71 World Of Pirates: Part 08.5
Continuing...
...
The battle is heated on the rooftop.
Hector and Kaido clash dozens of times, no one giving an inch.
They dash forward, meeting with their weapon, and backing off after the blow and repeating.
It's impressive on his own that this body of Hector is almost equal in strength to Kaido in his hybrid form.
But Hector has enough of having fun playing around like kids with sticks.
Mana suddenly flows through his body, enhancing all of his muscles. Hector takes the second of respite after an exchange to touch the ground
"Bottomless Pit." A magic circle expands from his fingertips, with demonic symbols and the ground in response becomes dark. With many eyes and small hands on it.
The pit expands to Kaido, swallowing one of his feet. The small eldritch hands held him in place for a moment.
This small moment is enough to Hector burst forth with his mana-enhanced body and cut a wound on his chest.
'So he can see the future...' Hector thinks before Kaido frees himself from the pit and counterattacks.
The two weapons meet again and Kaido takes advantage of the shock to be propelled to the sky, turning himself into a dragon during the jump.
Hector follows with Geppo, he can't fly because he has no powers at the moment, but his techniques allow him to not be at an advantage.
Kaido starts circling himself and creating tornados to difficult Hector's movement
"Tatsumaki!" He shouts
"Smash. Next question?" Hector jokes in a shout while maneuvering around the tornados
From a blindspot, Kaido released his "Kaifu", wind blades trying to hurt Hector, but even without Danger Sense and Spider-Sense, Hector's Observation Haki is advanced enough to allow him a somewhat comfortable dodge.
"Whoa... I should've transplanted Rudeus's eye on this body." Hector comments after seeing a little of his long White hair being cut by the blades of wind.
"Tundra..." Hector's voice echoes on the battlefield after he uses another magic.
An icy wind blows to counter Kaido's one, and the low temperature slows down the wind, creating an opening for Hector to attack.
He kicks the air with great strength and zooms at Kaido, slashing his big serpentine body.
"Garkh" Kaido gurgles in pain, when the slash cuts his hard scales
He coils himself in a ball and emerges in his hybrid form again.
The two big weapons meet each other in the air.
The clash creates shockwaves of power and haki, they slowly let the gravity bring them to the ground while they stare at each other through their weapons. A smile on their lips
"Are you having fun?" Kaido asks
"Surprisingly yes..." Hector admits
"Good!!" When Kaido's feet hit the ground first, courtesy of his height, he shifts his posture a little so that he can deliver "Kongo Kabura" at Hector, throwing him far away like he is a baseball player making a homerun.
Hector's organs tremble from the shock, even after he blocked it with the flat of his sword.
"Heh~ What weak body..." He smiles with a drop of blood on the corner of his lips.
He stops his flight by creating a magic circle platform in the air.
He landed on it vertically and didn't waste time on shooting himself at Kaido again.
"I... I am having so much fuuuuuun!!! Wuuah!" Kaido shouts to the sky with eyes full of tears
"! You're weird..." Hector comments seeing him shifting his Fighting style slightly based on his mood.
...
The battle goes on.
Hector tries new magic and new strategies all the time.
Kaido with his strong body is an excellent dummy.
He also noticed that even with Kaido's mood swings that only a pregnant woman could have, his fighting prowess didn't diminish. It became even a little more dangerous, thanks to the unpredictability.
Like the Drunk Fist.
Hector's body charged with electricity dances around Kaido, he is delivering more attacks than Kaido, getting used to this body.
'It's better that I didn't try to pull a Killua with this electricity... This brain will not hold out and I can mess it easily.' He thinks while deciding what to try next.
At some point, a surprising thing happens...
During an Exchange, when the two are creating distance as usual Kaido grabs Hector's leg with his tail
"...interesting." 'Should I break my foot to escape? Nah...' Hector says calmly while looking down and being pulled closer "Good move." He praises even before he receives another direct hit, being thrown away.
After he sent Hector flying, Kaido noticed some ice spikes piercing his legs slightly. He shrugs it off easily through.
"It's hard to imbue Haki in magic constructs..." Hector comments while hitting the ground and sliding many meters away.
Kaido walks slowly in Hector's direction while catching his breath.
"!" But when he steps a little forward a magic circle appears under his feet and a huge explosion engulfs him.
*Boom*
"You're full of tricks..." Kaido comments after swinging his kanabo to create wind to disperse the smoke, he is only slightly hurt by this explosion.
