More rounds of Cabaji's circus tricks and illusions served to put Yosaku and Johnny on their heels. If it wasn't a smokescreen or leaps from the tops of buildings, Cabaji had spinning tops with blades along the side at them, or a flurry of streaming ribbons of color that swarmed around their arms and heads. Cabaji's blades hadn't even clashed with the bounty hunters' once.
"I'm starting to get tired of this," Yosaku said, panting as he moved back to standing side by side with Johnny. "It's impossible for us to get an upper hand on him with all these tricks flying about."
"This isn't even swordplay," Johnny said, nursing a small stab he'd gotten on his side.
They stood higher up the hill than Cabaji, yet their high ground did nothing to win them favors. At the least, they received a respite by the arrival of an entire host of Marines. "No way," Johnny hissed under his breath. They numbered less than Puding's host had been, but they looked far tougher than any of the 77 Marines had been. At the head of their procession stood two astonishing characters.
At the very front was Captain Smoker, "The White Fang" of the Navy that was one of the two pillars of the East Blue. He was the last trial for many pirates of the East Blue, and only the tiniest fraction of them made it out of his clutches. At his right was a woman they did not recognize but could place as his executive officer.
Most shocking of all was the man at Smoker's left: Roronoa Zoro, hand placed casually on his arms of three swords. He had a bandage around his midsection, but he did not move like he was injured. It was at this point that Cabaji became aware of the approaching Marines, hearing their footsteps and turning. He was unsettled to see Roronoa had survived Buggy's wound, and mortified to see the pirates' bane before him. It was made worse as Smoker aimed a hand at the three swordsmen. "They with Buggy, Roronoa?" he growled.
Zoro looked them all over. "The one on the wheelie-gig is. I don't know who those other two are. They weren't there."
"They're bounty hunters, sir," said Tashigi at Smoker's right. "Yosaku and Johnny. They've turned in a bounty or two to E5. They must be here for Buggy and his crew."
"Hm," Smoker said simply. "Thanks for holding this son of a bitch up. I've got him from here."
"Roronoa Zoro!" Yosaku called out. He and Johnny ignored Smoker, Cabaji, and felt guilty that the sergeant recognized them when they didn't recognize her, but their minds were in accordance as they stepped past Cabaji, still holding onto their swords.
Zoro cocked an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"We've wanted to meet you for some time, Pirate Hunter," Johnny said with a grin.
Zoro gripped the hilt of one of his katana. "If it's a duel you want, -."
Johnny chuckled, raising his free hand up. "No, no. We're flattered, but . . ."
"Your league is beyond us," Yosaku said bluntly when Johnny could not seem to say so. He nodded over his shoulder toward Cabaji. "Besides, we got our own thing right now. We've just always wanted to meet you, is all. Call it fate that it should be now."
Now Smoker and Tashigi were intrigued, among the other Marines of E5. Zoro furrowed his brow. "So you just wanted to meet me? Well, hello. Why is that fate?"
"Because we traveled here with a man who we want you to meet even more," Johnny said.
"He's become a dear friend of ours. I implore you to keep an open mind when we introduce you," Yosaku said.
"What about me here?!" Cabaji interjected, tired of being left out. He aimed his sword at Zoro. "I tire of these peons. Duel me as you should have that day, Roronoa!"
"What's going on here? We have things to do besides gab," Smoker rumbled ferociously. His hand was still aimed threataningly at Cabaji. "I'm bagging him."
"Wait, Captain," Zoro said, and he looked past Cabaji. "I won't waste my time on you. But you two. If it's fate, then show me you deserve it. This is the biggest clown on that crew - he's barely a swordsman. Prove you two are beyond him and find me. If you live, I'll meet whoever you want me to." He turned his head to Smoker and said, "Let them finish what they started. There are plenty of other pirates worth dealing with before him."
"Fine, but let's stop wasting time," Smoker said as he lowered his arm and walked past Cabaji, Yosaku, and Johnny. The others followed in file with him, flowing like water around the three swordsmen. Zoro gave the bounty hunters a kind nod as he moved past them. The Marines of E5 had received a mayday from Puding Squad, who said their commodore had fallen to Buggy the Clown's crew. Smoker had just gotten back to E5 for ten minutes before he'd led Smoker Squad back out into the fray.
