The only room that would probably peak Lucci's interest. A big gray door that seemed to have scratches and bite marks all over it. To say he was beginning to get excited about this was an understatement. Nothing brought him more joy than a challenge.
Kaku wasn't necessarily excited about the fight. More so about getting it over with. He too was sort of fed up with being a lapdog. No matter how much freedom they were led to believe they had, it was always capped by a firm grip by some person. It was tiring just thinking about it and that alone was enough a reason to join the search and destroy party.
Spandam on the other hand wasn't excited about this in any sense. Even compared to some of the weaker soldier of cipher pol, he was... admittedly not quite one of the strongest. Alert the presses everyone! In fact, of this ragtag group of convicts, he was the weakest. Though he was still quite determined. He's survived this far even at the expense of the ex-agents finding him again so he might as well go all the way. He's going to find some way to pull his weight... and if he pulls enough, it MIGHT get the others to spare him? That would be some sort of silver lining. He didn't have much to defend himself other than Funkfreed but that's all he could use.
"Well, I hope you two are ready. I don't plan on babysitting you so this is your last chance to turn back", Lucci said over to Spandam.
Spandam contemplated on taking up that offer... but then there would have been no point in even coming onto this ship. "N-no! I'm not turning back now, now open the door before I change my mind."
"Alright... if you insist", Kaku said. Then he did just that. He knocked the door down with a single punch. Inside of it was a room... without a roof? You could see the blue sky the moment you entered the area. The entire room was huge, like some kind of arena. Fitting for what appeared to be the biggest ship in the sea. And on the very end of the large room sat Cannibal on a large chair. "Not the kind of decorating I would have gone with."
"It didn't look like this a few minutes ago. I took the roof off to let a little breeze through", Cannibal replied.
Spandam shook his head in confusion. "You could have just gone outside, you know. Probably would have been easier."
"Sure, but this is the only place no one will bother us. Plus, it took no effort for me to break the entire roof. In fact, with one hand, I could destroy this entire ship and plummet you all to the bottom of the sea." Spandom really did regret his decision to come to this fight now. "I feel inclined to ask about this insubordination. You had the deal you so very much wanted; at the cost of people, you have no ties to. You got exactly what you wanted and yet you still wish to fight me. You really are a twisted man, aren't you. And that says a lot coming from me."
"What you're saying is true. I'm not quite sure why, myself but I can't bring myself to tell them no for this situation. Otherwise, they would have come anyways. So I figured I may as well lend them a hand."
"And YOU two", Cannibal asked as he looked at Kaku and Spandam. "For what reason are you attempting this?"
Kaku looked him dead in the eye... and for a second, he was lacking in an answer. While battling this guy sounded fun, helping his comrades was about the only answer he could think of. Though that was a bit too obvious, and like Lucci he would probably not admit it. Ergo he simply shrugged. "Thrill of the battle, I guess. Plus, I don't really care for working for the government anymore."
Then Cannibal stared at Spandam... a stare that seemed more like he was pitying someone rather than questioning someone. "I-im just along for the backup. Those two will be fighting you", he quickly said.
"Hm... is that so? Something tells me you're just chickening out. I won't waste my time with you... BUT I know someone who'll have a lot of fun with you AND the bird."
"What does THAT mean", Spandam asked.
"This is your last chance Lucci. You can abandon this attempt at treason and I'll let you off with only a mild beating."
"Are you done, or are you going to fight us", Lucci asked as he transformed.
"Oh, this is gonna be a big mess. Maybe I'll just hang back and wait for this to end", Spandam said as he slowly backed up towards the entrance.
"Alright then, if that's your answer... let the games begin! Cannibal stood up from his oversized chair and smiled. Even without transforming he looked like a rabid animal. Then his eyes turned completely black, as if they were mirroring endless darkness. He smiled... and his teeth grew sharper! Just as expected, his body began to swell, and he grew black and white fur around his body. Thick claws sprouted from his fingers. He also had a somewhat stubby tail.
"He turned into a skunk", Spandam shouted in surprise.
"No, you, fool. It's the Weasel-Weasel fruit, Model Wolverine! I'm a wolverine! A vicious predator of the wild! And I'm going to use it to rip these two to shreds!
"A weasel huh? Reminds me of Nero...", Kaku said as he too transformed.
"Ha! With these two helping us, we have no chance of losing", Spandam said as he pulled out his funkfreed sword.
"I don't have time to deal with you. Rascal! Snack time", Cannibal said, right after a whistle.
"Rascal", Lucci asked.
Spandam looked around frantically. "Who's Rascal?"
Cannibal smiled. "Rascal is my pet. Hope you two have fun!"
"Pet?" Right then and there, Spandom felt something wrap around his leg. Whatever it was, it seemed to blend in with his white pants. "W-what is this?" Before he could even think about it, something pulled him away and through a vent! "Ah! HELP ME!"
"Oh, for the love of... I should go after him, right", Kaku asked. As if to answer his question, Hattori quickly flew through the vent after Spandam.
"Hattori will take care of that. We've got bigger fish to fry."
"I'll make you regret this decision!"
Cannibal's claws glowed a dark red! "It would be in your best interest to dodge that", Lucci quickly said as he readied himself. He and Kaku both jumped the second dark lights came towards them. "Interesting... I didn't even see his arms move."
"We only managed to dodge because we predicted he'd do something. He's definitely fast... probably the fastest person I've seen so far. Even faster than you."
"Thats just one more thing he has over us then. Even if there's two of us, he stronger and faster. We'll have to go about this strategically."
