Chapter 30: Definition of a Captain
Arc – Captured Rain Genin Part 10
Midari wearing an apron as he is cleaning a table with a rag in his right hand while his left hand holds a platter stacked with a towering pile of dishes looking ready to fall over.
Subtext: Midari the Bus Boy
XXXXXXX – East Blue, Baratie, Sasuke
Uchiha Sasuke was not happy. He had finally awoken his Sharingan, only to find it insufficient for his enemy, the words 'backwater ability' still whispering his mind and making him grit his teeth in anger. He was aching all over from all the needles the boy had stuck in him, having spent the past five minutes carefully pulling them out and had to repeatedly fight the urge to collapse and sleep for a week. He was also dragging the Baratie bus boy behind him, the fat lard still unconscious. And perhaps the most damning of all…
The images of Naruto fighting the Mist boy.
He had been saved by the enemy! And Naruto – a boy he had previously taken as nothing but a complete and utter joke – went completely berserk with some power that made him tremble. He would find out what that power was! And… if he were forced to be honest with himself… the two had worked reasonably well together, constantly covering and supporting each other, so Naruto wasn't all that bad as a fighter or tactician.
Not that he would ever admit that out loud!
Sasuke shook his head, as if it would straighten out his thoughts on the matter. Giving another grunt as he continued to drag the other boy, he finally made it to the other side of Baratie, hoping the others were there so he could get some damn answers.
Just as he got there, he saw the Mist ninja crash onto the Baratie deck, Naruto following an instant later. He then found himself enthralled with the debate happening between the blond and Krieg's pirates over what the boy, whose name turned out to be Haku, was to Zabuza. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt so moved by what was being said. Maybe it was because it reminded him of his own connections that he had lost so long ago. He barely took notice of the other Leaf boy finally waking up and pulling himself up to the railing, also moved by what was being said. Heck, he even forgot about his previous questions about Naruto's mysterious red chakra power.
Then the shot came.
Sasuke felt his insides go cold from the shock (Choji fell back on the deck). It just came out of nowhere and it made him burn with rage at the injustice of it all!
He willed to any Gods out there that SOMEONE would rip Krieg limb from limb, only because he couldn't do it himself!
XXXXXXX – Baratie, Port Fin
Luffy was shocked at the sight of the dead boy from Krieg's gunshot… and he didn't even know him! That only served to show just how much of a scumbag Krieg was!
"HAKU!" Naruto cried out as he dashed over to the boy, clearly trying to help. That's when Luffy saw Krieg fire again, this time right at his crewmate.
Acting quickly, Luffy stretched out his left arm, extending it right in front of the young Uzumaki. The bullets hit the Straw Hat Captain's arm, the force of the bullets still going just enough to lightly touch Naruto on the forehead, jerking him back to reality right before Luffy bounced them back to Krieg, who merely blocked it with his armor.
"Not now, Naruto," Luffy said in a firm voice as he retracted his arm and walked over to his friend. "There's nothing you can do for him anyway."
Naruto looked from Haku, to Luffy, to Krieg, before nodding slowly as he stood up. He looked like he didn't know whether to cry at Haku's death or scream in rage at the murderer.
That's when he whipped his head around. "Zabuza! Say something, dammit!"
"Shut up, brat," was the man's reply, his back to him as he was looking right at Haku. "You should know when you're right without needing confirmation."
The statement shocked Luffy, as it did everyone else around. Zabuza's grip on his blade tightened considerably right before he punched himself hard in the face. "I guess I owe the fat boy an apology."
Luffy cocked his head in confusion at that.
With that, Zabuza spun around at Krieg directly; the fury on his face would had made even Mihawk uncomfortable. "KRIEG!"
He took off as fast as he could towards the pirate, water splashing up all around him as he ran. Krieg's men all looked ready to wet themselves (and some did, in fact) as they tried to swim out of his path. Krieg himself gave a snarl as he activated all his gun barrels once again and fired round after round at the incoming human missile.
Zabuza in turn began spinning his sword as fast as he could, deflecting all the bullets in his path as he closed in. He jumped into the air, rearing his sword back as he came crashing down on the man, just missing him by a hair.
"You're SLOW, Zabuza!" Krieg taunted as he jumped backwards, tossing his two hand pistols aside as the others retracted into his armor. He took off one of his shoulder guards and aimed it at the Mist Swordsman. "What's wrong, a bit tired and injured from your fights? Too bad for you!"
With that, he fired off a large number of steel spikes at the other man. To everyone's surprise, Zabuza didn't care as he charged head first at Krieg. He covered his chest with his left arm preventing the spikes from hitting his vitals, but his arm and both sides of his ribs were hit, on top of the damage Choza had inflicted. Once within range, Zabuza whipped his sword around towards Krieg's neck.
The Pirate Admiral ducked the blow in time, but Zabuza continued the speed into a fierce kick to the bastard's face. Krieg's head whipped back so hard some were surprised it was still attached as he skidded across the wooden remains. Krieg slammed his right arm down to stop himself as he started to get up, only to have Zabuza right in his face again. When the Mist Shinobi swung his sword down again, it was intercepted by Krieg's shoulder guard. With a grunt, Kreig shoved both sword and man backwards, just enough for him to land a solid right hook on Zabuza's injured side.
"That's LOW!" several of the Baratie chefs yelled in anger.
Zabuza didn't outwardly react to the pain, but he did stumble for a few critical seconds; long enough for Krieg to grab his other shoulder guard and slam it together with the first one. A spear-like blade erupted from the top as a long wooden staff extended from the base.
Krieg's men looked delighted at the new weapon. "Alright! It's Don Krieg's Mighty Battle Spear!"
After a grin appeared on the pirate's face, both he and Zabuza swung their weapons at each other, resulting in an explosive force that could be heard throughout the entire area. That's when something went flying out of the smoke before crashing into the deck remains.
