"So, what do you want to do, captain?" Ben Beckman, the First Mate of the Red Hair pirates, questions his captain as the call with their allies outside is finished.
They were a short distance from Wano, already searching for the carps to help get into the land itself, when they got a call. Several calls on the different dendenmushi they had on the Red Force.
Their ally pirates and the nations that were under the wing of the Red Hair Pirates all called to desperately ask Shanks to turn back. Needless to say, the video demonstration had more than spooked each and every one of those outside as they tried to talk Shanks and the others to not do this.
Nope, there was no chance they could support risking everything just like that on the whims of Shanks alone. Sure, most of the pirate captains and such would die for Shanks if it was ever needed, that was not even in question, but what they saw on that presentation was a risk not only for them but to all those they cared for.
It was a threat even more disturbing than the idea of a Buster Call since all that was needed was a single person to execute it. Not even that deranged scientist had to act personally, if just a single soldier of the Beasts Pirates moved with those viruses into their land who knows how many tens or even hundreds of thousands would perish.
Shanks looked serious at this. He understood well the danger of what someone like this could bring, but since no one in the ship had actually seen the presentation they only had hearsay from others.
"... Everyone prepares around Wano to intercept anyone trying to escape. I am going there to kill this kid before it is too late." Shanks decided to seriously make his crew worry over his decision making skills.
Beckman, as the think tank of sorts for the crew and the only one equal to Shanks in combat ability, spoke up.
"I don't think this is a good idea. Kaido may return at any time and if he shows up, unless I happen to be on his path, the others won't be able to stop or delay him. Besides, he is just a single person and if he can escape and get to sea he will likely harm one of the islands under our protection."
Shanks heard this and sighed.
"I understand it, but we don't have many other choices. If we wait too long, who knows what else the kid will make next. Remember, scientists are not like the rest of us, they can create new things and who knows what he can make in the future. If we wait to make a plan and such, not only will Kaido probably be around to protect him, he can have made who knows what else next."
Hearing this everyone on board felt a shiver down their spine. Just the description of what the kid already made was terrifying enough, no need to go any further than that.
However, Beckman still was troubled by this before sighing.
"And what if he has something that can deal with you?"
"Haha, you are saying funny things now Ben. If someone like Kaidou had weapons that could deal with people like me, he'd have long since declared war." Shanks said, causing everyone to chuckle a bit.
Kaido's war loving nature was just that well known.
"Besides," Shanks said conspiratoriously. "If he just showed diseases and such, there is always the chance that this is not science at all and just the work of the Virus Virus fruit. The previous user did die a time ago if memory serves me right and with that fruit's power what we were told would not be hard to be shown and could be disguised as science."
Beckman widened his eyes slightly at the possibility. Certainly, that was an entirely possible fact and would mean the danger this kid represented would be just that much lower.
Sure, the Virus fruit was a calamity level fruit in the wrong hands, but with enough haki one could bypass its effects quite handily and, when it comes to Haki, Shanks was one of the strongest out there.
Regardless, Beckman saw the determination and self confidence that Shanks was exuding. There was no stopping him when the man got like this, as proven by how many troubles they lived through the years. He could only trust Shanks would be able to do as he say this time as well.
"Fine, you are the captain and you can decide. I will ask some of our spies in the Beast Pirates to see if they can tell me his general directions." Beckman says and Shanks laughs as he hears this.
"Good man. I am counting on you and don't worry, I got this." Shanks says with absolute confidence he could do whatever he sets out to do. The man was sure he could deal with this new threat as long as someone like Kaido was not around to try and stop him. Turning to the rest of the crew, he spoke up. "Sorry, this can become troublesome but we gotta do what we gotta do."
"Hah, nothing new there captain. You were always an idiot."
"Yeah, yeah, you are a smart idiot, but still an idiot."
"Idiot captain, make sure to return to us whole."
Shanks's forehead grew a tick mark as he said.
"You all suck sometimes, you know that?"
"So do you captain, so do you." They all chorused before the entire deck burst into laughter.
With the general mood having grown lighter, Shanks used his moonwalk to run in the air and go up towards Wano. He'd deal with Markus one way or another, for the greater good.
Meanwhile, in his castle in the Kuri region, Markus waited to see what would be the reactions in the world.
Knowing that things were as handled as they could be with no Kaidou around to take charge and deal with all this invasion nonsense, Markus decided that his best course of action was to call back Susanoo as fast as possible in case either Akainu or Shanks were dumb enough to try and attack him. Of course he had put all Beast Pirate available on standby in the observation room to see and find out if someone else really did come.
"If Akainu comes, let us destroy all Marine Bases in New World. If Shanks, let's burn his main base and kidnap his daughter… Well, I would kidnap Uta sooner or later anyway but with this I can throw in the bastard's face that it is his fault his crazy daughter is moaning out my name. Yep, that sounds like a decent plan." Markus said with a smile before he went right into preparing some more interesting chemicals.
