Chapter 24- A Dangerous Game
One Piece © Eiichiro Oda
Beau-Père, Scorcher, Seventy, Fixit, and G-13 Base © HatOnFire/Me
Things began to look dire in the base for the Straw Hat Pirates. On one hand, Luffy was willing to return, provided Nami could help him. But even so, the drawbridge they used to enter was burned to smithereens by Scorcher, one of Beau-Père's men. With the pirates stuck, possibly with no way out, they still stand against the marines and the best they have to offer.
"Gustaf Shot: Cannonball!"
Sanji and Usopp, mostly Sanji, are taking on the muscular sniper of the base, Seventy. He fired a cannonball from his bazooka, and sidestepped when the cook kicked the ball back to him.
"Épaule Shoot!" Sanji ran up to his foe, leaped upward when the guy tried to swat him with his weapon, then delivered a downward kick to the guy's shoulder.
"GRR!" Seventy growled but didn't flinch from the strike.
"Mountain Kick!" He sent a kick of his own, which sent the cook flying, spitting blood in the process.
"SANJI!" Usopp cried, seeing his friend skid along the stone floor. He raised the Kabuto and reeled back the sling with his free hand, ready to shoot.
"Lead Star!" He released a small ball that hit the big man's head, but the impact didn't even bruise him. When the star fell into his hands, he held it out in between his thumb and index finger and crushed it.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!" Usopp screeched with his mouth closed, fake smiling and sweating.
"If you got anything better than that," Seventy suggested in his low, slightly mechanical voice, "Now's the time to do so."
"O-O-Oh, Y-Y-Yessir!" The liar stuttered, running and getting a few yards of distance between him. "Now you have to face the power of the 'Great Captain' Usopp! Take this!"
"Certain Death: Fresh Egg Star!" As the name suggested, an egg was fired from the dial slingshot, except Seventy caught it in his hand. The egg splattered in his palm and he looked at his hand while shaking the yolk off.
"Didn't I tell you to take this seriously?!" He yelled, looking back, only to feel a pellet of gunpowder hit his chest. In fact, three of them had just hit him.
"Triple Exploding Star!"
When the smoke cleared, Seventy fired his bazooka, shooting out a net. Usopp leaped out of the way, dodging it.
"This son of a..." Sanji murmured, picking himself up. "His skin is so tough. It's like trying to fight those CP9 guys who can make their bodies as hard as iron, only now it feels like I'm taking on somebody literally made of that shit!"
"Hey, Sanji!" Usopp called out, ducking from a cannonball. "Not to be rude, but can you hurry up and help?!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" The cook ran back into the fray, moving past Usopp and attempting to fight Seventy.
"Gustaf Shot!" Seventy fired a ball at Sanji, and he went to kick it, but when his feet touched the ball...
"AAAGGHHHHH!" The cook collapsed to the ground, raising his right foot up, showing the ball had spikes on it, impaling the top of his shoe when he tried to kick it upward.
"Spiked Ball!"
"Oh god!" Usopp exclaimed, turning his back to the stocky sniper. "Hang on, man, I'll get it off of you!"
Careful not to get his hands punctured in the process, the liar pulled as best he could, barely managing to pull, much less lift the spiked ball before dropping it to the ground.
"Just so you know," Seventy pointed out, "That ball weighs around twenty pounds and no one dies from it, usually. You small fries don't appear to be that special, let alone worthy."
"We'll see about that!" Sanji hissed, standing up. "I'll show you how capable I am!"
'That weapon's gonna be trouble if I can't break it now!' He thought, 'One kick, that's all it takes!'
"I should hide now," Usopp proceeded to jump behind a box as Sanji dashed forward.
"Gustaf Shot: Spiked Ball!" Seventy sent more shots out to the blonde man, who leaped left and right, almost like he was zigzagging.
"Table Manner Kick Course!" When he got close enough, Sanji kicked vertically upward, which was strong enough to break the whole bazooka in two. Seventy saw the weapon fall apart in his hands and backed away.
"Oh, you broke my bazooka," The stocky sniper deadpanned, grabbing the rifle strapped around his back. "Fine, I won't hold back. But you small fries have another thing coming if you believe I'll be easy."
"Trust me," Sanji said, "I won't take you so lightly."
"N-N-N-Neither will I!" Usopp yelled, bravely reaching to open the trap door in the stone floor of the barrier.
'Godammit, Usopp!' The cook sweatdropped, almost embarrassed.
"The first rule," Seventy murmured, training his gun and moving backward. "In a straight fight, you don't turn away for a minute."
"Alright," Sanji nodded, playing along in his own way. "Rule two, you gotta think fast!"
He moved forward, instinctively twirling to the left to avoid a tranquilizer fired from Seventy. He dodged a couple more shots, jumping to the right and up in the air.
Soon enough, Sanji got up to Seventy and tried to kick him, but he made his rifle block the kick, even smacked him across the face with the butt of his weapon.
"Small Game Throw!" The big man lifted up Sanji by his collared shirt and threw him to Usopp, colliding with him. They both became a mess when they both crashed into a crate.
"Come on," Seventy sighed, shaking his head. "You can do better than that! If you got your bounties from the Enies Lobby incident, I expect you to show me how you earned them! That toss was nothing!"
He opened up a trap door behind him, walking down.
"Ugh..." Usopp groaned, getting up and dusting himself. "He's literally toying with us."
"Us?" Sanji questioned, shaking his shirt and removing some pieces of wood on him. "I don't remember you doing much to hurt this guy."