"Aw, man~ This is sad~" Hector gets off the ground but remains crouched down. "Now I understand... How sad it is."
"What is?" Kaido asks curiously, not really matter if the two are in the middle of a life-and-death battle.
"I'm too strong..." Hector replies sadly while pouting
"..." Kaido raises an eyebrow at him
Hector continues to stay crouched on the ground, writing something with his index finger while hugging his knees
Kaido has enough of his silliness and raises his Kanabo to attack him. But from that defenseless position, Hector blurs and reappears behind his head, kicking him to the ground
"C'mon man~ I'm having an existential crisis here... Like Saitama! Have a little of empathy as a fellow strong dude." Hector whines like a petulant kid on his own while standing on Kaido's back.
Kaido shakes himself while taking his head from the ground "That... You're..." He is catching on to what is happening.
He turns fast and swings his kanabo, Hector responds in kind with a swing of his heavy sword
"Yes! That's fun!" Hector exclaims excitedly while exchanging blows and comparing strength with Kaido.
"I see what you're doing..." Kaido says slowly after they are separated by a big clash.
"Huh?"
"You're imitating me..." Kaido says a little impressed.
After being exposed to Kaido's unpredictable mood swing Fighting style, the Shuron Hakke. Hector is using it perfectly.
That Yujiro Hanma card is working just fine.
"Am I?" Hector looks genuinely confused "I mean... Maybe I can't control the emotions on this body, it is like two days old after all." He says acting innocent
"That's a little impressive." Kaido praises "One second ago you were sad and your fighting style changed because of that... I couldn't almost keep up with my Observation."
Suddenly Hector is crouching on the ground facing away again
"Oh yeah... Now I remember why I was sad..." He pouts while writing on the ground with his index finger. "This fighting has been fun, Kaido..." Hector says sadly
"Is that so? I'm enjoying it too." Kaido smiles
"But the truth is that I nerfed myself, you know? If I had used my real body that good move from before would never worked..." Hector sighs "Even without using powers to phase through you or change the shape of my body." His head hangs low, depressed.
"..."
"You don't understand... Your strength comes from being almost invulnerable, hence your boredom. Mine? Goes beyond that..." Hector rolls his eyes seeing Kaido's strange face "I'm so fast that is like I'm living in a different flow of time, you know? Faster than the synapses in your brain... I could've written an essay on your back while your brain commanded your arms to raise your weapon. "
Hector sighs again. "I understand Saitama and Saiki Kusuo a little more now. There's no sense of Danger or fulfillment. I need to constantly hold back myself to not leave in an eternal state of a hellish nightmare because no one can keep up with me."
"It didn't annoy me too much before, but I tasted again how is to be a little weaker, read normal..." Hector sighs "And now here I am.
"I ask myself if I'm a little dumber in this body. Does intelligence is related to the physical brain or the soul? Self-inserts mc that possess bodies like of Peter Parker conveniently became smart... But when they self-insert in people like Luffy they didn't go dumber..." Hector sidetracks on his own, almost ignoring Kaido.
Kaido would have attacked, but he knows that Hector's Fighting prowess didn't diminish just because he looked like an emotional mess. His guard is not down even if looks like it.
"Anyway..." Hector stands up, he looks calmer now "It's funny how I'm talking about this with you. Is that thing of enemies being close as friends true? Oh!" He suddenly realizes something and hits his palm with a fist "It's because one of us will die anyway on the end of it... So it doesn't matter if we speak about our secrets or open our hearts like that. I see, I see."
"You're a weird bastard, but is nothing that I haven't seen before..." Kaido says "Just enjoy the fight, no need to think too much."
"Overthinking is one of my Character traits... and believe in me, I'm enjoying the fight." Hector shrugs "It's because this fight made my blood boil, the adrenaline shot high... This normally doesn't happen when I see everything in a slow motion and I'm prepared to all your attacks beforehand."
....
Little Flashback
"I would never completely give up on my humanity... Not even by becoming a dragon." Hector says to Saeko and Cassandra
A this moment, Hector is giving a little class about powers and everything related to them.
"And it's not only because of my human pride. There isn't much to be proud of on this crappy race anyway..." He says, he was in a bad mood at that time "But being a human has its advantages. Especially a half-human..."
"How so?" Saeko asks
"Let me explain... Instead of being a pure breed of any other, doesn't matter how strong it is, if given me the chance I would choose to be a half-human with that race and the reason is simple... First, the potential but especially... We are weak." He concludes
"...?"
