Ch. 18- My Name is Kin'emon!

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me

Law panted heavily as he lied on the cold, steel floor, looking up at a tall, fair-skinned, lean, yet muscular man with short, black hair, a beard, sideburns, and a pair of sunglasses. From his sideburns on, his facial hair grew, horizontally on his cheek until it grew downwards with a pointed end. He wears a white knee-length coat that has a quilted design on which stops just below the waist, where it becomes plain, along with two black pockets that are situated just above the chest on both sides. For some reason, there seems to be a half-eaten hamburger patty on his left cheek.

His name is Vergo.

"Did you really think he didn't know what was going on?" Vergo asked. "We don't trust Caesar either. Why do you think we went through the trouble of planting Monet here."

Monet chuckled at this.

"So, I hear you're one of the Seven Warlords, these days," Vergo said, mockingly. "Quite a promotion."

"Vergo!" Law barked. "When the fuck did you get here?!"

"Since just now," Vergo answered. "I was spending a little time in Dressrosa and I heard an S.A.D tanker was leaving port, so I hitched a ride here, and it turned out to be the right move."

"How…in the hell…was it…the right move?!" Law asked between pants. "What kinda harm did I do to you to deserve this?! Did you go after Jupiter, too?!"

"Like I said, I just got here," Vergo said. "I haven't seen your little puppy yet. Also, if you had done any, you wouldn't even be breathing right now. You can't hide things from us grownups, Law."

Monet chuckled in agreement.

"In that case," Law said, grabbing his sword, "I'll just have to make you disappear!"

But before he could stand up…Law found himself screaming in pain, causing himself to drop his sword.

"Oh…and one more thing," Vergo said, holding a stalk of bamboo. "Learn your place."

Suddenly, as Vergo clutched the stalk…it turned a shiny black.

THWAK! He struck Law in the back of his head with it, causing a stream of blood to come dripping out of his skull…before he dropped to the floor, again.

"It's Mr. Vergo to you, brat," Vergo hissed.

XXX

Meanwhile, at the lab's front entrance, the blobs of slime are still falling all around the entrance and conjoining into one mass. However, the G-5 Marines didn't appear all that concerned about them…mostly because they too shocked at the sight that lay before them.

"W-what's happening?!"

"I…I dunno!"

"Well, what do we do?!"

"V…VICE-ADMIRAL SMOKER! CAP'N TASHIGI!"

It is revealed that now, Robin, Franky, Tashigi, and Smoker have fallen victim to Caesar's powers, just like Luffy.

"Shulololololo!" Caesar cackled.

"I don't get it! What happened?!" questioned a soldier.

"I dunno!" answered his comrade. "I never thought I'd see Vice-Admiral Smoker knocked out TWICE in one day! What the hell happened to him?!"

"And it's not just him and Tashigi," said another. "Those three Straw Hats went down, too! What did he do?! Use Conqueror's Haki on them?!"

"No way!" shouted one more. "Caesar may have 300 million Berries on his head, but he ain't THAT tough!"

"Well then what was it?!" asked another panicking soldier. "How did he beat them all without even so much as touching them?!"

"Shulololo…!" Caesar snickered while his men began to cheer and applaud him.

"HAHAHAA! In your face, Marines!" shouted a Thoroughbred Centaur.

"Yeah! Witness the power of our almighty god of salvation, Master!" shouted a Pig Centaur.

"And now, my valued and mighty friends," Caesar said, "I want you to tie up these 5! Use sea stone chains on the ones with Devil Fruits! Leave the G-5 soldiers behind and get in the lab, at once! It's much too dangerous for you all out here! You've noticed the strange substance falling from the sky, yes? Have no fear. I will ensure your safety! That is my number one concern!"

"Yes, Master!" Caesar's men shouted in admiration. As they began to tie up Luffy and the others, Caesar watched with a smirk on his face.

"So, it seems the Yeti Cool Brothers failed at their task," he said. "Shulololo…well, it can't be helped. The combination of both Straw Hat and Law was just too much for them, I'm afraid. Shulololololo!"

XXX

Concurrently, at the lake in the middle of Punk Hazard, the large mass of slime is still spitting parts of itself to the other side. Brook is heard coughing for a bit before pulling himself together as smaller blobs surrounded him, Zoro, and the samurai.

