LW: Time to see Luffy's 2nd attempt to fight a Logia, hopefully it goes better than his fight with Smoker in Loguetown.
It's not is it? 0_0
Rubber King and Mirror Master – Race to Alubarna: Luffy Vs Crocodile
"So what's stopping Crocodile from turning around and killing us?" Vivi asks as she leads Sanji and Alvida back through the casino
"Chopper's running around Rain base, the little guy is tough when he wants to be, beat the ever loving shit out of the millions while proclaiming to be me, or Mr Prince I suppose" Sanji explains, though Vivi pales
"So you let Crocodile go after him?" Vivi yelps
Alvida sighs and squeezes her shoulder "Chopper just needs to keep Croc's attention, the V's will be around to help in that regard and it's not like we asked him to fight the guy, just take his eyes off you and our missing crewmates" she adds, glad to see the princess relax slightly just before reaching the stairs
Meanwhile
"Fuck, how strong is this cage?" Nami cries as the bananagator's teeth are shattered when it tried to get at it's captive meat
"So, can we just assume kieroseki is some kind of magic diamond?" Kaos asks, sitting beside Smoker who actually seemed uninterested about being in a life or death situation
"Why are you just sitting there, you should be trying to help us out?" Usopp yells at both guys, though neither react to him directly Smoker does speak
"What do you know about Crocodile's plans?"
"Very little, why?"
Smoker frowns "The woman, his 2nd in command, she's wanted by the World Government for quite a lot, 70 mill as far as I know"
Luffy nods "Kaos mentioned it back at Cactus island, Nico Robin, 79 million berri, the Devil's child. He also said if she wanted to hide all that she should wear a mask either as Robin or Sunday"
"Maybe she expects people to be too busy staring at her cleavage to remember her face" Zoro suggests mostly as a joke, getting a light kick (more a prod) to the back of the head by Kaos, and a more substantial smack from Nami
Smoker sighs "My point is that with those 2 working together this could become something the entire world gets dragged into rather than a simple internal island dispute/civil war" he finishes, pointedly ignoring Kaos coughed 'Buster Call', though his lips turned down into the start of a scowl, which clearly amused the younger man.
"I don't care" Luffy states plainly "I don't need any more reasons than I already do, I'm going to kick that bastard's ass just like I promised I would"
'Kid's stupid as a sack of rocks, but he's determined I'll give him that' Smoker thinks, probably the closest Luffy will ever get to a compliment from the marine (We'll just have to wait and see, at least we can say it's the best for now)
BANG
BANG
"What the Fuck?!" Was the collective exclamation from the prisoners as the bananagator was thrown into the air, landing on it's back with another slam
"Looks like Vivi's back" Kaos says, standing up for the 1st time since Sunday arrived
"And with reinforcements" Vivi answers, smiling from the destroyed stairway as Sanji stood before them and Alvida was basically posing like a badass on top of the downed gator (DF user, water bad)
"Been waiting long?" She asks, hefting her mace onto her shoulder and grinning
"Nami my dear, do you love me now?" Sanji asks as he does his 'noodle dance', causing most of the crew to sigh and Smoker to sweatdrop, this crew was insane but seriously?
"Damn lovesick idiot" Zoro grumbles
"Get us out of here and I'll show you how much I love you" Nami replies between gritted teeth, there was a time and a place for everything, now was not the time for chivalrous pervert.
"Hey guys, the other gators are tired of waiting" Kaya yells as the room is now flooded with banana gators as well as water.
"The 3rd from the left has the key" Smoker shouts to the free Straw Hats, looking confused but considering Smoker most likely wanted out as badly as their friends follow the order, Alvida's mace to the gut causing the reptile to spit out a white ball which bounced across the room
"Not a key that's for sure" Sanji sighs
"You sure you're hearing is any good Smokie?" Alvida asks, the water causing her to lean on her mace for stability
Wax Wax Ball: Release
The ball cracks open like an egg, a shrivelled up husk stepping out of it
"Hey it's that wax guy from the dinosaur island, what's he doing here?" Luffy thinks aloud, as the entire group frown
"Mr. 3" Vivi growls
After drinking his fill Mr. 3 stands up happy as could be "Sweet freedom, Crocodile though he could kill me, but he didn't try hard enough" it as then he noticed his surroundings "Not you again!" he shrieks, then looks confused as he finds the key sitting in the remains of his wax ball 'Hmm?'
