Disclaimer : I do not own One Piece or RWBY.
Rebirth of the Straw Hat
Chapter 38
Luffy would like to say he's pretty competent with Brook's swordsmanship when he uses his bond. With his incredible strength, the power behind his strikes may end up surpassing that of his musician's. His normal speed may not match Brook's, but that's easily solved with Second Gear.
In spite of all of that, he may have met his match with Adam. His swift swordplay is putting the straw hat boy on the defensive, leaving no room for Luffy to counter. No matter how strong or fast he may be, the bull faunus' movements feel more second nature to him than Luffy's. Even with Brook's memories, he can't just transition from a power-based brawler to a speed-based fencer and expect the same results due to the lack of muscle memory.
Although... Brook doesn't have muscles.
Between a lifetime's worth of hand to hand and a few meager years of fencing, any veteran can see the difference. Especially when pitted against skilled fighters.
Luffy ducked under the slash aiming for his chest before he jumped away from the low sweep kick that followed. Adam growled in irritation as the boy continued to read every move he makes. Once his feet hit the ground, Luffy blurred out of sight and reappeared in front of Adam with Soul Solid poised to strike.
"Prelude: Au Fer (Prelude to Iron)"
The straw hat boy unleashed a flurry of slashes, which were being blocked by Adam's Wilt. As he kept the black blade at bay, Adam noticed that Luffy's focus isn't on him. No, he's more focused on the blade itself...
'A weapon breaking technique!' his eyes widened at the deceptive attack before backing away from it. If he kept it up any longer, Wilt would've been irreversibly damaged. He raised Blush up and took aim as Luffy ran towards him. Much like every attack he made thus far, Luffy anticipated his intentions and dodged the shots coming out of his sheath-gun hybrid. In spite of the situation, the troublesome kid was starry eyed at the weapon.
"Ehhh!? Wasn't that gun your sheath!? That's so cool!?" Luffy exclaimed in awe before having to dodge another bullet. He misses the times that he could send bullets back with his rubber body. But Remnant's ammunition is too sharp to do that anymore. He does have Aura to block them, but he'd rather save it for his semblance.
"Quit fooling around with your childish antics! Unless all that talk about bringing us to square one was just that." Adam's remark brought a glare out of Luffy. It's not like he's making light of his opponent. What's with people that don't believe he's being serious, anyway?
Luffy pulled Soul Solid's sheath from his back to put away his weapon, while Adam did the same. The bull faunus then aimed the pommel of his sheathed weapon at the boy. The former pirate's Second Gear also faded away, leaving him in his normal complexion.
A gun shot rang out as Wilt was sent flying out of Blush, sailing straight for Luffy's face. Just as it looked like the strike was about to connect, Luffy brought his hand up and caught the sword by its grip. He then spun around on his heel and threw the red sword back at Adam, shocking the bull faunus with his reflexes as he was in the middle of charging.
His weapon was spinning in a blur, but he still easily caught his weapon and went for a slash at the boy's neck. Instead of dodging, Luffy raised his arm and imbued it with Armament to block the strike. Sparks flew as the blackened arm held the blade back while the two opponents glared each other down.
Adam saw movement in Luffy's other arm, but it was too late as he received an uppercut from Soul Solid's sheath. His head jerked up before he blocked a kick to the gut, skidding back from the force. The sight of Blush must've given the kid the idea to use his own sheath as a weapon.
Having gained a little distance, Luffy pulled out Black Kabuto and loaded it with three water Dust pellets.
"Downpour Star"
The pellets were let loose as it flew towards Adam. The redhead faunus was ready to cut down the orbs before he saw the pellets transform into a great deluge of water. His eye's widened at the wide radius it covers before bracing himself, which didn't help much as he was toppled over by the force of the water. Adam gritted his teeth and slammed his fist onto the ground before getting back up.
"Water? Is this some sort of joke to you!?" Adam seethed in rage for being taken lightly. Luffy ignored him as he brought out Climatact, pressing the buttons for both ice and wind Dust.
"Chillrend"
Freezing cold air shot out of the rod, annoying Adam further as he held his ground against the wind pressure. His annoyance soon shifted to astonishment when his body shivered uncontrollably. His teeth was chattering, his hands subconsciously rub against each other's arms for warmth, and his breath was coming out as puffs.
"W-What!?" Adam stuttered due to the cold, which brought a chuckle from Luffy.
"No matter how strong we are, no matter what race we are, we're still weakened when we get hit by a cold breeze with wet clothes." Luffy explained, earning a glare from the bull faunus. His previous actions weren't just for laughs. There was actual purpose behind them. Little did he know that the straw hat kid took that tactic from his experience in Punk Hazard.
"S-So what? Is this supposed to prove that we're the same? D-Don't make me laugh." Adam rebuked, trying to get over the stuttering. The thought of being considered equal made him sick. There is no equality, not when the faunus have everything that humans have and then some. They will be regarded as the superior race, something that should've been rightfully theirs instead of the humans.
Adam lunged towards Luffy, ready to draw out his blade. However, the cold made his movements slow enough for Luffy to easily counter by drawing out Soul Solid in a reverse grip.
"Soul Parade"
As the two blades clashed, Wilt was slowly gaining a thick coat of ice thanks to the intense cold given off by the cane sword. Adam gritted his teeth at the boy's annoying tactics and broke out of the gridlock. Luffy widened his eyes as he was knocked off balance, open for the next attack. The bull faunus swung his blade at his neck, but soon realized that something was wrong when his sword wasn't cutting him.
