Here is the twenty-fourth chapter in this story released in accordance with my upload schedule for this story. While Tatsumi and Akame were dealing with Esdeath, their friends on the frontlines of the battlefield were engaging in their own ferocious duels, in their cases with the 4 of the 5 new Warlords who'd been appointed in the last year following the defeats of Crocodile, Roman, Patry, Jose, and Kai. Though not as ground shaking as Tatsumi and Akame's fight with Esdeath was they were nonetheless major engagements in the battle as they kept 4 members of the Night Pirates from wreaking bloody havoc on the Navy while occupying four Warlords at the same time allowing the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies to avoid them so let's have a look at how those duels played out and the results of them. That I have for the administrative stuff that I have for y'all though there is a guest review that need a response so I will do that now. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate.

To KGBeastboy (guest), thank you for your review and suggestion, it's a good one. While I do have a plan for who will initially tell Tashigi that she's wrong, the way it will happen will be in such a manner that she'll not fully comprehend it at the time but will never forget it as well and will thus need to ask about it so there will need to be a follow up to it which is something that I'd not really considered until now so this suggestion helps here. You are right that we don't know much about Yoroi Musha in MHA other than that he's the Equipped Hero, his ranking, his samurai style, and lack of fortitude in the face of high backlash so there is room to interpret him. He's a good choice for this kind of role though I will keep his lack of fortitude as that is basically all we really see from him but the idea of him retiring in the wake of the War of the Best and the chaos that it leads to fits this so it works. My usual policy with MHA pro heroes is that only those in the top 5 or who have major significance like Nagant should be Vice Admirals but Musha's age is such that it would make sense in a military structure for him to have reached that rank by this point in the story so he'll be a Vice Admiral during the war though whether or not we see him in the coming war chapters is to be seen. However, afterwards he'll retire and teaching the way of the sword is a good path for him as that's the best he can do following the war. Tashigi does need to learn that swords choose their masters, at least the ones of the highest grades, and after all that's coming I can see a chapter where Musha tells Tashigi this kind of stuff using Murasame as a prime example while asking if Tashigi has seen anything like that first hand and she can mention Kitetsu III and that leads to her understanding. The very nature of this will be seen but your points on Murasame will be considered along with what the Akame ga Kill canon on the sword is as that will be a factor. As for Musha's blade, that's a good suggestion for his as I've never seen a Seven-Branched Sword and I'm a fan of exotic and unique swords so I personally like it so she may get it, providing she can master it and prove her worth. She does need an upgrade to her current sword, Shigure, is a just a Grade Grade sword so this could help and Skillful Grade is best. You aren't wrong in that I don't want to make too many more Great Grade blades. I've only said how many slots there are for new swords other than the 17 Supreme Grades but for totals, as of right now, there will 33 Great Grade and 75 Skillful Grade slots with the former (and Supreme Grade) having more deference to canon with some exceptions on the Great Grade side but I've already decided the 12 blades, 9 of which are canon across the crossover franchises, that will be Great Grade, so Skillful works best for this. Do keep reading and enjoying my work.

Anyway, that is enough for this long pre-chapter note so sit back and enjoy the twenty-fourth chapter in The Ultimate Worst Generation.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these great franchises.

Chapter 24: Assassins v. Warlords

The two feline roars tore out and the sound ensured that the marines and few pirates nearby gave the women a wide berth. Many knew of Sienna's reputation in the New World before she was asked to become a Warlord and they'd seen how the blonde rookie pirate hadn't held back from killing in this battle so no one wanted to step into a clash between the pair. Well that and this was a fight between two carnivorous Zoan users in the big cat family and not just any two but the biggest two so it was best to just let the lioness and tigress duke it out and either continue pressing for the plaza or defending it.

Naturally neither Leone nor Sienna noticed or cared about this as they rushed each other focused entirely on killing their opponent. It only took a second for Leone and Sienna to meet and as they reached each other they slashed their claws at the other while twisting their bodies to avoid slamming into each other in an opening exchange that was as much a test as an attack.

Whatever it was, no one watching or listening could deny that the moment the women passed each other there was a distinct ripping sound of flesh being rent. Sienna and Leone knew that they'd scratched the other before they turned and landed on their feet facing each other having swapped positions while the claws on their feet unsheathed and dug into the ice to avoid sliding over it thus keeping each other within close combat distance.

"Not bad bitch." Sienna said as blood bubble up and slowly began to run down her left cheek from two shallow lines there but it didn't get far as her fur absorbed it and Sienna knew that it was just a flesh wound that wouldn't scar so it wasn't a concern to her. "But you've got nothing on a rightful Zoan eater."

Leone didn't respond, she just snarled her canines on full display and her hackles raised as the fur on her face became matted with blood. She'd taken all four of the claws on Sienna's right hand fingers across her face so she now had two diagonal cuts to her left cheek, one from her forehead over her nose and down her right cheek to the side of her lip and one from her forehead to her right temple.

She'd been extremely lucky that none of them had blinded her and that they were shallow enough that her fur helped stop the blood from getting into her eyes while partially staunching the wounds. Sienna was an opponent beyond any that Leone had faced before but that wasn't going to stop her from giving her all and trying to take down this bitch who'd rolled over and presented her belly to the World Government for them to rub.

There may be benefits for the faunus by Sienna becoming a Warlord, Jimbei showed how it could be done with fish-men, but he'd refused this fight so he at least had integrity so he'd not become a stooge of the World Government the way Sienna had. Besides, Leone wasn't going to give Sienna the satisfaction of an answer, she just snarled and as rushed Sienna who grinned, canines gleaming in the sun, and held her ground as Leone reached her and punched the older faunus woman.

Sienna reacted with the quick reflexes of an experience warrior and expertly deflected the punch with her left forearm and retaliated with a swipe from her right claw going for a horizontal rake across Leone's face to blind her. Leone had expected that though and ducked, her left hand clenching into a fist that she then punched out at Sienna's exposed side.

The Warlord, however, showed how limber she was and with the fluidness of, well, a cat she curved her back sideways as her right arm was still mid swing over Leone's head and avoided the punch. It was impressive and before Leone could adapt Sienne swiftly changed the direction of her right arm and it down on a sharp backswing and struck Leone in the side of the head with a powerful backhand.

Leone growled at the blow, it was as powerful as you'd expect from a Zoan user in her hybrid form who'd been extensively trained and wielded a Zoan that gave her the raw power of a tiger, and it almost dropped Leone to a knee with the force of it. Only Leone's extensive training and heightened strength and reflexes in her own hybrid big cat Zoan form prevented that as she rolled with the blow and spun around in a crouch on the ice. Naturally, though, Sienna wasn't done as she used her own momentum to bring up her left leg in a savage side kick to Leone's head as she spun with the blow.

Thankfully, Leone saw the kick coming as she spun, or more she almost sensed it though she was still learning how to master her Observation Haki, and got her right arm up in time to take the blow on her forearm. The blow was painful and Leone slid a few inches over the ice from the impact but Sienna wasn't using Armament Haki so Leone's toughened form could take it as she had a plan to turn the kick to her advantage.

Leone did this by not letting the kick bounce off her arm as she grabbed Sienna's shin with her right hand just as the other woman tried to pull away her leg. As Leona grabbed the limb, she sank all five of her right hand claws into the meaty, muscular, leg that she was now holding. There were a lot of good uses to having claws after all and Sienna roared as Leone's claws dug in though it was more out of frustration than pain.

Leone grinned as she held Sienna's leg firm and brought her left arm up, her hand coating with Armament Haki as she did as she'd at least mastered this form of Haki to the point that she could use it about 85% of the time, and thrust her palm at Sienna's left knee while rising to her full height, using that to put all her strength into the blow. The goal was to shatter Sienna's knee but of course Leona was facing a Warlord who'd won her fair share of battles, it wasn't going to be that easy and already Sienna had adapted and countered as she used her right leg to leap off the ground and force Leone's left arm up.

As Sienna did this she suddenly spun in Leone's grip, her leg muscles tensing and holding Leone's claws in her to prevent them from ripping through her calf muscles, while bringing her right leg around with her spin to lash it at Leone's head the limb going black as it was coated in Armament Haki showing that she was taking Leone's threat seriously. It was an impressive move and Leone realized what it was meant to do and as she had no way of countering it, Leone was forced to acquiesce to Sienna's plans to avoid being kicked and blasted to the side which would put her on the backfoot in this fight.

That was why Leone retracted the claws in her right hand pulling them out of Sienna's leg to prevent her wrist from being broken by the quickness of Sienna's spin if she'd kept her claws in the older woman's flesh while abandoning her palm thrust and ducking down to avoid the kick. However, Leone never let go of Sienna's left leg and while her hand was now slick with Sienna's blood, she ignored that as she roared and using her duck to her advantage as she brought her arm down and slammed Sienna chest first into the ice as hard as she could.

