Disclaimer: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. Many of the characters in this story are property of me. Do not use this story or its characters without my permission. Thank you.


The Town Square, as per Rezland and Zan's combined coordination, was now fully barricaded and protected from bounty hunter charges. The only passage was purposely built to give the advancing army no choice but to walk into a shooting gallery. This plan was nearly foolproof.

However, some doubts still floated along the surface of the tense crowd. If any bounty hunters had managed to weasel their way into the militia they could easily take down any given section of the barricade from the inside and the pirates would be overwhelmed. Zan was not only expecting, but anticipating for that to happen.

Rezland and Zan, elected as the two most powerful people present, led the offensive by standing in the open and waiting for a bounty hunter attack to begin. Rezland had loaded both his guns with explosive bullets for maximum effectiveness. The weapon on his back was still wrapped in loose cloth, maintaining a mysterious cover.

"Should be anytime now," Zan stated, standing with his back to Rez. He pulled out a cigarette from his pants pocket and offered it to Rezland. He shook his head at a glance and Zan lit it for himself.

"It's the wait that's killing me." Rezland responded. The tension was almost visible in the humid air, passing from person to person and densely slithering across the wooden street. Finally, a faint rumbling was heard, followed soon after by a vicious war-cry coming from the streets surrounding the Tavern. Rezland smiled deviously.

"Alright," he snarled enthusiastically, "now the fun begins." Zan took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke, keeping the stick still alight in his mouth. The bounty hunters' shouts of death turned to quizzical grunts and conversation as the rounded the well fortified alleys and roads. After circling the block to find the only unblocked entrance, the small army stopped to look at their scene.

Zan and Rezland stood side by side to face the hunters with a legion of angered and well-armed pirates behind them. The bounty hunters could feel the pressure from the hate that was bearing down upon them as the pirate crowd slowly advance with sinister glares.

"You want to go first or should I?" Zan asked. Rezland gave a smug huff and pushed him backwards as he paced over to his prey.

"Try not to die too quickly, now." Zan smirked lightly at Rez's cocksure attitude and leaned back, letting the pirates pass him by as he blended with the crowd. Rezland stopped a few feet away from the mass of surprised hunters and drew out his gunblades.

"Who's first!?" he shouted. The pirates yelled and started running forward with swords and other weapons held high. The bounty hunters took this as an opportunity to attempt a counter advance, and the two armies clashed violently. Swords slashed and guns flared as the war broke out in full force, with Rezland swinging his massive weapon in the middle of the fray.


Bard and Sasuke hopped along the outcroppings of rock to the other side of the maze, where they could clearly see the advancing army of nefarious bounty hunters. The outlines of the ships were still visible within the shroud of fog that covered the area. Sasuke stroked his chin, pondering over what they could do.

"So, what's the plan ninja man?" Bard asked as he caught up. Sasuke already knew enough of the plan to get a solid enough idea on delaying the army, but not how to stop it completely.

"Well," he began to Bard, "it won't be easy, but I have an idea that should work for us. The maze has only one reliable route to go from the forest to town, and that's to hug the east wall. If you just keep following tat wall without going into the natural docks it will bring you to town. My crew has already hidden most of the ship along that route, so if we can block the east route off then we can stall them long enough for the pirates to make some headway."

Bard was snoring, his narcolepsy had gotten the best of him and he drifted off to sleep in the middle of Sasuke's prose. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched under the black veil of his suit.

Is this guy even remotely serious!?

Bard awoke again with a start, having heard at least enough to get a definite plan together. He was determined to help his new ninja friend in hopes that he could get him to join his own crew.

"So, if we seal the exit, they'll just be lost forever right?" Sasuke was startled at how simple Bard made everything seem. The passageways and corridors of the labyrinth itself were much narrower than the exit, and blocking it off would take far too much time that they didn't have.

Undaunted by the logical implications of his plan, Bard began eyeing a large boulder settled warily atop a mesa wall. He jumped over to the rock and walked around to find a good enough stop to secure his own footing. Sasuke followed him and watched him curiously.

