirates—their defenses are nearly wiped out."
He paused briefly before adding—
"To make matters worse, the nsa Pirates seem to be moving in as well."
Kyūjō's eyes opened, his expression suddenly serious.
"In my eyes, there's no such thing as 'mber' or 'non-mber' nations," he said quietly. "If they're pirates committing cris, they're to be captured."
He sat up and gave his order.
"Set course for the Kingdom of Mora. Full speed."
Amos saluted sharply before hurrying off to relay the command.
— — —
Outskirts of Mora Castle
The nsa Pirates had already surrounded the main keep.
At the castle gates, two towering beasts hamred relentlessly at the reinforced doors—
a five-ter-tall black gorilla, and a three-and-a-half-ter crimson baboon.
Each thunderous blow rattled the very air between the mountains.
Inside the grand hall, King Yasis paced in agitation, his face pale.
"First Stevenson, now nsa… has the whole world gone mad?" he muttered.
Suddenly, the captain of the guard burst in, breathless but elated.
"Your Majesty! The Marines are here! We're saved!"
The king froze.
"You're certain? You're not joking?"
"It's true, Your Majesty! They're from G2 Headquarters! Right now they're engaging the nsa Pirates outside the walls!"
— — —
Outside the Castle
Tachibana Kyūjō stood calmly on the battlefield, his gaze locked on the two massive simian forms ahead.
Slowly, he exhaled—and drew the Thunder Dragon Blade, Rairyūken.
Among the crew of the Blue Dragon, no one but him could take these monsters one-on-one.
So he stepped forward himself.
His footwork slid soundlessly across the ground. In an instant, his form blurred—disappearing into a streak of motion faster than the eye could follow.
Two arcs of lightning flashed across the field.
No clang of steel.
No roar of beasts.
Just two cuts, too fast for sound to catch.
By the ti Rairyūken returned to its sheath, Kyūjō was already speaking over his shoulder—
"Hina, the rest is yours."
And then he was gone—vanishing as though he had never been there.
A heartbeat later, a heavy, echoing thud rolled across the field.
The gorilla and baboon fell in unison, their massive fras cleaved cleanly at the waist.
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