Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece.
Beta Read by: Syrisna
Chapter 9
"What?" Naruto asked, trying to wrap his mind around Temari's family being dead.
"How?"
"It happened last month, when Madam began showing her face. At first, we all thought she was harmless since all her followers did was steal from and strongarm a few local venders, a nuisance but nothing to really worry about." She explained as she bit the inside of her cheek in frustration.
"She must have seen our dismissal as an insult because that's when the real trouble started." Temari said softly before pausing to compose herself.
"Her group started bombing the city: women, children, and even the elderly weren't spared from her attacks. My father and the other clan heads worked hard to help the victims of the terrorist attacks. So, to ease the people's worries, he was willing to form a truce with her and not seek retaliation. We should've known that you don't try to reason with monsters." Temari reminisced sadly.
"We don't know how they did it but the Madam was able to turn one of my father's men against him. It was another simple clan meeting when he showed his chest that was wrapped in explosives, jumped at my father, and set off the explosives. It was only thanks to Baki being near me and using his body as a shield that I didn't end up dead. Unfortunately my father and two little brothers weren't so lucky." Explained the tattooed blonde.
"I always knew Baki was loyal but you never really appreciate someone until they take an explosion to the face for you, right?" Temari joked after telling her story, not even willing to chuckle at her own morbid humor.
Her momentary cloud of depression however was lifted when Naruto embraced her in a warm hug.
"Temari-chan, look I'm sorry I had to make you remember something so horrible. I just wanted to know how committed you were to this plan of yours, and whether or not your emotions will get in the way. You're still my friend and I would jump off a cliff for you." Encouraged Naruto who was now more driven than ever to meet this Madam Shih and teach her a lesson for hurting his childhood friend.
-X-X-X-
Two days after reuniting with his childhood friend Naruto, his crew, and the best of the Sabaku family had come together and started their descent into the undergrounds of Gokudo.
The sewage system was enormous with dozens of connecting corridors that seemed to go on for miles in every direction.
Naruto lead his ragtag group through the maze-like underground for hours until they found themselves at the end of a seemingly random corridor.
"Okay, we're here." Naruto said as he pointed to wall.
"This is a dead-end, Temari-sama: this is a waste of your time." Advised Baki who was also giving Naruto a concerned look.
"No, trust me, this is it. There is just another passage on the other side of this wall. Ideo, a little help please." Asked the blonde as he knocked on the sturdy brick wall with his knuckle.
"Aye aye, Captain." Ideo said with a smirk before he smashed his fists against the sewage wall.
"Destruction Cannon!"
Naruto walked through the now destroyed wall with a knowing smirk as he turned to his right and saw the shocked faces of the men on the other side.
There were well over thirty of the Madam's Men in the large sewage passageway and they seemed to be moving a large cart.
"Hey, what's taking you lazy bastards so long?! We have a job to do!" Yelled a familiar male voice from the frozen crowd before he pushed his way to the front.
Shigure was seconds away from ordering his men to kill off these intruders and get back to work, but the words died in his throat when he saw a far too familiar head of blonde hair.
"Yo." Naruto said with a wave.
(One Asskicking Later)
Temari looked through the pile of beaten men until she stumbled on one who had stayed conscious.
She grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him up till he was eye level.
"Okay, now that the violence is out of the way... how about you calmly tell me what you and your buddies were planning on doing down here with those explosives, and why do you have this map?" She asked sweetly while pointing her thumb at the now open crate of explosives.
"I can't! If she finds out I told you, she'll kill me!" He tried to beg only to shut up once he saw the ponytailed blonde's murderous stare and her reach for her signature weapon.
Naruto had to turn his head away as he heard the ugly metallic thud of Temari's fan bashing against the defenceless grunt's skull. He had forgotten how violent his friend could be when she didn't have her way.
"Alright! She told us to place as many explosives as we could around all the most populated areas of the city, we were just now finishing up. She said if she can't rule over Gokudo then she'll blow it off the map." He confessed; his face now a bloody mess with several teeth missing. The revelation made the tattooed woman's eyes go wide at the idea of all the death and destruction Madam Shih's plan would cause.
"Listen, it's pointless to resist her. You should all just surrender to the Madam and hopefully she'll let us all live. Even though you made it past us you still won't be able to touch her as long as the three generals are around." He warned before Temari knocked him unconscious with her fan.
"Baki, you and the rest of the men need to go to the surface, alert the other families, and start looking for those explosives. Now!" Temari ordered Baki who was hesitant to leave his mistress, but a strong glare from the tattooed woman was enough to get him, and the rest of the men to collect the unconscious thugs and move out of the sewer at breakneck pace.
