One Piece: Strawhat Theater
"Our Mrs. Monkey"
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. One Piece is the property of Toei Animation, Funimation, and Eiichiro Oda. Please support the official release.
Corrida Colosseum
Bartolomeo cackled as Dellinger continued to drive kick after kick into his barrier. The blonde teen's attacks were completely ineffectual against his powers.
"Huh? Ace-chan, did you feel that?" Bartolomeo asked, tone mocking as he stuck his face up against his shield.
"I don't feel a thing!" Acenath giggled from where she'd climbed on top of Bartolomeo's shoulders.
"Me neither!" Bartolomeo laughed, not feeling any recoil or impact even when Dellinger snapped a kick on the part of the barrier his face was pressed up against.
"Grr…!" Dellinger seethed at the duo's commentary as he backed up to give his next kick more momentum. "We'll see how much you two laugh when I shatter your stupid barrier to pieces. TAKE THIS! PISTON HIGH HEEL!"
Dellinger rushed forward and shot his leg forward like a bullet. The sound of his shin hitting the barrier cracked the air around them as if a cannonball had been fired, making spectators nearby cry out and cover their ears. Yet for all the power behind his kick, the barrier still remained undamaged.
"HA HA! You suck!" Bartolomeo jeered, making the vein on Dellinger's forehead twitch as his anger increased. The Donquixote officer became even more incensed when the toddler he'd been trying to snag joined the barrier man in mocking him, sticking her tongue out and blowing raspberries from where she sat on the green haired man's shoulders.
"Your barriers are really strong, Bart!" Acenath smiled, eyes sparkling as she watched the creepy blonde teen throw more kicks at the barrier which continued to do nothing. While she'd been unnerved and fearful of the guy and his staring, seeing him fail so many times at cracking Bartolomeo's barrier had killed her nervousness and had replaced it with cheer.
"You know it! This guy's an idiot if he thinks his weak kicks are enough to take my barriers down!" Bartolomeo laughed, keeping his fingers curled so his barrier wouldn't fall. "Tsk, I can't flip him off like this. Hey, Ace-chan! Do it for me! Flip him two birds!"
"Mommy says I can't do that. When I did it during a boring lesson, I didn't get dessert that night." Acenath told Bartolomeo with a pout. She'd only been copying what she saw Uncle Law do once!
"Your mom's not here right now! Plus, this guy deserves it for creeping on us! Your mom would totally approve!"
"I dunno…"
"C'mon, I won't tell! Just this one time! Give him two big middle fingers up! It'll feel great!" Bartolomeo encouraged.
Acenath bit her lip before a mischievous smile wormed its way onto her face and she raised both her tiny middle digits in Dellinger's direction.
"WOW!" Acenath gasped, staring wide-eyed at her fingers. "IT FEELS SO INSULTING!"
"I KNOW, RIGHT?!"
"FUCK YOU, BRAT!" Delllinger screamed, drilling both ends of his heels into the top of the barrier with a flying drop kick, but to his frustration the barrier remained solid. His efforts so far hadn't even left one dent in the thing.
"Heh, hilarious as this is… we are drawing a lot of attention." Bartolomeo muttered, turning away from Dellinger and glancing around the area. Practically the whole section where they'd been sitting had been vacated by the spectating Dressrosa citizens, and while most kept their eyes focused on the fights in the arena below, many were looking in their direction too.
Bartolomeo had absolute confidence in the strength of his barriers. That said, if any more of Doflamingo's goons showed up, Bartolomeo wasn't eager to have them all dogpile on his barrier as they attempted to break it. And if they were surrounded, the second he dropped the barrier they would both be apprehended by Dellinger and the rest of Doflamingo's goons. He could already see security guards, all dressed in gladiator apparel to match the environment, pushing their way through the crowded stands toward them.
"Gotta get rid of this guy quick and make myself scarce." Bartolomeo thought as he watched Dellinger launch a high jump kick at his shield, which was just as ineffectual as his previous attacks were.
Though Bartolomeo wasn't exactly keen to fight right now given that his top priority was keeping Acenath safe. But at the same time, he wanted to watch Luffy-senpai fight! Still, his mission given to him by Luffy-senpai superseded the green haired captain's own wants.
"...Ace-chan, we gotta get out of the arena and hide somewhere." Bartolomeo informed her.
Acenath frowned and pointed down at the arena. "But daddy's fight finally started! I wanna watch!"
Bartolomeo teared up at the words. "I know, I wanna watch too! But since all these guys are attacking us, we can't really stick around to-!"
"But we're safe in here, right? We can watch from inside your barrier!"
"For a little while, yeah." Bartolomeo acknowledged, ignoring a guard who had reached them and broke a sword off of his barrier. "But if we stay here for too long more and more guards will show up and surround us, caging us in. They'd block the view anyway! And your dad told me to keep you safe!"
"You are though!"
"Yeah, but better safe than sorry…!"
"But I wanna watch daddy!"
"ME TOO!"
"So can't you do both?" Acenath inquired with a hopeful expression.
Bartolomeo thought about that. Caught between the responsibility his idol had given him and the wishes of the man's daughter, the captain of the Barto Club pirates found himself at an impasse. The SMART thing to do would be to get out of the colosseum and hideout somewhere. That was the best plan to keep Acenath safe.
Still, between both Ace-chan's desire to see her father fight, as well as his own earnest wish of having front row seats to his hero kicking ass…!
"...If it makes you happy, Ace-chan?" Bartolomeo grinned as he crossed his arms over his body, having come to a decision. "YOU BET I CAN!"
"This is getting so annoying!" Dellinger growled as more security guards began to show up and surrounded the barrier the punk and brat were hiding inside.
The girl should've been in his hands by now! She was just sitting there! The boss had told him to get Strawhat's daughter, and Dellinger intended to do just that! If only the stupid barrier wasn't in the way…!
"All you lot, attack together!" Dellinger called to the guards who'd shown up. "That barrier has to have a weak point! If we all attack together we-"
Dellinger was cut off when the barrier suddenly expanded and bounced everyone back, causing him to get flung back on his ass into one of the arena seats. Dellinger quickly hopped back to his feet, blinking when he saw that the green haired punk and the girl weren't where they'd been previously. Instead, it was just him and a bunch of groaning guards surrounding an empty seat.
It didn't take long for Dellinger to spot them again though.
"Heh, idiots." Dellinger chuckled, a wild grin stretching across his face as he sprinted up the steps of the seating area. The punk had dropped his barrier and was leaping up and over the rows of seats toward the top of the stands. "There's no escape for you! I don't know what you were thinking, but all you're running toward is a dead end!"
Dellinger jumped and launched a kick at the green haired pirate's unprotected back when the guy reached the back wall of the seating area.
"LIGHTS OUT FOR YOU!"
However, instead of his heel breaking a spine, Dellinger found his foot buried in a wall.
"What the-?!" Dellinger gasped. Where did they disappear too?
"Can you see fine from here, Ace-chan?"
Dellinger's head snapped up when he heard the punk's voice come from above him. The blonde's eyes widened when he saw the green haired pirate standing on a row of transparent stairs that had suddenly appeared in the air. The little girl was still sitting atop his shoulders, clapping her hands excitedly as she watched the fights below.
