Maps and Mayhem

Ships of various sizes lined the waterfront, their masts reaching toward the clear sky. Aria studied each vessel, calculating her chances of finding passage. Somewhere among those hulls was her ticket to the Grand Line.

"Time to see who's hiring," Aria thought, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "Even if I start as a deckhand, it's better than sitting here doing nothing."

Her attention caught on a small, worn building near the water's edge. A sign above the door read "Brigg's Shipwright Services".

"Worth a shot," she decided, approaching the building.

A bell chimed as she pushed open the door. The scent of fresh-cut wood and varnish filled her nostrils.

Behind a counter, an older man worked on calculations in a ledger. His weathered hands moved across the page with practiced precision, barely acknowledging her presence.

"Looking to buy?" He continued to write.

Aria stepped forward. "Yes. Something small but sturdy enough for the Grand Line."

His pencil dropped immediately. He looked up, studying her face with newfound interest. "The Grand Line? You're either brave or foolish." His eyes narrowed. "Who's your navigator?"

Aria shifted her weight. "Still working on that part."

"You mean you can't sail?" He laughed, the sound lacking humor. "And you want to tackle the most dangerous sea in the world?"

Aria lifted her chin. "I'll learn."

"From who? Gale?" His expression changed, becoming serious. "Everyone knows that story."

"What story?"

The shipwright leaned back in his chair. "Gale wasn't just any captain. Charted passages no one else tried."

"Let me guess - this story doesn't have a happy ending."

"He trained dozens of navigators. Best in the East Blue." The shipwright's voice softened. "Including his son, Rowan. That boy had his father's gift."

He reached below the counter and pulled out an old, yellowed newspaper. The headline read: "Sea Reader Gale Voss Charts New Grand Line Route."

"This was his last triumph," the shipwright explained, tapping a finger on the page. "He and Rowan mapped a safer trade route through the Calm Belt."

He pointed to a photograph showing Gale and a young man standing beside a nautical chart. The younger man's smile radiated confidence while Gale's hand rested proudly on his shoulder.

"A month later, Rowan took his own crew to establish the route."

"And never returned," Aria finished quietly.

"Gale went mad searching. Abandoned his mapping work. Spent a fortune on rescue ships." The shipwright folded the paper carefully. "When he finally came back, something in him had broken."

Aria frowned. "Those routes weren't at fault."

"Try telling him that." Briggs tapped his pencil against the ledger. "Lost his son, his crew, and his reputation all at once."

"So now he's just... what? Hiding in that blue house?" Aria asked.

Briggs nodded. "Hasn't set foot on a ship in ten years."

"About that boat—" Aria began, unwilling to be dismissed so easily.

"No."

"I'm a quick learner," Aria offered. "And I've sailed before."

"Where?" Briggs challenged.

"Islands in the North Blue," she lied.

"Navigation certificate?"

"Lost in a storm," Aria said.

Briggs snorted. "Of course it was."

Frustration bubbled inside her. "What's with this town and their need to protect me from myself?" She dropped her coin pouch on the counter with a heavy thud. "I have money."

The shopkeeper pushed the pouch back toward her without hesitation. "Not when it buys a death sentence."

"It's just a boat!" Aria protested, her voice rising.

"Policy. No sale without proper certification. Marine regulations." His tone left no room for argument.

"Since when do shipwrights care about—"

The shop door burst open, cutting off their conversation. The bell rang loudly as a dock worker stumbled in. Sweat covered his face, and fear radiated from him.

"Pirates!" he gasped, struggling to catch his breath. "At Gale's house!"

The shipwright stood up quickly, knocking his chair back. "What?"

"Four of them. Broke down his door."

"Someone get the Marines!" The shipwright reached under his counter, pulling out a old but well-maintained flintlock pistol.

"Station's empty," the worker replied, shaking his head. "They're all out on patrol."

"Of course they are," Aria muttered, already moving toward the door. "When you actually need them."

Briggs grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To help," Aria replied, pulling free. "That old man can't fight off four pirates."

"You think you can?" Briggs challenged.

Aria smiled. "Watch me."

She burst out of the shop and charged along the dock. As purple energy surged through her legs, her world blurred. Wind whipped her face as she accelerated to impossible speed, her feet barely touching the wooden boards.

"Hey!" Briggs shouted behind her, his voice already distant. "Wait!"

Her mind raced as she sped toward the blue house she'd visited earlier. The harbor vanished behind her in seconds as she turned into the residential streets.

The blue roof came into view as she approached the hill. Unlike her first visit, she could see movement through the windows. Shadows passed back and forth, accompanied by shouting.

Aria slowed, catching her breath as she assessed the situation. The front door hung from a single hinge, splintered near the lock.

As she approached, she focused her senses. Four energy signatures pulsed ahead - pale blue.

"No Devil Fruit users," she thought with relief. "Good."

Shouts erupted from Gale's house, followed by the sound of breaking wood. Glass shattered. A chair flew through a window, sending splinters across the front steps.

Aria pressed herself against the house's outer wall, measuring her next move. The pirates had left the broken door open.

"The maps, old man!" a rough voice shouted from inside. "Where are they?"

"Everything's gone. I burned them all."

"Liar!" Something else crashed inside the house. "The Calm Belt route made you famous. You wouldn't destroy it."

Aria peered inside. Bookcases lay overturned. Papers scattered across the floor. Nautical instruments collected over decades lay broken and bent.

The interior of the house was chaos. Charts and maps scattered across the floor. Four pirates ransacked cabinets and shelves while Gale stood in the center, watching his life's work being destroyed around him.

The largest pirate held Gale by his collar, lifting the old man off the ground. His face, lined with age and hardship, remained defiant despite his position.

