Chapter 32- Luffy vs. Beau-Père
One Piece © Eiichiro Oda
Beau-Père, William Henley, The Hermits of Virtue, The Cherry Triangle, and the G-13 Base © HatOnFire/Me
The Thousand Sunny was once again a battleground, this time between the captain of the ship and the Marine commander for the second time. The two were in a standoff, the wind howling so much that the pirate flag rapidly fluttered.
One of them was waiting for the other to make a move with each of the pirates outside holding their breath.
Then, in a flash, the two fighters rushed forward, reeling back their right hands and connecting with their knuckles. A burst of power shot out from the center of their hands, almost warning the crew to not get involved. Not that it was a warning needed to be made.
"Finger Pistol Single Action!" With his index and middle finger held in place, Beau-Père jabbed his left hand forward.
"Gum-Gum Volcano!" Luffy allowed himself to fall to the ground, stretching his leg to kick Beau-Père and send him up to the air. Luffy threw himself up with his arms, landing on the floor.
"Gum-Gum Gavel!" He began twisting his arms up as he grabbed the commander with his outreached limbs. He started spinning him around before attempting to slam him into the deck.
"Iron Body!" Beau-Père hardened himself, resisting the impact easily, almost breaking into the wood below the grass.
"Luffy, be careful!" Franky called out from the helm, hearing the battle from there. "It's bad enough I need to fix part of the mast and the figurehead! I don't wanna have to repair the floor, too!"
"Oh, sorry!" Luffy apologized, "I got carried away!"
"Puma Palm Barrel!" Beau-Père rose up quickly, attacking with an open hand. An invisible wave of energy was pushed from the palm, making contact with the captain's face.
"Uuuaaagh!" Luffy yipped, pushed back by the taller man.
"Tempest Kick!" A single leg from Beau-Père collided to his stomach, almost making him cough spit. A right hook followed up from that blow, as did a left backfist when the commander spun. Then came a simple grab at Luffy's shirt, to which he threw the rubber human to the wall of the aquarium's entrance.
Luffy crumpled to the ground, catching his breath while standing back up.
"You can't be this tired already," Beau-Père shook his head, "You said you were going to show me what you can do, or was that a bluff?"
"I don't bluff," Luffy insisted, darting at the mahogany-haired man.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" He fired his arms straight ahead, consecutively lashing out at him.
"Paper Art," The commander flexed and bend sideways, evading the captain's fists like it was nothing.
"Gum-Gum Whip!" Luffy elongated his leg, hoping to get a successful shot in, to no avail. Beau-Père leapt over it with ease.
"Finger Pistol Single Action: Six Shooter!" He retaliated with his two fingers on his right hand, thrusting his arm outward six times, which would've hit Luffy had he not dodged backward.
"I'll get you eventually!" The captain declared, balling his fist up again. "I've got so many things I still want to do!"
"Another basic punch?" Beau-Père sighed, taking a defensive stance. "You won't win with weak techniques such as this. Iron Body."
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Luffy's fist struck Beau-Père, great enough to force him back, and with blood exiting his nostrils.
Beau-Père grunted, leaping away in case the captain tried to add another blow to that. As he wiped his nose with his sleeve, he could tell the punch wasn't ordinary. And it was not due to the rubber properties in it.
'W-What is this...?' He thought, eyeing Luffy's right forearm, which had an invisible coating that was about as thick as a boxing glove. It was something a normal person couldn't see. 'H-He tapped into that!?'
"That punch..." Luffy shifted his gaze to his hand with a whisper, barely seeing a small shine to it. "It wasn't like any strong punch I throw at all."
"H-Holy crap, Luffy..." Usopp watched in awe, seeing the captain take another stance.
"He's got a chance against this man," Brook observed, "If that blow could penetrate his defenses, then Mr. Luffy could surpass him."
