Chapter 125:
Prehistoric Rivalry
This is the time known as the Great Pirate Era, when countless numbers of pirates go to battle across the seas in search of the One Piece, a legendary treasure left behind by Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates. Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body turned to rubber after eating the Gum-gum Fruit, also set sail to become the next King of the Pirates. As Luffy and his crew conquer numerous obstacles, they capture the unwanted attention of the World Government, which will use any means necessary to stop them... With a charted course awash with danger and intrigue, the crew will cut a path across the grand line to the New World!
"They what?" Monkey D. Garp demanded, crushing a bag of rice crackers in his fist. The marine before him trembled under the force of the Vice-Admiral's Conqueror's Haki, the report of the latest outrage shaking in his hands. Garp stood, snatching the paper and reading it himself. "How new is this?"
"It h-happened almost f-fifteen minutes ago, V-Vice-Admiral, sir! Saint Charlos was rushed to the hospital in Mariejois and is in stable condition, but he's demanding the head of Roronoa Zoro."
"Shit," Garp growled, falling into his seat and running a hand through his hair. "Has this report gone to Sengoku, yet?"
"No sir!" the marine answered. "There is a messenger on the way currently, but the Fleet Admiral is in a meeting at the moment and requested to not be interrupted under any circumstances."
"Call that man off," Garp ordered.
"Sir?"
"Let me handle this. Get me in contact with the team we have outside the Auction House. This takes precedent over reports about the Dark King. I'll take one of the Admirals and deal with this on my own. Goda knows Senny's blood pressure needs all the breaks it can get."
"Sir!" The marine saluted and filed out of the office, leaving the old Monkey alone. He fell into his chair with a sigh, his eyes drifting to the picture that sat on his desk. It was nearly a decade old, picturing three young boys with their arms around each other just outside a forest. One had blond hair with a top hat and a chipped tooth while the other two had raven-colored hair, one with a face full of freckles and the other with a straw hat.
"Is this my fault?" the old man asked the photo, lifting the frame. The three boys continued to smile, unmoving. "Did I push you boys too hard, or not hard enough? Now..." Garp's throat clenched, a single tear rolling over his cheek. "Everything I've done... I'm alone. My son fights me. You boys fight me. Now look at the trouble you're in. One of you is gone. One of you is on death's door. And the other... This... This is why you should've been marines." He set the picture back where it belonged, more tears splashing against his desk. "Why couldn't you morons have just been marines?"
The old man shook his head, wiping his tears away and burying the rest of his feelings under a stony glare. Standing, the Hero of the Marines stepped out of his office and ordered his men to set sail for the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Sir!" Garp's second-in-command called. "Preparations will be complete in minutes! Any other orders?"
"Yeah," the man breathed. "Find the closest Admiral you can and inform them of the situation. And contact the Vanguard, too. We'll need the manpower. Have Sentomaru get the Pacafistas out. We don't want the rookies running away before we get there."
"Yes sir!"
It only took a few minutes for the pirates to force their way off the Ferris wheel, the conductor having abandoned his post to run away. Coby and Grace had to explain the situation their their crewmates, pointedly not looking at each other and wondering why the others hadn't answered their snails. Nami claimed she and Luffy had been deep in conversation, but Gin sheepishly admitted he and Amy had been in the middle of a competitive arm-wrestling match. Why they had been doing such a thing on the Ferris wheel, neither could—or would—explain, but that was their excuse. By the time Coby finished explaining the idea of the Supernovas and Grace said Zoro had gone and gotten himself in trouble, Billy had arrived with his saddle and a basket of meat.
"What do we do now?" Amy asked, the seven Straw Hats a drop of calm in the sea of chaos around them. "I mean, we need to find that moron and get away long enough for things to cool off, but how? There's no point finding the ship-coater. We can't stay here."
"We need a plan," Nami said, Billy sprawled across her lap, his leg kicking as she scratched a nerve under his chin to help calm him. "That or we can choose to set off without Zoro and hope his sense of direction makes him swim into the aquarium."