"Alright, fine," The liar threw his arms up, "I'm not doing a good job. But I'm sure we still have a chance against him. Let me see..."
He looked through his bag, opening up a compartment to show some Dials.
"There's the Flash Dial, Breath Dial, Impact Dial..."
"Wait, Usopp?" Sanji grabbed the bag and looked, seeing that almost all of the dials were there, along with Usopp's ammunition. He then grabbed the collar of his shirt with a darkened expression.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Sanji!" Usopp panicked, afraid of what the cook was going to say.
"Usopp, why the hell didn't you give Nami some of your Dials?"
"I-I don't know!" Usopp yelled defensively, "I was still pissed off at her! It didn't occur to me to give it to her!"
"And while we have to fight this asshole," The cook dropped the liar to the ground angrily, "Nami might get killed without having anything to help her save Luffy! The guy in charge of this place could find her and easily kill her! This is all your fault!"
"MY FAULT?!" Usopp got up, feeling irate.
"Yes, YOUR FAULT! If you and Moss-head didn't treat Nami like crap, then she wouldn't be forced to save Luffy by herself!"
"Oh, please! Don't lump me in the same category with that guy! I told you I didn't think she deserved to be treated like that! I just said she didn't deserve to be forgiven! If you're not as stupid as you look, then you'd realize that!"
"You think Nami shouldn't be forgiven..." Sanji then kicked Usopp in his stomach with no warning, "YET YOU DO?!"
"HACK!" Usopp coughed, "I... HACK! I never said that! I just said she shouldn't be forgiven for her actions! Manipulating everything and everyone as she likes, acting so cold like nothing's wrong, being a violent bitch, I don't think I can stand to look at her anymore!"
What happened next, Sanji did what he never thought he'd do in a million years. He went and backhanded Usopp, making him land on the floor. Then, he kicked a trap door open and dragged the sniper by his long nose.
"OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW!" Usopp cried, trying to get the cook to let go, but his grip was like iron.
"We're both going to beat this bastard..." Sanji explained coldly, "And you will fight with me, side by side. If you run, I'll beat you so bad no one will recognize you. Got it?"
"Y-Yeah...!" Usopp squeaked, frightened. He had never seen that look on Sanji's face before. That look was on people such as Crocodile, Kuro, Lucci, Gecko Moria, even Luffy, and Zoro, but this felt different. He knew Sanji would act callous to some of their enemies, but being on the receiving end made him slightly glad the cook was on his side, sort of.
The two of them went down the trap door, following Seventy to inside the barrier.
"Oh, you showed up," Seventy stated, "Here I was, thinking you small fries were having second thoughts."
"If we let you do as you please," Sanji surmised, letting go of Usopp's nose. "You'd only cause trouble for the others."
"Cause trouble, huh?" Seventy began to make an offhand comment, "I wonder about that."
"H-Hey!" Usopp shouted out, "Why are you looking at us like you're judging us?!"
"I'm trying to figure something out," The stalwart shooter murmured, "Long-nosed small fry, lemme ask you a question."
"A-A question?" Usopp raised an eyebrow, almost curious. "O-Okay."
"Do you respect your captain?"
The liar broke into a little bit of a sweat, taken aback.
"W-W-Well, no," He answered honestly, which was a surprise, even for him. "I did like the guy, don't get me wrong, but he's practically an idiot with a simple way of thinking. When he said he was a pirate, I didn't believe him or take him seriously. I lied to him on a lot of occasions."
"Usopp...!" The cook pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. He then spoke directly to the burly marine. "Look, it's none of your business! We don't tell you how to treat your leader, so don't try and tell us what to do!"
Seventy sighed, taking aim once more.
"Why do I have to fight you guys instead of that 'Cyborg' Franky?" He muttered, "Or that Roronoa Zoro? Both of them look more like men than you small fries ever will be."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Usopp exclaimed.
"It means I understand a few things now. With punks like you, it's no wonder your captain doesn't want to even see you again."
(BGM: Boss Battle 2, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure)
The sniper's rage broke out somewhere, and he put a pellet in the sling of Kabuto, firing it.
"FIRE BIRD STAR!" Out came a blazing shot in the form of the phoenix, which could've scorched Seventy had he not jumped over it.
"Reticle Shot: Bolt Action!" He proceeded to pull down on the trigger and fire multiple shots at the pair.
They evaded the bullets, though Usopp wasn't exactly done just yet.
"Sunflower Star!" He fired five Exploding Stars at once, managing to hand a hit on the marine's chest.
"UGH!" Seventy grunted, stumbling back and getting pelted with more Exploding Stars.
"Sanji!" Usopp yelled, glaring fiercely as he kept pouring on his assault. "Get in there and kick his ass!"
"R-Right!" The cook proceeded to do that, having never seen Usopp look this aggressive.
"Just try it, punk!" Seventy sidestepped another pellet and blocked a kick with his rifle, "This gun's even more durable than the bazooka! Hell, I don't even need it to give you the pain you deserve!"
"You don't know a damn thing about what happened between us!" Sanji snarled, leaping above the stocky sniper. "You have no right to talk like you know what's best for Luffy!"
"Collier Shoot!" He sent his foot into Seventy's neck brace, making a small dent in it, but not enough to do some real damage.
"Leg Lockdown!" The marine grabbed Sanji's leg and made the cook plummet to the ground. He held his grip around the cook's knee, refusing to let go.
