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Role-Play Name: Sea and Storm
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The Waking Storm
A dark cloud followed the Wildest Hunt as it neared the town’s port, with the battleship’s jagged jaw emitting a bright red glow from within, like a dragon ready to spew its fire onto its victims. The settlement that they were approaching was fairly small, but well known for being a stockhouse of several Paradise based companies. For a pirate, it would just be another place to loot, which was why the town had set up a small militia that watched all the activities going on around the town. But for the Slaughter Pirates, it was just another refill station for their trip to New World. Gai at the quarter deck, accompanied by first-mate Olsen Alfhild, and long time crew member Arietta Melody, watched as the crew members on deck began readying the ship to port, and civilians from afar wonder and cower at the sight of the gigantic ship approach their settlement. The Slaughter Pirates have come a long way since the reformation of their crew, now with a few pets and more faces, Gai’s group had never looked so promising. Although, it was going to be a long time till he was able to accomplish what he truly seeked, but until then, Gai could just sit back and watch the journey unravel before him.
“Don’t spend too long on-land, captain. You already know how frantic Moxie can get when he knows you’re not on board.” Alfhild warned just as Gai began leaving.
The captain turned back and rolled his eyes, forming a smile on his lips as soon as his back was turned on Alfhild. “Then make sure you’re there to comfort him. I won’t be too long gone anyway, just get him to play with Maxie or something.”
“But sir? The rabbit’s still recovering from their last ‘playtime’, are you sure you want to put him through that again?”
Just as Gai was preparing to leap overboard and onto the rowboat that was prepared for him to reach land, the captain stopped himself and sighed before looking back to his concerned first-mate. “He’ll be alright. Maxie was made to be thrown around by Moxie.”
Lying on a cloud high above one of the islands beneath him, a strawny built man was sleeping soundly high in the sky, pleasantly drifting off had it not been the appearance of a thunder cloud, the crackling of electricity awakening him as he stared off into the distance. Stretching as he stood up, the skypeian known as Gonbei took in the sight of the town and numerous boats transporting cargo as they made their way to port, feeling his stomach rumble as he took note. Checking his personal babbage, Gonbei was obviously low on supplies and Beli, and hungry for the looks of it, “BWHAAA! Noonish already, and my stomach’s empty, must have been eight or nine hours since I nodded off.” With a crack from his neck, he leaped off the cloud, Gonbei’s wings stretched out, gliding through the air as he fell fast, his landing spot being one of the ships transporting shipments of cargo to the port.
With his arrival, it all but destroyed the naval craft, his landing sending a violent shockwave all across the waters, shaking the calm ocean into a flurry of vicious waves, creating a turbulent tide that displaced all of the other ships nearby. Ransacking the contents, Gonbei wolfed down a gourd of alcohol, biting into a morsel of meat before his attention was drawn to a sinister looking ship off into the distance. With a grizzly smile, he pressed his legs against the wooden floor of what remained of the sinking craft, Gonbei lunging on top of the ship’s main deck, examining the strange jolly roger as he lay down on the hard floor, picking his nose. “What a gloomy dump. Who the hell’d wanna ride this hot mess for more than a minute?” Scratching his back, Gonbei began to eat his lunch, planning to smash the boat to shreds after he was down to help with his digestion later.
The shockwave sent the Wildest Hunt backwards, as even an anchored battleship didn’t seem to withstand such strength. Gai had almost lost his footing if it weren’t for him quickly reaching for the handrail as soon as he sensed Gonbei’s arrival, hearing everyone else on deck fall backwards, along with the grunts and cries of other crews from other ships around the port. Whoever this was, wasn’t someone that Gai was too keen on confronting, but after some time of being a captain, one would usually take this as a warning to turn back. It was a shame, however, as the ship that Gai had wanted for so long had now prevented them from turning back without being seen from miles away, and would only put them as a giant _target for anyone looking to wreck a big ship.
“W-what was that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You think Calamity is here as well?”
“Can’t be, captain said he already dealt with the thing.”
Gai looked back to his crew and whistled loudly into the air, signalling for the rowboat to be pulled back on board before looking back out towards the port, “QUIET. I think I can still trace the location from the water.” Gai ordered before thinking out loud to himself.
“Captain! Should we ready the cannons?” Alfhild called out, visibly pulling herself back into view after falling back onto the quarter deck.
This was a more troubling sight, as simple shockwaves weren’t enough to bring the first-mate to her knees, especially with what she had been through before. Gai shook his head and moved onto the rail over the waters, cracking his neck from side to side before closing his eyes. “Don’t move the ship, as soon as I’m in the water I’ll be able to track it down. If anything scary comes rushing towards the ship, you have my permission to shoot it down with everything we have.”
“AYE AYE, CAPTAIN!”
Nodding his head and taking in a deep breath, Gai vaulted over the side of the ship and plummeted into the water, a refreshing rush of energy travelling through his body as soon as he was submerged in familiar salty seawater. As true as he claimed, Gai found a trail to follow as soon as he jumped into the water, and instantly torpedoed through the water towards Gonbei’s position. The captain was well more equipped underwater than above, being able to travel through the sea much faster than any boat could. A half-fishman being more of a fishman than any fishman alive, as despite being born on land, it was the water that he truly belonged to. The distance between him and Gonbei was closed in mere seconds, as the captain propelled himself out of the water and onto the same boat that Gonbai had begun filling himself up from, landing with as much grace as a rock, but on his two feet nonetheless.
Taking a bite from a bag of crackers, he stared at the newcomer, sizing him up as he slowly lifted a biscuit to his mouth, getting back up to greet him as he wiped his mouth clean. From a comparison, he noted that the man was much taller than him, and fairly built. “Oh, that is one fancy coat, just throwing this out there, you wouldn’t be the captain would you?” Sitting straight up, Gonbei leaned on the ship’s mast, gently placing his hand on the surface to get a better feel for it. Taking his finger out of his nose, he pointed it toward Gai’s direction, folding his thumb over his middle finger, as if he were ready to fling something at him. “You look kinda strong, but it’d be disappointing if it was all fluff ya’ know. Really, me being here was just bad timing, if anyone’s to blame for what’s about to happen, it’d be you.” Flicking his finger, Gonbei sent a piece of snot at him, but a closer glance, a compressed ball of air blasted past it, flying through the air like a bullet. From a glance, the difference between his current “body” and the stranger was difficult to gauge, but from what he had seen, he was ready to test him.
The bullet of air flew right into Gai’s side, causing the captain’s body to slightly swing around as his coat blew outwards. The captain gritted his teeth as he tried to hold back any sign of weakness in the moment, as it would be quite the low first appearance to someone that looked quite, well, weak? But that shot wasn’t something that quite matched Gonbei’s current appearance, though, the captain should have learned by now that looks can be well more than deceiving. Gai looked at Gonbei with a slightly irritated look on his expressionless face as he returned to his normal stance, looking at the man and now sticking his finger into his own mouth, “I’m not the captain of this here boat, I’d imagine that captain would have abandoned ship by now. And to start a fight is a risk I’m willing to take if it means that my day isn’t going to be interrupted by whatever you plan to do here.”
Taking his finger out of his mouth, Gai did the same as Gonbei as he arched his fingers into a readied flicking shape and aimed it right at the Skypeian. Without a moment’s hesitation, the captain fired off the drop of spittle towards Gonbei, with the force and speed turning the spittle into a bullet of water that travelled at the same speed as Gonbei’s own projectile. Surely, a strange way for the two to begin a fight, but firing things from their own bodies seemed to be something both Gonbei and Gai shared in common with the way they exemplified their might.
Hitting him straight on, Gonbei twitched and screamed across the ground, the fluids spreading across him as he made a spectacle as if to draw the attention of anyone close enough to hear it. “GWAAAH! IT HURTS, DAMMIT, NO, NO. I’M DYING!” Clutching at his chest, Gonbei struggled to stand, walking toward Gai as he wobbled from left to right, falling face first against the ground. Rolling to his side, Gonbei turned to face his assailant, tears running down his eyes, “Hugh...aghh...p-please, remember my name…” Raising his arm across his eyes, his breathing became more ragged, as Gonbei outstretched his free hand to the stranger that had bested him in battle, his appearance much smaller, mostly haggard and boney completion at a glance, cried out. The injury knocking a hole straight through his chest, the attack, interestingly, the same type as his own, although much more powerful in comparison.
Gai looked to Gonbei with a slightly confused and alarmed look, stepping back with each inch Gonbei moved closer towards him. This was NOT the same person that created that shockwave, NOT the same person that was able to shoot air that strong into Gai’s body, and NOT the same person that Gai was hoping to confront that day. The captain looked at Gonbei with only disgust in his mind, and refused to hold his hand out to the skypeian with only regret showing in his eyes. “Stop with the act. I know you’re better than this.” Gai scolded, hoping that the through he was holding onto was right.
Clenching his fist, Gai pulled his arm back and took aim right at Gonbei’s face, “Robusutātairu ma ken!”
Within seconds, the captain threw forward a powerful strike that dispersed the air before him, causing wind to travel backwards and around his fist as it moved through the space towards his _target. A second into moving, large spikes erupted from Gai’s skin and shot out forward, causing the air to leave split trails drifting around his arm. A combination of piercing and blunt force was soon to meet with the Gonbei, more so as a sort of wake up call to whatever the Skypiean was hiding from the captain, and to unleash the annoyance that Gai had held in after watching Gonbei’s display.
“So serious,” with his hand still outstretched to Gai, the feeble, short arm began to twitch and convulse uncontrollable, the size now growing to massive levels, nearly several times larger than his own body as it made contact with the stranger’s own attack, now towering over the two of them. Taking advantage of the shortness of distance, Gonbei countered with his own attack, “Arashi Tenohiro.” With the thrust from his enlarged arm, the air pressure began to spin in the palm of his hand, whirling everything in front of it, threatening to shred them to pieces. With the exchange taking place, even more changes began to take place, Gonbei’s once frail, small body was bulging, his muscles expanding and contorting as he grew larger, slowly using his newly returning strength to push further and further down on his own attack, to the point of nearly matching the ship’s mast in size, now swinging with his real strength.
As Gai could feel his strike land on Gonbei, so could he feel the Skypeian’s strike on his chest, forcing the captain backwards as the shockwave from his own fist was released to level the swirling airs coming from Gonbei’s attack. As his feet lifted from the ground, the captain plummeted through several crates, walls and other obstacles before landing on the furthest side of the ship, with the front of his clothes tattered and shredded to reveal the captain’s already scarred body from fights before. Gai took the second to process what had just happened whilst running his fingers across the front of his torso, tearing off the remnants of his shirt and feeling around his coat to make sure that it at least remained intact. No scratches or rips from what he felt allowed the captain to sigh in relief before pulling himself back up, now left with only his shoes, pants and coat on from Gonbei’s strike. With how quick the blows exchanged, Gai looked to his fist to see that the spikes still remained intact with a subtle stream of steam drifting off his hand and into the air.
“Looks like I’ve found more food for the Damned.” Gai muttered to himself before taking his stance.
With both hands out to the side, the captain felt for a brief moment, his legs and arms loosening, almost sending his body dropping to the floor. Surely, this wasn’t just Gonbei? Maybe today wasn’t a day that Gai should have been fighting? Gai had to go through with what he had brought onto himself, however, and finish this the way he needed it to. Taking a deep breath in and out, Gai closed his eyes and clapped loudly into the air, as a powerful shockwave erupted from between both his palms and quickly travelled outwards from his position. A popular technique of his that he had continued training all throughout his journey, the shockwave produced was much stronger than how it was used a year back. The port fell silent for a few seconds as the clap echoed around the harbour and the sea, as sailors and civilians watched in horror as parts of their bodies seemed to drag themselves outward, away from Gai’s direction. The waves and the sea breeze seemed to stop in this brief moment of power, before all hell finally was unleashed.
Ships and their sailors, civilians and their goods, all found themselves being thrown outwards with violent force, being thrown metres away in milliseconds, being unable to process what had just happened before being flung into nearby buildings and obstacles. Sailors were either flung harshly into masts and railings, whilst others were thrown overboard and into the water, some into waters so far from their boat that by the time they realised they were in the sea, it was already too late. The waters had also managed to topple some of the other ships in the port over, causing water to quickly rush in and drag the vessel and its crew underneath, sending them to a death they had yet to realise. The waves themselves began moving powerfully once again, but due to it being in the water, waves directed towards the town were pushed a lot more force than just gravity, reaching further inland and dragging unconscious and dead civilians back towards the beach. Waves pointed towards the ocean carried on normally, though moved now towards the horizon, seemingly carrying on for miles by the looks of things. Gai pushed back EVERYTHING away from him, with enough notable force to bend any normal man’s knee to him out of fear and respect. As his hands parted away, heavy amounts of steam lifted from his fingers and palms, before encasing him in a light smoke that dwelled around him for a few minutes.
"...Kalamidad"
With steam emanating from his nearly emerging form, it mostly obscured the large man, noticing the shockwave emanating from the stranger as it hurled everything backward in a violent torrent. Unable to run or evade at the sheer speed it was going, Gonbei didn’t bother wasting time on any unnecessary movements; extending his right arm out, he pointed his wrist toward his adversary as he held his armband directly in front of the shockwave. Within moments, the majority of the shockwave’s impact was drawn into his wrist, Gonbei using one of his dials to mitigate the damage, specifically the Reject Dial to absorb the energy. “...Reject…”, he grumbled, unable to take in all the force as what remained sent him flying out toward the opposite side of the ships, skipping across the surface of the water as he spun out of control. Extending the length of his wings out, Gonbei stopped the momentum by spreading them out, his nose bleeding as he stared on with contempt, unable to figure out what had just happened. “That kenpo, is that…” Before he could finish that sentence, the skypien fluttered his wings forward, the simple thought that his opponent was using “that” style irked him even more, using the rush of adrenaline to jettison himself back to the ship, trailing behind a blistering wave of water as he leaned heavy-handedly toward the ship’s starboard.
With his return, it was all the more evident that Gonbei was more than he appeared, as he stood towering over the Gai, his true appearance was that of muscular young man, heavily contrasting his feeble, small frame he used to trick Gai. the hole where he was shot shrank as his body grew in proportion, now a small puncture over his giant chest. The needles that once embedded themselves into his skull were slowly dislodging themselves from his face as veins pulsed along his head and cheeks. “Fishman-Karate, just another bottom feeder coming up for air.” Wiping the blood from his nose, Gonbei spat what remained across the ground, smiling as he caressed the band tied along his left bicep. “If I’m the heaven, and this is the earth, you could say you’re less than the dirt they walk on.” With a press, the dial hidden inside began to emit a grey cloud around him, being that of the Eisen Dial, slithering around like a snake as Gonbei took on a martial stance, planting his legs into the ground as he punched the air, sending the air flying as the cloud raced with it. “Kumoyari! Combining his own style of martial arts with the effects of the dial, Gonbei unleashed a spear-like funnel of air, the cloud mixing in to create an iron coat that hurled its way to Gai.
With what he could do, Gai threw up his arms in a bid to defend himself, using his forearms to block it before the attack had struck. Despite the defence, the captain could still feel a massive force strike right through and throw him backwards, once again lifting him off his feet and right into a railing behind him that then took all the force rushing through the captain’s body. Gai let out a loud cough, before taking a few more seconds to regain his strength, Gonbei’s attack winding him and catching him off guard. It was like his chest had been pounded with a hundred, if not a thousand hammers all at once. Shaking his head, Gai pulled himself back up and brushed off what he could from his coat and his bare upper body, noticing that his skin had turned to a light red tone, especially in the area of impact.
“...The thin air up there isn’t good for the brain y’know.” Gai spat to the side before kicking back on the railing behind him.
With the strength he had, Gai was able to unhinge and completely throw the part of the railing he landed onto into the waters below, giving him a way to escape. Between them, it looked as though the land would be the only place they could match up against as equals, though Gai could only hope that Gonbei was unable to swim to the depths he could reach. Seemingly taking in a deep breath as a normal human would, Gai pinched his nose and jumped backwards, falling overboard and splashing loudly into the water. While Gonbei could have the sky, Gai could have the sea to himself, moving backwards before he could see the entire hull of the ship that he had confronted Gonbei on. Cupping his hands and shaping them into a bowl, Gai began using Mizugokoro, evident by the spiralling water current forming around him. While he had come to be the masterful user of Fish-Man Karate in his long journey of being a pirate, Gai was much more in tune with his use of Fish-Man Jujutsu, as he could feel the water’s strings attract to his fingers, ready to be guided to wherever he wanted.
“Fish-man Jujutsu: Shredding Ocean Pillar!” Gai screamed.
Pushing forward, the spiralling current around Gai was propelled towards the ship’s hull, quickly transforming and extending into a large current that closed into a pillar, surrounded by swirling sharp peaks of white water, directed to where Gai last saw Gonbei. The waters around Gai seemed to stop for these few seconds, as the pillar sliced through the space between Gai and the ship, effortlessly collecting more and more water to increase in size. By the time the attack had reached the bottom of the ship, it had become big enough to engulf five normal sized humans within its deathtrap body, as it began to slice through the ship’s underside by tearing and throwing remnants of the ship to the side on its way up. The ship would find itself creaking loudly and its supports giving way, getting ready to collapse in on itself.
Using the rest of the cloud residue folded around him from the Eisen Dial, Gonbei erected a shell-like wall to surround him, compressing it and turning himself a small grey ball, with Gonbei bobbing and weaving the air currents inside with his hands, distributing the cloud at the center where the damage would be at its greatest. With the air shell, Gonbei could feel the immense water pressure burst through the ship, wooden debris and chunks of iron flying all around him, scattering across the ocean in a pool of wreckage. Upon contact, Gonbei felt overwhelmed by the power on display, sending him high above his initial position into the sky, the torrent of uprising water leaving gashes across the cloud as a result. Gasping for air, Gonbei broke into a cold sweat, undoing the cloud shell he made, unable to make out his location, surprised at how high up he was sent, with the stranger out of sight after he was submerged. On his person, Gonbei had only a handful of dials tucked behind his armbands, none of which were of any particular help in his current situation. However, Gonbei glanced at the clouds, bursting in shock at a sudden realization. Taking out what appeared to be a green bean, Gonbei collected some of the cloud in his hand, falling on the bean as he threw it into the ocean where he had last seen Gai. Upon falling, nothing of interest occurred, but after several seconds, the ground and port began to shake, the ocean rumbling hysterically as bubbles began to emerge, followed by the appearance of an unusual structure: a beanstalk. With vines stretching out from all directions, they entangled and choked whatever was near them, curling and suffocating the nearby ships to shreds, the vines eventually making their way to harbor and beyond, burrowing into the town and sprouting vines that decimated the local habitants. At the center, a monumental beanstalk grew high above the ocean floor, erecting itself above the clouds hanging over their location. Standing in awe, Gonbei sat on one of the stalk’s leaves, nearly his own body in length as he gazed at the ocean, now more vine than water. “Try swimming through that fishman, just think of it like overgrown seaweed,” Gonbei yelled, ripping a long branch off as he soared high above, now beginning to inhale large amounts of air, his already large chest expanding even further beyond as a small vortex whirled around his mouth.
Gai was once again caught off surprise, as he found himself being lifted into the air by one of the branches that sprouted out of the beanstalk’s trunk. Parts of the ship that remained above him were also carried into the air, but due to their large sizes, immediately toppled over the side and downwards towards Gai’s position. With what thinking he could manage at that moment, the captain threw himself to the side and narrowly evaded the falling debris, although bounced up and off as soon as the large chunk collided with the branch. The captain reached up and grabbed onto the fleshy skin of the branch with his fingers, clawing his way back on to not fall to an untimely death. This Skypeian was getting more and more troublesome the longer this encounter went on, but to have done what he had done to the town made Gai’s original purpose here, null. Although, it did leave him with a new task at hand: to finish off the giant named Gonbei. Pulling himself back onto the branch, Gai flicked his arms outward and prompted spikes from all around his body to extend outwards, covering him in several red coloured spines that reached inches from his body. With how the beanstalk was made, Gai figured that the best chance he could navigate this plant structure was with the spikes to hold him in place, as the plant’s skin still was quite slippery to the touch.
“I should’ve told them to prepare the cannons.” Gai sighed before rushing towards the trunk of the beanstalk and impaling his spines into its flesh.
He seemed to have lost sight of the bird man for the meantime, but chose to keep an eye out on the way down as he positioned his body to have one arm and one leg stuck into the tree, with the other limbs free to fight off anything coming towards him. And with that, began his descent down, using the weight of his body to drag him downwards whilst his spines left notable, now bleeding green lines in the beanstalk’s body. He needed to get back to the water if he had any chance of taking on Gonbei, as he was in enemy territory right now where his opponent held the highest advantage over him.
Circling around the giant beanstalk, Gonbei stalked for his prey, his eyes sharpened and locked unto this _target, his objective from a glance, being his return back to the ocean. Flapping his wings even harder, Gonbei zig-zagged from a distance and positioned himself underneath him, keeping himself away from the fishman’s reach as he motioned himself still. Opening his mouth partially, Gonbei released some of the air he had collected into what was effectively a rapid torrent of air bullets in high-speed succession, riddling a trail of holes across the plant’s body as they made their way to their _target. With what air he had left, Gonbei let out an enormous air current that blew upwards, creating a stream of wind that skyrocketed all manner of debris, ship parts, wood and metal that were stuck on branches toward the fishman, raining up numerous projectiles. Ripping the branch he had grabbed earlier in order to fashion a sharp point, now more of a spear for him to use. Waiting to see where the fishman would go to dodge, Gonbei would throw it at his next location to skewer him in mid-air.
The air bullets seemed to have been enough for Gai to take as a sign of Gonbei’s presence, feeling some of the projectiles hit the spikes extending from his body and others hitting his skin. In a bid to save himself, the captain threw himself forward to allow gravity to drag him further down quicker, with the sap of the beanstalk still clinging onto the spines that Gai had used to slide down. As soon as he noticed the debris being thrown towards him, lifted by the air that Gonbei seemed to have left over, Gai once again tried to clap his hands, although the rushing air that went past his falling body proved to be quite the obstacle in his attempt to press his hands. Veins popped out from his muscles and the side of his head as he continued on, worried about the debris that was about to shred him to pieces as he fell downwards to them. With what strength he could muster, Gai quickly spun his body around and struck into the beanstalk’s body with one clenched fist.
“Senmaigawara Seiken!”
The force carried through the fist struck into the plant’s trunk, and rebounded outwards around Gai just as the debris was about to hit him. The shockwave produced in time caused the incoming pieces to fire outwards and away from the captain, saving himself the trouble of being torn apart by boats and whatnot. Just as Gai turned around to see where Gonbei was, however, a sharp, piercing feeling chilled his side, shown to be the spear that Gonbei had thrown after the attack. The leaf stuck itself through the coat and allowed Gai to hang against the beanstalk with a face wanting to scream out in both pain and anger. The bird man was quickly getting more and more on his nerves, but to make him bleed after what Gai had been through was able to piss the captain off. Marines, robots, whatever the sea would throw at him, and a giant bird man was the thing to make him bleed after a year or so? No. Unacceptable. Gai gripped onto the leaf spear and pulled it out from the coat, now wielding it in his hand as a weapon for himself as he began sliding down the beanstalk once more. What he didn’t seem to, or at least didn’t want to, acknowledge, was the wound sliced into his side, but this alone couldn’t compare to the wounds that Gai had suffered before.
Clicking his tongue, Gonbei pressed his hands at his waist, more surprised that he wasn't dead yet, a testament that he was more than he initially made him out to be. Rather than waste time chasing him, Gonbei raced directly to the viney surface of the ground, using his wings to push his heavy down faster, the beanstalk now covering the surface of the ocean that the fishman was trying to reach. Taking the dial from his armband, he let it leak across the ground, mixing his Eisen Dial with the vines to create what was essentially a metal floor made of clouds that spread out from his location, creating a small miasma across the bottom of the beanstalk. Cracking his neck, Gonbei stretched his hands toward the sky, bringing them down into a martial stance. Clasping his hands up, he cupped them and began moving them around him, his fluids movements collecting air in each hand as they began to shake and turn red, heating up from the speed he was moving them, causing a fire to erupt from the air. With his movements, the wind he caught was swirling in circles, with Gonbei taking in all the air he had gathered and compressing them, folding his hands together as he glanced upwards.
Kicking off the floor, Gonbei ran up the beanstalk, his heavy frame supported by the fluttering of his wings as he repeatedly kept leaping off the various vines and leaves, his hands shaking with the air shrinking the higher he got.
With the height that Gai had reached going down, he could witness the mess that Gonbei was making to stop him, causing the captain to watch the same man run up towards the beanstalk with his wings following by. Gai proceeded to do the same as Gonbei, changing his body to now stand horizontally from the beanstalk’s trunk with spines extending from the underside of his feet, making sure to keep him connected instead of straight up falling from the plant. Whilst the change was quite sudden, a few steps allowed Gai to adapt quickly to the new stance, as he soon broke into a sprint towards Gonbei with the leaf spear still in hand. With his _target now in sight, Gai angled the spear downwards and let it drop above him, meanwhile pulling his arm right back behind him as he waited for the spear to gain enough momentum and fall to a position lower than him. Seconds would pass as Gai kept his eye trained on the giant bird man, force just building up within his fist before the time could finally come.
Now, with the spear having drifted to the front of him, Gai took his chance and struck forward, using his Fish-Man strength and Fish-man Karate technique to slam his knuckles into the back, blunt end of the spear, exerting a tonne of force into the weapon that propelled it forward to reach a speed akin to a bullet. The combination of multiple forces at play allowed Gai to send Gonbei’s throw away weapon back at him, tearing through the leaves and what not that stood in his path as it came shooting towards the Skypeian. Besides that, a small shockwave erupted around the area of impact, adding onto the push that forced the spear downwards, but also causing Gai’s hair and coat to flutter in the wind, even as they were descending.
Closing his eyes, Gonbei’s last visage was of a fast moving projectile moving ahead of the fishman, surprised that he was resourceful enough to use the very weapon he tossed to hurt him as his own. Letting his palms open, a thunderous crack exploded from the palms of his hands, setting off a shockwave from the side of the giant root, shaking it violently to its stem. What followed was a high pitched scream that escaped into the air, the hiss stretching for miles as a white beam stretched ahead from the cracks of his fingers, “Fujin Ikikawa!” Gonbei screamed, the attack eviscerating the spear and opening up to encompass the entirety of the space facing him, ripping the broadside of the beanstalk and all the contents lining it in linear fashion as it raced upwards, slowly sinking deeper into the structure. Expelling it to tackle the fishman head on, the pressure pushed him downwind to the opposite direction, riding the air current as he maneuvered with his wings, landing backfirst to the ground. With his eyes still closed, Gonbei slammed his hands together, his body pulsating and radiating steam, his wings becoming more vein-like as his muscles tensed up and swelled.
As the beam headed towards Gai, the captain threw his arms forward and clenched into a ball, causing the attack to collide with his arms and push him upwards, further from the ground. As the spines under Gai’s feet dragged through the plant’s trunk, the pressure from the blast caused Gai’s feet to unlodge, and sent the captain further up now without a support to stay on without falling to his death. As soon as Gonbei stopped the beam, Gai looked at the smoke drifting from the front of his forearms and screamed loudly, akin to the battlescream that many of the Damned would let out when told to feed. This man was preventing him from getting to his home, and to leave a fish like Gai out of water for too long would only be bad news for anyone around him. Extending spines from his body once again, Gai threw himself against the body of the beanstalk and stuck himself in place, working to cut open the body and tear through the giant structure for whatever he was planning. Using his spines to gouge out chunks of the plant and throwing them off to the side, Gai was able to reach a point where he could stick both arms into the flesh of the plant and emerge with sap covering both limbs.
“UCHIMIZU.”
From where he was, Gai crossed both arms around him before flinging them forward, allowing all the drops of sap and what not to shoot forward, transforming into bullets, much like how Gai had used his spit from before. These projectiles tore through the obstacles in front of him and cleared the way, raining over Gonbei as a hail of bullets, ready to keep the giant man down while Gai could get back down to the ground. Sprinting with both arms still before him, Gai was determined to get back to the water and bring the battle back to a field in his favour.
With multiple bullets falling from above, several bullets had reached their mark, several grazing his back, his cheek, and arms as he shielded himself, one eventually piercing his right foot and thigh. Nearly falling to his knees, Gonbei smashed his good leg against the ground, in an effort to keep himself up. “Alright fishman, captain or not, no more dancing around, Seimei Kikan!” he hissed, and upon doing so, his body began to radiate an immense heat, his wings engorging themselves with extra muscle and mass to the point of being larger than his own body. Now an extension of his own muscles, they folded themselves over one another, shielding Gonbei from the rainfall of bullets. Staring up into the sky, Gonbei nodded at the “cloud” high above, sticking two fingers in his mouth as he whistled loudly, the screech reaching all around him at an ear grating level, signaling down what appeared to be a floating ship, the cannons following Gonbei’s signal as he fluttered his massive wings, the sound of his crew echoing behind.
Now faster than before, his newly grown wings swang back, blazing through the sky as he flew close to where Gai was climbing, minding his distance as he lifted his right hand up, pointing at the beanstalk with his finger. “Wendell should get the message,” he mumbled, taking a quick look at the area where his previous attack had landed, damaging the stem. Turning his attention back to the fishman, he cracked his knuckles, watching him descend to the ground to escape; rather than waste time chasing, Gonbei would bring the fight directly to the fishman, deciding to close the distance and turn this battle into a slugfest. Taking a head start, Gonbei began running down the stem, soon kicking off in order to boost himself downward, flapping his wings for more speed as he crossed his arms out, hoping to tackle him to the ground at high velocity.
Watching the bird man signalling the sky and soon rushing after him, Gai gritted his teeth and stopped in place, pulling his arms to the side before looking up from his position, which in reality was him looking off to the side of the beanstalk. “Gaibu Setsuzoku Shisei”. The captain screamed out loudly at the top of his lungs, with even his screams being enough to shake the leaves and branches of the ginormous plant. From where they were, his crew knew that if he had to use this technique, he may be in need of their assistance. As soon as he could feel the energy surge through his body and towards his hands and feet, Gai continued on his way, sprinting downwards with his upper body turned to Gonbei to keep an eye on him, but from the looks of things, he could reach the ground in no time. With every step he took, came one small shockwave that rebounded off the tree, causing their vocal explosions to shake the beanstalk and echo around the town whilst he made his way down. While there was no hope of him hiding himself from his opponent, sneaking around hasn’t always been Gai’s forte.
Extending his right arms first, Gonbei dug his arm forward and began to spin, creating momentum from his forward movement as a vapor cone began to form around the tips of his fingers, folding them inward into a fist. Witnessing firsthand the changes going on inside the fishman, Gonbei was weary about getting close, the shockwave caught him by surprise but did not deter him in his advance. With no choice but gamble his safety with a chance to end the fight early with his next attack, all the necessary conditions had been met but at the cost of him speeding things along. Bulking up his arm’s size and muscle, Gonbei boosted the physical force he was about to produce even further, now resembling a rocket hurdling down to the fishman. At the closest angle, Gonbei opened the palm of his hand, ready to slam into his chest and unleash his truest attack.
Gai’s fish man genes allowed him to assess the environment around him through the hairs on his head, a gene and mutation that has aided him in combat before. With Gaibu Setsuzoku Shisei activated, Gai too had access to some attacks that surpassed his current mastery of Fish-Man Karate, some of them being skills that very little practitioners are able to even touch till old age. As Gonbei closed in on Gai, the captain leapt up from his position and allowed Gravity to bring him back down to the ground, whilst he proceeded to confront the Skypeian for the remainder of the fall. As his torso turned, spines shot out from Gai’s arm extending inches from his fist and forearm as they tore through the air and left small trails of wind that circulated around Gai’s body. A closed fist rocketed around with the intent of hitting anything in its way, the first obstacle being Gonbei’s hand, reaching outwards towards Gai with the accidental circumstance of meeting both attacks. All that Gai knew was that either way, his back was going to hurt the day after.
“Akuma no te inseki.”
“It all comes together in the end, don’t you think fishman...REJECT!” Unleashing a roar that he eclipsed all the others he had bellied out, his wrist shaking and quivering erratically, and upon making contact with the stranger’s own fist, Gonbei connected his attack. What followed was a shockwave unlike what had followed previously, the shaking moving up gonbei’s arm up to his shoulder, his face painted as he coughed up blood. Using the Reject Dial, Gonbei let out all the energy he had accumulated at the start of the battle, having absorbed the fishman’s technique, Kalamidad, that had devastated the surrounding harbor and ships and releasing it 10x its original power, letting it ride on top of his own attack. Setting off a concentrated wave pointed upwards to his opponent’s arm and beyond, Gonbei blasted straight down, destroying not only the beanstalk’s roots, but the vine flooring that covered the sea and the grey cloud of metal smoke, leaving behind a gaping hole over the ocean’s surface. With the backlash, Gonbei was sent flying backwards against the beanstalk, streaking against the hard wall in surprise, at the recoil the attack had, his arm shaking as his wrist was bruised. Leaning backwards toward the leaf, Gonbei gazed downward to the devastation left, panting as he held onto his shoulder.
Gai’s body shot downwards into the hole left by Gonbei’s attack, descending quickly into the waters which were left disturbed by the shockwave’s force, breaking the water so that Gai would not land in a way that it was concrete. His arm experienced a pain that one could not explain in words, but only screams, yet the sudden rush of water seemed to nullify Gai’s voice as soon as he was submerged. Weary with a taste of his own medicine, Gai allowed the water to carry his body as it floated in space, light breaking through the hole and laying gently on his skin as he hung around for a moment or two. At least he was back in the water like he wanted, yet even more threatened and even, scared of the giant outside. He was no stranger to shockwaves, just like Alfhild, as he had undergone and felt his own before. He had essentially grown up with such power being thrown at him, with his father and all. Though, at a level that the dial had used Kalamidad at and Gonbei’s strength, the Skypeian’s attack was effective at waking the captain up to the fight, with now a broken body and a taste for blood.
“...Need. To. Get back. To the ship.”
He was running on determination, to get back to his crew and to finish off the fight, there was no way he’d allow something like that to bring him down. Yet it was even a miracle he retained consciousness. Wiggling his fingers on his other arm, Gai rested his head as a slight tingling fought against the aching pain in the arm that met with Gonbei. Though he did want to scream, whatever was happening was happening quickly, the feeling of shattered bone splintering inside his arm and impaling the muscles covering them seemed to slowly fade. His genes, granting him a form of regeneration began to reconstruct his arm and fix it, despite the damage done to the rest of his body. It took priority being the limb that Gonbei damaged the most, allowing Gai to tolerate a slight pain as he wiggled his fingers around on the fixed arm, finally clenching his fist before gazing back up to the hole that he fell through.
“...Bastard’s still up there, giving me a taste of my own medicine... Alright then, fine.” Gai muttered to himself as he kept a straight face and breathed in, with only the taste of saltwater scratching up his nose.
Pushing himself gently upwards, Gai drifted towards the entrance in an attempt to look for Gonbei, making sure to remain in the water as he did so. If he wanted, he could regenerate and heal the rest of his body, though he’d need more time. And time was a precious thing, especially for this battle, as it could give Gonbei more time to plan out his attacks if Gai was to show up in his face again. Reaching outwards with both arms, Gai gripped the water as if it was cloth, though not in the way that Fish-Man Jujutsu users would usually do in their art. More like they were strings of a puppet, free for Gai to manipulate and shift in anyway he chose so. There was still the issue of the things above the water that Gai needed to fix, the vines and the metal clouds, before he could totally confront Gonbei in a form that was out of the Fish-Man Karate, Jujutsu norm. Tugging violently on the water, Gai watched as the ocean around him began to shift, circling around the captain as it slowly built up speed. Around and around, Gai witnessed the ocean around him begin to turn into a whirlpool that encircled the captain, rushing quickly in a circular motion before being lifted into the air above him. The vines covering the waters would soon be enveloped, and quickly drawn in to be pulled into the water’s vortex with whatever it was connected to. This vine covering was sucked into the whirlpool quickly, clearing everything but the metal cloud above them, and sending the plants down onto the sea floor if they had not been shredded by the other debris caught in the whirlpool.
Staring at his arm then directly back to the cloud hovering above the water, Gonbei burst out laughing that the fishman was still alive and kicking, up to his tricks while submerged under water. Flexing his injured arm, Gonbei sat cross legged on the ground, taking several breaths as he meditated, exhaling a large sigh as steam radiated around his upper torso, using Seimei Kikan to force his body’s natural healing to speed up, recovering some stamina as his wounds began to close to a degree. Clenching his right hand, he examined the extent of the Dial’s effect on it, “five more times…”, he thought, bouncing off the floor as he slammed his hand toward the vine. Flying down to the bottom of the beanstalk’s base, Gonbei grabbed onto the iron cloud, pulling fast to bend the air around his arm, coating it in a soft shell. “Tougher than the others I've met until now, you must be a cut above the rest.” Closing his eyes, Gonbei let his mind wonder around him, opening them sharply as they began to glow, exerting his Kenbunshoku Haki akin sonar-like fashion, feeling the presence of what little survivors remained in the bay, all the way to the town far ahead of them, counting and amazed that anyone was left standing after their scuffle. Sinking into the water, Gonbei could feel the presence of a single being still active in the water, feeling out his intentions and emotions, becoming clear that things would escalate until one of them died, a waste in either case.
Scratching his head, he ran his hand down his face, sliding it across his chin before coming to a conclusion. Splashing the water with his hand several times to catch his attention, Gonbei moved his face inches away from the water’s surface, inhaling deeply as he screamed at the top of his lungs, “THIS IS BULLSHIT!” Venting and swearing out for everyone to hear, Gonbei’s voice rumbled the water around him, shaking the leaves on the beanstalk the further the echo went, complaining as his face turned bright red, nearly falling on his rear end after running out of air. “Kill or be killed? Don’t make me laugh.” Pulling out his bag from his waist, he took some snacks out to eat, glancing at the water, “I don’t wanna die, but I don’t want to kill you either. And I’m not gonna bother wasting energy on something I don’t feel like doing either.” Sitting on the cloud, Gonbei kept his Haki active, lying on his side while waiting, taking out a massive gourd of sake and several large sakazuki cups, pouring himself a drink as he wolfed it down in one gulp.
As the whirlpool suddenly stopped, Gai shot out from the ocean and ascended into the air, with two large streams connecting his hands to the water as he flew upwards. Looking to the city before him, he closed his eyes and let out a scream before twisting his body around and sending two large waves into the settlement, allowing them to crash into the shore and spread inwards to land with enough strength to pull the people still out onto the streets and any bodies from before back into shore. The waters flooded the town for a brief moment before returning to the ocean, leaving a quiet town in its place with no sign of life, or at least to Gai’s knowledge. The captain descended back into the water and appeared on the beach within seconds, shaking off his coat from being soaked to make himself known to Gonbei once again. The captain was surely tired, with a good arm now from the last attack, but now at peace. This didn’t look like an attack to strike but a clean up from their fight, to ‘return’ the environment back to how it was before the two fought, albeit with the beanstalk still enrooted in place.
“Clean your mess bird man and come down. Our business here isn’t finished.” Gai called out with arms at his side, presenting himself in a way that conveyed peaceful intent.