It wasn't that big of a hit as there wasn't much height to it and Leone couldn't put as much speed into the blow as she'd would have liked but it was still jarring and Sienna bounced off the ice with a gasp. Leone used this to her advantage by letting go of Sienna's leg and leaping up as Sienna bounced upwards and flipping in the air, her right foot and lower leg coated in Armament Haki as she brought it around and down in a savage heel kick that was aiming for Sienna's back.

Sienna, however, had sensed the follow up attack, it was what she'd have done after all, and as the blow she'd taken wasn't enough to disorientate her, she used the bounce off the ice and the time Leone's flip allowed her to barrel rolled in the air and face Leona as the woman brought her kick around. As Leone did this, Sienna got her arms up, crossed them over her chest, and coated them in Armament Haki just in time to take the blow on them with a boom that negated damage.

That said, Leone's kick was strong and it blasted Sienna down to the ice with enough force to crater it and bury the older woman in it while a plume of ice dust shot up and covered them. Sienna let out an involuntary gasp from the blow as air was driven from her lungs she was stunned by it but otherwise the older woman wasn't affect by Leone's attack and was now obscured from the younger woman's vision.

That was fine with Leone, however, as she didn't need her eyes to see as she could smell Sienna with her increased sense of smell, the woman's battle musk was almost overwhelming in fact, so she just flipped through the kick and used Moonwalk, one of two of the six powers that Leone had mastered thanks to Akame's instructions, and kicked off the air. The kick sent Leone directly down and into the crater with a boost of speed to aid her fall her right arm back and punching forward as she reached where Sienna was.

Unfortunately for Leone she wasn't the only one with enhanced smell and Sienna's had been superior to begin with being a tiger faunus as well as the Bengal tiger Zoan user. As such Sienna had smelt Leone's blood and battle musk approaching and while still a bit dazed by the impact with the ice she was able to use her instincts to roll back and onto her shoulders bringing her knees to her chest as she did so that Leone punched the ice rather than her with her attack. Then, before Leone could process what had happened, the faunus thrust her legs forward and effectively double stamped her feet into Leone's face.

Leone roared in pain as she was hit and blasted back and out of the crater from the force of the blow. The only saving grace of the situation was that Sienna hadn't had time to focus on her Armament Haki and as such had just used her raw strength to kick Leone away so Leone was still in it as she was thrown out of the ice cloud and hit the ice hard bouncing over it for several feet before she rolled and came to a stop groaning from it.

As she did, Sienna flipped off her back and onto her feet in the ice cloud with the rest of the momentum from the kick and landed in a crouch. The Warlord didn't pause in her crouch as she instantly leapt out of the ice dust as it was settling and after Leone who was still rolling, her right hand going to her hip and grabbing the handle of her signature weapon and ripping it from around her waist as she landed on the ice.

"Humans still use this to train lions and slavers have used it on faunus to keep them in line for centuries." Sienna said as she cracked the metal chain link whip on the ice, the three blades in a line at the end cutting into the ice with ease while the body shattered the icy battlefield wherever it struck. "Fitting that it will be your demise for you don't deserve to have that Devil Fruit. Don't worry, I'll make sure a Lion Faunus gets it as is his right!"

At that Sienna laughed and lashed out her metal whip, which was called Cerberus Whip, at Leone who was just under 6 feet away from her which was roughly the length of the weapon though Sienna was an expert with the weapon so she made sure that the right part would land. Leone was just groaning as she got to her hands and knees and spat out blood and a tooth from the kick when the whip slammed into her back, the three blades cutting deep and driving Leone to her chest with a yell of pain. Blood splattered all around Leone as the whip was brought up and Sienna laughed brining it down again.

"Yes! Scream for me kitty!" Sienna shouted her bloodlust overtaking her as she held the upper hand, her hatred for humans and especially humans who dared to eat a Zoan type that was rightfully property of the faunus, fueling her as she whipped Leone in the back again cutting another line into the younger woman's pale flesh. "Don't you get it you pathetic thief! You're no threat to me! I am a true faunus who ate the Devil Fruit that was hers by right! You are nothing but a jumped up wannabe wielding a power you have no right too! Die! Die like the scum you are and cede your stolen Devil Fruit back to the world!"

With every yell Sienna whipped Leone, her long held grudges against humans and those who dared to eat Zoans that weren't theirs to eat, and especially a human who'd eaten one of the big cat Devil Fruits, coming out as she lashed down on the younger woman over and over again. In this moment Sienna didn't care about the battle, the Navy, or anything, all she cared about was killing the busty blonde bimbo who'd had the audacity to eat the lion Devil Fruit.

Said lion Devil Fruit user howled in pain from the lashes, the metal whip easily cut into her and Leone was sure that at least one of the blows was deep enough that it would leave scar. However, this was just pain and Leone pushed through it as she tensed her back to better take the hits and slowly pushed herself back to her hands and feet despite another lashing slamming into her back.

Leone had been through a lot in her young life from being born into biting poverty, to surviving on the streets of her home island's capital city as a young girl after her parents abandoned her, to stealing her Devil Fruit because she was hungry and desperate, to learning what it did when she transformed into a lioness. That had been when her life had changed and to Leone it had almost been fate that she'd gotten this power, she'd been saved by it as it gave her the strength to survive her childhood.

Now she used her power and the skills she'd honed on the streets to help the Night Pirates end oppression so that others didn't grow up as she did. There was no way that she wasn't going to die here, especially not at the hands of a zealous faunus who wanted to kill Leone simply because of her Devil Fruit.

No, that wasn't going to happen and with a roar of defiance Leone forced herself up onto her knees, Armament Haki coating her left forearm as she turned and swung her arm around and up as Sienna brought her whip down for the 8th time. This time there was a clang and the whip was deflected away and to the side by Leone's arm, which was just what Leone needed to turn and get out of the whip's range so that she could recover, think, and force Sienna to come back into close combat range where Leone had a better chance against the Warlord. Alas that wasn't to be.

"Now, now, no fleeing kitty, not while we're having so much fun." Sienne said as she expertly moved her right arm and flicked her wrist in a well-honed pattern cracking her metal whip as she did while Leone turned on her knees and was pushing up so as to leap out of rang. "You're not going anywhere!"

Before Leone could get more than a few inches off her knees, the whip was on her again only this time it cracked just over her shoulder and hit her in the side of the neck before it wrapped around a few times and held firm, the blades on the end flopping down and onto Leone's upper chest. Almost instantly it pulled taught and Leone was forced backwards from it her knees falling back to the ice in the process.

Reflexively she tried to fight it by struggling forward as the whip began to choke her, the metal chains digging into her neck and drawing blood as her hands went to her throat, her claws retracting, and tried to pull it off as she fought against the pull. Sienna just laughed as she yanked back against Leone's efforts forcing her back to arch and Leone to look at the sky as she struggled in a clear test of strength between a Tiger-Faunus and a Lion-Human.

"Yes pull, it will only make this go faster!" Sienna shouted as the chain held, Sienna pulling back on it with all her strength as Leone struggled on her knees to break free of it, her back bleeding for a half dozen or so lash marks to it as she used all her strength to win the deadly tug-of-war. "You won't get out of this you thieving bitch!"

For the first time all battle Leone felt that to be true. She'd known from the start that this was going to be a tough fight and now she was in a really dire situation on her knees fighting to avoid getting dragged back and to Sienna's feet, which would be the end of it but in the process choking herself out.

Leone had survived so much in her life but this seemed to be the end of the line for her and as she realized this her life flashed before her eyes as she choked on the icy battlefield. It was as she'd expected; her harsh childhood and youth followed by the good she did with her Devil Fruit, the partying and fun she had in her teens in the slums of the capital city she'd grown up in, and her subsequent recruitment to the Night Pirates and all that they'd done together.

It was that last bit that got to her as she struggled. Leone recalled how she'd been recruited by the boss only a few months after Najenda's defection from the Navy, her roll in recruiting Akame to the crew, the assassinations she'd committed, and finally the island in the North Blue where she and her crewmates had gone to secure a Devil Fruit there that if the Navy got their hands on could be a game changer for the World Government. However, on that last mission they'd arrived on that island to see a nightmarish monster rampaging through the burning town and slaughtering a whole platoon of marines in its rage.

Akame had wanted to kill the monster but Najenda had warned her against it as this was the Devil Fruit they were after in action which meant that the consumer had survived it, something that was apparently extremely rare with this Devil Fruit, so whoever had eaten it could be a useful ally if they waited. They did and finally when the Vice Admiral on the mission fell to the beast and it blasted an intense swirl of fire at the battleship destroying it and killing any remaining marines on it, the beast seemed to subside and transformed back to its human form causing them to lose sight of it.

Instantly, and before backup could arrive, the Night Pirates had entered the burning, decimated town to find the user. It wasn't going to be hard, every citizen down to the youngest infant had been slaughtered by the Navy, Najenda made sure to take pictures and get evidence of that, and the entire Navy attacking force was also dead so all they had to do was find the sole living person in the charnel house of death that they'd walked into.

