Chapter 22: Dragon Sword Style, unleashed!

"I don't want to kill you, but…" Gin stated as he stood on top of Zeff's back, his broken peg leg in his hand.

"Gin!?"

"I don't care if he was a living legend or whatever." He tells us, "He's now just a cook. I got no problems spattering his brains on the deck."

"That bastard! He broke Chef Zeff's peg leg!" The Popeye cook cries out angrily.

"That traitor, I'll send him flying!"

"Wait." Sanji stop the enraged Luffy before turning to Gin, "What is it you want, Gin?"

"You want this old geezer to live? Then get off this ship, Sanji!"

"Get off this ship? I refuse!"

"Wha-Don't provoke him, Sanji!" The cooks cried out, "Chef Zeff is-"

"You look pathetic, you crap-geezer." Sanji scoffs, "You're setting a real bad example for the fighting cooks."

"Hmph. I don't want to hear that from you, Eggplant." Zeff scoffs back.

"Don't call me that, you crap-geezer! Stop treating me like a child!"

"Sanji, this is no time for that!"

"Tch! …Gin." Sanji points to him, "Aim your pistol at me."

"WHAT!?"

"Are you crazy!?" Luffy cries out, "You'll be killed!"

"Maybe." Sanji shrugs his shoulders, "But at least this way the crap-geezer would live."

"W-What…?" Gin could only stare in shock, "Sanji… why?"

"If you want to die so badly, then allow me the honor!"

We look back to see Pearl getting back up on his feet, blood spilling down from his nose and mouth which curls into a scowl, "I never imagined that I, the Invincible Pearl would get two bloody noses in one battle. I'm feeling threatened by you, so don't you move. If you do, Gin will blast that chef's head off!"

Sanji said nothing as Pearl draws back his buckler, "Pearl Surprise!" The buckler slams into the blonde cook and sends him tumbling across the deck.

"Sanji! Why you…!"

"Don't touch him, chore boy!"

Sanji's words stopped Luffy who is ready to pummel the shield man, "Why didn't you dodge!?" He asked.

"That crap-underling…" He struggles back on his feet, "…He'll kill the shitty geezer if I do…" Gin's eyes widen in shock, "It's not fair, Gin. I can't do as you asked."

"Why not!? It's easy!" Gin tells him, "Just leave this ship and you all be spared!"

"This ship… it's the geezer's pride and joy." Sanji tells him, "I've took everything that old man had. His strength, his dreams, everything! So I'll never… never ever let anything else be taken from him again!"

"This is no time to be spouting rubbish, Eggplant…" Zeff stated.

"Shut up! I told you to stop treating me like a kid!"

"Ah, Sanji, look out!"

"Pearl Cymbals!"

Pearl has somehow sneak up behind him and slams his two bucklers into Sanji's head. I can hear his skull cracking under the hit while blood pours out of his mouth and nose, as he collapses onto the deck.

"I'm tired of listening to his problems." Pearl notes with a sinister grin.

"Sanji!" The cooks cried out in horror.

"Damn it, what can we do!?" I noted. If we do anything to either Gin or Pearl, Zeff would have his head blown off.

"Crap, this is really bad!" Gord noted, "Hey, Sen! Can't you do something!?" From inside the restaurant, snoring can be heard. "You're actually taking a nap in there!?"

"Gord, this is Sen." I noted with a nervous grimace.

"Yeah, I know! But isn't Zeff his friend!?"

"That's pretty up in the air…"

"Oh, that's a good idea!"

We turn back to see Pearl punching the deck and pushing himself into the air, and is right on top of Sanji as he moves so that his pearl helm is pointing downwards towards his target.

"Grr…! That's a cheap shot, Gin!" Luffy cries out angrily.

"We fight for keeps, kid!" He shouted at him, "You brought this upon yourself! If you'd just hand over the ship, you could have gone in peace!"

"Sanji, move!"

"Refined Silver Surprise!"

Despite the cries of his fellow cooks, Sanji would not move and took the diving attack to his back hard. "Wahahaha! I'm invincible!"

"Sanji!"

"Oh god, his back…!"

