And now the fight I've been building up to since this arc began! Enjoy.

"Ahhhh..." Brandy breathed out in satisfaction, lowering the bottle from his lips. "The after-effect's okay, but I prefer the taste, myself."

All around the marine captain were unconscious marines and members of the Road Warrior crew. He'd certainly earned a drink.

Brandy looked over as one of the defecting seamen of the base approached. "Oh, hey. Thanks for the help, guys, really. Are you all okay?"

The seaman nodded. "We've got a few injuries here or there, but no casualties, thank god. Well, more like thanks to you, sir."

The captain shook his head. "Nah. You guys did most of the work."

"No, no," replied the seaman, shaking his head, "we'd never have had the guts to stand up to Helsing if not for you and the deputy-captain."

He looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

Brandy shrugged. "Ah, he ran after Helsing when the fight started. Should be catching up just about now, actually."

"W-what?" the seaman said in a surprised tone. "Sir, Helsing's stronger than he looks. Are you sure Ryoga can handle him."

Brandy nodded. "Ryoga's a bit tougher than you might think, too. He can handle himself just fine...he had to, before he joined us."

He suddenly frowned irritably, shifting his position a bit. A large piece of paper tends to poke into you when you roll it up and stick it in your back pocket, but between an uncomfortable seat and his subordinate being distrusted for life...well, he'd take the latter, thank you.

One Piece: The Skull Pirates

Chapter Fifteen: Shark VS Dragon! Which is the Strongest Style!?

With Wez and Hokushin taken care of, and the Road Warrior pirates unconscious, it seemed that Helsing was the only one left. Once he was finished, this would all be over, and Drake and Jack were the ones to do it.

With nothing left to get in their way, they ran forward after the corrupt captain. Nothing could stop them now.

"WAAAAAAAAAIT!"

...okay, maybe one thing.

Someone suddenly sailed over their heads, spinning around to face them before they landed.

It was, of course, Ryoga.

A moment passed, and then Jack snapped his fingers. "Oh, hey! It's you...uh, Ricky? Roger? Ramone? ...Reggie?"

The martial artist grew increasingly red during this, until he finally burst out, "RYOGA! MY NAME IS RYOGA, AND YOU KNOW IT IS!"

"Oh yeah. Well it's been a while, man. Cut me some slack."

Growling, Ryoga pointed right at him. "Jack Bones! You are under arrest for the act of piracy on the high seas, as well as the wanton theft of a marine vessel! How do you plead?"

"Whichever way makes you buzz off. We're busy."

Ryoga would have started the fight right there, if Drake hadn't stepped forward.

"He's right. You're in our way, so please move."

Ryoga looked up at the merman that now towered over him.

"No." he said.

Drake nodded respectfully at this. Then his fist shot forward at Ryoga's head. He held back a bit, though; it didn't seem like he was involved in this at all.

The merman needn't have worried; Ryoga's own hand flew up, stopping the blow cold. His own fist flew out at Drake's mid-section; a quick attack delivered by reflex, the ripple user could tell.

Drake blocked with his own arm, grunting slightly at the force of the attack. He pushed off and hopped back next to Jack.

"So, you know him?" he asked Jack quietly.

"Long story," the pirate replied, "but trust me, no way is he gonna just let us by. Look, I'll distract him, so-"

Drake shook his head immediately. "No. Only I can fight him."

Jack turned to him in shock. "Wait, what do you - huh?"

The 'huh' came from the fact that Drake had just grabbed him strongly by the back of his shirt, hoisting him up off his feet.

"Wha, what the hell are you doing, Drake!? Put me down!"

"That's the idea."

"What do you me...no, Drake, don't do it, no, no no no no - AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Drake threw Jack with all his might, sending him sailing right over Ryoga's head. He hit the ground hard, but quickly began to get back up.

"Not so fast!" Ryoga ran forward at Jack, drawing back a fist...

Only for Drake to intercept, two swift punches forcing Ryoga to block and then retreat.

The merman looked to Jack as he got up. "Now hurry up, and go take care of him. I'll handle things here."

Jack readjusted his hat and frowned. "But, you're the one who..."

"You think I care? As long as Helsing faces justice, I'll be satisfied. Now hurry; if he gets away, I'll give you twice what I did when we met."

Grinning, Jack nodded. "If you say so. I'll make sure to punch him a couple times for you!"

And then he was off, running down the tunnel.