In the end it had been Leone and Akame who found the user, a brown haired teen boy around Akame's age who was unharmed and unaffected by the weather as he lay unconscious in the blood stained snow surrounded by the bodies of his friends and fellow townspeople who the marines had slaughtered along with the marines he'd slaughtered in return. He was shirtless and wearing only tattered shorts that had once been pants while a sword in a sheath on his lower back but his chest was rising and falling showing that he was the Devil Fruit user and the sole survivor of this massacre.

They could have killed him there and then but Leone knew he was different and had potential, plus the boss would want to see him as well, so she picked him up in her arms in her hybrid form and carried him back to their ship. As soon as he was on board and they had the proof of the Navy's massacre to pass off to their contacts they sailed away before a Navy Admiral could arrive thus keeping the Devil Fruit in play and ensuring that its power would be turned on the World Government after what it did to the teen's home.

Of course that teen was Tatsumi and after he came too and understood what had happened, he was hazy with everything after he'd eaten his Devil Fruit though he was certainly well aware that it was the Navy who exterminated his home, he explained what his Devil Fruit was and what the nature of his sword. In that instant the Night Pirates had gained a new crewmember with a burning hatred for the World Government and the Navy who wielded both a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit and a Supreme Grade sword.

To say that the Navy had fucked up would be an understatement as Tatsumi's recruitment was a boon for the Night Pirates but that was just the surface, the true boon had been Tatsumi himself. His potential was off the charts, his ability to learn new skills, adapt to situations after just one experience, and grow second to none on the crew, and his passion for changing the world and making it a better place was inspiring. With him they all became better and he was just what they needed to return to the Grand Line and kick things into high gear in their personal war against the Navy and the World Government.

Since then every major incident they'd been in, ever important kill or moment, had had Tatsumi at the heart of it and he'd risen to the de facto first mate while the Navy acknowledged his threat with his bounty. That was the man Tatsumi was, and after he finally came to terms with the loss of his homeland and let those who'd died move on from his memory he unlocked his full potential. None of them doubted that he made the whole crew better and they often looked to him when they needed inspiration even though he was one of the newest crew members.

None knew why this was the case, though Najenda had a theory that Tatsumi had just proven correct while Leone was being whipped so she didn't know yet, but Tatsumi did this and they were better for it. That was why it was in this moment right as Leone was about to black out from the choking that she was fighting against that she saw his smiling face before her.

That was all that she needed to calm herself and with the last shreds of her mind realize what needed to be done to get out of this bind that she was in. Sienna was choking her but from a distance and distracted by her emotions and bloodlust, Leone could use that to her advantage and so with a final boost of strength for what was to come she gave into the tug and let Sienna pull her back.

However, as Sienna began to pull Leone towards her, Leone turned into the pull adding what was around her neck but Leone ignored that as she felt the chain whip slacken a little giving her just enough to catch a breath. As Leone gasped in much needed air, she placed her right hand on the ground to push herself up into a three point stance and then as Sienna staggered from the sudden change in toughness she pushed off the ice with enough force to crack it and tore at the Warlord.

Sienna was too shocked by the sudden change in situation to react in time before Leone was on her and with another roar the rookie pirate slammed her right fist into the side of Sienna's face blasting her back and causing her to slide over the ice. As the whip was still around Leone's neck, Leone moved with the blow to avoid the whip from pulling taught again and closed the distance on Sienna so that when Sienna came to a stop she could punch the faunus again only this time in gut with enough force to bend Sienna over her fist before throwing the faunus back again though Sienna still held her whip's handle in her right hand.

Things had shifted for Leone but the two blows had snapped Sienna back to the fight at hand and while she didn't have time to analyze what had gone wrong in it, she did have the time to counter and so as Sienne slid to a stop and Leone rushed her again she knew what to do to retake control of the battle. Grinning as blood ran down her chin from her mouth, Sienna raised her left hand to her whip, grabbed the chain and with both hands yanked her whip back to her.

As the whip was still around Leone's neck the force of the yank staggered the younger woman and Sienna used that to rush forward with the stagger. Leone wasn't pulled off her feet though and tried to counter with a punch but Sienna was already ready and darted to the side before planting her left foot and spinning around Leone so that she was facing the blonde's back as Leone stumbled past Sienna her fist swinging through air.

That was just what Sienna needed and so as Leona staggered from the yank and missed punch she swept the rookie's legs from under her. Then, as Leona became airborne, Sienna pushed off the ice and slammed her right shoulder into Leone's back right over one of the deeper cuts there causing Leone to yell in pain and arch her back as Sienna took them both down to the ice.

Leone hit it hard on her chest so her large assets took the brunt of the impact protecting her somewhat but before she could slide over it Sienna grabbed the back of her head and slammed it into the ice to stop the slide and daze Leone. That was all that Sienna needed as she leapt up and with a quick, well-practiced move pulled her whip back removing it from around Leone's neck and then used it to hogtied Leone in a matter of seconds despite it being a metal chain. By the time Leone blinked away stars her head was up and back, arms behind her, and legs up as she lay on her chest on the cold ice immobilized.

"I'll give it to you, that last move of yours took me off guard, I wasn't expecting you to move with me while I was choking you." Sienna said panting slightly as she crouched down before Leone so that the human could see her face both of them unaware that the sounds of battle had died down around them as Tatsumi struggled with Esdeath's ice attack Jozu broke the ice for his own attack. "But it ends now, there's no escape for you this time bitch. I'm going to rip your throat out with my claws and let you bleed out over the ice at my feet. Then I'm going to fall back and when this battle is done I'll find the Cat-Cat Fruit, model: Lion, and give it to a worthy faunus on my crew. Now be a good little kitten and die."

"Fuck you." Leone spat as blood began to mat into the fur on her forehead from a cut there while Sienna laughed and walked around to stand over Leone's back, legs spread, and a grin on her face her canines gleaming in anticipation. "You've not won this, only ensured your death!"

"The pitiful squeals of a human about to die, music to my ears especially with what this will release and how killing you will help show that the faunus will do their part for the World Government." Sienna said was she grabbed Leone's hair and pulled her head back even more causing Leone to arc painfully in her restraints and exposing her throat even more as she lowered her head to whisper into Leone's ear. "Unlike a wannabe revolutionary like you, I am doing what I have to for my people and showing that we deserve equal treatment but a pathetic human who's not known true oppression would never understand that. At least your death will help the faunus as it's time to free that stolen Devil Fruit."

At that Sienna rose up to look down on Leone's face and smirked at the younger woman as she brought her right hand around and unsheathed her claws in front of Leone's face before she lowered them towards Leone's throat. Despite the situation Leone didn't beg, cry, or even thrash as her death neared which Sienna could respect. Leone just remained perfectly still as she awaited what was to come as Sienna's claws neared her throat.

Sienna was still grinning as she lowered her hand when she sensed it. It wasn't Observation Haki that keyed her to it but rather her own innate senses as an apex predator both as a tiger faunus and the Bengal tiger Devil Fruit user that keyed Sienna into the impending danger.

The ears atop her head twitched and with a quick turn of her head and shift of her body she moved out of the way just as a pale yellow blast shot at her head. She wasn't fast enough to fully dodge it though as the beam scored a line across her face just next to her left eye and continued taking out her normal left ear fully before slamming into the ice and punching through it all the way to the water below.

Sienne let out a howl of pain as blood poured from her missing ear and the new cut along her temple that would easily scar as she staggered back from Leone eyes wide and looking around for the attacker her left hand instinctively going to the side of her head to try and staunch the wound. Had she not sensed the attack the blast, which could only be a Devil Fruit power though as it wasn't Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit powers she had no idea what Devil Fruit had just attacked her.

"What the hell was that!" Sienna howled as she frantically looked around and came to a startling realization based on the angle and the lack of anyone looking her way in the immediate vicinity. "A sniper? From where? Who the…"

"Great Eruption!"

The bellow distracted Sienna even more and she turned in time to see Admiral Akainu punch the first of two blocks of ice that had been sent at him. As she did another sniper blast shot at her but she leapt back and out of the way as she was now keyed to a sniper with a lock on her. This wasn't good and Sienna knew when to cut her losses, especially with a wound that would need immediate medical attention, so she snarled as she looked down at Leone as the second block of ice was destroyed and Akainu began to send balls of molten chunks rock into the air to rain down on the pirates.

"A shame that I can't be the one to kill you bitch but you're a sitting duck there for Akainu's magma attack." Sienna spat turning to look at the trust up Leone as she backed up towards the plaza. "I'll have to replace my whip but it's a small price to pay for your death and the return of your Devil Fruit to circulation."

With that Sienna fully turned and ran away, leaping over a few dead marines that were nearby and using that to turn into her full beast mode and land on all fours before running off at full speed with everyone giving the large tiger missing an ear a wide berth. She'd done her job though; Sienna wouldn't face any repercussions from the Navy for her actions, which would certainly make the faunus look good, and could get patched up so that she could return if she wanted. Then, when this was over, she could go find the lion Devil Fruit and all would be good.

