𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 12

It can be pretty confusing: since this persona is male, when writing his external actions, i used 'him/he' and when describing thoughts that belong to Konan, I used 'she/her'. BUT! I may have switched it up sometimes by mistake so sorry in advance.

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"Good morning recruits!" shouted an exuberant man as he glared at the people gathered in front of him, his gaze pausing on a grinning blue-haired man that was reading a journal, not paying him any heed. All heads turned toward him as they prayed for his survival. This officer was famous for being ruthless to new marines.

With heavy and loud – on purpose – feet, he walked across the yard to the yawning man, and when he finally stood over the arrogant man he raised his fist, intent on teaching the boy a lesson. Only he didn't expect a hand to catch his punch and before he could react, he was sent a few feet back with a swift kick to the chest. He glanced astonished at the wide grin the man was sending him before rushing back with a roar and his sword taken out.

The other recruits watched in wonder and slight fear as the man in his twenties easily avoided the blade and grabbed the thick arm of the officer to throw him on his back. Not missing a beat, he punched the experienced officer in the stomach making him gasp in pain. They all winced when he stood up and mercilessly kicked the officer's head, effectively knocking him out. When the 'recruit' looked up to them with his piercing purple eyes and a devil-like grin showing his pearly canines, they all took a step back.

"Recruit Nanko. Please refrain from using violence against your superiors," a stern but old voice reprimanded. The aged woman walked to the front and after sending a glance toward the pitifully beat up officer looked up to stare at their new recruit who didn't show an ounce of remorse.

"Of course, Officer Tsuru," he replied, his grin widening, showcasing his wolf-like canines that didn't inspire any faith.

At such a blatant show of disrespect Tsuru could only sigh and shake her head before waving her hand and turning around, "All of you, follow me." Not wanting to be left alone with the devil-incarnate, they all hurried to follow, leaving a trailing Nanko with a wide smirk.

They soon arrived in a big hall that could easily fit a few giants and in which 7 officers were already waiting impatiently. The stream of lights shone upon their pristine clean uniforms.

7 pairs of eyes fixated on the new arrivals, observing them one by one, scrutinizing their postures and faces. Immediately, they stiffened, back straight as a rod.

Nanko whistled impassively as he watched his 'comrades' anxious' figures, a trace of sneer in his eyes as he slowed his pace.

It didn't take long for Konan who had trained her fair share of ninjas, to know she hadn't landed in a good batch. They weren't trained in the slightest, they couldn't detect their supervisors' bloodlust, nor the condescending smirks of the officers. Not being able to sense danger at any time was like waiting to be butchered. They were too engrossed in the idea of passing a 'test' to care about that, they had been living in peace all their lives, they didn't need to 'survive'. After all, the Marine was the good, the justice, never would it hurt them.

The contempt in Nanko's eyes only deepened as he saw their judges look at them like good soldiers to be molded, they were happy to see such malleable puppets.

As Konan's childhood had been forged through the cruelty of mankind and its wars, a part of her could never understand a peaceful child's mind. But perhaps she wasn't meant to. Because she had gone through adversity, she understood better the value of peace. She would give her life for Luffy to not know war.

"Gather in groups or stay alone, your choice, to pass the test, you will have to take their hats off. Start whenever you want." Tsuru gave the rules before walking a safe distance off, already starting to observe their reactions. Some immediately created groups, prioritizing number over quality, from the biggest which easily had 30 people to the smallest of 2. Some planned out their fight, creating intricate strategies. Meanwhile one of the officers snorted in ridicule, another yawned, another took out a bag of chips, starting to eat, another leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Nanko tilted his head before walking calmly toward the 'sleeping' officer under the watchful and surprised eyes of the other candidates. Without any warnings, he kicked the head of the officer, smirking when he felt metal clash against his haki-coated leg. The officer finally opened her eyes and surprise flashed in her narrowed eyes when she heard her saber clang against something. Their altercation earned the attention of the other officers who gazed warily at the newcomer.

"My apologies, I thought you were sleeping," Nanko voiced out with a sheepish voice that didn't trick anyone. If she was really sleeping, then what?!

Not minding the disbelief of the people watching, Nanko calmly unsheathed his katana – that was until now peacefully lying against his thigh – revealing a black blade with a faint purple lining. If one looked closely enough, they would notice it was covered in Haki, only he didn't let them think about it as he directly swung his blade toward the female officer who countered with her own saber. After a few seconds, a few cracks could be heard and they all saw her saber slowly chip away before cleanly breaking in two. She avoided the fate of the wall by jumping away, warily glancing at the deep cut made where she was previously leaning against. Dangerous, she thought.

Nanko didn't give her the time to gather her thoughts and directly appeared before her, his blade headed toward her tights. When she jumped up, Nanko's smirked, swiftly kicking her chest, sending her crashing against the wall. Ruffling his short blue hair, Nanko took his time to walk to her, his katana dragging against the floor making a screeching noise that made his watchers grit their teeth.

"That's enough. Her hat is on the floor," Tsuru voiced out when she saw he wasn't planning on stopping there.

Nanko's head turned around and with an innocent smile, he spoke slowly, his narrowed eyes fixed on the 6 other officers, taunting them, "My bad... I thought Marines officers were supposed to be stronger." He sheathed his sword back and after giving a soft kick to the female officer's unconscious figure, he walked back outside, ignoring the furious glares and curses of the offended marines.

Konan idly wondered if one day someone would make the link between her three personas, she did give a big hint with the names... Konan, Ko, and Nanko... It was right in their faces...

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I wasn't planning on publishing this chapter rn but since i accidently published a draft (i deleted it a few minutes later, tho one person had the time to read it XD) i decided to just publish this one