Chapter 23: Strength of a Swordsman
Arc – The Captured Rain Genin Resolution, part 3
Title Page: Yoshino is standing in front of the five Rain Genin, arms crossed with a very stern look on her face. The genin are all huddled in the corner, shaking badly as a collective thought bubble over their head features Shigure with several question marks.
Subtext: Scary Monster ate Shigure!!
XXXXXXX – East Blue, Baratie, Dining Hall
"So you are still alive, 'Red Leg' Zeff. A unique pirate: the Captain Cook," said the huge man in gold armor, Don Krieg of the (former) pirate armada, while the entire group of people, pirate, ninja and cook alike, had their eyes settled on the Chef as they absorbed this new information. The old head chef of Baratie had once been a pirate? Sure, he had the temper of one, but this brought things to a whole new level. The only one who didn't react in the slightest was Sanji himself, as he calmly lit another cigarette.
Zeff himself didn't seem fazed by Krieg's proclamation. In fact, he looked rather bored. "So what if I'm alive? What's it to you? I'm exclusively a chef now."
Krieg gave a brief laugh. "You act like it was a choice. But tell me: did you choose to be a cook? Or was being a pirate too much for you?"
The proprietor of Baratie didn't respond at all, but Naruto and the others just looked at the man, wondering just how famous this guy must have been if someone like Krieg knew about him and was even a bit startled by it. What could Zeff have been like in his pirate days?
Naruto envisioned Zeff to be about fourteen feet tall (his legs being ten feet of that number), with insanely muscular legs that were completely red, hair standing on end, wearing a baby bib with a fork, spoon and knife on it, along with the words 'No pain, no food!', while giving off a very psychotic laugh revealing many sharp teeth and a snake-like tongue. 'Er... no wonder Krieg's nervous...'
He looked at the man threatening them all. Was it just him, or was the mist from outside slowly coming in? Ah... must be his imagination.
"It looks like you've left your Red Leg days behind you," Krieg declared, gesturing at Zeff's peg leg. He went on to describe that Zeff had been famous for fighting with his feet in battle, but never once with his hands. It was said that Zeff's leg strength was so awesome that he could destroy an entire cliff with one kick and even leave footprints in steel. Kreig explained that Zeff's nickname came from his deadly kicks that often left the enemy's blood on his legs, dyeing them red.
Krieg went on. "They say you had died at sea. I see you didn't lose your life, but you did lose one of your previous legs."
"So what?" said the head chef of Baratie, holding up his hands for all to see. "I can't fight anymore, but I can cook, as long as I have these two hands. So whatever you're getting at, spit it out already. I have a business to run."
Don Krieg gave an all-knowing smile. "Red Leg Zeff; you once sailed that hellhole, the Grand Line, and you returned safely. You kept a report of that voyage; a whole year's worth." That smile grew ever so wider as he spoke in a commanding tone. " Give me your logbook!" It wasn't a request; it was an order.
Zeff rubbed his chin, as if trying to think hard on what Krieg was talking about. For a moment, everyone expected him to deny such a thing, but when Luffy spoke up and asked if Zeff really had been to the Grand Line, a smile appeared for the briefest instance before Zeff nodded. "My logbook, eh? Yes, I still have it, but I won't give it to the likes of you. For me and the men that sailed with me, that logbook is a testament. I won't give it to the likes of you!"
The smile on Don Krieg's face disappeared as if he had been physically slapped. "Then I'll take it from you!" he roared, making a fist with his right hand. He looked ready to kill on the spot. "It's true that I didn't succeed on the Grand Line, but I am Don Krieg! The mightiest of them all! Weaklings do well to shun that route, but I? I am STRONG!! I had plenty of STRENGTH, SHIPS, MEN and AMBITION!!" With that said, Don Krieg calmed down somewhat. "The only thing I lacked was knowledge. I didn't have accurate information, so I will be taking that logbook and this ship!"
"You talk too much, Krieg."
The entire area froze. Who just said that? It was a meticulous and dark voice, silent yet loud. It appeared to come from everywhere, but also individually as well. It was then that those present really noticed the mist that had been settling in during all this time... and how it was too much to be naturally forming. Perhaps the most astounding effect was how Zeff himself was reacting. For the first time, he seemed truly worried, as a bit of sweat was falling down his face. 'That voice... it... it can't be!! What's someone like him doing here?!'
"Let's just kill them and be done with it."
Almost immediately, one of the empty tables exploded. Looking over at the wreckage, they saw that it had been cleaved in two, and the force from it had demolished the thing entirely. A second later, another table on the opposite end of the restaurant met a similar fate, then another. And another. And another.
"What's going on here!?" Naruto demanded, his head jerking from side to side like everyone else as they tried to follow the path of destruction.
"Trouble," Shikamaru commented, his eyes searching. Instinctively, him, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all backed up to each other, their backs towards one another as they all tried to identify who this new opponent was. Another of Kreig's men? Likely. A shinobi? Possibly. Trouble? Oh yeah...
Luffy just spun his head around and around in circles until he turned a time too many and his head went spinning like an top.
Zeff's eyes darted from spot to spot as tables continued to be destroyed. If he was right about who this was, then why all the flashy effects? He was supposed to be known for stealth and secrecy, so why do the opposite? Looking at the others, he saw the fear and uncertainty in their eyes and immediately understood: this was a psychological attack designed to unnerve them. And damn it, it was working!