"I-it's poison gas!" Brook cried. "If you cut it, it spits out poison gas! YAAAAAH! MY EYES! MY EYES~! Oh, wait…I don't have any. What shall we do, Mister Zoro?!"

"Didn't you just see me try that myself?!" Zoro asked. "Take a hint, you stupid skeleton!"

"I thought, perhaps, you were just unlucky," Brook stated. "Yohoho!'

"Look, they're made of jelly, right?" Zoro asked. "Why don't you try eating one see if you can't digest it."

"ARE YOU DAFT?!" Brook questioned. "How dare you try to bully me into these things, you heathen! I'll have you know I'm at least 70 years older than you!"

"GWAAAAAAAH!" the samurai suddenly screamed out, writhing in agony!

"What the…?!" Zoro questioned in surprised.

"Oh, dear!" Brook cried. "Are you all right?! What seems to be the trouble, Mister Samurai?!"

"My…my torso…!" the samurai answered. "It feels as if it is being pierced by many sharp teeth!"

"What?!" Zoro and Brook questioned.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the lake, Sanji is still swimming in the now poison-infested water. Several fish went belly-up as he continued to swim downward.

'Dammit, it's so cold in here!' he thought. 'I'm really sorry to do this to your body, Nami!'

Just then, he spotted a huge, purple cloud forming within the lake.

'Oh, shit!' he mentally cursed. 'Is that the slime's toxin?! I sure hope that the guy's torso's not in there!'

Sanji grunted as he kept kicking Nami's legs downward…but if he had stopped to look up, he would've seen a shark…swimming with what looked like a torso in between its powerful jaws.

'I've been using my Observation Haki,' Sanji thought, 'but his life signals are probably so faint, I can't tell him apart from the fish!'

But at that moment, he suddenly looked up and spotted the torso inside the shark's mouth!

'Are you FUCKING kidding me?!' he thought before he swam after the shark. 'Oh, no, you don't! Get that outta your mouth, you godforsaken fish!'

XXX

Back on the surface, the samurai had just coughed up blood.

"Oh, no!" Brook cried. "He's spitting up blood! That's not good!"

"Dammit, what the hell is the cook doing?!" Zoro questioned.

But then, as quickly as the samurai had started screaming…he stopped…and he started to breathe easier.

"It…it doesn't hurt anymore…!" he whispered.

"What doesn't?!" Zoro questioned.

XXX

Back in the lake…

'Joue…SHOT!'

KAPOWW! Sanji kicked the shark in the jaw, forcing it to let go of the torso!

'Yes! Got it!' he thought as he grabbed the torso. 'The final piece! The samurai puzzle is complete at last!'

Then, he felt himself starting to tense.

'Dammit…!' he thought. 'Nami's lungs can't handle this! I gotta go up for air, and fast!'

With that, Sanji proceeded to try and swim back up to the surface. The shark attempted to attack him, when suddenly, it found itself covered by the cloud of toxin. Soon, it started going belly-up, too. That's when Sanji saw, to his shock, that the cloud had gotten bigger.

'CRAP!' Sanji thought. 'I've wasted so much time, I got surrounded by the poison! I don't think Nami's body is strong enough to get me outta this! I don't wanna put her under anymore stress, or she and Luffy would freak!'

XXX

"Oh, my!" Brook said, worriedly as the water began to turn a reddish-purple. "Almost the entire surface has been tainted with poison, now! Please do hurry, Mister Sanji!"

XXX

'Blue…WALK!'

With lightning speed, faster than a Fishman, Sanji "kicked" the water, carrying the samurai's torso with him as he tried to get through the cloud of poison with only one opening…and it was closing fast.

'Don't close, don't close, don't close, DO NOT CLOSE!' he thought.

Just when it seemed like he wasn't going to make it…ZABOOSH! He burst through the water, gasping for air!

"OH, DEAR GOD, I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"MISTER SANJI~!" Brook cheered.

"Well, I'll be damned," Zoro muttered, surprised. "Son of a bitch actually got him."

"Oh…!" the samurai whispered as tears began to fall from his eyes. "It's true…!"

After Sanji had managed to catch his breath, he, Zoro, and Brook finally put the samurai's torso together with his head and legs, thus finally making him whole again!