With that business handled Temari nodded to Naruto who guided his comrades further down the underground waterways.
They moved further and further down the sewer until Naruto stopped in his tracks and placed one of his hands on the wall.
"This is the place. My Echo Map is telling me there is a room behind here. We just need to find the entrace." The blonde explained while Temari and his crew helped him search along the bricks of the wall until Temari put her hand on a particular brick that shifted under her touch.
When that brick was pressed a large section of the wall sunk underneath the ground and a new passage was opened to them, and they proceeded down the path.
However, they failed to notice the pale orange Surveillance Transponder Snail watching them from the ceiling.
-X-X-X-
After exiting the downward passageway, the small group found themselves in, of all places, an underground warehouse.
They were currently in an open space with metal shipping containers lying around. Revolving around them were dozens of large shelf aisles that created a semi-circle design.
The warehouse was large; with its ceiling being over 50 feet high with an elaborate crane system rigged overhead that seemed to span across the room.
The added space was a blessing for Rock & Scotch, who up to this point, had to crouch to get their massive frames through the secret passageway. They could now stand tall without fear of bumping their heads.
The group randomly picked an aisle and began exploring, while Naruto used his Echo Map to form a clearer picture of this room and its possible exits. When combing through the warehouse, the group took note of the numerous firearms, swords, and dials stacked inside the crates lining the shelves.
Their exploration continued until they came across a sectioned off part of the aisle that led to a new room with a bookshelf and desk covered with various tools and blueprints inside.
"This place reeks of gunpowder." Naruto said, broken out of his concentration as he pinched his nose to dull the overpowering odour (1).
"Yeah and judging by the setup, this place is the personal workshop of whoever built those explosives that woman is using." Temari concluded as she looked through the various explosive diagrams on the work desk.
"You're correct, Miss, and although I'd appreciate it if you'd put my designs down." Asked a new voice, catching the group completely off guard.
The voice was coming from the pile of tools on the far corner of the desk where Temari found the source; a Transponder Snail. It was bright red, orange spots splattered at random on its shell, thick dark black eyebrows, and had a long Fu Manchu moustache.
With composure formed from years of political training Temari calmly picked up the Transponder receiver.
"I apologize for me and my associates for showing up unannounced but may i ask who I'm talking to?" She questioned politely, only to get a mocking chuckle in response.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Princess Sabaku, but I prefer keeping my identity a secret. I hate that our first meeting had to be under these circumstances but seeing as how the conflict between our organizations was headed this way regardless, this was unavoidable." The voice lamented sadly, the Transponder Snail's eye stocks dropping low to emphasize the caller's sadness.
"Listen as a high ranking member of Madam Shih's group I know she would want me to explain that you really only have two options here; you and your associates could leave now and I promise you that neither yourself, companions, or clan will be harmed when Madam Shih takes over this island or you can continue your pursuit of us and die here." Threatened the voice on the line which made Temari look at the ground in thought with her hair falling over her eyes.
"How about I offer you an ultimatum of my own; you can surrender yourself to us, show us to your master, and face a lighter punishment or you can stand by her and be hunted down like the dogs you are." Temari forewarned while glaring daggers at the now expressionless Transponder Snail.
"Good luck." Finished the mysterious voice through the Snail before cutting the transmission.
It was at that moment that Naruto detected something wrong. His ears were picking up a distant whizzing sound that was getting louder each second.
"We gotta go now!" Naruto ordered as he rushed everyone out of the workshop before dozens of missiles arched over their heads, detonated, and made the area explode in a cloud of colorful sparks.
The assault didn't stop there as more of the colorful missiles rained down over the groups heads, forcing them to escape or risk being caught in the explosions.
When they reached the open area again the group ran behind a nearby metal shipping container that protected them from the explosives.
-X-X-X-
"Well, that went well." Naruto said with a smile that confused his companions greatly.
"He gave himself away by attacking us the way he did. My ears picked up him priming those missiles of his, and now I have his exact location. Our best bet now is to bide our time, surround him, and overwhelm him with our numbers." The blonde suggested only to meet the disapproving head shakes of the Yeti Cool Brothers.
"No we'd just be wasting time. You guys go ahead while me and Rock take care of this guy." Scotch said confidently while adjusting his rifle.
"Are you sure?" Asked the blonde.
"Of course, I've been itching for a sniper duel." Agreed Rock.
"Alright then, I'll leave this guy to you, but let me at least help even the odds before I go." Naruto stated before explaining his plan.