"You're confunding me now." Saeko shakes her head.
"Wait for it... Because we're weak, we have a certain amount of untapped inner strength that we can use to survive in dangerous situations. This also helps tap on the full potential of those stagnate strong races..."
Hector looks at Saeko "It's the whole 'banana and rock' story again, Saeko."
"..."
"There's a bunch of examples on the Omniverse... Gohan, Jon Kent, Mark Grayson, and many others. You guys didn't know all of them but understand that the fact they're half-human increased the potential... Like it lifted the cap, accelerated the growth rate, unlocked new powers..."
"Because we have smaller lifespans?" Saeko tries to guess, connecting with the story of the "Banana and the Rock" that Hector talked about during Whitebeard's funeral.
"Yes! And not only that, but also because of a simple thing that we overlook because is normal... Can we guess what it is?" He asks them and waits
"..."
"..."
"Adrenaline..." He answers after noticing that they didn't catch it "Adrenaline is low-key op. That classic example of mothers lifting cars to save their babies, some powerlifters commented that they try to trick their mind to simulate danger so that they can have that boost in strength."
"Let me tell a story... That Mark Grayson guy... His Father is from a strong alien race. They are literally invulnerable, live ridiculous long lives..."
"He is half-human, and while people would think that this would make him weaker, this made him grow in strength fast and... And have a surprisingly boost of strength when the situation asks for it...
"It's not only plot armor!" Hector exclaims "That race is so strong that there's practically no danger to them... A dull rock. In a certain fight, Mark's opponent commented..."
Hector deepens his voice to signal that he is quoting it " 'It's no use in getting angry boy. This is not how it works' He spat on the whole 'getting angry, getting stronger cliche', but this time he was wrong. Mark's anger boosted his adrenaline levels and made him stronger enough to overwhelm his opponent. He broke his limit!"
"...all because he is half human. He is stronger, but his body thinks that he is weak and is trying to help him on it." Saeko concludes
"Yes, that's abridged version. It's more like being a half-human erased the years of dull Evolution... He is back at the bottom of the food chain even though he is not. And he can grow more. He has survival instincts that he doesn't need." Hector shrugs "And this is important to you, Saeko..." Hector smiles while pointing at her "It's about your next upgrade..."
"?"
.....
'Adrenaline is OP, but when was the last time I felt that...' Hector thinks, his mind back to the present.
Feeling his blood boil in practicing some physical activity. Having fun. Being jumpscared. He didn't feel those things anymore...
"Haah~ I'm destined to go down on the Saitama path? But I can't hold back either... I'm completing all the side quests before the main storyline so that I don't need to use a 'continue'. " Hector looks at the sky
"Go drink alcohol then..." Kaido says in a deadpan
"..." Hector sideglances him "Well, that's not a bad idea... I mean, it's not like all in life is fighting, right? If I need to sacrifice whatever fun I will have in fighting to have a good life and give others a good life, I'm all for it." Hector says seriously
He continues "There's other ways to have fun... Like women." He thinks seriously about that
"True..." Kaido agrees with a shrug "So can we go back? My body is getting cold..." He says
"Eh... Sorry, sorry..." Hector grabs his sword with his two hands "Dawnbreaker Mode..." The sword shines in a golden light
Kaido felt Danger like never before and smiled broadly "That's it!"
Hector attacks. His strongest attack till now. Kaido sees the future and knows that he needs to dodge.
The giant golden slash cuts the sky, even the clouds are pushed apart. How far the Slash traveled is unknown, but Yamato who Is on top of Long Yin's head made a shocked expression from her privileged position
"That attack would have destroyed Onigashima..." She says, mouth agape while watching the golden light disappear on the horizon.
On the roof, Kaido has jumped to avoid the attack but Hector suddenly appeared above him, His heavy sword pointing at his foe's back.
Using his full weight, Hector stabs Kaido when he is turning around to confront him.
Then, his mink electricity runs through the heavy sword frying Kaido too, paralyzing him and delaying his response to the next move.
It's when Hector takes his left hand from the handle of the sword and pulls back to "Galaxy Punch" Kaido in the face, mailing him on the ground with that strike.
Hector takes distance to another huge attack, but he stops when the whole battlefield becomes a mess of a storm.
Kaido probably creating a curtain to hide the next attack... Hector narrows his eyes and jumps to dodge a fire breath that swipes around him.
'Swipes...? He wants me to jump." Hector guesses right, he looks behind to see Kaido's huge form behind him, already attacking with his kanabo.