"Toss it here"
"Give us the key"
"Don't make me hurt you"
'A room quickly filling with water, trapped straw hats, and this key? Interesting' Mr. 3 grins "Well my dear Straw Hats I guess it's time for me to go…" he grunts as he walks into Sanji
"Hey, I'll be taking that key now" the cook demands
3 frowns, looking from Sanji to the key and back a couple times "You want this key? Go get it!" he yells, tossing the key into the water, somewhere in the middle of the gator mass "I don't know who you are but if you're with the Straw Hats you're clearly an enemy of mine"
Homunculus
Bonebreaker
Mr. 3 shrieks as a spiked finger pierces his left knee and Alvida crushes his right foot, then wraps her hand around his throat so he was looking her in the eye "I'm going to enjoy breaking every bone in your body you wax spewing little shit" she growls, the look in her eyes familiar to anyone who tragically passed in Whiskey Peak.
"Sanji, save the key!" Luffy yells, the blond nods and runs towards the hungry gators
"Hold it!" Kaos shouts "There's an easier way" he adds, and just as he hoped that was enough to interest the cook as well as the rest of the crew "If Alvida can hold off on murdering Waxy over there, I believe he could be of use to us… as in using his fruit to make us a key"
Alvida grins, which sends a shiver down Smoker's spine 'You only met Vice Admiral Medusa once, how can her smile still get this reaction out of me?'
"You heard him Waxy, make them a key and I might just spare you" she growls in his ear, the numbered agent just barely managing to keep bladder control before Sanji drags him over to the door
"Good, now we can leave" Nami cheers as Mr. 3 frees them, just before the man gets kicked into the wall by Sanji, probably more likely to survive that than whatever Alvida had planned for him
"One problem, the room is still full of banana…" Vivi doesn't even get to finish her sentence when she's interrupted by
"Done!" A surprisingly chipper Kaos announces as himself Zoro and Luffy deal with the remaining gators almost effortlessly
"Never mind let's go then!" Usoop says with a grin, taking Kaya's hand in his own he leads the way to the door, the blond behind him just as happy to be free.
That happiness lasted about 5 seconds, after which the passageway collapsed as well as most of the room
'This is going to suck' Luffy and Kaos groan as the wave of water barrels towards the group, sweeping them out into the lake.
What feels like minutes but was much less
Sanji grunts as he surfaces, pulling himself as well as both Luffy and Alivda to shore "Damn it, you 2 alive? I'm really not understanding the appeal of Devil Fruit powers right now" the cook grumbles to himself
"Come on Usopp, don't die on me now" Kaya whimpers, checking on her currently unconscious friend
"For such a big guy I think his coat is most of this weight" Nami complains as her and Vivi ended up pulling Kaos onto dry land, the purplette moans weakly and rolls onto his back
The last one to surface was Zoro, along with…
"You stupid marino in case you forgot that's our enemy!" Sanji reprimands, but is ignored by the swordsman
"I didn't want to save him, but I wasn't going to just let the man die" Zoro retorts in defence "I'd have no problems cutting him down in a fight, but this leaving him to drown would have been just plain wrong"
"So everyone's alive right?" the non devil fruit users jump at the voice behind them, turning to see Artemis slowly walk over to Kaos and sit by his head "You going to get up now Papa?" she asks, getting a weak chuckle, water in her face and a cough that turned into a chuckle
"Just need a minute, damn slave driver"
"If she was a real slave driver you wouldn't get that minute"
Vivi smiles despite the circumstances "Victor, Valentina, Chopper, glad to see you all survived"
"You too it would seem" the bomb man laughs
"Roronoa!" Zoro reflectively raises Wado, blocking Smoker's jute handily "Why did you save me?"
The swordsman shrugged "Captains orders, plus it didn't feel right" he confessed, noticing the marine captain's frown deepen
At this point Luffy and Usopp jump up mostly alright, Alvida sits up and with minor encouragement Kaos stands up and wrings out his cloak over Nami and Artemis (Just because he's kind of a dick sometimes)
"I should arrest you, but you've just saved my life" Smoker sighs deeply, returning his weapon to his back "On that note, just this once I'm letting you go. So run you dumbass" he orders, Luffy blinks in confusion before flashing him a Monkey Smile
"I knew you were one of the good ones Smokie, don't let anyone tell you different" Luffy calls back as the crew hightail it out of there, leaving only Smoker when the marines finally figure out what the hell is going on, the man walking straight over to the only compentant people in the city.
