Restructer Revolution

XIV: Fish and Kicks

Previously:

"Well, anyway, there's no need for you to worry, Keimi." Luffy smiled. "We'll definitely save the takoyaki!"

"It's the takoyaki seller!" Pappagg and Yusei pointed out.

"Thank you, Luffy -chin!"

"Sure! Well then, Brook! Play a song to get us in the mood!"

Brook chuckled as he produced his violin. "With pleasure!"

As the strains of 'Bink's Sake' filled the air, everything seemed peaceful.

And then, the flying fishes rained down on them.

"Black Garden, activate!" Aki's voice rang true as the Sunny's deck was covered in vines bearing black roses, more roses blooming every moment. "Shadowpriestess of Ohm, summon! Tribute, Dark Urumi!"

"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!"

"Nana Juu Ni Pound Hou!"

Usopp looked up at around the same time the tiny dragon, as in large enough to carry Aki and maybe more, appeared. "They're... running away?"

"What the...?" Luffy blinked from his place on the figurehead.

"The Flying Fish just... left?" Chopper blinked.

"Even though they were really on the offence back there..." Franky commented.

"It seems like they received some kind of message," Robin commented. "Maybe they were ordered to retreat? Although I wouldn't know why..."

"Cool! It's a garden!" Luffy clapped his hands at the rose vines tangled in the rigging and the floorboards.

"Indeed, what a melancholic and delightful black garden," Robin commented. "It is almost as if whoever steps into this garden is secluded in their dark little world."

Aki caused the vines and roses to disappear with a wave of her hand, frowning all the while.

"It's alright, Aki," Yusei briefly touched her shoulder. "See? They aren't fearing you."

"I wanna ride those!" Luffy was clapping his hands very much like a monkey would. "Those Flying Fish can stay in the air for five minutes, huh? Awesome!"

"Anyway, the place we're headed now is their base, right?" Sanji asked. "In that case, we'd better be prepared to fight them again." He then blew a plume of smoke. :But, who'd have guessed that they'd come at us from the sky?"

"How about getting the cannons out on the deck?" Usopp offered. "I'll shoot them all down!"

"Nice going!" Franky answered.

"I could fly up on Midori and check," Yusei offered. "Aki, shall we?"

"I don't have anything that can fly," Aki confusedly replied.

Yusei gave a meaningful look to the Blue Rose Dragon purring around her.

"Oh? Oh," she realised.

"I wanna fly!" Luffy complained as Yusei and Aki soared beside the Sunny later on Shield Wing and Blue Rose Dragon respectively.

"NO!" Zoro and Nami yelled at him together.

"Knowing your luck, you'll fall over and drown!" Nami added.

Luffy then blinked as the base came in view. "Huh? I can see something now!"

"Looks like that's the Flying Fish Riders' base," Franky commented.

"And this Hachi guy is being kept over there?" Luffy asked.

"Seems like that, Luffy San!" Yusei called from his place on Shield Wing.

"Hey, let's hurry up and save the takoyaki!" Luffy yelled.

"Just wait a minute!" Aki called, the Blue Rose Dragon chirping in answer. "We got it already!"

"But everyone, be careful!" Keimi called. "The Makuro crew alone has captured me about thirty times already!"

"You get captured too much!" Usopp exclaimed. "You get eaten too much, too...!"

Complete and utter silence greeted them as the Thousand Sunny sailed into the circular base.

"Seems like we've entered their territory, huh?" Franky commented loudly.

"It seems like someone built their base floating on top of the water," Yusei commented to Aki hovering nearby.

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Aki frowned lightly.

"The Flying Fish?" Yusei suggested. "If, perhaps, we can stop them from taking off..."

"Leave it to me," Aki pulled low over the ocean as Yusei tapped on the Winged Beast's side, prompting the Duel Monster to move higher and give its master a bird's eye view of the base.

Usopp's voice rang over. "Luffy, should we...?"

"FORWARD!" the captain's voice called.

"Hey, shouldn't we at least think over the plan for a second?"

"HEY! HACHI! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Keimi called, loud enough for Yusei to hear it over the winds howling.

"GET OUT HERE, MAKURO!" Pappagg joined in. "GIVE HACHI BACK!"

The ship soon came to an iron cage suspended over the ocean as Shield Wing lowered itself towards the Sunny once more.

"It seems like someone is like that cage," Robin commented.

"Who's that black guy?" Franky commented.

"Huh? Move over..." Keimi squinted. "Could that be Hachi...?"

"This is great, Keimi! There aren't any enemies around! They must all be off having a snack!"

"Seems like it." Keimi answered.

