Chapter 101: The Sacrifice

Chapter 105:

The Sacrifice

The once-victims of the Warlord Gecko Moria rejoiced his downfall, the sun they had longed to see for so long finally shining above them. None of them were aware, but Thriller Bark had been on the edge of the Florian Triangle for some time, so Moria falling on the rudder's control in the final battle had pitched the island-ship just enough to send it out of the dreaded waters.

Of the pirates that had challenged Moria, Luffy, Gin, and Merry were out cold. Luffy and Gin only had to sleep it off, but Merry's state was a little harder to determine. She had taken a pair of bad falls during the Straw Hats' battle Oars, making her spirit too weak to maintain its physical form, so she was currently trapped in her wooden Heart. Usopp held said Heart, tending to its cracks as well as he could while thinking of ways to chastise his little, adopted niece-daughter for her recklessness.

However, just when appeared that the war was over, a new enemy revealed themselves...

"Yes, that is correct," a calm bass agreed, the voice cutting through the cheer like a sharpened sword through paper. "The Warlord Gecko Moria has just been defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, but only by Straw Hat's underlings and not Straw Hat himself." Everyone in the vicinity froze, slowly turning toward the voice to see a second Warlord sitting calmly on some rubble.

"I see," another voice responded, this one coming from the transponder snail in Bartholomew Kuma's right hand. "In that case, eliminate every pirate you can. Bring Straw Hat to us alive so he can be an example for future pirates, but kill the rest of his no-good rabble."

"Understood." Kuma let the snail fall asleep before gently tucking it away and turning to face the group. "I presume you heard that? My orders are to kill you all, but killing a wounded group would give me no pleasure. If I return with Straw Hat only, that should be enough to satisfy the World Government. Hand him over to me."

"That's super ridiculous!" Franky responded, clicking his T-bar between his arms as the rest of the crew joined him in answering the Warlord.

"We'll never betray our captain! No way in Hell!"

"Then you will not comply?" Kuma placed his bible down, one hand pulling his glove off his left hand.

"Shave!" Coby yelled, vanishing, only to reappear with his swords pushing into some pink mounds on the palms of the Warlord's hands. The Zoan didn't have time to voice his confusion before he was shot backwards, rubble caving in on him.

"Coby!" the crew cried. Grace dashed forward, a spray of black paint splattering over Kuma's left thigh.

"Stay here and take us on!" Grace ordered, expecting her Betrayal Black to make Kuma leave. Kuma stared down at her, his pants and leg bubbling from the acid in the paint, before his hand came down to smack her away. The redhead rolled across the ground, collecting a plethora of scratches, scrapes, and bruises before she crashed into a wall.

"What are you?" Zoro demanded as Franky fired off a Coup de Burst. Kuma deflected the compressed air without a twitch in his expression, his eyes turning to Zoro.

"I ate the Paw-Paw Fruit and became a paw-palmed human," the Warlord answered, showing off the paws on his hands. "I can repel anything I wish."

"Repel this!" Sanji shouted, a burning leg arching down on a path toward the Warlord's head. Kuma didn't so much as flinch as Sanji's foot connected with a blast of heat, one hand coming up lazily to grab the chef's leg and throw him away with the force of a cannonball. Sanji spun uncontrollably, slamming into a wall headfirst.

Brook attacked next, his lighter form appearing before the Warlord with his rapier aimed for Kuma's neck. The paw-palmed man leaned out of the way, the blade severing a tiny ball of black curls from his hair. Again, Kuma's hand came up to smack his opponent away, sending Brook over a wall and out of sight.

"Thunderbolt Tempo!" Nami called, electricity firing downward. The Warlord finally moved, dodging the blast of lightning and appearing before the navigator. Nami stepped back, bringing her Clima-Tact up to block, but Zoro appeared between her and their absurdly-tall adversary.

"Two Sword Style, Draw and Resheath: Rashomon!"

Kuma's face remained expressionless, blasting both swordsman and navigator away with just a flex of his hand. Zoro's attack carved a trench in the ground behind the Warlord, but Kuma ignored it completely.

"Firebird Star!"

"10,000 Kilogram Press!"

"Heavy Gong!"

Kuma assessed his opponents as their attacks neared from the left, top, and right respectively. Coming to a decision, Kuma lifted one hand toward the sky and the other toward his right. The first caught Amy, bouncing her up and away like a strong trampoline, the girl crashing into and through the remains of a tower. The second stopped Chopper cold, blasting him back into a crowd of Rolling Pirates. Usopp's Firebird Star impacted the Warlord's back, searing through the jacket, shirt, and fake skin there to reveal the sturdy metal underneath.

