Chapter 41 - Luffy vs Tarantula
"Mira!" called out the enraged Prime Minister as he watched the defeat of his right hand woman. The anger overwhelmed him so much that he saw nothing but red.
He looked at the King and the Straw Hat pirate, who were both ready to fight.
How dare they mess with his plan! He had been patiently waiting for the right moment for 15 years, ever since that little bitch killed his brother. It had been just a bonus to catch Jeffrey all those years ago but once news of his brother's death reached him, it became all too personal.
His plan had worked flawlessly from persuading Mira to join the Web Gang to finding a marine who was anxious enough to crawl up the Navy ladder. It had all fell into place. The last part to this well-constructed machine was Dr. Clayton, who would be able to help him grab the 1000 pirates.
Even having his son secretly join the Web Gang was a welcomed addition. He figured Eto would be a good leak to Rei and it would send her off in the direction of the 1000 pirates and away from her father. Yes, he thought, telling Eto his father was in danger was a smart move. It was all going so well!
Then it was ruined because of something he didn't anticipate, Jeffrey Cogan himself. He was a stronger fighter than Tarantula thought. The damn ex-pirate had delayed Doru just enough so that his stupid kid was able to slide in this new deal with the marine. Damn her, he thought, Damn her and her family!
"Enough is enough!" he yelled at King Tannenbay and Luffy. His face was turned completely into his angry form. There was no more singing happy side. "This ends now! I'll show you the true meaning of my name and you will all run in fear of Tarantula!"
Luffy and the King watched as Tarantula prepared his Armament Haki. The black armor started to encase his whole body and even his jester hat. His face, once painted with white, purple, and yellow make-up changed to the black hard armor. His eyes shined red.
"Why are you called Tarantula?" Luffy asked curiously, as he did not see the resemblance.
"Hrmmm," Usopp said as he helped his captain with his puzzle, "Maybe because his hat is split into eight pieces?"
Indeed, his jester hat, now in a hard black Armament Shell, looked as though it was a black spider with his 8 legs.
That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard, the Straw Hats thought to themselves with a drop of sweat on their forehead.
"That's foolish," King Tannenbay said as he activated his Armament Haki. It started to wrap around his body, "No one on this island can beat my Armament Haki!"
"Maybe not," Tarantula taunted, lifting an arm towards Prince Ellis, "But what about your son?!"
"Ellis!" King Tannenbay shouted as thin little needles started to protrude out of Tarantula's arm.
"SPIDER HAIR NEEDLE ATTACK!"
Suddenly the needles started to shoot towards Prince Ellis but he easily blocked at with his rapier sword, which was now also black from his Armament Haki.
"Don't underestimate me," Prince Ellis said gritting his teeth, "I am Prince Ellis, son of King Tannenbay, and I will protect this castle!"
Tarantula snarled at the prince and then looked around the room. "Protect this castle?! Try protecting this room!"
He put his forearms together against his chest and started to spin rapidly until he was just a black blur. Luffy looked around at his friends. "MINNA!" he cried, "HIDE!"
"SPIDER HAIR 360 ATTACK!"
Needles armed with Armament Haki shot everywhere around the room. Luffy watched in horror as it struck the Green Cloaks still standing. Luffy was able to avoid it using his Observational Haki. As he looked to his friends, he saw that the King had jumped from behind him and was now in front of Nami and Brook, blocking the incoming needles.
Prince Ellis was in front of Robin, Usopp, and the unconscious Jeffrey swinging his sword in circles to block it for them as well. Franky had ducked behind a stone pillar, his metal shoulders protruded from the side but it seemed the needles just bounced off the metallic parts that were exposed.
"Mugiwara," The King shouted as the needles continuously flew at him, "We'll shield your friends. STOP TARANTULA!"
"Shi-shi-shi-shi-shi," Luffy laughed, "I was already planning on doing that."
"GOMU GOMU NO PISTOL," the rubber man cried as he pulled his arm back and blackened his fist.
He released his arm and his punch through the air with a whistle. It knocked straight into Tarantula's face and sent him flying across the floor.
"TEME!" Tarantula growled propping himself up slowly.
A drop of blood came out of his lips and he licked it off. Two fangs started to grow out out of his mouth and venom dripped from it. He reared into his hind legs and made a powerful leap across the room towards Luffy.
"SPIDER VENOM BITE!"
Luffy avoided the attack by ducking to the side quickly. Tarantula chomped down to nothing but if the rubber man was a second too late, he would've gotten a big bite on his shoulder.
"GOMU GOMU NO GATLING!" Luffy shouted as his fists flew through the air pounding the former Prime Minister into the ground.
Tarantula, still in his Armament Haki, reached out and caught Luffy's fist and he held it firmly.
"YOU CAN NOT TAKE ME DOWN!" he screamed as needles started to come out of his body. These needles came together and melded into one another until thorns were covering the entirety of Tarantula.
