That picture...is strangely similar to what I had imagined...

Good find, man.

Whoa, that is a cool picture, Wolf. I agree with what Exorcist said... Everything, he said, actually. Lol. They really do look like how I would imagine them to be ten years after current OP... XD

I figure i'll do a little mini-arc explaining Karasu's past & why he is as well as some secrets about his family



-The sad song of the black bird part one-




-Smoker , Karasu and Lucia had arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago Smoker lit two new cigars and puffed out some smoke- "I'm going to a certain coater used by us Marines as I don't trust you both yet your free to roam in all districts except the lawless district. If I catch you both there I'll remove your rank as Shichibukai and capture you myself." Lucia thought it was odd that smoker was taking such precautions but she nodded and she looked over at Karasu and he was snickering under a grin that reminded her of a Hyena cackling at it's defenseless pray and he walked off- "I'm sorry Marine but I don't have time for your games, Lucia would you care to accompany me ?" Smoker's hand became fists "What are you saying Black Bird ?" Karasu only laughed " You and I both know you can't restrict us nor remove our rank without directly apposing the world government. You'd like nothing more than to see me fall wouldn't you Marine ?" Smoker knew Karasu rose up a good point "of all the warlords I think you need the shortest leash Black bird, you may not of uposed us yet but there's something about you that worries me about our future." Karasu only grinned widely " You and I both know I want nothing more than to Serve the World Goverment." Mean while Lucia had been in her own world looking at theSabaody Archipelago it than hit her people every where had people or gaints with chains linked up following them behind they were slave traders in this town. Lucia stayed calm at this fact despite her body breaking into a cold sweat and lump forming in her throat as she gulped and looked at Karasu and Smoker who had finished there bickering Lucia trotted up to Karasu's side and she looked up at him drawing a blank expression "So, is this place for slave traders ?" Karasu nodded "Yes I thought you would know given your past." Lucia didn't frown or change in posture she merely shrugged "I was sold some where else to the pirate Kaigo" Karasu laughed "you sure are the postive out looker aren't you Lucia ?" Lucia couldn't help but blush at Karasu's comment but she shook her head had that blank expression she than felt a unsettling feeling as flashes over past flooded her head her hands turned to fists but her face and mindset were still clam and collected as she looked at the bubbles forming and caught peeks at some of the traders she than noticed that alot of the towns folk were pirates were instantly on guard. Lucia smiled at the small pirates fearing her while the bigger known pirates let the two ward lords walk through the town unharmed she was unsure if it was Karasu's repuation the rank of Shichibukai or her own reputation. Karasu Stopped dead in his tracks as he than saw it a man in a suit that resembled a Astronaut almost the man was fat and picking his nose as a human slave was being forced to carry him Lucia Insantly dropped to her knees and bowed her head out of respect she thought or was it fear. She wasn't sure she snuck a peek at Karasu who hadn't kneeled or even twitched but she could see it on his face anger was boiling inside his mind she felt compelled to tell him the words seemed to slip out. "that's one of the world nobles KNEEL before he executes you!!" Karasu snorted "I don't kneel to garbage" The fat man perked up at that remark it was saint Charlos he pulled out his gun "What did you say about me lesser being ?" Karasu's hat fell over his eyes "You heard me you fat Slob" the towns people gasped was this man insane ? did he want his rank stripped away from him. Charlos fired his gun at Karasu but in mere moments Charlos was in the air his helmet slashed in two his eyes wide with fear as Karasu held him up with one arm and Charloses eyes went wide and Karasu cut him off before saying anything bringing him close so Karasu could speak into his ear "you will not say anything you will act like you did not see me here Charlos and you will never speak to me after today the next time I see you I won't hesitate about taking off that plump little head of yours. Now be a good pig and be on your way." Karasu let the Noble down "Come Lucia, were done here" Karasu stormed off and Lucia sprinted up to him. "what was that all about ?" Lucia asked nicely Karasu sighed and opened the door to a Cafe. "Please take a seat Lucia what I am about to tell you is something you must keep to your self." Lucia sat down she was curious now Karasu took off his hat and sat down two cups of tea were served to them. Karasu sighed "I am a Celestial Dragon I am Karasu D. Konjou descendant of one of the 21 kings that assembled the world government." Lucia's eyes went wide with interest , shock and surprise "WHAT YOUR A!" Karasu covered her mouth he was biting his lip Lucia than noticed tears were falling from his face "Don't say anything I've Disowned by Nobility but the world still accepts me as such because of my Linage don't draw attention to me as far as the world is concered I am a Pirate who grew up in the south blue." Lucia nodded and sipped her tea. "why are you crying ?" Karasu wiped his tears "this tainted blood of mine has caused many people pain and suffering and I owe it all to my idoit father Kuno .D. Knojou Lucia's eyes went wide once again "you mean the Black Dragon Kuno !?" Karasu nodded "Yes now shush so I can explain." Lucia nodded.


To be Cointued , how many of you saw this Coming :O :O XD , Flame you don't count XD

[A Rough Journey! Enies Lobby, Here We Come!!!] - Part Two

(This was a shocker. Over the last ten hours, the storm had progressed rapidly, rain and sometimes hail beating down upon them. The waves were large, but nothing compared to what Yakama had said about the Aqua Laguna; he seemed to have the idea that the waves could wash over the island, or rather, cover most of the town of Water 7, except for the very highest parts, though Yakama said that was the worst it had ever been. Apparently they varied each year. Rakki sat brooding on the ship. He was growing impatient and wanted to leave, but knew that it was pointless if they left before the Log Pose adapted to Water 7 and showed them the route to Enies Lobby. As far as Rakki was concerned, the minute they could leave, they would leave and no excuses would stop him.)

Long John: (Appearing next to Rakki) You okay, Captain?

Rakki: Yeah. I just want to get out of here. Pretty ironic, considering how badly I wanted to come here, now I just can't wait to leave. My fool of a brother... Attacking the island of Enies Lobby with the Revolutionaries... What a stupid idea.

Long John: But isn't that what we're doing...?

Rakki: It's not like I want to attack the headquarters of World Government... I just don't want my brother to come to any harm.

Long John: True true... I guess I didn't really think about that. So, are we still going to mount an attack after we find him?

Rakki: Probably not... I'd rather fight my way out and then disappear for a while. We won't accomplish anything by attacking Enies Lobby full-on... There's rumours of Devil Fruit users, that have been training for years and years to kill or capture certain pirates. Bug-eye told me about it... He said they were called CP9 and his grandfather was once a member, but left, because he didn't like their methods. I'd rather not pick a fight with people like that. Besides that, there are probably thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Marines on that island. It would be suicide to attack them head-on, with just our pirate crew.

Long John: I see. So stealth will be our best bet?

Rakki: Exactly! Once we find my brother, we take him and then get the hell outta there.

-(Two days later)-

Yakama: The Log Pose has reset and is pointing the way to Enies Lobby... I take it you wish to go, Captain?

Rakki: (Looking at the waves that are starting to get higher and higher) Yeah... I see what you meant, Yakama. Those waves seem to be getting bigger and bigger. If we're leaving, which I say we are, then we do it right now. Let's go, people!!!

Yakama, Long John: YOU HEARD THE CAPTAIN! WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!

(The crew began to let the sails out and Kev took his positition at the helm. Long John yanked on the anchor, then raised it up and let it fall, with a clang, to the deck. Rakki stood at the bow, watching Water 7 begin to drift behind them, as the wind began to push them towards Enies Lobby. Each wave they sailed through caused the ship to tilt and the crew grabbed onto the sides, in order to keep their footing and stay on the boat. The clouds were growing darker and darker and thunder rumbled a few kilometers away. Evidently the Aqua Laguna was nearing them and getting closer to Water 7.)

Yakama: (Yelling over the roar of the wind and waves) IT'S GETTING CLOSER!!!

Rakki: (Yells back) I KNOW!!!

(Lightning started to crackle in the sky and it lit up the ocean with every flash, revealing the massive waves heading for them. Rakki stood with his mouth open and his arms clutched around the mast. They were absolutely enormous, titans of the ocean. He shrank back, partially wishing that he wasn't in this predicament, but knowing fully well that he would make the same decision over and over again for his brother.)

-To Be Continued-

Anyone planning to post...?

I know it's been a while since the last post, but it seems like such a waste and technically, this was never officially closed. I wanna post with Namikiji and Cade :D

[Oversea Shortstop]

Clashing steel, the smell of gunpowder, the subsequent cannon fire…it was all very familiar to Namikiji. Though she’d spent her earlier days as an information correspondent, her work had brought her to the battlefield more times than she would have liked. After so many years of experience, her dispassion for violence had not diminished.

Well, she couldn’t really express her dispassion through much more than a barely audible sigh that no one would hear or notice. It was doubtful that any of the pirates who were easily cut down by the flurry of razor sharp leaves that flew around her would really care how she felt, since she was still mercilessly dispatching them.

“I don’t think there is much to gain from continuing.” Namikiji commented lightly from among a blizzard of leaves that descended on the deck of the marine ship before slowly calming down to reveal her tall stature. “While we have them outmatched for now, we’re sorely outnumbered. If they continue to come at us in waves like this, I’ll get tired.”

Kuro snorted at this with disbelief as he regarded the small islands of trees that had been erected on abandoned ships. Several pirates were floating in the water, attempting to rush toward one of the allied ships before being shot by the marines aiming down at them with rifles.

It was definitely an absolute mess. There was no visible end to this fight as it was. Cutting through their numbers was difficult, as these were not amateur pirates. Even two warlords and an admiral wouldn’t have an easy time making it to the Pirate King any time soon, and they’d been going at this for a long time.

“I guess we’ll have to rethink our strategy.” Kuro sighed as he casually pushed his glasses up with his palm. “Really…to think they’d have so many disposable pawns to throw at us. It makes me feel like we were being used just to see what kind of reaction a direction attack would spur.”

Namikiji didn’t pay much mind to Kuro’s muttering as he quickly reformulated his plans for a retreat. Her eyes focused on the blue sky above as a somewhat nostalgic feeling gripped at her heart.

Then her sight was blocked by a massive shipped covered in fully grown trees as the heavy mass descended straight for the marine ship she was on.

Without thinking too much about it, Namikiji held her hand out toward the falling ship and it instantly began to bring apart, the wood peeling away, literally bending to her will. Soon, only the frames, bolts, and other parts that weren’t made of wood were left, exposed as the wood easily pried itself off of the mass. Namikiji spun one finger in the air and the wood of the ship quickly bent once more, creating a large half circle in the air that covered the ship, letting the metal harmlessly bounce off of surface.

“What…was that?” Kuro blinked in confusion as he looked up at the wood shield overhead. Namikiji cocked her head for a moment, considering what had happened. One of the pirate ships she’d sunk had flown at them? It looked as if it had been thrown, in fact. But by what?

The sound of canon fire attracted Namikiji’s attention, along with Kuro’s short curse. Hadn’t the marines already been ordered to retreat? It was doubtful the pirates would give chase if the marines showed no intention of continuing the siege.

