One piece: The Agony of Weakness
Chapter 10
The sun was dropping lower in the sky and the island was bathed in a light orange hue. It was peaceful for everyone on the island of Cardio. It seemed that every person on the island was finishing up their normal everyday lives and were heading home for a relaxing evening with their families. Nearly every person on the island was ready for an uneventful evening followed by a peaceful night. However, not everyone on the island was so lucky.
Sanji stood on the deck of the Sunny watching the sky beginning to change color. He took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled it slowly. He turned his head and slowly gazed around the cove. He knew it was only a matter of time before the entire cove was swarming with marines baying for their blood. This island was already crawling with marines. Word of their presence and exact location had already reached the marines. How long would it take for them to reach the secluded cove? A chill ran up his back as Sanji thought about an army swarming over the peaceful cove. He didn't like the idea. This cove had been there home for the last several days. Sanji found it deeply insulting that there was no way to protect it from being taken by the marines. Sanji closed his eyes. He knew what was coming, and he was ready to fight to the death if need be. He would hold this position for as long as he could. Both of his beloved women were running around the island looking for their screw up of a captain. His Nami-Swan and his sweet Robin were trying to find Luffy and bring him back before the marines found him first. Somewhere in the back of his head, a tiny thought emerged that none of this was worth it. Luffy had already abandoned them. There was no reason that the girls should risk themselves for someone who didn't even want to be saved.
Sanji violently shook his head and bit down on his cigarette so hard that it split in two. As soon as the thought appeared, he ferociously stomped it into the ground with the heel of his shoe. He would never abandon Luffy. Luffy had drug him back onto his feet far too many times for Sanji to lose his faith in him now.
"Besides," Sanji said under his breath. "Luffy would wait for me. I suppose that I can't give him any less." He glanced around to see if anyone was close enough to hear him. No one was. He sighed and turned his attention back to the coast. "We are waiting for you captain. You better drag yourself out of this rut and get your ass back here. Don't you dare let us down." He said with a smile. He laughed at his own words. Luffy letting anyone down? The mere thought was absurd. Besides, Luffy had way too much to live for. Sanji's thoughts drifted to Luffy and Nami's relationship. "That idiot. He has no idea how worried my Nami-swan is about him. She didn't even hesitate to run into the forest to find him. He doesn't deserve that kind of commitment. When he gets back here, I'm gonna-" Sanji's rant was cut of by someone behind him laughing.
"Hold up there brother." Franky said as he walked up next to Sanji. "There's no need to take all of your rage out on Luffy." Franky laughed. "Save most of your anger for the marines. Cause I think there are going to be a lot of them." Sanji shook his head and pulled out another cigarette.
"Of course there's going to be a lot of them you idiot." He said as he pulled out his lighter and lit the cigarette. "We are in enemy territory..." Sanji's voice drifted off as his sentence came to an end. Franky knew the situation they faced. He didn't need Sanji telling him about it. Sanji put the cigarette in his mouth but didn't smoke it. He turned to face Franky. "Are we ready?" He asked somberly. The smile on Franky's face grew and he clamped his enormous hand on Sanji's shoulder.
"Of course we're ready!" Franky exclaimed proudly. "Hell, we're SUPER ready!" He shouted striking his signature pose. "When those bastards get here, we'll kick their asses right out of the New World!" Franky proclaimed. After a moment of awkward silence, Franky stepped out of his pose and continued. "Not buying it huh? Come on brother. Have a little faith in someone besides Luffy. We got this. Just stick to the plan." Sanji smiled. Franky's confidence was refreshing and he was right. They had a plan. As long as they stuck to it, they would be sailing away from the island with their entire crew in no time.
"Yeah. You're right." Sanji said nodding.
"Of course I'm right!" Franky said turning to walk away. "You should calm down. Being on edge is only going to wear you out faster. You are going to need all of your strength for this fight. The girls will be fine." Franky said as he walked away from Sanji. Sanji watched him walk over to the hatch that led to the lower deck. Franky kicked it open and jumped into it disappearing from Sanji's sight.
