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.


Bard ducked down and leaned in, following his head in with his arm cocked tight against his side. He threw a short punch up and stopped his arm, finishing the uppercut without connecting with a quick twist of his hips. Rock dodged with a quick shift to the side and jabbed Bard in the jaw. A dreadful hit. Bard was momentarily off balance and jumped back to plant his feet again.

Gotta avoid those Bard thought. If I lose my balance he can screw me up royally!

"Alright!" Bard shouted. He pointed his flat hand at Rock, the preparation for the Samekawa-ken, but his other hand, his guarding fist, became flat and bobbing as well near his head. "Shark FRENZY!!!" Bard rushed in, both hands jabbing, stabbing, chopping away, eponymous to their namesake. Rock brought his thick, strong arms up and blocked what he could, pushing his way inside Bard's attack and pushing his arms away as they swam in to bite at his guard. Still, doing only what he could, Rock was exposed and forced onto the defense while Bard continued attacking relentlessly.

"I can't believe it" the village mayor declared. He moved through the crowd and confronted Mrs. Samekawa, who had chewed through several clothes in her fit of nerves. She was now working on some leather, gnawing and pulling at it in her masticated grip while she watched her son fight. "Is it true? Has he learned this from his late father?"

"It seems so" she answered. "The entries Bard read were mostly research notes on shark feeding habits. I read them just yesterday when he went to bed. What worries me more is the explanation that Balon wrote in his book about this style of his."

"What was it?" he asked.

"He didn't" she answered. "In fact, the only reference to a martial was in a margin note." She recalled it expertly. Balon had written, beside meticulous, near photographic sketches of sharks and their musculature, and all the paragraphs of notes on their movement, physical function and all that encompassed his research notes, 'Taking all this would make for a pretty badass martial art style! Shark-fist, or something!' That was it. "How Bard managed to construct an entire style from just that, well, I can't tell whether I should be proud or afraid."

Bard stepped forward and ducked his shoulder forward. His flat fist swam through the air in a curving meander that eventually found Rock's iron-strength neck and left a four-finger impression in the skin. Rock had his arm ready to block it, but somehow he never got the chance and received the blow with a stagger away before pushing forward in offense. Bard kept his arms swimming through the air, across waves of motion that only he could read, and managed to deflect all of Rock's light-speed, rock-shattering punches by placing his open palms on his forearms and redirecting them away from his body.

Rock retreated with long-measured hops, keeping up his guard. Bard intercepted him with a straight dash, reading his movement patterns and stopping him in mid-step. Bard was profiling, his right side to Rock's front. He pushed forward with his left leg and jabbed his elbow right into Rock's solar plexus. It was rock solid and he didn't budge. Then Bard repositioned his legs in a lunge, keeping his elbow straight into Rock's skin. Then he pounded his arm up. His fist was right under Rock's cleft chin, and the attack became obvious.

"I never stopped using the style!" Bard announced. He opened his palm, folded his fingers in and aimed it up, ready to drive into the angular chin of the boxer. Then training kicked in. Officially, a clinch can be used to stop both boxers from throwing punches, offering a moment of rest. In this case, a clinch wouldn't stop the match and force a separation, but it would save him just enough face to prevent an open-palm uppercut from the wildly powerful young man. Rock's arms came around Bard's back with a dreadful pressure and pressed him hard into Rock's body.

"Just try it" Rock said, squeezing and crouching. He was about to let go and retreat when Bard grinned right up at him. He was trying to laugh but Rock's suppression was too great for his chest to move and let out the chuckles. Bard let his lower half drop to Rock's impressive hold. All his weight was in the boxer's arms now and his legs were free.

His legs were free. Rock was too wrapped up in his boxing skills to remember that legs counted as weapons the same as fists. Bard delivered consecutive, powerful sweeping knees to both of Rock's towering shins. Rock let go, Bard stomped his feet down, kept his arm as tense as it could get, and shot up. He straightened his arm out, keeping his elbow from locking or buckling until he was clear of anything to injure it, and gave Rock an uppercut that lifted him from the ground. Bard then faded back and jabbed Rock with three rapid Shark Attacks, quick powerful jabs powered through his back and hips, before he even hit the ground. Bard then dashed away with his arms up to guard. Rock threw a punch and danced foot-over-foot backwards, trying to regain his dizzied mind.

