Black Whirlwind


II: Black Feather Beacon

"No matter how you look at it, it's a deserted island," Nami sighed as the landing party of Yusei, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace and Nami strolled onwards in the thick foliage that seemed to make up eighty percent of Kurohane Island. "Is there even anything here?"

Ace froze in his steps as something large and round bounced before them. "Crap."

Yusei blinked at the sight. "I wasn't aware there were Killer Tomatoes around here."

"It looks like it'll make a good sauce," Sanji shifted his weight on one foot.

"It's a big tomato..." Luffy began to drool. "FOOOOOOOD!"

"Oi, wait, Luffy!" Ace bodily tackled the rubber man down before he could grab the large tomato monster. "If you kill it like that another will come!"

"Excellent," Zoro drawled. "Santouryuu Ougi... Rokudo no Tsuji!"

"And then..." Ace sighed as something large and feathery descended. The large legless creature of black and orange feathers crooned, giving an intelligent glance at them.

"...it's a giant chicken," Luffy blinked.

"A giant chicken," Sanji confirmed. "A black chicken at that. It'll make good soup."

The legless creature then opened its mouth. "Elphin!"

"A talking bird!" All three of the Monster Trio yelled.

Flutters heralded the arrival of a huge winged bird that dived from the skies to lash out at them. Zoro grinned as he blocked the claws with Shuusui. "Quite a challenge, a bird who fights back."

"Quite a challenge, humans who stand their ground," the vaguely humanoid bird chirped, nodding and moving the small purple smock it had on.

"Another talking bird!" Nami screamed as she pointed at it. "This island must be full of talking birds!"

"Are you sure it's not a human with the Tori Tori no Mi, Nami San?" Sanji drawled.

"I'm not human, caw," the bird volunteered.

"Ah, Elphin the Pitch-Black, right?" Yusei started as the bird that was about Zoro's own size loomed over. "Black Feather, Elphin of the Pitch-Black!"

"Yusei, do you know it?" Nami asked, blinking.

"Ah, I have a friend who plays Black Feathers... in Duel Monsters," Yusei amended hurriedly. "It's like my own monsters and Stardust, my friend and the Black Feathers."

"So, the Black Feather Clan that was supposed to live here... was a clan of talking birds?" Nami exclaimed.

"A giant talking bird!" Luffy pointed, eyes flashing. "Can we eat it?"

"Don't offend it!" Sanji kicked the captain. "Sorry, he's an idiot. Pay no attention to it."

"...I see," the bird diplomatically answered. It then coughed delicately. "I am Elfen of the Pitch-Black, number three of the Black Feather Clan. You people are?"

"We're pirates!" Luffy grinned. "This is so cool, a whole island of talking birds!"

"We're not birds, we're Black Feather!" It kicked a clawed foot at the rubber-man. "Do I call you a monkey?"

"Well, it looks like Yusei recognised that bird as a friend," Sanji lit a cigarette. "So, can we cook it?"

"Don't cook it!" Nami hit him.

"Yes, Nami Swan~!"

"An aura of starlight..." bright eyes stared at Yusei. "I see. So... these people are your friends, Fudo Yusei Sama?"

"Let's drop the formality," Yusei raised a placating hand. "We were here because we heard that there was something going on..."

"Alizé!" the large bird turned to the legless creature. "Go back, tell Crow Sama that his friend's here!"

"My friend?" Yusei echoed.

"Crow? I thought the boss of the island was a Black Feather person," Zoro scoffed.

"Caw, yes, Black Feather Sama is the boss of the island, and her second is the Lone Silver Wind," Elphin agreed. "Of course, that changed when the Crimson Dragon finally gave us our master, caw!"

"Master?" Nami echoed, eyes narrowing. "You mean, there's a guy stronger than the so-called Lone Silver Wind?"

"Our chosen Duellist!" Elfen agreed. "Our chosen master! He's human, but it doesn't matter!"

"Gotcha!" A black shadow leapt forward as Alizé took off, Elfen blocking it with a clawed hand.

"Tenjou?" The black humanoid bird growled.

"Elfen," the Darkness Hunter growled. "I'll be taking those prized black feathers of yours today!"

