Chapter 04: Omaera wa tada no maniakkuna no ka?!(Are you all just fucking Maniacs?!)
7 Years BPKC (Before Pirate King's Challenge)
"At first glance, you actually do seem strong at first glance, Rakurai." Rocks D. Bell hummed as his crew members gathered up behind him. "Unfortunately, I don't know if I can say the same about your crew."
"That's really rude, Kaenyari!" Portgas D. Rouge snapped as her own crew gathered up behind her as well, ready to attack at her command. "My crew is filled with awesome people!"
"Awesome people, you say?" Bell chuckled at her reply. 'She actually sounds a bit like Ace!'
CAPTAIN AND NAVIGATOR OF THE SUN PIRATES
'Blazing Spear' Rocks D. Bell
Bounty: ฿2,100,000,000
.
FIRST MATE OF THE SUN PIRATES
'Dual Shot' Donquixote Elizabeth
Bounty: ฿910,000,000
.
CHEF OF THE SUN PIRATES
'Bloody Lightning' Akame
Bounty: ฿800,000,000
.
HELMSMAN OF THE SUN PIRATES
'Dark Blade' Kurome
Bounty: ฿750,000,000
.
DOCTOR OF THE SUN PIRATES
'Pirate Angel' Oregano
Bounty: ฿100,000,000
.
SHIPWRIGHT OF THE SUN PIRATES
'Mad Gadgeteer' Spanner
Bounty: ฿540,000,000
.
APPRENTICE OF THE SUN PIRATES
Dracule Mihawk
"Of course, I think it's rude for you to dismiss the awesomeness that is the Arashi Kaizoku-dan." Rouge replied with a pleasant smile that reeked of killing intent. "Do you think my nakama aren't capable of taking your's on?"
CAPTAIN AND DOCTOR OF THE STORM PIRATES
'Thunderstrike' Portgas D. Rouge
Bounty: ฿970,000,000
.
FIRST MATE AND COOK OF THE STORM PIRATES
'Black Widow' Shakuyaku
Bounty: ฿900,000,000
.
NAVIGATOR OF THE STORM PIRATES
'Bandit Timberjack' Curly Dadan
Bounty: ฿860,000,000
.
COMBATANT OF THE STORM PIRATES
'Tiger' Dogra
Bounty: ฿50,000,000
.
COMBATANT OF THE STORM PIRATES
'Screamer' Magra
Bounty: ฿50,000,000
.
APPRENTICE OF THE STORM PIRATES
Crocodile
"So... shall we get at it?" Bell's grin sharpened to match Rouge's.
"Sure..."
""JUST BE PREPARED TO BE PLUNDERED!""
Like a hidden signal, the battle ignited freshly anew as the two Captains clashed again.
"Get them!" Elizabeth declared as she fired the first shot, the Sun Pirates roaring in approval.
"Rob 'em blind!" Dadan shouted as Shakuyaku casually deflected the bullet that had been shot at her with a Haki-enforced backhand, leading the Storm Pirates against their opponents.
The Sun Pirates vs the Storm Pirates... began!
Magra, who had eaten the Goe Goe no Mi(Scream-Scream Fruit), shot forward and roared, unleashing a sonic attack that slammed against Spanner's Gola Moska. Humming as he calmly retreated back to the Romance Dawn, Spanner remote controlled the Gola Moska to fire back it's bullets.
Using his Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Tiger(Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Tiger) to enter his Beast Form, Dogra roared as he charged towards Oregano, narrowly dodging Kurome's slashes with his inhuman speed and Kenbunshoku Haki allowing him to dodge the swordswoman's fatal slashes as she took over the nurse's battle.
This tense, exciting battle went on between them for two days straight...
"For a person who uses guns..." Shakuyaku dodged the bullet that would've blown through her forehead, slamming a fist into Elizabeth's stomach. "You sure are durable!"
"That tickles." Barely bothered by the hit, Elizabeth slammed the butt of her other gun against Shakuyaku's hip, using the momentum to spin about and slam her Hardened heel against her face. "Monkey D. Garp punches harder than that!"
