Three days earlier...
Exhausted, Kuina collapsed to her knees on the rocky ground, her breath steady but strained. Sweat clung to her forehead, her hands trembling faintly as she gripped her sword. Her eyes closed, recalling every movement, every mistake from her encounter with the Sea King that had nearly crushed her. She replayed the battle again and again in her mind — searching for what she lacked.
After a long silence, she muttered to herself, "It's too hard to use Heaven's Moon without relying on Inner Force. To unleash it through pure muscle strength alone... it's nearly impossible."
Though she hadn't managed to land a decisive blow against that Sea King Monarch, Kuina refused to let failure weigh her down. That encounter had given her something far more valuable — clarity.
Every day since, she trained relentlessly, her blade flashing through the dawn and dusk, her muscles screaming in protest, her mind sharpening with each swing. Over and over again, she sought that perfect form — a strike that combined physical will and spiritual stillness.
Now, back in the present —
The massive body of Arlong was suspended midair, his jagged blade raised high overhead as he came crashing down toward Kuina with the force of a collapsing mountain.
For an instant, Kuina could see it — that crimson moon rising behind her, not in the sky but within her soul. The air froze. Time slowed. A cold, red light shimmered around her form.
Arlong's instincts screamed. For the first time in years, the blood in his veins turned to ice.
"No!" he roared, the sound shaking his chest as he forced every ounce of strength he had into this one final strike. His body bulged with raw power, the scars across his flesh bursting open as blood sprayed into the air. "You damn human! I'll tear you apart!"
But the red moonlight only deepened.
Kuina's eyes snapped open — cold, sharp, beautiful, terrifying. Her voice came as a whisper, yet it cut through the chaos like thunder.
"Heaven's Moon."
She stepped forward.
Her blade moved once — a flash of scarlet light carving an arc so pure it seemed to slice through sound itself.
The motion was too quick for the eye to follow. It wasn't a strike — it was a moment of stillness, of inevitability.
Arlong froze midair. His eyes widened. His monstrous jaw fell open in disbelief as he stared down at the young girl who hadn't even broken her calm.
"So sharp... so fast..." he rasped, voice trembling as a crimson line opened across his chest. "You... terrifying... woman..."
His giant blade split cleanly in two.
A heartbeat later, his body followed.
He fell.
The crash that followed shook the earth, sending waves of dust rippling through Cocoyasi Village. Silence fell.
Kuina sheathed her sword in one smooth motion. Her uniform was torn and streaked with blood and dust, her breathing heavy but steady.
To the villagers who had been watching from afar — she didn't look human. She looked like something divine, distant and untouchable — a god of the blade who had descended to deliver judgment.
No one cheered. No one spoke. They could only watch in reverent awe.
"Hey, Bell-mère!" a familiar, teasing voice called. "Make sure the ones still breathing get patched up and tied down. The Marines will be here soon — we can cash in a nice bounty for this lot. As for the dead ones... do what you think's best."
Tina dusted off her hands, glancing toward Kuina's retreating figure before following after her, her voice faint but playful.
The villagers finally began to stir.
"So... that's it?" one man whispered in disbelief. "The Arlong Pirates... are gone?"
Another man slapped him across the shoulder, grinning wide. "They're gone, you idiot! That girl cut them down with her own two hands!"
A beat — then cheers erupted across the square.
Children laughed.
Women cried.
Men shouted until their voices went hoarse.
The weight that had suffocated the island for so long had finally lifted.
Bell-mère exhaled, a small smile tugging at her lips as she surveyed the broken battlefield. "Alright, everyone! You heard her — bury the dead fishmen. Patch up the ones still alive. The Marines will pick them up soon enough."
Villagers nodded and began moving at once, their laughter and relief filling the air.
Genzo, wiping blood from his brow, turned to Bell-mère and said quietly, "So... what do you think? How strong do you think that captain of theirs — Jin — really is?"
Bell-mère chuckled, lighting a cigarette despite the cuts across her arms. "Hard to say. But if those three girls are any indication... I'd say he's a monster."
She took a drag and winced as pain shot through her ribs. Blood seeped through the bandages wrapped hastily around her arm.
"Damn," she muttered with a cough, forcing a smirk, "Guess I'm still too soft. Can't even handle a few fishmen without nearly dying. What a joke."
Genzo placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "You did more than enough, Bell-mère. You're human. Those girls... they're something else. Monsters, maybe — but good ones."
Bell-mère laughed, smoke curling from her lips. "You're right. I'll take being human any day."
"Mom!"
Two small voices rang out. Nami and Nojiko ran through the crowd, tears streaking down their dirt-smudged faces as they flung themselves into Bell-mère's arms.
"Mom! You're bleeding!"
"Hey, hey," Bell-mère murmured, hugging them tight despite the pain. "I'm fine. Who do you think I am? I used to be a Marine, remember?"
Nami's eyes welled up again, her little fists clutching at her mother's sleeve. Bell-mère brushed her hair gently, smiling even through the exhaustion.
"See? I'm not going anywhere."
She looked up then — and saw Makino approaching with her calm, gentle smile.
"Makino," Bell-mère greeted, voice low but warm. "Don't worry so much. Your girls did just fine. Strongest I've ever seen."
Makino knelt beside her, taking out a clean cloth to wipe away the blood from Bell-mère's arm. Her voice was soft but proud. "I know. They're my family — and I trust them completely."
For a moment, both women shared a quiet look — two protectors, two mothers, one human and one unbreakable in spirit.
The air of fear that had once blanketed Cocoyasi Village was gone. What remained was the scent of salt, blood, and new beginnings.
Far above the village, on the hill where the old forge stood, the faint ring of steel echoed through the evening wind.
Jin's hammer fell one last time upon the half-forged blade that gleamed beneath the sunlight. He paused, eyes turning toward the horizon — toward the village below where smoke and cheers mingled.
He could sense it — the faint hum of Kuina's sword, the flare of her spirit as her blade tore through darkness.
A small smile touched his lips.
"So," he murmured, setting the hammer aside. "You've grown stronger again, Kuina."
The wind carried the faint sound of laughter — children's laughter — from far below.
Jin looked toward the sea. "Maybe... it's finally time to move again."
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T/N :
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