Knives continued to missile themselves at Kimagure Joka from all directions.
It was like Furio had 8 hands, easily able to catch and throw everything he sent out.
Yet it did not matter.
Kimagure Joka had already mastered all the acrobatics of the circus.
He could backflip, front flip, do the splints, perform handstands, and not to mention his balance was that of a seasoned performer.
Indeed, like a sponge, Kimagure Joka had absorbed many lessons from the troupe.
That's not to say, however, that there haven't been close calls..
*RIPPP!*
Furio's knives hadn't managed to touch Kimagure Joka, but they had managed to rip at Kimagure Joka's loose-fit jester clothing.
Much to Kimagure Joka's dismay, he did not have the time to stop and grimace over his swag.
"Hahahaha! I'm getting closer and closer, Joka! You can't dodge forever!"
With each catch and throw, Furio poured more passion into his actions.
"Ooo. 3"
Kimagure Joka felt a heat in his groin as Furio got deeper and deeper into the trance of battle.
'Mmm! That struggle! That desire! +'
It was then that something snapped.
Kimagure Joka became a slave to the rhythm.
Whether this desire had been there his whole life, or that it recently developed, he did not know.
"!"
A deadly knife came spinning its way through the air.
Its curvature was perfectly misleading.
It's speed on another level.
The destination? Kimagure Joka's heart.
It was a throw that symbolized all the resentment that Furio harbored.
But alas..
At the last moment, Kimagure Joka was able to sense it.
He flipped backward, catching the knife in the process.
Kimagure Joka didn't stop there. Now he was catching every knife that came his way.
The vortex he was trapped in was now losing its volume.
"It can't be!"
Furio continued to throw whatever he had at Kimagure Joka.
Call it resolution… call it stupidity…
Whatever you would call it, it's not going to help Furio.
Before Furio knew it, he was all out of knives.
He gazed down at his empty hands in disbelief.
"Kukuku. +"
Kimagure Joka walked slowly toward Furio, holding all the knives in his hands just like how Furio demonstrated at the start of their fight.
"Did you forget that I could catch your knives, Furio-san? 3"
Kimagure Joka walked slowly as if he was savoring each step- for each step he took, Furio's body reacted in terror.
'Uuuuugh! 3' Kimagure Joka internally moaned.
Furio widened his eyes.
He tried to step back, run away- anything!
But he could not.
His feet wouldn't move.
Kimagure Joka made his way up to Furio with agonizing slowness.
Or at least to Furio, that's how it felt.
In the face of death, time loses its meaning.
The last thing Furio saw was Kimagure Joka's golden eyes.
*SLASH!*
For his throat had been cut.
…
Bonnie and Clyde had employed the use of teamwork in their fight against Raito.
As one fired their Tommy gun, the other would reload.
They continued swapping the responsibility of firing and reloading with great exactness.
This system allowed Bonnie and Clyde to work like a continuous machine gun that never stopped.
'Damn it! How much ammunition do they have?!'
Raito cursed under his breath as he backed up some distance away from Bonnie and Clyde.
Enough distance that their attempts at hitting him were rendered futile.
"Huff..Huff…"
"Hey, Ninja boy! What's wrong? Getting tired?" Clyde cackled, flicking her red hair.
Bonnie blew the smoke away from the barrel of his Tommy gun, "He's a slippery one, but what's the point if he can't get close?"
Raito observed the cockiness of Bonnie and Clyde and felt mildly insulted.
"You two are a bad match for each other."
Was Raito on to something? Bonnie and Clyde suddenly got defensive, "What did you just say?!"
"Because your love made your paths cross with mine."
At saying those words, Raito reached behind his back into the camouflaged ninja pouch on his right ass cheek.
When his hands came out, round balls were in between each of his fingers.
*POOF! X8*
Raito threw those round balls. When they landed, clouds of smoke burst out with the suddenness of an airbag in a car accident.
Bonnie and Clyde got lost in the smoke.
"Where is he?!" Clyde called, placing her back against Bonnie's.
"Shh! Quiet!"
Bonnie and Clyde darted their eyes, scanning their surroundings for any shifts in the smoke.
"FUCK THIS!"
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
*DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOT DOOT!*
Bonnie could not take the tension any longer. He sprayed gunfire aimlessly into the smoke.
"A-..AAHHHHH!" Clyde followed suit.
Their bullets pierced through the dense shroud, creating spirals of air currents.
When the gunfire stopped, all you could hear was the sizzle coming from the Tommy guns of Bonnie and Clyde.
The smoke clouds started to dissipate.
