CHAPTER 29 - Desperation
Law was found in the yard with a stern face. Fireflies lit with the onset of evening. He had arrived at the Butterfly Mansion with his companions from Tokyo. Though Law had been unhurt, the caretakers of the Mansion discovered Tengen Uzui's wives in a condition of concern.
"What happened?" Aoi asked with an anxious look.
Sumi, Kiyo and Naho were afraid.
"Demons." replied Maki, "Captain Law saved us from a terrible fate."
"You were with Hashira Uzui the other day." Aoi told her.
"We are his wives." Hinatsuru replied, much to the girls' awe.
Law looked around.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"Lady Kanroji shall return soon. Hashira Iguro had faced a Demon Moon and was wounded in battle. The Lady was concerned." said Aoi.
"Iguro? That snake guy?"
Aoi nodded.
"Lady Tamayo and Yushiro are in their rooms." she said.
"It seems everything's in control out here. I'll leave in an hour to check on Hebi-ya. Leave me his address before I depart." said Law.
"Hebi-ya?" Sumi was confused.
"I think he means Hashira Iguro. He has a pet snake if I remember right." said Kiyo.
"Please escort these ladies to the infirmary and take a blood sample. They were wounded by a Moon-Demon." said Law indicting Uzui's wives, "Let Miss Tamayo know of the same. I'll join you in a moment."
Aoi and the girls nodded leading Hinatsuru and her co-wives through the Mansion.
"Captain Law."
Aoi turned around.
"A messenger crow had showed up today at the headquarters before you arrived." she said.
"Zoro-ya?" Law asked.
Aoi nodded, "Master Ubuyashiki had sent a mail to the Butterfly Mansion describing the events. The letter is at your desk."
"What happened?" Law asked.
"Lady Shinobu and Hashira Zoro were found by the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji. And they had to fight pirates."
Law couldn't keep his shock.
"Very well. I shall meet you in a short moment." he said, dashing off inside.
As he left, Mitsuri arrived and observed the gathering at the Butterfly Mansion yard. She found Law rushing inside.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Captain Law has just arrived. We mentioned him of the news from the afternoon." Aoi said.
Mitsuri understood the man's need to get detailed. She walked along the corridor and turned right towards Law's room, discovering him reading the letter in front of him with great attention. His hands shook from the details mentioned on the paper. Despite the agitation building up he instead folded the letter and placed it on his table. He took a deep breath and sighed, turning around to find his observing visitor waiting outside.
"Your Demon King is dead." Law mentioned.
Mitsuri did not reply for a while as Law placed his sword on the table.
"Who is Doflamingo?" she asked after the silence.
Law looked at her for a moment before turning his look below. He observed his hands wide open, clasping into a fist with a slight tremble. He took another deep breath before laying his arms to rest.
"Shinobu sent me a separate private letter detailing of their battles." revealed Mitsuri.
"What did she say?" Law asked in a low voice.
"The man named Doflamingo terrified her more than Kibutsuji. I find that hard to believe."
"She should be."
They walked through the corridor and arriving at the yard. They set down and observed the glowing fireflies.
"The letter was detailed of last night." Law mentioned, "I read Kibutsuji had created the Demons and said all of them should have perished with him gone. And yet…"
"And yet we live."
Law and Mitsuri turned around to find Yushiro glaring at them. He was accompanied by Lady Tamayo whose serene looks had a touch of angst.
"I don't believe Shinobu or Hashira Zoro would send false news." Mitsuri said with a surprised look on her face, "Or was the message tempered in any way?"
"No." replied Tamayo, "The message said the truth. Zoro-san and the Demon Slayers faced Kibutsuji in the town of Shi-niju."
"So, what's going on?"
"I knew Kibutsuji had been weakened when I felt the vibe last night."
"I didn't feel anything." Yushiro said.
"You was turned into a Demon by me, so it's understandable. But as for me, I felt it as any other Demons that were raised by Kibutsuji himself."
"So you are saying he was weakened, not defeated." Law reiterated, "Like all other Demons he disintegrated, and yet he's not gone."
"I don't know for certain but he doesn't seem to be dead. But I do know that he felt fear for the first time in a long while."
"Kibutsuji not being dead should explain the Upper Moon-Demon today."
Law revealed his journey to his curious listeners. Mitsuri and the rest were surprised to hear of his gambit that lit Daki and the other Demon Moon from the sun.
"They might have been threatened, just like Tama-ya has mentioned of Kibutsuji. They attacked today during daylight." he said.
Mitsuri had to agree. In her experience, Demons would rarely attack during daylight hours.
"Just a hypothesis, but if the Upper Moon-Demons can fake death as Kibutsuji did…" Law began, and he could see the troubled looks of his companions. The phrase 'fake death' gave shivers down all the others.
"…we should best stay guard at night." Mitsuri completed his statement.
Law nodded, "Should she be alive, I doubt that Warabi… whatever Demon lady would leave me alone after what I did."