"Are you guys even serious!" Usopp raged. "Anyone could tell that this is a trap!"

"Everyone is obviously hiding in there, waiting to ambush us," Franky commented.

"AAAH! WHAT BRILLIANT DEDUCTION!" Keimi exclaimed.

"I NEVER WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED THAT!" Pappagg added.

"THAT'S WHY YOU KEEP GETTING CAUGHT!" Franky yelled at them both.

"Nyuu, I'm here! Keimi, I'm okay, so you don't have to worry!" the black man called.

"Hachi, it really is you!" Keimi called.

Shield Wing leisurely rounded around the cage as Yusei squinted. "What's with the ink?"

"YOU'RE ALL BLACK! WHAT HAPPENED!" Keimi screamed.

"Well, this is kinda my own fault..." it sheepishly replied. "Anyway, this is a trap, so hurry up and turn back! You know that I'm strong, right? So it's fine, just go! And... why is there a huge bird around here!" he screamed at the sight of Shield Wing.

"I don't want to hear that from you..." Yusei muttered as Shield Wing tried to claw at Hachi, causing Yusei to pull it back towards the prow. The bird whined slightly but obeyed nevertheless.

"Hey, is Arlong doing alright?" Sanji yelled as Yusei landed on the deck railing of the Sunny.

"Nyuu? Huh? Arlong? No, him, Choo, Kuroobi, and everyone else got caught by the Navy," Hachi replied. "I was the only one who escaped, and I'm now living out my old dream of running a takoyaki stand."

"Arlong...?" Luffy echoed.

Zoro and Nami sighed together. "I knew it..."

"Ah? Ah, Ah, Ah, AHHHHHHH!" Luffy realised. "SO IT WAS YOU, HUH, YOU DAMN SQUID?"

"GGYYYYAAAAHHH! DAMN IT!" Hachi yelled.

So you're the damn squid that was with Arlong?" Luffy yelled. "You're that takoyaki seller, Hachi?"

"What?" Yusei and Robin asked.

"Well, it was a while ago..." Usopp sighed. "But, Nami's home-town was once under the control of a nasty crew of Fishmen called the Arlong Pirates... Nami was in quite a terrible situation herself... and the octopus was one of the top members."

"Ah, so he's an old enemy, huh?" Franky nodded.

"Of course, I took Luffy and the others along, and kicked the crap out of the whole crew!" Usopp boasted.

"Usopp, you're awesome!" Sparkles danced around Chopper.

"Liar," Yusei muttered.

"Y... yeah, I guess..." Usopp sighed dejectedly. "I thought all the Fishmen were arrested by the Navy, but it seems like that guy managed to get away..."

"I see," Brook sipped delicately at his tea. "You have experienced quite a lot..."

"HEY, SQUID!" Luffy was bellowing. "Now that we know it's you, there's no way we'll save you!"

Hachi looked crestfallen.

"B... but..." Luffy seemed to be wavering between two choices. "I.. is... Is your takoyaki really as good as I heard it was?"

"Oh, come on!" Sanji commented. "Getting caught between your appetite and your reason?"

"He's rather simple-minded, isn't he?" Aki sighed as she landed on the deck, dismounting from the purring Blue Rose Dragon. She gave it a slight kiss on the nose as it purred.

"How stupid," Zoro commented.

"Maybe, you know Hachi?" Keimi happily asked. "Is Hachi an old friend of yours?"

"HE'S NOT OUR FRIEND!" An evil aura surrounded Zoro as he growled, Keimi freaking out at the terrifying sight.

"Turn the ship around!" Usopp's cry rang out.

"Yusei, what should we do?" Aki enquired.

"Wait, and see," was his stoic reply. "They must have their reasons, after all."

"Nami..."

"Sorry, Keimi..." Nami sighed. "We never would have thought your friend was that guy..."

"No way..." Tears gathered in her eyes. "Then you won';t help me save him after all? Hachi!"

"Keimi! That's okay! Just turn back!" Hachi called. "This is a trap!"

"No... I'll save you... you're always saving us, after all!" Keimi called. "Pappagg!"

"That's right!" the starfish retorted. "I never thought you guys would be such a load of unfeeling halfwits! Idiots! Idiots!"

"Shut up!" Zoro growled at them.

"Wait for us, Hachi!" Pappagg declared.

"We definitely won't abandon you, Hachi!" Keimi declared. "Here we go!" both dove into the water.

"Keimi Chan!"

"That idiot!"

"Will they be alright?" Chopper asked.

"We should prepare for something," Yusei mused.

