Ch. 8- Wano Sumo Wrestling Championship
One Piece © Oda
OCs belong to me
A/N: Before we get started, I just wanna say... I don't have an excuse for why I haven't been updating this in a while. I guess I've been caught up with life, not to mention I started a WebToon back in August, so that adds more to my plate. And with everything that's happened in the canon storyline of One Piece, sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed. I don't even know if I'll be able to be consistent with this because I guess I felt some trauma from when I was being harassed last time.
For now, just enjoy this chapter, because I'm gonna be honest: I don't know when the next chapter will be.
A shocked hush fell over the crowd as they watched Urashima's severed topknot slowly flutter to the ground, finally stopping as Kiku sheathed her blade. The onlookers chattered amongst each other, stunned by such an outcome… but the most stunned of all was Urashima, himself. He stood there, his face blank and his eyes rolled into the back of his skull as his pink hair came undone, and the crowd suddenly fell quiet again, wondering why he was so still.
Just as quickly as Urashima was stunned, he soon snapped out of his stupor as his body trembled… and as he turned around, he glowered at Kiku with a darkening face. Even though there were tears in his eyes, that furious snarl that marred his fat face and the veins that began to bulge from his forehead made it increasingly clear: this yokozuna was absolutely enraged. The woman he claimed to love had now not only rejected his marriage proposal, but humiliated him in the worst way possible. Truly, Urashima would not forgive this.
"Kiiikuuu…!" he growled as he towered over the teahouse maiden. "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY MEEEEEE!"
By now, even the crowd looked frightened by the vicious look that had taken over Urashima's visage. It was almost as if he had become some sort of demon lord, even as his body started turning bright red. Even Kiku seemed shocked, gasping as she covered her mouth.
"Oh, dear!" she cried. "What has this one done?! And in front of so many people?!"
Urashima growled and snorted like an enraged bull, roaring as he reared back his hand to deliver a deadly slap to Kiku, who could only flinch back.
"No, wait!" she cried. "Please forgive me, Master Urashima!"
"Uh-oh!" cried one of the spectators in alarm. "I know that stance! It's Urashima's finisher: the Far Bank Slap!"
"Yeah, I know!" agreed another. "I've seen him actually kill people in the ring with that move!"
"In the end… you're still no better than a man who would dare raise his hand against a woman…!" Kiku realized, just as Urashima swung his hand to deliver the final blow… or so it would seem, at first.
"GUM-GUUUUUM… SUMO SLAP!"
Just when it looked like Urashima's attack was about to connect, someone else soon jumped into the fray to block his hand with their own, and who else would it be but a topless "Luffytaro", who had inflated his hand to match the yokozuna's strength (not that Urashima really had a chance to begin with). While Luffy had jumped into the ring, Blizzard leapt in and, with a gentle but firm push, brought Kiku out of harm's way. The moment Luffy's palm smacked against Urashima's, a small but strong shockwave shook the air. The two stood at a seeming standstill, one trying to push back the other until they were both knocked back by the force of their own strikes, so much so that they were practically leaning on their toes and flailing their arms, just to stay within bounds!
"Whoa! Hold firm, Urashima!" called one of the spectators.
"Who is that little shrimp, anyway?!" asked another.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Luffy cried as he nearly fell out of the ring, barely able to hold on by his toes.
"Y… you can do it, Luffytaro!" Kiku called out, and to everyone's surprise, both Luffy and Urashima managed to stay standing, both sighing in relief once they regained their balance, and once it was clear that they were still in it, the crowd erupted with cheers.
'Well, so much for keeping a low profile,' thought Blizzard as he watched the match. 'But what the hell. I've come to expect this from Luffy, by now.'
"You!" Urashima shouted as he glowered at Luffy, who only glared back at him. "Just what are you to O-Kiku?! And what did you just do to my slap?!"
"That depends on who's askin', fatass!" Luffy quipped.
"I am the yokozuna, Urashima!" Urashima declared. "Now get out of my way! I need to break O-Kiku to pieces… or else my honor is lost!"
"Tch!" Blizzard snorted as he stood protectively in front of Kiku. "Fat bastard… thinks that he has a right to hit a woman around?"
"Sure, I'll let you do that," Luffy began, causing Blizzard to gawk at him in comic shock… until he saw that familiar cocksure grin of his, causing the white wolf-dog to soon relax. "That is, if you can beat me!"
