*Bows* I'm so sorry! I beg your eternal forgiveness! Final Fantasy: Lightning Returns and One Piece Romance Dawn both came out on Tuesday. Bravely Default came out last Friday and video games, work, and school consumed my life.
I also apologize for the length of this. I typically like my chapters to be about 8k and this one is running a little bit short.
One more chapter until the end of this arc. Thank god! I love Usopp but I am so done with this fight. After the fight we get cute moments between Luffy and Zoro, his own internal reflection, the arrival of Johnny and Yosaku, and the beginnings of jealousy with Sanji. I honestly can't wait!
A big thanks to Shirani-Chan, Jadecraze, ZoLuFanGirl98, Vampirefreak4eterity, and Vampchick2010 for their awesome reviews and continued support.
Jadecraze: I apologize again for worrying you. I SWEAR, I will never abandon you guys. I have had it happen too many times to me and I never want to do that to others.
I apologize again and Onward!
This is not completely my story. Some conversations and parts have been borrowed from other Fem!Luffy and LuffyxZoro fanfictions. However, most of this has been completely redone and rewritten by me. When we get to the Baratie arc and the fight of Luffy vs Kreig it will no longer have bits or ideas from other fanfictions and will be completely my writing.
The authors I have borrowed ideas from are: Pen-Woman, ChemGirl, and Killjou. (If someone thinks I have added some of their story, I apologize for not listing you. PM me and I will add you) Please read the original fanfictions as well. They are brilliantly done and I bow to the authors that wrote them!
Beta reader for Pen-Woman is TheBlackSeaReaper.
One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Defeat Kuro! Usopp's Tear-filled Determination
A terrible silence fell upon the beach. Captain Kuro lay silently on the ground, staring into the sky, his cheek flushed red from Luffy's punch and his lip swollen. The Black Cat Pirates could not believe what had just happened, even though they had seen it happen right in front of them. Their strong and frightening captain had been bitch slapped by the Straw-Hat girl and knocked to the ground like trash. With only one punch she had knocked down Captain Kuro of a thousand plans, and what surprised them the most was that he hadn't seen it coming. No one had ever gotten the drop on Captain Kuro before.
"Did you see that?" One muttered, turning to look at his crew mates.
"Oh man, this is bad... this is very bad." Another said, starting to sweat and others nodded their head in agreement, staring to mutter amongst themselves.
"That Straw-Hat chick just sent Captain Kuro flying."
"She's done it now; Captain Kuro will be even more pissed than before."
Kuro's crew continued to whimper and cry, the straw-hat crew watching them curiously, having no idea how dangerous the Black Cat Captain was when angry. Kuro remained sprawled on the ground, listening quietly to the mutterings of his crew. His glasses were broken and hanging off his face, eyes narrowed into the scariest glare his crew had ever seen, and it was directed at the small girl who had dared to punch him. However, Luffy appeared unaffected by Kuro's dark glare and was instead glaring right back at the man as she cracked her knuckles threateningly. Kaya looked between Luffy and Kuro in utter confusion, completely bewildered by the events that had just happened. She turned away from the stare down when she heard running footsteps and saw Usopp's friends running towards Kuro, each holding a weapon.
"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" They shouted in unison as they brought their weapons down on Kuro's face with a loud bang
"NO, DON'T!" Usopp shouted, heart pounding against his chest. Why were they here?!
"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Kaya yelled too, slightly afraid of what the former butler might do to the kids.
"Say your prayers, pirate!" Pepper said, swinging down a wooden stick at Captain Kuro.
"Take this and take that," Carrot exclaimed as he hit him with a frying pan
"You've made a terrible mistake if you think you can take our village!" Onion was last and swinging around a large shovel.
"NO, YOU GUYS! QUIT IT!" Usopp tried to stop them but they were too preoccupied to listen and he started to sweat because he knew they were making Kuro worse than just pissed. He wasn't the only one that knew either. The Black Cat Pirates were as pale as ghosts as they watched the three stupid kids beat Kuro with kitchen utensils.
"What are those brats doing?!"
"Those rug rats have a death wish," Zoro muttered, staring at the kids in shock.
"I SAID STOP IT, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! STOP!" Usopp yelled again. Finally the kids attacks stopped and they stood over Kuro, gasping in an attempt to catch their breath.
