Some Mihawk and Hancock moments in this chapter. Enjoy!
"Do you see them?"
"Yeah, I see them."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Are you really sure?"
"Would you shut up?! You're ruining my concentration!"
"I didn't know you had any concentration at all."
"I'm not that drunk anymore!"
"Are you kidding? You couldn't even walk straight when we left town!"
"Yeah, and it took us a while to get here! I've sobered up since then!"
"It took literally 5 seconds to get here! We teleported, remember?!"
"...Oh yeah. Oh well, whatever." Christina looked back through the scope, and used her Observation Haki to distinguish the targets.
"One down." she whispered, closing one eye and pulling the trigger. The gun went off and went flying, hitting the enemy straight in the head, making him fall over immediately.
"Jesus Christ!" I yelled. "There's no silencer on that thing?!"
"Shit! No, there wasn't!"
"Well hurry up and take out the rest of them! Now that you did that, they probably heard it, and will start firing back!"
"You know, even if they hit us, the bullets would just go right through. These guys are regular rebel guards, I seriously doubt that they use haki."
"Well I mean, yeah, but that's not to say that a stray bullet will hit the gun. Plus, it's easier while they're confused and don't realize what's going on."
"...Yeah, you're right." she turned back to the scope and fired in quick succession, killing three people in a row. After another five shots, she finished, pulling away from the scope and slinging the rifle back over her shoulder.
"You're done?"
"Yeah."
"Anything else we have to do?"
"We have to capture the fort and make the leader support the Revolutionary Army."
"That means we'll have to fight more guards along the way." I said as we walked towards the fort.
"No, probably not. Koala already scouted this place out last night, and said that the guards that are stationed outside are the only ones that guard the leader. So I already took care of them."
"Alright." We walked into the courtyard of the fort.
"Ah, through there." she pointed to the front doors of the building. She walked forward and reached to turn the doorknob when the doors slammed open and she was sent flying.
"Oh. It looks like they do have someone else. I wonder why Koala didn't know about this one?" I looked over to see none other than Jesus Burgess standing there.
"Oh...You. Well, since the real Blackbeard Pirates are all dead, I can only assume you're one of Redfield's copies."
"Wiihaha! It's you! I hope you're ready to die!" He rushed at me.
"You're annoying. Go away." Christina said, appearing under Burgess and kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying through the fort.
"Moonlight Pillar." she said, engulfing the whole building in a bright white light before everything disintegrated, including Burgess.
"That was boring." she sighed, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Honestly, is there no one in this world besides you and Dragon that can give me a good fight?"
"Apparently not. You're just that good." I responded, searching the remains.
"Damn straight." she sighed, crossing her arms.
"Oh. Here's his leaf." I pulled it out. "But it doesn't look like anyone else is here. I thought there was a leader here?"
"I guess not. I wonder if Red conjured Burgess to kill the leader?"
"Maybe. I guess there's nothing left here for us. Everyone's either dead or they fled." Christina opened her mini snail phone wristwatch and dialed Dragon.
"Yeah?"
"It's done. We took care of everything. One thing though. There wasn't a leader. Only a copy of Burgess that Red made. We don't know what happened to the leader, if he's dead or if he's gone."
"I see. Well, no matter. It was an easy job for the two of you anyways. I guess the only matter left is the Treasure Room."
"There's a Treasure Room?" We looked at each other.
"Yeah. It's not part of the main building, Koala found it a little ways back."
"Okay."
"You guys keep it. Use it as a little extra money for the crew."
"Alright, thanks. Talk to you later." She hung up. "Let's go." We walked about a half a mile north before finding a small shed. We opened the door to find a staircase leading down underground. We walked downwards and opened another door to find a huge room full of treasure.
"We can't carry this much." Christina said, starting to stuff a bag full.
"Not to worry." I created a few platforms made of earth, and kept them floating using wind. We left with about 8 full bags of gold, jewels, and weapons.
"How did we make out?" She asked, teleporting back to the ship and carrying them aboard.
"About 700 Million Berries."
"Nice!" We stored it all in the ship's treasure storage before we went to bed.
X
Nami yawned, waking up. She stretched and went to take a shower. When she got out, she went to the front deck, where we were, sleeping.
"Hm? You two are sleeping out here?" she asked, waking us up.
"Uh? Oh, yeah, I guess we dozed off. We were tired from last night."
"Why? What happened last night?"
"We had a mission to capture a fort that Red took control of."
