21 Name
1472 of The Sea Calendar.
As the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting a golden glow over the vast expanse of the sea, a pirate ship cut through the waves recklessly. Its ragged sails billowed in the wind, its hull adorned with the scars of countless battles and plundered treasures.
On the deck, a motley crew of pirates laughed and caroused, their voices carrying on the salty breeze as they reveled in their ill-gotten gains. But their merriment was short-lived, because on the distant horizon, a sight loomed into view.
"Hey you're kidding me right, it's the goddamn Marines!" one of the crew members shouted to notify the others.
"Who is it this time? Can you tell?" another crew member asked as he tried to maintain his composure.
"Give me a second.. damn it! It's 'Hercule The Noble', we're done!"
"The Noble!? That freak! Sail faster!"
"Why did it have to be him? I thought he rarely leaves their headquarters."
"Shit! We're probably the unlucky ones he has chosen this time."
"Shut up and steer the boat you idiot!"
Among the crew, panic spread like wildfire as they scrambled to action, their shouts of alarm mingling with the frenzied clatter of feet on the wooden deck. Desperate hands pulled at rigging and furled sails, while the captain barked orders in a futile attempt to outrun their pursuer.
On the sleek and imposing marine ship, its hull gleaming in the fading light, Hercule calmly observed the Pirate's futile attempt to escape their fate.
As Hercule approached the ship's bow, with each step, the wooden planks groaned beneath his weight. His Marine Cloak billowed in the salty breeze, the insignia of Justice emblazoned proudly upon his back.
"Rear Admiral Hercule Sir! That's the group you were inquiring about." a marine reported to Hercule, who then responded with a nod of approval.
As he reached the prow of the ship, Hercule paused, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of the silver hued katana sword strapped to his side. With a fluid motion, he drew the weapon from its scabbard, the gleaming blade catching the sunlight as it arced through the air.
With a 'Woosh!', Hercule swung the sword in a sweeping arc, its razor-sharp edge slicing through the air with deadly precision. In an instant, the sea itself parted before him, a massive trench opening up in the sea, cleaved by the slash of Hercule.
But the ocean wasn't Hercule's target, with precise accuracy, the strike continued its path towards the pirate ship, its sails billowing in the wind like the wings of a malevolent bird.
'Crackkk!'
As the sword slash made contact with the pirate ship, a deafening roar echoed across the water, 'Boom!' the sound of splintering wood and snapping rigging reverberating through the air. The ship groaned and buckled under the force of the impact, it's hull cleaved in half by the sheer force of Hercule slash.
This is the reality of these cruel seas, at one moment you could be experiencing the ecstasy the seas grant and the next moment… Dead.
In the aftermath of the attack, silence descended over the scene, broken only by the gentle lapping of waves against the shattered remnants of the pirate ship, with floating ship parts and bodies floating above the sea.
"Woah! no matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed." a robust marine exclaimed.
"Me too, it's such a shame, Hercule rarely takes action, if he was deployed like Garp and Sengoku, even Zephyr then.."
"Set sail, we're returning to the headquarters, I think I've broken a record for being away for so long this time." Hercule interrupted his crew members discussion.
"Yes Sir!!"
'Sigh.. I wonder how those shameless guys are doing'
It's been a few years since Hercule has joined the Navy, Hercule was now 22 years old, and it's not that he can't talk to his parents everyday if he chose to, but he and Ephon both decided against doing so very often.
After joining the Navy, like his father advised, Hercule focused more on building his name within the navy as opposed to building up his fame in the seas, and it's not that he couldn't if he wanted to.
The only time he would leave the Navy Headquarter is when he wants to challenge prominent swordsmen, and times like these, when he has investigated a pirate group that caused harm to civilians or is difficult for his fellow marines to handle.
"Sir, you told us to notify you when we received news about this rookie, he's in the news again."
"Oh.. Give it to me."
"Hmm.. 'Rookie pirate Gol D. Roger has once again escaped the pursuit of the Marines'."
Reading the title, Hercule couldn't help but think about his dad's words to him.
'Listen Hercule, 'The first Era that you will bear witness to, is the Era of the 'Rocks Pirates', a pirate group in which, it's main cadres will poses Admiral level strength and many poses potential beyond that, but despite possessing such strength, their Era will be ended by Roger and Garp, of course they weren't alone, but they did play a very important role.'
'Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, and Monkey D. Garp, the will of D. The World Government, the more I travel the seas the more I realize how much of a freak of nature my old man truly is.'
Thinking about his dad's strength and knowledge, Hercule felt like his old man was too abnormal.
…
Kong was seated in his office and alongside him was, Tsuru, and Zephyr, two future pillars of the Navy.
They were currently discussing information about the whereabouts of one of the biggest pirate groups since NF pirates, 'The Rocks Pirates'.
"Another island has been destroyed by them, and even if we catch them in the act, unless the vice admirals and admiral are present, we'll be sending ourselves to die."
Tsuru voiced as she looked at the report on Kong's desk with a grave expression.
"Why are all the powerhouses becoming Pirates?"
Zephyr questioned with a look of disappointment, he felt like with great strength comes great responsibility and that responsibility should be to protect the weak not harm them.
"Sigh.. it's always been like this Zephyr, but we on the side of justice should never doubt our own justice because of their atrocities." Kong informed the two.
"So how do you plan to deal with them Kong sama?"
The current Tsuru, was quite beautiful, she had dark blue hair tied up in a loose ponytail, with side bangs that frame both sides of her smooth face.
"The best course of action is to eliminate them individually, but even that is difficult to accomplish. We need more admiral level combatants." Kong spoke his thoughts out loud.
"And we can't exactly allow them to roam freely for too long, they would usually attack all WG affiliated countries, which is filled with innocent civilians." Zephyr added.
'If only they were like NF, I don't don't know if the navy from that time are lucky or unlucky to have been active in the same Era as those monsters.' Kong thought.
"Wait, where's Hercule?" Kong suddenly asked.
"He went out on another one of his hunts, he should be back anytime now." Tsuru revealed nonchalantly.
"Haha, at least it's not a swordsman this time, and we all know that when that guy makes a move on a pirate group, they are usually the evil type that is difficult for the other marines to deal with."
Hearing Zephyr's words, Kong leaned forward, furrowing his brow, as he fell into deep contemplation.