Upon closer inspection, the ice that envelops Wilt has been formed into that of a club. Luffy seems to notice this too as the makeshift club made him wobble in place, completely unharmed.
"W-What!?" the redhead exclaimed in disbelief. Even if his sharp weapon turned into a blunt one, that still should've had some effect. The former pirate took advantage of his confusion and socked him in the face, sending him flying back until he skidded to a halt.
"Shishishi, attacks like that won't work. I'm made of rubber!" Luffy declared with a grin. That blade could be a problem if he wasn't careful, so he opted to make it blunt with ice. Not only that, the ice coating has proved to be a hinderance with its extra weight. Seeing that he built up an advantage, Luffy sheathed Soul Solid before cracking his knuckles.
He needs to beat this guy while he still has the advantage. He can only hope that Ruby and the others are faring well against the Ciphor Pol agents.
His worries weren't really needed right now. Blueno and Kaku were having a tough time with these kids. The bull faunus faced off against team RWBY while the giraffe faunus was busy with Sun and Penny.
The two could hardly believe that they're having such a hard time in the first place, especially from mere kids that were born in Remnant.
On Blueno's end, he was in the middle of using Soru to dodge the hail of icicles that Weiss was shooting. After the hail ended, he spotted Ruby with her scythe ready to swing.
"Geppo (Moonwalk)"
He jumped high in the air to dodge the attack while taking note of the girls' positions on the field. Ruby switched Crescent Rose to its sniper form and took some shots at the floating bull. Blueno dodged the first few bullets by jumping off the air, but was surprised when the last one grazed his leg as he went around her.
'Did she read my movements?' the agent wondered, but soon concluded that it was a lucky shot.
The redhead frowned at how difficult it is to hit him, even with Observation Haki. She can read his movements, but he's still too fast for her to get a solid shot in.
"Rankyaku (Tempest Kick)"
Ruby didn't even have to look in the direction of his voice to know that the air slash from the force of his kick was heading for her, something that Blueno noticed as she leapt to the side to evade it.
He shook the thought out of his head. There was no way that it could've been Haki, especially from some little girl. He didn't even obtain Haki when he was her age.
His musings were interrupted when something wrapped around his ankle, stopping him from using Geppo. Blueno looks down to see a black ribbon with Blake at the other end. With his leg restrained, the bull faunus let himself fall to the ground.
Yang was waiting for him upon landing as she cocked her fist back. The CP9 agent had to scoff at her efforts.
"Tekkai (Iron Body)"
His body went still as he braced for the blow. The blonde's punch hit him in the abdomen and, much to his shock, nearly broke through his defensive technique as his body jerked back from the blow.
'To think that she was this strong.' Blueno thought as he grunted from the hit. It might also be because these new bodies aren't as physically tough, which hampers the technique's effectiveness.
Yang grimaces at how ineffective the blow was before leaping out of reach of his retaliating punch. If she had Armament Haki, she was certain that she could blow through his hardened body and hurt him.
Weiss rushed by her teammate with her rapier aimed at the former agent's sternum. The bull faunus didn't even flinch when the tip of the weapon made contact. Unlike the brawler, the heiress is severely lacking in physical strength.
But she doesn't have to play by those rules.
The chambers spun until it settled on lightning Dust before her blade started giving off static. Blueno quirked a brow at this before they went wide in shock as his body spasmed from electrocution, yelling in pain as lightning dances around him. Having enough of this, he fought through the pain with gritted teeth as he suddenly grabbed Weiss by the head.
Blueno then spun on his heel and threw her straight at Blake, who was caught off guard before being knocked off her feet by the human projectile. While they were sprawled out on the ground, the bull faunus swiftly freed himself from the black ribbon.
"Hmph... a Schnee and a faunus working together?" Blueno noted with the slightest hint of amusement.
"How's that any different from an agent of the World Government working with extremists?" Yang quipped with a sharp tone. Blueno had a brief look of shock at her words before he schooled his features.
"So Straw Hat told you about us? That explains how you're familiar with our Rokushiki." he said. Having enough talk, the two sisters rushed at him with Ruby using her semblance to get behind him so the two could put pressure on both sides.
It would've worked if Blueno hadn't caught her ankle as she passed by.
"Those rose petals you leave behind are a dead giveaway." the agent remarked before flinging Ruby towards a cargo container, emitting a loud 'clang' when her back slammed into it. With her out of the way, he turns to face Yang's fury for harming her sister.
"Kami-e (Paper Art)"
Taking her strength into consideration, Blueno opted to dodge the rain of punches with great flexibility. That was until he felt himself stop in place.
"Wha-!"
Instead of a black ribbon stopping him like before, there was a black glyph that enveloped his upper torso. He looked over his shoulder with an annoyed look as Weiss knelt on one knee with Myrtenaster pointed at him. He cursed under his breath before he had to cross his arms and block the remaining blows, using Tekkai to bolster his defense.
"You can't do any flexible motions if your restrained." Weiss stated. Restraining them also crushes their mobility-based moves like Soru or Geppo. Blueno narrowed his eyes at her knowledge and wits.
He can't afford to leave these girls alive, not when they know how to counter their Six Powers.
