Hi guys Azza here!
I wrote this in three and a half hours believe it or not. Honestly this reminds me of when I was younger and looking for a job when I would drop minimum four chapters a week. As cool as it is to catch up though I'm bored as hell and even though I still have a bad cough and feel tired I honestly can't wait to go back to work …
Inbound for he regrets this statement first week back haha!
Anyway onto the reviews!
Erasenpai – Yeah that's the idea. His bounty will be massive however it won't just include what he does here but like Luffy it'll include what he does in the later arcs and the War Arc. I'm pretty confident on what I'm gonna make it though and yeah its easily over a billion.
Dragonborn2704 – To the everyday civilian, disgust and condemnation at his lack of humanity. To the Servants who hate them, applause. To a certain Warlord who despises them with every fibre of her being … well you can take a wild guess.
For real though this is the beginning of an overarching arc so that should tell you just how much certain parties are considering his actions.
Susano'o Chaos – I've gotten to that point, it sucks! You scour the net, tear through reddit posts in the hope you'll find something with a solid word count only to be disappointed. Hell I even reread my own stuff I was so bored, really annoys me seeing all the tiny errors when they pop up now.
I've reread many fics over and over again too, it's a shame writing takes actual time isn't it!
Anyway on with the story!
I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece or the Nasuverse.
Sabaody In Chaos
/Human Auction House/
Ceasing his laughter, the man sighed and put his flask away before looking out at the crowd staring at him. A small grin made its way onto his face as he removed his glasses and cleaned them with his white coat.
"Oh dear, it seems I've only brought even more attention to myself, eh Giant? Fuhahahahahaha! FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Maybe if you stopped fooling around for five seconds you'd realise this is actually a pretty serious situation, old geezer," the Giant responded dryly as the old man followed his gaze toward the downed form of Hachi who was now being supported by Nami and Chopper, the latter having already begun treating him.
"Oh, HACHI! Is that really you," the old man called out excitedly before noticing his current state, the cheerful demeanour vanishing almost instantly. "Those wounds … who did that to you?"
"N-nyuu …"
"No, don't tell me," the old man said as he began to stroke his beard whilst surveying the scene in the room.
First, he looked at the majority of the guards who had clearly pried themselves out of the floor and moved toward the position of the pink haired man several metres in front of him. It was obvious from the blood on his hands that he was responsible for the bodies of the two Celestial Dragons that hung nearby.
Looking down from the bodies he saw the Mermaid from earlier, a collar around her neck and a fearful gaze directed toward him. Looking back over at the pink haired man, the old man looked past him to see several others had gotten up and started fighting some of the guards.
A picture was quickly forming as he looked back at the Mermaid once again. However, when he looked back into the crowd he noticed a rather familiar face, his eyes widening in surprise as he moved to speak.
"Salvatore? Is that really you Salvatore," the old man asked excitedly prompting the Mafia Boss to openly sigh and remove his hat.
"Yes …"
"Oh! Its been years since I've seen you," the old man exclaimed before quickly looking back at the pink haired man as a certain memory played itself back in his mind. "Ah, I think I see what's going on here now."
Shifting his posture ever so slightly, the old man blinked. Only three people in the room aside from the old man actually saw what he'd done with said blink as another wave washed over everyone in the hall.
Just like that, bodies began hitting the floor as the guards, slavers and civilians all were knocked unconscious leaving the Straw Hats, Kid and his crew, Law and his crew as well as Salvatore alone.
"Oi," Kid said under his breath, his eyes obscured by the dark as Law's found themselves obscured by his beanie.
"What the hell is this old man?"
The old man turned his gaze to look past the pink haired man and onto the one with the Straw Hat, another small smile etching its way onto his face.
"That hat, it suits a fearless man such as yourself … Monkey D Luffy."
"How do you know Luffy," the pink haired man asked cautiously prompting the man to raise his hands in a calming gesture.
"I know all about you and your friends from Shanks," the old man replied as the pink haired man raised an eyebrow. "Yes, even about you Lord High Arbiter Natsu."