"What's your plan, Bard?" Sasuke asked. Bard stroked at his chin while staring intently at the boulder. Several times he turned around to face the exit and glance at the city in the distance. After a moment of silent calculation, Bard turned to Sasuke with a smile.

"I'm gonna close the exit." Sasuke's eyes shot wide open. Bard put one hand as far down on the boulder as he could and the other pulled at a hold on its surface. He clenched his teeth and tried to lift the boulder up and out of the neatly settled dirt. Much to Sasuke's excitement and horror, Bard nearly succeeded. The boulder, unfortunately, was too far deep into the rock and Bard set it down again.

"Hey!" Bard shouted at the stunned ninja, "Use your ninja magic to cut this rock at its base so I can throw it." Sasuke stuttered out a retort.

"It doesn't work like that!" Sasuke calmed himself and pulled out a wire from a satchel on his belt. "Step back" Bard complied and stood at the edge of the mesa, while Sasuke wrapped the wire around his hand and positioned an open plan in front of his face.

In a blur, Sasuke circled the boulder and wrapped the wire around the part that was in contact with the dirt ground. He stood next to Bard with the wire ending around his positioned fingers. He quickly clenched his fingers into his fist and the wire around the rock started glowing. Then it exploded.

After the dust cleared Bard marveled at the clean and even cut the wire had made, gaping his mouth with a wide grin at his ninja compatriot.

"You're the coolest, man!" Sasuke rubbed his neck in embarrassment. The humor lifted as both of the pirates heard the marching of boots and the chatter of the bounty hunter army to the east. They had already made it this far in a short amount of time.

Without a warning Bard attempted to lift the boulder yet again. This time, without it snagging in the dirt, he lifted it clearly and cleanly over his head. He could feel the weight slowly sinking his feet into the ground as he turned towards the exit and aimed carefully.

With a powerful shout he threw the rock through the air and toward the exit. The bounty hunter's eyes were set upwards, having been drawn by Bard's loud grunt. The boulder skidded and bounced across a few smaller mountainous outcroppings before colliding in full force with the spire that Bard and Sasuke had climbed previously. The entire spire crumbled and followed the boulder with a resounding crash into the labyrinth.

Bard smiled intently at his handiwork. The trajectory and apparent stability he had trusted to pure chance worked wonderfully, as the exit was now blocked by a wall of rubble that nearly skimmed the height of the original walls of the labyrinth. Bard turned with an eager smile to Sasuke, who was stunned to the point of collapse.

"Now what?" Sasuke shook his head to compose himself and tried to respond to Bard's blunt request, but the bounty hunters responded first.

"There's tow of 'em up there! Shoot them down!" Bard jumped back out of sight as the hunters started to open fire o the both. He looked at Sasuke, who glanced back. Understanding the situation, a mutual plan was reached without a word. They both nodded and jumped across the ravine and towards the secret passage that was now open to the wind.

First, I'll find Araly and get her to the ship Bard thought to himself as he and Sasuke raced towards the stairs. Then, I'll help Rez fight of the bounty hunters in the town. Bard turned to Sasuke as they reached the final stepping stone in front of their goal.

"What're you gonna do, Sasuke?" The ninja landed gracefully in front of the open hole that led down into the rock wall.

"I'm going to join my crew in taking this town back." Bard smiled and nodded. They both ran down the stairs with their goals prioritized. Sasuke silently mused to himself as to what a disaster it would be if Bard decided to join the fight.


Araly was leaning over herself, still carrying around a hefty amount of spare cloth in a large backpack. She had finally made it to the square and caught up with Kaede, who was watching over the battle from her chimney perch. Araly spotted a familiar face in the middle of the crowd, swinging around a heavy-looking object that had a trail of tattered cloth following behind it.

Great. At least someone's having fun down there. Araly noticed Kaede unsheathing a short sword from her waist and staring down at someone particular. A shirtless man with almost solid hair who was wielding handblades and hopping back and forth between sword swings effortlessly. He didn't have a scratch on him.

"You stay up here and do your part, sweetie," Kaede stated. She drew the blade up close to her face and held it parallel to her eyes. "I'll try a more direct method." Araly could feel a certain seethe in her voice. She vanished in puff of smoke just as Araly felt the impact of a raindrop on her nose.