Chapter 6 - A Clash

The crowds were silent, even after over half of them collapsed. Some hoped they'd be spared as they moved to help their comrades, whilst others remained as still as possible. The fear they felt overwhelmed some of them, some of the crowd just stunned and unable to move in her presence.

Lady Fortune sighed to herself, and shook her head slightly.

"What the fuck happened when I was asleep?" The Yonko half thought half groaned internally to herself. She was so rudely awoken by a loud explosion in the main plaza, with the source of said explosion not being known to her yet. She heard from all the way up in her holiday villa!

And here she thought she'd have had a nice relaxing time on one of her more frequented islands. The islands knew she was staying here, she wasn't exactly subtle when she entered her villa. Hell, it was around the time she usually came to collect her demanded supplies from them for the journey back to the New World. So people knew she was here.

At least she'd dealt with some of the riff-raff with a single blast on Conquerors Haki. Her display seemed to have ended the battle permanently as none seemed to dare make a move with her here. Her presence often did that.

Fortune was about to speak her mind when she felt a tingle from her observation haki, followed by a rather loud bang, warning her of an incoming projectile. She could instantly tell what it was.

A bullet.

The Yonko leaned her head to the side, allowing the bullet to pass by harmlessly. Any noise the crowd had been making disappeared in a single instant. Nobody dared breathe. Even her crew silent at the act of defiance shown by whoever pulled the trigger.

The Yonkos' eyes narrowed, both amused and annoyed.

"Someone has a pair of balls on them…" She thought as she turned her head in the direction the bullet had come from.

That's when she laid her eyes upon the individual.

For a moment, she had thought the person might have tried to hide in the crowd after trying their luck. Most would have. But she was wrong.

Stood well away from the crowd, not even attempting to hide, facing her with a gun pointed at her whilst the other was hanging to the side, was a red-haired punk. A gunslinger by the looks of it. Everything about him screamed confident, and competent. His posture, stance, the aura that surrounded him. He easily stood above the rest of the riff-raff she'd ever met.

This guy was different. Something more than the others.

Fortune turned her body to face him fully, giving this brave fool her full attention, before she spoke.

"Aren't you a brave one." Her voice carried across the whole plaza, no other noise interrupting her words as they echoed about.

The redhead smirked at her, something she seemed to take delight in. "I'd say I'm more fearless than brave." He corrected her.

It seems this guy wasn't afraid of her.

She was impressed. Most would be terrified of her just because of her status, seems that meant very little to this guy.

"What's your name, kid?" She asked as the two had their stand-off in the center of the plaza.

The smirk never left his face as he twirled his guns, "Captain Rangestsu D. Ryder." He announced to not only her but the entire crowd watching their exchange.

"D clan? Not bad." Lady Fortune thought as she heard the initial in his name, but that wasn't the only thing she took notice of either. The title of Captain stuck out as well. Although she'd never heard of him, which meant he was a newbie.

Captain to a new crew it seems.

"So, a rookie pirate captain, huh?" She asked, but not needing an answer. "KInda a stupid move to attack me openly as you have. Someone like you is nothing compared to the likes of me."

Ryder chuckled, finding something she said amusing, "Oh, I know the difference between you and I." He waved his gun in her direction. "You stand among the top-tiers of the world."

Fortune arched a brow at the young fool, "And you think it wise to attack someone like me? You can't beat me, you're far too weak."

"I know," Ryder admitted, surprising the Yonkou slightly. "I know I can't beat you right now. Not yet." His smirk turning more savage, "But I want a taste. I want to fight you here and now."

His words, his tone, it all further scared the crowd around the pair. If they were scared before, they were terrified now by the young captain's declaration.

While the crowd was terrified, with hushed scared whispers and murmurs shared between them as all eyes fell on Ryder, Lady Fortune wasn't at all perturbed by the rookie pirate.

Brave words, but that's all they were. He hadn't actually shown her anything special yet. Something to show her.

"That's a poor choice on your part," Fortune spoke, her posture remaining as uncaring as she had been the whole time. Showing she didn't see him as a threat.

"Maybe it is," Ryder admitted, shrugging off her words with no effort. "But I still want a taste of it. I want a taste of what it's like at your level. Among the Emperors' of the world." His words had an effect on the crowd as they all seemed to back away from them, fearing what was coming if a fight was to start. "I want a taste of what it's like at the top here and now, because one day, I'll be drinking with the best of em."

And his next words shook nearly everyone.

"And when I do, I'll surpass you all as the Pirate King!" Ryder shouted, his words, voice, carrying across the island. There was little doubt that his declaration was heard by everyone on the island.

