– Nero –
"You guys really are full of surprises, aren't you?"
Nero could still feel how every hair on his body had stood on edge, when the Admiral's hand appeared not three inches from his eye. Even now, his heart was violently hammering at his ribcage in a frantic bid for freedom, while seemingly every drop of fluid in his body was escaping through his pores. Attempts to calm his ragged breathing failed, despite his lungs screaming for air. However, Nero couldn't focus on any of that.
"I don't think I like that."
Instead, his attention was locked onto the Admiral and the hand he was inspecting. The hand that had tried to rob him of his sight moments prior. The hand that had gifted Nero more terror than he'd felt in his entire life. The hand whose fingers Nero could still feel digging into his orbital cavity. A hand, which was empty.
"I mean like, seriously?"
Sound Twins. An ultra-fast Soru variant of Nero's own creation, capable of producing lifelike afterimages. It was something Nero doubted even Rob Lucci – for all his prowess – could replicate so easily. It was proof of how far an urchin from the slums had come, proof of Nero's growth. In short, it was a technique that could easily be classified as an ace up anybody's sleeve. But…did that allow Nero to outrun the user of the Glint Glint Fruit? No. At least not under normal circumstances.
"Using a speed-based technique against me of all people? Me?"
Paradoxically, it had been the light-based nature of Kizaru's powers that had saved Nero's skin. The incredible speed he could achieve simultaneously forced the Admiral to spend some time deciding beforehand where and how he'd move. Time, which Nero's haki used to scream warnings at him, urging him to run. Had he run too late, Nero would have died. Had he run too early, Kizaru would have simply adjusted his flight path accordingly, and Nero would have died anyways.
"I won't deny that it was mighty impressive, but I'm annoyed now. Really annoyed."
Even now, Nero wasn't quite sure just how he'd done it, but by some stroke of luck and happenstance, he'd picked the best possible moment to escape. If he hadn't been having a metaphorical heart attack, Nero might have enjoyed the dumfounded look on Kizaru's face, when the eye he'd plucked out, dissipated into thin air. Along with the
Nero he'd plucked said eye out of.
Nero's line of sight was blocked as his captain stepped in front of him, shielding him from the increasingly irate Admiral. The others followed, forming a protective cordon around Nero, including the freshly bandaged Urouge.
"Miffed, actually."
"…"
"I think I'm going to kill you guys now."
"…"
"Not going to say anything? Where did all the bravado go?" Bellamy's reaction to Kizaru's words was to increase his and Aisa's electrical output, the air crackling with energy. "What are you? A peacock?"
"I thought you were going to kill us. By my last count, we're not dead yet."
"…you know, I'm not sure if you're the most foolish person I've met or simply batshit crazy."
"Honestly, I'm not so sure either." Bellamy replied. "Though, if I had the choice
, I'd prefer to be a fool."
"Yata no Kagami." Kizaru intoned before vanishing in a ray of light only to reappear on a bubble above them, his arms crossed in front of him. It was a reflection of their societal positions, the reigning superpower staring down at the defiant faces of his challengers.
"After all, it's fools who change the world."
"The world doesn't need change."
"There's no world that doesn't."
"…Yasakani no Magatama."
What followed could only be described as a rain of light. A torrent of luminescent particles innumerate and uncountable, continually slamming into Bellamy's
Spring Shieldwith a momentum that massless photons simply should not have. Nero honestly hadn't expected his captain to hold. Apparently, neither had Kizaru. However, hold his captain did, albeit with visible pain, his face distorted into a grimace as he focused everything he had on keeping his armament intact.
"Urouge, watch your left!"
"I know!"
"Too late."
Which meant, the task of keeping him safe fell on Nero and the others. It was a difficult one. The admiral flitted around faster than before, probing their vulnerable flanks while occasionally popping back to keep up the bombardment. Laki was the first to go down, the confined nature of their stationary defense presenting too large a handicap. Apparently, her shots had been a larger nuisance than the Admiral could afford to ignore, not with the way Trafalgar Law kept redirecting and relocating them into the Admiral's blind spot with his devil fruit ability. Kizaru bodily tackled her out of the circle the moment she stepped the slightest bit out of position and buried her in a tree. Nero followed soon after, the Admiral using the gap left behind by Laki to kick him away from his allies. Then Kizaru nailed him to a rock with a makeshift wooden spike a.k.a a branch from where Nero could do nothing except helplessly watch the captains' desperate struggle.
