Chapter 18
Supernovas—part 1


As the Marines closed in on Delta Island, the pirates scrambled to escape the place before it was too late. Yet despite the latter's efforts to get away, the Marines ultimately got close enough to the island to prevent any pirate ship from setting sail from the island.

After jumping off the Marine ship she was on and skating across the sea, Shigure got onto dry land, throwing her arms into the air and shouting excitement, "All right! Time to rock!"

A small group of pirates were standing before her, looking at her curiously. "Who is this girl?" said one curiously.

"I saw her coming over from a Marine ship! She must be a Marine!" said another.

"In that case, let's get her! There's only one little girl! How hard can she be to deal with?" said the third one.

Shigure looked at them with a "sinister" face and said, "Oh, looking down on me just because I look like a little girl? You better take back what you said!"

When the pirates charged at her for the kill, Shigure shot them down with her guns, and then she proceeded to move around the place at a swift speed, shooting down various pirates around herself. Despite the pirates' effort to fight back, they were no match for her and easily taken down.

A larger pirate eventually showed up with a bazooka and fired at her with it, but she dodged it before shooting at him from her gun. However, said pirate had such a durable body that he wasn't taken down by it instantly. "Haha! You'll have to try harder than that!" he taunted her.

"Be careful what you wish for!" said Shigure with a sly smile. In an instant, her rigging disintegrated into cubes and floated into the air for a second before coming back down around her, taking a new form.

The ship girl was now wearing a dark gray chest plate, complete with shoulder pads. A wolf-shaped helmet with an open mouth was worn around her head, her face being visible within the open mouth filled with sharp fangs. On her hands were gauntlets that possesses long and sharp claws, and she also wore metallic boots that had sharp claws. Lastly, a metal ring was wrapped around her hips, from which a long, metallic tail was attached to at the back.

"What in the world?!" said the pirate in shock.

"See this new form? It's all the better to drain you of all your luck!" said Shigure, glaring at her with an "evil" smile. The newly transformed ship girl then lunged at the pirate at an incredibly fast speed, dashing past him and slashing him in the chest with her claws at the same time. The pirate screamed in pain as he fell on his back, passing out. Looking at her claws dyed with blood, Shigure said, "Haha! Nobody can stop me now!" Then she let out a howl like a wolf.

Belfast approached her after arriving on dry land and said, "I see that you are having fun with your new power."

"You bet! You should use it as well!" Shigure insisted to her. "I really want to see it in action!"

Belfast looked ahead and saw several pirates charging at them with guns and swords. "Very well, I see that it is time I get into action," said Belfast. "I do feel pity for those who have to face my new power."

Her rigging disintegrated into cubes and gathered around her arms and legs, becoming silver gauntlets and boots respectively. Getting into a fighting stance while looking the pirates before her, she said, "Time to clean up this all these mess!"

She then dashed forward at an incredible speed, punching a pirate hard in the nose in a split second. The other pirates were shocked, but they could not do anything to her as she zoomed around the place, punching and kicking them before they could lift a finger against her.

Some more pirates were standing in the distance, firing at her using guns. Belfast blocked the bullets using her gauntlets, and then guns appeared from the sides of the gauntlets for her to fire at the pirates.

When more pirates showed up from the side to attack her, she pointed her hand at them, and this, small missiles were fired from the sides of the gauntlet at them. Despite its size, the missiles created quite an explosion, wiping out most of the pirates.

"Wow! Awesome!" Shigure exclaimed with sparkling eyes after seeing what Belfast did.

"I have to admit that this sort of thing is a bit too extreme for an elegant maid for me," said Belfast, looking at her gauntlets. "Still, it's very useful! I wonder how useful it is in cleaning, though."


Taihou vs. Bonney

Taihou and Bonney were standing face to face somewhere in the now empty town that.

"So you're supposed to the rumored super soldier of the Marines?" Bonney asked the aircraft carrier.

"Is that what you people are calling us? I don't know if I should feel honored by that or should I be expecting a better name," said Taihou.

"Whatever the case is, you're going down, bitch! Whatever you've got up your sleeves, I won't be letting you have the first move!" said Bonney. After saying that, she rushed at Taihou at a surprisingly fast speed and threw a kick at her.

