LW: And here we are, Christmas and RKMM uploads coming together, as a movie upload.
Enjoy!
Drop in the Ocean - Strong World
?
"I have literally no idea where we are…. But the others have to be around here somewhere" Luffy declares, as his group trek through the forest
"I wish that filled me with as much confidence as it does you Luffy" Valentina sighs, smacking Ussop on the back of the head to keep him moving
"But this place is full of giant animals trying to eat us" the sniper whines, getting a fearful quack of agreement from Carue as they break the treeline
"Fuck! This is going to take forever" the blond groans, then facepalms as she watched her captain hop off the floating island they were on, down to another one several feet below "We should probably jump if we don't want to go splat below him" she suggests, followed by kicking boy and duck off the island and hopping down after them, her fear alleviated by the yell of "Gum Gum Balloon!" from Luffy, ensuring they had a durable enough airbag/crashpad when they hit the ground.
The bad news was that after landing the group ran afoul of some of the local wildlife, first a giant, almost flat crocodile, except for raised bumps along its back and its tail which curled back and was the thickest part of the animal. Fleeing from that the animal alerted a land octopus, who after punching the ever-loving crap out of the croc, tossed it aside and turned its sights on the straw hats, chasing them out of the forest into a clearing.
Things momentarily got worse, as a giant mantis was also there and charged, though luck was in the pirate's favor as it attacked the octopus instead of the 3 humans and 1 duck, slicing apart its frontmost arms and causing it to crash into one of the pillars in the open area, then circling round for another attack, this time aiming for the pirates
"Is everything on this island homicidal?" Ussop screams
"It would appear" Val grimaces, readying her shock dial gloves when a bear-gorilla hybrid-looking thing leaps onto the scene and after tossing around the giant mantis suplexed it into the stonework, knocking the insect out for the count
"QUACK!"
"I'm going to assume that meant What the Shit?" Luffy hums, getting nods of agreement from Ussop and Val, but surprisingly Carue herself "Ok then. Now we have 1 problem, there are no more animals for it to fight, so it will come for us next"
"Huh, there is a brain in there after all" Ussop mutters
"Honestly at this point I'm considering Luffy an idiot savant when it comes to battle" Valentina argues, before using her Devil fruit to leap high into the air, pulling her umbrella from who knows where (Storage Seal, that's where) and hovers outside the field of battle
Meanwhile, Luffy does what he does best, runs head first at the enemy and launches a "Gum Gum Pistol" only to miss and get slapped back into the trees, while Ussop hops onto Carue's back, and both rush off to safety near their captain
"10,000 Kilogram Press!" Val shouts as she drops down, only to yelp as she's batted out of the sky and into the forest "Bastard! He hits harder than Ni-san, or maybe I'm just THAT out of practice" she grumbles as she makes her way back to the group
"Normal attacks won't work on this thing, we'll have to go all out" Luffy decides, popping his thumb into his mouth "I'm going to use Gear 3rd" he announces
"Carue, be ready to catch the Captain when he deflates" Val orders, getting a nod and semi-salute from the bird
Here goes nothing" Luffy says as he glares at the gorilla bear and releases his hold on the nearby trees, sending him catapulting directly at the animal. As the beast charges Luffy bites down and starts blowing into his hand, causing it to expand "Gear 3rd: Bone Ballon" he shouts, before preparing to launch his "Gum Gum Giant Pistol"
No matter how aggressive an animal is, it has little defense against a punch larger than its entire body, smashing it through one pillar and against a 2nd one, knocking it out entirely.
With the threat dealt with, it left the others to catch their captain who was currently flying through the air like a deflating balloon, until he landed more or less safely on the land octopus "This move is cool and all, but the shrinking kinda sucks" he whines before his stomach growls
"Probably because there's not a nice big pair of tits to catch you with, I'm sure landing in Alvida's arms would be such a hardship for you" Valentina teases climbing up to meet him
"It would be for her given how fast I hit the ground, or an obstacle when I deflate. But enough of that…. Who wants lunch? I hear octopus is a great source of protein" he grins, already starting to munch on a tentacle
'Never change Captain' the other 3 think
Another island
"Hey, that one looks just like me now" Brook notes as a mutated shark creature was eaten alive by a hoard of warrior ants, so fast it completed the arc it was traveling on over their heads and slipped back into the water before beginning to disarticulate
"Huh, maybe that's why they left you alone" Vivi thinks aloud "They're hungry"
"They need a lot of meat, no chance of finding any of that on your dried-out carcass" Sanji continues, bypassing the princess' politeness
"Oh" Brook says sadly, before getting really pissed off "SO I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!" he bellows, charging at the hoard swinging his sword at blinding speeds. Then stopping at the other side of the bridge they had been crossing before the shark and ants appeared.
"Well, this is over" Victor chuckles, following Kaos as they continue like nothing was wrong, Sanji ready to defend Vivi if needed, while the bluenette decides to instead seek shelter behind the larger frame of her brother-in-law.
Not that it was needed though as Brook sheathes his swords and whispers "3 Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash!" the cuts he inflicted upon every single ant split open, killing them and dropping their corpses like rain around the casually walking pirates
"I may just be bones, but I still have feelings and am sensitive about my appearance. Speaking of, do these pants make my butt look big?" Brook asks, getting a chuckle out of the group
"Technically yes, in that you look like a normal, albeit slim human in those pants, rather than a skeleton" Kaos answers "But basically, no, not in the way you were implying"
"This place is so strange, everything is out to get everything else" Vivi shivers
"I'll keep you safe Vivi-swan, no animal will dare enter your range" Sanji boasts
"My dear, that is simply the law of the jung….BOAR!" Brook screams
SHING ZAP CRACKLE
…only for the animal to stop dead as Kaos shoves his arm through its skull, grimacing as he does, electricity sparking along his fingertips before dissipating
"Maybe you should avoid doing that if it causes you pain" Victor argues, a little concerned for their 1st mate's well-being, especially with neither Chopper nor Kaya to do so in their stead
"It's phantom pain, all in my head. Using Goro lightning aches at old wounds, but I'll get over it as I properly heal" the purple-haired teen retorts "Sanji, is this thing edible?"
"As edible as anything else on this damn battle realm. Pull me some utensils out of that pocket dimension you've got and I'll make something fit for Vivi to consume in no time" the blond scoffs, getting either a chuckle or an eye-roll from his crewmates before Kaos did precisely that.
Another area
As Nami swims lengths of the pool, anything to keep her mind off her current situation, she spots the vents directly under her, filing them away for later just before she tips the side and flips over, swimming backcrawl to for the next lap. Once tired of swimming the navigator pulls herself out of the pool and pads over to the hammock and towel she'd left there earlier, just before loud trumpeting startled her out of her inner musings, her calm or even content expression turning to annoyance as the band plays and her captors fart around behind a tarp so all she can see are their silhouettes.
Until finally it drops, and a blue-haired clown, pink gorilla, and the biggest pain in the ass and also biggest threat, Shiki the Golden Lion are finally revealed, all dancing in unison, a part of her impressed he can dance with swords for legs but she had other things to worry about than that right now 'Morons, and that's saying a lot given my crew mates half the time' the girl thinks as she chooses to ignore the trio and return to toweling herself off
"You seem to be getting pretty comfortable over there, does that mean you've changed your mind, babydoll?" Shiki purrs his South Blue accent thick and heavy
Nami pulls the towel her head and with a dead-eyed stare answers "No, let me go"
"Je ha ha ha, a bright girl, but also stubborn must be the East Blue in you. No doubt about it, you're a girl after my dusty old heart" Shiki laughs, wiping away an imaginary tear
The clown makes several strange facial expressions, finishing on one best described as "ah ha!" then rushes over to Shiki, the man flinching almost painfully as the shoes make loud fart noises with every step "Are those really the only pair of shoes you own Dr. Indigo!" he bellows, finally having enough for of the antics for the moment
The Doc begins to wave his arms and gesticulate wildly, Shiki looking confused and even Nami was a little curious as to what his supposed Dr was so excited about
"What are you trying to say?" the Captain growls
"I just remembered…."
"You know how to talk!" Shiki screams, the redhead also confused as to why he was pantomiming if he could just speak like a normal person, even if a little more high pitched than she expected "is that my mother?" he then asks as the gorilla makes some noise and draw his attention to it, before getting smacked by the Dr
"You moron that's obviously a gorilla!"
"Don't look at me" Nami scowls as the trio were clearly showing off a little comedy routine, and were just being a pain in the ass
"You so chill you make ice insecure babydoll, it's why it's been such a swell time having you stay with me Je ha ha ha"
'How did this all go so wrong?' Nami sighs as she looks out the window into the void below
One Week earlier
'Danger: The Deadly Mystery of Disintegrating Towns' Nami reads from the front cover of the latest paper "Seems serious as a lot of towns have just been wiped off the map seemingly overnight. Luckily it's nowhere we'd know that well, but unless something is found out and the culprits stopped, the East Blue is in a lot of danger" she continues passing the paper over to Luffy
"The longest members, just under half the crew are all East Blue natives, or at least former residents: Luffy, Kaos, Zoro, Nami, Ussop, Kaya, Sanji, and Alvida" Chopper lists off mostly to get Brook up to speed as he seemed confused as to why this news was so much more concerning that any other disasters in the paper
"I see. It may have been over 50 years but I too would be worried if I heard something had happened to my homeland" the skeleton nods
"I think we'd be able to SEE the aftermath even from here if someone tried to destroy my homeland" Val chuckles, knowing half her former friends and associates would ensure victory was hard fought and go out in a blaze of glory, especially Hidan and Deidara.
"What even is that?" Ussop asks peering over Luffy's shoulder to see the accompanying photos "A meteorite?"
