Once I got into the flow of writing again, this chapter turned out to be one of my favorites for Fishman Island so far; I just hope you all like reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it.
As usual, this one goes out to all those whose expectations drive me forward: Akamura, Alex P, Andrew Bohl, Animephilosopher1, Anna Khuu, Ant Franklin, Badmr7, Cam Bliss, Christopher Mitchell, Clark Kent, Claude Walker, Cory Johnston, CrazyMan, David Bowling, David Reynolds, Dean, EbayUserGreen, Emi Stafford, Eric Bandel, EvilJelly, Fenrir ragnarok, FlakeTrain, Garvin Lee Nelson-Mathlin, GODA98, Grim90, Illiasse Naji, Jacob McCarthy, Jbe92, JEP1010, Jkat, Jonathan Moh, JONATHAN VICARS, Jordanitos, Joseph Morrison, Josh Watson, Julien digot, Kari Winters, Kcx1, Kevin Calderon, Korakas, Kyo Anamoto, Lamont Hale, little greenmen, Loriane Bourguignon, Marielle Orff, Markoos, Matthew Burley, McBanjo, Mcgin28, Michael Lessard Lagrange, Milla, Monkey D Tobi, Nathaniel Oppegaard, Nicole Morris, Philippa Sale, Rafael Cardenas, Raghhh, Ranger Ellis, Reader45, Richard Barkley, Ricky Shaffer, Riley Bolerjack, S.D,Gaines, Sebastian Gutierrez, SpiderBat, TheMedia_Ghost, Thomas Sanders, ToonTownTourist, ViewtifulSoul, and Григорий Сухотин!
*Edited April 27th to correct a numbers issue.
Chapter 18:
Battle of Wills (Part 1)
"Residents of Fishman Island," Hody began, never taking his eyes off his foes lest they try anything funny to ruin his moment. "You may recognize my voice, but I'll introduce myself again anyway. I am Hody Jones, captain of the New Fishman Pirates. Currently, I have almost 10,000 men in the Gyoncord Plaza ready to face the total combined forces of the Straw Hat Pirates and the Ryugu Kingdom. Such a shame, though, that they could only scrounge up less than 20 fighters in your defense.
"The Ryugu Kingdom no longer has the power to protect Fishman Island or our race and that is why I will take the responsibility from them by force. I will become your new king and under me, we will claim the surface for our own! Too long have we Fishmen and Merfolk wallowed down in the depths of this ocean! Too long have we played nice with the humans who have attacked and belittled us! So come! Come pay witness to this moment in history when Hody Jones kills your paltry protectors."
His smirk widened into a maniacal grin, his gaze never breaking eye contact with Luffy's glare.
"And Straw Hats, do put up a fight. Let's give these people a good show."
The echoes of Hody's last statement faded into the surrounding air, only the uncomfortable shifting of the watching crowd a muted sound in the otherwise still atmosphere. The pirates on the ground, those being Luffy, Zoro, Coby, Usopp, Nami, Grace, Amy, Chopper, Robin, Merry, Brook, and Billy, along with the younger two princes of the Ryugu Kingdom, Ryuboshi and Manboshi, and Kaku slowly formed a circle. Each set of eyes darted from one scowling face to another as both armies, big and small, sized each other up.
"This is bad," a mermaid whispered from her spot in the crowd above.
"What are their chances?" a small fishman to her side questioned, a waver in his voice.
"I don't know. It looks like this will be quality versus quantity, but 100,000? I know the Straw Hats have a reputation, but…"
"And we don't have Prince Fukaboshi here," another bystander said. "The other princes are strong, but I don't think they'll be enough to turn the tide like this. I—"
"Wait!" the fishman blinked. "That hostage. That's Hachi of the Six Swords. He was a member of Fisher Tiger's and Arlong's crews back in the day. Why would they…?"
"They didn't like what he had to say," another voice commented, a certain tall Anglerfish Fishwoman stepping up beside the talking trio.
"M-Madam Finwaters," the fishman gasped, squeezing against the others to give the head of the Red-Light District extra room with which to observe the coming battle below. "I-If you don't m-mind my asking, w-what do you mean?"
