Saiyans on the Grandline
The four Straw Hat Pirates were on edge, and rightfully so as Franky, Robin, Brook, and Mina were all in the palace assembly hall, surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of blood thirsty ruthless pirates that looked like they didn't actually care about their crew, and were only in it for themselves. At the same time, as to not draw suspicion to themselves, Mina suggested they partake in some of the luxuries this gathering had to offer, to which she didn't hear any complaints from her crewmates.
"I'm not seeing any of our crew." Franky said, drinking a bottle of cola. "But what's with all the pirates?"
"Shiki has enough cutthroats under his palace roof to start a war or something." Mina added, biting down into some meat, and drinking her own cola.
"It looks like each group has their own, Eternal Pose. So we can safely assume they've been called here for some reason or another." Robin said.
"Brook, don't even think about asking that waitress to take a look at her panties." Mina said, keeping the skeleton from stopping the waitress coming past them, with Mina's refill order of cola.
"I know you guys, you're the Straw Hats, right?" One of the pirates questioned, gaining their attention. "Though I don't think I've ever seen you here before toots."
"I'm new to the crew. Haven't been a member for very long." Mina said. "Though my husband might not have a bounty yet, he still took down Gecko Moria. So watch what you say to me."
"That so? You really that strong tough guy?" The pirate questioned Franky.
"Oh no, you got it all wrong pal, I'm not her husband." Franky said. "Her man is off getting wasted somewhere else."
"I see." The pirate nodded. "Going by your reputation, I'm kinda surprised you guys would be joining up with Captain Shiki's brotherhood."
"Well, that's why we're here." Robin said, Mina stopping Franky from countering with an argument.
"I'm a little confused though, being one of the newer members of the crew and all. Do you know why Shiki would be forming a brotherhood of pirates?" Mina questioned.
"What, didn't your captain tell you, or do you all not know how to read? It's right here in the newspaper." The pirate questioned, pulling a newspaper from his pocket. "Take a look."
"Hold on, all that's been happening…" Mina gasped.
"You mean that he's…?" Robin questioned taking the newspaper. "He's the one responsible for what's been happening in the East Blue?"
"Impressive huh?"
"Shiki's a clever bastard. Talk about a warning, no way the World Government can ignore that."
"I see. What's his goal exactly?" Robin asked, giving the newspaper to Mina.
"After he destroys the East Blue, he's gonna take control of the whole stinking world." The pirate said. "It all begins after the assembly tonight to form a pact with him; while we're in this building, our Captains and Vice Captains are all with him in his palace for the meeting. First we have dinner, then he unleashes that swarm of Hell Beasts on the East Blue. There's also bee some talk about this, new secret weapon that he's been developing last minute. I think it's been going on for a week, with this weird child who looks like a humanoid white tiger, but hasn't eaten a Devil Fruit."
"Mina, doesn't that sound like…"
"Yeah Brook, it does." Mina said, her body trembling with anger. "It sounds like Shiki's been trying to turn my baby girl into a living weapon."
"Those animals are bad news. Thousands of people are gonna get butchered if he does that." Franky said.
"Well if you want an omelet… These broken eggs are the only way to get the World Government to surrender."
"Man's a genius, that's for sure. I'm just glad I'm on his side."
"You said it. Now let's raise our glasses to Captain Shiki."
Before the Pirates could cheer, the building around them began to shake, and tremble, like they were being hit by an Earthquake.
"The hell's going on?" One of the pirates questioned.
"You all think, that murdering thousands of innocent lives, is something the cheer about?" Mina questioned.
"Mina calm down." Franky said, putting his hands on her shoulders, only to pull them away. "Ow, that's hot, and acidic."
"That, secret weapon, Shiki's been working on, is my daughter. My child who was taken from me a week ago." Mina stated. "I'll be damned if I allow him to use my child like this. An' to make sure his plans are thoroughly derailed… Everyone here, is gonna be facing one pissed off Saiyan Mother." She growled, the sclera of her eyes turning black.
~Safe Haven Village~
"Grandma, Mommy, great news." Xiao called to her family as she ran into her house, past the Straw Hat Pirates.
Zoro and Kaen seemed like the only ones who weren't all too interested in what was going on, as they tried to go back to sleep.
"You're sensing that too right?" Zoro asked Kaen.
"Yeah. My Ki Sense might be screwed up at the moment thanks to Shiki's power, but I can still tell when someone's coming with malice in their heart." Kaen said.
Inside the house, Xiao's mother and Grandmother were shocked when they heard what the little girl had to say.
"Are you sure?" Xiao's mother questioned.
In the corner against the dresser, Nami was awake, able to hear everything they were saying, while Eri was fast asleep, curled up in her arms.
"Yeah it's true. I even saw Shu's daddy with my own two eyes." Xiao stated. "He said everyone else would be back soon."
"After all this time, I feel like I must be dreaming." Xiao's grandmother said, sitting up in bed.
"But then, that means…"
"Yeah, Shiki and his men are finally going away. He's taking his scary animals to the Sea of Schemes." Xiao said, as the sun began to set outside. "They're going to the East Blue."
Nami's eyes widened when she heard this. The memory of when Shiki spoke to them about how concerned they must have been, entering the forefront of her mind, before she realized what Shiki's scheming was all about. Quickly, while holding Eri in her arms, Nami made her way to the door, and left without saying a word to Xiao or her family.
But when she closed the door, no one was where they'd been moments ago.
"Luffy?" Nami questioned.
"What's going on?" Eri asked, waking up from sleep. "Where's Papa?"
"We'll find them, don't worry." Nami said, going around to the other side of the house.
"Stay back Nami." Luffy ordered, sounding stern and serious.
Looking ahead at where the rest of her crew was looking, Nami gasped when she saw Shiki standing on a stone structure, his arms crossed with a stern look on his face.
"Reunited at last, Baby Doll." Shiki said.
"Shiki." Nami gasped.
"That was cold of you to ditch out like that, Baby Doll. Didn't even bother to say goodbye, you sure know how to hurt a guys feelings." Shiki said.
"Shut up you pile of crap. It's about time you paid for tricking us, and abducting Nami and Eri like that." Sanji said.
"Can't blame me for being an opportunist. You idiots have no appreciation for either their talents. Try protecting them, if you don't want to lose them. But you're too late, I think Baby Doll can spot a sinking ship when she see's one, and realizes the smart thing to do, is to bring the child, and to stick with me."
"You're forgetting one little thing Shiki." Kaen growled his hair taking on a fiery red tint as he entered his Wukong state. "Eri is my daughter, and I will not let you take her, and experiment on her, ever again."
"Oh? Then come and stop me, if you feel like you can." Shiki smirked.
"With pleasure." Kaen growled, suddenly in Shiki's face.
"What?" Shiki questioned, before Kaen hit him in the face with a strong right hook.
"Detroit: SMASH." Kaen called out, slamming Shiki through the stone structure.
A cloud of dust built up as Kaen sent Shiki to the ground, but that didn't seem to do the trick, as the ground around him began to move like water serpents, before they began to bury him in thousands of pounds of dirt.
"Papa." Eri called out in fear.
"Nice try. Is that the best you got?" Shiki questioned with a laugh as he picked himself up.
"Hey, Wheel Head." Luffy called to him, drawing Shiki's attention to him. "Don't go thinking you can steal members of my crew and hobble away, scot-free."
"Oh, and what are you gonna do about it?" Shiki questioned, sounding amused.
"Break you in half." Luffy declared, running at Shiki with Zoro, Sanji, Ussop, and Chopper following suit.
"Luffy wait." Nami called out.
"Gum-Gum: Pistol." Luffy cried out, but Shiki dodged the attack mid strike before it could hit him.
"Special Attack…" Ussop began as he aimed for Shiki. "Fire Bird Star."