"Oi, hang on!" Nami interrupted them indignantly. "Weren't you injured?"

"Injuries to us heal quickly," Tenjou answered, levelling a knife. "Time for work-!"

A clawed hand slapped the knife down before Elfen drew a punch.

"Take a vacation."

"GYYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHH!" All the Straw Hats stared as it was sent flying into a twinkle in the sky.

"...Isn't that a bit cruel to an injured person?" Sanji commented briskly.

"He'll recover, he's tenacious that way," Elfen cooed, scattering feathers of coal black everywhere. "We'll have a party ready if we head up to the mountain."

"Party!" Luffy cheered.

"How suspicious," Zoro drawled.

"Our master and Yusei Sama are important to this archipelago," Elfen answered, looking up to the tree foliage. "Jet!"

"That's a Black Feather as well?" Nami exclaimed as a tiny bird of red, blue and black plumage fluttered down from the treetops. "It's... small..."

"The Vayu we met in the Eye of the Typhoon was also a Black Feather, known as Vayu the Grand Flag," Yusei told her.

"I suppose you have friends on the beach?" Elfen enquired. "Jet can fly over faster than me, so we can pass them a message to call them over."

"Is there sake?" Zoro drawled. "I don't feel like eating bird food."

A snicker, which twisted the face somewhat to an intelligent hunter's expression on Elfen. "Some of us are carnivorous, and wine is the same in anywhere."

"Y- You aren't... c- cannibals, right?" Nami stuttered.

"If, you mean that we don't eat our own kind, then no, we are not," Elfen answered as Jet took to he skies after dictating the message. "If, you mean that do we eat human flesh... well, food is sometimes scarce here..."

"That's doesn't assure me at all!" Nami screamed at him.

"Well, Crow is here, so I guess it's fine," Yusei considered.

"So, Yusei, this Crow is a monster as well?" Luffy grinned.

"No, he's human," Yusei shook his head. "He's... a good friend, if a bit fierce as well..."

"A human take over a clan of talking birds with such fighting strength as to eat humans... this Crow must be a monster-like guy," Sanji blew a plume of smoke. "I don't like the implication behind that tone... the one about eating humans."

"Oh, another tomato!" Luffy grinned as a pair of miniature tomato came bouncing. "Gomu Gomu no...!"

"Stop!" Nami whacked him upside the head. "Don't attract more monsters!"

"They'll flatten you if you're unprepared," Ace grinned, although his left eye twitched. "Stupid tomatoes..."

"We need to stock up the fridge anyway," Sanji drawled, ready to kick out.

Yusei covered his eyes. "Please, stop before you offend the whole island... or eat the whole island."

"Heh, you're learning," Zoro smirked.


"Are you sure it's okay to let Luffy explore that island?" Usopp moaned as he fixed up the rigging.

"Well, Yusei's with them, they'll probably be fine," Franky drawled as the sound of mallets permeated the deck. "They might attack us, but they don't seem so keen on hurting Yusei or Aki."

"Yusei's a reliable person, he'll be fine," Aki interjected, packing up and arranging the Straw Hats' dispensary that was messed up by the storm. "I just hope that Luffy doesn't try the first thing Ace San did..."

"Oh? What did he do?" Chopper asked, laying out the dried surgical instruments.

"He attacked a killer tomato and killed it, which called another killer tomato, which called another, which called some more, and in the end a Dark Armed Dragon came out and almost flattened him before we intervened," Aki nodded in remembrance.

"The super-monster that's Luffy's brother almost got flattened?" Usopp yelped, almost dropping his mallet. "How strong was that dragon?"

"Way stronger than Stardust or Black Rose," Aki replied calmly, sorting out a few more pills. "If it wasn't for their abilities, we probably wouldn't have defeated it."

"I have no idea which one is the monster, that one or you guys..." Usopp muttered.

"Both and neither," Robin answered. "After all, monsters are based upon perceptions, aren't they? It depends on the person being asked."

"True..." Chopper sighed. "I wanna go exploring too... eh?"

A red, blue and black bird was perched on the deck railings, giving them the evil eye.

"What's that?" Usopp blinked.

"Dunno, but it's strange for a bird," Franky remarked. "Oi, what?"

