Chapter 9: The Fights Conclusion
"Hold still now," The darkness slowly gave way to a bright light shining in his eyes, blinding him. A prick in his arm made him jerk, but he wasn't able to pull his hand close as he'd attempted too. Confused, he blinked, trying to clear his vision, and when he did, he noticed that it wasn't a light in his face, but rather a white coat.
Gasping, he pulled back, head slamming against the hardwood, back pressed up against it and arms pinned to the chair he was sat in.
"Now, now, what did I just say?" The voice asked. He almost began hyperventilating as he looked the man in the eye, looked at his grinning face, a shiny needle held in his hand. Without looking at him, the doctor poked the needle back into his arm, ignoring the whimper as he injected the liquid.
A sudden wash of pain made the whimper grow louder, and then it was a scream. It was like fire under his skin, like his blood was made of lava that pumped throughout his entire body, burning him from the inside.
The pain was strong enough that when another needle went in, he didn't even feel it until the fiery burn disappeared and was replaced with ice. No longer was his blood lava, but instead it had frozen inside of him, unmoving and chilling to the bone.
The pain was quick to come, the second of relief gone, and it was as if it was fire again, the ice burning in much the same way, but more of a stinging burn now.
Another needle pierced his skin, and now the ice was gone again. This time in its place, he felt an aching, like his muscles, were sore and needed to be stretched out, but that wasn't possible due to him being strapped down to this wooden chair.
Needle after needle, injection after injection, he suffered at this doctor's hand. He was panting, gasping, screaming, choking, thrashing, but to no avail.
And then, the darkness.
It closed in on him worse than any injection. All around him, he could feel it, a suffocating pressure that made it hard to breathe. Anxiety filled him and he was hyperventilating again, trying to push the darkness away, but unable. He didn't know where the sickening feeling was coming from.
His first thought was that it was from the doctor because that made the most sense, but then he realized that wasn't the case. It felt like it was coming from somewhere else.
But where?
/\/\/\/\/\
Luffy's eyes shot open, the boy gasping for air as if he'd been deprived of it. The feeling of being pinned made him believe he was still back in the chair, still unable to help himself, but then he realized he was actually being crushed by the cat figurehead and there was yelling all around him.
"Nami! Look out!"
"Split in two!"
"Get down!"
Noise filtered loudly into his ears and he realized Nami was beside him, shock and fear inside of her, everything in her screaming danger.
Without much time to think, Luffy grabbed her foot, pulling her to the ground and watching as a silver ring flew past them. Getting out from under the wooden figurehead, Luffy took in the surroundings, trying to ignore the nightmare he'd just had.
"H-he's alive?!" Jango asked in shock. Luffy didn't pay him much attention, instead looking past him and seeing Zoros bloodied chest, and then behind him, Kuro. Nami was on the ground, in a state of shock with a slash on her shoulder that was also bleeding, and Usopp was on top of the cliff, slingshot in hand.
"L-Luffy..." Nami said weakly.
"Luffy!" She cried again, smiling widely this time.
"H-he's alive again!"
"This is bad!"
"Five minutes is impossible now!" In front of him, the pirates were all talking nervously to each other, but Luffy didn't understand what they were talking about. What he did know was that Kuro was there, and he had a lot of darkness in him now, the emotion only having grown since he'd last seen him.
"What's going on?" Luffy asked.
"Luffy, Kuro-..." Suddenly, she fell back to the ground, eyes closed as she held on to her shoulder in pain.
"Nami! Are you ok?!" Luffy asked in worry, feeling the pain the woman was in.
"I-its nothing, I'm fine... I've done everything I can for now, so I leave the rest to you... We absolutely can't afford to lose this fight..." She told him, still cringing in pain.
"Yeah!" Luffy agreed.
"For the treasure!" She said softly, confusion forming on Luffy's face.
"It'll all work out in the end!" He settled on saying.
"Try hard! For my treasure!" Nami continued on, looking ghastly, but still talking. Luffy walked past her, smiling as he adjusted his hat.
"Okay! That sounds like you alright!" He said, walking over to Jango and the pirates at the bottom of the slope.
"One minute," Kuro said, making the smile fall from Luffy's face. Around him, the pirates began crying in fear.
"You can't be serious! Not even Butchie-san and Captain Jango..."
"...Can finish them in one minute!" They all began to part as they realized Luffy, who was holding his hat and frowning still, was walking up to them.
"Butchie! There's no time to think! Kill that hamaraki bastard! And I'll handle the weird kid... I'll kill Straw Hat!" Jango said, holding two more rings in his hand. Luffy stopped in front of him, watching them.
"It's about time for everyone to die now," Kuro announced, spreading out his claws at his sides.
"I can finally fight you now, you stupid butler," Luffy told Kuro with a glare, trying to ignore the darkness wanting to creep into him.
