Ch. 37- Protect Everything

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Moon, and Joe © Me

"The ship will fall when that throwing guy faints?!" Luffy questioned in horror.

"JAHAHAHAHA! That's right!" Hody laughed. "And I say good riddance! Decken turned traitor first! I must admit, even I was a bit shook up when I saw the arc hovering over the island…but on the other hand, breaking the island's bubble is a nice idea. Noah will destroy the entire Fishman Island, but the Fishman District is still on the Sea Floor. If Decken dies here, the effects of his power will wear off."

Luffy and Fukaboshi looked down, horrified at the thought of the arc crushing the island's inhabitants…not to mention his crew.

"The ship will plummet straight back down to the island," Hody continued, "and destroy everything! To me, the top priority right now is to make sure that the Straw Hat Crew, save your precious little navigator, is entirely wiped out!"

"You monster…!" Fukaboshi hissed.

"You bastard!" Luffy shouted. "Don't you have the slightest sympathy?! Your men are down there! They'll all be killed!"

"So what?!" Hody questioned. "I can always get more slaves!"

Luffy growled angrily at Hody's disregard for his crew.

"Straw Hat."

The Straw Hat Captain stopped and looked at Fukaboshi, who gave a firm look.

"I understand your anger," Fukaboshi said, "but you can't change him. This is the kind of person he is. For now…we must find a way to stop your dog before it's too late!"

"…You're right," Luffy answered. "Let's go!"

Fukaboshi was about to swim towards the Noah, but the Hody suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Hody scolded, mockingly. "If you wanna stop the ship…you have to get passed me!"

"Rrrrgh…dammit!" Luffy cursed.

XXX

On the deck of the Noah, Blizzard is still fighting with Decken, who clutched his throbbing bite wound.

"Take THIS!" Decken shouted. SHWOOP! SKISH! A knife appeared from the sole of his sandal, but all that did was slightly nick the wolf-dog's scarf.

WHAM! Blizzard slammed his paw into Decken's jaw, sending him crashing into one of the ship's rails!

"Damn you!" Decken cursed before he held up a large axe and swung it at Blizzard, who ducked down to dodge it. However, it ended up spinning around behind him.

"BAHOHOHOHOHO!" Decken laughed. "You think that dodging the axe will save you?!"

Blizzard growled viciously at the Bull Shark Fishman before CHOMP! CRUNCH! He bit down on his leg, the bone shattering!

"YOOOOOOOOOOWW!" Decken yowled, but then Blizzard swung him towards the spinning axe! "Wait! Wait, what are you doing, you idiot?! NOOOOOOOO!"

SLICE! Decken ended up getting hit…by his own axe. Before long…the Bull Shark Fishman soon plummeted into the ship's cabin, since the ship is now vertically above the island. Blizzard watched as Decken fell, returning to normal as he did.

However…did he ended up killing Decken?

XXX

Outside the Noah, Hody, Luffy, and Fukaboshi happened to see what happened. While Luffy and Fukaboshi gasped, Hody grinned malevolently.

"Oh, no!" Luffy cried. "Don't tell me Blizzard killed him!"

"It doesn't look like it," said Fukaboshi. "The ark appears to still be following Shirahoshi, so that means that Decken must still be conscious!"

"Well, before the ship can fall…I'll have to kill Shirahoshi, first," Hody said before he swam away!

"Hody! Wait!" Fukaboshi shouted before he swam after him. "Leave Shirahoshi alone!"

"Wait! I thought we were gonna stop Blizzard, first!" Luffy said.

"We will, but right now, Shirahoshi is my top priority!" said Fukaboshi.

Luffy looked down at the ark…but then seethed in frustration.

"…Please don't kill him, Blizzard!" he said.

Meanwhile, Shirahoshi is still swimming away with Ryuboshi and Manboshi, while Hoe returned to the island to be with Neptune. At that moment, Manboshi noticed Hody coming after them, but before he could warn Ryuboshi and Shirahoshi…

"OUTTA MY WAY, YOU MEASLY VERMIN!"

ZWOOSH! Hody came spinning towards them, cutting the two Princes with his Shark Slicer!

"GAAAAH!" they screamed.

"BROTHERS!" Shirahoshi cried in horror.