"Birri, birri. A message from Elfen the Pitch-Black to Signers," the bird chirped. "We of the Black Feather Clan extend an invitation to the Signers and their companions. Black Feather Sama herself will welcome you to our keep where a party will be held. Ka- cha."

"It's like a DenDen Mushi!" Franky, Usopp and Chopper exclaimed.

"Black Feather, Jet the Blue Sky," Aki identified with a squint. "One of the Black Feather Clan."

"Party?" Franky lifted his sunglasses to look at the bird. "Why?"

"Our master is a friend of Yusei Sama, and by extension all of you are friends of the master," the bird chirped. "Then, if you'll please follow my directions."

"It's not a trap, right?" Usopp muttered.

"They're waiting for you guys as well," the bird chirped. "The stupidly grinning rubber monkey, a guy with three swords and green hair, the blond with the swirly eyebrows, the orange-haired navigator, the freckled guy, and Yusei-sama."

"Why is Yusei the only one who gets named?" Usopp yelled, slapping the air.

"'Cause I don't know the rest of them."

"That's... surprisingly honest," Usopp fell flat.

"Okay, that's the last," Aki exited the infirmary. "A party, you say?"

"Crow Sama awaits us, caw," the bird nodded.

"Crow?" Aki echoed, with the omen of a bad feeling.

"I thought the island's master was Lone Silver Wind..." Robin sighed.

"There's no Black Feather named Crow..." Aki muttered in reply. "Only a Duellist I know."


Up on the highest spire of the unimaginatively named Mountain, fingers were currently digging through short orange hair arranged like a brush and held back by a green headband. "Argh, why can't I fix the D-Wheel?" he complained as pieces sparked and flashed as he poked at it with an iron. "Really, Yusei's the guy that does this..."

"Caw, caw!" orange feathers dropped to the ground as the legless bird called Alizé the Tailwind landed. "Crow Sama!"

"What, Alizé Chan?" Crow muttered, a pen cap in his mouth. "I'm a bit messy at the moment.

"Yusei-sama is here! And he brought friends here!"

The pen cap dropped to land on wood, though Crow hardly cared about that as he stared at the female Black Feather. "Yusei? He's here? He's not dead?"

"Caw, yes, he's been in this world for two years!" Alizé crowed in answer.

"He's not dead, he's not dead..." Crow repeated, a grin forming on his face. "Yusei's not dead! Get ready a party! I'm going to get him!"

"Wait, Crow Sama!" Alizé cawed as boots thudded on the ground. "That way is the-!"

"I'll be back! Pull out all the stops!" Crow yelled. "We need a party!"

"That's the... Harpies' Hunting Ground..." Alizé faintly echoed as the orange-haired man ran out. "Ah! Crow Sama! Someone follow him!"

"What now, Alizé?" Large red and black wings fluttered as a bird poked its head around.

"He's gone to the Hunting Ground!" Alizé wailed. "And prepare a party! Yusei-sama is here!"

"What? Say so earlier!" A large wing smacked the female playfully. "Oi, Mistral, we got a master to save! Calm, party! Pull out the salmon!"

"Coo, what a high-maintenance master," the Black Feather with a silver-plated head called Mistral the Silver Shield flew out following on the winds of the Black Feather, Ghibli the Searing Wind.

"Crow Sama!" Ghibli was cawing as a bob of orange attached to a being with ridiculously large green and grey wings and a vaguely humanoid shape. "Gust, you bastard! Get back here!"

"I'll be back soon!" the call of Crow echoed about as the bob fluttered down to the wide open western plains with nowhere to hide.


"This field is huge!" Luffy complained as he saw the stretch of green between the valley and the mountain.

"This is the Harpies' Hunting Ground, home of the Harpie Ladies," Elfen answered. "It's rather dangerous, so watch the skies."

"Skies...?" Nami muttered as she looked up. "AAAHHHH!"

Elfen blocked a golden clawed hand from reaching Nami. "That's not very polite."

"Oh? Since when did Elfen the Pitch-Black care?" Long red hair fell as the harpy smirked, golden claws easing through black claws. "And since when do birds take the land route when they could fly?"

"Do humans looks like they can fly on command?" Elfen dead-panned.

