A/N: Hello again!
The battle rages on! But how will it conclude? Who will come out the victor? And, is there perhaps a twist of fate on the horizon? Find out now!
I do not own One Piece, It belongs to Eiichiro Oda
"Venom-Venom…Hydra!" Luffy shouts as a three headed dragon rises out of him. The red eyes of each head glow and all three let out high-pitched screeches from all of their mouthes.
"Jetstream!" Luffy calls out, and all three heads fire off pressurized jets of poison at Dogtooth. Even without seeing it with his eyes, he senses them and holds both of his hands out in preparation of an attack.
"Buzz Cut Mochi!" He calls out as his body starts to change shape.
"Huh?" Luffy lets out as Dogtooth becomes…donut shaped?
"What the hell?!" Luffy reacts instinctively, utterly confused to how he was able to do so. In this form, Dogtooth spins and carefully moves so he "flies" in between the three poison jets, with the center stream aimed directly at him. The stream flies through the hole in Dogtooth as his spinning gains momentum. He clads his entire body in Haki as he closes in on Luffy, and his body reforms to normal as swings a devastating kick, slicing through the poison surrounding Luffy and straight to the body. Luffy incases his own arm in Haki and connects a punch with Dogtooth's kick, the force of the wind blowing the poison all over the place and "killing" the Hydra as a result. Neither side gives an inch as sparks start to fly as a result, and the clash eventually results in an explosion. Both take a hit and are forced to put some space between them.
"Your Haki is admirably strong! You should be proud!" Dogtooth says as he finally opens his eyes, no longer blinded by Luffy's poison gas.
"Thanks, yours is damn good, too! But I won't lose!" Luffy shouts back. His body starts to drip again and poison begins to pour out of him.
"Venom-Venom Hydra!" Luffy calls out, reforming the Hydra as it screeches loudly. Dogtooth rears back his hand and prepares his next attack as well, but to Luffy's surprise, he drives his fist straight into the ground.
"Flowing…Mochi!" Dogtooth calls out, and the ground all around begins to ripple in response, even the ground Luffy is standing on. Before Luffy can do anything, Dogtooth attacks.
"Unstoppable Donuts: Power Mochi!" Dogtooth calls out, causing tendrils to rise out of the now mochi-fied ground and form Haki infused fists that smash into one of the Hydra's heads. The head explodes, but Luffy reforms it right away.
"Power Mochi!" Dogtooth calls out again, this time aimed straight for Luffy inside the Hydra. Luffy has all three of the Hydra's heads block the attack. All three heads explode, but the large mochi fist stops in it's tracks because of it. Luffy reforms all three heads immediately and it is as though nothing has happened.
"Hmph, I should have tried to foresee that, I've wasted both of our time. I apologize." Dogtooth says in response.
"Huh? Don't apologize! This is some of the most fun I've had in a while! Let's keep things going!" Luffy says, trading in the determined scowl he had on his face all this time for a satisfied smile.
"Hmph, very well! But my snack time is approaching rapidly, so I am going to end this quickly! Burning Mochi!" Dogtooth calls out, launching a similar attack to his Edged Mochi, but much faster. So much faster that the attack lights on fire from the friction produced as it closes in on the Hydra. As the attack gets closer to the Hydra, the heads begin to melt as they let out anguished cries, though Luffy seems to be unaffected by it. Technically, the attack flies straight over Luffy, but it leaves the Hydra unable to repair it's heads. The three necks slump over and hit the ground with great force, exploding into poison puddles.
"Dammit! You killed my Hydra! How'd you know they can die to fire?" Luffy asks.
"I didn't. I thought since your poison was flammable, your Hydra would be too, I figured it would just light up or explode." Dogtooth admits.
"Now, Unstoppable Donuts: Mochi Anemone!" Dogtooth shouts out. Haki clad fists fly out of the ground from every direction, with Luffy simply unable to block or dodge every one of them, but he does avoid the full force of more than Dogtooth expected him to.
"Nrgh!" Luffy calls out after taking several big hits. He is starting to pant now, having some trouble catching his breath, but still standing strong. Both his arms quickly become Haki clad as he rushes in, shouting.
"I can't afford to waste any more time with long range combat! Time to get up close and personal!" He shouts as he arrives right in front of Dogtooth. He leaps up high and throws a speedy volley of punches aimed at Dogtooth's head, but not one punch lands.
"Power Mochi!" Dogtooth shouts out as another mochi fist comes up from the ground, aimed straight at Luffy. Luffy coats his legs in Haki and slams them down into the fist, halting it before he starts throwing punches at Dogtooth again. He continues to dodge, but it is clear it is not so effortless anymore.
"Rrroooaaarrrggghhh!" Luffy roars, finally landing a solid hit directly to Dogtooth's face. Dogtooth grips his face and stumbles back.
"Damn! I was careless!" Dogtooth says as he removes his hand from his face. All of a sudden, he realizes something, his scarf is now barely hanging onto his neck. Luffy can see an uncharacteristic panic in Dogtooth's eyes as he scrambles to fix the scarf. He repairs it with expert speed, but Luffy does not miss the intention of every quick, jerky move.