The last of the Marines moved past the swordsmen, clearing their battlefield once more. They all turned back to one another; Cabaji was fuming, but the bounty hunters felt reinvigorated. "Truly, what are the odds," Yosaku said, feeling as if he were in a dream. "Guess we've gotta stop fooling around."
"Yup," Johnny said simply.
"You all think you're so much better than me, huh," Cabaji said under his breath. "Prepare for the death blow, bounty hunters!"
"Dual Sword Style," Yosaku said.
"Horizontal Floors!" Johnny finished, and they charged forward as Cabaji began pedaling toward them, sword raised. They both swiped their swords downward as they dove for the ground, cutting straight through Cabaji's unicycle spokes. The chains got tangled up on Cabaji's right leg and he fell among the wreckage of his wheels. He still clutched his sword and glared over his shoulder at Yosaku and Johnny.
"No more tricks, Cabaji," Yosaku said. "Rise."
Cabaji ripped the chains from his leg and tossed them aside as he picked himself up. He even took a few seconds to dust himself off before raising his sword again. "Great. So you've broken my ride. Big deal."
"Dual Sword Style," Johnny said.
"Right Angle!" Yosaku finished and they darted forward, slicing a square in their inverse slices to carve a square shaped cut into Cabaji's chest. He didn't even have a chance to parry, so slow was his reaction time; the bounty hunters sheathed their swords before he fell to the ground.
Yosaku breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't think we woulda stood a chance if we didn't take his unicycle out, man! Good call!"
I thought it was your call, Johnny thought as he noticed something slip out of Cabaji's robe onto the street. He walked over, stooped down, and picked it up. It was some strange compass type mechanism. "Know what this is?" Johnny asked Yosaku, hoisting it up to show it to his partner.
"Looks like the Log Pose Luffy has for the Grand Line," Yosaku said as he bent at the waist to inspect it. "The one Sanji's chef guy had."
Johnny spun it around in his hands. "What's Jaya?" he asked as he read the etching on the bottom.
"I don't know, man! Just bring it along. We don't have time for this," Yosaku said, grabbing the back of his shirt and hauling him to his feet. They left Cabaji lying there in the street, still alive but knocked out from the impact of their Right Angle. "Let's find Usopp and Sanji."
Sanji crept through Gecko Town, sticking to the alleys as often as possible. More Marines had arrived shortly after Sanji had beaten up a random Clown Pirate, but these guys looked different. They were larger, stronger, better equipped. Something told Sanji to stick to the shadows and remain unseen for as long as possible. He arrived at an alley that led to the town square. The shadows were long in the alley, so Sanji felt more secure in creeping forward to peer outside the alley.
The town square was swarming with Marines, and Sanji noticed four in particular that seemed to be in charge. One was dressed in standard Navy garb, but he had an intensely scarred face that was stern. Another was a beautiful woman Sanji had to fight the urge to go talk to right this instant; You might have killed one of their strongest captains, after all. And that was the other captain, the one everyone knew. Sanji forgot his name, but he was supposed to have some sort of powerful Devil Fruit.
The last guy, Sanji didn't think much of at all. He wore three swords, which Sanji found ridiculous, and his green hair annoyed him, yet he seemed to hold some sway. The man with the scarred face suddenly seemed to bark out orders to the other Marines in the square, who were shackling Buggy's crew together or laying them out if they were too unconscious to move. Sanji noticed them pulling Mohji out of the fountain suddenly; he didn't see sword wounds on him. Usopp then? But that guy had a lion . . . please don't be digested yet, Usopp, he thought in fear.
The Navy captain, the beautiful woman officer, and the man with three swords turned and left the square; Sanji couldn't begin to guess where they were off to. Suddenly, a door opened across the square and ten Clown Pirates rushed out. "Run! Make a break for it now that Smoker's gone!" he heard one shout.
