CHAPTER 35 - Monsters & Regimen: Part 2
Kagaya Ubuyashiki explained the situation regarding Jack. He mentioned that the enemy was on the move to find Trafalgar Law, one of the leading members of some collaboration.
"The ravens mention an alliance." said Ubuyashiki.
"What kind?" asked Iguro. Despite his wounded situation, he was adamant about attending the meeting.
"A Pirate Alliance." explained Law, "Zoro-ya's crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, led by Monkey D. Luffy and the Heart Pirates, led by yours truly. Jack's after us since we did some damage to their business."
"That's some flamboyant trouble we are into!" bellowed Uzui, "Kibutsuji and Jack. Two devastating terrors."
Mitsuri seemed worried.
"I can assure you Jack won't find the location of the headquarters easily." Ubuyashiki assured.
"Let's hope so. We can't take on the two of them at once." Uzui said, "This Jack had been fazed none. Tomioka and I had given it all just to survive."
"I can't say about Kibutsuji, but you can leave Jack alone to myself and Zoro-ya. He won't be dented without Haki." said Law.
"Haki? Wasn't that the ability you used in our duel?" asked Mitsuri.
Law nodded.
"Tomioka summarised a bit. Said it can be used to enhance attack and defence." said Uzui.
Everyone looked upon Law.
"So, how do you gain the ability?" asked Himejima.
"It's not easy to control Haki. For an average person, it takes years to master one form." Law said.
"There are different forms? Like Breathing techniques?" asked Mitsuri.
"More or less. Just as Breathing techniques require the practice and enhancement of breathing styles through experience and training, Haki requires the understanding of the human spiritual energy to control the aura and understand the things around." Law explained, "In summary, Haki has three forms - the foresight ability of Observation, the spiritual shielding and enforcing ability called Armament. Finally, the Conqueror's Haki, is possessed by a handful of people in the world and cannot be learnt."
He looked upon Mitsuri, "I used the first two abilities against you in our fight."
"No wonder you are so strong. You were unfazed." she complimented.
"Well, I thought to try teaching the kids the basics." Law said, referring to Tanjiro and Zenitsu who were waiting outside.
"Mitsu-ya has impressive physical strength but I have no idea over Hebi-ya, Uzu-ya or Hime-ya's abilities. I may teach possible candidates if I can assess their experience and skills."
"I am grateful." said Ubuyashiki, "But duty calls for the Demon Slayers, and we shall not be able to cover up the Demonic activities that harass the common folks every day. I hear Shinobu, Kanao and Giyu have begun training with Zoro. Together with Tanjiro and his young friends that's the number of trainees I can provide right now. I apologise."
"That's understandable." Law nodded.
"Aw! I wanted to learn Haki. It looked so refined and overwhelming." whined Mitsuri.
"Silence, Mitsuri! We are in the presence of the Master." hissed Iguro.
Mitsuri pouted.
The Master and his guests discussed the defence of the headquarters should demons attack after sunset and planned a force of action should there be a breach.
"The Kakushis shall fortify the perimeter. Unlike the Upper Demon Moons Captain Law fought, we shall be informed in haste should another breach happen." said Ubuyashiki, "Meanwhile, we have a trained healer at the Butterfly Mansion, so I'd like Mitsuri to resume her field duties in a sector close to the headquarters. The same goes for Obanai, Gyumei and Tengen. Should there be an invasion around the headquarters, we have the other four Hashiras holding the fort, led by Captain Law's leadership."
"We shall join in the next moment should we hear of any trouble." mentioned Uzui, "I shall appoint my wives here to help out Captain Law and the Mansion."
"Thank you."
The meeting was resolved.
The training ground was a battlefield. Zoro was surrounded by three opponents trying to find an opening to attack. Shinobu decided to strike first.
"Butterfly Dance…" She rushed in with great speed.
Zoro appreciated her agility finding himself not being to dodge on time. Instead, he blocked the sword stings with his Shusui, striking off the last sting with a strong deflection. Whilst he had been occupied, Kanao had sneaked behind him to confront him with a strong attack.
"Crimson Hanagoromo!" she dashed ahead with her blade.
Zoro knocked off the curve attack with a single swing from his end, throwing Kanao away from him.
"36-Pound Phoenix!" Shinobu bellowed, letting off a Flying Blade attack.
At the same time, Zoro discovered Tomioka above, right below the sun. The blinding light seemed to disarm the Pirate Hunter.
"Waterfall Basin!" Tomioka accelerated downwards letting off his powerful attack. The ground shook from the impact. He landed on the ground.
