Alright, so here's the next chapter… I'm going to be working on some of the other stories again so I'll try to update this when I have time… that being said, I DO NOT OWN anything in this Fan-Fiction… RWBY, One Piece, Naruto and all other references, characters or other belong to their respective owners.
The sounds of Anko Mitarashi's running echoed in the empty hall as she looked for Amatchi as soon as she could. That bastard had another thing coming if he thought he could get away with this. Plus he had some answers… answers that she would get from him even if she had to beat it out of him.
Upon entering one of the main rooms, she froze and cursed… so he was doing more than just killing off humans… it would have made sense if he also had them try to kidnap some as well… Before her stood a large cage as several people from the village looked at her in fear or distrust. Time to fix that…
"Alright folks, this is a prison break, get out through that hall and if possible get ready to fight." She called as her snake hissed and was soon coated in a black-like sheen. Soon enough, it bit through the bars of the cage with it's long body bending the bars open with amazing strength. Moving out of the way, people started to get out while Anko smirked. Point 1 for her-
*Bang*
Looking around, she turned to see that several Fish-Men was already here, covering the exit as everyone looked at them in fear, and Anko growled in annoyance. Figures that there were more around here... She just wondered how the brats were holding up…
Neo frowned as she had to deal with another round of these things… honestly they were getting old fast. And if she heard them say "Human" or "Eliminate" one more time… she was going to scream. Standing over a corpse of another mutated brain-dead zombie Fish-Man, she caught her breath. Now maybe she could rest-
She was forced to evade a stream of water as Isaribi jumped down; glaring at her while Neo frowned… well so much for rest. However, taking in this one's appearance… it resembled the same fish woman that Jaune fought off earlier… and she smirked. She was actually hoping to take down the head himself but she could entertain herself with the fish-woman.
Reaching into her coat pocket, a small snap was heard as she took it off and prepared for battle, her eyes changing colors and her grin showing she was ready for battle…
And immediately, she was forced to jump back and deliver a kick that the fish-woman endured easily enough for her to try to land a blow on the trained huntress… All she had to do now was follow the plan… soon enough… Amatchi would get what was his… he just hoped than Anko was the one who found him…
"Why are you here… why can't you just leave us alone?!" she called out as Neo said nothing, her abilities making it impossible in the end. Side-stepping one of her punches, the pink-haired girl not only jumped on her, her hand on the back of the purple haired girl's shirt but using her own momentum and aura, tossed her into some crates with a smirk. Why did this seem a little familiar?
…Somewhere in Remnant, a blond haired brawler sneezed as Ruby looked at her in an annoyed expression, she sneezed all over the controller… and it was her turn next. After learning about Jaune's… status, Ozpin suggested they take the next few days off while he looked into that. "Yang…"
"Heh… sorry, Rubes-"
*Bing*
"Hah, yes… The Queen takes it for her castle" Nora cheered as Yang sighed, handing Ruby the controller, despite her protests. While Ren was playing chess with Blake, Weiss was pacing around the room with Pyrrha trying her best to remain calm and collective… Key word "trying"
"We should be looking for him-" Pyrha muttered before Weiss spoke up.
"We can't find him" she said as she try to make heads or tails of the whole thing since they got that text… she tried to look into the currency used or the government officials that placed it on him… they didn't get anything so this could just be a means of a prank.
"He could be in trouble" Pyrrha said bluntly as Blake frowned, reminding her of one critical detail…
"He… has some kind of bounty and is with that Neo girl" She said a bit hurt that one of her… acquaintances was now off as a criminal with the person who nearly killed Yang… safe to say she and her team had to hear her voice her very colorful opinions about said girl.
"And you don't think that he might be in danger… he could be held against his will… or being force to do it for whatever reasons are out there" Pyrrha cried out as no one said anything. That might be the case; something Ozpin had told them earlier… but…
"…At least he has a bigger bounty on his head" Nora said as that throughout some of the whole "Force to do it" case out the window… unless it was some kind of mistake "… and besides, from what it looks like… he seems like some kind of pirate."
And with that, Weiss snapped. Really…pirates now…? There were some things she just chose not to accept and Jaune Arc being some kind of sea-bandit or something wasn't one of them
"Alright then, how do you explain why he looks older, has the power to apparently "Kill" a… marine?"