"I'm sure they wouldn't just jump in like that..." Usopp commented. "They should have some sort of plan..."

The water surface broke, Keimi crying in the hands of three Fishmen. "We've got you now, Keimi!"

"Oh come on, that's just pathetic!" Usopp yelled.

"Now, we're gonna be rich!"

"With Hachi, who always saves you, in that state and all!"

"You won't get away, Keimi!"

Keimi just cried, thrashing about.

"That's why I told you to run!" Hachi called. "Keimi! Pappagg!"

"Why, you..." Sanji growled. "Keimi hasn't done anything!"

"Wait, Sanji Kun!" Nami held up a hand.

Hachi was now thrashing against the bars of the steel cage in an effort to get out. "I'll save you right now, Keimi!" He continued to thrash his skull against the steel bars.

Nami seemed to be warring with herself before she came to a decision. "Fine, let's save Hachi as well."

"Eh?" Usopp started.

"Hachi isn't that bad," Nami defended. "Actually, he's harmless! And we promised Keimi, too." Nami winked.

"N... Nami Swan... that firm, determined appearance is just wonderful!" Sanji praised, hearts appearing in his eyes.

"Oi, Nami..."

"Is that alright?" Zoro muttered.

"Luffy!" Nami called.

"If you say so, then I guess there's no choice." Luffy turned around. "Let's save the octopus as well."

"Your eyes turned into takoyaki!" Usopp screamed at him.

"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!" Luffy threw an arm to stretch and wrap around Keimi and Pappagg, lifting them from the hands of the Makuro crew and into either arm, as he used the cage as a foothold to the floating land.

"Midori!" Yusei got onto Shield Wing, which stretched its wings to hover towards the land. "Luffy San!"

"Strawhat, nyuu?"

"Luffy Chin!"

"You!"

"Alright!" Luffy declared. "I got them back!"

"Nyuu, Strawhat! Thank you so much! I'm indebted to you!"

"Zoro!" Luffy hollered. "Cut the octopus's ropes and the cage!"

Zoro prepared a sword. "Yeah!"

"Strawhat! Be careful! You've already sprung the trap!" Hachi called warningly. "The Flying Fish Riders have you surrounded!"

"Luffy Chin..." Keimi said.

"Whether it's from the sea or the sky, we're ready for them!" Luffy declared. "We're gonna beat them all!"

"Ahhh!" Keimi and Pappagg grinned.

"YOU GUYS!" Luffy hollered the the Sunny.

On board and hovering, the crew awaited orders.

"PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

"YEAH!" they, even Aki, even Yusei, all cheered as one.

"Now, come, Flying Fish!" Luffy declared.

"They're here!" Usopp raised the signal.

"Right!" Chopper in Heavy Point, Zoro and Sanji all jumped from the ship per the strategy as the flying fish escaped from the water.

"Let's even the playing field a bit..." Aki placed a card into a slot. "Black Garden."

Vines sprung from her feet towards the sea where the tangled every flying fish within fifty metres of the Sunny's hull.

"How beautiful," Robin commented as red roses sprung onto the Sunny.

"What's with these vines!"

"Help... I'm being strangled-!"

"Well, well, who's got the freshest fish here?" Luffy commented, looking at the few schools that had escaped the thorned vines. "Alright, him!"

"What?" the pilot of the fish Luffy grabbed yelled.

"I got him!" Luffy screamed as he reeled himself on the fish. "My turn!"

"Uh, wait... Ahh!" he was thrown overboard, crashing into a vine-laden sea which proceeded to wrap around him.

"This is awesome!" Luffy cheered from his stolen ride. "Whoo! I'm flying! Top that, Yusei!"

"Luffy's riding one of those things?" Chopper panicked.

"Just leave him alone," Sanji mumbled. "Besides that, Aki Sensei~ Good job~"

"Take this!" the riders threw something down at them.

"Bombs!" Usopp yelled.

As Robin prepared to use her powers, Sanji lashed out with his foot to kick them all away.

"Damn!" Sanji swore before he did the noodle-dance again. "Nami San! Robin Chan! Aki Sensei! Are you alright?"

"That was close!" Usopp sighed.

"Geez... If they had hit a lady like that, I wouldn't have let them live."

"Thanks," Aki gave him a warm smile.

"Pull in the sail! It'll get in the way!" Nami called.

Yusei managed to pull himself on Shield Wing to help in pulling the sails up, before he pulled more cards from his pack. "Dash Warrior, get Luffy San!"

The red warrior only barely managed to grab onto the rubbery captain as the schools of flying fish dived for waters not infested with rose vines.

