" PRESSURE DAMAGE!"
" Lightning cutter style."
Markus and Dalmatian watched as massive vortex of sharp razor wind, combined with electricity came rushing towards them.
" Dodge it!" Dalmatian shouted to Markus as he jumped away from the blast.
" I KNOW!" Markus shouted back. He too jumped away from the attack.
The blast ended up tearing up what little remained of the town, leaving nothing but a barren wasteland around them as it exploded.
Markus looked at the devastation. " That was close. What an attack. Man, these guys are a pain. But... I can't afford to lose to them, now. Not after everything they've done." Markus muttered.
* Doom!
Even though there was a smoke cloud still obscuring his vision, Markus could sense multiple attacks coming right at him.
" Here they come!" Markus shouted to Dalmatian.
[ Kakuzu ost]
Large wholes opened up in the smoke, as if something had just passed through it. Markus could feel the pressurized wind traveling through the air and just narrowly jumped out of the way three wind bullets raced past him. And though he dodged two of them, one just barely managed to graze his right arm.
Dalmatian, moved out of the way from the bullets of wind as well, however, before he was able to land again, Janten appeared right in front of him and thrusted his spear right towards his chest.
" Dalmatian-San!" Markus shouted. " Huh?" His attention quickly turned back to the smoke, as he sensed another attack coming his way. A large, circular shaped disk emerged from the smoke. The disk was spinning so fast it sounded like a saw in the wind.
Markus jumped over the disk, flying over the smoke.
" HAHAAAA! Wind Cannon! PAH!" Manten sucked in a large amount of air and fired it right at Markus, hitting him with the force of a cannon ball.
Markus dropped back to the ground hard.
" Ha! Did you like that? That was fun, wasn't it?"
Markus stood up from the crater he crashed into, pushing a large rock to the side as he did. " is all this just a game to you?" Markus asked.
Manten stopped laughing for a moment. " Ha? What was that?" Manten asked the man. He couldn't hear him over the loud sound of his own laughter.
" You think this is funny?"
" Hah! Of course, I do. Why wouldn't i find it funny to destroy the weak and the helpless? Huh? It was done to us for so long. And not a single person batted an eye. Isn't it only fair for us to be able to share some of our pain with the world?" Manten spoke.
Markus glared at Manten.
" You think that because you were mistreated, that you get to just kill and destroy whatever you want? You're nothing more than a demented monster." Markus told the man.
Manten was visibly angered by what Markus said. He responded to the man's words in a rage. "Yeah, I do! We grew up, with nothing. Nothing but each other, the five of us. My brother Janten, my big sister Kagura, my older brothers Bankotsu and Zohakuten. Janten and I... We were too young to do anything. But Zohakuten and the others... They struggled every day to make sure we had something to eat. My sister... She would go out and do jobs for the people in our village to raise money. Zohakuten and Bankotsu fought and stole from people and scavenged food form garbage." Manten spoke. " Of course, we have a right to finally payback all the wrong done to us."
" You sound like an infant. Tell me, what did these people do to you, huh? Did they beat you up? Did they steal from you?"
" Of course not. I'm too strong for that now." Manten responded.
" Don't you see what you're doing? You're hurting people who have done nothing to you or your family. You're hurting good, innocent people. Don't you see how wrong that is?" Markus asked the man.
" Of course not! Anyone with a brain can figure it out! There's only one true law to these seas!" Manten exclaimed.
" I can't let you continue hurting people just because you're unhappy anymore."
" What are you talking about?! I kill when I want! The weak will perish, while the strong survive!"
" Alright then. We'll play by your rules Manten! LET'S GO!!!!" Markus shouted and his conqueror's haki exploded forth and hit Manten.
" Conquerors? Like brother?!" Manten muttered. " Huh?" In the brief moment he was distracted, Markus disappeared. " Where'd he go?" Manten muttered. He looked around searching for the Marine but saw nothing.
*Swip!
Markus appeared in front of Manten. " Meteor series- Straight!" Markus delivered a powerful straight jab straight to Manten's abdomen.
Manten toppled over Markus' fist, spitting up a mouthful of blood as the man's heavy hand hammered into his flesh.