"It's no good to compare my fists to that man's own of all people!" Having barely managed to have shielded her face with her own Haki, Shakuyaku punched forward, her Hardened fist being caught in Elizabeth's Hardened palm and causing a huge shockwave from the impact.
Crocodile shot forward a swarm of compressed sand bullets, grimacing as Mihawk effortlessly dodged the attack, simultaneously charging at him with his sword drawn. "How annoying!"
"[Desert Spada!]"
Crocodile punched the ground as he transformed his right hand into a blade of rapidly vibrating sand before shooting it forward and causing it to slice through everything in it's path.
"Too slow." Mihawk swiftly dodged it and promptly slashed at Crocodile's face, his Haki causing it to leave a long gash across the Sand Logia's face.
"Gah!" Crocodile screamed in pain and retreated, throwing up a small sandstorm against Mihawk and forcing him back.
"I aim to become the strongest swordsman in the world." Mihawk's voice carried over even though he couldn't be seen, being eerily calm despite the noise of the sandstorm. "Do you believe that something that is a pale imitation of a truly destructive force of nature would be allowed to stand in my way?"
Crocodile's eyes widened as an audible sound of a sword being swung reached his ears before his sandstorm was slashed in two from above. 'He cut my sandstorm apart?! Even if he's better at haki than me, that's too ridiculous!'
Without waiting for his opponent to recover from his shock, Mihawk dashed forward, causing Crocodile to snap back to reality and try to defend his shoulder from being cleaved apart-
"The sun's gone down! Stop fighting and treat your wounds! Akame, come help me drag Bell away from Rakurai!"
-when Mihawk's sword stopped instantly as the sounds of battle around them came to a slow stop from Elizabeth's yell. Turning around and sheathing his blade, Mihawk gave a short nod and he headed back to his crew. "See you tomorrow."
Clutching his still bleeding face, Crocodile swore heavily and flipped the departing swordsman off.
Only granting mutual rest time at dusk and resuming the moment dawn broke...
Later when they looked back on this, both pirate crews would seriously wonder how a battle between their two powerful logia captains hadn't irreversibly fucked up the island they'd been fighting on.
Separating after colliding their Hardened weapons against each other, Bell thrust his spear which was dodged, allowing Rouge to elbow Bell's face. The haki-imbued attack knocked a tooth out but did nothing else to take him down as he instantly reciprocated with his own elbow and a left hook after his earlier attack was dodged.
Rouge made sure to dodge that as well and launched a pointblank blast of lightning into his chest. Bell flew back through some trees, only rush back out instantly.
It had been a huge surprise to find out that lightning could actually affect the Sun Logia. It didn't burn him per say, but Bell did still feel the 'impact' whenever a lightning bolt slammed into his body at the speed of sound.
It honestly sucked a bit for a guy who'd gotten used to being invulnerable to everything that wasn't Haki. The shockwaves caused from their constant attacks against each other slowly caved in the ground underneath them, eventually leading Bell to take to the sky.
"C'mon, Rouge!" Bell called out as the soles of his feet steadily expelled jets of plasma. "If lightning is an element that soars through the skies, you can get up here, too!"
Fighting back the bit of nervousness that encompassed her, Rouge concentrated a bit before lightning cloaked her body and lifted her into the air a bit. Grinning at her success, Rouge swiftly chased after Bell's beckoning figure, leaving a streaking trail in her wake.
Once high enough, Rouge swiftly diverted a spear thrust from Bell and used the momentum to kick him in the face, flipping him over and away while he was disoriented. Bell careened through the air until he smashed down into the nearby hill.
An instant later, the hill erupted as it was flashmelted, raining molten earth everywhere as Bell blazed towards Rouge.
Rouge herself blasted forward with a lightning charged stab with her rapier, only for Bell to knock the blade aside and nearly stab through Rouge's face, stunning her long enough to smash a left hook into her cheek and send her into the ground.
Even as Rouge righted herself, Bell was already slamming down onto her, straddling her as he rained down blackened fists onto her trapped body. However, Rouge quickly recovered, exploding into a massive blast of electricity that blew Bell, and everything else within ten meters, away from her.
