Chapter 35
AN: Hey, all! New chapter, new day! I got a review that was wondering if you needed to go back and re-read the whole story with the edits, and I would say that it is more recommended than anything. It isn't required to understand, but newer chapters make more sense with the fresher context of the changes. Anyways, let's get into it!
Chapter 35
-(Kelly)-
"Ah!" I jolt awake, an acute pain in my chest. I can almost feel the speedy movement of the craft I was sleeping in, and the soft sheets of the bed give me a comfortable cocoon. Unfortunately, it's overshadowed by all this unyielding pain! "Ow…" I squeak as I shift. Everything hurt. My shoulder, my gut, my leg, my chest, even my back ached, that one probably because of the trees I got tossed into. Both of my arms felt like they were jelly, and my head was pounding. Overall, it was not a good time to be an Ian. C'mon… I gingerly remove the blankets, looking at all the bandages covering me. Jeez, I looked like a mummy.
Kid! I hear Shanks' voice in my head, What the hell!? I told you not to set my ship on fire, didn't I!?
I grimace, thinking on that little event. After beating that one guy somehow, Shanks helped me get him off me, and Yasopp took him to a separate room, tied up with rope. Then, I had seen it: a massive blaze was going on right behind where I was. Shanks had told me that he had been racing down to save me when he saw some sort of 'huge fire blast' - for lack of a better term - had come out of my elbow when I punched the guy, almost like a rocket. After that, he had sent me to bed, telling me to get some sleep, and since I was exhausted, I fell asleep instantly.
And now we're here, I slowly move my leg over the side of the cot, each miniscule movement bringing another wave of discomfort and hurt. I try to put pressure on it, but a sharp spike of pain shoots through the bone, like it was an iron bar struck by a hammer, Myeugh, I squirm as the unpleasant sensation makes its way up my spine. Clutching my gut as it pangs, I swing my healthier leg over, putting pressure on it and standing up. "Hooo boy…" I blink as black spots cover my vision. I try to steady myself, but my bad leg gives out, and I tilt to the side, collapsing onto the floor in a blast of pain from my wounds and back, "Oooooooooow…" I squeak again.
I hear a door open somewhere down the hall, and steps going down stair. Those same steps clomped down the hall until it stopped at my door.
Click/Creeeak
"Kid?" the scratchy voice of Shanks asks, "You good?"
"Yeah," I grunt sarcastically, "I'm doing just fine."
"Haha," the Yonko laughs, walking over and heaving me up by the armpits, "Stay here, I'll get you a crutch real fast," he sits me back on the bed.
"Okay," I sigh, face red with embarrassment. I look down at my hand, clenching it so that the strange dark liquid oozes into my palm. I stare at it, watching as it was slowly sucked back into my skin. Nuegh, I shiver. That was still so friggin weird.
"And here's your crutch," Shanks appears next to the bed, two wooden sticks tied together with rope and in his hands.
"That was fast," I blink as he hands it to me.
"Well, I didn't become a Yonko by being slow," the red-haired menace grins.
"I suppose not," I grunt, taking the stick and putting it under my right arm. I stand, testing the pressure, and I lean on it. I held.
"I know your left shoulder's hurt, but it would be better if you put it under your left arm," Shanks says, but I wave him off.
"I'll manage," I say, and I stand, leaning a bit to the right.
"..." Shanks is looking away, a tense look on his face.
"I…" I raise an eyebrow, "Is something wrong?"
"Wha-?" the Yonko blinks, snapping out of his trance, "Oh, no, nothing's wrong," he says, smiling. Suspicious.
"What is happening?" I say, "If it involves my crew, then I need to know."
"Well…" Shanks replies, quite serious, "That old Captain of yours is currently ripping Kaido a new one," he grits his teeth, but sighs, seemingly melding back into his carefree attitude, "They could probably end up destroying the entire world if we let them continue for another day."
"The entire WORLD!?" I screech, surging forward to shake his shoulders, but I careen forward, falling to the floor. My balance was not on point, "But I live here! You have to stop them," I say from the floor.
"Pfft," Shanks snorts, "You look ridiculous."
"Why are you so calm!?" I plant my crutch, using it as a support as I try to pull myself up. Ultimately, though, I utterly fail, slumping to the ground.
"Because," the red-haired menace grabs my good shoulder, heaving me up, "I know that we are going as fast as possible. I don't need to stress if I'm doing all I can right now."
"..." I blink. I hadn't thought of it like that, "Wait, how are you doing everything you can?"
"Well, let me show you," Shanks turns, making his way to the stairs, and I slowly follow, hobbling down the wooden hall. We make it to the stairs, and the Yonko simply walks up, standing at the door up top. He turns to me, "You just going to stand there?"
