Chapter 71: The Tower of Law

Chapter 77:

The Tower of Law

Wealth, fame, power.

Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates, obtained this and everything else the world had to offer, and his dying words sent countless souls to the seas:

"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you just have to find it!"

These words lured men to the Grand Line in pursuit of dreams greater than they'd ever dared to imagine. This is the time known as the Great Pirate Era!

"Tell us, Robin!" Luffy shouted. "What do you want?!"

"I..." Robin cried, tears pouring from her eyes the likes of which she had only experienced once before, but where those had been tears of loss, these were different. "I... I WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME OUT TO SEA WITH YOU! TAKE ME AWAY FROM HERE!"

Luffy smirked, the rest of the crew following in his example. "Understood."

The Franky Family had amazing timing. Just as the Straw Hats declared war on the World Government and Robin announced her wish, the drawbridge underneath them began lowering. The Marines, however, didn't want them to make it, a cannonball exploding at the base of the bridge. With the machines at the bottom broken, the bridge was frozen halfway open.

"Shitty Marines," Luffy cursed, taking a page out of Sanji's dictionary. "They're always getting in our way. Someone, plan!"

"Ahh!" On the other side of the gap, Franky had been pushed off the balcony for burning the blueprints of Pluton.

"Big Bro Franky!" the Franky Family cried from within the courthouse.

"Luffy!" Nami yelled. "Use a Gum-Gum Balloon to become a trampoline down there! Amy, use your powers to get over there and give us a hole!" Luffy nodded, hopping down onto the broken bridge where he began sucking in air. Amy reduced her weight and rocketed herself over the gap with her breath-dial-rigged umbrella. Increasing her mass at the last second, Amy smashed through the wall of the Tower of Law, opening a hole three floors high.

Zoro smirked as he jumped off the roof with a running start, bouncing off Luffy's inflated back. He caught Franky on his way past, giving the cyborg a not-very-pleasant landing. Sanji was next, followed by Coby who didn't quite stick the landing and fell on his face. Chopper followed, Nami and Grace forcing him to carry them both. Gin was last, choosing to jump since he could not lightning-travel yet. Luffy joined them with a single stretch of his arms.

"Alright!" Luffy cheered, flipping into a perfect landing as he skidded to a stop. "I'm going to go kick their asses and take Robin back!"

"Hold on, Luffy!" Zoro ordered, he and Gin each grabbing one side of their captain's face. The teen's cheeks stretched, but he did not move forward despite his attempts.

"What strange people, chapapa," a voice said. The crew panicked until Usopp spotted the speaker, Fukurou, holding himself up in a corner of the room. "You will never be able to save your friend. She's being guarded by Lucci while she's led to the Gate of Justice and the rest of us stall you, chapapa. Why did I tell them that, chapapa?"

"Plot convenience?" Gin suggested.

"This guy isn't very bright," Chopper muttered.

"Is that a zipper?" Amy questioned.

"Where is Robin?" Zoro demanded.

"Getting out of your reach," Fukurou taunted. "Even if you do get her back, you won't be able to free her without beating all of us, chapapa. Just, give me a second." Mumbling, the maybe-human agent reached into his suit and dug out a key with a 4 of it. "This might be the key you need to free Nico Robin from her Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, chapapa. Why did I say that, chapapa?"

"That's good to know," Coby commented.

"Give it to us!" Luffy roared, his arm stretching to destroy the bricks where the agent had been. Fukurou dodged with the use of Shave, landing by the opening in the wall.

"Even if you defeat me, you don't know if this is the key you need, chapapa. There are five of us with keys, after all. Why did I say that, chapapa?" Luffy threw another Gum-Gum Pistol at the rotund agent who vanished in a blur. He did not reappear.

"So there are 11 of us, including Franky," Nami counted. "That guy said there were five agents with keys and that the Pigeon Guy Lucci was guarding Robin."

"Robin!" Luffy shouted, running off before his crew could stop him.

"Dumbass," Nami complained.

"And yet, you're the one dating him," Amy noted.

"I know," the navigator sighed. "As much of a moron as he can be, I trust that Luffy will be able to save Robin."

"You mean you think he knows what he's doing?" Usopp asked, surprised.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Kyahahaha," Amy laughed.

"Anyway," Gin entered. "There are now ten of us and five of them. The best plan would be to split into pairs and hunt them down.

"Good idea," Sanji agreed.

"I'll take Coby!" Grace called before her sister could speak up.

"I'll go with the Donna," Gin supplied. When Sanji moved to argue, he added, "Her weather-based attacks would have no effect on me."

"I want Zoro!" Usopp cried, causing Chopper to try to argue to no avail.

"Amy-chwan can come with me!" Sanji swooned, leaving Chopper with the cyborg.

"Go!" Nami ordered, leaving no room for argument. Grabbing their decided partners, the duos dispersed to find opponents to fight, only a slightly-fearful Chopper remaining with Franky.

"Come on, Racoon-Dog Bro," Franky sighed. "We need to find the kitchens so I can refuel on Cola."

"I'm a reindeer!" Chopper yelled. "Why do we need Cola?"