Letting loose the attack, Ussop's fire bird erupted into a burning inferno, flying straight for Shiki, but the Golden Lion Captain flew higher then Ussop aimed for.
"72 Caliber Phoenix." Zoro called out, sending the attack of two slashing blades, straight for Shiki.
Shiki could see the attack coming, and deflected the sharp blades of air, with his own sword legs.
"Arm Point." Chopper called out, his arms growing bigger as he shifted gears from eating a Rumble Ball. "Cloven Roseo Michelli." He cried, hitting Shiki in the back with multiple strikes of his cloven hooves, causing the blonde man some pain.
"Poitrine Shoot." Sanji called out, kicking Shiki in the sternum area.
Unfortunately that plan didn't work, as Shiki managed to catch the kick, with smoke rising from the impact point.
"You're not such a bad team after all. For the record, it's not every day that someone forces me to use my hands. But unfortunately for you, your heaviest hitter, that pathetic excuse of a Saiyan, is buried under sixteen tons of dirt and stone." Shiki said.
"Whoever said that monkey was our heaviest hitter?" Sanji questioned with a smirk.
"Trying to play the tough man won't save you. Once I bring my appendages into the mix, it's game over for any opponent of mine." Shiki smirked.
"Gum-Gum…" The faint sound of Luffy's voice, from a far off distance reached Zoro's ears, allowing for him to relax and put away his swords.
"This is the end for you." Shiki smirked.
"ROCKET." Luffy cried out, shooting himself towards Shiki, and slamming into his back at neck breaking speeds, forcing the blonde Pirate Captain to let Sanji go, and sending him flying off into the distance.
"AAAAHHHHH." Kaen cried out, the dirt burying him, erupting like a volcano as he freed himself from the confines of his wannabe tomb. "Damn it all. I got dirt in areas dirt should be now." He grumbled as he undid his Wukong form.
"Papa." Eri cried out smiling, flying into his arms.
"I'm okay Eri." Kaen said.
"Papa, I was so worried you weren't gonna make it." Eri said. "I wanted to be brave like you, to be strong like you, but I'm not. I couldn't do anything to help you fight Shiki."
"Listen here Eri. I'm gonna tell you something that your grandpa told me." Kaen said, putting her down, and taking a knee to her. "Bravery, isn't an all powerful tool. To be brave, you have to feel fear, otherwise the world would just be filled with stupid people who think its okay to risk their lives for stupid reasons. The reason why your grandpa and I smile in the face of danger, is to hide the fear we feel. It tells those we save, that everything is going to be okay, because I am here."
"Aw, such sentimental words, from a sentimental fool." Shiki said, flying above the group. "It makes me sick to my stomach."
"Shiki." Kaen growled.
"You and your captain seem to be under the false assumption that the three of us are equals. How irritating." Shiki glared. "I'm gonna go ahead and wrap this up now."
"We might wanna brace ourselves." Zoro said, as Shiki raised his arm.
Kaen could feel Shiki's power flowing through the ground under them, and he knew it meant trouble.
"Nami." Kaen called to the navigator, throwing Eri towards her, as the ground around them began to break apart.
"Papa." Eri called out, landing in Nami's arms.
The dirt around them began to take on the form of a Pride of Lions, as they all formed a barricade around them, leaving no exist out for anyone who couldn't fly.
"Kaen, get us out of here." Zoro said.
"I can't. It took almost everything I had just to get out of my dirt bed." Kaen stated.
"You useless monkey, what good are you then?" Sanji questioned.
"I'd like to see you try and dig your way, our of sixteen tons of rocks and ruble." Kaen hissed. "I only have enough power left for one more attack, I just need an opening."
"Yeah, well don't expect us to help you." Sanji stated.
"Oh like you wanna help yourself to Mina, who's sixteen?" Kaen questioned.
"Stop fighting you two, now's not the time for it." Luffy stated.
"Now behold, the lions threads of fate." Shiki called out.
Without a moments hesitation Shiki sent the lions at the Straw Hats, but Luffy wasn't willing to give up that easily, as he began doing to motion for his gatling attack.
"Gum-Gum…" Luffy began as he kept building up momentum.
"Kame-hame…"
"CANON." Luffy cried out, breaking through one of the lions.
"HAAAAA." Kaen let loose the attack as soon as the opening was available to him.
"Special Attack: Atlas Comet." Ussop called out, sending the attack out alongside the Kamehameha Wave.
"I do appreciate the effort, but no." Shiki said, rolling forward and evading both attacks as they collided, canceling one another out as they replicated a large explosion like a firework.
"That's it…" Kaen gasped, falling to one knee. "I got no more Ki left to fight with."
As if taking that as his cue, Shiki buried the Straw Hat crew, sneering in delight as he created a pillar of dirt and rocks, with their unconscious faces sticking out, as the pillar became a spiral, pointing straight into the air.
"No." Nami gasped, pushing Eri into her chest to keep the child from seeing the terrifying sight. But Eri managed to break from her grasp, and looked out to the pillar, right as something fell from Kaen's wrist, and landed on the ground. Pushing herself away from Nami, Eri ran to what had landed on the ground, and saw it was the metal bracelet, with the leather underside Kaen always wore.
"Don't wake them up now. They're just taking, a little dirt nap." Shiki said with a laugh. "I guess the fear I felt when that Saiyan threatened me through my Security Transponder Snail, was all in my head. He's not so powerful."
"You're wrong." Eri said. "My Papa's strong. He's the son of the greatest hero on our world. He's the son of All Might."
"Eri that's enough." Nami said, stopping the child from charging at Shiki.
"They are weak. This is what they get, for refusing to face reality." Shiki smirked. "It's not even my fault, none of this would have happened if they'd accepted the fact that you both belong to me now. Isn't that right, Baby Doll?"
Nami was silent for a moment, as she allowed for her gathered thoughts and information to sink in.
"The attacks on the East Blue. You're the one behind them, aren't you?" Nami questioned, still holding Eri back.
"Yeah, that's me." Shiki said.
"You're an evil, despicable man." Eri growled.
"Don't you dare lay another hand on any of my friends, or the East Blue." Nami shouted.
"You're getting ahead of yourself." Shiki said, tapping ashes from his cigar.
"You're a monster." Eri glared. "Leave the East Blue alone."
"I already told you both. I'm more then willing to do a favor or two for a member of my own crew." Shiki said. "The only thing that poses any threat to me are those cyclones. An' I would be quite grateful to have a navigator who can spot them, and a weapon that could easily disperse them without a moment's thought. Grateful enough to do anything to keep them happy."
Nami looked to Shiki, then to the pillar constraining her friends, before grabbing one of the gold rings on her wrists.
"Keepsake of the dead?" Shiki questioned.
"Don't be stupid. My sister gave them to me, before I left our home town." Nami said. "If I did decide to join your crew, you promise that you'd leave the East Blue alone?"
"No Aunt Nami, you can't join. You can't trust him." Eri said, before she was silenced as she was enveloped from the neck down, by a small pillar that raised her to shoulder height with Nami.
"Can't you tell? There's nothing more important to me in this world, then my own crew." Shiki said with a laugh. "It would go against all that I stand for, to attack my crew members home."
"Don't you dare think of doing something so stupid Nami." Ussop wheezed.
"Ussop." Nami gasped.
"Still conscious huh?" Shiki questioned, sounding rather annoyed.
"Come on, you're not gonna sell yourself to this creep, just to try and save your home town are ya?" Ussop questioned. "Think of your captain. Luffy would never agree to this."
"Does it really look like that boy's in a position to allow anything?" Shiki questioned. "You don't seem to understand the situation that your crew is in." He stated, revealing a giant boulder floating above the giant pillar, that could crush them all in an instant.
"Hold on. I understand the situation, just don't hurt my friends anymore." Nami said.
"Ah, then you'll give me an answer then?" Shiki asked with a smile. "Baby Doll."
