One Piece: Brave New World Chapter 15: Showdown on Star Island, an one piece fanfic

"Ursa Buzz-Swipe!"

He whipped his whirling shields around towards Zoro who, instead of blocking them, dodged past them, running for Kodiak again. But the man didn't seem to want to get within Zoro's reach again and so yanked his shields back a bit and cracked the wires, making them jump up and down through the air like they were riding waves.

This time, Zoro couldn't dodge so he turned and deflected one, pushing it away from him. He saw the other coming from the corner of his eye, Kodiak pulling it his way, and dropped to the ground, letting it slam into the wall and gouge into the mortar instead, leaving a deep scar.

Kodiak grunted and then yanked his shields back, catching them in his hands, before charging Zoro straight up. Zoro jumped to his feet and rushed to meet him. As he did, he crossed his swords over his chest in preparation.

"Oni Giri!" he roared, whipping his blades back in deadly slashes as he thrust forward. But they didn't complete the motion as Kodiak thrust his shield forward at the same time, the swords hitting the flat surface of the shield instead.

"Ursa Major!"

Zoro's eyes flashed to Kodiak's free arm which was now moving in a devastating uppercut that would break through his defenses. Acting fast, he broke off his Oni Giri, the buzzing shield rising up between his arms and almost slicing him apart.

But Kodiak wasn't done, moving forward and now bringing up his released shield for a new attack. "Ursa Minor!" he roared, bringing it down in deadly motion before Zoro could defend.

Zoro spluttered, feeling the spiked shield slice across his chest. He hadn't managed to dodge it as well as he could have, now having a nasty wound. He almost fell to his knees, pain flaring throughout his body.

"Surrender now, Roronoa," Kodiak advised. "This was a good fight but it's over now. It would be a shame to have to put you down."

"Are you shitting me?"

Kodiak stopped, a mixture of confusion and anger crossing his face.

"This pain," Zoro said as he touched his injuries, "is nothing compared to hers. To what she's suffered. To what you made her suffer." He lifted his eyes up to stare right at Kodiak, making the man flinch from the gaze. "You're going down, shield boy. I'll do whatever it takes to win."

"Oh shut up!" Kodiak roared, recovering. "Enough chances. I'm going to slice open your guts, swordsman! Now die!"

He lunged forward, bringing his shields up in a deadly arc. But Zoro moved just as fast, his swords colliding with the shields. The opponents broke off and then attacked again, swords and shields clashing together in a flurry of movements faster than the eye could track. Zoro parried off every strike, fighting through the pain to keep Kodiak at bay. Every time his sword struck the shield, he had to put extra effort into it to not allow the spinning spikes to throw the sword aside.

Still, he had one advantage with his Wado Ichimonji. While Kodiak only had two shields up front, Zoro had three blades and used that as often as he could, thrusting it forward at every chance and forcing Kodiak on the defensive. Of course when he did that, he left another part of him open for Zoro to strike with his other swords.

Despite Kodiak's power and his master of defensive tactics, Zoro's unconventional fighting style was breaking through more and more. It started with a slight nick in his leg after he'd raised his shield to block Zoro's mouth blade. Then another on the arm when the same blade cut through the two shields. Then a cut on his side when Zoro's left blade went under his shield as Kodiak defended against the other blades. On and on it went, more and more injuries appearing across Kodiak's body as did everything he could to fight Zoro back. But it was no use.

At this rate, he'll wear me down, Kodiak realized in panic. He couldn't beat the swordsman in close combat. That left only one option.

He threw himself backward and then threw his left shield around in a deadly arc to cover his retreat, forcing Zoro to keep back. Once there was some distance between them, Kodiak threw out his other shield and then began jiggling the wires around wildly, making the shields dance and twist erratically in the air. "Buzzsaw Festival!"

Zoro winced as he got cut on his shoulder, one of the shields whipping past him before he could react. He saw the other one coming and managed to block it but the other came back around just as fast, nearly beheading him if not for the Wado Ichimonji holding it off. He ducked down and moved, trying to avoid the flying shields as much as possible. It was clear to him Kodiak had put distance between them as that was where he had the advantage. Zoro had to close that gap and finish this.

He ducked and dodged and blocked, the shields whizzing around him rapidly and randomly. Gouge marks appeared across the ground and surrounding walls as the shields bit into them. Zoro moved as quickly as he could, deflecting one shield, leaping over the other, sliding under the first, and forcing the second back. He threw himself against the wall and kicked off it, twisting over a shield and landing back on his feet. He tried cutting through the wire but whatever it was made of was practically unbreakable.

His eyes widened in horror as Kodiak twisted the wire, wrapping it around Zoro's before he could react and yanking it hard. Zoro tightened his grip but in his efforts nearly missed the other shield coming at his head, only just managing to deflect it too.

Kodiak grunted but gave up, cracking the wire and releasing its grip on the sword. This wasn't working. Zoro's strength and determination were pushing through everything he threw at him.

"Alright then," he growled, flexing his muscles. "Time for the finisher. Get ready Roronoa! This is your end!"

He started spinning on the spot, his shields following him until he was twisting around so much that he'd become a blur, the spinning shields forming a slicing barrier around him that cut through anything that came close.

"Great Buzzsaw Twister!"

Zoro almost gulped at the sight but still rushed forward to take it on. However, as soon as his swords struck the shields, they nearly flew from his grasp from the force behind Kodiak's attack. He almost got sliced in two, backing off in the last instant.

Zoro stared at the spinning figure and gripped his swords with all his remaining strength, pushing himself to the limits. He had practiced this move before but never really tried it out in a fight. No time like the present. But if this didn't work, he was out of ideas.

He held his swords out to his side and began to spin around too, gaining momentum with each step until he was twirling around just as fast as Kodiak.

"Dragon Twister!" he roared, launching himself at his enemy.

The two spinning figures clashed together, shield and sword slamming into one another and for an instant they held, their owners fighting for dominance, before Zoro went beyond his limits and thrust the shields aside. Kodiak's eyes widened but before he could react and bring his third shield on his back around, Zoro's third blade came down, striking him hard.

The two landed back on the ground, Zoro managing to drop to his feet while Kodiak crashed on his stomach, his shields falling next to him.

"Sorry captain," the man murmured, his consciousness fading. "He broke through."

Zoro rose on one knee, sheathing his blades. "There is no shield," he muttered, "that can hold back my blades. I'll cut through anything for my crewmates."

"Color bombs!"

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The smoke bombs went off, filling the room with clouds of multicolored dust. Dart found herself choking on green, red, and blue powder. She blinked wildly, trying to see anything through the thick clouds but couldn't make out anything. She backed up fast, doing her best to rub the stuff out of her eyes.

"Now let's see you handle this, Needlepoint," Sabine snapped through the smoke.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dart screeched, feeling the bullet strike her hand. Two more hit home in her chest, knocking her back. She fell hard, landing badly on her back. She could tell that bullet had definitely broken something in her hand, her thick gloves stopping it from destroying it. At least the bullet hadn't struck her face. She also felt like she had a cracked rib from the other strikes on her. Because of her work with projectiles, she always had thickly padded and armored clothing to prevent anything hitting her.

"That's it!" she snarled and primed her gauntlets, unloading a barrage of darts into the cloud, dozens of them shooting out at rapid fire speed. However, unknown to her, Sabine had an advantage. Her helmet, while not able to see through the mist, was able to stop it from blinding her and thus could make out Red Dart's movements as well as the darts coming at her through the smoke. So as Dart made her attack, Sabine lunged backwards, nearly shrieking in pain as she dove behind a table and used it for cover. She was just grateful they were in some sort of conference room with plenty of furniture she could use.

She touched her stomach gingerly before pulling out a wad of gauze and wrapping it as quickly and carefully as she could around the injury. It wouldn't do too much but it would work for now.

The darts, which had been firing so fast that they had sounded like raindrops, suddenly stopped and Sabine heard Red Dart curse as well as other sounds that seemed remarkably like reloading.

This is my chance! Sabine thought and rushed upwards, dashing over the table and firing into the colored smoke. Based on how the darts were fired, she had a pretty good idea as to where Red Dart was and seeing how there was a sudden scream, she'd been correct.

The smoke parted in front of her and Dart appeared, face filled with fury. "You're going to pay for that one!" she seethed and fired from her other gauntlet. Sabine just managed to duck in time, seeing the electric darts fly past her. She fired her pistols but Dart was just as fast, ducking away from the gun.

Sabine brought her other gun up when Dart's foot shot up, knocking it from Sabine's hand faster than she could blink. Her mind almost went blank from the loss of her weapon but one thing managed to filter in that instant. With Dart's foot raised up like that, she was open.

Sabine acted without thinking, rushing her opponent and knocking her down. Dart looked ready to scream at her and Sabine could feel her body tensing up for some kind of response but before she could, Sabine grabbed her head and slammed her own helmet into it with a bong!

Instantly, Dart slumped backwards, groaning softly. Sabine panted a little, grimacing as her stomach throbbed painfully. "Finally got a decent hit in," she murmured, tapping her helmet. She'd used that move plenty of times against the other cadets in combat training. They'd called it dirty fighting but to her, it was legitimate move. And in a real fight it provided a distinct advantage.

"Should have finished me off."

Sabine tensed at Dart's words, looking down at the woman. She instant made to fire her gun at her but realized with horror that her hand was empty, her second gun missing as well. She looked at Dart and gasped as she saw it in her enemy's hands.

Even while getting hit with my helmet, she managed to grab it, Sabine thought in panic. She was sure she was about to have her weapon turned on her which was why she was surprised when Dart tossed it out the open doorway instead, letting it fall over the side of the balcony.

"Now I'm going to finish you off," Dart said, raising her gauntlet and firing in one motion. "Explosive dart."

Sabine's harsh training came back to her and on pure instinct, her fingers activated the switch in her gauntlet that she hadn't used in months. The back of her gauntlet popped open and the gears activated, shooting out a sheet of metal that spun around her wrist into a small shield. Even while it was forming, Sabine swung her arm into the path of the dart, her eyes just able to follow it as its heavier weight made it move just slightly slower than the others. Her shield struck it dead on and hurled it aside to the wall where it exploded on contact, creating a hole there.

Sabine stared down at her shield in amazement. She'd completely forgotten about it. She hadn't really used her armor in a while, mostly working in the research and development programs for the Marines these last few months instead of combat. But she'd suddenly remembered this part of her armor when that explosive dart had come at her. And now that she thought about it, there was another part of her gauntlet that…

"Let's try this then!" Dart cried, shaking Sabine from her thoughts. She saw the woman raising her gauntlet again and got ready but instead of firing at her, Dart aimed for the ceiling. The dart shot upwards and then exploded with a loud bang!

Sabine glanced up and swore as part of the ceiling crumbled away from the explosion, coming down right for her. She instinctively jumped forward as the mortar crashed down behind her but muttered another curse as she saw Dart raise her gauntlet again.

"Electro darts."

Sabine didn't have time to move, the darts striking her right in her chest. Instantly, a fresh wave of jolting pain shot through her, nearly making her writhe around.

The next thing she knew, she was back on the ground, Dart having kicked her down. She couldn't even try to escape as Dart planted a foot on her chest, keeping her down. The woman leaned in close, her expression a mixture of rage and satisfaction.

"You gave a good fight," she said. "But this is the end for you bitch." She pointed her gauntlet right at Sabine's face. "Any last words?"

"Yeah," Sabine said, clenching her fist as the jolting sensation left her. She had one shot and couldn't blow this. "Burn in hell."

"Ha!" Dart laughed. "You first. Now di-"

"Flamethrower." As soon as Sabine said the words, she raised her gauntlet just enough to activate the other part of her armor. It had been so long since she last used it she was afraid that the gears had stopped working or that the gas inside had filtered out somehow. But no, it worked perfectly.

The nozzle popped out and shot a river of flame right into Red Dart, setting her ablaze. The woman screamed in fear and pain, instantly rushing to the side and doing her best to swat at the flames crawling up her to try and put them out. When that didn't work, she threw off her jacket and used it to snuff out the flames crawling up her legs.

Smoking and clearly in pain, Red Dart glared up at Sabine in absolute loathing. "You!" she screeched, charging. But she hadn't made it a few steps when Sabine pulled out her gun. Not her real gun that shot bullets but her paint gun. One pull on the trigger and a spray of orange paint shot out, striking Dart right in the face and blinding her.

Dart only had time to cry out in shock before Sabine made her next move, firing her cable and wrapping it around the woman's throat. With a yank downwards, Sabine pulled Dart's head just as she threw her leg up, letting the woman's head collide with her armored kneecap.

Dart groaned, swaying slightly, when Sabine made her final move.

"Shield punch," she said, throwing her gauntlet with the shield still activated forward just like at the academy, letting the metal rim catch Dart on the jaw. The force knocked the woman down with a wham! and she collapsed on the ground, giving one final groan before going still.

Sabine breathed out, practically collapsing to the ground as well. She clutched at her injured stomach and felt like she could just roll back and fall unconscious.

"The rest of you better win," she muttered. "Cause I don't think I can take on anyone else."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Nami glanced behind her and saw the air part in front of her right before the air shot struck, sending her flying into the wall. She groaned, her whole body aching from the abuse she'd received so far. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. But she didn't know what she could do here. She didn't even have her staff, her weapon lying a little ways down the street.

She looked back up at Moth just in time to see the gun fire again and instinctively rolled out of the way, her treasure clutched to her chest. The net slammed into the ground where she had just been and went lifeless without a target to wrap around.

I have to think of way out of this, she told herself. I can't go down here. Not now!

As Moth fired again, making her dodge, Nami eyed her opponent carefully. There had to be some way to take him down. She stood a better chance with him on the ground so those wings had to go. And the only thing keeping him aloft were those capsules constantly sending out bursts of air. If she could disable those, she'd be good. But, again, she'd need him to be on the ground for that. She had to think of something fast or she was done for.

How do those capsules even work? she wondered. To shoot out such powerful bursts of air to keep a man like him aloft required a lot of air pressure. And if it was somehow all stored in his backpack, he'd eventually run out. But that didn't seem to be the case so if Nami had to guess, she'd say that the capsules sucked in air from the back, pressurized them, and then shot them out from below. That actually explained a small phenomenon she'd noted. There was a slight breeze that would normally have been sending Moth with those wings of his soaring about uncontrollably. And yet he was fine. Not just fine, but in the same spot. If when the breeze hit him, all that air current got sucked into those canisters, that would neutralize the effects of any wind hitting him. Of course, it meant he couldn't actually fly but as long as he stayed up in the air, it didn't matter since no one could reach him.

Wait. He couldn't actually fly? Nami had seen him move slightly when he tilted his wings in time with those air bursts. But those were a few feet, maybe a meter. Was he…stationary?

Without a second thought, Nami took off running again, bag over her shoulder.

"Hey! I already told you, you're not getting away!" Moth cried, shooting at her again. But Nami was ready for it. She'd gained a lot of practice over the years dodging attacks and so she kept an eye behind her and easily moved out of the way.

"Catch me if you can!" Nami laughed at him before spotting a side street and quickly ducking into it before another air shot could hit her.

"Oh I will!" Moth promised, taking out another gun. Aiming carefully, he fired right at the side of a building, the grapple shooting out and striking the brick and mortar before holding fast. With a flick, Moth was yanked forward, hot on Nami's tail.

Nami heard the sounds and looked up, gaping as Moth shot above her. So evidently he did have a way to move around and much faster than she could on the ground. This was becoming worse by the second.

"Thought you could escape huh?" Moth cackled, shooting with his air gun again and forcing Nami to leap out of the way before she was blasted. "Not happening chick! I'm taking you down right-huh?" He blinked as Nami suddenly ran towards him…and then under him before he could react. He tried to follow her and cursed as his wings blocked his vision. "Damn bitch!" he seethed, twisting himself in the air to turn back around. That was one major pain with this wingsuit, it make turning a complete pain and apparently she'd caught onto that.

Nami didn't know how long she had before Moth was able to turn around. She was just glad he had one weakness she was able to exploit but that was barely anything. She needed to do something if she was going to walk away from this.

Nami found her staff and snatched it up though she wasn't sure how good it would be right now. She looked around frantically, hoping something would stick out that she could use. She needed to disable those air capsules and bring him to ground. But the only way to do that was from above and there wasn't anything above that could help her out. She supposed she could always throw something up there, but what could she use? She wasn't the best at aiming so it would be best to have something jam it up, something like…fabric.

Nami fingered her shirt, imagining it sucked through the capsule. That could work, certainly. But did she really have to take off…

"Oh, good," she muttered, spotting a small restaurant down the street with the tables outside having tablecloths on them. Those would work great. She was really glad she didn't have to resort to stripping to win this fight.

The street was still empty, all the people gone, vanishing due to the fight. She thought she caught some curtains shifting and some doors opening slightly, but that was it. Honestly, if she didn't know the militia were working for the Longbow Pirates, she would have expected them by now.

She raced over to the tables just as she heard a yell and flinched as something shot overhead. She spotted the cable latching onto a roof's edge and turned to see Moth shooting over towards her.

"You are really testing my patience girl!" he growled before a sinister sneer crossed his face. "But don't worry, you can make it up to me much later."

"Go to hell, creep!" she called back, reaching the tables with an extra burst of speed and snatching up one of the tablecloths. She turned back to him, heart pounding wildly. If she was going to pull this off, she'd need expert timing. Luckily for her, she had a natural intuition when it came to weather and wind patterns so she knew where the perfect spot was and how much force she had to use.

She put her treasure down behind a table, hating it but knowing it wouldn't be easy for to do this next bit while lugging it around. Plus, it would be hard for Moth to get it like this. Still, leaving it like this chafed at her soul.

"Now, let's…will you stop that!" Moth cried as Nami dashed from the restaurant, coming to a halt in the right spot. She could feel the breeze even from down here. Perfect.

With a deep breath, she tossed the cloth up right towards the air current.