"Men! After those louts!" shouted the officer with the scarred face, pointing at them as they ran down the North street.
With their backs turned, Sanji slipped out of the alley and snuck into another one that led down a different ward of town, sticking to the balls of his feet. We gotta get out of here, he thought as he made it down the alleyway.
For a few more streets, Sanji had to duck away from Marines who were rounding up pirates or checking on the townspeople, but eventually, the traffic died down around Sanji and he could come out onto the street in the open. He heard voices from nearby, too far to discern what they said, but he slipped along the edge of a building to peer around the corner at the end.
Sanji was relieved to see Yosaku and Johnny, revealing himself. "You guys! Hey!" He ran toward them.
"Sanji! Thank God," Yosaku said, clapping him on the shoulder as he cleared the distance between them.
"You alright? You look fine," Johnny said, looking him up and down.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sanji said, waving his hand. "Where's Usopp?"
Yosaku and Johnny's faces dropped. "He fought the First Mate with the lion. We left him there to deal with him.
"I figured. Well, the First Mate is knocked out, but Usopp and the lion are gone," Sanji said with a sigh. "But he's our First Mate . . . so let's just head back to the ship." He turned, placing his hands in his pockets, and walked back the way he'd just come. "This is the way, come on."
"Maybe we should search for Usopp. I knew we shouldn't have let him do that!" Johnny blazed suddenly, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of being savaged by the lion.
"Stop that! What did I just say? He's our First Mate, even yours for as long as you're traveling with us," Sanji said, waving them to hurry up and follow him. "Put aside your own preconceptions about Usopp. Trust in him."
At the same time, Usopp trudged through the woods, struggling to navigate alone on the way back to the beach. He'd felt turned around four times already, and with the adrenaline wearing off, his wounds were starting to ache terribly. He stumbled across every other root, used every tree as support, and sucked in air like a drowning sailor. He had to force himself to breathe quietly when he suddenly saw three figures walking through the woods.
"Not much farther now," said a woman wearing a sword. She walked alongside Roronoa Zoro and Captain Smoker of the Navy. Roronoa Zoro and Captain Smoker?! What's going on?! Why are they here?! he thought. Any other time would have been better, but he could tell they were on a mission. They're here for Buggy. I've got to hurry!
"Should we do something about the loud mouth over there?" Zoro asked, pointing in the general direction of Usopp who they had seen collapse into a bush to hide, still breathing hard even though he'd tried to quiet himself down.
"He's small fry. Ignore him," Smoker said, and the three continued on.
Once they were out of sight and earshot, Usopp rose and decided to head in the same direction. He made a wide arc to keep berth from the three he'd just seen, not wanting to enter a tango with them, unaware he'd even been spotted. Got to get back to Luffy! We've got to get everyone safe and get off this island!
On the beach, Nami held her wound and walked over to the wrecked straw hat, picking it up from the sand. She was gentle with it, inspecting it thoroughly. What a bastard, she thought, unsure how Luffy was dealing with this. She knew just how deep of a treasure it was to him, even if she didn't quite understand why.
Buggy still laid in a crumpled heap on his back. Luffy's legs had already unwrapped and whipped himself back to form, and he looked for the straw hat. Once he saw Nami had it, he calmed down and gave her a short nod as he turned back to Buggy.
"Guys . . . stop fighting," Alvida said as loud as she could. Her voice was getting trapped in her throat as she stared toward the treeline now. She held onto her iron mace hard, switching from one handed to two handed stance.
"Shut up! I don't care if you're in love with me! I hate this jerk!" Luffy yelled at Alvida. The sound attracted Usopp, who finally burst out of the treeline just down from the fight. He ran ahead, thinking, I have to warn them about Smoker and Zoro! Something's wrong! But once he saw the three emerge from the foliage right there at the fight scene, he collapsed to his knees before he could even make it over himself.
"Alright, alright, alright," Smoker said with a grunt, and he took both of the cigars he'd been smoking, just tiny roaches now, and let them fall to the sand with a hiss. "What's been going on here? Seems like an eventful day for such a tiny little town."
