Chapter 13

The Devil Himself

"You're pretty strong for tiny pirates, Shishishishi!" Oars jumped down from his perch a top the mansion and landed in a low crouch. There was a semblance of Luffy's smile in those jaws. The kind of smile were you think this battle is going to be fun. Usopp, Zoro, Sanji, Franky, Robin, Chopper, and Maxwell all stared down Oars, psyching themselves for this fight. They were also having a conversation of their own.

"I've got an idea," said Zoro, "How about we send this guy flying?"

"Se… Send HIM flying!?" Usopp balked at the suggestion, "He's freaking gigantic!"

Sanji let out a breath of smoke from his cigarette, "I see… That would be great idea."

"…By the Maker, they're actually agreeing on something…!" Maxwell blanched at the cook and swordsman.

"Maxwell…" he heard Mineive speak in his mind. "We spent up most of our energies trying to heal you. I'm afraid you'll be on your own for this one…"

"…Understood." Spells like Revival, Horror, and the multiple focus spellcasting were going to be unavailable during this fight. Those all required spiritual assistance when casting them.

"Seeing him move like Luffy with that huge body was certainly a surprise." The mage could practically hear the grin on Zoro's lips.

"But he's not really suited to be King of the Pirates," said Robin.

Franky rubbed his chin, "Hm… How to take him down… I've got tons of ideas."

"He must have some weak point," said Chopper.

Sanji lit his cigarette, "To catch a big fish, you would usually weaken it, slowly."

"I'd personally go after the eye. Trolls back home only had one anyway." Oars did only have one eye. The other was an empty socket for some reason. Maxwell would have preferred the legs, but they were too hazardous given Oars' size.

"…He really is scary though..." Usopp couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Then I'll crush you!" Oars roared, leaping up into the air, "GOMU-GOMU NO~ BUTT DROP!"

"What kind of attack is that!?" "SCATTER!"

Oars crashed down, landing like he was trying to preform a cannonball. Maxwell ran away with a Fade Step, while everyone else either ran or jumped back. Landing on your but was an utterly ridiculous technique, but considering the zombie's mass, they did not want to be caught under it. Oars had sent shockwaves that rolled throughout the island.

Franky was personally offended at how they weren't being taken seriously, "Damn you, Straw-Hat…! Have a taste of out combined strength!" The cyborg ran towards Usopp and Chopper, "Guys! It's time for Tactics #15!"

"WHAT!?" "You want to do that right here and now!?"

Maxwell looks over at Usopp, Franky, and Chopper, "Tactics #15? What in Andraste's name are you talking abo—? WHOA!" He didn't finish his sentence because the three of them dashed past him, and Franky grabbed onto the back of his collar.

"Zoro! Swirly-brow! STANDBY!" Sanji and the swordsman look at Franky with confusion. "Support my legs!"

"PIRATE DOCKING VI!"

Franky jumped into the air. Somehow his shirt had mechanically gin over his head.

Sanji and Zoro grabbed Franky's legs as he jumped on their shoulders. Both sets of hands clamping down like clasps.

Usopp jumped into Franky's right hand, holding him around his stomach. Franky's hand was actually large enough to hold onto the snipper, and Usopp wrapped his legs around his forearm! Usopp then raised his arms, making them look like a claw.

Maxwell spun around as Franky threw him up into the air. Franky then grabbed Max much like he had Usopp. Only he didn't copy Usopp's movements.

The mage only had one thought as he was held in Franky's other hand. WHAT IN ANDRASTE'S FLAMING GRANNY PANTIES WAS GOING ON HERE!?

Chopper then jumped onto Franky's shoulders, but with his small stature, Chopper looked like a second head.

"GIANT ROBO-WARRIOR!"

"BIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGG~ EMPEROR!"

"…PUT! ME! DOWN!" Maxwell wiggled in the cyborg's grip.

"No, wait Maxwell! You have to stay docked!" Chopper tried to explain.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DOCKED!?" Maxwell barked back, "I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE!" There was no tactical advantage in making a human pyramid right now!

