The Blue Star Pirates' ship was a monstrous thing—a hybrid of pirate vessel and stolen Marine warship, plated with black steel and crimson sails bearing a five-pointed star. It loomed in the mist like a phantom, anchored just offshore of the abandoned port town of Sable Reef.
The sun barely pierced the grey clouds above, and the wind howled with tension. Haru stood at the bow of the Marine vessel, his long pink hair tied tightly behind his head, eyes locked on the pirate ship. Naomi stood beside him, axe already strapped to her arm. The moment was quiet, tense, broken only by the distant cry of gulls circling above.
"Remember the plan," Naomi said, voice low. "We flank from the south side. I handle their enforcers. You aim straight for Jasmine. Fast. Clean."
Haru nodded, but something gnawed at his chest. Ever since he saw Jasmine's face on that bounty poster, a haze had crept into his thoughts. A familiarity he couldn't quite explain. But now, as they approached the ship, that haze was becoming clearer. Sharper.
"Let's go," he said.
With swift precision, the Marines launched their assault. Naomi led the charge, cutting down the deck guards with terrifying speed and accuracy, her axe slicing through steel and bone alike. Haru moved like a storm through the chaos—his dual blades, Odachi and Honjo, flashing with armament Haki as he cut through the Blue Star pirates.
The crew wasn't weak. They were experienced, cruel, and vicious. But Haru had trained with a legend. And Naomi? Naomi was a demon with her weapon.
The ship tilted as cannon fire shook the decks, but neither Haru nor Naomi faltered. Every step Haru took brought him closer to Jasmine's cabin—the heart of the ship and the source of the storm in his chest.
He kicked open the doors with force.
Inside, Jasmine sat on a throne-like chair made of carved driftwood and iron, legs crossed, wine glass in hand, her sword resting lazily by her side. Her eyes, however, were focused and ready.
"Well," she said, a mocking smile playing at her lips. "You must be the brat everyone's talking about."
Haru didn't speak. Not yet. He was frozen—staring into her face, a memory flickering to life.
It was faint, fractured… a memory not his own, but one passed down in fragments through emotion, trauma, blood. His mother's terrified expression. Running. Screaming. Indigo hair in the shadows. Laughter. Fire.
"You…" Haru breathed. "You were there."
Jasmine tilted her head. "Was I?"
Haru's fists tightened around his blades. "You were the one who killed her. You burned down our home."
Jasmine rose to her feet with a slow, catlike grace. "Oh, her. The woman who stole from us. The one who tried to run with that cursed child. Your mother."
Something inside Haru snapped.
He launched forward, blades igniting with darkened armament Haki. Jasmine caught his strike with her sword, the collision erupting into sparks. The room shook with the force of their clash. Haru struck again and again, his fury propelling each swing, but Jasmine was no amateur—she deflected with elegance, countering with brutal slashes.
"You know," she said between clashes, "she begged. Pleaded. All to protect you. What a waste."
Haru's aura exploded outward, the pressure in the room becoming suffocating. His left blade, Odachi, cut through Jasmine's defense, grazing her cheek.
"She didn't die in vain," he hissed. "She gave me this life. This strength."
They clashed again, swords ringing like bells of war.
Meanwhile, outside the cabin, Naomi had finished mopping the deck of resistance. She turned just in time to feel the pressure coming from the captain's quarters.
"Haru…" she muttered, sensing the storm inside.
Back in the cabin, Jasmine used her Devil Fruit—her body shimmered, suddenly encased in a reflective, crystalline armor. The Kagami Kagami no Mi—the Mirror-Mirror Fruit—allowed her to deflect attacks and create mirror duplicates of herself mid-fight. Haru now found himself facing three versions of Jasmine at once.
"Let's see how good you really are," all three spoke in unison.
Haru calmed his breath and closed his eyes. Observation Haki bloomed. He could feel the real Jasmine's aura—unstable, erratic. He darted toward the correct one, swinging Honjo with precise intent. The clone shattered like glass.
The second mirror Jasmine tried to strike from behind, but Haru ducked, rolled, and swept upward with Odachi, slicing her in two.
Only the real one remained.
Jasmine gritted her teeth, her armor cracking. "You've improved."
"This is for my mother," Haru growled.
Their blades met in one final crescendo. Haru's swords glowed with full-body Haki. Jasmine's armor shimmered as it struggled to hold form. Haru feinted left, then leapt into the air and crossed both blades in an 'X' formation.
"Twin Fang Slash!"
The impact blasted the cabin apart. Wood splintered. Walls cracked. Jasmine crashed through the back wall and into the deck.
Naomi arrived just in time to see Haru limping forward, exhausted but determined. Jasmine tried to rise, coughing blood, but Naomi placed a foot on her chest and leveled her axe.
"It's over."
Jasmine sneered. "You're all fools."
Haru stared down at her, breathing hard. "And you're a memory that ends today."
With that, Jasmine was officially captured.
—
That night, the deck of the Marine ship glowed under the moonlight as it made its way back toward G-1. Haru stood at the railing, staring out into the ocean. Naomi approached quietly and stood beside him.
"You did well," she said.
Haru didn't answer at first. "I thought I would feel better. Avenging her. But all I feel… is hollow."
Naomi placed a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't just fight for revenge. You fought for your future."
He looked at her, surprised.
She shrugged. "That's what Marines do. We carry pain, not to bury it—but to make sure it never happens again."
Haru smiled weakly. "You sound like someone I know."
Naomi smirked. "Guess I'm rubbing off on you."
As the waves rocked gently beneath them, Haru allowed himself a breath of peace. His mother's death had been avenged, but more importantly—her sacrifice had led him to this moment, this path.
And though the shadows of the past would never leave him entirely, Haru knew he wasn't alone anymore.
He had his blades.
He had Naomi.
And he had a purpose.
The journey was far from over—but for the first time in a long time… Haru felt ready for what came next.