Chapter 15:
"What's going on?!" Chopper shouted and watched as another huge splash of water flew out of the small lake.
A huge chunk of the stone section near the ledge broke off suddenly and started falling into the water. The amount that had been splashed out lowered the surface level, but the rocks falling in brought the water line back up.
A loud thud near the dirt section caused the surface to shake. Underwater, the bullets were flying and Jimbei was dodging them perfectly. When they past him they slammed into the dirt wall and ripped chunks off of it with the force.
The pirate dropped down to the bottom of the lake and pulled his arms back, smashing them up and sending a huge flow of water rushing at his friend. Hack tried dodging to the side, but the blast widened the farther it moved up and slammed into the Revolutionary.
The blast of water flew out of the surface. The green fishman spun out of the huge splash of water as it fell around him, and he pulled back a fist behind him. At the same time, Jimbei came soaring out of the lake with a fist forward towards Hack.
A lot of people were shouting about how they couldn't see anything and their voices were caught in their throats. The Revolutionary dropped out of the sky in a dive while Jimbei was diving out of the water and the two of them stopped when their fists were two feet away from each other.
They floated there in midair for ten seconds, then twenty. The whole time, their fists hovered so close to each other without hitting. Then, the water below them started to ripple, Hack's face became covered in sweat and he pushed harder but the punch was not his win. Jimbei's fist started moving closer and then knocked his fellow fishman's arm out of the way, hitting Hack in the chest and twisting it.
The green-skinned man grunted and clenched his teeth as Jimbei pushed into the punch. It was the same attack he used against Moria in the war, but his friend was taking it better than the Shichibukai did. "How about two?" Jimbei uttered and pulled out the fist he hit Hack with.
The men were falling back towards the lake and Hack was in a lot of pain, but he knew another attack like that couldn't hit him in the gut again. He crossed his arms right as Jimbei threw another punch. The blue fishman knocked his good friend down into the water and a huge wave flew up.
"Yeah Jimbei!" Nami cheered.
"You can do it Jimbei-san!" Vivi called out.
The Straw Hat fishman dropped into the water again but the second punch did much less than the first. Hack was ready for him and already had a large collection of water between his palms at his side. Jimbei stared ahead as Hack released forward and he had to jump out of the water to dodge.
"Jimbei what are you..." Usopp stopped shouting and dropped his jaw as a wide cylinder of water flew out like a jet towards the stone section. A purple shirted guard leapt up and kicked the stream of water, changing its direction and blowing it apart at the same time.
The man with the brown goatee lowered back in front of the stands above the stone section. Usopp stared at the powerful man who easily deflected the blast and he gulped. He didn't like them one bit.
Jimbei landed on the stone area and water bullets started flying out of the lake. He couldn't dodge as quickly when he was on land and Hack was throwing just as fast as before. The whale shark started running around the lake but couldn't get past them all.
Doof doof doof, three water bullets slammed into Jimbei's right side and he hit the ground rolling. He rolled into the sand section and got an idea. "Ha!" He punched the ground and a large hole appeared in the sand. The fishman dropped into it and pushed the sand in front of him. Tsh tsh tsh, he could hear the bullets hitting the sand.
Hack looked out of the water and saw a large pile of sand moving closer to the lake. He leapt out of the waves and over the top of the pile but Jimbei didn't expect him to wait around and already had his knees bent, standing in a perfect stance for a master of fishman karate. The Revolutionary jumping over him made the wrong decision by leaving the water as his friend was a stronger fighter than him on land.
Jimbei side-stepped to dodge Hack's attempt at a recovery kick and it only served to give Jimbei more of an open target. "5,000 Tile," Jimbei pulled a fist back and there was no way for his opponent to dodge and the green fishman started to turn while raising an arm. "Punch!" Jimbei nailed his friend in the right side and his fist indented far into Hack's side.
"Winner: Jimbei!" The announcer called out before Hack even hit the floor. The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out in front of Jimbei.
The whale shark fishman bowed to his friend, "Well fought brother," he said and then turned and walked back toward the cheering section of the stands where his new crew and their friends were all cheering for him. He smiled at the sight of the Straw Hats going wild over his victory. They've already accepted me as one of their own.
He looked to Nami who was shouting as loud, or louder than the rest of them and it made him feel so good that the woman forgave him. His fury at Arlong for what he did to the girl was strong and he couldn't believe the man was once his brother. "Thank you," he said to them as he took his seat and got pats on the back from Franky and Usopp while Chopper was excitedly asking him how he did some of his attacks.
"Alright everyone, on to the next match," the announcer called as a cloaked figure carried away Hack towards the infirmary. "Marco vs. Boo!"
"Wish me luck God Usopp," a man holding a long spear said as he walked past the long-nosed sniper.
