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My Pride is a Hurricane by NeonZangetsu-rcTVAzLS
My Pride is a Hurricane by NeonZangetsu-rcTVAzLS
My Pride is a Hurricane by NeonZangetsu-rcTVAzLS
By: NeonZangetsu
Deep in the bowels of Impel Down, the world's most dangerous criminals
are jailed and left to rot within six levels of hell. However, housed in the
lowest level of hell, HE is set free. Now, the last remnant of an old era has
been set loose upon the world… but why is he so fascinated by ramen? Set
during Impel Down Arc and beyond. NarutoxHarem! One Piece!
Crossover!
Status: ongoing
Published: 2011-04-29
Updated: 2021-04-06
Words: 66599
Chapters: 13
Battles raged on the lower levels, sweeping toward the upper floors
in a swathe of destruction that spared none. Those still locked within
their cells; the prisoners that were either too weak or beaten into
such submission that the thought of escape had become outright
irreleveant, remained. Unable to escape the roiling inferno that
devoured prisoner and guard alike, these cowards perished where
they lay, curled into a defenseless fetal position in their cells, still
others, screaming their defiance in their last moments.
From levels one to six, chaos reigned supreme, save for one.
He had been flung on his face and chained to the stone slabs of the
stairway.
His arms spread wide, were weighted with links so heavy, he could
barely drag his wrists off the ground. His ankles were tangled in a
slithering mass of metal, bolted through a ring in the pavement, and
as if that wasn't enough, a thick harness had been affixed to his
neck, leaving his gaze almost affixed to the floor. He couldn't raise
his chest to get enough air, even though he no longer had an
indefatigable need for oxygen anymore. Nonetheless, he lay
exhausted, the stone icy against his cheek.
Ba-Dump.
"If that's you Magellan, you can go fuck yourself." he cursed the
words even as they left his lips; because only silence answered. "I
ain't no shitty shichibukai. I'm not coming out of here just to help you
assholes clean up your own mess."
"…"
They, the sounds, grew with a steady pitch, drawing closer, closer…
then nothing.
Though he had been freed from the frost, he knew there was no use
in yelling yet. They were too far off and wouldn't hear him over the
clamoring. Still, that burning, unquenchable thirst clawed at his
throat, demanding release, insisting upon satisfaction. He gnashed
his teeth and swallowed, the saliva doing little to placate the desert
in his throat; the great and terrible desire for sustenance could be
dulled, but never quenched by food and drink. He ached now, and so
too did the thrit, aching against the hollow emptiness of his stomach.
He smacked his lips, running his tongue over his parched mouth as
his senses began to return.
'I wonder…
Now, when the iron lock did NOT slam back into place, his breathing
took on an almost fevered pitch. Dragging his head around, he
slowly shook dirty hair out of his eyes and saw how three parallel
grooves in the floor arrowed towards the door. So it opened toward
him. How the hell did it operate? A pulley system perhaps? But
before he could marvel at it further, the slab of sea stone he'd been
lashed down to decided it wanted to lurch forward.
Then he was dragged out of the darkness and into the light.
The light hit him with such force that for a moment, he forgot herself.
The sweating panic, burgeoned by the thirst, erupted from within
him. He heaved himself up and roared, a terrible, wordless howl that
shook him to the very core. Vast halls and invisible galleries
swallowed it up. Fog hung in the metallic air. The gears that pulled
his body forward clanged and groaned. Still he swore, the muscles of
his neck, arms, legs, anything and everything bulging as he strained
against his restraints and bucked.
"You… you are the he who devoured that accursed Devil Fruit, no?"
A flat, monotone of voice inquired with sudden inquisition. "You are
also the man who currently has a bounty of 500,000,000 berri on his
head, correct?"
The voice that cut through the agony was familair. It gave him pause.
There were few voices that he remembered from his captivity, but
this one struck a chord. Somewhere deep within the foggy web of
shadow and mist that had become his mind over the many months of
his incarceration, he knew this voice. He'd heard it somewhere
before… where was it exactly? Try as he might, he could not put a
face to the silhouette standing above him, the shadowy figure
appearing content to await an answer of some sort.
"If I am?" His voice was weak; it was a raspy, choking wheeze.
"Then destiny has need of you." his rescuer answered curtly. "Surely
you know this?"
"Destiny? Has need of me?" The prisoner cackled softly. "Oh, that is
rich."
He shifted, testing his weight against the bonds, squinting with eyes
hidden behind a jagged curtain of sandy blond. Peering through the
matted tresses of his hair, up at the speaker, blue became the most
intense shade of scarlet, hidden beneath the crimson flush of his
coat and harness. Shackled to the slab, unable to stand, he found
himself staring into a pair of black obsidian eyes. Framed by an
expression that was neither kind nor malevolent, he peered upward
into an inperturpable visage. His rescuer returned the stare, as if he
were inspecting a lump of worthless garbage, not a dangerous pirate
who'd made a name for himself in the worst ways imaginable.
The silence stretched between them before the latter yielded at last.
"Oh alright, I'll bite." He spoke softly, painting a smile onto his face as
he willed his body to relax. "Just who the hell are you, eh, teme?"
"Then I will remove them." The cloaked man countered. "If you would
promise to leave Impel down, understand?"
"Release me."
"Very well." The man nodded, and in one swift movement, bent to a
knee. "Another high-priced bounty can be found on this level as
well."His hand cupped the chained face, nudging it into the light. It
was then that a lone chuckle escaped the prisoner, his whiskered
cheeks becoming visible in the dim light. His eyes went wide with
recgonition. This man who looked, sounded, and acted as if he were
kami himself offered only a smug smile as the key turned in hs
shackles, the gears grating against one another as they were
unlocked.
"Well then, that's wonderful. It's been awhile since I've had a good
fight."
"You truly are bloodthirsty, aren't you?" The cowled figure indulged
itself with another eerie smile of reverence, banishing an errant
thought in an instant. "Yes-yes-yes, gather as many nakama as you
see fit, then hasten to the Marine Headquarters, won't you?" Half a
question, half a command, the irreverent smile was met much
scowling and skepticism. But if the blond had any thoughts other
than his own, he did little to express them.
"Surely you didn't think I'd release you for anything less." the man
answered.
"I was hoping you'd released me just for the hell of it." the as-of-yet
unamed blond countered.
That earned a laugh from the masked man, who, having bent to
tousle his hair, abruptly lurched to his feet. There was another sound
now, the sound of footsteps descending the staircase that would
ultimately lead them to the lowest level of Impel Down. Accompanied
by much shouting and hee-hawing, the blond grimaced lightly as the
intruder tapped his head. Somehow, the gesture of didn't feel at all
condescending.
"Madara."
"Oi-
All that remained of him were his garments; the white cloak, a simple
pair of trousers, and the red vested shirt that eerily reminded him a
little of Akainu. Both proved to be empty when he nudged the pile of
cloth them with the heel of his boot. Slightly perturbed that he'd been
so easily ousted, Naruto bent at the knees, only to inexplicably
straighten in a second, scooping up the garments. He eyed them for
anothet instant, before he shifted; the tattered rags of his shirt
slipping from his shoulders, removing his prison garb.
"It was worth a try." He scoffed. "Oh well. Whoever he is, I'll deal with
him later."
Shedding the hideous black and white prison attire, it took only a
matter of minutes to change clothes. By then the footsteps had
grown all but deafening, the sounds of soldiers screaming and
guards groveling bouncing off the walls within a series of voices.
Replacing his prison garb with the red vested shirt, white cloak, and
grey trousers of his mysterious rescuer, the individual known simply
as an infamous pirate by the name of Naruto, exhaled heavily.
"Well, that ought to do it." He mused aloud. "Now then, I think its
about time I reminded those marines… just who the fuck they're
dealing with!"
BA-KRAM!
This was exactly how the two most powerful men in the world would
act. They wouldn't be surrounded by bodygaurds in some iron
fortress, they'd be completely relaxed in the world's most infamous
prison, an iron ghaol from which no prisoner had ever escaped since
its founding. Suddenly, the scene was no longer peaceful, the area
of their own choosing. They were both weakened from years of
captivtity; they had no defenses, because they didn't need any.
The man stepped back, testing his weight against the wall for a
hairsbreadth of a second.
Sprawled amongst the rust and rotten dust; tickling his nose with
ivory tresses of death, a lone youth could just barely be seen. He lay
there, content to watch, to observe and remember, to carve the
torchlight into the anals of his memory and life after death; here
within the prison of Impel Down. Smoldering scarlet seethed at the
one who'd broken the lock, the one thing confining him to this place
alongst the light; and what little remained of his patience, now
stretched dangerously thin. Observing the aforementioned spectalce
from the safety and shelter that his cell provided, he schleupped to
his feet and tried to stand.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Ah."
His clothing was plain; the featurless white garb bearing only the
slightest stain, a flecking of crimson across the collar. Frowing at this
sole and singular blemish, the black haired inmate reached for the
scarlet spittle and dabed at it with a finger, the digit coming away
bloody. Clanking uselessly on his right wrist, the broken cuffs swung
lazily back and forth as he dabbed his hands amongst the dew
soaked stone and dried his palm, diverting his attention from the
quarry before his eyes.
"I will remember that name." He murmured, the twin spots of crimson
a veritable flare in the darkness, identifying themselves as some sort
of stigmata or such. Three tomoe hung within those scalding sclera
of crimson and he made no effort whatsoever to blink before this
implacable opponent. Pausing only to yawn, he reached for the
broken manacle adjourning his right wrist, and snapped it in half as
though it weighed no more than a leaf. He held little love for the
cumbersome restraint; requested or not, they'd already proven their
ineffectiveness when it came to combat.
"Don't you have one?" Naruto asked, forcing joviality into his voice.
"A goal? A dream, maybe?" If this guy was going to be his nakama,
then he had to know his motives and aspirations at least. For a
moment Sasuke didn't seem very forthcoming in that aspect;
because the silence continued to stretch between the shade and the
revolutionary until it outright suffocated. Naruto silently counted the
seconds until the intruders would arrive on this level, reaching nearly
thirty paces before Sasuke finally acquiesced, loosing an
exasperated hiss.
Thirty paces.
"I don't have a dream." He began slowly. "I have a goal. Because I
will make that goal a reality. There's a certain person I want to kill.
That I'm going to kill. He's my older brother. He killed my family, he
took my dreams and aspirations, and he crushed them beneath his
heel, all in one night. That man… I will kill him! My family will be
avenged." Peering through steepled hands, he glared across the
void that separated him from the wind-user, the blond squinting at
him, his arms folded across his chest.
Twenty paces.
Ten paces.
"Heh!" Naruto grinned and offered a hand, his fingers just dipping
into the expanse that separated the light from the darkness. "Fine by
me, Uchiha Sasuke!" There was not so much as a trace of false
hood or deception in his voice as he smiled genially in answerment.
It was at that very moment that a boy with a straw hat came
barrelling down the staircase. Naruto whipped around, confusion
flying across his features for a moment, his attention misplaced, his
hand still outstretched at the sudden commotion the lad and his
two… odd allies brought with them.
Sasuke blinked stupidly, unable to believe his eyes, let alone his
ears. Naruto, huh? Was this guy serious? He'd been expecting a flat
refusal. Iinstead, the pirate had extended his hand in friendship an
aspect of himself that Uchiha Sasuke had discarded long ago, and
even now, felt strange in accepting. Well, it was natural for a pirate to
distrust another pirate. But Sasuke wasn't a pirate. Leading up to the
day of his wrongful imprisonment at the hands of the World
Government, he'd been a simple blacksmith, who just so happened
to have a unnatural skill with the blade.
Then everything had spiraled out of control once he'd eaten that
damn fruit…
"Fine." Dusting himself off, the emaciated prisoner stepped out from
the darkness, into the light, and clasped the hand that was offered.
Having revealed himself, Naruto realized that Sasuke wasn't all that
old as he'd initially suspected. He couldn't be no more than twenty,
though his guess could have been off by a few paces at least.
Regardless, the most interesting feature of him, other than those
baleful black eyes that could flare into strange scarlet at a moments
notice, was that he seemed to be already clothed.
Garbed in loose fitting slacks and the more traditional cloak that
most pirates had taken a tendency to wearing, Sasuke didn't look all
that impressive. But for that, his chest lay bare beneath the loose
sleeves, tracing across the square hilt of a strangely shaped sword
and sheathe. Now that piqued Naruto's interest indeed. Why on
earth hadn't they taken his weapon? Or his clothes, for that matter,
when they could have easily done the latter?
It was almost as if the guards had been too afraid to strip him of his
garments beforehand.
Regardless, he'd just taken the first step to making a crew. Not bad,
considering he'd only just been released from the sixth level of hell.
Scooping his jaw off the floor, he returned his attention to what was
quickly becoming a commotion at the far end of the prison. Sasuke
followed his gaze for a moment and then dropped it, finding little to
no significance in the boy who was screaming at the top of his lungs
for someone named Ace.
'Ace, huh?'
"Huh?" He frowned, abruptly noticing the straw hat the boy wore. "W-
Wait a second, that couldn't possibly be…
"I take it you have a plan to get us out of here?" Sasuke asked,
dragging him from his reverie with a cruel and merciless swiftness.
"The stairwell's been blocked up." Naruto turned his attention to the
south; eyes flying wide in disbelief as he saw that Sasuke indeed
spoke the truth. Someone had layered section upon section of the
floor upon the staircase and effectively walled up the only way that
would lead upward from level six.
Naruto sweatdropped.
"I can create a hole in the ceiling!" The voice cackled, its owner
carefully hidden just behind the bars. "What do you think of that,
brat?" Naruto remained silent for a moment, absentmindedly noting
the straw-hat boy and his two companions had finally taken notice of
them. Furthermore, the arrogant inmate's had captured their
attention as well and now, they approached the bars of the cage.
Naruto grimaced for a moment, trying not to recognize the lad;
rather, his attention was focused on that gleaming golden hook that
glinted in the darkness.
"Well, so was I!" The boy snapped back. "You know yours, idiot!"
"Who the hell are you, huh?" Naruto's left eye twitched. "Other than
some damn kid with a deathwish, that is!"
"Name's Luffy!" Strawhat answered defiantly. "Who the hell are you?"
"What, your name is Luffy, too?" Luffy tilted his head in vehement
protestation. "Hey! That's my name!"
"Whoever you are I don't have time to wast on you!" He hollered! "If
its a fight you want I'll finish you off in one blow!"
"JET PISTOL!"
… not!"
Luffy's punch sheared through the blond, shaving off the entirety of
his face and leaving a headless corpse behind. His head simply
dissolved, leaving his neck and shoulders intact as the streaming
and unstoppable momentum sent the Rubber man sprawling across
what remained of his inert body. Nonplussed at the sudden
decapitation that had claimed his captain, Sasuke frowned. Then he
blinked; because Naruto exhaled, lisping slightly as his mouth began
to assume its proper shape and form. His chin soon followed suit, air
streaming back into place and solidifying into flesh. As the ruined
stump assumed the shape of his neck, as the neck regained physical
form and sentinence, Naruto scowled.
"Of course you did!" Naruto nearly facefaulted in the wake of such an
obvious response. "My body isn't a solid! I ate the Kaze Kaze no mi,
you dolt! I'm an air air man! Without haki behind your blows,
someone like you has absolutely no chance against me! It's like
swatting at a giant with a stick! You can't touch me no matter how
hard you try!" Shaking his head, he scraped a single digit across his
face fury flickering in and out of eyes that were sapphire one instant,
and scarlet the next.
'This kid…
By the time Luffy thought to turn, it was already too late. Naruto's fist
smashed across his face and he was sent sprawling. He slapped
into the ground hard, his body flipping over as he skidded onto his
back. His head kissed an iron-hard root and black spots swam
before his eyes. Even with his rubber body absorb the brunt of the
blow, white snarled across his vision and burned the world white.
Cold fury burned his world white as Naruto raised a hand and spoke.
"I don't care!" Luffy shoved past him. "Get out of my way! I'm going
to rescue Ace!"
"What was that?" Luffy stiffened, his skin prickling as Naruto loomed
over him. "I'm in the way? You're in my way! I-
Luffy paused.
"No, its quite the opposite." Naruto countered for his crewmate. "We
need strong nakama for our crew; they don't come much stronger
than the sixth level of Impel Down." Casting his gaze across the
seemingly endless expanse of cells and smiled, a predator in the
gloom. "Open each of the cells and then proceed ahead of us, this
shouldn't take long at all. Seeking the stall in which Portugas D. Ace
had locked himself away from the world, his garnet gaze locked
upon the now sole occupant of the cell.
"There, we've released you, too. But the other inmates on this level
belong to us." He announced. "How does that sound, captain?"
"Eh?"
"Are you deaf! I'm telling you to open the hole and go on ahead of
us!" He swept an arm outward as the sound of explosions grew ever
nearer. "You said you wanted to save your brother right? You'd do
anything to save him, right? So don't just stand around here, you no
good dolt! Get your ass moving! I can handle Magellan by myself!"
Ikanov blinked.
"There they are!" A stern voice shouted! "Don't let them escape!"
"Kaze no Yaiba."
Crocodile scoffed.
"If you ever fought him at full strength, you'd be dead in an instant."
" What?" Luffy froze. It was as though his soul had been stripped
naked and all the darts in the world had flown and sank into it at
once. He struggled for breath. Hyperventilated. He looked as though
it were the end of the world and he would, cry, scream and roar all at
once. But he did neither, his visage upturned upward in nameless
disbelief and confusion as Crocodile leered at him. Disgust etched
into his every feature, he watched his words wrap themselves
around the rookie's mind, twisting his confusion into disbelief, and
his disbelief into mindless stupefication.
"This kid back there… was that Whitebeard's own flesh and blood."
"E-Eh?"
A/N: Well, I got this idea after I heard Magellan was severely
beaten. After what happened to Bon Clay, I just couldn't help
myself. Yup, Naruto and Sasuke are forming their own Pirate
Crew, (some will be found in Impel Down and some won't) and
then it is off to the Marine HQ to fight a battle amongst battles!
Each of them will have their own little harem eventually, after
all, these two are H-O-T HOT Commodities in ant universe they
find themselves in! Naruto's Kaze Kaze fruit represents the
element of the storm; pure destruction in the form of wind, rain
and thunder. It isn't quite the most powerful of Logia, but it is a
Logia and is deadly nonetheless.
Nz.
Sonata
A/N: Just another what if story to pass the time while I have
another nasty bout of health issues… hope you enjoy the One
Piece humor! Sorry if it is short guys and gals, I'm just really
having a hard time against my illness. Review pretty please!
~?
Part of him chuckled inwardly at the scene - he had known that there
would be chaos whenever Luffy was involved with anything, but…
Having his little brother waltzing around on the sixth floor might just
be enough to get the warden's blood boiling.
(… Meanwhile…)
"It's true!"
"I didn't know he was being held here." Jimbei continued solemnly.
"But his prescence might be just the boon we need." As if in reply,
another distant termor rippled through the foundation; furthering
imbuing the weight within his words. "As of right now, Naruto-kun is
the only one capable of defeating Magellan… !"
"O-Oi!"
Luffy gawped.
Now, somewhere in this prison, there was a guy who could actually
defeat him?
"?"
Some were strewn across the floor down, splayed in a pile of twisted
limbs, others lay dead, with no indication of what had killed them.
And still the lone guard assailed the wall with his fists, weeping and
sobbing and spitting, all semblance of sanity already long since lost
to him. His hands were bloody stumps, ruined, but he never, ever,
stopped. Many had been killed by one means or another, but some
had been scorched with fire or exploded. The walls ran red with their
fresh blood.
The gate had been blown apart during their entrance, and two
figures were wading through the dead and the dying. One of them
paused, checking for survivors, scouring the fiflth and grime with
what could only be considered as sheer digust and disdain. Blood
began to dribble from his left eye. Blood amongst the carnage and
chaos. It ran thick and seeped into the floor at his feet, the steady
pitter patter causing his companion to frown, sapphiric gaze painfully
town away from the stain that spattered the walls and ceiling. Tears
of blood, perhaps, almost as if he were weeping for those perished
within the once pristine prison.
"Sasuke." Naruto repeated the warning. "They can't even stand up."
And still the wails of the dead and dying did not diminish from the
sixth level of Impel down.
"Sasuke!"
"They're scum." Sasuke growled in sudden reply. "Just like him. And
they're in … THE WAY!"
They were in the way, that is, until a geyser of heat swept down the
hallway and consumed the cobblestones. Slow and inexorable,
tendrils of flame, black flame spawned themselves from nothingness
and crept across the floor. Dragging itself into the depths as though
seeking shelter from the light, it sought those already dead and
those still dying, and made no distinction between the two. Trickling
down the staircase with an eerie precision, a low reverberation
began to build on the lowest level of the infamous gaol.
