Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Naruto
It was the following morning, when Madara sensed someone entering the room the scholars had actually supplied him with, making him independent from the inns who were robbing the simple fools that arrived at Ohara blind. "What can I do for you professor?" He asked, without bothering to turn to the door.
Professor Clover laughed. "No matter how often I see it, I still can't believe that you can recognize people without bothering to turn around."
Madara finally turned towards the professor and smiled. "You have a very distinct walk professor, it's quite easy for someone who focuses to memorize it. In any case, what can I do for you?"
Clover's smile seemed to falter slightly. "Well Izuna, there are a few angry parents waiting outside. They claim you attacked their children."
Madara's smile turned a tad feral. "Ah yes, I did want to exchange a few words with those parents myself. How nice, they saved me the effort of looking for them."
Clover seemed surprised, but followed Madara, curious to see what this was about.
-0-
Four angry woman were standing in front of the library when Madara exited it, one uglier than the other. Madara gave a almost friendly smile. "I believe you wanted to speak with me?"
One, that oddly reminded him of the ringleader of the brats, stepped forward. "You attacked our children without any cause and you dare show your face before us?"
Madara frowned in mock-confusion. "I'm sorry madam, but I don't recall doing anything of the sort."
Another one began to swell in anger. "You threw my little girl into the ocean!"
Madara shrugged. "She said she could swim."
The first one pointed at him. "Aha, so you admit it!"
Now Madara's gaze turned cold, making all four take a step back. "I threw a group of snot-nosed brats into the ocean as a in hindsight far too lenient punishment for throwing rocks at an innocent little girl. The fact that you let them speaks very poorly of your parentage. If they were born into my family, I would have personally ensured they knew not to do it again." For Madara, attacking civilians was something done only when there were no other options, and bullying was something his clan had once worked very hard to prevent, giving not only shouting and a few harsh blows to ensure that they didn't forget, but very demanding tasks were set to accomplish for at least three months. Few had been dumb enough to try bullying someone twice, and no one had done so three times, not counting towards the Senju, of course.
The women were frightened by the man's burning anger, but they set up a strong front. "Our children would never do such a thing!" "Liar!" "What proof do you have?"
Madara raised a brow. "I have seen it with my own eyes, what more do I need?"
"Who were they throwing rocks at?" One asked.
"A charming young lady who goes by the name of Nico Robin."
The women snorted in disgust. "That monster?"
The temperature dropped at least five degrees Celsius. Madara's figure seemed to grow, dwarfing them all by at least twenty feet. It seemed to be a miracle that none of the woman spontaneously combusted under the anger in Madara's eyes. "Who do you think you are?" He asked, his voice dangerously quiet. "Who do you think you are that you claim the right to decide on something like that? Just where does a small herd of sheltered, shallow women take the right to call someone a monster? What has Nico Robin done that you think you can stand in judgment over her?"
The first woman tried to put up a brave front. "She is a freak! She just grows things out of nowhere! Even her own parents abandoned her!"
For a second, there was silence. Then Madara sneered. "That's all? After how you treat her, that's the best explanation you can come up with? Disgusting." He took a deep breath to calm down. "Get out of my sight. I have no intention of poisoning the scenery with your presence."
"You can't send us away like children!" one called out.
"Watch me." Madara replied. "My patience has run out. If you are not gone within the next minute, I will personally remove you, are we clear?" His voice left no doubt that he was planning to make good on his promise.
The women fled.
-0-
Professor Clover looked at Izuna. It seemed that he had misjudged the young man. He had believed him a scholar in his own right, and while that wasn't necessarily wrong, there was steel hidden beneath that seemingly friendly surface. Still, if anything, Clover's opinion of Izuna only rose more. "I'm grateful Izuna. Someone should have done that long ago. Robin is a good girl, and she doesn't deserve what's happening to her. Thank you for standing up for her."
Madara smiled almost kindly. "Think nothing of it. To be honest, I find the girl fascinating. So young, yet already so clever." Not to mention her other skill. Useful if used creatively, not that Madara seriously considered 'acquiring' it, seeing that it would kill Robin, and slaying the innocent had, despite his profession, always left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Clover nodded. "That she is indeed." His voice turned somber. "Please don't believe the lies those women are spouting. While I admit I know little of Robin's father, her mother loves her very much."