“Fair enough.” Picking up his dial, Gonbei tucked it back into his left shoulder band, dispersing the cloud around them back into the shell. Fluttering his wings, he glided through the air back to port, packing up his things to greet the fishman face-to-face. Before doing so, Gonbei signaled his shipped, lifting his hand before bringing it back down, an instant later, a hail of cannon fire and munitions came raining down on the damaged side of the beanstalk, concentrating on the area where it had suffered the greatest amount of damage from both combatants attacks. With a thunderous snap, the towering figure outstretched to the very clouds tilted out toward the sea, ultimately falling down to earth. Slamming into the ocean, it brought out a large tide, the water falling down over the town like rain. With what little normality returning to the small town, the flying warship that had been hovering above them landed several miles away from them, staying close to the harbor as a bright red jolly roger decorated the mast of the strange ship.
“Back to square one more or less.” Sitting on a nearby rock, Gonbei shot the captain a sharp look, crossing his eyes as he shrugged his shoulders. “Hmm… You. Are. Tough. What do they feed you down there? Must be something in the water to take that beating like a big boy,” with that remark, he clapped his hands as he examined his challenger.
As Gonbei spoke to Gai, the Wildest Hunt approached the bay in all its glory, moving past the destroyed ships and masts that stuck out from the water, pushing them away or breaking them off as its hull passed over them. It’s dark armour and gaping, jagged jaw at the front emitted red lights that quickly shone over the dock of the town, with its dark flags spread out over the sky, nearly blocking out the sun. At its very top, its jolly roger, something akin to the jolly rogers found on most pirate crews nowadays, displaying a skull with a bone held between its jaws, and crustaceos legs sticking out from the sides of the head. With the cleavers behind it, it more or less made the crew look like a seafood restaurant than an actual pirate crew. The size of the ship was something terrifying, possibly even bigger than the town itself, but from how close it was now to land, anyone could see why Gai had needed such a large vessel. Peeking over the ship’s edges were the crew members and the many creatures that Gai had taken in as both pets and beasts for the crew’s use. They had come a long way from being just a crew of humans, now an amassed following of beings from everywhere the crew had been.
The captain spat to the side and bowed his head in respect, impressed and amazed by the strength that Gonbei was able to perform. Having managed to keep the fish-man out of water brought Gai to a point where he could not fight, and so allowed the Skypeian total control over the situation. His experience for combat near water was totally nulled during their encounter, showing that Gai had a lot more to experience or to plan for if he ever considered going into the New World. Looking back to Gonbei, Gai gave his opponent one short, sharp glance before turning to his ship and whistling loudly into the air.
“I heal better in the water. Really lets that side of me thrive for the moment I’m submerged. It’s where I am at my best, which I suppose is where you’ve bested me…” Gai thought out loud before turning back to Gonbei with a raised eyebrow, “We can’t possibly let this be our last or only fight now.”
With the Wildest Hunt’s shadow looming over the town, some of the crew on board found it as a suitable time to rejoin their captain and help face down the giant man that had knocked him down, armed with their weapons, naturally. Being the first-mate, Alfhild was the one to lead the group as she leaped down from the ship’s massive size and landed on the ground with a cloud of dust that dispersed from her position. She looked over to Gonbei just as Gai did, showing how influential and how alike the two had become, before rushing over to Gai’s side, followed by many others that grappled down the Wildest Hunt’s sides. She withdrew her rapiers and quietly chanted again with one of the blades held high, causing her eyes to quickly glow red as the winds that swept through her split away upon coming into the swords direction.
“Captain, we are here to-” Alfhild called out before being stopped by Gai, who began raising his arm as a signal to lay down their weapons.
“It’s finished, we’ve already started cleaning up. I’m not making another mess.” Gai sighed as he looked back to Gonbei, “Tell me what kind of air your breathing to change into. That.” He asked as he noted the large size that Gonbei had changed into.
“Same air you’re breathing now. But add that, and throw it 10,000 meters where we’re standing up, and try breathing it through a straw,” he commented, cackling as he fell to his side, pointing at the fishman and his crew while gripping his sides from the hilarity. Wiping a tear from his face, Gonbei’s expression turned stern an instant later, his vessel gliding through the air to land on the opposite side of the captain’s own ship, positioning itself squarely behind him. Getting up, he took another drink from the large red bowl of sake, going out of his way to pour the fishman an overly sized cup in return, nearly the size of the man’s own body, as they continued their conversation. With the rumbling of the battleship’s engine, numerous pirates swarmed to the deck, weapons and firearms at the ready, awaiting for their captain’s order. Waving haphazardly to brush them off in a slight nod of annoyance.
“If things were reversed, I’d think you would’ve won, but I sure as hell ain’t gonna admit to that, ya’ know.” Getting up from the ground, Gonbei let out several breaths, his body shrinking and changing several sizes down, his wounds becoming more visible but his presence was as large as and towering as before, his wings being more prominent as a result. “Cool right, I’d be willing to teach you if you joined my crew. What do ya say?”
Taking part in Gonbei’s feast, Gai accepted the large man’s offer and rivalled the Skypeian’s drinking pace, even holding his bowl out everytime Gonbei went for a drink of his own. “Join your crew? I would, believe me, but I don’t think I can leave my crew with how they are,” Gai explained turning down Gonbei’s offer, “Though it does look like we both have crews, so maybe an alliance to help each other would be more beneficial than a single man joining another group. Teach me that thing you can do, and I’ll be more than happy enough to teach you something.”
Looking back to his crew, Gai nodded his head and sent his crew back to the ship, leaving only Alfhild to remain with her captain, “If an alliance is something you’re up for, I do know another crew that might aid in our pairing. Judging by that big bird you have there, I’d assume you’ve got plenty of room for possible beasts.”
Taking another drink, Gonbei downed it on one gulp, gasping and sighing heavily, wiping off his mouth after with a sense of satisfaction swelling up, more than content with his answer. “Good. If you’d have said yes, I’d have killed you on the spot.” Refilling Gai’s drink, Gonbei lifted his cup to meet Gai’s in cheer, “The idea of having someone as strong as you listening to someone else would bug the shit out of me, ya know. And that'd close up any chance I’d have to kick your ass.” Toasting in the fishman’s honor, Gonbei took the biggest drink from his cup yet, slowly lifting it up as his chest rose, nearly holding it upside his head before turning to look at the fishman.
“LET IT BE KNOWN THAT GONBEI WILL BE THE ONE TO KILL YOU! And until then, you’re not allowed to die by anyone else's hand but mine.” Smashing his cup against the ground without breaking it, Gonbei yelled out not only for both crews to hear, but doing so as if to reaffirm his decision and to warn anyone else that could be hearing. Feeling his blood boil at the prospect of them encountering each other again, an alliance would be the easiest way for that to happen, and it would ensure that he could keep an eye on him.
“Heh. Fine. But it should be only fair that I’ll be the one to kill you.” Gai tilted his head back with his eyebrow raised, impressed with the man’s enthusiasm. Gai had been looking for a person to continue clashing with, and to fight a person that came from the skies seemed almost poetic from the man that belonged to the seas. He could imagine it, both coming from their respective homes to use the land as their battleground. “Then it’s settled. Today we celebrate, today is the day our crews band together! If you die from anything but my fist, then I’ll drag you from hell to back here, just so that I can put you back there myself!” Gai announced, just loud enough for Gonbei to hear the same enthusiasm in his voice.
Layer by Layer
Weeks Later
With the passing weeks, what looked like bated breath to Gonbei, transformed into elation as the diminutive Skypien grew larger, now resembling the familiar giant from before, exhaling profusely as steam radiated all across his towering frame. “A thousand years at sea, and a thousand years in the mountains…” he murmured, balancing himself on one finger as his muscular frame just as quickly shrank to the same size as the fishman across from him, now resembling an ordinary man. Pushing off the floor, Gonbei leapt back against the ship's rail, standing above the rest of the crew on the deck, “Seimei Kikan is the ultimate form of self domination, a true expression of mind over body. At your level, the best you can do is just fill those scrawny arms up so that you're less punchable.” With that explanation, Gonbei pinches at Gai’s arms, as if to showcase any flabbiness he might have.
“Sc-SCRAWNY?!” Gai exclaimed as he pulled his arm away and dusted off the area that Gonbei pinched, “Shouldn’t be fanning the flames for a fight so soon…”
Taking deep breaths in and deep breaths out, Gai held his arms out by his side as he assumed a martial arts stance: feet stepped out from each other at shoulder length and his arms bent with his fists outward, sort of tensing them as he breathed. He closed his eyes and concentrated on what Gonbei had taught him, although it was true that at the level he was, he wasn’t going to be able to reach the massive stature that Gonbei had been able to reach naturally.
“One. Two. Three. Four. One. Two. Three. Four. One..” Gai counted in his head, oblivious to the transformation his arms were undergoing as they began to grow in size.
First it was his wrists, growing like a balloon but stopping after only inches, showing the veins that bulge from under his skin as he concentrated on the technique. Next was his bicep, which also expanded, showing that every part of his arms were growing at the same pace, something that Gai had to learn to make sure no parts were too big or too small compared to the other. After all, he wanted to achieve what Gonbei had achieved in order to compare with the Skypeian in their next fight. In a way, their rivalry was similar to the rivalry that Gai shared with his father, learning the art in order to outmatch them, if it came to a point where Gai did. Gai could only think of the power he could reach if he was able to transform into a man as large as Gonbei, his Fish-Man Karate would certainly be enhanced, but it was those dials that Gai seemed to hate about Gonbei the most. If he could find a way to counter those dials in the future, Gai would at least have a better chance at defeating the large man and level the scores between the two captains.
By the time Gai finished counting, his arms had reached its peak for his level, now relatively larger but certainly not as large as Gonbei. It had become a width that looked slightly too big for Gai’s stature, but nothing too obviously unnatural. The captain couldn’t hold back a confident smirk that formed on his face as he looked at what occurred, squeezing his hands to make sure that what was in front of him was real. He was like a child on Christmas, opening a gift to see that it was the gift that he wanted all year. Except Gai didn’t have to wait a year for something like this, only a few weeks.
“HAH. I can’t believe it actually works.” Gai said, his excitement seeping into his words, “The heads I could crush with these!”
“Nice first attempt, any larger and you might just be just as good-looking as me,” he bellies, flexing his biceps as if to imitate Gai’s size.”
Rummaging through the ship’s storehouse for food and drink, Gonbei brushed a large barrel of ale out to the deck, breaking it open with a light push of his hand and spraying all over the residents, foam plastered all over the floor. With an excessively large mug, Gonbei took out a dial from his wristband, hoping the fishman wouldn’t see, all the while filling up his cup to the very top. “Now that you got step one down, time to get the harder bit of it...the parts you aren’t seeing.” Throwing a Breathe Dial across from Gai, the dial began to emit a dark cloud of purple smoke, quickly escalating and enveloping the entire area, with Gonbei simply looking on in amusement as he took a drink from his mug.
“Agh, here’s step 2, it’s now always about muscling your way out, especially with all that poison there from the sky islands.” Stepping into the cloud, Gonbei thrusts his hand across Gai’s neck, squeezing just enough to force his mouth open before throwing a straight punch directly into his stomach, forcing him to breathe. “Keep the poison from killing you by strengthening your system idiot.”
Gai’s eyes widened in shock, the force of Gonbei’s hand around his throat was something that caught him off guard. “G-GA-WHAT ARE YOU DOIN-” He screamed before he could get a taste of the poisonous cloud Gonbei subjected him to.
It was the taste that was the first thing that was prominent, to Gai at least it was bitter and sulphuric, not meant to be inhaled by the normal human. But that was the point of Gonbei’s actions, Gai wasn’t meant to be a normal human with the use of the Redwing Pirate’s Seimei Kikan. And it seemed as though there was more to the technique than what Gai could see it seemed, as if Gai had to use poison during their fight, Gonbei would presumably have gone unaffected by what he was teaching Gai. It seems as though there was still ALOT that Gai had yet to discover of the man, if he could survive whatever trial Gonbei was putting him through at the moment. Clutching his chest and dropping to his knees, Gai tried panting for air whilst looking around, hoping that there was someway out of the poison cloud and to air that he could actually breathe. His gaze then shifted to Gonbei, anger now prominent in his eyes as purple veins began to climb across his forehead, which in turn began to colour red from the strain the smoke had on Gai’s body.
“F-FUCK. What are you p-putting me throug-gh?!” Gai screamed between choked gasps.
Slamming his hand onto the ground, Gai created a loud thump on the ship’s deck that seemed to shake the area around him, showing just how much Seimei Kikan really did for his Fish-man strength. He tried to do as Gonbei said, even as his chest dropped to the deck and he was left trying to push himself back up, all the while breathing heavily and quickly. If he could get out, he could probably flush all the toxins through his system in the water. Though. That was IF he could get to the water alive.
“FOOL!” Furiously kicking him across his ribs, Gonbei sent the fishman flying straight across the mast, waltzing across his battered body squeezing the top of his head, “Do you know why it’s called ‘Life Return’, at this point, you’re body’s dying, so how about you stop wasting time and use that will to bring yourself back, otherwise you’re gonna’ kick the bucket and I can’t kill you afterwards.”
That was it.
The will to live.
Gai smiled as he grabbed Gonbei’s arm with a powerful grip to make sure that Redwing Pirate could see that he was still living. “T-then. I’ve done this before.”
The veins continued to pulsate under the skin of his forehead, gripping tighter onto Gonbei’s arm the longer he remained in the smoke. It seemed that was all that Gonbei had to compare it to. As this wasn’t the first time Gai had to fight to save his life. In an odd fashion, Gai slammed the ground with his other arm and slipped his fingers into any crevices he could, holding him to the ground as his torso began to lift itself into the air. A frightening and strange sight to the Redwing Pirate indeed, as Gai’s eyes began shivering in place before the captain let go of the other captain’s arm. By the way he slammed his other fist to the ground, and caused the cloud around him to disperse in a loud shockwave around him, Gai found that will to live he had been blessed with before. Just now, at a time he was expecting it.
Though, this rush seemed to be different before, as if improved from the times he had experienced it. The veins under his skin began to shrink back to normal, just as its purple colour started to fade. The taste of the smoke was also starting to disappear from his mouth, with just a bitter but tolerable scent that coated his tongue. He was healing, just not in the way he was used to when he was in the salty water. His insides pumped furiously from his stomach to his lungs, working tirelessly to remove what toxins had entered his body, only to exit as a cloud of purple that seeped out of Gai’s mouth, concealing the mad smile the captain had planted on his face as he slowly recovered from the smoke.
Life Return indeed. Or at least how Gai’s body learned it as.
The captain made his way back up on his feet, rubbing the side that Gonbei had kicked in only to reveal that there was no mark left. Probably from the properties of his healing ability as a Lobster Fish-man. The smoke continued to flow from his mouth and onto the ground below, though now Gai looked just as good as he was before this trial. All that Gonbei could see was the death staring eyes of the Slaughter Pirates looking right back at him, almost speaking to him as if asking for another challenge for the Redwing Pirate captain to throw at him.
“...I breathe death, Bird-man. Try again.” Gai spoke through a muffled throat as his eyes met Gonbei.
Taking in the spectacle taking place in front of him, Gonbei grew amazed at the sudden development of Gai’s skill in the last couple weeks, congratulating him for passing the next step by slapping him several times across his back, not holding back upon doing so. “Hahah, you had me worried there, when it comes to, well, you, you never know what to expect.” Picking up his dial off the floor, Gonbei caressed his arm where Gai had gripped him from, surprised that his grip illustrated that kind of reaction from him. He signaled the rest of the crew to clean up the mess he had created, with foam and ale spilled all over the walls, and purple stains from the smoke etched across the floor wooden rails. “Come on, your captain’s tired, this isn’t a show people, someone please clean this up,” he signaled, clapping his hands to hurry them up.
Wearing some borrowed clothes from the crew, Gonbei had a tight shirt with the Slaughter Pirates logo at the center, something of which that had filled him with all kinds of questions every since he had first laid eyes on Gai’s jolly roger, “I know you call yourselves the ‘SLAUGHTER’ Pirates, but what’s with the crap and cleavers? You look more like cooks than pirates.”
“...Eh? Isn’t that how pirates nowadays do their jolly rogers? I thought this looked normal!?” Gai explained himself, scratching the back of his head.
Twisting his wrists from left to right, Gai got a feel of what Seimei Kikan felt like on his body. He felt as though he was different but same at the same time. It wasn’t all too different besides the fact that his appearance had changed, or at least just the appearance of his arms. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, the captain redirected his body’s front away from Gonbei and prepared to strike, aiming for the space in front of him once he was sure that no-one was in his way.
“Robusutātairu ma ken.”
What exited out was a powerful shockwave that erupted from his knuckles into a cone shape in front of him, causing the area it went through to almost ripple in sight. Gai’s eyes slightly opened in wonder and worry as he realised what happened, as he knew the true strength he was actually punching at. His new found strength allowed him to hit harder with less effort, built upon the Fish-man strength he had already. Maybe this time he would be stronger to protect his crew, to protect the ones he trusts. Hiding a smirk that formed on his face, Gai looked as the area in front of him slowly stopped shimmering before him as it transitioned back to normal, showing the after effects of Robusutātairu ma ken when thrown at a force that strong.
“...That’s. How?”
“Sinister.” Wary at shockwave, he could feel his bones vibrate and shake violently, stopping after a short while, looking at amazement at the sheer power put on display as he composed himself. Before he could do anything else, a bell rang from the high above the crows nest sounded.
“Aye, land straight ahead captains.”
Gonbei's expression soured, with the island in sight, it evident that change was on the horizon, and things were only going to complicate themselves the further he interacted with the captain of this vessel.
Up above, in the sea that was the great blue sky, hovered the vessel of the Redwing Pirates even as their Captain was still down below amongst their once adversaries. Looking down from the very edge of the starboard hull, a woman with dark hair with devil red lips and whose purple eyes seemed as though they could pierce the heart of any man even from such a distance. Walking up next to her was a red-haired man with a crazed smile plastered across his lips as always, the helmsman placed his arms across the bannister as he too looked down at the ship below.
“Curious about what they’re talking about?” Wendell broke the silence first, eyes wandering back up towards Anasha.
“I don’t care about what they’re discussing..” Anasha’s response came back with a sharp tone, not lifting her gaze for a moment to greet the fellow crew member. “..The further away we’re from that thing, the better.”
“But… Wouldn’t that be kind of count-...” -- “PURRURURURURU!!!” Being interrupted by the sound of the den den mushi loud ringing tone, Wendell turned towards to see that one of the crew members held up between the two of them. Anasha didn’t reach for it, let alone turn towards it, which made Wendell do it instead. Lifting it and placing it next to his ear without saying a word, Wendell waited a moment before nodding his head and putting it back down. “Kerchak..!”
“The Mirror Pirates have already arrived on the island.” The helmsman announced.
“I know.” She spoke out, perhaps it was to be expected that the crew’s head doctor and tactician had taken note of it already. Turning on her heels, Anasha looked over to one of the more well-built members of the skypien crew that stood not far away from them. With a glance, he already knew what she wanted as it had been the case so many times before. Walking over, the crew member reached out with both hands towards her, placing one hand behind her back and the other just behind the knees before lifting her up with both arms. Anasha’s expression didn’t change for a moment as the man held her up, turned towards the edge before climbing over the bannister. A second or so passed by… Only for the man to take the extra step that had both of them descending down at full speed towards the Slaughter Pirates’ ship.
“APPROACHER FROM THE REDWING SHIP!” A voice cried out from the crows nest up above.
Looking up, Gai could see Anasha descend towards the captains, knowing that it was the doctor herself from the descriptions Gonbei had given him from the weeks of training they did. He was yet to meet the many members of Gonbei’s crew, as his training had never left the deck of The Wildest Hunt’s space, but he felt as though he would meet a few of them soon enough judging by the time she had decided to check up on the ship. Signalling for his captain’s coat, one of the pirate members rushed up to Gai with the said cloak in hand before leaving to rejoin his peers in cleaning the deck, ready for anything else that Gonbei decided to try and throw at Gai for his training. A member of the Redwing Pirates choosing to appear at this time could only really mean one thing: The Mirror Pirates were here.
“CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! THE MIRROR PIRATES ARE ON THE ISLAND!” Aiko rushed out from below the back deck, holding a Den Den Mushi in one of her hands.
“...I know. I think she came down to tell us the same thing.” Gai called out, his eyes still trained on the descending Anasha, “Bring me the negotiation party, it’s about time we dabbled in some pirate politics.”
Slipping his arms through the captain’s coat, Gai brushed the front of it off before looking to Gonbei with a flare gun that he drew from his pocket, its colour bright red with the Redwing’s symbol printed on it. Aiming the flare gun to the front of the ship, a pull of the trigger shot out a small capsule that fired forwards and way before the ship itself. Before either captain knew it, a bright flash of light exploded in front of the Wildest Hunt before the same light hovered up into the air and rocketed forward, towards the horizon and signalling both ships where they needed to be. Throwing the firearm to the side and stretching his arms out, both arms returned to their normal size in order for Gai to begin massaging them, as the exercise of Seimei Kikan seemed to wear them out for the day.
“To the island we go I suppose. Have you prepared everything you wanted to bring up for the meeting?” Gai asked, still massaging his arms from the training.
With a small thud, the man carrying Anesha descended onto the Slaughter Pirates’ vessel and lifted the woman down carefully as she in turn now stood between the two Captains as her eyes pierced the Captain of the opposite crew. “Know your limits Slave Master. Don’t talk to us any further until the negotiations have begun.”
It had been clear that the Doctor of the Redwing Pirates had heard enough of Gai’s sentence as she was landing to make a note of things. Ever more so on her opinion on the matter as she would go on to turn her attention to Gonbei with a look almost as stern, making her point across that it was time to get serious about the matter at hand.
Snapping back, Gonbei stretched his hand out across his neck, cracking it as he slowly turned to face the captain, his ship, descending from the bright sky down to the ocean as he took an unnatural expression, appearing appropriately stern for someone of his position. “Gai... from this point on, were enemies. Any sign of favoritism would destroy whatever neutrality we have. After all, only one of us walking away after this is over”
“Then I guess it would be fair to break the little birdie’s win- oh wait. Looks like someone got to them first.” Gai said in a blank but disturbing manner, “Remember where you stand, slave, otherwise you’ll be back in chains under the foot of a World Noble.”
The Middle of Nowhere
Standing on the opposite end of the small island was a group of blonde figures clad in purple and blue, all of them sharing so many traits with one another that grouping them up into a military unit wouldn’t be enough to describe their similarities. Some of them were women, others men, all of which varied in their hairstyles with some having short hair, others were longer with some being tied up. While one of the figures were smiling, others were frowning while some didn’t show their entire faces at all. All of this together with their various heights sprouted more questions than they would an answer. Behind them were no rowboats or any other mechanical marvels that would have provided them transport to the island with the exception of the boat further off in the distance. But if one looked over the yonder and passed each of the figures, they would spot numerous amounts of fins peeking up from the waters and circling one another like a flock of sharks. With creatures like these accompanying them, it was evident that the Mirror Pirates had arrived and awaited the others. Standing in a line with no figure standing in front of the other, it was unclear which one of them would be taking the command or even which one of them was the figurehead -- if there even was one.
Being amongst the first people to leave their rowboats and step onto the small island, Sacramentum stepped onto it and took hold of the rope before starting to pull the vehicle further onto shore. Despite his relatively small stature, the man didn’t appear to have any issues performing his task with only one hand. With a wide grin plastered across his face that spoke of any happy endings, but rather misgivings if there ever was such an expression, Sacramentum turned to face the others as they too started to get onto the island. His hollow, red eyes making it even more difficult to decipher his expression, “Woweeh, man it’s nice to get back on land! I wonder if we’ll make it out alive?! HAHAAA!” The man's attitude was as loud as ever.
“Mind yourself, Sacramentum. This is important business, the captain expects you all to be on your best behaviour. Well, until he gives us a signal to go wild.” Alfhild scolded the young Hollow before giving a playful smile.
Being the second one off the boat, Alfhild secured both her rapiers to the sides of her belt and hopped off the small rowboat, looking around to see that the meeting spot was, well, just a large island of flat sand surrounded by water. To make this the meeting place was a strange choice for Gai, but knowing her captain, he had some tricks up his sleeve. She remembered him studying into the islands on their path before setting course to this one specifically, so there was a chance he knew something about the island that none of the other crews knew about.
One of their other members walked idly alongside the others, eyes more so fixated on the blonde figures ahead of them as he was taking the liberty of seizing up each of them. Valour couldn’t help but turn back and look at the young hollow as their first mate spoke out about the man’s behavior. Seeing the hollow take note of it and give Valour a wide smile in response, the expression turned sour and he raised his right hand and flipped him the bird with no attempts of trying to hide it to the others.
Packing up various tools on his person, the Slaughter Pirate’s very own samurai Yomotsu heads out with the rest of the survey crew, putting on a straw komuso hat to cover his hat as he follows behind the rest, keeping his distance. With Valour flipping off Sacramentum, and the fact that they were going into uncharted territory, Yomotsu gripped the handle of his sword, sighing past his hat for everyone to hear.
Snorting and spitting across the floor, Ricard couldn’t help but reminisce about the last time he had been on this very ship, just as quickly growing annoyed with the very thought a moment later, loathing the idea of staying put longer than he had to, demonstrating some disgust with simply standing idly by as he started shaking his leg in place, taking a coin out before he ruined his mood any further. ‘’’Probably bad luck to stay any longer on this ship’’’ Ricardo thought, only after the thought had started flipping his coin several times in the sky, ultimately grimacing viciously that it was time to go once it landed on tails. Using his devil fruit to transform his finger into syringes, jabbing himself across his arms in the process. Ricardo’s slender body began to engorge and swell, his bones growing larger as his muscles followed suit, rendering him unrecognizable as a towering wall of muscle, walking behind the rest of the screw headed to the meeting.
Descending from the height of heaven towards the murky waters of Paradise, the Golden Icarus, the vessel carrying its captain, had arrived at the disclosed location, just in time for their meeting, something that had begun to fill the skype with a sense of foreboding. Shirking off the sense of danger, Gonbei could feel a burning sensation well up inside him, elation at the events taking place, with his crew out to tae in the scenery, all the more ecstatic to finally set food on solid ground. “A pirate meeting? On an island where no one can hear you scream? BWAHAHAHA, IT’S SO RIDICULOUS IT’S TOO PERFECT!” With the Redwing Pirates stranded on an island with various other pirate crews on site, and no one in authority there, it stood to reason that anyone of them could get away with whatever backstabbing they wanted without the others noticing. This rule undoubtedly applies to them as well.
“I KNOW RIGHT! HAJAJAJAJA!” Wendell joined in on his captain’s laughter, following just behind. “The perfect place for some FUN!”
With the mast raised down, the crew readied a small boat for a number of Gonbei’s elite to follow him in, with the captain himself spreading his wings out, growing larger to lift him up, landing directly on top of the vessel headed to land. “Aside from Anasha, Wendell, you’re coming too, I’ll need your eyes for this, who knows what kinda players are headed our way.” Crossing his arms, Gonbei made room for his two shipmates, His eyes and ears on lookout for anything that might be seen as an act of aggression as he observed the other ships head to the island.
Behind Gonbei and the others, Fate walked behind in tow with her sword, holding it close to her body as she moved forward. The blindfold wrapped around her eyes served its purpose to hide the scars that laid underneath, and just like Anasha, the consequence of slavery and its cruel operators. The way she moved was like a normal human being, stopping when she needed to stop, and kept her balance when the platform they stood on moved. Fate tapped her fingers gently on the blade nervously, slightly irritating Wendell who noticed the erratic fidgeting of the blind woman.
“WILL YOU BE QUIET WOMAN!” Wendell screamed at Fate’s face, immediately grabbing the blade with his grip and yanking it away from the woman.
Caught off guard, Fate jumped a bit upon feeling her sword ripped from her hands, even looking the wrong way as she tried to face Wendell who now stood behind her after she turned her body around, “I-I didn’t mean to!”
Seeing the young woman facing her way in the confusion and having laid witness to the crewmates behavior, Anasha’s spoke out with a soft tone: “Come now, we’ve only just arrived so try to keep it together. Hmm?” Spoken like a mother trying to settle her children from bickering, a smile following her words as she went on. “If you need to fight, then there are others here for such a purpose, aren’t there?” -- The woman raised one of her hands to grace the shoulders of Fate as she went on while the other reached out for Wendell with an open hand.
“Give Fate her weapon back Wendell..” The smile still lingering, but for one reason or another, it didn’t feel as friendly as it did a few moments ago, even more so as she went on and it turned into something else entirely- “..Unless if you’d rather have something else stuck in between your ribs the next time you come back to the infirmary. And trust me Wendell… I can certainly make things worse from there.”
“HA! I think I can handle myself well enough to never visit you again!” Wendell laughed.
Fate held her hands to her face as she curled her upper body close to itself, quite frightened by the way that Wendell spoke. But she sensed more than the tone he used, she could sense the pain in his voice that hid underneath the laughter. She knew that he didn’t care, he was all the more welcome for Anasha to do as he wanted. So in a bid to de-escalate the issue, Fate grabbed onto Anasha’s hand and smiled gently to sort of ease the crew’s mother figure. She didn’t want Wendell to yell even more, nor did she want Anasha to get angry with him.
“L-lets stop this, it’s fine! He can hold onto it as long as he wants.” Fate assured, even if she wasn’t looking at Anasha at the time, but still smiled as if she was.
Looking back at Fate, Anasha couldn’t help but think that their young navigator was still too fragile for their world. Knowing that she could’ve ended up just like her, or how their roles might have been reversed should they have been freed at different stages in their confinements. Yet despite it all, her gaze didn’t lose its fire as her devil red lips parted once again while looking back towards Wendell. “Fine. If you don’t care for your own well-being or hers, consider the Captain’s. Keep this up and you’ll be giving him a bad reputation in front of everyone present. Is that what you want? To make him look weak as his crew can barely keep it together for a minute?” She was straining herself towards the end not to raise her voice too loudly, her head flickering towards everyone else to make sure that they hadn’t noticed their bickering.
Wendell simply smiled at Anasha and tossed the sword over the side, listening in closely as the sword sliced through the air and made a splash noise not too far from them. His smile grew all the more playful as he looked to Fate, still looking in the wrong way. “Oops, slipped out of my hands. My actions alone won’t be ruining the captain’s reputation, but it’s weaklings like her that might give off the wrong impression of our crew!” He said as he shoved Fate back, causing the young woman to yelp in surprise.
“A-h! P-p-please. I-I’m sorry.” Fate shivered, holding Anasha’s hand tighter.
Exerting the pressure he had been holding back, Gonbei let his hands rest on top of his crewmates, Wendell and Anansha, who had been causing a scene, every so gently squeezing the sides of their skulls with slightly increasing pressure, all the while Gonbei sporting a half crooked smile, evidently hiding some frustration very poorly. “Oi oi oi, what’s this. Fighting? Squabbling? And in front of these nice folk no less. Are you trying to make me laugh, HUH?!” Lifting them both up, Gonbei brought them to face level several feet off the ground, a vein pulsing across his head while doing so.
A second had passed.. Witnessing Gonbei’s approach slowing down. Then another… Making his speech pattern echo like a slur. Followed by a third..? She could feel the pressure pressing against her temples, the fingers sinking in. A fourth could by no means be considered a second.. They were barely making any movements at all. The pain. That’s what she was thinking about. That gnawing… Skull-crushing pain. All before it stopped… The entire world was waiting for her… But when would she return, did she dare to?
Anasha didn’t know what was worse. Having no knowledge of what the next moment could bring or that it might have been caused by something so trivial as an argument? It was all a blur at this point. How long had she been staring back at the man that had given her freedom but might just as well be her downfall?
Having gone through the scenario again and again inside her head, waging the options and the possible outcomes like so many times before. Find a scapegoat? Be reprimanded? Clarify her worth?.. But then again, was she worth it? It had never been for her to decide.
She could feel the pressure again as a moment passed… In time, so too would another before the next ones came all too quickly.
“These guy’s will sniff out the weakest link if we given em’ an inch, so starting fights with your own crew is the last thing we need. If you want to fuck around, that’s fine, but did it ever occur to you to, I don’t know, DO IT WITH THE GUYS ON OTHER TEAM!”
Taking a deep breathe, Gonbei sighed, taking a moment to cool himself down before gently putting them both down, taking his hands off their hands and letting them rest on their shoulders, “If even if one of us doesn't make it back out of this, none of it’ll matter afterwards, if you’re fighting, who’s job will it be to look after my back. After all, since as captain, my job’s to cover the front.” Tying his hair back with a small band, he gave his crewmates a reassuring smile, signaling them to continue to the meeting.
Wendell rolled his eyes but not before giving off a remorseless smirk Anasha’s way, even going as far as to blow a raspberry once the captain’s back was turned. “I heard about that little show you put on on their ship. The luck you have to be working alongside slave traders.” Wendell laughed before returning to his post behind Gonbei.
...Nothing? She had done nothing at all. Anasha didn’t meet Wendell’s eye or his comments. Thanking whatever deity in the lands above had him move ahead without placing too much attention on her. A heavy breath escaped her lungs as her body finally calmed down, feeling the shoulders lowering and her neck turn loose. It was until that point Anasha realized the trickle of cold sweat running down her temple. In all due haste, she raised her left hand as it clutched against the fabric of her clothes before using it to wipe it all away.
Had she simply been lucky or had it been mercy? Anasha couldn’t tell. But as she looked ahead to see the two men a few steps ahead of her still moving. Reality made it clear that she couldn’t dwell on it, she had to move on. And so she did, taking her place behind the Captain as they approached the meeting.
“Welcome everyone,” Said a figure with red shades covering his eyes, only for a short woman with a short, messy pony-tail taking it up from there: “I hope the journey here wasn’t too much of a hazard?” While lastly, one of the more stern looking figures with a shaved chin and long pony-tail finished their sentence -- “I’m familiar with some of you, but as we’ve arrived by the behest of the Slaughter Pirates. I think it’d be fitting if they set the course for today’s topic.”
Getting up from an overturned bucket that served as his seat, Gai looked around with his signature, unemotional glare before speaking. “Slaughter Pirates. Redwing Pirates. And Mirror Pirates. I’ve called you here to this small island of Nulle Part’e to discuss the potential of an alliance between us three crews. On our side of the world, piracy does not compare to the powers that lie over the Red Line. But, I see that as an opportunity for a combination of our knowledge, strengths and organisation in order to become a force that may be unmatched in Paradise. Look around us and think about what you see. BEHOLD THE BEHEMOTHS WE CALL SHIPS. Be it in the sea or the sky, the giants that we control align us to the kings of the islands that stand in our way to the New World, if not higher. The warbeasts that we control, bring us to a level of warfare that may be unmatched. And not forgetting the strength of the crews we have built, the foundations of our titles as captains. We all have something unique to our crews, but combined, can birth the age of something terrifying to stalk the land, the sea, AND the sky of Paradise for years to come.” Gai announced, pointing out to the Wildest Hunt, the Golden Icarus and the beasts that accompanied the Mirror Pirates during his speech as everyone listened attentively.
“A combination of power, however, isn’t the only thing that brings about an alliance. An alliance can promise things that will benefit each member in their own way, whether it be a promise for reinforcement, a promise to supply, or whatever you may wish first. Which is one of the main things that I call upon you all here for. I ask, will an alliance be possible between the Slaughter, the Redwing and the Mirror Pirates for the foreseeable future?” Gai continued on before sitting back down onto the bottom of the overturned bucket.
Eyes wandering across each other members of the respective crews that showed themselves on this day, Anasha’s gaze wandered but her ears always lingered on Gai as he spoke out to all of them. Being fully aware of her place in this matter, the doctor from the Redwing Pirates didn’t wish to speak out loud and object things as they had barely even started, nor before even her Captain had the chance to speak for himself. But she was not one to stand idle, it was her job as a tactician after all and a duty to safeguard the crew as a doctor. Treading forward to approach her Captain with her head held high, the woman’s eyes never meeting any of the others as she leaned over to whisper to Gonbei as best as she could without drawing too much attention to herself. “Do as you please good Captain… But there are no guarantees on the table for any of us.”
“W-we’ve got to be weary of what comes. Aligning ourselves with this crew is going to bring danger our way…” Fate said in the same manner on the other side of the captain.
Wendell nudged Fate’s back and smirked, causing the blind girl to look back the wrong way still as she tried to regain her balance. “Us being pirates alone brings danger our way.”
One of the blonde women from the Mirror Pirates did take note however, and instead of letting things slide she raised her voice: “Bold words Captain Gai, but much as I make it sound like a negative response I certainly know that you’re worth every piece of it given our encounters before.” Nodding her head ever so slightly, it was odd hearing her speak without an accent this time around as some of the members of the Slaughter Pirates had experienced in their time together. “But while you speak so highly and directly to us all... Others choose to hide it from us.” With each of the members of the Mirror Pirates shifting their gaze towards Anasha and Gonbei, it would cause the rest of the members present to certainly shift their attention to the Redwing Pirates instead. “Please, we’ve nothing to hide. Do speak up.”
For a moment, Gonbei stood silently, letting the woman’s words sink in, his large frame hovering behind his chair, eyes closed and body unnaturally still, as if a single breath would break the stillness of the moment. With the room silent, Gonbei let his body fall to the ground with his legs crossed, the quietness broken by the sudden sound of stone breaking and room shaking. Snapping his eyes open, they were immediately drawn to the blonde spokesperson, jerking his neck to her direction, his face stern with some level of annoyance mixed in. “Heh, ‘speak up’ she says.” With their gazes all over his crew, Gonbei slammed one of his hands to the ground to draw their attention to him, his gaze shifting from the Gai and his screw to the mis-match of pirates that comprise the Mirror Pirates, all different but still sporting very similar traits, mainly the blue and blonde aesthetic. Crossing his arms, he took a deep breathe, relaxing a little
“There’s nothing to hide huh? Sometimes it's better to hold onto your cards before you put everything on the table,” he remarked, “especially when you don’t know what the other guy’s got.” Counting the number of pirates present, his sight shiftend to Anansha, his thought focused on her previous statement, ‘’’Do as you pleased’’’, hoping that she’ll forgive him for taking her advice.
“I’ve got nothing against hooking up, but this is a give and take. I need to be sure that everyone can pitch in, and I know everyone in this room except the weirdo talking down to me. If we’re going on about worth, you’re monsters fit the bill, but my question is this: can I count on anything else?” Outstretching his hand, Gonbei clenched it into a fist in a measure of power between the two of them. Having gone head-to-head with Gai, he was well aware of how strong he was, with or without the Wildest Hunt, while the Mirror Pirates were an unknown factor that, for all he knew, relied solely on their beasts.
Steering and swimming… At first it would sting inside the good Skypian Captain’s ears like it had been airlocked for a moment. Before the cold sensation started to nimble. But the attention lied elsewhere, didn’t it?
“That’s why we’re here... isn’t it?” A woman spoke out amongst the several people seen to be making up the Mirror Pirates. It wasn’t the same one that had upset Gonbei but rather a new voice, this one having long hair being pulled back into a high-ponytail.
As she went on, the good Captain would feel it crawling underneath his skin, every passing moment had it slithering and festering, one step up on the ladder at a time.
Eyeing her from the bottom-up one would certainly say that she was well dressed by noble standards, but it certainly wasn’t matching everything else about her as she stood leaning on one leg, arms folded with a deadpan expression across her face as the sound of her lips continuously chewing and smacking down at the piece of chewing gum. “To get to know each other that is..”
“..Right?” Those last words didn’t come from the woman… Being but a whisper for the Captain of the Redwing Pirates as it rang with an almost screeching echo in the pirate’s right ear that left behind a chill. Like someone had taken a gust of ice cold wind and poured it down the ear itself. All the while a hand would appear from the opposite end with a knife in hand. It was that of a man whose partial body was now sprouting out from Gonbei’s upper back and leaning over him. It was obvious at first glance it was a Mirror Pirate because of the blonde hair, a soft smile resting on the man’s expression as he hovered over the man.