Then without warning, Zeff spun around towards Sanji, his peg leg high and ready. "GET DOWN!!" With that, he struck Sanji on the side of the face, making him fall flat on the ground with a thump. A split second later, a massive sword appeared where Sanji's neck had been but a moment ago.
Deep chuckles reverberated through the room as the wielder of the sword emerged from the mist.
He was roughly six feet tall and quite muscular. He wore black pants and a black shirt with no sleeves, as well as bandages covering his neck, lower face and sideburns. He wore what looked like combat boots, and had a Mist headband slanted across his forehead. He also had no eyebrows. Momochi Zabuza.
The crowd just stared at the man. None of the four Straw Hat shinobi recognized him, though that didn't stop them from being quite nervous. Usopp was hiding behind Patty, legs shaking badly and looking like he was about to cry. And Luffy was trying to stop his head from spinning out of control.
"You're good, old man," he said, the mist in the room beginning to fade as he locked eyes with the Head Chef. "So I'll start with you first."
He drew his giant sword back and swung it forward with a surge of speed and strength, only to have Zoro appear in front of Zeff, blocking the strike with two of his own katanas.
"Why go for him?" Zoro asked smugly. "When you can have a real challenge right here."
Zabuza didn't answer right away; he just looked at the number of swords Zoro was holding, then noticed the third one on his hip. "So, you really do have three swords. But do you only wield two at a time?"
"Only if I want to go easy," Zoro replied. "But for you, I see no reason to hold back." He looked at Zabuza's sword. "It looks like you just swung that sword around with just brute strength, but I can feel the precision and finesse in it. You're a true swordsman after all."
"DON'T GO ADMIRING HIM!!!!" Naruto, Sakura, Usopp, and even Sasuke all yelled.
As for Zabuza himself, he looked rather intrigued. "You can talk like a man. Now... let's see you back it up. Kamasuryu: Tsujikaze (Barracuda Style: Whirlwind)!" Zabuza swung his sword behind his body. Once it appeared behind his back, he grabbed it with his other hand and continued the swing directly towards Zoro. Again, Zoro blocked the blow, but this time the force sent him flying across the room.
Zabuza took off running towards the Santoryu Master, who repositioned himself in midair and braced himself against the wall. Using it as a spring, he launched himself at the Mist nin. "Two Sword Style: Rhino Rampage!"
Zoro put his swords by his head as he flew forward, making some resemblance to a rhino's horn. He soared through the air, his blades aiming for Zabuza's chest. In response, Zabuza swung his sword and blocked Zoro's attack, though he slid back a few meters due to the force of Zoro's thrust. Zabuza then flicked his sword upwards, throwing the three-sword user over him. Zoro attempted to land a kick on Zabuza's unprotected shoulder, but it was intercepted with an outward block from the Mist nin. With a gesture, he flicked Zoro once again. Zoro maneuvered himself in midair and landed on one of the few remaining tables.
Zabuza let his sword fall to the ground. "Nice, boy. You may prove to be entertaining." He picked up his weapon and laid it across his shoulders. "Now, show me your three sword style."
Zoro let off a smirk for an answer as he sheathed his two swords. At that moment, the majority of the room fully expected for Zabuza to strike right then, but the shinobi swordsman made no move.
"Zabuza! Kill him now!" Don Krieg shouted, as Zoro tied his bandanna across his head. Zabuza merely gave Krieg the middle finger, making the armored man grow red in the face as he looked ready to erupt. Zoro finished, then took out Kuina's old sword, placed it in his mouth, and took out his previous two.
The two just stood there for a moment, neither one moving a muscle as they merely waited for the other one to make the first move. When Naruto sneezed accidentally, it sent them off. Zabuza raised his sword over his head and slashed it down towards Zoro, who jumped back at the last moment. The force of the blow shot Zoro off the table as if it was a catapult. Looking at the ceiling, he swung all three of his blades and yelled "108 Pound Cannon!"
Three sliced air cuts slashed through the ceiling, creating a hole. Zoro stabbed his two arm swords into the ceiling, threw his legs through the hole and disappeared through it. Zabuza jumped through it only a moment later.
"Stop messing up my restaurant!!" Zeff yelled up at the ceiling, finally coming out of his daze. The only response he got was the sounds of metal clashing and stuff being destroyed.
"I suggest you all leave while you still have the chance."
Again, all heads jerked towards the back of the room to see a young man in a mask, with two taller men standing behind him, both wearing cloaks to conceal their forms and some sort of breathing mask on their faces. It was interesting to note that they were standing right next to each other
"It has been a long time since Zabuza-sama has been able to enjoy himself to this extent," the masked boy said as sounds of destruction continued to reign above. "For that reason, if you leave now, I will not take any of your lives." Another loud crash was heard. "You have until Zabuza-sama finishes his fun."
Zeff just looked at the boy in disbelief. Never mind Zabuza or the two next to this kid; who was this boy? The feeling he was getting from him... it felt worse than the Mist swordsman above their heads. Just what could he do?
"You heard the boy," Krieg spoke. Their heads jerked back as the armored man threw the bag of food over his shoulder and started walking out. "When I come back, I'll take that logbook and this ship. Then I'll form another armada, capture the One Piece and become lord over the oceans in this Great Age of Pirates!"
"No way!" Everyone's heads jerked towards the speaker: Luffy. He took a slow deliberate step forward and pointed directly at Krieg. "I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"
"Chore boy!?" Many of the cooks cried out. Sanji and Zeff didn't say anything; they merely regarded Luffy.
