here's a new chapter enjoy:)
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A few hours before Luffy sets off to find Crocodile
"Hey Nami," Usopp knocked lightly on their Navigator's room.
When no response came, Usopp knocked again, a little louder this time.
There was a soft bump before a muffled "What is it?" can be heard from the other side of the door.
Usopp scratched his head, not sure if coming so early was a good idea, "I got the thing you wanted ready, you might want to take a look at it."
Nami flung the door open without warning, panting as though she had just ran a marathon, startling Usopp.
"Where is it? Let me see!" Nami squealed excitedly, reaching both her hands out to receive it.
Usopp sighed as he pulled out three metal rods from his bag, handling them with extra care. He brought up each one to show her before placing them in her hands.
"This one produces a cold air bubble when you blow into it, this one would produce a hot one, and this one makes a bubble with a little bit of electrical discharge," Usopp explained. "I call it the Clima-tact."
"Thanks Usopp! Now I don't need to feel so useless anymore!" Nami grinned, eyeing her new weapon excitedly.
Usopp wagged a finger at her as a warning, "I would advise you test them out first before using them, I don't actually know how to use them practically myself…"
"Hehe, alright, alright," Nami grinned, closing the door on him.
Usopp scratched his chin, he wondered why Nami's hair seemed to be a little messier than usual and her clothes seemed a little bit off but quickly decided it wasn't his problem.
Nami took out her new weapon from underneath her cloak, grasping two parts of it in her right hand while the last one was held in her left.
"Nami! Cover!" Zoro grunted, swinging both his swords in an arc.
"Usopp, I need some fire!" Nami shouted at the sniper while Zoro rushed ahead to meet the charging Mr. 1.
"You got it! Flame Star!" Usopp fired a flaming bullet towards Mr. 1 that exploded outwards in a wall of flames.
Mr. 1 emerges from the flames unscathed, brushing away the embers as though they were nothing, not slowing down his charge towards the Marines.
"Today's forecast, a little bit of fog," Nami smirked, swinging the staff that created cold air bubbles towards the fire.
Almost instantly, a huge cloud of fog covered the entire square, blanketing everyone in the white mist.
"How troublesome, but you guys can't see us either, right?" Miss Doublefinger smirked, readying herself for any surprise attacks.
"Usopp! I need a guide!" Zoro yelled over his shoulder, disappearing into the mist where Mr. 1 was last spotted.
Usopp grinned as he pulled down his goggles, adjusting its magnification to focus on the shadowy figures deep within the mist.
"Egg Star!" Usopp released three projectiles one after the other in rapid succession, hitting all three of his targets with deadly accuracy.
"Oh phooie! What is this repulsive odour?!" Mr. 2 yelled out indignantly, trying his best to flick off the offending liquid.
Zoro grinned as he closed his eyes, fully concentrating on his sense of smell. He knew Luffy could navigate through this fog without a hitch, but he was not at that level himself yet.
He lashed out the sword on his right towards the man he knew that was in front of him. Zoro frowned when his sword met with resistance.
"Your killing intent is too obvious," Mr. 1 huffed. "Even if I can't see you, I can still feel where your attacks are coming from."
Zoro furrowed his brows, "You blocked my sword, are you a swordsman too?"
Mr. 1 let out a smirk, "hardly, I just ate the Supa Supa fruit... I'm a blade man."
"A man that can deflect my swords with his body, how interesting," Zoro grinned, pushing himself away from Mr. 1.
"You may be better than the average Marine, but unless you can cut through iron, you will never be able to leave a scratch me," Mr. 2 stretched out his arms in a gesture.
Zoro drew out his last sword to put in his mouth, "I accept that challenge."
The Marine swordsman lunged forward again, slashing out all his swords at the agent. Sparks could be seen flying in the fog every time the two clashed against each other.
"Mr. 2!" Usopp shouted from the roof of a building. He had taken advantage of the earlier confusion to sneak himself to a better vantage point.
Mr. 2 looked up, barely able to make out Usopp's figure through the fog.
"I do not wish to fight you, but I will if you continue to resist! Please surrender!" Usopp aimed his slingshot at Mr. 2, it was clear he had no desire to fight one whom he had thought was a friend.
"It is regretful, but we both stand on two different sides! Even the power of friendship cannot prevent this encounter! I'm afraid we will have to fight!" Mr. 2 yelled back, leaping up from the fog.