"Ussop… this is the only option we've got." Nami said. "Just think of the East Blue, this has to be done. Go back to your journey, and don't worry about me, okay?"
"You can't Nami." Ussop said.
"Trust me I'll be fine."
"Don't do this."
"I can survive anywhere."
"I know you're not this stupid. There's no way that you're gonna…"
Ussop was silenced, when a rock slammed into his face, knocking him unconscious, while breaking his nose.
"Ussop." Nami cried out.
"How can you even stand to listen to the guy? He's so annoying." Shiki stated.
"Leave him alone." Eri cried.
"Eri…"
The child's eyes widened when she heard Kaen's voice, and she strained to look up towards him.
"Remember what I said." Kaen wheezed. "Being brave, means facing the danger head on, inspite of your fears. In this world… Those who are always smiling, are the ones who are the strongest. Stay with Nami, and I will find you. I promise, I will find a way, to bring you back to me." He managed to say, before Shiki hit him with an even bigger rock.
"Papa." Eri said, tears trailing down her cheek.
"Times running out, Baby Doll." Shiki said. "I still need an answer, and of course it goes without saying anywhere you go, the child comes with."
"Alright then, I'll join your crew." Nami said.
"Eh, not convinced." Shiki said, tapping the ashes from his cigar again.
Nami knew what he was talking about, and the looming danger of the giant boulder overhead was drawing closer to the spire, as Shiki slowly lowered it, only made it more painful for her to do what she had to. With shaky breath, Nami got on one knee, and bowed to Shiki.
"Please Captain, let me join your crew." Nami said.
"That's more like it." Shiki said with a laugh of triumph. "Welcome aboard, my talented new navigator. It's tough to realize there are opponents you could never beat, but that's all a part of growing up." He stated with a smile, before he used his power to make an orange shell with holes in it, float in front of her. "Now then, I'm not some lowly kidnapper. You know, honor among pirates and all that. I know that you had your share of good times and bad with these guys, so why don't you both go ahead and give them, a proper farewell?" Shiki suggested as Nami took the Tonedial.
As Nami recorded her message, and allowed for Eri to say her piece, the memories of all their adventures flooded the forefront of her mind, as tears fell from her eyes, while Shiki freed Eri from her restraints.
"Doesn't that melt the heart?" Shiki questioned, as Nami set the Tonedial on the ground in front of the spiraling pillar. "It should do nicely to get them off our backs, I'm sure your friends will be satisfied to. Now they can, move on… Well, as long as they managed to crawl out of there alive."
As Shiki grabbed Nami and Eri, the trees surrounding the forest began to fall, one by one they were uprooted by Shiki's men in gas masks, leaving the village defenseless against the Hell Beasts.
~Shiki's Palace~
Shiki walked into the surveillance room, a smile on his face as he took his seat upon the Captain's seat.
"Oh, you're back already." Dr. Indigo said, sitting at the kotatsu eating oranges.
"Yeah." Shiki said, blowing a puff of smoke. "Hey, quit hiding already, come on in."
Dr. Indigo turned to the door, to see Nami coming in wearing a black dress, with a pink feather boa on her shoulders.
"You somehow get prettier every time I see you." Shiki smirked.
"An' the specimen sir? The child?" Dr. Indigo questioned.
"Restrained, and awaiting further testing in her habitat, Dr. Indigo." Shiki said.
"Ah, thank you sir." Dr. Indigo smiled, heading off to his lab.
"Take a gander." Shiki said, directing Nami's attention to the screen. "You made a smart decision. You can take comfort in the fact, knowing this won't happen to your precious home town."
~Village~
Kaen's eyes twitched as he awoke to the sound of screaming villagers, and the smell of burning fires. His eyes shot open, when he heard the roar of savage animals, and realized something was wrong. Looking out as best he could, Kaen could see the village and its people were in chaos, as the Hell Beasts were causing mayhem and destruction.
"No." Kaen growled, fighting against his restraints. "This isn't right. I'm not some wannabe fighter, I'm not some worthless bystander. I am a hero." He stated, the ground around him cracking and crumbling. "I lost sight of my purpose, and I allowed myself to become complaisant. I'm stronger then this."
Digging deep within himself, Kaen let out a battle cry, as he broke free of the spiral pillar holding him in place, an aura of milky white flames enveloping him, as he breathed heavily from the strain it took.
"I'm not done yet. I'm gonna push past my limits, and fight for the people of this village." He declared.
Turning back to the spiral pillar, Kaen dug out each of the crewmates, one by one, laying them down on the ground behind some cover. With his crewmates in a safe location, Kaen felt sure that he could get to work.
Flying straight for the source of the chaos, popping a Primal Rage into his mouth, Kaen spun forward before hitting a monstrous sized tyrannosaurus reindeer in the side of the jaw with a Dropkick, One-for-All coursing through him at 50%.
"Arizona: SMASH." He cried out, knocking the beasts head to the side, with a spine chilling crack echoing from its neck.
Jumping from the now dead creature, Kaen flipped back and landed on the ground, before he turned to his side, evading the blades of another monstrous praying mantis, and glared at it with pure anger in his eyes. The mantis stared Kaen right in the eye, and though the Saiyan was intimidating to the mantis, it didn't seem to back down.
"You wanna try me next bug brain?" Kaen questioned, grabbing the mantis's forearms as it brought them down on him.
Without any resistance, Kaen tore the mantis's forearms from its body, and used its own blades to slice the monster insects torso in four.
"Looks like you weren't so tough."
Throwing the forearms away, Kaen flew into the air, and straight for the next monster in his path, hitting it with an axe kick, and knocking its head into the ground.
"California: SMASH."
"Hold on a minute." Kaen said, getting a look at the beast. "This is a tiger but… the color of its fur, and its tails… Don't tell me."
"Kaen."
The Saiyan looked up to see Mina rushing towards him. Looking around, he saw that all the other animals had been scared away, probably by his demonstration of power, or they had their fill of destruction.
"Mina." Kaen said, catching the pink haired Saiyan as he flew into his arms, and they embraced one another with a kiss.
"Kaen I was so worried. Are you okay, is Eri okay?"
"I'm fine, but Eri is with Nami, and Shiki has them both again." Kaen said.
"What?" Mina asked.
"I hate to say it, but Shiki managed to take me down. First he buried me under sixteen tons of dirt and debri, which took everything I had to escape, then after we all fought back against him, he trapped us in that spiral pillar. I'm not too sure what happened after that, since Shiki knocked us all out." Kaen explained. "But I do know, Shiki's scientist, Dr. Indigo has been…"
"Turning her into a living weapon I know." Mina said.
"Then you know, that we need to go and save her, right now." Kaen stated.
"It's not that simple. We'll be able to go once everyone is recovered with a Senzu Bean, but we need a battle plan after that." Mina exclaimed. "Come on, let's regroup with the others."
Taking off through the air, Kaen and Mina flew to where the rest of the crew was, and saw that Luffy and the others buried in the spiral pillar were already awake, with Chopper working through the pain to treat the injured, while Franky, Robin, and Brook just got finished explaining things to them.
"You're telling me Shiki's the one responsible for all that stuff happening in the East Blue?" Luffy questioned.
"Yes." Robin said.
"So, he's gonna let those monsters lose on our home towns, just like he did on this village." Sanji sighed. "Evil bastard making us look like a bunch of fools. An' of course this stupid primate wasn't any help at all."
"That's enough Sanji." Luffy stated. "Kaen did his best."
"No… I could have done more." Kaen said. "I could have lived up to my school's alma mater, but I failed, because I grew complaisant after joining your crew."
"Still, it's not your fault bro." Franky said.
"Nami, she chose to go with Shiki so she could protect the East Blue." Ussop said. "She saved our homes, she saved us."