A declaration many never thought they'd get to witness.

A man calling himself the future Pirate King to a Yonkou.

Elvas' eyes remained fixated on the young pirate captain who had volunteered to help her not so long ago. The man who had given aid to those in need and asked for nothing in return. Someone as young as she was.

And yet he stood against a Yonkou.

One of the most powerful people in the world.

And she was honestly scared for Ryders' well-being.

The young doctor didn't know when she cared so much for the red-haired pirate captain, but that didn't matter. She cared, more than she should have, for him. She didn't want to see him die.

He didn't deserve to die, not here, not after hearing of his ambitions. He still had promises to keep, dreams to achieve. Elva honestly would have loved to hear he'd done it all one day.

But as it stood here and now, she was worried for him.

Yet she could do nothing to help him. No amount of words on her behalf could save him if things went poorly. In all likelihood, it would go poorly for him. She didn't know Ryder very well, but she could tell he had a strong heart to him.

As well as something special she couldn't quite pinpoint.

Was this it? His bravery? Maybe. But Elva didn't believe that would be of much help to him.

All Elva could do was hope that he survived his encounter.

That way, at the very least, she could help heal him after.

"That fool." Madalyn couldn't help thinking as she watched the self-proclaimed pirate stand before a Yonkou, challenging them to a fight in front of nearly the entire island.

She knew he stood no chance, not against the likes of Lady Fortune, but the swordswoman had to admire his courage even if he was still a fool.

A fool that was familiar to her though. She recognized the pirate. His guns, hair, and voice. He had been the one to release her, free her from captivity, and allowed her to escape the marine prison just hours before.

It seemed they were destined to meet again as they'd both made it to the same island, albeit she made it much faster than he did.

The swordsman owed the young pirate a debt for his rescue, but it seemed now was not the time to repay it.

Not in the middle of all this.

Madalyn clenched the hilt of her blade, eyes watching the red-haired pirate carefully. If the Yonkou so decided to, she could kill him with little effort. She knew that.

But for some odd reason, she believed Ryder did as well.

What did that say about him? That he was insane? Yes. But it spoke volumes of his courage. He was by far the bravest of everyone here.

Madalyn sighed to herself. "His bravery could very well get him killed."

That would truly be the worst-case scenario for the young self-proclaimed pirate captain. But that didn't change the fact that Madalyn had a debt to repay.

Either way, she would repay him for saving her.

Even if she repaid him by giving him a proper burial.

Daring, fearless, defiant, and utterly reckless.

Those are the words Azreal would use to describe this Ryder character. Although he too saw how foolish it was to directly challenge a Yonkou the way he had, he had to respect the young pirate on principle.

He dared when no one else would.

That was the mark of a strong character, one the bounty hunter was interested in. On his travels he'd met many interesting characters and towns, some good, some bad, but even he had to admit he never met someone so outlandishly brave as this Ryder fellow.

He had the traits of a warrior.

Azreal liked that.

This day, this battle, is something he would write about. A story of a warrior challenging a king! And as the bounty hunter travelled, he would tell others of this young pirates story this day!

But right now, the story wasn't over yet. For there was no ending yet.

And Azreal was curious as to whether or not this story would end in tragedy or not.

All eyes were on that crazy son of a bitch! That Ryder fella!

"Son of a bitch has a pair of balls on him!" A woman among the crowd thought to herself, getting quite giddy at the spectacle being put on for everyone.

A pair of cat-like amber eyes watched the reckless redhead. One simple thought came to her mind. It seems there was someone very interesting and very daring on this island!

The her in question was a woman named Kaiah.

Kaiah was one of the few who stood out in the crowd, both in terms of her opinion of the current situation and in appearance.

Kaiah is a curvy woman, standing at five foot ten, with dark brown skin, her hair being an ocean blue with curls going to her shoulders while some of her hair is tied in a bun at the top of her head as the rest hangs free. Her eyes are catlike, pretty amber in color, and focused on the redhead in the center of the plaza. Physically, one could tell Kaiah was strong given some of the definition found across her body. There's actually quite a bit of muscle on her so you know she can definitely hold her own in a fight.

Her most notable feature, however, is that her left leg from above the knee down has been replaced by her own homemade prosthetic. The prosthetic being made of a dark metal and has a sleek design to better resemble a human leg. If not for her eyes and fake leg, you wouldn't really notice her. She's pretty average-looking. Her attire consists of a black spaghetti strap crop top, dark brown cut off shorts, and a black boot.

Depending on the crowd, she could sometimes stick out.

But here and now? Nobody paid her any mind.