"Hey, big guy! Flash Dial!" Usopp held out a Dial and pressed it, letting out a blinding flash of light.
"AGH! My eyes!" Seventy was forced to let go of Sanji, covering his own eyes on impulse. This was the cook's moment to get some free hits in.
"Troisième Hachis!" Sanji ran away for a moment to get some distance. Then, he performed a series of backflips while on his way to Seventy, then using his hands to push his feet up and kick them into Seventy's face.
"Bouquetière Shot!" Finally, the cook finished his attack, springing himself up with his hands, utilizing both feet to strike the marine's chin, pushing him back.
When his eyesight returned, Seventy was beginning to get livid.
"Bear Hug!" He wrapped his arms around Sanji's body and lifted him up with a bear hug, squeezing him.
"AGH!" Sanji felt his bones were close to breaking, only relieved when the large man let go of him. Except he had something else planned.
"Wrist Lockdown!" Seventy went behind Sanji and grabbed his wrists, planting a foot on his back, and started pulling.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Sanji screamed, actually hearing his back slightly break.
"Exploding Star!" Usopp shot a pellet at Seventy's back, but the impact wasn't enough to force him to let go. "Dammit, where's the effective stars?! Where's Zoro when you need him?!"
"That 'Pirate Hunter' guy would've put up more of a fight if he were here," Seventy thought, taking his foot off Sanji's back, yanking him up to his level and grabbing the back of his head.
"BIG GAME TAKEDOWN!" He then slammed the cook into the floor, almost breaking the stone under his body.
"Super Smoke Star!" The liar shot another pellet, this one creating a huge smokescreen. He ran up to the stocky shooter and disoriented him with a foul-smelling egg.
"Egg Star!"
"Gah!" Seventy actually sniffed it, and he tried scraping it off his face. "How old is this thing?!"
"Breath Dial!" Usopp released gas from a Dial as he picked up Sanji, fleeing out of the smoke.
"Now let's see if you can tough out the heat!" He yelled, firing another star, except this one ignited the smoke, creating a huge explosion. "Flame Star!"
"AAARRRGGGGHHHH!" Seventy roared in the blaze, parts of his open shirt turning to ash. He jumped out and rolled on the ground, dousing the flames clinging to him.
"What's that?!" Usopp began to fire again, "You want another?! Here you go! Fire Bird Star!"
Another burning phoenix was unleashed and coming toward Seventy. Only this time, it worked and the fire collided with him.
"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!"
"U-Usopp..." Sanji looked at his ally, seeing his anger cool off. "Y-You..."
"Helped you?" Usopp replied, finishing the cook's statement. "Yeah, I did. This guy is trying to take out the only one who can actually beat him in this fight: You."
"I haven't even gotten started with taking him on," Sanji thought, "But I'm failing already. I can't even hurt him as well as you're able to."
"...I'm just using ammunition to hurt him," Usopp pointed out, "The only reason you can't seem to hurt him is 'cause he's taken physical hits before. But he's not used to taking fire or strong explosives."
"Then if I hope to stand a chance at all, I'll have to use Diable Jambe."
"But can you beat him before you exhaust yourself?"
"I don't know," Sanji admitted, "But if I do die, it'll serve me right for being such an asshole to Luffy and some of you guys."
"S-Sanji?" Usopp got worried, "Look, just because you suggested we lie to Luffy, that doesn't mean-!"
"You know he has every right to be!" The cook shouted, preparing for Seventy to attack when he got back up. "We shouldn't be forgiven for disrespecting him like that!"
"I know, but getting yourself killed over it won't make that up! Be reasonable, Sanji!"
"So, you admit it?" Seventy questioned, tossing away his marine cap, showing his bald head. "You admit he shouldn't forgive you?"
"This has nothing to do with you...!" Sanji seethed, glaring at his burly adversary.
"Well, it sort of does. He told me he didn't want to come back with you, but that was all I got from him. After that, I admit I got curious, even though I didn't want to hear more."
"Well, to answer your question," Usopp chimed in, "Yes, we both shouldn't be forgiven."
"Big Game Slam!" Seventy suddenly charged at Usopp at an astonishing rate of speed, at least faster than Sanji himself. He got Usopp hanging onto his arm and they both crashed into the wall.
The impact of Seventy's right forearm hitting his stomach, combined with his back hitting and breaking part of the wall made Usopp cough up blood.
"You feel that?" The big man asked, grabbing him by the neck. "That's what honesty is. It wouldn't be so painful if you were always honest."
"Let go of him, you bastard!" Sanji tried to intervene, but he got kicked away by Seventy's foot.
"Mountain Kick! The cook flew and hit his back against the wall. With his back already bruised up, this made the pain worse.
"P-Perfect...!" Usopp spit some blood at his cap and pulled out his small hammer, swiping it at Seventy's right elbow.
"Usopp Hammer!" The hammer made the blow, but it only caused a little bit of swelling.
"You can't expect to beat me like that!" Seventy began turning Usopp around with his back turned to him, and he wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him up to his chest.
"Torso Lockdown!" Usopp's arms were free, but even if they weren't, he couldn't stop what came next.
"Big Game Suplex!" Seventy bent backward, taking the liar with him. Then, Usopp's back met the floor.
"EYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He screeched as even the floor cracked from the blow.
"USOPP!" Sanji shouted, trying to kick Seventy along every part of his lower body, but to no avail, as he dodged left and right.
"Those moves of mine aren't your typical marine combat skills," The marine said as he punted the cook like a football back to Usopp.
