Marineford I
As the incoming tsunami raced towards the Roaring Nova, I couldn't help observing once more everyone: Nami stood behind the helm with a determined glint in her eyes, her recently improved staff at the ready while her bloated shadow stretched like a pool of ink at her feet, occasionally wiggling as if in response to commands nobody could hear.
Not far from her stood Mikita and Lola. While the first had eaten no shadows, only receiving the equivalent of meat shields folded into the shadow she herself cast, my wife, thank the gods, had changed, and for the better. The universe must have taken pity on me.
Still unnaturally tall, Lola now sported proportioned features, and while she was still distinguishably herself, there was no denying the improvement that I had managed to plan extended beyond the mere growth in skills and strength. Her led lips were still voluptuous, but stood under a straight, almost demure nose and wide almond-shaped, dark eyes. Her hair fell into thin braids at the sides of her head, and on her left they were tucked behind her left ear. Her shoulders were round and there was a clear definition in her arms, but they were now balanced by the stacked torso she had 'inherited' from Sadi, while her narrow waist underlined the power held in her long legs.
With her red coat draped over a leather bust and wide pants tucked into knee-high boots, I couldn't help but grin, knowing that now she'd have much more luck in finding a husband. Tied to her belt rested Funkfreed, the elephant-saber, and Bamboo, the giraffe-longsword. Her gloved hands were held tightly over the hilts, her eyes defying the incoming tsunami with the same determination I felt.
"If it is for the betterment of the crew, I'll do it." she had declared proudly her dedication before eating the braided shadows I had prepared, and she had uncaringly took notice of the changes of her body, which had left her sweaty and tired until Sanji's nutrient meal kicked in under Chopper's care, allowing the incredible resilience of her heritage to shine through. She adapted to the changes in a matter of minutes, and Sanji occasionally ogled her too, to the point that he prepared me a congratulatory drink without me having to ask for it.
We had only looked at each other, and it had been enough to understand. Both of us were simply glad to not have to truly watch Lola as she had been before. I think he even forgave me my use of food as a weapon.
Both Sanji and Zoro enjoyed several more shadows ready to tank mundane wounds in their stead, Franky and Usopp stood at the ready, the first with a proud expression as the Roaring Nova soared over the waters, while the latter was drowning in a cold sweat, but unwilling to give voice to the fear that made his knees tremble lightly. Our sniper had chewed on some of the shadows I had provided, easily extracting knowledge and experience from them, before spitting out the washed-out shades of people that once had a meaningful life.
Robin wore a long cloak with the hood raised, concealing her features: she couldn't eat shadows in the same way our Zoan users, or even Lola, had done. Her body would simply break under the strain. My options had been limited to offering the same blanket protection that surrounded Nami, and I tried to 'empower' our archeologist's shadow so that just as she could control extra limbs, I'd gain access to the shadow of those parts. Maybe it'd be enough to intervene if something went wrong.
Due to my meddling, the persons who had changed more besides myself were Luffy, Brook, Chopper, and Merry. While the two Zoans didn't look any different, thanks to our doctor's expertise and chemical bullshittery in the form of a rumble ball, both had the option of transforming into an awakened form, over which they had complete mastery.
Merry couldn't do so casually, as she grew to twice the size she had been as a caravel into an odd mixture between a leopard and a sheep with the odd detail belonging to a ship. She had performed the transformation on the broken ruins of Impel Down exactly once, with Chopper literally steering her into controlling her newly awakened instincts. Twisting thanks to the unique dynamics that only a Devil Fruit could justify, she could both stand as a giant version of her Klabautermann's appearance, and as a more animalistic combination of all that made her herself.
Almost predictably, Chopper had merely gained access to the massive form he'd originally need the time skip to master. Not only that, he had informed us with pride that he was always accessing the unmatched intellect of his Brain Point, and that it was that element that perfectly balanced the instincts of his reindeer-self.