"Monkey D. Luffy, 11097. It'll be tough, but I won't lose." Kuro told him, the pirates stiffening at the name as they realized who Luffy was. No one could comment on it though as Kaya came running out of the forest behind Kuro.
"Don't approach me..." Kuro started, looking over his shoulder at the girl as he raised his claws. Usopp, who was the closest, jumped up in fear and worry, running over to the two.
"From behind!" Kuro yelled as he spun to attack the girl.
"Kaya!" Usopp cried, tackling the girl to the ground before she could be hit. Shocked, Kaya gaped up at Usopp, moving out from under him and kneeling beside him in worry.
"U-Usopp-san! Are you ok?!" She asked, touching his back.
"K-Kaya... What are you doing here?!" Usopp asked, turning his head to look at her, only having a few scrapes and bruises but otherwise unharmed.
"I'm so sorry Usopp-san... I know you may not accept my apology, but I feel terrible for how you were treated yesterday... And now that I know, K-Klahadore, a pirate..." She said softly, looking away.
"N-nevermind that! Why are you here?! How did you know he was a pirate?! Your life is in danger!" Usopp asked. Sure, he would have gone and told her himself yesterday, but Luffy had stopped him from doing so. Tears welled in Kaya's eyes as she turned to look at Usopp.
"But you're fighting! Even after everything that happened yesterday! You're still fighting for me, so I..."
"Miss Kaya... Why are you here?" Kuro suddenly asked, rubbing Luffy the wrong way. For such a dark person to be talking to such a light one, it made him sick. Kaya paled, stiffening in shock at Kuro's words before growing angry.
"S-stop this... Stop this, Klahadore! Merry told me everything." Kaya said as she stood, frowning at Kuro.
"Isn't that the girl from the mansion?" Jango asked.
"Meaning she's the plans final target?!" A pirate asked everyone watching the exchange.
"Then there's no need to go to the village now?"
"We just need to kill her, right?!" Luffy's fists tightened at his sides at the words around him.
"Klahadore, please! If you want my fortune, you can have it all! Just leave this village! Right now!" Kaya pleaded to the man.
"I will gladly accept it... But there's one thing I want, you see..." Kuro began with a grin, raising one of his hands.
"What I want... is peace of mind." He said, adjusting his glasses with his palm.
"Peace?" Kaya asked quietly, confused.
"Yes. I want simple peace. I find the villagers' trust that I've fostered these past three years to be nice and comfortable now. So I want to have that peace of mind forever..." Kuro told the girl, eyes glassy with tears.
"And I... And I will have that peace! And your fortune... In short, pirates will come to this village! And... you will leave your will and die! These two things are absolute." Kuro said, his voice dark and low as he grinned sinisterly at Kaya. She stared at him with wide, fearful eyes.
"N-no... Y-You're not..." Kaya began, pulling something from the jacket she wore. Suddenly, Usopp grabbed her ankle.
"Run! Run away, Kaya! There's no use talking to him! Run away!" Usopp pleaded with her, but she didn't listen, instead pulling a gun out and aiming it at Kuro.
"Y-you're not Klahadore. You're not Klahadore..." She said, a determined look on her face.
"Kaya..." Usopp said in surprise. Kuro only frowned, blinking at the girl as she shakily pointed the gun at him.
"Leave this village!" She yelled, Kuro unfazed.
"Oh... you'd point a gun at me..." He said, face unchanging.
"Leave at once!" She yelled again.
"I see. You've certainly grown a lot in these past three years... Miss Kaya." He began, Kaya faltering at his words.
"Do you remember? So much had happened in three years., We spent so much time together, even before your parents passed away and you became bedridden... So much time..." Taking off one of his claws, Kuro smiled gently, adjusting his glasses with his palm.
"So many memories... Together we suffered, together we rejoiced..."
"K-Klahadore..." Tears filled Kaya's eyes at his words.
"I would visit the city with you, and whenever you had a fever, I constantly looked after you... You listened to my stories so happily... I devoted myself to you... For so long..." He said, the tears falling down Kaya's face now as he reached his hand out, grabbing the gun.
"Yes, for so long, I endured it..." His grip tightened as his voice hardened and Kaya blinked in shock.
"Yes, it was all so that I could kill you today..." The gun was pulled from her hands as Kuro's expression darkened as Kayas became distraught.
"I, a man once known as Captain Kuro, had to smile humbly for some snot-nosed girl..." Dropping the gun out of his hand, Kaya began crying, Usopp glaring at Kuro from the ground.
"Damn you..." He growled to him.
"Do you understand these daily insults?! Do you understand this man once known as Captain Kuro?!" He yelled at the girl. Luffys' eye twitched in anger, nearly unable to handle both his own, and now Kuros fiery anger at the same time.