Moth snorted. "What the hell is that going to do, you stupid-"

He didn't get to finish as the cloth, floating along the breeze, drifted right into one of his air capsules. Instantly, the thing ground to a halt as the cloth jammed its components. Moth's wings stuttered and he flopped in the air, cursing.

"What the hell is this?"

Nami laughed, making him glare at her. "Technical difficulties?" she asked slyly.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded.

"Oh, just jammed up those little capsules you have. Can't stay up too well without them, can you?"

"Damn you!" he glared, trying to aim his guns but it was hard with his wing causing him to flutter about wildly.

Nami hoped that would be enough to take him down but evidently the other five capsules were still enough to keep him aloft. One more down might do the trick but she didn't think he'd let that happen this time. Besides, this should be enough for her to make a run for it.

No sooner did she have that thought when Moth let out an enraged screamed and began firing his air gun. Nami yelped as his shots went wild. They weren't as big or powerful as before considering the rapid-fire succession and he was still firing erratically, but every now and then one hit her, feeling like a heavy punch. She grunted and gasped from each blow, trying to make a run for her treasure and then to get the hell out of here.

But then one shot hit her leg, making her stumble and hit the ground. As she did, she felt her ankle wrench and cried out in pain. She'd had enough injuries in her life to tell this was a sprain and a pretty bad one. She wouldn't be running anywhere now.

"Forget about being my personal mistress, you're freaking dead now bitch!" Moth roared, still unable to shoot straight.

Have to…get away, Nami thought. But she couldn't. She was trapped here with no way to get out of this. She didn't know how she could take down Moth like this. She would need…

Drip.

Nami blinked, feeling the drop on her arm, before glancing up. And just like that, she had a plan.

"Those shots are barely anything, bug boy!" she cried out. "You can't hurt me, hell you can't even catch me like that. Now I guess you're even worse than a bug, huh?"

It was hard to tell given his erratic movements, but she could somehow sense Moth's hate-filled glare. "You think I can't catch you, huh? Watch and learn."

She watched as he readied his net gun, aiming right for her. His wing was still moving, making it more difficult though he had gotten used to it a little. Still, she never moved from her spot. Normally, he might have thought that strange but he was too enraged to care.

"Now you're mine!" he roared, firing.

The tight net shot right for Nami and she finally moved, rolling away at the last second so that the net struck the tall pipe behind her instead. Moth gritted his teeth and retracted the net. The pipe held for a few seconds before giving it, the whole thing ripping free from its position on the wall. As it did, two things happened. One, Moth was pulled forward as the cable retracted. Two, a large barrel on top of the pipe shook and then dropped, releasing all its contents below.

"I'll get you!" Moth promised. "And then I'll-"

What he would do, Nami didn't get to find out as at that moment, the huge mass of water fell right on top of him, soaking him and all his gear completely.

"Thanks Kimberly, for that little explanation," Nami muttered, smirking. The second she saw the overflowing water barrel, she'd known that that amount of water dumped on those wings would render them completely useless. And she was right. Moth gasped in shock and then cried out as he dropped. He tried to regain control by flapping his wings madly like a deranged seagull but it had no effect and an instant later he slammed into the hard ground.

"I'll-I'll…k-kill…y-you…" he groaned, trying to remain conscious. However, there was nothing he could do when a shadow fell over him.

"Lights out, you perverted mothy weirdo!"

Nami's staff slammed into his head and his mind disappeared into the darkness. She sighed, almost collapsing to the ground but just managing to stay upright with her staff. She slowly limped over to where she'd left her bag of treasure and sank down next to it.

"At least…" she murmured to herself, "all my treasure's safe."

"Home Run."

That was the only warning Emiko got before Brick swung the beam around so fast she couldn't even blink. She threw herself backwards, the end of the beam inches from her chin as it came at her. As soon as it passed, she grabbed another arrow and fired it, not even bothering to see which one it was.

She hoped it would hit Brick but he was still faster than she gave him credit for as he flipped the beam up, able to hold it out and block the arrow from striking him. Once it hit, it released a shockwave that had Brick reeling and the beam cracking.

Need to keep it up, Emiko thought, firing another arrow right at Brick's feet, a pile of foam growing out of it and enveloping the pirate up to his waist, holding him fast as it hardened. That substance would be able to hold five men down for hours so…well, she hoped it would hold Brick for a while at least. And judging from the growing frustration across his face, it was working.

"Should have gotten my arms, arrow bitch!" he cried out, flipping the beam around so that he was now grasping the un-weakened section and swung it her way, making her dodge back. "Long-distance fighting is for cowards," he growled. "But if that's how you want it, fine!"

Emiko frowned, not understanding what he'd do until he turned to his right and swung the beam in one massive arc right towards a stack of crates. "Oh fuck," she mumbled just as the beam made contact, smashing through the first few crates and sending the rest of them flying right at her. She felt her heart jump but she still acted fast, her training taking over as she instantly scanned the best escape route through all the falling wreckage, zig-zagging across the docks as the crates came smashing down around her. She managed to avoid the first two but a third one came right on top of her and she was forced to knock it aside, screaming in pain as she felt her shoulder wrench from the effort. She managed to leap the aside before any more could hit her.

She winced as she got on her hands and knees, her shoulder throbbing with pain. Definitely dislocated from the feel of it. She'd have to pop that back into place before-

She felt the wind shift and instantly dove to the side before the beam could hit her. It was instantly up in the air again and then back down, forcing to her roll away again, flinching with every movement.

"Whack-a-mole!" Brick roared out. "Although I suppose it could be called whack-a-bitch!"

"I'm really getting tired of hearing that word today!" Emiko growled, rolling again. With how fast he was going, she couldn't even get up and run, only able to roll right now and every time she did, her shoulder flared in pain again.

She needed to get that beam away from him, just like with that damn hook. Once that happened, he would be stuck in the foam and weaponless. That would be her chance. But, in order to do that, she needed time to fire an arrow and Brick wasn't giving her even a second. So, she'd just have to make her own window.

"This is going to hurt," she muttered as she rolled to the side again, avoiding the latest blow. She came to a stop on her back and, as the beam came back up, shot her legs up as well just before it could come back down, letting it strike them instead of her.

She could feel Brick's power in the blow, her feet screaming in pain all the way through her ankles down her legs. But for those few seconds, she'd stopped him, allowing her to grab an arrow and ready her bow.

The beam came up even higher before shooting down on her again and she gritted her teeth as she kicked out again, trying to build up enough momentum to soften the blow. It didn't feel like it did much as her feet screamed in agony when they made contact with the beam again. But she pushed through it, twisting on her side to aim behind her. It was an impossible shot for anyone who wasn't her. And Oliver. And Roy, she supposed.

"Shock Arrow," she murmured, loosing it. The arrow struck Brick right in the wrist just as he brought the beam down again. For most people, the electric shock the arrow unleashed would be enough to have them in convulsions but against Brick's hardened skin, it only zapped him. But that was enough.

"Aye!" he cried, letting the beam go as he clutched at his arm. Emiko grimaced and grunted as she caught it with her legs again. She strained for a second before kicking it away with all he strength, thankful when she heard a loud splashing sound as it fell into the ocean.

She got back up, wincing a little from the ache in her feet as well as her shoulder. She bit down as she popped it back into place, feeling the pain fade after she did. She had to finish this now, before she wouldn't be able to stand at all. At least Brick was contained in the foam trap.

"YAAARRGGGHH!"

Emiko glanced up and froze as she saw Brick ripping into the foam, tearing it apart with his bare hands. That foam was designed to stick to any substance instantly, enveloping it with its thick density that made it impossible to move. And yet Brick was ripping it apart with ease.

He's entering Berserker mode, Emiko thought, seeing how quickly Brick would be freed. Have to act fast. But how could she beat him? That had been going through her mind throughout the fight. He was faster and smarter than their first fight when she'd stormed the compound. He was used to her tricks. And his skin was tough that she didn't know to break through it. Even her explosive arrows only jarred him a little. So what could she do?

It was the sound of the water lapping that gave her the idea. And just in time too as Brick made one last pull and ripped himself free from the foam. He was still covered in it, especially around his nether region, but he was able to move again.

"I think I've had enough messing around," he growled. "Time to get serious."

"Oh yeah, asshole?" Emiko asked. "Well-"

She saw his muscles tense but blinked when he moved, charging right for her faster than she expected. Way faster, covering the ground in an instant. She reached and grasped a net arrow, firing it fast. But as the net shot out, Brick held out a hand and let it wrap around that instead, leaving the rest of his body free.

Shit! Emiko thought as he came at her swinging. She dodged the first blow but his second one was already moving as she had to practically throw herself back to dodge that one. He kept coming, his fists like pistons. She ducked and weaved, doing her best to avoid them but he was too fast as she kept getting glancing blows that left bruises and aches and were slowly wearing her down.

"What's wrong, girlie?" Brick laughed, just missing her face. "Why aren't you fighting back? I thought you were some kind of warrior but you just keep running away. Where's the fun in that?"

He threw another punch and Emiko dodged it again. But then she noticed a movement from her right and gasped as Brick's leg came up in a vicious kick. She tried to move out of the way but it was too sudden and fast. All she could do was bring her arms up to block.

She went flying from the blow, crashing through a work shed and landing on a pile of rope, groaning. If her arms weren't broken, they definitely felt close to it.

"Fucking bastard, changing his fighting style like that," she grumbled.

Shang-Chi tensed as the sound vanished as quickly as it had come back, silence reigning supreme again. Silencer moved, grabbing something from behind her. He thought he was ready when she threw it but she spiked it down to the deck instead of throwing it at him. He blinked in surprise and then fear as the object exploded on impact, a cloud of smoke and haze taking over the whole deck, blinding Shang-Chi.

She must be blinded too, he thought but then corrected. She wouldn't do this without a way to counteract it. He held his breath in as best he could and started to move forward to escape the smoke.

He felt it and instinctively ducked down, the small knife shooting above his head and vanishing on the other side of the smoke. He instantly scanned where it had come from but the smoke was still too thick. He couldn't see anything.

She'd first rendered his ears useless and now his eyes. And smell and taste were practically useless in this situation. That only left him with a sense of touch. Not the best circumstances, he'd admit, but it wasn't like he had a choice in the matter.

His training had been intense and his trainers had prepared him for anything that might come up. So he had learned to use his sense of touch effectively in battle, to feel attacks coming in addition to seeing and hearing them. But it was not something he was truly proficient in. To be honest, he'd always relied on sound to help win a fight. Which was really not good right now.

I should have gone after Brick, he thought, letting out a soft sigh.

His cry of pain was silent as the knife struck him in the shoulder. He moved to remove it when he saw a shift in the smoke and dodged out of the way before the second knife could strike him. He yanked out the first knife, grunting a little, and then saw the smoke in front of him part, making him duck aside before the third blade could hit him. He grimaced in annoyance, still unable to see a thing throughout the smoke. That was odd considering they were on a boat with a steady breeze. The device she used to make the smoke must be releasing a continuous amount.

If that was the case, then Shang-Chi just had to go remove it. Then the field would be level once more.

He took a single step and saw the flash from the corner of his eye, ducking back before he could be impaled. Again, he looked but saw nothing. The blades kept coming from different directions but the only shifts in the smoke came from the weapons. If that was the case, then Silencer was obviously moving from farther away so that he wouldn't notice the shifts.

But then…how was she tracking him? She might have some sort of gas mask but even if that was the case, she would still have to get close to see him and he would be able to make out the sudden changes in the smoke when she moved. So how did she know?

The attacks couldn't be random. There had to be some meaning behind them, some reason every attack happened when it did.

As he thought, Shang-Chi accidentally inhaled a big puff of smoke and let out a cough. He'd been covering his mouth with his hand when he breathed to limit the exposure but still, a large amount had gotten through.

He grunted in pain, feeling a fresh blade sink into his shoulder. Just as quickly, another blade came at him and he took a step back to avoid it. Instantly, a third knife parted the smoke right towards him but he was able to reach out and knock it aside before it could hit him, only getting a scratch on his hand.

He frowned, thinking about what just happened, before he slowly ducked down and then removed the first knife from his shoulder, just managing to suppress a hiss of pain. Then, keeping an eye on the smoke around him, he flicked the knife away, letting it clatter silently on the planks a few feet away.

Nothing. No knives came flying out.

Maybe because it was a knife, he thought and reached for his shoe, removing it from his foot and then gently stretching his arm out to drop it a little ways away.

The second it hit the deck, a knife soared out from the smoke, parting the air above the shoe and flying back into the smoke on the other side.

It's the sounds, Shang-Chi realized. She was using the sounds he made to track him. Her Devil Fruit powers allowed her to diminish all sounds but she must have mastered it to the point where she could pinpoint the different sounds around her and recognize them. Very clever. And annoying.

This was her battleground. Time to change that.

Shang-Chi lifted up his leg, channeling his energy into it, before he slammed it down against the deck of the ship. "Horse Stamp," he murmured as he broke the planks beneath him and made a hole to the next level.

He knew the knife was coming and kept an eye out, this time able to see the smoke part in time and catch the weapon before it could strike. He then held onto it as he leaped from the upper deck down below.

He let out a breath as he landed, the smoke no longer filling his lungs. But dead silence still enveloped him, making him uneasy. He needed to find a way to flip the tables on this woman or else the victory would go to her.

He was surrounded by cannons in what he believed would be the lower gun deck of a galleon. He eyed the many cannonballs, wondering if maybe he could utilize them somehow, when his thoughts were stopped as he noticed a small object suddenly fall from the hole he made and land on the deck. Instantly it began to spew out smoke like the other one.

Shang-Chi moved fast, grabbing hold of the device and tossing it out through one of the many holes for the cannons along the side of the ship. He couldn't let Silencer make this smaller space her battleground either, though its size would give him a better advantage.

But as he turned back around, he noticed a faint light at the end of the deck and he felt a pit grow in his stomach as he saw it was fresh hole in the upper deck. She'd made it while he'd been distracted and had entered the lower deck with him, her silent powers obviously keeping him from noticing.

Shang-Chi tensed his knuckles, scanning around as quick as he could for any sign of his opponent. He couldn't afford to take any chances. It was unlikely she'd moved quick enough from that hole to get behind him so she was still in front of him. That didn't help much as the area was covered in shadows and the smoke above helped blot out the natural sunlight.

He took a step forward and then another, staying on guard as he made his way down the deck. His eyes moved fast, taking it everything quickly and efficiently to ensure he missed nothing. But the further down he went, the more worried he became. She should have made a move by now, right? She hadn't wasted anytime up above, so why was she hiding away now. In fact, why make a hole in the ceiling so far away when he could still easily notice it. It would just give him time to come here and less time for her to…no, no she wouldn't make such a mistake.

Shang-Chi's eyes bulged as he realized her plan, but he was an instant too late. He felt the cold hard steel pressed into his back and he had to lunge forward so he could avoid any more damage. He twisted around midair, feeling the blade slash across his back as Silencer followed him. He pivoted with his foot, bringing the other around and up right towards Silencer who only just managed to throw herself back in time to avoid it.

Shang-Chi growled in annoyance, his many wounds throbbing in sync with one another, as if they were all mocking him. Silencer had made the first hole to distract him while she went and made another hole behind him and snuck up on him while he checked the first one. If it hadn't been for his instincts, he'd be dead.

But he'd also had enough. He'd been on the defensive this whole time, just waiting to see what she would do and reacting to it. That wasn't going to be how he won this fight. Time to take the fight to her.

His eyes snapped over to the crate of cannonballs. He recalled his training sessions with his father, one in particular taken from when he was a child. A game he played called dodgeball that his father adapted to ensure he could dodge all incoming projectiles. Eventually, it got to the point where he stopped dodging and started firing back. And he'd gotten so good at it, his arms pumping back and forth as he fired the projectiles as his trainers, that his sister had given it a name.

"Gorilla Toss," he murmured to himself, named for the way his arms' continued movements as he threw things around looked like a gorilla's. He hefted two cannonballs up and threw them as hard as he could, launching them towards Silencer whose eyes widened in surprise before she ducked down, the balls smashed into the wall behind her.

He stood behind the crate and began grabbing balls with his hands, throwing his arms back as soon as he had one and launching the ball right at Silencer. As soon as one cannonball was gone, the other hand fired another one off.

Silencer moved fast, the cannonballs coming at her relentlessly. Shang-Chi fired as fast as he could, smashing the floor, the support beams, the back wall, even hitting other cannons. But he wasn't able to hit Silencer yet. Still, he kept her on her toes and kept her moving.

He saw the flash of movement and brought one cannonball in front of him, deflecting the coming knife. He threw the cannonball back but it was too slow, Silencer avoiding it easily enough just like the rest. Shang-Chi growled in frustration and threw the next one as hard as he could, only just missing Silencer as she ducked away. But that time he saw her hair part as the ball passed overhead. He threw the next one even harder and caught the edge of Silencer's jacket, making her flinch.

The next one, he thought, throwing the ball in his hands as hard as he could. But this time, Silencer caught it.

He blinked in surprise, not expecting that. She was wincing in pain, her strength not the same as his. But still, she had managed it. She then tossed the ball to her other hand and threw that arm back. Shang-Chi realized what was coming and readied himself, deflecting the incoming ball easily enough. Still, this wasn't working. He needed something else.

He eyed the crate again and saw how low it now was. Acting fast, he grabbed hold of the whole thing and heaved the remaining cannonballs at Silencer. As soon as they were airborne, he followed them, crate still in hand.

He knew in order to avoid all the cannonballs, Silencer would have to go one way or another. So as she dove to the right, he threw the crate at her at full strength. She barely had time to look up before it struck her, shattering silently against her.

Shang-Chi moved, his legs tensing before he shot off the ground. He didn't stop there as the second his foot struck the ground again, he put even more power into it, launching himself even faster and repeating it as his other foot came down, moving now at superhuman speed.

"Stag Bound," he said into the silence, his final leap looking similar to the way the stags leaped. He brought his leg around, striking Silencer hard just as she looked up, hitting her hard in the stomach. He saw her splutter and fold over and let out a breath of relief.