Krieg turned back around and faced Luffy dead on. "Did you say something, boy? You can take back your words and I'll forget I ever heard something so stupid from a nobody."
"I'm only speaking the truth," Luffy replied, not so much as blinking at Don Krieg's words.
Krieg gritted his teeth and breathed out hard. "This isn't a game, boy!"
"Obviously."
"Weren't you listening?" came Usopp's voice. "The Grand Line was too much even for Krieg! Going there is suicide! Can't we just call it off and say we went?!"
"Shut up and stay out of it," Sasuke snapped at the long nose. "Do we start fighting now, Captain?" That last word was meant to be used as mockery, but Luffy took it in pride, flashing a big grin on his face.
"Nah, I can handle this," Luffy responded, in pure confidence that seemed to make Krieg all the more angry. That is, until he looked at the small group Luffy had been talking to and, as a result, burst out laughing. "That's your crew!? Pretty small and pathetic!"
"Hell no. There's two more!" Luffy declared proudly, pointing at Sanji and Choji, who immediately denied being associated with the Straw Hat
"Stop fooling around, brat!" Krieg yelled, no longer amused by this, while Gin seemed to shake and quiver all the more so. "It only took seven days for my fleet to be smashed to bits in that Demon Sea!!"
All of the chefs and even members of the Straw Hats gawked in surprise at that statement. Don Krieg, the man with 17 million on his head, who was said to be invincible and possessed more military might than anyone else, who was in command of fifty ships with 5000 men... only lasted seven days in the Grand Line?! And just barely at that! What kind of place was this if he got trounced so easily?
"Did you hear that!?" Usopp cried, tears already forming due to his latest panic attack. "Fifty ships in one week!!"
"Sounds... exciting," Naruto said, surprising himself. Maybe he had hung out with Luffy too much, but the thought of the impossibility and challenge this Grand Line presented made him feel excited, a surge of energy flowing through him. He could hardly wait to go to this place!
Krieg had composed himself slightly at seeing the fear and panic throughout the room due to his statement. "Reckless impudence, but you're not funny. Watch your mouth or I'll kill you right now." To prove his point, the gun barrels on the armor all opened up again, making the Chefs all jump back again. Luffy however, stood his ground as he readied a fist. The two pirate captains stood their ground as they locked gazes once again. After a few moments, it was Kreig who backed down, much to everyone's surprise, as his gun barrels slammed shut. "You're not worth the ammo it would take to rid the oceans of your pathetic existence," he said.
Once again, he turned around and started walking out. "If you value your life, brat, leave now while I'm feeling generous." The masked boy and the two men followed him, with the chefs and pirates parting for them in silence. Choji was a little too slow at it, so one of them – Gouzu, the older of the brothers – planted his foot on the young Akimichi's backside and sent him rolling to the side. "Stay out of the way, fatty."
Naruto saw the chefs inhale sharply as Choji jumped up, his fists in the air. "Who are you calling so fat that he makes the moon feel small!?!?"
'Who said that?' everyone wondered
In a fit of rage, Choji charged Gouzu, but didn't get more than three steps before the man casually twitched his fingers, something that Shikamaru noted. The other brother, Meizu, whirled around and backnuckled the young boy, sending him crashing into a wall. The masked boy hadn't even flinched during all this, merely continuing to walk as he left the dining room. The two men soon followed. Only Gin remained, still on his hands and knees trembling.
"I'm so sorry, Sanji!" Gin yelled from his position, bowing low in repentance. "Please forgive me! I didn't think he would do this! I... I just wanted..."
"You don't have to apologize for feeling guilty," said Zeff, surprising almost everyone there. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Shikamaru and Sanji. Zeff jerked his thumb at the cooks behind him. "They helped bring this on us as well."
"Chef, are you siding with Sanji!?"
"Are you crazy?! He's the guy that started all this trouble!!"
"Sanji wants to destroy your precious restaurant! Don't you, Sanji!?"
"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOTS!!!" Zeff interrupted, his voice louder than anyone in the room had heard before. All of them shut their mouths immediately. "Have any of you ever been to the point of extreme starvation!? Going for days on end without food or water and having that pain course through your bodies!? You have any idea what kind of agony that is?!"
No one responded, but that was response enough. The silence was all the answer Zeff needed. "If you morons are just going to sit around moaning, then head out the back door right now."
Patty's answer was immediate and without hesitation. He held up a large knife in one hand and a pistol in the other. "I'll stay and fight! I can't let Kreig have his way!"
"Yeah," another one spoke up. "This restaurant is my home. I have nowhere else to go."
"Gin," Sanji spoke up. "Listen well. As a cook, I consider it my duty to feed the hungry. But soon, I'll be facing plunderers with full stomachs. So if I have to beat your mates down, don't complain. If they try to take over this ship, I'll slaughter them without mercy, and that goes for you, too."
Gin made no response to that, as the other cooks began muttering to themselves one by one. They all agreed to stand and fight for their restaurant and home. "Count us in," Naruto volunteered, making all the faces look at them. Luffy nodded in approval, while Usopp started his ranting again, only to have Sasuke cut him off. "If we're both after the same thing, then sooner or later we'll have to fight. Might as well be now."
"How about later!? MUCH LATER!?!"
Before anyone could respond, Luffy spoke up. "So Gin, what's your story? You said you've never been to the Grand Line before."
Gin didn't move from his position. "I'm sorry for lying... it's just... a time in my life I want to forget... was it real, or was it a dream? I'm not sure... not even now."