Madara raised a brow. "I was under the impression that she was an orphan. When I asked around, the only relatives I heard of were a uncle and his unbearable wife plus offspring." He had met them, and while the husband seemed a nice enough, the other two had been a strain on Madara's nerves, and he had left the market a minute before he would have done something that would have drawn a lot of attention.
Clover nodded. "Yes, that is the general impression. But Robin's mother still lives. She is one of Ohara's greatest scholars. Unfortunately, she joined a long-term expedition when Robin was still very young, leaving her with her brother and his wife, who I take you have met."
Madara's brow twitched. "I see. In any case, would you mind if I returned to my studies, professor?"
"Of course not. Go ahead." The professor replied.
Madara turned away, but paused. "Professor, you should take care of yourself. There's trouble brewing."
Clover looked at him. "What?"
Madara shrugged. "Just a hunch. Though mine have a habit of being right."
-0-
The next week went peacefully, not counting the arrival of a giant, that went unnoticed by all but two people, Nico Robin and Madara. While Robin only saw him as a source of social contact, which despite all of the effort of the scholars and Madara's occasional aid she still lacked, to Madara Saul was the first envoy of chaos. The giant, while trying hard to hide it, was obviously a skilled and experienced warrior, so what was he doing here of all places?
-0-
Robin had just left, when Saul's eyes wandered up towards a rock-formation. "Come out." He demanded.
Madara walked out, still wearing his disguise. "Good evening."
The giant's eyes remained narrowed. "Who are you?"
Madara smiled. "My name is Izuna Nara, and from what I overheard, you are Saul. Tell me Saul, what is a giant doing so far away from Elbaf?"
"My ship sank." Saul replied.
Madara shrugged. "Well, that's too bad for you. Still, you could ask for aid. Unless you're a pirate, there's no reason why the Marines should be unwilling to pick you up and send you home."
Saul's face darkened. "I am not a pirate, but I lost trust in the Marines. What about you?"
Both had immediately been able to tell that their opposite was a experienced warrior.
Madara shrugged again. "I have never had any faith in the Marines to begin with, but nobody will try to arrest me after looking at me, if that's your question." At least not while the henge is still up, Madara silently added.
After that, the giant and the shinobi decided on a cease-fire. Still, a tinge of worry remained.
-0-
A few days later, Madara's worries deepened. Saul had apparently finally learned just where he was, and seemed to be in a panic. That on the other hand made Madara nervous. The giant obviously knew something they didn't, and it couldn't be good.
Earlier he had noted a woman with white hair running through the town like a woman possessed, a woman that seemed oddly familiar. And now Saul was acting as if Ohara was a landmine about to go off. Together, these facts were beginning to paint a worrying picture, especially since his clone had just informed him that the Marines had shown up and kicked everyone but the scholars out of the library.
His thoughts were interrupted by Robin running off, heading towards the Tree of Knowledge. Madara decided he'd better be there first.
-0-
In Madara's opinion, the next few minutes could have come straight out of a drama.
The marines searched the library, finding the hidden room, and retreated. Once they were gone, Madara had clones seal the books into scrolls, starting with those he hadn't read yet, together with the researchers' scripts and the Poneglyph. He had a feeling the scholars wouldn't need them much longer, and you never knew when the scripts and a block weighing ten tons that had withstood pretty much every attempt to destroy it might come in handy. While the clones did so, Madara sat on a higher window and looked down.
He saw a unspeakably arrogant man dragging the white-haired woman he had seen before to the herded scholars, and accused them of some heinous acts, with Professor Clover holding a speech about what they had been doing, what they had discovered, and their beliefs. It was actually quite moving, but it did not stop the man, who was apparently called Spandine, from shooting the professor. Madara made a mental note to kill him at an appropriate time. He had actually liked the old man with the odd haircut.
Robin's admission of being able to read the old language was a show of both great loyalty and complete lack of self-preservation. The scholars were shocked, Spandine was surprised, Madara was impressed, and the white-haired woman seemed almost proud. When they called her Nico Olvia, a suspicion started to grow in Madara. Could it be?
Cannon-fire on the Tree of Knowledge pulled him out of his thoughts. Together with the explosion to get into the hidden room, the entire plant seemed to be aflame.
Spandine ordered a retreat, while the white-haired woman finally admitted she was Robin's mother. All very touching, but now Madara had to act, or his prey would escape.