"…You… ate your own foot." Sanji struggles back onto his feet, blood dripping all over, "Leaving all the food for me… you've saved my life."

"My word… how did he survive a direct hit?" Pearl mutters out.

"I won't let you have this restaurant, and I won't let you kill the crap-geezer either. That food sacrifice himself to save a worthless boy. So I'll repay my debt to him, even if it costs me my life!"

"Sanji! I don't want any favors." Zeff tells him, "I'm not so pathetic that I need a baby eggplant to protect me!"

"Who did whom the favor?" The blonde cook asked, "If you hadn't eaten your own foot for my sake, you'd never lose to these fools."

"Why… Why did you get up, Sanji…!?" Gin mutters out loud.

"Wahahaha! So you want more of Pearl's surprises? You can't possibly win, you know!?" Pearl laughs, "In this world, it's winner takes all, and losers get nothing! And whatever that prize, the winner crushes the competition! Isn't that right, Don Krieg!?"

"Yeah, that's right." Krieg agreed.

"Right, Gin!?"

"…"

"Well, I don't have to ask. You're our ruthless battle commander, after all." He turns back to Sanji, "We're going to crush you, and there's nothing you can do about it. So why bothering standing up? You're just wasting energy!"

"…So that for a moment longer, this place can remain a restaurant."

"Hah! Your words are slicker and polished silver! But it is now closing time for this restaurant!" Pearl laughed as he readies his buckler, "From now on, this is a pirate ship! Doublecheck Pearl Surprise!"

"Argh!"

The buckler slams into Sanji, sending him tumbling away and slamming against the railing. He coughs out blood and tries to get back up again.

"Sanji!" The cooks cried.

"He can't take anymore of this!" One of them cried out, "He'll die!"

"Wahahaha! You can do something about this!" Pearl taunts him, "If you don't mind the old man dying, that is! Wahahaha!"

"Argh! I can't take this anymore!" Gord shouted as he charges at Pearl with cutlass ready to strike. I took note and charge right at Gin, my feet charging to my dragon form's.

"No, stop!" Sanji cries out. "Don't interfere-"

"Gum Gum…!" Luffy stretches his leg high up into the air, before his rubber limp recoils back down, "Axe!" He slams his recoiled foot into the deck, smashing through the wooden boards and smashing the entire 'fin' into pieces. I was barely able to keep on one of the pieces by embedding my talon's claws into the wood, while Gord tumbles about and would have fallen into the water if I hadn't reach out and grab him by the collar.

"H-He shattered the fin!" One of the cooks cried out.

"That kid's up to something! Gin! Blow Zeff's brain out!" Krieg shouted out.

"Huh? B-But…"

"Hey, I never touched you guys." Luffy states to Gin, "All I did was bust up the fin."

"What do you think you're doing, Chore Boy!?" Sanji cries out angrily.

"I'm going to sink this ship."

"WHAT!?"

Both pirates and cooks are in an uproar over Luffy's declaration. Even Gord is furious, "What the hell!? I thought you were fighting for this ship, not destroying it!"

"Are you crazy!?" Sanji grabs him by his vest, "Don't you realized why I've slaved away all this time on this ship!?"

"But if I sink it, they've got no prize to take." He explained.

"Wait, that's your excuse!?" Gord shouted angrily. I noticed Zeff having a small smile at the proceedings. I guess even he knows how foolish Sanji is being.

"My enormous debt… the way I feel about this place… you could never understand!"

"So you're going to die for this ship? That's stupid!"

"WHAT!?"

"Getting killed is no way to repay your debt!" Luffy shouted as he grabs a stunned Sanji by his collar, "He didn't save his life, just so you can throw it away like that! Only a coward to do that!"

"T-Then how else can I stop them from taking old man's ship!?"

"Now stop squabbling, you two." Pearl states as he walks up to him and ignites his two bucklers, "It was simply your misfortune to meet up with the Krieg Pirates. And there's nothing you can do about it now! Not when we've got a hostage! Now burn and die!" Pearl charges right at the two of them with flaming bucklers pull back to strike them down.

