Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eichiro Oda and Rising of the Shield Hero belongs to Aneko Yusagi. I own nothing but the plot.

For reference on the new shield's design, google "arcanite sinovia shield".

Moving the Pieces

Seastone Shield conditions met

abilities locked equip bonus: seastone enhancement (small)

equip effect: seastone grip

Naofumi looked at his new shield with glee. It was shaped like an iridescent bluish gray nautilus shell, with the outermost part ending in a triangular point that looked quite sharp. As was custom with some shields, the equip bonus and effects were not exactly explained, so he would have to guess what they did and experiment. Still, the name suggested this would be the go-to shield in case he needed to face devil fruit users.

"What is up with that shield?" Law asked, intrigued at the piece of equipment attached to Naofumi's arm. "It just assimilated the seastone and transformed!"

"It has a lot more tricks than that," the shielder bragged.

"Hey, Torao! How can we get inside?" Luffy yelled from a platform way below the hanging cage, catching the warlord's attention.

"Hey! How did he get out of the cage?!" Law asked in an irritated tone once he saw Luffy outside.

"He broke through. The chains are not made of seastone," Franky answered. "By the way, I want to go back to the Sunny."

"Not this again!" Law was exasperated. He activated his ability and created the special 'room'. He then teleported everyone but Naofumi to the platform where Luffy was. He noticed the shielder was missing, so he turned to the cage. There he was. "I can't teleport you. You'll have to come here on your own."

Naofumi found this annoying, but nothing difficult to solve. Luffy had left a sizable hole on the cage he could easily go through. He changed shields, selecting the Rope Shield. Not good for defense, but the grappling hook effect it had would be useful. He jumped out of the cage and used the rope to latch on the platform's handrail. From there, it was an easy climb up, where he rejoined the group. He switched back to his new shield to unlock its ability quicker.

Law once again used his ability to open a hole in the wall of the building, which he closed once everyone got in. Inside, they looked for the lever to open the shutters and let the men outside in. There were some of Caesar's subordinates in the building, but they were quickly taken care of by the strange alliance. Once the G-5 men were inside, they started closing the doors.

Just before they could close, however, they were cut down, allowing a bizarre group consisting of the rest of the Straw Hat pirates, a samurai, and a dragon, all riding a massive man whose lower body consisted of a crocodile body.

"Ahh! They cut down the shutter!" the G-5 men panicked. "The gas is gonna get inside!"

Luffy, however, looked really happy. "Looks like a party down there! And my crewmates are here! Good, let's do this!"

"What have you done!?" the G-5 continued. "We need to fix the hole! Everybody, let's seal the breach!"

The marines all worked together and somehow managed to seal the cut shutters again using whatever materials they could find. The repair work was not exactly top-quality, but it looked like it would at least keep the toxic gas out of the lab. These guys had more skills than their appearance would suggest, the shielder thought as he looked at their work.

"What the hell!?" It was only then that Naofumi noticed the living skeleton. The skeleton collapsed and apparently had its soul leave its body, which went through the wall. A few moments later, it returned to its body.

"How is it, Brook?" Ussop asked, as if he was used to the spectacle.

"Like the land of the dead," Brook answered. "If we hadn't closed the hole… Thinking about it gives me the creeps."

"YOU GIVE US THE CREEPS!" the marines all yelled. Naofumi didn't blame them.

"Good," Zoro said, trying to hide his sheepishness.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! AND WE'RE THE ONES THAT SEALED THE HOLE! You pirates are even crazier than we thought." G-5 aimed their weapons at the Straw Hats. "Surrender!"

Filo then walked forward between the pirates/samurai/dragon group and the marines. She raised her arms while her back was to the marines and her face was determined, almost as if she was protecting them. "Everybody, please."

"Filo-chan…" the marines hesitated, looking at the little girl. She then pointed at the dragon.

"Leave the dragon to me! He's mine!" the human-filolial said, declaring the dragon her opponent.

"Nooo. No no no." Naofumi walked over there with a strict gait and grabbed the girl by her wrist, pulling her away from the group. "We don't have time for your animosity towards dragons right now. You can fight the dragon AFTER we are done with this whole laboratory problem."

"But masteeer…" Filo whined.

"Master nothing. Listen and behave or you will not get dinner tonight," Naofumi scolded.

