The Level of a Shichibukai
"Why the hell can't I ever get a normal opponent?" complained Zesiro as he rolled to the side barely dodging the giant flail. It was the size of two or three cannonballs and his opponent was throwing it around like it weighed absolutely nothing. Their opponents were definitely not small fries. Nothing about them was small, ten feet tall, weapons the size of houses. It was almost as if the world was going against Zesiro's odds to win. He growled loudly as he brandished his blades, "Barracuda Surf and Slash!" Zesiro burst forward, piling on the speed as he ran towards his two opponent's he knew he was only about gut high and as a result he couldn't aim for their heads with this attack, but it just meant he could slice the in two with a completely horizontal slash.
"Oh, a fellow swordsmen are ya?" muttered the second giant, who wore a golden armor with two broken horns sticking out both sides. "I admire your tenacity to go against a bigger foe, but my sword-style had always been based around taking on smaller opponents like you! Gigant Sword Style! Great Cleaver!" He spun all the way around, having his sword hover only about two feet off of the ground (a great feat when you consider how tall he was and the fact that that was at about Zesiro's waist.) Zesiro turned around, giving up on his attack for the time being. The slice was massive and he had absolutely no chance of dodging it if he didn't focus on it. He timed his jump right, leaping over the blade and landing on the ground, somewhat awkwardly, but it was better then losing his leg.
"And Gigant Flail Style! Iron Meteor!" shouted the other one, Zesiro grunted having completely forgotten about him. He couldn't dodge! The attack was too big and he was in too awkward of a position! Luckily he had some people around to support him. Shino jumped out in front of him, holding out his Impact Dial and absorbing the blow's force for a split second, giving Dango enough time to rush in and carry him out of harm's way. The flail fell to the side as Shino separated from it. The two semi-giants quickly went back to each other's side forming a giant heavily armored wall in between Zesiro and the fort. "Don't think you'll be getting past us we've guarded this wall for the past 40 years and we'll guard it until the day we die. No intruders shall break into the fort!"
"You guys are really hell-bent on protecting Master Alistair, aren't you?" asked Dango as he covered his body in a series of rough sea shells. Zesiro had asked him about his power once and remembered it well. It was in fact a Devil Fruit. The Shell-Shell no mi. Zesiro had to admit it was definitely a unique fruit, the ability to grow seashell-like shells all over your body. He could even sharpen them to points and make weapons out of them.
"We could give two shits about 'Master' Alistair," muttered the golden helmed giant as he lifted his sword up and prepared for another slicing attack. "We are only here for one reason and one reason alone! The secret of this fort must be passed down properly! Gigant Sword Style! Infinite Rain!" He twisted his sword around in an instant, Zesiro had to commend him on his speed. The man pulled off a quick change from a slashing attack to a thrusting attack quickly, faster then he could do at least. The sword smashed into the ground, leaving a large crevice as the giant pulled back. The pull-back on the thrust didn't even provide them with an opening though as the other giant brought his flail swinging through the air during that moment, covering up what would've been ample opportunity for Zesiro to launch an attack.
"One attacks while the other defends," muttered the silver helmed one, the one that sported the flail. "With this combination of fighting styles we can take on any challengers! No one shall break past these gates! So, prepare to face your worst nightmare!"
"I don't get it," muttered Shino, "If you guys don't care about the Fox Brothers then just clear the way we couldn't care less about your fort! We are just here for them!"
"Sorry, but if we betray them in the slightest way and they shall unleash the secret of the fort and the great Queen Helena to the world and we cannot allow that," the golden helmed giant returned his sword straight in front of him. "As a matter of fact, I assume they are getting quite antsy as to why we haven't finished you guys off sooner. And for that reason, I'm afraid we'll have to get really serious. For decades we have stood guard..."
"Protecting the secret of Queen Helena from all intruders..."
"We are Charon and Pathos. The two most loyal guards of this island and we will not allow you to proceed further," muttered the golden guard, Pathos. "Combined Gigant Style!" Pathos lowered his body to the point where he was crouching down and aiming for the ground like a lightning bolt with a deadly pointed blade. Charon, on the other hand, hefted his large flail into the air, preparing for a massive downwards swing with it once more. "Of Heaven and Earth!" The two attacks came in simultaneously. However, there was an immediate and resolute reaction from their opponents.
