It's my fault this chapter took so long to be posted. Alberta21stGenius helped me write this chapter and then helped edit it so all I would have to do is copy and paste what we wrote to post on my Upload Manager. One Piece is still in my top ten anime and being able to write this chapter with my co-author was a lot of fun. Please read and review.

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"Gah!" One of the Coyote brothers paused in his wanton destruction to clutch at his eye as a card skidded across his face, leaving a deep cut in its wake.

Dorobou smiled in triumph as he got a hit in edgewise. He leapt aside as the second brother swung his weapon. While Dorobou played whack-a-mole, Yokai was entertaining all the other minions, swinging his staff like a club and using it to block attacks. Whenever he had some space, the monk would spray fire over the goons using his staff.

"Card Slash." Dorobou whispered, throwing another card. The man dropped his weapon to clutch at his other eye. His brother looked enraged.

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Fletcher ignored the blood dripping from where the mad man had bit him. The young captain growled low in his throat, mimicking the dog zoan as both prepared to attack again.

"Wind Whip!"

"Grrah!"

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Yokai was getting anxious. Didn't these idiots know that if the bomb went off, they'd die too?

No one seemed likely to listen to him, so the only choice was to somehow stop the bomb himself. But first . . .

"Stop crowding me!" He yelled at the minions.

" Ancient Art of the Elementalists...Kraken's Fury!"

A wave of water appeared from nowhere, washing most of the goons away just like that. The ones who weren't carried away at first soon found themselves writhing within liquid tentacles that kept reforming and tightening their hold no matter how many times the minions swung their weapons.

Eventually, the water simply dissipated into thin air, leaving the path clear for Yokai to try to find the bomb.

Now, thanks to the wave, Dorobou only had one angry man to deal with now, rather than two. The businessman threw another card at his remaining opponent.

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Raver had taken a lot of damage, the scent of blood filling the air, and now all he wanted to do was taste someone else's blood . . .

Everything was hazy to Christopher. He could see his captain and the giant dog fighting, but their figures were blurry and he couldn't really tell what they were doing. His sword was still in his hand as he clutched at his injuries. In the distance, he saw his captain go flying away from Raver as the dog began to pound towards him.

Christopher was not a coward but he liked to be realistic about his fight. He couldn't wait for Fletcher to win and trust was something he couldn't just lend.
But his legs just wouldn't co-operate. It would seem that he'd lost a little too much blood . . .

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Smash!

Yet another wall of an innocent building came crashing down.

"What did you do to my brother?!" The remaining Coyote yelled angrily at Dorobou.

"It technically wasn't me who washed your brother away. It was the monk-guy, but I suppose you're too stupid to notice that." Dorobou said as he dodged. The Coyote roared in anger.

"And for my next trick . . ." Dorobou muttered.

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Raver wanted to taste the blood, wanted it to wash down his throat. The one he had killed before, his blood had been sour. But this blood smelled better, and Raver wanted it now. All he could see was red.

Fletcher got up, shaking his head to clear his vision, before a look of horror took over his features. Summoning the wind, he rushed to get there first.

Christopher frowned, bringing his sword in front of him as the huge blur that was Raver got closer and closer. What happened to Fletcher?

The blur was suddenly right in his face, and Christopher tightened his grip on his black blade as something heavy almost knocked it out of his hands . . . As his hands became slick with blood, Christopher merely raised an eyebrow.

"Stupid mutt." he muttered.

Fletcher sighed in relief upon seeing that Christopher was alive . . . Raver had impaled himself on the cook's black blade.

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Dorobou was cocky, letting the Coyote Brother disappear. It didn't make much sense how he managed to get away when Dorobou threw cards at him and then he was gone. He could hear his nails scraping against both roofs and floors as it was clear the brother still wanted to fight the businessman.

Dorobou scanned his surroundings warily. Sniping was hard when he couldn't see his target so maybe he needed to try using his tool that required muscle.

Up until then, his weapon had been tied to his back. He hadn't gotten a chance to use it when his building was destroyed. He reached behind him and grabbed the handle of his big spiked mace.

" You better show yourself to me with no hostility or I will hit you with this metal mace, Coyote Brother." Dorobou said.

"As if . . ." his opponent snickered

Clang!

