Ch. 26- G-5 Commander 'Bamboo Demon' Vergo

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Aika, Kumi, and Jupiter © Me

In the connecting hallway between Buildings A and B, Brownbeard is running through the corridor while the Straw Hats and Kin'emon on his back.

"I can't believe he sacrificed his own lab, just to get that inside!" Brownbeard said.

"We can't just assume we're safe just because we made it this time," Zoro advised. "Hurry it up, Brownbeard!"

"Wait a minute!" Brownbeard shouted. "Since when you did you ALL get on my back?! No wonder it's starting to get heavy!"

"Forgive us," Zoro said. "You'll have to bear our weight for now. There's just no other option!"

"…We're all sick and tired of running," the Straw Hats said.

"THAT'S A HORRIBLE REASON!" shouted Brownbeard. "GET OFF ME!"

"You said your name was Brownbeard, correct?" Kin'emon asked. "It pains me to ask this of you, but I wish to save my son, Momonosuke, and we haven't a moment to waste! And after all that running, I'm too tired to do it myself!"

"I SAID GET OFF ME, YOU INGRATES!" Brownbeard wheezed as he kept running.

Soon, everyone started to take off their coats.

"Now that we're inside, there's pretty much no need for these coats," Zoro said as he took his off. "It's almost too hot for them."

"You never know if it might get cold again, though," Robin said.

"Let's just hang them up here, for now," Usopp said as he took off his coat and hung it on Brownbeard's back.

"MY BACK IS NOT A LOUNGE!" Brownbeard shouted. "IF YOU'RE NOT INJURED, GET OFF AND START RUNNING!"

"I do say, I'm rather peckish," Brook said, swinging his legs back and forth.

"A samurai never gets hungry!" Kin'emon declared.

"Either way," Brownbeard said, "we're after different things! Once I reach the post where my men are stationed, then I'm kicking you all off and going on my way!"

"Do you have any food back here, Mr. Brownbeard?" Brook asked.

"SHUT UP!" Brownbeard shouted.

XXX

Back at the gate that had closed off Building A, Tashigi is still mourning the loss of the fallen G-5 soldiers who sacrificed themselves for her sake.

"Cap'n!" said one of the soldiers. "I know you're upset, but we can't stop to mourn their deaths, now! Now that we know they were developing this terrible mass murder weapon on Punk Hazard, we have to get the word out, or the entire world will suffer!"

Tashigi and wiped her eyes.

"We gotta get off this island and report this to HQ, and fast!" said another soldier. "If we don't get back with this information soon, then all those sacrifices will have been in vain!"

"…You're right," Tashigi said before she stand up and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry…I have to remember I can't let my emotions get the better of me. I will grieve for those fallen men when this is over. Let's get going!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the soldiers shouted.

"Wait a minute!" cried a G-5 soldier with a Mohawk. "What's that, up there?!"

Everyone looked up and saw a flash of flight, but not long after, a huge jet of fire burst forth, nearly burning them all alive!

"YAAAAAAAAH!" they screamed before they looked up and saw the little dragon from earlier, only now, he is flying in the air and had a vicious look in his eyes.

"What is that thing?!" asked one of the G-5 soldiers. "Didn't it get inside by tagging along with the Straw Hat crew?!"

"Since when did it get over here?!" asked another that had been singed by the dragon's flames. "I thought it was just an overgrown lizard with wings!"

"I've heard there are dragons on Punk Hazard," Tashigi said, "but I never thought I'd actually see one!"

"DRAGONS?!" the G-5 men questioned in shock.

"That's right," Tashigi said. "Legendary beasts engineered by Dr. Vegapunk…to protect the island!"

"But it didn't look so scary just a few minutes ago!" cried a soldier with a Fu Man Chu mustache.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted another soldier. "IT'S COMING THIS WAY!"

Soon, the dragon swooped down on them!

"Shoot it!" shouted a G-5 rifleman before he and the others started shooting at the beast. However, the dragon deftly dodged the bullets with ease!

"It…it dodged?!" a soldier, but the dragon lunged at him with jaws wide open!

"GET DOWN!" Tashigi cried before she pushed him to the floor, causing the dragon to bite the wall behind instead!

