BLP 18:
"So all three of you made it to the next round? That's great!" Bulma exclaimed, smiling at the three boys in orange gis standing in front of her.
"Usopp you dolt, what were you doing in there?" Nami scolded the muscular man in front of her who came back only with news of his defeat. She saw something out the corner of her eye and snapped her head that way as well, "And you!" The dog that was slowly trying to sneak away shot to attention and saluted the woman. "Aren't you supposed to be the royal knight? How did you lose?!"
"Gawrsh Nami, I'm sorry," Goofy apologized, shifting his weight from one foot to the other with a sad look on his face.
Nami's own heart felt sad just looking at the dejected dog and she said softer, "Oh it's fine Goofy."
"Well I feel much better," Usopp said, but then Nami snapped her attention back to him and kept glaring.
"Just because it's okay for him, doesn't mean it is for you Mr. Hero." She scolded, leaning over him and glaring down into his eyes. "What have you been doing these last three years?"
"Shishishi," Luffy laughed as Nami yelled at the other two.
Robin turned to her captain and gave the younger man a small smile. "I heard you did quite well Captain-san."
"You should have seen him," Krillin exclaimed to the black haired woman. "Just by looking at that Chiaotzu guy he knocked out half of the competitors! I've never seen anything like it!"
Robin's eyes opened a little wider and she looked back at her Captain in surprise. I've never seen it before, but I have heard rumors. She looked to her right and from the look on Captain Smoker's face, it seemed that those rumors were true. Haki of the Conquering King, Conqueror's Haki. Only a few are said to ever be born with it. She looked back at her captain and the smile reappeared on her face, You truly are an amazing man.
"Thanks Robin," Luffy told her for her congratulations. "It was a tough fight though," he admitted, which kind of annoyed him considering how much that small guy pissed him off.
"Well I'm glad you beat him," Krillin said. "That little guy was giving me the creeps."
"The look on that bastard's face when his friend got knocked out was priceless," Yamcha laughed, thinking about the panic on Tien's face at that moment.
"And I'm sure the Crane Hermit isn't too pleased either," Bulma added with a laugh. "His jaw was dropped so far I'm surprised he didn't swallow some bugs."
"By the way Bulma," Goku started, making the blue haired older girl look down at her short friend. "Where is Master Roshi?"
The pink pig with them snorted and shrugged his shoulders. Goku turned to his friend and Oolong started, "He's been gone almost since we got here. The old man's probably trying to sneak into the girl's bathroom."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Bulma agreed.
"Hey," a voice snapped from behind them and the whole group spun around. Standing there was a man in a black suit wearing a black hat and sunglasses. "I'm gone for just a little while and you start talking about me behind my back?" Roshi asked in annoyance. "If you must know, I was secretly watching the preliminaries."
"You saw?" Goku asked excitedly.
Roshi nodded and looked to the three of his students in their orange gis with the turtle school's symbol on the back. "All three of you have improved greatly. I am not surprised you made it into the finals with ease."
Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha beamed at their Master's praise. Goku turned to the others after a few seconds and mentioned, "Do you guys know if Jackie won his fight?"
"Why don't you ask him?" Yamcha suggested, nodding his head over to the silent Marine with gray hair.
Before anyone could ask, Smoker growled in a loud voice, "Our match was interrupted." He looked back over towards the group and stared at Master Roshi for a few seconds, looking straight into the old man's eyes. Now, Master Roshi had convinced a lot of people that he and Jackie Chun were not the same person, but something told him even attempting to tell this man otherwise was not going to work out well.
Robin followed Smoker's gaze for the few seconds he was looking at Master Roshi, and a small smile came to her face. That facial hair is unmistakeable. I bet he still has his blue wig under that hat. She giggled to herself then noticed Smoker start glaring pretty harshly over at Luffy. Her own eyes narrowed as she saw the movement of his eyes, His look is different. He's not playing around anymore. She turned back to her captain and started putting the pieces together, The Marines would not allow pirates with the Conqueror's Haki to stay alive. Smoker has not done anything as of yet, but I fear that may change very soon.
"So how many matches are left?" Puar asked, the small blue cat floating at Yamcha's shoulder trying to count off the finalists.
"Well already in is me, Krillin, and Goku," Yamcha listed off, then his face turned sour. "And that triclops, Tien made it too." He smiled again as he turned and looked at another member of their group, "Not to mention Luffy."
"I still have my match with your old friend Nam," Sora said to the tall man in front of him.
Bulma's eyes widened as did Launch's next to her. Both women with blue hair started sweating and Bulma said, "The semi-finalist from last year? Oh no!"
Sora scratched the back of his head, "Haha, thanks for the vote of confidence Bulma."
The young woman instantly realized that Sora was probably nervous enough as it is without her making Nam out to be a monster. She laughed nervously a few times and said, "I'm sure you can do it kid." After she said it though, she looked back towards the building that was undergoing some repairs. Actually, I'm already surprised that you made it this far. Though, I never expected Luffy to make it to the finals either. Maybe, Sora's actually got a chance.
"Remaining fighters, attention all remaining fighters." A voice shouted over the loudspeaker and everyone lifted their heads up and listened. "Please return to the preliminary stages so that we can get on with the final matches of the preliminary round."
"Well, wish me luck guys," Sora said to the few members of their group that they were leaving behind.
"We'll be cheering you on the whole time," Nami told him, standing back up from her seat and walking forward like the rest of the fighters.
They all looked at her in confusion and Krillin started sheepishly, "Sorry Nami, but only contestants can enter the room."
Nami smirked and said, "That's fine. Are only contestants allowed to stand next to giant holes in the wall?" She asked sarcastically, pointing back towards the building where the giant hole Luffy smashed in it earlier was still there. "Uh oh," she started as she saw some other people much closer to it rushing over and blocking the view. "Looks like I wasn't the only one thinking it."
"That's too bad," Launch said, the sweet innocent woman with long dark blue hair sighing.
Bulma smirked as she got an idea and she turned to her friend next to her. "Hey Launch," the other woman turned her way and Bulma threw some pepper in her face that she got from the table.