"Yes…" she pouted.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Everybody, listen to me!" Law broke the silence by regarding everyone present. "The building is completely surrounded by poisonous gas. But there is one way to escape directly to the sea from this laboratory. It's a huge door marked 'Building R 66'. I will grant you 2 hours. I'm not interested in mass murder, but I can't guarantee the survival of anyone staying here after that."

"G-5 men! Rescue the abducted children and look for the R-66 door!" Smoker barked his orders to the unruly marines while Luffy ran away somewhere and Law moved out. "We will take their ship and escape this place!"

The men roared their acknowledgement. Smoker said something to Tashigi before flying out after the Straw Hat captain.

"Luffy!" Zoro, the green-haired swordsman yelled at his running captain with a stern face. "Don't be careless! The New World starts here!"

"Yeah, sorry! I'll be careful from now on!" Luffy replied, followed immediately by him spinning his legs so fast he looked like a copter and kicking all the enemies out of the way. "Gum Gum U.F.O!"

"I don't know what Trafalgar Law meant with a time limit, but we're not about to let you escape, Straw Hats!" The marines declared.

"Move out of our way!" Zoro yelled, getting on the offensive. The living skeleton and the samurai joined him.

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield!" Two floating shields materialized and blocked the burning and freezing sword attacks from the samurai and the skeleton respectively, protecting the soldiers from harm. Naofumi himself used his shield to stop the green swordsman attack.

"I already warned you," Zoro said dangerously. He took a step back and readied another attack, but was stopped by Tashigi this time.

"Captain-chan!?"

"So it's Captain Copycat now? You don't seem intent on fighting," Zoro noted.

"Correct. Now go ahead," Tashigi yielded just as Naofumi stood beside her. With great frustration, she turned to her men. "This is no time to fight, G-5! Let's keep moving to the passage! We can't lose time here!"

"Huh?" The marines looked confused at Tashigi's words. A loud beeping was then heard, and the heavy doors leading to the next area of the building started to close slowly.

"There's only one gate out of this building and it's already closing!" Tashigi urged. "Caesar is trying to lock us up here. If we don't get through the gate, we won't be able to escape Punk Hazard!"

"Oh shit!" G-5 wasted no time and began running toward the closing metal doors. As they got closer, one of the walls suddenly exploded, leaving a big hole where the toxic gas began pouring in. "The killer gas is getting in! Run!"

"Filo!" Naofumi barked urgently. The filolial understood and transformed into bird form. He and Raphtalia got on her and ran to the doors. They made good time, and when the doors were about to close, the pirates and most of the marines managed to jump in.

Tashigi, however, was thrown through the doors right before they closed. "Some soldiers are still outside!" She urgently tried to go back, but it was too late. She screamed in desperation.

"You did good, boys! We got our beloved captain to the other side safe and sound!" a marine that didn't get to cross said before the doors closed. Naofumi only managed to see a petrified man giving a thumbs up before the doors completely closed.

"There's nothing we can do for them now. Let's see this through and we can come back later to give them proper rest." Raphtalia put a hand on Tashigi's shoulder in sympathy. Tashigi fought back tears, but got upright and nodded.

"Let's go, captain-chan," her men added. "Now that we know they were developing this terrible weapon on Punk Hazard, we have to let the world know or everyone will be in danger. Let's inform HQ. If we don't, everyone's sacrifice will be in vain."

"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry, let's go." Tashigi looked more determined than ever.

"Hey, what is that?" One of the men asked at the flying figure approaching them. The figure then let loose a torrent of fire. "Gyaaah!"

"What is that thing? Is it a dragon?"

"It's the dragon the Straw Hats brought! I hear there were dragons artificially made on this island!"

"Shoot it down!" The marines all aimed their weapons and fired, but the dragon zipped left and right, dodging all the bullets.

"Dragooooon!" Filo shot towards the rampaging dragon. It was very quick to dodge, but the filolial was even quicker and intercepted the drake, kicking it so hard it was sent flying down and slammed on the ground. Filo landed a few feet from it. Both monsters looked at each other in rivalry, but then the dragon got a scared expression and shot past Filo, clearly trying to get away from something.

"What? It just flew away? Was it running away from something?"

"Coward!" Filo yelled as she ran after it.