"Raymond says exploiting one's weakness and using their strength against them is a good way of going about that."
"Following someone else's tactics is not on my to-do list. We managed to dodge it with no trouble,"
"Don't get cocky. I slowed that attack down on purpose to see what you were capable of. I'd advise you to be on your guard. That was my underworld cut, and people don't tend to survive it when it hits. But let's see how you fair against this. Cannibal vanished into thin air.
"He's on the move! Keep your eyes peeled. Lucci shaved as well, in an attempt to keep up with the moving wolverine-man. He managed to see Cannibals movements... but something was off about them. When most people moved, they moved in a pattern or at least some kind of coordinated movement... but Canniabals movements were erratic. This wasn't a surprise, but it would make locking onto him that much more difficult. "Then I'll just widen my attack", he said as he created a wind scythe with his leg. The scythe stretched far and nearly took up half the already big room. The only thing it seemed to destroy however was the wall it sliced through.
"Over here", Lucci heard from behind. The second he did, he used his tail to try and stab through Cannibal... but it was caught by him instead. This was what he expected... But before he could even counter the attack, Cannibal hopped into the air and brought Lucci with him.
"Alright, time to step in", Kaku shouted as he took to the sky as well. He tried to follow the hopping wolverine man but his movements were still erratic.
"Finally decided to make this fair, huh", Cannibal asked.
"Your overly cocky! I'll show you what happens when you get TOO cocky.
Lucci grabbed on to Cannibal's arm and squeezed with his nails. With enough force he actually managed to draw blood. "Not even YOUR body can stop my claws."
Cannibal ceased movements, and stared at the claws that penetrated his arm. He didn't even react to the pain. He was more focused on the fact that someone drew blood from him. "You drew blood from me? Hm... well that settles it. Now I'm going to HAVE to kill you!" He gripped Lucci's tail and slung him around like a mace! Before he could try and retaliate, Cannibal threw him towards the window!
Lucci flew through the fragile glass window, but managed to stop himself once he entered the outside. "Hmph! Looks like that made him angry. Wonderful", Lucci said as he smiled. "Now he'll be willing to go all out!
"Your stronger and faster than I thought... guess that's why you're the pinnacle of the government right now", kaku said.
"Are you starting to regret your choice to challenge me now?"
"Not even. I wouldn't have come in here if I wasn't ready to fight!"
"Good, because I have no intention of letting any of you leave this ship! Now come at me!"
"Heeeeeeelp! Someone help me, I'm being dragged to my death", Spandom shouted as he was forcibly pulled through a vent. He was so busy screaming he didn't notice what was even pulling his leg or even the fact that Hattori was quickly trailing them. By the time he managed to look up, he was able to see sunlight. It must have been pulling him out of the ship! The suspicion was confirmed when he suddenly smelled that familiar scent of the sea and saw said sea. Even worse for him, he was being held captive by what appeared to be a giant octopus!
It actually seemed to smile at him as it dangled him above its head. It was all white! An all-white octopus? No... he remembered seeing something like this before. It was possibly one of those octopuses that can camouflage with its surroundings. "H-hey! Put me down this instant! Don't you know who I am!?" As if it really mattered. This must have been 'Rascal'. Cannibal's so-called pet. It dangled him above its mouth seemingly ready to eat him. "Someone! ANYONE help!" That's when Hattori zoomed by and stabbed the octopus right in the tentacle with his beak, causing it to release its prize. "Hattori! You blessed bird!" Spandam shuffled over to the edge pf the ship and tried to scramble up the side. It would seem that it managed to tug him all the way back to the deck they arrived on.
Hattori stared down the giant octopus. It didn't look too happy! Now it was intent on attacking him as well. "Hattori, I'll leave this to you", Spandam said as he made it to the deck. As much as he wanted to leave this to Hattori it wasn't in the cards. Three of the octopus' tentacles blocked his path before he was able to run away. "Ahhhh! Alright fine! This is what you came here to do, Spandam! It's time to fight", he yelled as he pulled out his funkfreed sword. "On guard!" The huge tentacles stretched towards him, but they each took a different route, almost like they were trying to flank him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the octopus also fighting with Hattori. Either it was really good at multi-tasking or its tentacles really did have minds of their own. "I'm going to die here", he thought to himself.
Back at the captain's quarters, the battle began to speed up. Literally! Any normal person would not have been able to see anything but flashes. Despite both Lucci and Kaku both attacking Cannibal he fended them both off with little to no effort. It almost felt like he was toying with them. "Thats it! Give me all you got!"
"What happened to just flat out 'killing' us", Lucci asked.
Kaku also wondered why Cannibal didn't seem to be retaliating. He could feel the power coming from their enemy but he didn't seem to be using it... that wasn't a good sign. Something definitely wasn't right. Or maybe it was just his imagination? Kaku quickly backed away! "Why aren't you trying anything?"
Cannibal dropped his arms and began to glow again. "Now who said I wasn't trying anything? I just needed to see how much power you could dole out. Mainly because I wanted to show you how outmatched you are. "Cannibal's hand glowed that strange dark red color again, and then... he vanished."
Lucci quickly looked around in an attempt to locate the moving Wolverine man... but this time he couldn't even sense him. Normally he could at least see or hear someone moving no matter how fast they were going but it was almost like Cannibal left! He couldn't have been moving THAT fast... no matter how trained he was. "Cease your hiding!"
"Who's hiding? I'm up here...", Cannibal said as he appeared above the two with his fists together. He seemed to be preparing a Six King Gun!