"Funny as that would be," Coby sighed, "I don't think any of us could take on an Admiral alone, even if the other Supernovas on the island got involved rather than running. Even Zoro-sensei has his limits. And we're right next to Navy Headquarters. Any of the big names could show up, even the Fleet Admiral."
"Coby, Grace, Gin," Luffy ordered, throwing a picked-clean bone behind him. "Go back to the Sunny and help them get ready to go. Amy, Nami, and I will take Billy and find Zoro. We'll find him and beat it back to the ship. Coby's right, after all. We can't take on a Admiral. Not unless they're alone and we're together, anyway."
"Get goin', Don," Gin urged. "Ah'll keep 'em safe."
"We aren't children!" the teens snapped before making eye contact, going red in the face, and turning away from each other.
"Right," Amy sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "We need to go now."
"Be careful," Luffy told them as Nami got Billy ready to go.
"We will be, Don," Gin nodded. "Coby, Grace, Let's go." Not really needing to hide anymore, Coby shifted into his Dino Mode and took off, the painter and Logia on his back. Luffy and Nami mounted their own transportation, Amy preparing to fly beside them.
"Where do you think he is?" the blonde asked.
"The attack happened on Grove 28," Nami answered.
"That doesn't help at all. With the mosshead's direction, he could be on Fishman Island or back in Alabasta by now."
"We'll just have to keep our eyes peeled," Luffy interjected, wrapping an arm around Nami's waist. "Let's go, Billy!"
"Wah!" With a running start and two powerful flaps, the gigafowl took to the air, weaving between the Hussle Muscle Mangroves. Amy followed, pushing the the Breath Dials in her parasol to their limits to keep up.
"Alright, Coby," Gin muttered, the panicking crowds parting for the charging triceratops. "Wha'da'ya know 'bout these other Supernovas an' how can it help?"
"I don't know enough," the dinosaur admitted. "Most of them have Devil Fruits of some kind with Zoro-sensei, 'Mad Monk' Urouge, and the 'Massacre Soldier' Killer being exceptions. The papers painted all of them as hot-headed, but I doubt that's acc-"
Coby cut himself off, skidding to a halt as a ginger man in an open, fur-lined, blue captain's cape framing an X-shaped chest tattoo stepped into his path. The man had a square chin with an X-shaped scar and two weapons hanging from his belt; a katana of some sort and a hand axe with four blades. His hat was sharp, a white plume sticking up from it. Out of the crowd stepped two dozen people, all armed and standing behind the figure.
"'Tri-Horn' Coby," he greeted. "I have business with you."
"You know this guy, Coby?" Grace asked.
"In name only," he responded, carefully shaking his passengers off and changing back into his human form. "What can I do for you, 'Red Flag' X Drake?"
"I want you as a bargaining chip to secure my freedom."
"Excuse me?" Coby questioned.
"You heard me, Tri-Horn," the ex-marine answered. "I've got several fossils to pick with you."
"If you want Coby-!" Grace began, but the boy held his arm out, stopping her. Gin, who had pulled his tonfa out and fallen into a ready stance, paused.
"Get back to the ship," Coby said, his eyes never leaving Drake. "I'll be right behind you."
"Coby-!"
"Just go. We don't have time for a drawn-out fight and it'll be easier for one person to get away and slip past the marines. Let me handle this. It's me he wants."
"You bastard," Grace growled, stomping over to the Zoan, grabbing his collar, and planting a quick kiss on his cheek with a blush. "You better be right behind us or else! We aren't done with that talk!"
"O-Ok." The roset felt his face ignite, the painter and Logia forcing their way through Drake's men. Shaking the embarrassment away, Coby slowly drew his Sabaku no Kiba blades, aiming one at his foe. "Alright, Drake. If we're going to fight, I want to know: why me?"
"There are a couple reasons," the man responded with a wave. "First, you are the student of 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro, the man who attacked a Celestial Dragon. The Marines will be out for your crew, him specifically. If I take you in so they can use you as bait, I can bargain for my safety, or even a reward. Either your crew keeps the Marines busy or they win and one of my biggest rivals goes down. I lose nothing. Also, you're one of the easier targets. I'm unsure if I could defeat your teacher or captain."
