Go the Distance

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

Kilnorc: For those who've reviewed and told me about the title, allow me to set the record straight. I was in need of a title, and with the help of my girlfriend, we came up with that. However, I really doubt any of us realized that, at the time, so...yeah, just thought I'd get that out there and clear it up.


Above the room where Lucci and Luffy were just starting their battle, Mara and Axe were having their own throwdown. Axe had used his Rokushiki skills before, against Rayo and a handful of other opponents and rivals, but when he fought Lucci, it put his skills to the test. Even Mara managed to keep him on his toes as she and him exchanged hi-speed blows, air-blades and deadly, rapid-fire pokes.

Axe landed on the floor and slid a distance while Mara landed in front of him. He wiped some blood from his lower lip, "Why is it I run into people with cat Devil Fruits? I must have a furry magnet or something...," he muttered, remembering every feline-based Devil Fruit user he'd come across at one point or another.

"Come on, Mara!" he beckoned her, waving his hands, "Is that all you got? I get more of a workout running from Niri's shotgun blasts that are aimed for my ass!"

"You wanna workout? Alright, I'll give you one you'll never forget!" Mara raised her arms, "Rankyaku - Gaichou!"

"Shit...," Axe leaned back so far to dodge the glowing bird-like air-blade came flying towards him. He had to put his hands under him to catch himself as he dodged the blade that just barely passed over him and cleaved through the wall behind him.

"You wanna do it like this? Fine, how's this?!" Axe flipped over onto his hands and began to use his Red Leg talents, "Rankyaku - La Croix du Cel!" he cried as he sent his own glowing air-blade in the shape of a cross flying towards Mara. But before that even reached her, while he was still on his hands, Axe began to spin around with his legs around, "Rankyaku - Halo de Ange!"

Mara smirked as she leapt out of the way of the cross and the spinning air-blades, "For one who knows Rokushiki, you're not doing so well. That Rayo guy must've been a poor teacher and a poor fighter. But then, he'd have to be if he has issues with Lucci-kun, so-," she was cut off as Axe appeared in front of her.

"STONE SHOOT!" (1)

Catching her off-guard, Axe was able to ram his boot into the side of Mara's half-feline face, sending her flying across the room a fair distance.

"Never...ever...insult aniki!"

Axe noticed his weapon nearby and made a break for it. Mara, having quickly recovered from it, noticed what he was doing and bolted for the weapon as well.

"I DON'T THINK SO!"

Shit! Axe's eyes broke away from his target and raised a leg to deflect Mara's oncoming set of claws, I gotta be able to get my axe in my hands, or else this could be more difficult then it has to be!

His leg and Mara's claws connected and the female Zoan grabbed his leg, smirking like a cheshire cat.

"If I kill you, I'll so win Lucci-kun's love!"

"Oh, come out of the fantasy, furball!"

She screamed and turned, flipping Axe over her shoulder and slamming him into the ground. He winced a little and glared up at her.

"You're seriously beginning to piss me off, pussycat!"


Chizuru hummed quietly to herself as she wiped the blood off the key she had pried from Tabetha's hands. She looked down at the pale CP9 agent, who still managed to retain consciousness even with her neck wound.

"Much obliged, Tabetha," she pocketed the key, and picked up her discarded dagger collection, "If you'll excuse me, I'll be off now. Got to get to my nakama before the Buster Call comes, you know,"

Tabetha just glared at her as she left and winced as she kept herself from bleeding to death.


"Oh, man, what I miss?"

Azu rubbed his head and looked around to find himself in another room. Moments before, the floor of the Dojo cracked and fell apart with him still recuperating on it and he found himself in a room that looked like it had seen a big battle as well. Looking around, he saw Franky, Nami, and a seemingly defeated Califa laying on the ground.

There were some possible scenarios as to what happened here, but before he could ask what was going on, Nami knelt besides Califa and started to rip off her clothes.

