Chapter 7
Quick Author's Note: Apologies for the delay on this one, I was working on the sports festival for a My Hero Academia oneshot...ALL of the sports festival, sooo, yeah. Also, HOLY CRAP I forgot just how MUCH Dialogue there is before the actual ZvM fight, made me tempted to save said fight for the next chapter, but I'm not going to troll you guys like that.
Story Start: Baratie
As Zoro, Usopp, and I left the training area and onto the Baratie to see what was happening, I barely took the time to detach the training area from the restaurant and shrink it, bridge and support pillars all. Idly pocketing the now shrunken piece of training equipment, I followed Zoro and Usopp through the closest door that led to the inside of the restaurant.
When we reached the dining room it was to the sight of Gin coming in with a large man's arm over his shoulders saying "Please, feed him! We have money this time!"
"Am I the only one not liking what their Observation Haki is telling them about that big guy?" Usopp asked the pair of us.
"It's not just you, I can practically taste the treachery he's exuding." I said with a frown, forming a strip of cloth from my bullet proof vest and mixing it with a strip of invisible cloth even as the vest grew into its suit version.
Zoro's hands tightened on the hilts of his swords even as he grinned and said "Well I personally welcome a good fight."
"You would." Usopp and I said together. We traded a glance with each other then turned our focus back forward as Patty began going on about that being Krieg and how he could never be trusted and to call the Marines since they'd never get a better chance to catch the bastard. He was interrupted by Sanji kicking him out of the way, a plate of food in his hand.
Krieg fell on the food eagerly. I took advantage of his distraction to slip closer, something Zoro mimicked a moment later. Usopp meanwhile made for the stairs, pulling out his slingshot as he did so. Luffy noticed us shifting forwards and, idiot savant that he was in all things battle related moved to be in a more forward position rather than off to the side as well.
The moment Krieg was done eating, he stood up and moved to lariat Sanji. Before he could, I connected to Sanji's suit and yanked him back towards me, putting him down by my side. An instant after Sanji was clear Luffy nailed him in the face with a punch. Krieg fell back on his rear clutching at his face in pain as Luffy pulled his fist back and said "That's not very nice, attacking the person who just fed you."
"You god damned brat!" Krieg roared out as he sprung back to his feet. He gave a flex of his body and his clothes were shredded revealing him in gold colored armor that made him look much more bulky than a moment ago.
I blink in stupefied shock and asked "How the hell-?"
Krieg, asshole that he was, didn't bother telling me how he had managed that bit of anime bullshitery. Instead, he pulled a pair of pistols out and his shoulder pauldrons and two armor panels at his ribs popped open revealing multiple gun barrels. An instant later, Krieg cut loose on Luffy who took all of the shots directly to the chest. Krieg's smirk of satisfaction fell at the same time Luffy's own smug smirk appeared as our captain let out a small "Heh" before flexing and shooting the bullets back at Krieg as he shouted "THAT WON'T WORK ON ME!"
Eyes widening, I shouted "Hit the deck!" The next instant, the bullets ricocheted off of Krieg's armor and everyone in the dining area (even me) dropped to the floor, Usopp letting out a squawk of fear as he jumped up and did a split to avoid a bullet that almost got him in the unmentionables.
Springing up to my feet with a snarl, I said "Right then, EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT GET OUT OF HERE!"
The customers were more than willing to follow that order, more than one letting out an (in my opinion) pointless scream as they all ran out the back. In order to make sure Krieg didn't take a pot shot at any of their backs, I turned my strip of invisible bullet proof cloth (henceforth known as invisilet) into a giant palm that I haki'd up and with a thrust of my right arm slammed into the middle of Krieg's chest plate. Krieg's surprise as he was thrown back out the double doors by an invisible force made my day as I turned my gaze onto Gin and began cracking my knuckles as I said "Now to deal with your treacherous ass. Sanji gave you food when you were starving and how do you repay him? By bringing your leader here to attack this ship."
"I swear he promised me he wouldn't attack anyone!" Gin said, quickly standing up with his hands raised.
"And you actually believed him?!" Carne asked incredulously.
Before Gin could respond to that, Krieg let out a roar and came charging back through the doors with rage in his eyes. Not bothering to hide my next moves with invisilet, I sent out two cloth streams, wrapped them around his ankles and yanked back, pulling Krieg's feet out from underneath him and sending him crashing onto the floor in a loud clatter of armor.