The old man mock bowed as Natsu stumbled backward in genuine shock, the old man already laughing once again as he walked over toward the fishbowl containing Camie.
"Excuse me, if you wouldn't mind coming closer so I could remove that collar," the old man asked softly prompting Camie to swim up to the water's surface as the man placed a hand around the collar and crushed it with a controlled burst of power. "There we are."
"Th-thank you!"
"No problem," the old man smiled before looking over at Natsu. "I believe the Aura and Devil Fruit Users downstairs are there under your orders Natsu?"
"H-how did you-!?"
Natsu paused mid-sentence as the man tapped near the corner of his right eye, a knowing gleam in his eye prompting him to simply nod instead.
"Salvatore," the old man called out as the Mafia Boss reluctantly walked down the stairs to meet the old man. "I believe you came here looking for your man, correct?"
"That would be correct?"
"He's in bad shape."
"I'm aware."
"Those girls are freeing him along with all the others downstairs as we speak," the old man said as he placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "For what its worth, I'm sorry it had to happen to him."
"So am I," Salvatore sighed before turning to Natsu. "You are one crazy son of a bitch Natsu. Fortunately, I know the value of crazy and I'm glad you actually still had planned ahead to bust my man out of there even if shit went to hell topside. I'm gonna go down and get my guy outta here before the World Government has half of Marineford drop down on our heads but here's my number."
Nodding, Natsu took the number from Salvatore who simply grinned and moved to head backstage only for the old man to cough, forcing him to turn back.
"Forgetting something?"
"Really …"
"Come on Sal," the old man said expectantly as the Don pulled a sack and tossed it to him. "There we go."
"Even after all these years you still are an absolute grub, Rayleigh."
"R-Rayleigh," Natsu gasped as if physically struck. "A-as in … SILVERS Rayleigh!?"
"Heard of me," the old man chuckled darkly as he turned back to face Natsu. "Then again, Shanks always did love a good trip down memory lane …"
Loud shouts followed by explosions outside had everyone's necks snapping toward the exit with Zoro already drawing all three blades and charging outside. Natsu was surprised at the concerned look in the swordsman's eyes as he ran however it took several seconds before anyone else in the room bothered to move.
"That's likely the forces from the local base attacking everyone outside," Rayleigh sighed. "If you and your friends manage to escape, meet me back at Shakky's."
"Shakky?"
"We know where it is," Luffy replied quickly as he grabbed onto Natsu's arm. "Come on, Zoro probably will need us."
"Yeah," Natsu replied softly prompting the Captain to nod and run off toward the exit with the rest of the Straw Hats following suit. "Just one thing, since the others aren't here."
"Is this something you don't want them to know about?"
"It relates to something from your past, from Roger's past," Natsu replied as he withdrew the journal he found in Water Seven.
"Hmm."
"I've read it and I want to know more about what happened, direct from the source."
"That is rather dangerous knowledge to possess, Natsu," Rayleigh replied with narrowed eyes as he motioned to take the book, finding that Natsu did nothing to stop him when he did. "However, Shanks has given me some insight into exactly who you are and where you rank among the Council Hierarchy and given my status as a former Assistant … I will of course oblige your request."
"Thank you-."
"With … certain questions of my own being answered in kind, of course," the old man replied firmly prompting Natsu to nod slowly. "Good. We have no reason to be enemies, sorry for the rather hostile tone just now but-."
"Trust me, the matters of beings such as us becoming public knowledge is-."
"Rather delicate," the old man replied with a slight grin. "How old are you?"
"Late Eighties, you?"
"Seventy-Six."
"Seems I'm gonna be the one getting called 'old timer' in our future interactions then, eh?"
"Perhaps," Rayleigh laughed as he turned around to look up at the massive hole the Giant had left in the wall nearby. "However, I like to think that we can be mature enough to avoid such a sensitive insult."
"Those wrinkles getting to you?"
