It has been fifty-seven years since the execution of the Second Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy, and he has left a legacy in his wake so great that some say he was more legendary than the First King, Gol D. Rogers. But like the last Pirate King, at his execution, he told the world that he had again hidden the One Piece for the world to find. Many saying it was the start of the next Age of Piracy, but then, war broke out among two families: the Monkey family and the Cobra family. After four decades of bloodshed, the war finally subsided. And nineteen years later, a member of the Cobra family set out on a quest to obtain the One Piece, his name is Cobra D. Red.
Chapter 7: The Doctor Who Could Fight? Bede vs. Gratto!
West Blue, The Island of Doeter:
The three got up in a daze, staring with anger at Gratto, who was still tossing the cannon ball up and down in his hand, acting as if he hadn't nearly killed them with another one. Red and Miles had already pulled out their weapons and were poised, ready to attack the beast of a man, because unlike Monaku, he was well proportioned. He was about six feet tall and had a broad physique, but not as big as Monaku the Nipple Swordsman. He looked at them, a smirk curling on his face, staring at them maniacally, almost thinking what reward he would get for bringing in the Cobra's head. "You know, I have to congratulate you three, especially the swordsman," the trio looked at him quizzically as he continued, "you managed to beat Monaku, not many people can say that they have done that, you must be above average for swordsmen."
Miles smiled at him, pleased to have someone compliment his skill, "Yeah, I know, I've trained on the streets and honed my ski-," but was cut off in mid-speech as Gratto charged forward and punched him in the chest, the force of which, sending him flying into the forest, causing several trees to crash down.
Red and Bede stared at the path through the forest that Miles' body had created, trying to see where he had landed, but then realizing who had done it, they looked back at Gratto, wondering how strong he was. Gratto just stared at them, casually as if he hadn't sent their friend hurtling through a forest. They stared at each other, dumbfounded at their luck of finding someone like this, Red especially, since he hadn't expected to meet someone this strong so early on in his journey. But then, a look of realization, then determination crossed over Bede's face as he stepped forward. "You hang back Red, save your strength for the fight with their boss," said Bede, staring unwaveringly at Gratto.
Red, stupefied by Bede's remark, looked with a little doubt at his future maybe possible doctor, "alright, but what are you going to do?"
Bede glanced back at Red, with a smile playing across his lips, "I'm going to fight him," and with that being said, he charged at Gratto.
Gratto, caught off guard by the sudden change of pace, was unprepared as Bede reeled back and punched him straight in the jaw. Gratto backpedaled a few steps, clutching his head to try and stop his eyes from spinning, while Red stared at Bede, "How the hell did you do that? No time during Miles' fight did he do something like that," to which Bede replied, "Being a doctor helps in these kind of situations. No matter how strong a person is, a good punch to the jaw will send their brain a-jostlin', but I should probably focus, don't want my opponent to get the better of me." Gratto at that point had finally recovered from the shock of his brain, in Bede's words, a-jostlin' and was staring angrily at Bede. He ran forward, hoping to catch his opponent off guard, and shouted, "Meteor Crash!" and started throwing multiple punches, very quickly, giving the effect that he had grown multiple arms, but to his shock, he saw that Bede was dodging nearly all of them, with only a few grazing him. "That name, it sounds like you stole it from somewhere. Did you steal it from somewhere?" asked Bede casually as he dodged the punches. Enraged at this, Gratto decided to start fighting more seriously, "Speed Swap!" As he said it, his arms and shoulders grew less bulky, and as the name implied, he fired off his punches faster than before, catching Bede off guard, and sending him flying from the impact of the several punches to his upper body.
He landed on his back, but quickly rolled into a standing position where he stared down Gratto, anger showing in his eyes. He wiped his face with his hand and noted that he had started bleeding, causing him to be angrier. He took a step forward, trying to see if there were any openings in Gratto's defense, but to no avail. Bede knew that somehow Gratto had become faster, and he also knew that due to that speed increase, he had cut his strength. He wasn't sure what Gratto's game was, but he wasn't liking his chances the more he thought. His best bet was to go for the human body's natural weak spots and hope for the best. He charged forward, delivering a swift palm strike to the chin, causing his head to lift up from the force. He then brought his fist back around to strike him in the temple, causing Gratto to turn his head along with his body, leaving his back open to another two punches to his kidney and his hamstring. Bede wound up his punch for a finishing blow to his spine, but Gratto surprised him by twisting around, shouting, "Strength Swap: Body Breaker!", and giving Bede a hard right to his stomach, not only knocking the wind out of him, but sending him into a tree, which split in half from the impact.
