"Usopp Hammer!" *Bong!* " Usopp Hammer!" *Bong!* "Usopp Hammer!" *Bong!* "Usopp Hammer!" *Bong!*
"Usopp! You've been at it for five minutes already!" Vivi yelled at the sniper, who had taken out a mallet and was trying to hit one of the agents with it, but they continued to go underground through the holes.
In short, it was a big game of Whack-a-Mole!
"Stop calling me a Mole!" Ms. Merry Christmas shouted, having morph into her Mole Form. (Ironic, ain't it?)
"Usopp Hammer!"
"Quit that, ya' brat!"
"Then come out and fight us!" Usopp shouted between breaths.
"Ha! Yeah, right!" Miss Merry Christmas said as she popped on another hole, "Why give the enemy a chance to fight!? Unless you have a way to stop us from going underground, you three are done for!" She went back in.
Usopp suddenly blinked. "...Hey! You're right!" He dropped his mallet and began to search his bag, before taking an item. "Man, Mario was right! Always have everything to fight anyone!"
Previously, Usopp had asked Mario for some items to help expand his arsenal a bit. The plumber happily agreed as he handed him a few items, giving him the wise words to have anything ready for any kind of enemy.
One of the items was a blue cube with big logos of POW in it.
He drops it down and picks his hammer before looking at his friends. "Guys! On three, jump!" Chopper and Vivi blinked in confusion before nodding. "Okay! Three!" He suddenly said as the duo jumped, Usopp quickly swung his big mallet and hit the block.
*Intense shaking sound effect*
The entire ruin shook madly. Like a metal cage hit hard and spread electricity coursing through the floor.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!"
"Woooooooo-ock!"
The two agents and a strange dog-cannon creature were sent flying out of the holes, screaming in pain before coming down. Landing was pretty hard.
"Wow!" Chopper looked mesmerized and amazed. "That was so cool! What was that?!"
"Ehehe! Just a gift from our God!" Usopp proclaimed as he bragged and he suddenly brought out a big mallet that said it was 5 tons and spun it around easily. He walks up to Mr. 4, who got his body dug in a hole up to his waist and was dizzy. "Behold, the power of the one and only, CAPTAIN USO~PP!" He shouted as he raised the mallet over his head dramatically before bringing it back down. "Usopp Mega Hammer!"
Mr. 4 had managed to regain his focus, but it was short live as his head felt pain, "Bwuooooooooooo?!" He squeaked out as his eyes shot out, blood spitting out his mouth.
"Agh! Mr. 4!!!!" His partner shouted in horror as the big man went limp. "Are you kidding me?! That's actually 5 tons!?
"Ahahahaha! But of course it is!" Usopp bragged. "After all, you are looking at the greatest discipline of the great Hero who crushed Meteors the size of an island with his bare hands! It's only natural that I will become as strong as him!"
"Bullshit! There's no way! No way! No way! Someone like that exists!"
"Ahahaha! So this is how it feels to tell the truth!"
('But Mario didn't make him his apprentice.') Vivi sweatdrop.
"Eh?! That's so cool! Why didn't Mario give me the offer?!" Chopper asked, a bit hurtful.
"Did you ask him?"
"...Touché."
"Grrrr! You brats!" Miss Merry Christmas morphs more into her Mole Form. "Lassoo! A Billion Blows!" She shouted to the mutt, who stood up and growled at the pirates.
"Awrooo-chooo!" Lassoo howled/sneezed, a lot of baseballs coming out.
"Aaaaaaaaaa!" Usopp's bravado vanished as he began to dodge the exploding bombs, along with Vivi and Chopper.
One of the bombs hit the mallet, making it pop like a balloon.
"Eh?!"
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." Mr. 5 woke up, holding his head in pain.
"Ehhhh?!"
"He's alive!" The mole woman shouted as she popped next to her partner, hugging him. "You fool! I thought you were dead! Stupid! Stupid!"
"The mallet was fake?!" Chopper looked at the mallet, revealing that the blunt part was the only thing with metal while the rest was a contraption with a balloon.
"Why are you surprised?!" Vivi yelled at him in shock. "He's been lying this entire time!"
