Stock and Starved, The Journey begins!

When she went for a tumble, Yanagi immediately thought to herself about how foolish it was to make such a declaration , fearful that her plummeting right now was going to be the last thing she said. But a good portion of her own mind assured her it would be worth it. At least the world would know who she was. Or at the very least, the ones that wronged her. If she went, she was certain those she befriended would avenge her.

A rough yet familiar embrace took hold of her. All she could emit was a small yelp akin to that of a puppy. When she opened her eyes, she stared back into Serena's and her face froze in a state of wonder and bewilderment. Hermouth almost turned into a frown when Serena berated her...but brightened more and more she spoke afterward about how impressed she was. She had to close her mouth as she continued to smile so much it nearly hurt. Ah, so she wanted to make this slow and here she was announcing her intentions without a care or thought to Serena's.


"You think I could cut the waterfall on my first try?"

"Well you did it just now!"

"Beeehahaha! That was the result of years of training and patience, willow tree! Patience more than practice!"

"Patience, huh?"

"That's right! If you have it, anything can be achieved be they promises or something you think you'll always fail at."



She had already seen Serena as her savior. Now it was cemented that she was the one she was meant to be with for life.

Through thick and thin!

She was going to fight the ones that did this to her. And Yanagi couldn't be happier to support her. She smugly smirked as she looked at their target.

As Serena unleashed her attack, Yanagi wondered how such power existed within Serena and what it was. But only briefly as she focused by sheathing her sword and using her left hand to draw the blade quickly.

"One Sword Style-Byakko: Tigerclaw!"

Three strikes quickly followed her draw which seemed more like a claw than an actual sword strike. She aimed each one at the same spot to complete the cut on the chain. When she completed the third cut, she immediately reachedup to hug Serena's waist with hopes her "strength" would carry them both to safety.

"Of course we aren't, get ready to fight. They might have a DFU or two, but so do we. Besides, Yanagi is our guest, I'm not letting these shitheads take someone off my own damn ship... especially not after seeing what they do to their prisoners" Onaka said as she stepped away from the controls and handed them to a grunt "take my place, he might be able to block a few cannonballs, but so long as he's busy doing that he's not busy fucking with us. Also have your gas masks ready."

With something like the payload, everyone had to have gas masks on their person at all times. Usually this was so they could board an enemy ship affected by the payload and either kill or capture the incapacitated enemies... or just waltz aboard, steal the treasure, and leave the enemies alone. It depended on the situation. But more important than that by far was having the masks available to deal with the kind of situation they were in now... where there was a danger of the smoke being turned on them. Either due to weather conditions, or someone like this enemy captain... they needed to be careful not to get themselves disabled by their own secret weapon

Onaka would come out on deck, twirling her twin daggers in her hands. If this was going to be a serious fight, she was needed out here more than behind the controls of the cannons. At this range nobody on the crew would have any trouble landing shots. They were trained well enough for that, so they didn't need their top marksman there.

Over elsewhere on deck she saw Ayane being brought out by Isabelle, perfect. She was usually away from the fights, but she was stronger than she gave herself credit for. And they were going to want to bring everything they had against the enemy captain and their mysterious invisible marine.

As for this marine captain, she had quite enough of the marines and their high and mighty holier than thou attitude. Calling her and her family scum while acting like they did. Nobody here had turned an entire species into legal slaves, or dismantled a thousands of years old culture just because its people had fur and claws. Nobody here tortured prisoners for fun when their only crime was being born a certain place. Nobody here was the lapdog of a group of self-proclaimed gods who tortured and murdered everyone who wasn't part of their exclusive little group.

This ship, this crew, it was a home for the people that marines like this ostracized. People who were different, people who were amazing in their own ways that the world government didn't appreciate. Scum? Maybe they were by this world's standards. They didn't fit into the neat little mold the world government had laid out for them... and they refused to be reduced like that. Refused to be herded like cattle and slaughtered at the whims of some arrogant "gods" for no reason other than being different, or curious, or being born somewhere the gods didn't like, or whatever bullshit justification they were using next.

Yanagi had only been on this ship less than a day, but she was as much part of the crew as anyone else here. Rejected by the world and the powers ruling it, she was one of them. An outcast, a misfit, someone who needed a home to return to because the world at large had taken it from her. She was part of their family now... and Onaka wasn't about to let the marines take away any more of her family without a fight!

"If you want her..." Onaka shouted back

----------------

Serena watched her blade shatter with dismay "Not AGAIN DAMNIT!" she cried "that blade lasted me years! I thought I was finally done having to get replacements! FUCK!"

Her dismay didn't stop her from grabbing hold of the harpoon and catching Yanagi though, the jolt would've been a problem if she didn't just absorb it, but with her power Yanagi would find herself gently coming to a stop in her arms, then being dragged back on board with her.

