A/N: So here's what happened: when I gave you notice that I had almost finished this chapter (on the chapter named Break) I wasn't lying. But then, for some reason, I lost all Documents on my computer, which of course included the old chapters, and, the one I was about to finish. To put it simply, I had to restart this chapter and it came completely different than what I had originally written.
But I guess it was for the best. I mean, it's not like this is my best chapter (I think), but the original one was just bad. So it worked for the greater good anyways.
But I'll just stop talking (writing) on this A/N, and I'll let you dive into the chapter. Enjoy.
Previously:
Konoha:
When they arrived, the rest of the guys were expecting them and they quickly went to greet them. They were about to celebrate too, but some ninjas remembered Zoro that someone was waiting for him.
"Right, Usopp I almost forgot about him"…Zoro thought in his way to the interrogation room.
When they finally made it there, one of his escorts knocked the door. All the ninjas that were inside went outside.
"We had him here because we don't know if he's lying or not"…Ibiki told Zoro. "Could you go inside and confirm?"
"Sure"…Zoro said and stepped inside. "So Usopp, how did you get he-"…But he didn't complete the sentence when he saw who it was. He quickly unsheathed one of his swords and got on a defensive stance. "You…what are you doing here?"…He asked with a dangerous look.
"Long time no see, Roronoa Zoro"…Kaku said with his usual smile.
Now:
"I said, what are you doing here?"…Zoro asked, a bit more deadly than before.
"Sheesh, calm down a bit"…Kaku said. "Just came here to help you out"…He said with a friendly smile. Of course Zoro didn't buy it, but lowered his guard just a bit.
"If you're here to help, who sent you?"…Zoro asked trying to rat him out.
"Not sure, I just remember that a vortex pulled me up and I appeared here"…He said. They had investigated and discovered that Zoro appeared through a vortex, so the most convenient way of convincing him was using the same story.
Zoro still did not fully trust him but sheathed his blades, he was still in high alert though. "But why? Aren't we enemies?"…Zoro asked.
Kaku thought for a moment before sighing. "Remember when you defeated me in Ennies Lobby?"…Kaku asked.
"Yeah?"…Zoro answered cautiously.
"Well at the end of our battle I told you that it was quite sad that an assassin could not make any more friends. I got here and I just knew this was a different world and that I could start over"…Zoro almost believed him.
"Al right, then tell me: how did you know I was here?"…Zoro asked. Kaku almost choked on himself, but he masked it with another smile.
"Well isn't this world small? I asked a few gentlemen where the nearest town was and they game me these directions. Casually when I got to the outskirts of the village I heard a few ninjas, as they call themselves talk about a green-haired swordsman"…Kaku took a breath and continued, "So I just thought that it was such a coincidence and I decided to listen more carefully and followed them. Then they mentioned something about a 3 sword style and I immediately knew it was you"…Kaku almost believed his improvised story himself. "So naturally I thought that if I said I was your friend, there wouldn't be any needs to fight"…Kaku finished.
Zoro just stood there thinking for a moment. For some reason he was unable to identify if he was lying. It would seem as if he was telling the truth. "I see, still hard to trust you"…Zoro said with a frown.
"Look"…Kaku said. "If I wanted it, I could have slayed everyone in the village. But as I said, I'm here for a fresh start. Oh and by the way, I was part of the World Government, it would actually be my job to protect innocent people from the likes of you. No offense, just saying it for your title of Pirate"
Zoro against his better judgment decided to play along and keep an eye on him in the meantime. If there was something planned by CP9 he better collect as much info as possible. "Alright then, say I believe you"…Zoro said while Kaku inwardly smiled, "you're gonna have to prove it to me"…Zoro said.
"How so?"…Kaku asked.
"If I remember correctly, you used to be a shipwright, meaning, you'll have some knowledge on construction, and this village needs a lot of help on that"…Zoro smirked. Kaku actually returned the smile.
"Sure, I'll be more than glad to help out"…Kaku said.
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30 min. later:
Kaku was working hard with Zoro and the rest of the villagers in rebuilding the village. Everyone, even Zoro, were surprised at how smoothly things were going along with Kaku's help. It almost felt as if they could finish this up by tomorrow.