"What was that?!" Urashima questioned while the young "samurai" before him began to flex his biceps.
"Come on!" Luffy shouted. "Let's sumo wrestle! You better watch out, because I'm a pro!"
SUMO WANNABE PIRATE,
"LUFFY-NO-UMI"
The crowd was gobsmacked. This little man, up against the undefeated yokozuna of Wano? Surely, he must be joking. While some laughed at Luffy's declaration, others were just completely stunned, and some were even urging him to get out of the ring more out of concern than anger.
'I'd agree with these guys,' Blizzard thought as he sat on his haunches to watch the show, 'but Luffy has gone undefeated against Usopp more times than I can count on my paws. This ought to be good for a laugh.'
Urashima, meanwhile, was not the least bit amused. If nothing else, this only served him to irritate him more.
"Get out of my way, you little shrimp!" the yokozuna boomed. "Take this! BODHISATTVA SLAP!"
He began to make some rapid fire palm thrusts at Luffy, attempting to send him flying out of the ring like he had done to all his other opponents. However, being as small and agile as he was, the rubber pirate deftly dodged his slaps, practically sliding between his arms. Having Observation Haki as honed as his helped him, as well. He was able to see Urashima's attacks coming mere seconds before they could connect.
By now, some of the spectators that had mocked Luffy before founding themselves cheering him on and even betting money on him winning the bout. However, Urashima was getting more and more desperate, so much so that he was beginning to use cheap tactics, like clapping his hands in an attempt to capture the young pirate's head in his palms to discombobulate him, which he called his "Ear Splitter" move, and then he attempted to jab two fingers into his Luffy's eyes, which he called his "Eye Splitter" attack.
"Hey! That's cheating, you know!" Luffy shouted.
"Why do you care, Luffy?" asked Blizzard, now looking quite bored from watching. "Just get this over with! This honestly wasn't much of a fight."
"Oh, yeah!" Luffy exclaimed before he stretched his arm back. "GUUUUUUM-GUUUUUM…"
"Eh?!" Urashima gasped in shock.
"What the-?!" one of the onlookers questioned. "Is his arm stretching?!"
"What IS he?!" asked a woman in the crowd.
XXX
"OW-OW-OW! STOP! LET GOOOO!"
Tama whimpered in pain as she struggled against the grip of Holdem, who gave a cruel grin as he pulled at her left cheek with a pair of pliers.
"Please… stop!" Tama begged as tears fell from her eyes.
"Not until I get those dumplings to come out!" Holdem shouted as he pinched her cheek so hard that it began to bleed. "Now hold still!"
"OWWW!" Tama screamed.
Just then, one of Holdem's thugs came running into the room with a panicked look on his face.
"M-Master Holdem!" he cried as he tried to catch his breath. "Come quickly!"
"What is it?" Holdem questioned as he glared back at him. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"In the square," the thug answered, "this woman with a sword went and just cut Yokozuna Urashima's topknot off!"
"Why the hell are you telling me?!" asked Holdem in an infuriated tone. "What do you expect me to do about it, anyway?!" He then went back to pulling at Tama's cheeks with the pliers, causing her to shriek in more pain. "I'm too busy trying to deal with this little brat, right now! I'm trying to make those dumplings she made come out of her cheeks, but it's not working!"
"Stop it!" Tama cried with tears of agony in her eyes. "Please! It really hurts! I'll give the baboon back, just let me go!"
"Not likely, kid," Holdem said with a cruel smirk as he continued to pull on the poor girl's cheeks. "See, I heard you dropped the name 'Kozuki'. Don't you know you shouldn't be going around chasing ghosts?"
Tama only whimpered, tears of fear and pain falling down her face as Holdem continued to yank at her cheeks with her pliers, causing blood to mix with her tears.
"The Kozuki Clan was the family that destroyed Wano 20 years ago," Holdem continued. "They're a clan of evil spirits! Don't go invoking their name unless you're prepared to be punished for it!"
XXX
"Ugh… C… Captain… am I gonna die?"
Bepo groaned as he lay on the ground, his face looking pale… well, paler than normal due to his white fur. His breath came out in ragged pants as he found himself a cold sweat, his body shivering uncontrollably. All around him, Law, Jupiter, Penguin, and Shachi stood over their crewmate with concern, the first of them placing his hand on his first mate's chest.
