Disclaimer: One Piece and all its characters belong to Eiichirō Oda

Chapter 25

"Well, well…" Kaien smiled as his eyes moved from one face to the next, regaled by the deadly glares that the five men were giving him, "So many scary faces…" He smirked as he glanced at Zoro and Datte, "Although it seems as though some of you can barely stand…" he chuckled, "You're rebelling against me so easily, Datte? And after I took such good care of you?" his voice was cold and mocking.

Datte's lips curled up in a snarl, "Go to hell, Kaien." His eyes glowered with hatred, "I'm going to make you pay."

"My, my…kids these days…so ungrateful," he shook his head slightly, "How is our beloved ice princess faring? I trust she is well?" His smile was heartless, and Datte found himself taking a step forward with a growl, only to be stopped by Zoro.

"You bastard," He hissed.

"Such foul words," his eyes then came upon Itami, whose face was serious and impassive, but his green eyes gave away the hatred the redhead felt towards him. "It seems as though I am being betrayed by all who I considered dear…"

Itami laughed bitterly, "Don't give me that shit, Kaien," he smirked, "You yourself said that you had only wanted me for my essence."

"Oh, Itami, my boy…" his eyes took a fake paternal warmth that made the redhead's lip curl up in disgust, "How far down you have fallen, my friend," the white man sighed, "To think that you would go as low as to join a crew of filthy pirates…I thought you knew better than that." He smiled, "I really hadn't expected you to come back when you could have just ran away from me…it seems as though your weak heart has, once again, influenced your ability to think clearly, boy…" his gold eyes glowed hungrily, "Just like it did with her."

Sanji eyed the redhead's still smirking expression, and had to admire the man's control over his emotions. As he understood it, Kaien had killed the only person he held dear, and yet here he was, smiling like this was just any other foe…like he had not gone through hell for five whole years because of him. The cook then realized that Itami could have, indeed, ran away and left Nami and Iryann to die while the crew tried to break in on their own…and found himself (albeit begrudgingly) feeling grateful for his help.

"I'm not that stupid, my lord," the last two words were dripping with bitter sarcasm, "I know perfectly well that, as soon as you were finished with Roronoa's and the others' essences you'd have hunt me down in no time," his smirk widened, "So why not just stay here and fight for my freedom? I'm quite a lazy person, you know, I don't like running." despite his humorous tone and laid-back pose, his eyes were cold as stone, "And if there is anything I can do to help bring about your downfall any faster, I will certainly do so." His eyes creased up in a smile.

Kaien's smile was still plastered on his face, but his eyes were less than amused as they dug coldly into his former servant's smile. The pirates, on the other hand, couldn't help but smirk at the words that had so easily left the redhead's mouth. Even the navigator felt the treacherous numbness of hope take over her heart at the man's confidence.

"Is that so?" Kaien's eyes narrowed "Do not think you'll have it so easy, boy, I will not fall without a fight."

"And neither will we," Luffy's voice blanketed them all with renewed confidence and faith.

Kaien glared dangerously at the boy, "We'll see about that, Straw Hat."

"You're damn right we will, shitty bastard," Sanji snarled, his cigarette an incandescent red light in the black night, "And you'll get to see it first hand."

"Well, this must be the infamous Blackleg Sanji," the cold voice was mocking, "The man who knows, but has to deal with the burden of not telling." Sanji and Zoro tensed while Luffy looked at his cook and first mate, a questioning look shinning in his charcoal-black eyes. What does he—

"Stop blabbering already, Kaien," Datte's cold reply relieved the apprehension from the blonde and the swordsman's shoulders as the young captain's attention was once again claimed by the present situation, "Why don't you just stop your manipulative attempts and take us seriously already? Unless of course you just don't deem us worth your time oh, all-powerful Dark Lord," the tall raven vowed in mock respect, earning a dark look from the white haired man.

"Your mockery is in bane, Datte," Nami could sense the irritation growing inside the man's eyes, and would have smiled, had it not been by the darkness that sealed her mouth. "You have spent half your life running from me. Do you really think my power has diminished at all since the last time you tried to defeat me? You are still no match for me, boy."

