Gin'iro island (II)

Gin'iro Island, to all appearances, was a place forgotten by the world and the world governments, its nature deemed wild and uncontrollable, the wind storm raged in the middle of the land surrounded by several jagged peaks.

The place was dead, its inhabitants mindlessly crowded the island, ever walking in circles, where their journey might never know an end. 

Sometimes thunder would fall from the sky on the black spotted rocks, blasting the less durable into smithereens and with it, the less fortunate mindless zombies would turn to ashes.

Old Gulam's heart wept as he tightly clutched the horn he blew at the beginning of the convention. He was an old man in the twilight of his years wearing an old tattered long cloak with the insignia of a skull with a sceptre between its teeth on its back.

The regret in his eyes and the grief didn't match the surrounding pirates' Festivity at the prospect of their leaders' triumph. How could he when he could spot the old faded cloaks similar to his? Worn by some of the undead madly charging at the pirates. 

' This eternity of suffering had held for far too long. '

His grief didn't diminish with the passing of years, he could remember it all like it was yesterday. How could he forget the face of his captain loading them onto a small boat while taking the full brunt of the Rocks pirates' pursuit. 

Rocks D. Xebec was relentless in his hunt, he was tempted by the idea of raising the dead bodies left in his wake, which made him fully command his fleet in pursuit.

The terror of Rocks D. Xebec's actions might've been erased from history, but his crew remains. acclaimed by the world as Yonkos, the last remaining echo of his era. Gulam swore to live the rest of his days damning them all in his heart.

 He was nothing more than a fifteen-year-old apprentice when it happened. The news of his Captain's devil fruit powers spread like wild flames across the new world.

His captain saw the movement of the Marines and endured their following onslaught, he knew he was sailing on borrowed time, in the crosshairs of both the world government who saw him as a threat and those who sought to harness his powers.

After the dissolution of their pirate crew, their captain sailed with his few remaining crewmates who couldn't bear the shame of leaving their captain to fend by himself, and the few undead he controlled. 

Gulam was left alone, he followed the news of his captain and the subsequent defeat he suffered under the Rocks pirates. Years would pass with no news of his captain, till he was unable to wait anymore, he set sail once again in search of the disbanded Rocks pirates. 

His search would lead him across the new world and the grand line in search of news. Maybe due to his persistence, he paid a heavy price for some intel that led him to Gin'iro Island.

However, he couldn't do anything as there were several hundred undead on the shores. He knew he couldn't do anything, he wasn't strong nor did he have a devil fruit. 

And so he came up with a lie, of a devil fruit capable of controlling the dead on the island, he hoped that they'd be able to clear the way for him to a least see the body of his captain.

At first, he was met with scepticism, no one believed his words regarding the fruit itself and the still moving dead bodies indicated that the fruit had already been consumed. 

Gulam didn't relent he kept trying and lying, saying that the devil's fruit powers would continue after death and that the original owner was already dead. 

Perhaps his persistence paid off in some way, the day came when he sailed with several ships of pirates to the island, only to watch them torn to shreds once they stepped on the island. 

Years would pass, His hair already turned grey in continuing his efforts, and the island's search for the devil fruit would blur from the minds of men like the ink from old pages.

The old legend would be rarely remembered, the island would become a place where pirates would convene to fight for supremacy and the thrill of battle, which would become a competition, the old convention. A game similar to Davy Back Fights.

Old Gulam stood on the bow of his ship, heart numb as he looked at the undead, who lived once, who had been led here in the past by him. 

'' A ship approaches. '' He heard a ruckus from the back. 

'' Who? Another participant! '' 

'' Probably, who would damn themselves by coming to the island other than a competitor. Rahaha '' 

'' Well, they are late. ''

'' Yeah, don't see them having a chance, the captains are far ahead. '' 

Old Gulam ignored the noise from the merry pirates and looked back to see a big ship larger than any ship present come visible. The first thing he noticed was the skull with nine snakes on the sails, the second was the two Sea Serpents pulling the ship. He smiled, a rather wicked smile.

' Maybe they'll be the one. '

'' It's the Kuja Pirates!! '' Someone shouted out loud. 

'' A SHICHIBUKAI!! '' 

'' MOVE!! GET THE SHIPS OUT OF THE WAY OR ELSE WE'LL BE TURNED TO STONE. '' 

'' MOVE IT. '' 

Chaos broke out as the pirate scrambled to make space for the rapidly approaching ship. Boa Hancock's reputation preceded her, her beauty was both the dream of many men and their nightmare. 

The petrified bodies she left on numerous islands were a testament to her fearsome power, a power amplified many times by her beauty.

Soon the ships moved out of the way, and the Kuja ship passed in silence amidst the wary glances of the pirates. 

'' We're safe for now '' 

They soon began murmuring. 