"Matt!" Luffy shouted drawing my attention to him. He was giving me a scowl as he said "Leave him to me, Captains fight Captains!"
I cocked my head then shrugged, making a 'he's all yours' gesture with my hands. Luffy's scowl turned into a grin as he stepped forward only to pause as Zeff's voice called out "Now, now, let's not all be so hasty."
We all watched as he came down the stairs with a bag as big as he was and made his way over to the entrance. As he walked, he continued "After all, should you really be getting in a fight with the state of your ship and your crew, Don Krieg, defeated warrior of the Grand Line?"
As Zeff set the bag down, all of the chefs stared in shock, Carne saying "No way...even the Ruler of the East Blue couldn't make it there?"
"I'm not surprised." I said, and everyone in the room turned their attention to me as I crossed my arms and said "Trying to keep an armada of fifty ships together in that meteorological nut house of an ocean? Hell, were you even able to get them all past Reverse Mountain without crashing a dozen or so against each other as they went through the choke point? You would have needed Den Den Mushi on each ship for coordination, and most likely your own Adult to communicate through the Red Line. Course, that's not taking into account all of the currents merging into one that your navigators would have to deal with." I then grinned viciously and finished "And let's not forget the giant ass Island Whale that's been hanging around the Twin Capes for the last fifty years. Going ten thousand feet downhill with ships as large as yours? That's a lot of speed, would have been pretty hard to avoid something that big with your giant ships." I then cocked my head as I said "Also, I sure hope you had Log Poses and weren't relying on plain old compasses to navigate that magnetic hodgepodge."
Gin clenched his eyes shut and put his hand over them, and Krieg gritted his teeth angrily as I spoke. When Gin's hand fell from his eyes and his gaze turned downwards and Krieg let out actual steam from his nostrils at the last of my little speech, I openly stared and asked "Are you fraking kidding me? You tried to navigate the Grand Line without Log Poses?!"
Zeff though seemed nonchalant as he said "The Grand Line tends to be the harshest with those who are overconfident and believe that it is like the Blues in any way other than the fact that it is an ocean made out of water." Gesturing at the bag of food, he continued "There is enough food in there for your men. I suggest you hurry and take it back to your ship before anymore dies. But remember, just because this is a restaurant doesn't mean that the staff doesn't know how to fight."
"Head Chef Zeff, you can't seriously be willing to feed the rest of these pirates?! Their Captain already attacked Sanji when he fed him and they'll do the exact same thing!" One of the other chefs cried out.
"Zeff?" Krieg asked with narrowed eyes before they widened as he said "You're Red Shoes Zeff!"
"That was my epitaph yes, what of it?" Zeff asked, his own eyes narrowing the smallest of fractions.
"Hmph, 'Red Shoes' Zeff. So you're alive. A unique Pirate, the Captain-Cook." Krieg said, a little bit of sweat coming down his face to mix with the blood from Luffy's punch to the face.
"So what if I'm alive. Now I'm a chef exclusively. What's it to you?" Zeff asked.
Krieg let out a bark of laughter as he said "Ha! You say it like it was a a choice. But did you CHOOSE to be a cook...or was being a pirate too much for you? Looks like your red shoes days are behind you."
Krieg gave a pointed look at Zeff's peg leg before he looked back up at his face with a smirk and said "'Red Shoes' Zeff...master of the deadly kick, who never used his hands in battle. That awesome leg strength could smash bedrock and even leave footprints in steel. The blood of your enemies dyed your shoes hence your unusual nickname. They say you died at sea. I see you didn't lose your life...but you did lose one of your precious legs."
Zeff raised his hands up and said "I can't fight anymore, but I can cook, long as I have these two hands." He lowered his hands and his eyelids as he asked "What are you getting at? Spit it out."
Now grinning, Krieg said "Red Shoes Zeff...You once sailed that devil's nest, the Grand Line. But you returned unscathed. You kept a record of that voyage, a whole year's log. GIVE ME YOUR LOG-BOOK!"
"So Matt was right, you DID go to the Grand Line!" Luffy said with a grin.
Zeff side eyed Luffy and allowed a brief grin on his face as he said "Aye, I did." His eyes then turned forward and he frowned at Krieg as he said "My logbook, eh? Yes, I still have it. But I won't give it to you. For me and the men who sailed with me, that logbook is a testament. I won't give it to the likes of you!"