Questions ceased as a shadow fell over the Sunny, the kind which last time meant a ship was about to fall on their heads…. And looking up, it wasn't too far off. A giant rock fashioned into a vague ship form, with a massive golden lion figurehead and multiple oars on either side, pushing it across the sky
"An island!" Nami gasps
"But islands don't fly!" Luffy counters
"Would have made the missing island of Skypeia make more sense if they did" Robin muses "The island flew away that's where all the gold went kufufu"
"Now isn't the time for jokes, that island…. Is a ship" Vivi winces
"Is it friendly?" Artemis asks, more curious than hopefully
"It has a Jolly Roger… so I'm going to guess no" Ussop sighs, putting away his periscope
"So it's a flying island pirate ship?" Victor asks, getting a nod from the sniper "Just great, Grand Line bullshit strikes again"
"Devil fruit bullshit actually" Kaos grins "The power is practically wafting off the vessel down to us"
'There's something wrong, the air is off' Nami thinks, then her eyes widen and she shouts "Guys we need to turn around we're heading into a massive cyclone!"
"Ok. Just let me warn those guys" Luffy nods before turning and shouting up at the flying island ship before anyone could stop him, only stopping himself when something drops from the vessel into his hands
"Is it dangerous?"
"Nami, it's comms of some sort, I think" Luffy answers, throwing it to her, discovering it to be a kind of tone dial
"Huh, makes sense the flying ship would have sky island tech" Kaya notes, Nami relaying her message before the dial jumps out of her hand and flys back up to the ship
"Devil fruit?" Robin asks
"Same Devil fruit" Kaos nods
"Just great" Zoro mutters having overhead the Demon Twins
As Nami predicted a cyclone manifested less than 3 minutes later, and while delayed, the skyship followed her instructions, and were mostly unaffected, before they began to follow the Sunny, by the look of things, out of curiosity, mostly of their navigator who was better than the best gear they had on board, simply though instinct
"Down there is a woman so attuned to the weather she makes my navigators look like fools" the man high above growls around his cigar, before deciding to handle this matter, personally
On the list of things that could have happened today, an old man with swords for legs and a ship wheel sticking out of the back of his head casually floating down to them was not even on the list of wild fever dreams Ussop could lie about over cactus juice.
"Did he just, fly down here?" Luffy whispers, several of the crew nodding mutely
'That's not Ōnoki, but it might as well be' Valentina grimaces, not exactly pleased another flying old bastard existed
"I'm Captain Shiki, The Golden Lion, a fellow pirate. Now, who recorded the message on that tone dial?" the now identified Shiki asks, Artemis noticing her parent's eyes widen dramatically at the introduction
'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!' was the only thing going through the Straw Hats' archeologist and researcher's minds at that moment, there was never a good time to meet a Roger's Era pirate, but this was screamed bad news.
"Um, that was me" Nami reveals nervously, unsure where this was going, but if it made the floating weirdo leave sooner she'll admit to talking to him.
Shiki grins around his cigar "Hm, so you're the one, babydoll. Well, I thank you"
"Um, no problem, it was really Luffy's idea to warn you though, I just wanted to get the Sunny out of danger as fast as possible" the navigator admits
"Hey flying guy, how'd you get that island to float?" Luffy asks, his fear having waned enough to start asking questions
Shiki looked almost confused for a moment, before remembering his ship was an island, not a regular wooden vessel "Oh you mean my ship, that's thanks to the power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, allowing me to manipulate the gravity of any object I touch, no matter how large or small" he laughs, then walks over to one of Zoro's weights and touched it for just a moment "I'll give you an example. Observe" the crew gathered round and watched as Shiki made the weight float, shoot up into the air and then made it fly around more like telekinesis than gravity control but semantic and Devil fruit magic be damned
"You're thinking something dangerous" Alvida states rather than asks, seeing Kaos relax, and in fact start to grin widely as he watches Shiki amuse the Straw Hats
"Not entirely, but you know giants and Devil fruits are my main areas of interest" he chuckles, just as Shiki releases his hold of the weight and it drops, only for Zoro to catch it with barely any effort
"That was so cool! Make me float I wanna float!" Luffy cheers
"Me next, me next!" Chopper cries, pouting cutely as he does
"Je haha, such a lively bunch. I'm sorry my boy but it doesn't work on living things. I'm the only exception, but that's honestly pretty standard for Devil fruits like mine, where the user is the exception that proves the rule" Shiki explains making Luffy and Chopper sigh and frown "Sorry to disappoint, but there are sights in my hideout I think you'd all enjoy" the man offers as he sits down "Why don't you join me there, as a sign of my, gratitude for saving me and my crew from that cyclone"
"No thanks" Luffy answers, surprising everyone on board with his response "I'd love to, but we're in a big hurry to get to the East Blue at the moment"
'We were?' the rest of the crew wondered, in perfect sync for once
"Hold on a minute! Did you forget about our whole journey Luffy?" Ussop asks, worried something had happened to their captain (ruling out head trauma-induced brain damage due to his rubber body being immune to blunt force trauma)
"It's not going anywhere, the last 20 years are proof of that, and we can simply pause and restart the journey whenever we need. Your hometown might be destroyed, aren't you at least a little bit worried, or want to do anything about it?"
"Well, you see…." Ussop blustered, having not had the information long enough to really process the idea itself, never mind what he would do about it "...when you put it that way" he grimaces, those kids from the village flickering in the back of his mind.
'Merry'
'Nojiko, Gezo'
'Pops'
'Dadan, Makino, Woodslap'
"Well, it sounds like we've got a destination…. Now, how the FUCK do we get from the Grand Line to the East Blue?" Alvida asks
"Is everyone ok with this?" Ussop asks, just to be sure, getting nods from most, and cracking necks or knuckles from some like Franky, Victor and Alvida "Well, guess we're doing that then"
"Glad everyone's ok with the detour. Thanks for the ship head, but we'll pass" Luffy responds, Nami and Kaos both resist the urge to facepalm at Luffy's nickname for the Golden Lion
"So, you all call the East your home, I think I like you even more" he cheers animatedly, to their surprise "I heard what's been happening there, I can only imagine how worried you all must be. That settles it, I'll use my float powers to help get you there right away" he declares
"Really, awesome!" Luffy cheers
"That deals with the biggest issue" Vivi smiles "Plus, while we're in the east, maybe we can have a tour of your hometowns, introduce your folks to the new crewmates" she chuckles
"It's something to consider, might be fun, Mama's definitely going to want to meet you and Alvida, especially given she wasn't invited to the wedding" Kaos sighs, wiping a tear from his eye as Vivi frets and Val cackles
The journey through the sky was surprisingly calm, but given there were no waves and the ship was being controlled by a Devil Fruit power, it made sense they just glided through the open air, though everyone got decked out in at least adequate clothing for what they presume to be a big fight against whoever was destroying islands, and Nami was panicking enough for everyone while Luffy, Ussop and Chopper behaved more like kids than the actual youngest, who herself was painting a picture of the Island ship in case something inevitably happens to it
"Hey guys, look there's something in the sky" Chopper calls out, and he was right, it seemed like there were a cluster of potentially sky islands dead ahead
"Should we warn the old guy?" Luffy asks "Seems pretty hard to miss"
"Plus his ship is a LOT bigger than ours, so unlike if this was a reversed situation it's not like he thinks he can pass through and not us" Franky adds
"Wait, are you holding all these islands up with your powers?" Ussop asks
"Ah ha, guilty as charged. My Devil fruit has no known limit, if I touch it and it's not a living thing I can make it float, potentially forever" Shiki admits with a grin "Welcome home" he whispers before stilt walking over to Nami and giving her a creepy grin, then with a wave of his hands loudly announces "WELCOME TO MERVIELLE! You couldn't find a better home for adventurers like yourselves! I'm sure you'll all enjoy it, once you've settled in" he laughs before grabbing Nami and with her slung under his arm, slaps the deck of the Sunny, causing it to drop "Your Navigator is mine!"
"Again with the Nami stealing, this is getting to be a pattern witch!" Kaos sighs, then, as he grabs a hold of the mast for a brief moment he sees it: the ship covered in a golden light, flecks of purple spreading from him across the mast and sail, and came to a simple conclusion 'He didn't let it go, he made it fall. Shit!' he scowls as he's proven right, with a wave of his hand Shiki causes the Sunny to twirl in the air, slapping away the entire crew off into the depths of his stolen home
Back to the present
"Captain Shiki, we've had another evolutionary breakthrough! A new species, take a look at this fella" Indigo declares, his fart shoes becoming background noise, at least to Nami at this point, as he carries in a human-sized bird cage, containing a bright yellow duck? With the head feathers/tuft of a rooster
"Is it a guitar?" Shiki asks, making Nami wonder if he should be wearing glasses, or was just dumber than Luffy while using Gum Gum daze.
"You moron it's a bird!" Indigo screams as he slaps the man, then, as they pose the bird gets free and electrocutes the trio, Pikachu style.
"Stupid guitar!" Shiki shouts, tossing the bird across the room
"Hey, lay off him!" Nami screams, rushing over to check on the bird
"So that was the evolution? Lightning affinity?" Shiki sneers
"Correct sir, he's evolved to discharge bolts of electricity" Indigo wheezes as he recovers from said discharge
"Evolved, what the Hell do you mean?" Nami asks, standing between the animal and the Pirate
"What's that, you want to know? Well, you'll find out as soon as you join my crew, so I might as well tell a you now. Throughout the history of this island, the native animals have evolved in a strange, rapid, and erratic manner, untouched by the outside world. This development is all thanks to a simple little plant known as IQ, not only does it manipulate the animal's physical growth to adapt to its environment, but to aggressively overcome them. Once we realized its effect, I harvested every last stem on the island"
"And, after 20 years of experimentation, we have just what we want, the synthesized and distilled compounds that cause the IQ plants rapid evolutionary instances. A new drug, which I like to call SIQ" Indigo grins, revealing a vial of bright green liquid and small painkiller-sized pellets of a similar color in a test tube "With a single injection, the animals evolve into perfect fighting machines, their incredible strength only matched by their aggression. And the effect is cumulative so the more we give the stronger and more aggressive they become, you've never seen such savage beasts in all the world" the clown laughs
"But, that's horrifying, why would you want to do that?" Nami asks, disregarding the simple 'they're just fucking nuts!' explanation, simply because if that were the case they wouldn't have been able to make the drug in the first place
"You'll understand our ultimate goal soon enough" Shiki declares, shoving Indigo out of his line of sight "As long as you join my crew that is"
"Are you out of your mind or just deaf?" Nami screams, reapplying option 1, at least for Shiki "I already said I'd neve…."