From the simple shrill of her voice, Gonbei could feel himself break out into a cold sweat, his muscles tensing up instinctively at the source of the noise, his guard raised to the max, as fear began to rise inside him, before being ultimately swallowed up a creeping sense of exhilaration welling up at the danger he was feeling. “Ain’t no time to think, much easier to knock your block off and hope something good happens.” Enough to put a smile on his face, Gonbei’s muscles creaked and swelled, turning the sweat he had on him into steam, ready to throw a clenched fist at the woman, hoping his attack would land first before this odd-attack did.
“Sorry about this Anansha, but I’m going to do whatever I wa—”, before Gonbei could so much as finish his sentence, he could hear the Slaughter Pirate’s captain speak from across the room.
“Stop messing around in an important meeting like this, Mirror Pirate. Our alliance hasn’t been settled on to get ourselves that comfortable around each other.” Gai spoke out, exhaling deeply as a loud sigh escaped his throat. “I can vouch for the Mirror Pirates that there is a lot more that goes on with them outside of what you can see. But what I can say is that I do not imagine most of them working on the front lines in case we need any support from them. If this alliance was to come about, that job would be placed on both mine and your crews. From what we’ve experienced and learned from each other, I think we should know how strong our crews are as a whole?” Gai said as he turned to Gonbei, leaning forward and supporting his upper body on one leg.
“I guess he knows how weak we are if we’re hauling around a blind girl as our navigator…” Wendell muttered under his breath, his words directed to Fate standing nearby.
Having caught onto his words, Fate’s esteem quickly dropped and her head slightly tilted downwards out of guilt. She turned her head away from Wendell and rubbed the back of her arm embarrassed, thinking that despite the volume Wendell had thought out loud, everyone in the entire meeting had heard him loud and clear. She gritted her teeth and held back everything she could from saying anything else, not wanting to start a scene that would ultimately embarrass both Gonbei and his crew.
“Tsk!” Clicking his tongue, Gonbei stopped his hand partway through, inches away from the Mirror Pirate’s speaker, fully intent on sending her head flying before Gai’s interruption, now swinging it back to his neck, massaging it nonchalantly as he turned his back, heading back to his spot.
Whether it was to Gonbei’s knowledge or not, the man’s hand would’ve passed right through the Mirror Pirate that had been threatening to shank the Redwing captain mere moments ago. As the skypeian turned and walked away, so too did the blonde; bearded man seemingly make its way out of the man’s body, each limb seen passing through with ease and then seen hovering the air with the knife still in hand as he backed off to join the other members of the Mirror Pirates.
Having peered back at the Captain even as the fist was mere inches from her face, the blonde woman’s eyebrows wiggled as a pink bubble sprouted from her mouth before making a loud “pop” as she went on to continue chewing her bubble gum. Only glancing over to the hovering and recently revealed member of the crew for a moment before looking back at the Redwing Pirates.
Gonbei sat back on his chair, consisting of several slabs of rock piled on top of one another. Turning his back, his face was much more relaxed, now sporting an exaggerated and badly acted face of panic, “Hey hey hey, I was only joking ya’ know, don’t take it so seriously. If you want to be friends, you shouldn’t bully someone as small as me, I bruise easily.” Crossing his leg, he folded his arms in, shooing the Mirror Pirates away with one hand to mark some distance between them.
Despite how much she was trying to hide it, another drop of cold sweat trickled down the side of Anasha’s temple as they had barely averted an all out brawl soon into the meeting. While her shell might appear to be having a calm composure as she didn’t appear to be affected by the events at all, she had been stiff as a rock as soon as the Captain had started to charge ahead and was still trying to calm down her nerves even as he sat down.
“Well if we would like to move on, I would like to speak on one of the main issues that the Slaughter Pirates have faced since its re-emergence. As you should all know by now, our crew is mainly known for holding numerous raids throughout our journey through the Grand Line. These raids are not usually for treasure or glory, but for bodies that our elite force consume. Hence, the name of our crew.” Alfhild started off the topic as she took her step forward.
Gai looked to the side as Alfhild spoke and did not interrupt her, watching with a keen eye as his First Mate brought to light the issues that the Slaughter Pirates were facing at the time. From the other pirate crews’ perspectives, they could see that Alfhild was a trusted member of the Slaughter Pirates, seemingly having the respect and place to talk when not told to and without any interference from the captain. The enthusiasm she had in her voice was both passionate and professional, enough to allow the other crews to know that what she spoke of was important to her, and so the entire crew. If anything, Alfhild may have been a better speaker than Gai, as the latter seemed emotionless and dead with the way his face looked around. But with Alfhild, she could convey the sincerity and seriousness of the situation much better than Gai could. Other members of the Slaughter Pirates listened in on Alfhild’s words, some nodding alongside her points of view, and others giving looks to the other crews to see if they were heeding her words. As a Vilon, she wasn’t forced into being another puppet of Gai’s that he could track down and survey when he wanted to, but rather a being that could still think for themselves and speak in a way that didn’t praise her crew the entire time just to say what the captain wanted to hear.
“As we are closing in soon on the Red Line, our options for any meat supplies are getting quite limited for the time being. With the widespread hold we could have on Paradise, one of the few things that the Slaughter Pirates can ask of you, is to grab every body that you can capture to feed our crew. We are asking through this alliance that our Hollow and Damned can remain fed, as well as the necessary support we may need at times when confronted with warfare from marines, pirates and any other hostile forces.” Alfhild said, bowing her head in respect to Gonbei and the leading Nero.
What a way to enter the conversation with such a favour, which Fate couldn’t really believe upon hearing. To maybe Alfhild, her request was something as menial or simple as asking for some food. But in reality, her compassion had twisted the actual request of herding and locking up innocent lives to be handed off to the Slaughter Pirates as nothing more than livestock. Indeed, Fate didn’t need to be a psychic to tell that danger would cross their path if they were to associate themselves with the infamous crew. But, as Gai said before, an alliance doesn’t work off the wants and needs of another without any sort of recurring benefit. Crossing her arms, Fate stepped forward to challenge or at least speak further on the topic that Alfhild had brought forth, making themselves known to everyone at the meeting, even if her captain may have not appreciated her intervention.
“A-and what will we get if we do agree to your heinous demand?” Fate spoke out, in a way that she imagined Anasha to speak out in.
Alfhild raised her eyebrow and looked to Fate, as she tilted her posture so that she was leaning on the furthest leg from the blind woman. “My ‘request’ is nothing more but an icebreaker, there is nothing heinous about it! We are simply asking that our elite forces are kept fed, AND then in return, the Slaughter Pirates are willing to lend the same forces as reinforcement to your own forces or as protection. Just so long as both crews are able to keep out stocks filled and fresh. What I’m proposing here is in return for humans, we will give you these creatures that are able to withstand any sword and ANY bullet that mankind has to offer, as protection.”
“C-can’t you hear yourself?” Fate responded immediately after, “Do you expect our crews to stoop down to your level where human lives are nothing more but cattle to be slaughtered and fed? T-that’s not right!”
Alfhild remained unfazed as she continued to glare at Fate with piercing eyes and a pity for the young innocent heart. From what she was able to gather about the Redwing Pirates, they consisted of people who fought against the norm, people that have been banished from their own, people who used to live in chains. Fate was no exception, except she was a prisoner of slavery, just like the doctor that stood close by. With what Alfhild was proposing, it might had been torture for people like her to commit the same sort of atrocities her experiences had brought onto her before. Nonetheless Alfhild continued, and challenged Fate’s argument with a stern, powerful look. “We’re pirates. What’s wrong and what’s right isn’t going to be the same for each crew. But I can understand where you're coming from, so let me tell you all a little something about me if I haven’t said it before.”
“I am a former slave of a World Noble here in Paradise. Sold to him by the man I now call my captain. It was through Gai that I learned that the world spares NO ONE, even if you wish to stay away from all the evils in the world. Our entire crew had been built on working with Gai to repay the sins of our past, to put ourselves through a harrowing life as punishment for the evils we may have brought before.” Alfhild fired off as she continued to justify her words, “We live in a boat akin to an underworld, surrounded by the stench of death and misery, ruled over by demons we called Damned and Hollow. Of everyone on this damn island, we know when someone has stooped to ‘our level’. But do not think for one second, that we are the lowest of the low. There are things far worse than us out there, maybe especially in the New World that I can GUARANTEE, you may not be able to face by yourselves in the state you are in. What we ask of you, compares NOTHING to what we have, can or are willing to do.”
Fate was a little taken aback, maybe more so from the fact that Alfhild had opened up as being a slave just like her, and even worse, still working with the man that had sold her into that life in the first place. Nodding her head, Fate kept her mouth shut and took a step back behind her captain, waiting to see if anyone besides her would like to continue the conversation and respond to Alfhild’s request.
“Let me clarify Alfhild’s request. As long as you give us meat, we will give you support of the Damned and the Hollow, and even other troops should you request it. That is. If you are able to give us the meat we need. But, it is a you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. If you give us meat, we’ll give you this specific service. If you aren’t able to, then I fear not. The alliance will still stand but the service will not whenever it is unpaid.” Gai added further to the talk, “I’ll have you know that my crew does not consist of JUST Hollow and Damned. People like Ricardo, Yomotsu and Valour to name a few are all talented people, who especially know how to fight. We haven’t sailed all this way through Paradise on the circumstances of luck, friends.”
He couldn’t stop it. With eyes fastened on her during the entire speech as she tried to object and to reason with everyone around them. It was all just too perfect. Her voice, the hair with skin like the color mocha and tender voice. Valour couldn’t stop staring at the woman on the opposite end that bore so many resemblances to the image inside his mind. The one they called Fate, it was too close for it all to be a coincidence. The words that surrounded the blacksmith of the Slaughter Pirates was echoing in his ears like a distant melody at this point. It wasn’t important, not now. Not compared to this! Raising a foot and taking a step forward, Valour broke rank with his eyes set on the woman at hand. Yet as the sand below his boot had barely been able to take form, he could feel something with a rough texture biting against his leg, grasping at his skin and clothes.
“Woweeh, wait your turn there. Can’t you see big bro was talking just now?” The whisper belonged to the crew’s young hollow, Sacramentum. With a smile covering his exterior that could hardly be considered a hearty one, he held onto his fellow crewmate with a leg that bore a mixed resemblance to that of a human’s as it was covered in a white, firm yet jagged surface that bore a closer resemblance to that of an animal. Anyone close to them would be able to spot that the thing biting into Valour’s leg was in fact that of a talon from the shorter figure.
It was no surprise seeing a man whose facial expression was by default set to be glowering to in turn have his eyes almost bulging out of his skull at man’s actions to try and stop him. Even while Valour was bearing down daggers at Sacramentum, the man lifted his free leg to move forward despite the resistance shoved against his advances. He wasn’t about to stop and listen to a man that he’d only heard about up until this point. He might be one of the latest editions to the crew, but who was this to stop him from finding out the truth? Yet as soon as he started to move again, a sharp pain shot through his body and Valour’s entire posture sunk down to his knees on the spot. A muffled groan escaped his lips as the blacksmith’s head tilted down while both hands moved on their own; one placing itself on his now bent knee for support while the other clasped against the source of this pain that was the jagged surface that had first stopped him. Seeing that Sacramentum had dug his talons into his leg as a means to keep him from moving, Valour started pulling at it to get the hollow away from him but to no avail as it would barely even budge despite his efforts. Lifting his head to have his gaze meet the young man’s own as it starred back down at him.
“Don’t go and cause a scene now… You might just be able to save your leg from turning into a nice side-dish if you behave now bro.” Talking between his teeth as Sacramentum’s eyes shifted to the other crews for a brief moment before turning back to his fellow crewmate. His vacant eyes turning wider by the second along his smile, perhaps showing off a little too much of the pleasure behind his actions than he wanted to.
Whether it was the man, the respect for his captain or the pain it wasn’t too clear to anyone, but the one thing that became certain was that Valour was gradually letting his grip around the man’s talons to loosen. Before long he had released it entirely and even placed his hand down to the sand to appear like he had gone down to bow down. To others, it was to appear like he was showcasing his respect for the kind words spoken by his captain for mentioning him in his speech. No matter the reason or how it might have appeared to the people around them, it was enough to make the hollow lose his grip around his leg. An action to which Sacramentum followed through by letting his fingers slip through his talon as it retracted, lifting them up to his face as the foot descended onto the sand beneath him. Placing the now blood-tipped pointers underneath his nose as the hollow took a heavy whiff to take in the smell, causing the young man’s entire body to shiver as his cravings were ushering to be sated. Something which he was very much obliged to perform as the fingers found its way into his maw. Consuming them like they were a piece of candy, Sacramentum couldn’t hide the pleasant smile that had begun radiating across his face whilst doing so. It was in his nature after all.
“Difficult as it might appear to some and even necessary to others, the Slaughter Pirates aren’t the only ones interested in acquiring bodies.” The blonde man with the red shades from the Mirror Pirates spoke out once again as the Gai had finished clarifying their end.
“But I digress, before we go on I wish to introduce myself properly to you all — I am Nero,” At that moment, even if the man in the red shades had started talking, all of the members of the Mirror Pirates that was currently present had spoken those last three words and introduced themselves in unison. A presentation that the ten pirates made perfectly in sync to one another and deafened any words or actions taking place at that very moment before the Nero with the red glasses continued; “And as some of you may already know, I’m a trader. I wander the world, buying and selling wares to people craving the things only I can provide. And I do so at almost every island in Paradise, a feat that comes with having numbers under my flag I’d say… But I would not be anything if I wouldn’t show you all what kind of wares I can provide, wares that surround us at this very moment.” Nero pointed his finger up to the sky, whose blue sky was littered with birds flying in a flock of different shapes and sizes with a raven-like specimen taking the lead of the flock. Followed by directing the attention of the crowd to the seas around them from which the beasts that had previously been prowling underneath the waters now emerged further to show off their grim figures: Sharks, eels and whales among other creatures showed themselves to everyone for a mere glimpse at a time. Without saying a word or making any pointers, other types of creatures emerged from the sea and walked on all four of its legs onto land with the shape of wolves or dogs. With long slithering tongues and odd pairs of eyes, they took their place behind the Mirror Pirates.
“I’ve already provided some of my creations to the Slaughter Pirates before this, as you might have seen. But while each of these beings are made by yours truly, they can all be modified to fit your liking,” The women with short, messy hair from the Mirror Pirates went on to speak, almost like she was the one that started the presentation in the first place, “I can also make adjustments to your bodies should the desire exist.” Her words certainly didn’t match the same liveliness that man before her had presented, yet despite its dreary approach it was clear that she would go on.
“But what I provide doesn’t come cheap. Should you desire to have one of my creations with a certain feature, I would need a being with the same type of peculiarity from which I could study it thoroughly before extracting and adding it to your own. If the service someone asks for can only be provided from a species living at the ends of Paradise, then it’s the end of Paradise that I would need someone to travel in order to acquire it. And as my services aren’t exclusive to a single set of individuals, I always need more material to work with as to provide for everyone.” As she finished her statements and looked at the faces of people present, it was clear to see that not everyone was catching up to the words spoken.
Following up on the female Nero’s words and presentation, another figure whose height was certainly taller than most of the members of the crew with slicked back hair and a handlebar mustache spoke out. The man’s voice was crystal clear and ornate in comparison. “An alliance between pirates in our position would certainly provide opportunities for all parties, much like those before us - we too would be making demands of each of you. Provide us with the supplies we require, dead or alive, and wherever they may reside... And I will in turn provide my creations for your needs and pass on any valuable information that would be fitting to you at your next port.”
“While I can’t speak for the Redwing Pirates here, I know at least we will be aiming to head to the New World in the future. In Fact, the route we have taken tells us that we are not too far from Sabaody Archipelago, and so close to the end of our journey here in Paradise. Does the Mirror Pirates have a presence in the New World where these services are still accessible? Or must we continue to travel back and forth between here and the New World in order to request new warbeasts? I would also like to ask later in the meeting about our plans and how we may all be able to remain in contact if some chooses to stay in Paradise while others desire to enter the New World?” Gai spoke up, leaning forward on his seat and supporting his upper body with his knees. “The delivery of bodies does also come into question with a possibility of such long distances between each crew.”
“Not yet,” the response came from the figure donning a skull mask amongst the Mirror Pirates and whose entire body appeared to be covered in one manner or another. Arms folded as he continued to speak for the crew, “But that isn’t to say it isn’t on the agenda. I too, wish to expand to the New World and gather its numerous and more unique material. But at this moment I have yet to venture beyond the Red line.” Just like with the others, once the masked had finished his sentence, another one of them followed through on it. This time, one the males with a more rugged outlook and scruffy beard continued the conversation: “By all means however, once we’ve arrived and established ourselves then business would go on without any need for either of us to travel back and forth between the two worlds.” With a smile growing across his lips, Nero ended the statement by raising one of his arms and placing it on the shoulders of one of the other members before starting to lean against them. The one receiving this treatment was a clean shaved man with a pony-tail whose glowering expression shifted for once to staring at the scruffy-looking Nero. Up until this point, each of the members had been setting their focus on the people talking and even presented themselves in the same manner.
“Not the time or place Raven…” The pony-tailed man spoke out with a firm tone to the crewmate, it didn’t appear like there was any animosity behind them but rather just a matter of principle. Words that the one called “Raven” couldn’t help but have one of his eyes perk up as he continued to smile, lifting his index and middle finger to create a V sign in response before backing down.
“Aye aye Father.” replied Raven with a casual tone, returning to a more rigid posture as both hands slipped down into his pockets before looking ahead with the others.
“What a bunch of freaks we’re dealing with, aye?” It was clear that Sacramentum was speaking out with the words coming to mind as he was listening in on the conversation between the Mirror Pirates and his Captain. He was looking around for anyone to follow through on his words or seemed to mind if anyone heard his whispers, it was purely his train of thought speaking out.
“...Mind your words Sacramentum. They may be freaks but they could be able to hear you no matter how quiet you speak.” Alfhild whispered harshly back to the Hollow behind her.
“Well then, do you hear that Redwing Pirates? It seems both Slaughter and Mirror Pirates would require your help in securing some amount of bodies during this alliance. If you so choose to ‘stoop to our levels’ then I’m sure that you’ll find our cooperation to be quite… advantageous.” Gai said in response as he looked to Gonbei and his negotiation party, emphasising on a certain part as he looked directly to the blind girl that stood behind the giant of a man.
“There’s no level to stoop down once you hit rock bottom, and that’s where we’re headed if you think about it, Paradise is too small for someone like me, for any of us really,” with a yawn, Gonbei began stretching, snapping his fingers to draw Gai’s attention from their navigator, “focus on me bud,” he muttered, giving Gai a wink. Outstretching his hands, Gonbei could almost grasp the sheer size of territory they have, visualizing it more so like sharks stuck in a small bond, barely separated by a wall leading into the vast sea. The very thought irritated Gonbei, standing up from his seat, he felt trapped, kicking the ground with enough force to send a wave of air across the sand and out to the sea, rocking the boats docked across from them. “If we’re offering something to the table, I’ll up the ante with my ship, the flying fortress Golden Icarus.” Pointing at his ship stationed across the sea several miles away from the island, Gonbei couldn’t help but feel a little proud, “and I’ll raise it.” Taking a dial out of his wrist, the very same devices found in the sky islands, Gonbei placed it on the table, “If there’s anything I want, anything at all, it sure as hell ain’t a goddamn slice of the pie. Living large and all doesn't mean shit if you’re stuck in a tiny pond looking for scraps, I have to BREATHE!” Extending his arm across one of the mirror pirates, his large arms swung across the tiny shoulders of the spokesperson, aiming his hand toward her temple, extending his index finger in the form of a finger gun gesture, “Can you do that? In simpler terms: help me to help you.”
As the blonde woman stood before the Captain of the Redwing Pirates, it would almost be comical to see their differences in size and body mass as the skypian spoke down to whom was arguably the shortest member of the Mirror Pirates with the appearance of a woman barely leaving her teens. Yet despite her looks, it didn’t fit her overall expression. Unlike some feeble teenager that’d probably back away, she stood firm and looked back up into the eyes of the giant of a man. Almost to the point of it getting unsettling as she wasn’t blinking, tilting her head and barely anything for that matter.
Yet as all the attention was being centered around the two of them, it’d take a while to notice a change in the currents surrounding them as the sound of the waves grew more potent by the second. The nearby boats steadily started to move from one side to the other, their movements shared a light creaking noise as they did. Without any one of the Mirror Pirates having said a word or performed any gestures, it’d appear as though the very landscape around them was reacting as the waves came closer and closer to the shore they were all standing on. Looking at the sea, it would be clear that something wasn’t right, despite it being a clear sunny sky, the waters were circulating. Even to the point that they’d appear more and more like a maelstrom, which it evidently was the case as the rowboats and even the larger ones would start reacting and float towards it. Soon enough, the chains connected to the anchors below would be the only thing keeping them from coming any closer. Yanking and pulling at them… Without warning, one of the chains holding some of the rowboats in place broke loose and floated at high speed towards the eye of the maelstrom, before everyone could clearly see them descend into the circulating waters. While not much else could be seen from this distance, the splintering sound of the row boats cracking was heard clear as day… with the sound of growling echoing behind it?
Finally raising her eyebrows with a lackluster expression as she went on to tilt her head a little toward the side. “Have you noticed yet?” The Mirror Pirate spoke out as it had gotten clear that her hair had started to waver. In the skies above, the same circulating motions reaped the skies as it appeared like it’d threaten to create a storm or even something worse entirely. The gusts of wind weren't reaching down to them by any impressive means, but the attention was perhaps better intended for the Redwing Pirate’s ship as it could be seen struggling not to be caught in the brewing storm.
“You want me to go on?” The young woman stated, having made no movement or calls since the whole ordeal had been prompted by Gonbei’s words, let alone any of the others alongside her.
Gai stood where he sat annoyed, with all the distractions from the meeting, he was getting quite sick of the Mirror Pirate’s antics. Leaning forward with a scowl on his face, Gai cleared his throat before clicking his fingers, using his strength to make it sound loud enough to hear amongst the storm that they were brewing up. The Slaughter Pirates’ negotiation party immediately shifted themselves in battle ready stances, cautious of the mess that the Mirror Pirates would have been at fault for. There was no need for this kind of show from the Redwings, and Gai was certain that none of the Slaughter Pirates were the cause of it, so it all led back to the Mirror Pirates who had been causing trouble throughout the entire meeting. He looked around to see what the other crews were doing before shaking his head, and sinking his face into both his hands that he leaned onto his lap with, letting out a loud groan that was muffled by his palms.
“Are you alright, captain?” Alfhild asked as she looked over her shoulder to see what Gai was doing next to her.
“...Did you ever imagine us as peacekeepers, Alfhild?” Gai said as he slid his upward, eyes looking dead straight from him.
Shaking her head, Alfhild turned her body around to face her captain directly with a curious look on her face, “Well. With what we usually do, I wouldn’t say we would be.”
“...I’ve a feeling that we might have to be in an alliance with... Them.”
Alfhild sighed with a disappointed voice, twirling her blades around quite easily despite the wind that was picking up. “I mean, with all due respect, YOU wanted them in this alliance, captain.”
“And as my First-Mate, you should have stopped me.” Gai spat back with a smirk on his face that quickly changed back into a frown.
“What a crock of shit,” Ricardo spat, tired of waiting, he leaned off the sandy beach quite a while away from the group, mostly to keep his distance while his captain handled all the discussions. With the incoming cyclone, he grew giddier with the change in the weather, serving as the perfect excuse for him to race to his captain’s side under the pretense of protection. Blasting off with sheer physical strength, Ricardo hand grew multiple needles along his knuckles, jabbing his body as his frame grew larger, seeing the large skypiean and blonde woman at the center of the struggle. Matching his adversary in size, his right arm was vastly larger than the other to the point of being disproportionate to the rest of his body, “Hey captain, it’s one thing to to tell me to wait, but if you tease me for this long, I won’t be able help myself ♫,” he hummed, charging the two of them with his large arm in the form of a straight lariat.
“..oi oi oi Oii!! HAHAAAA!!! Ricardo!!!” Sacramentum shouted out with glee and cackle, as he strode passed the other members of the crew and into the open, only to stop himself once he was standing next to Gai as his gaze followed the daring crew mate.
“What the?” Letting one of his free hands go, Gonbei brought it up vertically, using it to hold back the lariat, the power struggle between him and the unbalanced stranger splitting up the ground and throwing sand all over the place in the process as a result, using his free hand to keep the Mirror Pirate at his side and away from the clash. It was to his surprise that he’d find someone just as large as him in Paradise, nearly as strong as well, shown in the fact that Gonbei was being pushed well past his initial position. Stomping his feet into the ground, he pushed back hard with his arm, throwing his weight behind a swing on his large arm, expanding his muscles naturally to overpower the lariat with a full-body charge, the sandy shore shaking violently between the two pirate;s power struggle, producing a shockwave that completely reduced it into barren wasteland.
Putting some distance between them, Gonbei sighed, letting go of the Mirror Pirate, he could only scoff, looking at the needles attached to his knuckles, “Dammit Gai, the company you keep, nothing but weirdo’s and junkies huh?”
“HAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!!! FINALLY~!!!” Wendell screamed into the air as he reached down into the side of his pants to pull out a pistol from his pocket, which he directed towards Ricardo as a consequence of the latter’s decision to charge his captain.
Eyes shifted their attention from all around, chaos was brewing because of the actions of the different pirate crews!
Before Wendell could have the chance to shoot, Fate quickly leapt onto Wendell from behind, grabbing and tightening around him with both arms to squeeze so that he wouldn’t be able to move. Clenching her teeth as she tried to hold on against the forceful shaking of Wendell’s to remove her, Fate could be seen swinging around with her legs flailing about in the air. Wendell tried his best to fight back, but it seemed as though Fate looked stronger than she looked.
“A-ANASHA! HELP!” Fate screamed, her face dug into Wendell’s side as she continued to be swung around.
But unlike her crew members, the doctor wasn't acting. Eyes shifting between everyone and their actions, but wasn't panicking. In fact, it looked more as though she knew exactly what was going on all fronts. But why wasn't she acting on her fellow comrades' internal struggle?
Out of the brewing chaos came an opportunity, this one taking the form of a clenched fist coated in a green, reptilian hide with talons at the end of each finger that struck out and rammed itself into the stomach of the restrained Wendell. The man behind it grinning hysterically as his vacant, red eyes looked as if wanting and expecting to savor the expressions he would witness from the Redwing Pirates for his actions. "Guns kill people, didn't you know that!?" Sacramentum exclaimed as the corner of his lips closed in on themselves while the eyes only appeared to grow wider, "..BOOOOOM!!! HAHAAAAAAAA!!!" He exclaimed whilst being inches away from the man he'd just attacked whilst "keeping the peace".
The reason for why Anasha's lack of action was now answered. Odd to find that she appeared to be one of the few to see it coming.
“HAJAJAJAJAJA!!! Shouldn’t have come for my captain!” Wendell laughed with Sacramentum, still being able to smile through the pain that still ached in his stomach, “You’re a funny one. I’ll kill you last after this!”
“...These Redwing Pirates are a handful, though I think Sacramentum has finally found a playmate.” Gai smirked as he watched the interaction between the hollow and the Redwing’s Helmsman.
“That’s good to hear, you reckon we can ditch him with them?” Alfhild chuckled after hearing her captain’s remark.
“Gives me an idea, though I’d have to see if Gonbei would also appreciate it as much as I do,” Gai thought out loud before looking over to Gonbei and Ricardo, “Speaking of which, I think you’ve failed to keep Sacramentum and Ricardo in check if they’re going to be acting like that.”
“Me? I’ve failed to keep them in check? Aren’t you their captain?” Alfhild spat back with a playfully offended look, “They listen to you the most if you ask me.”
“You’re meant to have as much authority as me, I don’t see why they shouldn’t listen to you.” Gai rolled his eyes as he stretched his arms out in a tired manner.
“If I had as much authority as you, maybe the Damned would listen to me and stop eating so fucking fast, so we don’t have to bring them to Rena’s every three days because they keep choking on their food,” Alfhild immediately snapped back before sheathing her blades, “Looks like it doesn’t look like the fight’s getting too dangerous, you plan on ending this now so we can continue with the negotiations.”
“It was trouble bringing him along from the get go.”
“...”
“Not yet.”
“Captain! I know your eyes are working just fine. Can you not see how this could affect the negotiations? Don’t we want an alliance with the Mirror and Redwing Pirates?” Alfhild exclaimed in surprise to Gai’s response, her head twisting around to look at the captain immediately after.
“We do, but I’ve a feeling this is just going to be one of the ways we’ll bond.” Gai sighed as he leaned forward and let his head drop down, his grey hair falling over his face beside the braided hairs that strapped along the sides to the back of his head.
Just as he finished speaking, Sacramentum fell into the sand before both the captain and the first-mate with a loud thud, sand dispersing in a wave outward from Sacramentum’s position. The young Hollow pirate seemed to pull himself back up with ease and a smile on his face as he returned to the fight, in the distance a smiling Wendell stood with a knife in one hand that he twirled around his fingers, enthralled by the heat of combat. Alfhild rolled her eyes and laughed as she watched the two fight, before leaning towards her captain and analysing his posture. The past year or so had been quite a ride for the Slaughter Pirates, and it showed that the life of piracy was certainly having an effect on the young man. The battles he had faced, the people he had crossed as well as the amount of stress that his crew had caused onto him made her feel a little bad for Gai. But she couldn’t forget the same evils he had caused onto others, some done out of necessity for the good of the crew.
“Someday we’ll all get what we want, captain. We’ve all got to go through some sort of journey to get it…” Alfhild shared her thoughts with Gai, her attention turning to different parts of the area to continue watching the fights.
“I know, it’s just. I hope what we’re looking for is really worth it in the end.” Gai responded in a slightly depressed tone.
“This is getting ridiculous.” One of the Mirror Pirates finally announced as they had been standing on the sidelines in the midst of the chaos spewing all around them. Without making any movements or statements, several birds revealed themselves as they sored down from the clouds, all the while sharks and all manner of creatures showed the fins from the sea -- causing the weather to settle steadily thereafter. Yet even as the Mirror Pirates had gone ahead and revealed how they’d been able to start this ruckus, they turned their backs against the rest of the people present and looked on as some of the larger sea creatures were approaching the small cluster of sand.
“Halt.”
As the Mirror Pirates turned their back, a loud explosion of force erupted from the center of the conflict causing all of the chaos going around them to stop in place. Upon turning back, they could see that Gai had pulled himself up from his seat and stood in the middle of the sandy island, eyes closed and arched with discipline like an irritated father. Opening his eyes to look to Gonbei and then to the Mirror Pirates, Gai gave each a disappointed glare with a loud sigh as he turned back to go sit back on his seat. Wendell who had been tackling Sacramentum was the first to get back off the ground, dusting the sand off his shoulder before heading back behind Gonbei, with Fate shyishly walking to join her captain’s side. Alfhild stood at attention with her hand resting on the pommel of her rapier, giving the same glare Gai did to them as his back was turned on them to make sure that his look continued to weigh down the childish atmosphere the Slaughter Pirates and Redwing Pirates were making.
“Ridiculous as it may be, I don’t think you understand just what you may be missing out on if you leave. Nero’s. This is good business.
“With too many risks,” The one that had previously been referred to as “Father” snapped back, being the only one out of the Mirror Pirates to turn back around to face Gai’s claims, “...and not enough guarantees.” The others all stood their ground as their potential rides now “docked” close to the shores, creatures appeared to look like horses with jaws.
“HAH. So tell me why the fuck you concerned yourselves with the Underworld in the first place?” Gai responded with a sharp tongue, “Business in the Underworld always carries risks, and more often than not, no guarantees. For someone so familiar with the environment, you should be the most used to this game of chance we like to play.”
“Unless you know what you’re doing!” For once, the Mirror Pirate raised his tone as he answered the Captain of the Slaughter Pirates. The others even looked back to their fellow crew member and other-self by the look of things, a temper wasn’t a common trait among them. “You don’t invest in something unless you know that the cost can’t be repaired after or necessary for their progress in the beginning.”
“Then you haven’t woken up to reality then. NOTHING is ever guaranteed, it’s only more or less likely. It doesn’t matter if you know what you’re doing, it’s up to fate if what you want done IS done.” Gai continued on in a calm manner.
“THAT’S THE POINT!! IF I RISK MY-....” “Father” Nero stopped his outburst as another one of them reached out to grab his shoulder, making him realize what the Captain was pushing him to. It had been one of the women, one that Gai had interacted with the most ever since their first encounter.
“Apologies, Captain of the Slaughter Pirates. I lost my temper.” She announced, the accent she used to speak with had all but dissipated. Curious. But leaving little time to dwell on those thoughts or the way she was referencing their situation, she went on: “I can see that this alliance would benefit me, and all of you. It would only serve to make us stronger… But you’ve seen it now for yourself. How easily it would be for this alliance to break as soon as it’s created. We all need something more to make this work… Do you have any suggestions?”
“...Perhaps a codex, captain? Rules we must abide by in order to preserve the structure of the alliance?” Alfhild suggested with a lifted eyebrow.
Gai nodded his head and puckered his lips, “Well, well, well. Now that’s a good shout.”
“Rules? SINCE WHEN DID US PIRATES NEED RUUUULES?!” Wendell screamed out from behind Gonbei, his voice sounding both happy and angry at the same time.
Catching Wendell in a headlock, Gonbei brought him in close, speaking out loud more so for not only his crew, but all the others present to hear as well, “Well for starters, we couldn’t play nice with the other kids in the yard without rules to hold us back, puts everyone on even ground.” Letting him go, Gonbei tied his hair back, coming undone from the earlier scuffle with Ricardo, keeping wendell under his arm, letting it rest on his shoulder, “for this to work, we’re gonna have to trust each other to set up the ground rules, whether we like it or not right?” With that last word, he attention was more so aimed at the two captains from the opposite side, knowing full well each had their own stake on the line.
“Trust is what makes up an alliance. Or at least, the belief that trust exists…” Gai nodded his head, “But yes, we’d have to make rules that some of us may like, some of us may hate, but overall we’d overall agree with. What say you? Father?” Gai said as he directed the conversation to the Mirror Pirate who was yelling back at him before.
“Wait.. who the fuck is Father?” Sacramentum whispered at the back, having returned after his scuffle with Wendell mere moments earlier.
Tapping the man on the shoulder, Valour started showcasing all manner of hand gestures to his fellow crew member as he turned to look at him. “I’m not certain, but it looks like that’s the name they’ve given that blonde guy with the pony-tail.”
“Ohhh.. Right!! Go ye…” Sacramentum announced, seemingly happy with the response he got from Valour. Before a moment or so passed by and his head whipped back around to face the man, “LIKE HELL I DO! I DON’T DO ALL THAT NINJA SHIT!”
Valour sighed.
“It… it would do. Yes.” Nero, otherwise better known as Father at this point, responded as it was obvious that he had made an effort to calm himself down after suddenly having shouted at the Captain previously.
“But with that being said… Before we make up these rules to bind one another. May I present a bold suggestion to you all in order to… secure… for a lack of a better word, everyone's cooperation.” This time it was the blonde man that had previously been called “Raven” by Father.
“And that would be?” Alfhild asked as she relaxed her posture.
“Are you familiar with the way nobles or warlords used to require a lord to alternate living for some time in the domain of their overlord?” The Raven began as he took a few steps away from the rest of the Mirror Pirates and approached the middle of the island. “Well, if the lord in question was too valuable or otherwise required elsewhere. They’d go for the next best thing, a son or daughter.”
Looking over his shoulder to gaze back at his crew for a moment before looking back at the two other captains present, raising his hand with two fingers present as he continued: “Each of us will hand over one of their members to the other crew, someone who will act as their proxy.” Letting his words sink in with the everyone present, the Raven Nero waited a moment before his mouth opened once again: “With that being said, I am ready to have as one of me, with a maximum of two, reside with your crews without having either of you to be with me. I can communicate with each of you that way, and it’d be bad if any of you were following me to the Underworld. And yes, that would mean that your crews would exchange proxies. But I’m sure you can see things from my end.”
“...To entrust a member of your crew to another is quite the daring suggestion. Going as your representative would say, this is yet another risk, but I feel like this might be a good way of securing trust and OR being another way to punish.” Gai continued on.
The conversation had been flowing back and forth, the tone staying serious and tense. It wasn’t exactly someone’s cup of tea as she looked up from behind her hiding spot. Two red fox ears prominently peaking out, she wasn’t sure how to feel about the rather recent conversation.
Kaede’s full head peaked out, green eyes outlooking onto the meeting. “Hey!” her voice cut into the crowd of pirates. Stepping completely out she revealed her short self to all. “I don’t plan on leaving the Redwing area just to prove a lil’ point of friendship. I’m stating this loud and clear as the quartermaster, so you know I mean business. Don’t toy with me like this.”
As Kaede’s speech ended for the moment, she perked her ears back up and held onto her tail, combing it softly and slowly for some sort of response, holding a slight fear of punishment. She had snuck into a so-called private meeting.
“...Um, captain. I can take that spot if you want to go through with what they’re saying.” Fate muttered quietly to Gonbei, quickly tapping on the large man’s shoulder, “I really don’t mind.”
“CAPTAIN! HOW THE FUCK DID THAT BITCH GET HERE!?” Wendell screamed after as soon as Kaede’s head poked up from her hiding place.
With her tail no longer in her hands, her ears and tail spiked up as she stomped up to Wendell, a small attempt to look larger to no real avail. “I am no BITCH Wendell, there were no rules on if I could or couldn’t come here. As the quartermaster I can’t trust anyone but the Captain and myself. I certainly do not trust you in important shit like this. Sit down little boy!”
Feeling a bit proud of herself, Kaede placed her hands on her hips. A wide smirk was on her face now. “You should know better than to challenge someone who is far stronger than you.”
“HAJAJAJAJA!!! STRONGER!?” Wendell laughed into the air before crouching down to Kaede’s size, having to move his body downward a bit so that they could face eye to eye, “That’s quite a little assumption you’ve got going, twerp. You’re lucky Hana even got you out of whatever dump you were pulled out of. I mean, who WOULDN’T do what your parents did? If my child was a half human - half gerbil, I’d probably leave them on the side of the street to die as well!”
Fate watched as words were exchanged between Wendell and Kaede, both snapping back at the other and holding up the meeting as the captain of the Slaughter Pirates looked on from his side. “G-guys, I think we should-”
“STAY OUT OF THIS,” Wendell ordered Fate, his attention still on Kaede, “The little kitten doesn’t seem to understand what kind of fight she’s picking here.”
“I was kidnapped, my parents didn’t even know I was gone and I don’t remember who they are. I was fine fighting for my life because it was a purpose and I was good at it. I’ve killed far more people than you, so half gerbil half human is a lot stronger than you would like to think, all-human.”
Rolling her tongue around her mouth for a moment she let out a sigh before smiling. “It’s clear you lack any brains to realise how manipulation and kidnapping works so let me put it this way. I was taken at such a young tender age I thought it was my destiny to take on everything that came my way. I took on people twice - no… THRICE - your size and won. I spent NINE FUCKING YEARS fighting for my life!”
One hand sat gently on her sword as she looked up at Wendell and shook her head. A small jolt of phasing in and out of reality around the sword. Kaede was kind of excited about the idea of a battle. “If it’s a fight you think you can win, you can challenge yourself. It means we will have to find a new useless swabbie who can move a boat from point A to point B as I command! Know that your place is not above me just because you can look down on me.”