Usopp gritted his teeth and released a lead ball towards Mr. 2.
Mr. 2 twirls in the air like a dancer would and kicked the projectile away, taking another leap towards Usopp.
Usopp frowns and releases a torrent of exploding stars at Mr. 2, exploding against his kicks and sending him back into the fog.
"That's dirty!" Mr. 2 whined.
Usopp loaded his slingshot without hesitation, "All is fair in war... Even if we may be friends, I won't allow you to continue to harm this country!"
Mr. 2 frowned, "So be it, we shall fight for our own beliefs!"
Mr. 2 tried to kick towards Usopp again but Usopp manages to keep him from reaching the roof with his barrage.
"So it looks like it's you and me," Miss Doublefinger smirked, appearing a few feet in front of Nami.
Nami held her staff confidently, swinging it in between them, "It seems so, but you should take care not to underestimate me."
Miss Doublefinger let out a laugh, "What can you do? You're just a powerless girl!"
"I was," Nami corrected. "I didn't join the Marines to stay weak, I have things I want to protect now."
"Big words from someone with no power!" Miss Doublefinger lunged towards Nami without warning, spikes protruding out from her hands to stab at her.
Miss Doublefinger laughed triumphantly when the spikes pierced through Nami's head, shoulder and abdomen.
The joy was cut short when Nami immediately fizzled out of existence.
"I told you not to underestimate me," Nami wagged her finger at the agent.
"You... What Devil Fruit is that?" Miss Doublefinger glared at Nami.
Nami grinned, "I don't need a Devil Fruit to beat you."
Miss Doublefinger hissed at the Marine and lunged at her again, going for a spiked shoulder tackle.
She gasped when her tackle met with no resistance as the Marine fizzled out right before her eyes again, sending her sprawling on to the ground.
"That's an interesting ability you have, it's the spike thing fruit, isn't it? I did some research about it," Nami grinned, appearing behind her again.
"What manner of witchcraft is this?" Miss Doublefinger clenched her fists.
Nami let out a small pout, "It's not witchcraft you uncultured girl, it's using the weather as your weapon."
Nami swung her staff in an arc and the fog seemed to thicken around Miss Doublefinger, hiding Nami from view.
"You told me not to underestimate you, perhaps you should do the same!" Miss Doublefinger yelled, crouching down on the ground and flinging her arms wide.
Spikes exploded out from her body in all directions, piercing through everything around her.
"At least one of these would hit you!" Miss Doublefinger yelled triumphantly.
There was a soft giggle that came from her left.
"I already told you I already know about your ability, you can't really surprise me anymore." Nami laughed, standing a few inches away from the spikes.
Vivi had given her all the information she had gathered about the other agents before. Nami herself had also managed to get her hands on a book that detailed about most known Devil Fruits. She knew the approximate range of Miss Doublefinger's spikes and their strengths and weaknesses.
Nami swung her staff once more, gathering a bunch of cold and hot air bubbles around her. The fog thickened before slowly lifting up into the air, briefly granting Miss Doublefinger a glance of Nami.
"What is it now? Giving up?" Miss Doublefinger retracted her spikes before standing up.
"Hardly," Nami smirked. "Have you ever been struck by lightning?"
Miss Doublefinger raised an eyebrow at the sudden question, "Can't say I have..."
"Then you can say you do now," Nami grinned, tossing the last part of her staff in the air.
Miss Doublefinger watched the staff disappear into the cloud that formed above her head with a gasp, watching the cloud turn into a menacing black.
Before she could even comprehend what was happening, a bolt of lightning flashed down towards her. Miss Doublefinger screamed as she felt millions of volts of electricity course through her body, frying her afro to stand on end.
Miss Doublefinger collapsed on to the floor after a while, smoke drifting out from her mouth.
"That's one down," Nami grinned, catching her falling staff with a flourish, giving a mock curtsy towards her imaginary audience.
She turned her head to see how the others were doing, the fog had already dissipated when she had used it to form her clouds.
Zoro and Mr. 1 were still locked in combat, both of them trying to cut each other with little success. Usopp was still stuck on the rooftop but Mr. 2 had no way to reach him without being hit by the multiple projectiles Usopp shot his way.
Zoro raised the sword in his right hand just in time to catch the falling left arm of Mr. 1, pushing the agent's slash away from him. He furrowed his brows as he leapt back immediately when Mr. 1 kicked his right foot upwards in an attempt to cut across his chest, missing by mere inches.