'He might not have guessed from hitting him,' Robin pondered, 'But his own spirit for freedom is granting him more decisive blows. It's strengthening him like armor, but the weight isn't slowing him down. It's empowering him. That's the power of Haki.'
[BGM: Escape, Metal Gear Solid]
"Do you need a minute to catch your breath?" The black-haired lad asked with a smirk, "I understand you're getting on in years."
"Heh!" Beau-Père lightly chuckled, "Don't think I'm going to call it quits from one little tap!"
"Gum-Gum Rifle!" Luffy twisted his arm up as he darted at the commander, allowing it to unwind for greater knock back.
"It's not over yet!" He disappeared after shouting his statement, showing up on Luffy's right side to strike him.
"Let's switch it up!" The captain punched forward, clasping his right bicep with his left hand. It allowed his right arm to twist around him so the punch could land on Beau-Père's jaw.
"Gum-Gum Battle Axe!" He turned to face the Marine soldier, shooting his leg up and bringing it down in succession, right on the shoulder. He fell to the ground on all fours.
"Twin Pistol!" Luffy fired right into Beau-Père's face with both hands, sending him flying.
"Moonwalk!" Beau-Père kicked against the air, running several feet high above Luffy before landing on the observation deck.
"How about we start trying to fight instead of beating around the bush?!" He questioned, taking on a more feline form. "Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Puma!"
"Fine by me!" Likewise, Luffy bent his knees and one of his legs acted like a pump, releasing stream and turning his skin pink. "Second Gear!"
"Tempest Kick Iron Hinds!" The commander leapt off, almost diving to the green floor below him. He flipped while free-falling, allowing gravity to bring his feet down to Luffy, but he dodged quickly. Two holes in the deck were made as a result.
"Gum-Gum Jet Flail!" Luffy swung one of his arms as easily as a lasso, before throwing it to Beau-Père's chest.
"Jet Stamp!" He followed with a swift leg strike to his face, leaving a sandal print on it.
"Tempest Kick Puma Tail!" Beau-Père turned as he swung his tail, releasing a jagged wave of wind, one Luffy jumped over with ease.
"Iron Single Action Gun!" Holding one clenched fist overhanded and the other underhanded, Beau-Père got in front of Luffy and struck his body, letting out a shock wave great enough to push him into the Sunny's aquarium through the walls.
"Luffy!" Sanji called out, his voice driving Nami and Franky to look back from the helm with worry.
"Tempest Kick Chakram!" Beau-Père spun on one foot as the other launched sharp circular projectiles at the captain, who quickly got up moving sideways and rolling forward to avoid them.
"Gum-Gum Jet Bullet!" He ran toward him, punching him in his gut. Even if Beau-Père activated Iron Body, the blow would still have a lasting impact on him.
Luffy jumped on top of him, then off of him to reach for what was left of the foremast's arms. He stretched a free arm out to grab Beau-Père's tail, yanking him up to the top of the crow's nest.
"What are you doing now?!" Beau-Père questioned, but he would soon get his answer, when Luffy swung him around until he slammed him on the roof.
"That's what I'm doing!" Luffy replied, jumping on the flagpole and stretching to grab Beau-Père's hair when Beau-Père stood up.
"Gum-Gum Jet Rocket!" He launched into Beau-Père, knocking him off the nest for his second-to-last attack.
"Gum-Gum Jet Stamp Gatling!" He elongated his feet and kicked at Beau-Père rapidly, descending from the mast.
"Gum-Gum Jet Pistol!" For his final strike, Luffy punched down, smacking Beau-Père across his face, but with a difference to his punch. This time, his fist was a metallic black color!
The Marine landed on the ground on his back while the captain landed on his feet gracefully.
"What...?" Luffy looked at his hardened fist, seeing the moonlight almost reflect off it. "Is this part of the Gum-Gum Fruit's power? What am I looking at?"
"That fist..." Zoro carefully looked at Luffy black limb, "What exactly is it?"
"Iron Body Slam!" Beau-Père suddenly jettisoned his body toward Luffy while spinning in the air, knocking him into the slide of the Sunny.