Gratto stared at Bede, lying face down on the ground, panting at the beating he had just received. A trickle of blood had started from his mouth and Gratto quickly wiped it away, angry that he had been pushed that far. He smiled as he saw Bede try and get up, but then fall back down to the ground, blood starting to flow from a cut in his forehead caused by his crash into the tree. Gratto laughed at the sight of him lying there, struggling to rise after being tossed like a rag doll. Gratto knew that there was no way he could rise after receiving an injury like that, and he reveled in seeing someone who had done so much to him finally downed. He started walking, stopping next to Bede, who looked up to see Gratto standing over him, and glared at him. Gratto laughed, "Ha hah, looks like this is the end of the road for you." Raising his foot so that it was above Bede's head, he said, "So long," and started bringing it down, but before it could finish its journey, Bede grabbed the foot that was still on the ground, and lifted, causing Gratto to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Bede getting up quickly, stood over Gratto, trying his hardest to get up, grunting as he attempted to roll over.
"Why the hell can't I get up!" yelled Gratto, furious at being downed so easily. Bede stood over him, studying closely as if looking for something. He reached down and took a hold of his shirt, but instead of lifting him up, he tore his shirt off, saying, "Maybe you shouldn't rely on technology then, huh?" Torn away, nothing was left to conceal the wires and the metal parts that crisscrossed across Gratto's chest, with some going out to go around his arms and down to his legs. Red stared at the mish-mash of electronic parts, confused at it all, and even more confused at how Bede knew it was there in the first place. Bede smiled, "I was first clued to you having this when I noticed your shoulders during the fight. The shoulder blades were bulkier then they should've been, even for a broad person like yourself, although, I guess you aren't that broad, are you?", not only was the electronics revealed, but it turned out that Gratto wasn't as buff as he appeared to be, it was only the parts giving his body extra bulk, "also, I have heard of people being able to manipulate their body type through willpower, but you don't seem like the type to be able to do that, so then my mind jumped to technology, and it seemed very plausible."
Gratto wasn't listening to Bede's inductions about how he had figured out his secret, in fact, he wasn't even trying to get back up. Instead he was trying to reach for his cannon ball which he had dropped at the beginning of the fight. He knew that the explosion could possibly kill him, but he wasn't about to let some Cobra scum trounce on their way to his master. He just managed to touch the ball with the tips of his fingers when a foot was brought down hard on his forearm, breaking it along with some of the metal that gave him a harder punch. He yelled in pain and looked up to see Red, with his foot on top of Gratto's shattered arm, glowering down at him, "There will be no more explosions, got that?" Gratto nodded his head and gulped not prepared for the sudden fist from the right, knocking him unconscious. Bede and Red looked to see Miles, bruised and panting, standing next to them. He looked at them and said, "Lovely day we're having aren't we?" Red and Bede looked at each other, then they started laughing, more or less of relief then of the comedic value of Miles' joke. They finished their break and Red turned to Bede, "Nice work Bede, although for a second there, I thought I would have to step in," which earned Red a punch to forehead. "I probably would've accepted the help, but I handled it," remarked Bede.
The three then continued on their way, making their way to the fortress for the Monkey, where they knew that their enemy was residing. Eventually, they made their way across the outpost where they assumed Gratto had been waiting, where they caught some of the Monkey's hired soldiers off guard. They made short work of the enemy and proceeded to check the area for anything useful. Red found some more bullets for his gun, which he smiled at, seeing as he was almost out, Bede found some medical supplies which he put into a burlap sack he found, and Miles found a sharpening stone which he slipped in his pocket. They then continued on their way, going up the road to the fortress, until finally they arrived at the doors to the place.
"Whelp, this is it you guys," said Red, getting excited over the prospect of the battle, "Time to beat up a Monkey and reclaim Bede's island!" And without further ado, Red punched the door and knocked it off its hinges.
Somewhere in the fortress:
"Sir, our scouts are reporting that not only have the trio defeated Monaku, but they have also defeated Gratto, and damaged the exoskeleton beyond repair."
The boss sat in his seat, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair. Finally, he said, "Damn, and that exoskeleton was hard to steal, I doubt we could steal another one. The Marines would have learned a better way of shipping them by now."
The reporter confused at the boss's words, asked, "But, you aren't worried about our men?"
The boss got up and walked to a window, giving him a panoramic view of the land. But he knew that looks could be deceiving. He had milked nearly all the money out of this island, driving its residents into poverty, causing them to starve. Soon there would be no reason to keep the island and guard it. It would only cost more money, and he was a business man, and he was in it to make money. He looked back at his reporter, "No, I don't care about those two, they've only been pawns in the grand scheme of things. It's been a wonderful time, lucrative too, but I have no loyalties to them, or anyone else on this island, including you."
The reporter, knowing what was to follow, tried to run, but only gave a clearer target for his shot. He tried to yell for help, but only spit out blood as he collapsed to the floor, blood pooling around him. The guards outside, having heard the shot, knew that their boss was displeased, and were not surprised to see him walk out the door.
He turned to them, saying, "Load the boats with the money in the safe, it's time to leave this island, and call in my cousin while you're at it, I think it's time to eliminate this island." He started walking away from them, but then turned to face them again, "Also, have some cannons prepared for me."
The guards, confused at this request, asked, "But sir, why would you need cannons? We're leaving the island, aren't we?"
Turning away, he started walking, "Just have it done. It's none of your business," then to himself, Skyler muttered, "Looks like I'm going to have to dirty my hands for this one."
