The night shattered with thunderous explosions. Metal screamed. Fire erupted in waves across the dockyard as cannonballs crashed into the steel pier, sending shockwaves through the air. The Destiny's Bounty rocked in the distance, narrowly dodging a direct hit as flames licked its hull.
"Scatter!" Okada shouted, drawing his cutlass, the white mask gleaming in the firelight. He lunged toward the nearest attacker, his Haki-charged blade clashing against twin daggers.
Bolk roared, picking up a steel crate and hurling it at a trio of Syndicate goons, sending them flying like rag dolls. His mask cracked slightly from the force of a glancing blow, but he didn't stop. Every swing of his fists cracked ribs, shattered armor, sent blood splashing across the steel.
Nomsa vanished into the shadows, her form flickering behind crates and debris. One Syndicate enforcer cried out, clutching his throat before collapsing. Another didn't even get to scream. Her movements were precise, surgical.
"Jack! Disable that warship!" Okada barked through gritted teeth, slicing through an enemy's weapon and delivering a brutal uppercut to knock him unconscious.
Jack ducked behind a fallen beam, frantically pulling a spherical device from his satchel. "I've got a disruptor—but I need to get closer to the hull's reactor chamber. It's underneath—center of the dock!"
"Cover him!" Okada commanded, nodding at Merry.
Merry, whose mask was cracked open at the eye, gritted her teeth and raised her newly-forged daggers. "I hate this," she muttered, "but I'm not running."
She and Jack dashed through the chaos, dodging debris and enemy fire as Nomsa reappeared behind them, cutting down pursuers like a silent wraith.
On the warship, Knot stood unmoving, his long coat fluttering. His presence was suffocating. His eyes, glowing faintly red beneath a half-mask of polished black iron, locked on Okada.
"You're brave," he called down. "But bravery doesn't beat artillery."
He snapped his fingers.
From behind the warship, four mechanized sentinels emerged—tall humanoid machines, each engraved with the Crimson Syndicate's seal. Their arms transformed into cannons and spinning blades.
"Oh come on," Jack hissed.
"Change of plans," Okada muttered. "We split. Bolk, take right. Merry, left. Nomsa—back Jack. I'm taking the front."
He sprinted forward, faster than expected, faster than most could track. He clashed with one of the sentinels, his Haki exploding against its metal hide. Sparks flew. His sword dug halfway in—but didn't go through.
"These things are tougher than iron!" he shouted.
Bolk grabbed one by the leg and swung it like a flail into another. The sound was deafening. "I like 'em!" he bellowed.
Jack slid under a shipping crate and rolled out the disruptor. He clicked a dial. "Fifty seconds!" he warned.
Nomsa hurled a smoke bomb. Instantly, the docks were swallowed in a dense, red mist. Through it, she weaved like a ghost, stabbing joints, disabling limbs.
Merry was breathing hard, cornered by two enemies—but then, she flipped a boiling pot from her belt into one's face. Steam hissed and scalded. She screamed, slicing its tendon. "I'm not the cook tonight!"
Knot watched from the deck, unimpressed. With a hiss, he leapt down—his fall breaking concrete.
"You wanted a symbol, Okada?" he said, approaching. "Let me show you what symbols look like when they burn."
Okada turned toward him slowly, blade rising. "Let's find out who burns first."
They clashed.
Knot's blows were monstrous—each one causing shockwaves to ripple through the dock. Okada ducked, deflected, weaved—and struck back. But Knot's skin gleamed faintly under his coat. "Armament… and something more," Okada realized.
Knot grabbed his throat mid-slash and slammed him into the wall.
"You're not a pirate," he hissed. "You're a child in a mask."
Okada coughed, spat blood, then grinned beneath the cracked porcelain. "Then I'm a child who just robbed your warship."
The disruptor detonated.
A blinding pulse shot through the air. The warship flickered—then sparked—and the cannons drooped like melting wax. The sentinels froze mid-attack, eyes dimming.
Knot turned sharply. "What did you—"
Bolk came flying in from the side, fist first, and slammed Knot into a steel wall with a deafening crunch.
The docks went still.
The Syndicate fighters, seeing their sentinels disabled and leader crumpled, began retreating, dragging wounded with them.
The White Mask Pirates, bloodied, bruised, barely standing, regrouped near the still-smoking warship.
"We did it," Merry whispered, shaking.
"No," Jack said. "We survived. That's not the same."
Okada limped to the center, holding his side. "Get what we can from the ship. We've only got minutes before reinforcements come."
Nomsa looked to the smoke. "This was just the first move. They'll come harder."
Okada nodded, eyes burning beneath his mask. "Then we'll hit back harder."
to be continued...