"Yeah! Thanks Bart!" The raven haired girl smiled. "Oooh! Daddy's riding on top of a cow! I wanna ride one now!"
Bartolomeo smiled wide at Acenath's elation, keeping his fingers and arms crossed so that his modified barriers wouldn't disappear from under their feet. He frowned though when Dellinger leaped high and landed on the barrier platforms he created.
"You've got some pretty good tricks, don't you?" Dellinger smirked as he approached. Bartolomeo snorted and twitched his fingers. "But now you- WARGH?!"
The barrier platform Dellinger had been standing on disappeared under his heels and sent the teen crashing down into the seats below.
"Alright, that should buy us a couple more minutes." Bartolomeo said as Dellinger let out a furious scream from below. "Just hang on tight, okay Ace-chan? Whatever you do, don't let go of my head."
"Got it!"
"And as soon as senpai's fight is finished, we're outta here. Alright?"
"Okay!" Acenath smiled as she pumped a fist in the air. "Go daddy, go! Beat them all up!"
"Yeah! Whoooo! Go Lucy!" Bartolomeo screamed, adding his own cheers.
Bartolomeo and Acenath blinked when their view of the arena was suddenly blocked by an angry blonde with horns, red eyes, and large teeth who had suddenly jumped in the air in front of them.
"GIVE ME THAT KID!" Dellinger shrieked as he brought his leg down in an axe kick.
"Whoa!"
Bartolomeo leaped to the side and ran further across his barrier of stairs, avoiding Dellinger's kick and waving his fingers as he collapsed the platforms behind him. The fish-man hybrid was ready for the technique this time, and jumped off the collapsing platforms before they could fall, sprinting after the duo as he shouted angrily.
"GET BACK HERE!"
Bartolomeo didn't respond and continued to play keep away with the Donquixote officer, cheering with Acenath as they spectated the Block C fight while also keeping out of Dellinger's reach.
"AND THE GIANT HAJRUDIN GOES DOWN! WITH THAT, I THINK OUR BEARDED CONTESTANT LUCY JUST BECAME OUR DARKHORSE FOR BLOCK C!"
Luffy didn't pay any attention to the announcer's commentary as he hurried to an edge of the arena that didn't have any fighters around and gently deposited the fighting bull he'd befriended down there.
"You just stay here until the fight's over, okay Ucy?" Luffy smiled, patting the injured bull on the head softly before he turned and lept back into the fray, squawking and ducking when the giant he'd just taken out went sailing over his head and landed in the moat that surrounded the arena with a big splash.
"AND IDEO REMOVES THE FALLEN GIANT FROM THE ARENA WITH HIS EXPLOSIVE FISTS! WILL HIS PUNCHES ALSO SEND THE REST OF BLOCK C'S CONTESTANTS FLYING OUT OF THE ARENA?!"
Luffy glanced around, trying to spot his next target. The sooner he won this fight, the closer he was to getting Ace's fruit. Suddenly alerted by his Observation Haki, Luffy ducked a sword swipe from a fighter who tried to take his head off from behind.
"Heh, not bad." His assailant, a man wearing a cactus on his head, chuckled as he went for a follow through. "Why don't you give me that helmet so we can see if you're really-"
The man was promptly sent flying back and out of the arena when Luffy drove a Haki-infused fist into his abdomen before he could finish his spiel.
"AND THERE GOES JEAN THE BANDIT! LUCY IS JUST RACKING UP THE BIG NAME ELIMINATIONS!"
Luffy grinned under his fake beard. While he was conscious of the big stakes they were playing and how Doflamingo was practically breathing down his and his crew's necks, Luffy was in his element in the tournament. He trusted his crewmates to do their part, so he was able to push most of his worries to the side for the time being and focus on the competition. Plus knowing that his daughter was somewhere in the stands watching him, Luffy was even more determined to put on a good show.
Thinking about that, Luffy briefly turned away from the fight and faced the arena stands, trying to see if he could spot Acenath. He probed the area with his Observation Haki, trying to pinpoint his daughter's presence.
"Grandpa, over here! I found the bastard!"
"There he is! Over by the edge there!"
"STRAWHAT!"
Luffy quickly jumped and avoided the headbutt that cracked the arena where he'd been standing. Landing some distance away, he saw that old guy who had beef with his grandfather flanked by two other fighters approaching him.
"We gotcha now, Strawhat!" Boo grinned as he brandished two axes which Luffy could tell had been infused with Armament Haki.
"You'll get yours today, you can bet your ass on it!" Sai asserted as he swung his polearm weapon to prepare for an attack.
"Grandson of Garp… you will pay… you will pay for all the crimes your family has committed against me!" Chinjao seethed as he lumbered forward.
"OH, WHAT'S THIS?! LOOKS LIKE LUCY'S GONNA HAVE TO TAKE ON ALL THE FIGHTERS FROM THE HAPPO NAVY AT ONCE! HE TOOK DOWN A GIANT, AND DEFEATED A RENOWNED BOUNTY HUNTER, BUT WILL HE BE ABLE TO OVERCOME THESE ODDS?!"
Luffy darted forward and smashed the guy holding the axes in the gut, causing the orange haired man to crumple over from the blow, before raising his hands to catch the polearm weapon by its shaft as the other guy swung on him.
"There are other fighters here besides me!" Luffy told them as he struggled against the guy trying to follow through with his attack. "You guys are making this way too personal! I had nothing to do with whatever gramps did to that old guy!"
"Shut up! You're not wrong, but like it or not we're all competing against each other here!" Sai growled in return. "Personal or not, we gotta take you down regardless."
"...Fine!" Luffy growled, leaning back as he prepared to flip Sai over. "I don't have a grudge against you guys, but if you're gonna come at me like this then I'll-!"
Luffy's eyes widened when over Sai's shoulder he spotted Chinjao rear his head back. Thinking quick, he turned his body to the side instead of flipping his opponent over, which put Sai off balance and forced the Happo Navy fighter to fall to one knee, causing his attack to slip off course and the blade of his weapon wound up scraping the floor of the arena. Luffy then promptly tackled Sai out of the way just before Chinjao's forehead smashed down on top of them.
"Geez, that was close!" Luffy panted, eyeing the hole Chinjao's attack had put in the arena floor.
"G-Gramps?! H-Hey, you would've gotten me too with that attack!" Sai exclaimed.
"Don't get in my way!" Chinjao yelled, the pressure he was emanating making Luffy's skin tingle. The Strawhat captain recognized the sensation, and stood his ground as he fought back with his own pressure. Chinjao's foot stumbled as he approached, and he regarded Luffy again with a somewhat wary expression. "You… you can also use Conqueror's Haki?! Who taught you?!"
"Like I'd tell you!" Luffy returned before ducking under Sai's attack. "Hey!"
"I 'ppreciate you knockin' me outta the way like you did. Taking one of grandpa's headbutts is no joke, so I'm glad you kept me from getting hit. You're a pretty nice guy, Strawhat." Sai muttered before his expression darkened. "Yeah… real nice… TOO nice… dammit, STOP BEING NICE TO ME, ASSHOLE!"