"Kosanze Ragnaraku!" Kaido shouts
'This one will put me in a bad spot...' Hector thinks while the attack approaches his defenseless back.
But who is Hector? Even without his body, he is still a battle genius.
He didn't take the assimilation for granted. He lived them, meditated, and trained every day to really incorporate the battle experiences of his cards into himself.
The results are showing...
Instead of turning around completely, he uses the flat side of his heavy sword like a fan and swings in front of himself.
The wind generates and pushes him in Kaido's Direction. His leg connects with Kaido's solar plexus and he dodges the attack on one simple move.
Differences in height between characters can give advantages and disadvantages to the two sides.
Kaido has more range, but that means if Hector enters in a certain zone... The zone between Kaido's torso and elbow will make it hard for him to attack Hector.
Hector just entered exactly on this perfect spot.
Kaido is defenseless.
He spins around himself using Kaido as leverage and is already swinging his sword at the man's head
"Dawnbreaker Mode..." He repeats and swings heavily.
Kaido saw the future, saving him from having his skull completely obliterated when he pulled his chin back.
The golden Slash flies to the sky, cutting the clouds and making people think dawn has come already from some instants.
Hector kicks Kaido again and prepares the finishing blow while he is off balance. Not only that, Kaido's future sight is also in "cooldown" after he just used so that is the moment...
*Blurrgh*
...Until is not.
"!!!" Hector bleeds from all the orifices on his head. Blood cascades from his mouth like a waterfall while his eyes widen and his face pales.
His body jerks a little and he needs to stop the attack.
"What happened..?" He murmurs, voice drowned by his own blood "Oh~" But Hector is still with a calm person.
His face becomes stony even though he is bleeding all over.
He calmly pats his own body and checks himself
'Without my powers is hard to guess, but... Multiple organ failures... I think my heart is exploding...' He thinks with a hand over his chest.
His Sulong transformation slowly recedes while he looks at his hands, purple veins are visible under his pale and slightly cracking skin.
"Mana poisoning? Is that a thing? I'm an imbecile..." He sighs, allowing another waterfall of blood to cascade from his lips.
Normally body and mind need to be in synchrony. Too much of one can lead to troubles, it's a common troupe when the "mortal vessel can't withstand a godlike possession".
But this was just another of Hector's bodies, something extremely compatible with his own soul... Yes, but is a "One Piece body". A warrior body...
He thought because magic comes from the soul he didn't need to make a proper vessel. Making a warrior body with a mage soul would be the strongest combination...
The problem is that during the battle, his soul was constantly pouring mana on this unfit body. If it's aura, Nen, Chakra... Maybe it would withstand for more time.
'Well, living and learning...' Hector thinks calmly while keeping his body from collapsing. 'So that's why some worlds have magic conduits and magic veins... I see. I'm too spoiled with the body given by the Essence...'
In the end, it's all a test drive.
This body has an expiration date anyway...
Different from common belief thanks to the banalization of clones... It's incredibly hard to create one.
Vlones seldom are perfect, only inheriting partial characteristics, especially from people with powers. It's common for the bodies not to support it.
It's a fact that Laura Kinney is the 23rd try to clone Wolverine, and she was more of a daughter because they used a Woman to conceive her.
Clones have a low lifespan too. Hector keeps them in suspended animation if not he would need to get rid of them weekly.
And to bypass these limitations is very common for the creators to mix the clones with cybernetic enhancementes, like Reed and others did with a clone of Thor during the First Civil War.
"Oy, are you okay? You're gonna die at this rate..." Kaido asks with a frown, he does not like it.
"Heh Don't worry" Hector waves him off "But I only have fuel on this body for one last attack, so..." Hector poses again with his heavy sword over his shoulder
"Very well, I want to end this in the best way possible." Kaido readies his kanabo too.
This time Kaido is the one taking the initiative, his jump on the air from momentum, or maybe he wants to Hector give his all on his attack without worry. Afraid of him dropping dead if he gives a step.
"Kosanze Ragnaraku!!" Kaido attacks with everything he has
"Eclipse Mode..." Blood bursts from Hecor's wounds, but his face is calm. His sword enlarges and he encounters Kaido's attack without any tricks
*BOOOOOM*
.....
The clash is blinding to any bystander... Light, wind, and dirt. The whole roof of Onigashima was a mess starting by the epicenter.
