DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, EXCEPT RAGNAR AND ALL VIKINGS IN THIS STORY! ONE PIECE BELONGS TO EICHIRO ODA, VIZ MANGA, TOEI ANIMATION AND FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT/CRUNCHYROLL LLC
Chapter 29: The Conclusion of the Deadly Battle! A Spear of Blind Determination!
The entire area was awash with mixed emotions: the chefs of the Baratie were impressed with Luffy's prowess, thinking he actually could succeed in driving Krieg and his men away. Yet the Krieg Pirates were in utter shock at the sight of their captain's greatest weapon shattering to the ground. Not even Mihawk could have done something like that. As Ragnar, Nami and Usopp all looked on, they could tell that now Luffy had the advantage in this fight.
Luffy and Krieg only sized each other up. Now that Krieg's spear was deprived of its tip, it was only so deadly as long as those pauldrons set off explosions. It could still do some damage, but without the spearhead, it was near useless.
"You ready for this?" Luffy asked, "That was just all I needed. Now that your little toy's broken, you're powerless! Without the spearhead, it's just a bomb on a stick, and let's face it, that's pretty lame as far as weapons go."
"You think so, huh?" Krieg asked, grinning in confidence, "So what if it is as you say, it still has more than enough power to kill. You're in sad shape kiddo. Sounds to me like this is some sort of bluff." He then lifted his destroyed spear and swung it behind him, "Just stand down, your defeat is close at hand! You see, boy, when you chose to oppose me…YOU SIGNED YOUR OWN DEATH WARRANT!"
"That's what you think, Krieg!" Luffy mockingly replied, sticking his tongue out as Krieg once more charged at him. With a single blow, the King of the East Blue smashed the spear into the deck, releasing another explosion. Yet thankfully, Luffy stretched out his arms to the top of the aft mast, and was safely out of range. "Hey, I'm up here now!" He taunted.
"YOU LITTLE MONKEY!" Krieg growled, swinging the spear like an axe and smacking the great mast of the Dreadnought Sabre with a bang. Luffy only mockingly screeched like the animal that shared his surname, as the mast slowly fell like a tree, but he only snapped off part of it, and threw it straight at his opponent like a javelin. "NICE TRY!" Krieg shouted, using a burst of flame from an attachment on his right vambrace, which incinerated the huge piece of wood until nothing but ash remained.
"Just how many weapons does this guy have!?" Sanji asked, bewildered as he continued watching the fight.
"Whoever designed that armor for him must have had a thing for fire," Ragnar muttered, noticing just how obsessed Krieg was with explosions.
As the smoke cleared, Luffy unleashed his signature barrage of punches, all aimed right at Krieg's cuirass.
"Now…GUM-GUM GATLING!" He shouted, unleashing his full fury at the Pirate Fleet Admiral, who seemingly only took every hit thanks to his armor's durability. Yet still, Luffy only pressed on, his anger overtaking his reasoning. He was too far in the moment to even think of prying that armor off Krieg now. Before long, the two combatants jumped back, eyeing each other up once more.
"Was that supposed to affect me?" Krieg asked, "What did you expect to happen, boy? Have you forgotten? I'm wearing Wootz steel body armor. This stuff is practically indestructible!" He only grinned menacingly as Luffy charged at him, the boy's right arm stretched back for an attack.
"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT! GUM-GUM PISTOOOOOOOOOLLLL!" Luffy roared, and as his arm snapped back, he landed a punch right in Krieg's solar plexus, knocking the wind right out of the Pirate Fleet Admiral, with the intensity and force of a mace.
"You little BASTARD!" Krieg bellowed, swinging his spear once more and hitting the deck with an explosion, sending Luffy skidding backwards towards another huge piece of wreckage. "Your efforts are all in vain - futile! Do you hear!? You'll never defeat me!" Krieg declared as he walked towards Luffy, "This armor can take a million more of your little monkey punches and it won't make so much as a dent!"