"We're in the middle of a fight, what are you thinking?" Franky yelled at him as Dash Warrior deposited him onboard. "If that funny wheel-robot of Yusei's haven't saved you, you'd have drowned, you idiot!"

"Thanks, robot-thing! Yusei, you saved me!" Luffy hollered as Dash Warrior leapt up to join its master.

"No problem!" Yusei flew across the Sunny. "Nice, Aki!"

"We did it, Chopper, now take this!" Usopp fired one of the cannons they got on the deck, the cannonball striking its target true.

"Bullseye!" Usopp cheered. "Did you see that, you damn fish?"

"Usopp, you're amazing!"

"Shadowpriestess of Ohm, Dark Urumi!" Aki commanded again as the priestess leapt to send a flurry of rose petals towards a school of Flying Fish Riders as Zoro freed Hachi.

All the fish suddenly deserted as one lone squad flew straight for the Sunny.

"A really huge guy is coming!" Chopper warned. "And he's swinging a massive club..."

"He isn't steering at all..." Sanji commented. "Don't tell me that's he's just going for a collision..."

"If he hits us at that speed, the ship won't hold!" Yusei called.

"Luffy, you take care of the fish," Sanji commented. "Yusei, get me to that man!"

"Got it!" Yusei nodded as Sanji leapt onto the Shield Wing flying past. "Please, Midori!"

The Winged Beast gave a cry as Sanji leapt off it and planted a foot into the guy's face, breaking the iron club in the process as Luffy expanded into a balloon to cushion the fish. Luffy grabbed the flying fish, body-slamming it in a bridge onto the Sunny's deck as he and Sanji landed safely.

"This'll be our dinner tonight!" Luffy declared.

"That's so cool, you two!" Chopper declared.

"Looking at it up close, it really is big," Robin held up a fin to make her point.

"So, I suppose that they'll be coming up soon," Aki considered. "And I can't really expand Black Garden's area of effect..."

"I wanna ride one, dammit!" Luffy yelled. "Don't think I've given up just because of what happened earlier!"

"Give it up!" Nami yelled. "Yusei won't be around to save your sorry ass again, and I won't either!"

"It is about time we reduced the number of those Flying Fish..." Brook muttered, drawing his sword. "Please observe!"

Brook then leapt up and out to the sky, violin in hand. "Lullaby Song!"

"Wow! They all fell asleep..." Chopper fell asleep mid-sentence.

"You too?" Nami yelled at them.

"Music is... power!" Brook declared as he fell to run on the water. "Excuse me!" two flying fish fell to his sword.

"Just nice," Aki observed as Shadowpriestess of Ohm withdrew her swords. "I send Black Garden and all Rose Tokens to the graveyard to special summon my ace card!"

"Oooo!" Luffy suddenly awoke, celebrating. "I wanna see that dragon! I wanna fight that dragon!"

"Give up!" Nami knocked his head.

"Damn him, what was that?"

"He used some sort of dirty trick!"

"It is no trick!" Brook sheathed his sword. "It is music! Yohohoho!"

'He's good, that guy!"

"Chilling black flames engulf the entire world," Aki chanted as rose petals swept around her. "Pitch-dark flower, set in bloom!"

"Oi, don't summon that ridiculously destructive dragon right here!" Usopp screamed as a serpentine head began to fade into the world.

"Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!" Aki completely ignored him.

"Debris Dragon, summon!" Yusei ordered as he dropped onto the deck. "Sonic Chick, summon! They, I play Star Changer!"

"Yusei Dono! Aki Ojou!" Hane cheered as it appeared.

"Wait, Yusei!" Nami exclaimed. "The Sunny can't support two dragons!"

"Black Rose, fly!" Aki commanded as she got on the dragon as it spread red florid wings and flew. "No problem like this, right?"

"What's that?" one of the riders yelled at the sight of Black Rose Dragon.

"It's a dragon! A real dragon!"

"We didn't sign up to fight dragons! Run!"

"Tuning!" Yusei called as he felt the Shield Wing cry out in alarm. "Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the light its path shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

"Awesome!" Luffy cheered as the white dragon made its entrance and was greeted by a piercing roar from the black dragon. "Yusei, let me ride Stardust!"

"Get on!" Yusei called, grinning as he clung onto the dragon's back for dear life after having almost dropped into the ocean. "Fly!"

"Looks fun... here I come!" Luffy swung, using Stardust as a level before he grabbed onto a passing flying fish, that soon crashed straight into a random house on the floating island.

"Luffy San..." Yusei sighed as Stardust punted a running Brook with a claw onto land.