"… Maybe he just got super-strong… or that marine guy was weak…" Nora said, trying to help… to be fair, she was right.
"Really… well why don't we just add mermaids, dragons, magical beans and maybe even a fairy-godmother while we're at it" she said, clearly sarcastic as
"…Meh, I like magical fruits better" Nora said, having a distinct dislike of beans. Weiss stood there and twitched. Apparently she didn't catch it.
"Look… we don't even know if it's actually real or not… so until then, we need to focus on what Professor Ozpin told us about that Cinder woman" Ren said as everyone stayed quiet… Pyrrha just hoping he didn't do something stupid or get himself needlessly hurt…
Jaune glared as the Fishman stood before him with a look of interest in his red eyes, his green scales showing him to be more fish then Isaribi was while he pulled out his sword and his other hand in his pocket that made a snap sound. "So… you're Amatchi" Jaune said bluntly as the Fishman merely smirked.
"I am… and may I have the name of the worthless human that killed off my creations and interfered with my experiments?" he asked as Jaune growled but tried to stay composed.
"The names Jaune Arc, short sweet and rolls off the tongue…" he said as he kept his glare at the Fishman. "Then again, aren't you a Worthless Human as well?" he asked in a taunting tone while Amatchi just laughed
"So you know… Mitarashi probably told you… I have to say, you have done quite a bit of damage. Messing with my experiments, wasting my time… but I think I should just put an end to it right now…"
"…Do you think I'm going to let you get away with this… treating life like some game… messing with people like some twisted god?!" he snapped as he took a stance, ready to fight as Amatchi smirked.
"A god… I'll be more than a god once I finish with you. Once I finish my latest project… Project Umibozu… tell me, other than fish… what creature can survive in water?"
"…Octopus, manta rays… squids… do sharks count as fish?" he asked out loud as Amatchi frowned.
"Other, than that… can birds breathe in water, can a human breath in water… no. My goal is to return the world back to the sea… to destroy the islands and rule them as my undersea empire." Jaune narrowed his eyes. That being said though…
"What about the World Government… or an actual Fishman…" Jaune pointed out as the man smirked.
"It doesn't matter… once I have an army of my size, I'll travel around the world, starting with the Four Blues… then I'll head into the Grand Line and then back into the New World... and in the end… I'll build a utopia… a kingdom where even the marines have no choice but to bow... And you're going to be an example of my rule and those that happen to cause me issues."
"…So… you really don't give a damn about human lives… what about Isaribi… how much does she know?!" he called out as Amatchi smirked. Oh yes… the woman he met that considered him her "Savior."
"…She will be my pawn… and continue to be my pawn until I have no more use for her… She thinks she's a Fishman…? She's only an experiment to use until I see fit." Jaune shook in rage before he smirked.
"You don't care about anyone other than yourself… not about humans… not about Isaribi… just about you and your kingdom that will never come true" Jaune said as Amatchi finally got bored of the chit-chat. "You don't even care about the magic snail?!" he accused as the older man blinked.
Magic…Snail?
Jaune smirked as he pulled out something from his pocket. It was a small snail that looked blankly into space with a small receiver that was on its shell. a small red light was on while the huntsman-in-training held onto his grin. Jaune didn't know much about these… Den-Den Mushi things but he did know one thing; they acted as a camera… or a phone…
Or in this case… a walky-talky…
Grabbing the dial, he coughed into it… "You got that… right Neo?" he called as he got a small cry on the other end… Isaribi if he could guess before he looked up to the scientist, who now glared at the blond with all that hate he could muster. If this was him back in Beacon, Jaune would have hid behind Pyrrha or Nora… or apologized while running…
But he just smirked and placed the snail on the floor before he glared at the Fishman in turn. Now wasn't the time for words-
"…You bastard!" Amatchi yelled as Jaune withdrew Croisade. It was about him fighting the damn fish to the death. He shivered at the thought of killing another human again, hell he thought about killing any form of life stung him a little. But he wasn't going to outright kill him… just de-scale him and let Anko have her fun with him…
"…Let's see what you got…" he said as the scientist lunged at the Arc with bloodlust. Jaune however jumped out of the way before rushing Amatchi with Croisade. As soon as Amatchi realized what was aimed for him, he screamed as the blade found it's way into his torso before
"…Yeah, good luck with that" Jaune muttered as he jumped back and swung his blade down, the blood spilling off of it as Amatchi glared.
