Ch. 21- Heating Up
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, Lucky, and Kuro Diablo © Me
"YES!" Dice shouted as Zoro kept clashing with the blade of his golden ax. "YES! YES! YES! YES! YEEEES~!"
Zoro grunted as he kept blocking Dice's strikes until he pushed him back, once more, but that only made Dice more determined!
"YES!" Dice shouted as he slammed his head into the ground, causing Zoro to leap up into the air.
"Ultra...TIGER HUNT!" he shouted, a momentary image of a vicious tiger appearing, before he sliced Dice along his back, causing him to scream in pain as he stumbled back.
"GIMME MORE~!" the masochist exclaimed, drooling and blushing.
"Man, what a freak," Zoro muttered before he poised his swords to swing and charged at Dice. "1080...CALIBER PHOENIX!"
SLASH! Swinging his blades in a circular motion, the swordsman sent an air-compressed slash at his opponent, sending him flying right into a building. Not long after, THUNK! His axe dropped right next to Zoro, who glared intensely, as if expecting something to happen...and he would soon realize he was right.
"DON'T STOP~!" Dice roared as he leapt out of the building! "GIMME MORE! I NEED MORE POWER~!"
On that, he imbued his whole head and face with Haki and spun wildly towards Zoro, who prepared to fight back, but for some reason, he found himself unable to move his swords. He looked down and he soon saw why: golden tendrils had formed from Dice's ax and grabbed his blades!
"Dammit!" Zoro cursed as he glanced at the golem that Tesoro piloted. "That sneaky bastard!"
"Hahahahaha!" Tesoro laughed. "Go, Dice!"
THWAM! Dice slammed into Zoro, sending him flying across the ground!
"Hehehehehe!" Dice snickered as he grabbed Shuusui and Kitestu III. "You know the best way to win at a gamble? You should rob the opponent of their cards before they strike, first!"
"...Sounds interesting," Zoro smirked as he got to his feet.
"Hahahahahaha!" Tesoro cackled. "Now...LET'S GO!"
He then enlarged the golem's left fist and tried to punch Nami, Franky, and Carina, who scattered to avoid the attack, only to get sent flying a bit as the first made impact!
"Tsururururu!" Tanaka snickered as he jumped down from the building and phased right through the ground, popping up all over Sanji and Robin, who looked around in confusion as they kept hearing his familiar chuckle from all different directions. "I wonder how you're going to catch me!" Then, he started firing his pistol at the pair, who ducked and dodged to avoid the bullets.
"This damn Through-Through bastard's toying with us!" hissed Sanji.
"This is a show, you know," said Tanaka as he kept popping up and shooting at the cook and archaeologist. "After I have some fun with you for a bit..." He then stuck his head from the wall of a building. "I'll kill you!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Sanji barked as he tried to kick Tanaka in the face, only for the phasing man to disappear at the last second, causing him to hit nothing but stone. "Huh? W-where did he-"
"Um...Sanji?" Robin called. "A little help, please."
Sanji turned around, only to gasp upon seeing Tanaka standing right next to Robin, pointing his pistol right at her head.
"I just knew you'd fall for that," he grinned.
"Robin!" Sanji cried.
"Dammit, Dartboard Brow!" Zoro barked. "You better not let Robin get shot!"
"You think I wanna get her killed, Moss-head?!" Sanji questioned. "Shut up and focus on your own fight!"
With Blizzard, Aika, and Kumi, they were being confronted by Kuro Diablo, who snickered as he licked the blade of his sword.
"I wonder...how will you make it passed me?" the jaguar-man asked.
Blizzard growled before he let out a vicious bark and charged at Kuro Diablo, who charged right back with his espada brandished. SLASH! The wolf-dog and the jaguar-man clashed, the former landing behind the latter, his right cheek bleeding. As the wolf-dog turned, he licked the crimson fluid off his cheek as Kumi ran up to him, while Kuro Diablo glanced back at him, revealing a cut right over his left. However, he still had his back turned to Blizzard, who growled as he prepared to charge again.
"Not so fast, White Wolf!" Kuro Diablo exclaimed as he turned around completely...revealing Aika, caught in a choke hold!
"Blizzard!" Aika cried.
"AIKA!" Blizzard and Kumi shouted in horror.
"Why you-!" Blizzard hissed as he attempted to charge once more, but then, Kuro Diablo held up the blade of his espada to Aika's neck!
"Ah-ah-ah!" Kuro Diablo exclaimed as he pressed the blade against Aika's throat, the blade dangerously close to the jugular vein. "Don't you take another step forward, either of you! Or else I'll have no choice but to lop off this girl's sweet little head! And believe you me, she's had it coming for a long time!"
"No!" cried Kumi.
"You coward...!" Blizzard hissed, while Kuro Diablo snickered.
"The intensity of the struggle to protect those close to you," he surmised. "It makes for a grand show!"
Meanwhile, Baccarat just casually walked through a group of cronies, light tapping them on the chest, much to the confusion of her men and Usopp, Chopper, and Brook.