"What was your kill count?" Zoro asked, walking out.
"27, I think." Christina said. "I don't know, I don't keep track of how many targets I take down. There's too many to count."
"That's okay, I do. It's my job to keep track of these things as the second-in-command." I said. She looked at me.
"Well?"
"You and I have been allied with Dragon for over 20 years now, and we've both gone on a lot of missions, whether for the Brotherhood or simply for the Revolutionaries. You've taken out about 3,500 people in that time." The rest of the Straw Hats became bewildered.
"Not bad, I guess. What about you?"
"3,700."
"Still ahead of me, huh?" she sighed.
"Only by 200, it's not that huge of a difference."
"200 is 200. And what's Dragon's kill count?"
"About 4,000. But he doesn't do field work as often as we do, so it's slowed down in the recent years."
"...Nami, we left you a present in the Treasure room from last night."
"What is it?" she asked.
"700 Million Berries in gold, jewels, and weapons."
"WHAT?!" she screamed with berri symbols in her eyes. She ran off to the treasure room before coming back and giving Christina a giant hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you!"
"No problem!"
*bada bada bada bada bada kacha*
"Yeah?" I answered my snail phone.
"How did it go?"
"Oh, Dragon. Success."
"Good. I have something that you may want to see. Come to Zou."
"What is it?"
"You'll find out. But it's well worth your time, I assure you."
"...Alright. I'll be right there." I stood up and teleported away.
X
"Well? What did you want me to see?" I asked, walking into the archives. Dragon brought me over to the computers. He pulled up a page with a young marine with black hair shown in the picture.
"That looks like Ryokugyu."
"That's because it is. We discovered some more information about him and his research on the Pieces of Eden."
"What kind of information?"
"Well first of all, his real name was Ryota Amachi. He was born in the North Blue, with his parents being from the Grand Line. Apparently, his grandparents were Celestial Dragons, but they left Mariejois and the Grand Line, as they didn't wish to remain members. They grew up to despise the Celestial Dragons. During his years as a young adult, his parents revealed that his grandfather had stolen one of the prized possessions of Mariejois, the Piece of Eden known as the Order Order Fruit. The other one was the Chaos Chaos Fruit, which Fisher Tiger stole when he broke out from being a slave before giving it to you. Anyways, before Ryota actually ate the fruit, he decided to study it and see what he could find about it."
"And I'm guessing that he wasn't too successful?"
"No, he wasn't. After all, most people aren't until they actually eat the fruits. That was the case with CP9 too. They didn't know their powers before they ate them. Hitting a dead end, he decided to simply eat it and do research on it after he was made fully aware of his abilities. This second time was more successful, and his research led to an interesting discovery about the Piece of Eden Devil Fruits. The powers are interchangeable."
"And what does that mean?"
"You said it yourself, didn't you? There are devil fruits that are opposite counterparts. Sabo's Flame Flame Fruit is weak to Arlong's Wave Wave Fruit. His fruit is weak to Mihawk's Rumble Rumble Fruit. And that one is weak to the Crush Crush Fruit. The Magma Magma and Chill Chill Fruits, the Glint Glint and Dark Dark Fruits. There's a cycle to these devil fruits. The same way that the Chaos Chaos and Order Order Fruits are strong and weak against each other. The same goes for the Sun Sun and Moon Moon Fruits."
"What are you trying to say Dragon? Get to the point already."
"The point is that normally these abilities cancel each other out with a few exceptions depending on the element. And with the way that Devil Fruits work, only the Dark Dark Fruit allows for absorption and use of two simultaneous abilities, unless you have a huge mental and physical capacity like myself or Ryota. The Pieces of Eden are different."
"Don't tell me…!"
"Yes. When I said interchangeable, I really meant it. The Order Order Fruits and Chaos Chaos Fruits may be opposites, but they are made to be used together, hence the user can consume both. The same goes for the Moon Moon and Sun Sun Fruits. I'm willing to bet that was the reason that he was hunting you and Christina down. If he had killed you, he would have eaten the Chaos Chaos Fruit too. And then, if he killed her, and invaded our base, he could also eat the other two, essentially giving him five devil fruits. He would have been unstoppable, regardless of whether or not he had two admiral transformations and was a sage. Thankfully, you killed him before he had that chance. He was probably furious when you came back to life the first time you faced him."
"..."
"In any case, here." He handed me a box that was locked.
"What's in it?
