I. The Lawless City and the Naval Challenge
The team moved quickly towards the energy-dense island Kaguya had detected. It turned out to be one of the de facto islands controlled by one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—a supply point the Navy tolerated to maintain the balance of power. The island was a mix of a military fortress and a black market.
"The Dimensional Anchor is on a hard-to-reach island to the east, but we can't swim in this ocean; it's too vast," Kaguya analyzed, looking at the waters. "We need a fast and sturdy vessel."
They landed on the roof of an abandoned warehouse, observing the port. There were several large pirate ships, perfect for their journey. Unfortunately, guarding the only sea exit and patrolling the dock was a high-caliber Navy Warship.
"A Frigate-Class Battleship. And I detect at least one officer with advanced Armament Haki," Erza reported, her scarlet eyes fixed on the ship.
Goku got excited. "Awesome! A boat fight! That sounds fun!"
"It's not fun, Goku. Armament Haki could block a Ki strike, and a battleship of this level would resist Erza's magical attacks," Kaguya warned. "We need a strategy of silent infiltration."
Tatsumaki looked at the explosion mage with disdain. "Silence. The answer is controlled brute force."
Megumin, however, saw an opportunity. She looked at the immense frigate and then at Tatsumaki.
"Allow me. A well-placed Explosion on the keel of that ship would sink it instantly. It's a job for an Arch-Mage."
Tatsumaki burst into a mocking laugh. "A one-trick pony Mage who can't even stand up after an attack. Do you want us to wait an hour while you take a nap? I can lift that ship and launch it into orbit without messing up my hair. Watch, you useless girl."
II. The Duel of Destruction
Tatsumaki concentrated her psychic power. An intense green aura surrounded her body, and the Navy frigate began to emit a sound of strain.
The Navy Commander, a bearded Vice Admiral, felt the immense pressure and reacted instantly. He concentrated his Haki at the ship's base.
"Armament Haki: Steel Shield!" the Vice Admiral shouted.
The frigate glowed with an invisible layer of defense. Tatsumaki tried to force the lift, but the Haki defense was surprisingly resistant to pure telekinesis. The ship vibrated violently, but it didn't move.
Tatsumaki grumbled in frustration. "Impossible! My power can lift cities!"
"Haki is neither Ki nor Mana, but concentrated will. Direct physical or psychic force is ineffective against it, as the defense is conceptual," Kaguya explained, recording the data with frustrating efficiency.
Megumin saw her moment of glory. If psychic force didn't work, then the world's most powerful magic would!
"Ha! Your little wind tricks are useless against will! But the pure power of creation and destruction cannot be denied!"
Megumin rose to the warehouse roof, raising her staff with fanatical determination.
"Hear! The roar of chaos! The annihilation of all form! I am Megumin, the wielder of the most fearsome magic this dimension has ever heard of!"
Dark, crimson energy began to concentrate over the staff. The surrounding air heated to the point of ignition. The Navy frigate, sensing the energy that was neither Haki nor Ki, panicked.
"That energy! It's something completely different! Fire the main cannon!" the Vice Admiral ordered.
"You don't have time, Vice Admiral without will!" Megumin shouted triumphantly. "My life is dedicated to this! EXPLOSIOOOOON!!!"
III. The Vanilla Warship
The blast was a thunder that shook the island. A column of fire and crimson energy, perfectly contained in an explosive radius, impacted directly on the center of the Navy frigate.
The ship, unable to defend itself against a magical force of such destructive purity, instantly disintegrated into a cloud of smoke and splinters. The explosion was so powerful that the impact created a massive wave, which fortunately did not make landfall.
But the most notable thing was the smell. The air, which moments before smelled of gunpowder and salt, was now saturated with the sweet, strange aroma of vanilla pudding with hints of citrus.
"Megumin! Why the smell of pudding?" Goku asked, wrinkling his nose, though excited by the attack's power.
"I brought too much divine pudding, and the Explosion energy burned it! It's a secondary reaction, a collateral effect of purification!" Megumin explained, collapsing to the ground utterly exhausted.
Tatsumaki looked at the smoking crater in the sea and the destroyed dock. For the first time, she was speechless, her face a mixture of envy and fury. "A one-hit mage who smells like dessert... and destroyed the target!"
Kaguya sighed, rubbing her temples. "Analysis: Discretion is impossible. The magical energy signature has been detected globally. In one hour, we will be pursued by the entire Navy fleet. The need for infiltration has transformed into a combat escape."
IV. The New Captain
Akiha had already descended to the dock and was boarding one of the fastest pirate ships, a three-masted schooner named The Solitary Ray.
"Get on board! We are now S-Class pirates!" Erza shouted, re-equipping an armor that allowed her to fly short distances.
Goku carried the exhausted Megumin on his back. "Amazing, Megumin! That was a great attack! Next time, you have to do it twice!"
"T... T... Twice..." Megumin murmured, fainting from excitement and exhaustion.
The Vice Admiral, who had jumped from the ship before the explosion using Haki, looked at his destroyed ship with fury. Then he looked at Goku, Erza, Tatsumaki... and the pirate ship beginning to set sail.
"Identify those demons! Bring the Admiral! Bring the Four Emperors! Whoever sank a Navy frigate with the smell of vanilla is challenging the World Government!"
Kaguya took the helm of The Solitary Ray, using her reverse engineering knowledge to navigate.
"Next destination: Anchor Island. The Devil Fruit user awaits us. But now, we'll have to face a much larger fleet. Hold on tight!"
The team, now accidental pirates with Megumin as their explosive passenger, launched themselves into the Grand Ocean, with the One Piece sun on the horizon.