CHAPTER ELEVEN
Pain wasn't his friend, but it wasn't really his enemy either. After all, the heightened sense of pain came with the Dark Dark Fruit. That fruit he spent most of his life searching for. He wasn't going to let a little bit of pain stop him now.
Okay, it was a whole lot of pain. Who cares? While the pain never numbed, Blackbeard was getting better at shoving it to a corner of his mind to deal with later. Getting his leg incinerated in a split second was more shocking than painful. It was maybe a minute before the Whitebeard traitor was back on his feet.
Well, foot. Hmm. Actually, sitting worked for him right now. Balance was going to be troublesome until Doc could fix something up for him. At least his knee was still there. Fire Fist Ace found a new trick in prison.
Shrugging, Blackbeard turned his attention to the coastline. Looks like his ex-commander gave everything to that last attack. With a wide grin, Marshal D. teach noticed their situation with only a glance. Straw Hat was the only thing keeping the 2nd Division Commander from a free fall off the mast of their little ship.
The Rubber Boy must be close to done too, because he was just dangling there, clutching his older brother with one limb slung over part of the mast to keep them from falling. Straw Hat should have been pulling them up already.
Blackbeard laughed. How could he pass this opportunity up? "You missed Ace!" he taunted, grin as long as his face. Then it twisted. "Too bad. I'll take a bit more than a leg as payback."
The Quake Quake powers gathered in his hands as he grasped the air, focusing on the brothers' boat. Before he could finish the attack, he quickly rolled out of the way of an incoming cannon ball.
Ah. Garp. Well, a punch from Garp would have been a cannon shot to anyone else. Burgess stepped in to handle the old timer, but Blackbeard's moment was gone. The good old golden Buddah joined the party, spewing nonsense. Blackbeard could handle the old fart. Rather than aim for just the boat, Teach made sure to rock the whole ocean, along with the island. Everyone here was going to die sooner or later.
He could settle with Ace or Straw Hat another time if those two happened to be a lucky survivor.
SCENE BREAK
Jimbei dived for the water. It took some time to disengage from the ongoing fights, but he hadn't let the two brothers leave his view until now.
Akainu was rampaging. Division commanders were working hard to hold him back, but Jimbei needed to get the brothers off that ship. Water would be faster, even with the ice chunks and random debris.
Some of the crew helped the brothers down from the mast. Jimbei didn't know how Straw Hat managed to catch them in his condition. Ace must have passed out because the 2nd Commander would have never let his little brother hang there so long if he could still move.
If Ace was out, they were sitting ducks. Along with all the crew on the boat. There were more commandeered Marine boats on the other side of the thin strip of land separating the bay from the outside of the island. This ship could take off and Jinbei would lure Akainu away with the brothers.
The Whitebeard ally boats on the outside of the island could provide cover while the new boat with Ace sailed away. This one, still technically inside the bay, had less Marine boats to deal with, but a much longer distance to sail before being clear of an Admiral.
Leaping out of the water, Jinbei went high enough to give the Whitebeards time to recognize him before he landed on an open part of the crowded deck. "The Commanders are stalling Akainu. This boat needs to leave now. Everyone else will retreat on the outer coast. I'm taking Ace and his little brother there to help cover your exit. Where are they?"
He loved Whitebeard, but the fishman also enjoyed the old man's crew. Always friendly, but also always on task when needed. Immediately the anchor was going up and one member led him to the brothers.
"Nothing serious on Ace. He's out cold from overdoing it, we think. Might be a Narcolepsy attack. His brother needs to get to our medical division for treatment ASAP. Not much we can do in the field but keep him resting and watch for new symptoms. I know we don't have a choice, but try not to jostle them too much. Kid wrapped himself up around Commander Ace and tied his fingers up. Little brother has a nasty burn on his chest, so it's not good to be stuck to Fire Fist's back like that. No one's been able to unravel him yet, so you'll have to carry them as is."
Jimbei grunted in understanding, looking at Ace sitting propped up against on crew members while another gave up trying to untie Luffy's rubbery fingers. The Straw Hat Captain was piggy back on Fire Fist, with both arms and legs wound around the older brother's waist and torso.
