"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you just have to find it!"
These were the finals words of the pirate king, Gol D. Roger as he was executed. But those words he spoke, their impact would go on to re-shape the world. As the world's greatest pirate, Roger was inspiration to men and women all around the globe, and the thought of obtaining his trove of treasure he'd collected his whole life would spark a fire within humanity. And thus, brave souls took to the sea in search of his treasure, ushering in a time which would come to be known as "The Great Pirate Era!"
This world is unlike any other. There is but one continent which splits the world into two halves, and perpendicular to that continent is the grand line, the most notorious sea on the globe. In each of this world's four corners is a sea, the East Blue, South Blue, West Blue, and where we begin our journey, the North Blue.
On a small Navy run island, a supply ship came into port. The Navy marines unloaded their haul of weapons and ammunition, knowing they'd need it should any pirates dare to set foot on their land. And as the final bit of supplies were taken off, the supply ship set sail towards its next destination.
"Let's see here, where are we putting this chest? It's pretty heavy, must be full of weapons." A marine asked his officer.
"Unclear at the moment. Leave it there and take this barrel of food to base. The chefs are starting to run low on rations. Here, i'll give you a hand, then we'll come back for that chest." The officer replied as he and the rest of the marines at the shipyard took parts of their supplies up to their base. However, unbeknownst to them, inside that chest they were pondering over was far more valuable than food, weapons, or even treasure.
*BANG!* The sound of gunfire roared as a hole was blown through the top of the chest. The hole wasn't huge, maybe only large enough to fit a human sized hand through. And from the hole, an eye could be seen. It was moving all around, trying to see what was around the chest, but it saw nothing.
"Sweet! Now's my chance!" A girl's voice spoke as she began to tear apart the wooden chest she was in from the hole she made. Soon enough, the hole was big enough, allowing her to climb out. "Oh man, feels so good to be out of that crampy thing!"
The girl was young, no older than 17. Her hair was long and reddish-brown, with her eyes sharing a similar red colour. She wore a pale white shirt with a red short coat over top of it. She dawned black and grey vertical striped pants and brown boots, along with a long red scarf tied around her waist and a red bandana tied just above her left elbow. On the left of her hips was a traditional looking cutlass sword, and holstered on her right side was a flintlock pistol.
Her name is Cayna Duvain, and she too was inspired by the tales of Gol D. Roger. But like the pirates who set sail before her, she wasn't set on venturing out into the Grand Line to find his legendary treasure. No, her goal was simply to explore the vast world.
"First thing's first, gotta find me a crew and a ship!" Cayna spoke with enthusiasm as she made her way towards the one and only town on this island. The island itself wasn't large, only big enough to have just the Navy base and town on it, and with marines infesting the place, not even the town could be called a safe haven for pirates. But Cayna didn't seem too concerned about all the marines here.
'Roger was executed 2 days ago, and already so many people have set sail towards the Grand Line. I'm sure if I went at the same time, I would've been blown out of the water by some of those pirates and their crews! Luckily, with everyone gone now, it should be easy-peezy finding me a top-notch crew!' Cayna thought as she headed for the one sure-fire place where she knew she'd find pirates on this island, a local bar. Upon entering, she found the place to be empty of any pirates, with nothing but marines sitting everywhere. The whole room went silent as everyone stared at her, but Cayna wasn't intimidated by them and gleefully stepped inside and went to an empty bar stool at the counter.
"Aren't you a little young to be drinkin', missy?" The bartender asked her.
"Yeah, but i'm not here for a drink. I'm sure you know tons of pirates that come in and out of here, right? Any chance you can give me some info on some?" Cayna replied, unaware that her questions didn't go unnoticed by the marines sitting all around her.
"Yeah, I know some. But if you're lookin' for any, then I've got some bad news for ya. They've either left like every other pirate and are headed for the grand line, or, they've been captured by the marines. Now what about you, missy? You sayin' you're a pirate too?" The bartender asked as a marine suddenly sat down on the stool next to Cayna on her right and put his arm over her shoulders.
"Yeah, you a pirate, pretty girl? Never seen you around these parts before." The marine asked her with an intimidating voice that Cayna wasn't even bothered by.
