168I don't own One-Piece, it belongs to Eiichiro Oda.
Lightningblade49: Such is life!
DJ Rodriguez: 1) Thanks!
2) Yeah, she got herself a very bad opponent for a first real fight and got out on her own pretty damn well.
3) Not by much honestly, remember how in Canon she and the others were buried under the rubble in Enies Lobby?
4) Yep, Nami has a different past and it will be shown late on, but in the Core she mostly the same.
5) Luffy actually, Buggy wasn't very cooperative.
6) Thanks, I will!
NeoZero13: Punctuation, it's a thing.
1) Thanks, Nami will be getting a good upgrade here for her arsenal and a more aggressive fighting style to work with her new strength.
2) Eh, soon enough?
Linkonpark100: 1) I'm pretty sure that she couldn't talk the lion out of it at that point, and she honestly didn't have time to work on an actual plan.
2) Barely, it was far harder than it appeared.
3) He still has it, just a bit more brainpower to go with it.
4) Write an OMAKE on the Forum.
Primordial Vortex: 1) ... Are you a Seer?
2) Ok, glad to hear it!
3) Well, what the point of changing things mid-swing? It's not as interesting as building from scratch.
4) I'll find a Beta, I just need time... And a sacrifice.
5) Here it is!
Doctor Dandy: But... But... why? It's funnier this way!
ethan. lukkar: Thanks and here it is!
uzuuchi007: Thanks!
DarkPirateKing69: 1) And his wasn't all that consistent with some facts and went wrong on Canon even more. Oh, and it was about Naruto, so it was bad automatically because of the presence of the pathetic husk of a retarded crime against Nature in it.
2) Because they wrote themselves into a wall and couldn't come up with new things to write about.
3) Eh, I'm planning over seven millions, so that's not that much.
4) Thanks! I'll try!
Yuuzhan Vong Jedi: 1) Probably.
2) The word 'usual' can not be applied to One-Piece, ever.
3) Thanks!
4) It was her fight, every person gets their screen-time for their fights!
5) Well, there are small things and you would need to actually look for them, but it's not that important just yet.
6) Well, this is a different Nami and I wanted to show just how much.
7) She's one of them, so...?
8) She's different, it's just not shown very openly yet.
9) Trying to corner Buggy, which is harder than some people would think.
10) Well, read below.
11) Well, it means [Spoiler].
12) Don't worry, they will be answered!
13) That's rather harsh, you should at least cheer for her a little!
14) Oh, this too! Nami needed this as a kick in the ass to send her out so she could start spreading her wings.
15) Thanks, and yes, I'm Russian.
Piratekingfreddy: Don't worry, they won't put me down so easily!
The Eternal Winter: The Changes will be made for almost every opponent they will face, not many will be positive due to some of the guys there being present purely for comic relief.
sneak13579: Through the whole Manga/Anime I saw him train exactly five times, while in others he was given a Power-Up on a silver platter without any strings whatsoever, so your argument if invalid.
Chapter 007: Graceful Sword vs. Dirty Tricks!
Wealth, fame, power... Gold Rodger, the King of the Pirates obtained this and everything else the world had to offer. And his dying words drove countless souls to seas.
"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place! Now you just have to find it!"
These words lured men to the Grand Line in pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine! This is the time known as 'The Great Pirate Era'!
Tashigi was actually impressed, not by her opponent's skill with the blade, but by the fact that he could apply even a moderate pressure with his blade while still balancing on his unicycle. She didn't even bother blocking any strikes, just evaded them one after another with her superior speed. Cabaji was, in her personal opinion, pathetic when it came to swordplay or even handling the blade properly to land a hit on someone more aware than an average thug. Sure, he was fast and strong but it was all there was to it, he had no technique or style that could make this fight even a little even.
'I hope Senchō will be done soon.' Tashigi wasn't a violent person, she knew the line and wasn't planning on crossing it ever. But at the moment she just wanted to knock the pirate out and be done with it, the fight couldn't even be called that due to her doing next to nothing to hold Cabaji back. She kept her distance and didn't rushed in because she suspected that he was holding back or trying to make her underestimate him, but the option was appearing less and less...
[Kyokugi: Kamikaze Hyakkoma Gekijō]
Tashigi suddenly had to jump back as several small orange blurs shot past her, a small cut appeared on her right biceps where the small spinning top with sharp circular blade on its side almost drew blood. And there were more coming from Cabaji, who launched them as projectile. She was about to start blocking them when the ones behind her exploded, swordswoman managed to duck and jump to the side behind the nearby table as her instincts warned her about an upcoming danger. Not a moment too soon, as several pieces of the tops' blades hit her cover, Cabaji let out a laugh.
"What do you think about my technique now, girl?" He was still balancing on his unicycle.
"That wasn't swordsmanship!" Tashigi jumped on her feet and shouted back.
"Oh, no, it certainly was!" He grinned and showed her one of the tops, that actually red and yellow and only appeared orange because of the speed of its rotation. He pointed at the raw of segregated sharp teeth sticking out of its side. "See the blade here? It's my masterful utilisation of a blade-work!"
'That's some faulty logic!' Her jaw dropped.
"It doesn't work that way!" Tashigi took her stance again. "All you do is throwing those exploding things around!"
"That's the whole point!" Replied Cabaji with a smirk and pointed towards the pavement of the street. "And my plan worked!"