"JAHAHAHAHA!" Hody laughed. "Now that you're out of the tower, Shirahoshi, killing you will be like a walk in the park!"

"SHIRAHOSHI! SWIM AWAY!" Ryuboshi shouted. "GET AWAY FROM HERE AS FAST AND FAR AS YOU CAN!"

Shirahoshi tried to escape, but before she knew it, Hody had painfully grabbed her hair and pulled her back, causing her to scream in pain!

"JAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hody laughed. "Even the record speed of a Mermaid is no match for me in this state of mine!"

"AAAAAAH!" Shirahoshi cried. "BROTHERS, HELP ME!"

"Gum Gum…SNAKE SHOT!"

ZWOOM! SNAP! Luffy's arm suddenly stretched out and grabbed Hody's chest. Although the Great White Shark Fishman managed to grab his arm, he still screamed in pain when he felt his ribs crack at the force, causing him to let Shirahoshi go!

"Brother Fukaboshi! Master Luffy!" she cried.

WROING! SNAP! Luffy's arm snapped back into place.

"Damn!" he cursed. "If only I weren't in the water, then that attack would've been a lot more powerful!"

"Are you all right, Shirahoshi?" asked Fukaboshi. "Forgive me. I needed to make some preparations first."

"B-Brother!" Ryuboshi and Manboshi cried.

"JAHAHAHAHA!" Hody laughed. "This is the bottom of the sea, you inferior human! You don't stand a chance down here! You can't save Shirahoshi, or Fishman Island, or your damned crew! You don't have the power to protect a single thing!"

"You're wrong," Luffy smirked. "I'll protect everything! That's what the last two years are for!"

XXX

Meanwhile at Conchorde Plaza…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHH~! WHY, CAPTAIN VANDER DECKEN?! WHYYYYYYY~?!"

The citizens and the New Fishman Pirates watched as Wadatsumi sobbed, while Surume looked ready to fight.

"Wow…I can't believe that guy is being such a crybaby."

"The Kraken will whip him, good!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!" Wadatsumi sobbed. "CAPTAIN VANDER DECKEN LEFT ME BEHIND~!"

"Oh, come on, you stupid giant! Quit crying and fight like a monster, already!"

"Yeah! What are you waiting for?! Stop crying already!"

"Giant Monk!" Zeo shouted suddenly. "What's all this nonsense about Decken abandoning you?! He did no such thing!"

"W…what?" Wadatsumi asked, confused.

"Remember what he said?" Zeo asked. "'I'll leave the plaza to you'! He had no intention of destroying the island with you on it in the first place!"

This isn't actually true, the Wobbegong Fishman thought.

"R…really? You mean it?!" asked Wadatsumi.

"That's right!" Zeo said before he held up…an Energy Steroid. "Now here! Swallow this! Remember whose side you're on and crush the Straw Hat Pirates!"

He then tossed the Energy Steroid into Wadatsumi's giant mouth.

"An Energy Steroid?" asked one of the pirates. "Are you kidding? Just one won't be enough to work on hi-"

"RAAAAAAAAAARRGH!" Wadatsumi roared as he punched Surume in the jaw, sending him to the ground, unconscious!

"…I stand corrected."

"HAHAHA! Look at that! The Kraken's out cold!"

"Oh, that ain't good," Joe said. He didn't have to see to know what was going on, after all.

Great, just what we need, Moon thought. There's no way we're a match for this guy, huge as he is!

"Sorry I doubted you, Captain Vander Decken!" Wadatsumi shouted.

"Surume! Wake up!" Usopp cried. "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

"Where are the bad guys?!" Wadatsumi questioned.

"R-right there, Wadatsumi!" shouted one of the pirates, pointing to Jimbei, who glanced up at the giant.

"I've got him!" Wadatsumi boomed as he reeled a fist back, preparing to punch Jimbei!

"Jimbei, watch out!" Nami shouted.

Jimbei simply scoffed before he stood up on one foot.

"Seven Thousand Brick…ROUNDHOUSE KICK!"

KABOOM! CRACK! Jimbei delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to Wadatsumi's fist, breaking one of his fingers and knocking him back!

"YEOOOOOOOOWWW!" Wadatsumi yowled in pain, much to the shock of the New Fishman Pirates.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!"