-X-X-X-
The flurry of fireworks continued to rain down onto the shipping container they were shielded by before the group finally made their move.
Temari and Ideo ran towards the warehouse exit while the Yeti Brothers shot down the approaching rockets.
"Voice Missile!" Yelled the blonde as he fired his signature red sonic beam at the girders of the high shelf the sniper was nesting in, causing the entire structure to topple over.
"Good luck, you guys, and don't you dare lose! Captain's orders!" Naruto yelled to the two while following Ideo and Temari through the warehouse exit.
Rock and Scotch surrounded the destroyed platform and waited for the dust to clear so they could see their new opponent.
From the wreckage of the platform, a lone figure emerged.
He was fairly tall for a human, standing at just over 7 feet and, like his Transponder Snail, had jet black hair in a topknot with a long Fu Manchu mustache hanging down to his chest. He wore a short-sleeved orange shirt covered in red firework patterns with a bright yellow sash around his waist and a pair of goggles around his neck.
"So, now that it's just the three of us how about we formally introduce ourselves?" Suggested the moustached pirate with a friendly smile that clashed against his eyes that screamed danger.
"Rock." Grunted the giant; tightening his grip on his firearm.
"Scotch." Said his brother.
"Nice to meet you both." Said the man before he returned the gesture, "My name is Li Tian (2), High General of Madam Shih's forces, and user of the Bang Bang Fruit (3) which makes me a Firework Man." He finished before taking a stance against the twin giants.
(Yeti Cool Brothers vs Li Tian)
Making the first move, Rock and Scotch jumped towards opposite sides of Li-Tian before firing their first shots at him. Li Tian countered by pointing both of his index fingers at the twins like guns before they began to morph into small rockets that flew from his body.
"Bang Bang: Firework Shot!"
When the tiny rockets intercepted the cannonball-sized bullets, they created a colorful explosion.
Li Tian then started growing strange red warts on his forearms that with a sweep of his arms the red warts flew off his limbs and covered the ground around them. When both marksmen saw them up close, they noticed two things. The first being that every wart had a small fuse attached and second that these weren't warts at all.
"Firework Creation: Blooming Cherry Bombs!" He said cheerfully as the fuse on each firework lit up.
The dozen tiny bombs exploded and covered the area in a cloud of pink smoke.
When the pink smoke finally cleared, the brothers and Li Tian were both nowhere to be found.
To the naked eye, the room was empty, but the loud bangs of gunfire could be heard all over the place alongside random multicolored explosions.
After the smoke from Li Tina's fireworks cleared the sniper's duel had transformed into a high speed game of cat and mouse with both Yeti brothers trying to corner the evasive Firework Man.
-X-X-X-
Li-Tian's game-plan for defeating the Yeti Cool Brothers was fairly simple; create a diversion, use his superior speed to overwhelm his larger foes, and then use his devil fruit ability to blow them sky high.
He hadn't expected the two giants to be able to keep up with him once he used Soru, but apparently the two knew a similar move to the Marine Rokushiki technique. Plus, despite their large size, the high altitudes the Cool Brothers had been born to had blessed then with a much higher endurance than the Paramecia type who was beginning to tire.
Knowing he couldn't keep up this pace any longer, the explosive expert decided to cut his losses and stand his ground against his furry adversaries.
Once Li Tian stopped using Soru he found himself surrounded on both flanks by the speedy twins who didn't hesitate in gunning the Paramecia type down.
Reacting quickly, the sniper created a black hockey-like disc from his palm, ignited it, and threw it on the ground in front of him.
Once lit, the disc began releasing large amounts of ash that coiled around its creator like a snake and shielded Li Tian from the resulting explosion.
"Firework Creation: Black Snake Shield!"
The black ash withstood the large bullets from their rifles, and when the snake shaped ash broke apart, Li Tian was ready to retaliate.
He then pointed the palms of his hands towards the twins as his fingers morphed into tubes while a larger tube grew from his palms.
"Bang Bang: Roman Gatling!" He declared, before all 12 tubes ignited and a barrage of flaming stars (4) were shot at the furry duo.
Having no cover to hide behind, both brothers split and ran from the rain of fire.
While running from the barrage of colorful stars, Rock and Scotch shared a glance before both siblings turned a corner and began running towards one another.
Seconds before the two Yetis could collide, Scotch cupped and extended his hands towards his brother, who with all his momentum, used them as footholds to propel himself skyward.
"Snow Lift!" Rock exclaimed before he took aim at the explosive Paramecia-type.
"Himalayan Hailstorm!"