Within moments, Gin suddenly moved and slams one of his heavy weighted tonfas into Pearl's body shield, shattering it in an instant.

"G-Gin… Why…?"

"Sorry, Pearl. Step aside."

"Gin, you bastard!" Krieg shouted out angrily, "How dare you betray me!"

"I'm sorry, Don Krieg. But we both owe Sanji our lives." He stated, "At the very least, let me be the one to end him."

"H-He smashes that hard shield like it was nothing…!" Gord noted in shock.

"Well, no surprise there, seeing as his attacks nearly went through my scales." I stated. Seeing his confused look, I explained further, "I encountered and fought him two years ago. You know, when we got ambushed at Orange Straits?"

"Oh, now I remember. He was there?"

"Yup. Nearly smashes my head in if I didn't transform in time."

"Sanji, I've hoped you'd get off this ship without getting hurt." Gin notes, "But I guess that's not going to happen."

"No, I'm afraid not." Sanji tells him.

"I see. Then the best I can offer you, is to kill you myself."

"Yeah, thank you. But go suck a dick."

"Rude, much?" I noted with a deadpanned expression. How can someone like him be so polite yet so crude at the same time?

"You too, Straw Hat." Gin tells Luffy, "You should have left with your crew when you had the chance to."

"Why? It's not like I can lose to bunch of wimps like you." He stated.

That statement got every pirate riled up and angry, all of them started shouting at him, "You lots are getting pretty cocky with our battle commander! Don't you know who we are!? We're the damn Krieg Pirates! The strongest pirate armada of the East Blue!"

"You're not strong. You just have the most people on board."

"Grk!"

"…I think you may have hit a nerve there." Sanji noted.

"What? It's true." Luffy shrugs his shoulders.

"Now that you mention it, attacks by them are mostly ambushes with overwhelming force, or brute overwhelming force. I guess that's their only threat is strength in numbers." Gord noted, "Besides Krieg and Gin, none of them are even listed on the wanted list."

"You… You… YOU!" The pirates all armed themselves and prepare to board back on Baratie, "We'll kill you-"

"Enough! Stand down!"

They all stopped at their captain's commanded, if a bit unwillingly. "B-But, Don Krieg!" One of them shouted, "Those guys, they…!"

"Getting worked up over being called wimps only means that you've acknowledged your weakness." Krieg stated calmly, "The outcome will tell us who's strong, and who is weak. Understand, you scurvy dogs?"

"A-Aye-aye, Don Krieg sir!"

"That's some authority he has over his crew." Gord noted, "As expected from the boss of the 50-ship armada."

"See now, boy?" The armored pirate noted with a smirk, "This is how a pirate worthy of the title of Pirate King should be. So, who do you think that title should truly belong to-?"

"Me, obviously."

"G-Geh!?"

Gord slapped his palm on his face as the cooks all screamed at Luffy to cut it out with his confident remarks; not that it would do it any good. Luffy is as dumb as shonen protags can get, if not dumber.

"…That's it. I have had it with you."

Krieg, veins popping from his head, unbuckles on his massive pauldron that could be mistaken as a shield and aims it at us, "I'm going to show you what true strength is."

"T-The MH5!?" The pirates all cried out.

"Hm? MH5? What's that?" Luffy asked, "If it's a cannonball, I'll bounce it right back at him."

"Wait, Don Krieg! Not that!" Gin pleaded, "Please, just let me kill them myself!"

"It doesn't matter whose hand kills him." Krieg tells us, "Sentimental tripe like 'honor' and 'mercy', I hate all of that! This is war! And in war, all that matters is victory! Victory by any means necessary!" The 'jaws' of jolly roger on the pauldron/shield opens up to reveal what looks like a cannon barrel. "Even if that means using a poison gas bomb!"

"P-Poison gas!?" Gord cried out, "That would wipe out all of us, including his men!"

"Don Krieg!"

"Just one whiff of this noxious gas would kill you all within seconds! Now, boy! Witness true strength!"

The pauldron/shield fires a cannon shot right at us, one that looks like an actual missile. Almost everyone dived under the waves to escape it, or put on gas masks in the case of the pirates.