Taking advantage of her freedom, Rouge streaked high up into the sky and started to summon massive lightning bolts and causing the surrounding clouds to start darkening as they resonated and produced more lightning as well.
"Looks like she's bracing up for a big one." Bell muttered as he flew after her and stopped at a safe distance. "Which means I've got to respond as well!"
Solar energy suddenly burst off his body, causing the cloudy and thunderous sky to gain a weird weather phenomenon in which a sun blazed under a cloudy sky.
With a grin that showed even as his body resembled that of sunfire in a humanoid form, an orb of concentrated solar energy slowly gathered up between his palms before suddenly expanding into an elephant-sized sun he held above himself.
Rouge herself matched him, her cackling nearly inaudible as the crashing lightning gathered up into into a massive lance, crackling with unbridled power as it was pointed at it's target.
"[Sunny Prominence: Supernova!]"
"[Raima no Tenzanyari(Thunder Devil's Sky-Splitting Spear)!]"
Bell shot the sun at Rouge just as Rouge fired her lance, both attacks soaring through the sky until they hit each other.
The first part of the collision started as a mixture of colors. The first yellow ball blew away the clouds before it shifted to purple, then red, then blue, before finally exploding in pure white.
The next part brought the shockwave, causing hurricane-force winds beyond anything a normal storm could produce to rip through the entire island, nearly capsizing the pirate ships and totally blowing away most of the pirates below them.
And yes, it was seen for miles as the tumultuous weather that followed would leave the skies and seas fucked up for a whole week with storm clouds that rained burning hail, random spots in which gravity decided to either double down or vacate entirely, new volcanos which spewed snow instead of lava and a deep hole into the seabed that Sea Kings actually avoided like the plague despite being the top aquatic predators.
And on the morning of the third day...
"Step right up!" Spanner shouted as he held up a backpack-like contraption to the clamoring Storm Pirates before him. "If you can test out this jetpack and it doesn't explode while you're using it, you get to keep it for yourselves!"
"Me! I want it!"
"Screw you, I was here first!"
"Spanner! I'll do it!"
"Fuck off! Spanner was clearly looking at me!"
"Choose me, man! I wanna fly like Captain Rouge!"
"Isn't it using Kaenyari's Nichi Nichi no Mi as an inspiration?"
"Are you saying that the jetpack isn't cool enough to make you ignore that tidbit?!"
"Fair point. I want the jetpack, too!"
"I love it when test subje- I mean volunteers come running in my direction." Spanner sighed in satisfaction as he tossed the jetpack into the raving crowd. "Captain Bell's the only one of my crew who actually welcomes my new inventions without running away or attacking it."
"For a gal with that crazy strength of yours, you sure a lightweight!" Tossing aside her fifteenth barrel of mead, Dadan chortled as she slapped Akame's back while the latter looked like she was about to faint after her sixth barrel.
"Shut up..." Akame slurred as she grabbed another barrel. "I can handle- *hic* handle this just fine."
"And there's the last of it." Oregano finished wrapping bandages on the Storm Pirate before her, deeming the infatuated woman completely ready for recovery and waving her off. Sitting back in her chair, Oregano crossed her legs, seemingly unaware of how her short skirt rode up to highlight her pale, shapely legs. "Now then, other than your injuries, does anything else bother you? Do I need to check on your increasing heartrate? Or would you prefer an injection?
"Doctor, I think I speak for everyone when I say that a full examination might be in order for us." The next Storm Pirate spoke with complete seriousness despite his blush, with the many men in line behind him nodding in agreement.
"Don't cut in line!"
"Back of the line, you asshole!"
"Wait, aren't you a woman?"
"She's both cute and hot enough to make me ignore my usual preferences."
"...that's fair."
"Oi." Shakuyaku commented from afar as she watched her crewmates behavior towards their 'enemy', even if she was a doctor and their own was too busy recovering from her own injuries. "How did our crews go from fighting each other to this? Is it that those with the D in their names just have zero regard for normal social cues?"
"...how did you get so good with your Haki?" Crocodile reluctantly asked as he was seated close to his fellow apprentice. "Now that I look at you, aren't you my age?"
