My Hunt, My Raid

An Unconventional Reunion
It had been about a week after the successful raid on the Numeral’s territory. Even after all the attention they received on the News, the Reaper Pirates showed no signs of slowing down. Especially their captain, a super-rookie now worth 200,000,000, was now treated as more than a crazy murderous scientist who had escaped from Marine HQ. The pirate captain had proved that he was ready for the unforgiving waters of the New World, as he was capable of throwing hands against some of the toughest New World Veterans. Now, for some reason, he and his crew had begun hunting down scientists, researchers and engineers, both affiliated and non-affiliated with the World Government, leaving behind a trail of blood and destruction.

Today had been the most successful hunt yet for the Reapers, as they had intercepted a Marine ship leaving out of Spicy Pot Island. What made their attack successful was the fact that the ship carried the one and only Peg Nez, a woman who was at the top of the Marine Science Unit, and Umori Kenshiro’s former boss.

The now half destroyed Marine battleship had been the stage for the battle. Even a couple of Marine Captains and a Commodore were not enough to protect their target against just two members of the Reaper Pirates, the Captain himself and Liam Grim, a former prominent rookie that sailed with his own crew a few years ago.

Kenshiro looked down on Peg Nez while she was being held by some grunts belonging to the Wung Family. He removed his hat and leaned over to his former superior.

“It’s been a while, Nez. I’m sorry I left the Science Unit without saying this first...I quit. Fufufu!” He put his hat back on and straightened himself and his green coat. Smirking, he looked to his right side as the injured Marine Captain Fuko Dokimura dashed to his direction, aiming a Haki coated fist to Kenshiro’s face.

Kenshiro didn’t even bother to draw his sword. He dodged Dokimura’s attack with his eyes closed and while smirking, he coated his fist in Busoshoku and delivered a palm strike to the Marine Captain’s head. While his palm didn’t actually hit Dokimura’s head, just coming a few inches short of hit, the Marine however was blown away by an invisible force, landing several meters back, almost falling of the ship. His face was covered in blood and without a doubt, this time he was not waking up anytime soon.

“Grim. We only need Nez. The rest of them can be disposed of.” As he said this, Kenshiro looked at Nez for a brief second, and made his way towards the destroyed ship’s edge, where a Wung Family airship would descend, floating just a dew meters above the ocean. Walking onboard the airship, Kenshiro announced, “We’ll make a brief stop at Spicy Pot Island to pick up some of her associates, them we’ll rendezvous with the others...Nez, if you don’t want them harmed, I suggest you convince them to come along willingly, as I won’t mind cutting a limb or two if they resist”, said Kenshiro as he signaled the grunts to chain her and put her on the ship.

Nez's body tensed at the thought of her associates being harmed, but she had little time to ponder before she was ripped off of the ground by two burly men. The grunts twisted her arms behind her back, making Nez let out a small squeal of pain. She suddenly tilted her head upwards in a jerking motion and made direct eye contact with Kenshiro before speaking.

"Oh dear Kenshiro... you've changed so much..." Nez whispered to Kenshiro.

"A few people tell you that you've got the stuff, and then suddenly you've grown too big for your britches... "too good" for the Marines..." She continued, before tilting her head upwards in a somewhat menacing manner.

"To be honest, I never saw that much in you... people with too much ambition are no better than those with none. You're nothing more than a kid at a science fair... you... aren't... shit..." Nez spat, before the guards twisted her arms further to stop her from talking.

Liam Grim was just laying down, with his head over his palm, on top of a small mountain of defeated and unconscious Marine soldiers. “What do you want me to dispose of, Ken? These guys are done for, many of them even dead...” He grabbed and shook the arm of one of the fallen soldiers. “Yup. This one’s dead...but more importantly!”

Grim began to slowly stand up and make his way to Nez while the woman was blabbering on. He crouched beside her and from his jacket, he pulled out five roses. When she finished talking to Kenshiro, He stood up, his bored eye had transformed into a lustful expression.

“Mademoiselle!! Would such a beauty as yourself, after all this is done...go out on a date with yours truly!? You would make me the luckiest man alive!!!...AND if any of your associates is a beauty comparable with yourself, she can, of course, come to the date as well!!” He finished up in a grandiose stance, throwing the roses up high in the air and letting them fall. One fell on top of Kenshiro’s hat...

Nez was taken aback by the man's sudden interest in her, a shocked expression clearly visible on her face. However, she quickly tilted her head towards the ground and looked as though she were blushing.

"W-well, I don't know what to say... um, I suppose I will go on a date with you..." Nez stammered, her eyes darting rapidly.

"But as you can see, I'm a little tied up right now..." She said softly.

"Grim! Don't get drawn into her pace!...She's a cunning one..." Kenshiro turned back to Nez. "Trying to get on my nerves as you used to, "Nez-sama? It won't work. And besides, I was "forced" to flee from the Marines. That bastard Eren Gyo, the one you forced as my assistant, he snitched to Rita all of my Underworld dealings...that bastard! Although," Kenshiro chuckled, '"I guess it's my own fault for being so naughty."

He turned his back to Nez once more, heading in the direction of the airship. "But I must thank you, Nezzie...It was thanks to you, thanks to you accepting a former CP9 member like me into the Science Unit, that I was able to acquire this much power so quickly!!! All those lost research documents and experiments? It was all me, dear Nez!", Kenshiro exclaimed as his coat waved in the wind, and he held his hat in place with his hand.

"You done, Kenny? Come now! We have to go! If Genki finishes his mission before us, he's gonna pester us to no end!" Exclaimed a woman from atop the airship. This woman would be the Reaper Pirates's navigator, Kaname Dimaria.

Nez was filled with a great rage as a result of her attempt at deception failing, which only burned brighter after Kenshiro confessed to sabotaging the Marine's experiments and data. Countless hours and extensive knowledge were wasted and lost because of one man's doings! Nez grumbled audibly under her breath, but she interrupted her own wallowing with a sudden idea.

She reeled back her head and let out a large sneeze, which shook her entire body as a result. As she did, she deliberately shook her lab coat pocket, which allowed a small live snail to fall out onto the ground and promptly slither away. Nez then positioned her body in a way to where the snail could not be seen behind her as it made its escape.

"Oh sorry... I've always been allergic to your bullshit, Kenshiro... you knew that already though." Nez snidely remarked.

As she was talking, the snail was able to slowly squeeze through a hole in the boat and promptly deploy a small set of plane-like wings and engine, which allowed it to take flight like a miniature fighter jet. It sped off into the sky above before deploying a small antenna that created a signal that would only connect to others of its kind.

Nez's plan was successful, but Kenshiro's eyes and ears twitched after Nez's comment. He tried control his annoyance, but he was already oozing bloodlust. Nez would feel that the two Wung Family guards holding her began to tremble at the young man's sinister aura. He stopped on his tracks and slowly turned his head, looking over his shoulder, one of his eyes would stare them down. His stare would be directed straight at Nez, with such intensity it would feel as if he wanted to impale her with his gaze alone. Dimaria had a visible sweat drop falling from her forehead to her cheeks, wondering what would ensue during this tense moment.

Because of the tension, no one would notice that another injured Marine soldier had picked up his rifle and had pointed it at Liam. But he, was also paralyzed by the powerful killing intent Kenshiro's aura was oozing off. The marine certaintly was cursing the moment he decided to be brave and pick up his weapon. Kenshiro turned over to them, staring the Marine intently. He walked towards him at a calm pace, each step taken making the soldier tremble even more intensely. He walked past Nez, the two guards holding her had their heads facing the ground, not daring to even look at Kenshiro's shadow. He finally stood only a few feet away from the soldier. The rifle was pressed into Kenshiro's chest. The Marine just had to pull the trigger. Just a flicker, and this madman's life would be forfeited. He would be a hero. But he couldn't. He barely had the willpower to blink, as his eyes met the penetrating gaze of the pirate captain. Sweating buckets, the Marine tried to muster all his strength to either pull the trigger or jump away from this monster. But his body only reacted with a slight nudge. However, this slight, almost unnoticeable movement would be enough for Kenshiro.

With a swift movement, so fast it seemed as a blur, Kenshiro would aim to take the young Marine soldier's life. Blood splattered all the way over to Nez. The near lifeless body of the marine stood in the same spot, his eyes losing it's light, as he looked downwards ever so slightly,. Standing over in an increasing pool of blood, he would realize Kenshiro's arm had reached deep within his chest. So much that, Kenshiro's arm had pierced all the way straight through the man's back. On the palm of his hand, he held the marine's still beating heart.

Pulling out his arm, now soaked in blood, caused the corpse to fall to the ground like if it were a ragdoll. Kenshiro began making his way back to the airship, and when he walked again past Nez, he threw the bloodied heart in front of her. "Let's set sail to Spicy Pot Island," he said while he held his hat with this non-bloadsoaked hand. Finally on the airship, Dimaria came to Kenshiro's side and gave him a wet towel for him to clean himself.

Not long after, Kenshiro sat in the airship’s deck, taking in the high altitude breeze. “Captain, Spicy Pot Island is already on sight. How do you want to proceed?”, asked his navigator Dimaria.

“Hmm...let’s just fly over it, leave the ship hovering while Liam and I descend and ask for her associates nicely. It won’t take long. Right, Nez? You’ll tell them to cooperate won’t you?”, Kenshiro spoke loudly so Nez, who was chained under the deck, could hear his taunts.

The people from Spicy Pot Island would notice the large vessel incoming boldly, bearing both the flag of the Reaper Pirates and the Wung Family.

Nez's Associates
As the airship peeked through the thick clouds surrounding the island, Tabart, who had been dipping his feet carefully into the water at the edge of the beach, stood up from the sand. During this day off from his training exercises with Yan, another fellow Shichibukai who desired on compensating him for his assistance on Elbaf so long ago, Tabart had hoped to spend it relaxing on the wonderful beaches of an island protected by the World Government with his fiancé, Frida. Though, it had seemed that somehow, even on this calm day, his plans had yet again been interrupted.

Tabart squinted and nodded. “Yeah, that’s the ship that scientist warned us about. She said something about it being the reaper pirates,” he continued as Frida stood beside him. “If I had known being a Shichibukai was going to be all this work, I don’t think I would have done it. But, well, I don’t think I had much a choice Afterall.”

Tabart sighed, pulling his hands from his pocket, releasing a bunch of seeds onto the sand beneath him. “Frida, I’m going to shoot down that ship. Judging from the information we got from the marines, the scientist should be able to swim. If not, we’ll rescue her too, but I don’t really know how well that’s going to go.”

The seeds dug into the sand, rooting themselves deep in the island. Like a chimeric beast, the variety of plants that sprouted almost instantaneously merged into a singular entity that embodied a host of flowers with an opening in the middle, akin to a cannon made of plants. Without hesitation, the middle of the plant began glowing a bright yellow as the plants photosynthesized, gathering the excess light and concentrating it within the middle of its cannon.

Tabart waved his hand out, commanding the plant to release its concentrated beam, which erupted from the mouth of the flower like a rocket and surged with remarkable precision towards the aircraft like laser beams of a pacifista, or even the light beams generated by a user of the.

"Mosa Mosa: Solar Beam!"

As the airship drew closer, Kenshiro was almost falling asleep because of the cool breeze and well, the attack on the Marine ship was easier than he imagined. He was bored. Though he didn’t manage to fall asleep fully because suddenly, the ship’s crew began to panic, as a bright light shone from the island’s direction.

“KENSHIRO SAMA! A BEAM!!!! IT’S A-“, Kenshiro clenched the seat he was on and gritted his teeth as the beam of pure energy pierced the airship in half in a thunderous explosion. A large cloud of smoke and dust enveloped them as the ship began to break apart and fall down.