XXXXXXX – Flashback. Approximately two weeks earlier
Don Krieg's fleet of fifty ships moved along the Grand Line as the sun rose for the seventh time that they had been in this place. Gin was on the deck of the Dreadnaught Sabre. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, he walked to the front of the ship and looked out at the famous ocean. So far... nothing had really happened, not counting the unusual weather patterns here. Nothing to suggest this place was a Pirate's Graveyard, or a Hell on earth.
Leaning against the railing, he looked back at the other forty-nine ships that comprised of his idol's fleet. He gave a yawn to get the sleep out of his eyes. Finishing, he saw one of the ships was now in two pieces and sinking fast.
Gin blinked in surprise as he rubbed his eyes, sure that his mind was playing tricks on him. When he looked again, another ship had met a similar fate. His eyes widened as he saw the third one go too. He couldn't believe his eyes. One moment the ship was sailing along fine, then there was this large wave of water that sliced through the ship, cutting it in two.
He was so shocked by what he saw that it wasn't until the fourth one was hit that he found his voice and raised the alarm. By this time, the other ships had noticed what was going on. The closest ship began firing its cannons at something Gin couldn't make out clearly. Cannon shots rang out, hitting spots on the ocean in a rush as another ship met its fate. This time screams of horror were heard as the ship was hit.
"Don Krieg!!" Gin yelled as he felt fear grip his chest. Another ship just... no... two... three... three ships at once just went down! How was that possible!? Just what was going on!?
"Commander!" he heard a crewman shout, snapping Gin out of his daze as the ship rocked. Looking around, he saw that Krieg was nowhere in sight. Where was he!? He should have been leading them, rallying the men to combat this... devil of the underworld. When the man shouted again, Gin made his move. "Regroup the fleet! Turn the ships inward into a circle! Trap whatever this thing is in the middle!"
The order was given and sent to the rest of the fleet. Like the professionals they were, they all followed orders and tried to form the circle, but this ghost was moving too fast for them. Five more ships went down in the next thirty seconds. One crashed into another, dooming them both. Cannon fire, gunfire, arrows, melee weapons, anything and everything that could be used was used to try and hit this creature. It was futile, as all the missiles missed this thing by far, as it was long gone from its position to move to its next target by the time the weapons hit. On occasion, the makeshift missiles were deflected somehow. All the weapons deflected, each of them slamming into ships, the flagship the most often. Cannonballs slammed into the masts and the sides of the ship. Bullets also rained on them, tearing through the sails and melee weapons moving at such a speed they pierced the decks as if they were mere paper. Seven ships sunk because of that right there and the flagship on the verge of doing so itself.
Gin felt his eyes darting across the scene as more and more of the fleet was devastated. Two at once. Then three again. Then another... and another. Each time, screams and cries came with each doomed vessel, with the voices growing more and more terrified as the slaughter continued. How was this possible? This was Don Krieg's fleet! Fifty pirate ships with five thousand bloodthirsty and skilled men, and now they were all being destroyed as easily as toys!
The figure came to the next ship and for the first time, Gin got a look at it. It looked humanoid, with decorative, ornate black-and-red clothing. But it was the eyes that got his attention the most. Those demonic hawk-like eyes! Gin watched as it easily dodged their attempts to kill it as it sliced through another ship. Just how was it doing that!? It was moving so fast, Gin couldn't make out just what it was doing. But he no longer cared.
"Retreat! Run for it! Get out of here as fast as you can!" he yelled as he desperately looked around again. Where was Krieg!? Where was the leader of the Pirate Armada!? He would save them!
The remaining ships were already trying to run before Gin gave the order, but panic and discord were firmly in place now. Ships ran into each other as they tried to turn and run. Weapons fire was so erratic that they hit the other ships as often as they did the ocean. Six vessels burst into flames as a result of this, another four following suit as they rammed into each other. The figure merely took advantage of the growing mayhem as it continued striking down ship after ship after ship... after ship... how many were lost now? 30? More? Where. Was. KRIEG!?!
The men on the flagship managed to get the sails down and the oars out as they began moving as fast as they could northward. It would have them crossing the Calm Belt, but no one cared. Even that was preferable to this demon ghost here!
The cries continued to sound across the water as the remaining ships continued to be felled. Gin saw men throw themselves into the mercy of the sea to try and escape the oncoming madman, as if drowning was preferable to being killed like this. It cut through the remaining ships in forty seconds flat, then came running towards the flagship itself. Gin felt his heart jump into his throat as the ghost came towards them. Nothing could stop it now...
He then saw something jumping from the deck of the ship, which shot out like a bullet towards the ghost. There was a deafening ring as water burst around the area. Once it cleared, Gin saw that it was Zabuza, his sword out against the figure, who Gin could finally see clearly for the first time.
It was a man. A seemingly normal-looking man of all things! Seemingly, however, was the key word. He wore a wide brim hat, a long black cloak which left his chest bare for the world to see, and a large black sword in his hands, which he had used to block Zabuza's strike. Gin saw them speak something, as the ghost shoved Zabuza's blade aside and spun around for a strike. Zabuza barely managed to block the blow in time, though the recoil hit him hard as he nearly lost his grip. The ghost figure pushed the blade forward, making Zabuza lose his balance as the demon ghost struck again.
This time, Zabuza merely backflipped out of the way, missing the black blade by a hair. The Mist swordsman continued to backflip a fair distance. Once he stopped, a large water dragon – easily thirty high, and a hundred in length – blasted forward at the figure. Even Gin, who knew relatively little about ninjutsu, could feel the power and force behind this attack.