"Y-You're a cyborg?!" Usopp gaped, only barely finding the right frame of mind to roll away from the missile of pressurized air the giant man sent his way. Merry's Heart fell out of his satchel as he moved, bouncing across the ground a couple of times before spiritual energy leaked from it and condensed into the form of a little, white-haired girl without clothes. Usopp was in front of her in an instant, his ghost-hunting cloak covering her modesty. Kuma eyed the new appearance like one would gaze upon an exotic animal in a zoo, his eyes lingering on her horns and Straw Hat tattoo (before the cloak covered it).

"A new member of the Straw Hat Pirates," Kuma acknowledged. "The description agrees with the report filed by Vice-Admiral Garp. Designation: "Ghost Ship" Going Merry. Bounty: 15 million."

"Leave her alone!" Franky ordered. "There's only one super cyborg around here, and that's me! Strong Hammer!" Kuma caught the shorter half-machine man's punch with a forearm. The shipwright only had time to gasp before his vision was filed with paw-covered hand and he was rocketed into the castle.

"Ocho Fleur!" Robin called, eight arms blooming around Kuma's neck and grabbing onto some part of his head. "Snap!" The arms pulled as one, attempting to yank the Warlord's head to the right in order to break his neck. The attempt failed, Kuma's head turning only to watch Robin directly.

"Lay off my family!" Merry ordered, ducking around Usopp and charging the Warlord. She threw her hammer, the wooden mallet bouncing off the cyborg's broad chest with a thunk. Kuma opened his mouth, a beam of light building in his mouth before shooting toward the approaching fairy.

Merry dove out of the way, the beam blasting a trench in the ground behind her and blowing Rolling pirates and Thriller Bark survivors away.

Apparently tired of fighting, Kuma reached his hands toward the heavens, ripple of air taking the form of a giant paw above him. The paw rippled, shrinking a few inches.

"Run!" Lola ordered, finally breaking out of her shock. Her men heeded the order instantly, fleeing from the battlefield with the unconscious Straw Hats they could reach. "Run while you can!"

"Merry!" Usopp called. "Come back here!"

"But-!" Merry tried to protest, Kuma's attack growing smaller and smaller. Realizing how dangerous it truly was, she called her hammer to her hand and turned to retreat. "Dammit!"

Usopp didn't chastise her for her language, scooping her into his arms and starting to run just as Kuma's attack reached the size of his head. The paw of pressurized air shrunk to the size of his hands shortly after, his hands cupping it and blocking most of what seemed to be light coming from the paw. He opened his hands, letting the paw-shaped attack float forward toward the center of the courtyard.

"Ursa Shock."

The destruction was complete and absolute. No stone remained on any other within the courtyard, that is to say, about three quarters of the mansion surrounding said courtyard ceased to exist. Pirates were scattered every which way, slumped over the ground in a way that would confuse Moria himself as to if they were zombies or victims. The Tyrant looked over the devastation without an ounce of emotion, his eyes coming to rest on the prone form of Monkey D. Luffy. He took several large steps forward, covering the distance between himself and his target in less than a minute. He stopped briefly, his hands ready to take Straw Hat and leave.

"One Sword Style: Death Lion's Song!"

Kuma finally stumbled, a gash tearing its way across his left shoulder and revealing the gears and mechanisms therein. A panting Zoro slowly sheathed Wado Ichimonji behind the large cyborg, having rescued his captain for a second time.

"A cyborg and Devil Fruit powers?" Zoro panted. "You'd think I'd start feeling like you had an advantage over me."

"I am no mere cyborg," Kuma corrected, turning to face the swordsman that had somehow managed to not only remain conscious after his Ursa Shock, but still attack him faster than his sensors could detect. "I am called a Pastfista, the first of an experimental line being created for the World Government by Doctor Vegapunk himself. To give you a frame of reference, it's said that it will take the rest of the world 500 years to begin developing the technology that Vegapunk is creating now."

"I don't care," Zoro growled, trying to stand against Kuma and feeling his legs give out. "This is embarrassing," he grunted. "My legs won't listen to me, but that doesn't matter. You want Luffy's head, right? I'll give you a head, but it sure as Hell won't be my captain's. Take my head instead."

Kuma showed no reaction to Zoro's demand. "And why would I accept that?" he asked.

"Because I am the man who is destined to become the world's greatest swordsman!" Zoro paused, his left hand gripping the handle of Wado Ichimonji before his determined eyes glared at Kuma. "Luffy will be the King of the Pirates some day, and it's a shame that I may never get to see it, but what is the worth of my ambition if I can't even save my captain? What are you waiting for? Show me you have some honor!"

"What the Hell do you think you're doing, Mosshead?" an irritated voice demanded, Sanji shoving a couple of displaced blocks of stone off himself and getting to his feet. Bypassing the shocked swordsman, the chef placed himself between his crewmate and the Warlord. "If you want a head, take mine! I might not be worth a lot yet, but you'll regret not taking my head later if you don't do it now. This is your only chance to take on Black Leg Sanji!"