"You… Damn…, Brat…" Amatchi muttered out as his voice started to distort before he sent out a stream of water that punctured a hole into the stone… alright, better not be hit by that. "You won't escape my wrath, child… I'll kill you, and your friends… I'll make sure that you'll beg for mercy!" he shouted as Jaune just sent a green energy wave from his blade.
"Rankyaku" Jaune shouted as he sent a green wave of energy at him.
"Die, Arc" Amatchi cried out as he spat out a large bullet of water
Isaribi could only just stare blankly with tears in her eyes while Neo placed the Den-Den Mushi back in her coat pocket. Her job was finished, the message was received… But before she could leave-
"Why… why would you…" Isaribi muttered as Neo turned back to her confused. Why would she what? "Why would you tell me that…" she muttered to herself as Neo suddenly realized what she really meant…
…Amatchi…
Neo just took her ring out from her pocket and placed it on. "He was nothing but a fool who wanted to use you until he was done with you. In many ways, he reminds me of that damn bitch back home…" Neo muttered as Isaribi glared.
"Shut up… just shut up. What do you know about me, how I was treated, about how I was… how I was used. Amatchi was… he's all I had left. He said he could help me, to be seen as something other than a freak. What do you know about having to live like some kind of animal?!"
Neo said nothing but pitied the woman.
She knew just how it was like… to be born frail and yet have your mother die giving birth to you… having a father who was murdered by the White Fang… only because he was… "Human Scum" and having your own uncle being forced to take you in and draw you into his illegal activities… but Roman didn't hate her, nor did he blame her for being mute and "defective" as what some people called her at her old school.
She wanted a normal life but it was the same every time, she was seen as a freak due to her being mute, and her color-scheme and changing eyes… soon enough she decided to change that.
She had Roman and anything he could afford her. An Education spent out of his own time as he home-taught her everything… A means of fighting, she trained to get to where she was, after he showed her how to brawl…
She had him when she killed her first of many victims; he was there when no one else was… And then when he was forced into working for Cinder… things started to change. He became stressed out, fearful that they would be gutted by that bitch when she was done with them. She had power, power that they couldn't match.
And now, here she was, still not even knowing if he was alive right now, only hoping that they could find a way back… and here the purple-haired woman was blaming her for her own bad luck.
"…I know what it's liked to be hated… I know others do as well… but unlike you, I'm not going to remain weak" she said bluntly as she noticed Anko run up to her with some scrapes on her body from her fight.
"…So, that's her…?" Anko asked as Neo nodded and headed back to where Jaune was fighting. But what did she care about the fish-woman. She was worried about her current partner. And if Isaribi was going to complain about doing something… than hopefully she would be like that black cat faunus who was Jaune's friend and try to stand on her own feet.
Why bother helping someone if they didn't want to change?
As she left, Anko sighed as she looked at the fish-girl before crossing her arms. "We're going to have a talk when this is over…" she said as Isaribi remained quiet…
"…"
Jaune frowned as Amatchi just started to attack whatever he saw, it was clear that he was no longer even thinking anymore… the knight's blows being able to shave off his scale-like skin and him bleeding all over was making him become more… instinctual Anko did tell him they canceled the Kaima project due to side-effects… This is probably what she meant. He was no better than the actual zombie fish-men he fought earlier.
That being said… he was running low of aura, making his blows being a lot less impactful while his injuries he could suffer from being a lot more dangerous to him. He needed to more careful now… even if the man wasn't even all that strong. His true threat came from his intelligence but a cornered and injured animal was just as dangerious as one that still had its senses about itself…
And Amatchi lost his after the fourth blow…
"ARC" he screamed out in rage as Jaune just sighed..Holding his blade, he prepared for one last go. Seeing the challenge the beast got up again, it charged at the blond swordsman, but before he could make contact with him, a snake bit into his neck, the scientist screeching in pain as Jaune recognized the snake as Anko's… but for whatever reason, the head and body seemed to be covered in some kind of darkish tint.
