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 regal tournament has reached its end, as apathetically predicted by the unamused Gretta. She was considerably moved by the previous events of watching her object of affection get pummeled into a bloody heap and crumble under the weight of her father's fist. Now it was the blond-haired boy's turn to brave the startling might of Rupert Lioncrest and save the pride of pirates everywhere!

"I hope you can handle pain" Bard said smugly, "because this train delivers on time!"

"Huh?" Rupert grunted in confusion. "A train? What is that?"

"Eh?" Bard grunted back. He looked to the audience for approval but got curious nods and unsavory glares. Now he felt nervous and posed to fight and skip the witty banter.

"Pray tell, demon-man" Rupert said, "what villainous cur did sew you those robes? They look like the tattered banner of some hellish legion freshly upheaved from the most putrid regions of the underworld!"

"Hey!" Bard shouted. He made a flying Soru-powered leap and delivered a kick straight into Rupert's face. "Don't screw with the coat!!!" Rupert rolled once away, then recovered on his hands and knees while Bard continued his onslaught with a powerful kick to the larger man's jaw. Rupert felt his brain shake inside his head, then just as he began to lose his balance Bard made a rotating roundhouse kick to Rupert's neck and sent the dizzy king flying away, only to tumble and skid across the stone-cobbled ground of his courtyard. Bard stomped his feet down and glowered with an angry, toothy scowl.

"This coat" Bard began, pointing to his ironically bare chest "represents my pride, not only as a pirate, but as a fighter! A battler! A true martial-artist! This coat is my treasure, crafted from the hands of my friend and comrade with the time and passion only a wife would otherwise give! And this symbol on my back, the tangling scene of dragons, the Tapestry of War I call it, represents my warrior spirit!"

"So?" Rupert growled as he stood his old body up once more. "Can that scruffy-looking coat dampen any blunt impact to the sensation of a dull poke? Can it shield against sharp weapons or keep you airborne for more than thirty seconds straight?"

"Maybe" Bard said hopefully. "I mean...it's black. And black is cool!"

"WHAT!?" Rupert shouted. He began rushing forward with his hands up in a boxing position. He came up to Bard ready to fight and started swinging fast and furiously. "Just because of its color you think it's cool!? You little brat! You know nothing of science!" Bard stepped and leaned out and away from the punches Rupert threw. Finally the huge man, though to Bard only half-a head taller, stepped and slid his foot into Bard's, forcing him off his footing.

Damn! Bard exclaimed internally. Rupert wound up a powerful right hook and nailed Bard, right in the shoulder. GAH! Holy total hell, that hurts!!! That's definitely not a normal punch! Bard was tossed away by the full-rotation fist and stopped rolling when he caught himself and screeched to a stop on smoking boot heels right in front of the bleachers.

"What might!" a woman awed.

"He is so graceful, our king!" a man shouted. "Look with what ease he dispatches the demons! Huzzah for our Great King Rupert!!!"

"Huzzah!" the crowd shouted. Gretta didn't join them, as she was too focused on the fight.

He can travel with such speed she thought, observing the panting Bard that he cannot be seen, yet just tripping him causes him to freeze and be unguarded? Somehow I find that interesting, but it is not at all advantageous for him!

"Father" Gretta said, standing up on her throne. "Are you just going to keep doing that the whole fight now?"

He better not Bard thought to himself. He caught me off guard. His timing went from medium to 'HOLY HELL!' in one motion. That motion just happened to be his rush. I can see it coming now, I just need to concentrate more on my timing than his.

"Come on!" Rupert called. He came in with his right arm raised up above his head, then brought it crashing straight down to the ground. The nearby spectators were sprayed with dirt and tiny bits of rick from the ground he broke. Bard was several steps away and started casually walking away.

"I think I'll take a nap now" Bard said. "Nothing interesting his going on." Rupert turned to see Bard walking away without a care in the world. He even put his hands behind his head to cushion his neck and started whistling as he went.

I see Rupert thought with a grin. He's trying to make me pursue so he can deliver a surprise attack. What a juvenile attempt. I'm a genius scientist! I effortlessly brainwashed an entire island of murderers and freaks and villains into this peaceful culture of weaklings who adore me! Don't underestimate me, boy!!!

"TORYAAAAAH!!!!" Bard shouted. Rupert turned around with a shocked face and received Bard's amazing flying kick straight to his face. Bard wasn't done there, however. Before his spine could start buckling his back Bard drew his leg back again and started shooting a flurry of quick, water-kicking stomps straight into Rupert's wizened face. "EYEYEYEYEYEYEYEY!!!!!!"

"What terrible speed!" a woman exclaimed.