"You're much too far away to use that technique", Lucci said.
"Lesson one! Never act like you know everything! Six King Gun! HELL CANON!" Lucci and Kaku expected a hardly noticeable shockwave to wash over them... but it was anything but unnoticeable. When the "guns" fired, it was almost like gravity had suddenly intensified. Like something had just struck them? The shockwave? Something was crushing them! In fact, something shoved them THROUGH the floor. It felt like an actual boat itself had fallen on them! "Hm? I probably should have put more power into that. They made it to the very LAST floor of the ship. Or maybe just more of that idiot's luck."
"Lucci! Are you ok", Kaku asked. When he asked, he was barely able to hear his own words. They had both managed to stop themselves from crashing further down. He quickly shook his head in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
"You shouldn't mumble, I can barely hear you", Lucci said. It hit him then and there that the shockwave must have impacted their hearing as well. "That attack hit hard! How could he have used that move in such a way?"
"I'm getting sick of pointing out how much stronger than you we are. Perhaps if I carve it into your skulls, you'll get the point", Cannibal said as he appeared in front of them. His face seemed very different from just a few seconds ago. Earlier it was quite calm as if he didn't have a care in the world... but now it looked vicious! A familiar kind of vicious... like a predator ready to hunt for its prey!
"Alright Kaku. He's ready to go all out! I suggest we do the same!"
"Gotcha! Time to try out those new attacks I learned!"
"Hattori, don't just fly there, heeeeeeelp me", Spandom shouted as the tentacles pulled at his limbs.
Though frustrated at the yelling man, Hattori tried his best to keep the octopus busy and assist him. Even though he was way stronger than the average bird, an octopus was still an octopus. The spare tentacles that didn't hold Spandam captive prevented Hattori from flying over to assist him. Spandam was just going to have to do something to help himself... in fact, that's just what he was going to do. Spandam came along to fight, so he was going to have to fight or die. Hattori continued to focus on pecking at the octopus's face. Clear shots allowed him draw blood, but it would take a lot more than that to help them win this battle. Hattori managed to stop and look over at Spandam... Somehow a BIRD managed to give him one of the most serious looks he had ever gotten from anyone.
"W-what? What...", then he began to understand. "God, you're a hard ass just like your friends, aren't you? FINE! I'll do it myself!" Spandam smiled, and quickly yanked his arm free. I'm going to fight for MY life too! "Oh, and I guess for "theirs" as well. He released "Swordfreed" from his belt. With a quick slash, he managed to slice through one of the tentacles. It was a CLEAN cut as well, completely severing it. "Ha! This isn't so tough. I can do this!" To his surprise however, the stump where he severed the limb ended up sprouting another tentacle! "AHHH! It must be part starfish or something!" The same tentacle smashed him against the floor of the boat.
Hattori flew around the head of the beast in an attempt to throw it off, but it was much too focused. Several other tentacles chased after Hattori to try and bring him down but he was small and swift!
"Go Hattori...no wait! Help m..." he began to say. Then he remembered he was going to have to help himself if he wanted to survive this. He managed to stab into the tentacle that pinned him, and got just the reaction he was hoping for. The tentacle released him, allowing him to stand up. "Cutting off the tentacles won't work, and I'm not strong enough to hit it. There's got to be some way to get rid of this thing!" Getting rid of the tentacles wouldn't help and there's no way he's be able to hit it hard enough to knock it out... or was there? If he worked together with Hattori, he'd be able to finish this in one direct hit! "Hattori! I have a plan", he shouted over to the bird. Hattori gave a skeptical look this time. "Oh, come on, I'm serious!"
"Time for lesson two", Cannibal said as he charged forward. They were now probably at the bottom of the ship at this point. One more layer and they probably would have plummeted into the ocean. "Now get up!"
"Lucci! He's ready to fight again. Time to get serious now!" Kaku moved his hands rapidly to make a square in the air. It glowed white just like most of the air scythes created with the sixth powers techniques.
"And what is THAT supposed to be? I don't remember seeing THAT", Lucci said.
"It's a move I practiced with the others. You were busy doing... anything else so you probably wouldn't know. Anyways, this is only how it starts", the white square thickened and turned 3 dimensional... and began to swell!
"Normally I would belittle you losers for your constant light shows, but from what I've been told it's the kind of thing that would catch one off guard", Cannibal said as he stared the cube.
"Thats the idea! Square Pistol Onslaught!" The cube gave off a big glow and shot dozens of bullets out of it.
Cannibal quickly tried to dodge each of the bullets... and he had no trouble seeing them come his way... but the problem was that there were so many of them. He could tell he wouldn't be able to simply deflect them. Some of the bullets managed to hit him and draw more blood. This only surprised him!
"Kaku? This is impressive", Lucci managed to utter.
"Sometimes making sure your attacks land is better than risking a devastating one. 'THEY' call it 'CHIP DAMAGE'."
Cannibal clenched his fist, and shot a red bullet from his own hand. Withing seconds it blew up the cube! Now it's MY turn! He clenched both of his fists and fired more of the red bullets out of his hands.
"Incoming!" Kaku and Lucci jumped out of the way narrowly avoiding the barrage of attacks. Each one exploded the second it touched something. "What IS this", Kaku shouted. Why do are his techniques all red? I've never seen a red bullet fired. Except for maybe your fire attacks."
"I think he's using his blood! His attacks grow more intense every time we draw blood from him. How is this possible?"
"They seem to be able to do things other than what their devil fruits grant. Years of training, just like the six powers techniques I assume.