Namikiji pushed her palm out as another large ship sailed through the air toward them like a heavy projectile and the wood shield she’d made to protect the marine ship shot forward with impressive velocity, slamming right into the approaching ship and intercepting its path. The marine ships rocked as the large massive landed into the ocean, creating a wave that rolled underneath them. At the same time, several more cannon shots fired from the marines, all aimed in the same direction.

Namikiji finally looked in the direction the marines were attacking and her eyebrows rose slightly at what she saw.

A particularly large ship was approaching—and it would be no mistake to call this ship gigantic. The marines had ships that were especially large for the vice admirals who happened to be giants. This case was no different; except it was a pirate ship. That was clear enough from the Jolly Roger fluttering in the wind over it, as well as the easily recognizable face of the figure towering on the ship, moving their hands through the water as if trying to fish something out of the ocean.

“A giant…” Kuro muttered irritably. “What horrible timing.”

“Oh? You don’t recognize him?” Namikiji blinked at Kuro in wonder before touching a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose people focus more on his captain. She’d definitely bigger from a metaphorical perspective.”

Kuro didn’t seem to catch on to what he was talking about, frowning as he returned his focus to the ship ahead. The giant was now using part of the ship he’d salvaged to block the oncoming cannon balls, easily swatting them aside with his large range.

At the same time, one of the marine ships had its hull pierced by a large anchor.

“Wha-?!” Kuro exclaimed in shock as he watched the anchor be dragged out of the ship’s body, ripping a larger hole in the process. The ship quickly began to sink afterward. “I-Impossible! The giant didn’t throw that! Then that must mean…”

“Yep.” Namikiji nodded as she retained her casual smile. “You’d better recover the marines over there who are jumping overboard and have the rest of the ships retreat at full speed. They’ll be smashed otherwise.”

“UUUUUAAAAHAAAAHH!!!!”

This bellow echoed through the air, easily overwhelming the cannon fire as the anchor swung around the large pirate ship in a dangerous arc. The figure holding the chain was grinning widely at her eyes locked onto her target without any hesitation.

“You’d better get out of the way if you know what’s good for you!!” Martel Every called aloud as the anchor flew around, aiming for the side of the marine ship to pierce its bow. While a normal anchor would only do some damage, the anchors she threw weighed several times the normal anchor. Contact would mean certain destruction.

At that last moment, a thick oak tree sprouted rapidly right out of the ocean water, towering high as it stood between the marine ship and the anchor. When the anchor made contact, it dug in several inches, nearly splitting the tree in half before finally coming to a stop.

“Oh?” Martel’s smile widened as her eyes focused on the figure standing on one of the thick boughs of the tree, her marine coat fluttering around her in the wind. “Well look who it is. It seems our information was right.”

“So you must be the ‘Sea King Tamer’, Martel Every.” Namikiji greeted with a politely bow of her head. “I see you’re just as big as they say. You only just arrived, and everyone’s begun to clear a path.”

“People say that about me?” Martel replied casually as she tugged on her anchor sharply. It ripped straight through the remainder of the oak tree’s trunk as the large piece of metal sailed back toward Martel, landing safely in her hands. The oak tree only remained standing due to Namikiji exerting her power to connect the tree to its stump once more. “In any case, I hear you plan to attack the Straw Hats.”

“That was the plan, yes.”

“Well, the captain kind of told me to screw off since it’s his problem, even when I offered. But after thinking about it, I realized just how boring it would be to sit back and do nothing.”

“I see.”

A silence fell over the two as they stared across at each other. Despite the great distance, they’d easily be able to reach each other on a moment’s notice. It all depended on who made the first move.

Martel happily obliged, holding the anchor in both hands and chucking it directly at Namikiji, easily reaching her as Martel held onto the chain. The anchor shattered the top of the tree with its weight, but Namikiji evaded by hopping into the air, landing lightly on the taut chain of the anchor as she held her hands out. Two long tree boughs sprouted from her palms before carving themselves into thick wooden swords that she gripped tightly as she began running along the chain of the anchor, heading straight for Martel.

Martel snapped her arm holding the chain, whipping it out quickly to send a loop traveling down the chain, moving it out from underneath Namikiji’s foot, making it loop tightly around her ankle to catch the admiral. Before she was caught, Namikiji’s body scattered into a whirlwind of leaves, allowing her to hover briefly in midair as her hand reformed instantly, holding one wooden sword in Martel’s direction. It immediately extended, shooting forward as quick as an arrow shot from a bow, aimed directly for Martel’s head. Martel drew her head back with a grin, evading the attack narrowly as she lowered her stance.

“So you’re really a tree woman?” Martel seemed amused by the idea. “I guess admirals still live up to their reputation.”

“But it seems the Yonkou are fairly dim.”

Martel’s head jerked around as she heard that calm whisper, allowing her to see a large figure made of straw sporting blonde hair sticking right out of the extended wooden sword, holding deadly claws right up to her neck at point blank.

A large fist slammed into Hawkins’ body merciless, sending him flying off the side of the ship with incredible force.

“Captain, your cloak.” Björn Reykjavik, vice-captain of the Azura pirates and giant knelt down to place the cloak on his small captain’s back. Martel grinned up at him as she took it and stuck her arms threw the sleeves.

“Thanks, Björn. You’ve always got my back.”

“Of course. We’re up against two warlords and an admi—”

Before Björn could finish his sentence, he was suddenly struck by a heavy blow right into his upper body, causing him to stumble even though nothing physical had touched him.

While it was a heavy blow, it was mostly the shock that made the large giant stumble, collapsing onto his back.

“Oh, I see. Another devil fruit ability.” Martel spoke casually as she regarded Hawkins as he climbed back onto the ship, having caught himself before falling into the ocean. “You were one of the Supernovas way back when along with Luffy, right?”

“An 80% chance of being recognized after one attack.” Hawkins muttered as if confirming something. “2% chance of backing off to threats. 17% chance of winning without risking life. These numbers speak volumes of a Yonkou.”

“Thanks.” Martel grinned toothily. “Will you be my opponent?”

“We’ve already decided that reaching the Strawhats through you people and then defeating them is too low a possibility for the effort it takes. We’re preparing to retreat. We need only occupy you until then. Regardless of your strength or reach, you won’t be able to chase us down with only one ship from your fleet.”

“So there you have it.” Namikiji appeared from the whirlwind of leaves that descended to the ship’s deck nearby, still holding two wooden swords. Björn was already sitting up, looking ready to aid his captain. “Until we have to make our hasty retreat, we’ll be happy to satiate your playful side, Yonkou.”

“Heh. So no resolve to see the fight through? Whatever. I need to break the mold anyways. Let’s go, warlord and admiral!”

“…Captain’s being unreasonable again.”

“Björn! Quit being a wet blanket and loosen up!”

[Distorted Relations]

Trafalgar Law was not in a good mood.

Things had really turned in a less than satisfactory direction recently. He didn’t necessarily mind being pushed into this unnecessary work, but only because he’d been hoping to be paired up with the new female warlord who used swords. He wasn’t sure about how he felt about her as a person, but she’d done him the favor of killing that bastard Doflomingo once and for all. So long as that remained fact, he could deal with any insanity or dullness that followed. He’d simply hoped to learn more about the person who’d managed to do what he’d been preparing to do for so many years.

But instead, he’d struck out completely. Not only did he miss his chance to be put in the same group as her, he’d been stuck with that annoying contrarian, Cade Locksley. From the very beginning, the two of them didn’t get along. It wasn’t because they had any reason to dislike each other—they just have different priorities and personalities. As skilled as he was, Cade simply didn’t see things from a practical perspective. Trafalgar had to wonder if that guy had ever gone through real hardship before in his life.

“Room.”

A semicircle spread throughout the corridor Trafalgar was in as he casually walked forward, ignoring the guns the men before him held. They were startled at first, but their faces held no real alarm to show that they recognized this devil fruit ability. It was only the amount of wariness necessary when facing an unknown ability.

This wouldn’t be enough to face Trafalgar. With a single snap of his fingers, their guns were replaced with tree branches before they had the chance to fire. Their eyes bugged out as they saw this phenomena, instantly entering a moment of panic as they were unsure what to do.

“I’ll give you the chance to tell me with your own will before I force the information out of you.” Trafalgar’s voice was full of warning as he pocketed his hands in his coat, leaning his massive nodachi against his shoulder. “Just what are you doing here? What is your goal?”

“Let me ask in return.” One of the revolutionaries spoke up cheekily, apparently getting over his surprise quickly. “What is a warlord doing here? It seems a little overkill to have one of you government dogs chasing after grunts like us. Who sent you and what do you know?”

“I see.” A sadistic grin appeared on Trafalgar’s face as he sighed softly. “I gave you the chance to speak freely, and you think it’s funny to try and give me a hard time. No problem. I’m sure you’ll start talking once your legs are sticking out of your ears and you have no lips to keep shut. Even if you work for Straw Hat~ya's dad, I don't have any reason to hold back against 'grunts' like you.”

Trafalgar casually raised one hand to his sword’s hilt, pressing his thumb against the cross guard to push it slightly out of the scabbard. Much too late, a look of terror appeared on the revolutionaries’ faces as they took an instinctive step back out of fear.

“Shambles.”

“Hooooooold iiiiiiiiit!!”

A figure ran straight down the corridor at top speed, entering Trafalgar’s ‘room’ while drawing a rapier. The blade crashed into Trafalgar’s nodachi, letting a sharp ring fill the air as Trafalgar’s eyes narrowed at the attacker’s face underneath the large hat.

“Locksley~ya…”

“That’s Locksley to you—oh, wait. You already said...ah, yeah. Wasn’t thinking there.”

There was a short awkward moment as Cade ‘Longshot’ Locksley took a step back, smiling apologetically as Trafalgar frowned at him.

“What’s going on, Locksley~ya? Didn’t your plan work out? Don't tell me you came running to me when you failed.”

“Well, what can I say?” Cade shrugged while sheathing his rapier. “If it’s sniping or gun slinging, I’m your man. But these covert missions don’t fit a pirate like me. I’m surprised you can handle this sort of thing.”

“If ‘this sort of thing’ is necessary, I’ll do it. It’s stupid to let yourself falter just because you’re out of your comfort zone, Locksley~ya.”

“Uh huh…I see…oh, that’s fascinating…” Cade rudely nodded several times while muttering this, focusing on drawing one of his pistols and loading it. “Just give me a second here…”

He aimed his gun at the revolutionaries and shot in their direction, his bullets ricocheting off of the nearby floor and walls.

“Go on, shoo.” It was like Cade was scaring off an unwelcome cat, firing randomly with no real intention of hitting a particular target. “Get out of here.”

The revolutionaries happily complied, running down the corridor in a full sprint and turning the corner. Trafalgar clicked his tongue as they escaped the range of his ability, leaving him and Cade alone.

Trafalgar knew better than to chase after them now, though he could easily intercept them by cutting through the wall between them to cut them off. For now, he was more focused on the erratic action of the man before him; Cade was busily reloading his gun, humming all the while.