"Aw, my back...!" Usopp groaned, managing to get up from that. "You still alive, Sanji?"
"Yeah," The cook replied, wincing from something in his cheek. "I bit the inside of my cheek, though."
"Ugh, that's not fun."
"And this guy is no average marine, either," Sanji looked at him, "He has a different style of fighting compared to anybody else I faced. He restrains his foes and either breaks them himself or uses the environment around him to do so..."
"I call this fighting style the Hunt Grappling Arts," Seventy stated, "I used to tame wild animals to bolster my strength, back in the day. And since then, I used my talents to capture pirates as a bounty hunter. It put my marksman skills to good use, too. In the West Blue, I was called the 'Deadeye Bonebreaker.' Fitting name."
"Well, if you were living the life of danger and instant money," Usopp wondered, "Then what made you change career paths?"
"Vice Admiral Garp came to my home one day. I challenged him to a duel and I lost outright. Then, when I was beaten, he said..."
"You're pretty good," Garp said to a beaten, twenty-year-old Seventy, seething from his bruises. Part of his face was obscured by an oversized neck brace and had a large guard that concealed his mouth and nose. "But if you became a marine, you could do more than just twist arms for a quick berry."
Seventy's mind flooded with days of sparing with a man in a trenchcoat, running into a firefight with other marines aboard a ship ablaze, and standing with Beau-Père, Scorcher, and Fixit in a small group.
"He was right," Seventy chuckled, "I could do more good for people by being a marine instead of living off of being a bounty hunter. Plus, I've got a secret weapon for when I really need to beat somebody."
"Let me guess," The cook speculated, "It has to do with your neck brace, doesn't it?"
Seventy chuckled, pressing a button on the back of the brace, deactivating the locking mechanism, allowing him to take it all of it. His neck revealed to have a metal plate embedded in it, encasing the front of the neck up to the lower part of his chin.
There looked to be a speaker in the center of that plate, echoing the sounds of breathing. His mouth looked relatively normal.
"I don't use this thing on people," Seventy's voice spoke from the speaker in his neck, instead of his mouth. "Only on Sea Kings or battleships to disable the sails and rudder. I'd call you lucky, but you really aren't."
"H-He's talking from his neck?!" Usopp stared in shock, looking closely at the metal that connected with his flesh.
"He's using his vocal cords to speak in a different way," Sanji concluded, "But what happens if he talks with his mouth?"
"Let me show you," The stocky marine slowly opened his mouth, his breathing alone shaking the ground.
"Wild Call!" Seventy proceeded to roar, guiding his voice to Sanji and Usopp with a concentrated sonic vibration. The ground, the walls, even the ceiling trembled all around, and the blast knocked the two away. The sound collided along the walls, breaking it and creating a large hole on impact.
XXX
Meanwhile, outside...
"What the hell was that?!" Zoro exclaimed, hearing Seventy's yell from the yard in the base.
"My eardrums could've ruptured, if I still had and, that is!" Brook eased the tension, "Yo-Ho-Ho-Ho~! Skeleton Joke!"
"Oh, that was Seventy," Fixit realized, "He's actually using that for this fight?"
"Explain, now!" Zoro demanded, "What's one of your friends doing now?!"
"Simple," Fixit stated, "Seventy's true strength is his voice. Once he's unleashed it, tossing your friends around will be a milk run."
"Really?" Zoro then rushed at the mechanic, clashing his swords against his batons. "In case you missed something, our crew isn't stopping for anything! We'll take our captain outta here, and we'll take everything you got!"
"I wonder if you can...?"
XXX
Sanji and Usopp got up with ringing ears, looking behind them to see the damage done.
"Holy shit...!" The sniper pirate whispered, "That hole in the wall is something...!"
"His voice..." Sanji looked on in awe, "It actually broke the wall, just like my kick could..."
"My voice is something, isn't it?" Seventy's voice boomed from his speaker, "I can adjust the blast that comes from my voice when I send it out, and I can even shoot multiple vibrations at a time. But I don't need my voice to shake the ground."
"Stay back, Usopp," Sanji reached his hand out, "This guy isn't screwing around...!"
"As long as he doesn't get near me, I'll be good!" Usopp took a few steps back, "But if you're gonna hold a candle to this guy, you better go now!"
"You can try and keep up, small fry!" Seventy cracked his knuckles, finally getting serious. "But what's a couple of scrawny legs to a loud voice?!"
"And what's big talk to a burning soul?!" Sanji retorted, spinning around on his left leg, only stopping when his foot is on fire. "Diable Jambe!"
The stocky marine smirked, thinking, 'Now we're seeing some potential! Let's see if they got the heart to save their captain!'
"Atlas Comet!" Usopp fired four Exploding Stars that converged and hit Seventy, allowing Sanji to run in and strike.
"Épaule Shot!" He jumped and sent his heel on top of Seventy's shoulders, landing a sizzling hit on him.
"M-Mountain Punch!" Seventy winced from the pain he received, but tried all the same to hit the cook. Unfortunately for him, he missed.
"Concassè!" When the cook landed on the ground, he did so with his right hand. Then he spun around on it and handed Seventy a hard, burning kick to his side.
"Mountain Kick!" The marine now tried to punt Sanji again with his left leg, only he was ready this time. Sanji countered by sidestepping and using his right leg to throw him off balance.
"Joue Shoot!" He jumped up to Seventy and swiped him across his right cheek with his blazing foot.