Ryoga watched him go, knowing that Drake would block him if he tried to pursue. He looked at the merman. Proper regulation dictated he attack him right now - he had just voluntarily assaulted a marine officer, after all - but he was honestly curious.

"Sending a pirate to met out justice...if you don't mind me saying so, that's a bit skewed."

Drake shrugged. "Right now, I trust him more than I do any marine."

Ryoga's eyes narrowed at this. A moment of eerie silence passed in the cavern.

The merman shook his head, breaking it. "Perhaps that was a bit unfair. You're with another group of marines, correct?"

When the marine nodded, he continued. "I'm not foolish enough to believe all marines are like most of the ones stationed here. But, well...this has been going on for several years, and you're only now showing up. I'm sorry, but letting you people be the heroes after all this time wouldn't be right."

Ryoga listened to this patiently, and when Drake was through, he nodded. "Obstruction of justice, eh?" His eyes turned forceful. "Well, I didn't come down here to be held up by you. I came here to catch a criminal! So get out of my way!"

Drake jabbed a thumb at himself. "If you want to uphold your justice, then do it with your fists. If you're really meant to capture Helsing here, then you should have no trouble defeating me."

Ryoga nodded. "Of course. At the hands of a marine, justice is sure to prevail."

He flung off his uniform, revealing his martial arts outfit. He then pointed at Drake. "I don't fight an opponent without first exchanging names. I am Petty Officer Ryoga Hitachi, Deputy-Captain of Cherry Island's marine base. You are?"

"Drake." the merman said in a much more subdued manner. "Just Drake; I have no titles like that."

Ryoga nodded. "Drake, then. I assume you're the one responsible for the attacks on this island's marines, yes?"

The merman didn't respond to this, but Ryoga chose to take that as a yes. "When we came to this island, Helsing tasked us with catching you. It seems I'll get to fulfill that false duty. Now...

FIGHT ME!"

Ryoga dashed forward, and Drake was all to happy to mirror the action. The two met in the middle of their paths, the battle beginning with an almost literal bang as both sides erupted into a flurry of punches, kicks, and other complicated moves.

After a long moment of this, he two fighters broke off momentarily to catch their breath. Then Drake suddenly rushed forward, hoping to catch his opponent off-guard. "Shark MORDER!"

Using his smaller size to his advantage, Ryoga quickly ducked. The blow still caught him on his shoulder, but didn't seem to effect him much. Quickly, he captalized on the opening he'd made. "Kibatsu Ryu!"

Drake grunted as the powerful blow hit him in the side; despite being shorter than the merman, Ryoga hit almost as hard.

...and apparently just as fast, too. Before Drake could counterattack, Ryoga had already put distance between them again.

The merman frowned. "He's my equal in every aspect shown so far. Fast, strong, not to mention whatever that was beneath his eyes...this could be trouble."

He clenched his fists tighter. "But even so, I have to win."

Drake moved again, rushing toward Ryoga at an impressive speed. Rather than using his fists, however, he leapt into the air, attacking the marine with a flying kick. "Dolphin Patada!"

Not one to be outdone, Ryoga too jumped into the air, striking with a kick of his own. "Hishou Ryu!"

The two fighters clashed briefly in midair and landed on opposite sides of the cavern, their backs to each-other. Both Drake and Ryoga looked to their sides to see sizeable slash wounds where their opponent had hit them.

Ryoga frowned. "Hard enough to cut skin...he's really not fooling around. But neither am I. The oath I took when I became a marine is something I can't let down. No, won't let down. But I will grant him one thing, though."

At that moment, the same approximate thought ran through the minds of both combatants.

"He's good."

Unlike all of the other tunnels that winded through the cavern, Helsing's escape tunnel was nothing more than a linear path. Presumably this was a choice forced upon him by the environment, but it could have also been a pragmatic one. Getting lost in the haste of escaping would be quite embarassing...and quite possibly fatal.

But that didn't mean the tunnel was empty. Helsing had installed many fun things along it's length; things like tripwires that sent stone weights indistinguisable from the ceiling crashing down, pressure plates that activated hidden arrow launchers, and a host of other dangerous traps, all designed to make the good captain's pursuer(s) waste time dealing with them.

But Jack wasn't interested in wasting time here; he'd said he was going to do something, and he wasn't going to make himself a liar, traps or no traps. He barrelled through the trip wires, barely dodging the stone blocks that fell just behind him. He stepped on the pressure plates without a care, smashing the arrows out of the way. This obstacle course had been made with normal humans in mind, and Jack was no longer in that category.