"Oh yeah…well, I'm gonna make you eat those words!" Luffy groaned as he struggled getting to his feet. By the time he was able to, Krieg was nowhere in sight. "Where'd he go?"
"Luffy! He's up there! Behind you!" Usopp shouted, and Luffy turned to see Krieg standing at the top of the aft mast, looking down at the Straw Hats' captain.
"You can't hope to even stand up to me boy!" Krieg boasted, "Real power, real strength, comes from deadly weapons! They're the source of true power. Only the strong are meant to live…and that means me!"
"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE DEAD WRONG, KRIEG!" Luffy shouted, charging right towards his opponent, running up the mast as he stretched both his arms back, ready for an attack, all as Krieg readied his spear for another attack.
"It's pointless! Foolish pride will only get you so far!" Krieg shouted, lining up his spear for battle. As soon as Luffy was close enough, he slammed it down hard onto the mast, but to his shock, Luffy was able to avoid it, and burst through the gunpowder smoke, eyes gleaming with rage.
"GUM-GUM…BAZOOKAAAAAAA!" He yelled, and sent Krieg flying off the mast with an open palm strike from his hands. Nami and Ragnar both recognized that move before: the same move that Luffy used to send Buggy the Clown flying back when they faced him in Orange Town. However, the Viking could see more of those tiny little marbles falling from Krieg's hands, as the mighty battle spear plummeted into the sea below.
"Luffy! Quick! It's a trap!" The quartermaster shouted, having recognized those bombs from Krieg's previous attacks earlier in the battle.
As he fell, Krieg couldn't help but cackle, believing himself victorious at last.
"Is that really all you got!?" He cackled, "After all that big talk, that was your big move!?" However, his smile soon turned upside-down when he heard a crunching noise he did not want to hear coming from his torso. "Inconceivable! My armor's cracking!?" However, he soon regained his composure, "It doesn't matter! YOU'RE FINISHED, STRAW HAT!" The small little bombs hit the water, exploding all over the wreckage, but Luffy only stood on the mast, unable to move from the attack he got from that spear.
"LUFFY!" Nami screamed, fearing that her captain was shaken from that last attack.
"Look out! Here comes the shockwave!" Zoro steadied himself as he stood, facing the oncoming blast. Nami, Ragnar, Johnny and Yosaku raised their shields and braced against the burst from the sonic boom, while Usopp hid behind them for cover.
Sanji only watched in awe as the battle raged. It seemed that Krieg was actually still going to win, but then he remembered Zeff's words from before. This had to be either instinct or a plan…the answer, though, came sooner than anyone ever thought, as Luffy's arms came stretching out of the smoke cloud, causing even Krieg to finally feel a twinge of fear for the first time in his life.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Krieg blurted out as Luffy was now right on top of him. This was the power of those who were willing to take on the Grand Line, and it terrified him!
"GUM-GUM…. BAZOOKAAAAAAA!" Luffy roared as loud as he could, slamming Krieg right in the torso again. Upon impact, the Wootz steel cuirass shattered into fragments, scattering all over the Baratie's deck. Everyone looked on in shock and awe: Don Krieg, the Pirate Fleet Admiral…had lost his main protection.
"Gods damn it!" Ragnar growled, irked by the sight he just beheld, "LUFFY! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO CLAIM THAT ARMOR, NOT DESTROY IT!"
"Oh…right…" Luffy muttered, remembering what he said about prying that armor off Krieg's body, "Sorry Ragnar!" He shouted back to his quartermaster. However, not even this was enough to shake off his thrill he got from his major win. The chefs as well as Nami, Ragnar and Usopp all began cheering him in celebration. "I TOTALLY WON!" Luffy exclaimed, enjoying his moment, but it was not to last.