"Ugh!" Luffy grunted, having hit his head against the ramp. His second phase had just worn off, as did the feature he was admiring.
"Don't look away from your opponent!" Beau-Père almost scolded the captain, showing his claws. "It's over if you do!"
XXX
In a cave somewhere in the Grand Line...
Like a camera, the portal showed the scene between Luffy and Commander Beau-Père, exchanging more hits and blocking every attack from each limb.
"I get that you called me down here to help Nami," Belle-Mère's spirit nodded, "But I don't see why I need to stay around."
"We'll need you around for a while longer," The old hermit explained, "For after this battle, the captain will be forced into a decision that could destroy his crew."
"The Straw Hat Pirates need to stay together, no matter what," The hermit with the red-orange garb trembled with a grin, "Our existence, the Grand Line, even the world might be at stake!"
"It is at stake," The beautiful woman with blonde hair corrected, "It all hinges on whether or not the captain can forgive the crew that wronged him."
"Monkey D. Luffy won't be so quick to forgive anyone this time," The burly hermit in the purple robes muttered, "To a pirate, their flag is an important symbol, and any form of dishonesty that centers on it is a severe transgression of trust. And the captain has been disrespected far too many times for any forgiveness to be given."
"I did see what Nami has done with the others," Belle-Mère crossed her arms, "I'm not angry with her, but I am disappointed. If I had a few more years with her..."
"Her manipulative nature wouldn't change," The green-robed hermit interjected, lightly plucking a string on his lyre. "Nor her temper, greed, cowardice, selfishness, or lack of empathy for injuries her crewmates deal with, etc."
"I don't appreciate you speaking about my daughter that way," The formerly living marine glared, "I can still deck you, even if I am a ghost."
"But you don't deny her faults," The hermit with the hourglass staff replied, stroking his beard. "And where most see failure of a living being, I still see hope in her."
"She won't change her ways," The large hooded figure sighed, "Not completely, at least. But this experience will make her think twice before lashing out. As will having seen the captain in peril, in a state similar to where she was long ago."
"If we can allow her to dwell on her newfound courage with these new powers," The thin, smiling hermit thought loudly, "She might wonder how capable she will be to the others."
"We can't assume she will be strong enough for any enemy that will come after her," The sole female hermit stated, "Her victory over Arlong was only due to his overconfidence in his abilities. If he discarded the notion of needing Nami sooner, he would've killed her."
"You all keep talking like Nami will keep going in this journey, but that might not happen."
The five seers all turned to Belle-Mère suddenly, likely surprised as her sentence.
"Let me ask you guys something," She began again, "Did any of you see the part where she asked my brother to arrest her in place of that kid?"
"We're all right here," The grinning guy responded, "Of course we did."
"Why do you think she would do something like that?" The transparent woman queried, staring at the green hermit. "If she was selfish, apathetic, or whatever else she was?"
"Don't look at me that way," The musical man waved his free arm in a feeble defensive gesture, "I was only pointing out her flaws. I will admit she acknowledged them, however late she was in doing so."
"She was unworthy to stay with the young man, in her mind," The muscular hermit took off his hood, revealing his slightly bronze skin tone, long dark brown hair, and his pointed goatee. "Consumed with self-guilt for her actions and personality, she opted to leave immediately. That's what you're thinking, correct?"
"Yep," Belle-Mère frowned, "As much as I don't like her being a pirate, this is the only way she can accomplish her dream, but she's more than ready to throw it all away."
"All this started because of a simple cover up over a pirate flag," The aged hermit twirled a long beard strand, "And from a one-sided lack of respect. To repair the damage that was dealt, it must start with her."
"We'll figure that out when we get there," The blonde hermit whispered, "But for now, let's see how this duel turns out with yet another unanticipated power."
XXX
Meanwhile, close to the G-13 Base, there was a Marine battleship close to the coast. A majority of the soldiers on the ship ready their weapons at the request of the man in charge of the ship.