Up on the hill, Usopp reached his hand out, snatching the gun and standing, pointing it at the man now.
"Kuro!" He roared, firing it at the man who began moving his feet quickly, disappearing out of the bullets way and reappearing at Usopps side, putting his claw back on.
"Come to think of it..." He said, Usopp gaping in shock as he turned, only to be met with five, long, sharp claws around his head.
"... I still owe you for hitting me..." Kuro growled, now behind Usopp while Kaya watched fearfully behind them.
"Usopp-san!" She cried.
"You hit me with all your might, as I recall..." Kuro continued, readying his other hand to attack. Usopp watched with a mixture of a glare and fear, but Kuro was unable to do anything when a roar disrupted them. Both looking, they saw a fist stretching their way, moving right past Usopp and hitting Kuro square in the face. Usopp yelled in shock as he leaned out of the way while Kuro was thrown back from the force, the threat to Usopp gone. The arm snapped back to Luffy, and they looked to see him grinning even more menacingly then Kuro had.
"If you hate getting hit that much, I got a hundred more punches for you!" He yelled. The pirates all screamed in fear at seeing Kuro being punched, but also at seeing Luffy's arm stretch all the way to the top of the hill.
"What was that?!"
"What did he do?!"
"It looked like his arm stretched!"
"Get real!"
"He sent Captain Kuro flying!"
"Didn't Captain Kuro call him 11097?!"
"The Whitebeard 11097?!"
"We can't fight him!" Luffy ignored the yelling, instead more focused on the rising anger in Kuro, and by now, Luffy couldn't tell what was Kuro's anger, and what was his own. He knew he was being influenced by it, and because of that, he was ready to start yelling and fighting anyone who even looked at him funny.
"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!" Out of nowhere, the three kids from yesterday all jumped out of the forest, slamming 'weapons' on Kuro's face.
"You guys!" Usopp screamed in fear.
"Stay away!" Kaya screamed in equal fear.
"Say your prayers, butt-ler!" Pepper yelled as he continued smashing his hammer down.
"Its punishment time!" Carrot added.
"Lousy pirate! Disrupting this villages peace!" Onion called as well, each of them not letting up in their attacks on the butler's face.
"S-stop!" Usopp cried desperately, but they weren't listening.
"Take this!"
"Darn you!"
"You brats! What are you doing?!" A pirate screeched in disbelief. Luffy's anger was only briefly disrupted by worry for the kids, but it was quickly pushed down at a pulse in rage from Kuro. Zoro watched with wide eyes, his own worry for the kids rising.
"What're those runts doing?!" He asked.
"Stop that, you guys... Stop!" Usopp continued yelling, hoping they would listen to him. Finally, out of breath, they did, staring down at Kuro who wasn't moving, his glasses smashed and crooked on his face.
"Alright! We'll let you off with just that!" Pepper said.
"Now Captain Kuro is really mad! Those stupid brats!" Jango muttered fearfully. Luffy knew this to to be true first hand.
"Captain! I knew it! You were fighting Captain! Why didn't you tell us?! That's unbare!" Pepper said to Usopp as he and the other two ran over to him.
"No, you mean unfair!" Onion corrected.
"Who cares about that! You guys just gotta get out of here! Run!" Usopp yelled, Kaya watching worriedly.
"No!"
"We're gonna fight too!"
"The Usopp Pirates will be shamed if we run!" The three suddenly stiffened in fear as they realized Kuro was now standing behind them, adjusting his glasses, the glass shattering from them as a result. The children screamed, freezing like deer in headlights as Kuro glared at them.
"You idiots! Get out of here, now!" Usopp yelled, his own fear doubling. They watched as Kuro walked past the kids and over to Usopp, the long nosed man paling as he realized this. Within seconds, Kuro was kicking Usopp in the stomach, knocking him back and down the slope a bit.
"Captain!" The kids cried. Kuro now turned to look at Luffy, still glaring.
"That hurt a bit... That's quite a strange technique you have there... I'd heard you had devil fruit powers." He growled out angrily, Luffy grinning menacingly again.
"The gum gum fruit. I'm a rubber person." Luffy told him, and with his anger being influenced he couldn't help but say the words with a bit more bite then he'd intended.
"What?! A rubber person?!"
"A Whitebeard pirate and a devil fruit?!"
"We're doomed!"
"Jango!" Kuro yelled, the man stiffening and turning to look at Kuro.
"Yeah?" He asked, not wanting to anger the man more than he already was.
"I'll take care of 11097. You take care of Miss Kaya. As we planned, have her write a will... then kill her!" Kuro ordered, Kaya paling and Usopp glaring where he clutched his stomach.
"And those three little ants... They're an eyesore!" He added, the children shrieking as well.
