London was a mess. There were figures running around, hacking and shooting at one another as civilians attempted to flee in terror. The pirates and Marines were locked in a deadly struggle, with agents of the World Government aiding the Marines. The ground was slick with a slippery mixture of dust and rainwater that was quickly turning to mud and visibility was low in the storm.
Zoro and Sentoumaru faced off grimly, oblivious of the mayhem going on around them.
Suddenly, Sentoumaru was in Zoro's face; the broadax glinted in the faint light.
They parried blow after blow, and Zoro was careful to keep watch of both the axe and Sentoumaru's limbs. The man was larger than strictly necessary to wield such a hefty weapon, yet moved with the grace of a martial artist. This man is dangerous, he deduced.
I need a technique to get rid of one of those weapons.
"Shuusui!" he roared. Break this blade.
Sentoumaru's eyes widened as his broadax was suddenly sheared in half, as though by a hot knife through butter. He only barely managed to evade Sandai Kitetsu's follow-up as Zoro aimed for his neck.
"Those blades are dangerous," Sentoumaru mused. "Not in the traditional sense, but…how can you control such bloodthirsty things?"
Zoro merely grinned. "It's quite a fun experience, really…look." Sentoumaru didn't falter even as a thin line of blood ran down his cheek. "These swords of mine are crying for your life force. How can I deny them?" His blades shimmered as they split the rainwater to aim at Sentoumaru's vital organs.
Sentoumaru dipped and dodged the attacks; his eyes were slanted as he scrutinized the attacks for a pattern whose weakness he could take advantage of. His eyes widened as he found it, and his arms moved up to seamlessly strike Zoro hard in the chest.
"Oof!" Zoro grunted, catching himself and landing on his feet. "Kuso…"
A pair of golden eyes bore into his memory, mocking him.
"Santoryuu Secret Technique—Three Thousand Worlds!"
Sentoumaru fell in a spray of blood that mingled with the dark mud.
"ACE!" Zoro heard Luffy scream, and looked around desperately for his captain.
"Luffy? Luffy!"
"Where is he?" Luffy cried, his anguished words intermingling with his attacks as a Haki-infused punch struck Smoker square in the jaw and sent him flying. "Ace…!"
"Calm down. Today was not his day to die," a calm voice said. Zoro and Luffy whirled around and saw what appeared to be a walking voodoo doll alternately attacking other men and speaking to them. "I am Basil Hawkins. The cards…they have read his fate, and he is still alive."
"Crazy gypsy," another man snarled; his face was twisted, but he was grinning nonetheless in a feral smile that matched his fiery red hair. "You ought to know that a man can't rely on anything but his own strength!"
"Eustass Kid, do not try my patience," Hawkins replied calmly. Kid only responded by flipping him the middle finger.
Luffy promptly ignored them as he made his way to Whitebeard's side, where the Yonkou was still in battle with Aokiji. "Old man! Ace is gone!"
Whitebeard didn't falter at all as he parried blows with Aokiji. "So he really did come, eh…? Don't worry, kid." One mighty blow sent Aokiji back a few steps, and Whitebeard howled into the wind. "Men! This battle is over!" As quickly as the battle had begun, it was over as the pirates began to disappear with alarming alacrity.
"C'mon, Zoro!" Luffy urged. "We could beat these guys, but it would take too long!"
As Zoro followed—he had defeated his opponent, and knew that there was no shame in a tactical retreat—he looked around and saw the rest of his crew running with them.
"Halt! Roronoa!"
"Oh, shit," Zoro groaned as he heard Tashigi yelling after him. "Where the hell is that Bonney woman?" He turned around reluctantly. "What do you want, woman—" He stopped short. "Kuina?"
"No, dolt, my name is Tashigi," she replied in exasperation. "Where is that woman? She turned me into this and fled!"
There she stood, clutching her sword and holding her pants up in desperation as she buckled the belt more tightly around her thin waist. Her shirt was also far too large, and she had discarded her jacket in disgust. Her glasses were also tucked into her pocket, and as she glared while finally hoisting her pants up and drawing her sword, Zoro felt his heart nearly stop.
Fuck.
"You…" he stammered.
"Zoro! C'mon, we have to hurry!" Luffy said.