“What the hell was that!?”, Kenshiro thought out loud as he fell from the cloud of smoke in the sky, along the rest of the Wung Family soldiers and the ship’s rubble. Above them, the large chunks of the destroyed ship made its way into the ocean. “GRIM!! Make sure to grab Nez! I’ll head into the island!”, he yelled to his comrade, knowing for sure he’d be fine, and that he’d do his best to make sure the beautiful Nez would be safe.

Using Geppo, he hopped away in midair from the falling ship and headed into the island still a distance away. “Keeennyyy!” Kenshiro turned his head to notice Dimaria falling helplessly, and he immediately changed direction in order to grab her.

When he wrapped his hands around her, she blushed and went into a fairy tail dream where she and Kenshiro were living in a nice cottage in the mountains.

Back into reality, Kenshiro was intrigued as to how an attack of that magnitude was possible. “A pacifista?...no. Nez’s subordinates shouldn’t have access to technology like that, much less the island’s residents...which would mean, this is someone doing, someone who’s not in my calculations”, he thought to himself as he made his way into the beach, finally landing and carefully dropping Dimaria. He looked back and saw the wreckage slowly sinking on the sea. To his surprise and amusement, many if not most of the soldiers survived and were swimming over to the island. He searched for Grim but immediately realized he’d be fine for sure, probably trying to seduce Nez again. Though the fact he could be taken advantage of worried him.

He landed a bit further than from his attacker’s location. As he walked over to meet the source of the attack, he realized his Meito sword, Junketsu, was not on his person. He had left it somewhere on the ship before he sat on the deck just prior to the attack. “Damn it!”

“You can use mine if you want, Ken-chan”, Dimaria addressed her Captain as she offered her blade to him. “It’s okay, Dimaria. I’m more worried about Grim and Nez. Stay here and search for them, I’ll go ahead and see who the hell dared to destroy the airship.”

A group of soldiers landed nearby where Tabart was. They swam to shore and after a brief moment of recovery, they searched the beach for any signs of the culprit. They saw the cannon shaped plant, and beside it, the figure that in their minds, was the one behind the attack. Without hesitation, the group charged at Tabart until one of them shouted, prompting the group of soldiers to stop on their tracks.

“STOP!!! Don’t move, soldiers!!! Look closely! Don’t you know who that man is!!!??”

Slowly the soldiers turned their heads, and it merely took them a few seconds to realize. They all fell to the ground in shock and became covered in a cold sweat.

“B-B-B-Ben-“

“Benjamin Tabart...” the group now turned their heads back to see that it was Kenshiro who had just arrived and finished the man’s name.

Another soldier continued. “A former super rookie with a bounty of 500,000,000 bellies. He now stands among those Seven notorious pirates, as one of the Oka-Shichibukai!”

Kenshiro simply stood there, his eyes shadowed by his hat. He lifted his head more and revealed just one of his eyes that stared intently at Tabart. “I never would’ve imagined I’d meet someone like you in a measly island like this.”

The same soldier who shouted for the group to stop, gulped loudly at a sudden realization, which he proceeded to mention to his men.

“Benjamin Tabart, the only surviving member of the notorious Horsemen, a group of exceptional super rookies...Umori Kenshiro, one of the new super rookies that rose to prominence after the Horsemen’s death, alongside Mauricio Kerrim and Dragon D. Dexter...this is one hell of a chance meeting!”

Kenshiro continued staring at his sort of “predecessor”, as he held his hat for it to not be blown by the breeze. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tabart-kun...But I must ask...what is the meaning of this?” Kenshiro said as he pointed at the destroyed airship, now in pieces and sinking into the ocean. His plans for the day certainly didn’t foresee him meeting a Shichibukai. But now things were getting interesting for him.

Although Frida was internally bothered that neither the soldiers nor Kenshiro acknowledged her presence, her self-absorbed thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a woman clinging to a piece of the ship's now-broken hull, using the wood to stay afloat.

She leaned over to Tabart and whispered in his ear. "Tabby, you handle these guys... I think that's her..."

After finishing this statement, Frida sprouted long rabbit ears and began spinning them in circles rapidly, until they reach a speed so high that they lifted her body a few inches off of the ground. Wasting no time, Frida used this gliding ability to speed across the surface of the beach and water, directly towards Nez's position. On the inside, she hoped that the soldiers would pay more attention to Tabart than to her, or their mission could get messy.

Tabart smiled. “Glad to see that I’m welcomed with such respect. I don’t know what came over me. Allow me to apologize for destroying your airship,” Tabart apologized, bowing his head in respect.

He lifted his head up, his smile shifting into what appeared to be a devilish smirk, as if the entirety of his last phrase was laced in nothing but pure sarcasm. He gave Kenshiro a pointed look. “But for some reason, you happen to remind me of the guy that kidnapped a special group of marine scientists. So, I’ll be politely asking for them back, if you don’t mind.”

He pointed towards the sea. “And, I guess you could use those wooden planks to go the other direction.”

As usual, Grim was napping on the ship's deck when Tabart's beam struck, destroying said ship. He fell with the rest of the crew. Grim quickly noted his captain was fine and making his way towards the island, when he heard his orders. Grim's eyes turned into hearts. "YES, CAPTAIN!", he saluted while falling in midair, jumping from side to side, using the falling ship's parts as a foothold. "Nezzie-chaaan. I will find you, my loooveee!", he sang as smoke enveloped the area, and he lost track of where he was. He grabbed something, though it wasn't Nez.

Now sitting on a wooden plank, he let it drift towards the direction his captain was in, until he noticed Kenshiro was face to face with a man who had adorned the newspapers recently. The new Shichibukai, Benjamin Tabart, a rookie pirate like his Captain. "Well this is gonna be interesting." He quickly noticed another beauty making way towards...NEZ! "Ohoo!"

Grim stood up, and jumped. The force was such that the plank he was standing on sank, and he made his way through several until appearing right in between Frida and Nez, in what seemed to be a mere moment. "How do you do, mademoiselle?", he intercepted Frida, though his intentions were a bit...lustful. However, besides the perverted aura Grim was expelling, half his face, the part with the eyepatch, and his left arm had taken another form, a darker, ghastly form. It looked like half of Grim's body had become somewhat of a dark ghost, undoubtly the reason he was able to cover the distance so quickly.

"Nez-chan, is this the other gal we can take to our date? I'm amazed at such another beauty!...HOWEVER! Captain has to deal with you gals first, then...you're all mine...What do both of you say!", he said while shooting winks at Frida and Nez.

"OH! Here Captain!", he threw something at Kenshiro's direction, the thing he had grabbed earlier. It would be none other than Kenshiro's blade.

Frida landed on a floating dresser that was large enough for roughly three people to stand and move on. Frida let out a loud sigh as she was confronted by Grim and rubbed her temples as though she could feel an oncoming headache.

"Ugh... I just cannot catch a break..." Frida moaned.

Frida converted both of her fists into the paws of a rabbit, with large protruding claws, and assumed a defensive stand before narrowing her eyes.

"Alright, let's dance, Pervy." Frida said in an almost bored tone.

Kenshiro chuckled at Tabart's witty remarks, however, his gaze shifted slightly from the Warlord, to his partner who had just been intercepted by Liam Grim. "I seriously hope Grim can deal with this. He's really strong, but he's a womanizer", Kenshiro thought, showing just a bit of concern for his comrade.

He turned his head back at Tabart. "Well you see, Tabart-kun. I did "borrow" some scientists, but I don't have them with me here," he said as he shrugged, and now pointed to Nez's direction. "I "rescued" Nezzie over there, and we were just going to catch up since it's been a while since I last saw her."

He lowered his head, as he extended his arm and grabbed his sword, the one Grim threw at him. "But you see, I really need them for a few things I have in mind, so if you'll excuse me, I came to pick up the other scientists stationed on this island. Don't worry though, I'll return them safe and sound to you."

Kenshiro turned as if he was going to leave, but suddenly shifted his body back to Tabart's direction, and pointed his sheathed sword at the Warlord. "You know, those Marines took from me the pleasure of taking down the so called "Horsemen"...How sad. those losers died at the hands of some stupid Marines, and you...well, you went and became a government dog. How disappointing, now all you do is lick their boots and give them the "paw". And here I even thought highly of all of you once." As he finished saying those words, his body shifted once again, now towards the sea. His target was, without a doubt, Frida. "Go and search for the scientists! I'll go and recover Nez", he ordered the soldiers, who had just been standing there.

"YES! Kenshiro-sama!", the group said as they hurried into the island, passing just in front of Benjamin Tabart.

Tabart looked at the ground as Kenshiro’s soldiers marched in front of him, ignoring his presence entirely just as their captain had. Was this what other pirates thought of him now? Is this the stigma that the Shichibukai face? Yan had told him about this malice other pirates held for them. How they were thought of as Government dogs, and how they were ultimately met with the highest disrespect. Back then, Tabart had told him that he didn’t care about that, and even now that was the case. So, why did he find himself staring at the barren sand, lost in a stream of consciousness? Was it for himself? Had it ever been about himself?

“….No!” Tabart announced, lifting his head up, and stomping on the sand himself. He conjured the Devil Fruit powers that lurked within, the same powers that he had dedicated himself to awakening so long ago; without hesitation, the sand itself morphed into a battlefield of his own creation. Great trees and flowering plants sprouted from underneath the earth, spreading across the beach like a contagious disease, until its entirety had been transformed into nothing but a forest. Kenshiro’s soldiers would find their path obstructed by a variety of vines and unusual plants, and Kenshiro would find his own view to the ocean obscured by his massive trees.

Situated alongside his left hip was his meito-grade rapier which had been gifted to him by the World Government for his induction into the Shichibukai. Tabart pulled it from the side of his hip and pointed it towards Kenshiro just as the man had done to him.

“Sorry, kid. But I can’t have you talking about the horsemen like that….or looking at my wife. I was going to allow you the opportunity leave from here, but it seems that you always intended to come after the horsemen anyway; which means I can’t.” Tabart paused but for a moment as he prepared his stance. “Because, I won’t stop until all my enemies are destroyed.”

Watery Grave
As Nez clung to a floating barrel to stay afloat in the waters, Frida adjusted her feet whilst standing on her makeshift dresser-boat.

"Stay back, Miss Peg. It's better I get injured than you." Frida said matter-of-factly after taking a quick glance towards the scientist.

Frida then lifted her arms backwards in unison with her rabbit ears and promptly flicked her entire body forward while maintaining a stationary position.

"Rankyaku 'Yui!'"

Following this exclamation, four bursts of Rankyaku erupted from each of her appendages and quickly formed a "wall" of deadly slicing blades that began hurtling towards Grim.

"Oh man, I don't like to hit women, especially pretty ones...tch! But whatever, this is a pirate fight!", Grim exclaimed as his half transformed body began producing even more shadowy features. His entire upper body turned into that of a wraith, and when Frida's rankyaku blades came hurling at him, they just passed right through him.

How was it possible? Grim didn't become intangible. He did, as a spectre ghost, possess the ability to become as thin as a shadow and manipulate his ghostly body in various ways, and with this he dodged the blades, though he hid this from Frida's eyes by using the ghostly shroud that surrounded him as a cover. Grim then jumped from his position over to Frida's right side, extending his arm and pointing it with his palm open to Frida, and his ghostly arm tripled its size, combining itself with the ghostly shroud to become larger. But instead of attacking with his arm, he launched a Busoshoku enhanced side kick towards Frida, with his non-transformed legs. Even if he didn't seem imposing, his kick would prove to be fairly strong.