"There are noises coming from the end of the passage," one of the marines said. "Oh! Captain Tashigi, we're saved! We got powerful reinforcements!"

"Look, captain-chan! It's Vice-Admiral Vergo! He must've gotten our signal before our den den mushi were stolen!"

"No…" Tashigi could barely get the words out of her mouth. "Everybody, run!"

"It's him!" Naofumi yelled with urgency.

"Huh? You know him, shield-bro?" The man that asked was instantly stabbed by Vergo's finger. His companions quickly followed suit.

"Get away from him! He's not who you think!" Tashigi screamed. She rushed toward Vergo and attacked, but the spy blocked the sword with his arm and retaliated with a back-handed fist to the face.

"Captain-chan!"

Naofumi took this as a chance to move in and attack. He threw the strongest punch to Vergo's face he was able, but his fist had virtually no effect; Vergo looked like he barely even felt the attack. The man just pointed a finger and used his 'Finger Pistol' technique. The attack was strong enough to draw blood from Naofumi's new wound.

"Hmm. You're quite sturdy for someone with no haki," Vergo casually commented. He grabbed the hero's shield arm and kicked him away with enough force to make Naofumi feel his ribs crack.

"Mr. Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried. She rushed to attack as well, but Vergo only needed a kick to send her flying toward Tashigi, who was down and crying.

As the marines moved in to attack, a black blur shot past and collided with the double agent. "Who are you?"

"A lady is calling me!" The blur revealed itself as Sanji when his leg struck Vergo so hard he was sent flying to a wall and left a man-sized crater in it. "I heard the sound of a woman's tears falling."

"He's 'Black Leg' Sanji, from the Straw Hat pirates," noted one of the marines still standing. "Why is he helping us?"

Black Leg went on the offensive again with his leg now somehow in flames, kicking Vergo and making another hole on the wall with him, but then the alarm from before started sounding again and the doors at the end of the corridor began to close. To make matters worse, the doors at the other end of the corridor began opening, letting the deadly gas in.

"What are you doing? Run away!" Sanji yelled.

"All First Heal!" Naofumi said as a green aura surrounded him and the soldiers around him. A moment later, all the fallen soldiers got up, feeling better than they did moments ago. "Move, you idiots! We need to get moving!"

"What's happening? I just got hit by Vice-admiral Vergo's Finger Pistol, but it doesn't hurt as much!"

"There's no time to think about that, let's follow captain-chan and shield-bro!"

"Vice-admiral Vergo…"

"Stop it! The real Vergo would not do something like this!"

"I see… You're probably made of metal, aren't you?" Sanji noted when his attacks didn't seem to do that much damage.

The group of soldiers plus heroes made their way to the closing doors, but Naofumi stopped for a moment. After a quick internal debate he turned and focused on Sanji, who was fighting Vergo. "Zweitte Guard!"

"Huh? What is this? I feel sturdier somehow." Sanji said to himself when he felt a special warmth in his body. He didn't delve much into it as Vergo moved in to attack.

"Don't interfere. This is an internal matter." Vergo threw a kick at the cook.

"You're the type of person our captain hates the most," Sanji shot back. He blocked the kick with his own leg, but the attack was so strong the impact almost cracked his leg bone. If he didn't get the strange warmth from before, he was sure he would end up badly injured. They exchanged kicks before one of the soldiers called out.

"Hey, Black Leg! The gas is right behind you and the gate is closing! Hurry up here!"

Sanji did so. Somehow kicking air, he was able to fly toward the group of marines. Vergo didn't pursue due to the announcement that was heard all throughout the building.

"Building D reporting. Emergency alert to all third lab buildings. Trafalgar Law has infiltrated the S.A.D. manufacturing room!"

The group saw Vergo panic and fly away in a hurry. Whatever S.A.D. was, it sounded very important. Sanji, however, managed to reach the marines before the doors completely closed. He landed right between Raphtalia and Tashigi. "Cutieeees!"

"Damn, Black Leg! You're pretty strong!" One of the marines commented when Sanji landed with them and the doors closed. "We're glad you're alive, bro!"

"Shut up! I only accept compliments from cute girls!"

"So you're strong, but still a complete idiot," Naofumi said. "Maybe I shouldn't have used my defensive magic on you."

"What the hell did you say?!" Sanji turned to Naofumi with angry eyes. "Wait… Magic? You mean that feeling of being sturdier was your magic?"

