Ch. 26- Zoro...Gone
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard © Me
Kizaru and Rayleigh stood face-to-face. The Straw Hats were in awe at the latter's entrance, and even more amazed by how he was able to kick Kizaru's leg away from Zoro without getting hit by his beam.
"I've often heard that you were somewhere on this islans," said Kizaro. "It appears the rumors were true. And to think that you, a man of your caliber, are defending these greenhorns. Once a pirate, always a pirate, eh, Rayleigh?"
"If only you people would just retract the bounty on my head," Rayleigh joked, "then I'd be able to live out the rest of my life in peace."
"Your crimes as a pirate won't disappear, you know," said Kizaru. "Especially since you were a part of the Roger Pirates."
"Thank god, Zoro!" Usopp murmured. "To think that the old man was so strong, too!"
"He managed to stop him from killing Mister Zoro," Brook began, "Even though he had no effect on him! But why?"
Luffy just panted, trying to catch his breath.
"Can't you just let these youngsters go, Kizaru?" Rayleigh asked.
"Oh, please," Kizaru said. "You know as well as I do that I just can't let them go, scot-free, otherwise the Celestial Dragons down at Marine HQ in Mariejois won't be satisfied, so don't interfere."
"USOPP! BROOK! CHOPPER!" Luffy called out. "TAKE ZORO AND RUN FOR IT!"
"Got it!" Usopp said as he picked up Zoro and started running away. "Let's go, you two!"
"Right!" Chopper said.
"Understood!" Brook added.
"EVERYONE ELSE! RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND LOOK AFTER YOURSELVES!" the captain yelled. "Right now...WE CAN'T BEAT THEM!"
The Straw Hats were shocked. Never before had they ever heard their captain admit something like this...but he was right. Kizaru, Sentomaru, and PX-1...these were kind of enemies that they could not be able to defeat as they are.
"He admits it like a man," said Kizaru, who pursed his lips, "but that's annoying."
"Nami, c'mon!" Luffy shouted as he grabbed Nami's hand and ran off with her.
Blizzard, meanwhile, had managed to muster whatever strength he had left to follow Luffy. He had shed himself of his hoodie, since it was starting to slow him down, now.
Franky, on the other hand, was the only one who didn't run.
"I'm gonna use up all my cola for this!" he said. "This is SUPER final attack!"
"Franky, no!" Sanji cried.
"Coup de VENT!"
BOOM! Franky fired an air-compressed shot at PX-1, right in his chest.
"NOW RUN!" Franky shouted as he ran after Robin and Sanji.
"Thanks, old man!" Luffy called out to Rayleigh as he ran with Nami and Blizzard.
"You're welcome!" Rayleigh called back. "Good luck out there!"
Kizaru, however, was not willing to let the Straw Hats escape without a fight.
"Sacred Yata Mirror," he said.
FLASH! Kizaru shot a beam of light, which hit the Yarukiman Mangrove and the redirected toward Usopp, Brook, and Chopper, who were trying to escape with Zoro.
"AH!" Usopp yelped as he shielded his eyes. "It's so damn bright!"
"Look out!" Brook exclaimed. "Something's coming at us!"
It was revealed to be Kizaru, who was rematerializing before the Straw Hats. However, before he could appear fully...SLASH! Something sliced his head off.
It was Rayleigh, once again!
Kizaru rematerialized back in front of the old pirate, who had a sword drawn out.
"Don't think I'll let you go without a fight!" Rayleigh said. "It's been a long time since I had to use my sword."
Kizaru didn't appeared to be fazed. He just put his hands together and VWAP! He appeared to make a sword made out of pure light.
"Ama no Murakumo Sword."
KLASH! Kizaru swung his light-sword at Rayleigh, who managed to block it with his own blade.
A closer look revealed that Rayleigh had managed to cut Kizaru's face.
"My, this is terrible," said Kizaru. "I didn't expect such a serious situation once I came to this island."