"Eri went with her. With all of us out of commission like we were, the safest place was by Nami's side until we could get her back." Kaen stated. "But, I'd recommend saving the pity party for when we don't have an audience." He sighed, pointing to the side.
"Xiao." Chopper said, spotting the little girl and her family. "Are all of you okay?"
Xiao replied with a nod, but it looked like she was on the verge of crying. Kaen couldn't understand why, until Xiao's mother spoke up.
"We got to the underground shelter just in time… What you were just talking about, you said that your home was… are you all really from the East Blue?" Xiao's mother inquired.
"The founding members of our crew are, including our Navigator." Mina said.
Hearing this confirmation from Mina, Xiao's mother seemed devastated upon the realization of what had happened.
"Oh God, I said all those awful things. She was right there in the room, and I was so callous to say that Shiki was the East Blue's problem now." Xiao's mother said, anguish clear in her voice. "I can't even imagine how much I must have hurt that poor girl."
"I didn't even think about the people there." Xiao said, as she began to cry.
Kaen and Luffy just looked at the family, before they both noticed something in Xiao's hand.
"Xiao, where'd you get that?" Luffy questioned.
"This, I just found it. It was laying on the ground over there." Xiao said, turning to look at where she found it.
"Luffy, isn't that just an ordinary sea shell?" Mina asked.
"No it's not. That's a Tonedial." Luffy said.
"It's a lot like the one I have in my head, but it's orange instead of white." Brook said. "As you can probably surmise from our party on Thriller Bark, it's capable of recording audio messages."
"Generally yeah. But there are all sorts of different dials, and each one has a different purpose. Some can absorb kinetic energy and disperse it back twice as strong." Ussop explained.
"Xiao, can I see that for a sec?" Kaen questioned.
Xiao looked down at the Tonedial in her hand, before putting it in Kaen's, receiving a smile in return.
"You're good people you know that?" Kaen asked. "Your homes have all been destroyed by Shiki, but you're still worried about having hurt someone else's feelings. That's shows your character."
"You're some of the nicest people I've met, and I know a lot of people." Luffy said. "There's nothing for you to feel bad about, Shiki's the only bad guy here, and I'm gonna make him pay for what he's done."
"Kaen, Luffy. You'll be happy to know that Mina managed to throw a wrench in Shiki's plans." Franky said. "After learning about what Shiki was doing to the East Blue, and what his head scientist was doing to Eri, she beat down the army he'd accumulated through gathering pirates to his cause."
"The only ones who didn't get a taste of her wrath were the Captains and Vice Captains." Robin stated.
"Indeed, it was quite terrifying. Seeing her so enraged chilled me to the bone." Brook said.
"Kaen, play the Tonedial."
Kaen nodded and clicked the button on the top of the dial, allowing for the message to play.
"If you get this message, please forgive me for not saying goodbye in person." Nami's voice came from the dial.
"Nami left us a recording." Chopper said happily.
"This might be tough to hear, but I've made up my mind to become Shiki's navigator." The message continued. "It's just… Shiki is a legendary pirate, possibly the most powerful man alive. There's nothing you could do, to match up to him."
"Papa…" Eri's voice came from the dial.
"Eri left us a recording to." Mina said.
"Papa, I know you're listening. I have faith you'll come and save me. You're stronger then Shiki, and I believe in you. I'll hold out hope, for you to come and keep your word and save us from Shiki." Eri finished.
"He's bound to kill you if you come after us. An' if you don't believe me…"
"What the hell is this?" Luffy questioned, taking the Tonedial from Kaen and stopping the message. "How can she say that? You don't talk about your own crew that way."
"Luffy come on, just calm down." Ussop said.
"What does she mean, we can't match up to him? I can't believe she would say that to us." Luffy stated.
"Not to sound too harsh, but you can't deny the dude just kicked all your asses. He even kicked Kaen's ass, and he's a Saiyan Warrior." Franky said.
"No he didn't…" Luffy screamed. "I just, I mean… he was lucky. He tricked us and he…"
"Please Luffy, calm down. You shut up." Ussop said, trying to defuse the situation.
"Damn it." Luffy growled, shoving the Tonedial into Ussop's hand, before marching off to take a breather.
"Hey Ussop, let's hear it again." Sanji said.
"Huh? Oh yeah." Ussop said, playing the message again.
~Dr. Indigo's Lab~
"I don't know why you're struggling so much child. You'll be part of the New World Order, Captain Shiki will bring about. Doesn't that excite you?" Dr. Indigo said, as he sent volts of electricity through Eri's body, with the child tied up and restrained against the lab table.
"I will never, be a part of whatever that monster has planned." Eri cried out, struggling against her restraints.
"So disappointing." Dr. Indigo sighed.
"Dr. Indigo. I have urgent news." One of the guards said, coming into his lab and running for him.
"This better be important." Dr. Indigo stated.
~Shiki's Throne~
"Here they come, the elites of my own personal army." Shiki said. "Now the World Government, will finally crumble. This is the first time in twenty years I've felt my legs tingle. Hold on, why do so many of them look so badly beaten?"
Before Shiki could ponder this any further, the sound of Dr. Indigo's fart shoes rang in his ears, and he turned to see the clown scientist, right before Dr. Indigo began making gestures with his hands and body. But Shiki wasn't as clueless as before.
"She is huh? I see." Shiki said, getting up from his throne, shocking Dr. Indigo. "I'll take care of it."
With Shiki leaving the room, Dr. Indigo turned to face no one.
"He understood!" Dr. Indigo cried out in astonishment.
Outside, near the Daft Green Trees surrounding the palace, Shiki came out to see the problem Dr. Indigo had informed him of, and saw Nami surrounded by guards, with patches of green on her skin, and several of his trees having TNT up against them, with a few already destroyed.
"Well look at this." Shiki said, his voice altered due to the gas mask he wore. "Gonna use my own plan against me, so the monsters attack the palace huh?" He questioned, looking to the pinned navigator. "I guess that's why you joined my crew. Isn't it, Baby Doll. After I agreed to your conditions, I need to ask, why?"
"Because you're a liar. You had no plans to honor the promises that you made to me." Nami said. "My home town getting destroyed, my friends grieving over loss of their homes and loved ones. I refuse to let that happen." She declared.
In response to this, Shiki grabbed Nami by her face, and lifted her off the ground.
"You should have been more patient." He stated angrily, before slamming her into one of the Daf Greens, causing the poisoning to spread faster, and causing Nami pain. "Guess you didn't realize how strong of a poison these trees give off. A true pirate has no business blubbering on about their home or family. Pathetic attachments, and useless concepts. It's a shame to let something so childish ruin your potential." He said, throwing Nami to the ground, before the dirt sprang up like spears, keeping her locked in place, without a single one piercing any part of her body. "If you're fortunate enough, to survive out here until the General Assembly ends, then I'd gladly take you on as my navigator again. I've got a soft spot, for feisty women. I'll be sure to let Dr. Indigo know not to hold back with his experiments on the child anymore." Shiki laughed as he returned to the palace.
~Thousand Sunny~
"Alright Franky, let's go." Luffy said.
"You got it. Grab something and hold on tight." Franky said, as he charged their transportation's trump card. "Coup De Burst."
The Sunny began traveling along the ground, as if it were on wheels, before the water volcano was used like a ramp and the ship was sent flying through the air, landing on the largest island, where Shiki's palace was located, shocking all the guards as the ship came sailing across the ground, and breaking through the Daft Green barrier, before stopping right in front of the palace.
"Is this some kind of joke? Landing a ship inside the palace? Who the hell are these guys?" One of the guards questioned.
~Assembly Hall~
"Not that I need to remind you." Shiki began as Dr. Indigo finished pouring the ceremonial Sake. "But the East Blue is the most defenseless and strategically expendable of the five seas. It'll be mourned, but there's nothing there to be missed. So be as thorough with your carnage as you like. This is the birth of the Golden Lion Pirates."