He made his next move by catching both of Yang's fist with ease, shocking the blonde. Seeing as the black glyph is holding him, he used it to his advantage as he lifted his legs and thrusted them out to kick the brawler in the gut. Lilac eyes popped wide at the blow as the girl flew back a bit while holding her stomach, giving him enough space to deal with the Schnee.
"Door Door"
He stomped on the ground and formed a long, rectangular door out of the concrete in front of him. The bull faunus then flipped the door open with a flick of his foot, letting the door swing upward like any trapdoor would. Weiss soon noticed that it was about to crush her as its shadow loomed over her. He was going to force her to stop using her glyphs.
The slab of concrete was coming in faster than she thought, but the heiress had nothing to worry about when Blake tackled her and took the two out of the way. The two watched as the concrete door slammed into the ground, relieved that they weren't under that.
"What in the world was that, though? A semblance?" Weiss surmised, but Blake shook her head.
"Worse. A Devil Fruit." she deduced with a grimace. With something as outlandish as that, it can't be anything but the works of a Devil Fruit.
"Correct. I ate the Door Door Fruit, allowing me to make doors out of anything." Blueno informed them, feeling no harm in telling. One way or another, they're going to die tonight. The implied message wasn't missed by them as they glared at him for his arrogance.
"Yeah..." the three turned to see Ruby getting up with a wince and making her way to the black and white duo. "You can even make doors on people, or even the air itself like you did against Penny. But once a door opens, they have to close at some point." Ruby said, reciting what Luffy knows about the doorman's abilities.
"I'm surprised that Straw Hat recalls that much." Blueno said with his usual emotionless expression.
"Of course, he does. You're the first person he used Second Gear on." Ruby reasoned. As she said this, the flipped concrete slab slowly swung back to its original position before resealing itself. The young leader casts a glance behind him, giving Yang a look that says to not be hasty. If her sister uses her semblance right now, it'll only make Blueno more wary of the blonde.
If they're gonna win this, they have to end it all in one go. And Yang's semblance is the ace up their sleeves. For now, they'll have to whittle him down.
While team RWBY is in an uphill battle with the bull faunus, Kaku has an expression that shows that he was having a blast. It wasn't often that he was put on the defensive in terms of swordplay. Adam was one swordsman that can pull off such a feat. Granted, it might have to do with the fact that this girl is wielding seven swords with fluid motions. His four-sword style can only do so much when faced with so many blades.
Then there's the monkey faunus. The kid is faring well while not having a clue about Rokushiki. That could easily be chalked up to his great reflexes and agility. The giraffe faunus found his weapon pretty interesting too.
Right now, he finds himself being attacked from both sides by this impromptu team. If it weren't for Observation Haki, he would've been overwhelmed from the constant assault.
"Hahaha! This is really fun!" Kaku lets his excitement be known as he twirls his two swords about to fend off both sides while using Rankyaku to keep Penny busy. He used Soru to break away from them before having to jump to dodge the green beams coming from Penny's swords. He noticed that a large metal container was above him being held by a crane, to which he flipped his swords into a reverse grip and stabbed them into the bottom of the crate.
"Rankyaku "Ran" (Riot)"
While hanging onto his swords, Kaku sent a flurry of air slashes through both of his legs. Sun took the frontline and spun his staff around in a blur to block the many attacks raining down on the two. With the cover he's providing, Penny shifted her swords into guns and flanked the giraffe faunus' sides. Kaku had to stop his attack and pull himself out of the crate to avoid the beams.
Penny looked up higher and spotted the cable connected to the crane. She jumped up and severed the cable with one of her blades, bringing it down on top of Kaku. His eyes widened at the falling object before he quickly used Soru to avoid it. He then saw Sun vault over it with his staff raised above his head before he held up his swords to block the heavy strike.
Sun gritted his teeth as he struggled to break through while Kaku grinned at this exciting battle. The two soon broke away from each other with Sun lightly panting.
"Seriously! What the hell is up with this guy? Nothing we do seems to faze him." Sun complained.
"Maybe it's because he already knows what we're up to before we do it?" Penny surmised, speaking about Haki without even knowing it. Sun gave her an incredulous look while Kaku looked impressed by her deduction.
"Mind reading? As if I can believe that." Sun waved off the ridiculous notion.
"She's actually not that far off." Kaku said with honesty. The monkey faunus was surprised by this, but soon became skeptical.
"If that's the case, then why isn't your friend doing so well?" Sun jerked a thumb to Blueno, who was stuck defending himself against team RWBY.
"Well for one, those girls have more knowledge on us than the two of you do, leaving them more prepared. Secondly... he's simply not as strong as me." Kaku explained. Blueno has yet to awaken Haki, something that the top three agents have. To still not have Haki is enough to prove that they're weaker than others, but not necessarily useless.
Speaking of his colleague, Blueno appeared by his side after using Air Door to escape team RWBY. For once, the bull faunus wasn't looking too pleased with how things are going instead of remaining stoic. The team of four looked a little exhausted, but they're still raring to go.
"Guess they're tougher than you thought, huh?" Kaku grinned at Blueno.
"I don't want to believe it, but I think the one with the scythe is using Observation Haki." Blueno informed, earning a look of shock from the giraffe faunus. Kaku gave Ruby an amazed look as if he was thrilled to hear that, making the young leader nervous. Sun and Penny looked to each other in confusion, not understanding any of this 'Haki' stuff.