"He be ruining the face" some outraged man began "of our gorgeous, powerful leader!" Bard eventually stopped and floated back to the ground. Once there he let his knees drop down and grabbed the ground with his finger tips. He raised his body up with just his hands and made a quick rotation to trip Rupert's legs off the ground. Now Rupert was off his feet and totally without balance while Bard was extending his arms to raise the cutting-area of his legs and then he began to spin fast. He picked up speed rapidly by kicking his legs in the same direction that he spun and pushed up with his fingers to keep his momentum going.

"Huoooooaaaah!" Bard shouted throatily. "Rankyaaaaaaku...Orbital TRIP!!!!" From Bard's legs came an explosive wave of power. Rupert the closest to the wide ring of destruction and felt the blade of air ripping through the dense metal of his armor to blast and cut his skin. The rest of the wave traveled upwards at an angle, forming a sort of askew, off-center orbital ring. A Sea King raised its head above the water off the coast and saw a beautiful blue halo of energy right above the throne of the amazed Gretta. Her mouth was hanging open as daintily as a princess' mouth would and her red eyes sparkled.

Bard grabbed the ground hard to stop his legs from spinning, then pushed off and flipped onto his feet. His left arm was down with flexing fingers while his right was raised up to chest level with a curled fist. He hopped from foot to foot, staying on the spry balls of his feet and touched his nose with a huff. I can barely stand right now Bard thought, even sounding dizzy in his mind, but as long as that guy is damaged I can deal with it. This is a fight to the death for him, and if I can show him that I won't die before him, he'll lose heart and mentally concede. Then I can just run around him until his body craps out and declare myself the winner! It's as much a mental game as it is a physical one!

"Mohohohoho..." Rupert chuckled. He pushed himself up by the knees and straightened his body out. His chest had a nasty, bleeding wound on it, but it didn't seem to bother him. He even scratched at it and bloodied his nails when it seemed to itch from the breeze. "Mohohohoho! So you know that, do you? Are you one of them? Did you come here for those after all? You..." Rupert reduced himself to mumbling incoherently and coughing out painful spin after that. Bard was shocked by his endurance and startled by his own. That attack had left his legs steaming with sweat and burning with activity, and he doubted his own ability to deliver another blow like that soon...


"Well ain't this pretty?" Rez asked. His arms were crossed, gunblades draping over his flexed triceps, and the glare from his bandana'd forehead made iron red hot. The Crimson Killers, aged assassins in Rupert's employ, had Rez cornered in the main entrance hall. Rez was within a short dash from the main gate, his ultimate goal of the outside easily in sight, and now that path was impeded by the presence of so many robed killers. Unbeknownst to those fighters, high above behind the rafters of the ceiling, a face came melding out of the stone.

"I hope he can handle all of them" Zan said, observing the odds with and apathetic disposition. He sighed and crawled onto a wooden rafter to kneel and inspect his damage. "I'm still messed up. I can't run, but I can move through the walls okay. My left leg is especially screwed up. At least I have a splint on it, the sooner I get a cast the better. My head still hurts a bit, too. I'm sure that'll clear up. Still, that fight...was bad. I've been out of it for longer than I thought. Without the element of surprise I really can't fight right. I need to stay with these guys and train if I can..." Zan's eyes shot open at that instant.

Is that it? He asked the echos of his mind. That man...Dragon...did he anticipate all this form the start? He knew all along that my hand-to-hand wasn't where it should be, so he sent me out on an exodus to train...well, he's succeeded even my own expectations on the matter. I'll have to work hard with these guys, learn Rokushiki, and go back to the Revolutionaries with my head held up high! Suddenly, with those ambitions in his mind and those dreams so suddenly dreamed up, Zan felt a flood of pride. That feeling when a pirate unearths an amazing treasure on the beaches of a foreign land, the feeling when a marine gets promoted for all his hard work and effort, that feeling that all mes seek when they set out for adventure; that feeling of ROMANCE!!!

Fifteen gunshots in perfect succession. Zan was snapped back into reality through such a loud sound. With those fifteen shots only two assassins were taken down by Rez down way below. Zan observed their movements and compared them to fish in shallow water. Obviously Rez was the lesser fish wile the red-scaled monsters with frayed tails circled around him in the attempt to devour him. They used their numbers while Rez constantly used his genius Duelist Vision to out-plan and outmaneuver his enemies.

They'll split apart Rez thought, staring at the narrow space between two lunging enemies and give me a hole. I'll cut to the right, since his speed will change less, and hopefully make contact. Then I'll at least be out of their corralling motion. To his prediction the assassins moved apart and Rez jumped forward, making a slash to help himself spin around so he would face the group before he even stopped. Then, with his sheer grace and fluidity, he fired several shots into the necks and exposed wrists of his enemies, letting their blood flow and debilitating them without scarring his own pride by shooting their backs.