"B-but Captain, are you sure? H-he's a Whitebeard!" Jango said in an unsure manner, glancing to Luffy.
"Are you questioning my strength?!" Kuro yelled at the man, scaring him.
"N-no! Of course not! Will, then kill the girl and the brats! I'm on it!" Jango said hurriedly, moving to do as told but being stopped by Zoro's sword.
"Stop. I can't let you pass." Zoro told him with a frown. Frantic, Jango looked to the only standing Meowban Brother.
"Butchie!" He yelled, a fury rising in Butchie and adding to Luffy's anger, the teen growling lowly to no one. Some of the pirates close enough to hear this stepped away from him nervously.
"Cat...Astrophe!" Butchie cried, effectively distracting Zoro long enough for Jango to pass.
"Not again!" Zoro yelled, dodging the stomp. All around them, the slope rumbled, the cliffside crumbling in some places at the strength of the attack, but Luffy didn't move an inch. Butchie and Zoro began their fight again, but Luffy was more focused on Jango walking undeterred over to Kaya.
"Crap! Kaya!" Usopp yelled once he noticed as well. The kick from Kuro had been strong and debilitating, the teen still trying to recover from it. Because of this, as well as a few other wounds he had from earlier fights, Usopp couldn't get up to stop Jango himself.
"Usopp Pirates!" He yelled, the children perking up.
"Y-yes, sir?!" They called back, confused.
"Listen up!" Usopp called.
"We're not going to run! Not after they did this to you! We're going to avenge you!" Pepper yelled before Usopp could say anything.
"Protect Kaya!" Usopp ordered, surprising them with the order.
"Listen closely! I'm giving... I'm giving you the most important task there is now! Take Kaya and get away from here! Don't tell me you cant! That was the reason we formed our pirate group: to become men who protect what's important to us!" Usopp said, tears welling in the children's eyes.
"Usopp-san..." Kaya whispered.
"That's... a direct order..." Usopp wheezed.
"Yes, Captain!" The children yelled in determination, running over to the girl.
"Hurry Kaya-san!"
"This way! This way! This way!"
"These woods are like our backyard!"
"O-okay..." Kaya let the children drag her away, but not before she was able to glance worriedly over her shoulder at Usopp once last time.
"Jango," Kuro growled.
"I wound up gawking! The fools! They can't possibly escape me!" Jango said confidently, twirling his rings on his fingers, about to throw them, but was stopped by a pellet in the back.
"How'dya like that?!" Usopp asked, shakily holding his slingshot at the man.
"Damn you!"
"Go after them, you fool!" Kuro yelled, all patience gone now.
"Y-yeah, okay!" Jango said before running off.
Now that Kuro's patience was all gone, the anger flowed into Luffy unhindered, and the teen found he couldn't stay in place any longer as he began walking up the hill with a dark look on his face.
"How pointless. I know very well just how weak Kaya is... She'll never escape Jango. If you want to help her, go right ahead." Kuro told Luffy as he watched him slowly advance his way.
"If you can get past this hill alive, that is." He grinned, overconfident in his abilities and only further angering Luffy at how much stronger the man thought he was. It was like when rookie pirates would try fighting Pops, only to realize they were way out of their league. The sound of Zoro's fight behind Luffy clued him in that someone had won, and he was quick to notice it was Zoro who had, but that was all he paid attention to, stopping at the top of the hill and looking to Kuro.
A sound from the forest made Usopp look over in worry.
"What was that sound?" He asked.
"Who knows. Ol' Jango is probably tearing the place up. Why not go and see for yourself? Though it may already be too late..." Kuro taunted.
"Damn you!" Usopp spat out.
"Don't you have even a shred of pity?! You lived with her for three years!" Usopp growled out.
"No. I already told you, Kaya is nothing more than a pawn in my plan. Once she's dead then I'll express some gratitude." He said, not even looking at Luffy anymore as he spoke to Usopp.
"Damn you..." The long nose man repeated.
"What a helplessly evil guy," Zoro noted, but Luffy knew just how bad of a guy Kuro was, his fists clenching together again.
"Usopp!" Luffy yelled, and again, his words sounded harsher then he meant them to be, but he couldn't help it with how angry he was. Zoro looked at him out, eyebrows furrowing at the tone his Captain had, but not saying anything.
"Go to them! We'll take over here!" Luffy snarled, shocking Usopp. His stomach still ached, making it painful to move, but he forced himself to do so.
"Leave it to us." Zoro grinned despite his Captain's odd tone. Getting up, Usopp's legs were shaky, but with a roar, he forced himself to his feet.
"Oh? So you're going after them?" Kuro asked.
"Shut up... I refuse to let you... have your way!" Usopp yelled.
"You went and betrayed the villagers- and Kayas- feelings... I refuse to let you have your way anymore!" Usopp continued, stepping forward only to realize how much pain he was in and falling to the ground. Maybe Kuro had broken a rib or two?