“Heh. Oh little kitten, you don’t know just WHO I am either.” Wendell smiled sadistically, “I AM THE GOLDEN ICARUS. There’s a reason the captain’s entrusted me with driving that tank up in the sky. There’s a reason why we haven’t been shot down yet, a reason why we’ve never been caught! As long as you walk on that ship, I know exactly where you are and what you are doing.”
As he talked, Wendell pulled out his pistol and pulled back the mechanism on its back, causing a loud click to ring through the area. Tapping the side of his head with its barrel, the bullets inside and other parts jiggled softly, audibly describing just how many pieces had made up the weapon. For the other members of the Redwing Pirates, this seemed normal between the two crew mates, but for the Slaughter and Mirror pirates, it would have looked extremely unprofessional the more it went on. The captain of the Slaughter Pirates tried to return the meeting back on track, loudly clearing his throat and holding his hand over his mouth to catch everyone’s attention.
“Could we please return to the negotiations? Or would the Redwing like to take a recess to sort their members’ quarrel?” Gai announced as eyes turned to the crew.
Upon hearing Gai’s words, Wendell leaned closer to Kaede so that only she could hear what he had to say, “Perfect chance to put you down, lost kitten.”
“UN-FUCKIN’-BELIVABLE!” Folding his thumb into the palm of his hand, Gonbei delivered an ear-cracking chop down across the top of Wendel’s head, sending enough force to slam him to the floor, not enough force to knock him unconscious but just enough to immobilize him. “Recess my ass, let’s get this done and over with,” he replied to the fishman, lifting Wendell up from his head and throwing him to Kaede’s feet. “Quartermaster, take care of Wendell, maybe some time in the corner will cool him down huh?” Repeatedly karate chopping him lightly to further emphasis his point, he turned to his Mink crewmate, flicking her across her forehead, “When it comes to Wendell, better to shoot first and ask questions later, leaving it to you to keep an eye on him for the rest of the meeting.”
Kaede perked up, giving Gonbei a salute in response. With a chirp and smile she went over to Wendell and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him away from meeting towards a corner like ordered. From there she sat down on a little stool and watched him with a child-like glee to her face.
“You got in trouble~” she whispered and giggled, no longer acting like some sort of adult. 22 was just a funny number anyways. “Don’t call me a bitch again, creep.”
“D-dumb bitch.” Wendell whispered back in a quiet, cracked voice, “Better watch where you put them swords when you go to sleep. M-might not find them the next morning.”
Reaching for her swords to ensure they hadn’t disappeared now, Kaede shook her head at the weak attempt at a threat, ignoring the fact she had already fallen for it. “Crimson, Red and Vermillion will never leave my side, they are good little kittens. Just you try to steal them, it will result in one of them stabbing you!”
“Can’t do that if you don’t have anything to stab me with by the time I do that.” Wendell cackled in his cracked voice.
Staring at the crew that had only previously been at the centre of all the commotion, only to do it again, Anasha could tell by the looks of each of the Mirror Pirates that they were certainly considering the option of going back to the Underworld. She couldn’t blame them. The tall woman looked back at her fellow crewmates, knowing she’d most likely have to take a look at Wendell later after that slap from Gonbei. The man which would be next in line for her eyes to wander to. The crew was behaving just like always, but who knew what sort of an impact this was not only having on their image but also on the captain himself.
Without saying anything further, two of the Mirror Pirates walked ahead of the group and made their own respective ways to the other pirate crews present. Both of them had the blonde hair and typical color scheme as the rest of them, yet one of them had scales across her body to the point that it was obvious that she was hybrid between that of a human and a lizardman - approaching the Sky Tyrant, Gonbei. The other one had darker skin with braided hair pulled back into a ponytail, a sword lying at her side as she made her way barefoot to stand before the Captain of the Slaughter Pirates.
“I’ll be the proxy for the Mirror Pirates.” The two of them spoke in unison, staring at the respective captains from each side.
The Raven one didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to, letting his fellow crew mates sink in for a moment. It was obvious that they wanted the conversation to move further unless either of the crews wanted things to break off right here.
“...You’re not wearing any socks.” Gai thought out loud as he looked at the one suggesting herself to be the proxy for his crew.
“Not a fan?” The woman replied back with a grin on her face, lifting one of her feet up to wiggle it a few times.
“Have some dignity and hide your ankles.” Gai shook his head before waving it off, “I’ll be happy to provide one of my members in return. Is anyone here willing to spend a bit on someone else’s ship?” Gai asked the rest of his negotiation party after looking over his shoulder.
“You’d trade a crew member for a pair of socks?” Sacramentum asked out loud, confusion being evident in his voice. “Gonbei. You can take your pick if you can give us a pair of socks.” Gai called out to the captain of the Redwing Pirates.
“Do I look like someone who uses shoes!” Looking at his bare feet and straight back to Sacramentum, then to Gai, only to further realize how chaotic things had gotten, scratching his head in irritation. Tossing his attention away to the group gathered around, Gonbei slapped his cheeks with both hands, leaving red marks behind. Sitting on his side, he proceeded to open a gourd of sake, unclamping the top only to sloppily guzzle down its contents
Having sat quiet in another corner away from the chaotic Redwing pirates, drunk from three bottles of rum, one of the bottles that had been drunk since the beginning of this meeting rolled over, Melody’s presence now being revealed. With a smile she laughed a little before saying: “hehehe, not leaving Gai’s sideeee. He’ll get lonely!” she went back to grab the bottle of rum before frowning. “Empty.”
“You're doing well Melody. Keep it up.” Gai called out as his face remained in the Redwing Pirate’s direction, “Alfhild, who gave her more alcohol?”
Alfhild sneakily peered over to the side without making her attention clear, looking at the state that Melody had been in since the meeting started. “...I-I don’t know.”
“Sacramentum. Did you see where Melody got that bottle from?” Gai nodded his head before talking out the side of his mouth to the man in question.
The man didn’t answer, his eyes had wandered off to peer over at the Captain of the Redwing Pirates as he too had begun to consume alcohol, only for it to wander to the two proxies standing in front of the two captains - waiting for things to proceed.
For obvious reasons, Valour didn’t speak. But it would appear that he was the only one who remembered the brand that Melody was consuming. It was one of quality, which was usually reserved inside the Captain’s quarters. But at this point, it was perhaps better not to bring any attention to it.
“OHHH CAPTAAAAAIN~. I WANT THE FIGHTY ONE!” Wendell’s voice screamed out from the background of the meeting.
Anasha couldn’t help but have her ears perk up as the troublesome helmsman spoke out, her gaze shifting to the only man he could be referring to in this situation. Eyeing him up and down, spotting the similarities the two fighters shared and the value that could come with it. Looking back at her Captain to see his response on the matter.
Taking a serious tone, Gonbei’s expression soured, taking a look at Sacramentum and Fate in order to gauge their strength, having mixed feelings on sending out one of his own crewmates to another ship, but at the same time, serving the perfect pretense to keep an eye on the other crews in the alliance. “It’s decided, Fate, as much as it pains me, I’m trusting in your foresight to keep a lookout on the Slaughter Pirates, I can’t trust Gai won’t run into trouble somewhere down the line.” Clasping his hands together his gaze shot back to Sacramentum, the stranger walking this way to join his crew, the exchange feeling more like Gonbei holding a fully loaded gun to his head, never knowing when it would go off.
“It pains me more to depart from the crew we’ve built, captain. And don’t worry, when has my foresight ever failed you?” Fate smiled gently though not before bowing her head in respect and making her way to the Slaughter Pirate’s direction. “Bye Anasha! I’ll miss you!” The blind girl waved backwards as she moved along, farewelling her friend one last before starting her new life on board in the other crew’s company.
The woman’s eyes had widened at the turn of events, it was clear that Anasha hadn’t actually believed that Gonbei would’ve picked someone like Fate for this matter. Not only because of the fact that she had been their navigator for quite some time now, but also due to her abilities besides that. Her mouth opened, wanting to protest, but it closed just as quickly. It was not her place to decide. Looking back at her fellow crew mate as she wished her goodbye, “Y-yes… Good luck Fate.”
With an expression plain as day, Sacramentum looked over at the man that had selected him and then on towards his captain for confirmation on the matter.
“I’ve fought hard to keep this crew together Sacramentum, it does pain me that I have to see a member leave the crew’s company. You’re still part of us, don’t worry, you're just going to be ‘helping’ them out so long as this alliance holds up.” Gai assured with a hesitant breath before directly turning his neck to face the Hollow, “If I can give you one last order, give ‘em hell.” The captain winked with a second lasting smile before turning back to the meeting.
“Ye’ got it bro!” Returning his captain’s smile with a wide one of his own, the hollow’s vacant eyes expressed as much pride as they possibly could as Sacramentum turned to face the Redwing Pirates and walked towards them. The grin still remained even as he passed the woman that had been selected as their own proxy, raising one of his hands to place it on her shoulder- stopping them both in their tracks as he leaned closer to her ear. “Don’t fuck this up miss, alright? Nice knowing ye’.” As he finished whispering into her ear, the hollow tapped her lightly on the shoulder as he moved to his proxy crew and took his place next to the Mirror Pirate that had stationed herself just next to Anasha.
“As to you.” Fate nodded, the same smile she shared with her captain and Anasha having quickly disappeared as soon as Sacramentum’s hand touched her shoulder. She was quick to move to the Slaughter Pirates’ side and stand behind Alfhild, who greeted the young blind woman with a simple nod and smirk before taking her stance in front of her, legs apart at shoulder length and hands rested on the pummels of her rapiers.
There she was again, the blind woman. Valour had been keeping his eyes on her this entire time, only shifting occasionally whenever something abruptly happened during the meeting. He couldn’t help but feel as though he’d seen her before… and angry at the same time.
Clapping his hands together, the blonde man currently representing the Mirror Pirates brought the attention back to him as things finished off.
“Glad to see that we’re making progress and that we’re all willing to make sacrifices for the sake of this new alliance of ours… Now then..-” The Raven looked over to the Captain of the Slaughter Pirates and his first mate, “..what was this about a codex?”
In a soft whisper, Kaede muttered from her corner “What is a codex…?”
“Pffft. You don’t know what a CODEX is?” Wendell responded in a condescending tone.
“Do YOU know what a codex is?” Sacramentum spoke out as he turned back to look at the pairing in the background.
Wendell looked up to the sky and crossed his arms as he tried to think hard, a vein even appearing on the side of his head as he let out thinking noises from his cheeks. “Yeah… It’s like, a type of sandwich, right?”
“A codex! Yes.” Gai groaned as he picked himself from his seat, “I suggest creating a codex for the alliance, listing what we can or can’t do while we are allied together. Also principles and morales we must keep up. Basically just a set of rules.” Gai babbled on as Alfhild went and grabbed a large leather book from behind his seat.
“So, any suggestions?”
Rules, Rules and more Rules
As time passed by, a few minutes soon turned into an hour as the three crews had started discussing and arguing over a set of rules, as well as values and principles, that each of them had to follow going forward. While the discussion had been open to everyone present in the meeting, it had mainly been down to the captains of the Slaughter and Redwing pirates along with the Mirror Pirates taking turns to answer or further the conversation. Most the members had at this point stepped to the side to discuss the event among themselves, their attention having been divided for quite some time.
A loud clap of the leather book closing would echo around the sand island, as Gai stood in the very center, pacing back and forth with one arm around his back.
“OKAY. So, adding onto the book: NO intercourse with sheep while on ANY of the crews’ decks. NO alcohol on Thursday nights. ALWAYS wear socks in the presence of Gai. The Five Second rules DOES NOT apply in the presence of a navigator. And finally, for some god damned reason, CONSENT IS KEY, except the third Friday mornings of every month. ARE WE FUCKING HAPPY YET?!” Gai roared at the groups around him.
Melody in the corner sobbed meekly. “What have they got against Thursdays. I liked Thursdays. Goodbye Thursdays…” she muttered and slurred, still drunk.
“...W-who suggested the sheep rule?” Fate asked in the back in a concerned voice.
“Doesn’t the socks rule get countered by the 34th one about allowing all the members the right to dress up as they want..? Or was that 43?” The proxy from the Mirror Pirates aboard the Slaughter Pirates spoke out, standing just next to her now proxy captain. She leaned on to whisper in the man's ear, “Besides,” pointing towards Gonbei’s own bare feet, “..do you really want to restrict him?”
Imitating Gai’s movements, Wendell’s face lit up as he stopped in place and held a single finger up beside his face in a moment of enlightenment. “OH. OH. I GOT ONE! How about-”
With a soft crack, Kaede stood up and pushed the hilt of her sword out of it’s seathe, staring at Wendell with anger. “Speak and your tongue will be removed.” Kaede, despite a child at heart, was having enough bullshit for one day.
“HOW COME YOU GUYS NEVER TOOK MY SUGGESTIONS, BUT YOU TOOK ONE OF HERS!” Wendell yelled in annoyance, looking to the captains whilst pointing at Kaede.
“Because hers actually made sense!” Alfhild screamed back, “You’re literally putting rules there to let you antagonise other alliance members!”
“Ugh NO!” Wendell groaned back.
“Ugh YES! I’d rather have: Touching someone else’s tail gives them permission to cut you, instead of: Every Friday is tail tugging day.” Alfhild sighed.
“You are far better than I first thought Alfhild,” Kaede said with a smile, putting her sword away again and deciding to brush her tail with her fingers. A victory brush.
“...G-guys. Who suggested the sheep one again?” Fate asked again, looking a bit more scared the more she was ignored.
“HOW DID WE RUN OUT OF PAGES?” Gai yelled in horror as he scrolled through the large codex again, every inch of the papers were scribbled with words and numbers, detailing the thousands of rules that the alliance had made in that relatively short amount of time.
“Ohhhh. Should we probably add in a rule to help balance out rule 678? I’ve got an eerie suspicion that Wendell or Sacramentum might find a loophole around it.” Alfhild said as she peeked into the codex with Gai and quickly pointed to it.
“...Maybe for Melody’s sake we can just do Fridays?” Gai whispered to Alfhild, looking quickly up from the book to the sobbing Hollow not too far from them.
“Yeah but that changes nothing. See if we make it Thursday…”
“IF WE’RE PUTTING IN A RULE ABOUT SHEEP, WE SHOULD PUT ONE ABOUT COWS.” Wendell yelled out.
“B-but. Who suggested sheep?” Fate said holding her arms close to her chest and quickly turning her head left to right in a frantic panic.
“Rule 891. Never sleep outside on a fur pelt when there’s three quarters of a moon out?” Gai thought out loud in a surprised tone, “...I don’t remember putting this there.”
“I TOLD YOU WE NEEDED TO SIGN THE SUGGESTER’S NAME AFTER THE RULE.” Alfhild sighed loudly, digging her face into her palms.
As things went on, one could wonder how long it’d take for the people present to notice that all but a single representative from Mirror Pirates had left the island, leaving the shorter woman that had previously caused a scene with Gonbei with the exception of their proxies.
Nero sighed as she stroked the side of her temple, feeling the headache growing ever more present even after such a long time discussing these matters.
“YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN US, BLONDIE?!” Wendell stomped his foot in the ground as he watched Nero’s reaction to the aftermath.
“You’re children.” Anasha chipped into the conversation.
Alfhild quickly turned back to Anasha with a much more relaxed and calm expression as she placed her hand on one of the pages of the codex to keep its spot, “Anasha. Did you suggest any rules?” the first mate asked with a smile.
“I did.” Taking a step forward as she gazed back at the Alfhild, holding her head up high as she continued.
“That if any member of the alliance finds themselves injured while in the presence of another crew, the medical units will not have any favorites in terms of whom they’re treating because of their affiliation. Those who can be saved will be treated without delay.” Anasha finished her statement by tracing her eyes over to Ricardo, the only other doctor in their presence that she knew of. Trying to seek his confirmation on the matter.
“Heh. All you doctors seem to think the same. We got someone back on the ship who's just like that.” Gai scoffed as he gently turned the next page of the codex he held.
The Mirror Pirate didn’t say anything, but it was obvious that she wasn’t going against her words either. “First mate Alfhild… I believe you had a suggestion about bounties earlier, care to elaborate on that?”
“Hmmm? Oh yeah! Wendell, be a dear and get everyone’s attention.” Alfhild said with a tired groan as she looked to the mad man waiting patiently.
With great excitement, Wendell pulled out the pistol he used earlier in the meeting and fired into the air. The gunshot rang louder than the book did before when Gai gathered everyone’s ears to him, but seemed to trigger Kaede as she came flying out of nowhere to land a kick to the side of Wendell’s face, having mistaken it as an invitation to fight. Wendell quickly dropped but landed on his hands, preventing him from falling face first into the sand, with his pistol landing just next to him which he proceeded to pick up and stuff down his pocket.
“I was thinking we should add a bounty system within the alliance. Not the bounties that the marines set for pirates like us, but bounties that we set ourselves when we find someone or something worthy of our time and energy to hunt down?” Alfhild announced as she looked around to the people still present at the meeting, “I’d say it’d be a good motivation for us to get around and about, as well as earn some cash from the captains themselves, which I’d say have priority bounties for all crew members to seek out. With all the looting, raiding and plundering our crews do, surely we must have some coin to put to a face we want dead?”
“Are there any restrictions to this? As it’s hard to see us getting along with any and every bounty put on people. What if I asked to put a bounty on a pirate that one of you ends up having a good relationship with?” The Mirror Pirate inquired.
Before letting Alfhild get the time to answer however, Nero continued with another question; “And given that the Slaughter Pirates are the ones to suggest this system, do you already have someone in mind for this list?”
“Well there would have to be a system for putting in and judging whether a bounty is appropriate on a person. I say we appoint a few members from all three crews to be part of that sort of ‘council’ and decide whether or not the person should receive such a _target on their head. If the _target has wrong another crew much more than they have done right to another, relationships and bias should not come into question. But, if the circumstances were the other way around, a crew can choose to defend the _target in a court of decision in which case they would have to prove why they should not receive such a _target.” Alfhild explained, “As for any existing _targets in mind, there are a few that we’ve come across that we would probably like to start off with.”
“One in mind is Phoebe, which I hope we all know who they are. I’m willing to put 
100,000,000 on her head, hopefully, you can also contribute?” Gai said as he singalled to Gonbei and then to the Nero that was left.
Trio de Terreur
Red Alert: Cue the Iron Curtain
The sun shone brightly over Ismeretlen as the port city of Kikoto bustled with activity, the influx of traders coming in by boats seem to fan the flames of businesses around the area as carriages, workers and everyday locals moved back and forth across the cramped streets. Ships filled the habour quite quickly, as large ships trading ships moved in to barely park in the anchor spots along the piers, leaving others that were too late to claim the vacancies to anchor just off the shore still relatively far from land, left to await a boat to leave the port. The populace seemed cool and content with the way they lived, even in such a busy and loud environment like Kikoto. Unsupervised children could still be seen running across the light grey brick footpaths that seemed to extend for miles, holding whatever goodies and treats they had bought earlier that day. These footpaths were lined up against the dark gravel roads that streaked through the land, dirtied by everything that had been following its trail around the city. Carriages and carts pulled by horses and other animals shared the road with other pedestrians and workers that followed it, since there wasn't enough room on the sidewalks due to the many stalls that had been set up along the buildings, each selling their own unique business to passerby.
Marines also wandered the city in squadrons with guns and rifles in hand, turning corners and walking all in sync as their foot steps sounded like the steady play of a drum. They wore their standard white uniform, but with the addition of an emerald green band that was wrapped around the bicep of their left arm, adorning the symbol of a gold phoenix on each one. The looks on their faces were harsh and stern, contrasting the pure joy that the civilians and workers had on their own face as the two passed by. One group in particular followed after a hooded man who wore his marine attire on the outside, his entire face shadowed with only his blood red locks hanging out to glisten in the sun light. This marine had his hands shoved into his pockets, head tilted down to hide his face from everyone around him, followed closely by what could be expected to be his own personal guard.
"...I can't believe we're calling in more marines. What the hell does Riku think he's doing?" The marine thought out loud to himself as he approached the port, the marines behind him not bothering to question the thoughts he expressed with his voice.
The group quickly made their way to the large port area of the city, viewing the sets of ships that had been roped in and stationed in their own spot along the many piers that stuck out into the water. There was no residence in this part of the city, only warehouses and company buildings that laid behind the large walls that separated the port from the rest of the town. Factories that sat deep in the blocks of stone grey buildings spewed smoke from the chimneys laid out on their roofs, causing flocks of seagulls to move their path as an entire group away from the rising dark clouds. Here in the port, the mood was much more different than what was going on in the city itself: sailors, workers and businessmen seemed to match the same expression as the marines, dull, grumpy and almost lifeless. The businessmen themselves seemed to smile from time to time with a fake mask they'd put on as they passed by others that looked like them, but quickly assumed the same bored looks as soon as their back was turned. It was like a den of rats that scuttled around in a hurry, rats that would dare not cross the paths of the marines that moved through the crowd and towards a large opening in the middle of the closed off district.
There, a white carriage lined with gold had sat in place, accompanied by marines wearing a black variant of the standard uniform, also wearing the same green band around their left bicep. One of the black clothed marines who noticed the approaching squadron immediately jumped with surprise and rushed over to the door of the carriage, quickly pulling it open to reveal a figure waiting patiently behind it, the shadows of the inside masking their face for a few brief seconds before the figure cautiously stepped out into the open. Their emerald green hair, light green eyes and gold lined cream cloak were the first things the marines could notice, their attention barely being on the slim containment suit the figure wore underneath the large regal cloak.
"They've arrived, Saint Riku." The black clothed marine bowed his head as soon as Riku stepped out.
"Well yes, I'd imagine so as that would be the only reason you'd open that door and expose me to the ghastly stench of this... city." Riku responded in an arrogant tone before talking a step closer, "Lieutenant Commander Armondo, I'm glad you could make it on such short notice."
"Saint Riku. I don't believe I would have had the choice." The hooded marine said as soon as the group moved right before Riku, stopping in place with their weapons still in hand.
"And you would be right to know that you don't have a choice! Our visitors should be arriving any minute now, I would like for you to debrief them, give them the same old introduction you would with any normal marine." Riku laughed as he looked around the area.
"With all due respect, Saint Riku, I don't think it would be right to call these 'normal marines'. We're gathering people from Rear Admiral Phoebe's group, Umibōzu, hell, even Iron Curtain and its leader! I don't think it would be right for a Lieutenant Commander to begin instructing a Rear Admiral." Armondo responded in a held back voice, trying not to explode at Riku's calm but infuriating manner, "Do, do they even know what they might be here for? We can't seriously force them into this little militia you have going on here!"
"AND WHY NOT!? The marines are supposed to protect me anyway! If they refuse this, I'll just have them expelled from the Marine Organisation." Riku immediately spat back without stuttering, the confidence in his voice accompanying the fire that blazed within his eyes.
Armondo shook his head sighed, defeated as soon as Riku refused to listen to his pleas. "Sir, I don't know to what extent your power goes within the World Government, but I doubt you will be able to do that."
"Challenging the power of a World Noble is dangerous, Lieutenant Commander. Maybe we'll see just how much power I've got once I force you to leave the World Government with a bounty on your head?" Riku threatened with a devious smile.
The ship of the Iron Curtain, one of the most illustrious marine units in Paradise, had docked. Ahead of the others walked their leader, a rear admiral of the marines, Henry Benjamin. The 13 medals he had received for his duties decorating his navy blue marine coat. He had taken enough time to fully recover from his injuries at Fort de Rocher, and was ready for action. He even seemed broader and more muscular than before, albeit the bags under his eyes only seemed to deepen. "Alright," Benjamin almost yawned, "what're we dealing with today?"
Walking beside Benjamin with her arms crossed behind her back and eyes narrowed in focus was his right-hand, Suzuran. Wearing a traditional Marines jacket with the signature symbol of justice on the back, the Marine Captain took the appearance of a true soldier of the seas. Much like her superior, she was ready for action and to aid him with whatever crossed his path. "It seems we are dealing with several crews, sir."
Pulling out several folders, she held them out for Benjamin to take and look over. "From the reports we have received, it seems like Slaughter Pirates and Redwing Pirates are here. There is also the Mirror Pirates. While we aren't certain of who amongst the crews, the folders you have contains those who do have bounties."
Benjamin sifted through the folder, looking at the files and wanted posters of each of the known pirates. Suzuran had certainly been keeping busy. He didn't know what he'd do without her. Of course, three different people caught his eye the most, the pirates he had faced not too long ago on Obscuria. Before he had trouble taking them down, the odds were stacked against him, but his strength had skyrocketed since that altercation, he had even been promoted a rank. He'd make sure to take them into custody this time. And if not that, put them in the dirt.
"Slaughter Pirates...didn't you fight those, sir?" At his left side was Samuel Axe. A yellow coat, akin to a kimono draped down his shoulders. At his side, was placed, and the sun's light reflected lightly off of it. Unlike Suzuran, he brought no folders or documents, which made him feel somewhat awkward, a tingling feelings rising up his hands.
"Yes, I had to allow them to escape in order to protect civilians," said Benjamin, closing his file. "Unfortunately, Suzuran was injured at the time and you hadn't joined the unit yet. I'm certain if I had both of you there, the entire pirate crew would've been defeated."
Suzuran frowned at the information from his last encounter with these pirates, knowing exactly what period of time he was speaking of. It was when she had been captured by the Sea-Star Pirates and tortured by the likes of Bessonova Anna, resulting in her being left in a hospital for a month to recover. It was still a mark of shame for the Captain, a feeling of weakness which constantly haunted her. "Fret not, sir. The fault doesn't lie with you for being dealt a bad hand and this time, you will have allies backing you."
"Yeah..." It wasn't just his allies in the Iron Curtain though. They wouldn't be sufficient during this operation, but the marines being sent as backup were, in some cases, less than ideal.
"Yooooo~!" As if on cue, the sound of a familiar voice carried through the area as Logan walking along the dock with a happy-go-lucky smile on his face. Having recovered from his battle against Ferrara Pan, the pink-haired soldier was currently decked out in his newly-acquired marine coat ー having recently been promoted to the rank of Captain. "How are you guys doing?! It's been a while since we've seen each other, huh?"
"Commander Logan, apologies, I mean Captain Logan," he extended his hand out to shake the young marine officer's. "I heard about your promotion. A fine marine such as yourself certainly deserved it."
"Nah, I couldn't have done it without the help of you guys during that operation! Even if things didn't go exactly as planned..." Logan said, muttering the last part to himself before shaking his head to rid said thoughts from his mind. "I've actually put in a request to train under some instructors to improve myself. Hopefully, they decide to accept them."
"I see, training under instructors would certainly be a massive benefit for a young Marine such as yourself." Suzuran acknowledged, giving a nod of approval towards Logan's initiative. With the number of instructors within the Marine, Logan had a large pool of options to choose from and improve himself in theory.
"That's a good call," said Benjamin, "someone can only get so strong by themselves. I've even begun undergoing special training in preparation for entering the New World."
"So soon? Geez, I figured you'd stay here for a bit longer." Logan said, raising an eyebrow at Benjamin's statement before shrugging. Personally, Logan felt like there was still a lot he could learn from being in Paradise before he moved on to the New World. Especially with all of the rumors he heard about that section of the Grand Line. "Oh, hey Axe! Congrats on your promotion!"
Diez Lucy, one of the newest recruits in the marines, though someone noted for having great potential, nodded in agreement of Logan’s congratulatory message towards her peer, Axe.
“It’s quite impressive that you’ve gotten this far,” she spoke up, adding to Logan’s statement. “I would have never pegged you as someone who could actually accomplish much, and/or anything. You’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations so far!”
As she completed her statement, Lucy lifted her hand into a rather formal salute. During her time within the academy, despite scoring only average scores, she was noted to have had the greatest, and more perfect, salute out of all her peers. She was disciplined, and very much so.
“Keep exceeding, Captain Axe!”
"T-thank you!" though he was initially happy, as he took in Lucy's words, each one stinging him like a dagger, he felt completely defeated. His eyes could not be seen as his posture slouched. "W-what's that supposed to mean..." he said weakly.
Lucy blinked, and tilted her head in confusion. “Were my words not satisfactory, Captain? That was my best attempt at providing inspirational words. Did they not motivate you?”
Axe eyed Lucy quickly, regaining his previous composure. "I-it's alright, I know you didn't mean anything bad, haha..."
"It's so nice to see such youthful squires getting along so well!" A jovial voice sounded behind the group, drawing their attention to the towering behemoth before them. More machine than man, with a head of brilliant flames and eyes which held conviction as well as justice ー this was the Marine Captain known as Fahrenknight. A fiery cyborg with a knight motif, he was also a member of P.B. Inc..
"Hello, Knight Benjamin! It's been quite long since we've seen one another!" His hands were covered in oven mitts, holding a large bot. A silly contradiction considering his skill set. "I've brought some soup as a way to energize everyone before our fierce battle!"
Benjamin looked at the marine as he entered. He had heard tales of the might Fahrenknight, his strength, and his loyalty to Phoebe. He knew he was coming beforehand, and he was prepared for the worst... he certainly wasn't prepared for this. "Uh... Thanks?"
"You're welcome!" Fahrenknight said in his typical joy-filled voice, giving an eye-smile towards Benjamin. However, his mood shifted from joyful to serious as he glanced around. "I've heard we will be dealing with a number of powerful black knights today. Are our numbers capable of taking on such a threat?"
"Well, numbers aren't exactly the issue," said Benjamin, "It's more so a matter of skill. And my soldiers, you won't find a finer unit in Paradise."
"Which is why Saint Riku has called you all here today." Armondo called out as he approached the arriving marines, his coat dancing in the breeze that swept past.
Just behind him, a redheaded marine followed after, wearing the typical marine uniform with the emerald green band around her arm. A heavy, metal, baseball bat rested on her shoulder as she followed behind, her left eye covered by a decorative piece of cloth lined with gold, though it wasn't much to hide the flame that grew within her eyes as soon as she saw them. Letting out a whistle by sticking two fingers into the sides of her mouth, the sharp sound echoed around the port, prompting squadrons of marines to come marching from every corner and space that surrounded the area, some pulling themselves into view from the top of buildings by standing at the very edges of the rooftops. It was like an entire army at her beck and call, though these marines didn't look like the ones that were stationed here. They were dressed in heavily stained and damaged uniforms, all wearing metal masks that sat all around their jaw.
"The numbers have been taken care of, thanks to Goro Maiya here. The marines stationed here have been in need of members who are already experienced with pirates, especially of the pirates that have been causing destruction in these parts of the Grand Line." Armondo carried on before stopping before Iron Curtain and their friends, "We have reasons to believe that they'll be coming for this island, though the thing is we don't know WHEN. So I'm glad that you all have arrived before such an inevitable attack."
Whilst Armondo was speaking, Maiya pulled out several folders with symbols stamped on their front before bringing her baseball bat down and letting it stand by her side. Shuffling through their contents, Maiya proceeded to draw several sheets from within and present them to the marines, holding them out so they could take a look at them themselves.
"As you should know, the Slaughter Pirates, Redwing Pirates and possibly Mirror Pirates are collaborating together to attack every island in their path. Which is strange as a few weeks earlier, Gai of the Slaughter Pirates and Gonbei of the Redwing Pirates were spotted fighting each-other outside a port city, resulting in the death of countless civilians and destruction of public property." Maiya started off, "We've called you here to this island to help protect Saint Riku and the public residing here on Ismeretlen. The World Noble has promised to pay you all handsomely for your efforts and service, provided he will actually be here to do so."
"Great..." Benjamin said under his breath. They'd be helping another World Noble. And Benjamin's previous actions to help them had always left a bad taste in his mouth. At least this time him and his unit would be well-compensated. "It's possible that Gai and Gonbei were simply training, or that they impressed each other enough that they decided to form an alliance. Either way, the two of them working together makes matters all the more dire. Show us around the facilities, it would help us create a more adequate defense against any invading pirates.
The Megâlo Entente Approaches
Standing at the bow of the Wildest Hunt, Gai looked on as the city of Kikoto laid beyond the mist of the sea, his bones rattling with excitement as it seemed to serve as another place to sharpen his skill. The last islands he had attacked with the Redwings and Mirrors served as further training for his Fish-Man Karate and Seimei Kikan, but there was a strange feeling in his gut that here he would have to use his new found skills in a serious situation. Cracking his knuckles and his neck, Gai looked back to the rest of his crew withdrew his bident, swinging Sirena around his wrists before stamping its bottom onto the deck and letting out a loud bang.
"The cannons are ready to fire, captain!" Aiko screamed out as she approached the captain, her cheeks covered and hands covered in soot and oil, which she wiped with the back of her wrists, "I've also fitted them with the special-something you've requested. Took a little test run with the cannons on the Redwing's ship and they turned out great. BUT, they turned out even better on our ones." She winked with a sly smile.
"I've expected no less from you, Aiko. Is, is the saddle you fitted for Moxie ready?" Gai asked with a raised eyebrow, "And uh, did you put the special request?"
Aiko nodded excitedly before stepping to the side, revealing that behind her in the distance, Moxie sat patiently with its jaw open and tail wagging innocently behind her. On him was a dark brown, leather saddle fitted behind him, sitting gently on the sharp spines that made up his fur coat. The 'special requests' seemed to be two large moveable cannons fitted on either side of the large hound's body, tubes seemingly entering Moxie's body as they glowed with the bright light that emanated from within his jaw. Gai nodded his head and cracked a smile at the sight of his pet fitted for war, and began making his way towards him with Aiko following by his side.
"Is-is this all up to your expectations, captain?"
"You've never failed me before, Aiko. Lets not make this one your first." He responded.
From the helm, Rena stood at the steering wheel as she watched everyone prepare for battle, a disgruntled face as she thought about the possibility of everyone around her dying. Right beside her, Alfhild counted quickly in her head as she proceeded to withdraw and then sheathe her rapiers into their holders, the constant sound of metal slicing playing in the back of Rena's head as she looked down towards Gai and Aiko moving closer to Moxie. Letting out a loud sight, Rena turned to Alfhild and pulled out several syringes from a satchel that hung by her side, tapping the first mate on the shoulder to get her attention. The blonde woman turned and looked at Rena's hand with an uncomfortable look before sheathing her blades and gently taking the syringes from Rena's hand, the colour within their capsules looking all too familiar.
"You sure?" She asked with a nervous smile.
Rena nodded and held her hands in front of her lap, quickly turning her head to look away as if she was looking at something horrific before her. "I-I trust that you'll make the right decision to when to use them. DON'T use them all, understand? Only use them when you need a boost in battle..."
"Of course! I'm not some kind of addict that will use them the first chance I get hold of them," Alfhild rolled her eyes as she tucked the syringes away into a safe pocket, "Though, you shouldn't really be worrying for me. You should be worrying for whoever I'm going to be fighting while on these."
"If I stay here on board, I won't have to follow that rule we put in. Just make sure you and everyone get back to the ship in one piece! There's only two doctors on board."
Back down on deck, Gai began climbing onto Moxie's saddle, grabbing the handles and prompting Moxie to pull himself onto all four feet. He found that the handles moved the cannons on either side, flipping the ends of said handles to reveal buttons that he suspected he would use to fire them. Moving the handles around subsequently moved the cannons in the same direction, letting out a loud mechanical whir for as long as the large weapons moved in place. Aiko clapped excitedly as she watched her captain test the weapon out, the same sort of smile appearing on his face as he continued playing around. Looking up to Rena and Alfhild on the helm, Gai gave them a nod each which caused them to nod back to him, the two women smiling at him as they watched him have fun before the incoming battle.
"Enjoying yourself, captain?" Alfhild yelled out.
"I think he might be enjoying himself a bit too much." Rena giggled.
"MELODY, RELEASE THE DAMNED AND HOLLOW! AIKO, FIRE THE CANONS! TARO, RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER. SLAUGHTER PIRATES, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"
Reaching for the last step on the ladder leading up to ship itself, "Ruler of Gallows'" had finally returned after what could only been forseen as hours of listening to all manner of debates and arguments. Yet before she could so much as grab onto the hull, the sound of a footstep, followed by a shadow took her attention as a figure now loomed over her. With a hand reaching out to her, clad in a velvet glove coated in gold and grey, Nero wouldn't deny an offer from her own as she reached out to grab it -- helping to pull her onboard as the figure revealed itself to be "Hanged One".
"It appears that I was successful." He spoke out, something which Gallows could only affirm as she nodded her head. Stepping aside as to allow the fellow crew member to see that several of the others was already present and waiting at the centre of ship. Each of them standing in a semi circle, "Wanderer" and "The Blind Guest" appeared as vacant as ever, with the former still carrying that huge box over her shoulder, all the while "The Found" kept chewing on her gum. At the centre stood "Grey Beard" as usual.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the two Neros approached the others, Gallows couldn't help but to glance around the ship as she walked over however. She managed to spot some of the Mirror Pirates preparing the ship, all in complete silence, all the while others must've already left them.
"You got all that, right?" Gallows announced as she stood before the members present.
"To be honest. I tabbed out as soon as the first rule was decided." The woman in the long pony-tail spoke out, only taking a pause to blow up and respectivly pop the pink bubble coming out of her mouth. "But yes, I was plugged back in time for the neccessary bits." Raising one of her fingers to point the masked man on her left, suggesting that he was the one that was behind it.
The man in the middle had yet to say anything, he was fiddling and rolling a cigarette between his fingers as to keep himself occupied whilst still thinking about the current topic. Grey Beard went on to put the cigarette to his mouth, at first he didn't even inhale, just sucked some smoke in and held it ithere before blowing it out as a trail took shape behind it. "We've already thought about it, as you very well know, but to clarify." Looking up to the sky above, following the trail of smoke as it ascended and faded away among the many birds and creations that flew above the ship. "We go in like they wanted us to, just a few of us should be enough but just in case we'll be bringing anything that can travel fast and create chaos quickly."
"Are we sure about risking "them" here? It's my most valued asset after." Hanged One called out, the man's eyes perhaps more fixated and irriateded by Grey Beard's stick of cancer than anything else, the very smell of it was making him wanna go below deck to grab his own pack of cigarettes.
"I'm making my first real entrance as a pirate crew aren't I? This alliance isn't what I expected it to be, but they're nevertheless expecting that I act... Besides, if "they" ever get into trouble then they'll be the first one to leave the operation and return back to safety." This time, it was the Ruler of Gallows that answered. Each of them nodding in approval or just outright not doing anything, which in of itself was an agreement.
"Well then, good luck." Grey Beard spoke out before he started making his way to the lower levels of the ship, whistling as went. Something which caused two of the nearby "sea dogs" to follow him down below. Leaving the five other members of the Mirror Pirates above deck.
Without saying another word, they too started making their own seperate ways across the ship. They were after all the ones that was going into battle... But they already knew that, didn't they?
Reaching out with his Kenbunshoku Haki, Gonbei, the captain of the Redwing Pirates could feel every pirate at the helm on his large vessel, the Golden Icarus, currently hovering high above the clouds; from the sounds bellowing in kitchen, the footsteps tapping across the wooden boards that make up her innards, and the many voices filling the air. Not far below them lied the city of Kikoto, and from what he could tell, the waters weren't the only things turbulent down there. Monitoring his ship from his private quarters, the skypeian couldn't help but fidget in place, as Gonbei hadn't been one to stand silently while others worked, using this time to assemble his crew mates for a meeting between the ship's heads. Grabbing his transponder snail, Gonbei made a call, "purururu...purururu...OI, YOU'RE CAPTAIN'S REQUESTING AN EMERGENCY COUNCIL MEETING IN THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS!"Screaming with enough force to not only sound through off through the snail but draw the attention of numerous crew mates floors above him, hoping word of mouth bring them faster before reaching their location.