"Is that it?" the teen wondered.
"Well, my other reason is less business and more personal." He stopped, his body twisting as it grew. Green-grey scales covered Drake's skin as a tail grew from his rear and fangs filled his mouth. Shorter claws slashed the air around his hands while his legs became trunks of muscle. Drake growled, now in the form of an allosaurus. "See, I'm the dominant Ancient Zoan here, and you are prey. My instincts are telling me to hunt."
"I'm surprised," Coby admitted, replacing his blades as he shifted back into his Dino Mode. Drake's crew fanned out around them, trapping the two in a circle. Beyond them, citizens and other pirates either fled the scene or pulled out visual den-den mushi to take pictures or video of the prehistoric showdown. "Didn't know you were an Ancient Zoan like me. One-on-one, then? Or dino-on-dino, I should say. It'd be embarrassing for you if a captain, a Supernova no less, couldn't take out a cabin boy without your crew... Dammit, I admitted I was a cabin boy. Thank Goda Merry isn't around to bug me about it."
"That works for me." Drake charged, his longer legs covering the distance in seconds. Even so, Coby met his charge with one of his own, his horns forcing the older pirate to cut his attack short and jump backwards.
"I might be a herbivore," Coby said, "but don't underestimate the power of a triceratops!"
"Listen here, you pudgy trike," Drake snarled. "I will take you in!"
"Then come at me, short arms!"
"You runt!" Red Flag roared, teeth bared at the quadraped as he attacked again.
"Cretaceous Charge!" Coby met him halfway, Drake's claws grabbing Coby's horns in a battle of strength, the upper trying to force the lower into the ground. Coby held firm, his lower center of mass keeping him upright under the pressure. Drake's maw snapped at the roset's crown, trying to draw blood from the tough skin.
"Watch it, bastard!" Coby reared up, trying to kick the other Zoan with his front legs. They were just long enough to reach Drake's exposed stomach, the attack forcing the ex-marine to let go. The two circled, pawing the ground-like roots beneath them.
"You've got more fight than I thought you would, Tri-Horn."
"I told you not to underestimate me."
"That you did." Drake backed off, shrinking into his human shape to draw his weapons. Coby did the same, the glares the two exchanged never wavering, waiting for who would make the first move.
"Shave: Unseen Disaster!"
Coby's swords clashed with Drake's quad-axe even as the younger shifted into his Hybrid Mode to thrust his horns toward the man's face. Drake was no slouch, however, catching the closest horn between razor-sharp teeth and holding the other Zoan at bay. One hand free, Drake slashed at the Straw Hat. Coby pushed against the ground, jumping over the attack and flipping over Drake. The move stressed Drake's neck, the man spitting out the younger's horn before he could be injured. He rolled, avoiding the Tower Climb that cut through his previous spot.
"You know one of the six powers," Drake commented.
"We did take on CP9," Coby boasted. "The papers are at least partially right."
"Fair, but is that all you've got, Tri-Horn?"
"I guess that's My Cue!" Coby called, snagging a couple IQ gummies from the pouch on his waist.
"Was..." Drake floundered. "Was that supposed to be a pun?"
"Listen, man," the roset sighed, his boosting chemicals an inch from his lips. "The stuff in these is called IQ, but with a name like IQ, I can't come up with much in the way of being clever. That was the best I came up with after a lot of thinking. IQ. My Cue. You get it?"
"I get it!" one of Drake's men called.
"Shut up, Jerry," another pirate shouted.
"This is why naming your attacks is foolish," Drake himself commented.
"Bite me, short arms," Coby muttered. "Wait, no. You already have."
Jerry laughed before quickly succumbing to the beating his peers dealt. Coby took that time to swallow the gummies, a surge of animalistic energy rushing through him. He grew, plates of bone sprouting over his body.