"THIS IS FAR FROM FINISHED, BOY!" Krieg shouted, having recovered from his shock, then from the attachment on his left vambrace, he unleashed a weighted net that trapped Luffy in its clutches, and the two began falling headlong into the sea, all as Krieg cackled in his last triumph. "There's no escape for you! It's a steel net!" He laughed, much to everyone else's disapproval, "It's all over for you! That's the ocean down there beneath us! Looks like I'll be getting the last laugh in the end, Straw Hat!" Yet in that instant, as soon as Krieg thought that he would at last achieve a hard-won victory, Luffy sprung his arms and legs out of the net.
"Oh no you don't!" Luffy exclaimed, "Now, take this, Krieg!" He twisted his legs into a spiral pattern, clutching Krieg's face with his feet, "Time for me to end this! Right here, RIGHT NOW!" Luffy bellowed, and began untwisting his legs, rapidly spinning Krieg to the point of nausea, causing the Pirate Fleet Admiral to scream at the top of his lungs in absolute fear. He was now powerless against Luffy, and it soon became clear where they were heading towards: back to the wrecked fin! "GUM…GUM…MJOOOOOOLNIIIIIIIR!" Luffy yelled as loud as he could, slamming Krieg right down hard on the deck with a deafening crash. Luffy had done the impossible: The pirate fleet admiral, the self-proclaimed ruler of the East Blue, defeated by a 17 year old boy! Don Krieg had fallen!
Hardly anyone could believe what just happened: the most feared pirate in all the East Blue had finally been defeated! Luffy only smiled at his victory, even as he was dragged beneath the waves. He didn't care about escape now, as he was far too tired anyway.
"Oh no! Luffy! He can't swim!" Nami cried, as she took off her shoes, laid her shield and spear aside the railing and dove into the water with a deep breath. She refused to let her captain die on her watch. Her act only left Sanji speechless.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Zeff asked the blonde sous-chef, "You heard the girl, the boy can't swim!"
"Wait, what!?" Sanji asked, snapping out of stupor.
"Those with the power of the Devil Fruit are hated by the sea," Zeff explained, "So, they lose their ability to swim."
"What are you saying!? He'll just drown!?" Sanji asked, taking off his jacket and shoes, "Why didn't you tell me that sooner, you old geezer!? What if it's already too late!?" Then he took a deep breath and dove in straight after Nami.
Meanwhile, while Ragnar and Usopp were worried about Nami and Luffy, they were also relieved that Don Krieg was finally beaten. Zoro only smiled in confidence. He knew that Luffy would definitely be able to win overall. Johnny and Yosaku were just dancing and cheering like they did when they first met the crew. The chefs of Baratie too were cheering in celebration: the Krieg Pirates had been broken, and Baratie withstood the battle.
"You think Luffy's gonna be alright?" Usopp asked as he unstrung his bow.
"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked, "The guy survived falling off a cliff, for Pete's sake. Besides, there's no way that Nami's gonna let him drown."
"Zoro's right," said Ragnar, who was by now gathering the fragments of Wootz steel that once made up Don Krieg's cuirass, "Though it seems that the sous-chef went in after her. I'm guessing that he might just join our crew yet." The Viking quartermaster only focused on using one of the Krieg Pirates' flags as a makeshift sack for the crucible steel fragments. There was no possible way these could be used to recreate the armor for Luffy's size, but perhaps there was another use for them that would be worthy of the King of the Pirates...
Meanwhile, Patty and Carne were just laughing from the upper deck in total disbelief at what they just witnessed.
"He won! He actually won!" Patty exclaimed; his eyes widened in awe.
"I can't believe it!" Carne added, "I gotta be dreaming! He actually kicked Don Krieg's ass!"
"I know! Who'd have thought that kid had it in him!"
At that moment, Gin managed to mostly recover from the effects of the MH5 poison gas, and managed to get onto his side looking at the two chefs as he woke up.
"What is it? What's going on?" He asked, having no idea about what just occurred.
"Hey! Rise and shine!" Patty exclaimed, glad that their patient was recovering.
"Krieg was defeated!" Carne explained, "Betcha never thought you'd see the day."