"I have reached my limit!" Brook babbled, sprawled on land. "I have a muscle cramp! Though I do not have any muscles to have a cramp in!"

"Brook, you're pretty enthusiastic, huh?" Zoro growled. "You took out quite a few of the Flying Fish. Yusei, you and your girlfriend too, good job."

"I am glad to have been of help!" Brook declared, before slumping. "But please... let me rest for a while..."

"Aki's not my girlfriend!" Yusei defended almost automatically as Stardust let him drop onto land.

"Dragon!" Keimi, Pappagg and Hachi freaked.

"He's on our side," Zoro growled. "The black one currently thrashing the fish as well. Oi, Yusei, got anything to help injuries?"

"Zoro San," Brook sighed. "As I thought, your injuries from Thriller Bark still haven't healed..."

"I thought Chopper San told you not to push it," Yusei muttered, pulling a card out. "Healing Wave Generator. I choose Stardust Dragon. Starlight Wave!"

The machine that appeared gave off a soft blue glow that spread to all directions.

Zoro sighed in relief. "That was good."

"I feel like my energy has returned now!" Brook declared, jumping to his feet.

"I won't let these fish beat me! Don't worry about it!" Zoro answered, getting to his feet.

"You let down your guard, Roronoa!" Hachi ran with six swords to aim at the flying fish behind Zoro. "Six Sword Style: Octopus Arm Danger!"

Yusei watched, slightly awed as the harpoon and fish were shredded lightly.

"You saved me, huh?" Zoro grinned.

"Nyuu, that's right! You guys were spacing out and all..."

"Hachi! You were really cool!" Keimi called from the sidelines.

"Just what I'd expect from you, Hachi!" Pappagg cheered.

"Really?" Hachi turned his back to the ocean, hiding his face just as a Flying Fish Rider bearing a harpoon appeared.

"Stardust!"

The rider was swatted away with a massive arm at the same time another leapt out. "Die, Fishman!"

"Right, excuse us!" Brook defended Hachi from the harpoon as Zoro cut the man down.

Hachi looked at them with wide eyes. "I thought I was gonna die! Thanks!"

"You are quite welcome!" Brook replied.

Zoro just sighed. "I told you to watch yourself, didn't I?"

"Don't take them one by one... get in formation*!" one of the riders ordered.

Franky looked up. "Pervert*? You called?"

"Attack in flying formation**!"

"Delinquent pervert**?" Franky stated, confused. "You mean me?"

"It's not you!" Sanji and Usopp yelled at him.

As Black Rose defended the back of the ship, Robin and Nami stood ready on the crow's nest.

"Here I am, here!" Nami called. "Welcome!"

Falling into the trap, the riders crashed into the thundercloud that was awaiting them.

"Too bad, Mirage Tempo. Beware of thunderclouds of despair!" Nami called from where her actual self was on the deck.

"Dos Mano... Clutch!"

"Kokutei... Diamond!"

"Don't break formation!"

"I knew it, they're calling for me," Franky remarked.

"No, they're not!"

"Huh? They didn't mean me?" Franky commented as bullets bounced off his steel chest. "Hm? Strong Hammer!" Franky punched the fish carrying the person shooting at him off the deck and into the water.

"Amazing! They're all really strong, Pappagg!" Keimi cheered.

"-.-...To think they'd go this far... we were just gonna grab Hachi and run..."

Back on the ship, Usopp was cursing. "Franky, we gotta get this ship ashore! They're at an advantage out here in the ocean!"

"That's probably why they reside out here, you know," Franky commented as he used his machine gun. "They're not gonna give us a chance to steer the ship!"

"Black Garden!" Vines sprouted and trapped more fish as vines spread from the Sunny's deck to fifty metres in all directions. "Will this be alright?" Aki commented, as the Black Rose Dragon gave a piercing cry out to the other dragon.

"Yeah!" Usopp and Franky grinned.

It was then that Luffy crashed through a wooden wall, panting and running.

"Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Run! A huge guy is coming!" Luffy yelled.

"Is it the Iron Mask?" Brook yelled.

"The masked guy and a cow!" Luffy answered.

Yusei sighed himself. "Of all the worst timings to dismiss Stardust..."

"A cow?" the others turned to look towards the direction Luffy ran from. Crashing sounds could be heard as a giant figure crashed through the rest of the wall.

"Getting yourselves knocked down in droves..." a voice growled.

"What's that? Something showed up!" onboard the Sunny, Usopp panicked even as the Flying Fish Riders were losing.

"You're not just bugs, y'know! Flying Fish Riders!" The rider of the large bull that crashed through wore black denim and black leather under an armoured fur-lined cloaked, and on his face was an iron mask. In each hand he bore a harpoon-gun.