No, all eyes were on the madman and the Yonkou.

And Kaiah was loving it!

Although she was pretty sure the rest of the crowd were shitting themselves in fear of what the Yonkou was going to do in retaliation, but whatever, she didn't really care. To be fair, Kaiah wouldn't like to be in this Ryder guy's shoes specifically. Challenging a Yonkou? Fucking insane!

But she could certainly respect his type of crazy!

The bastard had her attention now! Kaiah knew she had to talk to this guy at some point after everything else settled down.

That is if he survived the day.

Fearless.

Fearless in the face of one the strongest pirates of their era. Lady Fortune, a Yonkou, standing among the strongest of the world. Someone who put fear into the hearts of many small-time pirates, marines, and islanders.

And yet here, on this very island, someone faced one with no fear in their heart.

The stories of the Yonkou were anything but legend. They were the truth. Fact.

The World Government wouldn't dare openly declare war on a Yonkou, the Shichibukai didn't directly challenge Yonkou either, few ever did. They stood as one of the three pillars of the world. One of the three pillars of power, alongside the World Government and Shichibukai.

Challenging them was a dangerous, near-suicidal move for most.

Rex knew of how dangerous the Yonkou were. He'd heard of their power and influence. The bounty hunter dreamed of the day where he would fight among the top-tiers of the world, standing among them as the World's Greatest Swordsman.

He knew one day he would achieve that dream and challenge the best of the best, but until that day he'd work on his own strength. He wasn't ready yet.

But apparently, someone thought they were.

And of all the people that it had to be, it was Ryder.

The young pirate captain stood fearless in the face of a legendary pirate Emperor.

Once again, the bounty hunter couldn't help but think more in-depth about his new comrade. The longer he was with the, frankly insane, pirate captain the more he was both intrigued and impressed by him.

Ryder lived for his ideals, his goals, with no fear of what kind of trouble those ideals might cause. He was reckless, insanely so, but where others saw him as foolish, Rex knew better.

Ryder was reckless but not because he couldn't see the consequences of his actions, but because he believed himself capable of dealing with them.

Rex had often heard the line, your actions have consequences. And while it was true, the bounty hunter never concerned himself with them.

Observing Ryder now, he knew he was the same as himself.

Someone who could actually see more than others would ever give him credit for. A man without fear of the actions he chooses to take in life. The young captain knew the consequences to his actions when he challenged a Yonkou, and he was willing to live with them, whatever they might be.

That was something Rex could respect.

No.

That was something Rex did respect.

A man without fear.

Ryder wasn't one to be controlled. He wouldn't be the one to bow to another, Rex could see that now. The young captain forged his own path however he damn well pleased, and even if the price for his dreams was blood, Ryder would pay in full.

Just as Rex would, Ryder would die for the sake of his dreams.

And Ryder wasn't afraid to prove it either.

Ryder never lost his signature smirk even as the crowd whispered, murmured, muttered, and freaked out silently all around him. But the young pirate paid their words no mind. They were unimportant right now.

One person held all his attention.

Lady Fortune.

He watched her reaction to his declaration, watched how she didn't seem all that phased by it. Like his words meant nothing to her, as if spoken by a random nobody.

But perhaps that's what she thought of him.

He had to admit to himself that he wasn't a known figure in the world, not yet, so for her to think it some random no-name pirate making bold statements with no merit to them was reasonable.

Well, that was on her.

Ryder knew himself better than nearly anyone. He knew what he was capable of, what he was capable of achieving. One day they would know.

Ryder chuckled at the thought of people telling stories about this day. When the Pirate King once challenged a Yonkou when he was merely a rookie pirate. What a way to start a journey!

"You're certainly more out there than many I've ever met," Fortune said to the young captain, eyes examining him as she held a somewhat neutral expression as she did. "You must be insane to think challenging me is in any way a good idea."

"Just you watch," Ryder yelled back, "I'm full of bad ideas!"

Fortune merely rolled her eyes, "What makes you so different that you think you have what it takes to reach the top of the world?" She scoffed at him, "All I see is some no-name pirate with a pair of balls on him."

Ryder smirks turned more savage once again, "Why don't we fight so you can find out?"

"So be it." Fortune didn't bother changing into a fighting stance as Ryder fired four shots in her direction. With a swing of her bisento she deflected each show.

Ryder charged her down, head-on, and swung both his guns at her. Fortune intercepted the attack once again and blocked the strike.

The young captain immediately swung a kick, aimed low toward her midsection, as he leaped back from the initial failed attack. Fortune dodged by merely stepping back, allowing the kick to pass by harmlessly.

