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. P.S. I wonder how many people actually read this every time.
Chapter 18: Attack on an Unseen Villain! Captain vs. Captain!
Smiling, the Captain let the fist pass by his face as he gave Red a quick knee to the stomach. Spilling air out of his lungs with a large fwoom, Red was launched back onto the sand. Rolling into a standing position, Red stood there examining his opponent. Deciding he wanted to end the fight quickly, Red dashed forward. Expecting the same attack, the Captain leaned to the side again, only to get a face full of boot as Red round-house kicked him.
Panting on the ground, the Captain slowly rose to his feet, his belly bouncing as he did. Seeing this, Red chuckled, causing the Captain to go red in the face. With eyes full of fury, he went on the attack, swinging wild blows at Red. Stepping back, Red nimbly dodged the swings, until finally, the Captain had had enough. Picking a large stone off the ground, he hurtled it at Red. Stepping aside, Red let the stone pass by, but was forced to the ground as the Captain ground his head in the sand. Red could feel the sand going up his nose and in his mouth, and tried to cough it out, only to get more sand in the process.
Through the dust and sand, Red managed to swing back, nailing the Captain in the stomach, forcing him to back off. Jumping to his feet, Red tried to link it with a kick to the chest, but only managed to hit air. Opening his eyes, Red was forced to close them again as sand clouded his vision. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to get the dust out, but only managed to further agitate his eyes. Turning, he managed to hear the Captain laughter a few feet to his left. The Captain mocked him, shouting, "How can you fight an opponent if you can't see them!" Red responded, shouting, "Jet", launching him like a speeding missile towards where he heard the Captain's voice. But he wasn't fast enough as he again only hit air. Squinting through the dust, he could just see the faint outline of a man with large stature. Assuming this was the Captain, he rushed forward… only to have a jolt of pain shoot up his arm.
Gripping his hand, he heard the Captain laugh from somewhere to his right, calling out, "What'd that rock ever do to you, kid?" Clenching and Unclenching his fists, Red rose to his feet. Blinking his eyes, he managed to clear out some of the sand and turned to his right, but wasn't quick enough as he got a fistful of sand.
Gripping his eyes, thinking it would lessen the pain, Red left his chest wide open as the Captain punched him in the stomach, sending another whoosh of air out of his lungs. Flying through the air, Red landed on his back, sprawled out against the sand. Reaching down to his chest, Red prodded it, and regretted it, as pain flew through his nerves – the unmistakable sign of broken ribs. Getting to his feet, Red glanced around, trying to hear where his opponent was.
Hoping to get a response, Red called out, "Cheap move, asshole!" but instead, got a fist to the face. Reeling back, Red felt his nose, and heard the cracking of bone and cartilage. Letting the blood drip down his face, he turned a full 360 degrees, hoping it would give him something to go off of. Instead, he only made himself dizzy. Taking this opportunity, the Captain rushed forward, hoping to get a few more hits off to bring down the bastard. Cocking back his arm, he threw a punch which whistled by air as Red ducked to avoid it. Surprised, the Captain tried to stop himself, but the momentum of his punch carried him into Red's kick.
With air whooshing out of his mouth, the Captain fell on his back, forcing him to roll out of the way as Red tried to kick him. Looking around, Red tried again to locate the Captain, but was again met by a punch to the chest. Gripping his chest, he backed off so he could get some room, but the Captain had other plans. Blinking his eyes, Red began to make out more than just shapes, and soon could see the entire beach again, the only thing he couldn't see was the Captain.
Turning, he started to look for the Captain, but was smacked in the face by a palm strike filled with sand. Falling back into the sand, Red gripped his eyes again, hoping to minimize the pain. Hearing the sound of footsteps crunching through sand, he quickly shouted, "Jet", making him zoom backwards to get out of the way.