"When Hachi returned to the island two years ago, he starting telling anyone who would listen about what sorts of people he believed the Straw Hat to be with anecdotes of Arlong's defeat and their actions on the Sabaody Archipelago just before the War of the Best as if in preparation for their arrival. This set the groundwork even before Namur returned to give his side of the story from the war. Between them both, one who before had hated humans and another who had constantly fought to help protect the island through an Emperor, the will of the people began to bend back toward what our late queen wished. Hody could not have that. Namur was too strong to go after, but Hachi was not so powerful. And now, he is a shield."
"That's horrible!" the mermaid gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
"He can't really believe winning this fight will make his plans work," the third fishman agreed.
"Won't it?" Madam Fishwaters countered. "Should the Straw Hats lose here and two of the three princes die, who will be strong enough to stand up to Hody Jones and his men? King Neptune? Prince Fukaboshi? Princess Shirahoshi? They may be able to put up a fight, but what would be the cost? Would you be willing to pay it?" No one had an answer or declaration for that, causing Madam Finwaters to turn back to the standoff in the plaza. "That's what I thought. One way or another, all this wacky nonsense will be very entertaining."
"Come on!" Hody yelled, swinging one arm wide. His voice dropped silence over everyone in the area like a wet blanket, each individual hanging on to his every word whether they wanted to or not. "Are you a coward as well as a human, Straw Hat? What happened to all that drive you had just a moment ago?"
He waited, arm outstretched, but only silence answered him. His smile dimmed as neither Luffy nor any of his band took the bait. They glared at him in unabashed hatred.
"Honestly, I'm confused, Straw Hat. Confused about a lot of things, but mostly about all of you. You failed to take us up on our generous offer to spare your lives by swearing your loyalty to us on your entrance and ran away like cowards, but you came running when we tried to pit the entire island against you. You split into groups to face my officers, yet they tell me that you, Straw Hat, never fought. Then you sent Namur after me. He put up a good fight, but unlike him, your crewmates had the gall to just not roll over and die like they should have."
"Namur's dead?" Usopp whispered into the silence, a collective muttering of shock and panic filtering down from the citizens above. Even Madam Finwaters felt an eyebrow rise. She hadn't expected that. "But he's a Whitebeard commander!"
"Was a Whitebeard commander," Hody corrected with a laugh. "Now that human-following piece of trash can join his beloved Whitebeard and Firefist in He—"
A fist slammed into Hody's face, his flesh distending around the knuckles as they sunk deeper in. Reality caught up to the kinetic force a moment later, blasting the fishman like a ragdoll backwards into the wall. The stone that enclosed the plaza cracked and shattered as yet another wave of dust obscured the area.
Hachi hit the ground, friction burns across his forehead where Hody's fingers were ripped away. The officers' faces morphed from superiority to shock in a heartbeat, the aftershocks of the filling vacuum ruffling their hair. They turned slowly, sweat beading their brows as they took in the absolutely livid visage of the human captain. Even from across the distance, they could feel the contracted pupils shadowed under his straw hat as he stared bloody murder into their souls.
"Don't you dare mention him," Luffy growled, his arm snapping back into place. Steam billowed from his red-tinted skin. "I won't let anyone say that about my brother."
"Aww, are you still sore about that?"
As one, all eyes turned from Luffy to the shadow in the dust, Hody wiping a trail of blood from the side of his lips. A part of his mind begged him to not piss off the predator before him, but he buried that stream of thought. Rather, he needed to poke the bear so he could show the world Luffy's true colors. Hody was certain that would turn the citizens of Fishman Island against the Straw Hats. After all, he just attacked first. "Your brother was a weak little human just like you and he got what he deserved."
"Shut up."
A pulse of palpable force emanated from the circle of pirates, draining the very color of the world into black and white as time slowed, stretching each moment to its maximum. A weight settled on the shoulders of every person watching.
And the first body dropped.
He was a random member of the New Fishman Pirates, armed with a club and dressed in ragged clothing in need of a wash. His eyes rolled as he body dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. The thump of his form hitting the dirt echoed like a gunshot and acted as the first domino of 49,999 others, give or take a few for the citizens watching who fainted in shock.
"Holy shit," Daruma hissed as half of their force lost consciousness. "What the fuck is this human?"