"I could fix them," Rayleigh laughed as his hair momentarily fluxed from white to strawberry blonde before going white again. "But then how am I supposed to avoid doing manual work and getting pity drinks at the casinos? FUHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Natsu couldn't help but laugh, the man had a solid thing going for him in Sabaody. His laughter quickly died when he realized he may have just ruined that for him, a train of thought the man quickly moved to stop.
"I don't blame you for any of this," Rayleigh said quickly. "The Celestial Dragons have been getting rather bold recently, it was only a matter of time before someone killed one. I'm just glad its someone who will be able to fight back against the consequences."
Several explosions outside reminded him that he was supposed to be out there helping his friends. Looking back to Rayleigh, the man simply nodded in understanding as his entire body seemed to gain a slight Blood Red hue to it.
"Like I said, meet me back at Shakky's and we'll talk," Rayleigh said before vanishing on the spot.
Shaking his head in amusement, Natsu also vanished and reappeared up on the roof of the Human Auction House. Letting his senses spread out he could tell it had become complete chaos around the place as the military moved to lock the entire Archipelago down.
"Alright, first things first."
Pushing his senses downward, Natsu felt the last life signs leave the slave cells and knew Robin and Seilah had completed their work. Satisfied, he looked down at his friends fighting off a mixture of Army and Marines and decided to make things just a little bit easier.
/Outside The Auction House – Several Minutes Earlier/
"S-Senpai," Mash gasped as hundreds of armed soldiers began swarming the area. "What's going on!?"
"I don't know," Ritsuka replied cautiously as men armed with rather familiar looking guns began aiming in their direction. "Uh … Mash!"
"Look out Senpai!"
With speed that surprised the soldiers, Mash had cleared the distance between them and produced a massive shield, blocking the barrage of bullets from striking a surprised Ritsuka.
"It's a Servant," one of the soldiers shouted.
"Send word back to HQ we have hostile Servants confirmed outside Alpha Three Niner!"
"It seems they are fully aware of Servants here," Ritsuka growled before drawing one of the guns attached to his new Mystic Code. "Come on Mash, we've got to fight back!"
"Of course!"
Mash vanished in a burst of speed, reaching the soldiers that had fired upon them in seconds. Swinging her shield in a horizontal motion, she sliced over a dozen before spinning it around her arm to block some gunfire and coming down on them backward, her shield striking the ground first.
Using the momentum, Mash immediately bounced upward and flipped back onto her feet before swapping arms with her shield and blocking another barrage of gunfire. To her right, more gunshots rang out however these shots were charged with Magic as bright blue bullets flew into the crowd of soldiers before exploding.
"Wow," Ritsuka grinned as he continued to shoot. "Da Vinci really is a veritable genius!"
"Of course she is," Mash replied as the pair began ripping through the soldiers.
However, being only two people, the duo began to get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers before them and were driven back toward the front entrance of the Auction House, taking cover behind a brick wall as Ritsuka peeked over and let loose several more shots.
"You know, I'm glad Billy let me have a go with his guns in the practice range for a bit. The kick on this is pretty big!"
"Senpai, we've got a problem," Mash replied shakily as Ritsuka peeked over the wall again only to widen his eyes to comical proportions.
"IS THAT A TANK!"
"I don't think my Shield will be able to damage that I'm afraid …"
"Of course it won't," a new voice cut in prompting both Ritsuka and Mash to spin around in shock. "But this sure will!"
"Sir Mordred," Mash called out prompting the blonde-haired Knight to grin.
"Howdy there Mash, you've gotten stronger!"
"Miss Mo!"
"THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME," Mordred snapped comically at Ritsuka who simply laughed in response. "Ugh, whatever. I can beat your ass for that later, right now we need to deal with this shit!"
"Even with the three of us, there are so many though," Mash replied grimly prompting Mordred to laugh.
"Who said I was alone, eh?"
Bursting through the doors behind Mordred was Zoro, all three swords already drawn as he dashed past the stunned duo and straight toward the enemy.
"Mister Zoro!"
"Come on, we've got work to do," Mordred grinned as she summoned her full armor and charged toward the enemy as well. Looking back toward the door once again the duo was shocked to see a robotic man wearing basically no clothes, a skeleton, a strange raccoon dog, a man dressed in a fancy suit, a woman with bright orange hair holding a rod of some kind and a man with a rather long nose moving to hide behind the wall near Ritsuka.