With that declaration made, the rest of the pirates cheered, but before Shiki could be the first to drink the ceremonial Sake, the doors behind his throne slid open in a rather hastened manner.
"Captain Shiki." One of his waitstaff called to him.
"You're interrupting the ceremony." Shiki growled.
"I'm sorry sir, but you need to hear this right away." The man said, stopping right in front of him.
Bending down to hear what his employee had to say, Shiki didn't seem impressed.
"Idiot. Quit wasting my time and go kill them." Shiki stated. "They're just a bunch of low level morons with a death wish."
"Well sir, that's the thing…"
Before the man could say more, Shiki's attention was drawn to the doors of the assembly hall, as the lights dimmed, before the doors were busted in with the paper burning as a Ki blast explosion, is what forced them apart. Coming into the room, were each of the Straw Hat Pirates, each dressed in a fancy three piece suit, or in Mina and Robin's cases, elegant and showy open leg, pencil skirt dresses, while Kaen and Mina had headbands around their necks. But the main thing to notice, was all of them carried firearms, even if they were more proficient in swords or Ki manipulation.
The final member of the Straw Hat crew to enter, was Luffy, and he looked calm on the outside, but with Kaen and Mina on either side of him, the Captain looked like he was ready for war.
"So you want another round, color me surprised." Shiki said, putting a cigar in his mouth.
"You're planning on attacking the East Blue, aren't ya?" Luffy questioned, while his crew marched in further with him following close behind.
"So what?" Shiki questioned.
"An' Nami and Eri, they're okay?" Luffy asked.
"Sure, they're doing peachy." Shiki smirked, causing others to laugh. "You sure put up a dangerous front. But you don't think the ten of you, are going to walk out of here alive, do you?"
The lights in the assembly hall brightened, as the panels on the side of the room were kicked down, revealing multiple pirates from the various crews.
"Looks like they've got a skilled medic in their group." Kaen said.
"No kidding, most of these men shouldn't even be able to walk properly for a month at least." Mina stated.
"I figured only one of you would be naive enough to sacrifice herself to save her home." Shiki smirked. "But now you're rushing in here, and entire suicide squad."
"If we're the Suicide Squad, who are we in it?" Kaen asked.
"I'd say you're King Shark, and I'm Killer Frost." Mina smirked.
"You're as dumb as you look." Luffy stated. "Nami would never sacrifice herself, you idiot. She joined your crew, so she could attack from the inside."
As if those were the magic words, every single one of the Straw Hats primed their firearms, aiming them at the different pirate captains.
"Now prepare yourself, Shiki the Golden Lion." Luffy declared. "We won't lose the same fight twice."
Taking that as their cue, the Straw Hats opened fire on the pirates surrounding them, taking out groups of them with every shot made, before Kaen and Mina tossed their weapons.
"Out already you two?" Zoro questioned.
"Yeah, you know why." Mina smirked.
"We Saiyans prefer our traditional method of fighting." Kaen stated.
Leaping from the ground, Kaen and Mina both rushed the pirates that were standing guard in front of Shiki, hitting them with Ki blasts, and martial arts.
"Shiki." Kaen growled. "You will return our daughter to us, right now."
"Or suffer the same consequences as those who've harmed her in the past." Mina declared.
"Ussop, Chopper. You two go look for Nami." Luffy ordered.
"Right." The duo said.
"Start at the Daf Greens. Something tells me she was planning on using one of Shiki's own tricks against him." Kaen called as they ran off to find Nami.
"You got it big guy." Ussop said.
"Hurry Captain Shiki, to the back room." One of the wait staff said.
"Right." Shiki acknowledged, following him to the passageway leading to a panic room.
As the battle raged on, the rest of the Straw Hats made sure the path was clear for Luffy as he made his way through the crowd.
"Give me back my friends." Luffy stated, before jumping in the air, lunging after Shiki. "What's you do to NAMI?" He questioned, hitting Shiki with a Gum-Gum Pistol.
The force of the punch sent Shiki down the tunnel, to which Luffy chased after him without a moments hesitation and a clear goal in mind.
Dr. Indigo tried to stop Luffy and swing his sword at him, but Zoro stepped in and blocked the strike, leaving Luffy to go around them while Dr. Indigo was left speechless.
"Can't you see that our Captain is busy?" Zoro asked.
The pink furred gorilla stepped up to try and stop Luffy next, but he was kicked in the ribs and sent to the other side of the room by Sanji.
"Stay out of the way Ape, that's not your fight." Sanji declared.
~Ussop & Chopper~
"Out of the way." Ussop cried out, riding on Chopper's back, before the reindeer jumped onto each guard and knocked them down. "How about some Flame Stars?" He questioned, firing the rounds of his attacks, hitting the pirates that were firing at them.
Chopper leapt off the ground and onto one of the closer rooftops, running along the spine of the top before jumping up to the next one.
"Hey Chopper, can you pick up her scent?" Ussop asked, putting his slingshot on his back.
"Afraid not. My nose is still super congested from all the Daft Green particles lingering in the air here." Chopper stated.
"Damn, what now?" Ussop questioned, before he noticed something off in the distance, and pulled down one of his scopes to see it was electricity surging in one area of the Daft Green barrier, before spotting it was Nami and Billy. "There. I can see Nami!" He called out.
"Where?" Chopper questioned.
"Over there. Hurry Chopper, Billy just lit a fuse of some kind." Ussop stated, pointing in the direction for the reindeer to run.
Running as fast as he could, Chopper leapt off the roof, and headed straight for the Daft Greens just as Billy could be seen flying overhead.
"Hurry." Ussop called out.
Pushing himself harder then he'd ever ran, Chopper made it through the Daft Greens, his and Ussop's eyes widening in horror when they found themselves surrounded by TNT. Second before the explosive could detonate, Chopper ran past Nami, with Ussop grabbing her and pulling her in close, before they were blown away by the air force of the explosion.
"Nami are you okay?" Chopper questioned as Ussop turned her over in the snow.
"She's breathing Chopper. But it's faint." Ussop said.
"These are the same kind of bruises Xiao's grandmother has. We gotta find that cure." Chopper said, examining Nami's unconscious form, before something caught their attention.
"What's that sound?" Ussop questioned, having a bad feeling about it.
Turning towards the forest, Ussop and Chopper looked in the general area the sound was coming from, and to their horror, they saw dozens of Hell Beasts running towards the opening in the Daft Greens.
"AAAAHHHHH. MONSTERS." Ussop cried out.
"That explosion must have drawn their attention here." Chopper said, taking on Heavy Point and taking Nami into his arms. "Come on Ussop. We have to find that cure for Daft Green Poisoning."
"Right." Ussop said, running alongside Chopper, before the Hell Beasts came barging through the opening in the Daft Greens and started ramming into the building and breaking through the doors.
~Assembly Hall~
"What the hell?" Franky questioned.
"Looks like Nami did use Shiki's own trick against him." Mina said, hitting one of the pirate lackeys with a roundhouse kick to the head, as the building continued to shake.
"Meaning that explosion we heard a minute ago, must have been her using some type of explosive to get the job done." Kaen said.
"Keep your guard up." Zoro called to them, as the Hell Beasts came bursting through the doors.
Jumping into the air, Kaen evaded one of the Hell Beasts that charged at him, before hitting it with an axe kick to the head. Landing on the ground, Kaen spotted a blue haired clown in a lab coat, trying to make a run for it.
"That's gotta be Dr. Indigo." Kaen growled, vanishing from sight before reappearing in front of Dr. Indigo, hitting him square in the face. "Where do you think you're going Doc?"
Dr. Indigo was knocked flat on his ass, with Kaen landing on the ground and looking straight at him with a murderous gaze.