That breath caught in his throat as he landed on his other foot. He could feel her hands on his leg, holding it fast. She'd managed to catch it while he'd kicked her. It hadn't stopped the blow but it had absorbed it so the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Shang-Chi was tired. After staying up all night, he wasn't in the best condition for this fight and the increasing amount of injuries were weighing him down. He honestly didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. Which was why it time to go all out in this fight. These next moments would determine victory or defeat.

And for the sake of his captain, his pride, and his dream, defeat was not an option.

He tensed his free leg and shot upwards before Silencer could do anything with the leg in her hands. He fired his hands up and through the deck above, shattering the planks. As soon as fists were through, he unclenched them and placed them flat against the deck, pressing down with them to gain leverage.

"Crescent Wave," he murmured, his leg sweeping Silencer up into the air like a rising wave, slamming her into and through the deck, smashing the wood into pieces. Her head and shoulders broke through but the rest of her got jammed in between the decks.

His foot released, he swiftly leapt up and landed back on the upper deck. He saw the smoke had finally dispersed, the device she'd used clearly having run out. And right now she was trapped, making this moment the time to end this.

Shang-Chi raised his fist and leapt into the air, his fist raised high for the final blow. "Thunder Strike," he said into the silent void, coming down on her like a lightning bolt.

He didn't know how he heard it, but her words still reached him, like they managed to pierce right through his skull into his brain.

"Silent Mind."

He couldn't think. His brain went completely blank. All the noise, the chatter that his innumerable thoughts made, all stopped at once. All conscious thought just went away. He no longer knew what he was doing. He didn't even realize when he hit the deck. And he definitely didn't understand when Silencer's fist struck his face, knocking him down. He couldn't even register the pain from the blow.

And then he did, grimacing and clutching his cheek. Suddenly, he could think again and he gasped at the shock of it all. What had just happened? He'd…he'd had her. And then, all of a sudden, he didn't. Everything had just become…

Calm.

"You," he murmured, turning to Silencer, and was surprised again when the words actually made a sound. It took him a second to realize the background noise had returned from people on the docks to birds overhead to the water lapping below to even Broderick making sounds behind his gag. "How did you do that?"

"The Calm-Calm fruit," she replied simply. "It's most powerful technique calms all the noise and chatter in a person's mind, making them…docile. Thoughtless. Simple." Her face grew a small smile that made it look like she was ready to eat him. "And easy to destroy."

"You'd better have some money on you, brat," Richard growled, taking in the mess that was his office. But he had more important things to deal with now. Like honoring his word.

He pulled out his transponder snail from his pocket and put it through. "Silencer," he said.

There was no response. Richard growled and tried again but it seemed she would not be picking up. He tried the others but received no answers from them either. Feeling his veins popping, Richard went to the next person. Fortunately, he picked up.

"Yeah boss?" Armand Sam replied.

"Get all the cannons ready and the ships prepared to cast off. We are commencing with Operation Siege. I will be there soon."

"You got it boss! I won't let you down!"

"You had better not," Richard growled before hanging up and leaving his office. However, a few seconds after he left, there was a slight groan from the floor below as Luffy began to sit up, pushing himself out of the ground.

Richard pushed his way to the nearest balcony and glowered down at the courtyard below, seeing the devastation. And, worst of all, he could see the prone form of Kodiak next to the figure of Zoro who was still standing.

"Kodiak," he said, gritting his teeth roughly. "You have failed me."

He stepped up onto the balcony's railing and tensed his legs before shooting down below.

"Draco Dive."

Zoro barely had time to look up before Richard landed, striking him hard in the chest and sending him flying into the wall cracking it. Zoro stiffened up, spluttering, before he collapsed on the ground.

"Pathetic," Richard sniffed before racing off, not wanting to waste any more time here. He would decide what to do with Kodiak when he returned.

He used a portion of Breath of the Dragon to increase his speed as he ran towards the docks but came to a stop when he spotted more devastation, another battle having taken place here. And he felt more veins pop when he saw Moth's prone form on the ground.

"Useless!" he cried, kicking the man's body aside angrily. "I am surrounded by incompetents! I'll have to do everything myself, won't I?"

He continued on his way, threatening Brick and Silencer in his mind if he found their fallen forms when he arrived.

"Ow," Luffy groaned as he got back to his feet. "That hurt! Man, I could really go for some meat right about now. But first I gotta kick that guy's…hey, where'd he go?" He looked around but there was no sign of Richard. Though, now that he thought about it, it also wasn't the same room. "Huh?" he said, realizing he was now in a hallway. "What happened to…oh, right." He glanced upwards and saw the hole he made. "Wow. What a hole."

He stretched upwards, grabbing the sides of the hole, and pulled himself up. He expected Richard to be there, waiting for him, but the man was gone, making Luffy frustrated.

"Hey Richard!" he cried. "Where'd you run off to you scared bastard?"

He raced out of the broken room and down the hallway, looking for anything that could help him find Richard.

"Hey!" a guard said, running up at Luffy's yells. "You're that straw hat kid! You-"

"You!" Luffy growled, grabbing the man's collar and pulling him in close. "Where's Richard?"

"Why would I tell yo-"

Wham!

"He left!" the guard grunted through the new bump on his face. "I think he went to the docks."

"That bastard!" Luffy seethed. "Leaving before we finished our fight! What a coward! I'll kick his ass twice as hard now! Which way to the docks?"

"Uh…just follow the main road and then take a left when you reach the intersection at…"

"Never mind, too boring. I'll just find it on my own," Luffy interrupted. "How do I get out of here?"

"Uh…down those stairs and then you just go-"

"Never mind, just show me," Luffy interrupted again, getting a firmer grip on the man and racing down the steps. As he went, he saw a few more guards but whenever they tried to attack, a swift punch convinced them that was a bad idea. Or knocked them out.

Thanks to the guard he'd abducted, he found the courtyard without a problem. It didn't take him long though to see Zoro weakly rising from the ground a little ways away, grunting from the effort.

"Zoro!" Luffy cried, guard still in tow.

"Luffy?" Zoro muttered.

"What happened to you?"

"Richard came flying out of nowhere and attacked me from behind. Took me down before I realized what was even happening. Damn bastard," Zoro growled.

"Ah, he ran away from me too!" Luffy growled with him. "Just stay here Zoro, I'll go get him and make him pay!"

"He…beat Kodiak," the guard muttered softly, seeing the Longbow pirate's fallen form just a few meters away and gaping. He didn't think anyone could take them on.

"Alright, let's go!" Luffy cried out, reaffirming his grip on the guard and taking off again as fast as he could, heading right for the docks.

Emiko rose back up as quickly as she could. Her body ached from Brick's hit but she'd gotten hit with worse. Komodo's brutal training came back to her and no matter how hard he hit her, he forced her to keep moving, to keep fighting. For the first time, she was actually grateful for all that as it made her tough enough to withstand this.

"Had enough?" Brick asked, chuckling.

"You'll need to hit me way harder, blubber boy."

Instantly, Brick stopped laughing. "What did you just call me?" he asked and she could see the rage practically steaming off of him and knew he was in berserker mode now. It was a risky move given his strength and speed increased now. But it gave her one advantage. He was way more stupid now.

"You heard me you overinflated whale. Now, you going to fight or just stand there flexing your pudge?"

"RAH!" he roared, charging her again. His punch was faster but it was also more obvious and she was able to dodge it. He came at her again and she leapt over the fist, nocking and firing a pulse arrow into his face that sent him reeling from the shockwave. He grunted and charged her again, pounding through the jetty and allowing her fire a flashbang arrow right into his face.

"YAH!" he cried in pain and shock and Emiko snorted. That was a mistake though as his hand shot out at the noise and she couldn't get away in time before he grabbed her by the ankle and threw her to the side. She hit the ground and rolled a few meters, grunting from the fresh wave of pain. Still, she fought through it and looked up just in time for Brick to come leaping at her.

She fired a net arrow right into his face, the net wrapping around him tightly and making him roar in rage as he landed and ripped it off, allowing Emiko to gain some distance and fire another onto-grabber arrow at him, hoping the sudden attack of multiple objects would distract him. But then he shocked her again when, as the arrow fired off the cables, he grabbed them and swung them at Emiko, sending all the grappled objects hurtling her way.

"Fuck!" she cried, dodging out of the way before she got smashed by all the crates and barrels, feeling maybe a dozen splinters hit her again. She couldn't keep this up. She had one way to bring him down but if he kept this up she didn't think she'd be able to pull it off. He may be dumbed but he was still really strong. "Final gambit time," she muttered before raising herself up and nocking a fresh arrow. "Hey!" she cried as Brick ripped off the arrow in him, making him look up. "That all you…all you…got," she mumbled falling to her knees.

"Heh, you're finished!" Brick roared, charging her again.

Emiko looked up at him and waited, clenching her bow tightly. One…two…THREE! she mentally screamed, dodging out of the way in time as Brick blew past her. He came to a stop before he could fall into the water behind her, pinwheeling his arms to regain his balance before turning to face her again. "That was your plan? How ridi-"

Emiko fired her arrow, the cables shooting out around Brick's ankles and tying them tightly together.

"Seriously?" he smirked. "I can snap these lik-"

Emiko fired one of her last arrows, mentally cursing that she actually had to use it. The arrow flew right at Brick's face, his fist rising to block it. But, at the last second, the head shot out, moving even faster and then the insides bloomed out into a bright red boxing glove that struck Brick right in the nose, knocking him back. He grunted in surprise and then he cried out as his foot went over the jetty. He tried to stop himself but he couldn't regain his balance and fell into the water with a large splash.

"Heh," Emiko muttered, shaking her head. "Can't believe I actually had to use that stupid thing. Roy better not find out about it."

But there was no time to waste, Brick already surfacing. She grabbed another arrow, wincing at the empty feeling in her quiver as she pulled it out, firing it into the water near Brick. As soon as she did, it unleashed a current of electricity that had Brick convulsing in seconds.

She sighed in relief. She knew the electricity wouldn't hurt him through his thick skin, but in the water…well she didn't know the exact reason why but she knew it was a great conductor of electricity, especially seawater, and thought this way the arrow stood a better chance of breaking through Brick's defenses.

And judging from the way Brick's body was jerking around, she was right.

"Time to wrap this up," she said, grabbing another foam arrow. Like the shock one, this arrow worked even better in water as well. However, as soon as she nocked it, Brick let out a gasp and fell beneath the surface. "What the fuck?" she muttered, looking at where he'd been. "Did he just fucking drown? Oh well," she shrugged. "Couldn't have happened to a more horrible guy. Except maybe Richard. Now," she swung her gaze to the crate still on the jetty where Lian was still trapped, "time to get you out."

She leapt over all the damage Brick had wrought on, landing on the more stable planks before racing over to Lian as fast as she could. Once she got her out, she'd go back for Roy and then…well, then she hoped Luffy beat Richard and that that would be that.

CRACK!

Emiko cried out as the planks beneath he ripped apart and a hand tore through them. Before she could react, it grabbed hold of her and yanked her down hard, her back hitting the jetty. She tried to move but the pressure was too much, her foot feeling like it was about to be ripped off.

No, that wasn't what was happening. She wasn't being pulled down, she was being used to pull someone up.

A second hand crashed through the jetty and then Brick's head broke through, grinning at her as he dragged the rest of himself up as well, shaking off the splintered planks. "Miss me?" he asked, and then whipped Emiko's body up by the ankle and brought it back down hard.

Emiko couldn't even cry out, the air exploding from her lungs, her whole body contorting from the impact. Before she could even process the blow, Brick brought her up again and threw her as far as he could, her body striking the side of the ship.

Maybe it was luck or maybe just pure instinct but as he body fell down towards the water, her hand caught onto the rigging on the ship's side, stopping her descent. She groaned, trying to stay conscious as she moved her body over to place her foot on the rigging as well, taking the weight from her hand.

"Still alive, huh?" she heard Brick cry out and weakly turned to his voice. As soon as she had, she felt a second rush of energy as she saw Lian's crate in his hands. "Well," he called out to her, "she won't be."

She didn't even have time to scream before he tossed the crate into the water. She moved to jump in after her, to pry open that crate and save her, but stopped when she saw Brick's expression. That's what he wanted. She would be vulnerable in the water and he could kill her easily.

She wanted to shoot him down but none of her arrows would work and she didn't even have her bow, the damn thing having fallen from her grip back at the jetty. She was completely helpless against him. Only her more explosive arrows truly affected him and only a little at that. She didn't have anything stronger than that.

But the ship did.

Emiko grinned. "Ok, one last try," she muttered. "Just hold on Lian, I'll get to you in a sec." She then turned and crawled up the rigging.

"Oh, how cruel! But do you really think you can escape from me?" There was a loud splash behind her as Brick dove into the water but she didn't focus on that, only on moving her aching body up the side of the ship. She clambered over the side, letting out a soft groan, before forcing herself to get up again. She could rest later. Right now, she had to finish this.

First thing she did was unhook the chain on the nearest one, letting her pull it back. She was surprised but relieved to it all loaded up. Then she recalled what Richard had said, about destroying the Glades. Evidently, everyone had been setting up to do that. In fact, now that she looked around the ship, all of them were aimed at the Glades.

She had only just had that thought when she heard a grunt from the side of the ship as well as a crunching noise of wood being crushed. Brick was here.

She had a small moment of panic as she realized she still needed something to light it. But she still had one arrow in her quiver. She yanked it out and slammed the head down on the wick, setting off the flashbang and lighting the fuse just as Brick appeared.

"It's over!" he roared, swinging himself over the railing to come at her. "I've got you…oh," he murmured, seeing the barrel of the cannon as Emiko adjusted it to point right at him.

"Bombs away," she smirked right before the cannon went off, the cannonball striking Brick right in his chest and sending him flying back over the side. Emiko whistled at the sight and then heard a crashing noise, moving over to see that Brick had landed back on the jetty, his body splayed out and smoking. She didn't know if he was alive or dead but he was definitely out.

"A cannon arrow," she murmured to herself. "I'll have Henry draw up some plans."

Then, without another thought, she turned and grabbed another cannonball before jumping over the side and hitting the water. Thanks to the cannonball, she sank almost instantly, the weight dragging her down to the bottom in seconds. Once she made it, she looked over in the direction of where Brick had thrown Lian's crate, already swimming there. It was murky and cold but she kept going, using her enhanced eyesight to peer through it all.

There! She zoomed towards the outline in the dark and would have breathed out in relief if she wasn't underwater.

She had one last arrow and slammed it into the crate, the generated shockwave rupturing the planks and breaking them apart. She tossed them aside and shoved her hands inside, feeling Lian's body instantly. She then swam, harder than she'd ever swam before, kicking her legs up to the surface. She felt the strain of her battle, all the injuries piling onto her, but she kept going, never pausing or even slowing down until her head broke the surface alongside Lian's.

Except while she let out a breath, Lian didn't. "No," Emiko murmured, seeing Lian's gaunt and lifeless expression. "No, come on! Don't do this!"

She swam to the jetty and pulled them both up, laying Lian out. She then placed her hands over Lian's chest and started pumping. "Don't you dare go Lian!" she cried. "Don't you dare! Come on! Come on! Come on!"

"S-stop!"

"Ah!" Emiko gasped, feeling Lian's hand on hers, stopping her from pressing down again. "Li-lian?"

"I coughed up the water a while ago," Lian told her. "Why'd you keep pumping? That freaking hurts!"

Emiko felt herself laughing and crying. "Well, sorry for saving your life," she muttered. As she let out a breath of relief, she felt her adrenaline fade away and the fatigue really start to hit her. "I'm just…so glad…you're still alive."

"Emiko! Emiko!"

Emiko didn't hear her, falling back on the jetty as everything went dark.

"This is not good," Shang-Chi muttered. That was a seriously powerful attack. If Silencer was able to remove his thought process in a fight…he could die. She could kill him easily. He wouldn't be able to react of even register any movement she made. So he instantly knew from the fact she hadn't used it yet and that she hadn't just used it to kill him meant that it was something she couldn't use often and that didn't last long.

At least, that's what he was hoping.

So how could he do this? Try and overwhelm her and make her use it continuously? Too risky seeing as she could use it to kill him. Gain some distance and attack from there? A good option but he'd already tried that and she'd shown how adept she was at long distance combat. Besides, he already knew that dragging this fight out much longer would be worse on him given his current level of stamina. So what else was there? How could he attack her when she could shut his mind down any second and take him out before he realized?

Well, what if she couldn't attack him back?

The idea hit fast and he acted on it even faster, already moving. He turned and raced down the deck. He noticed that the sounds hadn't vanished yet, meaning Silencer was conserving her own energy for the 'Silent Mind' attacks. He could hear the Marine Broderick laughing at him from behind the gag but Shang-Chi ignored him. He spotted what he needed just ahead and raced towards the barrels, grabbing one and turning around.

He gasped as he saw Silencer in front of him, coming in for the kill. She silenced her movements, he realized, cursing himself for not contemplating that action. But there was no time for that. If he didn't do something now, he was dead.

He threw the barrel hard and saw her dodge over it. But for an instant there, her view was obstructed and he used that to throw the other barrel before charging her, leaping up to kick at her.

And just like before, his mind went completely blank, all thoughts gone.

"It's over," Silencer smirked, raising her knife to stab the man in the heart. "A good effort, but…huh?"

She glanced down and saw the shadow growing at her feet, making her look up. She gasped in surprise and threw up her hands, dodging to the side as the barrel crashed down. She wasn't quite fast, the barrel glancing off her side. But that was enough to make her lose control.

Shang-Chi blinked, his thoughts returning, and he saw his plan had worked, the barrel glancing off Silencer. And he was still gearing to kick her. He strengthened his posture just before he struck, repowering it in time.

Silencer spluttered, his foot hitting her stomach and sending her stumbling backwards a few meters. Shang-Chi kept it up, charging at her again. He couldn't give her the chance to use that technique again. He had to finish her off now while she was down.