However, as Sienna fled and the magma rocks began to rain down, a third shot from the sniper was fired that hit and neatly cut through the metal chains of Cerberus Whip right where it was taught over Leone's back without coming close to Leone's body. Instantly she was freed and her arms fell to her sides and legs flopped down but Leone didn't have a moment to lie there in.

"Thanks Mine, I knew that you'd have my back, I really owe you for that." Leone gasped out as she turned into her full lion form and instantly began to run for cover from the falling magma rocks ignoring the pain that she was in. "I can't beat that bitch yet but if we survive then she's mine if we ever run into the White Fang Pirates."

With that Leone roared and ran into a group of marines who were safely away from Akainu's attack. The battle was still young and even after the recent excitement the fighting quickly resumed and Leone was part of that tore through more marines pressing to the plaza and hoping that her friends were doing better than she was.


Dante laughed as his cutlass once again slammed into Su's mace and the two weapons held firm against each other. The cutlass was only a Grade grade sword but Dante coated it with his Armament Haki to reinforce it against the strong spinning blades of the specialty wolf fang mace causing sparks to flare from the contact as the men pushed on each other.

This was a tough block and Dante enjoyed trying to break through it, his heart filled with malice at the desire to defeat this artificial knockoff of him that Vegapunk and MADS had created and the fact that the man could put up a good challenge only made it all the more fun for Dante. For his part Su was just trying to push Dante back and press the fight for as long as possible because he knew that so long as he kept his core intact that he could keep regenerating all day thanks to, well, having been made with Dante's Devil Fruit powers.

From the get go Su had known that this duel was really nothing more than a matter of keeping pieces off the battle board than anything else and as Dante was possibly the most dangerous Warlord present due to his bounty that was a big piece to keep occupied. Of course, Su had something up his sleeve, literally, that could change the tides of the battle if he got the chance to use it but he'd only bother with that if the opening presented itself. Until then, though, he'd just keep fighting Dante in a stalemate as they both regenerated any damage without feeling it.

Naturally Dante didn't intend for this to happen, he fully intended to win this duel and had a few tricks of his own that he could use as he pressed against the block. Grinning at the resistance, Dante suddenly bulked up as he used his Devil Fruit to increase his body mass and thus his strength growing taller and broader to try and tip the scales in his favor and break through the block.

The goal was push the mace away so that he could start slicing and dicing the artificial man before him to see if he had a weak point. However, Su showed his own strength by holding firm against the pressure even as the ice around his feet cracked from it.

"I see that Vegapunk makes his toys as strong as ever." Dante said still grinning as Su held his own. "You've gotta be up there with a Pacifista though given when I gave Vegapunk that sample I'm willing to bet that you predate them by a few decades."

"I have not had the chance to test myself against those machines so I can't compare my strength to theirs." Su said simply. "But I am sure that I can beat them. I am different and not solely Vegapunk's creation."

"Yes, yes, whatever, you're still pissing me off with how you were made with my power, especially because you don't have malice so you're no different to an animal." Dante said as he let up on the block and allowed Su to win the exchange. "But this isn't working, let's switch it up a bit, shall we?"

Su didn't respond to that; he just used the opening to swing his spinning mace through the block and at Dante's suddenly exposed side. Su knew that because he wasn't a real living being he couldn't use Haki, which was one of Dr. Poledina's biggest regrets with Su when he was made as making an artificial being capable of using Haki was part of the doctor's dream, not that Su was aware of this fact, but right now that didn't matter. No, what mattered right now was forcing Dante to use his power and regenerate over and over again and thus avoid Dante from rejoining the battle and that was something Su could do.

At least that was the plan until Dante suddenly separated his body at the waist as he shrunk back to his normal size, still in the process of shrinking as he shrunk, and allowed the mace to swing through the gap there much to Su's surprise as he'd not expected that. Dante laughed at the miss as he spun around to Su's back, slicing the top of the man's head off just below his eyes while his legs ran around Su's other side to stand there waiting for his upper body to reconnect to them.

"I can do a lot more with my Devil Fruit than just alter my body's size and composition and regenerate anything lost." Dante said as Su turned to his voice, the top half of his head bubbling and reforming as he swiftly thrust his mace into the center of Dante's chest causing it to explode as Dante didn't block the blow but his head, arms and legs remained with his arms to the side and head floating in the air to completely get free of the attack. "Unlike a fake like you who can only use my regeneration, I don't need connection between my body parts to move them. So long as they aren't actually destroyed like what your mace to my chest I can keep my other parts moving. That is the power of the Body-Body Fruit."

"Sounds a bit like the Chop-Chop Fruit or the Split-Split Fruit to me." Su said his mind going over the programed and known Devil Fruits in it as his head finished reforming and he drew his mace back while flesh bubbled out of Dante's waist and began to reform it as his arms and head remained moving away from his core body. "Only you have full Logia powers so you're body is intangible and therefore can resist blunt force attacks unlike the former while you don't have parts split from your brain die and need reforming on the main like the latter, that and the latter isn't immune to slicing attacks either."

"Yes, useful isn't it, my Devil Fruit is superior to those Paramecia types and I don't have to worry about any kind of damage for the most part." Dante said as his torso finished regrowing and his arms and head flew back to it and reattached themselves. "That said, there is one theory about the Chop-Chop Fruit that if true would be a way around a pesky annoyance that I have to deal with. Well or so I'm told as I'm not aware of anyone having eaten that fruit recently so I've never met a Chop-Chop Fruit user to test this theory."

"Oh and that is?" Su said unaware of there being anything that the Chop-Chop Fruit did better than a Logia type Devil Fruit like the Body-Body Fruit and wanting to file the info away for later should he ever meet and have to fight the person who ate the Chop-Chop Fruit. "A Paramecia is rarely better than a Logia, at least offensively."

"True but you see the Chop-Chop Fruit is nearly unique in one benefit it might give it's wielder." Dante said as he brought his cutlass down again and extending his right arm with his power so that it reached Su before he could fully get his mace around to intercept it thus forcing the Night Pirate to block the attack with the haft of his spear instead. "It's apparently immune to Haki!"

At that, and before Su could do more than push against Dante's cutlass, Dante's left arm morphed into a spear and shot out, extending similar to his right only it was now a drilling point that suddenly tuned black as he coated it with Armament Haki. Said limb them then slammed into Su's gut, tore through him, and burst out of his back and into the air behind him. No blood or viscera was expelled as Su didn't have that and Dante kept his arm spear in Su as he walked forward his arms returning to normal while maintaining the force on his downswing thus forcing Su to keep his block up.

"I see, if that is true that would be useful and you mentioned that because you're using Haki now to see if it works on me as well." Su said understanding what was going on. "I'll admit I was unaware of that aspect of the Chop-Chop Fruit as the records of it what were programed into me don't mention that it is immune to Haki but if that is the case it is no concern to me. I am not a real human or any sentient species for that matter and my ability is not a true Devil Fruit but merely a scientific application of one aspect of it so your Haki won't work on me."

"The immunity would only extend to Haki infused blades as the Chop-Chop Fruit user is immune to slicing attacks so not even the great Hawkeye Mihawk would be able cut the user with his sword though a Haki coated fist would work just fine." Dante said idly as he looked at Su, his arm not moving from the man's gut as he tried to figure out what made this science creation work so that he could destroy it. "But you're not a truly living creature, are you? You can't use Haki but at the same time it won't work on you it seems."

"No I can't, that is true." Su said as he let go of his mace with his right hand and rose the arm up to the blades to precisely slice away the fabric there and expose his gauntlet ready for a quick counter as if Dante sent flesh spikes out from the arm in his gut then his core could be hit. "But I make up for it with something else, something only I as an artificial human with strength well beyond that of a normal man and no Devil Fruit power can use. Here, let me show you."

With that Su suddenly moved his arm down and before Dante could react he pressed the now visible gray stone gauntlet that was under his sleeve down and onto Dante's left arm as it was buried in his gut, right in the crook of the man's elbow where there was no Haki coating it. The moment that he did Dante felt his energy drain causing him to weaken while his power stop working and instantly knew what this was.

"Yes! Instill more malice in me you bastard!" Dante yelled grinning at the counter and using what remained of his strength to he leapt back and away from the artificial man and his sea prism stone gauntlet as Su brought around his still spinning mace to Dante's head now that there was no strength behind the cutlass complete with the knowledge that his weapon would now work on the de-powered Devil Fruit user. "That's just what I want!"

There was a slicing sound followed by a plopping one as Dante leapt back and pulled his reformed arm, it had gone back to normal the moment the sea prism stone touched him though it was still inside Su's gut, out of Su as Su swiped at him. The slicing sound was proof that Dante didn't get away fast enough and the two end blades cut his left cheek in a near vertical line from his jawbone to his hairline, narrowly missing his left eye in the process but before it could press any further he was free of the sea prism stone and so he just let the rest of the swipe take his head off as he landed a few feet back and slid over the ice.