"Wait...did she just...?" Usopp asked, and as if to answer his question, a giant pillar suddenly toppled over, heading right towards the unfortunate lackeys, who screamed as they scrambled to get away. Unfortunately, some didn't make it in time, having been crushed by the pillar while Baccarat remained completely untouched.
"D...did you just see that?!" the sniper questioned in shock.
"She just took her allies luck away!" Brook exclaimed.
"Who cares?!" Usopp asked as he brandished his Black Kabuto. "She's out in the open! This is our chance! Certain Death: Green Star...SKULL BOMB-GRASS!"
TWANG! He fired a Pop Green at Baccarat, who just stood there, as if waiting...and then, it happened. One of Tesoro's thugs came running at the three Straw Hats, attempting to cut them down with his saber, but then, out of nowhere, he just slipped on a banana peel, landed right in Usopp's line of fire, and KABOOM! He took the explosion for Baccarat!
"What the hell?!" Usopp questioned.
"Goodness," Baccarat grinned. "Lucky me."
"W-what just happened?!" Chopper asked.
"Allow me to explain," said Baccarat as she drew her broadsword. "You see, the Luck-Luck Fruit doesn't just take away the luck of other people. I can take that luck and add it to myself."
KABOOM! A random explosion occurred, taking out several more lackeys who also happened to be victims of Baccarat's Luck-Luck curse.
"That makes me...virtually invincible at this point!" the lucky woman exclaimed as she threw her sword away, and then pulled out a golden coin with a star emblem on it. "I think this is more than enough for you boys. I'll defeat you with a single coin!"
On that, she tossed the coin, which rolled right passed the Cowardly Trio.
"There's no way you can beat us with something so little!" Chopper retorted.
"Oh?" Baccarat inquired. "Well, let's test that theory, then."
As she said this, the coin rolled towards one of Tesoro's goons, but when he stepped on it, he tripped and snapped his ankle, causing him to scream in agony as he hopped around. In doing so, he accidentally grabbed the pants of one of his allies and pulled them down when he fell, revealing his rather hairy buttocks. In his surprise, the bald, pants-less archer accidentally misfired an arrow, which ended up hitting the pompadour of another crony, who, in his shock, accidentally fired his rifle at the pompadour of another crony, who screamed and accidentally misfired his bazooka at a pair of cronies standing on a roof, preparing to drop a barrel of gunpowder on the Cowardly Trio.
"We'll blow 'em away with this!" said a tall, brutish-looking one, but just as he was about to throw it, KABOOM! The bazooka shot blasted the roof, causing him to drop the gunpowder barrel...which flew right towards the three Straw Hats!
"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME~!" they shrieked before they turned and ran to avoid the explosion, which sent them flying quite a ways, and that's when Baccarat's coin returned to her palm.
"My," she said. "Lucky me, again."
"Urgh...me and my big mouth...!" Chopper groaned.
"What are we going to do...?!" Brook asked.
"Ngh...we got...no choice!" Usopp answered, painfully. "We'll just have to keep attacking her! Her luck can't last forever, right?"
"Oh, do you really think so?" Baccarat asked as she tossed her coin up and down in her hand. "You think you'll actually last until then?"
"WE'LL SURE AS HELL TRY~!" the Cowardly Trio shouted as they rushed Baccarat, who simply rolled her coin towards them, and then, BAM! Three washtubs suddenly fell right on their heads! "WASHTUBS!"
Another roll of the coin...
"BIRDS!" the Cowardly Trio cried as they found themselves getting pecked on by a flock of red birds.
Another roll of the coin...
"BANANAS~!" the Cowardly Trio screamed as they slipped on banana peels and landed right on their faces!
BOOM! BOOM! BABABOOM! Three explosions sent them all flying, and Usopp particularly went flying right towards the fourth wall, which he slid off with a groan, and meanwhile, there wasn't even a single scratch on Baccarat, who held her coin in her hand.
"What's the matter, boys?" she asked, mockingly. "At your limit, already? I have plenty of luck to spare."
"Dammit!" Chopper cried, frustrated. "What are we gonna do?!"
"Don't worry, guys," Usopp said as he got to his knees. "I have a plan."
"What are you going to do, Usopp?" Brook asked.
"...Certain Death...USOPP DASH~!"
On that, Usopp turned and bolted, much to the shock of Chopper and Brook. Even Baccarat seemed a bit surprised, while the rest of the Straw Hats just gave a deadpanned expression.
"...Really?" they asked.
"My goodness!" Baccarat exclaimed. "Ran away, did he? Some friend you have!"
"...You don't know anything about Usopp!" Chopper barked. "He'll come through for us!"
'...I hope...!' he thought.
Just then, everyone heard a familiar roar in the distance, and it was closing in fast.
"Luffy!" Nami exclaimed as she heard her fiance approach, and sure enough, there he was in all his fury!
"Take THIS!" Luffy roared as he punched Tesoro's golem with a Haki-imbued fist, and at first, it caused the golden giant to stumble back for a moment, but then, Tesoro countered by punching the Straw Hat Captain right into the ground!
"Big Brother!" Aika cried as she watched, still trapped in Kuro Diablo's grip.
