Chapter 29

The Strawhat Pirates, separated into three groups, were on their way and they were getting closer to their target.

It was only a few minutes ago that nearly all of them had sensed the sudden appearance of an incredible new energy at the borders of the town.

And it was only a short time later that they realized that exactly this new presence was now moving into the direction of the harbor. The same place where there ship was lying in this moment. So it came that they were now quickly moving in the same direction, to intercept this newcomer before he could reach the Sunny.

Some of the Strawhats couldn´t help it, it was to them as if they felt this being before, as if they should recognize it. Well, maybe they had met, whoever this was, before. There were not many people on the world who were that strong and most of the known ones had fought either with or against them at some point. But none of them could quite place their finger on it who and where.

Yet all of them, especially Luffy, had an uneasy feeling, that was growing with every step they were taking.

Or maybe it was just that obvious that none of them thought of it. Either way, none of them even particulary suspected the now deceased former Fleet Admiral. Even if the dead returning to life was something that had occured several times already in the last weeks.

As they finally had finally caught up the the mysterious being, they were only a short distance from the Thousand Sunny anymore. The different groups of the Strawhats and their allies were now being reunited again, coming from different directions. But now all of them were in for some of the shocks of their lives and if somebody thought about how this people were usually spending their time, having the shock of a lifetime truly meant something in their cases.

In some distance they could see their new enemies approaching. As they saw the figure who was walking in the center of the approaching band of their opponents, they could barely believe their eyes, even when they remembered what exactly Selena´s powers were. They all recognized the tall man instantly.

"Akainu," Zoro said.

"But...but he is dead," someone, they realized it was Rebecca, called out.

"How many dead people have been walking around here just in the last hours," Nami commented. "Why are you even surprised?"

"So this are the powers of this beautiful lady once again?" Sanji said.

"Certainly," the Strawhat navigator confirmed.

"Did you just have to call her beautiful?" Chopper and Usopp shouted at the same time.

"If Akainu is also back from the dead, I will just defeat the bastard once again," Luffy declared loudly.

"You say it Luffy," Zoro commented.

"Is this really the infamous old Fleet Admiral of the Marines?" their temporally guest, the girl named Shila, asked the person who was standing next to her. This just happened to be Usopp.

The question was in fact more something like a reassurance. She had actually seen the Fleet Admiral several times in the past, as she remembered, but never spoken to him directly. So it couldn´t hurt to as the pirates.

"Are you kidding?" the Strawhat´s sharp-shooter yelled. "Of course it is him. I would recognize this face everywhere, after all I have been fighting him all by myself once."

Of course, she thought sarcastically. Even in the short time she was on this ship, she had learned that hardly a single word that came out of the mouth of this guy could be trusted. She was willing to bet that he personally never even came in hundred meters distance to the Red Admiral.

"Really?" she however asked him in mock amazement. At the inside however she was laughing about the stupidity of the man.

"Is that a question? I faced him all by myself. But since it was on our captain to avenge his brother, I left it of course to him to him to defeat this enemy."

"You are really a true hero Uxorp," she said to him with glee.

"My name is Usopp, Usopp," he shouted.

As if she could be bothered to actually learn the name of such a insignificant creature, she thought. She continued halfheartly to listen to the drabble of the pityful human for another short while.

So it was the Admiral Akainu, she thought. None of them saw the wicked grin that was for a short moment on her face.

At the same time, in front of them, their enemies had also seen them. Of course they too recognized them instantly, even the ones who hadn´t met them before. There was hardly anybody on this world who would not recognize the Strawhat Pirates after all. Their group had now slightly modified their direction and was heading directly towards them.

Beside the imposing figure of the Fleet Admiral, it was the woman they knew as Selena, another woman who was wearing a long coat over what was obviously a Marine uniform and a large man in black colored civilian clothes. Around this core group were also around a dozen soldiers in more or less modified Marine attires walking with them.

Whoever this people were, they were obviously former members of the force. Probably rogues who had separated and went their own way when Dragon´s regime took over. There was a number of such splinter-groups. But whoever these people were, the question was what in the world made them believe that they could win, given who they were up against. Sure, Sakazuki was one of the most powerful persons in existence, even now, but the others didn´t seem to be more than average and the were facing the entire Strawhat crew with several allies. What chance did they thought they had?

"We meet again Strawhat," Akainu greeted Luffy in seemingly a emotionless voice. But behind his calm facade of course he was full of burning hatred. Before him stood the destroyers of everything he had ever lived for. Of course he was full of rage. He had every reason to, at least in his point of view.

Or maybe not, maybe nothing of it was even real. There was one simple fact, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, called Akainu, was dead. His presence here was only a manifestation of Selena´s power. He was a ghost, a spirit conjured from the past. How much of his thoughts and feelings were actually real and how much merely an illusion? Was there even a sure way to tell?

"Akainu," Luffy returned his greeting. Both groups were looking each other in the eyes for a few long moments, waiting for the others to make a move.

"You are dead," Luffy said bluntly to the former Fleet Admiral. Somehow it was a typical Luffy-like statement, pointing out the obvious in the most direct and trivial way.

"Yes I am," he replied grimly, "and you and your `family´ are to blame for it." His anger now became visible. "It is all your fault," he screamed. "It is all gone, the Marines, the government, the Way of Justice, everything."

"You have killed my brother," Luffy exclaimed.

"And? Your `brother´ was a dirty criminal, he deserved to die."

"What are you saying?" Luffy yelled in anger.

"How do this bastard..." Bartholomeo murmured as he heard Akainu talking to Luffy like that. He wanted to step forward and assist his role model.

But Robin laid a hand on his shoulder and held him back.

"Really? but that was a few months ago. Now Ace is a hero and you are the criminal," she shouted instead.

"How dare you?"

"How dare I?" she returned the question.

"Yes, isn´t it strange how quickly things change depending on who is currently in charge you bastard?" Sanji commented, "and don´t dare to talk to Robin like that again."

Akainu twisted his face in silent rage.

"By the way Admiral Sakazuki," another voice spoke up, this time the one of Vivi, "the Marines still exist and they serve justice. They are not longer the joke they had been under you."

"Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta," he responded, "a `princess´ who is openly associating with these pirates. You are also not better than this scum."

"These people are heroes of this world. They have protected and saved it more than once. You on the other hand are only a mass murderer who had spend his life serving a tyrannical government and right now you are only a bad memory."

I will kill every single one of you," he screamed, "and I will enjoy it."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Franky asked him. "In case you haven´t noticed, you and your gang of helpers are outmatched."

Now Akainu´s faced formed into a vicious grin.

"Really? Blute," he gave the command.

At his order both Selena and the man dressed in black activated their devil fruit powers.

Around them the mysterious green fog appeared that the Strawhats and their friend already knew so well and out of the fog formed themselves different figures.

It took them only a few short moments to recognize the most of them.

Under them were also Vice Admiral Vergo, his partner the `bird woman´ Monet and the former New Order officer Captain Kruge who they had already fought against before a few hours earlier. There were two others they had never seen before.

And another one was...

"Oh yes, this one is quite special," Akainu said, looking at one of the other phantoms. "I think you know this man Strawhats, so did I, a long time ago. He was my teacher once, like of many other Marine officers. The former Admiral Zephir or as he was often knows as, Z."

"Damn," Zoro hissed.

"This is not good," Sanji murmured.

"So let us begin Strawhats," Akainu stated.

Both groups were charging at each other. The fighters of both sides had activated their haki and as far as they possessed them, their devil fruit powers.

In the middle of it all, Luffy´s red hawk clashed with Akainu´s magma.