"I'm a cyborg," Franky offered, showing off some of his machines. "I run off of Cola, but I'm down to less than a third of my stock." He indicated his pompadour which had started drooping. "I can't fight effectively like this."

"That's so cool!" Chopper gushed, too awed by the fact that the man was a cyborg to be afraid of him anymore.

"Come on, Reindeer Bro. Let's go!"

Zoro and Usopp

Usopp had no idea how they managed to find one of the agents with Zoro's sense of direction. Truth be told, he'd hoped that they wouldn't find anybody so they wouldn't have had to fight. But now, he was bravely taking cover (read cowering) behind the green-haired swordsman as said swordsman stared down the former shipwright in a chair.

Kaku's room looked more like a study, the walls lined with bookshelves. The long-nosed agent was seated in a plush red armchair with a book in his hand and a sword on either side of him. He was dressed in all black, right down to his black baseball cap.

"You pirates are stronger than I gave you credit for," Kaku admitted, closing his book. He stood and reached for his swords, causing Usopp to raise his shaking weapon. "To make it this far is very impressive."

"Hey, you bastard!" Usopp shouted from behind Zoro. "Is what you said about the Merry true?!"

"Oh," Kaku blinked. "I didn't see you there, Long-Nose."

"You're one to talk about having a long nose," Zoro grunted.

"And the Merry was your ship, was it not?" Kaku continued, ignoring the older of the two pirates. "I'm afraid I was telling the truth. We may have been undercover, but we took our jobs very seriously." A single sniffle worked its way out of the sniper, the agent's trained ears being the only reason he heard. "Listen, kid. I know you loved that ship, but, if y'all do somehow manage to survive and save Nico Robin, you'll have to let her go... Your ship, I mean."

"Why are you being so mushy?" Zoro questioned, pointing Kitetsu III at the man.

"Sorry," Kaku replied with a surprised blink. "Old habits. I liked the shipwright job more than Lucci ever did. Anyway," the agent's entire demeanor changed, becoming serious, "shall we begin our fight?"

"Bring it on," Zoro growled, placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and unsheathing Yubashiri.

"Just so you know, I'm the best swordsman out of all the Cipher Pols." In a flash, Kaku had pulled out his blades and was running toward the two pirates. Zoro reacted in kind, leaving Usopp behind to meet the agent blow for blow. After an intense 30 seconds, the two spun apart to stare each other down.

"Two Sword Style," Zoro noted. "Just like my student."

"I'm afraid you're wrong," Kaku denied, stabbing his swords into the floor beside him and lifting his feet. Silently, he launched twin Tempest Kicks as the swordsman who batted them aside with his swords. The two slashes cut into the bookshelves behind the pirate, causing all the books to fall to the floor. "I use Four Sword Style. Tempest Kick."

"I guess your whole body is a weapon, isn't it?" Zoro launched forward, Kaku following in his example as the two met for another harsh battle. Usopp stayed by the door, trying and failing to get a clean shot. Kaku broke away from Zoro, jumping into the air.

"Tempest Kick!"

"72 Caliber Phoenix!" The two attacks met in the middle, canceling each other out with a shockwave that shook the room.

"Moonwalk. Shave." The agent vanished, jumping around the room until he came to rest on his swords stabbed in the wall. "Tempest Kick: Butcher." A hail of flying slashes descended upon the green-haired man, the agent having forgotten about his other enemy. Zoro's eyes narrowed as he concentrated on deflecting the attacks. Though the slashes began destroying the room, Usopp found a perfect shot and tried to take it.

"Special Attack: Gunpowder Star!" Kaku flipped out of the way of the pellet that exploded, putting a hole in the wall where he had been. Silently musing that he could have easily survived that, the agent turned back to his foes.

"Good golly, y'all are being difficult. I suppose I'll have to take this up a notch? There's something I want to try." Suddenly, Kaku's form began to change, his neck elongating and two blunt horns breaking out of the top of his hat. Brown spots began forming all over his now-yellow skin and his mouth extended outward. Finally, a tail freed itself from his backside as his whole body grew. "Beware my power, for-!"

Kaku didn't get to finish his sentence as the weakened floor began to crumble under the weight.

Coby and Grace

"Finally," Coby muttered, carefully closing the door to the garden room. "We found one. He's sleeping and left the key out in the open. Should we avoid a fight?"

Grace nodded. "You're still in bad shape from fighting that other guy. Let me go in and get the key." Without waiting for a response, Grace pulled open the door. Taking note of a sleeping Jabra lying on his side, a sleep bubble coming from his nose and the key in front of him, the little redhead (who was, in actuality, the same height as their adversary) tip-toed forward. About halfway to her target, a small rooster walked into her path and stopped. It turned to her, making eye contact, and opened its mouth.

"Colors Trap," the girl whispered. "Calming Green." The bird closed its mouth and wandered off, a small yawn escaping and its back feathers stained green. Grace let out a sigh of relief. She continued forward before stopping suddenly. Her eyes widened as the thing's sound reached her eyes.

Bzzzzz

With a silent scream, Grace flailed and ran, avoiding the small yellow-and-black dot following her.

