Star Gaze, Chapter 3: A Delay

"Damn you Mitsuhide", growled Star Gaze as she pushed open the great stone doors that secured the ancient but sturdy fort. The soldiers behind her stared on in amazement. It took at least ten men to open that door, but this fair maiden? Not sure if she can be called that now, had done so as a after thought. Such level of strength was not unheard of in the marines, after all it was a world wide organization, but from such a delicate frame, it was unheard of. Needless to say the soldiers were intimidated by the figure rampaging through the courtyard. The soldiers behind her enjoyed the view, and admired her power. The soldiers in front of her scrambled to get out of her way. All the while Star Gaze cursed Katsumoto Mitsuhide under her breath.

'Who in the hell does he think he is', she thought as she pressed open another door.

'How dare he call me back, only a hour after I had departed! That accursed Red Cap! How dare he show the world my blood! I will cut his flesh into small ribbons and use his hair to sew it into a bag. After that I will stuff whatever is left of him inside and toss it into the sea. Damn it all! While I am here making meet and greet that pirate scum is gaining ground! Curse you Mitsuhide! Don't you ever let your guard down. The first chance I get I will skin you alive.'

As Star Gaze raged inside of her head the walls around her began to crack. The soldiers looked on with with fear as the air itself seemed to grow thin. Such a murderous aura flowered from her that the soldiers near her could not even breath. The fear was overwhelming. If nothing was done soon both there minds and bodies would break.

"Hey, get control of yourself captain", spoke Mosses Black as he stepped into the hallway. The dark skin commander stood only five feet tall and eight inches, but without a inch of fear he walked up to the daunting Star Gaze and began to give commands.

"This is not the way a marine Captain should act! Your haki is out of control and your bloodlust is choking the life out of your subordinates. You need to calm the storm that rages inside of you."

"What are you talking about Moses", hissed Star Gaze as she came to a sudden stop. Her eyes fell on her Commander. Form twelve feet Mosses looked almost like a child, but those golden eyes of his. They bore the ferocity of a lion.

"Your killing the men", he spoke with clarity as he pointed to a soldier doubled over on the ground.

Finally taking notice of the atmosphere Star Gaze took back control over her emotions. It was simple task for her, she had been doing it her entire life. The difficult part was not controlling it, but realizing that it was out of control.

"That should do it."

Mosses simply stared at the maiden.

"Oh come on ..."

"I don't want excuses. I want result", mimic Moses as he attempted, and failed, to sound like the maiden.

"Don't", she spoke as she rose her hand in front of his face. "I don't need a reminder of my own words. I remember them very well."

"Apparently not. Your trying to excuse nearly killing two men and who knows who else inside of the surrounding village if there haki is strong enough. If you just ..."

"I am not here for a lecture Moses. Remember who is the Captain and who is the commander."

"I will take note and follow your example. When I get angry I shall .."

"I have a meeting to attend." With that Star ended the conversation and began to march off. She was far calmer now. Though she was highly annoyed with him she knew she needed to thank her ships helm man. Once again he was keeping her on the right course, though his methods could be less annoying.

With a sudden thump the maiden's march came to a end. She stood before two elegant doors marked with a golden symbol of the marines and the word Justice etched in finely polished silver. Beyond them was the War Room, and inside was a council of all the captains in the region. Needless to say this was not a meeting to be taken lightly. It was true that Star did not want to attend, but showing weakness in this place would be paramount to career suicide. Star had to be sure she was presentable. She straighten out her dress and calmed what was left of the raging storm inside of her. It would not do for a lady of her caliber to place on a angry expression. After all it would be the first impression many of the other captains would have of her. If she wanted to continue to rise in the ranks she needed to look the part.

"Shine like the stars", she spoke to herself as she closed her eyes and gave a small prayer. The maiden then pushed open the doors and walked into the room.

"I don't even see why we are wasting our time debating this", spoke a gruff young man in his early thirties. The man had the eyes of a shifty merchant and the body of a season warrior. He wore his uniform sloppy, almost as if he did not care for what it stood for, but the stern expression and serious aura he gave off said otherwise. With his blade held bare on his shoulders Captain Troy Brown addressed the rest of the council.

"Why don't we just Buster Call the entire Island and call it a day. There is no reason to risk both our troops and the ships trying to take the place back!"