*Huff* * Huff* When the Dust settles Kaido is on his knees, wounds all over his body and breathing heavily. He appears to be on his last legs, but knowing the guy and this world he will be at 100% in some days.
Hector on the other hand is in a worse shape...
"..." There's blood all over his body while he remains unmoved, if he gives a step he will really collapse, but he laughs "It's my Victory... I'm standing. Dying standing. Haha" He says to Kaido before the laugh makes his body literally become dust. "I don't feel so good. Heh~I hope this will be the last... time..."
"..." Kaido narrows his eyes a little but laughs too afterward "Wororo. You won this battle, but in the end, I survived to win the war again." He laughs/cries to the sky after throwing himself on his back.
He just stays lying on the ground for some time.
Till something drops from the sky.
*Boom*
"Stop acting cool... I'm starting to like you." He hears the familiar voice approaching from the falling point "Will become hard for me to kill you tonight."
"!!" Kaido's eyes widen seeing Hector emerge from the dust and stopping close to him "How..?"
Hector looks down on him and smiles "Well, how to explain... I have the power to create a body that is a weaker version of myself and control it like a puppet... Hence why that body fail... I was using too much power." Hector explains while looking at the sky and scratching his chin "You can be proud of yourself for making me use too much power..." He praises
"..."
Hector then goes to copy the original dragon Devil Fruit and heal Kaido.
"I would give me a B-... I received too much unnecessary damage. I didn't adapt faster enough to the difference in stats and the lack of certain powers, especially at the passive ones." Hector says to Kaido and himself "I didn't use Arthur Lewyin dragon Aether mode too, but that body wouldn't handle it anyway."
"What... are you doing?" Kaido asks while feeling his strength coming back
"Healing you to one last round..." Hector answers without a care
"Are you mocking me?"
"No... This is out of Character to me too, man." Hector shrugs "But this needs a proper ending. You didn't use everything too, right?"
Hector finishes copying the devil fruit and curing Kaido and turns his back to the Yonko.
He moves away a little and takes Oden't two katanas.
"When you're ready..." He says slowly and stands on his spot
"..." Kaido slowly stands up with gritted teeth "Are you Joyboy?"
"Hell no."
"..." Kaido didn't say anything more before he jumped high in the sky and started flying to the clouds while in his dragon form
"..." Hector remains unmoved.
He is not worried about Kaido running away. He is sure that a man like Kaido would never do that.
People in this world think differently from someone like him who came from a modern world
"You wanted to die, right?" Hector murmured to himself while looking up to the clouds where Kaido disappeared "But you don't want to simply kill yourself and be done with it... You want a death full of meaning... It's like how Itachi said once to Kisame."
The clouds start churning
"You envy Old Man Whitebeard because his death restarted the Pirate Era. It's an incredible death. You want something like that too... Die to Joyboy?" Hector guesses, he starts putting a stance when he sees an orange dot appear on the clouds.
"The best I can do for you, Kaido... It's to guarantee that your death will free the people of Wano and start a new era in this country." The orange dot grows big "You are dying in the hands of the strongest, Kaido!!" He shouts at him
Kaido finally emerges from the clouds.
"Kaen Daiko!" His dragon form is enveloped in a giant dragon construct of fire many times bigger than himself.
Kaido descends upon Hector, his attack will be enough to turn Onigashima into cinders.
'And Luffy won against that?'
"What type of world do you want to create, The Devil??" Kaido asks while descending at high speed
"The answer is too big to the moment, you bastard!!" Hector puts an Oden stance "But a world where everyone has at least a chance is a good start!"
They finally clash, beyond being visually breathtaking, there's no suspense.
Kaido is sliced into four parts by Hector.
...
"People of Wano and Onigashima..." Cortana's voice is transmitted over all places "The duel between Kaido and Hector has ended... On Hector's Absolute Victory."
The screen finally clears to show Hector's back while he holds his two katanas at the side, Kaido's corpse in front of him, and sparks slowly raining from the sky like fireflies.
He turns to look at the camera and gives a thumbs up "Told Ya. You all can shout now."
And everyone obeys, shouting to the sky in celebration.
...
Next day
Outskirts of the Flower Capital
On the previous night, everything ended as Hector expected.
From his side, the number of deaths is kept at a minimum. Mostly old and Sick people died with some exceptions.
On the Beast Pirates side, roughly 15.000 are alive, with varying ranges of injuries.
The "small" amount of deaths can be attributed to the people of this world being very durable, and when the people of Wano's side fought, they didn't have the time to "double tap" when they were being ganged up by more people.