“Just what are you planning?” Trafalgar demanded suspiciously. He didn’t trust this guy at all and it was clear he was up to something. “Are you betraying the government?”

“And lose my title as a warlord? Oh no. Definitely not. Not yet, anyways. It’s just that something I heard from this guy I shot kind of bothered me and I feel like doing something about it. Hold on a sec…”

Cade switched to his double barrel rifle and took a step back, craning his neck as he aimed at the wall at the end of the corridor, angling his position awkwardly. He fired once and Trafalgar heard the bullets deflect against the wall, bouncing off of the walls in the hallway repeatedly before finally reaching someone's body, causing a surprised yelp to echo back toward them.

“…so yeah. I just needed to see what direction they’d run off in if I let them go. Thanks for that.”

Cade slung his gun across his back as he turned to walk down the hall, but Trafalgar gripped his shoulder tightly, forcing the pirate to turn to look back at him.

“Just what did you find out?” Trafalgar demanded firmly. “You definitely have some information to make you act like this, Locksley~ya, and I can’t just overlook it if you start acting on your own.”

“Sheesh, why so tense?” Cade sighed as he raised an eyebrow at Trafalgar. “I already told you I’m not betraying anyone, didn’t I? I just heard something that bothered me, so I’m going to check it out. That’s all.”

“And what is it that bothered an easy going weirdo like you? It can’t be money…”

“No, but you're close. It's a treasure.” Cade grinned as a triumphant look entered his eyes. “These guys came looking for the Big Man’s devil fruit.”

“…Big man?”

“Apparently, they’ve messed with his body so much, they were able to accurately track what fruit took on his devil fruit’s abilities once he, ah, ‘malfunctioned’. The government found that fruit and locked it up in a facility, which Dragon’s been looking for all this time. They seem pretty confident that they got it right this time, so I’m definitely going to beat them there and find out for myself."

He couldn’t have been talking about anyone but Bartholomew Kuma. Trafalgar vaguely remembered that Cade had had personal relationships with both former warlords Bartholomew Kuma and Boa Hancock, though he wasn’t sure how deep those ties were. But apparently he was deeply connected with Kuma enough to want to get to his fruit first.

But even so…

“You can’t just act independently.” Trafalgar shook his head back and forth disapprovingly. “Focus on what we have to do, which is keeping the revolutionaries away. You can wait until after that. If you do anything now, it’ll just be insubordination, which will cause problems for all of us. You understand that, don't you, Locksley~ya?”

No response.

That bastard was already running off.

“A warlord has no reason to give a damn about what another warlord thinks!” Cade called over his shoulder mockingly as he turned the corner at top speed, tipping his large hat with a grin. Trafalgar clicked his tongue irritably as he quickly considered the situation and his priorities, his knuckles whitening as he gripped his nodachi's scabbard tightly.

He didn’t personally care about what Cade did or if he got into trouble, but this was a government facility. If Cade did anything unnecessary, it might cause trouble for both him and Gin. Plus, there was really no telling what Cade even wanted to do with that fruit or to what lengths he’d go to in order to get it.

He’d have to try and reason with Cade before that guy did something stupid and got their freedom as warlords taken away.

“…Like I have time for this…” Trafalgar muttered as he started striding down the hallway. “That guy’s just a pain in the ass.”

Well, I'm certainly happy to see some activity here again. It might be a bit difficult to run it as just the two of us, but hopefully we can get more people involved again, exorcist. Lucia was one of my favorite character designs and there's a lot of depth to her that hasn't been explored yet in particular, though at this stage I might just leave Simiao be and focus on Lucia and Sergei.

I'd like it if this can continue too. I don't mind leaving my CP9 characters alone until more people return so they can become the true antagonists I was hoping for them to be, but I'm going to have to revamp Cade's profile. Looking back at it now, along with the others...they could have been written better. I guess this is what happens when you look back at old writing from a year ago.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I want to tune Sergei up as well, thankfully his story was always separate to begin with. Without wolfmaster here, though, I might have to fade Karasu out, or modify him a bit to make him more along my lines.

Hello peeps, is it ok if i joined?
I made this character in another rp but it died down so...
Name: None just goes by the alias of "Mockingbird"
Age: 53
D.o.b: November 1st
Gender: Male
Personality: Timid if not disturbed, likes to sleep, tactical, serious at all times.
Veiws: Hates Marines, cares little for fellow Pirates.
Dream: Destroy the world government and the marines and rebuild his pirate crew.
Status: widower
Vocation: Pirate
Crew: New Moon Pirates
Rank & job: Former Captain, wanderer
Hobbies: reading and playing shouji

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 193 lb
Body type: muscular
Eye color: Black
Hair color: dark grey
Clothing: changes constantly, likes to wear hooded vests and sandals with short pants.

Abilities: Dial Dial Fruit; for more info see
link
Skills: Proficient swordsman and close combat fighter.
Weapons: two ordinary Katana
Fighting style: single and two sword style
Other info: Bounty: 450,000,000, presumed to be dead

Past: At the age of 20 he got married and move to Ohara with his wife. Three days before the buster call was initiated and wiped out everyone on Ohara he went away on business. Upon his return he saw the entire island was set ablaze by several Marine vessels. He rushed to try to save his wife but sadly was too late. His resentment for the marines led him to become a ruthless pirate in the grand line. Two years after he became a pirate he ate the Dial Dial fruit. He also once when toe-to-toe with Whitebeard, but lost after being hit directly in the chest with the power of Whitebeard's bora bora no mi. It took nearly 3 years for his injuries to heal and even after his injuries healed it took an additional 14 years for him to fully rehabilitate his body. After seven years of being a pirate he was finally taken down in the new world by the joined forces of the newly appointed admirals; Kizaru, Akainu and Aokiji. His entire crew was killed and the last the three admirals saw of him was his frozen body sinking into the sea. He survived only because he was eaten by a passing sea king that was later killed by the Red-hair pirates so they could eat it. He went on a low profile for a while but has decided to come out into the open once more. He has vowed to kill Akainu and Kizaru as they are the ones responsible for the death of his crew. Aokiji on the other hand opposed killing his entire crew and fought him one-on-one. What he will do now is entirely for him to decide.

One quick question. Can you guys tell me if Akainu, Aokiji and Kizaru are still alive for this rp? If they are it would really set a nice revenge story for my character.

Well, they're obviously no longer admirals. I believe that Akainu is supposed to be dead before this started, I do believe by Luffy's hand, and Aokiji is currently Fleet Admiral. Kizaru was killed by one of the current Yonkou, so he's also gone. Up to you how you want to work with that situation.

Wow, I'm just reading through here, and quickly realizing that I tied Lucia too closely to all of wolf's main characters, which wouldn't be so bad if we'd actually seen a bit of how Akario and Karasu fight. I'll have to spend some time thinking on how to make this work on her front, especially since she's not supposed to be able to take Akario on alone. I might just have to put that on hold while I work on Lotus and Sergei's back and forth.

Man i was really hoping that at least two of them would be alive. Well Aokiji is still gonna make a good story plot, but now i'm thinking that my character would be a little mad at Luffy and the other Yonkou for killing his targets. I'll find a way to work a little story with that.

P.s I don't mind if you use my character in any way just don't kill him, that's for me to decide.

Here are a list of moves/techniques I thought of for him:
Sonic movement: combines his jet dial ability with 'soru' to increase his movement speed.

Jet Kick: mimics Kizaru's statement "have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?" he uses his jet dial to enhance the speed of his kick, hence, increasing the power.

Jet Axe: combines his jet and axe dial to send out a high speed cutting attack to slice through his opponents. it acts like a normal blade so it can still be blocked by a strong enough sword. when i mean strong, probably a sword imbued with a seriously high amount of haki or a sword within the top 20 greatest swords.

Impact: same as with a regular impact dial but he is able to adjust the strength based on how powerful his opponent is. The name changes 4 times based on the amount of power used: Impact, High Impact, Giga Impact and Almighty Impact.
Note: the Almighty Impact is powerful enough to destroy a marine battleship but also drains a massive amount of power. he only uses it on opponents he deems to be inhuman or monsters. It also can only be used once every 3 hours.

Reject: has only 2 moves. a regular reject and the Godly reject. the Godly reject can only be used twice as it is powerful enough to kill any opponent in one hit (if it hits), but as a result the muscles of the hand that uses it are completely torn to shreds. Thus the user is unable to use the hand that uses the Godly reject ever again.

[A remnant of the Golden Age of Piracy]

"The world has changed greatly in the time I've been on 'vacation'. I wonder if there is a place left for an old devil like me? Well that matters little; there are still some people I wish to kill."

A sinister grin on the face of an eerie shadow. He stands on a withered piece of earth once known as Ohara.

"Well then, who will it be first? I guess I can tell you that I am still here; that I am still alive. But... perhaps you already knew that, eh Aokiji! Though it wouldn't be any fun if you didn't have time to prepare."

With his eyes set on revenge, he marches forward to the Marine Headquarters.

Lol, what the heck? I thought this was over and done for, now you guys are posting again...

I guess I should probably point out that I'm back and I'll continue from where I left off, since things just randomly picked up all over again.

@Cryogenic. Whiteflame is correct, Akainu was killed by Luffy before the set time of this RP. Anyway, I created this RP, so I guess I should introduce myself and it's nice to meet you.

@Flame. Hey man, will you still RP as your doctor with my crew? And, by the way, what exactly should we do about Wolf's characters? I wouldn't mind adding a couple more and removing his, since he isn't on this RP.

I'm happy to continue with the Pharmhand now that you're back. As for Wolf's characters, it probably makes sense to remove them, especially since we have no idea how they fight. That leaves a Shichibukai and a Yonkou spot open, so Cryogenic, if you would like to fill one or both of those seats, you certainly could. Since my main character is currently accompanying one and attacking the other, we should change how that is set up, whether by just modifying the characters involved or by changing the dynamic.

Also, BP, we should figure out how we're going to continue the story with Sergei and Golan. Not sure what your plans for him were, but we can set something up.

Hey @blackpanther thanks for the welcome.

Hmm... now about the position as a Yonkou or Shichibukai. I'm not sure yet, I wasn't really planning to fill any of those roles. I guess I can make another character for the spot as a Shichibukai but one of you guys can be the Yonkou. The way I see it, having too much power gets kinda boring.

Oh by the way, is this Yonkou the one that killed Kizaru? Just asking.

[A message for Aokiji]

(somewhere in the middle of calm belt upon a marine battleship)

"Captain!" the chore boy shouted.

"What is it you lazy dog, don't waste my time or I'll throw you overboard and let the sea-king have fun with ya!"

"B... But captain," the boy hesitated to speak the words, "t... the... there's a man coming."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The captain was beginning to lose his temper, "We're in the middle of Calm Belt you dumb-ass how can there be someone coming?!"

"I mean... well... he's just walking toward the ship in... in mid-air."