Tashigi blinked once, twice, her brain tried to process what he meant by that... It failed. She looked around from the corner of her eye and saw that a big amount of the tops were buzzing and spinning all over the street, like an orange minefield. While the idea was good, in theory at least, there was a certain flaw in this scenario.
"... You're surrounded by them too." She stated bluntly.
Cabaji's smirk widened as he suddenly turned to the side and charged towards the building while masterfully evading all the tops, and up the wall.
[Kyokugi: Yama Noborō]
Tashigi blinked at the bizarre sight, she had no idea what he was planning but she wouldn't lower her guard. Even if the whole thing looked rather silly it didn't mean that she could relax and think that it couldn't harm her, also she knew that she wouldn't live through the feeling of being defeated by someone who waved his sword around like a club. Cabaji reached the end of his improvised ramp and shot forward into the sky.
[Kyokugi: Nōryō Uchiage Hanabi]
He then twisted around and position his sword downwards, aiming at her. If he was going to simply try to stab her then she could just evade, the top had enough room between them for her to simply step aside if needed. She would risk jumping, she wasn't sure if she could... Tashigi felt like facepalming, she sure as hell wasn't better than him if she missed such an obvious way out of this stupid trap.
[Ichirin Zashi]
As soon as Cabaji shot down towards her Tashigi jumped back and onto the barrel that had no spinning tops on it. She landed and looked as the wannabe swordsman crashed into the pavement, she was actually surprised that his sword didn't snap under the strain of the attempted impalement. Cabaji lifted his head and glared at her.
"So, you managed to dodge my technique." He put his sword on his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. "You're better than I expected."
"I'm pretty sure that it's the other way around." Muttered the young woman under her breath as she looked at her opponent. "This is getting ridiculous, I'm honestly getting tired of this."
"Oh, so you're going to give up?" She could see his smirk behind his scarf. "You saw how futile your attempt at defeating such a master of blade-work as myself?"
"No, it's just embarrassing to fight you." She answered with a twitching eyebrow.
"Embarrassing?" The Chief of Staff of Buggy's Crew frowned. "That's my line, you're not even putting any resistance, this is just pathetic waste of time for me."
He against assumed a thrusting stance with the pommel of his sword pointing towards his right shoulder. Tashigi prepared to counter whatever he was going to deliver this time...
[Kyokugi: Sōtennenshoku Kānibaru]
Suddenly she saw his sword moving towards her at a high speed with several glowing waves of different colours being projected from the edge of a blade. Without even thinking she knew that she didn't have the room to dodge and blocking it will result in nothing due to her lack of ground. Counter it was then.
[Ittōryū: Kyōfū]
Two techniques clashed as the two opponent passed each other, a superior one winning through much firmer base and performance. Two opponents stood in a distance with their backs turned towards each other, the barrel that Tashigi stood not a moment ago suddenly separated into half a dozen pieces while a finger-long cut appeared at the centre of Cabaji's exposed chest. Some blood fell onto the pavement as both turned around, Tashigi making sure not to disturb any of the still spinning tops around her, them exploding at a such a close proximity would be troublesome.
"You cut me?" The man on the unicycle was more shocked than angered. "Nobody ever managed to survive this attack, all fell before my unsurpassed Skill and Technique!" And now he sounded angry. "You're one stubborn woman if you managed to survive this long."
Cabaji's grip on his sword tightened as he prepared to charge again, Tashigi took her stance.
'If nothing else, it's a good exercise.' She thought.
Luffy landed with a crash, his feet breaking the coverage of the roof and creating a small cloud of dust.
"What...?" Several people called out around him.
"Who is that?!" More calls.
Luffy looked around, he could see several dozen men dressed like some kind of clowns and other types of all those funny guys that Makino showed him on pictures in books. While reading was boring pictures of things that were in the world were awesome, he certainly wanted to see that huge tree with beans hanging from it! Maybe they were tasty?
"Who in the Flashy Hell are you?!" Suddenly screeched a voice that made everyone around go silent. "What do you think you're doing crashing here, onto our party?"
A blue-haired clown with big red nose an an orange captain's coat walked out of the biggest tent around. His face was married with a scowl and his mouth twisted in a snarl, he was clenching his white-gloved fists as several veins popped out on his forehead as he walked closer to Luffy. The straw-hat wearing boy just stared at the man before him with curiosity, for some reason the name 'Buggy' was familiar to him but he just couldn't remember from where he knew it. The big red nose and blue hair brought the feeling out even stronger, like there was something that he was missing and it was important but still out of his grasp.
'Eh, a Mystery Feeling.' He shook it off and watched the the clown stopped in front of him, the expression still married with anger and a sneer forming rapidly. Luffy looked Buggy over and his gaze stopped on the nose that in that moment released a sound akin of a snort.
"... Big red nose." Luffy wasn't very good at diplomacy or non-hostile encounters when the people he didn't like were the ones he was meeting with.
He also tended to state the obvious from time to time when he couldn't understand it.
Orange Town Centre Block
'Blue Anchor' Bar: Battle on Merchants' Corner
Mokey D. Luffy vs. Buggy
Every pirate of the Buggy's crew had expressions of horror mixed with disbelief on their faces, they knew that they Captain had a very big issue with anyone calling him out on his nose and it always ended in an explosive feat of rage. Buggy stood motionless with his hat shadowing his eyes, you could see veins budging on his rapidly reddening face and even hear as his teeth were gnashing together, his hands were clenched into fists and his shoulders shook akin of a volcano right before eruption.
"What did you just say?!" His voice was more of a growl than anything even remotely human. "You little shit dare to insult my nose!?"