"Mr. Naofumi specializes in healing and support magic. He probably buffed you when he saw you fighting that man," Raphtalia said.

"I'm certain the power-up was LOVE coming from you, my lady." Sanji bowed while holding Raphtalia's hand. She looked confused by the action, but was thankfully saved by her master, who grabbed him by his shirt and brought him close to his face.

"Touch her again and I will personally throw you to the toxic gas."

"Whoa, shield-bro! Easy there. He saved us!"

"Probably just to try and get in your captain's pants," the shielder retorted.

"What the hell did you just say!?" Sanji all but exploded, glaring daggers at Naofumi.

"Enough!" Tashigi intervened. "Whatever the reason, we have more pressing matters at hand. Stop fighting and focus on getting out here alive!"

"Aye aye, captain-chan!"

"Tch. You're right… Let's move!"

"Yeeeees, captain-chwaaaan!" Sanji gushed, then went back to a more controlled state of mind as the group began moving again. "But what was up with that guy? Wasn't he your senior officer?"

"Don't be ridiculous! That bastard couldn't be Vice-admiral Vergo! He has to be a fake. Right, captain-chan?"

"Y-yes! Of course! The real Vergo was like a father to you! He would never do this!" Tashigi lied. "Now let's hurry and save those children!"

"Yeah!"

They all continued running deeper inside the building, intent on seeing their mission accomplished. During this time, Naofumi ran closer to Tashigi. "You are aware they will find out the truth eventually, right?"

"Yes… But They all really looked up to Vergo. G-5 is where all the rowdy and rejected marine soldiers are sent. They have a bad reputation as is, and knowing that someone that accepted them was actually a pirate would destroy morale." Despite her reasons, she knew the truth was inevitable. Naofumi, for his part, considered telling the truth. She sensed his intention, however. "Please, don't tell them. At least until we save the children and get out here."

Naofumi sighed. "Alright. But if you don't tell them, I will."

She looked at him intently. "What does it matter to you anyway?"

"I know what it's like being lied to and being taken advantage of. You need to clear things or they will only keep being a gullible bunch."

She thought his words over, then nodded. "I'll tell them as soon as we're safe. Until then…"

Naofumi nodded in agreement.

Deeper in the lab.

"It's quite the spectacle, isn't it?" Zoro mused as he relaxed on the back of a running Brownbeard.

"Stop relaxing on my back!" The crocodile centaur complained as he ran with several freeloaders on his back. "And why aren't you stopping them? The building is already burning! If they keep this up and the fire reaches one of the tanks, it might explode and let that horrible gas in!"

The 'them' the group was referring to were a dragon and an owl/ostrich bird thing, also known as a queen filolial. The two monsters fought viciously in the air. The dragon would attack with powerful bites and torrents of flame while the bird fought using kicks and wind. Their fight had somehow taken them along with the group.

"Wait, everyone! I have a grudge against dragons! If it will perish, it will be by my hand!" The samurai declared, still standing on Brownbeard's crocodile back.

"Not so fast, sir!" Brook also declared. "It is me who can't forgive that dragon! It had the gall to look disappointed when it was about to bite me!"

"No, strange living skeleton. It is I who shall fell the monster!"

"No, me!"

"No, me!"

"NO!" The filolial was launched in their general direction. She slammed on the ground but bounced back up, looking at the beast with determination. "Filo will!"

The two arguing swordsmen looked in a bit of awe at the talking bird and how it shot back at its target. "Hrm. I was unaware birds were able to talk in these lands."

"Yohohoho. They cannot usually do that."

"Spiral Strike!" Filo charged her magic power around her and made the air spiral on her foot as she prepared her signature kick. She sped up and the air around her made it look like a wind drill. The kick landed with devastating force, making a cracking sound be heard from the dragon's skull. And just to make sure, Filo spun and delivered a roundhouse kick that launched her opponent to the ground, from where it didn't get up again. She landed next to it and made a triumphant pose, eliciting applause from the audience on a crocodile's back.

Two of those onlookers, however, stood next to Filo, observing the beaten dragon. The samurai, Kin'emon, looked at it with utmost disgust. With hatred in his eyes, he sliced the beast's neck.

"I must praise your power, strange bird creature. Dragons must be exterminated."