"What!!!" The captain looked to where the boy was pointing. "What the hell? Men prepare a cannon!"

"What are you gonna do captain?" the crewmen exclaimed.

"I'm gonna blow that bastard up, that's what I'm gonna do. Alright men on my signal... FIRE!!!" The crew lit the fuse and the sound of the cannon echoed throughout Calm Belt. But, there was no explosion not even the sight of water being blasted into the air. "What the... did you pieces of shit miss?!"

"No captain I think... I think he caught it."

"What the hell are you saying?! There's no god damn way a man can catch a cannonball!"

"Ca... Captain." the crew gasped for air.

"What is it now?"

"The man... he's behind you." The captain turned around to see a hooded figure standing in front of him, holding a cannonball in his hands.

"Don't just stand there kill him!!" But the crew would not move; the terror in their eyes was more powerful than any the captain had seen before. "Fine I'll kill him myself." The captain drew his sword and swung it with all his might, but no one could foretell what happened. The ominous feeling, the sensation of death in the air grew stronger. What were they seeing? The captains sword, being stopped by a mans bare hand. "What the... what are you? A devil fruit user? But either way you can't stop my crew! We'll rip you to shreds in the blink of an eye."

With that the figure simply placed his hand on the captains chest and uttered a single word: "Impact."

Even more did the terror grow among the crew. Their captain, who was just a few days away from being promoted to commodore, killed before their very eyes with a single blow. No one could move, the fear restricted every muscle in their body. They now all shared a single thought, "We're all dead!"

But the man did not move to strike anyone else. He simply turned and pointed to the chore boy and said, "You there; you have a mop don't you? Then clean this mess up. The rest of you listen closely. Tell Aokiji that not even hell will stop me from killing him. Tell him that the Mockingbird is coming for him."

[Independent Familiarity]

Vagabonds. Wandering merchants. Ronin. Lone wolves. All of these were common terms used to refer to masterless men who basically did whatever they wanted, for better or for worse. Some were more apt to follow their individual sense of justice, while others were reckless criminals with little regard for the law.

Cade ‘Longshot’ Locksley was somewhere in between the two subcategories. He’d spent most of his life enjoying life as he saw fit, pretty indifferent to whether or not someone was his boss. It wasn’t in his nature to bow to authority, but he definitely agreed that there was a necessary amount of order needed in order to keep the world fun and enjoyable. At least, that was the conclusion he came to through his wanderings as a lone bounty hunter.

To anyone else, he must have seemed like a lost pup who was hiding his immense desire to find a place in the worth beneath his playful and nonchalant façade. This wasn’t exactly far from the truth, though he wasn’t really ‘looking’ for anything. He’d already found his motivation in life; money and women. Where those two weren’t concerned, he was really just trying to protect the basic human right called ‘pursuit of happiness’.

“Out of the way, small fry!” Cade roared as he barreled through the corridors, holding both of his loaded pistols in his hands threateningly. Dozens of revolutionaries were shocked as he ran right by them, several unable to retaliate as he forcefully shoved them aside when they were too slow to move on their own. “The Mighty Sharpshooting Warlord of the World Government is coming through! If you don’t want to a musket ball in your knee caps, make a path!”

Most quickly complied or had no choice due to his sudden and forceful approach. The few that managed to retaliate with guns fired in his direction were easily evaded and had their knee caps shot mercilessly, as promised, without even slowing down the rushing warlord that seemed to pay them no mind.

Seeing their allies being dispatched so easily, the revolutionaries who witnessed this decidedly to meekly let him pass without a fight, choosing to avoid being injured. But just a moment later, another figure rushed down the corridor, though this one was silent as he slowly drew his long nodachi from his sheath.

“Room: Shambles!”

In an instant, the entire corridor was twisted around, as if every individual piece of the closed space had been displaced instantly, changing the direction in which the corridor went in while disorienting those inside. The unfortunate revolutionaries caught up in it had their bodies cleaved into fourths by straw cuts, having their bodies traded with their fellows instantly to make for a very confusing sight.

“Wait a second, Locksley~ya!” Trafalgar Law spoke in a reasonable tone as Cade skidded to a stop, realizing that he was now running in the wrong direction. “Think about what you’re doing! All of this trouble for one devil fruit? Is that really worth jeopardizing our mission?”

“I’m not jeopardizing anything!” Cade responded as he pointed both of his guns in Trafalgar’s direction as he suddenly began to pick up speed, apparently realizing that the direction he needed to go in was past Trafalgar. “This is just an important side mission that I’ve got to do!”

“‘Side mission’?”

Trafalgar barely got to speak those words aloud in confusion before he was heavily assaulted by a wall of bullets.

This was no exaggeration. Cade didn’t consider himself the best sharpshooter for nothing. While his sniping could be compared to the well-known Sogeking of the Straw Hat pirates, his gun slinging was really unparalleled. One of his unique techniques was to overwhelm his foe with a countless salvo of bullets that seemed completely unavoidable for the normal person. In an instant, he’d somehow brought about an uncountable number of round musket balls that would easily outmatch a firing squad’s firepower, all aimed directly at Trafalgar.

What’s worse, just as Trafalgar decided to move into the few holes in the attack’s range, a few of the bullets seemed to ‘accidently’ knock against each other, immediately sending them flying off course and into other bullets. Soon, all of the bullets lost their straight path, bouncing against the nearby floor, walls, and ceiling to creating a jumbled mess of ricocheting bullets that had no predictable course.

Several confused revolutionaries were shot down in the process, but the bodies did little to help cover Trafalgar from this unreasonable attack that couldn’t be dodged in this small space.

So instead, he embedded them all into the nearby men who were already shot down.

In an instant, the wall of randomly bouncing musket balls was switched with the hairs of the surrounding revolutionaries, leaving the men with led in their scalps instead of actual hair, which once again shocked them.

They naturally voiced their objections right away, but Trafalgar had little time to pay them any heed. Cade had closed in on him instantly, changing strategies as he continued to hold both pistols in hand even at this range.

A jarring clash of weapons range out as the blade of Trafalgar’s nodachi cleaved the air and connected with the point blank shot from one of Cade’s pistols. Both warlord’s eyes were shadowed by their hats as they tilted their heads down in focus, bracing their legs as they immediately transitioned into the next attack, Trafalgar allowing his devil fruit’s power to seamlessly meld with his nodachi’s strike as he swung out horizontally, cutting through the second shot Cade fired at him.

A short snort could be heard as Cade grinned, easily bending his body and twisting around rapidly underneath the arc of Trafalgar’s swing, which sent a slash horizontally through the air well beyond his reach, cutting several other men at the waist. Trafalgar’s legs immediately buckled as he clicked his tongue while facing the barrel of both of Cade’s pistols as he pointed his weapons directly at Trafalgar while still rotating in midair

BANG!

Trafalgar stepped back quickly as Cade landed on both feet and his face shown with his smug grin as he aimed directly at Trafalgar again. But before Cade pull the trigger, the floor beneath Cade shifted metal pipes stuck straight out of nowhere, nearly impaling Cade, who quickly jumped back out of harm’s way, missing his target as his bullets hit the nearby wall, bouncing off harmlessly with no direction.

“Not bad, not bad.” Cade praised as he pushed his hat up slightly with the barrel of his pistol. “I’m impressed you survived that.”

“Since neither of us are close range fighters, so I didn’t expect you to attack me point blank so casually.” Trafalgar smirked wryly as he touched two fingers lightly to his temple. A small amount of blood was running from the small wound he’d received, though it was a relatively small scratch. “I guess you’re really as unpredictable as they say.”

“Hey, work is work. I do whatever I can do get the job done.”

“So it really is work after all. Locksley~ya. You made up all kinds of excuses before, but you were really hired to do another job on the side, weren’t you?”

“I’m basically a gun for hire. I can’t help it when someone gives me a reward with a nice sum for getting it done.”

“And I guess it goes without saying that you aren’t planning to share the profits?”

“‘Share’?” Cade considered the word for a moment, folded his arms as he tapped one pistol against his hip absently. “What’s that? Is it tasty?”

“You realize that you plan to steal the very thing that Gin and I are here to protect, don’t you? We’re not obligated to just sit by and let you do as you please. If you’re not willing to compromise…”

“‘Compromise’?” Cade shook his head incredulously. “That’s not in my vocabulary, either. If you offer me a greater sum than what I’m getting or a woman, I might consider it. Otherwise, there’s no profit in it for me, is there?”

Discussion was useless. Both Cade and Trafalgar knew it. Trafalgar was probably thinking that Cade’s priorities, screwed up as they were, were simply too defined to allow any leeway. He wasn’t wrong, but it seemed that Trafalgar was unable to see through Cade’s excuses once again. All the better. It wasn’t like that guy needed to know Cade’s true motivation.

Trafalgar sighed as his grip on his sword slackened slightly, exasperation taking over his body briefly.

“You plan to fight for the sake of some stupid job? Even if I try to stop you—”

“Let me interrupt that with a yes. You don’t scare me, and nor does the devil boy. I’ll pry that devil fruit from both of your cold, dead hands if I need to. Just try and stop me; I dare you.”

Trafalgar’s frown deepened as his grip on his nodachi tightened. There was really no room for negotiation after all.

“You really are scum. Unpredictable and hard to handle, you’re the worst kind. Do you even know just how stupidly you’re acting now?”

“I’m not even going to justify that question with an answer. So he’s a statement instead; Feel my Busoshoku!”

In a fluid movement that could have been a single, linked action, Cade stuck his pistol in his belt and swiftly grabbed one of the rifles slung across his back, aiming directly at Trafalgar and firing without any hesitation at all.

The following phenomena could not be described as a normal bullet fired with gun powder. Projectiles, such as bullets and arrows, could be hardened with Haki, just like any weapon or appendage, to be given more destructive power. But Cade’s Busoshoku seemed to take it to another level, completely ignoring the actual ‘hardening’ part, instead creating a small shockwave around the musket ball that shook the air oddly. Trafalgar had heard that Cade had two specific uses for this, but this was the first time he was seeing either.

What came out of the rifle’s double barrel was more like a spear than a single bullet. The musket ball’s path was actually visible as it extended out in a linear path, but following it with one’s eyes was nearly impossible, as if it disrupted the connection between a person’s vision along with their ability to judge distance. Focusing on the bullet while attempting to dodge may just put you into the bullet’s path by mistake.

Trafalgar registered all of this reflexively and held one hand out as he once again called on his devil fruit’s power, placing a revolutionary’s body in between him and the bullet as Trafalgar ducked slightly. The revolutionary’s body was immediately pierced by the spear-like attack, the bullet completely passing through his gut and exiting out the back.

Trafalgar manipulated this small bullet to place it by Cade, planning to use it to cut through Cade’s Busoshoku in order to allow Trafalgar to use his devil fruit directly on the gun slinger and put an end to the fight.

But the displaced bullet only passed through empty air and Trafalgar looked around the revolutionary he was using as a shield to see that Cade had disappeared, leaving behind a gaping hole in the floor.