But this was just a ploy to force Frida to dodge or block, as his real attack came from the extended arm he just froze in place. A dark, ominous orb was created from his palm, and was shot directly at Frida.

"Nightmare Pulse!" This attack was possible because of Grim's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Yurei, a Mythical Zoan that granted him the abilities of a wraith, giving him the physiology of a ghost and the ability to create dark orbs or waves that induced sleep and nightmares to his opponents. If Frida was scratched by his Nightmare attacks, she wouldn't fall asleep immediately, but drowsiness would being to befall on her, weakening her or anyone unlucky enough. A direct hit would knock someone asleep.

Frida knew that she had to react quickly from the moment that Grim used his claw-like attack. As his leg swept towards her, Frida quickly crouched down and threw up her hands, catching his leg just before it would have made impact with her. The force of the sweep pushed her back slightly, but she dug her feet into the surface of the wood as to not be pushed off.

As she gripped his leg, she then forced her arms upwards, in the hopes of throwing Grim completely off balance and therefore nullifying his Nightmare Pulse by throwing it off-track.

The attack was sent into the distance, as Frida effectively managed to dodge the attack. Having his leg caught in her hands, Grim transformed into his full, mythical zoan form, and managed to slip Frida's grasp by becoming "as thin as a shadow". He swept across the few planks and pieces of scrap still floating, landing on one just in front of Nez, blocking her from Frida. "She's quite capable. I do like me some strong women..."

Grim returned his legs and right arm, and head into his regular form, but kept his left arm transformed, and he used it to attack his opponent, by extending his fingers into piercing claws that elongated all the way to Frida's position. Every finger-spear would attack Frida from a different direction, hoping to pierce or slice her. At the same time, with his right arm extended behind him, he created the same dark orb as before, his arm now slowly being surrounded in a black shroud, as Grim aimed to put Nez to sleep with this attack. "Nezzie, was it? I'll need you to go to sleep while I deal with miss rabbit here."

Frida closed her eyes and attempted to concentrate on her surroundings. Using her Kenbunshoku Haki, she attempted to weave through Grim's finger attacks by moving her body in a rapid fashion so that she would not hit any of the piercing claws that threatened to put her to sleep.

As Grim's arm charged the dark orb and thrust it towards Nez in an attempt to put her to sleep, his arm suddenly stopped in its tracks mere inches from her face. Nez held a ballpoint pen in her hand pointed upwards, which caused it to be stabbed into Grim's hand. But how was this possible? Grim seemed to be ethereal, it seemed impossible for something like a pen to be able to pierce his body. Well, upon Grim's closer inspection of the pen, it was coated in something as black as his shroud and dripped in a silvery liquid.

"Do you feel it? Your Devil Fruit losing power..." Nez said through gritted teeth.

"A little Busoshoku Haki and O⁷F³ can turn even something as simple as a pen into your downfall."

"What the!?", Grim felt a sharp sting on his hand. He noticed Nez held something on her hand. His ghostly shroud began dissipating.

"WOMAN!...YOU!", With the arm Grim had used to attack Frida, he turned his claw shroud into a large, sharp, ghostly sword. He swung down with great force into Nez's head, forgetting his orders, his eyes determined to cleave her in half. Barely just inches from her face, his entire mythic zoan transformation dissipated. At the same time, an excruciating pain overtook his body. His veins became visible as he strained and dropped to his knees from the pain and coughed blood.

"Guaaaaaaahgh!" Grim struggled for a few seconds, until he became motionless. "shit. I'm sorry...Captain...no...wait...NO! I can't QUIT!" Grim was struggling, but he started moving again. He gritted his teeth as he used his own head to get himself up, followed by his arms, finally pushing himself in a sitting position. he looked at Nez, and later at Frida.

"heh, you fight like real pirates." Seconds later, a massive explosion covered the whole beach, with the shockwaves creating wild waves and shaking the foothold the three had. The battle on the shore certainly was intense.

"Two vs one isn't fair!" Grim took advantage of the shockwave and the explosion to grab Nez by the hair and throw her with force on a nearby metal piece, a remnant of the airship. This was in order to not get sneaked up on again, and to concentrate on Frida. He coughed a little more blood, as he struggled to stay on his feet. But his body was strong, even if his appearance didn't give that impression. If anything, he could endure quite an amount of punishment. Right now, he had to depend on his physical skills alone, against a more experienced, Zoan user that still had her powers.

He took a fighting stance, preparing for Frida's attack, that no doubt would come at full force once she realized what he had done to Nez.

As Nez slammed into the metal surface Frida was filled with hot rage. Even if she was a Marine, she was also a non-combatant, which should have discluded her from the mindless rampage that Grim appeared to be on.

Sprouting rabbit legs, Frida launched herself off of the driftwood that she was standing on, causing it to rapidly sink downwards from the sheer force. As Frida ascended into the air, she hugged her legs to her chest and began rotating rapidly in the air, eventually moving so fast that it looked as though she were a sphere racing across the sky. She began to descend diagonally down to Grim's position, threatening to hit him with a sheer momentum that would surely serve as an extremely debilitating attack.

Being unable to move properly, Grim crossed his arms in order to block the attack, but Frida's momentum was stronger, and her spinning body hit him in his upper body. "Guaaahg!"

As the pain from both attacks, Frida's and Nez's, coursed through Grim's body, he knew this was his opportunity to retaliate. He would grab one of Frida's rabbit legs, just as her attack finished hitting him, and would swing her in the air, and send her flying, in order to slam her on another metallic piece drifting nearby. He coughed a bit more of blood. Just as she would be sent flying, by sheer force of will, Grim would follow behind, coating his right fist in Busoshoku, as for the moment she landed, he would immediatelly follow with a punch with all the strength he had at the moment.

Although she was caught off guard, Frida was able to land on the drifting metal feet-first, allowing her to regain her standing position before Grim's follow-up attack could connect. Seconds before Grim was about to send his Busoshoku-enhanced punch, Frida was able to utilize her Kenbunshoku Haki to predict that former's attack before it had happened. Instinctively, she ducked and flattened her body to the surface of the metal as to avoid Grim's punch and hopefully force him to swing at empty air and lose his balance, therefore falling in the water.

Grim gritted his teeth as he missed his target. He twisted his body midair, flipped, and managed to land just at the edge of the piece they were standing on. He was preparing to attack again, when he suddenly witnessed Kenshiro's avatar take full form. He stood there, when suddenly, it stopped, and a massive shock wave followed.

Grim had to jump into another piece of wood as the powerful waves sank or destroyed the remains. He focused his Kenbunshoku, and noticed a strong presence in front of his Captain. "That's not Tabart...shit. What should I do?"

Grim decided to grab Nez and take her to shore, in order to better see what was going on there. "Sorry bunny girl. But our fight has to continue another time." Having recovered a bit more of strength, Grim jumped using the bits of wood and metal left, in order to reach Nez, grab her, and land on the beach.

Frida was obviously not ready to give up regardless of the massive waves. She braced herself and sprouted rabbit ears, which she began to rotate rapidly until she was able to lift herself several feet off of the platform that she stood on. Seeing Grim take Nez, Frida intended to chase him.

"Come back here, coward!" Frida yelled, speeding after the fleeing Grim. As she did, she suppressed the strange and nagging feeling that there was an unwelcome woman somewhere nearby.

Super Rookie Throwdown
Kenshiro observed intently around him as Tabart's powers threatened to turn the entirety of the beach into a forest. He knew Tabart's reputation, after all, Kenshiro was always up to date with the latest news, so he knew the Warlord was a relentless one when determined. Having read some of the feats performed by the man, and just the fact he had been appointed as Shichibukai, he knew it meant this wouldn't be an easy fight.

As Tabart's awakened powers began to surround him, it gave Kenshiro brief flashbacks of his previous battle against an awakened user. It remined him of how tough it could be, yet he managed to fight, clash equally and even push his more experienced opponent to his limits. Though this was not the time to engage in another tough battle, as his plans took priority, but it seemed Tabart was giving him no other options.

"Until your enemies are destroyed, you say? Fufufufu...it seems we have something in common, Tabart-kun..." Kenshiro said as the trees and plants came in between them until Tabart's body was out of sight. " As a plant removed Tabart's face from Kenshiro's line of sight, the pirate exploded from the position he was in, navigating through growing maze of plants, he used them to jump around and make his way to Tabart at incredible speeds, slashing with his sword, a black bladed Meito, cutting his way through the vegetation, until he sent one powerful slash that would be powerful enough to slice everything in his way, reaching all the way to Tabart.

Just after he fired his sword slash, the vines and trees around him would begin to trap him, until suddenly it was sliced to pieces, and as it happened, multiple "Kenshsiro's" began appearing around the area, slashing away the plants. This could be explained by the simple fact that Kenshiro was using his afterimage technique, by moving at such blinding speeds around the area that he creates solid looking clones or afterimages. If Tabart had managed to parry or dodge Kenshiro's initial strike, he would no doubt notice the multiple clones of the pirate now surrounding him, cutting away his devil fruit's creations, and slowly drawing in closer to Tabart himself, threatening to close him in.

The real Kenshiro spoke, though his voice came from all directions, given he was moving around. "I also intend to annhiliate by enemies, Tabart-kun, but I won't stop there. This World needs to be "revolutionized". The Yonko, Marines, World Govenrment, Shichibukai, the Underworld, Pirates, Revolutionaries...these forces have persisted through so long, clashing and imposing over one another in a never ending loop, but I intend to break it...Don't you see? We are living under the illusion that the Great Powers are maintaining balance, but that is complete and utter CRAP!! Who cares about balance if there is no progress, no change!?? These factions, these powers, the false idea of this SYSTEM needs to be destroyed, by ANY MEANS NECESSARY!"

As Kenshiro exclaimed his dangerous ideals, rain would fall down on Tabart's location. Though not exactly the rain one would be used to. Sword slashes, created by the pirate, would rain down on the Warlord, covering the area above and spanning quite a distance. A technique in which he misdirects his opponent's attention by moving at incredible speeds around the area, and keeping their attention on himself, and shoots hundreds of small, piercing slashes into the air, and lets gravity do the rest, as a few seconds later, his attack would rain down, falling at incredible speeds with dangerous piercing strength. He managed to even catch off guard and slightly injure Skelton Red with this technique.

"Kagutsuchi Slash: Assassination!"

Even while moving at blinding speed, he still kept a close eye on Tabart's reaction to his strikes and his possible moves, as once again, his opponents powers proved quite versatile, and he needed to be prepared for the unexpected, while also waiting for a chance to try and take out Tabart as soon as he could.

Tabart grimaced in what could only be interpreted as annoyance. He hadn’t expected Kenshiro to launch three simultaneous attacks, and that was only because Tabart had severely underestimated Kenshiro. The only reason he had created this flowering forest was because he was unsure of his capabilities, and he was fortunate that he did so. As of right now, it was the only thing that could protect him from Kenshiro’s blitz.

Upon command, the vegetation in his immediate area, encapsulated him like a fortress of wood. However, even Tabart knew that such a defense would hardly be enough, especially considering that Kenshiro and his clones had been slicing through his forest like a knife through hot butter. The fortress of vegetation shielded his body from sight as he dug his feet deep into the soil. Not too long after, the fortress found itself blackened in his Busoshoku Haki.

Kenshiro’s first slice simply bounced off the haki-enhanced prison, failing to even put a dent into his defensive obstruction, but as the clones drew closer, so did the rain of sword slices from above. As they cut through his tree leaves carelessly, they slammed into his haki-enhanced defense, slicing away at the very haki that surfaced it until the blackened armor dissipated into nothing, leaving only the wooden obstruction.