Su finished his swing and spun his mace in his hand and over his head before bringing it down and to his side as he looked at the headless Dante as the Warlord came to a stop out of range of his mace. He knew that this didn't work as no blood was coming from the stump and a second later there was a bubbling and Dante's head regrew, his laugh bursting forth as his throat and mouth were formed which was eerie as his eyes and skull hadn't reformed when the laugh started. However, when Dante had finished reforming Su could see that there were two lines on his left cheek that were bleeding freely.

"That does compensate for your inability to use Haki, I'll give you that." Dante said as he raised his left hand to his cheek and touched the blood there, his grin broadening as his malice grew when he saw his own blood coating the tips of his fingers while there was a bubbling in the hole in Su's gut as it too reformed leaving it as good as new as and idea came to Dante. "Been a while since anyone made me bleed, thank you for this new malice that I feel. It's inspiring me even more to beat you and I've got a good idea of how to do it. Let's see if my theory is accurate."

At that Dante cackled and rushed forward again so Su swung his mace around to intercept the man but before he could Dante suddenly exploded his body the way a Logia type, well most Logia types, could and became a flesh colored mass in the air that flew around Su to avoid the mace before his arm reformed and sliced at Su's right shoulder blade. Su turned to that though and rather than lose his arm the cutlass sliced through his shoulder horizontally going as deep as what would have been his esophagus had he been a real human as he brought his mace around to the fleshy mass that was Dante.

Dante just laughed from the mass that he now was and roiled up and over Su to slice vertically down from over him and cleaved his head in twain from crown to throat but as with the slice on Su's shoulder he reformed there as he spun with inhuman speed to try and hit Dante. This move told Dante that whatever controlled Su was not in his head, his early slice had missed the brain part so he had to check to confirm and as it didn't take down Su that meant that Dante's plan to win would have to be as he envisioned. Thus a game of cat and mouse began.

It lasted a good few minutes, all while Tatsumi was unleashing Conqueror's Haki and then transforming to his full beast form, as Dante flew around Su slicing out when he could to try and land the blow he needed while Su used his speed, strength, and experience to spin around, his mace flowing in his hands to block cutlass strikes or hit Dante's flesh mass as he did. It was the stalemate that Su had wanted but it would have to come to an end at some point and that came just as Tatsumi was breaking Esdeath's ice pillar.

What did it was a feint by Dante. He spilt his flesh mass into two parts connected by own a tendril of undulating flesh between them with the left hand mass possessing his cutlass. He'd shown during this exchange that he was ambidextrous so he could use it in either hand, and thus lured Su into thrusting into that mass. Su did so and the mass burst apart from the contact but just before Su's mace made contact with his flesh, Dante he tossed his cutlass over to the other mass where his right arm shot out, forming to catch the sword and slice down cutting Su's left arm off mid bicep.

As it fell and Su was thrown off balance for a moment by the sudden loss of his limb and Dante used that to move around Su, slicing his sword through Su's back in the process though not deep enough to bisect him. This was deliberate as it put Dante in position to then up as his cutlass left Su's body and run it along the artificial man's side before taking Su's right arm off at the shoulder causing him to drop his mace to the ice.

As he did, Dante flew around to face Su and reformed back to his standard human form while trying to slice horizontally across Su's chest but Su saw that the slice would have hit his core if he let it hit him so he leapt back from it much to Dante's surprise. The leap did put Dante between Su and his mace and he grinned as Su's arms began to regrow from the stumps.

"As I have noted before, you possess the regeneration aspect of the Body-Body Fruit but nothing more." Dante said his grin broadening at the realization of Su's avoidance of his final slash while the man's arms reformed minus the gauntlets and he could tell that was the case by the way the fabric on Su's arms formed with the part he'd cut away missing revealing no right arm gauntlet. "But given its nature you can't regenerate sea prism stone with your artificial power, can you?"

"A fair assumption to make." Su said. "My clothes will regenerate with my flesh but that's it just as it would be for a normal Logia type like yourself."

"Oh but there's more you see I noticed that you leapt back rather than take that slice to your chest, a first in our duel." Dante said. "That means that I would have hit whatever is vital you, possibly even what is needed to control you, so now it's time to slice and dice you until I hit that. This could take a bit but I'm fine with that, should be fun really so…"

"Great Eruption!"

The bellow got Dante and Su's attentions and they turned to see Akainu punch the first of two massive blocks of ice bearing down on him with his Magma-Magma powers. Neither of them knew where the ice had come from but the two blocks had appeared somehow, and the hole in the ice battlefield spoke to origins one of them at least, and now they were being destroyed by Akainu. This wasn't good because Dante got a sense what was coming from the Admiral and the nature of his Devil Fruit, while strong, likely wouldn't withstand the heat of Akainu's magma even though it was a Logia type.

"Well, time for me to go." Dante said as Su rushed forward going for his mace and ready to block and protect his core from Dante should Dante attack during the coming lava rock storm. "I'll see you around I expect. Next time we'll finish this and the malice I feel towards you will burn until then."

At that, and just as Su was about to barrel into him, Dante split his body vertically in two and ran around Su before reforming behind him and leaping into the air to fly away as his lower body turned to a fleshy tail that undulated in the air behind him. He was long gone and on his way back to the safety of the plaza wall by the time Su grabbed his mace and turned to face Dante. The fight was over and right now there was a bigger problem for Su.

Said bigger problem was a large, burning, lave rock that was falling right down on his position. Su looked up at it, his face impassive, and analyzed it before he saw the weak point and thrust his mace up at the right moment to intercept the rock and hit that point. The tip of his mace hit it and the rock almost instantly shattered falling harmlessly around him. Unlike Dante, Su would regenerate any damage from the magma so long as his core was intact but a large lava rock falling on him would almost certainly destroy his core so he needed to destroy the rock first.

He'd done just that and a moment later the last of the attack ended and after a slight pause the fighting resumed with Whitebeard's crew and allies pressing on forward to the plaza and forcing the marines still on the ice back once more despite the recent attacks from Admirals. Su had his orders and without changing his expression he took off for the plaza as well and wanting his friends on the battlefield to be alright as the fighting resumed.


Bulat didn't move as Re-Destro charged at him. There was no point in moving, speed wise Bulat was sure that they were about equal as they both had Paramecia type Devil Fruits that enhanced their physical attributes like speed, strength, endurance, and durability, and while Shave would help all it would do is leave more pirates for Re-Destro to face and wreak havoc on the battlefield for the World Government. Besides this was a good test for Bulat that he had no intention of avoiding.

He was a skilled warrior, a former marine who was climbing the ranks and had earned the epithet of 100-man Slayer for his actions in a single engagement but he'd never faced an opponent who was strong enough to be made a Warlord by the World Government as those opponents were usually dealt with by Liver in his marines. As such this was a good way for him to see how he stacked up against one before the Night Pirates entered the New World, especially because right now Bulat wasn't sure that he could beat a Warlord.

In fact the only ones on the crew he'd say had a chance, and even then it was Warlord dependent as there was a clear range in strengths amongst the 11 Warlords, were Tatsumi and Akame. This was Bulat's chance to show that he could do the same and catch up a bit to Tatsumi who he'd already acknowledged surpassed him at this point and Bulat would be a bad bro if he let his little bro outpace him. Tatsumi looked up to him after all, Bulat couldn't let him down now could he.

As such he held his ground and leveled his spear at the charging man, the spear turning roughly the same color as Re-Destro as Bulat coated it with Armament Haki as Bulat waited for the right moment to thrust. Then, just as Re-Destro reached him, Bulat timed his movement with expert precision and thrust forward to skewer the man using his own momentum and battle lust against him.

However, as he did, Re-Destro's left arm suddenly lashed out and clanged with his spear in the way that only a clash of two things coated with Armament Haki could clang showing that he'd coated his left hand and forearm with it but that it wasn't noticeable due to the transformation he underwent when the Stress-Stress Fruit was active. That was a mistake on Bulat's part and he cursed himself for making it as Re-Destro punched out a split second after Bulat's spear was knocked to the side and slammed his massive fist into Bulat's chest.

Bulat grunted from the blow but his chest plate held and protected him from any serious damage albeit with a slight dent from the impact. That was fine though and the dent popped out thanks to the nature of Bulat's Devil Fruit as he was blasted back through the air by the force of the blow and he landed on his feet on the ice several yards away from Re-Destro who hadn't stopped after punching Bulat but was already following it up.

The man may be the head of a business empire but Bulat could tell that he was no normal businessman, he was someone who trained daily in both general combat and how to use his Devil Fruit and his Warlord status was clearly well earned. That wasn't going to stop Bulat though as he spun his spear in his hands and slammed it point down into the ice as he landed on it to steady himself on his feet and avoid falling over, the spear cutting a deep grove into the ice as he slid over it. The entire time Bulat was keeping a close eye on Re-Destro as the man charged him ready for the next attack.