Right now, these survivors of the Beast Pirates are all receiving the defeated treatment on a huge open field outside the Flower Capital.
They're on their knees, with their hands and feet tied. All lined up submissively while the people of Wano watches.
There's a huge stage between them. The occupants of the stage are the key people of the war.
The Red Scabbards, the Whitebeard Pirates, Rayleigh, Hiyori, Hyogoro Yamato, and others.
"So Princess Hiyori is truly alive! What a blessed day this is!" Someone in the crowd of the Wano people exclaims
"She was Komurasaki this whole time, just for thinking how much she endured... I... I..." An old lady cries out.
"The Scabbards are truly alive..."
And many other related comments.
"But... aren't those people pirates like Kaido?" Someone asks, pointing to the pirate group.
"Idiot, they are old companions of Oden-sama!" Someone shouts
"Oh!"
"There's good and bad pirates..."
The buzz sound is loud right now, so many people talking and guessing.
But everyone shuts up instantly and instinctively when the man appears and starts walking slowly on the stairs of the stage.
Hector is doing his "cool walk" where he puts a hand off his sleeve and lets it be supported on the opening of his torso. In his mind, this is the cool way to walk around when using traditional Japanese clothing.
"..." Saeko that is following closely behind shakes her head in amusement.
Seeing him act cool on the outside and still have these childish thoughts amuses her.
Hector arrives at the front of the stage and pauses.
"..."
"..."
No one says anything while he lets the silence stretch.
At some point, the situation grows tense...
"...nice weather, huh?" He finally opens his mouth but says something ridiculous
"..." Saeko facepalms while people widen their eyes while other laughs. The laughs get contagious and eventually, everyone is laughing.
Saeko understands where this comes from, the famous "opening joke" to make people relax.
What she doesn't know is that is a pretty similar way of acting on another someone that these people like. Oden never liked super formal things.
"Anyway, shut up for a bit, and let me make my speech." Hector says rudely
But people don't take this to heart and laugh a little.
"So... Before we celebrate the Fire Festival... Let's solve the problems first. Mainly these guys." Hector points to the crowd of Kaido's former subordinates.
This makes people adopt expressions of anger on their faces.
"Kill them!"
"Hang them!"
"Boil them!"
A cacophony of shouts goes on and on and Hector lets them vent up.
'Luffy never needed to deal with the aftermath...' He sighs on his mind
"I refuse!" Hector shouts interrupting them and before they can shout in protest he says "I'm not gonna slaughter 15 thousand prisoners... I mean, I can. But I don't wanna. My karma will go downhill..." He makes a disgusted face "So I was thinking of letting them work to revert their damage on the land of Wano... What about that?" Hector asks
"Well... Sounds reasonable..." Someone says
"Yeah, killing 15 thousand defeated people doesn't sound honorable..."
"Hector-sama has a good plan."
Hector let them comment
"I see that almost everyone is on board with it. Later I will narrow down the ones that committed the most heinous crimes between them and get rid of them... Now..." Hector turns to the crowd of the Beast Pirates "I want all of you guys to accept me as your new captain."
He jumps off the stage and stays in front of the Higher-ups like the All-stars and the Tobiroppo.
"What?!"
"I will absorb you all on my 'Yonko crew'... Or better, Yamato will create the Neo Beast Pirates and you guys will be subordinates of my... eh, Hell Pirates." Hector thinks on the spot.
"Eeeh~ I don't wanna!" Yamato who is on stage whines
"Do this for me." Hector turns to her
"Fine." Yamato agrees easily.
"...Well, that's it. You are all my subordinates, okay?" Hector turns to the pirates
"Kill me..." King says slowly with his face down.
"Sure, boss! I will be the best subordinate that you can ask for!" Queen answers easily.
"..." Jack keeps himself silent.
On the Tobiroppos side, only Ulti says something
"Like hell, I will be your subordinate!! Go kill yourself, you bastard! I want Kaido-sama. You will never be Kaido-sama." Ulti shouts and tries to fight her restraints.
Well, time for the "example" to be made.
Hector's face goes cold, and the air together with it.
He raises his hand on the air and from the distance Kaido's Kanabo flies to his hand.
It's a little comical how he is holding it, his hand can't even close around that ring on the handle.
Without saying a word, Hector lowers the giant Kanabo in Ulti. Turning her into a bloody paste on the ground.
"!!!"