"That power," Ryuboshi gawked.
"I'm glad he's on our side," Manboshi agreed.
"My brother was not weak," Luffy stated, no room for argument about that fact. "Say that again and I'll give you a chance to meet him in person."
"Geeze, Luffy," Zoro sighed, rattling his swords at his side. "There goes half my fun."
"Oh," Luffy blinked, the force around him dissipating instantly. "Whoops. Sorry, Zoro. You should've said something first."
"Kyahahaha!" Amy laughed as the onlookers exploded into excited cheers, clapping as if they were watching a play or a sports game. Beside her, Nami's eyes were a little unfocused, the navigator unconsciously licking her lips as she remembered the power rolling through the air. "So that's how it feels to be friends with the Conqueror when they unleash their Haki. Feels a lot better on this side."
"That was awesome, Captain!" Merry cheered. "Look at their faces! Priceless!"
"My theories were correct," Robin nodded, sliding a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. "It does appear that Conqueror's Haki may be hereditary. Fascinating."
"What he just did only works once!" Hody yelled, trying his level best to rally his remaining men without knowing if what he said was true. "We still have 5,000! That's more than enough to take these humans and blood-traitors down!"
"Oh, are we starting?" Grace asked as the fishmen around them let out a warcry and charged. Paints rose from various pockets within her suit, the liquids and gasses growing into orbs and trails that revolved around her. "Colorful Galaxy!"
"Second Gear!" A fresh plume of steam rose from the captain. "Everyone, we have an audience! Hold back if you can but go for the throat if you don't have any other option!"
"Aye, Captain!" Coby announced, growing into one of his half transformations. He popped his neck and rolled his shoulders, the familiar ache in his back reminding him what was a stake. He drew his swords, holding the handles the same way one might hold a conductor's baton on account of his lengthened nails. It was awkward, but he had a feeling he'd need the speed. "Slasher Mode!"
"Rigging Art!" Merry called, an illogical amount of rope falling from her sleeves as, beside her, a still-silenced Kaku grew into his Man-Beast Form and drew his swords. "Let's show these fakers what real pirates can do! Baahahaha!"
"Arm Point! Don't get too hurt, everyone! We all want to celebrate without recovery getting in the way, right?"
"I don't have a cool style name!" Usopp lamented, readying his Kabuto with the first of many Pop Green horrors he would unleash on their foes. "I'll figure something out later! Come get some!"
"These are the ones who put our baby in danger," Nami noted, her Perfect Clima-Tact little more than a whirl in her hands as bubbles tinted blue and red rose around her. Shadows rolled over the pirates as her cloud grew in size. "They'll get no mercy from me, Luffy."
"These guys aren't too tough," Zoro smirked. "Good thing there are a lot of them. I couldn't go all out before and Kitetsu's inching to cut something."
"Do restrain yourself, Zoro," Robin advised, her arms casually crossed over her chest as numerous eyes formed across her limbs. "Those on the Sunny will be descending forthwith and we mustn't allow little Ace-chan to witness dismemberment so soon."
"What a terrifying comment, Robin," Brook noted. "It makes me want to empty my stomach. Ah, not that I have a stomach anymore! Yohoho!"
"I suppose I can scrounge something up," Amy grinned, pulling a pebble from within her clothing.
"Wah!" Billy supplied.
"Alright, everyone!" Luffy finished as the first of the New Fishman Pirates got close enough to raise their weapons. "Let's start off big if you've got it! Gum-Gum Jet Gatling!"
"Three-Sword Style: Dragon Twister!"
"Five-Point Slashing: Pterodactyl Swarm!"
"Green Star: Rafflesia!"
"Thunderstorm Tempo!"
"Chemical Bending: Art is an Explosion!"
"Compact Kilo-Cannon!"
"Rosario Blizzard!"
"Cien Fluer: Clutch!"
"Rigging Art: Gordian's Knots!"
"Party Music: Third Fifth Phantasia!"
"Wah!"
"…!"
"Merman Combat: Great Dragon Gate!"
"Merman Combat: Seven Great Treasures!"