"All of the Devil Fruits from the conflict that respawned. I sent Sabo and Koala out to retrieve them. In that box is the Order Order, Sun Sun, Glint Glint, Magma Magma, Dark Dark, Tremor Tremor, and Crush Crush Fruits. Keep them safe, and I want you and Christina to eat the first two. The others you can give to your crew if you want."
"I don't think they want them. They all want to keep their ability to swim."
"I see. Well, in any case, make sure you guard them well."
"I will." I teleported away.
X
I appeared back on the ship.
"What's with the box?" Christina asked. I set it down on the table where she was sitting and unlocked it. I reached in and pulled out an orange-red spiky fruit covered in sun swirls. I handed it to her.
"Here. A present from Dragon. Eat it."
"..." I pulled out the other one, a completely round fruit that was pure gold, and covered in spheres, not swirls. She looked at me.
"That…..Is it okay to eat it?"
"Yeah. Your's too. Turns out he did a lot of research on these fruits, and they can be eaten by a single person and used together. I took a bite out of it, and she did the same.
"Now then…" I said, finishing the fruit. The others walked over.
"Do you guys want any of these?" I asked, opening up the rest of the box and displaying the other 5 fruits.
"Which powers?" Zoro asked.
"Light, Darkness, Magma, Earth, and Tremors. Take your pick if you want one."
"I think we're all fine. We don't want to lose our ability to swim." Zoro said for everyone. Nami stared at them for a moment.
"...No, he's right. As much as it would be nice to have more power, I still want to swim."
"Alright." I shrugged, locking up the box and putting it in the treasure room. We got off the ship and went to the inn again.
"What's with this place? It's empty." I said.
"There's a note on the counter." Christina picked it up.
"Went to the resort off the coast of the island. Be back later, Yadoya."
"Resort?" Zoro asked.
"That sounds like Raften…" Luffy told me. I sighed and walked out, the others following me.
"I guess I'll have to fight him again."
X
"Why don't you guys stay on the resort and let us take care of this?" I told them.
"Why? We can help you!" Luffy protested.
"This fight is personal to us. Let us do it ourselves. Please." Christina told him.
"...Luffy, they'll be okay." Nami said. We walked towards the Coliseum.
X
"Well, well, look who showed up. And by themselves, I see. Have a deathwish today, do we?"
"Not quite. The moment Red decided to put you by yourself, you lost. Maybe if someone else was with you, you might have a chance. But the two of us against you? There's no way you can win." I told him.
"Oh really?" he smirked. "Tell me, do you know why I lost last time?"
"Because I overpowered you in my 3rd phase of Demon Mode."
"Yes. And as to the reason why I was overpowered?"
"Where are you going with this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. He started pacing across the coliseum.
"I'll admit, that form came as a surprise to me. I watched you activate the 1st phase at Marineford, and the 2nd at Dressrosa, so I was prepared. But the 3rd one, you used on me when I thought I knew everything about your abilities. However, even though I was unprepared, I can assure you that Aita's Armor is stronger than Phase 3."
"I find that hard to believe. Remember how weak you were last time?"
"And have you forgotten that I had already transformed twice and used up a huge amount of haki before using it?"
"...Oh."
"Exactly. I was already in a weakened state when I put it on. But now, using it from the very beginning. I wonder how strong I'll be…Aita's Judgement: Armor of the Order!" His eyes changed color to yellow and gray, and his admiral uniform was replaced by a golden suit of armor with a red cape.
"I suppose we might as well just attack. We won't get anywhere with sneak attacks.
"Yeah."
"Demon Mode: Phase 2!"
"Moon Goddess Form: Selene's Judgement!" We rushed at him, but be blocked both attacks with his hands. I put my other hand on the first and flipped up, trying to kick him, but he ducked and threw Christina at the wall. He used his other hand to knock me against the other wall.
"Moonlight Damnation!" A giant pillar of moonlight plummeted down onto Ryokugyu, who merely stood there with his arms crossed.
"Damn it…!"
"Chaotic Pandemonium Fishman Karate: Nine Circles of Hell. First Circle: Limbo!" I began my progression and kicked Ryokugyu in the chest, but he didn't get hurt at all. At this point, he was just taking our attacks head-on.
"Second Circle: Lust!" I charged up chaos electricity on my foot and kicked him upwards on the chin, but he still wasn't fazed.
"Third Circle: Gluttony!" I jumped above him and inflated my leg with water powers, sending it down to the gold admiral. He blocked it with his arm.
