Yamato vs Gura

Gura was a robust and burly fishman by both human and fishmen standards. A whale shark fishman with square teeth, gray skin with white spots, and no nose as his gills did the breathing for him. One of the many reasons why he was chosen as one of Arlong's officers was not merely due to his large and intimidating stature, but also his unnatural strength as well. The villagers had seen him toss large boulders at houses and even seen him snap a marine ship's mast with his bare hands.

There was even the occasional rumor that his body was unbreakable and that he could take a cannon ball to the chest and not be moved an inch. If their heights were to be compared, Yamato's head would only come up to the bottom half of his torso. If she were to beat this immovable giant, then she would have to strike with force even greater than cannon fire.

"Here I come!" Gura bellowed, charging at her with thumping steps.

As the fishman approached her, Yamato quickly lifted her mace and stiffened her body, preparing to take the brunt of the attack. Gura's fist connected with the side of Yamato's mace and she was taken aback. From felt as if she were hit by a moving steel wall. She could feel the vibrations in her body, and felt her heels dig into the ground as she was sent sliding backwards.

However, she quickly regained her footing and charged in return. With a battle cry, she leapt into the air, spun her mace clockwise and swung it in a downward stroke, aiming it for the top of the fishman's head. Gura brought up his arms, his muscles rippling and shielded himself from the attack. Yamato clenched her teeth using all of her strength, but was unable to break through his defense.

"What is that guy's skin made out of?!" A villager exclaimed, watching the fight along with the other villagers.

"It's like his skin is made out of metal or something! He doesn't even seem phased!" Another cried out.

"Some of us fishmen have skin more resilient than even the toughest steel!" Gura grinned. "You see? We stand at the top of the totem pole! We are superior by nature!"

Gura pulled his arm back, and before Yamato could react, his fist rammed into her abdomen. She doubled over, her mouth agape as the wind had been knocked out of her. In all the fights she had ever been in, the punch she felt was probably the second strongest. The first, being from her own father.

The force of the single blunt attack sent Yamato flying into the air. The crowd of the villagers gazed up as the ogre princess flew overhead and landed in the dirt just behind them. Yamato wheezed and wrapped and arms around her torso.

"Damn….he's tough…." Yamato hissed. She sat up, the dirt in her hair sliding off. "This is gonna take longer than I thought."

While she prepared to rise to her feet, Gura was already on the attack. Yamato casted her gaze upward to see him a few feet in the air above her, having hopped over the crowd of villagers. His bulky arms were held over his head as he prepared for a devastating attack.

"Great barrier smash!" He shouted, bringing both of his fists down to smash his opponent into the ground.

Yamato's eyes had widened but this did not stop her from moving. With an agile leap, she lunged backward. Her movement was just in the nick of time as Gura's fists collided with the ground and shattered it with his sheer strength. A great pit was left behind by the attack, one that Yamato had smartly eluded.

With her hand still gripped tightly around the hand of her kanabo mace, Yamato sprinted back into the fray. With loud yells, she took multiple swings at parts of Gura's body, all while dodging his wild punches that aimed to pummel her. Caught in a violent dance, The ogre princess twirled her weapon, swinging it into the fishmen's sides, abdomen, and even at his head.

Despite her attacks, Gura seemed undamaged by them and continued his pursuit of her, attacking her with haymakers. One of his powerful punches nearly hit its mark until Yamato brought mace up and held it sideways, allowing his knuckles to collide with the blunt end of her weapon. Yamato snarled as she tried to use her strength to push her opponent's fist back.

But for the first time since her time in Wano and the times she attempted to fight her own father and fail, she found herself outmatched in strength. Gura thrusted his fist forward, throwing Yamato off balance. Before she could regain it, Gura's other fist smashed into the side of her cheek.

The taste of blood quickly filled her mouth. Letting out a sound of her throbbing pain, Yamato had attempted to reclaim her footing. But the hulking fishmen saw this and instead planted her into the ground with a powerful clothesline. His large forearm slammed into her collarbone and the sheer force of the attack sent Yamato spiraling before she landed roughly face-first onto the ground.

Once again, Gura leapt high into the air "Great Barrier…."

Yamato's orange eyes had widened. She attempted to rise to her feet, to roll out of the way, to find a way to dodge the incoming attack. But this time she was too slow.

"Smash!"

The bottom of Gura's two fists slammed into Yamato back, the fishman putting all of his might into one attack. The ground beneath Yamato cracked, a crater formed due to the strength of the brutal strike. Yamato gasped breathlessly as not only the air was knocked out of her, but her spine felt as if it had been shattered, rearranged and shattered again. A normal human would have had their spine turned to dust by such an attack.

