10/15/2 AN: Gaaaaaah! How many more of these edits do I have to do!? Self-imposed improvement is the worst!
Chapter 21: Kisame the Riptide
The villagers were stunned. Sanji bit through his cigarette. Johnny and Yosaku fainted on the spot. Ussop was panic stammering. Nami was grimacing. Zoro was grinning like it was his birthday. Silk jabbed a finger at the horde in silent rage. As for Hook, his eyes never left the Fishman leading the pack...
"Greetings, weak humans!" Kisame called out to the crowd. "Allow me to introduce... the Sunset Pirates!"
"That's him!" Silk pointed out. "That's the bastard that burned down your house!"
Nami's grimace only deepened. "What is this? They should be getting ready to sail! What the hell is going on!?"
Hook clicked his tongue, the hairs on the back of his neck never easing down. Finally, he spoke up. "Let's go up and ask him." Much to the village's shock, he wasn't kidding, as he took a few steps toward the school of Fishmen at the shore. Genzo even tried to stop him, but with Sanji, Nami, and the rest of the crew following, it was not possible to stop them all. As the group approached, most of the Fishmen prepared for a fight, a few of them getting ready to intercept Hook. Kisame held up his hand, stopping them. No one barring his way, Hook came up to the group, sized Kisame up and down... and extended a hand, startling both by-standing pirates and civilians. "Howdy! Name's Hook! Nice to meet ya!"
The Fishman blinked, his eyes darting away with an unseen spark of disappointment. 'This is him?' he thought to himself. Finally, he focused back on Hook, with an easy smile, shaking the lad's hand. "Hello. I am Kisame. I'm betting you're not from around here?"
As they disconnect, Hook barely opened his mouth, before some random Fishman gasped. "N-Nami!? Where have you been!"
Another one perked up. "After what you and that partner of yours did, if we were in different straits-!"
"Enough!" Kisame cut off the two, as Nami looked on, puzzled.
"What my... what happened? Where's Carina!?" Nami looked around, suddenly looking worried.
Kisame waved it off. "Your friend is fine, just no friend of ours. She sailed off with our gold, weapons, and a good chunk of our rations as well. Seems she's got it into her head to sail for the Grand Line and never look back..."
Nami looked crestfallen at the news. "But... I thought..."
"Which brings us to right now," Kisame spoke up, loud enough for everyone to hear. "As we no longer have a ship or supplies, I have decided we might impose on you folk for whatever you can give-!"
"After what you've taken..." Genzo asked, flabbergasted. "Now, Arlong is here, demanding more!?"
Kisame frowned and shook his head. "My apologies for the misunderstanding, but I assure you, it is I who now captains the newly christened Sunset Pirates!"
"Sunset..." Sanji muttered as Zoro stayed silent.
"Sunset?" Silk tilted her head. "That can't be right. It's only half-past Noon."
Ussop dope-slapped her. "IS NOW REALLY THE TIME!?"
"Regardless of who's Captain," Hook pointed out, a serious scowl on his face. "You still cheated when you were playing that Devil's Game when you and Silk met up! And more importantly, you burned down my navigator's house!"
Hachi flinched at that, and a few of the pirates had something to say, but Kisame raised his hand at the first sign of noise. "I do apologize for that... had I known it had such importance, I might have come to a different outcome. That being said, it will have little impact once you hear my proposition and goal."
"Goal?" Hook perked up. "Like a Dream? Tell me more!"
'What a 180!' most of Cocoyashi thought.
"Here we go," the half of the group that had been with Hook long enough facepalmed, puzzling Zoro and Sanji.
Kisame chuckled lightly at the young man's intrigued face. "Glad you wish to hear me! Well, it's quite clear to me that humans are very fragile. The old man, that blue-haired fireball – so passionate for such frail creatures! That is why I offer you great protection from the dangers of the world!"
"Pro...tection?" Cocoyashi's citizens looked at each other puzzled; what on earth could that even mean?