"You will" Shiki declares, interrupting her "Not only will you join my crew, you'll grovel for your chance to do it. You'll get down on your hands and knees and beg, and once we get that sad scene over with, then I'll let you join my crew and tell you everything you ever wanted to hear. Just remember, I'm always willing to grant a favor, for a member of my crew" he grins arrogantly
'If this place is full of animals as feral as he claims, no wonder the others haven't found me yet' Nami thinks, once more tuning out Shiki's antics, for her own sanity if nothing else, the lightning duck nuzzling her affectionately
Another island
"I said get lost Sylvestor!" Alvida shouts as she slams her mace into the side of the saber tooth tiger's skull, a little part of her grins as she hears the bone crunch before it hits the tree "These things just keep coming"
"Yeah, and I'm running low on cola power, so I'm gonna have to leave most of the fighting to you in the near future" Franky pants, another Weapons Left barrage taking out a few of the Cowballs that had tried to flank them
"Arf"
BOOM
"Onward Nellie!" Artemis commands, throwing her sword which morphs into a blade-trunked elephant in mid-air
"I think the thing was named Funkfreed" Franky tries to argue but is ignored as the artist and elephant start to deal with some massive caterpillar-looking critters
"Clearly her name was changed in the handover" Alvida shrugs, hefting Lassoo's bazooka form onto her shoulder, then throwing it to Franky "If you can't shoot, use him, now let's not let the kid get lost or Robin and Kaos will tear out our spines and shoved them down or throats or up our asses" she orders, running after her niece with Franky on her heels, only stopping when the living sword somehow managed to find civilization on this death island
Next island - Group 4
"I think we've passed this rock before" Robin hums from the back of their mammoth, as the wind and snow picks up again "Also, is that a child?" she asks, pointing to a small red blur right underneath a Ettousaurus
"One second" Zoro grunts, leaping at and cutting down the large dinosaurian creature "Yep, that's a kid alright. She looks to have passed out, maybe?" he thinks aloud before getting rushed by Kaya and Chopper
"Poor thing, lost and cold in the wilderness" Kaya frowns "She shouldn't be in a place like this"
"She looks cold, hey Chopper, maybe give her your fur" Zoro suggests as their ride approaches
"Good ide….I'm not a coat you dick!" the reindeer bellows, luckily not waking the little girl for now at least, instead she awoke a little while later, held in a syrup cocoon on the back of the mammoth with the others
"You're awake, that's good I was beginning to worry you'd passed and would become a Yuki-onna" Robin greets, ignoring Kaya and Chopper's scolding that she shouldn't talk about things like that, especially around children
"So, what are you doing out in the wilderness kid?" Zoro asks as softly as he could, while the child regains her bearings and is released from Kaya's embrace
"I um…" the girl mumbles, fidgeting with a small plant that had been on her person when they found her
"It doesn't matter anyway, what does it getting out of this place we've been lost here for days" the swordsman grumbles, getting a confused look from the child
"How did you do that, the Winter Zone is only a half day's trek to cross?" she asks, getting looks of confusion from the pirates, before Zoro gets punched in the head by the other 3 "It's just over there"
"We've been in this place for 3 days, I've not seen my daughter in nearly a week" Robin scowls, Chopper getting very concerned as flecks of red and gold seem to appear and fade from her eyes as she glares as the perpetually lost swordsman
"That…. Wasn't there before" he tries to justify, getting another head slap from the archeologist
"There, by the river, it's my village" the girl chirps, seemingly unaware/oblivious to the Straw Hats having a domestic "By the way, thanks for rescuing me, my name's Xiao"
"Nico Robin. The broken compass is Zoro, the syrup girl is Kaya and the furry one is Chopper" Robin greets and introduces the others, who nod, or in Zoro's case grunt
The village
"So, everyone able-bodied was rounded up by Shiki the golden dickhead, and the locals all have feathers on their arms, and there's barely enough food to go around…. This village sucks" Alvida complains as they explore and talk to some of the locals
"Yeah, not exactly a nice place to live, but given what the rest of this place looks like it's quaint" Franky retorts, before watching into the once more sword-wielding Artemis "Something wrong kiddo?"
"I think Mom's here" she frowns, tilting her head "This…. Is new"
"You found some of the others, lead the way!" Alvida cheers, praying one of the crewmembers with Robin were Luffy or Vivi, most likely the latter given their captain wouldn't have been this subtle….
"Robin calm the fuck down!"
Huh, so much for subtle. Anyway, the trio rushes toward Zoro's yell to see Robin comforting a small girl with a bruised face, her bloomed hands wrapped around another woman's throat
"Mama!" Artemis shouts, drawing the older woman's attention away from murder for at least the moment
"ARTEMIS!" Robin screams, pulling the girl into a suffocating embrace "Are you ok?"
"We're fine Mama, though Nellie and Lassoo don't like the weird trees around the town" the artist explains, just as Franky and Alvida join them and wave their greetings
"Daft Green according to little Xiao over there. Keeps the animals away but is toxic in large doses" Kaya explains
"I just wanted to help Grandma get better" Xiao whimpers, holding a stunted IQ plant in her hands "Shiki took all the others, so I had to leave the village to find some"
"Oh Xiao, the last thing I'd want is for you to get hurt because of me" the old woman wheezes and sits up, revealing large green splotches on her skin
"So, that's Daft poisoning?" Kaya asks while Xiao's mother recovers
"I'm sorry. Also, while you may not care, I am grateful you saved my daughter"
"I care deeply about seeing a child is cared for properly" Robin retorts, then sighs "But I will admit I was a little, trigger-happy, after spending a week away from my own daughter. I apologize" she adds with a slight head bow
"Yes. That's Daft. The body is covered in green bruises that turn rigid until you can't move anymore. It's caused by inhaling large amounts of Daft Green spores. The only cure is from a plant known as iq, but it's incredibly hard to come by these days" Xiao's mother explains "Ever since that bastard Shiki showed up life has been horrid"
"Anything you guys could do to help her?" Franky asks as the crew leave the family to their own devices
"I've never seen anything like that in my life, I wouldn't know where to start" Kaya admits sadly
"Same, it would be reckless and dangerous to mess around when someone's life was on the line" Chopper agrees with a sigh "I hope the others are ok" he sighs as he collapses in a heap
"Yeah it's been a long week, maybe a little break will do us good, then figure out where the rest of the guys ended up, or where to find them" Franky agrees, sitting down by the side of the road
Back with Nami
Finally done with this shit, Nami decides to put her cat burglar skills to good use, and get out of this gilded cage. Slipping her backpack on she swam into the middle of the pool and dived, managing to get the grate open with a little effort, and swam into the vent, the electro duck decided to follow his new and only friend. This turned out to be for the best as the waters outside were, much like everywhere else, filled with dangerous animals, though they were remarkably vulnerable to electrical damage, Nami luckily less so, as she would probably be just as dead as the beasts otherwise, instead just unconscious from the dive for a minute or two, before coming to and seeing she'd been pulled ashore by the big bird.
Deciding to explore to find a way off this mad house Nami quickly found of all things the Sunny…. And not a minute later, following an explosion, Luffy, Valentina, Ussop, and Carue. That was the good news, the bad news was all 4 of them were being chased by giant scorpions, and led the beasts straight to their navigator.
"Goda damn it, why did this have to happen the minute I get out of that place" Nami whines, especially given a bikini isn't exactly the right attire to fight…. Anything really. Luckily she came with something better than armour…. A thunder duck!
"Squawk!"
ZAP
"Cool! Thunder duck! Can we keep it?" Luffy cheers, before getting a beak to the face by Carue, who clearly didn't like this plan
"So, where are the others?" Nami asks as she gets a change of clothes from Sunny and the others start tearing into the scorpions
"No clue, you're the first one we've come across since we landed here" Valentina admits with a shrug "Which, given you're the one we're trying to rescue is a surprise, but hey it's half the job done already so that's a win in my book Kya haha!" she laughs
"Just sit for a minute and eat, we're safe for a little while and can go look for the others when we're full" Luffy basically orders with a mouth full of meat "See, Billy likes it" he grins
"I suppose, but who's Billy?" Nami asks confused
"This guy, cause he's got a big bill" Luffy replies, pulling on Billy's cheek and not reacting at all to the electrical discharge
"I'm getting Skypeia flashbacks, being in the sky with you shrugging off electrical attacks" Nami chuckles, sitting between Val and Ussop and taking a small bit of scorpion, learning it tasted kind of like East Blue lobster "So wouldn't it be better to wait here now we've found the Sunny? Safer too?"
"Yeah but that's boring I'm gonna find the others and then kick Ship head's ass!" Luffy declares, getting sighs from the rest of his crew, having honestly seen that one coming
Elsewhere
Hack Wheeze Gurgle
"Are you ok Serpens?" Brooks asks in concern to the coughing and twitching 1st mate, then stepping back as his head was consumed by silver fluid
"I should be fine, there's just something in the air, thick heavy, and just plain foul" he responds, the voice tinny and echoed
"That's not good, any idea where it came from?" Vivi asks, to which Kaos points forward
"The town?" Sanji asks with a raised eyebrow
"Well, if you'll be ok with the helmet head, I think we should still go through, and see who can live in a place like this" Victor suggests, getting nods even from Kaos as they pass the Daft Green barrier and enter the settlement
Back with Luffy's group
"I think the trees give off a scent that the animals hate, would explain why Shiki has those same trees surrounding his palace" Nami theorizes after an unsuccessful attempt to fly over on Billy, the Thunder Duck having a near epileptic fit trying to get away from the Daft Green spores
"Explains why Carue looks just as miserable" Ussop agrees, as the duck sighs and rests her head on his lap
"Well we need to get in there somehow, the others might be in the settlement, given it's one of the only safe zones from the local wildlife" Valentina argues
The solution, as simple and crude as it was, was to plug both birds' noses and just fly straight in and hope for the best. Thankfully, it actually did work and Billy landed on the edge of the village with minimal issues. Only a dead Security snail and that wasn't even his fault.