"Who … are these people?"
A man wearing a Straw Hat ran out of the building with a grin on his face. The man clearly heard them as he skidded to a stop and looked at them before smiling.
"Us? We're the Straw Hat Pirates!"
And then he continued to run and, to shock the duo further than ever, the man cocked back his fist with his arm stretching all the way toward the door before firing a long-ranged punch at a group of soldiers.
"Wh-wh-what," Mash cried out as Ritsuku quickly ran over to her side, dodging gunfire as he did so and slid into cover next to her.
"Mash! We don't have time to be confused but these must be the guys Zoro said were his friends!"
"O-oh … that's right," Mash replied in a semi calm state. "He did mention that his crew were a bit … odd."
Looking back over toward the fight the duo were shocked to see that the Straw Hats had managed to push the military back to the tree line. Zoro, the cyborg man, the fancily dressed man and the skeleton clearly obliterating most of them forces whilst the rubbery man with the Straw Hat leapt right into their back line and began causing chaos.
"You know, I'm surprised to see you two here," another voice said in Mash's ear prompting the Shielder to squeak in surprise only to bump into something soft. "Mpfh!"
"Oh my …"
Ritsuka could only shake his head before looking at the newcomer with a gentle smile. She was currently eating a kebab stocked with meat and had a semi blank look on her face.
"Hello Miss Seilah, nice to see you again."
"Hello to you too Fujimaru Ritsuka," Seilah replied as she gave Mash a gentle pat on the head, her face stuck between her cleavage. "Natsu will be pleased to see the two of you."
"Natsu," Ritsuka gasped as Mash pried her head out of Seilah's bountiful chest. "Hang on, you've ascended!"
"Indeed I have," Seilah replied with a small smile. "I have learnt more about myself since we last met, including what kind of female form pleases Master most-."
"Thick motherly type girls, women with muscles and tomboys," Ritsuka replied immediately prompting Seilah to blink in response. "Trust me, I see the Servant version of him every day. The amount of times Miss Boudica, Mother Raikou, Arthuria, Miss Kiara, Miss Scathach, Miss Erza, Miss Eliza and many of the other … well look I'm sure you get the idea, you've seen what Scathach looks like right? You know, the massive melons and the tight-."
SENPAI," Mash screeched as she smacked him over the head with her shield, a fierce blush over her face.
Seilah's eye twitched momentarily before she did something she normally didn't do in front of Humans; she began to laugh. Despite being hit over the head, he was glad to hear Seilah's laughter, knowing through his own bond with her that she was overall rather serious and tended not to.
"Yes Ritsuka," Seilah sighed as she ruffled the young teen's hair. "I am well aware of the appearance of many of those women. Master has what he likes to refer to as a 'fetish for mature women of Venus' or something like that. Do you know what that means exactly? Why is your nose bleeding and why are you crying?"
In truth, Ritsuka knew exactly what Seilah was talking about and couldn't deny he too wasn't attracted to women like that. Women like Raikou, Arthuria, Boudica and Kiara all had this certain 'allure' to them that made him want to submit and be mothered by them forever. Shaking the thoughts from his head he looked back at Seilah and noticed her body was now much closer to the one from Chaldea albeit still not quite as tantalizing.
"I suppose this conversation will need to wait for another time," Seilah sighed as she rose from her place. "Rest assured though that I will have you explain this to me in the future."
"Uh … ok," Ritsuka spluttered out prompting Seilah to smile and pet his head once more.
"Good boy."
"Ah …"
"Senpai!"
"Ahahaha! Sorry Mash," Ritsuka blushed having been lost in the moment of tender petting and praise. "Miss Seilah, where is Natsu?"
"He's the reason why we need to move," Seilah replied as she picked up both Mash and Ritsuka under each arm and shot off toward the treeline, the fighting now having gone well beyond its borders.