Luffy, being the stubborn guy, decided to take his chances and run towards the fired round, "It's no big deal! I'll just knock it into the water!"

"Stop, you fool!" Sanji cried out.

As he did so, I noticed something off, like the fact that Krieg isn't putting on a gas mask despite firing a poison gas grenade. Does he have an antidote to the poison, or…?

"Wait, something's not right!" I shouted, "I don't think that's a-"

I was too late in my warning, as instead of detonating into a poison gas cloud, the round instead explodes and unleashes many shuriken stars flying all directions, some manages to cut into his rubber body. Many of them flew past him and in our directions which I and Gord quickly dodge or deflect away.

"H-Hey! That wasn't poison gas!" Luffy cries out angrily as he clutches his wounds, "You tricked me!"

"Hahaha! You don't use something as valuable as a poison gas bomb for something this insignificant!" Krieg laughed, "Just one of those bombs could easily annihilate an entire village! You think I'll waste that on scum like you?"

"Ah, I see! That's a good point."

"He sure is taking this calmly…" Gord noted with a sweat-drop.

"This is war, brat! I have many different ways of killing you!" The armored pirate exclaims, "So tell me again, who among us do you think the title of Pirate King truly belongs to-"

"Me, of course!" Luffy stated nonchalantly, "You don't have what it takes."

"K-Kuh…!" Krieg grits his teeth so hard that you can actually hear him scrapping the enamel off of them, "Gin! You better do your duty and kill off that stupid cook! As for this ignorant brat, I'll kill him myself!"

"…understood, Don Krieg." Gin noted as he turns to Sanji, "Sorry, Sanji. But you can't beat me."

"Hmph. We'll see about that, you shitty scoundrel…" Sanji noted as he took a whiff of his cigarette.

"Hold on." I took a step forward and got in front of Sanji and raises my sword up to block him off, "You're still too injured from that beating you just took. You're in no condition to fight. I'll fight him in your stead."

"Wait, Rein!" Gord cried out, "Are you sure about this!? Didn't you say that he nearly broke through your scales with one of his attacks!?"

"I just don't have to let him hit me, that's all." I assure him. And compared to my inexperience self from two years ago, I'm way more skilled now. Things would go very different than last time I've faced him.

And I kind of want to get some payback for two years ago if I can.

"My lady, it would do me a dishonor to let a delicate flower like you fight in my-OOF!"

I stop his words with a fist to his gut, which brought him to his knees instantly, "Don't you call me a lady." I tells him, "And I can assure you, I'm no delicate flower." I points Nanashi at him, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"…Sorry, but have we met before?" Gin asked.

"…You don't fucking recognize me?" The nerve of him-How dare he forget! "I have broken two of your ships masts on my own! I've punched you and sent you flying! Don't tell me you have forgotten all of that!"

"…Wait. Don't tell me… you're that little girl from two years ago-"

"Who are you calling a little girl!? I'll have you know, I'm almost thirty!"

I'm pretty sure the scene of me shouting at a dumbfounded Gin is very comical to everyone looking in, but I couldn't give a damn about that anymore. Seriously, I'm pretty sure I'm at least close to Nami's height at this point!

"Wait, you're in your late twenties? At that size-"

"Oh, I have had it with you!"

I decided to let my anger decide my next course of action and charge at him, slashing towards his shoulder. He quickly dodges my preemptive strike, before spinning his weighted tonfa at me in retaliation. I stepped back to dodge the attack and countered with a thrust which he parries away, leaving me open for a wide attack from him that I barely managed to block with my handle, the force behind it rattling the wooden hilt and knocking me away from him.

I skids to a stop before prepping a technique, "Fifth Form; Rising Claw!"

With my blade poised low, I charged right at him, just as he is dashing at me with his spinning tonfa. The moment I got close to him; Gin swings the tonfa down at me with every intention to smash my head in.

I twist my body to dodge it, his metal ball grazes against my forearm a little, and at the same time, swings my sword upwards at him, cutting into his chest. "G-Grgh…!" He groans out and retaliates by swinging his other tonfa at me from the side, which I quickly duck under to avoid before leap away from him.

"S-She drew blood!"

