Chapter 35: Baroque Works vs Pirate Crew
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Zoro
The closer they got to the palace, the higher the tension was rising; they were traveling on ducks; the princess was up there with the bird warrior, and the swordsman forgot his name and didn't bother remembering it.
It was quite easy and relaxing to fly up there, but Vivi and the bird warrior told them they could use the ducks to arrive at the castle while she and the bird warrior went there a bit faster in hopes of stopping the war.
Nojiko went on with them, saying that the princess needed protection in case any of the rebellions had a happy trigger finger; despite the princess saying she would stop the war without bloodshed, Nojiko simply ignored her and went on with them.
Zoro grumbled when he heard the princess's words; he had nothing against it, but she was way too naive to think that this whole rebellion could be stopped without bloodshed; Zoro had no doubts that some in the rebellion were actual maniacs who would use the rebellion as a justification to kill people. It has happened before and will always happen. Not to mention that Crocodile's man could be everywhere.
Since their captain ordered them to leave, they hadn't heard of him yet; the enormous thunder that brightened up the whole landscape like a second sun was the last thing they heard of him. All of them were wearing hoodies, so the enemy couldn't tell that none of them was the princess,
Chopper and Usopp would occasionally ask if Luffy was alright; well, mainly Chopper, he was still like a kid and was getting worried about Luffy.
"Don't underestimate our captain, Chopper. He might be a fool sometimes, but he's as tough as nails. We should show that we believe in him by doing what he orders us and not worry about him,"
Surprisingly it was Sanji who said that to Chopper before lighting up another cigarette, inhaling it, and releasing the smoke from the corner of his mouth.
Nami and Zoro nodded in agreement without saying anything; as they were getting closer, Zoro noticed the bird warrior almost reaching the palace; despite being miles away from the huge crowd of rebellions warriors, the sound of their voices was reaching them, the sound of swearing, curses, and screams.
"Do you think the fighting has already started?" Chopper questioned with concern.
Zoro was about to reply when Usopp shouted, pointing his index finger. "There are powerful people hiding in front of us." He said with fear in his voice.
"...I can't tell how many, but they are at least four of them," Usopp added, his hands shaking slightly as he gripped his revolvers.
"Very well, everyone scatter; they must be Crocodile's top officers; your objective is to reach the palace," Zoro shouted; the others nodded, except Sanji, who grumbled in annoyance.
"I'm not taking orders from you, shithead," He shouted before riding away.
Zoro rolled his eyes before riding forward, not changing the direction of his duck. His hand moved to the hilt of his sword, and as soon as he reached the houses, an attack came from the corner aimed from behind.
He jumped just in time, dodging his attack, and turning around, his eyes met with his enemy's eyes. The first thing he noticed was his arms were like blades. Landing on the sand, he removed his hoodie.
"Devil fruit has been some time since I fought one," Zoro said with a smirk as he pulled out his second and third sword. The man barely reacted, not showing much interest in his eyes.
"You're not the princess; you must be one of the pirates she has been hanging with since Whiskey Peak. Where is she?" The man demanded, pointing his arm blade towards Zoro threateningly.
The swordsman chuckled in amusement. "You got that one right. That's the only thing you will get right today. I'm Roronoa Zoro, the swordsman of Straw Hat Pirates," Zoro replied as he took his stance; his eyes noticed his arms and legs were made of metal. This will be an excellent opportunity to test my abilities, Zoro thought, seeing an opportunity for himself.
The man in front of Zoro has tanned skin with long, thin limbs and fingers. He was tall and very muscular, and his head was shaven. His most striking feature was probably the black unibrow right over his round eyes. He has big lips and the symbol of iron tattooed on his torso. He was wearing an oriental-looking attire consisting of a sleeveless dark coat with golden edges and white motifs on the front over very loose beige pants held up by a white sash around the waist, with some light brown fur sprouting from it. His pants were tucked inside some bandages wrapped around his calves and, in part, around his shoes.
"Is pointless. I have the Supa Supa no Mi. I'm a bladed human, and your swords can never cut me," the man declared; his arms and legs had turned to blades, and a glimmer passed through the edge.