With an inhuman speed Buggy whipped three knives between the fingers of his right hand and threw them at Luffy, who merely leaned to the side to avoid them. While they couldn't actually harm him, he never liked the feeling of getting actually stubbed or shot. Buggy, without missing a beat repeated the same trick with his left hand, but this time aimed a bit wider and while two of the daggers missed, one impaled Luffy right into his right shoulder. Without as much as a twitch Luffy reached with his left hand and pulled the weapon out, its blade already half-melted and the opening of the wound closing almost instantly.
Suddenly Luffy noticed something near the big tent, something he recognized.
"Hey, isn't that Tashigi's sword?" He asked as he pointed at the white-sheathed weapon. "Her other sword? Eh, second sword?" His brows furred as he tried to remember what Tashigi called it, but came up with something vague and weird. "So it wasn't destroyed?"
He looked at Buggy for clarification but found the man standing in the pose that he was in after throwing the second set of knives and with his eyes opened wide. Clown's jaw was hanging low and you could see a snot hanging out of his nose, Luffy had no idea what caused him to react like that.
"Who in a flashy Hell are you?!" Apparently Luffy's question snapped Buggy out of his stupor as the man shrieked. "What a fucking Logia doing in the East Blue?!" He took a step back. "I thought that Smoker was the only one, but that flashy asshole never leaves Loguetown!"
"Hey, what were you doing with our things?" Luffy called out as he noticed some of the things that were on their boat being present and sticking from the bags. "Hey... You were the ones who blew our boat up! So you tried to rob us too?"
"You just figured it out?!" Buggy almost forgot about the fact that he couldn't touch the teen in front of him from the shock. "What the fuck do you want and what was that about a boat?"
"You blew up our boat and took our things, give them back." Luffy crossed his arms over his chest and stated bluntly. "Or I'll kick your assess!"
"..." The crew stared at him.
"..." Buggy stared at him, his brow twitching and jaw hanging low.
"... Oi, are you there?" Luffy waved his hand in Buggy's line of sight.
"... Put enough holes into this flashy bastard that he will look like a honeycomb!" Roared Buggy as his crew, probably solely due reflex of following their Senchō's order pulled out their guns, who had them, and opened fire. "And don't stop shooting until you'll run out of ammo!"
"This won't work!" Luffy grinned as the bullets flew right through him, some even getting stuck inside of his body and then melting into slags of metal and leaking out onto the roof. "Normal attacks won't hurt me!"
At least he will have some fun here, getting into fights was one of the things that got Luffy's blood pumping. It was either to his primal instinct to challenge himself and get stronger, or because it also reminded him of how he and his brothers spent time having fun while fighting against Royal Guards. One way or another, Luffy liked to have a good fight and that was just what Buggy's crew was giving him right now.
With a quick burst of speed Luffy appeared in front of one of the pirates and delivered a strong blow to their stomach, making the man double over and spit saliva onto the ground. Another blow to the back of his head made his face crash into the pavement and rob him of conscious. Luffy leaned back and avoided a slash of a sword, grabbing the wrist of his attacker he twisted around and sent the big fat and bald man flaying onto the street. Another twist and he got a direct hit right into his right eye from a rifle, the bullet went through but left a see-through hole in his head. Without a pause his shot towards the shooter and grabbed the barrel of the weapon, as the metal melted under the intense heat his other fist impacted the fact of the pirate and knocked his lights out.
Suddenly the surrounding him group jumped back and he heard one single voice.
"Put him down with a Baggy Ball!" Luffy turned around and saw a big cannon pointing directly at him.
While a normal person will try to dodge or even jump over the cannonball, Luffy never was what anyone can be consider a normal person. Till this day he never had a literal cannon shooting at him from a point-blank range like that, and therefore he was only acting on what he saw with his own eyes other did when in the same situation. While any other citizen of East Blue would be able to tell that his tactic was suicidal and stupid, for a teen that had more raw power than common sense and was lacking any fear or doubt it was a perfectly valid solution.
When the fuse reached the end its life and the cannon fire, Luffy did something that nobody present was expecting him to do. With an impressive wind-up he punched the red cannonball that was flying at him at high speed. While this would have throw the normal cannonball back or set it off-course, Buggy Ball was far more unstable due to the amateurish attempt at chemistry that the clown of a Captain used to increase its explosive power. As soon as the fist met the red surface of projectile, it detonated with great amount of force.
Tashigi honestly felt disappointed, as a swordswoman she liked a challenge to measure her own progress and therefore improve the areas where she was lacking. She wasn't a battle-maniac that lusted for blood, but a good fight once in a while was what anyone needed to keep their skills sharp and perspectives open. Right now she was facing an opponent whom she outclassed in every aspect and it was turning out to be a very irritating experience.
"Apparently you're far from a normal Bounty Hunter." Cabaji chuckled as he tried to press her down with all his strength, Tashigi didn't even budge. "But that's nothing when compared to the strength of the Buggy-Senchō's Crew!"
"... You still have to even scratch me." Tashigi deadpanned as she looked at the now wounded and slightly burned pirate.
Apparently when the spinning tops, that he threw around, run out of momentum they fall and explode, but Cabaji either forgot about it or didn't pay enough attention and so was in the middle of them when they all started going off. She almost felt pity for the wannabe swordsman, the smoke was still rising from his clothes and he looked rather pathetic.
"Lets change that!" He suddenly disengaged and pulled back.
He pulled his scarf down slightly with his left hand and...