"PRAISE THE HEAVENS ABOVE!" the samurai shouted as tears of joy streaked down his cheeks. "At last…the body that I was born with is back as it should be!"

Upon closer inspection, Brook that the samurai is just about his height.

"My word!" the skeleton said. "You're just about as tall as I am, Sir Samurai!"

"I see," the samurai said. "Forgive my late introduction! My name is Kin'emon! I hail from Kuri, of the Country of Wano!"

He then turned to Sanji, who is shivering violently despite wearing a new coat that Kin'emon had made.

"Eyebrow gentleman," he said. "I wish to know thou name."

"It's…S-S-S-Sanji…!" Sanji said, his teeth chattering. "And who are you calling 'g-g-g-g-gentleman'?! So you get your body back, and all of a s-s-s-s-sudden, you're M-M-M-M-Mister M-M-Manners?!"

Then he stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the samurai.

"I hope you haven't forgotten the countless insults you threw at me when you were a totally helpless severed head!" Sanji shouted.

"I would never!" Kin'emon exclaimed. "I simply CANNOT forget!" He then dropped down on his hands and knees and bowed his head. "I owe you my life! And I will never forget it for as long as I live! I beg your forgiveness for doubting your word up the very instant my torso was returned to me!"

"NOW QUIT THAT BULLSHIT!" Sanji shouted as he forced the samurai to stand. "PULL YOUR HEAD UP, YOU BASTARD! A MAN SHOULDN'T GET ON HIS KNEES AND BEG, DAMMIT!"

"But…if you had not come along, I would have been-" Kin'emon began, but he was soon cut off by Brook.

"Pardon my interruption, Sanji," Brook said, "but I do believe we are in mortal danger, here!"

"What do you mean?!" Sanji asked.

"Well, to put it simply…I do believe we're trapped," Brook replied.

Sanji looked around…and saw HUGE blobs of slime, slithering closer towards them!

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Sanji questioned. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU DUMB-ASSES TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!"

"We tried and it didn't work," Zoro said, picking his nose. "So here we are."

"Precisely," Brook added, also picking his nose.

"YOU COUPLE OF USELESS TURDS!" Sanji shouted. "DON'T BE LIKE LUFFY AND START NONCHALANTLY PICKING YOUR NOSES AT A TIME LIKE THIS!"

"What if we tried burning it?" Kin'emon asked.

"What?" Sanji asked. "Burning it?"

"Where I hail from," Kin'emon began, "I am known by the moniker of 'Foxfire' Kin'emon! My blades burn those they cut! Let us blaze a path and make our escape!"

"Oh! What a brilliant idea!" Brook exclaimed. "Please, do lead the way, samurai chap!"

"…" Zoro just remained quiet, yet intrigued, while Sanji just looked just plain worried.

"H-hold up a minute!" the cook said. "You really think that's such a good idea?!"

"SEYA~!" Kin'emon roared as he used one of his swords to slice one of the blobs. As he did, his blade seemed to ignite into flames on its own. However, in doing so…he cause the slime to combust into a huge explosion!

A pause…but as the dust clear, it is revealed that 4 men had somehow survived the explosion. Also…the blobs are nowhere in sight.

"…Whoa…!" Zoro whispered in surprise.

"The path is open," Kin'emon said. "Wait for me, Momonosuke!"

"Good heavens!" Brook exclaimed. "We're alive, but how?! I could've sworn we were enveloped in that blast!"

"Okay…what the hell happened?!" Sanji asked.

"Yes, it caught me by surprise, as well," Kin'emon said. "I was not really expecting an explosion, but then, I simply cut through the blast, as well!"

"You cut the-?!" Brook started.

"My Foxfire Style slices with flame," Kin'emon said. "However…one of its secret arts is the ability cut through flame, as well! There is no fire that I cannot cut!"

Zoro gasped silently at this. A samurai who can cut through fire? It was unheard of!

"Now then, if you will excuse me," Kin'emon said as he turned to leave, "I must return to the lab and rescue my son!"

"Hold it!" Zoro called, causing the samurai to turn and look at him inquisitively.

"Can I help you?" Kin'emon asked.

A grin played on Zoro's lips as he placed a hand on his swords and said, "I'm curious as to how a samurai fights. So count me in on your little rescue mission."

"EEEEEEEH?!" Brook and Sanji questioned in shock.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Review, please!