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Disclaimer: I do no own One Piece or any of it's characters but the OC's inserted as well as Liza is my own character*

Chapter 37

They were in trouble.

Liza glared at the Vice-Admiral that stood in front of her, knowing very well that there was no escaping the situation. She was still livid at Mihawk and Shanks but she was not going to let the big idiot standing in front of her taking them in. She was the one who was going to kill them.

"What's with the threatening looks? I thought you'd be glad to see me again! After all, you should've known that I'm not a man that give up. I always get what I want" Curtis stated and Liza smirked at him.

"Yes, you're also someone who doesn't know how to shut up. Women don't like men like that. No wonder you're going to die alone" Liza pointed out and received a glare from Curtis. His men made a move to attack but he quickly stopped them with the rise of his hand.

"I'll make this offer simple. You hand over the Red Hair Shanks and Hawk Eyes Mihawk as well as yourself. When you do, we'll leave peacefully and no one will get hurt. That includes the townsfolk" Curtis added and Liza gritted her teeth.

"You're a despicable man!" He smirked as if it was a compliment. "Good luck in getting those two to go with you peacefully. I can't even control them. Also, I'm not going anywhere especially with scum like you. I committed no crime and the contract is still valid" Liza said and Curtis burst out laughing.

The men beside her glared at the male for laughing and had their hands on their weapons. They were ready for anything that could happen and already eyed their targets behind the Vice-Admiral. If they wanted a fight, they'll get one.

"Committed no crime? The contract is still valid? Ha! The contract was broken as soon as you killed Hades Easton, worth 200 million beli! You do remember, right? You'll live your pathetic 'free' life as long as you don't kill anyone but the temptation was too great" Curtis mocked and Liza frowned.

Aston's eyes widened as he looked down at Liza. She was being accused for killing Hades? But that was preposterous! He was the one who killed him! It was his duty to take the blame and he didn't want to put Liza in any sort of danger.

"No, I was-""Yes, it's true" The men behind Liza looked at her in disbelief and shock. "I was the one who killed Hades after he kidnapped me. He deserved it and I don't regret ridding this earth of his pathetic existence" Liza admitted, her face impassive and Curtis' smirk growing.

"No" Shanks' voice spoke up from behind Liza and everyone looked at him. "It was me who killed Hades. He attacked my ship and my comrades and paid for it with his life." Liza's eyes briefly widened along with Aston's.

They were defending him.

Curtis huffed and was about to say something until Mihawk stepped beside Liza. "I appreciate your little lie, Red Hair, but we all know that I was the one to slay Hades. He was a pathetic fool who dared to challenge my skills" Mihawk stated stoically and Curtis' brows furrowed.

"Actually, I was the one who had the pleasure of killing that bastard" Benn said as he lit up his cigarette and smirked back at Curtis. "He had the best screams and so did his crew. They were all weak"

Liza watched as everyone stood beside her, Aston protectively behind her biting his bottom lip. They were all prepared to lie their lives on the line for her and Aston. She not only admired them for that but appreciated it.

Aston stood behind them, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. They were all protecting him even if it meant with their lives. Why were they doing all this? They knew that there was going to be a fight and that their lives were in danger.

"Enough!" Curtis yelled and pointed at Liza. "I know very well when someone is protecting another! I don't care who killed him, you're either coming with me or dying! But since I'm merciful, I'll just destroy everything you have and then take you with me" He smirked evilly.

"Liza's not going anywhere and if you threaten her life again, you'll have to deal with us" Shanks threatened, his own voice low and dangerous. His three men stood beside him, their glares filled with malice.

"You'll wish you were never born, worthless scum. I'll cut you even if it means through all of your pathetically weak followers." Mihawk growled and Curtis gritted his teeth. Liza smirked and gave Curtis a challenging look.

"You were saying?"

Curtis growled loudly and turned back to his men. "Attack! Don't hold back! Kill every single one of them!" He ordered and his men all let out cried before attacking, only a hand full of them having weapons.

"That's their army? Is that the best he could do?" Yasopp asked before seeing a smirk form onto Curtis' lips. A large wave of men came in from behind, all with weapons ready and charging at full strength.

"You just had to ask" Yasopp gave them an innocent look and they all sighed with a chuckle. "Benn, make sure you contact the men. We're going to need some backup and I don't want to have all the fun" Shanks said as he pulled out his sword, everyone preparing for the fight.

"They heard everything, Boss. They should be here in a few minutes but until then…" He pulled out his large gun. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" He said before he started to shoot the marines that attacked.

