Collapsing onto the deck, I fell to my knees and clutched my badly scarred left shoulder while Naga-sa fell right beside me; breathing heavily, I felt my sulong form begin to recede while I shrunk back down to my normal size, and as for my silver fur, it had long since been seared off my body.
Turning to my left, I glanced at my missing arm, which had just been burnt off during my final clash with Akainu; I had given every ounce of strength I could muster, yet in the end, not only did he overpower my attack with a simple punch, he even managed to burn my left arm completely off my body.
Yet, despite being in such a pathetic state, my smile never once left my face. I may have been brutally beaten to near death, but I was satisfied; I had finally gotten what I wanted: it was a battle I could die for. I had loved every second of it.
"Heh-eheh-eheh." Muttered Diddy softly as he tried laughing, yet all that escaped were coughs of blood that stained the deck.
Feeling the deck suddenly tremble, I weakly gazed up and saw Akainu staring at me without so much as an injury, well, unless you would count his destroyed shirt. He didn't say anything; he merely folded his arms and stared at me like an insignificant insect, though I hardly cared what he saw me as; all I knew was I wanted to fight.
"I-I'm s-s-still a-alive." Said Diddy weakly between his gasps as he slowly attempted to stand up while slight sparks of electricity ignited off his body.
Before I could even fully stand up, I sensed Akainu charge me through my haki, and although I tried to dodge, I could hardly move my body; just attempting to stand was taking all of my willpower. My body was an absolute wreck, with most of my organs suffering various levels of injuries while my bones and muscles were extensively broken and torn all over; in fact, not only did I lose my left arm, but I no longer had a tail.
So, although I saw the attack coming, I was unable to avoid it, and so, with a chaotic smile, I faced the attack head-on as I eyed his approaching leg.
"HAHAHAH-"
___
___
Brutally kicking Chaos Kong, his body went limp before he collapsed on the ground, causing me to grunt in annoyance as I ripped off the scraps of my shirt and burned them.
'Tch, it would be easier to just kill him now.' Thought Akainu with a frown as he stared at the smiling Diddy, who lay unconscious on the deck before him.
The longer I gazed at his figure, the more my desire to kill him grew; I never liked these beings known as pirates, yet this one, something about him, pissed me off more than any pirate I've ever encountered previously.
"His smile. I hate it." Said Akainu coldly through gritted teeth while eyeing Diddy's chaotic smile as if mocking him, saying he'd never be able to contain such a man.
Although I knew my orders were to capture him alive, I ultimately decided it was better to kill him; my gut was telling me to end him now, and so, following my gut, I raised my magma fist in the air, preparing to kill him.
"A-Admiral Akainu! F-Fleet Admiral S-Sengoku would like to speak with you, Sir!" Yelled a marine captain fearfully as he stood at a distance and saluted while holding a unique transponder snail, causing Akainu to freeze just when his magma fist was about to his Diddy.
"Tch, bring it." Ordered Akainu as he turned and looked at the captain, who rapidly nodded while carefully approaching him before handing over the transponder snail, only to immediately back away from the intense heat.
"Fleet Admiral." Said Akainu with a slight tone of annoyance as he eyed the transponder in his hand, which briefly looked around before gazing at him.
"Akainu, I heard you finally caught up to the Frenzy Pirates; have you Captured Chaos Kong? It needs to happen soon; the World Government is becoming aggressive." Asked Sengoku through the transponder snail while he sat at his desk in marine HQ, filling through paperwork.
I didn't immediately answer as I took a second to gaze down at Chaos Kong, who further angered me, yet, after some time, I eventually relented and, against my better judgment, I stepped back and retracted my arm. Killing him would save me possible future trouble, but it would anger the World Government and negatively affect my chances of becoming Fleet Admiral; if that happened, my ability to transform the Marines into soldiers of true justice might fail. Such a thing wasn't worth it over one measly pirate, who would eventually be killed anyway; I must think of the bigger picture for the world's future.
"Akainu? Akainu, answer me! Have you captured Chaos Kong!?" Questioned Sengoku somewhat aggressively after getting no response for some time.
"Tsk, yes." Replied Akainu in annoyance as he turned around and walked away, prompting numerous marines to approach Diddy with cuffs and a muzzle.