Uchiha Sasuke sheathed his sword and then, only then was the
black malestrom truly extinguished. All that remained of the patrol,
were the ashes. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes, so did they return
to the earth. With the last tongue of flame flickering into nothingness,
the prisoners finally seemed to find their voices. One more, having
taken note of the destruction these two comrades had wrought and
shuddered. Granted, he was at least partially responsible for the
bloodbath, but this… this was unprecedented.
"Well, well," He began slowly. "That's quite the nasty ability. Guess
it's a good thing that you're my nakama, after all."
"My technique works only on the weak-minded." Sasuke ammended
brusquely. "Someone like you has nothing to fear from such a paltry
illusion." Sweeping a hand across his face, the twin pinpricks of
crimson doused themselves; vanishing with the subsuquent lighting
of a torch.
Sasuke smirked.
"Wondering what kind of power that was just now, are you, captain?"
"!"
"I am, dipshit!" Came the immediate reply; a pitched, femine snarl,
growling out from a ways behind them just beyond the bars of a
nearby cell. "Now answer my question!" Bathed in the dim glow that
the torch provided,a pair of hazel eyes were revealed. "How the hell
did you two break out of your cells?" Whomever lurked within that
terrible void, they seemed to be incapable of keeping quiet. Much to
Sasuke's dismay, Naruto proffered the torch from him and edged
forward.
"Damn you and your riddles!" The reply caused both boys to cringe
as if they were children. "Just answer my question, you damn
fucker!"
"Why you-
"Ou, oi." Naruto shifted, an amused chortle leaving his lips. "Flattery
will get you nowhere with us." Brushing past Sasuke, he approched
the nearest cell steadily; nonchalant in his approach. Switching the
burning torch to his right hand, he reached into his belt and exposed
one of the many key rings they'd taken from the guards.
He jangled them.
The like of which could only be made by punctured flesh. A dull thud
accompanied this thought, the sound spattering across the cells and
shattering the silence. Suddenly, men and women were frothing at
the bit. Screaming, shouting and shrieking, they demanded attention;
whining and weeping for their freedom. It was impossible to ignore.
The very ground began to shake; quivering as the prisoner began
stomping their feet and rattling the bars of their ceels with whatever
lay within arms reach.
"Let me out!"
"Yeah, me too!"
"I told you, flattery will get you everywhere." Naruto snapped back.
"Perhaps, but…
"Eh?"
It was impossible to tell in the gloom, but for a moment, Naruto might
have smiled. Sasuke arched an eyebrow at the irreverent behavior of
his captain. Even more so when said senchou dared to stick his arm
into the bars, burying it within the blackness. At that very moment,
the torch went out. Plunged back into the dark which he so abhored,
the Uchiha muttered a black and condemnatory oath. A heartbeat
later, and the torch mysteriously relit itself as his fingers curled
around the damp piece of plywood.
… the hell?"
"W-What the hell was that for?" She, for the voice was unmistakably
female, spluttered out from within the cell. "D-Don't just do wierd shit
like that!"
Naruto had not only reached through the bars, but he'd pulled his
hand back out. There was no mistaking the hand which he held, nor
the way in which the prisoner's fingers fisted against his own. In an
instant it was over, the moment forever lost. Whomever lie within the
cell shrank away from the light when he approached; his senchou's
exasperated sigh confirming his suspicions as he withdrew his hands
from the bars, his shoulders slumped against further intrustion.
"I think you just got yer ticket outta here," Naruto said, his ever-
present grin widening marginally. "If ya play your cards right, of
course. See these?" He jingled the key again, finding amusement in
the sudden silence. "I'll let you out of here." He cast his gaze to the
other cells, as though contemplating the possiblity of leaving her
behind in favor of the others. "If you promise to release everyone
that is housed on this level, that is. If not, then…
"Oi, what was your name again?" The voice asked after some
pause.
"Tayuya."
"Naruto, huh?" Firm and tart, the owner of the voice abruptly neared
the bars. "Well now, I've heard that name before." A pair of almond
shaped eyes leered out at them, framed by frayed tresses the like of
which they'd never before seen. Scarlet. Her hair was a deep,
piercing scarlet, as matching the color of the blood on her hands.
The blood of the prisoner's, Naruto realized, as he recognized this
scent, the unmistakeable odor of fresh blood.
Sasuke frowned.
'Wait a second…
"So… what if I am?" She snapped at him, pushing herself into the
bars. "You're not just gonna let little ol' me outta here for free, are
ya?" Sasuke frowned; because something was wrong. One moment
she'd been all but vehement about staying now…
"Yes!" Seconds after the fact, a petite figure slipped daintily through
the bars. "Freedom!"
She was short, yet lithe, her curves almost boyish, but her smile was
all woman. She moved like a woman who knew what men liked and
knew she had it. The starving, greedy part of himself stirred at the
sight of her for a moment. Just a moment. It was enough. He'd never
even thought about women until he'd been locked up. Before Impel
Down, it seemed he'd barely spared a thought for anything else.
Now that he was out and regaining his strength, that old Sasuke was
coming back. Lovely. He'd already allied himself with a pirate, and
now, he wanted to fuck the first girl he saw. Once, he would have
been shamefaced at such a thought, once… well, once he would
have thought a lot of different things.
Tayuya saw the smiled and smiled back. For someone who had
been locked up for kami knew how long, she did look fantastic.
Scarlet spilled down her shoulders, framing a perfect, porcelain white
face that probably hadn't seen the light of day for many a month.
Likewise, she'd somehow kept her original garments; the blood red
dress slim cut to her slim body, the dress torn at the sleeves in
blatant disregard for fashion, ornate groom ties up the back, and a
long expanse of leg exposed that was certainly not traditional but
welcome nonetheless.
"Shit!" Sasuke coughed under his breath, raising his gaze too late.
Naruto was there to greet him with a broad grin the size of a Buster
Call ship. Tayuya wasn't quite as accomadating. Any vestige of
fatigue vanished instantly. She laid eyes upon him and frowned. He
touched a hand to the hilt of his sword, prepared to draw in an
instant.
"ECCHI!"
"Feeling better?"
"N-Nothing."
"Didn't think so." Rubbing at her wrist as the last shackle came free,
the redhead offered an unamused snort. "Say… Naruto… right?"
She paused in the rubbing of her wrists, sparing the latter a devilish
grin the likes of which rivalled Lucifer himself. "Thanks." She clasped
his wrist and shook once before the blond could hope to respond. "I
owe you one for letting me out of there." Sasuke nearly offered a
comment of his own, before his captain broke out into a loud laugh.
Sasuke sweadropped.
'Oi, oi…
"Bounty schmounty!" Naruto shot back. "I don't even know what your
bounty is and I extended my hand to you! I think we can make a bit
of an exception for her, too, right!" Sasuke eyed him cryptically for
another moment.
Tayuya was screaming. She screamed and shook her chains at the
ceiling as if it were a symbol of every inmate's impotence and
despair. She screamed at the very moment that the prisoners fell
still.
Naruto answered.
"So you've eaten a devil's fruit." Sasuke scowled. "I should have
known."
"Not just any Devil Fruit." Naruto frowned, thrusting an arm outward.
"Sasuke this is- !"
"Say that again!" Flushed from head to toe, Tayuya loweredher still
steaming palm. "I dare you!"
Sasuke couldn't help it; he felt just a twinge of sympathy for his
captain.
Naruto grinned.
Tayuya blinked.
"Oi… I said…
"Are you retarded or something?" Tayuya exhaled heavily. "I ate the
Oto Oto no mi. Sound itself is my weapon! I can kill entire armies
with my voice alone!" She closed her eyes for a moment, and for that
moment, in the darkness, a small shiver ran through her shoulders.
"Just being near me guarantees your death! Its the kiss of death!
Why can't you retards comprehend that, huh!"
"Eh?"
The smooth skin of her cheek brushed against his scruffy, whiskered
one. Her hair filled his nostrils with the clean scent of delight and
disbelief. She hugged him fiercely, the notes of strong hard arms
joining with supple firm stomach and back joining with the pure
feminine softness of her chest pressed against his making a chord of
perfect acceptance.
"NANI?"
Of course, as they eyed the long hallway of cells, that was the
furthest thought from the mind of our three heroes.
~?
Mist
Nay, he was beyond furious. He was enraged. His was a rage that
seeped from his very bones; a fetid, fermented fervor that grew
stronger and fouler with every step. Poison seeped from his every
pore, splattering across the staircase as he descended to the
innermost depths of Impel Down. Ordinarily, he would have used the
elevator and arrived there immediately, had it not been disabled by
the very insurgents that besieged his beloved prison.
But how?
How on earth had Newgate's grandson gotten free? He'd been
chained up with enough Seastone to sink a navy vessel! Was his
strength truly so great that he had broken free of his prison, or -and
this Magellan dreaded most of all- had he somehow found a way to
surpass even the powers of the sea itself? He found himself cringing
at the absurdity of such an idea.
The boy was strong, strong indeed, but he wasn't immortal. Not by
any means. He'd been captured once before, after all. Just barely.
Now, as he felt the great undersea ghaol quiver beneath his feet,
Magellan began to realize the true extent of what he faced and in
doing so, he realized his peril. This was not some sodding drunk who
couldn't control his own power or hold his drink, as he hadn't when
he'd first been brought to the prison.
This was a titan, a god amongst men. He wielded the power of the
heavens itself, and years of captivity had likely tempered his resolve
even further. Who was to say that he'd not somehow honed his
powers in the deafening silence of level six? Who was to say, that he
did not posssess some measure of his grandfather's strength and
ability? While it remained to be seen, the likelihood that he
possessed -or might eventually inherit- the powers of the Gura Gura
no mi was a frightening one.
Just like that, it began to sink in for him. Was it possible for the
children of Devil Fruit users to inherit abilities that were not their
own? No one knew who Shirohige's son was, whether he was alive
or dead, and, for the moment, that didn't matter. What did matter,
was the fact that Shirohige had an heir. The man who was said to
have competed with Gold Roger himself, had a child who was
capable of succeeding him in his old age.
If he escaped his captors, that is.
It had been difficult enough to capture him the first time; and he'd
been drunk as a dog! Even then, it had been no mean feat to capture
Whitebeard's only known offspring. It had been a pitched battle, and
victory had only come at a great and terrible cost to the World
Goverment. That day, the mole they'd planted in his crew had come
to them had alerted them, the Marines, to his prescence, and, his
fortunate lack of sobriety.
Back then, he'd taken out score upon score of marines, even going
so far as to critically wound Admiral Aokiji, before they'd finally had
Seastone Shackles slapped on him. He was strong. Of that,
Magellan had no doubt. In fact Magellan strongly suspected that,
should he confront the wielder of the Kaze Kaze no mi a second
time, the circumstances of their last battle would be greatly reversed.
Even here, on the stairs leading toward level two, he could hear the
tormented shrieking of his men. It was a hideous, gut-wrenching
sound. They screamed, and it was like a thing possessed; snapping
and snarling and snickering at him, mocking Magellan and his every
achievement, his every goal, all that he had aspired to in the course
of his life, and now, all that he had failed to do.
Ah, if only.
(Meanwhile, on Level 5)
"Tatsumaki!"
A wicked and wild wind tore through the snow of the fifth level of the
undersea ghaol that was Impel Down.
They flew.
Literally.
One moment their feet had been firmly planted upon the frozen
tundra. The next, gale force winds drove them back, casting them
about like so many leaves in the wind. Their was no chance of
victory for them here, and yet, in their foolishness, they persisted.
Some screamed, uttering great and terrible oaths as the unstoppable
forces of heaven took them in their sway; spending the last instants
of their life in flailing futility.
Others were smashed against the rocks again and again and again,
until their was no life left in them and they stopped resisting. Arms
were raised, then rattle as the invisible force broke upon them like a
great and terrible wave. Broken bodies skittered across the ice,
unable to prevail against the imperious elements that assaulted
them. When they finally found purchase upon the ice, it was already
too late to do anything but be beaten into submission amidst the
snow plains of Level Five.
The unlucky few that managed to survive the initial surge, soon
found themseleves wishing they hadn't. A terrible keening sound
split the silence between them and the dark, causing their eyes to
wither and their ears to bleed as a terrible thrednody wedged itself
into each of their minds. One by one they went mad, one by one they
toppled, left to splatter across the floor of the prison, each of them,
like so much refuse.
The ice split beneath this supersonic peal, dragging the unwary to
their doom.
Any that had survived that, well, let us say that Uchiha Sasuke was a
great deal less accomodating than his traveling companions. He
flicked his wrist; once, twice, then thrice and many that still drew
breath abruptly did so no longer. Some fell, their heads lolling
unnaturally to one side, broken. Others tried to turn tried to evade his
blade, but they, were far too slow. Still others managed to survive
long enough to bring their weapons to bear, aiming, tracking him with
their rifles, only to meet a similair if less grisly fate. It was a
massaccre. There was no mercy given. No quarter offered.
Whomsoever dared to bar their path was summarily cut down, be
they innocent or guilty.
"I'm not in the best of moods right now." he murmured, his words
little more than a whisper. "If you attack me, I won't show any mercy."
And a moment later a dozen black-fletched flames pierced the man's
heart in recompense for his temerity. He fell, still burning, gagging
and gasping and groveling as he burned from the inside out. Before
such a sight, the guards quailed in their coats, helpless to anything
but watch. Watch as their fellow guardsmen died, watch, as he was
slowly devoured by the slow burning flames, his screams falling
abruptly short as the blaze reached his lungs, turning them and the
rest of him, to ash.
The Uchiha turned, regarding those that remained with a blood red
iris. To stare into those eyes was to stare into the face of death. To
stare into his eyes was to stare back at the gruesome creature of
bone and fire that loomed over him like a second skin. Well, it
certainly didn't inspire confidence now, did it? Sasuke raised his
blade and the burning skeleton complied; mimicking the move as if it
were its own, wielding its own weapon of blazing violet violence.
"I'll say this once, and once only." He began slowly, drawing out
every syllable. "Run. Run. Away. Now. If you don't, I'll slaughter you,
each and every one of you, captain's orders be damned." The
'captain' in question coughed at that remark, but it was already too
late. The Uchiha's bloodlust was palpably obvious. If these men did
not flee, then they would die. Most likely they would die whether they
fled or not. The latter remained to be seen.
"Hai!" The guards squealed as one, bolting over the drifts with such
speed that it left one to wonder why they had not fled earlier. Within
seconds, they were well out of sight, leaving little more than a cloud
of dust in their wake; much to the amusement of the Uchiha. Not so
much for his companions. Naruto, garbed in a warm fur cloak,
stomped a few yards through the snow, shuddered from the cold,
and frowned.
Regardless, with their retreat, Level Five was clear, for the moment.
"We cut them open, of course." Sasuke said, thumbing his katana's
hilt.
Naruto sighed.
"Honestly…
Naruto was exhausted, filthy, and hungry. He and Sasuke, along with
Tayuya, had thoroughly explored all the cells leading up to level five.
Amongst them they'd discovered a fair share of infamous criminals.
Most of them lay facedown in the evergrowing pool of water. The last
one had a dreadfuly irritating ability, but they had been dealt with
much like the others and now they too joined them in the blissful
blackness of sleep.
Now, after a short stop at Level 5.5, they had come here, at last, to
Level Five. It was here that he'd hoped to find their next crew
member, but, thus far, most of the seemed to be either frozen,
unwilling to leave their cells, and, those who had, well, they hadn't
lasted through initiation. Which of course, left Naruto several crew
members short of a crew, and very, very, displeased.
"Oi,oi…
"Are the two of you q-quite done?" Tayuya hissed through chattering
teeth, wrapping herself tightly within her own fur jacket. "I'm f-
freezing my tits off out here!"
"Now there's a sight I'd like to see." Sasuke snorted, silently bringing
up the fact that he, and he alone had elected not to wear winter gear
of any sort. In fact, he hadn't even changed his attire since they'd
returned to Level 5.5. Much like the rest, Naruto and Tayuya had
immediately chosen heavy fur coats for themselves, and both, had
bemoaned the lack of warmth ever since they'd reached the fifth
level of the prison.
Not Sasuke.
"Alright, I can't believe you're dressed like that." Naruto said at last,
desperate to breach the impenetrable void that stretched between
the three of them. "Aren't you cold?"
"Not at all."
Naruto gawped.
"Nope."
"Why?"
"So it keeps you warm, is that it?" Naruto drew closer, sensing a
story behind Sasuke's answer. "That's why you haven't said
anything?"
"Yes, yes," Tayuya pushed between the two of them before Sasuke
could elaborate further. "Sasuke is big and strong. Now, if you're
done stroking your ego, Uchiha, I think I might've found what we
were looking for." She stormed off again before either could protest,
an annoyed look on her face. Above, the wolves howled plaintively,
drowning out her plentiful expletives and other oaths that would
make even a hardened sailor flush like a schoolgirl.
"?"
"Is it this one?" Tayuya pointed towards a lone remaining cell, little
more than a hardened block of frigid ice in the frozen tundra. Ivankov
had insisted that they free a certain prisoner, and he'd been so
adamant on the issue that Naruto had taken it upon himself to -once
again- stay behind and seek them out in the hopes that he might find
additional recruits for his crew. Granted, he had a swordsman and a
musician already, but what he really, really wanted, was a cook.
He wasn't going to say that aloud of course. The last time he'd done
so, Tayuya had practically laid him out with an ear piercing -who
knew the girl could yell so loud- shriek. So he pretended that his
main focus was finding a navigator -hopefully one that could cook-
and pushed his way through the drifts, trying to drive some
semblance of warmth back into his boots as he traversed the
distance between them and the cell.
"Abode?"
Speaking of natural…
"It sounds like Ivan-san is causing quite the raucus out there." She
smiled thinly. "Has he finally sent someone to break me out?"
"Do I know him?" The woman laughed. "I'm his little sister! Of course
I know him!"
Everyone sweatdropped.
"SISTER?"
"I hate to say it, but she has a point. If this woman doesn't have any
skills, then why should we bother to bring her along?"
"Because its the right thing to do!" Naruto insisted. "We can't leave
her here!"
"And why not?" Tayuya asked sharply. "Give me one good reason
we shouldn't just leave her here."
"Could you please not talk about me as if I'm not here?" The
woman's voice settled upon them like a gentle mist; doing little to
settle their frayed nerves, but demanding their attention all the same.
"And do not treat me as if I am some worthless wench." Her voice
hardened abruptly, her teal gaze no longer softer, but hard and
piercing. Apparently, this woman was not as weak as they had been
led to believe. Not in the slightest.
"P-Proposal?" Naruto didn't like the way she'd worded that. "W-What
sort of proposal?"
"One that exists in the New World." The woman explained. "It's been
my dream to find this ingredient. Unfortunately, I cannot accomplish
this goal while I am imprisoned here now, can I?" She shook her
head dismissively. "No, of course not. Therefore, my proposal is this:
free me, and I will be yours, so long as you let me search for this
ingredient, as I please."
"W-What?"
"If you set me free, I will render my… services to you." The way she
said services caused Tayuya to frown. Services? What possible
services could a harlot such as she hope to offer other than the
obvious? Surely Naruto wasn't considering allowing her to join them
solely for that, was he? If so, then clearly, she'd overestimated him.
A trickle of doubt wormed its way through her thoughts. Perhaps she
should have stayed in her cell after all. At least it was warm there. At
least it was safe.
At least there, she didn't have to watch while Naruto fawned over
this slut.
Wait .
"Just a moment!" Naruto shouted, over the blizzard, his eyes wide
and gawping. "Did you just say what I think you said?"
"Yes?"
"You can cook?" Naruto all but drooled. "You can cook food?"
Sasuke groaned.
"Why, of course darling." She smiled benevolently. "I've eaten the Kiri
Kiri no mi." A harsh gasp went up at the mention of that. But if Mei
Terumi was at all concerned by the sudden scrutiny, then she did
precious little to show it. Instead, she steepled her fingers together
and leaned forward even further until the bars finally prevented her
from risking the wrath of the frozen manacles binding her wrists and
legs.
Still, she was almost close enough to touch, and certainly close
enough to whisper:
"Simply put, dear boy, I'm a mist woman."
Even when was contemplating the many means by which she might
kill their captain.
"She comes!" Naruto declared loudly, utterly oblivious to all that had
just occurred. "And that's final!"
"Truly!" Naruto laughed, such was his joy. "But ah… who are you,
exactly."
"My name is Mei Terumi." The woman said with a smile that could
melt ice. "It'll be a pleasure serving you, captain."
