Location: Grand Line – Forgotten Sea, Red Blade Ship
The sea was unnaturally quiet.
Ankit stood barefoot on the deck, eyes shut, his hands slowly moving through a silent sword form. His breathing was steady, but his aura was anything but.
Every movement left behind a faint afterimage, as if space itself remembered the sweep of his blades.
Makino sat cross-legged nearby, quietly sharpening her throwing knives.
"You've changed," she said without looking.
"I fought myself," Ankit murmured. "Or something close."
Benn Beckman, watching from the railing, added, "And the kid that came back isn't the one we left in the mist."
Ankit's next strike shattered a training log in half.
"I still feel like him," he said. "But now there's a voice in me that knows how to kill."
Meanwhile – Marie Geoise, Underground Chambers
The floors beneath the Holy Land trembled with the sound of machinery older than memory.
Deep within the earth, in a circular room carved from obsidian and fossilized Seastone, the Five Elders stood before a row of upright cocoons—glass cylinders filled with crimson mist and motionless silhouettes.
Each cylinder bore the mark of a flaming eye inside a sword.
"Activate Judicator Protocol," one elder said.
"Which class?" asked a cipher-pol technician below.
"Crimson. Three members. Target: Ankit of the Red-Haired Pirates."
The glass hissed.
One by one, the cocoons opened.
Three Figures Awaken
Judicator Velka – The Silent Reaper
Genderless, skin stitched with rune-scars.
Weapon: Shadow-threaded scythe.
Abilities: Null Zone – negates system interfaces for ten seconds in proximity.
Judicator Arven – The Blood Bell
Tall and armored, speaks in rhyme.
Weapon: Bell Lance – strikes echo through Haki barriers.
Known for eliminating four Warlords singlehandedly.
Judicator Miro – The Sightless Son
Eyes sewn shut, but sees through others' blood.
Weapon: Twin hooks.
Whispered to be immune to death once every lunar cycle.
Objective Delivered
Target: Ankit. Age: 17. Proficiency System Host.
Priority: Capture or disable. No body recovery required.
If Red-Haired interference occurs, mission escalation authorized.
The Judicators stepped onto a ship forged from black Seastone and relic steel.
Their ship needed no crew.
It sailed toward blood.
Location: Red Blade – Midday
The ship had left the Forgotten Sea behind. The skies were brighter now. The tension, however, hung heavier than fog.
Ankit sat with Shanks in the captain's quarters. A new relic shard hovered between them.
"It matches the pulse from before," Ankit said. "But it doesn't point anywhere."
Shanks drummed his fingers along the map.
"Because it's not pointing outward," he said. "It's pointing inward—to you."
Ankit stiffened. "The fragment?"
Makino entered quietly. "That's not all. We're being followed."
On the Horizon – The Judicator Ship
It wasn't fast. It didn't need to be.
Even the wind parted for it.
Animals in the sea turned away. Birds refused to fly over it.
As Benn peered through the spyglass, his jaw clenched.
"That's not a pirate ship. Or marine. No flag. No crew. No sails."
Shanks stepped up, looked once, and froze.
"…Judicators."
Even he spoke the name with rare gravity.
Makino frowned. "You know them?"
Shanks nodded. "They aren't spoken of outside the highest levels of Cipher Pol. Ghosts, sent when execution isn't enough."
Ankit's hand moved to his swords.
"They're here for me."
System Alert – High Risk Encounter Detected
Warning: Three enemies detected of Red Tier Clearance.
Judicator Class: Relic-Hunters. Immune to bounty-based deterrents.
Estimated Power Equivalence:
Velka: Admiral-class
Arven: Between Vice-Admiral and Yonko Commander
Miro: Unknown – classified as "Immortal Cycle Unit"
Advised Strategy: Avoid direct confrontation. Escape or isolate.
The Red Blade Prepares
Shanks slammed the map closed.
"We don't run. But we don't die for ego either."
Makino tied her hair back. "So what's the play?"
"We isolate. Lure one into the coral reef near Driftrock Isle."
Benn lit a cigarette. "And the other two?"
"I'll keep the ship moving," Shanks said. "Makino, Benn—you'll hold the deck. I'll deal with whoever boards."
Then he looked at Ankit.
"You… you go into the reef. Fight one. That's all. Show me if that Trial meant anything."
Ankit nodded, eyes steeled. "Understood."
Nightfall – The Trap is Set
The Red Blade sailed into a narrow stretch between shattered coral towers.
To the untrained eye, it was a random route.
To Shanks, it was a kill zone.
The Judicator ship followed.
No sails. No sound. Just presence.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
Makino unleashed a barrage of relic-infused gunpowder shells. The reef exploded on either side.
From the Judicator ship, Velka leapt—a blur of smoke and steel.
Arven landed on the rear mast, humming a melody in rhyme.
Miro simply vanished into the mist.
Ankit vs. Velka – Coral Basin Duel
Velka stood atop a jagged coral ridge, scythe in hand.
Ankit approached alone, twin blades at the ready.
Velka did not speak.
Instead, they raised a hand—and the world around them muted.
Null Zone Activated – System Lockdown in Effect
Time Remaining: 10 seconds
Ankit felt the pressure—his system UI vanished. His skills dulled.
But his body didn't stop.
Because he had trained for this.
Steel clashed with bone-threaded scythe.
Ankit ducked a wide arc, rolled under, and struck high. Velka countered with a whiplash chain of strikes that nearly tore through his side.
He parried by instinct.
Even without the system, he was still a fighter.
End of Null Zone – Resonance Reawakens
System Reboot Complete.
Resonant Memory Core Activated.
Style read: Velka uses anti-rhythm striking pattern.
Counter Suggestion: Delay-Parry Chain using left-dominant Spiral Flow.
Ankit adjusted mid-combat.
He waited. Listened to the wind.
And then—
CLANG!
His left sword caught Velka's arc.
SLICE!
The right blade carved a cut across their shoulder.
Velka stumbled.
For the first time, they bled.
Ankit's blades glowed faintly.
The Trial had prepared him.
🔹 SYSTEM PANEL – Ankit 🔹
System Sync: 44.9%
Skill Level (Twin Flow Style): 10.5
Resonant Memory Core Active
Velka's rhythm cracked. Opening window: 8 seconds.
New Status Effect Gained:
Judicator Tracker Debuff – Your spiritual signal is now traceable by World Government relic detectors for 30 days.
Final Scene – Blood on Coral
Velka took a knee.
Their voice whispered, ragged and faint.
"You're… no longer incomplete."
Ankit didn't reply.
He stepped forward, blades crossed in an X over their neck.
But Velka reached into their chest—
—and triggered a self-return glyph.
FLASH!
They vanished.
Far away, aboard their ship, Velka collapsed into a pod.
But not before whispering:
"He's ready. The Gate has chosen."