By the end of the day, everyone went to a nearby bar to celebrate their fast advancement in the reconstruction. And they all had a great time, thanks to Kaku's sense of humor that made everyone crack up. Zoro just played along, but he was still not taking his eye of from Kaku.
Once night fell on the now peaceful village of Konoha, they all parted their ways. Fortunately for Kaku, once Tsunade knew that he was a friend of Zoro, they gave him a small room which Kaku gladly accepted. Zoro on the other hand was against leaving Kaku without supervising, but he couldn't help it.
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Zoro rose up early in the morning, just like any other villager who were going to get to work. But Zoro had different plans for today, he had a promise to keep to a certain blonde. Today he had to talk about "stuff", as he called it, with Ino. Just the thought of it made him a bit nervous, but he composed himself.
2 hours later:
Ino was as usual, waking up to start fixing the rest of their flower shop. They were about to finish; just some minor details and everything would be up and running. She was about to start placing the plants on their respective spot when there was a knock on the door.
"Going!"…Ino said while placing this one plant. Once she opened the door she was surprised to see Zoro on the other side. "Zoro!"…She said surprised.
"Hey Ino"…Zoro said taking a deep breath (he had kind of lost his way). "I didn't think you'd be moving your house, took me a while to find this place"…Zoro said.
Ino contained her laugh as much as possible. "Zoro, we didn't move the location, but knowing you, you just got lost"…Ino said, this time laughing.
"I did not!"…Zoro tried to defend himself. He suddenly remembered what he came for. "Ino, se need to talk about you know what"…Zoro said.
Ino didn't understand at first, but after thinking for a moment it suddenly dawned on her. A blush crept through her face. "N-now?"…She stammered.
"Well, yeah?"…Zoro said.
Ino squealed and went up to dress up correctly while telling Zoro to hang on for a minute. Zoro patiently waited for Ino, who didn't take long in coming back. "Well that was fast"…Zoro complimented.
Ino just blushed "Thanks"…She said while closing the door behind her. "So, where do you want to go?"…She asked.
"Somewhere serene"…Zoro suggested.
"I know just the perfect place"…Ino said and dragged Zoro by the arm towards their intended location.
Some minutes later:
Ino and Zoro were sitting at the edge of the Hokage Rock. They were silent for a few minutes, probably trying to find a way to start the conversation. After what seemed forever, Zoro finally grunted to let Ino know he was about to start.
"Ino…"…Zoro started, "We both know that we have this attraction to one another, so there's no point running in circles about it"…Zoro said.
"Y-yeah"…Ino said nervously.
"So I just need to tell you something before anything else"…He made a pause which made Ino a bit more restless.
"Which is…?"…She asked.
"You know I'm not from this world, so what's going to happen if I need to return to my own world sooner than expected, for whatever reason?"…Zoro finally said what he had to.
Ino thought for a moment. Sure she hadn't thought about it, but now having the question out on the air, she didn't know what to say. "I don't know… but what I've learned from you is that every time an unexpected situation pops up, you just improvise; so we can do just that"…She said.
Zoro stared at her for a moment, surprise evident in his eyes. He hadn't thought about it in that way. "Heh, for a moment there I sure didn't know what could be done. She sure has what it takes to bring me out of my problems. She's just perfect"…Zoro thought. The only thing he didn't notice was that he had been staring at her when thinking that.
"W-what?"…Ino asked Zoro after seeing that he was only staring at her without saying anything.
"Ah, yes"…Zoro finally said. "Heh"…Zoro chuckled.
"Is there something wrong with what I said?"…Ino asked a bit offended by his laugh.
"Not at all"…Zoro said laying down and looking at the sky. "Just thinking that what you said is just perfect…just like you"…Zoro said blushing a bit, he sounded a bit too much like that perverted idiot from his crew. Zoro internally cursed for saying such thing.
After Ino heard that he wasn't actually laughing at what she said, she calmed down. She saw the look on Zoro's face after saying the last part and laughed too.
"Tch, I knew I shouldn't have said that"…Zoro swore.
"No, no. It's just that I never thought I'd hear you, of all people say something like that"…Ino said which made Zoro get even angrier. "But I like that"…She finished.
"What?"…Zoro asked surprised. He had even sat back up.