"Y-Yes, ah… well, good, that." He waved at the cage of ice which
entrapped her. "Now, stand back. Well back."
She complied.
He flicked his fingers, once, twice, thrice, and the bars to her cell
shattered like so much broken glass. Seconds later, her now
sundered shackles fell to the wayside. Gawping, the woman flexed
her fingers, watching them move and form a fist, then unclench
again. She smiled. She laughed and her shoulders sagged, as if
she'd been relieved of some great and terrible burden.
With his help, she found her footing. As she stood up, she attempted
to keep her tattered shirt together, much to Tayuya's dismay. It was
hardly possible. Naruto removed his fur coat and put it around her
shoulders and Tayuya felt her face burn when the woman did not
comprehend his actions. Instead, Mei stared at him with confusion
and tried to get away from his cloak.
"Well now, aren't you the charmer?" When he raised his gaze, Mei
was suddenly a great deal closer than he remembered her being.
"Lending your coat to a lady." She paused, tilting her head as she
regarded him amidst the snow. She reached out and silently ran a
slender finger from his exposed bandages up along his chest. His
skin shuddered and shivered where she touched and he gulped. It
was the only sound, save for the braying of the wolves in the
distance.
"You're kind of cute," Mei whispered, and Naruto felt his cheeks
burn. Her very touch suffused him with warmth, a warmth that drove
the chill from his veins and left him twice refreshed and energized. It
was as if it were a warm summer day that enveloped him here, not a
bitter frigid winter contained within the world's greatest prison. She
breathed and her breath was a good deal warmer than it should
have been when she finally spoke again:
"Oh." Mei blinked. "Pity. He's quite the catch, though IF you ever
wanted him, I'd be more than willing to share…
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
"Oh, that's right." Mei murmurred, as if only now recalling it. "I
wonder how Ivan-san's been, perhaps we should go after all..?"
Tayuya slapped a hand to her forehead, and willed the last remnants
of a blush from her face.
"Men…
~Naruto D. Uzumaki.
Fate
The fighting had already broken out in full force by the time Naruto
and co. reached the next level. They felt the heat long before they
reached where the arch had once been; a blistering, sweltering haze
that reached down deep into their bones beneath their fur cloaks and
proceeded to throttle them senselessly. It could be felt even here,
from the staircase. The higher they ascended, the worse it grew.
Even Sasuke, it seemed was not immune to the rising heat. Naruto
was perversely pleased to see that not even his first mate could
keep a straight face during their ascent.
Naruto shared their sentiment and was about to voice his own
discontent when an idea struck him. Discarding his own coat, he
threw the encumbering garment to the wayside and raised his right
hand, calling forth the lightest of breezes to his side. Tayuya was the
first one to notice the change. She all but purred as the breeze
passed over her, providing momentary relief from the roiling inferno
surrounding them. The sound of battle rang out somewhere to the
north of this burning hell, but right now, all she felt was contentment.
She shot her captain a warm and genuine smile.
It was times such as these that made him wonder why exactly he'd
decided to follow Naruto in the first place. Well, that was simple
enough, when he thought about it. Naruto was strong. Sasuke
needed stronge allies if he was ever to find his brother. Althhough he
himself would've preferred being in charge of said group, he didn't
mind handling the reigns over to Naruto who had been the one to
free him in the first place. The blonde's fixation with procurring a
crew and get the hell out of this hole was almost as single minded as
his own desire for vengeance. The Uchiha respected that.
The man had drive; he knew what it was like to want someone dead.
(Flashback)
They were back in level six once more, mere moments from
ascending the impromptu staircase to level five. Sasuke had taken
Naruto and Tayuya aside and confided in them, revealing to them
just how he intended to track down his brother and kill him. Much
could go amiss here in Impel Down; he felt safer explaiing his
purpose to the redhead and the blonde now, in case he should fall
before the time came. Naruto and Tay listened in intent silence but
the moment he mentioned the organization with which his brother
was associated… well, there were some questions. Several
questions.
"Akatsuki?" Naruto tilted his head to the side, "What the hell is that?"
"NO!" Tayuya slapped Naruto on the shin. "I just said that they're like
them! Rumour has it they work for the whoever's the highest bidder."
"At least you didn't get that damned mark on your back."
"Huh?"
"Oi oi…
(End Flashback )
"HEY!"
It was all the Uchiha could do not to snort. He would follow this man,
if only for a little while longer. It wasn't like he had anything better to
do…
Sasuke facepalmed.
"Ladies?
Tayuya and Mei simultaneously shrugged.
"Nope."
Naruto paused at the edge of the catwalk and rounded on the voice;
bringing himself face to face with one of the few cells lining the
length of the wall. He could see any number of figures hunched
down in the dark, but those were the ones too weak to move; too
broken by a life behind bars. Who then, had spoken?
"Here!"
There was a moment of silence as the man behind the bars adjusted
his sunglasses which impossibly, glinted with light. Yes, sunglasses.
Why anyone would wear such a thing in a prison-or even be allowed-
was beyond him. But no one could have been prepared for what
came next.
"Yo say ho! Know my name, know my fame, don't be lame! Eight
tails, that's me, da rappin' Killer Bee!" Somewhere behind them, Mei
stifled a giggle. Apparently she found his routine endearing. Sasuke
didn't. A fierce, predatory gleam entered the Uchiha's eye as he
regarded the man crouched behind the bars.
"Ain't got no skills, fool!" Bee replied, "But I know how ta fight, dat be
true!"
Naruto shot Sasuke a pleading glance.
"No." He replied.
"But Saaaaaaasuke -
"We are not letting him out of there." The Uchiha's scorn was barely
concealed. "He's annoying!"
"We can't!" Naruto snapped back. "I'm the captain! I say he comes!"
"Tch," Naruto grumbled, rubbing at his scalp with a sore hand. "Lets
have a vote, then! You first, Sasuke!"
"I think it's best we leave him," the swordsman told his nakama,
decisiveness like iron in his voice. "He has no skills we can use other
than that abyssmal rapping." As if on cue Killer Bee chose that very
moment to pipe up again, much to Sasuke's charign.
"A devil fruit resides inside my hide! Makin beats and rhymes and I'm
makin' 'em live! Its what a pirate needs ta survive, battle after battle
up here in the Bee hive! Toss me the keys bro and I'll come alive!" A
viscsious glare coupled with unsheathing of Kusangi silenced the up-
and-coming rapper, dissuading him from continuing any further.
When Sasuke was certain he wouldn't be interrupted again, he
sheathed his sword and offered a final retort to make his point.
"I think we should release him." Mei put in, her words soft and fluid
as her own element. "He could be useful. We'll never know if we
don't take a risk here." All eyes fell upon Tayuya, the only crew
member who had yet to voice an opinion; yet to cast a vote in favor
or against for the releasing of prisoner.
"Oh hell no." the muscician raised her hands to ward of their stares.
"I'm staying out of this one!"
Sasuke frowned.
"Tayuya…
"Ugh, fine!" she growled. "We already have a musician, in case ya've
forgotten! So leave him locked up! That's what I say!"
"Why the hell did you do that?!" Tayuya shrieked. "I thought we took
a vote!"
Naruto gave her a pointed look.
"But-
"Weeeeeee!"
Naruto froze, his head turning in the direction of the voice as a wet
squelching sound resounded from beyond the bars.
"Move!"
Mei's reaction was only slightly less subdued, she simply arched an
eyebrow and laughed softly at the otherwise grotesque display.
Sasuke muttered blackly to himself, something about the four of
them running a freak show and charging for admission. Naruto heard
all of this and grinned; he was actually enjoying himself! To think,
they'd find another nakama! Granted, the man didn't seem to
possess any skills beyond that of this, his devil fruit-the ghastly
rhyming didn't count!-
Half a second later, Killer Bee found his face intimate with the deck
in a way no self-respecting pirate desired, simultaneously nursing a
rising welt upon his skull. Sneering dangerously, hand clutched into a
fist, Tayuya stormed back to Naruto's side as though nothing
happened. As though she hadn't singlehandedly knocked out a man
with a single punch. In that area alone she clearly exceeded his
expectations. Who would've thought such a spry little thing could be
so damnably strong?
"LET'S GO!"
Luffy knew something was amiss the moment the wind began to pick
up. Because there could be no wind in Impel Down. Sound itself
seemed to fade… before a piercing shriek slammed into his ears and
left him all but deafened. He wasn't the only one; even as he and the
others struggled with their sudden deafness a sudden chill
descended upon the sweltering hell that was level four. The flames
themselves seemed to flicker, fading as he looked on. But the
silence was short-lived. With a sharp 'pop!' sound returned to Luffy's
world. That was when he heard it. When he saw it.
A keening green gust swept across the catwalks like a silent scythe,
scouring them clean of enemy and ally alike. Someone screamed.
Screamed, as they were flung into the flames of hell, as a blur of
white gold zipped past and snatched them from the jaws of death at
the last moment. The sounds of battle fell away into silence;
everyone was shocked by the sudden prescence of the new arrivals.
A dense fog hung over them, lifting a tad reluctantly before their
passage. As one they advanced, walking right into the fray without
so much as a care in the world.
"Heh." A familair voice chortled from within the fog. "Well done
ladies. It seems we've made quite the entrance."
"Oi…
"It's him!" One of the guards wailed in despair. "He's finally here!"
Luffy's head snapped back and forth, a puppet severed from its
strings. Because he was here. In force. The jailors of Impel Down
seemed to realize this as well if the puddles of urine pooling beneath
their feet were any indication of how they felt. And still, none dared
strike Abruptly the murky mist fell away, exposing five faces to the
burning hell. Five faces that would stand forever in infamy.
"And he's not alone!" Luffy realized this was truth; as he recognized
a host of other individuals crowding up behind the blond, four in total.
"Look there! Beside him… that's…
"!"
"Hn."
Jailors guards and Blugori alike, everone grew paler and paler as
they recognized each individual, their own peril becoming more and
more apparent with each passing second. Some seemed to wilt.
Others simply soiled themselves where they stood. It had been bad
enough that they were forced to face this crowd of okama, but now…
this?!
Luffy was almost jealous; all of their bounties were higher than his!
Naruto said nothing more; he simply stood there, eyes agleam with
controlled bloodlust. He brought with him not an army, as they'd
expected, but rather, a small group. Luffy didn't have to look at them,
to know they were strong; there was simply an aura of supreme
confidence about these people. Confidence in themselves, and
confidence in their captain.
The guards didn't take very kindly to that, no they did not!
"Get him!
"Get him!"
Ba-kram!
With a sudden swing, he sent them sprawling.
"Eight!"
"Nani?!"
"NANDA?!"
Ignoring her crew, Tayuya snarled and stalked forward into the fray.
She'd glimpsed someone during the lull, and now she was intent on
finding him. There would be time for games later. Now she wanted
nothing more than to find that little imp and crush him to a bloody
pulp! With her ability, it didn't take long for her to discern the sound of
a flute in the rising cacophony of cries and curses surrounding her.
Gotcha! Tayuya shouted a hairsbreadth louder than she normally
would; the sound slammed into the guards like an invisible wall,
casting them aside like so much refuse and presenting her a path
forward.
"Saldeath!"
The little imp paled at the sight of her; this vindictive redhead back
from the pits of hell; her mouth twisted into a devilish smirk. It didn't
take him long to realize what she was after; what she'd come to
reclaim. It took him even less to turn tail and run. Sasuke felt a touch
of pity for the fool as he fled; there was no chance in hell that he was
going to escape from her, no matter how fast he ran.
"Get her, Blugori!" The imp wailed, pressing the flute to his lips,
playing with a desperation born of both fear and terror. "Don't let her
get meeeeee!" The Blugori themselves stiffened in response to the
melody, pausing only for the tune to send the horde of monsters
swarming toward the startled redhead.
"Asshole!" She snarled, chasing after the impish little man. "That's
my technique!"
"Allow me." Mei stepped forward, the slighest of smiles playing at her
full lips. "I suggest you stand well back from this." Without another
word, the mist woman drew in a deep breath and exhaled mightily.
She lived up to her name well; spewing an acrid cloud of dense fog
from her lips to envelop most of the walkway. The Blugoiri charged
into the mist without thought or care, heedless of their own potential
peril. It was their first and last mistake. Sasuke watched them keenly,
ready to strike them down with his blade if need be. In the end, he
needn't have bothered.
Their features sloughed off their faces, their bodies withering in the
seemingly innocuous mist. Naruto gawped at them in disbelief;
leaving the abominsations to paw and claw at one another in their
feebble attempts to save themselves. But to no avai. Their struggles
only hastened their decay, leaving them to collapse in a pool of
melted metal and sludge. For the first time Bee was left without
words. Sasuke seemed to share his keen sentiment.
"Well… shit." Naruto gawped, nuding the goopy puddle with a toe.
"Acid mist. That's a new one."
"Do you like it?" Mei offered a small smile. "I can change its PH level
at a whim; its completely harmless now. And of course, I'm immune
to my own technique." Naruto didn't know what to say to that. A mist
that could melt just about anything in the span of several seconds…
scary stuff. Reminds me to stay on her good side. He shook himself
with a shiver. Where was Tayuya, anyway? They'd lost track of her in
the chaos. Fear lodged itself in the pit of his stomach. Surely the
redhead hadn't been-
"Victory!"
"Yo!" Bee cackled. "Tay knows how ta fight, Tay knows how ta sing!
Don't mess wit' her or ya'll feel her sting!" Everyone -even Naruto-
cringed, in preparation of another scathing rebuttal from the redhead;
imagine their surprise when she offered a sly smile instead.
"You know what, Bee?" she grinned. "You keep flattering me like
that, and I think we'll actually get along."
"Not on da grass!"
"Yay/Yay!"
Sasuke sweatdropped.
"Urusai!"
"Sasuke?"
"On it."
The avenger stepped forward, fixing Hannybal firmly within his gaze,
an easy fact when one saw that he'd just been knocked down again
by Luffy. A small smiled played at the edges of the avenger's lips, his
coal black eyes flaring a harsh crimson as the world looked on.
"Don't kill him." Naruto warned as Sasuke's right eye began to bleed.
"We just want to scare him a little. Maybe knock him out."
The Uchiha snorted.
"Amateratsu."
But before he could fire off the lethal technique, the guards on the
stairwell started screaming.
"Help!"
"Just give it up!" A rough voice cackled from out of the blackness.
"Spouting all that crap about 'Justice' or 'Evil'! You can look all over
the world, but you'll never find an answer!" A booted foot
materialized deep within that sick swirl of shadow and smashed itself
into the assistant warden's face, putting him down for good.
"Ridiculous!" Its owner materialized, a large, pot-bellied man wearing
a dark coat and even darker trousers. His broken teeth bore all the
semblance of a smile, but it did not reach his eyes. Shadows
spouted from his back, disgorging all the guards he'd captured,
spewing them out like so much refuse.
"Oh?" the man laughed aloud as his crew materialized behind him.
"Well this sure is an impressive group. We've walked in on a pretty
major incident, huh?"
"Teach!" Jimbei growled. "What are you doing here?!" His white eyes
narrowed. "Or I suppose I should call you Blackbeard now?"
Naruto and Luffy bristled as one, but it was the blonde who was truly
affected. In his minds eye he saw it all over again. The blood. So
much blood…
"Blackbeard…"
A tiny smile broke out on Naruto's chiseled face, like a crack etching
along a stone surface. He laughed, then; it was a deep, throaty
sound, not a thing like himself. The wind, keening like a lost child,
stirred his ragged blond hair caressing it with cold fingers, gathering
in the palm of his hand as the whole of Level Four looked on.
"Blackbeard!"
Teach frowned, rounding on the blond as though seeing him for the
first time. His eyes widened in recognition. "Hoh!" He laughed. "Well,
if it isn't Naruto! Long time no see! How long has it been? A decade?
Two?!" His grin grew lecherous as he beheld Tayuya and Mei. "Nice
pair of broads ya got there. Looks like prison life has treated you
well, eh?" His gaze found Sasuke, and Killer Bee. You've even got
yourself a crew! I'm proud of ya, kid!"
"Proud?"
Mmmm…
"You have some nerve saying that, Teach." His voice rose over the
din. "After what you did… after what you did…
"Ha?"
… to my mother!"
Naruto snarled and flung his hand even further to the heavens.
… IS MINE!"
Mei didn't waste any time; she ducked backwards, as did Bee,
dragging Tayuya with them.
"Rasenshuriken!"
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! My damn keyboard keeps acting up,
so I apologize for any grammatical errors. Naruto's gone to war
with Blackbeard! What the hell did that man do to his mother to
get him so riled up all of a sudden? Find out next time in… My
Pride is a Hurricane! I know I've been away frofor awhile, and
for that, I apologize. I fully intend to continue this story!
Updates will come much sooner now! Anyone who has
suggestions for the rest of Naruto's crew, to fill the remaining
positions, by all means, suggest it! We still need a shipwright, a
sniper, a doctor, a navigator, and so much more! Feel free to let
me know in your review! I worked uber hard on this grand
chapter! And one final thing, yes, Naruto MAY have relations
with Boa Hancock in this story as well, if you catch my hint! The
War of the Best is coming up soon! Look forward to it!
R&R! =D
Hatred is the Most Powerful Poison
A/N: Thank you for your ideas/opinions! I've taken them all into
consideration as to who will and won't join his crew. Sadly, we
won't find everyone in Impel Down-that'd would be a tad too
easy, wouldn't you agree? But I have taken all these
suggestions to heart-again, thank you so much!-and I have a
fair idea of who will join the crew. Look forward, to the
Marineford Saga! It's going to be one hell of a ride! As a note,
I've changed Mei's bounty, hers is now equal with that of
Tayuya's at 400,000,000.
~Naruto D. Newgate.
"DIE!"
Still the explosion swelled, forcing everyone back as its blast radius
expanded, striking down annyone fool enough to stand their ground.
Pirate, jailor, and blugori alike, each found themselves shredded by
the powerful squall; all those fool enough not to currents of heaven
itself.
"Yo!" Bee cackled, "Da boss knows how ta rock and roll! Ya catch my
flow?!"
Everyone face-vaulted.
"NO, WE DON'T!"
Naruto waved a hand and banished the last blast, leaving nothing
but dust and debris in its wake. There was a silence. Tayuya
grimaced.
"Whaddya mean its not over?" She asked, incredulous. "You saw
that explosion! He'd have to be a fucking monster to have survived-
"Zehahaha…
"That." The words dried up in her throat and her blood turned to ice
as she saw a massive form stir within the smoke. Tayuya frowned
and Mei alongside her, lips pursing in displeasure as the figure of
Marshall D. Teach became visible and apparent to the onlookers.
Teach himself had fared worse than Naruto she saw; much worse.
The massive man had lost his coat in the explosion… amongst other
things. He was missing most of his right arm and all of his left leg,
the wounds had forced him to a knee, his injuries dripping fresh ichor
with a steady drip-drip-drip. The rest of his crew lay scattered about
the floor like so much refuse, each bleeding from the dozens of
wounds inflicted by the Naruto's unholy Rasenshuriken technique.
They might live, if they received treatment in time-eh?
Teach flung his remaining arm forward and opened a hand, fingers
splayed and grasping.
"Kurozu!"
This time there was no witty retort; Naruto simply balked as his feet
lifted from the floor seemingly against their own volition; leaving his
crew to balk as tens of tendrils of darkness hauled him forward. He
tried to hurl the Rasenshuriken at Teach as he flew, but the deadly
missile buzzed harmlessly overhead and through the air… into
Teach's awaiting grasp. To everyone's disbelief, Naruto was grabbed
as though he were solid! There was a moment of pained silence as
Blackbeard's hand closed around Naruto's neck, hoisting him off the
ground and into the air.
Tayuya seemed to share his opinion, her eyes wide with concern…
only to relax moments later at the sound of her senchou's voice.
"He rules 'em all!" Bee chorused. "The capi'n cannot fall!"
"This guy…
Because Naruto hadn't fallen. He was still standing; he'd taken the
full brunt of the drop with his legs alone, leaving Teach hunched over
him. Unprotected. Vulnerable. Even as Luffy realized that this would
be the perfect time to strike, to take a shot at the large man's
unprotected back, Naruto swarmed into motion, snapping his neck
around, sinking his teeth into Blackbeard's arm. To his credit, Teach
didn't release Naruto. That, proved to be a mistake. A fatal mistake,
as Naruto used the momentum of his bite to thrash his legs against
the ground, bringing his body full circle. Now he was facing
Blackbeard.
"Dai Sai Rin," (The Largest Ring) Naruto muttered, bringing both
hands forward and upward, clenched into fists. Teach had just
enough time to glance down, to see the clenched hands- feel them
pressing up against his chest before he recognized the technique.
