Another Nakama
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, if I did, the 4-Kids dub would've never existed.
Zombie
-x-
Hachi and Kuroobi laughed as Zoro and Sanji stood across from them. "Hey, Calamari, lets do this," said Zoro.
"Nyu! You wannna play with me?" Hachi replied, he wasn't scared of a human swordsman.
"That was a dirty trick you rotten fish!" Sanji snapped as he glared at Kuroobi, angry that Arlong had thrown Luffy into the water. Even if Luffy could swim, he'd still drown from being stuck in the rock.
"What's your hurry?" Kuroobi replied. "It's not like you have any chance of surviving! You fools are rushing to your deaths."
Meanwhile Luffy's situation was getting worse, but that only seemed to make Arlong happier. "Shahaha, you can't even breathe under water," Arlong chuckled. "What a puny species you are!"
-x-
"This looks bad," said Yosaku, "Luffy's in trouble."
"There's nothing he can do to save himself," Johnny agreed. Nojiko and Genzo looked on in shock, what was that supposed to mean?
-x-
"I'll finish you in five seconds!" Zoro exclaimed as he rushed at Hachi with his sword drawn.
"HACHI INK JET!" Hachi shouted as he shot out another stream of black ink. FWOOOOSH! Zoro kept charging at the fishman and quickly jumped out of the way of the way and dodged the blast, then he slashed his sword to the side, but Hachi quickly ducked down, SLISH! Zoro missed Hachi but ended up cutting off some of his hair.
"MY HAIR!" Hachi shrieked. "You brat! You think I'll let you get away with that? Well you're right… it's only hair, I'll grow it back."
"Uh… thanks," Zoro replied.
Sanji was watching Zoro and the octopus fishman fight and noticed that Zoro was already short of breath. "Uh oh," Zoro muttered.
"Keep on your toes is you want to live a little while longer!" Kuroobi snapped as he suddenly swung at Sanji.
SWOOOSH! Sanji managed to dodge the blow."Hah, a fish should never pit himself against a Chef," Sanji countered as he dropped to his hands and swung his leg around for a kick, THWAK! Kuroobi got his arm up and blocked the attack with relative ease.
-x-
Back in the water, Luffy was still drowning, "I CAN'T BREATHE!" Luffy silently screamed.
-x-
But back above water Zoro and Hachi were continuing their battle. "Roronoa Zoro, no swordsman is a match for me!" Hachi snapped, "Can't you understand that?"
"You talk too much!" Zoro growled as he charged in with his sword raised above his head.
"HACHI TRIPLE SWORD CATCH!" Hachi shouted as he raised his six arms and brought them together and attempted to catch Zoro's sword as the former Pirate Hunter brought it slashing down. WAPWAPWAP! Zoro's sword was going too fast and it ended up cutting Hachi's hands. "YOWWW!"
"I don't have time to play with you," Zoro groaned as he watched the octopus fishman flinch. "This is taking too long… hurry up and die!" Zoro charged at Hachi again.
"HACHI STICK UP!" Hachi yelled as he jumped up into the air and used the suction cups on his arms to stick upside-down to the wall above Zoro's head.
"What the hell are you doing?" Zoro demanded. "Get down here! Are you trying to waste my time?"
"I hear you use a three-sword style," Hachi commented without even trying to get down, "Why are you using only one sword?"
"You're losing badly enough with only one, fish!" Zoro taunted him.
"Shut up!" Hachi shot back, "I haven't even gotten serious yet! There's a reason why no human swordsman can beat me!"
-x-
"Darn it, that octopus is wasting time!" Johnny realized.
"They can't go into the water of they'll go right into their trap," Yosaku pointed out.
"But at this rate Brother Luffy is doomed!" Johnny exclaimed.
"We've got to do something to save him!" Yosaku agreed as the turned to go to Luffy's aid.
"Wait," Genzo called after them as he placed a hand on Yosaku's arm, causing the Bounty Hunter to yelp in pain. "You two are still injured. What will you be able to do? I'll help the rubber boy."
"Genzo, I'll go with you," Nojiko volunteered. A bunch of other villagers also volunteered to go as well. But Genzo would have none of it.
"No," said Genzo. "If there are too many people we'll draw the attention of the mermen. It will interrupt their fight and those pirates will have fought for nothing. I'll go alone."
"But Mr. Genzo," a villager protested.
"That's an order," Genzo resolved as he picked up his hammer and turned to head inside.
"Good luck," Johnny said to Genzo.