Zabuza's sword.
Or more precisely, half of it.
As the smoke cleared everyone saw that Zabuza now had a death grip on Krieg's throat, the armored man already going blue in the face as he struggled to both breathe and keep hold of his weapon. Zabuza's broken sword lay discarded to the side.
"No way!" several people cried. Zabuza sacrificed his weapon just to get a chance at Krieg! Did Haku mean that much to him?
"Bas… tar…" Krieg started to choke out. He may have been choking, but the hate in his eyes was still as strong as ever.
"No. Demon. And when I'm through with you, Krieg, hell will seem like paradise in comparison!" Zabuza promised, tightening his grip all the more so. That's when Krieg's gun barrels opened up once again and shot at Demon of the Hidden Mist at point blank range. Zabuza took the hits, but didn't let go. "Try all you want, I won't let go until you're dead!" 'Only need… a few more… seconds…'
In sheer desperation, Krieg flipped his battle spear in one hand and then slammed it into the deck remains, detonating it. The explosion threw both men high into the air. While Krieg's armor protected him from the worst of the blast, Zabuza was not so fortunate. Combined with his previous injuries and exhaustion, the pain caused him to let go of Krieg as both plummeted back down. Zabuza gave several coughs of blood while Krieg rubbed his throat, deep impression marks still visible. "You… will… PAY… for that…" Krieg swore as he got back up and grabbed his weapon.
"That is my line…" Zabuza said, struggling to get up himself. "You pathetic waste of – "
That's when Zabuza gave a jerk forward as if struck. Krieg raised a questioning eyebrow. For a few seconds, the ninja just stood there before tumbling over onto the deck, revealing one Monkey D. Luffy as he lowered his fist.
"Sorry," Luffy apologized to the knocked out man as he bent down. "I already called dibs on this man."
"I am in no mood for your jokes, chore boy!" Krieg ranted furiously as Luffy put Zabuza over his shoulder. He dashed forward with his battle spear, fully intending to kill both at once, but Luffy reacted first by jumping up into the air.
"Naruto!" Luffy shouted, twisting in mid-air as he chucked the man back to Baratie. "CATCH!"
Naruto gave a brief nod as he ran forward, creating ten other clones. Collectively they all jumped into the air and caught the muscular man. "Hey!" one shouted to the chefs. "Get some medicine over here!"
"… why?" Patty asked dumbfounded while attending to a poisoned Gin. Sure, he was rooting for Zabuza to slaughter Krieg, but that didn't mean he liked the guy!
"Yeah! Have you forgotten that he attacked us already?" Carne added.
"You're helping Gin, aren't you?"
"Because Zeff said to!"
"So help Zabuza, you idiots!" Zeff hollered, shocking the cooks and pirates alike.
Patty and Carne hesitated only for a moment before gesturing to the small Naruto horde to bring the large man over.
As for Luffy and Krieg, the Pirate Admiral wasn't about to let the rubber chore boy get away with taking his kill, so he lobbed several small bombs at the airborne pirate captain, determined to blast him out of the air entirely!
"Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy sucked in a large amount inflating himself considerably. Seconds before the bombs hit him, he blew out hard, blowing the bombs right back towards a surprised Krieg. The Pirate Admiral reacted quickly, twirling his Battle Spear around him, the weapon prematurely detonating his smaller bombs and leaving him unharmed.
In those moments, Luffy landed and launched himself forward. "Gum Gum Pistol!" Krieg turned to see a fist flying right at him, but he quickly managed to sidestep it.
"Don't waste my time, you little monkey!" Krieg shouted annoyed as Luffy came at him. Krieg then struck Luffy on the belly with his Battle Spear, blowing him over the large man. "WHO DO YOU THINK I AM, A CIRCUS PERFORMER!"
That's when Luffy's foot landed on Krieg's collar. "Looks like one to me!" Luffy replied as he shoved Krieg down on the deck hard, the man giving a gasp of pain while several shocked gasps came from the observers.
"He got a hit on Krieg! Zabuza I can understand, but him?"
"No way! It was just… a fluke! It had to be!"
"I've never seen Krieg down on his knees before!"
"QUIT YOUR BLATHERING!" Krieg shouted as he got back up to his feet. Giving Luffy a look of pure hatred, he readied his Battle Spear once more and charged. "I'll blow you to smithereens, chore boy!"
That's when Luffy calmly chopped the base of Don Krieg's weapon, sending the large spear portion flying through the air and crashing into the sea, leaving Krieg just standing stupidly on the deck. Luffy punched again, this time hitting Krieg flat in the face. Krieg slammed back to the ground as the pirates gave another gasp.
"Looks like he really does know how to fight…" Sasuke commented from his position. Choji just nodded absentmindedly.
Zeff gave a half grin at the feat, while Sanji just looked on dumbfounded. Naruto and his clones all began cheering at once, shouting various phrases like 'Go for it Luffy!', 'Clobber him one for me!' and 'Send him flying to hell!'
"YOU BASTARD!" All heads cocked to see an enraged Krieg roll back up before he slammed both of his fists on the deck, rocking it and causing Luffy to lose his balance. Acting quickly, Krieg opened all his gun barrels and fired. Due to the rubbery captain being off balance, the force of the shots sent him flying through the air and into the open ocean.
"You won't get rid of me that easily!" Luffy shouted as he flew, stretching his arms back and grabbing a hold of one of the broken masts and then launching himself forward. "HERE I COME, JERKFACE!"
That's when Krieg merely grinned as he swung his cape around, revealing it to be covered with many deadly spikes! "Yes, come to me, my soon-to-be pincushion!" Krieg taunted, ready to snap his cape on the flying boy, who had no way of evading this! "THIS IS YOUR GRAVEYARD!"
