"Why are you doing this, Hades?" Zeus asked before groaning in pain when the white cloaked figure stepped on him. After Poseidon had been taken down, the rest of the gods had also been taken out or held back. This was the power in which the holder would receive from the triton
Hades began laughing loudly. "'Why' you ask? That answer should be simple!" Hades glared at his siblings. "I'm tired of being the one that gets stepped on all the time; the one that picks up the 'great gods' dirty work'." Hades took the triton that was handed to him from his fellow minion and looked down towards his bleeding siblings. "Now I'll be able to rule over two kingdoms!"
"You won't get away with this, Hades," Hera groaned, standing to her feet. She picked up her staff and threw a ball of gold, eye cringing, light at him.
Hades scoffed. "Your cheap tricks won't work on me, Hera." Hades spun the triton in his hand, bouncing the ball off of it and towards the ceiling. He wasn't surprised when he saw Hera charging him with her staff; however he blocked her strike and countered. Her staff flew from her hand and Hades took the chance to stab Hera right through with the triton in his hands. "You were always in the way, Dear Sister."
"You won't…get away with…this…Hades…" Hera said with her final breaths. Her body then just hung there on the end of the triton until Hades pried it off and allowed it to fall limply to the floor.
"Hera!" Zeus shouted with pure agony.
Hades sighed. "This wouldn't have happened if she would just stay out of this." Hades turned his back to the rest of his siblings, knowing fully well that Zeus was standing to his feet and about to attack him too. Hades looked to one of his fellow white cloaked friends. "You know what to do."
"Yes, Sir," the feminine voice said, bowing to Hades before looking back to the others. The figure took of her hood to reveal her face, shocking everyone before they were all turned purely to stone.
"Nicely done, Medusa," Hades said, his back still turned. "You can put back on the hood now."
"Yes, Sir," Medusa said with a red lipped smile. She pulled up her hood again, before looking to her fellow white hood and their master. "Should we search for those pirates now?"
Hades froze for a moment. He had completely forgotten about them until now, but before he could give his answer to her, the door to the throne room broke open.
"HADES!"
Hades glared at the person who had shouted at him so rudely. It was the Straw Hat boy, the directionless swordsman, and the fighting girl.
"Strawhat!" Zetsumei shouted, glaring at Luffy's back. "I told you not to barge in!"
"Give back the trident!" Luffy demanded, completely ignoring Zetsumei, who sighed and dropped the idea of ever getting logic through to him.
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," Hades said calmly, before looking towards his white cloaked friends. "Medusa, take care of them."
"With pleasure," Medusa giggled, gripping her hood as Hades and her companion vanished in a ring of blue fire. "It's a tragedy that your journey is going to end here, boy." Medusa than began laughing as she slipped off her hood. But before her power had the chance to turn the three to stone, Zetsumei had covered the boys' eyes and her own.
"Don't look at her!" Zetsumei said.
"O-Oi, Soumei!" Luffy shouted, trying to pry Zetsumei's hands away from his eyes. "What the hell are you doing?!" He wanted to see, his curiosity was telling him to look, but Zetsumei wouldn't let him.
"If you look directly at her you'll be turned to stone just like the others were," Zetsumei said, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'll deal with her." Zetsumei turned her head towards Luffy, or to where she figured he was. "Strawhat, Hades needs to be found before he can-"
"Got it," Luffy said with a smile. "We'll find him and leave this to you." After that, Luffy and Zoro left to go find Hades, not even turning back to look at Zetsumei.
"Oh?" Medusa chuckled, watching as the girl turned towards her with her eyes shut. "Going to be fighting me blind?"
"I'm not blind," Zetsumei said, raising her fists. "If you don't believe me, come at me."
Medusa smirked, showing her sharp teeth as she charged forwards to Zetsumei.
Explosions could be heard from port as Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper began running through the city towards Aethusa's home, where Despoina and Arion were supposed to be. They crossed bridges, jumped over rivers, and ran down multiple streets all to avoid the guards that had been stationed at most areas.
"Do you think the others are all right?" Chopper questioned.
"I'm sure they're fine, Chopper!" Usopp said, turning another corner with the other two following.
"Don't you have ears?!" Sanji shouted angrily from behind. "Nami-san and Robin-chan could possibly be in danger right now!" Sanji waved his fist in the air as he continued to go on about how he should have been with them. He then remembered Zetsumei and began complaining about how she could be in danger too because of Luffy and Zoro's recklessness. But Usopp just had to point out that Zetsumei was just as reckless.