"Um," I look at the stairs, then my crutch, "A little help?"
"You can get up on your own, Kelly," he raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah," I sigh, trying to think of how I'll get up, "Coming," I work my jaw, multiple ways of movement swimming around my head. With a tentative movement, I lift the crutch off the ground, balancing on my right leg, and place it of the first step. Then, with a surge, I hop, using what little leverage the crutch gave me to get onto the wooden plank. After a slight bit of swaying, I steady my self. Woo! I grin, then look up at the remaining steps. Nine to go. I start, moving slowly at first, then quickening the pace, hopping every couple seconds. Soon, I made it to the top, "Yes!" I try to pump my left arm, but my shoulder bursts into pain, and I slowly lower it, "Ow…"
"That was just getting up the stairs, kid," a raised eyebrow looks my way.
"Hey, in the last two days, I got pummeled, shot, stabbed, and dropped out of a tree! I could make a literal list out of everything that's happened to me!" I scoff, "I'll take what victories I can get."
"Dahaha! Whatever you say," Shanks grins, "So, do you want me to show you what's going on?"
"Yeah," I nod.
"Alright," He starts turning the doorknob, but stops, "Uh, you may want to brace yourself, kiddo."
"What?" I tilt my head in confusion, "Why- Haughblackerdab!" I exclaim as Shanks pushes open the door and air blasts in, pushing me back down the stairs, and I slam to a stop at the bottom, arching my back as it explodes in a quick burst of excrutiation, "Ooooow…" I squeak.
"You okay, kid?" the Yonko yells over the sound of rushing wind.
"Yeah…" I groan, relaxing a bit as the pain fades, "But I just got more to add to the list…"
"Daha," Shanks chuckles, disappearing and reappearing right next to me, "Should've followed my warning."
"Rrrgh," I grumble as he picks me up, tossing me over his shoulder, "All three seconds of it…"
"..." the Yonko grins, walking up the stairs and through the door, winds whipping at my face.
"Why is it so windy!?" I yell.
"We're travelling really, really fast!" Shanks replies, "Look!" he points, and I follow his finger to where a man enveloped in a billowing black coat and a black hat stood, a massive black blade in his hands. I watch as he rears back, a green energy slowly billowing from his blade, and he sweeps forward with the flat side, a titanic gust of wind blasting forth, and the ship lurches forward, moving even faster through the waves.
"Woah," I breathe, but I notice something else. The ship wasn't bobbing up and down. Was it just moving that fast?
Shanks stares at something in front of the bow. "Okay, I've gotta set you down here. Can you stand on your own?" I nod, and he does what he said, placing me upright on the deck, where I nearly immediately fall over due to the winds. Fortunately I'm able to stop myself before that happens, and I watch with bated breath as one of the strongest swordsmen in the world moves to the bow of the ship. I look past him to see a trough cut through the waves in front of the ship.
What is he doing? I wonder, and I look further as Shanks draws his saber, standing on the very front of the bow, and with one simple stroke, he casually cuts downward, a massive blade of crimson energy easily cutting through the waves ahead, creating a smooth path. "Hot damn…" I blink in awe.
"Red-Hair," Mihawk says from behind the main sail, still blowing wind into the propulsion, "Stop showing off."
"Hey, I wasn't showing off, Dracule!" Shanks grins, and the future Warlord scowls, "That was easy!"
"Please," Mihawk shakes his head, still just sweeping away with the flat side of his legendary weapon, "We both know that took more effort and concentration than what it looked like."
"Dahaha!" the Yonko laughs it off, "Well, I don't practice my flying slashes even half as often as you do, you trainaholic."
"And people on your crew wonder why I'm the better swordsman," the Strongest Swordsman raises an eyebrow, turning back to his work. Shanks just shuts up.
"Khahaha," I grin, "You just got burned."
"Yeah, well," the red menace shrugs, "He's not wro-"
CRACK!
A loud noise, like the breaking of glaciers, catches everyone's attention. Even Mihawk stops his movements, the ship beginning to slow. "What the hell was that!?" I hear Lucky Roo yell from somewhere on the deck. I look around, scanning the deck first, but the noise had come from in front of us. Peering at the hori- what was that?
I blink as my mind goes blank. What I saw on the horizon was a massive collection of huge, web-like somethings spreading forth from a single point on the bow of the ship. They extended for literal miles, taking up almost the entire sky. Then, as soon as they appeared, the slowly retracted, or dissolved, or whatever they did. In shock, I glance at Shanks. His jaw was clenched, an intense look of seriousness on his face. His brows furrowed, making those eyes of his looking like white-hot fury. "W… wha…" I can't bring myself to speak.