It was a hot day and every opponent was sweating through their uniforms.
"That should do it." Kanao remarked.
"I'll need a bath after this." Shinobu said, wiping off dirt from her face.
To their surprise, a small crater was left behind aftermath Tomioka's attack. Zoro was nowhere to be found.
A large crash landed onto the same crater. A Flying Blade attack. Tomioka managed to leap off right before being hit. They looked above and found Zoro preparing for a second single-blade attack.
"360-Pound Phoenix!" he bellowed, letting off a stronger Flying Blade than the previous.
Tomioka was tired of being on the defensive. He leaped above to break through the Flying Blade.
"Water Surface Slash!" he bellowed, confronting Zoro's Phoenix attack with a strong physical counter-blow. The impact exploded. The air pressure threw Tomioka back to the ground like a meteor.
"Not bad." Zoro remarked knowing he put a good amount of strength into his Phoenix attack.
"It's not over yet." Shinobu said, leaping behind the falling Zoro.
"Compound Eye Hexagon!" she bellowed.
To his surprise, Zoro discovered Kanao right alongside Shinobu, rushing in with her Peonies of Futility (Fifth Form).
"What the…" Zoro not only had to contend with Shinobu's swift flurries, but then had to face Kanao's version as well. The Compound Eye Hexagon and the Peonies of Futility put together totalled a full fifteen stabs. And Zoro could not dodge them all. Instead, he made a last-minute block with his Shusui, which wasn't effective against all the blows. A few of both Shinobu's and Kanao's stabs pierced through his defence, which he managed to see through at the last moment. To his further surprise, his impulsive employment of Armament Haki during that surprise attack, led to a force field that not only deflected the blades of the two sisters right above his falling situation, but also knocked them off with a blow.
"Ugh... what was that?" Shinobu was shocked, observing Zoro below.
"That was…" Zoro muttered surprised, observing his Shusui.
He forgot to realise that he was falling down, bashing right into the ground.
"Come on! You told us to escape!" whined Zenitsu.
"I did. But you failed to do so." said Law, "And I haven't used my Devil Fruit powers."
"Let's try again." he added.
Law and his trainees, Zenitsu and Tanjiro, found themselves at the starting place.
"The point of this training is to discover your abilities. Once your pals join up they shall undergo a similar regimen." said Law, "There is no definite goal yet. I have said any one of you two or both may try escaping from me, and I shall end my assessment for the escaped fellow. Or else, you may try defeating me, which I assure you, won't be as easy as you think."
"Come on, Tanjiro. We should escape. We can't defeat him with his weird powers." Zenitsu whispered.
"No. I am not running." Tanjiro replied glaring at their opponent.
"Come on. Be reasonable. He said he'll end the assessment if we escape."
"We can't run. It won't do us any good. Would you run if a Demon shows up? We must fight no matter the odds. Else, innocent lives would suffer and die."
Zenitsu couldn't counter that kind of logic. He knew Tanjiro wouldn't be budged. Unlike their previous attempt, Tanjiro disliked the idea of outrunning Law. Unlike Zenitsu, he lacked that level of speed and instead tried to focus on his strengths. He breathed in followed by his water aura flowing out of his Nichirin blade. Law was impressed with his dedication.
"I'll put everything that I have learned." Tanjiro declared.
"You challenge me?" Law glared back, "Very well."
Zenitsu had no choice but to concur. He remembered that Kibutsuji and the Demons were after Nezuko and he almost found her lost the previous night when the Upper Demon Moons had attacked. Not to mention their mentor in front of them. Law was lethally wounded and yet he showed strength and superior tenacity to train them in combat despite his much-needed rest. Zenitsu calmed down to a trance.
Law observed the new level of commitment. He drew out his blade.
"No holding back." he warned with a grin.
Tanjiro took the first swings against the opponent. Law dodged back blocking a few of the strikes with his blade.
"Not good enough!" he criticised.
"Water Breathing… Third Form!" Tanjiro dashed ahead swinging in frenzy.
At the same time, Law realised Zenitsu had leaped across the distance with his First Form attack. Both their attacks seemed to coincide at the same time, hoping to take Law down in a single strike. But the man predicted the obvious move despite its agility, simply leaping off to dodge the frontal attack. To his surprise, Tanjiro manoeuvred his Third Form technique to bend backwards, and rush in towards Law. Zenitsu leaped high and then air-jumped back toward his opponent. Law verified Zenitsu's genuine Moonwalk execution whilst the kid was focused on the attack.
"Room!" Law forced his membrane into the ground, pulling out a large rock to block the counterattack, "Takt!"