"Law! Get us OUT OF HERE!"
"That won't help you brats. I promise."
Urouge lasted a little longer, buying precious seconds for Trafalgar Law to teleport them out of the direct line of fire. Unfortunately, while this freed up Bellamy, Urouge paid the price when his wounds reopened and began seeping crimson blood. Had it not been for his pillar taking the brunt of the damage, the one being cut in two would have been the monk instead of his trusty weapon.
"And that leaves two."
"Springtrap-ya, if you have any other tricks up your sleeve, this is the time."
"I've got one thing I could try…"
"Yeah, no. You and your friends have been annoying enough."
Not even bothering to turn into light, the Admiral pursued the two remaining captains on foot while Nero could only watch from where he lay crumpled against a tree. Charging headlong at them, sword drawn back.
"Spring…"
"Die."
"…cube."
He ran into a solid, black metal wall. One, which had its origins in one of Bellamy's springs, strewn across the clearing. And one, which in concert with five others, encapsulated the gobsmacked Admiral in a haki-covered, seamless cube. It was the same move that Nero's captain had allegedly used against Strawhat Luffy on Amazon Lily. However, unlike the pirate captain, Kizaru's first attempt to get out caused a visible dent. The second resulted in the unmistakable tip of the Admiral's sword poking out the other side, before the shining blade began moving along a slow circle.
"Law-buddy! I can't hold him much longer!"
"Shambles!"
With those words, the cube disappeared, falling down a chute created by the sudden disappearance of the ground…straight into the waters below. If captain Law had done what Nero thought he did, then they'd just won. Relief spread throughout Nero's body, the tension leaving him like the tide. Likewise, Bellamy collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping for breath but smiling nonetheless. Aisa leaped out of Bellamy to check up on Laki. Meanwhile Law hobbled over to start treating the wounded. He as stopped by an explosion out at sea.
Nero watched in growing horror as a human shaped object broke through the ocean surface at incredible speed, the water erupting heavenward. His eyes followed the object on its parabolic flight path, eyes widening in recognition as it approached the clearing.
"…how? How?!?" Aisa wailed in despair, clinging to Laki's leg.
"Conservation of momentum." Bellamy explained morosely. "The shiny bugger took advantage of the split second between my cube disappearing and the ocean swallowing him to turn into light and race upwards."
"But…seawater cancels devil fruit powers!"
"Only when you're submerged enough, and it wouldn't cancel the momentum he'd built up anyways. His speed dropped a lot to compensate when his transformation came undone, but it was still enough to get him out of the water."
"Well, let's hope that his little bath had at least some effect on him, Springtrap-ya." Trafalgar Law mumbled; his sword drawn in readiness. "Otherwise, I think we're fucked."
The Admiral unceremoniously landed with a crash, a cloud of dust obscuring sight of the landing zone, which Bellamy, Aisa and Law dove into to finish the job. They…didn't succeed. When the dust settled, Nero became privy to the sight of Captain Law being pinned to the ground by his own sword, and Bellamy's sparking body dangling helplessly from the dripping Admiral's grip.
"Twice." Kizaru hissed, none of his usual drawl audible in his voice. "Twice now you've dunked me in the ocean. Not once, but twice!"
"P-pity it… didn't w-work."
"Congratulations. You've achieved something which very few people can claim. None of whom are alive." Kizaru continued, punching the captain in the gut. "You've made me angry."
"F-fuck y-you!"
"I've changed my mind. I'm not going to kill you. You, I'm keeping alive. Instead, I'm going to gather up everyone you've ever cared about, everyone who's either helped you or was helped by you, everyone who was ever associated to you… and I'm going to kill them in front of you while you watch. Starting with your crew."