"Where is my daughter?" Kaen questioned. "Talk."
"Now hold on there a second." Dr. Indigo said. "I'm sure we can come to, some sort of arrangement. Your daughter is quite powerful with the enhancements I've…"
Dr. Indigo was instantly silenced, when Kaen hit a large Hell Beast with an instant TKO single punch, without even turning to look at it when the beast attacked him from behind. Dr. Indigo could see he would be an idiot to bring up all the experiments he's done on her thus far.
"She's in my lab. I'll take you to her now." Dr. Indigo said.
"Keep your hands, where I can see them." Kaen ordered, holding his hand up with a Ki attack aimed right at Dr. Indigo.
Getting up from the ground, Dr. Indigo held his hands in the air, as he lead Kaen towards his lab. They had to fight their way through several Hell Beasts to do so, but Dr. Indigo saw it was no problem for Kaen. But when they got outside, Kaen used his free hand to put his headband over his eyes, like it was a blindfold.
'Hmm… He's strong, but there's something primal about him, that he's not showing.' Dr. Indigo thought. 'An' that blindfold. I'm pretty sure he can still detect where I am without needing to see me.'
"Keep moving." Kaen ordered.
"Right." Dr. Indigo said. "So, excuse me for asking, but what purpose does that blindfold serve?"
"None of your business." Kaen growled. 'Of all the nights this had to happen, it had to be on a night with a full moon.'
"I take it, the blindfold has something to do with moonlight?" Dr. Indigo questioned.
"Shut your mouth, or I'll shut it for you." Kaen stated.
'That would be a yes. Must have something to do with his Saiyan Biology.' Dr. Indigo thought.
"You know what, I changed my mind." Kaen said. "You've been using the DNA from one of the Hell Beasts, in the serums you've been injecting my daughter with, haven't you?"
"Very astute. What gave that away?" Dr. Indigo questioned.
"A couple things. One, parts of the fur on Eri's ears and tail had patches of blue fur mixed into the white. Two, the two tail, blue furred Tiger Beast has stitches on its neck, almost like someone had surgically removed a piece of tissue from its vertebra and harvested some of its spinal fluid for something. I saw the stitches when I took the beast out at the village earlier."
"Keen observation for a primate." Dr. Indigo said.
"Say that one more time, see what happens." Kaen growled enforcing the Ki attack.
Reaching the lab, Kaen lowered his blindfold back to around his neck, as Dr. Indigo lead him through the greenhouse where the IQ plants were grown and harvested, to the room Eri was being held in.
"She's in here." Dr. Indigo said, opening the door.
Inside the lab, Kaen saw all the tools and research equipment used for harvesting the most violent aspects of the evolutionary plant.
"Papa."
Quickly turning his head to the other side of the lab, Kaen spotted Eri strapped to the experiment table.
"Eri." Kaen called to her, pushing past Dr. Indigo and towards her. "Hey, it's okay Eri, Papa's here." He said, destroying the straps with brute strength.
"Papa, my body hurts." Eri said.
"I know sweetie, I know it does. I'm gonna get you out of here." Kaen said, giving Eri a Senzu Bean before giving her a hug.
"Papa, look out."
Kaen quickly turned around, to try and deflect his attacker, but was too late as Dr. Indigo stuck him with a needle, injecting him with something.
"Papa." Eri said in concern.
"You bastard." Kaen growled, grabbing Dr. Indigo by his coat. "What the hell did you just send circulating through my bloodstream?"
"I've just injected you with a potent, unstable beta version of S-IQ. I always keep some on hand in case I need to research the different data. Now, let's see you rage out and unleash your inner beast." Dr. Indigo laughed as Kaen's body began to freeze and convulse.
"Papa no." Eri cried out, grabbing him as he fell to the ground.
"Eri." Kaen gasped, holding out his hand, and putting it in Eri's. "Take this to your mother. Have her use her Duplication Void on it so the survivors in the village, poisoned by the Daft Greens, can be treated."
Opening his hand, Kaen revealed he had a vial of Daft Green Antidote.
"What the? How did you get your hands on that?" Dr. Indigo questioned as Eri took it, before he could.
"When I pushed past you earlier." Kaen smirked, forcing himself to his feet. "It pays to learn a thing or two from a cat burglar."
"Special Attack: Smoke Star." Ussop called out, before something came flying and hit Dr. Indigo in the back, creating a large cloud of smoke.
"Come on, get out of there." Chopper called to them, carrying Nami in his arms.
"Eri go now." Kaen said.
"But Papa."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Kaen growled, before he lurched forward in pain, his hair growing longer, and the shadow trim around his eyes growing darker as the muscles of his body began to grow, and tear through his suit. "GO NOW."
Eri didn't argue as she ran past Kaen and Dr. Indigo, grabbing her Duplication Bag from where it hung on a chair, before following Ussop and Chopper out of there.
"Where's Kaen?" Ussop asked.
"Papa got infected with an unstable S-IQ, and now is fighting to hold it back to keep us safe." Eri said, putting her pack over her shoulder like an ammunitions belt, and sticking the antidote in it, along with a few IQ plants and a vial of S-IQ pills she grabbed when she ran.
"He what? You mean that serum that all the animals on the island have been injected with?" Chopper questioned.
"Yeah." Eri said. "Dr. Indigo's been injecting me with an altered version, allowing me to do stuff like this." She explained, before lightning danced across her hands in arcs. "What happened to Aunt Nami?"
"Daft Green poisoning. We came here to try and find an antidote, but that doesn't look like it's gonna happen." Chopper explained.
"I have the antidote. Papa swiped it from Dr. Indigo earlier." Eri said, pulling the antidote from her pack and holding it up to Chopper.
"That's perfect. Let's find a safe area for me to give it to Nami." Chopper said.
"What do you think's gonna happen to Kaen?" Ussop questioned, as they rounded the corner to the outside of the building.
"I don't know. But it can't be anything good if he was injected with a beta form of the S-IQ." Chopper said.
~Kaen~
"Clever of you to take the antidote while I was distracted." Dr. Indigo said, kicking Kaen. "How unfortunate, for you. It seems all my beta S-IQ did was make you weaker."
"You bastard." Kaen growled.
"What's wrong? Speak up, I can't hear you." Dr. Indigo said, kicking Kaen multiple times, before his shoe was caught by Kaen's hand.
"You're wrong about what that formula did to me." Kaen said, his voice letting off a deep guttural reverberation as he spoke.
Dr. Indigo pulled back his foot, before stepping back as Kaen's body grew in size, tearing through what remained of his suit, as crimson red fur began to grow on his arms down the just above his wrists on the back of his hands, with skin on his pectorals and abdomen remaining untouched. The shadow trim around the eyes grew and covered the eyelids like eyeshadow, with amber irises. His hair was lengthened and wilder then it would be in his Wukong form, with the red stripe having turned a neon green and grown to match the length his hair grew, reaching down to the middle of his fur covered back, with two long pointed bangs of hair on both sides of his neck. His body considerably larger in height and muscle mass, which could be clearly seen through the fur that covered his arms. The fur covering the scars along his body, were a deep blood red color, making it look like the stripes of a red furred tiger.
"Incredible." Dr. Indigo smiled, though there was clear and evident fear in his voice. "The Beta S-IQ forced your DNA as a species to evolve and mutate so rapidly."
Kaen just looked at Dr. Indigo with a growl, as the shadow trim continued to grow, and decorated his face in tribal markings.
"Now, let's see if you'll obey my commands." Dr. Indigo smirked.
But before he could command Kaen to do anything, Dr. Indigo was struck in the face, and sent flying towards the other side of the research lab, creating a mess of everything. Kaen growled as he marched forward, leaving the lab and heading out towards where the battle was, before letting out a monstrous roar, echoing like the mighty Oozaru.
