Hello all and welcome back This one gave me some trouble, but I chalk that up to Dressrosa being as chaotic -if not more- than Skypia as an arc and I don't have a medium that allows me to show where the Straw Hats and their allies are on a map. Oh well. I hope you all enjoy the chapter anyway!
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Chapter 68:
Tremors Across Dressrosa
Rear Admiral Wallace Wood, the disguised gladiator called Sot G, was not afraid to admit he screamed like a baby, attacks of multiple origins glancing off his floating swords as he barely avoided those he failed to redirect. To one side was Haruta of the New Whitebeard Pirates facing Catarina Devon, an escapee from Impel Down's Level Six two years ago. On the other, three of the Crescent Blades tried to surround the grandson of Don Chinjao, a man who had once fought Garp the Hero on equal terms, and Sai had obviously inherited some of his grandfather's strength and ferocity. Meanwhile, somewhere, the Heir of Chaos and the Ghost Ship had run of the Colosseum, meaning the Straw Hat Pirates were on the island and clearly ready to add another Warlord to their captain's rap sheet.
This was supposed to be a simple mission! The tournament wasn't supposed to have such strong competitors, much less on such short notice. Now that he possessed the powers of the Float-Float Fruit —made legendary by Shiki the Golden Lion— and had trained hard to make them work well, he'd planned on winning those Fruits for the Marines and maybe score a promotion. This tournament shouldn't be treating him like fodder.
And yet, fodder he was. It took every bit of his Marine training and survival instincts to keep his head connected to his shoulders, the attacks seeming to prevent him from reaching the end of the arena where he could take a breather and only have to watch one side. It seemed his luck worked against him as every opening he was given closed as soon as he spied it.
Lieutenant Commander Drake —calling himself Wyrm for the moment— deserved a much higher rank than he had considering he managed to win his own tournament division, but perhaps that was the power of one trained by and working under a Vice Admiral, a luxury Wallace Wood had never had. Assuming he survived, he'd have to find such training immediately. This fight was his final warning!
"HELLOOOOOO, DRESSROSAA!" a voice yelled, echoing through the air. Motion and conflict stilled as humans and toys alike searched for the speaker. Wallace spied her a moment before others in the arena, the man hoping that his pointing would prevent any of the other fighters from taking his head off in the immediate future. There, standing on top of the Colosseum's edge, stood seven figures too far away to be distinct. "THIS TOURNAMENT IS OVER!"
"Over‽" the announcer demanded. "This tournament is over when I say it's over!"
"Maybe," 'Ghost Ship' Going Merry replied with a calmer voice. "Except, I don't think the fighters will stay when the prizes are gone."
"Gone‽" Several of the fighters and viewers echoed the question, whispers breaking out within the crowd. Wallace couldn't see the Ghost Ship nor her companions clearly from the distance, but he could imagine her smirk from her wanted poster, the Klabautermann lifting something in her arms toward the sky.
"Ace, give them a show!"
A pillar of fire exploded upward, spiraling into the sky as the people gasped.
"Th-Th-They may have g-g-gotten that Devil Fruit," the announcer stammered, "b-but the power of Whitebeard is still up for grabs!"
"It's not!" Merry denied. "But we'll get to that soon. Right now, I have the pleasure of announcing your consolation show since we're cancelling your tournament! On behalf of my captain 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy and with an army formed of alliances with former Warlord 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law, the New Whitebeard Pirates, and the Revolutionary Army, the Straw Hat Pirates hereby declare war on the Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo for all to see!"
The silence in the Colosseum was palpable as jaws dropped and tongues were metaphorically swallowed. The Klabautermann giggled into the silence.
"Ever since hearing about Enies Lobby, I've always wanted to do that," she whispered to her companions.
"Almost the same gravitas," Sanji admitted. "Of course, our audience was only CP9."
