SailorStar9: With Chapter 251 uploaded, I present Chapter 252 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Pairings: Married!Ace/Sasha, Sibling!Luffy/Sasha, Sibling!Sabo/Sasha, Background Protector!Law/Sasha
Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Oda EiichirÅ-sensei. Me, on the other hand, own absolutely nothing, except my OC, the pairing and the fic idea.
Chapter 252: Arc 15: A Vow Between The War Goddess And the History Recorder Clan! Sasha and Kozuki Momonosuke!
"Was your father one of the Pirate King's crew?" Luffy was stunned.
"That is right." Momonosuke sniffled.
"He witnessed the secret of the world?" Robin gaped "Probably with Rayleigh-san, too." the entirety of history. She turned to the Road Poneglyph. Even the 100-year Void.
"I see." Zoro realized. "In order to get the secret of the world out of you retainers, Doflamingo and Caesar who were tied to Kaido were trying to catch you guys."
"That's right." Kin'emon confirmed.
"So, do you guys know the secret of the world?" Usopp asked.
"Well, actually, we don't know it." Kin'emon admitted. "Oden-sama didn't want to burden us with the secret. We don't know everything."
"Yes," Kanjuro agreed. "But even if we did know it, we wouldn't tell anybody. Whether we know it or not, we'll keep being hunted. If so, the only option we have is to fight."
"That's right." Kin'emon concurred. "Although we were defeated soldiers, we accept our disgrace and survive to this day for one reason. Just because of Oden-sama's words that were etched in our minds."
"Those words are the reason we live." Raizo added.
"The same here." Dogstorm agreed.
"The words he left behind were just one phase," Kin'emon declared. "Open up the Land of Wano!" the five retainers chorused in unison.
"What do they mean by 'open up'?" Chopper wondered.
"The Land of Wano is closed off to the world." Brook explained. "Which means no one is allowed to leave the country or enter from outside, but if they open up, that means they'll interact with other countries."
"It's a pity that, although we should have been shields for our Master, Oden-sama, we were saved by him instead and we brought shame to ourselves." Kanjuro confessed. "What we have to do now is put our lives on the line and avenge our Master."
"We need to kill the shogun who stole the Land of Wano and open the closed country to the world." Raizo announced.
"That's our wish." Kin'emon took over. "The Land of Wano is almost entirely under the control of the shogun and Kaido who've joined forces. Our friends are trying to muster dissidents there now, but they're still vastly outnumbered by the enemy's great army. There's no chance to win. But we have to win! Thus, to look for someone who will fight with us, we set out to sea. First, we were heading for Zou."
"Because to fight against the Beast Pirates, we surely needed the help of the Minks, our closest allies." Kanjuro explained.
"Yes, the Kozuki Clan and the Minks have a special bond from way back." Dogstorm confirmed. "Which means, whatever happens to us, we'll share the same fate."
"More than anything, the dog and I are Oden-sama's direct retainers." Cat Viper added. "Ever since the day Raizo arrived here, all our warriors were prepared."
"But when we actually fought, it turned out like this against Jack's unit which was just part of Kaido's army." Dogstorm recalled the utter defeat.
"How disappointing." Cat Viper sighed.
"But that's because they used that dirty weapon." Franky reminded.
"No one could've expected they'd use the poison gas." Usopp agreed.
"If there were a judge to call foul and we'd win, maybe that would work, but..." Dogstorm replied.
"No matter how dirty they play, this is our country." Cat Viper commented. "We should've won."
"But we won't let it happen again." Dogstorm swore. "We won't repeat the same failure. We have an ace up our sleeve, too. If we fight again, we'll show them the true power of the Mink Tribe."
"Yes, we're not gonna just back down." Cat Viper agreed.
"Now, we have a favor to ask of you, Suijin-sama." Kin'emon pleaded. "I know it's presumptuous of me to ask you a favor after you saved my life, but since we are fated to share the same purpose, will you bestow your blessings as the War Goddess and help us fight to kill the shogun of the Land of Wano and Yonkou Kaido?"
"Please, I'm begging you, Suijin-sama." Kanjuro implored.
"I'm begging you, too." Raizo bowed.
"Who can you ask for more?" Usopp was excited. "Those samurai and the Minks. They'll be a big help for us, too."
"We were gonna fight Kaido sooner or later." Franky agreed. "We gotta jump at this chance."
"I refuse!" Sasha answered flatly.
"What did you just say?" Usopp stammered. "We've been traveling together."
"Tell me you're kidding!" Chopper pleaded.
The two 'D's, however, remained silent as Sasha's Divine Haki crackled into life, the waves of rainbow-colored Haki blanketed the chamber.
"Kozuki Momonosuke, look at me in the eye!" Sasha demanded. "Are you simply a figurehead? You are the leader of these great men, are you not? Are you going to continue crying?"
Father... Momonosuke wiped his tears as he walked up to Sasha. I... "Sasha, I..." he renewed his tears. "I want to bring down Kaido! He was an enemy to my parents! He killed my mother, too! I wish to grow up and become strong quickly and avenge my father and mother! I want to protect all my retainers, too! But because my body is still small, I can't do that. That's why I want you to fight with me! I'm begging you!" he went onto his knees. "Please..."
"I understand." Sasha stopped the boy from lowering his head. "Let us have Kaido's head, though."
"Thank you!" Momonosuke wept tears of relief.
"Aniki, Law." Sasha turned to the two 'D's. "Is this alright?"
"Yes!" Luffy grinned.
"I don't really have a choice." Law sighed.
"We have to reflect on what we were doing." Kin'emon remarked as he focused on Momonosuke. "We were treating him like a child, but he is the head of the Kozuki Clan. We were forgetting about that and thinking we have to protect him. Even though it was harsh on an eight-year-old, no one treats Momonosuke-sama as a whole man like Suijin-sama."
"You're right." Kanjuro nodded.
"All right, guys, gather up!" Luffy took the lead this time. "Our objective is to kick Yonkou Kaido's butt! We're the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance!"
"That's too long!" Usopp complained.
"Is 'Ninja' necessary?" Nami wondered.
"Of course it is!" the males chorused.
"Right..." Sasha shook her head.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-nes is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Reviews are much appreciated.
