Burning Syrup Village

Reiju gritted her teeth as she tightened her chokehold around Oroshi, the King Cobra Zoan.

"You squirm too much." Her voice was steady, but her fingers dug deeper into his thick, scaled neck. A purple mist of her deadly poison seeped from her skin, wrapping around Oroshi's head like a suffocating shroud.

Oroshi hissed and thrashed violently, his powerful snake tail coiling around Reiju's waist, squeezing tight enough to crack ribs. But Reiju didn't flinch—she clenched harder, her poison sinking deeper into his flesh.

"Damn… you…" Oroshi wheezed.

CHOMP!

Oroshi sank his fangs deep into Reiju's fingers, his own venom fighting against hers.

Reiju winced but smiled.

"Too late," she whispered.

With one final crack, she snapped his body against the ground, leaving him twitching and foaming at the mouth.

Victory.

But before she could catch her breath—

A blur of orange and black.

The tiger Zoan pounced on her from behind, fangs and claws sinking into her back like daggers.

Reiju hissed in pain, spinning around with jet propulsion, slamming Ayame into the ground.

She squeezed out as many poisons as possible from the spores at her back, suffocating the tiger zoan.

But then--

BOOM!

A massive shadow loomed over her.

Still in his monstrous Chalichothere form, Jigu raised his massive fists, each the size of a rock.

BAM!

The first punch landed. Her vision blurred.

BAM!

The second draw blood, it dripped down her forehead.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The brutal barrage continued—raining down like a relentless storm.

Reiju's body slumped.

Her vision faded.

Darkness swallowed her whole.

***

Aboard the Hanafuda Pirates' ship, the Sinister Fox, a Den Den Mushi crackled to life.

Hanafuda, the Black Beast, leaned forward, clawed fingers tapping the armrest of his chair. His golden eyes gleamed in the dim candlelight.

"Report." His voice was calm, yet every crew member near him tensed.

From the receiver, Jigu's deep voice rumbled.

"Mission complete. The woman is detained. But Oroshi…" A pause. "He's dead."

For a moment, silence.

Then—

CRACK!

Hanafuda's claw pierced through the armrest. His slit pupils contracted.

"Who?"

Jigu exhaled. "Reiju Vinsmoke."

Hanafuda's fingers twitched. "Is she dead?"

"Yes," Jigu said. "I make sure of it."

Another pause.

Then, in a voice like a death sentence, Hanafuda growled—

"Burn the village down."

Jigu didn't hesitate.

"You heard him, boys!" he bellowed to his crew. "Burn the village to the ground! A life for a life!"

The Hanafuda Pirates roared in bloodthirsty excitement, setting the first torches alight.

Syrup Village's nightmare had just begun.

***

Jacob and his crew descended onto Syrup Village under a clear sky, but what was once a peaceful village now looked like charred remains.

Nami clenched her fists. Her calls to Nojiko had gone unanswered for five days, and now she understood why.

The village was ruined. Houses were blackened with soot, and scorched earth stretched as far as the eye could see. The villagers—what few remained—stood at a distance, watching them with cold, resentful eyes.

"Five days too late," Carina muttered. Her devil fruit power allowed her to hear the hushed voices of the villagers nearby.

Jacob's expression was unreadable, but how his blue flames flickered around his fists betrayed his emotions.

The other girls were behind them.

"Jacob…" Nami's voice was low. Her fingers dug into her palms, nails biting into her skin. "They attacked our home."

Kaya stepped forward, gaze sweeping over the destroyed village. Her newly renovated mansion was gone. The clinic where she once treated patients? Gone.

Porche held Suu close to her chest, the little fox whimpering softly.

"We need to find survivors," Conis said, her voice steady despite the sorrow in her eyes.

Jacob took a deep breath, his flames calming.

"Nojiko. Reiju. Where are they?"

Kuina stepped forward.

"Let's find out."

***

"Nojiko!" Nami screamed as she sprinted toward their fortified house.

But what stood there wasn't a house anymore.

Instead, a dense, unnatural forest had overgrown the land—thick, gnarled trees stretching toward the sky, their bark dark as if burnt yet alive. Thick vines coiled around the remains of the wooden structure, and the air was thick with a strange, eerie hum.