"Then I'll take it from you!" Krieg declared, clenching his fist as he continued "It's true that I didn't succeed on the Grand Line! But I am Don Krieg, the MIGHTIEST OF ALL! Weaklings do well to shun that dark route. But I had plenty of strength! Ships and Men! Ambition! The only thing I lacked was KNOWLEDGE! That's what stopped me! I just didn't know enough. I'll have that log...and this ship, too!" Pounding his fist onto his armor chest plate, he continued "I'll take Zeff's log, assemble another armada...capture the One Piece and lord it over this great Age of Pirates as the PIRATE KING!"
I couldn't help it, I threw my head back and hollered with laughter. As everyone around me stared in surprise, confusion, and in Krieg's case, rage, I wrapped my arms around my stomach and laughed hard enough I cried a little.
"WHAT IS SO FUNNY YOU IMPUDENT BUG!" Krieg roared.
I gave one last chuckle before I rolled my head to the side and looked at Krieg as I said "That would be you. You assume that a logbook covering ONE ship's journey of a year in the first half of the Grand Line will help you. IT WON'T. You think that the second half of the Grand Line is just like the first. IT'S WORSE. You think building another Armada, relying on quantity instead of quality will help you. IT WON'T. You think that you can stand up to any of the Yonko. YOU CAN'T. You think that you can take on the full might of the Marines. YOU CAN'T."
Turning my head to its proper orientation, my eyes turned hard as I said "You who hides behind armor, manpower, and trickery could never hope to stand at the top. You claim to have 'Ambition', but you're no Conqueror, merely a frog that decided he was too large for the well he was born in." I then smirked and said "But what happened when you left that well? You got attacked by a hawk that knocked your slimy ass back into the well where you belong."
"YOU IMPUDENT BUG, I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I CAN DO!" Krieg yelled, all of his guns coming back out as he fired on me. The storm of bullets were all on point. They just...never reached said point. Everyone stared as the bullets hung in midair a foot in front of me.
I cocked my head and said "You're bullets are just like you Don. Weak." The bullets fell to the ground as the invisible part of my invisilet retreated, revealing the sheet of bullet proof cloth in front of me. As the cloth turned into several strips then coiled around my neck connecting their ends together like a massive scarf, I continued "I think I know why you rely on twelve barrels, it's because you know that a single bullet won't be enough when you fire it."
Gaining a grin fit to grace the Joker's lips, I said "You can't even handle a measly Paramecia who had his devil fruit for six months and you think you can take on Marine Admirals who have had their Logias for years? Don't make me laugh. Oh wait, too late for that."
Beads of sweat went down Krieg's face before he put on a facade of nonchalance. Grabbing the bag of food, he put it over his shoulder and said "Now listen carefully, all of you. I'll give you a chance. I'm taking this food to the men on my ship. Then I'm coming back. Anyone who doesn't want to die had better be gone when I return. All I want is the Captain's Log and the ship." Turning around and beginning to walk out, he continued "But if you're eager to die...wait for me. I'll bury you at sea. It's your choice."
As he left, I snorted and said "See what I mean, hiding behind manpower."
"Indeed Carpenter." Zeff said with an upward twitch of his lips.
By my side, Sanji muttered "Thanks." When I gave a hum of confusion, he said "For keeping Krieg from hitting me earlier."
"Oh that, you're welcome." I said with a quick shrug before I turned to look back at the stairs as Usopp said "Man Matt, you've really got giant brass balls don't you?"
I snorted and said "Usopp, don't tempt me to play AC/DC just before a fight, I doubt no one else will appreciate it."
Usopp spitted a bit as he tried to hold back a laugh before failing. Luffy let out a laugh of his own while Zoro rolled his eyes. All of the chefs looked confused, as did Gin who was still kneeling on the floor.
After a moment, Gin discarded his confusion and turned his head down again as he said "Sanji, forgive me! I didn't think he would do this! I...I..."
"It's not all your fault, Swabby." Zeff said, causing Gin to look up and let out a confused "Huh?"
As the chefs also looked at him, the old Captain said "The cooks helped to bring this on us, as well."
"Chef! Are you siding with Sanji? You crazy?!" Patty asked.
"He's the guy who started all this trouble!" Another chef said quickly followed by another that said "Sanji wants to destroy your precious restaurant!" Turning to point accusingly at Sanji, he continued "Don't you Sanji?! You'd do anything to be the head chef!"
