(A/N: Thank you SimplySupreme, son of morgana, Le055Li0n, and ZabuzasGirl for the reviews. :D I think this was my favorite chapter to write just because it's so chaotic and crazy. It probably doesn't live up to the episode, but I hope you all still enjoy it. ^_^)
Zoro appeared directly in the center of the bounty hunters, a grin forming on his face at the looks of utter shock he had earned. Not even flinching when multiple guns were being aimed at him, Zoro swiftly took out both the men and women; their forms now laying unconscious on the ground.
"Seeing him in action is a little intimidating, huh?" Toffee voiced with a weakened laugh, Neoshadow and her hugging each other from the startling sight. It was understandable why Igarappoi believed his comrades had shot each other. Keeping up with the swordsman's speed would be difficult for anyone. And it didn't help that he had vanished on the spot yet again.
Parting from each other before the sudden blade that had been directed at them could slice Toffee and her shadow in half, the two retaliated by jump kicking the male directly in his eyes, earning a sharp yelp of pain from him as he stumbled backwards, covering his eyes with his hands. Neoshadow ended up causing further injury to the man when he sent the bounty hunter crashing into a nearby building where his body limply fell to the ground.
"Hurry up and kill them! It's just one girl and a swordsman!" Igarappoi exclaimed with pale and panicked features. A blade pierced through Igarappoi's hair, this causing the tall male to freeze on the spot as he could feel a back pressing against his own.
"Let me ask you something...Will adding just one grave be enough?" Zoro questioned in a low and dark tone.
The clicks of guns sounded as the other bounty hunters surrounded an amused Zoro, their actions making Igarappoi's eyes bulge.
"Y-you idiots! Are you trying to shoot me, too?!"
Pulling back Igarappoi's head, Zoro made him fire at his own men when he noticed the odd trumpet-like device, before he could launch his attack on him. Toffee meanwhile took to throwing her senbon needles at some of the other bounty hunters various body parts or used a knife-hand strike to the back of their necks; being sure none of the karate chop blows were lethal. And once her shadow had finished striking down his own opponents, the two had taken to hiding alongside Zoro.
"Phew! Who would have thought that weird thing in his hair was a shotgun. It nearly got me," Zoro muttered, a small bead of sweat trailing down his cheek.
"Maybe we should wake Luffy and the others? We don't know what other weapons or abilities some of them might be hiding..." Toffee mentioned with a concerned expression.
"Nah. They should be allowed to rest every once in awhile," Zoro claimed, placing his hand on one of the hilts of his blades and unsheathing it just a little. "Besides, I'll get to test out my new boys, Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu, that I got in Loguetown on all of them. And you and your shadow seem pretty capable yourselves."
Toffee couldn't help but smile with a light blush coating her cheeks out of happiness. It felt nice being trusted like that considering her skills weren't all that great. Hearing a sudden peculiar laugh of, "Hyahyaha! Found ya!", caused her to tense up. One of the hunter's was above them on the roof of the house where they had hidden, and pointing his pistol down at a startled Zoro and Toffee.
A small cry escaped Toffee's lips since Zoro had grabbed her by the back of her shirt and crashed through the door to dodge the bullet. And the two didn't have time to relax when they were surrounded; Toffee following Zoro's lead by leaping behind a thankfully large rounded table, which the swordsman quickly lifted up to block the barrage of bullets.
"Eep! Now what do we do?!" Toffee cried out, pulling at her short locks while Neoshadow copied his freaked out creator by yanking at his own long antenna's.
"Relax. I'll just start with Yubashiri," Zoro voiced with a devilish grin, slicing the table in half and shocking the trackers when he had cut through all of them without the men being able to react. "It's light. Nice katana."
"I can't tell if that was one of the most incredible moves I've ever seen or one of the most reckless..." Toffee murmured, peeking out through her fingers while Neoshadow oddly enough was waving a little flag that had Zoro's face drawn on it.
Toffee quickly dashed after Zoro when he had taken off-her shadow slinking down into the floor to chase after her faster-while the two of them continued to be pursued. Even when they sought higher ground by ascending a nearby ladder that led up to a tall building's roof, their opponents were waiting for them and Zoro almost had his head blown clear off. Thankfully a barrel Miss Monday flung at them from a top another roof, Zoro was able to break apart where the pieces connected with the four bounty hunter's faces, knocking them right out.