"Eeeeeeeeeh?! He was?! Usopp, how could you!"
"You moron! I was trying to scare them! Why did you believe me?!"
"Because I thought you looked cool!"
"...Well, thank you very much-"
"You bastard!" Two mole hands appeared beneath Usopp and grabbed his boots. "You will pay for making a fool out of us!" She dragged the poor kid around the sand.
"Aaaaaaaa!"
"Usopp!" Vivi shouted as she and Chopper tried to go help him, only for more bombs to force them to hide behind cover.
"All right, Mr. 4!" Miss Merry Christmas shouted as she headed to her partner, who hummed as he brought out a metal bat. "Get ready!"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay."
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'm going to die!" Usopp shouted as he was getting close. "Aaaaaaa- Oh wait!" He stopped shouting as an idea came to mind. He pulled down his goggles and held his slingshot and pulled it.
"Molehill Intersection Attack!" Miss Merry Christmas shouted as she reached Mr 4 and let him swing his bat.
Usopp breathed heavily as he got out of his boots, dodging the swing and released his ammunition, "Special Attack: Small Size Pellets!"
…
…
….
"...Mmmmm?" Mr. 4 blinked when his swing didn't hit anything. In fact, his body felt weird. He looked down and saw that the sand looked far bigger than before.
"Eh?! Mr. 4?! Where are you?!"
His partner called from behind, he turned around, and saw her popping out the sand…and paled at seeing her size dwarf his. "Missssssssssssssssss Chrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssmaaaaaaaaaasssssss?!"
"Eh?!" The Mole heard a squeak sound and looked down, her jaw falling when she saw her partner being way too small. "What the heck is this?! How did you become small?!" Before anything could be answered, a pair of strings shot over Miss Merry Christmas and wrapped her around. "Eh?!"
"I got her!" Vivi declared as she had used her Peacock Strings to trap the mole woman. With a sudden scream, the princess pulled the woman off the sand.
"What?! Since when was the princess this strong!? I weigh at least 14 pounds!"
"Ha! That's nothing to what Mario had us pull!" Vivi said.
( Flashback)
"What the shit is this thing?!" Vivi asked as they all watched the big stone boulder with spikes around it that, for some reason, had a face.
"This is a Twomph." Mario explained as he wrapped a rope around it. "It's one of the natural creatures of the Mushroom Kingdom. They weigh a lot. Here, have a go." He offers the rope.
Zoro, being the most muscled one, took it and pulled. He began to struggle a bit before putting more strength in it, the Thwomp beginning to be pulled ever so slightly. "Holy shit! This is heavy alright!"
"Let me try!" Luffy said as he switched with Zoro, as he stretched his hands at the Twomph. "Hrrrrrrm…Man, this IS really heavy!" Luffy said as he did the same results as Zoro.
"Yep! For today's training, I want-a everyone to pull these guys." Mario said as he clapped a few Twomphs into existence.
"Eh?!" Most of the crew looked at him in disbelief. "All of us?! Are you kidding me?!" Nami said. "What makes you think we can pull this off?!"
"But of course you can, Nami! I've seen how strong you are! You have-a punched Luffy, Zoro and Sanji hard enough to send them flying!" Mario said.
The navigator flinched in embarrassment. "I-I don't know what you talking about! That just anger burst!"
"And Anger can be a powerful weapon." Mario said. "It can full your strength if you can control it. But that's not my goal here. You see, whenever-a you like it or not, there will be times where strength is to be used. When will those be will be up to you. So, let's-a start pulling!"
"Yeah!" All the males, including DK and Kiddy, shouted.
Vivi and Nami sweatdrop. How is this supposed to help them?
( Flashback End)
"Can't believe what I'm saying but I'm glad he made us go through that torture!" Vivi said as she began to spin Miss Merry Christmas around, the mole woman getting dizzy. "Chopper!" Hse shouted before sending the mole woman into the air.
The reindeer in his human/monster form, who had taken the liberty to tackle the gun/dog creature by Vivi's order, pick the unconscious dog and aim at the sky. "If this is a cold, and the sneezing makes them fire." Chopper muttered as he tickled the nose of the dog, who unconsciously began twitching.