Though it didn't matter what happened next… Amatchi fell to the ground, motionless but still alive as he cried out in pain… Soon however, his body started to morph back into a human…
Scales became pale skin, red eyes became rolled-to-the-back-of-the-head white… and all that remained was Jaune, the snake and the sounds of Neo walking into the room. Looking at the fallen scientist, she looked to Jaune, who just pointed to the snake, subduing the scientist from escaping… despite him being already unconscious…
Soon enough, Anko and Isaribi appeared from the entrance as Isaribi barely recognized Amatchi at first. All Jaune did was look at Anko before she motioned back to the door. Sighing, Neo headed out, clearly wanting to leave, her business there done. Jaune could only notice that Isaribi stared at Amatchi in shock while he could only mutter one thing to the woman.
"…I'm sorry" Jaune muttered as Isaribi looked at him before shaking her head and trying to remain strong… all it did was remind her that in the end, she was really alone. But before she could say anything she was brought out of her thoughts by Anko, who decided to ask her something.
"So… what now…?" she asked as Isaribi didn't know.
Meanwhile, a woman with black hair and amber eyes was thinking at the moment… back to Beacon… back to her supposed failure… back to Ozpin. Salem had warned her not to underestimate him, but that he was arrogant and vulnerable in his weakened state. Now look at her. She was caught thanks to that blasted girl who inherited the other half of the Fall Maiden's power…
Pyrrha Nikos…
And thanks to that unknown woman that busted Roman out and messed everything up for her, she and her two followers were on the run… Adam was who knows where and Roman had, once again failed her… she was being hunted down by both Vale and the White Fang's Sienna Khan… and all because that damn woman… She wouldn't stand for this… she would make them pay for it… now that she thought about it…
The Nikos lived in Mistral… the Arcs were a family that lived outside the kingdoms protection. She might not have held anything against the boy personally but she was angry enough to make those close to the champion pay. She would show her what it meant to earn the wrath of Cinder Fall. And if it meant taking down mommy and daddy Nikos as well as eliminating the family of her former partner, a partner who vanished the same way that Roman did…
Well then, all the more reason to get out some aggression…
"Um… Cinder…?" a young woman with green hair and dark skin… Emerald called out to her as she looked over to see what she and Mercury were staring at. What she saw… filled her with absolute horror. An older "woman" stood before her with no emotion on her face, her elegant form blocked out the area around her as she moved her way over to the younger woman.
And Cinder bowed… bowed down low before her mistress… something that Emerald and Mercury soon followed suit to do. After a minute, she finally spoke.
"Tell me… Cinder… how is it that one of my own faction could have been exposed and fail so miserably" Salem asked in a no-nonsense tone as Cinder shivered. Before she could say anything however, she was stopped when Salem continued. "When I found you, you were nothing but a weak… pitiful… worthless little girl. Scared of the world… scared of the world around her and her own self-doubt… But I saved you from that, did I not?"
"…Yes… you did" she replied as Salem came closer to her, Emerald and Mercury closing their eyes in fear as Salem continued to talk to her followed.
"And all I asked you was that you would follow me… that you would be of use to me… am I right?"
"Yes… you are-"
"And here we are now, with you on the run, compromised by your failure to retrieve the Fall Maiden when you had the chance… You have failed in your task to bring down Beacon… but do you know something… that's alright" she admitted as Cinder froze. Wait, that was… alright?"
"W-what do you mean-"
"The Fall Maiden's power, while strong… is not invincible, and while it's true that the full maiden's power would be far more… useful to me, I suppose that we can alter our plans in a way that would… benefit your failure" she "Said" as Cinder knew what she really meant. She fucked up… and now to cover up for her failure they were going to alter the plan considerably.
"W-What do you mean…" Emerald asked, finding her voice as Salem quirked an eyebrow… so these are some of Cinder's little helpers. She wasn't sure what to expect at first but merely kept her unsettling smile.
"Tell me, child… How do you divide humanity apart… bit by bit" she asked simply as Emerald and Mercury felt cold. "It's a simple course of action… all we need to do is wave a little meat in front of them…" she said as she prepared to confront Ozpin… in a more, open area…
Still, one thing was on her mind… that unknown woman that took the Arc boy and the two little ants that helped Cinder… What was it that made them sought out? It didn't matter in the end she supposed, wherever they were in Remnant… or other then she would deal with them. Until then however… she had a little announcement to make.