“He blew away the floor to escape…?” Trafalgar muttered, mildly impressed. “Wait—this is bad!”

Trafalgar just managed to throw himself out of the way as another spear-like attack pierced straight through the floor, passing through the air where Trafalgar’s chest had been a moment before. Trafalgar clicked his tongue as he backed up quickly, evading the subsequent shots that were all right on target, each one as deadly as the last.

To think that guy would have the audacity to shoot straight up through the floor…Trafalgar had been right to expect the unexpected from this guy.

Name: Levens S. Reaver
Age: 27
D.o.b: 4th February
Gender: Male
Personality: Loud, prone to speak his mind; prideful; hates losing
Dreams: Become the next "Hero of the Marines" by capturing/killing Monkey D. Luffy
Status: Single
Affiliation: Marine
Rank: Vice Admiral
Hobbies: considers training to be his only hobby, likes drawing though

Height: 6'6''
Weight: 218 lbs
Body type: slim, not very muscular
Eye color: Red, "Look into my eyes... can you see hell?"
Hair color: Black
Clothing: regular Marine coat with a white suit underneath

Ability/Devil fruit: Enerugi-Enerugi no mi
link
Skills: Master of the Rokushiki
Weapon: None
Fighting style: Kick boxing
Other info: quickly rose to the rank of vice admiral and has taken down 8 pirates with over a 200,000,000 beri bounty.

Past: Joined the Marines at the age of 23 and quickly rose among the ranks. After the death of a vice admiral that he shadowed, he was promoted to that position. The power of his energy fruit granted him the nickname "Supernova." Destroyed punk hazard just for fun when a wanted pirate that he was tracking refused to surrender and leave the island.

[Sidetracked Part 1/4]

(Yukiryu island {the island where Shanks and his crew were before the meeting with WB})

An unfamiliar silhouette walks into a nearby bar. The figure was poorly dressed for a winter island but it did not seem to faze him. He sat down at the bar and requested some sake in a calm but rude manner, which left a very distasteful feeling in the bartender's mind. He then gulped it down as if he had not drunken anything in days. For a moment he slowed down and came to a complete halt, as if he were reminiscing on something. A peace that would be short-lived.

"Marines!" A sound almost too unbelievable to be true. "Marines? What are they crazy? Shanks is gonna massacre them!" Crowds upon crowds of civilians rushed outside to see the commotion, but a single figure was left seated in the bar.

"Listen up everyone! Earlier today a marine battleship was attacked and the captain was killed. With orders directly from fleet admiral Aokiji-sama, all the vice admirals were dispatched to every island in this part of the new world. We have reason to suspect that the man responsible for that incident might be on one of these islands. So we ask have you seen a hooded man anywhere on this island?"

"I don't understand how can..." The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the small town. A cruel act that no citizen had seen before on that island.

"If you don't want to end up dead like that dumb-ass, then answer my question with a simple yes or no! Is there a hooded man on this island or not?!" The crowd was left in shock. Resentment, denial; so much hate towards the marines was present in the faces of the islanders. But what could they do? What else could they do but tell the truth.

"You there, Marine. What did that man ever do to you?" A simple question pierced through the crowd, but what or who was its source?

"Who said that?!" The hooded figure emerged and faced an entire fleet of marines under the command of a vice admiral. Alone and outnumbered but with now fear or hesitation to stall his steps. "Well I'll be damned! Men, before you stands a monster of the old age. I'd like you to meet the captain of the New Moon Pirates, or should I say former captain; Mockingbird. A beast that not even Whitebeard or the three greatest admirals could not kill."

"What do you want here, marine?" Mockingbird was fixated on seeing whether or not Aokiji would really go to such extremes.

"Look at that, it thinks it's in-charge now. Do you think I'm afraid of you? Your just an old man who just doesn't know when to die. The reason I'm here is to show you how to die. Does that answer your question." A menacing smirk filled the face of the marine vice admiral.

"Tell me... whats your name?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I would at least like to know the name of one of the men that I will kill today."

"Hmph... it's Reaver, Levens S. Reaver."

"Well then Reaver, we have about 15 minutes before Shanks' crew comes to kick you out of his territory; so try to make this a bit interesting for me."

"Same goes for you, 'Old man'!"

Two beasts, separated by a generation; fangs and claws aimed at each other's necks. What will be the outcome?

'To Be Continued'

Seems like activity is certainly heating up on here... well, looks like I'll have to get writing, then.

@Flame. Regarding Golan and Sergei, well I'm sure we can collaborate and figure something out... I was kind of thinking that the Revos would be quite outnumbered... i'll have Rakki and his crew sneak in, or something and cause a little commotion when they find Golan... So, what are your plans?

@Cryogenic. You're welcome. If you don't want either of those positions, then I could create a Yonkou of my own and leave the Warlord position for someone else (I have someone in mind for that, actually, so no worries there)

Anyway, guys, I will get writing and have something up ASAP.

The revised version of Rakki's Fruit. Hopefully, it will make more sense now. XD

Name: Butsuri-Butsuri fruit ('Physics fruit')

Type: Logia

Appearance: The user's body can shift from becoming solid, gas, or liquid. This makes their body seem very, very different each time they use the Fruit or intend to fight. This can take on the appearance of any liquid, gas or solid substance, including water, however, they cannot become water when immersed in the substance. Their appearance has little effect on the environment around them, i.e. freezing themself to become ice, as opposed to water, will have little effect on anything else around the user. Being ice will not give them the ability to manipulate the substance.

Abilities:

Butsuri No Kaze: This is the special wind created by a perfect control of anything involving physical manipulation. This differs from wind in general, as this can use gravitational forces to change the max-windspeed and pressure of each gust that blows. While this may sound complex, this actually exhibits particular patterns of the wind in the 'Roaring Forties', a weather pattern that only is shown on countries that exist within the 40-latitude line of Earth. Basically, the user can control the wind around the different kinds of weather that appear in the Roaring Forties, which involve heavy southerlies and drastic nor'westers. The pressure of these weather patterns is important, because the power the pressure, the more chance of 'typhoon' or 'cyclone-like' weather. The user can use an unimaginable amount of weather patterns to cause storms, lightning, hail, rain and other effects, which all rely on a lower level of pressure for this to work.

Butsuri No Jijou: This can use the concept of 'magnetic force' in order to manipulate ANY metal into acting the way that they wish. This could involve fastening metal objects onto a wall, or drawing swords away from their owners.

Black hole: The user allows their body to become an irresistable force and they will attract large objects, pulling them in and attempting to compress them down to about 1/10th of their normal size. This can only work if the opponent is weak, or has no Fruit abilities, otherwise it is fairly easy to escape. The compression only works on opponents with abnormal bodies i.e. Devil's Fruit users, as any normal person would be crushed and killed by`the ability. The compression lasts for about 30 seconds before the affected person's body returns to relative normality.

Speed of sound: The user can speed up individual movements, allowing them to move at around 600 m/s. This can only be sustained for short periods of time.

Special Power: The user can enhance the amount of gravitional pull around a specific object, including other humans. This ability means that said person/object will draw in objects around them within a 100 meter radius - these objects will orbit around person/object, unless their mass is greater than that of the person/object with the applied gravitational force.

Weakness: The user is weak against lightning and thunder. Lighting disrupts the bonds between their gravitional fields, as wellas their aptitude for using physical applications in order to further their own goals. Thunder causes them to lose their concentration, as the user of this fruit has to have ample control, otherwise they will not be able to use their abilities to their fullest. Other weaknesses include that of some other Logia types, Haki, sea stone and being in salt water.

So my plans are kind of jumbled at the moment. After reading through my previous posts, I can say that I had the most plans for Sergei, but that they really weren't well defined. His goal is to stay ahead of Lotus and protect the others from Terris, though he is careful not to rush towards a target as he could lead them to members of his kin. I have a couple of other things that are longer term for him, but there's little else, and as long as his mindset doesn't change too dramatically, he could easily do side missions.

Beyond that, I'd like to have some sort of discussion with you and exorcist over a major engagement between many of our characters at Ennies Lobby. Without Akario in the mix (and since we can essentially do as we wish with Smoker), she's basically on her own at this point, and writing off the previous post won't take much, but I'd like to give her some direction. If the idea is to have Rakki engage there, that would also give Simiao something to do.

By 'her' you mean Lucia, right?

My CP9 characters are all on standby in case they need to act as a result of what's going on with the Warlords and Admirals taking action, so they're pretty much open for any coming conflict. I might want to revise Waver's bio, but aside from that, I think they're good to go for anything.

Meanwhile, I'm going to finish up with Cade's errant mission and the trouble he causes Law and Gin. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with no admiral supervising them now, but I'll figure it out.

Yes, I do. Alright, well I'll probably work on a post for Lucia then to explain the change in course, though I'll chat with BP first about his plans for Rakki and crew.

Man, finally found the time to finish reading all the old posts. So I think I'm pretty familiar with what has been going on with this rp. You guys are awesome by the way, I got so caught up in some of them that I don't get why you all stopped posting. Well you probably didn't have time or something. Now. It's a bit of a spoiler for Mockingbird's story but I was planning to have him and Aokiji fight. Whatever the outcome, Aokiji will no longer be the Fleet Admiral and instead the position would go to Smoker. Seems fair enough; Luffy is Pirate King so Smoker should be Fleet Admiral. What do you guys think? Oh and don't worry about the spoiler. I'll still try to make the posts interesting.

I have a lot of dialog in my posts so I think I'm gonna change the format of how I write.

[Sidetracked Part 2/4]

Mockingbird: Five minutes. That's all I need to finish you off.

Reaver: Oh really? I'll only need one to finish you.

The tension between the two forces grew ever stronger. The street, crowded only a moment before, was now nearly empty. The lower ranking officers readied their guns and cutlasses, while Reaver simply pointed his hand to the ground where Mockingbird was standing.

Mockingbird: Hmmm... are you assessing something? Pointing on the ground won't make you win this fight any faster.

Reaver: Hmph... how naive. Initial Chaos!

A huge explosion shattered the earth were Mockingbird was standing. All that remained was a giant crater.

Reaver: Told you, all I needed was one minute. Damn, I was really hoping he would put up more of a fight too.

Mockingbird: You may want to extend that time a little.

Reaver, shocked at the thought that someone could survive a blast of that magnitude, started to turn around to see whether or not Mockingbird could survive.

Reaver: (thinking to himself as he turned) Even if he did survive there's no way he could get away unscathed.

But the unthinkable that Reaver perceived was nothing compare to what his eyes saw. Not only was Mockingbird unscathed, but the entire fleet under Reaver's command were laying down. Blood stained the snow around their bodies; some merely wounded, while others were only seconds away from death.

Reaver: (feeling and showing fear for the first time) That's... that's impossible! How?!

Mockingbird: (smiling at the sight of Reaver's disdain) You should have done more homework. Knowing my name and the people I've fought counts for shit. The reason Aokiji sent you wasn't to capture or kill me; he knows there is no way you could accomplish such a feat . All he wanted you to do was identify the island I was on, am I wrong?