"Achoo!" The dog sneezed as he fired a ball that was heading to Miss Merry Christmas.
"Ah-" the old woman could only scream before the ball hit her and covered her body in the explosion.
Mr. 4 screamed at her in horror, his slow speech being too small to actually be heard. But he flinches when a shadow covers him. Turning back, he paled at seeing the big body of Usop, his eyes glowing like a demon and smiling like one.
"Not too brave when you are smaller than your opponent, eh?!" Usopp said as he grabbed his small mallet, "But don't worry, Captain Usopp will make sure you will not suffer…much!"
Mr. 4 ran…for about two inches.
"Usopp Hammer!" Usopp swung his mallet like a golf club, hitting the agent from behind hard. This time, making more damage as the size of it makes it more dangerous.
"Uooooooooooooooooo-" Mr. 4 cough blood as his body revert to normal size, his big frame flying through the air and crashing with the falling, and smoking, form of Miss Merry Christmas.
Also, Chopper threw their dog into them, their collision made another ball to cough out.
*BOOOM!*
…
…
…
"...We won." Usopp muttered between breaths as the trio fell on the sand hard, unconscious. His eyes began to widen in realization, "We won!"
"We won?!" Chopper was next.
"WE DID IT! WE BEAT THE BAD GUYS!" Usopp yelled in joy as he and Chopper hugged each other and danced around like fools. "We won~! We won~!"
Vivi sighs at that. She knew this wasn't over, but she couldn't help but smile. They had indeed done it.
They won.
Straw Hats vs Baroque Workers
Round 1: Usopp, Vivi and Chopper vs Mr. 4 (and Lassoo) and Miss Merry Christmas
Victors: Usopp, Vivi and Chopper
Moving to another part of the city, we see two legs cashing against each other. A black leg, pulsing red fire pulsing like magma. A white leg, having the sock of a swan, with metal at the end of the shoe.
"Uwooooh!"
Both Sanji and Mr. 2 clash their attacks with fierce precision. Their legs clash with each other like swords as metal and fire spark around. One final clash sent them both sliding back.
"Mwuoooooo! You're not bad, pretty boy! Nobody has face my Okama-Way style and live this long~!" Mr. 2 complement, spinning around like a ballerina.
"Tch! You're not bad yourself-YOU THINK I CARE?!" Sanji exploded in anger. "You made my sweet and delicate Vivi kill herself by your stupid flirting! In MY presence!" Flames intensify around him. "That's a punishment paid by blood!"
"Hmph! And you call yourself a gentleman?" Mr. 2 replied. "The princess simply left to allow me a chance to have you all for myself! So I can kill you!"
"Just try!" Sanji declared as he dash forward.
"Ha! Try all you want, but my special attack will never let you win!" Mr. 2 said as his right had touch his face and change to Usopp, "Try and hit your friend's face-"
*Bang!*
"NO HESITATION!?" Mr. 2 screamed in pain and horror at Sanji hitting his face. "You would hurt your friend's face?!"
"Tch! Like Hell I would mistake who are my friends and who are my enemies!" Sanji snarled. "So go ahead! Change to any of them! My heart will never mistake my friends!"
"Guhk!" Mr. 2 flinched…and manly tears began to fall in his eyes. "Such a bond with your friends that you won't be deterred by my copy…! Truly, a beautiful friendship!" He then taps his face again and changes to Nami, "I guess I'm at a disadvantage against you now, huh?" He looked at Sanji…
And he was looking at him like a pervert.
"YOU SCUMBAG BASTARD!" Taking advantage of the distraction, Mr. 2 charges at the still dazed Sanji. Switching his face, he hit Sanji on the face, "And here I thought you wouldn't break!"
"SHUT UP!" Sanji shoots forward, leg stretch.
He was about to hit Mr. 2, the man had touched his face and had become Nami once again. "You wouldn't hurt me, right?~"
"Grk!" Sanji quickly stops his attack by dodging the face.
Bad move as Mr. 2 touched his face again to revert back to his normal face, and twirl around, "Deux!" He hits Sanji's chest with a devastating pierce blow from his swan shoe.