Sanji's single visible eye widened. "We've got to do something!" He started to run over there, but Zeff put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, Sanji. Watch him closely."
Confused, he did so as everyone watched Luffy rear his fist back and punch forward anyway, hitting the fabled Porcupine Cape and slamming Don Krieg on the chest. Thanks to the armor, the blow didn't harm Krieg, but his face fell at the stunt.
"WHAT?" virtually everyone cried together as many of them either had their eyes bugging out at the same time or subconsciously rubbing their own hands, or both. "HE'S INSANE!"
"And he's still going to hit it head on!" one of the Fighting Cooks exclaimed.
That's when Luffy reared his second hand backwards and made a large, sideways chop-like motion, striking Krieg's left knee. "You're not armored everywhere!" Luffy chuckled happily as he grabbed onto the man's leg and whipped himself around, bypassing the cape and putting himself behind Krieg. Grabbing onto both of the man's shoulders, Luffy pulled him into a headbunt right on the back of the Pirate Admiral's head. Krieg managed to keep himself composed in this strike, but he still attempted to backknuckle his foe with his right hand. The moment he did that, Luffy jumped to avoid it and yanked the Porcupine Cape out of Kreig's hands as the Rubber Man flipped through the air and landed, looking over his shoulder at Krieg with a certain grin on his face as he patted his prize.
Sanji just looked on in complete shock, an action that was mimicked by the two younger boys not too far from them.
"Once in a long while," Zeff spoke suddenly. "A fool comes along who, having set his sights on something, won't quit fighting 'til he dies. Whether he wins or loses this fight…" a smile appeared on the Head Chef's face. "… I admire a man like that."
"See?" Luffy said to the other pirate as he bundled up the cape in his hands, keeping all the spikes inward. "Don't count me out just because you have sneaky weapons and a spiky cape! This isn't my place to die!"
"If it's not yours…" Krieg replied with venom in his voice as Luffy tossed the cape upward then kicked it hard, sending high into the air until it vanished. "Then whose the hell is it?"
Luffy pointed at him. "Yours! You don't have what it takes to be a pirate! Much less a Captain!"
"But you do?" Krieg sneered.
"That's right!"
Krieg threw his head backwards and laughed hard. "You! Better than me! Alright, enlighten me, chore boy… what is it I lack that makes you better than me?"
"To be willing to put your life on the line! You showed your true colors when Mihawk attacked your fleet and slaughtered them and you were nowhere to be found to help!"
A heartbeat skipped, but Krieg continued laughing as before. "Oh, so did that worthless Gin tell you about that?" Calming himself, he shook his head. "Do you really want to know where I was? Below deck. You must have heard how fast that bastard attacked us. I was getting my armor and weapons ready, but not even I could have moved that fast to face Mihawk. By the time I was all set, the ship was already sailing away and the damage done!"
"That's a boldface lie," Luffy declared as everyone around them all went silent. What is Luffy doing? A thought that was being echoed in everyone's minds. That's when Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs. "KRIEG! YOU WERE BELOW DECK COWERING IN FEAR WHILE YOUR CREW FOUGHT AND DIED FOR YOU!"
If the surrounding tension had been thick before, it just tripled right then and there. The Fighting Cooks were all looking at Luffy like he was insane, while Krieg's own men couldn't believe anyone would willingly dare to label their captain like that. The others just looked on confused, not understanding what Luffy was trying to do or how he could possibly know the truth.
Krieg just looked like Luffy had hit him in the face again before he began chuckling. "I expected some lame accusation, but this is something else!" He spread his arms out as though to show he had nothing to hide. "Alright monkey, I'll humor you! Tell me right now what makes you say that!"
"You already proved it."
Don Krieg jerked. "What?"
"You didn't challenge Mihawk when he first arrived," Luffy stated.
Zeff had to take a moment to comprehend. "What is he talking about…" He trailed off as his eyes widened in realization.
"Pathetic weakling," Mihawk told Zoro, as if not hearing the small cries in the background. "I have no interest in you." He pointed directly at Zabuza. "I have unfinished business with that one."
Zoro felt like he had been slapped as he looked at Zabuza again. For a second, the Mist Swordsman didn't react at all, then his eyes narrowed into a fierce glare as he tightened his grip.
"You want me, Hawk-Eye?" Zabuza asked, fire and steel in his voice again. "Fine. It won't be like last time."
"He's. Mine," Zoro snapped at the other man. Zabuza just looked at him again. "Stay out of matters that do not concern you!"
When Mihawk had shown up in the midst of both Zabuza and Zoro's fight, both had stood their ground when the World's Greatest Swordsman confronted them. Zoro challenged Mihawk on the spot and Zabuza stood his ground, but Krieg never said a word during that initial encounter or even during the fight! He just stood quietly in the background. He had done absolutely nothing until the match between Zoro and Mihawk was done!
Hawk-Eye was smiling as well. "Those two make a good team. I hope to encounter you two again someday." With that, he glanced downward at the still form of Zabuza and seemed to consider. He had made it a hobby to find and eliminate this group. Two had fallen to him already. Looking over at the Hunter Nin boy, who looked ready to leap and attack him, he merely nodded his head. "He's yours for now. Tell him... to be ready for the next time."
"Hawk-Eye!" Krieg shouted as he too appeared on the platform. "Didn't you come for my head? The head of Don Krieg, King of the Eastern Blue waters!"
"I had considered it," Mihawk admitted, barely glancing at the Pirate Admiral. "But I've had enough fun for now, so I shall take a nap."
"If you really were the man you claimed to be," Luffy went on. "Then you would have challenged Mihawk the second he appeared, much like Zoro and Zabuza did." Anger appeared on his scarred face next.