"Are you alright, Doggy? What's up with your scarf?" Luffy asks with curiosity in his voice.
"It's nothing.! Don't worry about it and let's keep going.!" Dogtooth says. He tries to keep his composure, but Luffy can hear a certain desperation in his voice.
"Are you sure? You don't sound oka-" Luffy starts.
"I'M FINE!" Dogtooth snaps, showing an uncharacteristic rage, but even from where he is standing, Luffy can see a fear building up in Dogtooth's eyes. Luffy starts to approach him, and Dogtooth gets into a fighting stance, but something is different. Luffy has no poison flowing and no Haki coating. Dogtooth detects absolutely no threat in Luffy as he approaches, even his advanced Observation Haki gives him no sign that Luffy intends to attack. Dogtooth lowers his guard, and Luffy suddenly plops down with his legs criss-crossed.
"What are you doing?" Dogtooth asks, genuinely confused.
"I won't attack again until you take off that scarf." Luffy explains, serious and determined, but in calm and collected voice.
"What.?!" Dogtooth asks, sounding almost offended.
"Even if you attack me, I won't attack, or even stand up again until you show me what you're hiding!" Luffy adds, in a more stern voice.
"That's ridiculous.! Now get up.!" Dogtooth says, coating his fist in Haki and towering over Luffy, pulling his fist back in warning. Luffy does not budge, does not look up, does not move. Dogtooth strikes him, smashing his face into the ground below, and his eyes alone display his shock.
"You didn't move, you didn't react. Are you insane?" Dogtooth asks, but Luffy remains still, only turning his head a bit to get his mouth out of the sugary dirt and speak clearly.
"I told you, I won't move until you show me what's under that scarf!" Luffy shouts, as determined and hard headed (literally and figuratively) as ever. Dogtooth does not want to hit Luffy again, but he remains unwavering as well.
"No one must know my secret." Dogtooth tells him.
"I'm good with secrets.! I suck at lying, but I would never tell anyone someone I care about's secret! I've nearly been killed a couple of times because of it, but I would rather die than betray a friend!" Luffy says, more determined than ever. Dogtooth scoffs, but he looks in Luffy's eyes and sees that Luffy is definitely telling the truth. Dogtooth is conflicted, he feels he must protect his secret at all costs, but he cannot explain the immense feeling of trustworthiness he gets from Luffy. He is torn, it would be nice not bear the burden (more or less) all by himself anymore, but is it worth the risk? Dogtooth closes his eyes, and makes his decision.
"Very well, I will show you. If you break your promise, or if you ridicule or mock me about it, I will not hesitate to kill you, engaged to my sister or not. Do you understand?" Dogtooth asks. Even with his head half in the ground, Luffy nods and Dogtooth sees it. After a short moment of hesitation, Dogtooth slowly unravels his scarf and reveals his secret. His mouth is wide and has sharp, eel-like teeth that protrude out, including fangs that extend past his lips into a bit of an overbite, and much of his mouth is stitched closed, going all the way up to his ears. Luffy stares, but not in shock or even in any kind of reaction, instead…anticipation?
"Well, what's the secret?" Luffy asks, still bracing himself. An "Eh?" escapes Dogtooth's mouth at Luffy's painfully underwhelming reaction, if it could even be called that.
"A-are you fucking with me?.!" Dogtooth asks. He is a bit mad, but it is a genuine question, not a threat.
"No! Are you gonna show me your secret or not?!" He asks.
"This is the secret.!" Dogtooth says, gesturing to his mouth. Luffy finally sits up and gets a good look at it.
"That's it? That's the secret? What's wrong with it?!" Luffy ask, getting a bit annoyed himself.
"What's the big deal? Am I missing something?" He adds. Dogtooth's anger has fully subsided and been replaced by complete confusion. He hesitates to say what he does next, but he does anyway,
"D-doesn't it make me look like…a pelican eel?" Dogtooth asks, and Luffy replies in his usual blunt nature,
"A little, but so what? It looks cool!" He says.
"C-cool? No one's ever said that before…" Dogtooth says, making sure that he did not say that last part loud enough for Luffy to hear. Luffy stands up and looks up at Dogtooth, right in his crimson eyes, and says,
"Besides, even if it didn't look cool, who cares? What matters is what you think about it, not me! Do you know how many people have made fun of me for my dream?! But I don't care what they think, and you shouldn't either, Doggy!" Luffy states with conviction, shocking Dogtooth to his core.
A/N: The secret is revealed, but since it's Luffy getting the reveal, it's only natural that he is ultimately underwhelmed. So, Katakuri's secret is revealed and Luffy's reaction is pretty much what it was in cannon, just adjusted a bit to fit the AU's narrative. Also, A little bit of Luffy resolve gets a proper showing here, as well as his stubbornness. At least we know Luffy still always does as he pleases. Either way, the fight is not quite over yet, (and by the way next chapter we'll get a small glimpse at Luffy's Venom Demon form) so tune in next time for this little mini-arc's conclusion! In the meantime, don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!