The Straw Hats' (and friends') attacks shot from their circle simultaneously. Fists, tornados, flying slashes, horrid smells, lightning, explosions, a pebble with the mass of a small meteor, hooves, bloomed arms, giant balls of rope, music, more lightning, Tempest Kicks, and swords assaulted the fishmen without mercy.
"Oho! I should invite them for a visit," Madam Finwaters chuckled as she watched her countrymen slowly comprehend the sudden combination. The information Kaku, Amy, and Usopp had given her helped Madam Finwaters pick out the Devil Fruit effects from those that were, in their words, 'not natural, but not from Devil Fruits.' "Mayhaps that will assuage any hard feelings in lieu of something else. I certainly don't want that sort of power pointed at me and my girls."
"Why would they attack you, Madam Finwaters?" the fishman beside her questioned. The fishwoman didn't answer, opening her fan to hide her needle-like smile from the rest of the world.
Down below, the understanding of those on the ground began to catch up to those with a bird's eye view. Their range of vision was limited, but there was only so much a warrior needed to see before they knew they were outclassed in every possible way. Bits of the plaza's floor were scorched black, smoke and flash-boiled steam rising from those unlucky enough to have been struck with the lightning. Others cried for help, holding debilitating cuts that ran red with blood. Still more now writhed on the ground clutching at broken limbs or calling that they could no longer feel their legs or tails. That was not to mention those that simply laid there like slugs, dead to the world in the bliss of unconsciousness.
At least, they hoped they were just unconscious.
"Fuck this," a particularly large fishman muttered, taking a step away from the carnage as he stared at the pummeled, burnt, slashed, twisted, and otherwise incapacitated bodies of his crewmates. "Those guys are too much."
"What did you say?" The fishman stiffened, his head turning slowly to see the muscular, gray-haired form of his captain standing behind him.
"Ah…" The words he wanted to say did not come, the excuse he had dying in his throat. "C-Captain. Th-That's not—! I didn't—!"
"I believe your exact words were 'fuck this, those guys are too much.' Am I right? Turning your back on our beliefs just to save your own life? How cowardly. You're no pirate of mine."
The terrified lacky could not move as Hody waved his hand forward, Dosun, Daruma, and Ikaros answering the call to action as they advanced on the would-be deserter. They had yet to reach him, however, when a shing sounded, the man seizing up. A single line crossed his torso diagonally, the man having only enough time to look down in shock before he fell into a hundred pieces. Behind the no-longer-humanoid remains crouched Hyouzou, his ever-present alcohol nowhere to be seen.
"I'm back, Captain," the swordsman muttered as the swords at his hips clicked into their sheaths, an air of deference in his words that had not been there before.
"Hyouzou," Hody greeted. "I trust your shopping went well?"
"Yes." The octopus merman held up the swords he'd acquired. Six of them were newer than his previous swords had been, but the two in his hands were of a much higher quality. They were both the shiny gray of polished steel with gold-lined handles wrapped in blue. Each crossguard was circular, the one on his left with a lion carved into the guard while the right had a gazelle. "I stole six from some blacksmiths, but Challenger Deep found me a pair of Skilled Grade swords that should stand up to the ones the Pirate Hunter has. These are Hoshokusha and Emono (Predator and Prey), a matched set."
"I don't think I've ever seen you so excited, kya!" Daruma grinned.
"Well, this isn't just for the money anymore." Hyouzou turned, glaring at one particular pirate. "It's personal."
"Whatever it is, I like it," Zeo commented, stepping forward to offer the hired man a handful of pills. "Here, these should help."
"These don't look like the ones from before," Hyouzou said, taking the drugs.
"They aren't. I've enhanced them. Whomever you fought before will stand no chance against you now."
"Perfect." Hyouzou's grin showed for only a moment before he tilted his head back, swallowing every one of the pills in his hand before any of the others could get a word in edgewise. He doubled over, his hair turning a shale gray as his body visibly bulked up. He let out a breath, a puff of steam passing his lips as a self-satisfied smirk grew. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go murder the Pirate Hunter and his woman."
"Don't forget the rest!" Hody laughed as the swordsman blurred away, the captain now somewhat reassured of their victory.
Across the plaza, the circle of defenders had broken into smaller groups of two to four, each fighting their own separate battles for the most part. Zoro and Robin stood back-to-back by virtue of chance. Or, at least, that's what one of them would say with the truthfulness of the statement in question.