"Bulma," Launch started in confusion. "What was that for?" She asked. Before Bulma could respond, Launch lifted up her head a little and a little more, and then her head snapped forward and she sneezed. Most of the group with the Keybearers gawked and they suddenly realized something. The same woman was standing there, only now her hair had turned golden blond, just like the woman they met the day before.
"They were the same person?!" Sora exclaimed.
"How does sneezing change someone's hair color?" Usopp asked in just as much confusion.
Launch looked between all the guys right over to the hole in the wall that they were walking towards. She reached behind her back and when her arms were back in front of her, she was holding up a submachine gun. The pirates, Sora, and Goofy all dropped their jaws as Launch started shooting up in the air and scaring everyone around her into running away. "Move it! If you don't want a bullet in your head you better get out of my way!" Launch stormed over towards the building and all the people blocking their view of the inside sprinted away in fear.
Bulma and Oolong just casually strolled behind their friend and the rest of them followed with more sheepish looks. After a few seconds though, Nami smiled and thought, That was pretty smart of her. Using her friend's dual personalities to her advantage. Very manipulative, just like me. Nami grinned and walked right up next to Bulma, smiling in at the girl around her age who grinned right back.
"This is so embarrassing," Krillin muttered as he followed after the rest of them. He was just glad that he and the other fighters got to go around and actually enter the building instead of standing with crazy Launch.
Smoker growled at the blond woman who thought she could do whatever she wanted, but he turned his attention back to the shirtless pirate captain who had a string around his neck that held a straw hat on it. Staring at the straw hat on that pirate's back only made him angrier, Straw Hat, I am not going to follow you any longer. I will find Tashigi, and I will do it without teaming up with a pirate like you.
Little did the Marine know, someone was watching him not very far away. A cloaked figure leaned back against a wall across the waiting area from the main tournament building. Under the shadow of his cloak he watched as Smoker walked away, and then in the corner of his eye he noticed something and turned. Staring right over at him was a tall, muscular man with three eyes.
Tien stared across the waiting area where most people had cleared out of when Launch started firing. He looked straight at the figure in a black cloak, and he thought about the day before when he signed up for the competition. It's the same guy alright. He was watching me yesterday. Tien took a step towards him, then all three of his eyes widened at the sight of the man sinking down into the floor. A dark circle surrounded his feet and he vanished among a swirl of black tendrils before it all vanished, leaving no trace of the man who was there.
The triclops glared at the spot where the figure disappeared. How did he do that? Grr, why do I have the feeling whoever that was is incredibly powerful? He humphed and turned back towards the building, "These preliminaries better end soon. I am already disappointed by the competition, these remaining matches will most likely not pique my interest." He chuckled smugly to himself and then walked towards the doorway.
Tien stared slack-jawed at the stage in front of him. He had sweat on both sides of his face and a confused expression to match.
Yamcha wasn't far off and the young man with dark hair exclaimed, "What is he?"
"G-G-Goku, you see that right?" Krillin asked his best friend.
"I see it Krillin, but it's hard to believe right?" Goku rubbed his eyes a little but the sight of the person in front of him remained the same.
Jackie Chun might have been the most shocked of them all. As soon as his match started he raced forward and punched his opponent in the chest faster than the man was able to dodge. He had the feeling his foe was strong, so he did not want to hold back much. However, once he punched the man, his hand went straight through Smoker's chest, and the younger man with gray hair exploded out around his fist as a plume of smoke.
Captain Smoker was sweating a little too, as his opponent approached him almost faster than he could see. All he saw was a blur and he did not even have time to counter before the disguised Master Roshi slammed a fist through him. His legs remained standing on the floor, but his chest around the white toga he got from the Olympic Coliseum blew up into smoke. His face was also remaining and he ground his teeth while glaring down at the old man in front of him.
The five hundred year old man looked up a little and saw Smoker's harsh gaze, but had no idea why it was directed at him. Truthfully, Smoker had nothing against Master Roshi. The only thought on his mind at the moment was, I need to make it to the next round. I need to face Mugiwara! If I don't stop him here, he will be the greatest threat to the Marines. A pirate is a pirate. They can call him a hero all they want. He knows it and I know it, he will never change. Smoker lifted up both fists and punched them forward at his opponent.
Jackie pulled his arm out of Smoker and started doing backflips, landing on his hands and flipping again to his feet, then flipping to his hands, all the way back across the stage. As he backflipped, the fists that Smoker punched flew after him, and during one of the flips, a fist with a trail of smoke behind it extending fifteen feet all the way back to Smoker's torso slammed straight into Chun's stomach. The old man oofed, but then swung his other arm incredibly fast and parried Smoker's following punch.
Smoker was stunned as the man did not just block his fist, but blocked at just the right angle to send his hand off to the right, giving the old man a perfect path straight between his arms. As he tried bringing back both of his arms, Jackie raced straight up to his torso and released a flurry of punches and kicks. His form was amazing, and Smoker could barely follow his movements, but not a single time did Jackie break through his defenses. Jackie saw Smoker rising a knee up towards his chest and he sidestepped to the left, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the real attack coming: one of Smoker's fists from before that finally made it back to his main body.
Master Roshi, or Jackie Chun, hopped up in the air right over the fist and tapped the top of it with his foot, knocking the hand down so that it slammed into the floor and punched a hole in the ground. As Roshi was in the air though, he noticed the second fist coming for him, and he reached up a hand and grabbed it by the wrist. As he clenched down on the wrist though, the entire hand just dissolved into smoke. "How are you doing this?" Roshi asked, spinning around in midair towards the younger man who thought he had gotten the drop on him as he reformed his whole body from smoke.
The Marine's eyes widened as he realized the old man knew where he was the whole time. He snarled and started punching forward fast, his fists flying like Luffy's Gum Gum Gattling Gun, only a little slower as his fists didn't bounce back to him with each punch. Roshi lifted up his hands in open palms and stopped each of the blows before they reached him, catching each punch so that it lost its momentum and then releasing to grab another one. The flurry of their arms moving was astonishing to most people spectating the fight.
