Chapter 81
Shanks, Captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, stared at his foe, former crew mate, and former friend, Psycho. Psycho stared back as if waiting for Shanks to make the first move.
"We don't have to do this, Tore." Shanks said.
"Surrender this island and disband your crew, then I'll leave." Psycho said.
Shanks smirked.
"You know I can't do that." Shanks said.
"Then I'm not going anywhere." Psycho said.
The tension was building, two extremely powerful men were about to do battle! Psycho, however, was confident thinking he already had Shanks beat.
"Your crew is notoriously weak. Not those jokers behind you, but the crew you only brought in to protect. This island is under your protection as well. What would an all-out battle between us do besides endanger them and destroy this island?" Psycho asked rhetorically.
"You won't touch them or anyone under my flag, that's the bottom line!" Shanks said angrily, clutching his sword.
Psycho squinted; Shanks was ready to attack. In a flash Psycho reached into his kunai pocket but the cocking of a pistol stopped him in his tracks. Psycho put his hands up, he knew Roo would shoot no hesitation!
"Forget how fast I was, Tore?" Roo asked.
Psycho smiled.
"No... not at all." Psycho said softly.
Psycho stared at Shanks for a moment, as if he was assessing the situation in his head, then tried to reach into his kunai pouch again!
POW!
Roo's gun went off and smoke filled the air. Psycho fell slowly to the side, a hole in his head. Shanks watched with shock. Psycho hit the ground with a thud.
"Roo! You killed him..." Shanks said.
"If you're going to draw a weapon, be prepared to face retaliation! Isn't that what you say Captain?" Roo asked.
Shanks held a long face, until something happened!
Psycho's body poofed away! And as the smoke cleared, Rockstar was shown in his place! Roo became filled with shock and fright.
"R-R-R" Roo stuttered.
"ROCKSTARRRRR!" Yasopp yelled.
Rockstar's death was the perfect distraction as the real Psycho attempted to pierce Roo through the heart with a chidori!
"ROO TURN AROUND!" Beckman yelled out.
Roo heard the chirping of 1,000 birds and turned but it was too late! Yasopp fired to quick shots into Psycho's neck and head, but it didn't work!
"USLESS!" Psycho yelled as he plunged his chidori into Roo's heart.
SPLAT!
Blood flew from Roo's body and out of his mouth. The famous smile he was known for quickly faded.
"C-C-Captain..." Roo choked out.
Shanks stared with sadness and rage. Psycho smiled from behind Roo.
"I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO KILL A SINGLE ONE OF MY MEN!" Shanks yelled out, charging Psycho and Roo!
"Ahhhh! Captain! What are you doing!?" Roo asked.
Shanks loaded up his sword with conquerors haki and charged his attack, Psycho tried to plead with Shanks.
"Shanks wait!" Psycho said, but it would go unheard.
"DIVINE DEPARTURE!" Shanks yelled, slashing Psycho across the body with an incredible amount of power and haki!
"GUAG!" Psycho coughed up blood as he was sent flying all the way through the island, crashing into the giant tree in the middle of Elbaf.
BOOOOOOOOMMMM!
The feint sound of Psycho crashing into the tree could be heard from the front of the island where the Red-Haired Pirates were. Shanks huffed and puffed.
"Quite a future you saw, Captain?" Beckman asked.
"Captain! Are you alright?" Rockstar asked.
Shanks looked at Roo and Rockstar with relieved eyes.
"He... killed Roo and Rockstar!" Shanks said.
Every one of the Red-Haired Pirates were shocked, Psycho truly didn't intend to just beat them, he was prepared to kill them.
"Thank goodness for your future sight, Captain!" Roo said happily.
"Tore... was going to kill me?" Rockstar asked disappointed, falling to his knees.
Shanks began to walk towards the forest.
"I would appreciate it if you all stayed here, please. Watch the island for any more potential DEATH members showing up." Shanks ordered.
"Captain, you don't have to do this alone..." Beckman said.
"In ten seconds, he would have killed Roo and Rockstar!... If not for my future sight... I don't even want to finish that sentence... and I don't want you all in danger again, besides... none of you have a chance against him anyway... this isn't the Tore we used to know, he's Psycho now!" Shanks finished, walking into the forest.
In the middle of the island, his back against the giant tree, Psycho thought to himself.
"He activated his future sight shortly after Roo appeared beside me... and saw me using substitution on Rockstar and killing Roo." Psycho thought, jumping down from the tree and feeling his wound.
"That was also Roger's attack. If I were anyone else..." Psycho smiled to himself, "This will be tougher than I thought."
Psycho cracked his neck.
"His haki alone won't beat me, but a direct confrontation will do me more harm than good... one slash sent me across the island..." Psycho said softly.
PSycho closed his eyes for a moment and felt a warm energy approaching a few miles down.
Psycho smirked.
"And unfortunately for you, Red-Haired, you've walked right into my stomping grounds." Psycho said, jumping into the trees.