"Pfft! You're telling me that a girl no older than fifteen learned Haki faster than you?" Kaku couldn't help but snicker as he rubs salt in the wound, poking fun at Blueno's poor affinity. Ruby and the others sweatdropped at the exchange.
"I don't think it's that impressive." Ruby downplayed her achievement. She still doesn't have Armament Haki, yet these two are making such a big deal about it. She's not even masterful in its use.
"Ruby, he's living a second life." Yang quietly reminded her sister. No matter how one looks at it, it's still sad that he has yet to obtain Haki.
Blake tuned out the banter as she looked around for Luffy and Adam. She has witnessed how strong the two are enough times to know that they're still at it. Does Luffy have him on the ropes, or did Adam gain the upper hand? Her heart pounded in fear at the latter, but not knowing anything is even worse.
The amber eyed girl finally got her answer as a figure flew over their heads and bounced off a lamppost, denting the metal on contact. Everyone sees Adam groaning in pain as he used his popsicle of a sword to stand back up, rage etched upon his face. His clothes were still damp from when Luffy doused him in water.
"Geez... you have a lot of Aura, Red Bull." Luffy complained as he regrouped with his friends, not even winded.
"At least someone is doing alright." Sun muttered. Between a giraffe faunus that can read their moves and a bull faunus that can make doors, it helps to have some good news.
Adam was beyond furious at this point. No matter what he did, this damn kid had a way around it. His frozen sword has been deemed useless since the boy is supposedly made of rubber, making any form of blunt trauma ineffective. He soon came to the conclusion that it was for that reason alone why Luffy coated Wilt in ice.
In other words, he can still be cut. But even then, he would still block it with that... black coating.
'He... has abilities similar to Lucci's.' Adam realized. Dots were starting to connect in his head, but it didn't make the situation any less frustrating. The red haired man growled as he slammed Wilt into the dented lamppost hard enough to shatter the ice.
"It seems that there is no shortage of enemies. The huntsmen and their 'righteous' cause, the Atlas military, and now you intend to stand in our way for your own reasons." Adam seethed. The others said nothing, waiting to hear if there was something more.
Luffy crossed his arms as he listened to his incessant whining. Was he really stupid to believe that the White Fang wouldn't make enemies with the goals they have in mind?
"And yet, Dragon and his Old Fang have proven themselves to be even more of a hinderance than all three combined. Dust raids have been thwarted countless times, and any assassination attempt on the Schnees have been foiled. All because of Dragon's scheming. If it wasn't for him, we would've achieved our justice by now!" Adam declared with certainty. The mention of that one name brought many varied reactions from the people that heard of the man.
Luffy perked up with the slightest hint of interest. Weiss, Sun, and Penny quirked a brow at this new faction while the sisters stood wide eyed as they glanced over to their cousin.
"What... did you just say?" Blake couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Wow, Adam. After all the time you spent with her, you never bothered to tell the former high leader's daughter that his advisor has sided with humans?" Kaku wondered.
"If she heard such news when she was with us, Blake would've defected sooner." was Adam's reason for keeping her in the dark. When it came down to it, Blake would never point a blade at someone she sees as family. But since she's defected already, there's no harm in telling her now.
Everyone else was having a hard time keeping up with all of this. Dragon is present in this world and has a connection to Blake, who happens to be the daughter of the previous leader of the White Fang. Weiss was perplexed at the assassination tidbit, wondering why a faunus would go out of their way to keep her family safe.
"Man. This Dragon guy sounds like a total badass." Sun couldn't help but praise the enigmatic man. The guy has constantly put an entire terrorist organization on the defensive, something that neither the huntsmen or the military accomplished. If only he knew that Dragon has fought more overwhelming odds than this. Compared to the World Government, the White Fang may as well be child's play.
"So boring..." Luffy sighed in exasperation. His friends turned to him with questioning looks.
"You didn't get what you want because dad stopped you. That's all." Luffy said, bearing an intense glare on Adam. Despite how serious Luffy was being right now, almost everyone had to dial back to the last sentence in their mind. Both the agents and the sisters waited with half lidded eyes until it finally clicked in their heads. The first to react was Blake, who blinked owlishly at her crush.
"You just said 'dad' when referring to Dragon." she pointed out the obvious. Blake had been through enough of these revelations to immediately tell that this is incarnate related.
"Well, yeah. He's my dad." Luffy simply answered. He was sure that it was fine to tell people now since this is a new world. It's just that no one bothered to ask.
Things grew quiet as a soft wind blew. Blake took a deep breath as she digested the info, taking the news better than Yang thought. She would've freaked out were it not for the fact that she made a mental comparison between the two earlier. Now it all made sense to her.
Then she heard a dark chuckle coming from Adam, as if he put together his own conclusion.
"So... that's your relationship with Blake. That is why you would fight for her." Adam muttered, earning a confused look from Luffy.
"What are you talking about, you weirdo?" Luffy quirked a brow at him. He probably punched him in the head too hard. Blake could only facepalm at the huge misunderstanding that Adam assumed on his own.
He honestly thinks that Luffy supports her because of the fact that their fathers work together. She groans at how presumptuous he is, even going as far as to believe that they're romantically involved. Even if that last part is false, her cheeks grew pink at the idea.