"Familiar adversary incoming," Robin commented, her voice carrying the same weight as if she were only talking about the weather (currently partially-sunny with a chance of sudden electrocution). Zoro's lone eye turned, his body spinning to catch the sudden pair of blades that clanged against Kitetsu III. Hyouzou's red-eyed grin staring down on the pair.
"We meet again, Pirate Hunter," the octopus merman said, his other legs fanning out before coming down on the human pirate. Zoro's neck twisted as Wado Ichimonji and Shusui came up, parrying. His lone eye widened as one of the swords slipped between his defense, landing a shallow cut along his side. He pushed, shoving Hyouzou back.
"Damn," Zoro hissed. "You're way faster than before."
"I'd estimate nearly 650% faster," Robin offered, bloomed arms cracking and breaking limbs and spines without a visible backwards glance. She didn't need one with her powers, after all. "He appears to have aged almost 40 years as well. Most interesting."
"More like annoying."
"This power has cost me some of my life," Hyouzou admitted. "But then again, isn't the life of a swordsman forfeit from the moment they raise their blade in battle?"
"I think that's the first time you've ever said something like a real swordsman."
"What can I say? I'd forsaken my way for the money and you beating me showed me that." Nostalgia welled in Zoro's chest as his opponent spoke, a memory from a certain restaurant coming to his mind's eye, a memory when he was on the other side of this type of discussion. "This right here? This isn't for the money or for Hody Jones. I will defeat you, Roronoa Zoro, because I am Fishman Island's greatest swordsman. That is my way of the sword."
The men paused, Robin raising an eyebrow as both Hyouzou and Zoro sheathed their blades. The merman reached into his tentacles and the human into his cloak, both pulling out a container of alcohol. Like mirror images, the two raised their respective bottles, shook them to confirm that they were not empty, and tossed them to each other. Both sniffed what they had been given before they, again as one, downed the contents, wiped their lips with a hand, and tossed the bottles aside.
"So this is the rumored 'bromance of the battlefield,'" Robin blinked as Zoro unraveled his bandana. "It appears Grace and Usopp had not exaggerated the silent nuance of understanding that such a ritual entails."
"Do not get this confused, human," Hyouzou said, drawing his swords once more. "I despise your mate—"
"We're not mates," Zoro interjected through Wado Ichimonji.
"—with every fiber of my being. That said, I respect his strength of both body and ideals. I was unworthy before, but I have resolved to earn the same. No matter who loses, no matter how short it may be, this battle will be remembered. That was the purpose of our trade."
"Come earn your remembrance, Hyouzou of the Eight-Sword Style."
"I will, 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro."
The battlefield rocked with a massive crash as, for a third time, the pair moved in sync, their blades ringing.
"What's the status, Devil-Bro?" Franky questioned from the grass of the hovering Thousand Sunny. A patch of the deck laid open before him, the cyborg's smaller hands finishing some last-minute thing that wasn't absolutely perfect within the ship's inner workings.
"Th' battle's started," Gin answered, his voice carried from the crow's nest through an intercom. "Don Luffy's Haki knocked out half o' them an' th' openin' volley's knocked a few hundred more down a peg. I think they could win without us."
"Let's go, let's go!" Sunny's voice cheered, resonating from within the bowels of her hull. "Don't wanna miss the fight!"
"Well, you heard her," Franky grunted, shutting the panel while shifting to another intercom. "Cook-Bro, we're going down. You got Ace?"
"We're ready," Sanji's voice answered, the man stepping out of the kitchen with the navigator's son tootling behind, crumbs and bits of sauces around the boy's mouth. "It's time for me to show Ace why he should follow me and become a gentleman instead of an uncouth barbarian like the Mosshead."
"Mosshead, Mosshead~!" Ace sang. "When cooking on the seas, one's gotta use every piece of the ingredemins 'cause the sea's mean sometimes!"
Franky and Gin blinked but did not comment. Franky filed Ace's ability to remember rules of thumb before shaking the thought away.
"Alright, everyone! Hold on to something! Sunny, time to show them what you've got!"