"Newgate…" he mutters, and I almost don't hear him over the sound of the waves, "What's your game…?"
That was Whitebeard? I feel a shiver go down my spine, and I shudder. "Uh, how far away are we from where that came from?" I ask.
"Almost three hundred kilometers," Shanks replies, and I nod.
"Okay then…" I gulp, "Mind telling me in Imperial?"
"About one hundred and eighty miles," the Yonko says, and I nod.
"Okay then," I gulp, utterly intimidated, "Remind me not to piss my Captain off."
There is silence for only a couple seconds, then Shanks leans in. "Hey, kid."
"What?" I glance over for a split second.
"Don't piss off your Captain," he grins.
"..." I deadpan, pursing my lips, "That was rhetorical."
"Yeah, I know," Shanks rubs his hands together, "Alright!" he yells, turning to the deck, "Let's get moving! We don't want to miss the party," a collection of nods is shared from the crew, and they all get back to work. Mihawk sends another blast into the sails, and the massive craft lurches forward. I nearly topple over, but Shanks catches my arm before I topple, steadying me. Once I am upright, he lets go and moves to the bow, holding his blade out in front of him. I quickly dig in as much as I can before the ship nearly blasts ahead once more.
THOOM!
Shanks cuts a trough, Mihawk blasts into the sails with the fury of a thousand storms, and I-
"Aughaplackasonofa-!"
-lose my footing and tumble to the back of the ship, where I crash into the Captain's Quarters.
"Ow…"
-(Thatch)-
"Ow!" I hear Maria yell behind me, and I instantly turn, catching the pirate who cut her arm with my free hand, slamming his head through the hallway wall while simultaneously placing myself in front of the doctor in one fast action.
"Raaagh!" I see a man rushing me from the front, and I bring up my saber, blocking two strikes from his club and slashing him across the chest, "Gack-!" the beast pirate tries to cry out for help, but chokes on his own blood. I grimace as some of the stuff spurts onto my white chef's suit.
It was either him or me, I tell myself. I turn to Maria after scanning for anyone else. The hallway was empty. "Are you okay?" I ask, and she rolls her eyes, already bandaging the wound with a roll of cloth from her medical bag.
"I'm fine, Thatch," she puts the roll away and pulls out an already bloody scalpel and a fistful of syringes, placing the syringes in her various cargo jacket and pants pockets, "You focus on getting the crew gathered."
"Yeah…" I mutter. We had been fighting like this for about ten minutes after those goons had blown a hole in the side of the ship. We'd cut those idiots down fairly quickly, but a few had managed to slip away, and another wave had flooded in before I could pursue. Now, we were moving through the innards of the ship, which was slowly filling with water from the bottom-up, taking out anyone who got in our way. But how did they manage to get close enough to board us? The only way they would be able to increase speed is to lose weight, and Jack wasn't dumb enough to throw away food or ammunition. I could feel his presence somewhere outside the ship, that presence nearly covering Kaido and Pops'. Damn it! I berate myself, This shouldn't have happened! I should have been paying more attention to my Haki! I was thinking so much about Haruta and Kelly… no, Thatch, you are not making an excuse for this, I order myself.
"Gyaaaah!" I hear a yell from down the hall, and I gesture to Maria.
"Let's go," we both jog to the end, taking a left.
"So, do we have a plan, Thatch?" the good doctor asks, and I feel ahead with my Haki.
"Haven't had much time to think," I respond, sensing two men with negative intent through the wall to my right, standing close to a scared presence, and I cut through the wood, two thumps hitting the floor moments later, accompanied by a shocked gasp. I wanted to help whoever that was, but I needed to find my Lieutenants, "Been busy fighting."
"Well," Maria sighs, "I suggest finding Haruta. He's probably already awake by-"
"HYAAAAAAGH!" a scream of rage bellows forth from somewhere, and I hear a loud crash, accompanied by cries of pain, "I'LL SHOVE THOSE HORNS GROWING OUT OF YOUR HEADS RIGHT UP YOUR ASSES YOU FUCKING RHINOCERESES!"
"Hehehe! Well, he's certainly lively this morning," I chuckle, "His insult game is on point."
"Unfortunately, it sounds like he's destroying the ship," Maria groans, "You need to teach him control."
"I don't think it's possible to control that," I grin mischievously, getting caught up in my apprentice's energy, "But we should probably find him before something bad happens.
"Hm," the doctor nods, and we set off at a faster pace, quickly making ourselves through the bowels of the ship and towards Haruta's Haki, which is reflecting his emotion of pure anger and hate. We close into the training room, and I hear the sound of breaking cartilage.