"Ah man...That was good wine. What a waste," Zoro complained, holding Sandai Kitetsu out in front of him.
"H-how can you be so calm?! You almost died!" Toffee exclaimed, waving her arms up and down.
"Oi? Why are you mimicking a bird?" Zoro asked in a bored tone, his still nonchalant demeanor causing Toffee to pout since he didn't seem to be taking this seriously. Even when he was nearly smashed by a concrete hammer wielded by a man in overalls, who had tried to launch a sneak attack upon him. The swordsman had even started to complain to his sword which was apparently cursed?!
A child abruptly came running toward them with a dagger, and Neoshadow reacted before Zoro could by kicking it out of the boys hand knowing the attack was meant for Toffee. The child let out a frightened cry, running into the arms of a nun who started to sob and beg for protection. This turned out to only be a ploy for she attempted to hit the three of them with an attack of steam from a large cross that would have blinded them, yet Zoro had struck them both down.
"You're supposed to use the innocent act against kind-hearted people," Zoro spoke up coolly. "I used the back of my sword. Be grateful." Continuing to head up higher, Zoro glanced back at the grey haired woman. "I'm surprised your not complaining about how I handled the situation back there."
"I suppose it makes sense the children here would be bounty hunters, too. And it isn't the first time I've watched kids be struck down because they were associated with the wrong people," Toffee admitted with a sad smile, causing Zoro to raise a brow at this. "It really was kind to let them live. My family isn't evil, but I can't say they would have been that generous themselves..."
Toffee let out a sigh since Zoro hadn't responded, merely sitting down on the roof where they had stopped. He had decided to tease the now panicked hunter's by pushing on the ladder they were climbing up with his foot, causing the man at the front to cry and beg for the swordsman to stop.
"But I guess you're pretty merciless yourself..." she mumbled, her eyes having turned solid white when a smirking Zoro finally kicked the ladder, causing everyone to shrilly scream as they were flung off. The fall wasn't too high to kill, but some of them more than likely still suffered a few broken bones.
After jumping across to another building, Zoro used his Two Sword Style technique to slice up the group that was waiting on them. He had even cut a hole straight through the building, causing those who had landed directly on that spot to shout as they fell through the man-made hole. This whole thing really did seem like it was nothing more than child's play for the tanned skinned male.
Sensing the sudden incoming attack, Toffee jumped upwards to dodge the long wooden ladder Miss Monday had swung at them, latching onto a windowsill where she gazed down at the green haired male and their enemy. Zoro had ducked to avoid the attack himself, but he was surprised how quickly that came to hitting him.
"Don't get too cocky," Miss Monday said in her surprisingly gentle voice, donning a set of iron knuckles. "No man can defeat me with strength alone." She had managed to lift Zoro up by his throat, glaring coldly up at him. "This is the end for you."
"Zoro!" Toffee cried out when the dark skinned woman slammed her fist down on top of Zoro; her punch being powerful enough that it caused the roof to crack. When the dust that had been stirred up cleared, Toffee gasped since the green haired male was causing Miss Monday to scream as his hand was gripping at her face. A bit of blood was on his forehead, but this was the only injury he had suffered.
"What happened to all that boasting? Didn't you want a contest of strength?" Zoro questioned coolly, not even affected by her continued cries of pain. A terrible cracking noise resounded, and Zoro allowed the now unconscious woman to fall to the ground. He turned to Igarappoi and the others,who were watching the scene in horror down below, with a challenging smirk. "Wanna keep going, Baroque Works? This fight's a joke."
The guy fights like a demon, so it's no wonder they'd mistake Zoro for the captain Toffee pondered with a half-smile hearing the discussion going on between the remaining members. Though I agree his bounty should be higher...The last I heard Theo had a 60,000,000 bounty, and Zoro and him seem close in strength and swordsmanship skill...
"You may already know this...In Baroque Works, the lower the number, the stronger the member," Mr. Nine spoke up with a grin. "We three, Mr. 9...Mr. 8...And Miss Wednesday are all single digit agents. Which means the lot you just took out...don't even come close to our strength."