"Aye-aye, maker!" Of their own accord, the ropes tied around the railing of the sunny connecting her to the beaten Sea Lion above undid themselves. The sunny hung, suspended, for a second before gravity seemed to notice that something in the sky did not belong there and took hold. Sanji hooked a leg into the railing, freeing a hand to catch the orange hat that tried to float off the toddler who was too busy cheering to notice.
"Yahoo!" the ship screamed as she plummeted toward the battlefield.
"Yahoo!" Ace echoed from Sanji's hold. "Giihihihi!"
"I'm startin' ta realize this was a bad idea!" Gin cried.
"Sunny!" Franky yelled. "Prep a weak Gaon Cannon to fire when we land! We're gonna make our mark!"
"Yeah!" The lion figurehead's mouth opened, the metal cylinder already building energy to fire. The Adam Wood ship hit the ground with a tremendous crash, the rock and stone beneath shattering under the sturdy weight of the hull. Hody and his officers' eyes widened as the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates appeared, prepped cannon already aimed at them. Afraid of what something built by the infamous Cyborg could do, Hody grabbed Hachi by the clothes and hoisted the captive into the way of the attack.
"They've got Hachi!" Gin yelled. "Sunny, redirect!"
The eyes of the figurehead widening, Sunny clamped the mouth shut. Even so, the energy needed somewhere to go lest it explode within her hull. That wouldn't kill her, but it would hurt like Hell and require repairs. Avoiding that, Sunny opened other connections, blasting the Gaon Cannon into a Coup de Burst in the opposite direction.
"Look out!"
A megaphone-enhanced warning from Franky allowed the princes to disengage from the contingent of foes they were fighting, the pair of brothers diving out of the way as a beam of silvery light thundered past. The air around them rose in temperature exponentially, air pressure carving lines into the ground. The unfortunate pirates did not have the luxury of avoidance, their screams lost in the noise until they ceased to exist.
Ryuboshi's eyes followed the trail of destruction to the ship. "What was that?"
"That," his brother began, "was awesome."
As seems the irony of war, the other side of the battle had similar questions.
"What was that?" Daruma gasped.
"That," Hody growled, "will be a Godadammed pain in the ass."
Fukaboshi grunted, his trident pressing against the sword of the Flying Dutchman's Klabautermann. Had they been anywhere except underwater, sparks would have flown from the point of contest, but as it were, the two simply wrestled with strength, knuckles white from the strain. Currents pulled at their clothing, the prince needing to put in the extra effort to stay ahead of his foe since he couldn't plant his nonexistent feet.
"Baahohoho!" Vander Decken laughed as he watched the battle, just barely avoiding attacks from the four soldiers that had accompanied the prince with a pair of axes. He threw one, a soldier cutting off his next attack to intercept it before it could get too far toward the Princess ahead. Vander Decken just pulled out another ax. "That's it, Dutchman! Show my future brother-in-law that I can protect my bride! Baahohoho!"
"Orders are orders," the fairy muttered. "Liar's Dice!"
Dutchman pulled back, the loss of force causing Fukaboshi the nearly stumble. He caught himself, however, the prince spinning his trident into a whirling shield that caught the coming slash and served to help propel him alongside the supernaturally-moving ship. His trident slowed as the Klabautermann feigned a kick only for a pair of small items to slam into his stomach. The Shark Merman wheezed, his condition only made worse by the wall coming up to meet him.
"W-What?" Fukaboshi gasped, a set of five dice popping out of the indents they'd made in his torso. (They landed on four 5's and a 4, Fukaboshi noticed unhelpfully.) The metallic scent of his own blood tried to send his shark instincts into a frenzy, but he pushed them down. He couldn't go haywire. Not here and now. Off to the side, one of his soldiers flew past, having dove for another ax in the soldiers' battle with the ship's captain and, in doing so, exited the ship's slipstream. "How?"
"I've had eight different cap'ins before Cap'in Decken IX and none o' them had a Fruit. They had t' find their own styles, and several used subterfuge and trickery. I could easily beat ye that way, but why do that?" Dutchman's tentacled face grinned, noodly appendages moving aside to show two sets of razor-sharp shark teeth. "Tis a shame for ye Decken V was a bloodthirsty hammerhead."