"Stupid! Fucking! Friend-hurting! Assholes!" with each word, I hear another crack, "I'll! Fucking! Destroy! Your god! Damn! Bloodline!" Maria and I enter the training room to a scene of Haruta bent over a full-grown man, holding him up by the shirt, and pummeling him with his free hand, turning his face into something like ground beef.
"Jeez," I raise an eyebrow at the kid, and he turns around, jumping in shock, and drops the man not a moment later.
"Thatch!" He hops off the guy, "Wh-what's going on?"
"Oh, not much," I muse, glancing around the room, "Just guys attacking the Humpback," the room was torn to shit. Hundreds of splinters were scattered around, the floor nearly cut in two, and dozens of slashes were splayed across the walls, "You do all this?"
"Y-yeah," he looks down, hiding his bloodied hand behind his back.
"You really did a number on him," Maria walks over to the man he had dropped, checking his pulse, "Well, he's alive. Not sure for how long, though."
"..." the young swordsman squirms under my fairly serious gaze, "Stop looking at me like that!" he finally snaps, "These guys attacked me in my sleep! Look!" he shows me his arm, which had a long cut along it, which was bleeding profusely, "One guy tried to stab me!"
"So you slashed and beat them all into bloody paste," I look around, dozens of Beasts Pirates sprawled out along the floor. Some unconscious, some not, "You lose your cool and go for the jugular too much."
"Hey, I woke up to a knife in my face," Haruta scowls, "I think it's justified."
"Mm," I nod sarcastically, then look at Maria, who was treating the man's wounds, "You stay here and treat who you can. Make sure to tie them up afterwards."
"Already my plan, Thatch," she says, not even looking my way.
"Right," I purse my lips. She doesn't need your advice, idiot, I berate myself, She's one of the smartest people in the Division. "Well, Haruta?" I turn to my student, "Let's get up-top and try to figure out the situation with Jack."
"Yeah, yeah," he sighs, drawing Ikari, and we begin to leave-
"Argh!" we stop as a man flies through the hall in front of us, multiple holes torn into his chest.
"Bahaha!" a black and yellow cat-man laughs maniacally, stopping for a moment to morph fully into a cheetah and get on all fours before disappearing from view as he pursues his prey. He didn't even notice us.
"See," I smile weakly, and I glance at Haruta, who was just confused, "That is why I don't want you to lose your cool. You may end up enjoying the feeling like him. And he's a literal animal."
"Yeah," he gulps, "Message received."
"So," I gesture to the door, "Shall we?"
He grins, gripping his weapon. "We shall," and with that, the two of us speed off towards the deck.
"Hyah!" a yell of fury causes us to stop as we are moving through the halls, and I look down a hallway to where Karen is taking on a group of larger grunts, all of the grunts' weapons on the ground. I could see a couple broken arms, and more than a few broken wrists already. Then I make a split-second decision to help everyone in what time we had.
"Haruta," I start, but my students turns to me.
"Oh, no," he shakes his head, "No, no, no. I am not working with her."
"Kiddo, this isn't the time for petty rivalry or whatever it is," I frown, "All I'm asking is that you move through the ship and get whoever you can find. Start with Karen, gather the civilians of Geas, the other Lieutenants and the Sergeants, and get them as high in the ship as you can, understand?"
"Rrrgh…" Haruta growls, "Fine. But you'd better introduce me to some new sword form for this…"
"No promises," I say, and zoom off before he can protest more. Now, where is the exit? I ask myself, and roam around, the clock ticking. Some hallways were already beginning to have water trickle in, and I could've sworn that the ship was starting to tilt to the side. I felt out with Haki, searching for those that couldn't help themselves, and left my path to help whoever was close enough. I could feel Jack's presence dominating a huge amount of the area, almost masking everything else, but I could feel a few smaller presences above me, which wouldn't be a problem. Soon, I found the stairs and burst through the door at the top, exploding onto the deck.
"Hm?"/"What's that?"/"Who's there?"
And coming face to face with an actual deck full of horn-headed idiots, at least eighty in total. "..." I blink, and the pirates stare right back.
…
"Get 'im!" one of them yells, and a tidal wave of bodies rushes towards me.
Goddamn it, I grit my teeth, and charge back, covering Toonkigō in Haki. "Piercing Decibel!" I yell, and stab my saber forward, much like Haruta's Gust, and a powerful blast of wind tears through the men in front of me, making a path through the crowd which I immediately exploit, rushing through to the center, "Psycho on the Dance Floor!" I yell, relaxing all my muscles and moving as fast as I could, rushing to every man in a ten meter radius and letting my arms and blade slash, thrash, and go wild. I didn't think, only acting on instincts alone. I got the idea from watching Raver fight a large crew that had managed to make it into the New World but attacked an Island we were stationed on. It was lethal.
