Vulcan sat in his office, reading over the reports that the Commodore had provided earlier. The room was still buzzing with the tension left over from his earlier "greeting" to the Marines, but the air had settled, and the base seemed to be moving with more purpose now.
As Vulcan flipped through the stack of papers, his eyes narrowed at the stark reality of Sabaody Archipelago: the slave trade, the pirates preparing for the New World, and the undercurrent of criminal syndicates operating in the shadows. It was clear that this place wasn't just chaotic—it was on the brink of lawlessness.
"More of a mess than I thought," Vulcan muttered to himself.
"So, Rear Admiral, how's it feel to be in charge of this madhouse?" the Commodore asked, dropping into a chair across from Vulcan.
Vulcan didn't look up from the papers. "This place has been running on fumes. If this is the norm, I can't imagine what happens when things get serious."
The Commodore chuckled nervously, scratching his bruised cheek. "Well, let's just say we've been lucky things haven't gotten out of hand yet."
Vulcan put the reports down and gave the Commodore a sharp look. "Lucky? This place is a breeding ground for chaos. Pirates, bounty hunters, slave traders—what have you been doing to stop it?"
The Commodore shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "We've... managed to keep things quiet enough. But you know how it is in Sabaody. The Celestial Dragons have their hands in the slave trade, and messing with that can get ugly. We can't just storm in and—"
"I don't care about their business," Vulcan interrupted, his voice cold. "I care about the law. If you've been turning a blind eye, that stops now."
The Commodore sighed, rubbing his temple. "Well, good luck with that, Rear Admiral. But you're about to find out that some problems in Sabaody can't just be solved by fists."
Vulcan ignored the comment and stood up, grabbing his Marine coat from the back of his chair. "Come on. I want to see this place for myself."
As Vulcan walked through the bustling streets of Sabaody, the Commodore trailing behind him, the bubble-filled groves loomed overhead, casting shadows over the marketplace. Civilians hurried by, their eyes darting nervously between the Marines and the alleyways, where shadowy figures exchanged goods in the cover of darkness.
"You see it, don't you?" the Commodore muttered. "No one's comfortable here. People are afraid. And the Marines… well, they're afraid too. This place is a melting pot of pirates, criminals, and the occasional bounty hunter looking to score big."
Suddenly, a scream echoed from one of the nearby alleyways.
Without hesitation, Vulcan moved, using Soru to vanish from sight leaving the commodore behind, heading toward the source of the scream. The Commodore cursed under his breath as he tried to keep up.
Rounding a corner, Vulcan found a group of thugs harassing a young woman, their intentions clear from the malicious grins on their faces. Without warning, Vulcan leaped into action.
His Tekkai deflected the first thug's attack, and his Shigan pierced through the shoulder of the second, dropping him to the ground with a howl of pain. The remaining two tried to flee, but Vulcan grabbed one by the collar, throwing him into a wall with a sickening thud.
The last thug froze, fear etched into his face as Vulcan slowly approached. "Who do you work for?" Vulcan demanded, his voice low and threatening.
"We… we work for the slavers!" the thug stammered. "We capture people and sell them to the Celestial Dragons! Please, don't kill me!"
Vulcan's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Get out of my sight."
The thug didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled away, leaving his wounded comrades behind as the Commodore finally caught up, panting.
"Celestial Dragons' slavers, huh?" the Commodore muttered. "Like I said, messing with them will get you in trouble, Rear Admiral."
Vulcan's jaw tightened. "I don't care about the Celestial Dragons.
"You don't need to care about that, first get me the location of every slave store, auction and groups, after that want you to get everybody ready for some special training"
"I understand Rear Admiral" even though he wanted to change Vulcan's mind, the beating from earlier was still fresh in his mind and body, so he just did as he was told.
Back at the Marine base, Vulcan was reviewing the latest reports that Rys brought, that was the name of the commodore, seeing his quick work made Vulcan like him so he asked for his name, after seeing a bunch of documents on his desk, Vulcan new that he would be busy for a while, when he wanted to get started a Marine rushed into the office, saluting sharply.
"Rear Admiral Vulcan! There's a disturbance at the harbor. A group of pirates just docked, and they're causing trouble!"
Vulcan's eyes darkened. "Get my squad. We're handling this."
When Vulcan arrived at the harbor, it was already chaos. A crew of rowdy pirates had disembarked from their ship and were wreaking havoc on the market stalls, knocking over merchandise and shoving civilians aside.
The Marines stationed there seemed hesitant to act. They were outnumbered, and the pirates didn't seem intimidated by their presence at all.
"Oi!" one of the pirates, a massive brute with scars running down his arms, shouted as he spotted Vulcan approaching. "You Marines here to stop us? Gonna try your luck, eh?"
The pirate's crew laughed, clearly unafraid of the Marine force before them.
Vulcan stepped forward, his eyes locked on the pirate captain. "You're causing trouble in Marine territory. Get back on your ship and leave, or I'll make you."
The pirate captain sneered, stepping forward with his fists raised. "You're outnumbered, Rear Admiral. You think you can take all of us?"
Vulcan cracked his knuckles, a dangerous smile tugging at his lips. "I've fought worse."
Without warning, the first punch was thrown, and the battle erupted.