"I am going to have to agree with Captain Brown", spoke another man with dirty blonde hair. He had a large scar on the right side of his face. From the looks of it the wound was probably due to some kind of explosive or flammable agent. His pure white uniform song praises of his cleanliness and served as this particular inspectors mark of fame. White Coat, that was what both the marines and the pirates called him. Ahab Whaleslayer also preferred it. Whaleslayer always looked tacky in print.

"Wait, who is this", spoke May Dao as she turned to look at Star Gaze. Among the captains gathered she was by far the weakest. She was a accomplished swordswomen, no doubt, but she did not excel in the field, not like Star. No, her strength came in her leadership abilities. It was said that if you needed a captain who could lead their troops though hell itself, May Dao was your girl. Her skill at the helm was starting to become legendary. She even got into a confrontation with the Seven Flags and walked away with her life. A feat, many marines could not boast.

"Sorry for my rudeness', smirked Star Gaze as she stepped into the room. Her steps were bold, but yet graceful. She gave off a radiance of power and in the evening light she looked almost as if she was shinning.

"Ah, it seems that our Star has arrived', chuckled Mitsuhide as he stared into Star Gaze's brilliant eyes. What was invisible to everyone else was in plain sight to him. She was angry with him.

"Ah, so you are the fourth captain", spoke Brown.

"Kind of late for the meeting", added Dao.

"It is excusable", spoke White Coat. "Her ship was already out at sea when the message arrived. There was no way for her to know."

"Speaking of not knowing", interjected the maiden as she walked up to the table and took out a seat. "Can anyone tell me what this meeting is about? Off the back I am hearing about a Buster Call."

"Right, we need to bring you to speed", spoke Mitsuhide as he suddenly leaned forward in his chair. "To put it simply we are fucked right now. The Island of Triston has been overrun by Werewolves."

"Werewolves? Pshaw, you have to be joking."

"Unfortunately I am not captain. The Island of Triston has succumb to a werewolf plague. At least ninety percent of the population has been turned and the remaining lot are being hunted down by the beast and fed on like cattle. We just received word of this incident a hour ago."

"Oh", exclaimed Star Gaze as her mind began to make sense of everything. An Island filled with a super natural creature that she thought did not exist. "How in the ...", she started, but she was cut off by Dao.

"That was a point I was going to focus on", spoke the swordmaiden as she stood up from her seat. "I believe that this may be the result of a devil fruit. If I remember correctly there was a devil fruit that had the ability to turn people into knights. I don't thing it would be far fetch if there was one for Werewolves."

"So you think the plegue is devil fruit related then. if so, i don't see how this will help us, nor do I see a reason why to simply not whip the island off the map with a Buster Call. We could not only get rid of the devil fruit, but also get rid of all the werewolves in a single move. We can kill two birds with a single stone."

"No we can't do that!"

"I don't see why not", added Whaleslayer. There is no point ..."

"Oh right", suddenly spoke Mitsuhide. "There was something I forgot to mention. My bad."

"I don't like the sound of this", spoke Troy as he stared at the Vice Admiral.

Mitsuhide stood up form his seat and walked over to a exterior window. Looking out from the castle he could see fresh recruits training in the court yard. It was a beautiful sight.

"There is a world noble on the Island."

Not saying anything else everyone in the room understood what that meant. Things just got real.

"Saint Innes is his name to be exactly. His mother Holy Maiden Innes has demanded that we return her son's body to her, even if it has been twisted into wolf like cadaver. She wants to place the golden coins on his eyes and burn him at the pyre. She will not accept his body being lost at sea, nor will she except us cutting it to bits. So ..."

"So we can't Buster Call because there would be nothing left", finished Star Gaze. The maiden clicked her tong. "Why did you not mention this at the beginning?"

"I was", he spoke cheerfully as he turned around and faced the council. "However you all seemed so engross in your conversations that I did not want to disturb you. After all you all may one day be the next vice admiral or even admiral in the future. You all needed to practice your decision making. Consider it a exercise for the future. That is something you can understand Twinkling Star."

Displeasure flashed over Star Gaze face for but a moment. The maiden then turned her expression back to normal though pure force of will.

"Please refrain from calling me such a name again. If not I will be forced to submit a sexual harassment complaint to central office."

"Whoa", chuckled Mitsuhide as he raised his hands in a surrendering motion. "Don't take the jest to far. None the less, lets get back down to business. The Buster Call is not completely out as a option. We can still do it, but we would need to first get a hold of Saint Innes body, or his twisted cadaver, and no. Before you think up the clever idea of killing a random beast and claiming it to be him remember that his mother can sense his blood though a vivi card. If the body is not his she will know. Your going to have to do it the hard way."