"What!?" Gin asked in total shock. He only crawled forward to see the unconscious Krieg lying on his back. His cuirass was now in fragments, and his vambraces and gauntlets were pried off his arms. Luffy finally did win overall.
Beneath the waves, Nami constantly swam deeper, her eyes scanning the murky depths. She knew that somewhere among the flotsam, Luffy was sinking further below.
'Luffy…where are you?' She thought, as her eyes adjusted to the water. It stung, yes, but she would go through Hell or high water to get to the boy who saved her life thrice now. She still was in his debt, and couldn't leave him. Yet she still could feel herself running out of air. She had to hurry. That was when she saw him. Luffy was still in the steel net, trapped like a fish, and totally unconscious. Desperately, she tried to remove the netting, but it was stuck on a piece of wreckage from the Dreadnought Sabre's hull. 'Just hang on Luffy! I'm gonna get you outta this! Remember our promise you made! You can't die on me right now!' All at once, she then felt two hands touch hers. Nami looked up and saw that familiar sous-chef who gave her free food all this time. 'Sanji!' She only used her head and hands to signal to him what to do.
'Don't worry, we'll get him out together!' Sanji thought, unable to think back on how brave Luffy and his crew were. How Luffy bloodied his fist to get through Krieg's porcupine cape, Zoro's noble stand against Mihawk, Ragnar and Usopp's attacks, and now…Nami's own determination to save her captain! 'These guys…they're all…!' As he thought, Sanji and Nami both managed to free Luffy from the net, and swam upwards to the surface, each grabbing one of Luffy's arms to secure him so he wouldn't sink back down. As they ascended, Sanji couldn't help but notice schools of fish swimming peacefully past them. A sudden passion of his suddenly reignited, one he hadn't felt since he was a boy. 'It can't be…the All Blue?' he reminisced.
Finally, both Sanji and Nami came up for air, gasping and doing their best to keep Luffy afloat.
"C'mon, we need to get to the ship!" Sanji told Nami, who only nodded.
"Hang in there, Luffy," she said, looking to her unconscious captain, "Don't you dare die on me now!" Together, they only swam back towards the deck of the Baratie, towards the fin, where their comrades were gathered.
"Look! There they are!" Usopp called out, relieved that Nami and Luffy were now up for air.
"C'mon! We'll need to give them both a hand," said Ragnar, making his way towards the fin with Usopp. The two both helped Nami and Sanji out of the water, followed by Luffy, pulling all three up to the deck of the fin.
Meanwhile, Gin could only hear the panicked pleas of his own crewmates begging Krieg to get back up.
"Don Krieg was beaten…this can't be right!" He muttered, clenching his fists, "He's the ruler of the East Blue! It can't be. This is impossible! He was just too strong!"
"Yeah, well now he's out and down for the count!" Patty chuckled, "Go ahead and take a look for yourself!"
"That fancy armor of his was smashed to bits, and he was out as soon as he hit the deck," said Carne, but Gin didn't need to look. He knew exactly what this meant.
"He was the only man I ever truly looked up to!" Gin muttered, his gaze fixed to the ground as he coughed, "I'm such a fool, now he's lost." He only took off his headband and rose to take his leave, despite both Patty and Carne pleading not to. They both knew that the MH-5 poison gas was still in his body, and now that he was up and about, it would spread through his body.
Down on the deck, Nami only knelt at Luffy's side.
"Luffy! Luffy c'mon! Breathe!" She begged, slapping Luffy's cheeks to get him to come to, but to no avail. She now realized there was only one option left. "Mouth to mouth! It's the only way…" she muttered, and instantly began compressing Luffy's chest three times, then pinched his nose and began blowing air into his mouth. 'Wake up, Luffy…please just wake up!' she thought as she continued administering CPR. Before long, Luffy only twitched before hacking up a mouthful of seawater that entered his lungs, then laid back down, his chest rising and falling being a clear indication that he was going to make it out of this alive. Nami only smiled in relief. This time around, she managed to save Luffy for once. Hopefully, she could still do twice more in order to repay the life debt she owed him. The ginger-haired navigator only sat beside her captain, even as Sanji approached them.