"Huff..Huff.." Clyde wiped the sweat from her temple, "Did we get him, my love?"
"I don't know, did we?"
"Huh?!"
The back that laid against hers should have been her lover.
Yet the voice coming from behind her was that of someone else.
*FWIP!*
A chop to the back of Clyde's neck made her drop to the ground, nearly losing consciousness.
Laying across from her was her lover Bonnie.
"…Well, that was easy."
Raito awkwardly scratched his head as he gazed down at his defeated adversaries.
"?!" All Clyde could do was move her eyeballs around.
" .. Happened?" Bonnie managed to muster his mouth to move.
Raito crouched down and smiled at Bonnie and Clyde with a great big grin.
"Smoke balls. You fell for the oldest trick in the book! Hahaha!"
Ninja combat had evolved to the point where smoke balls aren't as useful as they used to be. Even young ninjas at the academy had sharpened up to the cliche ninja smoke ball.
His thoughts strayed back to his students of Team G. It had not been long since his departure, but he missed them.
'Even if Bakato makes it to Yokage, I bet he will still fall for such tricks!'
Raito stood and stretched, "I can't wait to see how much he grows."
…
"Tch!"
Meanwhile, Grit had been getting angrier by the second.
The seven dwarfs, led by Saha, had proven to be craftier than Grit gave them credit.
Grit had been annoyingly surprised by the way Saha and his boys made use of Saha's Jara-Jara-No-Mi.
That being said, it's not like Grit didn't notice the patterns in their tactics.
It would begin with a loud and obvious attack from one of the dwarfs.
They would cry "AHHH!" and come at Grit with reckless vigor.
It would all be done at a speed far too easy for Grit to perceive.
Hence, Grit would confidently counter.
Yet when he swung his sword, his target would always get yanked away by the chains connected to their belt.
It was like the seven dwarfs were one entity.
The center of gravity of every one of them was finely in tune.
Though small in stature, these seven men were well connected with their bodies and with each other.
Before Grit knew it, the other six dwarfs would be in his grill and delivering damage.
Were it not for Grit's great strength in wielding the cold hunk of metal that is the Demon Slayer, the seven dwarfs would have killed him in a second.
One second would be all it took.
It wouldn't have mattered if they were sloppy.
If they were fighting any normal man, it would be over in an instant.
But they were fighting against Grit; the cloaked swordsman.
It had only been minutes and Grit already had a sense of their attack patterns.
As such, each attempt at Grit's life was met with instant resistance.
"GACK!" one of the dwarfs splattered blood from his mouth as Grit's sword shattered through his shield and hacked at his body.
Light spread from Saha, down through the chains, to the dwarf with the broken shield, healing him.
"Hmph." Grit locked eyes with Saha.
"I know how your power works." Grit declared, his devilish smile borderline psychotic.
Saha sensed so much evil that he felt like puking.
"!"
Quick as a flash, Grit was upon Saha.
*CHING!… CHING!*
Two slashes of Grit's Demon Slayer broke the steel chains to either side of Saha's belt, severing his connection to his companions.
"Wha?"
"Haha, stupid bastards."
Grit leaned back and relaxedly summoned all his strength.
"You think I wouldn't notice? The chains that connect you guys act as a conduit for Saha's spirit link power. The glow that spreads from Saha's body makes it too obvious. Without the physical connection, he can't spirit link jack shit!"
Grit smirked at the frozen Saha, his Demon Slayer waiting for orders.
"Oh fu-!"
"NOOO!"
The other six dwarfs scrambled, diving to their leader with everything they had.
Saha did everything he could. He jumped back, leaving whatever happened next to fate.
Grit's Demon Slayer slashed across.
"!"
*BZZZZZT!*
Blood spluttered from Saha's torso.
Saha and his companions tumbled.
"Saha!"
"By God!"
Saha lay on the ground defeated, his companions sobbing around him. Saha basked in the light of life long friendship.
"…" Grit gazed longingly at the band surrounding their leader.
He could see each expression of the Dwarfs and feel like he could sense the relationship each of them had with Saha.
"Must be nice." Grit voice was that of melancholy, he flicked the blood off the Demon Slayer before buckling it to his back.
"Haaaah.." Grit let out a self-soothing sigh.
His dark cloak wavered as he walked away.
…
Jinzo and Jinx were locked in an epic clash.
Jinzo had always been a cut above the rest.
Ever since his step-uncle made him learn swordsmanship and karate, Jinzo took to it like white on rice.
From a young age, it did not take long for Jinzo to excel at whatever he was doing.