The first one to reach him was Hana, who barged into room with a metal bowl and a pink, flower decorated apron strapped to the front of her body. Having been caught up in the middle of a recipe, Hana decided to attend whilst stirring the bowl, a scowl on her face as soon as she made her presence clear to the captain. With her sleeves rolled up, she revealed the log pose watches that were now strapped to her wrists, as the departure left the crew without a navigator, the ship's cook had to fill that role in till someone with more skill in the area could take over.
"You better have a good reason to why your calling us over here, big guy," Hana sighed as she took her place and stood to the side for others to come in, "We should nearly be at Kikoto if I'm reading the stuff Fate left at the Navigation quarters, right."
"Eh-eh. You questioning the captain, kitchen rat?" Wendell said as he walked in right after, stretching his arms out and giving a loud yawn, "Though this better be the last of this whole conquest we seem to be doing. We've been attacking and fighting ALOT of islands in the span of a month and a half, I reckon we should take a long break after this one."
Wendell's body slouched down, with bags under his eyes and his delinquent smile a little weaker than usual. For someone who was excited for battle, he came into the room relatively tired and worn out, each step dragging on after the next as he took his place opposite from Hana. The helmsman seemed to have enough strength, however, to stick his tongue out and pull down the bottom of his eye, revealing the inside of his eye lid in a mocking manner. Hana scowled even harder at Wendell, holding herself back from lashing out when the younger man had began to antagonise her out of nowhere. But what he said did hold some truth to it, truth that Hana herself also wanted to get down to the bottom of.
"Wendell's right, did the Slaughter Pirates' captain talk you into doing this? I can get attacking islands and all that, but so many within six weeks is quite a handful, don't you think? You've only known the Demon Brawler for probably two months now, right? Since your fight in whatever that place was?" Hana questioned, still stirring whatever mixture was in her bowl.
Hearing Benjamin contemplate the situation, Armondo bowed in response to the marine's request, his upper body slight leaning over his arm which he pressed against his stomach. "Of course, Rear Admiral, right this wa-"
"CANNON FIRE COMING FROM THE EAST!"
"GOLDEN ICARUS HULL IN VIEW!"
The sounds of cannon fire coming from a distance soon transitioning into the chaos that ensued around the marines as cannonballs whirred through the air and crashed into the port interrupted Armondo's reply, who jumped at the sounds that went on around him. The cries of marines from the rooftops filled the air as the uniformed men that stood on the rooftops either jumped down or were thrown off by the explosions of roof tiles and brick near them. Maiya looked around with her one eye opened wide with fear, what was happening around her seemed all too familiar for the mad woman, her pupils shivering and her voice unable to escape her throat. The cries of the watchtowers and the screaming civilians drifted high into the atmosphere, much like the grey clouds of smoke that were spotted all around the city, the cannonballs reaching beyond the port and into the city of Kikoto itself. This was probably the only warning the city was going to get of the pirate's attack.
"H-How did they reach the island so quick?!" Armondo exclaimed in horror.
In the distance, the cannonfire tore apart the mist that separated the Wildest Hunt and Kikoto, revealing the gigantic battleship in all its glory. Its jagged fangs, black obsidian like skin, huge black masts baring black sails with the Slaughter Pirate's jolly roger waving proudly in the air. This what they had become, phantoms that stalked the seas, eyeing its prey in a plane of obscurity until it wanted to make itself known. Underneath the cannon fire was a wave of rowboats all filled with pirates from the crew, one in particular being a larger rowboat than the others as it had to fit the large hound on which the captain sat on.
"SEND THE CIVILIANS INLAND! MAKE SURE EVERYONE GETS OUT OF THE CITY!" Armondo began ordering troops, sending squadrons by the dozen marching out and back into the city while the ones left would proceed to load their guns and draw what sword they had not drawn. "Rear Admiral, I'll ask that you assist with the defence of Kikoto's port, as well as lend me two of Iron Curtain and co's units to help protect Saint Riku."
"Fine, you can have it," said Benjamin matter of factly, "but for now, I'm going to need you to return fire. Sink as many of those longboats as possible, then we can pick off the stragglers before they can reach the shore. Just remember, my soldiers outrank you and will get to protect Saint Riku however they see fit."
"Understood, Rear Admiral." Armondo nodded his head, signalling for Axe, Logan and Maiya to follow him before making taking his leave from the port, "ALERT THE BUNKERS TO BEGIN FIRING ON THE INVADERS. I'll call an admiral to take over from us, on the way there."
At Armondo's command, several large metal turrets around the port began moving around on their bases planted all over the port, the two barrels situated on both sides moving up and down to aim at the incoming pirate boats. Some were aimed at the rowboats, others aimed at the Wildest Hunt itself, and a small few aimed all at the rowboat containing the Slaughter Pirate hound and captain. In a unified cry, the turrets began firing loud, explosive blasts at their _targets, roaring just as loud as the cannons from the Wildest Hunt's ship. Marines began cheering as they watched the pirates get a taste of their own medicine, rowboats exploding in an eruption of red liquid and splinters, whilst the water around them was pulled up to mask much of the horror that the ammunition had caused inside the small boats. Other shots created large splashes of water that rained down on the incoming pirates, who were now prompted to row even faster to avoid being blasted to smithereens as they ditched the weapons to the inside of their rowboats and aided by paddling with their hands.
"TAKE THAT, PIRATE SCUM!"
"WATCH OUT THEY'RE FIRING BACK!"
The exchange between the cannonfire of the pirates and the artillery fire of the marines continued throughout the time the pirates took to reach the port's shores, their rowboats slowly increasing in size the closer they approached. Many marines began rushing around the area in an effort to change place and get to a more advantageous position, all to anticipate the charge of the Slaughter Pirates. Marines could be seen frantically reloading their weapons and checking their swords, applying medical aid to the wounds they gained during the chaos the pirate cannons unleashed onto the port. Some also began covering the dead bodies they found around the port, making use of their coats and shirts and laying them over the faces of the deceased to prevent decreasing the morale of the other troops. The pirates had yet to touch land, but already had they razed several buildings and pulled smoke up into the air. Only firing back would cause the pirates to become more violent, as taking more of their fellow crew members would fuel their determination and reason to kill.
One marine who was covered in soot and bruises rushed up to Benjamin with his rifle clenched in both hands in front of him, his pants heavy and agonizing to listen to, as the sharp breath sounded as though he was breathing through a small metal pipe lodged in his throat. Behind him, several other able bodied men followed after, weapons ranging from guns to swords, to maces and slingshots, all held out at the ready.
"R-REAR ADMIRAL. Where do you need us?" The marine cried out in desperation.
"Those with firearms, get as close to the beach head as possible without getting into the line of fire, prepare for an incursion. Fire upon before they make landfall, and keep doing so after they do. Those with swords, stay on standby, act as the ranged fighters' melee protection. Whatever you do, do not let the cannons stop firing. Have the cannons focus on the flagship while we fire upon the foot soldiers with rifles. Aim for their cannons so that they can't fire back!" Benjamin turned to Logan and Fakrenknight. "I trust you two to look over what's happening here while I'm gone. In the meantime, I'm going to go sink some ships."
He took to the air using Geppo, flying through the air like a speeding bullet. In a matter of seconds, he was above where the longboats were, hopping off the air above them. "Rankyaku..." Benjamin's legs almost seemed to vibrate as he prepared his next strike. "Ran!" A flurry of blades of air flew down towards the pirates. Given his height above the pirates, safe from the risk of being harmed by his own men, the blades covered a wide area over the ocean, with Benjamin expertly controlling each and every single one. It was like a cone of death from which no one could escape. While each blade didn't possess much power for a superhuman like Benjamin, against a normal person, or even an above average one, the blades would easily be able to dismember humans and cut through the longboats' wood. Even against someone more durable, the rain of blades would quickly wear them down should they make no attempts to defend themselves.
Each blade was as deadly as Benjamin threw them, slicing through some of the boats and any unfortunate soul to be caught in its reach. Like the turret fire, it created large splashes of water that rained down on the invading pirates, adding to their struggle as by any moment now they would finally be able to reach the shores. The largest of the rowboats had also began to take heavy damage from the marine, many parts of it being shredded through before ultimately sinking and disappearing under the waves, much like many of the other unlucky pirates who were brought to the depths below. The large hound that sat on board seemed frantic at first, but the man holding onto its leash seemed no less phased than those who joined him, standing still as water rushed upwards around them. Despite the loss of a captain, however, it didn't seem to lower the morale of the men, who pushed forward even if they're numbers were seemingly reduced to about less than half. With what firearms they had, they fired back at the defending marines on shore, exchanging their own fire as the pirates and marines sent waves of bullets to one another. Cries of men getting hit and falling over into the water soon joined the orchestra of artillery fire and buildings collapsing, the battle having yet to truly begin.
"WE'RE NEARLY THERE MEN! DON'T DELAY!"
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
"RETURN FIRE!"
As the pirates continued, some of the cannons from the ship began to direct their attention to Benjamin who was in the air, the symphony of cannon fire masking their intentions until the very last second. As another volley was fired, some of the cannon balls that were aimed for the city began moving towards Benjamin himself, sprawled out to create a wall of cannon balls that were to knock him from the sky and send him plummeting to the water.
As the cannonballs headed his way, whirring through the air, Benjamin had no choice but to momentarily halt his assault. With the Slaughter Pirates nearing the shore, there wasn't much more he could do to prevent them from making landfall anyways. "Tekkai Kenpo "Haneguruma"!" Benjamin's body began spinning around rapidly, the force of his defensive maneuver knocking away the cannonballs with such force and speed that they wouldn't detonate until a second after they had been knocked away from his person. "Prepare for combat!" Benjamin shouted. "The Slaughter Pirates are here!"
"Aye aye Admiral!" The marines called out as they kept their ground at the shore, firing onto the pirates that were mere inches from stepping foot onto land.
The Slaughter Pirates that managed to make it to land jumped out of their boats and rushed up the beaches and port sides without hesitation, some stumbling from the sudden stop of their boats, and others sprinting without thought right into the heart of the battle. They spread out like flies and quickly flooded the port with their numbers, matching the number of marines that were inside waiting for their inevitable arrival. Both sides would properly meet as blades clashed against one another, the swinging and collision of metal ringing loudly into the air. The cannon fire and gun fire continued on from both sides, though it seemed to drop once the pirates had made it more in land. The longer the conflict went on, the more buildings of Kikoto were brought down by the cannonfire from the Wildest Hunt, the more the roads began to disappear as large craters tore the land apart, the more the dark atmosphere of death and smoke grew dense and thick, plummeting Kikoto into a sort of night in the middle of the day. Barely any of the buildings outside the port looked as though they were going to last much longer from what supports were left. And to speak on the buildings inside the port's walls, they had been reduced to ruins, now for marines to hide within and fire from once fighting up close became too much of a hassle.
However, much of this destruction wouldn't just be carried on by the Slaughter Pirates. From above, clouds suddenly broke apart as cannonfire rained down from the heavens to Kikoto, large gaps in the sky revealing the battle-airship floating high above the city. Its massive hull bared cannons on either side, all of them directed below to bombard the city and aid with the assault. From what light that broke through and at the right angle, one would be able to see the flag of those who had come to help the Slaughters in their breach and invasion. A skull accompanied by horns, antenna and a halo blended with it into its red silhouette, should have been something the marines were expecting to see with sight of the Slaughter Pirate's own icon.
The Redwing Pirate's Jolly Roger, waving proudly on its mast over the Golden Icarus.
The Golden Icarus' cannons blasted cannon fire downwards to the city, this time directed at the areas outside the port, its roars combining with the insanely loud maniacal laughter of a mad man at its helm. Descending closer to the city, the dark clouds quickly closed back up and shut off what sunlight some of the marines desperately needed for morale. Their arrival didn't seem too late nor too early, but right on time, as if the Slaughter and Redwings had time to practise on all the other islands they had attacked in the past month or so. The dark atmosphere would only serve as a way to obscure the Golden Icarus' position in the sky, as well as the descent of figures coming down from the ship in their own way.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND, WE CAN'T LET THEM GET THEIR WAY! CONTINUE FIRING AT THE SHIP!"
"The Rear Admiral is too far to alert! Commander Suzuran, Slaughter Pirates are advancing from the north side of the port! A Devil Fruit user and a... Fisherman?!" A marine cried out as he rushed to the young woman's side, holding a Den Den Mushi in one hand and a flintlock in the other.
"MIRROR PIRATES SPOTTED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PORT! They've disappeared before we could aim the turrets but we've got reason to believe they're still there." Another marine called out, this one just holding a Den Den Mushi up to his ear.
"What?!" Suzuran's face displayed surprise at the information, having not expected the pirate to arrive so soon and in such a brazen manner. It certainly spoke about their confidence to arrive on an island that was practically swarming with marines of noticeable power. "Fan out and find them! Stay grouped up and radio us the moment you find them!"
Fahrenknight stepped forward as his massive frame dwarfed the marines around him. "Lady Suzuran, allow me to assist you in taking down these Mirror Pirates!" The flames atop of his head were burning brilliantly, displaying his indomitable will and desire to take on these pirates.
"Right, follow me then!" Suzuran declared, taking off with Fahrenknight hot on her trail.
Honour and Glory
Running towards the last known location of the Mirror Pirates, Suzuran, Lucy, Fahrenknight and Chord made their way through the port streets as they passed through the chaos that went on in the further parts of the city. Wherever they went, cannonballs had torn through the grounds and buildings, leaving very little of the port intact just moments after launching the attack. Marine and pirate bodies were scattered in their path, some holding onto what bit of life they had left, while others slowly losing their grip by the time the group of marines passed by. With how very few pirate bodies were even seen on this side of the port, it could have been suggested that pirates were not at all expected to come from the south, allowing them to get the element of surprise on the marines and attack from the woods. The pirate bodies that were found looked like they had been dead for quite a while, a tell of how early the pirates really attacked the city, as the pools of blood from their bodies had already dried up, becoming craggy and crunching under the marines' feet as they walked over.
It was clear that their assault from the sea was just a way to make themselves known to the marines who were left to fight back in the city's center.
Evading falling debris and jumping over broken terrain, it didn't take the marines too long to get from the middle of the port to the south entrance of the city, finding that the turret towers located in the area had already been torn down or blown apart. The southern wall also looked as though it was about ready to give up any second, as bricks unhinged themselves from place and fell from great heights to create loud thuds that echoed through the streets. The groaning of near-dead men wailed quietly in the air, some coming from men that were out in the clear, whilst others hidden around buildings or inside ruins that were too damaged to explore. Another battle outside of the marine's knowledge had already taken place, possibly even before Iron Curtain and company had arrived at the island. Not much of the area survived except for a few notable features:
A lonely water tower sat nearby just next to the large wall, remaining unscathed compared to the rest of its environment, but definitely having taken a beating by the looks of the indents that were hammered into its body.
A building that managed to remain intact, by its layout and architecture, resembled a sort of tavern with small swinging doors that led into an empty drinking hall. Bullet holes could be seen fired all around, but somehow failed to smash the windows around the premises. Furniture had been thrown around inside, possibly from the conflict that ensued or for being used as cover for the warring sides to hide behind. And some of the aforementioned groaning could be heard from the inside like there were still some marines hiding within its walls.
And a cart that laid on its side in the very center of the southern entrance, tipped over to allow several crates of unknown contents to spill over and sprawl across the ground. Large claw marks could be seen etched into the side of the vehicle, claw marks that came from something much bigger than a bear.
As they were traveling, the visor that made up Chord's eyes glowed red, scanning each of the pirates as they traveled along. Periodically, whenever he would get a positive life sign from any of the pirates, a quick blast from his visor would eradicate the near-death person. And every time he said it, he'd say "_target eliminated."
"Call down there, Sir Chord! We shouldn't focus on eliminating these individuals." Fahrenknight lectured, wagging his finger in front of Chord's visor like a parent scolding their child. Placing a hand underneath his chin, he continued with a wise look in his eyes. "We should be taking these pirates in for questioning. Eliminating them only allows information to slip through our grasp, friend."
"That is true..." Suzuran reluctantly agreed, giving Chord a glance out of the corner of her eye. There was something so off about him as a person, if she could even call him that. Unlike Fahrenknight who still displayed his normal humanity even after his robotic enhancements, Chord acted like a true machine and apparently it was Phoebe who had done this to him. No wonder Benjamin wasn't a fan of the woman. "Nonetheless, we can't afford to waste our efforts on these small pirates. We must go deal with Mirror Pirates."
Chord's visor dimmed stopping his assault before he could burn another pirate. "New directive acquired."
"Indeed, Sir Chord! Taking things seriously as per usual, a grand example for any aspiring marine." Fahrenknight complemented his comrade, unaware of the truth behind Chord's nature or Suzuran shaking her head in exasperation at the sight before her.
"Anyways, we should get a move on." The white-haired marine spoke piped up, drawing Fahrenknight's attention towards her. "As I said before, we need to hurry and deal with the Mirror Pirates. The longer we wait, the more destruction they have the potential of causing."
A Hollow Shell
The assault on the city had slowed down Armondo, Maiya, Logan and Axe's rush back to Saint Riku, having had to push and pull debris out of their way as the buildings and walls around them collapsed. The roads were covered in dust, bricks, blood and different belongings from the evacuating citizens, some who had not managed to make it out before being blown apart by cannon fire or shot down by marines heading inwards. From behind the walls, the cries of men and the clashing of men seemed more distant then they really were, providing some bit of comfort for the marines who were navigating their way through the ruined city. The buildings that weren't already knocked over and splayed out on the pavement and roads screamed of silence and emptiness, with only darkness filling the rooms that families would have stayed in for shelter and comfort. The market place usually bustling with business and passerbys looking at the stalls set all over, were now ripped by the cannons balls that landed in its midst, having torn up the ground to throw bricks and tiles all over the vicinity. The same stalls mentioned, now too blown apart as all that was left of them were piles of wood and firm cloth in their place.
"Saint Riku. Saint Riku. Pick up you bastard. Saint Riku!" Armondo yelled into the Den Den Mushi he held up to his mouth, looking around the ruined market place to see the destruction the pirates had brought to the city.
"Give it time, Armondo. He's probably busy getting into a panic room or something." Maiya pleaded, waving her bat around as she looked for any incoming hostiles.
Armondo shook his head and then the Den Den Mushi, looking back and forth just in time to avoid tripping over a stray brick that would have tripped him. "SAINT RIKU," He screamed once more, "I've been calling ever since we left Rear Admiral Benjamin and the rest of the visiting marines, why hasn't he picked up yet?"
"Maybe it's just shoddy connection, here, pass the Den Den Mushi. I'll try and run up ahead of you guys and see if it makes any difference." Maiya suggested, holding her other hand out for Armondo to pass it to.
As Armondo quickly passed the snail to Maiya, he watched as the woman quickly sprinted up quickly ahead of them, holding the Den Den Mushi to her face. Looking to his left, he could see one of the turrets sitting on the large wall near them, the wall that separated them from the port and its battle. Its supports looked weak, giving out large creaking sounds that bellowed in the air. As Armondo looked ahead, he could see that the group was heading towards a path leading out from the market place, two-storied buildings that held darkness inside as black as night on either side.
"Captain Logan. Captain Axe. With all due respect, I should probably tell you what you're really here for. You see, Saint Riku called you here because-"
Before Armondo could finish his sentence, the loud roar of metal supports giving way and snapping caught his ears, causing the Lieutenant Commander to turn his head the turret's way and watch as it began to violently tilt and slide down its supports on the wall. With what he could see, it was right about to land right on the buildings next to Maiya, who was too busy trying to get the Den Den Mushi to work. Without hesitation, Armondo rushed forward, sprouting four black tendrils from his back which he used to throw himself across the path and tackle Maiya from behind. Maiya let out a loud eek as soon as she was touched, feeling Armondo's weight push her forward and to the ground before the turret would ultimately fall over and smash into the building next to her, the building giving way and falling to the side where it would collapse into the road, bricks and dust being thrown about on either side straight after the impact. Both Lieutenant Commander and the Petty Officer were now safe, just inches away from the rubble that now towered over them. But due to Armondo's sole physical response, left the other two marines on the other side.
"Shit..." Armondo whispered under his breath as he picked Maiya up from the floor and dusted her uniform off with his tentacles before looking back to the fallen building.
"C-CAPTAIN LOGAN! CAPTAIN AXE! ARE YOU OKAY!?" Maiya screamed.
For a moment, silence was the only response Maiya received as the sound of the crumbling building accompanied it as debris collapsed onto the once open road. Suddenly, a large chunk of the destroyed structure exploded forth and soared over the heads of the two marines, slamming a good distance away before the sound of coughing could be heard from the dust cloud it originated from. "Ugh, I hate it when that happens." Logan declared loudly, dispelling the smokescreen with a wave of his hand.
Despite the smudges on his once clean attire, the pink-haired captain appeared to be in good shape as he was shaking his head as if he had water stuck in his ear. "I think I got a brick stuck in my ear... What the heck happened?"
"No, Logan, I think you're fine." as the dust cloud cleared, Axe could be seen, he bent down slightly, his head tilted as he analyzed Logan's ear. Not a single debris fell upon his Marine coat, and his yellow hair was not disheveled despite the events that transpired. However, his right hand laid on Shigure's sheath comfortably.
"Armondo! What were you going to say? About Saint Riku?!"
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT NOW. WE’LL MEET YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE.” Armondo’s voice screamed out before the sounds of pairs of feet running immediately echoed after within the street.
"Alright." Allowing his silence to act as a response, Axe remained stationary, though from his posture, slightly bent knees and the leaning of his upper body, it was clear that he was ready. "Logan. They're definitely here." his brows furrowed, almost as if the nervous boy disappeared in the face of adversity.
Kaede's ears flickered from behind her hiding spot, looking beside her partner. Working with others was still a new thing to Kaede having had very little 2v2's in the pit but she felt wary. All she had to go off this one was to make a loud scene, don't die and that the people they were fighting were in no way innocent. Kaede had wanted to protest the rest of the island but it was fine, what the captain said, she trusted.
One hand on Crimson and the other on the rock she was on she decided to take a breath and get the 'party' to begin. Kaede waited for Sacramentum to show some sort of acknowledgement before making herself ready to make the jump.
Atop of one of the nearby buildings they lurked, having been lying in wait just as the opportunities were presenting themselves. Beside her was the most recent addition to the Redwing Pirates, or at least by proxy, having already entered his hybrid form, Sacramentum appeared at least twice as large as he had in human form and now with as a bird-like being that had all but lost it grace. Scratching feverishly with his unusually long talon-like fingers at the skin beneath his rumpled feathers that appeared to have been plucked one too many times, even with the addition of his vacant eyes and flaking beak would only strengthen his sickly appearance. A major contrast for sure compared to the healthy young man that stood next to her at the ship earlier.
"Screaming... they'r all screaming. They're are here... So much...-" Slamming one of his fists against his knees as his muffled voice continued, "...fucking blood!" His eyes finally spotting the Quartermaster waiting for him. It was time, he could finally act. Despite the beak, the remaining humanoid features surrounding his face made it obvious that the Hollow was grinning.
"Let's do this then!" Sacramentum called out before leapt up from his seat and began to run towards the edge of the rooftop together with his partner-in-crime, waiting until reaching the very edge before leaping off the building. As he did, Kaeda would follow along, making the jump to land on his back as she dug her hands into his skin and feathers.
Flapping his wings even as feathers fell whilst doing so, the duo now soared through the air and began circling the area which had now become their battlefield. Eyes fixated on the marines down below, taking a spar to see if they'd had already taken notice of them.
Logan crossed his arms upon Axe's statement, finding himself agreeing with his fellow captain. The building collapsing atop of them hadn't been a mere coincidence, it was a deliberate attempt to crush them or at the very least, separate them from their fellow marines. Glancing around as he kept his eyes and ears open, Logan blinked in surprise upon seeing blue feathers falling from above.
"Huh?" With a confused look, the young marine grabbed one of the feathers and examined it before looking up. "Axe, I think I'm losing it because I see a squirrel riding on a giant blue jay." Logan informed with squinted eyes, trying to get a better look at what he was seeing.
"N-no, you're definitely seeing right. Your senses are as keen as ever Logan! It appears that these pirate crews must've abducted these animals or something." he concluded stroking his chin. "We shouldn't underestimate them though!"
"First of all, we are seeing right, Axe. This is a team effort and you are putting in just as work as I am." Logan declared firmly, wanting to up Axe's confidence. Despite being younger than his fellow captain, it always seemed like Logan was more firm in comparison to him. So, he'd help him out in subtle ways like a hero! "Second, I guess you are right but they're so small... Should we tell 'em we can see them?"
"I-I don't know, Logan...it does seem like the right thing to do. Maybe they're not pirates after all..." after a few moments of deliberating, Axe cupped his hands around his mouth. "Oiii, over here! We can see you!" he waved at the bird energetically.
Seeing their heads turning as they circled around them, perhaps even more surprising to hear the marines calling out to them. Confused as even for a few moments, Sacramentum felt as though he coould've easily have forgotten that they were in the middle of a warzone if it wasn't for the chaos visible to him at this height. "I... I kinda feel bad for them. Y'know?" Looking over his wings and shoulders to the younger half-mink as he spoke out to her.
Kaede looked towards Sacramentum with the same kind of look. "Weren't these marines suppose to be like..." she paused not wanting to outright insult them, it felt rude. "I don't know, Gai and Gonbei didn't prepare them to be this, ya know."
"Whatever. Get ready." The Hollow replied back as he started making their descent, soaring down with a rapdily increasing speed. Making his way for the pink-haired one, the talons on Sacramentum's hands becoming visible as they extended outwards along with his arms whilst flying in towards the marine. Appearing as though he'd just as well dig them into the man's stomach as to grapple him.
As the dive began, Kaede readied herself, one hand letting go as it clutched onto her swords sheathes. She paused for the right moment before getting off her personal bird taxi. Taking the small advantage of being in the air, she took out Crimson from their sheathe and aimed a downwards slash at the taller marine of the two. She wasn't going to take chances though as her other hand reached for Vermillion and she begun to wield them with her right hand.
"Logan. They're coming!" it only took Axe a few moments to realize what would occur. Though initially, his descent was rather passive, as Sacramentum extended his claws, and Kaede peeped herself as they fell rapidly, his expression changed. "Logan. They're coming." It was the same sentence, yet it felt so different at the same time.
There was no time wasted through his motions. He had been ready before the fight had even begun. He remained prepared as both of them prepared, and it was only when Kaede jumped off of her partner that Axe acted. His hand moved, and with it, the familiar sound of steel grazing its sheath before it was shown to the world, though in nearly the same instant that this sound could be heard, his attack was released. His hand blurred downwards at incredible speeds, the work of Soru was at play here. Rather than parry her attack, Shigure moved alongside the same course of Crimson forcing the latter to be pushed down before it could reach Axe at a diagonal angle.
At this occurred, the true nature of his slash took place. A slash of pressurized air escaped Axe's blade, and it sliced cleanly through its surroundings with a whooshing sound as it approached Sacramentum's side. Soru's momentum increased the slash's speed, causing it to fly rapidly towards their other opponent. Even then, his gaze never left Kaede. His eyes flickered around, noticing all three blades, and how her hand moved towards one of them. Attempting to take advantage of her unguarded side, Axe moved to the side opposite to her sword hand, attempting to shorten the distance between them as he aimed a kick at her, hopefully using her lack of footing against her.
Autumn Reigns
With one sword laying underneath the other, Kaede's ears and nose flickered slightly. Shit, it's that thing again, she quickly thought, realising from her past endeavours what was happening with Axe's attack. Her eyes followed this flickering pattern as Crimson and Vermillion began to buzz and flash with a soft blue tone. Even if this air attack wasn't aimed at her, she was not about to take chances of further attacks, this was a fight she was warned not to lose no matter what after all.
Everything was blurring as everything was happening so fast and in a very enclosed place, not wishing for Axe or Logan to double onto her, or suffer a blow, she decided to use her light and small body to an advantage. Since Crimson was trapped underneath Axe's weapon of choice, she knew it would be hard for him to remove that sword in time, without chancing Crimson to take an easy counter strike. So, she lifted herself up and pressed her foot onto the blade for a spilt second to allow herself to jump forward and into the air. Tucking her tail into a ball as she hoped it would be sudden enough Crimson would be freed.
The crackling of electricity. Its buzzing sound akin to a thousand chirping birds. It was a sound Axe had gotten accustomed too, but still one that surprised him. Kaede’s eyes reflected the beacon blue of the powers belonging to her mink heritage, causing Axe to gasp before he’d feel the effects of her powers. Perhaps it was because he was a novice, or maybe he wasn’t as ready as he thought. Electricity coursed from Crimson’s blade and rapidly, into Axe’s body. His teeth clenched as he felt a jolt of electricity run through his entire body. While it certainly pained him, as a response, Axe forced his sword downward, until Crimson was plunged into the earth, where the lightning would be insulated and carry no effect. It was only due to the sudden jolt that Axe was able to do this which kickstarted him into action. He was lucky, truly, had Kaede expelled her electricity for a few more seconds, he’d have suffered worse effects. But it was her quick usage of it that allowed Axe to react and prevent her from gaining her blade, though she had certainly avoided his kick.
Turning around to see the fleeing Kaede, Axe’s eyes narrowed as he sized his opponent. She was agile, certainly more agile than him, and coupled with that was her usage of electricity. Interestingly, he seemed slightly more relaxed. His knees and back were straight as he returned Shigure into its sheathe. The world grew silent, before, finally, Axe spoke.
“What’s your name? And that of your swords and discipline? I know as a pirate you’ve probably lost all honor, but I was taught that a duel amongst swordsmen cares little about anything but our craft.”
Turning back to face Axe, with one less sword, Kaede sheathed Vermilion but keeping a hold of it. "The one you sunk into dirt is Crimson, the one in my left hand is Vermilion," her hand travelled to her final blade, "and this fella is Red. I don't have honour to lose, just a family you may call bandits, rogues or criminals. My name though is Kaede and my discipline is simply for surviving. Self-taught, self-created. The Spitfire Isle way of doing things."
Her palms already felt sweaty as she looked at Axe. He still looked young, though assumptions had proven her wrong before. She had fought people like him before yet this time it felt... different. Different than the times on the Isle. Maybe it was because of the fire or maybe because of stakes beyond her life, Kaede couldn't quite pin down these feelings. "What about you? Can I get a name of your friend," she nodded to the sword, not at Logan.
"Shigure, trained in ." Axe took several steps towards Kaede, though they were slow, they had a certain rhythm to them. No other words left him, for he knew they would fall on deaf ears. Now only one thing remained for the two swordsmen. To speak with their blades, to test their mettle over the clashing of steel, the tearing of flesh, the grunts of pain. Pulling Crimson from the ground, Axe held it with his left hand, while Shigure returned to its sheath.
"Soru"' A technique that by now, Axe had gained incredible mastery in allowed him to disappear in a blur of nothingness. Almost as if he had "shaved" himself from existence. Within that very moment, the boy in yellow reappeared, his hand holding unto Kaede's blade with a certain familiarity, as he stood at her diagonal. His knees were bent, and his torso lowered, to the point where he stood lower than Kaede herself.
Crimson shot forward, at a close distance, as Axe swung with the entire force of his shoulder, which travelled into his forearm and into his very wrist as he flickered it. Aimed at her ribs, Axe sought to cut right through Kaede as quickly as he could.
The speed on which Axe could achieve though was a cut above what Kaede was used too, her eyes struggling as the blur became nothing. Her ears naturally perked up in search for a sound to follow, snapping towards Axe who was already in his hunched position. With hardly any time to react, and with Axe's plan in motion, Kaede took out Red in a swift motion as she un-sheathed the weapon quick enough to use her newfound technique.
"Ripple: Ittoryu Iai"
The techniques learnt through adapting and copying her former foes into something anew. The Ittoryu Iai technique was reformed into an air attack that seemed to ripple like water. It's force focused on clashing with Crimson. Kaede had a spare moment and only that as she took out Vermillion, holding now two swords in hand and focusing her defence at her ribs. Her entire body was tense as her tail stood straight, and a shiver went down her back. Putting everything into a defence with hardly time to counter caused a lot of fear in the small half-minx.
With a flow that was characteristic of water, Kaede swiftly dealt with Axe’s strike. A ripple-like shockwave emerged from their clash. The air vibrated slightly as a result of the melodious clang that came when steel met steel. Despite the fear that Axe could very well sense, Kaede’s defense was nothing short of magnificent, as it completely stopped Axe from proceeding with his attack. His eyes locked with hers, for it was them that revealed not only an opponent’s next move, but their emotions.
As quickly as the two swords had clashed, Axe’s sword moved once more. Using their initial clash as a boost, Axe focused his entire height into the tip of his toes as he spun around with added momentum. This time aiming his sword at Kaede’s other side. However, as to confuse the half-mink, Axe switched levels as his blade now neared slightly below her midsection, and with it came one of Axe’s legs in hopes of swooping her from below. Without so much as a second thought, the young Marine remained perfectly balanced upon the tips of a single bent leg.
Feather Dance
Logan blinked upon hearing Axe's warning before glancing up to see exactly what his comrade was witnessing. He trusted Axe's judgment over his own and if he said they were coming in such a distressed manner, there was a good reason behind it. His eyes widened upon seeing the squirrel girl jump off of the blue jay's back with swords at the ready before they shifted over the bird in question as it was diving at him with its sharp talons extended forward. It was obvious what their intentions were.
They were here to attack them, most likely being the culprits behind the building falling atop of them.
With narrowed eyes focused, Logan shifted his stance into something more proper for combat as he waited for the avian creature to come closer. Flexing his right hand, he watched with a keen eye until it had reached the distance he desired before acting. Logan leaped into the air with his arm thrown back, seeing the creature aim for his stomach with the clear intention of grabbing it before thrusting his hand forward, summoning forth the power of his Devil Fruit. As it shot through the air, it shifted from a normal human arm into a large scaly fist befitting a monster.
"Draco Meteor!" With a loud roar, Logan clenched his transformed hand tightly into a fist surrounded by sharp scales as it raced towards his enemy's face.
The pirate's face flinched as the feeling the strike's impact made itself known from the side of his body, Sacramentum's attention however was dead set on the marine now above him and learning about the extent of the damage quickly became an afterthought. Impossible to simply change his trajectory whilst carrying the momentum of his descent along with Kaede down here, resulting in the bird-like pirate taking the strike head on- bracing as much as possible to minimize the damage.
Yet it had not stopped his advance, the sudden blow drawing blood from his forehead as Sacramentum's failed grapple motion continued upwards to take hold of the man's scaly hand. With one talon wrapping around the marine's thumb and the other around his pinky finger, digging as best as they could in-between the scales, the pirate took the marine with him as Sacramentum's trajectory started moving back into the sky and away from the others.
"What th-WOAH!" Logan cried out in surprise as he felt the talons of Sacramentum wrap around his enlarged thumb and pinky before being lifted off of the ground, looking down with wide eyes at the sight of the ground getting further away with each flap of the bird's wings. Letting out a growl of frustration, the pink-haired boy focused his attention back on Sacramentum before attempting to free himself while screaming angrily. "Let go of me, ya freaky blue jay!"
Unfortunately, Logan's attempts at freeing himself proved to be fruitless as the talon's grip was quite firm and unwilling to let him go. Logan clicked his tongue before acting swiftly, having no desire to be dropped like an egg. Actually, he recalled hearing about birds which would grab creatures with durable shells and drop them from high in the sky to break their shells. Yeah, he had no intention of letting that happen to him. Thrusting his legs while clenching his abdomen tightly, Logan forced his body to swing as he generated momentum until he was positive he'd reach Sacramentum on his next swing. With a grin, his body swung forward as he unfurled his legs and moved to close them around his opponent's neck to cut off his breathing.
All too focused on making it as far and high away from the others as possible, Sacramentum didn't take much notice to the marine's first attempt at striking him before the second one was already well on its way. "Oi-oi-...!" His eyes growing wide as every piece of his body froze for a moment, his stomach and throat muscles contracting as let go of Logan's transformed limb by sheer inability to hold on. But as he let the man fall down, a sudden jolt made it clear that while one talon had been able to slip away without any issue, the other was still latching on. Causing the two of them to be descend in-between his flap of his wings. He didn't want this man near him right now. He had to go. He had to catch his breath. He needed to go! Frantically raising the talons on his feet before clawing away at the young marine, to which after even the first attempt, it'd manage to unhook the one remaining talon holding the two of them together- sending the marine spiraling away from the pirate.
As things proceeded, Sacramentum had evidently found it difficult to breath but also to continue fly as the time in-between each flap grew further and further away from one another. Seeing no other option, he tried his best to maneuver across the sky and descend onto one of the nearby building. Or rather, plunge into the top of the roof before laying down on all four in an attempt to catch his breath.
Logan let out a grunt of pain at the feeling of Sacramentum's talons slicing into his torso in the midst of his frantic attempt to separate the young Marine from his neck. Upon the third strike within the bombardment, the pink-haired boy was forced to uncross his legs and release his hold on the feathery criminal's neck, dropping through the air swiftly as the wind billowed in his face. "Tch, I can't afford to lose him yet!" Looking around with a determined gaze, he noticed Sacramentum plunge atop of a roof and lay there.
"There you are!" Logan declared loudly, adjusting his body in order to be on course to land on the same rooftop. Within a matter of seconds, he landed on the rooftop as his ungraceful landing caused several of the rooftiles to come loose, falling to the ground below. Unfortunately, Logan's body jolted in pain as his fresh wound acted up due to his rough landing, forcing him to nearly drop to his knee. "Damn it, should have been more careful."
Taking a deep breath, his amber eyes shined with determination as he forced himself to stand up once more and push through the pain. "Ya ready, bluebird?!"
Despite having just landed here, one could already spot a number of the man's withering feathers along its orange-tiled surface. Sacramentum starred back at the marine whilst still being spread out across the rooftop, his breathing had returned but he was going to feel the backlash of it for quite some time. Blood had seeped from his head and down the side his face from their first encounter, a pulsating pain of which had only now become evident to the pirate. The feeling of which had Sacramentum's eyes widen in a moment of realisation, something which came out all to clear as his gaze flickered away from Logan for but a moment.
Sacramentum's wings flapped once as it helped him push himself back up, backing closer to the corner of the rooftop and away from the marine as he did. The talons on his feet clasping into the tiles underneath him, making an almost crackling noise of porcelain, as the ones in his hands spread out into the open on either side.
"That's the best you got?" The pirate called back to the marine as he gave the man the opportunity to make the next move, the hint of a chuckle accompanying his words in response to the nickname and performance so far. Despite their difference in size, it didn't appear it would grant Sacramentum any favors here.
"Not even close!" Logan declared loudly as his amber eyes shined fiercely, taking a step forward as the rooftiles beneath his feet crackled. Raising his transformed arm up once more, he bent his knees to allow him to transition into either a leap or a dash depending on how Sacramentum would attack him. "I'll offer you a chance to surrender right now or else I'll be forced to take ya down!" His open claw clenched tightly into a fist, the sound of scales rubbing against one another echoing through the air as Logan kept his eyes focused ahead.
"So, what's your choice?!"
"Not much of a choice now is it!? HAHAHAAA!!" The man's chuckle deforming into that of a wider grin as the sound of the Sacramentum's cackle accompanied his next move.
Taking the first step forward as one of his wings flung forward, matching the same side as the marine had transformed his arm, to shield and cover the pirate's body just enough that his face would be the only thing sticking out. The wing now covering him wasn't exactly draping his body like a cloth, but more so distancing itself a few centimeters ahead of the Zoan user. Whilst the other wing remained outstretched on the opposite end, Sacramentum charged forward, once close enough he would swing upwards in-between his many plagued feathers as to keep his attack from the marine's field of view for as long as possible. Yet not with his hands- but with one of the talons with the intent of grappling onto and sink them into the marine's chest.