But as he reared his hand back, he saw the gleam in her eye. "Too slow," she murmured, striking with her knife as she shut his mind down again.

However, as she moved to stab him, she blinked in surprise as she saw him move backwards away from her. Impossible, she thought, now trying to close the distance between them. His mind should be shut down. How is he…wait, did he instinctively throw himself back before I closed his mind?

Just as she realized that, another movement caught her eye and she glanced down and saw his foot rising up to kick her. She didn't have time to avoid it completely, only to twist her body in midair so that she received it to her side instead of her gut. Still, it was enough to make her lose her concentration, forcing her to release Silent Mind. As she fell, she threw her blade at Shang-Chi.

His mind cleared in time to see the blade coming his way and he ducked his head, feeling it slice his cheek as it flew by. He hit the deck and rolled backwards, coming up on his feet in a crouch.

He was alive. He wasn't so sure it would work but it had been his only option in the moment. When he knew she would shut down his mind, he started to throw himself backward to avoid her strike or at least lessen the damage as well as kick up with his leg to try and throw her off and release his mind. He figured because he'd already started the actions, he'd continue them on instinct rather than thought. It seems he was right.

He couldn't stop now so he moved, leaping into the air and spinning his body around to gain momentum for his kick.

"Whirlwind Strike."

"Too slow," Silencer replied and he saw her body tense up just before everything went calm. She readied herself to attack but then blinked in surprise, seeing he was still moving, coming at her fast. She threw herself to the side before his kick could hit her and then moved to attack but even as his foot came down on the deck again, he kept spinning, his leg whirling around dangerously, leaving her little room to attack.

Damn it! she seethed and dropped Silent Mind, unable to hold onto it any longer.

Shang-Chi blinked as his mind returned and then stumbled his spin, nearly falling over. No! he thought. She could use this to her advantage.

He turned and saw her coming at him with her blade fast. Her body tensed up and he knew she was about to shut his mind down again.

Need to-

His mind went blank.

"Now I have you," Silencer growled, stabbing at him. But she grimaced as she tried to push his arms aside, his limbs as firm and unyielding as steel, blocking her path to his chest. Even with his mind shut down, he refused to move them. She clenched her teeth and moved around him, stabbing him in the side instead. Her knife wasn't long enough to pierce his heart but this would at least do some damage.

However, as soon as her knife made contact, his arm moved, turning to the side and striking her arm to push it away.

What? she mentally gasped. How was this possible? How was he moving like that when his mind was shut down. He shouldn't be able to think. So how was he doing this?

Before she could think on it further, she felt her hold on his mind slip and he acted instantly, punching her in the chest and knocking her back.

She winced from the blow, feeling the power behind it. The pain from being stabbed must have activated some impulse, she thought. I also might not have had as tight a grasp on his mind. Still, for him to be able to move and fight like this is uncanny.

Shang-Chi grimaced, feeling the fresh wound. He'd felt it even through the calm but hadn't been able to think about stopping Silencer. And yet, his arm had moved in response to the pain, blocking Silencer from making the wound worse. Pure instinct, just like when he punched her as soon as his mind was free again.

"Father," he murmured.

"Dodge!"

Shang-Chi moved, sidestepping the attack.

"Attack!"

His fist moved before he realized it, catching his masked opponent in the hip and knocking him back.

"Leg!"

He kicked out, his foot striking his opponent in the chest and launching him away where he fell on the ground in a heap.

"You must tie your thoughts to your actions until you no longer need to think to move," his father informed him. "I will not be able to do it for you. You must make the instinctive movements without even a second's thought. Your enemies can use that second to their advantage. Let your thoughts and senses become one. Let your senses guide your actions."

Shang-Chi had never truly mastered that but he think he understood it now. He couldn't let himself think about every action or else Silencer would get him. She could only stop him from making new movements as he couldn't think to do them. But she couldn't stop ones already in motion as he would continue them on instinct. That was how he would win.

He only had one opening. He had noticed last time that she clenched her whole body when activating Silent Mind. If he made a move in that instant before his mind went blank, then he had a chance. He had panicked last time and it had nearly cost him but it seemed his father's teachings were woven into his very being, saving his life. He wasn't sure how he felt about that so just moved past it.

Let your thoughts and senses become one and let your senses be your guide, he thought. He couldn't think for longer than an instant. He had to act on pure instinct.

"Let's go," he muttered and rushed forward. Silencer saw him coming and he saw the tension in her body. He instantly dropped down and threw his leg out in one movement. His mind shut down, but his actions continued and Silencer wasn't fast enough to dodge as his leg swept hers from under her, knocking her flat on the deck.

Just as quickly, Shang-Chi's mind returned and he moved, aiming to strike her through the deck.

Tense, he noted and moved.

His mind went blank and she rolled out of the way. But to her horror, so did he, twisting in the air so that his back now faced the deck. She barely comprehended that before his elbow came down on her gut hard, knocking her hard into the planks of wood.

Her body heaved as it struck and she felt like she might throw up. But she grabbed hold of his arm against her body, holding it fast, before calming his mind again and using that instant to stab at him again. But his other fist came around, somehow moving despite his mind shutting down, and she was forced to block him, releasing his mind.

Shang-Chi had felt her body tense up and had thrown that punch her way just before his mind went blank. He could tell he was wearing her down. "You should have put more effort into mastering that technique of yours," he told Silencer.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "How are you countering Silent Mind?"

Shang-Chi didn't respond, merely held out his hands as an invitation to attack. She glared at him with hatred before he saw her tense up again and launched himself forward, practically throwing himself at her. But he never felt Silent Mind, his thoughts still working normally. Instead, Silencer brought up her knife and slashed at him, forcing him to stomp his feet down hard to stop his leap and narrowly avoid the slash.

She didn't let up, her knife skills lighting fast as she came at him, forcing him to back away a few steps to avoid the slashes. He grabbed hold of her arm but she just threw the knife to her other arm. As she did, Shang-Chi noticed her body tensing up and made his own movement, stepping out of the way as she thrust.

"So that's how you're doing it," Silencer muttered. She caught the knife just as she activated Silent Mind again and thrust at him but she missed, Shang-Chi already moving out of the way, her blade just cutting the edge of his shirt. He must have found a way to tell when she was going to use Silent Mind and made a movement right before he lost control, his body continuing that movement instinctively. She didn't know anyone could do that yet here he was.

He was also right about her control over it as she could only hold his mind for a few seconds. Still, that should be enough for this and he obviously could only make one movement every time. Which meant that while his body instinctively dodged her attack, it couldn't stop dodging.

She smirked as she saw her opponent fall, his plan betrayed him as his body tripped and…no. No, he wasn't falling. Silencer felt her smirk fade away as his other foot came back and stopped his descent. But how? He'd already made one movement. He couldn't make anymore, not while under Silent Mind. So how was he doing this?

Frustrated, she lunged at him, shoving him down to the deck and raising her knife up to plunge it down into his chest. But as she dove, Shang-Chi's arm suddenly rose up and blocked her, stopping her from killing him. Her knife still went in, but not nearly enough to do any real damage.

Damn it! Silencer cursed, backing off and releasing Silent Mind. How was he doing this? How was he continually thwarting her?

Shang-Chi registered pain first when he woke up this time, across his back and in his chest. The back wasn't too bad but from his chest he could clearly tell he'd just been stabbed. Still, it hadn't gone deep so he should be fine.

This is getting to be too much, he thought. He couldn't keep this up. Silencer had nearly done him in just now and…wait. He blinked, looking at his arm. He'd blocked her. He remembered now that when she dove at him, he blocked her. But…how had he done that? Why had his body acted that way, like on its own?

He didn't have to think about it. He had to act, now. He shot to his feet and launched himself forward, pouring all his energy into his leg muscles to give him that boost. Silencer saw him coming and he saw her tense but this time she was too slow and she was forced to dodge before he struck her. The second she moved out of the way though, Shang-Chi acted, planting his foot down to whip the other around, making her dodge under it. He swiftly shifted his leg's trajectory to come down at her at a diagonal angle but she threw herself forward, catching his leg and using it to toss him off balance.

Not so fast, he thought, whipping his other leg around while in midair and catching her in the side as he went down. As he did, he threw his hands up, letting them hit the deck and absorb the impact so he could push off them and shoot back up to attack again. He couldn't let her have even a second to activate her technique now. He had to move as fast as possible and end this once and for all.

He dashed across the deck, not giving her the chance to recover, forcing her to dodge again. He kept coming at her, his fists and kicks swirling around like a whirlwind. She dodged and parried, attacking back with equal ferocity. He caught her in the ribs and she slashed his shoulder. He kicked her knee, she landed a blow right to his face. On and on they went, neither letting up on the other.

"Why are you doing this?" Silencer demanded, ducking under a fist and grabbing his arm to try and pull him over her shoulder. He resisted, instead shooting her a kick that made her drop his arm to block. "Why fight for this island? What does it mean to you?"

"Not much," Shang-Chi admitted, leaping over her kick. "But my captain wished to fight yours, to protect it and Emiko. So that is what I'll do."

"You do this for her? All of this for a girl you recently met?" Silencer asked in disbelief. She flipped overhead, her feet nearly smashing into Shang-Chi's skull but he caught her with his hands. But then she turned on the spot, nearly twisting his arms around, making him let her go and dodge aside.

"I do this for my captain," Shang-Chi replied, blocking her knife and trying to catch it as she tossed it to her free hand again only to wince as he got stabbed. "But even so, I would fight you regardless. Your reign of terror ends today."

"We are pirates. This is what we do," she said simply, launching a series of thrusts that forced Shang-Chi to move backwards. He dropped to the ground and shot back up throwing his hands out and tossing Silencer's aside. The knife went flying away as a result.

"So are we and-"

He stopped. When the knife went flying, his eyes had tracked it to make sure it was out of her reach. He also watched her movements for a counter attack and had moved to counter her leg coming up. But then his arm had come up as well and before he knew it, he blocked the strike he hadn't seen coming. He saw Silencer gritting her teeth in frustration, the knife in her other hand pushing to stab him. How had he blocked it? He hadn't seen it coming. Or had he? It had all gone too fast.

"Block!"

Shang-Chi's arm came up at his father's words, blocking the attack he hadn't even seen coming, his opponent's knife inches from his face.

He'd done that exercise hundreds of times. An unseen attack until the last instant. He was ready for it, his arm coming on instinct.

No, it was something more than that. It was how he'd moved even when under the Silent Mind too. His body was so trained and prepped because of his father, he'd made those movements on muscle memory alone.

"You will never win," Silencer growled, pulling back with her fresh knife. "Your captain will never win. He cannot beat Richard."

"We'll see," Shang-Chi replied.

"You honestly believe he will be victorious?" Silencer asked incredulously.

"I don't need to believe him. He believes in himself," Shang-Chi said. "That's enough."

"You're a fool then," she told him. "And that will be-"

The world went silent. It had been a while since she'd done this that Shang-Chi had gotten used to the noise again, the quiet void taking him aback. But what was even more surprising was that Silencer made no attack against him. Instead, she pulled something out of her belt.

"Oh no," Shang-Chi muttered silently, seeing the fresh smoke bomb. But before he could make a move to her, she activated it, the deck disappearing behind the smoke in mere seconds.

Shang-Chi guessed her plan in an instant. She would use silent mind on him while in the smoke to strike at him so he couldn't prepare. He would be completely helpless.

He crouched down, tensing up his legs and powering them, before he kicked upwards, shooting above the smoke and into the air. He saw the mast rearing its head at him and he brought his legs up, kicking off it and using that small amount of momentum to reach the lower yardarm, swinging himself onto it before gravity could take hold.

He allowed himself a small smile as he saw Silencer emerge from the smoke, cursing silently. He knew this was a stalemate. He didn't think she could make it up here to get to him so using Silent Mind on him would be pointless. But he also couldn't get to her from up here either. He would have to go down there to finish her off which would also make him vulnerable to her attack.

One last move, he thought to himself. He could predict how this would go and could only think of one way he would come out on top. Time to see if he was right.

He reached down and yanked off his shoe, throwing it as hard as he could down below for shooting down behind it. He noticed Silencer dodging the shoe, it hitting the deck hard next to her. And before she could react, he landed back on the deck, facing her directly, his fists coiled up next to his hips, primed to go.

"It's over," he heard Silencer say, seeing her tense, and braced himself right before his mind went quiet.

Silencer shook her head. He had been a formidable opponent, the greatest she'd ever fought, but this time he would fall. His arms were out of the way, clenched away next to him. Clearly he'd wanted to throw some special punch but hadn't gotten the chance. His luck had run out.

"Goodbye, so-called pirate," Silencer said before stabbing him.

Bam!

As soon as her knife struck him, his fist shot out, hitting her hard in the shoulder and almost dislocating it. She just managed to hold onto Silent Mind and blinked in shock before his other fist came at her even faster, striking her other shoulder and sending a wave of pain flooding through it.

"What is this?" she managed to growl in frustration before the first fist came back, nearly taking her head off. She moved to back away but then the second fist came at her, striking her in the gut. She still held onto Silent Mind but it was by a thread.

That thread snapped when Shang-Chi's fist hit her in the face next and she completely lost her hold.

Muscle memory, Shang-Chi had thought. He had done this so many times, spent hours under the sun, in the rain, in the snow, in the cold winds and blistering air, through every condition just slamming his fists over and over again into that pillar of rock to strengthen them. When he felt Silencer stab him, the fists he'd coiled into himself flew out, striking her on muscle memory alone and kept going, never giving her the chance to recover. Now that he was awake again, he kept it up.

"Fists of Fury!" he cried, punching harder and faster, his arms like blurs in the air as he move. Each struck Silencer wherever he could reach, his fists like hammers the way they hit, and continuing without relent.

Not…possible, Silencer thought, trying but unable to do anything against the barrage of punches. She knew this was it for her. She'd failed.

Shang-Chi cocked his fist one last time before he unleashed it right into the side of Silencer's face, sending her crashing into the deck as hard as he could, splintering and shattering the planks. Even before she struck the deck, he knew she was unconscious.

He breathed hard, falling to his knees and allowing his body to tremble a little from it all. "Muscle memory," he muttered. "Who knew?"

He smirked, looking up into the air and then over to the central section of the island, where two captains were most certainly going at it with each other.

"The rest is up to you Luffy. Don't let us down."

"Sam!"

"Yes boss?" the official jumped to attention as Richard arrived at the docks. The pirate captain felt his body loosen up a bit as he released his Breath of the Dragon technique.

"Have preparations been made?"

"Yes sir!" Sam affirmed. "The boats are moving into position now and all of them will have their cannons ready to fire on the Glades. We'll blow that peninsula all the way to hell, no question about it."

"Good," Richard nodded. "Now, where are Brick and Silencer?"

"Um…" Sam hesitated, irking Richard even more. "Last we saw, Brick and that archer girl were fighting several docks down that way. And we haven't seen Silencer since she first came with that Harper. She dropped him off over on that ship for Broderick to collect." He gestured to one of the galleons.

Richard ground his teeth, annoyance overtaking him. Why hadn't she responded to his calls? If she had lost to one of these damn associates of Straw Hat, he would make sure she suffered before her death.

"Keep watch and don't let anyone else through," he warned Sam. "Inform me if you see any of my crew."

"Yes sir!"

"And inform me when the plan can go ahead," he added before stalking towards the ship. This day had started out well with the defeat of the Green Arrow. But then that damn grandson of Garp had stormed his office and challenged him to a fight, wrecking most of Richard's stuff. To top it off, several of Richard's warriors had been defeated. So hopefully the annihilation of the Glades would help remind him and others of his strength and power as well as bolster his spirits for the inevitable fight against Arlong and the Fish-man Pirates.

But, of course, as he climbed up the gangplank, his dad got worse. The ship was a mess with wreckage all around. Worse was seeing the Marines all tied up, Broderick even having a gag in his mouth.

The worst thing though was seeing Silencer's fallen form on the deck of the ship, that warrior of Straw Hat's seated next to her.

Useless! Richard screamed internally.

He was across the deck in an instant, the enemy warrior unable to react in time before Richard had the man's throat in his grasp.

"You arrogant brats have annoyed me so much that I will make your death linger," Richard promised, squeezing tight and feeling the man struggle. A swift knee to the solar plexus put an end to that though, the man spluttering from the attack. "You thought your captain would beat me?" Richard remarked, scoffing as he recalled the man saying that Straw Hat would 'take care of him.' "How ridiculous. As if someone like him could ever be able t-"

"RICHARD!" a familiar voice rang out over the docks.

Luffy had run across the town heading right for the docks, the guard in his arms guiding him the whole way. Rage and adrenaline burned inside of him with each step. Richard may have sent him crashing into the floor below, but that didn't mean the fight was over! Luffy was going to kick his ass twice as hard for walking away like that!

They arrived at the docks and Luffy instantly looked around. "Where is he?"

"Hey!" a voice cried, making him and the guard still in his arms look over to see an official stomping towards them. "You can't be here!"

"You!" Luffy pointed. "Where's Richard?"

The official snorted. "Like I would tell you anything. Now-"

Luffy's hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him back as Luffy recoiled his arm. The official yelped in surprise and shock, not expecting the more.

"Tell me where Richard is," Luffy demanded.

"I would rather die!" the official spat though he was quaking in his boots.

"Gah!" Luffy cried out in annoyance, turning to one of the nearby workers who gave a cry, recognizing him from before.

"He went onto the Galleon," the man said, pointing to one of the ships.

"Paul, you trai-AH!" Sam cried as Luffy tossed him aside. He also let go of the guard before stretching out his arms and grabbing hold of two wooden poles with each hand.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" he cried, whipping up into the air in the direction of the ship pointed to him. Once he was up, he saw Dragon Richard on the deck of the ship. And in his hands was Shang-Chi, Luffy's crewmate banged up from his own fight. Luffy gritted his teeth in anger and shot out his right arm behind him.

"RICHARD!" he cried out.

"What?" Richard growled at the voice, turning to see Luffy up in the air.