Whitebeard's grandson flashed Blackbeard a grin that made the
devil look tame. His muscles bulged with unseen power, not the
power of his devil fruit, but one just as, if not moreso, deadlier than
the rest, surging through his clenched hands and into his unwitting
target. He uttered one word and one word only, giving name to a
technique that sent a silent shiver of remembrance down Luffy's
spine.
"ROKUOGAN."
Teach yowled in pained surprise as a wave of supersonic energy
ripped up and through his chest, leaving him outwardly untouched.
Inward was another matter. The deadly blast tore through his insides
like a hurricane making a massacre of muscle and bone before
smashing into the stairwell over yonder. Blood fountained forth
between Teach's teeth, pouring down onto the battere blond below,
the sudden shock of impact causing his grip to slacken, just for a
moment. And in that moment, the very instant of his release, Naruto
pounced, cackling madly.
Ping!
"Protect the captain!" Van Augur snapped, raising his rifle to reload
for a second-if not fruiless-line of fire. That proved his first and last
mistake; because instead of ending Teach, his comment caused
Naruto to turn on him and the rest of the Blackbeard pirates. He was
smiling, grinning from ear to ear, his mouth stretched in a rictus of
mocking disapproval.
"Ah, ah, ah!" he tittered blackly, "Looks like someone forgot to teach
you bitches the pecking order!"
Mei licked her lips in silent approval. Something about this side of
Naruto made her blood sing!
Luffy saw only a whirlwind of black and red as the blonde ripped into
Blackbeard's men; one moment Burgess was gawping at the flailing
form of his captain, the next he was on the ground bleeding,
clutching at what'd once been his left leg. Doc Q fared even worse;
Luffy didn't see what Naruto did but he did see the doctor's head roll
away alongside that of his horse, their expressions transfixied
somewhere between horror and sheer disbelief that they'd been
killed off so quickly.
Laffite managed to spread his wings and make it into the air, for all
the good it did him. Naruto was suddenly above; his fingers closing
around those white feathers in a vice. Laughing, he yanked. Hard.
Blood spattered the searing cobblestones, steaming amidst the pale
man's screams as the now useless appendages flopped away from
him to burn amidst the fires of Level Four. A heartbeat later their
owner joined them-carroming off the wall to land amidst the fires
conjured by the burning vats. Crying in pain, he somehow scrambled
back onto the bridge before the blonde blasted him into Blackbeard's
rising form.
Marshall D. Teach, having only just now struggled to his feet, found
himself driven to the floor yet again-spitting blood as the slight man
crashed into him. Neither rose again. All this had happened in the
time it took for Van Augur to reload. Naruto backhanded him almost
contemptuously, then he turned upon Teach. Impossibly, the massive
man was still getting back up. But this time you could see the fear in
his eyes, smell the terror emanating from his very soul…
"You hate the fact that you're powerless to stop me." Naruto
advanced upon him now, a black gale stemming from his body. "That
you're completely outmatched. Well imagine feeling the way you do
now all of the time like I have! Fools!" Sneering, he ripped the
hulking captain from his feet and dashed him against the bridge like
a rag doll. Once. Twice. Three times. "How do you think my mother
Kushina felt… when you ganged up on her in the rain and she had
no way out?! Well now its your turn." Snarling he flung him away to
join his broken band of pirates. "I hope you enjoy it. Because I sure
as hell plan to!"
"Kurozu-
"Hydra!"
"I wouldn't put it past him." Naruto growled. Then he saw the poison
creeping towards them and sighed. Magellan! Of all the times…
"On it."
"Get him!"
Tayuya raised the flute to her lips and that was all the warden knew.
Before he could blink before he could think, he found himself
immobilized. A fine mist gathered about his face, searing into his
skin, seeping through the deadly coat of poison he wore.
"Damnit Bee!" Naruto spat. "I told you not to touch him!" He drew
back his hand, revealing the technique he'd been cradling there all
along.
"Chou…
… Odama…
… RASENSHURIKEN!"
(Preview)
"Hn."
The man raised his head, his dour features sharpening in a slight
smile.
"Senju… Hashirama."
"Nope! The brunette shook her head. "All natural ability right here!" A
slight frown marred the features of her face. "That's… not a problem,
is it?"
"But that's-
Naruto growled.
"Oh for the love of… I'm not interested in fighting you right now!
R&R! =D
Legends
A/N: Alright ladies and gentlmen, good news and bad news.
Good news first. I'm fresh out of my surgery-hurts like hell!-and
I managed to put this up here at points between the forced
anesthetic. Bad news is I still have more surgeries ahead. Still,
I'm feeling a bit better now. Really. I'm hanging tough though,
having just come out of my first surgery… with two more to go!
UUUUUGH! I'm on painkillers almost daily and I feel like crap, as
to that effect. But nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I
wanted to get word out any way I could, and since for some
strange reason the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on
this anywhere near as much as I would've liked. Still…
So I'll skip the introduction, but might I advise you to reread the
story? Just in case you've forgotten anything.
~?
Legends
Magellan lay sprawled out to their right; his body broken, mind
trapped in one of Sasuke's ill illusions. The warden wouldn't be going
anywhere for a good while. But that didn't matter. What mattered
was finding actual proof of their deaths, something to tell him that
they hadn't slipped away during the explosion, that they hadn't
survived Magellan's poison. Something -anything- to tell him that
retribution had been made, pain for the loss of his mother paid in
spades. Tell me I avenged you, momma. Please just tell me…
"Senchou."
"Senchou?"
"Senchou!"
"What?!" He rounded on the voice calling him, eyes wild beneath his
battered blond bangs.
The look Mei was giving him proved different from her smoldering
smiles; her expression was one of empathy, sympathy for his plight.
Naruto did his best to remind himself of that, relaxing his shoulders
before turning fullly to formally address his crew. It was suddenly so
hard to remember that they were on his side, just innocent
bystanders-or not so innocent in Sasuke's case-in his vendetta
against Blackbeard. They had little to no knowledge of his motives,
and they'd just witnessed him kill in cold blood. He was treading on
mighty thin ice here. Snap at them now, and their tenuous alliance
might very well fall through.
"I'm… just fine." No. No, I'm not. I'll never be alright. "It's done." No it
isn't. Not until I see a body. "I can move on." Won't. Can't. Never.
Never…
"What was your deal with him anyway?" the redhead persisted.
"Sounded like the two of you had some history."
"No." he forced the word through clenched teeth, willing his mouth to
relax. "If I'm going to be your captain, I shouldn't be keeping secrets,
anyway. I suppose its time I told you. Have ya ever heard of Kushina
"The Killer" Uzumaki?"
"I have." Mei spoke at last. "Supposedly she was wanted for
betraying the marines. Murdered an entire platoon and jumped ship,
or so I hear."
"Ha! You don't know the half of it." Naruto felt a bitter pange of
longing stir in his chest. "That "murderer" you speak of was my mom.
She taught me damned near everything she knew, once I was old
enough to crawl, not walk, crawl. Damn near beat it into me with a
stick! Tekkai, Rankyaku, Gepo, Soru, Shigan, even the Rokuogan, I
knew it all by the time I was seven years old."
His breath hitched then, the words kicking and screaming in his
throat, refusing to comply. He forced them to.
"Until after she fought Blackbeard. And lost." Memories rose to mock
him; he was suddenly a boy again, a quivering heap sprawled on the
rain-soaked soil while his mother fought -and died- only yards away
in the rain at his back. They'd given the Blackbeard Pirates hell, but
they had been two against many. Too many. He'd had the power
back then, but it wasn't enough, it couldn't close the gap that
inexperience created when faced with a superior foe. Lacking the
heart to defe ndhis mother had been his first and last mistake; failing
to realize s he had been the target was his second. They'd never
come for him at all. He'd been left there to rot. The same could be
said of his mother's body.
Now he had will and power in spades, thanks to the fruit he'd eaten.
Power enough to obliterate Teach, but not enough to bring his
mother back. Never enough.
Naruto managed a wan smile at their antics; it made him feel better,
if only a little.
"As far as I'm concerned ol' Whitebeard is just as much to blame for
this whole mess as Blackbaeard. If he'd dealt with Teach before he
started up way back, my mother wouldn't be dead. And I wouldn't
have spent the last three years in this hole of a hell. I don't care if
he's my grandfather. I aim to give him a piece of my mind when I see
him at Marineford. He's owed that much, at least."
"Yes yes, we've been over this already." Sasuke sighed. "That hasn't
changed. And neither has our objective; we need to escape before
reinforcements arrive."
"And stop the execution," Bee chimed in, still rubbing at the bruise
Tayuya had given him.
Three sets of eyes turned toward him, incredulous that he'd actually
spoken a single sentence, rather than rap. The dark-skinned sailor
was quick to realize this.
Naruto sighed, but the words were soft, and without rancour.
"Hush!" This time it was Mei's elbow that planted itself between
Bee's ribs. "Give him a second. He needs this. Closure."
Naruto held the hat for what felt like a small eternity-the only piece of
Blackbeard that remained. Where the man and his crew were dead
or not no longer mattered now; if they were alive then he would
crush them the next time they crossed paths. If not, then there was
no point in holding onto this hat, was there? He gazed down at the
lake of fire below, the smoldering inferno where the former
Shichibukai most likely lay, his resting place in the seat of heat and
flame, ultimatley final.
Its over. a voice soothed, somewhere deep inside of him. Let it go.
Were those his thoughts, or those of his mother? Was it her hand he
felt on his shoulder now, willing him to move on? Perhaps it was.
With a supreme effort of will, he forced himself to let go; not just off
the hat, but off the vendetta that had consumed him for the last
twenty years. It fell from his grasp almost immediately, fluttering
down and out into the empty space carved by his Rasenshuriken.
Naruto watched it go, waited with patient and bated breath as it
touched the lake of fire below, those tongues of orange and yellow
sweeping up to devour the faded fabric almost immediately,
swallowing it whole.
(Level Three)
Most cells had been cleared out by the riot; those precious few who
yet remained had either chosen to stay, were deemed too dangerous
to release, or were simply bored, he thought. This might be their last
chance to gather potential allies-nakama-to their cause before
setting out to Marineford. Mei and the others had gone ahead to
convey their decry to all the remaining prisoners; that with
Blackbeard gone and Magellan otherwise incapacitated, their only
enemy was time. If Luffy and Jinbei wanted to leave so badly, that
was fine, but the Wraiths wouldn't; not until they were satisfied.
Wraiths.
Just as he had then, blond refused to falter under his first mate's
assertions now. "It doesn't change the fact that I'm taking a gamble
by letting you-
Sasuke shot Naruto a pointed glare. "Says the man who likes his
dice."
"Hey, hey, there's nothing wrong with a little risk every now and then-
Staaaaaaaaare.
"Hn."
The Uchiha permitted himself the smallest of smile as he inspected
the surrounding cellblock. Naruto might be a stubborn man at times,
but he knew when to take and when to give, the crew what they
wanted. His own bloodlust had been satiated by the subsuquent
slaughter of Teach and later Magellan, though he suspected both
would be back to torment them soon. A man like Magellan wouldn't
be trapped in an illusion for long. And Teach… would Magellan's
poison truly be enough to kill him? Sasuke held an unspoken sliver
of doubt in his soul.
"Lets see here," Naruto was muttering to himself. "It looks like-aha!
Oi, you! You wouldn't happen to be a navigator, would ya?" Had
Uchiha Sasuke paid closer attention, he might've realized Naruto
wasn't addressing a prisoner, but rather a guard. Perhaps had he
paid closer attention he might've noticed that said guard was
different from the others; his dark hair curled back into a ponytail
reminscent of a pinneaple. Perhaps, were his senses more attuned,
he would've realized that this man-this marine-was about to become
their latest nakama; a lazy marine who'd been relegated to guard
duty in the world's most impenetrable prison for sheer sloth, his mind
preoccupied with wandering clouds and strategies that would make
an Admiral balk. This man had a name.
Shikamaru.
"Funny; that fool clown said the same thing." a slight chuckle
answered his question. "All bark and very little bite, that one. I'll ask
you the same questions; why should I join you? Do you have a plan
to escape? A ship on which to sail? A strong crew to watch your
back? He had none of these and so I refused him." The figure
behind the bars leaned forward on his haunches just then, exposing
dark eyes framed by darker hair, matted brown locks revealing a
strong, chiseled jaw set in a scowl. "What do you have that would
make me leave this cell? What was it that made you leave yours?"
The Uchiha paused, considering the man's inquiry. His onyx gaze
swiveled back to Naruto's broad back; the blonde's distant form set
upon some strange task or another. What was it about him that
made him leave his cell in the first place? It certainly wasn't his
charm. His skills, either. Perhaps it was his compassion? Naruto was
open and honest; a rarity among pirates, possessing a willingness to
help that went above and beyond a simple give-and-take
relationship. He was… simple. Yes, he had burdens of his own, their
ordeal with Blackbeard had shown as much, but he didn't let them
change who he was. He simply sought to right the wrongs he had
been given, to change the hand that fate had dealt him. Sasuke…
envied that.
"He seeks to tear down the old and usher in the new, then? An
admirable goal, if there ever was one. I had such a dream once. To
hear someone speak of it is… refreshing." He rose, the chains that
bound him clanking with the movement of his arms and legs. He was
tall and lean Sasuke realized, almost gaunt within his prisoner's
uniform. "Congratulations, Uchiha Sasuke." that same voice rumbled
out at him, this time with the faint undercurrent of intrigue. "You've
piqued my interest. Release me from these bonds of mine, and I will
join you."
The man ceased rubbing his wrists and raised his head, dour
features sharpening in a slight smile.
"Senju… Hashirama."
"Relax, will ya?" His captain soothed. "I've got everything under
control. You'll love being a pirate, I promise."
He'd been content to simply lay down and play dead once the riot
started; capturing prisoners was too troublesome for him, anyway. It
was that very same attitude that had landed him guard duty in Impel
Down in the first place; despite his intellectual genius and mastery of
strategems, he hadn't seen the point in applying himself against
players-pirates-who stood so far beneath him. It all felt so pointless,
sometimes. Where was the challenge in facing uneducated brutes,
who'd just as soon as shoot him than try to puzzle their ways out of
his traps?
But Naruto had proved himself to be no hapless pirate; his mind was
as sharp as the blade he kept at his belt. He was no base prey, he
was a predator; strong and proud.
Now here he was, talked into becoming the very thing he'd sworn to
fight against. And for what? A chance to esape his boredom? Hell, if
it meant he could get back to cloudwatching-with the occasional bit
of navigating here and there-he didn't care. Who knew what
adventures might await them?
Crazed golden eyes shone out beneath a mane of dark hair, those
bright orbs fixated upon Naruto, his grin the stuff of madness.
Shikamaru sighed softly. "What was it you said? Everything under
control?"
"And I do-
"Kaze no Yaiba."
"Oh for the love of… stay down, will you?! I'm not interested in
fighting you right now!"
"Who are you callin' a brat?" Naruto hissed through gritted teeth,
forcing his foe down through the air, "You bloodthirsty buffoon!" He
thrust a foot forward, slamming a kick into Zaraki's chest and
sending the larger sailing into one of the adjaent cells opposite them.
The lone logia quickly shot forwards, almost immediately closing the
gap between the fallen warrior and himself. Blades smashed and
gnashed against one another, drawing sparks instead for an eternity
before one of the warrior's finally called out in pain.
"Aaaargh!"
" Chou Odama," Naruto called as he hovered above the gaping hole
in which Zaraki Kenpachi was buried, " RASENSHURIKEN!"
The massive shrieking sphere leapt from his hand and into the hole;
a dog freed from its chain.
Before he could even think to raise his weapon, Naruto's bleak blade
found his neck.
"You stay the fuck down," he warned, "Or next time its your head."
(Sometime later)
"I see you've been busy." Naruto remarked as they happened upon
one another again. Sasuke was mildly surprised to see that the
blonde had gained some superficial wounds in the hour since they'd
parted, a series of shallow gashes ran diagonal across the bare flesh
of his right arm and chest- a small slice could still be seen where a
blade had cut deep into his cheek. In contrast to the two nakama
Sasuke had proccurred-Naruto had picked up a pair of his own; and
they couldn't have been more unalike.
Hashirama cleared his throat. "I was under the impression you
needed a shipwright."
His gaze traveled the length of the prison, balefully regarding the
skewered corpse of a guard. His throat was filled with shards of
stone, doubtlessly sharpened during her stay in the ghaol. How
Tenten had managed to kill him with those, much less procure
something to make them deadly enough to kill. Tenten grinned.
"Nope!" The brunette shook her head. "All natural ability right here!"
A slight frown marred the features of her face. "That's… not a
problem, is it?"
"No, no, not at all!" Naruto replied. "Zaraki here isn't a fruit user,
either."
"The kid gave me a good fight." the Kenpachi rumbled at the
Uchiha's questing stare. "Figured if I follow him, I'd find even better
battles."
A/N: And there ya be! I'm having such a hard time choosing
crew members! We've got a crew of legends already!
Shikamaru, Tenten, Hashirama, and even Zaraki from Bleach!
Shikamaru seems to be an obvious choice for the navigator-
almost everyone seems to agree on that one-but from there its
fuzzy. It should also be mentioned that Naruto is going to have
a fairly large crew, and an even larger ship, possibly bigger than
the Thousand Sunny. But hmmm… what to call it and how to
write it? I hope you enjoyed this! My damn keyboard keeps
acting up, so I apologize for any grammatical errors. The War of
the Best is nearly upon us! Look forward to it!
(Preview)
Fleet Admiral Sengoku felt his jaw fall from his face as he beheld the
gallery of rogues standing before him. Not only had Monkey D. Luffy
landed in the thick of the fighting, but there, on the ship opposite
him,a second vessel, carrying perhaps the most deadly criminals the
world had ever seen, and more than a few traitors to the cause of
justice. And there, standing at the helm of the second vessel, a
visage as legendary as it was all but terrifying, his whiskered face
pulled back in a fearsome smile.
Indeed, Naruto's grin could've made the darkest demon look tame.
"Hello, corpses!"
Across the battlefield, Edward Newgate felt his mouth twitch in the
beginnings of a grin.
R&R! =D
Let the Sparks FLy
A/N: REJOICE! YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER UPDADE! Alright ladies
and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm
fresh out of my surgery-hurts like hell!-and I managed to put
this up here at points between the forced anesthetic. Bad news
is I still have more surgeries ahead. Still, I'm feeling a bit better
now. Really. I'm hanging tough though, having just come out of
my first surgery… with two more to go! UUUUUGH! I'm on
painkillers almost daily and I feel like crap, as to that effect. But
nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I wanted to get
word out any way I could, and since for some strange reason
the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on this anywhere
near as much as I would've liked. Still…
So I'll skip the introduction, but might I advise you to reread the
story? Just in case you've forgotten anything.
~?
But you can't hurt Hancock! Luffy's words rang through his mind.
She helped me!
'Then I'll leave her be.' Naruto decided to himself. 'But if she gets in
my way… she's dead, just like the rest.'
Aaand then there was that. Naruto willed himself not to look at the
little girl perched on Zaraki's shoulder, but it was almost impossible
not to stare at her pink hair and be confounded. Yachiru Kusajishi.
She was a tiny thing, a seemingly innocurous bystander amidst a
band of cuthtroats. Kenpachi had made her a part of the deal,
releasing his "daughter" from Level One shortly before their
departure. Her bounty was a mere Seventy-Five Million as opposed
to the whopping Four hundred and eighty million placed on the
swordsman's head, and with his subsuquent escape from Impel
Down, it was boundto
"Hai~!"
"You'll have to be," Naruto chuckled softly, "I'm going to need him
once we land; we'll be cutting a path right through the enemy."
"That doesn't change the fact that we're still falling!" Shikamaru
shouted, struggling to make himself heard over the increasingly high
pitched wind. "Someone do something before we crash!"
"Well?!"
"I'm already doing all I can." Naruto shrugged. "My wind is the only
reason we haven't dashed ourselves on the ice yet."
Kabuto, a peculiar marine they'd found aboard the ship-and the sole
survivor of the massacre made to hijack this very vessel-quietly
adjusted his spectacles with an off hand. "If you'd like, I could
calculate our chances of being shot down before we'd hit the ground.
There's a seventy-five percent ratio a cannon will target us long
before-
"Why not?" the young man inquired. "We're both fugitives from
justice now, aren't we? The only difference is that I know which way
the wind's blowing." The subtle dig left the normaly level-headed
navigator flush with anger, his cheeks flaring a rare red in the wind/
That earned a few laughs from the Wraith Crew, the silver-haired
man hadn't indicated his allegiance toward either side yet, he was
merely along for the ride. He claimd to have no special skillset, no
weapon save a odd-looking scalpel strapped to his belt, and subpar
medical talent at best; he knew how to bandage a wound and keep it
from becoming infected-something of a staple considering the
wounds Kenpachi had sustained after his brief scuffle with Naruto in
Impel Down. Not a pirate, and yet no longer a marine. Neither
enemy, nor ally.