"Ah?!" Luffy yelped and jumped away when Sai swung for the fences with his weapon. "Now you've got a problem with me?!"
Luffy ducked again to avoid the axe that was thrown at him.
"D-Don't forget about me…" Boo heaved, clutching his gut where Luffy had hit him earlier as he struggled to his feet. "I-I'm not done yet…!"
"Mmph… this is getting less fun and more annoying than anything." Luffy complained as the trio tried to box him in again.
His eyes widened when something in the stands caught his eye.
Running around on some see-through stairs was a man with bright green hair who dressed like a delinquent. Using the see-through stairs to jump from different seating sections to another, he was being pursued by some blonde teenager with horns on his head. A crowd of gladiator guards were also part of the chase, but they lingered far behind the more colorful duo as they moved through the seating area.
But what caught Luffy's attention was the little girl sitting on the green haired man's shoulders. And even at a distance, he could feel her eyes on him and he could clearly see her cheering for him.
Grinning, Luffy coated his arms in Armament Haki as Boo and Sai pounced toward him.
"Gear Two!"
The Happo Navy officers both gasped when their weapons broke against Luffy's arms. A second later, both were sent flying by the fists that were plowed into their faces.
"AAAAAAAAND BOTH SAI AND BOO FALL OUT OF BOUNDS! BUT THERE'S STILL ONE MORE FIGHTER FROM THE HAPPO NAVY LEFT BEFORE WE CAN CALL IT A CLEAN SWEEP!"
Luffy quickly drew his fist back and swung forward, his punch colliding with Chinjao's own thrown punch which caused an explosion of Haki to blast out, shocking everyone in the audience.
"You little…!" Chinjao snarled as his arm trembled from the blow, feeling the Strawhat brat's Conqueror's Haki pushing against his own through his fist.
"Heh heh… now I can focus on you!" Luffy grinned. "I got someone watching me, and I'm gonna make sure to put on a good show for her!"
"The only thing the people will be witnessing is your death!" Chinjao bellowed as he pushed forward.
Luffy pushed back with laughter in his voice and a challenge in his eyes.
"Wow, Ace-chan! Did you see that?!" Bartolomeo gushed.
"Yeah! Daddy beat two more people!" Acenath cheered. "He's getting so many points! He's gotta be in the lead, right?!"
"Er, I don't think this tournament has a points system… but he's definitely winning, yeah!"
"Awesome!"
"You bet it is! Oh, I can't tell you how amazing it feels to watch Luffy-senpai fight in all its- oops, hang on a sec, Ace-chan."
Bartolomeo stopped cheering for a moment and crossed his arms as he raised a curled finger up.
"Barrierbility!"
The barrier platforms they were standing on suddenly curled up around them as Bartolomeo used his powers to change their surface area.
Dellinger's heeled foot was stopped just inches from Bartolomeo's face.
"You done yet, punk?" Bartolomeo drawled, wiggling his fingers as he moved the barrier surface when Dellinger pivoted around and tried to kick at them from the other side. "You chose the worst guy to mess with! Just give up and leave Ace-chan and me alone so we can watch Luffy-senpai fight in peace."
"Hah… hah… damn these stupid barriers…" Dellinger panted. "You… you can't keep them up forever!"
"Psh! I can keep 'em going for hours!" Bartolomeo boasted. "Seriously, there ain't a thing you can do to me, stupid brat!"
"Yeah! Go away and stop bugging us!" Acenath huffed, sticking her tongue out at Dellinger.
Dellinger gnashed his sharp teeth at the duo. "Heh, heheheh… don't act so smug. You're quick with your barriers, but you're not as quick as me. And I've realized, you only can work with so much surface area with your barriers. And with all these platforms… can you dodge an omni-directional attack?!"
Bartolomeo and Acenath's eyes widened when five other Dellingers appeared and rushed them from all sides.
"Oh crap?!" Bartolomeo yelped, unable to tell which of Dellinger's after images was the genuine article as they closed in. Uncurling his fingers and making his barriers disappear, Bartolomeo was dropped to the seating stands below and heard Acenath scream fearfully as Dellinger's kick swept over them. Bartolomeo's hands shot up and took Acenath off of his shoulders, bringing her to his chest as he hit the lower stands, curling around the girl to protect her from the impact as they landed. "Ow, ow, ow…! Ace-chan, you okay?"
"I-I'm okay." Acenath gasped. "That was scary!"
"Yeah, I'm SO sorry about that." Bartolomeo apologized, absolutely kicking himself for letting that punk scare Acenath. "I think we lost the security guards, now we just need to-"
"Bart, above us!"
Bartolomeo growled and curled his fingers as a barrier popped up above him and Acenath, Dellinger stamping down on top of it with a mocking grin.
"You won't escape me~" Dellinger sang, opening his jaws wide as his eyes flashed red.
"...Y'know what? I've had it with you trying to mess around with us." Bartolomeo growled, twitching his fingers.
Dellinger's eyes widened when the platform he was standing on suddenly rose up rapidly in the air as if it was being pushed up. The Fish-man hybrid made to leap off of the barrier, but yelped when it suddenly curved and pushed him in the opposite direction like he was being shoveled to the side. Without any purchase to grab on the barrier's smooth surface, Dellinger was helpless as he was pushed out of the air and fell to the ground screaming.
"DAMN YOOOOOOOUUUUU!"
"HAHAHAHAH! EAT SHIT, PUNK!" Bartolomeo jeered as he watched Dellinger fall… only for his eyes to widen when he saw where he'd accidentally pushed their attacker to.
"Yay! The creepy man is gone!" Acenath cheered from where she was sitting on Bartolomeo's chest.
"Y-Yeah, but I think I screwed up!" Bartolomeo said worriedly, grabbing Acenath and getting to his feet as he rushed to the edge of the seating area.
When he'd fallen from the platform barriers he'd created, his sense of direction had gotten twisted and he'd wound up pushing Dellinger in the opposite direction that he'd meant to. He'd meant to push Dellinger up over the bleachers and out of the colosseum entirely. Instead…
"Oops…" Bartolomeo winced when he sighted Dellinger and where he'd ended up.
"It's okay, Bart! You did great!" Acenath smiled, patting the man on the arm as he held her up.
"Ace-chan…?"
The girl gave an excited grin. "Now daddy can beat that jerk up!"
"Ow, ow, ow… damn that rooster-headed punk…" Dellinger wheezed as he reeled from his impact. As he groggily sat up, he looked around to see where the green-haired bastard and the twerp had gone.
Dellinger's eyes widened when he realized WHERE he had landed.
"...Wait a minute."
"O-OOOOOH?! WHAT AN ENTRANCE! IT SEEMS AS THOUGH DELLINGER IS PARTY CRASHING THE BLOCK C FIGHTS!" The tournament's announcer screamed excitedly. "I HAVE NO IDEA WHY, BUT WHAT AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT! TURNS OUT WE WON'T NEED TO WAIT UNTIL THE FINALS TO SEE ONE OF DOFLAMINGO'S OFFICERS SHINE, FOLKS! HE'S NOT GONNA MAKE IT EASY FOR THE BLOCK C FIGHTERS TO QUALIFY FOR WINNING THE FLAME-FLAME FRUIT!"