Shino once more ran in and used the Impact Dial to negate the force of the falling mace. This failure was only compounded on when Dango rushed forward, striking out against the mace and sending it to the side, an easy act for him to do when there was absolutely no force behind it. "Fishman Disruptor Cannon!" The flail few for a few more feet, before the cracks along its body became obvious...it was also obvious that they were growing. Soon the entire flail was covered in the spreading cracks until it hit the ground and burst wide open.
Zesiro was handling the blade on the ground, he ran up next to it, dragging his swords down its body, causing sparks to fly as it screeched down the blade. "Angelfish! Slash Line Sinker!" Zesiro uncoiled his body, bringing his blade back around like a hurricane, clashing with the sword once more with his truthfully powerful downwards spiraling swords. Zesiro pulled his swords back as another brilliant burst of sparks engulfed him from the momentary clash with his opponent's weapon. The giant completed his swing with his massive arm...but only half of his sword. Zesiro stood confidentially on the ground, one foot pinning the remaining chunk of the man's massive saber to the ground. "This is what we fight like when we get really serious."
The two giants threw their weapons aside and glared back, "We've already made up our minds, right, Pathos."
"Indeed Charon...it is to the death we fight!" he roared. His voice probably carried over the entire island, carrying his massive warrior spirit with it. "Regardless of how long we will remain alive, we will continue to protect Queen Helena's secret to our last breath!" He brought his massive arm thundering forward and straight into the ground, causing the entire land to shake and rattle. Suzanne was thrown from her feet as the shockwave reached her. The giant wasted no time in spotting the weakest link of the opposing forces, barreling through the front line towards her.
"Suzanne!" shouted Dango and Shino as they rushed back moving forward to try and stop the rampaging giant...but they were not needed.
"Rozen Stitch!" An interlacing of vines shot up from the ground, wrapping around the giant's massive leg. The thick thorns of the vines shot out, sticking themselves within the giant's meaty flesh and holding him still. "We have no business with your Queen Helena, we are only here to fight with the Fox Brothers so until you clear out of the way we are just going to have to go all out against you!" Pathos (the trapped giant) grunted cruelly as he muscles surged forward, pulling on the vine and causing the thorns to dig deeper into his flesh. "We do not desire any of the secrets your Queen Helena possessed! We only desire the Fox Brothers! I can tell from the way you speak of them you are no fonder of them then we are, so I beseech of you once more, MOVE!" Another series of vines came up from the ground, intertwining with each other as they latched onto his own free leg. "What is so special about this secret that you two are willing to defend your enemies?"
A loud roar echoed from their lungs as they refused to back down once more. "We are not defending them! They were the murderers of this island's people! They killed our friends and family!" he declared, "so in no way are we defending them! But just as they gave their lives to protect the secret we are willing to step over their graves in order to keep it! We are following the orders of the Fox Brothers in order to make sure this secret never leaves their lips!"
"Its a shame," Suzanne said as her face fell, "you have the hearts and soul of a warrior. The audacity to shout back at me and make your voices heard...you are struggling against the bonds that hold you down just for one reason and one reason alone. I am sure it is a valiant one, but so is ours. We are coming to beat the Fox Brothers! Nothing can stop us! So in the way of any warriors, just as I'm sure you would do to us...we will defeat you to move forward! Rose Suplex!" A thick wall of thorny vines came up from the ground, lifting the giant into the air as high as Suzanne could take them. Suddenly the interwoven vines around the giant's feet began to untangle, causing him to spin around in a circle before letting him plummet to the ground.
"Pathos!" shouted Charon as he finally moved forward. Charon lifted his hand into the air and brought it down, sending another shock wave through the ground, but it was obvious that it stood no chance against them now. It was the last stand of a helpless man. Picked up the broken blade of Pathos and waved it high into the air. "For my friend, who has stood besides me all this time! Letting me cry on his shoulder as we've been forced to do humiliating and horrible tasks for the sake of a horrible man! Being a pillar of strength through all of these years! For you and you alone I shall finally brandish my killing instinct and..."
"Die. Shift Bullet." A large gaping hole appeared in Charon's left shoulder, causing the giant to falter if only for an instant. His entire body waved uneasily, he slowly turned around, turning his attention to the man who sat on a nearby ledge of the castle. Charon's body shivered with fear.
"A-Alan Fox?"
"Ooh, a tough one, are you?" Alan stood up and patted himself up. He turned to the side and shook his head, "been awhile since I had to use two attacks on someone." He opened up the palm of his hand and smiled for a brief moment. "Your Queen Helena would be so happy to see you standing there, helpless before me, the man you've killed for and served...the man who would use her secret to enslave the entire world." Charon's eyes went wide with rage.