He jumped down, landing right in the middle of the inferno, and used a trick that back when he was a child, every Uchiha knew. With just a bit of chakra, the flames parted before him. The entire act looked like the flames were flowing away from the ground Madara wanted to step on, and flowed back together behind him, as if it were water. "Spandine, where do you think you're going?"
-0-
The leader of the CP9 stared at the man who was walking towards him, the flames seemingly avoiding him, as if frightened. "W-Who are you?" He demanded.
The man smiled. "Oh, just someone who wants to make sure you have a very, very bad day."
Spandine twitched. "I don't know who you are, but if you side with the Oharans, then you'll find a price on your head faster than you can say 'justice'!"
The man laughed, his left hand covering his face. "Oh that's rich! Thanks for the warning, but it just so happens that there already is..." There was a POOF, and before Spandine stood a completely different man. "...a price on my head." He finished, revealing his face.
Spandine stumbled back. "I-I-It can't be! The demon of Mariejois, M-Madara Uchiha?"
Clover stared at the scene before him. "Izuna? You were really..."
The man looked at him, and Clover actually saw a tinge of regret in the other man's eyes. "I'm sorry for the deceit, but I believed it safer for all involved if I didn't reveal my true identity."
Spandine seemed panicked. He knew just how much destruction this monster in human skin could dish out. "Protect me! Fenrir, protect me!"
One of the men flanking him charged at Madara. Madara prepared for an attack, but instead, the man suddenly disappeared, before Madara felt two fists pushing against his back. "Rokuougan!"
Madara had never felt anything like that before. His entire body was wracked with pain, the impact of the attack lifting him off the ground. The man appeared before him, calling "Shigan!" To Madara's luck, the blow was aimed at his heart, in other words the part of his armor that was reinforced the most. The finger dented the armor slightly, but it did not penetrate.
Madara landed on his feet, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Not bad. What was that?"
Fenrir blinked, amazed that the man could still stand after the first blow. Still, there was no reason to not answer a soon-to-be dead man his last question. "It's the Rokushiki, a martial art that we CP9 use. The first attack shows that I have mastered it completely. I am CP9's strongest fighter, Mire D Fenrir, your death."
Madara cracked his neck. "That first attack sure packed a punch. I had no idea that such a thing was possible. It seems I've underestimated you all. There are some skills that don't require a Devil Fruit, who would have thought?" Then he grinned. "You'll have to teach me."
Fenrir blinked. "Teach you? I will kill you."
Madara scratched his head. "It seems I have not made myself clear. That was not a request."
With that, both fighters vanished.
-0-
Fenrir was shocked to see that his enemy could keep up with his Soru, especially since he only seemed to be using raw speed to keep up with him. That also meant that Fenrir was at a severe disadvantage, for the simple reason that his speed came in bursts, while his enemy's speed was constant. Also, Madara was now wary, and would not be caught by surprise again. However, as Spandine had escaped, his main-goal was accomplished. Now all he had to do was find a chance to escape before...
Madara looked at him, his eyes suddenly crimson with an odd pattern in them. He suddenly felt dizzy, then his world blackened as a fist burrowed itself in Fenrir's guts. The last thing he noticed before he fainted was that the world seemed to twist.
-0-
Madara rolled his neck. The techniques that man used really did pack a punch, and they would be a good addition to his arsenal. The man was under genjutsu, so there was little risk of him waking up and trashing some of the stuff Madara had stored in his little dimension. Now the only question was which way he should go. Should he go after the man who shot the professor, or perhaps after the professor himself?
He decided that the professor had a right to know where a large part of his books went, and headed towards the Tree of Knowledge.
-0-
Professor Clover stared at the librarian. "What do you mean, the books from Categories IV and V are gone?"
The librarian, who was trying to snuff a few fires with a rug, spared him a glance. "I don't know, they're gone!"
A new voice rang out. "That would be my doing. I also allowed myself to pack up the Poneglyph and your papers on it."
Professor Clover spun around, to see an unfamiliar man. No, not unfamiliar. He had seen the bounty-poster, and how this man had emerged from a cloud of smoke. "Izuna?" He asked, just to gauge the reaction.
Madara smiled sadly. "Izuna was my brother's name. I am Madara."
Clover nodded. "I see. So, what was the real reason you came here?"