"Oh no!" A villager screamed as she and the others watched in horror.

Yamato's body was motionless. Her face had been covered by the dirt and gravel of the ground, her white kimono nearly ripped and tattered, and her grip on her mace had loosened completely.

Gura laughed as he looked down at her, "You see? Us fishmen surpass even freaks of nature like you! You should have left the island when you had the chance." He then turned his gaze onto the villagers a few feet away. "Now, Captain Arlong wanted me to kill a few of you. Since he didn't specify who, I think I'll just choose at random."

Cracking his knuckles once again, Gura began his slow approach on the villagers. While some of them gripped their weapons tightly, appearing as if they were prepared to defend themselves, they all were horrified. If someone like Yamato could not muster the strength to defeat a fishman like Gura, what little hope did they have?

Feeling pain surge through her Yamato let out an agonizingly harsh cough. She attempted to rise to face her opponent once again, and stop him from harming the villagers. But instead she lied still, the pain coming in twice as much now.

Why aren't I standing? Yamato mused.

This cannot be all that I can take. I have to stand. Stand up!

Yamato knew that staying down would bring shame upon her. And it would not stop there. She was fully aware that it would bring even greater shame to the name Oden. How could she dare claim that she was Kozuki Oden and that she'd one day set the land of Wano free when she could not defeat an enemy? An overload of thoughts and pain began to frustrate Yamato, as it paved the way for old and painful memories.

She recalled her little instances of rebellion against her father, challenging him with the goal of defeating him and freeing the inhabitants of the island from his cruel grasp. And each time it would end in a humiliating defeat. But despite the countless defeats, she'd always stand back up, the deep desire to fulfill Kozuki Oden's final wish still lingering within her soul.

Yamato clutched the dirt she could feel beneath her hands and squeezed it tightly. There was no way she would allow the fishman to defeat her. Kozuki Oden would not have been beaten so easily, and neither shall she. Her thoughts quickly dwindled on her savior that had rescued her from that dark prison. The samurai who fed her when she had nearly been starved to death.

Then, she saw glimpses of her closest friend Ryuza. The dangerous adventures they'd undergone back home on their island. And the small skirmishes they encountered along the way. What would he say if he saw her just lying there while her opponent stood? No, she would not permit it.

"Oi!" Yamato growled. She called out to Gura and rose to her feet. "We are not done yet!"

Gura paused and turned his head to see Yamato standing on one knee. She panted raggedly and her face marked with a mixture of bruises and dirt.

"Seriously?" Gura exclaimed. "Did I not hit you hard enough?! I swear I broke your spine with my last attack

While he spoke, Yamato did the first thing that came to her mind. Spreading her feet and raising her arms, she threw her palm outward in front of her, and held her other palm near her head in a peculiar pose. She had preformed it so many times before. She wanted to make sure it was the exact copy of Kozuki Oden's great pose. The one he made in defiance to her father right before his demise.

"As Kozuki Oden…I will not allow you to harm them!" Yamato yelled, a determined look in her orange eyes as she maintained the pose. "I will defeat you here!"

"Kozuki Oden?" Gura repeated before laughing. "Is that what you call yourself? What a stupid name! No matter! If you want more of a beating, then I'll be glad to give it to you!"

Taking off into another charge, Gura planned on putting Yamato down permanently with his next attack. The villagers gawked at the scene, worried that the Yamato would die defending them. The ogre princess however, had other plans.

She had wanted to end this battle without the use of her other abilities, but she was aware that she had little choice in the matter. She had not fully mastered her trump card, but she was confident that it would be enough to put the fishman down for the count.

The only way she'd be able to break through his tough skin was with the use of her devil fruit.

Drawing a deep breath, Yamato closed her eyes. The world suddenly became mute to her. Not even the sound of Gura's rumbling footsteps caught her ear. The only thing she heard was the sound of her own breaths beginning to intensify, pouring in rapidly. Resonating in her soul was a small blue flame, produced by the devil fruit. And as she focused more, that flame begin to grow and expand.

The air around her began to feel cold. She opened her eyes and instead of shimmering orange, they were now a glowing icey blue. Blue flames suddenly engulfed the dirt ground, surrounding her in a burning circle.

Gura paused his charge when he saw the flames that churned around her, enveloping her in an azure glow. The villagers watched with wide eyed confusion, wondering what she was trying to do.

"What is that….?" A villager asked aloud.

With a low growl, Yamato could feel her teeth begin to sharpen, growing as if she were undergoing an uncanny transformation into a beast. Feeling as if she could go no further, she gripped her mace tightly, staring down Gura, already forming a plan of attack which involved beating him into the ground.