"YES! I think he suffered enough," Pepper exclaimed as he took a moment to gaze at the lifeless ex-butler. Jango gritted his teeth and was nervously sweating bullets.
"They've totally pissed Captain Kuro off now. Those stupid brats!" The hypnotist groaned and Usopp tensed, hearing Jango's quiet mutter.
"Captain!" The three kids rushed to the side of the path where Usopp sat with Kaya, watching them nervously.
"Just as we thought, Captain's fighting them!" Carrot exclaimed, pouting at the older boy.
"Why didn't you tell us the truth?" Pepper asked, feeling slightly hurt.
"Yeah! We're supposed to stick together, Captain." said Onion. So absorbed in their bickering, they missed the deadly look that came to Kuro's face as he watched their interactions.
"I don't care! You guys gotta to get out of here now! Run!" Usopp commanded them, hands clenching into fists against the grass.
"No!" Carrot refused, not budging an inch.
"We'll fight with you!" said Pepper bravely.
"If we ran, we would never forgive ourselves and it'd bring dishonor to the Usopp Pirate crew!" Onion exclaimed, taking a step forward.
They had just shown him that they would do whatever they could to aid their captain with honor and bravery, but their confident feeling ended pretty quickly as a shadow fell across them. A cold shiver went through them as they turned their heads to watch Captain Kuro rise to his feet. Their bravery and honor quickly turned into fear when they saw the cold look on his face and the really scary weapons on his hands. Kuro pushed his glasses up and his frown deepened when the last lens shattered in its frame. He turned his head towards the kids with a dark look that made them scream as they fell back onto their butts, eyes almost seeming to pop out of their heads.
"You morons! Don't scream, just hurry up and get outta here!" Usopp howled at them but Pepper, Onion and Carrot just proceeded to scream some more as Captain Kuro walked towards them. They thought they were going to die but were shocked when he walked calmly past them and made his way to where Usopp was kneeling, bringing a leg back and kicking the injured teen hard in the gut.
"Usopp!" Kaya yelled, eyes widening.
"Captain!" Once Kuro felt satisfied he turned his attention to Straw-Hat Luffy, the she-pirate watching him, her glare still present.
"Not bad... That was a pretty good punch you threw at me there, little girl." He complimented, tone almost sounding sarcastic. His eyes narrowed into a glare and he asked. "You! You possess the power of the Devil's Fruit, don't you?!"
"That's right, I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit," Luffy said with a smirk, taunting the former butler and frightening the Black Cat pirates even more. Their eyes were wide, sweat dripping down their faces, and some even trying to scoot as far away from the girl as they could.
"She ate a Devil Fruit?!"
"That girl is dangerous!"
"Those things actually do exist!"
"That's why she was stretching like that."
"Now that explains everything. She's a Devil Fruit user. So her arms stretching out that far wasn't just me seeing things then." Jango concluded, slight relief in his tone. He had thought he was going crazy for a minute there.
Kuro continued to eye the girl for another minute before calling out to Jango, his eyes never leaving her frame.
"JANGO!"
"Y-yes sir?"
"I will take care of this girl. You take care of Lady Kaya." He brought his hands up and cupped them together, clinking the blades together as he did. "She will write the will as planned..." His fingers spread out, making the tips of the blades form a circle before continuing.
"Then kill her! And the three ants over there... are an eyesore!" Both Kaya and the Usopp pirates flinched and Usopp gritted his teeth in anger, glaring up at Kuro from his place on the ground.
"Understood, Captain." Jango took a few steps forward, starting to make his way up the slope when a sword was leveled in front of his face. Zoro stood in front of him, his back to Kuro, glaring at the hypnotist from under his bandana. He only had the one sword out, the other two having been sheathed during the recent scene.
"Stop!" He muttered. "I won't let you pass me." He knew Usopp wouldn't be able to fight and those kids stood no chance against Jango. That meant Luffy would have to take him on and keep him away from Kaya even though she already had Kuro to deal with. His grip tightened on his sword. Luffy would handle Kuro and he would watch her back like he always did.
"Buchi!" Jango called out and suddenly Buchi appeared in the corner of Zoro's vision, snarling loudly before jumping high into the air.
"Cat-a-Pult Cat-astrophe!"