Franky, Usopp, and Chopper all gasped, looking at the mage, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT A MECHA IS…!?"

…

…

…

Usopp, Franky, and Chopper then looked up realizing Oars had joined in on their disbelief. "Why is he shocked too!?"

Mecha is a term of anime usually referring to a large robotic humanoid. They are either sentient, vehicles piloted by protagonist(s) or antagonist(s), and can be used as a military unit. …This is also generally marketed towards little boys, who also like the cool flashy movement, encouraging sales in marketplaces featuring figurines of said robots… But you probably already knew that didn't you?

"Damn it!" Franky cursed, "This isn't going to work! Not if he doesn't believe! DETACH ARM!"

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Franky threw Maxwell over his shoulder and the mage went flying.

"Hey! Nico Robin, dock into my left arm!"

"Robin, Hurry!" Chopper yelled.

"Come on, Robin! Do it just like me!" Usopp flexed his torso, showing off his pincer pose.

"…No."

Franky, Chopper, and Usopp all blink at the woman's response.

"As a human being, I'm embarrassed."

They gawked at how disappointed she sounded. How did Robin not want to be a part of this!?

"Why did you stop?" Then the guys remembered that Oars was still watching all of this. "And here I was getting all excited! Come on! DOCKING!" Oars swatted them aside, disappointed that he wouldn't face the Big Emperor formation. Zoro ducked, and Sanji jumped away, but Usopp, Franky and Chopper were all slapped away.

Ironically, the trio crashed right around where Maxwell had been thrown. The mage even looked up to see three cookie-cutter holes in a concrete slab, with his crewmates still inside them.

"If only you had joined, Robin! We could have became the Robo Warrior, Big Emperor!" Franky whined.

"I never saw this betrayal coming!" wailed Chopper.

"Luffy would have done it…"

"You're all idiots," the mage deadpanned.

"Please…" Robin didn't even turn around to face them, "Never mention 'docking' again."

Maxwell sighed as the battle resumed. He spotted Sanji circling around, kicking a chunk of rumble at the giant's head. It hit the zombie's cranium, right behind the right ear, but it did no visible damage.

Oars turned looked down at Sanji, "Was that you?" He didn't seem phased by the attack at all, but turned to squish the pirate flat.

However, another rock then hit the giant, smashing into Oars' left temple. Amazingly, Oars actually felt pain with this stone, "YEOW!" Oars covered where the rock had hit, he had only seen a brief flash of green before the stone connected. "WHO DID THAT!?"

"Over here, you flatlined lummox!" Maxwell called out from the giant's left side. He had been aiming for the eye, but the trajectory was a little off so far down. Maxwell was running the same way Sanji was, only on the opposite side. At least now he Maxwell knew spiritual damage from the Stonefist was able to affect him!

"Why you—! AFF!" Oars then found himself with a mouth full of rubble. He spat it out, "Petooie! …Where did that come from?"

"He ain't the only one hurling rocks at you, peabrain!" Sanji roared at the undead giant, kicking another one!

"Grr…!" Oars's brows furrowed in annoyance as the stone shattered against his face. He was tried to decide who the squash first. The guy with the accurate kicks or the guy with the painful stones.

"UOO!" Chopper, Franky, and Usopp broke out of the slab, seeing their comrades fight. "THAT'S THE WAY, YOU BASTARDS!"

"Franky! I'm borrowing this!" Zoro stabbed two of his swords into one of the stone columns Franky had been holding.

"Ah! My heavy nunchuck!" Franky briefly realized he had left it when he tried Tactics #15. However, he had no problems with it, "Take it!"

Zoro lifted the oversized nunchuck onto his shoulder, and started spinning the other end as he ran. "Robin! I'll get his left arm. You lock his joints!"

The archeologist gave him a small smile, "Understood!"

"Maxwell! Keep peppering that thing! It's not like you can do much else!" Zoro shouted.

