Three months passed in a flash for Worldwide Smoke. Not so much for Shaska, though. She could feel herself slowly going insane from the isolation, not to mention the tobacco withdrawal. Not helped by the constant jeering she got from the other prisoners because of her status as a well-known bounty hunter.
"Serves you right, bitch!" shouted a prisoner.
Shaska said and did nothing, not even crack her knuckles, because she knew threatening or beating the other prisoners would result in an extended sentence.
"Damn it all," she muttered as she relaxed on the sorry excuse of a bed she was given.
The one grace she was given was being able to work out at the prison's gym. Even that, though, wasn't much consolation, as the weights at the gym didn't even reach one ton, as opposed to the multi-ton weights at the gym on the Humo Robinson.
"Ugh… I'm gonna be so weak by the time I get out… I can already feel my muscles wasting away."
—-
Eventually, Shaska's sentence was up, and she was released on the condition that she would be imprisoned again should she return to the island. As she had predicted, her once bulging muscles had been replaced with flab due to lack of proper training.
The guards brought her before the king and queen once more.
"I hope this has been a humbling experience for you, Shaska-jamon," said Neptune, sitting on his massive throne, arms crossed.
"And, per our agreement, you will return to Fishman Island after your adventure is done," said Otohime.
"I mean, I'm glad you didn't have me shipped to Impel Down, but I still think it's kinda messed up you held me without even a trial," Shaska said.
"Trials are unnecessary as long as I am around. I could sense your feelings and tell you were guilty," said the queen. "But fortunately, it seems your heart has changed somewhat, and you will be less negligent in the future."
"I'll be sure to not take prisoners next time, that's for sure," Shaska quipped.
"Shaska-jamon! Respect!" Neptune ordered.
"She's just somewhat cranky because she hasn't had a cigar in months," Otohime said with a smile.
"Damn straight! I've been chain smoking cigars ever since I had my twins thirty years ago! Not to mention I haven't had any real food in months!"
"You've chain smoked cigars for thirty years-jamon?" Neptune asked. "It's a miracle you haven't developed a medical condition!"
"Guess I'm just awesome," Shaska replied, eyes closed, pinky in ear.
"Hm. I guess you haven't been that humbled-jamon," said Neptune.
"Your Majesty, I really have some training I need to get back to. Unless something's changed in the last three months, I'm still the only one crazy enough to take on Minus World," said Shaska. "We can work on my etiquette during my next stint in jail, 'kay?"
Neptune rolled his eyes and said "very well, Shaska. Just be aware that if one more incident occurs, you will be arrested and thrown in jail, regardless of your quest-jamon."
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness," Shaska said with a bow.
The guards escorted her away from the king and queen and gave her belongings back. Her gi, her wads of cash, a lighter, a cigar cutter, and about a dozen premium cigars.
Before she even changed her clothes, Shaska sparked up a cigar… and then promptly spat it out.
"Ugh! You clowns didn't keep these in a proper humidor, did you?! They're ruined! Premium Zacanudos worth two thousand berries a pop! All gone! Damn it"
She threw the ruined cigar on the ground and stomped on it with her tentacle-y foot, all the while the guards rolled their eyes.
The guards turned around to give her a sense of privacy, and Shaska promptly changed back into her gi, making note of how much her muscles had degraded in the past few months.
She sighed as she tied her belt, then muttered "I gotta work extra hard these next three months."
Shaska turned to face the guards (who she towered over), and said "alright, let's go," to which the guards nodded and escorted her to the palace entrance.
—-
Worldwide Smoke continued their training at the Fishman Karate Dojo. The Mercury Collective survivors and the officers sat together and meditated, gathering their energy for when the next round of physical combat training would come. It was an air of perfect serenity: perfect temperature, a gentle breeze blowing in through the courtyard doors.
"Focus…" said Funagyoshi as he walked through the aisles of students.
They were not able to focus; Shaska kicked the door in with a loud crash. She stood in the doorway puffing on one of many cigars she had retrieved from the humidor on the Humo Robinson.
"I'm back, bitches! Miss me?"
She was met with a collective groan from her employees.
Shaska flicked ash off her cigar and said "not exactly a warm welcome."
"Shaska, you barely even know our names," said Roxanne, rolling her eyes. "Don't forget, we're business partners, not friends."
"'Business partners' is a strong term," Shaska replied. "You're employees, bar gi-Roxanne."
She clapped her hands and exclaimed "alright! Fill me in! How's training been going?"
Funagyoshi stepped forward, arms crossed and said "it's been going surprisingly well, considering we've started from less than nothing. The once-starving ones have mastered the Fifty Brick Fist technique."
Shaska looked down on the survivors of the Mercury Collective, and sure enough, they were much healthier looking, even developing some muscle mass. She couldn't help but smile and think "money well spent."
