Round One!
Zesiro versus Magic!
"So, what was up with you and the word slave?" asked Zesiro as he tightened his bandages on his arm once more preparing to fight. Nito and Ichi shared a glance. Zesiro was the first one to fight. He would be entering the ring in a matter of moments. After him Rosa, then Maria, and finally Hiro-Shu was last. Zesiro was lucky, he was starting to grow impatient with waiting already, he was hoping that whatever Nito's and Ichi's tale was it would help lighten his mood.
"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" they shouted in unison. "Slaves? Slaves? I've never met a slave in my life...and I'm absolutely not a slave! We aren't slaves, right? Right?" Nito and Ichi looked at each other and backed away from Zesiro. Zesiro shrugged and returned to his bandages. He knew they were hiding something, but he didn't have the time nor the energy to hunt them down and force it out of them. The fight would start soon.
"Those of you who bought your tickets to this wondrous fight club be proud as we have three special guests that will be appearing in this very special edition of Underground Rally Arena!" shouted the Longarm from the front desk who had taken over the job of announcer. "Sadly, one of them is still missing in action, but he is coming, he'll just arrive a little bit late...so for now, you'll just have to live with the one and only benefactor of this island, the mass murdering madman, the serial killer Shichibukai, the 'Reaper' Trevor!"
Trevor smiled from his seat. The entire stadium filled with loud voices. Some of them were cheers for the man who made this establishment possible. One of the Shichibukai who made a deal with the government to keep this building open as long as he followed their command and didn't kill too many of them. The other half was disgusted boos for the same reason. A pirate that became a government dog was terrible and their respect for him was 0. Only a few of them seemed to hate the man as much as the Infinity Pirates did right now. Trevor didn't say a word and instead nodded for the Longarm to continue.
"And the next guest is one of the shooting star rookies! A newbie to the Grand Line, but people are believing he is going to go places and possibly become a big name in the pirate world! Is he one of the soon-to-be Supernovas!" shouted the Longarm.
"You guys are all wrong!" shouted Mikoto from his chair. He was just sitting one place in a chair next to Trevor, but something was different, unlike Trevor who was sitting up free from the chair. Mikoto was sitting straight with his back right up against the chair. On top of that he had a collar on around his neck. Most of the people in the audience probably believed it was just a part of his look, just a dumb dog reference, but his crew knew better. Trevor put it on him for some reason. "I'm going to be the next King of the Pirates!" The crowd roared loudly with laughter. "Oh, and I'm also going to collect and create the world's greatest riddle book!" The laughter in the stadium grew louder. They didn't know if the kid was joking with the statements that he just said or he was being serious. They both seemed so stupid!
"Well! Give the kid a hand!" shouted the Longarm, "but as nice as special guests are we all know why you are all really here! Let's get started with the blood bath!" The entire stadium let loose a horrendous holler. "Our first fight is an incredible bout between the first two fighters. First off, its Zesiro! The Fishman swordsman of the Infinity Pirate crew." Zesiro came out and walked onto the stadium. The stadium was a giant circular area above a pit. The way onto the area was just two planks that were pulled away as soon as Zesiro stepped foot onto the stadium.
"Get killed you stupid fish!" shouted the crowd. "You should be sauteed and sliced and served with chips! WE HATE FISHMEN!" Zesiro closed his eyes and remained fixated on the match. The noise of the stupid crowd was just a meaningless distraction. The fight would start in a minute and once it did. He would have his hands full with them. A metal can came flying into the arena, nearly hitting Zesiro. After that the crowd seemed to form a game out of who could hit Zesiro with their trash.
"Next up is one of the most mystifying pirates in our entire arsenal," announced the Longarm as he pointed to the other entrance. He was trying to distract them and make sure they wouldn't further pester the contestant, "He is the one and only! 'Hell Magician'!" The entire stadium calmed down and stared at the other entrance. Nothing. No man came out of it. The entire stadium was in a still quiet. Zesiro chuckled. It would be his win by default.
Suddenly the entire stage went up in a black smoke. The crowd's attention was immediately jerked back to it trying to see what was going on. The Longarm quickly began narrating, "something is malfunctioning with the stage we are trying to get a visual! But we have no idea what is going on down there! Why would someone do something like this?"