"Shut up, Zoro!" Maxwell bark back. Unfortunately, Zoro wasn't wrong. Most of his spells were meant human sized targets, and the Stonefist only did so much. Maxwell didn't want to risk generating that aura again, so he kept casting potshots with arcane bolts at the giant.

Usopp saw Oars starting to get up, "Take this! Certain Kill—Triple Shot: Special Oil Star!" Seeing a chance, he aimed his kabuto at Oars hand where the zombie was supporting his weight. It was on a piece of rubble with a flat surface.

The giant's hand slipped.

"Hm—? UWA!" Now Oars was off-balance, his body twisting with the slide.

Meanwhile, Zoro had been running towards Sanji. "Hey Crap-cook! Give me a boost!"

"What was that!?" Sanji saw the ridiculous nunchuck Zoro was carrying, "What are you doing with that thing…?"

"If it's too much to ask, don't bother." Zoro leapt towards the cook.

"Why you—!" Sanji lifted his leg anyways, and Zoro landed on the crux of Sanji's foot, "Like this is any problem! Arme de L'air: POWER SHOT!" Sanji then kicked like a soccer player, propelling Zoro up into the air, right towards Oars.

Zoro was aiming for the left bicep, where Oars' identification tattoo was applied, "Dai… GEKKEN!" He swung that giant nunchuck, and the spinning pillar crashed into Oars' forearm.

"WHOA!" The pillar may have cracked apart, but it had enough force to turn the giant upward, so now Oar's was standing on one leg.

"Cien Fleur. Big Tree." Robin stood in her signature "V" pose. A column of hundreds of arms sprouted from the giant's back, like a peach coloured pillar. It twisted around, catching the arm Zoro hit, and pinned it behind Oar's back.

"Whoa! This is dangerous!" Oars started hopping on the balls of his feet, "I'm gonna fall!"

Oars then heard the rapid tapping of nails, hammer, and wood. "Take a good look at my improvised midair stair building! FRANKY SKYWALK!"

Franky was literally making a staircase plank by plank at such a rapid pace, gravity had yet to take it over. Chopper ran behind Franky in his human form, carrying all the required lumber on his shoulder. The staircase was coming up to Oars' head!

"This stairway won't be able to stand for too long! Let's go Chopper!" "YEAH!"

Franky and Chopper then jumped off the last plank layer down. They had their large fists raised, and roared together, "SUUUUUPER~! FRAPPER GONG!"

The two massive fists punched together, right into giant's massive jaw! The move stunned Oars! He couldn't think straight! "No matter how big you are, a person's weak points don't change! If your jaw gets hit, your brain gets shaken around!"

"You've only got one leg to support you, Monster Luffy!" Sanji made a mad dash towards Oars' foot, aiming right for the ankle.

"Anti-Manner~! KICK COURSE!" Sanji kicked so hard into the giant's shin that Oars finally lost his last bit of footing.

"EH!?" Oars was literally turning on his head! Spinning until his legs were up in the air!

"Flip over, monster!" "Nice one! Go!" "Our first knockdown!"

Oars landed on his head, his legs and body leaning up against the manse. Maxwell was amazed the building was still standing, even with a giant crashing into it. Oars' impromptu summersault did destroy the bridge though.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…!" the giant whined. His left arm was still pinned behind his back, and stones jutted into his spine.

This only served to piss Oars off.

"YOU BASTARDS! NOW YOU'VE GOT ME MAD! I'LL SEND YOU ALL FLYING!" the giant roared. Oars shifted in his upside-down position. "PREPARE YOURSELVES. I'M GOING TO FLATTEN YOU ALL LIKE PANCAKES! EVEN YOUR BONES WILL BE DUST!"

Oars roar was certainly powerful. It was loud enough to create a gust of wind at the pirates. Maxwell and the others held their ground though. At most, Maxwell had to hold up an arm to shield his face from the dust being blown.

Usopp and Chopper were slightly more worried.

"Oh my god! He's ridiculously angry!" "This is bad. Here he comes!"