"Fourth Circle: Greed!" I spin kicked him, but he once again dodged it by stepping back.
"Fifth Circle: Anger!" I blasted a Samegawara Seiken with fire at him, but he separated the flames by holding his hand into the blaze.
"Sixth Circle: Heresy!"
'This will get him.' I charged up haki and chaos on my fist, and punched him straight to the face. It sent out an internal shockwave through his body.
"Done yet?" he asked, looking down with half-lidded eyes.
"That's impossible! That attack should have-!"
"Been able to hurt me? I heal wounds faster than you can make them."
"Demon Mode Phase 3! Sixth Circle: Heresy!" I punched him again, and the shockwave this time made him grimace and cough up blood.
"Looks like you're still not as strong as you think you are. Seventh Circle: Violence!" I flew back and forth slicing up Ryokugyu's armor with my wind powers.
"Eighth Circle: Fraud!" I punched his forehead again, causing his eyes to roll back into his head, and sending him flying. I teleported directly above him and fell towards him.
"Ninth Circle: Treachery!" I charged up my fist with all of my energy, and plunged it through his armor, chest, and out the other side.
"Well done." he clapped, standing over on the side, where I wasn't.
"A clone?!" I landed on the ground, while the man I punched dispersed into light particles.
"If you recall, clones have half of my power. So that same progression won't work on the real me, Phase 3 or not."
"Moon Goddess Form 2: Tsukuyomi's Punishment! Luminescence Retribution!" Christina used her powers to make him explode. But that one was a clone as well and the real one appeared in front of her.
"Phanes' Judgement: Golden Laser of Redemption!" Ryokugyu blasted a golden beam from his hand that heavily injured Christina and knocked her out of her transformation.
"Damn you!"
"I don't understand why you're so angry. I mean, you've already defeated the real me."
"It won't matter if we did or not if you kill us both here! Then we'll be gone for good!"
"Precisely." he said darkly. "Apollo's Judgement: Celestial Punch of Destruction." He punched me across the arena.
"Damn it…"
'Last time, I used these moves on a giant opponent. This time, I'll have to alter them a little.'
"Chaotic Anarchy Fishman Karate: Seven Terraces of Purgatory! First Terrace: Pride!" I appeared behind him, kicking him onto his stomach, and then jumped up, falling down onto his back with my earth powers.
"GRGGHHH!" He was noticeably hurt by this.
"Second Terrace: Envy!" I created lightning clouds that blasted lightning into his ears, electrocuting his entire body.
"Third Terrace: Wrath!" I blasted fire and wind into his eyes, creating smoke, so he couldn't see.
"Fourth Terrace: Sloth!" I imbued myself with lightning and quickly ran over to him, continuously stomping my feet into his back at super speeds. His armor was beginning to crack.
"Fifth Terrace: Covet!" Now I switched to my earth powers and continuously punched the armor.
"Sixth Terrace: Gluttony!" I kicked him onto his back, raised my foot above my head and stomped down, full force.
"Seventh Terrace: Lust!" I put my hands onto the armor and blasted fire through his entire body, shattering it and burning his body.
"Graghh….that was pretty good." he laughed, getting up slowly. "Haki Healing." He healed himself.
"But as long as that progression only brings me to near death, I can heal myself indefinitely. So unless you've got something better, you can't beat me."
I smirked.
"You do, don't you."
"Chaotic Anarchy Fishman Karate: Ten Spheres of Heaven. First Sphere: The Moon, The Inconstant." I shaved in front of him and kicked him up into the air, high up. I launched myself up there and continuously spin kicked him into the ground, becoming like a rotating saw.
"Second Sphere: Mercury, The Ambitious." I covered myself in fire, and rushed up to him, punching him with a powerful barrage of flaming fists.
"Third Sphere: Venus, The Lovers." I charged the fire even more, changing its temperature and making it white. I blasted it towards him, and then roundhouse kicked his head, making him crash into the ground.
"Fourth Sphere: The Sun, The Wise." I heated the fire even more, turning it blue. I delivered a series of powerful punches and kicks to him, burning his body even more.
"Fifth Sphere: Mars, The Warriors of the Faith." I dispersed the fire, and instead dealt a series of powerful blows with my earth powers. He was finally almost at his limit.
"Sixth Sphere: Jupiter, The Just Rulers." I created a giant formation of clouds, giving me much stronger wind powers. I hardened my arms and began slicing through his body instead of just punching it.