"Either that or you're insane. Which is it?!" Another demanded.
"SHUT UP, YOU EGGPLANTS!" Zeff yelled, causing all of them to fall silent as Zeff continued "Has any of you ever really been hungry before? Have you gone for days without food and water on the high seas? Do you have any idea what agony that is?!" As Zeff spoke, Sanji lowered his head and lit a cigarette, his visible eye shadowed.
"Huh? So what, Chef?" Patty asked.
"If you're gonna keep moaning then just head out the back door!" Zeff declared, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.
Patty's grip on his fork weapon that had mysteriously appeared in his hands at some point in the last couple of minutes tightened and he said "I'll stay and fight. I can't stand to let Krieg have his way."
The other chefs all held their own mysteriously appearing super sized utensil weapons as well as another said "Me neither! This restaurant is my home!"
"Yeah! I got nowhere else to go!" Another chef said.
"Are you guys crazy?! You won't be able to fight off the Don and all of his men once they recover!" Gin declared.
"I beg to differ. Especially since they have two Paramecias, one Santoryu user, and a Sniper on their side." I said with a grin, a grin that Luffy matched with a clenched fist. Zoro's grin was a lot more blood thirsty as he gripped one of his swords. A glance at Usopp showed that his knees were shaking but he was still standing in his spot on the stairs, and he still had his slingshot in his right hand. Seeing me looking at him, he gave me a shaky thumb's up with his left.
Sanji let out a huff of amusement, causing a large smoke cloud to leave his mouth. Sitting down on a nearby table and crossing his left leg over his right knee, he took the cigarette out of his mouth as he said "Gin...Listen to me. As a cook, I consider it my duty to feed the hungry. But soon I'll be facing plunderers with full stomachs. So if I have to beat your mates to death, don't complain. If they try to take over this ship I'll slaughter them without mercy, and that goes for you, too. Got That?"
Gin let out a gulp and Patty let out a 'hmph' as he said "First you save 'em then you kill 'em? Good idea, Sanji."
"Be quiet, crap-cooker." Sanji retorted.
Luffy let out a quiet Shishishi at the byplay before he turned his gaze back to Gin and said "By the way, Gin..."
"Aye?" Gin asked, looking towards the rubber man.
"You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line. But you've been there!"
Gin looked down again, clutching at his head with both hands as he said "I know nothing. It's all a crazy fog. Something happened on our seventh day out. But was it a dream or reality? It's all mixed up in my head. He appeared so suddenly...JUST...ONE...MAN. HOW COULD ONE MAN SCUPPER 50 SHIPS?!"
As everyone in the room bar me and Zeff expressed their shock at his words, I let out a soft "Huh, guess he got all of his fleet through Reverse Mountain in one piece after all. Maybe the Island Whale wasn't there at the time." I then cocked my head in confusion and asked "Then why were they so upset when I mentioned it?"
"Could be some of their ships were clipped when it came to investigate so many coming down the mountain at once. After all, present doesn't mean UNDAMAGED." Zeff offered nonchalantly.
"Good point." I said with a nod.
"Are you two just going to ignore the fact that Krieg's armada was destroyed by one man?!" Usopp asked angrily.
Both Zeff and I shrugged as I said "Consider the fact that Whitebeard, one of the Four Emperors can sink an entire island with his Tremor Tremor fruit then ask us that again."
Usopp let out a wheeze at that but everyone's attention was drawn back to Gin as he continued "Before we knew it our ships were sinking, one after the other! If that storm hadn't come up...he'd have sent the flagship to the bottom, too! I'm not sure how many ships survived...It was terrible...I can't believe it was real! I don't want to remember that man! THAT MAN WITH THE PIERCING HAWK EYES, EYES THAT COULD KILL WITH A GLANCE!"
"WHAT?!" Zoro asked, a vein bulging on his forehead and beads of sweat appearing.
Me though, I had an entirely different reaction as I said "Huh, you know, I had been speaking metaphorically when I mentioned a hawk kicking Krieg back into his well. I didn't think that you had LITERALLY run into one."
"Eh, what are you talking about Matt?" Luffy asked with a cocked head.
It was Zeff that answered though as he said "It had to be HIM, had to be Hawk-Eye. You said his eyes were like a hawk's. That's proof enough. But what he did to your ships...It had to be HIM!"