"H- He crushed his own house..." Usopp muttered.

"I don't need this base anymore, as long as I can kill the Straw Hats!" he declared.

"We're so sorry, Head!" the Riders exclaimed as they pulled into the water. "We'll draw them out to sea and finish them off right..."

"Move it!" The bull stepped forth, sending tremors through the ground as Duval turned to the three fish-related sapient people around. "I have no need for a Fishman, mermaid or glove! If you wanna run, then just get lost!"

"I'm a starfish!" Pappagg argued even as they crawled off.

"I didn't enter the slave-trading market 'cause I wanted to!" Duval continued his monologue. "You guys understand that, right?"

"Of course, head!" the Riders cheered.

"What a great day this is!" Duval looked to the sky. "The man whom I wanted to kill so badly that I even saw him in my dreams, is right here. I'm so grateful! I guess there is a God, huh? One day, I was suddenly thrown into the depths of hell because of that man!"

"Hey, isn't he looking at us while he's talking?" Usopp commented.

"Today, I'll kill ya right here, even if I die myself..." Duval cursed. "Pirate... Black Leg Sanji!"

On the Sunny, the cook started.

"I really wanted to meet'cha!"

"Oh, crap! The head's really pissed-off!"

"Me? That guy wants to kill me?" Sanji blinked.

"Sanji, who's that guy?" Franky asked. "It seems like he's got some sort of grudge against you..."

"Could it be something that happened at the restaurant?" Nami suggested. "Try to remember!"

"If it's something from back then, I did a lot of things that people might be mad at me for..." Sanji mumbled.

"Let hi shoot you!" Usopp cheerfully suggested. "You've deserved it!"

"Quit playin' dumb, Black Leg!" Duval roared. "We're talkin' about something recent here!" he fired a volley of shots at them.

"Crap! Those are harpoons!" Usopp yelled as the rest of the crew dodged, Aki and the ship being defended by Black Rose Dragon.

"But if it's something recent, then I'm even more confused!" Sanji mumbled.

Purple mist burst from the harpoons.

"W- What? There's something strange about these harpoons..." Usopp mumbled.

"These are my scorpion venom harpoons!" Duval boasted as he reloaded. "If they hit'cha, you'll be headed for the afterlife in three minutes! Know the depths of my fury!" He fired again.

"Nami San, watch out!" Sanji kicked away the bolts headed for Nami. "Damn bastard, I can't remember at all! Who are you?"

"I'm gonna kill ya and yer crew!"

"I saw what was under the mask," Luffy muttered.

"Really?" Zoro started. "Who is he?"

"Don't be surprised," Luffy stated as he ran off. "You've seen his face too!"

"Me too?"

Luffy made a flying kick at Duval, kicking the mask away.

"That bastard!" the riders chorused. "He kicked away Duval Sama's iron mask!"

"Very well... take a close look at my scarred face!"

Usopp's jaw dropped. "What the-?"

Nami stared. "No way!"

Chopper's eyes widened in shock. "EEEEEHHH?"

Sanji's face merely looked more.. wrathful.

"He's...!" Zoro stared.

Robin blinked. "My..."

"Oh, my..." Brook chuckled.

Franky began sobbing. "I wanna cry!"

"I've been waiting for this day..." Duval continued. "I decided to murder ya, and so I set out to sea! But looking for ya would be a problem, y'know..." he held up a bounty poster. "After all, yer wanted poster and yer true face didn't match! Even if the marines or bounty hunters run into ya, they just might not notice ya! Nah, there's no way that'd happen! Those guys would definitely find ya!"

"Head...!" the Riders were crying.

"They'd find ya, and then they'd say... 'I found you! Black Leg Sanji!'"

"How... pitiful..." Aki commented.

"Miracles can happen..." Yusei observed.

Duval was crying already. "And then I told 'em... 'I dunno anyone like that!'" The man's face, though marred with scars, was an exact replica of the sketch featured on the poster of Black Leg Sanji. "'I ain't even a pirate!'"

Sanji began to blaze with anger.

"QUIT SCREWING WITH ME!"

"BLACK LEG SANJI!" Duval screamed again after a long spiel of his hatred.

With a mighty swing, Sanji was about to execute a powerful kick to the poster-like face. "LIKE I CARE!"

"EEEEEEHHHHH!"

"Head!"

"Whaddaya mean, 'like I care'?" Duval bellowed from atop the cow once he had recovered from the kick. "If ya ain't gonna take responsibility for dis, then who will?"