"Shit!" Fukaboshi yelped, powering through the pain to dive away from the bite that would have taken a good chunk out of his shoulder. He came out of his roll, instincts screaming at him. His arms moved before he could fully comprehend, catching Dutchman's cutlass between two prongs of his trident. The hit rattled the weapon in his hand, the Klabautermann pulling back for several more driving strikes that the merman scrambled to block.
"This is the might o' nine generations o' fishman pirates," Dutchman said, his blows forcing Fukaboshi to backpedal lest he be overwhelmed. Each strike seemed stronger, faster, and more powerful than the one before. "I've heard o' your prowess, Prince Fukaboshi, son o' Neptune. They call ye the greatest warrior o' Fishman Island. Show me what that means!"
"Then I will show you!" The prince loosened the reigns on his instincts slightly, his hair growing a touch wilder as tiny scales formed over his arms. He all but leapt forward, darting through the water like a striking cobra. "King Dragon Style: Lunging Viper!"
Metal weapons clashed, strike for strike and block for block met and matched in milliseconds. Against his better judgement, Fukaboshi found himself grinning the way he did whenever he and his brothers would spar. He became a whirlwind of muscle and steel, beating against the seemingly-impenetrable defense of the planted amalgamation he called his opponent.
"Dragon's Fang!"
"Jones Gambit!" Dutchman sidestepped Fukaboshi's downward lunge at the last moment, the attack cutting off a pair of his face tentacles and planting the points of the trident into the deck. The Klabautermann let out a hiss before stomping his pegleg down on the prince's tail. His claw grabbed the merman by the hair, tearing him away from his weapon. "Looks like me bet paid off. You're a hundred years too young to have a chance of overpowering me, boy."
In one motion, Dutchman's cutlass cut a gash into the prince's side just below the rips. He let out a cry of pain, the fairy stretching his captive's wound with his hold on both the prince's hair and tail. Blood leaked from the cut, diffusing into the surrounding waters.
"Your Highness!" one of the prince's soldiers called, the fishman crawling his way back to the foredeck through the current. He hefted an ax, aiming for the Klabautermann's back. "Die, you monster!"
"Pone, no!" Fukaboshi cried, but his words could not stop what had been set in motion. Dutchman tossed the prince aside and turned, his pincer catching Pone's ax by the shaft, pulling him off-balance. The soldier fell forward through the water, his eyes widening in shock, before the rest of the ship's fairy caught up. His sword flashed, the blade passing into and through the armor and chest of the man. The fishman hacked up a glob of crimson as that same color began to tint the waters around the new holes in his armor. "Pone!"
"So this is what it feels like," Dutchman laughed, his pupils dilating as he raised the ax in his claw. A flick of his other wrist tossed Pone over the side, his limp body trailing red, this time to not return. "This is true battle! This is the rush o' blood in your veins, your heartbeat thundering in your ears, the taste of another man's life in the water! Ahahaha!"
"You monster!" Fukaboshi growled, his knuckles white against the golden hue of his trident.
"What's wrong, prince?" the fairy asked, snapping the ax's blade from the handle. "Ye must be willing to both take life and give your own in battle. That's war!"
"Highness, we're here to protect you!" another pair of voices announced. Fukaboshi's eyes darted to the right as Ryusaki and Samuel broke away from their fight with Vander Decken to assist him, leaving Angle to delay the captain alone.
"But Decken—!" the prince protested.
"Dave and Shine can handle anything Angle misses," Samuel, a Pricklefish Merman, said. "Decken isn't the dangerous one here."
"They say t' become part o' the crew is t' become part o' the ship," Dutchman smirked, dropping to one knee to shove his claw into the deck. It fazed into the waterlogged wood, an identical pincer appearing from beneath Samuel, catching him by the tail. The merman gasped as the claw drew blood, pulling him down. "They don't know how true that is."
"Ryusaki!" Samuel yelled, tossing his spear to his fellow soldier. With his hands now free, the immobilized merman grabbed the claw so it could not retreat. "Get him while he's got—!"
He cut himself off before a scream could, the claw tightening around his tail. Ryusaki's eyes hardened, the fishman gritting his teeth and advancing on the kneeling Klabautermann. Dutchman's expression did not change even as his eyes turned on this new threat.