By the age of 10, he could defeat adults with both the sword and his fists.
This success, he hoped, would bring him love and acknowledgment from his new family.
A love he did not receive.
Therefore, the reason why he kept diligently training eventually became not for acknowledgment.
Instead, Jinzo simply got a kick out of seeing himself improve.
However-
Somewhere along the way, he got complacent.
Somewhere along the way, he got lost.
Amidst having no sense of identity, Jinzo got swept by the day-to-day.
Wake up. Eat. Shit. Shower. Work. Home. Eat. Sleep. On and on it goes.
The little things were no longer enjoyed.
If only he kept at his passions. If only he kept practicing his swordplay-
Jinzo thought about all of this as he did everything he could to land an attack on the poised Jinx.
If you thought the elegance of Jinzo's swordsmanship was impressive, Jinx's was on a whole different level.
Jinx parried the strikes of Jinzo as if his sword was water.
Everything flowed to the point where Jinzo didn't feel like he was fighting anyone.
No matter how skillfully Jinzo struck, Jinx would parry in a way that made Jinzo feel like he was fighting cotton candy.
"Wunderbar!" Jinx decreed, clashing his sword with Jinzo, the duo coming face-to-face.
"But is this all you got?"
Jinx fought Jinzo like an animal playing with his food.
"My my, I wonder how long it's been since crimson blades have clashed?" Jinx mused.
"You know of these swords?" Jinzo asked.
"It's an old story. Again, shall we discuss this over dinner?"
Jinzo got lost in the many possibilities about his past and his blade.
This lapse in concentration was justly pounced upon by Jinx.
Jinx effortlessly parried Jinzo's sword and countered-
An upward slash gracefully carved at the right eye of Jinzo.
"Argh!" Jinzo grunted in pain, clasping his right eye.
Jinzo jumped back, gaining some distance from Jinx, his sword slipping from his hands in the process
Jinzo opened his right eye.
Yet no vision came from it.
All he saw was blood.
Jinx brought the tip of his crimson katana up to his nose and took a whiff,
*SNIFFF*
Jinx's eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"W—wha—wonder— wanderbarrr.."
"You psycho," Jinzo said in a neutral voice that portrayed a sense of acceptance.
Jinx looked Jinzo's way and chuckled, "Hahaha!" before he took the handkerchief from his suit jacket's pocket square and wiped the blood from his blade.
"Ah..?!"
Jinx salivated as he stared earnestly at the bloodied handkerchief in his hand.
"No!" He asserted as he shook his head with conviction, putting the handkerchief back in his pocket square.
He snapped his gaze back to Jinzo, "Impressive swordplay. But how are your hands?"
Jinx flailed his katana around extravagantly before sliding it back in its sleek white sheathe.
Jinx then attached the katana safely to his waist, before cracking his fingers and beckoning to Jinzo,
"Let's go!"
Before Jinzo could react, Jinx disappeared into the wind.
The face he saw faded into nothingness, before appearing right in front of him in an instant.
"!"
Jinx thundered down with a strong right elbow.
Jinzo had only just managed to raise his guard.
*CRACK!*
Jinzo's forearm shattered at the impact of Jinx's elbow strike.
*SKRRRT!*
Jinzo's feet skid along the ground as he braced the brunt of Jinx's blow.
"!"
It didn't stop there.
Blow after blow, no matter where he go, Jinzo got destroyed, yo, for sho!
Jinx's power was like the combined weight of a thousand men.
His speed blindingly quick.
*BOOF!*
*BOOM!*
*WHAM!*
*POW!*
Time after time, the fists of Jinx whacked at Jinzo.
Jinzo's consciousness started to fade.
"Times up!"
Jinx announced the words in the 'show time' tone he's famed for.
Then he disappeared.
In truth, he backed up, gaining a loooooooot of distance.
"Hahahahaha!"
With superhuman speed, Jinx sprinted towards Jinzo, using the long run-up between them to generate maximum power.
Jinzo helplessly watched through his left eye.
The thick warmth on the right side of his face beckoned him to sleep.
*DOOF!*
The fist of Jinx cracked square center into the face of Jinzo.
*CRASH!*
Jinzo's head cocked back, his body dooshed harshly into the ground, causing him to ragdoll.
Jinzo's body hopelessly flailed around on the ground with a turbulent force of pure power.
When it was all said and done, the bruised and battered Jinzo lay flat on his back.
Through the open dome of the amphitheater, Jinzo gaped up to the stars.
The dark of the night sky spread throughout his hazy vision.