"One of these days you'll remember we're in enemy territory" Valentina sighs, her throat already itching from the fireball
"Can we eat it?" Luffy asks, getting head slapped by a tired Ussop
Elsewhere
"He's a little more aggro than usual, or am I just too new to know his moods?" Brook asks his companions as subtly as he could
"No, he's cool as a cucumber, or coldblooded as a snake you could say, this is new" Victor agrees
"It is a little concerning, also is the fire supposed to be purple?" Vivi nods, walking around the still-burning corpse of the gate guard
"Everything about the psycho is purple" Sanji scoffs "We're all a little high-strung right now, he just happens to be venting it via grievous bodily harm of the men working for the guy we're trying to kick the ass of. Better than holding it in until he explodes at least. Maybe we can get him drunk and get him to calm down, I can see a bar from here"
Shiki's Palace
"We've lost signal from one of our security snails Captain, but we were able to confirm she was in the village before we lost the feed"
"Good, let's go collect her before the fireworks begin, shall we?" Shiki grins widely then floats away
Gathering
"Hey, I know you, you're one of the Straw Hats" Kaos turns to the voice, causing Vivi and Brook to walk into him "Damn, didn't think you guys would be joining up with ol' Shiki's brotherhood" the man chuckles
"I'm scouting for the Captain, want to see if it's worth getting in bed with the Golden Lion" the researcher shrugs
"What exactly does Shiki need this little brotherhood for exactly?" Vivi asks, causing the man to look at her confused
"You don't know, don't you read the paper?"
"Actually yes, our crew is 97% literate" Brook chuckles, but the joke falls flat when the man unfolds the paper, revealing the article that started all this mess
"That, was Shiki?" Sanji asks, cigarette dropping from his mouth
"Shit, we might be in over our heads after all" Victor grimaces
"Yeah, clever bastard and one Hell of a warning. No way the World Government can ignore that" the pirate laughs, too buzzed to notice a loud humming coming from one of the guys in from of him
"And, what's Shiki's end goal, after all, destroying a few islands sends a message but isn't exactly a manifesto?" Vivi asks, since Kaos was oddly quiet
"After he destroys the East Blue he'll take over the whole stinking world, it's all in the assembly tonight" the man explains animately "First we eat up, then he unleashes his swarm of Hell Beasts on the East Blue"
'What I wouldn't do for a way to contact Ywach right now. Even Hashwalt's resting bitch face would be good' Victor thinks with a grimace
"A lot of people are going to be killed if he starts dropping those beasts in the East Blue" Sanji scowls
"If you want to make an omelet, those eggs are the best way to make the World Government surrender" the pirate argues until a dark chuckle interrupts him
"The World Government doesn't surrender, they just destroy. Unless Shiki's beasts can survive a Buster Call or 12 they won't give a shit unless he drops those pets of his on their front steps in Mariejois" Kaos laughs bitterly
"You should mention that to the Boss at the assembly, he might like the idea. Anyway, try to look better tonight, you can't just show up in those ratty clothes" Another pirate scoffs
"Oh, a dress code for the end of the world, how…. Quaint?" Vivi muses
"He's got something real special planned, a demonstration of what the East has coming"
"Really, how so?" Brook wonders
"Simple really, there's this village that Shiki left alone, until tonight when he's going to let loose the war hounds and wipe it off the map" the pirates announced, a shiver of fear run down the Straw Hat's spines, as they consider the high likelihood that the rest of the crew were in THAT village.
Speaking of the village
"Reunited at last, babydoll" Shiki laughs as he hovers at the edge of the village, the rest of the Straw Hats standing between him and Nami "that was stone cold ditching me like that babydoll, but don't worry I'll forgive you, as long as you come quietly"
"Hey Wheelhead, just cause you're some big-time fossil doesn't mean you get to steal my crewmates and hobble away without consequences" Luffy shouts
"Luffy's right he's kicked the asses of much more impressive looking bastards than you for trying to split us up" Zoro scoffs, unsheathing his swords
"Mostly me and Nami, but it counts when one of those bastards was CP9" Robin chuckles
"Oh really kiddies, what are you going to do about it?" Shiki taunts
"Break you in half!" Luffy shouts "Get him!" he orders, and the remaining straw hats charge, Shiki dodging the self catapulted rubber boy and Ussop's Firebird Star, his sword legs parried/blocked Zoro's 108 Calibre Pheonix, but the attack itself left him open to Chopper's Arm Point: Cloven Rosary, leaving a good few hits to his back as well as leave him hanging for long enough that Franky and Alvida were able to tee up a combo move, Frictionless Right Blow, slamming the cyborg's fist into his gut and the smooth girl's mace into nose…. Or at least that was the plan.
"You're not just a flashy crew but a skilled one" Shiki compliments, holding Franky's fist and Alvida's mace in each hand "Very few these days are strong enough to force me to use my hands, but I'm sure you'll see just how outmatched you are, when I bring all my appendages into the fight" he smirks before tossing Franky at a flying Valentina and Alvida used to block a returning strike from Luffy, knocking both out of the air "You seem to be under the impression we're equals in this fight, I'm about to give you a very rude awakening" he grins madly before waving his hands and a chilling fact resonated in the pirate's minds: This island existed because of his power…. He had FULL control over it just like the Sunny and his ship.
This was proven as the ground around them began to rumble and contort, first cutting off Nami from the others, then giant lion heads formed from the earthen walls
"Behold the Lion's Threat. This game was rigged from the start little East Blue kiddies Je hahaha!" he cackles as the lions encroach and envelop the straw hats "Earth Bind"
Nami watches from in horror as the earthen dome compresses and twists, forming a spiral pillar, all her friends trapped within, most of whom were already unconscious
'No, it can't end like this' she thinks as she runs to the corkscrew pillar
"Now babydoll, don't be so cruel as to wake them now. They're just taking a little, dirt nap Je hahaha" Shiki laughs as he drops down behind her "It's their fault really, none of this would have happened if they'd just accepted that you belong to me now" he continues, his swords clang against the rough ground "You know, what you need to do" he finishes, grinning widely as he does
"The attacks on the East, they're your doing aren't they?"
"Correct" Shiki smirks
"You're a monster. Don't you dare lay another finger on my friends or the East Blue!" Nami screams
Shiki doesn't react, besides taking another puff of his cigar "Getting a little ahead of yourself babydoll, I already told you I'd be more than willing to do a couple favours for a crewmate" he chuckles as it finally sets in "The only threat to me, are those cyclones, and I'd do positively ANYTHING to have a navigator who can predict their approaches with such skill and accuracy, especially with after the destruction of Oykot, what was it, 17? 18 years ago?" he hums, turning to face the redhead, awaiting her response
"If, I joined up with you, would you leave the East Blue alone?" Nami asks quietly
"Je ha ha, isn't it already obvious my dear, all I truly care about is my OWN crew?" Shiki smiles, a little surprised Nami chuckles at the statement
"Honestly, if you weren't trying to threaten our home, I think Luffy might like you, he and Kaos are the same in that regard: Fuck everyone else, the crew is what matters" she smiles before sighing deeply 'I'm sorry, everyone, but it's for the best. We're just not strong enough' "I accept the offer, to join the Golden Lions"
"And why should I believe you now babydoll, you're not exactly trying there" Shiki smirks, an expression which widens as he watches the pain in Nami's eyes as she drops to her knees, just like he said she would
"Please Captain Shiki, let me join your crew" Nami begs, her voice soulless and dead, but it was the closest to begging he was going to get given her current emotional state
"That's more like it Je hahaha, welcome aboard, my brilliant new navigator" Shiki laughs, before once more moving to pick the girl up
"One last thing. I, want to say goodbye, properly. You wouldn't happen to…" before she could finish the tone dial from earlier floated in front of her face
"I'm not some lowly kidnapper, you can have your last words with your crew. I'll even make myself scarce for a few minutes, goodbyes are such personal, private things" Shiki nods, before floating straight up, allowing Nami a little privacy, then as she sets down the dial, returns with a stone slab to function as transport given his fruit only lets himself float.
As the Golden Lion leaves, and his men tear down the Daft Green trees in preparation for the coming stampede of SIQ-infected beasts, blood-red eyes snap open
'Moguragakure'
"You made the right decision my dear, you can take comfort knowing that THIS will never happen to your precious home" Shiki laughs as he sits in the main hub of his ship, Nami by his side as she watches numbly as the village she was in less than half an hour ago was razed to the ground, and he was right, a small part of her, was glad that this wouldn't be happening to Cokoyashi or any of her friends home islands "It wasn't even that hard, all we had to do was remove the Daft Green surrounding the village, after that, they were as vulnerable as children"
A little while later, Luffy finally comes to, his eyes watching a blurry figure rise from the dirt in front of him "Taicho. The bastard took our navigator!" Valentina shouts, waving the Tone Dial in his direction "What are you going to do about it?"
"Ah, so this is where you all are. And we missed the action" the blond jumps hearing Kaos step through the rubble, Sanji, Vivi, Victor and Brook on his heels "Well, better get everyone loose" the researcher cracks his neck while Victor pulls out his air pistol, this shouldn't take too long
"So, Shiki is behind everything?" Luffy repeats getting nods from Vivi and the others
"That bastard's going to do to our homes what he did to this village" Sanji scowls deeply, wanting to put his boot through the geezer's face
"Except, Nami left to join him. She did it to save all your homes" Robin retorts "But we're not just going to let him do that, are we Luffy?"