"Yeah, that's pretty sweet"…Ino said.
Zoro smiled. Before Ino could say anything else he had launched himself over Ino. Now they were face to face, Zoro on top of Ino. Ino had her eyes as wide as they could with a furious blush all over her face.
"So what do you say, you still want to be with me?"…Zoro asked.
Ino was dumbstruck for a moment. "Y-yes"…She finally blurted out.
Zoro smiled and got closer to her face slowly. Both closed their eyes until finally they felt there lips touch. Zoro hadn't felt this sensation in a long time, while Ino had actually never felt this. Suddenly the kiss got deeper and…
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Kaku finally went to his break. He hid in an alley where he made sure no one would see him. He took out a Den-Den Mushi. "Kaku here"…He said.
There was a moment of silence on the other end. "What took you so long?"…Asked a cold voice on the other side of the Den-Den Mushi.
"Got some construction issue here"…Kaku said, not worried at all. "But don't worry, even though he doesn't fully trust me, he can't really keep an eye on me all day, hence this conversation"…Kaku said proudly.
"Ok then, but don't let your guard down; these are ninjas we are talking about, we don't know very well all there tricks"…Lucci said.
"Sure no problem"…Kaku reassured.
"Alright then, continue with the mission"…Lucci ordered.
"See ya"…And with that the Gatcha sound of the transponder snail marked the end of the conversation.
Kaku went back to work, but on his way back, he enjoyed the peaceful moment that the village was giving him. He hadn't had this much peace in a while. He saw kids running around, pretending to be ninjas; he saw smiling women who would be carrying big pots with which they would feed their men.
He suddenly felt a heavy weight in his chest, but he quickly thought about the mission and what it would give them back. He couldn't let this distract him from his-their goal, he would complete this no matter what.
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Few days later:
Kaku was once again working on helping out the construction, and as they felt when he started working, things were getting done rather quickly. Little by little, everyone in the village started acknowledging Kaku; he was winning the villagers trust.
Though he hated to admit it, Zoro knew that Kaku was actually helping a lot more, thanks to his knowledge in craftsmanship. But he still had this little feeling that something was off. And Kaku too, he didn't want to admit it, but he was having a lot of fun and enjoying his time there. Every time he had the opportunity, he would go to the same alley and talk with the rest of CP9, and unconsciously, he would sit on a bench after every meeting to just look at the peaceful land and how innocent people would go with their lives with such a smile, even after such destruction.
To say the least, he would often include in the meetings, a personal request: if there was a way to spare the lives of the innocent people. Of course Lucci would always deny it, but he still tried nonetheless.
This specific day, he thought giving it a try one last time. After all, he had gathered most of the information he needed regarding the defenses of the village and the whereabouts of most of the ninjas, and, the beginning of the most critical part of the mission was about to begin.
As usual, he made sure no one was following him and entered the same alley. "Yo, Kaku speaking"…He said in his usual playful voice.
"What took you so long this time?"…Lucci asked.
"Just reviewing the information"…Kaku answered.
"Alright then. So has anything changed?"…Lucci asked. The mission was about to begin and he had to make sure that every single detail was covered.
"Yup. Almost every ninja is now heading towards Kumogakure, they're assembling almost every powerful ninja they have to begin the war now. Only Zoro seems to be staying for a while longer with some other ninjas to have some protection in Konoha"…Kaku explained. "By tomorrow, most of them will be gone"
"I see, so in the end I was right. They were planning attacking when most were gone. If they do so, it would distract the ninjas from Konoha. They want to make them either come back, leaving the rest of the other villages on their own; or they want to make their morale lower"…Zoro thought. He was currently hiding hearing everything that was being said in the conversation.
"That being said"…Kaku said. "I don't really find it necessary to kill innocent people"…Kaku once again was trying to convince Lucci. This surprised Zoro. He was about to jump in and take care of this once and for all, but after he heard what Kaku had said, another plan formed in his mind.
"Bringing that up again?"…Lucci asked slightly annoyed.
"You see, we could just destroy the village one more time, without killing anyone, and that would work too"…Kaku pressed on.
"For the last time: this is the only way that would create a huge impact on the ninjas, and, it will bring us closer to being back as the World Government's CP9"…Lucci said in a tone that left no room for discussion.