Bellamy tried to say something, but Kizaru stopped him by ripping his jaw out. Springs went flying everywhere.
"Shush. You've said enough for one day."
Bellamy's response was a gurgled groan.
"Surely, you didn't think I wouldn't notice your crew running away with Kuma in tow, did you? Did you honestly believe I wouldn't be able to catch up to them if you fought me here?" the Admiral taunted, ripping out Bellamy's legs singlehandedly. "You weren't keeping me here with you. I was keeping you here with me. Too far away that even at your best, you wouldn't be able to reinforce them in time. Not that you could anymore, not in the state that you're in."
With that, the Admiral let go and Nero's captain dropped to the ground with the sound of rattling chainmail.
"So, just sit tight while I pick up the rest of your crew, ok? It won't even be a minute."
Kizaru ran off.
Aisa sobbed.
– Sarquiss –
They were too slow. Bellamy and the other were risking their necks to buy them time, but Sarquiss' party was way too slow. At this rate it was going to take them forever to reach the ships and hence, forever until Bellamy could even try to extradite himself and the other. He didn't care that Bonney's crew was trying their best. At the pace they were waddling at, Sarquiss knew that Muret could run circles around them. Heck, they weren't even carrying Kuma. Funkfreed was.
The worst part of this whole situation was that Sarquiss couldn't sense what was happening with the rearguard. They'd long since moved beyond his sensory range. Rivers had kept them updated for a while, but that had stopped a few minutes ago too. The last report hadn't been too positive. They needed to get to the ships and draw Kizaru's ire away from the rearguard. Cover the Black Pearl in mirrors and get the hell out of dodge while Bellamy and the others went to ground.
And these fucking imbeciles were delaying them. Sarquiss knew that he'd been very lucky to have received training from Nero, Izou, and the Revolutionaries. He knew that not everyone had access to the same opportunities and that not everyone was geared toward speed like Sarquiss himself was. However, even when accounting for all that, this was simply ridiculous. Urouge's monks weren't doing too much better either. At least they had the alibi that the Mad Monk valued power over speed. What was their excuse? If Bonney herself hadn't easily been keeping pace, Sarquiss would have called them all incompetent. If they got out of this alive, he was going to force the Glutton to train her crew properly. This was just plain sad.
"Guys!" Their lookout hollered from atop Fuza.
"What is it, Rivers?" Sarquiss called back.
"We've got Kizaru incoming! Slower than I'd have expected, but he'll catch up in a minute!"
"Shit!" Sarquiss cursed. "Captain Bonney!"
"I heard! Everyone into combat position!"
"We can't fight an Admiral, Bonney-chan!" The Glutton's first mate protested, only to be shouted down.
"Well, do you have a better idea, haah? No? Thought so!"
"We could split up…"
"And be picked off one by one? Don't you have a brain?"
"Thirty seconds!"
"Muret! Stay with Funkfreed!"
"I will. Don't worry about me, Sarquiss!"
"Baruuuuha!"
"Twenty seconds!"
"Captain Bonney! Orders, please!"
"Monk guys to the right! My lot to the left! Eddy & Lily on me in the center! Sarquiss is my second in command! Then Lily and Eddy in that order!"
"Aye aye!"
"Ten seconds, I'm engaging!"
Rivers' rifle came to life, catapulting its sea stone bullet well past the sound barrier. It hit something Sarquiss couldn't sense and blew up part of the forest. Their sniper just grimaced and fired again. And again, before an answering laser nearly shot Fuza out of the sky.
"Normally, this would be where I say something witty. Engage in a little banter. Right now? I'm just done." Death declared, stepping into full view. "I've been punched, electrocuted, stuffed in a box and thrown into the ocean. I'm done being nice."
"Everybody, charge!" Bonney ordered. The gathered pirates obeyed.
"So, let's get this farce over with."
They all fought bravely.
"Fifty of you. That's quite a lot of you."
The Mad Monk Pirates fought valiantly.
"Too slow. You're all too slow."
The Bonney Pirates fought passionately.
"The Berry–Berry Fruit? Now, where did you get that?"