Tien's three eyes narrowed up in the air. So that's Jackie Chun. He moves impeccably. Each of his movements is exactly as he wants it to be, moving gracefully while still powerfully. His form is as close as perfection as could be without being me. That other man though. His smoke power is something to be careful of. I must find a way to get around it.
"You can do it!" Sora called out.
"Go for it Smoky!" Luffy yelled up in the air, pumping a fist.
"Don't cheer for me!" Smoker shouted down, giving Master Roshi the chance he needed to close the gap and slam a fist into Smoker when he wasn't paying attention. Even as he did, Smoker's Logia powers kicked in anyway and his head burst into smoke as the fist flew through him. Smoker snarled that he was caught off guard, so he rushed all the smoke around him into one place and wrapped around his enemy who was still in the air. He dropped fast and slammed Roshi down to the ground.
"Jackie!" Goku exclaimed, looking nervous at how hard Smoker brought down his friend.
"Contestant 106 and 99, please come to Stage 3."
Sora heard the announcement and spun around, but he looked back at the stage in front of him. "No, I really want to watch this match."
"As do I," a voice said on his left and he looked to see Nam standing there. The man grinned down at him, "Why don't we both stay here, then they won't be able to start our match?" The man smiled a little at the younger boy and Sora smiled back, nodding and making an affirmative 'mm' noise.
The two of them looked back at the stage as Jackie Chun wrestled free of Smoker's smoke constraints. The Marine Captain snarled and as Roshi got up to his feet, Smoker planted both of his legs down on the ground hard. Jackie looked at his opponent and started, "You really seem to want to win this fight, but I have reasons of my own for needing to make it to the next round." The man with blue hair rose up his hands into a fighting stance, narrowing his black pupils at Smoker while his opponent just growled louder.
"RAAA!" Smoker yelled louder than Jackie was talking. He yelled until the ground around his feet broke down, and smoke shot up behind him as a huge wall. The wall stretched from one side of the ring to the other, and started curling in to surround Jackie. Jackie looked back and forth for a way to escape, but in this small ring he had no way to get out of it. All he could do was run forward right into the center of the wall curling around him. Smoker's face was still on the wall of smoke, but only for a few more seconds until he disappeared into it.
Roshi spun around, looking all over the wall of smoke that started spinning around him. On the outside of the ring, everyone shouted and yelled for who they wanted to win, even if they could no longer see Jackie or the man who created the smoke wall in the first place. Grunts and crashing noises continued to come from the stage for minutes as smoke swirled around the arena.
"What's going on in there?" Krillin asked in annoyance as he could not see anything. He leaned closer to the stage, then yelped in surprise and fell backwards as the entire side of the smoke wall he was on scattered and a blue beam came flying out of it.
"HAAA!" Jackie finished his Kamehameha Wave right where he thought his opponent was, and the wall broke apart leaving only half of the stage covered. Everyone who looked inside the smoke and saw the former winner of the tournament lowered their jaws at the sight of his body bulked up three times the size of the short man from before. His black shirt was gone, ripped off by his huge bulking muscles. He looked serious as he had a few bruises on his face now from fists that were flying out of the wall from all directions.
Smoker's upper half stuck out of the half of the smoke wall still remaining for a few seconds. He was panting heavily and his eyes were wide as he stared at the huge old man. This is crazy. How could an old man have so much strength. This world itself is full of strong fighters… Actually, we are at the tournament where the strongest fighters in the world gather. Still, I would not be surprised if he is the strongest man in the world. Which makes this a great time to test my strength.
The wall of smoke started to disperse around Smoker and he landed on the ground across his tournament stage from Jackie. "Hey old man," Smoker started, getting Jackie's attention. "I don't know why you're in this tournament, or why it is you're hiding." He just left it at that, not wanting to say too much since he knew Master Roshi understood, even if a few of the others got confused. "But I am going to win this fight. I need to win this fight."
"Wow, I didn't know Smoker was so into this tournament," Sora mentioned in surprise upon hearing what Smoker was saying.
Usopp was nearby Sora and he narrowed his eyes at the older man. "Yeah, me neither," he said, getting suspicious of the Marine's true motives.
"106 and 99? 106 and 99 please come to Stage 3 or we will have to disqualify you both."
Sora and Nam snapped their heads to each other and they both had the same nervous, but also disappointed look on their faces. "Alright," Sora conceded, "let's go have our match." He motioned his head to the side. He turned back to Usopp for a second and said with a grin, "Save my spot, I'll be back in a minute."
"Ohh? Confident are you?" Nam questioned the child who started walking with him over towards another stage. He would not underestimate this young teenager, as it was in this very same competition three years ago that Goku defeated him, even younger than Sora is now.
Sora laughed a few times, then smiled up at the man next to him, "Not really." As he said it, Nam noticed the sweat on both sides of his face and he sweatdropped himself.
"Hey Sora, wait up," a voice said behind him. He turned around and smiled even wider seeing Goofy running after him.
"You don't want to watch the end of that match?" Sora asked his dog-like friend.
"I do, hyuck," Goofy replied, confusing Sora. He continued though, "But I would rather watch my friend."
"Haha, thanks Goofy," Sora told him, a brighter smile coming to his face upon hearing that.
He turned back around and he and Nam went over to their stage where the flustered judge gave them annoyed looks that showed he had been waiting for them for a while. Nam looked down at the boy as they each hopped up on the stage, "You have some good friends."
Sora smiled back at the guy, "I know." He walked to the opposite side of the ring and lifted up both hands in front of him. "Goku and the others have really made you out to be pretty strong, so I'm going all out from the start." A flash of white light appeared in front of Sora and in his hands appeared a golden hilt followed by a long golden shaft.
Nam nodded his head and bowed to the boy, "I will not hold back either. I hope this will be a good match."
Sora nodded, then looked down at the Keyblade hilt in his hands. I was right, this Keyblade is stronger than the others. One hit with it knocked my last strong opponent right out of the ring. Against people I need to be careful, though, I have a feeling Nam can take it. He lifted up his weapon and planted his feet down on the ground, getting ready for the official to start the match.