Sanji coughs as he is sent into a wall, his back aching in pain for a moment before falling flat on the ground.
"Ahaha! How do you like that!?" Mr. 2 began to show off his leggings. "These are hand-made leggings that can puncture stones in seconds! Try to stand up from that one-"
Sanji casually stood up, adjusted his tie and cleaned the dust off his suit.
"Sure. Sure. Get up like nothing has almost killed you. There's nothing wrong with that." Mr. 2 deadpanned with a sweatdrop…before he managed to process everything. "How the fuck are you standing!? I hit you right in the heart! At least you would find it difficult to stand up!"
Sanji morbly chuckled. "Honestly…After being hit by Mario and DK? I felt more pain when I hit the wall."
(Flashback)
Sanji grunted as he got up from the floor, coughing a bit.
"You okay, Sanji?"
"I'm on the floor, agonizing in pain. But thanks for caring." Sanji remarks.
"Ouch. No need to be stingy." Usopp cringe. "But look on the bright side! What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger!"
"Oh yeah? Then why don't you have a go?"
"Uhm…I have the I-will-die-by-one-hit disease." Usopp faked out.
"Hey, Mario! Usopp has a disease that will kill him if he fights you! Get the medicine ready!" Sanji declared, making the Red Plumber raise an eyebrow as he dodged Luffy's attack.
"What kind of disease is that? Sounds more like he doesn't want to fight me!"
"For obvious reasons! You expect me to fight God?!"
"Why are you people-" Mario dodged Luffy's speed attack, responding with an uppercut to the chin that sent the rubber man flying back, "Doing this? I'm not God. I have limits too, you know?"
"Ouch! That hurts!" Luffy shouted from far away.
"Man says while beating the living crap of a human whose body is made out of rubber, and hurts him. Something we haven't been able to do." Sanji blew smoke out. "If that's not an act of Godhood, I will eat my entire shoe."
*THUD!*
("Hey! Hey! Hey!") DK appeared behind Sanji and Usopp, the former tensing while the latter squeaked and became blue. ("Two kids gonna die tonight!")
"Aaaaaaaaaaa!" Usopp screamed in fear as he ran away.
"You coward! At least shoot him first-" Sanji received a backhand.
( Flashback End)
Sanji nodded. "Yep. Fighting those two were far more dangerous than your poor attempts."
Mr. 2 felt insulted. "You bastard! How dare you compare me to a fat plumber and a hairy gorilla!?" He lept into the air and spun around before going down at him. "Okama Kenpo: Bombardier!"
The leg shot forward, but Sanji managed to dodge it by jumping forward, floating above Mr. 2, who was left shocked by this. "Gotcha now!" Sanji began to turn to deliver a kick.
Mr. 2 quickly switches his face back to Nami. "Ha! Nice try!"
"Oy." Sanji suddenly said. "There's something on your left cheek."
"Eh?" Mr. 2 dumbly taps his left cheek, unknowingly switching back to his original face. "Did I get it?"
"Yeah, it was a BASSES CÔTE BLAST!" Sanji kicks his face hard, sending the agent through the ground. Before he could recover, Sanji appeared behind him and slammed his leg in his back. "Longe!" Followed by a hit to the throat. "Tendron!"
Mr. 2 staggered back, but held tight the pain as he glared at Sanji, who glared back. They both scream at each other as they charge and begin to attack with their legs over and over while break dancing, screaming a lot of French words that the writer of this story won't bother typing in.
However, Sanji managed to get the upper hand as his fiery leg was hurting Mr. 2, his clothes having burn marks around him.
The final clash sent both of them away, rolling through the ground before looking at each other and dashing, leaping forward with their legs hitting each other like a ninja showdown.
"Diable Jambe: Veau Shot!"
"Bombardier Arabesque!"
…
…
…
Both fighters landed on the ground…before Sanji exhaled and took a new cigarette out and lit it up. "You were pretty good." The Okama man grunted hard, "But I was too hot for you." Mr 2 screamed in agony as his delayed reaction reached and sent him flying into a wall.
Poor man dropped to the ground, body aching in pain and burning.
Sanji walks up to him, staring at his broken form. "...D-Do it…! You…won…" Mr. 2 cough.