His tone softened, the blond tilting his head back only a fraction of an inch. "Hey, Mosshead. Tell the others I'm sorry to leave without saying goodbye for me. And tell them I'm sorry to leave them hanging. Looks like you all will need to find a new coo-" He trailed off, his mouth opened in a silent scream as Zoro bashed him in the side with the handle of Kitetsu III.

"You son of a-" He didn't finish, his form crumbling.

"There," Zoro stated. "What are you waiting for?"

"Me." The swordsman didn't have time to turn around before something collided with the top of his head. As he fell, he was able to make out black hair before he joined his rival on the ground in the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

"Electric Devil Gin," Kuma announced, eyeing the only now-conscious man before him. "Worth 100 million, it is believed that you ate the Rumble-Rumble Logia Fruit, though you have been untruthful as to its origins. What do you have to offer that could top this swordsman beneath you?"

"I killed god himself to take this power!" Gin responded, his eyes shadowed by his hair. "I claimed this power to save myself, but I accepted this power to protect my crew. And now, I offer you this power for that same reason. Take my head! Take my Fruit! In exchange, leave my family the Hell alone!"

"You Straw Hats," Kuma sighed. "First the swordsman pins me in a corner by putting my honor on the line, now you do the same thing. Allow me to ask you this. How are you standing? If I recall, you were unconscious for the final battle like Straw Hat himself, yet you are now awake when he is not? Why do you wish to throw you're life away for this man?"

"I'm assuming Donna Nami fired off an electric attack or two because the ambient electricity was enough to wake me up. As for your second question; Don Luffy is the man who will be the King of the Pirates! I have no doubt in this statement, nor will I ever. Just as I know that Sanji will find the All Blue one day and Zoro will defeat Mihawk. I know that Donna Nami will complete a map of the world and Grace will become a world-famous painter. Chopper will cure every disease and Robin will learn the true history. Every one of my friends will reach their goals, it is only a matter of when, not if! I have no such ambition. My only goal was to sail this sea, to conquer my fear of it, and to reach the end.

"If this is my end, then so be it! I shall die saving my family! For Don Luffy! For the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"Very well," Kuma agreed. "If you are to take his place, then you must take it fully." The Warlord lifted Luffy gently, pressing one hand against the teen's chest. A paw-shaped bubble tinged pink around the edges grew from the pirate's back until it overshadowed Kuma himself. The Warlord then replaced Luffy on the ground before picking up Zoro and creating a much smaller bubble, this one slightly green. The second was only about a third the size of the original until both bubbles combined.

"What did you do to them?" Gin demanded.

"My Fruit allows me to deflect anything I wish. Attacks of course, but also pain, exhaustion, ache. This is the accumulation of agony Straw Hat went through in his battle with Moria tonight as well as some of what Roranoa went through. To take their place, you must bare it all. Only then will you truly replace either. Allow me to give you a taste."

Kuma swiped his hand through the bubble, a comparatively tiny piece floating toward and into the Logia. Gin gritted his teeth and screamed as pain the likes of which he had never known wracked his body. He collapsed as most of the pain subsided to a strong ache.

"Do you still wish to continue?"

Gin scowled in response, pushing himself to his feet and throwing his tonfa at the Warlord's feet where they stuck out of the ground mere inches from his shoes.

"I pick the place. Let's go."

Sanji and Zoro awoke at the same time to the sounds of a cheering crowd and their captain's happy laughter. A quick glace showed then that Luffy was his usual self, bouncing around this way and that as if the night before hadn't happened. It was morning, the shining sun above them saying that it was almost midday.

"You moron!" Sanji growled, grabbing the front of Zoro's shirt. "Trying to sacrifice yourself!"

"You tried to, too, dartbrow!" Zoro shot back. "But... I didn't."

"What?" Zoro forced himself to his feet, leaving Sanji in the dust to chase after him as the swordsman raced into the woods, but Zoro was faster than Sanji for once, the cook losing the swordsman in the trees.

It took Zoro far too long to find Gin in the forest, over fifteen minutes, but all Zoro really did was follow the scent of blood and ozone, even if he did get lo- err, turned around a couple of times. It was a gruesome sight when he did finally find the man who had taken his place in taking Luffy's place. Gin's clothing was nothing but scraps and his eyes were tinted red. Blood and scorch marks covered everything in the clearing. The grass that wasn't covered in red was black and charred beyond recognition. Zoro had no clue how, but blood still dripped from the Logia in the center of it all.

"You idiot!" Zoro yelled. "What did you do?! What happened?"

"What did I do?" Gin repeated in a dry voice. "What happened? Oh, nothing special. I was only doing my duty..."

End of Chapter 105

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-SwordOfTheGods