"Cuisseau Shoot!" As his enemy was getting pushed back, Sanji made him go further by kicking his thigh with a right foot, knocking Seventy to the ground.
"Brochette!" The moment he landed, the cook leaped back up into the air and jabbed his foot into the Seventy's chest, spinning like a fan as he did it.
"RAAAHHHH!" Seventy yelled with his mouth open, impulsively blasting Sanji away as the boom soared up into the air, breaking the ceiling apart. He rolled, dodging the debris that came crashing down on him.
'Damn!' He cursed mentally, 'I almost blew it! But this guy...!'
Sanji stood several yards away, except his eye was twitching. With a yell, he stomped his left foot, dousing the fire around it.
"W-What's happening...?" He wondered, "W-Why did my foot begin to hurt?"
"S-Sanji?!" Usopp called, concerned for him.
"Hold on..." Sanji began spinning around on his foot again, except he had to stop and cancel the move when he felt his leg get hotter. He went to the ground and clutched his leg, wincing and closing his eyes.
"Are you okay?!" Usopp ran to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll check and see if your leg hurts!"
"D-Don't...!" The cook shook his head, opening his eyes. "I-It'll hurt more if you do...!"
The sniper looked at his friend, then over to Seventy. He raised Kabuto up, aiming it at him.
"Alright, what did you do, you bastard?!"
"I didn't do anything to him," The burly man answered, "Something tells me his heart lost his fire."
"W-What does that even mean?!" Usopp almost hesitated and lowered the slingshot.
"All I'm saying is this," He shrugged, "He'll never beat me if his will is weak. And he showed a lot of promise, too."
"P-Promise?"
"Your friend is a strong fighter," Seventy explained, "Not as much as Garp, but hey, he's hardly comparable. I can literally feel the damage done to my body, and it's all 'cause of him."
"Well, what about me?! What about when I got you?!"
"To give you credit, your ammunition is something. But let's face it, I could've taken you out anytime I wanted to. You would never win if I fought you seriously."
"Then what do you call the inferno I put you in five minutes ago?!" Usopp yelled, suddenly losing his confidence.
"It really hurt, if that's any consolation. However, nothing, and I mean nothing, you have will ever beat me, let alone hurt me."
"W-W-Well fine!" Usopp stuttered, accepting the low blow. "But what about Sanji?! He'll beat you for sure!"
"Oh, he could," Seventy acknowledged, "But there's just one thing."
"What?"
"Look at him."
Usopp did as Seventy told him, and saw the cook's sunken face, concealed only by his bangs.
"S-Sanji?" He called, realizing what just happened.
"I can't do this," Sanji muttered, "I can't win this one."
"Oh no," The liar shook his head, "No, you are not quitting on this one! You wanted me to fight with you, and here I am! You even said you wouldn't stop until Luffy's back! Don't tell me you can't win!"
"I-It may not matter whether I win or not..."
"W-What are you talking about?!"
"Don't you get it? Even if we win, Luffy will never forgive us. He won't forgive Nami or you..."
Sanji bit the bottom of his lip so hard it began to bleed. All this time, he was trying to hide his emotions, not let Seventy's words get to him, not think about the role he played in lying to Luffy, but it all slipped through. He held himself back all this time, and he couldn't deal with it any longer.
"H-He won't forgive anyone...!" He started to raise his voice, dropping his left fist on the floor. "And it's all because of me, god fucking dammit!"
He could've kept on going, slamming his fist until it broke, but Usopp stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
"Sanji, stop," He ordered, "If you're going to beat someone up over this, don't do it to yourself. Do it to that guy."
"It's all my fault, Usopp," The cook whispered, shaking his head and swinging his arm, making Usopp let go of it. "I practically made Luffy worse by kicking him around. I was angry at not being able to do more, not being able to get any woman to notice me, not acting as soon as I did, and I blamed my problems on him. I always have. I... I'm so pathetic...!"
'This is getting pathetic,' Seventy mused, 'If he continues to sulk like this, this crew will never get far enough to help their captain. What he needs... is motivation.'
"Excuse me," His speaker resonated, getting the attention of the two. "Are you really gonna give up now that you made it this far?"
"No!" The liar replied, "We won't! Even if this guy says we should, we won't!"
"Well, I thought I'd let you know the end result, should you fail," Seventy began to say for the record, "Should you fail, your captain will be taken to Marineford, Marine Headquarters. There, he will be publicly executed."
"WHAT?!" Usopp shouted as Sanji stared in surprise, "That'll happen?!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered it," The stocky boom box crossed his arms, "And I'm hoping Garp isn't going to go along with this..."
"Wait, don't tell me Garp might be in on this, too?!" The sniper exclaimed, placing his palms on the side of his head.
"I don't think he is, and I hope not. Seeing your grandson get the death penalty sounds crushing..."
"L-Luffy..." Sanji murmured as he hung his head in shame, "You're gonna die... And it's all because of me..."
"Sanji, enough of your shit...!" Usopp shot a glare at Sanji, already tired of his bout of angst.
"It's all my fault, I'm so sorry...!" The cook closed his eyes, almost beginning to tear up.
Seventy sighed, turning to a wall and shouting, "COME ON!"
The yell blasted straight through the wall, creating another hole in the barrier. It came close to rupturing Sanji and Usopp's eardrums, but thankfully, it didn't.
"How hard is it to piss off a young adult like you?!" His cords spoke through his speaker, "You should be hoping and kicking wildly at me after I told you your captain would get executed! But no, instead you're crying like a bitch and feeling sorry for yourself!