Zoro sighed before running at Tashigi and throwing her over his shoulder, taking care to relieve her of her sword and put it back in its sheathe. "I'll get you fixed," he murmured as he began to run with Luffy again.
"Wha—hey! Put me down!"
---
"You brought a Marine back? You fool!" Nami tried to punch Zoro, but was stopped when he gripped her wrist firmly with an expression that said, Don't mess with me right now, I'm highly unstable.
"Who's this kid, marimo?" Sanji inquired. They were back on the Thousand Sunny after having hastily retrieved their horses from the stables and riding as quickly as their steeds could go. Zoro had ridden with Tashigi behind him, and he only just realized that she was only cooperating because she had banged her head into his back and fallen unconscious. "She looks a bit like the cutie who was with that shitty Smoker guy."
"She, er…" Zoro mumbled. "That's her. She got messed up by one of the other pirates' Devil Fruit abilities, so I'm taking her to get fixed."
"That's oddly kind of you," Usopp said, nodding sagely. "She must be someone very special to you."
"Shut up, longnose."
Tashigi stirred slightly from her inclined position on the couch where Zoro had gently placed her. "Nmm…where am I?" She groped in her pocket and drew out her slightly battered glasses and placed them on her face. "Smoker-san—augh!" she shrieked as she caught sight of the pirates. "You!"
"Good morning, sunshine," Zoro grumbled. "Well, it's the evening, actually. Good of you to finally join us."
"Roronoa…" she hissed. "Tell me why I am sitting in the midst of a pirate's crew. And explain why my body is like this." She waved to her loose shirt and pants.
"Some woman had a Devil Fruit that did that to you. Bonney," Zoro replied. "You told me yourself what happened. Did you forget?
"Yeah, Zoro brought you back to get you fixed!" Luffy said cheerfully. He seemed to be in a good mood despite the fact that his brother was missing—he rationalized that if he was gone, then he couldn't be dead.
"Actually," Robin said, "This might be a good opportunity. If Ace is not in friendly hands, we could use her as a bargaining chip." Tashigi shrunk back at this suggestion.
"Are we even going to see the other pirates again?" Franky asked dubiously. "What if she just ends up being a liability?"
"I-I'm not going to be a liability!" Tashigi squeaked defensively. "My swordsmanship is…" Her voice faded as she groped at her waist. "My…sword? Where's my sword?"
"Do you mean this?" Zoro asked, holding her katana above her head.
"Hey! Shigure!" she cried, trying to grab it. Zoro kept it well out of her reach, and she sighed. "Why did you take my blade, Roronoa?"
"We can't trust a Marine," he replied shortly. "Just sit tight and be a good girl. Here." He held a mirror in front of her face, and she stared in bewilderment. "Now you understand what has happened? You probably won't even be able to properly wield your blade and might injure yourself." He put a finger to her lips to silence her protests. "On a pirate's ship, you listen to the pirates, okay?" She glared at him, but couldn't respond in her present condition.
Suddenly, Sanji swooped in with a bowl of fruit and crème. "Ah, for the lovely little bird, I have made a snack for the short journey…!"
"Zoro," Nami said, drawing him aside. "Are you really sure this is wise?"
"It's kind of my fault," he said, rubbing his hair guiltily. "I set Bonney on her."
"We have no obligation to help her."
"She's already here."
"How can we bring a Marine to the Pirate's Summit? Do you realize how dangerous that is for all of us? Either she'll rat us out, or the other pirates will kill her."
"Then…we just have to disguise her as a pirate for the time being."
"There's an obvious logical fallacy with that…Bonney will know that she's a Marine."
"We'll deal with it when the time comes. Relax, woman, it's all under control."
Nami slapped her forehead, but nodded. "If this brings any ill upon our crew, I'm personally going to take your kintama as payment, okay?" Zoro winced, but she turned around and began snapping out orders to the rest of the crew to navigate through the impending fog that would lead them to the Pirate's Summit.
---
The Mugiwara Crew walked calmly through the halls of the Pirate's Summit. Tashigi walked in the middle of the group and wore shorts and a loose white shirt that Robin had altered to fit her. Her long hair was also plaited and hidden under a round cap; the effect was to make her gender ambiguous. They looked around and saw that there were many more pirates gathered here, since all the ones who had been hidden in London the day before were now present. There were also many wounded men who were being treated by their own doctors. They continued to walk until they came to the main hall, which was still not restored after the brawl that Sanji had instigated. Instead, any furniture that was intact was being used and anything that was broken was being turned into firewood. Whitebeard was leaning against a rough throne-like chair while being tended by a number of pretty nurses who cooed as they rubbed his partially-frozen limbs. Shanks sat beside him, deep in conversation with an elderly man with long white hair and a scar across one eye.