Ryder pressed the attack as he threw a flurry of attacks at the Yonkou, kicks, pistols strikes and the occasional shot fired in her direction.

But once again, she blocked, deflected, or dodged each of his attacks with relative ease. The skill gap between the two was becoming quite apparent.

Trying his luck, Ryder attempted to slam both the ends of his pistols into her gut, but, unfortunately, Fortune sidestepped the attack just as he thought it was about to hit.

"Is that all you got?" Fortune questioned, hardly caring for her opponent's answer. The fight continued.

But this time, it was Fortune who swung back.

Fortune slammed her fist into Ryder, the force of the strike created a shockwave that shook the area around them, shattering the ground beneath them as Ryder was flung in a tumble across the courtyard.

Clearly, Fortune was holding back as Ryder got up mid bounce, blood running down his face from where he was slammed into the ground when thrown, and fired on her again. The shots did nothing as she avoided them.

"FMJ Burst!"

Ryder fired off a triple burst from each pistol, aimed for the Fortunes torso. She deflected the attack by twirling her bisento in one hand, the rounds flying off dangerously into the crowd as everyone jumped for cover.

The young captain leaped into the air above his foe.

"Barrage!"

He unleashed a flurry of kicks, the force of each hit was like getting hit by an artillery round. Fortune dodged and blocked when necessary, each of Ryders attacks missing the Yonkou but splitting the ground beneath her feet.

After a few seconds, Fortune her bisento overhead, bashing Ryder with the flat side of the weapon. With Ryder against the side of her bisento, she drove it into the ground and slammed Ryder into the ground with enough force that it splintered the ground of the entire plaza.

With Ryder pinned under her weapon, Fortune lifted her weapon and twirled it in one before striking Ryder with the blade edge.

Ryder was sent flying from the attack as her weapon sliced both his right leg and arm in a row, he yelled in pain as he tumbled across the ground.

Everyone paled at the blood that stained Fortunes weapon, with splatters of blood across the ground where he was originally struck. A small, broken blood trail led from where they were to where Ryder had landed. Those two wounds were serious enough that it would take most out of a fight.

Many thought that would have been the end of the fight there and then.

But Ryder stood up within the dust as it settled, his face covered slightly.

"This is over," Fortune spoke as swiped her weapon diagonally toward in an attempt to fling the blood off her weapon.

But much to everyone's shock, including Fortunes, they heard laughter.

Every single person here looked toward Ryder.

He looked up toward the Yonkou, and his face was that of a joyous and cocky smile.

"You don't get to decide when I'm done fighting." He responded to Fortunes words, his voice going up in volume until he was shouting. Ryder rolled his shoulders as he stood up despite his injuries, pushing past the pain even if one could see the strain his body was already under. "We're not done here until I've got what I've wanted from all this."

Silence passed between Ryder and Fortune. No words were exchanged as she watched the young pirate, her eyes searching for something. Attempting to decipher more about the rookie captain.

"Most would have fallen already," Fortune began, her words calm and collected for the most part, "With the kind of wounds you've sustained, I'm surprised you can still stand. But that does show the kind of strength you do have." Her calm facade cracked as a small smirk made its way across the Yonkous face, "Your strength isn't one often seen in the world." She gave a single breathless laugh, "I can respect that, kid."

Ryder laughed as well, "I wasn't expecting to earn respect from a Yonko."

"Well, you have." She responded before swinging her bisento toward Ryder to point at him. "If you want to continue this for a bit more than so be it, but don't waste any more of my time." At this point, the kid had proven his point already and Fortune kinda wanted to just leave. The brawl was done, she wasn't needed, and she wanted to get back to the New World.

"If I can stand, I can fight." Ryder grinned as he cocked both his guns. Ready to go for another attempt. He was gonna try go all out and see where that got him.

Ryder spun his guns around his finger before grabbing them both, holding them in an X shape in front of his chest. He vulcanized his guns with armament haki, with a red mist-like aura coming from the ends of the barrels before they burst into flames. The young pirate aimed by his guns toward his foe.

"Thermal Annihilation!"

Ryder threw himself at Fortune in a blur of motion, kicking off the ground with such force that only two or three people in the crowd were able to follow with their eyes as he sped across the plaza. His sudden burst of speed kicked up huge amounts of dust, enough to cover the houses directly behind him. Ryder swung to strike with all his might.

But she was ready for him.

Fortune swung her bisento, angled perfectly, to Ryders' chest. It happened so fast that nobody saw the damage done to Ryder. Only that he was thrown across the plaza, splitting the ground open, creating an impact crater on the complete opposite side of Fortune. The force of the strike sent cracks breaking off from the final impact zone, breaking the ground beneath their feet. The shockwave knocked over ninety-five percent of the crowd, with a few being flung back.