"And what if I am? You gonna arrest me? Even if I am one, you have no grounds or evidence to arrest me over. It's not like i'm going around destroying ships or killing people, right? Besides, I don't even have a bounty. So yeah, I am a pirate. Whatcha gonna do about it?" Cayna spoke with venom in her voice as she lifted the marines arm off her.
"Hah, she's got you there! Can't charge her if she hasn't done anything. But you'd best watch yourself, kiddo. There ain't nothing but marines here on this island besides the townsfolk. Keep your nose clean, or else be swarmed by a small army. There ain't no winnin' there." The bartender said as Cayna gave him a nod before ordering some water which she happily paid for to make her look even more innocent to all the marines around her.
As Cayna enjoyed her nice cold drink, gunshots started to be heard from outside. All the marines in the bar suddenly shot up from their seats, grabbed their swords or rifles, and rushed outside to see what all the commotion was.
"Ah, geez, not again." The bartender said as Cayna grew curious.
"What it is? What's wrong?" She asked.
"You wanted info on pirates, right? Well, I forgot before, but there is one other pirate on this island. He's got a bounty too, it's over on that wall." The bartender explained as he pointed over to it. Cayna walked up to examine the imagine of this pirate. The man in the image looked tall, around 6ft probably. He had nicely tanned skin, brown eyes, scruffy looking medium length brown hair. He wore a black and copper jacket with nothing else underneath it, along with a light brown belt, red pants, and dark brown boots. In each of his hands were a katana, one with a traditional silver blade, but the other magenta in colour. The bounty read "Silent Samurai: Oblivion D. Arondite," with a bounty of 12 million berries for him Dead or Alive.
"A swordsman? Cool! He'll definitely fit onto my crew then! Gotta have someone who knows how to swing a blade!" Cayna said with enthusiasm.
"That guy's nothing but trouble. I'd steer clear of him if I were you. His bounty may not seem huge, but he more than earned it. He goes around, looking for tough opponents to help him get stronger. He once destroyed an entire Navy outpost because there wasn't one person there who could meet his expectations." The bartender told her as Cayna grew even more excited.
"Even better! If I can beat or even just match him then he'll join me for sure! Thank you, sir, you've been a huge help!" Cayna ecstatically spoke as she rushed out the door to find this swordsman.
"She's crazy, i'll give her that. But if she's thinking she's gonna sway that mind of that swordsman, the only thing she's gonna find is a blade at her neck." The bartender said as he continued on with his job.
Outside, Cayna saw a squad of marines run past her, swords and rifles in their hands.
"He's over in town square! Surround him!" The leader of the squad ordered as Cayna soon followed. The square wasn't far and in no time she arrived to see easily over 30 marines in a circle formation in front of her. Cayna observed from the corner of a house as she watched several marines go flying with slash marks all over them.
"Weak...." A low, grizzled voice spoke as a bunch of marines were cut down just in front of where Cayna stood. And with them out of her way, she got a clear view of that swordsman from the bounty poster. He looked just like the image.
"So that's this Silent Samurai.... uh.... Arondite, guy? Wow, he's chopping through these marines like they're nothing! I have to get his attention! And something's telling me there's only one way how..." Cayna said as she slowly began to draw her pistol, waiting for an opening to shoot. That opening came pretty quickly though as Arondite quickly dealt with the last of the marines that surrounded him. And with him wide open, Cayna stepped out from behind the house and took her shot. But in the blink of an eye, Arondite turned and swung one of his blades down, slicing Cayna's bullet clean in half, with both sides flying right past him. He seemed a little surprised at who shot at him though.
"A pirate....? What do you want?" Arondite asked, raising up his magenta coloured blade and pointing at Cayna who drew her own sword in response.
"Me? I'm making a crew, and I want you on it. Interested?" She replied but Arondite quickly shook his head no.
"I refuse.... I'd only accept if you could defeat me, but a feeble woman like you, it is not likely that you can." Arondite told her as Cayna now pointed her blade at him and began to edge herself closer.