Reaver: Shut up!! (Anger filled his voice) I can take you down no problem! I'll show him that I've got what it takes to be the next 'Hero'.

Mockingbird: Hero? You want to be a hero. A bit of advice kid. The word hero doesn't quite suit people like you and me. I guess a better word would be, Devil.

Reaver: Fuck YOU!!! How can you put me in the same rank as a fucking pirate! I'm a marine got it!!

Reaver picked up some snow and tossed it into the air, letting it spread over a wide area.

Reaver: Apocalypse!

The snow exploded. But with his haki Reaver knew that he missed his target.

Mockingbird: Face it kid, you can't hit me; at least not with your haki skills. My speed is comparable with Kizaru. There's no way in hell that I would lose in a fight with a mere vice admiral. There are only a few people left in this world who could actually take me head-on in a fight. Unfortunately for you... your not one of them.

Stubbornness filled Reaver, and like a child he repeated the action knowing the result. This time however, he prepared his haki to detect where Mockingbird would appear. He followed his target's movements as accurately as he could. Finally, Mockingbird came to a stop; right behind Reaver. Reaver quickly turned around and threw a punch.

Reaver: Got you asshole!

As fast as Reaver thought he was, Mockinbird was faster. By quickly dodging the punch and using his axe dial to cut Reavers legs, he brought the boisterous kid to his knees.

Mockingbird: Tell me... have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?

Reavers eyes opened wide. This question was all too familiar. Of course! He had heard Kizaru use that very phrase before he kicked a pirate away.

Mockingbird: Jet Kick!

The force of the kick sent Reaver flying into the now empty bar; the shock-wave that followed doubled the size of the initial hole. To the wounded marines, the moment seemed to foreshadow their deaths. Never in all his time as a vice admiral or even a marine had Reaver been hit. The outcome of the fight became increasingly certain to everyone except Reaver himself. Only seconds after he was kicked in, Reaver came back out; limping and panting.

Reaver: Is that all you've got? A cheap kick like that won't kill me. Jackass.

Mockingbird: Do you really want to die today.

Reaver: (not allowing his pride to be destroyed) Well I'm just saying... you were bragging a while ago that you could kill me in five minutes. But that's all bullshit. I'm still alive... and it's already been six minutes.

The words that were said did not go unanswered. Mockingbird walked forward and placed his hand on Reaver's chest.

Mockingbird: This is what you wanted right? Well then... High Impact.

Marine: Vice admiral Reaver, NOOOOO!!!

Blood spilled out of Reaver's mouth. Is this the end for him?

'To be Continued'

Well, admittedly at the time that we stopped posting, there were a lot of active RPs we were all involved in. We had one running on the Bleach forum, and we still have multiple RPs running on the Anime creators site, in case you're interested. We essentially stopped writing for this one due to a mutual agreement that those came first, but since the Bleach RP has stopped and we're down to fewer RPs on the other forum, this ends up being more reasonable.

As for the change in Fleet Admirals, we can discuss the possibility of Smoker taking the role, though I think we should have a bit of a round table about it.

Ok lets see what the others say. Oh and I'll check out the anime creators site.

It's worth a look ;D

For some reason, I don't see Smoker as admiral. He follows his own sense of justice and I feel like the moment he learns the truth about the World Government, he'll refuse to work as a marine any longer and go off on his own. You know, like one of those enemies of the main charatcer who shares similar beliefs and can't work with the antagonists anymore due to moral differences, though he still refuses to be friends with Luffy.

So basically, I can't see Smoker as a proper replacement. Do you really have to kill Aokiji or depose him from his position? You could leave him with a horrible wound to go along with his missing limbs or something. I just don't think it's worth going through the trouble of replacing the Fleet Admiral.

I hadn't really decided on whether or not my character would fight to the death with Aokiji yet; you know he could have a change of heart or something, but I see your point. It would be hard to replace a fleet admiral because only an admiral can take over that position. Well I don't know; their fight isn't going to be anytime soon, so by then I could figure it out. Just a thought but, isn't one of wolfmaster's characters an admiral? If I did go through with the Aokiji vs Mockingbird fight, the fleet admiral position could go to wolf's character. Seeing that the fleet admiral doesn't really get involved with too many fights, it will be a great way to resolve the problem with a vacant admiral spot. Feel free to agree or disagree. If you all don't like it I'll just adjust my plot accordingly.

I don't think we'll be replacing Aokiji with wolf's character, especially since he's not been around for quite a while. I don't think we should be giving promotions to characters of people who are no longer here, and it's already difficult to run with his admiral in this without him here. The other admiral is exorcist's, but since she functions as the admiral of Cipher Pol, I can't imagine that she'd be a good fit.

It basically all depends on who we get to join/which goals they take up. If it's not too much trouble, it's worth keeping Aokiji in the role, at least given the current circumstances.

Sure I understand, thanks.

@Flame. Well, basically, the plans for Rakki and his crew will be to get into Enies Lobby as stealthily as possible, trying to avoid major conflict, since he isn't there to prove anything, or fight any person in particular... he's simply there to rescue his bro, meaning that hopefully (for him) there will be minimal fighting, though that may or may not go to plan, depending on what I wish to happen... I actually want to pit him against a strong opponent, so I can prove his strength and the flexibility of the Butsuri No Mi. So, yeah, when I write my post, I'll basically be landing at Enies Lobby and we can go from there. And, yes, I'm sure Simiao will be in amongst it, but I'll leave the conduct of his character to you, unless you wish otherwise.

@Cryogenic. Nice post, man. Certainly an interesting fight between two intriguing characters.

I will try and get a post up as soon as possible, just not sure when exactly... I don't have time to write one now since I have to wake up in about 8 hours and I still need to sleep, too. I'll try and write as much as possible tomorrow night and even get it finished, though I can't promise anything more than to get as much done as I possibly can.

Also, about the Admiral thing, I would be kind of interested in creating an Admiral, and I would agree with Flame and Exorcist about Aokiji - I think he should remain Fleet Admiral, but have a good fight with Cryogenic's character... that sounds good to me.

Thanks for the kind words BP. Well then its settled I've changed Mockingbirds story; a little anyways. BP, Flame I can't wait to read your posts.

[Sidetracked 3/4]

Silence covered the small village. Marines and civilians alike, all were left speechless; simply staring in disbelief. Surely one man could not be this powerful, let alone a man was considered to be dead for the past 25 years. Reaver laid flat on his back and had not moved for some time.

Mockingbird: (turns and looks toward the wounded marines) I would kill you all, but I'm too tired. Well I guess that's the price of old age. (Begins to walk away) Oh and you can take that vice admiral of yours; he should be awake in a few minutes. If he stays here, I think he might want to start another fight. Of course then... I really will kill him.

Marine: What do you mean? We just saw what you did... you already killed him, didn't you?!

Mockingbird would not answer their question, he simply walked back into the bar to finish his drink. The wounded marines had no choice. If they pursue the target; they would die, and if the vice admiral woke up; the whole island might be destroyed. All they could do was get back on the ship and sail as far away as possible. Shortly after, a single crew member of Shanks Red-Hair Pirates came wondering along.

???: Do you all know what happened here?

Islander: You... you're...

???: Save the introductions. I just want to know what happened that's all.

Islander: Well... some marines were here causing trouble.

???: Were?

Islander: Yes sir. But a man fought them and sent them away, he severely wounded their vice admiral.

???: A vice admiral, which one?

Islander: Reaver... I think he said his name was Reaver.

???: So the 'Supernova' was here. I'm surprised that there isn't more damage. That kid is a tough one. No way a regular human being could take him out and his entire fleet. Where is the man now?

Islander: He went back in the bar. You aren't gonna go in there alone are you?

???: Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

And with that, the man entered the bar. He was well prepared for the worst, but deep down hoped that the person inside would be friendly. There was only one person in the bar. He was seated with his head resting on the counter.

???: Hey you there! I hear you were causing a bit of trouble with the marines. Though I think it was good that you would defend the citizens and all but Shanks and Aokiji have a bit of a treaty. So I would appreciate it if you would refrain from killing marines. Is that cool with you hoodie?

There was no response, so the Red-Hair Pirate shook Mockingbirds shoulder. Still nothing. He turned Mockingbird around to see if he didn't die. Blood was draining from Mockingbird's nose and mouth. But there were no external injuries. He then lifted up Mockingbird and carried him out of the bar. A smile came upon his face, not one of menace... but one of solace.

???: Well, fate surely seems to be messing with me today. First Shanks leaves me here to guard the island even though he's going to see Luffy and his crew. I mean it's been a while since I've seen my son so I would have wanted to go. But in all my years I never thought I'd see you again; well, not on this sea anyways. Oh yes, you still owe me for saving your life. Now how are you gonna pay me back? Well, I'll think of something; for now though lets just get you fixed up.

'To be Continued'

So, it's a bit of a short post, but I need to get Lucia onto the right path, and this starts that. I'll have something more substantive next time I post.

[Distracted]

Lucia kept her face stolid despite the desire to smile as she stared at the Den Den Mushi in her hands. It bore long, curly black hair that tumbled down to the base of the eye stalks, which was partially hidden under a blue bandana with the navy flag emblazoned on it, and a signature pair of black sunglasses with small, circular lenses over the eyes. A small, unkempt beard adorned its mouth. It had a solemn look on its face.

She was being drawn away from her mission, much to her carefully restrained glee. Smoker was shouting curses just far enough away not to be heard over the Den Den Mushi, though she could hear it quite plainly. Their mission would have to be called off. Still, she felt the need to make it seem like something that she had an aversion to.

“Why are you sending me to Enies Lobby of all places? With Namikiji there, it any threat should be easily dismissed.”

The snail shook its head. “I've been given information that we are under assault by a powerful, old foe of mine. He is likeliest to attack Marine Headquarters first, and as such Admiral Smoker is to return to that location immediately. We've also sought to retrieve others. And much as I have my concerns about Impel Down, Magellan has made that place into a fortress unlike any other. An attack on there would practically be suicide at this point. Hence, I mean to shore up Enies Lobby, no matter how well defended it appears to be.”

She couldn't help but notice that he went to pains to prevent telling her anything that might be used to discover his current location. She also wondered who the “others” that had been retrieved to Headquarters would be. It didn't matter, though. This was a ticket to relative safety, giving her time to recover from her injures and bring herself back to some vestige of mental acuity.

“And our mission?”

The snail sighed. “Some things are better left undone. You have your orders.”

The Den Den Mushi switched off. She put it aside, striding towards the starboard side of the ship where her bags lay. Most of her swords lay in there – she only carried her two weakest with her at all times. The rest were only necessary for combat, while these two found other uses.

She quickly grabbed these, ignoring the voice of Yoruchi as it tried to catch her attention, and jumped down into the small skiff below.