"D-dammit... I... can't..." Behind him, Kuro started chuckling which quickly turned into full-blown laughter.
"You really are a riot! I betrayed them you say?! Cut the crap! This was all part of the plan! A kiddie pirate captain like you has no place to talk all knowingly! Just stay on the ground there!" Kuro yelled in pure rage now, Luffy having to bite his lip to stop himself from having an outburst.
"Though, even if you did catch up to Jango, you'd be no match for him anyway. This way is probably safest for you!" Kuro told Usopp.
"Even if I am no match... Even if I am no match for him... I will protect them! I'm captain of the Usopp Pirates... and a brave warrior of the sea! I won't let you lay a finger on the village!" Usopp cried, tears falling in frustration.
"What's with him?"
"He's yellin' somethin'!"
"Check it out, he's cryin'!" Behind Zoro and Usopp the few pirates that were still up all began laughing at Usopp.
And that was it.
Luffy couldn't stop it, couldn't bite his lip and clench his fists, couldn't take deep breaths and repeat mantras like Whiskey had suggested. All at once, the anger, the fury, bubbled forward and he ran over to a large boulder, picking it up with a roar and throwing it onto the pirates. They ran out of the way in fear, but Luffy wasn't done as he stood on the boulder now, glaring at them.
"What's so funny?!" He growled to them, feeling their fear radiate off of them, though it wasn't strong enough to push away the anger.
"Luffy!" Zoro called, not as surprised by his Captain's anger now. After all, he was a little angry himself.
"Me and Usopp are gonna chase that hypno-freak! That a problem?!" He asked as he helped Usopp up off the ground.
"Nope! Hurry!" Luffy told him, the anger still seeping clearly into his words. As Usopp and Zoro made their way up the hill towards the forest, they were about to pass Kuro when he spoke.
"Hold it, you two. Who gave you permission to pass this hill?" He asked. Fed up, Luffy spun around, flinging his hand forward.
"I did!" He yelled, hand turning to a fist that Kuro narrowly dodged.
"Go! Zoro! Usopp!" Luffy shouted, grabbing onto a tree and pulling his body towards Kuro.
"And another!" He shouted as his other fist came forward, yet Kuro dodged again. Landing on the ground, Luffy didn't have time to orient himself when his haki picked up on Kuro who was about to attack him from behind. Ducking under the attack, he placed his hands on the ground, feet pushed together as he aimed them at Kuro.
"Gum Gum Spear!" Again, Kuro dodged and Luffy growled in annoyance.
"You're pissing me off! He shouted as he brought his feet back and flipped back into a standing position.
"Before fighting, I have one thing to ask you," Kuro said to Luffy as he reappeared.
"Why is a Whitebeard Pirate like you butting into this villages business?!" He asked, also annoyed. Luffy grinned sinisterly, lowering his body.
"Because there's a man in this village I don't wanna let die!" He told him.
"That's all? Whitebeard sent you here for that? Are you okay with that being the reason you die?!" Kuro asked with a grin of his own.
"Pops didn't send me. I left his crew and I'm starting my own. Also, I'm not gonna die!" Luffy told him, the anger returning at how presumptuous the man was being about his strength.
"I'll make sure you do!" Kuro roared as he threw his arms back, running towards Luffy. He didn't get far though because Luffy threw his own arms back, flinging them forward and grabbing Kuro's arms and pulling himself towards the man. He wasn't able to make it the whole way when Kuro twisted his own arms around, throwing Luffy into the ground, but the teen merely moved into another attack effortlessly.
"Gum Gum Whip!" Throwing his leg out, Kuro jumped over it.
"...And pistol!" Before Kuro was even touching the ground he threw the punch, but Kuro managed to touch the ground right before it hit, jumping over it and onto Luffy's arms.
"You're making me yawn. Were you really a Whitebeard Pirate?" Kuro asked smugly as he fixed his glasses.
"Why, you..." Luffy growled, watching as Kuro ran along his arm and towards his face. Not able to move his head without worrying about Kuro slicing his throat, Luffy took the punch, flying back a little as the pirates below watched the whole thing.
"Damn, he cut my mouth. Now I'm even more pissed off." Luffy growled as he wiped the blood away.
"That straw hat guy's a Whitebeard, and yet..."
"T-that's Captain Kuro for ya!" There was a second of silence before they all began cheering.
"Get 'im!"
"Hurray for Captain Kuro!"
"Captain Kuro!"
"You're awesome Captain Kuro!"
"Don't call me that name!" Kuro shouted, stopping the cheers.