"That again?!" Zoro snarled, glancing up at the approaching man. He cursed as he dodged to the side, avoiding Buchi's attack. As soon as the large cat-man's feet touched the ground a huge crack appeared under him, the force of the attack causing a powerful earthquake-like tremble. The entire ground began to shift, throwing Zoro off balance and even traveling all the way up to where Usopp lay, tossing the sniper into the wall of the cliff.
The smoke and dirt from the impact thickened, obscuring Zoro's vision and making it difficult for him to find the fat man but he kept himself crouched in a defensive stance. His eyes darted around the areas he could see constantly, looking for any signs of Buchi. A claw shot out of the smoke to Zoro's left and he quickly blocked it with his katana. However, with Buchi being as overpowered as he was, the cat-man was able to push the swordsman back and slam him into the cliff wall. A crack appeared around the two combatants, covering the area in another layer of dust. It quickly began to dissipate, revealing Zoro, his katana still in place and blocking Buchi's claws from shredding him. One foot was planted in the cat-man's face, preventing him from coming any closer to the swordsman. Usopp watched the fight, flinching at the cat-man's new strength. If Zoro hadn't dodged or blocked those two attacks he would've died.
"His power's completely different from before."
Out of the corner of his eye, Usopp saw Jango pass him, making his way slowly up the slope and towards a frozen Kaya.
"Damn!" The long-nosed teen tried to force himself to his knees but the kick from Kuro had seriously injured him. His vision was getting blurry again and he knew that he probably had a concussion and a few broken ribs.
"KAYA!"
'Damn... I have no strength left. Damn... Damn! damn damn damn!' His eyes widened as he thought of an idea.
"USOPP PIRATES!" He shouted, voice cracking as he tried to make his voice heard. Everyone on the slope froze and even the three kids were startled for a second but they quickly shook themselves out of it and sat up straighter.
"Yes, Captain?!"
"Listen to me carefully!" The Usopp Pirate's faces twisted in anger.
"We won't run away." Carrot hissed before Usopp could continue.
"He's gone too far!" agreed Pepper, nodding to the other two boys, who quickly nodded back.
"We will stay and fight!" Onion concluded.
"…Protect Kaya!"
"Huh?" The boys froze, expressions confused. They had not expected this sort of command from their Captain. They had been expecting him to tell them to run like they always did.
"Listen carefully..." He began, coughing slightly as he fought to get air into his bruised lungs. "I will now... give you guys the most... important mission. Get Kaya away from here! Don't say you can't! Because... protecting what we cherish most as men is the reason why we formed this pirate crew!" His words made Pepper, Carrot and Onion tremble, all three on the verge of tears.
Kaya stared down the slope at the injured teen as well, her eyes wide and feeling completely overwhelmed. The idea that Usopp was willing to sacrifice himself to save them, to save her and the boys, she just couldn't believe it.
"Usopp..." she mumbled softly, her own eyes tearing up as she fought back the urge to cry.
"This is... your Captain's order." Usopp smiled softly, his last words barely a whisper as the last of his energy left him and his eyes slid shut.
"Aye! Captain!" They yelled, hands digging into fists against the ground as they screamed before they quickly stood up and made their way over to Kaya. Each one grabbed a piece of her jacket or dress as Onion grabbed her hand and pulled the rich girl to her feet.
"Let's go, Kaya!" Pepper exclaimed.
"Hurry! This way!" said Carrot.
"We'll protect you, Kaya." Onion concluded.
'He sure has got a way with words' Zoro thought, impressed once again by Usopp's courage. 'He made running away sound brave.'
"Let's go to the forest! I know this forest like the back of my hand!" Pepper said, letting of Kaya's jacket to take the lead as Carrot brought up the rear, the three boys half-dragging the girl away from the pirates. Kaya took one last glance back at at Usopp as they moved, her heart pounding with worry at the sight of his unmoving frame and closed eyes.
'Usopp…you keep trying to hide the danger from us. You protect us all by pushing your friends away and fighting the battles by yourself... You truly are a Brave Warrior of the Sea,' she thought proudly, staring at him til she and the kids had disappeared into the woods.
Kuro's eyes slid to the side, having noticed that Jango wasn't moving.
"Jango!"
"Oh shit, I blanked out." The hypnotist pulled out two chakram and started to spin them quickly around his fingers.