"I can see the house from here!" Chopper shouted, breaking Usopp and Sanji from their argument. All three soon brightened up when they saw Despoina and Arion standing at the door, Despoina waving towards them.
"Despoina-san~!" Sanji chimed, waving back with his eyes glazed over with hearts. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"What's going on?" Despoina asked, running up to the group and completely ignoring Sanji's chimes.
"The palace guards had come here looking for you earlier," Arion said. "Has something happened?"
"Hades took Poseidon's trident and blamed us for it!" Chopper said, panicked. Despoina and Arion were obviously shocked.
"After that," Usopp said, "we broke out and split up!"
Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper soon stopped in their tracks when they suddenly heard a loud explosion coming from behind. It was louder than the ones they had been hearing from port, so they turned around to see what it had come from. The explosion had come from the palace, which gave off the idea that Luffy, Zoro, and Zetsumei had already begun getting reckless.
"We should hurry back to the palace," Sanji said a bit rushed, "before Luffy destroys the place." Sanji suddenly stopped talking after that, quickly turning around when he felt someone was behind them. He was right to turn around, raising his foot, before the person could try attacking him and the others with its large scythe.
Usopp and Chopper both screamed, gripping onto each other from shock. Despoina had also gripped onto Arion from the same reaction.
"Who are you?!" Sanji demanded, glaring at the white hooded figure that had stepped back. "You're working for Hades, aren't you?"
The figure chuckled, spinning its scythe in its hands before charging once more at the group. Sanji, of course, took the lead and protected Despoina and the others from getting attacked. The figure was sent back again, but tried several times to slice any of them down, but never managed to get past Sanji's blocks.
"The master wasn't joking when he said this wasn't going to be easy," the figure chuckled, backing off a bit. It twirled the scythe in its hands before holding it firmly in both hands.
Sanji narrowed his eyes when he heard the figure speak, along with Usopp and Chopper. They recognized the voice, yet they didn't see how it was possible for the idea to be right, and Chopper knew it wasn't possible because the scent didn't match. So, who was this?
The figure grinned, its teeth flashing from beneath the hood as it shined the edge of the scythe in the sunlight. "But no matter, you'll all die soon enough, as per orders. You're in the master's way after all."
"So you do work for Hades!" Usopp said, gripping his slingshot. "Who are you?"
The figure chuckled before gripping its hood and pulling it down to its shoulders. The figure continued chuckling when it saw the shock on its enemy's faces, but that was to be expected.
"Z-Zetsu?" Usopp stuttered, looking at the familiar face of his friend.
"Is that her name?" the Zetsumei lookalike questioned, smirking. "Pretty name for a pretty face."
"You're not Zetsumei!" Chopper shouted with a small growl. "Who are you really?!"
"I don't have a name," 'Zetsumei' said with a smile, "because I can take the form of anyone I choose fit, as long as I've touched them at one time or another." The figure chuckled once again. "Luckily she wasn't paying much attention during the games."
"You're one of the Furies, aren't you?" Despoina said, gripping her hands together.
"Smart girl," the Furie said. "I am one of the Furies."
"I thought Furies were only able to harm evil souls," Arion said, stepping in front of his sister.
"True," she answered, "but I guess you can say I have a bit of…freewill." 'Zetsumei' spun the scythe in her hands before pointing it at Sanji and everyone. "As long as I follow orders, I'm free to do whatever I want." 'Zetsumei' looked right at Sanji. "Would you like to know the best part of this power?" The woman laughed. "You hurt me, you hurt her. Consider us connected."
Sanji bit down on his cigarette, knowing full well that he was going to have problems with this fight. He would never do anything to hurt Zetsumei, let alone any woman for that matter; however, this was no woman, this was definitely a monster. But, knowing that he could possibly be hurting Zetsumei while fighting this monster, he couldn't get himself to make a hit.
"Wait," Chopper spoke up, "if your connected, doesn't that mean is Zetsumei's injured, you're injured as well?"
"Not at all," the lookalike chuckled before charging right at the group once again. She swung the blade, only to get blocked again by Sanji's foot and sent back again. "You won't be able to block forever, Mr. Chef, you'll have to attack at some point." The lookalike charged once again, swinging the blade randomly, trying anything to hit Sanji.
"Usopp, Chopper," Sanji said, ducking and blocking ever hit, "get Despoina and Arion out of here and find the others!"
"Right!" Usopp said, grabbing Despoina, Chopper, and Arion and running as fast as he could, leaving Sanji to fend for himself.
"That was a big mistake, Mr. Chef," the monster chuckled before charging again, not knowing that it had made a critical mistake.