Madara looked him in the eye, finding the professor worthy of the information. They would all be dead from smoke-poisoning soon anyways. "You may find this hard to believe, but I am from an alternative world. I knew nothing of the world, so I came to the place that stored the most knowledge. I've taken the books I haven't read yet, plus a few more. There was no time for everything I'm afraid."
Clover nodded. Disguise or not, it seemed that the man before him was the same one he knew. He made a decision. "Olvia! Come here!"
The white-haired woman popped up behind a bookcase. "What is it professor?"
The old man pointed at Madara. "This man has memorized most of the library, and taken the books he hasn't read. Olvia, go with him, we'll stay here and try to save as much as we can."
Olvia shook her head. "No professor, I've been away too long, I won't abandon you all..."
"SILENCE!" the professor roared, a trickle of blood escaping his lip. "The books we save here will be in the hands of the marines. Access will be limited. Olvia, we need someone else to spread the knowledge that all deserve. Think of your daughter."
Olvia bit her lip. "Professor, I can't."
Clover looked at Madara. "Please watch over her."
Madara nodded. "You have my word."
"No!" Olvia called. "I won't! You can't force..."
Madara had lost his patience, and gave her a chop to the neck, causing the woman to faint. Madara pulled her into the dimensional vortex, and knew she was safe, whether she wanted to be or not.
He looked at the professor. "You're all going to die."
The professor nodded. "We know. But we are fighting for something that's larger than us."
Madara nodded. "I admire your determination. Farewell."
With that, he rushed out, his eyes burning slightly. It was a tragedy.
Still, he had a rat to hunt.
-0-
Madara found Spandine just after he had found Robin again. Suffice to say, the man was shocked to see him. "Where's Fenrir?" He asked, failing to understand how his best assassin could have failed.
Madara shrugged. "Somewhere were nobody will ever find him." He answered, while drawing the Kitetsu. Perhaps now was a good time for a thorough testing.
Robin had been clever enough to try and sneak off while the attention was elsewhere, but a world-government-agent grabbed her. "You're not going any..."
BOOM
There was a shocked silence as the rescue-boat went up in flames. Spandine stared in disbelief. "They...why?"
Madara decided that a man who was shocked at that, and obviously didn't agree, may deserve one chance at redemption. He'd let the fool go for now, there was always a next time.
The world shaking pulled him out of his thoughts. "Saul." He muttered.
Indeed, the giant was unmistakable. Like a charging mountain he stormed, swatting the agents like flies, gently lifting Robin into the air, and charging off before anyone had a chance to even understand what was going on. "Vice-admiral Saul?" One muttered.
Madara blinked. The giant had been a marine? That would have been his last guess. Well, even marines had to have a conscience somewhere, at least some of them. Suddenly Madara found it incredibly difficult to move. He turned his head.
Behind him stood a skeletal man with wavy green hair, which on the right half of his head was pointing straight up, while on the left side it was down. He had his arm pointing at Madara, fingers extended and spread. Madara remained calm. "And you are?"
The man looked at him. His face was wide and circular wrinkles were covering it, starting on the side of his head and forehead and narrowing until the smallest one on the tip of his large, wide nose. "I'm vice-admiral Heavy, and you are under arrest."
Madara rolled his eyes. "Arrest me? You and what army?"
Heavy frowned. "Don't play tough, I increased the gravity around you to a point where you can hardly stand. You have no chance of escape."
Madara raised a brow. "Oho, so you ate a Devil-Fruit that allows you to control gravity?"
Heavy nodded. "That's right. Do you now see the futility of your actions?"
Madara laughed. "You underestimate me. Still, there is one thing I'd like to know." His gaze turned cold, and Heavy involuntarily shuddered. "Were you the one that ordered the destruction of the rescue-vessel?"
"No." Heavy answered. "That was Sakazuki's doing."
Madara's brows raised. "He's here? Well, then, I wanted to chat some more, but it looks like I'll be busy soon. Susanoo."
Heavy stared at the figure that appeared before him, gulped, and increased gravity to the point where Madara was forced to his knees. "It doesn't matter what you use! My gravity will render it helpless!"
Madara smiled, though the gesture took ridiculous strength. "Perhaps. But Susanoo..." he began, while the guardian spirit pulled the Sakekiri and rammed it through Heavy's chest. "...is a phantasmal warrior. His mass is zero, as such gravity means nothing to it. Sorry, you lose. Better luck in your next life. Though your power will serve me well."