"Looks like you're even more of a freak than we originally thought!" Gura called out, unbothered by her sudden transformation. "Don't think having sharp teeth will save you! I'll still pummel you!"

It was then the hulking fishman rushed at her, his fist reeled back as he planned on sending her flying. Yamato did not move to dodge but instead lifted her mace above her head. The air around her shifted, dropping in temperature to the point where it felt as if they had been caught in the middle of a blizzard.

Around Yamato's horns, sharp crystals of ice began to form around her, born from the frosty wind as a result of her devil fruit. The shards of ice shot forward on her command and shattered on impact, hitting their target. Gura stopped his charged and held up his arms, trying to shield himself from the barrage of ice that was sent his way.

"Ugh, what the hell is this?!" He hissed as he seemingly felt the stinging pain of biting ice.

While he was stunned, Yamato sprinted toward him, her speed significantly increased by the use of her devil fruit. Blitzing Gura, Yamato spun her mace and slammed it into his side. This time, she made sure to target the area where her ice had made its mark.

Gura reeled from the strike. The icey presence had not been kind to his tough skin. Its effects had caused ice burns, which made perfect targets for Yamato to go after. Gura swung his fist in a hook, attempting to take her head off. Yamato bounded away, her movement twice as fast with her devil fruit now active. Once she landed, she slammed her mace into his shoulder, deliberately targeting the area that was damaged by her ice.

In a death defying dance, Yamato maintained her speed after her attack and twirled her mace. She bludgeoned Gura each time he left her an opening. And each time, he felt the stinging pain of frostbite wherever the mace collided. He was furious now, and his attacks were uncontrolled and uncoordinated.

Yamato easily dodged the attack and grinned, her sharp teeth glistening. Yelling loudly, she swung her mace in an upward stroke and bashed it into Gura's jaw. The large fishman was sent flying off his feet and landed flat on his back, gasping in pain as he felt the frost creep up to his neck and burn his strong skin.

"I can't believe it!" A villager squealed, watching the fight in amazement. "She's actually damaging him!"

The villagers watched on in awe, one of them swallowing thickly. "I didn't think anyone was capable of knocking that big bastard off his feet."

Gura's eyes were filled with rage as he struggled to his feet. "You're gonna pay for that!" He snarled. "No one makes a fool out of me!"

"It serves you right!" Yamato said, pointing her mace at him. "Your reign of terror on this island and its villagers is at an end!"

"It'll take a lot more than that to finish me off you freak!" He snarled and charged at her.

Yamato steeled herself. "Indeed! This next attack will finish the job!" She shouted, rushing at him in return.

The two opponents drew closer for an attack that would decide the battle. Gura made the first move and threw a punch that shot through the wind. Yamato saw it coming and sidestepped it while she reeled her mace back. Then, she dealt a powerful blow to his face, and quickly followed up by swinging her mace again, slamming the blunt weapon into the opposite side. While Gura was reeling she finished her attack by pirouetting and sending a swift yet powerful roundhouse kick to the underside of his jaw.

When her foot had collided with the fishman's face, Yamato had made sure to use her ability along with her attack. Generating the ice from her devil fruit, Gura's head became encased in a block of ice. The fishman stumbled back, dazed from the quick attacks and now the ice that covered his head. He was defenseless.

"This will finish it." Yamato muttered to herself.

While Gura was stunned, she leapt high into the air, ascending over the fishmen to deliver the deciding attack. Spinning her mace once more, and letting out a loud battle cry, Yamato descended with her mace held high over her head. And with all the strength she could muster, and a downward strike, she slammed her mace into the ice, and by extension, Gura's skull.

The ice shattered on impact like a shard of glass, and Gura recoiled, his eyes pale. The force of the attack sent his body down to earth, creating a small crater. Yamato, twirling her mace, breathed heavily, her use of the devil fruit taking a lot of her stamina, though she could still fight more. She stood over her opponent victoriously and couldn't help but smile.

"Victory…." She said, "In the name of Kozuki Oden…."

The villagers that were watching cheered in reverence as Yamato was clearly the victor. Yamato could not help but smile as they praised her victory, her heart fluttering as they called her by the name, Yamato. Though she could not help but be slightly disappointed they were not calling her by Oden's name. Nevertheless, all that mattered to her was that they were safe, and Gura was motionless.

However, her victory was short-lived as heard the sound of Nami's voice from beyond the crowd. Her voice was clearly full of distress as she shouted the name of her sister…

"Nojiko!"