"As for the Quake-Quake Fruit," a more masculine voice said, another of the seven figures stepping forward. "Listen up! My name is Sabo of the Revolutionary Army, sworn brother to Monkey D. Luffy and Portgus D. Ace! With the power of Whitebeard, I will make the World Government fear my name! For freedom and revolution!"
He jumped from the Colosseum's top, falling toward the arena with a toothy smile stretching his lips. Wallace started to run as Haruta and Sai pulled back, the women taking a moment before vacating the center of the circular arena as well. Space itself seemed to ripple and fold in on itself as Armament Haki covered the revolutionary's hand, his fingers splayed out so as to mimic a three-clawed hand.
"Quaking Dragon's Rending Claw!"
"Woah!" Ace gasped from where he looked down on his super-uncle (because he was even closer to his dad than his normal uncles, just like Mommy's sister Nojiko would be his super-aunt) fell toward the arena. The air itself distorted around his hand, as if his fingers were ripping through canvas, leaving behind tears in the very fabric of space itself. His eyes drank in the sight, part of his mind already trying to figure out if he could do something similar and look even half as awesome. "Super-Uncle Sabo's so cool!"
"He sure is," Koala agreed with a smile, one hand already on her hat in preparation of the shockwave to come. "Get ready; the war on Doflamingo begins now."
Sabo crashed into the center of the arena with the sound of shattering glass. The blocks cracked as the air and laws of physics mended, a pulse of air riding the shockwave that blew hats off and smaller toys out of their seats. Those in the arena stabbed their weapons into the floor, barely keeping their feet down (except for Wallace Wood, who fluttered from where he held the handles of two swords and tried to focus on making his shoes float to help him against the atmospheric onslaught). The waters around churned as the Colosseum trembled.
And Sabo brought his other hand down, compounding his first quake with a second. Where the first had cracked the arena, the second caused it to shatter. The fighters around him cried out as they were send back, jumping to jagged pieces to avoid the water and the fighting fish. Bubbles rose from the moat, a sign that Sabo's attack had opened holes into the tunnels below.
"Kill him!" the announcer ordered, pointing down at the scarred blond. "Kill him now!"
Guns cracked from the stands, a number of guards, toy spectators, and disguised marines answering the call in an attempt to remove the newest Devil Fruit user. Haruta and Sai moved, each taking up one side to deflect a third of the bullets even as Sabo reached forward, dragging his claw-like hands outward before him.
"Quaking Dragon's Shaking Wall!"
The air before him cracked once more, the bullets hitting the air before him as if striking thick glass, only adding to the unnatural distortion. When the gunfire ceased, ready ammo spent, Sabo reared back and punched.
"Buckshot Wave!"
He didn't aim for any civilians, sending the scattered bullets high so the lowest ones caught the guards standing in the highest pathways and windows. Citizens and toys screamed, fleeing for their lives as the remaining pirates and revolutionaries of the group landed on the broken pieces of arena around Sabo. Haruta and Sai saddled up to them, each keeping an eye on Catarina Devon and the Crescent Blade pirates.
"Care to tell us why you're on our side?" Merry asked, directing her question to the monkey-like polearm user. "While running around inside, your grandpa seemed to have a different opinion."
"I'm not my grandfather," Sai replied, "just as Straw Hat isn't Garp. Gramps has been blinded by his rage over what Garp did to him for so long that he can't think straight about the Monkey family, but we have our own mission here, and taking down Doflamingo would just be icing on the cake. The enemy of my enemy and all that."
"Fair enough," Merry shrugged. The ground shook as the water level began to stabilize, the bubbles from below bringing with them a distinctive scream.
"Oh right, I forgot," Sanji blinked, a hand coming up to muss his hair. "Usopp, Franky, and Chopper went underground after that little girl with the toys. Oops."
"Dammit, Sanji!" Merry yelled. "That's kind of important!"
"Eh, I'm sure they'll be fine."
"You say you all are friends of Momonosuke?" the man called Kanjuro questioned, studying the surroundings warily. Something didn't feel right about the area, not helped by the spot of fresh blood on the ground before him.