Alvida watched Buggy finally sit up, roused by the newcomers, and she debated taking her shoes off, sliding ahead, and killing them all while they were unawares. You have a Devil Fruit now, too! Maybe that would cancel things out? she thought. Her legs dared not to try a move, though. The ease with which Smoker stood told her all she needed to know about his ability.
On the Big Top, the Funan Brothers had completed a whole trove of Buggy Balls, having entered a special groove around Ball #17. It was break time, and they emerged on the deck. "Maybe that was the last blow. We should check on the captain," Sal said, leading his brothers forward. Though once they reached the railing and saw who had just arrived on the scene, they calmly turned and walked back. "Good break. Back to work," Sal said officially, personally pretending he hadn't just seen that.
"Watch out for that one. She's Iron Mace Alvida," Zoro said, pointing at the woman with the elaborate feather hat.
"Iron Mace Alvida?!" Tashigi said, shocked as she pulled a small rolodex from her belt. It was a list of all the current bounties in mini form for portability; she was always prepared for intel. She found Alvida's 3 million beri poster, finding no similarity between the large woman figured and the slender woman in front of her. "How -?"
"What Devil Fruit did you eat, Iron Mace?" Smoker called out. "If you're thinking of using it or that mace against me, I'll smoke you out." He stared at her with only his eyes, never turning his body away from Buggy and Luffy.
"He's right, Alvida," Buggy said hoarsely, slumped over as he tried to get over the pain from Luffy's last attack. "This foe is beyond you." He drew his knives or picked them up from the sand, grinning. "I think it's time you made a get away, my dear."
"What?!" Alvida bellowed. "I'm not gonna leave you to -."
"I'm your captain and that's an order!" he nearly screamed at her. He didn't look at her as he said it, feeling a fool to take his eyes off Smoker even for a moment. But he had to, he knew; he looked over, and his gaze into Alvida's eyes was the push she needed. His eyes smiled for a second, even while the rest of his face was locked in a grimace.
Alvida spun on her heel and made for her waiver that was still sitting on the sand. Thank God I didn't load it up yet! she thought as she leapt on board, tucked her mace away in a groove near her foothold, and began sparking the waiver to life.
"A waiver?! What are they doing with Grand Line tech?" Tashigi wondered as she drew her sword and began to run forward.
Smoker grabbed her shoulder to stop her from taking another step past him. "Let her go. She's small fry anyway."
"She's right there! It'll only take a second!" Tashigi said, struggled against Smoker's grip once, and found she could not pry out from under the captain's dominant hand.
She looked over her shoulder right into Smoker's cold eyes as he bluntly told Tashigi, "You can't take her. Let her go. Buggy is our priority."
And with that, his other hand rose and turned to smoke save for his hand, extending across the beach in total to grab hold of Buggy's throat. The smoke continued to billow out from Smoker's shoulder, enveloping Buggy completely. It also kept extending, shooting Buggy past Luffy fast to be held menacingly above water. Only his face was now visible through Smoker's Devil Fruit power, and he looked over at Alvida imploringly. With that and her waiver already brought to life, she spun it around to where it dipped into the water fully and she hit the accelerator full throttle. Water sprayed behind her as the waiver departed Gecko Island.
"I'm with you. We should have taken her down now," Zoro said to Tashigi, still looking as lackadaisical as Tashigi had seen him. Except to be uncomfortable around me, she thought. In the middle of the fray, he had found comfort around her. Is it just a distraction? Something better than thinking about me?
Zoro's interim at E5 thus far had been intriguing. Tashigi had badly tried to get along with him, to no avail. She had released him from his handcuffs as soon as she had conferred with Smoker and had Zoro agree to help them deal with the Clown Pirates. She had been shocked to find him in the training yard that very next day, lifting a ridiculous amount of weight in the yard. Even the most seasoned men there hadn't been able to lift that amount of weight easily.