Markus was confident enough that any sane person would not try and attack him after his demonstration. The idiocy of doing such a thing when he had such a 'sword of damocles' over their heads was something that was no laughing matter, but no one was accusing Akainu or Shanks of being the smartest out there.
Akainu was dumb enough to basically challenge Whitebeard to a one on one fight, and Shanks was dumb enough to get in the middle of the Marineford War when he had no stakes in it, just so he could make sure an enemy pirate crew could survive.
Stupid, both of them were that in Markus's eyes and he can not predict what someone like that would do.
Markus was also conscious he had yet to implement his anti-spy measures all over the Beast Pirates troops. His location can be disclosed quite easily as he was still in his own castle.
But he was not afraid. If either Akainu or Shanks came to his castle, he would 'welcome' them the right way for sure. It would be a welcome unlike anything they have ever experienced, that Markus swears.
As for the servants and all those in the castle, he redirected them towards the town on the foot of the castle. He may be a mass murderer, but he was not a monster.
With that distance he calculates they should probably be safe-ish. Oh well, not like he can evacuate the entire town otherwise it would be no different than screaming 'trap right here'. He only let a measly dozen or so stayed behind to help him with preparations for his 'just in case' trap, all this dozen being those he has reason to believe are spies so they can see this as their last contribution to the Beasts Pirates (even if they survive today, they won't go any further than that either way).
Marcus 's P.O.V.
Five and half hours have come and gone by now, boss Kaidou should be arriving in another hour or two at most if he is hurrying and our watchers say that the Red Force have not tried to enter Wano, but are standing around it as if they are worried I will try to fly out to fuck their shit up.
At least Akainu retreated, clearly the World Government was not willing to risk it and the Red Dog, mad as he can be, is not about to go and ignore their orders.
He is too well trained, I guess.
I wouldn't want to be in that ship though, our lookouts say Akainu nearly destroyed the whole place due to his anger outburst, magma flying everywhere. Sadly, the guy failed on dying out of sheer anger and stupidity. It would be a fitting death for the fiery mutt, guess I can try that at another point.
Whatever, what is important is that one of the two potential big problems is no longer around. The remaining surviving Marines are also trying to retreat, at least the ones not affected by my virus. Those were already dead or worse than dead.
Looking at what I have made for an eventuality, I have to admit I might have gone a tad overboard in these preparations, but right now is likely the moment I am at my most vulnerable.
Not only what I got in stock, I also am carrying now a suitcase with several of my more 'one-on-one' toxins that can cause all sorts of troubles. Those I prepared in case I had to face some big guy who refused to back down.
"Master, it seems everything is going well." Susanoo says beside me and I nod. He arrived back about two hours ago, clearly his speed has improved a bit with his fruit.
Leave it to a Mythical Zoan to enhance even stuff unrelated to their main boost as long as it relates to the body.
Shame the others should still be on their way over, but hearing that they were fine by now and that Yamato actually managed to kill that vice admiral was great news.
I will put his head on display… nah, better to make him a cyborg of TRUE justice and set it off against the first Tenryubitto I see outside of Marejois. Just imagining the Marines trying to explain one of their vice admirals turning pirate and killing the celestial dragons would be a show worth watching.
"I was a bit worried before, but I guess I am starting to feel a lot safer now." I say with a smile that was 100% true.
Not only were there no sightings of Shanks and such showing in Wano's lands, Susanoo's enhancements after eating that fruit gave me that much confidence. The guy was just that strong, I could count on him to at least delay in case someone on Shanks's level shows up if my estimates are correct.
CREAK
I hear a sound a distance away, something that does not make sense. I am on the middle floors of my castle, but I ordered all the other beast pirates to stay on the bottom floors. Sure, they are spies but they'd not be dumb enough to walk up here after I told them not to.
No one under my rule disobeys my orders directly, or they die in the most gruesome of ways. After a few such examples this became a fact to the entire crew.
Clenching tightly my suitcase I turn towards the sound. Susanoo also positioned himself in front of me as we waited and, sure enough, someone came in.
"So, you are that Markus kid." A red haired, one armed man with a sword said as he stood inside my castle.
Shit, I really need to see to this 'spies' nonsense. Clearly someone like that was in the observation group and escaped my net, helping Shanks come over here without me being informed.
I say nothing as I take a step back, Susanoo moving even further before me as he holds his mace tightly, clearly ready for combat.
"Interesting, but would you mind stepping aside? I am not interested in killing indiscriminately, and I am only after this boy." Shanks offers in his usual fake nice guy way.
"I won't do that." Susanoo said the obvious, right after his body transformed into his half beast form with golden armor covering his body and he bulked up considerably, a horn surging at the top of his head and his power increasing considerably.