A chuckle escaped Zoro, his eyes looking at his opponent like a hunter would look at its prey. He remembered another person telling him he would lose his promise to his captain never to lose again. His promise to his friend to become the best swordsman.
"If I lose to you here, then I'm not fit to become the best swordsman and not fit to be in the crew of the future pirate king. Now, are we going to fight, or are we going to discuss the weather," Zoro spoke with conviction, his eyes burning like a fire, taking a step forward.
"I'm Mr one; let's see which of our blades is stronger," He spoke with a hint of respect before rushing toward his enemy.
Zoro rushed towards him, his feet causing sand to spread around the air, and blades clashed blade; he blocked and attacked several attacks, forcing himself to use his observation and armament haki to the maximum.
"No swordsman has ever cut me before. I'm a swordsman's worst nightmare," Mr one declared as he swung at Zoro, who blocked his attack before launching his own at his chest.
The sword did nothing to him as he expected, throwing more and more attacks; he was getting ground, forcing Zoro to fall back, as he kept blocking. Mr one smiled in satisfaction, seeing his opponent slowly back into a corner but was too busy to notice Zoro's hidden smirk on his lips.
The wall touched his back; the green-haired narrowed his eyes as Mr one raised both of his arms, ready to cut him down.
"Cockiness is a weakness," Zoro murmured to him, blocking his attack with his swords, his arm-blade mere inches away from his eyes. Using his strength, he pushed his arms away, leaving him completely open to Zoro, before directing his attack at him in full force.
"Fool, you can't cu-" his voice stopped when a gash spread across his chest; Mr one quickly stopped his two other swords just in time from cutting through him like a knife through butter. He quickly jumped away, gaining distance, and breathing heavily; his eyes quickly checked his wound, and a growl escaped his mouth; standing up on his legs, ignoring the pain in his chest.
"It seems I can cut you after all," Zoro said with satisfaction, taking a stance, ready to use his more advanced moves.
"This won't happen again, swordsman, but congratulations, you're the first to cut through me," Mr one said with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed in front of his chest defensively. The cut wasn't deep enough, from his waist to the center of his chest.
"Kiri," Zoro spoke, launching an attack towards his chest; mister one quickly dodged by quickly jumping to his right, the attack cutting through the building behind him like nothing.
Zoro heard the sound of the building crushing down; as his opponent disappeared from his view, Zoro's eyes widened in alarm as he quickly tried to see where he went; his observation Haki alerted him from behind.
What!! He thought, quickly turning around to stop his right arm from piercing him, but his left arm cut his stomach, blood leaking from his wound, dripping in the sand.
"Almost," Zoro breathed; his left sword had changed the trajectory of his second attack just in time to stop him from piercing his lungs; Zoro breathed heavily as they were both locked in a situation where neither could move.
"You will not cut me again," mister one declared as he added all his strength to his arms, causing Zoro to back down, the blade cutting more of his skin and muscles, but the green-haired wasn't going to back down easily.
"Sadly for you. I promised I would never lose again," Zoro said through his clenched teeth, as he used all of his strength against his opponent, his feet firmly standing on the ground, not allowing himself to back down, forcing his opponent to back away a little, taking the small gap, Zoro jumped away. Still, mister one started swinging his arms violently, sending small wind blades that cut through the walls but were not big enough to destroy the entire building.
Zoro dodged several of them before running around mister one; he kept using the building as cover from the deadly attacks, the attacks almost reaching him, when they suddenly stopped; What?! Before he could process it, mister one jumped from the top of a building towards him, his arms crossed in front of his chest, ready to use his most powerful move.
Zoro focused all his will into his blades; his armament Haki would be able to cut him again; his senses almost made it as if it was In slow motion; he could see it. Zoro knew when to attack, jumping toward him with all his strength behind his attack.
"Blade Mirror,"
"Giri,"
The sound of blades clashing with blades echoed throughout the area. Both swordsmen fell roughly to the ground sending dirt around; a gentle breeze flew through the area, sand flowing through the air; none of them moved for a moment; lying on his back, the green-haired swordsman ignored the pain, he rolled around slowly standing up on his legs, using his sword as support, a slash from his collar bone to the lower part of the chest, breathing heavily as he sheathed two of his blades.