"Confusion is what life is about, Kizaru!" said Rayleigh.
"That's twice the old man saved our asses!" Usopp said.
"So scary~!" Brook and Chopper exclaimed in unison.
Sentomaru, meanwhile, looked on at the battle between Rayleigh and Kizaru.
"So, that's 'Dark King' Rayleigh, eh?" he murmured. "I've never seen anyone who was able to stop Old Man Kizaru like he did. It was getting so close for Roronoa, too." At that moment, he remembered the critically injured Zoro. "PX-1! Roronoa is dying! Go after him!"
PX-1 looked over to the retreating Usopp, Zoro, Brook, and Chopper and turned to go after them. Sanji happened to noticed and braked to a halt.
"Crap!" he cursed. "He's going after Zoro! Franky! Protect Robin and go on without me!"
"Sanji!" Robin cried.
"Be careful, Bro Cook!" Franky said. "We'll be fine!"
"Usopp!" Zoro choked out as the sniper carried him. "Put me down!"
'What?" Usopp questioned.
"I'll act as bait," Zoro began, "and you guys make a run for it!"
"Are you stupid?" Usopp exclaimed, questioningly. "You're more useless than I am, right now! We're running together, whether you like it or not! These are Luffy orders!"
Chopper looked back and screamed, bloody murder.
"HE'S HERE!"
Usopp and Brook looked upon seeing PX-1, already upon them, prepared to attack. At that moment, Brook stopped running and turned to face the Pacifista.
"Mister Usopp! Mister Chopper!" said the skeleton. "You shall take Mister Zoro and go on without me!"
"Brook, no!" Chopper cried.
"Don't do it, man!" Usopp shouted. "You already know how strong he is!"
"A man must stand up and do what he feels is right when the time comes!" declared Brook as he drew his sword.
ZAP! BOOM! The Pacifista fired another beam at Brook, hitting him right in the hip!
"BROOK~!" Chopper and Usopp cried.
Brook fell to the ground and weakly said, "I broke a bone over nothing...!"
PX-1 then turned his attention back to Usopp and Chopper, who were still running away, carrying the injured Zoro. Just when he was about to go after them, again, something jumped up from behind him, and THWAK! Hit him in the back of his head.
It was Sanji, his leg aflame.
"Sanji!" Usopp cried.
"You saved us!" Chopper added.
Sanji pulled his leg back as he grunted in pain. It felt like the time when he kicked the real Kuma in the face. It felt like he was going to break his leg if he kept this up. The cook fell down and rolled along the ground in front of the Pacifista, just as he was standing back up.
FWASH! PX-1 prepared to fire another beam at Sanji from the palm of his hand.
"Sanji, run!" Usopp cried.
"He's gonna hit you!" Chopper yelled.
"Don't worry about me!" Sanji shouted. "Just run! Go on without me!"
Luffy, Nami, and Blizzard, were busy running away from Sentomaru.
"Nami! Blizzard!" Luffy exclaimed. "You two keep going without me!"
Are you nuts? Blizzard questioned in his head.
"Luffy, no!" Nami said. "No way am I leaving you behind!"
"I'm sorry, but you have to!" Luffy argued. "If something happened to you and Blizzard because of me, I'll never be able to live with myself!"
However reluctantly, Nami turned and ran with Blizzard. She hated the thought of having to leave her boyfriend at the mercy of their enemies, but she knew that once Luffy had his mind set on something, there was no changing it.
"Blizzard!" Luffy called. "Protect Nami, no matter what!"
Blizzard closed his eyes to try and keep his tears from escaping. He didn't want to leave Luffy behind, either.
Luffy, on the other hand, was too busy worrying about the others to worry about himself. He saw the explosions being made by PX-1's beams. He could see that Sanji was on the ground, barely evading the shots, a defeated Brook, also down on the ground, and Usopp trying to pick up an accidentally dropped Zoro.
"My subordinates are quite powerful, aren't they, Rayleigh?" asked Kizaru, who was still dueling with Rayleigh.