"Heh! There's no point bragging in the middle of a battle. The strongest will win," Zoro claimed with an easygoing grin of his own. "Simple as that."
"IGARRAPA!" Mr. 8 shouted, clearly agitated by the swordsman's words, using his odd shotgun to fire at Zoro and Toffee who both took to quickly dodging the rapid fire of bullets.
Seeing Miss Wednesday boarding what looked like a large duck that she had called to her side, Toffee couldn't help but squeal while hearts appeared to form in her eyes. "It's so cute!"
"Oi! This is no time to be admiring that stupid thing! It's not even basically trained!" Zoro scoffed out considering the blue haired woman had punched her pet upside the head for not listening to her.
"Ahahaha! Indeed! Neither of you have time to be distracted. Let's see how you handle my Acro Bats!" Mr. 9 cackled out, standing upon a nearby bell tower while the shadows made his form look more foreboding. The cartwheels he started to do down the tower weren't so much so, and he exclaimed, "Hot-blooded Guts Bat!", trying to hit Zoro with what looked like baseball bats of all weapons.
"I can't tell if these Baroque Work agents are dangerous or not..." Toffee sighed out, placing a hand against her cheek after having watched what looked like an intense battle between Zoro and Mr. 9, only for the crown wearing male to go tumbling off the roof after he had backed up too far.
Neoshadow's rounded yellow eyes had drooped, giving him a more indifferent expression when Miss Wednesday tried to hit Zoro with her 'alluring perfume' attack. It seemed to almost work when the swordsman fell to one knee, yet the blue eyed female and her duck ended up running right past him and falling off the roof themselves. And the shadow held up a random card with a picture of the joker on it, clearly saying in his own way he thought they were a couple of clowns, too.
"Tch! I couldn't agree more. Fighting these guys is getting embarrassing..." Zoro grumbled.
Hearing a horrid sound that came from a trumpet, Zoro dodged the gunfire Igarappoi tried to assault him with, and Toffee quickly followed after the male once realizing he had jumped down the hole he had created earlier before the odd haired male could direct his attacks on her.
"That shotgun's a pain in the ass. How am I going to get close to him?"
"Do you want Neoshadow and me to take care of him? Bullets are useless against my shadow," Toffee voiced with a small smile.
Zoro was about to reply, but he rolled his eyes when noticing Mr. 9 angrily crashing out of some wooden crates; digging a finger in his ear when the orange haired male claimed he was going to make him pay. "You fell off all by yourself, ya know."
"Home-Run Training Bat!" Mr. 9 shouted, sending an iron chain that wrapped around one of Zoro's muscular arms. "Hah! Now your disabled!"
"So, you've caught him," Igarappoi stated, appearing above Zoro and Toffee with a pleased smile.
"Do it now! Kill him, Mr. 8! No more of either of you running away!"
"Yes. So don't try anything to help out your friend, girl," Miss Wednesday warned with a dark smile, having appeared with a still sleeping Luffy beside her. And a knife was pointed directly at his over-sized stomach. "Make one false move, and your precious nakama here loses his life."
"Are you really sure you want to threaten Luffy like that? If I were you, I'd drop the weapon," Toffee said in her own cautious tone while scratching lightly at her cheek with a finger nail.
"Oh? And why's that?" Miss Wednesday asked with an amused smile. Seeing a black figure forming in front of her, the blue haired bounty hunter let out a startled cry, wincing and holding onto her now throbbing wrist when the creature easily kicked the knife out of her hold; and she couldn't help but back away in slight fear when the monster was holding out it's claws threateningly.
"Miss Wednesday! Dammit!" Igarappoi swore, looking highly worried as he aimed more powerful rounds of fire, from multiple small cannons that also seemed to be attached to his hair, down at Zoro.
The swordsman dodged the incoming lead by pulling on the chain and making Mr. 9 take the brunt of the attack instead. He then swung him at Miss Wednesday, this making Neoshadow quickly duck and then shake an angered fist at Zoro in annoyance after Mr. 9 had collided into his partner; the two of them being knocked out by the force.
"Don't give me that look! I had to dispose of him some way!" Zoro huffed out, running toward Luffy and using his enlarged gut to bounce on. This allowed Zoro to perform a quick slash on the blond haired male, Igarappoi now down for good along with his two companions.