Sidestepping around a swinging axe from the ceiling without slowing down, the captain of the Skull Pirates grinned. "What, is this all? Considering how much everyone talks the guy up, I expected a bit-"

Tempting fate tended to make it show up, and this time was no different. Another tripwire was cut, and several something dropped down from the ceiling. They weren't stones, either.

Splat. Jack stopped dead in his tracks, his nose smelling something foul.

He looked down. He was covered head to toe in oil. On the ground were the remains of a burst sack.

"...heh heh. Insult to injury. So you have a sense of humor, eh?" Jack said after a moment, grinning.

Then he was off like a bullet, his speed nearly doubling. "I WONDER HOW FUNNY YOU'LL THINK MY FISTS ARE!?"

Lowering the binoculars from her eyes, Jade frowned. "Still nothing...Helsing could be long gone already, and we wouldn't be any the wiser."

She turned as a marine walked up. "Have any of you seen anything yet, boys?"

Keeping his composure despite the tone that came with the last word, the seaman shook his head. "No, Inspector, I'm afraid not. But don't worry, he won't get by us!"

Jade resisted the urge to point out the numerous ways Helsing could slip away undetected from them; breaking the moral of people she'd been put in charge of would be unmarinelike, after all.

"You're doing a good job. Keep up the good work." she smiled.

The seaman walked off, trying to keep his knees stable.

When he was gone, Jade resumed watch, but frowned as she did so. "Drake...are you down there, fighting? I hope you're alright."

She laughed inwardly. "Well, I know you are. I'm not stupid."

Down in the cavern, the fight between the martial artists was still raging.

Jumping over a sweeping kick and then bending low to avoid a punch, Ryoga drew back his arm, the palm of his hand flat "Ryu Soshaku!"

Drake grunted in pain as the attack hit him in the stomach with far more force than a simple palm hit ought to have.

Dodging another blow from Drake meant to drive him away, Ryoga drew his bo staff in one swift motion. "Ryu...SHIPPO!"

The marine felt the thrust collide with his opponent with some satisfaction...a feeling that vanished instantly when he saw that Drake had grabbed the end of the staff with one hand, stopping it from hitting his face.

The merman looked down at the end of the weapon, which was now glowing red like a fire poker. As was his hand, with no small amount of pain along with it.

"A ki user, I see." Drake said calmly. He pulled back his free arm. "Whale...DERRUMBAR!"

The blow hit Ryoga dead on in his face, knocking the marine backward. He flipped around in midair, landing a bit clumsily on one knee, and caught his staff when Drake threw it back to him.

"That's right." Ryoga said, getting to his feet. "I'm surprised you didn't notice before; other martial artists I've fought have sensed it almost instantly."

Drake shrugged. "I wasn't trained to sense Ki, and I don't really need to, either."

"Ah." Ryoga replied politely. He began to stretch a bit. "Since that's out of the bag now...how about we both stop fooling around, and get serious?"

The merman nodded. "That's fine with me; otherwise, this will probably go on forever."

"Alright, then." Ryoga closed his eyes, and his entire body tensed up. "I'll go first."

A look of intense concentration appeared on the marine's face. Slowly, the air around him seemed to grow hazy. Drake took a step back as the temperature around the two of them began to rise.

Then, finally, a ki aura burst into being around Ryoga's body. It resembled burning flames, and it lit up the dank cavern with it's glowing radiance.

Drake raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."

Ryoga waved a hand at the merman, gesturing for him to go ahead.

Drake complied. In contrast to Ryoga's stance, he let his body go slack, and relax itself. Then he began to breath, in and out, just as his master had taught him.

Slowly, he felt energy from the ocean around Newport Island slowly come to him. Every living thing, from the big to the small, granted the merman a small amount of their own strength - and this collective power came together in an aura that resembled the shifting sea.

Ryoga stared at the display before him, his mind racing. "W-what is that? It's not ki, or any other energy I've seen before...I can't even sense it! Just who is this guy!?"

His thoughts were interrupted as Drake took the initiative, quickly closing the distance between them and lashing out with a punch. His movements were far quicker than they were before.

But so were Ryoga's. He struck with a punch of his own, and the two fists collided head-on. The effect was immediate; Ryoga's firey ki clashed with Drake's ripple, and sent up a cloud of steam as the two auras fought each-other.