"It's simple really – something I'm surprised even the greatest of the Fishman Pirates never considered!" Arlong looked away at that, growling with no steam. Everyone described him as a monster but, to Hook, he just looked... really broken and sad. "Today, we are opening the Sunset Pirates' ranks for all! Every human is welcome!" That really confused everyone; humans... on the Fishman Pirates? "Once you join our adventures," Kisame continued, "we can easily protect you from what the world can throw at you! A paradise where both species can live together!"
The crowd began muttering among themselves. Finally, one kid, wielding a stick stepped up. "But... that makes us pirates. Like you guys, right? Wouldn't the Marines be after us?"
Kisame frowned. "I'm afraid it may happen, but within our ranks, we can protect you from whatever befalls us!"
"Even still!" Genzo pushed the child behind him. "We refuse! No one here wants to be a pirate, and certainly not with the likes of our oppressors!" The whole village yelled basically the same thing, clearly eager for the Fishmen to leave.
Kisame scratched his chin in thought, before nodding resolutely and looking up. "I... understand. But I still extend the offer, if only because it will be hard to live without proper houses..." Now even that made Zoro do a double take! "As I said, we need a new ship. Lumber from both here and Gosa, maybe even a few other villages on this island, and we should have a boat big enough for all," Kisame stated solemnly.
"Are you insane, or not listening!?" Genzo snarled. "You can't do this! You can't just-!"
A familiar feeling crept up Hook's spine as Kisame's presence seemed to pulse, and Genzo seemed to swallow his tongue, stumbling in his steps. "Genzo!" Nami ran over to him, steadying the man as he walked around like he'd walked into an invisible wall.
Hook stood there stunned, as the rest of his crew shivered or tensed up as the phantom feeling crawled into their spirits. He looked back at Kisame in a new light. 'That was… Decree.'
"Your compliance was not asked for," Kisame huffed, dropping his good humor. "If we are to make history, negatives cannot get in our way." He turned to Hachi. "Call him." Hachi moved slightly but paused as he looked at Nami. He almost said something, but glanced hard at Kisame instead, before putting his hands to his extending mouth... and blowing like a trumpeter!
From the bay, a bulge began to form. The displaced water rose higher, revealing... a familiar sea cow. Hachi took one look at the beaten and bruised sea creature and openly gaped. "What the... Mohmoo! What happened to you!?"
"Crap! That's the monster that tore up Gosa Village!" some of the villagers cried.
Ussop immediately panicked. "W-WHA!? A WHOLE VILLAGE!? SHIII- hold on, haven't we seen him before?"
"Pretty sure he gave us a ride," Sanji said casually.
"Yeah..." Hook looked sheepish, tapping his fingers together, as he explained to the half of the crew that hadn't been there. "He kinda attacked us, so we kinda defended ourselves. We fed him afterward, then used him to give us a ride the rest of the way here."
Silk nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. You held back. He doesn't look all that bad…"
"Yeah…" Somehow, Hook looked even more embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. "I think that was from him slamming into the shore..."
While a slowly recovering Genzo and other bystanders looked astonished at the idea of fighting a sea creature on its natural territory, Mohmoo took one look at Hook, and, even despite the calm demeanor he gave off... he began to swim away. "Wha-!? Hey, Mohmoo, come back!" Hachi called to his pet.
"Mohmoo," Kisame spoke, voice laced with Decree. "You have a job to do. Get over here and do it."
That was all Mohmoo needed apparently, as he turned around, roaring. And that was all that was needed to be said for the Fishmen as well; a loud cheer was all the villagers had as a warning that battle was coming. "Remember!" Kisame yelled to the rowdy mooks. "No unnecessary roughness! We are here to protect them... from outside and within!"
Sanji lit a cigarette. "Hmph. Looks like the talking's done."
Zoro wrapped a greenish-black bandanna around his head. "Looks like I'm building up a sweat today!"
Silk, positioned next to her pile of gold, snickered. "Don't worry! I'll save you guys some butt to kick!"
Ussop... a bit farther away than before, called out, "You really don't need to!"
"Nami..." Genzo said worriedly, but Nami patted his hands.