'' Would this be alright? The captain has no chance against her. '' 

'' SHH don't shout '' 

Old Gulam stood on the railing of his ship waiting for the Kuja pirates to stop. Once they did, he spotted a man and a beautiful woman standing atop the sea snake's head. 

'' Welcome to the Old convention. '' He will guide once again, as the herald that led thousands to their doom. But this time he felt a shiver down his spine as golden eyes peered at him from above.

________________________________________

" Who are you? " 

Alexander said while looking at the old man who addressed them.

" Me? I'm the Herald of the Old Convention. " 

' Old Convention.. '

Alexander's thoughts span, trying to remember if he had heard of something like this before. 

" I don't like the look in his eyes. " Hancock said. Her eyes narrowed at the harmless-looking smile the old man greeted them with.

She felt disgusted, something was unsettling about the Old man, like a vulture waiting to feast on their fall.

" I agree.. "

Alexander felt the same way his wife felt, there was something wrong with his demeanour and the way he carried himself. He didn't know how this feeling came to be but he did always trust his instincts.

" Is this Gin'iro island? "

" Yes this is the place, have you come for the Old Convention? "

' the old convention… '

Hancock thought while exchanging glances with her husband.

" What's the Old Convention? " she asked. 

Old Gulam's eyes shifted to her, he had to admit she was a great beauty. Even his old stone heart moved at her sight.

" Lower your gaze and answer. " Hancock said menacingly, where his eyes lingered didn't escape her notice.

"I-I'm sorry forgive this old man. " 

He lowered his head while pretending to stammer, he was an old fox who played a decades-long game.

" This place is where pirate crews meet every 5 years.. you see that vortex on the island. " he began speaking and doing his best to sell the temptations of acquiring a pirate fleet.

'' Never expected we'd encounter this here. '' Alexander felt surprised at the suddenness of the situation. Sabo directed them here but he didn't mention anything about a pirate convention.

'' Yes, Dear but it doesn't matter, we should get you the weapon he talked about. '' Hancock didn't even glance at the surrounding pirates if it wasn't Alexander's wish she wouldn't consider even coming here.

'' Sir, do you wish to participate? '' Gulam asked, he was nervous that they might decide to leave and his long-awaited dream of seeing his captain might dissipate. 

Alexander didn't respond, he took a look around at the surrounding ships, he spotted five different Jolly Rogers which meant that there were five pirate crews here. 

The first one he spotted was of a lion holding a skull in its mouth. 

The second was of two axes crossed on the head of a skull.

The third one was a cloud-like skull that emitted thunder.

The fourth one was a large skull penetrated by two arrows, this flag was accompanied by another belonging to big mom pirates.

The fifth type was the beasts pirates flag. 

" To which ship do you belong? " Alexander asked after analyzing the situation.

" I don't belong to any pirate crew. " He said.

" I'm merely an old man who found purpose in doing this. I gain nothing from it. "

Hancock raised an eyebrow, she felt that everything that came out of his mouth was fake. 

"It's true…You gain nothing from this and yet.. " she looked at the large undead horde. Then looked him sharply in the eye.

" You keep leading these people to a land of death. What do you make of this dear husband? "

" Ha ha, the old man might be playing games. " Alexander laughed and looked around, dead silence prevailed amidst the pirates.

" Why did you ignore this old man's schemes? " He said loudly.

" Is this why your captains went alone? For fear of turning you? "

The pirates stared back at the old man in silence. They heard him, they weren't dumb. They knew the man's presence every five years wasn't purely for announcing the start of the convention.

But he was weak, not warranting any attention from them, or for his schemes. In the end, strength crushes everything. Especially someone who's already one foot in the grave.

" The old man is a relic, there's no harm in keeping him. As he's a part of tradition. " 

A female pirate replied.

" As for whatever he's planning… it doesn't matter, the captains know it and we know it. He's looking for his captain and that at least warrants some respect. " 

Silence prevailed as everyone stared silently at Old Gulam. He felt the hair on his frail skin standing. He looked bewildered and shocked.

But it took him only a moment to regain his composure as he spoke, his voice hoarse like the grinding of Wheels.

" How did you know? " His tone changed as if he was another person.

" Hahaha, do you think no one knows, after all those years? "

" You underestimated us pirates too much. " 

" Everyone heard about what happens on this island, and especially you, the one who always comes back no matter the outcome. You don't look that trustworthy either kakakak "

The pirates started laughing without care as everyone said their piece, each word made the mask he thought was perfect crumble little by little.

" You are a relic old man, of past glories, of infamous fleets who formed here. And that's why you're alive" The female pirate said while looking at him with ridicule.

" Ha ha, how amusing, and I thought I was the only one who was smart enough to figure it out. What do you say Hancock I underestimated these little pirates, didn't I? " 

Alexander broke out in laughter, he was proven wrong about these pirates. Which made him recalculate himself and his own train of thought.