"Now withstand this! The bullets themselves began to increase in size AND explosion. The two couldn't even get out of the way of them at this point. Every step they took they were hit by an explosion. With that, the floor crumbled beneath them again! The final floor that separated them from the sea was finally gone! The deadly weakness to every devil fruit user... managed to narrowly miss being the downfall of the two fighters. They used their moonwalk technique to keep themselves above the water. They were getting injured from such meager attacks. Even without the blood boosts to the attacks they were strong!
Getting awfully close to plummeting? That wouldn't have been fun anyways. I would rather rip you to shreds! In fact,..", Cannibal's claws glowed red again, and he slashed the air, making multiple red scythes.
Both Lucci and Kaku dodged them and hopped upwards. "That one was even easier to...", Lucci began to say before he quickly looked down. Several scythes came up and slashed both of them! "What?! HE controlled them after firing them?
"Ugh! This bastard is tougher than I thought he'd be", Kaku replied. "No matter how much we hurt him he just shrugs it off!"
"Then we have to hit him harder! I have an idea but I haven't tested this yet."
"That can only mean that it's a risk that might not payoff. Though at this point we should try anything. What do you have planned?"
"I can feel it... something's welling inside of my body waiting to burst."
"Have you been eating Fukurou's cooking? It might do that to you?" This earned him a glare from lucci. "Fine, I get it, not the right time. What is this 'something' you're referring to?"
"I can't exactly describe it. It's something ferocious though. Over the course of these few years the stronger I got, the more of that 'something' I kept sensing. It feels familiar at the same time so unfamiliar."
"I think I get it somewhat. How do you intend to bring out this 'something?'
"Thats where the problem comes in. I haven't figured that out yet."
"That's unfortunate", Cannibal said. "You probably could have used it right about now. You're too weak to actually combat me. You were better off just being a mindless dog of the world government...but now that I think about it, this is a good thing. It shows that you two are a lost cause. You're just like those other vermin who challenged my crew. I can't be bothered to tell what's going on right now, but they're probably not even standing a chance. My point is you're infected. You're going to bend to their will because you have some kind of attachment that you hardly can even own up to. That in my opinion the worst part about you."
"What?! What are you implying", Lucci asked as he grimaced.
"As sickening as it, the other at LEAST admit to their attachments. They own up to it. You dance around it as if you're ashamed of it. Ha! A true agent should never be ashamed of ANYTHING. And Kaku's no different. You're both pathetic!"
Kaku shook his head in protest... but he knew it was true... and so what? He wasn't upset at admitting it. He was only upset by being called pathetic. He glanced over to Lucci and saw Lucci with one of the most intensely angry faces he had ever seen. Along with being insulted, Lucci HATED being talked down to. That's when a sudden thought occurred to him. Though cliché it might have been, perhaps the thing Lucci needed to bring out that 'something' was anger. The perfect person to help bring that out was obviously going to be Cannibal. Kaku was going to have to be smart about this though. If Lucci caught on to what he was doing, then the plan wouldn't work. "What exactly are you trying to say? We don't owe you anything!"
"That's right! You talk as if you know us but you don't know anything!"
"I know enough to know that you're pitiful. You didn't even want to come after me until you got a few extra heads. You clearly rely on them! Not to mention your little plea bargain to save them over offering those civilians. How low you've sunken."
At this point Lucci was baring his teeth. "I'll just have to beat my point into you", he said as he charged forward. This wasn't part of the plan. Lucci was supposed to use that anger!
"Heh!" Cannibal vanished into thin air and seemed to collide with Lucci. For a second, even Kaku couldn't see them moving. He could tell Lucci definitely sped up, and even seem to be pulling out more strength... but not as much as Kaki would have hoped. Lucci tried to keep up but he was still being pushed back.
"I guess all I can do is keep fighting then!" Kaku joined in on the fight as well. He managed to keep up somewhat due to his determination, but just the same he was dealt more damage than he could deal. Despite them both fighting at full strength they still couldn't push him back enough to give them breathing room. This was not going the way they needed this to go... evident by both Kaku and Lucci once again being knocked away by Cannibal. And SOMEHOW, he hit them even harder this time. Before he knew it, Kaku became part of the wall. "D-damn! Is he even getting weaker?" Kaku began to feel himself growing weaker. The situation was about to get worst, however. He looked up to see Lucci also smashed into the wall... with Cannibal grasping his neck!
"How does it feel to be on the losing end of a powerful opponent", Cannibal asked. Lucci dug his claws into Cannibals arm in an attempt to get free. He managed to draw blood again, but Cannibal only seemed to grow angrier. He used his free hand to strike Lucci right in the face. This could have been avoided if you just kept your head down and did what you were tasked with doing." Another strike to the face! "But you decided to go rouge... for the SECOND time." ANOTHER STRIKE!
"You wretch! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!" Lucci's eyes... began to glow green? That wasn't unusual for them to be green, but they had never shined this intensely.
"Huh? That's new. Wait a minute! Was there something to my anger theory after all", he asked himself.
WHAM! Cannibal struck Lucci in the face again... and not only drew a mouth full of blood, but knocked out a tooth as well. "Remember WHO you're talking to!" That's when he began to repeatedly strike Lucci."
Kaku was conflicted about what to do. He could try and intervene... and probably have no effect, or he could let this play out and hope that whatever is brewing in Lucci's power will show itself. Even though Lucci was repeatedly struck his glowing eyes didn't seem to fade. It almost looked like they glowed even stronger. "Come on... come on!"