Luffy's eyes went wide.
His friends were in trouble, and all he was doing was running away!
"What am I gonna do?" he asked himself.
"You should be more worried about yourself, Straw Hat!"
Before Luffy could react, Sentomaru was already upon him.
"I don't even need my axe to beat you," he said. "Sumo STRIKE!"
BAM! KRASH! Sentomaru hit Luffy, again, causing him to hit a building behind him.
"ARRRRRGH!" Luffy cried in pain as he held his head.
Nami and Blizzard both braked to a halt upon seeing their captain being attacked.
"LUFFY!" Nami yelled.
I don't understand! Blizzard thought. Why would blunt attacks be working on Luffy, now? He's supposed to be a rubber-man!
From where he was standing, Chopper was watching the carnage that was playing before his eyes. Sanji and Usopp had been hit PX-1's beams, Brook was lying down on the ground in a heap, Blizzard was almost killed by Kizaru, and Luffy was being pummeled by Sentomaru, and he was even touching him!
"NO!" Chopper cried as he charged forward and shited into Heavy Point. "AT THIS RATE, EVERYONE'S GONNA DIE!"
"Chopper, no!" Robin called. "Don't do it!"
Robin's pleas fell on deaf ears.
"STOOOOOOP!" Chopper shouted.
CHOMP! He opened his mouth and then bit down on not one, not two, but THREE Rumble Balls at once!
Suddenly, the human-reindeer grew in size, at least over 20 feet tall. His antlers grew, as well as his fur. His fingers grew hardened, like his hooves, and his muzzle grew longer, as well.
Chopper had transformed into that very same monster from back at Enies Lobby.
GROOOOOOAAAARR! Chopper let out a huge roar that pracitcally shook the sky.
"Oh, no...!" whispered a horrified Nami. "Not again!"
"It's that same monster from Enies Lobby!" said Franky.
"What the hell is this?" Sentomaru questioned.
Blizzard dropped his jaw at the sight of Chopper's transformation. He, like Robin, had only heard of such a thing, but this was the first time that they've ever witness it. Now...they wished they didn't.
Little buddy...! Blizzard thought, horrified.
GROOOOOOOAAARR! Chopper roared again as he lifted his hand, preparing to bring it down on not just Sentomaru, but Luffy, too, and when Chopper was in this form, he was what he was: a monster who knew neither friend nor foe. He only knew how to attack on instinct...and kill.
"LUFFY, LOOK OUT!" Nami cried as she picked Luffy up and carried him away, just as Chopper was about to slam his hand down on him.
"Oh, damn it!" cursed Usopp. "Not again, Chopper! Well, no time to worry about that, now." He turned to PX-1. "Sanji! Brook! Get up! Hurry! We gotta get outta here, or this guy's gonna shoot his beam, again!"
"Wait, PX-1!"
From behind Usopp and Zoro...another Kuma appeared! However, this one was carrying a Bible, and wearing a gloves, unlike the Pacifisttas the Straw Hats had encountered.
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Usopp cried. "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON? HOW MANY OF THESE GUYS ARE THERE?"
Zoro looked up, gasping and coughing.
This one, he thought. This guy...is the real one!
"So," said Kuma. "You survived, Roronoa."
"Only because of your benevolence," said Zoro.
"Hey, Zoro! Wait!" Usopp said. "Th-this isn't the time for small talk! We have to get outta here, now, while we have the chance!"
"Let me ask you something," Kuma said as he slipped off his glove, revealing his paw pads. "If you were to take a vacation...where would yoe like to go?"
"What kind of question is that?" Zoro growled.
Just then, Kuma brought his paw down on Zoro...and he...disappeared, as if into thin air.
Usopp's jaw dropped. The rest of the Straw Hats looked on, confused and horrified.
Zoro was gone!
"Z...Zoro?" Usopp stammered. "Zoro?"
Wow. Pretty fast, huh?
The last chapter's up next!
Review please!