~Mina~
"The hell was that?" The pink haired Saiyan questioned, dropping the pink furred gorilla to the ground as she'd beaten it to submission.
"Whatever it was, it can't be good." Franky said.
"MAMA." Eri cried out, running into the courtyard with Chopper and Ussop following, Nami on Chopper's back.
"Eri." Mina cried, bringing Eri into a hug as the child ran into her arms. "Oh I'm so glad you're safe. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Mama, Papa gave me a Senzu Bean." Eri said.
"Everyone listen up." Chopper said. "Things went a little off the rails."
"What do you mean Chopper?" Robin questioned.
"Papa was infected with a beta serum of S-IQ." Eri said. "That loud roar was probably him, and the effects it had on him."
"That's not good." Franky said. "Kaen said that stuff makes animals go nuts."
"He learned that from Nami after Shiki explained it to her." Zoro said. "Just imagine what a serum like that could do to a Saiyan."
"I think we're about to find out." Franky stated, as something came falling from the sky and landed on the ground in the middle of the group, kicking up a cloud of snow and dust.
As the cloud settled, the Straw Hats looked to the epicenter of the impact, and saw the evolved Kaen there, crouched on one knee with both fists on the ground, and breathing heavily as the shadow trim around his eyes, had grown down the length of his neck, to his pectorals and abdomen, with markings on the back of his hands as well.
"The serum must be merging with the effects of the Primal Rage he took earlier." Mina said noticing the markings.
"There's no telling what kind of effects it could have." Chopper said. "It might make him go berserk like he did when the Primal Rage mixed with the Rumble Ball like he did back on Thriller Bark."
"Heads up, looks like we're in for a fight." Zoro said.
"Wait hold on." Mina called to him.
"Papa." Eri said, stepping up to Kaen. "Papa, it's me, Eri."
Kaen just remained still in the super hero landing position, and gently reached her hand out to him, and put it on his head.
"Papa, please remember me." Eri whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.
Kaen growled, and slowly reached his arms up. The Straw Hats were prepared to fight him, and protect Eri if it came to it. Reaching up Kaen wrapped his arms around Eri, returning the hug, as the markings on his visible skin receded back, and limited to his face and neck.
"Eri." Kaen said, his voice still sounding different, as he hugged her close. "Thank you for bringing me back."
"I love you Papa. I never want to lose you." Eri said.
"He's back to normal." Chopper said.
"Mostly. He's still in that evolved state of his." Ussop said.
"You can thank Eri for bringing my mind back." Kaen said, getting to his feet with Eri in his arms. "She fed me some sort of weird flower when she hugged my neck. It's fuzzy, but I do vaguely remember it."
"The IQ Flower." Robin said. "That must have been what brought you back."
"An' I got plenty more of them to spare too." Eri smiled, pulling another one out of her Duplication Pack.
"Where's Luffy?" Kaen asked.
"Fighting Shiki." Sanji said. "You gonna go after him?"
"You bet I am." Kaen stated.
"Before you go, you're gonna need a change of wardrobe." Mina said. "Your pants are barely hanging on as they are."
Kaen looked down to see his dress pants were barely keeping it together, while his shoes have already been demolished.
"Alright. Guess I could stand to use a change of wardrobe." Kaen said.
"I got just the thing brother." Franky smirked.
~Shiki~
"This cat and mouse game, has gone on long enough." Shiki said, floating above the water of his island and pulling his right leg back.
Below Shiki's sight, Second Gear Luffy was on Billy's back, both of them fighting against the Golden Lions Captain.
"Slicing Wave." Shiki called out, severing a huge portion of the water from the rest.
As the water began to fall, and divide into pieces, Luffy and Billy did their best to dodge the falling water, but were inevitably trapped by Shiki's move as all the water converged onto one point, in a parameter that they were well within, before the water broke apart, and began to resemble an atom, with Luffy and Billy at the center mass.
"This battle's over kid." Shiki said with a laugh, before his transponder snail went off. "Navigation to Captain Shiki, come in Captain, its urgent."
"What is it?" Shiki questioned.
"Sir, we need to turn toward the east. A storm is coming."
"That's just what I needed." Shiki groaned looking off into the distance as he directed the islands to head east.
"SHIKI."
The Golden Lion Captain turned to his left, before he was instantly knocked back as Kaen struck him in the face, making him lose focus on Luffy and Billy before the evolved Saiyan dove into the water and pulled the two out, coughing and spitting up water.
"Kaen?" Luffy questioned.
"Yeah, it's me Captain." Kaen said.
Instead of the tattered dress pants that were about to be torn to shreds, Kaen now wore a pair of black Gi pants with red sashes around his wrists and ankles, a navy blue sash around his waist keeping the Gi pants up, with red soled black martial arts slippers.
"Oh, you look so cool." Luffy said, stars in his eyes with Billy agreeing.
"Papa does look cool, doesn't he?" Eri smiled, showing herself on his back.
"Eri?" Luffy questioned.
"She's here to fill you in on things while I handle Shiki." Kaen said, putting Eri on Billy's back with Luffy. "I'm not gonna lose to him again."
"Be careful Kaen." Luffy said. "Billy, take us some distance back."
The peacock affirmed the order and flew back, just as Shiki stopped in front of Kaen.
"The hell? Who are you?"
"I guess you wouldn't recognize me." Kaen smirked, allowing for part of his Wukong jaw to manifest on the right side of his face. "I'm the Saiyan who you pissed off earlier."
"How is this possible?" Shiki questioned. "You look so much more, primal."
"You can thank Dr. Indigo for that." Kaen stated, cracking his knuckles. "Right now, I think it's best we settle this here and now."
(Cue Music… Seven Nation Army: The White Stripes)
Kaen and Shiki flew at one another, with Shiki kicking up at Kaen with one of his sword legs, while Kaen blocked the attack with his arm, hardened like stone.
Swinging his arm out, Kaen pushed back against Shiki and hit him with a haymaker that sent Shiki into the side of one of the islands, before Kaen chased after him, and grabbed the tyrant by the throat, and kept up the momentum, forcefully making a tunnel through the island's underground, with Shiki as the shovel.
Breaking out on the other side of the island, Shiki brought up his leg and swung the blade at Kaen, forcing the Saiyan to back off, before he was just cut over the bridge of his nose.
"You damned ape. I'll make you pay for that." Shiki growled, before he charged at Kaen.
"I am gonna make you suffer for what you've done to Eri." Kaen glared, charging at Shiki.
The two Pirates clashed, creating a shockwave that pushed them back. Kaen regained his balance far faster then Shiki and charged at the tyrant, and flew straight for him, hitting the man in the stomach with a drop kick, and sending him to the surface of another of the smaller islands, building up a cloud of dust, before Kaen dispersed the cloud as he pierced the cloud and slammed his fist into the ground next to Shiki's head, as the blonde old man moved his head to avoid the strike.
"You're so much stronger then I expected. I should have offered you a place among my crew alongside your daughter, and Baby Doll." Shiki said, flying out from Kaen's reach.
"I'd rather die then join your crew." Kaen growled, charging his body with One-for-All. "One-for-All: Maryland SMASH." He called out, clapping his hands together, creating a powerful gale of wind that sent Shiki fumbling through the air.
"You can control the wind?" Shiki gasped.
"Nope. Iowa: SMASH." Kaen said, appearing over Shiki and hitting him with a downward strike. "I just create strong gusts of wind with pure brute strength."
Shooting right to the ground below, Shiki quickly caught himself, and flew back away from Kaen, trying to gain as much distance as possible from the evolved Saiyan.
"You're more trouble then you'd be worth." Shiki growled.
"Then I guess it's a good thing I didn't join your crew." Kaen growled with a smirk.
Before Shiki could retort, the wind began to pick up, and he looked to the distance to see storm clouds heading straight for them.
"An afro?" Shiki questioned in shock.