After a few minutes, the meeting was finally over and Kaku headed towards a bench to sit down and watch, like every other day, the peacefulness of the village. Suddenly Zoro walked up to him and sat down beside him.
"Zoro!"…Kaku said surprised.
Zoro took a deep breath. "I heard everything"…Zoro said deciding to get to the point.
Kaku was surprised for a moment, but he then composed himself. "Yeah?"…He asked. "Then why didn't you do anything at the moment?"
Zoro wasn't sure himself, but he had to give it a try. "The last thing you said?"…Zoro started.
"Oh that?"…Kaku said.
"I'm going to give you one last chance. It seems you're still a good guy, so think about it. You told me that this was like a second chance, and it is. You know that these people don't have to die because of your own selfishness"…Zoro said.
"Hah, and what do you know?"…Kaku said. "It's because of you guys that we're all in this situation"…Kaku blamed Zoro.
"But you guys started it by kidnapping our nakama"…Zoro defended himself.
"Tch, sorry but I don't see a solution any other way"…Kaku said.
Zoro stood up and stared at Kaku's eyes. "Just think about it. I'll give you until sunset and let me know you're decision"…With that Zoro left a thoughtful Kaku. "I can't believe I'm giving him another chance. Usually I would never have done so and killed him instead. Tch"…Zoro said somewhat regretting his decision.
Kaku sat there not believing what just happened. Zoro, a former enemy, had just given him the option to choose between doing the right thing, or continue with his nakama. Why does he want to join back the Marines? Is it because he formerly thought that they were the good guys? Or because the rest of his friends want to go there too.
While he was in deep thought, he felt something hit his leg. He looked down to see a ball. "Mr.! Mr.!"…A little kid said running towards him. "Please hand me the ball!"…The kid finally got close to him.
"Y-yeah"…Kaku said grabbing the ball and handing it to the kid. "Here you go"
"Thank you so much"…The little kid said smiling. He was about to run off towards his friend when he saw the sad look on Kaku's face. "Are you ok?"…He asked making Kaku get out of his stupor. "You seem quite down"
"Oh no, no. I'm ok thank you for asking anyway"…Kaku said.
The other kids were growing desperate and started calling the other kid. "Want to play with us?"…The kid suddenly asked which caught Kaku by surprise.
"Eh?"…Kaku said perplexed.
"Yeah, come play with us"…The kid insisted.
Kaku was suddenly being dragged by the arm by the kid. Kaku didn't have time to react up until he was already in front of everyone. "Who's that?"…A kid asked.
"He's a new friend I just made. He'll be playing with us today"…He answered.
An hour later:
The kids had all gone each to their own house. It was almost sunset and Kaku had to decide. What was it going to be?
Soon Zoro appeared, somehow not getting lost in his way back here. "So, have you decided?"…Zoro asked.
"Actually, yeah"…Kaku saide. "I…"…
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Kumogakure:
"What do you mean you didn't bring Zoro with you?!"…Tsunade just got the bad news about Zoro staying in Konoha.
"I-I'm so sorry. It's just that he asked of me this"…Ino apologized. "I don't know the details, but he just needed to take care of a business.
"Is there something wrong in the village?"…Tsunade asked worried.
"N-no, at least by the time I left"…Tsunade calmed down a bit. "But he told me to give you this message: Don't worry about Konoha, I'll protect the village and get there as soon as possible. As of now you must focus solely on the war. If someone else knows, this info will be leaked and none of you will be able to give it you're all in the war, or you'll abandon every other village"…Ino finished.
Indeed Zoro was right. But to leave to him alone? She didn't know what kind of threat could be putting in danger the village. She at least had to send some reinforcements. "Zoro is right, but we should at least send a small squad to back him up"…Tsunade told Ino.
"Oh by the way, Zoro said that you don't have to worry since he hasn't shown even half of his strength"…Ino said.
Tsunade's eyes widened. Zoro had already fought a couple of Kage's and Sasuke too. Just how strong was he? But still, she had to send at least someone who could communicate Konoha with her.
"If you want to"…Ino started. "I could go and help him out"…Ino offered.
