Disclaimer: One Piece and all its characters are property of Eiichirō Oda

Chapter 29

Kaien's golden eyes gleamed with an unfamiliar fear as his lungs struggled to breathe in the air of the heavy atmosphere surrounding them. This kid…his haki…is nothing I've ever seen before…

He glanced at the pirate, who was now fully looking at him, his pupils dilated with anger while his mouth was twisted in a confident smile; it was truly a terrifying face. He's going to kill me.

"Ugh!" the man suddenly felt the pain in his stomach and legs increase, and looked down, his eyes widening at the tell-tale crimson color that seeped through his white clothes. "What?" his eyes darted towards the redhead, who know stood straight, with no sign of the deadly wounds that had rendered him immobile mere minutes ago. He didn't only send me his pain, he sent the actual wounds?! "How did you-?" his words were interrupted by the blood travelling up his gullet.

Itami put a hand on his blood-red hair, his eyes creasing up in a smile as he let out a sheepish laugh, "Actually, I had no idea I could do that…"

Kaien snarled, feeling his life slowly leaving him with the blood from his three new wounds, "You think you've won, you brats?" He glanced down at the fallen figure of the swordsman, "Don't think I'll give up so easily." His right hand reached out for the first mate, and the man's body seemed to be pulled towards him by an invisible force, despite the navigator's efforts to keep Zoro with her.

"Zoro!!" she screamed.

Luffy's smile disappeared, his expression now one of absolute wrath, "Put him down!"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? How about I answer your doubts first?" Kaien smiled, his tongue lapping the blood around his lips, "Yes, Straw Hat, what Itami said is true. Since your beloved swordsman is only a semi-bearer, his body remains in a state of coma after the soul is removed. If you manage to kill me, his soul will go back…" blood-stained teeth shined under the light of the moon, "However…" a maniacal laugh made chills run up their spines, "What do you think will happen if his body is too damaged for him to live again?" he reached a hand towards the swordsman's chest, "What do you think will happen if I rip his heart out? Do you think he will still be able to live again?"

Luffy's eyes widened further, his gaze darkening and the air surrounding him becoming denser as the man played with Zoro's life.

Itami scowled at the white man, his eyes roamed around until they stopped at his own feet. He smiled.

"So, will you still move against me, Straw Hat? You know I'll do it." Kaien's hand was almost touching Zoro's chest when a voice echoed over his.

"I don't think so." All eyes turned to the redhead as he stood straight, in his right hand one of the spears that had been lodged in his body.

Kaien's eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't."

Itami smirked, "Oh yes, I would." His red eyes gleamed in the night, challenging.

The sound of piercing flesh filled the air, and the crew couldn't help but cringe as the redhead pierced through his right hand with the black spear. It wasn't he who screamed in pain, however.

Kaien let out an agonized yell and stepped back while holding his injured hand to his chest. That was more than enough to make him lose concentration on the swordsman, who started falling heavily towards the ground.

Before Nami could even try to get up to catch him, a gust of wind ran past her, catching the inert body and keeping it over the ground. With wide eyes, the navigator watched as Zoro was moved away from Kaien and towards the rest of the crew by an invisible wind. She heard steps behind her, and glanced back.

"Come, I'll take you with him." Datte's warm gaze immediately melted away the worry that gnawed at her heart, and she smiled gratefully at him. The man in turn nodded and bent down next to her, taking her in his arms and walking towards the other end of the Coliseum, where the rest of their nakama waited for the battle that was to take place.

Itami and Kurenai met with Nami and Datte on their way there, the navigator's eyes digging into the redhead's stomach, where she had seen the black spears stab him just moments ago. Her eyes travelled up to his face and met with Itami's still gleaming red orbs. The man smiled at her, and she could only smile tiredly back.

Itami then looked at the navigator's broken leg, and frowned, his eyes glanced back at Kaien's form, and he felt a wonderful idea illuminate his tired mind. "Ms. Navigator," the orange haired girl's eyes widened at the eye creased smile he turned her way, "Could I ask you a little favor?"

"Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion.