Back over at the stage with Jackie and Smoker, the fight was raging intensely. Jackie's attacks were relentless, and he started attacking more using his energy as his physical blows seemed to do nothing against this opponent. Smoker was fast though, and he dodged each one of Jackie's attacks that took longer to charge than his normal punches and kicks. "White Blow!" Smoker yelled, punching his right fist forward while focusing his mind on it. The fist flew at Jackie faster than Smoker's normal punches with a stream of smoke coming out behind it.
Right as his fist was about to collide, Jackie noticed it glisten for a second with a shiny black coating. He leaned backwards and the fist passed over his head, but it nicked him in the face and blood splashed up from a shallow cut on his chin. As he leaned back up, the Master's eyes widened to see Smoker was right behind his fist, and now had his other arm pulled back, concentrating on that fist instead of his other one. He slammed the fist forward right into Jackie's gut, but he growled angrily as the black coating never surrounded his fist.
I still can't get Armament consistently enough, he thought with a pissed off expression on his face, then shot up in the air as Roshi lifted up both arms quickly and yelled, "Lightning Surprise Attack!" Smoker barely got up above the flash of golden light before it shot underneath him and scorched half of the arena.
"Darn," Roshi exclaimed as he looked up at his opponent whose legs turned into smoke just before his attack hit them. He was not very injured from just the normal punch to the stomach, though this man was much stronger than his previous competitors in the preliminaries. He also noticed that black coating on Somker's fists and knew he had to be careful of them.
"I know you can do it Jackie!" Goku called up to the old man who beat him in the finals of the last tournament.
"Go for it Mr. Chun!" Krillin exclaimed.
Luffy opened his mouth to cheer for Smoky, but then remembered the last time how he got the man distracted enough for Jackie Chun to land an attack on him, however ineffective. He knew if Smoker got distracted this time though, it would result in something much worse than last time. So he stayed quiet.
The older man began moving much faster than before as Smoker came for him with a flurry of punches and kicks. Every time, Roshi noticed the man's expression getting deeper and deeper rooted in anger. He flipped backwards once more as the gray-haired man attacked, and Smoker's fist slammed down into the floor. It was covered in that black coating again and smashed straight through the ground.
Usopp's eyes narrowed as he noticed the black coating of Haki on Smoker's hand. What is that?
Smoker snarled and snapped his head back up. His angry look faltered at the sight of the older man standing right in front of him. Chun spoke in a voice only loud enough for the two of them to hear, "You have incredible skill, but you are fighting in anger. You should not draw strength from your rage."
"Shut it," Smoker growled, and slammed a fist right into Jackie's face. As his fist collided though, it went through his opponent just like Jackie's were going through him. He spun around, then kept spinning as Jackie appeared all around him. The spectators gasped on the inside and outside of the building where others were cheering. It suddenly looked like there were eight Jackie Chuns around the stage, as the elderly fighter was moving so fast that Smoker could not tell which one was the real him.
Anger? Rage? No! I only fight for Justice. The Marine opened up both fists and slammed his palms down into the ground at his feet. At that moment, his opponent stopped moving right behind him and held out his hands forward. Master Roshi started yelling out his attack, when a wave of debris flew up in the air from Smoker's attack on the ground below him. The Marine left the martial artist's sight for only a few seconds, but just like that he was gone.
Jackie looked around, stopping his attack midway through it. He felt the presence behind him and started to turn, only to see the younger man up in the air behind him with his body completely twisted to the side. Smoker slammed down his fists into Jackie Chun's chest at point blank. While his fists pressed into the old man, the Marine roared, "WHITE BLOW!" Both of his fists shot off of his forearms, a trail of smoke following them as they pushed the old man back, and back farther until he was flying off the stage.
"Jackie!" Goku exclaimed as the man went flying over their heads.
Jackie Chun winced and looked back towards the ring as he was sent flying away from it. Perhaps it is time for a new generation of fighters. Master Roshi, you are getting too old for this. He closed his eyes as the fists pressing against him flew back towards the sender and he dropped out of the air down towards the stage beneath him. The old man flipped backwards in midair and landed on his feet, but unfortunately the stages in the preliminary room were not very large, and he was over on a different stage now, right in between a teenage boy with brown spiky hair, and a dark skinned man who looked shocked to see him.
Nam and Sora stared in surprise at the old muscular man who just dropped on their ring. "Excuse me sir," the Judge officiating the match began while facing Jackie. "I need to ask you to get off the stage."
My time is done, Roshi looked over towards the stage he was just on. The panting man on the stage who had the power to turn himself into smoke was glaring in his direction, or more precisely, a teenager running his direction with the others. He followed the man's gaze the the skinny rubberman's back, and then looked back towards him. Smoker, you are an incredible fighter with quite the amazing power. Do not let your anger take control of you.
Jackie Chun walked off of the stage while Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha ran up to him. They started shouting and telling him they thought he was going to win, but the old man just shook his head without responding to any of them. Everyone watching from the hole in the wall started to feel strange as they stared at the former champion. Even Smoker himself stopped panting as hard and looked over towards Jackie Chun with a confused look. The old man sighed as he looked down at Goku, "Good luck in your matches," he told the boy. He looked at the other two of his students in orange gis, "All of you have improved a lot from last tournament." The old man nodded once more at them, then said softly, "Goodbye."
Sora and Nam watched as the old fighter turned and walked back towards the door of the arena. All the fighters who lost their earlier matches, and the others who won, just watched as Jackie walked through the crowd. Krillin took a step after Jackie, "Where, do you think he's going?" The short boy asked in a shaky voice. "Isn't he going to watch the rest of the matches."
Goku stared seriously at Jackie's back while the man walked away. "I don't think he's coming back Krillin." For some reason, Goku felt like that 'Goodbye' was for good, and it saddened him.
Luffy was looking over at Jackie Chun's back while the old man left too, but he turned back to Smoker before most other people stopped watching Jackie. The pirate grinned and laughed a few times. "Shishishi, nice job Smoky."