Zoro slashed out both swords in his hands at Mr. 1's unprotected back, grunting in frustration as his swords bounced off harmlessly on his back.
"You might as well just give up, Marine," Mr. 1 said offhandedly as he kicked towards Zoro again. "You're only wasting both our time."
Zoro said nothing as he ducked under the kick, slashing at the agent's other leg, still unsuccessful in cutting him.
Zoro leapt backwards just as Mr. 1 brought his leg down to smash into the ground where Zoro had been moments before. He cracked his knuckles as he stared down the Marine with disdain, "Enough with your pathetic struggling, unless you can cut through iron, you can never hurt me."
Zoro gritted his teeth as he held his swords by his side, glaring at the man standing before him.
'Damn it, what was this breath thing that Luffy was talking about again?'
Flashback
"Oi, Luffy," Zoro called out to the Commodore that sat on the figurehead of Merry without a care in the world.
Luffy tilted his head back to look at his swordsman with a quizzical stare.
"How did you even find us in the middle of all that steam?" Zoro leaned against the railing, crossing his arms. "Is it another one of that haki thing?"
Luffy let out a huge grin as he chuckled, "Yep! It's called Observation haki! It lets you see the breath of all things!"
"Breath of all things?" Zoro tilted his head at the Commodore.
"Uh-huh, everything has its own breath that you can find with Observation haki. When I was in the steam, all I had to do was to listen to the ship's and I could find it easily!"
Zoro scratched his chin thoughtfully, "So it's used for finding things you can't see?"
"Eh… Something like that," Luffy scratched his head, there was also the thing about predicting your opponent's moves but he decided it was not that important.
"So what else can this be used for?" Zoro looked at Luffy expectantly.
Luffy looked up at the sky, not really in the mind of explaining everything since he wasn't really sure about it himself.
"I guess you can find the weak spots of things…" Luffy said finally.
Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Like… If you could feel their breath, you can easily find the flow of their energy or something… Ah… I don't really understand it myself but you would understand if you use it," Luffy scratched his head in embarrassment.
"So how do I get it? Continue to put myself in more danger?" Zoro grunted.
"That's one way, but for Observation haki, you'll have to improve all your senses by quite a bit… I trained mine by fighting blindfolded."
"I… I see…" Zoro nodded attentively.
Luffy laughed at his serious face, "Just get stronger, it'll come to you eventually, shishishi!"
Zoro crossed his swords just in time to catch Mr. 1's chop, inches away from his face.
'Damn it! What breath and energy?! I don't understand any of this! I only know how to cut things!'
"Such futile attempts…" Mr. 1 frowned as he punched at the center of Zoro's crossed blades, sending him crashing into the building behind him.
"Zoro!" Usopp and Nami yelled out simultaneously.
"It's noooooo time to be looking elsewhere, phoonsies!" Mr. 2 kicked at Nami who barely had time to duck underneath it.
"Your opponent is meeeee!" Mr. 2 sang, twirling backwards to avoid another projectile that Usopp shot towards him.
"Usopp! Let's take this guy out first!" Nami shouted, brandishing her staff threateningly in front of her.
"I got it!" Usopp pulled out a bunch of bullets from his pouch, keeping his eyes on Mr. 2.
"Oh? Isn't this a little tad bit unfair? Ganging up on poor me?" Mr. 2 whined, though his guard remained up.
"Usopp! I'll need some time!" Nami shouted, breaking apart her staff and creating the bubbles she needed.
Usopp didn't hesitate and immediately launched three Fire Stars that exploded into a small wall of flames around Mr. 2.
Unperturbed, Mr. 2 leapt over the flames with the grace of a ballerina, landing with a small twirl outside the fire.
"I wonder, would you have the heart to attack one of your own?" Mr. 2 giggled.
With a small twirl, he immediately changed himself into Zoro, albeit with his ridiculous grin still plastered on his face.
"Hahaha! How is this? You guys can't bear hurting one of your own right? You can't beat me!" Mr. 2 laughed maniacally.
"Lead Star!" Usopp's projectile hit Mr. 2 squarely in between the eyes, sending him sprawling backwards on the floor.
He sat up on his haunches, clutching at his face as he turned himself back.
"How heartless! How can you attack one of your own friends?!"
Usopp grinned, pulling his slingshot back without hesitation, "As long as we know it's still you, we don't need to hesitate!"