“Shit!!”

Those were the only words that Tabart had time for as the sword slices dug deep into his fortress. There was a deafening roar as he strengthened his defenses, yet Kenshiro’s initial attack was simply too surprising. The last remnants of his rain cut through the fortress, leaving Tabart to defend just by simply throwing his arms up, leaving large cuts and slices across his arms, though odd enough, naught a single ounce of blood. From one of his arms, such was to be expected. After all, it was wooden. But what of his left? Had he done it? Had he transformed that one as well?

He kneeled onto the ground, exhaling deeply as his pulled his feet from the larger hole in the soil.

Kenshiro still was out and sight, and as it looked, Tabart was almost out of options entirely. “Come the fuck out and fight me like a man you piece of shit!!” Tabart called out, his voice echoing through the very woods that he commanded.

"Is this...all that the infamous horsemen are capable off, Fufufu?...how tragic", Kenshiro taunted, as he stopped his high-speed movement and appeared a few meters apart from Tabart. It seemed like Kenshiro had the upper hand momentarily, and he wanted to keep it that way, but it wasn't easy moving at such speeds through Tabart's forest. Every step he took the vines tried to grab him from everywhere, so he had to activate his Kebunshoku early on..

As Tabart would notice, Kenshiro was right in front of him, removing small pieces of vines and plants that had stuck on his clothes and body while moving around the forest."Fight you like a man, you say? I AM fighting and taking you seriously, Tabart-kun. You see, I learn from my mistakes...So you want to fight "mano a mano"? Very well. But it doesn't matter whether we fight our duel with only our swords, bare-handed, in the air, or without our Devil Fruits...the result will be the same!...Which reminds me, since you're using your abilities, I might as well use mine, right? I mean, it's only fair, fufufufu..."

"And YOU, morons. GET MOVING!", Kenshiro snapped at the soldiers, some of them trapped in Tabart's ability. Kenshiro swung his sword so quickly they could only see a blur. A second later, those trapped in the vines found themselves freed, as Kenshiro had sliced them. "Hurry and go into town, complete our mission. I got my hands full with this one."

"Y-yes SIR!", the soldiers yelled, and ran as quickly as they could in hopes to get out of Tabart's range.

Just after his slash, Kenshiro withdrew his sword, and turning his head down, he took a very deep breath, and exhaled. Once again. With every inhale and exhale, Tabart could notice Kenshiro's aura getting stronger. It would be no surprise that Tabart would've underestimated Kenshiro, his aura and presence isn't anything impressive, though that's on purpose. Semei Kikan, a crucial technique during training and mastery over Rokushiki, that enables control over almost every aspect of one's bodily functions. Kenshiro uses this technique to "reserve" his full strength and stamina, unleashing it only when called upon, though, recently he's been having second thoughts on keeping his true physical strength hidden.

In a sudden burst of energy and steam, Kenshiro's muscles enlarged to the point that it made his loose clothing become almost skin tight. "Semei Kikan; Muscle Memory."

Kenshiro cracked his neck and removed his hat, tossing it on the sand. "Let's see how you keep up now...oh, and also, THIS!"

Kenshiro extended his arm and opened his palm in front of him. From it, a ghastly, shadowy figure was forming from it. It looked like a human silhouette, though it became apparent that it was much, much larger as it kept extending and growing in size. 'Release, Asauchi!"

"I've come to terms with my devil fruit power. I can't keep boasting this stupid pride, after all, it is MY power," Kenshiro thought to himself, as he became excited to try out this newfound determination against Tabart. Kenshiro had eaten a devil fruit ten years ago, yet almost no one knew he had one. He trained it in secret, and whenever he used it, he made sure there were no witnesses nor survivors. Until his fight with Skelton Red, where he was forced to cast away those thoughts that were holding him back. How could he integrate his Aba Aba no Mi into his fighting style, how can he improve it, and make it stronger, other applications? Those were the questions he began to ask himself just after the battle with the Numeral ended.

Asauchi, an enormous avatar spirit of his own creation. Yet Asauchi was different from the rest, as Kenshiro's "avatars" only nurture and manifest for the first time by using a live being's body as host. Without a host, an avatar's original form is not that strong in the beginning. Though in Asauchi's case, it didn't need an organism in order to manifest it's powers, because Asauchi could become an avatar of an element he came in contact with, in which case, it could be more accurate to define Asauchi as an "Elemental".

Kenshiro withdrew his sword, his black bladed meito, Junketsu, and stanced up, putting both hands on the sword's hilt, and elevating it to his side until the blade was almost parallel to his eyes. At the same time, Asauchi, gigantic in size yet as light as a feather, launched itself into the sand. Seconds after, the ground began to tremble, ripples were forming around the area where it submerged itself. With a large tremor, a giant hand made of sand came out of the ground, pulling the rest of its body up.

As a sand mountain was being formed just before their very eyes, huge amounts of sand blew in every direction, until Asauchi finally stepped his own two, gigantic feet on the ground, revealing his new form, a gigantic, four armed, terrifying sand giant. "RUUUUUOOAAAAHHGGHH!!!!" Asauchi's powerful scream caused a great breeze mixed with sand to envelop the area, and its roar undoubtedly was heard for miles.

"Let's fight like men then, Tabart-kun..." Said Kenshiro as he kept on his stance, while Asauchi turned one of his giant arms into a sort of sand cannon, and shot a massive sand blast that carried great force into it, no doubt trying to blow Tabart away or send him flying to the sea.

Tabart had little time to react to the elemental’s cannon, and managed, just in the nick of time, to conjure a defensive wall of wood. Still, the force of Asauchi’s attack completely decimated the wooden wall, sending Tabart skidding across the earth of his own forest like a pebble across a lake. He rolled backwards, catching himself a tree trunk. He exhaled deeply, and glanced around the forest momentarily, noticing that the earth underneath his trees had begun to swell entirely, as if the roots themselves were growing ever larger and expanding. Tabart redirected his attention back towards Kenshiro and his elemental, drawing forth his sheathed Meito as a smile fell upon his lips. He stood up onto his feet.

“Hey, Kenshiro!” Tabart announced, “Glad to see you’ve stopped being such a little rat. Now though, that thing isn’t enough to make me really consider you a threat just yet. So, I’ll fight you like this,” he continued, gesturing to his sheathed meito. “If you can make me draw this blade, then maybe you’ll actually be worth something.”

Tabart slammed his meito into the ground in front of him and slammed the palms of his hands together as he manifested the powers of his Devil Fruit, summoning forth another wall of wood that he had once used. However, immediately after it appeared before him, he pressed his hand against it, causing the wall to magically explode into a barrage of wooden bullets that surged towards Kenshiro and his elemental with remarkable speed.

Tabart may have been cocky, but he was far from stupid. He absolutely refused to get close to that elemental and Kenshiro, at least not without knowing their fullest capabilities. He was prepared to fight like a man, against another man: not fucking that.

Kenshiro twitched his right eye at Tabart's taunts. He knew he was being teased, yet he couldn't help to get pissed off about it. Mainly because he was being looked down on. "Deja Vu. Awakened Paramecia user, constantly looks down on me, smartass. It's like I'm cursed to fight similar opponents or something," Kenshiro thought while his eye finally stopped twitching. His blade began to become enveloped in a fiery coating of Busoshoku Haki. He swung his blade around in a blur, trying to cut away the barrage of bullets. Though he managed to cut some, some managed to slice his face, shoulders and legs. Though the cuts were superficial.

The ones sent to Asauchi's direction would find themselves blocked by a thick wall of sand. Asauchi had distributed the sand that made up its body unto its arm, multiplying its size and density. The wooden bullets would find themselves unable to penetrate the sand arm-shield in its entirety.

"Okay, Tabart-kun. I'll humor you. You'll be dead soon anyways. But, I have to mention that, even though I know the Shichibukai aren't obliged to protect the citizens of the World Government...Hmm, I reckon it'll look bad in your resume, letting someone as unthreatening as me cause a bit of damage on your watch, right?..." Kenshiro signaled Asauchi with his eyes, and the giant sand golem turned, now facing the island.

His four arms turned into the same arm-like cannon that shot Tabart a moment ago, but this time, they were pointing at the island. Asauchi also began to spread some of the sand that composed his body in a violent manner, already wiping up a small sandstorm that shook the trees violently and made way to the island. His arms increased in size, as the sand around the beach visibly was being assimilated into the giant, becoming fuel for his power.

Though if Tabart shifted his attention to Asauchi's actions, he would find that it would've been a grave mistake. Under the sandstorm, Kenshiro's pivot foot sank in the sand for a moment, as he exploded forward, his speed, much greater than before, not even comparable. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between him and Tabart, appearing on the man's right side, looking to slice the Warlord in half with a downwards, Haki imbued sword slash. His black sword glowed red as the pressure of his attack was so strong it seemed he would use an air slash, the air itself around the sword becoming volatile and piercing, ready to cut anything that didn't stop it's strike.

Kenshiro was silent, yet his gaze was pierced on Tabart's frame, dead serious about ending the man right then and there. As his slash attempted to strike downwards with his right arm, his left leg was prepared to kick Tabart in the gut if it required it.

Tabart flinched in response to Kenshiro’s sudden appearance, doing nothing but throwing up his meito at Kenshiro’s slash as it came down towards him, barely managing to encapsulate it in the Busoshoku Haki necessary to deflect it. Yet, his slash did what no one could have expected; sliced the blade in half, then Tabart’s right arm, finally stopping until it was etched into his shoulder blade. However, even then, no blood dripped from Tabart’s already sliced body. There was naught a single drop. Upon closer inspection, Kenshiro would even notice that the sheathed meito itself was nothing but a replica, forged of wood.

Tabart caught his foot with his left hand as he collapsed onto his knees, gripping it tightly as he looked up. “Y-You fucking dumbass…”

There was a small chuckle. “I did all that taunting, all that talking…Did you really think I gave a fuck about fighting like a man? About not using my Meito? What type of idiot do you take me for, huh? It was all so that you could fall into my little trap. I didn’t unsheathe the sword, because then you would have seen everything. I didn’t unsheathe it because you weren’t worthy of it. I don’t give a fuck about none of that. And the fact that I didn’t bleed when you cut me…what the fuck did you think was happening?”

Kenshiro’s eyes would reveal to him the truth as he glanced around the forest, at the very same roots that Tabart had inspected when Kenshiro’s elemental launched him into this forest. The roots were massively expanding, as if they were prepared to…

“Mosa Mosa no Mi: Great Explosive Expanse!”

BOOM!

The sound itself was devastating, ringing like a shockwave as the trees themselves combusted into a mushroom of pure and utter destruction, consuming the Tabart that had been taunting Kenshiro the entire time as well as everything else that existed deep within the forest, the very same forest that Kenshiro had willingly abandoned his elemental to dash into. For Tabart, the plan was clear from the beginning.

When he encapsulated himself in the dome of wood, he had dug a hole deep into the soil, crafted a clone and had sent it to the surface. He was a tad worried his defenses collapsed so quickly, revealing that his clone was still pulling his feet from the hole. However, by feigning exhaustion, he was convinced that he could have disguised that little fact. From that point, as he operated under the earth, he begun rapidly converting his wood into the same explosive material that he was once used on Elbaf, and even against Gerhard. Explosive Seeds that could consume an entire battlefield if enough were made.

roots themselves began expanding because they were being infused with these explosive seeds, and Tabart’s plan was to keep infusing them until they simply couldn’t take it anymore. But his clone needed to draw Kenshiro in, without revealing his plan. Unsheathing the meito would have revealed that it was nothing but a replica with a sheathe, thereby Tabart decided to taunt him with promises of worthiness and arrogance. Kenshiro fell for it, charged into the very forest that Tabart had begun to lay his trap, and allowed his clone to take the hit. Of course, he was worried about Kenshiro dashing out, which is why the clone allowed itself to be smote by Kenshiro’s blade, catching it deep within its wood, meanwhile grabbing his foot with the arm he didn’t use to defend himself from the slash.