"And now you're all going to die! I hope it was worth it!" His onslaught continued on Lucci's face and body. It didn't even look like he was going to last much longer at this rate, but his scowl stayed plastered on his face. "Do you hear me?!" WHAM! That was it... that last hit to the face made Lucci's body go limp.
"N-no! You've got to be kidding me. How could this happen", Kaku said. The green in Lucci's eyes had dimmed. "You CAN'T die here!"
Cannibal chuckled, as if he didn't have a care in the world. "He isn't dead yet... but he's about close to it. All I have to do is finish him off, then YOU'll die next! I hope you've made peace. Even if your friends survived, I doubt they would be able to scrounge together enough power to overcome me. So, if I were you, I'd...", he began to say before he felt Lucci twitch. "Oh! Ready for more?"
Lucci had a blank stare, almost appearing to be dead... but he began to breath harder. That green flare also came back to his eyes. "Lucci?"
"Nya...graaa...graaaaarw!" Lucci began to growl! It didn't sound like his usual growl however. It sounded like an actual animal's growl.
"Back for more huh? Alright! Time to finish this!" Before Cannibal could strike again, he felt some kind of strange 'pulse'. Not JUST from Lucci but the area itself. "Hm? Wait! This can't be. I recognize this power", Cannibal said as he tried to sling Lucci down into the water. Before Lucci could plunge into the ocean... he shoved his clawed fingers into the wall and stopped himself!
Kaku was confused as to what was happening until he saw Lucci's body swell. Not like it usually does! It swelled even MORE! In fact, Lucci started growing. He slowly grew and began to even fill up the room. His claws got even bigger; his snout extended and he looked even more feral. "Wait a minute! You felt a power that felt both familiar AND unfamiliar. Could it be that familiar power you felt was your own but the unfamiliar part of it was a change. Could that be what happens when a Zoan devil fruit..."
The monstrous Lucci instinctively clung to the walls. And stared up at Cannibal, whom tried to get as much distance as he could. "This is my first time SEEING it happen with my own eyes. The awakening of a Zoan devil fruit!
The ship rocked back and forth like thanks to the numerous battles taking place in the ship. From the corner of his eye, Spandam even saw the Skydancer crash into the ship, which knocked him over. "What are those monsters doing in there to wreck a ship this big?!" Distracted by the chaos going on in the ship, Spandam was sent flying by a tentacle from Rascal. That one almost knocked all the wind out of him! Hattori quick! The plan", Spandam shouted. To no avail however! Hattori stayed stationary due to Cannibal's pet restricting him with its tentacle. "Hattori! Stop fooling around and come help me!"
Hattori gave a frustrated coo! He can't do much helping if he can't actually move. "Ah, right, that might make it a bit harder huh? I'll have to get Hattori free if I want to beat this stupid fish! H-Hey you stupid octopus! You can't catch me hahaha", Spandam shouted as he ran around the ship's deck. The octopus slammed its tentacles all around the deck, leaving imprints and breaking the floorboards as well. "Gonna diegonnadiegonnadie!" He managed to maneuver around the slamming tentacles for the most part. He only needed a quick opportunity to be able to strike ONE good time, so he had to keep an eye on the tentacles... which only ended up causing him to crash into the wall. "Ugh! Funkfreed get ready!" Spandam said to Frunkfreed in hopes one of the tentacles close to the one holding Hattori would make its way towards him. That was not the outcome however. One of the tentacles not nearby shot straight towards him... and as if he made a phone call to idiot's luck itself, he narrowly missed being hit by the tentacle due to tripping over his own two feet. Which was quite lucky, considering the tentacle shot THROUGH what was probably several walls. Something was oddly familiar with the form of that particular attacks. "Wait a minute! Was that a finger pistol? They taught the OCTOPUS how to do that?!"
The octopus once again seemed to smile at this. It pulled back several other tentacles and prepared to fire again. "Nononono!" Spandam ducked and weaved out of the way of the tentacles! There's was one in particular he needed to keep an eye on and that was the one that hat Hattori in its grasp. It more than likely wouldn't fire that one so he was going to have to go to IT. Only problem was he had to do this without dying. Luckily it didn't really move as fast as an actually cipher pol agent. The second the moment presented itself, he grabbed onto a tentacle that had JUST managed to miss him. It was expectantly wet, but its size made it easy to grip on to. "Ha! Got ya!"
The giant octopus glared that the clinging weasel, and brought its tentacle back to look him in the eyes. All Spandam could see was malice. Just like in the eyes of the people it travels with. "Um... hello. Hehehe! F-funkfreed, now!" Spandam took out his sword and cut the nearby tentacle that held Hattori. Since he was only able to use one hand this time, he only managed to cut the tentacle deeply as opposed. That was almost a sinkhole in his plan... until the tentacle writhed in pain. It also released the captive pigeon! "Ha! It worked!" His celebration was cut short however as the tentacle he held onto had slammed him onto the floor of the ship again. The slam was hard enough to leave a HUGE indent. An indent that nearly took out the deck! Spandam could feel his body break again! The last time he felt this pain was back at the gate of hesitation when Robin broke his spine... after that sniper bombarded him with exploding pellets, and Cutty Flam slamming an elephant on him. "This...I can't move", Spandam uttered.