"Captain!" Tashigi greets as Smoker catches up to them
"Tashigi, Lucina, have every man we have converge on the capital right now" he puffs, the swordswoman salute while the taller bluenette looks confused
"But Sir, the Straw Hats are…" she argues
"…a pittance compared to a crime syndicate destabilising a country and trying to overthrow it's World Government appointed leader" Smoker interrupts tensely
Lucina blinks "The rebels are Revolutionaries?"
Smoker shakes his head "No, they're unwitting pawns and canon fodder for the true enemy; Baroque Works, run by the Warlord Crocodile himself. Until further notice nothing is to be done about Straw Hat and his crew, our focus is on Baroque works and Sir crocodile. Given Straw Hat admitted to only being in Alabasta to kick Crocodile's ass there is a chance one of problems could take out the other, but I'd much prefer they both ended up in marine custody. Understood?"
Lucina nods and grits her teeth "It's your hunt Smoker" she says lowly, annoyed she'd have to hold off removing that smug bastard's head for a little longer "One more thing, I got in touch with Hina, her ship ran into some bad weather so was a little delayed while they adjusted course. Hopefully she'll reach us in time to actually be helpful" she adds
"Good, that puts people I trust to hold the right end of a sword at 3" he mumbles to himself, then takes off in the direction of Alubarna
Back with the pirates
"Good work finding this crab Chopper" Valentina praises the reindeer who squirms happily as the crew hop onto the moving crab Chopper had managed to find so they could cut their travel time down significantly, which considering they were on a timer was very good for everyone.
"And this one isn't a pervert like the camel" Kaos teases, then frowns as he still couldn't tell desert sand from Crocodile sand
"Ahh!" Vivi screams as she's yanked off Scissors by Croc's hook
"Vivi!" Luffy yells, wrapping his arms around her and kicking the sand, sure he probably couldn't hurt crocodile in this form but what he could do was break the connection between his body and the hook long enough to free the princess, though he hadn't expected the hook to crumble into sand too "We can't just keep running in a desert, it's his element" Luffy states seriously before dropping Vivi in Alvida's lap
"Luffy, don't" Kaos warns, seeing that expression before, but the rubber captain had already jumped off the back of the crab in the direction Crocodile's hook had come from.
"We need to stop this crab!" Usopp shouts, about to force Chopper to pull the breaks, but was stopped by Zoro
"Idiot, he's distracting Crocodile so we can get Vivi to the Capital, if we stop the gesture is worthless" the swordsman explains/scolds "Hurry up Chopper" he orders to which The Doctor nods
"Luffy, we'll meet you in Alubarna, don't take too long" Vivi yells, trying not to let the worry show in her voice
A little later
Kaos sits at the back o the crab, clenched fists on his knees, until a much smaller hand finds his wrist
"Relax Papa, Luffy will be fine" Artemis states flatly, and despite that Kaos laughs, being reminded of himself trying to talk Ace out of his 'protective older brother' stress outs. Feeling the artist sit back to back with him, the tension leaks out and his hands open, now resting on his crossed legs and he could feel it, Luffy's hyperactive energy even through the sand, both the real and Crocodile.
Everything was fine, right until that energy faltered, stuttering for a moment before returning, but it was the 2nd flicker where he lost it, the sandstorm too strong and Crocodile's prescience in the sand for him to detect Luffy even a little and with that went any sense of calm in the purplette
It was less the strength as that speed which caught everyone off guard, things were fine besides the general unease and then they were nearly floored by a suffocating pressure, even causing the giant crab to stumble but keep walking, the simple creature more panicked than crushed by the pressure
'He can't be, he just can't. He's too stubborn to die and he promised Vivi he'd see this through to the end' Kaos thinks as every muscle in his body tenses, wanting nothing more than to rip Crocodile's still beating heart out of his chest and crush it. His thoughts continued to spiral for a couple minutes before an air of calm filled his bones and despite how obviously unnatural it was it still managed to overshadow his unease and make him sit properly and relax, and when he did he was smiling, there it was, weaker than it usually was but it was clearly Luffy and if he wasn't mistaken Robin too.
