Scene 1 — Tsuru at Night (Moonlight & Reports)
Moonlight washed over the laboratory like liquid silver, casting pale shadows across the walls crowded with screens and scattered reports. Tsuru stood before the largest projection table, fingers brushing lightly over the glowing sheets of data. Her mind raced, sorting through every incoming report: sightings of two birds of fire streaking across the New World over the last six months, islands changing hands, minor crews clashing under the influence of larger powers.
Her gaze paused on a detailed map of Pirate Island. The logs indicated repeated skirmishes — small, vicious clashes between factions loyal to Shiki, LinLin, Wangshi, and minor crews that had taken advantage of the chaos. Tsuru frowned. Nothing suggested that the larger players had intervened directly, yet the instability was accelerating. The reports noted that the monsters of the island had begun abandoning their usual hiding places, but strangely, they did not attack openly. Their instincts, she realized, were finely tuned to the presence of the island's master. Whoever led them had left an invisible hand guiding the chaos.
The projections shifted automatically, showing the flight paths of the birds. Tsuru studied each streak of fire, analyzing the patterns. Were they tracking something? Claiming territory? Or testing strength? The data suggested intelligence beyond ordinary pirates — strategic, almost measured. Whoever was behind these sightings was exceptional, yet hidden.
Tsuru's fingers traced the chaotic map of Pirate Island, the lines connecting the minor skirmishes and scattered monster movements forming a web she could not yet untangle. Her lips pressed into a thin line. The birds' reports were merely fragments, hints at something she did not yet understand. But the rising chaos on Pirate Island suggested a catalyst, an absence of restraint that could destabilize even the best-laid plans.
A sharp knock at the lab door broke her concentration. Helena rushed in, eyes wide, holding a data tablet with trembling hands.
"Tsuru! Vegapunk… he's done something with Amber. She's stable now, but it was without any notification. He—he gave her a Devil Fruit."
Tsuru's gaze sharpened. She didn't know how it was done, only that the intervention had occurred. Her mind pivoted immediately to strategy, risk assessment, and containment. Whoever had acted had bypassed her authority, and that alone set off alarm bells.
"Pull up everything," she said calmly, though her fingers drummed restlessly on the table. "I want every sighting of the birds, every skirmish report, and every change on Pirate Island in the last six months. I don't care who authorized it. I need to see the consequences before we take the next step."
Helena hesitated. "Tsuru… the island… the birds… the monsters. It's unlike anything we've seen."
Tsuru's eyes narrowed. "Then we observe. The moon sees all, Helena. Let it illuminate every shadow before dawn. We will understand the catalyst soon enough."
The lab fell silent again, only the faint hum of machinery and the flicker of projection screens breaking the quiet. Tsuru's mind ran continuously, connecting each report, each fire streak, and each ripple of chaos. The unknown presence behind the birds was a variable she could not yet calculate, and that uncertainty weighed heavily in the stillness of the night.
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Scene 2 — Smoothie's Reflections / Dawn on Pirate Island (Fire & Devil Fruits)
The first light of dawn sliced through the smoke and ruin of Pirate Island, revealing shattered streets, smoldering buildings, and minor crews scuttling like ants away from monsters hiding at the edges. Kaido's laughter rolled across the horizon, shaking the city, while John and Wangshi clashed fiercely, sparks flying from their blades. Monsters that usually roamed freely hesitated, cautious of the unseen master still absent. Smoothie moved silently among it all, observing, taking in patterns — not to fight, but to learn.
She hadn't seen Crow in six months, yet fragments of stories had built a vivid image in her mind: a boy powerful enough that Rocks' top players had been dispatched to retrieve him. Her curiosity was sharp, her judgment already forming.
Seated with Gloriosa and two of Shakky's trusted women, she leaned forward, voice sharp, eyes narrowed. "Let's get this straight. Rocks has the fire logia, right? So this Crow… he must be some variation on that. Fire-based, destructive, and controllable. That's why Rocks sent the players."
Gloriosa exhaled slowly, smoke curling from her lips. "No, Smoothie. Rocks' Phoenix is a Mythical Zoan. The flames, the regeneration — they are part of the fruit, controlled, predictable. Crow's fruit… is natural. It's extraordinary, but it does not behave like a logia. The fire you hear about? That is not his fruit. It is his ki."
Smoothie's brow furrowed. "Ki? Then why are the reports describing black flames, destruction, energy out of control? Isn't that just the fruit?"
One of the younger women leaned in, voice low. "The lab tried to replicate Crow's fruit and his ki together. They failed. What they awoke was… something dangerous. The black energy, the rage — it is his natural essence. The elders used rituals and marks to attempt to contain demonic forces, but they did not expect this. The legends were true, but few believed."
Smoothie blinked. "So Rocks' Phoenix is just a reference? Crow's fire isn't comparable?"
Gloriosa's eyes glinted. "Exactly. Phoenix gives you a framework, a Mythical Zoan with fire. But Crow? His natural fruit is unique, and combined with his ki… it's unpredictable. Dangerous. A low mastery of the fruit doesn't weaken him — it hinders control, which makes him volatile. If he mastered both fully, none of us could contain him."
Smoothie's hands clenched. Her hostility toward Crow's unknown power was clear, but the women caught the flicker of curiosity behind it. She wasn't reporting this to LinLin — she was assessing. Calculating.
Another woman added a final note, voice quiet, almost reverent. "His scars, the lab experiments… they tried to suppress demonic energy, but failed. Crow's abilities are something the elders only spoke of as legend. Young ones did not believe it, but it is real."
Gloriosa leaned in slightly, a teasing edge in her voice. "Seems the little empress has found herself a dark knight to chase after… a force that even your mother would pause before claiming. Be careful how you handle him, Smoothie. Some players are far more dangerous than they appear."
