Beware the Golem of Iron!
Bringing Down a Titan!
Stuilk laughed from his spot on the ground, "So this is what a full-powered spirit is capable of. I still think I look better then you do. Woo hoo!" He jumped backwards as Hiro-Shu brought his huge iron foot down and smashed the ground. "Goblin Trap! Petrified Cage!" Long streaks of wood exploded from the ground and wrapped around Hiro-Shu's foot holding it to the ground without showing the slightest chance of it breaking.
Enma banged on the inside of his wooden cage. "What's going on out there?" No response. He sighed. He was being left out of the loop and he had only just joined the crew. "Hiro-Shu shout something if you can hear me!" No response.
Hiro-Shu brought his giant iron fist down from his spot smashing the ground beneath him into dust. Once again, though, Stuilk had proven to be a slippery foe and avoided the smashing attack. "Goblin Trap! Petrified Stakes!" Large wooden pillars shot out of the ground and slammed into Hiro-Shu's knee. They pierced a couple inches of Hiro-Shu's heavy iron armor, but didn't get close enough to even hit Hiro-Shu.
Hiro-Shu swiped his arm along the ground destroying the majority of the castle, bringing it down. Stuilk jumped up and on top of the hand and began to run up it towards the head of Hiro-Shu. A large wooden spear appeared in Stuilk's hand. "Let's see you survive this death blow to the head!" Stuilk rammed the end of the spear into the side of Hiro-Shu's head, but it did nothing. Hiro-Shu reached up to his shoulder and grasped the air around it trying to grab Stuilk, but Stuilk jumped down to the ground.
Large wooden pillars began to materialize in Stuilk's hand as he began to throw them at Hiro-Shu's heavy metal body. None of them worked. Stuilk landed on the ground safely and began to catch his breath. Suddenly, Hiro-Shu's foot, that was imprisoned by Stuilk's Petrified Cage, broke free and went into the air. Hiro-Shu brought his foot down right above Stuilk's head.
"Goblin Trap! Petrified Fortress!" Large wooden pillars began to form a dome above Stuilk's head protecting him from the force of Hiro-Shu's heavy iron body. Stuilk then ran out from underneath it. He smiled, he still had an ace up his sleeve. "MEN!"
Large amount of Dai Mungi's men came up and surrounded him. "Yes sir!" they all shouted in unison.
"Get ready to fire upon that beast!" shouted Stuilk, "I don't want to see it standing when we are done!" With his order gone out the men under his control quickly scattered to get to the numerous cannons located across the island. Stuilk smiled, with a body that big it would be impossible for his men to miss.
Hiro-Shu brought his leg down again this time with enough force it created a small earthquake. Stuilk jumped up off of the ground and onto the nearby wooden fence. One flare went off on the island. One man in place. As soon as three more flares went off he'd bring this monster down.
Stuilk jumped up and launched another round of petrified arrows off at Hiro-Shu. They all slammed hard into his arm, but none of them pierced deep enough into his armor to hurt him. Hiro-Shu continued along the way smashing more of the castle and wooden fence down, destroying everything that was in his path to Stuilk.
Another flare went up into the air. Stuilk landed on the ground safely. "Goblin Trap! Petrified Trip Line!" A large wooden pillar came up and snaked across Hiro-Shu's foot. When Hiro-Shu went to move closer to him, the petrified wood held strong and caused Hiro-Shu to lose his balance and fall. His entire body went down onto the castle crushing it beneath his weight. This continued until his entire body rested on the ground. A third flare went off.
Hiro-Shu struggled onto this feet when Stuilk jumped into the air and drove a large wooden pillar into his back. This one actually sunk all the way into his body and into his back causing blood to spurt forward. Hiro-Shu cried out in pain. Stuilk jumped off and looked into the air…had he missed the fourth flare? No, its impossible to miss those with the noise it produced. Would three cannons be enough to take him down? Probably not. He'd better not risk it, yet.
Hiro-Shu's hand reached out and smashed into Stuilk's body sending him careening into and through his own wooden wall. Hiro-Shu brought his entire body back to a stand. He reached back and pulled the wooden pillar in his back out. Iron then went back over the wound, preventing him from bleeding any further. Hiro-Shu scanned the wide open space for Stuilk's body, but saw nothing. He brought his entire body to a stand when a fourth flare went off.
Stuilk's menacing smile grew wider. He would win this fight. Only thing he had to do was send the signal. The signal was simple a long wooden pole straight up into the air with a totem carved into it. He was about to create just that when a furry fist came flying into the air knocking him through the air and onto the ground.