"Ready to die, eh? Not gonna change?"
"Tch! I…can't move…I…know this job…was a risk…I accept…my failures…So do it!" Mr. 2 closes his eyes, accepting his fate.
Instead, he opened his eyes to see Sanji smiling and stretching his hand at him. "You fought well. We don't need more words."
Mr. 2 cried as he, while struggling, reached and accepted Sanji's hand. ('To show kindness after a battle to the death! Is this what respect between rivals feels like?!") He thought as he comically looked to the side as tears and snot streamed out his face and nose. ('I'm…not crying-')
Sanji raised his leg and brought his foot right on the crown, knocking Mr. 2 out. "And that's for making my dear Vivi kill herself." He said before walking away.
('You Goddamn Asshole! GUK! Bleh!')
Straw Hats vs Baroque Workers
Round 2: Sanji vs Mr. 2
Victor: Sanji
Moving to somewhere else, Nami and Vivi were panting, the two of them were having a bad time fighting Miss Doublefingers and her devil fruit, the Spike-Spike Fruit, which allows her body to shoot and make spikes out, strong enough to pierce stone
"Any idea, Nami?!"
"None that I can think of!" Nami said to Vivi as they ran through the city, Vivi guiding her. "We need to find an open space! Being trapped is a death sentence with her Devil Fruit!"
"I know a place!" Vivi guided her.
Moments later, they reached an open plaza, where only a fountain was.
"This is the only place close enough for an open area." Vivi said as they hid behind.
"Alright. I think I can make this work." Nami said as she grabbed her new staff and broke it in parts, the principal mechanism. "Can you buy me time?"
"I'll do what I can." Vivi said as she prepared her strings.
Suddenly, a whistling sound was heard from above, making both girls look up, yelp, and throw themselves away. Just as a blue urchin circle crashed on when they were hiding, making a loud crash and dust. "Naughty girls~ You love to play cat and mouse chase so much?" The dust began to clear out, revealing Miss Doublefingers standing up and posing sexy. "I do enjoy a good chase here and there, but I must unfortunately end this game."
"...Okay, hold on." Nami suddenly spoke up, staring hard at the agent, more specifically her hip. "Like…how did you manage that hip?"
"Hmm?"
"That hip is way too wide! And don't get me started on the way you sway it!" Nami pointed dramatically. "Like, I know it's a technique to try and snare men for your job, but how did you make it possible to be attractive and not feel like you need surgery?!"
The assassin…actually looked down at herself in thought. "I must say, I don't know. I grew up like this."
"You grew up with killer hips?! At what age?!"
"I can't tell…before becoming this hunting business I say."
"If you weren't trying to kill us, I would have begged for your technique. You had to practice something for that hip to be that attractive."
"Hmm, why thank you. I must say that you both are adorable." Miss Double Finger's smile, before shooting her hand to the side, transforming and almost piercing Vivi, who was getting close to her. "A shame that's a ruse you were trying to distract me with."
"Tch!" Nami clicks her tongue before throwing part of her staff forward, which was blocked by the assassin. "I'm insulted you call my genuine question a ruse, but what can one do about it? Dammit Vivi! Why did you fail?!"
"Why are you blaming me?!" Vivi yelled back as she swung her strings to block the spikes headed at her. "You knew she was an assassin! She definitely has a precognition for stealth attacks!"
"And?! Have you forgotten what Mario taught us?! Expect the unexpected!"
"Oh, I'm sorry! I clearly forgot what the most powerful plumber in existence said to us about fighting any enemy that's trying to kill us!"
"Don't need to be sarcastic! I'm just saying you should've been a bit faster!"
"You are literally the fastest one! Why didn't you let me distract her?!"
"Eh! Eh! Eh! She would have noticed right away the plan! I had her talking for a while!"
"Oh! So you're now saying I can't do it?! I'll have you know I managed my way through Baroque Works!"
"Because the bottom were idiots! You said it, the above aren't so stupid!"
"ENOUGH!" Miss Doublefingers felt a headache as she threw her spikes out, making the two girls yelp as they dodged. "Immature children! We are having a battle in which I am going to kill you! You take this seriously right now!"