"Heh," Shang-Chi chuckled dryly. "Not so ridiculous, it would seem."

"Stop messing with my crew, you coward!" Luffy cried. "Gum-Gum Pistol!"

His arm shot back, coming down right towards Richard who instantly moved to get out of the way. Or, he would have, if Shang-Chi hadn't grabbed hold of him.

"Eye for an eye, a hit for a hit," Shang-Chi commented.

Richard couldn't reply as Luffy's fist struck him in the solar plexus. His body folded as he took the blow, the strength behind it shocking him. He tried to hold himself in place, tried to remain standing, but it was too much and he went flying backwards. Still, while in the air, he was able to do a backflip, landing on his hands and pushing off of them. He hit the cabin behind him, his feet striking the wooden wall, absorbing the impact painfully. He kicked off, landing back on the deck firmly.

"Should have known Garp's own blood wouldn't go down that easily," he growled, readying himself.

Luffy landed on the deck as well, the wooden panels cracking slightly from the impact. "Sorry I'm late," he told Shang-Chi. "This bastard just went and decided to abandon the fight right in the middle of it!"

"No worries, Captain."

"It seems I underestimated your resilience, Straw Hat," Richard said. As he talked, he removed his shirt, revealing his bare skin and his dragon tattoo that crossed over his whole body. "It would seem I'm going to have to make sure to bash your skull open to kill you."

"Ew," Luffy murmured, scrunching his nose in disgust. "That's just gross. I just want to kick your ass, first for what you did to Emiko and then again for abandoning the fight!"

"You fight for a girl you just met," Richard snorted. "Every word you speak is an insult to pirates everywhere!"

He was about to move forward when his transponder snail suddenly went off. Richard paused and then grabbed hold of it. He tensed but to his surprise, Luffy did nothing, so he answered the call. "What is it?" he demanded.

"Sorry boss, we had a little hiccup when that straw hat maniac came running by," Sam's voice came through.

"Yes, I can see that," Richard growled though he couldn't blame them on this one, Straw Hat was stronger than he seemed.

"But no worries, the plan will proceed. We're going to start shipping out in just a minute and most of the cannons are locked and loaded."

Luffy wasn't really listening, more just waiting for the call to end. He knew he could launch the attack now and take Richard by surprise but he preferred waiting until the man was ready to go.

Shang-Chi on the other hand was listening and he frowned at those words, wondering what they meant.

"Commence bombardment as soon as the first ship is able to," Richard ordered. "Do not wait for my command. There is a chance I will be busy for the next few minutes so do not call me back or wait for me, understood?"

"You got it boss. Don't worry, we'll turn the Glades into nothing but rubble!"

Both Luffy and Shang-Chi's eyes widened in shock at the words. "Rubble?" Luffy cried as Richard put the snail away. "What does that mean?"

"I warned Emiko what the consequences of her betrayal would be," Richard replied. "I will destroy the Glades completely. Besides, I need to see the power of my fleet and ensure it is up to the task of taking on Arlong and all the other pirates of the East Blue."

Shang-Chi hissed at Arlong's name, recognizing it, but he let it go for immediate concerns.

"You're going to destroy the Glades, all those people, for that?" Luffy said quietly. In his mind, he saw the fires of Gray Terminal, the screams of the people inside. He saw Ace and Dadan disappear into the flames, thinking he might never see them again. He clenched his fists, glaring at Richard with rage. "Now I'm going to kick your ass three times as hard!"

Richard snorted. "You can't even promise to kill someone like a normal pirate," he said. "You want to kick my ass? Well I want to watch you choke on your own blood. That's a real threat and I can actually back it up! So come at me, Straw Hat!"

"Shangy, you know what to do!" Luffy cried before launching himself forward, Richard moving to meet him.

Next to them, Shang-Chi nodded solemnly and pulled himself to his feet, ignoring all the pain in his body. He took Roy's unconscious form and quickly hurried down the gangplank away from the fight. Once he was back on solid ground, he sighed as he took in all the ships lining the docks, each lined with enough cannons to turn the Glades to ash and dust.

"No one ever said this was going to be easy."

Back on the deck, Luffy ducked down as Richard's foot swept over his head and then threw himself upwards with his fist aimed for the man's chin. But even on one foot, Richard was able to twist his body out of the way and then kick off of that foot to land a strike on Luffy's head, sending him flying into the cabin wall.

"I can read all your moves, Straw Hat. You may be strong, but you're too slow," Richard declared. "This won't last too long."

Luffy grumbled as he freed himself. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" he cried, throwing another fist at the man but Richard dodged it easily. The man then rushed him and Luffy had to throw himself to avoid the punch and then twist his body to the side as Richard pushed his punch downwards, the fist now striking the deck instead of Luffy's chest.

Acting fast, Luffy brought his leg up for a sweeping kick but Richard jumped over it and launched his own kick that Luffy wasn't able to dodge, his body striking the deck hard and splintering the wood. He grunted again, trying to pull himself up in time when Richard's foot came down just like back in the office, smashing into Luffy's chest and sending him crashing down into the lower deck.

"Ow," Luffy moaned, now picking himself up from this deck. Still, that didn't hurt as bad last time. Had Richard gotten weaker or something?

Luffy didn't think about it long as he spotted something and an idea came to him.

Richard stood next to the hole in the deck. He knew now that such an attack wouldn't be enough to defeat Straw Hat but it would buy him the time he needed. He inhaled deeply, tensing his body. "Breath of the Dragon," he murmured, feeling his strength and stamina increase. He'd already used this technique three times today. If he didn't finish this fight quickly, the consequences to his body would be severe. But if it helped him kill this arrogant whelp, it would be worth it.

"Now, let's e-"

"Gum-Gum…"

Richard blinked as Luffy leapt up out of the hole, landing back on the deck. Richard instantly knew something was wrong but he couldn't sense what it was until Luffy's arms shot out of the hole carrying something large.

"…Hammer!" Luffy cried, bringing the crate down right towards Richard.

"Clever," Richard said, backing up. "But it won't be enough t-"

CRASH!

The crate smashed into the deck a few feet in front of Richard and exploded outwards. That's when Richard saw the contents of the crate as dozens of cannonballs shot out in every direction, mostly towards him.

"Shit!" he swore, moving quickly but he was still taken aback and the balls came too quickly and too randomly. He dodged the first ones but then it became impossible to avoid them all so he struck out, using his enhanced strength to knock aside any coming towards him. It still wasn't enough, cannonballs hitting him the thigh, the shoulder, the stomach, the ankle, and even the side of his head.

When the last of the cannonballs fell, Richard stood up straight, glowering, completely covered in splinters. "That really pissed me off," he said. "You damn-"

Smash!

He looked up at the sound and flinched as the bottom of the cannonballs' crate, which had remained intact, now broke apart as a foot smashed through it. He barely had time to tense up before it struck him in the chest, shooting him across the deck and into the railing which cracked on impact, Richard spluttering from the force.

"Ha!" Luffy cheered. "Didn't see that coming, did ya?"

He had seen the bottom of the crate blocking his vision of Richard and used that to his advantage, kicking through it so Richard wouldn't see it coming and dodge the attack.

"Now," he said, launching his arms out to where Richard was and grabbing hold of the railing on either side of him. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"

He launched himself towards his opponent, his arms snapping back to his side as he brought his right fist up for a punch. But just as he neared Richard, the man moved.

"Talon Strike."

Richard's hands, now in the shape of claws, struck Luffy on either side of his ribs. He cried out, pain shooting up from the spots, but Richard wasn't done. He released his grip on one of Luffy's sides and increased his grip on the other, tearing into his skin. Richard then smashed Luffy into the deck and dragged him across, tearing through the planks. Luffy wanted to cry out but his mouth just filled with splinters.

"Now take a dip!" Richard cried, hefting Luffy back up and chucking him over to the side of the ship to the waters below.

"Aye!" Luffy squealed in fear, knowing if he hit the water, he'd be defenseless. He turned around in the air and shot his arm out to the railing again. But as soon as it hit, Richard's foot came down on it, smashing his fingers. "Ow!" Luffy cried in pain. Still, he hung on just barely, stopping his descent.

"Whew," he said in relief before pulling himself back.

Smash!

Luffy blinked and then yelped when the section of the railing he was holding onto fell away, Richard having shattered it with a kick. Luffy looked around desperately as he fell, knowing he couldn't go for the railing again. Instead, his eyes landed on the mast and he acted instantly, launching his arm up towards it. He just managed to grab ahold of it before his back could hit the water. He let out a quick breath of relief before yanking himself up to his hand, landing firmly on the mast.

"That was close," he said, wiping his forehead. All over his body, he could feel fall splinters imbedded in his skin. He started picking them out as he planned his next move. "Now, le-"

He was interrupted when the mast suddenly shook. He stumbled, nearly losing his footing, before he looked down and gulped when he saw Richard there with a cannonball in each hand.

"Draco Smash!" he cried, bringing the cannonballs down on the mast's base with all his might.

"It's this way! No, not that way, I said this way!"

"Then say so!"

"I did! What is wrong with you?"

"Oh shut up!"

Zoro grumbled, holding Sabine in his arms as he carried her down the street, both of them trying to head to head towards the docks after Luffy. Once Luffy had left Zoro behind, Sabine had managed to make her way out of the building, leaving Red Dart's unconscious form behind. Zoro was still able to move pretty well, so he offered to carry her to the docks as well. That plan had been good in theory but Sabine quickly realized that in practice, it would go terribly. All thanks to Zoro's habit of going whichever direction he suddenly chose to.

"Just keep going straight!" she directed, wincing from her injuries. "No, straight! Why are you going right?"

Zoro grimaced, correcting himself as he swung to the left now.

"No, that's too far! Just follow my finger!" Sabine snapped, pointing.

"Fine!" Zoro grumbled, reorienting himself in that direction and racing off.

They, somehow, managed to make it to the docks without another incident where they found a very chaotic scene as workers scrambled around the docks, yelling at each other and scrambling up the different ships.

"What's going on here?" Zoro muttered.

"There, it's Shang-Chi," Sabine said, pointing. Zoro followed her finger and found their crewmate. He instantly ran over and Sabine was relieved to see he didn't wander off from the straight path he was on. "Shang-Chi!" she called as they got close, making him look up. In his arms was another man that Sabine recognized as Harper Roy. She and Zoro both flinched at the sight, the man in terrible shape.

"What are you doing here?" Shang-Chi asked. But before they could reply, he waved them off. "Never mind, not important. It's good that you are, we have a problem. Richard has ordered all his ships to sail out and open fire on the Glades."

Sabine gasped and Zoro growled at the words. "What?"

"Damn it."

"We need to stop them. You two still good to move?"

"Sorry, no," Sabine said, touching her stomach gingerly where Red Dart had shot her. "But I can look after Roy here."

"Right," Zoro nodded. "But how do we stop the ships? It's not like I can just cut them or you can just smash them."

Shang-Chi hesitated, mulling that over. How were they going to stop the ships? There were far too many for them to take down one at a time. So how could they do it?

His eyes landed on some nearby barrels with a word written on the front and he knew what they had to do. "This way," he told Zoro, racing over.

CRACK!

Luffy's eyes bulged as he saw the cannonballs smash though the bottom of the mast, splintering it and sending cracks spreading up it. The mast groaned and tilted, still just holding on if only barely. But that didn't last long as Richard reared his arm back and brought the cannonball down even stronger, shattering through the mast.

There was another loud groan and then a cracking sound before the mast finally began to collapse, falling down over the side of the ship towards the bay.

"Aye!" Luffy cried and jumped up off the mast before he could fall with it.

"Draco Soar!"

Before Luffy could even blink, Richard kicked off the deck of the ship, cracking it behind him from the force. In an instant, he was next to Luffy, making the boy flinch back in shock.

"Now, Gale Force Strike!" Richard bellowed, bringing his leg up and around so fast, he carried the wind with it. Luffy didn't have time to dodge, only able to throw his arms up in defense as the blow landed.

He flew down to the deck of the ship, smashing through it and even the lower deck beneath it. He groaned, his back aflame in pain from that blow. He was still feeling all the splinters from before. But he wasn't finished yet. Richard was still up in the air which gave Luffy another idea.

"Gum-Gum…" he said, launching his arms up. Richard saw him coming and did his best to twist out of the way but it was hard to do in the air and Luffy was too fast, latching onto his shoulders.

"…Hammer!" Luffy cried, bringing Richard down with all his strength. The man grunted and braced himself, folding up his legs and kicking out before he landed to try and absorb the blow.

"Draco Stomp!"

Pain still shot up his legs but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The deck just managed to hold as he landed, though it groaned and trembled from the impact.

Damn this brat, Richard thought, breathing heavily. He had hoped to finish this quickly but the fight was taking more out of him than he would have liked to admit. That rubber bastard was strong and resilient. Richard would have to give it more if he was going to win this.

As he thought that, Luffy shot out from below the deck, still holding onto Richard. Once he was back at the upper deck, he grinned and braced himself. "Now you're starting to get into it!" he said. "Gum-Gum-"

"Oh shut up," Richard replied, grabbing hold of both Luffy's arms firmly and swinging him around. Luffy yelped in surprise, trying to hold his footing but Richard was too strong, bringing him up into the air and twirling him around. Richard kept it up, rotating in place as he swung Luffy around and around as fast as he could.

"Getting…dizzy…" Luffy groaned, his head starting to feel fuzzy from nausea.

Richard let out a bellow before tossing Luffy at the cabin, sending him smashing into it. Luffy groaned as he burst through the wall and landed on the floor, his mind swirling around. He was having trouble collecting any thought from all that swinging. But he knew he had to get up. This fight wasn't done yet.

But, as soon as he did, he felt the air change and saw Richard charging right for him. "Draco Rush!" the man cried, bringing his knee up to strike at Luffy's chest.

There was a grunt as it struck and Richard let out a grin of satisfaction. But it slowly faded as Luffy didn't go flying back as he expected. Instead, Straw Hat just slid back a couple paces before holding steady, a grin spreading across his own face. Feeling a slight tremor of unease, Richard glanced down and let out a gasp when he saw Luffy's fingers all stretched over his knee. They hadn't stopped the blow but certainly slowed it down and absorbed some of the impact too.

"Heh," Luffy grinned. "Gum-Gum Finger Net!"

He leapt over Richard who was still shocked and landed behind him, his fingers stretching with him. They then tightened and Luffy gave them a yank. Richard blinked before he realized he was now completely trapped in the finger net, silently cursing right before Luffy swung him out of the cabin and back out over the deck. He struggled, trying to break out, but the fingers were both too squishy to grab hold of and too tough to pull apart. He could only brace himself as Luffy swung him around right back to the cabin. It was then that he finally released his net and Richard smashing into the wooden wall, creating a fresh hole there.

"Ha!" Luffy laughed. "That's how that feels, you jerk!"

Shang-Chi rushed up the gangplank, the barrel spilling its contents behind, leaving a snake-like trail in his wake. He reached the deck and spotted several workers moving the cannons into position.

"Hey!" one said, noticing him. "You can-"

Shang-Chi didn't let him finish, knocking him out with a kick. He had to repress a groan as he did it, his injuries flaring with every movement. He glared out at the other workers, making them shudder at the look.

"Get off," he warned, hefting up the barrel of gunpowder on his shoulder to show he meant business. They left in a hurry then, just like all the others.

Without wasting a second, Shang-Chi hurried towards the cabin, smashing the door down and winced at the fresh wave of pain. He quickly found the stairs leading down, making sure that the trail of gunpowder was unbroken as he descended to the lower deck. Once there, he made his way to where the gunpowder onboard was stored and placed his barrel there, its top still open.

He made his way back up swiftly, already heading back down the gangplank. He found another barrel of gunpowder ready to be used. He also saw Zoro descending his gangplank though, unsurprisingly, the trail leading to that ship was filled with zig-zags and loops all over the docks.

"How many more?" Zoro asked as they each grabbed another barrel.

"Too many," Shang-Chi replied. "It only takes one of these damn ships to kill and the gunpowder won't mean a damn thing if we don't get the chance to light it in the first place."

"Hey, stop right there!"

Both Shang-Chi and Zoro sighed as they turned to see the official from before, Sam, had returned alongside dozens of militia officers, including Ros and Scott from before.

"Haven't you had enough?" Zoro asked, readying his blades.

"You had the upper hand before, but look at you now," Sam sneered. "You both look ready to drop. Now, surrender or die."

"Why are you doing this?" Shang-Chi asked, taking them by surprise.

"For Master Dragon Richard of-"

"Not you!" Shang-Chi snapped, shutting the man up. He turned to the other militia men but didn't stop there, also looking out at all the dockworkers. "All of you! Why do you continue to follow along with the Longbow Pirates, with Richard? He oppresses you, keeps you down, and kills you if you disobey. Now, he's making you fire upon the Glades, slaughtering hundreds of innocent people. Is that what you want?"

He saw shame and fear in many of their faces and unconcern in others, some people just snorting at him. But he focused on the first group, hoping they'd listen.

"I defeated Silencer," he said, causing a gasp to echo out. "Zoro defeated Kodiak!"

Zoro nodded next to him.

"Lies!" Sam cried. "There's no way the Longbow Pirates would lose t-"

"Sabine defeated Red Dart. We found Moth's fallen form in the streets back there. And Brick…" Shang-Chi hesitated. He actually didn't know the outcome of Emiko's fight with Brick. He would like to say she won but what if she hadn't. He should have checked up on her but with everything going on…

"Brick is defeated!"

Everyone turned to see Harper Lian approaching, gently helping Emiko hobble down the docks towards them. The archer did not look good, obviously barely on her feet with Lian being the only reason she was able to stand and only just at that. But still, she looked at them all proudly.

"The Longbow Pirates are falling!" she declared. "Richard is the only one left and trust me, Luffy will beat him!"

"What nonsense!" Sam cried out. "Men, take-"

"How much longer should we live like this?" Emiko yelled, taking them all aback. "How much longer will we stay under Richard's boot, letting him and his lackey govern our lives? Do you think this will end someday, that we should just wait and hope for the best? We will never have a better chance than right now to be free of him. I am tired of just trying to survive on this damn island. I want to live! Don't you?"