"Yes! Filo thinks so too. Dragons suck!"

"My my. I had my reason, but why do you hate dragons so much? It almost looks like you're taking revenge against them for killing your family!" Brook said.

"As a matter of fact, you are practically correct," Kin'emon answered.

"Filo just hates them!"

"I see. So your name is Filo… huh? AHH! We are being left behind!"

"You are correct, corpse friend. We must make haste!"

"Get on, Filo will take you!" Filo offered.

"Thank you!" Both sword fighters took up on the offer and got on the massive bird, who quickly ran after Brownbeard and his passengers.

As they ran, they noticed a giant monster on the upper floor apparently fighting the giant children. However, a closer look revealed the monstar just trying to subdue the violent children. They were relentless in their assault, making the beast keel over until it poofed and transformed into a small takuni.

"Ah! That's Choppa!" Filo noticed when the monster shrunk down in an instant. She jumped over and went to him, saving him from the rampaging children. "Hey, Choppa! Are you ok?"

"That voice… Filo?" Chopper asked when he felt the giant bird pick him up.

"Yep! Are you ok?"

"Chopper! Let him go!" Nami arrived at the scene, ready to attack the bird holding her precious doctor.

"Ah! You're that lady from the island! Where is the pervy guy?"

"Have we...met?" the orange-haired girl asked in confusion. As if to answer, the filolial transformed into her human form, giving her a big smile and a wave. "Oh! You're the girl from the jewelry stand! But wait! Chopper! What's going on here?"

"I'm so glad you're here!" Chopper said in tears. "Caesar is trying to turn these kids into giant, violent soldiers. I couldn't do anything! We need to stop them right now! The room on the left is the Biscuit Room. The candy is there! Don't let them get it!"

"Momonosuke!" Kin'emon yelled as hard as he could while running with the group.

"Huh? But isn't candy supposed to be yummy?" Filo asked.

"Momonosukeee!"

"Not this candy. This candy is poisonous and hurts the children."

"Momonosukeeeeeee!"

"That sounds bad…"

"Mille fleur. Gigantesco mano!" Robin crossed her arms. On the entrance to the next room, hundreds of arms sprouted and coalesced into two giant hands that blocked the entrance. The kids, however, were too violent for the hands to stop them for long. "They're quite rowdy…"

"I must apologize, brave warriors, but I must go look for my son!" Kin'emon said before running off to another location once he was certain none of the kids were his precious son.

"Wait, Kin'emon-san. I will go with you," Brook offered.

"Ussop. Please go with them and see if you can find some seastone cuffs. We're going to need them," Robin told Ussop as she tried to hold the kids back.

"You got it!" the long-nosed sniper eagerly replied. He ran after the two tall sword-wielders. "Hey, I'm going with you!"

"Nami!" Chopper said with urgency as Filo handed him over to her. "There's a girl who's still sane. Her name is Mocha and she's helping me! So far we've managed to stop the kids from eating the candy, but I'm worried about her! She's guarding the candy in the room. We must hurry!"

Just as the reindeer said, a lone girl was holding a bag full of candy. She tried to reason with the crazed children, but they ignored her and demanded the poisonous treats. At Chopper's order to run away, she obeyed. Unfortunately, as she reached the exit, it suddenly got blocked by a thick wall of snow.

"Oh! It's miss Monet! Please help me!" Mocha hopefully said to the harpy that stood by the blocked exit. Her hopes were immediately dashed.

"Now now, Mocha. It's not good to be selfish. You must share the candy with everyone," Monet said with a false smile. Snow and cold swirled around her and soon covered the entire room.

"It's cold! There's a blizzard inside the room!" Nami said as she felt the cold hit her skin.

"You can't eat that candy, everyone! Mocha, run away!" Chopper desperately yelled while immobile in Nami's arms.

"Mocha is the girl running with the bag, right Choppa?" Filo asked as she ran beside Nami.

"Yes! She's in danger!"

"On it!" Filo transformed back into a bird and ran even faster, outrunning the kids and scooping Mocha up.

"W-whoa! A bird?" Mocha mused out loud, confused. Despite her weight due to artificial gigantism, Filo managed to keep up good speed.

"I'll slow them down a bit," Robin said while she crossed her forearms in preparation to use her ability, but the ice harpy stabbed her shoulder from behind using a very large ice pick.