"We've wasted enough time with this chatter. There's no telling how much time the others bought for us." Blueno reminded his colleagues, being one of the only people that had no interest in what was being discussed. He would've attacked these kids while they were distracted, but the possibility that Ruby has Haki made it too risky.
"Others?" Yang questioned. Weiss looked around to notice that not a single soul has come ever since Luffy shot the flaming bird into the sky.
"You made sure that the police couldn't mobilize." the heiress figured out. Of course they would come prepared. A few grunts could ambush any patrolling cars while a squad could keep the rest from leaving the police department.
"Very astute of you. But Blueno is right, we're done playing around." Kaku smirked before his body started to change before their very eyes. His neck extended itself as his torso bulked up in size. His long, rectangular nose also grew larger and looked more like a snout. Then there was his hands and feet, which started to take the form of hooves while his legs turned into hind legs.
Luffy and the others gaped at the appearance of his man-beast form, having to crane their heads up to see his face. His outfit hasn't even been torn apart from the transformation.
"By the end of tonight, you will learn to fear the might of a-"
"You look like shit!" Both blondes comically shouted, interrupting Kaku. His man-beast form looks so damn square and ridiculous that they had to comment on it. The giraffe man was taken back by their reaction, even more so when Luffy busted out laughing.
"It's so lame! Hahaha!" Luffy mocked, crying tears of laughter while pointing at Kaku. The others looked disappointed with their half-lidded eyes. They thought they were going to see something intimidating to match CP9's reputation, but this form was anything but that.
"W-What!? No it isn't!" Kaku defended. Blueno quietly sighed at the exchange while Adam turned his head away, too embarrassed to acknowledge him as his comrade. Seriously, how can the second strongest agent look so lame? How can they drive the point of gaining respect through fear when Kaku becomes a laughingstock?
Tickmarks grew on Kaku's head the more Luffy laughed.
"Bigan (Nose Pistol)"
Luffy had to stop laughing when the giraffe man lunge his head at him. He flipped out of the way as Kaku's nose imbedded itself into the concrete. Pulling himself out, the group was shocked to see the square indent he left behind.
If this wasn't a serious situation, Yang would've used one of the many puns that formed in her head.
"Still think it's funny?" Kaku asked with a smug grin. Luffy frowned at that before he caught sight of Wilt flying straight towards him. He swung his arm to deflect it, but Adam quickly grabbed it out of the air and continued his flurry of strikes. The former pirate could barely keep up as he fended each strike off with his blackened limbs.
"Looks like I have even more reason to kill you now. Will Dragon even shed a single tear over your death?" Adam wondered as he forced Luffy back. He always hated that advisor with that calm expression. Nothing ever seems to make that guy flinch, even as the peaceful efforts fell through long ago. Why couldn't he see that it was pointless?
Overhearing this, Weiss fumed at his new motivation. No longer is he trying to kill Luffy because he is in the way. Now it's all about Luffy being the son of their sworn enemy. There are few things that frustrate her more than being hunted down simply because of your parents.
Ignoring his musings, Luffy rushed in with his fist cocked back. Anticipating the attack, the red haired faunus swung towards his neck before he could reach him. Luffy never threw the punch as he skidded to Adam's side and grabbed his wrist mid-swing. He then looped his free hand under the man's arm and landed an uppercut, knocking the bull faunus off the ground.
The straw hat boy quickly stretched his arms up and got a grip on his horns before jumping over him with a spin, his arms twisting around each other. With no firm foothold, Adam was at Luffy's mercy when he spun really fast through the air as the boy swung his arm over his shoulder.
"Gomu Gomu no Tsuchi (Mallet)"
Adam's back slammed into the ground, kicking up dust as he left a crater. He gritted his teeth in pain while his horns were released.
"Yari"
The redhead rolled out of the way to avoid Luffy's sandaled feet and then got back up. Luffy's legs retracted back to him, but he wasn't finished yet.
"Stamp Gatling"
Now it was Adam's turn to be on the defensive as he swung Wilt in a flurry to block all the Armament-imbued kicks that Luffy is raining down.
Fear welled up in Blake as she watched each blow connect to his sword. With the way his semblance works, it's only a matter of time until he gathers enough to cause serious damage. She's not even sure if Armament Haki can take that much force.
Adam's semblance works a lot like Yang's, but he absorbs hits through his sword as opposed to the body. It may take some preparation before he releases it, but the results are devastating.
"Lu-"
"Shigan"
Blake's warning was cut short by a yelp of pain as Blueno's finger jabbed at her shoulder with shocking speed. The amber-eyed girl hissed as she placed a hand on her shoulder, glaring at the former agent. She was too concerned for Luffy's wellbeing to worry about herself.
Shigan sure lives up to its name. It doesn't seem to penetrate Aura, but it still hurts like hell.
"I think you've revealed enough of our secrets." Blueno warned before he performed a roundhouse aimed for her head. Blake raised her weapons to block, but was sent skidding back from the force. The former CP9 member glanced over his shoulder to see Weiss about to unleash one of her glyphs. He didn't give her the opportunity by using Geppo to quickly bounce across the air.
As long as he doesn't stay in one spot for too long, the heiress can't trap him with those black glyphs.
He keeps soaring through the air and avoiding the sniper rounds coming from Ruby until he was over Weiss's head.
