Chapter 27: Martial Arts Student Koby vs Wild Wolf Alfred
After fighting for fifteen minutes Koby hadn't touched Alfred. Observing the flow of Haki allowed him to dodge the attacks, but Alfred's Electro made it impossible to strike back without being electrocuted. Moon Shave was wearing him down; he needed to come up with a counter-strategy.
-Bear Trap!
Alfred scattered fur around Koby and snapped his fingers. They blasted out electricity, trapping Koby against the wall and making him unable to dodge Alfred's follow-up kick. Koby activated Paper Arts and unnaturally bent backwards, dodging the kick. Tthat only meant he was trapped again, as Alfred's Electro rushed towards him.
The lightning was like the headlights of a train, merciless in its approach. Always calculating, Koby anxiously raced through his past, searching for anything that could save him. His encounter with Luffy, training with Helmeppo, the satisfaction of mastering Iron Body. Yes, yes, that feeling was what he needed.
When he returned to the present, he found himself alive. Alfred stared slack-jawed in surprise.
-You took my Electro head-on!?
Koby felt a stiff, numb feeling over his entire body, like he was both covered in concrete. Concentrating immensely he managed to free himself of it. Then, it dawned on him; he had combined Paper Arts and Iron Body!
He smiled, like he had already won the fight. Infuriated, Alfred attacked him again, but was stopped by a barrage of wind bullets stabbing him in the eye.
-I call this one Tempest Finger! Koby teleported behind Alfred and continued shooting towards the wolf. Though the amount of stamina needed to continually use the new technique began wearing him down, and he was forced to stop. During that moment, Alfred flipped through the air and landed behind Koby.
-On an inventing streak, are w…
Koby kicked backwards, hitting Alfred in the shin. The wolf roared, shaking the entire island. A shield of Electro engulfed his upper body, burning his fur. Instead of running away like usual, Koby silently stood his ground. Alfred's blood began to boil.
-Are you not afraid!? This is the full power of the wolf race! He pointed to the electricity damaging his body. Koby didn't flinch.
-You're just gonna be easier to predict.
-Really!? Predict this! Hyena Pounce!
Alfred leaped into the air and drop-kicked toward Koby, who swiftly stepped aside and began charging up an attack. In response, Alfred engulfed his entire body in electricitiy.
-Iron Pistol!
Koby shot his entire body forward, finger outstretched. Mid-air, while moving, he activated Iron Body, blocking out the Electro. His finger pierced deep into Alfred's stomach, forcing him to painfully pull away in a burst of blood.
They continued like that for ten difficult minutes; as Alfred's began to bleed out, his attacks became slower, leaving him open for more Iron Pistols. Looking down on his wounds, Alfred saw what had happened to his fur; covered in patches of blood, it's silver stained by an ugly shade of gray. A single tear ran down the wolf's face, but it was evaporated by the Electro.
Koby used the wolves' moment of weakness to stab into him. Though this time Alfred didn't escape. Instead he grabbed Koby around the legs and forcefully pulled him out and brutally slammed him into the floor like a rag-doll.
All of his hurt pride, all the bestial rage, it couldn't only be contained within an haunting howl. His continued attacks had turned Koby into a bloody mess, but the wolf still wasn't done. He threw the boy high into the air before pulling him back with his tail and repeatedly stomping him into the floor.
His stamina drained Koby put everything he had in teleporting behind the wolf. He charged up his Iron Pistol with the force of every sell in his body, and stabbed into the wolf. In a poof, it revealed itself to be a fur replica, and Koby came face-to-face with Alfred's raised leg. He didn't have a tenth of the strength required to Shave out of the way, and the kick would undoubtedly kill him.
-Alpha Kick!
Alfred's fur shaped itself into a twisted image of a hungry wolf, baring its fangs. The sound of crackling lightning becoming its spiteful cackling as it descended upon Koby. Despite everything, he knew he couldn't let that power go free.
-Moon Counter!
Koby's legs were mangled into bloody pulp as he kicked upwards to create a pillow of air. On impact, the wolf head imploded backwards on Alfred. A flash of blue light shone out across the entire island, letting them know that the tyrant was defeated.
Well, not quite. His own attack didn't kill him, but it gave him a haircut. Alfred looked down on himself; slowly, he began to sulk.
-I-I'm naked! I'm naked! You…you…
Alfred didn't have anything left, no kingdom, no insults, no beautiful fur. With a resign sigh, he lifted his hand to kill Koby. Though, before he could Cooper slammed into him at full speed, finishing the wolf off.
-Sorry for my late appearance! Looking good, Alfred! Cooper shouted down to the wolf.
-W-what's happening? Did you stop the Buster Call? Koby's exhaustion, not just from the fight but from everything that had happened since he stepped foot on the island, was getting to him. He took a few cautious steps before face-planting onto the floor.
-Y-yes, well, I've just got to take Alfred to the beach!
-Oh, can I hel… Koby abruptly fell asleep. Cooper laughed, threw his student an hastily made blanket and began to pull Alfred out to the beach.
Koby didn't awake for the next couple of weeks. With the Navy's assistance the wolves were driven back into exile and the great reparation of Doggy Valley could begin, led by Cooper's students. Von Lassien was imprisoned for his crimes and both the Golden Retrievers and the Rottweiler's got new leaders.
Koby awoke one morning to the familiar feeling of the waves beneath him. Despite still needing to recover he rushed out on deck to see if he could still take farewell to Cooper. Disappointingly, Doggy Valley was only a speck on the horizon.
-It's a tragedy, I admit, Drake walked up to his side.
-But we're men of the Navy. There's always a mission ahead! He was gracious enough to leave a gift though, Drake handed over a small, rusty key.
-What is it? Koby asked.
-Keys to his dojo. Said, his words, not mine, "A little kid like you coming in and being one of my greatest students! Bah! Come back one day, we've got a debt to settle!"
Koby laughed, recognizing every word as something Cooper would say. Silently he put it into his pocket, close to his heart.
Back on Doggy Valley, silently watching the ship sail away from the tree top of the rebuilt dojo was Cooper. Francisco wandered up to him and gave him a cup of tea.
-Oh, humans. Whenever they show up, I learn something new, Cooper reminisced.
-M-master, are you crying? Francisco raised an eyebrow. For his curiosity he was rewarded with cleaning the dojo floors for a month.
End of the second arc, and the "Fun but Irrelevant to Canon"-Saga! Very catchy name, I know! Originally I was going to base every arc of SWORD on one of Oda's color spreads, and this one is loosely based on Chapter 410. Very loosely. While it was a fun arc to write, especially Koby's development, the size of the threat and villains (who I felt were underdeveloped and indistinct) made it kind of exhausting. The next one is going to have even higher stakes, but be a more personal and small-stakes story. It's an obscure one, but get ready for… Tequila Wolf. Also minor hiatus while I get the chapters ready