Noah got up, put on his clothes, grabbed his sword, and walked outside.
The world around him was completely white.
There was no sea.
No land.
No sun.
Nothing but endless white.
"I see... I must still be dreaming," Noah said. "This must be the ability of a Devil Fruit user."
A laugh echoed through the empty world.
"So, it seems you've figured it out."
A young woman appeared out of nowhere.
"My name is Leyla. I ate the Dream-Dream Fruit. It lets me control dreams."
"I see," Noah replied. "As beautiful as you are, I'm not much of a dreamer."
Leyla smiled.
"Thank you. But I can't let you leave. I'll kill you in your dream... then I'll kill your friends."
Noah took one step forward.
His Haki burst from his body.
"Yeah... I'm leaving."
Ancient Haki: Will of the First King.
BOOM!
A terrifying pressure exploded across the dream world.
Leyla's eyes widened.
"W-What is this pressure...?"
Cracks spread across the white world as if the dream itself was breaking apart.
Noah opened his eyes.This time, he had truly woken up.
[Inside Noah's Mind]
"You need to be more careful from here on out, boy," a voice said.
"Thanks for the warning," Noah replied.
Suddenly...
CLANG!
The sound of swords crashing together echoed from outside.
Noah rushed out of the cabin.
Not far from the Scarlett, he saw Emma fighting against several of the king's warriors.
CLANG!
Their swords crashed together.
PING!
Emma knocked one blade aside and spun.
PONG!
She ducked under another sword.
SLASH!
Her blade cut across a man's chest.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Another warrior charged.
Emma stepped forward.
CLASH!
Their swords locked.
She kicked him in the stomach, making him stumble.
SLASH!
His arm fell to the ground.
He screamed before Emma ended it with one clean strike.
Two more rushed at her together.
Emma smiled.
"You two are too slow."
She disappeared.
FLASH!
She appeared behind them.
SLASH!
Both men froze.
A line of blood appeared across their backs before they collapsed.
Emma slowly wiped the blood from her sword.
She turned around and looked up.
She saw Noah standing on the deck, watching everything.
"You're finally awake," Emma said.
Noah sighed.
"I was trapped inside a dream world."
Amy, Alice, and Nyx walked onto the deck.
"How are Airi and Kiru?" Noah asked.
"They're doing great," Alice replied.
"It looks like while we were sleeping, the king sent assassins and warriors after us," Noah said.
"So, what's the plan?" Emma asked as she cleaned the blood from her sword.
Noah smiled.
"Let's take the fight to them instead."
MEANWHILE...
Leyla knelt before the king.
"I have failed to kill him in his dream, my lord."
"That's fine," the king said calmly. "Get the men ready. We're heading straight for their ship."
He slowly stood from his throne.
"Leyla... Scorpio... Frost... Dark Black..."
"I want you four to lead the knights in this battle."
The four assassins nodded.
"Ligeon... Oskar... you two have a different mission."
"Yes, sir," they answered together.
The king laughed.
"Now... let's see you escape this, destoyer."
ONE HOUR LATER...
"Can you guys sense that?" Amy asked.
"Yeah," Alice replied. "A large group of people is heading our way. And from what I can sense... there are a lot of them."
"One thousand, two hundred and forty six to be exact," Nyx said.
Noah grinned.
"Then let's meet them halfway."
Vector Manipulation: Flying Thunder God.
Blip! ⚡️
The five of them vanished, leaving Airi and Kiru behind on the Scarlett.
A moment later...
Blip! ⚡️
Noah and his crew appeared about twenty feet away from their enemies.
"My, my," Leyla said with a smile. "It seems they came to us."
"Let's hurry up and kill them," Frost said with a yawn.
"You guys sure talk big for a bunch of weak trash," Emma said.
Noah looked at his crew.
"Listen up."
"Nyx, you deal with Leyla."
"I'll fight the one with the black clothes."
"Amy, I want you to take on the blue-haired girl."
"Alice, you take the yellow-haired guy."
"Emma, handle these knights. Once you're done, head back to the ship. I think the king has already figured out our plan."
"Right," Emma replied.
FLASH!
A blur shot straight at Noah.
Noah quickly unsheathed his sword.
PING!
Steel crashed against steel. Sparks flew in every direction.
"You really think you can do whatever you want?" the man said with a grin. "My name is Dark Black... and I'll be the one to kill you."
Noah smiled.
"We'll see."
With one swing of his sword.
BOOM!
Dark Black was thrown backward, his feet digging deep into the ground as he skidded across the battlefield.
Dark Black stopped himself and raised his weapon toward Noah and the others.
"Everyone... attack!"
"Yes, sir!"
The knights charged forward.
The ground shook beneath the feet of over a thousand warriors as they rushed toward Noah and his crew.
Noah smiled.
"Let's begin."