[Kyokugi: Kaji Oyaji]
Probably would have released a stream of fire, if not for Tashigi taking a step forwards and driving the pommel of her sword right into his chin. Cabaji released a choking sound as suddenly a small spray of liquid shot form behind his scarf... and lit his head on fire. Apparently a small tube was hidden under his scarf and from which he filled his mouth with flammable liquid and then used a small igniter also hidden in his scarf to launch a fireball from his mouth. Lame trick, and also a dangerous one as Tashigi was now seeing.
"This is just sad." She muttered as she watched the mar rolling on the ground, his head still aflame...
"Aurh! It burns!" ... and crying. His unicycle laying nearby abandoned and forgotten due to pain. "Help! My eyes! My face! My hair!"
"... I hope Senchō is having a better time than I do." Tashigi suddenly a huge explosion and a column of smoke rose in a distance. "Well, this answers that."
With a great force of will Cabaji managed to get on his feet and dash towards the nearby barrel, with a hiss and a cloud of steam the flaming head of the wannabe swordsman was finally extinguished. Slowly he rose and turned around, making Tashigi blink and just stare at the men in front of her. His face was burned, part of his hair was almost gone and what wasn't was heavily burned into an unrecognisable mess. His eyebrows were gone and his eyes were wide and bloodshot, in several places the skin on his face was charred and broken and blood was sipping out. Whatever he used for the fuel for his tricks was apparently very potent, and also dangerous but Cabaji apparently didn't care and it ended badly for him.
"You!" He growled out, his face twisting into a snarl. "Buggy's Crew never faced a humiliation like this!"
"... I have no idea what you're talking about." Tashigi adjusted her glasses.
"A bunch of nobodies coming out of nowhere and beating us?!" He howled as he crouched and grabbed his sword. "I don't think so!" He jumped at her with murderous rage in his eyes. "I will not allow it to happen!"
Tashigi easily blocked the attacks, they were coming one after another and apparently her opponent decided to leave any type of an actual style that he had and just wail on her with pure anger as a fuel for his wild swings. Blow after blow Cabaji wildly swung his sword while she blocked, parried or simply dodged all of them, the inhuman wails of impotent rage that were coming out of the burned swordsman were starting to get more and more disturbing. Tashigi decided that it was time to end this, she was already fed up with the whole thing and Senchō was probably already finished with his opponent.
She jumped back, making the clearly disturbed man stumble as he missed. She crouched and then shot forward in a blur, making Cabaji suddenly freeze in place as the remains of his hair moved under a sudden breeze.
[Ittōryū: Fuyu Kyōfū]
Tashigi appeared right behind him, and stopped. Suddenly a huge wide gash that stretched from Cabaji's left collarbone and right down to his right hip appeared with a big spray of blood. He stumbled slightly forward, some blood even leaking from his mouth as his eyes glazed over and he released a gurgling sound.
"I'll better go and see if Senchō is finished and how soon we can depart, this place is giving me a headaches." Tashigi sheathed her sword with a click and Cabaji, as if waiting for that exact moment, collapsed onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. "This whole thing was a big waste of time."
She took off in a light jog towards the place she saw the smoke was rising from.
Buggy coughed a smoke-ring as he climbed out from the remains of the building they were originally positioned upon, he was mostly intact and with only some dirt and some scratches all over him. Considering that he knew how destructive his special cannonballs can be he could proudly say that he get off unharmed, even if his crew didn't fare all that well in turn. He could see others, either lying on the rubble or half-buried under it, but mostly they were just out cold and not up to any actual action in the near future.
'At least they were tough enough to survive the blast.' He knew that it would have been troublesome to find a replacement after such a crappy encounter. With an effort akin of a first step Buggy pulled himself back onto his feet and looked around, he knew that such an attack was like toothpick against a whale when used against someone who had a Logia of all things. 'Flashy bastard was probably some lucky brat that stumbled upon it by accident.'
Akuma no Mi was one of the treasures of the ocean, his Bara Bara no Mi gave him an ability to split apart and immunity to any bladed weapons. But his was only a Paramecia, that more often than not had nothing on the rare breed of super-humans that managed to acquire themselves a trice-damned Logia! He saw the battles between them first-hand, he saw the clash of monsters that broke islands like plates and could literally set them on fire with a gesture. That was one of the reasons he ran, there simply wasn't anything he could do to oppose such a threat and therefore he retreated to East Blue. Calm life, good hunts and of course the lack of any noticeable threats coming his way on the horizon, the only one who could take him on was probably Arlong and Bear King and these two didn't care one way or another what happened in the open sea. Those two were content with sitting on their respectful islands and leach on the local population, good for them and good for Buggy as nobody was able to stop him from pillaging the islands one after another as long as he stayed on a reasonable distance from their territories.
And now he was facing a Logia in the East Blue, the apparent exception of the rule that all these monsters were safely prowling the Grand Line and left the Blues alone and intact. Like even his own mind was mocking him, the conversation he had with Rayleigh-san all those years ago popped up in his memory. Well, what good it will do to him if he didn't even know how to use Busoshoku Haki and had no actual aptitude for it when he tried to learn it back then? And getting his hands on Kairoseki in East Blue was one of the hardest things to do, Black Market here was a very tight-knit group and getting a good deal was almost impossible due to Smoker haunting Loguetown for any and all illegal products from Grand Line.