"Um, could someone tell me who this Hawk-eye is?" Luffy asked with crossed arms and a pout.
"Dracule 'Hawk-Eye' Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the current holder of the title World's Greatest Swordsman." I said, finger tapping at my thigh as my eyes narrowed in thought and I continued "I'm kind of surprised that he was so close to the entrance of Paradise to be honest."
"He's also the man I've been looking for. Johnny said he comes here." Zoro said.
"I SERIOUSLY doubt that." I said with a frown.
"Well, don't know about old "Hawk-eye"..," One chef started before the rest of the chefs continued
"...But 'Old Red-Eyes' was here."
"Aye, he drank so much wine his eyes turned red."
"Then the fool caught fire and exploded!"
"Yeah, what a sight."
Anger flashed in Zoro's eyes as he said "That sea snake! He lied to me!"
"Less lied, more got a couple of names mixed together I think." I said with a 'what can you do?' shrug.
Zoro let out a deep sigh and said "Yeah, I guess so."
"So he beat the whole armada. Did you do something to make him mad?" Sanji asked Gin.
"Not that I know of! He just attacked!" Gin said.
"Maybe you interrupted his nap." Zeff said.
"That's not funny! He murdered my crewmates!" Gin shouted.
"I don't think he was joking." I said, eyeing Zeff.
"I wasn't. That's the kind of place the Grand Line is." Zeff said.
"Sounds fun, a place where anything can happen!" Luffy said, literally shaking with excitement.
Usopp gave him an angry look and said "Please, for once think of the danger!"
Zoro grinned and said "Now I know where I have to go. To the Grand Line. That's where I'll find HIM!"
Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette before blowing out the smoke cloud and said "You're fools. You'll both be killed as soon as you get there."
"Maybe." Zoro said with a shrug before he continued "But don't insult us. The day I decided to be the World's Greatest Swordsman I gave myself up for dead. Nobody calls me a fool but me. I have my reasons."
Luffy grinned and put a hand on his straw hat as he said "Me too. If I want to be the Pirate King then I can't let a silly thing like a dangerous ocean stop me. Plus, I made a promise on this hat to a very important person who's waiting for me there."
Sanji eyed them for a moment before he looked away with a mutter of "Stupid."
Zeff though let out an amused "Heh" before turning back to me with a raised eyebrow and asked "What about you Carpenter?"
"Me?" I asked with a grin, putting my hands behind my head as I said "I don't really have some great ambition to work at, I'm just here to enjoy the ride."
Zeff let out a hum at that but our attention was grabbed by Patty as he said "You lame brains! Do you realize what kind of trouble we're in!? Right out there, them sea-wolves are reviving themselves ABOARD PIRATE ADMIRAL DON KRIEG'S GALLEON! They're the most savage pirates in the Easter Seas! If you wanna dream, do it after this crisis is over!"
Punctuating his words, there was a massive roar outside as the Krieg Pirates celebrated there salvation.
We all tensed ready to repel them but before the Pirates could get off their ship my Observation Haki hollered a warning at me and two wind blades sliced right through the galleon, cutting it in thirds as easily as a knife slicing through butter. As the ship began breaking apart under its own weight now that it had no structural support, and throwing up massive waves as it sunk in the process, Usopp chocked on his own spit and said "Guys, there's someone out there, and he's getting closer!"
I ignored Zeff ordering the cooks to weigh the Baratie's anchor and instead turned my gaze and Observation Haki to where the wind blades came from and copied Usopp as I choked on my own spit as well. The figure now in my metaphorical sights had an absolutely Titanic presence about him. That combined with the sword slash had me widening my eyes as I said "Ah hell, he's here."
"Then it seems that my target has come to me." Zoro said with a blood thirsty grin.
Luffy though didn't care about that, instead running through the restaurant as he shouted "Forget about him! Nami, Johnny and Yosaku are still on the Merry!"
We all ran out to the entrance where Merry USED to be docked only to see the bounty hunter duo in the water struggling to swim aboard and no ship or navigator.
"Yosaku! Johnny! You Okay?! Where's our ship?! Where's Nami?!" Zoro shouted to them.
"Sorry Brother Zoro! They're gone! Sister Nami! She sailed off with all the treasure!" Johnny shouted even as I sent out two strips of cloth, wrapping them around them and yanking them onto the deck.