Dellinger sprang to his feet, confirming that he was indeed standing at the edge of the colosseum arena. He'd been pushed this far?! The blonde stamped his feet annoyingly at the current turn of events.
"Dammit, this wasn't how it was supposed to go!" Dellinger complained as he grinded his teeth in frustration.
While the power of his legs were his selling point, he couldn't jump all the way back up to the seating area. Plus with Gatz announcing his entering the fight to everyone, he couldn't just retreat. That would cast a bad light on Doflamingo, which wasn't something Dellinger could afford. The transponder snail in his pocket certainly felt heavier than it did before. The boss had TOLD HIM to get the girl, yet he'd wound up in the arena instead because that roosterhead had messed everything up. There shouldn't have been anyone with such annoying Devil Fruit powers with the Strawhat crew!
Kicking off on his feet, Dellinger fired two piston kicks into the two fighters closest to him, the power of his attacks making the two men cough up blood and fall into the arena moat.
"AND DELLINGER TAKES OUT IDEO AND KELLY FUNK WITH A PAIR OF DEVASTATING KICKS! NOW THERE'S JUST TWO MORE FIGHTERS LEFT! LUCY AND CHINJAO, WHO ARE STILL LOCKED IN FIERCE COMBAT! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?! OR WILL OUR OWN DELLINGER BE DECLARED THE WINNER OF THIS BLOCK?!"
Dellinger tapped the tip of one heel against the ground as he observed the two remaining fighters. The big old guy was immediately written off, but the hybrid fish-man's eyes narrowed as his gaze fell on "Lucy".
"Right… the punk and that brat were cheering for him." Dellinger remembered, the haze of anger clearing from his mind a bit as he came to a sudden realization. "The Strawhat girl… she was shouting 'daddy' earlier too… which means…!"
Dellinger grinned as a way to make up for his failure suddenly presented itself. Sprinting forward, he launched a diving kick toward Lucy's unprotected back. Yet even with his back turned, the fighter managed to dodge around Dellinger's attack and retreat backwards.
"...Hey, you weren't here before!" Luffy accursed, glaring at the blonde who had just attacked him.
"Dellinger of the Donquixote Pirates, at your service!" Dellinger greeted cheerfully.
"Ah! You're one of Mingo's guys?!" Luffy gasped.
"And you're Strawhat Luffy, I take it?" Dellinger asked.
"I'm Lucy!"
"Strawhat Luffy, don't you ignore me!" Chinjao shouted, his words making Dellinger grin wider.
Luffy just shook his fist at Chinjao. "Idiot, you blew my cover! Why are you so annoying?!"
"Well, good to have that little tidbit of info confirmed." Dellinger smiled. "Now, if you don't mind… could you please just go ahead and let me kick you to death~?"
"Hm…? You have business with Garp's grandson?" Chinjao growled. "Don't you dare interfere! This is my revenge!"
"Oh, of course not! I wouldn't dream of taking your revenge from you, good sir!" Dellinger assured, waving his hands in surrender. "It's just… you wouldn't mind me softening him up a little for you now, would you?"
"Hmph… just as long as the last blow is mine!"
"Can do!"
"Seriously?!" Luffy growled as the duo advanced on him. He fell back into a ready stance and glared at his opponents. "Fine then! I'll take you both down together! Bring it on!"
Chinjao and Dellinger needed no invitation. The two of them promptly rushed Luffy together, and Luffy met them in the middle of the arena as they clashed.
"Ah?! What the hell is Dellinger doing?!" Diamante demanded as he leaned out of the window. "He's ruining my genius plans!"
"I don't think he meant to drop into the tournament like that." Gladius commented from where he was observing from another window. "That was one hell of a landing… I think maybe he got tossed in by someone else."
"How is that possible?! What sequence of events could have possibly led to this outcome?!" Diamante seethed. "He was just supposed to be kidnapping a child! How does that wind up with him interrupting the Block C fights?!"
"How the hell should I know? It's not like I was there. One second he was messing around in the stands and the next he's suddenly fighting in Block C."
"Maybe the kid he was after had something to do with it?" Bellamy suggested. "She IS Strawhat's daughter, and given how strong he is maybe she's also-"
"Are you implying that a TWO YEAR OLD was able to manhandle Dellinger somehow?!" Diamante replied incredulously. "Impossible! Dammit, there's got to be another Strawhat in the stands with the brat! That's the only explanation for why Dellinger failed!"
"Hey, does anyone notice how focused Dellinger is on attacking that Lucy fighter?" Baby 5 interjected as she pointed down at the arena. "Like he and that big old guy are actually working together to attack him. With how Dellinger is, I would've thought he'd just attack everyone indiscriminately…"
"You're right…! Maybe he noticed something odd about that Lucy character?" Diamante suggested. "Ah, perhaps he is our disguised Strawhat! Dellinger's just being proactive!"
With all of Doflamingo's officers focused on the fight, Bellamy allowed himself to roll his eyes at their ignorance. How they hadn't made the obvious connection between Luffy and Lucy yet was astonishing. Especially for Diamante. For all the colosseum hero's boasts about being a genius, he was being pretty stupid.
…Still, Bellamy wasn't feeling too obligated to out Strawhat to his superiors. With how the rubber man was, it was only a matter of time until he revealed his identity himself. The kid had already practically revealed to everyone in the fighters' waiting room who he was.
"Plus, he did me a solid in the arena." Bellamy admitted to himself. "Least I can do is not rat him out."
"Well, with all the commotion Dellinger caused in the stands, hopefully Lao G can complete the unfinished job and nab Strawhat's little princess." Diamante chuckled. "Yeah… yeah! This minor change means nothing! How fitting that a plan from the genius me was created to be so adaptable!"
"I'll call Lao G and tell him to get over to the area in the stands Dellinger was at." Gladius said as he moved back into the room and picked up the den den mushi on the table. "Maybe he'll have better luck than Dellinger did."
"Yes, good! All of the Strawhats will fall within our clutches! Then we'll get around to showing Law and Violet what the Donquixote Family does with traitors!" Diamante grinned as his eyes turned back down to the arena.
Luffy gritted his teeth as he took the annoying blonde kid's kick on his arms and skidded across the arena, using the momentum generated to fuel his leap to the right as he dodged another headbutt from Chinjao.
"Grr…! So intent on running are you, grandson of Garp?!" Chinjao demanded, rubble falling from his forehead as he lifted his face back up. "You truly are the 'worst' of a generation!"
"And you're super annoying!" Luffy shouted back. "Whatever issues you have, take it up with gramps, not with me!"
"This byplay is suuuuuper interesting and all, but I'd like less talking and more fighting." Dellinger drawled before he sprinted forward. "Specifically more me kicking your head off!"
Luffy dropped down, avoiding Dellinger's kick as the Donquixote's leg swept over his head, but before he could make a retaliatory attack Chinjao once against was bearing down on him, launching yet another headbutt which forced Luffy to dodge.
"Run, run, run…! You want to be King of the Pirates with a pathetic attitude?! Is this really the descendant of the man who took everything from me?! SUCH HUMILIATION!"