"You've gotta be kidding me! How can he knock back someone so huge?!"

"How should I know?! Just stay away from Jimbei!"

"LOOK OUT! WADATSUMI'S ABOUT TO FALL ON TOP OF US!"

BOOM! Wadatsumi came crashing down, crushing whoever wasn't fast enough to get out of the way in time. Those who didn't get crushed ended up getting knocked over by the wind pressure the giant monk created, among them being Nami.

Sanji happened to see this…and he didn't take it quite while.

"NAMI!" he cried before he glared at Wadatsumi and kicked him in the head. "GET UP, YOU BASTARD!"

"OWWW~!" Wadatsumi cried as he stood up and rubbed the bump on his head, sobbing as he did. It appeared he has now returned to the crybaby he was just 15 seconds ago.

"What the hell?!" questioned one of the New Fishman Pirates. "That guys kicks are powerful, too!"

"Yeah!" another agreed. "Wadatsumi liked a mountain-sized monster! Just how powerful are his legs?!"

"Who hit me, this time?! That really hurt!" Wadatsumi cried. "OWIE~!"

"Since Luffy's not here right now, I'm the only one who can protect Nami!" Sanji shouted. "What would he say if he found out I let something like YOU hurt her?!"

Something tells me that's not the case, Moon thought.

"Joseph! You look a bit bored!" Jimbei said. "Come! Join us in this fight!"

Joe sighed as he sat up, cracking his back a bit as he did before holding his cane over his shoulder.

"I think it is time I got a little more exercise," the Moray Eel Fishman said. "Moon…be a good little doggie and stay out of the way, okay?"

Yip-yap! Moon barked.

"We will be your opponents, Giant Monk!" Jimbei shouted.

"You're gonna pay for this with your LIFE, you giant dumpling!" Sanji hissed.

"What's with these guys?!" the New Fishman Pirates questioned.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the plaza, a bit of a commotion is going on. The sound of screams of pain and helplessness filled the air.

"GAAAAH! HELP! SOMEONE STOP HIM!"

"NO, PLEASE! DON'T DO- AAAAAAAGH!"

"DON'T CUT US UP! WE'RE ON YOUR SIDE, REMEMBER?!"

It is revealed that the culprit is none other than Hyouzou…only now…he looked different. Apparently, he's still very drunk…but now, his hair is bleached white and with a windblown look.

"What the hell is wrong with him!?"

"This isn't his normal Drunken Sword Style!"

"He's way stronger than normal!"

Hyouzou then held up one of his swords in his tentacles.

"Tottering…HASH!" he shouted. SLA-SLA-SLA-SLASH! He sliced up some of his own crew!

"GAAAAAAAGGH!"

"Even our steel is no match for Hyouzou's swords!"

Hyouzou snickered and hiccupped as he finished cutting up some of the pirates.

"I don't get it! He wasn't doing so hot a moment ago! He was writhing around in pain, but no one even attacked him yet!"

"Huh!? What do you mean?!"

"You mean he went through the same transformation that Hody went through?!"

"Now that I think about it, I did see him snacking on some Energy Steroids earlier, but I think he was so drunk, he didn't even notice!"

"So that's what did it! Now Hyouzou's a monster, too!"

"I can feel the power overflowing," Hyouzou said with a hiccup. "I feel like I just have to slice up someone…"

At that moment…he spotted Robin, trying to defend herself.

"Ooh…what a pretty face~!" Hyouzou slurred. "Now there's someone I can cut!"

With that, the Blue-Ringed Octopus Merman charge at Robin with both his hands and all his tentacles holding a sword. Just when he was mere inches from Robin…KLAAAAANNG! Zoro suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked his path, as well as his swords!

"What the-?! It's that one-eyed swordsman!"

"He stopped Hyouzou dead in his tracks!"

"Zoro…you saved me!" Robin said.

"Well, don't think too much of it," Zoro said. "I didn't do it just to save you."

"Oh?" Robin asked with a smile.

A devilish grin appeared on Zoro's face as he said, "He might be a good warm-up before we head into the New World!"

Hyouzou smirked as well, letting out a burp as he did.

TO BE CONTINUED…

And the chapter ends with a ZoroXRobin moment (even though Zoro might deny it). Don't flame, please.

Review, please!