Taihou was struck in the abdomen hard and slid back, but she showed no signs of pain. "That didn't sting at all!" she commented. Bonney performed acrobatic flips to get close to Taihou and attacked with multiple kicks and punches. Taihou was able to block some with her fan, but some she failed to block and got hit, though it didn't make much difference because she didn't feel pain from getting hit.

Bonney eventually stopped and backed away from her. "What's with her body? It's like I'm hitting a steel wall!" she thought. "She isn't even defending herself using armament haki!"

"Are you done yet? It's my turn!" said Taihou before swinging her fan to release fire, and out of the fire appeared miniature jets.

Bonney was surprised by the appearance of these unfamiliar flying contraptions as they moved towards her while firing bullets. She swiftly got out of the way, and the jets chased her down at a fast speed. After dodging their shots for a while, she kicked them out of the air with swift movements of her legs.

Taihou got behind her while she was kicking down the jets and swung her fan at her, but with quick movements, Bonney was able to get out of the way using somersault jumps. The latter then lunged at Taihou with her hand glowing in pink light. "Time for you to change into a snotty brat!" she said out loud.

Bonney slammed her glowing hand against Taihou's body, and the ship girl's body glowed in the same pink light, but nothing happened, much to Bonney's confusion. "What?! How come nothing happened to you?! You're supposed to turn younger by more than ten years!" said Bonney in shock.

"Oh, is that what your Devil Fruit power is?" asked Taihou. "Unfortunately, that won't work on a ship like me! I've never been a little girl as far as I'm concerned!" She then swung her fan at Bonney, who was able to jump out of the way in time.

Landing from her jump, Bonney wondered what she meant when she referred to herself as a ship.

"All right, I think it's about time I try and see just how useful my new power is!" said Taihou as she slammed the back end of her fan onto the ground so hard that it embedded into the pavement. With a bright flash, the fan grew in size multiple times, almost three-stories tall and wide, as it opened up.

"What the heck?!" asked Bonney in shock.

Various spots on the fan glowed, and then laser beams of various colors were fired at Bonney, who got busy dodging them, but the beams were too fast and many to be dodged completely, so she was shot quite a few times. "GYAH!"

Taihou then picked up the fan using both hands, an impressive feat considering its size, and swung it. A large blast of fire was released a result, engulfing Bonney completely, burning her and blowing her away.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Bonney screamed as she flew back at a fast speed and eventually hit a house. She passed out with, charred by the fire.

A pink glow appeared around Taihou, signaling that the effect of Bonney's Devil Fruit on her had disappeared now that the user had passed out, though it wasn't like there was a difference for her in the first place. The giant fan returned to its normal size, and Taihou smiled as she looked at it. "Beautiful! I like this!"

Winner: Taihou


Hood vs. Bege

Hood and Bege were standing face to face in a clearing outside of town, and the latter said to her, "You've got some impressive artilleries with you, lady, but don't think I will be the one losing when it comes to firepower!"

"You are confident of your firepower, aren't you?" Hood asked him. "It is good to have faith in one's own power, but I can assure you that I will not lose when it comes to firepower!"

"Say that after you've gotten out of this first!" said Bege as he opened a door on his body, and out came several of his men, armed with various types of guns. They surrounded Hood, pointing their weapons at her. "Haha! Let's see who has the superior firepower now!"

Hood looked around unfazed and said, "I see… So this is the best firepower you can muster? Then allow me to show you the real firepower of the Royal Navy! Don't worry; I'll go easy on you!"

The guns on her rigging at the men, but the moment they saw them moving, they wasted no time in firing at her. Hood was struck all over the body, including her rigging, by the bullets, and Bege laughed, thinking that they got her.

However, when they stopped firing, they were surprised to see the woman still standing there without a single injury on her body, and she was smiling as well. "What the?! How are you still alive?!" gasped Bege. "Did you use armament haki?!"

"It's a secret!" she replied. "Now it's my turn!" She fired from the guns, aiming for the ground in front of those men. Explosions were created as a result of the gunshots striking the ground, and the men were blown back, injured and burned by the blasts.

Bege took a couple of steps back in shock at what he saw. "Such firepower! Damn you Marines, always coming up with such outrageous things!"

"We need a way to keep up with the ever growing threat of pirates after all," Hood told him.

"Don't get so full of yourself! I'll show you what I'm capable of!" said Bege as he pointed his hands at Hood. Small openings appeared on the palms, from which his subordinates fired at Hood using miniguns. Hood was struck in front of the body and took some steps back from getting hit. She actually felt pain.