"Moron. How can I stop worrying about two beautiful, defenseless women? They are probably calling out to me right now, hoping I will come save them!" Sanji shouted raising his foot onto the railing in front of him. Franky's voice drifted out of the open hatch.
"They're not!" Franky shouted. Sanji ignored him and scanned the coast. He didn't see anything yet. Sanji clenched his hands into fists.
"Dammit. I wish they would just hurry up and get back." As he spoke something on the shore caught his attention. Brook stood on the shore waving his hands at Sanji. Sanji winched and glared at the skeleton in anger. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU MORON?! THAT'S NOT HIDING! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE HIDING!" Sanji shouted. Brook laughed and shouted back.
"Yeah I know!" He shouted cheerfully. "I just wanted to know if you had seen anything yet!" Brook shouted. Sanji grinded his teeth together in anger as he felt his blood begin to boil.
"If I saw any marines... DON'T YOU THINK YOU WOULD KNOW IT!?" Sanji screamed at the musician, his hair standing on edge. Brook laughed and spun in place.
"I guess that's true." He said laughing. "Thank you Sanji!" Brook began walking towards the tree line again. As he neared the edge of the forest, Zoro jumped out of the forest with all of his blades drawn and landed next to Brook.
"I heard shouting! Are they here!?" He shouted looking down the beach. Sanji's mouth dropped open and his cigarette fell into the water.
"NO THEY ARN'T HERE YOU DUMBASS! AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE?!" Sanji screamed pointing his finger at Zoro. "YOU'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE! GET BACK ON YOUR SIDE OF THE BEACH DAMMIT!" Zoro cocked his head at Sanji and sighed. He sheathed all of his swords and walked across the beach.
"Fine. But don't shout unless the marines are here." Zoro said. "You're the lookout. Do you job correctly." Sanji felt like his head was going to explode. He grabbed his face with his hand and took a few deep breaths. They had a plan, and it was already falling apart.
The plan was to throw the marines into chaos as soon as they appeared on the beach. The marines would most likely line up along the tree line that stood behind the beach. Once they were all in position, they would march out in unison. If they did, the Straw Hats would be ready. Zoro and Brook were suppose to wait on opposite ends of the beach and as soon as Sanji gave them the signal, they were supposed to charge through the marine ranks, slashing as many marines as possible while moving towards the center of the beach. That would cause panic in their ranks. At the same time, Chopper, Franky, and Usopp, if he returned from the forest in time, would open fire on the marines with the Sunny's cannons, causing widespread chaos and allowing Sanji the chance to join the squad on the beach. There, Sanji, Brook and Zoro would engage the marines causing as many casualties as possible. If they began to get overrun or Luffy returned to the cove, they would retreat to the Sunny and the crew would set sail. The Sunny would have its Soldier Dock System paddle wheels deployed and, as soon as everyone was aboard, the ship would paddle for open waters. After reaching the open sea, one good Coup De Burst would free the Straw Hats from their marine pursuers. That was assuming that Luffy returned before the beach squad got overwhelmed or the Navy ships arrived. If Luffy was not back in time, the crew would follow the same plan except that The Sunny would sail around the perimeter of the island while they waited for him. The marines would eventually figure out what they were doing and would take measures to stop them. At that point, the Straw Hat Pirates would have to abandon Cardio entirely or risk losing the Thousand Sunny. Hopefully the plan would give Luffy enough time to return to the Sunny. If not...
They were ready. Now all that was left to do was wait for the marines to show up, and Sanji didn't think they would be kept waiting very long.
Nami ran in the direction that Robin had shown her as fast as legs could carry her. She ducked under branches and jumped over logs as she raced forward. Somewhere ahead of her was Luffy, about to do something impossibly stupid even for him. Nami didn't know what he was going to do, but she had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. An ugly thought kept appearing in the back of her head, but she kept it pushed away. She would save Luffy, whether he liked it or not. Powers or no powers, he was going to lead them, and he was going to be the King of the Pirates. That was a fact and Luffy was going to accept it. As Nami surged forward, a marine appeared in the trees in front of her. Almost as soon as he appeared, Nami jumped and kicked him in the face.