"Then let's make a deal. I beat you, you join my crew. You beat me, you never see me again. Sound good?" Cayna offered as Arondite took a moment to ponder, but gave her a nod as his answer. "Good. Now let's see what you c-"
Arondite attacked Cayna mid-sentence, jumping at her whilst swinging with of his swords down at her. Cayna intercepted with her blade and blocked his attack, but his strength made her go down on one knee.
'Holy crap, his physical strength is immense! Does this guy bench press Sea Kings for a living!?' Cayna thought as Arondite brought one of his swords away so he could use it to strike from another angle.
"Weak.... just like all these marines...." Arondite spoke as he swiped his free blade from the right, aiming to strike Cayna's head.
'Forget about defeating me, he's straight up trying to kill me!' Cayna thought as she turned her head to face the incoming blade. But just as it made contact, all of Arondite's momentum was brought to a sudden halt. He attempted to pull back his sword, but found it stuck. Upon further inspection, he never actually struck Cayna. She had caught his blade in her mouth as it appeared her normal human teeth had somehow changed and sharpened into more jagged and spaced out sharp teeth.
"What's the meaning of this, pirate?" Arondite questioned as Cayna suddenly swung one of her legs out and his Arondite's right leg. He lost balance for a moment and it gave Cayna some room to stand and push back against him. Once standing, Cayna kicked him right in his chest and made him slide back a few feet. Cayna still gripped Arondite's silver bladed sword in her mouth though, until she spat it out into her free hand.
"Well, you seemed to be pulling no punches, so I decided i'd do a bit of the same. Neat trick of mine, wouldn't you agree?" Cayna explained as Arondite could see the teeth in her mouth changing back to normal. "Here. I believe this belongs to you."
Cayna tossed Arondite his sword which he caught by its grip. He then stared at its blade, looking at his own reflection in it.
'Was she pulling a facade that I was overpowering her? To make me lower my guard? She so easily stopped my attack that would've killed her, and effortlessly stole my own sword from my very hands. Allowing that to happen proves that I've still a ways to go before I can return home....' Arondite thought as he sheathed that blade and his magenta one as well. This confused Cayna, but she upheld her own honor by sheathing her sword as well.
"This crew of yours.... how many are a part of it?" Arondite asked as Cayna gave him a cheeky smile.
"Just me, the captain! But soon, you'll be the second member! And don't worry, we'll pick up more crew members along our journey!" Cayna explained to him.
"And what kind of journey do you plan to take myself and the rest of this soon to be crew on?" Arondite questioned as Cayna pointed out towards the sea.
"I'm not a pirate who chooses to live life in search of fame or treasure. I am simply one who chooses to live freely, one who wants to see the entire world and the mysteries it holds." Cayna told him as Arondite pondered on what she just said.
'She's not selfish, and already has a clear goal in mind. It's likely she's intelligent and does not hesitate. Maybe.... she can be my ticket home.' Arondite thought as he walked up to her, went down on his knees, and bowed his head.
"Although my swordsmanship is far from the greatest.... What you have shown me is more than enough to both show how far I have to go in this world, and that I will be kept in safe and caring hands. Therefore..... I, Oblivion D. Arondite shall accompany you on your journey as your faithful swordsman." Arondite spoke as he raised his head and stood up.
"Arondite.... I..... thank you. As your captain, I promise to protect you with my very life, and treat you with the greatest code of honor and respect I can muster. Welcome aboard, pirate. You can call me Cayna. Cayna Duvain." Cayna explained to him as the two shook hands. However, the sound of guns cocking spoiled this otherwise pleasant moment. Both turned to see another squad of marines, all aiming their rifles at them. They turned in all directions and saw even more marines arrive and surround them, until there was practically a sea of guns pointed at them.
"Well, well, it seems the famous rebel swordsman has found himself a captain. Girl, taking in this troublemaker has just become the biggest mistake of your life. It gives us a reason to arrest you now too. Choose your next actions wisely." The marine lieutenant spoke to as Cayna and Arondite stood back to back.
"There's over a hundred of them.... I'm quick, but I can't block that many bullets if they shoot." Arondite told her.
"And I can't stop them either.... which means...." Cayna said as she unhooked her belt which held her sword and gun and threw it on the ground. "We're gonna have to give up for now."