"This isn't personal," Ryusaki said, bringing his spear down and into the body of the Flying Dutchman's spirit. Dutchman gasped, his face turning from the spear in his chest to the soldier and back several times. Ryusaki pulled, but his spear did not move. His foe cracked a grin.
"Ye don't know much about Klabautermanns, do ye?" Dutchman asked, his tentacles slithering up the shaft of the spear before taking hold of the fishman's hands. The pincer sticking out of the deck started to move, sliding its way back toward Dutchman while dragging Samuel by the tail. "This form isn't me real body. I am the Flying Dutchman itself; this whole ship's me body. That means whenever ye do this" —he tapped on the spear with his cutlass— "it's worth as much as a Celestial Dragon's promise."
Dutchman's tentacles continued their way up Ryusaki's arms, the fishman struggling with all his might to free himself. Suckers left little rings of inflamed skin behind while the soldier found himself being pulled closer and closer to the fairy's face. The claw reattached itself to Dutchman's arm, allowing the amalgamation to stand, dragging Ryusaki's face closer. Samuel struggled, unable to do anything more than flop on the deck.
"What was it ye said before?" he questioned as the fishman squeaked, the tips of the tentacles getting closer to his eyes and other orifices. "This isn't personal? Well, this isn't personal neither. Just fun for me."
Ryusaki's dying screams echoed over the deck, sending dread down the spine of the prince nearby. Fukaboshi held the still-bleeding gash in his side. The entire play he'd just witnessed happened too quickly for him to recover and intervene. He couldn't afford to wait for his wound to clot naturally if he was to defeat Decken's newest attack dog. He forced himself upright, grabbing for his trident as Samuel let out a final, strangled gasp, meeting the same fate as Ryusaki. Using his weapon like a crutch, the prince maneuvered himself beside the wall shielding the ship's insides. He laid one hand against the wood.
"I'm sorry, Father," Fukaboshi whispered as Dutchman turned, ripping the spear free of his spectral innards. The buff merman flexed, fingers digging into the old paneling causing spiderweb cracks to form. Dutchman's eyes widened as he clutched at his torso in true pain for the first time.
"Stop that!" Dutchman ordered, turning from his murderous revelry to where the prince was causing him bodily harm.
"You told me never to do this," Fukaboshi continued, ignoring the Klabautermann. The price for such information had been too high, but it revealed the ship's weakness. "Vander Decken will never have Shirahoshi."
"What are you doing? How dare…?" Dutchman faltered. The Shark Merman's countenance changed, an aura of expected, inherited dominance overtaking the adrenaline-driven shaking he'd had. The prince turned, Dutchman's gaze catching the tail end of the golden sheen growing over Fukaboshi's eyes. They now glowed in the semi-darkness of the deep, casting their light across the deck like the sparkle from a mound of treasure. That force flared around the prince once more, blue scales starting to cover his exposed skin as he allowed his instincts to run wild with the power of his ancient ancestors, his bleeding slowing to a mere trickle. His hair, usually a dark blue, began to slowly gray at the tips. "B-But that's—! Decken VII said the royal family lost that power a hundred years ago!"
"Though it may cost me my life, I will protect all that I love." There was an echo to Fukaboshi's unnaturally calm voice. Dutchman stepped back, the survival instincts of nine generations all screaming at him to flee, contested only by his will to follow orders and the knowledge that he could never leave the ship. "I will now show you why the Tamate Box had been locked away since the Void Century, why we are the royal family of the Ryugu Kingdom, and why I am Heir Apparent. The Energy Steroids Hody Jones stole are a mere imitation of the forbidden power we hold in our blood. Behold, Flying Dutchman, the Dauntless Dragon of the Deep."
And Prince Fukaboshi, eldest son of King Neptune, Heir Apparent to the throne of the Ryugu Kingdom, greatest warrior of the island, and lead general of the army, roared.
End of Chapter 18
And so, the battle for Fishman Island and the fight for Shirahoshi begin in earnest with fatalities on both sides. Franky, Gin, and Sunny got their 'epic entrance', but was it really worth it? And what is this power Prince Fukaboshi has revealed? Find answers to these questions and more in the next chapter coming May 7th!
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-SwordOfTheGods