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Salt spray stung Lucas face as he gripped the Merry's rain-slick railing, watching Eric's cutter slice through the churning waves. The mercenary's purple hook-shaped hair glinted under the storm-darkened sky as his wind blades kept the shattered remains of his boat afloat.
"Fighting on the boat puts us at a disadvantage," Lucas muttered, rolling his injured shoulder where Eric's last attack had grazed him. "But I can hold my own in the water."
Usopp nudged him nervously, his long nose twitching. "Hey! If you're going to move, now's the time - he's coming back!"
Nami's warm hand brushed Lucas' arm as she flashed him an encouraging smile. "Go on, Vice-Captain. We're counting on you."
With a deep breath, Lucas vaulted over the railing. The icy seawater shocked his system as he plunged beneath the waves.
Splash!
'Damn, forgot to activate chakra!'
Yet instead of sinking, Lucas found himself breathing effortlessly, the water feeling as natural as air. Incredible. The Sea King's Blessing really works.
Above deck, Nami's eyes widened. "Usopp, is he seriously okay down there?"
Usopp puffed out his chest, though his knees still knocked together. "Of course! Lucas isn't just strong - he's a ninja! Right, Apis?"
The young girl clung to the rigging, her knuckles white. "B-but that man's nails can cut through steel!"
Beneath the surface, Lucas moved like a predator, his form cutting through the water with unnatural grace. The Sea King's Blessing made every movement effortless, the currents bending to his will. He could feel the vibrations of Eric's makeshift raft above him, the subtle shifts in the mercenary's stance.
'He's underestimating me.'
Lucas smirked, then shot upward like a torpedo, bursting through the surface in a spray of saltwater. Channeling chakra to his feet, he stood atop the waves, arms crossed.
Nami's voice rang out from the Merry, equal parts awe and concern. "He's—he's walking on the sea?!"
Eric's slit-like eyes narrowed behind his glasses, his hooked fingernails twitching. "You again?" His voice was a low, dangerous rasp. "How are you doing that?"
Lucas tapped the water with his foot, sending ripples across the surface. "Lucas, Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates." He grinned, channeling Usopp's bravado. "Just a little trick."
[Ding! Host's emotional spike detected. Mood value +1000.]
His legs trembled—not from fear, but exhilaration. This was it, his first real battle as vice-captain.
Eric scoffed, adjusting his pearl earrings. "Didn't expect the Straw Hats to have hidden power."
Lucas forced a smirk. "Oh, I'm way stronger than those three knuckleheads who boarded your fleet." The lie tasted bitter, but if it made Eric hesitate…
"We'll see about that."
Eric's purple hair bristled as he flexed his claw-like nails. The air around them grew heavy, the scent of ozone sharpening.
"First Strike – A Dance of Wind & Water"
Without warning, Eric's fingers slashed downward. Razor-edged wind blades screamed through the air, slicing the water where Lucas had stood moments before.
"Cheap shot!" Lucas spat, twisting mid-air to avoid the attack.
Eric smirked, his pearl earrings glinting. "No rules in war, ninja."
On the Merry, Usopp paled, gripping the railing. "He's gonna drown Lucas!"
Nami clenched her Clima-Tact, electricity crackling between its ends. "We have to..."
But Lucas was already moving. With a quick series of hand seals, he plunged back beneath the waves.
Underwater, Lucas became a shadow, circling Eric's position with predatory patience.
'Can't overpower him head-on… but the sea's my ally now.'
He pressed his hands against the hull of Eric's shattered boat.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The jutsu's force collided with the water, creating a violent whirlpool that swallowed the remaining wreckage. Eric barely leapt free, landing on a drifting plank with feline grace.
Lucas surfaced, grinning. "No boat, no footing. Game over."
Eric's lips curled into a sneer. "You talk too much." His wrist flicked, five wind blades arced toward Lucas in a deadly fan pattern.
Dodge!
Lucas twisted through the attacks, but one clipped his shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Lucas!" Apis cry carried from the crow's nest.
Gritting his teeth, Lucas formed another seal. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A pressurized jet erupted from his mouth, striking Eric's plank dead-center. The wood shattered into splinters. Eric snarled as he plummeted...