"Try this on for size, Red Flag. Armor Mode: Rolling Tank!" Jumping forward with his back feet, Coby curled into a ball and rolled toward the Supernova. Surprised, Drake dove out of the way as his foe uncurled, jumped, and curled again.
"Very well," Drake snarled, shifting into his dinosaur form and catching his rolling opponent. Despite Coby's earlier taunts, Drake's arms were long enough to pick up the younger pirate and slam him into the ground several times, leaving a crater, before throwing him toward a building. The roset changed forms in midair, his Slasher Mode nimbly jumping off the building's outside.
"Needle Tornado!" Now with claws and sword-like bones, Coby spun like a top, his nails and barbed tail aiming to damage his foe. Despite his attempts to dodge, Drake felt Coby's tail lash a cut down his side before the younger pirate slowed to a stop.
"First blood is mine," Coby taunted, raising his claws with a smirk.
"Winning a battle does not win you the war," Drake responded with a snarl, his pride wounded more than his body. "You're well-trained, but I'm stronger. Shave."
Coby blinked, Drake filling his vision before he could react. Three punches and a kick pounded into the younger pirate's chest before he could react, throwing his faster-yet-fragile Slasher Mode hurtling through the air. Coby grit his teeth, shifting back into Armor Mode before he hit a building, still coughing blood from the impact. Civilians screamed, running as the Straw Hat swordsman forced himself to a knee, blood dripping from his chin.
"Show me what else you can do," Drake ordered.
"You want to see what I can do?" Coby growled, his horns growing as he morphed into his Drill Mode and drew his swords. "Then I'll show you! Drill Mode Five Point Style: Spiral Meteor Swords!"
Drake grunted, his ax catching Coby's horns as the older Zoan dodged each swipe of the Sabaku no Kiba. Surprising his foe, Coby jumped away, slashing his blades through the air.
"72 Caliber Phoenix!"
"You've surprised me," Drake admitted, cutting through the younger pirate's air slash without a sweat. "But it's time to end this. Shave."
Coby only had a second before Drake ground him into the dirt, forcing the breath from his lungs. A boot came down, aiming for Coby's throat, the boy having just enough wherewithal to intercept the attack with his arms, but weakness sucked his powers away.
"Sea Prism Stone," he hissed, shifting back into his human form.
"Yes, I find it helpful when I have my enemies where they belong," Drake smirked. "Under my boots. Now, goodnight, Tri-Horn."
Coby gasped, feeling a prick in his neck. His flinch made his blurry human eyes land on one of Drake's crewmembers, a smile behind the blowgun in his hand. Growling, darkness slowly claimed the roset, his body going slack.
"Collect the boy," Drake ordered, stepping off his downed opponent and kicking his swords away. "Take those IQ chemicals he spoke of as well as his weapons. I want the chemicals. One of you can have the swords for all I care. Now hurry up and restrain him. We need to make this deal before the Admiral gets here."
"Zoro!" Luffy yelled from the back of the crew's electric duck. "Zoro, where are you?!"
"Shut up, Luffy/you moron!" Nami and Amy cried, the latter trying to throttle their captain with the curved handle of her parasol. Nami would have as well, but she was too busy clinging to Billy's saddle.
"Bu' we need ta fin' Zoro!" Luffy choked out.
"We can't go screaming for him when the marines are starting to move," Nami pointed out, screaming citizens running as marines and pirates battled below. As they got closer to Grove 1, more battles cropped up below, even some marines recognizing Amy's weightless abilities and firing at them.
"I don't like this, Luffy!" Nami called, Billy taking evasive actions as bullets whizzed around them. Oddly, music drifted to them from below, marines screaming in time with the beat. "There's no way Zoro is here with this many marines around!"
"Oh hey, look! There's Zoro!" Luffy's shout came as Billy banked around a tree marked Grove 2, the largest pool of fighting below them. On the ground was a swordsman with Zoro's distinct hair fighting alongside a woman with pink hair and a muscular angel in brown sackcloth. Old people, children, and beaten men in Marine garb surrounded the the trio and three-dozen other pirates as they held back the remaining fighters. The Supernovas were all allied against a figure Nami and Amy recognized, Bartholomew Kuma towering over them. "Let's go, Billy!"