"Shut up!" Sanji yelled back. "I'm more pissed-off about that wanted poster than anyone!"

It then turned into a glaring contest between both blond men.

Franky was still crying, Yusei stone-faced as he passed the cyborg engineer the occasional tissue. "I understand how that guy feels..."

"But... Sanji was really depressed because of that wanted poster too..." Chopper murmured, recalled the cook's exact reaction back in Water Seven to his wanted poster. "So, things like this can really happen, huh?"

"What a surprise..." Nami commented. "This world is really big."

"Was Sanji born under some kind of miracle star or something?" Usopp muttered to Nami.

"He might meet quite an interesting end someday..." Robin commented off-handedly.

"I can't help but feel sorry for that Duval guy..." Franky was still crying.

"Those two look exactly like each other!" Hachi commented.

"Like two peas in a pod," Zoro added.

Brook was reduced to laughing so much, bones clacked against stone as the skeleton beat his fists against the floor.

"Brook!" Sanji yelled at the musician. "I'm so gonna kick the crap out of you afterwards!"

"Seeing this, I suddenly get the feeling some author dropped me in a gag manga," Yusei muttered. Somewhere, something cracked.

"Well then, Sanji..." Luffy commented. "We'll just be going on ahead."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Sanji then turned to Duval. "If you don't want to look like that wanted poster, then how about trying to change your hairstyle or your beard? There are plenty of things you could change, right?"

Duval looked pissed-off for a few moments, before...

Thok. "So, I could've done that?"

"Are you all morons?"

"I ain't no moron!" Duval retorted. "You know, Black Leg, we..."

There followed a very long, potentially very dramatic and definitely emotive spiel about the life before the horribly drawn wanted poster of Black Leg Sanji which Yusei promptly ignored as Blue Rose Dragon deposited him back on the Sunny. Yusei only stopped thinking about how to make the Go ride on water when Duval began shooting poison harpoons at the blond cook of the ship.

"Sanji Kun!" Nami yelled as Sanji was dragged underwater by a net and two of the Riders.

"They're trying to pull him down into the ocean!" Usopp yelled. "Sanji! Hurry up and get out of there!"

There was another long spiel about speed, in which an interesting fact about the Flying Fish was revealed.

"Perhaps if the forward thrust was increased..." Yusei muttered to himself.

"Yusei!" Aki roared at him. "Is this the time?"

"You heard the man," Yusei dead-panned. "Keimi San! Can you pick up Sanji San now!"

"Oh, I could do that!" the mermaid yelled.

"Then do it earlier..." Usopp muttered as Keimi dove into the water.

"In the whole wide world, there is nothing that can outrun a mermaid in water!" Pappagg had just finished an extremely long speech about the relative speeds of Fishmen, flying fish and mermen.

Yusei's face only took on a grim expression as more Flying Fish flew out of the waters, carrying... ropes?

"What's that?" Nami cried.

"A huge anchor?" Franky spotted.

"It's way too big!" Usopp yelled.

"They're trying to sink us!" Yusei realised.

"This is bad!" Franky called. "Just one hit from that, and we'll sink!"

"Dodge it!" Usopp panicked as, by his feet, Chopper ran around in panic. "Use the Burst or the Paddle! Can we make it?"

"No, it's too late!" Franky yelled. "Hurry up and come with me, Usopp!"

"Huh? Yeah!"

"You, get on the bow!"

"Huh? Uh, right!"

"Neither Stardust or Black Rose can make it in time either!" Yusei started. "If only this ship can go backwards..." his eyes widened, recalling the plans for the Sunny Franky and Usopp had gone over in front of him earlier that day.

"Yusei?" Aki noted, remarkably calm despite imminent doom.

"They're going to use that!" Yusei realised, dashing for the wheel beside Franky. "Franky San, are you serious?"

"We're going to use our secret weapon!" Franky yelled. "Yusei, hold down the fort below!"

"Got it!" Pushing open the hatch to the engine room below the lawn, Yusei went down.

"The Sunny's in trouble!" Luffy's voice could be heard all the way from the engine room.

"Drop it!" the Riders cheered.

"No way...!" Nami was stunned, unable to move.

"At this rate, it'll hit us head-on," Robin coolly observed.

"Believe in them," Aki sighed. "It's all we have left."

"SINK!"

"It's falling right at us!" Usopp screamed.

"Franky San, cogs are oiled, it's sparking, and the limiter is removed!" Yusei's voice drifted from the engine room.

"Believe in this ship!" Franky declared, right before he pushed a button...

Below deck, the wheel began to turn.