Yet when she had offered to spar with him, interested to see what else the famed pirate hunter was capable of doing, he had clammed up, even in front of all of those big, tough men who had just been so impressed. He'd instantly agreed, but upon turning to actually see her face, he'd blushed so red that Tashigi was actually just worried his wound would open. Yet he gathered his clothes, swords, and himself and returned to the infirmary to lay the rest of the day away.
And now, your commanding officer doesn't even believe in you, she thought bitterly, suddenly feeling like the honor of walking among these two men was dashed. She was so mad at Zoro she didn't even respond to him. She kept a tight hand on her sword and didn't sheathe it, but she didn't make another move. And I won't. Don't worry, Captain.
"Stop chit chatting, you two," Smoker told Zoro and Tashigi both. "Thank you for keeping Buggy busy until I could get here," Smoker told Luffy earnestly. "You three can leave now. The Navy has things from here." And without further ado, Smoker dunked Buggy into the ocean. His smoke arm disintegrated after Buggy had been submerged and returned to its normal form.
"Who are you?" Luffy said. In truth, he didn't know who a single one of the newcomers were, even still. He'd been really confused that entire time, if he had to tell the truth.
Smoker chuckled, glad to be unrecognized for once, but instead his eyes drifted to the other ship beside the Big Top. It was another pirate's ship, but quite jolly and happy. Yet the skull and crossbones waving seemed like a threat to Smoker. "I'm the White Fang of the Navy, boy. Who are you?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy responded, and Smoker didn't even have time to be shocked. Luffy's fist flew right for Smoker's face. It was useless; Smoker's Plume Plume Fruit was a Logia type, and his body morphed to attacks, even especially easy considering most Logia Fruits. Yet this was only the distraction; Luffy's other arm stretched out and grabbed hold of Buggy's arm. He flapped in the water, powerless and unable to split apart anymore or even swim. It was comforting to be rescued from the water, even if it was from an enemy. Nothing was worse than being powerless in water.
Luffy laid Buggy down beside him and entered a fighting stance, hands up. He was prepared to fight all three of them, Buggy realized. He stood up, panting, and said, "Why did you do that?"
"Pirates should always stick together against the Navy," Luffy said with a grin. Buggy just stared at him a moment - and without the straw hat, he saw a younger Shanks for a moment, without the scars over his eyes, prepared to charge into battle side by side with Buggy.
Buggy's laugh began as a gentle rumble in his throat but turned into his characteristic cackle. Even Luffy could tell there was something far greater in it than his laughs had been before. There was drive in there, as well as camaraderie. "Very good, Mugiwara! Very good!" His body split into what seemed like a thousand different parts, including two forms that meshed together to carry his bladed feet about. "White Fang! Pah! That's a stupid nickname. I know about the ace up your sleeve, Smoker!" Buggy taunted as his parts flew toward the three of them.
Smoker grabbed the massive jitte club from his back, arming himself with it as his body slowly turned to smoke entirely. "Roronoa!" he said, preparing to battle Buggy but focusing on Luffy as he sprinted forward. "Deal with the boy. Don't underestimate him." With that, he was off, and he met Buggy in midair, their two Devil Fruits sparring in a flurry of body parts and smoke.
Buggy's head came to float beside Luffy as he sprinted ahead. "Don't you underestimate him either, Mugiwara! I fought him days ago and delivered a mortal wound, yet he still walks - no, runs into battle!"
Buggy's head flew away, but Luffy hadn't heard much of his warning anyway. His eyes had been laser focused on Zoro, who he still didn't know was Zoro. The swordsman was drawing two of his swords and stanced up to strike forward as Luffy charged the last second ahead. "Oni . . ." Zoro said.
"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy's arms shot backward.
"GIRI!" Zoro finished, and he darted ahead as he set his third sword in his mouth - yet instead of cutting through Luffy like he expected, Luffy's Bazooka slammed into Zoro's swords, stopping them mid-swing. They strained against each other's weight and strength, neither giving an inch. "You're lucky I'm just using the back of my blades."