This Marine was Stainless, who had a purple suit underneath his Marine jacket, with black hair and a handlebar mustache to him. One of the many Vice Admirals in the fleet.
"Vice Admiral Stainless!" A soldier saluted him, "We've made contact with the base!"
"And?" Stainless questioned, "Where's Commander Beau-Père?"
"Some men report he went after the Straw Hat Pirates!" The Marine officer answered.
"Very well," The Vice Admiral entered the helm room to speak to the navigators and the helmsman. "Hard to starboard, helmsman! The Straw Hat Pirates' ship must be behind the base, making a retreat!"
"Yessir!" A tall sailor steered the wheel to the right, making a smooth turn for the ship.
"Men!" Stainless called out over the intercom, "Load the guns! But do not fire upon the pirate ship! Commander Beau-Père must not be caught in the crossfire!"
'It wouldn't be done,' He thought, 'Firing on a fellow man during a battle with the enemy.'
XXX
"Is that a Marine battleship out there?!" Brook exclaimed, seeing spotlight from the ship's stern with Usopp.
"Yep..." The sniper started to sweat, "This isn't good. We've got to go now!"
"YAH! HAH!"
"RAAAGGGH!"
Luffy and Beau-Père were still on the deck, exchanging punches and kicks for the past few minutes, each sweating storms through their efforts to win against the other. In the case of the dark haired boy, his power up ran out, and his speed dramatically reduced.
"Tempest Kick..." The commander suddenly jumped above Luffy, crossing his forearms while exposing his half-puma hands.
"Puma Claws!" Then, he swung down diagonally, unleashing eight intersecting lines of cutting wind forward, which marked Luffy's torso and forearms.
"ACK!" Luffy grunted in pain, having lifted his forearms in a pointless gesture to block the attack. His new scratch marks made him bleed on his arms and chest.
"Luffy!" Zoro almost stepped in to fight, only stopping short of drawing his swords when he remembered this was a private fight.
"Even if we could stop him," Franky growled, "What good can we do?! This guy's on a big level, like Lucci!"
"No, Beau-Père's a lot of things," Nami pointed out, "But even he can't compare to someone on Lucci's caliber. Luffy's trying to get control of this fight. Once he gets it, we'll get out of here."
"It's really too bad he's not someone we can just knock into the sea," The cyborg shook his head, "He's so respectable, he doesn't deserve to die."
"You're still standing after meeting that technique head on," Beau-Père spoke to his opponent, "It's good to know that you have a tolerance to pain, to a degree."
"G-Guess that shows me one thing..." The captain mumbled, removing his purple vest, dripping with new blood. "You could've killed me at any time. All that strength, and you could be more than some commander."
"But death is not what I want," Beau-Père sighed, "I never joined the Marines to kill anyone. I wanted to protect people, that's all. And, in a way, prove myself to someone."
"Hmm," Luffy nodded, "Who's to say you haven't already done that?"
"The tasks a leader fulfills is hardly enough. After my failure-"
"Beau-Père," Luffy spoke his foe's name directly without using the nickname he gave him, and dropped his guard to address him seriously. "You've done all that you can do. The past can't be changed."
"K-Kid..." The Marines' puma-man softened a little, being given some advice.
"You can look back on the past if you have to. It'll help for the present, so the future doesn't have the same mistakes."
'The only way through is forward,' The young man with the scar thought, 'I can't run from my problems. I may even have to let some of them go...'
Shaking his head to dispel those previously unthinkable thoughts, Luffy focused back on the battle, where his opponent was waiting for him to make his move.
"Alright," Luffy whispered, taking a deep breath. He knew full well that given his situation, he could only use Second Gear one more time. After that, he'll be exhausted, and he'll lose.
"This is a bad time to say this..." Usopp interrupted, "But there's a Marine battleship that came from the base."
"Really?!" Sanji exclaimed, "Just our luck!"
