Another chapter up! Sure came faster than the others, doesn't it?

Chapter 18: Combat Preparations
"WE DID IT!" exclaims Chocolove with joy. Ryu throws Manta into the air and cheers happily.

The other shamans are as happy too, for they have won! "This is an unexpected turn of event!" exclaims Tim. "The shamans have won!"

Foxy is very angry with this. "How can this be! We are supposed to be unbeatable!"

The three returns to their friends, and they all run to them. "You did great, Ryu!" Horo says to him. "Throwing Manta was a great idea!"

"Did you think I enjoyed it! I almost got heart attack!" says Manta.

"Looks like you guys are good for something," says Ren.

"It's great that you won! Now we won't lose anyone again!" says Lyserg happily.

-

"Now the captain of the shaman pirates is going to choose a crewmember from our crew!" says Tim. "Who will he choose?"

"It's obvious!" says Yoh. "I'll choose…"

"Wait a minute, Master Yoh!" says Tamao. "I was thinking of something."

"What is it?"

"The next game is you versus their captain, right? I was thinking that if you pick their captain, then he won't get to participate in the next game because they said a crewmember taken away cannot participate in a game."

"So?"

"So if you pick their captain, then you get an auto win in the next game and you also get to claim back Miss Anna! That's two prizes in one!"

The Foxy Pirates are shocked upon hearing this. "What a dirty and vile method!" gasps Tim. "How can someone be so cruel to think of this!"

The pirates hurl insults at her. "You sly girl!"

"You wicked cheater!"

"You barbaric wench! You fail at life!"

Tamao drops onto the ground and begins to cry. "WAAAA! THEY'RE SO MEAN TO ME!"

"Well, you deserve it!" say Ponchi and Konchi.

"But if we choose their captain, that means he has to travel with us, right?" says Jun. "Do you want him to be with us?"

"Oh… I haven't thought of that," says Tamao, who isn't crying anymore.

"No way!" says Horohoro.

"Who wants that ugly sucker!" says Pirika.

"I want that bloody idiot out of our ship!" says Ren.

"I don't want evil people near us!" says Lyserg.

Foxy is struck with grief upon hearing this, since they don't like him. His crewmembers quickly comfort him, and it made him feel better.

Yoh turns to the pirates again and says, "Anna, come back!"

Immediately, Anna takes off the mask and runs back to the shamans. She walks up close to Yoh and says, "I knew you wouldn't want to let your beloved fiancée disappear like this."

"Of course I wouldn't! Why would I let my future wife disappear from me?"

"Couples will always be bonded with each other! What wonderful power love is!" says Tim. "Yoh Asakura chose to claim back his fiancée Anna Kyouyama!"

-

"And now, the final game will soon begin!" announces Tim. "It is surely the most exciting of all! We shall decide the battlefield! The two captains will rotate this giant cannon!"

Yoh and Foxy push a large cannon and it spins around and around.

"The cannon will come to a stop naturally!"

The cannon stops IMMEDIATELY, facing Foxy's ship. "You call that naturally!" shouts Ren.

The cannon fires a shot and it flies into the deck of Foxy's ship. It didn't bore a hole on the floor; instead, it just burst into confetti.

"Coincidentally, the cannon marked our ship as the battlefield for the next game!"

"That's not coincidentally! It looks everyway like on purpose!" Ren shouts at Tim.

-

Soon, most of the preparations are ready. A large platform, sticking out from the sea, is planted next to the ship. The platform has lots of seats on it, just like a movie theater or a stadium's. The shamans are sitting in the front most seats, in the center row.

"This is the last game," says Manta. "It makes me nervous."

"Surely Yoh will win!" says Ryu. "There's now way he can lose to that ugly pirate!"

"Of course he wouldn't lose to that cheater," says Ren. "Shamans are more superior than normal human beings."

"Though Devil Fruit users aren't much normal than shamans either," says Jun.

"I trust in Yoh. He'll win for sure," says Anna.

Several cannons fire black smoke into the sky, blotting out the sun, thus making the entire place very dark. "What's happening?" asks Lyserg.

Suddenly, two large images appear in the black sky! It is the wanted poster of both captains. "Here we have it! This final game is a match against the captains of both sides!" says Tim.

On the ship, a curtain rises and Foxy walks out from behind it. He is wearing only a pant and suspenders, with boxing gloves in his hands. The Foxy Pirates all cheer for him. "It's our beloved captain, Foxy the Silver Fox! Even though his bounty is only 24 million, his power is not to be underestimated!" says Tim.

Another curtain rises and Yoh steps out from behind it. He is wearing his usual battle suit Anna sewed for him, and he has his Harusame blade with him. "And on the other side, we have an amazing 13 years old shaman with a whopping bounty of 70 million berries! He is Yoh Asakura of the Shaman Pirates!"

"Go Yoh! Go Yoh!" cheer Ryu, Horo, and Manta loudly.

"You better not lose! Or you're in deep trouble!" Ren calls out to him.

"Don't worry! Everything will turn out fine in the end!" replies Yoh with his trademark smile.

Both captains face each other, ready to battle. "You sure are full of confidence!" says Foxy. "If you lose, then you won't be able to claim back any of your friends! Get ready to say good-bye to them!"

"That is why I cannot lose! I will not lose to you, because my friends are precious to me!" says Yoh.

TO BE CONTINUED…

That was pretty short, wasn't it? The battle will begin next chapter!