The truly unexpected had come into play thanks to the odd combination between my power and Brook's nature: where before his empty sockets weren't any more terrifying than any other skull's, they now brimmed with writhing shapes that I could only make out thanks to my power. I didn't know what to expect with him, but his status as undead had maybe powered-up his soul's resilience to manipulation, or some bullshit like that. In any case, I had managed to stick hundreds of shadows into him, and there'd be room for more. His skeleton remained the same, but his stats had skyrocketed: in time, he'd likely end up assimilating that boost in the same way I had forced myself to assimilate the one obtained from Shiryu.
Luffy had used the powers of his Devil Fruit to great effect in order to retain his size, but where before his muscles jumped to the eye only when he tensed them, they now rimmed with every movement, like corded cables under his skin. With every step, it felt like he was a moment away from bouncing into the sky.
I had no idea of the full capabilities of everyone were they to be pushed to the brink, I couldn't truly measure them... Is this why I feel it won't be enough?
Unable to bear the thought of risking it, I took a deep breath, and stayed the course I had decided when I had been told that Luffy was coming with all the crew to Impel Down: "This is it." I spoke loudly in order to be heard over the roar of the sea, "Everyone got their roles?"
Luffy kept staring ahead at the incoming mass of water without a twinge of doubt, and while everyone answered in the affirmative before scattering to their positions on the Roaring Nova, Zoro let out an annoyed 'Tsk'.
"Zoro?" I wanted a verbal confirmation, and I wouldn't let something as insignificant as an incoming tsunami keep it from me.
"We... trained hard, Coby." his right closed on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji while his eyes met mine: as always when he got serious, they held the fierce nature of a lion ready to pounce.
"I am confident that you'd be able to survive on the front line." he was too impossibly resilient for it to be any other way, and what little insight I got from my shadow 'chatting' with his spoke of his growth.
"Then why...?"
"Because you're not the one I worry about." my head turned meaningfully towards the rest of the crew, each busy following Nami's shrill orders in order to ready the Roaring Nova for our entrance in the bloodiest conflict of the decade. "I'll be the captain's shadow... can I entrust their safety to you?"
The swordsman grunted as if physically struck, his glare now matched by a grimace that did nothing to hide how he grit his teeth. He wanted the incoming war, he wanted to fight to the best of his abilities in the most dangerous situation ever presented to him... and I shackled him to the ship, because for all of my cheating, I couldn't be sure that the others would make it. I couldn't be sure that my many tricks and their own skills would be enough, and if anything happened to them, knowing that they'd have otherwise lived for more than two years still... I couldn't bear such a thought.
Zoro looked at the rest of the crew with a shadow creeping over his eyes, but nodded, walking towards the middle mast: I didn't know if anyone would manage to attack my crew while Luffy and I were busy fighting for Ace, frankly I hoped it would be an unnecessary precaution, but this was the best I could do with the time and resources avaliable. We'll all make it.
We must. My shadow crept over my back, and I felt the hilt of Raiu press lightly in my palm, ready to be unleashed from the shadows beneath me. Along with my determination, I could feel the anticipation for a bloodbath building up, and I let that eagerness sweep away my lingering fears.
Puru-puru-puru. Puru-puru-puru. Puru-pu… Ca-Lick.
Marco picked up the transponder snail with a frown on his face: "What are you doing, yoi? We should be hidden but..."
The blond pirate's expression froze when in the large galley a shout blazed past his ear, echoing in the room for everyone to hear: "I am Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm going to be Pirate King!"
The snail's eyestalks were blown wide with determination while a determined set of its lips took over the otherwise placid expression of the creature, which shouted louder still: "Ace is my brother! I'm going to save him!" then the snail assumed a completely bored expression, "You can talk with them now, Coby."
Marco's grimace vanished while the tension that the first challenging words had summoned into the pirates present to hear them was snuffed away like a flame's candle under a hurricane's wrath, and he chuckled into the microphone while casting an inquisitive glance towards the Old Man, who seemed happy to just sit placidly, awaiting the war that was about to begin. "You're Ace's little brother then? He talked about you, yoi."
"Nope." the eyes of the transponder snail assumed a keener expression that was just as fierce as the previous one while the voice changed: "My captain is bored easily, and I'm left picking up the pieces." even if the tone was one of a long-suffering, nobody missed the wide smile on the snail. "Anyway, my guess is that you're all about to break from underwater into Marineford's bay, so I better make it quick."