"Don't interfere," Monet said.

"The enemy's a logia! Leave her to me! You take care of the kids!" Zoro ordered, drawing two of his swords and preparing to engage. Monet attacked with her two ice picks, but Zoro blocked each attack almost effortlessly.

In the meantime, Nami and Chopper aided the wounded Robin. "Robin! Are you ok?"

"Yes, it's only a scratch. Let's hurry and save the children."

The children were almost out of the room, intent on getting the candy from Mocha, who was now being helped by Filo. The filolial, despite her impressive stamina, was beginning to tire from all the running and carrying, and slowly began to lose speed.

As the fight between swordsman and harpy continued, Monet suddenly disappeared in the snow, leaving behind a confused Zoro. He quickly understood what was happening and dashed after his crewmates. He could only watch as Monet reappeared from the snow behind Nami and stabbed her right through the stomach.

"Nami!"

"Huh? It...doesn't hurt?" Nami had a look of shock, but not of pain. Monet, sensing something was wrong, backed away. The ice pick left Nami, but left no wound behind. However, a loud cracking noise was heard, the origin being the bracelet she had on her wrist. What was before a golden bracelet adorned with two blue jewels crumbled into many broken pieces. "Wait, this is… The magic bracelet actually worked!"

By that time, Zoro had reached the snow harpy and re-engaged in combat. "Too bad," Monet said as she had to defend herself.

"So you're aiming for the weakest link…"

"Move out of the way! Heat egg!" Nami said, thrusting her baton at Monet. The baton had an orb of really hot air that melted and hurt the snow woman. She and her crewmates, barring Zoro, ran after the children, with Nami leaving behind several heat eggs to keep the harpy at bay. "Ha! I knew heat would work! Stay away from us!"

"Tch. Cat Burglar Nami, with a 16 million berry reward." Monet said to herself as she saw pursuit had been made much more difficult, especially with a skilled swordsman in her way. However, she didn't desist. Using her powers, she dived back into the snow, then moved to create a wall of snow that blocked the exit of the room. A wave of snow trapped Nami, and from it a grotesque harpy materialized. It attempted to bite Chopper off the navigator's arms, but she managed to get him out of the way just in time.

"Cuatro Mano! Spank!" Robin came to the rescue. With her ability, four arms bloomed from Nami and palm-thrusted the snow and woman away, freeing Nami.

Zoro then sliced the snow wall down, letting his crewmates escape the room, something they wasted no time in doing. The woman sharpened her wings with ice and slashed at Zoro, but he just blocked the attacks.

"I noticed that you only defend, but never attack. I wonder why that is… I thought I couldn't beat you, but I'm starting to think differently." Monet had a devious smile and licked her lips.

Several voices then started coming from one of the entrances, with one in particular being the loudest. "Chaaaaarge!" Soon after, Sanji came running, full of energy. After him, the G-5 marines followed. "Everyone make fun of him by pulling down your eyelids." He mocked, and the marines followed again.

"Robin, Nami and Chopper just went through there. Get moving." Zoro indicated, trying his best to not let the cook get on his nerves.

"Ok. Let's go...Is what I would say if there wasn't a beautiful lady right behind you!" Sanji said as he stopped to admire the snowy beauty that just moments ago tried to kill Chopper.

"She really is a cutie!" one of the marines commented. "Even if she's not human. Then again, it adds to the appeal."

Monet, for her part, only blushed coyly at the compliments.

"Focus, you dimwitted morons! You have a mission to do, so keep your dicks in your pants and see it completed!" Naofumi, who was running with the marine group, roared once he saw what they stopped for.

"Who are you people? I'm not going to let you take the children away! I won't forgive you!" Monet once again dived into the snow and reemerged next to a soldier. She was about to bite down, but her jaw was sliced off by Raphtalia, who jumped in just in time. Tashigi jumped not a moment later and managed to cut her. "Ugh, a swordsman that can use haki!"

"Whoaaa! Captain-chan!"

"We don't have time to lose! All of you, chase after the children," Tashigi commanded.

"What about you?"

"I'm staying here. I have a feeling I'm needed here!"

"What?" Zoro deadpanned.

"She looks like a rather difficult opponent," Raphtalia commented as she stood by Tashigi's side, sword ready.