He sealed the vegetable into a scroll, and weighed different approaches to the situation.
-0-
When he found the ships, he saw that Saul had gotten there first, and caused quite a bit of havoc. A good number of the ships had sunk. However, the giant had paid the ultimate price for Robin. Frozen solid he was on the ground, his face frozen in a wide grin. A little further Madara saw two lines of ice, a small boat rowing away in between them. Even with his vision it was nearly impossible to identify the figure rowing as Robin.
Seeing that she was relatively safe, Madara turned his attention to the dead giant. He bowed his head. "Saul, you have my respect. May you rest in peace. Your body will not be left here to become food for maggots. In my clan, a warrior's body was set ablaze, so that one shines one final time. A worthy end for someone like you. Amaterasu."
The black flames spread over the giant, giving him a final farewell. After saying a short prayer, Madara turned to look at the remaining battleships.
-0-
Sakazuki froze as he saw the flames. "He's here!" He growled.
"Sir?" One of the soldiers asked.
Sakazuki ignored him. "Madara Uchiha! He's here!"
With that, he turned into a mass of magma and shot towards the burning island, the sweet taste of revenge already on his lips.
-0-
Madara smiled. "Predictable Sakazuki. You're too predictable." He focused, and set all other ships aflame with black fire. However, as an artistic touch, he had the black flames begin in the shape of the word Tenkou, or divine punishment. Just to add a little insult to the injury.
The vice-admiral landed, the ground sizzling beneath him. Madara feigned surprise. "My, what a surprise. We meet again, Sakazuki."
"Madara Uchiha. You won't escape me this time!" Sakazuki declared.
Madara was now openly showing his amusement. "You make it sound like I ran away. The way I remember it, I left you behind helpless like a newborn chick."
Sakazuki's brow twitched in memory of the humiliation. "This time will be different."
Madara's grin didn't fade. "Did you get stronger? Did you reach the peak of your abilities?"
Sakazuki snorted. "It will be more than enough against the likes of you."
Now Madara frowned. "In other words, you haven't. That's disappointing, though I did not expect anything else. You have talent Sakazuki, and your potential is great." Now his grin turned evil. "I want you to be at your very peak when I crush you, and tear your last secret out of your head." His smile faded. "Until then, you are worthless to me."
Sakazuki tumbled under the assault of Madara's Sakki-laced ire, images of horrible deaths flashing before his eyes. "W-What are you?" the marine spat out.
Madara tilted his head. "I'm complicated."
Sakazuki shot a blast of magma at Madara, who jumped back. "Good. There seems to be at least some fight left in you. This would be dreadfully boring otherwise. Very well, let's dance!"
The next minutes were a mindless dance, with Madara practicing swordsmanship on Sakazuki while dodging the blasts of magma the enraged vice-admiral sent his way, until the former noticed that the funeral-fire for Saul had finished with the body. He glanced at them, and they extinguished.
Sakazuki stared at the spot the flames had burned at a few seconds ago. "You can extinguish the flames?" He asked, shocked. By now, he had accepted that the cursed black flames burned seven days and seven nights no matter what anyone tried. To know that there actually was a way to extinguish them, and that it had not been used to save Mariejois, was another unforgivable insult.
Madara looked at him, humored. "Of course. Do you really think I'm foolish enough to unleash something without a way to reign it back in should someone attempt to use it against me?"
Whatever Sakazuki would have answered got interrupted by a new voice. "Ice Time Bomb!"
An orb hit Madara in the back, before expanding into a large block of ice. Sakazuki growled. "Kuzan! Stay out of this, he's mine!"
Kuzan looked at his fellow vice-admiral. "What does it really matter?" He asked.
Sakazuki considered that, and nodded. "You're right. The most important thing is that he is eliminated." He focused, and sent a focused shot of magma that evaporated the ice and burned away Madara's entire torso.
"It's over." Sakazuki stated.
"True, but for who?" Came a question from behind the two. The vice-admirals turned just in time to see a wave wash over them, after which both found themselves laying twenty feet back on the ground, too weak to move a single muscle.