There was silence, everyone staring at them now. Most of the militia were sneering in contempt at Emiko but a few there looked hesitant, giving her hope. And all the dockworkers looked over, going over what she just said.

"Enough of this!" Sam yelled. "Seize her an-"

"Can he do it?"

Sam stopped as they all turned to see one man step forward. Emiko blinked and then smiled when she saw it was Shuffleton, moving away from the rest of the militia.

"Can this…Straw Hat Luffy really beat him?" he asked carefully.

Emiko wanted to say yes but she didn't want to give him false hope like that. She hadn't seen Luffy fight before now. So instead, she said what he needed to hear.

"I'm tired Shuffleton," she said. "So I don't care if Luffy wins or not. I won't let Richard kill hundreds of people. We've lived like this for too long. Do you really want to keep doing his bidding just in case he wins? Or do you want to start living now?"

"I've heard enough!" Sam roared, pulling out his pistol and pointing it right at Emiko. "I'll finish you off myself. That should-GAH!" he screeched, the blow striking him on the side of the head, Shuffleton's arm extending as he threw the man down.

"I want to start living again."

Richard coughed, shaking off the splinters and dust that now covered him. He should have known better. He thought this kid was just a newbie throwing a tantrum at his family. But he'd obviously been trained. And considering who Garp was, that said a lot. Richard had made the worst mistake, underestimating his opponent.

"Ha!" Luffy laughed. "Now let's try this. Gum-Gum Whip!"

Richard growled, readying himself for Luffy's leg to strike him but it didn't. Instead, it went wide, going out over the railing and stretching towards the side of the cabin.

He's not going to-

The leg struck the cabin, smashing right through it. It tore through the walls, nothing stopping it. Richard moved to dodge but he couldn't see the leg coming and Luffy could see him. So as he ducked down, Luffy changed the trajectory of his leg to catch him no matter what.

The leg burst through the wall, sending wreckage and splinters everywhere, blinding Richard as the leg caught him in the middle and smashed him into and then through the rest of the cabin. He crashed through two more walls before finally hitting open air, Luffy's kick sending him flying out over the water.

He did that so I couldn't see where the leg was coming from, Richard thought as he hit the ocean. He's smarted than he let on! He's toying with me!

"Heh!" Luffy smirked. Richard had been able to see all his moves coming, so it only made sense to try something where he wouldn't be able to.

Richard didn't float for long. As luck would have it, he washed right up against the mast he'd broken, the top part still dragging the rest down inch by inch. Richard swung up onto it and dashed up until he was back on the main deck.

"Oh wow, you got back up fast," Luffy commented. "Man, if you had a Devil Fruit, this would already be over."

"No more games," Richard murmured, focusing all his energy. "I'm ending this now." He could feel his bones cracking, his muscles tearing, his ligaments straining as he activated his ultimate technique. "Draco Force."

Luffy blinked, immediately sensing that something was wrong. The aura around Richard was much different now. He acted on instinct, throwing out a punch. But as his fist stretched over, Richard threw his own fist out even faster, slamming it into Luffy's.

"Ow!" Luffy cried, pulling his fist back and holding it gingerly as it throbbed in pain.

CRACK!

Luffy turned back and gaped as Richard hefted up the broken mast, wielding it now like a bat. "Since when can you do that?" he demanded.

"Draco Force," Richard replied through gritted teeth. "The martial arts technique that pushes my body to its absolute limit. I was planning on using it to defeat Arlong. Never thought a runt like you would make me use it but I suppose that it makes sense that it was Garp's own blood to do it. Now, DIE!"

He swung the mast down way faster than one would expect, making Luffy yelp as he leaped out of the way. The mast slammed into the deck of the ship and shattered it on impact, lodging deep in the bowels of the ship. The ropes and sails got caught on the broken timbers but those were just torn apart as Richard ripped the mast back upwards. Or, more accurately, he swung the mast upwards at a diagonal angle, still aiming for Luffy. More of the deck was torn apart as the mast came through, sending pieces and splinters flying everywhere. The already destroyed cabin was sent soaring away.

Luffy cried out again, dodging the attack but Richard kept it coming, swinging the mast at him again.

"He is crazy strong!" Luffy commented, stretching his body out to dodge the mast again.

"Spry little monkey, aren't you?" Richard growled in annoyance. "Alright then, seeing as this vessel's already a lost cause…"

He threw the mast upwards and Luffy again gaped at the display of strength. As it rose in the air, Richard leaped up after it, this time catching it in the middle. He dug his hands in, just like a dragon dug in its claws.

"Draco Drop!"

He threw the mast down, the wooden spire coming down like a spear, shattering through the ship like it was a watermelon. The yardarms snapped like twigs as the mast shot down, stabbing through the galleon until it broke the bottom, reaching the sea below.

"Ya missed me!" Luffy sneered though his expression faded as Richard fell right next to the mast, tensing his legs.

"Draco Stomp!"

Richard kicked the side of the mast with all his might. He knew at the wrong angle, he'd just snap the mast right there. But at the right angle and with the right force…

The section where Richard kicked flew down and the top part, still underwater, rose back up like a clock hand, slicing through the bottom of the vessel thanks to Richard's force until it reached the top again.

Already sinking, the ship now fell completely apart, no longer able to hold itself together from the excessive damage. Luffy looked around, panicked as he realized his predicament. The deck was rapidly disintegrating beneath his feet, leaving him nowhere to stand. He hopped along but his foot slipped and he suddenly found himself falling into the chasm the mast had created, the sea rising up fast to claim him.

"Not today!" he cried, stretching his arms out. He managed to grab hold of the railing of the ship even as the whole vessel collapsed it on itself, pulling himself to relative safety. He then raced along the still stable deck available until he reached the end of the ship. Without a second thought, he jumped off, stretching out to grab hold of the railing of the neighboring docked ship. It was farther away but he was still able to grab it and pull himself onto it before his footing slipped away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Luffy looked up, seeing Richard once more up in the air, a large chunk of the deck in his hands. As Luffy watched, the man planted his feet against the chunk and tensed his legs.

"Draco Dive!"

The chunk shattered into pieces as Richard launched himself from it at high speed. Luffy didn't have time to blink, only moving on instinct as Richard dove down towards him, the man's fist just missing Luffy's face. Instead, it struck the deck of the new ship right where Luffy was standing.

It was like a bomb went off, the wood practically exploding from the force of the blow. Luffy cried out as he was thrown back, hitting the side of the ship before he fell into the new hole toward the deck below, landing on a cannon there.

Richard fell as well, landing on one knee, breathing hard. Draco Force was taking a lot out of him. He had maybe a few minutes left before he was done. He had to finish this fight. But that damn rubber bastard was just too slippery.

"You let your guard down!" he heard that ever-annoying voice call out to him. He looked up just to see the boy's arms stretched back in that familiar move. "Gum-Gum Bazooka!"

Richard easily avoided the blow, ducking his head below the two arms. "That was pathetic. I will…huh?" he murmured, seeing Straw Hat's grin widen just as the arms began to retract. He heard the loud scraping sound behind him and his eyes widened in realization and alarm as he turned around. But he was too late, the cannon the Luffy had managed to grab ahold of and lift up now flying right towards him.

He lifted his fist to punch it back when something struck him from behind, knocking him right into the cannon.

"Gum-Gum Stamp!" was what he heard before he hit the side of the cannon, nearly knocking him senseless. He grimaced, trying to recover himself, but he saw Luffy leap over them, still pulling the cannon along towards the wall.

No! he thought and pushed down on the ground firmly. He slid for a few seconds before he was able to plant his feet firmly. He pushed back against the cannon as well, straining a little until he finally came to a stop. He then grabbed hold of the cannon, lifting it up just as easily as the mast if not easier.

"Uh oh," Luffy commented, sweating a bit now.

The mast had been too tall and awkward to wield properly. With the cannon, Richard had a much better grasp of it and he threw it at Luffy with ease. Luffy moved to dodge but it came too fast, the weapon striking him in the middle and smashing him into and a little bit through the wall.

The second after Shuffleton landed the punch, the entire docks erupted into chaos. Several militiamen attacked him, ready to kill him, but then a few others followed his lead and fought back leading to a full-on brawl.

"Kill them!" Sam screamed out. "Make them pay! The rest of you, get on those ships and blow the Glades away!"

The workers he turned to hesitated before some of them took off. The others glanced in Emiko's direction, appearing unsure.

"What, you actually think Richard will lose?" Sam laughed. "What a joke! Now get to work or I'll make sure you end up in the Glades as it burns down!"

"Is this better or worse?" Zoro commented, looking at all the chaos.

"Hard to say," Shang-Chi replied, grimacing. "Whatever the case, we need to hurry. We can't let a single ship leave the docks."

Without another word, he pulled out two pieces of flint and sparked them against the trails of gunpowder he and Zoro had left behind. Instantly, the powder lit up and a trail of sparking fire grew, making its way towards the ships.

"Come on!" Shang-Chi urged, pushing Zoro ahead. "Once those ships go up, those militia will work even harder to get the others to cast off."

"Right!"

"Not that way!"

"Gah!"

They didn't have to wait long before the first explosion went off, a loud BOOM! shook the area. Shang-Chi looked back, seeing a plume of fiery smoke reaching the sky. They were far enough at this point that the blast didn't affect them too much but the dockworkers nearby were screaming in panic, running around.

A few seconds later, the next ship blew up and then the next and the next. Shang-Chi and Zoro had only managed to get a few but evidently that had been enough to get things going. They had ignored the caravel class ships and other smaller ones, going straight for the galleons. Shang-Chi hadn't thought it was necessary and he was proven right when he saw a nearby caravel go up in flames from its neighbor's destruction.

"We'll have to stop at big explosions like that," he informed Zoro. "Just light the ship on fire as much as you can. It'll at least slow the milita down enough until Luffy wins his fight."

"Right!"

"Hey! You!" They turned to see Sam chasing them with a dozen militiamen. "Stop right there! You'll pay for-"

The arrow sprouted in his shoulder put a stop to his shouting though Shang-Chi found the resulting screaming to be even more annoying. He looked over, expecting to see Emiko there but was surprised instead to see Lian holding up the bow.

"Heh, nice shot kid," Zoro said, grinning.

"Kill her! Kill them all!" Sam screeched.

But as one of the guards took a step towards Lian, Shang-Chi lunged forward, whacking him on the side of the head and knocking him flat. He then took a stance, the other militiamen eyeing him warily.

"Shuffleton!" he called out, getting the man's attention. The former militia soldier had fought hard but there were just too many enemies for him to beat which was why Shang-Chi had an idea. "Get your men and burn all the ships. Destroy them before they can leave! Zoro and I will take care of this rabble."

Shuffleton only paused for a second before he rose back up, nodding stiffly. "Come on!" he barked to the others who'd fought with him, leading him down the docks to the other boats.

"Oh no you don't!" the militia man Ros cried, charging them. But before he could strike, his blade was blocked by another. He could only gasp before two more blades struck, bringing him down.

"Don't worry about him," Zoro said, glaring at them all with a savage grin on his face. "You should worry about yourselves."

"Owie," Luffy muttered, feeling his body ache. Thanks to his rubbery composition, he'd been able to take that hit, as well as his normal endurance due to his grandpa's training. Still, he was now trapped under the damn cannon and he grunted as he began to push it off him.

Only to have it shoved further, making him cry out as it dug into his body painfully, flattening him against the wall. He looked up to see Richard pressing it against his foot against the cannon, stopping Luffy from moving, his fist raised high.

"Now you die!" Richard cried, throwing his punch down.

SMASH!

Richard grunted in frustration, seeing his fist had blown right through the wall, Luffy twisting his head to the side unnaturally to avoid the blow. "Damn rubber powers," he growled. "Just sit there and die damn you!"

He threw another fist but Luffy dodged it again and again, the wall behind him getting smashed apart instead. But even Luffy knew he couldn't keep this up forever.

That's when he had an idea.

"Just die!" Richard roared, throwing another fist. This time Luffy didn't dodge and Richard finally thought he'd won. That was, until, he felt a sudden pain around his wrist. He blinked in complete shock as he saw that instead of dodging, Luffy had instead opened his mouth, letting Richard's fist go in, and then clamped down hard with his teeth, biting into Richard's wrist and holding him fast.

Who the hell fights like this? Richard screeched mentally.

"Gotchanow!" Luffy mumbled, still clamped down. His jaws quaked as Richard tried to break free, his immense strength threatening to break Luffy's teeth and maybe even his face. It was only thanks to Luffy's own strength he was able to hold on. But that wouldn't be for long.

Knowing that, Luffy stretched out with his arms, latching onto another cannon right behind Richard. He grunted from the strain but pulled. The cannon held still for a second before it began to move, an inch at first before more and more until Luffy was able to yank it towards them.

Richard heard it coming and growled out again in annoyance, throwing his free arm out and stopping the cannon from striking him. "You think-"

"Gum-Gum Balloon!" Luffy cried around Richard's wrist and his body swelled up again, pushing the cannon on top of him back out and pulling the one he was holding inwards, crushing Richard between the two.

"Gah!" Richard cried, pushing back. This fight was completely ridiculous and he hated it. Straining with his arm and leg against either cannon and with his other hand still trapped in Luffy's mouth, Richard lifted his other foot and slammed it against Luffy's outstretched arm.

"Yow!" Luffy grunted around Richard's fist. He still managed to hang on but his whole arm was now throbbing.

"Let go you damn rubber freak!" Richard growled, kicking harder and harder.

Luffy was tempted to hang on from sheer stubbornness but even he could see this was going nowhere. But seeing Richard's determined focus on one arm gave him an idea.

He released both arms just as Richard kicked out again, making him lurch and stumble in surprise. As he did that, Luffy stretched out his other arm again all the way up to the ceiling, his hand clutching one of the beams. Once he did, he let go of Richard's wrist, again taking the man by surprise, before releasing his balloon, blowing all the excess air right in Richard's face and making him reel back in surprise. When he did, he loosened his hold on the cannon, freeing Luffy.

"You-" Richard started.

"See ya!" Luffy chuckled, bringing himself up to the ceiling by retracting himself to his hand. But as he did, he tensed his legs.

Richard glared up after him. "You think you're safe there?" he demanded. "Don't make me laugh, you little shit! You're not safe anywhere! I'll hunt you down until you're dead!" He tensed his legs as he spoke before shooting up, fists raised for another strike. "I'm going to shatter your skull! Talon-"

"Gum-Gum Spear!"

Luffy was too fast for Richard to dodge, his feet coming together and shooting down at Richard before he could react, striking him in the chest and slamming him down into the lower deck, cracking it, before shooting him through it to the deck below.

Richard grunted, feeling the power behind that attack. It was a good thing he was using Draco Force. A blow like that might have actually finished him without it. "Alright," he said as the legs retracted back upwards, "no more."

He shot up after the legs, pushing his whole body past its limit, every muscle and vein straining. Luffy's eyes widened as he saw him coming but just had time to throw his arms up in front of him as Richard launched his fist. The strike sent Luffy crashing through the ceiling and back up onto the main deck. Richard still had a hold of him though and tightened his grip as he reared back before throwing him down on the deck. Luffy landed on his back and cried out, his body reeling from the pain.

"Draco Stomp!"

"Uh oh," Luffy muttered and rolled to the side before Richard's foot could hit him.

"Gale Force Strike!"

Luffy turned to see Richard whirling in the air, his leg striking Luffy in the middle with the added wind pressure sending him crashing into the side of the ship, cracking it.

"Draco Rush!"

Richard came at him with inhuman speed and Luffy was only able to dodge it thanks to his rubbery body, just twisting out of the way before Richard's knee could hit him. Instead, it went through the side of the ship.

"Talon Strike!"

Luffy didn't dodge this one, the blow coming too fast and from behind. He couldn't even react before the blow struck him on the back of the head, sending him face first through the deck at his feet.

"Ow!" he groaned. Richard was coming at him with such fast and devastating blows that he couldn't fight back. Even now, as he attempted to rip his head free, he felt another blow land on his side, sending him flying. It got his head free but he felt like he'd been struck by a cannonball. He hit the side of the cabin, cratering it before he slumped to the ground.

"No fair," he grumbled. "Not even giving me a chance to-"

"Draco Rush!"

"Ah!" Luffy cried out, seeing Richard charging him. "Gum-Gum Balloon!"

"Not this time!" Richard roared, seeing Luffy inflate again. He lowered himself before he struck, aiming lower with his knee hitting between Luffy's legs.

Instantly, all the air Luffy used to inflate himself blew out as he screeched and clutched his nether regions. "You hit me in my bits!" he cried. "How rude!"

"Just die already!" Richard screamed. "Draco-"

"Gum-Gum Pistol!" Luffy yelled back, punching upwards. Richard dodged it though, instead punching Luffy in the face and knocking him back. "Gah! Damn it!" Luffy cried out in both pain and frustration.

"You can't win!" Richard said. "Titan Wing!"

His sweeping leg brought a wave of wind with it, knocking Luffy back again. But he was able to dodge the kick by ducking under it, his body snapping back up instantly for him to attack. He threw another punch but again Richard dodged it. He was able to dodge Richard's next attack though and so went in for a kick that was also dodged.

The two bounced around each other, throwing punches, kicks, and whatever else they could at each other. Luffy was able to dodge about half of Richard's attacks but he got struck just as many times while Richard dodged almost all of his. No matter what he did, Richard saw it coming and acted before the blow could land. And he made sure not to fall for Luffy's previous tricks.

As they fought, on the docks below Shang-Chi and Zoro fought off the militiamen, wading into the mob of enemies and knocking as many around as they could. But with every movement they made, they winced, their wounds wearing them down. Still, they were able to stop anyone from attacking Shuffleton's group who had were grabbing whatever they could to set the boats on fire.

"No, no, no!" Sam cried, seeing another galleon's sails go up in flames. "Stop them!"