"That runt said he was sabotaging all of them!" Zoro hissed.
"It's likely that the battleship you saw was my reinforcements," Beau-Père stated, "And there will be more on the way. The Fleet Admiral made your captain's capture a high priority."
"Good to know," Luffy punched his open palm, setting himself up to run. "But let's get back to fighting, yeah?"
When Beau-Père had done the same, the captain darted at him, leaping and socking him in one go. He decided if he was going to win, he would have to do something a little extreme.
"Are you guys going to tie the rest of the sails up!?" The captain shouted back, "Halfway isn't good enough!"
"Of course," Robin crossed her arms, having sixty arms sprout on the other mast, the one that wasn't damaged. The sail was still fluttering, so it would take time for Robin to take care of it.
"We shouldn't have gotten distracted with the fight," Sanji scratched his head from embarrassment.
"Tempest Kick Artemis Arrows!" In the air, Beau-Père held his feet together and kicked forward, launching an arrow-shaped burst of air that split apart into smaller arrows.
Luffy knew that attack would come eventually, jumping away from them.
"Puma Palm Barrel!" The cat-like commander whisked at the captain to smack him into the ground, yet he was quick to jump above him, countering by elongating his legs into his back.
When Beau-Père landed on his stomach, Luffy stretched his arms to the rigging connected to the foremast. Next, he twisted his legs and used his feet to clasp on to Beau-Père's face.
"Hope you don't mind us going for a spin!" Luffy grinned before initiating his attack, "Gum-Gum Giant Gavel!"
The captain swung around the rigging as he let loose, taking Beau-Père around the rope on one side of the ship. When he got close to finishing up, he shot his legs out, sending him to the ship's grassy mat.
"Nami!" Luffy called out, "Get ready to drop the anchor!"
"What?!" Nami exclaimed, "If we do that, that Marine ship will catch us!"
"That's the idea!" He shouted, "We'll ditch these guys soon! Just drop when I give the word!"
"Urrgh...!" Beau-Père grunted, just about through being yanked like a rag doll. When he stood up, his face had a stern expression that could cause cracks in stone.
"I think it's time we finish up, you know?" Luffy raised his eyebrows, almost goading Beau-Père into attacking him.
"Only if you say it's time," The mustached puma hybrid quickly disappeared after uttering those words, moving around to get an advantage.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy tried a barrage of fists out, seeing if he could land a hit against Beau-Père, but he was moving too fast for him to land a hit.
"Tempest Kick Puma Tail!" Beau-Père swept Luffy with his tail, sending him flying.
"Gum-Gum Bell!" The rubber human stretched his arms to wrap around the soldier for a time, just so he could outreach his neck. It didn't take long for him to slam his skull into his foe's head, except he expected this.
"Iron Body!" Because the impact gave considerable pain to Luffy's head, he was forced to let go. Beau-Père's tail tightly caught his waist, keeping him from landing on his rear.
"That really hurt!" Luffy rubbed his forehead, still feeling a throbbing present there.
"As you said, we shall end this," Beau-Père restrained his enemy's wrists, grabbing them tightly. "I'm sorry, Straw Hat, but you've run out of time and tricks."
"Is that so?" The captain wondered, glancing to see Nami ready to drop the anchor on the right of the ship. "Drop!"
"You?" The commander shook his head, initially confused. "I can't do that. Unless you weren't talking to me..."
"He wasn't!" The navigator interjected as she dropped the anchor, with the commander realizing what Luffy had in store. "Franky, hard right! Everyone, hang on!"
"Gotcha!" Franky spun the wheel as hard as he could, "Hold on tight!"
Just then, the Sunny turned around, almost jerking the crew around. In the commotion, Beau-Père subconsciously released Luffy's arms, falling when the ship sailing at an angle.
Luffy grabbed the railing's left side as he held the commander's tail. He tugged at it left and right until he flung him up to the observation deck.