"BUT YOU DIDN'T! YOU WAITED UNTIL MIHAWK WAS LEAVING TO CHALLENGE HIM, WHEN YOU KNEW HE WOULDN'T TAKE YOU ON! THAT'S HOW I KNOW WHERE YOU WERE! BECAUSE YOU SHOWED YOU WERE A COWARD WHO CRINGES IN FEAR IN FRONT OF A SUPERIOR OPPONENT, JUST WAITING AND HOPING HE GOES AWAY WITHOUT NOTICING YOU! YOU AREN'T FIT TO BE A CAPTAIN OF A BABY'S PLAY POOL! ZEFF WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG; YOU ARE A COWARD!"
Silence hung over everyone as looked over at Krieg with all new perspectives. Incredible as it was to believe, the words the Straw Hat Captain had just said made some bizarre sense and many of them couldn't decide which was more amazing: The fact that someone had noticed Krieg's true character or that it was the rubber idiot himself that had pointed it out! Was he really as dumb as he acted?
"Coward, you call me?" Krieg repeated slowly as he took out some more mini-bombs, casually tossing them in his hand. He wasn't angry with this; he looked more bored and annoyed, as though someone had just exposed his underpants to the world rather than some deep dirty secret. "It is not cowardice when you prioritize!"
He hurled the bombs right at Luffy, who jumped over them to avoid the blasts. "The Captain is the ONLY member of the crew that matters at all, you worthless little chore boy!" Krieg hollered as he picked up a large piece of debris and hurled it at Luffy. He easily kicked it out of the way, only to see that Krieg had thrown even more bombs as a follow up, the debris merely a ruse to hide behind. The bombs detonated, blasting Luffy through the air as Krieg jumped up below him, one hand grabbing around Luffy's arms and the other a firm sturdy grip on the Straw Hat captain's head. "Who cares what happens to these pathetic wimps? They can be EASILY replaced! My survival is the only thing that matters!" he ranted on, slamming Luffy headfirst into the ship debris, the utter shock splitting the deck fragment into many pieces, water shooting up and threatening to drag them both under.
"Luffy!" several people shouted only to realize that the Straw Hat's legs had extended out already, whipping around one of the smaller masts further away. Before Krieg could successfully shove Luffy all the way into the water, Luffy snapped backwards towards his feet and broke free of Don Krieg's grasp, riping his shirt in the process. Luffy slammed into the mast so hard it cracked and fell over much like a tree.
Picking himself up, Luffy glared daggers at the Pirate Admiral. "You're WRONG!" he shouted as he grabbed hold of the debris and started walking backwards his arms stretching as a result. "That's not what it means to be a captain! Gum Gum Rocket!"
"Spare me your preaching!" Don Krieg shouted as Luffy appeared overhead, rearing his foot back before sending it flying forward in a devastating kick. Krieg merely batted it away as he jumped off his floating piece of debris to another as Luffy's second kick completely destroyed it. "You are just a ragtag wannabe, playing in a big man's sand box! ALL YOU KNOW ABOUT BEING A PIRATE IS FROM CHILDREN'S BEDTIME STORIES!"
Luffy snorted in rage as he stretched out his left arm to get another handhold. He began spinning around rapidly over and over as his mind drifted backwards…
On an island called Dawn's Island in the East Blue, there is a town called Fuusha Village. Among the many windmills of the place was a small bar, called Party's Bar, where many men were drinking merrily as they were all having a grand old time. Some told stories of their exploits. One bragged how he could shoot the whiskers off an ant at fifty paces blindfolded, another boosted about his many backbreaking feats and yet another one claimed he fought so swiftly, he had seven swords going all at once. Others danced, some ate, a few were actually brawling around like toddlers, but not even that was enough to dent the moods of festivity as these men were celebrating their latest successful raid on a merchant ship.
These were the Red-Haired Pirates.
A seven year old Luffy, who currently had a small bandage underneath his left eye, was arguing with a man. He had messy red hair, an unbuttoned white shirt, and small black pants that only went to his knees and sandals. He sported a straw hat on his head and his left eye bore three vertical scars over it. The man just laughed off each of Luffy's attempts to get this man to take him on their next voyage.
The man was none other than Captain Red-Haired Shanks himself, merely patting young Luffy on the head as one would their favorite pet and insisting that Luffy becoming a pirate was impossible in a playful manner. He then ordered a glass of milk for the boy, who eagerly drank it, only for Shanks to crack up laughing all over, insisting a real pirate would never drink milk!
"You tricked me!" Luffy complained, throwing his empty glass at Shanks. The man easily caught it and put it back on the bar, shaking a finger in a disapproving manner. "No making messes now, Anchor."
"Stop calling me that!" the boy said. "Who cares if I can't swim? I'm still going to be a pirate!"
"A pirate who can't swim is no good. All you do is sink, Luffy," Shanks replied with a smile on his face.
"So if I don't fall overboard, then it's no problem, is it!" Luffy retorted, which only caused Shanks to laugh it up some more before the door was violently kicked open and several new people, clearly bandits from the way they were dressed, walked in. The leader walked up to Makino and demanded liquor for his group as well. Upon learning that the pirates had taken it all, he grew very displeased to the point he threw the unopened bottle that Shanks offered him right back in the pirate captain's face.
"I am Higuma, the Bear!" the man declared as everyone looked at him while a soaked Shanks said nothing. Higuma held up his own wanted poster. "My head's worth 8,000,000 berries. I'm a wanted man. I've killed 56 people so far, mostly fools like you!"
Luffy's jaw dropped… at the sight of Shanks completely ignoring what the bandit was saying and was fussing over a little mess, even got down and started cleaning it up! Why was Shanks not doing anything about this?
Higuma noticed this too and did not take kindly to being flat out ignored as he deliberately hit Shanks with the butt of his sword, slamming the man over the bar and into Makino's glasses on the other side, shattering them all.