"Why would someone do this you ask?" said a voice. The smoke slowly began to clear. A new man was in the arena, "It is to show the world true magic!" He stood with his arms spread wide-open. "I am 'Hell Magician' Frederick Van Gauner! My magic tricks never cease to amaze and bewilder! Now that my entrance is over may I attract you to the center stage where my show shall begin!" The smoke continued to clear revealing a brightly colored wheel in the middle of the arena with Zesiro strapped in completely tied down to it.
Frederick Van Gauner was wearing a black tuxedo and tall silk hat on top of his head. He was incredibly lean without any visible muscles. In left hand he held a tall wooden cane. He wore a smiling face even as he walked about in the arena of death. He paced around in the arena, slowly distancing himself from Zesiro.
"HOW THE HECK DID HE DO THAT?" shouted Mikoto from his spot in the chair, "that's awesome! I had no idea you were a magician, Zesiro!" Zesiro growled at Mikoto as he struggled against the bonds that tied him to the big wheel. Suddenly something zoomed in through the air and stuck into the wheel next to Zesiro. It took Zesiro a couple of seconds to understand what it was. After all it didn't seem possible. But there it was. A playing card sticking out of the wheel. How the hell was it capable of cutting into this board?
"Behold the powers of magic in the world!" shouted Frederick as he took his tall silk hat off of his head. He reached into his hat and produced a new stack of cards. "Miracle Cutter!" shouted Frederick as he tossed one of the cards off of the deck and at the wheel. Once more the card stuck into the wheel behind Zesiro, but this time it was much closer only a few inches away. "And another Miracle Cutter!" Once more the card came flying into the air, this time the card stuck into Zesiro's arm. Zesiro grunted through the pain.
Zesiro tried to free himself, but the straps that held him to the wheel held fast and didn't give at all. He was still stuck. His sword was down at his waist, but his hands were spread out and far away from it. Zesiro struggled even harder, but the heavy straps remained strong. Frederick laughed and took a couple of steps forward towards his opponent.
Frederick flipped his cane out and into the air. "Miracle Cane!" A small blade slid out of the end. "And now for my greatest trick, I'll transform this living Fishman into corpse in a matter of second!" Frederick leaned forward and charged with his cane outstretched aiming for Zesiro's head.
Zesiro opened and closed his mouth crunching down on the cane preventing it from moving any deeper. Frederick looked worried for a second as he wrenched his cane loose from Zesiro's powerful jaws. Frederick's cane had been split in half with Zesiro's strength bearing down on it. He frowned for a second before tossing it aside, "ah, looks like the fish still has a minor amount of resistance to it, but too bad for him...I have the tricks to break it down! Miracle Cutter!" More cards zoomed through the air. They found their marks, several of them digging into Zesiro's skin. "Looks like he is still alive, but my magic show must come to an end!"
"Don't end it just yet!" shouted Mikoto from the chair, "I wanna see more magic! MORE MAGIC! MORE MAGIC!" Mikoto slowly began pounding his feet against the floor, seeing as how his hands were most likely tied to the chair.
"YOU DO REALIZE YOU ARE CHEERING AGAINST YOUR OWN CREW!" shouted Zesiro as he strained against the straps.
"I must warn you," stated Frederick as he produced two small rubber balls from his vest. "One of these rubber balls is a regular ball, nothing deadly about it at all. The second one on the other hand is deadly. You see when it makes contact with a person, several sharp spikes will explode from it piercing your skin!" He began to juggle them about in a fast circle, finally he tossed them both at Zesiro.
Zesiro broke loose from the wheel with one final pull. Unbeknownst to Frederick, it was his own Miracle Cutter that Zesiro was able to escape. Several of the Miracle Cutter had struck into the board weakening it and allowing Zesiro to break the wheel and free himself. Within a split second he had drawn his sword and brought it into both of the two rubber balls, slicing them in half without even the slightest bit of resistance. Zesiro kept charging across the field closing in on Frederick with frightening speed. Zesiro quickly lashed out with his sword. He had no time to waste, the quicker he sliced this Hell Magician down the quicker his crew would be complete and sailing again.