They didn't last five minutes. The only reason that it wasn't one had been Rivers' supporting fire in addition to Fuza's evasive maneuvers keeping them both in the fight.
"You aren't bad at observation, Sentinel of the Sky. Unfortunately for you, I'm better."
However, no matter how agile Fuza might be, he was only mortal. And mortals made mistakes. One wrong turn and a laser saw two smoking bodies falling out of the air.
"You Bellamy Pirates really are a talented bunch. And Rear Admiral Rosinante's fruit? Old Man Sengoku is not going to like this at all."
Mani's ambush, so effective against Kuma, achieved nothing except adding another casualty.
"Calming your own presence was a good idea. But you shouldn't have suppressed it so much that it created a blank hole. It's unnatural."
Ross and Hewitt worked together to pincer the Admiral from above and below.
"Jet Punch!"
"Shit, Mani! Chain Lock!"
Kizaru cracked their heads together until they collapsed, before throwing them both into the sea.
"Gahahahaha! Gahahahahahaha! Gahahahahahaha–urk!"
Eddy's sword clashed against the Admiral's for a bit, the navigator laughing maniacally the whole time. But that too didn't last very long, and Sarquiss' friend collapsed with three blades of light sticking out of his back.
"More speedsters?"
Sarquiss tried to assist as well as he was able. However, his poison cloud was sealed out of fear for allied collateral damage and his speed was no match for the Admiral's. Shortly after Eddy went down, Sarquiss was snatched out of the air and was folded in half above Kizaru's knee.
"How dare you do that to my Shithead!!"
"You can't rust light, didn't you know?"
"Shaddap and die!"
His darling arguably lasted the longest, stubbornly clinging on to consciousness as Kizaru grabbed her by the leg and smashed her repeatedly against the ground. Sarquiss didn't want to imagine what would have happened, had Bonney not come back – after being punted into the distance right at the start of the fight – and had Muret not released a berserk Kuma. Both of whom engaged the Admiral on more equal footing.
"Even if power is terrifying, Bonney the Glutton, it is useless if you're too slow to touch me."
Relative to the rest of them, that is, which sadly wasn't saying much.
"Had you still been yourself, this might have been more difficult. But as it is, you're nothing but a shadow of your former self, PX-0. It's almost a pity."
"He has a name!"
"He does. PX-0. The original pacifista. Though, seeing as he is malfunctioning, I should probably retire him."
"What are you? Stop it! Stop it right now! STOOOP!"
In the end, it wasn't anything Bonney did that kept Kuma from losing his head, but an arrow. An arrow loaded with so much haki and fired with superhuman precision, that it reduced Kizaru's blade into little motes of light.
"That's enough, Borsalino."
"Shakky-san. I thought you were retired."
"I still am." Shakky stated, entering the clearing with her bow fully drawn.
"Sure doesn't look like it from where I'm standing."
"Step away, Borsalino."
"First Rayleigh and now you. Interfering all the time. It's such a bother."
"I said, step. Away. I'm not asking."
"The Dark King was one thing. You're another. Former queen of the Kuja or not, you can't beat me."
"If you were at your best, probably not. But the way you are now? I'll take my chances."
"Remember that you're only able to operate your little bar because we are turning a blind eye to it, Shakky-san. Which we only did because you were retired and posed no threat to Justice. We may have to rethink that after today."
"Then skedaddle back to your HQ and start thinking. Not that it will result in much. We both know that I'll be ripping off a much greater price for my bar than the Elder Stars are willing to pay."
"Do not think that your association with Bathory will shield you forever, Shakky-san. Someday, we will come for you."
"Maybe. But that day isn't today. Now, scram!"
"Fine, fine. Springtrap really is a lucky one. Do let him know that this isn't over, will you?"
"…"
"See you around, Shakky-san."
Author's note:
You guys didn't really think they were ready for an Admiral yet, did you?
The Crew paradoxically only survived because the Rearguard angered Kizaru enough that he wanted to make their execution public.
At least they still have Kuma so the Allies succeeded in their primary objective. So the rescue operation wasn't a disaster...sorta.
So, what did you guys think?