Killer Bee harumphed agreement at that, clinging to the mast with all
his might. "Yo, bro! Just go with the flow!"
"That 'flow' of yours better not involve us getting crushed against the
ice!" Tayuya piped in, her hazel eyes nervously regarding the fast
approaching glaciers below, red dress fluttering wildly. Naruto's wind
had slowed their descent enough to try and make their landing
"salvageable" but even then there was only so much he could do. In
a few seconds-a minute at most-they were going to announce their
arrival. Whether they wanted to or not.
"Again?"
"How'd ya do it?" Just like any musician, Tayuya loved a good story.
Even if had to be told while they were falling to their death.
"Lured a guard in close and gouged his eyes out." She replied
matter-of-factly. "Remember babe, men are easy, its the women you
gotta watch out for. There never were enough of them in the
marines…"
"You were a marine?!"
"Was." For the first time since they'd met her, a touch of anger
entered Tenten's tone, her slender fingers grinding around the hilt of
her knife. "I'd always wanted to be one ever since I was a little girl. It
was a dream of mine, you know? Go out to sea, travel the world, kill
a few pirates. Oh, my bad." Her words faltered at Naruto's
questioning stare. "I'm not like that now. You guys are alright. Its just,
back then, I was convinced he was right, that absolute justice was
the way to go. I mean, he was my dad, and all."
"You mean…?
"And you still haven't?" Naruto frowned; something about her being
the daughter of Akainu didn't sit well with him; how would she react
to facing her father down there. On the other hand, he knew a thing
or two when it came to familial issues; though he couldn't claim his
past with Whitebeard to be anywhere near as storied.
Just like that, her cheery grin returned. "Still haven't. If I see my old
man down there, I'll bury a knife in his chest.
Tayuya sweatdropped.
"I think she's quite chipper." Mei, much like Naruto, didn't share the
fear of falling to death; her logia body prevented any such
happenstance. What did worry her however was the water. She'd
never been that much of a strong swimmer even before she'd eaten
the Kiri Kiri no mi, the thought of coming so far, only to be met with a
watery grave… was disquieting. Naruto shared her fear but he
refused to let it show, or leat Shikamaru's shouts of concern derail
him from his excitment. Why couldn't that lazy fool see? It wasn't the
destination that mattered, it was the ride along the way! They were
finally here!
"Maybe the boy's right," the grave voice of their shipwright finally
interjected, making his opinion known. "If we hit the ice, even I won't
be able to salvage the ship and without it… how do you plan to
escape from here, captain?" Naruto craned his neck and squined
toward Senju Hashirama, regarding the newly-armored man with a
faint curiosity. He'd spoken very little since they'd first met, preferring
instead to relegate himself to the task of tending to the ship, mending
the wounds it had sustained during their hostile takeover.
The great galleon was indeed massive; Hashirama had been fussing
over it ever since they'd climbed aboard, tinkering with it ways that
Naruto couldn't comprehend. Naruto silently applauded Sasuke for
finding the shipwright; the man was a born natural-a complete
master of his craft. It certainly helped that he had command over
wood thanks to his devil fruit. One might think that the Paramecia
wasn't suited for combat, but Naruto had seen firsthand what he
could do when provoed. A logia he might not be, but the man
wielded his power in ways Naruto wouldn't have thought possible.
He was a fighter alright, just like the rest of thems in his own way;
how else would your head be worth four hundred and twenty-five
mil? Whatever he'd done, he must've really pissed someone off.
But what the devil had he done to land himself in Impel Down? That
was truly the question of the hour, an answer Naruto didn't think he'd
ever have.
… very well." he conceded at last. "Assuming we survive the battle
to come, I'd welcome the chance to sail on such a ship."
"Dorgenark?"
"Next!"
"Konoha?"
"Are you crazy? That's the most common name there is!"
"Malestrom?"
… maybe?"
"Oh, right." Naruto smacked a fist into his palm. "A doctor! Did we
get one of those? No?" His grin only grew as a shudder ran through
his crew. "Huh. Knew I forgot something." For a long moment there
was a silence, broken only the howling of the wind and the sound of
conflict below. And then. And then.
"YOU FORGOT?!"
"Really?"
Then there was no more time for thought. The ice was mere
millimeters away now-any and all conversation would have to wait
until later. Much later. The galleon convulsed as Hashirama's
fortifications came apart, the keel all but shattering as the heavy
vessel made contact with the frozen bay. For a terrifying instant
everyone feared the ship wouldn't hold. But then the ice broke
beneath them, exploding outward in a sea of salty and spray. But
their ordeal wasn't over yet.
"Brace yourselves, we're going to hit the-
BA-KRAM!
"… she does mean everyone but us, right? Seriously guys, I'm not
ready to die yet…
Fleet Admiral Sengoku felt his jaw fall from his face as he beheld the
gallery of rogues standing before him. Not only had Monkey D. Luffy
landed in the thick of the fighting, but there, on the ship opposite
him,a second vessel, carrying perhaps the most deadly criminals the
world had ever seen, and more than a few traitors to the cause of
justice. And there, standing at the helm of the second vessel, a
visage as legendary as it was all but terrifying, his whiskered face
pulled back in a fearsome smile.
Indeed, Naruto's grin could've made the darkest demon look tame. A
black gale circled his body to tug at his scarlet jacket and rustle
through his battered hair, belying his almost hellish appearance.
Cruel crimson-blue eyes balefully regarded the score of pirates and
marines down at his feet as though they were naught but ants, his
lips pulling back to expose those deadly canines. Two words snaked
past his lips, and yet they inspired fear in every single soldier and
pirate assembled before him.
"Hello, corpses!"
Across the battlefield, Edward Newgate felt his mouth twitch in the
beginnings of a grisly grin. Even in old age these eyes of his did not
lie-he knew that face. The same visage that had spat upon him and
cursed him for failing to save his mother, now older and worn,
endowed with experience and power beyond his years. He felt
strength return to these old bones of his, a fierce joy that outstripped
even the love he had for his sons and Ace surging through his veins,
leaving him feeling stronger than he'd ever felt before.
"I thought up a new move when we took down Magellan." the blonde
confessed. "Did you know a Hydra's an actual dragon?" His hand
drew back, fingers clenched into claws around the hilt of his blade.
Sasuke always'd meant to ask him where he'd gotten that weapon,
whom he'd claimed it from. It seemed to glow now in his grasp, the
seafoam-colored blade pulsating an unnatural green as he held it. A
crazed grin tore across his face just then as he breathed in and out,
the silent harbinger of what was to come. The wind rose around him,
angry and keening for marine blood. Blood he would gladly give.
With a grunt, the blond dropped it. He did not drop the blade, as in
release it, he simpl dropped the sword, cutting down in a motion so
sudden and swift, it was nearly invisible to the human gaze. Uchiha
Sasuke's eyes were anything but human however, he saw what
Naruto was aiming for; not the admiral, but the wall itself. Marineford
exploded. Chunks of stone and masonry blew outward and drifted
like paper on the breeze, debris and bodies sailing as one in all
directions as the slash made its mark.
There could be no other word for it; one moment the walll was there
the next it was just… gone. One swing of his blade had done the
deed, its edge naked one moment, then sheathed the next.
"He cut through the wall with just one swing!" A marine screamed.
"Alright you dogs… listen up! This is an order from your captain!" His
voice thundered across the frozen tundra, making itself known to all
alongside his wilde smile. "I hereby order you, each and every one of
you, to…
"… GO WILD!"
(Preview)
Now if he could just get past Whitebeard and join the battle! He
hissed in pain as a bloody trench opened his chest, the crimson stain
virtually invisible amidst his coat. Ever since that boy had set foot in
Marineford, he had caught a second wind. If he didn't know better,
he'd wager that the old man was actually happy…
"Inugami Guren!"
Edward Newgate spat out a bloody gob, and incre dibly, stood up
again. His white mustache bristled above his smile, a throat
"Gurararara!" tearing its way out of his throat. Pride swelled in his
chest as he watched that boy; pride not just for himself, but that his
son's-Minato's-legacy lived on through his pchild. His grandson.
Gripping his halberd with renewed purpose, the strongest man in the
world dragged his aching body upright a second later, rising to his
full, towering height. Even wounded he was was a fearsome sight.
How much more could he take?!
What had that boy said to him back there to give him such resolve?!
"He's not that easy to kill!" Cracks formed as his fist slammed into
the air, the Tremor Tremor fruit wreaking havoc on the battlefield
once more. Akainu had only an instant to register that before he was
flung forth from his feet, the man's massive hand closing around his
throat in a crushing vice.
For a long moment Akainu said nothing, his right arm pulsating an
eerie shade of scarlet/crimson as he hung there, trapped within the
larger man's grasp. "Hell-hound." A single word hissed through
clenched teeth as he brought that arm around, sheathing the molten
limb elbow deep in the man's chest. For the first time in nearly a
decade Whitebeard staggered. He tasted blood when he breathed.
Crippling pain his chest, numbness in his legs and heat in places
where it should not be, heat everywhere…
"Guh… !"
"Old man?!"
R&R! =D
Of Gods and Men
A/N: REJOICE! YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER UPDATE! Alright ladies
and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm
fresh out of my surgery-hurts like hell!-and I managed to put
this up here at points between the forced anesthetic. Bad news
is I still have more surgeries ahead. Still, I'm feeling a bit better
now. Really. I'm hanging tough though, having just come out of
my first surgery… with two more to go! UUUUUGH! I'm on
painkillers almost daily and I feel like crap, as to that effect. But
nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I wanted to get
word out any way I could, and since for some strange reason
the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on this anywhere
near as much as I would've liked. Still…
So I'll skip the introduction, but might I advise you to reread the
story? Just in case you've forgotten anything.
~?
"Alright you dogs… listen up! This is an order from your captain!"
Naruto's voice thundered across the frozen tundra, making itself
known to all alongside his wild, earsplitting smile. "I hereby order
you, each and every one of you, to…
"… GO WILD!"
Two words. A simple order. A declaration. That was all. And yet the
response couldn't have been swifter. In the time it took for him to
finish forming that sentence and close his mouth, Zaraki, Sasuke,
and even Tenten had already took out their weapons out -or in the
third's case knives- drawing swords before he could order them
otherwise. The sight of that alone evoked utter panic in the marines,
fear rippling through their ranks in unseen waves as they beheld the
deadly marauders assembled before them; they didn't even have
wherewithall to retreat.
"DIE! ASSHOLES!"
Tayuya was the first to draw blood; her ordinarilly crass voice lashing
out in a sonic scream that bent the galleon's hull and splintered ice in
every direction. Those fool enough to fall within earshot suffered
greatly; they experienced internal hemhoraging on a massive scale
as their organs burst and ruptured within their own bodies, leaving
them utterly powerless to her second volley. When the shockwave hit
they could only blunder to their doom, screaming as the ice
shattered beneath their feet and sent them plummeting into the frigid
waters of the bay.
Those that could swim soon found themselves wishing they hadn't;
because a hail of weaponry descended from the skies to take their
lives. A dreadful shower of forks, knives, sharpened shards of wood,
steel, anything and everything with any sort of edge fell upon them,
skewering arms, legs, and in many cases, heads. Tenten smiled as
she observed her heinous handiwork-the time she'd spent aboard
the galleon during their journey had not been wasted. In the
ensusing seconds, she lived up to her title of "Shoot Anything"
hurling all manner of weapons-some mundane, others improvised-
into the incapaicitated horde Tayuya's shout had left behind for her
with frightening accuracy.
Trapped between the weapon fire and that god-awful wailing, most
were cut to ribbons almost instantly. Those few that somehow
managed to withstand Tayuya's deadly voice and evade Tenten's
inhuman sights found themselves at the mercy of Kenpachi and
Sasuke's blades; their was no quarter to be had there either. The
waters of the bay were soon stained red with marine blood. It was…
almost too easy. Where were the officers, and the Vice-Admirals?
Surely they hadn't gone down so easily. Unless… !
"You're just too strong, Ken-chan!" Yachiru beamed from atop his
shoulder.
Indeed, it could be said that for every marine the Wraiths hadn't
slain, they'd done the most damage; incapacitating nearly a fourth of
the soldiers alone and leaving the others utterly terrified with their
brutal display of teamwork. What remained was left in utter dissarray,
retreating shrieking to higher ground-despite the orders of their
superiors to stay and fight. A dull 'boom' rumbled from somewhere
beyond the courtyard, signalling the deployment of cannons to the
battlefield.
Alas, that was before Mei exhaled, expelling a mist so acidic that it
could melt the flesh off a grown man. And it did just that; Naruto
summoned up a gust of wind with a wave of his wrist, blowing the
deadly cloud away from his allies and after the retreating enemy
force. At first, nothing happened. Then the screaming started,
sounds of dismay and despair trickling bak through the foul fog to
reward their efforts. Left with nowheres for them to run, the marine
flank was forced to retreat from their retreat, forced away from the
searing fog and into the waiting arms of the Wraiths once more.
"Bee?"
"Hashirama!"
The shipwright nodded and clasped both hands together, his arms
craned in the direction of the floundering soldiers.
Even as they fought to catch their breath the galleons came alive
around them. Literally. Roots erupted from the ship's woood,
thousands of angry, writhing tendrils swarming down over the
soldiers before they had the chance to even mount a counterattack.
Entire platoons were crushed beneath the rapidly growing trees, the
great oaks drinking deep of their lives to claim even more. As they
looked on, the roots took up larger shapes and forms, crreating
crude legs by which to move the very vessels themselves. But the
old shipwright wasn't entirely reliant upon his abilities alone, Naruto
watched him viciously backhand a marine that strayed far too close
to their vanguard, snapping the man's neck like a twig.
"Oi, Yachiru." Kenpachi rumbled darkly. "Get off, its about to get
rough."
"Hai~!"
"Fire at will!"
There was a deep crack of cannon fire and all her struggles were
suddenly forgotten; dozens of cannonballs converging on their
position in an instant. Sasuke snarled something sinister beneath his
breath- and became engulfed in violet flames. A towering creature of
bone and fire arose from nothingness, its massive ribcage engulfing
the crew, its large arms crossing in a phantom X even as the mortar
fire reached their position. Their world erupted in a muffled retort; not
the massive explosion she'd been expeting. explosion She might've
found it funny, had it not saved their lives.
"Well this is new." Tayuya murrmurred, peeking out from under the
indigo veil. "Since when can you do that?"
"A long time now." Sasuke replied, his tone only slightly strained.
"Using it places too much strain on my body, though." Even as he
spoke the towering skeleton sagged, its glowing eyes growing dim
as the energies the Uchiha supplied were severed. Within seconds it
was gone, dissipating into harmless embers as they looked on.
"Bah," Kenpachi rumbled. "That ain't shit. I bet you couldn't kill a
dozen men without using yer fancy powers."
The swordsman licked his lips. "I like the sound of that!"
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Kenpachi was all but berserk
with bloodlust by this point, his eyes carrying that strange golden
sheen once more. "I'll slaughter them all myself!" Yachiru seemed to
be of a similair, albeit lesser mind.
"Go Ken-chan!"
"Die?! Killer Bee feigned shock. "Baka Yarou, Kono Yarou! Say that
again and I'll make ya fly!"
"Naruto, I-
"I'll accompany you." Kabuto volunteered suddenly, cutting her off. "I
have some business with Shirohige as well."
"Suit yourself." the blond shrugged. He risked one last blance back
at her, wondering what it was she'd been about to say. Maybe… no.
Whatever it was could wait.
"You ass," she grumbled as they whispered away with the winds.
"Better not get yourself killed…
Shirohige sighed one more feeling the weight of his age. It had
begun to press down on him as of late, he was getting too damned
old for this shit. Naruto and his Wraiths were the new age; perhaps it
was time he had someone replace him, time to step down and live
out the rest of his life hin peace.
Marco frowned as the wind began to pick up, gradually resolving into
a familiar form. "Pops, isn't that…
Naruto turned away from the battle to regard Kabuto Yakushi with a
friendly, yet wary eye. The marine had disembarked with him when
he'd sent out his crew but he'd refrained from attacking or even
speaking. Until now. Now, when they were far away from the others.
He looked perversely pleased with himself, his smile almost
serpentine in its intensity. As if he'd seen all that he needed to see,
and now was the time to make his escape. Or perhaps a surprise
attack? One could never be certain with him.
"Perish the thought." the young man smiled slightly. "I'm just going to
report to my superior." Impossibly, his grin grew even wider.
"Madara-sama sends his regards and wishes you victory in your
battles." None of the crew would've reacted to that name, however,
Naruto felt blood freeze in his veins. Madara? The man who'd
broken him out of prison to begin with? Before he could further
inquire Kabuto retreated, first one step, then another, vanishing into
the fog of war that they themselves had created. It took everything
he had not to follow.
Edward Newgate was getting old. He didn't have very many years
left in him, and his lifespan would likely be shorter still, assuming he
survived this battle. But this was one that needed be fought, one that
he had tried his utmost to ignore for the last decade. Try as he might,
he could put if off no longer.
There were only three things in which Shirohige had failed, during
his lifetime; Minato had been the first. He'd failed to protect his son
when he'd needed him the most. Then, years later he had failed to
protect Minato's wife, the younger sister of Red-Haired Shanks,
Kushina. His third and final mistake stood before him now glaring
bloody red daggers into his chest. Uzumaki Naruto. He should've
brought the brat with him by force back then, when there was still
time. Even if it made the boy hate him more than he did now.
Anything would be better than this.
Still, he couldn't quite conceal that squint of pride in his gaze when
his grandson alighted atop the Moby Dick. Naruto had never set foot
upon his flagship before; those blue eyes -Minato's eyes- took a brief
moment to survery his surroundings. Wary, even here in the field of
battle. Good. His senses were still sharp after his time spent in Impel
Down.
"Move."
"But Pops…
"Marco."
The First Division Commander visibly wilted under the stare and
stepped aside. Naruto elobwed him aside roughly, and then he was
there. Each Newgate stood across from one another both young and
old, the herald of a new era on one side, and an remnant of the old
on the other.
And then.
WHAM!
"That," the blond hissed as he took his arm away, "Was for my
mother. I'd do more, but the way I see it, you don't have much time
left."
"You're a right pompous ass, you know that?" Naruto's words caught
him flatfooted, unguarded. "Where the hell were you when I needed
ya? When my dad-your son-need you? When my mother needed
you? When the world came after me for being your grandkid? When
Blackbeard ran amok? Don't be a dick and say you were there for
me; because you fucking weren't! Not one damned bit! And when
you do show up the figihting was over! Its always over! Each time!
Every time!"
… is that it?"
"Yehahaha!"
Mihawk barely heard the voice, barely had time to cut down his
hapless opponent and disengage before a ragged blade swung
down at his head. Even then his subsuquent parry still left him with
an opening wound. The now thin slice on his cheek wept openly; the
first injury he'd sustained in nearly two years now. But it wasn't the
wound that sent a silient shiver through his body. That blade. That
voice. He knew them both well, and a quiet chill swept through him
as his next opponent strode forth out of the smoke, his jagged blade
swung lazily over one shoulder, his eyes wide and golden with
unspeakable power and intent.
"Oh, if isn't Hawk Eye!" the madman grinned. "Long time no see!
Heard you became the "Best Swordsman" while I was locked up."
Incredibly, that toothy grin only grew. "Wonder how you good you
really are?"
"Kenpachi… Zaraki!"
The man's only response was to grin and bring the blade crashing
down at Mihawk's head. Again the swordsman parried, but the sheer
strength behind that blow set his arms to screaming. He leapt away
but Kenpachi was already upon him, not giving him the distance he
so desperately desired. There was no semblance or arte to his
defense; it just wasn't even there at all. The man simply attacked
attacked and attacked again. As if he didn't care whethere he died or
not, as if death was merely another phase of life for him; and it took
Mihawke entirely out of himself.
"Oi, what's wrong?!" Kenaphi bellowed back at him, swatting aside
the giant black blade with an almost twisted ease . "I expected the
world's strongest swordsman to do better than this!"
"Hmmm?"
"You're bending your knee too much at the appex there," Hashirama
Senju admonished lightly, the slanted yellow irises of his sage
powers narrow and intent as he bobbed and weaved amidst
lightspeed blows-raising a hand or lowering a leg to deflect on
occasion, the slightest sheen of sweat the only sign that he was truly
exerting himself. "Perhaps you should try-oh!" There it was again! He
reacted far too quickly, catching his heel a heartbeat later, stalling
him in mid-kick without so much as batting an eyelash.