"Get the hell out of my way!" She shouted as her foot connected with the poor mans face. He fell backwards and landed on the ground with a loud thud. She landed a few feet in front of the bewildered man and, without breaking stride, continued running. She didn't care if he was alright or not. He shouldn't have gotten in her way. When Nami landed, a familiar weight bounced against her back. It was Luffy's hat, safe and sound on her back. "I'll have to make sure to give his hat back to him when we get back to the Sunny." She said as she kept running.
Nami noticed that the forest was beginning to thin out. The trees were gradually getting further and further apart. This had to mean that she was getting closer to the entrance of the forest. It wouldn't be long now. Only a few more minutes and she would be able to find Luffy. Only a few more minutes and she would be in the middle of a Navy base. Nami winced as she thought about the base.
"Dammit." she said aloud. "How am I supposed to get him out of a Navy prison? There's no way that I will be able to fight all of the marines in the base. I wish Usopp and Robin had came with me." She mumbled. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down a little. Panicking wasn't helping. She had to come up with a solid plan to reach the prison or wherever Luffy was being held. She wouldn't be helping anyone if she ended up getting caught too. Nami calmed her mind and she began thinking logically about the situation that was soon going to be presented to her. She began formulating her plan but it didn't last long. All logical thinking flew out the window as the intimidating Navy structure came into view. As she drew closer she began to slow her pace. She was on a mission, but a Navy base was still scary. Nami raised her hand to the wound on her shoulder from her earlier fall. "Ah crap." She said under her breath. "There it is." She let go of her arm and came to a complete stop a few yards from the wall of the base. She took a deep breath and thought about Luffy. "Alright. This is for him." She said, her voice wavering a bit. "Dammit, I am going to charge him 4,000,000 beli for this." She stood in place staring at the imposing structure for a few minutes. She tugged at the string that held Luffy's hat around her neck. It felt good to have a little part of him with her. It made her feel safe and it gave her the confidence to continue. Finally she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm coming Luffy, just wait a little longer."
With that, she jogged to the base of the wall and began looking for a way to get into the fortress.
An army of heavily armed marines, nearly 1000 men in strength, marched through the woods. The marines had never had the Straw Hat Pirates idle on one of their islands for this long before and they weren't going to miss this opportunity. Over the last few days, marines from all the surrounding islands had flooded to Cardio in order to join the attack against the infamous pirates. The Vice Admiral in charge of the soldiers stationed on Cardio decided that tactical planning was a waste of time. With an army of that size bearing down on them, the meager forces of the Straw Hats would crumble in no time so complex strategy wasn't necessary. The Vice Admiral smiled as he watched his troops from the balcony of his office at the top of the tower in the middle of the Navy base. He had hoped to get a crack at the legendary Straw Hat Luffy himself, but his powers wouldn't be necessary with an army of this magnitude marching. He turned away from the balcony and walked back into his office.
"Ah I really screwed up this time." He said as he sat down in his chair. "If I had been the one to bring Straw Hat down, I would have been promoted to Admiral on the spot!" He laughed as he leaned his chair back. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes came to rest on his weapon of choice, a staff with a 10-pointed star on the top, and a long straight blade as the base. The haft of the weapon was made of iron so it made the staff a force to be reckoned with. Especially when he combined it with his Devil Fruit powers. "Oh well," He mumbled as he leaned his chair back down to his desk. "This IS Straw Hat they are going after. He's a slippery son of a bitch. I might get my chance yet." He snickered and tapped his finger on his desk a few times. He waited a few seconds and did it again with a puzzled look on his face. "Hmm..I don't really feel like doing paperwork right now." He smiled and stood up. "I think I will go and meet the two strangers that have entered my base." He walked over to the door to his office and pulled a marine jacket with dark green cuffs off of the coat hanger. He slipped it on and walked out the door.
A lone eye in the forest watched as hundreds of marines unknowingly marched past it. Their army seemed to go on forever. The eye closed and disappeared.