"YOU! YOU ARE UNFIT FOR SUCH A PRIVILEGE AS EVEN SPEAKING HER NAME!" Charon turned around, spinning the blade in the palm of his hand once more before being shook as a second hole appeared in his body, piercing him straight through to the core. "Long...live the queen...Helena..." Charon's massive body hit the ground with a long dead thud.
Zesiro and the rest of the stood there for a few seconds pivoting from the fallen Charon up to the still standing (and still smiling) Alan Fox. They hardened their faces, ready for the fight to come. "A MOST FLAMBOYANT welcome!" laughed Alan Fox as he jumped from his spot on the fort's roof, disappearing for an instant only to reappear next to them. "I am Alan Fox. A great man and Shichibukai I ensure you. And most importantly I am a..." he spun to the side and clasped Zesiro's sword as he did a downwards swing with it, easily intending to slice him in two. "Please do not interrupt me while I'm speaking," Alan growled ferociously. Zesiro felt a quick pulse of power pound in to his body as he fell backwards, soon joined by his sword which clattered to the ground an instant later. "Anyways, I'm here to ask you all to please leave." The crew looked at him questioningly.
"Yes, yes, I know not very...dramatic is it? It would've been much more so if I hadn't been interrupted!" he sighed after his voice had hit a close to yelling-like volume. "Anyways, while I would personally love to fight with all of you, Alistair is warming a very powerful machine right this very instant."
"Queen Helena's secret?" asked Suzanne, but she was soon doubled over in pain, griping her stomach from where Alan Fox had launched an immediate roundhouse kick to.
"Seriously, what is with you people and the most un-flamboyant interruptions?" he sighed as Shino and Dango looked back at him, unsure if they should counter-attack. They didn't think they stood much of a chance after what happened to Charon and Zesiro. "No, not that ugly thing. We are here simply because we heard of it and wanted to know more about it. Alistair has a dreadfully inquisitive mind, you see. Once here we fell in love with the calm serenity and thought of it as the perfect place to set up shop...true, though the secret was a selling point. But, trust me...what Alistair has in store for you guys is 100x more dangerous then that old garbage heap."
"Why are you telling us this?" asked Dango as he prepared for the savage attack from Alan, but it didn't come.
"I'll let that interruption go as it was a valid question," Alan stated as he began to move back to the fort to rest, he was even beginning to stretch and yawn in front of them. "In all honesty, the only reason why I'm telling you this is simple...you guys are not worth that thing's ammunition." They all looked a little bit taken back by this news. "Seriously speaking, it has enough power to wipe the Admirals off in a single shot, do you really think we would be in the mood for wasting a shot on people like you?" Alan scoffed at his own imagination, "anyways, I expect you all to be gone by the time I-"
"You're an idiot," muttered Zesiro. Alan stopped in his tracks, swiftly turned on his heels and headed back to Zesiro, who was but a mere lump on the ground.
"What. Was. That?"
"You're an idiot," Zesiro muttered, "you probaby don't remember us too well, but we met you all the way back in the East Blue, punk. And you also met Mikoto, remember? Which is why you are an idiot. If you think that guy is worth anything less then your best...then so be it. You are apparently not worth his time then. We are only interested in the people who at least have two good eyes." Zesiro's speech was filled with biting remarks and even worse tone. Alan couldn't help, but frown throughout it all as he paced around Zesiro as if trying to think of the best way to kill him.
"You're right," Alan said, twisting his frown upside down. "I was being a bit cocky, wasn't I? I completely forgot that Mikoto and Shane were upon this island. And you are right, Mikoto is something special, isn't he?" Alan lowered himself down to be on eye-level with Zesiro. "I did sense a special something in him when we very first crossed paths as a matter of fact I even nominated him for the title of Shichibukai. So, trust me I do know what he's worth. Don't get me wrong, he's a bug compared to us, but he's a sort of big bug...like a cockroach. We'll just squish him when the time comes to it." Alan said turning around and preparing to make his leave once more, however, just as he prepared to 'shift' back to the top of the building, he heard Zesiro say one more thing.
"You really do got shitty eyes if you think he's only cut out for Shichibukai."
Big Adventures, Yet Small Fries
Zesiro's opening line may remind everybody of all the way back in the Marine Base Arc. That was my intention. When he fought Gumm he said something of the roughly same quality and it is true. I think I throw a lot of the weirder opponents at Zesiro.