"Are you stupid...? You'll never get away from me..." Before Jango could take a step to follow them he was knocked off balance, a metal pinball slamming into the center of his back. Though small, the attack had a lot of strength behind him and was very painful, causing him to stumble forward slightly. He glanced behind him angrily to see Usopp still laying on the ground, holding his slingshot up shakily.
"How's that?" He smirked, infuriating the hypnotist even more.
"You bastard!" Jango hissed, turning to go after the long-nosed teen.
"Hurry up and get them, you idiot!" Kuro yelled, his expression livid, and Jango cringed back from his captain.
"Fine!" The odd hypnotist quickly turned and began to run towards the trees, holding his hat to his head with one hand. He needed to get those brats before he angered his captain any further.
"It's useless... I know exactly how bad Lady Kaya's condition is. She won't be able to escape Jango." Kuro smirked down at the shaking Usopp before turning his eyes towards Luffy, watching calmly as the straw-hat girl began to make her way towards him. "You might want to go after them... If you can walk past this slope that is..." The former butler's grin darkened as he issued his challenge and watched, amused, as Luffy glared heatedly back at him, her fists clenching at her sides.
"Buchi!" The Black Cat Captain snarled, causing everyone's attention to shift back to where the Zoro was still holding the hypnotized cat-man at bay. He had been forced to brace the sword with his other hand and his teeth were clenched in concentration.
"You've already lost to me once," the swordsman hissed, eyes narrowing. "Didn't I tell you not to bother me anymore?!"
Bracing himself back against the cliff wall, Zoro kicked up with the foot not pressed to Buchi's face, catching the fat man in the chin and causing him to stumble back and away from him. Not waiting even a second, the green-haired swordsman pulled out his other two swords and stepped back into his fighting stance before charging Buchi. Before Buchi could even regain his footing after Zoro's kick, the swordsman's Oni Giri attack sliced through his chest dropping the cat-man instantly.
Kuro watched the move, mildly impressed at the swordsman. To beat one of his strongest men was not an easy feat. Luffy didn't even turn as she stopped before Kuro and glared up at the former butler but inside she was cheering.
'Zoro won! Of course... no one can beat my first mate!' She thought, a small grin working its way onto her face.
Behind her, Zoro remained in the finishing stance of his attack, his eyes noticing the sheathes for his katanas in front of him. He flipped the two swords in his hands around before tossing all three into the air and reaching down to grab the sheathes. Completely calm, looking for all the world like he was just staring at the sky, Zoro spread out his arms and looked up. The two black sheathes were held in his left hand and the white sheathe for Wado was in his right hand and before the pirate's eyes, the three swords he had tossed slid perfectly into their sheathes. It was an impossible feat, and most couldn't even believe that it had even happened, even though they had seen it with their own eyes.
A loud crashing noise echoed from the trees and Usopp swung around, the sniper having pushed himself to his knees.
"What… what was that?" He asked, voice shaky from pain and fear. Kuro just smirked as he turned to face the boy again.
"Who knows..." He taunted. "Jango's got them covered, maybe you should take a look for yourself." Kuro's smug expression faded into a dark glare. "However... you may be too late already."
Usopp growled back angrily, glaring at the former butler with an expression of disgust.
"You bastard... You've been living under the same roof for three years... Don't you have any compassion for her?!"
"None. Like I said, Kaya is only part of my plan. After her death, I might then thank her." His tone was as cold as ice and there wasn't a single speck of emotion in his face, as if he was a statue.
"Why you..." Usopp growled.
"This guy is a hopeless bastard." Zoro commented.
"I wasn't planning on showing him mercy anyway!" Luffy hissed from a few feet in front of him before turning her head to look at Usopp.
"Usopp!" She cried, getting the long-nosed teen's attention. "You go after the others. Leave everything here to us." Her grin was almost manic as she glared over at the former butler, already anticipating the fight ahead.
"Leave it to us!" Zoro agreed, resting one arm on the swords hanging at his hip.
Usopp was shocked, his expression disbelieving. He couldn't believe that they were going this far for him, for someone they had only known for a few days. He couldn't express how thankful he was for them, for her. He slowly began to force himself to his feet, body shaking with every movement. He was in so much pain that it was almost impossible to even move but Usopp wouldn't have it. He would make his body listen to him, he would stand up and help his friends, his village, ….Kaya. He would save them all. So he ignored his body's protests and screams as he slowly pushed himself up, cringing and flinching at the pain but still fighting until he was finally standing tall on shaking legs.