Arondite, despite hating the idea of surrendering to these weak marines, believed in his new captains judgement and took off his belt as well and relinquished his swords to a marine who stepped in to take away their weapons.
"Smart move. Men, put these two in shackles and take them to base. I'll use the transponder snail and radio in our catch." The lieutenant ordered as Cayna and Arondite had wooden handcuffs placed on their wrists.
"Move it, pirates!" A marine shouted as he shoved Cayna forward to get her to walk. The marines kept their rifles trained on the two pirates the whole way to their base until Cayna and Arondite were thrown into a locked cell.
"You may not have a bounty on your head, girly, but Navy HQ doesn't take lightly to any pirate. Both of you are sure to be taken to Impel Down where you'll remain for the rest of your miserable lives, ha ha!" Another marines boasted as the pirates were left alone to sulk in their cell. Cayna and Arondite sat across from each other, with nothing but the light from a nearby barred window seeping in.
"I chose to trust your judgement before..... now i'm beginning to question it." Arondite spoke, sounding disappointed in Cayna for landing them here in a prison.
"Relax. Once we can confirm there's no marines around, we can make our escape. So we just sit here patiently until that times comes. Now then, since it's just the two of us here, how's about we get to know one another? Where are you from, Arondite?" Cayna said as Arondite let out a sigh before choosing to go along with his captain's seemingly stupid plan.
"I hail from a country in the furthest reaches of the Grand Line, known as Wano. It's a rich land where samurai are born." He told her.
"Ooooooo, sounds super cool! But wait, if you're from somewhere all the way in the Grand Line, then what're you doing here in the North Blue?" Cayna asked him.
"My mother.... my sensei.... she believed a great tragedy would befall our great country soon, so she sent me away for my own safety. That was over a year ago, and I believe, if there was some tragedy, it has now passed. And now, I am trying to make my way home to my country so I may see my mother again." Arondite explained as Cayna gave him some nods.
"I know how it feels.... to be so far away from your home.... Although, my home isn't as far away as yours, I've still been gone for so long. I come this very sea, the North Blue, from a small island where a single village rests on its sacred grounds. The villagers worshipped this goddess that granted us a gift from the heavens, a Devil Fruit. It's said that whoever should eat this fruit obtains incredible abilities.... but it comes at a cost. Once eaten, the person who consumed the fruit would lose any abilities that had of swimming and would sink to the depths of the ocean. No villager could eat the fruit knowing this was the cost, not even I. Until..." Cayna began to explain as Arondite became intrigued.
"Until someone tried taking this fruit, didn't they?" He suggested as Cayna gave him a nod.
"That's correct. Pirates stormed our island, killing many of us in the process, with their sole goal of obtaining our gift from our goddess. On that day, I was the watcher over the fruit, and seeing all the chaos that was being caused over it, I knew I could not let these pirates have it. So, I ran away with the fruit. But on such a small island, there's only so far I can go. I was eventually cornered by these pirates, and their captain gave me a deal. If I gave him the fruit, he wouldn't kill me. But I couldn't give him my village's sacred treasure, so...." Cayna told him as Arondite cut it.
"You ate it." He said.
"Yes. I consumed the devil fruit. I gave me the strength to overcome and defeat the pirates that terrorized my island. I saved so many lives, but.... because I ate the devil fruit... I was banished. I both succeeded and failed in my duty in protecting the fruit. I kept it from the pirates, but I ate it myself. I accepted my fate and took to the sea. That was 3 years ago. Since then, I simply drifted around, moving from island to island, keeping out of trouble. Until I came across these stories of some truly fantastic pirates. Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard, the two most notorious pirates of them all.... their tales inspired me to become a pirate myself. But I wanted to do things my way. I wasn't in it for the treasure, I just wanted to be me. So I chose to simply sail around and see the world. And my path lead me right here, where I met you." She explained.
"I'm sorry to hear that you were banished from your village. And, I guess you consuming this mystical fruit explains how you were able to change your teeth earlier." Arondite said as Cayna gave him a nod.