"WHAT!" Zoro and Luffy roared while Usopp shouted "SHE TOOK THE SHIP!?"
As the two bounty hunters explained what happened, I let out an angry scowl and my Observation Haki lanced out. A moment later, I locked onto Nami's signature. Snarl growing, I said "I've got her location!" As the others looked towards where I pointed with one hand, I sent a mass of duct tape into the water which turned into a jet ski and I glanced at Luffy as I said "I'll catch her and bring the ship back here. Once we deal with the Krieg pirates we can get some answers from her."
Luffy gave a sharp nod and said "GO!"
"Going." I said as I vaulted the railing and landed on my construct and took off after the Going Merry. Behind me, the others went back to where the Krieg Pirates were, along with an approaching Mihawk but I couldn't waste any attention on keeping tags on them with my Observation Haki, instead putting it on keeping my jet ski upright and on target through the still roiling water.
The best thing about using a cloth construct vehicle? No actual engine to make any noise. I managed to quickly catch up with the Going Merry and didn't see Nami come running to the stern meaning it was highly likely that she didn't know I was there.
As soon as I was close enough to the stern, I stood up and the jet ski turned into a giant Sonic style spring that launched me up into the air and I landed in a crouch on the center of the kitchen roof. A quick glance forward showed that Nami wasn't outside, something that the sound of rapid footsteps from beneath me confirmed a moment later. Nami had clearly heard my landing so I quickly made my way to the edge of the roof over the door and came up to it just in time to see Nami rush out.
"Hello Nami." I said coldly and Nami flinched as she slowly turned around.
Seeing my glare, she chuckled nervously and said "Uh, hey there Matt. Listen, I know you're probably super mad about me taking off with the ship like this but just let me explain!"
My eyes narrowed and I said "Oh, you'll be explaining alright, but considering we're in the middle of a crisis at the moment that's going to have to wait." And with that, the scarf of cloth that was still around my neck reared up like an extremely long viper before shooting down at Nami. She let out a yelp and tried to dodge but the cloth was too fast and quickly wrapped her up and dragged her over the railing down to the main mast, quickly growing around it in order to make sure she wasn't going anywhere.
As Nami struggled against her cloth bindings I created a ramp from the kitchen roof down to the main deck and slid down it. As I walked up to her she grunted in exertion before looking at me with wide eyes as she said "Listen Matt, I HA-MMMM!"
I slapped a strip of tape over her mouth cutting her off. Gripping her chin, I leaned in close and said "I don't give a damn. To reiterate, we're in the middle of a crisis right now and you stole the ship. So much for us being your friends."
I jerked my hand, and thus her head sideways as I walked around the mast before dropping down into a kneeling position with my hands on the deck. A moment later, navy blue duct tape flowed down my arms then erupted from under my hands, rapidly expanding to cover the entire ship before flowing over its sides and into the water where it turned into a giant arrow shaped boat with both propellers beneath and either side of the stern.
A moment later I had us turned around and powering back to the Baratie, going up on a plane and throwing a massive wake behind us. We were back behind the Baratie within a minute and I used my textilekinesis to lift the boat up in the air, cutting our speed to nothing before I lowered the giant construct back into the water. Remembering Zeff mentioning the Baratie having flaps, I kept the construct a good hundred feet away from her as I sent a giant cloth strand into the water, a spiked tip piercing into the ocean floor to keep the construct in place.
Walking back around the mast, I poked Nami on the forehead and said "I'll deal with you later, right now I have some Krieg Pirate asses to kick."
Nami let out a gagged shout at my words but I ignored her as I took a running leap off of the Merry, the tape of the arrowhead coming up and turning into another ramp to the Baratie. Quickly running through the interior of the restaurant, I came out the other side to the sight of Krieg's galleon in several dozen pieces floating in the water and Zoro furiously dueling Mihawk, the Warlord using what looked like a knife whose blade was barely as long as my pinkie finger.
"Please tell me that Zoro's not fighting Dracule Fucking Mihawk." I said startling the rest of the Straw Hats and the bounty hunter duo.
"Matt, you're back!" Luffy said with a grin as he turned to look back at me before his grin fell and he turned back around and said "But yeah, Zoro challenged that Hawk guy and they've been at it for a couple of minutes or so."
"A couple of minutes? Why the hell is he playing around so much with Zoro?" I asked with a frown.