"Seventh Sphere: Saturn, The Contemplatives." I combined my earth, fire, and wind powers, and then slammed my hands on the ground, causing it to rupture. The coliseum was destroyed, and lava from underground shot up in geysers.
"Eighth Sphere: The Fixed Stars, Faith, Hope, and Love."
'Here goes nothing.' I deactivated my chaos powers and instead relied on my other, new devil fruit.
"What?! Don't tell me you ate it!" Ryokugyu was now furious.
"God Mode." My body became surrounded in a haki cloak, like in Demon Mode, but was now golden and brimming with power. I concentrated the power into a few small particles and sent them towards him. They grew in size and went straight through his torso, making him bleed even more.
"Ninth Sphere: The Primum Mobile, The Angels." I created a spinning sphere that had nine layers to it, and sent it towards him. It went through him and vaporized him.
"NOT YET!" he yelled. His last remaining power took the form of a golden spirit even though his body was gone.
"You can't beat me in this state! I no longer have a body for you to hit! All of your attacks will go right through me, whether you have my powers or not.
"Well that's just fine. The Primum Mobile is the last sphere of the physical universe. meaning that the tenth sphere goes beyond a physical attack."
"W-WHAT?!"
"Tenth Sphere: Empyrean, The Trinity. This is not quite an attack. It is a vision. But upon seeing this vision, all remnants of your body and spirit disappear, and you can never exist again."
Ryokugyu suddenly saw himself in a place of blinding light. He started floating forward on his own. He saw an enormous rose where angels and various other historical figures were living. He flew further.
"What...is this….?" He saw three large circles. All he heard were three different voices.
"In the name of the Father…"
"The Son…"
"And the Holy Spirit…"
"BEGONE FROM THIS WORLD!" the voices all shouted in unison.
"Disappear into nothingness." I said, looking on as his spirit dissolved. I went over to Christina and healed her.
"Let's go. We're done here."
"Damn it. And I didn't even get to try out my new powers." We left the coliseum.
X
"I think it's about time that Red be fought himself. After that creation, I imagine he doesn't have too many more up his sleeve." I said, sitting at the bar of the inn with the others.
"Pato. Don't you know when he shows up? You're kind of connected with him in a way, right?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah...He's here in town." It was nighttime now. "If I can just hit him...Hit him with my true feelings...I hope you guys come, too. I want you to see it. I'll do what I can to knock some sense into him."
"Just give it everything you've got!" Luffy encouraged.
"Thanks, Luffy! I'll do my best! Nukiki!" We left the inn and went to the town square.
The moon was red tonight, and there were dark clouds partially covering it.
"Boss!" Pato called up to Redfield, who was standing at the top of the town hall.
"What? Are you still here?" He asked.
"This little one here...he has something he wants to tell you!" Nami called up.
"...It's time for my meal. Can't you just let me eat in peace?" He threw down a bunch of leaves. All of the opponents we had faced were standing there again, including false Straw Hats.
"It's all up to you! We'll clear the way!" Luffy shouted out. We ran towards all of our opponents. Zoro took down Hody while Brook fought Smoker and Franky fought Kizaru.
"Boss! I understand now! You can't just leave me!"
"Green Star!" Usopp took down Caesar and the false Brook. Robin took down Aokiji, and Sanji defeated Akainu.
"I'm not a tool, I'm an ally!" Pato called out. Luffy defeated his copy and the dragon simultaneously. Pato ran up the dragon's body and jumped to the rooftop, but the dragon came to and tried to eat Pato. Zoro quickly ran up and sliced it in half.
"That's why I'm begging you, boss! Please take me back!"
"The task of becoming Pirate King requires a certain amount of 'resolve.' The Pirate King Gol D. Roger, and the next best thing to him, Edward Newgate...Shiki the Golden Lion, Sengoku the Buddha, and the Hero Garp...The now old men who paved the way for the Great Age of Pirates...I've had to give up many things to surpass them. Sympathy and generosity...All of my obligations...Pato...please try to understand...Having you at my side was just another weakness to overcome."
"Boss…"
"I gave up generosity...I gave up sympathy...And then, I gave you up…"
"Now, I'll finally be able to obtain what I've sought for so long. Bat Bat Fruit, Model Vampire…" He held a purple devil fruit in his hand.
'Vampire? Eternal Youth, huh? Can't wait to see how he screws this one up.' I sighed. He took a bite out of the fruit before tossing it to the ground.