"We are taking this seriously!" They both shouted at her.
"Hard to believe!"
"We are!" Nami shouted as she grinned at her. "I mean, after all the talk about you seeing our ruse, you still haven't figured it out?!"
Miss Doublefingers blink in confusion-
*Swipe!*
Faster than she could notice, the assassin was suddenly wrapped in strings. Followed by something exploding around her legs, her body covered in a gooey substance. "What the?! What is this?"
"Hmm." Vivi hummed as she held in her hand a…Rubber Duck. "Well, according to Mario, it is a grenade that has honey in it. Sticky stuff."
"Honey?!" Miss Doublefingers felt dread as her nose picked up the sweet smell. "Ugh! You've covered by beautiful hair in honey?! It's going to take ages to take this…" She realized that her body couldn't move. "You…!"
"What? This shouldn't be a surprise. You said it yourself." Nami said as she spun her staff. "But don't worry, I have just the thing to help you get out."
A sudden feeling from above made Miss Doublefingers look up, her eyes widened in shock and horror at seeing a big black cloud, thunder roaring out. "What the Hell?! Where did this come from?!"
( Flashback)
"N-Nami! Let's talk about this!" Usopp said as he walked back, trembling in fear.
The navigator was spitting anger as she stomped her way to him, holding the Clima-tact that had toy birds and a boutique flower hanging out. "Usopp~ I believe I asked for a weapon to help me fight…So please, explain, WHY did you give me this party trick horse shit!?" She threw the stick at him, yelping sounds coming out.
"Y-You know, I-I just thought it w-would be good for you! T-This part is for distracting them and h-helping you take them off guard!"
"Take them off guard?! Are you insulting my feminine temptation skills?! I'll have you know, I had men drool for me!"
"That's not what I meant! I mean, not that I can deny that, but think! Not all men will be attracted to you like that!"
"And neither will these parlor tricks!"
"Okay! Stop it you two!" Starlow flew and appeared in front of them. "Nami, how about we listen to Usopp's explanation on how to hold the weapon first? You did read the instructions he gave you, right?"
"Yeah, and the first part is full of party tricks! The reason I'm mad!"
"First part? So there's another part?"
"Yeah. And I want a full explanation on how to use it from his mouth." Nami said as she showed the sprite the instructions paper.
"Let's see." Starlow said as she…grabbed the paper and began to read.
"What!? How are you holding that without arms?!"
"Huh…So this device can make small bubbles that come in three forms. One has cold air, one warm air and the last one has small electric particles. Nice! So this is basically a small weather maker!"
"Weather maker?!" Any anger Nami has vanished as she grabbed the instructions and staff. "You mean I can make weather with this?!"
"Y-Yeah!" Usopp explained. "T-The Clima-Tact is a weapon that combines science and your weather knowledge! With this, you can create and manipulate clouds! I even added the flowers Mario use to make them more powerful!"
"...Okay, you're forgiven." Nami said, making Usopp sigh in relief. "But you are still removing those tricks!" Once again , he was in trouble. "You are so lucky that I found this before our fight. Praise Mario for this!"
"We praise!" Everyone shouted.
"Mama-Mia!"
( Flashback End)
Nami grinned as her staff had been releasing bubbles of cold and heat all this time, courtesy of Usopp's ingenious mind and Mario's Fire and Ice Flowers. "I must thank you, Miss Doublefingers! I needed a living target practice to see how much power is this!"
The assassin panics, now realizing that she should have killed them sooner. "Sewing Stinger!" Having no choice, she fired two spikes…from her breasts.
Right where her nipples were.
"Eh?!" Both pirates could only yelp in embarrassment as both spikes hit them…before vanishing like mist.
"What?!" Miss Doublefingers shouted in shock as the spikes returned.
"Yeah! Like we will be standing there like morons!" Nami shouted from far away, her and Vivi having used the navigator's newest technique; Mirage Tempo. "Sorry love, but we do have a kingdom to save!" The cloud above the assassin rumbles. "Thunderbolt Tempo!"
Lighting fell and screams of agony echoed in the air.
*BOOOM!*
Followed by an unnecessary explosion.