"HEY, WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted at me.
I ignored those two and instead moved to hop from the Baratie to the nearest piece of broken galleon with plans to reach the piece of ship that the duel was happening on. Before I could though, Luffy grabbed my shoulder and said "Matt, stay here, this is Zoro's fight!"
"And he's welcome to it, but he's going to lose, and when that happens he's going to be surrounded by Krieg Pirates. And that's if Mihawk is somehow in a generous mood and doesn't kill him." I said, trying to remove Luffy's hand.
Luffy gritted his teeth before he let go and said "Fine, but don't interfere."
"Right." I said, bringing my invisibility suit into being as I began crossing the debris field.
It seemed that the Laws of Anime Dramatic Theatrics were in place. Because as soon as I reached the piece of debris the two swordsmen were dueling on, Mihwak apparently decided he was done humoring Zoro and stabbed him in the chest.
"ZORO!" Luffy shouted and I was impressed he wasn't immediately rocketing over and instead was pulping the Baratie's railing under his hands. Me? I was far more concerned with how Zoro wasn't actually stepping away from the blade and how I could see that there was still more blade Mihawk could push into him.
Mihawk himself seemed slightly surprised as he asked "Are you just going to let me pierce your heart? Why aren't you withdrawing?"
"I don't know why." Zoro said, not moving an inch as he continued with blood coming out of his mouth "I don't know why, but...if I withdrew even a step, I feel like those various important things such as pledges and promises in the past will be shattered, and I won't be able to come back to where I am now..."
"Yes, that's what defeat is about." Mihawk said.
Zoro let out a pained chuckle and said "Then, all the more reason I can't withdraw..."
"Even if you'll die?" Mihawk questioned.
"I'd rather die." Zoro said resolutely.
Mihawk was silent for a moment before he withdrew his knife, stepping back and putting its cover back on as he said "Kid! State your name."
Zoro moved his swords into a pinwheel formation and said "Roronoa Zoro."
Mihawk reached over his shoulder and said "I'll remember it." Drawing his sword, he continued "I haven't seen anyone like you in a while, strong one. Thus as a swordsman's courtesy, I'll sink you using the world's strongest black sword." Then, against all possibility, without turning his head the man glanced at my direction and tilted up his free hand in a clear instruction to stay put.
My jaw dropped before my attention was grabbed by Zoro as he said "I appreciate it." The next moment he was spinning the two swords in his hands as he declared "Three Swords Style Secret Technique!"
Mihawk launched himself towards Zoro as he called out "Fall!"
As Mihawk passed him, Zoro finished "Three Thousand Worlds!"
As Mihawk stopped a few feet behind Zoro, there was a small pulse of air, then everything was still for a moment. That moment couldn't last though and Zoro's unnamed blades shattered into several pieces while blood spurted from his torso. Zoro dropped to a knee as he said "Looks like I lost." Standing up, he sheathed Wado Ichimonji and turned around to face Mihawk with spread arms.
"What are you doing?" Mihawk asked in surprise.
Zoro grinned as he said "Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame..."
Mihawk matched his grin as he said "Well said." The next instant, he slashed Zoro's chest, and it was only my Observation Haki telling me that there was no killing intent that kept me from trying to block it with Haki infused Invisilet. That didn't stop me from dropping my invisibility though, (Scaring the hell out of all of the Krieg pirates and Chefs) and I quickly rushed over and caught Zoro before he could fall.
As I carefully laid Zoro onto the deck, Mihawk said "You shouldn't rush so eagerly to death young warrior."
"DAMN YOU!" Luffy yelled, stretching his arm out, grabbing a piece of wood behind Mihawk and rocketing towards him. Mihawk casually turned and Luffy shot past, getting his head buried in the wood. I somehow managed to hear Krieg mutter "So that's his devil fruit." (Undoubtedly anime physics once more at play)
As Luffy struggled to get his head free, I looked at Mihawk and asked "How did you know I was there?"
Mihawk let out short hum before he said "I'll admit, whatever technique you used hid you from even my Observation Haki but you weren't exactly being all that quiet with all of the jumping you did to reach here."
"Fair point." I said before I turned my attention to Zoro, using my devil fruit power to remove his shirt and created a patch of medical pad to clean away all of the blood on his chest, putting Haki into my threads and using them to rapidly sew up the wounds before tightly wrapping them in cloth. It wasn't pretty, but since I doubt Mihawk had actually nicked any of his organs it would have to do until we could get him to a proper doctor.
