[ Stussy POV ]
Mariejois' border, near the Elevator going to Red Port
Thatch wasn't well enough to go all the way down to Red Port.
In fact, he was using sheer willpower to stay concious. I needed to get him some medical attention quickly before we could get to Red Port.
I was carrying him through the path that led to the Bandolas, and while we were doing so. I was using my Observation Haki to detect any presences nearby. It would have been ideal to find a doctor of some sorts nearby. Thatch was breathing heavily as I carried him by the shoulder, blood was soaking his torso.
I suddenly sensed several presences rushing to my location. They immediately appeared in front of me. They were a troupe of six people in front of me. They were all dressed in white suits that was covered by white capes. Each individual dawned a different mask, and they all wore hats on top of their heads. It was obvious who these people were.
"Stussy, it has been a long time," The leader of Cipher Pol greeted.
Back when I was working with them, identities were made strictly confidential. The only ones who knew our actual names were the higher-ups, and even then they still continued to use our code names to address us.
"Leader, it indeed has been a while, what brings you here?" I asked kindly, yet cautiously.
"This is an oppurtune time to cut off loose ends, your failure and betrayal has left a bad image for the Cipher Pol organization," The leader replied casually.
It was obvious that they hadn't forgotten what had happened on that island. Thatch immediately tried to stand up in order to prepare for battle. However, he only stumbled and fell down when I let go. I needed to escape with him quickly, this was going to be a problem.
As I was preparing for a brutal showdown. I heard stumbling footsteps making their way towards us. Looking at the source of the commotion, it was a red fishman who had a slave mark on his chest, he wasn't shackled like the other slaves were. Meaning that he had escaped, and one of the CP members was about to make a move to kill him.
However, I saw this as a perfect oppurtunity to save Thatch. I quickly used finger bullet to pierce the arm of the attacking CP member. The man winced in pain before stepping back, and I took Thatch and appeared in front of the Fishman.
"Wh-Who are you! Get out of my way! I will kill you!" The man threatened half-heartedly.
"Do you want to get out of Mariejois?" I asked kindly.
It was then that the leader decided to attack. He lunged at me while covering his legs with Armament haki before kicking forward. The Tempest kick that he released pierced through the air as it aimed for my neck. I could only throw Thatch at the panicking fishman and block the attack with my Armament haki.
"If you want to be free and live, follow the instructions of that man you are holding. Take him where he tells you, and you will get the freedom that you are striving for," I promised him without looking back.
Thatch was still concious, however the sudden developments had impacted him negatively. He really needed medical attention, the fishman simply nodded and carried Thatch away. I sighed in relief and promptly began staring back at the attacking CP agents. The leader stood proudly in front of the rest as he stared back at me.
"Should we go after those two?"
"No," the leader responded,"Our main priority is to remove the stain that is on our reputation."
The rest immediately began preparing themselves for battle, I could tell that the only real threat to me was the leader. The rest were strong, if I were to compare them to Thatch, but the leader had the same strength as the opponents we had been facing earlier.
I was beginning to be greatful for that short period of time that we had spent training on that island. That period of time had given me the oppurtunity to unlock more techniques that were on par with the original Rokushiki techniques.
This progress could be clearly shown as I fought the six Cipher Pol Members. Sensing their next moves with my Observation haki was like child's play. However, because of their significant numbers, I could only remain of the defensive end; and could only wait until there was an oppurtunity to retaliate.
It was also important to note that they had haki as well. At least, they had learned Armament haki for the most part. Their hands were covered in black as they kept shooting finger bullets, and firing off Tempest kicks. I easily managed to evade the attacks and started firing off my own finger bullets, the bullets managed to pierce the forehead of one of the members, and another pierced the shoulders of another.
In short, two of the six members were currently incapacitated; leaving only four in fighting condition, including the leader as well.
"Hoh? It seems that you haven't been slacking off while you were away, very admirable," The leader commented. He didn't seem fazed by how I was managing to fend them off so far.
"Thank you for the compliment, I'm glad that my efforts bore this much fruit," I giggled slightly while covering my mouth.
"It's a shame that you betrayed us," the leader muttered as he started growing. His skin grew dark fur as his mouth grew two large fangs on his upper jaw.
My eyes narrowed slightly as I continued to observe the other CP members start showing off their powers.
'How could I forget the fact that some of CP members are gifted with Devil fruits, how annoying,'
The leader immediately charged with a new burst of speed. His claws glew with a dark gleam as he covered them with Armament haki to swipe at my throat. I immediately performed a backflip while covering my feet with Armament haki.
Though his swipe missed, I managed to kick him upwardly to the jaw. As a result, I sent the man flying while the other members immediately lunged at me with deadly precision. A door suddenly opened behind me, and a member attacked me from behind me.
Seeing that there was also another person that was coming up to me from the front. I took this oppurtunity to use Soru to dissapear right before their two attacks could land on me. Right as I dissapeared, the two attacks collided with each other and ended up killing the both of them.
Now four members were down and two remained. I took the initiative and decided to eliminate the weaker target. The person in question immediately turned his feet into spring like supports and lunged away right before I could land a punch on him.
It was then that he immediately used moonwalk to lung at me, and because of the springs that he had on his feet. The momentum was immediately increased and his accelaration was doubled as he used Soru to increase the momentum. If it wasn't for the use of Observation haki, my head would've been blown off because he immediately appeared in front of me with a drop kick with both of his feet aiming for my head.
The resulting affect of his attack had sent another building collapsing in on itself. However, I used this opening to deliver an axe kick right on his face. His head immediately embedded itself in the ground.
I couldn't even get time to rest because the leader immediately appeared in front of me and managed to land a finger bullet right in my stomach. I couldn't react quick enough to dodge the attack, and as a result, blood came out of my mouth. The attack was almost fatal, if it wasn't for the fact that I had regeneration thanks to Dr. Vegapunk. I immediately counter-attacked by putting a finger-bullet right through his head. The man fell down and died instantly after.
I took a deep breath and sighed, looking towards a certain World Government building. An idea was slowly beginning to form in my head. I smiled, and started walking towards it, my wound was already healed.