Luffy smiled proudly, her heart swelling at her friend's perseverance. Her smile quickly faded when the former butler let out a scoff.
"I'm impressed that you can still move," Kuro muttered bluntly. "Not bad..."
"Shut up! I won't... let you have your way!" Usopp gasped, fighting the shaking of his body, his limbs feeling numb. "You betrayed the villagers and Kaya's feelings! Do you think I would let you just get away with this?!" He tried to take a step towards Kuro, just one small step, but the movement had him recoiling in pain. The sensation felt like his entire leg had shattered just from that small movement and his shaking became worse. With a pained groan he fell back onto the ground, unable to even move this time.
"Usopp!" Luffy exclaimed, her eyes widening with worry. She wasn't the only one either, Zoro had taken a small step towards the sniper when he fell. In his mind Usopp had more than proven himself worthy of being one of their crew mates and Zoro protected his nakama. As Luffy's first mate it was his job to not only watch over her but also to help her protect their crew and he quickly started to think of a way that he could get Usopp to Kaya.
"Damn... I can't move a limb. It hurts..." Usopp mumbled, angry at himself. Kuro began to chuckle at the sight before him, at the tenacity of the sad and feeble boy. His chuckle quickly turned into a loud laugh.
"You really amuse me. I, betrayed them? Are you kidding me?" Almost immediately, Kuro's mood changed and he was suddenly glaring down at the sniper again. "Everything was planned. This isn't some sort of pirate game, where you go around pretending to be the captain!"
Luffy was biting her lower lip in an effort to keep her mouth shut as she listened to Kuro's speech. She wanted to scream at him, to yell and knock him to the ground. She would make him take back every word. But she held herself back. She had been watching Usopp and she knew the look in his eyes. She knew the long-nosed teen had something to say to the former butler and she would let the sniper say his peace before she beat his ass.
"So just stay put and don't move. Well, even if you did manage to get back up, you're no match for Jango. You'd be much safer here." Kuro pushed up his glasses, snickering slightly but froze when Usopp began to talk quietly.
"Even if I can't…even if I can't, I want to protect... I still want to protect them. For I am the Captain of the Usopp Pirates!" Usopp's eyes began to tear up behind his goggles as his voice grew louder and louder. "I am a Brave Warrior of the Sea! I will protect everyone in this village even if it kills me! ON MY WORD, YOU WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THAT VILLAGE!" His cry echoed through the cliffs, slamming into everyone around him and causing Luffy to clutch at her vest, her hand covering her heart. She and Zoro were astonished at the bravery that Usopp showed. Even in his pitiful state he was still fighting, however, the Black Cat Pirates didn't appear to be as impressed as the Straw Hats.
"What's he up to?"
"What's he yelling for?"
"Yeah look, he's cryin'!" As if a switch had been thrown, the entire group of pirates began to laugh, thinking that the long-nosed teen was just a stupid whiny kid. Some were even holding their sides as they continued to laugh. Who did that kid think he was anyway?!
Luffy tensed at the sound and glanced over her shoulder at the pirates, expression completely livid. She was absolutely furious and the look on her face was even scarier than Zoro's darkest glare.
As the pirates continued to laugh, a large shadow appeared above them and many stopped and glanced up, their eyes widening in horror at the sight of a giant boulder coming straight at them. It slammed into the group, sending many of the pirates scrabbling to the sides, and knocking a few more unconscious again.
"What's so funny?!" Luffy hissed, her tone as cold as ice as she stared down at them from her place at the top of the hill, dusting her hands off. The large gap on the cliff next to her proved that she had been the one to throw the giant rock at them. "If you don't stop laughing right this minute, I'll make you myself." The pirates who were still awake cringed back from her frightening look, and she nodded with satisfaction.
"Luffy!" Zoro shouted, turning the angry raven-haired girl's attention back to her first mate. She quirked an eyebrow as the swordsman ran over to Usopp and lifted the injured sniper up, draping him over one shoulder carefully before continuing.
"I'll take Usopp and go after the hypnotist. Any problems?"
"Nope! Get goin'"
"Sorry... thank you," Usopp sighed, glancing over at the scowling swordsman.