Mr. 2 furrowed his brows as he jumped up to avoid the Exploding Star Usopp shot out.
"Then how about I sow a little bit of confusion then?" Mr. 2 laughed to himself, changing his face once again. He did another ballerina twirl before he changed himself into Usopp, all the while still laughing to himself.
"Now I wonder who is the real one? Can you tell us apart?" Mr. 2 stood haughtily with his hands on his hips, laughing at Nami.
Both Marines sweat dropped at him.
"You do know he's still up there right…" Nami pointed a finger at the roof Usopp was standing on.
Mr. 2 looked up at the roof, spotting the Marine sniper staring back at him incredulously.
Nami tilted her head at him, "Even if you change into him, you're still down here… Not really that hard to figure out who's the fake, you know?"
Mr. 2 knelt down on the ground and began crying out tears of shame.
"Last chance Mr. 2! Please give up!" Usopp shouted out.
"Never!" Mr. 2 spun around, changing back to his original form before lunging towards Nami.
Nami threw herself to the side, barely avoiding the kick that sailed over her head. Nami tried to push herself up but found Mr. 2 standing over her, his foot raised high in the air.
"Hakucho Arabesque!"
Mr. 2 kicked straight towards Nami, aiming for her head.
Nami barely had time to raise her staff in defence before the kick broke through the middle section of her staff, sending her flying back towards a wall. Nami gasped out in pain as she felt pain rock through her body like lightning, collapsing on the ground.
"Gaaaahhahhaha! I knew you were one of the weakest among the crew! Neither of you can hope to fight me evenly!" Mr. 2 laughed.
Usopp cursed as he released the Exploding Stars he had loaded in his slingshot, aiming to disable the okama.
Mr. 2 just laughed even louder as he pirouetted away from where Usopp had shot his bullets, letting them explode harmlessly on the ground.
"Gaaaahhahhaha! It will only be a matter of time before you run out of bullets to shoot! Then it will be over for you, Marine!" Mr. 2 laughed again.
Usopp furrowed his brows, the okama was right, of course, he had already used most of his bullets to keep him occupied, he could not afford to waste anymore if he could help it.
Nami groaned as she pushed herself off the floor, holding on to her two remaining staff parts.
"Nami! Are you alright?" Usopp yelled out in relief.
"I'm… fine…" Nami wheezed, gripping tightly to her weapon. She was only left with the shock and cold bubble parts.
"Still able to stand? How surprising," Mr. 2 smirked at her.
Nami gritted her teeth, glaring at the okama that was spinning in front of her, "It's true that I was weak… When my village was terrorized by pirates I could do nothing but watch them hurt the people I cared about…"
Nami spun the cold staff in her hand, creating a bunch of cold bubbles around her, ignoring the pain that came with that action.
"But that was in the past… I have people who would support me and help me become stronger now, I won't remain as the weak one anymore. I'll protect what I want with my own hands!"
Mr. 2 frowned at her, "Big words coming from a girly like you. What can you do here?"
"We can beat you!" Usopp shouted, shooting another Exploding Star.
Mr. 2 barely had time to jerk back his head to avoid the projectile, covering his face to avoid the heat that came with the explosion.
He noticed that his clothes felt stickier than before and the air felt more humid after the explosion.
"Usopp!" Nami yelled, running towards the agent with her last staff held in her hand.
Usopp said nothing as he lined up his slingshot once more, firing a small projectile at the okama.
"Useless!" Mr. 2 yelled out, kicking at the bullet Usopp had shot in an attempt to send it back to him.
The projectile exploded the moment his foot touched it, sending its liquid contents crashing down on top of the okama.
Mr. 2 could only splutter in shock as he tumbled back from surprise, sitting on the floor with a soft thump as the remains of the water balloon splattered on the floor.
Nami let out a yell as she stabbed her shock bubble staff into the back of Mr. 2, snapping it cleanly in half. A large discharge of electricity immediately exploded out from the shattered staff, shocking both Nami and Mr. 2.
Mr. 2 screamed out in pain as he felt torrents of electricity wreck through his body. Nami could feel the pain shock up her arm as well as she gritted her teeth and braved through it with her will. When the staff finally ran out of power, smoke was drifting out from Mr. 2's body and Nami could not feel her right arm that had held the staff.
"You…" Mr. 2 began, trying to turn around to grab the Marine navigator.