"Genzo... this will always be my home. But now... I have a lot more people to protect!" She left the group of people, yelling over her shoulder, "And try to stand back! When Hook and Silk get going... it can get ugly!"
Rather than focusing on the charging army, Hook paid full attention to Kisame. 'I missed a lot trying to get here, but one thing's for certain,' the teen cracked his knuckles as he glared at the Great White Shark Fishman, 'his ass is chum!'
"Now," Kisame smirked, speaking in a way only Hook seemed to hear him. "Show me your struggle against the inevitable... James Hook."
As Mohmoo came charging in, the Combo-Man marked him as the biggest threat –literally! "Stand back, guys! I got this!" Hook called out as he ran forward, heedless of the Fishman also charging in to attack. "Time to try something new..."
"Gahaha!" One Bass-like Fishman cackled. "Does he really think he's just gonna plow through us? Show him your teeth, guys! For our new captain!"
"Summon!" Ignoring the rabble, Hook tried to focus on his creation, while the hench-fish leaped forward... just as Sanji's heels came flying at them!
"Oi, Hook! What gives? Just attack!" Sanji chided.
"Not... now," Hook grunted, trying to concentrate, as he skidded to a halt. "Making... new... attack." While he focused, Sanji took down three more Fishmen trying to jump him, while Zoro tore through four more! 'Almost,' Hook thought as Mohmoo reached the shore, about to jump up and body slam the village flat. 'Almost... there!' With the concept formed in mind, Hook channelled his powers to his arm and released!
...
For about a minute, Hook forgot about the sea cow... and blinked at the metal pole with diamond on the end that was his arm. It was lame, heavy, and not even able to bend. "This sounded better in my head…" he mumbled in disappointment.
"HOOK!" the collective crew snarled as the villagers freaked out about the shadow about to crush them.
"Right, going!" Changing his arm back, the brawler focused on just shifting his fist to sturdy crystal! "Sorry about this, Mohmoo! I'll have Sanji give you something tasty after this is over! Diamond..." Mohmoo's eyes watered as he put two and two together, just as Hook brought his fist forward – right into the monster's skull! "Knuckle!"
"All right!" Ussop cheered. "We're going to live!" The hit unquestionably took the sea monster out... but, instead of knocking him away, the hit only flipped the sea beast over... so he would crush Cocoyashi on his back. Oops. "AHHHHH!" Ussop screamed. "We're going to die!" He screamed loud enough to wake Johnny, Yosaku, and even the Marine Nezumi. They promptly saw what was happening, and passed out again.
"Oh jeez! Do I have to do everything!?" Silk groaned as she charged for Zoro. "Hey, Mossy! Let's do that plan again!"
"W-what!?" Zoro only had time to blink, before Silk jumped on his crossed blades. "Shit! Woman... you're too damn heavy!" He still was able to launch her into the air, just as high as Hook, as she reared her Merciless Gauntlet back.
"Mighty Smash!" Slamming her fist into the cow's side, she didn't just knock him away from the village... she knocked him a good three miles off the coast!
Cocoyashi and Sunset Pirates alike both dropped their jaws at the sight! "WHAT THE HELL!"
Silk giggled. "You look like you got stronger, Hook!"
Hook shot her a grin as they both landed. "You got stronger, too! And you look pretty cute in gold, too!"
Silk looked at him impassively, before turning her face from view. "A-anyway, we still have a lot of enemies, so-"
"Silk~ You looked like an angel in flight!~" Sanji crooned, as he spun, literally spun, in front of her. "Such a thing of beauty..."
At this point, Silk had a tick mark on her forehead. "Will everyone..." Extending Dorado into its halberd mode, Silk roared, "stop calling me cute!" The blonde then swung around herself, nearly cleaving Hook and Sanji... but unmistakably hit two more Fishmen when they dodged, adding them to the pile Zoro was creating.