"Okay, what the fuck was that?!" Nami practically screams, having noticed immediately both when Artemis put on and removed the green paint symbol on their 1st mate's back
"Luffy's alive" Kaos says with a slight slur, not fully back yet
"Great, but that doesn't explain why it feels like my brain was being squeezed" Sanji grumbles
Kaos sighs "Because I lost him, for a moment but it was enough I began to panic and lost all concentration as well as the ability to detect him at all"
"You can track people?" Vivi asks, surprised that hadn't come up before
"I can track Devil Fruit users, or at least know when they're nearby"
"That's how you knew we were Paramecia" Victor realised
"And Mr 3" Artemis adds, remembering what Kaos said 'I could feel the heat of your wax from half way across the island…'
"Then you can tell us where Crocodile is" Kaya suggests, but the thinning of the researcher/strategist's lips told him that wasn't that simple
"Logias are difficult, due to the way it works with their element, as well as their intangibility it spreads out the feeling, like Smoker in Loguetown, or the fact I've been tasting sand since we stepped into Rainbase. I can't pinpoint him, but I don't need to, to know he's on the way to Alubarna, same as us" he explains, running his fingers through his hair
Meanwhile/earlier/with Luffy
"Well looks like Vivi slipped through your fingers there Crocodile" Sunday notes, with her usual half smile, to which the warlord shrugs in response
"No matter, our agents are already gathering at Alubarna and will take out the princess the moment they find her" he replies
"CROCODILE!" Luffy yells as he drops down in front of the 2
"So you're alive Straw Hat. So tell me, why continue all this foolishness?" Crocodile asks
"It's not foolishness, it's not foolish to help your friends and Vivi cares about this country and is mad at all the destruction you have caused to it. Princess may be a slightly naïve optimist but that doesn't mean I'm not going help her. I just wish she didn't think this war could be settled without anyone dying"
Croc laughed "Nobody dying? And they say you're the dim one. I presume that isn't a viewpoint you share with Vivi?"
"Nope" Luffy replies automatically "But that doesn't stop me from kicking your ass so we can end this war without Vivi killing herself trying to do the impossible"
Sunday chuckles and turns to leave, stopping when Crocodile calls to her "And where do you think you're going Nico Robin?"
"This isn't my fight, and you promised to never use my name while I worked for you. I'll go on ahead while you deal with the little monkey" she answers walking off into the desert
"Damn unpredictable woman, you'd think threats would keep her in line but it just makes her more fucking mouthy" Crocodile grumbles before fishing a blade from his coat and throwing it in Luffy's direction, the rubber boy seeing the hilt contained an hourglass style timer "I have 3 minutes to spare, but I doubt you'll last even that long. Take your shot kid"
"With pleasure"
Gum Gum Pistol
The punch is dodged by crocodile who smirks before separating into sand, impossible to follow in the desert, reforming about a foot in front of Luffy who bends backward in order to avoid a hook through the face, setting up the Warlord for a…
Gum Gum Stamp
The kick tears through Crocodile's body with ease, but as he's a logia it doesn't exactly do… anything, He reformed in seconds with the same smug look on his face as before
"This is a pointless fight boy, even you should know that, just give up and we can end this tedium quickly"
Gum Gum Gattling
Luffy's response came in the form of rapid fire punches, each attack punching a large hole through the Sandman's body which was quickly repaired almost immediately after his body left the cavity
Gum Gum Bazooka
Gum Gum BattleAxe
Even with the 2 attacks tearing through his entire chest cavity and then cleaving him in 2, Crocodile still returns, only looking very mildly annoyed at the time wasting Luffy was doing
"I grow tired of your games, time to end this…"
Desert Spada
The sand blade shoots through the desert and is just barely dodged by Luffy, actually a little impressed by the gorge Croc's attack caused.
"You have good reflexes kid I'll give you that, let's see if you can dodge this!"