Franky and Azu both gave a thumbs up.

"Now that's great!!"


"GAH!"

DJ fell to a knee, his shoulder sporting a new wound. Wincing, he grabbed his shoulder with his empty hand, "You're good, kame-ossan,"

"Thank you," Gamera smiled as he wiped his blade clean, "You have some skill, I'll admit that, but I have trained under many masters and have trained for decades,"

"Yippee for you, kame-ossan," DJ gripped Raikiri with both hands, "I've trained under a master or two myself...,"

"Really? Well then, I hope that their teachings are useful to you before your defeat," Gamera raised his sword, "Soru,"

DJ tensed as he vanished from sight. He looked around, all his senses on full alert, Where are you, ossan?!

"You're lucky that I am honorable in combat, or else I would kill you right now," Gamera whispered from behind.

The brunette musician spun around, sword raised and took a swing, but Gamera's blade came up and blocked it easily, the turtle ossan having a calm look on his face as he held the sword in place with just one hand. The two swordsmen stared at one another, their blades clacking against each other.

"Nice sword, boy,"

"Thanks, ossan. It's called Raikiri...your's got a name?"

"Thuan Thien," (2)

"What kinda name is that?"

"What kind of name is Raikiri?"

"Touche...," DJ winced a little as the ossan's sword came closer, Shit! This guy is strong for an old fart...and with that injury to my shoulder, I can't do as much right now!

"Shigan Ouren - Kame Sunappu!" (3)

Gamera pulled his sword back and before DJ could move, the old man began to rapidly thrust his sword multiple times into his body. DJ screamed as the blade entered and left numerous times, spilling his blood on the floor. He backed away, needing to get out of the attack range, but Gamera wasn't done with him yet.

"Rankyaku - Kame Eda," (4) the old man crouched down and kicked two V-shaped air blades straight at DJ. Despite his injuries, DJ swung his sword and managed to deflect the first one before the second one escaped his blade and collided with his abdomen, causing more damage to him.

SHIT!! DJ hit the floor on his back, Raikiri clattering to the floor beside him. He knew that these CP9 agents were capable of giving out incredible pain and speed, but this was something that was still new to him. Gasping in pain, DJ looked up at the ceiling, his front soaking up his blood from his injuries.

What am I doing here?! I can't lose to this ossan! I beat a guy from the New World and I even earned Raikiri and did my part to save Dusty-chan... he turned his head and looked at his new sword, Raikiri, you have to help me out here! We need to win this for Kirsty-chan and that baka Demon King! If I can't win here, he'll kill me!

Gamera stood up and walked over, sword of his shoulder. He looked down at DJ, "As I said before, you have some skill, and I was hoping to see you last a bit longer, but since I and my comrades are on a tight schedule now, I'm afraid that we have to end this here," he pulled his sword off his shoulder and raised it above DJ, "As a sign of respect to a fellow swordsman, I shall make it quick and painless to you, boy,"

SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

The room began to shake violently and both swordsmen turned to see the wall on the far end of the room suddenly burst open and two gigantic forms appeared through the dust and rubble of the room.

"What the hell-?!"

"What-!?"

The two huge forms seemed to ignore the two opposing swordsmen, which was good because it gave the latter to look at the former without worry.

One of the forms was a massive animal-like monster on two legs. It had a huge coat of shaggy brown fur, glowing blue eyes and an enormous set of horns. The second animal was on four legs (or rather it looked as though it would be if the first monster wasn't pinning it down), a set of giant fangs and gleaming claws under it's huge paws. While the first monster had glowing blue eyes, the second one had a pair of glowing red eyes.

Gamera frowned, "What in the world are they?"

"D-D-Dusty-chan?!"

The old man looked at DJ, who had taken the opportunity to move away and back on his feet, Raikiri in his hands. Gamera pointed to the monsters, "You know them?"