Buggy staggered out of the ruins of the bar and onto the road, making sure to at least clean off some dirt and small pieces of debris from his clothes. He wasn't sure if that Logia-user was still there or not, for all he knew the flashy bastard could have been digging through the bedrock of the town and will emerge somewhere nearby instead, you never knew what to expect with them.
His musings were interrupted by the bubbling sound and the hissing of something being melted. Buggy slowly turned around and looked at the centre of the ruins, his face losing color and sweat starting pouring down from every pour as a literal pool of lava was slowly forming right under the wreckage. Pieces of stone were melting along with metal parts like pipes and other things, chunks of wood were bursting into flames and quickly burning out while being swallowed by the growing bubbling and glowing red and yellow pit.
'... Oh, shit.' Buggy started backing away, his guts telling him to leave but his pride not letting him do it fast enough. 'Oh, for fucks sake!'
Suddenly a figure started emerging from lava, it wore a very familiar straw-hat and was walking at a calm pace right towards him. He miscalculated, this wasn't a normal Logia, this was one of the High-Tier ones that were like Forces of Nature given form! That was the reason he ran away from the New World, that slightest chance of facing monsters of this calibre was enough to make him even leave Paradise without turning to look back even once! And how he was facing one of these things in a flesh and royally pissed at him!
Getting away was probably impossible, most Logia could use their Element to move pretty damn quickly if they wanted to, so there was nothing that could save him from death.
The figure finally stepped out from the circle of molten ground and its features finally returned to fully human, the tall teen looked at Buggy with announce.
"Hey, that was rude and pretty dangerous, why did you do that?" He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the clown. "You could've damaged our staff and Tashigi's sword with that explosion! And you even got yourself caught in it!"
"Shut up!" Buggy called back. "Who in the flashy blue hell would try and punch a cannonball?!"
Maybe he was scared and maybe he was outgunned here, but nobody said anything about him losing his explosive temper.
"Are you stupid? What else could I do?" The teen coked his head to the side.
"... Are you retarded?!" Screeched Buggy as his body literally separated into several pieces from shock.
"... Oh, yeah." The Logia-user suddenly had a look of epiphany on his face. "You blew up our boat and stole our staff!" Suddenly it was replaced by anger. "I'm here to kick your ass, you big red nose!"
Buggy blinked, a vein popped on the side of his head.
"Whose nose is big and red?!" Roared Buggy as he lifted his right leg and a small hole opened in the sole of his shoe. "Die a flashy death, you lava freak!"
[Tokusei Magī Dama]
And bullet-sized small red ball shot out from the hole and flew right towards Luffy, who was only able to cock his head to the other side as the projectile impacted him and erupted into a huge explosion. Buggy was thrown back by the blast only to do a flip and land on his feet, a mocking grin on his face. The cloud of smoke and and dust that were no obscuring the epicentre of the explosion suddenly gained a slight red glow and a silhouette of a figure started to take shape, Buggy could hear the sound of footsteps coming close and closer.
"Oh, that was dangerous." Luffy walked out of the cloud, his body fully restored and a curious look on his face. "Never through that such a little thing could could make a boom that big! It totally took off the upper half of my body in that blast!"
Buggy's grin remained in place, but only because in his shock he forgot to remove it from there. Tears were starting to gather in his eyes as his situation was turning from bad to worse, nothing apparently could even slow down the teen that was gunning for his head.
"... How the hell are you even standing?!" Tashigi was gaping at Cabaji that somehow managed to get back on his feet and was staggering towards her like a zombie.
She didn't manage to make even ten steps before a groan made her stop, her opponent apparently wasn't as defeated as she assumed him to be. He somehow managed to get into a standing position and was now making a limping walk towards her while swaying like a drunkard and bleeding all over the place. His eyes were rolled out, mouth was hanging open with a little tickle of blood licking out and his grip on his weapon was slightly loose as he moved step after step while groaning and trying to speak.
"Buggy's Crew... *Pant* ... won't be... *Groan*... defeated... *Gurgle*... by mere nobodies!" He gaped out, coughing out some blood and heaving as if he was ready to keel over any second now. "Wragh!"
With apparently nothing but adrenaline and sheer rage giving him a boost Cabaji positioned his sword in front of him and started spinning it while rising a cloud of dust from the ground.
[Kyokugi: Yukemuri Satsujin Jiken]
"... This is so not going to work." Muttered Tashigi as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can still hear you, you know!"
But nonetheless she took a stance with her sword sheathed at her left side with her right hand griping its handle tightly. This guy apparently didn't know when to give up, while the wound she gave him was big and bleeding it was far less dangerous than it appeared. She didn't aim for the kill anyway, there simply wasn't any reason to end this guy and therefore she only did enough damage to incapacitate him, but apparently he was tougher than he appeared at a first glance.
[Kyokugi: Sōtennenshoku Kānibaru]
'This again?' She already saw this move and knew how strong it was, it wouldn't work a second time on her.
[Ittōryū Iai: Asa Kōsen]
Cabaji didn't even finish his swing as Tashigi appeared behind him in a crouching position, slowly sheathing her sword. With a click the blade fully disappeared into the sheath and in the same moment Cabaji's right shoulder exploded in a fountain of blood and his sword shattered into pieces. The wannabe swordsman let out a groan as he collapsed on his knees, finally letting go of the handle of his now broken weapon.
"... Buggy-... Senchō..." Were his last words as Cabaji collapsed onto the pavement into the growing puddle of his own blood.
"If nothing else, you're one stubborn opponent." Tashigi acknowledged as she straightened up and started walking towards the smoke.