"Yeah, he sent us to look for you," Usopp replied from above, Chopper echoing his words. "Listen, we need to get out of here. There's this little girl that summons toys." He paused. "Ok, that doesn't sound so bad, but we're talking scary, rip-your-face-off kind of toys."
"And if we stay super long, the snow-bird-woman will find us," Franky added. "She'll freeze you to death in an instant."
"Right, I suppose we must escape now while given the chance," Riku decided. He turned to the rest of the men in the pit. "Some of you remember me as king; some of you only arrived in this country recently. I have no power to ask anything of any of you, but I beg you here and now: please help me. Let us escape from this place and free Dressrosa from the false peace Doflamingo has used to blind the people! If we are to die today, let us die on our feet with weapons in our hands! Let us fight!"
The warriors cheered, the former soldiers voicing renewed fealty to the deposed king while the foreigners seemed of the opinion that Doflamingo wouldn't let them go anyway.
"This should get you all started!" Usopp called, loading two seeds into Kabuto. "Double Special Attack: Bamboo Javelin and Trampolia!"
His plants sprouted as soon as the hit the ground, the bamboo shooting upward to spear the ceiling. Kanjuro moved first, trusting Momonosuke's choice of ally, and jumped on the Trampolia before latching onto a stalk of bamboo. He began to climb.
"I don't know if it's convenient," one of the soldiers commented, "but it's at least a way o—"
A harpoon shot down, spearing him through the shoulder. He screamed, the man beside him grabbing at his waist as the man was pulled from the floor. He cried out, blood smearing the man who tried to help, before he was ripped from his friend's grasp and pulled into one of the holes in the ceiling.
"Wh-What?" the blood-covered man questioned, staring at his hands. He blinked. "I… I don't understand… Whose…?"
"It seems we are under attack!" Riku announced, shoving aside his confusion to study the facts. One of his soldiers was covered in fresh blood and seemed surprised about it, but it wasn't his own. "Be on your guard and climb!"
As soon as he'd finished, a harpoon shot down, Kanjuro batting it aside with his paintbrush scabbard. The foreign warriors were the first to reach the Trampolia, using it to give themselves boosts up the bamboo. Riku, being a man of some age, could not hazard a jump and opted to start climbing from the base of one plant.
"Your Highness, look out!" Riku turned just in time to see one of the soldiers jump before him, the harpoon spearing him through the chest. The former king only had time for his eyes to widen before the line drew taught and the barely-alive soldier was dragged upward.
"Hurry, hurry!" Usopp urged, another harpoon coming down to spear another warrior through an appendage and drag him away. "Come on! We need to get out of here!"
"You can do it!" Chopper echoed. Franky reached forward, disconnecting his right hand and throwing it down to grab the king, since he seemed to be the harpoons' primary target. Kanjuro landed beside them a moment later.
"You're super welcome," the cyborg said, setting the old man on the floor.
"I know not who you people are," Riku said as Franky set him down before reaching down for another prisoner. "I am, however, grateful for your help."
"We're members of the Straw Hat Pirates!" Chopper grinned completely missing the way Riku tensed at the declaration. "We're here to take down Doflamingo!"
"To… defeat Doflamingo?" the former king echoed as other fighters started reaching the upper level.
"Behold my shining radiance!" Cavendish declared, somehow having gotten both himself and his horse to the top. He flicked out a rose, setting it between his teeth. "I will accept your applause now."
"Yeah, we aren't doing that," Jean Ango said, scratching the back of his cactus-shaped hair. The last few former soldiers climbed out of the pit, several carrying the broken toys that had bowed to their king. "How many did we lose?"
"Uh…" Kelly blinked, counting. "One? I think the harpoon only got one. Maybe two."
"Bro," his brother Bobby said, pointing back into the hole. Below, unmoved from his sitting position, was the depressed blond from before.
"You going to just sit there?" Suleiman called. "Come on, we're getting out of here!"
"Leave me be," the blond waved. "It's best if I just rot here anyway."