DJ stared at the monsters. He recognized Dusty from the description the others gave him, but the other one...it looked familiar, he just couldn't quite place it. That is, until he saw the hat with a white X mark in the middle of it on the top of it's head.

CHOPPER?! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!

They watched as the monsters clawed, punched and bit into each other, sending large chunks of fur and blood into the room.

"An impressive sight," Gamera mused as he watched the beasts exchanged blows, "I've never seen anything like this before, and I've been around for quite some time,"

"Shinsoku Iai: Cross Slash!" (5)

The old man sighed and without looking, raised his sword and blocked DJ's sword. He calmly turned his head to see an angry DJ, "To attack your opponent, an old man no less, in a blindspot, you must be desperate to win the battle, my young friend,"

DJ scowled, "When it comes to saving a good friend of mine, I'm willing to do anything to save them!"

"Even if it means to disregard honor?"

"Since when does the World Government care about honor!?" he shouted at the ossan, "Where's the honor in killing a little girl because she didn't want to rat out a pirate friend?!" he demanded, remembering his little sister, "Where's the honor in that, huh?!"

Gamera looked at him for a long moment, then pushed Raikiri away with his blade and stepped away, taking a stance with his sword at the ready.

"If you truly want to do this now...," he glanced over to see the two Monster Zoans disappear from sight, "...oh, look at that, we can do that now," he looked back at DJ, "Tekkai - Bushin," (6)

DJ watched in surprise as the old man when from his normal appearance to one that reminded him of a bodybuilder. Gamera's muscles grew larger, making the old man grow slightly.

"What the hell did you just do, kame-ossan?!"

"This is a technique that allows me to increase the power of my attacks and damage to those who are unfortunate to be in the path of my attacks," Gamera explained, stretching his limbs, flexing his new muscles, "I hope you're as strong as you say you are, my young opponent, because if you aren't, this will be short,"

"Koan Hebi!" (7) DJ raised his blade and took a sharp, downward swing. As it moved, the blade glowed bright red and sent a curling mass of red energy soaring through the air, aimed for the old man.

Gamera raised an eyebrow, "Tekkai - Plastron," (8) he thrust his entire front of his body outward and took the attack dead on. DJ was surprised that the old man did this, but as he did, he noticed the old man wince as the attack struck him. He couldn't help but smile at that.

The kame-ossan took the full attack and when it was done, pulled back, the front of his body smoking. He looked down at his body to see a large set of burns now present on his flesh.

"So, that Tekkai move of yours can withstand physical attacks, but when it comes across energy, like heat for example, it's just the same as before, hm?" DJ chuckled, tapping the ground with Raikiri, "That's good to know, ossan, that means I know how to beat you!"

Gamera took a deep breath and exhaled, "You may know a slight drawback to our Rokushiki skill of Tekkai, but that doesn't mean you can beat me,"

"I can at least try," DJ's grin disappeared and was replaced by a serious look, This is my biggest test yet...I can't fail! he thought, remembering every challenge in skill he's had so far. He had to deal with strange terrain, people with speed on par or greater than his, training like mad after Mihawk gave him his eye scar, strange weapons and now skills that made people's body harden to that of steel.

"Chou Sokutei Tekkai Dama: Kame Giri!" (9)

Here we go...

Gamera leapt into the air and DJ watched as the old man seemed to roll himself into a ball, one that resembled a turtle shell, with his sword sticking outward. He also watched as the old man used his Rokushiki talents to move around rapidly, spinning like crazy as he did.

The guys like a buzzsaw!

The kame-ossan hit the floor and speed towards DJ, his sword sending up chunks of floor material as he raced across the floor. He had surprising speed, but DJ was able to bring up Raikiri to stop the attack dead on. However, the ossan's attack didn't stop there, the ossan's momentum was making him and his sword to be pushed back as the two blades created sparks every few seconds.

C'mon, Macleod, think of something here! He's got me pinned here...