The Marine stopped looking at Jackie Chun and his teeth ground against each other. He snapped his gaze to Luffy and the pirate immediately realized the look Smoker was giving him was different than usual. Smoker's eyes were narrowed and his fists re-clenched. "Straw Hat," he growled, walking over to the edge of his ring and stepping off. He walked straight towards Luffy who stood his ground and just looked up a little as the Marine came closer. "I said not to cheer for me," he snarled at the younger man, then pushed Luffy aside and kept walking.
"Oi Smoky, what's wrong?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side as the man walked past. Usopp turned in and saw his captain looking at Smoker's back with a frown on his face. Luffy continued, "That looked like a great match, I wish I could have fought him too-"
Smoker's snarl was getting deeper and deeper. He hated every single word coming out of the pirate's mouth. Why does he speak like we are comrades? I have to kill him. I am a Marine, he is a pirate! RAA! "Quiet," the Marine growled in a deep voice. He noticed the muscular man on his right side glaring at him, and he turned a little and glared just as hard back at Usopp. All these pirates are dangerous. Once I am done with Straw Hat, you will be next. He bared his teeth once more, then turned and walked away, looking very pissed as he did.
Nami and Bulma noticed the Marine after they looked away from Jackie Chun's retreating form. Both women felt themselves start sweating badly. After watching the former champ get beaten, no one wanted to be in this man's way, especially with the look he had on his face right now. Smoker walked over towards the hole in the wall where the spectators were trying to watch, and they backed up out of his way. He hopped through and walked right between Nami and Bulma, then past Nico Robin who he shot a harsh glare. And you Nico Robin, I have not forgotten what you did in Agrabah. All of you pirates. You are a menace, not heroes. His mind was swirling with anger and his fists were clenching so hard he could feel blood coming out of his palms.
As Smoker left the arena, and continued walking away, a single figure hiding amongst the crowd stepped out and started following Smoker. He was wearing all black, but under his hood he grinned a little at the sight of the Marine's enraged expression. No one noticed him follow after the Marine, not even the Captain himself.
"What was that all about?" Oolong whispered, his face blue with fear as he hid behind Bulma's legs.
"I don't know," Nami replied just as quietly, as if the Marine who was already long past them could still hear her. Why did we let a Marine come with us? Least of all Smoker?! She gulped and tried to keep herself from shaking, reminding herself that Smoker was on their side for now, though it was sometimes hard to tell.
"Umm, contestants?" A judge asked, making Sora and Nam turn back to him. "Your match has started," the fat monk reminded them.
"Oh, yeah," Sora said. He tried to forget about Jackie Chun landing on their stage and all the weirdness that followed for the moment, and to focus on his match instead. He lifted up both of his hands that were holding his golden Keyblade, Three Wishes, in them. "You ready Nam?" Sora asked with a small grin on his face, trying to stay calm despite how amazing that last match was.
"Yes," Nam replied. The dark-skinned man put his hands together and bowed his head. He had on a dark orange gi and a white turban on top of his head, with a pink sash over his left shoulder. "Let us begin," he stated, and turned his body to get into a fighting stance. Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha refocused on the tournament stage next to them. They tried to ignore the sad feeling they had that Jackie Chun was already out of the tournament, and to enjoy the next fight with everyone else. Luffy and Usopp walked over as well to stand next to Goofy, and the people who crowded back around the hole in the wall started cheering again.
One man who looked a lot like a bear who was standing on Nami's right side spoke to his friend next to him who looked like a dog-person. "Man, I never knew the preliminaries were this intense."
"I bet they're not," the dog-guy replied to his friend. "I think the contestants this year are just a lot stronger than usual."
"You got that right," Nami said under her breath with a little smirk on her face. She pumped a fist in the air while cupping her mouth with her other hand, "Go for it Sora!"
"Go Sora!"
"You can do it Nam!"
"Give it your best guys!"
Sora grinned at his opponent, and Nam smiled a little back, and the match really began. The two of them rushed forward at the same time. Immediately, Sora realized he was outclassed in speed. He was planning on meeting Nam in the middle of the stage, but the taller man rushed in much faster than he did, meeting him after Sora only took a few steps. Sora lifted up his Keyblade to block a punch that Nam was swinging down, only for the man to kick him in the left side when he moved his Keyblade. The punch was a feint that Sora didn't see coming, and he oofed loudly as he was hit in the side.
The teenage boy lifted off his feet and got knocked to his right a few yards. He hit the stage ground and skid across the floor until he was almost at the edge, then jumped straight up in the air. He pointed his entirely golden Keyblade down at his opponent and called out, "Fira!" Nam saw the large mass of flames approaching and he leapt up in the air to avoid them. Sora's eyes went wide as his opponent lifted much higher than he did with his jump. In fact, Nam lifted so high that he flew out the hole in the roof that Luffy broke earlier with his Axe attack.
Nam lifted higher and higher, then dropped back down towards Sora with his arms crossed his front of his face. "I have seen your fights Sora," he spoke in a low voice with an accent different than most of the people Sora had met on this world. "I told you I will not hold back."
Goku pointed up and talked to the others with him how he remembered Nam doing this against him back in their last fight three years ago. This time though, Nam was descending much faster than before, with almost a visible trail of air moving around him as he shot down. Goofy and Sora's pirate friends were starting to get a little worried as their friend dropped from the sky
Sora lifted back up his Keyblade as he landed on the floor, and held it above his head to block Nam's incoming attack. I can do this. He planted his feet down hard and held up his shiny Keyblade above him, pressing one hand against the shaft while the other clenched the hilt tight. "Cross Arm Dive!" Nam yelled as he dropped back through the roof and down towards Sora. I can stop him! Sora exclaimed in his own mind, planting his feet down even harder on the floor.
Nam's Cross Arm Dive slammed into Sora's Keyblade. For a split second, it looked like the two of them were evenly matched, pushing against each other. Then, Sora's arm bent back and his Keyblade was pushed aside. Nam kept falling and he plowed straight down into Sora's chest, knocking the teenager into the ground. Four large cracks shot out around the stage from Sora's body, making half of the audience wince themselves from how much that must have hurt. Debris flew up in the air, and Nam flipped backwards to land on his feet next to Sora.
