The Gate to Kisho
Chapter 3
Troubled Village
A woman sat in the center of the crowd, mourning over the corpse of yet another lost one. The village leader, an old man, made himself visible and projected his voice over those of the people. "We cannot simply stand here any longer. We must take action if we wish to see our people live any longer."
Suddenly, a small boy came charging into the village, yelling, "They're coming! They're coming! Those Marines are coming!"
The leader turned to see ships appearing in the horizon. Screams forced the people to scatter in all directions, running to grab their beloved. Before a seeming second could pass, the Marines had dropped anchor at the new shore. "We are here to collect the taxes! All of those who refuse to pay will be sentenced to a hearing at Rogueport."
Just hearing that name brought the children to tears and the mothers to shock. Rogueport was known as a town with a rotten past, filled with beggars and burglars who roamed the streets till the moon itself would turn black with ill luck. The water there was said to taste of blood of the dead. And the innocent did not exist, for they had all been killed.
Towering above all the madness was the massive Rogueport Marine Base, standing as the smallest of the Grand West Six, a series of six major government facilities in the southwestern hemisphere of the Blue Oceans. It could be seen from all parts of the island, save for the tiny bar at the isolated corner.
The first to step off the majestic Marine Ship was none other than the "Wargiant" Admiral Regaru Adderbones. His serpent-like tongue flicked up and down as he cracked his knuckles and rolled his head. A short revolver hung on his hand, hidden by his loose sleeve. "Alright yew damned magots, show me what'chya got!"
The aged leader struggled to move away from the coming crowd of Marines, but he soon saw his fate, a suffering similar to that of the corpse lying in the town earlier. "Hold up, fools!" Adderbones roared, stopping his men at once. "Can't yeh see it's their leader."
Adderbones tore his way to the front of the lines and pulled out his second hand… only it wasn't there. A massive iron hook took the place of his hand, and he waved it nastily at the old man. "Jii-chan!" a voice cried from the side of the street. The messenger boy broke out of the door and rushed to his grandfather's side. "How could you do this to him?!?" he wailed.
The Marines were stunned upon the sight of a hole in the man's chest. Blood had already begun to ooze out. "Si… sir! We didn't…" they started, nervously addressing the Admiral.
"Shutup!" Adderbones hissed back. "What sort of followers are you? Haven't you seen my abilities already? Or should I demonstrate them again… on you!"
The Marines shook their head and reformed their lines, awaiting their next order. "You see, old man," Adderbones started as he took a step towards the leader of the village. "Certain laws have been laid out at the beginning of your time. And they are to be followed… we ask for not too much. A simple payment once every now and then. And with that payment, we expect total order and obedience. That means yew should've been ready with my goodies by now. But not to worry. Yer life was coming to an end anyways… I only wished to end it peacefully than how it would've gone through if you had stayed with us any longer."
The old man coughed out blood, only it wasn't the regular red color. "What… what did you do?"
Adderbones grinned and shook his finger. "I'm sorry, but I never liked to reveal mah secrets… however, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to spare a few words to yer pathetic life."
"You monster!" the boy wailed once more. "How could you?!? We did nothing to you! You're nothing like the great and helpful Marines! You're monsters!" Adderbones put up an even nastier look upon hearing this and took another step towards the two in his way.
"None of that's yer business, kiddo. Stay out of my way, brats like you only piss me off further!"
The kid, now with a face full of tears, spread his arms out wide and yelled back, "I don't care what happens, I'm not moving! Even if I have to die, I'll block you. I'll block you till someone else comes!... HELP!"
Adderbones gritted his teeth and watched as the kid suddenly fell down to his knees just as the man had. "What a dumb child. I guess everyone learns the hard way."
"No… I told you I won't move!" the child said again, though blood was coming out of his mouth now. "Your poison is strong, but not enough for me."
The Admiral flicked another poison shuriken at a rapid speed, only to have it miss its target. Something else came in the way. "Ouch… that stings," Zato whispered, pulling out the shuriken that had pushed deep into his skin. "What's going on here?"
Adderbones flicked his tongue up and down again, showing his rage anew through numerous expressions. "Two children are able to stand up to my abilities? What the hell's goin' on."
Zato seemed offended, as he put up a frown and spat, "I'm fifteen for your info. And don't tell me that's your abilities, I was looking forward to more of a challenge."
The Marines were stunned to see Zato in perfect shape after poison had been injected into his body. "Perhaps I didn't use poison disks that time, but yew'll be dead the next shot." Zato remained immune to the effects of the poison, as he responded the same way as before. This time, Adderbones put a huge grin on his face. "Immunity. So it seems as though I've run along someone special. Whoever yeh are must've consumed the Block Block Fruit."
Zato took a step back, realizing the strength and intelligence of his opponent. "So you know, huh."
"Block Block Fruit?" the child asked. Even the Marines seemed confused.
"I never expected to run along a Devil Fruit user here in the middle of nowhere. Alright yew magots, listen up. This kiddo ate a fruit just like the one I did, granting him special powers. The one he ate, Block Block Fruit, allows his body to cut down any excess damage and block off all substances or germs that are not 'welcome' there. The depth is still a mystery, which's why I've been trying to find the user so that I could kill 'em. That way I'd be able to examine its full powers."
"You missed many details," said Zato, surprising Adderbones. "And I'll show you them if you wanna see."
"It doesn't matter who yew are, yer still a runt in my way. So it's time for you to die! Hooook Slash!" Adderbones roared, charging and bringing his hook down upon Zato simultaneously. Zato leaped back, dodging the attack that tore through the ground. "Fast, huh? I'll take you out with my own speed. Hooook Barrage!"
Zato made an attempt to dive backwards, but Adderbones caught him right there with a flurry of jabs to his stomach. With a grin, Zato compressed his body and shouted, "Blooock Bloooooock…" Adderbones continued striking, hoping he could hit a vital point. "Return!!!" Zato finished, suddenly releasing his body forward.
A wave of energy tossed the admiral back into his supporting army, bringing terror amongst the Marines. "Admiral… flicked back so easily?!?"
Adderbones pushed himself back up onto his feet and watched as Zato made the same motion as before. "I see, so you absorb hits that come to you and then use stored energy to release it all back. Funny, I never knew those sides of the Block Block Fruit."
Raising his hook, Adderbones began to unbutton his coat, revealing some sort of vest around him… "So kiddo, let's see you face my true powers."