"Oi, oi..." before Marco could question the recently introduced Coby about how the hell he obtained that info, the youthful voice continued as if nothing of worth had just been revealed.
"We finished destroying Impel Down a couple of hours ago," the snail produced a maverick's grin as the pirate talking on the other side luxuriated in the sense of disbelief he casually summoned, "Jinbe is on one of the other warships, but suffice to say, we'll be falling in your midst with reinforcements soon enough."
"This is no laughing matter." Marco's tone assumed a peremptory tang as he tried to whip some authority through the communication device: "How did you..."
"I used to know a lot of stuff, but the events are quickly running out of the scope of my sight." Coby's voice matched the seriousness of the Whitebeard Pirates' First Mate, "In any case, our crew is coming to save Ace, and there are several warships filled with prisoners with a grudge against the Marines. I'll follow my captain on the front line, while our crew will remain behind to begin preparing a way through the Ice."
"Through the..." Marco's reply was interrupted by a much larger hand picking up the microphone, and the phoenix-man stepped back to let the Old Man have his say.
"Brat," Whitebeard's voice rumbled like thunder under everyone's feet: "this fight will be much beyond your level, you can't join." he would not have Ace's little brother and his crew die meaninglessly in a war not their own.
"You must be Whitebeard... tell me, who are you to decide what we can or can't do? Don't you know we're pirates too?" Coby's gaze burned fiercely through the transponder snail's eyestalks as he replied, unbowed, to the strongest man in the world, "My captain wants to save his brother, and I raised an army for him. That's all that there is to say on the topic. Smoothly changing topics, can the Moby Dick manifest a klabautermann? Also, Akainu wants to convince Squard that..."
Whitebeard had seen many things in his life: flying ships weren't really that impressive. Five warships falling from the edge of an iceberg created by Aokiji into a warzone, however, was a novel one. Especially in the wake of the information that the Straw Hats' First Mate had shared before the battle, receiving concrete confirmation that the Straw Hats had truly come with an army of their own managed to bring a smile on his old features.
The Emperor's smile turned into full-blown laughter when Monkey D. Luffy's ship sailed on a cloud-white road that was being projected by massive dial-exists that stood on both sides of the keel, while a spectacular bit of navigation turned the full potential energy of several tons of wood falling from dozens of meters into a forward push that had the rookies land behind the shield provided by the Moby Dick and its brothers.
In a handful of seconds, while the escapees from Impel Down that survived the fall were already starting to take out their grudges on the marines by either arming the warships towards Sengoku's position or by outright charging forward, a pink-haired man that barely reached the two meters of height shouted his orders to the other members of the crew, only to follow the straw-hat wearing boy that jumped next to Whitebeard with a scowl on his face.
"Are you Blank-Bear?"
I landed on the Moby Dick's figurehead in time to hear the end of Whitebeard's confrontation with Luffy, and when the focus of the strongest man in the world landed on me, I limited myself to offer a wide grin, fishing out from an inner pocket of my coat the Wolf-Zoan Devil Fruit that Robin had retrieved during the second raid my crew conducted on Enies Lobby.
"I'm going to save Ace." Luffy rocketed ahead with no hesitation, leaving me with an Emperor for several seconds: "Well, there you go."
I tossed him the Devil Fruit that immediately disappeared into his enormous hand, and his eyes never left mine as I walked back towards the end of the ship's figurehead: "Keep guard until the Moby Dick figures out how to twist its forms."
A shadow rose from the ground, offering a rumble ball to Whitebeard with a silent bout of laughter. Talking to the empty air that I knew must hold a klabautermann, I added: "I hope you paid attention when the Going Merry explained how you'd feel: her figurehead was an ewe and she ate a leopard-fruit. That which your captain holds is a wolf-zoan, and you're based off a whale, so the process will be similar. Good luck."