A heavy rock couldn't block the boys' attacks. They broke through the hard surface with ease. But to their surprise, Law was nowhere to be found. Instead of falling to the ground, the broken debris began hurling around and attacked both the boys, whilst putting a halt to their Breathing techniques. Zenitsu was woken up from his concentration finding himself terrorised inside the swarm of rocks.
"We need to get out of here!" Tanjiro yelled, swinging his blade to break through the swarm.
They both made it out after an atrocious effort, finding themselves wounded and panting hard.
"You fell for the trick." remarked Law, who showed up from behind, "Despite all of your pumped-up strength, you were given a hard time by small rocks."
The boys felt humiliated.
"It was a mistake." Tanjiro mumbled.
"Well, at least you realise that. It's not always strength that wins. One needs to adapt to their opponent, keeping options open for enemy deceit and strategy. Indeed, your techniques were good, but techniques without strategy would eventually lead to failure. We are dealing monsters out there. There will be no mercy for the defeated."
Zenitsu began to sob. Law sighed.
"That's enough for today."
"We can go on!" Tanjiro protested.
"Get yourselves patched up. Besides, I have acquired a basic idea of the skills you are capable of. We'll resume tomorrow."
Law walked away. The young Demon Slayers got themselves to their feet and followed after their mentor.
The scout Gazelleman returned all bloody and beaten. He heaved hard as he slammed sliding through the ground. The crew was surprised by his unexpected entrance. Jack glared at the fellow.
"What happened?" demanded Speed.
"The m… monsters followed us!" Gazelleman bellowed.
"Who is he talking about?" asked Sheepshead.
"Speak!" Jack demanded.
"Admiral Fujitora, Vice-Admiral Tsuru, and former Fleet Admiral Sengoku." Gazelleman bellowed.
The names brought terror upon the crew's faces. Jack and Who's-Who were utterly astounded.
"They attacked the harbour." Gazelleman struggled to speak, coughing up blood.
"What about our ships?" Who's Who demanded.
"Fujitora dropped a meteor taking out two of our ships. The rest of the fleet managed to get out to sea, away from further attacks. Last I knew, Tsuru was chasing the fleet. Sengoku and Fujitora disembarked ashore and attacked our forces at the beach. They are out looking for Doflamingo and Captain Jack."
"Not good. We can't take on Sengoku and Fujitora on land." Who's-Who mentioned in haste.
"How did they follow us?" Jack asked in awe, "I thought we lost them during that storm."
"It doesn't matter now, boss." replied Headliner Sheepshead, "We gotta get out of here."
"What of the remaining ships?" Who's-Who demanded.
Gazelleman, in his situation of struggle, mentioned the ships were heading north. One of the helmsmen on board told him for Jack and his group to embark on the next northern beachhead, provided Jack, his men and his fleet make a stand against most of the Marine fleet led by Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"We head north!" Jack declared, "No point in facing Sengoku and Fujitora out here. We meet back with our fleet and face the enemy with our full strength."
He turned to Gazelleman.
"I hope Doflamingo is prepared to do his bit against the Marines? That might earn him mercy from Kaido." he said.
"About that." Gazelleman began, "There were other intruders last night."
He mentioned of the leader that led the attack. They had stormed open the most secured brig, releasing the prisoners.
"What!" Who's-Who couldn't believe his ears.
"Apoo and Daifugo managed to hold off the horde and keep damage to the minimum. But their leader took no time breaching through the flagship and releasing Doflamingo, members of Kid's crew, and a few Revolutionaries."
"What the hell?" bellowed Jack. He got up from his seat, not being able to take it anymore.
"Who are these bastards?" demanded Who's-Who.
"Savages… cough… I think. They couldn't be destroyed unless their heads are blown off." muttered Gazelleman.
"The Demons!" gasped Batman.
"You said their leader was dead." growled Sheepsheed looking at the fellow.
"I told you what I saw. It may not have been the same guy." Batman replied.
"How's Hawkins doing?" asked Who's Who.
"He's in bad shape. You can count him out. Apoo, Daifugo, and the Gifters are holding the ships." said Gazelleman.
"Alright, pack up! We are heading back now!" bellowed Jack.
"What about Trafalgar and Roronoa, boss? We can't leave things after all they have done." mentioned Sheepshead.
"To hell with them! We can't deal with both sides right now. There won't be any ships left to leave this place if the Marine Fleet catches up to ours."
"He's right. The Admirals are too much." Who's-Who agreed.
Jack's crew packed up.
TO BE CONTINUED...