...only to skate across the waves, his nails gouging the water's surface like ice picks.
Lucas' jaw dropped. "That's cheating!"
Eric's grin was feral. "Adapt or die."
On the Merry, Nami's fingers tightened around her Clima-Tact. "Usopp, cover me!"
Usopp gulped but nocked a shot in his slingshot. "R-right! What's the plan?"
"We tip the scales."
She swung the staff, summoning a localized gust that sent a swell crashing toward Eric. The mercenary barely had time to react before the wave knocked him off-balance.
Lucas seized the opening. "Now!"
He surged forward, chakra flaring at his fists...
But Eric twisted mid-air, his nails flashing. "Wind Scythe: Crescent Moon!"
A crescent-shaped blade of wind tore through the space between them. Lucas barely dodged, but the attack grazed his side, drawing another line of red.
"Tch." Lucas wiped his mouth, grinning despite the sting. "You're good."
Eric adjusted his glasses, his smirk cold. "And you're still standing. That's… unexpected."
Meanwhile, aboard the nearest Marine warship, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji stood back-to-back in a triangle of devastation, surrounded by groaning soldiers.
Sanji kicked a Marine into the rigging, then lit a cigarette with trembling fingers. "Luffy, there's too many. We'll tire out at this rate."
Zoro severed a rifle barrel with Wado Ichimonji, not even bothering to look at his attacker. "Speak for yourself, cook. I could do this all day."
Sanji's eye twitched. "Oh? Then let's make it interesting." He launched into a spinning kick that took out three Marines. "Whoever takes down fewer buys drinks for a week."
Zoro smirked, his three swords becoming a blur. "You're on."
Luffy stretched his arms around the main mast, his straw hat shadowing his eyes. "Me too! Gum-Gum…" The rubber limbs coiled like springs. "Whirligig!"
He became a human tornado, flattening a dozen men like bowling pins.
A Marine lieutenant, bleeding from his temple, raised a trembling Den Den Mushi. "C-Commodore! We can't hold them—"
"FIRE THE CANNONS!"
A deafening boom echoed as the ship's artillery unleashed a barrage.
Sanji's eyes widened. "Luffy!!!"
"Got it!" Luffy's arms stretched impossibly wide, wrapping around the cannonballs mid-air. "Gum-Gum… Net!"
The projectiles tangled in his rubbery limbs before he spun and hurled them back. The Marine ship's mast exploded into splinters.
Zoro sheathed his swords as the last of the soldiers collapsed. "That's 42 for me."
Sanji scowled. "Tch. 39."
Luffy scratched his head. "Uh… I lost count!"
Inside the flagship's opulent cabin, Commodore Nelson Royal gorged himself on an entire roasted boar, grease staining his triple chin. The stench of sweat and meat hung thick in the air.
A trembling Major burst through the door, his uniform torn. "Sir! The Straw Hats have defeated over half our forces! If this continues..."
Nelson hurled a bone that embedded itself in the doorframe beside the Major's head. "Three children are humiliating my fleet?!"
The Major swallowed hard. "With respect, sir… their captain's bounty is thirty million. And the swordsman..."
Nelson's jowls quivered with rage, his sausage-like fingers crushing a wine goblet. "Where's that backstabbing mercenary, Eric?!"
"Engaging their vice-captain in the water, but…" The Major hesitated. "He's struggling."
"Useless!" Nelson's roar shook the cabin. "Deploy the Crane Wing Formation, trap their ship! And ready the Dragon Buster Cannon!"
The Major paled. "But the girl..."
"I want that dragon," Nelson hissed, spittle flying from his lips. "Even if I have to sink every last one of them to get it."
Outside, the chains of the Marine ships began to clank as they moved into position, forming a deadly half-circle around the Going Merry.
The battle was about to take a dark turn.
....
T/N: Thanks for the support from: Lam Sha, Black Widow, Hamza Masfar, Lord Of the Mysteries, Andrew, Jiri Stehule, trey hill, Agustin Monti, Tightless, Impulsionimulsion.