"Gyagh!" the last man I pummel cries as I knock him overboard, and he splashes into the ocean below, the spray creating a miniature rainbow. Turning, I look at the carnage I caused. Bodies were strewn about, limbs dissected, amputated, and torn to shreds. Blood spattered the deck, soaking into the boards and slowly pooling into puddles of gore. I wince as I see a man squirm, clutching at his bleeding gut, and I grit my teeth.
I stand tall, looking at the seven men who remained. "Surrender or end up like them, I don't care which," five of the men slowly backed away, one slipping in blood and landing on the bodies of his comrades, but the other two grasped their weapons, one with a club, the other with a rifle.
"I'll charge him if you shoot him," the one with the club says to his friend, who was shaking where he stood.
"Y-yeah," the shaking one stammers, lowering the barrel of his weapon.
"Surrender now and I'll spare you," I tell the rifleman, but the clubber stands in front of him.
"Shut up, Whitebeard," he scowls, "I'll kill you and get promoted to All-Star!"
"Of course you will," I mutter, and the man charges. Goddamn it, I sigh, and I casually slice through the wooden weapon, watching as the man's confidence becomes pants-shitting fear.
"Wha-?" he blinks, but I surge forward, jabbing his chest wit6h my fist and sending him flying fifteen meters over the sea.
"I warned you," I click my tongue as I hear the splash, but move my head to the side as a crack from the rifle sends a shot flying past my ear, "Dude, come on."
"Eep!" the man who shot stumbles back, dropping the rifle. He was clearly terrified, and I take into note that the other man had coerced him into doing it.
Hrm, I think to myself as I walk up to him, I should cut this guy some slack.
"P-please, no!" the gunman scrambles back, pressing up against the railing, "I-I don't want to die!" the other five men looked on with grim fear as I walk up to him.
"Relax," I say, holding out a hand, "You were pulled into that. Even a dead pig could tell that much."
"B-b-b-" the man stutters, unable to spit out the words, "But you said you'd kill us if we attacked!"
"No," I shake my head, "I said I'd spare you if you surrendered. And you're clearly surrendering."
"..." the man stares at me in shock, mouth agape.
"I'll still have to tie you up, though," I shrug, and I gesture to the bottom of the mast, "Mind making it easy for me?"
"Um…" the beast pirate gulps, "Whatever you say…"
"Great!" I grin, "I'll get the rope," I turn, and grab one pooled a couple feet away, turning back to the group of men, who were already lined up, backs against the mast, "Thanks," I nod, quickly zipping around them all, encircling them multiple times, then pulling it tight enough to hold them all.
"Yeah…" one of the other men chuckles nervously, "No problem…"
"Rrrrgh!" a voice growls from a ways away, that overwhelming presence spiking in intensity, and I turn around to see the towering form of Jack, standing on the deck of his massive mammoth-themed ship, "Cowards!"
"..." I clench my jaw, glaring at my enemy, "How did you catch up to us?"
"We were a little heavy," Jack grins maniacally, "So we had to lose some weight," he jerks his head to the side, and I look to the sea.
Uh-! My eyes widen as I see men thrashing in the sea, being tossed from each ship, He's throwing his own men overboard!? I stand there in shock.
"Fire!" I hear Jack yell, and cannons boom. I look up to see grape shot soaring towards the sails of the Humpback.
He's trying to slow us down! I grit my teeth, rearing back with Toonkigō's flat side and sending a blast of air at the hundreds of tiny pellets soaring at my ship. The typhoon makes contact, sending the balls of steel flying in every direction, peppering the ocean and Jack's fleet. Some even went back at Jack himself, bouncing off his hardened hide.
"Rrgh," I hear the titan growl, and he turns to his men, "Load all cannons! Blow that ship out of the water!" moments later, I get a creeping feeling up my back as a fleet's worth of cannons slowly turn to target my ship.
I knew that my ship couldn't take any more damage. We were already slowly sinking into the sea, if we took hits from those cannons, dozens of people would drown in the ocean, and I couldn't let that happen. "Jack," I say, "You-"
Crack.
I'm cut off as an unholy sound tears through the air, and I look in the direction it came from, right off the port side of the bow. A massive spiderweb of rends in reality spread out for kilometers, the epicenter of it being where I assume the Island is. I know that move, I think, and a grin slowly spreads across my face. "Hehe…" I chuckle, and I glance over to see Jack staring at the same place, a look of terror slowly spreading across his features, "Hehe… Hehehe… Hehehehe! Hehehehe!"
Jack snaps his attention back to me. "What's so funny!?"
"Hehehe!" I bust a gut, combing my pompadour with my hand, "Hehehe!"
"Rrrrgh…" Jack slams his fist down, "ANSWER ME!"
