The streets of Steelport erupted into chaos.
Smoke and flames poured into the night as the Crimson Syndicate's cannons lit up the harbor. Explosions rocked the metal docks, sending shards of shrapnel flying through the air. The ground vibrated beneath the White Mask Pirates' feet, the echo of gunfire and panicked screams replacing the earlier calm.
"Scatter!" Okada shouted, diving for cover behind a broken cart. "Don't let them surround us!"
Nomsa vanished into the shadows like a ghost, her small frame slipping between alleyways. Jack ducked low, gripping a smoke bomb from his utility pouch and hurling it toward the advancing Syndicate soldiers. A thick cloud burst outward, obscuring their vision.
Bolk roared, lifting a heavy beam torn from a nearby stall, using it to slam back two approaching enemies. One flew into a wall; the other rolled across the cobblestones, groaning in pain.
Merry ducked behind a metal crate, her hands shaking. She had trained, yes—but real combat was something else entirely. Still, she grit her teeth and pulled out a pair of sharpened cooking knives she'd kept strapped to her thighs. "Come on, Merry," she whispered. "Don't be useless now."
Through the smoke, Knot's voice bellowed across the battlefield, amplified by some unseen speaker system. "White Mask Pirates. Children playing at war. Surrender and you'll be granted mercy. Resist and be erased."
Okada's blood boiled. That voice, so calm, so cruel—it felt like it was pressing on every nerve in his body.
"We're not playing," Okada growled. "And we don't surrender."
The pirates regrouped, each emerging from cover with bruises, blood, and fury in their eyes. They stood back-to-back, forming a loose circle.
"There's too many of them," Jack said, panting. "I counted at least fifty soldiers plus that warship. If we don't retreat—"
"We're not retreating," Okada cut him off.
"We have to, Okada!" Nomsa hissed. "The heist is blown. The Syndicate knew we were coming. This was a setup."
"I don't care," Okada said, chest heaving. "They're trying to erase us. I say we give them a reason to regret it."
Bolk cracked his knuckles. "Now you're talkin'."
Just then, something slammed into the dock from above.
A massive steel gauntlet embedded itself in the ground with enough force to crack the concrete. A figure landed beside it, rising slowly—tall, muscular, with crimson-tinted armor and jagged black hair falling around a silver mask.
Knot.
"I thought I'd come greet you myself," he said.
The temperature dropped. Even the flames burning around them seemed to dim. The man radiated killing intent like a blade just before it pierced flesh.
Knot's gauntlets glowed with dark energy—infused with something unnatural. Jack's eyes widened as he noticed the faint, almost invisible humming sound.
"That's void tech," he muttered. "Forbidden science. This guy's using weaponized anti-matter…"
Before anyone could respond, Knot lunged.
He moved faster than anyone expected. A blur of red and black.
Okada barely had time to draw his blade. He parried one of Knot's punches, but the force sent him flying back into a shipping container, denting the steel with his body.
"Okada!" Merry screamed.
Nomsa struck with a flurry of knives, aiming for pressure points—but Knot's gauntlets repelled each one, vibrating at frequencies that melted the metal on contact.
Bolk charged, roaring, swinging a massive hammer he'd picked up during the raid. It collided with Knot's gauntlet.
The shockwave knocked everyone back ten feet.
Bolk gritted his teeth, arm trembling. "You hit hard…"
"I barely tried," Knot replied coldly.
He slammed a palm into Bolk's chest, sending him flying across the docks.
Jack activated a device on his wrist, summoning a mechanical shield that projected a barrier between Knot and Merry. "Run!" he shouted.
Merry hesitated—just long enough for Knot to grab the edge of the shield and tear it apart like paper. He grabbed Jack by the collar and hurled him across the pier. The boy smashed into a stack of crates and crumpled.
Okada rose again, blood running from his forehead.
He didn't feel fear—he felt fury.
He charged Knot, his blade covered in Haki.
Their weapons clashed in a brilliant explosion of black sparks and red lightning. Knot was strong—inhumanly strong—but Okada wasn't the same boy he was when he entered Steelport.
He slashed, dodged, spun, and countered. Every strike was met with another, a dance of death between two warriors with nothing left to lose.
"You think you can beat me?" Knot snarled.
"I don't need to beat you," Okada said through gritted teeth. "I just need to keep you here."
"What?"
At that moment, Nomsa emerged from the shadows behind Knot.
With one swift motion, she slammed a small cube onto his back.
It blinked red—and exploded in a burst of kinetic force.
Knot staggered forward, his armor scorched.
Bolk returned, a heavy chain wrapped around his arms. He swung it like a whip, catching Knot's leg and yanking hard.
Jack, limping, used a small detonator to ignite charges set earlier near the harbor's edge.
The dock exploded beneath Knot, plunging him into the sea below.
"Now!" Okada shouted. "Run!"
They sprinted toward the escape route Jack had marked earlier: a hidden tunnel behind an abandoned shipyard warehouse. Nomsa led the way, cutting down the occasional soldier who got too close.
Behind them, the harbor burned.
Knot did not resurface.
But Okada knew it wasn't over.
Hours Later – Abandoned Tunnel System Beneath Steelport
The White Mask Pirates sat in silence, bloodied and bruised, surrounded by flickering lights and rusted pipes. Their clothes were torn. Merry had a gash on her arm; Jack's eye was swollen; Bolk's ribs were cracked.
Okada sat against the wall, his mask in his hands. He stared at it.
They had barely survived.
And worst of all—their heist had failed.
Jack coughed and broke the silence. "He knew… the Iron Baron knew we were coming."
Nomsa nodded. "There's a rat. Someone tipped them off. The only question is who."
Okada said nothing. His hand tightened around the mask.
"I failed you," he said quietly.
"No," Merry said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're still here. We're alive."
"But we lost," he whispered. "And Knot… he's still out there."
"We hit him hard," Bolk grunted. "He won't forget us anytime soon."
Okada looked around at his crew. "We're in deep now. We can't leave Steelport until we deal with the Crimson Syndicate. If they control this city, we'll never be safe—not here or anywhere."
"So what now?" Jack asked.
Okada stood slowly. He placed the white mask back over his face.
"Now," he said, "we rebuild. We train. We strike back. And next time…"
His voice sharpened like a blade drawn.
"We finish what we started."
Elsewhere — Deep Inside the Iron Citadel
Knot stood before a grand throne, soaking wet, armor cracked and smoldering.
A tall figure sat upon the throne, surrounded by mechanical chains and glowing circuitry.
The Iron Baron.
"Report," the Baron said in a deep, mechanical voice.
Knot knelt, bowing his head. "The White Mask Pirates have escaped."
The Baron was silent.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
"Let them run. Let them think they've survived."
He leaned forward, his eyes glowing with cruel amusement.
"Because now, we hunt."