"So you're the one responsible for this blizzard, huh? A logia devil fruit… You'll be the perfect test run for my new shield." Naofumi said with a nasty grin.

"Go away, captain copycat," Zoro said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I'm free to stay."

"All of you are in the way."

"You are free to think what you want."

"Does that mean I'm free to cut you down, lady marine?" The green swordsman pointed his sword at Tashigi, prompting Naofumi and Raphtalia to be ready to jump in at the slightest sign of further aggression.

"You can't," Tashigi said simply. "You are unable to cut me or her. You can't even cut Raphtalia here."

"Fufufu, I suspected so. And it seems to be the case!" Monet said gleefully.

"You think women are weaker, so you don't fight seriously!" Tashigi accused. "Even if you don't lose, if you don't deliver the finishing blow, you won't win either! That's why we stayed behind! If I let this logia woman run free, she will go after my men!"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!" Zoro exploded.

"Yes."

"Tch. Fine. You lot do as you please." Zoro took a seat by the exit. "My job is keeping her away from my team. As long as the exit is protected, it should be fine, right?"

"Why are you acting so carefree? We're running out of time! You need to escape too!"

"Don't get distracted!" Naofumi scolded when he moved in to block a sneak attack from the snow woman directed at Tashigi. The ice pick bounced harmlessly off the shell-shaped shield, doing no damage at all. Naofumi then recalled the special equip effect of the new shield. Taking a gamble, he reached and grabbed hold of Monet's leg.

"W-what is happening? This isn't haki… Are you using seastone?" Despite her snow powers, she was unable to break free and rightly panicked. It seemed like the shielder won the bet; he was able to hold intangible devil-fruit users with this shield equipped. Seastone grip would be very useful.

"We have a dangerous enemy here! You two can sort out your personal issue after we've dealt with her." Raphtalia moved in to attack.

"SHUT UP!" Both Tashigi and Zoro yelled at the same time, clearly misunderstanding the meaning of her words.

Monet, in desperation, kicked about and managed to stab Naofumi on the shoulder with her ice pick, making him flinch and release her. Losing her weapon but gaining freedom, she dived back into the snow not a moment too late, barely evading the demihuman's sword strike.

"Damn. I have to take scratch damage into consideration now." Naofumi grabbed the harpy's weapon and managed to remove it from his shoulder without getting a negative reaction from his shield. The wound was superficial and didn't do much, but the sudden pain made him lose hold. "Not being ruled by stats means I can attack now, but I don't automatically nullify weak attacks anymore."

"Are you ok, Mr. Naofumi?" his trusted companion asked in worry when she saw the small blood stain on his armor.

"I apologize for my loss of focus!" Tashigi was quick to take her place next to Raphtalia and Naofumi.

Monet reformed a few feet away, re-assessing the situation. Despite her opponents, she couldn't help but blush when she saw the green-clad shielder. "My~ I like a man that isn't afraid to get grabby. How about you ditch those people and go get some dinner with me? I'll let you grab more than just my leg~" She said with a wink.

"Get lost." Was Naofumi's simple reply.

"My, you're so cold."

"I don't want to hear that coming from a snow woman."

"Fufufufu, I can be quite hot when it matters."

"He told you to get lost!" Raphtalia jumped in and attacked, cutting off one of Monet's wing arms.

"Do you like snowball fights?" The harpy simply giggled as she took no damage from the attack and her wing reformed moments later. She then jumped in the air and flapped her snowy wings, shooting down a barrage of bunny-shaped snow projectiles with quite some force. "Snow Rabbits!"

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield!" two green shields materialized above Raphtalia and Tashigi, protecting them from the snow bullets.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Are you sure we can't go out?" Monet said as she saw her attack fail.

"No means no!" Raphtalia jumped in again. Monet made no attempt to dodge, planning to counterattack. However, the sword used this time looked like it was made of light. The demihuman thrust her magic sword into Monet's stomach, making her scream in pain. The harpy kicked Raphtalia off her and checked her body. The raccoon girl corrected her position in the air and managed to land next to Naofumi. "Mr. Naofumi, Tashigi and I will deal with this woman. Please go and help in protecting the children."