"Tekkai "Sai" (Smash)"
He hardened his body as he started to fall with his fist outstretched, intent on crushing the Schnee with the higher density provided by Tekkai. Seeing him falling at alarming speed, Weiss formed a white glyph under her and skated out of the way. She still stumbled from the tremors created when his fist met the ground, debris kicking up.
Ruby only had enough time to load her sniper with different Dust rounds before she sensed Blueno trying to kick her. She hopped to the side and avoided it, but then saw his other foot raised up high.
"Tekkai "Rin" (Wheel)"
Ruby furiously backpedaled to avoid the series of kicks as Blueno rotated at insane speeds. The move also incorporates Rankyaku as a glancing attack cut a bit of hair from her bangs. In the end, he transitioned into a horizontal Rankyaku to catch her off guard. Not only was Ruby going to jump over it, but Yang stopped his leg cold with a kick.
The young leader then landed on his outstretched leg with her scythe winded back for a swing.
"Hmph, it seems you haven't learned yet. Tekkai." Blueno mocked.
Much to his surprise though, Ruby shifted her scythe into its sniper form mid-swing and shoved the gun barrel into his eye.
"That's my line." Ruby replied with a low tone before pulling the trigger. The recoil carried her away from him while Yang backed away from him. Meanwhile, Blueno roared in excruciating pain as the area around his eye was on fire. The bullet itself didn't do any damage with Tekkai active, but the mixture of fire Dust and the muzzle blast completely ignored it.
Her teammates were astonished with what she just did, something Ruby took note of with a frown. As smart as it was to use the muzzle blast at point blank, actively trying to blind a person is a morbid way to gain the advantage. On top of that, it came from the someone they least expected.
"R-Ruby, you..." Weiss was unable to find the words, but her widened eyes expressed them clearly. She was at least appalled or mortified at the gruesome measures, and this is coming from someone that the White Fang are trying to kill.
Blueno managed to snuff out the flames, but the damage has already been done. There was a small splotch of tender flesh surrounding his eye, which will definitely leave a scar. The eye itself was forced shut, and it will most likely remain that way. The former agent winced and placed a hand over his eye while the other was filled with silent rage.
Kaku was mildly surprised by his behavior. Out of every Cipher Pol agent, Blueno was always the least expressive. It takes a lot of effort to make him show any emotion at all.
"To think that you of all people would do that." Blueno seethed, glaring daggers at Ruby. The girl looked far too innocent to even think of that.
"It's your fault for not using your Aura! You wouldn't have been burned so badly otherwise!" Ruby shouted, feeling really furious with this guy. Her teammates were stunned at this. Thinking about it now, she did make a point. As long as Armament Haki isn't involved, any bit of damage would've been absorbed by Aura while the body remains unscathed.
Blueno's remaining eye narrowed as he adjusted to the reduced field of vision. Fighting with only one eye is going to be difficult.
"Wait, that's absurd! Why would he neglect to use his Aura? It's not like he... chose to..." Weiss's train of thought was brought to a stop when she realized the truth of the matter.
He wasn't using Aura because he believed that he didn't need to. Even after all the damage they dealt to him, he's still looking down on them.
This was not missed as Yang launched herself up with her gauntlets and spun forward to deliver an axe kick. Blueno raised his arms to block the strike, leaving him to stare into angry lilac eyes. Now she sees why her sister was so livid.
"Just how much more cocky can you get!?" Yang yelled furiously before the former agent pushed her off.
"I'm sure Straw Hat refrains from going all-out against you as well. How is this any different?" Blueno countered.
"At least he doesn't give us that high and mighty look like you do!" Yang shouted before she rushed at him. It's true that Luffy doesn't use everything at his disposal, but he never gave off the feeling that he was better than everyone.
As soon as she got in range, Blueno used his devil fruit and stomped to flip a slab of concrete towards him. Yang started to slide towards him as the slab's incline grew too steep for her. She threw a punch at him, but Blueno caught it with his hand before he swung her around and slammed her through the concrete door he created.
Yang grunted as she shattered the concrete door with her back. The rubble cleared to reveal Ruby taking aim with Weiss conjuring a red glyph in front of the gun barrel. He released a Rankyaku just as she fired a blazing round, the air slash meeting the bullet in the middle. The collision made a smokescreen to hinder his vision further.
The bull faunus already had an idea as to where the next attack would come from as he flipped another trapdoor open out of his peripheral vision. The trapdoor spared him of Blake, who was trying to take advantage of his damaged eye.
"Kaiten Door (Rotating Door)"
Blake didn't know what to expect until a rectangular segment of the door spun vertically and nailed her in the jaw, sending her flying up. She gritted her teeth from the blow and conjured a flaming clone to jump off of. The clone exploded once she was out of the blast radius, clearing up the smokescreen as well as destroying the concrete door Blueno used for cover.
By the time everything cleared up, the four heard sounds from above. Looking up, they paled at the sight of airships carrying more White Fang members.
"Looks like things will turn out in our favor." Blueno mused as he watched reinforcements drop in. Adam will make sure not to allow Luffy to knock these guys out as well.
"This isn't good." Sun muttered. Now they have to deal with these agents while being shot at by the grunts.
"You shouldn't lower your guard, especially against me." Kaku warned. Sun widened his eyes and turned to see his blocky nose heading towards him. Penny was about to help, but was stopped by the gunfire coming from the grunts.