"No way!" shouted a soldier. "That wall is made of solid steel! Imagine what would happen if that were US!"

"RUN!" Tashigi ordered. "KEEP MOVING TO BUILDING B!"

And that's just what they did, but the dragon gave chase after them!

"It's fast, it flies, it breathes fire, and it bites through steel!" cried a soldier. "What's up with that thing?!"

All of a sudden, the dragon seemed to gasp in fright before he quickly flew up and out of sight, much to G-5's confusion.

"It…it flew away?"

"It acted like it saw a ghost or something!"

"Hey! There's something going on at the hallway exit up ahead!"

Tashigi looked up and saw some of the soldiers cheering about something.

"Cap'n Tashigi! We're saved!"

"Wow! Are you serious?!"

"I don't believe it!"

"Oh…?" Tashigi muttered before she got a good look…and gasped in horror. There, standing amidst the cheering soldiers…is Vergo.

"Look, Cap'n!" said one of the soldiers. "It's Vice-Admiral Vergo, come to the rescue!"

"He must've picked up one of our signals before they took our Transponder Snails away!" shouted another.

"So did the message get back to HQ, Vice Admiral?!" asked one more. "How many ships are they sending?!"

'V…Vergo…!' Tashigi thought as Vergo stood there, expressionless while the soldiers kept cheering or him.

"Vice-Admiral Smokey and Vergo! The Deadly Duo of G-5 is on the scene!"

"Yeah! Nothing can stop us, now!"

"No…!" Tashigi whispered. "G…get away from him! EVERYONE, RUN!"

"Huh?" a soldier muttered. "What are you talking about, Cap-"

JAB! Vergo suddenly stabbed the soldier…with his Shigan.

"Ugh…!" the soldier grunted before he dropped to the floor, much to his comrades' surprise and shock. Before they knew what happened, they suddenly found themselves getting stabbed as well. They fell to the floor, crying out in pain and confusion.

"Uh…Vice-Admiral?" asked a nervous soldier. "Did…did they do something wrong?! Don't get me wrong! I'm all for punishment…but don't you think you're going a little too far? Using your Shigan…could be fatal…!"

Tashigi chewed her lip as she watched Vergo continue to attack his own men. She wanted to stop him, but…she found herself frozen with anger and fear.

When Tashigi and Smoker first arrived at G-5's base, Vergo greeted and welcomed them with courtesy, and he even said that even though the soldiers were "crude and simple", they weren't as bad as everyone made them out to be. He even said they'd grow to like them.

The soldiers respected Vergo and didn't mind that he left from time-to-time. They told Tashigi he had a sick little sister to take care of.

There were times when the soldiers acted out of hand and even destroyed a house once, but Vergo took full responsibility for their actions and punished them.

But then, Tashigi remembered how the Vice Admiral about the child abduction reports that have been going around in G-5's base, but Vergo continued to dismiss them as "accidents". He said that calling it an "abduction" gave the desperate parents hope. He even told her that she might understand if she ever became a mother.

Realizing that they had all been deceived…Tashigi finally found her courage and took action!

"MEN! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she shouted as she drew Shigure. "HE'S NOT THE MAN YOU THINK HE IS!"

CLANG! Tashigi's blade was blocked by Vergo's Haki-imbued arm.

"All this time…he's been working against for- AGH!" Tashigi cried as Vergo grabbed her head…and then slammed the back of his hand into her jaw, sending her to the ground!

"CAP'N TASHIGI!" the soldiers cried in horror before they all glared at Vergo.

"That's not Vice-Admiral Vergo! He must be an impostor!"

"Yeah! The real Vice-Admiral Vergo wouldn't dare harm a lady! Especially Cap'n Tashigi!"

"Could it be a disguise?! Devil Fruit powers?!"

"Don't you dare copy our commander, you bastard!"

"Yeah! The real Vice-Admiral is a man of honor who stands up for hid band of outcast soldiers!"

"How dare you make a mockery of his image, you swine!"

As they prepared to attack, however…the soldiers were blinded by forming tears. They had come to love and respect their Base Commander…and to see him hurting his own men…it broke their hearts to think all this time, he was a traitor. That was why they called him an impostor…because they refused to believe that the man attacking them was their Base Commander.