Zing!
His free hand shot upward, effortlessly blocking the Ama no
Murakamo sword. Kizaru once more found himself baffled; he'd
expected to slice right through-but no! A thin veneer of wood coated
the man's hand, keeping his palm whole and intact, leavint the light-
blade locked helplessly in place. Hashirama heaved a slight sigh.
"Now now," he soothed, "I wasn't done giving my lesson. And the
bone goes breaaaaak~"
"Aaaargh!"
The Senju offered a slight smile as he watched the taller man writhe
at his feet..
The Ito Ito no Mi had been more of a liability than a boon in this
battle; his string string fruit simply hadn't been able to grasp his
opponent for more than a moment at best before she misted away.
Being a logia simply worked in her favor. With the sea so close she
could disappear and reappear at will, using her fog-like mist to burn
through his strings thanks in part to her ability. He daren't come
closer enough to administer a killling blow, for fear of sufffering that
very same fate. He had the burns to prove it. That damned kid had
chosen his crew well; he'd set himself up with the wors possible
opponent!
Deadlock.
Mei Terumi exhaled softly, a thin miasma of fog leaking from her lips.
Now if he could just get past Whitebeard and join the battle! He
hissed in pain as a bloody trench opened his chest, the crimson stain
virtually invisible amidst his coat. Ever since that boy had set foot in
Marineford, he had caught a second wind. If he didn't know better,
he'd wager that the old man was actually happy…
"Inugami Guren!"
What had that boy said to him back there to give him such resolve?!
"He's not that easy to kill!" Cracks formed as his fist slammed into
the air, the Tremor Tremor fruit wreaking havoc on the battlefield
once more. Akainu had only an instant to register that before he was
flung forth from his feet, the man's massive hand closing around his
throat in a crushing vice.
For a long moment Akainu said nothing, his right arm pulsating an
eerie shade of scarlet/crimson as he hung there, trapped within the
larger man's grasp. "Hell-hound." A single word hissed through
clenched teeth as he brought that arm around, sheathing the molten
limb elbow deep in the man's chest. For the first time in nearly a
decade Whitebeard staggered. He tasted blood when he breathed.
Crippling pain his chest, numbness in his legs and heat in places
where it should not be, heat everywhere…
"Guh… !"
"OLD MAN!"
He turned, hurricane in hand, only for a glint of steel caught his eye;
the blur of thrown metal shooting past him like a small comet. It was
gone and past him almost before he realized it-the flying blade
arcing end over end as it passed him by. Someone raced after it,
snatching a knife up off the battlefield, racing on ahead of him in a
blur of black and white.
Tenten?!
Perhaps it was the fact that she was his daughter. Perhaps he simply
did think she had it in her to kill him in cold blood. Perhaps a touch of
sentiment remained from his days as her father. Whatever the case,
Sakazuki found himself entirely unprepared as Tenten leapt upon
him, driving both knives deep into his shoulders. The red admiral
roared in surprise and pain, clutching at the now-spurting wounds
that adjourned the lengths of his backside. Pain bent him double; but
it wasn't just pain of the body, pain at being denied him his chance to
finish Whitebard off.
It hurt, knowing that his legacy had finally decided to openly betray
him. He'd extended an olive branch in the vain hope that Tenten
might come to her senses someday, see the error of her ways. There
was no chance of that now. Not now, as his only child drove the knife
deeper into his back. Fury roared across his visage, anger
overtaking him at the sheer impudence of his own progeny's
betrayal.
"Begone!"
Time seemed to unfold very slowly at that. One moment Tenten was
stabbing her old man with unstoppable fury; the next, she was the
one screaming, falling away, clutching at her burned stomach. His
attack… it had gone right through her gut, burning its way out the
other side in a shower of blood and burned intestines. Her body
crumpled to the ground, broken and beaten, her chest no longer
rising and falling with life. Kami, the bastard… he'd attacked his own
daughter! Gored her, in cold blood! He didn't even know if she was
dead. If his grandather was dead.
Something snapped.
(Preview)
Now, with only grandpa Garp left guarding him, it was only a matter
of time before someone tried to be a hero-
"Demonic Sonata/ Ten Sword Style!"
Ah.
"What?"
"'Sup?" she raised a hand in greeting. "My boss sends his regards.
We're here to bust you out."
"We?"
"Who're-
"Wheee! The name's Killer Bee! Now its time ta' set ya free!"
"Yeah, ignore him. He's an idiot."
Tayuya said nothing more; quietly kneeling behind him. The click of a
key openng the lock was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.
The last son of Gol D. Roger felt strength flood his veins, angry
embers licking a trail of fire down his flesh as his power came
flooding back to him. Grimacing he stood, forcing himself to stand on
sleeping legs, his lower body numb from kneeling for so many hours.
Power roared through him and he welcomed it with relief. It seemed
today wasn't his day to die after all.
The redhead turned her gaze aside, her mouth set in a slight
grimace. Was that fear or consternation that tightened her brow?
"He's… preoccupied."
R&R! =D
Inferno
A/N: REJOICE! YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER UPDATE! Alright ladies
and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm
fresh out of my surgery-hurts like hell!-and I managed to put
this up here at points between the forced anesthetic. Bad news
is I still have more surgeries ahead. Still, I'm feeling a bit better
now. Really. I'm hanging tough though, having just come out of
my first surgery… with two more to go! UUUUUGH! I'm on
painkillers almost daily and I feel like crap, as to that effect. But
nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I wanted to get
word out any way I could, and since for some strange reason
the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on this anywhere
near as much as I would've liked. Still…
So I'll skip the introduction, but might I advise you to reread the
story? Just in case you've forgotten anything.
~?
Inferno
Marineford was a hurricane and Sakazuki stood in its eye. The wind
shouted obscenties at him, roaring and raving nonsensical gibberish
as the storm raged around them, walling everyone else out. That
suited the man just fine. He had no idea of what was coming his
way; couldnt feel the killer intent a mile away. It was so tempting to
go after Whitebeard now, to finish the man off, while he was
wounded. But even a wounded animal could bite and knowing
Shirohige, the man just might take him with him before he went into
that cold black abyss. Still, the temptation was there…
Akainu ignored it, his attention remained decisively elsewhere.
Because his daughter lay only feet away, her visage a mask of anger
and sweat, her hands frantically scrabblong at her stomach in a vain
attempt to keep her insides from spilling out onto the frozen ground.
Tch. For a moment he'd thought her dead on the spot. But no, she'd
lurched back to life, grabbing at her guts almost before she'd hit the
ground. Was that seastone chainmail he glimpsed beneath the
ragged tear of her shirt? Clever girl, making something like that. Just
like her mother.
The ringlets had done little to absorb something like his magma, but
they'd weakened just enough of the blast that his daughter had
sustained a surviveable hole in her stomach, rather than a mortal,
gaping tear in her chest as he'd originally intended. She might live…
assuming she received immediate medical attention. Pity she
wouldn't be getting it. He raised his arm with intent, magma boiling at
the edge of his elbow, searing forth across his bloodied shoulder to
meet his hand. They locked eyes then, father and daughter.
"So that's it, huh?" her words were little more than a growl. "Not even
a "hello dear", or "how have you been" from you? Yer just gonna kill
me?"
His words ended in a pained hiss as his daughter arched her back
and spat; expelling a series of razor-sharp senbon needless directly
into his kneecap. The haki-laced projectiles caused him no small
amount of pain but it was the knowledge that his daughter had once
more gotten the best of him that truly galled the admiral. Just where
did the girl keep all these weapons?!
"Looks like I was right," she gloated, though her face had since
begun to pale and become slicked with sweat. "you're still just as
much of an ass as you were four years ago."
Da-ching!
"Yup."
"Ah, christ-
"MOTHERUCKER!"
Pain.
"Hellhound!"
"Itai!" She yelped, tightening the bindings still further, ripping the rest
of her sleeve into strips. Tenten was no doctor, but like any marine,
she knew the basics of first aid. Always bind the wound. Disenfect if
you could; if not, then hope for the best. Ha! Her own papa had just
obliterated her apendix and scorched half her insides. Infection was
the least of her worries at the moment, the idea of dying proved far
more troublesome. She needed medical attention and soon; if she
didn't see a proper doctor within the hour…
"Shit," she coughed, flecks of blood spattering the ice. "And I thought
Tayuya had a foul mouth… owowowow oh gods, hurts to laugh." To
think, she would die like this, after coming so far. God, this sucked.
At least she had managed to stab her old man once for what he'd
done to mom-
"Ara, you mean the one I just finished treating? He's already up and
about. I warned him not to overdo it, but he should be fine so long as
he doesn't overtax himself." As if to mock those very words, a heart-
wrenching explosion ripped through marineford seconds later, the
power of the Gura Gura no mi manifesting itself in full force once
more. "I'm surprise he could endure such wounds, even with my
treatments…
"Eh?" But how was that possible? Akainu had burned out his insides!
How the hell was that old man still moving? More importantly, how
had Unohanna healed him?!
Retsu's smile grew, ever so slightly. "I'm very good at what I do, dear.
Now let me see your wound-oh my. Your father did this to you?"
"ENOUGH OF YOU!"
"A little fight in ya, eh?" The Don sneered, pulling her closer,
snickering as thin cuts began to appear aross her bare shoulders. "I
like that-
A hand closed around his shoulder, spinning him right round to face
them. Their visage struck a cord somewhere deep within him; this
kid, why the hell did he look like Itach-
"Tsukiyomi!"
The last thing the Shichibukai saw were those hellish eyes looming
before him. That was his first and last mistake. Pain flared beheind
his gaze, hellish images flaring before his mind in rapid succession;
mental torture of the highest degree and calibre-so painful he never
even felt the blade slide between his ribs to pierce his liver. Perhaps
that was cruel of the young Uchiha. Perhaps not. Whatever the case
Donflamingo would not die a quick death that day, assuming he died
at all. His body crumpled like a sack of bloody potatoes, sinking to
the ground amidst an ever-growing pool of blood. Live or die, his part
in the battle was done.
"You alright?"
"Ara, Sasuke-kun." Mei purred, surprised, yet grateful for his timely
intervention. "I appreciate the assistance, but what happened to
Aokiji?"
"About that-
"Halt, fiend!"
Sasuke blanched, a rare look of discomfort overcoming him as his
head snapped in the opposite direction. Mei craned her neck
towards the voice, her teal eyes widening ever so slightly as a pair of
figures distinguished themselves in the gloom, standing proudly
amidst the fog of war raging back and forth around them. What she
saw there elicted an arched eyebrow. Bushy brows, dark hair,
matching outfits. These fellows why did they feel the need to wear
wearing green jumpsuits beneath their marine uniforms and why oh
why did those uniforms have to be skintight…?
"Hell no!" the Uchiha retorted with virulence. "I've been trying to get
away from them for the last five minutes! They won't leave me
alone!"
"By the power of youth I will defeat you, Uchiha Sasuke!" the
younger of the pair declared, stepping forward. "Now turn yourself
over and surrender!"
"That's the way, Lee!" the older of the two encouraged. "Show him
power of your youth!"
"Yosh, Gai-sensei!"
It took everything Mei had not to melt their bones right then and
there. All this blathering of you and whatnot… it was enough to strain
even her legendary patience. And that was saying something!
Mei chuckled.
"Both."
"Do not think you can ignore us, pirates!" Rock Lee shouted loudly,
garnering their attention once more. "If you will not surrender then
you leave me
Sasuke's visage turned fearsome. "Oh? You saw what we just did to
that Shichibukai over there. Do you really want a piece of us? I admit
you're a bit of a problem for me alone, but two on two?" Impossibly,
those eyes seemed to darken, warping from scary to downright
murderous. "We'll kill in you in less than a minute." Lee actually
faltered for a moment, his courage threatening to evaporate in the
face of their combined front. Alas, it simply did not last.
"Lee!
"Gai-sensei!"
"LEE~!
"GAI-SENSEI~!"
Sasuke sighed.
"I hope Hashirama's having better luck than we are…
What the hell was going on here?! He'd tried to take the man's
shadow, only to find himself like this; it had all happened so swiftly
he was still struggling to make sense of it. Now, Moria relied heavily
upon his Shadow Shadow Fruit to do the bulk of the fighting, but the
man had even done something to secure his doppleganger, pinning
it to the ground with these strange wooden stakes of his. Without the
power of his fruit to aid him, Moria was as helpless as a child, and it
showed in the way he struggled.
"I'm sorry youngin', but orders are orders." The last Senju replied.
"The moment you decided to attack me, your fate was sealed. I must
admit, even that admiral was more of a challenge than you."
"Um… right! Go to the right!" Together they cut past another clash of
pirates and marines, skirting the conflict, only to feel the temperature
plummet perilously. That was the only warning they had before all
hell broke loose, a wave of artic winds rushing down to slice them to
pieces. Aokiji made his appearance seconds later, swinging down at
them with all his considerable might.
"Ice Sabre!"
"But I thought you were a marine?! What good are you then if you
can't show me where to go?!"
"That hurt, you jerk!" But the younger pirate was right; they couldn't
dodge Aokiji forever, not in a battlefield like this. Still, he wasn't a
fighter! Not even remotely adept at close combat! He specialized in
long distance tactics, using the terrain and superior forces to
overwhelm his opponents. Having nothing but haki and a knife
was… disheartening to say the least. But no! He had to try! Make a
stand here! If he continued to run away while his nakama fought and
died around him… what kind of man did that make him?!
"Pineaplle-ossan?"
Luffy dithered only a moment longer, his fear for Ace winning out
against his fear for the older man.
"Hmm?" the icy admiral arched a frigid brow. "You're not running
anymore?"
"Well, you've got guts, I'll give you that." Kuzan replied. "But I know a
distraction when I see one. I think I'll just get rid of you and go on
after Strawhat…
"Crap…
"Ice-
"DORYAH!"
"Yo, Shikamaru." the man grunted. "Looks like you found somebody
strong. Mind if I cut in?"
'I'm saved!'
"B-Be my guest…
"Shit, this time its an admiral, too!" Kenpachi laughed; it was a deep,
throaty sound. "Lucky me. Hopefully you're good for more than a
warm up, ice boy."
A cloud of cold steam pushed past Aokiji's mouth, his lips furrowing
into a thin line as he considered this new foe. "Ararara, now I
recognize you. You're that guy who butched all those people in
Eneies Lobby. Kenpachi Zaraki, was it? What happened to Hawk
Eye? I thought he had you preocccupied."
"Waaas that me?" Zaraki returned with a grin. "Can't remember. But
as for Mihawk, I let 'em go for old time's sake, brat wasn't up ta par
after all these years." Shikamaru almost gulped at that. The man
was cut up all over and he didn't even consider that a warm up? This
guy wasn't just crazy… he was batshit insane! Unshouldering his
ragged blade, the master swordsman leveled the weapon at the icy
demon, eyes abrim with battleust, like a full cup about to overflow.
"Ain't got no reason to do that with you. Now, you gonna play with
that little shit, or are ya gonna fight a real opponent?!"
Both men turned as another figure resolved itself through the battle,
his red-armored figures distinctly striding towards them. His body
caked in blood-none of it his own-the yellow, slanted eyes of the
sage regarding his two comrades and the admiral with a frightening
disparity. Despite himself, Shikamaru gasped.
"Hashirama?"
"Stay away, Shikamaru." their shipwright warned. "I don't want you to
be caught up in this."
"Whaddya want, Senju?" the larger man growled, visible eye narrow
as he regarded his nakama. "This is my prey."
"I beg to differ." came the quiet reply. "I have a score to settle with
him."
"Ara, you mean Kizaru-san?" Hashirama smiled then, not his usuallly
friendly grin, but a ghastly grimace so chilling it made Aokiji himself
shudder in revulsion. "I left him in the esteemed care of the
Whitebeard Pirates, back in the plaza. You can rest assured he won't
be causing anymore trouble."
"And now I get this one!" Kenpachi bit out, waving his blade
dangerously close to the sage's head. "Ain't no way in hell I'm letting
you have two in one day!"
Now, with only grandpa Garp left guarding him, it was only a matter
of time before someone tried to be a hero-
Ah.
"What?"
"'Sup?" she raised a hand in greeting. "My boss sends his regards.
We're here to bust you out."
"We?"
"Who're-
"Wheee! The name's Killer Bee! Now its time ta' set ya free!"
Tayuya said nothing more; quietly kneeling behind him. The click of a
key openng the lock was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.
The last son of Gol D. Roger felt strength flood his veins, angry
embers licking a trail of fire down his flesh as his power came
flooding back to him. Grimacing he stood, forcing himself to stand on
sleeping legs, his lower body numb from kneeling for so many hours.
Power roared through him and he welcomed it with relief. It seemed
today wasn't his day to die after all.
"He's… preoccupied."
Or so he thought.
The marine admiral narrowly rolled to the side, his body chilled as
Naruto's sea-colored blade slammed into the ice, obliterating another
swathe of land with his blade. That deadly slash didn't stop there
however; it kept right on going, carving yet another swathe of
destruction into Marineford. Men and women alike were tossed
about like mere ragdolls; unable to do anything but scream
helplessly as their beloved base continued to fall apart around their
very ears.
"Out of the way, small fry!" Naruto growled as he swung the blade
forward.
"Yokouzan!" (Cursed Flame Slash)
A swirl of ghastly green fire burst from the blade's tip, engulfing the
soldiers before they could reach him, sending them shrieking to the
ground. His sword seemed to sing as they burned, devouring their
charred husks, growing stronger with each passing instant. Naruto
ignored them and their deaths, reaching down to take hold of
Sakazuki's collar. The Admiral's attempts to burn him were met with
emtpy atmosphere; one simply did not burn the air. The pirate only
drew him closer, his fingers digging fiercely into the lappels of the
man's jacket.
"She was your daughter!" He snarled, his words like knives in the
man's ears. "How could you do that to her?!"
"… IS A HURRICANE!"
Black wind leapt up to snare the admiral's broken body, ripping him
from the ground and battering into his body from every angle. This
was not pain. It was more than that. This… was torture. His every
wound cried out for solace and was given none as the gale drove
After an eternity trapped in that vortex he was finally released, flung
to the ground like a broken toy. Agony arched his spine-leaving him
vulnerable to any attack that'd been forthcoming, prepared in light of
this situation. If Uzumaki were to attack him now… he'd be helpless.
"How do you like my Seven Star Sword?" his words trailed after him,
dousing him with further mockeries, "It wasn't exactly easy to reforge
this thing when I found it, ya know. They say it causes madness in
whomever wields it but its actually funny, I'm feeling quite sane right
now. I suppose its curse doesn't affect those who've already delved
through the depths of insanity and emerged untouched. It seems to
want you dead just as much as I do, though. Lets remedy that, shall
we?" He took the blade from the wound and cut down again.
"Nothing can protect you from me." it hissed as it cut into his flesh;
cutting the air itself in twine whilst it sought his blood. " Not weapons,
not men, not armor…
"Inugami Guren!"
Naruto's blade snapped up in a block-removed from Akainu's flesh-
and he scrambled away like a drunken spider, putting some distance
between himself and this impossible fighter. "You…" he glared at
Naruto's defiant figure, almost unable to believe what -the hell- he'd
been put through because of this one simple action-because of this
mere man. This filth! This pirate! "I… will not… stand for this… !"
Droplets of magma coursed across his flesh, boiling at the ice
beneath their feet as his voice thundered out. "I WILL NOT STAND
FOR IT!"
"Too bad." Naruto's voice snaked into his ear-when had he gotten
behind him?!-causing the admiral to start in surprise. "You don't get a
say; not anymore."
"Yokouzan!"
That was when he saw it; there, just in the corner of his peripherals.
BAKRAM!
Akainu's face kissed the soil and the spell was broken-that'd bruise-
striking the terrain with enough force to make him bounce. Before he
could recover Naruto was there, opening a deep trench in his back
with his blade uncaring as the Shichiseiken sung its song of battle
and bloodlust. Yes, Naruto grinned, he deserves this! He-
"Boss!" Tayuya's voice split the air between them, jerking him out of
the depths. "We've got him!"
Now!
Akainu lashed out with the last of his strength, magma erupting from
his every pore; sights set upon the last of Roger's legacy. His fire
would be no match for his magma he'd burn right through the boy
before he ever knew what had happened. But nothing happened.
Instead he stared, gawped as found his advance inexplicably halted-
stalled against the unbreakable edge of Naruto's blade. Something
was wrong. Why couldn't he feel his everything? His arms? His legs?