"Wah!" Trusting his captain, Billy turned, diving toward the battle.
"Amy!"
"Yeah, whatever!"
"Gum-Gum Parasol Cannon!" the pair yelled, Luffy throwing the blonde into the battle below. She flew through the air like a rocket, slamming into the Warlord a second later. His chest crumpled, the large man being driven into the ground by Amy's localized mass. A plume of dust exploded from the impact, a small shockwave rushing over the combatants.
"What the fuck?!" the pink-haired woman exclaimed as Billy landed between her and Zoro.
"Hi, Zoro!" Luffy laughed over the screaming of the marines. "We found you!"
"Oh shit!" a marine commander cried. "There's four of them now!"
"What am I?" Amy wondered from Kuma's dented chest. "Sour oranges?"
"I think he means four Supernovas," the angel clarified, hoisting the pillar he used as a weapon and swinging it at some marines that had come a little too close, batting them away. "Or maybe four Straw Hats? Anyway, nice to meet you, Straw Hat! You can call me Urouge. This must be your wife."
"You're damn right I am!" Nami responded. "I, uh... I mean, yes, I am. Excuse me." Nami jumped from Billy's back, a fist punching the back of the swordsman's head. "You idiot! You're even worse than Luffy!"
"I just cut a guy!" Zoro defended.
"Uh, guys?" Amy called. The other pirates ignored her.
"I guy whose existence is protected by the Navy!"
"Coby would have done the same thing!"
"Guys?!" Amy voice wavered.
"Don't argue with Nami, Zoro," Luffy muttered. "She's always right."
"Like Hell she is!"
"GUYS!"
"WHAT?!" The three arguing Straw Hats turned to their blonde crewmate before the situation registered. Amy was trying to beat Kuma's face in with her umbrella, but the Warlord, even with a dented torso, was moving. His mouth opened, revealing a pipe that Amy hastily dodged. A laser beam fired from Kuma's mouth, ripping through the branches of the tree above.
"A beam!" Luffy cried, sparkles in his eyes. Nami whacked him.
"Fucking Hell," Bonney swore. "We need to get out of here!"
"Billy isn't big enough to fit everyone," Luffy noted, recovering quickly. "That means we have to fight our way out!"
"And how are we going to do that with a damn Warlord on our asses?!"
"And who are you?" Nami questioned, spinning her Clima-Tact out. The pink-haired woman seemed to take offense at the query.
"Jewelry Bonney. You know, only female Supernova. Bounty of 140-million. More than your ass is worth."
"Excuse you?!"
"You want me to make you an old hag?!"
"We don't have time for a catfight," Amy warned, jumping between the two women but with her eyes never leaving Kuma. The cyborg slowly got to its feet, one lens of its glasses cracked, its head and arms twitching. "The tin can over there is back up!"
"Maybe," Nami smirked, Zoro throwing flying slashes at the Warlord. One managed to land, shearing into his coat to reveal the robotics underneath. "But the marines won't be for long. Watch this, Supernova. Feathered Thunderbolt Tempo!"
With a flick of her staff, Nami sent a yellow ball of electricity into the clouds that had formed above them. Said clouds crackled for only a moment before Billy took flight, soaring straight into the cloud where they unleashed their charge into him. The bird squawked before arcing out of the clouds and through the ranks of marines, flash-cooking a good number of them with the overcharge and sending the nervous systems of the rest into spasms.
"Wah!" Billy called from above the smoking commander, saluting.
"Good boy, Billy!" Nami praised.
"I'm impressed," Urouge laughed. "Let's go, men!"
He didn't wait for the other pirates, the angel and his crew barreling through the poor marines left standing on shaky legs. Bonney, her crew, and the Straw Hats weren't too far behind, avoiding beams fired by Kuma behind them.