XXX
In the infirmary, the ship's sudden change in direction threw Chopper away from the bed Henley was on.
"WOAH!" He yelped, hitting against the desk behind him. "What was that?!"
"Don't know!" Henley replied, clutching the edges of the bed to keep himself from falling off. "But at least this didn't happen while you were stitching me up!"
XXX
Behind the Sunny, the Marine battleship managed to inch closer and closer.
"What is happening over there?" A Marine sailor questioned, watching the ship perform what could only be described as a full donut.
"Perhaps Commander Beau-Père succeeded in giving us a chance to catch up," Stainless speculated, "I will assemble the soldiers to board the small vessel."
XXX
On the Sunny, the cat commander landed on the main mast, hanging on with his claws.
"Keep the ship swinging around until I tell you to stop!" Luffy commanded to his crew on the helm, running along the floor while his outstretched arm kept him from falling. He leaped to the mast, punching Beau-Père's face once until he had to grab the observation deck's railing.
"Moonwalk!" Beau-Père let go, hopping in thin air.
"Gum-Gum Rocket!" Luffy stretched his arms out, grabbing the Marine's shirt and launching himself at him. Once he slammed into him, he got on his back, and wouldn't let go.
"What are you doing!?" Beau-Père questioned, trying to get the captain off himself. He rose higher in the air with his legs, going above the height of the ship.
"Getting in range!" Luffy stated, seeing the battleship in his and Beau-Père's sights. He jumped off of him to quickly inflate his arm with his mouth. "Third Gear!"
Allowing his arm to grow large, the captain sent his foot to Beau-Père's rear as he let the air traverse to that particular foot. "Gum-Gum Giant Stamp!"
Before the commander knew it, he was sent flying all the way to the Marine battleship, tearing a hole in one of the sails with his body and breaking part of the front mast.
"Uwaaa!" The soldiers below shouted in surprise, seeing someone fall with a piece of the mast. The men got out of the way of both, seeing them land on the deck.
Luffy stretched his arms on both flagpoles of his ship's masts, using the weight of his foot to get himself the force needed to act like a slingshot.
"Gum-Gum Rocket!" He blew out the air in his foot as managed to launch himself to the battleship, almost soaring, but his body begun to shrink along his quick journey.
"Where's Luffy going?!" Usopp cried, hanging on to the stairs as tightly as he could. He saw the captain propel off the ship to the other one.
"He's going to finish this!" Zoro pointed out, "We better be ready to go!"
"Nami!" Brook called, tightly clutching a rope. "Let the anchor up, please! My skull is rattling like crazy!"
"Not yet!" She kept herself against the railing, knowing the danger of falling in the ocean with a Devil Fruit in her. "Not until Luffy gives the command!"
The rubber boy hit the front mast a little hard, but he managed to grab the arm to keep from falling. It took him a few seconds of waiting time to get back to full size. And then...
"Oh, Mustache Guy!" Luffy jumped down with an elongated leg, seeing Beau-Père dust himself.
"What?!" He looked up, eyeing a grinning young man knock him across the deck with his leg.
"Gum-Gum Whip!"
"Straw Hat Luffy!" The Marines pointed their rifles and drew sabers, ready to attack the pirate. If only they realized how outclassed they were…
"Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy swiftly took down a group of them with a barrage of punches.
"Tempest Kick Puma Prints!" Beau-Père got back into the fray, kicking forward several times above floor level. They connected with Luffy and he was sent to the railing.
While he fell overboard, he didn't land in the water, as he quickly grabbed the rail with his arms and fired himself upward on the ship's side.
"Gum-Gum Battle Axe!" He dropped his heel on the commander as he acted fast, blowing air into his hand once more. "Third Gear!"
"What is he doing now!?" Stainless growled, "Seize him, now!"
"Gum-Gum Giant Axe!" Luffy dropped his enlarged foot on Beau-Père and the deck, unaware that the color turned from tan to black. The impact made the floor crack all around, causing a few sailors to fall in the floor with the commander!