Smoothie's gaze darkened. "So the boy Rocks chased is… nothing like I imagined. He's not just fire, he's… energy itself. Unpredictable. Uncontainable."
Gloriosa nodded. "Rocks' fruit is complete, studied, mastered. Crow's fruit is wild, raw, tied to him in ways no one else can replicate. That is the difference. That is why you do not attempt to compare the two. And yes — it is why Rocks sent players. To retrieve someone whose potential is… unmeasured."
Smoothie leaned back, realizing the gap between what she had assumed and the truth. "So all my assumptions about the fire logia were wrong. Crow isn't just another fruit user… he's a force waiting to be fully understood."
Outside, the sun climbed higher, illuminating Pirate Island's chaos and the monsters hiding at the edges. Smoothie's mind traced the streets, the monsters, the fights, and the reports — a web of potential and danger, where one boy could tip the scales entirely.
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Scene 3 — Dawn Confrontation: Tsuru & Vegapunk (Emotional Climax & Lost Opportunity)
The lab was quiet, save for the low hum of machinery and the faint buzz of holographic projectors. Pale sunlight crept in through the windows, brushing the surfaces with gold.
Tsuru entered, her boots soft but deliberate on the polished floor. Every movement was precise, controlled — a predator moving in silence.
"Vegapunk," she said, voice measured, sharp, cutting through the quiet. "Explain everything. Now."
The folder on the console blinked open, triggered by her voice. Holograms flickered to life: Crow in his normal form, guiding Amber. Her body was weak, barely sustaining itself, as black energy coiled and pulsed around him. Yet he moved with restraint, channeling life into her with absolute control.
Vegapunk froze. Memory wiped. He had no conscious recollection of contacting Crow, no awareness of the destroyed method, nothing. And yet, the instant he saw Crow in the hologram, he understood — a favor he might have claimed, a chance to study the unlimited energy Crow wielded, was irrevocably lost.
His voice caught as he spoke, half to himself, half to Tsuru. "I… I don't remember how… but I see now. That opportunity… gone. The chance to study this… to understand this unlimited energy through him… lost."
Tsuru's gaze was sharp, unwavering. "You reached out to him?"
Vegapunk shook his head, still absorbing the intuitive realization. "I… I don't remember. The method is gone. My memory wiped. I… I only see the results."
Helena and her squad exchanged glances, their expressions frozen in shock. The gravity hit them in waves: Amber had been dying, and none of them had known.
Tsuru's lips pressed into a thin line. Her mind raced, plotting contingencies, calculating political ramifications, but underlying all that was awe and disbelief. Crow had acted purely to save another, without exploitation, without leaving traces for advantage.
"He acted on pure instinct," she said, voice low, tension tightening. "And yet… not one opportunity was taken to manipulate, to leverage. Not one."
Vegapunk exhaled shakily, his posture slackening. "Yes… I lost everything. The favor… my chance to study him, to learn… gone. And yet, Amber… she lives. That is all that matters."
The squad relaxed slightly, though their eyes remained glued to the hologram. Every frame reinforced the truth: a life saved, a secret kept, and a boy — the dark knight they hadn't measured — acting decisively, morally, and independently.
Outside, the dawn brightened further, sunlight spilling into the lab. The room glowed with revelation, understanding, and an unspoken acknowledgment: Tsuru, the hunter, had been outplayed. Vegapunk, memory-wiped, intuitively grasped the magnitude of loss. And Crow — unseen, restrained, extraordinary — had quietly shifted the balance of events without ever showing his face.
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Scene 4 — Pirate Island: Rocks and Crow Enter the City
The first rays of sunlight stretched across Pirate Island, bathing the streets in gold and fire-orange. Smoke and the stench of battle filled the air as Shiki's and LinLin's crews clashed violently. Monsters that had previously lurked in the shadows now surged into open streets, their behavior dictated by fear of the returning master. Kaido's laughter rang through the chaos, a monstrous drumbeat accompanying John and Wangshi's ongoing skirmishes. Newgate's ships hovered neutrally just offshore, observing but not intervening.
Rocks stood at the port, scanning the chaos with a practiced eye. Crow approached, now in his normal form, the culmination of months of grueling training under Rocks's strict guidance. Fire aura flickered faintly around him, black energy controlled and disciplined. He moved with the measured confidence of someone who had endured restrictions, mastered hybrid and full Zoan forms, and honed his ki into a precise instrument.
Rocks placed a hand on Crow's shoulder, voice low but firm. "Crow… you've done well. Your training is complete. But remember — you've found an anchor. Amber. Don't let her become a chain that burns you alive. Keep your ki balanced. Your emotions will tempt you."
Crow inclined his head, acknowledging the weight of responsibility. He understood. Amber was not a weakness; she was a guide, a tether to the world he was protecting.
"The crews will act like the island always does when the master steps out," Rocks continued, his gaze sweeping the chaos below. "Predictable. Wild, but predictable. The monsters… they've stopped hiding. They're testing the air, waiting for you. That's your window."
Crow's eyes scanned the port and streets. Hot-blooded action unfolded everywhere. Fires blazed, ki flared, and screams echoed as minor factions clashed. His training had prepared him, but the city itself would be the true trial.
Rocks gave a final measured look. "Follow me into the city. Observe. Learn. Handle what you must. But never forget your anchor."
Crow adjusted his stance, shoulders squared, aura steady. He followed Rocks into the streets, stepping into the heart of the chaos. The chapter closes on this moment: dawn giving way to full sunlight, city streets alive with conflict, and the bond to Amber lingering in the back of Crow's mind as both a guide and a responsibility.
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