"We'll leave it to you," Yosaku continued, "But please hurry."
"Mr. Genzo, I'm going too!" Nojiko cut in, with a determined look on her face.
"Nojiko…" Genzo tried to argue.
"Those guys are fighting for my sister," said Nojiko as she stared at Genzo. Genzo stared back and realized Nojiko wasn't going to give in.
"Come on, we have to hurry," Genzo relented as he started running in.
"Right," Nojiko agreed as she raced after Genzo.
-x-
"You can't possibly win," Hachi taunted from where he was still handing on the wall, but suddenly Zoro collapsed to the ground. FWUMP!
"His wounds from Hawk Eye!" Sanji exclaimed, the deep gashes and cuts Mihawk had inflicted on Zoro hadn't fully healed, and Zoro was feeling the effects of that now.
"Now's my chance," Hachi realized, "FLAMING OCTOPUS PUNCH!" Hachi shot his six arms into the wall over and over again like a machine gun, WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Hachi jumped away from the wall and landed on the ground. "I'LL CRUSH YOU RORONOA ZORO!"
Hachi laughed but Zoro reached out and grabbed him then tossed him to the ground and calmly walked forward. KA-BLOOOSH! The rock Hachi had punched loose came crashing down where Zoro had been standing… right on top of Hachi.
Again Zoro collapsed to the ground, "Crap, why now?" he complained.
"Those wounds were too deep after all," Yosaku realized.
"Of course," Johnny replied. "A normal person would have died from an injury like that! Our brother has been suffering in silence all this time!"
-x-
"I thought it was strange that he got cut up like that and recovered so quickly," Sanji muttered, "That idiot!"
"ONE HUNDRED BRICK FIST!" WHAM! Kuroobi shot out his fist and caught Sanji in the chest launching the cook backwards and causing him to smash through the wall of Arlong Park. KRASH! "I told you to stay on your toes," Kuroobi taunted, "I'm a fortieth degree black belt in Fishman Karate!"
-x-
"What was that!" one of the gathered villagers exclaimed, "Was that man flying!"
"BROTHER COOK!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted at the same time.
-x-
"That's the last of them Lord Arlong," Kuroobi reported as he stood over the crouching form of Zoro. "What do you want done with Roronoa Zoro?"
"Just throw him and the others into the sea," Arlong replied, "What boring creatures. Hachi wake up! How long are you going to sleep there?"
KRASH! In response Hachi erupted up out of the rubble and got to his feet, "RORONOA ZORO! I'M REALLY MAD NOW!" Hachi screamed, "I'LL KILL YOU!" Hachi quickly got a set of six swords and held one of them in each of his hands, "I am the Greatest Swordsman on this island! I use Rokutou! (Six-Sword Style) Even if hell freezes over a mere human could never defeat me!" WOOOOOSH! To prove his point Hachi spun around, swinging his six swords wildly, the force from all the swords created a tornado that went up above Hachi's head.
"That's enough Hachi!" Kuroobi scolded him. "I know how you feel, but if you get too mad you'll destroy Arlong Park!" Hachi reluctantly stopped spinning and turned his attention to Zoro who was just getting back up.
"Let me tell you something, Squidy," said Zoro, as he untied his bandana from his arm then tied it onto his head. "There's a man I have to meet, and until I see him again, now one can take my life!" Zoro then turned to his bounty hunter partners, "Yosaku, Johnny, let me borrow your swords!"
"Yay! Zoro!" the Bounty Hunters cheered.
"I'll show you my Santōryū," Zoro told the fishman.
"I'LL KILL YOU RORONOA ZORO!" Hachi yelled.
"So he was still alive," Kuroobi commented idly.
-x-
Outside of Arlong Park, Sanji was still alive too. Much to the amazement of the gathered villagers he simply lit a cigarette and got back up to his feet. "Hmph, that's it?" questioned Sanji, who had blood dripping down his face from the gash Kuroobi had made. "If that was a level forty punch, then that old man's kicks must have been level four hundred!"
-x-
Meanwhile Nojiko and Genzo had made it into the water and were making their way down to Luffy's unconscious form.
-x-
Usopp screamed at the top of his lungs as he continued running from Chew, "AAAAAAAHHHH!"
-x-
Three Swords vs. Six
-x-
"Brother Zoro is in bad shape," said Yosaku, as he and Johnny watched their former partner fight to stay on his feet. "His wounds from Hawk Eye must be causing him great pain."
