A/N: I tried to match how an actual One Piece fight would go. Tell me if I did good or not š. And if you were in Tenjin's shoes, what would you have done?
For those who don't know Hakugan. Here Is a picture of him.
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The moment Law's body was sent flying, the island itself seemed to scream.
Roots tore free from the earth like living spears, splintering stone and snapping ancient trees in half. The ground buckled, rose, then cracked apart as if something vast and hungry had awakened beneath Gokuro Island.
Tenjin stood at the center of it all, arm still extended from the brutal clothesline, his captain's coat fluttering wildly as green light pulsed faintly through the veins of the land.
Law skidded across the ground, boots carving twin trenches before he slammed into a broken tree stump. He coughed violently, breath forced from his lungs, pain radiating through his chest.
So fastā¦ Law thought grimly as he forced himself upright. I barely saw him move.
"CAPTAIN!" Penguin shouted.
"Scatter! Just like Hakugan said!" Sachi barked. "Don't engage directly!"
Hakugan was already moving, grabbing Ikkaku's arm and pulling her away as another cluster of roots slammed down where they'd been standing moments earlier.
Tenjin rolled his shoulders once, casually, like he was warming up.
"Good instincts you guys," he said pleasantly. "At least you won't bore me by dying immediately as well."
His eyes flicked toward Tashigi. "Try not to fall behind."
"H-HEY!" Tashigi snapped, already moving. "Don't underestimate me!"
She drew her blade and rushed forward toward Penguin and Sachi, intercepting their attempted repositioning. She slashed downward, forcing them to scatter as roots exploded between them.
"I won't let any of you escape!"
Tenjin didn't even turn to watch.
A root surged up between Tashigi and her targets, knocking her off balance and forcing her back.
"Oi, Tenjin," Tashigi barked angrily. "You hitting me with your ability as well."
The ground shifted againā
"Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry sorry!"
A massive white blur crashed into Tashigi from the side.
Beppo.
The polar bear barreled into her in a clumsy tackle, sending both of them tumbling across the forest floor.
"I-I didn't mean to!" Beppo cried. "But please don't hurt me!"
Tashigi groaned as they rolled to a stop. "ā¦Get off me!"
She tried to stand and suddenly the world shifted.
"ROOM."
A translucent sphere expanded outward, encompassing Tashigi, Beppo, and a large section of the battlefield.
"Whaā!?" Tashigi gasped.
Law raised Kikoku, eyes sharp despite the pain still lingering in his chest.
"Takt."
The ground beneath Tashigi split cleanly.
Her body separated at the waist, no blood, no pain, just a clean, impossible division.
"H-HUH!?" she screamed as her upper half tumbled backward, completely detached.
She slammed into a tree, blinking in shock. "ā¦I'mā¦ alive?"
Beppo stared, horrified. "I-I'M SORRY!!"
Law didn't look at them again. "You're out of the fight," he said flatly.
Tenjin's eyes widened.
Just slightly.
"ā¦Oh?" he murmured.
He watched Tashigi's separated body with clear interest, then laughed.
"HAHAHA! Now that is an annoying ability."
His grin stretched wider, manic. "So this is the power of the Ope-Ope no Mi."
Law locked eyes with him. "Don't get distracted."
Tenjin raised his sword and pointed it at Law. "On the contrary," he said. "You've finally become interesting."
The forest answered his intent.
"Verdant."
The ground erupted.
Thick wooden pillars burst upward, twisting and intertwining as they shot toward Law like coiling dragons. Law leaped back, slashingā
"Scan."
He vanished.
Reappearing atop a root, he immediately swung Kikoku downward.
Tenjin pivoted, parrying the blade with a sharp metallic screech, then countered with an upward slash aimed at Law's chest.
Law bent backward impossibly, the blade grazing the edge of his coat as he flipped away.
He's good at close combat as well, Law realized. And his swordsmanship is elite. We can't win this.
Tenjin laughed mid-swing. "You're flexible! I like that!"
He stomped the ground.
"Forest Knuckle."
A massive wooden fist erupted from the earth, smashing toward Law.
"Shambles!"
Law swapped places with a broken boulder just as the fist obliterated it, sending debris flying in every direction.
Penguin and Sachi ducked behind cover, eyes wide.
"This guy's a monster!" Penguin shouted.
Hakugan watched silently, fists clenched.
ā¦He's holding back, Hakugan realized. I can feel it. He could have easily obliterated us.
Tenjin blurred forward again, sword flashing.
Law blocked, sparks exploding between their blades as they exchanged rapid strikes, left, right, downward cleave, spinning slash.
Law narrowly avoided a thrust aimed at his throat, countering with a diagonal cut that Tenjin deflected as bark rippled briefly across his arm.
He's reinforcing his body with his Devil Fruit, Law noted. No, he's becoming it.
Tenjin grinned wildly. "Your fruit's terrifying," he admitted. "But your fundamentals are so sloppy."
He twisted his blade, knocked Kikoku aside, and slammed his knee into Law's ribs.
Law grunted, sliding backward but he didn't fall.
Instead, he raised his hand.
"Gamma Knifeā!"
Tenjin's pupils shrank.
In the last instant, thick roots surged up and wrapped around his torso, yanking him backward out of the blade's path. The attack tore through the air where his heart had been.
Tenjin landed lightly, laughing breathlessly.
"Whoa! That would've hurt!"
The Heart Pirates stared.
"That was Gamma Knife!" Sachi shouted. "He dodged it!?"
Tenjin cracked his neck. "You almost had me," he said honestly. "Are you trying to kill me? Scary stuff."
Law panted, sweat dripping down his face.
He read it, Law thought. And moved before I finished.
The forest shifted again.
It had no crushing or dangerous force. If anything it felt as if it was guiding.
Roots rose and fell, subtly reshaping the battlefield, forcing angles, blocking paths, driving the Heart Pirates closer and closer to the shoreline.
Hakugan noticed.
"ā¦Tenjin," he whispered.
Tenjin glanced at him briefly.
Their eyes met.
Just for a second.
Then Tenjin raised his sword high.
"Green Hell: Thousand-Root Guillotine!"
Roots slammed down everywhere at once.
"MOVE!" Law shouted. "NOW!"
Beppo grabbed Ikkaku. Penguin hauled Sachi. Hakugan hesitated for a bitā
A blade slammed into the ground between them, splitting the earth and forcing distance.
Hakugan clenched his teeth, then ran.
Law turned last, glaring at Tenjin. "This isn't over."
Tenjin laughed, wild and delighted. "I'd be disappointed if it was!"
Law activated ROOM one final time, swapping the crew onto their submarine in a burst of light.
The Heart Pirates then proceeded to vanish beneath the sea.
Silence fell.
The forest slowly stilled.
Tenjin stood alone, sword resting on his shoulder, breathing steadily, completely untouched.
"ā¦He could've ended it," Tashigi muttered weakly from the ground, staring at the sea.
Tenjin didn't answer.
He watched the ocean, smiling like a man who had just enjoyed the best fight of his life.
Run, he thought.
Grow stronger.
Next timeā¦ don't bore me.