"..." I immediately go silent, putting on a serious face, staring into Jack's eyes, "Do you want to know something, Jack?" I ask, and he twitches, seemingly angry with my sudden change, "Even if you kill me here, even if you slaughter EVERYONE in this ship…" I stab my saber into the deck, "You will never win."
"How do you know that?" the titan growls, and I walk up to the railing of the Humpback, jumping onto it and squatting.
"Because," I stand, "Right now, my Captain is probably beating yours to a bloody pulp."
"Even so, Captain Kaido can't die," Jack scoffs, "And once he kills your precious Captain he'll hunt the rest of you down personally."
"Yeah…" I glance back at the cracks, which were slowly fading, and place my hands in my pockets, "Sure he will."
"Don't you mock my Captain!" Jack roars, and I move, disappearing from my railing and reappearing on his, right in front of him.
"Or what?" I say, raising an eyebrow, "You'll kill me?"
"Rrrgh!" the All-Star tries to slash at me with one of his curved blades - he must've gotten new ones - but I imbue my right hand with as much armament as I can and bring it up, stopping the attack in its tracks.
Ow… I grit my teeth as my body strains, just barely holding back Jack's immense strength. Somehow, I hold, and stare my foe in the eyes. "Leave," I hiss through grit teeth, "And I won't tell Pops about this."
"..." anyone at this point could tell that Jack was furious, likely past any kind of negotiation, "FIRE!" he bellows, and I immediately shave back to my ship, yanking my blade from the deck. I grip the hilt as dozens of cannonballs soar towards me, and I leap into the air, bouncing off of it left and right with Moonwalk.
"Hya!" I yell, and slice at every cannonball that I could see, moving faster than any Paradise Pirate eye could see. Any cannonballs that I thought wouldn't hit the ship I let go, but any others were turned to dust and shrapnel as I move through them all, cutting a swath of destruction. The moment I landed back on the ship, there weren't even any scratches on the wooden finish of the deck, "Try harder!" I call over to my enemy, and Jack is clearly angry.
"GYAAAAH!" the mammoth-man bellows, "YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!?" he turns to his helmsman, "RAM HIM!"
That ain't good, I blink, and frantically search around the deck for a solution. There! There were a couple stacks of cannonballs of the deck, near my cabin door, and I rush over, grabbing the top one. "This will do nicely…" I grin, and move back to the railing, rearing back with my arm, "Yo! Here comes the pitch!" I yell, and fling the iron ball at the Mammoth's side, punching a hole where the hull met the water, and grin with satisfaction as water slowly begins to flow into the lower decks.
"You damn-!" Jack growls as he looks over the side of his vessel, "BLOW HIM OUT OF THE WATER! EXPLOSIVE SHELLS!" he orders his fleet, and I gulp as I feel the intent of dozens of gunners aiming for the Humpback.
"... Oh, shit," I squeak as the guns blast, sending orbs of black iron and gunpowder flying at me. I couldn't slice these, they would explode and I may not be able to guard myself properly, especially given how much my Haki seemed to have flagged, but then I remember the cannonballs. Rushing to the piles, I grab multiple black iron orbs and start tossing them at each enemy shot.
Boom!
A series of explosions rock the air as orange flames lick at the sky, billowing black smoke and shrapnel bursting outward as my hits plow through, keeping enough momentum to soar out, whistling through the air before crashing into the ocean, some even hitting enemy ships. I rapidly move, picking up and throwing as many cannonballs as possible, dozens being thrown in half a second. My arms begin to ache at the pace, but I grit my teeth and power through - my crew needed me to do this. Seconds ticked by, each one feeling like an eternity, but after only five, the volley ends, the last shot soaring towards me. Confident, I look down, reaching for a- where was it? There was supposed to be a cannonball right here! Did I already throw it? I look around in a panic, searching for another shot, but none were to be found. I'd already burned through my ammunition! I could see the Mammoth had already begun turning, moving to crash into the Humpback, and that last shot was closing in. In a split-second, I make my choice. Leaping up, I jump off the air, stopping where I saw that shot was going to hit. Encasing myself in Haki, I bring up my hands, and the moment it is about to hit, I shift to the right, turning left. Quickly wrapping my hands around the volatile object, I pull through, redirecting its course, and I spin until I am facing the Mammoth. "Catch!" I yell, and I cup my hands behind the cannonball, giving it extra force and sending it flying at the Mammoth's rudder.
Boom!
The shell explodes, tearing the wooden construct to driftwood, leaving Jack unable to steer. I look up, seeing the shock on the Disaster's face. "Ha!" I smirk, "Suck it Garp! Who's got the best arm in all the line? This guy!"
