Chapter 33: …And the Orchestra begins!
The Navy began rushing down the checkpoint from both sides. They were held back by Karasus crows diving down and stealing their weapons. Lindenbergh flew beside them on his jetpack, releasing all kinds of gasses, explosives and bullets down upon the soldiers.
-Come on! Don't you wanna get your hands on Nico Robin!? He taunted.
Back at the checkpoint, the remains of the Black Cat and Krieg Pirates were readying themselves for combat
-So, how much time do we need to buy? Sham asked, licking his claws.
-Ten minutes should be enough, Belo responded, raising her flag into the air.
-In that time, the ones that defeat the most Navy soldiers are the better crew! Slamming her flag, Belo boosted both crews onto the battlefield.
What followed was a macabre dance of death. Using their infinite repertoire of tricks, the Black Cats cut down one enemy after the other. With sweeping blows, Don Krieg sent soldiers flying across the battlefield to their certain death. Their crews kept equal tempo; for every sword shattered by Bucchi there was a gun crushed by Pearl; for every limb shredded by Sham there was a bone broken by Gin.
At nearly the same time, both captains set their eyes on a young soldier shaking in fear on their ground. They began running for him, weapons at the ready, but just before they could slaughter him they were stopped. Krieg by an iron wall, Kuro by a rope twisting around his arm.
-By my honor as a sennin, I won't allow you to take this man's life! Kumadori theatrically declared for no-one in particular. There was a few seconds of silence as Fukurou opened the zipper on his mouth.
-Yeah, losers! Consider yourself mail to the morgue, because I'm signing, sealing and sending you over there! Your mothers will be buying out the tissue stock of all the four seas when I'm done with ya! You're so smoked…
Don Krieg punched Fukurou in the face at the same time as Kuro cut off Kumadori's hair.
-They're really not sending their best, are they? Kuro nodded in agreement.
-Well, I suppose one of these guys would be worth like ten normal Navy dogs, right? Both pirate captains sadistically grinned.
As the fighting raged on above, Koby explained his plan to Nogo as their elevator reached the bottom.
-Smoker and Tashigi will simply take Robin by surprise, grab her and take her over to the next checkpoint, where we will be waiting to take her away! We'll be using the Army's own plan to avoid both them and the CP0! Koby used wild arm motions to underline how confident he was. On some level he was trying to convince himself that it was going to work.
-I see. There's been a fourth part in this little game all along, and from inside the Navy nonetheless, a gentle voice spoke up from above. Koby turned around to face Stussy.
Helmeppo acted rationally, immediately throwing his knives at Stussy's face; she easily blocked them both.
-Well, if you're out after Robin, I can't let you. Sorry, but your journey ends here.
-Helmeppo! Get the ship ready! I'll hold him off! Koby shouted after the fleeing Helmeppo while he rolled up his sleeves. With a stern hand, Nogo pulled Koby back.
-I'll handle this. Help your friend!
-I don't think you understand. She's a high-profile member of the government! You won't…
-Please, I was raised a gangster. You think I fear the government? Plus, I owe you one; holding her ba….
Nogo's giant hand stopped Stussy's finger pistol in its tracks with a boisterous smile, assuring Koby that he could handle himself. With two quick nods, they made their final goodbyes.
-You're getting involved in something far beyond your understa…
Nogo smashed Stussy into the wall before drop-kicking her through it into a small cafeteria. As he wiped sweat off his forehead, Stussy rose out of the rubble and wiped dust off her shoulders.
-I'll admit it; you would probably be quite dangerous in a street fight. Sadly, this is not what this is.
.One second, on the other side of the room, Stussy kicked . The next second, Nogo's left thumb came flying off. A barrage of Tempest Kicks followed, targeting Nogo's tendons. With unimaginable speed, the meek woman's kicks made the mountain of muscle fall to his knees.
-You're overzealous dedication to your friends is admirable, but all the brute force in the world is not enough to defeat me. Step aside, Stussy said with a soft yet merciless voice.
-Step aside? Step aside!? I offer to fight for the men that freed my home, and you expect me to simply step aside? No, until my veins run dry, I will not fall! Nogo triumphantly slammed his feet into the ground.
Pearls iron-covered fist bounced straight off of Fukurous's nigh invincible body. With a stylish kick the agent sent Pearl (extremely heavy armor and all) flying into Don Krieg, pushing both men close to the brink off the bridge.
-Devilish Twister!
Taking advantage of Fukurou recovering from his kick, Gin spun around in the air before smashing into him with both tonfas. He then dodged away before the agent could retaliate.
-Much as I suspected, you aren't invincible while you're moving! Gin began spinning his weapons around in anticipation.
-Hah! Good luck hitting me while I'm attacking! Fukurou taunted; inside, he was panicking, having had one of his signature techniques seen through by some unknown pirate.
-Thank you, but I don't need it, Gin smiled.
-Demon Dance!
Gin began to move strangely; at first he was simply switching from pose to pose, but not before long he began a mind-bending acrobatic dance, switching from handstands to backflips to roundhouse kicks in the blink of an eye. Fukurou attempted to strike him, but everytime his body would enter a completely different stance, dodging the attack and handing out free counter-blows.