"I'm 12." Mihawk replied stoically.
"What?!" Crocodile recoiled in surprise. "I'm 15! How did I lose to my junior?!"
"Age doesn't count in relation to skill."
"Okay, so how long have you been with Kaenyari?" Crocodile asked. 'Maybe he's actually one of their members' kid or something.'
"Two months."
"Rouge took me in over a year ago... Fuck!" Crocodile hissed. To think that he had lost to someone who was his junior in piracy as well! "...so how did you end up with them?"
"...I tried to challenge Akame to a duel." Mihawk recounted his tale. "I lost. Badly. And when I reacted... dishonorably, I got a house thrown at me."
"...what?"
The humiliation and rage boiled up inside Mihawk, overwhelming the pain of his body as he pulled out his small dagger from around his neck and Akame's 'unguarded' back.
Just as the boy swordsman was mere yards away, Kurome's figure blurred behind Akame and stabbed her hand forward, her fingers easily digging in and grabbing the stone wall of a nearby house and tearing through it with ease. In a second, the concrete shook and the foundations buckled before Kurome ripped it free and sent tons of rubble accelerating straight towards him.
'Dark Blade just threw a freaking house at me.' Mihawk blankly noted with shock just before impact. The next thing he knew, he was on their ship, waking up in Oregano's care just in time to see Akame pinching on her sister's cheeks for her actions.
Whether it was for destroying a civilian's home or interfering where Kurome hadn't had to, Mihawk only cared that he'd get more opportunities to challenge Akame even after Bell stated that he was basically 'pirate adopted' by them and would not be returning him back.
"So you see, an angered woman is terrifying." Mihawk finished his tale. "Especially when she's the one in charge of training up my Busoshoku."
"...are you secretly a maniac?" Crocodile dully muttered. He already knew women were scary. After all, the strongest in their crew were all women after all. "I still haven't gotten a tip for bettering my Haki, though."
"If you're not a natural, it usually depends on your goal." Mihawk answered after thinking on it. "For example, I wish to become the strongest Swordsman. As it naturally involves a lot of fighting, my Busoshoku Haki is naturally tested the most. Right now, I've just gotten the hang of Imbuement and am now focusing on Emission."
"I see..." Crocodile muttered. He didn't have a grand goal like that as every day before Rouge 'pirate adopted' him had just been him trying to survive till the next one as a street rat.
"Alright kid, you're coming with me." Rouge said, twisting her arm around and slinging the kid across her back against the renewed struggles and protests.
"My name's Crocodile!" He snapped, still ineffectually hitting her head and back. Off all things to expect after failing to pickpocket the woman, he hadn't expected to be kidnapped of all things! "And I'm not just some kid! I've got no intention of living out my life in these back alleys or as the subordinate to some pirate!"
Rouge simply gave him a Look before Laughing that captivating Laugh that he'd later see 'Gold' Roger do as well. "Hahahahaha! What a big spirit you've got! Everyone's gonna love you in my crew, Croc! I know I do!"
As weird as it was, Crocodile somehow knew this strange woman to be completely serious.
"I just wanted a better chance at life." Crocodile muttered. "And I like being with Rouge. She took me from that shitty island. She fixed me when I got sick. She got me my blade. She's my... Captain, after all."
He pointedly didn't say 'mom'.
Whether Mihawk noticed it or not, he definitely didn't mention it, instead earning Crocodile's gratefulness when he simply gave more tips on strengthening his Armament Haki.
"So that's how it happened, huh?" Bell muttered as Rouge finished telling him how she had met Roger and his First Mate Rayleigh.
Rouge, a former bounty hunter, had met Roger in a bar at Mock Town, entering a brief drinking contest with him apparently when she'd been surrounded by some of her fellow hunters who apparently didn't like her successful rate in bringing in bounties they couldn't touch.
Armed with many Seastone weapons and hiring the local gang, they'd ambushed her with the hopes of their numbers overwhelming her. What they hadn't expected was a drunken Rouge and Roger teaming up them, with the former easily proving that she wouldn't even have needed the latter's help.