Oars was able to get his arm free… but the giant didn't get up.

"…My horns are stuck!"

…

"Crap. My horns are totally stuck."

…

"…Stuck, you say?"

There was a certain malicious gleam in all their eyes when Franky said that. Maxwell would admit that he too had a viscous grin on his face as they walked up towards the downed giant. Call it payback, call it catharsis, call it misplaced aggression, but they all wanted a piece of Monster Luffy.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

Luffy has caused them no shortage of grief while sailing with him. Luffy always did come up with all the hair brained ideas! Slingshotting into battle, jumping off the precipices of buildings and an abyss, flying boats and sending them all flying with him! And now they were going to pay him back tenfold!

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

Usopp kept shooting tabasco sauce into Oars eye and mouth. Chopper, in his human form, pummelled against the giant's in the temple. Franky had picked up another pair of pillars and swung at Oar's jaw. Zoro slashed at Oars' neck on the right, while Sanji tenderized it on the left.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

Maxwell and Robin were the ones who kept Oars pinned through all of this. Robin sprouted limbs, strapping down the giant's arms and twisting the muscles. Maxwell meanwhile kept casting Veilstrike on the giant's head, hammering both horns and the giant's cranium into the ground.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

The giant screamed. The giant winced. The giant hurt! Dust and rumble went flying up from their assault.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! GIVE IT A REST, ALREADY!"

"RETREAT!" Usopp yelled, and the Straw-Hats retreated. Oars was free and was getting up. They knew that beat down wasn't going to last forever. The giant had rocked his legs and crushed the rest of the mansion he was leaning up against. His horns had even torn up the ground.

"Haa… Haa… They're like demons…!" Oars panted as he walked back into the courtyard. His forehead was bloody, and his head was aching. Where they even human? He better finish them off!

"Wow!" Just as Oars he thought that though, he saw Usopp on a higher piece of rubble, pointing off to the right, "Look over there! A giant pile of meat!"

Chopper was with him, "Whoa, it looks so good!"

Oars, having Luffy's shadow, looked over. The giant still had Luffy's personality, which meant he also liked meat. It didn't matter if it was beef, fish, or pork. He would eat it all! Luffy also tended to use it as a cure-all-ailment solution. So would Oars also do something similar.

It was an obvious rouse though, "KNEE CRUSH!" One Luffy would have fallen for.

"AH!" Zoro and Franky swung at the back of Oars' knees, using their pillars and katanas to pressurize the ligaments. Oars' knees buckled from his weight and the twin blows.

"Is it a knockdown if his knees touch the ground?" "Even if there were rules, I don't think anyone would care about 'em."

"Alright! His knees are down!" Usopp cheered as Oars fell onto his hands and knees.

"So humiliating…!"

"Uhahaha! We ain't gonna lose!" laughed Franky as he ran back to where they all gathered, "We just have to wait until Straw-Hat kicks Moria's ass! Come on~! Get those shadows, Straw-Hat!"

"Why do we have to wait?" said Zoro, "We just need to beat this guy."

"Wait—What!?" Franky balked at the swordsman, "Weren't we just slowing this monster down so he wouldn't get in Straw-Hat's way!? …Are you seriously trying to win!?"

"There's no meat… And my knees hurt…"

Zoro snapped back to attention on Oars, "You have to finish the fights you start."

"He's not just a giant though!" Franky yelled back, "He's a zombie, too! The only way to beat this thing is to purify him!"

"Yeah! Just work on buying time, Zoro!" Usopp backed Franky up.

"You can run if you want, but I don't fell like waiting for Luffy either!"

"Fufufu. They're really getting into it, aren't they?" Robin looked over at Maxwell.

"Well, they wouldn't be Zoro and Sanji if they weren't up for a challenge," Maxwell shrugged. And this zombie was definitely a mountain to climb.

"Gomu Gomu no…!"

Maxwell got back into a battle stance as Oars raised his giant fist. However, as he looked, Maxwell noticed Zoro having a third katana. "Zoro, when did you get a new blade?"