The last technique was fairy new and put some strain onto her body due to her not being able to perfect it just yet. Well, she had a lot of time to do so in the future, if they were going to run into an opponent on every island they docked she was sure she will get her fair share of practice. Knowing Senchō it was almost guaranteed, she couldn't say why but his mere presence seemed to attract both disasters and adventures in the equal quantity. A small smile appeared on her face, life wouldn't be boring any more for her, it wouldn't be empty.
She heard another explosion while walking and knew that the fight was still going on, Senchō was probably taking his time with dealing with Buggy while she finished her own fight relatively fast. Cabaji's level of durability caught her by surprise, normal goon usually dropped like rocks after just one of such attacks and he took three and only them stopped fighting. Well, she never bothered going after anyone noteworthy due to them simply being too much trouble with too little reward and a high chance of death.
Now? Now she could feel that she could take them on.
Orange Town East Block
Mayor's House: Battle on Main Square
Tashigi vs. Cabaji
Winner: Tashigi
"Alright, so you want to fight?" Buggy took a stance, eight knives appearing clutched between his fingers. "Come on, I'll take you on!"
While he was making an appearance of a strong front on the inside he was sweating bullets and thinking every deity he knew that nobody was here to witness what will come now.
"Alright!" Luffy took his own stance, his arms morphing into magma.
Buggy felt as if he just lost several years of his life. Next moment must me timed perfectly, or there was nothing that could save him from being turned into a pile of ashes. He was ready, his only chance to escape and he couldn't screw it it no matter what.
'The moment of truth!' He tense his body, Luffy also preparing when suddenly...
[Tokusei Magī Dama]
... Buggy lifted his left foot and shot another of those small bombs of its shoe's sole.
Without even looking if he hit something or not, he turned around and dashed towards the docks where his ship was. While he alone won't be able to use it, there were boats there that he could use for an emergency escape. As far as he knew, lava couldn't fly so he will be reasonably safe while in the open sea. A soon as he will reach the docks he will start rowing like he never did before, all for the sake of saving his life from a flashy fiery death!
He already passed several buildings when he heard...
"You're running away!?" The teen called out, anger and shock clear in his voice. "Come back you crappy clown so I'll be able to kick your ass!"
Oh, and now a walking talking volcano was chasing him.
"No way, you flashy bastard!" Buggy called back.
"Coward!" Oh, he was getting closer, Buggy pushed his body to go faster.
"It's not cowardliness, it's tactic!" It was, and he will fight him next time they met, but only after throwing enough Kairoseki at the teen so he won't be able to even move. "I'm being smart here by performing a tactical retreat!"
"I'm going to get you!" Came a roar in response.
On a pure instinct, no matter how badly developed, Buggy suddenly jumped to the side as he felt a chill going down his spine. It was the only thing that save him from getting an enlarged fist made out of magma taking off his head, as instead it crashed into the pavement and created a sizeable crater with rocks already starting to melt at its centre.
'Oh shit!' Buggy managed to catch his second wind as his legs started working far faster than the ever before, the threat of death is one of the best motivators. Luffy meanwhile pulled his arm back and charged after his retreating opponent, he wasn't even breathing hard from the chaise due to his inhuman level of stamina. Buggy looked over his shoulder and cursed as he saw that his pursuer was still gaining on him, if he wouldn't be able to gain some ground then his escape will futile because he won't be able to take off fast enough before the teen will fry him.
"Who in the flashy hell are you?!" Buggy screamed.
"I'm Luffy, and I'm the one who will be punching your face in!" Came the response.
Buggy could feel the sheer heat of the magma that was forming Luffy's arms, it only made him run faster. Taking a sharp turn he managed to gain some ground as the teen took a little bit longer to follow him, every inch counted and he was already counting his blessings today. It was time for another tactical move, hopefully it will let him gain a good lead over the Logia-user, enough to set sail. He pulled his left hand back, knives still clutched between his fingers...
[Bara Bara Hō]
His fist detached and flew towards the door of the building in front of him, the flying improvised projectile had enough power to tear the wooden door to shreds as Buggy charged inside and directly through the house. His hand returned to him and he, without slowing down jumped out of the window on the opposite side of what he could see was a dinning room.
With the sound of shattering glass he jumped out of the now broken window and turned around mid-flight. Luffy was right behind him, apparently disregarding the door and just tearing through the wall, he was already halfway through the room when...
[Tokusei Magī Dama]
Buggy shot his last two Muggy Balls at the straw-hat wearing teen, he still couldn't figure out why the hat was pissing him off so much and it didn't matter at the moment anyway. Luffy had only enough time for his eyes to widen as two small but very powerful bombs impacted his body, the following explosion made the whole building collapse and the resulting shockwave gave Buggy's an additional boost in flight so he landed far further than he originally could.
Without even slowing down he twisted around and ran towards the docks, he already could see his ship, Big Top, and the hope that he will live to see the next sunrise started to fester in his heart. He was about to escape a certain doom, Great Buggy-sama was about to perform a miracle and survive an encounter with a murderous High-Tier Logia intact! The thoughts about his soon-to-be grand-escape gave him metaphorical wings as he even forgot about everything else and shot towards the boats he saw no far from his ship.
Nothing could stop him now!
Tashigi rounded the corner and stopped, he eyes widening at what was actually producing all that smoke. A literal pool of lava was in the place that by the debris she could guess a building was no long ago, pavement was melted and whatever wood was near the epicentre of whatever happened here was burning or already turned into cinders. Pirates were littering the street, hanging from the windows and some even sticking from the walls that they half-penetrated with their limp bodies. The whole place was a wreck and there simply wasn't even a slightest clue where her Senchō was...