"I apologize," Nam said to the boy lying on the floor of the cracked arena. "I believed you were stronger," he said, trying not to sound taunting, while also explaining why he was so brutal.
"Wow," Krillin said with a bead of sweat on the side of his face. "Nam really packs a whallop," he said nervously.
The judge on the side ran over and looked down at the boy in the middle of the cracks. His eyes were partially open, and he moaned to himself at how much that hurt him. I really couldn't block it. My chest feels so heavy, agh, Sora pushed one hand down on his side, not the one that hurt so much from trying to hold onto his golden Keyblade hilt while it was being pushed aside. His Keyblade itself was lying on the floor not far from him, but Sora didn't crawl over to grab it. "Are you sure you want to continue?" The judge asked quietly as Sora was standing back up, surprising Nam and most of the spectators watching.
"Huh?" Sora asked, looking to the fat man next to him. He was hunched over, breathing heavily, with an arm limp at his side, and dirt all over his face, but he smiled at the monk anyway. "I'm just getting warmed up," he said cockily, then turned back to Nam with the same grin. "Guess I can't wait until the finals," he said and lifted up both of his hands in front of him. His left arm felt like mush, but he ignored that and just focused on one word. Keyblade. A few feet away from Sora, the Keyblade on the ground disappeared in a hundred shards of white light. In his hands, a yellow hilt appeared, and a long silver shaft extended out from it. He looked at the Kingdom Key and smiled, always having liked the design for this one. He held it up and called out, "Cura!" A green light shimmered from the blade and surrounded his body, and he instantly felt a lot better.
He pointed his weapon back down at Nam and continued, "You're going down."
Nam put his hands back together in front of him and closed his eyes. I did not wish to hurt this boy, but it seems maybe I was right to treat him as an equal. I must finish him as if I were fighting Goku. Nam's eyes snapped open and his arms moved around into a fighting stance. He started racing forward, but Sora charged in faster this time, swinging back and forth with his Keyblade.
He clashed his Keyblade into Nam's left forearm, since the darker man blocked his swipe, then he leaned forward over his weapon so that his face was close to Nam's. "I wanted to wait until the finals to use this, but you're much stronger than my other opponents were." Sora pushed off his opponent's arm and flipped backwards. Nam made to follow, but froze as Sora did not come down to the ground. The boy who was flipping backwards hesitated in midair. He held out his arms to his sides, pushing his head back and facing up towards the ceiling. While he did all this, his body surrounded in a bright white light that amazed everyone watching him. The judge stepped back and Nam stared through the light at his foe. Many of the spectators dropped their jaws and watched in awe as the light vanished to reveal Sora in a set of red clothing, holding both his Kingdom Key, and the golden Three Wishes Keyblades.
The young teen dropped back to the floor and held his Keyblades out. In his right hand he held the Kingdom Key parallel to his waist, and he held his Three Wishes up with his left hand, ready to strike with it from above. "Valor!" Sora called out, and he swiped his Keyblades in front of him.
"Where did that boy get two weapons?"
"What was with that light?"
"Go for it Sora!" Nami shouted, surprising the other spectators around her who were all confused about what was going on. Bulma and her friends lost their shocked looks after a few seconds and looked at Nami nervously. They turned back to Sora, and it was Launch who first got over it and called out the teen's name, "Yeah, kick his ass Sora." The blond woman with long curly hair yelled at her friends for being so timid and soon, Bulma, Oolong, and Puar all joined in with the cheering, while Robin just chuckled from behind them.
Sora charged forward and Nam noticed his increase in speed since the boy reached him in only a few steps this time. He had to dodge the boy's Keyblades as Sora swung them faster than before. Nam dodged left and right, occasionally pushing a Keyblade aside if it came too close to him. He leaned backwards away from one of the blades, only to feel a rush of wind so fast that it knocked him back a few feet. The grown man took a deep breath to calm himself down and he jumped up in the air, doing five front flips up over Sora's head. The younger man was stronger than before, and he pressed his legs down hard, then jumped up in the air after Nam. Sora swung both of his Keyblades and slashed across Nam's crossed arms as the man was passing over him.
Nam thought he could protect himself from the blunt weapons, but the Keyblades hurt much more than they looked like they would. His guard was broken in only two slashes by Sora, and the teen continued slashing his body after that. He slashed with both blades coming from the left side, then slashed back from the right. He swung one down at him, and the other up, then crossed them across Nam's body. Sora twisted his entire body in midair, and yelled out as he finished his combo with a powerful double swing of his Keyblades. The visible slash that left the end of his Keyblades went through one side of Nam and out the other.
The muscular fighter gasped out and blood splashed from his mouth. Sora was already falling back down towards the ground having finished his combo, but Nam was falling headfirst towards the ground. The man in the turban opened his eyes a little right before he hit the ground, and he flipped himself so that he landed on his feet. His feet hit the ground and his legs bent down far, so much actually that he had to plant his right hand down to steady himself. He looked up a little to see Sora charging at him again. Valor doesn't last long, and Nam is really strong. I need to beat him fast! Sora sprinted over and hopped up so that he was coming down towards Nam. The older fighter looked up, and he jumped to his left to avoid the swing. He punched back in at Sora, but the fast boy bent his right arm and blocked with his golden Keyblade. The punch was still strong enough that since Sora was not on the ground, it threw him backwards across the air.
While Sora was flying back through the air, he noticed the ground of the arena getting close to him. He ground his teeth and kicked his feet out behind him hard, and a ripple of air surrounded him. The boy nearing the edge of the arena flipped himself off of nothing, but redirected his flight to land back down on the ground. Midair recovery, nice! Sora thought, and with a confident grin on his face, he charged at the spot where Nam was landing. He hopped up in the air and swung both blades hard at the man, trying to use the end of his combo move from before. Slashes flew out from his blades and tore up the arena floor all the way to Nam who crossed his arms again and was pushed to the edge of the arena.