"It's okay, Neoshadow. Maybe you'll get to take out the opponent next time." Toffee said gently, patting at her disappointed shadow's head after having turned away from the no doubt brutal attack Zoro had placed on the large male. Not to mention he probably added further injury to Igarappoi by kicking him into the backstreet where the others lay.
After realizing Luffy didn't appear to be waking up anytime soon, Toffee hopped up onto the rooftop where Zoro was now resting, a sweat drop trailing down the side of her head when she noticed the bottle of wine Zoro was gulping down. She would be concerned about how he had gotten it, but the sudden explosion worried her even more. It hadn't sounded that far away...
"I can't rot away here..." Igarappoi panted out, struggling to crawl across the ground. "I have an important mission to accomplish...!"
"How pathetic can you get? Losing to a single swordsman and some little girl,"
"Mr. 5! Miss Valentine!"
Toffee peeked over the building, frowning when noticing the strange figures of a female carrying an umbrella and a male wearing sunglasses having appeared in front of the three who had regained consciousness. It would prove troublesome if more of their friends had shown up. At least, that's what she thought until hearing something a bit shocking.
It seemed that Miss Wednesday was in fact Princess Vivi from the kingdom of Alabasta who had infiltrated Baroque Works alongside her royal guard, Igaram. Toffee wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but this situation sounded dicey.
"Well damn," Zoro murmured with an amused smirk. "Luffy's still down there...Come on, Toffee. We're getting out of here."
Toffee nodded, but she couldn't help but wonder if running away was the right thing as she followed after Zoro who was dragging the sleeping Luffy behind him into a nearby alley? Igaram had been taken down in one shot by a powerful explosion that came from snot of all things, and Mr. 9 and the former Miss Wednesday were having to deal with these agents alone...
No. It's probably best not to get involved. They were trying to kill us earlier, after all Toffee decided, placing a hand over her lips when Mr. 9 was taken down after trying to protect the princess. Even if ignoring this is leaving a bad taste in my mouth...
Zoro was unsettled by what had happened himself, but he squirmed to pull his ankle loose when Igaram had crawled close to him, grabbing hold of the swordsman where he gazed up at him in desperation.
"Master swordsman! Seeing the strength of one such as yourself, I ask of you an unreasonable request!"
"Don't offer things to me! Get your hands off me!"
"The two before us have abilities of the Devil Fruit. I am no match for them! I beseech you! Protect the princess in my stead! Will you accept?" Igaram begged. "Far to the east lies the kingdom of Alabasta. If you deliver the princess safely-There will most certainly be a handsome reward! I beseech of you this request! Please protect the princess!"
"Quit screwing around!" Zoro yelled out, his eyes having turned bold white from anger and irritation. "You just tried to kill us, remember?! Don't make me cut you again!"
"A handsome reward, you say?" Nami spoke, her random appearance earning flabbergasted expressions from Zoro, Igaram, and Toffee when seeing the orange haired female sitting casually upon a nearby shop. "I like the sound of that! How about 1,000,000,000 beli?"
"O-one bil-" Igaram stuttered, his distress forcing him to cough up a mouthful of blood. "Ma-ma! Maah!"
"I thought you passed out?" Zoro murmured out with a blank expression.
"Oh, come on!" Nami hummed, jumping down from where she had been perched. "A suspicious town that throws a party when pirates come by? What kind of idiot would get smashed in a place like this?"
"Ah, so you were only acting, too..." Toffee said with a sheepish smile, earning a peace sign from the short haired navigator. Did this mean Nami had been hiding and watching Zoro and her run around for the last 20 minutes or so...?
"Well, will you offer me the billion beli, Guard Captain?" Nami asked, smiling sweetly down at the pale faced male. "If we don't help you out...your princess will die, right?"
"I am but a soldier. I cannot make such an expensive promise..."
Nami knelt down in front of the red-nosed male, an almost evil smile arising up on her fair features. "So you're saying the princess of your kingdom isn't worth that price? Gimme~"
"Isn't that extortion?" Zoro mumbled with an apathetic look.
Toffee could only blink her eyes that had grown smaller from what she was hearing. She had learned Nami could be intimidating even if she didn't look it, but the brown eyed girl seemed to turn into a true pirate when money was involved. Ashley and her would definitely bond in that regard...