"Old man," Luffy said, walking up to Whitebeard as the rest of the crew hung back; Zoro stepped in front of Tashigi, shielding her from view. "Why did you tell me not to worry about Ace?"
Whitebeard looked down at Luffy, waving off his flock of nurses. "Kid, how much do you know about your family?"
Luffy tilted his head, turning to look back at his crew. "Uh, a lot? I'm standing in front of them, aren't I?"
Whitebeard snorted. "I mean your blood family, you fool. Ace is your only known real relative, isn't he? And Garp."
Luffy shrugged. "I never gave it much thought. Family is nakama is family. Why?"
Whitebeard allowed a nurse to rub his biceps, humming softly as he drank from a deep mug. "Your real papa's alive, you know. You might've heard of him." He wiped his moustache with a sigh. "The revolutionary, Dragon."
Robin gasped, and everyone automatically turned to her for further information. She was pale, and her eyes were wide with shock. "Dragon…they call him the instigator of a thousand revolts, the fuse for the dynamite that will tear this world apart. His name is whispered in countries spread across the world, and rulers fear to acknowledge his existence lest he go after them next."
"Not bad, for a fresh-out-of-the-shell Japanese girl," Whitebeard chuckled. "He has been very busy lately. Roronoa, you might be familiar with his activities, even if you are unfamiliar with his name. Napoleon Bonaparte worked closely alongside him in the French Revolution. The Portuguese uprising, the July Revolution…the list is long, and it is difficult to ascertain his involvement with any certainty. Well, that's your papa for you. It's not really surprising, considering your family. A crazy member of the bakufu, two pirates, a revolutionary…impressive, really."
"What does this have to do with Ace?" Luffy finally demanded, crossing his arms as he looked up at Whitebeard.
Whitebeard laughed; it was a guttural sound, and not entirely pleasant. "Dragon left you kiddoes in Shanks's care for a reason. Shanks!"
Shanks looked up in annoyance. "What?"
"Tell these pups why you took care of them."
Shanks snorted. "Because I love them!" He grinned at the Mugiwaras. "They're my kids, you know?"
"No, you dolt, give them the other reason. Sappy, sentimental bastard…"
"Oh. Dragon first left Luffy in my care after the failed…experiments with Garp," Shanks said with a shudder. "He knew the dangers that Ace and Luffy would be in if they stayed with him. It was a safety precaution."
"And now he has come back to protect them," Whitebeard rumbled. "The World Government has acted very foolishly, indeed. They must now suffer the shame of having lost their little execution example as well as not having captured a single pirate in the battle."
"When is he coming back?" Luffy asked. "If Dragon took Ace, then where is he?"
"Calm down, boy," Whitebeard said. "He hasn't contacted us, but wherever he is, your brother is safe. But…Monkey. Be careful."
"Why?" Luffy asked curiously.
"If…he does not return Ace within the next week," Whitebeard said seriously, "Then there is a chance that he will be going after you as well. I do not know for what reason—or by what power he could keep Ace from returning—but stay on your guard. We will give him one week, but no more."
"How did he take Ace, though?" Nami finally asked. "There was that Admiral guarding him, and thousands of other people…how could he have just spirited him away?"
"Girlie, do you know what the most powerful force in the world is?" Whitebeard asked idly, spinning his spear in one hand. Nami looked at him, puzzled. "You ought to be very familiar with it, being the navigator and all…"
"Water?" she volunteered curiously. Whitebeard shook his head.
"Nay, it's the force that can drive or stall a ship. It eats away at everything, can erode rocks, dry up water, blow out fire…the bringer of tornadoes and typhoons, of every natural malady that has to do with the weather. The wind. Dragon controls the wind. Nothing can stop it, or him." A chill wind blew through the hall, making everyone shiver involuntarily.
---
A/N: Wow, I didn't even realize that I hadn't posted this chapter up yet…it's been sitting in my files for a few days now. Well, here it is—my hypothesis concerning Dragon's power.