"My, my!" Tesoro exclaimed. "All done, already, Straw Hat?!"
As if to answer his question, Luffy dug through the ground and burst right out of the road, flying high above Tesoro!
"Like hell I am!" he shouted as he bit down on his thumbs and inflated them to massive size, then imbued them with Haki. "GRIZZLY MAGNUM~!"
WHAM! He slammed both fists into the golem's face, the shockwave smashing the glass windows of the buildings nearby.
"Heh!" Tesoro smirked. "Exceptional! As I would expect from a man worth 500 million!"
He then moved to punch Luffy, but the raven-haired captain was too fast for him, this time. He managed to shrink his arms back, just in time, and ran along the golem's arm. However, just as he jumped off and prepared to land another punch...KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The sound of cannons firing filled the air, and soon after, several artillery shells hit Tesoro's golem, and the resulting blast would've sent Luffy flying off had he grabbed onto the golem's right wrist in time.
"What's going on?!" Nami questioned as she heard the cannon fire, while Aika's eyes went wide in horror, for she recognized that sound from a long time ago.
"...The Buster Call...!" she whispered.
XXX
"Hold your fire!" shouted a Marine Captain. "Even if the Celestial Dragons and their Heavenly Tribute is in danger, you can't just give the order to fire, like that! Think about the innocent civilians in there!"
"What about them?" asked Lucci, causing the captain to gasp.
"Please hurry-amasu!" shouted a familiar voice on the Mini Transponder Snail. "Tesoro's rampaging and we're trapped here-amasu!"
KABOOM! Another explosion occurred, startling the Celestial Dragon on the line, and not long after, it took on the face of Saint Camael.
"Hurry!" he demanded. "What are you fools doing-ehhh?! Do whatever you must do-ehhhh! Hurry and get us out of here-ehhhhhhh~!"
KOCHEP! Lucci hung up at this, putting the Mini Transponder Snail in his pocket.
"Issue the order for the completion of the mission," the leopard-man ordered. "Crush Tesoro, immediately."
KROO-KOO! Hattori cooed in agreement, much to the Marine Captain's ire. Unfortunately, Lucci outranked him...so he had no choice.
"All fleets, prepare to fire!" he ordered. "Our target is Gild Tesoro!"
On that, all the battleships began to train their cannons on Tesoro.
"Ready...aim...FIRE!" the captain shouted, but just as they opened fire...
"HIKEN~!"
FWOOSH! A giant wall of fire burst out of nowhere, destroying the artillery shells!
"What was that?!" asked a Marine, while Lucci just smirked.
"And just what business does the Revolutionary Army have here?" he asked...and soon after, Sabo appeared in a burst of flames.
"You expect me to just sit by and overlook this crap?" Sabo asked. "Stop with all the needless sacrifices, CP0! Besides...my little brother's in there, and this is a fight between him and Tesoro...so kindly stay out of it, huh?"
On the Revolution Army ship, Koala sighed as she looked through a pair of binoculars with Lucky at her side.
"I don't believe this," she muttered. "First Fujitora in Dressrosa, and now this? It's a wonder I haven't gotten gray hairs yet."
Lucky sighed in agreement.
XXX
Back in Gran Tesoro, the Casino King sneered as he noticed the Marines.
"Damn those Marine dogs!" Tesoro hissed. "I'll show them what happens when you defy a god!"
On that, the golem turned and widened his right eye, which flashed a bright light.
"Gold...FUOCO DI DIO!" he roared as he fired a laser beam at one of the Marine battleships, which exploded on contact! However, Lucci and Sabo remained undeterred, focusing only on each other.
"...Is this your way of describing justice?" asked Lucci.
"Wrong," Sabo answered. "It's freedom."
"...As if I follow such a ridiculous thing!" Lucci shouted as he turned into his leopard-hybrid form, and soon after, he and Sabo jumped at each other, their Haki-imbued fists colliding!
XXX
Back with Tesoro, he laughed as he watched one of the Marine battleships smolder away.
"That's right," he said. "Fear me! This is the power of a god!"
"TESOOOOOOOOOOROOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!"
Tesoro gasped as he heard that roar.
"Him again?!" he questioned as he saw Luffy running along the arm of his golem, his right arm blazing with fire!
"NOW GUUUUM-GUUUUUUUM...RED HAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWK~!"
KAPOW! With an explosive, fiery fist, Luffy landed a direct hit on the golem, which stumbled back for a moment, but then, Tesoro seethed, refusing to back down.
"Power Boost!" he shouted, using his powers to enlarge the golem's fist, once more. "Gold...INFERNO!"
BAM! The golem's fist slammed into Luffy, and the resulting explosion from the friction sent him flying far across Gran Tesoro!
"NO!" Nami screamed.
"BIG BROTHER~!" Aika cried.
XXX
In the streets, Max, Rikka, and the former prisoners found themselves bracing from the explosion, but despite this, they could only think of one thing.
"DON'T GIVE UP, KIDDO~!" Max called out.
XXX
THUD! Luffy landed on the ground...his body bloodied, bruised, battered...and completely motionless.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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