The figure didn't run or even seem the slightest bit worried. He merely held his blade parallel to the ocean. Then, in a flash of speed that dwarfed the man's earlier performance, he sliced completely through the water dragon attack, then right up to Zabuza himself and slicing him in two, only to have him change into water. A Water Clone.
The ghost man didn't seem fazed. He merely twirled his blade, then stabbed behind himself, just as the real Zabuza emerged from the ocean to strike. The man's sword pierced Zabuza's lower rib cage, making the man scream out in a holler of pain that Gin didn't think was possible. The man then turned his black blade and made an upward slash motion, tearing across the Mist Ninja's chest.
He watched as Zabuza's sword fell out of his hand as he collapsed on the water. The ghost man raised his weapon to finish the Mist ninja, when several ice mirrors began to form around him. The man just looked at them in vain curiosity, using one image to straighten his hat. That's when needles began raining down from all directions. Surely, Gin thought, not even the ghost man could stand up to that!
He was dead wrong.
With a grace of movement Gin didn't think was possible, the ghost whirled his sword all around him at a blinding speed with pinpoint accuracy, deflecting every single senbon that came at him. Every... single... one. And this guy still hadn't even broken a sweat! Even after destroying forty nine ships and taking on Zabuza, he still didn't show any sign of fatigue, like this was a normal exercise for him!
The ghost man held his sword in that parallel position again. In one swift motion, he whirled the blade around him in a complete circle. The shockwave produced by it completely demolished the ice prison he had been in within seconds. Gin saw him turn back to his former quarry, only to realize it was no longer there. Gin started looking around himself, wondering if they had moved somewhere else.
As it turned out, they were on deck. A single ice mirror was there, and the two were lying right in front of it. Zabuza was sprawled on the deck, barely breathing from the looks of it, though when Gin took a closer look, the wounds weren't as bad as he first thought. It seemed Zabuza had managed to move a few centimeters at the last second to prevent the wounds from being lethal or serious. A small counter, but one that saved his life.
The boy, Haku, was panting on the deck. More from fear than actual exhaustion. Dropping Zabuza's massive blade to the deck, he ran over to the older man, trying to tend to his wounds with a look of despair written all over him.
Gin quickly turned his attention back to the ghost man and saw that he was preparing to go after them again. They were doomed! Even Zabuza fell to this man in a few short moves! Where was Krieg!? Why wasn't he here!? That's when he noticed that they were moving away from the ghost man at a frightening speed, to which the man made no attempt to follow. What was going on?
That's when he felt the raindrops for the first time. When had that started? Looking around with slow breathing, he saw that a storm had started during all of this. Had he really been so scared and panic-driven that he didn't even notice something like this starting? 'Yes', he answered immediately. He just thanked the fates that something had happened to get him away from that ghost man!
With that thought, the winds picked up even more and bore Dreadnaught Sabre away from the ghost man and the Grand Line.
XXXXXXX – Back in Baratie's dining room.
"Eight minutes..." Gin said, his hand covering his face in grief and fear. "And forty seconds... that's how long it took..."
Everyone reacted with an expression of pure shock and disbelief. The cooks, Sanji, Sasuke, Usopp (him especially), Shikamaru... Luffy. Even Zeff to a degree. Everyone. All of them each thinking the same thing. ONE MAN destroyed Krieg's armada and struck down Zabuza in just under NINE MINUTES!?!
Zeff recovered first. "It had to be him. It had to be Hawk-Eye."
"Hawk-Eye!?" everyone repeated. Then...
"Who's that?"
"I dunno."
"I ain't ever heard of him."
"Heard of old 'Red Eyes'... drank so much wine his eyes turned red."
Zeff crossed his arms, regaining order with that simple gesture. "You said his eyes were like a hawk's. That's proof enough. What he did to your ships... it had to be him!"
XXXXXXX – Baratie, Second Level, Employee Dining Area. Ten minutes earlier.
Zoro came through the hole and landed on the ground. He quickly turned around to see Zabuza coming through next, swinging his giant sword forward. Zoro crossed all three of his katanas and blocked the strike. Using his two arm swords, he diverted Zabuza's sword, then swung his mouth sword at Zabuza's throat. The Mist Ninja ducked under the blow, spun around and delivered a kick to Zoro's stomach.
Zoro went skidding back across the wooden floor, stabbing his left arm sword into a table to stop himself. Using his right arm sword, he stabbed one of the chairs and threw it right at Zabuza, who cut through it easily with his own blade.
That didn't stop Zoro. Moving forward, he continued to hurl chair after chair at the Mist swordsman. When the fifth one came, Zabuza turned his blade to the flat side and hit that chair like a baseball player. The chair went flying back to Zoro, who jumped over it. Zabuza quickly closed the gap and swung his sword towards the Santoryu Master.
In response, Zoro used his mouth sword to intercept Zabuza's weapon. Using the momentum, he spun in the air and stabbed his left arm sword through the circular hole in the sword to stabilze himself for a moment. He then swung his right arm sword straight to Zabuza's head again, knowing that Zabuza's chances of dodging were slim this time around.
So instead, Zabuza titled his head, his slanted headband clashing with the sword. He then swung his sword to the side, throwing Zoro across the room against a wall.