Standing, he quickly began to rub his eyes again, trying to get sand out of eyes, all the while backing up. He kept on doing this until he felt waves lap against his ankles. In the distance, he could hear the Captain laughing, "You're screwed now, Devil Fruit user!" Blinking his eyes so that he could see, he managed to just barely managed to clear his eyes, as the Captain charged at him. Seeing this, he rolled out of the way, letting the Captain pass overhead. Standing, he kicked the Captain in his paunchy belly, causing him to recoil with pain. He followed up with a swift punch to the side of the face, but misjudged the angle, making the punch pass harmlessly in front of his face.
He would've continued the assault, had it not been for the fact that they were in knee deep water. Feeling the sea, Red's powers and strengths began to be sapped from his body. He struggled to stay standing as he glared at the Captain, who stared at him mockingly. He could nearly fall unconscious if he stayed any longer, and his opponent knew that. Taking advantage of it, he landed a few punches, causing Red to recoil, feeling more pain now than he had on the beach. As the blows kept coming, Red noticed they were slowly backing onto the beach. Hoping he wouldn't notice, he kept on letting himself be hit, until finally his feet touched dry ground.
Feeling his strength surge back in him, he kicked the Captain in the stomach as he backed off from him. Tasting his mouth, he could taste blood, and he spat it out, leaving a bright red stain on the beach. Feeling his eye, he quickly pulled back, feeling the pain around it. That's gonna be a black eye in the morning, thought Red, as he began to glare at the Captain again, who was just now standing from his little bath.
Soaked in water, the Captain ran at Red, but the damp clothes weighed him down allowing Red to easily get out of the way. But the Captain had planned on that, using his left hand to chuck a wad of sand at his face. Feeling the bite of sand in the eyes again, Red would've thought he would be used to it by now. Boy was he wrong. He reeled back again, instinctually grabbing his face, and before he knew it, a fist slammed into his face, forcing him to the ground.
Grinding his fist into Red's face, the Captain smiled and laughed maniacally as he took pleasure in what he was doing. Standing to the side, Henry looked on, watching what was happening. Seeing the Captain pull a knife out of his pocket, he grew wide eyed. Strengthening his resolve, he charged forward, with what was left of his hammer in hand, preparing to strike the Captain on the head. He didn't even make it halfway, as something nailed him in the stomach. Falling on his back, he looked up into the face of the First Mate, smiling down at him, his sword only inches away from his face.
For the second time that day, Henry prepared for imminent death, saying sorry to his Grandfather for letting him down as the First Mate began a downward swing. And for the second time that day, his life was saved as Miles appeared suddenly in front of him, deflecting the arc of the sword so that it stabbed harmlessly into the sand. Glaring up at the other swordsman, Miles sent a flying elbow strike directly to his forehead, knocking him unconscious immediately.
Looking over his shoulder, the Captain turned to see his first mate lying unconscious in the sand. Standing up, he turned to face the new challengers, leaving his previous victim lying in the sand. Smiling, he began laughing maniacally, knowing that if he could beat that guy, then he could beat these two easily. Walking forward, he began cracking his knuckles, hoping to give the two a little fear to begin with. But he could see their attention was not on him, and they were instead looking at something behind him.
Turning, he was shocked to see Red standing there, panting from the beating he had received. Chuckling, Red called past him to Miles, shouting, "You might want to move out of the way." Hearing this, Miles and Henry began to run to where the beach began. Seeing this, the Captain grew more confused at what was happening, but decided there was nothing of it, and turned to put his glare back on Red. Chuckling, Red shook his head, saying, "I was hoping to save this one for the Grand Line, but I guess you've forced me into it." Hearing this, the Captain grew nervous, trying to imagine what he'd been saving for the Grand Line.
Cocking back his fist, Red glared at the Captain, and in doing so, his arm, from his fist to his elbow became water. Stepping forward, Red shouted, "Torrent!" as a massive amount of water blasted out of his hand, in the rough shape of a fist. Going wide-eyed, the Captain tried to evade the wave, but was slammed by it. Propelling him along the beach, the wave smashed him into the wall of the cliff, cracking apart the stone until finally the torrent died down, letting him fall back down onto the beach unconscious.
Panting, Red stared at the unconscious form of the pirate, mumbling, "Serves you right… bastard," as he collapsed on the beach from exhaustion.