"Are you mad", interjected Whaleslayer. "You want us to send our troops to a island infested with mythological beast. My entire squad would be turned within the hour. Our soldiers are good but ..."

"I am sure we can handle it", boldly stated May Dao. "My soldiers are well trained and organized. They can handle themselves well enough. However we would need the proper supplies. Not only that, but ..."

"You don't want to kill the innocent victims do you", spoke Star Gaze as she stared into the soft hearted swordswomen eyes.

The maiden gave off a small smile and turned her focus back to the group. "Listen many of those beast are beast not of there own will. This is a power that infects not one that is chosen. If we just march in and kill all of them we will be killing hundreds of innocent people. "

"Thus why you brought up the fact that this plague was devil fruit related", spoke Whaleslayer. "You think that there might be a way to turn them all back to normal."

"Exactly! Most devil fruit that transform have a way to return there targets back to normal. I believe that this devil fruit should also have such a ability. If we can find the user ..."

"In a sea of fangs and claws", roared Brown as he stood up from his chair. "There is no way we can do that without taking heavy casualties. We may be able to deal with such beast, but I doubt the common soldier can. That does not even take into account that we don't even know who is controlling these monsters."

"If I remember correctly", started Star Gaze. "The minion minion models of devil fruit have a very eccentric side effect. The more minions the user creates the more they become like there minion. The fact that the user has created so many werewolves ..."

"Means that more than likely they have become a werewolf themselves", spoke White Coat.

"How can we tell one beast from another", spoke Brown.

"Damn", cursed May Dao. No one had to say it, but her idea of saving the lives of Trison had washed away. The maiden had taken a seat in defeat

"Hold on a second", spoke Star Gaze taking control over the room. "There might be a way to do this."

"Come again", huffed Mitsuhide. He had already wrote off saving everyone before he called together the captains. Now here Star Gaze was trying to support her fellow femme fatale. No, that was not correct. Star Gaze was not trying to help May Dao, she was trying to show them how superior she was to them. Mitsudhide lightly chuckled. How vein and selfish she was.

"If I remember correctly Werewolves are simply beast. There minds are filled with either regret or rage. The person who used the devil fruit however will not be. they understood what would happen, and even if they did not they would still keep there sanity unlike the others."

"What are you trying to say." White Coat looked at her curiously. He had no idea where she was going with this.

"Inside of my crew", started the maiden. "I have a adept user of Kenbunshoku Haki. His ability is a bit different from the standard one we use. Moses Black can sense the feelings and emotions of others around him. If he was to go to the island he could find the one calm individual among the others."

"Brilliant", praised May Dao. "With his help we can pin point our target and ..."

"Hold a second fluffles", growled Captain Brown. His eyes shifted from May and then to Star Gaze. "That is a lot of grown to cover and a short window of time. There is no way you can run around and check ..."

"No Captain Brown", cut in White Coat. "I remember that name well. Moses has quite the skill. He can easily cover the entire Island with his ability."

"Impossible! That range with that ability is unheard of. Not to mention the mental load that would be placed upon him from doing such a feat."

"Worry not Captain", started Star Gaze as a slight smile crossed her face. She had one up him. It was always good to have great subordinates. "Moses can take the pressure. He has been training himself for years in how to properly use his haki. He can easily handle this small Island. We would have pin pointed the scourge the moment we hit the sands."

"That is assuming that you don't immediately get swarmed and die first" added White coat. "The beast will probably be heavy around the docks."

"Then it would be best to approach by row boat and avoid the docks all together", spoke May Dao as she crossed her fingers with each other. A stern expression rolled over her face and a ominous aura seemed to radiate off from her. She was now in her zone.

"Not only that, but I think it would be more advantageous to move as a small group instead of a large one."

"The more bodies the easier it is for them to smell us right", added in Star Gaze.

"Exactly The beast will frenzy at such a smell. At that point you are pretty much doomed."

"so let me get this straight", spoke Brown as he attempted to make sense of it all. "You are going to enter this Island infested with man beast hybrids and not take a army. Instead you are going to take a few troops and sneak onto the island and try to assassinate the ring leader. After that you are hoping that the rest of them will turn back to normal. This plan is majorly flawed."

"I also don't see why you can't send a marine force on the opposite side of the Island that you are sneaking on. The scent from the mass of bodies will call upon the ravenous desires of the beast. That way your special team can move unimpeded."