"Grace!" Coby panicked, running in and forgetting about the need for stealth. "Grace, what's wrong?" Running to him, Grace pull the boy around so he was firmly between her and the little bug.

"I'm deathly allergic to bees," she explained in a frightened whisper. "I have medicine back on the ship, but I didn't bring it since I didn't think I'd need it." Pulling out a single sword, Coby cut the offending insect in two.

"Hahahaha!" Jabra laughed, now awake and eyeing the youngest pirates as if they were each a snack. "When I went to sleep, I was wondering how I was going to wake up. I was hoping it would be that dopey-ass-looking sniper of yours, but I'll take two brats as well!"

"Can you really call me a brat?" Coby questioned. "You may be older, but I'm taller than you are." Jabra shut his mouth, his height seeming to a sore topic. He growled as his form shifted, growing taller than Coby. Grey fur sprouted across his body and his nails sharpened to deadly points.

"The Dog-Dog Fruit: Model Wolf," Jabra explained. "Like wolves, I prefer clean kills. I rip out your jugular, you die quickly and with little pain." The pirates stared at him blankly. "...What, nothing? No reaction? Eh, fine then. I guess I'll go for the girl first!"

"You won't touch her," Coby responded with ice in his tone, his own transformation causing the agent's eyes to widen. "The Ancient Zoan: Model Triceratops. A little bit stronger than a wolf, wouldn't you say?"

"You smug little bastard."

"Still taller than you."

With a growl, Jabra launched himself forward, only Coby's reaction speed allowing him to grab Grace and roll away.

"You're pretty fast for a fat dinosaur," Jabra laughed. "Maybe this'll be more fun than I thought it would be." However, before he could go on, the ceiling caved in, three forms falling from the room above.

"Zoro-sensei!" Coby gasped. "Usopp! And, is that a giraffe?"

"It looks like a giraffe," Grace agreed, choosing to not mention that Coby was still holding on to her.

"Damn it!" the giraffe cursed. "I meant to go into my Man-Beast Form, but I messed up on the man part!"

"Ahhahaha!" the wolf-man laughed, pointing at the long-necked animal in black clothes. "The Ox-Ox Fruit: Model Giraffe! Could you have gotten a lamer power? I told you not to eat that Devil Fruit, but you did anyway! Hahaha!"

"Shut up!" the ungelate yelled at the wolf-man. "You don't know the full destructive power of a giraffe!"

"That's still so stupid!"

"Giraffes are awesome," the animal stated, eyes narrowing. "I fucking love giraffes." (Actual translation)

"Uh, Kaku?" Coby asked, recognizing the voice. "Is that you?"

"Oh, Coby, right?"

"Did you just eat your Devil Fruit?"

"About an hour ago," the agent admitted, ignoring his still-laughing fellow agent. "I'm still working out the kinks."

"I know how that feels," Coby agreed with a nod. "I fell out of a tree, and then got my horns stuck in said tree, when I got mine."

"You never told us that," Usopp put in. "We just watched you keep getting stuck after our fight with Mr. 3 and Mr. 5. And are we interrupting something?"

"Huh?" He looked down, seeing Grace still securely in his arms from when they had dodged Jabra's first attack. Strangely enough, she wasn't trying to get out. "Sorry, Grace! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" He led go quickly and backed up.

"Ahhahaha!" Jabra continued to laugh.

"We have I comrade to save," Zoro finally growled. "Can we get this moving?"

"Oh, right," Kaku blinked. "Now behold, my Man-Beast Form!" His neck shrunk just a little bit, the front of his body losing its brown spots. His snout flattened, extending into a larger version of his square nose. He stood up on his back legs, his front turning into hand-like hooves.

"Ahahaha!" Everyone in the room laughed except for two people.

"You look so stupid!" Jabra added.

"Hey!" Surprisingly, it was Coby that spoke up. "Don't mock a Zoan's Hybrid Mode!"

"Of course, you would say that!" Usopp laughed. "You're the one with pink hair coming out of your neck!"

"Lay off his appearance!" Kaku defended. "It's not about how it looks, but how effective it is!"

"Thank you!" Coby shouted. "Finally, someone said it!"

"Don't worry, Little Man. I got you on this." With tears of a bond formed through understanding, Coby and Kaku locked their hands together in a sign of friendship.

"...Wow," Grace blinked. "Bromance on the battlefield. Never thought I'd see that."

"Shrimp!" Zoro yelled. "Stop flirting with the enemy!"

"I don't swing that way!" both Coby and Kaku yelled, separating.

"Either way, we don't have time to be friends," Zoro grunted. "We have to beat them and get their keys."

"Right, sorry," Coby apologized.

"Too bad, Little Man," Kaku said. "I like you, but that doesn't mean I'll just step aside and let you take my key."

"Yeah, nothing personal."

"Coby, let me take him," Zoro stated, readying his swords. "You wouldn't be able to go all out against him."

"Alright," his student agreed, bending down to change into his full dinosaur form. "Grace?"

"I'm here," the girl responded, jumping up onto Coby's neck. "Let's skin this wolf."

End of Chapter 77

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-SwordOfTheGods