He couldn't even move a muscle! It was only as he looked down,
saw the smooth steel sticking into his chest, that he realized what
had happend. The edge had pierced through that cloak of lava he
wore, penetrating his intangibility to strike at the one thing no human
thought he had. His heart. He was dead. And if not, soon would be.
"HIKEN!/MUKAIKAZE!"
"Hardening." Naruto muttered, his right arm turning black with the
power of haki, becoming impervious to even the most brutal of
blades. Instead of losing a limb to his opponent he simply stood
there, cold white eyes boring into the fleet admiral. His surprise
attack having failed completely, the man struggled to escape but the
Hurricane held him fast. Despite his Buddha form, he simply couldn't
tear himself away from the blonde. A silence passed between the
two men, infinite in its meaning.
His fist found purchase in the massive man's gut, shattering the
control over his fruit. Sengoku toppled forward with a gasp, his form
shrinking, golden sheen fading, as his body returned to its true form.
With his free hand. Naruto quietly tugged the Seven Star Sword from
Akainu's chest, the green blade still glimmering with the dying man's
blood. Sengoku had no doubt of what would happen next, yet in all
his might, he simply couldn't find a way to fight free. His free hand
smashed relentlessly against the boy's face but he'd hardened that
too, and merely received a broken knuckle for his efforts. Naruto
didn't even so much as flinch, his lips parting for a slight sigh.
"Tayuya?" He spoke softly, his gaze falling to the small form still
perched on her back. "Yachiru?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't look."
(Preview)
"Oi oi," A strong hand clasped his shoulder, Shanks' palm the only
thing restraining him from lashing out. His uncle-surprise surprise-
had arrived here and the end of the battle-at the loss of so many, to
effectively bring the War of the Best to a close. The last living link to
his mother-excluding Whitebeard-standing here beside him.
"My thanks to you as well, Red Hair!" The stranger laughed loudly,
the lone eye of his mask turning to regard the emperor. "It is only
fitting that you of all people, be here to witness this! The day the
World Government was brought low, down to its knees! The day I
abolished it and gave rise to a new world!"
Marines and Pirates alike glanced about, wondering just who this
masked madman was. Who he claimed to be.
"It will be the dawn of a new era!" His voice rang out loudly across
the yard, speaking to all assembled. "A new organization, one truly
dedicated to world peace! To prosperity! A world, where no one will
suffer! Where there are no losers, only the winners! Long have I
strived from shadows to reach this goal, and now you, each and
evey one of you, shall see it come to fruition! The name of this
organization, you ask? Why, it is none other than…
"Akatsuki!"
"New era?" Naruto finally found his voice, eyes flashing a dangerous
red. "World peace? You know what I think of that, as a pirate?"
"Do tell."
R&R! =D
Mastermind
A/N: REJOICE! YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER UPDATE! Alright ladies
and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm
fresh out of my surgery-hurts like hell!-and I managed to put
this up here at points between the forced anesthetic. Bad news
is I still have more surgeries ahead. Still, I'm feeling a bit better
now. Really. I'm hanging tough though, having just come out of
my first surgery… with two more to go! UUUUUGH! I'm on
painkillers almost daily and I feel like crap, as to that effect. But
nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I wanted to get
word out any way I could, and since for some strange reason
the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on this anywhere
near as much as I would've liked. Still…
So I'll skip the introduction, but might I advise you to reread the
story? Just in case you've forgotten anything.
~?
Mastermind
On one hand, he had just slain two of the most powerful men the
marines had to offer, mere minutes apart. His blade was still bathed
in their blood, greedily gobbling up their strength and adding it to his
own. And yet he knew Sengoku's death hadn't just come at his
hands. Were it not for Ace and Tayuya he might have had the
opening at all, might still be fighting -and losing-against one of the
greatest marines he'd ever known. He had killed the world's
mightiest marine through luck, and luck alone. Teamwork was what
had felled the Fleet Admiral; he'd merely administered the killing
blow.
Naruto stared down at his soaked sword, the seven stars of its
surface still gleaming brightly. "I guess so." Grunting, he reached
down for the admiral's head, hefting it was though it were but a
baubble and tying it into his belt. There. The death of their
Commander-and-Chief should be enough to convince the marines of
their plight. Brutal, but effective. Atop Tayuya, Yachiru averted her
eyes, grimacing at the sight. Naruto chose very carefully to ignore
her, instead turning to Akainu, the last of his troubles still bleeding
out only yards away. Impossibly the Red Dog was still alive, though
not for much longer.
Even now, he could feel the light that was Tenten in his mind,
registering as a flickering flame within his haki. She too, was alive.
The difference being she would live to see another day. Relief
flooded him like a wave, a surge of incredible joy momentarily
blotting out his anger. Stills, he was almost grateful for her abscence
now; though the gunner loathed her old man, Naruto was certain she
wouldn't want to see what he was about to do next. But it had to be
done. He'd tell her the truth of it all later
Akainu still lay on his back, covered in his own blood, but he turned a
dark iris to regard the Wraith when he approached.
"… here to finish me off?" his words were little more than a whisper.
Naruto nodded.
"In case you're wondering, its over." he began, nudging the dying
man in the side with his boot-rolling him over so that his final sight
might be of the sky. "Sengoku is dead and the battle is lost. Your
daughter survived though; someone must've found her and applied
first aid. She'll live. Thought you should know."
"I have to finish you off now," Naruto found the words tasted like ash
in his throat. "Can't risk you coming back to kill us."
"…"
"STOP/ACE!"
"Tenten?!"
"Lu-Luffy?!"
Both men openly guffawed, relieved to see their loved ones in one
piece and only slightly worse for waer. Naruto was the first to move,
dimly registering Mugiwara's many profuse and profuse "Arigatou!"'s
as he pushed past, letting the brothers have their little celeberation.
"I feel like shit." she groaned. "Give me a hand here. I wanna talk to
my pops before… before…
"Yeah. I gotcha."
"Nope."
"What?"
… sorry."
"I almost died! And then you tried to finish me off! Now look at you!
You're the one dying because of what you did!"
… I'm sorry."
… I'm… sorry."
Naruto didn't know what to say to this reunion; he felt like a third
wheel, standing here, seeing something he'd rather not see. It was
like nothing he'd suspected. Now… he almost felt bad for ending the
man's life. Had he let his anger get the better of him, his wrath at
Tenten's injury overriding his better judgement. A glance at Luffy and
Ace said no; it hadn't been his original objective-but seeing the two
brothers reunited made him feel good inside. On the other hand,
he'd just taken a girl's father from her, no matter what their
relationship might've been. Sighing, he began to walk away, lest he
be caught unawares.
A few yards away stood a dark-haired woman, her pristine white coat
and tightly braided hair standing in eerie contrast to the chaos raging
around them. The fact that she was an admiral didn't even register
within his mind until she came closer, until she spoke; then it was
clear as day.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" her voice was soft and melifluous, the
voice of a healer.
… It is I who should be thanking you." her smile was just a touch too
sad for his liking, glancing away all too quickly. "My dislike for Akainu
was wellknown, but you may have redeemed him at the end." Naruto
followed her gaze back to the prone form of the admiral, his chest no
longer rising and falling with breath.
"He's gone." Tenten scrubbed at an eye with the back of her hand.
"Thanks for waiting. You can do it now."
"Are you sure?"
"Just get it over with." their sniper groaned. "Its neccessary to make
them submit, right? Just…" she shook herself with an effort. "Just
make it quick!"
And Naruto did, his blade cutting deep through Akainu's neck, his
head bagged a second later.
"Damn." Ace whistled from behind them. "I'm no fan of the marines
either, but did you have to carve up his corpse?" His gaze strayed
nervously to the twin heads now belted to Naruto's waist and the
blond resisted an urge to rebuke him. The boy was young; he didn't
know what had to be done. Tenten and the others understood.
Someday, he would as well.
"Fuck you!" Tayuya spat back. "We bust you out, and now you
decided to pussy out on us?!"
"I guess-
"You filth!"
One moment Ace had been standing there with Naruto and Tayuya,
looking down at Sengoku's corpse. The next he was flung aside and
to safety; a sword thrusting itself through the back of Naruto's chest
instead of his own, emerging in a shower of gore. Tayuya shrieked in
surprise, completely unprepared for the sudden ambush, Yachiru's
cry of dismay echoing hers. His feet staggered forward, dragging
against the pavements, a look of shock marring his visage.
"Naruto!"
The blonde barely even registered the blade itself-it was the searing
agony in his chest that occupied everything else. He was no stranger
to pain; nay, he'd learned to live with it while his mother trained him.
But this was different. There could be no ignoring the fire that filled
his every pore, the sudden lack of oxygen in hs lungs. Despite that,
he somehow still found the strength to stretch his neck, to look into
the eyes of the man who had slain him.
"Don't!" Retsu was suddenly there, restraining her. "If you open your
wound again, there'll be nothing more I can do for you!"
"You… !"
Vice Admiral Momonga glared back at him, bitter black eyes boring
balefully into his blue. Naruto tried to open his mouth and reply; all
that emerged was blood. The man gave the blade an angry wrench,
ripping it from the blonde's chest, sending his victim stumbling
forward. A mistake and a green one at that made by a man
consumed in the throes of anger and passion. One that cost him
most dear. With the pirate no longer trapped on that nodachi, with his
body now prone upon the ground, his allies were free to wreack
havoc upon the killer of their comrade. as they saw fit. And they did.
"HIKEN!/SONATA!"
A wall of unholy orange fire and sound slammed into Momonga's
unprotected flank, bowling the marine over and badly burning him,
smoldering his coat from his shoulders. Ace advanced after him not
a seconds later, Tayuya hot on his heels. Even Yachiru, still clinging
tight to her shoulder, had a look of wrath in her bright pearly eyes. In
that instant the Vice-Admiral knew death had come for him-but it had
been worth it to avenge the death of his admiral.
Drawing himself up, he prepared for the worst, steeling his soul for
the void-
"Wait!"
Naruto shuffled to his feet like a man starved for food; standing
woodenly and without care. His wound wept crimson but impossibly
the young man still stood, cold blue eyes burning on the vice-admiral
who'd dealt him the grievous death blow only moments ago. All too
slowly he began to speak, a strange and eerie incantation flowing
forth from his lips.
Now that power flowed up the absurdly long edge, through the
handle, onto his arm… and into his wound.
The Wraith nearly bent double as his wound stitched itself shut,
muscle and sinew winding themselves back toegher, his perforated
lung repairing itself in the blink of an eye. Power like this could make
a man go mad, indeed, it had nearly done so to a young man named
Saga several months ago. But madness did nothing to a man who
was already mad; and Uzumaki Naruto lay far beyond its grasp. He
felt its influence as the most weakest of whispers in the back of his
mind, a fleeting thought brushed aside with the barest of ease.
"What? What?" Luffy looked to the blood that coated Naruto's blade,
then down to where his wound had been. "Ah! That's that
looooooong sword from before! The one Zoro broke! What're you
doing with it?!"
"Borrowing it." Naruto replied cheekily. "Don't worry, this sword won't
make me go crazy like Saga."
"JUST LIKE THAT?!" Ace and the rest of the Wraiths facepalmed.
Naruto sighed.
"Oh, Tayuya."
"Yeah, boss?"
"Where's Bee?"
… perfect.
"?"
"Aye, sir!"
The Zoan type glanced this way and that, utterly lost within the
broken and twisting corridors of Marine Headquarters. An entire wing
of the builing had collapsed thanks to Naruto's Daishinkan at the
beginning of their battle, leaving the rest of the building completely
unstalbe. He wasn't afraid of being crushed; rather, he was afraid of
failing to complete his mission. Naruto had been adamant-one Ace
was freed, someone needed to investigate headquarters and make
off with as much intelligence as they could. In hindsight, perhaps
Killer Bee wasn't suited to that job. He'd never been the scientific
type; he'd sooner smash something rather than look at it for more
than a few minutes.
Bingo!
Bee swept down the stairs in an instant, not even pausing to open
the first door he found. He just kicked it down! No match for his
strengths, the metal slab fell away with two blows, revealing a
strange complex just beyond the doorway. What secrets lay within,
he wondered?
A large glass cylinder dominated the center of the room, its pale blue
glow casting the darkened lab in azure relief. Bee stared at it for a
long moment before his gaze was drawn to a large wooden table
opposite. There their bodies crushed by a portion of the falleng
ceiling and scattered amidst a slew of papers, lay a pair of marines.
Guards, then. That made this room even more interesting! Making
his way to the table he cleared the two of them aside, uncaring for
the wet squishy sounds they made.
That was it. Beyond that, nothing legible. But whatever was in this
human-sized cylinder had to be interesting.
Death was coming for him. Its cold fingers traced his shoulders, its
voice whispered in his ear. Its time, it seemed to say. You've done
enough. Just give in. Close your eyes. Rest…
Whitebeard could feel his insides burning, the organs screaming with
each and every step he took. This was it, then. He was done, or so
near to it, that he couldn't tell the difference anymore. His spirits
remained the same, but his body had been all but blasted out by
Akainu's last attack, internal damage that no modern medicine could
hope to fix. Even with that infernal woman's odd treatment, he didn't
have long left. It certainly didn't help that he'd waged an almost
single-handed war against almost the entire Marineford by himself in
the hours since. In another time and place he would've fallen to
Blackbeard by now, but with the latter gone, he found himself striding
still forward upon the battlfield, surrounded by his most loyal soldiers.
A stray breeze alerted him to the prescence of his grandson, but not
to the twin bags he had belted to his waist. Certainly not the contents
within. Newgate arched a grizzled brow as his descendant revealed
them unto him: the bloodied heads of not only Akainu-but Sengoku
as well. A chorus of gasps arose from those men assembled, Marco
and Jozu chief amongst them. Damn that was impressive.
Especially. This new era really was something. With those two dead-
and Kizaru captured-Aokiji was left to command the battle alone,
assuming he hadn't fallen as well. It was ironic, really. Shirohige had
come here to rescue Ace, and here, his grandson-alongside his
crew-had ended the war almost singlehandedly.
"You look shitty, gramps." There was just a touch of sorrow in his
grandson's tone. Hell, he felt shitty. It had been so many years since
he'd been beaten this badly… not since Roger. He could feel it in his
bones. Death was calling his name, crooning to him in dulcet tones.
But not yet. There was still one thing left for him to do.
Marco frowned.
"Pops…
"He is." Naruto nodded in affirmation. "I told him and Luffy to make
for your ship. With luck-
"Pops! Holy crap! You look like shit!" A spiral of flame resolved into
existence behind Naruto, causing the blond to start in surprise.
Portgas D. Ace at least had the courtesy to appear sheepish in the
face of this sudden betrayala, scratching the back of his head at his
elder's ire. That didn't spare him the crew's joy however. A mighty
chorus went up from them all; before the young fireband could so
much as blink, he found himself all but swept up in the arms of his
comrades and kin.
"ACE!"
"And you think I wasn't?! There are still marines nearby! I'd rather
you didn't get killed, thank you very much!
They would've continued like that for some time, were it not for
Whitebeard himself. "Gurarara," he rumbled, "that aside, I think
there's someone here who would like to have a word with you."
Naruto blinked a bit that time, wondering who it might be. Imagine
his surprise when the whole of the Whitebeard Pirates parted like the
red sea, making way for a a warm, smiling face that he hadn't seen
since he was a child. Granted, he did have a scar on his eye that
hadn't been there before, but it was the same face, alright. And that
voice!
"Looks like you've done some growing up, Naruto. Kushina would've
been proud." his confusion was greeted with a warm, almost familiar
smile. Naruto didn't even bother to ask about that massive galleon
the man had doubtlessly arrived in, nor how the hell he'd managed
to sneak into Marineford, undected. He was suddenly a child again,
asking his mother a very old question.
"You… I remember you!" He'd never gotten a name out of his mother
that one time he'd asked, but that face! Damnit, why was it so
familiar?! "Who in the hell are you and how do you know my
mother?"! The faceplant that followed would've been humorous in
any other situation.
"No, she didn't! Now who the hell are you and why are you here?!"
"Well… to make a long story short, I didn't really come here for you. I
came to stop the fighting. But to answer your first question, I'm…
"My… uncle?!"
Uchiha Sasuke had seen many horrible things in lifetime. He'd heard
of even more. But this… this was right up there with the worst. So
much had been seen and done this day, foes beaten and slain, allies
found and yet lost, but it all paled in comparison to what his capitain
had brought them. It wasn't just one of the Four Emperror's, Red
Haired Shanks-apparently Naruto's uncle-standing opposite him, or
the fact that the former'd had somehow recruited a marine admiral
as their doctor, said doctor being secretly more bloodthirsty than
Kenpachi. Oh no, this was worse. Much worse.
Because his senchou held two bloody bags tied to his belt. Sasuke
didn't need his eyes to know what was in those bags. Just as he
didn't need to know why Naruto had assembled them up here, in
front of all these den den mushi, each about to go live on the
scaffold.
"Are those…?"
WHAM!
"Hush." she soothed. "Just look after that tube you found, dear."
"Yup." Naruto replied, touching the now bagged skulls of Akainu and
Sengoku.
"What?!" the madman growled, eyes bulging. "But I was gonna kill
him!"
"The gauntlet has been thrown down; your era is over, World
Government!
"Did you hear that?" he hissed; once more, the Wraiths froze.
"Isn't that…?"
"Oi oi," A strong hand clasped his shoulder, Shanks' palm the only
thing restraining him from lashing out. His uncle-surprise surprise-
had arrived here and the end of the battle-at the loss of so many, to
effectively bring the War of the Best to a close. The last living link to
his mother-excluding Whitebeard-standing here beside him.
"My thanks to you as well, Red Hair!" The stranger laughed loudly,
the lone eye of his mask turning to regard the emperor. "It is only
fitting that you of all people, be here to witness this! The day the
World Government was brought low, down to its knees! The day I
abolished it and gave rise to a new world!"
"Keh… !" Zaraki snorted. "What the hell is he blabbering about? You
know this guy, Naruto?"
Marines and Pirates alike glanced about, wondering just who this
masked madman was. Who he claimed to be.
"Akatsuki!"
"Madara?" Hashirama's face had gone entirely pale. "No, that's not
possible. I killed Madara myself nearly a hundred years ago! He
shouldn't be alive! You're an imposter!"
"Am I?" The masked man merely laughed. "Do I look dead to you?"
"New era?" Naruto finally found his voice, eyes flashing a dangerous
red. "World peace? You know what I think of that, as a pirate?"
"Do tell."
"I thought you might say that." the masked man remained eerily
calm. "But it doesn't matter-you've changed things. There's no going
back. To the world, you're more than just a pirate; you've kicked the
Government's teeth in; they'll be howling for blood, not just yours, but
everyone associated with you. Make an enemy of me now, and you'll
only regret it in the end-
"What's wrong, Red Hair?" the masked man mocked. "Aren't you
going to help them?"
"Not at all." Shanks simply smiled. "My nephew has everything under
control."
A hiss left his lips as a piece of his mask flew away, exposing the
upper left side of his face. A thin sliver of blood trailed down his
exposed cheek.
"?!"
"So you can be hurt!" Naruto barked, lowering his hand as the
masked man raised his own to cover his exposed visage "Good. If
you can be hurt, then you can bleed."
"Such a shame." 'Madara' sighed softly. "I had hoped, you were
smarter than that… apparently not. Very well. If you refuse to see the
glory of the Moon's Eye Plan, then so be it. You shall see soon
enough! I know you may think your crew to be unmatched, but
compared to my organization, to me, to the new world… they are
nothing! You could have joined me and achieved peace but now…
now,you will know the horror of terror and despair!" Time and space
bent inwards even as Sasuke's Amaterasu swarmed over him, his
body vanishing back from whene it came. A lone red eye burned out
against them in challenge, adding further to his words.
"I'll see you again, Uzumaki Naruto." And with that, he was gone…
(Preview)
Naruto wept.
And all he had to remember him was this strange tingling in his
arms. Whatever Whitebeard had done to him before death had
seemingly transferred the power of the Gura Gura no mi to him; but
that knowledge only made him wander deeper into the bowels of the
Moby Dick; their temporary base while the crew recovered from their
wounds. As soon as they were up and about, he resolved to be away
from here. He just could not bring himself to be on Whitebeards ship.
He just couldn't. When the old man had gone he'd just looked
so..peaceful. Now the world knew who his grandson was. And they
wanted him gone.
To hell with that; he needed to get to Water Seven. Build a ship of
their own. Just forget about this awful mess.
Hello…?
"Kami!"
Without thinking he struck the transparent tube with all his mighe-
lashed out with a boot to shatter the glass. Water gushed forth from
the wound, spouting in nearly every direction, most of it onto him. He
glared at it, bloody red daggers, as though he could somehow wreak
his weariness out upon the liquird. Imagine his surprise when the
water began to move. Droplets slipiped off his soaked form, dripped
from the walls and ceiling, pooling rapidly before his feeet as he
lookd down, trailing down his body until not a single bit of moisture
was left.