"Is it just me," Zoro began, folded over Billy's saddle so he wouldn't take a wrong turn, "or is Kuma acting weird?"
"How would you know?" Nami groused. "You can't tell right from left."
"Was he shooting beams from his hands?" Amy clarified. "He didn't do that last time! Did something happen to his Fruit?"
"Maybe he has a brother or something?" Luffy wondered.
"Last time?" Bonney questioned as the group passed over a bridge and into Grove 1. "You mean you've fought him before?"
"I'm not sure at this point," Nami admitted. "This one is way different from the Kuma that showed up on Thriller Bark. At least this one is slow!"
"Are you suggesting there's more than one?" Urouge questioned before the group came to a stop before a big building, a wave of pressure washing over them. The building was unassuming, moss growing over much of its surface, with the word HUMAN in red spread over the doorway. Sitting in front and to the side of the door was a half-giant of a man with black hair, a beige jumpsuit, and a metal collar. He didn't react to them. "Did you all feel that?"
"The duck sure did," Zoro frowned, Billy foaming at the mouth beneath him. "Come on, bird. Wake up!"
"That was Conqueror's Haki," Bonney muttered. "Powerful and focused, too."
"I thought the Haki stuff was black?" Luffy thought aloud.
"No time to talk, Luffy," Nami commented, staring back the way they'd come. "The marines are still out for us!"
Indeed, Nami's words were all too true, many marines either recovering from the navigator's previous attack or following the sounds of destruction and battle. The two groups amassed in a semicircle around the pirates. Luffy's gaze hardened at the sight, the captain stepping in front of his wife and the unconscious duck protectively.
"What are you men waiting for?" the marine's acting captain demanded.
"Proper orders, I should think," a nasally voice commented. The speaker sat on a root overlooking the battle, his red clothing and rotund figure making him stand out once those below knew to look for him. Black hair swept across his ears and a scar curved from his right eye to his lip, making the man more intimidating with the battle-axe the same size as its wielder resting on his shoulder. As if that wasn't enough, Bartholomew Kuma stood behind him.
"I thought we managed to dent Kuma!" Amy swore, more concerned about the Warlord than the ax-wielder.
"And who might you be?" Urouge asked, a smile stretched across his face. "Some explanation might be nice, too."
The round man didn't answer immediately, jumping from the root with Kuma and landing with enough force to form a dust cloud. He strode toward the pirates, the marines parting for him.
"You won't get anything from me," he said. "I'm the most tight-lipped person you'll ever meet. There's no way you could ever pry any information out of me, Sentomaru, the head of the Navy's Science Division and bodyguard to Doctor Vegapunk."
"Sentomaru, huh?" Amy grinned. "Reminds me of that fatso from CP9."
"For the record, I wanted you to know my name," Sentomaru huffed, trying to cover his slip. "Still, I'm surprised to hear you managed to dent one of my Pacifistas, but you will all be dead or arrested soon, so I guess it doesn't matter. Vegapunk won't be happy, though. Captain?"
"Y-Yes!" the head marine answered, snapping into a salute.
"Be careful and defensive. Backup from Headquarters is on the way, but reports tell us that Eustass 'Captain' Kid, the 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law, and the 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh are all in that building. Along with two Celestial Dragons."
"What?!" the captain demanded. "We need to protect the Dragons at all costs!"
"If the Supernovas and the old man come out, they have a good chance of overwhelming us before our backup arrives. Even if you're still awake, you had to have felt that pressure. We might not win if the Dark King gets involved before our backup gets here."
"And just who is our backup?" By this point, it was clear the poor marine was ready to start hyperventilating.
"Three warships of marines," Sentomaru responded, "headed by the Hero of the Marines and Admiral Aokiji."
"Oh shit," Luffy cursed, his skin going pale. "Grandpa's coming."
"Grandpa?!" Bonney choked. "Who in the ever-loving Hell is your grandpa, Straw Hat?!"
"Monkey D. Garp," Nami whispered for her shaking husband. "Oh Goda."
End of Chapter 125
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-SwordOfTheGods