"...I…think that was a bit too much." Vivi said, sweating and staring in horror at the massive destruction of the plaza.
"...I think you are right." Nami agreed, gulping hard as the dust cleared and revealed a charred Miss Doublefingers on the ground, her body twitching being the only thing saying she was still alive.
Straw Hats vs Baroque Workers
Round 3: Nami and Vivi vs Miss Doublefingers
Victors: Nami and Vivi
Moving on- I just realized that I had typed this two times already, what's wrong with me…
Anyways, metal sounds echoed in the air as Zoro and Mr. 1 clashed with each other. The green-haired swordsman had been clashing against the man for a while. Mr. 1 was definitely strong, having cut a building by accident effortlessly, and was durable enough to tank everything, as he has proclaimed.
Still, Zoro has shown that he wasn't bad either, having blocked everything the agent had thrown.
But he was getting tired.
"...I don't understand." Mr. 1 spoke, blocking Zoro's slashes with his arm. "I'm unbreakable. Your swords have not been able to even damage me. You, on the other hand, are barely keeping on. Why continue on this impossible endeavor?"
"Ha!" Zoro laughed. "Sorry buddy, but you are weeks too late to tell me that." Zoro slash forward, clashing with Mr. 1 once again. "Met a guy who can do impossible shit. Then a gorilla who did impossible shit. Then I met a baby gorilla that did the impossible shit."
"...Huh?" Oh look! Another character that asks the question!
"So yeah, impossible? It's shit." Zoro said as he suddenly slash forward, pushing back Mr. 1. "Allow me to show you." He said as he took off his bandana from his arm, wrapped it on his head, and put away his two swords, Kitetsu III and Yubashiri, and held his precious white sword, Wado Ichimonji, sheathed and got himself into a crouching stance.
(Flashback)
"Ugh! How is this possible?!"
"I told you it can take any hit." Mario said as he brought a water bottle for Zoro.
The swordsman had been training with his swords with a Sandbag. Mario had explained that it's a bag that could take a lot of damage; nobody had been able to break it.
"What material is this?! It looks like normal fabric!"
"Strongest one in my universe, last I ask." Mario said as he watched the down Sandbag stand up on its own. "It can tank the strongest attack of practically everyone in the universe. Not even that silver haired, one winged angel could cut it. And he can slash meteors the size of planets in half easily."
Zoro, who was drinking, had spit water out, "Holy Fucking shit! How am I supposed to beat that?!" A meteor the size of a planet?! He was sure that not even Mihawk had done that!
"Well, lucky for you, you aren't here to cut it in half! You are here to improve your swordsman skill and power!" Mario said as he brought a board with a Zoro image in it. "We need you to be able to make powerful slashes. The sandbag is here to determine how powerful your strike is. The farther you send it flying, the stronger it is."
"Hmm…I see the goal, but how about references?" Zoro suggested, "How far did your swordsman friends have gone?"
Mario hummed. "I say…somewhere between 400 to 500 km."
"Holy Shit!"
"And they all do the same thing; channel their inner energy." Mario said, catching Zoro's attention. "They focus everything inside of them, to the point they can hear everything around them. Every single living and nonliving being. They have even stated that they can cut anything!"
Zoro widened his eyes before looking at his hand. ('Cut through…anything.') Those words brought back a memory, one that he had with his former master.
"Listen well, Zoro. This is an important lesson for you to learn. There are swordsmen in this world who are capable of cutting nothing, but it is these same swordsmen who can cut anything with that same sword, including steel. Strong swordsmen can protect what they want to protect and cut what they want to cut. Swordplay that always harms whatever it touches? That's not real swordsmanship. Do you understand now, Zoro?"
"...Inner energy." He mumbled as he closed his eyes. He let everything around go silent, including his friends' training shouts.
He was alone now, everyone was gone. His mind is repeating 'Inner Energy' as he slowly breathes in and out.
…
…
…
"...I think I got it." Zoro said as he opened his eyes again, looking at Mario with a grin. "Thanks Mario. I think I finally understand what my master told me."
Mario didn't understand what he meant, but nonetheless, smiled and nodded.