Logan narrowed his eyes, watching intently as Sacramentum raced forward with flurry of feathers following behind him. Having no idea about his opponent's clever plan, the young marine assumed he was simply charging in like how he had done so earlier and prepped his transformed arm to swing with a mighty punch. However, as the Ancient Zoan user neared, Logan was surprised to see Sacramentum's wings move to reveal a talon come darting forth towards his chest.
"Dang it!" Logan cursed, reacting swiftly to the incoming threat by attempting to leap back out of the talon's range. Unfortunately, while the talon didn't sink into his chest, it certainly left behind deep gashes as blood flowed from the wounds. Letting out a hiss of pain, Logan thrust his transformed arm forward at Sacramentum's chest for a palm strike in retaliation.
The grin remained on Sacramentum's face, perhaps even growing wider, as the young marine's scaly arm came towards him. As soon as the blow was about to make contact with the wing still shielding his frame, both of his feathered appendages moved in unison from right to left. Grappling the oversized arm as much as it was possible using the patagium and wrist that naturally came with his wings, whilst the other made use of its large wingspan as to catch as much wind and force possible- making Sacramentum's body dash out of harms reach. A charge like this would never have worked if it hadn't been for this. But even then, it had been miscalculated as Logan's thrust had been with an open palm and not a fist as he'd hoped.
Sacramentum's grin quickly dissipated as he felt the thug against his left wing steer him off-course whilst still charging forward, as well as the sudden spike of pain that came coursing with it as he could feel the limb move in ways it wasn't intended to. Being turned ninety degrees towards the marine and surely having been flung either off the rooftop or down into the tiles if it wasn't for the man's talons digging into the roof top to stop his advance. His wings retracting as fast as they could alongside his defensive maneuver. Acting quickly, the pirate extended both arms forward. One reach out to grapple onto Logan's still extended arm in an effort to keep it away and not coming back to hug him into a pulp, relying on his increased strength as a Zoan user and senses for being a hollow to make it through. while the other hand went for the marine's throat. The hand being large enough that it would easily be able to wrap his hand around Logan's entire neck, aiming to put the young man into a chokehold. In both cases, Sacramentum made of his talon-like nails to further his grip on the marine- even as the latter threatened to lash the marine should he end up losing his grip.
"You're good kid, giving you a chance here!" Sacramentum called out, his hollow eyes set on meeting the young marine's own gaze. He knows that he should've just lashed out and tried to be done with it, but perhaps the kid's act of chivalry affected the pirate more than he'd like to admit.
"Then I'll take it with everything I've got!" Logan responded back with a strained grin, feeling the extremely tight grip on his neck coupled with the sharp talons as he found it harder to breath with each passing second. He tried to move his transformed arm but that was a fruitless effort as for every attempt he made into moving it forward, it was matched in strength by his opponent's own arm and held down as a result. "Damn it... Come on, Logan!" His mind raced, trying to think of a solution as he clenched his untransformed hand tightly into a fist and curled his toes as well.
"Wait... That's it!" His grin stretched widely as Logan positioned his free arm aimed at Sacramentum's chin from a downward angle and adjusted his feet to angled at his opponent's stomach. "DRACO SURPRISE!" Not even a second later, Logan's free arm and legs transformed as they appeared to be visually similar to his trapped hand, enlarging and gaining numerous scales across their limbs. However, it didn't stop there as Logan watched with a keen eye as his limb shot forth towards the specific areas he had aimed for to slam into Sacramentum with tremendous force from the sudden transformation.
"What the..!" Sacramentum exclaimed as his gaze shifted to that of the incoming fist, quickly followed by the rest of his head. Having underestimated Logan's will in this fight, let alone his brawn, barely being able to catch up on the young marine's retaliation other than trying to let go of his opponents arm -- but it was too late. Receiving both blows head on, it was as if the air itself didn't even want to take part in this as it showed clear signs of parting way to the young marine -- the man's scaly limbs sent ripples of the pirate's feathered face and stomach cascading back towards his ears and back then back forward. Sacramentum didn't only lose his grip on the marine but on the rooftop tiles along with it, his body being flung up in the air before being propelled away from the marine. The arm that had been holding onto Logan's throat lashing out using its long, talon-like nails as best it could as they parted ways.
Now finding himself hurled away from Logan and the roof, Sacramentum tried his best to maneuver whilst in the air but could only make use of one of his wings, only really making him glide further away from the building as he yet again came crashing down from the sky and into the ground below. Landing with his head and shoulders first, tumbling across the ground before finally stopping a good fifty meters or so from where he'd been just a few seconds ago.
Grunting and grinding his beak together to the point that one could think it'd break if he pushed it a little further, Sacramentum put one hand against the ground and then other before pushing himself to a sitting position with both legs crossed from one another. His face felt numb, his stomach ached and his left wing feeling dislocated -- things wasn't looking his way. The man's physiology was doing a good job at leaving his body unscathed from the outside, no signs of bleeding after all but the same couldn't be said for his internals. This fight was like bringing plated armor against a hammer.
"Tch... Should've gone for the swordsman instead." Sacramentum spoke out to himself, his eyes set fixated on the building he'd just been forced away from and on the young marine in question.
"GRAH!" Logan cried out in pain, feeling Sacramentum's sharp talons scrap against the side of his neck as blood began to leak from the wounds caused from his opponent's attempt to secure his hold on the marine before being launched back. Falling to his knees on the rooftop, Logan took a deep breath as he raised his left handーreverting it back to normal as he did so, and placed it to the wound. "Dang it, things aren't looking to good..." He muttered to himself, focusing on controlling his breathing for the time being. While the young marine hadn't been taking many hits, those he did sustain caused him to bleed out profusely and if things kept on going like this, it was only a matter of time until he would pass out due to blood loss.
"Man, I wish I took on that squirrel girl now." Logan mumbled, forcing himself back to his feet as his legs reverted back to their standard human form. Removing his scarf from his neck to prevent it from being covered in blood, he wrapped it around his forehead in a manner similar to a bandana before turning his attention towards the building he had sent Sacramentum towards and walked forward until he was at the end of the building he stoop upon. "I can't keep allowing him to control the battle. I've been too reactive. So..." Readying his still transformed right hand, Logan began to gather strength within his limb as the roof tiles beneath him cracked from the pressure exuding from his body.
"Ranshu..." The pink-haired marine said, focusing the strength of his body and spirit into the words spoken from his mouth. He had witnessed several marines such as Benjamin unleash a powerful blade of wind from their legs before ー Rankyaku was the name of the technique. While Logan had tons of leg strength to spare, his arm strength was even greater and that's what he was going to use. With a deep breath, he thrust his arm forward and cried out. "..."Ryuga"!" Instantly, an explosive blast of compressed air surged forward and rushed forward at extreme speeds towards the general area where Sacramentum had been sent.
Sacramentum's gaze had been flickering, the vision in his right eye was all but one big blur, leaving him to focus on what his good eye could manage with fortunate advantages of being a bird-man. Making the pirate still more than capable of spotting the young has approached the edge of the rooftop... But his actions? All but unknown to hollow man, his time on these seas had been too brief... Too inexperienced. Sacramentum's eyes narrowed as he laid witness to the attack, splitting the air itself in a most transparent image. While the mind of this pirate didn't react all that much to it, his instincts was getting louder and louder -- finally screaming at him to move!
But it had been too late yet again to make his way out of there, sitting down like this had been a bad choice, causing Sacramentum to grit his teeth before bracing himself for impact. The arms were being raised and crossed into that of an X as the young marine's self-made projectile hit its mark.
"NNNnnnghhh-hahaHAHAHAAA!!" The pirate's compressed voice had quickly turned to laughter, his great frame didn't buckle but he wasn't able to stand a chance against the force that came with it. Being pushed back and forced to travel along the strike's travel, Sacramentum's body shook vigorously as it kept bumping between that of the ground beneath him and the compressed air pushing down on him. Creating a dust cloud as he did, covering the scene from all the dirt and rubble. The laughter and voice gave out completely for a moment as the pirate crashed into one of the larger buildings in the area, the body jolting upwards as it straightened his back whilst having Sacramentum's mouth spring open as he coughed out blood onto his sickly, feathered body. He didn't know if he should be thanking or cursing the name of the original First Mate for not having his body being split in two. Groaning, the adrenaline in his body still kicking as he made impact, Sacramentum threw himself to the side and kicked the ground beneath him with every limb at his disposal, much like a frantic animal fleeing the scene even after having been hit by a buckshot. Rumpled feathers falling from his body with each movement, one less for every moment that passed until it too faded.
When the dust had settled, the results of the young marine's attack had been evident as a clear, straight line was being visible from where the pirate had once been sitting to the point of impact. A path only highlighted by the end results as nearly the entire building had a large cut in the middle of it -- with the exception of the very bottom line where a blood red speck taking the rough shape of pirate's hybrid body laid before it. But the there was no sign of the "victim" of this matter.
"C'mon... come on... think man... THINK!!" Grunting and panting in-between his murmured words as he ran from one building, street and alleyway to the next. The town was still being buried from all the chaos brought in the wake of the pirates' invasion, torn down buildings and cracked cobblestones lithered the area. Running with a crouched body as his hand rested against his stomach, Sacramentum had lost his feathers, beak and talons as he now sported his humanoid form. The blood that was still drying up had escaped his mouth and covered parts of his already red-draped clothing, masking its presence well enough. Finding himself standing in the middle of the streets, his head turning back from whence he came for moment before scouting the buildings surrounding him. The pirate's eyes seemed to lit up for a moment as he spotted something... or rather had an idea from it -- making his way over as quickly as he could before the marine would have the chance to spot him.
"Huh, I didn't think I could unleash that level of power..." Logan said, looking on in surprise at the level of destruction he had caused from his improvised technique. Considering it was his first time attempting such a move, he hadn't expected it to be so successful. "But..." Glancing at his transformed arm, he could feel the strain on his limb from preforming said technique. His lack of training was quite apparent and it was unfortunately working against him in this instance. "I can only use that move a couple more times. Better save it for a serious moment." Letting out a sigh, he focused his attention back on Sacramentum, or to be more accurate, the direction where he had been sent.
"Now, time to find this guy. Hopefully, that took him down for the count." With his piece said, Logan took a step back before taking off with a strong run and leaping into the air. As he soared through the sky towards a nearby building, the young marine extended his hand and stabbed into the brick wall, using it as an anchor before he took off in a sprint across the wall of building before leaping once more through the large whole in the building Sacramentum had been blown through. Landing on the ground with a loud thud, his gaze shifted as he saw the Ancient Zoan user was nowhere in sight. "He couldn't have gotten far..."
Narrowing his eyes, he looked around for clues for where his opponent had gone. His attention was briefly drawn to the feathers scattered across until he realized they were dispersed throughout the area wildly. "Just where the hell is this guy at?" Logan mumbled to himself, slowly walking around to see if he could spot any sight of Sacramentum at all.
Tick tock, tick tock... The town had died down for as much as it could have at this point when ignoring the turmoil still happening across every other part of it. Before them laid a town square that had but moments before the invasion been filled with life and laughter, evident by the flowers and decorations seen across the many buildings. Nothing was lit however, no signs or lamps of any kind. Expect for one building... One which had a bright, neon sign sparkling across its doors with the words "Amigo Gustavo's Saloon". It stood out in more ways than that however, with the clear sign of a bloody hand-print touched at the front door.
Having made his way across the streets and into the building just a few moments earlier, Sacramentum had found the building evacuated but still in good shape. Everything was working as intended at first glance at least, to which the pirate took the liberty of sprinting off to the closest bucket of water as soon as he spotted it before hastily cleaning his face and hands. Grabbing and pulling down the scarf wrapped around his head before proceeding to clean himself with it, the pirate couldn't help but to notice the marine from outside the window as he lifted his face.
"Fuck me... Yeah... fucking good plan this was!" Cursing whatever it was that had been an idea inside that skull of his, Sacramentum realized all too clearly that he was most likely stuck in here unless if he wanted to be spotted right away. Looking over the room, it didn't take long for him to notice the apron sitting on the stools just next to the bar. "Man... fuck it. Let's just roll with it!" Figuring it was just as good as a plan as any, the pirate made his way over to the bar and grabbed the piece of fabric before putting it on.
"Come on come on come on... Just fucking walk by and be a hero somewhere else today." Making his way over the counter, putting the bloodied scarf away in one of the many cupboards before he grabbed hold a piece of glass a dry towel.
"Dang it, where the heck is this guy at?" Logan questioned, panting heavily while searching around his surroundings for Sacramentum. This would certainly be easier if he could track the scent of his opponent but with the scattering of dust in the area, that plan was completely out of the window. Finding a trial of blood would certainly be easier but with the debris covering the ground, that wasn't an option as well.
"Speaking of bleeding..." He looked down at his chest, seeing the claw marks on his chest was still a bright red but no longer leaking blood. It was certainly better when compared to his neck. Just the thought of it made the pink-haired marine unconsciously raise a hand to said area. He needed to be more careful against the bird-type Devil Fruit user or else the next time, it would be his guts spilling out. That thought alone caused him to shudder. "Alright, no time to dwell on that. Time to be a hero today."
With this thoughts gathered, Logan continued his search for Sacramentum by looking at the various nearby buildings and up at the sky. Most of said buildings appeared to be destroyed or horrible condition, to the point where they would fall over in a matter of minutes. The skies were clear as well with the exception of a stray cloud or two. "Maybe he's further down? He couldn't have escaped that fast in his state..."
Having no other option, the young boy simply continued on his path to find the member of the Slaughter Pirates.
A few seconds passed by as the pirate remained inside the saloon and kept on cleaning his glass to the point of it glistening, Sacramentum could feel and even hear his heart beating louder and louder the longer he waited. Sweat even began trailing down the side of his forehead, eyes still starring at the foot of the entrance door. But... No one was coming in. Did he leave?... No-no-no, he could be waiting for me! He could be right outside... Is there a backdoor?" His head turning left and right, spotting nothing that would suggest another entrance to the establishment at first glance. Peering back at the door, the sense of curiosity was biting away at his every thought. He had to know!
The young pirate put the glass down and started making his way towards the window from earlier with rapid steps, peeking through it but couldn't spot the marine. "Hmmm... Maybe..." Sacramentum thought out loud as he proceeded to the door instead, gently pushing it open before sticking his head out for a better look. Yet again, he couldn't spot anyone. Confidence building up but still remaining cautious, the proxy pirate took a step outside... Followed by another... and another... Until he'd reached the middle of the road, still wearing the apron and holding onto the towel with one hand. Standing in place as he circled his position to take a quick glance at his surroundings, a wide smile began spreading across his jagged teeth as he stopped to look at the saloon.
Clasping his fists to the point of causing his entire arms to shake, Sacramentum crouched down to his knees for a moment before leaping off the ground and into the air, swinging one of his fists in the air in celebration as he screamed out from the top his lungs: "FUUUUUCK YEAH!!" As he came back down, the young pirate's body leaned back as both hands were being raised, revealing two middle fingers pointed straight at the building as he kept on yelling, "SUCK ON THAT ONE YOU FUCKING LAW-ENFORCING-STRONG-ASS-KIND-OF-GOOD-GUY!" Exhilarated over seemingly having succeeded in escaping the young marine that he'd fought, the pirate paid no further heed to his surroundings until and would most likely continue this until he'd had his fill.
"Huh!?" To say Logan was confused would be an understatement upon hearing the rude string of insults being unleashed onto his person, realizing that they were coming from the familiar voice of the pirate he was fighting against. Without wasting a moment, the young marine followed the sound of the voice towards the source as he charged through the wall leading into a building. Not losing any momentum, he smashed through another wall as a cloud of dust settled in his wake and found himself greeted with the sight of Sacramentum flipping the bird twice over at the building he had previously been standing atop.
"I think you are pointing those things in the wrong direction, buddy..." Logan responded, giving a toothy grin of his own while the dust settled around him. Raising his hands up, he began to crack each of his knuckles as a loud pop noise echoed through the area. "Now, how about we end this battle with a good ol' fashion showdown?"
The pirate didn't make a response at first. In fact, he wasn't doing anything at all. Having seemingly gone frozen as soon as he'd heard the young marine make his comeback and call out. Filling his lunges with air as he raised both forearms and turned towards the pink haired man, Sacramentum raised his head as the air escaped just before his words would. "Y'know... I would like nothing more than for you to just cuff me... Like... Right here and now." Lifting his arms a little further up, stretching it out to Logan as he continued. "Like honestly, we're both bleeding profusely as it is and a good night's rest sounds kind of nice right about now."
Sacramentum's pose would shift as his words trailed off, parting his legs to either side before both arms would do the same, the hands opening up which made him appear more like a wrestler if anything else. "But my Cap'n would be tearing me a new one if I went out like that." Rows of pearly whites appeared from between his lips, matching the sight shown by his opponent at this time. "Good ol' was it? Well then... Let's get to it, winner takes it all!"
As he finished speaking, the pirate's left arm lowered itself, right foot and arm extended themselves forward before raising the latter. Sacramentum's eyes fixating themselves on the marine, starring him dead in the eyes before speaking out once more: "I'm a little rusty on rock, paper, scissor, but best two out of three, let's go!"
Despite the entire situation being ridiculous and childish in every sense of the words, Logan could help but find the idea of ending this battle with a simple match of rock-paper-scissors to be quite fun. With his grin still gleaming brilliantly, he mimicked Sacramentum's stance by lowering his right arm while placing his left foot and arm forward. "Alright then, let's end this!" Logan declared, tensing his muscles in anticipation for the game that would mark the end of their battle.
"You ready to lose?"
"Are you?" His lips spreading out into another wide smile as both participants had accepted this very... very childish way of settling their dispute in the middle of a battlefield.
"Rock... Paper... Scissors!"
As Sacramentum finished calling out the three gestures of the game, the pirate found himself with two of his fingers out in the open and pointing forward, before looking over to see the firm, clenched hand from that of the marine. Logan had gone for the rock, crushing Sacramentum's hopes & dreams of getting an early lead, as well as putting some serious pressure on the young adult. "Fuck!" The proxy pirate called out as his hand arched down before taking a few steps back.
First raising and placing each palm at the back of his head, tongue clicking before his lips clenched together and Sacramentum circled the spot. As he turned back around to meet the eyes of the young marine, he couldn't help but to let out a long, drawn out sigh before finally he started pulling his limbs back forward. Waving and shaking them around for a little as he started to make a few light jumps on the spot, clearly hyping himself whilst trying to boost his confidence.
"Alright, alright, alright. That was only the first one. Best two out of three as we agreed.... Fuck fuck fuck, c'mon..!" As his finished the sentence and fixed up his posture just like he had done a few moments earlier, the pirate's eyes would shift back to meet that of the marine, as if to beckon him to do the next count down.
"Alright, let's go!" Logan loudly declared, feeling incredibly confident from winning the first round. Briefly clenching his hand tightly into a fist, he paused for a moment before swiftly flattening it ー feeling something was compelling him to play it safe. Having no desire to lose, he slowly called out.
"Rock... Paper... Scissors!"
Upon finishing the traditional call out of the the three gestures of the game, the marine thrust his flattened palm out in the open and pointed towards Sacramentum before seeing the pointer and middle finger of his opponent's hand pointed outwards. While he had gone for paper, his opponent elected to use scissors and won. His early advantage had been rocked to say the least as it now came down to a decisive battle of wits and intelligence. "Dang it... Calm down, Logan." With a deep breath, Logan forced his heart to calm down before settling back into his position like before. There was still one more match and he wouldn't let himself lose because of his own worry.
"I'm ready whenever you are..." The young marine said while flexing his muscles in anticipation, causing the ground beneath him to crack under the pressure.
Air filled his lungs as the pirate cracked the knuckles on each hand, before frantically whipping them up and down. As Sacramentum breathed out and his body took a fighting stance, with legs spread yet firmly planted on the ground, his eyes wandered his opponent's body & posture from tip to toe-- unable to hold himself from cracking a grin at the passion on display. He was going to enjoy seeing it crack... Why wouldn't he? There was after all no way in all the seas that the marine would be able to predict his next move. "Bet you think you're hot cake now eh? Figuring me out? That I'd that go for Stone when really I should be taking the Paper?! Think again!" And as his inner monologue finished, so too did both participants find themselves throwing their hands down in front of them.
First the rock...
Then the paper...
And finally the... "SCISSOR!!!" Sacramentum had barely contained the limits of his voice as it cracked beneath its breath. Everything about it screamed of confidence; from his posture, to his voice and his presentation! Even sporting an even wider, perhaps maddening even, smile than ever before as both of them played their hands. And just as quickly as they were revealed, so too did the man's eyes spring up -- throwing his hands down and onto his knees as that slimmer of hope that was Lady Luck had finally shown herself to him...
"Sorry, man." Logan said, trying his best to give a reassuring smile but it was evident that his heart wasn't in it. Despite the equal effort and skill between the two, it came down to battle of wits and luck and it seemed like Lady Luck had favored the pink-haired marine. With his hand balled up tightly into a fist, it was clear he had won against Sacramentum's pointer and middle fingers which had been pointed out. A classic battle known to the ages, it only ended in a single victor. "Unfortunately, rock beats scissors."
Looking down at the kneeling Sacramentum, Logan reached into his ruined jacket and pulled out a pair of black gloves before retrieving a pair of Seastone handcuffs. "Well, a deal's a deal. So, it looks like you are coming with me."
Eyes still locked onto the open hands now resting against his knees, the pirate observed the wounds that had been carved into them during the course of their battle. Yet as the marine called out to him, they folded into tightly-knitted fists to the point shaking as Sacramentum straightened his posture and looked back up, dead straight into the eyes of Logan. He was a pirate. He was a fighter. And his captain had entrusted him to being their proxy, he owed them more than this!
But just as it appeared like they were heading into another brawl, Sacramentum's posture gave way and his body fell back- both hands reaching out behind to stop his fall. A heavy sigh first escaped his mouth before a soft chuckle followed thereafter: "Awwhhh man, heh... And I was just about to pay back my debt to him with this big debut of ours." Shaking his head back and forth as he finished, pulling one leg closer to him and then the next as the pirate started making his way back up on his feet.
"Ah well, like you said, a deal's a deal." Sacramentum raised and presented both of his hands to the marine.
"Just make sure they get my good side in there, 'kay?"
"Hehe, you got it." Logan said with a small smile, placing the Seastone cuffs on Sacramentum's wrist while letting out a sigh of relief at the realization of knowing this battle was over. His body was unbelievably sore, covered in cuts and bruises and the young marine wanted to do nothing more than rest. "Alright, now I've gotta meet up with Axe and we see how he's doing before heading back to the ship!" He declared happily before blinking, realizing he had no idea where he was in this town.
"Ummm..." Looking over at the captured Sacramentum before glancing back at the ruined town, he asked with a sheepish grin. "You wouldn't happen to know the way back to where we came from...would ya?"
Ghosts of the Past
Walking through the ruined streets, Armondo and Maiya crept steadily past the rubble and torn down buildings on their way to Saint Riku, Maiya holding the bat next to her face and Armondo's tendrils slowly wavering behind him. With each cross section they would run into, Armondo would halt Maiya in order to move ahead, looking from all other sides before signalling her to follow. Maiya could see the stress of the alliance's attack on Kikoto get to Armondo, who seemed to be on edge after losing Logan and Axe on their way here. Deciding that with how far they have ran, Maiya slowed down and pulled out a Den Den Mushi from her side and held the snail up to her face as she ran lightly behind her superior.
"Saint Riku? Are you alright?" She asked in a calm, hurried voice.
"What? Of course I am! What do you take me for?" The voice of Saint Riku exclaimed from the other side of the connection.
Maiya sighed and rolled her eyes, nearly squeezing the Den Den Mushi out of frustration. "There was no offence there sir, me and Lieutenant-Commander Armondo were just checking up on you. We're making our way to your safe house and issuing a request for an Admiral to come to the island-"
"NO!"
"N-no what sir?" Maiya said a little shocked by the response, her head slightly jerking back from the loud answer.
"DON'T CALL AN ADMIRAL! Don't you see what we have on our hands?" Riku immediately continued, his voice showing no signs of fear but instead excitement, a strange thing to express in a time like this.
Maiya tried to collect herself before answering, taking the time to breathe in and exhale out to the side before bringing herself back to the Den Den Mushi. "I do, sir. Which is exactly why we have to call an admi-"
"WHOEVER YOU ARE. I'm ordering you NOT to let any word of this assault get to the Admirals. If these Slaughter Pirates are involved, then this is an issue that we will be sorting out ourselves. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!" Riku's voice commanded Maiya, whose eyes widened simultaneously with her steps that began to slow down.
Eventually, her stepping would stop and she would freeze in place with the Den Den Mushi still close to her head. Hearing Maiya stop caused Armondo to stop as well and look over his shoulder, seeing that there was a look of fear and confusion on the young marine's face as she looked up to the Lieutenant-Commander for an explanation. An explanation that Armondo unfortunately couldn't provide as he just stood there and looked forward towards the path ahead of them. With a heavy heart, Maiya lowered the Den Den Mushi and placed it on her side, her head weighing down on her as she tried to figure out just why the World Noble was acting in such a selfish way. Armondo's head also tilted forward, his hands clenched into tight fists as if using invisible stress balls that laid in both his palms. Walking up from behind him, Maiya placed her free hand onto Armondo's shoulder and looked to her superior with cautious eyes, pointing the way forward with a tilt of her head in order to prompt the man to keep moving. She looked as though she was quick to move past what had happened with Riku, an admirable trait to Armondo who, even though had not talked to Riku about the attack, was expressing a great degree of frustration from his violently flickering tentacles.
Armondo sighed and wiped his face before muttering under his breath. "...We should have just called the admirals," was the only sentence that Maiya could hear from his quiet rambling.
"What's done is done, Lieutenant-Commander. Lets just get to Riku and make sure that he's alright." Maiya gently assured Armondo, tilting her head once again to prompt them back onto their path.
Nodding his head and letting out a loud sigh, the pair proceeded back on track and moved forward, with Armondo quickly letting out a bit of frustration by having a tendril swiftly lash out a ruined wall. The limb smashed through the stone structure, knocking out a few blocks and allowing what was left to collapse in on itself, leaving a semi-large dust cloud to emerge around it. Both marines fanned the cloud away from their faces with their hands, waiting for the cloud to settle, but as the environment around them came back to a clear view, what surrounded them opened both their eyes wide open.
Surrounding them, stood Redwing and Slaughter Pirates, all armed and ready for a fight, standing on-top of, behind, or in front of broken terrain. The one that stood out most to them was a woman in white, fitted clothing, brandishing two long rapiers by her side with the pupils of her eyes glowing a bright red. She was standing on a structurally sound house, accompanied by two other individuals waiting beside her, every single one of them looking down at the outnumbered marines. The woman flicked her hair back to show the large scowl on her face as her eyes drifted towards Maiya, clenching her teeth to prevent her from screaming as he attention was dead set on the female marine. At the same time, Maiya's eye looked towards the blonde woman with her own scowl, twirling the bat around her wrist before letting the top of the bat drop onto the ground while her hand remained holding the handle.
"I can sense a bit of hostility coming from you Maiya. Do you know these pirates?" Armondo spoke to Maiya while switching his attention from pirate to pirate.
Maiya scoffed and spat to the side as she lifted the bat back up to grip the handle with the other hand. "By the looks of things, it seems like we're dealing with both Redwing and Slaughter. Feel free to have a go at them, but I want THAT one," She responded with a grim, playful tone as she pointed to the blonde woman with the top of her bat.
"...You should have stayed dead back on Es-Nezinu, marine dog. I gave you mercy. But now you're just testing my patience." The blonde woman announced, holding her rapiers out to the side and prompting many of the pirates to begin cheering and crying out in excitement.
Armondo looked over both his and Maiya's shoulder to see who she was talking about, finally understanding just who the blonde woman was as his eyes looked up from under his marine hat. "Olsen 'Twin Shrieks' Alfhild. The first mate of the Slaughter Pirates. I think it might be better if I handle an individual like that," Armondo suggested before returning his gaze to the other pirates that surrounded them.
Maiya let out a soft smirk before looking back to Armondo over her shoulder, her voice slightly shivering as if she couldn't contain the excitement within her. "Maybe. If you can reach her first!" She challenged.
Leaving Armondo with no time to react, Maiya immediately sprinted forward, her steps large and wide on her way towards her _target. Pirates nearby began to rush forward as well, drawn with swords that pointed outwards to spear the approaching marine, but only served as bouncing pads for Maiya to jump onto and off as she lifted herself up into the air in an attempt to confront Alfhild on top of the roof. The pirates that she jumped on were knocked backwards onto the ground, her jumps acting like powerful kicks that forced her victims downwards with a lot more force than it looked like, as small shockwaves had left the soles of her feet upon lifting herself up and off. In a matter of moments, Maiya had leaped herself high into the air above Alfhild with her bat held over her head, allowing gravity to bring both her and the bat downwards onto the first mate and magnify the blow that Maiya intended to deliver onto the pirate.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED AT SHIRIMASEN!" Maiya screamed at Alfhild as her bat travelled downwards.
ALfhild's eyes stared back at the marine with hateful intent, her arms swinging from her sides and crossing her blades before her head in the path of the incoming bat. As Maiya's bat collided with the blades of Alfhild's rapiers, the sound of metal grinding against once another screamed in loud pitch into the air, as a small shockwave dispersed outwards from where the weapons had met. This shockwave blast Alfhild's hair back in a ferocious manner, exposing most of her face to reveal the scowl that the first mate held upon seeing the marine. With Maiya mere feet from her body, Alfhild drew one of her arms back, still using the other to seemingly 'hold' Maiya and her bat mid air, whilst her other arm began to quickly swing from the other side and slash at the marine's side, her rapier letting out a little whistle from the air that was being sliced through it's journey to the young woman's side.
New Friends and Old Enemies
The battle waged on between marines and pirates on land, marine uniforms stained with red, baring holes and slashes from guns and bullets from the pirates' side, with pirates suffering the same look the more they fought on. Bodies littered the grounds, still clutching their weapons in their hands as if they were to continue the fight, though could only do so those that passed on with them in the after life. Violence like this should only have been expected when the Slaughter Pirates were involved, their destructive and careless ways of fighting could have brought down cities in moments if it weren't for the marines that were holding them back. Combined with the Redwing Pirates and Mirror Pirates, who was to say that their arrival only meant pure chaos for everything in their path. Pirates wearing breathing apparel had, by now, appeared on the battlefield, still holding onto their weapons and joining the fight to push the marines back, acting as a sort of surprise force for the marines to continue the fight with. Even though Benjamin had sunk their ships, they were prepared for such measures that not even sinking would hold back their advance into Kikoto.
One notable individual rose from the waters with the rest of them, riding on top of a giant, black furred hound, whose eyes glowed brightly with yellow, and throat humming a loud sound before it opened its jaws and released a powerful beam of light right into the battle. This beam traveled through the buildings and walls, throwing marines around the field as it left a path of black ash and lit charcoal. The beam seared with energy hot enough to light the ground, causing marines to scatter and move around in an effort to avoid being burnt. This confusion only allowed the pirates to fire at those caught in the confusion, quickly gunning them down without a second thought. The large wound let out a loud howl as the pirates continued to emerge from the waters, before it too moved slightly inland but remaining close by the water.
"THE CAPTAIN'S ARRIVED. PUSH THEM BACK!" A pirate screamed, causing everyone around him to move into the enemy to give way for the mounted rider. "MAKE WAY FOR GAI."
Gai looked around the battlefield with his bident in hand and quickly twirled it around his fingers, before moving one of the handles on the hound's saddle and aiming a cannon into the horde of marines shooting at him. With a press of a button, the cannon fired a bolt similar to the beam that his hound had fired right before, watching as it rocketed towards the marines and exploded with enough force to lift them into the air and throw them outwards, into the clear where they would be shot down if they had survived the blast. Gai's face was cold and emotionless like always, though that could barely be seen behind the grey skull mask he would always don when visiting islands. He looked around and waited whilst the fighting continued, looking amongst the crowds for a specific face in question, his eyes peering over the heads of pirates and marines alike as his gaze looked deeper into the field.
"Where is the little birdie when you need him?" Gai rolled his eyes before returning his attention back to the battle and jumping off his hound. "Moxie, go find Alfhild, and kill any of the bad men on the way there. Now who's a good boy?"
"WOOF."
"That's right, you are. Go!" Gai commanded before letting Moxie rush into the battle.
Moxie's giant body rammed right into the crossfire, the bullets getting caught in his fur and failing to do anything as the giant dog charged through. Anyone who stepped in his way were only thrown to the side, or crushed underneath the canine's giant paws. Marines who were caught up in his path were quickly snapped up by the dog's jaw, leaving blood splatters in his path as well as body parts simply hanging outside of his mouth. It didn't take long for Moxie to rush in and disappear on the otherside of the port, now leaving Gai to handle his men and push forward to victory for the sake of his alliance.
Before Moxie could get much farther, a creature of equal size and strength attacked, aiming to strike him from the side and knock him off his feet. He was orange with black stripes, with long, saber-teeth, and red eyes. He was the natural enemy of dogs, the cat. But not just any cat, a Battle Cat. The name didn't do the ferocity of his assault and strength of his body justice.
"Cringer!" Benjamin shouted as he floated to the ground to the ground with Geppo, landing behind Gai as he traveled inland. "Keep the dog busy, make sure he doesn't interfere with the rest of the battle!" Benjamin began walking towards the captain of the Slaughter Pirates, cracking his knuckles as he prepared for combat. "I believe we have some unfinished business."
Cracking his neck from side to side, Gai shook his head and sighed upon realising whose voice it was behind him. "It's been a while, I guess. Though I don't know why the fuck you're here," Gai called out as he turned his body to face Benjamin, "This time, it ends. Right here, right now. NO running away."
"You know this asshole? Geez, the company you keep fishman," commented Gonbei, nearly a foot smaller than Gai at the moment in his current "appearance". Nearly skin and bones, Gonbei patted his fellow captain on the shoulder, the weight not reflecting his light frame as he turned around, noticing what appeared to be one of Gai's previous opponents.
"Took you a bit, birdie. Just hurry up and get into size." Gai said after spitting to the side into the port's water.
"This all ends one way," said Benjamin, "with you and your cronies behind." He grabbed the shoulder of his navy blue marine coat, throwing it off of his person. It was too important for him to lose again. The muscles on his arms had become much more toned, with those on his torso becoming even more prominent now, almost as if they threatened to tear apart the black tank-top he was wearing. "I've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we fought, you having a friend now doesn't intimidate me."
"He's not meant to intimidate, he's here to get his picture taken for his bounty," Gai said as he reached across and pulled his coat and shirt off, revealing his bare upper body. His muscles all over had become much more toned than their last encounter, with many more scars that etched every bit of surface see-able. Every battle he had been up to this point bared their own mark on his body, a sort of collection Gai kept to remind him of what every battle taught him. "Come out of that form, bird man. Lets show this land critter just what kind of pirates Paradise made."
Hunched over, Gonbei sighed heavily, his hands flared up, as if Gai had ruined a surprise but wasn't too broken up about it, knowing that, with his opponent's set of skills, he would've had to stop holding back sooner or later. Moving ahead of Gai, Gonbei stretched out his arms, bringing them down as he undid his Seimei Kikan, his body grew and convulsed, swelling up as steam filled the area around them, Gonbei revealing his true appearance: a towering skypeian in full splendor.
"Not intimidating huh? Don't get things mixed up old man, once we get nice and intimate, maybe then YOU'LL measure up aye,. Til' then, I ain't wasting a breath on ya'." Taking a deep breathe, Gonbei began pouting, curling his lip and shooing the marine away with his hand.
"You're all privileged," said Benjamin, beginning to take more steps towards his opponents. "You were born into power, or had some form of raw talent. You're about to see what hard work can accomplish." A certain pulse of energy could be felt from his person, the ground around Benjamin seeming to press down under an invisible weight. "Now, if you really think I'm nothing, then why don't you try launching a punch at me, or am I really dealing with a pair of bitches that only feel great when attacking the weak?"
As Benjamin continued to talk, Gai walked over to the water's edge and leaned down to dip his trident into the harbor's sea, swirling it around before pushing the weapon in further so that the bident was dipped in just below its prongs, allowing water to become cupped within the bident's indented blades. Quickly pulling back out and spinning the trident around his position, Gai used both hands to balance and twirl the weapon around him, making sure that the water that was collected did not fall from the bident's grasp. The captain's eyes were focused as he continued spinning the bident with his arms, slightly biting his tongue as he then transferred it solely to one hand where it continued spinning. The water remained between the bident's prongs, staying as a sort of orb that left a light trail of liquid behind where-ever it passed through, though didn't seem to shrink at all as time passed on. Returning back to the confrontation, Gai looked at Benjamin and coughed.
"Oi. Bird-man, get moving."
Without delaying any further, Gai struck outwards and seemingly flung the orb of water forwards, quickly pulling back and keeping what water he could within the bident. The force Gai exerted into the orb caused water to disperse from its body and fire outwards towards Benjamin from behind Gonbei, its presence hidden behind the large man until he would move to continue its course to the marine. The bolt of water shot out fast, creating bits of water that stuck out from the body to look like sharp edges and spines, ultimately acting like a large Uchimizu shots, though a bit more foreseeable and just slightly slower than a normal bullet. This one looked as though it would tear an even larger hole than the usual water bullet Gai would do, with much more force to push through and the opponent back.
Running on ahead to conceal the body of water shot by Gai with his own body, Gonbei closed the distance as close as he could to the marine, pressing hard unto the ground just before reaching him, leaping straight into the air as he parted his wings, flying high into the sky. Soaring straight above him, Gonbei stretched his wings out, shaking them furiously in the air, ruffling several feathers off as Gonbei grinned, staring down his _target on the ground, "Zankokunatenshi no Gatoringu!"
Fluttering in the sky, Gonbei created a powerful air current around him, using it to fire his feathers in a large rainstorm of projectiles, giving them the extra needed speed to skewer as large a surface of the terrain he could reach surrounding the marine.
Benjamin's eyes seemed to glow red as Gai prepared his initial strike. Benjamin stood ready as Gonbei ran towards him, but not for what the Skylander was about to do. "Tekkai!" With his fist sturdier than ever, he punched forward, his fist colliding with the orb of water, causing it to explode into several much smaller droplets.
With Gonbei preparing his next assault, Benjamin took up a power stance. His body was open to attack, not even as if he was attempting to guard, but his muscles bulged and skin seemed to harden as the feathers rained down upon him. "Tekkai!" While they easily would've cut through any other person in the vicinity, Benjamin was another story. With his iron-hard skin from years of training, specifically to increase his defense to such a degree, they seemed to simply ricochet of his body, failing to pierce into his skin. A few had stuck into his clothes, but Benjamin brushed them off with one hand.
"My turn. Soru!" With speed fast enough that the normal eye couldn't track, he blitzed Gai, stopping right in front of him. With his hand clenched into a fist, he aimed his iron-hard fist into Gai's right side, right where his kidney would be, with the hope of sending him further inland and away from the water with this blow. And it was certainly packing the power of a cannon.
Their previous fight was certainly different, especially with the addition of the large skypeian, but Gai still remembered some tendencies from his experiences with Benjamin from before. As the marine Benjamin shrugged off their attacks, Gai was already dead set on moving next, keeping track of Benjamin before he would appear fight before him. The captain anticipated the attack by the look of Benjamin's form, striking with his own fist towards the marine's in an attempt to counter his strike. Using Hyakumaigawara Seiken didn't seem to look like as though it was doing much at first, having the appearance of a simple hand strike, but the amount of force it could produce would just be used to balance them out, cancelling each other's attacks.