"Mellorine~!" Sanji yelled, waltzing around. "Such a wild beauty I have yet to lay my eyes upon! Tell me, my lady, would you bless me with your name?"

The harpy drew back, giving an odd look to Sanji who had hearts in his eyes. "What the hell are you?"

"Another monster!" Luffy grinned. "Do you-?"

"Do not!" Sanji kicked him, flames now burning in his eyes. "How can you ask a lady such a question! Stop! Stop!"

The red-haired harpy seemed at a loss. "...first time I've met such a..."

"Yes, yes," Elfen nodded. "I felt like that too. You can fly away now."

"Can't be helped. These are the rules," the red-haired harpy dismissed. "If you want to pass through here, you have to defeat us."

"Us?" Nami echoed. "There's only one of you."

"Oh?" the harpy grinned, raising her winged arms to the sky. "Mangekyo – Kareinaru Bunshin!"

"They split up!" Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Ace screamed as one harpy turned into three different harpies, each with a different hairstyle.

"That's so cool~!" Luffy yelled, eyes shining. "Awesome!"

"Kaleidoscope – Magnificent Replication," Yusei realised. "Only the Harpie Ladies of Duel Monsters can do this..."

"I am Airo, the storm swift, first of the Harpie Ladies," the crimson-haired one smirked.

"I am Ocupete, the swift wing, second of the Harpie Ladies," the orange-haired harpy echoed.

"I am Kerairo, the dark, third of the Harpie Ladies," the one with spiky blue hair then followed.

"We are the Harpie Lady Triplets!"

"So, we just have to beat all three of you up?" Luffy smirked, raising a fist. "Gomu Gomu no..."

"What are you doing to a woman, Luffy?" Sanji roared at him, the flames around him exploding.

"Oh, good job!" Ace clapped. "I thought I was the only one with fire powers."

"This is so troublesome," Zoro yawned. "What happened to the party?"

"Even if I die... I won't lay a hand on a lady!" Sanji roared.

All three ladies gave the blond steaming cook odd looks. "...Let's just make this simple," the first one finally stated, placing clawed hands to her mouth. A sharp whistle heralded the descent of something with large leathery wings.

All of them looked up to see a red body, reptilian in shape and gargantuan in size, complete with a black headdress with a green jewel from which a chain dangled into the hand of Airo.

"If you can defeat our pet, the Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, we'll let you and your friends pass," the Harpie Lady offered as the dragon roared in answer.

"Pet?" Nami screamed as the dragon loomed overhead. "That's a pet?"

"I want one!" Luffy screamed. "Yusei, find me a dragon! I'm gonna tame it as my pet!"

"Do not!" Sanji warned the mechanic as Yusei opened his mouth. "We have Chopper, we don't need a pet!"

"-.- Sanji San, that completely doesn't make sense..."

"So, we just have to beat this thing, right?" Zoro drawled as he hefted all three swords in hand, or mouth as it were. "Come, you huge lizard!"

"Zoro San, it's not that simple!" Yusei protested.

"This pet's strength is dependent on how many Harpies there are on the field," Ocupete purred. "One, and you can only attack it..."

"Two, and its original strength doubles..." Kerairo interjected.

"Three, and once we can destroy one on the field," Airo smirked. "Destroy!"

The dragon roared, a single blast pushing the swordsman back.

"Zoro!" Luffy yelped in concern as the swordsman staggered.

"Interesting..." the green-haired swordsman glared at the dragon, which roared in answer as he winced. "You're pretty strong for a tiny dragon."

"Oh yeah, Zoro killed a dragon in Punk Hazard," Luffy recalled. "So, it's my turn!"

"Don't joke around, boy," Airo tittered. "This dragon is at double its power, added with the additional power granted by my own presence. The power of this dragon right now is far beyond anything you have right now."

"Don't screw with us!" Luffy pulled a fist back.

"They're right," Yusei considered. "If I remember... Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon is at... twelve hundred... double that, twenty-four hundred... plus Harpie Lady One, twenty-seven hundred..."

"Yusei, right? Oi, Yusei!" A loud bellow caused all of them to look up to the skies once more to see an orange-haired man suspended from the feet of a large being with wings.

"Yusei!" the man let go, plummeting to the ground and landing on his feet. "Yusei!"