"The mane started spinning!" Usopp yelled in surprise.

"Emergency Evasion... Secret Weapon!" Franky pushed a large lever. "Chicken Voyage!"

The mane acted as a propeller, pushing the Sunny backwards and away from the dropping giant anchor in time as the steel behemoth plunged into the seas below.

"They dodged it!" "No way!"

"I've never heard of any ship that can go backwards!"

"Usopp! Get inside the prow!" Franky yelled as the Sunny drifted to a pause.

"Don;t think dodging it was all we could do!" the shipwright hollered as the figurehead's mouth dropped open to reveal a cannon. "This ship's got way more power than that!"

"Awesome!" Luffy and Chopper literally sparkled with their awe.

"Cola energy now charging!"

"Reaching fifty percent!" Yusei hauled himself up from the hatch. "Anything I missed?"

"Nothing important!" Aki reassured him. "Just a near-brush with death."

"Ah," Yusei nodded. "When did we become so calm?"

There was an awkward pause. "True..." Aki began to consider.

"Charging complete!" Usopp announced. "Oi! What should I do now?"

"Get as many as you can inside the circle!"

"Yusei?" Aki noted as the brunet handyman tied safety lines around the wrists of their crew members.

"This is the first time Franky San is using this," Yusei explained. "This is a precaution in case his calculations are wrong and the firing sends the Sunny rocking backwards. Franky San, your own safety line's below the cockpit!"

"Got it!" Franky looped a chain around his own waist and latched it into place with a lobster hook.

"They're in!" Usopp's voice drifted towards them.

"Lock on with the button on the handle, then pull the lever!" Franky ordered.

"Three," Yusei took a look at the very battered wristwatch that was, miraculously, still working. "Two... One..."

"Gaon Hou!" Franky yelled.

"FIRE!" All three announced.

The resulting beam of light shot true, blasting away the flying fish and their riders, and debris in its destructive wake.

"Amazing!" Nami gasped as the safety lines flapped around her and the ship itself rocked only slightly despite the devastating blast it gave out that destroyed half the base.

On land, Zoro shielded his eyes from a captain shining with awe. "You're too impressed!"

Franky laughed. "Did you see that? The Sunny's full power?"

"That move took out almost all the Flying Fish..." Chopper gasped in awe.

"That's just how good Usopp is! Even if it was his first try, it was magnificent!"

"And all from cola," Yusei dead-panned. "It's time to look into alternative energy sources for the Go again..."

Usopp himself was whooping with admiration. "WHOO! What an amazing destructive power!"

"Sunny!" Luffy punched the air with both hands in awe.

"Lion Chan is incredible!" Brook did the same. "It seemed as if my eyes were going to pop out! Though I have no eyes to pop out..."

Yusei dropped down into the engine room, coming out again to toss a cola bottle at Franky, who deftly caught it, uncapped it and took a deep swig. "It uses three barrels of cola to prevent the ship from being blown away, and at the same time, it releases two barrels worth of Coup de Burst from the cannon. It uses a ton of cola, so don't you overuse it! Yusei, specs!"

"We were two joules off, I estimate," Yusei duly replied. "Any more and things in Chopper San's weight class in his current form would be blown off."

"Ah," Franky sighed, before he grinned again. "That's what safety lines are for!"

"And the rest of the ship?" Yusei grinned as he threw another to Usopp and the ship's three unofficial engineers clinked bottles. The Three Musketeers, er, Engineers, of the Thousand Sunny has been formed.

"Keimi!" Nami exclaimed as the mermaid broke the water surface.

"Thank goodness!" Chopper squealed. "Is Sanji alright?"

"Everyone, it's terrible!" Keimi shouted back. "Sanji-chin is losing a lot of blood!"

"Huh?" Nami gasped.

"Did he get done in?" Chopper shouted.

"Just when I thought I'd saved him, a lot of blood suddenly started flowing out of his nose!"

"Huh? Nosebleed?"

"It's fine..." Usopp muttered mutinously. "If he dies like that, then let him die."

"Pervert," Aki groused as rose petals flew about her.

"-.- That's true..." Nami sighed. "At least he seems happy."

"Hang in there, Sanji-chin!"

"Oeil! Nez! Joue! Bouche! Dents! Menton!"

"Please, stop..."

"Parage... Shot!"

Duval was sent flying into one of his collapsed buildings by a barrage of kicks to the face.

"Taste the classiness of my finishing attack, and end your misery," Sanji growled, having got out of the water after Luffy psyched out the giant cow Motobaro. "You shitty bastard."

* and **: they are Japanese homonyms. Couldn't resist the joke...

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