Tarantula held on tightly to Luffy's fists to block him from escaping. Tarantula's red eyes widened, crazed with the idea of destroying this pirate. "SPIDER HAIR ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE: THORN ATTACK!"
Thorns shot out from everywhere, some lodged into the castle wall and ceiling. The walls cracked and debris fell down from the roof causing dust to fly everywhere, impairing the vision of everyone in the room.
"LUFFY!" Nami cried as the thorns flew towards the captain.
"Straw Hat!" the king shouted, too far to get to him in time.
Even with his goggles, Usopp couldn't see through the thick dust. He was frozen in fear as he thought of all the gruesome possibilities that could lie ahead. Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over him and he turned around.
"WING WIND CLAP!" Jeffrey shouted, stretching his arms out to the side and bringing it together straight in front of him.
The force of his clap sent a shockwave through the room. It knocked all the Straw Hats to their feet. King Tannenbay and Prince Ellis managed to stay firm, rooting their feet using Armament Haki. It also sent a strong wind through the room and cleared the dust.
Much to everyone's surprise, someone had jumped in between Luffy and Tarantula. He blocked the Straw Hat from the ongoing thorns with a very large iron shield. The shield was covered in Armament Haki and it was 6 feet tall.
"Are you okay, 'Straw Hat' Luffy?" Captain Nero growled as he leaned against his shield, propping it up.
"N-N-N-Nero!" King Tannebay gasped.
"Hey! You're the guy from before!" Luffy said excitedly, "What are you doing here?"
"I saw the hole in Fort Dixon so I took the staircase up to the castle to see if you were safe, Your Highness," the patrolmen captain answered, directing it to his king.
"H-H-H-How did you know about the secret staircase?" Usopp asked nervously, fearing that maybe Nero might've let in the angry mob.
"I helped build it," Nero said proudly, "Before I was a patrolman, I helped my father with the construction of the castle."
"Chikusho!" Tarantula cursed as he tried to get him from the ground. His red eyes blazing, "How dare you…"
"Yosh!" Luffy said as he bit into his thumb, "GEAR THIRD!'
His fist inflated to a gigantic size, blackened from his haki. He stretched his fist as far back as he could.
"GOMU GOMU NO….", he screamed as he let the fist fly, "SLAP!"
His fist released and the giant palm of his hand placed flat on Nero's giant shield, sandwiching poor Nero with the shield. Luffy slammed Nero and the shield downwards unto the ground and it fell hard on top of Tarantula.
"LUFFY!" Nami called out.
"NERO!" King Tannenbay cried.
"IDIOT! YOU KILLED THE GUY WHO WAS HELPING YOU!" Usopp yelled.
"No," came a grunt as Nero pushed Luffy's hand up, "I'm okay."
Tarantula, on the other hand, was not as he lay flattened from the sheer force of Luffy's hand plus the weight of two extra Armament Haki coated weights.
"WHAT?!" the Straw Hats cried as Nero stood up unscathed.
King Tannenbay threw his head back and laughed, "Your Armament Haki could be as strong as mine!"
"No, not even close, Your Majesty," Captain Nero said humbly as he knelt on the ground in front of the king. "Apologies for not coming here sooner and protecting you."
"Don't apologize," King Tannenbay said, as he rushed over and helped his loyal subject to his feet, "You had no idea."
Usopp let out a sigh of relief until he saw Jeffrey, who was knelt next to the cloak and mask that Rei left behind. He held her belt in his fists and he was shaking.
"Where's my daughter?" he asked softly.
When nobody answered, his hands gripped his daughter's belongings tighter. Jeffrey looked up, his eyes darkened with rage, and he bellowed to the king, "WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?!"
Suddenly, Luffy's hand was on his shoulder. The retired pirate looked up at the boy with black hair in a rubber hat. Jeffrey, for a moment, thought he saw his old captain standing before him with the same devil may care smile. He blinked and the boy smiled down at him. "Don't worry. We'll get her back."
Meanwhile, during the start of Luffy and Tarantula's fight, one of the Green Cloaks at the base of the Wall noticed that the man standing next to him had a puff of smoke coming out of his hood.
"Hey, are you a new recruit?" the Green Cloak next to him whispered.
"Yes," the smoker said.
"You're not supposed to smoke on duty. Put the cigarette out or you'll get into trouble," the Green Cloak warned but not unkindly. Oh newbies, he thought to himself, They're so helpless during the first year.
"I'll do what I damn well want," Sanji said from under his hood, his cigarette unmoving.
The senpai next to him rolled his eyes as he was used to the cocky attitude of new recruits but Sanji didn't care. His eyes were fixated on the heavy stone door on the side of the wall where a group of Marines waited. He was sure this was where Rei would exit.
Rei-chan, he thought to himself, What the hell is taking you so long?