At that point Luffy got his head unstuck and he glared at Mihawk who said "Don't worry. I left him alive." Luffy's anger turned to shock and he quickly looked towards me. I nodded and he sagged in relief. Mihawk smirked down at us and as Zoro opened his eyes with a groan said "My name is Dracule Mihawk! It's too soon for you to die. Discover yourself. See the world! And grow strong! However long it may take...I shall await you at the top. Strive with your whole heart and mind to best this blade, fierce one! Strive to surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!"
After his speech, he turned his gaze to Luffy and asked "Lad, what is your goal?"
"To be King of the Pirates!" Luffy stated.
Once again, my Observation Haki picked up that weird sensation and Mihawk let out a hum before he said "You tread a perilous path. Even more perilous than trying to surpass me."
"I DON'T CARE! THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO BE!" Luffy said fiercely.
Mihawk hummed before our attention was brought back to Zoro who held Wado Ichimonji straight up and said "Lu-Luffy, were you worried? If I fail to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, you'll be disappointed, right!? NEVER AGAIN! I WILL NEVER LOSE AGAIN! FROM NOW TO THE DAY I BEAT HIM TO BECOME THE GREATEST SWRODSMAN... (Mihawk was grinning again) I WILL NEVER LOSE AGAIN! GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT KING OF THE PIRATES!?"
Luffy smiled so hard his eyes closed as he said "SHISHISHI! NOT AT ALL!"
"Hm, those two make a good team." Mihawk mused to himself with a smirk before he turned his gaze to me and said "You have a lot to live up to, if you're going to be on their crew."
"Maybe, but I'm willing to put in the effort." I said, idly repairing Zoro's shirt and standing up with crossed arms, the two limbs turning Armament black.
The sight of that earned a raised eyebrow from Mihawk before he turned around and strode toward his boat as he said "I hope to encounter you again someday young Pirate King, it should be quite interesting when you join me in the Grand Line."
The epic moment was ruined as Krieg leapt onto the piece of ship debris we were standing on as he said "Hey, Hawk-Eye! Didn't you come here for my head? For the head of Don Krieg, King of the Eastern Blue!?"
Mihawk barely deigned Krieg with a glance out of the side of his eye as he said "That was my intention. But I've had enough fun for now, so I shall head back home to take a nap."
Krieg cracked his neck handlessly as he said "You may have had enough, but I'm tired of getting beaten."
"D-Don?" One of his men asked, followed by another who asked "Why are you trying to keep him here?"
All of a sudden, all of Krieg's weapons were out and he shouted "Die before you leave!"
As he fired his weapons, Mihawk put a hand to the hilt of his large sword and said "You are indeed a slow learner." Mihawk swung his sword and the air pressure pulled the surrounding sea water up into a giant wave. Warned by our Observation Haki, Luffy and I grabbed Zorro and used our respective grappling techniques to zip out of the way and back to the Baratie.
When the wave passed, Mihawk was gone and Krieg tsked as he said "Damn it, he escaped."
"He makes it sound like he stood even as much a chance against him as Zoro did." I muttered and Luffy let out a quiet laugh as we hoisted Zoro over the railing of the Baratie, carefully putting him on the deck before climbing over ourselves.
As the others joined us, Luffy looked at Johnny and Yosaku and said "You guys, put him inside and keep an eye on him!"
"Yes Big Bro Luffy!" The pair said, saluting before they quickly moved Zoro away from the coming fight.
As they did that, Luffy led me and Usopp over to where Zeff and Sanji were standing. Grinning up at the Head Chef, Luffy asked "Hey, if I fight off all of the pirates for you I can go right?"
Zeff looked amused as he said "Sure kid, beat up the pirates and I'll call us even."
'Called it!' I thought to myself with a smirk as we watched Krieg rallying his troops. The prelude was finished. Now the main event was about to begin...
END
Author's Notes: I apologize to you guys, I WANTED to cover the fight with the Krieg pirates in this chapter as well but if I did that then it would take even longer to get this and the other two counterpart story chapters out, maybe even after May had already ended. Hopefully what I have given you guys is enough to tide you over until I've got Zaboomafoo's chapter written up. I'll try to have that up inside this week so fingers crossed. Until then, see ya!