"Hmm indeed, you would be great to be able to communicate Konoha with us too. That's it, you're going back to Konoha; take some more guys with you"…Tsunade said. "Oh, and don't let anyone else know about this"
"Yes!"…Ino said and disappeared.
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Heading towards Konoha:
It was already dark thanks to the night that had already fallen. Ino, Kiba and Ten Ten were on their way to Konoha. Ino had already given the information she knew. They were almost back to the village, just a few more hours and they'd be in Konoha.
"But why all of a sudden?"…Kiba asked. "I mean, were just about to begin the war and he comes up with this?"
"As I said before, I don't know the details of this. All I know is that Zoro didn't want us to get distracted from the war. So that's the reason he said he'd take care of it himself"…Ino answered.
"Oh, by the way"…Ten Ten said. "Why did you bring us and not the rest of your old team?"…She asked.
"Ah yes, about that"…Ino thought for a moment. "You see, I didn't bring Shikamaru because he was sort of like a back-up captain of his division; and Choji, because Shikamaru needs someone with brute strength in his team"…She explained.
"Ohh I see, but what about us? Why us I mean?"…Ten Ten asked.
"Well first of all, Kiba, you're a sensory type so that will help us a lot and you are quite strong yourself, so yea. And you Ten Ten have a lot of weapon power, we could use that too"…Ino explained.
"So you acknowledge me as a strong shinobi, right?"…Kiba asked.
"I actually didn't choose you directly"…Ino said.
"What?"…Kiba said surprised.
"It was actually Tsunade and Shikaku who suggested both of you, so I complied"…Ino said. "Oh but I totally agree with them by the way"
Ten Ten squeaked in excitement because her idol had finally recognized her.
"Hell yeah!"…Kiba shouted. "I'm recognized as a strong shinobi by two of the best ninjas out there!"…Kiba said all excited.
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(Early in the morning) Back in Konoha:
"So that's how they planned to attack, huh?"…Zoro said.
"Yeah. With Madara providing several hundred White Zetsus, they'll strengthen their attack"…Kaku explained.
"Okay I see"…Zoro said. "Now we just need to plan something to be able to stop them"…Zoro placed a hand under his chin.
"We only have a few ninjas to help us and both of us"…Kaku said. "We can easily take out the bunch of White Zetsus, but when it comes to the rest of CP9, it won't be so simple. While you attack one, and while I attack another one, there would still be another 4 that can go to the village"…Kaku said. "And I doubt that they would be able to even slow them down"…He told Zoro making sure that only he could hear him"
Zoro kept thinking how he would stop them, but then he sensed something, no, 3 people to be exact, approaching in high speed. He quickly identified who they were. Zoro hid a small smile knowing backup was here. "Well I guess we almost got them all covered"…Zoro told Kaku who was a bit skeptical, not knowing the true strength of the ninjas that were heading their way.
"Zoro!"…Ino ran directly to him and hugged him. "Why didn't you say anything about this before?"…She punched him lightly.
"Uhm…"…Zoro scratched the back of his head. "Actually this is recent. I knew about it yesterday"…Zoro said.
"How did you get the notice of this sudden attack?"…Kiba asked as the rest nodded.
Kaku was about to confess, but Zoro had already began to explain, "The attackers are people from my world and Kaku"…He said pointing at Kaku, "when he confirmed the information, he explained the situation"…Zoro said.
Kaku was utterly surprised. To think that Zoro would lie, well technically he didn't, but he did omit the part of him being involved in the attack. "Y-yeah, that's true"…Was all Kaku could say. "Anyways, I'll proceed to explain to you guys these foes powers and the situation"…Kaku said.
Sometime later:
After everything was explained, everyone had already decided who they would be fighting with. Everyone was in position just waiting for Kaku to return as planned.
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Headquarters of CP9:
Kaku had finally arrived. He entered the tent where the rest of his "friends" should be.
"You're late"…Lucci said.
"Sorry, got busy back there a little"…Kaku said with his usual smile.
"So what's the status?"…Lucci asked not interested in the whole story.
"Same. All the powerful ninjas are dispatched in the battlefield. There's just a few left, but they're no big deal"…He said.
"What about Roronoa Zoro?"…Lucci asked. "Is he still there?"
"Yup, just as we wanted"…Kaku answered.