"If you're so confident of your skills," Zoro's strong voice was heard over the silence of the night, "Why delay the fight any longer?" his lips curled up in a feral smirk as he readied his swords, "Or are you scared that we might have a chance against you?"

"Aren't we bold, Roronoa," Kaien glowered, "Don't be too cocky, brat, or I assure you, it will be your doom," Nami was thrown away from him by an invisible force, making her land harshly on the tiers and earning the white man deadly glares and snarls from the five men, "But if you are so eager to die," he stood erect, his eyes glowing, "Let us begin."

The five men disappeared from view, and Kaien's eyes moved sideways, calmly roaming the darkness, trying to predict their very much predictable attack.

It was Itami who fell upon him first, his crimson sword raised over his head as he struck down on the white man. A black bladed sword materialized in Kaien's hand, and their swords met, lighting up the night with ephemeral sparks that danced and died before each clash of their blades.

"A traitor's destiny is never a good one, Itami," Kaien warned calmly as they fought for dominance, their swords being the only thing preventing the other from drawing blood, "If you go down this road, you are not going to like what you find." Itami's eyes narrowed with despise as his arms shook at the force he was using to prevent Kaien's sword from cutting him.

"Well I don't see what your point is," he growled, his voice strained under Kaien's powerful arms as the white man started to push him back. With a grunt, the redhead managed to stop the man's advance and took a chance to move closer to his former master as he hissed, "It's not like I have anything to lose anymore, now have I?" His tone was bitter and hungry for revenge.

"You'd be surprised, boy," Kaien's words made the redhead lose his focus for a moment, but that was more than enough for the white man to slide past Itami's defense and stab him in the shoulder. The dark lord smirked, "Your heart really is weak." He sounded amused, and Itami snarled as he jumped back from the man, pressing a hand to his injured shoulder. "You shouldn't let your guard down that easily, boy."

"I could say the same thing to you," Kaien had barely enough time to turn as a black leg collided with the side of his head, and thrust him forward, making him crash against the stone tiers. Itami's eyes followed his former master's flying figure, and the redhead couldn't help but smirk when he heard the impact of his body against the old structure. He turned back to the cook, who was looking down on the fallen figure with a hand holding his cigarette in place, his other hand stuffed in his pocket.

"Thanks," he smiled, "I owe you one, Blondie." The eye twitch that followed the much hated nickname almost made the redhead laugh.

"Don't you call me that again, asshole, or I won't be helping you again, ungrateful bastard." Sanji's scowl was one that rivaled Roronoa's, and Itami found himself giving the cook an eye-creased smile.

"My bad."

"My, my, it seems like you two have become friends really fast," Sanji turned in alarm to find Kaien at less than two feet away from him, his broken jaw and cheek bones turning back to normal right in front of his eyes as the blood in his face faded away. The white of his eyes had turned black, just like Datte's eyes had when he was cursed, and his golden irises glowed with blood thirst as he glared down on his prey, "But you are seriously underestimating me, cook." Kaien's body was surrounded by a dark aura that threatened to asphyxiate the blonde and the redhead. "You and Itami are taking me none too seriously."

Sanji's eyes widened as a giant black claw was brought upon him and Itami, too fast for any of them to react.

A strong wind struck around them, throwing them away from the attack just as the dark claw crashed against the ground, leaving a considerable hole that would have most definitely hurt them…a lot.

"Don't let your guard down," Sanji and Itami opened their eyes to see Datte crouching beside them, not taking his eyes away from the white man. "He tends to trick people into thinking they have injured him, so that he can strike when they least suspect it." He snarled, "Don't expect any kind of honorable fight from that monster."

Sanji threw his extinguished cigarette away, cursing under his breath at his carelessness. He looked up to the raven man and grunted as he rose to his feet, "Thanks."

"Same here," Itami mumbled, slightly shocked at having been saved by the man he had tortured only a few days ago. Had he forgot? Or did he already know about his essence…The redhead's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand the reason behind the raven's forgiving behavior.

"Don't mention it." Datte allowed himself to smile shortly before turning his eyes back to the enemy.

None of them were able to talk then.