The octopus seemed to chuckle as it lifted its tentacle to continue its onslaught on the combatants. Hattori managed to avoid the tentacles again. He nearly got caught again since he was actually concerned this time. Why did Spandam do this and what was his plan? As if to answer his question, Spandam managed to point over towards Swordfreed; whom was sticking out of the deck. "Drop him! Hattori... drop him", he repeated. Hattori didn't quite understand what Spandam was going for... but he MAY have had an idea. And even if it wasn't the same idea, surely this could work as well. The octopus slammed another tentacle down onto Spandam. And once again, pain shot down his body. "Got...to...keep going", he said to himself. He was trying everything in his power to stay awake! Even through the slams of the tentacles.
Hattori made his way over towards the sword and tried to grab on with both feet... until a sharp pain shot through his leg. It quickly made his release his grip. Once he looked down, he noticed that his leg was bending. It must have been broken by the octopus' bind. This wouldn't be TOO much of a problem. He was capable of lifting a human being so he wouldn't have a problem lifting a sword. He used his beak to grab onto Swordfreed's tail and began to ascend. He would need as much momentum as he could get if they were going to pull this off.
"Yes! That's it Hattori! Right over its head! He continued to endure the attack of the tentacles as he got hopeful whilst seeing his plan in action. "Get ready you octo-freak! You're gonna get one hell of a headache! Hehehe!" Hattori could see a white dot in the middle of the blue sea. This would be high enough! He certainly hoped that this was what Spandam was planning. He finally got high enough and released swordfreed. The sword descended... and picked up speed. "Funkfreed! Now", Spandam shouted! That's when Swordfreed turned back into his full elephant form. Like a missile crashing into its destined target, funkfreed slammed down full force onto the octopus! Straight onto its head! SPandam sat up JUST in time to see his pet elephant skull bash his aquatic thrasher. "Yes! Right on target! Good job Hattori!"
The Octopus's eyes went white, and a and let out a pained shout! The force of a falling elephant was hopefully enough to take out the enemy whom was probably not as durable as its crew members. Luckily it must have done the job. The octopus became unresponsive before beginning to sink back into the water. "Haha! Take that you stupid... gah! Funkfreed! Hang on, papas coming", Spandam shouted. He quickly sat up even through the pain and hopped into the water after his drowning sword!
Hattori flew around in an exited manner. Hattori had never actually had to battle anything larger than a human. This fight was somehow invigorating, harrowing and accomplishing all at once. He never thought he'd think this but he and Spandam make a decent team. He might have even had newfound respect for Spandam... even if he was crying and swimming at the same time trying to keep himself and an elephant sword afloat. Perhaps he'd better try to help him!
"So he finally awakened to it, huh? I feel strange about this. Almost as if I myself am in danger", Kaku said.
"Wouldn't surprise me. I don't know how much control Lucci would have over this since it varies depending on the user. Depending on just that, he might end up being YOUR enemy too. He'd better not get cocky though! I still hold the upper hand", Cannibal charged forward and prepared to attack the beastly Lucci... only for him to be sent backwards and THROUGH the wall by a quick swipe from Lucci.
"Wow! Even though he's more than doubled in size he still moves at the blink of the eye. Even faster than you since you couldn't even hit him."
"I DID hit him", Cannibal said as he came back onto the battlefield. "He just didn't take enough damage to flinch", Cannibal said. He had blood dripping from his face. That's probably the most damage Cannibal has taken in this battle.
"The difference in power is something!"
"The initial awakening might be a bit stronger considering it's more so based on instinct." That was a worrying think for Kaku to hear. Lucci's instincts are usually to kill for a number of reasons. This power could have turned out to be a detriment. "Don't think I'm going to let you win just because you awakened!" Cannibal once again tried to attack Lucci with his storm leg technique. He made several red blades shoot across the room! The blades impacted Lucci, and managed to draw a bit of blood from him but it didn't seem to make him flinch either. Lucci moved quickly and struck Cannibal again. This time he bludgeoned him with his tail, managing to slam Cannibal through the remaining parts of the floor behind Kaku.
"Ha! Well, I guess he still sees YOU as the enemy. You can't win anymore Cannibal", Kaku said. Just as soon as he said that, Lucci zoomed towards Kaku. He was barely able to see the monstrous leopard zoom but in the few seconds he did he was sure he was going to be his target. It turns out that Lucci was only trying to follow up on his attack on Cannibal and pinned the wolverine man down with his palm! "That's assuring. I guess he can still tell ally from foe. I guess it's about time we wrap this up then huh, Cannibal?"
"Funny, I was just going to say the same thing. I bet you think he's the only one in this room who's awakened to their devil fruit.
"Oh no...", was all Kaku uttered before coming to the realization that the situation was about to sour again. Just like he feared, Cannibal began to undergo the same metamorphosis that Lucci had previously. He didn't sense any heartbeats this time but probably because Cannibal had already awakened to his before this battle. Now instead of just a monstrous Leopard there was a monstrous wolverine creature clinging onto the sides of the ship. At this point the captain's quarters looked more like a warzone. Most of the walls were gone and Kaku could see the hallway they were previously in. Not to mention he was able to see the outside of the ship. He knew that the ship would get damaged but all these battles were going to sink this ship with them on it! "I guess all I can do it help Lucci wrestle this thing... but the last thing he was going to want to do was get into the middle of these two fighting.