"That kid really is something else, isn't he?" the sous-chef asked.
"You got that right," replied Nami, looking down at Luffy, who'd now begun snoring. He earned this well-deserved respite. "Guys! He's gonna pull through!" She called out to the rest of her crewmates.
"Praise Freyja," Ragnar replied, who was now gathering up all the Wootz steel fragments of Don Krieg's armor into a burlap sack, "Let the captain get some well-earned rest, in that case."
"NO! NO! I'M THE STRONGEST!" Screamed a rage-filled voice, and the Straw Hats looked to see Krieg rise to his feet, his face all bruised and bloodied, "I WIIIIINNN! I'M THE GREATEST! I'M THE BEST! NOBODY CAN BEAT MEEEEEEEEE!"
"You guys!" One of Krieg's men pleaded, "Please, stop our captain! He's not even conscious!" Instantly, Ragnar knew what that meant. It was just like when Jango hypnotized Buchi and the other Black Cat Pirates.
"Unbelievable…!" The Viking muttered, "Even Don Krieg…has entered the Berserkergang!" Krieg let out a scream of bloodlust as his own men tried to hold him down. Ragnar only stood up and supervised Krieg's own men. "Put him in chains!" The Viking commanded.
"I HAVE TO WIN! I NEED TO WIN! I NEED TO!" Krieg bellowed out, as he was restrained by his own crew, getting right in Ragnar's face.
"And gag him as well!" Ragnar added, watching as Gin managed to punch Krieg in the gut, and the madman fell into unconsciousness once more.
"Thank you, Norseman," said the man-demon, who then picked up his captain like a freshly killed deer. "Don Krieg, face it. It's over, we lost. Let's get out of here while we still have our dignity." Weak with pain, Gin only turned to the sous-chef who saved his life and smiled, "Thanks again for everything, Sanji."
"Sure!" Sanji replied, "Now leave and don't ever come back."
"Of course, but one last thing," Gin requested, "You don't owe me any favors, but when Luffy wakes up, tell him that I'll see him again on the Grand Line."
"But you…!" Sanji was shocked. Gin took a bullet for him and he was still wanting to go back there?
"That's where I wanna go with what time I have left," Gin explained, "It's the only thing I care about, what drives me. Don Krieg's obsession with the Grand Line is mine now as well." Gin only coughed up a gob of blood. The MH-5 poison was still circulating in his bloodstream, "It's foolish, I know, but I still hope to try. With this poison in my body, I know I'm not long for this world, but still, I feel free somewhat. Like now, I can spend my last remaining days on my own terms. To hell with loyalty to Krieg. My devotion to him was just an escape from forging my own destiny. Once your heart is set and you pursue your dreams with every last fiber of your being, you won't ever feel lost, hopeless, or afraid. A brave young boy in a straw hat taught me that."
Sanji, Nami and Ragnar only smiled. In the end, Luffy ultimately inspired someone else to take the plunge to that fateful sea.
"Hey Patty, Carne!" Sanji shouted, "Get the longship we use to go grocery shopping!"
"Are you serious!?" Patty asked in disbelief.
"That longship was a gift!" Carne explained, "Why do we have to give her to a bunch of pirates!?"
"And what about our grocery shopping!?"
"Just do it! NOW!" Sanji bellowed.
"You heard the sous-chef!" Ragnar shouted, "Just give her to them! There will come a time when you get another dragon-ship again!"
Reluctantly, Patty and Carne did indeed get the longship out. It was the only ship big enough to fit all of Krieg's men in, the ones still alive, at least. After the dragon-ship was brought out, each of Krieg's men sat down on one of the benches, and grabbed an oar. Krieg himself was hauled to the mast of the longship by chains, bound and gagged so that he was unable to move or even speak anymore.
Sanji and Gin only looked on, the two of them smiling at what just happened today.