"Geez, enough about that already! I already said I don't care!" Luffy complained loudly. "Stop complaining to me about whatever grandpa did to you!"
"Your ignorance is an insult! My treasure, forever locked away due to-"
"Don't care!" Luffy interrupted as he jumped toward Chinjao and launched a fist toward the old man's large gut. His fist made contact, but all it did was drive Chinjao back a few inches, his blow not affecting the man in any measurable way.
"You think you can defeat me with flimsy attacks like that?!"
Luffy frowned as he retreated from the bigger opponent. He would've liked to break out his stronger moves, but he WAS still trying to keep up his disguise. He had to provide a distraction for Mingo and his crew, but he couldn't go all out so early against these guys! Not when he still had to punch Mingo in the face!
"You don't deserve to call yourself a pirate!" Chinjao went on, throwing another fist at Luffy which the rubber man dodged. "You don't deserve the Flame Flame fruit either! For your sorry show at Marineford two years ago… your brother Ace's death should've shown you that you don't have what it takes to make it out here!"
Luffy's eyes narrowed into pinpricks at that comment. He had no problem brushing off the old man's nonsense before… but comments about Ace or his death wasn't something he could tolerate.
"I even heard you had a daughter! Ridiculous, thinking that you have the strength necessary to protect her!" Chinjao continued, expression sinister as he projected his Conqueror's Haki in Luffy's direction. "With how you are now… a victory against you is nowhere near enough! I will extend my hatred one generation further! After I kill you, I'll make sure to end the life of your daughter! I will send her to the afterlife with you!"
Luffy stilled at that.
"I can get behind that!" Dellinger called from a few feet away. "I was trying to nab the brat earlier! We know aaaaaall about her, Strawhat! Doffy's got his eye on her, and he's gonna get her! And there's nothing you can do to stop it!"
Dellinger grinned widely, all teeth as he shot Luffy a sadistic smile.
"Monkey D. Acenath… I can guess who she's named after! And she's gonna wind up just like her namesake once we're done here!" Dellinger laughed. "As soon as we take you in, Doffy's gonna make sure you have front rows seats when we kill your little brat de-"
The Donquixote officer stopped short when he suddenly noticed Luffy wasn't in his field of vision anymore and that someone's hand was holding the back of his head.
"You guys still don't get it…" Luffy's voice spoke next to Dellinger's ear. "So I'm gonna stop trying to be subtle with my attacks and make you understand…"
"Huh…?" Dellinger squeaked before his head was dragged down and his face was smashed into the arena floor, cracking and cratering the ground from the force of the impact.
Steam left Luffy's mouth as he breathed out, pressing Dellinger harder into the concrete as the blonde coughed up a lungful of blood, body seizing up and going still as he drifted out of consciousness. Taking his hand off Dellinger's head and getting to his feet, Luffy glared furiously at Chinjao who glared back angrily.
"I keep telling you people…" Luffy growled. "You try threatening the people I love…!"
With a burst of Haki, Luffy launched himself high in the sky, the strength of his jump pushing Dellinger even deeper into the arena when the rubber man had shot up from where he'd been standing on top of him. Above the arena, Luffy reared his fist back, his arm growing to the size of a house as he aimed down at Chinjao.
"AND I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR EVERYTHING!" Luffy finished as he prepped his attack.
"Just try it!" Chinjao shouted, leaping in the air himself.
"W-WHOA! LUCY'S FIST JUST TURNED GIGANTIC! AND CHINJAO'S MEETING HIM HEAD ON! A-AND DELLINGER ISN'T MOVING AFTER LUCY SLAMMED HIM INTO THE FLOOR! ARE WE ABOUT TO SEE THIS FIGHT REACH ITS CLIMAX, FOLKS?!"
"GUM… GUM…!"
"This will be the blow that ends you, grandson of Garp!" Chinjao declared as he flew towards Luffy with his head aimed up. "Non-Drill Dragon-!"
"THOR ELEPHANT GUN!"
Luffy brought his giant fist right down on the top of Chinjao's head. The resulting explosion of the attack colliding caused a shockwave to pulse through the arena, making everyone in the arena cry out. Luffy and Chinjao's attacks struggled against each other in the air, their Haki crackling the very air around them as they fought to overwhelm the other.
It didn't take long for a victor to emerge though, as Chinjao's body trembled before Luffy's Elephant Gun dug into his skull and smashed him back down to the arena.
"A-AND LUCY WINS THE STRUGGLE! CHINJAO IS COMPLETELY UNCONSCIOUS AS HE FALLS DOWN TO THE GROUND!" The announcer screamed to everyone as Chinjao began to descend. "A-AND LUCY'S PUNCH WAS SO POWERFUL IT SEEMS TO HAVE CHANGED THE SHAPE OF CHINJAO'S HEAD! IT'S ALL POINTY, LIKE A DRILL!"
Indeed it was, and Chinjao fell pointy head end first to the center of the arena…
…Where a certain blonde pirate in heels was digging himself out of the arena floor.
"Guh… damn it all…!" Dellinger snarled as he wiped the blood off his face, struggling to get back on his feet even as his bruised and battered body screamed in protest. "Not like this… if I couldn't get the brat, I at least need to take out Strawhat…!"
Dellinger blinked when a shadow suddenly fell over him, causing him to glance skyward.
"...Eh?" Dellinger let out a small voice as Chinjao fell on him.
Pointy end first, directly onto his lower back.
Dellinger let out the beginnings of a bloodcurdling scream before his voice was cut off and drowned out by the sound of Chinjao's head literally cracking the arena down the middle in two perfect halves. The center of the arena was splattered red before the rubble caved in, dropping an unconscious Chinjao and a mutilated Dellinger into the water below through the large split line the old man's head had made.
Luffy landed on the right half of the arena, pumping his fists up in the air in victory.
"U-UNBELIEVABLE! NOT ONLY DID HE DEFEAT A LIVING LEGEND, BUT HE EVEN BESTED ONE OF DOFLAMINGO'S OFFICERS! OUR WINNER FOR BLOCK C IS LUCY THE GLADIATOR!"
And a roar of applause from the packed spectator stands followed that announcement.
Baby 5's horrified scream pierced Diamante's ears as it echoed in their VIP room.
"That's… wow…" Ballamy murmured as he stared down at the arena with wide eyes. "I-I know that showing the audience some blood is the whole point of these fights but this is… er…"
Diamante was much in the same state as the spring man. "I-Is… do you think Dellinger's still alive?!"
"I mean… we're all pretty durable, but… Dellinger's always had sort of a twig body." Gladius said hesitantly. "And that old guy's head split the whole damn arena in half… a-and he landed right on top of Dellinger."
"Omigosh, omigosh! There's so much blood!" Baby 5 fretted with tears in her eyes. "I know Dellinger's part fighting fish and all but… are we sure he didn't get split in half too?!"
"C-Calm down, all of you!" Diamante ordered, his body trembling as they all beheld the fate of their associate. "Someone get down there and grab him! A-Also someone run to the palace and bring that dwarf princess here! No matter how sorry a state he's in, her powers will be able to fix Dellinger up!"