"W-What?" Sanji tried to ask, but he got blown away by another sound wave, smaller than the previous ones.
"Sanji!" Usopp cried out, running back to him.
"Fuck you, small fry!" Seventy bellowed, trudging slowly toward his enemies. "I'm not spelling out everything for you! The captain's life is your problem, not mine! My job is to stop you, even kill you if I think it's necessary!"
He stopped, shooting daggers to the blonde man.
"If you can't save your captain by fighting with everything you got, then you're not fit to sail these seas!"
"You're right..." Sanji sat up, "I guess I made a mistake coming here-"
*SMACK!*
Sanji didn't finish that sentence since he was hit across his face by Usopp, clenching his fist, clearly angry. The cook went down again, taken off guard.
"Will you quit it?!" The liar suddenly grabbed him by his collar, pulling him close to his face, with his nose bending upward. "You're not the only one who pushed Luffy too far, you know!"
"Usopp..." Sanji blinked, not moving a muscle on his body.
"I know Luffy might not forgive us," Usopp pointed out, "And it won't matter how bad we feel. To be honest, he might leave even if we get him out of here. But I'd rather him be leaving us alive than taken away to die!"
"If you think that," Sanji started to question, "And what we do doesn't matter, then why are we here?"
"Because we're trying to get through to him," Usopp lifted the cook and promptly let him go when he could stand. Then, he motioned to Seventy with his Kabuto, "This guy's one of the biggest obstacles in our path, and we can't save Luffy if he's still standing."
"He's right," Seventy nodded, "I'm only doing my job here."
'But if you small fries care about your captain,' He mused, 'Then you need to beat me, 'cause I can't help him. Only you can.'
"But I don't have the heart to do it..." Sanji parted his visible eye, "I don't think I can beat him."
"Sanji, listen to me..." The liar tried again, "If you can't do it, then Luffy's life is over. His dream is over. Every one of us could die here. But before all that, this guy's gonna kill us. He's got the strength and the power to do it. I can't beat him. At least, not by myself."
"What can I do?" Sanji questioned, "What if I screw up? It's bad enough I'm not as strong as Luffy, and it pains me to say it, but Zoro's better at fighting than me! He's got swords, Luffy's got a Devil Fruit, but what do I have? All I got are legs, and even that's not good enough against that walking mass of muscles!"
"You really need to ask?" Usopp quirked an eyebrow, "Don't you remember what you said to me back at Enies Lobby when we had to rescue Robin?"
"You do what I can't do," Sanji realized, his mind flashing back to his showdown with the CP9 member, Jabra.
"And I'll do what you can't do," Usopp finished, grinning. "Now what do you say we give it to this guy?"
"Thanks, Usopp," Sanji patted him on the back, cracking a smile of his own. He turned forward, gazing out at the burly marine. "And I could tell, you tried helping me, in your own way..."
"If you're trying to thank me, don't," Seventy replied, "It's really your own fault for losing your will and complaining like a pansy. You didn't need me to get your confidence back."
"That's fine," Sanji nodded, paying attention to Seventy's slight burn marks on his body. "But you don't need to wait any longer."
"What do you mean?"
"I still have a lot of shit to work out," Sanji smirked, pulling out another cigarette and lighting it. "But for now, I'll start with kicking your ass!"
"Really?" Seventy grabbed the rifle strapped to his back, "Let me recap, you had a lot of strength, especially with that technique of yours. But if you don't have the will, that fire could burn you. Besides, I don't think you can use that thing for very long."
"At least two, three, or even five minutes," Sanji stomped his right foot on the stone floor, "That's all the time I need."
"Reticle Shot: Bolt Action!" Seventy fired rapidly from his rifle, making Usopp jump to the side with the cook, who quickly dashed for the marine.
"Slice Shoot!" Sanji kicked Seventy's foot as hard as he could, actually making him flinch and drop the rifle. He quickly kicked it far past Usopp so the big man couldn't get to use it again.
"Nemjung Clap!" Seventy decided he wouldn't take the cook lightly now, and he put his hands together for a clap, causing a shockwave in the air that pushed Sanji back!
"Mountain Breaker!" For good measure, he stomped his foot and sent out a surging shockwave that drove on the ground! The jagged wave of energy caught Sanji as he landed, getting part of his back penetrated by the edges.
"GAH!" He screamed out in pain, rolling on his stomach.
"Don't turn our back for this one! Wild Call!" Seventy began to shout with his mouth once more, shooting another burst of sound. Sanji leaped as quickly as he could before he got caught by the blast.
"Shuriken Shooting Star!" Usopp ran up to Seventy and shot a cluster of shuriken stars, driving the marine to move out of the way.
"Mountain Punch!" He tried hitting Usopp once, but the liar caught the punch in his hand, with the help of the Impact Dial.
"Was that supposed to hurt?" The liar let out a cocky smirk, almost confident in himself.
"Three-Point Decoupage!" Seventy was taken off guard by Usopp, unable to react in time to avoid Sanji kicking him three times in his belly, chest, and throat.
Unbeknownst to him, caltrops were placed on the floor, so he got a nasty surprise when he landed on his back.
"How did you like your trip to Caltrop Hell?" Usopp quipped, jumping a few feet away from the big man.
"It sucks when something gets you in your back, doesn't it?" Sanji pondered in a snarky tone.