While I dropped towards the ice that covered the bay of Marineford, I fancied I could hear a peal of distant, rumbling laughter that wasn't unlike Whitebeard's, if a bit more ethereal. As soon as my feet touched the solid surface, I rocketed forward, Raiu in my hand and thirst for blood on my tongue.
When the first marines appeared, it was all too easy to follow the instinct I had barely got to exercise in Impel Down: my legs pushed, my core muscles twisted, and my shoulders tensed as I swept through the ordinary rank and file, deep gnashes opening in the necks of my opponents, just deep enough to cause the marines' lives to splutter and die. Captains fell just as easily as seamen, and the odd Devil Fruit Users weren't given a chance to fight back, as they fell to my sword faster than they could perceive.
As I followed Luffy, being much more methodical in whittling away the forces of the enemy, I forced myself to not rely on my shadow: as soon as those in the know figured out my power, I'd lose a big advantage. For the time being, I was happy to prepare the corpses I'd animate later on, relying on my shadow's silent whispers in order to avoid all those attacks that managed to worm their way through my otherwise impeccable defense.
I kicked off the ice, bringing myself to the left of one commodore, only to do so again, disappearing with a Soru that leveraged the same power Shiryu once held, and before my opponent could truly understand what was going on, Raiu had plunged into his heart, only to be whipped back and deflect a hail of bullets with casual ease.
The world was in chaos: battles between stronger individuals went ahead all around me, while the respective rank and file of the two opposing forces clashed randomly all across the bay. There wasn't an infantry line, there wasn't an overreaching tactic to dictate the disposition of the marines. And while the unruly pirates were expected to behave like that, I would have thought that the many platoons of marines would have coordinated with one another.
Instead, each seemed happy to crunch the ground in front of them, while a large section of the frozen bay were casually empty. Maybe there was a slowly unfolding strategy on Sengoku's part, but I couldn't just not take advantage of it, could I?
Breaking off from the encroaching chaos around me, I used Soru and Geppo in order to rush towards an unguarded flank of a small platoon of marines, and before they could react, I was already carving them up. They fell suddenly, not unlike domino pieces, until a resounding *clang* stopped my blade.
In front of me stood a man with a serious expression etched on his face that was underlined by the scar that ran over one of his eyes, hidden under a pair of sunglasses. He was a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, and a lit cigar in his mouth while the sword he used to stop my attack was held negligently with one hand, the other already poised for a 'Shigan'.
I jerked sideways with a kami-e barely in time to void being hit, and I pushed back against his blade with a strength greatly empowered by the many shadows I held hidden on my person. It was far from being as effective as eating them, but those weren't meant to rise an army to cover the retreat once Ace was saved, and so I wasn't going to throw them away willy-nilly.
"Pirate Scum." the marine regarded me with a heavy frown: "I am vice admiral Cancer." he puffed angrily on his cigar, "And you're done preying on the weak."
I raised my sword barely in time to deflect a blow capable of beheading me, and I twisted off yet again to avoid a shigan, snapping off a kick that I immediately withheld in order to not have my leg chopped off. The shadow of the man rang starkly over the many others I had encountered to this point. I hadn't even tried to interface with Whitebeard's not knowing how a Conqueror's Will of his caliber would interact with me. But Cancer, even discarding the ease with which he stopped my rampage, was different from the marines I had encountered up to this point: there was no distance between his shadow's wishes and focus and his own. Without even trying, I knew that I couldn't recide the connection between him and his shadow, there was just...
"Oh fuck," I grimaced, the faintest stirring of apprehension awakening within me "you've got Haki figured out, don't you?"
AN
Another big set up on all fronts, I'm afraid. Once more, this is the best way I've figured out to have Coby be locked in an entertaining clash while canon proceeds in the background. For now, Coby is holding back the most inventive uses of his Devil Fruit, but we'll see the massive changes he wrought soon enough.
And yes, of course I've given Jabra's fruit to the Moby Dick: there's just too much potential there to not use it. In the next chapter I'll rush up to the unlokcing of Ace's chains, and in the one after that I'll close the 'war of the best'. Leaving up one chapter as 'epilogue' of this run through Paradise.
As always, opinions, hopes?