Both combatants grunted at the backlash, but neither was willing to be the first one to retreat. They both struck again, again, and again, the sound of their fists smashing together filling the cavern.

Drake grit his teeth. "Piranha..."

Ryoga tensed up. "Ryu..."

"ESCUELA!"

"ARASHI!"

The speed and rate of the two's punches more than doubled as they both let out their battle cries. The result was a whirlwind of fists as Drake and Ryoga fiercely attacked their opponent. Most of the punches collided with eachother and simply cancelled out, but a few of them slipped past the barrage and gave glancing blows to the martial artists.

Slowly, they slid backward, the force of the rapidfire punches moving even their planted feet. Then, finally, they broke away from eachother, both of them panting slightly.

"You...fight well." Ryoga complimented.

"You too." Drake replied. "You're...very skilled. Your master did a good job training you."

Ryoga nodded, smiling proudly. "Yes, he did. And you're about to see just how good!" Let's continue, Drake!"

The merman nodded, and the two martial artists charged eachother once more.

Drake and Ryoga were too focused on the battle to notice, but they had a small audience that had been watching them since they'd begun.

"Really," sighed Mary, leaning back to try and get more comfortable on the rock wall her back was to, "it doesn't look like this is going anywhere at all. It's a bit ennuyeux."

Beside her, Gerald shrugged. "Well, that's what happens when two fighters of the same class fight. I imagine they've both been trained to watch for stances and such, so this deadlocking for a while is inevitable, really."

Beside him, Frank nodded in agreement. "That's right. According to some stories back at my village, there have been duels between shinobi that lasted whole days at a time!"

Both Gerald and Mary were silent for a moment as they thought about this. They both came to the same conclusion; if Frank said it, it was probably true. He didn't have it in him to lie.

"Hopefully that won't be the case here, then." the moustachoied man murmured. "At least not if if they expect us to watch the whole thing, anyway."

His friends nodded. Everything had a limit, after all; even a fight as impressive as this one.

Drake ducked low as Ryoga swung a leg upward in a wide kick. The marine promptly sprang nimbly backward when the merman attempted a counterattack, but...

"TIDAL...ABLANDIR!"

...before he could complete the flip, he was nailed in the back by a portion of Drake's aura, which the merman had sent flying off his arm with a strong punch.

Ryoga landed in a heap, dazed momentarily. To his credit, though, he rose back to his feet quickly enough.

"Ha ha," he chuckled, "I didn't see that coming at all. My error, I suppose; even if you aren't a Ki user, no martial artist worth their stuff wouldn't be able to do a fireball technique."

He smiled. "For instance..."

"RYU KYUUTAI!"

Ryoga's hand snapped outward, a burst of his firey ki flying out of it, right toward Drake. The merman struck out at it with one fist as it came near, and after a brief struggle the ki blast burst, Drake grunting as the heat washed over him.

Unfortunately, while blocking one had been easy enough, blocking the two ki blasts Ryoga had fired shortly after the first was a different matter altogether. They hit Drake on either side of his shoulder, and the merman grunted in pain as his blue skin reddened from the burn. He didn't have time to worry about that, however, for Ryoga was upon him.

Letting out a cry, the marine spun around, lashing out with a fierce kick. As the leg came up toward his neck, Drake's hand snapped out, stopping the limb's movement with one hand.

Not one to let up so easily, Ryoga then attacked with a punch. Drake blocked this too, cupping his hand around the fist.

Letting out a slightly irritated growl, the marine struck out with a kick to the merman's stomach, driving the two away from eachother once again.

As the two fighters settled and regained their breath, Ryoga sighed. "We aren't getting anywhere like this. Any blow I give you, you duplicate effortlessly." This last sentence sounded impressed.

Drake nodded. "We do seem to be equals. What do you suggest, then?"

"Simple." said Ryoga. He shifted back into his stance. "We finish this with one blow. Your strongest technique against my own."

A moment passed, and then Drake grinned. "Alright."

From their positions against the wall, Mary, Frank, and Gerald watched as the two fighter's respectives auras began to slowly grow in size and intensity.

Gerald rose from his sitting position, beginning to walk away. "Right, I'll just be in the tunnel if either of you need me. Far back, mind."

Mary and Frank watched him go, and after a momentary pause, followed.

If any of the Road Warriors were still conscious, they probably would have run too; the glow from the auras had grown even brighter, red and blue clashing like twin stars. Small stones were picked up and hurled away from the combined force, and cracks in the ground even began to form where the two stood. It was truly a sight to behold, even from cover.