"If you like cleaning so much, that'll keep you busy," Higuma declared as Luffy's anger continued to rise as the mountain bandits all turned and left. Luffy then watched as Shanks stood up and his ENTIRE CREW began laughing at how pathetic Shanks had been, to which he laughed in return.
"Here, let me do it," Shanks told Makino, taking a rag from her hand and proceeded to clean up.
"YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY?" Everything looked over to see a mad Luffy. "HE MADE YOU LOOK LIKE A WEAKLING! WHY DIDN'T YOU FIGHT BACK? MAYBE THEY LOOKED A LITTLE TOUGH, BUT WHAT KIND OF MAN LETS HIMSELF BE TREATED LIKE THAT THEN LAUGHS ABOUT IT? YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO ALL PIRATES!"
Shanks just looked at the young boy and shook his head. "You'll understand someday, Luffy. He just split some grog on me, no need to kill a man over that. Needless killing doesn't make you a man."
"I'm gonna go find a REAL role model!" Luffy stormed off, not wanting to listen as Shanks grabbed his arm to stop him… only to see it stretch out as Luffy continued walking.
Shanks' eyes shot wide open as everyone else choked on their drinks and fell on their butts. That's when Lucky opened a small treasure chest, only to reveal that the prize inside, the legendary Gum Gum Devil Fruit, was missing, which Luffy had confirmed he ate for dessert. He also mentioned it tasted horrible.
"THAT WAS THE GUM GUM FRUIT! THE FRUIT OF THE DEVIL! IT'S ONE OF THE SECRET TREASURES OF THE SEA! IF YOU EAT IT, YOUR ENTIRE BODY BECOMES LIKE RUBBER! AND YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SWIM AGAIN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"
"WHAAAAT?"
"YOU IDIOT!"
A week passed since then and Luffy found himself quite pleased with his new ability to stretch. And he couldn't swim anyway, so it was really no big deal and he could go now. He went about to get himself some nice fish, heard Mayor Wood Slap rant about stuff Luffy really didn't listen to anyway as he went back to Makino's bar, still bummed how much of a wimp Shanks was.
And that's when the mountain bandits returned. And this time there were no pirates. Higuma and his men made sure to take advantage of Makino's entire stock for themselves. Naturally, they wasted no time in badmouthing Shanks and the other absentee pirates.
Luffy had demanded that they take back those insults. Despite Makino's warnings to stop, the young boy found himself out on the street, bloody and beaten with Higuma laughing at his pitiful fighting skills. Giving another cry, Luffy charged again only for the 'Bear' to grab hold of Luffy's face, swing him around like a lasso and slam him to the ground where he promptly put his boot on Luffy's head, further pushing him into the dirt.
"Now apologize!" Higuma demanded as his men laughed all around him, not one of them taking notice that Wood Slap was currently on his knees begging for them to spare the boy. Luffy merely called the bandit several names. Higuma, all amusement lost now, reached for his weapon with the intent to kill written all over his face.
"I thought it was funny no one greeted us at the port."
Luffy and everyone else's heads all snapped around to see Shanks and his pirates walking over. He gave a small all-knowing smile as he said "Hey Luffy! I thought your punch was as powerful as a pistol!"
Wood Slap, Makino and even Shanks' own men seemed rather disturbed at what the pirate captain just said, thinking that this was hardly the time to make fun of the poor boy. Higuma had a similar impression as he gestured for the pirates to get lost. One of the bandits walked over to Shanks, pointing his own gun right at the man's head and demanding he get lost.
Only for Lucky Roo to shoot the bandit in a heartbeat, while still engrossed in eating his slab of meat.
"Now you've gone and done it! That wasn't fair!" many of the remaining bandits hollered together.
"Fair?" Shanks' first mate, Ben, spoke. "Stop whining, land lubbers. You want to deal with saints? Go find a monastery."
Shanks took a step forward and Luffy was taken aback by what he was seeing. This wasn't the fun loving, party happy Shanks he always knew, but a battle-hardened warrior. Not a trace of any of that carefree attitude Luffy had always known from him remained; all of that was replaced with a quiet, subtle anger.
"We're pirates! We don't play by the rules! You can pour drinks on me, you can throw food at me, you can even spit at me and I'll just laugh it off! But… for good reason or not… NOBODY HURTS A FRIEND OF MINE!"
Higuma wasn't intimidated by Shank's speech or his new demeanor as he ordered his men to kill all the pirates. Shanks calmly watched them all charge like headless chickens as Ben declared he would deal with them.
It took all of two seconds for him to beat down a group of two dozen bandits and the only reason it took that long was because he wanted to show off to the Red-Haired Pirate's admirer, Luffy.
By now, Higuma was realizing just how deep in trouble he was. In an act of desperation, he tossed down a smoke bomb, which made Luffy gag as he was still underneath the man's boot. That's when he felt a strong arm grab him and haul him up in the air. At first he thought it was Shanks, but quickly saw it was Higuma. The bandit threw Luffy over his shoulder and ran down an alleyway before anyone could do anything. He dashed over to the port towards one of the small boats, severed the rope with a single sword swipe and hopped in, taking Luffy with him out into the sea, believing no one would find him there.
"I brought you as a hostage, just in case," Higuma told the boy, who turned his head towards him as the man put on a big smile. "But I no longer have any need for you. Bye bye!"
In rage, Luffy attempted to punch the man once more, but Higuma just kicked him off the boat with ease, laughing his head off as Luffy sank beneath the water as he tried vainly to swim.
Higuma was laughing so hard, he didn't notice the parting waters behind as a large pair of ominous red eyes were watching him. He got a sudden chill as he quickly looked over his shoulder to see a large, oversized brown eel, the Lord of the Coast itself, staring hungrily at him.
Right before it chomped down on Higuma. It then caught sight of another potential victim as it swam towards a drowning Luffy.