Kaien watched as the pirates gathered away from him, his golden eyes fired with pain and anger. He raised a hand, only to feel a massive force struck his face, pushing him back as the cracking noise of his broken cheekbones filled the air. He crashed against his own throne, his back breaking through the stone as his body flew past it and continued soaring until it reached the marble wall.

Luffy's arm snapped back into place with a rubber band-like sound. White steam condensed around his body, his muscles tense with the adrenaline that rushed through his veins. A frighteningly calm voice filled the night air as the young captain finally spoke.

"Don't you dare touch my nakama."

A dry cackle reached his ears, and Luffy's pupils seemed to dilate with rage as the man made his way out of the rubble. "Nakama…" he spat, "All of you repeat that word over and over again…" he wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at it with a scowl, "It's just a meaningless word, and yet you idiots think of it as something worth dying for…" he laughed, "In the end, bonds like that do nothing but bring you down. They pull you back. They're only a nuisance."

"Do you ever shut up?" Luffy's voice was more serious than any of the crew had ever heard, and it scared them. They all knew Luffy was the deadliest when he was calm, and his eyes now spoke of no mercy. The raven haired captain pulled up his fist for another attack, but Kaien was ready for him this time.

"Hah!" he dodged the stretched arm, the wounds in his stomach and leg not being enough to make his moves sluggish. "Don't get cocky, Straw Hat!" he grinned as he jumped away from another of Luffy's fast attacks, "Your strength means nothing if you can't hit me!" He flexed his legs to dodge another fist.

"How about we change that?" the pale man froze as he felt Itami's voice echo inside his mind, then he remembered the killing attack coming his way and cursed as he tried to move out of the way.

Snap

"AGH!" Kaien screamed as his right leg suddenly broke under his weight, his eyes seeing white for two painful seconds; he then turned his wide golden eyes to the furious captain, only to see a strong fist before it connected with his stomach. Kaien grunted as he felt as though the attack had run through him, and yelled as he was sent flying backwards once again.

Having realized what had happened to the man, Luffy snapped his fist back and looked for who he thought could only be behind this.

Itami was looking at the pile of rubble where Kaien had just landed, one hand pressing at Nami's right shin, the other gripping tightly at his own. Understanding hit him when he saw the navigator's bewildered expression as she moved her now healed leg and looked at the redhead in awe. Itami grinned down at her and looked up to Luffy, giving him his slyest smirk before winking at him; and Luffy had to smile.

"Go get him, Straw Hat."

The boy smirked, his brown eyes turning to his victim, white steam flying aside with the night air, "You don't have to tell me twice."


Kaien stood up, wheezing as he struggled to take in air. He pressed an arm to his stomach while at the same time trying his hardest not to put his right leg on the ground. That must have broken at least four ribs…he thought, wincing at the new pain in his chest.

.

What the hell are you doing?

.

He felt his essence stir within him in rage and grunted, I…he's stronger than I thought! He felt darkness tugging at his mind, and held his head in pain.

.

Don't give me those lame excuses, you weakling! I will not be defeated by a mindless brat! You know what you have to do!

.

I have to kill him…I need to kill him! Kill him! KILL HIM! His pupils contracted as he lost reason, his eyes widening as they turned completely black.


Luffy took a step towards the cloud of dust where Kaien had landed, only to frown as he felt a strong dark aura oozing from the rubble.

Itami's eyes widened, "Oh crap."

Sanji turned towards him in askance, "What's wrong?"

The redhead seemed lost in thought as he answered, his once again green eyes never leaving the cloud of dust, "He's letting his essence take over…he's gone berserk."

Sanji's lone eye widened and he too turned to look at the cloud of dust, now feeling the dark force that seemed to come from the inside, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Well," Itami tilted his head, as though measuring their possibilities, "I don't really know…I've never seen him like this before…" he frowned and turned his eyes to Luffy, "But as long as your captain keeps his haki like that, and stays calm…I think he should have an advantage," he looked at the cook, "Kaien's desperate, he doesn't know what he's doing anymore; he's acting on impulse…and that's when he's the most predictive."

Sanji looked at the redhead, and then at his captain, "Let's hope you're right," he took a deep breath, "Luffy!!"