Sora landed and ran at his opponent, trying to finish the fight here. Right before he reached however, Nam leapt up high. He leapt up as high as he did the first time, flying up to the roof of the arena and high up in the sky above it. Everyone snapped their heads up and most of them lost sight of the man. A lot of the spectators backed away from the hole in the wall so they could see high above the roof to the dot that was hesitating up in the silhouette of the sun. They had to squint while looking straight into the sun, but Sora just stared straight up through the hole and steadied his breathing. When he comes back down, I know I can beat him this time. At my speed, I could dodge his attack, and jump back in before he has time to right himself.
The man high in the air turned his body and stared down at the arena below. "I must go back down. It is time to see if my training has paid off." Nam took a deep breath, ignoring the blood droplets on either side of his mouth and crossing his arms in front of his face again as he faced down. "CROSS ARM DIVE!" He yelled, dropping through the air faster than ever.
"I can do this," Sora said out loud, planting his feet down harder than before. The ground of his stage was already shaky because of the cracks on it, but a few of the fighters noticed the floor beneath Sora's feet start trembling as the boy pressed his feet down hard on it. "Come get some!" Sora called out competitively, slashing both of his Keyblades to the side to show he was ready. He started to lift them up, when his body covered in white light and his red clothing disappeared, along with one of his Keyblades.
The look on Sora's face after Valor Form faded showed he was not prepared for it to end so soon at all. "What happened?" Yamcha asked, looking to his side where Luffy was standing.
"Sora's got a time limit on how long he can use his Drive Form," Usopp explained from the other side of Luffy. His eyes narrowed at the nervous looking boy on the stage, and he called out to him, "Sora!" The younger boy looked over with a quick glance to see Usopp staring right at him. "Don't panic," the muscular hero in a white toga told him. "Think, and win." Usopp smiled at the kid, and Sora could see Luffy smile wide from next to him as well.
Sora snapped his head back up to look above the hole in the ceiling, where his opponent was dropping down fast towards him. If I try to dodge now, I'm sure Nam will redirect himself before I have time to adjust. He's too fast, and too strong… but, but he can't dodge in the air! Sora's eyes widened as the idea popped into his head, and he lifted up his Keyblade to point it at the man dropping towards him. I've already used most of it with Cura, and I doubt I got enough of my Magic Power back to use more than two attacks, one at most. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he pointed his Kingdom Key into the sky. The end of his silver Keyblade started to shimmer, and the boy holding the yellow hilt with both hands lifted up the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Everyone watched as Sora's eyes snapped open, the same moment that Nam came through the hole in the ceiling. The end of his Keyblade was shimmering, and his mouth was already open as Nam dropped farther towards him. Sora hopped backwards, trying to avoid the attack Nam was bringing down at him, all the while following the man with the Keyblade's end. The light shimmering on the end of it started sparking off, as Sora yelled out, "THUNDARA!"
Nam hit the ground and immediately bounced towards Sora. He extended his arms to the ground and pushed himself in Sora's direction, keeping up his momentum from his fall almost completely. He extended a single leg towards Sora's chest, and approached the kid like a rocket. His foot came within one foot of Sora's chest, when five bolts of lightning dropped out of the sky above him. He was fast, but the lightning was faster. The bolts crashed into the fighter and knocked him out of the air into the stage. His body was covered in black. Smoke rose up from his body as he bounced on the ground and came to a full stop. He twitched a few times, as Sora landed next to him, panting pretty hard. That's it, my MP is out! Sora thought, thinking in a panic because he could see Nam moving. He started running towards his opponent as Nam lifted up his right arm, planting an open palm on the floor.
The crowd held their breaths, Sora charged at Nam, the judge leaned in, and then… Nam's arm collapsed back to the ground. The man who was pushing himself up again dropped down, falling unconscious. Sora came to a stop and kept panting while he looked at Nam's unmoving body. He fought until the last second he was conscious, the boy thought in amazement while he looked at his foe. His left hand that was not holding his Keyblade clenched into a fist while his right clenched the Keyblade hilt tighter. And this was just a tournament! I'm fighting to save all the worlds, and I haven't been trying hard enough. Sora shook his head while he looked at Nam. It's time for me to get serious. Fun and games are fine, he looked down at his Keyblade, but I need to save Kairi and Riku.
"Contestant 99 is unable to continue," the judge finally announced when Nam didn't move for a few seconds. "Contestant 106 moves on to the finals!"
Sora's serious train of thought was shaken by those words which made a large grin appear on his face. Cheers roared out from around the room and the hole outside, and the boy held up his fists in the air, his Kingdom Key vanishing into shards of light as he did. "Woohoo!" Sora exclaimed happily. His eyes widened and he spun to Nam, suddenly realizing something. A few monks came over and prepared to take Nam away, and Sora did not know what to do. Jackie might have been right. What if Nam doesn't want me to heal his injuries? His opponent who he fought so hard against, pitying him. Hmm…
"Great job Sora!" Luffy called out.
"You did it!" Goofy exclaimed.
Goku looked over to Nam, then turned back to Sora and his mouth curved up into a smile. "That was a great fight," the young boy with spiky black hair told his new friend. "I didn't know you were such a strong fighter."
"Haha, thanks," Sora replied, scratching the back of his head with a big grin on his face.
His smile faded and he looked back over at Nam with a thoughtful expression. Goku saw where the other boy was looking and the small fighter said to his new friend, "Are you going to heal him?"
"I don't know," Sora replied. He watched the monks walk away with Nam, and they weren't rushing so he knew his attack was not a life-threatening one. "Jackie said I shouldn't, and now, I don't know," he mumbled aloud while people were still calling out his name. He looked back at the spiky haired boy who specifically told him not to heal him earlier, just like Krillin and Yamcha did. Nam seems a lot like them. He never asked me to… Ah! I'll ask him when he wakes up later. Okay Sora, but first, he grinned and held back up his fists, shaking them around as people cheered for him.
"A punk who uses weapons shouldn't even be in the tournament," a fighter a few feet behind Luffy muttered. It was one of the guys who got out earlier, and he was talking to two others who were also defeated. "I don't care where he gets them from, he's not a real fighter."