Zoro had lost one of his sword to a Devil Fruit user during their raid on Enies Lobby. He was in the mob and apparently had the power of the Rust-Rust Fruit. Zoro was lucky he only lost one katana, as it had corroded nearly to nothing.

"I found it while we were looking for Brook's shadow." Bullshit! Like someone would leave a katana that lying around in a laboratory tower! The katana itself was black as night with a distinctive red sunbeam for a hamon line. It was almost as if an eclipse had been captured and forged into a sword. The guard and cap were of golden hue, featuring flower pelts in it's design. A black sun, over the horizon, underneath the branches the of cherry tree…

"I heard that strength of a Black Blade is unparalleled. That even if a dinosaur stepped on it, it wouldn't bend a millimetre… Now that I finally have this 'superior' blade, Shusui, now's the perfect time to test it out."

"Black Blade—? By the Maker!" Maxwell nearly stumbled back as he saw the aura. It made Maxwell distinctly remember Mihawk's sword, Yoru, and how it was nearly impossible to heal Zoro's chest wound from it. If Zoro had found a sword like that…

"Wait! I'm sure Luffy will beat Moria for us!" Usopp tried to reason with him. Zoro already had all three swords drawn and ready to attack.

"Come on, I'll be your opponent!"

"Alright!" Oars aimed his fist at Zoro, "—PISTOL!" Oars punched down, digging into the dirt and creating cracks in the ground.

Zoro jumped away, doing backflips as he did. Then he looked at his blade, "It's heavier compared to my old Yubashiri…"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!?" Maxwell yell as Zoro inspected his katana. One of Oars fists was coming right towards him!

"If it's this heavy…" Zoro was deceptively prepared for it though. He swung Shusui and his other katana at Oar's oncoming fist, and by the Maker, he was able to deflect it!

"Amazing! He pushed the punch aside with his own strength!" Chopper gawked at the swordsman.

Zoro wasn't done though. "Santoryu—" Using the momentum from Oars' punch, Zoro spun in the air, "108 Pound CANNON!" and created a spiralling wind blade.

It was certainly larger than Zoro's usual attack. The kamakaze flew straight at Oars' chest. However, Oars leaned back and the 108 Pound Cannon flew past the giant, right into the mansion.

"Not bad for a midget!" said Oars, seeing to spiral hole in the manse. "If I took that, it might have cut me."

"…One of the slashes swallowed the other two," Zoro looked at his katana again, "But there's to much pointless destruction around the cut. I guess that proves I'm not used to this blade yet… Shuusui is certainly several grades above Yubashiri, and it isn't well-behaved either… You left me something good, Ryuma of Wano-Kuni…!"

"Hmm!" Oars got impatient, "You bastard, I'LL CRUSH YOU!" Oars raised his leg and started stomping on the ground. It was like a jackhammer, despite his immense size, and created a giant dust cloud. Zoro backed off, and they all ran and hide in it to decide their next move.

"Hey, Zoro!" Usopp yelled seeing the swordsman close to him, "Don't be so reckless!"

"Even if you breath him, the only shadow we'll get back is Luffy's! We still don't know where you and Sanji's shadows are! But if Luffy defeats Moria, we'll get all the shadows back! There's no need to get hurt by an undying giant zombie! Let's just trust in Luffy and concentrate on slowing this zombie down!"

Zoro didn't even turn to face Usopp. "I have plenty of faith in Luffy. But even Luffy has his weaknesses!" The crew all paused at Zoro's words.

"It's trickery…! An invisible man, a ghost girl, and a master of shadows… The people gathered on island are Devil Fruit users with abilities meant to screw with you. Who knows if they'll fight fairly with Luffy?"

"…Yes, that is true," Robin reluctantly admitted. Even Franky moaned thinking about it.

"If Luffy doesn't finish it before morning comes, him, me, and the cook will be unable to fight! So, before Dawn breaks, even if we only get Luffy back to normal, then it's not over!"