"That's right. And, no need to be sorry for me. If I wasn't banished, I would've been stuck on that island for the rest of my life. I'm glad they banished me, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to see the world!" Cayna said with enthusiasm.
"So what exactly can this devil do now? Can it help us escape?" Arondite questioned as Cayna nodded once again.
"Oh, for sure it can. The fruit I ate is a Zoan type, which means it gives me the abilities of, and lets me transform into a certain type of animal. And, seeing as we haven't heard any marines walk by in a long while, i'd say now's the time to use it! Now, feast your eyes on this!" Cayna said as her whole body now began to change shape. Her skin turned Green and scales began to grow all over her. Her arms and legs became a bit shorter and grew claws on all of them. She easily broke off her wooden handcuffs. She sprouted a long spiky tail and her head flattened and elongated a bit, with her teeth, once again, becoming more jagged and sharp. With her new form, her increase in size caused her clothes to rip, but it's a small sacrifice since this new form would ensure their escape.
"You've become a.... a....-" Arondite tried to say as he was actually amazed at what he'd just witnessed. He'd never seen a devil fruit user before, let alone one who could become a mighty beast such as the one Cayna had turned into.
"I consumed the Tori-Tori no mi(Bird-Bird Fruit) Model: Alligator!" Cayna roared as her voice was now much deeper, and a low reptilian growl echoed in her words. Cayna opened her gaping jaws and bit down onto Arondite's handcuffs and shattered them to pieces with a single snap of her vicious maw. Cayna then faced the cell door and clamped her mouth onto one of the bars. With a whip of her head, she tore the bar clean out of place, giving them both enough room to slip out. "Hop on! We find our weapons first, then we escape this island!"
Arondite obliged and hopped onto Cayna as she trampled her way through the Navy base. It took no time at all to run into some of the marines. But if they didn't run in fear from seeing a huge alligator charging at them, their weapons would prove no match as Cayna's tough scaly hide was too tough for their bullets and swords to penetrate.
"What the hell is going on down there!?" The marine lieutenant questioned as, from the security room, he witnessed Gator Cayna and Arondite ripping through his men. And even worse, as Cayna and Arondite busted into the armory, he watched as they secured their weapons which had been confiscated prior. "All marines, we have an emergency! Those two pirates we previously captured have escaped imprisonment and are now running amuck in our base! And to top it off, the girl is a devil fruit user! Use whatever means necessary to stop them! They are not to leave this island!"
"Those words, which the lieutenant spoke into a transponder snail, were sent all around the radio systems on the island. Every marine stationed there was now on guard for the two escapees.
"Now that we have our weapons, do you have a ship we can escape on?" Arondite asked but Cayna shook her head.
"Nope! I was planning on stealing one of their warships!" Cayna replied as Arondite drew his swords after seeing a squad of marines chasing after them.
"You mean you're a captain who doesn't even have their own ship!? Are you seriously just winging all of this!?" Arondite questioned her as he deflected several bullets which has been shot at them.
"Sounds about right! Now hang on, things might get a little rough from here!" Cayna said as Arondite turned his head around to see Cayna was charging straight for a brick wall. Arondite quickly dropped and laid down on top of Cayna as she hit the wall. She effortlessly busted right through, but unbeknownst to them, they were on one of the upper floors of the base, so they began to fall to the ground. Luckily, Cayna's huge reptilian body could shake off lots of physical damage, so she absorbed the shock of the fall pretty easily once she landed. She resumed fleeing as Arondite stood up on top of her once again. A horde of marines busted out of their base and gave chase as the two pirates made their way towards the harbor.
"I see the ships! Just hold off the marines for a minute or two!" Cayna roared as Arondite drew his swords and took a ready stance as a barrage of bullets was fired at them both.
"As if i'd let mere bullets put me down!" Arondite howled with a wicked smile as he swiped his swords and deflected any and all bullets that were fired. Some he even managed to deflect back at some of the marines.
"Almost there!" Cayna told him as Arondite noticed a marine jumping down from a rooftop they were passing by. He would've landed on Cayna's body, but Arondite clashed swords with the marines and effortlessly pushed him away.