"Perfect. Once we kill him, we will go back to our world and show it to Monkey D. Luffy. I'll delight in the painful and sorrowful face he will have. After we'll kill him"…Lucci thought. He'd make sure that the Straw Hat crew paid for what they did to him-them.
"I just have one last request"…Kaku said.
"If it's about the innocent people in the village, save it"…Lucci said.
"But why? There must be another way to deal with this. They don't deserve to die because of our own selfishness"…Kaku said reflecting the same words that were said to him.
"No. End of the discussion"…Lucci said exasperated.
"What if we stay here and become a protection force or something like that. It's not as if we have family or loved ones back there"…Kaku kept going further.
Lucci was taken back by the suggestion. What kept them trying to return to the same world where they were dejected by one mistake? Pride. He couldn't let go of his failure; he had to somehow go back and be a feared secret agent.
"Please think about it"…Kaku said.
"No, there is no going back. If you don't have pride then you can stay here and wait for to finish the job ourselves"…Lucci said.
Kaku sighed. He had tried, but to no avail. "I'm really sorry then…"…Kaku said.
"Sorry? What are you talking about?"…Jabra talked for the first time.
"I've made up my mind and I'm going to protect the village"…Kaku said going outside the tent.
"So you're just going to betray us? The same people that have been with you since the beginning, since we were children?"…Kalifa said.
"I'm truly sorry, but you gave me no other choice. This is just not right .We're supposed to be the good guys, but with this, it would seem we are the villains. This isn't Justice, we shouldn't do this"…Kaku took off.
Quickly the rest of CP9 followed suit and started chasing him. "Stop Kaku, we're going to have to kill you!"…Lucci yelled.
"Oh let's just kill him!"…Jabra said. For some reason he always seemed to have some rivalry with Kaku.
Since Kaku did not answer, Lucci gave the signal and everyone started sending their attacks. Rankyaku's flying in Kaku's direction while he in return would dodge them. While he kept running away, the rest of CP9 seemed to not know that they were being led into a trap.
"Now!"…Kaku shouted. And right on queue several shurikens were heading directly at the rest of CP9. Kaku surely didn't want to kill them, but the reason he accepted to lead them to this trap was because he knew that they would dodge them. And just as predicted, they did.
"Hmph, should've known that ninjas would have set such traps. But of course, we aren't that weak"…Jabra said.
"Now then, who will fight who?"…Blueno asked.
On the opposite side, protecting Konoha, stood Zoro, Kaku, Kiba, Ino, Ten Ten and several other ninjas. "Al right then, everyone knows who is going to be fighting who"…Zoro said.
"Don't worry, before we begin the attack ourselves, let's wait for the backup to get here (though they won't really be able to buy us much time)"…Lucci said. They patiently waited for the Zetsus to appear.
After a few minutes a horde of white Zetsus appeared. They started their charge at the group defending the village.
"This isn't good. They are a little bit too much"…Ten Ten stated worried. There were easily 300 Zetsus charging at them.
"Hah, don't worry. We once fought against 100,000 fishmen and we defeated them; so don't worry, we got it covered"…Zoro said.
"It isn't hard to believe"…Kaku said smirking. He knew firsthand how strong they were before the two years, so it's no surprise if they actually did fight against such number.
"No kidding, really"…Kiba asked utterly surprised. 100,000? That was just crazy!
"Just follow my lead"…Zoro said as he charged towards the horde. Kaku quickly followed after and Ino too. After staring at them for a while, Kiba, Ten Ten and the other ninjas followed suit.
"Now then, let's get this over with quickly"…Zoro said smirking while Kaku smirked too.
"Yeah, let's have some fun"…Kaku said.
"Enbima Yonezu…Oni Giri!"…Zoro appeared behind the horde of Zetsus. At least a hundred were sent flying, successfully killing them.
"Rankyaku: Shuriken!"…Kaku said sending several projectiles that would equally kill a lot of the Zetsus.
"Oi, oi. This is a joke right?"…Kiba said. "That's just crazy!"
Ten Ten sweat dropped "I know, now it doesn't seem so crazy the idea of them beating 100,000 fish-whatever they were"
"Yeah…but we can't be left behind, we have to attack too"…Kiba started spinning with Akamaru. "Fang Over Fang"…Kiba and Akamaru spun towards another group of Zetsus.