"Assuming that he's not dead already," Gladius mumbled.
"D-Don't just assume that!"
"I-I'll go to the palace!" Baby 5 shouted as she rushed out the door.
"G-Good!" Diamante nodded frantically. "Belamy! You go and retrieve Dellinger and bring him to the infirmary!"
"Got it!" Bellamy rushed out of the room after Baby 5.
Diamante and Gladius were left alone in the room. The two men stood silently, processing what had just happened before Gladius spoke up.
"...At least we found out which fighter Strawhat disguised himself as." Gladius pointed out. The attacks of "Lucy" at the end of the fight were too distinct for them to not make that connection. "Seems the captain of the Strawhats fell for your ploy with the Flame Flame fruit…"
"Y-Yes… yes! There is that! Dellinger's sacrifice was not in vain!" Diamante declared, pointing at Gladius. "Strawhat Luffy! H-He's foolishly revealed himself to us! Now we can move to take him out whenever we want! During the finals, we'll all take the opportunity to eliminate Strawhat and the rest of his crew will follow! Law's alliance will fall to pieces, all thanks to our masterful strategy!"
"We should probably let Sugar know to turn that pointy-headed old man into a toy first so something like this doesn't happen again." Gladius mused. "She should be done transforming the Block B losers by now. We gotta get a head start with the Block C fighters."
"Right you are, Gladius! Yes, we should call Trebol and give him an ordered list to give to Sugar!"
"...Doffy's gonna be pissed that Dellinger screwed up trying and failing to kidnap Strawhat's brat though."
"...There is also that." Diamante agreed somberly before he let out a frustrated sigh. "I may as well get to it then…"
Reluctantly, Diamante made his way over to the coffee table and picked up the transponder snail. Holding up the communicator, the Ripple Ripple fruit user decided to call up Trebol first before calling his captain. Calling Doflamingo second would give him more time to come up with a way to word Dellinger's failure a little better.
Hopefully things were going better on Doflamingo's end.
"WHOOOOOO! YEEEAAAAH! AWESOOOOOOME!" Bartolomeo cheered, spinning a laughing Acenath in the air as they celebrated Luffy's win.
"DADDY'S AMAZING! HE SMASHED THAT BIG OLD GUY! AND THAT CREEPY BLONDE JERK WENT SPLAT!"
"YOUR DAD'S THE BEST! YOU SEE THAT PEOPLE?! THAT'S THE NEXT KING OF THE PIRATES RIGHT THERE!"
They weren't the only ones cheering. The audience was reacting just as excitedly as Bartolomeo and Acenath were, completely swept up in a frenzy and gushing over the fight Luffy had shown them all. Bartolomeo himself was crying and hiccuping at the sheer glory his idol had demonstrated to him.
"Ah, I could die happy after witnessing my hero fight like that!" Bartolomeo cried mentally, the image of Luffy's Thor Elephant Gun coming down on the old guy's head and defeating him replaying over and over in his head.
"Hey, over there! That's the guy Dellinger was after earlier!"
Bartolomeo was snapped out of his happy thoughts when he heard that shout.
"Ah, Bart, look! Bad guys!" Acenath gasped, pointing over his shoulder at the guards who were pushing themselves through the cheering spectators toward where they were standing.
"Huh, guess they finally caught up to us." Bartolomeo frowned. "Welp, nothing for it! Time to bounce, Ace-chan!"
Wrapping his arms around Acenath and holding her securely against his chest, Bartolomeo took off in the opposite direction from the guards. Luckily, they were right next to an exit tunnel so in just a couple strides Bartolomeo was out of the audience area and into the concourse of the colosseum. Turning, Bartolomeo curled his fingers and a barrier sprung up around the exit they'd used.
"Heh, that'll keep any of those guards from following us." Bartolomeo smirked, chuckling when a couple of the quicker guards made it to the exit and ineffectually beat their fists and weapons against the barrier.
"Bart, look out!"
It was only because of Acenath's warning that Bartolomeo was able to fling himself to the side before a fist flew past them and cratered the wall adjacent to them.
"W-Whoa…!" Bartolomeo squawked as he scrambled to his feet, shielding Acenath with his body as he looked over to the muscled old man who had appeared out of nowhere and attacked them.
"Hmph, good instincts. Good with a capital G!" Lao G declared as he pulled his fist out of the wall. "But they won't be enough to save you from me! Now, hand over that G Girl!"
"Tch, another one of Doflamingo's guys I'm guessing." Bartolomeo grimaced. "Y'know, I wanna say it's super weird how focused you all are on Ace-chan!"
"Weirdos!" Acenath shouted around Bartolomeo's side while glaring at the old man who attacked them.
"Hmph, what's that? Whales?" Lao G asked, holding a hand to his ear. "There aren't any whales here! Go to the port if you wanna try finding some!"
"We didn't say anything about whales, you senile old man!"
"Yes, it is sensational today." Lao G nodded, mishearing Bartolomeo's words once more. "Sensational in that once we capture Strawhat's daughter, his whole crew will surrender to us! Law's alliance will be sunk and the young master will have stomped out all the irritating bugs that have infested his kingdom! Now, I'll crush you!"
Bartolomeo grimaced and flicked his fingers up to intercept Lao G, but blinked when the man didn't move forward to attack. Acenath also tilted her head curiously at the old man's strange inaction, though both Bartolomeo and Acenath yelped when the man suddenly coughed up blood and fell to his knees.
"W-Whoa?! Did you just suddenly have a heart attack or something?" Bartolomeo asked incredulously.
"N-No… this is…!" Lao G gasped before he suddenly gasped and coughed up another glob of blood and fell down to the ground.
Bartolomeo and Acenath's eyes widened at the deep gashes that had been cut into the elder's back.
"Finally found you."
A man with green hair stepped out of the shadows of the corridor behind Lao G, flanked by a samurai with a topknot and a curvy woman with brown hair.
"Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-ZO-Z-ZO-ZO-ZORO-SENPAAAAAAAIIII?!" Bartolomeo screamed, recoiling in shock and elation as the Strawhat crew's first mate and his associates stepped forward.
"Uncle Zoro! Uncle Kin'emon! Koala!" Acenath exclaimed happily, wiggling out of Bartolomeo's arms and running toward the trio with a joyful expression.
"Hello again, Ace-chan!" Koala greeted, waving happily.
"Ah, Miss Acenath. It does my heart good to see you safe and sound." Kin'emon said, holding a hand over his chest as he let out a sigh of relief.
"Green, rooster hair. Jacket. Looks like a delinquent… you're Bartolomeo? The guy that's been looking after our wayward princess?" Zoro asked, grunting when Acenath dove into his legs and hugged him.
"Y-YETH! YESH! YES, THAT'S ME!" Bartolomeo nodded frantically, blushing and looking in every direction except at Zoro's face. "BARTOLOMEO OF THE BARTO CLUB PIRATES, AT YOUR SERVICE SENPAI!"
"Huh. Not quite what I pictured, but he matches the description you and Nami gave." Zoro said, glancing back at Koala who smiled back before he glanced down at Acenath. "This Barto guy do anything bad to you?"