"Last chance, old man."

"The maps are worthless. Every crew that followed them died."

"That's because they weren't good enough," the pirate sneered. "Our captain's different. He's got a Devil Fruit that—"

Aria stepped through the doorway. "Hey! Let him go."

All four pirates turned toward her. Their eyes widened with surprise.

The leader was the largest, a scar running from his temple to jaw. To his left stood a bald man with thick arms. Another wore an eyepatch, fingering a curved blade at his belt. The smallest shifted nervously, hand moving toward a concealed pocket.

"Get lost, girl. This doesn't concern you."

"You know, I've heard that twice today. Still not taking the hint."

The other three pirates spread out. The smallest one touched something in his pocket. Eye-patch held a curved blade. The bald man cracked his knuckles.

Aria swept her gaze across the room. "I said, let him go."

"Or what? There's four of us and one of you."

"Bad odds. For you."

The small pirate pulled his knife and rushed forward. Aria caught his wrist mid-strike with her left hand while her right palm struck his chest.

"Really? A knife?"

The pirate's face paled as Aria drained his energy. His skin grew ashen, eyes widening in shock.

"What— Can't... move..."

His fingers lost grip. The knife clattered to the floor as his legs gave way. He collapsed face-first onto the floorboards.

Eye-patch and Baldy exchanged glances, stepping away from their fallen comrade.

"Devil Fruit user!" Eye-patch hissed, backing up.

The leader pushed Gale aside. The old man stumbled against a table but kept his balance, watching Aria with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"Who are you?"

"Just someone who hates bullies. Thanks for volunteering as practice dummies."

"Kill her!"

Aria shifted to a balanced stance. "Why do they always say that?"

Eye-patch and Baldy charged together. Baldy threw a punch aimed at her head while Eye-patch slashed with his blade at her midsection. Aria ducked under Baldy's swing and stepped sideways between them.

Her palm struck Baldy's chest. Energy flowed from him into her, filling her with warmth and power. Baldy staggered backward, his movements suddenly slow and uncoordinated.

He collapsed to his knees, shock registering on his face as strength left his body.

Eye-patch hesitated, watching his comrade fall. Aria redirected the energy to her legs and spun with newfound speed. Her foot connected with Eye-patch's ankles, sending him flying backward into a shelf of navigational instruments.

Sextants and compasses crashed down around him. He scrambled to regain his footing, disoriented by the sudden attack.

"Stay down. This doesn't need to get worse for you."

Eye-patch ignored her advice. He grabbed a fallen compass and hurled it at her face. Aria caught it mid-air.

"Thanks," she said, pocketing the compass. "I needed one of these."

She advanced on Eye-patch. He slashed wildly with his blade, desperation making his movements predictable. Aria dodged each swing with enhanced reflexes.

"Done yet?" she asked.

"Die!" he screamed, lunging forward with his blade.

Aria sidestepped and caught his extended arm. Her fingers closed around his wrist. Power flowed from him into her as his body sagged. He slumped against the wall, consciousness fading from his eyes.

A creak of floorboards behind her. Aria turned to see the leader swinging a chair at her head. She focused on the chair's structure with a sharp mental push.

The chair disintegrated mid-swing, wood splitting along its grain lines. The pirate stumbled forward, off balance.

"Stand still!" he growled.

"Make me," Aria challenged. She delivered a punch to his jaw. He flew backward, crashing into the pile of navigational instruments where Eye-patch was trying to stand. They fell in a tangle of limbs.

The leader struggled to his feet, blood dripping from his split lip. Fear replaced the anger in his eyes. He turned and ran for the door.

She cut him off with two quick steps, appearing in the doorway before he reached it.

"Going somewhere?"

She punched his solar plexus. The pirate doubled over, gasping for air. Her next strike to his neck sent him crashing to the floor.

The room fell quiet except for groans.

Aria turned to the old navigator. "Are you alright?"

Gale's face contorted with anger. "Get out."

"What?"

"GET OUT!" He pointed at the broken door, trembling with rage. "NOW!"

Aria stepped back, surprised. "Saved your life and your maps. But sure, I'm the bad guy."

"I didn't ask for your help!"

Aria raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome by the way."

Gale moved through the wreckage of his home, picking up torn papers with shaking hands. His shoulders hunched as he gathered the scattered remnants of his life's work.

"First you demand my charts, now this?"

"I didn't break into your house."

"No, but they followed you here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why else would pirates target me now? After all these years?" Gale clutched a damaged map to his chest.

Aria looked at the men groaning on the floor and sighed.

With resignation, she grabbed two of them by their collars and began dragging them toward the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking out your trash. Someone needs to hand them over to the Marines."

She pulled the pirates through the doorway and down the steps, their heads bumping against each wooden stair.

"By the seas," a familiar voice called from the path. Briggs stood there, pistol in hand, breathing heavily from his run. His eyes darted from Aria to the unconscious pirates she dragged. "How did you...?"

Aria shrugged. "Told you I could handle it."

Briggs holstered his weapon, shaking his head in disbelief. "Four pirates? And you're not even scratched."

"They weren't very good pirates." She continued dragging her cargo.

Behind her, Gale appeared in the doorway, watching her with narrowed eyes. He said nothing as Briggs approached him, concern etched across the shipwright's face.

"Gale, are you hurt?"

The old navigator shook his head, his gaze never leaving Aria.

Aria dragged the pirates away from the house, beginning the long walk to the Marine station. Their bodies left shallow tracks in the dirt road.

One of the pirates stirred slightly, mumbling something that sounded like a threat. Aria glanced down at him.

"Shush. You lost speaking privileges when you decided to redecorate Gale's house."