-(Marineford)-
"HAPTHOOIE!" a massive sneeze blasts forth from Monkey D. Garp's nose, shakes the massive tower fortress, causing a piece of the roof over the Vice-Admiral's head to fall, cracking on his skull, "Huh," the old man sniffs, rubbing his nose, "That came outta nowhere," he shrugs it off like every other instance and puts his attention back to the rice cracker in his fingers, "Mmmm," he opens wide, about to bite down, savoring the salt-
"GAAAAAAARP!"
"Ah, damn," the veteran slumps in his chair, still munching on his favorite snack despite the obvious danger as he glances toward a picture sitting on his desk of him and two young boys. On the right was one boy, wearing a blue shirt with the number fifty-six, smiling incessantly as he pulls at his Grandpa's beard. The other one was turned away, arms crossed, that wavy black hair taking the Vice-Admiral back to the good ol' days, when it was less about signatures and more about hard work and grit. He missed those days. The old man smiles, imagining the day when those two boys would set out to sea, wearing that same white and blue he did. Opening his mouth, he reaches back into the rice cracker bag-
CRASH!
"GARP!" A massive, golden hand bursts through the roof, grabbing the Vice-Admiral's head before he has a chance to take a bite, "Mind explaining why ALL OF THESE ARE COVERED IN DRAWINGS!?"
"BWAHAHAHA- Grk!" his laugh is cut off as he is lifted up through the ceiling, brought face to face with a glowing, furious, blood-vessel popping giant, who was holding a file in his hand, dozens of swirls that Garp barely remembered scribbling out of boredom.
And he had been incident-free for almost a day, too…
-(Thatch)-
"Damn you Whitebeards!" Jack steams, wanting to kill me but knowing that he couldn't from where he stood, "Once I kill you-"
"Oh, shut up!" I raise an eyebrow, "You and I both know you won't be able to do that anytime soon, so give it a rest!" He knew that I wouldn't let any shells reach the ship, so I was clear for now. I turn away from him, moving to the poop deck. Remembering that the Mammoth had already begun to turn, I glance at it and see that it was on a course toward us, we would crash together either way. But, if I could just get us going faster… I grip my blade, drawing it and turning it so the flat side is facing me, and I look at the sail that was flared up. Hold, please, I pray, focusing, then swing my sword to the side and sweep, sending a gust of wind into the billowing white sheet.
Fwoom!
The sail snaps taught, catching everything I sent at it, and I feel the ship lurch forward. Hehe! Now we're cooking with gas, I grin, and repeat my action, quickly making distance between us and Jack's fleet.
"What!?" I could hear Jack's veins popping from all the way over here, "NO!"
"HEHEHE!" I turn, sticking out my tongue and flipping the mother off, just so he would get mad. It may not have been a good idea, but I needed something today.
I could see the pure and utter rage embedded in Jack's face, and the titan bellows. "RRRAGH! I'LL MURDER YOU!"
"Sure you will!" I grin, then turn back to the sail, readying my blade. He couldn't turn to chase us with that busted rudder.
CRACK!
Oh, fuck my hubris, I gulp as I look behind me. I saw Jack, squatted at the base of his foremast, arms wrapped all the way around it. I watched with slowly increasing horror as he pulls and wrenches, the bolts holding the massive log to the deck popping, and I hear a massive snapping noise somewhere from the innards of the Mammoth. It was like the ship itself was screaming as the entire log was torn from its body. "What the hell!?" I run to the railing, "What are you doing!?" I didn't understand. He was mutilating his own ship, but why!?
"You won't escape from me, Thatch!" the giant fishman lifts the shattered mast over his head, marching to the front of the Mammoth and spinning it, shoving the sail into the water.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding," my jaw almost hits the floor as I watch Jack pull the makeshift paddle back towards himself, pulling the massive ship to the correct course, "Screw that!" I rear back with Toonkigō and send a simple flying cut at the mast, but it is quickly covered in a black shell, and the attack doesn't deal any significant damage. Goddamn it, I grit my teeth, turning around and sending a quick blast of air at the sail, lurching us forward. I could hear the sounds of water sloshing behind me, gradually closing, and as I look back I notice Jack moving like a demon, a crazed look in his eye, closing faster than expected, "Oh, hell no!" I send three blasts in quick succession, putting us at the fastest speed I could take it.
"Don't you run from me!" a bellow sounds, and I glance back again. We were slowly starting to gain distance, but I wasn't confident I could keep it up for long. Flying slashes took so much focus, and there was a buzz in the back of my head that I couldn't place. But, as of right now, I was slowly losing him.
If I can keep this up… I grit my teeth, my muscles beginning to ache as I sweep back and forth.
"Rrrrgh!" Jack growls, "Lose more weight!"