"N-No way…! Did Gin just got hurt…!?"

"And by such a small girl…!"

I would have shouted at them for calling me small, but the fact of the matter is that I can't afford to put my attention elsewhere. Even if Gin is bleeding from his torso and heavily panting bleeding from his mouth. That slash, by all account, should have immobilized him, but he is still standing.

Gin, as malnourished at he is, is definitely still as strong as the first time I've faced him. I can feel the pain from my forearm, friction burn from his grazed attack; it is a damn miracle that the hilt isn't broken from that strike alone.

His movement, on the other hand, are pretty sluggish compared to two years ago, a possible significant side effect from being starved for weeks on end. That means I can get in close where his weapon cannot reach me. That will be my winning strategy.

The sea behind me exploded, which we both view as the starting signal as he charges right at me, both tonfas spinning and swinging down at me. I jumped out of the way, the metal balls smashing into the wooden planks and breaking them on impact. At mid jump, I slashes at him, nicking him on the ear before landing and preparing to strike back.

He wouldn't let me do so, and swings his tonfas at me at all directions, prompting me to go on the defensive and try to block them all away. Each attack hit hard; my blade rings loudly each time his weighted tonfas slams on it, my arms ache each time I block his attack. Is this his strategy, to wear me off with heavy attacks after another? If so, then it is definitely working-

"Grgh!"

Air left my lungs as I felt his metal ball smashing into my sides; ribs breaking under his strike before I was sent flying by his attack. I tumble on the ground and slamming against the railings of the seafaring restaurant. I let out a wet cough, iron taste in my mouth as I struggles to push myself up.

"Oh god, Rein!" Gord cried out.

"Hahaha! That's right!" One of the pirates shouted out, "That's what you get for messing with our battle commander!"

"Gin is going to destroy, girly!" Another cries out.

"Give it up. It's over." Gin noted, spinning his tonfa in ready for another attack, "You can't beat me."

"Yeah… who's the one that decided that…?" I stated as I finally got back up.

"Miss, you're badly hurt!" Sanji stated worriedly, "You have done enough! Let me-"

"Stay out of this." I stated as I pushed him aside, "I've got this…"

Despite the bravado I just put up, it is obvious that his attack really messed me up. I can feel at least three ribs are cracked; with one of them almost breaking. I can't afford to take another hit from him, or I'll be dead for sure. I have to settle this with the next attack.

"…I see. Then, die."

Seeing as I am not moving from my spot, Gin charges at me with his tonfa swinging down at me, metal ball aiming to crush my skull.

"Second Form; Gliding Wing."

I moved my sword upwards, angling the blade so that the metal ball would glide down the edge to my side and missing me entirely. As he is stunned by how I diverted his attack, with my sword now raised, I complete the technique and slashes down at Gin, cutting into his collar and down his torso.

"GAH!"

Gin let out a cry of pain before dropping to his knees, hand on his now cross-shaped wound on his chest. As he did so, I place my blade against his neck, "Now, it's over."

"N-No way…! Gin… that Gin is…!"

"T-This is impossible!"

"N-No way, that little girl just took down the Krieg Pirates' battle commander!"

Pirates and cooks alike all cry out in shock at what just occurred, all of them of disbelieve. I ignore all of that and look at Gin, who just stares back at me.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked, "Do it. End me."

"…"

"Go on! Kill me already!"

"…No."

I took the blade off his neck, swinging it once to great rid of the blood on it before sheathing Nanashi with a loud click.

"W-What are you-?"

"You weren't going to kill Sanji from the start."

Gin flinching at my words. I got to thank Silvia for teaching me how to read one's body language, because it is paying off big time! I continued on, "When I choose to butt in and fight for him, your body relaxed. You are relieved that you don't have to fight Sanji, the guy that has no doubt saved your life before. And back then, you could have killed Zeff right then and there as your captain had ordered, but you didn't."

"So-So, what?"

"That means that you're not someone who would repay kindness with betrayal, that under that ruthless demon persona, you're still a pretty decent person deep down. Pirate or not, you have a decent moral compass. And I'm not willing to kill someone like you."