A swing like that damn near destroyed the entire plaza.

Blood sprayed across the ground in front of Fortune, the blade of her bisento dripped with blood. It was a gruesome sight, with a few members of the crowd thinking Ryder might have been sliced in half.

The crowd held their breath as the dust began to settle. Many of the onlookers all wondered if Ryder had survived the attack, or some wondered what Lady Fortune would do next, praying they weren't punished by her.

Fortune looked as though she was about to speak when she was forced to dodge two shots, both aimed directly to her head.

One could hear the crowd suck in another breath as Fortunes eyes narrowed dangerously back toward Ryder.

He stood up, climbing over the edge of the crater to stand in the open once again. The crowd looked on in horror, some even fainting, from the state Ryder was in.

Blood ran down his face, covering nearly eighty percent of his face, on his right leg and arms, both wounds bleed profusely, blood running down both limbs forming a puddle of blood under his feet. The clothes on his chest shredded, tattered pieces of cloth were all that remained, hanging loosely from his shoulders.

But all that was nothing compared to the massive slash across the young pirates chest. A wound that stretched from his upper left shoulder, going to the end of his bottom rip on his right.

The wound stained his entire body red with blood.

He looked like hell. And in all likelihood, he probably felt like it too.

Yet he still stood up, one arm hanging loosely by his side.

With nothing but sheer strength of Will, he still stood before a Yonkou in defiance.

Everyone was stunned by that, even Lady Fortune was impressed.

But that didn't mean she wasn't slightly annoyed by him either.

"You continue to surpass what I thought you were capable of." She admitted to the rookie pirate. "But this fight is over. You can do no more."

"I've still got some fight left in me." Ryder countered as a few heavy breathes escaped his lips. He was really hurting now, there was no denying that. Everyone here knew that.

Fortune scowled, "You've proven your worth, had my attention long enough, but you're not wasting any more of my time." She swung her bisento and turned toward her awaiting crew. Her back now facing Ryder, "It's over."

"It's over when I say it's over!" He yelled at her, "Or when I'm dead!"

His words echoed across the island, the people around them began sweating bullets at how much he pushed back against the terrifying Yonkou. The guy was insane for antagonizing a Yonkou, directly opposing their wishes as he did. The more he fought, the angrier she was likely to get.

The last thing Miklagard needed was an enraged Yonkou on their hands.

People in the crowd began muttering how Ryder should stop, should some of them attempt to take him down and allow the Yonkou to leave, or simply beg the rookie pirate to stop.

"You have nothing more to show me," Fortune said as she began walking toward her crew.

Ryder merely smirked, "Try me, bitch."

That certainly scared the shit out of everybody around him. Many of the people watching froze in fear after hearing him scream such a thing. Even Lady Fortune had to pause at hearing that insult.

That's when people in the crowd began to make a move on Ryder. Suddenly, hundreds of people charged at Ryder from the crowd, from all three factions that had been brawling, all yelling for him to shut up, stop, with weapons in hand, ready to take him down.

Ryders' smirk merely grew.

As they all closed in on him, every single one of them was his by a blast of overwhelming willpower. Everyone that had been charging Ryder fell to the ground simultaneously, all of them unconscious, unmoving. It was just like earlier when a huge portion of the crowd fell before Lady Fortune.

The ones that hadn't charged him all stiffened as all eyes went to the Yonkou.

Nobody else moved, or even breath, as she slowly turned to face Ryder once again.

Except, she didn't look angry.

She actually looked surprised.

"I was wrong," She spoke, stunning the crowd around them, "There is more for you to show me."

Her words hit the entire audience hard.

All of them coming to the same unbelievable realization at once.

That blast of Conquerors haki hadn't come from Lady Fortune.

It came from Ryder.

Done and done.

That's the end of another chapter.

Things are heating up, and a new character was introduced!

I did create a discord for three of my fanfictions, and their followers to meet up. I'll be there myself so you can chat with me and a few others about whatever stories of mine catch your interest. Message me for Discord Join - Arsene#6329 (As this site hates links…)

Review Responses:

SugarGlaze: More a beatdown than a showdown, poor Ryder. We'll be meeting crew all over the place in the coming arcs. I want to try to get them all onboard as soon as possible.

Sheaon13: Glad Ryder is to your liking. This chapter was very Ryder-Centric, so was that to your liking as well?

Disclaimer, I obviously don't own One Piece. All OC' go to their respective owners and such.

AlcatrazDGold - Peace!