Nami and Vivi sweatdropped again and shrugged at each other. This powerful fighter was sitting with that guy Sai who was over at their seats before so it wasn't too weird, but it was still confusing.
"Ha, you'll need more than luck," his grandpa said to him from behind and they looked back at Chinjao.
Robin, Luffy, and Jimbei weren't looking at the old man behind them, but instead towards the sand section bleachers where a blonde haired man stood up. The old man with the pointy head stared across the room at the man his grandson would be facing, "Who is that?" Franky asked and most of them were clueless.
"That guy," Luffy whispered in awe, remembering the man's power from the war. He didn't see much of it, but what he did see was amazing.
"Marco the Phoenix," Robin said right as the man across the room from them jumped up in the air. His arms turned blue with flames and extended out like wings. His feet turned into sharp talons and Boo's mouth was slowly getting lower and lower. Robin continued, "The former First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and now their captain. Before it was certain that Blackbeard filled the position, he was a likely candidate to become the new Yonko after Whitebeard's demise."
Usopp stood and put a hand on the nervous man's shoulder, "Good luck." The sniper was so glad he didn't join the tournament at this moment and stared as Marco flew down the stands and hovered above the sand section of the arena.
"Umm," Boo took a step back and then turned his head up to his brother and grandpa.
They stared at him for a few seconds and then Sai sighed. "You do us great dishonor, but give up. It is clear by the way your legs are shaking that you don't stand a chance."
"Sorry," he whispered and it hurt to do, but he didn't want to die like so many fighters in the tournament. "I... concede," he called up and boos rang out all over the stadium which sounded more like the people were cheering for him than anything else.
"Boooo! Boo!" The man kept looking around thinking people were talking to him and then just walked away with his head down.
Sai nodded as he watched the direction his brother was walking. He would have been pissed if Boo didn't head to the training room right away after such humiliation.
"Okay folks, sorry about that. We'll start up on the real next match. Marco you move on." The mystery man's voice came through the speakers and Marco sighed as his flames went away.
Luffy looked down and reminded himself to tell Marco and the other Whitebeard Pirates what Ace told him to pass on in his final moments. It was bugging him that he forgot and needed to do it soon.
"For the next match we have Rachot vs Caribou. Please make your ways to the arena."
Luffy scowled as he saw the Swamp Man start laughing and walking down towards the ice area. That's the guy who laughed when his brother... he still couldn't believe what he saw the day before and it made him furious.
"Who's this Rachot guy?" Nami asked and then instantly regretted it. Scratchmen Apoo's pirate crew started playing their different instruments and cheering obnoxiously loud for the man standing up. Rachot looked timid and was looking around nervously at all the attention he was getting. He was a small man with scruffy red hair and he had a sword at his waist.
Caribou made his way down to the arena and his arms turned into mud as soon as he did. His long tongue stuck out of his mouth and he looked ready to kill with those crazy eyes of his. His stomach turned swampy when the timer started to count down. His opponent was standing on the sand section with his sword drawn and it was shaking in his hands. The small man looked younger than most of his crew, a kid in his mid-teens without a scar on his face to boast of previous battles. He wasn't particularly large, but he wasn't scrawny either and his red tank top showed off his average muscles for a person his size. Still, the boy looked scared of this opponent with eyes that said 'I want to kill you.'
"Let's go Rachot!"
"You can do it!"
Everyone on Apoo's crew was yelling loudly for their nakama who looked like he'd never been in a fight before. The encouragement seemed to be helping though and he clenched his sword tighter as the countdown hit two, one, then the match began.
"What the f..." half the people in the room muttered at the same time. The scared teenager moved faster than anyone could see and the dust that flew up in the air from where he was standing on the dirt section took a second to register in everyone's minds what happened. The trail of dust shot out around the sand section and through the dirt, all the way around the arena until it was back where it started and kept going.
"Can you see him?" Sanji questioned the other stronger members on their crew.
Zoro and Luffy were looking close at the circle of dust going around the arena and they couldn't follow the boy for more than a millisecond before they lost sight of him again. "He's definitely running in there," Zoro mentioned as he saw a leg kick the ground on the stone area near them.
"What's Caribou doing?" Chopper asked as the Swamp Man wasn't standing in the same place on the dirt section anymore. He wasn't waiting for his enemy to make a move and Caribou rushed straight into the dust circle.
Everyone gasped at the seemingly stupid act by the pirate worth a stunningly large amount of money. Most of them didn't know how much he was worth, but it started to become obvious when the dust cleared and they stared at the stunning sight on the dirt section. The small member of Scratchmen Apoo's gang was stuck in mud. His legs were buried all the way down inside the swamp that Caribou created right in his path.
Rachot looked stunned by the turn in events and he tugged desperately at his legs but he was getting pulled farther into the muck. His eyes went wide as ten metal barrels stuck out of Caribou's chest and kept moving out so he could see an entire minigun sticking out of the man. "Kehihihi!" He grabbed the crank of the minigun and the man in front of him screamed that he gave up.