Robin blinked and turned to the assembled crew on the deck. Everyone was here except the Zoro, Brook, Luffy and Nami. The latter two wouldn't be joining them and the former two were ready to spring the trap as soon as Sanji gave them the signal. Robin thought about the plan that the guys had come up with. It was risky, and it isolated Zoro more than she would have liked, but she knew he could handle himself. It was a decent plan but she was still worried.
"They're getting close." She said. "They will be here very soon and there's a lot of them." Franky and Sanji nodded while Usopp and Chopper whined in the background.
"Alright. I'll get the ranged unit into position." Franky said. He turned to the two people cowering behind him. "Come on boys." He said cheerfully. "Pull yourself together. We have over a half a dozen cannons to man. Let's show those snot nosed marines just how SUPER the Straw Hat Pirates are!" The two men didn't respond and continued to cower on the deck. Franky scratched his head. "Alright. If you two won't walk, I'll just have to carry you." He said shrugging. He picked up Usopp and Chopper and headed for the cannon deck. Sanji watched them walk away and turned to face Robin.
"So that's what they are doing. What about you?" He said. "I don't a woman of your beauty caught in the middle of this." Robin waved her hand at him.
"You don't have to worry about me Sir Cook. I'll be fine." She said without looking at him. "However, you should be getting ready for battle. I couldn't count all of the marines I just saw." Sanji nodded and looked back at the coast.
"Yeah. A force of that size won't be able to fit onto this beach all at once. That's definitely going to play to our advantage." Sanji tapped his heel against the grass as the wind picked up. He closed his eyes and felt the cool evening air against his face. Robin nodded.
"I do have one concern though." She said still not taking her eyes off the coast. Sanji grunted.
"What's up?" He asked.
"What happens if the marines use their ships to enter the cove? Do we have anything planned for that?" Sanji laughed and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
"Oh yeah. Don't you worry your gorgeous head about that. Usopp rigged something up when we first got here. He says that it will stop any ships from entering the cove. He seemed pretty sure of it, so I'm going to trust whatever he planted over there." Robin stayed silent as she thought about it. After a few moments Sanji spoke again. "Yeah I know, I'd be more comfortable knowing what he has planned too, but he said to leave it to him." Robin ran her hand through her hair.
"Okay. If Long nose is confident in it, then I'll trust him." She said. Her eyes scanned the forest ahead of them. Suddenly she gasped. "Wait!" She said abruptly. She watched the tree line carefully and saw movement approaching the cove. They were here. She pointed forward and said nothing. Sanji nodded.
"Alright. Show time." He glanced over to the spot where Zoro was hiding. Sanji guessed that he knew they were there too and that he already had his swords drawn. Sanji glanced over to Brook. He was ready too. The defense of the Thousand Sunny was about to begin.
Just as Sanji's eye returned to the center of the cove, the marines emerged from the woods.
"Well.." Nami sighed with a frown on her face. "I wonder who did this." She sighed looked around to see if there was anyone nearby. "I can't believe this. If I was a marine commander, I'd have people stationed here. This is ridiculous." She was standing front of a large circular shaped hole in the outer wall of the navy base. Clearly, someone had broken into the base from the outside. And Nami had a pretty good idea who did it. "Powers or no powers," She said peaking in the hole. "Luffy sure knows how to trash a place. Well, at least I have my way in."
Nami hesitantly stepped forward and poked her head through the hole. She glanced around looking for any signs of people. 'No one yet.' Nami thought half annoyed and half relived. She pulled her body though the hole and carefully lowered herself through to the ground. The second her feet touched the ground, she took cover behind a small building. Nami took a few deep breaths and slowly poked her head around the corner. In front of her lay what appeared to be the execution ground. A lone wooden pole stood in the middle of a dirt field. Seeing the pole made Nami feel uneasy, but she was relived to see it was vacant. Luffy could have easily been tied to that pole. She looked around the field for any signs of life. Fortunately for her, there was no one. Growing more pissed by the moment, Nami stepped out from behind her building and stepped into the field, still searching for any marines. 'There is a clear entrance into the heart of this base and no one is guarding it.' She thought as she walked across the field passing the wooden pole. 'These marines are incompetent as hell. There's no way that they would be able to take Zoro and the others.' Nami's thoughts drifted to the Sunny and the battle that would soon be raging around it. Nami had complete faith in her crew members, but a vacant marine base could only mean one thing: Every marine on the island was marching on their little cove.