It was a deeply constructed plan that took him several steps to plan, and which, at any point, could have been deduced. It was risky. But who was Tabart? He wasn’t the strongest of the Horsemen, nor the fastest, or even the smartest. But if anything, he was the most creative, and the one willing to take the most risk to make his plans reality.

Thus, his clone sat their with a smirk on its visage as it was consumed in a wreathe of flames that scorched whatever remained that hadn’t been blown to smithereens by the initial shockwave. The real inquiry was where was Tabart now?

The man who tends to outsmart and misdirect others, was given a taste of his own medicine. Such was his surprise that no Haki, no Avatar armor was activated on his part in order to protect himself. Either way, it probably wouldn't have been fast enough to cover him fully.

Kenshiro was blasted with the brunt of the incredible shockwave and explosion of the culmination of Tabart's plan. He took the powerful and large explosion at point-blank range. His eyes becoming completely blank, and exhaling smoke as the explosion covered him fully.

The shockwave was even powerful enough to wipe most of the sand covering Asauchi away. Even the Avatar was taken by surprise, as it released what had left of the sand on its body, and returned to his normal, human sized ethereal form. It rushed around the smoke and fire covered beach, looking for its master.

Though it wasn't long until Asauchi decided on a quicker way, by absorbing the smoke into itself. He knew his master was around, and he wasn't dead, his creations shared a connection with him, after all. When it cleared most of the smoke and dust, he noticed Kenshiro had been flown all the way back to where he first had landed when he fell from the airship. There he laid on the ground, arms extended to his side.

Kenshiro's clothes had been burned away, the top of his green clothes, his black coat, his wooden sandals, all that remained were his now tattered pants. On his right hand, he still gripped his sword tightly, and now being shirtless, it revealed his incredible musculature, and a scar filled upper body. However, from the tip of the fingers of his right hand, to the right half of his face, the skin was now colored in a deep red, burned by the attack as it was the area that took the most damage from the explosion.

His forehead was bloodied, and his chest and arms were also filled with injuries, bleeding here and there, and no doubt, pain accompanied it. But for a man like him, subjected to torture repedeately in his younger years, exposed to high levels of voltage instead of having a normal childhood, among other things, made this pain he was currently feeling something that would fuel his anger.

While still laying down, he looked at Asauchi who had just approached him, and then took a look at his burned right arm. “Fufufufufu….that fucking bastard.” He moved his left arm, and swiped some blood from his face, while also using it to check his abdomen and face to see what was injured. His right ear was still ringing, meaning it would be useless for a while. His right eye seemed to have not received much damage, although a bit of blood fell into it, making his sight a little blurry on that eye. Some of his right ribs ached, could he have broken some? It didn’t matter much right now.

While grunting, he gripped his sword even tighter with his burned right hand, and with his left one, he slammed it into the sand with such force the ground itself trembled.

“That fucking HUUUURT!! …...You fucker!!!!!” Kenshiro roared while still laying on the ground. He used his left arm to help himself get up, being now in a sitting position.

One could assume any other person would’ve either died or have his body completely broken up after such a blast, much more so at point-blank range. But Kenshiro’s body wasn’t quite normal. He wasn’t modified with technology nor anything of the sort, but as part of a Government experiment, he was tortured physically and mentally, his body was broken down, repaired, and pushed to such extreme levels as to force it’s cells and tissues to evolve and adapt, to become stronger naturally. As a child, his body was forced to evolve past what was humanly possible, in order to create a perfect weapon, without the need of cybernetic enhancements.

Now sitting on the sand, while the remaining smoke began to clear up, Kenshiro looked around at the damage caused to his surroundings, and later looked at himself. He put his left hand on his face. “Fufufufufufufu…..Fufufufufuufufu….YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! YAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHA!!! YAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!”

His psychotic laughter echoed through the beach, suddenly coming to a halt as he noticed that to his left, Grim’s battle against Frida was ensuing on the ocean, using pieces of wood and metal as footholds. On his right, laid the burned corpses of the Wung Family soldiers that were unlucky enough to be caught in the explosion.

“Aaah..Damn it. Hydra Omelia will be furious for letting her men die.” While still sitting, he scanned the area, Tabart was nowhere to be found. Kenshiro grunted a bit as he stood up.

“Hey! Tabart-kun. You got me! Yahahahaha!! You got me good, you imbecile!” Kenshiro cracked his neck, turning his head sideways as droplets of blood fell from his forehead to the sand. “Fufufu...You’ll make a nice vessel, Benjamin Tabart”, he thought.

He was fighting someone who had much better control of his devil fruit abilities, same as his battle against Red. Yet, even if only two weeks had gone by, Kenshiro had gotten stronger since then. By the mere fact of acknowledging that he’d need the usage and mastery of his Devil Fruit if he wanted to achieve his goals. He felt confident he surpassed Tabart in every other aspect, except his Devil Fruit mastery and cunning...or was it?

“I hope you can hear me, Tabart! From my understanding, you can control and create plant-life with your powers, and a few other gimmicks...Now, do you know what avatars are?...i'll give you a hint. Incarnations, manifestations of concepts, beings, entities, so on...let me demonstrate.”

Kenshiro extended his right arm forward, while still holding his sword, and produced a crimson aura that manifested in front of him, taking the form of a humanoid. Slowly, his visage became visible, revealing that the summoned avatar took the form of a human dressed in monk robes.

“This man, in life was known as Devshara, a monk who practiced a secret martial arts, one that enabled him to cover himself in a shroud of Haki, and manifest several “Haki arms” to aid him in combat...I defeated him, and took him as a vessel for my “concept”. Now, the man he once was is dead, the one inhabiting his body is a manifestation of my own, with a totally new personality, and his powers were manifested on a whole new level! Asura-Deva, show this little pony what I mean!”

The being suddenly transformed into a massive, asura-like being, with four faces, and dozens of gigantic arms. The same entity that pulverized the surface of Megido a few weeks back. “Yahahahaa! Imagine what I could create if I make YOU one of them!”

In a swift manner, Kenshiro’s eyes turned dead serious. “It’s only been a few weeks since I began practicing this. Let’s see if I pull it off,” Kenshiro thought to himself, as he extended both arms forward, with the same previous aura covering them. The aura then rocketed forward, piercing both Asauchi and Asura-Deva. Kenshiro then clapped his hands together, and the avatars followed his gesture, slamming against each other.

Slowly but surely, they began merging, morphing themselves into a whole new entity! “Yes!”, Kenshiro exclaimed to himself, as the final product revealed an intimidating new being, having now acquired both avatar’s properties. The dozens of arms had now an ethereal glow to it, and a fifth face, appeared right in the creature's abdomen. The sand, air, and residual fire from the explosion began being pulled into the new avatar’s arms, becoming enveloped in these elements. If a barrage of punches from Asura-Deva’s regular form can shake and destroy an entire city into oblivion, what could it be capable of now, with Asauchi’s added strength, versatility and powers?

Kenshiro used Geppo to hop into the air, while the large entity followed. “Let’s see what you’re capable off. We’ll start with a simple attack!”, Kenshiro exclaimed while at a certain altitude in midair, he pointed his sword downwards, and the giant, elemental asura-like avatar began launching a barrage of sand, air, and fire infused meteoric punches. When the first one hit the ground, it caused a tremendous and large tremor, cracking the ground and exploding with the element infused into it, in the case of this punch, it was fire. The rest of the dozens of sand, wind and fire coated arms followed suit, in a devastating attack, as apparently it was Kenshiro’s goal to wipe out the island’s coast from existence, in hopes to force Tabart to reveal himself.

While in midair, he hopped with his Geppo technique right above his creation, while It launched his destructive attack towards the shore. Kenshiro then turned his gaze towards Frida’s, Nez’s and Grim’s position once again. Though he shifted back, giving his subordinate the opportunity to prove himself. He watched as the beach was being decimated.

“It’s only been a few days since I learned it, but if need be, I might be forced to use THAT as well...though I must save it as a last resort...Tch! If only I knew THAT and the potential I have with this power right now, I would’ve beaten that Mime freak!”, Kenshiro monologued to himself, as he widened his eyes, scanning the island below as they glowed red with his Kenbunshoku.

The barrage would leave nothing but destruction, as the avatar slammed dozens of giant fists into the ground, caving in the earth itself and pulverizing the sand, stones, trees and whatever came in contact with its powerful strikes.

Two aspects. Kenshiro intended to unveil Tabart through all of this destruction. One failed aspect. Though he unveiled something, it hadn't purple hair. Yellow sticked out of the blown sand, uncovered after many layers had been laid waste to, along it was a pair of hands clad in white armor. Unnoticed by either of the combatants and their companions alike, a dormant aura stood below the blanket of the island, even with Kenbunshoku one could simply dismiss it as an animal of some sort.

All the tremors, impacts, explosions had surely reached this person, their body was buried deep, why was unknown. Below the many grains, a smile bloomed, the little ember brightened into the sun, his eyes opened. Whatever brave animals still remained in the island chose that very moment to flee, however they could.

As the many strikes continuing to demolish the beach, the two hands twitched and a large amount of sand erupted in every direction, red flared and a shadow moved towards two of the strikes. They had their fists meet, then opened their arms in a straight yet unseen movement, forms almost twisted, their backhands and forearms collided firmly against the Avatar's hands while mid-strike. At first, the Avatar's hands moved to the side only a few inches, much like it moved them by itself, however, large rings of sheer pressure came from the collision point in both sides, quaking the entirety of the beach. The punches that the Avatar threw didn't even have a chance to meet the ground again, their melody hadn't been interrupted just yet, but then, they all opened wide open when the ones struck by the figure flew off, tagging them all along in a single push.

The tremor from before escalated even more, mixing with the shockwave of the arms stopping their assault over the beach. Remains of everything, trees, rocks, even the sea itself, were pushed away in their wake, the sudden aura that was unveiled reached for everywhere, for anyone to feel. The figure smiled, their blond hair stained with sand grains, the white of their armor shone for a brief second, "You wanted to wake me up...?" A rough voice left their mouth, eyes barely open.

Red Hair and Red Faces
Tabart could feel the tremors emanating from the beach below, but more importantly, he could the enormous avatar floating underneath the clouds as it unleashed its fury upon the earth. The moment that he went underground, instead of sitting idly by and waiting in the earth, Tabart had taken the opportunity to protect the scientist at the top of the hill, and instead used his ability to communicate with his clone to trigger the forest that he had rigged with explosives. As he sat on the roof of a small, little shack, he momentarily glanced down at some of the men who had made it up here; they were unconscious.

Though, his Kenbunshoku revealed to him someone else approaching, someone who was far stronger than the men that Kenshiro had opted to send into this town of marine scientist. Because he had given his sheathe to the clone, his meito sat idly in his hand, even though he had only used the handle in combat so far. He didn’t want to necessarily kill any more men than he needed to, especially considering that they could be turned into the marines for even a small amount of cash. His plan was to turn in Kenshiro and collect the bounty on him as his own. Though, the World Government took a cut for themselves, and the cut was always bigger than he would have imagined.