-0-
Madara had noticed the new enemy the moment he had come closer than a hundred feet, but pretended not to know of his presence. Using the power he had taken from his first guinea-pig, he had taken root after extinguishing Amaterasu, leaving what was essentially a moving piece of wood to take the hit for him. Then he emerged a few steps behind them, and called Susanoo. What few knew about the Sakekiri was that the eternal illusion was only activated when the weapon was used to stab. If it was swiped in a horizontal cut, then the blade would release a wave of energy that, depending on the intent of the summoner, would do anything from draining the victim of all strength to erasing it from existence.
As he was interested in the abilities of the two vice-admirals, he had merely sapped them of all strength. Then he grabbed Sakazuki by the neck and looked him in the eye. "That's the second time I decide to spare your life. I think we have to put down some penalties. Whenever you face me before you are truly ready in the future, for every time you do so I will take something from you. What that will be will depend on my mood. Perhaps an object, perhaps a limb, perhaps something or someone you value. So be careful when facing me, perhaps you will bring my ire on the Gorousei next?"
With that, he left the man behind, knowing he would now train like a madman, which would ensure that Madara would learn even more when he finally studied Sakazuki's brain. The fool still had no idea he was being played like an instrument. But for now, Madara would take something from his little fool. His ship including crew.
-0-
While he walked towards the shore, he pulled out a snail he had snatched from Spandine's pocket without the man noticing, intending to exchange a few words with the ones who plotted all of this.
After a short beeping, a voice rang through the snail. "What is it Spandine? Is Ohara destroyed?"
Madara looked around. "Oh, you can say that again. It's complete pandemonium out here."
A short silence, then. "Who is this? Where is Spandine?"
Madara shrugged. "Beats me. He should be alive, if that's your question. As for me, my name is Madara Uchiha. And I am speaking to the Gorousei, no?"
This time the silence was much longer. Finally, the voice spoke again. "What do you want?"
Madara smiled. "Not much really. I'm simply curious why the World Government is so frightened of a group of old men that they will send this much firepower to level the entire island, killing the entire population, save two. What has happened in the past that you want to keep quiet so badly? Even if it your government was built upon heinous acts, that happened what, 800 years ago?"
"How much do you know?" The voice demanded.
"I've heard the professor's speech, and seeing how you ordered him and everyone killed, it looks like he wasn't that far off. Still, I really don't get what all the fuss is about. All who might be responsible are dead, and even if there is a ruckus about it, that would die down fairly soon. So if a bloody history was all there was, there would be no need to go this far. So, what really happened then that you are so desperately trying to cover up?"
"Are you a scholar?"
"Not yet. But I'm sure Olvia will teach me to read the Poneglyph if I ask. I did go through the trouble of taking Ohara's Poneglyph, with me, after all." Madara replied, the hiss going through the speakers telling him that the Poneglyph was important to them. "I see. So this is about the Poneglyphs. Interesting."
A new voice rang through the speakers, a less patient one this time. "What do you want? Murdering Tenryuubito and trying to gain forbidden knowledge, what is your goal?"
Madara blinked. "My... goal?" He chuckled, before he broke into a full-blown laughter. "Fufufufu...MUHAHAHAHA!"
The voice on the other side lost his patience, apparently deeply unnerved by Madara's amusement. "What's so funny?"
He shook his head to clear his mind. "Fufufu, sorry about that, it's just... My goal... I don't really have anything like that."
Shocked silence came from the other side. "What do you mean?"
Madara shrugged. "I don't really have some grand dream or goal that I want to achieve. If you'd force me to name one, I'd say, to experience new and interesting things. To learn more, to see more, to understand more. So, to put it in words that even you can't misunderstand, I am doing whatever I feel like doing. If I want to save someone, then I save them. If I decide to punish someone, then I punish them. That's really all there is to it. As I have told the Tenryuubito I spared, I simply walk my road in life, and if heaven itself stands in my way, then I will burn down heaven."
Silence reigned, then one of the Gorousei muttered "Doflamingo. It's another Doflamingo."
Madara had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but neither did he care. It was obvious they were not going to answer his questions. "Oh, and you should send someone to pick up the surviving participants of this little attack. I guess most abandoned their sinking ships in time to make it, though if I were you, I wouldn't bother looking for Heavy." With that, he hung up.
-0-
While talking, Madara had reached the shore and, without even consciously noticing it, started water-walking as he stepped over waves with casual ease.
He looked up just in time to see that Sakazuki's ship, the only one still intact, was pointing its three front-cannons at him. He raised a brow.