Being held backward by Seilah, both Mash and Ritsuka could see a figure hovering high above the Auction House and were almost certain of who it was, judging by the pink hair flapping away in the wind.
"Miss Seilah, what is Natsu doing," Mash called out over the sounds of battle only for Seilah to chuckle in response.
"Master is … purging the area."
"What do you mean by tha-."
The words died in Mash's throat as she saw what Natsu had started doing and was completely shocked. She knew he was powerful however the Natsu she knew was kind and only released such power sparingly and, although this was a rather volatile situation, she didn't understand why it warranted an attack of such destructive power.
/Natsu's POV/
"Alright, first things first."
Raising his right finger, a small flame sparked to life above it that quickly formed into a fiery ball. The ball began to rapidly expand, quickly eclipsing Natsu's size as it grew larger than the Auction House itself.
"That should about do it, Natsu."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just adding some Black Arts curses into it."
"Ooh! Which ones!?"
"Tsevrah Hsa, Devoleb Ecnelitsep, Cixot Aiag, Derehtiw Htaerb and Lufraef Arolf."
"Damn, you really are pissed."
"Well I for one support this land being cursed," Aava sniffed as the massive ball of cursed fire ceased its expansion. "Hopefully this land being cursed will instill fear within the Humans and make them believe that it was the result of the horrific acts here that led to it ending up this way."
"Here's hoping," Ahnk grinned as both moved to look through Natsu's eyes.
"Black Arts: Flame Monarch's Tnelitsep Avon!"
Launching the monstrous attack at the Human Auction House, Natsu grinned sadistically as the massive sphere of cursed flame crashed into it. The building itself was absorbed instantly with the entire island shaking upon impact.
The ground for thirty metres on all sides of the building began to crack, the grass withering away and dying only to be replaced by disgusting purple veins that oozed a toxic substance. At the centre of the attack, the building was shredded away as the lower levels were scorched out and filled with the same toxic substance, vapors quickly escaping out into the air with nearby trees withering away and dying upon contact.
"Now that," Natsu grinned as he slowly began to fly toward his friends. "That right there is what we call 'real' Justice!"
"I doubt that area will ever support life again," Ahnk remarked with clear amusement as both his tenants laughed at the destruction below.
"Serves the scum right, thinking they can trade their fellow mortals like that with no consequence! Let that be a lesson to them!"
As he flew off toward his friends, Natsu silently knew it wouldn't be enough. However, he knew it was a start and that … that was more than almost anyone had done up until now.
/Marineford HQ – Office Of The Three Arms/
"Unbelievable," Sengoku muttered as he almost fell into his chair in complete shock. "I didn't think he would go that far …"
"Knowing Dragneel as I do," Rider began as he lent forward at his own desk. "He likely felt this was justified."
"How the hell do you justify THAT!?"
"Quite simply, actually," Archer replied as Rider sent him a slight nod to continue. "Despite what our superiors wished to call it; the place dealt in Human Slavery. Natsu Dragneel, even from his youth, has always been against slavery since his first Wife was a slave as a young child and even he almost became one in his early youth."
"To put it simply Sengoku, this was to be expected."
"Then why didn't you say anything earlier!?"
"What would it have achieved?"
"Wh-!?"
"What would it have achieved, Sengoku," Rider repeated prompting Sengoku to grit his teeth in frustration. "We already have dispatched all the top tier officers we can spare."
"Besides, the three Saints are now well and truly beyond either saving or recovery," Archer added quickly. "At this point, the best thing we can do is simply allow our response to go in as it is."
"But we'll lose face!"
"Better than lose a significant portion of our top officers," Rider countered evenly as he gestured toward the nearby window. "Even now, more of our forces muster here for the inevitable Sengoku. You know that once we decide to go ahead with the execution that he will come."
"And when he comes, we need all hands," Archer sighed. "Really wish Vegapunk would get me some damn aerial weapons!"
"He's been rather busy," Sengoku sighed tiredly, glad to change the subject. "He only just recently finished development of our latest weapon for the Army."