That's when a strong grip followed by a large snapping sound came as Luffy looked on with tears in his eyes. Holding him tightly was Shanks himself, staring furiously at the sea creature, who no longer looked as confident or menacing.
"Get lost," Shanks ordered in a hard voice, his eyes penetrating all. The Lord of the Coast did just that, vanishing back to the depths below. The pirate captain's gaze softened at once as he rubbed a now-crying Luffy on the head. "Sorry, Luffy. Makino told me how you stood up for me." Luffy just continued crying, causing Shanks to just smile. "Hey, stop crying! You're a tough guy, remember?"
"But Shanks…" Luffy managed to squeeze in between sobs. "YOUR ARM!"
Shanks looked at the stump of his left arm as though it was beyond his notice. "It's okay. It's just an arm. I'm just glad you're okay."
Luffy cried harder into Shanks' chest.
Three weeks later, the Red Hair Pirates were preparing to disembark from Fuusha Village as they had used it as a base for too long now. Luffy was watching them all make their final preparations with a satisfied smile on his face, now seeing exactly why he wasn't ready to go out to sea. He was going to become a pirate his own way!
"There's no way you can become a pirate," Shanks said pointing at him, not being able to resist one last tease.
Luffy threw up his arms defiantly. "OH YES I WILL! ONE DAY I'LL HAVE A SHIP AND CREW BETTER THAN YOURS! And WE'LL HAVE THE BIGGEST HORDE OF TREASURE IN THE WORLD! I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
Shanks just looked on the boy for a while before a small smirk appear. "So you're going to be better than us, huh? Well then…" He took off his hat and placed it right on the boy's head.
"Do me a favor and keep this safe for me. This hat means a lot to me. Promise that you'll give it back someday when you become a great pirate."
Luffy finished building up rotation and launched himself anew at Krieg, fists ready. "It's the Captain's DUTY to look out for his crew! GUM GUM GATLING GUN!"
This time, Don Krieg gleefully stood his ground as he allowed Luffy to relentlessly punch his armor, knowing full well this rubber brat never would break it.
"That fool," Sanji uttered as they all watched Luffy pound on that armor. "He should be aiming for the head or legs again, not the armor."
"Even a man bristling with powerful weapons can be skewered by the spear of blind grit," Zeff spoke up unexpectedly.
Above his head, Sasuke's eyes glanced downward at the man's words, snorting in disgust. The old man didn't really believe that, did he?
"In the Life-and-Death struggles of a pirate, he who hesitates is buzzard food. For this kid, there's no give in him. In the end, it's not about weapons. Grit counts more than steel," Zeff continued with a grin.
Sanji at Zeff's side, Sasuke above and even Choji all looked at Zeff. As one, their eyes all shot up and looked at the pirate captain still pounding away against Krieg's armor. Did grit really count more than steel? Sasuke didn't believe it.
He did, however, believe that wouldn't stop the rubber-bound fool. He supposed that relentless determination did have its merits at times.
"Fool! The Captain is the ONLY member that matters at all!" Seeing Luffy's attack dying down, Krieg reared his fist back and punched. Luffy was about to dodge when flames sprayed forth from Krieg's arm all over him, earning several shouts of horror from Luffy's allies.
"The ability to LEAD! The need to COMMAND! The AMBITION to see it all through! THAT'S what it means to be a Pirate Captain!" Krieg bellowed, swinging his fist around once again and slamming it right onto Luffy as it slammed right through the broken ship into the sea below. "All other concerns are SECONDARY!"
"LUFFY!" Naruto shouted, ready to dive in to help, while the other Chefs shouted 'Chore Boy!'
"Krieg won!" many of the Pirate Admiral's men cheered. With the Chore Boy in the water, he was as good as dead!
"GUM GUM…" Krieg's face dropped as he spun around to see a still-flaming Luffy dashing right towards him, his arms rearing back. "BAZOOKA!"
The sheer force from the attack sent a painful wave into Don Krieg despite his armor as he was sent shooting off into the air.
"WHAT?" All of Krieg's men shouted together, not believing their eyes. Why wasn't Luffy in the water? That wasn't fair! Devil Fruit users were supposed to SINK, not pop out of thin air!
Zeff merely grinned to himself. Luffy had inflated himself and blew out a powerful stream of air at the last second to escape the death slam. He watched as Luffy quickly grabbed Krieg's arms as he brought up his feet, crushing Krieg's flamethrower in the process. He then began spinning his torso vertically around over and over. "GUM GUM BOWGUN!"
With a powerful snapback, Luffy slammed his sandaled feet into Krieg's chest armor, sending the pirate captain flying high into the air, making the jaws drop on all of Krieg's men while the Fighting Cooks began cheering in delight, as did Naruto. Sasuke just looked dumbfounded.
"A REAL Captain takes full responsibility for his crew, including their safety!" Luffy shouted to the vanishing figure of Don Krieg, memories of Shanks and his crew flashing before his eyes. "It's the CAPTAIN'S JOB to make sure EVERYONE does what they need to do to get the job done! One who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice an ARM for a stupid little brat who wouldn't take a hint!"
At that last statement, the ninja, pirates and cooks watching all cocked their heads in confusion. What possessed Luffy to say that last bit?
"SHUT UP ALREADY!"
All heads whipped back towards the sky as they saw a series of explosions. Don Krieg had used several of his small bombs to propel himself back to the fight, his mighty armor more than enough to take the blast as he landed on the top of a busted mast. He looked down at Luffy in rage. What did it take to get rid of this pest? He just kept on coming back! He tossed several more bombs at the idiot, hoping to draw him in closer.
Luffy jumped around much like a monkey would to avoid the blasts as he ran up the mast towards the Pirate Admiral himself, much to the man's delight. 'Excellent…' Krieg thought discreetly holding some more bombs in his fists. 'THIS time, I'm going to finish him off for good!' "So you're saying that the CREW is more important than it's leader?"