"This is...!" Before Stainless could finish that thought, he saw Luffy guide the air in his body to his fists. This enabled him to punch out the rest of the masts.
"Gum-Gum Twin Giant Pistol!" He took out one mast with a strike, then did the same with the others. Then, when he landed on the safe part of the broken floor, he saw Stainless right there.
"You would dare attack a Vice Admiral and cripple his ship?!" He exclaimed, watching the masts and sails fall in the sea, drawing his sword.
"You're not worth my time," Luffy muttered, heavily exhaling air, shrinking and landing below the deck and into the cracks.
"Get back here, pirate!" The purple-suited man shouted, trying to follow the pirate.
"Running, running, running, running!" The small boy whispered repeatedly, running past several marines, unconscious or not, paying no mind to them.
"Hey, isn't that Straw Hat Luffy?" One of them questioned.
"He looks smaller than his wanted poster says..." Another thought.
Beau-Père rose up from the rubble, still in his puma form. His hair became unruly as he rubbed his face.
"You can run, but your scent is unmistakable..." He bared his teeth, unintentionally scaring a few wide-eyed sailors.
Luffy darted through the soldiers, running into a room with many cannons. He saw that most of them were a little shaken due to his actions.
"Okay," He took a quick breath, noting that a few saw him.
"Hey!" One yelled, "Grab him!"
The many marines that saw Luffy had tried to dogpile him, but fortunately for him, he was faster. He moved out of their way, jumping on a cannon, and seeing the ship still circling around.
"Here we go!" Luffy got himself inside the cannon while a few of the soldiers ran to him.
"He's in here!" One growled, pointing at the artillery weapon.
"What an idiot!" A second actually grabbed an igniter as he said that, "Guess we should launch him!"
The second he did so, Stainless and Beau-Père stormed into the room, too late to stop the process.
*BANG!*
"YAHOO!" Luffy cheered as he was shot out the cannon, flying in the air at great speed! He kept going until he could grab the ship in front of him, which he did, at full body mass, of course.
"You morons!" Stainless reprimanded the sailors as Beau-Père kicked the cannon to the side to pursue Luffy.
"We're not finished yet, Straw Hat!" He roared as he took off after him, hopping though the open gap.
"NAMI~!" The captain yelled swinging around the crow's nest, "RAISE ANCHOR! WE'RE GONE!"
"Aye aye!" Nami raised the anchor, wasting no time doing so. With it, the Sunny got back to normal, going straight as possible.
"Finally!" Usopp fell to the floor, "I was gonna lose my lunch at this rate!"
"Straw Hat!" Beau-Père came by with the battleship right behind him, almost side-by-side to the Sunny.
"Oh crap!" Luffy cursed as he got down, realizing he was still after him. "Oh well, it's working better than I thought."
[BGM: Unfinished Business, Xenoblade Chronicles]
The commander staggered on the floor when he landed, just about at his limit.
"You are one..." He breathed hard, "Crafty and tough... Ah, you get the idea."
"Second Gear!" Luffy got into the too familiar stance, ejecting steam from every orifice.
"Let's end this!" He grinned as Beau-Père returned with a smile of his own, running at each other to clash!
"Gum-Gum Jet Bazooka!"
"Puma Palm Double Barrel!"
Once more, a gale erupted from the connection of hands! It was so strong, it barely blew the fighters away from each other.
"Finger Pistol Single Action: Six Shooter!" Beau-Père used his right hand and shaped it like a pistol, letting loose with his claws this time. Despite this, Luffy was able to dodge them without trouble.
"Gum-Gum Jet Bullet!" Luffy fired his coated black arm below Beau-Père's stomach, making him cough up blood.
"Iron Gun Single Action!" The puma hybrid sent his arms out, one below the other, and sent a shock wave that sent the captain back to the railing!