Besides, it would be nice seeing her dear "rival" again, face to face after so many years… Perhaps she could see the expression he gave her when she squeezed the life out of him… And she would relish that oh so very much…
Three days later, Jaune smiled… "Well that was nice, Not only do we get half the bounty off Amatchi but we also got to keep a quarter of it for ourselves…" Jaune said as Neo was next to him with a smile. She was content with her personal 6,250,000 Belli and more so because she got some spending money. Hard to believe that that guy was really worth 25,000,000. Then again, Anko did give that last quarter to Isaribi… hoping that she could have started a new life… wherever it was. She didn't care, not her problem anyways…
As she silently whistled to herself, Jaune smiled before he noticed something approaching him… or rather, someone approaching him. Despite her no longer being in her Kaima form, Isaribi was easily recognizable, wearing a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of matching shorts and tabi socks. "Isaribi…?" Jaune muttered as Neo looked at him before turning her confused glance to the fish-woman she had fought just three days prior. What did she want?
"You guys are about to leave right?" she asked as Jaune and Neo looked at one another and nodded. Smiling shyly, she tried to explain. "Well… I just wanted to say… thanks… for everything and… sorry I got you guys… and everyone else involved… but well… the thing is… um-"
"Hey, Brat" Anko's voice echoed out as the three of them turned to the bounty hunter in confusion as she jumped down see the two pirates off. "You two are still looking for a navigator, aren't ya?" she asked with small smirk as Jaune nodded.
"Yeah, why?" he asked as the bounty hunter smirked and nodded towards Isaribi with some confidence.
"Well I think Isaribi would make a good one for ya-"
"A-Anko" she stuttered as Neo quirked an eyebrow and Jaune blinked. Isaribi was a navigator…? Wait, she wanted to join them?
"Look, I'll be honest, after what happened the last few days, I don't think she's going to be making too many new friends with this on her head" Anko said as she pulled out a wanted poster as Jaune stared at it in shock.
Wanted: Dead or Alive
The Kaima: Isaribi
10,000,000
Jaune stared and picked it up while Neo looked at it over his should before looking at the woman in question. Isaribi looked down before Anko smirked.
"You two are already pirates… or at least have bounties… and with Isaribi being a wanted woman now, I think you should know how that's going to be when people want that ten million on her head" She explained as Jaune and Neo frowned at that, Jaune more-so than Neo. Shit, she was right. Yeah, Isaribi could probably hold her own against some of the bounty hunters… but the higher ranked marines and the fact that she would be alone…
"Meanwhile, you two need a navigator, well… here's your girl for the job. Isaribi here was the one who navigated that bastard here in the first place so she's at least a B Rank Navigator since she came from the Grand Line."
"You came from the Grand Line?" Jaune asked in shock, Isaribi just nodded a bit nervously as Neo and Jaune looked at one another… well they do have extra money… and not only that but they needed a navigator… pretty badly. Besides… she seemed nice enough… It didn't help that the three of them were forced to stay with the purple haired woman for a day until things settled.
…But still…
"…Look, not to be mean or anything but… we're heading into the New World" Jaune said as Anko and Isaribi looked at him, confused.
"The New World…?" Isaribi asked, only to have her eyes widen in shock as Jaune nodded.
"Neo and I come from a place called Remnant, and our only clue to getting back is that it might be in the New World-"
"You brats are from the New World…?" Anko asked as she looked confused. "If you are, then why are you two in South Blue?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes before Neo explained.
"We were sent here by someone with the Nikyu-Nikyu no Mi… the only person who has that though is the Shichibukai… Kuma" she said as Anko and Isaribi both stared at her. They encountered Kuma, though now that she recalled Kuma was able to make people "Disappear" with his fruit ability. From what she heard in rumor, if you were hit with that then you were considered dead or something.
"You encountered a Shichibukai" Isaribi muttered as Jaune shook his head.
"It's a long story… we don't even know who she was. This is a personal journey for us to find answers… and find a way back home…" he said that last part depressed as Anko frowned.
"How long ago was this?" she asked as Neo spoke up again.
"Three year ago…" she said as Anko and Isaribi frowned… well that would explain some things like those illusions she saw and how they could use that strange Haki or whatever… but wait.