Naho showed up and found the group with grave faces.
"Law-san, we took the blood samples as you have asked." she said in a timid tone.
"Right. I almost forgot." Law said, getting up, "Tama-ya, we have some work to do."
Tama-ya? Yushiro wondered annoyed.
"Those women were engulfed by the Upper Moon-Demon. I felt a Demon aura that emanated from Uzu-ya's wives." Law explained.
"Let's get into the examination right off." Tamayo replied in prompt.
"Look who we have here." Scratchmen Apoo glared below.
"He shot me!" bellowed Batman who was in a bad shape.
"Now, now. All's well." Apoo replied, "Well, he can't move and he's bleeding like anything. You say Pirate Hunter Zoro from the Straw Hats did this to him?"
"Him and three other women." said Batman.
"Women? Pirates?"
"Didn't seem like pirates."
"Jack mentioned something regarding the Pirate Hunter's new companions. Trafalgar Law was said to be one of them."
Apoo looked upon the defeated Doflamingo, "The Straw Hats and Heart Pirates did defeat this fellow a few weeks back. He must have escaped from the brig to settle score."
"He demanded Trafalgar's location, but the Pirate Hunter and his friends defeated him in retaliation." explained Batman.
"Seems quite the friends Roronoa has."
At that moment, Doflamingo coughed out much to their surprise.
"Hey, get the sea prism stones!" Apoo bellowed. A Waiter of the Beast Pirates rushed in and clamped Doflamingo's arms.
Batman was almost ready to fly off finding Doflamingo regaining consciousness.
"He was poisoned by one of those women. Paralysed him before he was defeated." he said.
"Who the hell are you bastards?" growled Doflamingo regaining his senses.
"There's no need for hostility. You were defeated and now we'll take you back to the ships." replied Apoo.
"You think you can take me a prisoner?" Doflamingo demanded.
Apoo beckoned the Waiter next to him to clamp another sea prism cuff onto Doflamingo's legs.
"I'm going to kill you." Doflamingo threatened.
The Waiter retreated in terror.
Despite two sea prism cuffs to negate Doflamingo's strength and Devil Fruit powers, the man leaped back to his feet, recuperating his strength and mobility from the paralysis poison.
"Get these cuffs off." he ordered.
Apoo, Batman and the Waiter were terrified to find unparalleled strength emanating from Doflamingo's rage.
"That won't be necessary." A large voice rumbled in from the road.
"Jack!" bellowed Batman who was the happiest to find the Beast Pirates All-Star marching in with his troops.
Jack walked in his normal form.
"Doflamingo." Jack growled, "You dared escape from my ship."
Doflamingo began to laugh, "What the hell are you going to do? Now that I am freed from the Marines, I can get Caesar back."
"Caesar is beyond our grasp." Jack replied, "Unless you are willing to storm into Big Mom's territory."
Doflamingo's grin turned to angst.
"You want Trafalgar Law's head for ruining my business and so do I." he said, "That ungrateful brat is here in this land. Let me have my hands on him."
"Bastard! You don't make demands!" Jack bellowed, "Trafalgar defeated you once and now you are cuffed under my authority. You are beaten and bloody. You are of no use here."
"Roronoa Zoro showed up." Apoo informed.
"I knew that scum of a pirate was here. Where is Speed? Useless horse! Couldn't find a single pirate."
"Pirate Hunter and that poison woman are going to die." Doflamingo hissed.
"So you were defeated by the Pirate Hunter?" Jack looked back in contempt.
Doflamingo made no reply.
"He's acquired some pesky friends. Two of his swordsmen escaped my grasp before the night turned to dawn. And there's that puny woman I saw back at sea. They all need to be crushed." Jack declared.
"What do we do?" Apoo asked, indicating Doflamingo.
"Take him back to his ship and lock him up with twice the chains. Bastard needs to be alive for General Kaido. Tend to his wounds so that he doesn't die."
"That was a flamboyant retreat. That elephant-man was a monster." remarked Uzui.
"Jack, that was." said Tomioka, wiping the blood off his forehead.
"You fellows look beaten up." Uzui observed his companions, who met with his team after escaping from Jack.
"Is it true Kibutsuji's dead?" enquired Tomioka.
"He is. Zoro defeated him at the castle." Shinobu replied, tending to Zoro's wounds. The latter winced as she stitched up the cuts from Doflamingo's stab blows, along with the wounds inflicted from the Nichirin blades.
"You have lost a lot of blood." she mentioned.
"I have had much worse. A nap should fix the damage." Zoro replied.
Kanao observed him in worry. After all, he was the man who led the group to survive one of the most formidable and brutal nights in her known history.
"We cannot stay here long." reminded Kanae, observing her broken Nichirin blade.
Tomioka agreed. He knew that Jack and his men might have been looking out for them.