"I hope not" Chopper agrees, as he and Kaya help patch everyone up, then spotting a group of people approaching perks up "Xiao, you're ok!"
"Bet you're laughing out the other side of your faces now ay" Valentina sneers, eyes drilling into the adult's souls "Now he's the East's problem, we don't have to give a shit! Kufufufufu, guess he left you a parting gift, a reminder to not fuck with the Golden Lion!" she cackles, she may not be from the East herself, but assholes getting this level of karma amuses her greatly
"We're sorry, we shouldn't have said what we did, especially around that girl. It was heartless to just be happy someone else is Shiki's target for his cruelty, it must have hurt that girl so badly to hear me say those things"
Luffy, all out of fucks to give today, turns to his helmsman, still holding the Tone Dial "Play it Val, let's see what Nami wants to tell us"
"Got it bossman"
Click
"If you get this message, please forgive me for not saying goodbye in person. This may be hard to hear, but I've made the decision to become Shiki's navigator. It's just, Shiki is a legendary pirate and possibly the most powerful man alive, there is nothing we could do to even inconvenience him, never mind stop him. He's bound to kill you if you come after me, and if you don't believe me…[then prove me wrong, and come save me again]"
"So, like our pink eye infected friend said earlier…. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" Kaos shouts, bloodlust erupting from the carnivorous zoan.
Luffy stares into the sky, somehow knowing the direction to Shiki's palace, or at least it seemed like it "Thinks we can't match up to him, that he'd kill us? Well who decided that? Not me! Not any of us!" he shouts "We're going up there and we're going to get Nami back and Kick Shiki's ass all the way down to the East Blue!"
"Something's coming!" Artemis shouts her eyes shimmering before they're blinded by a flash of rainbow lights
"Never again" a familiar bluenette groans, looking green to the gills
"Hey it's smokie and um… name?"
"Tashigi" Zoro supplies "Been a while, Alabasta right?"
"Straw Hat, what are you doing here?" Smoker growls, before doing a quick headcount "Wait, aren't there more of you?"
"I mean we've gotten more crewmates since you last saw us, but yes we're missing Nami" Vivi responds
"Better question, how did you get here? You're Devil Fruit is smoke, not teleportation" Alvida asks, the 2 marines shiver at the question
Earlier - Marine Headquarters
"So, this is Shiki's big plan, but what are we going to do about it?" Garp asks
"That's why I sent for these 2. We're going to have them infiltrate Shiki's compound, get us accurate records of the size and scale of his forces, then send in you and Robin to take them out" Sengoku explains, to the surprise of both Smoker and Tashigi
"Really, but how?" Tashigi squeaks, getting a smile from Nylock Robin
"I believe an old friend of mine can provide the answer" she purrs, before clicking her fingers and the door opens. The woman on the other side had long, dark hair, pale skin and was dressed in mostly translucent silky robes and what amounted to a bikini to contain her substantial curves. The most notable feature was actually the mark of Grima tattooed on her navel….
"She's a cultist!"
"I prefer Occult expert in the employ of my oldest friend and former lover, thank you very much. Also, magical expert and practitioner" Nocturne Tharja laughs
"Also, the Grimleal isn't a cult it's a religion, based mostly in the New World with a few churches in the North Blue" Robin corrects "I no longer practice but I was raised in that culture, same as Tharja and both of my sisters. She's also here because unlike my sisters, my skills in magic are…. Lacking" the Vice Admiral admits with an air of melancholy
"So she's going to sing a song and we'll end up in Shiki's base?" Smoker asks skeptically
"I like the enthusiasm, under the sarcasm. And it's actually closer than you might think Captain. I was asked to set up a location and transport ritual seal keyed to Shiki's Fuwa Fuwa no mi or anything of significant size affected by said power. After your Den Den call giving us the details of Shiki's crew I'll use the same seal keyed to your Moku Moku no mi to send dear sweet Robin and Mr Fisto to deal with Shiki" Tharja explains, before the 5 move to the lower levels of the building
Later
"I really don't like the feel of this arrangement" Tashigi grimaces from the middle of the sigil filled circle herself and Smoker were standing in the centre of
"And I don't have the time or give a fuck to adjust the entire seal for a clanless Yuki, so we're both going to have to make do princess" Tharja growls, and while only one other person understands her, both Garp and Sengoku notice how wide Robin's eyes open at the statement.
What came next was a whole lot of mumbling from the sorceress as well as a mix of what some in the West would call 'handseals' as well as gestures that sought to grasp and tear at the ether, all the while a thick miasmic fog began to form around the seal, inky black with flashes of red and purple "§Find me the Float Devil!§" was the first thing said so far at an audible, though still, unintelligable level, and the results were clear as day.
At the apex of the dome was a smoky form, a cluster of golden shapes, with メルヴィユ hovering below it.
"Mervelle. That's where you're going" Tharja announces
"You know, all things considered, given they're morally grey we could have…" Garp begins to suggest only to be interrupted
"The island chain is held aloft by Shiki's Devil Fruit, there is no way TO accurately locate or track it, all they can say if he's been busy these last few years" the sorceress replies "What, just because I'm friendly with Robin-kun…." she purrs, hugging the Vice admiral and burying her face in the woman's cleavage "...doesn't mean I don't interact with and talk to Grima-sama or Aversa-senpai from time to time"
"A part of me isn't surprised" the Hero sighs, getting tired nods from Robin and Smoker
"It's the principal of the thing Garp, we don't outsource, especially to former pirates" Sengoku answers the man's original question "Now, it's time to get moving, good luck, the both of you"
With the magical essence still flooding the room it took less than a minute for Tharja to gather enough to activate the 2nd layer "Gyaku Kuchiyose! Begone!" she shouts, as the room is filled with blinding light
Back to the village
"Well, shit. How come the marines have teleportation?" Ussop whines
"They don't, they hired a witch to do it for them" Kaos corrects "You said your job was scouting, I think we might have some information that will help that, but also put your mission on hold, at least for a little while"
Shiki's palace - Daft Green perimeter
"So, going to use my own plans against me Babydoll? Destroy the Daft Green and let the beasts overrun the palace, it's why you agreed to join my crew wasn't it?" Shiki asks through his gasmask, Nami pinned down beside one of the destroyed trees, already severely infected with Daft.
"Correct. I know you won't honor your agreement, you're a monster and a scumbag I refuse to be a part of this carnage, so I either let loose the Hellspawn you created, or die of the Daft. Either way, you don't get my skills for your conquest" Nami sneers up at the floating man, who grabs her by her face, slams her against one of the trees, before pinning her to the ground with a large number of metal spikes
"A true pirate doesn't blubber about their home or family, meaningless attachments such as that. Let's see if you'll survive to the end of the Assembly, if you do I'll happily take you back as my navigator. I've got a soft spot for feisty women, Jehahaha!" he cackles as he returns to the palace to speak to his top men.
"It's good that you're all here tonight, and as a symbol of our newfound brotherhood, we drink ceremonial sake together" Shiki announces to the assembled pirate heads "But before we do this, let it be known that I spare no mercy to traitors. Trust me, stay on my good side, and now we shall depart, For the Sea of Schemes: The East Blue!" he declares giddily
Down below
"Franky, Victor, Ussop. Is it ready?"
"You betcha. Hold onto your butts!"
"I already hate this plan"
"Please relax, and hold onto something marine-san"
"Miss Tashigi, may I see your pantie…ayyayayayayay!"
Coup De Burst
Much like her maiden voyage, the Sunny once more takes to the sky, though this time it was heading toward the danger rather than away from it, plus they had a convenient ramp to give them enough lift to get the Sunny from her previous resting place…. To Shiki's front door, more or less.
Shiki's meeting room
"Not that it really needs reiterating, but the East Blue is the weakest and strategically the most expendable of the 5 seas of this world. Following its destruction, the people will be mourned, but there's nothing actually there important enough to be missed, so be as viscous, ruthless, and thorough with your carnage as you desire, I sure won't be holding back" Shiki laughs as he raises his Sake cup "This is the path, of the Golden Lion Pirates!" he declares, though the ceremony was cut short as the paper doors were shredded and destroyed, as the gatecrashers had made short work of the guards and any security the facility had between the front gate, and the meeting hall. The man scowls as 14 people, all dressed to the nines, enter his meeting room, the most recognizable being Straw Hat Luffy at the centre, and the strangest being a large… entity that towered over but stood directly behind him, it didn't look human, tall and narrow with a hexagonal head based on the hood, and glowing pinprick style eyes.
"So you want to try again boy? I'm a little impressed, if it wasn't so stupid" Shiki scoffs, before lighting a fresh cigar
"You're attacking the East Blue, correct?" Luffy asks, his voice, unlike the rumors about him, was calm and even
"So what if I am? It's a backwater province of no value to anyone" Shiki sneers
"And Nami, she's ok?"
"Sure, she's just peachy" the older pirate chuckles, as well as a few of the gathered men "Jehahaha, you sure dress the part of a threatening pirate crew, but you don't have the stones or the muscle. There's only 14 of you, you don't expect to win, or even survive this fight do you boy?" As if on cue every other wall falls forward, revealing the rest of Shiki's army all armed and ready to fight "I only though one of you would be naive enough to think sacrificing yourself would save your homeland, but it seems your a ship of Dreamers Jehaha"
"You really are stupid Wheelhead" Luffy muses "Nami wouldn't sacrifice herself, she joined your crew to take it down from the inside!" he declares, at which point everyone aims their cannons outward and Pernida starts to twitch and writhe "Well Shiki the Golden Lion, it's time to show you the Straw Hats don't lose a 2nd time. Kaos now! Everyone, commence bombardment!"
The entity stops moving for a moment, before with a deep cackle the coat tears open and a naga is unleashed, the mythical zoan grins as he shrugs off the cloak, revealing cannons more suited for a battleship mounted on its shoulders, and a very eager to destroy Artemis standing between them.