"Crow? Crow!" Yusei laughed, smiling as the orange-haired man offered a fist. Touching fists together, Yusei cracked a rare smile. "It's been a long time, Crow!"

"We thought you were dead, bastard!" Crow shot back, though there was no heat in his voice as he lightly hit Yusei on the shoulder. "So, why are you here?" He then noticed the other pirates. "And who're they?"

"They're friends, the Straw Hat Pirates," Yusei offered.

"Crow Sama!" Elfen butted in. "We were just about to go up, but, as you can see..."

"We need to destroy the dragon on the field," Yusei informed the confused orange-head.

"Oh?" Crow smirked as he spotted the three Harpie Ladies and the dragon. "You and your friends stand back, Yusei. I'm gonna help you with this."

"Oh? Let's see what this guy can do," Zoro grinned as he stood back.

"He's the same as me," Yusei told the swordsman. "A Duellist."

"So he summons loads of tiny monsters to fight like you do?" Zoro asked.

"You shut up, you algae-head!" Crow retorted at him. "I'll start with the special summon of Black Feather – Gust the Adverse Wind!"

"Big bird!" Luffy cheered as the green-and-blue feathers showed itself.

"I play the Continuous Spell, Black Whirlwind!" Crow smirked. "Black Feather – Damascus the Polar Night, summon! Due to Black Whirlwind, I can move one Black Feather from my deck to my hand, and I choose Black Feather – Breeze the Zephyr! Breeze is special summoned from my hand!"

"Two more birds, and one of them is a girl!" Sanji pointed.

"This is the first time I've seen Damascus,"

"I tune Gust and Damascus to Breeze!" Crow called as Breeze flew forward, followed by the other two. "Gust fiercely, storm! Gain the will of steel and the speed of light to sublime your form! Synchro Summon! Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind!"

"Beam!" Luffy hollered in awe as a green aura enveloped all three and from there burst forth...

The three Harpie Ladies cringed back as winds whipped the fields and a single,sharp blade, followed by black wings and feathers whipping in the winds and a head shaped like a bird attached to a human body flew out.

"This is... the strongest of the Black Feather Clan..." Nami breathed.

"Black Feather – Lone Silver Wind..." Luffy gasped in awe.

"With Lone Silver Wind's ability, Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon is destroyed!" Crow called. "Perfect Storm!"

A single lade swept the field, before the dragon shattered against the blade and went down in a flash of light.

The cigarette fell out of Sanji's mouth. "That speed..."

"The dragon that blasted back Zoro..." Nami stared.

"So this is the strength of the Black Feather's strongest," Zoro growled, grinning maniacally. "Lone Silver Wind..."

"What the hell was that?" Usopp's voice drifted in as the rest of the Straw Hats strolled into the plains. "That was a- AHHHHH! A huge monster!" Usopp pointed at Lone Silver Wind, which had raised its sword threateningly.

"Yo, you guys!" Luffy grinned at them. "Here's an old friend of Yusei's, Crow! Can we cook him? I'm hungry!"

"Why are you turning to cannibalism this early?" Nami and Crow ganged up on the rubber man.

"I'm not food!" Crow finished.

"Party!" Luffy cheered. "Yusei, men, let's go! I wanna eat chicken!"

"Oi!" Ace punched him. "We're eating with birds! Don't insult them!"

"But I wanna eat chicken!" Luffy whined.

"We're eating with birds, you idiot!" Chopper whacked him lightly.

"Ah, the raccoon spoke!" Crow exclaimed.

"I'm a reindeer, you bastard!"

"Sorry, you don't look like one!" Crow retorted.

"Crow?" Aki recognised.

"Oh, Aki!" Crow waved. "It's been a long time! You found him, huh?"

"A lot of stuff happened," Aki sheepishly replied. "There's a party, Jet the Blue Sky told us."

"In a party, there's gotta be cola, right?' Franky drawled.

Crow stared up the veritable size of the cyborg. "Er, yeah."

"Yohohoho! Parties require music, and so I shall do my best!" Brook laughed.

"The s- skeleton is talking... and has an afro..." Crow stuttered, jaw dropping. "Yusei... exactly what kind of friends did you make here?"


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