The Hell Magician spurted blood from his mouth as he collapsed onto the ground, soiling the stage already with a crimson color. "I'm...I'm...I'm sorry, but the fight was so quick, that even I couldn't relay the action quick enough, but it looks like the fight is already incredibly in Zesiro's court. The 'Hell Magician' may not even be able to stand up much less continue this fight."
Zesiro looked down at the man he had just sliced, something was wrong. He knew it. He had sliced into people several times over during his journey and that's how he knew the slice was wrong. The hit was completely wrong. But still, the attack apparently had an effect on him. Frederick was on the ground gripping his stomach, the same exact spot Zesiro was trying to cut into. He may have done something to screw up his slice, but apparently it wasn't enough. Zesiro sighed as he returned his sword to his scabbard.
"Fool's Reaper!" shouted Frederick as he stood up with lightning fast reflexes. Without wasting a second he brought a card out of the deck and turned it around using it to pierce into Zesiro's back. Zesiro stumbled forward and only barely managed to bring his sword out and spin around before Frederick struck out again. Frederick backed up once more taking his distance from the Fishman. Zesiro was breathing heavily as much as the wound hurt, he was lucky. The card could only pierce so much into his body, the cane that Frederick used previously would've went in his back and came out the front. The card, only being a couple of inches long just went into his back.
But still the damage was done and Zesiro had already taken numerous cards flying through the air and into him while he was strapped to the medieval torture device. He took up his stance and waited for Frederick. The distance between them was minimal. Zesiro had to thank the arena for that. Frederick could throw his cards at a distance if he could get far enough away, the only weapon Zesiro had against that was the Flying Slash. Unlike Frederick's cards, where he could throw dozens of them quickly, the Flying Slash was a one-at-a-time attack. If the arena was too big then Frederick could easily distance himself and just use that attack to whittle away Zesiro's life and Zesiro would be nearly helpless to stop him, but the arena was small enough that Zesiro could close the distance.
Zesiro brought his sword around in slow motion preparing to fire a single shot. He stopped for as he looked not at the 'Hell Magician' but who stood past him. His eyes locked firmly on Trevor. He brought his sword up and into the air, without stopping, he completed the circle, bringing the blade down, "Big Wave!" The swinging downwards blade sent a huge shockwave slicing through the air. Frederick stood no chance as the slash closed in on him, ripping his tuxedo into bits. The slash didn't stop, though as it continued through the air. It was aimed straight at Trevor.
The slash stopped cold right in front of Trevor, disappearing in an instant at Trevor's chair not even nicking it. Zesiro smirked and turned around. They lowered the drawbridge once more to allow Zesiro to crosss.
"I'm...I'm shocked! The challenger just launched an attack into the crowd...no, not even into the crowd, but at the holy man, Trevor himself! How could this happen! What is Trevor's thoughts on this occurrence!" shouted the Longarm as he examined the attack. He walked over to Trevor, "luckily the attack stopped a few centimeters before it hit Trevor, but let's hear Trevor's thoughts on this matter and whether or not the challenger should be punished."
Trevor simply smirked and said, "I am impressed. Its been awhile since any man...or Fishman has shown such guts even here. A place where people lay their lives on the lines just by stepping into the arena, but here it is...the ultimate declaration of guts...attacking me." Trevor looked down at the slash's mark. It wasn't coincidence that the attack stopped before it hit him, but it wasn't that Zesiro tried to make it do so. Zesiro launched an incredibly powerful attack intending to split Trevor in half right then and there...it was only because Trevor reacted quickly and stopped it with an attack. If he didn't, he would've died from the attack.
Round Two!
A Hole Lot of Problems!
That is not a typo in the title for next chapter, okay? Its a pun...a horrible, horrible, horrible pun, but a pun nonetheless. Also, give a round of applause to Frederick Van Gauner, an OC submitted by DeathAuthor! Its been awhile since he was submitted, so here he is! I plan on using a very large percentage of submitted OCs for this Arc, so if you want to have an OC show up, now's the time to submit it! Trust me, the next two chapters have...3-4 new OCs in them.