"Fuck your Soru."
Upon meeting, the fists released a large shockwave that blew outwards from the colliding fists, causing Gai's hair to flutter in the wind. The battlefield slightly shook with both combatants remaining in place, though many pirates and marines nearby couldn't say the same as they were quickly knocked down and tumbled to the side from the shock. Gai looked towards and kept his attention locked on Benjamin, simultaneously moving his hand up from his fist to then lock his grip onto the marine's wrist. Gai's clutch was iron tight, probably as hard as Benjamin's skin when he needed so, and allowed the captain to pull himself closer to his opponent now with his leg kicked outwards into Benjamin's stomach. The trails that followed it indicated that it seemed to follow like other Fish-Man Karate moves, intending to release a shockwave that would force the waters inside the marine backwards no matter if it had hit its intended _target, still releasing a shockwave strong enough to force the marine back. It wasn't towards the water or more into the battlefield like Benjamin had intended for him, but to launch him further back on the side of the port to get the marine out of his personal bubble.
Benjamin felt the grip of Gai tighten, but Benjamin didn't falter. Even with how hard his own grip was, Benjamin's hide was too tough to cause him to worry, even if he couldn't simply wrest his hand away. In response to the tightened grip, Benjamin aimed a swift and simple kick of iron into Gai's shin, just as the pirate brought up his own leg for a kick of his own, and following through with the force. The goal wasn't just to cause pain, but to trip Gai. With one leg in the air for a kick and the other swept from beneath him, Benjamin would have all the leverage he would need, gripping Gai's wrist in return with an equal amount of force, and turning around to slam the captain of the Slaughter Pirates into the ground. Even so, a shockwave from Gai's foot managed to travel into Benjamin's stomach, rattling his insides. He roared through the pain as he followed through with his attack.
With the duo struggling, Gonbei flew to the ground, landing straight behind the two, taking notice that the marine was anything but ordinary, demonstrating several Rokushiki technique and Haki, taking them into consideration as the battle dragged on. With the shockwaves reverberating off his skin, it was plain what the fishman was planning, and wouldn't waist his efforts, letting his hands move through the air with quick fluid movements as he stretched both hands forward. Carving lines in the air, Gonbei ran his fingers in the space ahead of the two fighters, aggresively clenching them down, grabbing the air itself as if itself were tangible, Gonbei dragged the wind currents violently toward the opposite end, the force causing the muscles in his large shoulders and wrists to bulge. "Kyochū Kūki!" With a violent roar, the powerful suction ripped large parts of the floor and nearby buildings of their base, draging all manner of debris, refuse, and landscape hurdling toward the duo and out to sea, the force being squarly focused on sucking the two fighters from their position.
Gonbei's action was too sudden and too strong for Benjamin to resist, so he didn't even try. His grip upon Gai's arm tightened, bone-crushing force being applied to make sure the hybrid couldn't escape his grasp, while the pain (and likely the shock of being tossed over Benjamin's shoulder and slammed into the ground) would hopefully loosen Gai's as a result. He rode the wind, using the momentum to spin himself around and around, with the intent of spinning Gai as well. He could already spin incredibly fast when using Haneguruma, but with the added strength of Gonbei's wind Gai becoming dizzy would almost be a certainty. Then, right before the force of Gonbei's technique would die down, he'd let go of Gai's wrist, aiming to throw the pirate captain at Gonbei with the speed and force of a cannonball, before using Geppo to head back to shore.
Even if Benjamin’s grip left Gai’s wrist, the same could not be said for the Fishman, whose hand was still locked tight onto the marine’s wrist. Whilst dazed from the swinging, it had only prompted Gai to move his other hand onto Benjamin’s arm and secure himself more onto the marine, clutching harder and harder to make sure he stayed on. Gai’s eyes slowly drew up to the back of his head, but not before shooting a long glare at Benjamin as he was spun around, the metal skull mask being enough to leave his mark in anyone’s mind. Up this close, Benjamin would have seen the scratches and minor dents that the piece of armour sustained, impurities that looked fitting for the journey that both it and its wearer had been through. It would only be when Benjamin decided to throw Gai that both him and the mask would depart from the marine, but not as far as the marine would have hoped, as Gai’s grip allowed Gai to bounce backwards with all the force travelling out of his back and so preventing him from being thrown to Gonbei in such a forceful manner.
“World Government dog.” Gai thought out loud as he loosened his grip and fell from the height, freeing Benjamin to proceed with his Soru and return to the port. “TAKE THE REINS, BIRDMAN.”
Descending with his back to the water, the ongoing battle shook the waters enough to break Gai’s fall, as he broke through the waters surface with a loud splash and quickly disappearing under the waves. The pirates that had yet to join the battle after moving across the ocean ignored their captain’s sudden drop to partake in the bloodbath, showing very little care more so out of trust for the man rather than just ignorance or arrogance. In mere moments, the water began to bubble ferociously against the incoming waves, which seemed to luckily conceal their presence on the water’s surface.
Crossing his arms, Gonbei scoffed at the Fishman letting go of his prey, taking it upon himself to keep the pressure going in his stead, as well as his own, his muscles bulging back to normal and he himself landing back to the ground. With Gai in the ocean, the marine was perfect picking he thought, stretching his right arm forward as if to gesture the marine that he was coming. Clenching his outstretched hand into a fist, a large cloud of white smoke burst out of his wristband, slithering and encroaching around him until his towering frame was fully immersed in the cloud, belonging to that of the Eisen Dial. Acting in similar fashion to a suit of armor, Gonbei's hair, wings, and face popped out through the cloud, forming what was an incredible defense, the sheer mass of the cloud that was hard as iron pilled on top his own muscular build, "Eisen Armor, time to put your money where your mouth is Mr. Marine," he mutters, banging his knuckles together as he slammed his feet to the ground sending himself high off the ground.
Spreading his wings, Gonbei let the dial produce a thick cloud on his right arm, growing larger to the point of creating spikes all across his biceps, becoming several times larger as a result. Charging headfirst into a lariat, Gonbei was aiming to land a direct hit across Benjamin's torso, thanks to his large figure and wings, racing like a bullet at full throttle.
As Gai flew towards the water below, Benjamin quickly kicked his foot through the air, a blade of wind pressure flying off with the intent to create a large gash on his torso, flying fast enough to hopefully cut him before he could make contact with the ocean, and if not, strike him before he could gather his bearings as his fish traits would need to take over from his man ones. Although, as he headed back to shore, there was a more imminent threat.
Benjamin's speed increased as he jumped off the air. He made no attempts to dodge Gonbei's attack, simply gathering more strength for his own. His arm stiffened as he held it aloft, and simultaneously, the two fighters would strike each other in the chest. "Tekkai Kenpo "Lariat"!" Gonbei's armor was tough, and it would ordinarily knock the wind out of any combatant struck by it, but this cloud was only as hard iron, and Benjamin's body was harder than that. While Benjamin's own arm had trouble sending the giant Skylander flying away, Gonbei's couldn't make him budge.
The words of Benjamin's master rang through his mind as they clashed.
"You will never be faster than some enemies, and your Haki may never become attuned enough so that you can hide your movements. Focus on what you're good at. You are strong and sturdy, and your stamina is great. Goad your opponent into making the first move, make them hit you first, place them in a situation where they cannot retreat. And then, when your enemy is realizing that they've made a mistake, bring them down."
Benjamin's attacking arm became coated in a black, metallic substance. He let out a primal shout as the strength of his blow seemed to increase tenfold, forcing him arm forward to send the Skylander hurtling towards the ground, maybe even with enough strength to break his armor.
In the background, the blade of wind had hit its mark with Gai, yet forced little reaction from the Fish-man as it sent him further down at a faster rate, causing a loud splash that no-one payed attention to. The bubbling of the water began to spread all around the area of where Gai had fallen through, reaching the edge of the port and causing loud pops and rapid bubbling noises to add to the noises of battle. As Gonbei and Benjamin started their own clash, ripples occurred in the water from a particular spot in the port's water, creating large waves that would spill over onto the port's platform and cause the ground to become slippery with boiling liquid. Some of the pirates and marines that ran across the spots slipped and fell onto the water, immediately jumping up from the shock as their skin began to puff and swell with red from the intense temperature.
The collision of force between Gonbei and the marine was more than he had imagined, sending ripples across the landscape around him, the ocean shaking violently as their struggle dragged on. Peering at the black arm, it was evident to Gonbei that the marine's Haki was powerful, more than enough to make up the difference in strength and then some between the two of them. This face only elating Gonbei even more, his face glowing from this information as sweat ran down his brow, "I had you pegged wrong old man, give me a name to put on that face, Hyaku Seicho!" Uttering those words as if spitting out an order, his muscles began to tense up and swell, the veins across his arm and neck pulsing as they grew larger, his already large and muscular build increasing even further beyond what he could produce naturally.
Boasting physical power many times greater than before, the cloud expanded even further, concentrating all his energy into his lariat, using his full weight to push back, not giving an inch and his wing's newfound strength fluttered even faster. As the struggle went on, Gonbei inhaled the iron cloud into his lungs, kneading it and blasting it off from his lips in the form of high-pressurized air at point-blank range, mumbling "Atsuryoku Dangan," his _target being Benjamin's eyes, doing so while Gonbei had him occupied in their brawl.
Even as Gonbei's own muscles began to swell, Benjamin didn't budge. He refused, his will, much like his body, made of iron. Such a thing reminded him of his brother, and that only motivated him further to lose this battle of strength. His eyes glowed briefly once again, and coupled with the site of Gonbei inhaling, Benjamin barely had enough time to move his forehead in the path of his air bullet, feeling more like stiff breeze on his iron skin. "Old man...?" said Benjamin quizzically. "I'm younger than you."
"Rankyaku...!" He kicked with his left leg, a seeming haphazard movement, he couldn't properly aim at his opponent while using Geppo to maintain himself in the air. Of course, Gonbei didn't have this issue, as his flight was due to a completely different body part. At least for now.
"Kizu Kikan! The blade of wind was shaped like a crescent, flying through the air at a much more controlled trajectory than an ordinary Rankyaku. It went down first, before flying right back up at a diagonal angle. It would cut at the base of Gonbei's wings, completely exposed. The attack wouldn't sever the appendage, Benjamin would never be so cruel, but the damage to them would make it near-impossible for Gonbei to maintain himself in the air, giving Benjamin the edge in this match of strength. And with the attack coming from behind at such an angle, and Benjamin occupying in front, dodging an attack such as this would be incredibly difficult.
Without a momemts notice, Gonbei could feel the slash of air dig itself into his back, not enough to sever his wings already bursting with sinew, but making it impossible to maintain his position in the air. It sent a the shockwave reverberating down his back, sending him back to the earth, backing away from the marine to gab the distance. As if to assess the damage, Gonbei fluttered his wings, the sprain leaving them out of commission for the moment. "This guy," he said, his irritation bubbling away into a different feeling altogether, to what he could possibly refer to as "consideration" on his part. Taking several deep breathes, Gonbei took on a martial stance, composing himself as he gathered air into the palm of his hands, maintaining himself in place, his eyes closed throughout the endeavor.
Metres from the edge of the platform, the bubbling continued to mumble in the back of the battle, growing more and more intense with no obvious reason. However, in sync with Gonbei's stance, the bubbling's intense sound slightly dropped for a split second, only to be followed with the loud crashing sound of something man sized break through the surface of the water. Propelled upwards from the water, Gai revealed that he had taken off his shoes as well, revealing that they were webbed much like any Fish-Man. Lifting himself into the air metres above the water and in clear view for everyone on the platform to see, Gai had returned to the battle now with a bigger attack than before: In one hand was his bident, the head pointed downwards, dripping with water as soon as it left the blue ocean, and in the other, a fist held high above Gai's head, pulling what looked to be large currents of water that were yanked upwards like ropes from the ocean. His eyes set on Benjamin, paying no mind to Gonbei, waiting for a second to reach just high enough where he could proceed with his attack.
"Kairyū no tsume."
Spinning himself forward, Gai pulled the currents of water up and over his body, leaning so that he would drop horizontally and to the side. The form of Gai's attack became clear once the currents had been fully pulled from the ocean, as they resembled the three giant tails similar to that of a whip, three giant pillars of water that carried a boiling heat, which could be felt as they were heading to slam into the platform and towards Benjamin. Each whip seemed to look as though they could engulf a whole human in one go, with their size implying that they could crush one just as easily, as if Gai was slinging boiling hot hammers down onto the marine. With it's length, the streams were bound to crush the few remaining buildings nearby, and with two lashes on the outer sides to prevent Benjamin from leaping out of the way of the middle tail coming right for him, this attack seemed to be much more than what Gai had shown during their previous fight. Even then, with the tail's structure being made up of water, the attack might've still been a threat even after colliding with the ground.
With the wave of water headed towards him, Benjamin still stayed resolute. His arms turned black as they became clad in Haki and his body began to spin. "Tekkai Kenpo! Haneguruma!" It was the same technique he had used earlier to reflect a few cannonballs. But something about this one was different. Benjamin clearly hadn't been using his full strength in that instance, yet this one was so demonstrably more powerful. The kinetic energy that Benjamin built up from his spin, it wasn't just reflecting the water, it was drawing them in. All three tendrils moving away from the island as they came down on the rear admiral.
He was like a miniature cyclone, the water seeming to disperse as it was drawn into his storm. The boiling water touched his skin, but that was nothing compared to what he had been through. He had been lit on fire with Inferno Dials and left inside an exploding building, and much like Gai he was drastically more powerful than he was back then. When his spin stopped, the water dispersed, transforming into a mist that floated over their battleground, before quickly undergoing condensation due to the sudden change in temperature. Given his location, the newly created mist was still in the air, too high up for Gai to attempt to use again, as well as it obscuring Benjamin from view, and leaving it unknown how effective the attack had been against him.
And that's when they would see him, flying out of the artificial cloud, barreling towards the ground. At first glance it might've seemed as though he was falling out of the air, Gai's attack had been successful, but the closer he came, the more obvious it was that he was falling far too quickly. He barreling directly towards Gonbei, his arm still black as it was clad in Haki. Having used Geppo to shoot himself towards the ground, he was falling with the force of a bomb. He fist still clad in Haki, he aimed a punch right towards Gonbei's stomach.
"Tekkai! Sai!" Benjamin had used this attack many times before, and every time he did it left a crater. Benjamin's tough hide always left him completely unharmed, but with the added benefit of Haki, this blow would be even more devastating than before. Gonbei was wearing his cloud armor, which was as strong as iron, but Benjamin's body was as strong as iron as it was. And with the added force of his descent, alongside the strength of Busoshoku Haki, the attack would likely shatter the Skylander's armor from the sheer force of the blow. And with his wings damaged, Gonbei's maneuverability would be much more limited than before.
At first Gonbei wouldn't seem be reacting at all to the marine's descent, his eyes having been closed as he'd been concentrating and focusing on gathering the air currents in the palm of his hand during the entire squabble between Gai & Benjamin until now. Yet as the rear admiral was getting closer, Gonbei's eyes shut open with hues of red circling his iris while a wide smile took shape as the large skypeian reached out towards his opponent. "You've got balls old man, I'll give you that!"
As he spoke out, the gust of wind that had been gathered in the palm of his hands projected itself outwards and to follow his every whim, but what would normally be considered just that, a gust, would be resulting in something more akin to a hurricane. With his body already bulging and showcasing a strength capacity far beyond its limits even for a man of his size, and with the addition of many years as a practitioner and master of Haoshima Kenpo would only really be shinning in times like these: With his fingers grasping the air like claws as the whirling vortex of wind ascended and swirled around the body of Benjamin, Gonbei tore down at the wall of air as it commanded its trajectory. Instead of retaliating and sending the Rear Admiral flying to bother someone else, he instead increased the man's descent several times over whilst changing Benjamin's trajectory to have him be out of reach of Gonbei himself whilst also having him spiralling right into the ground beneath them. The skypeian was making sure to take full advantage of the man's descent, as to make it inconceivable to think that the marine would be able to save his own fall. He was creating his own makeshift hammer to not only dent the man's defence or even break him altogether, but perhaps more so to bury him alive inside the earth that they were walking on.
As Gonbei took the reigns for Benjamin, Gai began moving back to the port, keeping his position not too far from Gonbei with Benjamin still in the middle of them. Water dripped from his body, leaving a trail on any dry ground that had not been touched by his waves of attacks, his red eyes piercing through the shade that the dark sky casted over the city. Catching sight of Gonbei's response to a descending Benjamin coming for him, Gai slid his feet through what water was left by his last attack, and moved his arms, circling one another as if ready to break into dance. His hands holding the bident would be brought up to the front of his body, eyes locking with Gonbei for a moment or two, that being enough to send a message that the Skypeian could understand clearly. A feint sight of steam rising off his arms, which had began to grow in size and structure, very similar to what Gonbei had accomplished earlier on in the battle.
"...No hesitation."
Benjamin could feel the wind influencing his trajectory. It appeared as thought the Skylander still had a few more tricks up his sleeve. However, Benjamin made no attempts to slow his descent. As a matter of fact, he helped Gonbei, kicking off the air faster and harder as he descended. He began to spin, turning his body into a sort of drill. And he slammed into the ground with even greater force. "Tekkai! Kido Hogeki!" He had used this technique in his last altercation against the Slaughter Pirates, but with Gonbei's assistance, and the benefit of Haki, the power was even greater.
The technique had two effects. The first was a massive shockwave. Its incredible kinetic energy blew away any of the unconscious or dead bodies near the sight of their battle. The force of the blow would even be enough to push back the nearby pirate captains, regardless of their own strength. Not only this, but Benjamin created a massive crater in the ground, one that threatened to swallow up the pirates as it expanded from the marine's impact. The loss of footing would only make it more difficult for Gonbei and Gai to resist the push of Benjamin's power. The second effect was much simpler. He had kicked up a smokescreen, sand and dust that permeated the air, just effective enough to hide the fact that Benjamin wasn't at the bottom of the crater.
This was another thing he had done before against the Slaughter Pirates, having done so to escape a vortex of water used to surround him and enclose him against the crew. And with his increased strength, the act was much quicker now. Benjamin dug through the ground of the sandy beach, moving through it like air, with the speed of Soru. Given his position, he would be untraceable through Gai's Fish-Man senses. In almost an instant after he had used his technique, the shockwave having not subsided, the sand and dust floating and flying in the air, and the wind howling loudly to muffle any sounds or shouts that could be shared between the two allies, Benjamin pounced.
His skill in Kenbunshoku Haki wasn't enough for him to be considered a master yet, but it was certainly enough for him to pinpoint the location of a hybrid Fish-Man while a few feet underground. He hopped out right behind him. One arm reached for his bident hand, to capture it in a bone-shattering grip to prevent him from attempting to wield it. Both Fish-Man Karate and Jiu-Jitsu required contact with the water and free movement to use, and preventing him from using his weapon was always a plus. And with his other arm, Benjamin launched a powerful punch. His fist and forearm were black with Haki as he aimed a devastating Tetsu no Dangan towards the back of his head. Given his _target, such a blow would not only be incredibly dazing, but perhaps even cause him to be paralyzed. Gai was a strong man, and any damage to his spinal cord might not be permanent, but Benjamin certainly wasn't pulling his punches. He wanted to put this man down.
As the ground around him shook at the imapact of the marine and the feeling the trembles that followed, by instinct the Captain of the Redwing Pirates fluttered his wings to take to the skies and hover just above ground. Having stopped himself from going any further as the vortex of sand and dust gathered around him, Gonbei stretched out his arms and began performing a variety of gestures using his hands. It was a simple trick to perform that even the young ones back homes would be able to muster, while the intent and purposes of the Hachi Dodo was to redirect incoming projectiles, it could just as well be used to change the surrounding wind to when performed correctly. But he wasn't out to control the storm, merely to have it pass him by like wind passing through the fields.
With his sight and body remaining unhindered despite the efforts of the marine, Gonbei's kept his hands moving whilst simultaneously taking flight through the storm and dived right for his two colleagues of war. Gai's own response to Benjamin's shockwave was a shockwave of his own, slamming his foot onto the ground to release a powerful blast that encircled him, colliding with Benjamin's and leaving him standing in place, his face still directed to where Benjamin had been. The shockwave that Gai produced had allowed his own piece of earth to remain standing compared to the ground that had sunken around by Benjamin's attack, granted, the surface where his foot collided slightly sunken from the force he exerted to counter. From limbs that the Skypeian had not even helped Gai use Seimei Kikan on, Gonbei could get a good look on just what his ally could do without the tools he had given him. Having gazed upon Gai and his whereabouts mere moments earlier after the Captain had raised his hand for a sign, it would've been a miracle for the Skypeian to navigate his way like this in such a short amount of time when thinking about it at first. Until spotting his approach with whose wide eyes was still lit with a bright red hue from Benjamin's earlier descent, and who in comparison, had lived his entire life exposed and trained in the usage of Mantra, or Kenbunshoku Haki as the land-dwellers called it.
Witnessing the marine's attack against his fellow Captain as Gonbei arrived, he couldn't help but to reveal a wide grin of ecstasy and a glimmer of opportunity spring forth from his eyes. While Benjamin could grab the arm of Gai holding the bident closest to him, almost as if Gai had given it over to Benjamin, the sudden force of the grab was the indication that Gai needed to move, prompting the captain to swing his arm upwards and slide his mask over his head, the length and size protecting the back. Fist would collide with mask as the force of the hit let out a thunderous clap that resounded around the vicinity, Benjamin's iron fist finding that it could not break through the dense material that made up Gai's infamous mask. While it did soak the damage, it still forced Gai's head to flinch forward, an alternative the captain would've rathered in the situation he was in. The captain let out a muffled groan before sliding the mask back over his face and twisting his body around to face the marine, his wrist in an awkward position even as he clenched the other end of the bident with the other arm. With the two men facing each other, Gai pulled back a bit to give some space for the Skypeian to intercept in between.
"Hyaku Seicho!" Dropping his gestures and thus dropping the invisible wall of wind that had surrounded him, the Skypeian's muscles expanded much like it had earlier in the fight as to make sure he was matching with that of marine. He reached with both of his pulsating limbs to take hold of not only Benjamin's neck but that of Gai's as well. Yet while he would perhaps be able to stand up to the marine in terms of physical strength, it was obvious that his defense was far greater and would most likely not have much of an effect. But it did not matter, because Gonbei was out to make sure that both of them wouldn't be leaving from this spot for this move. Evident as the hands clasped together and suddenly starting to take a deep breath, but instead of inhaling the air around him, he was now draining the very air inside the lungs of the two in front of him. Having been born with lungs much greater than that of most due to his size and enhanced several times over due to his life in high altitude, preceding far beyond that of any human ever could dream of, his one breath was out to make both of his opponents pass out right before his eyes.
Gai clenched Gonbei’s arms in surprise, his emotions hidden by the mask he wore from Benjamin or Gonbei’s gaze, but by the gasp of air that swept passed his lips, he could have been just as surprised as Benjamin. The two captains that had fought alongside eachother now suddenly against one another in a surprise twist of fate. As Gonbei lifted Gai in the air, Gai’s legs dangled and swung back and forth in a show of being a lesser power, the mask’s gasp turning into a paced, calm breathing despite the situation he was in.
“ACK. This is the thanks I get? Weeks of companionship and THIS is what I get?” Gai spluttered under his mask.
The way he seemed to struggle in the air didn’t do much against Gonbei’s hold, whether it was because of how strong Gonbei was or if Gai was even fighting back, Gonbei had the obvious high ground in the current circumstance. If as Gai hammered onto Gonbei’s wrist with his palm, nothing was happening as far as Gai knew, knocking the wrist four times before grasping back onto the wrist. Gai's chest looked to puff in and out quite notably as the air continued to be pulled out from his lungs, but something underneath looked like it twisted and turned supernaturally.
Benjamin had become quite accustomed to situations like this, having had to swim several kilometers to a ship with his side ripped out, although, admittedly, having the oxygen sucked directly out of his lungs was a new sensation. But unlike Gonbei, who couldn't fathom the betrayal of his colleague and began wasting precious air, Benjamin used his moments to act. In a few moments, Gai would either be neutralized or following suit in attacking the Skylander. His words, the lack of care Gonbei had for his ally's safety, and the emotions he could feel oozing off of the two pirate captains using his Haki. So, he let go fo Gai's bidet arm. A mutual understanding would pass from Benjamin to Gai. He hated Gai, more than most other pirates he had encountered, but neither of them wanted to go out like this.
Benjamin shifted under Gonbei's grip, as much as he could, in order to get the best possible angle on the Skylander. He didn't need a lot of space to gather up much force, he just needed to be able to touch him. His squirming wasn't to try to get away, but to get closer. And as soon as he was close enough, he launched his fist forward. And then it stopped, just a few inches away from Gonbei's torso. His fingers were lined up in a fan-shape. And then, they closed forward in a punch.
Benjamin had used a technique like this before, a one-inch punch to counter his opponent's grappling attempt. He had also fought Gai and Kujira before, opponents that used shockwaves and sound waves to internally rattle the foe. It simply wasn't until he had learned Haki that Benjamin was able to implement such techniques into his own combat method. Benjamin was capable of using the technique "Utsugi", which took the force directed towards him and simply redirected it back out in a shockwave. This new technique was simply turning the force that Benjamin already exhibited into a shockwave. Even if Benjamin could whittle down Gonbei's defenses, now was the time to get it out of the way all at once, to test how strong he truly was.
"Tekkai Kenpo..." Benjamin thought, his arm turning black with Haki, "Issun Ryoku!" It was a one-inch directed towards Gonbei's lungs. There wouldn't be much of a a bruise on his _target's skin, and likely wouldn't even leave a mark on his armor. But the attack would permeate through the Skylander's body, acting as if if Benjamin had punched directly into Gonbei's lung itself. And given how powerful Benjamin's punches had proven to be so far, his important organ being ruptured was quite the possibility.
Even though Gonbei was unable to smile in a moment like this for obvious reasons, his eyes, they spoke for him as he glared down at the marine gunning for him. It was like they alone spoke to him, uttering the same confidence that would've otherwise come from his mouth: "You fucked up." Releasing the suction of air for but a moment as Benjamin started making his approach, only for it to continue emptying the lungs of the Rear Admiral all the same. Yet to the surprise of both adversaries for sure, as he did so, so too did the Skypeian's other hand come into view as it grabbed hold of marine's arm as to stop it from closing in on him. Yet the tension that came with it caused the former God's Guard eyes to widen as shock waves of the "Utsugi" attacked sent ripples of force all throughout his body, feeling as though he was the earth and the Rear Admiral was the quake. Once again, the man would've smiled if he wasn't already occupied. The sensation of his muscles and body had gone numb from the man's touch, not limb by any means, but more so that he could barely feel the force or sensation that came with it even as he was grabbing onto the marine. Perhaps it was due to him not having produced much force to begin with as he holding him place, not choking him out, for the Benjamin to redirect as would've been the case should he had just straight up taken a jab at the guy.
With one hand now wrapped around the arm and fingers of the marine whilst the other was still grasping onto the marine's neck with all the might he could muster from both ends. Something which had already been shown to equal or perhaps even exceed that of the man he was now holding onto. Preventing the two combatants from making any further moves against one another whilst Gonbei was still occupied with filling his lungs with the same air that once belonged to Benjamin. If it wasn't obvious already to the marine of what was really going on, it soon would be.
Gai dropped from the air and onto the ground as Gonbei's hand had found another thing to keep it busy with, the captain shuffling backwards on all fours with his bident clanging onto the ground with every step he made back, out of Benjamin's view. What Gonbei had done to him had stirred his thoughts into confusion and sadness, at least that was what it looked like as he pulled himself up and stood there for a second or two, contemplating on where the battle had went. Sheathing the bident onto his back, Gai punched his fists together and roared silently under his breath, as steam began to draw out from his skin into the air, his arms growing even more than what he had done before. His legs as well became more muscular, stern and strong, like tree roots that were ready to dig themselves into the group. His pants slightly tore from the increased size, as Gai took a step forward towards behind Benjamin with his arms reaching out towards to his sides, his step shaking the ground slightly though not interrupting the effects of Gonbei's response or method used to try and suppress Benjamin, the foot planting itself into the ground and so Gai in place. Without a second to spare, Gai's arms flung forward towards Benjamin's body, his hands wide open with his palm looking to grasp onto the sides of Benjamin's torso and his fingers arched to cling.
What it looked like was an attempt to tear Benjamin out of Gonbei's grip. The mutual understanding shared between the pirate and marine, as they looked to help each other against a common foe.
That is, if such a mutual understanding really existed.
Instead of holding on, Gai's palms sought to slam the sides of Benjamin's torso, and while his fingers looked to cling onto what they could, they did so with the intention of holding its _target in place. The larger muscles he now bore were more than just a show of power, an indication to a strength that Gai looked to use within this reach for a higher ground in the fight. His arms travelled from both sides like a bear trap snagging its prey, snapping without a second too soon to make sure that whatever victim had disturbed its trigger, would have to face the aftermath of its awakening. The power built up within his arms was ready to be released, shown as muscles with pulsating veins under his skin, too late to hold back, too soon for all three men as they stood within range of whatever was going to happen. Even if the arms were to be stopped, whatever had been built up was going to be let out one way or another, and the danger-zone was whatever was in between both hands as they came closing in around Benjamin's body. Whatever emotion was behind the mask Gai wore was out of view, though the determined sadistic-ness seeped out from behind like smoke, with a presence just as strong as the scent. No hesitation, no remorse as he made Benjamin the epicentre of his reach to tip the scales. If a Kalamidad at normal strength did what it did during his fight with Gonbei, an empowered attack like this, with the intent of solely concentrating on a single body would have been more than just a message to every other pirate and marine that watched.
"Kalamida- No... Sakuna." Gai exclaimed to himself, his piercing red eyes appearing for a second through the shaded lens of his mask.
He was running out of air, he was running out of time, but most importantly, Benjamin was running out of patience. His eyes glowed red, notifying him of Gai's intent to harm him once again. Benjamin had the strength to wrest himself free of Gonbei's grip, and a free hand as well, but as already said, time was short. Benjamin's body began to become coated in Haki, as much Haki as he could muster in that instance to protect himself and increase his power. And then he felt it. Gai's attack slamming directly into each of his sides. Blood spat out of his mouth from the force, something might have been broken or ruptured, but what exactly, Benjamin couldn't exactly diagnose in the heat of the battle. Gai's attack had been truly formidable, which was why he stopped struggling as soon as he sensed it coming.
The instant after Gai's attack made contact, they'd feel. A rage, a fury constantly kept under control was released. A black miasma, like a sea of liquid metal that the two pirate captains were trapped in, that would wash them away from its source: the marine officer in their grasp. They'd feel it themselves, the sensation of self-loathing that Benjamin suppressed every day. They'd feel his Wrath. The creature in their grasp wasn't a man anymore, for a second that felt like an eternity, he'd be a monster.
Earlier, Benjamin had used the principles of Utsugi to send a shockwave into Gonbei. Now Benjamin was simply using the technique as intended, but on a much greater scale. Benjamin's muscles swelled, as if he had absorbed the kinetic energy from Gai's attack into his very being. The process was so sudden that it would be likely that Gonbei's grip on Benjamin's arm and neck would become nil, especially since they'd become so large that the Skylander wouldn't be able to wrap his hands around him anymore. And right after that, his size would return back to normal, as all the energy he had sunk into his cells was released.
"Tekkai Kenpo..." The words entered his mind. His fights with Zephyr, Tony Gray, and his previous altercation with Gai helped him prepare this particular technique, "...Kara Hodan-Ryu..." Tekkai "Utsugi" was a technique generally used only to absorb and redirect the kinetic energy of weaker moves in a specific spot, sending it back as a shockwave to strike internally. But this technique was much larger, much stronger. "...Hakugekiho!" It would explode from his person, a shockwave that would serve to not only push away the encroaching pirates, but rattle their insides. It would feel like an earthquake was happening inside their bodies, breaking bones and rupturing organs. Benjamin would still be feeling the pain from Gai's own attack, but he would hopefully at least be able to reward himself with a nice big breath of air.
The sensation... The rage... THE THRILL!
It was accumulating and happening right before his very eyes, with the clashing between himself and the other combatants having turned from a three-way brawl in one moment to having all their eyes set on the man of the law before them. Gonbei's own visage turned wider in ways that hadn't been the case for many years, with a combination of excitement and fear surging throughout his body as time almost appeared to stop upon witnessing the Colour of Kings taking shape from the man that had just moments ago been inside his grasp. Overshadowing his former allies' attempt at pummelling the two of them in one go with that water technique of his. Glancing over to the masked man for a moment whilst still keeping his grin wide with excitement before looking down at this trembling. It hadn't been the marine's attempts at slinking through his grip using strength alone, but rather the shock that had left his body feeling numb & a surging headache that just had him loose all thoughts of resisting Benjamin's will to free himself. "Not bad, you're m...!" Before even having time to do much else, Gonbei's Mantra began screaming at him like that of an animal being hunted, eyes were averted back to the marine and raising his arms up to protect himself by reflex from whatever it was the marine was conjuring. Yet it was to no avail as even a man of his posture and size couldn't help but being flung back, being able to use the surrounding air to resume a good footing, only to fall down to his knees, his hands clasping all throughout his body as if trying to tear out whatever it was that eating away at him. He'd feel a something swelling inside his chest, raising upwards and soon come throbbing against his throat, a hand being raised to his mouth as he started coughing as a response to which he'd paint the limb red as the sudden taste of iron now coated his tongue. Pulling the hand away to see the damage, the feeling of it dripping from his mouth.
Gai on the other hand was flung outwards, also attempting to shield himself but failing to do so in time. The force reminding him of his own, the effects certainly a taste of his own medicine. A loud cough blasted behind Gai’s mouth as soon as he was lifted backwards, the back of the mask catching the wind and whatever may had also come out of his mouth. With his feet in the air, the captain gritted his teeth and tried to curl into a ball, only to let out a loud gasp and scream as his back hit the side of a building, smashing through the brick and leaving a large cloud of dust in its wake. Gai disappeared within the confines of the structure, as not even the large hole he had created would give anyone looking through a sight of the captain. Seconds would pass after the crash as the eye of the battle shifted back between Gonbei and Benjamin, the Slaughter Pirate disappearing once again, though not on his own accord this time. Despite this, groans could be heard from inside, tightening sounds like rubber being twisted, and wood flooring being chipped by sharp points like a knife being scratched against the ground. As the dust cloud slowly disappeared, Gai’s grey mask could be seen laying on the ground just in front of the hole, smiling at whoever looked its way.
"W-what. Was. That?" An echoing voice groaned from inside.
For a moment there, the Sky Tyrant thought of his crew, smiling at the thought of devastating something like would've been to them. If he was going to be honest, the Haki alone would've knocked most of them out cold. And with this added to the mix? He alone would probably be left standing, maybe Wendell, but who could say. Hell. It would've been the death of Anasha for sure. But that's why he their Captain, why he alone stood at the top.
"That's cheating man..." Gonbei finally uttered as he stood back up, blood coating his lips as it formed in a teeth less grin, something inside him and indeed been punctured. He was still breathing and his heart was still beating, so it couldn't have been them. "But then again, compared to me, you both could very well be knocking on death's door." Lifting his hands to smack his chest, causing shock waves of air to spread across the air, showcasing that he was still kicking, ready & able whilst also empathising what he'd just drained from the two adversaries just prior to this. For a moment, Gonbei tried to spot the Captain of the Slaughter Pirates but he was nowhere to been seen, leaving only one problem to deal with for now. The wide smile with rows of teeths returned as the Skypiean suddenly stamped his foot against the earth beneath him, causing him a nifty headstart as a he began closing the distance between the himself and Benjamin. Yet even whilst doing so, Gonbei raised one of his hand forward and flick two of his fingers, firing off a bullet of compressed air aimed towards the marine's left leg. But that wasn't the only one as the thing was fired off towards the man's skull using his mouth, "Double... Atsuryoku Dangan!"
Benjamin began taking deep breaths, now that he was freed from Gonbei's technique. His attack had done the trick, but even so, he hadn't gotten out unscathed. He wiped a line of blood dripping from his mouth with his hand, glaring at Gonbei. "So much for honor among thieves," he thought to himself. Something was definitely broken, likely a few ribs, but he wouldn't let his opponent know that. He stood tall, not opening his mouth to show his own blood-stained teeth. Making it seem as though the attack, especially one so devastating, hadn't done a thing. He was just hoping he could take one of them out before it became too obvious that he was still feeling the pain. While Gai had disappeared, he'd remain wary of his environment, but kept his Kenbunshoku trained on the threat in front of him.
And as Gonbei bolted towards him, Benjamin stayed still. Or not so much still, as much as he stayed in one spot. Inside was where all the work was being done. He was still a novice in this particular skill, attempting to use it to set his bones and mitigate the pain, but it wasn't wholly effective, and it wouldn't negate the damage he had already been dealt, nor the stamina lost for that matter. Yet, even so, as he used it, his look of determination becoming even more pronounced as Gonbei barreled down on him, his skin seemed to get even harder. "Seimei-Kikan: Tekkai Bushin!"
His Kenbunshoku Haki had already notified him of Gonbei's intent, but his intent wasn't to dodge. It was never to dodge. The only way forward for him was through. The attack struck his leg wasn't much more than a strong gust of wind now. He felt it, it hurt, but he wouldn't move. The second one, aimed towards his skull, he moved his arm in the way, blocking that one from making contact. Seimei-Kikan was a martial art focused all around body modification, and it was something that paired exceptionally well with Rokushiki. Benjamin had essentially used it to not only stiffen his muscles, but every cell in his body, stifling even the shockwaves that could potentially travel inside his body. Of course, with such a technique being used it would become more difficult for him to move, even as a Tekkai Kenpo master, but that didn't matter very much when his _target was headed straight for him.
His technique that drained the air from his very lungs appeared to require a very close range to be able to use, and Gonbei had appeared to prefer close-range combat for quite a large portion of their battle. Should he follow through and stop right in front of him, Benjamin would be ready. His fist, coated in the black of his Busoshoku Haki would move in front of him like a freight train. Even with his slower movement speed, the power of this attack would only be amplified. Even if he somehow managed to stop it before it could make contact, the sheer kinetic force this attack would have behind it would send forth a shockwave to send Gonbei reeling. This blow was aimed right towards his face, and it was stronger than any punch Benjamin had used that day, by a large margin. He was about to show everyone how much he had advanced since his training had began. "Kokai Kenpo Jun Hagane!"
First there was a tinge, just like every other time, followed by the pulsating veins and finally the screaming sensation at the back of his head head telling him about the dangers lying ahead of him. Gonbei knew it all too well, his Mantra was telling him to dodge this or at the very least find a way to escape. It was the most logical option, to evade and come back for another swing. To dance around the ring of roses for that perfect opportunity to present itself before him -- be it by suffocating the marine and the Captain alongside with him or take a jab when they would both be occupied... But when was the last time he took orders from anyone, even his instincts? He was the Sky Tyrant, and carving his way to the top was the only option there was! Folding his thumb under his left hand as he came flying while the other one reached behind his back, Gonbei's left arm had the winds circle the very tips of his hand in a circular motion, wrapping around it to enhance its piercing capabilities to its utmost limit, becoming something akin to a knife or a drill. His voice suddenly bursting out in a loud declaring of rage as the man went in to strike Benjamin head on: "ARASHIYARI!!!" The veins inside his arm pulsating as it tensed up as he thrust his arm forward to intercept with the marine's own attack, despite having limbs that overshadowed that of his opponent in every way when looking at them, when the tip of his fingers met with that of the Benjamin's fist -- time almost appeared like it stopped between them. As if the world was having to buffer in order for it to calculate the outcome of it all. What occurred thereafter was the stuff of stories as the the explosion of force between the two users caused the very ground around them to form into a small crater within a moment's notice before the damage came through.