Shanks walked through the forest, alone. His color of observation was strong enough to know Psycho was no longer in the middle of the island, but his energy now has disappeared entirely.
"Come on, where did he go?" Shanks said, trying to sense him again.
Almost out of nowhere a mist started to move slowly throughout the forest.
"Psycho! I know this mist is your doing! Mist never touches this forest, come out!" Shanks said, closing his eyes again to sense Psycho's location.
As Shanks closed his eyes, he was ambushed by three shuriken being thrown at him. He easily blocked them but when he stepped back, he activated a trip wire that sent more kunai his way! Shanks blocked those as well.
"That's it, Psycho? Throwing weapons at me from the mist?!" Shanks asked, until he heard a sizzling!
"Huh?" Shanks asked out loud, noticing a piece of paper on one of the kunai's burning rapidly!
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!
"Did yall hear that?" Yasopp asked.
"Grrrrr I wanna go help the captain!" Roo yelled.
"Trust the captain, Roo! It will be a tough battle but the captain can handle it! He has to.." Beckman assured, looking at the forest with concern.
In the forest, Shanks was getting up.
"What in the world was that?" Shanks asked, "I almost had his location but after that explosion it's gone again...:
Shanks got up and began walking, this time being more vigilant.
"C-Captain!" A familiar voice called out from the mist.
"Beckman?" Shanks asked, "I told you to stay put, friend!"
"I know..." Beckman said, emerging from the mist, "The crew, they're worried. They don't know how you plan to beat him.
Shanks sighed.
"I think he knows now his haki doesn't match up to mine, so he's been trying to get me from distance so far. He's been using this mist for cover.
"Well, this definitely is a thick mist captain... he might even be closer than you think!" Beckman said.
Shanks thought about what Beckman had just said.
"How did you find me, friend?" Shanks asked.
Beckman became worried.
"I followed the explosion of course!" Beckman answered.
"In this mist? I don't think so." Shanks said, grabbing his sword.
"Captain, you're talking nonsense!" Beckman said, backing up.
"RELEASE THAT DISGUISE PSYCHO!" Shanks yelled, pointing his sword at Beckman's neck.
Beckman smiled.
"That was too easy for you." Beckman said, poofing back into Psycho.
"Let's end this childing game of hide and seek shall we, Tore?" Shanks asked.
"But... the game has only begun!" Psycho said as a kusarigama, a sickle-like blade attacked to a long chain, came for his back!
Shanks barely turned around to block it as Psycho spun around and delivered a powerful kick to Shank's ribs, despite Psycho's heel never making direct contact with Shank's side! Shanks coughed up blood and was sent flying through the forest until he rolled to a stop. Shanks got on his hands and knees.
"That...that was just!" Shanks was interrupted by two Psycho's approaching him, one of them holding the kusarigama.
"A king's haki infused kick, you knew I had conquerors already, yet you're surprised?" Psycho asked.
Shanks smirked.
"I just... don't know when you had the time to perfect it..." Shanks said.
Psycho stared at Shanks.
"Try a few hundred years ago." Psycho said.
Shanks was shocked!
"A... few hundred!?" Shanks couldn't finish his sentence.
"You all think you knew Tore: the silent, strong shinobi who ran from the ninja world's troubles to find a better life, but it was all lies." Psycho said.
Shanks started to become angry little by little.
"I've been alive for centuries. I think a millennia might even be coming up." Psycho said sarcastically, "There is nothing you can do I haven't done already. You were right, by the way, telling your crew they were doomed." Psycho continued.
Shanks tried to stand but was back handed by the Psycho clone.
"You couldn't detect me in the fog because I slowed my breathing to that of suspended animation, my clones have no souls so they can't be detected." Psycho explained.
"Why don't you just kill us?" Shanks asked.
Psycho was slightly surprised by this.
"Kill you? Where's the fun in that?" Psycho said, "I share the shinobi's hatred for what happened during the void century, so I hate you, and anyone else from the four blues, because to a man who's been alive for almost a thousand years, you're all just reincarnations of each other." Psycho continued.
"You don't even look much different from that ancestor of yours. What was his name? Oh, that's right, Gildarts Clives, the magician. You're practically twins!" Psycho said, "I revel in the ability to make any so called haki or devil fruit master submit to the power of the shinobi... the same power that made the World Government get rid of us in the first place!" Psycho yelled.
Shanks heard enough and slashed the Psycho with the weapon.
"Did you assume that was me because of the weapon?" The other clone asked as the one Shanks cut poofed away.
Shanks quickly cut the other, to no avail!
"Did you assume I was the real Psycho, just because we're the only two here!?" The clone asked before disappearing himself.
Shanks was becoming very paranoid. Shanks fell against a tree and heard Psycho talking again. His voice floated through the forest.
"A ninja's goal is assassination without being detected. You will die in this forest, but I'll show you hell before you do." Psycho said.