Chuckling under his breath at the fun he was having, Zabuza charged. Zoro recovered himself with a roll and stood up in time to meet Zabuza's next strike. For the next few minutes, a vicious dance of blades ensued as they both tried to cut the other. Finally, Zabuza's strike came in, which Zoro intercepted. Using as much force as he could, he slammed the Mist Shinobi's sword into the wall, causing another hole. Zoro slid his swords off of Zabuza's weapon and continued to spin, slashing all three of his swords towards Zabuza. The shinobi managed to bring up his own weapon to block, but the force sent him flying outside. With Zoro jumping afterwards.
Only then did it occur to him that it was just ocean underneath him. Oops...
As luck would have it, some type of wooden deck was being raised at that point, with the cooks coming out armed. Needless to say, being "surprised" was an understatement when the cooks saw the two swordsmen crashing onto the raising fin, with Zabuza landing first on the deck, giving a grunt in pain. However, he wasn't in too much pain to plant his feet on Zoro's chest and launch him across the deck into the side of the restaurant, just missing several of the cooks that were coming out. He smashed through a wall, with a bunch of clutter falling on top of him.
Zabuza threw his legs into the air and jumped to his feet. He placed his hand against his head and cracked his neck a few times. "Don't tell me that's all you have, Roronoa Zoro. Haven't had this much fun in a long time. I don't want it to end anytime soon."
The clutter went flying in all directions as Zoro walked back towards Zabuza, moving his arms around like they were cramped a bit. Zoro spat off to the side, then smiled. "Don't worry. I'm just getting started." He then looked off to the side to see the others about. Only Patty and Carne were absent for some reason. Those two were probably just fighting each other on who got which weapon or something like that.
"Brothers!!" cried a voice, as the cooks and Straw Hat crew looked to see Yosaku and Johnny swimming towards the group. Oh yeah... they were here too. Forgot about them.
"It's horrible!!" Yosaku cried. "Sister Nami is gone!!"
Gone!? Looking around, they saw that the Merry was nowhere in sight. That bastard Krieg! He sunk the Merry and Nami went down with it! That was just too cruel! Krieg made this personal now!!
"She said that she wished to see you all again someday!!" Johnny put in.
Aw... man. The next time they would see Nami was when they had all expired themselves. Not a cheerful thought at all! They could all see Nami in the realm of the dead, charging them for allowing her to enter and pickpocketing the other... residents'... pockets as she went by. Yeah... that was something she would do. Don't worry, Nami! We'll make sure that tyrant gets the beat down he so deserves!
"And then she took the treasure and the ship and left!!" both bounty hunters shouted together, pointing off in the distance.
Oh, so she took the ship and left. Wait... WHAT!?!
The two bounty hunters started telling them what happened: all three of them had been on the ship, and Nami had been looking over some of the bounty posters in the duo's collection. The orange-haired girl then excused herself, as the two of them went on discussing their next plan after Baratie. They debated if they wanted to continue with Brother Zoro for a while, or go back to bounty hunting. That's when they noticed Nami coming on board the Merry, dragging their treasure on board, which was a surprisingly large amount. When questioned what she was doing, Nami just gave a blush and said she wanted to change clothes right there and asked them to turn around in a very sweet voice. Both men obliged, a perverted blush on their faces. They then thought that just one small peek couldn't hurt. She was changing in broad daylight after all.
The next thing they knew, they were in the water. But they didn't even look yet! On deck, they saw Nami snickering, saying that she was doing her job: robbing pirates. That she never swore allegiance to Luffy and their arrangement was temporary. Tossing Naruto's frog wallet up and down in her hands, she said she would take the ship itself as part of her prize as well. With that, she sailed off with it, with Johnny and Yosaku's protests left in the wind.
"Damn it!" Zoro swore aloud, mirroring the rest of the crew's reactions. He knew that witch couldn't be trusted! He should never have let his guard down around her!
Sasuke punched the wall. He did not like being abandoned like this. It stirred up old memories that he would rather avoid thinking about.
"How could she do this!?" Naruto demanded. Never mind his cute froggy, but she stole the ship and abandoned them in this crisis?! That was just downright low!!
Usopp looked out where the two bounty hunters had pointed. "What about the Merry!? Kaya's ship!?" They had to get that ship back!
"What a drag..." Shikamaru complained, rubbing his head. He really should have just stayed home. But noooo... he went on this suicidal trip to the Grand Line. They weren't even there yet and they already lost a ship. "Women really are troublesome."
Sakura's fist slammed into the back of his head, causing Shikamaru to meet the deck rather abruptly. Ignoring the lazy idiot, she wondered how Nami could just betray them all like this! This was more than just taking money, this was outright betrayal... and Sakura took that very personally.
Luffy held a hand over his eyes as he scanned the horizon. "Hey, I can see it! The Going Merry! It's not that far off!" Perfect! they would get the ship and Nami back in time at all! Oh wait... had to deal with Krieg first. Okay... kick his ass first, then get the ship and Nami! Easy as eating meat!
"Get the ship and make her pay for what she did?" Sasuke asked, somewhat eagerly.
Zoro just waved him off. "Forget her. She's more trouble than she's worth. We can always get another navigator."
"No!" Luffy's voice shouted, drawing all their heads towards him. "Nami is our navigator and no one else!"
The group just stared at him for a long moment, before Zoro, Sasuke and Shikamaru all gave a resigned sigh. "Fine, fine, we'll go get her back. So many troublesome people around." He really should have stayed home.
"Ahem!" They then looked over to the source of the voice. Zabuza slammed his sword into the deck. Behind him, Krieg's crew was letting out a battle cry as they all came towards Baratie. "If you are all done, I'm waiting here. Or should I just slaughter you all at once?"