Her tiny vessel had to be recovered following her imprisonment. She simply called it Hari, though its full name was Sureddo sono hari-ha, The Needle that Threads the Waves. Its small size should have capsized it multiple times over the course of her journeys, but it actually managed to navigate even the roughest oceans with grace. It was a thin craft, lacking a sail and instead containing several slots on the sides for oars to be inserted. Of course, she didn't have any oars. Instead, she drew Kamakiri from its sheath.

“Bushoshoku: Kamakiri Reiyādosutorippu.”

Layers of green metal stripped off the thick blade, landing about the ship.

“Āmuōru.”

The sheets of metal formed themselves into shapes akin to that of a mantis arm, reaching through the holes in the side of the ship and into the waters below. She carefully sat down, setting aside her bags as she lifted a finger and rotated it in the air. Immediately, the makeshift oars began to rotate through the water,moving her along despite the complete lack of wind. It looked positively miniscule by comparison to the large marine vessel, but it didn't matter, since it required only her to pilot it.

“Lawson!”

Smoker called over the side. She grimaced, meeting his gaze with a sidelong one of uncertainty. He looked as angry as a thunderhead, and with the smoke coming off of him, she could have sworn he actually was one. The marines onboard were all scattered about doing various tasks, apparently working to make the large ship move.

“I have no clue what Aokiji wants with all this, but as soon as this is over, I'll be calling on you to finish this! No excuses!”

She put on a mournful look, but nodded. Her craft turned away from the large vessel and onto the path back towards Impel Down – the nearest of the three locations and her key to get into one of the Gates of Justice. Much as she had no interest in returning to the site, she was more focused on seeing herself to her location than dawdling on the ocean by herself. Besides, she had never seen Enies Lobby. It was supposedly quite the sight.

[Stealth Mission! To Enies Lobby We Go]

'Look at that place! It's heavily guarded and that wall is pretty damn thick!!! How were we planning to get through that?'' Long John laughed cynically.

Rakki shook his head, a serious look on his face. 'I can walk right through that wall, if I want to! I'll save Golan and bring him home with me. He won't go to Impel Down!!!'

Long John nodded, clearing knowing that this would happen, despite his pessimistic attitude. Rakki would not be stopped from saving his brother. The ship stopped and Rakki looked around, deciding where they would board the island ahead. Already, the marines had summoned a small force to check out the area they were, at least, judging from the direction they were heading, which was straight towards Rakki and the ship. He sighed, having already considered the consequences of such an outcome, though he had wished for the least amount of trouble possible.

Rakki turned to Johnny. 'You lot distract them, so that I can turn to gas and walk through that wall... I'll go and bring Golan back. Alive. Follow when you have defeated the guards and can sneak through... I assume that you can find me, somehow...? Otherwise, I'll take the Den Den Mushi and find out where you are, so we can rendezvous somehow.'

'Right! Let's go!!!" Johnny shouted across the deck at Bug-eye and the others. They all began to rush off and grab their weapons, then they lowered the plank and boarded the land.

Rakki followed behind, watching the marine patrol in front of his crew; after a moment, he turned to gas and surrounded the patrol with the water vapour, then froze all of the vapour around them. They stared back lifelessly, their mouths open in shock, as their weakest moment was documented all over their faces.

'Cool trick, Captain!' Johnny yelled. 'Now wait till you see this surprise!'

The pirates began to attack the wall, and Johnny transformed his hybrid dragon form. Straight away, he began to fire his fire at the gate, while more marines poured out, eager to defend their island. Rakki's crew handled the wave of marines, while Rakki changed into oxygen gas, invisible to the eye of the human being, then he phased over the wall, with his sonic speed. Surprisingly, it didn't seem like any of the marines had noticed him disappear and he began to run in the direction of where he could feel Golan's presence.

Meanwhile, Johnny was burning the gate, though it hadn't done as much damage as he'd hoped, since the metal bracings on the door had protected it from quite a bit of damage and the metal was red hot. He changed into the full dragon form, gaining his wings and flew high into the air, until he was about 100 meters up. Finally he began to drop, the rate of his descent increasing swiftly and he smashed through a large chunk of the wall. Bug-eye was using Soru to avoid the attacks of the marine soldiers, though he had also been cutting them down with rankyaku and using his CP9-style training of Rokushiki to defeat the ones he didn't cut down. He was faster than any of them.

More marines appeared, though these ones had a look of the officer-type marines and much better trained than the regular marine soldiers. But, to make matters worse, there was another figure appearing through the smashed and broken wall... and he was wearing a dark suit jacket and similar style pants and ties. Was it possible? Could he truly be a CP9 agent?

Bug-eye appeared in front of the agent, a challenging look in his eyes, as he searched for a suitable answer from the opponent.

'Who are you?'

The agent laughed bitterly. 'My name is Shin. I am a CP9 assassin. I will defeat you! Then, you will go to Impel Down and join all of the other scum from this world!!!'

'No... I will show you the skills of my grandfather! Get ready to die a painful death!'

-Meanwhile-

Johnny formed back into the half-human form and pounced at the marine officers, swiping at them with his tail and his claws. Then, he rose into the air and breathed fire at them. Two collapsed, but the other eight burst out of the flames, their arms crossed and their sleeves all burnt.Another clump of marine soldiers formed and he breathed fire at them, knowing that they could be easily wiped out, then landed in front of a officer and struck him before he could move and buffeting him to the ground. The other seven surrounded him, snarls on their face. He snarled back, turning into a roar and breathed another massive burst of fire, then struck three of them with his tail and they sailed back over the wall landing in a burnt-looking pile.

'Fools...'

[Orders]
(Aboard a marine battleship)

Several wounded marines sat about idly, awaiting their vice admiral's awakening. They had been sailing for a while and were sure that they had cleared a large enough distance from Yukiryu. An untouched den den mushi sat on top of a desk in the captain's quarters. The marines grew restless and began to bicker amongst themselves.

Marine1: An entire fleet... I still can't believe it. We're suppose to be the elite. If there are more monsters like that guy, how can we possibly hope to beat them. Vice admiral Reaver said that that guy lost to Whitebeard, but didn't the former fleet admiral land a fatal blow against Whitebeard?

Marine2: But didn't Akainu get seriously injured too. And back then Whitebeard was wounded and a lot older than when Mockingbird fought him.

Marine1: So then... if that guy is after the fleet admiral; do you think he would really attack the head quarters?

Marine2: I'm not sure. With all that's going on right now, even with the admirals, can we stop him. He's as fast as Kizaru. I don't know anyone currently in the marines right now who could keep up with that kind of speed. Well except for Smoker and Aokiji-sama.

Doctor: Come quick, vice admiral Reaver is awake!

They hurried as best they could. Reaver had finally gained consciousness after ten minutes.

Reaver: Hmm... are we aboard the ship?

Doctor: Yes sir! You were severely wounded and... well...

Reaver: And what?

Doctor: Well its about your heart sir. It almost exploded inside your chest, similar to the captain that was killed. But its perfectly fine now, with a little bit of rest...

Reaver: There's no time for rest. (begins to sit up) I have to report to Aokiji-sama.

The crew were amazed and inspired by their vice admiral's will and perseverance. Even though he had just lost and was so very close to death, he still knew what his priorities were. Reaver exited the infirmary and walk into the captain's quarters. He picked up his den den mushi and waited for Aokiji to answer.

Aokiji: Reaver, your the last to report. So, is he on that island?

Reaver: Yes sir. And I apologize sir... I engaged the enemy and lost miserably.

Aokiji: Your orders were just to scout the island. Why did you engage him?

Reaver: But sir I could have beaten him if I...

Aokiji: Stop it now Reaver. You couldn't possibly have hoped to win. If you had reported we could have made a countermeasure, but its too late for now. Just come back to the HQ. We have a lot to talk about; Smoker and his subordinates along with the other vice admirals should be arriving soon. You can make a formal report then.

Reaver: What is admiral Smoker going to the HQ for?

Aokiji: He is the only admiral with enough years of experience to stand his own against Mockingbird. We need you here quickly to begin the meeting.

Reaver: A meeting for what, how is it that I'm just being informed?

Aokiji: Well like I said, you were the last one to report. As for the case of the meeting, we need to make a plan.

Reaver: I see... a plan for what?

Aokiji: We allocated most of our troops to take care of the trouble being caused on the grand line. As such we are limited in numbers. So we need the remaining elites to gather and make a plan to fully reinforce the marine headquarters. Knowing him, he'll attack this place with full force. We can expect this anytime within the next two to four days. Well you have your orders.

The den den mushi clicks off. Reaver's face froze for a moment; absent of even the slightest expression.

Reaver: (wondering to himself) Even if he is that powerful, attacking the HQ would be suicide.

But that was not the time to be thinking. Reaver exited the room and faced the crew.

Reaver: Listen up men, set sail toward the marine HQ!

Crew: Yes sir!!

The coming days would be filled with death and bloodshed. Reaver could not bear the thought of how much marines would die. He and his crew lost to that man in six minutes, and still he knew that Mockingbird was holding back. In his eyes, Reaver was not even worth killing. This greatly angered Reaver. The small trees on the deck began to wither, while Reaver began to feel rejuvenated.

Reaver: I need to get stronger. I need to be ready to fight toe-to-toe with guys like him. If I'm gonna be the next hero of the marines. I need to be stronger. You were right about one thing. I will be called a devil, but not by the civilians. They will love and cheer for me. The ones who will call me a devil; are you rotten pirates!

The resolve ignites Reaver, his journey has just truly begun.

Geh...I just remembered about Kiya. She's kind of in the way with what I want to do with the person who made the character absent. Should I just ignore her existence? If someone else makes an admiral, I could just swap them with Kiya, so long as I can move along with things.

That aside, I'll have to work on a response post toward your crew's attack on Ennies Lobby Later, BP. I kind of expected the who CP9 showdown to happen a bit later, but just as well. I can't wait to finally use my characters that I made so long ago!

Well Aokiji is gonna hold a meeting with all the vices, someone can just make a vice admiral and we i can have Aokiji give them the position. But what do we do with Kiya though?

Up to you on that one, exorcist. I'll work up a post for Simiao next.

[Churning Tides]

The room at the lowest level of the facility had been quiet for a long while, but all of that had abruptly been brought to an end. Dozens of men who were clearly from the revolutionary army somehow managed to reach the large steel door that Gin had been tasked with protecting, all of them apparently hyped about finally reaching their destination. They approached Gin without much care, aiming to overwhelm him with their somewhat greater numbers in an instant, only to be violently turned around by a duo of massive tonfa/mace hybrids.

Gin had to wonder what was going on. Just a moment ago, the other two warlords seemed to have been doing their job just fine, as no one had even reached him, who was supposed to be the last line of defense, until now. Since he was dispatching these guys so easily, he was sure they hadn’t been defeated or anything.

“I guess idiots just can’t be trusted.” Gin muttered to himself as he frowned at the gathering group of revolutionaries who now kept their distance. He could see from the look in their eyes that they were absolutely intent on getting past him and into the room. They all simultaneously pointed guns in his direction as he took a deep breath, his muscles tensing.

“Is whatever this is behind this door really important too you guys?”

