"Jihahahaha! Even if it is the Holy Land, it breaks so easily! The people living here are too blinded by greed to be strong!"
Mariejois, the Holy Land. The home of the Celestial Dragons, the rulers of the world, was being buried in seconds by falling ships, building wreckage, and dirt.
They weren't just falling. All the wreckage was dripping with oil and lit by fire arrows. They fell one after another, burning the Holy Land to the ground.
"Help! Help me quickly!"
"Slaves, protect the furniture! It costs more than you!"
"Don't run! If you die there, you will block the path!"
"Oh my, dirty greed is spilling out everywhere," the Golden Lion cackled from high in the sky, where normal attacks couldn't reach. He dropped huge pieces of burning debris, looking down at the hellish scene until he found his target. "Now... is that the food storage?"
Using his Float-Float Fruit ability, he pulled several large ships from the massive pile of wreckage covering the sky, drawing them closer.
"Jihahahaha. As expected of the 'festival guy,' he comes up with interesting things. He is different from that brat who just chases treasure."
The pirate took the lit cigar he was smoking, threw it at the ship, and set the oil-soaked wood ablaze.
"Here is a light to start things off! Eat this!!"
A literally burning bullet, the size of a galleon, dropped toward a vital building in the center of the Holy Land. It fell like a meteor—
"---Ultimate · Cat Bite!!"
Suddenly, the roaring fire vanished. The giant ship shattered instantly, and most of the burning pieces were blown clear outside the Holy Land's walls.
"Huh?" Shiki blinked. "Are the Holy Knights moving already?"
Thinking that, he prepared to drop more burning ships. But his pirate instincts kicked in. He immediately swung one of the swords attached to his legs at the empty air in front of him.
The blade should have just cut the wind. Instead, it stopped with a high-pitched metallic clang.
"Found you, you bastard!" a voice shouted.
"Cipher Pol? ...No, that three-claw mark is..."
Floating in the air, backlit by the dawn light, was a boy in a black suit. He had stopped the legendary pirate's blade with his foot.
"I see, I see! So it is you!!" Shiki grinned. Kuro had easily blocked a strike that could cut through metal with a Haki-clad leg.
"Jihahahaha! What luck! The guy I wanted to see actually came to me!!"
"Golden Lion!!"
"Black Cat!!"
--
Dammit!,I saved the food storage from total destruction, but there is still damage!!
Sengoku and the others were moving down below, but they were too busy protecting the Celestial Dragons. Because this maniac was lighting things on fire before dropping them, victims were piling up—not just Celestial Dragons, but bodyguards and slaves too.
"I heard there was a weird pirate who found that island, but I didn't think it was a real brat!" Shiki roared, swinging his leg-swords.
"Because you attacked the Navy, I saw your route. You were careless!" I retorted, parrying the strike.
"I don't care! Most of them were going to die in the West Blue anyway. Since you caught them, their lives got extended, didn't they!?"
"You piece of trash!"
"Jihahahaha!"
Seriously, what is with this guy!?I heard he cut off his own legs, but why are there swords there now!? And why is a steering wheel stuck in his head!?
Still, he really is a Great Pirate from the Pirate King's era! He has almost no openings!
I have a few chances to attack. Compared to Rayleigh, he has slight gaps. I aim for those gaps with my Cat Bite Rankyaku or try to kick him directly, but I just barely miss every time. He dodges with the smallest movements possible!
Also, these shoes aren't my usual ones with the iron plates, so the feeling is totally different!
"You move well!" Shiki commended.
"If you fought people stronger than you every day, you would get like this too!"
"Not bad! You are not bad at all!"
He says that while clearly trying to kill me!
Here it comes!
"Wave Slicer!!"
"Cat Bite!!"
A flying slash with sharpness like Mihawk's—come to think of it, Hina said her ship got cut by this—clashed with my slash. They canceled each other out with a deafening boom.
I used the resulting shockwave to blow more falling wreckage out of the Holy Land, but there is just too much of it. The damage is only getting worse.
Forget the Celestial Dragons—Sengoku and the others can't move freely until the slaves and bodyguards evacuate.