Assessing the situation, Serena figured they were dealing with a DFU and a dude with some incredible brute strength. She actually kinda regretted not thinking of using a fan herself since she was similarly blessed with brute strength and had a fruit power to crank it up even further. She was definitely stealing that fan later... but anyhow... So they had a marine who could turn invisible but was currently affected by the smoke and flickering in and out of view. Annoying if they recovered... but frankly the marine were in more danger sneaking aboard and messing around in the ship Ayane designed than they were.

That left the captain, the man Yanagi had described looking down on her and enjoying every cruelty inflicted upon her. Torturing her just for the fun of it.

"Sword!" Serena called, prompting a crewmate to toss her one of their spare blades. It hadn't happened in a little while, but they were used to Serena breaking blades when going all out, so there was always a few spares lying around to toss her way. It wouldn't hold up if she used her devil fruit with it for more than a strike or two... but it was still a sword.

Serena glared at the enemy captain with fury in her eyes. Yanagi might notice that hidden radiance she'd described earlier flaring up, as if it wanted to become unhidden and wash over the enemy... but it didn't. Even so anyone looking at Serena's face could feel the pressure of her cold rage. This man... he was just like them.

There was no way he was getting to lay another finger on her future wi... Yanagi. Damn that woman's energy was infectious or something.

"If you want her..." she shouted back

-----------------

Ayane quickly quarantined the engine room, the last thing they needed was someone sneaking in there while she was busy elsewhere... also keeping the seawater out was crucial since the fuel lines were created by her fruit for now and would vanish if too much seawater got on them.

Ayane was brought on deck by Isabelle without complaint. It was better to let the crew handle minor repairs like that anyway, from the sound of things fighting up here had gotten pretty rough. She didn't see herself as a warrior, but her powers did let her prove quite the nuisance to the enemy. She'd even won a few fights of her own over the years. Isabelle and the others kept saying to give herself more credit in battle... but she was an inventor and a shipwright, not a samurai like Yanagi, she just didn't see herself in that light.

Even so, she'd bring all her strength to bear here, as she heard the enemy captain make his demand.

She knew... all too well how the marines treated her people. She'd been lucky to find Onaka when she did, recently exiled, being tormented by marines at every turn and only barely escaping time and time again using her wits... Onaka had found her. Wounded, alone, scared, sobbing and wanting to just go home more than anything. She'd just about given up on her inventions, all they'd ever done was blow up in her face and hurt her... or those close to her. They were why she couldn't go home anymore... maybe it was best if she just put her tools away and gave up.

And then the Quillion pirates had come along, fighting off the marines pursuing her. A happy coincidence, but then Onaka heard her story and extended a hand down to her. Asked her to join her crew, to have a new home! And to hone her craft, not giving up on her dreams or the talents that made her special. That moment always shone through in her memories when she thought of the cruelty of marines.

The Sea Quill and the people aboard it were a haven from the marines. A home for people with no home to return to, like her... and now like Yanagi. And this damn fan-wielding scumbag wanted to take Yanagi from them? To steal her home away from her again? Like hell was she letting another one of her people go through that again. This was where Yanagi belonged now!

Ayane formed a gun in her hand and leveled it at the enemy captain. "If you want her..."

---------

In unison the three finished their declaration
"COME AND TAKE HER!"
"COME AND TAKE HER!"
"COME AND TAKE HER!"

"Come and Get Her!", The other crew members chimed in with their officers.

The captain grunted. He knew his most of his crew were not capable of battle now. On one hand, he could run away.... But on the other hand he would be immediately demoted if not the taskforce dissolved. He had too much riding on this, and upon hearing their declaration he was a bit befuddled. Pirate defending a prisoner?! It was preposterous, and with how that girl had kept stating she was from Wano and things he knew they knew where she came from. Still, that wasn't his concern to think too hard about. They were a criminal and prisoner transport crew, and the captain of the 66th Taskforce would not be embarrassed twice in the course of a week!

"Marines!.... Prepare to board! Ramming speed!". Instantly the plumes of white smoke that mixed with the black billowed thicker, and the group began their face off as the engines of the Marine Windchaser began heading towards the Sea Quill. Immediately, shots began to be fired, a majority of them landing short. In a few moments, the crews would clash. Moxie then cried havoc as they approached, "Take this you fucking Hypocrites!". As she pulled a lever, activating the battle platforms and forcing them to extend. Immediately the secondary turbines lost power to divert it towards the platform's teeth that were beginning to spin rapidly, before collision occurred, "Brace for Impact!".

In that moment, between the anticipation and the firefighting between the two there was a momentary lull. Then..... The sound of metal vs wood rang through the sea, the impact jarring them all, but giving Serena a massive boost to her Devil Fruit, almost too much as the vibrations began to cause aches in her body starting at her joints.