Got him! Bard thought triumphantly. He's done for! No matter how strong someone is, a blow to the jaw will rattle the brain inside the skull and force them off their balance! A headache is the least of his problems now! Bard ran forward, pumping his arms, pounding his feet, and jumped into the air with a roar.

"BARD KICK!!!" With both feet pressed together he flew towards Rock and gave him a powerful drop-kick right to the throat. Rock's throat bent. The blow went through his skin, muscle, and impacted his trachea like it was nothing. Like his neck wasn't strong enough to buckle an iron rod slammed against it like he knew it was. Bard lengthened the kick by arching his back and throwing his arms straight up above his head. The backs of his wrists nearly touched as every muscle in his body flexed. Rock flew back, tumbled over his back and recovered coughing on his hands and knees. Bard landed in his Shark Frenzy pose, ready to continue, while everyone watched with hugely distended jaws. Mrs. Samekawa accidentally swallowed a chunk of leather and massaged her throat to get it out.


Damn Rock thought. All my boxing skills are useless here! His arms and upper body are just as powerful as mine but I still have the superior skill. If this were a match, an official boxing ring with a ref and everything, I'd already have won. But that's not it. This is completely open Martial Arts. Of all the opponents I've face before him none of them got a chance to use their feet. I didn't let them. But this man....he's otherworldly. His power, his endurance. I'm not fighting an ordinary man! Rock finally recovered and spat his fatigue onto the ground. The waves were crashing harder and harder against the salty stone harbor and the wind was blowing stronger, passing over his short hair and bustling Bard's head of gold like waves of hearty grain.

"Tell me again" Rock called. "What is that style of yours called?"

"Samekawa-ken" Bard announced "because I'm Bard D. Samekawa!"

Just vanity, eh? The Marines all thought. The villagers didn't even think. They didn't care anymore. What they cared about was the result, which still seemed hours away. Thankfully, for them, the adamant tenacity of both fighters had reached a summit, and through an event only explainable through synchronicity, they attacked with killing intent. Both rushed forward, stopped an inch from each other and wound their strongest hooks. No defense, just punches. They caught each other on the side of their necks, temporarily stunning and jolting their bodies. Rock recovered first but was left in shock as to how tender his neck seemed to be already. Bard recovered the same time he came out of his wonderment and repeated, winding back his other arm for a similar punch from the ground-up. Rock did the same, but Bard kept dipping his right shoulder down toward the ground until he rolled his left leg all the way up and kicked Rock's fist with the side of his calf muscle. Bard then rolled away while Rock's arm kept spinning around.

He stopped it and shook his fist, then guarded the incoming Shark Frenzy. Bard's rush was slower and less powerful than the first time. Rock had memorized the previous force, the biting pain, the ripping force of Bard's hits. When one connected he no longer felt the dread of pain that he got before. It was no longer like staring down the open, hungry maws of a school of vicious sharks, but rather like watching a man jab with rigid fingers imitating daggers. That's when his keener senses picked up the feint. He brought one leg up in a half-effort knee-jab and blocked Bard's powerful knee jab. Their kneecaps met, but Bard's was straight on. He hit Rock's knee at an angle with force enough to move it from its center. Rock fell down and Bard hopped back. He hopped around for a moment before deciding his best course of action was to win!

Bard rushed in with a knee straight to Rock's face and continued with his feet planted. He punched viciously, twisting his hips with each strike, powering through hit after hit, clasping both hands together and bringing them through Rock's face with the power of a mace. Then he swung his arms up as if they were on loose chains, obeying only the laws of motion that Bard's muscular body managed to manipulate, and crashed his hands on top of Rock's hard head. A splintering crack of Rock's teeth hitting against each other sounded out and Bard retreated, staying on guard, his fists tight and his arms loose. Rock was shaking and still. He brought a hand to his unwell knee and, with the strength of a single finger, he popped the stray bone back into place and rose up with a natural uppercut carrying him.