"Alright, I had that coming," Seventy pulled the caltrops out of his back as he stood up, even removing one that was on his tush. "But how about we just end this, if you're finally getting serious?"
"Fine by me," Sanji flicked his smoking stick at the man's feet, "I've got an apology to work on."
"You need me to land some shots in?" Usopp questioned, to which Sanji looked back and shook his head.
"No need," He responded, "This fight is over."
"You're right, small fry," Seventy backed up, "It is over. But for me or you, we'll see. And as for my stomp, I can do several and cause more shockwave, some higher than the last one I did."
"Guess that means we have to use our strongest attacks, right?"
"It's really simple. But if you can't beat me before I rupture your ears or break your bones, then I'm sorry to say, but the kid's execution is all but guaranteed. Don't blow this."
"Like I need you to tell me that," Sanji scoffed, leaping back and getting ready to use his special again.
'If I don't beat this guy now,' He thought, 'I'll break my legs trying to use this move again. But I will win. This shot will count. It's for Luffy.'
(BGM: Sanji's Leg of Wind ~This is a Taste of East Blue Love~, One Piece Movie 10: Strong World)
Sanji started spinning around again, this time with his right foot. The wind that was generated from his spinning swirled around him in a spiral, until he stopped, and rose his burning foot up.
"Diable Jambe!" He immediately charged for Seventy, preparing to make his final, daring attacks.
"Mountain March!" The burly soldier marched in place, making his stomps create larger and more jagged shockwaves that could almost reach his shoulders. The hallway inside the barrier trembled with his moves.
Sanji quickly leaped left to avoid the waves, and he managed to get in striking distance.
"Table Manner Kick Course!" He kicked upward with his foot, hitting the big man's chin and searing the metal on it.
Seventy stumbled back, preparing to retaliate.
"Wild Call!" He shouted a blast of sound from his mouth point-blank, except it only hit the floor because Sanji moved out of the way in time.
"Boar Stew Shoot!" The cook launched a strong sidekick, planting his ignited foot into Seventy's side and pushing him to a wall.
The marine hit his back against the wall, but there wasn't a crack on it when he hit it. He slightly seethed from touching his right side, and went back to try hitting Sanji again.
"Mountain Punch! Mountain Kick!"
"Premier Hachis!" Sanji ducked and leaped over the respective assaults and retorted with a full barrage of his own two legs, sending them to Seventy's stomach.
"GRAAAAGGGHHH!" The stocky man screamed with his speaker as he went back to the wall behind him.
"Nemjung Clap!" He clapped his hands together when the cook got close to him, pushing him back.
"Wild Call!" To follow up with that, he created a bigger sound wave by yelling louder, making Sanji's ears literally bleed and send him crashing to a wall, fracturing it with his back. If it were any louder, he could've gone deaf from that.
Sanji collapsed to the ground, panting heavily from the previous attack. When he got back up, Seventy was prepared to yell once more.
Thinking quickly, Sanji ran up along the wall behind him as Seventy's shout made the floor and part of the wall crumble. He sprung off the wall, turning his body 180 degrees, and reeled back his hotfoot.
"Frites Assorties!" He kicked Seventy in his left shoulder, chest, and right shoulder, sending out flames in the process, which made him hit the wall again, this time cracking it a good deal.
The stocky man dropped to his knees, which was a big mistake on his part.
"Diable Mouton Shot!" Sanji delivered most of his might into his leg, kicking Seventy in his midsection repeatedly, knocking him right through the wall, forcing him to fall off the barrier. But then the cook jumped down to follow him, not through quite yet.
"Now it's over!" Sanji dove until he was a few feet above the plummeting man, letting loose a final flurry of kicks on his body.
"EXTRA HACHIS!" He kept striking and searing Seventy until he landed on the ground, forming a crater and causing a haze of fire to erupt from it and fly up into the sky.
Sanji hopped off Seventy's body and doused the heat on his leg, looking at the beaten man.
"I-I guess I lose..." Seventy muttered with the speaker in his neck, still conscious after all of that. "Y-You might actually help your captain..."
"Well, you're really something, too," Sanji flashed a grin, "You're definitely a great fighter. I see why your commander has someone like you with him."
"Thanks," Seventy softly smiled, coughing a bit of blood. "HACK! Y-You aren't too bad, yourself..."
Sanji was about to leave him in his crater, but the stocky man grabbed his arm without warning.
"One more thing, before you go. There's a reason we got a moat surrounding this base..."
"And that is?" The cook's visible eyebrow rose up, curious to Seventy's implication.
"It's not just to keep you guys out... It's to keep the inmates in. They jump in the moat, they sink until... they hit a damp cell below this place. Just a... heads-up."
"You've been helping us, even though we're enemies... Why?"
"Heh... heh..." Seventy chuckled in his cords, "T-That's none... of your damn...b-business..."
He promptly passed out after that short sentence, letting go of Sanji's wrist.
'Was it because Luffy's the grandson of Garp?' He pondered, 'Was it because you thought Luffy didn't deserve to die? Or did you help because you wanted a good fight?'
"I really don't get you, meathead," He spoke up, looking at the unconscious soldier. "But I guess that's none of my damn business..."
"Sanji, catch me~!" Usopp hopped out from the hole in the barrier that Sanji made, falling at about forty feet.
"Sanji, you got him!" Chopper came up to the cook, unintentionally distracting him as Usopp faceplanted in the dirt. "That was amazing!"
"Thanks, Chopper," Sanji smiled down at him, "It's nice to know I'm still good for something."