"I WON!" shouted Mikoto confidently as Zesiro caught up, "I was supposed to beat this guy up for Sage! That's what I was supposed to do. I'm glad I finally remembered."
"I don't think that quite counts," said Zesiro as he put his hand on Mikoto's back, "I think you are supposed to give him a fighting chance and not sucker punch him. He's gonna want a rematch. Wait! How did you know that was the guy you were supposed to beat up? Sage just said 'Dai Mungi' wanted to fight you, how do you know that guy was Dai Mungi?"
"That's a really good point," said Mikoto, "I just kind of punched the first guy that I didn't like the looks of…let's just say it was Dai Mungi."
"Sure," said Zesiro, "whatever you need to tell your…self." Zesiro's words trailed off as his eyes trailed up the thirty-foot iron giant. "I think you have your next contender!"
Mikoto looked up at the iron giant. "Hey! Hiro-Shu! I took care of Dai Mungi for you! No worries!"
Hiro-Shu ignored him as he brought his heavy iron foot down and into the ground bringing up rubble. Mikoto rolled to the side easily avoiding the powerful, but slow stomp. Zesiro barely avoided the attack and was standing a mere couple of inches away from the heavy mass.
"I'm sorry!" shouted Mikoto, "I'll let you take care of the next bad guy! Okay?"
"I don't think that's what this is about," said Zesiro as he picked up Mikoto under his arm and ran out of the way of Hiro-Shu's next punch.
(-With Sage, Ridley, and Enma-)
The wooden domes broke down into thousands of splinters. Ridley and Sage were both heavily breathing due to the lack of oxygen. "I never…want to…see…that guy again…" breathed Sage. They probably only had another a minute or so until they passed out.
Enma, who was only trapped for about three minutes was stretching and getting used to the excess of space again. "I guess Hiro-Shu must've taken that Stuilk guy down."
"Stuilk?" asked Ridley, "I thought he was fighting Dai Mungi." He began to stretch too.
"How…are you…already…better?" asked Sage, "I'm…still out…of breath."
"I had a bad childhood," said Ridley, "to you that was torture. To me that was another Saturday night…ah, I miss my old Saturday nights. BACK WHEN I COULD HAVE ALCOHOL!" He glared over at Sage.
"Sorry," she barely muttered out.
Enma glanced over at the two of them, "what were you guys doing in there for the whole ten minutes you were trapped? I was only trapped for three and I was starting to panic."
"Well, since you asked, me and Sage were having a little adult only time and…" started Ridley before Sage roundhoused kicked him a few feet away.
"WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"
Enma chuckled and turned his head, what an interesting crew he joined. He stopped laughing when he noticed the giant thirty foot iron giant getting closer, "uh…guys. I think we should go get some help for Hiro-Shu."
"Why?" asked Ridley before he looked up and saw the giant, "holy crap! Is that Hiro-Shu? Who knew he could do something like that!"
"Excuse us! Coming through!" shouted Zesiro as he bobbed and weaved through them with Mikoto still under his arm.
"Hey," said Mikoto, "wait! I think that was Sage back there!" Zesiro stopped and turned around and jogged back to them.
"What's up with Hiro-Shu," asked Enma keeping his eyes on the giant approaching them.
"I don't know," said Zesiro, "I don't think he's thinking straight." He dropped Mikoto on the ground. "It's like he is preset to crush everything."
"How come it was 'I think that was Sage back there'? Why not 'I think that was Sage and Ridley back there'?" asked Ridley crouching down next to Mikoto. He flicked Mikoto's ears.
"Sorry, you look different when you are sober," said Mikoto from his spot on the ground, not caring to stand up at the moment.
"That's your excuse!" shouted Ridley as he stomped on Mikoto's head. "Next time show interest in me!"
Mikoto chuckled despite Ridley's stomp, "I missed you. You need to get alcohol more often."
"I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY ALCOHOL!" shouted Ridley this time launching a much more powerful stomp onto Mikoto's face.
"OW!" shouted Mikoto standing up, "THAT HURT!"
"Focus," said Enma slapping them both across the head. "We have a real problem here…we have a giant golem coming at us. We can't kill him because he's our friend and he doesn't seem to recognize us as his. We got to take him down BEFORE we get crushed."
"Don't worry," said Mikoto, "just give me a Rumble Ball and I'll take care of him." He held his hand out to Enma.