"Can we make the Big Booms now Mama?" the artist grins
"One last thing kiddo, just like Valentine showed you" Robin smirks as she begins firing her own bazooka
"Oh right. Operation: True Art is an Explosion!" she grins and even over the cannon fire, a buzzing could be heard
"Is that an accordion?" Shiki wonders aloud, before looking up, and seeing a clay white dragonfly the size of a car hovering a little lower than the ceiling "Oh shit"
KABOOM!
"You are teaching me that when we're finished" Victor chuckles, using a mix of the cannon he'd brought and his usual explosive methods to handle the goons
"If you have the right stuff, I promise I will, just cover me when we get to the big stuff, it'll take a minute and a half, maybe 2 if I do everything right" Val agrees, one arm hefting her own cannon, the other digging into a satchel and throwing improvised kunai, basically just sharpened metal, with bomb tags attached to their ends into the crowd and laughing maniacally as they went off 'Oh that girl is a natural, I wish I was good enough at sealing to actually teach her this shit' she sighs deeply 'Maybe Orochi nisan is looking for a new apprentice'
"I'm out, who else?" Franky groans, dropping his guns
"Never enough bullets for the dumbasses who deserve them are there?" Sanji sighs, also out of ammo
"Well where would the fun be then?" Zoro smirks, him and Tashigi dropping their guns at the same moment
"I really shouldn't have sanctioned this operation, but you were going to do it anyway so I guess the correct phrase is, fuck it!" Smoker grunts, dropping his bazooka and retrieving his jitte from the back of his suit jacket
"Shit, that's the White Chaser, what's a marine doing here?"
"Is he working with the Straw Hats?"
CRASH
"Did we do Good Papa?" Artemis asks as Kaos cuts the straps holding the cannons to his body
"We probably killed a metric fuck tonne, so we did just fine" he laughs, before reverting to his human form, Artemis clinging to his bare back like a shoulder loli, before dropping to the ground and pulling out her paint and sharpened brush.
"Chopper, Kaya, Ussop, Sanji. Find Nami, the rest of us will handle Shiki and his men" Luffy orders, removing his coat and chasing after the fleeing pirate, Smoker on his heels before the other crews stopped the rest from following "I'm getting my friend back you bastard. What did you do to Nami?" he shouts, leaping at and managing to punch the old pirate in the face, though his Devil Fruit meant the man floated further than expected when struck, the added space giving him the free time to go from being thrown to purposefully flying away from the 2 men.
"Hold it right there assclown" Zoro shouts as he drops down between Indigo and the exit, the man had tried to stealthily follow and support his captain…. While being bright blue, wearing clown makeup and wearing fart shoes
"Hey, don't run away from me Roronoa!" Tashigi shrieks, cutting down 2 men as she rejoins him, Shigure and a newer white blade both pointed at the Dr.
"Finally ironed out the kinks of your 2 sword style then?" he smirks
"Not quite, seems as good a time to get some practice in" she retorts with an eye-roll
Outside
"You guys see anything? Nami has to be around here somewhere!" Sanji shouts as he kicks a group of men off the balcony before following Chopper to run across the roof
"I can't get a scent, too much Daft Green in the air" Chopper whines, then droops sadly
"Those trees really are a blessing and a curse" Kaya nods, then turns when Ussop starts shouting
"I think I found her! Or more I found Billy and he's trying to signal us!"
Running at full speed the foursome made it to Nami, Sanji practically steaming with rage seeing their girl pinned and covered in such a serious case of Daft
"Hey guys, fancy meeting you here" Nami pants and wheezes "Little help?"
"Don't worry, I think I have a plan" Ussop grins, before pulling out a rope of papers
"Shit, the kid made that many of those things? And you still have them?" Sanji gasps
"What is that?" Nami asks confused
"Valentina showed Artemis how to make explosives with paper and ink, each of those tags is about as strong as a crate of dynamite, which even for her is overpowered" Kaya explains
"She said they were supposed to be as strong as a half stick, but Artemis is either a prodigy, a savant, or Valentina really underestimated how important good penmanship is in this stuff" Chopper adds, remembering how even the blond was shocked by the payload of her test page and was very glad she'd folded it into a paper airplane and thrown it before the tag went off.
"Great news, stick a tag or two, to every Daft Green Tree in this area. We need to destroy the trees, let in the animals. It's the best way to end this madness, once and for all" Nami pants as she explains her plan to the crew.
"We should get you a safe distance away first. How did Val say to activate these things?" Sanji asks as he and Ussop begin to remove the poles keeping Nami pinned to the ground
"Clasp your hands and think explode, or just light them on fire" Kaya answers, not exactly sure how to describe what Val called a half-ram/tiger seal.
"We'll use the Firebird star" Ussop decides, mostly because it seemed only Valentina and Artemis seemed to know what they were doing with this non-Devil fruit, magical bullshit "Let's all retreat to a safe distance and light 'em off!"
Given the massive whoosh of flame and concussive force, A) Retreating back to the Palace was the correct decision and, B) The tags were placed too close together and amplified their combined force due to the sequential detonation.
The end result was the same though, with the Daft Greens all destroyed, the SIQ beasts Shiki had created to destroy the East Blue, were now perfectly capable of entering and causing destruction within his compound, his men getting to see first hand just how difficult fighting these monsters would have been… in that they're being torn to shreds and/or mangled to barely recognisable mush
"Ok, Nami's plan worked, now all we have to do is avoid the deadly, feral beasts long enough to find a cure for, that" Ussop waved his arms in Nami's general direction, referring to the at this point huge green bruises littering her body
"The villagers said the only cure for Daft is the IQ plant" Kaya grimaces "And Shiki took all of them"
"Or the SIQ" Nami suggests tiredly "Superdrug Shiki's clown doc came up with, distilled and supercharged IQ, it's what made all the animals so strong so fast"
"So we need to find this doctor's lab, get as much IQ and SIQ as we can carry and get back here to save Nami? I'm in" Sanji nods, giving a determined smile to their navigator "Ussop, come with me, we'll let Chopper and Kaya take care of Nami while we're gone, we'd both be in the way otherwise"
"I don't want to be rude…. But yeah basically" Chopper agrees, wishing he could do more than just keep Nami comfortable while the others went looking for the plant, but it was safer for her than lugging the girl all over the now beast infested Palace
"Now you've gone and done it Babydoll" the voice sends shivers down all 4 healthy straw hat's spines, turning, as well as looking up they see Shiki hovering above them, a deep scowl on his face "I gave you so many chances, but you're that determined to die…. So I'll grant you that wish" he then flicks his hand and from the snow he crafts more lion heads like he did in the village "Nothing will stop me from destroying the East Blue, especially some wet behind the ears rookie pirates from the weakest SEA! Lion's Threat: Imperial Earth Bind!"
"Oh crap not again!" Ussop and Chopper scream as the earth/snow lions gain on them…. Until the start to fall apart, and they hear it
"Jet Gattling"
"White Impact"
Luffy and Smoker had caught up to the Float man, just in time to save their butts, smashing the lions with Gear 2nd flurry rush or flying right through them as a plume of semi solid logia smoke.
"You picked the wrong day to cross me Shiki, because, I think this kid might actually give you a challenge, with some help" Smoker grunts as he reforms behind Luffy "Either way, be it myself or Straw Hat, this assault ends tonight"
Luffy's face has a twitch of a smile before reverting to the serious, determined look "Thank you Smoker. Now let's kick his ass!" he shouts leaping at the older pirate "Jet Pistol!" he shouts as he reaches Shiki's level faster than anyone expected, and slamming his fist into the man's gut. He got a considerable distance away before his Devil fruit allowed him to just stop and hang in the air, meanwhile Smoker managed to grab Luffy's coat before he could fall, letting him hang, until Billy split off from the others and joined in the fight, meaning now all 3 fighters had air support/manouverability
"I'm getting real tired of your shit boy, good thing you're from the East Blue, the 1st to die in my conquest Jehahaha!" Shiki cackles, before flying straight at his 3 opponents
Lab/Grow garden
"Huh, that was easier than I expected" Ussop mutters, not that he wasn't thrilled, but they did basically take a right, left and down 2 flights of stairs.
"These things are like moonbeams, they flourish in lunar light" Sanji notes "Or maybe it's just easier to do this than use artificial light?"
"I don't think we have time to draw the compounds from the plants directly, so we'll need to find some already extracted, or the superdrug Nami mentioned" Chopper decides, taking point as the official doctor, while Kaya used her Syrup to keep Nami safe and secure while being transported "In smell chemicals coming from the next room, the actual lab must be that way!"
The lab was there, but none of them were sure what any of the chemicals did, nor what ones would be needed to make the Daft cure. It may be in the research notes, but they didn't have the time necessary to scour them from the right information
Pfft, Pfft, pfft pfft
And now they had company, looking up Dr. Indigo grinned down at them from the upper level, making a few strange gestures as they lept back in case he was dangerous
"You smell like the same chemicals in this room, so I presume you're Shiki's Scientist?" Chopper accuses
"Correct my furry intruder. Doctor Indigo at your service" the clown man bows
"Give us the Daft cure you shitty clown!" Sanji bellows
"Piro piro piro, now why should I? What makes you think I'd just give away my own personal supply of the cure?" Indigo laughs, while also revealing a small vial of pinkish liquid
"Because it means you get to leave this room with all your limbs, and free of a night of extreme pain" Everyone turns to the door as Zoro steps through it, still only wielding one sword "Not that I mind, I'd be more than happy to go the painful and fun way with thi…" he stops when he gets a sheathed sword to the back of the head
"Stop running off! Seriously it feels like we ran around the entire compound looking for that asshole" Tashigi growls, then looks up "Ah, there he is, and more of your friends. That one doesn't look so hot right now"
"She's not, it's some disease called Daft, the clown has a cure from what I overheard on the way up, so we're going to beat it out of him, take it and cure the damn witch so we can leave this place sooner" Zoro explains
"Ah. He doesn't look like much of a threat" Tashigi muses, also using a single sword, the white blade with a snowflake shaped tsuba.