Well, judging my the lava and by the fact that she could see several melted indents on the ground in the shape of feet she could guess that he was here not long ago but apparently left for whatever reason. She will find him later, it wouldn't be hard knowing that the pass of destruction that his fight will surely leave will be there to point her in the right direction. She looked around and saw something that made her both happy and annoyed.
A bag with treasures and Wadō Ichimonji were lying near the building, judging by the cracked wall they were thrown here by the explosion that she heard not long ago. Her sword was undamaged, food was probably uneatable now and treasures weren't theirs but she wouldn't just leave them there. Well, she would probably leave some for the Mayor so they would be able to fix the damage done to their town during the fights, but it won't be that much due to her and Senchō being in need of money to buy a proper ship. She knew that it was pure luck that both the sword and the bag managed to survive whatever happened here, no matter how good the craftsmanship was there was no way it would have survived being submerged into lava.
"What the hell happened here?!" Tashigi looked to the side and saw Nami standing there, a big bag laying near her and the orange-haired girl observed the remains of the bar. "Is that lava?!"
"Yes." Tashigi called out, making the thief jump up a couple of meters from fright. "Senchō didn't pull any punches here."
She walked towards the remaining bag and picked it up, while lifting the sword and attaching it to her belt with the second hand.
"Wait... what?!" Nami's eyes bulged out of their sockets and jaw dropped. "He did it?!"
"Definitely, apparently Buggy was more of a challenge than I originally through he would be." Tashigi nodded to herself and walked towards the Mayor that just appeared from behind another corner. "We're finished here, I'll go and fetch Senchō and then we will talk about that boat you promised us."
"... What?" Old man squeaked.
"Don't worry, Buggy will be dealt with shortly." She added. "We will leave the money to fix the damage done to your town."
Boodle only nodded, his face was still frozen in shock from the sight of the pool of lava that was still smoking.
"Wait a minute!" Nami suddenly appeared in front of Tashigi and looked at the bag of treasures that the later was carrying. "Where exactly did you get these treasures?"
Swordswoman blinked at the sudden blunt question.
"Ah, I found it lying nearby." She pointed the sword she still held in her left hand at the small cracks in the wall not far behind her. "Apparently they were thrown there by the explosion, I was lucky my sword survived it intact and was anywhere near when Senchō started getting serious."
"... That's my bag." Nami stated with her eyes narrowed. "I originally had three of those, but this one is bigger so they probably put everything in one..."
"Hm." Tashigi looked at the bag. "So they rob your boat too?"
"... What?" Muttered the still catatonic Boodle.
"Wait, so what did they steal from yours?" Nami looked Tashigi over and the only new things she saw was the whit katana. "I see only the sword."
"We really didn't have anything else valuable there anyway." Tashigi answered with a sheepish smile. "We didn't actually encounter any treasures till now, on the last island the only thing that we found were weapons and they really wasn't all that valuable..." She suddenly gained a thoughtful look. "Come to think of it, was there any treasures that you took from Buggy?" She looked at the bag Nami had.
"Yes, and I was going to share some with you as a part of our mutual partnership." Nami gave her the most friendly and innocent smile Tashigi ever saw.
"Well, if you're going to travel with us then we're bound to run into more of these..." She looked around. "Well, we still need to find Senchō before setting off and get that boat that promised us."
Both looked at the still unmoving Mayor who only repeated one word over and over again.
"Maybe we should let him digest the wonderful news of his town being purged of Buggy's Crew?" Asked Nami.
"Agreed, he obviously need time to come in terms with his happiness." Nodded Tashigi.
Both women picked up their bags, turned around and started walking towards the sounds of an explosion that they heard several moments ago leaving the old man to get through his mental trauma in peace.
"Buggy-Senchō!" Buggy heard several voices calling out to him. "We're here!"
Upon a closer inspection he saw his three cronies that managed to lead that trice-damned Logia into the Town, and they were running towards him while waving hands and calling out his name. He honestly didn't know how did he feel about their presence, on one hand he was pissed that they weren't doing their job at slowing up the Bounty Hunters so he could get away, but on the other hand he now had some free working power and meat-shields for his grand escape from the death-trap that this town became.
'Eh, I'll just keep in the middle.' Buggy looked around the docks and saw one of his boats still afloat.
"You three!" He called to them. "Prepare the boat for departure! We're leaving this place at once!"
The three stooges stopped dead and their jaws dropped.
"But... Buggy-Senchō, what about...?" One of them started.
"But nothing!" He screamed at them. "There is nothing we can do at the moment, others already stayed behind so we can escape and then rescue them at a later date!" Buggy knew how to work with the crowd, a skill he polished over the time of recruitment he performed over East Blue. "Their noble sacrifices won't be forgotten, our vengeance will not be merciful and the death of these deviants will be painful!"
The three idiots only looked at him and then dashed towards the boat.
"Yes, Buggy-Senchō!" It also helped that his subordinates had an intelligence of a gnat and were conditioned to eat out of his hands.
Suddenly Buggy heard a crack and instinctively looked over his shoulder, he wished he didn't. The pavement of the street not far away from him broke and fire erupted from it like a torch, the crack widened and suddenly started spreading towards him at high speed. The trail of broken ground and fire erupting from the ground told him enough to know just what was happening, but he honestly didn't want to believe it.