"Fat chance," Zoro panted, cutting another man down with a quick swipe.

"You won't pass," Shang-Chi affirmed, punching a man in the face.

A loud whistle suddenly blew, making them all look up. Shang-Chi and Zoro both grimaced when they saw a horde of white-uniformed troops racing down towards them.

"Damn Marines," Zoro growled.

"Finally!" Sam cried out. "Get those two! We need to stop those traitors from destroying all the ships!"

"You heard him men!" the lead Marine yelled, lowing his sword towards Shang-Chi and Zoro. "Get those two!"

"You ready for another bout?" Shang-Chi asked, cracking his knuckles.

"What, you getting sleepy?" Zoro replied, flexing his spine.

"Open fire!" the Marine roared, the others lowering their rifles to shoot. Shang-Chi and Zoro prepared to move but there was no need as an arrow hit the ground in front of the Marines, smoke spewing from it on impact.

Shang-Chi and Zoro nodded appreciatively towards Lian who gave them a thumbs up back. But even as they attacked, using the smoke to their advantage, there were just too many enemies. At least a dozen surrounded each of them, holding them back, while the others moved around them. Shang-Chi grunted in frustration, fighting desperately. He leapt into the air, his feet flying up to kick two men back simultaneously, and then launched a flurry of punches while nearby Zoro whipped his blades about, slicing anyone who came close. And still, more people came, most now leaving them behind to go after the ships.

All it takes is one ship, Shang-Chi thought fearfully. We can't let them get by! But there are too many! Damn it!

"Now kill the-" Sam started to scream.

BANG!

He collapsed to the ground, still screaming but this time due to the bullet hole in his shoulder. Behind him stood a fresh mob of people, only these ones wore worn down, plain clothing, most with tears and holes in them. In their hands were bats, rakes, brooms, metal bars, small knives, and only a few guns. Zoe stood at the forefront right next to a man with buzz cut hair holding two pistols.

"For the Glades!" he cried out, the people behind him cheering. The Marines moved to greet them, the two forces clashing. As they did, Shang-Chi and Zoro had more breathing room and were able to dispatch even more soldiers.

Behind them, another ship went up in flames. As it began to burn, more and more dockworkers began to join the mob to destroy the ships. Shuffleton and his people had to pull workers off the ships and retied ropes to keep the ships from leaving. Some of the workers tried to stop them out of fear of what Richard might do but they were swiftly pushed aside. The militiamen and Marines who managed to slip by were still too few in number to do anything to stop them and Zoro and Shang-Chi were able to prevent any more from slipping by. Still, too many ships remained.

"Come on Luffy," Zoro growled. "Finish this up!"

"We're all counting on you," Shang-Chi muttered.

Luffy jumped over Richard's next punch, throwing his own, but Richard caught it with his free hand, pulling Luffy off guard to kick him in the chest. Luffy tried a gum-gum bell attack but Richard just knocked it aside, nearly stomping on him afterwards if Luffy hadn't rolled away. And none of his stretching attacks worked anymore as Richard either grabbed him, dodged it, or just swatted him aside. Whatever state he was in made it nearly impossible to attack him now.

Richard could see his ships burning around him, could hear the explosions as they went down, and his rage mounted further and further.

"Talon Strike!" he roared and Luffy went flying again. He grunted from the pain but quickly saw an opportunity, stretching out and grabbing the mast as he soared past it. He swung himself around and launched himself back at Richard.

"Gum-Gum Stamp!" he yelled, stretching out his feet towards Richard at full speed, his already fast movement in the air giving him a boost. Richard grunted, taking the blow with his arms crossed, skidding a meter backwards before coming to a stop. Just as fast, he grabbed hold of Luffy's leg and whipped him around. Luffy's eyes bulged in panic right before he hit the deck, was lifted up, and then smacked down again. Over and over Richard brought him down, smashing the deck apart with Luffy's body, the man screaming in rage as he did.

Finally, he let go of Luffy's limp form, breathing hard. He was covered in sweat and shaking slightly. He had less than a minute left of Draco Force. He already knew there would be severe consequences to this fight in the days to come. But at least Straw Hat was down.

He froze, hearing the grunt right before Luffy rose up again, dusting off his clothes. "Are you kidding me?" he said. "How much more abuse can you take? What the hell are you?"

Luffy shrugged. "Your punches are way softer than grandpa's," he replied. "He always knocked me around in training."

Richard seethed for a second before he charged again, smashing the deck with his fist as Luffy leapt backwards. "Why are you so determined to win?" he yelled. "Why do you keep fighting? A whelp like you will never last, not with your ridiculous notions of dreams and freedom!"

He kicked out but Luffy managed to duck in time, his foot striking the mast instead and making it shake. Still, he was able to block the kid's fist and deliver a swift punch to his face.

"I rule this island!" he roared, still attacking wildly, his punches and kicks coming relentlessly. "These people are mine to command! You think you can stop me? I will kill you and the rest of your pathetic crew and then I will destroy that stupid town and everyone in it because that is the way of the world. The strong rule over the weak and us pirates destroy what gets in our way! You think you're a pirate? You're nothing but a bad joke! You can't save this island! You can't save that girl! You can't even save yourself! Now die!"

"SHUT UP!"

Richard's fist slammed into Luffy's palm. He growled, throwing his other fist but Luffy managed to catch that too. He used his leg and Luffy's came up, blocking it.

"You don't understand anything!" Luffy yelled. His memories of the past day here, of the people living in the glades, the way the militia treated them, of Shuffleton and how he couldn't live the way he wanted, of Emiko and her own past, all flew through his mind. "You can't just destroy everything! You can't push everyone down! They deserve to live how they want!"

"Why?" Richard roared back, pushing against Luffy. "The world did the same to me! The strong push the weak down. Your own grandfather destroyed everything I have because that is the way of the world! You should understand that better than anyone!"

"You're the one who doesn't understand!" Luffy growled. "The strong don't push down, we push forward until nothing can stop us from doing what we want! Pirates don't fight to destroy, they fight to be free! And I'll be the freest of all! That's why I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"

"Someone like you will never be King of the Pirates! You'll never be able to defeat me!"

Luffy glared up at him. This entire fight, Richard had been able to see his attacks coming and block. But…what if he couldn't block them all?

Richard kicked out again and this time Luffy didn't even try to block, letting it hit him and throw him back, giving him some distance. He grimaced but landed on his feet, his arms already ready to go.

"You're nothing!" Richard said, prepping himself for the final attack.

"You gave up!" Luffy snapped, stopping him. "You stayed here because it was easy. Because you couldn't go any further! These people couldn't fight back against you! That's not strength! That's just being weak!"

"Shut up."

"Like I said," Luffy growled. "The strong push forward until nothing can stop them. But you stopped pushing forward. You can't call yourself a real pirate anymore. Not when you're that weak!"

"I said shut up!"

"I'm going to show you what real strength is, why I'll be King of the Pirates. I'll stop you and then she can push forward too!" Luffy cried, thinking of Emiko. "She can finally live her dream and be free!"

"Enough! Draco-"

"Gum-Gum…" Luffy said, taking a step forward and shooting out his arms. Richard gritted his teeth and readied himself but then saw something was different.

"…GATLING!"

It was like a dozen fists coming at the same time, Luffy launching them so quickly that Richard couldn't keep up. He blocked the first two and dodged another but then got hit in the chest. And then the hip. And then the face.

No! he screeched mentally, trying to fight back but he couldn't, the blows coming too fast. They rained down on him, striking him all over without stopping, each one with more power than the last, wearing down Richard's strength and defenses.

Impossible! he thought. He can't beat me! He can't be this strong!

He hit the side of the ship and the punches finally stopped. He groaned, pain flooding his senses. He was almost out of energy. Draco Force was hanging by a thread. He needed to end this. But…he didn't know if he could. He was too…weak.

Luffy breathed hard, staring at his opponent. The battle had taken its toll on him and he'd gone all out on that attack. But Richard was still standing. Time to end this.

He stretched out both arms, his right arm behind him while his left reached out and grabbed the railing behind Richard, making the man gasp.

"I'm ending this, right now!" Luffy yelled. "Gum-Gum…"

Have to move! Richard thought but he was too late as Luffy lunged forward, coming to a stop right in front of the man and making him yell in fear.

"…BULLET!"

Luffy's other arm swung back towards him with all his remaining strength, flying right towards Richard's face. The instant before it struck, his mind flashed back to when he saw another attack that devastated a whole fleet.

The fist, he thought.

WHAM!

Luffy struck him in the side of the face and launched him through the side of the ship into the air. He flew through the sky for a few seconds, barely hanging onto consciousness, before he fell down, smashing into the hard docks below, his body skidding over them for a few meters before coming to a stop.

Around him, the workers and militia who had ran out of the way as he'd come down now approached, staring in stunned silence as they realized who it was. For a few seconds, they just kept staring, disbelieving. Then one let out a cheer followed by another and another.

"It's Dragon Richard! He's been defeated!"

"We're free!"

"We're finally free!"

The cries went up all along the docks. Shuffleton let out a deep breath, tears running down his cheeks while Rene just hugged his daughter, grinning broadly. The other militiamen stared at Richard's prone form and shock and horror, never once believing that he could be defeated. And yet there he was, splayed out in a small crater from the impact, unconscious. The Marines were little better, some confused by the situation while the ones in the know were horrified, wondering what would happen to them next.

Sabine leaned against the crate behind her, smiling. "Nice job, captain," she said, patting Roy on the thigh. The man was still injured and he couldn't really smile because of his broken jaw but he was doing the best he could.

Zoro huffed and almost collapsed onto another crate, his adrenaline fading. "About time," he muttered though with a small smile. He hadn't really been sure about Luffy but now he really was starting to think this would work out.

"So how are you…" he started, turning towards Shang-Chi, only to see his companion draped over another crate, snoring softly. His night shift had finally caught up with him and he was now completely asleep. Zoro shook his head. "Rest up, you've earned it."

Nami stared at the scene from the edge of the docks, both bewildered and pleased. Honestly, she hadn't realized how strong Luffy actually was. She had hoped he would be able to defeat Richard, especially after Buggy. But Buggy had been Buggy, not much of a fighter. Richard was a really powerful pirate. And Luffy was…well, Luffy. A constantly grinning moron. And yet, that moron had managed to beat Richard.

Could he be able to beat…no, she stopped herself. Richard was one thing, but Arlong was another. She couldn't afford to hope like that.

Still, she was glad he'd won for these people's sake. They deserved to be free.

"He actually did it," Lian said, stars in her eyes.

"Yeah," Emiko murmured in wonder, tears in her eyes. "He really did."

She couldn't believe it. After all this time, it was over. The nightmare was over. Richard had been defeated. The island was safe once again, all thanks to a rubber-brained idiot. Who was now her captain.

Surprisingly, that thought made her smile.

"So you're the Green Arrow?" Lian suddenly asked, a wide grin on her face.

Emiko sighed. "Yep. I'm the Green Arrow."

"Why didn't you tell me? Although I should have guessed, it was pretty obvious in hindsight. But still, did you think I couldn't keep it a secret? I would have, I promise! You have to tell me everything now. How many different kinds of arrows do you have? Ooh, what…"

Oh boy, Emiko thought as Lian went on.

Back on the broken ship, Luffy panted, sinking to his knees on the deck, a grin across his face. "Yes!" he said in triumph. "Now we have a boat!"

The rest of the day passed quickly. The Straw Hats were brought to the medical center where they were all treated alongside Roy and anyone else injured. Most of them just needed some stitches here and there. Shang-Chi was still out of it but that was just due to exhaustion. Luffy slept for a little while before he was back up, demanding food. Something the townspeople were more than happy to provide in thanks, to the point where the room was overflowing with food, especially meat.

The Longbow Pirates were thrown into prison after being provided minimal treatment. The corrupt Marines were also rounded up and thrown in alongside them as well as all the militiamen who'd stayed by their side.

Emiko sat on the roof of the medical center, just breathing it all in. It was hard to believe it was actually over. It had started to look like an impossibility that Dragon Richard would ever be defeated. And yet now he was. Star Island was finally free again.

"We did it Ollie," she said to the wind. "It took me some time, but I was able to keep my promise."

Now, there wasn't anything standing in her way. Once Luffy and the others were ready, they'd be sailing off. And, evidently, Emiko would be joining them. She'd always pictured what'd she'd do when she left here. She knew she was going to look for her brother, imagining their reunion a thousand times in her head. But everything else? She wasn't so sure. She just wanted to have a grand adventure like the warriors of old.

She thought back to when she first met Luffy, how he'd burst into the inn and claimed he would be King of the Pirates someday. She thought it was the most ridiculous thing in the world, this rookie, no-name, half-wit, moron claiming he'd be King of the Pirates. But then he went and surprised her. And he kept surprising her with his strength and courage and just sheer perseverance. He'd made her a promise to defeat Dragon Richard and he had. She hadn't really known if he could but he did it. It was because of him her home was free again.

And in exchange, she'd said she'd join his crew.

She'd always thought that when she finally sailed off it would be by herself. But, that seemed so lonely now. In the past, it had seemed bold and romanticized, to sail off on your own and confront danger by yourself. But now…now she didn't want that. She didn't know the rest of the crew that well but she wanted to. She maybe had thought Luffy was just an idiot when she first met him but now she truly believed in him. She wasn't sure if he would be King of the Pirates. But she was sure he wouldn't give up until the end. And that sounded like a fantastic adventure to her.

"A pirate crew huh?" she mumbled, mulling it over. She'd almost been a part of a pirate crew, two in fast. One under her fake father and then again under her mother. Both forced onto her. Both dark futures she wanted no part of.

She had chosen this one. She'd asked Luffy for his help, offering her services in exchange. This wasn't one being forced onto her. Of course, she may have felt there was no choice when asking for his help. But she could feel it too. All the other pirates she'd come across from Komodo to her mother to Richard. Even the ones that passed through. All of them had demanded respect and absolute loyalty, promised pain to those who didn't.

But Luffy wasn't like that.

I'm a different kind of pirate.

"Yeah, you really are, huh?" Emiko muttered.

"WOW!" Luffy exclaimed, looking around.

"Look at all this," Shang-Chi commented, nodding appreciatively.

"They better have good booze."

"This better be free."

"There's something seriously wrong with you two," Sabine commented at Zoro and Nami.

It had been a day since their fight, Shang-Chi sleeping through the night. The others had all mostly recovered from their injuries. Now they stood in the main courtyard of the Glades which had been decorated with lights and garlands. Stalls had been set up and Luffy's nose was already twitching as he took in all the different smells.

Everywhere, people were laughing and cheering, children running around with big smiles on their faces, their parents with even bigger ones. A separate section of the courtyard had several musicians playing their instruments, several dancers already moving to the rhythm. For so long, these people had suffered. Now, at long last, they could celebrate and party to their hearts' content.

It hadn't been much of a surprise to learn that a party was set up to celebrate Dragon Richard's defeat. What had been a surprise was that the Straw Hats were the guests of honor.

"Pirates being celebrated?" Nami questioned. "That's new."

"Most certainly," Shang-Chi agreed.

"It's the least we can do." They turned to see Ramirez Rene approaching, his daughter skipping by his side. Near him was the former militiaman Shuffleton. "After what you've done for all of us, consider this our way of saying thank you."

"Wahoo!" Luffy cried, running off. "Let's eat!"

"It's all free by the way, so please help yourselves," Rene added though Luffy was already long gone by that point.

"Free?" Sabine questioned. "How can you even afford all this?"

"That would be me," Emiko interjected, appearing from the shadows and startling Zoro and Sabine. Shang-Chi merely raised an eyebrow, having already noticed her presence. "I may have liberated some items from the vaults at the Longbow Pirates' headquarters and distributed them amongst the people here."

"Hmmm, I agree with the first part, not so much the second," Nami commented.

"You would," Sabine said dryly.

"Enough dawdling," Shang-Chi said, eyeing a certain booth serving sugar dragons. "We won a major battle here. And all victories must be celebrated with revels."

"What the heck are revels?" Zoro asked.

"I would assume you could guess based on context alone. Seems I overestimated your intellect once again."

"Oh yeah? How about it overestimate your-"

"Boys, boys, you're both pretty," Sabine interjected while the others just stared on in confusion, Nami sighing softly. "But let's try not to ruin this, huh?"

Both boys just rolled their eyes before heading off in separate directions.

"They always like that?" Emiko asked Nami who just shrugged.

"I don't know. I only joined a couple days ago."

Emiko frowned at that. "Just how new is this crew?"

"Very new," Sabine replied. "And yet we managed to take Dragon Richard off the board. That's gotta be huge, huh?" She herself could hardly believe she managed to win against Red Dart. That had been the toughest fight of her life and she'd come out on top.

Emiko nodded. She wasn't as aware of the power balance in the East Blue but even she knew that a rookie crew taking out a big shot like the Longbow Pirates was big news. Once news got out…well, the Straw Hats wouldn't be considered rookies anymore.

But there wasn't time for that now. Now was the time for revels.

Luffy went from stall to stall, inhaling as much food as he could. Zoro just found a bar and had a drinking contest with Lance Quentin and the other patrons, all of them laughing and raising their cups. Shang-Chi munched on his sugar dragons and decided to play some of the games set up, quickly becoming a favorite for the kids Zoe and Lian because of his skills and the fact that he gave them the prizes.

Nami went around from stall to stall before making her way to the dance floor, her feet finding the right beat and moving to it. She knew this moment wouldn't last, that her nightmare wasn't over. But for now, she wanted to stop thinking about it so just let the music carry her as she danced her problems away.

"So, you're part of the crew now," Sabine asked.

"Yeah, looks like it," Emiko replied.

"What do you think so far?"

Emiko gave her a look before casting her gaze on the others. The rubber-brained captain whose cheeks looked like they might explode any second. The swordsman who looked like he was about to drink himself to death. The warrior who was currently inhaling the cotton candy, his eyes looking like twin moons. The navigator who was dancing to her heart's content and who'd just whacked a guy trying to pickpocket her. And the girl next to her who was currently putting a straw hat graffiti up on the wall.