"Now I will become an immortal vampire and give up the very last thing I have left to give…" He was surrounded in a red aura before teleporting in front of Pato and kicking him in the neck, sending him crashing into a building across town.
"My humanity." he grinned.
"Pato!" Chopper cried out.
"Red!" Luffy yelled angrily, rushing towards him and punching, but it missed. He disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Where are you?! Show yourself!" He appeared again at the docks holding Yadoya. He bared his fangs and bit into her neck, killing her. He now appeared in his vampire form.
"What did you do to her?!" Sanji yelled.
"I feasted on her youth, of course! That what vampires do! Hahahaha! It's back! The power from when I was young! The power taken from me with age! If only they could see me now! Those great men who succumbed to age! This has turned back the clock for me! Returned me to my old self!"
"You...I'll never let you get away with this!" Red used a variety of techniques like wind slashes and physical moves, but his powers mostly relied on darkness.
"Are you ready?" Christina asked me.
"Yeah. God Mode!"
"Sun Goddess Form: Helios' Judgement!"
"Roger, Newgate...With them around, I gave up my ambitions and decided to live out my days at Impel Down."
"That's pointless!" I yelled at him. "That doesn't mean there's no hope to achieve your own dreams!" We started attacking him but he still dodged.
"But then Roger was executed and Newgate severely weakened by age! I'll be the one who finishes what they started! This body will never know age! I'll be the true king and reign over all pirates!"
"You know nothing." Luffy growled.
"What did you say?"
"Age doesn't matter! Old man Whitebeard was strong...Far stronger than you are now!"
"Don't be silly! He wasn't even a shadow of what he was in his prime! There's no way that me and my powers of immortality are inferior to him! And I spoke not only of Newgate. Sengoku and Garp retired when their abilities faded with age. A youngster who hasn't once been old knows nothing of what it's like!"
"Then show me what it's like. Show me what it's like to be old."
"No! Luffy!" Zoro called out. I stopped him while Christina and I deactivated our transformations.
"This I can do! Here's a taste of what it's like! This is what it's like to be old!" He grabbed Luffy by the throat and began draining his life force. His hair turned gray and his clothes' color faded.
"You do understand that you'll lose your powers, right? Your strength and energy will all be repossessed...Not to mention your dreams, Straw Hat!" He threw him into a nearby building. But he stood up again and began walking towards him.
"Even if I age...I'm made of rubber...you won't hurt me…"
"Liar!" He ran up to him and punched him back. "Your body doesn't move like you want it to. One by one you become unable to do the things you once could…" Luffy walked towards him again, but Red knocked him back.
"No matter what you're able to dream up, your body will ultimately let you down! Your hopes and dreams then shatter!" He wasn't even giving Luffy a chance anymore, he was just knocking him back over and over again.
"In time, you begin to accept your age and give things up in return...As you slowly creep closer to death."
"I guess you didn't hear me...Age doesn't matter!" He was now hitting Red back, but it wasn't hurting him at all.
"Did Old man Whitebeard ever give up on anything?! He kept on fighting no matter how many wounds he endured! He never gave up until the day he died!" Red knocked him back again.
"He saved Ace! He never gave up on anything!" Red went to punch him once more, but this time Luffy caught it.
"And it's not only Whitebeard...There's Rayleigh as well…! Unlike you, he never uses his age as an excuse to give up on what matters! Somebody who gives up as easily as you...Could never surpass the likes of those 'old men!'" He threw Redfield's punch to the side.
"I'd never cast my friends aside! That's why you'll never be able to defeat me!"
"Now there's a theory...do you really think it will hold true?!" They clashed punches, but Luffy overpowered him and punched him in the jaw, sending him crashing into a building.
"Hold true…? I don't know...What I do know is that I'll never give up like you do...No matter how wrinkled and old I get...No matter how little I'm able to move...I won't give up on my dreams for as long as I live! Somebody like you who gives up on their own dreams...Has no right to steal the dreams of others!" Pato ran to Red's side.
"Don't deny my boss his dream! Boss...It's as you always say...The idea of dying a mere shadow of your former self like that is horrible...That's why my boss was so easily able to give up everything that matters most to him!"
"...You've said enough." Red stood up, smiling.
"Boss!"
"With borrowed youth, I was trying to chase borrowed dreams...It's just as this man says…" He walked up to Luffy and restored his youth.
"Am I...back to normal?"