Indigo scowls as he leaps down, landing between Zoro and the rest of the crew "You think I'm weak do you? Like some East Blue hicks would know real strength if it stabbed you in the eye. Nobody gives a fuck about your sea because nothing of value was ever created there, it's a sea of weaklings! And I'm going to prove it, by killing all of you!"
"Well, that settles it. Don't care what your honor says Roronoa, as an East Blue native this asshole just spat on both our homes, we're going to teach him some manners" her grip tightens and a flash of green flickers in her eyes, her left hand moving to grasp the hilt of not another katana, but a Jian.
"36 Calibre Pheonix!" Zoro shouts as he swings his sword, the pressure wave forcing Indigo to leap from the tower out into the courtyard below, both swordsmen following with much lighter impacts to the ground
Indigo smirks as he produces several green/purple flaming orbs then sends them flying at the swordmen "Have a taste of my Chemical Juggling Piro piro piro"
'Ah crap' Zoro winces as he slashes at the orbs that fly his way, missing one that knocks him back a fiar distance "Guess I do have to take this moron seriously. Also figure out what the Hell that technique is, as it's not a Devil fruit or else Kaos would have warned us" he mutters to himself as he pulls his other 2 swords and leaps into the fray
Tashigi meanwhile did a little better, possibly due to having more swords to block/parry with, maybe it was the size of the 2nd one, Shichiseiken currently behaving himself, and if Goda was watching, hopefully it would until at least the end of this fight, though the green sparks and puffs of flame didn't give her much hope in that regard
"I really don't have time for this clown's theatrics" Zoro grunts around Wado's hilt "Any ideas?"
"I don't know where he's getting those chemical orbs, and I heard you say this isn't a Devil Fruit, so that options a no go. Just hit him till he stops shooting fireballs at us I guess?" Tashigi offers with an unhelpful shrug
"Yeah, that's as far as I got planning wise too" Zoro admits
"You can't win against me, so I'll just make this a quick death, with my Mass Juggling!" Indigo cackles as the orbs coasesse and merge into a singular orb larger than the man itself, which he then tosses at the duo, resulting in a huge fiery explosion "They weren't much, but what do you expect with the East Blue" he grins, before he feels a chill down his spine and the smoke clears
"Demon Aura: 9 Sword style - Asura" Zoro growls, the 3 headed visage he used to defeat Kaku once more manifesting, as well as a near palatable aura of bloodlust and wrath
"Yoto Forbidden technique: Hel's reckoning" Tashigi hisses, a white streak forming on either side of her head framing her face, flame like tattoos spreading up her arms and a gauntlet of ice formed around her right hand
"What? What are you?" Indigo shrieks in panic, before his opponents charge him
"If being raised in the east makes us weak…" Zoro begins, the slightly faster Tashigi managing to pull ahead and make the first cut
"Frostblaze shattering!" she cries as slashes across his legs, ice beginning to form in and around the wounds, as well as holding his legs to the ground
"...then what does it say about you?" he finishes, performing his own technique, Asura: Ugui, in which he spins and slashes, the force of which both destroys the ice pinning him to the ground and sends Dr. indigo into the air, then setting off a huge crimson explosion as he hits the ground
"Worthless, is better than dead" Tashigi hisses, then with great effort sheathes both swords, while Zoro's manifestations fade and he sighs in relief
"We're done here, let's get the antidote to the Chopper, then help Alvida and the others deal with Shiki's underlings" Zoro suggests
"Fine with me….. That's the wrong way dumbass!"
"Oh come on!"
Inside the Palace
"Papa, did you see where Mom went?" Artemis asks as she dodges a creature that looked like a combination of a snake, cat and flying squirrel, just before getting decapitated by the researcher
"Over by that giant moth thi… nope, she's going upstairs" Kaos frowns as the feeling he links to Robin/her Hana hana no mi moves through the facility faster than should be possible "That's, not good" he scowls, before scattering a bunch of goons and the balloon bat chasing them as all were slammed against the far wall
"That was like what Kuma did, you figured out his paw fruit already?"
"Sort of" Kaos admits "that didn't feel right though, different than I expected a paramecia to flow so to speak" he adds with a heavy sigh "Come on we need to go save Robin, something really bad has probably just happened. Vivi, can you keep things running smoothly down here?"
"We're doing our best" the bluenette shouts back "Is it ready?"
"All the prepwork is the handsigns, and a little focus, so if you keep the goons and animals away from me we'll be fine. Plus while I remember the signs I'm out of practice so I'll be slower than I used to which is why I say 2 minutes is what I need for this to work" Valentina admits, standing in the centre of a protection circle of Franky, Brook and Victor
"Just hurry, the longer this takes the more chances the Beasts could overrun this place, or Shiki could escape" Vivi grimaces
"Have a little faith in our husband and Mr Smokestack, Shiki won't know what hit him" Alvida coos, smashing one of the pirate captains through the wall with a baseball swing, then smirking as her wife removes the wings from a strange wasp looking bastard before splitting it in 2 down the centre
'Please let me have enough for this' Valentina bites her lip before flashing through the seals as quickly as she was confident she could after all these years
'...Uma, Inu, Tori, Ushi, Inu, Ushi, Hitsuji, Hebi'
"Earth Release: Multiple Earth Dragon Jutsu- Yamato no Orochi!"
When trying to figure out what Valentina was planning, the earth curling up and morphing into multiple eastern dragons in a manner reminiscent of Shiki's Lion's Threat, then proceeding to destroy the majority of the Palace wasn't anywhere near the top of the list, or even on the list in the first place
'Fuck I'm out of practice' Valentina winces as she fights off exhaustion, luckily Victor was behind her and ready to catch the blond, hefting her into the bridal carry before making his way out of the facility, the construct seemed mildly autonomous so he assumed it would be safe to move her away from the creature, the rest of the crew following for their own safety if nothing else.
Tower, a few minutes prior
Scarlet was the happiest ape alive, he's scored it big time now. Sure he wasn't allowed to play with Shiki's navigator, but this big titted angel basically dropped into his lap. From his perch on the tower's roof he savoured the moment, the feel of the semi conscious beauty, salivating at the chance to make her his, but someone had to ruin the moment
"Get your hands off my Mom you big sticky ape!" Artemis screams, throwing her paintbrush at the pink ape who dodges and shouts, beating his chest with his free hand
"I don't know or care what you're trying to say…. But what part of it gave you the right to take §my mate§?" Kaos hisses as he steps onto the roof "Now, I'll say this once, return Robin to us. And Get Over Here!" he shouts, and while it's not said, words did form in his mind, that he'd never seen or spoken
'Banshō Ten'in'
Scarlet shrieks as he feels his fingers all bend backwards to the point of breaking, while Robin is pulled from his now broken grasp and lands safely in Kaos's arms, the woman recognising the scent and feel of the researcher and holds on tightly, a few tears escaping her eyes
"Give us a minute, it won't even take that long" he mutters into the crown of her head, feeling Robin nod against his chest he releases her and she steps back carefully, Artemis rushing over to check her over as best she could while Kaos deals with the gorilla "You know, I might actually enjoy this, if there was time, but I'm afraid we're on the clock so I'll just do this the quick and dirty way. Mirāu~ōku" he says blitzing forward and activating his zoan transformation along the way, so before Scarlett can react there was a very large, very angry naga in front of him, a taloned hand wrapped around his throat as it slams him into the roof.
The gorilla reacts as expected, lashing out with it's fists directly in the serpent's face, but while each blow knocked it left and right, the actual damage was hard to guess, not that it mattered as Kaos' jaws snapped shut on his remaining good hand, tearing through flesh and bone and relieving the ape of 3 fingers.
"Now, some of the crew have a problem with actually killing humanssss" Kaos hisses after spitting out the digits "Unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them, nor are you people. And finally this acursed seal has a use" his grin widen and if the ape wasn't screaming in pain and fear he'd have noticed the spirals in the man's eyes before flaming glyphs form around his neck like a collar, as well as '禁じられた知識' [Forbidden knowledge] around each wrist. Kaos grins through the pain and actually starts to laugh before using his fruits in tandem to morph his left arm into a reflective spike, which was rapidly covered in the black flames, just before spearing it into Scarlet's chest, the fireball this produced actually pushing him back, but he held it till the animals stopped moving, then let go before the fires got to his hand. The threat dealt with, he reverted back to his human form and with a concerning level of ease, extinguished his arm with the snow still covering the roof.
Elsewhere
"You know, the oncoming storm that we should take shelter from, would have been nice to know about, before Valentina unleashed the Dragon on the Palace" Vivi sighs deeply, trying to remain calm
"In our defence, Nami was pretty out of it before we gave her the antidote" Chopper argues, the red head still clinging to Sanji who had her in the bridle carry, she was out of the dangerzone but she was still in and out of consciousness, and unlikely to be able to support her own weight if she were to try and stand.
High above
The fight between Shiki, Smoker and Luffy, was actually more even matched than anyone involved expected. Smoker's logia form as well as both Billy and Luffy's Gear 2nd speed meant Shiki had some difficulty hitting or harming them, while Luffy's monstrous strength and Smoker's seastone jitte meant any hits thye could make on the Golden Lion hurt. Honestly the weak link of their formation was Billy, which Shiki recognised and took to targeting between dodges
"This game has gone on long enough. Zanpa!" he shouts, using the fact his fruit effects water, to slice off a large portion of the floating lake that surrounded his palace, and manipulating it to try capture his 2 opponents, having more luck with Luffy/Billy, than he did smoker, but he'd expected that given the man only needed to keep his right hand physical to get hold of his seastone tipped weapon. Still he trapped Straw Hat and even if he wasn't a Devil Fruit user, trapping anyone in a cube of water should kill them, the fruit weakness just sped up the process "Jehaha, seems the kid was all talk after all" Shiki smirks, until the Den Den in his coat began to ring "What now?"