As the woman approached, Tabart stuck his sword into the roof as a temporary sheathe, so that both of his hands could be free. She would immediately see some of her comrades lying unconscious on the ground, and as she glanced at the roof, Tabart sat there; a confident smirk plastered onto his face.

“Oh, hey there! I didn’t expect…wow,” Tabart started, stopping just as quickly as his face turned slightly red. “Woah, who are you?”

Dimaria's breasts bounced up and down as she suddenly stopped, noticing the soldiers who were down on the ground, and above at the man who just addressed her. Wait, wasn't he supposed to be down at the beach fighting her Captain? She raised her eyebrows and stanced herself, putting one hand resting on her hips and another one over her eyes, covering from the sun so she could see the image of the man better.

"Umm, my name is Dimaria. Pirate. Navigator. Hi-umm...aren't you supposed to be fighting Ken-sama?" She responded, while walking closer.

"Before you answer that, would you be so kind as to tell me where a group of scientists are located? They should be around here somewhere...I-I need to hurry, if not, Ken-sama will be mad at me! Pleaaseee? He'll soon notice you're gone, and he'll bring the destruction over here, so please help me, Tabby?" As she pleaded, she lowered her head in an apologetic manner. Her cleavage was much more visible to Tabart now that she had lowered her head in an apologetic manner. Her breasts would almost seem like they would pop out of her dress at any moment.

"Damn it! I didn't expect him to be here!? What happened? I can't deal with someone like him!", Dimaria thought to herself as she awaited Tabby's response.

Tabart sat their idle for a moment, before shaking his head. “O-Oh, um, well so, I would like to tell you where they are and everything, but see, I um, well….” Tabart paused awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

“I-I actually don’t know where they are. I just told them to sort of run and hide. I didn’t actually tell them where to hide though.” It was the truth. Tabart had gotten there, defeated the men, and told them all to pretty much run and hide somewhere just in case his plan didn’t work and Kenshiro found him.

“Oh, but don’t worry about that guy. I blew him up. He’s over there digging for me, but there’s no way he can keep that up. He might have survived, but I doubt that he’s not injured at all.”

Dimaria twitched as she heard Tabart's response. She straightened herself, closed her eyes and wiped up a big smile. "Ohh...That's too bad. But you see, you shouldn't underestimate Ken-sama. If you do, you're in for a rude awakening Tabby! He'll come for your head soon enough! Hihi!...ooops!" Dimaria covered her mouth briefly, and continued to smile at Tabart.

She turned around, as if looking for something. "Aaaaww...and after I came all the way here! Now I'm sweaty for no reason." Dimaria removed her coat, revealing underneath a small, corset-like shirt. She removed her hat, waving around her long, red hair. "Now what am I to do?"

Tabart smiled awkwardly. “I-I’m not underestimating your captain, at all. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.”

He jumped down from the roof, landing on the ground behind Dimaria, grabbing his sword in the process.

“He was way to fast and way too strong for me to fight just flat out. Besides, his men were competent…. And women!” Tabart added, blushing again. He coughed, clearing his throat to break the fraught silence that proceeded. “Anyway, I had to deal with both groups. Simply put, Kenshiro came more prepared than I thought he would, ad he was stronger. Even now, look at him.”

Tabart glanced over at his avatar in the sky. “That’s an incredibly powerful attack right there. So, all I’m doing right now is waiting him out to see if he can keep that up. But it’s looked like he’s stopped or something? He isn’t punching It anymore, so I’m wondering if this is his limit. Or, he could be thinking. Nevertheless, right now, this is a battle of attrition. I need to play this smart.”

He paused, scratching his cheek with one finger. “But, um…you know, I’ll gladly let you go for free. I can sense that you’re an amazing person, you know. I’d ask you to join me as my subordinate, but Frida isn’t too keen on other women that much.”

"Awww...tell that Frida to not be such a downer,  we could have sooooo much fun." Dimaria now faced Tabart, and was really, really close to him. "If not...you could always join us. Ken-sama always enjoys having new friends, and he's the type to do anything for those who join him."

Dimaria turned around, and adressed Tabart from over her shoulder. "Such a strong one like yourself, we-I'd be glad if you, and Frida joined. Kenny will help with your problems as if they were his own...some of us he freed from prison, some he killed those that haunted us." She looked forward, staring at the beach. "That's why we are loyal. He treats us as his family, our problems are his own. That's why we go along with every one of his plans and desires..." Her mind seemed to drift for a moment.

"B-but, Tabby. What will we do now?...Any ideas or suggestions?" Still facing forward, she let herself fall back a bit, leaning on Tabart, her head resting on his shoulders. As she leaned unto him, Tabart would feel a barely unnoticeable slither on his leg. If he felt it, and looked down, he would see that Dimaria's saber had transformed into a snake, a python to be exact.

Tabart stiffened up. “U-U-Umm! Y-Y-You know, um, Dimaria-san…I well, like…um, so, like um…Frida; she’s my fiancé!” He exhaled deeply, as if he had finally been able to convey what he had been thinking the entire time. “A-And she wouldn’t appreciate you leaning on me, so I’m gonna, you know,” Tabart continued, stepping to the side away from Diamria as slowly as possible. His excuse was so that she wouldn’t fall from his sudden movement, but perhaps, for him, it was just a means to prolong their moment of contact. He hadn’t even felt the python itching up his leg. But, if there was anything he had noticed.

He tilted his head to the side. “Where’s your sword?”

"Sword? Forget about trivial things. I do have this knife though. And it gave me an idea" As she drew closer, she put a knife close to Tabart's face. The blade was visibly coated with a liquid.

"This knife is coated with a powerful neurotoxin. It kills in extremely high dosages, but, with just a few drops, it makes you fly! In other words, let's get a high! I mean, fate will separate us soon enough, so would you at least give me the pleasure of doing this with such a famous, powerful man as yourself, Tabby?"

Dimaria, in an extremely sensual manner, licked her knife, in order to make Tabart feel comfortable at her offer. She then offered him a drop, be raising her hand, letting the toxin drip from the blade. At the same time, the python would have reached Tabart's thigh, and would begin to squeeze strongly enough for him to notice.

Tabart was probably the most confused he had been in a while. Get high, off poison? What the hell!? Didn’t she know he could literally make weed? He had a Plant fruit afterall! However, Tabart didn’t have much time to focus on that before he collapsed onto the ground as his leg literally gave out from underneath of him. There was this immense pain, forcing him to rip his turban up across him, revealing a python of all things!

“OHHH SHIT!!! IT’S A FUCKING SNAKE!!!” Tabart announced, before recognizing that Dimaria was still there.

“I-I-I mean, don’t freak out Dimaria-san! It’s just a python squeezing the hell out of my leg! I can take care of this, no worries, hahaha!”

"Umm...Okay. Well Tabby, show me how-KYAAAA!" Suddenly a large tremor shook the entirety of the island! Dimaria landed her head on tabart's chest. The python returned to normal, and by normal, it returned to its sword form, and Dimaria's dagger fell on the floor because of the tremor.

"What was that, Tabby!?" Still with her head and body on Tabart's, she looked back at the beach, at the direction of her captain. "Kenny...What's going on?"

Tabart’s face was flushed with a deep red as Dimaria landed upon him. “O-O-O, Dimaria-san! I-I’m not ready for this! I’m with Frida! I have a child.”

"Silly Tabby, that doesn't matter..." Dimaria said as she slowly removed her head from Tabart, looking straight at his eyes from below. Then, another tremor shook the island, though this one followed with a massive cloud of dust from the direction Kenshiro was in.

She picked up a Baby Den Den Mushi. “Grim, do you have eyes on the Captain? What is happening??”

She turned to face the island, her, lower bottom now directly touching Tabart’s front side. She lowered herself to pick up her sword and knife, while keeping herself groped on Tabart. She straightened herself, and watched as the town’s commotion went on. The citizens began questioning and guessing what was going on the beach. Even the Marines stationed there, those tasked with protecting the scientists, were preparing to take action.

One of the soldiers came up to Tabart. “Shi-Shichibukai Benjamin Tabart. We were informed you were dealing with a threat on the coast. What is going on right now? We sent a squad to check the source of these tremors and the reports of a strange, multi-armed creature that supposedly appeared floating in the sky.”

Dimaria lightly tapped Tabart’s cheeks while keeping close to him. “Whatever is happening on the coast, if they catch Captain in a bad mood, those Marines are as good as dead.”

“Who is this!?”, asked the startled marine at Dimaria. “Benjamin Tabart, is she your woman!?”

“Oho! Oh Tabby, I sure can be your woman if you want.” Said Dimaria as she squeezed her arms close to her chest, which in turn squeezed her breasts tighter.

“M-My W-Woman!? N-N-No! I’m with Frida: Frida!!” Tabart basically shrieked, before a sudden realization hit him. He pushed himself of the ground, grabbing Dimaria with it, and scooping her up into his arms as he looked towards the coast, completely ignoring the marine’s inquiry. “What the? If that isn’t you guys fighting him, I know for sure that isn’t Frida....I can sense it after-all, now that I’ve focused my Kenbunshoku. It’s Frida, following some guy, carrying that scientist Frida went after and….” Tabart’s eye widened suddenly; sweat dripped from the crown of his head. “W-What is this aura? What is this power!?”

He turned to face the marine. “There isn’t anyone on this island in our ranks that’s much stronger than me, is there?”

The marine shook his head. "No! But, if you're here whose down there?!"

Tabart turned back towards the beach. "I have no fucking idea."

Mental Problems
The burst of aura certainly reached Kenshiro, who was using his geppo to stay suspended in midair. The pirate captain was surveying the area with his Kenbunshoku, until something caught his attention. When the figure became unveiled after countless punches, on the ground, for a moment, Kenshiro was about to address Tabart for finally coming out of hiding.

But before he could, he noticed with his Kenbunshoku this new "voice" was different, and while Tabart's was certainly strong, this one felt much greater.

"Was Tabart hiding all this strength?", he thought for a moment, which lasted until Asurauchi's attack was pushed away violently.

Kenshiro's eyes glowed an even deeper red as he focused his senses into some unknown individual. As Asurauchi's arms were pushed away unexpectedly, it quickly recovered and directed one of his massive, element infused punches towards the target.

"Stop!", yelled Kenshiro, as the Avatar's punch stopped midway. He hopped one more time in the same place midair, before blasting himself towards the ground, zigzagging through the air until landing firmly in the flattened sand. The sea began to enter deeper into the island, as the Avatar's attack had altered the geography of the beach.

Kenshiro walked forth, still not seeing the source of this strong presence clearly, all because of the dust and sand still in the air. "Was there really someone that came out of the sand, did I see that clearly? When did he get here? Could he be one of those people, that maybe was playing on the beach, and his friends left him buried? But… Asurauchi has been hammering the ground for a while now...Is he some kind of idiot?" Kenshiro had many questions on his mind, ones that he expected to be answered in order for him to decide his next move on whoever it was.

He approached the figure even more, now becoming apparent that it was a man, a huge one at that, both in stature and in musculature. He also was, wearing armor?

Kenshiro focused his eyes, still trying to figure out who it was. The individual's face and hair was still covered in sand. Kenshiro raised his right arm, pointing with his sword straight at the mysterious visitor.

"Who the hell are you?! And why were you buried in the sand?!" It took him a few seconds, but just after asking those questions, Kenshiro began to realize.

"Wait...But-It can't be…...No, I'm almost certain! You're!" He didn't finish the sentence, as now, many more questions began to plague his mind. Was it really the person he thought? Was he in the presence of one of the monsters that inhabit the New World? Could it be the "Berserker" himself?!