Dorobou had to bring his weapon in front of him as his enemy appeared out of nowhere. The man had a crazed grin. The businessman gritted his teeth, determined to defeat this enemy. Having his ass kicked once was enough for one day, let alone losing to someone much weaker.

"Card Shot."

The Coyote brother was surprised by an ace suddenly flying out of Dorobou's sleeve. He tilted his head to the side as far as he could, the card nicking his ear, Dorobou taking his moment of distraction to knock him off balance. The Coyote brother teetered on his feet.

" No fair! You didn't tell me you keep cards in your sleeves!" shouted the Coyote brother.

" When you work in a business you learn a few good tricks," said Dorobou, "And besides . . ." he started swinging his mace, "your boss destroyed my building and almost killed my assistant. There's no telling what state he might be in. I don't have to tell you anything."

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Raver's body lay crumpled at the side where Fletcher had thrown him. At death, the madman had reverted to human form, glassy eyes staring at the ceiling as blood leaked from the savage wound Christopher had given him.

Fletcher had torn up some nearby curtains, and was using them as bandages according to his rambling cook's instructions. Christopher wasn't quite all there, and when Fletcher asked why, he'd simply muttered something about blood loss. Fletcher felt like he had everything under control. Now he was wondering where Yokai had got to.

"You'll be alright, right?" he said to Christopher. The cook mumbled something that sounded like "whatever."

Taking that as a yes, Fletcher went looking for his navigator.

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Yokai dashed through the streets, following whichever path seemed the widest since those ones tended to come from the city centre in Yokai's experience. Not that he'd been in many cities . . .

He stopped at a crossroads. Where the hell did he go now?!

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Dorobou's mace smashed into the man's jaw.

"Are you sure you want to keep fighting?" Dorobou said, voice low and eyes narrowed, "We both know you can't win this."

Despite his words, a challenge gleamed in his eyes, daring the Coyote Brother to continue.

The man started to sweat as he looked into Dorobou's eyes. With Raver as a boss, he'd never really been in a serious fight, so he didn't know when to quit. He swung at Dorobou wildly-

Dorobou's spiked mace was the heavier of the two weapons, and as Dorobou swung it it knocked the man's sword right out of his hand and continued onwards, the momentum keeping it on course to collide with the Coyote Brother's face.

And the fight was over, Dorobou's opponent down for the count. The businessman began to run. There was a bomb to find after all.

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Fletcher didn't find Yokai, but he did find someone else.

"It's the weird-dress-secretary guy . . ." he said out loud, looking down at Rodroy.

Dorobou's assistant was lying atop a pile of rubble. He was broken, bloody . . . and breathing, despite his extremely battered appearance.

Fletcher cocked his head to one side. The assistant was alive, but he didn't look like he'd last much longer. Dorobou would probably be upset if he died, so . . .

Grumbling to himself about all the work he was having to do, Fletcher ran to fetch Christopher. The cook would have a better idea of what to do, even if he was talking randomly at the moment.

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Eeenie, meenie, minie, mo . . .

Yokai was about to turn in a random direction when a voice yelled from behind him, saying "Straight ahead!"

Dorobou had caught up with him. It wasn't speed that helped the businessman catch up to Yokai, but he sure showed a lot of it when Yokai saw him run. He had to hurry to keep up with the worried man.

Dorobou rushed down into the town square and stopped in the middle, looking around wildly.

If this bomb is anything like I imagine it to be it should be somewhere around here . . .Dorobou thought, as his head turned wildly each second.
Yokai entered the square a little more calmly, glancing around carefully as he moved to stand by Dorobou. It was then that the monk realised how quiet the city was . . .

It occurred to Yokai that he hadn't seen any people since the ship docked. After they'd knocked into Rodroy it seemed that only Raver's goons had braved the streets. Looking through various windows, the monk thought that he glimpsed movement, but it was hard to be sure . . . as he looked through the windows, his eyes caught sight of what appeared to be an over-sized digital alarm clock, red numbers glowing ominously.

"Hey, Dorobou," Yokai said lowly, gesturing towards the building, "that look like it could be a bomb to you?"

The businessman followed Yokai's gaze. His face turned white, and he started to run, Yokai hot on his heels.