"You don't have—" Chopper began.
"Leave me!" Bellamy growled, turning just enough that the reindeer could see his teeth bared like his moniker. "I don't want your help!"
"Now isn't the time for pity," a familiar voice said, Usopp feeling cold sweat bead the back of his neck. He turned like a rusty door, finding Sugar on the other side of the hall with several toys around her, though three took a center place in his attention. To her right stood a clown, too-wide smile painted on tilted, white face as it dragged a small, double-sided ax. To her left was a yellow horse, the ungulate pawing at the floor and shaking its mane. In the center, just to the side enough for Sugar to still be seen, stood a bipedal dinosaur —an ankylosaurus by the looks of it— striped red and blue. "Toys, destroy, but leave the former king alive."
"Yes," the toys intoned, moving forward as one.
"Oh crap," Franky muttered, taking aim.
"Wait!" Chopper insisted. "Coby said something was weird about the toys! I think we don't want to hurt them!"
"But they want to hurt you." Franky spun, firing his Beans Left at the new voice. The pellets passed right though Monet, the harpy looking more rough than any of the group had ever seen. The midriff of her green tank top had been burned away, a red burn the shape of a fist all but indented into her gut. Pieces of concrete and other such rock-like materials were stuck in her wings and hair, though some of it fell out as her body turned to snow to avoid Franky's attack. Monet waved a wing. "You should really prioritize your own survival first."
"Crap, it's the harpy!" Usopp gasped. "She's a Logia!"
"A Logia?" Cavendish grinned. Despite his wounds from his lost battle and the lack of his sword, the Pirate Prince still stepped forward, Armament Haki growing over his fists. He flicked his head, making sure to catch the dim light so it sparkled a little. "Pardon, miss. I'd rather not fight you. May we, as they say, make love and not war?"
"If you're siding against King Doflamingo with the rest of this rabble," Monet replied, sending out a gust of freezing wind with a flap of a wing, "then I have to decline."
Toys clashed with wounded soldiers and their broken kin, the three in the lead breaking through the line as they rushed toward the aged king. The Funk brothers, Suleiman, and Jean Ango stepped in their way. The bipedal dinosaur crashed into the larger of the brothers, grappling him around the waist as a sumo wrestler would, not that anyone in the area other than Kanjuro would understand the simile even if he recognized the grip. Suleiman found himself on opposite side of the clown, the toy hefting the weapon it carried with an air of experience evident to The Beheader. A rather beaten-up Jean Ango narrowed his eyes at the horse, wishing he had his swords.
"I shall assist you with my magic!" Kanjuro declared, painting on the floor with his scabbard. From the paintings rose several poorly-drawn weapons that the closest warriors accepted and passed along with confusion. Ugly they were, but they were better than nothing.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Usopp shivered, turning away from the battle to focus on Monet since he labeled her the greater threat. "Special Attack: Rafflessia!"
The seed passed right through Monet's face, sprouting upon contact with the wall. She started to laugh only for the smell to hit her a moment later, the bird-woman stumbling as a wing came up to cover her nose.
"What the hell?" she hissed. "That stinks."
"Nasty, isn't it?" Usopp grinned. "Let's see you focus on the fight with that smell in your nose."
"Dear me!" Cavendish gasped, miming a faint. "What an atrocious odor! I cannot fight in these conditions!"
"…What?" Usopp blinked, almost managing to ignore the sounds of battle behind him.
"I refuse to perform in this environment!" Cavendish reiterated. "The lighting fails to capture my beauty, this weapon" —he gestured at the poorly-drawn, three-dimensional thing in his hand that Kanjuro had provided— "is completely inelegant, and there are no beautiful women for me to show off for save the lovey harpy I am expected to face! This entire situation fails to enhance my fame or show off my looks! And I'm expected to work with the crew of a Supernova? One of those who stole my spotlight two years ago? I could have sucked it up and continued had it not been for that foul plant! That was the final straw!"
"Eesh," Franky muttered. "What a super drama queen."