"Captain Krieg would prefer you just slaughter them." Everyone's heads jerked again to see that masked boy standing on another part of the fin. Urg... just how did he appear in places so easily like that!? Behind him, those other two Mist Ninjas leapt out of the water, one riding the other on his back. Those two took the term 'close brothers' way too literally.
"I do things my way," Zabuza countered, gripping the handle of his sword. "They'll be disposed of either way. If it bothers him that much, he can come and do it himself." He snorted, as if the thought of Krieg actually doing something was laughable.
"As you wish, Zabuza-sama," the masked boy replied, looking at the group. Which one should he fight first? The black-haired attitude problem, the pink-haired fragile wannabe, the pineapple-haired lazy slacker, the fat one, or the blond loudmouth? Decisions, decisions.
Zoro looked over at the group of Mist Ninjas, ignoring the thugs behind them. "My apologies." With that, he took off running towards Zabuza with his swords ready. Zabuza, in return, muttered "Rikiei Same (Powerful Swimming Shark)."
With those words, Zabuza took off running, his sword dragging through the wooden deck. Once the two got close, Zoro yelled "Streaming Wolf Swords!"
Zoro swung his two swords to intercept Zabuza's blade, but was caught by surprise by the extra burst of speed that came when he struck. It flew past Zoro's two arm blades and it was thanks purely to instinct that he managed to block with his mouth sword. Despite that, the force threw Zoro back off balance. Zabuza took advantage of this, spinning around and delivering a side thrust kick to Zoro's gut.
The Santoryu Master slid back across the deck as Zabuza ran after him. Zoro quickly used his right arm sword and sent a single air slice at his opponent, who easily jumped over it. Zabuza then lifted his sword over his head. "Datenshi Kuriivuxa (Fallen Angel/Demon Cleaver)." He came down at Zoro and swung his sword, which Zoro dodged. In mid-swing, Zabuza suddenly changed directions as he stabbed his sword forward. Zoro was caught off guard and barely managed to cross his swords to block it, once again losing his balance.
But this time, he was ready. Already seeing Zabuza's next punch coming, he allowed himself to fall to the ground off balance, missing the punch. At the last second, he rebounded off the ground and slashed his own swords at the Mist Ninja, making him back off for once. Not wasting the opportunity, Zoro shouted "Onigiri!"
Zabuza had no means to block this, so instead he dodged it by jumping back. Zoro continued to give chase, vigorously slashing at his opponent, all of which Zabuza dodged, sometimes by hairs. Eventually, he managed to get his own sword up to counter. The two men then jumped back from each other. Zabuza still had an amused look on his face as he placed his sword on his back and ran through a series of seals. "Let's see how well you do against a little Suiton ninjutsu. Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Missile)!"
A large water dragon emerged from the ocean, twice the size of the standard technique due to all that water and twice as powerful. Zoro looked at it coming towards him, not worried in the slightest. He knew what to do with this thing. He swung all three of his swords again, sending another 108 Pound Cannon at its head, then jumped after it, another Onigiri ready. The three slices slammed into the dragon's head as Zoro landed his next cut immediately afterwards. The head crumpled, as did a portion of the body.
"You'll have to do better than that," Zabuza commented, feeding more water and energy into the attack. The remaining part of the dragon was reinforced as more water poured into it from the sea, beginning to envelop Zoro. It then started heading back downwards.
As it did, Zoro made another slashing motion through the thing and launched like a rocket from it straight toward Zabuza. The Mist Ninja was caught completely by surprise as Zoro's foot slammed into his face. Zabuza went skidding across the deck, then the ocean itself like a stone until he finally crashed into the Dreadnaught Sabre itself.
"A move like that will fall apart if you destroy the focal point of it," Zoro said out loud as he looked to where the other swordsman had landed. "And if that doesn't work, you use its power and force to your advantage, propelling you at a great speed toward its caster." It had taken getting pounded by that move six different times by four different ninja for him to discover that, but no one needed to know that particular detail.
Laughter came as an answer. It started out low, then grew louder as Zabuza came walking across the water. There was a large mark over his face and he had a bloody nose due to the hit. If that strike had hurt him, Zabuza certainly wasn't showing it. He merely continued to laugh as he touched his weapon again. "Good move, Roronoa. I'm impressed." Taking his weapon out again, he held it up. "Let's hope you can keep it up."
"Always," Zoro promised, smiling himself.
While this went on, Shikamaru looked at the others coming, as the chefs gave their own battle cry and prepared to meet Krieg's thugs. "Guess we better get busy. So which of you wants them?" He then gestured toward the Demon Brothers. Sasuke took a step forward, but was cut off by Choji's foot slamming on the ground.
"They're mine!" Choji roared, fire in his eyes. He slammed a fist into his hand. "I'll cream them both for what they did!"
"Don't you want help?" Usopp asked, peeking out from the doorway back in the restaurant, where it was safe.
"Hell no!" Choji yelled, throwing his arms in the air.
Sanji took out a cigarette. "You guys don't need to worry about the busboy there." Lighting it, he continued. "Choji has the power of the devil at his side."
XXXXXXX – A little ways behind Krieg's ship.
A small boat drifted in the shadows behind the massive ship. It was vaguely coffin-shaped with candles and a small sail in the middle. All else that was on it was a single large chair. Not even a small cabin to protect from the weather.
The figure on the small boat had been there for some time, but he had taken an interest in what was going on. Most specifically the swordfight between Zabuza and this unknown boy. More curious than anything, he watched as a mere spectator as the two fought, weighing the different options in his mind.