Instantly, Marines began to attempt to flood into the Sea Quill, attempting to destroy the crew by using their own platforms as a means to close the gap, but it ultimately funneled them, creating the perfect defensive point, two to be exact that any of the fighters could engage upon as they were onslaughted by no less than 5 to 6 marines at a time, with the Quillon Grunts immediately falling into combat with any who slipped by. They had an objective, and now they were taking back everything.

Everyone leapt into action and Yanagi would take action herself. The last time, these ones caught her unawares but now she had others to rely on and help. But that didn't mean she had to foist the burden of handling her former captors upon them alone. What stood in the way of the one who took no short amount of glee in giving her pain was a bunch of grunts.

After seeing the fan in action and the combat abilities of the others, projectiles of Ayane might not be up to snuff and cause more harm if they were blown away by that fan. Onaka seemed to have things handled and Serena was off to handle the leader of this other crew herself.

"The least I can do is reduce their numbers!" she took a single step forward, shifted the position of herblade to her right then drew it back. "One Sword Style-Seiryu......" she swung it to her left while rotating her entire body, drawing in the marine grunts in close against their will with the sheer pressure of the swing alone. At the end of her swing, she managed to sheathe it as the pressure of the wave drew them in closer. SHe then drew her weapon in the next instant and unleashed an equally forceful shockwave from the quickdraw swing, sending all of the ones close to her flying off backward. "...Dragonshout!"

If the way was clear enough, she'd make her way toward the man with the fan who she had wanted payback against.

Serena wouldn't even flinch as the man's strike struck her face... and would stop dead in its tracks thanks to her devil fruit. Her gaze was cold, burning with a venmous fury that oozed out of her "Justice huh? You marines just love talking about it, like you have the slightest idea what it actually is"

Serena would reach up and grab the man's arm and squeeze, using the energy from his attack just now to make her grip ever tighter and crush the arm "I'm well aware there are plenty of awful pirates out there, but I've met even worse marines. Seen whole villages burned to the ground because they wouldn't cater to your whims, seen men and women tortured for the entertainment of your higher ups, seen entire islands living in fear of their so-called protectors because of how corrupt they were. Justice? You people don't know the first thing about it... it's tiresome being talked down to by people so ignorant all the time."

With a grunt Serena would spin and hurl the man into the mast again. "that iron body of yours is interesting though, keep using it. Maybe if you endure my attacks long enough you might have an opening to turn the tide... maybe"

She knew fully well he wouldn't. His physical strength and wind gusts were both of no threat to her. His crew was outmatched too. Originally she just wanted to drag the fight out a bit to vent some frustrations onto him. But seeing he had some sort of technique to increase his durability somehow... now she was in it for personal gain as well. How had he done it? That fan couldn't have stopped her strike alone... so it was a body technique... something like shave maybe? She'd only really seen cipher pool using shave consistently around her, mostly to come and go while reporting to the dragons, but she knew from eavesdropping there were other powers they had... was this one of them?

In that case it was one she could learn, and then one she could teach the others. This man had just gone from a scumbag to beat up for fun to a valuable source of information. She was unaware of Yanagi coming to get involved in the fight, instead focused entirely on her own battle. She only spared a little bit of attention for the lingering possibility their DFU would pop up to attack her, since he was the biggest unknown in this fight for now.

"Come on, try swinging at me again. I'm sure it'll work this time" Serena taunted

--------------

Onaka quickly found herself surrounded, not a bad strategy for the marines, not wanting to line up and be cut down again... unfortunately for them she was a porcupine mink, and as they came in at her in unison they just opened themselves up for more pain

"Pincushion!"

Onaka bent over as the quills on her back grew out violently, skewering the marines around her as they came in. She'd then rotate to throw them off of her quills so they wouldn't weigh her down, then hopped back to let more marines file onto the landing pad and prepared to hit them with another razor shave.

"This is one of the task forces we were spending so long preparing to deal with? Man it's almost a letdown after taking 5 years to ready ourselves. I'm not sure if Serena was overselling them or we're just overprepared... but these guys are chumps!" Onaka chuckled

--------------

Ayane giggled as her test subjects became wary of her, she might not have been as much of a fighter as the others, but these poking and prodding attacks were jokes.

"Come on boys, I can't test out this thing's power if you're all hiding over there~ Oh well guess we're going for test two then."

Hopping back onto the ship proper, Ayane touched the landing platform with the tip of her spear and pressed a button on the shaft, activating the electrical current that would shoot through the metal landing pad and electrify the poor marines standing on it. Considering the voltage passing through them while diffused over an area... it seemed the marines were right to not want to be struck directly by the thing.