"Never call me weak again!" Nami kicked him across the head with her right foot, catching him across the temple and smashing him into the ground, unconscious.
Nami found herself panting heavily as her right arm hung by her side, numb from the shock. At least she didn't get the worst of it, she thought while looking down at the smoking Mr. 2.
"Well… I guess that was a rather… shocking experience…" Usopp commented, joining Nami by her side. He was mostly unscathed, though it seems he had a few bruises from where Mr. 2 had managed to kick back a few of his projectiles.
Before Nami could respond, the building to their left suddenly collapsed, revealing a rather badly cut up Zoro still locked in combat with Mr. 1.
"Zoro!" Nami and Usopp rushed towards him, intending to aid him.
"Stop! Don't come here!" Zoro yelled, shoving Mr. 1 away from him. "I'll handle him! Go find those Guard Captains and find Vivi! This bastard said there are agents among the rebels as well!"
Usopp swallowed, "But… You're…"
"No buts! Just go! This is my fight! Protect the king and princess!" Zoro leapt aside just as Mr. 1 slashed out his hands, cutting through the building behind him with ease.
"Tch… Usopp, let's go!" Nami grabbed onto the sleeve of Usopp's Marine cloak and pulled him along, turning her back on the fight.
"But Zoro's hurt!" Usopp protested.
Nami glanced over her shoulder, "He'll be fine, he won't fall to a guy like him. Now let's go before we're too late."
Nami broke into a run, ignoring the pain that stabbed at her with each step she took. Usopp chanced another glance back at the struggling swordsman before breaking into a run after Nami as well.
Mr. 1 watched the other two Marines disappear around a corner before turning back to regard the bleeding swordsman, "You should have taken their help, there's no way for you to beat me alone. Not that their help would have mattered anyway."
Zoro snorted at his words, "I can deal with you myself, there's no need for their help."
Mr. 1 raised his hands, turning them into blades, "It's your death, Marine."
He spun his arm at the Marine swordsman, attempting to cut across his chest. Zoro gritted his teeth as he raised a sword to block the slash.
Zoro planted a kick in Mr. 1's chest, pushing him away from him.
Without hesitation, Zoro lowered himself in his stance.
"Oni Giri!"
Zoro slashed past the blade man with all his might, frowning when he felt the metallic resistance that he had already grown accustomed to throughout this long battle.
Mr. 1 turned around while brushing his chest as though getting rid of some dust.
"You might as well just give up now, you've already tried so many times, aren't you tired?"
Zoro glared at the agent, "I've already managed to hit you a number of times... If I can just cut you, you'll already be finished."
"If you can cut me," Mr. 1 let a smirk cross his face.
Zoro furrowed his brows at the agent's words.
'I just need to cut him... I just need to cut through iron...'
Zoro tightened his grip on his swords before lunging towards the blade man without warning.
Mr. 1 raised up his hand and smacked the opposing blade away lazily, looking down on the Marine swordsman that still refused to give up.
Zoro didn't relent on his failed lunge as he used his momentum to spin around and slash out the sword in his other hand, catching Mr. 1 across the chest.
Zoro gritted his teeth in frustration as he felt his sword rebound against the agent's iron skin, forcing him to leap back from him just as Mr. 1 lashed out his arm.
"I'll have to applaud your tenacity, I'd have thought you to be dead by now," Mr. 1 tilted his head at him casually.
Zoro didn't answer as he gripped his swords once more, glaring at the agent in front of him.
Mr. 1 lowered his stance, "But I think I've played with you long enough…"
Zoro brought his swords up in a guard as Mr. 1 brought both his wrists together with his palms facing Zoro. He charged at the Marine without warning, slamming his palms on Zoro's swords.
"Sparkling Daisy!"
Zoro felt several cuts along his shoulders and sides as he pushed against the lunge with all his might. The building behind him collapsed as it was decimated with Mr. 1's cuts.
Zoro felt his knees buckle as he fought to stay standing, glaring at the agent all the while.
"You have good eyes," Mr. 1 remarked, staring back at Zoro with his usual impassiveness. "Eyes that are suited more for killing, pity you chose the life of a Marine."
"I choose my own occupations," Zoro spat, shoving Mr. 1 back roughly.
Mr. 1 brushed dust off his arms, "You should have just taken our offer to join our organization, things would've have been so much more easier."
Zoro grinned as he pointed a sword at the agent, "Sorry, your organization's too boring for me, I'll die of boredom within the week. Not to mention the companions I'll have to be with are too full of themselves."