"Hey, Zoro! Leave some for us!" Hook called out. To catch up to the kill count, he summoned Diamond Knuckles on both hands and Quicksilvered into the fray, Sanji and Silk right behind. Diving into the group, the Combo-Man drove gleaming fist into tender scales, dodging any fist that came for him. Since they were a little light on weaponry, the Sunset Pirates were attacking with broken bottles, clubs, and old pipes. Zoro disarmed and cut up the pipers, Sanji and Silk clubbed the others, and glass just shattered in their thugs' hands, like a small stone had been shot through them, leaving Nami to take them out with her Jackass ("Don't call it that!") …Wootz staff.
Genzo and the rest still held onto their makeshift weapons, but didn't feel like they even needed them... not when Nami had basically brought in a six-man battalion! 45 of the strongest species had been laid out, their monster 'gold-cocked,' and the six hardly looked winded!
"My... precious comrades..." Arlong growled, some of his old fire bubbling to the surface.
"Looks like we'll have to get involved," Kuroobi sneered.
Chu looked at his fallen comrades, then sighed. "This is embarrassing..."
Hachi was wailing on and on." Noooooo~! My poor precious Mohmoo!" His sadness turned to rage, as he glared at the sea-cow's abusers, Hook and Silk especially. "You! How dare you do this to my Mohmoo!"
Kisame... was fixing Hook with a cool expression. "Interesting…"
Noting some of the anger aimed at her, Silk looked firmly at Hachi, then bowed at the waist. "I am sorry, Mr. Calamari. If he hadn't tried to attack us, he'd still be here."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!" Hachi screamed at the ditz.
Meanwhile, Hook jabbed a finger at the still-quiet Tiger Shark Fishman, an easy grin on his face. "Looks like your logic's a tad flawed, ya sardine!"
Kisame looks on at the display, calm as ever. "Oh? Is it?"
Hook continues, looking like he was trying to recall the earlier speech. "What was it you said? Show you my 'struggle against the inevitable?' Sorry to say, but the only thing that's inevitable is your beatdown!" To show him up extra, a little Decree seeps into the brawler's words, sending a tremor up everyone's spines, save his obvious target.
In fact, Kisame's still grinning as he turned to show his side. "So, a Devil Fruit, eh? Some sort of creation type? Diamond, iron – can't be that, not a single element..." Hook blinked, baffled at the Fishman's muttering. Finally, he snapped his fingers. "Ah! Paramecia... versatile in the right hands. But, looks like you've only got short-range attacks…" In one swift motion, he ripped out his wrapped blade, and swung, releasing a crescent-shaped blast of water at the unsuspecting pirate! "Crest Divide!" With no time to block or move, Hook was swept up and out of the village!
"Hook!" Nami, Silk, and Ussop cried out.
"Why you-!" Sanji started while charging at the deceiver. Zoro said nothing, already charging. Feet from their target, they were stopped by Hachi.
"Hachi Ink-Jet!" A spray of octopus ink force them to divide... and giving just enough time for Kuroobi to put Sanji on the defensive, while Chu fired water bullets at Zoro, forcing him to block while backpedaling.
"Hm. His instincts are impressive, but not trained yet," Kisame mused to himself, as he began walking. "This will be an intense fight..." He was so lost in thought, he walked next to Silk and Nami, Ussop was still farther back and out of his path, without really noticing them…
Silk's knuckles were white as she gripped Dorado, conflict waging in her heart. 'Even if I wanted to attack him...' her eyes wandered to a bandage on his cheek. 'Shit... two rounds, and that's the closest I could get...'
Kisame's jaunt paused; he never looked at Silk, but he seemed to focus on her. "I'm glad you're still alive, little one. It is rare to meet humans that have true strength. When this is over, I cannot wait to see you leading the Human Division of the Sunset Pirates... to see my brother's face when I prove him wrong."
To Kisame's apparent surprise, Silk sneered at him. "You're not my captain! And if you think you've beaten us, you've got another thing coming!"
Kisame just blinked at that, then shook his head. 'Is he truly that influential? I wonder…' Out loud, he only said, "We shall see," as he continued to walk off in the other direction, after Hook's trajectory.