"That's seriously bad." Nami said aloud. "There's no one here. They must be going after the Sunny. I have to find Luffy and get back as fast as I can." She broke into a jog as she crossed the execution ground. At the edge of the field stood several small buildings, one of which looked like an observation room for the execution grounds. Several yards behind the observation room, located in what Nami assumed was the center of the base, was a tall tower. 'That would be the Command Tower.' She guessed. Nami turned her attention to the observation room. 'What could be in there? The building is not big enough to be of any strategic value. She looked inside of the opening and saw a chart on the back wall. There were fourteen tally marks on the chart. Above the tallies was the word "EXECUTIONS" in red paint. Nami shivered. "They are keeping a tally of how many people they executed here? That's a bit morbid. I wonder if-" Nami stopped talking immediately when she heard the sound of someone walking and talking. It sounded like someone was about to walk out of the Command Tower. Nami bit her tongue and threw open the door of the observation room. She quickly jumped inside and locked the door. She didn't dare make a noise. She closed her eyes and listened.
The person calmly walked out of the Command Tower and down the steps and onto the grass in front of it. Nami could make out the sound of two more people walking behind the first. Once all three people were out of the tower, Nami could clearly understand what they were saying.
"Dammit. I can't believe we are stuck here while everyone else is off killing the Straw Hats." One of them said.
"Yeah this is bull shit." Said another one. "But get over it. We have a job to do. Be grateful that the Vice Admiral is keeping us busy. Where is that hole at?" A third voice answered.
"I think The Vice Admiral said it was on the other side of the execution grounds. Behind the exterior holding cells. He said that it was huge. Someone really powerful punched straight through it." As they spoke, Nami could hear them passing the observation room. The first man spoke with a hint of shock in his voice.
"For real? Who could have punched their way through a solid iron wall? That's impossible. Some Devil Fruit user had to have done it." Nami raised her hand and slowly drug it down her face.
'That moron. Did he have to make it that obvious? Couldn't he have just found a door or something?' She shook her head and kept listening. At this point, the three men were too far away for her to make out what they were saying. She counted to ten and the slowly opened the door to the observation room. She inched her way out and looked in the direction where the marines had been heading. She could see them heading directly for the building that she had been hiding behind before. As soon as the men disappeared from view she dashed out of her hiding spot and ran for the Command Tower. 'They didn't say anything about capturing the Legendary Straw Hat Luffy, so it is safe to assume that he isn't in any of the holding cells.' She reasoned as she ran. 'Which means he is probably loose somewhere in the base.' Nami came to a stop in front of stairs that led up to the Command Tower. Several large buildings in the center of the base surrounded the tower. She had no idea what any of the buildings were and she really didn't have time to search through all of them.
"Well. I guess I really don't have a choice but to search them all one by one do I?" Nami said aloud as she took a step towards one of the buildings. The smell of food drifted out of it so she assumed it was some kind of kitchen/dining room.
"No you really don't." A voice said behind her. Nami's froze midstep and her eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth quivered as she realized that there was a man standing at the top of the stairs behind her. She turned around slowly and looked at the man over her shoulder. A man, which Nami guessed to be about fifty, stood at the top of the stairs that led into the Command Tower. He was holding a staff with a star that had too many points on the top. She opened her mouth to scream but the man raised the hand that was not holding the staff. "Don't do that. If you scream, the men that just left will come back. Then you will be in real trouble young lady." He said calmly.
Nami shook in pure terror. She was caught. This guy had to be a marine; there was no other reason that he would be on a marine base otherwise. He would capture her and throw her in the dungeon to be executed. The wind picked up and the man's jacket fluttered in the wind. Nami recognized it as an officers jacket. That made things a lot worse. The man looked at her quizzically.
"Well I can see that you know that this was a bad idea. Trespassing on Navy property is a serious offense you know that?" The man said coldly. He waited for a few seconds but Nami said nothing in return. She couldn't. She was too busy trying to figure out a way to escape. After a few moments the man smiled and pointed towards the building that Nami had been heading into before. "He's in there. Go find him and leave before the soldiers come back." His words shocked Nami.