"Do you still not get it?! This plan is so I can completely rid the name of 'Captain Kuro'! I'm tired... Devising plans every day for you men who only care about mayhem... Being relentlessly attacked by government dogs and bounty hunters... I was absolutely sick of it all! I cannot allow this plan of three years to fail! My plan will not be disrupted!" Kuro yelled, throwing his claws back again and running at Luffy once more. Seeing this, Luffy stretched his arms behind him, grabbing the boulder he'd used earlier and bringing it in front of him, Kuros claws hitting the rock instead of him.
"Seems you can do more than just stretch!" Kuro noted at Luffy's strength.
"That's right! I was a Whitebeard Pirate!" Luffy told him, crumbling the rock until it was just a block where Kuros claws were stuck. Swinging it, the metal snapped off and he grinned.
"You're 'tired'?! You're not fit to be a pirate if having a name on the seas scares you!" Luffy yelled, swinging the rock back towards Kuro and crushing him with it.
"If anyone's got a right to be tired of the marines, it's me!" Luffy screamed at him, his rage fueling the outburst.
"He broke Captain Kuros cat claws..." One of the pirates mumbled in shock.
"That only leaves five more of your weird swords!" With that, Luffy threw the boulder away, Kuro slowly standing up.
"It's okay! He can still fight plenty!"
"Yeah! He still had the other claw!"
"Scratch him up and kill 'im, Captain Kuro!"
"Hey! That name is taboo now!"
"I think his name in this village is Klaha... something."
"Kla-san then!"
"Kla-san! Get 'im!" The yelling from the pirates merely annoyed Luffy, whereas it infuriated Kuro.
"Be quiet, you! I'll come exterminate every one of you later... Jango too, of course!" Kuro told them as he stood fully, closing his claw as much as he could, the claws forming a point at the end.
"W-why us?!"
"Please stop joking around Captain Kuro!"
"It's still not too late for us to attack the village, right?!"
"And if Captain Jango gets her to write her will, the plan should work!"
"You need not worry about this plan; your corpses will be enough for me to place the blame on you... I never intended to let you leave this village from the start... I can't have people who know I exist stay alive..." Kuro told them, shocking the pirates.
"Y-you can't be serious?!"
"Then you planned to kill us from the very start?!"
"That's right... Since three years ago when I was Captain Kuro, it was all... All part of my plan!" Kuro confirmed.
"Man, you guys're dumb! You're such a lame pirate group!" Luffy said with a frown.
"Lame?" Kuro asked.
"Pirate groups are nothing more than a collection of social outcasts! Without plans, what could they possibly do?! Every last one should just shut up and follow my plans! Crew members are loyal pawns of the Captain! Whether my men live or die is all up to my orders as their leader! No matter how powerful the obstacle, they simply need to stand up to it and die for my plan..." Even after the long rant, Luffy did nothing but stare at Kuro with a glare, the man finding himself glaring back.
"This is how pirates are! Don't you talk down to me, boy!" Kuro snarled.
"No matter how many hundreds or thousands of men follow you, as their Captain... you'll never be better then Usopp!" Luffy told him with a grin.
"What?! You're saying I'm inferior to a kid pretending to be a pirate captain?"
"That's right." At that, Kuro laughed loudly.
"You're hilarious! Don't get cocky just because you snapped one of my claws! How exactly is he better than me?! Let's hear it!" When he finished talking, he began shuffling his feet again, disappearing from sight, but Luffy easily kept an eye on him with his haki.
"Character."
"What?!"
"You don't know what a true pirate is!" Luffy yelled as he threw his body around, arm swinging out and backhanding Kuro into the cliffside.
"H-he..."
"He kept up with the pussyfoot maneuvers speed!" The pirates said in shock.
"How insulting... If you want to know about real pirates that much, then I'll show you... that terror... The terror of a pirate who's been face to face with death many times!" Kuro growled out as he stood, swaying slightly. Luffy frowned at the man's words because he still wasn't being taken seriously, even after they knew he was a Whitebeard.
"Hey! That stance! Is he-"
"He's gonna use that technique?!"
"But he's only fighting one guy!"
"He is a Whitebeard..."
"He's planning to use the cat out of the bag attack!"
"Isn't it bad for us to be here?! He'll get us too!"
"He plans to kill us too! He even said so earlier!"
"Please stop Captain Kuro! Anything but that technique!"
"We'll do anything you want!"
"Please Captain Kuro!"
Luffy's frown deepened as the pirates freaked out behind him, eyeing Kuro carefully now. Obviously, he was up to something, but Luffy didn't know what. And then, the man looked up ever so slightly, glaring.
"Out of the Bag Attack!" In a flash, the man was gone. Luffy felt with his haki as the man moved swiftly down the hill and towards the other pirates. Turning, he saw as a row of slashes appeared on one of the pirates, and his glare hardened. One by one, the pirates were attacked, and then he was moving back up, hitting the cliff wall beside Luffy before returning to the pirates. The attacks seemed completely random, and even as Luffy kept an eye on the man, it felt like even he didn't know what he was hitting.