Ten Ten in order to not be outdone launched her attack too. She opened up several scrolls and unleashed a wave a Kunais and Shurikens, killing another bunch of Zetsus.
Within minutes, the group had already dispatched all of the Zetsus and now only the members of CP9 remained. "Well that was a bit faster than expected"…Fukurou said. "Guess it's our turn now, chapapa"…He laughed.
"Let's go"…Lucci said as everyone charged towards the group of ninjas, and Kaku and Zoro of course. They all clashed weapons or limbs with their intended opponent.
Lucci with Kaku, Jabra with Zoro, Blueno with Kiba, Kumadori with Ten Ten, Fukurou with Ino; this only left Kalifa against the rest of the ninjas that were with them, three ninjas against Kalifa.
"Didn't think you'd be the one taking me on"…Lucci told Kaku.
"Ha, well guess this isn't your lucky day"…Kaku taunted. He knew that Lucci was the strongest out of them all, but had to take this opportunity to try and talk him out of this and at the same time, try to surpass him and get to the next level.
"Even though we were comrades, don't think for a second that I'm going to go easy on you"…Lucci said. Lucci had caught Kaku's punch with one hand, while Kaku had caught Lucci's punch with the other hand. They both started to push but no one would let off any ground, so they both jumped back creating some space between them.
"But seriously, I thought I'd be facing Roronoa over there"…Lucci said pointing at Zoro.
"Well, this is something I had to do"…Kaku said.
Flashback:
After Kaku had explained to everyone all the abilities and powers the CP9 members had, they all chose who would fight against who. Zoro of course had chosen Lucci, he knew that Lucci would be able to give him a good fight. After everyone had agreed to who they were fighting, they went into their groups and starting planning how to take care of them. Kaku took Zoro to where only he could listen.
"What's wrong?"…Zoro asked.
"I just wanted to ask a favor from you"…Kaku said.
"Yeah? What is it?"…Zoro asked.
"I need you to let me fight Lucci"…Zoro wasn't sure why he had suddenly asked for that.
"Why? I can take care of him myself. Even though you know him more, I'm pretty confident in my strength, you know?"…Zoro said offended.
"No, no. It's not because of that. It's because he's the strongest of us all and I want to face him to become stronger, and because I want to see if there is a way to talk him out of this situation"…Kaku explained. Zoro sighed but relented.
"All right, all right. But if I see that things go wrong, I'm taking him and I don't think I'll have mercy on him"…Zoro warned.
"Heh, you don't have to worry about me"…Kaku teased.
"Y-you got it wrong. I'm not worrying about you"…Zoro defended himself.
"Let's go then"…Kaku hurried Zoro. "We need to set things up"
End of flashback…
Both Kaku and Lucci charged at each other, they disappeared and suddenly reappeared in the sky, already clashing their punches. They kept attacking one another, none of them gaining any ground on the other. Every clash would resonate throughout the battlefield, the hits would seem to be bone-crashing, but neither of them showed any discomfort. Suddenly with one last blow they both created some space, they both knew that continuing on like this was meaningless since they couldn't land any blows on the other.
"Well, I guess it's time to take it to the next level"….Kaku smirked.
"Just don't cry once I've beaten you to a bloody mess"…Lucci said, not in the mood for jokes.
"I really didn't want this to happen, but you gave me no choice"…Kaku said. "Why must we kill the innocent people? I'm sure we could find a way to get back without doing so. Or even so, we can start anew here"…Kaku futilely tried to convince Lucci.
"Just shut up already!"…Lucci said in an outburst which surprised Kaku. "Don't you get it? This is for our pride. But it would seem that you don't have any"…Lucci seethed.
Without giving any chances to let Kaku answer, Lucci began his transformation to his half-leopard, half-human hybrid form. Unlike last time Zoro fought Kaku, this time he was able to control his transformation process to just the half-giraffe, half-human form too; Kaku had already mastered his devil fruit.
"Wha-?"…Kiba said looking up to see the towering sizes of each "animal". "What kind of power is that?
"I-I don't know. They seem to have powered up or something"…Ino answered, even though the question wasn't really directed at someone in particular.