"Ah yes, the robotics division," Rider hummed in response as he took a sip from his tea. "Pacifista, I believe they are classified?"
"Yes. Pacifista Mark I."
"I've read Vegapunk's final report on them," Rider continued as he opened up a folder. "He believes them to be rather effective units however they must be accompanied by Human officers in order to reach their full efficiency."
"Yes. The Mark I is capable of autonomous action however its artificial intelligence is limited due to current shortages in resources, as you no doubt already know."
"Does that mean he can start producing me some real air stuff," Archer whined. "Come on, just ONE fighter jet! A bomber!? Something!?"
"We must not push Doctor Vegapunk too far, Archer," Sengoku replied firmly prompting the man to groan audibly before pouting and moving to grab some things out of his desk. "Vegapunk is crucial to ensuring we retain our technological superiority now that the Servant State of Eden has proven it isn't going to simply sit around and rely on what they have on hand-!"
Sengoku paused as a paper plane stuck itself into his afro. Looking over at Archer he noticed the smug grin, prompting the man to sigh and pull it out.
"Archer …"
Sengoku stood up from his seat and moved to leave the room, turning back only when he heard Rider make a rather unusual sound.
"Rider? Everything alright?"
"O-of course, Sengoku. I'm merely beginning to cramp up from sitting in this chair for too long," the rather stern looking Servant replied.
Sengoku nodded and turned around again, leaving the room completely unaware that the entire back of his afro was covered in paper plans as Archer's smug grin moved toward his Rider counterpart.
"You almost laughed."
"Did not."
"Did too!"
"I vehemently deny it," Rider replied firmly prompting Archer to roll his eyes in response.
"Fine, whatever you say man. You're just glad that we're actually able to have fun in the office this time round."
"There is little time for fun during wartime, remember?"
"You're telling me that," Archer scoffed. "Did you forget who I am?"
"No."
"Then you should be agreeing with me more!"
"Whilst I admire the fact that you somehow survived in a Gulag for decades and ended up dying in your twilight years, the fact remains that you simply never had to deal with … the brass."
"Well, not in the same way you did," Archer replied in a much more reserved tone. "But tell me something?"
"What?"
"If you were in charge of our country at the time, would you have done things differently?"
"You do realize just how broad that question is, right?"
"I know. I'm just curious since both you and I are basically lauded as legends of our time yet our leader is vilified more than just about any other. I wanted to know how you'd handle the war?"
"Well, for starters I wouldn't have opened up a second front," Rider said slowly as he linked his fingers together and frowned, a look of concentration on his face. "The Russians were vicious, similar to the Chinese during later conflicts where they would use human wave tactics in exchange for time. The British could not afford such a luxury after we pushed them out of France."
"I'd have done the same," Archer agreed. "The Russians were simply too big for our nation to deal with in its current state."
"I also would have brought Italy to heel," Rider continued prompting Archer to raise an eyebrow.
"Is that right?"
"Mussolini had dreams of restoring Italy to its former glory, such a dream couldn't be allowed to fester yet 'he' allowed it to. When they began to lose, Italy switched sides in the face of destruction. Instead, I would have had Mussolini assassinated and installed a puppet in his place. From there, I would have exploited Italy's industry and combined it with our own."
"In order to fill the gaps within our own manufacturing?"
"Which would have also been streamlined," Rider added quickly. "Our technology was great however 'he' wanted the impossible. Where the Tiger II was a monstrous force to be sure however they were also costly. In addition, our other divisions from Tank Destroyers, Artillery, Light and Medium Tanks also had far too many variations between them. Instead, we should have limited the amount of lines in production in order to produce more of them with the limited resources we had available to us."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"However, even with all of this there remains one crucial problem."
"What's that?"
"You assume Russia wouldn't have just attacked us anyway, or that Italy would have just followed along. In addition, none can deny that the foolishness of the Japanese had more or less sealed our fate."
"Yeah, they really kicked the hornet's nest with Pearl Harbor didn't they."
"Yes …"
"So what exactly are you saying," Archer asked as he rose from his seat and moved to look out the window. "Are you saying that it didn't matter who was in charge?"