" No, you're far more intelligent than you give yourself credit for. " Hancock was quick to reply as she held his hand. However, everyone else had to cringe and grind their teeth in annoyance at her words.

Old Gulam who had been lowering his head the whole time, lifted his gaze and looked at Hancock and Alexander with indifference.

" Would you like to participate too? " 

Alexander looked at him and said word by word.

" Why wouldn't we? " 

At the fall of his words, two bursts of Conqueror's Haki burst out, thunder rumbled far above, the clouds churned, and the sea threw the ships around like frail logs.

' I might have overreached myself here. ' 

He thought as he watched countless pirates hitting the shipwood face first.

Sweat poured down from his forehead as two demon-like pairs of eyes fixed on him. However he felt excited, He grinned, and then he too passed out.

____________________________________

A silver-white silhouette darted amidst the seemingly endless numbers of undead with grâce.

Each time the horde tried to take her by surprise they would be torn to shreds in an instant.

Not far from the silhouette was a tall man wielding an axe. He'd swing his axe in an arc. Each time a number of undeads would fall suit to the crescent beam he unleashed.

*Roar*

A lion roar sounded as the white silhouette grazed him by.

" Damn it Andretta I'll tear you to shreds. " He swung his Axe, unleashing a wide beam speeding forward.

However, an amused chuckle sounded, the three-metre-tall silhouette jumped high then landed revealing a three-metre-tall lioness.

It started shrinking to finally reveal the figure of a silver-haired female, she wore a black kimono under a black coat.

" You're too slow you brute. " She chuckled while sweeping her hair back.

The man's eyes turned red, he didn't tolerate her words or her presence.

" One day I'll split you in too. " He said while grinding his teeth.

The woman's reply was another chuckle. She turned around and looked at the woman hovering on a cloud behind them. She was evading skilfully while yelping in panic from time to time.

" Oi, what's she doing? " 

'' Sabines, you shouldn't have come here. '' She shouted.

'' She's bit craven ain't she? '' Axe replied, then a second later he turned to Andretta and said unamusedly. 

'' Hey, don't change the subject, you were attacking me earlier. '' He lifted his Axe about to attack, but in the next second he stopped, his eyes constricted as he looked back to where the ships were, Andretta and Sabines were the same as they looked back, they felt it, two strong bursts of Supreme King Haki. 

A few seconds later, Andretta began to chuckle while licking her lips. 

'' We're bout to be assimilated boys and girls. '' 

Axe looked with a serious expression unamused with the whole situation. 

' A strong contender has come. ' 

This made things even more difficult as they were already dealing with two pirates affiliated with Yonkos. 

'' There's no turning back. '' Sabines approached riding on her cloud, while still continuing to bash the undead with her long batton.

'' We'll be the ones to lose everything, as for those two Yonko followers, they wouldn't dare to mess with them. '' Axe replied. 

Sabines swung her claws at the incoming enemies while still paying attention to the other two. 

'' If they are strong, I have no objection. After all the strong was meant to lead. '' 

'' Speak about yourself, I'll be the one to finish first. '' Axe replied, annoyed at how she already considered the unknown visitors to be the winners. 

'' Hahaha '' Ariadne laughed it off and continued her onslaught, but this time she took a hybrid form, moving way faster than before. 

_______________________________________________________________

*BOOM* 

Alexander and Hancock rapidly descended from the air amidst the thinned horde of the Undead.

A crater formed surrounding their landfall, then slowly they walked from the smoke. 

'' Shall we begin? '' Alexander's relaxed voice came as he looked uninterested at the Undead rapidly approaching.

" They look like rabid dogs. '' Hancock said while observing their crazed twisted appearance. 

'' A valid reason to put them down." Her Husband replied and took a step forward.

He shook his arm, a black-golden colour rapidly covering it. He took a breath and then lowered his stance. This time he decided to do something different than usual, he fused his Armament haki with Supreme King Haki. 

Then it happened, the air churned, the sand under his feet picked up speed and shot up the sky as intense Golden light generated from his first. 

He took a step forward and swung against the air. 

*BOOM* 

An intense shockwave spread from where he struck the air, it felt as if he was splitting space apart, it was followed by an intense Radiant light that could be seen from miles apart.. Then the aftermath followed with destruction that ate everything for hundreds of meters.

'' Shall we go now? '' He said while extending his arm for his wife, behind him the earth was desolate as a ten meters wide path cut for hundreds of meters with nothing but smoke and destruction.

'' I'd love to. '' She smiled slightly while taking his arm into hers. 

" Say should we take these little pirates under our wing?"

" we'll do whatever you like… " 

" Hey don't deny that you like the idea. " 

" I'm not denying it dear. " 

" But you didn't say whether you like it or not. "

" As long as you like it. " 

" You keep repeating it, come here. " 

" Alexander, no please. "

" Ahhh!! "