"Your officers have also taken to learning Haki quite well," he continued. "Despite their lineage, the bald one and the blond one have gotten the fundamentals of Observation, while the one with the snake has further strengthened her prowess in Armament Haki."
Shaska held her hands together, and her smile grew even wider. "There's still hope for us!"
Her eyes flashed red, and she got a feel for everyone's newfound power with her Observation Haki. "Eeeeeeee!" she squealed. "You've all grown so strong! We'll take back Kemurchant Enterprises without even having to throw a punch!"
"Shaska?" Roxanne asked, standing up and tightening the belt of her gi. "I wanna test my skills. Spar with me."
Shaska blew smoke and responded with "girl, I'm twice your size and can lift a battleship over my head. You really think you can take me?"
"Well, you haven't been training. And if I can't even touch you, then what hope do I have to beat that creepy princess?" Roxanne said.
"You have a point," Shaska replied, flicking ash off her cigar. "Meet me in the courtyard then."
"Darling, are you sure?" Lulupo asked, standing up too. "Miss Shaska's really strong. Even if she hasn't been keeping up with her training due to her… 'vacation'."
"I think I can at least try. Between Master Funagyoshi's training in Fishman Karate, plus what I've been doing with you at night with Oh Come My Way Kenpo, I think I can handle myself," Roxanne said with a nod.
"Hm. This should be interesting," said Funagyoshi, stroking his chin. "Out of all my current students, you're certainly the most improved, housewife."
"And stop calling me that!" Roxanne yelled at him. "Let's go, Shaska! You and me!"
—
The officers of Worldwide Smoke filed out into the courtyard, while the lower-ranking members continued their meditation training with Sogyon and Masagyoshi in the main part of the dojo.
Shaska and Roxanne stood at opposite ends of the courtyard, while Funagyoshi stood in the middle along the wall.
"Alright, you two! Remember, this is a friendly sparring match. If it gets too heated, I will step in!" Funagyoshi declared.
Shaska cracked her knuckles and coated her hands with Armament Haki. "Okay, bar girl! I'm gonna punch you really hard! And you're gonna try and survive!"
"Bring it!" Roxanne called back, assuming a fighting stance.
Shaska blew smoke and muttered "don't say I didn't warn you."
Shaska flew forward, and faster than Roxanne could react, Shaska had planted her fist square in Roxanne's face, driving her into the ground so fast and hard, it made her bounce off the ground.
As Roxanne lay on the ground, Funagyoshi called out "that's enough! It's clear she needs more training!"
However, Roxanne quickly spat out a tooth and struggled back to her feet. "Nah… I got this… I didn't hear a bell, did you…?"
"Roxanne, darling! You still need more training!" Lulupo shouted from the sidelines.
Roxanne, for her part, punched the ground, which left a visible indent due to her bending powers. She called back "I said I'm not done yet!"
"You should listen to them," Shaska said, casually puffing on her cigar. "Even with my muscles wasting away to nothing over the past three months, I'm still too much for you."
"Give me a real fight," Roxanne growled, wiping the blood from her now-broken nose.
"Your funeral, girl," Shaska said, cracking her knuckles.
As Shaska stood over Roxanne and raised her fist again, Roxanne shot forward and grabbed Shaska's off hand, bending it and her arm in an unnatural direction with her Bend Bend Fruit.
"What the-?!" Shaska exclaimed as she relaxed her dominant right hand from the shock. The bending wasn't painful, but it was definitely uncomfortable to look at.
Roxanne wasn't finished, though. She swung around using Shaska's arm and delivered a kick to her back, bending her torso out of shape in the process.
"Cute little gimmick you have there, Roxie, but-" Shaska tried to say as she turned around, but she was interrupted by a punch capable of breaking a hundred bricks to the gut, deforming her torso in the opposite direction now.
"Only Andy's allowed to call me that!" Roxanne shouted back.
She followed up by jumping, landing in Shaska's now-concave gut and using it as a foothold. The two were now basically eye to eye, Roxanne actually being somewhat taller now. Shaska responded by blowing smoke in her face.
Roxanne for her part, began exerting her strength on the air around Shaska's head, vigorously pulling it and twisting it.
"What… What are you…?" was all Shaska was able to say.
"Give it a sec," Roxanne replied.
Shaska's breathing started to quicken, and her face started to turn blue.
"What's going on?!" Funagyoshi exclaimed as Roxanne jumped down.
"Bend Bend Choke."
Shaska grabbed at her throat with her free hand, gasping for air.
"I bent the air currents around your head so that you're too busy fighting for your own life rather than fighting me," Roxanne explained, sipping from her hip flask. "Lulupo said my power is only limited by my creativity. I could have just as easily bent your throat shut, too."