"Oh no," Rider responded with a slight laugh as he moved toward the same window to watch the massive army mobilizing beneath them. "I know full well that had 'he' not been in charge, the fate of our country would be unfathomably different. What I am saying however is that given the sheer number of our enemies and the intricate complexity of alliances, lack of resources and positioning within Europe, we simply were always going to be at a disadvantage."
"But …"
"But that doesn't mean it was a futile attempt. We must not deny what was achieved during that war, even if we were on the losing side. It is all well and good to sit back and commentate on what we would have done had we been at the helm however in reality it doesn't come down to numbers logic-."
"It comes down to Fate and sheer dumb luck," Archer sighed. "I was hoping you'd get there eventually. Too many people think they could easily conduct past wars and win them by making different decisions not realizing that it isn't those who bark the orders who decide victory … its those poor souls on the front line."
"For what its worth, Archer, I'm sorry that you ended up enduring such a punishment for so long."
"As am I, Rider," Archer replied softly as darkness, chains and near constant pain flashed momentarily to the forefront of his mind. "As am I."
Rider looked over at Archer who no longer seemed his usual hyperactive self and sighed. Out of the two of them, despite living longer, Archer clearly had the worse fate. Perhaps that was why he too became a Heroic Spirit after death, though he wouldn't even begin to speculate on that.
"Hey, Rider," Archer asked softly, not even daring to turn around as the atmosphere in the room began to grow tense. "Do you … do you ever think that 'he' ended up in the Throne Of Heroes?"
Rider sighed inwardly. He knew exactly who 'he' was and had entertained the thought almost all the time. After all, if someone like himself or Archer could become a Heroic Spirit, why couldn't 'he' also do so. After all, just because they were called 'Heroic Spirits' that didn't mean they were inherently 'good' people.
"To be truthful," Rider sighed as he returned to his desk and slumped downward with a sigh. "I believe it to be a near certainty that 'he' ended up on the Throne."
"Ah …"
"In fact, it is often said that the stronger the legend of a Servant is the stronger the Servant will be in turn."
"And despite it being more recent there's little doubt that 'he' has a legend that will echo throughout Human history."
"Indeed," Rider hummed in agreement as the pair sat in the office in silence.
Eventually, a small clock on the wall chimed, indicating that it was mid-afternoon. Running a hand through his hair, Rider sighed as he rose from his seat and put on his cap.
"All this talk of the past, let is forget it for now Archer and go focus on the present. Come with me to the mess and let us see if the cooks have come up with a marvel greater than fried chicken."
"I doubt that fried chicken is getting beat," Archer scoffed as he too rose from his desk and followed his Rider counterpart out. "Then again, the amount of flavours of ice cream …"
Rider couldn't help but laugh which in turn had Archer laughing as the tension between the pair dissipated almost entirely. After all, despite their pasts they were still once Human and Human's needed to relax every once and awhile.
Especially since this would be the last time the duo could relax for some time.
/Sabaody Archipelago – Grove 27/
As word spread across the Archipelago of the military beginning to lock down the entire area, many Pirate crews prepared to set sail in order to avoid capture. One crew was just about to head out when one of its members spotted something on the horizon.
"O-oi!"
"What is it," a man wearing an overly large had snapped. "You see some pretty bird again!?"
"N-no Captain," the man replied shakily. "I-I thought I just saw a Marine ship!"
The Pirate Captain scowled and snatched the spyglass off of his crew member and peered out over the horizon, finding nothing for several seconds until his gaze locked onto not just one Marine ship.
There were five.
"Shit," the man hissed. "Those likely came straight from Marineford!"
"What should we do Captain!?"
"Well its obvious, isn't it," the Captain snapped. "We've just gotta-!"
Dozens of explosions began to rock the port as the five Navy ships opened fire on the Pirate ships still docked. The Pirate Captain immediately spun around and looked at the lead ship, freezing in place as he saw a man wearing a yellow suit with brown pinstripes standing on top of a cannonball that had just been fired.