Desert Girasole
Luffy yelps as the ground around him collapses dropping him into some kind of sand whirlpool kind of structure. Panicking he tries to run out of the sinking sand, but he remains rather low in the pit
"Of all the techniques my devil fruit grants me, this is the most helpful I've found for making people disappear, there's no point fighting it, the sand will consume you and then I will go after and kill all of your friends" Crocodile gloats from the attack's edge
"No, I'm not going to be beaten by this sand trap"
Gum Gum Bazooka
Gum Gum Net
The bazooka, aimed at the ground did a good job of getting him out of the trap, his attempt to catch Crocodile, not so much
"You are a simple minded fool and predictable"
Crescent Cutlass
Crocodile's attack strike's Luffy in the arm, pulling the moisture from him and causing his right arm to shrivel up like a mummy "Be glad all I struck was your arm boy, I could do this all day, systematically drying you out until you're a pile of dust"
"No, it's not going to end like this" Luffy yells, running over to the barrel he got from Toto and gulping it down, restoring his frail limb
"You're only delaying the inevitable" Crocodile growls
"You think I'm predictable? Well how about something new!"
Gum Gum Munch Munch
Luffy's head/mouth extends in a manner similar to a certain former king/current scumbag, biting off Croc's upper torso as he sailed through the air. Unfortunately Croc was able to force his way out of Luffy's mouth, and boy was he pissssssssssssssssssssssssssed!
"ENOUGH! Your 3 minutes are up, so now you will have to die"
Sables
From his hand the sand swirls, absorbing sand from the desert and growing larger until a proper sized sand storm was formed
"The prevailing winds in this land blow north to south, if I allow this little storm its freedom and it were to catch one of those winds it will grow exponentially until it was capable of destroying everything in its path. And do you know what would be destroyed first?"
"No. So tell me!"
Croc grins "Yuba"
Luffy's eyes bulge and his teeth clench "You bastard! Why are you doing this?" He asks as he runs up to the Warlord who just stood there almost contently
"Because I can, and very soon my sandstorm will wipe Yuba off the map"
Luffy would probably have reacted to that… were he not trying to process the fact he'd just got a hook shoved in his gut
"Did you really think you stood a chance against me?" he asks, not even really looking at the boy skewered on his hook "You aren't the first rookie to try fight me and as much as it annoys me you won't be the last." Crocodile says in a bored tone, until Luffy grabs his arm and squeezes 'What? How are you still alive?' He grimaces then tosses the broken teen into the still spinning vortex, if the hole in his chest doesn't kill him suffocating under the sand or drowning in the underground waterways will, either way he'll finally be out of his way.
Back with the others
"Well, didn't think Sanji being a girl crazy pervert would actually be helpful" Kaos says with a slight amused tone, his smile large enough to show his fangs but little else, Artemis nodding as she sat on his lap, back pressed against his chest "Just wish it didn't mean I have to retract my 'at least it's not a pervert like Eyelash' comment" he mutters under his breath
"And Kaya is a remarkable dancer for such a sickly girl" the artist adds, watching the women of the group entice their current transport Scissors the moving crab to scuttle across the river, lucky this crew had a habit of attracting perverts as the grinning animal really liked the dancer girl outfits. Nami was the first to strip off her desert gear in favour of the dancer disguises their cook had gotten them, and seeing the love struck reaction he gave the navigator, Alvida, Valentina, Vivi and finally Kaya followed suit, even trying their hand at dancing to add to the appeal.
For a change it wasn't just Sanji (and pervert camel) who couldn't take their eyes off the dancing girls, Victor smiled as he watches his partner practically float around the crab's back (Devil fruit related or just her normal grace?) while Usopp's eyes never left his blond best friend's form
"Seems everyone's got a girl to watch, well except Sanji he's watching everything that jiggles" Zoro jokes as he sits beside the duo
"True, though that means you're focusing on something other than your swords, am I right?" Kaos flashes a grin "I mean I have Artemis to keep safe, so that just leaves you"
"Luffy wants us to keep the princess alive, so yeah I've got her in my sights. We're not all perverts like swirly brow over there" he responds, both noticing Vivi looking carefree even if it was just for a few minutes
That carefree moment ended when the crab sank, seems even sexy girls can't support a crab on water, meaning they had to swim the rest of the way, well until they ran into a giant catfish like creature, which was another thing on the list of dangerous things in Alabasta Vivi forgot to tell them about, as in the fact they like eating people! There was one moment of good luck though, as they were reunited with the Kung Fu Dugongs who promptly beat the ever loving crap out of the catfish, then helped the Straw Hats up so they could use it as a raft
"That was nice of them" Kaya says as the crew regain as much of their energy as they could with this momentary reprieve
"They said they were just looking out for their fellow pupils" Chopper explains/translates
"Wait, do they think Luffy is our master?" Usopp asks in confusion
"Either him or me, and given he's our captain, it's probably the best comparison they have" Kaos answers, lying on his back
"Don't care, just glad we don't have to swim anymore" Nami says with a sigh, the others agree, mostly because all the DF users basically impersonated limpets for the entire short swim due to the whole 'water saps them of their strength' thing, and it wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone involved.