I can hear the sound of debris being blown away down below, but the sheer amount is overwhelming them.
"Handling that so easily... you are quite the brat! How about it? Want to join my crew!?"
"I already lead a crew. I refuse!"
"Just listen!"
If you want me to listen, stop attacking!
...Wait? He moved his hand?
An attack using his devil fruit!
"Tch!"
I immediately used Silent Step to create distance. At the same time, burning ship wreckage gathered right where I had been standing, crushing together into a huge pile. If I had stayed there, I would have been crushed. Even if I found a gap, I would have run out of oxygen... wait, did I just saw a really bad future!?
"Lion's Threat---"
This guy has so many moves! If that image I saw is a few seconds in the future... ah, dammit!
"Iron Roll!" (Note: Not Canon)
Burning wreckage, big and small, gathered together. It rippled like a tsunami and then twisted into several lion shapes, roaring with fire as they attacked me.
Ah, this is bad!?
A rapid-fire Cat Bite isn't enough to stop it! A full-power Cat Bite could stop one, but just one! Even if I stop the wreckage, it will still fall and smash the food storage!
Techniques! Do I have a special move for this? Help me out here! I fought the Dark King and Hawk Eyes! I should have gotten a reward or power-up, so why is every path I take a living hell!?
--- 'Listen well, Kuro-kun. It goes without saying, but your advantage is your inhuman speed.'
Rayleigh's voice echoed in my head.
No good! I was too focused on blocking attacks from 360 degrees, so I'm still practicing my high-power, wide-range moves!
--- 'Therefore, what you need to think about is how to use that speed to substitute for other aspects.'
I mean, I was practicing increasing my Armament Haki level and shortening the Winter Cat time to get instant power. Getting uniform power over a huge area is a bit impossible for my body right now, isn't it!? (Note: Winter Cat is the name of one of his attacks, also not canon)
--- 'For example... The move I showed you earlier requires a weapon. But with your leg techniques, you might be able to reproduce it.'
...So I have to do that!? I tried to use it a few times, but every time I dislocated my leg and had to fight those two using just my hands and one leg!?
No, I have to do it! Dodging an attack controlled by his ability is a bad move! I'll break it head-on!!
I concentrated all the Haki flowing in me into my legs. Hardening the pivot leg too, not just the right leg, seemed to work best in the last battle.
--- 'What I am about to show you is my own imitation of one of our enemy's signature moves. You might be able to cook it up and make it your own.'
That time, I was so focused on controlling my Haki that I missed one of Mihawk's delayed slashes and almost lost my right arm!
--- 'Yes, this is---'
"Silent Step... Cat Bite...!"
--
Did he die?
Taking a fresh cigar from his pocket, the pirate watched the backs of the wave of fire lions he had created.
That kid had promise, fitting for the person he was obsessed with, but he got a little too excited.
Right now, anyone strong enough to fight him properly was stuck on the ground dealing with the debris. He respected the judgment and skill of the 'Black Cat' who climbed this high and fought without hesitation. But the pirate slightly regretted the bad timing of their meeting.
"If we had time, I could have played with you until you joined my crew," Shiki muttered.
His job is to keep the World Government and Navy in check. Nothing more, nothing less. Do the job and go home.
"Now, let's crush that food storage for real. Good thing I saved the special one packed with cannonballs."
The pirate's goal was distraction. And, if possible, he was asked to destroy the Celestial Dragons' Food Storage.
"Jihahaha... Now, burn it all---"
"---Cat Bite...!!"
From the other side of the lions, a voice rang out.
It wasn't a desperate cry or a final scream. It was the voice of someone wielding power with a firm will. Along with the voice, the sound of waves carried through the air to the pirate's ears.
It wasn't the sound of the ocean that wraps around everything.
This is... a fake, but still the proud Spear of Elbaf...
It was the sound of a King's pressure that made skin tingle.
Conqueror's Haki!?
"---'Pseudo · Sovereignty (Ikoku)'!!"
Shiki instantly floated his body higher to escape the range.
At the same time, an invisible—but faintly black—sharp strike blew a massive hole through one of the fire lions. A split second later, the shockwave expanded, and all the remaining lions were blown away into dust.
