Ch. 7- Duval's Tragedy


One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me


Zoro swayed a bit, holding a hand to his chest. The last attack one of the Flying Fish Riders made on him actually managed to do a bit of a number on him. Either that or…he may still be suffering from all the pain he took from Luffy back at Thriller Bark.

Brook, meanwhile, had taken out yet another Flying Fish Rider as he ran along the water's surface. However, he noticed that he was starting to sink, so the skeleton quickly leaped out of the water and beside Zoro, panting.

"It appears…I've reached my limit," Brook huffed. "I think…my legs are starting to cramp up, although…I have no muscles. Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!"

"Good job, Brook," praised Zoro. "You actually managed to take out a lot of flying fish."

"Well, I need to be useful, after all!" Brook said. "But first…a quick rest."

WHUMP! Brook fell down, face-first.

"Mister Zoro," he said, "are you still injured?"

"It's gonna take more than some damn fish to do me in," Zoro assured. "Don't fret over me."

"Hey, Roronoa!" Hachi called. "Don't let your guard down, just yet! Nyuu~!"

Unbeknownst to Zoro, one of the Flying Fish Riders was diving at him, armed with a saber. However, he didn't count on Hachi coming to his rescue.

"Six-Sword Style!" Hachi cried. "TENTACLE SWORD OVERLOAD!"

SLISH! SLASH! Hachi slashed all six of his swords at the Flying Fish Rider, causing him to fall off his ride.

"You just saved me," said Zoro. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but…thanks."

"No problem," said Hachi. "You and your pal were spacing out, so I had to do something."

"Yeah!" Camie cheered. "Way to go, Hacchin!"

"You were awesome!" Pappug added.

"Heh-heh," Hachi chuckled, sheepishly. "You really think so?"

"DIE, FISHMAN!"

Hachi looked up and saw another Flying Fish Rider diving at him, armed with a harpoon. Just when the sharp tip was just a mere inch from the octopus fishman's face…

"PARDON US!"

SLASH! Zoro and Brook appeared and slashed the Flying Fish Rider, disarming him of his now broken harpoon.

SPLASH! Both the flying fish and its rider landed in the water.

"I thought I was a goner, for sure, that time!" said Hachi. "Thanks, Roronoa! That's three times you've saved me!"

"Like I said," Zoro remarked. "Follow through."

"Don't go in alone!" cried one of the Flying Fish Riders. "Go in formation!"

Franky turned up hearing the last word.

"Huh?" he mumbled, questioningly.

The Flying Fish Riders dove at the Thousand Sunny, once again.

"They're coming back!" Chopper cried.

"Girls, huh?" questioned one of the Flying Fish Riders, noticing Nami and Robin. "Well, too bad. Boss's orders are to kill every last one of the pirates!"

"You really wanna kill me, huh?" Nami called from on top of the gym. "Well be my guest!"

"Attack in formation!" called another Flying Fish Rider.

"Huh?" Franky muttered, again.

One of the Flying Fish Riders dove at Nami and swung his iron mace at her.

FWEEP! The mace went right through!

"Hey!" the rider cried. "What's going on!"

"Mirage Tempo!" Nami called from the deck. "Sorry about that! Oh, and if I were you, I'd look out for that storm cloud up ahead, sweetheart!"

KRRRZZZZZZTT! The Flying Fish Riders got zapped by one of Nami's storm clouds.

Robin, up in the crow's nest, had her arms crossed and sprouted to two large arms around one of the Flying Fish Riders, who was coming behind her.

"Dos Manos…CLUTCH!" Robin cried.

CRRACK! Robin snapped the rider's spine.

Chopper chomped on a Rumble Ball and shifted into Arm Point.

"Cloven DIAMOND!"

WHAM! Chopper laid a hard hit to one of the Flying Fish Riders, the resulting bruise taking the shape of a diamond.

"Don't break formation!"

"Huh?" Franky muttered, once more.

KABAM-BAM-BAM! A gun was fired several times at Franky's chest, but it didn't effect the cyborg in the least.

"Crap!" a Flying Fish Rider cursed. "Bullets don't work on this guy! What is he?"

"Strong HAMMER!"

BAM! Franky laid a huge upper punch on the flying fish's underbelly, sending it flying upwards.