Mr. 1 narrowed his eyes at the Marine, his mouth curling into the barest of frowns.
Without any warning, Mr. 1 lunged forward with his right arm pointed at Zoro, the tips of his fingers outstretched and aiming for his throat.
Zoro flicked the sword in his right hand outwards to deflect the hand away, twisting his body with the motion to slash at Mr. 1's exposed back with the swords in his left hand and mouth.
Mr. 1 did not even flinch as he took the blow on his back, only taking a step forward from the impact before spinning on one leg to kick upwards at Zoro.
Zoro jerked his head back before slashing out his right hand at Mr. 1's stationary leg, the sword bouncing off the leg with a resounding "clang".
Zoro barely had time to leap backwards as Mr. 1 chopped his arm at where the Marine's neck had been moments ago.
Without wasting time, Zoro leapt forwards once more, his swords held at his sides.
"Tatsu Maki!"
Zoro slashed out his swords, creating a miniature tornado of blades that smashed into Mr. 1.
Mr. 1 lowered himself and lunged through the tornado, bursting out in front of Zoro. The Marine barely had time to raise his guard before the agent swung both his arms in front of him.
"Spar Break!"
Zoro felt the world go black around him for a moment, barely registering himself falling on to the floor.
Mr. 1 landed on both his feet just as the building behind Zoro exploded out in a storm of slashes, collapsing in itself.
"Such a shame," Mr. 1 commented dryly, not even sparing a glance at the prone swordsman as he walked away from him.
Zoro felt the edges of his vision go dark, his body unfeeling. He could already feel the blood spilling out from the various cuts on his body, his life draining slowly away.
"Bas… tard…" Zoro spat out weakly, slowly pushing himself up. His arms burned from the exertion, threatening to give way. His body groaned in protest as he felt of his muscles strain just to keep him on his feet.
Mr. 1 turned to see Zoro still standing weakly, gripping on to his swords with the last of his strength.
"If you were smart, you would've just laid down quietly instead," Mr. 1 sighed.
Mr. 1 brought up his arms and broke into a charge towards the Marine, aiming to end him quickly.
The Marine swordsman tensed slightly, knowing he would not last beyond the next hit. He let out a breath and let himself calm, ignoring the constant pain his body was in.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Zoro watched the agent charge towards him. Zoro could feel each of his muscles tense slightly as he felt his senses go into overdrive.
His eyes flickered around, as if seeing everything for the first time, taking in everything he saw carefully.
The world seemed a little bit brighter and clearer, though colors seemed a little saturated.
'Is this… What Haki feels like?'
Zoro wondered, still taking in the new experience. He could feel the air brushing against his skin, hear the straining of Mr. 1's every muscle as he leapt towards him. Somehow, Zoro knew if he wanted to, he could avoid the blow.
'Well… It's either that or I'm dying.' Zoro laughed to himself humorlessly.
He snapped himself back to attention as Mr. 1's arms neared his throat, inches away from piercing him with his sharp fingers.
Zoro deftly stepped aside, ignoring the protests of his already straining body.
Mr. 1 spun on a leg, spinning his right arm back towards Zoro's chest.
Zoro could hear it coming before Mr. 1 even completed his spin, taking another small step back to avoid it.
Not pausing, Mr. 1 kicked upwards on his free leg, aiming for the Marine's throat again. He furrowed his brows when Zoro only tilted his head to the side to avoid it, both of his eyes closed.
The agent slammed his foot downwards, trying to get Zoro on the shoulder but Zoro side stepped that as well, eyes still closed.
Furious, Mr. 1 raised his arm and delivered a flurry of stabs, chops and lunges at the Marine, only for all of it to meet empty air as Zoro swayed side to side, carefully avoiding most of the blows. Of the ones he could not avoid, Mr. 1 only managed to deal very shallow cuts that didn't seem to faze the Marine in the slightest bit.
"How? How are you still able to do this? You're practically bleeding to death now…" Mr. 1 muttered, stepping back from the Marine.
Zoro said nothing as he stretched out the sword in his left, slashing it upwards at Mr. 1.
Mr. 1 raised an arm to block it, fully intent on lunging once he deflected the blade away. Instead, the sword continued on its path unobstructed, just as Mr. 1 felt a trickle of pain crawl up his arm.
He looked at his arm in confusion, finding a small cut that stretched from his elbow to his wrist.