"Oh no... the main ship!"
The fire was gone, but the debris was still hot. The blast pierced straight through the ship Shiki had been saving—the one packed with oil, gunpowder, and cannonballs.
"Tch! That damn brat, he actually did it!!"
"...The future I see is bright red? ...Huh!? Wait, does that mean—", Kuro said.
The next moment, a giant sunflower of hellfire bloomed in the dawn sky above the Holy Land.
--
Hell had turned into a sea of fire, burning everything.
Finally... finally, a chance to escape came...
This is hell. A hell where demons live, treating Fishmen like him, and even humans, as 'toys' to be used and thrown away. 'Holy Land'? Don't make me laugh...!
Damn... my leg is caught in the rubble...
With his normal strength, this would be nothing. For a Fishman's strength, this weight was nothing. But those demons took advantage of that. They forced endless heavy labor on him and thoroughly abused his body.
They called it play. They shot through his arms and legs, then made him carry luggage like that. If he worked while enduring the fear and pain of the explosive collar, they shot him again just because his fish blood dirtied the hallway.
No good, the fire is here...
Several slaves were already dead. They were all shot for the crime of trying to run away without their masters.
He was shot too. But thanks to his tough body and the Celestial Dragons running away quickly, he was saved. He ended up being saved, only to be trapped. The building was destroyed by debris, but the rubble blocked the way out. The smoke was getting thicker.
At least...
At least let me die peacefully. Just like this, as if sleeping.
Thinking quietly, the Fishman closed his eyes.
...But then. Suddenly, right nearby. A roar echoed as something slammed into the ground with great force.
"---Cough... Ah, dammit! My Observation Haki is still too unrefined!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the other side of the rubble. It was an honest, young voice, completely free of the mockery or dark malice usually found in this Holy Land.
"---Damn, I have to stop that guy... a person's presence?"
He heard two light taps, like someone kicking the ground. The next moment, with a roar, the rubble and debris blocking the smoke's escape route were blown away.
"...A captured person? Wait a second."
"Wait, the fire has already spread to that!" the Fishman rasped, looking at the glowing debris. "If you touch it—"
The boy in the suit who suddenly appeared reached out calmly to the object that would surely cause burns. Using strength impossible for his size, he easily lifted the rubble.
Sizzle.
The sound of burning flesh came from his hands as he held the rubble. With a calm face, he urged the slave to escape.
"Okay. Now, about that collar... I'm really glad the heat didn't set it off."
"Kid, your hands are—"
"Your injuries are worse."
"Dammit, it won't be fair unless all of them feel some pain," the man in the suit grumbled. He reached for the collar with the bomb that bound the slave to this hell.
Before the slave could stop him, he crushed the collar with his hand. He removed the wedge as easily as tearing off an old rubber band.
"If you can run, run. I can save you because of this chaos, but I don't have time to save all the slaves."
He must have thrown the collar away at a speed invisible to the eye. An explosion occurred a short distance away. Burning debris was still raining down around them. Celestial Dragons and their guards were running around in panic everywhere.
"Sorry. I don't have enough power," the boy said.
"No..."
At least, this man reached out his hand. In this hell, no one ever reached out a hand. Not even other slaves.
Sometimes, for entertainment, slaves killed other slaves. He had seen many people ordered to laugh while killing a fellow slave, only to be killed in a gruesome way because the master thought they were laughing at them.
"...Tch, they noticed me."
The man took off his suit jacket, which was scorched in places, and handed it over.
"If you have nowhere to go, head to the West Blue. Take this. If you go to a place with the same flag, they should guide you to where the Fishmen and Merfolk are hiding."
"...Who are you?"
Who on earth is he? He tried to ask, but the man's eyes were fixed on the sky, where light other than fire was starting to shine through.
"Go quickly. This place will be a battlefield soon."
"---! Sorry!"
He had things he wanted to ask, and things he wanted to say. But his legs moved on their own toward the sound of the sea. He wanted to leave this hell as fast as possible.
He ran, clutching the jacket with the three-clawed cat mark given to him by the boy. Then, he looked back and shouted.
"I am—My name is Fisher Tiger! I will never forget this debt!!"