"If those wounds open now, he'll die for sure!" Johnny exclaimed.
"But there's no time to worry about that!" Yosaku snapped.
"Brother Zoro is the only one who can take care of this," Johnny added.
-x-
Back inside, Zoro and Hachi were getting ready to started, but already Zoro was showing signs of fatigue. Hachi was quick to point this out. "Roronoa Zoro, you look like a walking corpse! And I haven't even started on you yet!"
"Keep your comments to yourself," Zoro shot back as he tied on his bandana.
"BROTHER CATCH!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted as they threw their swords at Zoro. The two blades spun in the air like a pair of buzzsaws as they approached Zoro.
"This is bad," Zoro commented to himself, "I almost passed out. And my fever is rising…"
"Brother our swords!" Johnny yelled as the two swords whizzed towards Zoro from behind, did Zoro know they were coming?
"We threw our swords to you!" Yosaku called out, "Catch them!"
"I'll show you a world a normal two-armed human can't enter!" Hachi taunted as he held his six swords at the ready. "This is the six-sword style! Only a person with six arms can do it!"
"BROTHER ZORO, LOOK OUT!" Johnny and Yosaku screamed as the two swords whirled even closer to Zoro.
"OCTOPUS ARM MIRACLE SWORDS!" Hachi shouted as he poised his six blades at the ready and charged at Zoro.
Zoro spun around and caught the two incoming swords, then slipped in between the six blades Hachi was wielding, "Three-Sword Style …" started Zoro as he dodged the frantic six-sword strike. WHUP! WHUP! WHUP!
"Try countering this with only three swords!" Hachi challenged as he continued slashing his swords out at Zoro, who continued to dodge them and swat them away. WHUP! WHUP! WHUP!
"…STREAMING WOLF SWORDS!" Zoro shouted as he slashed his three blades and slipped passed Hachi. SLISH!
"Nyu?" said Hachi as he stood in surprise how Zoro had gotten behind him and had dodged his attack. Arlong and Kuroobi were wondering along the same lines. PLURT! Hachi yelled out in pain as blood splurted out of a large gash on his chest. Zoro had gotten a hit in and had dodged Hachi's six-sword attack all in one move!
"He did it!" Yosaku exclaimed.
"He got passed that six-sword whirlwind!" Johnny yelled out. "That's incredible!" All the villagers agreed with the bounty hunters and stared in shock, any of them would've been turned to mince meat by now!
"NOW YOU'VE REALLY MADE ME MAD!" Hachi hollered as he turned to face Zoro again, "I'm gonna chop you up! Just think about it mathematically, three blades is the maximum you can hold, you have no chance against me!"
"Mathematically?" Zoro repeated, as he thought back to Mihawk comments about his amazing spirit. "That would be a grave miscalculation. I may only have three swords, but mine are much heavier than yours!" The two swordsmen faced each other and had another stand off.
-x-
Underwater, Genzo and Nojiko had made it to Luffy, Genzo was trying to smash the rock around Luffy's feet with his hammer, "He's swallowed a lot of water," Nojiko reported. "If we can't free him soon it will be too late!"
"Darn it, I don't know if this will work on the ocean floor," said Genzo as he smashed the hammer down on the rock again. But due to being under water, he hadn't hit the rock as hard as he could normally, so it did nothing. "I don't have much power due to the water resistance."
"Mr. Genzo, we need to hurry," Nojiko reminded him.
"I can't," replied Genzo, "the rock isn't breaking. And I can't carry him to the surface with that rock attached. I need an oxygen tank, but there's not enough time to get one."
"That's it!" Nojiko suddenly realized, she had a temporary plan.
-x-
Back at Arlong Park Zoro and Hachi were getting ready to continue their battle. "You think your swords weight more that mine?" questioned Hachi, "you idiot, my swords are much heavier than yours! Each of my swords weight six hundred fifty pounds!"
"I won't waste words on a fool," Zoro muttered.
"ROKUTOU!" Hachi called out as he brought his six swords together in a point, KLANG! "OCTOPUS POT STANCE!" Hachi charged at Zoro with his swords poised for attack. "NEW YEARS …" Hachi drove his swords forward, but Zoro blocked them with two of his, KLANK! KLANG! "OPEN BODY!" Hachi suddenly pulled his swords apart, separating Zoro's swords in the process, SHOOOM! Now Zoro was wide open, "SLAM!" Hachi shot his head forward and drove it into Zoro's stomach, WHAM! Zoro was launched up into the air as he let out a grunt of pain.