"Winner: Caribou!" The announcer shouted as soon as the boy conceded.
Most of the crowd sighed a collective breath of relief. The young kid in front of them was shaking horribly while he was stuck in the swamp that had Caribou's top half sticking out of it. The Swamp Man kept his hand on the minigun and cackled, "Oh Kami-sama, forgive this boy for thinking he could defeat me!" He got ready to turn the crank when his weapon sliced in half.
Caribou looked down and saw his arm holding the crank sliced off as well as the front of the minigun fell into the swamp. "Hey hey!" a loud voice shouted and the crowd looked up into the top of the dirt section stands where someone in a pink kimono was flipping through the air. Scratchmen Apoo landed on the ground and then sprang off his legs towards Caribou and Rachot who was stuck in the muck.
Everyone looked down in anxious anticipation. This was the first time someone tried to attack after the match was over and it was being stopped. Caribou still looked ready to get his first strike and finish off the man stuck in his swamp, but he pulled out two swords from his chest and rose them at the approaching Apoo. Apoo was spinning in midair and as Caribou swung his swords, Apoo didn't have to block, he spun right between the blades and his longarms with two elbows reached down and grabbed Rachot under his shoulders. He yanked his crewmate out of the brown swamp and they both landed on the other side of a furious Caribou.
Apoo landed and swung his arms across each other, yelling, "Safe!" Caribou looked angry and turned to one of his blades, then threw his sword at them. The blade was going to miss right between their heads, but Apoo rose an arm and let the blade cut his forearm in a shallow slice.
The pirate captain had a devious smirk on his face and he smiled wide, his lips spreading out from ear to ear as he held his hands out in front of him and waved them around. "Fighting an opponent after the match has ended results in one strike for you!" The pirate musician yelled and then added loudly, "BUT! Fighting outside of your match results in immediate disqualification of your entire team! I was not part of this match," he grinned and the Swamp Man didn't know what he was talking about, he just wanted to kill the short boy who disrespected him.
The loudspeakers around the room turned on and the mystery man's voice cleared in his throat. "Umm, Apoo is correct. Caribou you're disqualified. I'm sorry to say Apoo, but Rachot still lost his fight."
"That's O, K," the man twisted his longarms in front of him to make the letters.
Caribou was only now understanding what happened and he stuck his tongue out further in a rage. "Die!" he shot forward leaving a trail of mud behind him and Apoo grinned.
The pirate in the pink kimono slammed his hands on his chest and Caribou's charging body split in half vertically. Scratchmen Apoo left Rachot's side and ran forward at the man he was banging his chest at. Caribou was trying to pull his two halves back together, but Apoo got between them first and he looked at the muddy innards of this pirate. "You are no longer a part of this tournament," the pirate said mockingly and then rose a pistol from his side, "get lost!"
The gunshot rang out around the room. Apoo was no idiot, so he wouldn't have shot a Logia Fruit eater with a normal bullet and embarrassed himself. Everyone thinking that was correct and the Kairoseki bullet slammed into the left side of Caribou's face, leaving a hole in it that didn't leak mud, but blood.
King Riku frowned as he stared at Scratchmen Apoo and the gladiator named Ricky had to forget about his chances. He closed his eyes and accepted he couldn't win his match later on that day.
Everyone stared down as the swampy area around the two halves of Caribou's body faded away and the inside of a normal man started to leak out. "Rachot!" Apoo shouted and flipped backwards, landing next to his nakama. He looked up and down the short teen whose clothes were a little dirty but didn't look too messed up. "Good try in your first fight as an On-Air Pirate!"
The young boy from the New World smiled up at his captain and the two of them headed back for their seats. It was surprising to many in the room that the captain didn't scold his crewmate for losing and he was definitely kinder to this one than the one Viola beat the day before. That man got scolded by the loud pirate for everyone in the dirt section of the stands to hear. Rachot was applauded by his crew when he came back though and the crowd around the room was confused by the actions of the On-Air Pirates.
"Probably want to make their new powerful crew member feel welcome," Robin suggested and a few others turned to her. "If he recently joined the crew, then Apoo must've seen great potential in that speed of his."
"Hmmm," Zoro mumbled as he looked over at the kid. He was as fast, if not faster than Enel. Enel was moving with the speed of lightning, so how is that possible? It has to be a Devil Fruit... right? The swordsman wondered how far the kid would have made it if he didn't fall into the Swamp Man's trap.
"After we get Caribou out of here, we'll start up the next match right away!" The announcer yelled and some people cheered while others watched the two guards in purple pick up Caribou's halves and jog away. The man in the control room in the ceiling shouted, "Alright, Senor Pink forfeited his next match so we'll be moving right on to the next round."