"Aaaah!"/"Argh!"/"Nonono-!"
I hear panicked voices and screams of fear as more men splash into the sea. Bastard… I glance back and see Jack slowly picking up speed, men falling from the sides of the ship live wood shavings at a carving shop. I could feel the buzzing in my head slowly getting louder, weakly vibrating my skull. Even more men were thrown from Jack's ship, the Mammoth beginning to gain faster than before, Shit, shit, shit! I try to pick up the pace, but I could feel the Humpback dragging, and I could hear water sloshing a few decks down. I stop, focusing with my Haki, and sense a cluster of people near the bow, the farthest point from Jack. But, wait, I sensed some more, a few floors down. There was a group of four across from a single one with negative intent. But, I couldn't worry about them right now- what was that?
"I'm coming for you, Thatch!" I hear Jack bellow, but I'm not paying attention. My Haki is blaring at me to move, and I could feel something coming toward us. Jack's presence was clouding it, dominating my sense, but the sensation was slowly coming through, like Pops and Kaido's. But, if it was strong enough to overwhelm Jack when I couldn't even see the thing, it had to be-
Swoosh.
I see a crimson flash on the horizon, a gust of wind slowly blowing through my pompadour. The clouds above me, directly above Jack and I, were splitting from Geas towards us. That- OH, SHIT! I realize what was going on, and quickly grab the Humpback's ship wheel, quickly spinning it as fast as I can to the right, and I feel the ship lurch sideways. Keeping my speed, I rear back, sending a rapid blast of air at the sail, lurching us out from under the path of the splitting clouds. I look to the starboard side, and catch sight of a massive red spike cutting through the ocean, moving towards the fleet, and I see Jack out of the corner of my eye, desperately trying to turn his unwieldy ship out of it's inertia.
"Turn, you damn-!" I hear him yell.
FWOOM
I am forced back into the wheel by a huge blast of wind as the crimson blade passes, bisecting the Mammoth. Splinters flew, wood cracked, and large waves flow, creating a split path in the middle, and the water sloshes against my ship. I catch sight of a single ship, plowing through the path that crimson energy made, and it quickly moves past, and I catch sight of a single man standing on the bow of that ship, the image of a skull with a red scar painted on a black sail, two sabers crossed behind it. As the ship passes me, I see the man standing on the bow, red hair flowing in the wind, saber in hand, and he glances at me, waving his saber up in a salute. I hesitantly bring up my hand, ass flat on the deck, and a bead of sweat makes a trail down my forehead. As the ship moves, I look at all the people on the deck - a fat man with goggles, and skinny blonde with a rifle, a grey-haired smoker in a cape, a tall man with a monkey on his shoulder, another blonde with a cape, a tall man in sunglasses, a mustachioed man with what looked like a wooden training sword, a man clad in a billowing black cape and hat, sending blasts of green winds at the black sails, and a younger man with honey-blonde hair, wrapped in bandages and supporting himself on crutches. However, as the red-haired man passes me, he grits his teeth, and a massive pressure tries to crush my head. I grit my own teeth, focusing and resisting the Conqueror's Haki with my own willpower, but have to clutch my head as it begins ringing. Then, as quickly as they had come at us, they were gone, blasting towards the horizon. "Ha… ha… ha…" I pant, slumping into the wheel. I look to the Mammoth, now two halves of a ship, and I can see Jack desperately paddling at the water, trying to keep himself afloat.
"...!" I see his lips move, screaming something at his crew, but I couldn't hear it through the ringing in my ears. I watch as the bow Jack stood on slowly sunk into the sea, and buoyancy lost with the other half of the ship, and I see the wooden beast crack, splitting further. Then, Jack is enveloped by the ocean, sinking into the depths.
"Ha… ha…" I struggle up, the ringing slowly fading from my ears, and my Haki was no longer ringing. I reached out, searching for Jack, and I sense him sinking further down, likely going to the depths. He was a Fishman, but unless he was found, he would die down there. Thank god… I think, and I'm finally able to focus, able to think, That was Shanks… I realize, the shock of it fully hitting me, and I fall to my knees, spit and bile bursting from my mouth. "Hrgh!" I stand, wiping off my mouth, and look around. It didn't seem like any of Jack's fleet was conscious - I had to thank Shanks for that if I saw him - and what was left of the Mammoth was driftwood, "Alright…" I muse. The Humpback was going to sink, anyone could tell that much, so I needed to get one of Jack's fleet to accommodate. I feel around my ship, feeling no active people. I would have to help them all get to the new ship. I wasn't sure how long I had, but I needed to-
Wait.
Was that Kelly on that ship?
AN: Well, hope you enjoyed! See you next time!