"Dammit" an assassin cursed. The rest of the battle-capable started moving swiftly again while Rez ran away using short hops and strafing leaps. He led the villains all around and became exhausted in doing so, so he tried to take cover from their weapons behind an ornate stone pillar. He reloaded his guns while he could and when the assassins flanked around his cover he pressed into it and jumped onto it, planting his feet flat on its vertical surface so he could jump away and over their line while slashing at them as he went. His plan worked, yet again, but he miscalculated his trajectory and landed on his shoulder, painfully impacting bone onto stone.

"Grr!" Rez growled with pain. He rolled back to his feet and drew out his blades to parry and deflect the incoming blows. His effortless fighting wasn't upsetting the Killers as much as he had originally planned. He continued weaving between the men, slicing their necks and retreating, until only a handful stood between Rez and the doors. "You guys are getting on my nerves!" Rez growled. He sheathed his gunblades with a stylish spin and reached up for his Hell Tiger.

I've got one bullet in this thing Rez thought. One shot for, what, six guys? Easy. Even if they don't die from the impact they won't be up to chasing me. And, if I aim this right, I can bust down the doors and get into the courtyard to help whoever's fighting. Rez prepared to make his attack with a swinging blast of power, but as he drew his sword out he leaned his body to the side, swung in that direction and suddenly was right at the farthest flank with his enemies lined up for him to hit.

"HUUUAAAAA!!!!" Rez roared. He hammered one in the back of the neck, sending him tumbling away with a fractured chunk of armor. Two more rushed up on him. He blocked their attacks and kicked the legs out from under one of them. Then he made a powerful thrust that caught the assassin right in the chest and threw him against the huge wooden doors. The man was greatly shaken, but after assessing his body he got back on his feet and began attacking with the others.

They don't let up! Rez noticed. He was protecting his body with his sword and his hands with his quick movements and motion. The assassins knew that without proper grip his huge sword would be useless and were aiming to chop off his fingers. They aren't amateurs either. Dammit, they're getting me right where they want me, in a corner. I can't block forever! Rez noticed, apart from the assassins attacking him, a phantasmal figure gliding ever closer with bladed knuckles equipped. It was Zan, he knew in an instant, somehow making his way over despite the damaged leg, to speed up the battle with his own assassination prowess.

"Phantom Surfing" Zan lowed. He came up quick and grabbed an assassin by the throat, stabbing him in the back with his dagger. After a moment of struggle the Crimson-cloaked man fell silent and still to the ground. The others looked at him and leaped away as Zan phased down into the floor.

"No way" one of them said.

"A user?" another observed.

"Concentrate" yet another commanded. "They're still outnumbered, right Gerhart?" Gerhart, the man the commanding soldier turned to, was still. A moment later, slivers of blood came from his mouth slits and as he fell the feint sight of a glaring, shadowy man was seen disappearing literally into the woodwork.

"Eyes forward!" Rez ordered. The assassin foolishly turned to him and got a stern uppercut to his jaw, lifting him off the ground and almost straight to the ceiling with Rez's full-powered arc swing. Rez stepped forward and swung his sword down hard, scattering stone and the remaining three assassins. Zan came up from the floor again and stabbed another while Rez chopped the armor off of one and gave him a mighty powerful stab to the chest.

"Eyes back" an assassin growled. He came in at Rez with blades glaring with light, but just as he came within a desired range of his target he stopped and his eyes shot wide open. Zan was behind, his left leg fused into the stone below and his right arm extended into the back of the assassin.

"Phantom Grip" Zan growled. "I promised Bard not to kill anyone...but who said a little cardiac arrest ever did anyone in?" Zan reached from within the man's body and found the racing heart muscle. He simply touched and sent the man into a panic, forcing his heart to beat even faster and more viciously than before. Then Zan squeezed it hard and started pumping it at a haltingly slow pace. The man lost consciousness and Zan let his hand slip out while he fell to the ground. Rez was astonished and slightly scared.

"Damn" Rez said. "Remind me that you can do that next time I decide to piss you off."

"I won't have time" Zan said, flexing each finger in his hand to get the feeling back in them. "I'll be too bust killing you if you ever really do piss me off. Let's keep going."

"Can you walk?" Rez asked.

"I'm using the floor" Zan explained "as a sort of viscous surface with my powers. I'm half-in, half-out of the the actual floor right now, so I can move by effectively skating my way around with my other good leg."

"I wish I had an ability" Rez sighed, marveling at the wondrous intricacy of Zan's power. Rez took his blade and lodged it between the huge doors, prying them apart and bursting out into the open just as a section of the wall farther away from the doors came crashing apart. While Rez and Zan exited from the proper front doors, Reginald Drakengard came bursting out of the castle by destroying one of its walls.

"KURURURURURU!!!!!" Reginald cackled. "Here I am again!!!"

"Drake!" Rez shouted in surprise.

"Again" Zan began exasperatedly, "why did you nickname him so quickly?"