"It would've been faster if I'd gone alone, but without your help through the forest, I won't be able to find them."
"Bu-..." Usopp began, turning his head to look at Luffy behind him. He knew that the swordsman cared for Luffy and if it was like the Nyaban brothers had said and Zoro loved her like he loved Kaya then he knew Zoro wanted to stay by her side. Usopp couldn't imagine ever leaving Kaya behind to face something alone.
"She'll be fine," Zoro chuckled, as if sensing Usopp's thoughts. "You don't know my Captain. If she tells us to go then I trust that she has this under control. She won't lose to this asshole." Zoro glared at Kuro as he made his way calmly past the other man, eyes narrowing as the former butler spoke.
"Hey you, who gave you permission to get past this slope?"
"I did!" Kuro turned just in time to see a fist shoot out, aimed straight at his head, and he quickly jumped back to avoid it, giving Zoro an opening to escape.
"Usopp. Zoro! Go!" She called, grinning at them from under her hat. Zoro nodded back at her silently, a wordless thank you, and Luffy saw the silent 'good luck' in his eyes before the two of them disappeared into the woods. Once they was out of sight, she shot forward, firing another punch at Kuro who vanished in front of her. She shot past his former location, skidding to a halt, sensing the butler reappearing behind her. He swung his claws at her and she quickly flipped herself back, avoiding his weapon. The dodge allowed her to transition into a handstand and she used it to launch another attack
"Gum Gum Spear!" She pressed the soles of her feet together before and shot them at the other pirate. The attack was launched right at Kuro's face but he had already disappeared again. She frowned in annoyance, that move was really starting to get annoying.
"Damn, he vanished again. Ah well, at least Zoro and Usopp got past." The raven-haired girl sighed, doing a partial cartwheel to flip herself back onto her feet. Kuro reappeared in front of her, only a few feet away, a questioning expression on his face as he stared at the she-pirate. She was an enigma to him. The girl had no stake in the outcome of this fight, there was no reason for her to be risking her life and yet, here she was in front of him, prepared to fight him to the death.
"Before we fight, I'd like to ask one thing. As an outsider, why are you getting yourself involved?" he asked, honestly wanting to know her reasoning. His brow quirked when the straw-hat girl just smirked at him.
"Because there's a man who lives here that I don't want to see dead."
"That's it, that's your reason?" Kuro wasn't sure he had heard right. She was risking her life just because she didn't want to see one person die. "Are you willing to die for that reason alone?" Luffy frowned at him, her brow furrowing slightly before a smile quickly reappeared on her face.
"It's fine, but I'm not going to die!" She chuckled, placing her hands on her hips and nodding to herself.
"We'll see about that," Kuro snarled, stepping back into a fighting stance, bringing his claws up and crossing them together. Luffy readied herself as well, waiting for the former butler to make the first move.
"Die." True to what she thought, Kuro made the first move, charging towards the girl with his blades outstretched.
"No way!" Luffy yelled throwing her hands forward and placing them on Kuro's arms, before jumping into the air and launching herself forward. She brought her feet up, intending to slam them into Kuro's head but the pirate saw through her plan and crossed his arms before turning 180 and using her own momentum to slam her hard into the ground.
Luffy just grinned, snapping her hands back to their original position before rolling to her knees. The she-pirate quickly balanced herself on one hand and moved straight into another attack.
"Gum Gum Leg Sweeper!" She shouted, swinging out with one leg, a move that Kuro easily dodged. "And... Pistol!" Still in the midst of the first attack she launched her free hand out in an attempt to catch the ex-butler off guard. For a second it looked like the punch would connect but, like before, he was gone as soon as the attack made contact. Luffy gritted her teeth.
'Damn it... stop moving, you jerk!' Her eyes widened in shock when Kuro reappeared, balancing lightly on her outstretched arm and pushing up his glasses distractedly.
"I'm getting bored," he sighed, appearing unimpressed.
"You bastard!" Luffy pulled back on her arm, trying to retract it so she could launch another attack, and as she did, Kuro began to run towards her, still balanced on her arm. Before she could even put up any sort of defense, Kuro's foot shot out and connected with her face, knocking the raven-haired girl off her feet and sending her slamming into the ground. She rolled a few feet before sliding to a stop.