"You really are an idiot." Kaen stated, catching Shiki off guard as he slammed his knee into the tyrants sternum. "Those are storm clouds. You were bamboozled into driving your own islands into a storm." He exclaimed, twisting around and hitting Shiki with an elbow to his back.
"I will not allow you to keep insulting me like this." Shiki growled, flipping forward as he went straight for the ground, and jumped back before creating giant lions out of the dirt and soil. "Prepare to die."
Kaen just looked at Shiki, before he fired several Ki blasts at the lions, destroying them with ease as he went straight for the blonde captain, and hit him in the neck with a roundhouse kick.
"This is the end for you Shiki." Kaen growled. "NOW."
Shiki was surprised at Kaen shouting that, before he looked up and saw Luffy in Third Gear, with a giant foot, heading straight for him with an axe kick.
"Gum-Gum: Giant Axe." Luffy called out, as lightning from the storm surged through him, electrocuting Shiki as he made contact and sent the man down to the ground.
(End Song…)
Holding his arm out, Kaen caught the shrunken Luffy as he fell, while Billy came to the Saiyan's side with Eri on his back.
"Did we get him Papa?" Eri asked.
"It doesn't look like it." Kaen said. "If we had, then the islands would be falling right now due to him being unconscious, but they're still floating, so be on guard."
"Damn it, I thought that would have done the trick for sure." The shrunken Luffy cursed.
Before Kaen could retort, the ground beneath them began to tremble, and rise as Shiki made one massive lion from the soil, far larger then any they'd seen him make.
"This, is the end for all of you." Shiki glared, blood dripping from his head as the wheel connected to his skull was broken in several area.
"Billy, let's go." Eri said.
"Eri wait." Kaen called to her, but Billy had already flown off towards Shiki.
"Hey Shiki." Eri called out, electricity surging around her arms as he body trembled in anger. "I'm no one's weapon."
Leaping from Billy's back, Eri flew straight for her kidnapper. As she flew, Kaen was in awe as the white fur on her ears and tail become completely blue, without any white to be seen, and her tail split into two, with electricity surging around both of them.
Flying faster then she'd ever flown before, Eri slammed her fists into Shiki's chest, pushing him back. Unfortunately, the electrical charge and force of her strike wasn't strong enough to knock Shiki out, and just pushed him back, before he had his dirt lion catch him.
"Annoying little gnat." Shiki hissed, making the lion hit Eri with its paw.
As Eri flew back, her flight into the distance was stopped as Kaen caught her.
"Nice try kitten, but let's work together this time." Kaen smiled. "Billy." The peacock came to Kaen's side, and he dropped the still shrunken Luffy onto his back. "You two stay back, and enjoy the show. Ready Eri?"
"Ready Papa." Eri smiled, standing on his hand, and crouching down like she was ready to pounce.
"Combo Attack." Kaen said, coursing One-for-All, through his entire body, with Eri charging up as much electricity as she could muster. "Fastball Special: Electric Tiger."
Throwing Eri as hard as he could, Kaen smirked as he saw Shiki's eyes widen in horror as he saw the silhouette of a large tiger composed of lightning envelop the child, before Eri slammed into his chest, sending a wave of electricity through him and breaking several of his ribs, rendering him unconscious as the lion made of dirt and soil began to break apart, and the islands began to quake and fall from the skies.
"Hurry we have to get back to the Sunny." Kaen called out, as Eri flew back into his arms.
With Billy flying at his side, the evolved Saiyan and peacock flew as fast as they could, heading straight for the main island that Shiki's palace was on. There on deck, was the rest of the crew, taking shelter as the ship began to fall, with Shiki's sail acting as a makeshift parachute.
"Eri, get into the Crows Nest with Mama and Zoro." Kaen said putting Eri on Billy's back. "Captain, would you mind if I handled it from here?"
"Go for it Kaen." Luffy said, returning to normal before Billy flew straight for the ship.
Without missing a beat, Kaen severed the ropes connecting Shiki's sail to the Sunny, and flew under the keel of the ship. Putting his hands on the center of the ship, Kaen pushed with all his strength, and the added strength of One-for-All, before he stopped the ship from falling through the air.
Pushing up with his back against the underside of the ship, Kaen smirked as he flew in the opposite direction of the storm.
"Need a hand there stranger?"
Kaen looked to his side, and gasped, when he saw the people of the village from Shiki's flying islands, were flying alongside him and the ship, like a flock of birds with the feathers growing from their wings, fully extended as they flew next to him.
"I honestly shouldn't be surprised." Kaen smirked. "Listen, you don't wanna get associated with us. Down bellow there's a fleet of Marines, they might be able to help you. Either way, your chances of living normal lives are better if you go with them."
"We'll take your word for it." One of the villagers said. "But thank you for your help, and for liberating us from Shiki's control."
With a simple nod and a smile, Kaen flew ahead of the flock, before they turned back towards the falling islands. After making sure they were out of reach of the marines that had come for Shiki's head, Kaen lowered the Sunny to the sea bellow, and flew out of the water and landed on the ship with a smile on his face.
"It feels good to be alive."
~Three Days Later~
"Oh wow Kaen, you look like your old self again." Mina said, looking Kaen up and down as he examined himself.
"I know. Guess the evolution was only temporary. Still, lasted for a few days, a whole lot longer then Chopper's Rumble Balls." Kaen said. "Speaking of the Good Doctor, is he checking up on Nami?"
"He's currently checking up on Eri's condition." Mina said. "We haven't found a way to reverse what Dr. Indigo did to her yet, but we're not gonna give up."
"I don't think she's interested in undoing her evolution." Kaen said. "She seems to like having this evolved state of herself."
"Still, if she's gonna keep herself like this, then she needs to learn to control her new abilities." Mina said. "She's a Saiyan like us, but didn't evolve the same way you did."
"Because she was injected with perfected versions of the S-IQ Serum." Kaen said. "Relax Mina, she'll be fine."
"Hey everyone, look who's up and about." Chopper called out, coming down the steps with Nami behind him, wearing only a white button up shirt that was big on her.
"Where's Eri?" Mina asked.
"Taking a nap. I had her discharge some electricity for me, and she seemed to be exhausted from it." Chopper explained.
"Glad to see you're up and about now Nami." Kaen smiled.
"I hope you're feeling better. That poisoning looked rather harsh." Brook said.
"Glad to have you back, Navigator." Zoro smiled.
"Hey Nami." Luffy called to her, sounding angry while still holding the Tonedial. "Mind explaining what you meant in this message?"
"Huh?" Nami asked. "You still have that thing?"
"In your message, you said I'd never amount to Shiki, that he'd kill me and I wasn't strong enough to face him." Luffy said.
"Hang on… Luffy, did you not listen to the whole message?" Zoro asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Luffy, you stopped the Tonedial right before the message could finish, and stormed off to punch a stone wall." Kaen said. "Listen to the message again, and listen to the whole thing this time."
"Alright." Luffy said.
"No wait hang on." Nami said, blushing as she wanted to stop Luffy from hearing the whole message, but Mina was stopping her. "Hey, let go of me."
"No way, Luffy deserves to hear the whole thing." Mina smiled.
"If you get this message, please forgive me for not saying goodbye in person. This might be tough to hear, but I've made up my mind to become Shiki's navigator. It's just… Shiki is a legendary pirate, possibly the most powerful man alive. There's nothing you could do, to match up to him."
"Papa… Papa, I know you're listening. I have faith you'll come and save me. You're stronger then Shiki, and I believe in you. I'll hold out hope, for you to come and keep your word and save us from Shiki."
"He's bound to kill you if you come after us. An' if you don't believe me, then come and prove me wrong."
~A/N~
As you can see, Kaen achieved SSJ4 through the S-IQ serum, and though his power level isn't equivalent to that of SSJ4, he's still stronger then in his base form.