"Nuh-uh! Bart's my friend! He fed me candy, let me watch daddy's fight, and protected me from all sorts of bad guys!" Acenath beamed as she nuzzled Zoro's pant leg.
"D-Don't worry, Senpai! I protected her from Doflamingo's cronies and I'll continue to do so if you'll let me!" Bartolomeo proclaimed, thumping his chest proudly. "I'll take anyone else he sends after you guys! Even Doflamingo himself! Or an admiral! Or even the entire world governm-!"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Zoro stopped the guy before he could go on any further. "Your… help is appreciated, Bart. Seriously, thanks for keeping her safe for us."
"O-OF COURSE!"
"As for you… you're completely fine?" Zoro asked, crouching down to Acenath's eye level.
"Yep! I'm totally fine!" Acenath smiled happily.
"Good."
Acenath cried out when suddenly the hilt of one of Zoro's swords came down hard on the top of her head. Falling back on her rear, the little girl found herself looking through tearful eyes at Zoro's furious expression. The other three watched the interaction with varying expressions, but otherwise didn't make any moves to intervene.
"What were you thinking, you stupid brat?!" Zoro said harshly as he glared at the trembling toddler. "Leaving the ship by yourself… just to see some stupid toys? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Do you know how worried you made all of us when we got the call from Nami's group saying that you'd gone missing?!"
"B-B-But…!"
"No buts, and no excuses. There's no arguing over how monumentally stupid you acted today. You can bet I'll be suggesting to your parents about locking you up in your room for the rest of the month with no dessert when we get back to the ship."
Acenath sniffled piteously, rubbing at the tears in her eyes as she faced Zoro's anger. She flinched when she felt the swordsman's hand touch the top of her head, but blinked when she was suddenly pulled forward and found her forehead resting against Zoro's.
"...Don't you dare scare us like that again." Zoro said sternly but softly, staring into the raven haired girl's eyes. "Next time you leave the ship, it's either with one of us with you or when you're powerful enough to cut down a Warlord all by yourself. Got it?"
"...Okay." Acenath nodded, a watery smile coming to her lips as Zoro brushed away her tears. The little girl threw herself forward and latched her arms around the swordsman's neck. "I'm really, really, REALLY sorry…"
"...Yeah, well, remember that rule about one of us being with you from this point forward. So don't leave my side." Zoro muttered, lifting her up with one arm as she hugged him. "And be prepared for everyone else to give you a piece of their minds for this stunt too. You'll owe all of them apologies as well."
Acenath nodded against his chest.
"I think you were plenty harsh enough there for everyone though." Kin'emon commented.
"So you're saying you wouldn't react the same way if Momonosuke suddenly ran off on his own without permission?" Zoro asked, arching an eyebrow at the Wano swordsman.
"...Fair enough."
"Besides, my reaction is nothing compared to what the girl's mother will do to her once she's back in her arms." Zoro said, feeling Acenath tremble at his words. Clearly the toddler knew she was in for it too once Nami got her hands on her.
"Ooooh…! Zoro-senpai's the coolest uncle anyone could ever have! So harsh, but so concerned!" Bartolomeo gushed as a river of tears flowed from his eyes.
"Not just that, I'm actually getting some pretty good fatherhood vibes from you right now." Koala added with a grin. "Don't you got a pretty wife out there somewhere? Didja give her a little 'present' before you left her?"
Zoro rolled his eyes, deciding to not even respond to that. Perona was most certainly NOT pregnant, otherwise she'd have been showing by now in the pictures she attached to the letters she sent him every two weeks.
"So this is the little girl you were trying to find, Zoroland?"
Acenath blinked at the high pitched voice she didn't recognize, leaning away from Zoro and glanced at his shoulder and found herself staring at a trio of small people with pointy noses who gazed back at her.
"Ah, you brought toys?!" Acenath shouted, eyes sparkling as she looked at them.
"Zoroland made the same comment when we met!" The blue haired one huffed. "We're not toys! We're Tontatta dwarves! I'm Wicca!"
"And I'm Inhel!" The one with the hat declared.
"Cotton." The lavender haired dwarf greeted with a small wave.
"SO CUTE!" Acenath gushed, reaching for the trio and gathering them in her arms.
"Wawawa! This little-big person is strong!"
"She called me cute though! I like her!"
"She called us all cute. Though Zoroland mentioned she was a princess?" Cotton said, tilting her head. "Excuse me, little-big person. Are you a princess?"
"Yeah! I'm princess of the Strawhat pirates, Ace!" Acenath replied with a smile.
"Oooh, Aceland the princess!" Inhel gasped.
"We're meeting all kinds of important people today!" Wicca exclaimed.
"I wonder if she knows where Princess Mansherry is…" Cotton wondered aloud. "Do princesses know where other princesses are?"
Zoro rolled his eyes and set Acenath back on the floor, happy the girl had taken the dwarves off his hands and was nuzzling the trio against her face as she embraced them. He turned to the three other adults.
"Okay, so that's our mission accomplished." Zoro said. "We got Ace back. Remind me, what else is on our docket?"
"Destroy the Smile Factory, find where my comrade Kanjuro is being kept, then get out of Dressrosa… were our original objectives." Kin'emon said.
"But based on what Luffy's been saying in our snail calls, I think taking down Doflamingo and his crew got added to that list." Zoro sighed. "I'm all for that, but my main priority is watching this one according to her witch of a mother."
Zoro pointed down at Acenath who was happily chatting with the trio of dwarves who'd been sent with him.
"Well, good news for you is that you're already making some headway there." Koala spoke up, nudging the inert body of Lao G with one foot. "This guy is one of Doflamingo's officers."
"Lao G!" Wicca spoke up from where she was now sitting on Acenath's head. "He's one of Diamante's officers! Zoroland did a good job taking him out!"
"And Luffy-senpai took out another one of them in the tournament!" Bartolomeo informed everyone. "Some blonde kid with horns named Dellinger!"
"Ooooh! He's another one of Diamante's officers!" Inhel exclaimed. "That's half of them already defeated!"
"Which just leaves Machvise and Senor Pink from the Diamante Army. Plus Diamante himself." Cotton said.
"Though Trebol and Pica are still around. Plus the three officers each of them have." Wicca said worriedly.
"Don't worry, Tontatta folk!" Bartolomeo smiled. "Now that you're rolling with the Strawhat crew, you can bet that all of Doflamingo's crew are gonna go down today! I guarantee it!"
"Yeah! Daddy and everyone will make sure they beat all the bad guys!" Acenath agreed with a big smile, her and Bartolomeo's words earning enthusiastic cheers from the dwarves.
"Franky and the group of rebel dwarves he's with should be on their way to assault the factory by now, assuming the rest of the dwarves they were expecting showed up." Zoro said.
"What worries me a little is how we haven't heard from Usopp and Robin's group in a while." Kin'emon muttered. "They and Law know of the trap Doflamingo set thanks to Nami's deductions, but even knowing about it doesn't mean they prevented it. Should we call them?"
"That might be a smart move." Zoro agreed to the suggestion, pulling out his den den mushi and starting a call.