The blond sweatdropped slightly. "Well then… its, ah, nice to meet
you… Juvia. The name's Naruto-
"Naruto-sama!"
?!
"Why me…?"
R&R! =D
Legacy
A/N: REJOICE! YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER UPDATE! Alright ladies
and gentlmen, good news and bad news. Good news first. I'm
finally done with surgery for the time being- hurts like hell!-and I
managed to put this up here at points between the forced
anesthetic. Bad news is I still feel HORRIBLE. Still, best to be
positive, right. Really. I'm hanging tough though, having just
come out of the frying pan… now begins the long recovery!
UUUUUGH! I'm on painkillers almost daily and I feel like crap, as
to that effect. But nevertheless, despite this pesky little hiccup-I
wanted to get word out any way I could, and since for some
strange reason the site is being buggy, I wasnt able to work on
this anywhere near as much as I would've liked. Still…
So I'll skip the introduction, but might I advise you all to reread
the story? Just in case you've forgotten anything. Now bear in
mind, this chapter is a little sad at first. Hope you have some
tissues!
~?
Legacy
The news spread like wildfire; but its embers wouldf forever smolder
in the minds of man like red hot coals in the years to come. Uzumaki
Naruto, grandson of Whitbeard, had done the impossible. The
unthinkable. He'd broken out of Impel Down, into Marineford, and
then walked out again. Not as a prisoner, but as a free man…
That was the only thing that kept Ace from tearing the older man's
head off. That and the knowledge he likely wouldn't survive the
attempt. Naruto's crew was only a single deck above and they likely
wouldn't take too kindly to an attack on their captain. With the Moby
Dick and her allies retreating towards distant waters and with no ship
of their own they'd nowhere else to go; and it was becoming
abundantly clear, that they weren't interested in entertaining Marco's
gesture of hospitality much longer.
"That's another thing!" Ace blazed, his temper getting the best of him
once more. "She's a marine! An admiral for crying out loud! How can
we trust anything she says or does?! We should just toss her
overboard before she starts-
"Watch your tone, boy ." Naruto replied with an angry hiss, drawing
himself up to his full, towering height. "I don't take kindlly to threats
against me or my own. She's one of mine; knows which way the
wind is blowing, and she's a damn good field medic. Now, you'd best
take them words back… or get ready for a fight."
"Fine by me!" Ace growled without thinking. "Let's take this thing
outside-
"Marco, he-
-is right, Ace!" the phoenix interjected forcefully. "You'd have done
the same damn thing if he insulted one of us! Now apologize!"
"Tch, sorry…
"Forgiven." Naruto replied after a long moment. "I know our tempers
are… high right now. Its no fault of yours." He laid a hand upon the
hothead's shoulder in recompense for his earlier temerities. "Why
don't you go above and check on your brother? I think we could both
use some famiily time right now."
"Right." Ace agreed readily; truth be told, he didn't like the idea of
Luffy spending so much time with those veterans from Naruto's crew.
They were killers, each and every one of them. Sure they had heart,
but some small part of him knew more than one of them wouldn't
hesitate to attack the rubberman once aggravated. Especially the big
guy! As if to mirror that very thought, he heard a familiar shout:
That earned him an arched eyebrow. "So we're family now, eh?
What happened to me being a good-for-nothing bastard?"
"I… that was in the heat of the moment!" the phoenix replied, his
feathers momentarily ruffled. "I'd thought you were going to kill pops,
or worse! C'mon, Jozu! Help me out here!"
"Oi oi, you're not going to get all sappy on me now, are ya?" Naruto
sighed, but there was no rancour to be had in those words. "So are
we good? I don't have to worry about you folks sticking a knife in my
back?"
Marco nodded.
"Look, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye kid, but its been
nearly eight hours now. We have to look at our options. You helped
us rescue Ace and for that, I'm grateful. Really, I am. But we all know
what the old man would've wanted us to do. You're his last living
relative… he wouldn't have wanted things to end like this, ya know?
He'd want you to lead -oi!"
Naruto rounded on Marco with such force the man was almost
certain that head would fly clear off his neck. There was such pain in
that gaze; there mere act of looking almost drove him mad. Kami,
the things that this kid must've gone through to become like this.
When he finally spoke, the word was cold and chilling, almost glacial
in its finality.
"No."
"But-
"I said no godamnit!" his fist swung through empty air. The effect
was as immediate as it was surprising; because it didn't simply
phase through as it would have normally. Cracks fissured out across
the atmospheres like hairline fractures upon ifce, spreading and
tearing as though he'd reached into reality itself and given it a good
hard yank. A reverberating crash resounded from somewhere deep
within the ship, unbeknownst to all the Whitebeard Pirates, the
precious stolen cargo from Marineford, now stored deep within their
vessel, began to stir within its cylinder.
Mei quietly steadied herself with a hand, her jaden gaze displaying
only the slightest concern.
"Pops!" Ace yelped over the din and darted into Whitebeard's cabin.
Shanks sighed and took a long draught of his bottle, savoring the
sake as it warmed his stomach, not dilluting his senses in the
slightest. He'd felt it just now, a shift in the powers that be; the forces
that governed not only the Yonkou, but the world itself. Something
had changed. And once more, his nephew-Kushina's son-was at the
heart of it all. An era was about to end, and a new one would rise in
its stead. He did not pretend to know what fate might havein store,
but his far-reaching Haki told him more than enough.
Whitebeard felt the tremor as well; that weak shock of his own power
was more than enough to wake him from his medically induced
coma. Dark eyes fluttered open, the world returning to him in
darkened swirls of hot flashes and cold, numbing pains. It wouldn't
be long now. Most-many in fact-might have shivered at the fact that
death stood so close to them; wept to know that their end was near
and that all they had done would be laid bare before the eyes of the
void. They would've wept and blubbered and begged for a second
chance, anything to stave off judgement day. But not him.
Edward Newgate stared Death in the face and smiled as she pulled
him into her cold embrace. He had no regrets. He'd lived his life to
the fullest. Ace was safe and sound. His powers were now made
manifest in his heir in that little Uzumaki squirt that was his
grandson. The only thing he wanted now was to rest. That was all he
could really ask for after a campaign like this. He knew that he would
be mourned by his sons but so too did he trust in Marco and the
others-if not Naruto himself-to hold the men together, give them new
purpose in this new age about to be born.
He could see the horizon now, where all his friends and family
waitied. All those he had lost over the years. Even Roger. Minato
was there too, ready to welcome him with open arms. His son was
waiting for him. He had no hate in his heart for his father, no anger at
his shortcomings. Edward realized that now and sighed. He'd
blamed himself for so many things in the past, losing Minato to the
marines, then Kushina to Blackbeard -may that man's soul burn in
hell forevermore-not bringing their up right like he should, nearly
failing to save Ace in time. For so long he had gone on with this
heaviness in his heart. For so long. Now it was time to rest, long and
peacefully…
"Pops!"
With the last of his strength, Whitebeard willed his eyes to open, one
last time. He saw the tears in the eyes of Portgas D. Ace-the
disbelief that someone so strong would just surrender to death after
all this. Heard him pleading, begging, sobbing for him to hold on just
a little longer. Despite his impending demise, Newgate smiled.
"That's-
"MARCO!"
All eyes darted to the south as a tear-stricken Ace burst back into the
room.
Naruto felt all the air rush out of him in a painful gasp, the joy at
discovering his new power all but withering away. What? No. Oh no
no no. He hadn't even… they didn't… he hadn't even had the chance
to say goodbye, to say anything at all…
NO!
And then.
And then.
"Yeah… it was."
Marco gulped, the words seemed to stick inside his throat. Jozu was
right. Just now… that had been the old man's power! His ability! The
Gura Gura no mi! Unbidden his mind flashed back to when
Whitebeard had laid a hand upon his grandson's head, the act all but
reeking of power and finality. It had seemed ludicrous at the time,
impossible to believe. But now… he wasn't so certain. Was that
when?
"Pops…
Naruto wept.
And all he had to remember him was this strange tingling in his
arms. Whatever Whitebeard had done to him before death had
seemingly transferred the power of the Gura Gura no mi to him; but
that knowledge only made him wander deeper into the bowels of the
Moby Dick; their temporary base while the crew recovered from their
wounds. As soon as they were up and about, he resolved to be away
from here. He just could not bring himself to be on Whitebeards ship.
He just couldn't. When the old man had gone he'd just looked
so..peaceful. Now the world knew who his grandson was. And they
wanted him gone.
Hello…?
"Kami!"
Without thinking he struck the transparent tube with all his might-
lashed out with a boot to shatter the glass. Water gushed forth from
the wound, spouting in nearly every direction, most of it onto him. He
glared at it, bloody red daggers, as though he could somehow wreak
his weariness out upon the liquird. Imagine his surprise when the
water began to move. Droplets slipiped off his soaked form, dripped
from the walls and ceiling, pooling rapidly before his feeet as he
lookd down, trailing down his body until not a single bit of moisture
was left.
"Juvia…?"
The blond sweatdropped slightly. "Well then… its, ah, nice to meet
you… Juvia. The name's Naruto-
"Naruto-sama!"
"Why me…?!"
"Troublesome…
"Who's the babe?" Zaraki asked, grinning. A few hours had passed
since his captain had departed into the bowels of the ship-since
Whitebeard had passed-and the Wraiths found themselves to be the
only ones on deck at present. Even Luffy and Ace had gone down
below to pay their final respects to the living legend. Naruto -having
already made his-found himself beginning to wish he'd stayed down
there with the others. That would have been preferrable to nine pairs
of eyes ogling the poor girl with obvious curiosity.
"HAH?!"
"No no no!" Thats not it! That's not it at all!" Naruto tried his utmost to
explain as much it to them; this was not what it seemed, him
"venting" and all as Kenpachi obliquely put it. "Its nothing like that!
She came out of the cylinder when I broke it, ya know?!"
WHAM!
Her glance could've sent a Sea King sobbing with fear. As it were,
Naruto simply gulped. He'd already learned the hard way that the
former marine was not to be trifled with. She was genuinely terrifying
when that side of her emerged… no wonder she'd been an admiral!
But when Retsu tried to reach for the trembling woman the bluenette
simply flowed around the medic like water, her body undulating in
rippling motions as she simply phashed through the outstretched
arm. Unohanna paused, baffled by this sudden phenomena and not
sure what to say. Tenten wasn't quite so reserved. Especially when
Juvia clung even tighter to Naruto.
"J-Juvia did not eat a fruit! Juvia was born like this!"
"RIVAL!" The water woman shrieked! "Juvia will not tolerate it! She
will not accept a lova rival for Naruto-sama!"
"Nope."
"Why ya-mmph!" Her words ended in a worldess gasp as his lips met
hers. Her body went boneless, her cry of surprise warping to a moan
of delight.
"Sati
"Well, I usually like to break a girl out of prison first, but what the
hell?" he leaned in and laid a chaste kiss upon the bluenette's lips.
She swooned!
"Juvi!"
"Aw, how cute~!" Mei cooed, her attention falling upon Juvia once
more. "But you'll have to let go of him, sweetheart. Senchou may be
a good kisser, but I doubt he likes clingy girls."
"Then
Marco.
It resembled the old man's in a way but instead of a purple skull and
crossbones, that skull was a ghastly color that much was true, the
grinning rictus of its cobalt smiles seemed to leap out at him from
deep within the storm around which it had been fashioned. A pair of
shattered swords lay thrust between its teeth, completing the
illussion that the skull was actually biting clear through them, a feat
Naruto had once performed during his early days as a pirate. It was
angry and vengeful, yet at the same time, maddened and mirthful. In
every way, it was a…
Wraith.
Harsh tears stung at his eyes. "So you were watching after all, eh,
old man?"
Numbed, he accepted the offering; since Juvia had his old coat,
there was really no reason not to. Then he realized what he'd just
done. Marco had mentioned something about a title… wait a second!
His own jaw nearly dropped clear off his face at the implications of
such a thing. Him?! Yonkou?! One of the Four Emperors?! Absurd!
Ridiculous! A small part of his mind screamed these things as he
slipped into the sleeves. But the larger part held tight to rationalty; he
need not lead the Whitebeard pirates. But they could certainly be his
allies.
Naruto met Sasuke's gaze, then Tayuya's, then Mei's, tracing across
each member of his crew, the approval and admiration there. This
gallery of rogues had followed him into hell, and would do so many
times more as he knew. Just like Whitebeard's crew, they'd laid their
lives in his hands…
He lifted his arms and shrugged on the jacket a this shoulders. Then
he hoisted high the halberd they forced into his hand, brandising the
pike-like weapon with intent. When the tears came this time he let
them flow in a rush, realizing just how blessed he truly was.
Naruto roared even louder; and the Wraiths roared with him.
Also!
Stop SOPA. SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Acts. In this
case, all fanart will be deleted, all fan-pages, fanfics, fan made
videos, etc. Please help us stop SOPA.
Spread the word to your readers, due date for it is March 19th of
this year! Go to .Gov on Goggle and vote to stop this atrocity!
R&R! =D
Bargain (Interlude)
A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF UPDATES AND
CREATION!
Some reminders:
Also, Edweard Weevil and Ms. Bakkins can kiss their asses
goodbye.
"Haaaaaa? And who're you? If you don't believe me, I'll just kil-
"FALL."
~an-up-and-coming brawl.
Bargain (Interlude)
Big Mom and Kaidou leaped at the opportunity to claim what territory
they could before we beat them back.
Men like that attract a following, and not the good kind.
Even now, I'm not entirely certain I killed Teach that day. Wounded
him? Certainly. Maimed? Quite possibly. But killed? We never found
any remains, and from the rumors, neither did the jailers of Impel
Down. It was as if he'd simply vanished, never to return. Sometimes
I wonder if he's still out there, preparing for the right moment, waiting
to strike. If he is, and if he does, he'll find himself in for a rude
awakening. I'm not my old man. If One Piece truly does exist, I want
to see it for myself. I'll decide if I actually want the damn thing once
we figure out what it is.
As to who will find Raftel first, who will reach that goal before all
others…
(… Scene Break…)
Kaido had been called many things in his long lifetime, but a fool
wasn't one of them.
Until now.
Of all the times he'd been captured, of all the horrors he'd endured,
few had genuinely taken him by surprise like this. He'd suffered
inhumane torture, the likes of which would break even a strong man.
Not him. When they'd tried to hang him, the chain broke. When he
was sent to a guillotine, the blade shattered. When sentenced to
impalement, the spear crumbled. He'd sunk nine prison ships. On
land, sea, and air, he was a pirate who was known as the strongest
creature among all living things. In a one-on-one fight, he could not
be beaten. Nothing in this boring, mundane world could kill him.
Did they take him for a fool? Did they think he could be bribed with
strong drink?
A pall of silence hung between the two of them, broken only by the
snow howling outside.
Not this insipid ghastly quiet that threatened to drive him mad!
On a whim, Kaido made a snap decision. If the runt truly had come
crawling to him for such a mundane reason, he would kill him on the
spot. If he was an Emperor of the Sea then he should take what was
his by force! Not with clever words or petty negotiations! If he truly
possessed the power of two devil fruits as the rumors suggested
then he had more than enough strength. He might even be able to
kill him. As tempting as that prospect might be, he found himself far
more curious as the blond's purpose here.
"Good!" the word burst of the tattooed man in harsh guffaw. "I'd have
killed you if that were the case. Now…
'Enough.'
Rising to his full towering height, the King of Beasts placed both
hands on his knees and rose from his throne to loom over his
recalcitrant guest. His shadow swallowed all light, plunging the boy
and his companion into darkness. If they felt any fear they did
precious little to show it. The former met his gaze staunchly as he
rose from his own crouch, those crystal azure orbs never wavering.
For a fleeting instant, Kaido considered crushing both of them
regardless of their purpose here. They'd already taken up valuable
time, and he'd no intention of being stalled any further.
"I won't ask again." Kaido growled. "Tell me what you want, or die."
"Bargain?"
"Hit me all you want, I'm not here to fight." Whitebeard's grandson
shook his head. "As I said, I'm here to bargain. You help me, I'll help
you."
'Oh?'
"I see." a towering arm rose, fingers brushing the ceiling. "Let's test
that, shall we?!"
Naruto's head tilted slightly, regarding his rising forearm with mild
concern. "Do you really wanna…?"
"Begone!"
"Naruto-sama!"
-until he didn't.
Rather than pulp the blond where he stood, his fist met resistance.
Instead of flesh, his taut fingers tasted the unyielding steel of the
Shichiseiken; its eerie emerald surface shimmering and twisting as it
held the almighty strength behind the blow at bay. Blue eyes blazed
up at him, narrowed in defiance of his power. With a grunt the blond
wrenched the blade up and away, opening a thin rent in his cheek as
he flitted past. A shimmering fist cloaked in a quake caught the
unkillable man in the knee, causing his right leg to buckle. Rather
than capitalize on the opportunity, a faint breeze informed him of his
fellow Emperor's retreat.
Regarding the light cut upon his cheek, the King of Beasts turned to
regard the swordsman.
"Me?" the hybrid chuckled. "That's simple. I want what any pirate
wants."
"Meaning…?"
Thrusting his sword into the ground, he spread his arms wide, as
though to steal the very heavens themselves. For a fleeting instant
the storm cleared, only to intensify once more, perhaps in response
to his sudden fit of pique. Blue eyes flashed, burning as though lit
from within. After all the runt had said and done, Kaido half expected
him to prattle on about peace and cooperation or somesuch. He
seemed the sort to say such things, or the kind to restrain himself.
As luck would have it, his request proved another matter entirely.
Oughta be obvious.
Next chapter really gets into the good bits, if you know what I
mean.
Naruto may be dense, but he follows one true adage; the enemy
of my enemy is my friend. Clearly he's got no quarrel with
Shanks, but Big Mom and Kaidou are another matter. If he can
turn them against one another, he'll do that in a heartbeat. And
let's face it, it'd be the battle of a lifetime to have them go at it.
R&R! =D
Playing With The Big Boys (Prelude II)
A/N: Well, well, well.
Doesn't help that most of my team has all but gone our separate
ways. We all have our lives to live.
I still get help from Dylan and Gray every now and again
Trying to get back into One Piece, but its got away from me and
but blew my plans out of the water. I had to go back and rewrite
all my plans for "Passing the Torch" and "Hard Contact" not to
mention "Rogue Heart" and others. Still more stories were
taken down for being too visceral, which really put a damper on
things as well.
This is… shorter than I'd like. Sorry! *Braces for hate*
~an-up-and-coming brawl.
Playing With The Big Boys (Prelude II)
It was a rich heady sound that had no business being uttered in the
royal palace. yere
" This island is under protection again, you damned brat." But the
king showed no fear. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave.
At once."
Why should he listen to such foolishness? With the royal family fallen
and the palace sacked, the All the world was his oyster. Soon
hewould move
… I do not speak of Big Mom, you fool!" his massive bulk strained
against the chains that held him. "Stop this madness before its too
late. He's here as our guest! You'll anger him!"
CRUNCH.
Now, Hody didn't possess Haki. He lacked the foresight most of his
generation warriors held. Clinging to his strength and borrowed
power, his arrogance knew no bounds, his pride no limits.
But even he, in all his arrogance, couldn't ignore the towering
shadow looming large over him. It swallowed his shadow whole
casting his world shadow. Wide eyes rose, rimmed with red veings,
unwilling to turn and face the juggernaut he knew now lurked b
behind him. Unable to move, yet not wanting to concede his mistake,
the fishman swallowed thickly.
"Yes. I am."
Firm fingers closed around the back of his skull and rammed him
facefirst into the palace floor. Once. Twice. Thrice. Bone broke.
Cartilage cracked. Teeth flew through the air.
The king chuckled as his chains clattered to the floor. "Many thanks,
emperor. We are in your debt."
In a desperate whirl the fishman pivoted and struck out with all his
might. His trident passed right through Whitebeard's heir, leaving
naught but air. A blond brow quirked. Lazy blue eyes drifted down to
the might weapon even now protruding through his chest. Tan
fingers reached down, seizing the weapon by its haft. A single tug
reeled Hody in like a shark on a line.
"You're playing with the big boys now, little man. That said, you really
do love water, don't ya?" His smile stretched further. "Air is
everywhere. Even here, beneath the sea. Even in your lungs. How
about I dive right in? You don't mind, do you? After all, you never
gave your victims a chance now, did you?"
(Preview)
" What kind of mushrooms did you say those were again?"
"BULLSHIT!"
R&R! =D