"I'm sorry?" Nami squeaked as she took a step away from the man. The man laughed.
"I'm sure you are. And you should be. You kids need to find better hobbies than sneaking into restricted areas." He shook his head. "Frankly I'm disappointed that a fine young woman of your age and beauty is sneaking into Navy bases for fun. You should have a job helping your parents pay their bills. Heck, you should be looking to buy a place of your own soon enough. I'm sure if you and your boyfriend start saving your money, between the two of you, you will be able to afford a place." The man seemed genuinely kind. Nami began to think that he wasn't going to arrest her. Suddenly his mood changed completely. "Now." The man said sternly. "Get your boy toy and get out. I won't tell you again." Nami jumped back at his sudden aggressive tone. She was also extremely annoyed that he called Luffy her boy toy.
"Boy toy?!" She exclaimed. "Now hold on a sec-" Her words froze in her throat as the man lifted his staff and pointed it directly at Nami's face. Her blood ran cold and she felt the color drain from her face.
"Quiet." The man said. His voice was thick with authority. "Not another word. Get your asses out of my base. You have ten minutes." He lifted his staff back and held it in his hand. "Ten minutes. After that, I am coming after you myself." Nami gasped and turned around. She had heard enough. This guy meant business. She turned around and ran towards the building that he had pointed out for her. As she ran, she could hear him speaking. "Do not test my patience child. I did not acquire my current position by showing mercy." Nami opened the door to the building, jumped inside and slammed the door drowning out anything else he had to say.
She stood inside the door for a moment trying to catch her breath. She felt her eyes stinging as she leaned back against the closed door. She was terrified. That man could have killed her and she wouldn't have been able to stop him. Nami slowly slid down the door and collapsed onto the floor. As she her knees hit the floor, she heard a loud crash from deeper inside the building. She looked in the direction of the sound and realized that she had stumbled into a dining room. Her guess about the buildings purpose had been correct. There were tables and chairs scattered around the room with two doors along the far wall. In between the two doors was a large window. Nami stood up and began walking forward. Her legs felt like jelly as she inched forward. As she came closer to the window, she noticed that it was a window into the kitchen. There was a lot of noise coming from the other side of the window. A smile spread across Nami's face when she realized that only one person could make that much noise when they ate.
"Of course I'd find you in the kitchen you jackass." Nami said. She felt a wave of relief flow over her as the sounds from the kitchen stopped and a voice echoed out of the room.
"Nami?" Luffy asked with his usual stupid tone.
Robin and Sanji stared at the army of marines as they flooded out of the forest. The small cove was quickly filled with men and rifles all pointing directly at the two people on the deck of the Sunny. Sanji watched as even more marines stormed out of the forest. Their numbers were beyond counting. He took a long drag from his cigarette.
"Well," He said to Robin under his breath without looking at her. "This might be more complicated than we thought. I know you saw a lot of them, but this… this is unreal." Robin nodded but said nothing. Sanji turned his head and looked at her. Her forehead was covered in sweat and he could see a glimmer of fear in her eyes. Sanji grinded his teeth in annoyance. He couldn't help her feel any better about their situation. How could he tell her it was going to be alright? 'Hell.' He thought bitterly. 'I'm starting to wonder if we will be able to get out of this one.' Sanji sighed and turned his attention back to the coast. All of the marines had taken up their positions. There were three visible rows of marines, and most of them were aiming their weapons at the Sunny. The front row, closest to the water, was kneeling, the middle row was standing up straight, and the final row was hidden behind the middle row. Sanji guessed they were replacements for the other two rows if any of their men fell. If there was anyone else behind the third row, Sanji couldn't see them. As Sanji surveyed their enemy, a single man came walking out of the forest. The Marines moved aside to let the man through. The man had a long dark beard that was laughably long. The beard completely covered his chest and stomach. 'That guy with the ridiculous beard must be in charge.' Sanji thought locking eyes with him. The man cleared his throat and shouted.