"GRANDE SONATA!" (10) DJ pulled his sword away and despite him getting a large wound from the still spinning Gamera, he swung Raikiri harder and faster than he had before. The sword glowed red yet again and though they were a very short distance apart, DJ saw a very large, and very wide arc of heated, red energy fly just before colliding with Gamera. Almost instantly, the kame-ossan came to a halt. Due to his speed and sudden stop, Gamera tripped over himself and landed on the floor, his body smoking from DJ's heated attack.

The musician of the Axe-Heads looked down and saw that the old man had another, but far more serious looking burn wound than the one he gave him with his Kaon Hebi technique. Taking this moment, DJ backed away a fair distance to recuperate and defend himself in case Gamera came back on his feet.

That seemed to be a good choice, since the kame-ossan rolled over and climbed back to his feet, his flesh still burning. Wincing, he looked at DJ, "Does she really mean that much to you and your nakama?"

That question threw DJ off, "I'm...sorry?"

"That White Dragon...the Chambers girl, does she really mean that much to you and your nakama?" the ossan repeated.

DJ nodded, "She means a lot to all of us, she's our friend and if it wasn't for her, most of us would probably be dead five times over by now. However, I think she means more to that baka Demon King,"

"Yes, I remember what happened before you made your way into the Tower of Justice. I can tell that he loves her dearly," he reached into his pants pocket and held up a key, "You need to beat me in order to obtain this key,"

"I know,"

"When I am defeated, you are free to take it, however if you cannot defeat me, then you will die here,"

"I know, I know,"

"Just making sure," Gamera pocketed the key, "Believe it or not, boy, but we both are on running on fumes right now,"

DJ scoffed, "I doubt that, ossan,"

"It's true," Gamera gripped his sword, "You see muscles you were normally see on a young man, and you've seen my speed and strength, but the truth is this: I am old, and despite all my years of training, I cannot keep up with young people as much as I like. I'm getting too old to do this sort of thing...,"

"Then why?"

"I have my reasons," Gamera took a deep sigh, "I have one good attack in me, boy, and judging by those wounds, so do you. I propose this: we each give one last attempt at victory and the last one standing will be able to walk out of here and escape the oncoming Buster Call,"

DJ frowned and looked the man over, Is he telling the truth? He can't be telling the truth, this guy's part of CP9, the Government's secret assassin group, how the hell can he run out of energy even though he's old? I don't understand it, what's he up to?

"Are you ready, my young friend?"

The musician sighed and held up Raikiri, "Ready,"

The two warriors stared at each other, blood dripping to the floor and flesh still smoking.

"Kami Kame Giri!!" (11)

"Final Encore!" (12)


"WHOA!" Devon tried to steady himself as the entire tower shook (though not for the first time), "What the hell's going on?!"

A loud grinding made him look up to see the sliced walls and ceiling had just gotten larger. No doubt the tower shaking caused it to move again.

"What the hell was that?!"


Both Gamera and DJ stood still, the two of them panting after unleashing their final attacks. For a long moment, the two of them just stood there, not one of them wavering. Even when both of them spewed blood from new wounds, they didn't falter.

"You...have...skill...,"

"So...do you...old man...,"

"Aye...but I'm...getting...too old...for this...," Gamera faulted and fell to a knee, "They say...that a turtle...once beat a speedy hare," he chuckled as blood ran down his front, "...not this time, eh?"

"Not this time, ossan...," DJ winced and teetered, "Not this time...,"

Gamera reached into his pocket and pulled out the key, tossing it to DJ, "You've earned this, so go and save your friend. Use your youth and what energy you have left to save her and escape from this place,"

With that, the CP9 kame-ossan fell over, leaving DJ victorious. The musician looked at the key in his hand and grinned, "Thanks for the key and the lesson, ossan...I'll remember this,"


Kilnorc: Okay, that's it! I had some difficulty with this chapter, but thanks to my friend DJ Paynter, who is the owner and creator of DJ Macleod, I was able to finish it. I also had some difficult choices to make for this sword fight and I'm aware that I said Gamera is around Kaku's level or stronger, and I may have made it a little...not like Zoro vs Kaku fight with strength, but I think I did well anyway. Hope so...