The raven turned his eyes towards his cook.

"Be careful! He's gone berserk!" the captain frowned, "Whatever you do! Don't lose your cool!"

"Right!" he answered, taking his hat and throwing it towards the cook, "Take care of that for me!" he said before turning his eyes towards the cloud of dust, which was now beginning to fade away.

"Straw Hat," a frighteningly inhuman voice echoed through the night as Kaien stepped out of the rubble.

Luffy's eyes narrowed at the sight before him. The white man had changed completely; his skin was scarred with pitch black lines, his eye no longer a gleaming gold but the darkest black he'd ever seen, his pupils no longer distinguishable. He was breathing raggedly, and blood flowed from his lips as he took another step forward. He's dying.

"Straw Hat," he repeated, his voice hoarse and dripping with hatred, "Straw Hat!"

"I don't know what's wrong with you," Luffy announced, his voice cold and calm, "But I know I need to kill you to get Zoro back," he placed his fist on the ground once more, and his skin glistened in a more reddish hue as he pumped more adrenaline into his veins, "And if that's what it takes then I won't stop until you're buried deep underground." The grave calmness of his voice scared his nakama. As much as Luffy had beat up his enemies before, he had never wanted to kill. But it seemed like the death of his best friend had set his mind on doing whatever was possible to get him back…and if that meant ending the life of his assassin…then he would do it without hesitation.

The crazed white man looked up as a bloodcurdling scream of rage ripped from his throat, and a frightening aura started surrounding him.

Luffy's face was shaded by his bangs as he looked down, pulling both his arms back as a massive wave of haki made the air dense around him, "Gomu gomu no…" Kaien had started sprinting towards him, his crazed eyes never leaving the young man, "Jet Gatoringun!" a rain of invisible hits fell on the white man, his yells muffled by the sound of millions of fists hitting their mark.

But Luffy was not done. As his arms snapped back, he jumped high in the air, soaring over the battered body of the man who had killed his best friend as said monster coughed out blood and struggled to his feet, his eyes seemingly back to normal as he looked up to his destiny. The young captain put a thumb in his mouth and Kaien's golden eyes widened.

"Gia SADO!" The teen started blowing air into his thumb, and his arm immediately grew to the size of a giant's; pulling the enormous arm back, he started falling towards his enemy.

Kaien gawked at the gigantesque fist that was approaching at frightening speed, and attempted to move out of the way, ignoring the pain in his leg, he took a shuddering step, only to feel a large cut form in his stomach. Looking up and towards the group of pirates, he was able to see Itami kneeling beside Iryann, whose mortal wound seemed to have disappeared. Grunting in fear and frustration, he gave a fast look to the fist over him before looking at Itami once again, and everything seemed to slow down. The redhead's serious face while his eyes burned with hatred, Kurenai's unusual loathing in her expression, Iryann's look of disgust as her cold blue eyes focused on him, Datte's unemotional face as he witnessed his end.

Kaien's golden eyes then took on the crew's expressions, the younger ones cheering for their captain while tears streamed down their faces; the others watching in silence with eyes full of loathing towards him…He then looked at the inert body of Roronoa, and felt the darkness within him claw at his heart for his failure at achieving the power he had dreamed for.

Kaien's eyes were dilated with fear, hatred and fury as he looked up to his death and roared in anger.

"Gomu gomu no! Bone Fuusen!" The night was filled with silence, the voices of the pirates disappearing as Luffy's fist fell on his victim. "Giganto pistol!"

A massive destructive wave followed the impact, and the Straw Hats struggled not to be sent flying as the totality of their captain's attack impacted the ground. The sudden gust of wind lifted a huge cloud of dust that made them have to cover their eyes. Then…

Silence.


Nami opened her eyes slowly, coughing a couple times to keep the dust out of her lungs, "Luffy?" With shaking legs, she rose to her feet, still not believing that her leg was now perfectly healed. "Luffy?" she raised her voice, waiting for an answer from her captain. She gave a couple steps, but her legs were still weak, and she tripped. A strong arm held her upright and she looked up to see the now familiar green eyes as the redhead put her arm around his shoulders.