That came just as Bulat came to a stop and Re-Destro leapt at him again to close the distance even quicker than before while using gravity to his advantage. This time, however, Bulat was ready having learned his mistake last time and as Re-Destro neared he didn't bother to stand is ground or use his spear but instead he leapt back at the final moment so that instead of being punched into the ground by the Warlord, the ground itself was punched though it was close enough for Bulat to feel the air from the punch.

As Bulat had expected, the force of the punch shook the area around them, cratered the ground a bit and kicked up a plume of ice dust that covered Re-Destro as his fist was buried in the ice. That was what Bulat was going for and without hesitation he pushed off the ice the moment that he landed on it and charged forward and to the edge of the crater before planting his feet and thrusting his spear, which was once again coated in Armament Haki, into the ice cloud using the long reach of the spear and the obfuscation of the ice to skewer Re-Destro.

At least that was the plan but rather than feel his spear sink into flesh, he felt it suddenly come a stop as if blocked and the clang of Haki on Haki told him that that was the case. Before Bulat could process that he felt a pressure on the spearhead and suddenly he was yanked into the still rising ice dust by Re-Destro who as Bulat had surmised had used Observation Haki to predict Bulat's attack and then coated his left hand in Armament Haki to first block and then grab the spear so as to pull Bulat to him.

That was precisely what Re-Destro had done and as he pulled Bulat to him he yanked his right fist out of the ice and clenched it ready to punch Bulat into it. However this time Bulat wasn't going to let his opponent get the better of him and the moment that he knew that he was going to lose any test of strength he didn't fight it but rather let Re-Destro yank him into the ice so as to build his momentum.

Then, as Bulat was swallowed by the ice dust, he let go of his spear while using Moonwalk at the same time to kick off the air to add some height and more speed to his attack before tucked into a ball while thickening the armor covering his body. In this position Bulat wasn't fine enough with his Armament Haki to use it effectively but it didn't matter as Re-Destro wouldn't expect him to do this which would give him a brief advantage that Bulat fully intended on exploiting.

As Bulat had predicted, Re-Destro had not expected him to let go of his spear, let alone the ball move, so the man didn't even had time to change his position in the confines of the ice dust before Bulat slammed his rolled body into Re-Destro's face with a loud crunch though the Stress-Stress Fruit reduced the damage significantly.

Still, the Warlord roared though it was more in frustration then pain and staggered as Bulat bounced off him. Bulat used that to kick out of his ball and slam both of his armored feet, which he coated in Armament Haki right to bypass the resistance of Re-Destro's Devil Fruit, into Re-Destro's chest with all his strength.

The result was a loud boom that Re-Destro was tossed back and out of the ice dust and crater to land on his back on the ice with a crash several feet away while Bulat used the kick to backflip and emerged from the ice dust on the same side that he'd entered and landed right in front of the crater. As he did a gust of wind that he didn't realize was Akame entering Tatsumi's duel with Esdeath blasted over the ice and sent the dust scattering to reveal Re-Destro getting to his feet on the other side his left hand still holding Bulat's spear.

"Not bad, you're able to land some blows on me and as you can us Haki they got past my enhanced durability." Re-Destro said as he tossed the spear away to the side where it flew a fair distance before landing in a marine's back killing the man but Bulat paid no attention to that as he noted that blood was now dripping from Re-Destro's left hand showing that his attack had broken the man's focus and ended his Armament Haki though the cut clearly wasn't that deep. "This is really building up my stress levels, good I need to. It's been too long since someone properly challenged me."

"Then bring it." Bulat said holding up his hand and making a come at me gesture with it. "I'm ready for more big guy."

"Nice, I think I'll make sure to find that Devil Fruit of yours when this is all over." Re-Destro said as he seemed to swell and bulk up a bit showing that he was more stressed now. "Could be useful for my crew."

With that he bellowed and leapt over the crater, the ice shattering at his feet as he did and swung his right fist hard and fast at Bulat. His speed had picked up with his latest rise in stress and Bulat was forced to leap back to avoid the swing as he wasn't sure that he could block it on such short notice but he felt the air as the blow missed and Re-Destro just pressed the attack.

Bulat didn't have time to think though as the swings from Re-Destro came hard and fast so all Bulat could do was back up and instinctively thicken his armor for a counter attack as Re-Destro kept up the pressure. As Re-Destro did his speed boosting ever so slightly as he did with the stress of battle and frustration at not hitting Bulat built up with every miss but his grin never faded as Bulat continued to back up.

It was apparent to Bulat that this strategy wasn't going to hold out mainly because he was making his foe stronger by frustrating Re-Destro with all his dodges. Bulat knew that he had to change things up before Re-Destro hit a point that he was faster than what Bulat could manage with the Armor-Armor Fruit.

There was only one real course of action open to Bulat so he quickly focused on his forearm gauntlets and gloves reinforced the armor there making it as strong as he could manage before coating his arms and the armor in Armament Haki as he came to a stop face down the Warlord. At the same time as stopping Bulat set his feet in a secure stance and altered his armor boots to send jagged spikes from his soles into the ice to hold him steady and grip as Re-Destro reached him. Bulat managed all this just in time to cross his arms over his chest and hunker down as Re-Destro's latest punch landed.

The boom could be heard by anyone nearby but as the punch landed right when Tatsumi unleashed Conqueror's Haki for the first time, an ability that like Najenda, Bulat had suspected that Tatsumi had though he'd suspected it ever since he made Esdeath fall in love with him and not from the start like Najenda had, so no one was paying Bulat's duel with Re-Destro any attention. Not that Bulat minded as he grunted and held the block with all his strength, wind whipping up and around from the blow, and holding his ground though he was forced back a few inches cutting deep gashes in the ice as he was.

It was a test of strength but Bulat had the defense and so long as he held out he could counter and he grit his teeth in his helm and did just that. Re-Destro was strong, stronger than Bulat was and there was no denying that, but as Bulat rode out the punch he knew that he had it he just needed to hold out for a few more seconds.

Finally he felt the force of the blow start to wane and then, when Bulat was certain that there wasn't enough power left to hold him back, he roared and uncrossed his arms pushing back against the punch. His timing was good and he was able to overpower Re-Destro thanks to his positioning and the punch running its course, forcing Re-Destro's fist up and away in the process. As he did the momentum of Bulat's counter staggering the older man back a few paces.

That was all that Bulat needed as he pushed off the ground his armor boots changing back to normal and rushed forward closing the gap in a split second, his right fist cocked back and still coated in Armament Haki as be moved. Before Re-Destro could finish staggering Bulat reached him and drove his fist forward forward and into man's gut with his Haki bypassing the resilience of the Stress-Stress Fruit.

The exhale of air told Bulat that he'd winded the man, and probably caused some internal damage as well, and he grinned as he pressed his advantage bringing his left fist to bear as well in a follow up punch. Bulat didn't leave it there though as he proceeded to unleash a flurry of punches into Re-Destro's gut and chest forcing the man back even more as Bulat pressed his advantage for all that it was worth.

This lasted a for a few seconds and scored Bulat a dozen or so hits that Re-Destro would certainly feel, hopefully one or two of them broke some of the man's ribs, before the businessman adapted and as Bulat's left fist drove home for the 7th time Re-Destro coated his chest in Armament Haki and took the blow there with a boom. Bulat was still in motion though and didn't have time to stop when his attack was blocked as his right fist came in so it was to late to avoid it as Re-Destro's left hand came up and he caught Bulat's fist in his larger, Haki coated, and bloodied hand and gripped tightly.

Re-Destro didn't bother to speak, he just roared as he put all his grip strength into the grip before he yanked backwards and spun pulling Bulat off his feet just as Bulat was about to anchor himself again though Bulat wasn't sure that that would have worked. Whether it would have or not was immaterial as all Bulat could do was blink as Re-Destro spun a full circle bringing Bulat up in his hand, his arm at full extension, before driving it down and slamming Bulat back first into the ice with a bone crushing impact.

Had Bulat not had his armor on he'd have been killed instantly by the impact but his armor saved him though he could tell that the back and right gauntlet were cracked from the slam and grip, respectively. At the same time, the force also shattered Bulat's face plate and he spat out blood from internal injuries as he bounced off the cracked ice still in Re-Destro's grip. The air had been driven from Bulat's lungs and blood was running down his face so he didn't have time to do anything before Re-Destro spun a full circle and tossed him away like a ragdoll.

Bulat wasn't sure why Re-Destro had done that as he had Bulat right where he wanted him and could have quickly killed Bulat if he wanted to but the former marine wasn't complaining about it as he used the through to reorientate himself in the air. Thanks to his years of training in the Navy, Bulat was easily able to reposition himself so that he could land on his feet though he did so in a crouch and instantly slid back over the ice his left hand dropping to it to steady himself and looking across it at Re-Destro who was several yards away now. As he did Bulat realized why he'd been tossed.