"Actually felt that one…" she said. "However, it will take a lot more than that to pierce holes on a battleship!" She then fired from her guns at Bege, who turned his feet into tank threads and sped out of the way fast.

While moving around like a vehicle, Bege continued to fire from his hands at Hood, who also dodged the shots. She wasn't able to move as fast as him, so she shot a few times, though they weren't fatal to her whatsoever. Both sides continued to trade shots against each other, and eventually, Bege was struck by some explosions that struck the ground around him and blown into the air, falling back down with a painful thud.

"Argh! That does it! You're asking for it!" said Bege angrily as he got back up. "Behold my ultimate form! Big Father!" In an instant, his body underwent a transformation while growing in size. He had transformed into a castle that sported his face at the front.

Hood was surprised by what she saw. "Unbelievable! The things that Devil Fruits can do…!"

"Now you're finished!" said Bege. Openings appeared on the walls and towers of his new castle body, and cannonballs were fired at Hood. She held up her arms in defense as the cannonballs exploded around her, and she was then struck by a few and blown back.

Bege kept on firing, so much that the area before him was covered in fire and smoke. He kept this up for about a minute before finally stopping. "Haha! How'd you like that?" he laughed, thinking that he got her for real.

Hood came into view as the smoke slowly dissipated, looking injured and having some spots of her rigging on fire. "All right, I'll admit that you have quite a firepower, so now it is time that I show you a new trick I picked up," she said. Her riggings then split into small cubes, floated into the air, and then gathered around her, forming a new creation.

"What the heck?!" said Bege in shock.

Hood was now seated on a majestic-looking throne, and attached to the its sides are large battleship guns. On top of all that, the whole thing was situated on top of tank threads. Basically, Hood was sitting on a mobile throne equipped with guns.

"Time to see just how powerful this is!" she said. She wasted no time in firing from the guns at Bege. The moment Bege was struck, strong explosions rocked his entire body, making him cry in pain. Hood kept on firing, bringing more pain to him.

"Can't hold on… forever…!" cried Bege, trying his best to endure the shots.

Hood stopped firing and then zoomed forward on her throne, colliding into Bege hard and ultimately knocking him off the ground.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

The castle collapsed on its back, and then it changed back into Bege, who lied on the ground and was seemingly too weak to move. "Oh…"

Pointing her guns at Bege, Hood said with a prideful smile, "Bow down before the queen!" Then she said in her head while sticking out a tongue and winking playfully, "Her Majesty won't be happy to hear this. Heehee!"

Winner: Hood


Gascogne vs. Urouge

Gascogne and Urouge stood face to face with each other in a clearing outside the town

"So, you're a Marine," Urouge said to her. "What are you going to do about me? You think you can take me down?"

"Urouge, the Mad Monk," said Gascogne. "Bounty: 108 billion Berries. Possesses a Devil Fruit that allows conversion of damage into strength and muscle mass. Known feats include defeating one of the Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates and then escaping alive."

"Oh, so you've done your homework! Good for you!" Urouge said to her. "Then you should just how strong I am! Do you think you can still beat me?"

"Opponent's danger level is high. Extreme caution must be taken," said Gascogne. "Attack with full power from the beginning highly suggested." After saying that, her rigging disintegrated into blue cubes and gathered around her, covering her entire body and gradually taking a new form.

"Oh ho? You've got something up your sleeves? Let me see!" said Urouge with interest.

When the transformation was over, standing in place of where Gascogne used to be was a tall and bulky robot made of white metal. It resembles a medieval knight and had guns attached to its shoulders. Held in its hand was the cross-tipped staff Gascogne used.

Gascogne was inside the robot, and a holographic screen was in front of her, showing not only the scenery outside, but also various statistics such as Urouge's status and her robot suit's status.

"Prepare to engage in combat," she said. The hand of the robot pointed at Urouge, and the palm glowed with yellow light before firing a blast of energy at him at a fast speed that struck him in the chest.

Urouge was blown back by the shot, and then he sat up while grunting in pain. "Ugh… That hurts! Heehee! Now I have an idea on what you're capable of!"

Gascogne fired another energy blast at him, but with a swing of his hexagon-shaped pillar, Urouge deflected the shot. He then stood up and ran at Gascogne, ready to hit her with his weapon. "My turn!"