"Sir, there's a storm coming, we need to turn to the East right away"
"There's always something, tonight most of all" Shiki sighs, then zips straight up to avoid Smoker's attack "You're not the brightest marine I've dealt with and far from the strongest" Shiki taunts, until he sees what was actually the plan
"You weren't the target Shiki, you were just in my way. White Out" Smoker grunts as he pushes a large plume of semi solid logia smoke into the waterball, wrapping around and pulling both boy and thunderduck from Shiki's trap
"Don't even think about it Navy Dog! Lion: Scattering Valley!" Shiki bellows launching a volley of pressure waves from his leg swords, Smoker dodging with his logia abilities, while flinging Luffy and Billy toward one of the many floating island/platforms that surrounded them.
"Let's see if you can actually handle someone on an even keel. White Blow Rush" Smoker taunts as he blitzs the flying pirate with his jitte and smoke attacks, though a side effect of the seastone attacks meant Shiki's powers cut out on a personal level for a second each time he was struck, meaning both sides of the fight had to readjust after every encounter, and the oncoming storm meant things were only going to get worse
The Lab
"I really don't like what Shiki's done with this stuff, turning the animals into monsters like that. This drug needs to go" Chopper frowns as Robin and Victor set the charges
"Except you can't get the ideas out of your head, what if I tinkered with it, adaptation, intelligence, immunities, so much good could come from both the IQ and a rejigged SIQ formula" Kaos purrs, having already started slipping bottles and plants into the pocket dimension he made from his cloak
"I…. the plant isn't bad, the animals aren't bad, it's just what they were being used for" Chopper tries to argue
"The Ishi 20 were bad people, when they patched up Wapol when Dalton cut him down, but the techniques and medicine themselves weren't. Erase the torment Shiki and Indigo caused and tried to inflict upon the world. Make something good from all this work!"
"You just want access to Indigo's research notes" Kaya deadpans
"Sesese, guilty. Plus I already have it, Artemis and Brook packed it up for me when we grabbed a few plants for later cultivation and growth" Kaos admits with a wide grin
"I still wanna blow it sky high!" Chopper huffs
"We still are, mostly because none of us want the World Government to get access to this crap" Franky agrees as he sets the last of the charges "Everything we don't steal we blow up, safest option we've got"
"Especially given we know it's fit for human consumption" Kaos adds
"Which we wouldn't need to have known if the shitty swordsman could follow direction!" Sanji shouts
"Eh, static cling is far from the worst side effect of experimental drugs, not that you noticed mr cook" Robin teases "Now, don't you think we should evacuate this place BEFORE blowing it to kingdom come?"
"Right. To the Sunny!"
The battlefield
"Hey Billy" Luffy groans as he pulls himself to a seated position "You think you can still fly?" the thunder duck nods "Good, we shouldn't make Smokie do all the work in saving the East Blue. Wheelhead needs a good kick to the face, so let's GO! Straight up into the sky!" he orders as he climbs onto the bird's back, the loud squawk alerting the other fighters that they were still in the game
"He's persistent, and a major annoyance" Shiki grimaces
"Yeah that's Straw Hat for you, pain in my ass, but the kid seems to have a nack for getting the job done" Smoker chuckles before going for another swing, which was blocked by Shiki's leg swords
"Shiki!" both look down, seeing Nami standing on the roof with her climatact assembled and primed
"You taking lessons from Zoro, this is the wrong way Nami!" Ussop shouts from further below "Get down from there it's too dangerous with this storm!"
"You can't win this Shiki, it all ends here" she declares
"The dynamite and tags are primed, awaiting your orders" Chopper shouts
"Dynamite!" Shiki gasps
"Everything Valentinas dragons didn't wreck, is set to blow, once I give the signal. Your plans are about to go up in flames, so it's time to call it quits"
"DON'T SCREW WITH ME BITCH!" Shiki yells, grabbing hills or even small mountains with his fruit and starting to pull them toward the palace "I've spent 20 years on this plan, do you really think you can crush it that easily? I won't be brought down by some East Blue mongrels, I'll kill you all then crush every island in that miserable sea!" he bellows
"Then we're done here. Ussop, fire it now" Nami commands
"You got it Nami. Eat this! Special Attack: Sky Dragon Star!" Ussop shouts as he fires a projectile straight at Shiki, a blue dragon forming in it's wake, but the flying pirate dodges and it disappears into the clouds
"Now you're just screwing around, I'll crush you pests in an instant"
"Billy, catch Nami, I'll handle Shiki" Luffy orders, springing up off the bird's back, as Billy dives as fast as his body could handle, catching Nami as she falls, just before the roof she'd be standing on was crushed
"Damn bird, I should have killed it when I had the chance" Shiki growls glaring daggers at the thunder duck
"Hey Shiki, your fight is up here!" Luffy calls, causing the man to look up "Gear 3rd: Bone Balloon!" Luffy shouts as he blows into his thumb, then sends the air flowing from his arm to his chest and then, just as he raises it into the air, his foot.
"Didn't I kill you already brat? Just get struck by lightning and die already!" Shiki shouts
"I'm not the one about to die here Shiki"
"That is all on you" Smoker says in a cold dead tone, the smoke billowing from him darkening to a near black as his form is consumed, his jitte dropping into the hellscape below "I've had it with this place, this plan and most all you. You don't get to genocide an entire 5th of the World while I'm here standing in your way!"
"Oh shit, I think the calm under pressure marine Captain, just got broken" Kaos muses while also carrying a squirming Tashigi onto the ship "Do you want to die that much?"
"Let me go I'm perfectly fine!"
"Tell that to Zoro's face"
"Just because a pirate and marine managed to beat me once before, doesn't mean any old tag team can break me. I AM SHIKI THE GOLDEN LION, I WON'T FALL TO AMATUERS LIKE YOU!"
"The East Blue is off limits, I won't let you hurt any more of my family, ever again!" Luffy shouts, the lightning striking the Bone Balloon and lighting up the sky "Or my Home. GUM GUM GIANT THOR'S AXE!" he bellows as he begins the drop kick, the energy flowing across his body illuminating the entire battlefield
Shiki panics for a moment, considering stopping the assault by hovering over the Sunny, when he remembers his other opponent in a rather painful manner
"You're not getting away that easily" The rumble of thunder has him turn his gaze away from the thunder kick to see what looked like clouds taking a human form, then rushing him faster than he could dodge, though slow enough it was still within his perceptive range "This is Justice, taste the pain of all those whose lives you've destroyed. Tyrs' Spear!" Smoker bellows as a smoke spear pierces Shiki's spine right before Luffy's attack connects
'Once more, my plans ruined by a pirate and marine from the East Blue. Curse you, Roger! Garp!' Shiki thinks as he's impaled and then crushed in the combo attack, the impact rippling throughout Mervielle
"That's our cue to leave, hang on tight everyone" Franky shouts before activating the Coup De Burst once more, letting the Sunny fly free as everything else falls into the sea
"Luffy!"
"Did he make it?"
"Captain Smoker!"
"They can't die like that, not after taking out a guy like Shiki"
The screaming was unnecessary, as once the smoke cleared they saw Billy flying toward them, holding a barely conscious Smoker by his coat, and a mini mode Luffy clinging to his back
"They did it, they saved the East Blue!" several of the Straw hats and even Tashigi cheers
"Captain still looks like a dumbass when he turns into that thing though" Zoro chuckles
"Maybe, but he's so adorable I just wanna squish him" Alvida coos, smile widening into a grin as he gives them a weary wave before Billy lands releasing both of his charges. Though once he did that, more things started to fall from the debris cloud, entire islands
"With Shiki gone, the power of his Devil Fruit has been broken, there's nothing to hold them up any more" Robin explains
"Hm, good thing we stole that flag to use as a parachute, else we'd also be freefalling" Franky chuckles, in too good a mood to realise he'd dipped into Robin's brand of morbid humor
"Wait, if the islands are falling, what about Xiao?" Ussop asks in a panic
"I wouldn't be too worried, seems they finally figured out how to use those feathers of theres" Kaos laughs as a flock of winged humans exited the clouds, and if you looked hard enough, you could spot a giggling, and barrel rolling Xiao in the middle of them
"I'm glad they're ok" Nami smiles, before passing out, Sanji catching her and barely twitchs as an electric discharge erupts from her body.
"Well, shit" Valentina grimaces "That's going to take some getting used to"
Marineheadquarters, a week later
"And that's your field report?" Sengoku scowls
"Correct Sir." Tashigi nods
"Do you have any idea why the Straw hats were there?"
"Shiki took their navigator, and given the reports of both Arlong Park and Enise Lobby, you can guess the rest of what happened" Smoker explains, sighing deeply and producing a larger than average plume
"I can see that. Why didn't you capture them, or alert us and we'd have sent Garp and Robin sooner?" Sengoku asks with a grimace
"We didn't have the information we were sent to collect, and the Straw Hats were going to attack the Golden Lion regardless, so the best option was to infiltrate and assist. Shiki was the greater threat after all, compared to him the Straw Hats are barely even pirates" he shrugs
"Plus, there's this" Tashigi reaches into her shirt and retrevies a vial of green liquid "Shiki's entire plan hinged on this, a drug called SIQ"
"Was that all you were able to retrieve?" Sengoku asks
"I'm afraid so Sir, the Straw Hats were very thorough in destroying all traces of the drug as well as all of Dr. Indigo's research notes given the state of the lab when I went back to retrieve this sample"
Sengoku sighs, another tool potentially ruined by those Straw Hat pirates "Thank you for retrieving even that much. I'll have it sent to the Science Division immediately for examination and if combat potential is decided, synthesis. Dismissed" he orders, the 2 nod and leave, the Fleet Admiral grimaces as he sets the vial on his desk "We didn't make a damn difference did we?" he wonders aloud
THE END
LW: That's it, Strong World complete.
This is also the final chapter for RKMM of 2022. Merry Christmas, have a great year and I'll see you all in 2023.