Camie and Pappug watched the Straw Hats' great display of strength and skill. Explosions went off as Usopp fired the cannons and Franky fired his weapons.

"Wow, Pappug!" Camie exclaimed. "Look at them! They're so strong!"

"To think that they'd go this far," said Pappug, rather nervously. "I just wanted to save Hachi from the get-go, but instead, these guys started to pick a fight!"

KABOOM! Usopp fired another cannon at more Flying Fish Riders, only to miss.

"Damn it," the sniper cursed. "Hey, Franky! We better dock the ship! We're at a huge disadvantage out here in the middle of the water!"

"They know they've got the upper hand!" said Franky. "They won't even give us time to move the ship!"

"WUUAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

BOOOOOOOWW!

Everyone turned upon hearing Luffy and Blizzard's voices.

Apparently, the captain and guard dog were running away from something.

SNORT! Something grunted as a series of harpoons were fired.

THUNK-THUNK-THUNK! The harpoons landed behind Luffy and Blizzard.

"OH, HOLY CRAP!" Luffy cursed as he jumped over the shots.

YIPE! Blizzard let out a yelp as he also evaded the shots.

YIKES! the wolf-dog screamed in thought.

"COMING THROUGH!" Luffy cried. "GANGWAY~!"

"Luffy?" Zoro questioned. "What are you and the mutt running from?"

"A big guy!" Luffy answered. "Coming this way! Run for it!"

"A big guy?" Hachi repeated. "With an iron mask?"

"Yeah!" Luffy answered. "And he's got a real huge COW!"

"A COW?" Hachi repeated.

SNORT! That same grunt was heard, again.

This is crazy! Blizzard thought as he ran alongside Luffy. I thought these guys were called the 'Flying Fish' Riders! Why the hell do they have a cow?

SNORT! The grunt was heard, once more.

"Hey! That sounds like Motobaro!"

"The boss is here!"

Indeed, it was. Duval had entered the battlefield from his now smashed hut.

"I can't believe you let these fools swat you!" roared Duval, angrily.

"AAH!" Usopp screamed. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

The thing that Usopp was referring to was what Duval was mounted on. It was a huge bison, not a cow.

This is Motobaro, Duval's pet bison.

"You guys ain't mosquitoes or flies!" Duval shouted. "You're the Flying Fish Riders!"

"The boss destroyed his own house!"

"Who cares?" Duval cried. "With the Straw Hats' heads, we won't even need this hideout anymore!"

"Forgive us, Boss Duval! We'll drive those scumbags into the sea and…"

"SHADDUP!" Duval roared. "Get outta my way!"

Motobaro took a step forward, forcing Hachi to quickly dash out of the way.

"I don't care about fishmen and mermaids," said Duval. "If you guys wanna run, then go ahead and run! I don't kidnap folks 'cause I like to. You know that, don't ya?"

"Y-yes, boss! Of course we do!"

Duval snickered as he set his gaze upon the Sunny.

"Today is a happy day," he said. "The man that I've always dreamed of killing is right here before mah very eyes! Miracles do happen! I was just going about my business…when that man sent me to the pit of doom!"

"Is he talking about us?" questioned Nami.

"He's looking this way," Usopp answered, "so I guess 'yes'."

"Today, I get my revenge!" Duval continued. "I'll kill you, even if it costs me my own life to do it…'Black Leg' Sanji!"

Sanji's eyes widened. All this time, Duval was talking about him? But what did he ever do to the guy?

"Ah been waitin' for this chance for a long, long time," Duval hissed, glaring through his mask.

"The boss's accent! He's really pissed this time!"

"Me…?" Sanji questioned. "He wants to kill me? But why?"

"Bro Cook," said Franky. "Who the hell is that guy? He's got some kind of a grudge against ya!"

"Maybe you saw him before when you were working at the Baratie?" Nami asked. "Think back, Sanji!"

"That's going back a long ways," said Sanji. "There have actually been a number of people I've pissed off."

"Well, it's been nice knowing you, Sanji," said Usopp, hooking the cook's neck with his arm. "What can I say? You reap what you sow!"

"Please don't get us in any more trouble, Sanji!" Chopper begged, clinging to Sanji's leg. "He's scary!"