Slowly, the energy from the two fighter's aura's began to shift, gathering toward one point on their bodies; for Drake, his left fist, and for Ryoga, his right.

As the Ripple and Ki focused themselves, their user's hands began to glow with pure light; Drake's the color of the sea, a beautiful aqua-blue, and Ryoga's a scarlet red, the color of searing flames.

The two of them drew their glowing fists back.

"Sea King..." said Drake.

"Ryu..." began Ryoga.

As one, they both charged, crossing the distance between themselves with lightning speed.

"TERMINAR!"

"KEEEEN!"

Finally they clashed, fighting against eachother with all of their strength. It only lasted a moment, even though it seemed like much longer. And in that instant, one thought ran through both Drake and Ryoga's minds.

I...WON'T LOSE!

A massive backlash of power ripped through the cavern.

Then, it was over.

The cavern was in far worse shape than before they had come in, that was for sure; cracks in the floor were everywhere, and the piles of rocks stacked up against the walls had all but been obliterated. Some of the unconscious Road Warriors had been unfortunate enough to be scorched by Ryoga's ki, or blown away by Drake's ripple. Waking up wouldn't be very pleasant for them. Well, moreso than for the rest, anyway.

Drake and Ryoga were now on opposite sides, their backs to the other. Both were breathing heavily, and neither had gotten out of the clash unscathed. Drake now sported scorch and burn marks all over his front, and he was sweating, the heat effecting him greatly as a merman. Ryoga had bruises all over him, and one of his arms was now

broken, bent painfully at the middle. A cut on his forehead was the cherry on the top. The two fighters were breathing heavily, their auras gone.

"...ha ha..." Ryoga was the first to speak, laughing wearily. His knees were shaking. "I...guess you wanted to win...a little more. Oh well...it was a good match...Drake..."

Then he fell over, unconscious.

Drake looked at him over his shoulder for a moment, before taking a step back toward Helsing's escape tunnel...and falling over as well.

"I'm completely sapped of energy...hah, the first time in a while I've been this exhausted."

Just before it all went dark, The merman tilted his head up to look at the tunnel's entrance.

"It's up to you now...Jack..."

To be continued...

Next time, on One Piece: The Skull Pirates...

Helsing: And just who are you supposed to be?

Mary: If he's there, then we don't need to worry.

Brandy: Wow...

Jack VS Helsing! The End of Ambition and Tyranny!

Jack: After this, you're gonna know who I am. I guarantee it.

Attacks and Terms

Drake

Dolphin Patada - Spanish for 'Dolphin Kick'. Drake executes a strong, either from the ground or in the air. It's strength is rougly equivalent to Shark Morder.

Whale Derrumbar - Spanish for 'Whale Crash'. Winding up a punch, Drake unleashes a strong blow. Although powerful, it holds a disadvantage in terms of speed.

Tidal Ablandir - Spanish for 'Tidal Wave'. Drake expels some of his ripple energy in a wave of force. The strength of it and other Ripple techniques depend on Drake's proximity to the ocean and the creatures within.

Sea King Terminar - Spanish for 'Sea King Finish'. Drake charges up one of his arms with a large portion of Ripple energy, and then unleashes a it in the form of a punch. An extremely powerful technique, Drake usually reserves it as a finisher, hence the name.

Ryoga

Kibatsu Ryu - Japanese for 'Striking Dragon'. Ryoga delivers a simple punch, not with much force, but with great speed.

Hishou Ryu - Japanese for 'Flying Dragon'. Taking to the air, Ryoga executes a flying kick. The martial artist's small size and speed make this attack particularly effect in certain situations.

Ryu Soshaku - Japanese for 'Dragon Bite'. Ryoga hits his foe with a palm strike; although weak, he can augment this attack with his ki to potentially stun them.

Ryu Shippo - Japanese for 'Dragon Tail'. Unbuckling his bo staff, Ryoga thrusts out with it. He can also heat up the end with his Ki.

Ryu Arashi - Japanese for 'Dragon Storm'. Increasing his speed, Ryoga unleashes a devastating array of punches, all with the strength of his Ki at the end. As shown, it can easily match Drake's Piranha Escuela.

Ryu Kyuutai - Japanese for 'Dragon Orb'. Ryoga tosses out a simple - but powerful - ball of Ki at an enemy. Ryoga has trained well at this technique, and can easily do it multiple times in short succession.

Well, until next time...see ya!