"Hey, Long Nose!" Franky walked up to the sniper, head deeply imbedded in the dirt. He started picking him up like a vegetable. "What are you doing there?"
"Apparently," Usopp grumbled, "I thought someone was going to catch me..."
"Sorry, Usopp," Sanji sweatdropped, nervously smirking. "I guess I'm not completely in tune with myself."
"I-I don't believe it..." Fixit murmured, looking at the scene that unfolded before him. "Seventy and Scorcher got beaten...?!"
"Guess someone hasn't been paying attention, after all," Zoro quipped, "We said we'd take on everything you got, and we have!"
"And now," Brook pointed out, "All that remains is you and what few men you have left."
'Damn it...!' The mechanic grit his teeth, 'If those two held back, I'm going to kill them both!'
"Oh, Chopper," Franky asked, "Where's Robin?"
"We beat up a lot of marines," The doctor answered, "Mainly the ones that kept on coming out of the barrier. The bright side, they won't be appearing at the area where the drawbridge was."
"Right," Usopp knocked some dirt out from his ear, "The bridge was burnt to a crisp."
"But if need be," Robin showed up, "I can try to create a bridge with my powers."
"No need, Nico Robin!" Franky raised his hand, "I may not be super right now, but I've got a... SUPER IDEA~!"
"If it involves swimming through the moat, it's a no go," Sanji flatly stated, making Franky look at the cook in shock.
"How did you know my idea?!" He exclaimed.
"There's some kind of current that'll take us down to a cell in the detention center if we jump in there. We'll get trapped if we do that."
"But what if Luffy's down there?!" Chopper piped up, concerned.
"We don't know if the commander put him there or in one of these floors," Usopp pointed out, "What if it's another trap?"
"It's bad enough we don't have a drawbridge to exit this place," Robin murmured, "If we get split up, we might get caught too, and some of us might not have the strength to resist. We can't let the marines thin our numbers."
"Hey, Robin," Franky crossed his arms, "If all we need is a bridge, you might not have to make one with your powers. Just leave it to me."
"What can you do, Franky?" Usopp scratched his head, "Aren't you tired from fighting already?"
"I just need some cola to recharge," The cyborg looked at his exposed metal hand, "When I'm back at full strength, I can make a bridge in seconds! I just need anything you can get your hands on. Swords, guns, debris, whatever's salvageable."
"I can break into the base and find some cola!" Chopper immediately went into Walk Point and darted to the base, "I'll be back!"
"Wait, Chopper!" Usopp called out, "There'll still be some marines there! You can't take them on by your-"
He stopped short from finishing his sentence, seeing Robin moving with him.
"It appears that we haven't beaten all of them yet," The archeologist observed, noting several marines appearing out of the main dome building of the base. "Let's fix that."
As Chopper went into Heavy Point, clocking a few with his fists, Robin sprouted legs that kicked others in their cajones.
"Uhh, nevermind," The liar instinctively crossed his legs.
"Usopp, Franky," Sanji asked, lighting another cigarette. "You two can watch that drawbridge area, right?"
"Like a hawk!" The sniper replied, turning to him. "But where are you going?"
"To the detention center," The cook stared at the imposing building, "To help Nami."
"Wait a minute, Curly-bro," Franky put a hand on his shoulder, "You heard Robin, we need to stay together. If you're worried about Luffy, Nami's gonna save him. Besides, this is her fight."
"Don't you get it, Franky? She's doing this alone, and pretty soon, the marines that aren't in this base will surround us! We're already trapped here without a bridge!"
"Let's just give Nami a few more minutes..." Usopp mumbled, "Who knows? She might actually get Luffy outta there."
"But what if that Beau-Père guy is in there, fighting Nami?! We know she isn't strong enough to-!"
"She can still outthink him," The cyborg thought aloud, "Maybe it has to with Luffy getting executed at Marineford as a show of the marines' power... She could take advantage of that..."
"I can't deal with 'maybes!' I need to-!"
"If you go in and you try to help Nami, she'll never have another chance to redeem herself," Usopp stated, "And she'll feel like it won't matter what she does, 'cause in the end, she's just useless as a fighter and a friend."
"W-What...?" Sanji turned to see Usopp looking serious.
"She lost my respect, I said that much to her face. But, if she succeeds, and for Luffy's sake, I hope she does, then she'll feel like her efforts count for something after all."
'And maybe...' The liar thought, 'I can at least hate her a little less... God knows I don't condone what she did, let alone what I've done...'
"C'mon, Curly-bro," Franky pleaded, "Let her handle this. She really needs to pull through this one without anyone's help."
Sanji looked out to the detention center, then back to his friends. Seeing their expressions, feeling sure in what they're saying, he sighed...
"I'll give her a few more minutes. But if she doesn't come out soon, I'm going in there."
"Alright," Franky shrugged, "But I'm sure she'll make it through anything."
"I just hope she can save Luffy..." Usopp parted his eyes to the dirt, "If only I were a little braver..."
Sanji pulled out yet another cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag to calm himself down.
'I'll give you a little longer, Nami,' He internally whispered, 'If it gets too much for you, then I'll be there. I'll help you fight so you can save our captain. My captain.'
Seeing the imposing, window-barred building from a distance, he almost felt something. It could've been the sense of freedom rising from the darkness, but for some odd reason, there was something else. A darker presence, something that makes a normal person shudder from fear. Something Sanji felt from a person, from the past...
TO BE CONTINUED...