"You killed like all of the other pirates as easily, though." Gord pointed out.

"They are idiots who just followed orders without thinking of the consequences of their actions. If anything, they are the ones who marched to their death like morons."

I'm pretty I've hit a nerve with many of the pirates around me, but it's not like they can do anything to me in any shape or form.

Gin's eyes widen in shock at my explanation, "T-That's… I…"

"What are you waiting for, Gin!?" Krieg shouted at us angrily, "She's unarmed and completely defenseless!"

"Don… Krieg…?"

"Hurry up and kill her!"

"B-But sir…!"

"All that talk about sentimental nonsense is bullshit!" He stated fiercely, "You of all people should know the principals of the Krieg Pirates!"

"…Victory at all cost…"

"That's right! No matter the method, even if it is 'cowardly', 'dishonorable', all that crap; if it can bring you victory, and use it!"

Understanding his captain's words, Gin struggles back onto his feet, tonfas in his hands and starts spinning one of them in preparation to slam it down on me. Just as I was about to response to that, Sanji got between me and him.

"H-Huh? Sanji!?"

"If you want to kill her, you have to go through me first." He stated firmly.

"Sanji, this is not the time to be suicidal!" The popeye cook shouted at him.

"Hahaha! If he is such a hurry to die, then let him!" Krieg shouted, "Do it, Gin! Kill that stupid cook!"

"GRRAAAGGGHHHH!"

Gin swings his spinning tonfa down, no doubt with the sole purpose to kill me.

But, as I have predicted, the metal ball misses me completely and slams into the wooden planks next to me. "…I knew it."

"What is wrong with you, Gin!?" Krieg shouted at him, "She's just in front of you, how can you miss!?"

"…I can't." Gin noted with gritted teeth, tears pouring from his eyes, "I can't do it, Don Krieg! I can't kill him!"

"…what…did you just say…!?" Krieg shouted angrily, "I dare you to say that again, Gin! Don't tell me you're betraying me now!?"

"I would never betray you, Don Krieg! I respected your strength, and I don't regret anything I've anything I have done in service to you! But I couldn't bring myself to kill the man that showed me so much kindness! So please… maybe…" He turns to his captain with tears and mucus dripping off his face, "Maybe we can… spare this ship…?"

"W-What did he just say!?"

"H-Has Gin gone mad!?"

"Commander, how could you…!"

"What has gotten into you, Gin!?"

The pirates all cried out in shock over Gin's words, not believing what their battle commander has said. Their captain is quite obvious; Krieg's veins are quite literally popping on his head, his face gone purple from sheer rage alone, which I didn't think it was actually possible.

"It's inexcusable that you, my most trusted officer, would not only refuse to obey my order, but to demand such a thing from me! What madness has possessed you!?" He shouted as he raises his shield/pauldron at us.

"Crap, it's the MH5! For real this time!" One of the pirates cried out.

"Don Krieg, please!" Gin begged his captain, "These cooks saved our lives-"

"Throw away your mask, Gin." Krieg stated angrily, "You are no longer part of my crew."

"E-Eh!? B-But… Don Krieg…"

"You think I'd let you shoot that!?" Luffy rushes at Krieg from the fallen mast. The armored pirate take note and fires several stakes from his shield/pauldron at him. Luffy quickly dodges them and crawls under the mast where Krieg can't aim at him. Krieg, not letting the straw hat pirate to get any closer, slams his fist into part of the mast next to him, breaking it and sending it sinking into ocean, and Luffy would have followed suit if he didn't get back up top.

That brought Luffy to the open which gave Krieg the chance to fire more stakes at him. He narrowly avoided them and leap back onto the broken Fin. "Gin! Don't you dare obey that pansy Krieg!" Luffy tells him, "I'm going to clobber him-!"

"Don't you belittle Don Krieg!" Gin shouted, "Don Krieg is the mightiest man alive. A runt like you could never defeat him!"

"Stop deluding yourself, Gin!" Sanji shouted as he grabs his collar shoulder, the pirate commander looking at the gas mask in his hand, "Your hero is trying to kill you!"