"Good thing that the one I'm fighting doesn't seem to have that sort of powers"…Ten Ten said with relief.
"Hoo, things seem to be getting a bit more interesting"…Zoro mused. "So, when are you going to transform?"…Zoro asked Jabra who was just smirking too.
"So you do remember?"…Jabra said beginning his transformation.
"How could I forget the first and only Zoo I've been to so far?"…Zoro mocked.
"Hah, I'll wipe that cocky smirk out of your face once you see my true power"…Jabra said enraged.
"We'll see about that"…Zoro smirked.
"Him too?"…Kiba asked faintly. "This is getting crazy. Even though they had already explained to us their powers, now that I see them, it's quite shocking"
"Y-yeah"…Ino and Ten Ten said.
"Well then, let's get this rolling"…Kaku said.
Both Lucci and Kaku clashed with their increased powers. The result of their clash ended in a shockwave that almost pushed the unsuspecting ninjas off their feet. And so the fight to protect the village began.
One Piece world. Zou:
"Now we are in a great pinch"…Usopp said nervously. He was sweating all over.
"Y-yeah"…Nami agreed. "Now we don't have neither Sanji nor Zoro. How are we going to survive like this?"…Nami directed this question to Luffy.
Luffy didn't answer nor looked at the rest of his crewmates who were all waiting for his answer. His has was obscuring his eyes, resembling the moments when he's totally pissed. Everyone thought that he was just going to snap any moment.
"So…?"…Usopp asked after waiting for – what they felt like – an eternity.
Luffy raised his head slowly, almost painfully. They were all fearing the worst when all of a sudden he just scratched the back of his head and with an apologetic smile he said "I don't know. Shishishi"…Everyone fell, anime style.
"That's all you have to say?"…Nami raged. "You left us waiting all this time to just say that?!"…She hit Luffy in the head.
"Ow, Nami. Why did you do that?"…Luffy said rubbing his head.
Nami turned around and mumbled more to herself, though everyone heard her. "Figures. For someone as idiotic at him, how could we even think that he had a plan?"
Everyone sighed; Robin just giggled as usual. Then Luffy spoke up "But I'll go for Sanji first. He's the only one we know his whereabouts"
"But then what will we do about Zoro?"…Nami asked. Sure Luffy was – surprisingly – correct, but what about Zoro?
"Hmm…"…Luffy place his hand under his chin. "Ahh he's strong, he'll be able to take care of himself until we find a way to get him back"…Luffy shrugged. Luffy did worry about Zoro, though he didn't show it, but he knew Zoro too well. He should be fine. After all, they didn't train two years for nothing.
"Luffy!"…Nami whined. How careless could her captain be? "So we are just going to let Zoro be, without any plan?"…she asked.
"Luffy's right"…Nami heard Robin finally voice her opinion. "Zoro is strong enough to take care of himself, and be the way, it's easier for us to track Sanji rather than Zoro"…Robin said.
Nami sighed. "All right, all right"…She finally relented.
"We will definitely get both of them back!"…Luffy said with determination in his face.
"Yeah!"…The rest of the Straw Hats said in unison.
They all followed Luffy as he walked towards finding Sanji (except for Robin and Law).
Unfortunately they didn't even think if they were going in the correct direction; they were too fired up right now to think clearly. Robin just giggled.
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"Oi Mugiwara-ya"…Law said. "If I remember correctly, your shipwright said that your ship was this way". . . .
A/N: Phew I think this is my longest one, but finally; here's chapter number…what was it? Sorry I forgot. Hihi, guess being out for a long time doesn't fit well for a writer, or probably it's just me. Anyways, I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter myself; it feels kind of rushed or I don't know. But rather than my opinion, let me hear (or read) what you guys have to say about it.
P.S. Next chapter is where the action scenes begin. Hang on tight there. Well, until next chapter.
P.P.S. Just wanted to ask if you guys had any idea of a Jutsu or a Secret Technic that could help me bring several people from the One Piece world, though I'm not gonna spoil who. Probably you already know anyways haha. I do have a slight idea of how I'm going to do so, but I want to see if you guys have any better ideas or probably I'll just complement it with my own.
Anyways, have a nice day/night/evening or at whatever time you're currently at.
R&R please.