The Straw Hat captain was about to answer (with both his fists and voice) when Krieg opened up his hands and dropped his mini-bombs right at point-blank range!
They detonated all around Luffy at once, covering him in smoke, making Naruto and several others shout 'Luffy!' in horror. To Krieg's annoyance, the Straw Hat brat still managed to get in a double palm hit to him, making him fly off the mast. It was no matter. Several point blank blasts on top of the kid's current injuries should more than finish him off. His eyes glanced downward briefly and to his amazement, there was a slight crack to his armor. But that most definitely came from his own blasts and not this stretchy bastard!
"IT'S NOT JUST THE CREW!"
Several jaws dropped as Luffy jumped out from the smoke. He was clearly battered and shocked from that last attack with many scrapes and injuries covering him. His shirt was in ribbons but his shorts were overall fine. Krieg nearly went bugged eyed himself as disbelief at seeing Luffy back as he reared his arms back once more.
"IT'S EVERYONE! BOTH CAPTAIN AND CREW! BOTH ARE NEEDED! GUM GUM BAZOOKA!"Once more, Luffy struck Don Krieg's chest armor straight on, resulting in the armor breaking off into dozens of pieces. Enough of the force from the strike hit Krieg's body as his head was thrown backwards in a painful whiplash, blood flying out of his mouth and his eyes nearly deathly white.
No! He would NOT be defeated here! He would NOT LOSE to this childish scumbag! He was DON KRIEG! Leader of the Pirate Armada of 5000 men! HE was not going to lose! Snarling in rage, he held out his right arm and an iron net flew forth, wrapping Luffy up tightly. "YOU WON'T ESCAPE FROM MY IRON NET, BOY! THIS TIME, I'M MAKING SURE YOU DROP INTO THE SEA! NOW DROWN LIKE THE HAMMER YOU ARE!"
None of Krieg's men spoke as they watched this part. They had never seen their Captain pushed this far. Never before had they seen him so… feral. It was almost like watching their esteemed captain transform into a rabid mad dog before their eyes
Sanji was sure he had to be dreaming by this point. That kid just didn't give up. Not even for an instant. What was it that drove him so hard?
Sasuke was silent himself, trying not to listen to Naruto and the cooks' cheering. Heck, even the fat kid had dropped all dignity and was yelling for 'Ruffy' to win. The words the gum gum man had said about a crew needing 'everyone' was stuck in his mind and he couldn't get it out. Could it be this Luffy really did understand what he was doing as a proclaimed pirate captain and those dreams he spat out?
Luffy's arms and legs popped out through the holes in the iron net as he shot his legs out at Krieg, spinning them madly around like a corkscrew, snapping his feet around the other pirate's face like a death lock.
"The Captain needs the crew just as much as the crew needs the captain. Without a crew, there's no need for a captain and without a captain, there's no purpose for a crew! Both depend and rely on each other!" Luffy shouted, spinning his legs around like crazy and thus Don Krieg as well as he arced them over towards one of the few remaining fragments of Baratie's Port fin.
"If you can't understand that, then YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE A CAPTAIN!" Luffy shouted, slamming Krieg head first into the wood as Krieg let out a single pain-induced scream before falling silent completely.
"HE DID IT!" all of the Baratie Chefs cheered together. Some even began dancing on the spot. Naruto began doing a little victory dance himself. Choji started cheering too, then collapsed. Sasuke just watched dumbfounded, unable to find his voice. Zeff just gave a single nod of acknowledgement.
"We're saved!" Patty and Carne shouted together happily.
"… Krieg… lost?" Both of the cooks looked down to see Gin wide awake. When did that happen?
"You bet!" Patty said, helping Gin to his feet so he could look at Don Krieg's fallen form.
Gin took a good long look at his fallen idol, his eyes having a hard time accepting what they were seeing. "Krieg… lost… I never thought he could lose… he was master of these waters!"
"Well, look again!" Carne stated, still annoyed that the man was still idolizing the guy that poisoned him. "Armor's broken into a thousand pieces, his every weapon crushed… he isn't even conscious!"
That's when Luffy stretched out his arms next, grabbing hold of Baratie with Krieg right between them, much like a slingshot. After uttering 'Gum Gum Rocket', Luffy rocketed forth and slammed into Krieg, hitting dead center into his back. A loud snapping sound rang out as Krieg toppled over on the fin, completely out of the fight as Luffy landed right beside him. Gin and many of the pirates' jaws dropped at the realization of what that snapping sound meant.
"This fight is over," Luffy said as he stood up and began taking the net off him. "You'll never walk again, Krieg." He finished getting the net off as he tossed it into the sea. He then stretched a hand out and grabbed his hat. "Now get out of my sight."
Luffy walked over to the restaurant as he noticed Naruto looking down hard at the Pirate Admiral, a kunai in his hand and a murderous look on his face. "Why didn't you finish him off?"
"I've taken his pride, weapons, dream and his legs," Luffy replied as he put his hat back on, covering his eyes. "I don't need anymore than that. You want to take it further, I won't stop you."
The blond's eyes darted between Luffy and Krieg several times before finally settling on the weapon in his hand. He then gave a resigned sign and tossed it over his shoulder. "It was your victory, not mine. If that's enough for you, it's enough for me."
He then looked over at Haku's body. "There's a more important matter to attend to anyway."
"Hey, kid." Both Luffy and Naruto looked over to see a stumbling Gin walking over to him. He coughed up some more blood as he grasped his chest. After wiping the blood from his mouth and taking a few deep breaths, Gin stretched out his hand. "We lose."
"Battle Commander!" many of his fellows shouted in protest.
