Private Second Class Gin (Marine Apprentice, Headquarters). Lieutenant Belle-mère (Branch Officer on Headquarters Commission).
This was the current status of my two protégés. Under Instructor Zephyr's brutal yet effective tutelage, Belle-mère had flourished.
Already a capable combatant, she had mastered two of the Six Powers: Soru (Shave) for high-speed movement and Kami-e (Paper Drawing) for evasive maneuvers.
Watching her spar with Zephyr, she looked like a leaf dancing in a gale—fragile to the eye, but impossible to catch.
She had been offered a promotion to Major, but she turned it down flat. Her reason? "I'm not cut out for the desk work and exams required for Field Officers." Typical Belle-mère.
Gin, on the other hand, was being built from the ground up. Zephyr insisted his body wasn't ready for the high-intensity Six Powers yet, so he was focusing on extreme flexibility and "Life Return" (Seimei Kikan) to master every fiber of his being.
His schedule was a nightmare of general education, navigation, and tactical theory. I sometimes wonder if Zephyr is trying to raise a future Fleet Admiral.
Our peaceful training days ended abruptly when I handed Belle-mère a letter from her Branch Chief in the East Blue.
"A return order?" she asked, scanning the page. Her face paled. "The Oykot Kingdom... an insurrection. They're shorthanded and desperate."
"I'll have a warship ready for you by tomorrow," I promised. "I'd come with you, but I've got my own constraints. I'll send a few of my best men to escort you back."
"Thanks, Krieg. I've grown to like it here, but I owe the Chief. If they need me, I'm going."
She said her goodbyes to Gin and Zephyr, but as she left, my mind was already elsewhere. I had a meeting with Vice Admiral Saul.
The Giant's Grief
I found Saul in a secluded corner of the base, his expression grimmer than I'd ever seen.
"Krieg... listen carefully," he started, his voice heavy. "I've been ordered to participate in a top-secret Buster Call. The target is Ohara."
My heart skipped a beat. In the original timeline, Ohara was erased when Robin was eight. Now, two years later than expected, the hammer was finally falling.
Saul explained that despite his efforts to protect Olvia and the scholars over the past few years, the World Government had made its move. Five Vice Admirals and ten warships were being mobilized to erase the island from the map.
"Did they find Olvia?" I asked.
"I don't know," Saul grumbled. "Dr. Clover stopped the research into the Void Century, just as we discussed. But someone might have tipped them off. I can't sit by, Krieg. This order... it's not justice."
"Saul, if you go to Ohara now against orders, you'll be branded a criminal."
"I know," the giant said, standing tall. "But I have to follow my own justice. You're young, Krieg. You have a long road ahead. Don't do anything reckless for my sake."
With a final warning for me to stay out of trouble, Saul headed for the harbor. In the original story, he ended up frozen by Kuzan's ice. I couldn't let that happen again.
The Weathercocks Fly
As soon as Saul was out of sight, I pulled a small whistle from my coat and blew a rhythmic, high-pitched sequence. Within moments, the demon-beast Kahfu landed on my shoulder.
"Kahfu, mobilize the 'Weathercock' unit," I commanded, feeding him a piece of jerky. "I need eyes on every warship preparing for departure. And send a fast messenger bird to me immediately. I have letters to send."
Over the years, Kahfu had become the king of a network of hundreds of birds. It was my private intelligence agency, hidden in plain sight.
I quickly scribbled two notes. One was destined for Ohara, a final warning to evacuate the non-combatants and hide the books. The second was a more delicate message for a contact in the underworld—I needed a "neutral" ship near Ohara, just in case.
I tied the first letter to a swift swallow. "Deliver this to the Fourth Aviary. There's a feast waiting for you when you return." The bird chirped and vanished into the sky.
Now, I had to deal with the heavy hitters. If the Buster Call was active, Kuzan and Sakazuki would likely be leading the charge. I needed to see where they stood.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: [email protected]/Master_Studios677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 60 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.