"Of course he is. I'm a coward who let foolish sentiment get in the way of my duty. I deserve to die."

With those words, Gin tosses the mask into the sea, leaving himself in the merciless hands of his former captain.

"Rein, get out of there!" Gord shouted at me.

"Die! Poison Gas Bomb; MH5!"

Krieg's shield/pauldron fires something similar missile-esque cannon round from earlier, only this one has Krieg putting on his gas mask immediately after. That was enough to clue us into the bomb's actual contents.

"I'm borrowing these!" Luffy's arms stretched and grabs two of the pirates' gas masks, tossing them at us that Sanji quickly caught.

"Miss Rein, here." He passes the mask to me, which I took before throwing it back at Luffy, "Miss Rein!?"

"I have a better idea!"

I grab both Sanji and Gin by the collar, disregard all the fears of Sen's future punishment for what I'm about to do, and changes into my half-dragon form before leaping high into the air as hard as I could. At the arc of my jump, I unfurled my wings and fly up as high as I can, just as the gas bomb detonates into a massive cloud of purple smoke.

Thankfully, I was able to fly high enough that the gas couldn't reach us, "Phew…That was way too close…" I noted in relief.

"Y-You have wings!?" Sanji cried out in shock.

"Devil Fruit powers." I told him, "A Mythical Zoan-type, to be exact. The Dragon-Dragon Fruit."

"…Why?"

"Hm?"

Gin looks up at me, "Why did you save me!? Just let me die! I deserved it after what I did!"

"Oh, stop that loyal dog bullshit and open your eyes!" Sanji shouted angrily, "Your captain, the man that you look up to, is trying to kill you! And for what!? Not killing!?"

"Sentiment is weakness! And I let that weakness stop me from doing what my captain ordered me to do!"

"Then stop following his orders! You're a person, not some emotionless, unfeeling monster!"

"Would both of you shut up!" I screamed at them, "Your struggling is making it hard to keep a grip on you two!"

"O-Oh, sorry." Sanji apologized.

"And Gin." I look down at him as said, "I didn't spare your life just so you can throw that away for some bastard captain that doesn't appreciate your services."

"…"

Soon enough, the cloud is completely cleared, letting us see Luffy is still on the broken Fin with his gas mask around his face. Krieg is still on his wrecked ship, although his body language indicates that he is shocked by the absence of the three of us. And judging by the way Luffy is looking around, he is too.

I don't see Gord or any of the cooks and pirates nearby, and there aren't any floating bodies about, so I can safely assume that they are most likely safe.

"Where are you!? Gin! Sanji! Small lady-"

"Who are you calling small lady!?"

The response to Luffy rude words came out of my mouth before I can stop myself, getting both the Straw Hat captain's and the armored pirate's attention as they look up at us. Luffy's reaction is predicable, with eyes sparkling in awe at my half-dragon state, while Krieg's jaws dropped at the sight my wings.

"So cool~!"

"W-Wings!? Another Devil Fruit user!?"

I sighed as I decent down onto the broken Fin, dropping off Sanji and Gin to the ground. As I did so, the pirates all started to acted weird.

"White scales, horns and wings!? Oh god, isn't she that white devil from two years ago!?"

"Oh, my god! She most definitely is! I recognized those wings and scales anywhere!"

The pirates all start to scream in terror at appearance of my dragon form, some even praying to god to save them. I guess my actions at the Orange Straits is still remembered even two years from then.

Still, what's with the 'white devil' moniker? I don't look that scary, do I?

"I see… You're that 'white devil' my men were telling me about two years ago." Krieg stated, "I've always thought they were overexaggerating, but now I see they were telling me the truth. Even so, for the identity of that 'devil' to be a woman of your stature… It makes your supposed actions back then seems unreal."

"Want me to go over there and show you how unreal they are?" I noted as I show him my clawed hand to prove a point. I can most likely reach him from here, if I use my legs to their max strength. And I doubt his armor is stronger than my scales-

"Grgh…!"

"Gin!"

Suddenly, Gin collapsed onto his knees, clutching the sword wounds I have inflicted on him that seems to have widen a little, his blood pooling under his feet. Ah crap, did his wounds worsen from how I rough handled him just now!? At this rate, he'll bleed to death!