"OH NO! HIS WOUNDS!" Yosaku screamed.
"BROTHER ZORO IS GONNA DIE!" Johnny shouted.
"I won't let you touch down alive!" Hachi exclaimed as Zoro kept flying up in the air. "WALTZ OF THE SIX SWORDS!" Hachi started spinning around over and over again, FWIIRRRR! Zoro started his descent and was going down towards what looked like an evil fan of doom!
"If you so much as touch my swords you mincemeat!" Hachi yelled. "Prepare to be diced!" FWUPFWUPFWUP!
Zoro saw what he was plummeting towards so he quickly stared spinning around as well. FWUPFWUP! Zoro came down on Hachi, both swordsman were spinning, everyone was waiting for the inevitable sound of Zoro being sliced to pieces but it never came, instead the was a sole slashing sound. The spectators stared in shock as Zoro landed on his feet, while Hachi yelled out in pain and dropped his swords. Hachi held his hands up and saw that they were bleeding.
"How? What coulda happened?" asked Yosaku.
"Yosaku, all of this fighting is sure to open up Brother Zoro's wounds," Johnny pointed out.
"That human matched the rotation of my blades and passed right through," Hachi realized. "He even managed to cut up my hands. Well I'm a swordsman, not an acrobat!" Hachi turned to Zoro and shouted at him, "Now I've really had it with you. Now I'm really gonna kill you!" Zoro just stood where he was with his back to Hachi, he was starting to feel faint.
"Brother Zoro looks like he's in pain," Yosaku observed, "I'd trade places with him if I could."
"Even if most people would pass out from wounds like these, I can not fall!" Zoro resolved to himself.
Hachi picked up his swords and put them together in a point like he had before, KLANG! "OCTOPUS POT STANCE!" Hachi shouted, "You're as good as dead!"
"Even though a normal person would have died from this pain, I can not die," Zoro said to himself as Hachi charged at him.
"This attack is one hundred percent unblockable!" Hachi exclaimed as he rushed in, "It already worked on you once!"
"I have to live to beat Hawk Eye Mihawk!" Zoro said to himself, "I can't lose!" "DEMON…"
Hachi reached Zoro and shouted out his attack, "NEW YEARS …"
"SLICE!" finished Zoro as he charged at Hachi while slashing all three of his swords, KREEESH! Hachi's swords all broke in half! Hachi stared in surprise as his swords broke apart and the top parts clattered to the ground.
"Now do you see who's swords are heavier?" questioned Zoro. "I hope your satisfied now, stupid octopus! DRAGON…"
Hachi decided to forget the fact that he had lost his swords and he charged at Zoro in a blind rage, shooting his fists out like a machine gun again, "FLAMING OCTOPUS PUNCH!"
"…TWISTER!" finished Zoro as he spun around and slashed the incoming Hachi. THWAM! Hachi was launched up into the air and blood came out of the wounds Zoro had made on his chest.
"How could I lose to only three swords?" wondered Hachi as he plummeted downward then smashed into the ground unconscious. WHA-KRASH!
Zoro's swords carried all his dream of becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman and his sworn oath to never lose again. His ambition was far heavier than a mere six hundred fifty pound blade.
"Hachi?" Arlong called out.
"He couldn't…" Kuroobi muttered. Both he and Arlong had just witnessed a human beating one of their toughest fishmen! How could this have happened?
Zoro couched down and put his swords away, "The rest of you are beyond my notice," he said to Arlong and Kuroobi, "I have to save Luffy!"
"Roronoa Zoro!" Kuroobi exclaimed as he stood over Zoro with his arm raised, "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO HACHI!"
But as Kuroobi brought his arm crashing down, THWAK! Sanji came out of nowhere and blocked Kuroobi's arm with his foot. "You sent me flying pretty far back there," Sanji commented.
"There was never a human in the East Blue who could take the full force of my punch and live," said Kuroobi.
"I'll wager a lot of people who could do it," Sanji replied, "especially at a certain restaurant I know."
"How dare you insult me!" Kuroobi snapped.
Zoro's battle with Hachi had finished, and Zoro had come out victorious. Sanji was now preparing to take on Kuroobi, but some distance away from Arlong Park, another battle was starting.
-x-
Zoro beat Hachi, but there's still no sign of Ricky. Next chapter it's Sanji versus Kuroobi, Heroism versus Fishman Cruelty.
'Till Next Time…
Peace!