"Aston, stay by my side at all times. Try to immobilize as many marines as you can and use your devil's Fruit. This is just another training exercise" Liza stated while glancing back at Aston and he nodded.

"Don't take out too much. I want a piece of them as well" Mihawk spoke up next to Liza and she laughed feeling adrenaline soar through her veins. She pulled out her blade and her dagger, smirking at the men.

"Then try to keep up!"

They all watched in amazement as Liza jumped right into the group of marines, cutting all the vital points on their limbs and joints in a flash. The group fell onto the ground, unconscious before she rushed to the next.

"What a woman…" Shanks and Mihawk spoke up simultaneously before glaring at each other. As soon as they broke each other's gaze, they entered the battlefield. Shanks let many men drop at the mere presence of his haki while Mihawk cut down dozens by one swing of his sword.

Aston turned into solid iron and was able to protect him from receiving any possible bullet wound. He knocked out most the marines by hitting them with his hardened skin and grabbed one of the dropped guns before he shot at them.

Benn was behind him and started hitting the marines with his large rifle, not wasting any bullets on them. They all flew back at the force of his swing and he grinned widely as he enjoyed taking them out.

"You're enjoying this a little too much don't you think, Benn?" Aston asked and threw the male with the empty gun before he head butted him. He managed to dodge an oncoming attack, slammed his knee in the marine's gut and kicked him away.

"Well, it's been a while since we could really let loose" Benn grunted as he hit another pair of marine men and Aston chuckled. In another area, Lucky Roo and Yssopp shot down all the men they came across, Yasopp making sure he didn't miss any target.

He saw a male appearing behind Liza as she cut the male in front of her and shot the marine right in the head. Liza stood up after she cut the male in front of her and looked back at Yasopp who gave her a mocking smirk.

"You're welcome" Liza gave him a stoic expression as she suddenly stabbed the next male that attacked her and chucked her blade in Yasopp's direction. It hit a male that had a gun to Yasopp's head in his left shoulder and he fell onto the ground.

"My pleasure" Liza smirked back at him and Yasopp chuckled in amusement. It wasn't long after that when the rest of the Red Hair crew came and almost outnumbered the crowd of marines. They were completely overwhelmed by the pirates.

Liza's blue eyes locked onto Curtis' eyes as he stood in the middle of the battle field injuring some of the pirates. He smirked at Liza and her face turned stoic. She pulled out her dagger from one of the limbs of an unconscious marine soldier before vanishing.

She appeared in front of Curtis and he was barely able to block the strong attack. He was pushed back by her strength and staggered back a bit off balanced. He twirled his sword in his hand before looking back at her, a smirk still plastered on his lips.

"You honestly think that you can win this fight, Bloodmoore?! You're going to lose, miserably, and then you're going to be locked up until you're finally executed. Your friends won't be able to save you!" Curtis exclaimed and Liza huffed as she smirked.

"That's where you're wrong, Curtis" His face fell. "I'm never alone and I know that my friends don't have to save me. However, I wouldn't count them out just yet. They're cutting through your men like butter" Liza said and his eyes widened as he realized she was right.

He looked at the battlefield and saw the pirates gain the advantage. Shanks and Mihawk almost seemed to compete in who cut down the most opponents and the Red Hair pirates followed. They were at the disadvantage.

"Do you see now, Curtis? You lost this fight and there's nothing you can do about it. You can't prove who killed Hades and because you started this fight I'm sure Garp will give you a well-deserved beating" Liza stated and Curtis snickered.

"I don't think so! Even if you didn't kill Hades, you still killed countless of marine soldiers which mean that the contract is now officially broken!" Curtis pointed out and Liza gave him a bored look, not fazed at his words in the least.

"I didn't kill anyone. All of your men I cut down are still very alive. All I did was weaken and immobilize them" Liza replied and Curtis' eyes widened. He glanced at the ground and saw the men all moaning in pain. They were still alive.

He looked back at Liza, the only weapon she held was her dagger that dripped with the blood of the men she cut down. She planned all of this out. She knew that even if she were to fight that he wanted her to kill his men.

He would be able to prove that she killed someone and break the contract but she was too smart. She managed to overrule his thinking and merely immobilized his men. How did she know that was his plan?

"It's over, Curtis. Surrender and stop this bloodbath. I may not kill your men but I cannot stop them from killing them. This is unnecessary bloodshed" Liza stated and Curtis growled. He attacked her with a cry and Liza took a step back in a stance.