"Let's go." she nodded and walked further into the cloud of dust with him.

After a few moments, a shadow was visible in the dust, and Nami's eyes narrowed as she tried to make out the shape. The lanky form with a mop of tangled hair was enough to make her eyes water with relief, "Luffy!"

"Nami?" his voice seemed strained as he started walking towards them, and the navigator let go of the helping shoulders as she ran towards him. Without thinking twice, she hugged the boy tightly, making his eyes widen I surprise.

"What happened? Did you win?" he chuckled.

"I think so." She looked up and saw him smile, and couldn't help but return a shaky smile herself.

"We should check," Itami's voice brought them back to reality, "Just in case."

Luffy nodded firmly, his face serious once again as he walked away from Nami and towards the broken form of his enemy. The navigator followed behind, with the redheaded assassin walking beside her.

A strangled rasp made them all flinch. The raven boy pushing the navigator back as he approached the man, all muscles ready tense in case he needed to defense himself.

"You still alive?"

A choked gurgle made his eyes narrow as he realized the man was laughing. His bones should have been broken by then, his lungs crushed and punctured by shattered bones. "Don't….think…..so much…" he swallowed with effort, "o-f your…self…"

"Just let him die," Itami's voice startled Luffy as the redhead stepped up beside him, "He doesn't deserve to be put out of his misery."

"I…tami…" blood-shot eyes turned to the redhead, a bloodied smile making the man cringe in disgust, "You…cannot……es…cape….your……d-destiny," he spat blood and coughed, his throat making sounds that made Nami wince while Luffy and Itami remained impassive, "Even if you get......rid of me……You will be…the death…of everyone……you love……starting with………Kurenai…" Itami's eyes widened, but he was stopped by Luffy before he could kill the man in an outburst of anger, "…heh……same……with you…Straw…Hat…" he coughed, "Roro…noa…will not be……the last to die……for……your reckless…dream…" the man tensed when he saw the young captain crouch beside him.

"Zoro's not dead," he responded calmly, "And you…should stop talking about things you don't know, and worry more about your own situation, Kaien." The serene way in which he said his name made Kaien's blood boil, his hands clenching in fists as his eyes lit up with hatred.

"I will not die!" he rasped, "I will hunt you down! All of you!" his voice sounded more strangled with each word, "You cannot kill darkness!"

Luffy leaned down and whispered by the man's ear, "Watch me." Kaien's eyes widened.

The captain rose to his feet, his arm tensing. Nami's eyes widened as she realized what the boy was about to do, and then closed as she looked down.

"Wait." Itami grabbed his shoulder, "You don't have to," Luffy's stern eyes did not make him waver, "He's dying already, Luffy, you know you don't want to do this." The boy's shoulders slumped over in defeat as he let his arm fall.

Kaien laughed, "Mercy," he spat, "Language of the weak," Luffy's eyes widened as he saw the man's body start disintegrating into darkness, "You heart…will be the death of you…Straw Hat…along with those you call nakama." he chuckled as he watched himself disappear, "A kind pirate…" he laughed, "…What a joke."

"And yet you were defeated by one," Itami's voice was soft, as though he pitied the man in front of them, but the coldness in his eyes said otherwise.

"Heh," the white man's face was already fading into a black cloud, "Guess that……makes me…even more…pathetic."

Luffy watched with a frown as the man disappeared, his essence dividing itself over and over again, and flying out and away from them. By then, the cloud of dust had already dissipated and their nakama were once again visible. Vivi was holding Chopper tightly against her while Sanji put an arm around Robin's shoulders while they both watched the souls fly into the sky. Iryann held on to Datte while Kurenai watched alone, her crimson eyes never leaving the sky. Usopp, Brook and Franky gawked as they saw the black souls fly away with the first lights of sunrise.

Standing in silence, they all watched the different shadows part ways, all of them disappearing into the night…save for one. Nobody dared to breathe as the small fraction of dark essence slipped through the swordsman's chest, all tense as they waited for something to happen.

Nothing.