Some people shout at the display
"Are you confusing my kindness for weakness?" Hector asks in a low voice, but nonetheless, sends shivers down the spine of everyone present. "Grovel at my feet for this second chance, bitch."
"Ulti!!" Page One, Ulti's brother shouts "You basta-" *Puchi*
He was smeared on the ground too.
Like a gory and bizarre game of whack-a-mole, Hector moves to the All-stars and turns Queen and Jack into the mist of blood too.
"I like you, King... I know if you surrender, will be for real. Any chance you will do it?" Hector asks, the giant kanabo raised in the air by his arm
"No..." King answers resolutely
"Too bad..." *Puchi*
Hector moves back to the Tobiroppo "Any objection?"
Who's-who, Sasaki and Black Maria say nothing.
Hector with his powers can't feel disloyalty from them for now, but can't feel loyalty either. Only fear and acceptance.
"Good..." He nods to himself 'I have two months, I will kill the rebellious one after using them as work mules.'
He starts walking again to the front, this time turning to the people of Wano.
"Despite that, their crimes can't be easily forgotten. So... so that they can start anew some punishment must be delivered. What are you guys thinking about it?" He asks
Not even one second after his words left his mouth many suggestions were shouted.
"Whipped? That's a good idea... Fast and clean." Hector considers a particular suggestion and removes a 7-pronged whip from his inventory "How many lashes though?"
Some more discussions went through but they ended up settling with one unique lash seeing which is a 7-pronged whip.
"Well, Doji... Wants to make the honors?" Hector turns to the fat and pink-haired Red Scabbard and offers the whip.
"Will be my pleasure." Ashura Doji answers.
At the same time, Hector pulls a Random Beast pirate from the crowd and puts him ahead of the crowd.
The Random Beast pirate withers under the hateful gazes of the people of Wano.
"Well, if you survive this one you are good." Doji pulls his arm back and goes to deliver a strong blow.
The whip snaps, cutting the air, and hits the back...
Hector's back.
"!!!"
Faster than anyone could see Hector exchanged places with the pirate.
"Hector-san?" Doji asked shocked.
The others on the stage rise too. Hiyori puts her hand in front of her mouth, Saeko stands up fast too but stops herself from intervening.
Thankfully Hector didn't bring Machia here... If not...
"That is one... Continue..." Hector says like it was nothing.
At some point, he removed his Upper clothes and stayed unmoved with his arms crossed. Seven red marks start slowly appearing on his back.
"Hector-san??" Doji asks again
"I say continue... There's still 14.999 to go." Hector answers with a Stony face
"You can't receive the punishment for them..." Denjiro intervenes
"Obviously, I can... I'm they leader now. So it's my responsibility." Hector answers as a matter of fact.
"It's not your fault..." Someone in the crowd says weakly but Hector snaps and shouts at them.
"OBVIOUSLY IT IS!! FIRST RULE OF LEADERSHIP... EVERYTHING IS MY FAULT!!" He silences them
"..."
"These pieces of shit are my people now, so I will take the full responsibility.," Hector points back with his thumb "These trashes can't survive a strike. They still need to repent... They still need to continue living." Hector says
He turns to Doji again "Now... Continue... The same strength." Hector adds.
"I... I can't..." Ashura Doji trembles.
"Don't be a pussy. I can support you weak ass strikes like is nothing. This is a punishment for you too... Your arm will tire before me."
It took a lot of convincing but eventually, Ashura Doji restarted the lashes.
One...
Two...
Ten...
Twenty...
Hundred...
Thousand...
The sound of the whip cracking on the air and hitting Hector's flesh is the only sound heard even though thousands and thousands of people are present.
The display is heart-wrenching. At some point, the whip really breached Hector's skin, and blood started flowing in every blow.
Almost everyone is crying. The women clenching their chests. Even Rayleigh and others look solemn. He can understand the Hidden intentions, but it doesn't make it easier...
Saeko doesn't avoid her gaze even if she wants, even if she knows that this much is nothing.
Halfway through, Doji got tired and switched with Denjiro.
Hector remained still the whole process. Not making a sound or Moving a millimeter.
The sun eventually goes down... The sky gets red. It appears that even the sky is bleeding with Hector.
The scene is so strong. His back is bare flesh at this point, even some bonés being visible here and there...
14.000...
14.001...
14.002...
And goes on...
Even the Beast Pirates are touched by the display. They are united by strength. This act starts sprouting some seeds of loyalty on them...
At some point, the people start to make a countdown.