'Oh, Kami, if in some flashy fucking way you can hear me, please let me survive this at least intact enough so I wouldn't need help with taking a piss.' Tears gathered in his eyes and his blood went cold. The tear stopped right between him and the boat with the cronies and suddenly erupted like a volcano, the wave of almost searing heat and explosion of air knocked him onto his butt. A big round chasm with lava poring from it opened right in front of Buggy and smoke bellowed towards the sky. I figure made literally out of magma emerged from the fiery pit of fire, molten rock and death, its whole form glowing with enough heat to melt steal and its face set in an angry scowl.
"I told you I will kick your ass, you crappy clown!" Luffy said as he let magma flow from his body and spread over the street freely.
Buggy was a mess, tears, sweat and snot running down his face as he wasn't sure that the wet feeling on his thighs was actually sweat. He already could imagine his grave where he will put in in a matchbox, his crew saying their final goodbyes and laying flowers and bottles of alcohol to his tombstone and under his picture in his prime.
He pulled all the measly courage that he possessed and pulled himself back onto his feet, his face while still filled with fear, tears and snot gained a scowl of little determination. If he was going to go down, he will do it while standing! Even Buggy had pride and he wouldn't die a coward just because he was afraid and probably was in dire need of new pants, he will die with a fanfares and fighting like a man that he still admired!
'Today is the day that Buggy, a former Cabin Boy of the Roger Pirates and now a Senchō of his own Crew, will go down fighting and with dignity!' His hands were filled with four knives each, clutched tightly between his fingers. It wasn't a way he thought he was going to go down, but damn if he will die like a snivelling worm!
"Well then!" His voice came out shaking and squeaky. "You wanna a piece of me?! Come and get it!"
Buggy took his favourite stance and prepared to face death, crying, with wet pants and shaking in fear but still standing to his full height.
Techniques used in the Chapter:
-Tashigi
Ittōryū: Kyōfū - One Sword Style: Heavy Wind
Ittōryū: Fuyu Kyōfū - One Sword Style: Winter Heavy Wind
Ittōryū Iai: Asa Kōsen - One Sword Style Draw and Resheath Technique: Morning Ray
-Cabaji
Kyokugi: Kamikaze Hyakkoma Gekijō - Carnival Tricks: Theater of One Hundred Kamikaze Tops
Kyokugi: Yama Noborō - Carnival Tricks: Climbing the Mountain
Kyokugi: Nōryō Uchiage Hanabi - Carnival Tricks: Cool Evening Firework Launch
Ichirin Zashi - Wheel Stab
Kyokugi: Sōtennenshoku Kānibaru - Carnival Tricks: All Natural Color Carnival
Kyokugi: Kaji Oyaji - Carnival Tricks: Old Man's Flame
Kyokugi: Yukemuri Satsujin Jiken - Carnival Tricks: Murder Case in the Hot Spring's Steam
-Buggy
Bara Bara Hō - Split Split Cannon
Tokusei Magī Dama - Special Muggy Ball
Well, here is the end of this Chapter, I really hope you all liked it and enjoyed reading it. Lets start on the Author Note:
Cabaji: Well, I honestly had no idea how to handle him. He's isn't as weak as most would assume, it was just that Zoro in Canon was far stronger and more skilled than him. Tashigi could finish him off in one move, but the problem was that she overestimated him due to his position as a Chief of Staff of Buggy's Crew and decided to keep her guard up. Well, he got his last stand and even showed us some pretty decent stamina and durability. There honestly was no actual way for me to make this fight any more interesting, Cabaji is just too small of a fry to do anything other than being stepped over.
Luffy: Yes, he pulled the same trick that Sakazuki did in Canon to catch up with Jimbei during the 'War of the Best'. Honestly, Buggy has nothing that can even remotely be considered a threat to Luffy in any way or form, and I lose respect for any Logia!Luffy Fics that try to say otherwise. Hell, I saw a Fic where Buggy actually was defeated by Goro!Luffy the exact same way as in Canon, which was absolutely pathetic and sad. SW!Luffy won't be beaten simply because it happened in Canon, people like Alvida, Morgan, Buggy and Kreig has nothing on him and wouldn't even stand snowball chance in Hell in defeating him. Well, Luffy will be challenged in East Blue but it will happen only two and a half times and they will actually be reasonable and actually logical by Canon's backstory. A little Spoiler: That half of a Challenge will be Smoker, with the exception of his Jutte with Kairoseki tip and Rokushiki he won't have anything going on for him in the beginning so it will be more of stalemate than anything else.
Tashigi: No, she didn't kill Cabaji, she has far more control than that. Yeah, she didn't even break a sweat here and it would be some time before any decent opponent will appear to face her, but don't worry, there will be one that will push her to grow stronger and test her resolve. This is One Piece, can it be any other way?
Boodle: Yeah, old man is currently rebooting due to him seeing some heavy duty bullshit by Luffy as a proxy. Give him some slack, he never saw battles of two monsters like the ones going on on Grand Line, Buggy's Bara Bara no Mi was probably already shocking enough for him to lose a year or so of his life, Luffy trumps that by being a walking Natural Disaster.
Forum: It exists, USE IT! Honestly, people, you want a discussion with several opinions, please use the Forum that was created specifically for that purpose! I made it for debates, discussions and any other things that would make your fingers run over keyboards double time!
As usual, you Reviews are very welcome and the more of them will be submitted, the faster a new Chapter will appear!