From his new higher elevation and out of firing distance from Li Tian's Roman Gatling Scotch began raining down shots at the explosives artist and forced him to go on the defensive and use his Roman Gatling to intercept the cannonball sized rounds raining on top of him.
It was only due to his aptitude in Observation Haki that Tian was able to see the vision of himself getting shot seconds before it happened and because of his clairvoyance he jumped several feet back and avoided the bullets Scotch sent his way.
"Shit" Scotch cursed in disappointment as his brother finally descended and landed by his side.
Li Tian had definitely underestimated the two up to this point. The twins were not only surprisingly quick for their size, but they had incredible teamwork and excelled at using misdirection.
This made Li Tian smile challengingly; this only meant that now he would have to use some misdirection of his own.
Li Tian charged headfirst towards the giant twins and used his ability to produce a cylinder from his chest that he quickly lit then tossed in front of himself.
"Firework Creation: Ground Spinner!"
When the fuse on the cylinder ran out the disk began spinning at high speeds, releasing bright sparks everywhere that had Rock covering his eyes in extreme pain.
Before he could use the distraction to attack the duo, he was forced to jump to the left to avoid being hit by another giant-sized bullet aimed at him by a charging Scotch who, because of his unique headgear, wasn't blinded by the light show.
Reacting quickly, Li Tian extended his forearm, transformed it into a bottle rocket, and fired it at the giant's head.
Scotch's instincts were far too sharp as he sidestepped the flying missile, used his free hand to snatch the Firework Man out of the air, and started squeezing the life out of him.
"Gotcha!" Scotch said as he tightened his grip.
"Do you?" The older man replied to Scotch who heard a familiar whistling sound coming his way before his back was consumed in a colorful explosion.
"Bang Bang: Precision Bang!"
Overcome with pain, Scotch began falling forward while his hold on the explosives' expert started to weaken.
Once Scotch realized he was losing his hold on his slippery opponent, the giant chose to cut his losses and throw him with all his might.
Li Tian flew several yards across the room before his body slammed through a nearby shelf. The force of which being enough to collapse it and the wooden crates it supported on top of the Paramecia fruit user.
By the time Scotch lost the strength to stand Rock had recovered from the lights of the Ground Spinners and rushed to his brother's side to smother the embers that had remained from the explosion.
Rock was able help his sibling get back on his feet as Li Tian emerged from the wooden debris, injured but very much alive.
"Okay, this show has gone on long enough." Tian growled.
He transformed his feet into smaller rockets that he used to propel himself up the centermost high shelf where he stared down angrily at the twins.
"I'm done with using these firecrackers, now it's time for the real display!" He bellowed theatrically as he linked his forearms that began morphing until they formed another large rocket.
"Bang Bang: Fourth of July!" He yelled as he fired his rocket skyward. When it reached its peak, the rocket's shell burst and instead of producing an explosion it released dozens of mini-rockets that began raining down onto the twins.
Knowing the range of this attack was too large for them to run away in their conditions, both brothers looked at one another.
"Can you hit him?" Asked Rock simply, even though he already knew the answer.
"Yeah, just cover me." Scotch said confidently as he ignored his wounds, kneeled, and focused on his target.
"Fine then, just don't miss." Rock said who stood over his kneeling brother while unloading all of his remaining ammo upward to intercept the hail of fireworks and form a zone of protection in the field of explosions.
Taking a deep breath, Scotch tuned out the noise of the fireworks, gunfire, and explosions going off around him.
Using his mental map he'd made of his surroundings and Li Tian's location when he fired his attack, Scotch carefully lined up his rifle and pulled the trigger.
-X-X-X-
Li Tian smiled as he gazed at the colorful chain of explosions his technique produced. This kind of destruction was what he lived for and despite it being a lot harder than expected, the pyromaniac was still happy that he blew up the intruders.
'Those two were strong but like the rest they never stood a chance.' He thought confidently while waiting for the explosions to die down so he could see what was left of his opponents.
Sadly for him, his good mood was cut short when he saw another one of the large bullets he had become so acquainted with fly through the cloud of explosions and towards him.
Knowing he had no time to dodge and that the explosive ammunition wouldn't be enough to kill him, Li Tian closed his eyes, crossed his arms over his vitals, and braced himself.
Seconds later with no damage done, Li Tian open his eyes and realized he hadn't been shot.
Before he could voice his confusion about the Yeti's terrible aim, he heard an explosion and screeching of metal on metal coming from the ceiling.
Following the sound, Tian looked up and discovered the giant marksman's true target: the warehouse's overhead crane.