This will end with the 15.000 strikes, even though the number is not exact. No one cares... The point was made.
The people of Wano's hate for the Beast pirates is forgotten at this point.
And the last one is the slowest. The whip dances in the air and strikes Hector's back almost pathetically.
Denjiro is covered in sweat and has some tears in his eyes too.
"Whew~ That's a good massage..." Hector rolls his bloody shoulder and smiles broadly at them.
.....
"Is all that really necessary?" Saeko asks with a frown at the privacy of a room.
She is looking at Hector's healing back while she sits on the ground behind him.
"You, from all people, must know that this much is nothing..." Hector starts saying, facing away from Saeko.
"Liar. You lowered your defenses with whatever means you have... You can heal, but must have hurt nonetheless..." Saeko interrupts him while tracing her fingers above the angry wounds on his back.
"..." Hector can't argue against that "It was necessary." He finally says "People in this world are very emotional... A display like that united them a little. Made them forget they hate a little. If they still hold a heavy grudge or even act against the Beast Pirates, it's like pissing on my sacrifice. They are nice like that..." Hector explains.
"... All this for the enemy?"
"All this for the future. Working hands are a limited resource. This little act of mine created a path to they walk together in the future... After I'm not here anymore." Hector says
"..." Once again Saeko is a little flabbergasted at Hector's charisma and methods. He moved the hearts of dozens of thousands of people today. She would not be surprised if they worship the ground where he walks now.
'The world is not his yet because he doesn't want...' She thinks
She helps Hector bandage his torso completely.
"Are you not gonna heal yourself completely?" She asks
"Nah. Pain is a good reminder that I'm playing with people's lives and emotions." He says
"..." Saeko gives him a somewhat helpless glance "You're not the monster you think you are."
"..."
...
The door of the room where the two are staying slides open, and Hector leaves it to stumble on someone.
"Hiyori... Shouldn't you be enjoying the Festival?" Hector looks down on the princess of the country. She needs to start acting like one.
After all, there are two years before Momonosuke and the rest of the Scabbards appear. Hector feels a little guilty by the fact his actions dumped a lot on her small shoulders.
"Eh... Everyone is waiting for you, Hector-sama." She says fast "And... And... How are your injuries?" She asks, stuttering a little.
"..." Hector looks down to see a small compartment in her hands. The smell denounces that is some sort of ointment to wounds "I will survive. I'm tough." He smiles at her
"Is... is that so?" She looks at him, still worried.
"Please... I'm so strong that I need to relax my mind and think about nothing to allow these guys to hurt me. You as their princess should put them in a strict training regime." Hector jokes.
Despite herself, she laughs a little.
"..."
"..."
The situation turns a little awkward because she is blocking the path, without even noticing it.
"Eh..." Hector starts saying
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She exclaims "I.. I... I brought you some... some..." She stumbles with her words, flustered.
"Thank you. I appreciate it." Hector interrupts her embarrassment by grabbing her hands and gently taking the ointment from her hands.
"..." Hiyori looks up mesmerized at him and Hector simply smiles gently, while still holding her hand.
*Ahem*
Saeko interrupts the two and stares at them with a deadpan face.
"Well... The MVP needs to start the party apparently." Hector gives the two a wry smile before speed-walking away.
For some reason, he is missing fighting Kaido.
He didn't even look back to see how the two were looking at each other.
.....
The following days are hard.
For some reason, the position of Interim Shogun fell on Hector's hands.
But he doesn't mind, it's on his plans nonetheless.
"Now that I decide to save them, I'm going all the way and taking responsibility..." He said.
He needs to reconstruct the cities, restore the environment, cure the victims of Smile, and deal with the corrupt officers and traitors...
He has been busy.
But he didn't complain one a bit. To him, it's a small training to the day he has his own contr/planet/empire.
Isn't the reason he goes to these worlds using Travel Ticket to train and practice in certain things?
But right now, he is in a little of a strange situation
He is completely still, his mind "blue screened" and the tea that he was drinking falling from his mouth like a waterfall...
"Say what?" He asks
"Hector-sama... Could you please marry me and give me a child?" Hiyori asks, blushing.
....
A.N.:
Baby Mama number 2?
Will our MC spread his seed through the Omniverse?
Will he accept it? I'm still hasn't decided
"It's just a vacation trip without strings" -Hector
Till next time.
By the way, My Observation Haki was sharp and Bonney is really a 12 year old.
The Fbi will never catch me!!!