A rough cough made him turn towards his opponent, who was lying on his stomach, almost motionless; his chest now had two new huge slashes from his waist to his collarbone. His blood leaked into the sand, turning it red. Zoro said nothing as he walked up to him, holding his blade just above his chest.
"Any last words?"
He coughed blood again, but with a bloody smirk. "The best swordsman, you said; at least I fell fighting the best one..." he said weakly, as Zoro stabbed his chest, piercing his heart, coming out from his chest.
"Thank you. I got stronger because of you," Zoro said respectfully before sheathing his third sword and wiping away the blood from his blade. His attention turned to the castle, knowing what he needed to do next.
Sanji
"So, you must be Mr. Prince, huh? You're one of the Straw Hats I haven't met yet!
"Well, you're correct. My name is Sanji, and I'm the chef who's going to kick your ballet ass out of Vivi's kingdom now!"
The two rush at each other and begin kicking the crap out of each other! Kick after kick; their kicks caused sound waves to spread when they exchanged blows.
"You're a fighter, huh? I'm sorry, I must have mistaken you for some crappy ballet dancer," Sanji said with a smirk.
Bon looked horrified and angry. "Crappy?! How dare you! I'll have you know my fighting is like art! I'm a master in the Okama Kenpo techniques." He exclaimed, looking offended.
Sanji sneered. "Okama? You're going to make me laugh!"
"Well, let's go then, Cook Boy! DRUNKEN SWAN SOIREE!!" Bon exclaimed with tears of passion in his eyes.
Bon sticks his tongue out as Sanji tries to kick him! And then rushes the Straw Hat Cook with a flurry of kicks and punches!
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Bon dances around and acts in a manner as if he's mocking Sanji! Sanji growls in frustration like he wants to strangle the Ballet Dancer!
"TAKE THIS THEN!! TENDRON TENDERIZER!!" Sanji delivers a swift kick to Bon's middle!
"Ouch! That really hurt you, little bastard!! How dare you!!" Bon shouted with anger.
"I've got more where that came from!" Sanji said, smirking.
"Well, if you want to continue this, how about I finish this off with style!!" Mr. 2 covers his eyes and then begins transforming!
"About ninety percent of what I saw was your own stupid face! I'll help you out then! QUASI CRACKER!!! Sanji spins around and kicks him.
"Now stop playing dress up, you Crossdressing Freak!"
"Don't you have a heart! I'm an artist, you jerk!" Bon exclaimed while holding his chest with his hand.
"I'll kick you again, then! MOUTON MALLET!!!" Sanji prepares a flurry of kicks, but Bon turns into Usopp.
Now that he had turned into one of his friends, Bon was confident he would win. "Try and hit me," Sanji looked offended before kicking him straight in the face, sending him crashing to a nearby building.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?! YOU JUST ATTACKED YOUR FRIEND WITH A LONG NOSE!! Well then, I guess you don't value your friends whatsoever!"
"You really are a moron. Do you think you can fool me by turning into Usopp and the others? Even if you do look like them, you are still that dumb Crossdresser that you are on the inside. People are determined by their souls!" Sanji stated with a serious face. Bon was pretty hurt by this that tears began to come from his eyes.
"Their soul? I see now." He said before he decided to transform into someone else. "I was foolish enough to fool you like this. Even if I turned into one of them, it wouldn't work. Because my appearances don't seem ma-" Bon soon noticed that Sanji was freaking out! The Cook had hearty eyes and a bloody nose.
"Nami!! Nami!! Nami!!"
"He can't be this easy to read." He said more to himself before turning to Nojiko.
"Nojiko!"
Bon laughed, now understanding what his weakness was. "He's really easy to read!" Bon then turns into Nami!
" Nami!! Nami!! Nami!!
"He's incredibly easy to read! Oh, you are such a fool! PARDON MY OH COME MY WAY, KNUCKLE." Bon punches Sanji in the face. Sending him roughly to the sand, his nose bleeding.
He stood up, glaring daggers at him. "Bastard! How dare you use the ladies' appearances to trick me!!"