Arlong, watching Kisame leave, growled lightly. 'To have been outmaneuvered by some upstart...' His thoughts were interrupted when something gleamed in the corner of his eye. "Hm? A pile of gold? Where did these weaklings hide this much loot?" With his officers - turned- comrades occupied, he made his way over to the town square.
Zoro huffed as the barrage of liquid death finally gave out. "Damn fish. Whoever heard of water being used as a weapon?"
Chu just laughed dismissively, as he walked toward the swordsman. "That's the problem with you land dwellers – you could never fathom the full strength of – ARGH!" Chu jumped back, clutching his foot. He pulled out a chunk of glass that had gone through his sandals and chucked it. "Eh-hm! As I was saying... you will never fathom the – SHIT!" He jumped back again, repeating the same process, and sneering. The sneer only deepened, when the stick-swinging kid giggled at the Smelting Fishman's pain. "Something funny over there, small fry?"
Crap, Zoro thought as he tried to move, tried to stop what would inevitably be backlash, but even though his wounds were treated, they still slowed him down -
"Sure Kill: Fire Star!" A flaming explosion engulfed Chu, causing him to fall back into – you guessed it – more glass! The more he rolled in agony, the more he had to roll in agony! When he finally sat up, he was livid! "Who! The! Fuck! Did that!?" He roared, scanning for the culprit. It was unneeded though, as the instigator was posing on the rooftops for all to see.
"Ah ha ha! Foolish Fishman! Prepare for your punishment at the hands of... CAPTAIN USSOP!" Said sniper hammed it up for all to see. "If you hate people who laugh at you, with a face like that, you should get used to it!"
Genzo, and quite a few others, looked at the scene with jaws dropped! "He's suicidal!"
Chu glared at Ussop, who was doing his damndest to not shiver. "So, you want to die first?" He then peppered the house the teen was standing on, decimating it from roof to foundation, until it fell into itself. Chu smiled at the destruction... then heard a sigh of relief, and looked to see Ussop sticking his head out of the bushes. "Why you-!"
Ussop screamed at being found out, then shot off for the rice paddies, Chu not too far behind. Zoro watched the scene, pretty bemused. "Heh, these guys are ridiculous, but still pretty fun..."
"Fun? Fun!" Zoro turned to Hachi, who had ripped out six swords. "You battered our brothers, and beat up my pet! This is a fight between pirates! Take this seriously, damn it!"
"Hn. You seem high-strung, Habashi," Zoro casually commented.
"That's Hachi!" He vehemently corrected.
Zoro tested the weight and durability of the blades Hook made him, before addressing Hachi again. "Fair warning, I'm thankful for the ride, but I always take my fights seriously. Show me what you do with those blades – you'd better not hold back!" 'Plus,' Zoro thought as he thought back to Mihawk's challenge, 'anything you can do could only make me stronger!'
Sanji rolled his eyes at Ussop and Zoro's displays. "Geez, the machismo around here..."
A cough brought his attention back to his opponent, Kuroobi. "You were able to fend off my attacks. You must be pretty strong for a human... but you don't seem the type to be a pirate."
"Not the type?" The chef chuckled. "I was raised by a pirate, you crap-fish. Come over here, and I'll show you the type I am!"
Kuroobi did not rise like his compatriots; he merely raised an eyebrow. "You talk like you have pride in your strength. Do you not realize the gap in our abilities?"
Sanji grinned around his cigarette as if he'd just been asked 'are you sure it's well done?' "Crap-fish, my captain made a bet he could kick a whole galleon's worth of assholes like you, and he did so... without using his powers. As far as you're concerned, that blowhard you follow is sashimi."
"Like me? How misguided..." Kuroobi took a fighting stance, locked but loose at the same time. "There is no one in East Blue like me!"
Sanji grew silent before he inhaled deeply, then exhaled a cloud of smoke. "There's always assholes like you."
A/N: Don't forget to rate and review! I'd love to hear what you thought! Next time, one-on-one battles begin!
10/16: Huh, this one needed a lot less editing...maybe I can start skipping the next ones.