Rouge flat out stated that other than his strength and battle prowess, which she admired, Roger had lost to her in everything else they did afterwards.
He sucked at gambling, she easily outdrank him and was apparently smarter if Rayleigh was to be believed as he dragged his blacked out captain back to the Oro Jackson.
However, Rouge was definitely fascinated enough with Roger's way of life that she followed in his footsteps by gathering up a crew to sail the world like he did under a Jolly Roger.
It also helped that the World Government didn't really have a good relationship with her thanks to her status as a D.
"Hey, do you want to be allies?" Bell spoke to Rouge as she stretched out beside him, staring up at the glowing clouds they'd caused from their fight. "Imagine the headaches we could give Kong and his admirals if they heard about two Ds joining up."
Rouge snorted at that, no doubt easily imagining the popping veins. "Interesting but no thanks."
She sat up and hugged her legs, sending her crew a look filled with attention. "I have no intention of being subordinate to anyone else, even a fellow D. And if I join you, that's how they'll all see it as."
Bell nodded in understanding. "So you wanna at least strike out in New World first."
"Yup." Rouge replied. "Maybe later down the line, but definitely not now."
"It's a shame... but fine." Bell outstretched his hand, which Rouge firmly took. "I look forward to seeing the chaos you guys bring."
"I'll do my best!"
"Rouge."
"I'm serious, Shakky."
"So am I."
Dadan looked nervously between the arguing Rouge and Shakuyaku. After a couple of months in New World, they had finally gotten the attention of somebody really far more dangerous than the Marines themselves.
A different sort of MonStar than Blazing Spear or Whitebeard.
'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin had acknowledged the strength of the Storm Pirates and had 'offered' a marriage between Portgas D. Rouge and her son Charlotte Perospero, aiming to make them a subordinate crew under her command.
"Hell. No."
"I don't have a problem with you saying no. It's your plan of charging at her 'lightning blazing' that's the problem."
"I can handle her just fine!"
"Big Mom was a Rocks Pirate!"
"So was Bell!"
"We both know that Bell was not trying to kill you in that battle! Plus, the Big Mom Kaizoku-dan have a small army almost at the scale of the Shirohige Kaizoku-dan!"
Rouge turned away at that, unwilling to follow on that truth. Even though time had passed, Rouge had kept the Storm Pirates small, focusing more on quality over quantity.
"Look, I'm just saying that if we're gonna go head-to-head with Big Mom, we need a plan." Shakuyaku laid a reassuring hand on her captain's shoulder. "Especially since you clearly don't plan on calling for help from Roger or Bell."
"...fine." Rouge pouted and crossed her arms, causing sighs of relief and exasperation from her crew. Her stubbornness was going to be the end of them some day.
They could only hope that it wasn't hereditary...
"But we still have to fight her, right?" Rouge suddenly perked up, a mischievous smile suddenly replacing her glum look. "Croc! You've gotten a good enough handle on that trick with your Kenbunshoku, right? The one that makes you less visible to other Kenbunshoku users?"
Crocodile blinked... then showed a smile that matched Rouge's too much.
...dammit.
She was still a D.
Of course, it would absolutely be passed on, even to her foster son.
"'A New MonStar?! 'Thunderstrike' Portgas D. Rouge Clashes With 'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin. In an awe-inspiring battle after many months of pursuit, the Storm Pirates invaded Whole Cake Island, headquarters of the Big Mom Pirates and paved the way to allow their captain to personally lock blades with Big Mom herself, while the Storm Pirates rained havoc over the entire island as a distraction and ensured that there was no proper communication between the larger and more experienced crew! And yet, defying all expectations, Thunderstrike ended her battle and left with her crewmembers the moment she left a visible scar on the usually invulnerable Big Mom! Eyewitnesses report that Thunderstrike kept bursting into laughter as they retreated, confusing many until it was revealed that her apprentice, 'Sandstorm' Crocodile, had also mysteriously sunk every single ship that could've pursued them, enabling their swift getaway while somehow remaining undetected! Further rumors suggest-' Dammit it all!" Zephyr ceased his rereading of the week-old newspaper. Morgans had certainly kicked up a fuss with his special report.