"You're stupid for not going all out!" Luffy said, and they finally had to let their energy out in some direction or else they felt like they might both explode. They shot their blows out and to the same side. Against the treeline, a radius of five meters were taken out with a thunderous boom. Usopp, Nami, and Tashigi all flinched at the impact as the trees were destroyed, leveled around the two fighters who now stared at each other, panting. Their muscles were on fire.
"I think I'm gonna pass out," Nami heard a voice say, and looking behind her and to the side, she noticed Usopp, sitting in the sand. She gasped, and still holding tight to the straw hat, ran over to his side, collapsing in the sand beside him.
"Usopp! Are you alright?!" she exclaimed, looking over his body at the severe wounds he wore on his body. "You were just healing up, too! I'm sorry, I can't believe I got us into another mess!"
Usopp held a hand out, calming Nami down. "I'm too tired to really be terrified right now, but look. We would have come here either way, Nami. Luffy was set on it, and he's the captain. Don't go blaming yourself." He noticed the straw hat and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, no." He clapped a hand to his mouth. "What happened? Does he know?"
Nami nodded to answer his last question, looking down at the ruined straw hat. Her hands seemed to subconsciously tug at it, trying to fold the wrinkles back out. "Buggy did it," she said simply.
"And he just pulled him out of the water?! Luffy, you're not making a lot of sense today," Usopp said, looking back at the two fights that were playing out across the beach. "But man . . . I thought what I was doing was tough."
"But you lived, that's all that matters," Nami said reassuringly, looking back at the fights, too.
"I won," Usopp corrected with humility. "But Devil Fruits?" he said, gesturing toward Buggy and Smoker's duel. "Strange, monstrous power?" He gestured toward Luffy and Zoro, who bounced around each other and threw blows at one another that the other never let connect. "Do I stand a chance?"
Nami looked back to Usopp, who was playing with the sand between his feet. She took a deep breath and said, "I don't know. But we're here now, aren't we?" She offered the smallest of smiles, but it was sincere, just tired. Usopp chuckled and nodded in agreement, but if he'd only kept talking, he'd have known as they both looked back at the beach duels that they both thought the exact same thing: We'll keep up.
Tashigi's focus was entirely on Smoker fighting Buggy the Clown. The Chop Chop Fruit, though sounding quite terrifying at first, proved to not be nearly as imposing against Smoker's Plume Plume Fruit. She had little experience with Fruits, but felt like she had been receiving a crash course in this day. Indeed, though she was unimpressed with Buggy's powers, she started to realize that even with Smoker's most expansive attacks that enveloped as much of the air as he could, Buggy always managed to slip at least two or three of his pieces out of the smoke.
Worst of all was that Buggy indeed knew about one of Smoker's ace cards, for these pieces that evaded capture always included at least one hand that would shoot for the Seastone Jitte that Smoker used to help incapacitate Devil Fruit users like Buggy. Smoker couldn't actively bring it into the smoke; it would touch himself that way. So a solid arm held onto it outside of the cloud.
Tashigi could not know that Smoker was actually feeling overwhelmed. We've never fought, but it feels like he's at least fought me before, Smoker thought. There was obvious difference in their innate powers, but their ability was far more on par. God damn Headquarters, who's running the bounty office these days?! He should be way more than 25 million!
"Chop Chop Push!" Buggy cried out, his head trapped in the smoke cloud. Yet through Smoker's attacks, he'd also let one or two pieces lose by accident; so in combination at this point, at least a third of Buggy's body floated outside of Smoker's influence. They cornered his solid arm from three angles and both his hands took hold of the jitte. They had a tug of war for the jitte for a moment, until instead, Buggy's body parts formed a makeshift arm that used the beach as a plant point to swing the jitte overhead in an arc and touching into the smoke cloud.
Smoker groaned as his form was forced back in on itself, his hand still clutching it with what strength he had left. However, his arm formed back at a jarring, painful angle; Buggy reformed above him properly, propping a foot on the back of his neck as he dug the jitte further into the small of Smoker's back. "What's wrong, White Fang?" he teased through his giggles. "Feeling a little ill? Can you taste the sea with this thing?" Smoker couldn't even reply; his teeth gnashed together until they squeaked.