On land
"Thanks for the lift, bye" Chopper calls as the group leave the dugongs to their own things "Now what?"
"Now we have some small problems, mostly the fact I don't know how long it'll take to get to Alubarna from here, even if we were to ride Eyelash" Vivi admits with an undertone of irritation
"And considering the pervert carries 2 girls at the most, that leaves most of us without transport, half of which didn't have a chance in the first place" Zoro adds, the guys still glaring at the camel.
"What's that?" Alvida asks, pointing to what appeared to be a dust cloud flowing towards their location
"Is it Baroque Works?" Nami asks
"Is it another sand storm?" Valentina counters
Quack
Vivi flashes a momentary D grin, before laughing "It's something much better than that, it's Carue and the Super Sonic Duck Squad!"
"The who/what now?" the Straw Hats ask in confusion as a familiar duck appears, followed by an entire flock of them
Back with Luffy
Sunday looks down with something akin to curiosity and pity as she uses her fruit to lift the heavily injured boy from the sand trap, the extended summoning arms dropping him on the ground beside her.
"Thank you" Luffy wheezes, still clutching his perforated torso as he lays on mostly stable ground one more
"Why do you fight?" Sunday asks, her expression serious but mostly blank "The D's I mean?" she elaborates, mostly because she was unsure as to whether Luffy's confused face was because he didn't understand the question, was a little out of it due to blood loss or was just that dim 'Should have captured and 'interrogated' the other one, least then I'd get an answer' she thinks with a sigh "Apparently you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, which is a shame" she says, mostly to herself given Luffy's condition as she catches his hat which another of her bloomed arms retrieved from the sand
"I found you" Robin turns her head and sees Pell slowly walk towards her, his expression clearly one that promises vengeance "Where is Vivi?"
"Well look who's up and awake, that was pretty quick, but I expected nothing less from Alabasta's greatest warrior" Sunday grins as she tosses the straw hat onto Luffy's chest
"I won't be beaten again woman, I know your fruit's power and won't be tricked again" the bird man states, raising his sword
Sunday rolls her eyes and waves him off, before walking away herself "Don't overstress your injuries the princess would cry if you died. Why don't you do something useful and save the boy before he dies" she says as she walks over to her transport, a smaller bananagator "After all if it wasn't for him who knows what could have happened to your precious Vivi" she sits on the beast and turns once more to the royal guard "If she's lucky Luffy's crew and Vivi should be almost at Alubarna by now. Thought you deserved an answer to your question as thanks for saving the kid's life" she winks at him before her gator speeds off, leaving nothing but a smoke trail of sand behind seconds later.
'Damn it, what can I do, who can protect Vivi now?' Pell's inner thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his sleeve, which despite his efforts wouldn't let go "What the hell?"
"BRING ME MEAT!"
TBC
LW: Well, looks like we're on the brink of a war, let's hope everyone can hold on until the next chapter…. Please?
Info dump
Crocodile
Desert Spada – His hand shifts into a blade of loose, fast moving sand, which he uses to cleave through anything in front of him
Desert Girasole – Like Spada, his hand shifts into sand, except this time he slams it into the ground, forming a sink hole
Crescent Cutlass – Sand blade which he uses to remove the moisture out of anything it touches, even being able to direct/localise it to specific body parts (such as Luffy's arm)
Sables – OP move in a desert island like Alabasta. Basically it allows him to summon a sandstorm.
Kao's sensory ability: It is based on a power in One Piece and I'm sure anyone who's read that far into the series knows what it is, 100% certain I'm using it wrong but it does give you a glimpse into which version of that power he'll excel at.
The pressure: Also based on a canon OP power, though in this case it behaves more like when in BLEACH one of the powerhouses flare their spiritual pressure and the weaker characters feel like their being crushed simply standing in their presence. Easiest example is when Yamamoto was about to fight Shunsui and Ukitake, he let his power off it's reins and Nanao could barely remain conscious.