"I was surprised when I found the old Master Kuwajima back from the dead. Now I have seen it all. Kanae Kocho, the Flower Hashira, outside her grave." Uzui commented. He observed the lady, whose skin had gone white and naught of life. And yet her eyes and voice gave her spirit in contrary to her demise years back.
"The situation's getting worse." Zoro said.
"Now that Kibutsuji's gone, we can aid on the Pirate problem." Kanae supported.
"I agree." Tomioka replied, "He's a threat to this land."
"True, and yet it's not our responsibility to bring brigands to justice. That job's for the Imperial government." Uzui reminded.
"The government has been driven by Conquest ideology in the past many years. They annexed Korea and displayed continuance of strength from their victories against Russia after Port Arthur, and the Great War. And yet, the people have starved from the aftermath of the Rice Riots where food was sent to feed Imperial troops in a place called Siberia. I doubt they'd care should a few pirates bleed a few villages and towns against the bigger picture." Tomioka criticised.
"You are right. It's unlikely they'd care unless Jack starts burning cities." Uzui nodded.
"I won't comment about the politics of this land, but we need to regroup with Tora-o before we proceed ahead against Jack." Zoro advised.
"Speaking of Law, Doflamingo mentioned of his defeat against him and your ship Captain. I wanted to ask of it." Shinobu remembered.
"He was out for revenge. We foiled his plans a while back, leading to the abdication of his throne and arrest by the Marines." Zoro explained, "He was a tyrant and now he wants payback against the rebels."
"So I'd believe he's an enemy of the Beast Pirates. He said he had been locked up in one of their ships."
"Doflamingo supplied the Beast Pirates with artificial Devil Fruits called SMILEs. Tora-o mentioned the destruction of the SMILE factory would lead to the end of their business alliance. We destroyed the said factory and Doflamingo has been no more a pal to Jack and his friends." Zoro explained, "There's one thing that's yet bothering in my mind. Doflamingo was taken in by the Marines, and yet he is here."
"Jack must have rescued him." said Kanae.
"It seems the only possible reason. Jack was said to face an Admiral and a former Fleet Admiral. It must have been a challenge." Zoro said.
"Jack and his men surrounded the town and we hadn't the resources to fight all of them." said Uzui said.
"We heard you guys were in danger." Shinobu said.
"We know that better than anyone." Tomioka replied, "We would have lost the fight. Despite all our efforts, Jack was fazed none in his Mammoth form."
"We need to regroup. Jack would come after us in revenge before long." said Zoro.
"How should we defeat him? None of our attacks seemed to deal any significant damage." replied Uzui.
"We shouldn't have involved you Demon Slayers with the pirates. The New World Pirates are trouble."
"You have done us a great deed defeating Kibutsuji. It would be only right to return the aid."
"We can help." pressed Tomioka, "We fought Moria and his undead back in the islands."
"The Beast Pirates are unlike Moria or his zombies." explained Zoro, "Jack represents the crew of one of the Four Emperors situated in the New World."
"Teach us the use of Haki." Shinobu suggested, "We had a hard time against Doflamingo because of it."
"Haki can't be taught in a short time unless you have involuntarily awakened its primitive form. It took me two whole years to use Observation and Armament. Let Tora-o and I handle Jack." explained Zoro, "If your fellow Demon Slayers should comply, we can use their help to push back the Beast Pirates."
"I will vouch for it." said Tomioka.
"So will us." said Kanao, including her sisters.
Zoro observed the sisters looking eagerly back to help. He remembered Doflamingo's barrage of Bullet Strings. He realised he had performed Imbuement of Armament Haki onto the sisters despite the difficulty of performing it due to the clash of spiritual energies between two or more living bodies. And yet, something allowed him to connect with their spirits whilst the desperate situation, protecting all of them from a bloodbath. The Armament was amplified beyond its usual employment, allowing Zoro to break free Doflamingo's strings that controlled the sisters. It had been something he knew couldn't have performed in that short moment.
"What's wrong?" Kanae asked, feeling ominous from his sudden silence.
"It may be unlikely, but I have a presumption that somebody amongst you ladies might have awakened Haki without realising." Zoro replied.
The sisters looked upon each other in surprise.
"How do you know?" Kanao asked.
"I don't know. But I couldn't have defended you all against Doflamingo's bullet barrage by my own Haki."
"What do you mean?" Shinobu asked.
"My Armament Haki extended to defend you three, which seemed not possible because you all have living spirits inside you, which should have clashed against my Haki, or in the general case, of another living being. Armament Imbuement itself is not an easy technique and I don't know if anyone has answers to its employment on living things." Zoro explained, "The situation was dire and I had to take a big risk. I don't know why that happened but I felt a sense of strength at the moment of the bullet barrage; a surge that gave me sudden confidence to extend my Haki to full power."
Zoro was intrigued by his analogy of the event, giving him hope to understand Haki even more. He looked at the sisters.
"If my assumptions turn true, I may be able to teach you control. The control of the Haki basics." Zoro revealed.
TO BE CONTINUED...