An overwhelming aura covered the grounds around them, and the three men found themselves gasping for air as a massive dark force fell upon them with breath-taking intensity. The air became dense, and Sanji's knees were close to giving out at the weight he felt in his soul. As he glanced sideways, he saw Datte and Itami actually crouching and falling to their knees, both of them having already been weakened by previous injuries. The cook felt the dark energy move, and his eyes darted in front of him, watching the white man walk towards them slowly, threateningly…knowing full well that his prey could not move.

"It seems your cockiness can only take you so far…" his smile was so calm, and yet so sadistic at the same time that Sanji feltl a terrified chill run up his spine while his heart beat wildly in his chest, much like a bird's under the frightening stare of a hungry cat.

Sanji clenched his teeth further, and struggled to look around, searching desperately for anything that might get him out of his situation. Kaien's smile widened, and as he took the final step, he raised his hand towards the petrified trio.

Then, to the white man's bemusement, the cook smirked. A knowing smirk that clearly read: You fell for it. And the predator found himself taking a step back from his prey.

"Gomu gomu noooo!" Kaien's golden eyes widened as he looked behind him, finding nothing but the darkness of his own aura. He forced himself to take a breath.

Calm down, there's no way they could break through my aura…

"San Byaku Pound!" A second voice echoed around them, penetrating the dark aura surrounding Sanji and the others, and making the confused predator glance around in search for the source.

"CANNON!" A blast of energy fell abruptly on Kaien, making the white man's aura brusquely fade away as a new power filled their surroundings. The man's pained scream was the only thing heard, for the sudden burst of energy had lifted up the dust and stone under its victim, rendering everyone temporarily blind.

Sanji, Datte and Itami were thrown back by the attack, but were able to escape in time, their bodies now free from that heavy dark aura. As they skidded back, their eyes searched for the two figures that they knew were behind this.

As the wind made the smoke sway away, two figures were made visible in the chaos. They stood still, like powerful statues of ancient warriors frozen forever in their strong stances. The first mate's swords shined under the now visible moon, and his captain's eyes were shaded by his hat as he stood erect, his muscles still tense from the attack.

Itami couldn't help by gape slightly at the pirates' poise. It was then that he finally saw with his own eyes why the Straw Hat pirates were feared by all members of the World Government. It was obvious that Roronoa was strong just by looking at him, but still...his resistance after being hurt so badly by Datte was certainly impressive; the swordsman surely met up to his fame as a terrifying demon. But the young, goofy kid whose smiling face in that wanted poster depicted the innocence that was only characteristic of children…Where had that kid gone? The sheer strength that radiated from the young man's stance was just…unbelievable. This man truly possessed the rarest and most powerful haki known by man…The King's Disposition…

And he still can't use it effectively…As soon as he does, this kid will be invincible…

"Couldn't you have intervened a bit earlier, assholes?" the cook's amused snarl brought the redhead back from his thoughts as the first mate and his captain walked towards them, "I thought I was as good as dead."

Luffy threw his head back as he laughed apologetically, gone was the infuriated wrath that had made Itami shiver just seconds ago, "Sorry! We didn't know what was going on inside the guy's weird aura, so we had to guess!" He chirped.

"It's a good thing we did, too, any second later and the cook would've pissed in his pants." Zoro smirked as his friend's curly eyebrow twitched in anger.

"Shut up, shitty-swordsman," Sanji clenched his teeth to prevent himself from kicking the swordsman to death right then.

Zoro smirked at the cook's struggle, but soon enough his smile faded as he looked around, "Where's Nami?"

All smiles died as the five men looked around for the navigator, finding her wriggling form still lying on the tiers. She was still bounded by black chains, and the darkness around her mouth was still in place. With a sigh of relief, Zoro started running towards her, followed closely by Luffy and Sanji, along with Datte and Itami.

"And just where do you think you are all going?" the pirates froze in place as they heard a blood chilling voice reverberate in the air. Turning around slowly, they encountered a figure they had hoped to find not breathing.

Kaien stood some feet behind them, his face serious and lacking of all emotion, the white of his eye still a deep black color, and his golden irises glowing eerily in the night. But what shocked them to their core was, not that he was still alive, for they had figured it wouldn't be that easy to kill the man, no…what scared them was not the fact that he was still alive…

…But the fact that there was no damage in his body at all.

"My turn."