"Are you sure?" He asked, uncertain. They usually fought as a team, but she almost never asked stuff like or took this kind of initiative. It only took him a second, though, but he agreed. He knew how much seeing the children safe meant for her. "Alright. We'll meet up when you finish. Don't take too long!" And with that, he dashed through the exit to catch up with the marines.

"So that's the magic sword you told me about," Tashigi said, just barely keeping her nerd side in check.

Despite the intense pain she just suffered, Monet saw no wounds and the pain subsided almost as soon as the transparent sword left her body. She glared at the demihuman with hatred. She also saw Naofumi leave, but any attempt made to follow him only resulted in being attacked by Tashigi or Raphtalia. "Looks like I underestimated you two. Time to get serious. Blizzard!"

"We will cut you down!" Tashigi declared when Monet took a deep breath and blew a blizzard inside the room, obscuring their sight and making their limbs get colder and slower.

"Skin blades!" the harpy said. The feathers on her arm wings froze into sharp razors. She moved to attack, moving wings and legs in a flurry of movements. Ice picks and sharp ice feathers were barely blocked by the two women.

After the brutal exchange, Monet went for a surprise attack with a bite. Her jaw grew in size and her teeth turned to icicles. She bit down on Tashigi's shoulder, drawing a pained yelp from the marine woman. Raphtalia rushed to her aid, but Monet anticipated this and counterattacked, driving her ice picks into the deminuman's arm and leg.

Raphtalia cried in pain as the force of the attack sent hew a few feet away. She quickly removed the offending weapons and tried to move in again, but the pain in her leg made her flinch and collapse on the ground. She saw in desperation as blood oozed from the icy bite on her friend's shoulder. "Tashigi!"

And then, out of nowhere, the harpy's cheek began to bleed and she released the marine. She looked stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Zoro, who had just now stood up and calmly walked toward the women.

"You talk big, but you take too long. Time's up. I'm taking over." Zoro noticed the look of anger and confusion that the bird woman gave him. He simply smirked. "It seems you underestimated me, snow woman. The moment you realized you couldn't beat me, you should've run. I admit there are some things I don't like to cut, but let me ask you something: have you ever met a wild animal that you can guarantee will never bite a person? Because I haven't."

The swordsman began running at the harpy, but she was unable to move. Her face had twisted into pure dread as she saw the man approach to end her life. And Raphtalia felt part of that fear. The pressure coming from the man was immense; she wouldn't last a minute against him. Even the monsters of the waves paled in comparison to the sheer power this man irradiated.

"One sword style: Daishinkan!" In the blink of an eye, Zoro was behind Monet, having sliced her body cleaned in two. Raphtalia and Tashigi could only watch in stunned awe. Monet's halves fell on the ground. "Are you girls satisfied now?"

"H-how dare you m-make fun of me?!" the snow woman said as her snow body shifted and turned, but didn't quite reform.

"Huh? She's still alive? So he didn't use haki..." Tashigi noted. She also noted that their enemy was simply unable to properly control her body and reform, something Raphtalia also noted. "She's paralyzed by the fear of knowing she would've died if he had used haki. Is this really a way to win?"

"I won't...let you go!" One half of Monet said as she went after Zoro with her ice pick.

"Kiri Shugure!" Tashigi cut down both halves before anyone else could react. "It's your loss."

"Tashigi…" Raphtalia said in amazement. She slowly got back on her feet and tried to avoid putting much weight on her injured leg.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Tashigi exploded at Zoro. "You didn't finish her off! See? It's just like I said, you think-"

"You're the one that butted in my fight," Zoro interrupted. "If either of you hadn't cut her, I would have."

"You liar! You can't just say that after I already cut her!"

"You didn't need to. But hey…" He put his hand on her shoulder in what looked like a supportive gesture. "Good job, Captain Glasses. You didn't let her go after anyone. You can take all the credit."

"Why are you being so patronizing?!"

"Because I'm superior to you."

"Why you?!"

"Excuse me…" Raphtalia said, shyly approaching the bickering duo. She looked at Zoro with clear admiration and more than a little fear. "Just who are you?"

A/N: Special thanks to helrio uzugaku for the idea of a nautilus shell as the design for the new shield. I was originally gonna make it a boring old hexagonal shield, but I really liked their idea. After a few google searches, I settled on something mostly resembling the Arcanite Sinovia Shield, from the Dark Age of Camelot game. It looks pretty cool!