The Bonfire at the Edge of an Island
Calm belt, New world
A shallow fire crackled in the sand, casting long shadows as the ocean whispered its secrets.
Kalifa sat on a driftwood log, her coat torn, the CP9 insignia barely visible. Perona floated above a rock, absently petting one of her ghosts. Hiyori stood slightly apart, her eyes fixed on the stars.
Reiju arrived silently, followed by Viola and Rebecca. All of them bore the marks of the earlier clash—scorched edges, sore limbs, shaken pride.
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Perona sighed, arms flopping dramatically.
"So… are we all joining the crew now, or what?" Kalifa let out a low, tired laugh.
"If this is a crew, it's the most honest one I've ever seen." Viola crossed her arms tightly. "He knew things he shouldn't have. About our kingdoms, our families. Our pain."
Reiju nodded. "That's what makes him dangerous... and why I can't ignore him."
Rebecca poked the fire with a stick. "He fights like he's not trying to prove anything. Just… defend something."
"Or destroy something," Hiyori said quietly.
"And the dragon woman?" Kalifa glanced toward the dark cliffs where Min-ah had disappeared. "Charisma like that? She's
probably recruited warlords with a wink."
Perona snorted. "I'm still mad. But if I have to fight, I'd rather fight with the monster than against him."
Silence again. Not heavy this time—decisive.
One by one, eyes turned to Yamato approaching the circle. Her expression was unreadable.
YAMATO'S POV- Third Person
The wind on this island smelled like fire and salt.
Yamato walked slowly toward the others, her club slung across her back, her kimono tattered from the fight. She still had bruises on her wrists where Hope had blocked her Haki strike bare-handed.
He didn't try to win. He tried to test us.
And she loved it.
The others watched her expectantly. She looked at each of them—wounded, unsure, but no longer aimless unlike before.
She took a breath. Then spoke.
"When I was young, I believed in Oden's dream. A free world, beyond borders. But I've also seen what loyalty to the wrong cause can cost."
She raised her hand and slowly clenched her fist.
"I watched Hope fight with no hesitation. I saw Min-ah shape her words like blades. I felt the power behind their purpose."
Her voice grew louder.
"If we want to change the world or fix things, we need more than dreams. We need teeth."
The fire cracked.
"I'm staying. If you want to leave, no shame. But I've followed empty banners long enough. It's time to raise our own."
No one moved.
Then, slowly, Rebecca nodded.
Viola wiped a tear from her eye.
Perona floated lower.
Kalifa stood up.
Reiju smirked. "About time someone said it."
The bonfire burned brighter.
And somewhere, on a high cliff, Min-ah watched it all—with a knowing smile.
Third person
As Yamato's words settled over the group like iron dropped on stone, the crackle of the fire filled the silence. But another presence approached—two of them, walking with a quiet grace and lethal certainty.
Sif and Freya emerged from the edge of the tree line. Neither bruised nor broken, but clearly tested in the fight.
Sif's armor shimmered with dull steel, streaked with sweat and sand. Freya's eyes reflected the flames like a goddess who'd stared down fate and smirked back.
They said nothing at first.
Yamato turned, acknowledging them with a warrior's nod. Sif met it, then stepped into the ring of firelight. She looked at the others—all warriors, broken in some way, but not defeated.
"We've seen many wars," Sif said quietly. "Fought for kings, for honor. But never before have I seen a man turn power into purpose without asking for worship."
Kalifa arched a brow. "So… you trust him?"
"No," Freya answered, stepping beside her sister-in-arms. "Trust must be earned through storms, not speeches. But I see truth in his fire. And that truth burns the same in all of you."
Perona frowned while playing around. "He's not exactly warm and fuzzy."
Freya's lips curled faintly. "Neither is a sword. But in the right hands, it can protect." Sif proceeds to place a hand on her sword hilt, not as threat, but as oath
"I came here to see if the world still had champions. Now I know—what it has is fury. Purpose. Rage ready to be shaped."
She looked around the circle in a dramatic manner, even her words are like an old story being played.
"I will follow him—not as a sword. As a shield. For what we build… will be under siege from the moment we set sail." Freya raised her arm, fingers open to the sky accordingly.
"Then let it be written in history: We choose to burn brighter than the gods who're trying to chain us against our will."
For a moment, all was still.
Some deciphering her words, some felt motivated and inspired by the sheer conviction and clearity and remaining were skeptical about joining.
It was then Yamato who nodded and stood up raising her weapon as if it was a ceremony to join the crew. "To fire that burn within me for fulfilling, Oden legacy!."
Reiju echoed. "To fury and freedom, to be who I want to be."
Stussy added, "To freedom."
The group—warriors, spies, princesses, monsters—gathered not as hostages or misfits, but something new one by one became more convinced and either raised their weapons or spoke out the reason they wanted to leave behind what they once were.
A crew.