"Good job" Rock said, turning to Bard. "Now I have to make sure you can never fight again." Rock squared his feet and shoulders against Bard and pounded his knuckles together. A loud bang, like a gunshot, shook through the air. Bard ignored it and high-kicked himself into a spin, landing back in his calm but guarded hopping. Rock struck a pose, much like Bard's. He had his fists clenched together and wrung his fingers in and out of the tight knots. One arm, his left, was farther forward, aimed at Bard with a relaxed bend in the elbow. The other was cocked to his side, wound for an attack. He stepped back with his right arm, the same side as his cocked arm, and stood with a profile stance aimed at Bard.

"You gonna try fighting for real now?" Bard asked. Rock grinned. His thin lips spread past his bruises and his thick brows furrowed his narrow, squinting eyes into slits glaring out visible hostility. Burning fires of glittering light that met with Bard's deep, wide, reflective panels of white around his eager, fierce black pupils. "Good" Bard said, receiving his answer. "I was getting bored doing all the work!" Bard and Rock rushed at each other. Style was abandoned for pure power and rigid natural guard. Bard came in sliding with a strong leg blocking Rock's powerful amateur kick then lurched forward to power an arching punch at Rock's face. Rock brought his arms up and caught Bard's arm by the wrist, pressing it together with his powerful forearms with the intent to break. Bard pulled himself up and delivered two powerful knee jabs into Rock's gut, forcing him back. Then he stomped forward and punched him right in his unguarded, tender abs.

Rock brought his offense back with a flat kick to Bard's stomach, which pushed him back without delivering much force. Rock then rushed in, using his well-groomed footwork to speed himself up and kicked once more, this time twisting his foot as he turned his torso away, powering his attack further and forcing Bard to recover with a quick backflip. Bard got to his feet and guarded against the next major rush. Rock was punching in full swings, powering his fists from shoulder out, from neck to foot level, swinging with breaking force each time. Bard kicked one of his punches so it hit on the solid ground, then stomped to the side and brought his arm around for a powerful elbow spike to the exposed pit of Rock's elbow. The blow sent a paralytic shock through all of Rock's body and left him wide open for an open-palm uppercut that sent him flying again. This time, instead of simply little jabs, Bard grabbed Rock just before he was out of reach by the collar bone. His fingers sank down into the taught skin and forced the boy unexpectedly back to the ground for a powerful, roaring headbutt! Right to his hard, bony nose, which bent down flat against his upper lip and snorted blood as he fell backwards to pant.

Bard stepped back and struck his fighting pose, ready to continue.

"Get up" Bard demanded. Rock just breathed and spat. "Get up!" Bard demanded again. Rock grabbed out for a rope or a hand or something, but just found himself gripping the air. "Come on!" Bard roared. "Get the hell up! We're not done! You can move, so you can fight! Now FIGHT!" Rock snapped, wound back his reaching arm and punched himself up.

Bard could feel the unblockable attack coming his way and braced himself as hard as he could to receive it. A counter headbutt right to his chest, just beneath his throat, barely missing his neck and creaking his sternum and ribs together. Rock was powered through so much with his recover that he had to recover his balance after three whole steps. Now, with trails of blood going down his mouth, Rock stood and slowly rushed forward, taking small but sure steps towards Bard, who had troubled breath.

Oh damn! Bard thought. Maybe I provoked him too much!


Rock blasted forward. He through straight punch after punch for Bard's face. Bard weaved under the blows until his butt hit the ground. Then he kicked away, rolled back onto his hands and spun himself around with his strong arms in a rotating kick. His legs powered through Rock's guard but they were still low enough for Rock to block with his own legs. He was learning, little by little, how to fight with his lower half, untrained as it was for such power and work. He brought up a leg, stopped the attack, and kicked at Bard to get him back up. Bard saulted over onto his feet and jumped forward with a punch. It landed center chest. Rock flexed his pecs and forced Bard's fist off, then jabbed with his left and hooked with his right.