"It's true that I had been giving up...I gave up my dreams out of the fear of entrusting them to others...Though the death and retirement of the oldtimers re-ignited a fire in me, I succumbed to my age and gave up yet again. Instead of focusing on what matters most, I chose the easy way out, going so far as to gain eternal youth." He walked over to Yadoya and restored her life as well.
"You've opened my eyes, Straw Hat. Pirate King...Achieving something with borrowed dreams and borrowed youth is no achievement at all. Therefore, I make this vow!" He had gone back to his normal form. "From this point on, this ugly old pirate you see before you will surpass Newgate, Roger, and everyone else! Even if I have to do it alone, I will become the Pirate King!" He released a gust of wind that blew the red and gold captain's coat the copy Luffy was wearing into the air.
"Even if...he's alone…? No! You're not alone! One man and one racoon!" Pato ran to his side. "I, too, will make a vow! I will stay at your side and protect you to the end! I don't care how many times I'm cast aside! You can kick me away, you can punch me away, but you can't stop me from following! I, too, will never give up on my dreams!"
"Hmph...Such brazen words...Looks like I taught him a bit too well...huh, Straw Hat?"
"Shishishi."
"There you have it, Pato. One man and one racoon. Our first step on a new quest! Perhaps we'll make that our flag! Straw Hat Pirates. We will defeat you, and leave our mark on the world yet again!"
"That's the spirit! But you'll never beat me! The one to become Pirate King is me!" He grabbed the coat from the air and draped it on his shoulders.
"We'll muster all our strength to defeat you. One final attack!"
"Alright, come on!" Red surrounded himself in a red gust of wind and prepared his umbrella. Luffy hardened his arm. They flew at each other and clashed. They were even for a few seconds, but in the end, Redfield was sent flying back, but he smiled. He fell onto the ground, and Luffy stood over him, panting. Red stood up, but fell to his knees again.
"The gap was too great to overcome…" he said, putting his hand on Pato's head. "Right now, there's a limit to what we can do."
Everyone said their final words to Red before getting back on the ship. Mostly about if they ever need a master swordsman, shipwright, etc. or in Nami's case, not to steal any of her treasure. The only ones left were Brook, Luffy and I.
"I just remembered something about you." he said, walking up to them. "The name Pato...It was your nickname when you were just starting out, right? Patrick Redfield. Giving your own name to this raccoon makes him almost like a child to you. I was pretty certain from the start that you wouldn't just abandon him."
"Hmm...What surprises me is just how different you look...Humming Brook."
"Yohohoho!" He tipped his hat and walked back to the ship.
"And what of you?" he asked me.
"I don't know...I'm not in the same boat as you. I've already achieved my dream, so the least I could do is help them achieve theirs. Red. If you're growing older, then you just have to achieve your goals that much faster, right?" I smiled.
"Heh…" I walked away as well, leaving him with Luffy.
"I'm still going to become the Pirate King." he said with a serious face.
"We'll see about that next time we meet! Straw Hat."
"Shishishi! Yeah. See you around!" He got on the ship with us. Red watched us sail off into the horizon.
"They're gone, Boss…"
"Yeah."
"They were a strange bunch."
"They were."
"I'm frustrated, Boss. I'm...going to get stronger!"
"That's the spirit! From this point on, this is where our dream begins. He was an interesting fellow. Newgate, you've handed the rudder over to us...Roger, the way you wore your straw hat...He reminds me of you."
X
"So now what?" Luffy asked. I sat down on the railing outside with everyone.
"It's not up to me." I shrugged, smiling. "Isn't this why you wanted to become Pirate King in the first place? To have total freedom?"
"I guess so. Then let's set sail for the closest island! We'll make our way back to Raften!"
"Heh." I smiled.
"Well, Luffy. Now that the Templars and Marines won't cause us too much trouble, there's not much stopping you from achieving your own dream. Ready to go?"
"Yeah! Let's do it! To become Pirate King and Queen!" He pulled Nami close to him, making her blush.
"We'll have to fight Big Mom and Kaido too, you know."
"Let them come! I'll just beat them up too!" I laughed.
'You had a hell of a son, Dragon.'
The End.
Done! Unless, of course, you want me to go through the current manga arcs too. Your choice, let me know. Thanks for sticking around for this long guys! In the meantime, I'll be working on Princess of Alvarez as each new Fairy Tail chapter comes out every Monday. Check that out if you want. Peace!