It was however the man's unique Marine Coat that drained the blood from the man's face however he had no time to even speak as the cannonballs soared over his head, a bright yellow light blinding everyone as they struck the ground.
At the point of impact for the cannonballs, there was another bright flash of light as the man who had been standing on the middle one simply appeared in a bright yellow burst as if he had simply been walking the entire time.
The man was incredibly tall and had short black hair and a thin beard. Covering his eyes was a pair of gold amber tinted shades and on his wrist was a tiny Black Den Den Mushi he held up like a wristwatch.
Speaking into the Den Den Mushi whilst walking, completely ignorant of the chaos around him the man spoke in a rather drawn out manner. He was also clearly laid back, not really interested as countless Pirates fled all around him instead focusing his sole attention on the Den Den Mushi.
One Of The Greatest Military Powers
The Yellow Glimmer
Admiral Kizaru
"Oi," Kizaru called into the Den Den Mushi. "Hello? Helloooooo? This is Admiral Kizaru, can you read me Sentomaru? Saber?"
The screams around him still failed to register as countless Pirates fled the area. Even as the ramps to the ships were deployed and hundreds of Army and Navy soldiers disembarked from the ship, moving to chase the Pirates he still didn't even look up.
"Sentomaru? Saber? Hellooooooo?"
Kizaru finally stopped and began tapping the side of his Den Den Mushi, seemingly confused as two figures in a nearby alleyway openly gaped at the man before them.
"O-oi! That's Admiral Kizaru," one of the men gasped. "We've gotta get the hell out of here!"
"No way," the other man grinned as he pulled out a rifle. "If I kill this guy here then my name will be known throughout the world!"
"Are you insane," the other man hissed as he tried to dissuade his friend from his foolish pursuit. "This guy is a fucking ADMIRAL!"
The other man didn't listen however as his scope locked onto the head of Kizaru. Taking a deep breath, the man fired. Breathing a sigh of relief, it was short lived as he noticed Kizaru hadn't even so much as twitched.
"O-oi … I just shot him, right?"
"Y-yeah …"
"What the hell," the man growled as he aimed at Kizaru's head again.
Locking onto it, the man opened fire once more but this time his eyes never left Kizaru. To his horror, the bullet went through one side of the Admiral's head and out the other, leaving nothing but a slight steam mark where it had entered and exited.
"What the hell!"
"Of course that wasn't gonna work, he's an Admiral," the other man snapped as he dragged his friend to the other end of the alley. "He's probably got some freaky powers!"
Unbeknownst to the two men, Kizaru was fully aware they had been there, one eye lazily looking at them as they ran down the alleyway. The two men reached the other end but where shocked to find Kizaru already standing there.
Spinning back around they couldn't believe he had traversed such a distance so quickly and were understandably horrified as the man towered over them.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for two people. They're my subordinates you see, a man named Sentomaru and a Servant named-."
Kizaru didn't get to finish as the two men bolted down the street. Sighing, Kizaru shook his head as the area from his knee down turned into a bright yellow colour.
"Honestly … I was just asking a question," Kizaru sighed as everything stopped in place for him. "Glint Glint: Ama No Iwato."
Firing his attack, it shot past all the frozen people in the street instantly and struck the center of one of the massive Yarukiman Mangroves. People began moving again however they skidded to a stop as an explosion rocked the entire port, blasting thousands of people back as the entire area was blinded by a catastrophic explosion that could be seen for miles.
The blast knocked down the ancient Mangrove it had struck, toppling it over as his own soldiers watched on in shock.
"A-Admiral Kizaru, isn't that going a little too far," one of the Marines asked who happened to land next to him.
"Hm," Kizaru responded as he lifted the man to his feet.
"You can't just go destroying the Yarukiman Mangroves like that …"
"Ahh … sorry," the Admiral replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I don't know my own strength."
"Honestly," the Marine sighed as he looked back at the inferno that was ground zero of the blast.
"Interrogate those two men, find out if they know where Sentomaru or Saber are," Kizaru ordered before vanishing on the spot leaving behind thousands of shocked troops and civilians.
Well hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one!