(1) Stone Shoot: A technique combined with teachings of the Red Leg style of Zeff and Axe's Devil Fruit ability. Axe delivers a powerful kick to his enemy, capable of sending them flying a good distance with the chance of broken bones.

(2) Thuan Thien: "The Will of Heaven" or "Heaven's Will" Name of the sword that Kim Qui, the golden turtle god gave Le Loi, leader of the Vietnamese revolt against the Chinese. Supposedly gave Le Loi the strength of a thousand men and made him very tall.

(3) Shigan Ouren "Kame Sunappu": "Shigan Yellow Lotus: Turtle Snap" Gamera uses a version of Shigan Ouren that uses extremely fast jabs from his sword instead of his finger, similar to a snapping turtle rearing it's neck back and biting multiple times.

(4) "Rankyaku - Kame Eda,": "Storm Leg: Turtle Limb" Gamera crouches and kicks releasing two Rankyaku that are shaped in a sideways V shape like that of a turtle's bent leg.

(5) "Shinsoku Iai: Cross Slash": The user draws their sword and makes two cuts, first cutting vertically without adjusting their grip so the cut has more force, then flipping the sword in their hand and cutting horizontally, making a T or a cross shape with the two cuts. All of this happens within the blink of an eye before the receiving end can hardly even see the flashes of the blade.

(6) "Tekkai - Bushin": "Tekkai Fighting Form" Gamera's muscles expand and make him look very muscular, also increasing the effectiveness of Tekkai and increasing his strength without losing any of his natural speed.

(7) "Koan Hebi": (Heat Snake) Similar to the Sonata attacks, this attack releases a heat arc that twists and curls towards an enemy like a snake, traveling at a faster speed than normal because of the momentum and less predictable of where it will hit.

(8) "Tekkai - Plastron": Gamera pushes his stomach and torso out and uses Tekkai to absorb the blow of an attack in one place and distribute the force out of his body through his limbs Plastron is the name for the part of a shell that covers a turtle's body.

(9) "Chou Sokutei Tekkai Dama: Kame Giri": "Rapidspinning Tekkai Ball: Turtle Slice": Gamera jumps into the air using Geppou and Soru to move in three dimensions quickly, then curls into a turtleshell shaped ball using Tekkai, holding his sword out and spinning rapidly in the ball, using Geppou and Soru to bounce back and forth and chase after the opponent in midair at high speeds using the extended sword like a buzzsaw.

(10) "Grande Sonata": Similar to "Burning Sonata" and "SpeedSpeed Blitzkrieg", this attack slashes to release an arc of heat, however this swing is much longer and faster than normal, creating a larger and more intense heat arc.

(11) "Kami Kame Giri": "God Turtle Slice" One of Gamera's most powerful sword attacks, the user swings their sword, seemingly doing nothing before unleashing a delayed and powerful burst of energy seconds after. Unlike Rankyaku, the energy is invisible but causes high wind and is capable of cutting a wide radius, comparable in power to Kaku's Rankyaku: "Amane Dachi"

(12) "Final Encore": A powerful thrusting technique that emits a strong shockwave, even though it is a thrust of the sword, it focuses more on blunt force because of the shockwave and can break through most defenses.

On the next chapter of Secret Power...

Azu: So, those are the gates that Tom-san saw before...

Franky: These two were a pain. Least they're better now.

Zoro: Get out of here! If you wanna save her, go after her, I can handle this asshole!

??: We thought the pirates were being handled by CP9, but looks like we have one right here.

Fight to Survive

Devon: Okay, I either followed those wrong, or someone's screwing with me!