"I'll try my best. Thank you." Jinbei lifted Ace up over his shoulder, trusting Luffy's tangled limbs to keep the younger one steady. "Good luck."
The fishman leapt off the deck to the shore and started running for Marine Ford's wall. Fishman karate called forth a spout of water to assist his leap up and over the metal barricade.
"They aren't leaving here alive Jinbei!" Akainu screamed after him. The Lava Admiral had no problem scaling the wall while sending a tidal wave of lava toward the ship the fishman had just left. The commanders were forced to defend the crew, leaving a clear path for the Admiral to aim for the brothers.
Dodging was the best the ex-Warlord could do midair. Dodging while inching towards the outer coast.
A whirlwind of sand distracted Akainu for a critical moment, but it was a short reprieve.
"Hell Wink" A massive gust of air blocked a flurry of lava fists. "Keep going Little Jinbei. Take good care of Straw Hat Boy. Ve vill take good care of the Admiral."
Jinbei nodded gratefully and continued to run.
Author's Note:
Well – Jimbei turned out easier to write than Law. Law is kicking my butt. I cannot seem to get into his head. But both brothers are down for the count, so someone needs to pick up the story. While this chapter may be out, I have nothing to post after. Blame Law.
I truly apologize it took two years to get this update out. Life kind of sucks. Got a major medical issue I had to deal with. Anyone heard of Cushings Disease? I sure hadn't until it kicked me in the butt. A benign tumor that gives off a hormone called ACTH, which makes your adrenal glands produce way more cortisol than a body should handle. Except, this tumor is so small we kept trying to find it and couldn't.
Since my last post I've been in and out of the ER and hospital until they figured out what was wrong. Then the tumor hunt began. I've had six surgeries to try and fix it (4 of them brain surgeries). I no longer have a pituitary gland or either of my adrenal glands. Which means I'm dependent on medication to live as those were pretty important glands. I spent June 2023 to Dec 2023 in the hospital, bed bound after my first brain surgery went really badly. My vision went out (double and blurred) in Feb of 2023 to the point I couldn't even see a computer screen. It didn't come back until November. By then I was relearning how to sit up, walk, swallow... basically how to function normally. When I went home from the hospital, it was in a wheelchair with 24-hour assistance for basic daily needs.
Good news, I've worked hard, and I'm currently (July of 2024) almost graduated from using a walker. I can eat normal and cook simple recipes. My ability to think and focus has been impaired, but they say working slowly it will come back. Hence, looking back into my old projects. It's very slow going and I cannot make any guarantees. Heck, I almost died 3 times and this story would have remained ghosted for eternity. At least now there's a chance. Thanks to everyone that hung in there on the subscribed list for whenever I finally updated. But here is your warning it will be far more sporadic than I ever have been.
Reader's Response (6/23/2022 - 7/18/2024):
Ebony-chi – LOL. Guts sums it up for me. I can't find any better word for whatever it is he's got.
Ditulek2995 – Here it is.
Emy – Here you go. Late, but better than never, right?
Bansalarina – Well, it took two years and the next one might take a long while too – but I haven't given up yet.
TracesOfFreedom – He really is, isn't he?
Chloepattersonac– Sorry for the two year lapse. I truly hope you stopped checking daily!
ThisIsStorm101 – Hope losing a lower limb qualifies as trauma. Wish it had been more, but he's a cockroach for sure.
Guest 16 – Yes, we could have hoped, but you were right – no one shot kill for Blackbeard
Lazymanjones96 – Glad you like it. Hope this chapter met expectations!
ChuLian – Man, I still don't know how I'm going to convince Luffy this isn't a dream. You know him. When he gets an idea into his head – that's the truth, the whole truth, and anything unexplainable is just a mystery part of his truth.
AngelFallenDemon – I don't know if Ace will ever be able to think through his emotions. Getting him to stay on that stupid boat with a possibly dying brother was nearly impossible to pull off!