"While you make that call, let's move to another area." Koala suggested. "Those guards from before were still after Bartolomeo and Acenath, right? I know a place we can hide thanks to the maps you shared. Follow me!"
Everyone nodded and followed after the brown haired girl. As he fell back to guard the rear of the group, Zoro held up the transponder snail to his ear.
"Zoro?"
"Robin, good." Zoro was relieved that it hadn't taken long for the woman to answer. He could assume she was safe for now then. "Just checking in since we hadn't had any contact from you or Usopp after you and him went with Law to the drop off point with the scientist.
Robin chuckled. "Well, I appreciate the call and the concern. Did you… manage to meet up with Ace-chan?"
"She's with me right now." Zoro answered, keeping his eyes on the girl who was now riding on the back of Bartolomeo's shoulders as they ran, with the three dwarves hanging onto the straps of the girl's coveralls as well. "And she's safe."
Zoro could practically hear Robin's smile through the call as she voiced her relief. "Thank goodness…!"
"Yeah, so that's one thing off of our plates. How'd things go on your end?"
"Not exactly as planned." Robin admitted, sighing over the line. "Doflamingo called an Admiral here, Zoro."
"An Admiral?!"
"Yes, an Admiral named Fujitora. He appeared to be blind, but he has some very powerful Devil Fruit powers."
"...Sounds like the blind man we saw gambling at that bar we stopped at when our group first came ashore." Zoro muttered. "Guess that explains his abilities. If he's a Navy Admiral, it's no surprise that he'd possess Devil Fruit powers."
"Extremely potent powers at that. He was able to use his Devil Fruit abilities to somehow drop meteors on our heads."
Zoro gaped at that. "Are you okay?!"
"Usopp and I fled into the forests of Greenbit. I don't know what happened to Law, Caesar, Doflamingo or the admiral after that, and Law wasn't answering his transponder snail when I tried calling him. Worryingly, Nami isn't answering hers either…"
The swordsman tensed at that. Things HAD been going a little too smoothly for them. Were the ones they couldn't reach getting attacked? He thought that Nami, Brook and Chopper had managed to take out the woman who'd attacked the ship, but what if they'd been attacked by someone else? Did Sanji not make it in time? Or was he attacked himself before he could reach the ship?
"On the plus side, we've managed to meet up with part of the rebel force in Dressrosa." Robin continued. "Once we convinced them we were allies, they put us in contact with Franky. We're on the approach to where this Sugar girl is and plan to take her out so that all the citizens in Dressrosa that have been turned into toys will return to normal."
Well, that was something at least. "I'll try and contact Nami's group. You… do whatever you have to on your end."
"Of course. Good luck, Zoro."
"Same to you." Zoro paused. "Right, almost forgot, what's Usopp up to?"
Robin chuckled over the line, familiar amusement returning to her tone. "Well…"
"Now is the time to finally free our people! Not only do we have new allies our captain found, but we've been blessed by the presence of a great hero!" Leo orated to his assembled army of dwarves. "We have a man who stood tall and laughed in the face of a tyrant! Who commanded hundreds of invisible soldiers! A HERO GREAT ENOUGH THAT HE SUMMONED GIANT ROCKS THAT FELL FROM THE SKY!"
Leo raised his sword in the air as his friends and fellow warriors cheered, gesturing to the man who stood behind them.
"THE GREAT HERO USOLAND WILL LEAD US ALL TO VICTORY!"
"THAT'S RIGHT I WILL! FOLLOW ME, AND WE'LL LIBERATE THE KINGDOM TOGETHER!" Usopp shouted, causing the crowd of dwarves to let out even greater cheers. "My ally Frankland should already be launching his attack on the House of Toys! Now it's our turn to go in and do our part! Let's take down that little girl Sugar and free all the toys of Dressrosa!"
Robin watched as Usopp rallied the small troops they'd joined with a smirk while holding her den den mushi up to her ear.
"He's doing what he does best."
Omake: Buggy Stream
Buggy is sitting on his couch, groaning miserably as he holds his head. He looks up with a sigh.
"Bad news, Buggy Fans... My vacation... GOT CANCELED!"
He sobs, before clearing his throat.
"N-Not that I don't love my job, Loyal Buggy Fans! You're all amazing and I'd be a fool to take you for granted!" Buggy insisted with a nervous smile, "Hahaha! But you know... Everyone needs a break sometime..."
"You can't get complacent just because you're a Warlord," Alvida called out from offscreen. Buggy groaned.
"If you can't get a vacation even while you're a Warlord, what's the point?!" Buggy sighed. He held his head up high.
"But since my girlfriend needs me to be a strong, manly Warlord for her, I shall do so!" Buggy declared. "That's what a true man does!"
Buggy paused, waited. He looked over at Alvida.
"No cutting remark, my dear?"
"It wouldn't work on you," Alvida observed.
Buggy pumped his fist in triumph.
"I'M WEARING HER DOWN!"
"No you're not," Alvida stated. Buggy coughed, and held his chest.
"Is it weird I actually like it when she's mean to me...? Ah well! I'll sort that out later. For now, our guest! Once a fearsome Warlord of the Sea, now... He's doing his own thing in the New World! He has expensive tastes, and his wit is drier than a desert! Say hello to... CROCODILE~!"
The Den Den Mushi zooms out, revealing Crocodile sitting on the other couch, smoking his customary cigar. He looks bored.
"Your accommodations are pitiful," Crocodile stated. "I should kill you for that insult alone."
"I'm not made of money!" Buggy shouted. He calmed down and grinned. "So Croc. May I call you Croc?"
"No."
"Anyway Croc, how are things going for you?" Buggy asked cheerfully.
"I've got some businesses up and running," Crocodile stated, "Mostly legitimate. You're proving to be a difficult rival."
His eyes narrowed.
"One I may have to eliminate."
"That's the best kind!" Buggy cheered, his smile a bit more forced. "He actually just invested heavily in Buggy Bets! Now we're business partners!"
"As long as you don't screw it up, I won't have to take over your operations and murder you," Crocodile stated blandly.
"Can you stop threatening me for five minutes!" Buggy seethed. Crocodile glared at him, and Buggy coughed.
"I-I mean, eheh... So! What's your take on this whole Strawhat/Mingo spat? Who are you betting on?"
"Strawhat," Crocodile stated.
"Oh? Why?"
"He beat me," Crocodile admitted, though it looked like it pained him to do so, "How could I bet on some loser when I know he's not as strong as me?"
"He did manage to take over a kingdom and amass wealth and power," Buggy pointed out, but at Crocodile's glare he coughed. "Which uh, which totally isn't your fault! Strawhat's the one to blame! The one who messed that all up for you! And I'm sure he'll mess it up for ol' Doffy, too!"
Crocodile nodded.
"Of course, if Strawhat died I would bet to take advantage of that," Crocodile stated, "But I have my pride. You can't just be all about the money. A man's not a man without his pride."
"Speaking of being a man or not being a man," Buggy said, "There's this weird old photo floating around of a woman who looks just like you! Any comments on-?"
Sand erupted everywhere, burying Buggy.
"NO WAIT YOU BASTARD-!"
STREAM CONNECTION LOST...