Following through with his punch, Markus shouted as he sent Manten flying.
Manten soared through the air, the pain in his stomach preventing him from turning into wind and saving himself.
" Damn it!!!!"
* Crash!
Manten hit the ground hard. He grabbed his stomach in pain and wondered what happened. " He got faster. I couldn't see him moving." Manten muttered. " How... Huh?!"
Markus jumped high into the air, directly over the spot Manten was resting and deliberately started free falling towards him. " Meteor Series- StarFall!"
The feeling overtook Manten's being and as he looked up at the man falling straight towards him, he screamed for his brother to save him. " JANTEN!!!!!!"
Janten, who was busy fighting with Dalmatian, heard Manten's shout for help. He raised his pole to block Dalmatian's finger pistol and pushed the man backwards. " Manten!"
Janten activated his ability and quickly switched places with Manten, saving him from what Manten thought would be death.
When Janten appeared where Manten had been standing, he saw Markus coming at him at great speeds. Feeling he didn't have time to directly teleport away, Janten raised his weapon and tried blocking the attack with it.
The force of the collision further cratered the ground beneath Janten's feet. Janten was struggling to maintain his stance, as Markus' weight and power beared down on to him. ' Damn it, Manten!'
Janten was in a tough spot.
Meanwhile, when Manten swapped places with his brother, he felt a wave of relief wash over him, for just a moment.
" Whew! That was close." Manten muttered. He was glad that Janten managed to get to him in time. Or else he might not have survived. However, as he sat there on the ground feeling good for himself, he completely disregarded the Marine veteran right behind him.
" Finger Pistol- Dalmatian Spots!" Dalmatian rushed Manten while his guard was down and slammed his five sharpened fingers, which are even sharper with the inclusion of his devil fruit's nails, right into Manten's back without mercy.
" GAAAAH!" Manten shouted. He coughed up even more blood and jumped away as quickly as he could to get away from the Vice Admiral.
However, not willing to let up, Dalmatian chased after Manten.
" Foolish brat! You're not getting away. Fang Pistol!" Dalmatian opened his mouth and thrust forward, sending out a flying blast of air in the shape of his dog fangs.
Manten raised his fan to block the attack, but it still ended up knocking him off of his feet again.
Manten went rolling through the dirt, bashing his head against the ground as he rolled like a cannon ball. and eventually he crashed face first into a large pile of rubble.
Breathing heavily, Manten lifted himself off of the ground. " What is going on? What is happening?! I don't understand it!" Manten exclaimed. He looked down at his hands on the ground and watched as they kept shaking." I.... Why.... Why am I shaking? Am I scared?" He asked himself. He began searching his feelings for the answer. Could it be true? That someone as strong as he was, was afraid?
When was the last time, he was afraid? When was the last time, Manten had the fear of death driven into his heart?
" Hey, brat."
Manten turned around and stared up at Dalmatian as he loomed over him.
Dalmatian pointed his finger down in Manten's face. " Get up! Your lesson begins now!"
[ One piece ost-Difficult]
As he stared up at Dalmatian, Manten suddenly visualized two shadowed figures next to the man.
' Zohakuten?! Bankotsu?!' Manten visualized his elder brothers were standing over him with their blades pointed at him.
" No more games, Manten. Learn to control your impulses, or I'll control them for you. Understand?"
" Man, Manten you really think you can beat us fighting like that? That was pathetic! YAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!"
Manten shuddered.
' That's right! This reminds me of that time!' Manten thought.
Yes, not since he tried, he arrogantly tried challenging his elder brothers had Manten trembled so much. He loves his brothers. But in his arrogance, he tried overtaking them both to display his power and he was crushed effortlessly. Like a child. That day, Manten's respect for the two of them grew tremendously.
Or.... was it more that his fear of them grew?
He couldn't tell. All he did know was that right now, if he did not fight back, he was going to lose or worse die.
*DOOM!
To Be Continued!!!
................
Alright, folks that's another one down. It looks like our Marine duo is starting to take control of the fight from the enigmatic brothers. Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter by leaving a comment!!! Till next time.