When he swung it at Gascogne, she held up her staff in to block the attack. Urouge took several more swings at her, and while she was able to block them, the force of his swings was so strong that she took steps back every time she got hit. Urouge then thrust the pillar forward, hitting the robot in the abdomen and pushing it back several steps.

The shoulder guns then fired at Urouge, who held up his pillar as a shield. He blocked the shots, but the impact still pushed him back quite a bit. After firing a couple more shots that got blocked, Gascogne dashed at him with the fist of the robot pulled back. Urouge got ready to block it, but the Gascogne swiftly jumped behind him and struck him in the back.

Urouge almost fell forward, but he maintained his footing and turned around just in time to get punched in the body multiple times by Gascogne. After hitting him a few more times, she fired energy blasts from her hands as well as her shoulder guns at Urouge nonstop, so much that the air was filled with smoke.

Urouge kept on getting hit nonstop, and though he used armament haki to defend himself, the powerful shots still brought pain to him. "Such power! Marine technology is incredible!" he thought. "But all this pain is good for me! It's time that I retaliate!" After Gascogne was done diring, his body began to grow in size, as well as his muscle mass, until he was about twice as big as before. "You've done well hurting me, girl," he said with a large smile. "Now it's time I return the favor! Karmic Punishment!" He then hit the robot over and over at a fast speed with incredibly powerful punches.

Inside, Gascogne was rocked back and forth as the robot got hit, and she actually felt pain. The holographic screen before her was also becoming static as a result and showing a warning sign that she was receiving heavy damage. "Heavy damage taken multiple times," she said with her usual expressionless face. "Imminent loss if this keeps up."

Gascogne hurriedly backed away from Urouge and readied to fire from the robot's palms, but Urouge grabbed the arms and forcefully pointed them sideways so that the shots did not hit him. When his hands came in contact with the robot, his body suddenly shrunk back to its original size, much to his confusion.

The shoulder guns then fired straight into his face. Though painful, Urouge tanked the shot and made use of his Devil Fruit to further strengthen himself and increase in size again. Without thinking twice, he hit her with a powerful headbutt that knocked her back quite a distance. "I lost my power when I touched her, and I felt my strength decreasing slightly as well...!" he thought. "It felt as if... I came in contact with Seastone! Can it be that her armor is made from Seastones?"

Gascogne's robot suit crashed onto the ground hard, and she struggled to get back up due to the damage received. Before she could get up, Urouge jumped at her with his hands held over his head and slammed it down onto the body like a hammer. He then punched the robot mercilessly over and over, not giving it the chance to get up.

The screen before Gascogne was going crazy, telling her nonstop that critical damage was received. "Critical damage… Must… avoid… further… damage…" she said.

She struggled to get back and eventually shoved Urouge to the side. She immediately fired from all her guns at Urouge at full power, hitting him nonstop with full power.

Urouge grunted in pain as the constant firepower pushed him back, so much that he was seemingly blown to bits. Gascogne eventually stopped firing, as the screen was indicating that she was overheating.

"In poor condition… Retreat recommended…" Gascogne told herself. She was going to get away from the battlefield when suddenly Urouge emerged from the smoke. Though badly injured from the gunfire, the Mad Monk was still standing.

"You've done well, but too bad it will end now!" he said to her. He then pulled back his fist before unleashing a powerful punch at the robot.

SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

The robot was smashed onto the ground hard, so much that a crater was formed around it. Cracks were seen on the robot's body, and the whole thing was short-circuiting as well. It then disintegrated into blue cubes and turned back into its original rigging form, which was also in a bad shape. Gascogne was now lying on the ground with injuries all over her body and an almost passed out expression.

"Objective failed…" she weakly said. "Opponent power level… exceedingly… high…" She then closed her eyes and fell silent.

"I'll have to give it to you. You did better than I thought!" Urouge said to her as his body returned to its original size. He then held up one hand as if doing a Buddhist prayer. "May you rest in peace, little girl."

Winner: Urouge


TO BE CONTINUED

Taihou and Hood won, but Gascogne lost. I did say these are battles where anyone can win. What do you think of the fights? Please let me know and look forward to more!

And yes, Urouge's power is confirmed to be a Devil Fruit by the info book One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World. Its name isn't given, however.