"I warned you not to eat that fish from the poisoned river, Bepo!" Law shouted as he tried to administer an I.V. bag to the Polar Bear Mink. "Of all the times to happen, why now?!"
"Dammit, this isn't good!" Jupiter cursed. "Hurry, Law!"
"I can't rush this!" Law shouted as he placed the I.V. catheter into Bepo's wrist.
XXX
Not too far from Bakura Town, Hawkins was riding in on his Kirin, holding a snail in his hand. For some reason, he seemed in a bit of a panic as he drew closer and closer to the town.
"That's right! He has a straw hat hanging off the back of his neck!" Hawkins stated. "Whatever you do, DO NOT engage him! He is far beyond your abilities! I'm on my way to Bakura Town, right now!"
With that, he slapped at the reins of his steed, which let out a bray as it began to pick up speed.
XXX
"Get out of my way!" Urashima demanded, seemingly forgetting about Luffy's stretching arm. "O-Kiku has committed an unforgivable crime against me! She spurned the offer to marry into the warrior class… and shamed me beyond that!" He then stood towering over Luffy, who did not look deterred in the least. "Now, I must crack her head open to make an example of her!"
"And I told you you could that IF you could beat me!" Luffy shouted. "And even if you could, don't you know that no means no?!"
By now, Blizzard let out a long yawn of boredom while the townsfolk just watched with gaping mouths at Luffy's stretching arm. In fact, it had stretched so far that it practically reached the other side of Bakura Town, even to the point where his fist couldn't even be seen anymore!
"How dare you!" Urashima shouted in fury. "I am the Greatest Sumo Wrestler in all of Wano!"
"Oh, yeah?" Luffy asked with a smirk. "Well, I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!" He then bit into his thumb and blew air into his arm, causing his stretched-out fist to grow to gargantuan size.
'Yep… it's over,' thought Blizzard as Luffy pulled his huge hand toward Urashima, who gaped in shock.
"GUM-GUM GIANT SUMO SLAP!"
WHABAM! Luffy slammed his gigantic palm against Urashima, his hand having grown as big as the yokozuna himself. The slap was so powerful, not only did it knock Urashima out, but the shock was enough to send people to the ground. Then, just as he had done to many others, the sumo wrestler himself went flying through the air like he was nothing but a wad of crumpled up paper. So much so, he ended up crashing right into Holdem's quarters, obliterating the entire building!
The townsfolk was absolutely shocked. They couldn't believe that a young man such as Luffy could easily have sent their great champion, Urashima flying away like that, and demolish several buildings on top of that. However, as the crowd clamored, that's when one man gasped as he spotted Zoro amongst them.
"HOLY HELL, IT'S HIM!" the man cried as he pointed at the green-haired swordsman. "IT'S THAT GUY THAT CUT DOWN THE MAGISTRATE AND HIS MANSION!"
"Oh, my god! IT'S ZOROJURO!" shouted another man in panic, causing Zoro to glare back at them.
"So what if it is?" he asked, causing the men to shriek in terror. For just a moment, they could have sworn they saw the Devil, himself as they looked into his cold, steely gaze.
"Don't tell me that he's in on this, too!" cried one of the onlookers.
"With that tough swordswoman, the wolf, and that rubbery sumo kid?!" asked another. "This is just crazy! Just who are these people?!"
Luffy, Zoro, Blizzard, and Kiku all stood in the ring, the former sitting on the wolf-dog's back as he pointed at the crowd.
"Hey! Whoever's in charge of this place, bring him out now!" Luffy demanded. "We're taking Tama back, right now!"
Frightened by this sudden turn of events, the townspeople fled in panic, practically stampeding through the streets. However, as the civilians fled the scene, several members of the Beast Pirates soon appeared, as well as as some samurai from the shogunate army, all of them armed to the teeth.
"Get them!" one of them shouted.
"They must be here for that kid that Master Holdem is holding captive!" shouted another, one that had a large, fluffy white beard in the shape of a rabbit.
"Just try and take the kid back if you can!" exclaimed a samurai with a wide jaw and a rectangular head.
"Oh, dear!" Kiku cried. "What should this one do, Zorojuro?!"