"Please stop, Captain Kuro!"
"Its no use! He attacks at random using his Pussy Foot Maneuver! Because of his speed, not even he knows what he's cutting!"
"So many crewmembers have fallen victim to-" Before the pirate could finish his sentence he was sliced as well, falling to the ground along with the many others.
A sudden gust and Luffy was swaying out of the way of a claw swipe, and then another, and another. Successfully avoided, he remained unharmed, though his anger was only increasing as more pirates fell.
"Who do you take your friends for?!" Luffy shouted in a rage, focusing on where the man was before suddenly whipping his arm out and grabbing him, stopping his attacks and throwing him into the ground.
"Found you!" He yelled, Kuro standing.
"Bastard! You should have let yourself be cut like a good boy! Look! Thanks to you, my adorable men are left alive and in agony. It would have been better for them to die in that attack!" Kuro told him, but Luffy didn't honor that with a reply, glaring silently at the man.
"Now what? You look like you have something to say..." He said as he straightened, smile gone.
"Yeah... I will never be... a man like you." Luffy managed to get out, seething.
"Not will. Someone like you can't be like me!" Kuro told him, pointing all of his claws at Luffy's face, only centimeters away from touching his nose with them, but again, Luffy didn't react, and Kuros smile fell.
"Especially since you're going to die here, while you writhe in agony as I hack you up like raw fish... I'm going to painstakingly carve you up as a special treat!" Kuro said as he walked back up the slope, assuming his previous stance as he began swaying again. Seeing this, Luffy ran forward, fury on his face.
"Oh no you don't!" Luffy yelled, yet he was too late as Kuro disappeared again, slashing the cliff side a few more times as well as almost getting Luffy, yet the teen managed to continue dodging the attacks easily. Kuro ended the attack, back to Luffy, and the teen glared at him.
"Tired?" He asked, Kuro turning to look at him.
"The out of the bag attack does have lots of unnecessary movement. Don't get cocky. Everything so far has been playtime. You get the special treatment. I'm going to let you taste plenty of fear, then slowly cook you!" Kuro announced.
"Glad we're in agreement," Luffy said as Kuro began his out of the bag attack again, but Luffy was tired of this fight and far too angry to endure much more of this. As he observed Kuro running around, he stretched his arm out, grabbing the man's ankle and stopping him, wrapping his arms around him and clinging to him.
"Try your fancy footwork now!" Luffy said with a grin.
"Damn you! Get away from me!" Kuro yelled, struggling to get out of Luffy's grip.
"Now your plan of three years is a complete failure!" Luffy continued because he'd listened to Kuro talk for far too long, and now that he was finally fighting him, finally acting on that rage building consistently inside of him, he felt practically feral as he nearly snarled the words at the man.
"What?!" Kuro asked incredulously, still struggling.
"He caught Captain Kuro!"
"Hey, if he wins, that means we won't get killed, right?!"
"... Get im Rubber Guy!"
"Kick Captain Kuros ass!" Everything about this fight had made Luffy angry, from Kuros darkness to the man's emotions, to the pirates who insisted on talking every five seconds. With a growl, Luffy head butt Kuro, making him stumble, and then Luffy flung his head back, neck stretching as his face was in front of the now terrified pirates.
"You guys have no right to cheer me on!" He screamed at them, the pirates screaming back in fear.
"My plan will not be disrupted!"
"Gum gum... bell!" Luffy yelled as he flung his head back, knocking it into Kuros and pushing them both to the ground. Luffy jumped off the man, standing beside him and looking at him, taking in the muted emotions, telling him he'd won.
With Kuro unconscious, all of the anger that had come from the man seeped out of Luffy, leaving him with only his own anger, and while he was pretty pissed off, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been seconds ago.
"H-he beat Captain Kuro!"
"Not even the Navy was a match for Kuro, Man of a Thousand Plans!"
"But he really beat him!"
"He is a Whitebeard Pirate!"
"J-just what are you?!" Luffy turned slightly to look at the pirates out of the corner of his eye, frowning.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Id never lose to a pirate who ditches his name and runs from the sea. The only time a pirate should abandon his name is when he dies!" Luffy told them.
"L-Luffy... 11097 of the Whitebeard Pirates..." A pirate muttered.
"Stop saying that! I left the Whitebeards and I'm starting my own crew! I'm gonna be the man who's gonna become King of the Pirates!" Luffy announced with a D grin.
"This guy's..."
"Now take him and leave!" Luffy yelled, picking up Kuro and chucking him at the pirates.
"Never come here again!" Luffy added, the pirates all screaming in fear as they ran.