"WAIT A MINUTE!" snapped Sanji. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT? I DON'T KNOW THIS GUY, AT ALL!"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB, BLACK LEG!" Duval roared. "IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO!"

KABANG! Duval fired his harpoon bazooka at the Sunny, actually managing destroy part of her railing.

"HARPOONS! GET DOWN!" Sanji shouted as he and the other Straw Hats on board dove out of the way.

THUNK-THUNK-THUNK-THUNK! The harpoons landed on the deck.

"What do you mean it wasn't that long ago?" Sanji barked, questioningly. "You're not making any sense, at all!"

As Usopp got up, he couldn't help but notice that there was something off about the harpoons. There was an odd, purple mist coming off them, and the grass around them appeared the melting!

"Hey!" Usopp said. "These harpoons…something's off about them!"

"Surprised?" Duval asked. "My Scorpion Harpoons are full of poison! If they so much as even touch ya, you'll be in the next world in 3 minutes! NOW YOU WILL KNOW THE EXTENT OF MY WRATH! I'LL KILL YOU AND YOUR BUDDIES FOR GOOD MEASURE!"

KABANG-BANG-BANG! Duval fired his harpoons at the ship, again, forcing everyone to duck.

"EEEK!" Nami shrieked.

"Nami!" Sanji cried.

"Nami, no!" Luffy called out.

"I'm telling you!" Sanji called. "I don't know you! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Hey, Zoro," said Luffy. "Blizzard and I saw him without his mask!"

"You did?" Zoro questioned. "Well, who is he?"

"I'll show you," Luffy said. "Don't be surprised, though, okay? You actually know him!"

"I do?" Zoro questioned in disbelief.

"Blizzard!" Luffy called to his wolf-dog. "Get that mask off!"

RUFF! Blizzard barked, showing he understood, before he dashed forward.

"Oh, no, you don't, you little fleabag!" Duval yelled.

KABANG-BANG-BANG! Duval shot his harpoons at Blizzard, who effortlessly managed to dodge them, before…

Twister FANG!

WHOOSH! BANG! Blizzard spun around and hit Duval's mask, causing it fly off and forcing him to cover his face.

"That damn dog!"

"He bit off the boss's mask!"

KLUNK! Duval's mask hit the ground.

"Go on…" said Duval. "Go ahead and take a good long look at my scarred, disgusting face!"

"DAH!" Usopp yelped as his eyes bugged out.

What the HELL? Blizzard thought.

"No way…!" gasped Nami.

Chopper's jaw dropped in disbelief.

Zoro gritted his teeth in shock.

"It's HIM?" he yelled.

"Oh, my," said Robin, nonchalantly.

"I say!" Brook exclaimed.

"BWAAAAAH~!" sobbed Franky. "I COULD JUST CRY~!"

The one who seemed the most shocked of all, and seemingly the most angry, was Sanji, who gritted his teeth so hard, he actually bit it in half.

"I've been waiting for this day," Duval said. "I resolved to set out to sea to kill you, but it wasn't easy trying to hunt you down!" He slammed down Sanji's wanted poster. "The wanted posters had the wrong face! Even if the Marines and bounty hunters had seen the real deal, they might not have recognized him! Oh, but they would've thought they'd recognized him!"

The Flying Fish Riders were sobbing and wiping tears from their eyes.

"Oh, boss…!"

SPLOOSH! Suddenly, Sanji leaped into the water.

"Sanji!" Nami called. "Where are you going?"

"And then," Duval continued, sounding somewhat tearful, "when they'd say, 'I found him! It's Black Leg Sanji!' And then I'd say…"

Duval looked up, revealing his true face…

It looked just like Sanji's wanted poster.

"And then I'd say, 'It ain't me, Ah swear! Ah don't even know the guy! Ah ain't even a pirate'!"

Sanji dashed toward Duval the moment he reached land.

"Do you understand my fear when I found out that I was being targeted?" Duval asked. "Getting chased by the Marines and bounty hunters, day in and day out? WHAT DID AH EVER DO TO YOU? GIMME MAH LIFE BACK!"

LEAP! Sanji jumped at Duval and WHACK! He delivered a hard kick to his face.

"I DON'T CARE!" he barked.


Dun-dun-DUN!

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