"Why did I hesitate?" Gin asked himself, "What was I so worried about? When I look back on it, I can't help but feel so stupid." Then he looked back down at a snoring Luffy, chuckling as he recalled how honorable the boy fought. Sani also couldn't help but smile and shake his head. That boy was truly worthy of being King of the Pirates if he fought this hard. Gin then got aboard the longship, taking his position in the stern, and asked, "Well then, we gratefully accept this longship. I assume there's no need to return her?"
"No, she's all yours," Sanji replied, "Just take her and don't come back here for anything else."
"He's right!" Patty declared, "And don't you forget! This is the restaurant where the chefs fight, the Baratie!"
"The cooks here sure mean business," Gin muttered, smiling as the rest of the Krieg pirates lowered their sail, and were off, sailing into the East Blue. Where they would journey towards, only the Gods would know.
Nami only looked down at Luffy, placing her hand on his shoulder as she saw him sleeping so peacefully.
"You did good here today, Luffy," she told him softly. She looked down at him so that nobody could see her crying. Now that Krieg was gone, there was no doubt about it: it was now time to face that hated gilled monster. 'Hang on everyone…I'm coming home soon…we'll all be free…mom.'
A/N: It's over! The Battle for the Baratie was a major victory for the Straw Hats! And, did we just see Nami give Luffy CPR? Perhaps the hinting of something deeper in their relationship? We'll just have to find out, won't we? Also, Ragnar is definitely pissed that Luffy destroyed the armor Krieg wore. I figured that Luffy and Ragnar would want to claim Krieg's armor, seeing as Luffy is going to become King of the Pirates, and thus requires a suit of armor fit for a king. Yet it seems that Ragnar does have something else in mind for these fragments of Wootz steel.
Also, you'll have noticed that Ragnar referred to a longship as a dragon ship. So, it's time to delve into some more cool Viking lore!
The Vikings had many different types of longships that came in different shapes and sizes. The smallest vessel to be technically considered a longship was the Karvi, which could seat up to 16 oarsmen, and was the smallest type of longship. According to the 10th century Gulating Law, a ship with 13 rowing benches is the smallest ship suitable for military use. These were the general purpose longships that were used mainly for civilian usage - either for fishing or for trade, but they could also be used as military vessels.
Next we have the snekkja, which means "swift-sailing ship" in Old Norse. These were the smallest type of true longship used for military purposes, and could seat up to 41 oarsmen. They were so light, and fast, that they were favored for lightning fast raids and hit-and-run attacks. According to the sources, King Cnut the Great of Denmark used up to 1200 of them in 1028. Even after the Viking Age ended, the snekkja was still used and evolved into a type of rowboat that is commonly used in Scandinavia and across the world.
Going up a size, we have the skeið, which means "slider" in Old Norse. These ships were much larger than a snekkja, and could carry a crew of up to 70–80 oarsmen. Archaeologists have managed to find quite a great many of these throughout Scandinavia, and have even reconstructed some of them. One of these even managed to make the journey from Norway to Iceland, to Greenland to North America, thus successfully retracing the voyage of Erik the Red and his son, Leif Eriksson. Remember, the Vikings weren't just pagan barbarians, but they were genius explorers centuries ahead of their time. These were the guys who were the first Europeans to discover North America 492 years before the Spanish arrived in the West Indies.
Lastly, we have the drakkar, which means "dragon" in Old Norse. These were, by far, the largest of all the longships, and are only known from the historical sources. According to Göngu-Hrólfs saga, the ships were described as most unusual, elegant, ornately decorated, and used by those who went raiding and plundering. However, we can assume that these were also technically considered as skeið longships, but were known for having the iconic figureheads that resembled snakes or dragons. Hence the name drakkar. Another reason these ships were given their apt names, was because the enemies of the Vikings, such as the Anglo-Saxons, the Irish and the Franks, called any longship they saw as a "Dragon Ship". The most famous of these ships were commissioned by King Olav Trygvesson, during the late 10th and early 11th centuries.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and as always, stay tuned for the next chapter!