Shanks looked at it with a modicum of interest before Susanoo jumped at him and swung his mace hard, my haki being consumed as a greeter and more powerful haki covered Susanoo's mace as it smashed at Shanks who used his sword to block it with little issue.
I felt myself being pushed back several meters from the clash between those two, their strength being just that massive.
The two stayed like that for a while, the mace managing to press down before Susanoo's attack was completely stopped by Shanks. How can a human even stop that… oh, right, Emperors are monsters.
Need to remember that one.
Susanoo's raw strength in this half beast form should be at least as strong as King going all out, if not much higher and approaching Kaido's own strength.
Not only that, a mace is clearly a much heavier weapon, for Shanks to block this so easily, and with the man not even being a mainly strength based fighter and instead focusing more on haki and swordsmanship...
Shit, I may have underestimated this monster.
Not hesitating, I activated two buttons on my pocket. I know that masters of Observation Haki can see into the future by a few seconds, maybe half a minute or a whole minute if vaguely, but if the effect of what I am using takes longer then this should not be that huge a problem. That was what I have found out at least, and I sure hope I am right on this one.
"Impressive. With a power like that, wouldn't you rather join my crew? We are nicer than the Beast Pirates and we have more parties and adventures!" Shanks says his sales pitch, daring to try and steal what is mine. Yep, 100% gonna make a video of me fucking Uta and sending it to him if I survive this, as well as blow up some of his islands.
Emperor or not, no one gets away with trying to take what is mine just like that.
Susanoo didn't bother with answering as he kept pressing his attack against Shanks, launching several strikes against the Sea Emperor. So happy I let him train with Kaidou with how to handle a mace, it clearly helped a lot.
Shanks, meanwhile, blocked all the strikes with ease before, with one swing of his sword mixed with conqueror's haki, he pushed Susanoo away and created several smaller cuts on his body.
Seriously, how strong is he to do so? My estimates can't be THAT wrong, right?
Well, not like those cuts meant anything seeing as it, and even his clothes, regenerated in a matter of less than a second.
"You utter fool! Beasts science is the world's finest!" I said my first words until now, loving to see the baffled look on the man's face.
Unfortunately, Shanks recovered fast enough as he said.
"Interesting ability. He is a creation of the Beast Pirates then, I will make sure to give him a good destiny later as I feel we can get along, but for now you must get out of the way." Shanks said as his face turned more serious as he stabbed with even greater strength, piercing and sending Susanoo flying.
I merely avoided his body as I took out a vial from my pocket and doused myself with its contents.
As the one armed monster saw my actions he stopped cautiously and seemed to have realized something was afoot as he questioned.
"Why have you not run yet? I would believe you'd try to do that by now."
I just smile and answer honestly.
"Because I am confident enough in what I have made, of course."
"So, that chemical will protect you from my blade?" He asks with a hint of mirth and good humor even as he raises his blade to slice my head off.
"Your sword? No, of course not." I said easily as I finished counting the second vial over my body. "But I AM confident in what comes next."
Shanks looks calm, not thinking what I am doing will have any effect, but his eyes widen as his observation Haki clearly picked up on what was about to happen. He turns around to leave but Susanoo blocks his path.
"You will not leave." Susanoo says and Shanks grimaces as several red lightning runs around his body before, with one swing of his blade, Susanoo is cut into two pieces.
Shanks did not even try to attack me now as he runs, but now it is too late as too much time passed.
Now, considering a pocket sized vial of my previously tested explosive could completely blow up a Marine warship, how much would around 300 liters of the same substance do?
Let us check it out. But first, I gotta say the lines.
"Science is an explosion. Ka-"
"COUGH COUGH. Damn, and here I was trying to time it just right. Deidara-senpai would be ashamed of me… then again, he might want to call ME senpai after this last one, hahaha." I said happily as I observed my surroundings.
It was a vision straight out of hell, truth be told.
Flames fly all around me as not even the debris of the castle remains now. The explosion leveled most of the area around the castle and the mountain it stood on before. Not even a blade of grass remains for about eight hundred meters.
The area where the castle was had the ground turn into magma, such was the heat present. Good thing that the heat insulator and the shockwave absorber potion I threw on myself worked well enough, otherwise I would have been obliterated thoroughly.
Well, I guess that, if a single pocket sized vial of the substance could destroy an armored warship, then this much of the substance MAYBE was a bit much.
Hopefully something of this extent would be able to finish off Shanks… I guess I am not that lucky
I watch as one of said Four Emperors, completely covered in Armament and Conqueror's Haki, starts to get out of the rubble. He looks charred and there are several bruises and burn marks all over his body, even his infamous red hair is missing a few chunks and there are many deep injuries all over.