"Unnecessary bloodshed? Are those words coming from an assassin or a weakling?!" Curtis swung his sword at her but Liza lazily dodged all of his attacks, never initiating any counter. She briefly blocked a strike to her head and threw him back.

"You don't know the value of these lives here. Every life taken is causing pain towards their loved ones. Not only that but it means that your armies grow weaker. A wise Vice-Admiral would've retreated before the battle started" Liza answered and Curtis laughed maniacally.

"Then I guess that I'm not a wise man!" He thrust his sword towards her and Liza stepped to the side. Curtis' eyes widened as he was thrown off balance before Liza took her own step back, holding her dagger out towards him.

"What is it that you want to gain here, Curtis? Shanks or Mihawk? No. Me as a prisoner? No. You want this fighting. You crave it. You crave destruction. In the end all you'll receive is your own demise" Liza stated and gave him an almost sympathetic look making him snarl at her.

"What I want is for you to be destroyed! I was sent here to kill the only threat that lay down while waiting. The only way I can wipe you out is by killing everything you love dearly" As Curtis finished a large explosion came from the near part of the town near them and Liza's eyes widened.

"NO! You monster! You're killing innocent lives now?! How dare you!" Liza attacked him with her risen anger and he was barely able to block her onslaught. He laughed as she continued until they heard another explosion, this time from the Navy ship that attacked the town.

Their attention was drawn by the large ship of the Red Hair pirates as they attacked the large warship and Liza smirked. She glanced back at Shanks who gave her a wink and she chuckled before looking back at Curtis.

"It looks like you have some justice coming your way, asshole!" Liza slammed her knee in his stomach before she elbowed him in his face. He yelled out in pain and fell back while holding his broken nose.

"You wench!" Liza watched in amusement as he reset his own nose. He then glared back at her, a smirk still forming on his lips as he did so. "Don't you think that I would have a backup plan if they attacked my ship?" He asked and Liza scowled at the male.

"What will you gain by killing innocent people?"

"Probably nothing" Liza grabbed him by his collar and pulled him off his feet. "However, I'm not aiming for the innocent people. I actually have my eye on one little wooden building not too far from here" He said and Liza's eyes widened as realization washed over her.

Swords clashing. Wood burning. A bloodied journal. A grave.

It all suddenly made sense! Liza let go of Curtis and stumbled back, her body shaking from shock and angst. They were aiming for the bar! She looked back at the men, they were all busy fighting and she was the only one who knew what his plan was.

"Richie! No!" Liza darted off cutting through all of the men that came in her way. She tried to run faster and her legs was quick to pick up their speed. She could hear the cries of Aston as well as Shanks but didn't look back.

"You're too late!" She faintly heard Curtis yell from behind her and she gritted her teeth. No, she refused to be too late. She wasn't going to be too late! She was going to save Richard before they blew up the bar!

Liza felt angry with herself beneath all the panic that rose in her system. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and her chest felt dry from heaving. Her arms was getting tired of cutting the men in her momentum but was lucky to enter the town soon after.

How could she not see the signs before? She knew that both Mihawk and Shanks would fight and that something was going to happen after all that. Then the journal of Richard that showed in her vision, the burning wood of the bar and the grave.

Oh no, the grave.

"Richard! Richard! You have to get out of there!" Liza yelled despite knowing that she was still quite a distance away. The people around her quickly backed away from her rushing figure and stared at her with confused expressions.

She couldn't lose him! She had to hurry before it was too late! She needed to save him before he was killed! This is what Curtis wanted all along. He wanted to distracted her long enough to have someone infiltrate the town to kill Richard and burn down the bar.

How could she be so blind?! She felt so angry with herself and it helped her run even faster. Her legs started to give in but she pushed through the exhaustion. Her lungs burned and her throat was dry but she pushed through.

"Richard! Richard! Get out of there!" Liza yelled as soon as the bar came into view and she felt relief was over her. The building still stood without any signs of damage. That meant Richard had to still be fine.

"RICHARD! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE! THEY'RE GOING TO BLOW UP THE BAR! RICHARD!" Liza yelled at the top of her lungs as she approached the building. The people near her heard her and quickly scattered away from the building.

As Liza neared the building, being only a few steps away, she took another breath. He had to hear her and she had to hurry up. She didn't know if there was another warship aiming for them or how long the Red Hair pirates could keep the other one occupied.

"RICH-"

A large explosion erupted from the wooden building and Liza was cut off. She was thrown back by the force and crashed into the ground. She yelled out in pain when the flames licked her skin and looked at the damage through her blurry blue eyes.

The building exploded with Richard in it.

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