"What is that!" Bulat shouted out his faceplate still gone and blood spewing from his mouth as he spoke but he ignored that as he stared at the massive ball of midnight purple power that was growing in Re-Destro's left fist his size even bigger than before. "That's not Haki so what is it!"

Re-Destro grinned at Bulat as the ball grew and Bulat continued to slide over the ice. This was what he'd been hoping to reach, a level of stress that allowed him to form one of his named moves and then use it on not just the man he was facing but any of Whitebeard's lackies who were near Bulat. However Re-Destro's level of stress needed to be really high for this to work but thanks to his fight with the Night Pirate he'd reached it and could now use it to devastating effect.

"A result of our fight because you've stressed me out so much, especially with how frustrating those dodges were." Re-Destro said his voice booming across the battlefield to Bulat but as Tatsumi was speaking to Esdeath in his beast form and revealing her Devil Fruit's true nature only Bulat and those closest to him could hear Re-Destro. "This is the pinnacle of my Devil Fruit power, a move that I've been honing since I was a child and first ate the Stress-Stress Fruit, and now I have the ability to extract my own stress and make it corporeal. Here, have a taste of it as it can't be avoided. Stress Output Burden!"

At that Re-Destro threw the ball at Bulat. Bulat knew that he wasn't going to avoid it as he was still sliding back from the throw and the throw was faster than he'd expected so instead he braced himself, raised his arms, and toughened his armor as much as his power would allow him to while coating the front of his body as he could in Armament Haki as he could manage. A second later the ball slammed into him and blew up sending out a wave of intense power that blasted Bulat back and tossed any marines and pirates off their feet if they were in the blast zone.

There was a boom but as this was when Tatsumi was catching Esdeath's ice ball no one noticed this attack, well except those caught up in it of course, while Bulat was sent flying backwards before hitting the ice hard and bouncing over the ice his armor cracking in several places and blood spewing from his mouth as he rag dolled through the air. He kept bouncing for several yards before finally stopping and rolling over the ice for a good few more. Then just as he stopped rolling he heard a new voice carry over the battlefield.

"Great Eruption!"

Bulat groaned as he heard the loud voice of an attack and forced himself up onto his hands and knees, coughing blood out and onto the ice, before he turned his head and looked up in time to see a massive ball of ice being destroyed by an arm of magma. That could only be Akainu's power and that meant that this wasn't good. To make matters worse, the moment that Bulat looked up at the lava the damage that his armor had taken finally hit its limit and it gave way and shattered returning him to his normal appearance, the standard armor he wore also cracked and blood running down his face.

"Looks like we end here, this is more than enough stress for me to maximize my power." Re-Destro called out as he fell back to the safety of the plaza wall his form bulking up more as he did because he knew that Akainu's power could easily kill him which only added to his stress levels. "You're a good fighter kid, come find me in the New World and we'll fight again."

Bulat just panted as he rose to his feet and used his left hand to wipe blood from his face as he watched Re-Destro fall back. He knew now for certain that he had to really up his training and get stronger as the New World was almost upon him and he needed to be ready for it so that he and his friends could survive the perils to come as they continued their work to end the oppression of the World Government there.

With that goal in mind, Bulat picked up a nearby sword from a fallen marine and retreated enough to be out of the way of Akainu's lava rocks as they rained down onto the battlefield and sunk one of Whitebeard's ships. When they ended Bulat pushed his Devil Fruit to create another set of armor over his body, one that could withstand Navy swords and bullets and ran forward with several of the Whitebeard Pirates to find his spear and rejoin the battle as they all kept pushing for the plaza and Ace. Hopefully, his friends and crewmates were doing the same as Bulat reengaged marines and pressed forward.


The attack came from behind and to the right of Sheele. Only her well honed battle senses and the fact that she was her assassin mode so her Observation Haki was full active saved her from potential death as she turned and slid her right foot back to shift out of the way of a flat lance of paper shikigamis shot out, bringing Extase around to slash them.

Alas Sheele was a shade too slow and while she avoided the tip of the lance that could have stabbed her, the side of it sliced her neatly along the right cheek from just under her earlobe all the way to the edge of her nose as she brought up Extase and sliced through the lance. The paper after the point of the cut fell away as it was no longer connected to Ivan's body so he had no control of it while the rest harmlessly shot past Sheele and reentered the swirling dome of paper shikigamis that she was in. They were quickly reassimilated into the mass as Sheele watched and took note of her situation.

The paper dolls were all moving in the same direction at the same speed and thus had a slight hypnotic affect to them but Sheele didn't fall for it because she was in the zone. Well, that was and because of the wet blood now running down her cheek and neck staining her dress along with the stinging pain from the literal paper cut that had been inflicted there kept her mind focused on the task at hand.

"Not bad reflexes." Ivan called out from the paper that he'd become as Sheele held her ground and when she didn't respond he just chuckled. "Have it your way, let's keep this up and see how long you can last. Entertain me girl and make me look good."

At that another lance shot out and at Sheele's side but this time she saw it coming and spun Extase as she slid completely out of the way this time cutting it off a few inches past the tip. However, as she did another lance shot out and she spun her body and Extase around to repeat the process just as a third lance began to shoot towards her as well.

It was clear what Ivan was doing and Sheele fell into an almost trance-like state, her focus heightened as she subconsciously pushed her Observation Haki to the max, her body and Extase moving as one as she spun around evading and slicing lances of paper shikigamis that were constantly being fired at her from every direction. Of course in the enclosed space of the paper dome and with the nature of Ivan's Logia type powers enabling him to attack from any angle or part of the dome there was a limit to what Sheele could do as she wasn't able to move as freely as she would have liked.

The result was a dance of sorts as she spun around with Extase almost constantly moving to intercept and evade the attacks that were coming for her, her scissors a blur and paper flying everywhere as she cut through it like, well, paper. Unfortunately, within the confines of the dome she wasn't perfect and several attacks got through her defense.

That said Sheele was skilled enough to ensure that she was able to avoid or prevent any of the lances from hitting vital areas such as her throat or piercing her in the chest, back, or gut. She was sure that with the nature of the paper shikigami and how they were folded that the point of a lance would skewer her if landed.

As such, with the volume of attacks and the amount of space available, Sheele had to prioritize defending against lethal blows. As a result, after several moments of defending against Ivan's attacks she had several lacerations to her arms, sides, legs, one diagonally across her back from her left hip to her shoulder, and none across the tops of her breasts as her size gave her some protection up there.

The cuts weren't deep, they were surface wounds that were basically just deep paper cuts, but they bled a bit and as they built up they sapped Sheele's strength little by little as the fight dragged on. Add in that she was almost constantly moving and spinning Extase, which wasn't a light weapon, and thus exerting a lot of energy doing that, it was only a matter of time before she would give Ivan an opening that he could use.

Said opening came around the time that Tatsumi had transformed into his full beast mode though given the nature of this fight they didn't notice Tatsumi's display of Conqueror's Haki. It occurred because Sheele was a shade to slow on a pair of paper lances that had come at her from in front and behind her at the same time right after she'd sliced through three other lances and as she was spinning Extase around her.

With her current momentum and positioning of Extase she was able to bring the scissors around and behind her to slice the one coming from that direction and cut it away with ease. However she wasn't fast enough to fully move to the right with the swung and use that momentum to bring Extase around to cut the one coming for her gut in time and it sliced deeply into her left side as it passed her.

Sheele let out a yell of pain at that and the shock of the blow combined with her numerous other cuts and her near constant movements was enough to finally bring her to a halt and she fell to one knee on the ice with her left hand on Extase's handle as it slammed into the ice with enough force to chip it while her right hand went to her bleeding side to staunch the wound. The moment that she did Ivan laughed, the lance attacks stopped, and he spoke to her for the first time in a while.

"There we go, I knew that you couldn't keep that up forever but I thank you for lasting a good while and making me look like I'm fulfilling my contractual obligations as a Warlord." Ivan said from the paper as he continued to laugh at Sheele's predicament though he had been toying with her slightly this entire time simply to drag this out as long as possible while making it look like he was properly doing his job. "But there's no way you can keep going now. You're outmatched and you know it so just give up and if you do I'll accept you into my crew. You can stop fighting in this battle right away then and you'll get immunity from the World Government. This will be my final offer my dear and if you refuse I will kill you."

"I'll never leave my friends nor will I ever join someone who serves the World Government!" Sheele shouted as she glared definitely at the moving paper shikigamis her senses still on high alert despite her injuries. "You'll have to kill me instead."

"Very well, I don't mind that." Ivan said a dark chuckle in his voice clearly not caring what her response to his offer was. "I'll make this quick given the situation and then present your body to the World Government to show them that I did my job."

At that several lances shot out at Sheele at the same time from several angles above and all around her and bore down on her kneeling form. Sheele was determined not to die here on the ice for the simple reason that she didn't want to.