"Nigori-Zaki (Two Gorilla Slash)"
Kaku was caught by surprise when Zoro suddenly showed up and met his Bigan with his black swords and biceps that were three times its normal size. After a brief power struggle, Zoro roared as he launched Kaku towards a cargo container. The impact left a huge dent due to the giraffe man's size.
"Took the words out of my mouth, gi-riff-raff." Zoro smirked around the sword in his mouth. Sun stood starry eyed at the cool, strong guy that saved his skin.
"What the hell took you so long!?" Weiss shouted at him, earning a twitching eye at her bad mood. He just got their ally out of a tight spot, but he gets yelled at for being late?
The heiress was flabbergasted at how long it took him. Even with that flaming bird that Luffy shot ages ago, he still got lost for a bit. What was so hard about running straight towards the source?
Meanwhile, Ruby risked a glance to one of the swords that she never saw before. Unlike other swords, this one's blade is black without Armament Haki. Its hamon is reddish purple with the shape of a saw and also has flower-like edges for a hand-guard. She recognized the unique sword as Shusui, the one that Zoro won from Ryuma.
Zoro looks to the side to see Luffy in the middle of fending off Wilt's crimson blade.
"Hey, Luffy. I see we have a decent swordsman." Zoro said with a smirk, excited to meet another contender.
"Yeah. Sorry, but I want to beat him right now." Luffy apologized without taking his eyes off Adam as he blocked another strike. Zoro always wanted to prove himself as the better swordsman.
"Heh..." Kaku grinned at the development as he got up, eager to fight the man that once beaten him. With a new world and new bodies, who knows how it'll turn out now.
"Took you long enough to find us. I was starting to get bored with these two." Kaku commented, earning a glare from Sun. He makes it sound like he humored them just to kill some time.
"Well then, lets hope you don't bore me." Zoro quipped, taking the bandana off his arm and wrapping around his head. Kaku prepared himself by imbuing Armament into his swords.
"If you're gonna stand there, then at least take care of the weaklings before they interfere." Zoro demanded of Sun, who snapped out of his stupor. The monkey faunus nodded his head before he turned to face all the grunts that exited the airships. Penny could use the help.
The two swordsmen stared each other down in a standoff. In a flash of speed, Zoro rushed straight towards Kaku with a cross slash. Kaku responded with a Nose Pistol imbued with Armament. The attacks created black lightning upon contact as one struggled to overwhelm the other.
The members of team RWBY recognized the black lightning from when Luffy and Zoro sparred in the forest. The power behind those strikes sent shivers down their spine. Yang looks to fist in contemplation, wondering if she'll be the one to do that someday.
Blueno would've used that distraction if Weiss wasn't swinging her lightning coated rapier at him. Tekkai won't protect him, so he's left to dodge them. If he accepted Ruby's suggestion on using Aura to protect himself, then he'd be tarnishing Cipher Pol's reputation by admitting weakness to these kids. They are the best of the White Fang, the cream of the crop.
"Rankyaku"
He swung his leg to catch her with an air slash, but Blake steps in and kicks his leg from below. The attack was redirected so the air slash would whiz over the heiress's head.
"Soru"
He swiftly moves away from the two to avoid any further attacks and finds himself facing Ruby. Despite having Haki, she's easier to deal with when it comes to the offensive. Her semblance leaves an obvious trail, making it easy to track her movements.
Or so he'd thought before Ruby blurred out of sight in a small burst of rose petals. His eye widened in surprise before he felt the blunt end of her scythe against the side of his head, sending him careening to Yang.
'There's no trail this time!?" he thought in confusion. The bull faunus was upside down when he got close to the blonde. Yang capitalized with a heavy punch straight into his abdomen, forcing a glob of spit out of his mouth before his body was sent flying into the wall of the warehouse. He bounced off with a metallic clang and quickly got back up to his feet.
"Ugh! I should've just hit him right in the cowbells." Yang complained as she tried to shake Blueno's spit off her boot. Ruby sighed at the thought of her sister taking a page from Luffy's book.
"What was that earlier? That was almost like one of their moves." Weiss noted, drawing similarities between her burst of speed and their Soru.
"Because it is." was her brief answer. According to Luffy, the principle behind their Soru technique was to kick off the ground ten times in an instant.
She may not be able to do it naturally, but it should be possible if she isolated her semblance to just her legs. Not only does this get rid of the signature rose petal trail that she usually leaves, Ruby also conserves a good bit of Aura in the process since it's being used in one area as opposed to the entire body.
The only downside that she can think of is that she can't create tunnels of high air pressure like she did against Alvida.
"Y-You mimicked our Soru technique through your semblance?" Blueno muttered as he breathed heavily. Straw Hat did the same thing with Second Gear and now this young girl made a creative imitation of it. Granted, Soru is the most fundamental of the Rokushiki.
"It's clear to me that you see Straw Hat as a role model." Blueno quipped, causing the young leader to stiffen.
"What are you getting at?" she tried to put up a brave front, but Ruby is starting to have an uneasy feeling.
She can't deny his words either. Her mom may have had a role in deciding her occupation, but Luffy set the groundwork for the kind of person she wanted to be like. Strong will, ambition, and fearlessness are just some of the traits she wishes to adopt. But more than anything, she wants to be strong enough to not lose anything.