"We don't have time to pick and choose locations!" Usopp yelled.
"Yeah!" Chopper agreed. "No time!"
"Of course, one can appreciate the necessity for an appropriate stage," Kanjuro offered, raising his paintbrush scabbard. "Perhaps if I—"
"No!" Cavendish denied a little too quickly, glancing at his drawn 'sword'. "Ahem, no thank you. That won't be necessary."
"Oh, I see." The samurai's shoulders sunk a little. "Very well."
"Well, this little play has been fun," Money interrupted, the feathers of her wings frosting over, "but I think it's time we move to the final act of this tragedy. Your deaths."
"I quit!" Usopp yelped. "I don't want to be an actor!"
Monet stepped forward only for the world around them to shake violently, throwing people and toys to the floor indiscriminately. Cracks ran along the ceiling, water dripping and running from them with building force.
"What?" Sugar demanded, her eyes starting to widen. "Monet! The Colosseum moat is cracking!"
The harpy gasped, lunging forward and flying over —and through— fighters. She all but tackled Sugar as the second shockwave destroyed the ceiling, a wave of water washing over the pirates and fighters. Screams were interrupted, drowned out by millions of gallons of water and several tons of fighting fish getting pulled by gravity into the compromised tunnels.
Down in the pit, Bellamy stared at the water lapping at his ankles and building, sloshing over the side of the tunnel windows and leaking into the underground prison. It washed over the broken toys and decayed corpses of those who had been left here to rot before, but none of that bothered him. He smiled and leaned back, letting the coming deluge soak into his shirt.
He was a failure, his downfall all starting that day in Jaya two years before. He'd lost to the dreamer who had refused to fight back and then lost his crew chasing after that same thing. Even the golden pillar he'd retrieved from Skypia, the proof of Sky Islands his friends had died for, he'd given to a man who didn't care if he lived or died. It'd taken him being dumped in this place with the rest of the tournament's losers for him to accept the obvious he'd denied for so long.
Doflamingo didn't give a rat's ass what happened to him. He'd never earn the respect he wanted, no matter how hard he tried, so what was the point?
'Sarkies, everyone,' he thought as the water washed over his chest, sucking away his energy. 'I'm so tired. I just want to see you all again. I'll be there soon.'
A section of the ceiling caved, letting in a gush of water and one of the fighting fish. Bellamy gave one last wan smile before it engulfed him.
'To hell with you, Doflamingo. I quit…'
The first thing to rise to the top of the rapidly-dwindling water was a sphere of ice six feet in diameter. The second was Usopp hoisting a waterlogged Chopper, Franky surfacing with an old man via inflatable tubes coming out of his back. Others popped up one after another, some having to help friends stay afloat.
"We're alive!" Usopp gasped, tossing Chopper onto the closest dry surface.
"Uncle Usopp!" Merry called, kneeling beside him. "Are you ok?"
"Merry?" he questioned, coughing up water and taking in his surroundings. "I think we're fine."
"Someone super needs to get Kanjuro, though," Franky commented. "I think the guy had a Devil Fruit."
"Leave it to me," Merry grinned, accepting any excuse to get in the water. She set Ace and down and dove in.
The bubbles cleared as Merry's eyes adjusted to the water, the sight of several half-decayed bodies causing a burning in her throat. A few of the fighting fish had turned on each other as the water level lowered, having ripped each other apart or limped away with chunks missing, while others saw these unfortunate corpses as questionable but free snacks. As she watched, a toy knight in mostly-working order twisted and grew, turning into a gladiator.
She swam down and gave him a push upward, hoping someone else would fish him out and see if he was still alive. She had more pressing concerns as she dove, entering one of the wide cracks Sabo's tremors had made while keeping an eye out for anymore fighting fish.