While Mr. 1 was still comprehending the impossible, Zoro let a small smile cross his face.
"I understand now, Luffy… I hear it…" Zoro finally opened his eyes to watch the agent carefully, pointing the sword in his left hand at him. "I can cut you."
Zoro said it so simply as though it was an obvious fact, a fact that seemed impossible not so long ago.
Mr. 1 furrowed his brows, "It seems so… But it still doesn't change the fact that you're already half dead."
Zoro let out a humorless chuckle, "You have let yourself grown complacent, haven't you realize that?"
"What do you mean?" Mr. 1 frowned.
Zoro lowered himself into his stance, "Now that I can cut you, you have no defense against my blades. There's no way for you to not get cut."
Mr. 1's eyes widened in realization just as Zoro lunged at him.
The agent brought up his arms instinctively to block the attack, only to have his arms cut by the swords. Mr. 1 could only watch helplessly as Zoro brought down the sword in his mouth across his chest, leaving a slash from his right shoulder down to his left hip.
Without hesitation, Zoro settled into his most familiar stance, ignoring the strain his body was already being put through, knowing full well that he shouldn't even be standing in his current state.
"Oni Giri!"
Zoro slashed out all three of his swords at once, coating each of his three swords in blood.
Mr. 1 gritted his teeth in pain, knees buckling under his weight as he fell for the first time in the battle. He tilted his head backwards to look at the Marine swordsman sheathing his swords calmly.
"Heh… Seems like I really underestimated you…" Mr. 1 let out a grin. "Now I guess I'm paying the price… For that…"
Zoro grinned back at the agent, "Thanks to you for making me stronger."
"Ha… So what are you going to cut next? Diamond?"
"What makes you think I can't do it now?" Zoro looked back.
"Heh… It's my loss…" Mr. 1 collapsed face first on the ground, unmoving.
Zoro took a chance to look up at the sky, "Am I closer to your expectations now… Luffy?"
Moments later, he too collapsed in a heap, just as the shadow of a large falcon descended in between the two.
Vivi was standing apprehensively beside Kohza, the latter doing his best to convince the rebels of the trickery that they had been subjected to and to put a stop to the meaningless rebellion.
"This war has gone on for long enough, too many people have suffered and many lives have been lost to this trickery! Many of us had faith in our king and we always believed he was innocent of these heinous crimes! Now is the time to put this wrong to right!" Kohza swept his arm outwards dramatically.
All of the rebels had their eyes on him, eyes darting occasionally at the princess and the king that flanked him on either side.
A man with a scar across his face stepped forward, pointing an accusing finger at the king, "It still doesn't change the fact that there's a drought because of you!"
"We have been tricked!" Kohza gritted his teeth in frustration, knowing he had been a victim of this trickery as well. "The king had always been innocent from the start! He was framed by others who had sought to destroy this country!"
"Lies!" The scarred man spat angrily. "Nothing but fancy tales this fake king has told to convince us of his innocence!"
This time the king stepped forward, "My people,all of you have the right to hate me as I was powerless to prevent the disaster from happening. All this time I had never stepped forward to claim my innocence due to one reason: My lack of evidence. Without it, it would only be seen as a convenient lie that other parties might use to destroy our country."
"And why should we believe you now?" Another man with a sharp face waved his sword menacingly at the king.
"Because I've seen their plans," Vivi pleaded. "The time I had gone missing was actually spent infiltrating this organization that planned the downfall of our country!"
There were murmurs of surprise among the rebels, some doubtful about her claims but most agreed she was telling the truth.
"This organization calls itself Baroque Works and it was the reason for this war!" Vivi continued without hesitation. "They were the ones who had planted the Dance Powder in our country to bring about our ruination just so they can put themselves in positions of power once we have destroyed each other!"
This brought angry shouts from some rebels, wanting to seek out this new enemy and bring justice to them. The scarred face man however, didn't agree, "You're lying! You have no proof that such an organization exist! You probably disappeared just to escape the civil war!"
This sparked off a shouting match amongst the rebels, some of them defending Vivi while others agreeing with the scarred face man.
"It doesn't matter anymore!" Cobra shouted, silencing the rebels. "What matters now is that we don't bring this country any further into ruin! If all of you wish it, I would abdicate the throne to save it!"
Everyone gasped in shock at the king's words.
"No!" Kohza grabbed Cobra by his collar, pulling him to face him. "Don't you dare say that now! Not after what we've been through!"