"It is time I make myself known," Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk spoke as he reached behind himself for his weapon.
XXXXXXX – Going Merry
Nami stood at the front part of the Merry, just staring off into the distance. Unexpected of herself, she found herself fighting back tears. "They are very good people," she admitted to herself as images of them floated in her mind. Sasuke, Usopp, Sakura, Shikamaru, Shino, Zoro, Naruto... Luffy. "Will... I see them again?" she asked herself, a tear finally falling despite herself. "Will they accept me?"
"A colony exists for itself. All the members of a colony work solely for the benefit of it. Each has their own jobs and purpose, as they all work to better themselves and the colony as a whole, putting no one individual above it. Not even the queen."
Nami jerked her head back as a large group of bugs flew out and engulfed her. Desperately, she tried to brush them aside with her hands, but failed miserably as the swarm hovered around, just waiting for that final deadly order.
On the deck, Aburame Shino was standing there, his hand outstretched towards the girl thief. He had a seriously look on his face; even more so than usual, as his stare seemed to pierce Nami down to her soul. "As such, betrayal is not merely intolerable. It is unthinkable."
With that, Shino's hand became a fist and Nami let out a scream.
End of Chapter 23
Whew... done at last! It seems that despite my intentions, it's still taking longer than I would like to produce my chapters as of late. Not just for this story, but for my other two as well. I apologize for this. I will do my best to improve, but no promises.
With that said, things are getting on a roll. Zabuza has made his move and he and Zoro are duking it out, with a certain someone observing their moves and wanting some action himself. Zabuza vs. Zoro has been one of the things I've been looking forward to since I've started this story, as that gives an ample opportunity to have some fun by having characters of different series clobber each other for some new battles and fights we haven't seen previously (I didn't pull anything like this in the other arcs because frankly, there was no one I wanted to have in a crossover fight with in those).
Though doing so has some problems with that, such as Mihawk now coming to enter the brawl (And all you One Piece fans out there know what happens next with him. And to those that don't, I'd advise reading the manga for yourself and find out). Perhaps I should have put Zabuza in another arc altogether, but being the idiot I am, I couldn't resist having Zabuza featured with Mihawk. The dilemma featuring these three and how to handle them all properly gave me such a big headache that I didn't think possible. With that said, special thanks to Son Kenshin, Zoneshifter D, Paintball-Gamer, and Shang who all gave ideas and opinions on what should happen. In all honesty, I don't think there's any perfect way to handle this scenario, but I hope what I have planned over the next few chapters will still be enjoyable.
With that said, the others are about to enter the brawl themselves and due to the stance of some of the reviewers – you know who you are – I'll include the canon One Pieces fights to come in this arc and not just skip over them, as has been my habit thus far. I don't know if I can improve on them and make them better, or what's going to happen, but I'll give it a fair attempt for this arc and see what happens. I had avoided doing so up until now because the thought of rewriting the canon battles sounded boring and repetitive to me as I did not believe it was necessary. Besides, those that like them can see them in the One Piece manga for themselves in they're 'purity' and Eiichiro Oda is a thousand times better as an author than I am (especially all the stuff he's pulled in recent chapters... I mean... just... WOW!!!). Still, I'll write them out for this arc and see what happens.
Kudos to Shang for the idea that inspired Shino being on the Merry, thank you my friend!
Kamasuryu – Barracuda Style (roughly) – Zabuza's personal sword style that revolves around his massive zanbato. It focuses on large swings and motions, taking full advantage of the blade's size to maximize it's power, though such strikes often leave him vulnerable to his opponent. As such, Zabuza uses his physical skills to compensate for this disadvantage. (I rather had fun making this up for him)
Kamasuryu: Tsujikaze (Barracuda Style: Whirlwind): Zabuza swings his sword around his body a full 360 degrees to deliver a powerful strike. Original technique
Nitoryu: Rhino Rampage (Sai Kuru): Zoro puts his swords on his forehead, like rhinoceros horns, and spins quickly. Pun with the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "cycle". Canon technique
Kamasuryu: Rikiei Same (Barracuda Style: Powerful Swimming Shark): Zabuza sticks his sword in the ground, and charges while dragging it. Once he strikes, the loss of the extra resistance triples his next strike speed and power. Original technique
Kamasuryu: Datenshi Kuriivuxa (Barracuda Style: Fallen Angel/Demon Cleaver): Zabuza lefts the sword over his head for a downward strike. This is merely a faint, however, as he'll change directions in mid swing to stab the opponent. Original technique
Santoryu: Oni Giri (Demon Slash): A three-way simultaneous slashing attack. Zoro crosses his two swords across his chest and places the blade in his mouth horizontally behind them. Zoro then approaches the target (usually at high speed) and cuts through by swinging the swords across his chest, resulting in a descending diagonal-crossing slash from both swords while the mouth blade performs a horizontal cut from either the left or right, depending from which side of his mouth did he positioned the sword's main blade at. The pun in the name is that Onigiri is also the name of a Japanese rice snack. Canon technique
Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Dragon Missile Technique) is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Water Element. The ninja does a long string of hand seals, which then causes a column of water in the form of a dragon to rise from the water and then strike their target. B ranked Ninjutsu. Canon technique
Nami's Ultimate Idiot Competition – Luffy: 49, Naruto: 58
May the Kage Bunshin and Gomu Gomu no Bazooka be with you!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Naruto. They belong to their respective owners: Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto. Big thanks to Paintball-gamer for beta-reading this!