The tunnels were dark, the water causing what light did make it in to distort and bend. Using Nami's knowledge of the currents to calculate where the water would have rushed in and where those caught in it would have ended up, Merry followed the path. It only took a dozen seconds before she caught sight of a burst of bubbles coming from a mound of red stuck in a corner by one of Usopp's plants. That mound of red was, as she'd predicted, a person, Merry grabbing one of his arms and pulling him back the way she'd come.
"By the spirits!" he coughed after Merry had returned him to the surface, smacking his back to dislodge the water he'd swallowed as his kabuki makeup ran down his face. "I thought for certain my final curtain call had come!"
"We've got you, Kanjuro," Usopp insisted. He blinked. "Crap, I think Kin'emon's down there, too!"
"Kin'emon?" Merry asked. "He was down there?"
"He did go with that group, I think," Kaku agreed. "It's… fuzzy, though. That's weird, usually my memory's a steel cage, but everything to do with Kin'emon's a blur."
"Figure it out later!" Sanji yelled. "Save the moron now!"
Merry dove back under, the rest of the pirates trusting she would get the job done. More soldiers rose to the surface, most of them still alive.
"Boo?" Sai questioned, pulling an orange-haired man from the water. "That is your name, right? You're Boo? We're... brothers?"
"Hack!" Koala realized. "Where's Hack? He should have been with you all!"
"Who?" William D. Chapston blinked. The name was familiar for some reason, but he couldn't picture the man's face.
The stands had mostly cleared by now, the civilians and toys having fled shortly after Merry's declaration of war and Sabo's subsequent show of power. As they watched, the other Straw Hat allies broke through walls and climbed through windows, coalescing near or within the arena, the star of their open war having disrupted every plan in motion.
"It's them," a whispering and awestruck Bartolomeo muttered with tears in his eyes, falling to his knees before Sanji, Chopper, and Franky as Amy and Gin joined their crewmates. "More of the acolytes and the god-son himself. Truly, this is a blessed day."
"Uh, who's this guy?" Franky asked. "He's super creeping me out."
"That's Barty," Amy waved off, finding a more important head of pink hair in the crowd. "And this is Rebecca. She wants to take out Doflamingo."
"We made a few allies, too," Usopp said, patting an old man on the back. "This is the former king that Doflamingo kicked out, Riku Do…lolorolo or something."
"Though I have lived as Ricky the gladiator for the last several years, my name is Riku Doldo III," the man put in. "I am Rebecca's grandfather."
"What‽" a number of local gladiators and Rebecca gasped. "Y-You're my…?" she added.
"I won the betting pool!" one yelled.
"Not now, Manuel! Can't you see they're having a moment?"
Merry broke the surface of the water, bodily throwing a waterlogged and bleeding Kin'emon onto dry land as she gasped for air she really didn't need as a spirit. "Found him!"
"I thought I could hear Lord Oden calling my name," Kin'emon coughed.
"K… Kin?" a voice asked. "Kanjuro?"
"That voice," the samurai blinked. He rolled on to his knees, his eyes moving to the speaker even as one hand held the bleeding puncture in his shoulder. "Is that you, Izou?"
"Kin!" The New Whitebeard commander threw himself forward to wrap his old friend in a hug, uncaring for Kin'emon's drenched state. The man returned the hug until Izou pulled back. "How are you here? We heard you, Lord Oden, and the other Scabbards died 20 years ago! Pops, Neko, and Inu were ready to go on the warpath!"
"Lady Toki saved us," Kin'emon answered, sending a subtle side eye at the Straw Hats nearby. "My son Momonosuke is with us. We left Wano to find allies to help us defeat Kaido."
"Mo—?" Izou began only to cut himself off. "I see. Lady Toki saved you. You're going after Kaido? Orochi, too?"
"Of course," Kin'emon nodded. "It is time we revenged Lord Oden and the true Daimyo took his place."
"I think all that's going to have to wait," Haruta called, disappointed that he had to break up such a reunion even if he had his own questions and theories about how all this had come about considering he'd joined Whitebeard's crew after Oden had already left. He pointed toward the stands with one of his swords. "The cavalry's arrived, and it's not ours."