Franky looked up at the sky, "We don't even have 30 minutes until Dawn… The fog is heavy on this ocean, so the sun won't reach everywhere."

"So it's finally morning…" said Sanji. "The fog is our saving grace… Honestly, things are looking pretty bad…"

Then the island started to shake.

"Whoa!" Even Oars had to steady himself not to fall over.

"Okay! I'm starting to get sick and tired of this island having an earthquake every few hours! What's going on now!?" Maxwell yelled from on knee. So far every occurring tremor had been caused by Oars in some shape or form. However, Oars was right in front of them and he hadn't done anything to warrant this one. So what happened!?

Maxwell's eyes widened when he looked up at the sky. The clouds were clearing, and the sky was a navy blue. Twilight!

They were out of the fog… And out of the Florian Triangle!

"…This is the worst…!" Usopp complained. "Our one hope was the deep fog…! Who's cheap trick is this, making the fog clear up at a time like this!? The sun is going to shine right on u—! Uh… Ah…! Ah! AGH!"

Maxwell stood back up, spinning on his heel. He was ready to attack, looking at where Usopp was looking. "Huh?" However, Oars wasn't doing anything. "What's wrong Usopp?"

"Kishishishi…!" A new voice then echoed through the courtyard, "The night is is surprisingly refreshing tonight… It'll be dawn soon. Can you really afford to waste time?"

"Mo—Moria! THAT'S MORIA!" Usopp screamed. "Why is he here!? Where's Luffy!?"

"Wait, where's Moria!?" Sanji asked looking around.

"HE'S THERE!" Usopp pointed, "LOOK! HE'S IN OARS' STOMACH!"

"His stomach?" Franky and the others looked up and saw that the cloth patch across Oars' belly had a hole in it. It was like a pair of curtains had opened up in Oars' stomach. And there, sitting in a chair, was Gecko Moria.

"He… He is there!" Sanji's visible eye narrowed see the gothic monster of a man in the zombie, "Then where's Luffy!? Was he beaten…!?"

Franky grimaced, "Maybe…!"

"Luffy would never get beaten!" Chopper barked back at the cyborg.

Oars looked down, "OOH! A cockpit!? My stomach is a cockpit!? THAT'S SO COOL! It's like I'm a robot! The tension is rising!"

"Kishishishi!" Moria had been looking down on them with his laughter, "I'm giving you guys a chance to defeat me. If you beat me, all the shadows can be released. Come at me with everything you got! But if you don't beat Oars, you won't be able to get me…!"

"THAT'S DIRTY, YOU BASTARD!" Usopp protested.

"We can't purify Oars without beating Moria, but Moria is inside Oars!" Chopper grimaced.

"But now, both of our targets are here," Sanji took a puff of his cigarette.

"We'll have to take them both down!" said Zoro.

"…But no one said they needed to be together…!" Maxwell began to grin as an idea came to him.

"Usopp, if a little isn't enough, then go find a boatload of salt!" Zoro ordered, "We've got no choice but to purify Oars! We'll weaken him as much as we can!"

Usopp then ran off, "Okay! Got it! I'm pretty sure there is a kitchen in that first mansion! There should be plenty of salt there. I'll go get it!"

"Salt…!" Moria had heard them! "Oars! Don't let them—WAAAAAH!" However, before he could issue new orders, fire had suddenly erupted from beneath his chair. "AAAAAAHHHH!" Oars' stomach now looked like an open furnace, with smoke trailing out.

"*COUGH COUGH!* What the— *COUGH COUGH!* —hell was that!? The cockpit shouldn't have caught fire like it did!" Moria had to jump out of Oars' stomach to escape the blaze. The suppression systems couldn't do a thing to it either!

"Huh?" Oars patted his stomach where the flames were spewing out, "Hm… Feels warm. Did I eat something spicy?"

"Master Moria~!" Maxwell greeted the Warlord. He was mocking him with a patronizing grin, "I heard you were looking for my shadow."