Chapter 9: The Battle for Yotsuba: Search and Destroy
It was exhausting.
Constantly being on the lookout for ships was never a good lifestyle, Xed had bags under his eyes while he was staring through the same coloured hues of blue in the world. This time, they realized that having their ship actively look for other enemy ships is a mistake. The flaming hull wouldn't be stealthy, which is why…
Karma and Xed were on a rowboat.
In the middle of the sea.
With the ship idling a few kilometres away.
"Karmaaaa….. please switch with me."
Karma peeked with a single eye but closed it soon after. "No, you have night vision and I can't see shit here in the middle of nowhere. Be thankful that I didn't send Krys with you because she'd have thrown you overboard for complaining too much."
"But I need sleep! The sun in the daylight is so harsh on me when I try to shut my eyes!"
"Sounds like a you problem. Just endure the job for now, it's only been a day since we've been periodically switching when and where we try spotting ships-"
"Pururururururu-"
Karma was cut off by the sound of a Transponder Snail ringing near him. He sits up from his lying position and reaches for it. "Yes? Karma speaking."
The voice of Krys gets relayed. "Karma, it's Krys. Do you need any food or water? It's been a while."
"Hmmm…" Karma shrugged. "Sure, we'll get back and get more for the next day." Karma places back the phone-like object back into the accessory strapped to the Transponder Snail. It was a good thing they stole two of them from the brigs a while ago. Long-distance communication was always a welcome addition to their future Trade Company.
"Hey, let's get back-"
"Ship!" Xed exclaims. "Three ships to the southwest and they are heading east! There's a pair of two-masted ships and a three-masted one leading the two!"
Finally, the day-long waiting for any movement had some fruit that bore. "That took a long ass time. Larc was right, they're going straight to the island if they're in the southwest heading east. Let's get to the ship."
Not even needing to row by hand the oars provided, their rowboat was sailing the treacherous open sea with Karma's ability moving it and the oars rowing by themselves to provide additional speed.
Karma had his eyes set on the front, it was to make sure the waves weren't going to be trouble and he would adjust the boat, he still needed some active information as they sailed. "Xed, can you keep an eye out for-"
"-ZZZZZZZZZZ."
Karma slowly glared at the now snoring and fast-asleep Xed, it wasn't even a few minutes until he'd blacked out. Karma did the one thing he knew that would definitely wake the bastard up.
"You asked for it." Karma gripped Xed's tail and pulled as hard as he could. "Wake the fuck up!" Xed snapped his eyes open and soon screamed, but he didn't even expect what he would scream.
"Nyyyaaaaaaaa!"
Xed hissed at the pain before fully realizing what he just blurted out. The silence the settled was only filled with waves rocking the boat and the oars being used.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Do not speak of this to anyone."
"I totally will."
Their ship and its crew had heard the water splashing, they went to work hauling the rowboat to the rear and letting on Karma and Xed. Without a second to waste Karma manipulated the ship himself to make the job quicker.
"There's a small group of three in the southwest of our position. Everyone! Prepare for a battle! We're sinking them all!"
The Eviction turned, the waves swayed its hull and the sails fully extended before turning to catch the wind. Soon, everyone was bracing once more when the sudden movement happened albeit they were getting used to it by now.
"There they are! Move the ship 15 degrees starboard!" Xed reported back, he was the only one capable of seeing far-off ships at the night. The enemy was smart for turning off their lanterns but it was too late - they should've done so earlier.
Karma nodded. "We're going to intercept them in about 10 minutes where our cannon range can reach them. If they try changing course, it'll only slow them down. I'm sure we can catch them."
"Karma, how are we going to sink the lead one? In total, we have our original 8 plus the 2 we stole from the sloop and 22 from the brig. If we show broadside and they do the same, we'll be outgunned since most of ours are small calibres. I know I'm assuming but I would think the marines would supply their three-masted ships with bigger cannons."
It was a concerning case, usually, whenever two ships show broadside, they would shoot everything they could and repair once they passed or a lull in the battle happens. Wasting time not firing a cannon means the enemy ship could blow one hole in yours. It's more worth it to have caused equal damage until a better situation comes.
"We have better manoeuvrability, we can run circles around the bigger ship and sink the other two brigs. I won't board until we fight the three-masted ship since it'll reduce our ship's survivability."
Krys further yelled to the crew. "You heard the captain! Don't let their numbers scare you, we have the flames on our side!" The declaration made the crew invigorated, their fanaticism was appreciated by Flameheart Jr.
The three ships turned to give battle, knowing that no matter how drastic they could be at trying to gain speed, the reports from the survivor brig made sure to emphasize the nature of the Eviction being faster than its usual class of ship.
Xed confirmed their change in course. "They're turning to fight us!"
"Good, it looks like they're starting to know they can't outrun our ship. I'm thankful to Flameheart for giving me this kind of power. I would've wanted something similar back in Sea of Thieves."
The three opposing ships split, the two brigs from each side of the lead one but they were slower. The wind was to the port side relative to Karma's ship which means the enemy was sailing slightly against the wind which made it possible for them to win in movement.
