‘Three down!’ declared the head gunner, marking the wooden carriage of his cannon with a knife. The carriage’s surface was covered in such score lines, too many to count. Jack didn’t dare contemplate the number of souls lost according to that gunner’s tally. But, as the sea battle raged on, he had no doubt that the number would be equalled by the end of the day.

All around the Koketsu, Sea Samurai and Wind Demons fought for supremacy. The long-distance bombardment had turned to brutal close-quarter fighting. Ships drew alongside one another, exchanging cannon, arrow and musket fire, before grappling hooks were slung across and the decks became floating battlefields. Swords, axes, knives and spears were all put to deadly use.

As samurai and pirates slaughtered one another, it was as if Pirate Island had been plunged into the depths of hell. The Seto Sea ran red with blood. Sharks circled, taking advantage of the bloodbath, so that even survivors found themselves fighting for their lives. Clouds of black smoke from burning ships obscured the blue sky and the morning sun was transformed into a fierce weeping eye.

The Koketsu alone weaved in and out of the battling ships. Capable of sudden bursts of speed, and highly manoeuvrable due to its U-shaped hull, it evaded boarding attempts and wreaked havoc upon the samurai fleet. It charged straight over a kobaya of samurai troops, splitting the vessel in two. When Captain Hebi’s Jade Serpent was trapped in the crossfire of two atake-bune, the Koketsu rushed to her aid, sinking one and leaving the other crippled and at the mercy of Captain Hebi’s cannon.

As Tatsumaki and her crew sought out their next victim, a seki-bune drifted towards them, its crew dead upon the deck.

‘Looks like someone got there before us,’ observed Li Ling.

‘Shall we sink it?’ the head gunner asked Tatsumaki, his knife already primed to add another score mark.

The Pirate Queen shook her head, smiling. ‘Not unless you need more target practice!’

But, as the Koketsu passed the dead ship, Jack noticed something odd. The tiller had been tied fast, keeping the ship on course. He was about to point this out, when the seki-bune’s oars suddenly sprang to life and the ship surged towards them. Its main mast dropped with an almighty crash on to the roof of the Koketsu.

‘IT’S A TRICK!’ shouted Tatsumaki, giving orders to pull away.

But it was too late. The supposedly dead crew leapt to their feet, weapons drawn, and charged over the makeshift gangplank. A round iron projectile flew through one of the Koketsu’s open portholes. The hand bomb rolled across the deck, its fuse burning fiercely. On instinct, Jack pushed Li Ling behind a pile of cannonballs, then dived at Tatsumaki, knocking her to the ground. A moment later, the bomb exploded, iron shards flying in all directions to maim gunners and oarsmen alike.