"Cayna, one question! How exactly are two of us supposed to pilot one of their massive warships!?" Arondite questioned as Cayna suddenly came to a stop. They'd arrived in the harbor with about half a kilometre's distance between them and the army of marines.
"I never said we were taking one of their big warships, now come on." Cayna said as she quickly transformed back into a human, although her clothes were heavily ripped now. Regardless, she and Arondite ran down a dock towards one of the Navy's smaller sized warships, an interceptor. Made for speed rather than firepower, it would help them gain even more distance and make a swift getaway from the marines. And, it was the only ship of its kind in the harbor! The two quickly climbed aboard after untying the ship from the dock and pushed off. When the marines caught up, they could do nothing but shoot their guns, but to little to no effect. They eventually boarded one of their large warships, but by then, Cayna and Arondite were far off from the island, the wind in their sails practically launching them away. And with the ship so small, it was easy for the two of them to pilot and maintain all functions of the ship.
"Well, besides a ripped outfit, i'd say that was as clean of an escape as we could've gotten! Excellent job, Vice-Captain Arondite!" Cayna boasted, steering the ship as Arondite angled the sails so they'd be with the wind.
"You're not out of the woods just yet." Another person spoke as, from within the cabin of the ship, the marine lieutenant appeared, bearing a sword of his own. "I anticipated you two would try to escape on this ship, so I snuck on board before you arrived so I could deal with you myself."
"Cayna, you worry about steering the ship. I'll handle this joker." Arondite said as he unsheathed his swords and took a ready stance.
"You ran amuck through my town for long enough, boy. Your bounty poster says you're wanted Dead or Alive, but i'm gonna bring you back in pieces!" The lieutenant shouted as he charged Arondite. He swung his sword downwards, but Arondite countered by crossing his blades and meeting the attack head on.
"All of you were weak.... you let me wreck the place...." Arondite spoke as he pushed back, swinging his swords outward as he knocked the lieutenant off balance. Arondite then hit the lieutenant's sword out of his hand and kicked him down. He then raised up his magenta blade, pointing it downward. "You're weak too.... so die...."
Arondite then thrusted his sword down, right towards the lieutenant's head, but mere moments before impaling the officer, Cayna screamed "STOP!" which Arondite somehow managed to do mere millimeters from the lieutenants face.
"As much as I know you want to kill that man, i'd advise you don't. If you do, we'll have a huge target painted on our backs by Navy HQ, and they'll send a Marine Captain after us, or worse. So leave him alive. Throw him overboard." Cayna ordered as Arondite sighed but obliged and sheathed his swords. He then picked up the lieutenant by his collar, carried him over to the edge of the ship, and threw his right off into the ocean. Luckily the lieutenant could swim, but he was helpless and could only watch as Cayna and Arondite sailed away unscathed. "Remember this name, Marines! I am "Dread Jaw Cayna Duvain," captain of the Wild Pirates! Those who dare me and my crew will only be met with defeat!"
Those were the last words the marine heard from Cayna before he was picked up by his men in their ship.
"Get me a transponder snail for the North Blue HQ. And have some new bounty posters be made for those two!" The lieutenant ordered as his men got to work, with one of them bringing him his transponder snail. "This is station 4417, do you copy HQ?"
"We read you, 4417, what's the status on those two captured pirates?" An officer on the other end asked as the lieutenant let out a heavy sigh of shame.
"Both of them escaped.... and stole one of our interceptors. Requesting backup for full-on pursuit." The lieutenant requested as he could hear someone else take over on the other end of the transponder snail.
"No need for a massive chase, lieutenant. Your work is done. I'll take things from here." The new person told him.
"Uh, captain! Uh, yes sir, roger that! Good hunting, sir." The lieutenant replied as he heard the marine captain hang up on the other end.
Cayna and Arondite may have had a successful getaway, but their endeavors were only just beginning. Not only did they catch the eye of the Navy, but they'd soon face numerous threats even greater than they could possibly imagine. But to the two of them, they felt like they could truly take on the whole world right now. And, they just might have to....
To Be Continued......
Huge thank you to @Det3rmined_Writ3r for all the help with this as my joint partner for this story! They'll be taking over for the next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed and see you soon with the next one!