The rebel leader turned to face the now solemn rebels, "We started this war for a reason, many of you followed me because we shared the same feelings back then, but it seems some of us have lost sight of our goal."
Kohza looked at each of the rebels that stood in front in the eye, some looked back at him proudly while others looked away and shuffled their feet guiltily.
"We started this war not because we wanted vengeance, not for justice and neither for the rain that was stolen from us. We fought this war because we believed we did it to save this country from ruin!"
Kohza swept his arms in an arc, gesturing to all of the rebels, "Now we all know the truth! If we go any further than we already have, this country will be destroyed by our own hands instead!"
Kohza gritted his teeth as he gestured to the king, "While I was at Nanohana where we had reports of the king appearing there, we found instead someone who had the power to transform himself into the king."
Vivi swore the collective gasp from the rebels could have sucked the rain from the sky.
A short woman who was missing her left arm stepped forward hesitatingly, "Even so leader… Even if we agree to end the war, I fear many of us won't be satisfied unless a concrete resolution was reached…"
Kohza nodded sagely, as though he had already expected it, "The destruction of Baroque Works and bringing justice to these criminals who dared tried to destroy our country."
A number of rebels smiled at the suggestions but the scarred face man immediately shouted out in protest, "t is not enough! We were ready to throw our lives to bring down this crooked king! We shall not rest until he is at least punished for the state that this country has become!"
A large group of rebel shouted out in agreement, punching their fists in the air.
Vivi gasped suddenly, her hands covering her mouth in surprise.
Kohza turned to see her face had turned unnaturally white.
"Vivi? What's wrong?" Kohza asked in concern.
Vivi pointed a finger at the scarred face man's arm where the sleeve had rolled up when he had been shaking his fist in the air. At the top of his arm near the shoulder, a tattoo of a winged skull with two rapiers crossed behind it could be seen clearly. Right underneath it, the words "Baroque Works" were etched.
The man and those who had raised their hands hastily covered it but those near them had already seen it.
Kohza's eyes flashed red in anger, "Everyone show me your arms! Bring those who have that tattoo in front!"
It didn't take long for the infiltrated agents to be brought up in chains and made to kneel in front of the rebel leader. Most of them had been part of the rebellion in its early stages.
Any doubt the other rebels had of Vivi and Cobra's words had vanished by then, most of them already crying out to bring the organization to justice.
"Damnit! So we were already played from the start!" Kohza cursed at them. "I was nothing but a pawn to your organization's plans!"
Cobra walked up to the agents, eyeing each of them carefully, "Why would any of you do this to our country?"
"Promises of wealth, most likely," Kohza spat, disgust clear on his face.
Vivi crouched down in front of them, "I know there was a final phase in the organization's plans, but I couldn't discover what it was before I was found out. Tell me what it is and we'll set you free."
"Vivi! They can't be trusted!" Kohza glared hard at the agents.
The agents shrunk back from the anger in his voice, quivering in fear.
"Kohza, we have no choice, we need to know what else they have planned in order to stop it…" Vivi pleaded.
"Tell us the plan, and I'll guarantee all of you safe passage out of this country," Cobra supplied.
The agents still kept their mouths tightly shut.
Kohza grabbed the scar faced man by his collar and shook him roughly, "Say it, or I swear I will make the rest of your lives as painful as possible that you will scream for death!"
The man soiled his pants slightly, sweat pouring down from his face as he tried to find his voice, "We… We were suppose to make the rebel army… attack Alubarna today… I don't know anything else, I swear!"
"Is that the absolute truth?!" Kohza shook him once more.
The man gulped, "Yes sir… Our boss never told us anything else… I swear!"
Kohza threw him back down on the ground roughly, turning back to the king and princess.
"They have something prepared for the capital…" Vivi frowned, she looked calm but her hands were shaking slightly.
"We'll have to stop them, whatever it takes." Cobra nodded.
Kohza began barking orders to the rebels, sending messengers running to various posts to deliver the news of the trickery and their plans to head towards Alubarna with the intention of stopping the rebellion.
Kohza furrowed his brows, "It's time to end this war once and for all, too much has already been lost…"
"Aye, we'll link up with the Guard Captains and those Marines before heading back," Cobra agreed, already looking towards the direction of the capital.
It was time to end the war.
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And cut.so that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter.bye
chapter 21:The Villain With Hero's Name