Bard ducked and leaned away, keeping his footing static while he tried to read Rock's offense. Rock brought both his hands back and shrunk down slightly. Bard brought his arms up to guard his face and leaned back, taking a step away and thrusting his leg up. Rock kicked right into Bard's guard, leaving him open. Bard stomped his leg back down and thrust a steady fist and tense arm into Rock's abs. They were more and more tender and vulnerable each time Bard hit them, and this time Rock gave a visible and audible wince to the pain. They retreated from each other and then simultaneously dashed forward in a circle strafe. Bard ran right, Rock ran right. They stopped, reset and ran left at each other. They retreated, paced towards each other, repeated their circling and jumped away again. Bard was getting frustrated.

"DAMN YOU!" he shouted with a fanged maw. "Either come at me or break yourself in half! I don't have all the time in the world to beat your ass!"

"Hmph" Rock sighed. He dashed straight forward at Bard. Bard backpedaled away and kept up his guard. Rock caught up with him, his trained boxer steps giving him the advantage as he shifted his hips and hopped straight with sideways movements, and he punched, throwing all his weight into his hand which was curled into an iron balled fist. Bard left the ground and blocked it with both arms. His arms hit against him hard and he was thrown backwards, hovering just over the ground, from the force of the blow. For the first time the fighters ran close to the border of their ring, the outer edge of the crowd where the Marines stood guard. Bard began running forward and grabbed Rock's next punch with both hands. Rock's arm went back to its position on its own and Bard let it pull him in to his range for a headbutt. As Rock stepped back Bard followed up with two knee thrusts to his gut followed by stomps as he walked forward. Then two punches to each shoulder which profiled Rock and set him up perfectly for a kick. Bard hopped into position, wound up a powerful high kick and launched.

"RAGH!" he roared. "Bard KICK!!!" Rock uppercut Bard's leg and hyper-extended it from his thigh. Bard nearly squealed in the pain and grit his teeth hard with reflexive tears in his eyes. Rock slid his body to the side, his legs positioned wide, and rushed in without fear. He punched away at Bard's fully exposed chest and abdomen, then wound up a tremendous punch to Bard's face. He stepped in, delivered, and promptly chased after the boy who bounced across the hard harbor surface. For once the crowd was moved in sympathetic pain. Bard didn't recover on his own. Rock had punted him square in the gut to get him up, and even then Bard's defense seemed to waver and wane as his leg had given out from nearly popping out of joint.

Gah! Damn! Bard thought. I didn't think he still had his guard up! I was moving him around, and suddenly, his fist came out of nowhere! Then suddenly, Rock's fist came from his extending arm and swung straight for Bard. Bard deflected it, feeling a twinge of pain in his arm as he pushed the strong arm to the side, and he leaned in to punch again. Rock just took it to his shoulder and smiled.

"Without your legs" Rock said, grabbing Bard's extended arm, "your punching power is negated. You can't beat me anymore, kid." Rock took Bard's arm and, with a display of immense strength, yanked it from its shoulder joint. A perfect, seamless, powerful dislocation. Bard howled with pain and sank down, but not before receiving a muting knee to his stomach and a clinch and push away. Bard stumbled over himself and fell to his side, holding his numb, dangling arm and twitching his spasmodic leg with grief echoing in his voice. His entire village watched in sheer anticipation and dread.

'He's lost?' 'I can't believe it!' 'All that hype for this?' 'He's done already?' 'I can't believe it's over....' The village was in a quite state of fearful awe. Mrs. Samekawa had bit and chewed through a piece of battleship lumber, which was naturally hard enough to resist long-range cannon fire, as she watched her only son struggle and groan in intense pain.

"Poor Bard!" the village mayor cried. "That poor, poor boy!"

"It's okay" Mrs. Samekawa said, drawing the surrounding attention. "Bard's a strong enough boy to take a loss every now and then...." Despite the calm, elegant smile on her face, tears formed from her eyes. "He's a good boy. He wouldn't get angry over this. I'm so proud of him already...." Just then Bard rolled onto his knees, used his good arm to set his limp, dislocated arm agsint the ground, and he pushed his entire back and shoulder down. A blast sounded out, like a gun being fired, and Bard's joint was back in place. His fingers all wrung in order and a tight fist was clenched. He grit his teeth and pushed up to his feet, then shifted all his weight with a swing of his arms over his head onto his extended leg which popped back into place as well. Now he was better and ready to fight with a serious, demonic scowl on his face.