"Don Krieg lost. Let's take our defeat like men and start from zero," Gin declared, putting an end to any further protests. He continued holding out his hand as Luffy looked at it, then took it and shook it.
"I hope our paths meet again on the Grand Line," Gin told Luffy.
Naruto looked up. "I thought that place scared you. And shouldn't you be more worried about the poison?"
The man just gave a smile. "I gave it a lot of thought… and pirating is the only thing I want to do. Somehow, Krieg's dreams have become my dreams." He coughed up some more blood. "I may only have a few hours to live. It may be foolish for a half-dead man to commit himself to anything, but it's still a good medicine. And if I do, I'll be hunted like a wolf. Loyalty to Krieg, ha! For a long time, I've been hiding in his shadow." His eyes looked back to Luffy. "When you commit yourself, you don't worry about the enemy or even your own life. You taught me that, Straw Hat Luffy. And I'm not going to forget it."
Luffy sported his trademark grin on his face. "Then I will see you on the Grand Line someday!"
Gin gave a chuckle there as everyone else looked in confusion, no one starting up anymore fights.
Ten minutes later, the remains of the Krieg Pirates were given the Baratie supply boat, and several tablecloths. They hogtied many of the lingering floating fragments and made makeshift sails with the supply boat as the leading vessel. Krieg was placed in the foremost portion of it, bellowing loudly that he still hadn't lost and could keep fighting until Gin kicked him back to dream land.
As the ragtag 'fleet' moved out, Gin himself walked to the aft most part of the ship and looked directly at Luffy. "To the future King of the Pirates! May we hope to prove a worthy challenge to you next time!" With that, he stood up straight and saluted.
The other pirates didn't know what to say in regards to what their commander did before they all looked back at their Admiral – former Admiral – and remembered the words that Luffy had said during their fight.
"A REAL Captain takes full responsibility for his crew, including their safety!"
"It's the CAPTAIN'S JOB to make sure EVERYONE does what they need to do to get the job done! Who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice an ARM for a stupid little brat who wouldn't take a hint!"
"IT'S NOT JUST THE CREW! IT'S EVERYONE! BOTH CAPTAIN AND CREW! BOTH ARE NEEDED!"
"The Captain needs the crew just as much as the crew needs the captain. Without a crew, there's no need for a captain and without a captain, there's no purpose for a crew! Both depend and rely on each other."
"If you can't understand that, then YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE A CAPTAIN!"
One by one, the remaining pirates who had once belonged to Don Krieg's Pirate Armada joined their Battle Commander until every one of them was now saluting the man they had been cheering against.
Acknowledging the future King of the Pirates.
End of Chapter 30
Done! And with this chapter, the fighting portion of the Baratie Arc at long last comes to an end! Hope everyone enjoyed it all. In my opinion, the ending fight between Luffy and Krieg wasn't as exciting as some of the other ones, but I do hope it was enjoyable and left the mark that Luffy does understand what he's doing… even though he's still an idiot ^_^
The Krieg fight was one I always planned on featuring, even when I was just skipping over the canon One Piece fights. He's got so many weapons stocked up, I felt there was a lot of potential to expand and redo the fight. Once again, please let me know how you liked or disliked my handling of the One Piece fights and if I should keep them the same as canon or continue to modify them my way. I personally liked the ending myself.
To any of those that wanted Krieg killed (preferably by Zabuza and/or Kyuubi Naruto) I gave that considerable thought on whether to kill Krieg or not and discussed it with my beta. We felt that giving Krieg a permanent disability and rendering him helpless was far more fitting. And Luffy needed a fight here, even if it meant dealing another cheap shot to Zabuza. (FORGIVE ME, ZABUZA!)
On another note, I SO planned on breaking Zabuza's sword from the start and was upset when canon beat me to it! I need to type faster, damn it! Or at least clone myself!
Now, what will be done with the three remaining Mist Shinobi that have been left behind? You'll just have to read the next chapter to find out, won't you? Hopefully, the aftermath and end of the Baratie arc will be next chapter so we can get moving along to the Arlong Arc.
Any Kenichi fans out there, check my profile for something that may be of interest to you
Mighty Battle Spear (Daisensō): A spear formed when Don Krieg puts his shoulder plates together that explodes when it hits an opponent. It is supposed to weigh 1 ton, and the more force that is put in the swing, the bigger the explosion. The spear will still explode on impact even if its tip is broken off making it a giant "bomb on a stick". Canon technique
Gum Gum Bazooka (Gomu Gomu no Bazooka): Luffy stretches both his arms far back, and then hurls them forward, striking his opponent with both instantaneously. This is usually used as a finishing move. Canon Technique
Gum Gum Gatling Gun (Gomu Gomu no Gatling): Luffy uses his stretching ability to bring his fists forward repeatedly in a blurry, rapid barrage of strong punches that creates the illusion of him having multiple arms, however he doesn't actually grow more arms so his arms can be caught by an opponent fast enough. Canon Technique
Gum Gum Bowgun (Gomu Gomu no Bowgun): Luffy takes hold of his opponent, then repeatedly twists his torso vertically around his waist. The resulting snapback sends his opponent flying upwards. Canon Technique.
Gum Gum Giant Gavel (Gomu Gomu no Ōzuchi): Similar to Gum Gum Mallet, but he performs it using the feet and legs instead of hands and arms while in mid-air. Canon Technique.
Gum Gum Mallet (Gomu Gomu no Tsuchi): Luffy takes hold of his opponent with his hands, then spins, twisting his arms. He then untwists them, rapidly spinning his opponent, while bringing him crashing to the floor. This was first seen being used against Richie after he and Mohji destroyed Chou-Chou's master's store. Canon Technique. Mentioned for reference
Nami's Ultimate Idiot Competition – Luffy: 49, Naruto: 58. Currently on hold due to Nami's departure.
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!