Shaska began stumbling around, and then fell to her knees. Thankfully, the area she stumbled into still had all its air, but she still began hacking up a lung as she regained her composure.
"Not bad… girl…" Shaska wheezed. "What else do you got…?"
"I've got you right where I want you is what I've got," said Roxanne. She waved her hands in front of her face, then the rest of her body. She promptly became invisible, much to the shock of everyone watching.
"Bend Bend Blink!" she called.
Roxanne ran over to Shaska's location, and gave her a swift, invisible knee to the face as Shaska was doubled over, catching her breath. She followed up with a "Hundred Brick Roundhouse!" to Shaska's jaw, the latter still unable to see the former.
"And now… Drunken Swan Soiree!" Roxanne called as she began throwing out a flurry of invisible punches and kicks.
Shaska was no longer amused, and she turned on her Observation Haki. She could sense Roxanne's presence now, even if she couldn't physically see her, and began weaving past Roxanne's attacks.
"Like I said, girl, it's a cute gimmick!" Shaska declared as she dodged all of Roxanne's attacks. Roxanne wouldn't give up though, and jumped again.
"SWAN ARABESQUE!" Roxanne shouted. She went for a flying kick at Shaska's face, but Shaska managed to catch her foot.
"It's a cute gimmick, but you're still not strong enough," Shaska said before slamming Roxanne into the ground.
Roxanne slowly became visible again as the light stopped bending around her, and she pulled herself back to her feet, huffing and puffing.
"You still need to be stronger and faster, girl," Shaska said. "Invisibility is a cool power, but Haki is gonna be an important factor going forward. Anyone worth their salt in the New World has it."
"Damn it all…" Roxanne gasped as she fell backwards and landed on her back. As she continued to huff and puff, Shaska stood over her.
"Don't worry, kid, we still got another three months of training to get through. We'll get you there."
Roxanne sat up and took another swig from her flask.
"So… you wanna bend me back to normal?" Shaska asked.
"Yeah, yeah… give me a second…"
Funagyoshi clapped his hands in approval. "That was amazing, human housewi-Roxanne! Your training has paid massive dividends!"
"Haaaaaah… haaaaaah… still not enough…" said Roxanne. She punched the ground again, leaving another indent. "I need to be even stronger."
"Darling, you'll get there one day, but right now you need to just stop and see how far you've already come!" Lulupo said with a smile on his face. He stood up and went to go help Roxanne up, but she declined, standing up on her own.
"I guess you're right… I used to be completely helpless… but I just held my own against one of the toughest bounty hunters on the sea."
"Granted, I haven't trained in months," Shaska said.
Roxanne rolled her eyes and shook her head, then proceeded to un-bend Shaska's bent body parts.
"This now seems like it would be a good time to apply my philosophy of battle," said Funagyoshi. "The reason you lost, Roxanne, is not because you were weaker."
"It's not?" Shaska and Roxanne said in unison.
"It's because you did not know yourself or your enemy as well as you should have. Now, that is not to say you should shirk your training, but you must learn these lessons well."
Funagyoshi turned to the rest of the officers and said "you all would do well to learn about this, too, now that I think about it. All of you, except Puerco, have unique talents that would go far in a battle."
Puerco tried not to look offended by this.
"If this king you seek is as powerful as you say, then it will behoove you to study this philosophy with me," said Funagyoshi. "We shall set aside time to study in addition to training your bodies and spirits."
"And the test of this will be when we take back the company!" Shaska exclaimed, puffing on her cigar.
"Correct. Come, we still have three months of intense training to go," said Funagyoshi.
—-
Purupurupuru…
Purupurupuru…
Purupurupurucaaaaaaaaalick!
"This is Miwagyo."
"Miss Miwagyo! Our insiders at the palace have found that Shaska was imprisoned there for quite some time, but has been released!"
"We need to be ready for battle at any moment, then," said Miwagyo, leaning forward with all six of her hands tented. "She's bound to strike any day now. I don't know what she thinks she's doing… but she's not getting this business back unless she pries it from my cold, dead hands."
"What should we do, ma'am?"
"Prepare for war, obviously," Miwagyo replied, blowing smoke. "Any word on where she is now?"
"Last we heard, she's at the Fishman Karate Dojo!"
"Hm. So she's getting some training in. No matter, we'll defeat her should she rear her head around here. It's a foregone conclusion. We have two hundred of the world's best bounty hunters stationed here at HQ. She wouldn't dare kill all of them to get her precious business back."
"...anything else you need from me, ma'am?"
"No, no. Back to your work," said Miwagyo.
"At once, ma'am!" said the employee as he hung up.
"Show yourself. Shaska."
TO BE CONTINUED