The explosion from Scotch's bullet had destroyed the foundation of the crane and made the entire structure collapse over the sniper's head.
"Industrial Avalanche!"
The severed crane hook and its supporting girders fell on top of Li Tian, knocked him from the high shelf, and sent him falling towards the ground.
Rock and Scotch jumped to meet the falling sniper with both of their rifles flipped and primed for overhead swings.
"Himalayan Slam!"
With nearly perfect coordination both brothers used the butt of their guns to strike down Li Tian's weakened body and sent him spiralling into the warehouse floor where he left a body-sized imprint in the concrete.
The Yeti Cool Brothers stood over the defeated Paramecia user, so they could check to see if he was truly subdued.
"Ahhh!" Li Tian yelled in pain. His body was badly broken by his fall, and his limbs were pointing at unnatural angles.
Li Tian took in one steadying breath before smiling up at the two giants.
"Well, looks like you got me. You two bested me at my own game. Facing two opponents of your skill level and being able to show my creations was the most fun I've had in years. I have no regrets." Complimented the Firework Man before a look a realization came over his face.
"However, I did promise Shih that I'd get rid of all who oppose her." Li Tian wheezed as he coughed up blood. The blood trickled down the sides of his face as he rasped on, struggling to speak clearly through his clogged airway. "What kind of man would I be, if I broke my promises?"
Another violent bout of coughs sent up more blood, staining the front of his shirt crimson. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, but," his eyes shifted to look up at the Yeti Cool Brothers, and they felt a sense of dread bubbling up within their guts. They didn't like the look Li Tian had in his eyes.
"For what it is worth, you'll both have front row seats to the Great Li Tian's grandest firework display!" He shouted with determination as his head began morphing until a foot-tall tube was sitting at the top of his skull, almost like a bizarre crown.
'Not cool.' Both Yetis thought before they started running as quickly as they could from the seemingly suicidal sniper.
"Bang Bang: Fountain Eruption!" Exclaimed Li Tian as he leaned the crown of his head towards the ceiling before the firework went off and an enormous pillar of multicolored flames was released from his head.
The flames were so strong that not only was Li Tian's body burned to a crisp but even being several feet away the fleeing brothers could feel the flames licking at them and both knew that if they slowed down for even a second the flames would consume them.
Using what little strength they had left, the Yeti Cool Brothers made a desperate leap behind some large shipping crates that shielded them from the worst of the flames before the eruption ceased.
Unfortunately for the twins, before they could pat themselves on the back for their successful battle they heard a loud rumbling sound coming from the ceiling. Apparently, the heat from Tian's final attack not only burned the area around him to a crisp, but the flaming pillar had eaten away at the metal ceiling and the support beams.
"We gotta get out of here! This whole room is going down!" Warned Scotch as the remains of the ceiling started to crack and large amounts of debris began raining down on their heads.
"But what about the others?" Asked Rock, not liking the idea of them leaving their comrades behind in this base against such powerful opponents while having no clear path back to the surface.
"There is nothing we can do. Naruto and Ideo are strong they can handle anything this Madam can throw at them and with his devil fruit powers, he should be able to find another way out when this is all over." Scotch argued while shielding his head the best he could from the falling debris.
Not having anymore time to argue both brothers leaned on one another's shoulder for support as they limped their battered bodies towards the secret entrance and back out into the sewer. All the while praying that their comrades would make it out of this ordeal alive.
Chapter 9 End
Glad I got this chapter out I wanted to make this one longer and finish this arc but that got to be too much so I felt this was easier to manage. I've also been wanting to have the Yeti Brothers get into a fight for awhile now so I'm glad I finally got it out of the way. Fights between long range specialist are always tricky so it took me awhile to flesh the fight scenes out. I know it's been forever since I last updated this story but I've been busy but now I definitely have more time to update more regularly.
(1)- Naruto's nose is slightly more sensitive than normal because of his past with Big Mom. Being around such flavorful food 24/7 will do that to you.
(2)- Li-Tian is the name of the Chinese monk that people believe created the firework.
(3)- The idea of the Bang Bang Fruit comes from me but I have to give credit to Lemon Grenade (author of the Devil Encyclopedia) for fleshing it out for me. I added and left out a few abilities but the main concept stayed the same.
(4)- Stars are just another name used to describe the exploding pellets released by fireworks.
[Recommended Story]
The Devil Encyclopedia by Lemon Grenade: Still a great story and has a chapter (Ch.17) on the fruit I used this update.
Anyway Review, Follow, and even Favorite if you want.