Unfortunately, that respect and love they had…may just cost them there very lives. In a moment of hesitation, the soldiers were soon taken down, one-by-one, by the lightning-quick Vergo.

Tashigi could only lie down on the floor, watch in horror as Vergo continued to attack them.

'I can't even speak…!' she thought. 'Stop…stop it! Stop killing them! Smoker…someone…help me!'

Just then, Vergo stopped attacking the soldiers and turned around.

"Who's there?!" he questioned. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly, he spotted someone…diving toward him from above!

"I heard a lady…CALLING FOR HELP!"

KRAKOOM! Out of nowhere, Sanji kicked Vergo in the jaw with a flaming leg and sent him crashing to the floor!

"W-what the?!" one of the G-5 soldiers questioned in surprise.

"It's 'Black Leg' Sanji!" said another. "What's he doing here?!"

"…I heard the sound…of a lady's teardrops falling," Sanji said, causing Tashigi to gasp in surprise.

"Unh…!" Vergo groaned as he stood up, holding his bleeding cranium.

XXX

Meanwhile, back on the "Brownbeard Bus"…

"Uh…hey," Usopp said. "Why'd Sanji just run off like that?"

"I felt an unfamiliar presence coming up behind us," Zoro said. "Just let him do his thing."

Just then, Kin'emon and Brook looked up to see the dragon from earlier.

"Hmm?" Kin'emon hummed inquisitively.

"Oh! It's the dragon, again!" Brook said.

"No…wait," Nami said. "It looks different! Look at its eyes! They look so vicious!"

"That means the sedative's worn off!" Brownbeard exclaimed. "The smaller ones are the later, improved models! They're quicker and hardier! Look out! HERE IT COMES!"

Usopp, Nami, and Brook screamed at the beast dived towards them!

XXX

Meanwhile, Luffy, Blizzard, and Smoker, having raced ahead, sped through Building B on the shortest route to Caesar's control room. While Smoker just flew through the air, Luffy had to run so fast, the friction from his feet left a trail of fire behind him!

"Hot-hot-hot-hot-HOT~!" Luffy cried. "Blizzard, can't I ride you for a little while?! My feet hurt!"

"Luffy, I'm sorry!" Blizzard said. "You'll have to grit your teeth and bear it for now!"

XXX

In Caesar's lab, the scientist is watching Vergo attack G-5, and needless to say, he was infuriated.

"What the HELL is Vergo doing?!" Caesar questioned. "Those G-5 halfwits are MY test subjects! What's the point of this public demonstration if it's not Shinokuni that kills them?! Money! Seal the closer end of the hallway and re-open the far gate to let the gas in!"

"With Vergo inside?" Monet asked.

"It's his fault for going down there in the first place!" Caesar snapped. "NOW SHUT UP AND DO IT!"

XXX

Outside, Luffy, Blizzard, and Smoker had arrived in front of the door, the first panting heavily as he sat on Blizzard's back.

"…You ready or not?" Smoker asked.

"NO!" Luffy barked as he . "Dammit…you could wait a little bit, you know! I…I had to run so fast…my feet scorched the floor! "It…it's not fair! You…get to…just float right through the air, and I have to run!"

"You ready, now?" Smoker asked.

"I SAID NOT YET!" Luffy shouted. "Dammit…I'll…I'll tell you when, okay?! Phew!"

He then took in a few deep breaths.

"Ahh…there we go," he said.

CLICK! Smoker pressed the button, causing the door to Caesar's lab to open.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Luffy shouted. "I didn't say 'when' yet!"

"Listen closely," said Smoker. "Vergo's mine! You got it?!"

"Yeah, I know!" Luffy said. "And Blizzard and I have dibs on Caesar, so don't you touch him!"

Just then, the door opened, revealing Caesar and Monet.

"Aha!" Luffy exclaimed. "This one's ours!"

"Perfect," Blizzard said.

"Huh?" Caesar muttered, confused, but then…

"RAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!" Luffy roared before he and Blizzard punched Caesar in the gut with a Haki-imbued fist and paw! "CAESAR~!"

"SHUHOOOOOOO!" Caesar gagged, coughing up blood.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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