"Gum-Gum Jet Rain!" Recovering from the blast, Luffy jumped up and stretched his arms out, striking his foe repeatedly and sending him to the other side of the Sunny!
As the commander came back to Luffy's face, he decked him to the ground with a strong left hook, shielded by an invisible layer!
Luffy got himself up, but only after his near metallic fist fired up to his chin in retaliation!
"The ship's getting closer!" Robin pointed out, seeing the shadow of the battleship barely touch the rear.
"Let's get ready to launch now!" The cyborg exclaimed, keeping his hand trained on the lever.
"Come on, Luffy!" Zoro whispered, watching the scene as Chopper and Henley came out on deck.
"Oh man, what's happening?" The doctor felt very dizzy, struggling to stay standing.
"The captain's fighting the commander," Henley murmured, "For his freedom."
"HAH!" Luffy landed a blow to Beau-Père's nose, though he retaliated by shedding his puma form, placing his fingers together for...
"Finger Pistol Single Action: Solid Caliber!" The commander got the captain in the stomach, pushing him back with an invisible layer, but with a difference. Luffy continued to get pushed away by the layer, which shaped out into some form of a solid, transparent wall!
"WAAAAAAH!" He was sent in the air again, but he elongated his arm to Beau-Père when the wall dissipated, except his hand was grabbed immediately by him!
"Gum-Gum Jet...!" Luffy landed on the floor and initially launched his other arm to attack his face, but reeled it back and coiled it up to strike his chest instead!
"Rifle!"
It had worked, and Beau-Père was knocked back!
"Volcano!" Luffy slid underneath him to kick him upward! Clearly, it succeeded!
But he wasn't through yet! Beau-Père halted himself in the air and put his arms together for a final move!
Luffy decided to do the same, contorting his torso up as quickly as he could, even inflating. The second he blew and untwisted himself, he was soaring up to his worthy opponent!
"IRON SINGLE ACTION GUN...!"
"GUM-GUM...!"
Beau-Père's clenched his fists as he brought them above Luffy, launching out a layer of energy that transformed into an orb!
"SOLID BALL~!"
"JET STORM~!"
Luffy unleashed his most devastating flurry of punches, both encased in a reflective armor-like state and almost ready to ignite at a moment's notice! The second they collided with the ball, they managed to return it to the sender.
"RAAAAAAAGGHHHHHH!"
The ball combusted when it hit Beau-Père, repelling him upward as Luffy pummeled him repeatedly up to the ship, almost without any signs of stopping.
"HOOWAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"
The last punch from Luffy went to his chest, except it almost appeared to be crackling with heat! When it connected, a small explosion of fire went off, and it guided Beau-Père a little further into the air until gravity took its course on both of them.
"Franky, now!" Sanji shouted, beckoning him to pull the lever.
"Cien Fleur: Spider Net!" Robin sprouted arms between the masts, creating a complex safety net for the tired captain to land on.
As Beau-Père descended, his back broke through the deck and he landed among several marines.
"Beau-Père?!" Stainless ran from the cannons, seeing the commander on the ground. "Are you alright?!"
"Coup de...!"
"I was..." Beau-Père uttered, "Finishing... Business."
Promptly after speaking those words, he went unconscious, content and smiling all the while.
Luffy was caught by the many arms below him. When he was in the makeshift net...
"Burst!"
The Thousand Sunny took off as though it were a rocket, vanishing into the night sky. The Straw Hat Pirates had succeeded in rescuing their captain.
As Luffy landed to the grass in exhaustion, gently let down by the scholar, he saw the glittering stars above him. He grinned and lightly chuckled, though his eyelids felt heavy.
"We've been through a lot," Usopp murmured, "We should rest."
"Indeed," Brook agreed, looking up to Chopper, who was fidgeting his hooves when he spotted him.
While Monkey D. Luffy slept on the deck, the Thousand Sunny flew off to another destination. The Cherry Triangle.
TO BE CONTINUED...
CHAPTERS REMAINING: 3