Nami limped towards Zoro, falling on her knees beside him, her eyes moving constantly from his closed eyes to his unmoving chest, a tight knot forming in her stomach at the mere thought that everything had been for nothing. She didn't even have the strength to cry as her gaze fell on the ground, her mind in a state of shock.

Kaien's words rang inside Luffy's mind as he waited for his first mate to live again, "Roro…noa…will not be……the last to die……for……your reckless…dream…" he felt something tug at his heart as he remembered what the swordsman had told him when they had first met. "I will always follow my own ambitions! If you do anything that will cause me to abandon my ambitions…you will end your life on my sword!"

Sanji cursed and turned his eyes away from the swordsman. This could not be. They had done everything they could! They had killed that bastard for God's sake! Why won't you just wake up!?

The Straw Hats finally gave up hope, turning their eyes down or away from their first mate, and letting the tears come to their eyes. None of them seemed to notice the wince that marred the swordsman's still features, or the motion of his chest as it started moving with the rhythm of his breathing.


Zoro growled inwardly as he felt his body burn all over, "Guess it's time to wake up?" Slowly but surely, the swordsman sat up, bringing a hand to his forehead with a groan as he looked around him. "I give, I give…I think I saw a field of flowers…"

"Z-zoro?"

"Huh?" the swordsman turned to find his crew staring at him with wide eyes, the wet trails on their cheeks told him they had all been crying, hell even the cook seemed to have tears down his cheeks. Suddenly frowning as a thought struck him, he asked, "Who died?"

The crew gawked at him like he'd grown a second head, until the cook suddenly chuckled, looking down as he shook his head in disbelief, "You've gotta be kidding me."

"What?" he asked, feeling utterly confused with what was wrong with his nakama.

A hand landed lightly on his chest, and he looked down to see Nami was examining him intently, as though she didn't trust he was really awake, "What is it, woman?"

He was startled to see her smile…the prettiest smile he'd ever seen on her face, that is before she brought her fist down on his head and hit him.

"OW!" He yelled, rubbing the sore spot with a bewildered face, "What the hell was that for?!"

"That's for being an idiot!" she chirped back, the smile still lighting up her face.

Zoro was going to ask what the deal was with her messed up logic when he felt another punch on his head, and looked up to see his captain had also hit him, his face shaded by his hat, "Luffy? What the—" his voice died when the boy suddenly smiled and started laughing.

A light kick on his head followed, and he looked up to see the cook lighting up a cigarette with a passive face.

"What the hell shit cook?"

"You damn right deserve it, asshole." He smirked, "For making Nami-san cry."

"W-what?" he tilted his head, "When did I—" his words were interrupted by a combo hug from Chopper and Usopp, who were crying and punching his chest at the same time.

"ZOWOOO~!"

"What in the—?" he carefully held Chopper up to his face and looked at his smiling teary face, suddenly feeling guilty. What the hell happened? The reindeer seemed so relieved that he couldn't help but smile.

He was hit by a cane and a metallic fist (which hurt a bit more than he would've liked), followed by a light pat from the blue haired princess and a cold bump on his head by a certain ash-blonde. It was then that he noticed Iryann, Datte, Itami and the woman with silver hair…what was her name?...Kurenai…who were all smiling down at him.

A hand grew from his chest, and he looked down with a small wince, waiting to be hit. As he expected, the hand moved to slap him right across the face before disappearing in a shower of petals. Holding his burning cheek, the swordsman looked up to the tall figure of the historian, "Robin…you too?"

"It's the least I can do to punish your recklessness, Swordsman-san." She had an honest smile on her face, and Zoro couldn't help but to smile back.

"Well," he started, "Anyone else wanna hit me, or are you going to explain what the hell happened?"

"Oh, so you don't remember," Sanji gasped mockingly, the smirk obvious in his voice, "We're going to have to beat it into you, then." He raised a leg, "Alright everyone, let's help the marimo remember."

"Aye!"

"What?!"


Alright! The battle is over!

Please review and tell me how this was...I'm not entirely sure...

This doesn't end here, so don't worry. I'm planning on adding another chapter...and maybe an epilogue

(but that depends on public opinion).

Hope you liked it! ^^