"Eh?" Mrs. Samekawa chirped. Her village turned back to the ring where Bard stood. Even Rock was dumbfounded at his recovery.


"You reset your shoulder" he said in awe "and your leg? Aren't you in excruciating pain?" Bard walked forward. Rock's feet were frozen in place. All he could do was lean away in utter amazement at Bard's superior tenacity and power. Bard smirked and scoffed with a tilt of his head. Then he swung his arm. His fist grazed across Rock's lip and cut it. Bard spun around with his back facing Rock's chest, flexed his bulging, iron-hide lateral muscles, took a step between Rock's legs and roared.

"Shark RAM!!!" Bard exploded backwards with his arms in front, flexing his back, and his legs pushing the ground from beneath him. His back slammed into Rock's chests and immediately fractured his ribs. Rock flew away and tumbled over onto his back with his legs high in the air. Bard spun around and chased, catching both his legs before the fell and slung them over his shoulder. He then carried Rock like a sack of timber and threw him over his shoulder and onto his stomach where he howled with pain. Bard grabbed him by the short hair of his neck, reeled him up to his feel, spun him around and took a long, careful breath as his flat palms swam through the air. Rock tried to move his arms up but the first hit was a crippling one. Bard attacked with the ferocity of a shark, stabbing at each of his fractured ribs until he heard one of them break.

"NOW!!!" Bard roared.

"Stop him!" Mars ordered. Bard had both fists wound far back. Rock was already falling forward to his knees, the pain against his lungs and heart too much for him to stay awake for, the match already over. The Marines rushed in with shackles and guns for self-defense, although they didn't believe that simple guns would defend them well against this monster of a young man.

"Samekawa-Ken!" Bard wound his arms back, far back, both ready to fire at the same instant. Rock continued to fall forward, toward the inevitable blast of power.

"Bard! Stop!" Mrs. Samekawa called, her voice reaching above the crashing waves and whipping winds. Bard growled. His eyes sank into mad circles. His back and chest both exploded with great force. The strings of his muscles all flexed and pulled in perfect tune, sounding out the great symphonic majesty of a powerful body working perfectly, and both his fists met against Rock's now cracked sternum and threw him into a line of Marines who toppled over his weight.

"WHALE SHARK ATTACK!!!!" That was the attack that won Bard the strongest title, recognized by a panel of superior Marine captains, all of which were brought in to detain the triumphant, happily grinning boy to the ground and check Rock's vital status.

"He's alright" one of the captain's called. "He's got a lot of broken bones, but he's alright. You can let him go." Mars and his fellow captain got up and brushed their sleeves in the wind.

"Looks like a gale" Mars said. He grabbed Bard's arm and thrust it up. "Alright! I hereby declare, with the power vested in me by the Marine Headquarters and Mariejois, Bard D. Samekawa the winner! Congratulations!" Bard jumped up on his own and flexed his arms in victory while the Marines cleared out in the coming storm and the villagers ran back to the inland to brace their homes and shelters for the storm as they always had. Only a few were left. Mrs. Samekawa, who walked through the crowd to her son, a sleeping Araly who had curled up on the ground since she was moved from the ship-side bleachers, her brother and mother and the village mayor.

"Ahhh, Balon" he sighed. "You've left us a powder-keg, it seems. I hope he can find some solace and stability on his own on the Grand Line...."

"Good job Bard" Mrs. Samekawa said, patting Bard on the shoulder in the heavy wind.

"Ah, that was fun" Bard said, placing his deep-red knuckles on his hips and pulling them away, shocked at the pain of his tender, nearly bleeding hands. "I overdid it in the end, but I overdid it with style!" Bard stood heroically against the wind, with his hands on his hips, until his stomach growled and he slumped over his gut with a calming palm rubbing down his abs. "I'm hungry."

"I can take care of that" his mother said, leading him with a pull on his arm back home. They walked through the stormy weather together, a family victorious and feared. Bard's muscles were still so taught and hot from the hours of fighting that once the rain started he was surrounded in steam. His mother, meanwhile, carefully bit her lip as she walked and kept her head low as they went through the village to their forest-path to home. Her mind couldn't leave certain things alone, things such as her beloved husband and the son he had left behind. And the power they both had...