"A Rumble Ball?" asked Enma.
"Yeah, I told you to make me one," said Mikoto.
"No, you didn't!" shouted Enma.
"Well, I'm telling you now so where is it?" shouted Mikoto back.
"I don't have it!" replied Enma. The crew was all…psychopaths!
"Just make do without one," said Zesiro as he brandished his swords, "we'll just have to knock him out. That'll hopefully knock him out of whatever is going on." Zesiro hated this feeling, out of everyone on the crew Hiro-Shu was actually…sane. They had a pretty good friendship up to this point, hopefully this fight won't ruin things.
"Agreed," said Enma calming down first. A large continuous chain of backbones exited from Enma's shoulder until they formed a centipede-looking skeleton. Just a week or so on the crew and he already had to attack his crewmate…great.
Mikoto sighed. "I've been wondering how well I am against Hiro-Shu." He faced Hiro-Shu's huge iron body and smiled. "I guess this is as good as time as any." He morphed back into his hybrid form. He stretched his claws out to their full-size. If only Enma had prepared him his Rumble Ball.
Ridley shrugged it off, "he never did appreciate my music." He took his guitar off of his back and played a few notes to warm up. "I guess I'll just have to change his opinion through this little fight of ours."
Sage shook off the weariness she was feeling from being trapped. "I'm ready, now…let's do this to the best of our abilities." Her body was shaking. Her only offensive attack was to kill someone with an explosion, she couldn't do that to Hiro-Shu. Not to mention the fact that her Devil Fruit only affected a fifteen foot radius while Hiro-Shu was thirty feet tall.
"Ready crew?" asked Mikoto, "this is the test to see if we are made out for the Grand Line. If we fail…we might die, if we win…we might kill our crewmate…so…let's try to…um…not kill him?"
"Shut up," said Zesiro with a smile as he led the charge towards Hiro-Shu's iron body. He launched the first attack two simultaneous slices straight up Hiro-Shu's leg. He couldn't even cut into it due to its hardness. He skidded past him and readied for a second strike. The battle was starting to look bleak.
Hiro-Shu was about to twist around and confront Zesiro when Enma's skeletal centipede wrapped itself around his leg holding him in place. "Thanks, Enma," said Mikoto as he jumped onto the back of the skeleton, morphing into his full beast form. He started to run up the skeleton to Hiro-Shu's leg. He reached out with his claws and sliced straight across Hiro-Shu's leg, again not a single scratch. Mikoto landed next to Zesiro.
Hiro-Shu brought his leg around snapping through Enma's skeletal centipede. He was now facing Mikoto and Zesiro. He brought his arm up to fire another punch when loud music filled the air.
"200 Decibels!" shouted Ridley slamming along his guitar. Hiro-Shu twisted back around kicking the ground sending a large clump of dirt flying at Ridley. Ridley stopped playing his music and dove to the side avoiding the attack.
"Land and Sea Combo! Mako Coyote!" shouted Mikoto and Zesiro as they both ran between Hiro-Shu's leg slicing as they went. Four fresh scratches appeared on Hiro-Shu's leg, but none of the attacks went deep enough to pierce Hiro-Shu's skin.
Hiro-Shu brought his foot down destroying more land with additional force. The ground shattered around his body. Hiro-Shu looked up at his five crewmembers. He was about to launch another severe attack when his leg gave way beneath him and he feel to the ground on one knee.
"When severe pressure is applied to a person's leg," said Sage from the background, "it can cause cramps, pain, and nerve death." She shivered for a second before adding, "I'm sorry about that, Hiro-Shu."
Fall, Iron Golem!
The Master Plan!
Okay, that was fun to write! Hiro-Shu went on an uncontrollable rampage through the city only his friends can stop him. Sounds like a typical anime chapter. Anyways, with Sage's power being severely limited, Zesiro and Mikoto both unable to do any real damage, Enma's bones being broken, and Ridley…being Ridley will they succeed or will they die at the hand of their own friend.
Next time on the Saga of the Infinity Pirates you will learn some handy tips on how to handle with your friend if he becomes a giant uncontrollable golem. (If you knew what I was planning you would've noticed a pun in this author's note!)
I'm also kind of shocked to find that Enma and Hiro-Shu are the most popular characters among the Infinity Pirates. Honestly, I thought it was going to be more like Mikoto, Hiro-Shu, Ridley, Sage, Zesiro, and then Enma. I was wrong.