"Yes I thought of that", stated May Dao. "However that plan will undoubtedly result in massive loss of both military and civilian lives."

"Indeed it would", chuckled Katsumoto as he placed both of his palms on the center table. His eyes focused in on Star Gaze's perfectly shaped irises. "Star do you think you can pull this off?" The maiden was about to open her mouth, but the Vice Admiral cut her off. "I don't need a boast, nor do I need a flowery promise. I want your pure and honest opinion. Do you think you and your crew can pull this off."

"Absolutely."

After three rough days out at sea the island of Triston came into view. Even a mile off from the shore the marines could tell that there was something wrong. The sky seemed a bit grey and the scent of blood could be smelt on the wind. Sharks swarmed all around waiting for there next meal.

"Amazing", spoke Ashigaru as he stared into the sea. It was the first time he had ever seen so many sharks in one area. He had no idea of the implications of there swarm, nor did he understand the series threat they purpose toward the crew. The sea was never calm for long and men did not always stay aboard there vessels.

"So we have arrived", stated there captain. Star Gaze held her trusty Odachi at her side. Her eyes scanned the horizon and studied the clam, but crimson shore. "It will be a difficult crossing."

"Shall we move to port", asked Moses. He did not like the look of the sharks, nor did he like the feeling he was getting inside of his gut. Something bad was about to happen. He was not sure if it was toward the crew as a whole, or him himself.

"No don't, as matters of facts go let down the anchor."

"Let down the Anchor", spoke her first mate in confusion. The man was clad from head to toe in black armor, a violation of the marine code or his rank. However out here and at sea no one would care. Armor stopped a warrior from ding in battle, it was acceptable to wear it in combat situations.

"Listen up crew, it is about time I told you all what our mission was."

"Wait we are not going after Red Cap", shouted Ashigaru in confusion. "I was for sure ..."

"We will skin that sea rat alive", growled Star Gaze. "Well eventually. At the moment however our attentions have turned to a greater threat. I know it is to far for most of you to see, but that coast in the distance is stain crimson with the blood of innocent villagers."

"Wait what', shouted a sailor as he pulled out his telescope. Others quickly moved to get there own viewing lenses, but a sudden stump of Star's foot brought them back to reality.

"As I was saying! The island of Triston has been lost to the power of a devil fruit. Most of its inhabitant have turned into Werewolves and are now feasting on the people they call brothers."

"My god", spoke one sailor. A harden expression rolled over the men as they guessed what she was going to say next. They were going to have to go in and eliminate the threat.

"Normally we would have simply Buster Called the Island and called it a day. However that option is not available to use due to the fact that a World Noble is on that Island."

"A World Noble! You have to be kidding me."

"Unfortunately I wish I was. It would make our lives a lot easier. That being said we have two objectives. The first is to locate the devil fruit user controlling the beast and eliminate him. With that we are relatively sure that the rest of the inhabitant will turn back to normal and order can be restored. The second objective is to rescue the World Noble, or locate his body. His mother desires to place the coins on his eyes and burn his corpse on a pyre, as there tradition dictates. As a result his body must be found."

"Wait what if he is a beast?"

"Worry not, if he is a monster you have the right to cut him down. After he is dead his body should turn back to normal so that objective is not compromised."

"Is there anyway to prevent ourselves from being infected?"

"Yeah, don't get bit."

"Come on captain", spoke Moses as he stared at the maiden. "You known that not getting bit is nearly impossible in this situation. There will be beast all around."

"That", she started with some force to take back the conversation. "Is what will bring us back to my next comment. Most of you all will not be going to the Island."

Mummers filled the men as they began to process what she just said. Another shiver began to run down Moses spine as he began to understand that feeling he had before was about.

"For this mission I am going to take a small, but mobile force. I don't need dead weight holding us back and drawing the beast to us. With that in mind I and Moses are going to swim to Triston from our position."

"God Damn it", hollerd Moses.

A sly smile crossed Star's face as she turned toward the group of marines. "However with just me and Moses the job can not be done. We are going to need a few extra hands to back us up, and before you start fighting over the honor I already have my list of names." The maiden stopped for a moment and then looked around. "Hikari the second, Joshua, Bolt, and Rome. You all prepare yourselves to move our within the hour."

"What", questioned Ashigaru. The young warrior had wanted to go, but he did not understand why he was chosen of all the people present.

"Prepare yourself for the battle of your life, youngling', chuckled Rome as she pushed pass the young man.