The stands had filled with fighters, half dressed in the tan of Doflamingo's lesser crew and the other in the traditional armor of the Dressrosian army. Leading this group was a man in flamboyant clothing of red leather pants and a flowing shirt with the front open to show his lanky, muscular torso. His hat had multiple large flower petals arrayed around his head with two lines of red face paint trailing from his forehead, over his eyes, and down to his chin. A red cape fluttered in the wind while hanging from his shoulders and he held a saber on his hand with triviality.
Flanking him were two large men. The one on the left was dressed to resemble a baby; his shirt too small, a diaper around his waist, a bonnet on his head, and a binky in his mouth. None of this matched the distain on his face directed at the pirates and fighters below. The other was blond with a bushy beard and long hair. He was a very rotund man with the hair of his chest, arms, and legs clear to see around his swirly-patterned white-on-red outfit. He wore a pointed cap upon which was printed the jolly roger of the Donquixote Pirates, the same symbol tattooed on each of his large arms. Attached to the back of his outfit was what appeared to be a platypus tail —or something very much resembling one— and on his back proper was a metal shield.
"Oh no," Rebecca muttered. "That's Diamante, the head of the Colosseum. And with him are Señor Pink and Machvise, two of his officers. They're some of Doflamingo's strongest warriors."
"Oh, good," Sanji grinned, tapping one of his shoes on the ground as he lit up a new cigarette. "Then we don't have to go looking for them. Luffy's already fighting Doflamingo and Merry got to announce the war, so let's get this started."
"We are members of the Straw Hat Pirates," the doll announced, offering explanation to both sides of the conflict. "We were turned into toys, causing a mnemonic effect that forced all others to forget our existences in totality. I am Nico Robin, the gorilla is Roronoa Zoro, Luffy's first mate and Coby's swordsmanship teacher, and the ship is Jinbei, a former member of the Seven Warlords and a personal friend of our captain."
"Damn it," Trebol grunted. "What the hell is that brat doing now that it's not my job to watch her?"
"Sorry to burst your nasty little bubble," Zoro said. "I don't know how we got here, but it seems we're right where we need to be. All after the destruction of your underground dock."
"What‽ You—? The dock—? But—" Trebol seemed at a loss for words. His confusion settled into grim focus, shadowing his eyes. "Doffy's going to be pissed, but at least I'll have some corpses to show you won't win in the end. Sticky Net!"
Zoro lashed out with another flying slash, splitting the net in half, as he took in the surroundings and situation in totality. Robin wasn't a fighter —even less so in her current toy state if her words were true— and Jinbei couldn't move. Law was missing a leg and both he and Nami appeared weaponless and beaten, the other Supernova nearly to the point of unrecognizability. The alleyway had a dumpster with moldy food and old boxes as well as moving pallets that had been stacked out of the way, leaving most of the area clear between the dark backside of a restaurant —based on the smell— and another cream-colored building.
"Let's see if you can stick yourself back together after I've cut you up!" Zoro ran forward, Kochou's blade scraping on the concrete below to ensure Trebol kept his eyes on the toy gorilla and not the others. The man threw several additional Sticky Nets that Zoro sidestepped, getting in close as a miasma of dark Haki danced around the small blade he wielded.
Trebol threw up a Sticky Shield that blocked Zoro's vision, forcing him to slice through it. The moment he did and could see Trebol once more, a teal fist from the sticky-man was halfway toward him. Zoro pulled his dagger back, its rudimentary-sharpened edge scraping against the hard stickiness Trebol had coated his fist with, pushing the airborne gorilla toy back. Zoro flipped, landing on his feet.
"You know this fighting is pointless," the bearer of the Throne of Clubs sneered. "No one can beat Doffy. Certainly not a crew as small as yours."
"How do you know we're not bigger?" Zoro replied.
"Because even if that stupid brat missed two of you, I know she's careful enough to give orders to the others. Any other crewmates you have that Sugar's gotten, I'm sure have been turned against you. Your crew will dwindle to nothing, just like all the other upstart pirates that thought they had the power to unseat Doffy."