Letting out a cough, Igaram lifted his body off the ground a little. "Then...if you guarantee you will deliver her unharmed...If you negotiate with the princess directly, I am certain she will agree!"
"So, you're saying we have to save her first? I got it. We'll save your princess for the time being," Nami agreed, fluffing her hair after she had stood straight up. "Right! Get moving, Zoro!"
"I'M NOT GOING, IDIOT!" Zoro snarled out. "Why do I have to be apart of your goddamn moneymaking schemes?!"
"You're so stupid~ My money is mine. But my agreements are your agreements," Nami claimed, having a stare down with Zoro.
"SINCE WHEN DID A BRAT LIKE YOU BECOME MY BOSS?!"
"What? All you have to do is go and finish off those guys," Nami huffed. "Don't make me send Toffee with you to make sure you get the job done!"
"OI! ARE YOU SAYING I NEED A BABYSITTER?!"
Toffee glanced nervously between Zoro and Nami as they continued to bicker. They hadn't even noticed that Luffy had just walked past them, and she was about to timidly bring this up, but Neoshadow had quickly placed his clawed hand over her mouth while rapidly shaking his head. Clearly he thought it was best not to get involved.
"If you do what I say, we'll call it even," Nami giggled out, having claimed Zoro apparently owed her a good sum of money, and if he carried out this task, his debt would be repaid.
"I-I hope you die a horrible, horrible death..."
"That's right. I'm going straight to hell~"
"Shit! I hate you!" Zoro screamed out like a child, fleeing away from the she-devil.
"If you'd be so kind~!" Nami chirped, turning to Toffee with a smile when she noticed the grey haired girl seemed to be debating on whether to go with Zoro or not. "Don't worry. He'll be fine. You should rest after being drug everywhere with that hard head."
"The humiliation. If I were stronger, I could've protected the princess myself...The princess...if anything happens to Vivi-sama...it will spell the end of the Alabasta Kingdom...She must survive..." Igaram uttered, tears forming in his eyes.
"These other Baroque Works members must be incredibly strong if you're this worried," Toffee mentioned softly. "Just what sort of organization are they apart of...?"
Igaram hesitated for a moment, but having both women staring him down, he let out a heavy sigh. "It's an underground criminal organization. The members do not know the Boss' name or face. They specialize in...espionage, assassination, theft, and bounty hunting...Everything moves according to the Boss' orders."
"But why does everyone take orders from a Boss they know nothing about?" Nami inquired, frowning since the whole idea sounded completely ridiculous to her.
"The final objective for Baroque Works...is the foundation of an 'Ideal Nation'. Those that carry out the Boss' wishes successfully...are promised high positions and great wealth in the 'Ideal Nation' he will create."
"I see,"
"The Boss' code name is Mr. 0. To put it simply, the members with the code name numbers closer to zero...will receive more power and prestige! They are the strongest members. And the power of Mr. 5 and those above him is...Unnatural."
"I guess it's a good thing I noticed Luffy earlier. Maybe he'll run into Zoro and provide backup just in case he might need it..." Toffee mentioned thoughtfully.
Nami blinked at this, a look of comprehension dawning on her. She caused Toffee to let out a startled squeak when she grabbed her hand and started to drag her off with her. "You should have told me that sooner, Toffee! Ugh! If Luffy saw all those cut up bodies and learns Zoro's the one who did it, he's gonna go ballistic!"
Toffee let out a small, "Eh?!", her pupils growing bigger when noticing all the chaos that was going on further up ahead. It did appear like a chaotic fight was taking place, but would Luffy really attack his friend like that? Surely he had to have been a little suspicious, right...?
"Those dumbasses!" Nami growled out, noticing Zoro and Luffy up ahead preparing to strike at one another. She let go of a stunned Toffee to make a mad dash for the two. "Stop it!" Slugging the two right in their cheeks, Zoro and Luffy went sailing backwards from the force of her intense hit; their faces now red and swollen on one side.
It's official. Nami's the scariest member of the crew Toffee decided, her form actually trembling while Neoshadow was clinging onto his creator from behind and looking at the livid navigator in pure fear.