"Oh my, output is higher than projected! Lucky me~" Ayane said sweetly, then spotted the firing line of riflemen. That was a problem... she couldn't risk making explosives that far away though, Serena had their captain busy but overusing her power to make explosions was just asking for trouble, not least of all because the more things she created in succession the greater the chance her concentration would slip and she'd make something incorrectly. Yanagi had crossed to the enemy ship already and could maybe take care of it, but just in case she didn't... Ayane needed to slow those riflemen down long enough for her to refocus a bit and make a full scale attack to wipe them out.

So for now she just made a single smoke bomb in her hands and chucked it at the railing the marines were lining up at. It was normal smoke, not payload smoke, but it would still prevent them from acquiring targets for a little bit.

"Isabelle! Moxie! Take over for a moment. I'm gonna salvo and wipe these grunts out in one big swoop!" Ayane called as she turned the electrical spear off, it'd take a little bit to recharge anyway after diffusing it's full voltage out like that. She made a mental note to improve the power supply on the thing when she got the chance. But for now... she pulled a blueprint out from a carrying case at her side, reading it over to refresh the details of the machine in her mind so she could replicate it properly. She was counting on her crewmates to buy her the moments she needed to do so... though the residual electricity in the landing platform and the terrifying displays she'd already done might just deter the marines from coming at her on their own.

The shock came as just that, as a group of marines immediately felt the diluted but powerful surge of stunning electricity, as several of them fainted on the spot or fell over into the water. Immediately after Ayane's request to be covered, Moxie and Isabella followed up, this time pushing into their enemies as they leapt over the electrified platform into the crowd. Even more, Ayane's target's didn't even get a chance to fire, as the sound of rotating cannons was accompanied by a blast, as one section of the enemy ship blew clean off killing and blasting back marines, "We got guns too assholes!" The familiar sound of their long armed grunt voiced. "Ayane! Yanagi needs a mask!".

Immediately as Yanagi attempted to board she'd begin to feel her eyes water, and the foul putrid stench of what could only be called rotten eggs fill her nose and taste buds. It was clear now why these marines were sputtering. Still, retreating enough she could cut down several bullets, though so d
Far most missed their marks.

Onaka would find that her opponents didn't expect the counter, and quickly ended up getting wounded, javelin like quill effortlessly releasing from Onaka. They'd grow back quickly enough, as the marines gripped their wounds and fell back. The marine forces were three times Quillion size, but the number of immediate injuries and their affliction had forced them to realize they were outmatched.

However, the Windchasers weren't a taskforce for nothing, as a single chain and sickle flew through the air and towards Yanagi from outside of the smoke. Ayane would suddenly find that the moment she set down her briefcase that it would disappear, and the sound of footsteps on metal were beginning to run off to her left. Onaka would hear, "Make Way! Wind piercer!" Before suddenly the marines ducked and Onaka would see a spear soaring towards her.

Meanwhile Serena would twist the arm of the man before her, but it was clear he could withstand his own attack force as he endured it, and his arm didn't break. "Even if you pirates don't harm innocence, you deny the Law!". He stated before getting tossed back into the mast. The initial devastating strike had done significant damage, but the captain quickly came to an assumption. "With that said.... You're a Devil Fruit User... Aren't you? You devils of the sea.... Do you not realize that simply eating that cursed fruit can only bring pain and misery? Just like those from Wano! Now I have no choice. I was going to offer her a position on my crew if she had only turned herself in, but since she has allied herself with you I have no choice.... WINDCHASERS! FLY!". Immediately the captain rushed forward again, however, instead of aiming at Serena herself, he aimed at the wooden boards under her feet, deducing that direct attacks weren't effective, before opening the fan and lifting the broken planks up, "Rising Wind". As he attempted to yeet Serena into the air by removing her footing from below her.

Yanagi stopped short and covered her mouth. That smell and the watering of her eyes. It was nigh unbearable! Smokescreens were one thing but this was no mere smokescreen. She hadn't anticipated a thing like this to slow her down and was already determined to push through it with grit and determination. Unfortunately, her body wasn't going to let her do much in the way of progressing.

That is, until, someone managed to get a mask on her. With it, she took a deep breath and felt the symptoms lessening to where she could manage again. "Thank you...nhck!" she managed to cough out before resuming her rush toward where she last witness Serena going. There were definitely sounds of a fight happening beyond her current field of vision including a sudden creak and burst of wood. But her attention was zeroed in on the sickle that flew at her from seemingly nowhere.

She leaned to the left to avoud being struck directly with the chained weapon, feeling its edge graze her cheek. She stopped in place and held her blade up. "Coward! Attacking where I cannot see you! Show yourself!" she demanded in a muffled voice behind the mask.