As Gins attack went on, Fukurou began making more mistakes, becoming exhausted and leaving himself open for a longer period of time. For a moment, the human giant left himself open as he attempted to recover from a Finger Pistol.
-Boss! Now!
A poison dart whizzed through the air straight towards Fukurou. An ice-cold sensation shook Gins body as he realized that the agent was smiling.
-Paper Body!
Fukurou nimbly swayed out of the darts trajectory. Exhausted and surprised, Gin couldn't dodge, and the dart planted itself right into its stomach. He fell to his knees, coughing up blood. His breath became heavy and his head began to throb as the poison spread throughout his veins.
-Killed by friendly fire, eh? What a clumsy way to go out! What is this, a slapstick show? Get wi…
As Fukurou continued his taunting speech, Gin's eyes wandered over to the fighting going on between the Black Cat Pirates and Kumadori.
-Feline Flash!
Sham reflected the sunlight of his own claws, blinding his opponent. Buuchi followed him up with a full quarterback-dash into the CP0-agent, pushing him towards Kuro's outstretched swords. Kumadori's hair quickly extended, pushing off from the ground and over the pirate captain.
-Dance of the Piercing Sna…
Before Kumadori could finish calling out his attack name, Kuro had launched into the air and sliced his bountiful mane into pieces. As the agent fell towards the ground, humiliated, Sham and Bucchi were ready to kick him off the entire bridge, plummeting towards his death.
-With a bit of planning and synchronization, anything is possible! Kuro declared as he landed on his subordinates shoulders and did a theatrical bow to the audience. Deep within Gin, something shook. Something deeper than loyalty, dreams or fighting spirit. A force driving near all great conflicts of the world; pure, unadulterated spite.
-You…really think… that we, the Don Krieg Pirates, are going to fall, while those cat-costumed nerds succeed?! My honor will not allow me to bend! Gin threw himself into the air and began slamming down on Fukurous's head with his weapons like the most violent drum solo ever seen.
Fukurou turned around to attack Gin, but the pirate had already pushed off of the man's head and begun to perform several backflips, mid-air, in a row. Realizing that he couldn't attack without leaving himself open, Fukurou entered Iron Body and waited.
-100 Flips Demon Slam!
All the rotational force that Gin had built up came flying downwards; the echo of the impact reverberated across the entire battlefield. It wasn't enough force to break through Iron Body, but it was enough force to send Fukurou flying through three floors of rock-solid stone, joining Kumadori during the death plummet.
-That's how you do it! Now I just need to return to base and get some medicine, Gin turned around to discover that a giant cloud had enveloped the entire checkpoint. It lasted for exactly five seconds, during which no-one on the outside moved, before clearing. Gin threw his hands into the air as he discovered that the bridge leading up to the checkpoint had been literally cut off, the stone now dangling in the wind like torn-up paper.
-You put up a valiant effort, but it's a moot point. If it's any compensation, you stalled me for a bit, Stussy said, walking past Nogo as he bled out on the floor.
-Rob Lucci! Nogo shouted after her. Stussy stopped in the doorway before turning around and dashing over to him.
-Where did you hear that name!? Who do you work for!? She violently shook him. He responded with nothing but a wide smile.
-A friend mentioned it to me.
As Stussy tried to understand what was happening, Nogo slammed a table into her, pushing her into the wall.
-Burning Blast Hand Slap!
Utilizing his father's signature move, Nogo rubbed his hand together until they were searing hot before slapping Stussy with such force she shot straight out of the wall. Watching her turn into a dot on the horizon, Nogo suddenly felt all the pain he had tried to ignore wash over him at once.
-I'll just… sit down for a second, with a heavy thud Nogo sat down in a nearby chair. As the clouds cleared up above him and warm sunlight graced his skin, he felt contentment, untainted by shame or fear, for the first time in a long, long while. With all his debts settled, with all his battles fought, Nogo died the most victorious death a man like him could dream off.
Less than a minute later the Revolutionary Army leaders would come by and, despite the fact that Navy ships were hot on their heels, grab his body. A couple of months later, after so many years apart, Gomu got to see his son again.
As the Navy stood dumbfounded a couple of feet above them, Smoker, Tashigi, the Bounty Brothers and Robin snuck through the corridors inside Tequila Wolf. Using her Push-Fruit, Morley had given Robin access to the walled-off parts of the labyrinthian network, making finding her even more difficult.
After some time of completely silent walking, Robin stopped and turned around.
-By the way, Monkey D. Luffy sends his regards. Or he would, if he knew what a regard was.
Realizing what her words meant, Tashigi and Smoker dashed towards Nico Robin, being hurriedly blocked by the Bounty Brothers.
-If you want to give this all up and return to your friends without a fight, this is your last chance, Robin reached out a hand.
-You know we can't do that! Tashigi responded.
-Yeah, of course not.
Tune in next week (hopefuuullyyyy) for the exciting conclusion to the Tequila Wolf-arc! I have to say, this is by far the best arc I've made yet, between both my fics.