The ships got closer as Karma prepared, he gauged the distance with the cat-girl's nightvision helping. Eventually, he made a hard right. The brig in front of them swings to starboard and tries to meet Karma with their own sets of cannons.
"Fire!"
This time, there wasn't any mercy to be given. The roar of sets of cannons unleashes from Karma's vessel, a wall of iron balls travels into the air, and the brig tries to fire, but its side still hasn't turned far enough to get an angle.
"I'll keep our ship tracking them! Focus your fire on the men on their deck! Every person on the top deck cannons will switch to chains! Let them suffer repairs! The three-mast is going to pass the rear so we'll circle this brig!"
His crew did as told, the top deck cannons switching ammunition as men from the second deck brought out more cannonballs while unleashing broadside after broadside.
The brig being shot couldn't do the same thing when the Eviction reached their side, some cannonballs tried reaching them but the highly agile Eviction could change their distance making determining the correct distance to hit their ship harder to nail down.
Soon Karma saw the other two ships nearing behind them. A muzzle flash catches his eye. "Shit, the big ship has chaser cannons aimed! Brace!"
Cannonballs hit their rear and Karma had to think fast. "I'm following the wind! Let the distance we create separate their range and we prepare to quickly turn to starboard! Prepare chains!"
His friends start yelling the order to the others, especially the lower deck where everyone couldn't hear his command clearly unless someone else relayed them.
The wind they caught straight ahead gave them their speed, the bigger ship behind them would do the same thing but he had them right where he needed them. What felt like only moments actually took a few minutes.
When the distance was enough, Karma made the entire ship swing to their starboard side. Exposing the chasing ship to their side. "Fire chains!"
More shots missed than hit but a few snagged the rigging, especially Xed's shot which was better at the hits. Their sails were getting ripped and it would be harder for them to follow the Eviction because of the loss of sail, then the front mast of the large ship falls while the men celebrate their success.
"Switch to normal cannonballs! The other brig is behind the large one! Sink that one, I'll keep us angled but the wind will be against us for a moment so be prepared to get hit if they get lucky in knowing how far we are!"
More cannonades reached coming from the brig, the pause from the Eviction reloading from firing chains to the three-mast was enough for the brig to turn as well and fire. Thankfully, since determining distances was hard, they only fired sections of their cannons to test the correct place to get damage in.
The Eviction fires its guns and half of them flew off missing the hull while the others hit the ship on the opposing side. "Krys! Tell the lower deck that they are overshooting! The rest of you are dead on!"
Krys acknowledges the command and yells the same sentiment to the second deck of their ship. Finally, it seemed as if the brig had figured out the range correctly when Karma saw the cannonballs miss right before their ship.
"They got the range close! Their next broadside will be devastating!"
More cannons come from the Eviction, the correction from Karma serving their next shots well. The next broadside they dealt with what best outcome Karma would have wished for.
"Their cannon line is getting destroyed!"
With each cannonball, he could see the top deck of the brig getting shot through by cannonballs. While they could still try to shoot back, it would be a matter of time before the brig would run out of men.
Karma look back and searches for the other ships, the first brig had already sunken after taking too much water, their ship was visibly getting lower to the sea while the biggest ship among them still was trying to raise the front mast and the Eviction was far enough to make any cannon fire coming from the enemy three-mast highly inaccurate over long distances.
"The first one is sunk! Keep shooting this one and we can try making the last one stuck without getting any wind!"
Karma had left the brig in a futile attempt to try and fight back, their cannon line was getting overwhelmed and a few chain shots made their mast inoperable like the last one. The three-mast finally got its front mast up and was ready but still had to turn around for them to get an angle on the Eviction.
"So they're turning. Everyone! We're going to switch up our strategy. Tell everyone on the second deck to get off and manage sails. I'm going to board the three-mast by myself. Larc, take command."
"Aye, captain!"
Larc then started commanding the ship as men from the lower deck gathered to the top and prepared for Karma to leave the ship, they would be much slower and much less agile but Karma could gain the upper hand by just getting near.
Since the three-mast ship was still struggling to turn due to its size, Karma had no problem controlling the ship to swing by the ship. Karma climbed the yards and called upon a rope to swing from.
As the rear of the three-mast was within shouting distance of the crew, Karma swung.
"Oooooowoaahhhhhowaoahahhhhh!"
Of course, he had to do the Tarzan yell, why wouldn't he?
Karma let go, feeling his control reach the enemy ship and off of his own ship. He landed near the wheel where the captain of the ship turned and dropped his jaw in surprise and sheer horror.
"Ah… 'ello mate."
That's what all Karma had to tell before everything from the ship was seized, at first, the marines tried killing Karma but everyone else who touched on reading about the Eviction knew what was gonna happen.
"Aaaahhhhh!" The men yell, ropes throwing them overboard as more of the ship turn against them. Dropping like flies, those on the rigging would be subjected to getting whipped around or forced to fall to the sea.
The ship wasn't moving, Karma had forced the sails and the ship itself to stop moving. More and more marines were strung high as the captain was already subdued early on when Karma landed.