"Hmph, it seems that the MH5 might not been needed. Those wounds would have killed you if I just left you behind." Krieg scoffed, "Gin, I'm really disappointed in you. To think that someone who embodied my principals so well as you, turned traitor all for some gratitude of some little food given by some stupid cook."

"D-Don… Krieg…?"

"Gin, you have chosen the wrong person to follow." Sanji stated angrily.

"Hahahaha! You feel sorry for that worthless piece of rubbish?" The armored pirate laughed, getting some furious stares from Luffy and Sanji, "A fool who lost sight of what's important and refused to obey my orders is no use to me. Who's to say he wouldn't betray me again?"

"That shitty bastard…!" The blonde cook growled angrily.

"Rein! You're fine!" Gord exclaims as he ran out from the restaurant, Zeff and his two chefs not far behind.

"Gord!" Thanks goodness he is alright and well. "You know some first aid, right!? Can you help patch up Gin here?"

"Well, sure, no problem. But isn't he the enemy-"

"That doesn't matter! If he loses any more blood, he'll die!"

"B-But, Rein…!"

"Patty, stitch up his wounds." Zeff tells the popeye chef, "Carne, get the first aid kit and all the extra bandages we have from the storeroom."

"Geezer…" Sanji noted in stunned surprised.

"Huh!? But Head Chef! He was about to kill you just moments ago!" The chef cried.

"Didn't you hear me!? Get to it, on the double!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

The two cooks followed his command and the popeye chef rushes towards the bleeding Gin. Gord, a bit reluctantly, followed him and help him carry him by his shoulders.

"Thank you, Gord." I thanked him.

"It's only because you asked me to, okay?" He tells me as he lifts Gin's arm over his shoulder.

"Don't die, Gin." Luffy tells him, "Don't prove that asshole right! Live on to spite him, okay! I'll send him flying for you!"

"No… don't… go against Krieg…!" Gin coughed, blood dripping from his mouth, "He's…too strong…! You can't win against him…!"

"Calm down, chore boy!" Sanji calls out to him, grabbing onto him by his arm, "If you charge right in, you'll be playing into his hands! You'll be killed!"

"I won't die to him." He tells him, shaking his grip off of him before charging right at the armored pirate, "Go ahead and shoot me all you want!"

"W-Wait!"

"The sea is your nemesis, hammer boy! Beyond that fin, your grave awaits!" Krieg declares as he tosses some small ball bearings into the water, which detonates into a big water wall that blocked Krieg from Luffy's view. Krieg then aimed his shield/pauldron and fires countless stakes into the water wall, with the sickening sounds of them sinking into flesh being heard just moments later.

"Heheh, so he'll rather die than-what!?"

Luffy dashes out of the water wall, pikes impaled in his limps but he still keeps on running. Krieg raises his weapon up to continue firing, only for the rubber pirate to flip over and slams a stretched leg into the water in front of Krieg, blinding him the same way he did to him.

As he did so, he leaped into to water wall, arm stretched as far back as possible. "Gum Gum…"

"Fool! Go on! Try and punch me if you can!" Krieg boasts as the water wall clears away, showing him covered in a spiked cape, "There's no way you can hit me-"

"Pistol!"

"PWAHH!?"

Ignoring the painful spikes on the cape, Luffy slams his recoiled fist into it and hits Krieg square in the cheek, knocking him to the ground hard, stunning everyone with his reckless act.

"So, is this your grave, or mine? Like hell it is." One by one, the rubber pirate pulls out the impaled pikes from his limps, all the while a fearless smile is on his lips, "You don't get to decide my grave. This isn't where I'll die."

…
To be continued…

Yup! Done with this chapter!

Man, I wasn't sure where to end this part, but I manages it in the end! So yeah, as the title says, this chapter is mainly to dedicate to Rein's growth from the start of this fic till now. From some guy/girl who barely got by with a powerful DF power, to someone who is skilled enough to NOT need it to defeat someone as skilled as Gin.

And the fact that he/she fought against Gin is no coincidence, either.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!