"Why are you putting on the shy act?" Zoro asked as he held his sword against his shoulder. "You don't really need my help."
By now, Luffy was getting rather impatient, so he ordered Blizzard to charge into the fray. While the wolf-dog rammed his way through the horde of Beast Pirates, Luffy just kicked them away while holding the unsheathed Kitetsu II.
"Tell me where your boss is, right now!" Luffy shouted.
"Why do you even have that sword out if you're not gonna use it?!" Blizzard questioned as he glanced back at his master.
"Sh-should we fight them?" asked Kiku, worriedly.
"If you wanna save the kid, then you don't have a choice, do you?!" Zoro asked as he brandished his swords.
Kiku stiffened, but then ultimately sighed in resignation as she drew her sword, once more.
"Very well," she said. "If it is for O-Tama, then this one shall fight!" With that, she charged in as well, swinging her sword and slicing down any opponent in her path.
"If you don't get your boss out here, soon," Zoro said as he leapt into the air, "then you're all gonna get wiped out, you hear?!"
"You!" Luffy shouted as he grabbed one of the Beast Pirates, who was covered in blood and bruises by now. "What's your boss's name?!"
"Urgh… Hor…blumph… ooh…!" the thug groaned, his cheeks swollen and bruised, thus causing his speech to become unintelligible.
"Get out here, Horace or whatever!" Luffy shouted.
"I really don't think that's his name, Luffy…" Blizzard muttered as he kicked another samurai in the face with his back leg without even so much as glancing back.
"If you lay one finger on Tama, you're gonna get the ass-kicking of a lifetime, got it?!" Luffy questioned as flames began to blaze behind him.
"Oh, crap!" cried one of the townsfolk. "There's a fire!"
"Someone get some water or something!" shouted a woman that stood nearby. "Get the firefighters!"
At that moment, someone had decided that he had finally had enough of this ruckus and had finally shown himself.
"I'm right here, boy! And the name's Holdem!"
Luffy, Blizzard, Zoro, and Kiku all looked up to see none other than Holdem, the very man they were looking for standing on the rooftops… and trapped in the jaws of Kamajiro was Tama!
"Master Holdem is here!" exclaimed one of the Beast Pirates.
"Hahaha! Now they're gonna get it!" declared another.
"So you finally showed your face, huh?" Luffy asked as he glared at Holdem, who sneered down at him while brandishing two katanas in his hands.
"I didn't have much choice, considering you just demolished my house!" the Headliner spat. "I was just getting through torturing this girl when all of a sudden, Urashima comes crashing through my wall!"
"B-Big Bro Luffy! Help me!" Tama cried as she struggled in Kamajiro's jaws.
"Tama!" Luffy cried.
"Oh, no!" Kiku shouted in alarm.
"Just who the hell are you people?!" Holdem asked. "And where did you come from?! If you really are bold enough to fight against us, the Beast Pirates, then I bet you're in league with the infamous thief, Shutenmaru!"
"Shootin' who?" Luffy asked with a tilt of his head. "Ah, whatever! Let Tama go, now!"
"Oh, so you want the kid back, do you?" Holdem asked with a smirk. "Well, too bad! You take one step closer and I'll have Kamajiro crush her in one bite!"
"H-Help me, Big Bro Luffy…!" Tama whimpered as tears fell from her eyes while Kamajiro growled, his jaws clenched around her.
"Whoa! That lion's got a growing out of him!" Luffy exclaimed.
"You mean that guy has a lion growing out of him!" Blizzard shouted in comical annoyance. "And anyway, is that really all you're focused on?! Tama's in danger!"
Outside of Bakura Town, Hawkins was approaching the gates on the back of his Kirin while Law and Jupiter ran down to try and intercept him, the former growing frustrated with this sudden turn of events while the latter flapped his owl wings as hard as he could. Since Bepo was put on an I.V., Law made sure that he would be getting proper care until his return. Still, he had grown increasingly frustrated with how things suddenly turned into a fracas whenever Luffy was involved.
Speaking of Luffy, he grinned as he cracked his knuckles while Zoro stood at his sword and Blizzard licked his lips.
"We're taking Tama back, right now!" Luffy exclaimed.
"As if," Holdem said as he glowered at the Straw Hat Captain. "I don't have any intention of giving her back to you fools!"
TO BE CONTINUED…
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