Bon laughed, now looking normal. "Try me then, Cook Boy! Come on! Come at me!"
" WHY YOU-" Bon then turns into Nojiko!
"Oh nooo~," he said in a singing voice.
" OH!!! HOW CUTE!!
" SWAN CHOP!!" Bon chops Sanji in the eyes!
" I CAN'T DO IT!! I CAN'T HIT A LADY!! ANY LADY!!! NOT EVEN THEM; THEY'RE JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Turning to Nami. "Oh, his desert air is so hot! I'm going to rip my clothes off!" Bon begins to expose Nami's breasts in full view.
"Oh, I'll help you!" Sanji said with blood coming out of their nose and heart eyes.
" MASCARA BOOMERANG!" Bon kicks Sanji several times, sending him crashing into a building.
" OW!!! THAT DOES IT!!" Sanji rushes at Bon, who is prepared to transform.
"You have something on your left cheek."
"I do?" Bon turns back into himself!
"Got ya!" Sanji kicks Bon into a wall!
"Ouch! Nice job! You managed to figure me out! I better step up my game, then! Here I go," Bon removes the swans from his back and sticks them on his feet!
"How do you like this then? I call it PRIMA BALLERINA!!
"Bring it on, Crossdresser!" Sanji and Bon rush at each other and begin kicking each other multiple times over and over and over again! Until one last kick leaves them standing there! Sanji kneels over, but Bon feels like he's about to be sent flying! And that's what happens! Bon flies straight through several walls! He is down for good.
"Eat it, Crossdresser. No one takes the girls' appearances and insults them in front of me! Now then, where's the palace?" Sanji runs off!
Usopp
At the southeast gate, Usopp and Chopper were now confronting Mr. 4 and his companion Ms. Merry Christmas as well as their extremely odd-looking dog. Chopper was in his human form, Usopp had his slingshot out, and he had taken off his sniper goggles. They both had quite serious expressions on their faces.
"Okay, Chopper, let's not do anything insane. We still don't know what strange skills these two have, not to mention that freaky-looking dog." Usopp stated as he glanced at the two agents.
"Right," Usopp and Chopper couldn't see what was happening because of the dust created by Ms. Merry Christmas's tunneling into the earth as she grinned and sprang into the air.
Usopp pointed his slingshot toward the dust cloud and exclaimed, "What the heck is she doing!?"
"I don't exactly want to wait and find out," Usopp nodded in agreement, and then he pulled the rubber on his slingshot back and roared.
"Special Attack: Exploding Star!" shot a pellet into the dust. The little projectile detonated when it hit the ground near the two agents after entering the cloud of dust. Usopp and Chopper didn't care that the explosion created additional dust. Usopp and Chopper saw that the two Baroque Works agents were nowhere to be seen after the smoke eventually cleared. They had been replaced by a sizable hole in the earth, but Chopper and Usopp didn't give the hole much consideration because they believed Usopp's Exploding Star had caused it.
"Did we get them?" Chopper said.
"I don't see them anywhere, so maybe we did get...MOVE!" Usopp leaped to the right and Chopper to the left as they both rapidly exited the area where they were standing. From where they had been standing, a hole had appeared in the earth. Chopper was forced to jump away once more as another hole appeared from under him, as he landed around ten feet away from the hole.
"What the heck is going on!?" Chopper shouted while in the air.
"They're underground!" Usopp screamed. A hole in the sand appeared as soon as his feet left the ground. He heard laughter coming through the holes when he landed.
Ms. Merry Christmas giggled and stuck her head through one of the gaps. "I'm Ms. Merry Christmas, and I ate the Mole-Mole Fruit; therefore, I'm a mole human." She waved her hand and looked off into the distance toward the southeast Gate, "And now, all me to introduce to our 4th batter!" Usopp and Chopper turned to see Mr. 4 slowly emerging from the earth through a hole while brandishing a massive baseball bat bearing the number four. "Mr. 4...and our star Pitcher...Lassoo!" as the strange-looking dog emerged from a hole behind Usopp.