"This ship is now under the will of the Reaper's Bones, if you have a God to believe in, then pray for mercy, because we won't give any."
"Damn you." The captain spat.
'Ha… even in another world there is still salt keeping the seas its flavour.' Karma shook his head at the attitude of the captain.
"You there." Karma points to a young female marine hanging by the neck, gripping the rope when she was losing her breath. The rope tightly choking her gets slackened and the marine drops to the floor with a harsh thud.
"W-w-w-w-w…"
"If you do not hold your tongue, you'll find yourself thrown to the depths. Can you speak clearly? Or do I have to take one of your other comrades to do what I ask?"
"I-I can… speak." The marine responds. Karma heard an audible gulp.
"Tell your friends on the lower decks to move to the top deck, tell anything else and I will make sure to let everyone here know how fire feels when it's sticking to your skin."
The girl quickly nods and runs to the lower decks, Karma could hear her shouts filled with panic but stern warnings. Not long after droves of men slowly walked out with their hands in the air.
The Eviction like always, looted what was left, since the ships were made of wood and could still float, the sunken brigs would eventually be salvaged for what they still had. Mostly with help from Karma's Devil Fruit. But before they could start, they needed to figure out what to do with the marines.
"Sit them all down on the top deck. I don't care if it's cramped, they should make space since they're just sitting." Karma had his crew manage the captured marines. After counting each head, he came to a number close to 200 men and women.
"Flameheart Jr? What do you think we should do? This ship looks nice but I think a three-mast like this would be too slow."
"Inquisitive but fret not. Once I collect enough power from the fruits of this world. I can try and recreate the fruit that my father has made."
"Wait, you can create more Devil Fruits?"
"Aye… but the process will need bountiful souls imbued with the power from Devil Fruits. It's a basic ritual to curse those dedicated to the flame but creating a fruit of my design will take a lot of time and energy. It would be foolish to try, there's more to be gained by investing in what my father has already built."
"Does that mean this marine ship isn't good enough?"
"It's slow. Scuttle this ship after taking the sails and cannons. Sew in more additional cloth to the yards on the Eviction, add lateen sails to the front and back, you can take what is here and add staysails. Not only will your Devil Fruit make the ship faster due to the sails pulling themselves, but adding wind will make your ship the fastest and most agile galleon. A masterpiece my father had given as he perished along with the Sea of Thieves."
"I see, what of the marines?"
"Do with them what you will, but before you do anything else - I have a piece of advice for a servant of the flame. Whenever you exude your presence as a formidable man, threats are that of the weak. You carry yourself not by showing what you can do but by knowing what you can do. There's a difference between baring your fangs and keeping them sharpened. One is that of animalistic nature, the other is a true quality of a Reaper. Sail forth with the other and let the weak give their threats, for you shall know you are stronger without needing to prove it by promises of harm."
"…I see. I will take this advice to practice." Karma tilted his head forward, letting Flameheart Jr. head to the ship. "Marines… I have a proposal for you all. As we are going to sink this ship, I will offer you a choice to stay here or… betray the flag you fight under and join us."
The marines had differing reactions, some stoic in their expression, many murmuring to one another. Most if not all are still shaken from the experience but noticeably, someone stood up in clear defiance.
"Never!" A man says.
Another man next to him with a downtrodden look raises his voice. "Then what… die here?! You're crazy! I'd rather join, I still want to see my family!"
Every marine had an opinion to share, the commotion had been loud enough that Karma had to clap his hands loud enough for everyone to quiet down. "Silence, we shall do this in a more respectable manner. Raise your hand if you want to join, those who remain will be dealt with accordingly."
Marines then slowly raised their hands, it started as a few then more and more concluded that death was not in their interest. Karma counted each and only about 20 were left that had their hands firmly down.
"You…" Karma notices the woman from before. "What is your name and why aren't you raising your hand?"
The woman gulps before a hardened gaze returns to Karma's eyes. "Justine! I-I-I'm not going to turn my back on what I have believed in! If the others here want to abandon what they signed up for then they shouldn't have been marines in the first place!" She gets glares from the marines who had their hands raised but she continued. "Just because… we're facing death shouldn't mean a compromise! Whether I sail the seas without trouble or stare at the end of a g-g-gun barrel, I won't run away!"
Karma chuckles, making the marines further wince at their situation. "Hmhmhm… has everyone remembered who raised and didn't raise their hands?" When his crew watching the marines nodded he continued. "Good… kill the ones who raised their hands."
Before anyone else could protest the choice, multitudes of swords and pistol fire could be heard, his crew culling down the marines who had raised their hands while those who didn't tried to stop the massacre.
"Wait! I thought you'd let them live!" The woman from before stood up, while another marine's body fell to the ground.
"I only said 'raise your hand if you WANT to join.' while 'those who remain WILL be dealt with accordingly' I didn't say I'd let the live." A sly grin made itself present on Karma's face as he saw the female marine drop to the floor with a distraught look on her face. "Every person who has not raised their hands will be treated like one of ours. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Eviction!"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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