BO-BO-BOOM
The three shots were fired almost directly after each other, giving hardly any time to dodge, especially not at point-blank range. Madara simply let the left cannonball fly past him, before sidestepping to the left to avoid the other two shots.
By the time the crew had understood what was going on, Madara was standing on the front-cannons, looking down on them as a wolf over an anthill. Guns were aimed at him, but Madara simply closed his eyes, before they snapped open, revealing his Sharingan, and placed them all under his control.
He ordered them to get the other members of the crew up, and brought them under his control as well. He was about to order them to set sail, when he noticed something.
-0-
A number of crows and ravens were surrounding him, sitting and flying around. Then they converged on him, beaks first, and Madara got the feeling that this would hurt.
He replaced himself with a random marine, and watched fascinated how the beaks pierced the flesh of the poor sod like it was made of paper. He quickly made handsigns before the animals realized that their intended target had escaped. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"
The dragon rose from the ocean, twisting and turning to catch all of the ravens, before slamming onto the reinforced deck that Sakazuki usually used as a launching-pad. The waters splashed and washed themselves overboard, leaving a coughing girl of maybe eight years laying in the middle of the platform.
Madara looked at the nearest Marine. "Put her in Seastone-cuffs, then set sail. Oh,and clean that up." He added, nodding towards the dead Marine. Then he used his power to pull Olvia back into their reality.
The woman was still unconscious, but began to stir a few seconds later. She blinked, looking around confused, before jumping on her feet. "You won't catch me again!" She shouted.
Madara placed a hand on her shoulder, and caught the hook she tried to give him. It was a pretty good one too, for a civilian. "Don't worry. These Marines are my mindless puppets. You're not under arrest."
She stared at him, completely confused for a moment, before her memory caught up with her. "The professor! Ohara!"
Madara's head turned to the burning island, Olvia's gaze following his.
As coincident would have it, at exactly that moment, the Tree of Knowledge fell.
Silence reigned, then Madara placed a hand on his heart. "Rest in peace, scholars of Ohara. You have my greatest respect."
Olvia simply stared at the burning island, her eyes empty. "The Tree of Knowledge... 5000 years of growth, and now nothing remains. Just like that, five-thousand years of hard work erased."
Madara knew a broken person when he saw one, and knew Olvia wasn't too far away from becoming one. He mentally searched his dimension, before he found the object he originally intended to keep as a souvenir. He pulled it out and put it down in front of Olvia.
The woman looked at it. It was a pot with earth and what looked like a small branch placed in it. "What's this?" She asked.
Madara looked at her. "A cutting from the Tree of Knowledge. Whether or not a tree will grow from it depends on you." He walked away, but paused once more to look at her. "You are alive, your daughter is alive, the knowledge of Ohara still lives, and even the Tree of Knowledge lives on. From my point of view, there's no reason for despair."
Nico Olvia looked at the plant before her, seemingly lost in her thoughts. "Robin." She muttered, before looking up. She had been a horrible mother, leaving her daughter alone like that. And even though she had apologized for it, she had never made up for it. Also, she and her daughter were all that remained from Ohara, she simply couldn't just break down crying like this. It was her duty, for the professor and all the others to keep on, and find the truth. And it was her duty as a mother to find Robin. A fire began to burn in her eyes. She now had a purpose.
Madara nodded to himself as he pulled the barely conscious raven-girl into a large cabin. Her black hair, some of her facial features, and that attack had reminded him oddly of that agent he had captured, and he suspected a connection there. But his instincts told him that the man, Fenrir, was not really the kind parental type, so it wasn't very likely that he would be able to use her to force information about the Rokushiki out of him. Still, that didn't mean it wasn't worth a try.
-0-
Sengoku could feel the headache forming. The Buster Call had been initiated, and Ohara was little more than a pile of rubble. That in and of itself would have been acceptable, but not only had the former vice-admiral Jaguar D Saul shown up and smashed a number of battleships, but Madara Uchiha, the most wanted man since Gol D Roger and the Yonkou, had shown up and sunk the remaining ones, save one that the man had taken for his escape. In addition, two Oharans that could read Poneglyphs had escaped, and they didn't even have the decency to escape together, so that they could be caught together. No, the girl, Nico Robin, had escaped on her own, rowing away without anyone able to stop her, while Nico Olvia, who had not been found among the corpses, was most likely with Madara Uchiha, meaning that the chances of capturing her were slim.