She can't bear losing her teammates, which is why she went and burned out one of Blueno's eyes. No matter what, she'll see her team through this alive.
"I mean to say that it'd be a shame if Straw Hat dies before your very eyes." Blueno stated, earning fierce glares from the four.
"I doubt that's going to happen. If you couldn't kill him, then what are the odds of anyone else succeeding?" Weiss glowered. She knows that he's trying to mess with them, but it isn't going to work. The heiress looks around and notices her team are giving her wide eyes for some reason.
"What?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing! We just didn't expect to hear that from you." Yang sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. None of them knew she had so much confidence in Luffy.
A vast contrast to how she was when they met.
'Adam should've taken enough blows from Straw Hat by now.' Blueno thought as he turned his attention to his fellow bull faunus. For now things looked pretty even as sparks flew between Luffy's foot and Adam's Wilt. That will soon change once he unleashes his semblance.
Blake followed his eye and realized that she was too sidetracked with him to warn Luffy like she tried before. Luffy's kick managed to force Adam back, but the red haired man sheathed his blade and entered a drawing stance. Fear gripped her heart when she saw the details on his body glow red. Luffy quirked a brow at this as the world around them darkened, making the red glow look more ominous.
The former pirate king widened his eyes as he sensed the attack coming, but Luffy knew he didn't have time to dodge it at this distance. He took up Soul Solid along with its sheath, heavily imbued it with Armament, and held it up in preparation. Adam scoffed at his futile attempt.
In the next instant, Adam drew his sword and released all the energy he built up through Luffy's attacks in the form of a red flying slash. The straw hat kid gritted his teeth when the flying slash met Soul Solid, skidding back slightly by the force. Unfortunately, his sword couldn't handle the pressure as the slash went through it.
Time slowed to a crawl as black coating appeared on the upper half of his X-shaped scar before the slash connected. Even with the extra defense, the attack penetrated and caused blood to spray out in a howl of pain. His body flew back and bounced across the ground before he laid face down, motionless.
Team RWBY felt their heart stop as they watched it all unfold. They have never seen anything go through Luffy's Armament with sheer power alone. Zoro did well to hide his shock as he crossed swords with Kaku. Amidst the many knocked out terrorists, Sun and Penny stood wide eyed at the powerful blow.
Adam panted in exhaustion as he stared at his victim. He turns to Blake to see her on her knees, tears streaming down her face. It brings such delight to see her reaction when she loses something dear to her. A fitting punishment for the person who betrayed him. Once her team is dead, then she'll have no choice but to come back to him.
Blueno couldn't care less about Adam's personal agenda, but he couldn't have timed that more perfectly. What was once determination fueling them is now replaced with despair. Not only that, Ruby has lost focus on her Observation Haki. If he's going to get rid of her, then it has to be now.
'Not again...' Ruby thought as the horrific nightmare became reality once more. She was too lost in her inner turmoil to focus on Blueno.
Yang barely caught sight of his Rankyaku and noticed that it was headed towards her distraught sister. Her feet moved before she could think as she placed herself in front of Ruby and took the hit across the body. Her cry of pain was enough to snap the others out of it, only to look distressed when the blonde was down on one knee.
"Yang!" Ruby cried out.
"Get it together, you guys!" Yang yelled. She slowly stood up just as she felt some strange energy within her. It seemed like it was Aura, but at the same time it was foreign to her.
But even so, it brought relief to her.
"B-but Yang... Luffy is-"
"Alive." the brawler interrupted.
"How can you be so sure?" Weiss inquired. As much as they'd like to hear that, there's just no feasible way to believe someone survived after losing that much blood.
"...A hunch." Yang said with a soft grin, unable to explain it in any other way. The vague answer didn't give much reassurance, but they'll just have to trust it. She went over to her partner and hoisted her back on her feet.
"Come on, Blake. We still have a fight to win." Yang reminded. The cat faunus looked to Luffy briefly before turning to Yang with a nod.
Adam growled at the life returning to their eyes. Looks like they're will to fight hasn't been crushed yet.
"Guess I'll have to make you suffer more, my love." Adam muttered as he made his way to assist Blueno. Unbeknownst to him, the Straw Hat's jolly roger appeared on Luffy's hand. The light its giving off keeps transitioning between multiple colors. That very same light can be seen enveloping his wound, swiftly putting a stop to the bleeding.
"Luffy!" a group of familiar voices called out to the boy from the jolly roger. Adam stopped in his tracks upon hearing it, turning around only to see the unthinkable.
The former pirate's hand twitched. Slowly but surely, Luffy was getting back up. He may be breathing heavily, but he is most definitely alive.
"He survived my semblance..." Adam was dumbstruck at what he was seeing. Luffy focused his attention on the symbol on his hand. He never realized how much he missed them until he heard their voices for the first time in what felt like forever.
The voices of his crew.
End of Chapter
Part one of the fight is complete. I wanted to fit the entire fight, but considering how much longer that would take I decided to divide it into two.
So... the rest of the Straw Hats are in, but only as far as communication. Speaking of which, sorry if there's not a whole lot of Zoro action in this chapter.
As far as the Cipher Pol agents go, I believe that only the top three (Lucci, Kaku, and Jabra) would have Haki while the rest are a bit behind. While they do have semblances, they won't be using them right now due to either arrogance or simply enjoying the fight.
Please leave reviews for feedback.