The explosion of force from the two's attacks colliding obscured the sounds of throwing and dropping of rubble and debris from within the building Gai had been thrown into. Once again, the battle's focus shifted back onto both Benjamin and Gonbei, the Slaughter Pirates' captain in the background preparing for his next approach. However, what emerged from the building wasn't a creature that Gonbei or Benjamin, nor anyone on the island except for the Slaughter Pirates themselves would recognise at a first glance. A creature that seemed to have seemingly gotten stronger since the last time it emerged in public view, a creature whose eyes stared directly at Benjamin with a raging fire within its pupils. The creature's body was much larger than Benjamin, muscles nearly as big as Gonbei, but with orange-red plates that armoured its upper body, leaving only its tanned, scarred stomach exposed to the sight. Its fingers opened and closed as it adjusted to its new form, its neck cracked from side to side and allowing the snaps to echo around it. With a final clench of its fists, spines extended out from its back and across the back of its arms as it looked at the conflict between the bird pirate and the iron marine. The creature started making its way behind Benjamin's position, leaping across its side of the battlefield to get into a more suitable location, the muscles in its legs like springs that sprung it forward effortlessly, leaving only a small dispersion of dust wherever it had lifted itself from.
This, thing, looked much stronger than the man that had been launched into the building it emerged from.
In an instant, the Skypiean's arm was flung backwards as the crackle of bones followed, his distorted face of gritted teeth and pain was making it all to obvious that the pain was impossible to perceive at a glance, making it a miracle that he was screaming out in pain at this time. If this was all he had going for him, then Gonbei had been a fool to think he'd be able to match up to Benjamin's combined defenses of both Haki & Tekkai. Yet then again... He'd never really been the kind of man to wait for an opportunity... No. He created his own! Still standing before the marine as Gonbei's attack had taken all of its power head on at the cost of his arm in this battle, it wasn't until now that most would realise that the Skypiean had pulled his other arm out again from behind his back whilst the other one had been flung back. Using the wind at his disposal to increase the speed of his movement to exceed anything showcased by Benjamin so far and even further as to make sure that he'd be able to pull this off, Gonbei hand reached out to the place it on the man's chest, which upon contact would spread the sensation of a shell-like item, an item still very much unknown to anyone unfamiliar with Skypiean culture. With a grin across his face, Gonbei would press the dial at the marine's chest and spark the sound of a light click across the air before the unleashing its devastating move.
"REJECT!"
Gritting his teeth as much as he was allowing himself to before ultimately letting out that long-awaited scream that deafened even sound of canons around them, coughing and covering his already dried-up blood with new layers of crimson paint as he did, his entire limb trembling sporadically. From the dial itself a shockwave took form, Gonbei had finally created the moment he had been waiting for as he released the same "Kalamidad" that the Captain of the Slaughter Pirate had displayed previously.It had been months since now since their fight together, but even from back then, Gonbei had made sure to keep this one stored up just in case. Though he had honestly been hoping to use it at a latter date... But knowing full well that had an opportunity like this would be hard to pass up seeing the damage all the fighters had accumulated to this point, as well adding the speed difference between himself and Benjamin at this moment in time. The marine was something alright, seeing as he was still standing after displaying the Colors of a King, being suffocated and bombarded, all in the same of a few seconds. Benjamin was a tough nut to crack, but if he had been struggling against Gai's first attack, imagine the results it would have when it came back at him with ten times of its original power, all concentrated across the man's chest with all those precious vitals just pulsating and waiting underneath it.
The creature did its own part and landed several feet behind the marine, catching itself from falling and moving too far by holding the ground and sliding into place. Landing on one knee to quickly switch its other arm upwards and to help quickly tilt its upper-body aligned with the ground, the creature pulled back both its arms with their hands open before breathing in deeply in coordination with Gonbei's use of the dial. With all the strength the creature could muster, both arms fired around towards the front of the creature from both their respective sides, speeding towards the front and allowing both their palms to meet in a violent collision much like how Benjamin and Gonbei's attacks had met mere moments ago. The creature gritted its teeth as it forcefully flung its arms together, but the force of the attack was more than worth it.
A great shockwave erupted around the creature with an ill intent to crush and throw, the force within this burst being a deadly warning too late for those that were caught in its range. Its force was intense, violent and strong enough to rival what kind of force was released from the dial that Gonbei had stored at the profound strength it erupted with. The very air shivered and wobbled around the creature as its clap let out a terrifying blast of force around its position, as if scared of what had happened by the creature alone. Now, it wasn't just Gonbei attacking Benjamin with his own empowered 'Sakuna', backed up by a same levelled 'Kalamidad'. Now, there another Kalamidad coming from behind the marine, aimed at sandwiching and crushing the marine between the two colliding forces. Whatever direction Benjamin wanted to go, he'd find that the incoming shockwaves would still meet due to the grand sizes they erupted at, closing in mere seconds to secure the marine where he stood.
"Drop dead," The creature said to itself in a disgusted voice, a voice very similar to Gai's.
Benjamin's Kenbunshoku Haki was going crazy, even as he demolished Gonbei's arm, his sixth sense screamed at him the danger that was coming, from both in front and behind. Haki began to coat his torso, as much as he could muster to cushion the blow. It was true that Gonbei could move faster than Benjamin in this instance, but that didn't mean he could move faster than Benjamin could stiffen his muscles. His body hardened, so much so that he couldn't even move from the spot. There was no point trying to dodge, he had to take it. "Kokai! Gou!" And then the force of two Reject Dials struck him from within.
If he hadn't used his Seimei Kikan to tense his body, the attack would've done even more damage, but even so, he felt his bones crack from the pressure. Blood flowed from his mouth as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He felt his consciousness slipping away. And as he did, he remembered.
He remembered Avery tearing out his abdomen.
He remembered Zephyr pulverizing him before running away.
He remembered Joan lightning him on fire and Gray drumming against his chest.
He remembered Gai getting away.
He remembered being plunged into shadows by Ephraim.
He remembered being brought to the ground by Kujira.
But most importantly, he remembered this:
"You will never be faster than some enemies, and your Haki may never become attuned enough so that you can hide your movements. Focus on what you're good at. You are strong and sturdy, and your stamina is great. Goad your opponent into making the first move, make them hit you first, place them in a situation where they cannot retreat. And then, when your enemy is realizing that they've made a mistake, bring them down..."
"And if you can't take it, then send it right back at them."
Benjamin's eyes rolled back, taking a step on the ground as he pivoted sideways. The single step caused a miniature earthquake, not from the force of Benjamin's own step, but from the discharge of energy he had sent into the ground. He had sunk as much kinetic energy into his body as possible, as he did before, but it was still too much, the discharge had been an attempt to minimize the damage to his own person, allowing him to take in just a little bit more force, while also forcing his opponents' to stumble, just a little bit.
Each of his arms faced one of the pirate captains, his fingers outstretched like the points of a spear, coated in a thick layer of Haki to further enhance the power of the attack he was about to send their way. "Kokai Kenpo! Kara Hodan-Ryu! Ryoto! It wasn't the exact same amount of power Gai and Gonbei had unloaded onto him, it had still overwhelmed his defenses, even with his previous discharge, but this was much more concentrated, flowing out of his body like a river. But the power of erosion this river possessed would weather a boulder in less than a second, not over several years. This river was a blade, aimed to pierce right through the torsos of both pirate captains. Benjamin could only hope that this did the trick, the internal shockwaves he sent into them both, the more minor injuries with his punches and Rankyaku, and even the recoil of their own techniques. If it even just took one of them out, it might be enough for his allies to win the day. This was his last attack.
That smile, that god damn smile. Despite the pain, the grit and all of this mayhem. The Sky Tyrant had it plastered across his face, even as the dried blood seared his lips and fresh scarlet red painted his white teeth. Why wouldn't he have? In his mind there was no doubt of what the outcome of all of this would have been. The thrill of battle could hardly have been compared to that of his rebellion, but it certainly a lot better than what he had anticipated.
So that smile had lingered. Up until now.
As Gonbei lost his footing just moments after his Reject Impact had made full contact with the marine before, his grin faded with every moment that passed as he could feel the danger coming for him. Yet his wings were no longer there to give him flight, his feet had no footing and one arm being no longer operational... The desperate attempt from Benjamin was freighting as the Skypeian didn't have time to think of his next more or the next one after that. He simply had to act! Dropping the shell that had presumably played the key role in this entire battle to the ground, Gonbei in his desperation to defend himself reached back with the open palm of his hand. He had not been trained enough in the art of Busoshoku from Gai to act on it as second nature so the Captain did not even coat it. He did all he really could -- wind swirled around his hand as the giant man's limb as it reached back towards his chest. Gracing the black coated arm on the way as it swung by before his open palm laid bare as the only thing defending his organs from that of the marine's attack. Benjamin's strike would pierce through the centre of his hand with ease, and barely letting the Captain steer the blade away as the tip of it cut just below the man's shoulder and the collar bone before making its way on towards the other end. Piercing what could only be the shoulder blade, Gonbei could only scream out as blood would once again gush from his mouth as the shock of it all travelled across the insides of his body. With seemingly no options laid before him, Gonbei's would force his already pierced hand down the length of blade before finally grabbing onto the marine's own -- using whatever strength the Skypiean could muster to prevent Henry from simply slicing his hand & upper torso a new one.
Having done just so, the arrogance of the pirate would return as evident by his smile yet again as he had now effectively locked the marine into place with no where to go. Benjamin had spent too much of his energy, taken too much damage. The Sky Tyrant would make sure that he wouldn't be leaving here with his say so either. "Close one! But not close enough!" Gonbei screamed out even as he had barely been able to regain his footing. Taking another deep breath, the Skypiean recreated the same scene from before in which he would once again drain the air from Benjamin's lungs as to finally to put an end to this fight. The world around him was already spinning... Getting clouded... Any voices surrounding him would turn on deafened ears as all he could really do now was to hope that it was all enough.
The creature on the other hand may had not been so fortunate, as though they had its shell, it needed more than a shell to weather down a hit as powerful as Benjamin's. It's first instinct was to curl up forward, making the parts of its body where shell covered act as a shield to the force of the blow. The blow tore threw its defense, no blood leaving their body until a few seconds after when a collection of chitin, flesh and blood splurted out the back from where the attacked exited. Through its arm and just through its shoulder, the attack left a sizeable hole and wound in both the creature's left wrist and his shoulder. The creature remained standing in confusion, the adrenaline rushing through its body before it realised what happened, a realisation that dropped it to its knee and bite its lip in an effort to not howl in pain. It held the hole in its shoulder with its good, right arm, eyes closed and head tilted forward as it tried to concentrate on itself and itself alone.
"...Birdman. H-hold him," the creature groaned, "Make sure he doesn't, escape."
The creature shook its head with its eyes shooting open, mind concentrated on the ground around it, its body quickly shifting and twisting underneath the skin the longer it stared. Where blood seemed to drip out of, muscles pushed together to allow new skin to form over, momentarily enlarging and pushing against one another like two tumours. At least from what could be seen on its wrist which was exposed for everyone to see. The muffled clicking and crunching of bone could be heard from within the arm, with the same noises and motions going on within its shoulder. Gai was healing, but to an extent he never had to before. It was as if he was fighting another battle entirely, sweat dripping down its scalp and mixing with the blood that laid on its torso, a conflict it had to see through if it wanted to live or make it off the island.
"...Y'know our fight back when we first met birdman?" The creature asked, momentarily looking up to Gonbei with a long gasp for air, "I don't think I fully healed from that. I-I'm gonna need a couple days off before we move on to the next island."
That familiarity. Was only a familiarity that could come from Gai.
This was it. Benjamin couldn't move anymore. His muscles were still so tight from his usage of Seimei Kikan that he couldn't fall, but his defeat had been ensured. "Dammit!" he thought to himself. He couldn't speak as the air began to get sucked out of his lungs. "Dammit! I'm still not strong enough!" His last hurrah was enough to put them in critical states, but even then, they stayed standing. His vision began to blur, his consciousness was fading. No reinforcements in sight. They were going to kill him.
A roar shook the sands of the beach. Strong, powerful, regal, it was the roar of a king. So strong that, if only for an instant, the pirates, and even Benjamin (if he were capable of moving that is), would find themselves paralyzed in place. It was infrasound, a wavelength of sound used by tigers when they roared, capable of paralyzing their prey. But it wasn't a tiger that was here.
He swooped in, still in his battle form. Blood dripped from his fur from his earlier battle, notable scratches and scars from his battle with Moxie. He hadn't managed to finish the fight, but had certainly left his mark on the giant dog. After all, he was a Battle Cat, the amalgamation of the most positive traits of all feline species. He had the roar and strength of the tiger, the digging skill of the sand cat, the survival skills of the pallas cat, the fangs and climbing skill of the clouded leopard, the swimming ability of the jaguar, and the balance of the house cat. And on top of that, he had all of the abilities common amongst all feline species, but enhanced in a body with hardy fur like armor. This was Cringer.
He leapt through the air, paw held back as he sent it forward, a kind of attack known to be capable of killing bears. But even then, his attack only had one purpose: get him away from Benjamin.
Seeing... No, feeling the victory at hand, it was almost too good to be true at this point for the Captain of the Redwing Pirates, feeling the blade that had pierced his hand and body fading from view and touch. It was invigorating all on its own! And yet, even with this newfound hope, something was bound to ruin it all. Hearing a muffled screech, eyes peeling as he turned towards it, Gonbei could no longer rely on his bodily senses for whatever it was that now came for him, or rather Benjamin. Turning his chances at survival to the only thing he could truly rely on at this point, focusing on the teachings and usage of Mantra for an answer — it screamed right back at him to get away. To move!
Gritting his teeth as his body moved like that of a cornered animal relying on its instincts to survive, Gonbei released his grip on the defeated marine and shoved his hand towards him. Not in hopes of budging the man before him, but to use that "wall" as a spring mechanic to propel himself back. In doing so, even if could barely see or hear the creature before him, he could feel the wind of its claw swooping past him. Saving the Skypiean the trouble of yet another battle scar, and better yet, perhaps even life. Instead the giant of a man would fall back, disrupting his continued attempts at choking the air from the marine's lungs, and on towards the crater that was their battlefield. The shriek of pain that followed as his cracked shoulder-blade, tortured wings and mangled arm slammed into the ground, all at the same time, it was enough to have his mind and body go into overload. Gonbei didn't scream, he couldn't, just cascade of twitching movements and groans as his body was trying to process it all. It was all too much at once.
Gai on the other hand could well and truly see the cat headed their way, his eyes glanced back and forth between Benjamin and the cat before the Slaughter Pirate decided to curl himself forward with the armour that was left, hoping it would have been enough to protect him as he continued repairing his body. Gai gritted his teeth and whispered at the wounds on his body in a harsh, sharp tone, as if prompting them vocally to hurry up. There was no choice for him: With Gonbei giving up hold of the marine they had defeated, and a new enemy coming in, Gai had the choice of fighting or healing. Their fight was exhausting, with wounds that took time for Gai to fix up before he could return to the battlefield.
They were so close.
Close to finishing off the marine where he knelt, and taking home a trophy from a man that Gai had all but ill feelings towards. Oh how the head of Benjamin would have looked above a fireplace as a mantlepiece. Another obstacle out of Gai's way as he headed towards New World. Gai cursed to himself on the missed opportunities, and everything that was robbing him of his rightful kill. Gai looked up and braced for the cat, as he proceeded in a defence stance where all his armour was held in front to act as a shield against the charging beast. While noone could see him behind his armour, Gai smiled before letting out a loud, sharp whistle ring through the devastated city streets.
"Where are you boy," Gai mumbled to himself.
Cringer could smell him coming, the massive dog that had nearly taken his eye out. Not knowing what Gai's plan was, Cringer crouched down circling around Benjamin, making sure the injured pirate captains wouldn't get the chance to harm his friend.
Benjamin looked at Cringer, his vision blurry, but the cat's aura being read loud and clear. "Cringer..." he mumbled, "...thank you."
The Battle Cat seemed to nod as he continued to growl and snarl. Should anyone make a move on Benjamin, he'd since his darkened teeth into any pirates that tried to finish him off. His saber-teeth and razor-sharp claws had been coated in Seastone, the hardest material on the planet. Should anyone be struck by such an attack, it would surely pierce through any armor they may have had.
Still laying with his back against the ground as his body was still screaming in pain from all the wounds, whispering or cursing beneath his breath as Gonbei's pierced hand could be seen clawing through the mixture of dirt and stone laying around him. Enclosing his hands caused the earth to break and tear a path in its wake, leaving clear markings as his limb travelled across its surface. It wasn't until the Skypiean's fingers touched the bag by his side and start rummaging inside that it'd literally "click" that he had actually been looking for something. And as the muffled, yet familiar sound from one of the Captain's dials would notify the surrounding beings of its pressence, a much, much louder tone would ring through the air as the recorded sound of a blowing horn would cause the surrounding vicinity to vibrate due to the base behind it as it echoed throughout most of the island...
As the sound died out and silence would creep in to take its place among them, the faint whispers from Gonbei would heard to anyone listening, "S-seeennn.... Yo...rune..." With each passing moment, each frantic spasm or violent twitch would die down little by little from the Captain. A bold move from the man given his situation, one that could not have been taken without some sort of precaution.
"HAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA."
The maniacal laughter of a mad man rang out throughout the sky from a speaker on the Redwing's Flying ship, as if it was the Golden Icarus that was laughing itself. The airship halted its reign of fire on the city below and began to move, letting out a loud below that shook the area it passed over. It's sails fluttered in the wind, yet its dark hull matched the clouded sky of smoke to blend in like a chameleon, going unnoticed by appearance but certainly not sound. It inched closer and closer to where Gai, Gonbei, Cringer and Benjamin were, with the heavy whirring of mechanical cannons screeching in the back of everyone's ears. Whirring that stopped when many of the cannons on the Golden Icarus' hull was pointed directly at the big cat now between Gai and Gonbei. A heavy clicked followed after, with a warning shot fired off from the front most cannon, having sent a cannon ball flying towards the group, seemingly towards Cringer's position. The cannonball flew over everyone's head and into the water, creating a large and loud splash that sent water onto the platform, semi flooding it to a point where no-one's steps could go unheard. Heads popped up from the sides of the Golden Icarus, looking down to witness the reason that the ship had suddenly moved from one spot to the other.
"YOU IDIOT. WHAT IF THAT CAT'S ONE OF OURS." A female voice could be heard over the speakerphone.
"I DON'T REMEMBER US BRINGING OUT A CAT DURING ONE OF THE PAST RAIDS. KILL, KILL, KILL!" The same voice that laughed over the speakerphone from before responded. "LEAVE OUR CAPTAIN ALONE OR I'M SINKING THIS ENTIRE CITY! HAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!"
"...I'm having second thoughts about trusting that man," Gai whispered to himself.
"They're on the move, now's our chance to get the Captain. He's badly wounded, can't you go any faster before moving on to the others?!" Anasha spoke out, even as she found herself clutching onto one of the wooden bannisters on deck whilst the other clinging onto the scaled woman of the Mirror Pirates, as they descended closer. Her hair fluttering in the wind, obscuring her vision from time to time as she turned to speak into a small den-den mushi held by Nero. "And yes Wendell, that includes Kaeda! The Captain still needs our Quartermaster and you know that!"
"FUCK KAEDE! WE'RE HERE FOR GONBEI AND NO-ONE ELSE!" Wendell screamed.
Cringer snarled once again. Even though the pirate captains were on their last legs, he wasn't sure if he would be able to take on an entire ship and the crew that manned it by himself, let alone while trying to protect Benjamin. He had only one option. He ran into Benjamin, placing his master on his back. Claws elongating, he began sprinting with the speed of a cheetah, headed back towards the city, back towards the marines, back towards their allies. The pirates would pay for their actions some day, but for now, Benjamin had to be saved.
As the frantic breathing slowed down and became heavier with each gasp of air, Gonbei could only really tilt his head and watch for a moment as the marine and his pet was starting to make their retreat. Then his strength would give in as evident by the small thud that followed as his head found itself leaning back down against the stone floor. The only sight before him would then be the passing visage of canonballs, fired from his great golden plaza, causing a sense of relief to wash over the Redwing Captain despite how bad the situation might appear given who was at the helm. Just the way he liked it.
"_target THE BIG CAT! CANNONS AWAY! HAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA!!!" Wendell's maniac screams continued in the air through the loudspeaker.
As Cringer began to move away, several cannonballs fired off in its direction, spread out to obstruct and increase the chance of striking the giant beast. Each sound of cannon fire as loud as thunder as they blasted out from the ship and towards the dock where the leaders of the factions had fought. The same cannonfire that had brought down the outer edges of the city, was now pointed towards a singular _target. To continue moving was a risk. To stand still was an even bigger risk. But the risk nonetheless came from the fact that a madman had command over an airborne battleship, capable of levelling a city when he so damned wished. A madman, who at that moment, wanted one thing and one thing only: Gonbei.
"BOOM. BOOM. BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" He said, his voice mimicked the cannonfire as they fired off simultaneously from one another.
Cringer was running, dodging and weaving. His enhanced senses and great speed didn't make it particularly difficult to dodge the fire from one cannon, even when fired from behind him, but it was the large amount of cannons that made things difficult. He bobbed and weave, dodged as best he could. And then it happened. As he leaped in the air to dodge one cannonball, a second when landed right underneath his stomach, exploding and launching him into the air. He was generally unharmed, but Benjamin was thrown from his back, landing on the ground with a thud and a grunt. Cringer roared as he ran to Benjamin, hoping to scoop him up and keep running before any harm came to him.
"Air door."
And with those words, the creaking sound of an old door would spread across the vicinity as the translucent shape of a large gate with a luminescent crack at its centre, befitting to those you'd see at the property of mansions. At first its doors would slowly unfold to reveal a mirrored world of emerald colours, but with the voice of a monstrous roar following thereafter — the gates would fling open and a monstrous being matching the size of the Skypeian Captain with jagged teeth and a sun-lit eyes would spew forth and step in the way of the oversized cat.
Behind the beast now emerged several more figures from the open gates, one-eyed dogs accompanied by several individuals whom each clad in blue and purple with blonde hair, that wasted no time in having most of them circulating the wounded Marine as others moved to restrain him.
"Apologies, Rear Admiral-san. But my allies wouldn't want you to get away that easily." The voice came from a women with the long pony-tail, one of the three that was also making sure to keep Benjamin from slipping away, the other two being a masked man and one with slicked back hair. Surrounding them was another five figures very much like them, all the while the smaller creatures would support the abomination that was now holding off Cringer. Though not outright stated, it was safe to assume that this was indeed the last pirate crew that had joined up in this mess, the so far obscured Mirror Pirates had finally emerged... At least to their knowledge.
"B-BENJAMIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!" Atop one of the remaining, damaged buildings, was Samuel Axe. A lower-ranked Marine, and an underling of Henry Benjamin himself. Aside from the shaky tone of his screaming voice, his eyes revealed emotion unlike any other. Their golden color, the way they widened, both of them showcased his fears, and before him, those fears were about to become a reality. Logan and Axe had split up, the latter deciding to go assist Benjamin as best as he could while Logan would rendezvous with the other Marines before coming to assist them as well.
On his arms, Axe carried an unconscious Kaede, cuffs attached to her arms. Their fight had been a perilous one, so much that both him and her were injured. Gashes could be seen across both their clothes and their skin, though it seemed that by now the blood had dried. His legs were heavy, and his arms grew weak, yet Axe carried on and on, still having both strength and determination.
Four blades, two on each side of his waist, were strapped on to his figure, yet that didn't seem to bother Axe at all. Under his pants, the veins of his legs bulged tremendously, the ground underneath his feet cracking, as he exploded near instantly.
"Soru!"
Ten. Twenty. Thirty. It was impossible to know how many steps were taken by Axe in that single moment, but whatever the number had been, it caused his legs to nearly break from the impact, but it was pain he could withstand for his leader. Axe blasted in Benjamin's direction near instantly, all dust, stone and gravel reaching the skies as he landed like a meteor, just when the figures begun to grab him. Thankfully, the cannonball firing had stopped, as Axe felt to his knees.
"P-please...don't...take him! Please..." He said amidst many breaths, one of his eyes closed. "I'll do...anything..."
Out of all the pirates before him, only the man wearing red shades and standing the furthest away from Benjamin and the others had looked up to lay witness to the young marine's descent, until the impact that was. Seeing, no. Feeling the ground beneath them tremor as part of it shattered as moss and rocks scattered around them, causing ripples of wind to follow as small crackles took shape underneath the marine.
The clanking of steel and sound of scrambling flintlocks followed thereafter as two of the pirates closest to the new arrival, a woman with short, scruffy hair & a pony-tailed man, drew their swords whilst all but one of the others had pulled out their pistols and taken aim. Yet it was a mess, a juggle, when looking at them... The ones closest to Benjamin had their weapons directed towards Axe whilst still starring and pinning down the Rear Admiral, all the while the others did the exact opposite — All but the man in the shades who had his gun directed at the young marine and a woman with her lids shut, whose hair was also being tied up but far messier and shorter than her counterparts.
"There just had to be someone playing the Hero or the Trickster... Tch." Riddler spoke out first.
"And where there is one..." The sword wielding woman, Wanderer, followed thereafter.
"..there might be other liars like him." Ruler of the Gallows finished their sentence, opening her eyes to reveal a vacant landscape that held no iris, pupils or blood vessels of any kind, of whose hollow sight turned to gaze at Axe. Even in their emptiness, her sockets seemed fixated and not only the marine but the one he carroed. In which the hounds, if you could even call them that, ceased their growls and stopped in their tracks for a moment before each of them turned towards the woods and began running into it, separating each other from the flock as they did.
"...."
"Maybe it's not worth the risk after all." The Blind Guest, the cloaked figure with the golden skull mask finally spoke out, only to advert his flintlock from the young marine and lower it towards the Rear Admiral next to him. Pulling the safety back, causing small, green sparks to fly from its jaw screw, before pressing it up against Benjamin's temple.
Cringer gnashed his teeth and snarled at the monster before him. His master, his friend, was under threat, and there wasn't anything more he could do about it.
Benjamin laid on the ground, a gun against his head. Despite his fatigue, despite his injuries, he still glared at the man who dared point their weapon towards him, like he thought his gaze alone would make him drop dead. "What are you waiting for?" he said.
"Don't!" Axe called out once more, his lungs attempting to catch up to his voice. He still held Kaede in his arms, the shock allowing him to almost seemingly ignoring the chaos going around them. The ones that held their swords near Benjamin and himself, as well as the ones that held on to them. This was probably the worst scenario for the Marines, or at least for Axe. His eyes specifically focused on the one that pressed his gun against Benjamin's head.
"I-I don't know who you guys are, but please...don't shoot. I-I'll do anything you want, I promise!" Axe gulped whatever saliva he had left, eyes narrowing. "Look at me! Properly look at me! Does it seem like I'm lying?!" Axe called out, his steely gaze remaining unmoving. "I've come to you, in a situation where both of us can lose our lives, where you can take Kaede from me, and I'm on my knees, defenseless. I'm not lying!"
Silence took root at Axe's outburst before the pirates surrounding him, the flintlock still pressing up against Benjamin's skull but no shots fired as of yet. The masked figured starred back at the Rear Admiral that laid beneath him with eyes that seemed... Odd. Out of place. What would otherwise be just be sockets blank space because of the skull façade that they wore, something was indeed gazing back at the marine but it would also feel like there was more than just one set of eyes glaring through them.
"It would not be right of me to leave here empty handed. Got to prove my worth to the others after all." The Blind Guest spoke out, still refraining from taking his eyes off the tenacious Rear Admiral before he continued speaking. "I should just kill all of you and get back to the others. Our job here is done after all."
"Yet I'm not one to back away from a deal." The man in the red shades continued the conversation this time, only to followed by yet another as he averted his eyes to their surrounding, or more specifically in the direction from where the Redwing Pirates had landed their vessel.
It was the Wanderer that took over, sheathing her blade as she started approaching the kneeling Marine. "So how about it? You hand over the Half-Mink. And you drink this vial for me." As the woman placed the weapon inside its scabbard, she would then grab one of three vials strapped at the side of her belt and shake its content as Wanderer now stood before Axe. The liquid held no particular color to it, if it anything, it looked like regular water. "Of course I won't tell you what it's meant to do... But I'll be honest and say that it's still in its experimental phase so who knows... It might just end be a mild headache."
"Do it or I might just as well have you all die here and I find other uses for your bodies... Especially one a tough as this." Finally, it was back to The Found sitting on top of the Rear Admiral and restraining him alongside the other two. Finishing her sentence by having a pink bubble sprout from her lips before making a loud "pop" as she went on to continue chewing her bubble gum.
Axe looked at Kaede, she'd been a criminal, but Axe felt little animosity towards her. Their fight had been as swordsmen first and pirates second. In fact, he almost felt bad about capturing her, and so, with a glance at the Rear Admiral, and another look at vial, he quickly nodded.
"I-I accept! As long as you don't touch the Rear Admiral!"
"Good choice." The woman looming over the marine responsed before uncorking the vial, reaching out for Axe to grab it.
"Drink that first and put the Redwing Pirate down. Once you've done that, you can take the Rear Admiral and leave." As the Wanderer was talking, the woman that was chewing a bit of bubblegum reached down to Benjamin whilst he was still being pinned down, pulling out a knife that was being strapped onto her leg and proceeded to grab onto the man's scalp. Only to lean in closer and slice off a few strands of his hair, not expecting any retaliation by the looks of things.
Axe looked confused, he wanted to attack them, especially seeing as they went to grab Benjamin, though a sigh of relief escaped him once she had only taken his hair. Usually, he'd retaliate, but he wasn't in any position to negotiate. Slowly placing Kaede on the ground, Axe grabbed on to the vial, drinking it in one fell swoop without much thought. "God, that's disgusting..."
"Your input is noted." The scruffy haired woman replied. And as if a chain reaction had been struck as soon as the pirate(s?) demands had been met, each of the Mirror Pirates would move their bodies un synergy to one another. Each taking a step back from the marines as the Wanderer would lean down to grab ahold of the unconscious Half-Mink, whilst the pony-tailed woman would finish putting the Rear Admiral's hair strands in a vial of her own.
A luminescent light cracked through the air as once again, the outline of a gate would appear and open before them. Revealing a mirrored world of their own with wavy patterns and green lit lights from every corner inside. Waiting on the other end was a hooded figure, their obscured enough to the point of making it difficult to even spot their gender. The only thing that was certain was they too belonged to the Mirror Pirates as streaks of blonde hair would peak from underneath their purple and blue cloak.
Howling in the distance, the one-eyed monsters that had scattered across the island was making their way back, passing both the pirates and the marines before making their way into the gate. Some of which were notably more roughed up and littered in crimson colours from mere moments ago, one of two could even be spotted with limbs hanging from their jaws. Following thereafter was the Mirror Pirates, with just three of them keeping their eyes on marines as they were leaving with Kaeda and vials in hand. Once entered, they all kept moving along that conjured world of their with the exception of the one carrying the red shades who stopped just at the entrance.
"Right then, I'll keep in touch... Marine-kun~" And with those last words, an ear screeching roar followed as the large beast that had been holding off Cringer now came charging towards the gate — and only once passed would the doors start to close. The Mirror Pirate making sure to keep his eyes on the blonde marine and in superior for the entire duration before he and the rest of the Mirror Pirates would disappear from view, along with any sense of their pressence with them.
The Approaching Storm
Axe fell on to the ground instantly, his legs finally giving up. He'd drink their vial, lose the one they had captured, a feeling of failure rose through him, creeping slowly. He turned his head to the side, seeing the face of the Rear Admiral, the man who believed in him, and who likewise, he'd believe in.
"Well...I'm glad that's done at least..."
Cringer laid on the ground behind Benjamin, still in his Battle Form. He purred, which was strange for a creature of his size, content with Benjamin being back by his side, laying against him upright as he panted. Still drenched in his own sweat and blood, many bones cracked. The taste of iron was still all over his tongue. Despite all that, he had been conscious, conscious for all of it. But he was simply too weak to speak up then.
"Axe..." he managed to squeeze out, "why did you do that...? They're pirates... they're under no obligation... to do as you ask..."
"I-I know Benjamin sir….but if I didn't, they would've harmed you…I'm…I'm okay with receiving any punishment you deem necessary! I'm just glad you're okay." Axe replied.
Benjamin let out a long sigh. "Don't pull... anything like that again... next time... we keep all our prisoners..." He began to cough, Cringer rubbing his head against Benjamin's as he began to calm himself. "Get me... to a medic..."
"W-what? B-but sir...they were...about to kill you..." Axe exclaimed.
"Next time..." Benjamin continued, "we won't... be in this situation... and if we are... put the mission first... The lives of the many... outweigh... the few..."
Axe's brows furrowed. "W-with all due respect sir...there was no reason for you to die in that situation! T-those pirates got Kaede back, and they l-left right?!"
"And what's... to stop them... from coming back?" Benjamin coughed again. Blood streamed down the sides of his mouth. Cringer's concern seemed to worsen. He made several sounds at Axe, trying his best to convey his concern to the young man.
"I..." Axe looked down, he knew Benjamin was right, but he couldn't bring himself to make that choice. "I don't know...y-you're right, sir...I should've fought to the very end...but...." Axe's throat felt dry, memories resurfacing, of a time before he'd join the Marines....
"D-dad! I-I want to be just like you when I grow up!" A young Axe said, a wooden katana in hand, he was one of the few students of the on the village.
A man, wearing a darkened suit, amidst the many kimonos, with blonde hair much like the boy's own, merely looked back at the child. "Hm? Like me? Why's that?" He stood at the dojo's entrance, a suitcase in hand.
"B-because…y-you're awesome! And you help the world right?! A-as a government agent?" Axe asked.
"I suppose…that's…true. Look Axe, Dad's going to leave for sometime…h-helping the world and all. I want you to be good to your mother, and listen to what your brother has to say, alright?" His father said.
"W-what?! Again?! Aww…well…as long as you're helping people…" Axe replied, tears in his eyes.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Dante, take care of him, you know what to do…" He said to an elder boy, one with silver hair, he simply nodded, a "tch" escaping his lips.
The man walked out, and that was the last time. The last time, Samuel Axe, ever saw his father….
Axe gulped, his throat dry. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE ME, SIR! IF ANYONE'S LIFE SHOULD'VE BEEN AT RISK, IT SHOULD'VE BEEN MINE!"
Benjamin continued to wheeze. "Don't think like that... you're life is too precious to me... Now, if you feel the same way about mine... please... get me to... a medic..."
"O-oh, yeah, medic, medic!"
And Axe and Cringer took him back to the city. The buildings had been ravaged, along with the island itself, but there was victory to be had in all this rubble. The officers were safe, with only Benjamin being injured to such a degree, and, even more importantly, the people were safe. Many marines had died during the invasion, some in fear, some in bravery, but they had done their duty all the same. They had not managed to capture the pirates, they had escaped, but in their hearts, they had won.
"L-LET ME AT HIM!"
"ALFHILD. ALFHILD! WHERES THE FIRST MATE!?"
Cries of fury heard from within the captain's quarters of the Wildest Hunt shook the ship to its core, sounds of a weary but determined soul still wanting to fight, still wanting to kill. Several members of the Slaughter Pirates held their captain down onto his bed, who kicked and pulled in an effort to break free. Even after his fight, the several tens of men holding Gai down with rope still showed terrified and exhausted faces as they tried their best to hold the Fish-man down. The ropes tightened with loud stretches, on the verge of giving way and snapping if any more pull back was forced onto the binds. Everytime Gai had managed to pull up a leg or an arm, several men were there to pull it back down, making sure to have slammed his limb back into the mattress. The cushioning didn't held Gai in his struggle against his crew, with a non-solid support, he was fighting twice the battle.
"HOW. HOW COULD THEY NOT GET SACRAMENTUM BACK. I'LL KILL THOSE MARINES. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM-"
The door to the quarters slammed open and out stepped Alfhild in her bloodied attire, having finished her battle with Armondo and Maiya back on Kikoto. Her breathes were heavy, and her body was slightly limped as she stumbled out the door and towards the mattress. Blood had sprayed onto her face and hair evenly, having coated the silky blonde strands in thick, clumpy blood that dripped off with every step she took forward. It was as if she had stepped out of a massacre, a massacre she had to breathe and taste the whole journey back from the ruined city to the ship. The looks on the pirates faces were just as horrified by her looks as to the rage induced being that they tried to hold down. If it wasn't for the head of Maiya swinging by her waist on a piece of cord she strung up through her belt and through the decapitated head's nose, it would have looked like a normal day for Alfhild. Ever step echoed within the room, matching the volume of Gai's cries before a loud schwing of a sword leaving its sheathe rang out in everyone's ears. Alfhild's own sword raised from her side and pointed towards Gai, who held back his screeches and breathed heavily through his teeth. Both looked at eachother with irritation, pity and hate.
"...Was it worth it? Captain?" Alfhild asked in a sharp, room-volume tone.
"Speak up. I can't hear you with all that blood in your mouth, bitch," Gai spat back, his chest puffed and deflated in quick succession.
Without missing a beat, Alfhild sped forward to point the tip of her rapier even closer to Gai's neck, leaning forward so that both captain and first mate could stare into one another's eyes. "I said; was it worth it? Captain?"
"...Oh yeah, it was fucking worth it," Gai said as he tried to fight back a smirk, "But we didn't finish on time."
Gai tried to pull his arm over towards the inside of his coat, but several men were quick to yank his arm back into position, flopping it back onto the bed and causing Gai to sigh through his nose in annoyance. "Took us ten minutes over the deadline to get back to the ship. You especially. All because of that stupid negotiation."
"A negotiation for that mink girl," Alfhild added.
"WHO CARES. WHAT ABOUT SACRAMENTUM. HE MAY SAIL WITH THEM, BUT HE'S STILL ONE OF US," Gai quickly followed up, "That half-weasel better have been worth it. We lost too many men out there. TOO MANY."
"And what? You were expecting that a full crew would have walked away unharmed against a town filled with marines?"
"I WAS EXPECTING US TO BE BETTER," Gai screamed back, his head flinging forward with the surface of his neck barely kissing the tip of Alfhild's sword.
"The islands we attacked from the moment this damned alliance started to today weren't on the scale of today's size. There were more civilians than marines on those islands, they were barely enough as training, captain," Alfhild assured as she pulled herself back and sheathed her sword, "Maybe if we released the Damned, then maybe we would have lost less men."
"We're keeping the Damned locked in this ship, you understand? They can't see the light of day anymore," Gai ordered as he rested his head back onto the bed.
Alfhild raised her eyebrow at the captain's demand, confused as to such an order that seemed back different to that of Gai of old. The Damned were his trusted guard, seemingly invincible monsters that ate at whatever their captain needed eaten, with an ability to rip and shred their prey as people do with paper. Their ears only for the captain and the captain alone. To force them isolation was a strange order, especially when one is isolating their guarding force. However, as the captain's coat shifted from side to side, Alfhild spotted a bite mark on his upper leg, a bit mark that seemed to have sunk in deep enough to show the flesh underneath Gai's tanned skin. Alfhild's breathes began to draw slowly, her eyes slightly widened at the sight before her. There were no words for this but an understanding silence from the first mate, a silence she took as a queue to leave the captain to whatever he was fated for the rest of the day.
"Aye aye, captain."