Things began fading to black.
"Well fought, Ken Jinzo."
Jinx stood over the strength-less body of Jinzo as he joined him in staring at the stars.
"Here, a parting gift."
Jinx cut his palm with his katana and held his clenched fist over the head of Jinzo.
The blood trickled through Jinx's fist.
Down
Down to the ground
The ground where Jinzo laid.
The droplets of blood collected the light of the full moon as they fell into Jinzo's mouth.
After a dozen droplets, Jinx took his hand away, "I think that should be enough." He declared, straightening his tie and walking away.
"Stop right there!"
"?!"
Jinx stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder.
Standing there with wobbly legs was Jinzo, glaring at Jinx with his left eye.
"Wow, impressive recovery." Jinx mockingly asserted.
"Huff.." Jinzo was seeing double. Barely able to walk, barely able to think, he let out the words.
"Just tell me what's going on! Who are you? Who am I? What of our swords?"
Jinzo fell to his knees, his heart beating rapidly, his blood flowing richly.
Jinx chuckled, "Hahaha, you want to know?"
He watched as Jinzo faded in and out of consciousness.
"How amusing."
Jinx walked to Jinzo and crouched down so that he was face to face with him.
"If you really want to know.." Jinx said, whispering into Jinzo's ear.
"Go to the Grand Line. The answers to everything lie there!"
"Huh..?" was the last thing Jinzo could utter.
His eyes rolled back, his world went to black, his face planted against the ground.
"Zzzzzzzz…"
Jinx's ruby eyes beamed down at the unconscious Jinzo, "Hahahahah!"
Jinx made his way to the exit of the arena,
"Sleep well, Ken Jinzo."
He exited through the curtains and his body faded into dark as he walked deeper into the exit tunnel.
"May we meet again."
As Jinx abruptly left the arena, neglecting his remaining duties, James Shelby was suddenly alarmed.
"Uhh, boss?" A henchman called to him.
James Shelby rolled his eyes,"Yes, I know.." he replied through an exhale of his cigarette.
The henchman shook his head, "Now we don't have an announcer!"
…
Swiss engaged in sword combat with Captain King-Hit.
A happy grin was on his face.
In truth, Captain King-Hit's skill was nothing to Swiss.
Compared to Stacy Mayah or Jinzo, this was child's play.
"Trolololol! This is too easy, Dick-shit!" Swiss antagonized.
"Why you..!"
"!"
*Bang!*
In the nick of time, Swiss had somehow leaned back, avoiding the gunfire of Captain King-Hit's flintlock.
'Wow! I'll have to thank Raito for getting me into those morning stretches!'
As Swiss leaned back, he planted his hands on the ground, pressing up into a backflip while kicking King-Hit's chin in the process.
"Ow!" Captain King-Hit cried, wiping the smut off his chin.
Swiss staggered on his drunken legs, amazed at what he just pulled off.
"Damn bro, you're seriously getting rekt. By ME of all people, trolololol!"
"Fuck you!" Captain King-Hit desperately reputed.
The two dashed at each other with their amateurish final attacks.
["HASH SLINGING-"]
["BONAFIDE-"]
Swiss and Captain King-Hit swung with lethal intentions.
["SLASH!"]
["GRAMMY!"]
But only one came out on top.
"…GACK!"
Blood splattered as a wound slashed across the chest of Captain King-Hit.
"Damn you, Swiss…." King-Hit muttered as he lost consciousness.
"…Pfft."
[swiss: wat a noob]
Swiss flicked the blood off his cutlass and sheathed it, before looking around to see everyone else was done with their fights.
"Ayeee, would you look at that. We low diffed the fuck out of 'em!" Swiss boasted, "Oh no, Jinzo!"
Jinzo lay peacefully unconscious.
From this distance, Swiss could not tell if Jinzo's wounds were serious or not.
"I hope you're okay!"
"Relax, he'll be fine," Grit called, walking up to Swiss.
"Who are you telling to relax? You're like, the jumpiest of us all!" Swiss teased.
"Are you two forgetting that we aren't done yet?" Raito reminded.
"Oh, right!"
Swiss looked up to Admiral Strife, who sat atop that ladder, his head resting in his palm, sleeping.
The veins in Swiss' neck bulged in agitation at the sight of Admiral Strife not taking him and his companions seriously.
"OI! YOU BASTARD-"
*DONG!*
The words of Swiss were cut short.
A large metallic fist had punched Swiss' face out of nowhere.
Swiss got sent flying.
All that remained where he used to stand was one of his teeth which were knocked out upon impact.