"You're all fucking insane," Emiko said, grinning. "But so am I, so…"

"Ha!" Sabine laughed. "Yeah, you'll fit right in."

"Fuck yeah, I will!"

"You curse a lot, you know?"

"Better get fucking used to it."

Luffy dashed around, hands still full of food, trying to see if there was any stall he hadn't been to yet. He wanted to make sure he covered them all before he went for his second round. It was only fair to sample all the food available. But as he did, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"A moment, if you would," Roy said, leading him to the side of the party. While he was nowhere near fully recovered after his fight with Richard, he was doing better now. Still, he wouldn't be able to chew or eat solid food for at least a week. "I want to thank you, for what you did," he said.

"Nobrobleh!"

"Maybe I'll just do the talking," Roy said, sweat-dropping as Luffy kept eating. "I know Emiko agreed to set sail with you."

"Yep!" Luffy beamed, swallowing the food. "It's all official, she's part of my crew now."

"That's good, and I'm happy for her. She put her faith in you to defeat Richard and save her home. Now she's putting her faith in you to not let her down like her parents did." Roy leaned in close, adopting a serious expression. "So if you do let her down, and if she doesn't kill you, just know that I will."

Luffy looked back at him, almost expressionless. "Emiko's my crewmate now," he said seriously. "I will never let her down."

"Good," Roy nodded. "You know things will get tougher from here on out? You defeating Dragon Richard will certainly make some waves. You'll be getting more attention."

"Ooh!" Luffy's eyes lit up. "Do you think I'll finally get a wanted poster?"

Roy would have laughed if he could but his jaw wouldn't allow it. "Probably," he said. "I'm interested to see what your bounty would be."

"I hope it's really big!"

Roy regarded him for another moment before taking something out of his pocket. "Here," he said, handing a small card over to Luffy. The boy took it, looking it over curiously. It was a normal card with a pirate insignia on it except there was drawn over a large T in the background. "I used to be a pirate too some years back," Roy explained.

"Whoa!" Luffy gasped. "You were a pirate?"

"I was a member of the Titan Pirates. We were a lot like you. More about the freedom and adventure than the other stuff that gives pirates a bad reputation."

"Cool! So, what happened?"

"Lian," Roy said, gesturing to the girl giggling as Shang-Chi juggled sugar apples. "The pirate life is no place for a child like her. So, I left it behind."

Luffy followed his gaze and couldn't help but think back to another girl from his childhood with red and white hair.

"Still, my old crew is out there. I keep in touch with them. They're currently in the second half of the Grand Line. If you make it there and you're in a pickle, give them a call. They'll help."

"Thanks," Luffy said genuinely, putting the card away. "Hey, what is that?" he suddenly gasped, pointing.

"I believe that's a shawarma cart."

"Meat!"

Roy chuckled, watching the boy go. "King of the Pirates, huh? That would be a sight to see."

The party continued well into the night. Luffy was a big hit. At first people came by just to see the man who saved them, each one surprised by the goofy kid they saw rather than the fierce warrior they were expecting. Most assumed it was Zoro who had done it or Shang-Chi. But it was when Luffy started showing off his stretching skills that everyone's interest peaked.

"Look at that!"

"How is that possible?"

"Must be a Devil Fruit."

"Never seen one before."

"Cool!"

Lian, Zoe, and all the kids instantly gathered around him, stretching out his arms and legs and cheeks. Strangely enough, Luffy didn't seem to mind as it just made his mouth bigger and the nearby chefs, as a show of gratitude, threw their food directly between his teeth.

Twelve empty bottles surrounded Zoro and he was still going strong, laughing alongside all the other drinkers who kept letting out random cheers.

"For Luffy! For Zoro! For Star Island! For sake! For octopus fritters! For Kodiak getting his ass handed to him! For more sake! For the Straw Hats! For even more sake!"

"For the three-sword style!" Rene cried.

"YEAH!"

"Mmmmmmm," Shang-Chi moaned, biting deep into a chocolate soufflé. "This is the best thing I ever had."

"Here, try this!"

"MMMMMMM!"

"Wow, you sure seem to be having fun," Sabine said, sweat-dropping at all the food plastered on Shang-Chi's face.

"I've been kept on a strict diet almost my whole life," he replied, digging into fudge in his hands. "Never had anything like this before." He turned and grabbed something from another stall and let out an even louder sound as he ate into it. "What is this heavenly concoction?"

"Um…ice cream?"

"Food of the gods!"

"Jeez, get a room!" Sabine laughed, turning back to her recent artwork which captured Zoro's fight with Kodiak as well as she could. Obviously Zoro didn't have blue skin and Kodiak wasn't a bear but she felt this made it even cooler. "What do you guys think?"

"Awesome!" her fan club gasped.

"So cool!" Luffy mumbled around his food.

"Nailed it," Zoro chimed in, nodding at the artwork approvingly.

"Um…" Emiko said, taking it in before just shaking her head. "Whatever."

"Hey, do mine next!" Luffy said eagerly.

"Yours is over there," Sabine gestured to the other end of the courtyard where a painting of a stretched out Luffy was depicted, a draconic Richard trading blows with him. The shot of Luffy's elongated fist striking Richard's face was accompanied by the words WHAM! written above it.

"It's perfect!" Luffy cried out, staring at it in awe.

The others were there as well with a portrait of Shang-Chi fighting Silencer on the deck of the ship, Silencer looking like a shadowy monster and Shang-Chi having a blazing blue aura around him. There was also one of Emiko shooting arrows with cannonballs on the ends at a brick-like monster. And of course there was the one of her fight with Red Dart with explosions of color all around them as they battled, Sabine's fist wreathed in flames as she fired her gun at Red Dart, blasting through her projectiles. Her finest work, if she did say so herself.

"What the hell is this!"

They turned to see Nami staring up at her own drawing with her taking down Killer Moth in an epic fashion, he staff slamming his head into the ground. Again, Sabine had taken some artistic liberties with Killer Moth depicted as a disgusting insect monster. Nami, on the other hand, was dressed in nothing but a bikini.

"What?" Sabine said, hiding her grin. "I think it makes you look like a badass. Besides, look how popular it is."

She gestured to all the guys and quite a few girls as well who stared at the artwork appreciatively. Nami glared at her, then at all the onlookers, and then back at the painting. Slowly, her glare softened as she got a better look at it.

She did look like a badass, didn't she?

The party went on, with Shang-Chi's sugary appetite leading to an impromptu dance performance and even had him juggling kids in the air. Of course, this eventually caught up to him, leading to him being passed out next to Luffy, his head on his captain's gigantic belly from all the eaten food. Zoro lay on the table, surrounded by empty bottles of sake, his drinking companions snoring around him. Sabine and Nami lay next to each other beneath her final artwork, a portrait of the Straw Hats storming into the Longbow Pirates' base, looking way cooler than they probably had but no one cared.

"Think that'll be enough?" Sabine asked, an eyebrow raised at the humongous sacks Shang-Chi was carrying.

"Normally, yes. But this is Luffy, so it's hard to say," he replied, doing his best to calculate just how much Luffy had to eat to be satisfied. He just kept running into that damn infinity symbol though.

They'd made the decision to leave the next day. While everyone on the island was more than grateful for everything they had done, they were still pirates.

"I am so sorry," Ramirez Rene, the interim mayor, apologized to them. "But it's just…"

"We understand," Luffy waved him off. "We were planning on leaving soon anyway."

"Wait, why do we have to leave?" Sabine questioned.

"Well we can't stay here," Zoro told her, rolling his eyes. "Did you forget we're pirates and there's a Marine base literally right next door to us."

"Do you realize your breath smells like a toxic sewage dump?"

"Do you realize-"

"The Marines won't let this slide," Shang-Chi said. "We may have freed this town and the Marines we attacked may have been corrupt, but they don't look kindly on pirates that show them up like that. The ones at Shells Town were kind enough to not report us but these ones won't extend the same courtesy. It won't be long before they're after us."

"I'm honestly surprised they haven't attacked yet," Shuffleton, who had resumed his original militia position under Rene, said

"Probably taking stock on who's corrupt and who's not," Roy replied. "Not everyone was aware of what was happening. This threw them all through a loop."

"Which means it won't be long before a Marine Captain or someone else comes up to clean up the mess," Shang-Chi added. "And make no mistake, they'll set their sights on us."

"So we'll need to get the hell out of here fast," Nami agreed, thinking of all the money she'd collected. No way could she risk losing that now.

"Besides, we couldn't stay here long anyway," Luffy added. "The Grand Line awaits and we can't stop for anything."

"We still need a boat," Nami said.

They all turned to Emiko who nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I already told you, it's not really what you're looking for."

"No doubt about that," Zoro said a little later as they gathered around the small dock in the Glades, looking at the boat. It was bigger than the ones they had before but it was still only a small sailing vessel. It would fit them fine enough, as long as they stayed in their designated spots and didn't move too much.

"Yeah, this won't last at all in the Grand Line," Shang-Chi said.

"Why don't we just take one of Richard's ships?" Zoro wondered.

"Well…" Emiko said sheepishly. "It seems that Rene and Shuffleton and all the others were a little too eager to make sure no attack came, so…there aren't any other ships bigger than this one available anymore. The entire fleet was destroyed."

Rene and Shuffleton glanced off to the sides, scratching the backs of their heads in embarrassment while the Straw Hats just sighed.

"Oh well, we'll just make do until we reach that other island," Shang-Chi "But we won't make it far in that vessel. Not from Marine ships."

"Don't worry, Syrup Village is just a day or two away," Nami told him. "Besides, a ship like this shouldn't draw too much attention."

"We should hang the Jolly Roger right there," Luffy said, pointing.

"NO!"

Bonk!

"Ow," Luffy groaned, rubbing his head from where Nami struck it. "What was that for?"

"Luffy haven't you been listening?" Nami demanded. "We stick a Jolly Roger there, we draw way too much attention to us! Especially since there's no way that sailing vessel can outrun a Marine ship!"

"But we're pirates!" Luffy complained. "We have to have a Jolly Roger."

"We'll have one on our actual ship," Shang-Chi promised. "But this won't be it."

Emiko sighed, looking at her boat. She had saved up all her money to buy it for when she'd finally sail out on her own. Now it could only be used to transport them to the next island. Turns out it wouldn't be going on the grand adventures she'd always dreamed. Though, she had always dreamed of them on the Grand Line in search of Oliver and according to Shang-Chi, it wouldn't last there. Still, it was a little disappointing.

"Don't worry," Roy said, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll take good care of the girl. Soon as I'm back in good shape, I'll take another boat over to Syrup Village and pick this one up."

Emiko nodded, smiling in relief. "Thanks Roy."

"Alright," Shang-Chi clapped his hands. "Let's load up!"

It took them a bit of time as they went and got more supplies. On the bright side, they didn't have to pay for anything, the town still showing its gratitude towards them. Sabine returned with even more paints as well as tools and materials for more gear and explosives. Shang-Chi returned with both arm and leg weights attached as well as some dumbbells. He needed to get stronger. Silencer had nearly been the death of him as well as Pulver before her. He couldn't afford to let that happen.

The sacks of food were placed carefully in the cabin with a lock attached to them to prevent Luffy from getting to them though the whole crew doubted it would work for long.

"Really?" Sabine asked, looking at the large crate of sake Zoro was bringing aboard.

"Leave me alone, woman," he replied.

"How's the weather looking?" Shang-Chi asked.

Nami raised a finger, feeling the wind as she cast her gaze to the sky. "Should be a strong wind picking up soon. We'll want to catch that. Should give us a good boost towards Syrup Village."

"Understood."

Emiko stood at the docks, taking in a breath. This was it. She was finally leaving her home to go on an adventure. It was hard to believe after everything that she was finally doing it.

"Luffy, I know I agreed to join your crew if you fought Richard for me, but there's one other thing I need you to know," she said as he gorged himself on food. They were at fried shrimp stall with Luffy currently seeing how many shrimp he could fit into his mouth in one go, the party going strong.

"Hmmm?"

"I'm looking for my brother," she told him. "He went into the Grand Line years ago on his own adventure. I want to find him. That's my goal. And if you can't accept that, then-"

"Sounds good to me!"

Emiko blinked, not expecting that. "Huh?"

"We'll help you look, no problem!" Luffy grinned at her. "Actually, I can't wait to see my brother again too! Hey, maybe they'll be on the same crew! Wouldn't that be funny?"

"You have a brother?"

"Yep! Ace! He's the best big brother a guy could have! Man, I can't wait to see him again!"

Looking at Luffy's grinning face as he reminisced about his brother, Emiko couldn't help but think of hers as well, soon grinning too. "Yeah, me neither."

A brief flash of her time with her mother on that island crossed her mind but she easily brushed it aside. This was nothing like that. This was her choice. And it felt right.

"Emiko," Rene said, stepping forward. "I speak on behalf of the entire Glades when I say that we can't thank you enough for what you did for us as the Green Arrow. You kept us alive for all those years and gave us hope."

"It was no problem," Emiko replied. "I'm just glad everything worked out."

"Here," Henry said, handing her a sack. "I packed all the gear you'll need for any kind of arrow plus all the blueprints on how to make them. Not that you need them, just…you know…"

"I get it Henry, thanks," Emiko said, smiling as she took the sack. "I'll make sure they'll be put to good use. And thank you," she added earnestly. "For everything. There's no way I would have made it without you."

He nodded back. "It's been a pleasure."

"You know you're in charge of the inn now that I'm leaving," she said.

"Actually, I'll be taking a break from bounty hunting," Roy interjected. "Just for a little while, anyway. Star Island is going through some changes and I want to make sure everything's stable. Besides, I've been away from my little angel for far too long," he added, patting Lian on the head.

"Dad, stop it!"

Emiko chuckled, leaning down towards the girl who was determinedly not looking at her. "I'm going to miss you the most, you know," she said.

"Yeah, I know," Lian huffed. "I wish you didn't have to go. I wish I could come with you."

Emiko sighed, feeling a jolt in her chest. Lian really was like a sister to her and she hadn't realized just how hard it was leaving her behind like this. "Yeah, I wish you come too," she said. "But you have to stay here. You need to get stronger, right?"

"Right!" Lian pumped her fist eagerly. "I'll get super-strong, like you and dad! Then I'll sail out too. I'll find you! On my own crew!"

"Your own crew, huh?" Emiko grinned. "I can't wait."

She pulled Lian into a hug, both girls' eyes wet as they made the embrace last.

Behind them, on the ship, Shang-Chi averted his gaze, thinking back to the goodbye he'd made long ago. I'm coming back, he thought, determined. I will keep my promise.

Emiko withdrew from Lian and stood back up, now staring right at Roy who smiled at her proudly. "Thanks for everything," she said to him. "Take care, you hear?"

"I feel like I should be saying that to you," Roy replied. "Hey, when you find Ollie, give him a boxing glove to the face for me, would you?"

Emiko laughed. "Sure thing."

"Good luck out there," he said earnestly. "I expect to see your wanted poster sooner rather than later."

Emiko blinked, not having thought of that. But it made sense. Now that she was a pirate, she would have a wanted poster. If she was famous enough, that was.

"As if!" Zoro snorted. "My poster will come first."

"No, I'm the captain so mine will be first!" Luffy argued.

"Fine, but after yours!" Zoro conceded.

"I think will mine be after his, actually," Shang-Chi chimed in.

"Keep dreaming!"

"You're all insane, why would you wanted posters?" Nami demanded. "You know that just brings more attention, right?"

"You mean more glory," Luffy corrected.

"Insane!"

Roy and Emiko laughed at their antics. "A good crew," Roy nodded appreciatively. "I'm proud of you Emiko. And Ollie will be too, when you see him."

"Thanks. Take care of this place."

"You know I will."

"Ok, well at least try not to run it into the ground, you back-alley thug."

"Hey!" he said, flicking her forehead. Then he pulled her into a hug which Emiko returned. They stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling apart. Emiko stepped back, taking one last look at her family, before she turned and hopped onto the boat.

"Ready to go?" Shang-Chi asked.

Emiko glanced back at Star Island, taking in the buildings and landscape. So much had happened, even before she came here. From Komodo to the Outsiders War to her mother. Then her adventures with Oliver. And then to her just living here.

I want you to try living now.

She had lived. These past eight years, she had been really living. Maybe it was just random stuff like tending to the in, stopping random crooks, and helping out the neighborhood. But she got to live a peaceful life these last few years. She now understood why Oliver had left her behind all those years ago. She hadn't been ready then.

"Yeah," she nodded, staring out at the horizon, eager to see what adventures awaited. "I'm ready."

"Badabadabadabadabada…badabadabadabadabada… badabadabadabadabada…Calick!"

"This is Garp. What can I do for you?"

A few minutes later, the Marine vessel changed course, heading for the East Blue.

Hey everybody and I hope you enjoyed the finale of the original Star Island arc. I'm curious to know what people's favorite fights were. I will say my favorite to write was Zoro's and the most difficult was either Nami's or Shang-Chi's given that I needed to figure out how their fights would go. I did not mean to go so hard when I started this but that's how it wound up. Because of that, some things will change slightly. But honestly it was necessary as seeing how many of them there are now, they needed something to bring them together now as a crew which is why they're referred to as the Straw Hats here.

Also about the Calm-Calm fruit's ability, I decided on Silent Mind as I felt that did feel like the fruit's power pushed to the extreme. Corazon never got a chance to use it as he was never able to practice his power under his brother's scrutiny and push it so far. That's just what I'm thinking.

Next up will be Syrup Village. The canon won't change too much but there will be some new villains that I'll be taking in from the Star Wars universe. So be prepared for some random rogues that I doubt anyone can guess.

After that, there will be one other original arc for the East Blue. After that, there won't be any others until after Alabasta. Still, this one will be a lot of fun. But until then, it's time to get the cowardly lying sniper.

As for that last scene, well, watch the Netflix series.