"That guy gave up?!" Franky exclaimed and looked over to the Don Quixote Family. Every one of the members looked pissed as if the slightest noise could set them on a murderous rampage.
Robin created an ear over there with her Devil Fruit power and listened in to their conversation for a little before looking back at her crew. Most of them were looking at her already, waiting for an explanation and she smiled, happy to fulfill the role. "It seems Baby-san was up against Doflamingo so he gave up as soon as he saw the bracket at the request of his captain."
The others understood why the man wouldn't want to fight his own crewmate with a deadly power like his. Robin wasn't finished though with the information she got while listening in over there. She added, "Apparently, Trebol succumbed to his wounds from yesterday's fight."
"Really?" Usopp asked. The Sticky Man didn't seem like one to be killed so easily. It surprised them all that someone so strong was killed in the tournament, but it also made them nervous. They didn't want their own crew to lose anyone and all of them had made it to the next round so far, more opportunities to get killed.
Luffy looked around and some of the nervous members of his crew and smiled, "Don't worry," they looked at him, "you'll be fine!"
"What are you basing that on?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper yelled at him.
"Instinct," he said and started laughing. Some of his crew wanted to strangle him, but they couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Luffy's instincts told him they'd be okay. Usually his instincts were correct.
"So instead," the announcer yelled after the crowd quieted down again, "will Curas and West please come down to the arena!"
Franky and Sanji both looked at each other and shrugged. Luffy tried thinking back but drew a blank and Usopp finally asked, "Who are they?"
A/N Yes, who are these two new fighters? Don't try looking them up, cuz you won't find them! I hope you enjoyed these fights even if they were a little one sided. Jimbei and Marco move forward, while Caribou gets SHOT IN THE FACE... but what was with that guy Rachot? Next time we get some more fights and if you can guess who's fighting Jozu in two matches, I'll give you a shout out at the top of the chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
LittlemissTrafalgar
This is an exciting chapter! I love how you show Koala's fishman karate's skills and that exciting fight between her and Ivankov. When I saw Shanks versus Bellamy, I already knew who's going to win in that match. It's obvious but it's really well-written. I can't wait for Jimbei and Hack's match!
Thanks a lot! It's hard to make a suspenseful fight when it's obvious who's going to win which is why having Boo forfeit to Marco works out better than having the guy get slaughtered XD! Hope you liked the fishman battle!
Lightningblade49
Starting to feel sorry for bellamy, he doesn't seem to last long in a fight despite being pretty strong.
Yup, Shanks is a beast! I like the fact that in Luffy's flashback, Shanks's crew is actually pretty brutal in how they kill people without flinching like those bandits. He decided not to kill Bellamy cuz Luffy was his friend and next round we get to watch him and Ivankov go at it!
lany-chan
A match between two strong fishmen?! Can't wait for that!
Hope you liked it even though I started halfway through. I wanted to show it had been going on for a little underwater before things started to heat up in there. Thanks for the review!
Mr. 0-San
I have always loved Koala. Her story is just so...real to me, and I am so glad you wrote that little scene between her and the fishmen. Good work! :)
Thank you. I 3 that girl and would've liked to see her in later rounds, but I made this bracket almost completely random and I felt Ivankov had that match in the bag. Either way she'll still be around in the arena and at meals so it won't be the last we see of the girl and her fishman problems XD.
wt
one of the shittiest logic OP I've ever read
Oooooh, damn that was harsh. Fuck off wt? White Trash? Wet Tampon? Water... Turtles? I don't know, but you're shit.
Guest
I sure hope Bellamy and Kalifa won't end like Trebol. And i wonder what actually happened to him. Urrggggggghhhhhhhhh this is exciting! Btw, do you write like me and make it up as you go along, or do you have everything planned?
Yeah Kaku's keeping a close eye on Kalifa to make sure no funny business goes on there. Wonder how long Bellamy will be in the infirmary for and if those creepy guys will get the chance to do weird shit to him. Yeah I totally make it up as I go with a few things that I want to see happen later that I'll build to. That's why the mystery behind these guys will probs stay a mystery for a while considering there are lots of rounds and dozens of hundreds of fights remaining! Thanks for the review.
confuse chapter 15 . May 29
WTF dude, isn't Emporio Ivankov a commander of revolutionary army? How could he fought against Koala? It's like uncle against little sister IMO.
There've been a lot of same group fighting in the tourney and like I've said, it's completely random. Seeing those two up against each other in the bracket I've got in my phone was the first time I've seen it since making the bracket... a while ago? I don't remember when I made it, but it was a hard fought battle for the young fishman karate master!
Son of Whitebeard
ooh arlong
He's salty, not one to forgive a human; no matter how cute and lovable she is. ;(
Again thanks to everyone who reviewed, even you WT! Till next time!