All Sheele wanted right now was to survive, finish the mission, and get back to her crew where she could celebrate and have fun with her friends. She was Tatsumi's comfort after all, she was the one who helped him finally come to terms with the loss of his home and all his friends from that place so that he could move on so she had to be there for him after this mission as well because that was her role on the crew.

Therefore, as the lances came to her, she felt herself strengthen at the thought of her friend and crewmate and as an image of Tatsumi's smiling face came into her mind the path out became clear. Sheele didn't hesitate to take it.

With a yell, Sheele pushed through her pain and exhaustion and swung Extase upwards, her right hand going to the handle as well as she spun the scissors in her hands, her Devil Fruit powers fully active, and cut away all the lances as they reached her ending their threat and giving her an opening as they fell away. She took it and from her crouch pushed off and forward at the wall of paper shikigamis with all her strength and before Ivan could send anymore lances at her, Extase to her side as she flew through the air.

Sheele was still in the air when she reached the wall of paper and swung Extase in an arc, the tips of her scissors slicing through the ice before cutting a hole through the paper that she flew through to burst out of the dome and into the light of day again. Sheele landed on her feet on the ice a second later and took off running forward and away from Ivan as she accepted that this was a man she couldn't defeat at the moment. Naturally, Ivan wasn't going to allow her to get away that easily.

"Nice try dear but that won't save you." Ivan said as the paper dome exploded outwards before coming together in an undulating wave that moved towards Sheele as she ran, Ivan reforming the tip half of his body as he finished gathering all his paper shikigamis though he remained paper shikigamis from his waist down. "Be a good girl and die for my goals!"

Sheele knew that she couldn't outrun the man, he was faster than her even without his Logia powers and she'd yet to master Shave despite the boss and Bulat trying to teach her, let alone Armament Haki that would actually harm Ivan, so her only bet was to turn and slice him up some more. So long as she did that then she could keep him at bay until one of her friends who was better suited for facing a Logia type could come back her up because this was a fight she'd not win, at least not without sea prism stone and she couldn't easily carry that on her being a Devil Fruit user herself.

With that in mind, Sheele turned and sliced Extase at the trailing Warlord as he neared her trying to take his head off so that he'd be distracted and give her time to get to slicing his whole body but alas her judgement of Ivan's speed was off and her swipe went through Ivan's chest instead of neck as he was a lot closer than she'd expected. All Ivan did was laugh at this and before Sheele could bring Extase back his right hand grabbed her face and she was lifted off her feet by his raw strength as he flew towards Marineford with her now in his grasp.

That wasn't going to stop Sheele though and she tried to swing Extase back but as she did Ivan coated his left hand and forearm in Armament Haki and caught it, holding it firm and keeping the scissors out of play thus giving him full control of the situation. As he did this he also reformed his lower body and brough his right knee up and drove it hard into Sheele's gut winding her and causing her to gasp out in pain at the blow.

With his body now reformed fully, Ivan couldn't fly anymore but he didn't mind that as this worked for him and they fell to the ice below them. A second later Sheele's back hit the ice, hard, and what little breath she'd regained was driven from her lungs again as she slid over the cold ice creating a grove in it and scraping up her back as Ivan landed on her, his knee in her gut pinning her to the ice while his hand on her face.

They slid for a few seconds before finally coming to a stop the sounds of battle oddly quiet around them though given their positions neither really noticed that. Right now Ivan had Sheele right where he wanted her and he didn't get off as he grinned down at her face which was turned to the side as he pinned her there while she stared up at the Warlord on top of her no fear in her purple eyes.

"Nice try but this is the end of the line for you." Ivan said grinning down over her as a folded triangle of paper emerged from his right forearm and pointed down at Sheele's throat. "You gave it your best and were a decent rookie but you're clearly outmatched against me so you will die. This well appease the Navy; my only regret is that I can't make this last a bit longer. Oh well, some…"

"Great Eruption!"

The roar distracted Ivan and he looked up in time to see the first of two blocks of ice, one of which was a near perfect ball of ice, that he'd not noticed before meet Akainu's magma fist with a boom as the Admiral began to fight against them. The distraction broke Ivan's focus, though that was also in part because of what power was now at play seeing as it was one of the worst ones for him to have to deal with, and his Armament Haki dropped.

That was all that Sheele needed to swing Extase, which she'd kept pressed against Ivan's hand the entire time, through and cut through his arm, chest, face, and other arm in a single smooth motion. The move instantly freed her and she rolled to the side and away from him gasping as she did.

However Ivan wasn't paying Sheele any heed as he grit his teeth. While there was a way to negate the natural fire damage that could bypass his Devil Fruit's intangibility, paper was one of the Logia elements that could be bypassed by another element or material similar to how rubber bypassed lightning, he didn't have that book yet and besides Akainu's magma was so hot even that might not work. This wasn't good and Ivan needed to get back to the safety of the wall if he was to survive Akainu's counter attack and thus live to ensure that he found what he was looking for.

"Fucking hell, damned Akainu!" Ivan spat and he turned to look at Sheele who was just getting to her feet. "You're lucky that that Admiral's attacking, girl, I can't play with you anymore. At least I've done enough to honor my obligations."

With that and before Sheele could fully process things, Ivan burst into paper shikigamis and flew away back to the wall as fast as he could move. Sheele was still confused when the first lave rock slammed down on the ice and blew up sending a wave of heat and ice dust over the battlefield that she could feel as she wasn't too far from that impact sight.

That snapped her out of things and she got up and quickly got clear of the attack. The only area that was safe though was the area in front of her f so Sheele ran towards the plaza and thus continued her push towards it. As she did she hoped that her friends were doing alright and were still alive while glad that she was as well. She had no idea what Tatsumi had done or the change that he'd wrought on the battlefield as she pressed on towards the plaza.


The fighting had only resumed for a few moments in the wake of Akainu's attack and Akame and Tatsumi had just reached the front line of the marines, both of them cutting a pair down as they did and causing many to flee as Tatsumi was now recognized as a major threat on the battlefield, when there was ground shaking thud. The pair were two experienced to be shaken off their feet by it but the force of the sudden shake brought them to a halt as they looked around for the source. They weren't the only ones as a second shake happened and the fighting once again began to falter and die down at this latest development.

"What's going on?" Tatsumi asked as he looked around, his senses alert and noticing that the shaking was coming from behind them in the sea past the ice and where Whitebeard's fleet and their own ship was. "An attack?"

"No, this feels like…" Akame began as another shake happened and suddenly a massive silhouette appeared in the ocean past the ice and four Navy battleships, a silhouette that towered over the battleships with ease. "Footsteps."

"Footsteps? Then that's gotta be a giant out there." Tatsumi said as the silhouette formed into a tall being with a big belly, long thick arms, and a massive amount of red hair that had a pair of horns growing out of it. "But I've never seen a giant that big nor was I aware that Whitebeard had one as an ally. Shouldn't be surprised by the latter though."

"No one has." A Whitebeard Pirate who was nearby said grinning at the approaching silhouette. "He's one of a kind, the descendent of a great lineage that is loyal to Pops."

"Yeah here he comes." Another said just as happy as his comrade as the footsteps grew louder and the giant approached. "There's only one giant in recent times believed to be bigger but he vanished a while back so this guy's the biggest in the world!"

"Glad to see that he's reached the battlefield." A third said as the canons on the ships began firing at the giant but clearly they were nothing more than peashooters to the approaching giant. "Alright that's it, take out those ships and bring down their artillery! You got this buddy!"

Tatsumi and Akame just watched as the giant produced a massive sword and brought it down onto the first ship and cut it cleanly in two with a single blow. Only a top tier swordsman or a beast of that size could do that to a normal ship and this was a Navy Battleship that had just been destroyed.

"Just who is that?" Tatsumi asked.

"One of the subordinate Captains." Another Whitebeard Pirate said. "Little Oars Jr.!"

"Brother Ace!" The giant, Little Oars Jr. apparently, roared clearly showing that he was male as there were cheers and comments on the arrival but Tatsumi and Akame just stared at the giant in amazement as he was easily twice, if not thrice, the size of a regular giant and could squash even Tatsumi's beast form if he wanted to. "Ace is a nice guy, he's my friend, my brother! I'm not going to let you kill him! He won't die while I'm here!"

The declaration got cheers from the pirates while Tatsumi and Akame grinned at the new arrival. This was an unknown ally to them but they were sure going to accept the big guy's help in this battle. It looked like things were turning around as the latest warrior entered the fray.

I think I'll leave this off here with a nice little tease at what's next now that the initial Warlord duels are over and Esdeath has had a little fun. Now it's time for Oars Jr. to enter and to see how the new characters play into his assault on the plaza so there's plenty to look forward to coming up as we draw ever closer to Luffy's arrival. There really isn't much more to say here as this was a straightforward chapter with the duels and how they showed the level of the Warlords compared to the Night Pirate crew giving them something to get stronger for but at least they're all alive. Next up it's Oars Jr. time and with that I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and if there are any questions will posed in reviews and PMs I will try to answer them as best I can. Until next time.

Stringdog