This time Cannibal tackled Lucci and pinned HIM down to the floor of the room over. "See?! You were doomed from the start! You won't match my power!" Unlike Lucci, he was able to talk in this form? Possibly due to having it longer. Cannibal maintained his intelligence, but that made him realize that a feral Lucci could still be more of a threat than Cannibal can handle. He just has to help catch Cannibal off guard. "Tempest kick Pistol Shot!" Kaku leaned backwards and kicked his feet releasing multiple blades in bullet form. They crashed into Cannibal but as he expected it had little effect. They managed to pierce his skin but only managed to get him to look up. That was when Lucci turned the tables and tossed Cannibal through another wall. Lucci quickly jumped to his feet and chased after him. That's when he heard several explosions coming from somewhere else on the ship. He worried a bit about the others but if he kept doing that, he'd probably endanger himself. He followed suit as well only to see the two beasts fighting again. It would seem Cannibal thought more about his attacks evident by his now developed pattern. Kaku was finally able to tell Cannibal actually had to try now that Lucci attacked wildly! Was this an advantage?
Cannibal raised his clawed hand and prepared to swipe at Lucci again. This time Kaku pulled back his neck and launched his nose gun! It managed to collide with Cannibals hand and cancel out the attack but the recoil from Cannibals attack managed to injure Kaku as well. "You pest! I'll crush YOU first", Cannibal shouted as he leapt over to the downed Kaku. He slammed his hand down on Kaku. Unfortunately, that was enough to send him plummeting into the sea!
"No! I... can't! He thought to himself. For a dark second, he thought he was going to sink into the water and drown. That's when he felt something wrap around his body. Something pulled him out of the water! When he reemerged, he saw that at the end of the "rope" that pulled him up was the beastly Lucci. "L-lucci!"
"C-careful! Don't...die... till... win", he said.
"So! He does have some form of intelligence already. Not bad! You really are some kind of genius it seems. But now I'm going to drown you both!" Cannibal slashed the air with both of his claws and made several red scythes! They flew across and destroyed not just one wall but several walls. He expected Lucci and Kaku to be sliced into pieces but they had vanished. "He must have saved the damn giraffe man. Where are you hiding?!" He could sense them in another room above him. He could also sense their strength. Kaku wasn't doing to hot thanks to the sea sapping his energy, and Lucci's awakened form may have been stronger than he thought it would be but untrained it would only cause his stamina to drain quickly as well. This would be the perfect time to finish them both!
Meanwhile, Lucci seemed to already be growing tired. The initial awakening was quite strong, but the amount of energy it sapped was becoming a detriment. He had to keep this form up if he wanted to attempt to fight on even ground at least. "The power these awakened forms possess is unbelievable! He only hit me twice in it and I already feel like I've been through the wringer. Cannibal's definitely taken more damage than before but he's still got the advantage right now. We need to strike him harder." He looked over at Lucci whom did already look exhausted. "Lucci, there's not much I can do to hurt this bastard. You're gonna have to be the one to finish him. I think I can give you an opening. After that whatever you decide to do is what matters the most right now", Kaku said over to Lucci. "I don't have much time to plan so we're gonna have to wing this", he thought to himself. It was confirmed once he heard the rumble of the wolverine monster climbing up to confront them again. Kaku dropped to the ground and spun on one hand. He had just enough room to launch this attack. Though even if he didn't, he could have just made the room.
"Does he really think I'm stupid", Cannibal asked himself as he neared the peak. "Or maybe he thinks I've grown that weak?" Cannibal climbed up to the side of the collapsed room. Just like he predicted, Kaku was preparing an attack.
"Here goes! TEMPEST KICK: SEVER. The circular blade flew across the room like a razor-sharp. As he expected, disk and managed to cut several pillars in the way.
Cannibal saw the attack coming and literally waved it off with his palm. Though he did underestimate the attack a bit, and ended up with a deep gash in his hand. That wasn't the inconvenience however. There was dust all over the place! "A-a-achoo! Ugh! Well, that sucks..." The dust seemed to deter him for a moment and threw off his senses for just a second. This allowed Kaku a second to vanish. His plan was to get him away from Lucci. "And WHERE are you going", Cannibal asked. He must have felt pretty offended about that cut if he was willing to ignore the bigger threat in favor of going after Kaku. "Just give up! You won't outlast me! At this point the best way this can end for you is if this ship sinks and kills us all."
"Thats what YOU think! We're going to win this! STORM LEG RIOT."
Many scythes launched at Cannibal but he shrugged most of them off. Some that hit him in the face hurt a bit more than others but nothing he couldn't take. "You're nearing your limit you know." That's when Lucci grabbed onto Cannibal again and pulled him backwards! "You again?! Alright I guess I really should get rid of you first!" Though Lucci tried to fight, his strength was sapping rapidly, though the same could be true for Cannibal. "I'll admit this at least. Before today I've only ever taken this form twice. I've used it enough to maintain my intelligence but it still takes a toll. I still have enough energy to finish you two off however!" He slashed at Lucci's stomach and left a long slash! Lucci roared in pain! "Don't worry! I'll send the rest of your friends to hell along with you!"
"I won't let that happen!" Cannibal's attack was interrupted by a mist of air bullets raining down on his back. The bullets drew blood from him again. "Ha! Just weak enough I assume!"
"Weak enough for what", Cannibal asked. Cannibal felt something wrap around his waist. Upon closer inspection it was Lucci's tail.
"This!" Lucci had his arms held out in front of him in what looked like a six kings' gun. Doing that in this form would have unpredictable results! And perhaps that's what they needed! Kaku had a bad feeling about this. He quickly hopped out of the way for this one! Lucci released the attack! And instead of a small shockwave... it was an enormous one! This one was so strong that the shockwave might have traveled to the end of the ship! Hopefully none of their allies were in the way of it. It did a number on Cannibal for sure! He had blood leaking out of his eyes nose and his mouth! The recoil hit Lucci hard too! That was to be expected since it was such a strong attack.