Both of the guys next to him muttered things in agreement, then all three shut up as the person in front of them turned around. The black haired teen wearing a straw hat looked behind him with a pissed off look. "Ehh? Sora's a much stronger fighter than you losers," he said to them, his eyes daring them to say otherwise again. The men all remembered getting knocked out earlier by this strange figure, and his crazy rubber powers already had them afraid. None of them said another word about Sora, and Luffy turned back, before smiling and calling out Sora's name again.
"With that match," a judge spoke and his voice came over the announcer. He continued, "The preliminary rounds are over. There will be a short recess, but don't go far. We will call the finalists back in a few hours to start the finals."
Sora hopped off the stage and walked with his hands behind his head. He had a big smile and a glisten in his eyes that just made people smile at him while he walked by. The room was clearing out with most people heading to the doors, but Sora walked over to the hole in the wall where his other friends were. Luffy, Usopp, Goofy, and the Turtle Hermit's students were all walking with him to the women and animals who were watching the last fights. "That was a great fight kid," Oolong told the spiky haired boy who reached him first.
"Yeah it really was," Bulma agreed, though she sounded like her mind was on something else. "I can't believe Jackie Chun lost," the blue haired teenager said while shaking her head in amazement. She turned to the strange group members who they met in an alley next to a crashed ship of some kind. "That friend of yours with the smoke powers is really amazing."
"I know I wouldn't want to come up against him first in the next round," Yamcha agreed with a small nod of his head.
"I wouldn't necessarily call him our friend," Usopp stated, surprising the people they met recently who thought their group was pretty close-nit.
Luffy would have said something right away, but he hesitated as he thought about that look Smoker gave him a few minutes ago. The pirate captain grimaced and looked out towards where the Marine walked away to. Smoker, he thought, frowning deeply. "Smoky is fine," Luffy said, defending the man. "He's a good guy," Luffy thought back to Alabasta and then to the Deep Jungle. Both times, Smoker was able to overlook him being a pirate, and now they were traveling the worlds together. He smiled a little, shaking his head that he thought something was wrong at all.
A few hundred yards away, a middle-aged man with white hair was pacing back and forth in an empty area with bushes on either side. Most people were either closer to the preliminary arena, or leaving the area completely to get some food before the finals started. He heard the announcement that he had a few hours until the next matches began, and he was only angry that it would take so long. He was tired from his last fight, exhausted actually. The old man didn't know Haki, he had no Devil Fruit power, but he was still able to damage me. Those monsters on every world have hurt me. Even Straw Hat and that kid can hurt me with those damn Keyblades… Why did that weapon choose a pirate like Mugiwara? Donald and Goofy seem to think that makes him good or something, BULLSHIT.
He continued to snarl and grind his teeth while clenching and unclenching his fists. Grinding his teeth was a bad habit of his when he was stressed, so he pulled out a cigar and fumbled with the lighter, getting even angrier that it took him a few seconds to light it up. There was something on his mind, but it was so deep down that he didn't dare think about it. Instead he rushed his mind with everything he was angry about to keep himself occupied. He could not help it though, and between thoughts, the one he was trying not to think snuck back into his mind. "Go for it Smoky!" He heard the pirate cheering him on again and he grabbed the side of his head with his right hand. "Damn it," he growled to himself, shaking his head to try and stop thinking about it. He thought about when the pirate met him back in Traverse Town, how Luffy called his name and said he was happy he was traveling with them. What is wrong with this pirate? He defeated Crocodile. He's got Conqueror's Haki! He's a threat! Then, why do I- RAA! He shook his head furiously with his eyes closed and slammed a fist down into the ground. A pirate with Conqueror's Haki.
His eyes opened back up and he stared straight ahead with bloodshot eyes and shaking hands. He was panting still from his match, and now from his conflicting thoughts as well. When he looked ahead though, his eyes opened wide at the sight of a figure standing in front of him. He looked up from the feet of the person to the black cloak, and all the way up to the hooded figure's shadowed face. Smoker got back up to his feet and glared at the man in front of him. He was about the same height as the strangely dressed man, but the figure had broader shoulders and his arms were crossed in front of his chest through his black sleeves.
"Who are you?" Smoker asked, narrowing his eyes at the figure who did not look friendly.
The person in front of Smoker did not speak for a few seconds. He faced the Marine and looked him up and down, as if deciding something. "What is it you want?" the man in the black cloak asked.
What do I want? What the Hell? "Answer my question," Smoker growled at this man. He was not having a good few weeks, and this guy trying to intimidate him was not going to be tolerated. He lifted up a fist and stated in a growl, "Who are you?"
The cloaked man sighed, then uncrossed his arms from in front of his chest. He reached his right hand up and grabbed the hood over his head. The man slowly slid the hood off of his head and his little black pupils stared straight into Somker's. The Marine's cigar dropped out of his mouth and his eyes turned huge. The appearance of the man in front of him had changed drastically in the month since they last saw each other in Alabasta. Back then, the figure in front of him was still in his late teens. He recalled this person pulling him out of the water, saving his life since as a Devil Fruit eater, he could not swim. He stared at the man's green hair, six inches long, falling straight behind his head down to his neck. He had three earrings on his left ear, the hair right above his head was a little scraggly, over the tops of his ears, and messed up even more because of the hood. His jaw was chiseled and with the hood down, Smoker could see his muscular neck as well.
It was the person's face that made him drop his cigar though. For the man in front of him, he instantly recognized, yet at the same time had no who he was. The person stared back at him with a flat lip, his expression unreadable. Smoker's mouth closed again as he got over the shock of seeing this man who looked so drastically different from the last time he saw him. The Marine glared at the figure in front of him, the young man who looked so menacing standing there in his black cloak. Smoker snarled out two words, "Roronoa Zoro."
A/N Woop! Finally, he returns! What is he doing here? Why is he talking to Smoker? The finals of the WMAT are on the way as our eight competitors get ready to crush each other in front of hundreds of people. Who will win?! Find out in the next chapter, (or next 2, haven't decided yet), of Broken Log Pose! Hope you enjoyed. Leave a review telling me what you think/ predictions/ questions. Well, 'till next time!