He looks like shit, but overall it is nothing life threatening so the man is still a threat.
I do not hesitate as I see this, opening my suitcase and taking out a vial… gulping it all down myself.
I mean, this guy is a true monster and if I need to beat him back I will need to have some stimulants on my side to help with what comes next.
"Susanoo! Full Engage mode!" I shout as Susanoo, who was already almost fully recovered from all injuries despite how badly he was damaged from the explosion and being cut in half.
"Understood."
With that, Susanoo's body started to change once more, his drain on my haki and life force increasing at an alarming rate, but with the stimulant I should be able to keep up for a longer time.
And it was so worth it when I saw Susanoo rush at Shanks and smack the man flying away despite him staying as strong as possible.
I smirk as I see that Shanks can't seem to concentrate properly. I guess the disease I released earlier and that I tested on the marines, the one to damage one's sense of time and review their worst nightmares on repeat, still has an effect on the man.
I had it in place on my castle just in case beforehand, I prefer to be overly cautious like that, and had it released way before during the start of the battle with Susanoo, combining it's release with the activation of the countdown for the explosive.
Now, I know Shanks is strong, so maybe he wouldn't mind so much having a few extra diseases and genetic problems that are likely to lead to cancer and several troublesome diseases.
Oh well, even if he cares about it, I don't, and isn't that all that matters?
… Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit!
Where is boss Kaidou? I need his help ASAP!
The fight has been going on for a while now and Susanoo has already managed to push back and even match Shanks on equal grounds when the guy is serious, but my stamina won't keep up for much longer!
The full engage mode forces Susanoo to go absolutely all out, with it he completely reached the level of Four Emperors and Admiral in combat, but that just means he is at the level, not that he is that strong on the level!
Fights between people on this level are all way too long, they all are stamina freakshows and my own strength can't supply Susanoo for much longer. I even used most of my vials at Shanks since I did not have the energy to use Pumpkin or anything due to supplying Susanoo, at least the vials seem to have helped if the way Shanks's expression got paler and paler is any indication.
But seriously, the guy is a freaking monster. How the hell is he still kicking when I gave him five different chemicals that would kill or incapacitate others in mere minutes at most!? Is he that determined to kill me?
Fuck, I didn't even mind break your daughter or turned her into my cocksleeve yet, why hate me that much?
"Susanoo, let's run." I yelled and Susanoo, already turning back from his transformed state, jumped in front of me before taking me and running away.
"COUGH COUGH, Wait right there!" Shanks yells as he coughs blood, I guess the vials with disease, the fighting, and the explosion are getting onto him. He raises his sword and a terrifying Haki spreads as he slashes down towards me, but Susanoo uses his body to block the flying slash.
I look around and see how the slash area beside the one Susanoo blocked extends for several kilometers of now ruined landscape. I gulp at it as I look towards where Shanks is and see that he went on his knees, coughing up blood and his figure rather bad.
"You damn monster." I say as Susanoo takes me away. I need better weapons next time someone like Shanks comes, especially if I cannot prepare a trap like the one I just used.
For now though, running away desperately while the emperor recovers is the best I can manage.
Damn it, and here I thought I could actually kill the bastard. Forget it, forget it, gotta escape from that monster before he finds the strength to get to me. I can't hope to do any more damage than what I already did.
Hope Kaidou gets here soon enough.
Susanoo does not hesitate, picking me up as he dashes away. My breath becomes more and more ragged as my energy is being consumed to try and help Susanoo speed up.
We move deeper and deeper towards the wildernes. Hopefully this would be enough to save u-
BOOM
I cough up blood as I am launched away. My body hurts as I look on at where Susanoo was before.
I can't see anything there. I don't know if Susanoo is alive or dead, and all I can do is feel pain and… didn't I have legs before.
"GGHHAAAA! MY LEGS! MY FUCKING LEGS!" I shout in pain as I feel my blood escaping me there.
STEP
STEP
Looking towards where the sound was coming I saw that monster approach. He looks like shit right now, but he is utterly terifying.
"Fucking monster." I told him as he coughed blood once more.
He did not say anything, just raising his sword and-
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Yamato, coming out of nowhere, shouted as she clashed against Shanks, her conqueror's haki flashing all around as she looked in utter anger and hatred towards Shanks.
She barely managed to slow him down. But she was doing her best as she… was flung flying away.
The man then jumped to the side, several feathers raining down where he was previously. Baby 5 seem to have arrived too, good.
Since I am not using Susanoo anymore, I can only try one last trick. Even as I see more and more people coming in, I take out my Pumpkin and aim at Shanks.
I pour every little drop of energy I have left in the damn weapon, before pulling the trigger.
Shame I can't see the result as my vision starts to darken, but the last thing I hear is a sound in the distance and I smile.
Sucks to be you, damn monster, because your time is up. Boss has returned.