"Asurauchi?" Indeed, just like Kenshiro thought him to be, this man speaking once out of the sand was Cain D. Abel. Arms crossed, the sand dispersed from nearby him, revealing some kind of metal where he was laying on. He looked at the Avatar of Elements before him, though his eyes shifted towards Kenshiro. "Oh, you know me just as I know you!" Abel smiled, eyes half-lidded, he arched his right arm backward with its palm open.

Before Kenshiro could even utter a response, more sand burst from the ground, Abel didn't even take a look, wrapping his fingers around the handle of a bladed mace, akin to something like a guitar. One of the most famed amongst its family, the Mabulrega shone under the sun rays, reflecting them over the wild sea.

Abel smiled and turned his pulse while still, Mabulrega's blades were facing the left, his left hand cupped its top. Muscles budged out, he tightened both grips, his eyes laid over Kenshiro, "I'm Abel, yes."

Within a breath's moment, the left hand pressed downwards, followed shortly by the right hand, the air tranversed was split in two with a brief hiss. Whatever remained of the sand shallow quaked completely, sand roared through the air without any particular shapes, darkness sprung from where the mace made contact with the ground and sipped through the rest of the ground. Abel's smiled widened, one of his favoured melodies. Wails came from rocks this time, they weren't just broken apart but crumbled in their entirety, a fissure tore its way through the beach, while erecting curtains of dust and sparks of sheer pressure. The melody of destruction.

Rather than simply divide the whole location, it continued to travel into the nearby cliff as if it was climbing over its body, the very same where Tabart and Dimaria resided atop of, their whole footing was to shudder beyond balance-breaking. Yes, his true targets laid there, targets he had felt with simple aura reading. Half of the cliff sunk into itself, erecting clouds high into the sky and blasting even more areas of the beach with weight and falling rocks.

On the opposite side and at the same time, the sea was pushed back a single time and formed some kind of reverse wave, revealing the sand previously below it, surely, such a wave would be capable of reaching the fight between Frida and Grimm. How much it would be disrupted, Abel pondered not, that was simply an extension of his actions. Still, that was not all of it, the sheer quaking caused by the impact could possibly throw Kenshiro off his balance, given his presence in the nearby area, and alert him. Sound was not the only thing to travel everywhere after all.

Kenshiro pierced his sword to the ground, grabbing it with one hand to keep his balance, and with the other, covering his face from the debris as the shock wave that Abel produced caused something akin to a tornado and an earthquake at the same time. It lasted for several seconds, and it really felt like being in the center of a storm.

"The hell is with this guy?!"

He knew this wasn't a directed hit with full force, merely a regular swing of his weapon. Either he was stretching or showing how dangerous he was, though it didn't matter, the message was received. He was strong. Abnormally so.

Kenshiro pulled his sword from the ground. "He said he knows me...Damn it. This must be related to our attack on the Numerals." Kenshiro knew Abel was as dangerous and as powerful as the monsters of the New World could get, and having a target on his back from this man, was no laughing matter. Yet, that's what he did. He laughed.

"Fufufufu...Interesting. If you came chasing for me, I might was well entertain you, don't you agree, Abel-san. I have some questions, though I doubt you'll answer them, so, why don't we dance a little?"

Kenshiro motion his left hand. As he did, Asurauchi dispersed into the wind, becoming one with the elements itself. Abel had proven he could physically match his avatar's strength, so a change of tactics was necessary. "Let's see how I measure up!" Kenshiro extended his right arm, the one he held his sword with, and let go of it, beginning its short descent into the ground.

From behind Abel, Asurauchi would reform, wind, sand and fire forming its massive figure. From below the sand, its hand would sprout, enveloping Abel. And another would follow, from above, below, and another, in blinding quick succession. From every side Asurauchi's arms would try to entrap Abel, not only using the strength of dozens of arms to keep him in place, but also using the elements infused in them, using the force of the wind, sand and fire to trap Abel in a ball of elements and hands.

However, that wasn't the true goal, just to trap him. Asurauchi's four faces would turn to face forward and downwards, facing at the dozens of hands clapping Abel in between. Each of the faces would open their mouths, producing a sphere of each element; fire, wind, sand, and the fourth one, a glowing type of element, which was essentially Kenshiro's own life energy, which he fed into the being. The four spheres would merge into one, becoming incredibly dense. Kenshiro's arms motioned this, as when they merged and compressed, his hand turn into a fist, and he tightened it fiercely, and after a few seconds, he opened his palms and thrusted them forward.

Kenshiro's blade reached the ground.

The heavily condensed large elemental sphere began glowing brightly, shortly before shooting itself as a massive beam that would engulf Abel and the hands clapped around him. Not only aided by the power of the elements and the condensing of it, Kenshiro's own energy mixed into it added immensely to its lethal power. Asurauchi's elemental hands would no doubt disintegrate at the force of this mighty attack, which shook the surrounding area in a similar fashion as Abel's previous swing, although with more destructive force into it, as the beam would no doubt carve a scorched hole into the depths of the earth. There was enough energy for the beam to last at least ten seconds non-stop. This was not to test Abel's strength, this was aimed to kill.

"Questions?" Abel asked, tilting his head while taking the Mabulrega out of the fissure in the ground, his mind completely shifting from Tabart to Kenshiro. Of course, the pirate adressed him directly, "Go ahead-" He looked around him swiftly, noticing the forming elements circulating all around. "Oh," It was that golem thing again, a frown overcame his face, he felt his body rising in altitude.

Before anything else left Abel's mouth, more of the Golem's hands enveloped his entire form, blocking off any kind of illumination inside where he then stood. They all had different textures, he noted, made with different substances it seemed. Not only they held Abel, but a great amount of pressure came from all sides, not surprising given the sheer amount of hands holding him down. Abel looked aroud the cramped space, utilizing of his strength to push back the tightness, he shifted in search of a certain direction, the one where the most amount of energy aura radiated from. Faced with it, Abel sighed for a few seconds and held up the Mabulrega forcefully, oxygen was limited in there, but it was not like he had to do much.

Following that, the manifestation of his very spirit took place under a few seconds given its simple activation, Busoshoku Haki sipped over the front side of his frame, though Asurauchi likely felt no difference, Abel sank a bit into its large hand. Arms, torso, face, and the Mabulrega itself darkened in a yellow burst of aura, this same aura was then complimented by the waving of a similar yellow. His Devil Fruit, the Isho Isho no Mi, that brought forth a presence, a presence of one that came and went. This combination did not just stay by the outside of his body, the Haki went into his very tissues as well, further strengthening it.

No second later, the combined might of the elements and Kenshiro's energy blasted into Abel head-on, a myriad of colors enveloped his partially blocked vision, red, green, brown, and then just white. He gritted his teeth audibly, closing his eyes, his muscles completely tensed up and took it all in, the Mabulrega pressed against him, also taking the sheer blunt of the blast. Whiteness filled the beach of Spicy Pot, demolishing its remains much like Kenshiro expected it to, causing tremors and air pressure to reach everywhere else, a roar far from a dying yell and more characteristic of a triumphant beast.

It carved through the very earth, prompting glowing cracks to make their way into the sand shallow, its rumble coursed through the surrounding sea. Even the very atmosphere around the beach darkened under such a display, but, it calmed down once again after the blast soundly dissipated into the air, leaving an immense trail of energy and steam. While the rumbling went off, a few seconds passed by, small tremors appeared through the beach once again, but then, a pregnant pause.

Sand erupted once again, a figure flew out of the shallow and landed wherever it was that sand remained, causing another shockwave. Abel stood tall, yet, more than dirt plagued his whole frame, it was much dark, full of bruises, a few droplets of blood wet parts of his head and torso. Steam came off his body as well. The whole time he remained buried, his ears had been ringing, "Blergh," He coughed, "You... sobbered me up," He tilted his head to the sides, cracking his bones and breathing the air of the beach once again, "Aaaah, it was really tight in there!"

Although Abel knew not of it, the attack was partially rooted into Kenshiro's physical condition. Considering the long fight he had with the Shichibukai, how he was hit by such a mighty explosion, the offense of his elemental attack decreased, if only a small bit. When one took into account the sheer durability of someone like Abel, augmented by his tremendous and manifested will which provided a partial defense against certain Devil Fruit powers, and his boosting power, the likability of serious wounds lessened. His weapon, the Mabulrega, one of the most famed ones, also helped in with its sheer resistance.

Smiles bloomed from Abel again. "You interrupted me, Scourge... but this attack was... no, alright, no words are proper!! Maybe I could go on for a little bit, hm..." Abel's eyes etched onto Kenshiro's wounded figure, almost piercing through his own, a smile made its way over his face, but it was simple. "No, what were your questions?"

"Shit." Kenshiro whispered as he dropped one of his knees to the ground. He was breathing a bit harder than before, though not that much so it became apparent. "Just a few bruises? Damn, but I guess that's to be expected."

Asuraichi divided, and returned to the state of two beings. They moved over and stood by Kenshiro's side. Asura-Deva was now in its "sealed" state, taking again a humanoid form not that much taller than Kenshiro. And for some reason, Asauchi sort of molded itself into Kenshiro's right side.

"That attack was trash."

"Let ME take control, I'll kill that blonde freak in one hit."

"Leave Ken-boyo alone, he's trying his best."

"He's still a weakling. If he could handle us all at once, he would've ended that purple idiot and he wouldn't be struggling against this one."

"You guys picked the worst possible time to be noisy!" said Kenshiro in a loud speaking voice, irritated at their comments. He slammed his hand on the ground in annoyance, causing the surrounding area to tremble.

He directed his gaze at Abel's own in a challenging manner. He slowly stood up, not wanting to feel as if he was being looked down upon. He clenched his burned right hand, and scratched his head.

"Fufufu...sorry about that. I've been just a bit on edge..." he tilted his head up, took a deep breath and adressed Abel once again.

"Abel-san, I'm flattered you know who I am. If you're in the mood to talk, let's talk then. What brings someone of your caliber here, to this remote island? Why were you buried in the sand and...why were you drunk!?"

Kenshiro snapped his fingers as he thought of another question, "and does you being here have to do with my hunt for scientists and my raid on this island??"

Expression remaining the same despite the display in front of him, Abel returned the gaze, though not in the same intensity like Kenshiro. He cleaned some dust and minor blood from his own figure. It seemed the adrenaline he was put through before they met right then and there prompted him to take decisions that could risk his very life, how bold of him. But, it mattered not, Abel smiled even more, standing just where he was, after all there was no reason to move and alert anyone just yet.

Hand extended, Abel commented. "Of course, little one! You have not only been in the news, but in my comrades' tongues," Flashes of the Numerals went by his mind, yet, his body hadn't tensed up, not any bit. He crossed his arms once again, leaving the Mabulrega by his side, though, it oddly seemed to levitate. "And that is the very reason I am here, though," Abel's eyes shifted towards the direction of the cliff he attacked beforehand, then they went back to Kenshiro. "I have been here for the past few days, I got buried accidentaly."

"I was waiting for you, young man, one of the raiders and super rookies! I would like to ask you about the Red Feather's location as well," Despite having changed attention just a bit, Abel's physical eyes laid upon Kenshiro, however, his very mind was all around himself.

Buried accidentally?? Funny enough, that was what most caught his attention for a moment.

"Red Feather?....Oh! You mean Kerrim! Well, we all went our separate ways after our attack, we had to fend off the Marines as well after all. So I don't know where any of them went."

Something was visibly changing with Kenshiro...yes. His wounds, the burned right half of his body was, returning to normal! It was like the burned skin was being "sucked" into something.

"But you're one to talk, Abel-san. You were in the news as well...what was it? Brutally killed a Marine captain AND destroyed an island? Fufu...quite destructive tendencies if I say so myself!"