They'd had no choice but to increase Thunderstrike's bounty once more and as far as anyone was concerned, she truly was a MonStar now.
Of course, the newer marines didn't truly comprehend what a disaster this was. So far, the MonStars had just been the surviving members of the Rocks Pirates, which had been filled with pirates with monstrous strength, and Gol D. Roger, who had fought against them regularly and led what was now looking to be a crew that might have given the Rocks Pirates a run for their gold.
Now this thrice-be-damned 'D' had risen up to almost the same level! What was up with people like them choosing to be pirates and revolutionaries instead of upstanding marines like Garp?!
Did they exist only to give the World Government aneurysms?!
(Zephyr studiously ignored the fact that even Monkey D. Garp heavily resisted their authority and came with his own type of headache-inducing antics, despite having the mantle of JUSTICE hanging from his shoulders.)
Something needed to be done.
Something needed to be done about those blasted pirates.
Something needed to be done about those blasted pirates, no matter what.
Mihawk blinked at the bounty poster that Crocodile was showing off to him. "You got a bounty. You got a named bounty."
It was another of their crews running into each other with the usual trying to kill each other without actually going at it and now Crocodile could have something substantial over his rival.
He dared not say friend within Shakky's earshot or even inside his thoughts. Mihawk was just that guy from a different crew but was close enough that it didn't feel awkward to show off the realization of his efforts.
"Hmm..." Mihawk crossed his arms with a frown while glaring at the food that no longer interested him. "I don't have a bounty yet..."
The stare he suddenly gave Crocodile sent chills down his sandy spine, along with the abnormal smile he was sporting.
"Very well, then. I acknowledge that it is pretty ridiculous to become the world's strongest swordsman as a pirate without gaining a bounty."
Two months later, Shakuyaku stared at the newspaper before her like it had sprouted legs and had started to tap dance, her hot coffee uselessly cooling away in her hands.
Apparently, Blazing Spear had attacked a Marine base full of trainees with just himself and Mihawk.
The kicker that made it front page worthy?
Garp had been there and had happily proceeded wreck the entire place in his fight against Bell, while Mihawk tied with some new Marine prodigy named Kuzan, along with soloing every other marine recruit that had been there.
Now Dracule Mihawk had become 'Marine Hunter' Mihawk and was now boasting of a bounty almost twice the size of Crocodile's. It'd probably be higher if the young swordsman hadn't challenged himself by making sure that he hadn't killed anyone with his attacks. As a fellow New World Pirate, Shakuyaku would admit that it was pretty hard to not accidentally kill a weakling just from hitting them too hard. And she fought with her fists instead of a weapon made for the purpose of killing.
If he saw this... Shakuyaku blinked and looked down to notice the lack of a newspaper before her and turned around just in time to see the familiar trickle of sand flying around the corner. 'Dammit! He's gotten better at hiding his Voice!'
"...Captain! He got ahead of me again!"
"Don't worry, Croc." Shakky shuddered at the frightening sight of Rouge placing a reassuring hand on their apprentice's shoulder while smiling a smile that had actually sent enemies running the opposite direction. "We can do better. We are currently lacking in funds, right?"
Roger stared down at the newspaper before him, gaping at the news. Apparently, within a three month spree he hadn't been aware off, Rocks D. Bell had attacked a marine base with just his apprentice while matching up against Monkey D Garp and Marine logia prodigy; and Portgas D. Rouge had taken her own apprentice to rob Fort Aurum blind which had caused her bounty to skyrocket from ฿970,000,000 to ฿1,480,000,000. Roger actually ask a passing Gaban what Fort Aurum was and was shocked to hear that it had used to been the World Government's main gold storage for the Grand Line.
And 'Thunderstrike' Rouge had cleaned it out.
"Raleigh-"
"NO."
"You didn't even let me finish my sentence?!"
"Do you seriously think I don't know what you were about to suggest you do with Shanks and Buggy?!"
"Come on! I can't be left behind by my fellow Ds! I've got a standard to meet!"
KingVessel: Ds are maniacs. 'nuff said.