"You said you were from Remnant?" she asked as Jaune nodded while she frowned. "Never heard of it… what's it like?"
"…From what we knew from Seagull… Remnant might be somewhere entirely unexplored… We don't know where we're heading but the New World is our best bet" Jaune admitted before looking at Isaribi.
"…I see, I just thought that you might want me-"
"You can come if you want, Isaribi. It's not like I don't want you to join… but it's going to be dangerous… I can't promise you anything but if you want to come along with us… well sure, the more the merrier" Jaune said as Anko smirked.
"Well there you go, if you three are heading into the New World… then you should stop by Fishman Island on your way there…" Anko revealed as everyone looked at her confused. Fishman… where now?
"Wait, you mean that place where Fishman and Mermaids are from?" Isaribi asked as Anko nodded.
"Yeah, you need to get through that place to get to the New World… so you'll take her right, brat?" she asked but knew the answer.
Jaune just smiled, having no problem with it while Isaribi smiled a little. "…Well… I guess if that's how it's going to be…" Isaribi finally said before smiling slightly. "…I'll try not to hold you two back much" she promised as Jaune smirked.
"You're our new navigator. We'll do what we can together… right Neo?" Jaune asked as Neo just stared at her before shrugging. Fine with her, they needed a navigator and as long as she wanted to get somewhere instead of crying than, fine, why not... Just don't expect her to roll out the red carpet.
If Isaribi wanted to come along with them, then she better be prepared for one heck of a run with them. Because from what they learned about that New World place, it was literally a place of insanity and hardships… and she wasn't going to let the fish-woman jump ship when the going got too tough for her to handle…
…Speaking of which…
"Guess that means she's alright with having you on board-"
"Do you have a boat or something?" Neo blurted out as Jaune and Isaribi turned to her as she crossed her arms. "My boat is only big enough to fit me and my gear, Jaune's is smaller so unless you don't want personal space…" she said as Anko laughed at it. Yeah, that was a good point there.
"Don't worry, I have one she can use for now… but if you're going into the New World… hell if you're going into the Grand Line period, you two are going to need an actual ship… you can probably get one on Shines Island… they made ships there for idiots who wanted to go into the Grand Line… marines might be around but hey, at least you might find something there" she offered as Jaune nodded. Alright, so Shines Island… a new ship.
"Well then, I guess this is it then…" Jaune said as Isaribi nodded and thanked the Mitarashi for her help as the three of them went out to sea. While Jaune reached for his checklist, he crossed out an empty box next to "Navigator" and smirked. It was a start but at least they now had their first crew member… other than Neo.
As the three of them sailed off… they didn't see Anko and Jones looking at them with a smile. "Those two… they're pretty something, huh Joanez" she said as Jones sighed… god why did everyone keep calling him that… oh never mind. "Still…we need to inform the marines about them taking down the fish… their bounties are probably going to rise a bit."
Jones nodded at that, already coming up with an excuse to explain how the three of them escaped as Anko looked at him with a smirk… oh no, he had a bad feeling about that-
"So, Joanez… you wouldn't mind buying a young woman like me a drink or two… would you?" she asked as her snake coiled around her as Jones looked nervous… Anko was going to enjoy teasing the new friend she made in the marines.
Well, here you go… sorry for the delay… life happened and my luck is as shitty as ever sometimes… but I digress. That being said, for whatever reason, I was in a slump writing this one and I couldn't really think it through... maybe I need a break or something. Going on that, Salem is about to make her move as well as Jaune having a navigator in Isaribi.
Next is something I want to bring up… I was told that I was overhyping the RWBY universe… and I might be… but until I see what some of the higher ups are capable of like Salem or a full powered Ozpin, I would like to just go with the flow… we only know the basics of Aura and semblance… we didn't know Haki existed at first until they introduced it… explain how Shanks lost and arm when he had Haki. But that being said, I plan on boosting Salem up to a strong enough level, not using bullshit or anything but possibilities that MAKE SENSE in the RWBY universe since we haven't seen what aura and semblances… or the powers of Grimm could actually accomplish… but I digress.
Finally… I think I have a way to incorporate Grimm into the One Piece universe… while going with a theory I had for a while now… it might make sense so until then.