Kenshiro walked forward, closing the distance between them a bit, and letting his sword pierced in the sand behind him. "Nonetheless, I assume you being here doesn't mean you were waiting to have a drink with me, right? Fufufufu..." Kenshiro's eyes turned serious and piercing, his whole demeanor and aura changed just for the duration of his next words. "You came for my head, didn't you, Abel-san?"

Even more, the burned half of Kenshiro's body was healing. Kenshiro scratched his head, and with a smile, he continued to address Abel.

"Hmmm...But I wonder, why would a man of your reputation be following a lowly rookie as me? We didn't cause that much damage...In any case, let me make a proposition, Abel-san." Kenshiro took a few more steps forward.

"While I certainly do not know where Kerrim is right now, I can tell you where the Cheeky Pirates will be a few days from now. But, I want something in return, Abel . If I give you this information, I want YOUR services in return. Of course, given that, I intend to leave this island with my head attached, even if you try to stop me." Kenshiro's eyes had turned defiant, and even with his injuries, he stood tall, not letting the mighty presence of the legendary mercenary overwhelm him one bit.

Abel's gaze remained upon Kenshiro, just like ever, he didn't even glance at the avatars by the latter's side, not even for a moment. It seemed that he hadn't noticed the disappearance of Kenshiro's burns either. "Almost a week ago, yes, I wasn't being myself," Abel shrugged, smile not faltering, "You are right, but, that doesn't mean your head will leave your shoulders. I'm not that brutal, child," Maybe the stories told more than was anticipated.

"You need to open your eyes!" Abel held a fist out, clenching it in such a way that his fingers produced cracking noises. "Damage? That is something of physical importance, which is not our only matter." Fallen soldiers, destroyed lands, wounds, those could be healed with time, but there were other kinds of marks, beyond even scars, even those scarred deep into a soul. Ah, yes, that was a well known subject to Abel.

Both their pairs of eyes remained matched, for Abel, it was as if he glared at the rookie and they had similar heights. Maybe time for them passed a bit slower than for the rest. Nevertheless, Abel inquired, "What are you willing to pay? My condition is that... you are a target still."

Kenshiro squinted his eyes. He felt something strange from Abel’s words. Something that reminded him...of himself. He couldn’t grasp what it was, maybe a feeling, that was it.

His thoughts shifted momentarily to his desires, to why he was how he was, to his goals, to his past...Not knowing his parents, nor his name. Taken by the Government to become a soldier, but actually being part of their sick experiments, to be turned into a killing machine...Yes, his current methods were cruel, vile, and ruthless, but Kenshiro asserted himself that sacrifices need to be made. He wished for a better world, and in order to do that, this old one needed to be destroyed. He NEEDED to be King for this to happen.

Flashes of his young self, alone and cold in the forests of, sneaking inside laboratories in order to learn from the scientists, to feel something, to not feel...loneliness.

His mind shifted back to reality, back to his predicament. It was obvious he had heard about the man before him and his exploits, so he knew he wasn’t going to back down after marking Kenshiro as his target.

“Abel-san. I’ll tell you about my offer. First, I’ll let you come after me, well, it’s not like I have a choice, do I?......BUT!” Kenshiro raised a finger to his face.

“IF I survive our encounter, THEN... I’ll request your services as a mercenary...how does that sound? As for payment, that is of no issue to me. If you want money, weapons, soldiers, Devil Fruits, cyborgs, clones, airships, or just some fine Ale, I can give it to you. I’ve got a whole organization under my grasp, after all…”

Kenshiro paced around, still keeping about the same distance from Abel. “As for the Cheeky Pirates…” Kenshiro stopped pacing. “Seventeen days from tomorrow, on Negrsneg Island, the Island of Black Snow, there will be a gathering of various powerful forces. Scientists, Marines, Revolutionaries, Pirates, and more! Among them, the Cheeky Pirates.”

Kenshiro continued pacing around. “How do I know this? Well...I’m making sure this info gets to all of them, after all. Though of course, they don’t know it’s MY doing! Fufufufu!...What a riot!” Kenshiro extended both arms to his side, as if he was enjoying the thought of it.

He stopped again, and faced Abel. “If the conditions are met, Abel-san, what your services will require is plain and simple...”

“To arrive on the island of Black Snow around noon, and wipe out every single one of these forces, while my men retrieve a weapon, that is, of course...If I survive here, Abel-san!... That! Is all I’ll require of you! Fufufufufu...YAHAHAHAHA!...” Kenshiro sighed.

“Of course, you have the option to decline my offer...Fufufu...”

“You’re a fucking nutjob,” Tabart replied, his body flickering into existence beside Kenshiro as he held Dimaria in his arms. However, even as he spoke to Kenshiro, his eyes were stuck on Abel. That’s who that massive power emanated from. He allowed his eyes to momentarily shift towards Kenshiro, and then back towards Abel almost immediately.

“Survive this encounter? You look like shit, bud. Though, you gotta have some fight in you if you survived my big ass bomb,” Tabart continued. "But, you need to remember that you're my target here. The World Government is going to pay me a pretty penny for bringing you in. So, how about you tell your friend here, that you'll be taken care of, and let's get going."

Frida softly landed on the sandy coastline as her ears stopped spinning and she observed the men in front of her. She scanned them quickly before her eyes landed on Tabart, who abruptly dropped a woman at his feet once he saw Frida coming. Frida's eyes lit up and she ended up running towards the trio, completely ignoring any situation that they might have been in.

She raced towards Tabart and nearly threw herself onto him as she embraced him tightly in a hug.

"Tabart! Oh I was so worried, I felt the explosion and I-I didn't know what it was, and I-" Frida emotionally rambled before stopping abruptly.

"You smell like a girl," Frida said flatly.

Kenshiro did not bat an eye at Tabart's comments nor his and Frida's reunion, he kept looking straight at Abel. Dimaria jumped to Kenshiro. "Kenny! You're all beat up! What happened, and who-...who?..." She hid behind Kenshiro's back. "That can't be...is that, who you were dealing with, Kenny?"

Kenshiro once again did not respond. Suddenly, his mostly healed right arm coated itself in Busoshoku, and in a swift motion he pointed it right at Tabart's neck. He slowly turned his head and stared Tabart straight in the eyes.

"I'm getting tired of hearing I am someone's target. And YOU! Nice trick...did you remember to bring me a drink while you were running with your tail between your legs!!!"

He lowered his arm, and his Haki coating disappeared. "You've really managed to get on my nerves in the short time I've met you, you little pony."

Behind Tabart and Frida, Asura-Deva stood defiantly. However, it extended one of his arms and gave Tabart his sword hilt, the one he used earlier to execute his deceptive plan. As if it was Kenshiro's

Kenshiro turned forward, once again staring Abel, but addressing Tabart. "Don't think you're little party trick was enough to put me down. And if you want to have a go at me right now, let's do it, but I'm not going anywhere with you...and for heaven's sake, don't let your fucking scabbard abandoned like that. It makes me sick..." Kenshiro scratched his head again, and continued. "But you see, this fella right here ALSO says I'm his target. So, which one will it be?"

Tabart let go of Frida for a moment, placing her by his side as he took his scabbard and sheathed his sword in it, chucking the wooden one to the side. Thank god that Kenshiro had addressed him; it would provide the necessary distraction to draw Frida’s question somewhere else, hopefully forever. Though, he doubted it. As much as people doubted her, Frida was inquisitive, and very observant. It was a trait that her and Tabart shared. Maybe it was why they made enemies out of almost everyone they met.

Still, Tabart smirked in amusement. He couldn’t believe his plan worked, and hearing that it worked only made him that much more confident. He wanted to tease him more, but it seemed that this guy standing in front of them would turn out to be a bigger problem than he anticipated.

“Who the hell is this guy anyway, Kenshiro?” Tabart inquired. “His presence is tremendous! What did you do to get such a monster of a man to chase you?”

Kenshiro turned to face Tabart. He squatted a bit, and continued scratching his head even harder. He put on a goofy smile on his face. "Eeeeeeehhh.....Well umm...You know that attack thing Kerrim, Dexter and I along with the other Warlords did on the Numerals? You know, the one where we forced the strongest allies of the Xros to flee their territory, resulting in their leader's capture?..." Kenshiro continued, now he discreetly pointed one hand to Abel, and addressed Frida and Tabart in a not so subtle whisper.

"Well this guy, is sort of like their supervisor. He returned to his serious voice and stance. "He's Cain D. Abel... I'm sure you've heard about him..."

"A lot of people seem to know the name," Abel said after having been silent throughout all of the arrivals. Then again, with his Haki having been passively up since before, it was not as if they were even news to him, not anything else for that moment. "Well, well," Eyes slowly closing for a few seconds, Abel mused at those present, "A Shichibukai, a Super Rookie, their affiliates, and a Marine, quite a bunch of young lads. Regardless of affiliation, each of you have been hunting for your uttermost freedom," With his eyes open, he eyed them one by one, spending the same amount of time looking at each.

A Shichibukai, Abel didn't even repeat the word, but surely the tone he used may have lingered within their minds. "But, not just any... I suppose none of you know the word going around for why this lad here is a Warlord."

Kenshiro eyed Tabart, and returned his gaze back to Abel. "Now that you mention it, I actually do not know...does it have something to do with your comrades deaths,Tabart-kun?" Once again, Kenshiro addressed Tabart without moving his eyes from Abel.

"Hey....Kenny." Dimaria tapped Kenshiro's shoulder. "Hey, hey. Earlier, why did you mention him about wanting his services? Weren't you going to try and hire the Beyonder?"

Kenshiro turned his head to his side, trying to speak in a lower voice to Dimaria. "Yes, but with this man, we'd have similar results." Kenshiro continued, "Besides, the Beyonder is far to difficult to reach and while effective, he's too unpredictable...or so I've heard."

"Hmm...I see." Dimaria turned her attention to Tabart and Frida. "Hey Tabby...what's the big man talking about?"

"His name is Tabart. Just Tabart." Frida hissed at the woman, whom she suspected of being the one that she could smell on Tabart. Only Frida was allowed to address him as Tabby... not some random pirate wench!

After this statement, Frida saw a figure out of the corner of her eye on the shore of the sandy beach. Turning her head, she saw Peg Nez, the scientist that she and Tabart were originally tasked with saving. The woman was soaked in seawater, but seemed to be in otherwise perfect condition considering the circumstances.

Naturally, Frida ran over to Nez and helped her up off of the ground, helping her brush off the coating of sand she had accumulated.

"He'll be here soon, I was only able hold him back for so long after I was able to escape." Nez said matter-of-factly as she regained her composure and adjusted her glasses. Her gaze shifted over to the group behind Frida, which was the moment that she realized who she was in company with.

"Kenshiro..." Nez spat.

He slightly turned his body in order to see who had addressed him. Although, he already knew who it was, nonetheless, he wanted to look her in the eye.

"Nezzie...so you managed to escape...I figure Grim is probably somewhere taking a nap. I hope you lot weren't too rough on him." As he finished talking, in a flash, Asura-Deva disappeared from Tabart's side, and appeared behind Nez and Frida, the being now manifesting in his full form, the same one it had before, that of a large Asura being with dozens and dozens of arms.

"Should I dispose of them, Kenshiro?"

It spoke. In a multi tonal voice that made the sand tremble. It was like four or five people speaking in unison. It sounded quite eerie.

"Let me take care of them, Kenny." Dimaria also said, clenching her sword.

"Hold it. We shouldn't make any sudden moves yet. Keep your cool" He turned back to face Abel. "I can always kidnap you some other time, Peg Nez..."