"Haa, good, now I can finally get the world government off my back. What about the Frenzy pirates? They aren't as important, but their bodies would still be a pleasant gift." Said Sengoku with a sigh of relief as he leaned back in his chair with a faint smile, only to shake his head and glance at the transponder snail on his desk.
"They escaped."
"Hmm, well, so long as you've captured Chaos Kong, that should be enough. With him and the woman who published the photos, who is already in Impel Down, take him to Impel Down for now; the world government will pick them up in the future." Remarked Sengoku with a thoughtful expression as he stood up from his chair and looked out the window, observing the Marine HQ before glancing at the newspaper to his left.
"Roger." Said Akainu as he abruptly deactivated the transponder snail before tossing it into his pocket while he stood against the wall and folded his arms, watching as several marines escorted Diddy.
Eyeing Chaos Kong tied down by several handcuffs and multiple muzzles, I narrowed my eyes as he passed me, though just as he did, the cage happened to hit a bump, causing his head to turn and look at me while still mocking me with that smile of his.
"TCH." Muttered Akainu in anger as he turned around and headed the other way while the battleship began to sail away, heading towards Impel Down.
___
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"The newspaper… It came two days earlier than expected; something big must've happened." Muttered Freyja lightly as she looked up at the sky, noticing a bird with a satchel flying overhead while a buddled paper fell through the sky.
Standing up, I spread my wings and flew into the sky, catching the newspaper out of the air before gracefully descending back onto the ground. Opening the newspaper, I read through the pages, and I couldn't help but whistle in awe at what I was reading; this was something the whole crew needed to know about.
"Damn. To think so many things happened within only a few days since our encounter with Admiral Akainu." Said Freyja lightly with slightly wideband eyes as she closed the newspaper before entering the base atop Pandy's back and arriving at the lounge.
Entering the lounge, I spotted Mael, Sebas, Grand, Trenza, and even my lovely Scar, a surprising sight to see all of us in one place, but it was perfect; well, it would be if not for everyone being covered in bandages, with me being the sole exception as I had taken a few marines with me before we escaped from Akainu.
"Is that newspaper Freyja? It's two days earlier than usual, correct, or was the injury to my head more severe than I thought?" Asked Sebas lightly as he glanced at Freyja with a raised eyebrow, only to faintly frown and rub his bandaged head while grabbing everyone's attention.
"No, you're correct, Sebas; the newspaper is two days earlier than usual, but there is a good reason for it." Replied Freyja with a shake of her head as she tossed the newspaper while sitting atop Scar's lap, and in a moment of rareness, neither did anything perverted.
"Well then, let's see. Hoo, I understand what you're referring to." Muttered Sebas as he looked through the newspaper, causing everyone else to be slightly interested as they looked at him.
"What is it, Father?" Asked Grand curiously as he turned and looked at Sebas, who cleared his throat before speaking.
"Well, for starters, Gecko Moria, one of the seven warlords of the sea, has been defeated by the Strawhat pirates, though that's merely the beginning, since after that, it says Blackbeard, a former member of the Whitebeard pirates, has defeated and turned in Portags D. Ace, the second Division commander of the Whitebeard pirates and has been instated as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, replacing Crocodile." Remarked Sebas lightly as he flipped the newspaper around and showed the five the images, causing them to all be somewhat surprised, though one didn't seem to care.
"What about, Captain? Is there anything about, Captain?" Asked Trenza with a somewhat cold expression as she merely glanced at the pictures before eyeing Sebas, who sported a wry smile and nodded.
"Heh, ever since our escape from Akainu, you've been rather cold, Trenza. Don't tell me you're worried about that stupid monkey-" Said Freyja with a mocking smirk as she looked at Trenza, who simply fired several bullets at her, silencing her.
"Will you fucking shut up, Freyja?" Asked Trenza coldly as she fearlessly glared at Freyja, who had caught each bullet out of the air, only to smirk before ignoring her.
"As for Captain, it's been stated that he's been captured and is being held in Impel down; although it doesn't say anything about his condition, I believe this photo is more than enough to tell it was a gruesome battle against Akainu." Replied Sebas lightly as he glanced at Trenza before once more flipping the paper, allowing everyone to see his badly beaten image while being held prisoner.