As Nami got closer, the trees moved. Rooted feet shifted, and twisted limbs reached out—humanoid trees, dozens of them, their bark-covered faces frozen in silent agony.

They attacked.

"What the hell?!" Nami barely dodged as a wooden fist swung toward her head, cracking the ground where she had stood.

Another lunged—its sharp, branch-like claws aiming straight for her.

FWOOOSH!

A wave of blue fire roared past her, engulfing the humanoid trees.

Jacob stood with one hand outstretched, flames crackling. His expression was unreadable, but his usually brown eyes glowed blue.

"I don't know what the hell these things are," Jacob said coldly, "but they looked like Nojiko's."

The humanoid trees writhed in the fire. Some screamed. Some tried to lunge forward even as they burned.

But Jacob raised his hand again—

FWOOOM!

A massive inferno erupted, consuming the entire corrupted forest.

As the last embers of Jacob's fire died out, the twisted forest that once consumed their home was reduced to ash.

Amidst the smoking ruin, Nami and Jacob finally saw her.

Nojiko.

She sat on a makeshift wooden chair, tending absentmindedly to another figure

Reiju.

Reiju was barely conscious, her body covered in bruises, deep gashes, and dried blood.

But Nami barely noticed her at first.

Because Nojiko's eyes glowed green.

A faint, unnatural light pulsed in them, vivid as an emerald. And streaked through her mostly blue hair was a bright green highlight—something that had never been there before.

"Nojiko…?" Nami's voice cracked.

Nojiko didn't react at first. She mechanically wiped blood from Reiju's face, hands trembling.

Only when Nami threw her arms around her did Nojiko finally blink, like waking from a trance.

"Nami…?" Nojiko's voice was hoarse, confused.

But before Nami could say anything, Kaya ran past her.

"Oh my god—Reiju!" Kaya gasped, dropping beside the wounded woman. Without hesitation, she placed her hands on Reiju's chest.

A soft, golden glow enveloped them.

Kaya's ability kicked in, pouring energy into Reiju's battered body.

Jacob stood over them, his expression dark.

His fists clenched as he asked, "Who did this?"

Behind him, the rest of his crew arrived—Kuina, Porche, Desire, Conis, and Raki—all taking in the scene with varying levels of shock.

Nojiko finally looked up, her green-glowing eyes locking onto Jacob's.

And she whispered one name.

"Hanafuda Pirates."

***

Jigu leaned against the railing of the Hanafuda Pirates' ship, a cigarette burning between his fingers. The wind carried the scent of salt, but his mind was elsewhere.

The battle had been messy. They got the woman their captain wanted, but at what cost?

Footsteps hurried across the deck.

A medic staff member rushed toward him, his face pale.

"Vice-Captain! It's Ayame-sama—she… she didn't make it."

Jigu froze.

The cigarette slipped from his fingers, landing on the wooden planks with a soft hiss.

He gritted his teeth, a sharp exhale leaving his nose as his fists clenched.

First Oroshi.

Now Ayame.

Two good combatants… lost.

Because of that pink-haired harlot.

Jigu exhaled slowly, trying to swallow his anger, but it boiled inside him like a storm waiting to erupt.

He turned toward the horizon.

Their captain, Hanafuda, better make this worth it.

***

Alvida sat in the dimly lit brig of the ship, her wrists still bound in Seastone cuffs. The cold mineral sapped her strength, leaving her feeling helpless and vulnerable—a feeling she hated more than anything.

Before her, six men stood, their eyes filled with amusement and satisfaction.

One of them—a tall, wiry man with a jagged scar across his cheek—leaned down and placed a bowl of barely palatable slop in front of her. The stench of it made her stomach turn.

"Eat up," he said with a smirk. "You'll need your strength."

Alvida didn't move. Her glossy eyes flickered up, staring at them with pure, burning hatred.

They just did one crime she hate the most.

They raped her.

The man chuckled, turning to the five others behind him. "Don't tell the vice-captain about this, got it?"

The others nodded, exchanging knowing grins.

Alvida clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. The rage inside her burned hotter than ever. Someday, she would make them pay.