"Woah! I don't think I've ever seen an attack THAT strong. Lucci", Kaku said as he made his way over to the two monsters. Lucci was no longer moving. In fact, he reverted back to his regular human form. Cannibal... also seemed to be defeated? He reverted back to his human form and fell face forward. I should toss you into the sea...but that would be too easy. There might just be some more information out of you we can get. Lucci? Lucci? Yup... he's out cold. I'd better get you two back to the deck."
"Well, I'll be damned. What happened to you", Serenity asked Spandam.
"Hattori and I got attacked by a stupid octopus! Right when we were about to throw fists with Cannibal!"
"And where is this octopus", Gurin asked.
"At the bottom of the sea. We worked together with Funkfreed and sunk it!"
Blueno shook his head and smiled. "I guess you're good for something after all huh?" He looked around and saw almost all his comrades, minus Lucci and Kaku. "I wonder if they made it."
"Does this answer your question", Kaku asked. He had Lucci draped over his shoulder. He dragged Cannibal by his collar across the deck. "Nice to see you all in one piece."
"Damn, what happened in the captain's quarters", Jabra asked.
"Come over, I'll heal you and Lucci as well and you can tell us what happened. Is that one still alive", Serenity asked; hinting towards Cannibal.
"Yeah. I figure we should get all we can out of him before we toss him into the sea. Raymond, can you put some sea stone cuffs on him?"
"Good idea. The pair he had on Gurin are still here so we can use those. Then when he comes to, we'll get everything we need out of him."
"He's starting to open his eyes", Fukurou shouted. Everyone looked over to Cannibal. He must have only been out for twenty or so minutes. After the beating he took, you would think he would have been out longer than that.
"We told you we'd kick your asses and now you see we meant it", Gurin said.
"Hmph! I won't deny you've inconvenienced me and my crew. I'm assuming you've taken care of them as well?"
Kalifa nodded. If you want the non-sugar-coated truth, their all more than likely dead. Your pet too, Cannibal!"
"Ah, I see. That's quite the shame, but it can't be helped. So what's your plan now, besides the obvious."
"We're wondering if there's anything else we need to get from you before we get rid of you", Jabra replied.
Cannibal chuckled. "Is that so? Well then, I suppose there's a few things I could discuss with you before you make any decisions. But I'd like to speak with the assassins about it. Excluding Serenity."
"Why is that? You can say whatever you got to say to the rest of us, can't you", Borya said.
Blueno patted Borya on the shoulder to assure him. "Don't worry. We won't fall for any of his tricks, and there's nothing he can do to hurt us anymore. We'll hear what he has to say and then we'll all get out of here. We'll be waiting at the SkyDancer", Borya said as he hopped over towards their boat.
"Make it quick, Jabra! We got a crap ton of stuff to do when we get back", Raymond said. After the request had been adhered to, Cannibal was alone with the ex-agents at the edge of the deck.
"What do you want", Lucci asked. He had recovered thanks to Serenity's healing ability but he still seemed quite fatigued. "You're not going to try to weasel your way out of your death, are you?"
"Bahahahah! Don't be stupid. I'm not afraid of anything. Especially not death. I just want to make sure you understand what you're doing before you do it."
Kaku looked at the group before looking back to Cannibal. "Meaning?"
"As you know, I am still the pinnacle of cipher Pol. In killing me you might buy yourselves a few days. Maybe even a month. Ultimately your lives are still marked by the government. If I die, they will still send someone after you, and chances are they'll be stronger. I am the only one who can call off the hunt for you and your little friends since the order was given by me. The order is ever binding even IF someone stronger comes along so killing me would only trap you an endless cycle. Whether you care or not I cant be bothered to care myself in deciphering. I just wanted to let you know what you're in for.
"So what is your point, you demon", Kumadori asked.
"You'll be trapping your friends in the same cycle that you essentially caused. So just like you they'd be fighting for the rest of their lives and just like you, if any of them get friends and family, that could put even MORE people in danger."
Like a sudden realization, the all froze up. They thought this war would be over when they defeated Cannibal and his cronies, but somehow even THAT wasn't enough. "You've GOT to be kidding! How are we supposed to end this", Kalifa asked.
Cannibal chuckled out of pure satisfaction. It seems he enjoyed the fact that he might never lose, even if he dies. "Well, tell you what. Like I said, I am not afraid of death. BUT it goes without saying it would be a major inconvenience for many, particularly you. Not to mention now I have no crew. So, I'll offer you one last way out of this." The others listened attentively. "I know this would probably undermine one of the reasons you probably even came to fight me anyway, but you could work for me. While you each had a bit of help defeating my crew, you've still showed remarkable prowess. Enough to be considered top government employees. You do that, and I'll call of the hunt for you and your friends."
"Work for you?! You some kind of dumbass?! I-I mean...but...then they would be free at least", Jabra said as he looked over towards the SkyDancer."
Kalifa clenched her fists. "I swore I'd never work for the world government again... but is this a promise I can keep?"
All of them looked over at Lucci. It seemed like they were all at a loss on what to do. He did have input himself. Truth be told, he didn't too much want to work under Cannibal anymore either. And while he still wouldn't admit it, he wasn't ready to let go of the "extra people" they have recently acquired. Why he felt that way he didn't exactly know, but it wasn't really his choice to make. "This is a choice that I'm afraid I have to leave up to the rest of you. It affects you more than it would Kaku and I. So what will it be? The choice is yours..."