"Run!" Amid the fleeing pirates, Luffy spotted Nami's orange hair running his way, a sack over her shoulder, and a grin on her face. He didn't pay her much mind, instead continuing to glare at the pirates as they ran away.
"Hurry!"
"Raise the anchor!"
Nami let her smile fall as she continued watching Luffy's face, taking in just how angry he looked.
"I-I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the worst injury you got was a cut on the mouth..." She said in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Luffy continued glaring. Sighing, she set the treasure bag down.
"Say. What are you so mad about?" She asked, hoping that the teen's anger wouldn't turn her way. Even though Luffy had done nothing to harm her, she wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly attacked her. He was a pirate after all, and he looked pretty angry, so she expected nothing less than him lashing out at her.
"I hate them. They're wrong. That's not how nakama should act." Luffy told her, finally peeling his eyes off the pirates and turning them to the sky.
"What're you talking about? Of course, it's not. Pirates aren't the lovely things you make them out to be. I'd say Captain Kuros more standard than you." She scoffed, still wary of him. His eyes shifted to her and she stiffened minutely, a flicker of fear passing through her as she realized he may find her words insulting.
"I know that. Sorry for scaring you." He told her, turning and heading up the slope, leaving her staring after him in shock. Of all the things for him to do and say, that hadn't been one of them.
"S-scare me? You didn't-..." She stopped talking when Luffy looked over his shoulder to smile at her.
"Usopp and Zoro'll be here soon." He said once he reached the top of the slope, sitting down to wait for them. Hesitating, Nami nodded, picking up her treasure bag and moving to join him.
"Luffy?" She asked, fiddling with the string holding the bag shut once she sat beside him.
"Hm?" He hummed, looking up to the sky and leaning back on his hands.
"You were apart of the Whitebeards for three years, and that was because they saved you from the- what was it? Facility?" Nami asked, Luffy nodding and telling her that was right.
"Right, but how long were you in the facility for? The news never mentioned anything before you escape, so I was just curious. I mean, you told me the place was bad news and... anyways, you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Nami said, because like she'd said, she was curious. If this facility was as bad as Luffy implied it was, then maybe they could relate just a little. It wasn't exactly the same, because Nami still didn't know what made this facility so bad, but for her, she was basically trapped in her own facility, Arlong at the head of it all.
Luffy looked over to her, his smile falling a bit, though not leaving completely. He could feel the genuine curiosity from the woman and decided to indulge her.
"Seven years. My brothers and I were taken when I was seven and they were 10." He told her, voice quiet and low. Nami's eyes widened in surprise because that hadn't been what she was expecting at all. Shed thought that, maybe, he'd been taken as a young teen, or at least, a preteen, but to hear that a child had been taken? And held for seven years?
Nami empathized with him more now.
Rustling in the nearby brush caught their attention, and they both turned to watch Usopp and Zoro come walking out. The sniper had a few more injuries now, Zoro as well, but Luffy could feel their happiness, their pride, and that was all he needed to know that they were victorious.
"Hey, you guys!" Luffy greeted, Nami smiling to them as well. Zoro came over and sat near them with a huff while Usopp continued standing, putting his hands on his hips.
"So they're all gone?" Zoro asked, noticing that the pirate ship was no longer docked at the shore.
"Yup! They pissed me off so I yelled at them and they ran." Luffy said, with a smile.
"Well, in any case, I wanted to say thank you. I wouldn't have been able to protect the village without you guys!" Usopp told them, Luffy feeling his gratitude swell.
"What're you talking about? If you hadn't don't anything, I would've done nothing!" Zoro told him with a grin.
"Me too!" Luffy agreed with his D smile.
"Who cares about that? I got me some treasure!" Nami said, rubbing her face against the bag. Usopp laughed happily at that before looking to the sea, expression turning serious.
"This incident has helped me finally come to a decision." He said, Luffy giving him a curious look at the suddenly calm and peaceful emotions paired with the serious expression.
Whatever this decision was though, Usopp said nothing, only continuing to stare off at the sea.
And Kuro and his crew are defeated! I'm glad you all are enjoying this story so much. I spend a lot of time writing these chapters and editing them, so to see that the effort I put into them are not only appreciated, but also liked, means the world.
Also, super sorry about this chapter coming out a little late. I was completely swamped today and I only just got to sit down for the first time today to post this. Hopefully things will start to slow down after the absolutely crazy week I just had!
Anyway, I don't have much to say about this chapter except it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with it, and I still don't know how I feel about it. I think these first few fights with enemies have been difficult for me to figure out just what I should change and what I should keep, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it now. Hopefully the fights will get better as we go along and by the time we're in the Grand Line things will be a lot more different from canon then they are right now.
For those who have given me feedback and criticism, thank you so much! Also, everyone who reads, favorites or follows, thank you as well! I hope to see you in two weeks with the next chapter!