Zoro looked at the sandbag, staring at those unblinking eyes. He took a deep breath and concentrated as he grabbed one sheathed sword and posed into a crouching stance.
( Flashback End, transaction to reality)
Zoro and his past self slowly closed their eyes, letting everything around go silent.
"Do you really think you have the luxury to be dazed?" Mr. 1 asked, feeling his annoyance in his voice as his fingers and feet changed into blades. "Don't mock me." With that said, he dash forward like an ice skater.
If Zoro heard him, he didn't show any concern. He simply breathed heavily before exhaling. Then, once he felt his opponent close, snapped his eyes open and grabbed the handle of his sword.
"Atomic Spark!"
"One Sword Style: Lion's Song!"
They both shouted as they clashed their attacks, having now stood on the opposite side of each other, their backs facing one another.
Zoro sheathed a small part of his sword.
*Splash!*
And an arc of blood exploded from Mr. 1's body, the assassin coughing blood out his mouth as he fell to his knees. "You…actually did it…!" He said, impressed by it.
"...I did."
"...Heh…I guess…I got…cocky…What's next…Diamonds?"
"Maybe."
"Heh…well done…" It was all Mr. 1 could say as he passed out, falling forward.
"...Thank you." Zoro said, smiling at the success of achieving the power to cut steel.
Straw Hats vs Baroque Workers
Round 4: Roronoa Zoro vs Mr. 1
Victor: Roronoa Zoro
Five out of seven agents of Baroque Works down. Only two left, the Boss himself and his partner.
But now, we focus on the Vivi that had stopped the Rebels. She, riding Carue and holding tight Kiddy, sped back to the castle. Starlow right behind her.
"Princess!" She heard when Carue reached the gates and saw the Royal Guards noticed her. By doing so, it causes two people to quickly rush at her.
Both were men, one was dark skin, medium length black hair and a long broad nose resembling that of a jackal. He wears a long, light-green tunic over his muscular figure, a dark green coat over his shoulders and a massive sword sheathed on his right hip.
The other was tall as well, and had purple lines under each eye, resembling a falcon. He's wearing a long white robe with brown star-like motifs on it and a matching hat. He carries his sword on his right hip as well.
"Chaka! Pell!"
"Princess." Both men said as they kneel. "It's good to see you alive and well."
"Same, but we don't have time. Listen to me." Vivi said as she began to explain everything to the two men.
"Crocodile…" Chaka was the first to speak as he growled and clenched his fist. "So this was all a conspiracy for him to take over Alabasta."
"How shameless of us." Pell sigh. "We all believe him so easily. "
"Yeah, next time, actually suspect the one who can control sand to stop the rain." Starlow replied.
"...Excuse me, but what is this…creature?" Chaka asked, finally asking the question.
"And why are you carrying a baby…gorilla, Princess?" Pell asks.
"They are allies, powerful ones." Vivi said, getting the incredulous look from both men. "Trust me. I didn't believe it at first, but had witnessed amazing things for the last few weeks. But for now, I need help! Crocodile has placed a bomb somewhere in Alubarna!" That made both men flinch in horror. "We only have twenty-five minutes to find it!"
"...Do the rebels know?" Vivi nodded. "Very well! Listen up!" Chaka turned to the gate where soldiers had piled up. "I want every man to search around the city as fast as they can!"
"Wait!" Vivi suddenly said before any soldiers left. "Starlow, do it!" The sprite grinned as she flew up and proceeded to charge his beam once again as it hit the army, followed by multiple people falling.
"Princess?!" Pell looked at her in shock.
"...Those that fell are spies from Baroque Works."
"...MEN! SEARCH THEM!" Chaka's order was immediate.
Not sooner, the same results as the rebels happened.
"And now we know how they managed to get to the King." Pell growled as he massaged his head. "They made us completely fool."
"We can regret later. Now, we need to find the bomb and your majesty, and defeat Sir Crocodile."
"Focus on the bomb." Vivi said, surprising the two men. "My friends will be able to rescue my father and defeat Crocodile. Let's focus on finding where they could have been planted."
"But-"
"Trust me." Vivi smirks in confidence. "I have the Strongest Plumber, Gorilla and Pirates on the case."
"...Huh?"