"The dog is a pitcher?" Usopp said, his expression filled with confusion. Usopp and Chopper's eyes widened in amazement as the strange-looking dog sneezed and shot a baseball at them with startling speed. The baseball missed Usopp as he dove to the ground in a hurry. The ball moved in the direction of Mr. 4, who swung the enormous bat at it with precise time and force, sending the ball flying back in the direction of Usopp, who was still lying on the ground.
Usopp knew he couldn't dodge in time, but Chopper saw the ball's direction. He instantly started running in the direction of Usopp in an effort to get there before the ball could, but he was not moving quickly enough.
The ball exploded but not close enough. Usopp and Chopper gently sprang up from the ground, Usopp with some minor bumps and burn marks on his body.
"Man, you two really are fortunate," Ms. Merry Christmas said.
"But let's see how lucky you will be this time!" She exclaimed before telling Lassoo to fire another. The dog sneezed once again, launching a baseball at Usopp as he ran in the direction of Chopper. Mr. 4 moved from the batter's position behind Usopp and Chopper into the hole he had previously been in and then emerged from it. Usopp and Chopper both leaped out of the way, making careful to land on their feet because they knew Mr. 4 would retaliate by hitting one of them. The enormous hitter promptly smacked the ball back to them, as they had anticipated. The only distinction was that he was shooting at Chopper this time.
"Look out!" Usopp screamed at Chopper as he deftly dove high into the air to avoid the ball.
"What should we do?" Chopper asked who was keeping an eye on the adversary; Usopp took a moment to consider his response before coming up with a plan.
"I've got an idea," Usopp stated, attracting Chopper's attention. "We are going to convert their strongest advantage into their doom."
Usopp dug inside his pouch, "Listen, all I need you to do is keep the big guy busy." Before racing in the direction of Mr. 4 with his hand up and prepared to hit him, Chopper nodded; as soon as Chopper swung his hand, Mr. 4 dove into the hole to avoid his strike. The sounds of Ms. Merry Christmas's laughter resonated through all the holes as Chopper's fist missed.
"You guys are a bunch of morons! You're nothing compared to us," She swiftly said,
Usopp answered, pulling back his slingshot, "No, you're the moron.
He shot five tiny pellets into five distinct holes in the earth. The pellets split open upon impact as they passed through the openings and released gas into the tunnels below.
"CHOPPER! RUN!" Usopp screamed as the reindeer bolted from the vicinity.
Usopp fired five additional pellets into five other holes, releasing the same gas. Then Usopp started to flee away. He added one more pellet to his slingshot while sprinting and pointed it toward one of the gas-emitting holes.
He threw the pellet into the hole, which exploded upon impact. The gas he had earlier loaded the underground tunnels with was ignited when the pellet detonated, generating a tremendous explosion that engulfed the Baroque Works agents and everything within a 50-foot radius. Usopp was launched into the air by the explosion, but Chopper intervened and snatched him before the two of them fell to the ground. There was so much dust in the region that no one could see anything. From where they were lying on the ground, Chopper and Usopp peered up to check if they had captured the agents, but they were unable to see anything. The two Baroque Works operatives and their dog were standing in the middle of a large crater at least twenty meters wide when they finally saw it after waiting a short while for the dust to settle. Before they began laughing and rejoicing, Usopp and Chopper exchanged glances while wearing broad smiles on their faces.
"We are the Best"
Nami
Quickly after scattering, she jumped from her duck when she dodged an attack. Landing on the sand, her Eyes quickly found her opponent. In front of her stood a woman who could use advice on how to wear better clothes.
"You are?" Nami questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Miss Doublefinger, you must be one of the little pirates that accompanied the princess," she spoke with a sultry tone.
She was a young, slim woman of above-average height with curly dark-blue hair, thick lips, dark green eyes, pale skin, and a curvy figure. Her outfit mainly consists of a short, long-sleeved jacket with beige-colored fur brims, a bikini top describing an unusual spider web-like pattern across her abdominal area, low-riding pants, and platform sandals.
"Well, this little pirate will turn you to ash," Nami promised, her arms turning to gold, her eyes turning red like blood. She wanted to know just how powerful she was, and this woman would be a good target practice.