"Oh shit!" Grit reached for his Demon Slayer.
"Swiss!" Raito cried, a kunai in his hand.
"Bahahahahaha!" Saint Lazlo laughed hysterically at the cheap display, "I like his style! Who is that, Mr. Shelby?"
The originator of that comically large metallic fist was none other than Captain King-Hit, "Baka! As if I would go down that easy!
James Shelby stretched his neck as he allowed himself to sink into his comfortable leather chair, "That's Captain King-Hit, formally known as Jeffery Browns."
"Jeffery Browns?" Saint Lazlo asked.
"As the story goes, one night as a young lad, he went out on the town.
You know how it is.. A bit of money and a whole lot of youth can turn into shit.
The night digressed into a confrontation outside of a club.
One thing went to another, and Jeffery Browns ended up cheap shotting his opponent out of nowhere, causing them to hit the hard concrete and die instantly- hence the name 'King-Hit'.
Well, that was it, wasn't it? The townsfolk shunned him, a bounty put on his head.. So ol' Jeffery Browns took to the sea.
Made quite the name for himself ever since. I heard that he was in town. It's no wonder he took part in this here 'bonus round'.."
Saint Lazlo listened to James Shelby's words with an interest that diminished with each word that was uttered.
"Interesting, I guess." Saint Lazlo remarked, "But he's still scum."
James Shelby chuckled as he swirled the whiskey in his glass, "I couldn't agree more."
…
Swiss shook off the groggy aftermath of Captain King-Hit's devastating sucker punch and staggered to his feet.
"Ugh.. You fucker. Now I'm all sobered up."
Swiss glared at Captain King-Hit with pure disdain.
Then he felt an absence in his mouth..
"What the?" Swiss put his fingers in his mouth and felt a tooth missing, "N-..NANI?!"
Captain King-Hit raised his fist, a comically large metal glove on it, "Serves you right, asshole!"
"Bastard! You better fucking hope there's good dental care in this world!" Swiss furiously cried.
Swiss launched into a full sprint.
Captain King-Hit's arms raised in defense.
But they were too late.
["DYNAMIC ENTRY!"]
Swiss hurled a flying kick straight into the stomach of Captain King-Hit.
"OOF!"
Captain King-Hit's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he got kicked away.
When he stopped flailing around, he lay on the ground, defeated.
"Serves YOU right, cunt!" Swiss asserted, giving the unconscious body of Captain King-Hit the middle finger and spitting a ball of blood in his direction.
"Kukuku, well done. ~"
Kimagure Joka, Grit, and Raito gathered where Swiss stood.
Together, they went and checked on Jinzo.
"Think he'll be alright?" Swiss asked.
"I'm sure he'll manage."
Then the gang turned their attention to the sleeping marine admiral sitting at the top of the circus step ladder.
"OI, BASTARD! TIME TO RUMBLE!" Swiss called.
"Wha? I'm awake! Oh, it's you again." Admiral Strife yawned.
"Get the fuck down here, Lil bitch tits McGee. Lil fucko cunt face. Lil' ass fucking nigga fag piece of SHIT! Lil bi-."
"Swiss, what the heck?!" Raito interrupted.
"Dude, calm down.." Grit added.
"Oh? Right, sorry about that.." Swiss sheepishly replied, snapping out of his fervor.
"Hmph. Someone's got a big mouth." Admiral Strife said.
Admiral Strife jumped down from his position atop that circus step ladder.
He landed with a thud, a sound far too heavy for a man of his size.
"So the last ones remaining are a team huh? Fair enough." Admiral Strife walked casually toward his opponents.
"Tch. Cocky bastard." Grit readied himself.
"I don't know anything about this admiral stuff, but this guy is the real deal!" Raito steadied his kunai.
"… OOOOH! 3" Kimagure Joka arched his back as he tried his best to hold the potent energy swirling in his loins.
*ZING!*
Swiss unsheathed his cutlass.
The four of them took an epic pose as they faced the approaching Admiral Strife.
The amber eyes of Swiss gleamed, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Let's do this, you marine fuck boy!"
[ssyffix: yo]
[ssyffix: we were due for another long chapter sooner or later]
[ssyffix: I had fun with King-Hit's back story]
[ssyffix: it was inspired by this one time I visited australia]
[ssyffix: there, i heard many stories about how young men would tragically lose their lives due to stray 'king-hits' that happened during drunken confrontations]
[ssyffix: all it takes is one silly punch to end a persons life]
[ssyffix: anyway lol thx 4 reading]