Zoro cocked his head, Trebol imagining a cocky smirk on the toy's lips even if he couldn't produce such.
"What was it Coby said on Punk Hazard? Right, 'we have a pretty good track record with Warlords.' We toppled Crocodile and Moria, kicked Buggy's ass, earned the respect of Mihawk, Kuma, and Hancock, and Jinbei says he's a former Warlord that wants to join our crew. That's seven of what, eight? Your captain is just the next logical step."
"My captain is the end of your road," Trebol swore. "Or should I say, I am. Die, you foolish toy! Sticky Whip!"
The goo Trebol produced cracked against the flooring as Zoro rushed forward. The Donquixote pirate stomped, cyan color crawling over the ground as he used Sticky Land. Zoro's button eyes narrowed slightly, his mind flashing back to the Humandrills he'd sparred with back on Kuraigana. He wasn't use to all the flashy back-and-forth movement —considering himself more of a tank since he didn't want to move or act like the Shit Cook— but it seemed like this toy body and loss of the ground as a viable surface was forcing his hand. He jumped, bouncing off the dumpster to the opposite wall before zigzagging forward, becoming little more than a green blur.
"One Gorilla! Me Gorilla!"
"S-Sticky Shield!"
"One Gorilla Cut!"
Zoro's attack sliced through the Sticky Shield as if it didn't exist, Kochou biting into Trebol's chest. The man screamed, the force of the attack blasting him backward in a spray of blood. He rocketed out of the alley, crashing into and through a building on the other side of the street that started collapsing in on him. Zoro cut downward, clearing a space from the Sticky Land below.
"A fool like that stood no chance against a swordsman," Zoro nodded, wishing he still had his swords and sheaths. Being able to sheath his weapon as he gave such a one-liner would have made for a more impressive image.
As if queued, or perhaps having found their location because of the dust cloud, Billy swooped down with a call, landing beside Nami with Brook upon his back.
"Yoho!" the skeleton chuckled. "It seems we missed the party! I'd say my eyes deceive me, but I don't have any eyes to deceive! Yohoho!"
"Trebol's not out yet," Law reported. "You've knocked him down, but he's a resilient bastard. Unless you kill him, there's always a chance he'll come back."
"Brook and I will stay here," Zoro said, confusing the so-named skeleton. "Robin and the boat can't fight until we take out the girl that turned us into toys."
"Billy," Nami ordered. "Take Law, Robin, and the boat toy—"
"My name is Jinbei," the boat toy grunted.
"—back to Sunny and get them out of danger. See if you can get Law medical attention or the equipment so he can do it himself. I'll go back to the palace to find our weapons and check on Coby, Grace, and my lovable moron of a husband."
"Little though it may be, I believe I could be of more assistance alongside you, Nami," Robin the doll recommended. "As an archeologist, I have extensive knowledge of architecture and would be able to assist you if they have hidden your weapons some secret alcove or the like."
"She knows what she's talking about," Zoro piped up. "You can trust her."
"Fine, whatever." Nami lifted Robin to her shoulder where the doll latched on. Brook helped the one-legged Law onto Billy eve as she Gigafowl nuzzled the navigator, showing his own worry.
"Gorilla!" Law called. "Soul King-ya! Trebol can be very dangerous when he gets angry! Don't hesitate to kill him!"
"Yeah, we'll see," Zoro replied as the rubble of the collapsed building shifted. "Get going! Brook and I will handle this."
End of chapter 68
I understand that some of you may be confused about how I'm chosen to deal with Sugar's power. I've decided that submerging a person turned into a toy 'washes away" the effect but the memory bit is not so easily shaken. Those who are closer to the individual would find it easier to remember them, but those removed don't. I thought that was a good halfway mark for Sugar's powers.
Anyway, the tournament's over, armies amassed, and war declared! Let the full battle begin!
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-SwordOfTheGods