"Damn," Luffy muttered, pushing herself to her knees. "My mouth got cut." She wiped lightly at the cut on her face, smearing the small trail of blood across her chin.
At the beach, the remainder of the Black Cat pirates watched the fight going on in front of them with varying degrees of shock and awe. The displays of strength they were witnessing from their Captain and the small girl. They couldn't believe that the straw hat girl who had been giving them such a hard time was being easily pushed back by Kuro.
"That straw hat chick is definitely strong but..." One of the pirates trailed off as another started speaking.
"Th... That's Captain Kuro!"
They started to chant his name, cheering him on, smiles on their faces and fists pumping in the air.
"Kill him!"
"Go Captain Kuro!"
"Don't call me by that name!" Kuro shouted, glaring down at the men on the beach, a vein of anger appearing on his forehead. He quickly pushed up his glasses before sweeping his claws towards the men. The crew fell silent and stared at their captain in confusion.
"You still don't get it, do you?" the look on his face was dark, expression twisted into a look of fury, as if he was repulsed to hear his own name.
"You idiots, the only reason I devised this plan was so I could be rid of the name, Captain Kuro!" Luffy stared up at the former butler, surprised, her mouth down-turned in a confused frown. She had never heard of someone who wanted to erase their own name, was it even possible?
"I've had enough… enough of the days when I had to plan everything for you guys, you who only knew how to cause mayhem and destruction! Enough of being chased by the government Marines and bounty hunters just after the reward! I can't take it anymore!" His tone grew louder and louder until he was practically screaming at them, mind recalling the day when he had decided to erase his name for good.
"What, do you think I wanted to return to pirating?!" He scoffed and shook his head.
"Why do you think I killed all the marines on that warship but one? Why do you think I let Jango hypnotize one of my men to impersonate me and left him in the hands of the one remaining marine? All of this was so I could rid myself of the name 'Captain Kuro' forever."
His plan had been foolproof and the first part had gone off without a hitch. The marines had executed the crew member he had hypnotized, leaving the world thinking that the infamous Captain Kuro was dead. Allowing him to finish out the rest of his plan without having to constantly look over his shoulder.
"And so, once today's plan succeeds, I will have achieved my goal. I will have money and a peaceful life." Kuro's expression was still furious as he turned to gaze down at Luffy, who was watching him with an unreadable expression.
"Do you understand now, little girl? I will not allow this perfect plan that had been years in the making to fail! My plan never fails!" He raised his cat claws up and took a step towards her, preparing his next attack. I will not be thwarted by a little bitch like you!" He shouted the last words as he began to charge her again. he shouted as he charged at her again. Luffy's eyes widened and she quickly turned and stretched her arms, grabbing a large boulder nearby, a plan forming in her mind.
As Kuro neared the raven-haired girl he extended his right arm forward , claws pointed to stab straight into her heart. Before the former butler could reach her, Luffy lifted the boulder and slammed it in front of her, using it as a shield and making Kuro stab his claws into it instead of her.
"It seems you can do more than just stretch yourself," He growled, grudgingly impressed at the girl's strength, a vein appearing on his forehead. The Straw-Hat girl was just too stubborn to die.
"Of course, I've been training to be a pirate!" Luffy twisted the boulder in her hold and yanked it away from Kuro, causing the 5 claws stuck in it to break and throwing Kuro off balance.
"You can't take it anymore, you say?" she asked, a mad grin coming to her face.
"If you're so afraid of the fame on the sea, then you're not qualified to be a pirate!" Luffy lifted the boulder above her head and twisted before slamming it into Kuro's face. The momentum of the boulder knocked the ex-butler into the ground, the attack so powerful it caused an indent in the ground beneath him.
"If you wanna compare ambitions... MINE IS FAR GREATER THAN YOUR STUPID PLAN!" Her eyes flashed with anger as she grinned down at the man confidently. She would show Kuro the true meaning of being a pirate. She would kick his ass for what he did to Usopp, to Kaya, and for disrespecting the dream she had chased for so long. He didn't want to be a pirate? Then she would make sure that he could never be anything!
I'm not as happy with this chapter as I have been with the last few but it turned out ok for it being the middle of the night and me having a massive headache. I promise to put aside my video games and focus completely on the next chapter as penance for you guys so please don't kill me!
Next chapter is the final fight, and a bit of a funny and embarrassing aftermath so...
Till next chapter!