So for now, he'd try to focus on the girl, Nico Robin. Since it never looked good when a former marine wrecked havoc amongst his once-comrades, the one responsible for the loss of the battleships Madara didn't burn down would be blamed on her. Indirectly that was actually true, since Saul had done it to protect her. With that, they could give her a pretty high bounty, that would attract many, and the girl was not really a threat as far as he knew, so there was no reason why she shouldn't be caught quickly. 79.000.000 beri should be enough of a temptation for all to abandon her.
As for Olvia, her former bounty had been 43.500.000 beri, but since she was now associated with a Sinner, that would have to be raised. 94.000.000 beri had been confirmed.
Madara's bounty would remain unchanged for now, as they didn't want to put additional attention on the man's presence, seeing that he had completely defeated two vice-admirals, who had very strong logia-powers, and apparently either kidnapped or annihilated one more, who had a very powerful paramecia.
On the bright side, they had finally come up for an epitaph for Madara. Part of it came from his discussion with the Gorousei and a report from Sakazuki, but another part from a young Tenryuubito named Shalulia, who had seen Madara and since that day had essentially given him a title, which she refused to change. According to her the man had an aura around him, one that deserved no different title than the one she was giving him.
So the man with one of the highest bounties in the world now had an epitaph by which the world would soon know him. While not Godslayer, it still sounded too grand for Sengoku's taste, but renouncing it would be ignoring the opinion of a Tenryuubito, and even though there probably were other World Nobles that could refuse, Sengoku had to admit that the title fitted. And it wasn't like they hadn't used royal titles as pirate-epitaphs before.
The Emperor of Pandemonium, Madara.
Chapter 5 is done. Took a while, but the military doesn't give much free time. Next week I'll have to spend completely outside, so it might be two to three weeks before I can get anything done. Still, I hope you like this one. I probably altered the exact chain of events on Ohara so that they fitted best into my story, it was not like I could check, and I am too lazy to look and rewrite anything right now.
Well, to say a few things about this chapter. For one thing, Saul was simply too big to be a practical nakama before Madara really had a ship of his own, so he died heroically for Robin. And yes, Robin is not joining Madara's crew, I like her best with the Straw-hats. Olvia will look for her, but Robin is actively trying to stay below radar, and Madara's abilities as a sensor are not at a point where he could locate someone on any place on earth.
As you have guessed by now, Olvia is Madara's first crew-member. He isn't really happy with it, but accepts it as a responsibility he has to shoulder, it being the last request of a man he respected.
And the reason he provokes and spares Sakazuki, and indirectly Kuzan, is that the better the user knows his abilities, the easier Madara can handle them when he acquires them. So he's goading Sakazuki into training his abilities until he has completely mastered them, then he'll be able to use them better when he looks at the man's brain. The reason he made short work of the OC Heavy was simply that he was in a hurry, and knew that he would be in a disadvantageous situation as a sitting duck.
So Madara has captured three people that interest him, and has plans for each and every one of them. You'll have to wait until next chapter to learn what they are.
And my thanks to all who suggested epitaphs for Madara. I was torn, but eventually decided on one that popped into my mind. Pandemonium generally stands for complete chaos, and that sounds like a pretty good description for how his abilities look to the OP-world. And emperor just fitted his behavior. How do you like it?
And to jenny: WTF? You have reviewed two stories, and in both, you managed to somehow mess up just what series the story is about!
Now to answer a few questions.
Q: How can Seastones paralyze fruit-users?
A: I originally planned on answering that when someone actually used one against Madara, but here's the explanation: Seastones emit a certain energy, which is what keeps seakings from attacking boats that are coated with them. A normal human that holds one would feel like he was submerged in water, only that he can breathe. The emitted energy basically messes with the brain, fooling it into thinking it receives the signals of being submerged. However, the damage fruit-users receive from the neurotoxin ensures that precise feeling will cause their entire body to slacken, making even talking a difficult task. So the reason Seastones work is not that they have the ocean's power, but that they make those who touch it believe they are submerged.
Q: Can OP-characters learn chakra?
A: I haven't made a final decision, but seeing that it requires its own separate circulatory-system, I'm leaning towards no.
Well, that's all for now,
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