“It’s not like we’re particularly anxious to fight with a member of one of the three powers that balance the world.” One of the revolutionaries replied with a dry tone. “But you won’t back down even if we ask you to, huh?”

“I was only a pirate because I had to be in order to survive. Don’t expect me to be so rebellious that I’d let you through on a whim.”

That short exchange was enough. The sound of the men preparing to fire their guns filled the air as Gin lowered his center of gravity, preparing to charge forward.

Then the ceiling above was smashed through, sending debris raining down onto those below.

“Wah—?!” The revolutionaries cried in shock as they whirled around in confusion to see what was happening. At the same moment, a figure dropped from the floor above, swinging what looked like an extremely long sword around in a long arc.

“Shambles!”

“Missed again, you shady surgeon of death!”

Several more cries filled the air, adding to the chaos as men were split into pieces from invisible slashes that probably extended from the long sword’s blade. Most of them were surprised to survive even after being cut apart, while others just focused on getting out of the way as a mercilessly slew of what seemed like intangible spears shot straight down like hail, shredding through the floor below.

The entire time, the debris made it impossible to see what was going or who was fighting, but Gin could be pretty certain based on the voices and the attacks involved. He stepped back swiftly as another errant slash flew through the air and a stray bullet ricocheted off the wall, both nearly hitting him.

Then there was a brief silence before someone emerged from the crater in the floor.

“Oh, devil-boy!” Cade Locksley greeted with a grin and a short salute as he approached. “Good job holding the fort. It looks like they’ve really begun to concentrate the numbers, so I guess they’ve probably managed to map out the facility and find the straightest route here. I guess we’ll have to change our defensive strategy to something more offensive, huh?”

“I guess…” Gin murmured distractedly as he looked Cade up and down. The sharpshooter’s hair was disheveled and he showed clear signs of having been in a fight. His eyebrows had been split in half to give him four separate ones and one of his boots had been switched with a large metal pipe. “What exactly were you fighting with Law about? In fact, what the hell are you doing when you should be focusing on getting rid of the revolutionaries?”

“Huh?” Cade stood with his face only an inch or two away from Gin as he looked at him with wide eyes and no expression, speaking louder than he needed to. “What are you talking about? I have absolutely no idea what you mean! Did you hit your head or something?”

“…Oi…”

“More importantly, I need a favor. I need to get into that room for a second. I’ll be in and out before you know it; do you mind?”

Cade wrapped an arm around Gin’s neck and draped it over his shoulder in a friendly manner, as if they were old friends, and Gin was immediately suspicious. Carefree as this guy was, he was always prudent in his work. If he was shirking his duty for something like this, something must have been up.

“Just what are you planning—”

Before Gin could finish his sentence, the air right beside them was split and the door behind them was cut down its line of symmetry, tearing in half despite the thick metal it was made of.

“Locksley~ya…” Trafalgar Law brushed the debris off of him as he supported himself with his sword’s sheath while he held the long blade in his other hand. He sported minimal damage, but seemed fatigued from using his devil fruit too frequently. “I’ve had enough of your childish antics. Go ahead and see if you find what you’re looking for. Just make it quick so we can get back to what we have to do.”

“Hold on.” Cade’s jolly smile became sharper as he eyed Trafalgar suspiciously. “Why the sudden change of heart? I’m still not going to share the profit with you.”

“Just go already!”

Cade seemed to still be suspicious of Trafalgar’s motives, but didn’t think too much on it as he simply shrugged and headed toward the door that had been forcibly cut in half. Gin watched Cade go for a moment with reluctance.

“Is that really okay?” Gin asked with concern. “We still don’t know what’s in there.”

“Apparently, Cade thinks the revolutionaries came here for a devil fruit and he planned to steal it before they got to it.” Trafalgar turned his back to Gin as he looked around the area. Very noticeably, most of the men who’d been in the crossfire when he and Cade had arrived were gone. Only the ones cut to pieces to the point where they couldn’t move were left behind, though many seemed to have been dragged off by others. “But it’s strange. For such an important mission, only underlings were sent. I have a bad feeling about this…”

That much was true, Gin realized. Whatever they were after, they shouldn’t have expected even this number of people to really break through the facilities defenses. He’d assumed that they simply hadn’t been prepared for three warlords, but their firepower was still too small.

Was it all a bluff?

“…WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?!?!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The majority of the injured have made it onto the boat. A few are unaccounted for, though most were confirmed to have been either killed or incapacitated by the enemy fire.”

“Good.” The current leader of the revolutionary ship that was floating near the shore of the unnamed and uncharted island that a government facility was situated on sighed, unsure of how he felt about the results. He didn’t like the idea of losing men, but the number of causalities could have been a lot worse. They’d essentially accomplished their goal. “Let’s head off before they begin to catch on. We’ve done our job as decoys, so let’s get away from here as soon as possible.”

“Sir.”

The revolutionary saluted and headed off, and the ship soon opened its sails and headed away from the island at a decent pace. The head of the ship anxiously watched the island, unable to relax until it had completely disappeared from sight.

He wished his anxiety could have been unfounded.

Before they island had even begun to look slightly smaller due to perspective, the sea beside them suddenly detonated, as if a landmine had gone off.

“What was that?! Are there mines in the water?!”

“I don’t see any! The sea should be clear of any obstacles!”

“Then what the hell just exploded?! It looked a bit a cannonball when one lands in the water!”

“Impossible! We would have seen a cannonball flying toward us in that case!”

Just as this statement was said, it was contradicted as the water nearby exploded once more, and then a third time within a shorter interval. None were hitting them, but if felt too deliberate to make them feel safe. The head of the ship held binoculars up to his eyes and looked in the direction of the island, barely daring to believe.

He managed to focus on a figure standing at a high altitude on a cliff, the wind throwing the tails of his dark coat around as a large brimmed hat shadowed most of his face. The figure casually touched what seemed like a matchstick to a cigarette before he touched the same matchstick to the fuse of the cannon right beside him.

The very next moment, the sea exploded once more, this time close enough to make the entire ship shudder from the shockwave.

How the hell did that guy aim so easily? And why were the cannonballs moving so fast? He didn’t even seem the least bit rushed as he held up a baby Den Den Mushi, clearly intending to use it as a speaker as if he had all the time in the world.

Though it wasn’t much of an explanation, one name came to the revolutionary’s mind.

“‘Longshot’ Locksley…”

“Ahem…Hello? Self-proclaimed heroes that want to take down the despot known as the World Government? Yes, hello. You have about five seconds to tell me where the hell the devil fruit is. You know exactly what I’m talking about, so don’t play dumb. Oh, right—if you don’t tell me within those five seconds…I’LL BLOW YOUR SHIP STRAIGHT OUT OF THE WATER!!!”

In the very next moment, another cannonball sailed through the air, this time moving slow enough so the familiar whistle could reach their ears as it spun through the air. This one landed at the same distance as all the others, but the explosion this time was oddly large, at least double the range, and a wave of water showered down on the deck of the ship.

“The next one’s going straight through the hull of your ship! Now: WHERE IS THE NIKYU NIKYU NO MI?!”

[In Between]

Mockingbird: Huh... where am I? But better yet, where is everyone else?

Mockingbird awoke in a room with no doors. He struggled to his feat and yelled out loud.

Mockingbird: HELLO!!!!

There was no response. He walked toward the wall and tried to use his almighty impact to break it down. But it was no use; one of his strongest attacks could not even put a dent in the wall.

???: Why are you trying to leave? Isn't there someone you want to see?

A mysterious voice echoed within the small room.

Mockingbird: What are you talking about? Where am I, who's waiting for me?

???: Someone you know... someone you miss.

Mockingbird: How can I see them?

???: Just open the door.

The words confused Mockingbird. What door? The room was completely sealed. After all, he had already checked. He looked around once more and, as the voice had said, a door was there behind him. He walked forward and reached for the knob, but paused for a moment to think. Who could the person behind the door be? This was the one question that lingered in his mind. He brushed off the thought and followed through with opening the door. On the other side there was a road; a narrow path that between a grove of trees. He stepped through without a moments hesitation. This scene, this moment, it felt familiar to him somehow. A light breeze flowed through the trees and brushed against his skin; comforting as if he belonged here. He began to walk the narrow trail until he came to a small lake. The lake reflected a fully exposed crescent moon.

???: Your here!

The voice once again echoed in the open space. And once again Mockingbird looked around to find its source. As he gazed toward the other side of the lake he saw a single figure. He could tell that it was a woman, a woman who bore an all too familiar silhouette.

???: So you finally came... your late as always!

The woman approached and as she got closer an overwhelming pain came upon Mockingbird. Tears filled his eyes, could this be real. Whether or not it was a dream, the pain he felt was real.

Mockingbird: Reika! But how? Could I, could I really have...

Reika: No... you're perfectly fine.

Mockingbird: Then, this is a dream?

Reika: Wrong again! This is real. Your in between the worlds.

Mockingbird: In between the worlds?

Reika: Yes. The worlds of life and death. I came here to meet you. Even if it was just for a moment... I wanted to see your face, and hear your voice again.

Mockingbird: (His heart beginning to ache for the first time in years) I wanted to see you as well. Ever since that day I've been nothing but a broken man.

Reika: Don't say things like that anymore; the Haruki-kun I knew would never feel that way.

Tears began to fill in Reika's eyes.

Mockingbird: Its okay. Just don't cry, everything is gonna be okay now.

Reika: Haruki-kun... why can't you forgive them? Please forgive them, forget about all the hatred and live on for me. Please!

Mockingbird: (Holds his beloved Reika by the shoulders and gently pushes her away) I'll be here very soon. Next time I come here I'm going to stay with you forever...

Reika: No Haruki don't...

Mockingbird puts his finger over her lips and stops her before she could say more. Even more tears filled his eyes and for the first time in years a sincere smile came across his face.

Mockingbird: I truly am sorry. I hope that when we see each other again you can forgive me. But I can't forgive them. I loved you too much to forgive them for what they did, and I can't move on also. What I must do must be done. If it means that I will have to tear the marines headquarters apart with my bare hands, then I'll do it.

The ground beneath them cracked and began to drift apart. Neither of them had anything more to say. The tears that they were shedding dried up. In a brief silence they both found serenity. They smile at each other as if to say. "See you soon!"

(Mockingbird wakes up in a cool room to a familiar face. He knew that he will no longer find that place again until all his burdens are lifted.)

Awesome posts, guys! XD

@Exorcist. Well, that was, more or less, only the pre-taster to a prequel fight. I just wanted to get a couple of things going with my post... the next couple of posts will likely be about Rakki and Golan. I was thinking that he would find him, as well as the Revolutionaries and end up fighting to get Golan away, while the rest of his crew end up following him and finally engaging the enemy, though Bug-eye won't be following. Haha.

BP, Exorcist, Flame i'm thinking about sending Reaver to enies lobby after the meeting. I'll write this in a couple days hopefully. When he's there you guys can use him however you want. I'm gonna do this because i'm gonna introduce 2 new characters and then i want to push more with Mockingbird's story.