"Straw Hat Pirates! This is your one and only warning. Surrender, and we may take you in alive! Resist, and you will be executed where you stand." He shouted. His every word seemed to echo around the cove. Sanji closed his eyes again and took one long drag from his cigarette before stepping forward.
"Cut the crap!" He shouted back to the bearded man. "You and I both know that there won't be any surrendering here. This ship is our home, our turf. If you think your jug headed marines can beat us here, then you are stupider than your beard!" Sanji shouted with a smile. He could see the bearded marine become enraged so he continued. "We aren't surrendering. In fact, I was just about to get dinner started." Sanji called happily. "Would any of you like to come aboard and join us?" The marines began mumbling and looked at one another with confused looks for a few seconds before the bearded man shouted at them.
"Knock it off! No one is having dinner with pirates!" Sanji laughed.
"Aww that's too bad. I think you would have loved our main dish too. We were having Bearded Wolf." He said with a smirk. The marines looked around again in confusion and before the bearded man could regain control of his troops, Sanji shouted. "USOPP! NOW!" A green pellet shot out from one of the cannon ports on the side of the Sunny. As the pellet flew through the air, Usopp shouted.
"GREEN STAR: IMPACT WOLF!" The green pellet exploded into the shape of a large wolf made of grass. The grass wolf flew straight at the face of the bearded man. His eyes grew wide as the wolf flew closer but there was no time to react. The wolf's nose slammed into the man's face, releasing a massive shockwave that knocked marines away from the impact location. The beard man flew backwards into the forest coughing up blood as he flew. Upon seeing their leader defeated so quickly, the marines panicked for just a moment. But that was all the time Franky needed.
"FIRE!" Franky shouted from inside the ship. On his order, all seven cannons on the side of the ship facing the beach opened fire. Cannon balls screamed through the air, slamming into the soft sand. Upon impact, the explosions sent marines flying in all directions. The cannons were quickly reloaded and fired again and again, scattering the marines. The marines left standing tried to run and escape back into the forest, but they were so tightly packed together, it made moving nearly impossible. The cannons decimated their ranks. It was complete chaos on the coast.
Sanji had no idea how Franky was firing and then reloading all seven cannons so quickly, but he didn't care. He did his job: He gave them an opening. Sanji watched as Zoro and Brook began their attack. The two swordsmen charged from opposite ends of the beach, slashing and cutting all the marines who stood before them. Zoro's eyes were obstructed by his green bandana, but Sanji could see the demonic fire that burned in them. Brook seemed to dance and bounce from marine to marine as he ran down the beach laughing hysterically. As scared as Brook had been about his post, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Now it was time for Sanji to make his move. Sanji took his cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it into the water. He had had enough of standing around watching others fight. He bent his left knee and ignited his leg. "Diable Jambe" He growled under his breath. He bent his knees and pushed forward, hurdling himself towards the beach. As he flew he saw strange plants and bamboo shooting up from the sand on the beach. Clearly Usopp was having a blast. As he reached the beach, he used his Sky Walk to propel himself up into the sky. He sailed above the marine's heads and waited until he was a few feet above them before attacking.
"POELE A FRIRE: SPECTURE!" He shouted as he sent flaming kicks down onto the marines on the beach. Marines were knocked in all directions and several caught on fire. As they screamed and ran, they slammed into their fellow marines, setting even more men on fire. The beach quickly became a mess of fire and explosions. Sanji landed on the beach and began attacking the panicking marines. After a few moments, he realized that Zoro was fight alongside him, cutting down marines left and right. He didn't see Brook, but there was an icy chill in the air and ice crawled through the sand, so Brook was somewhere nearby. Amidst the chaos, Sanji noticed several marines with extra arms sprouting out of them, and extra legs popping out of the ground. The entire crew was fighting.
The battle raged on as the Sunny's cannons continued firing, scattering any groups of marines that were starting to reform their ranks. Sanji smiled as he kicked down several marines, knocking them into one of Zoro's attacks. 'This is going well, but the tide will turn soon. Hurry my sweet, we cannot keep this up forever.' He thought grimly as he knocked half dozen marines into the forest.
End Chapter 10