Chapter 106: ¡Hola, Amigos!

I would like to apologize early to any of my fans who actually know any Spanish. All I have to go on is two outdated high school Spanish classes and Google translate, so I'm sure some or most of the Spanish in this chapter is inaccurate. I'm so sorry.

Chapter 110:

¡Hola, Amigos!

The pirates enjoyed the party the villagers of Little East Blue had thrown for them until a massive explosion tore through their conversations. All attention was dragged toward a stout man in luchador clothing, said man duel-wielding a pair of giant, five-barreled miniguns. Behind him in a single file line were mariachi-dressed men, each with a rifle aimed at the islanders.

"¡Hola, Hijos de Putas!" the man in the front called. "Bring out ze beetle and no one will die!"

There was no movement after his declaration, the shock holding the natives in place. The man seemed disappointed at the lack of response. His eyes narrowing at the islanders, his swapped out his minigun on one hand for four shakers. He tossed them into the air, unexpected force sending the percussion accessories flying out toward the beach where they exploded into a plume of fire and smoke.

The islanders jumped at the sonic boom the explosion caused, part of a sign falling from the sky along with with a frying pan. It could have said BA or RA, but there was no mistaking the blue-on-yellow of Little East Blue's replica Baratie, the main causality of the bombs.

A man in chefwear by the name of Mitsuboshi stared at the rubble as if it were a slain child, his feet carrying him beside it. He fell to his knees and cradled the singed wood, several tears leaking from his eyes before they were suddenly replaced with rage. He grabbed the frying pan and launched himself at the attacking band.

"Hey, wait!" Sanji tried, but it was too late. A single grunt turned his gun on the chef and fired, lodging a bullet in the native's shoulder. The force sent him sprawling, grasping at the wound as blood stained his white shirt. Sanji ran up to him, checking over his health with what little first aid Chopper had drilled into each of the pirates.

"Now that I 'ave your attentión and that ze distraction 'as been dealt with, ¡hola, víctimas! You are now under siege by ze notorious Amigo Pirates! You 'ave two optiones! Either you bring us ze giant beetle, or we kill one of you every five minutes until you do! Or until you're all dead. Honestly? I don't care either way. ¡No me importa!"

"How dare you!" a human Coby yelled. "You better beat it off this island before we beat you off!"

"Oh?" the man chuckled. "Look at this, boys! This niño rosado has the balls to call us out!" Several of the grunts laughed.

"Who are we dealing with, Shrimp?" Zoro yawned from the middle of the crater-filled field he, Sanji, and Usopp had been fighting in. Usopp bravely cowered behind him, his slingshot Kabuto aimed at the attacking pirates.

"That's Corto of the Amigo Pirates," Coby stated, the named man stumbling in surprise. "These guys would be more than enough for this peaceful island if we weren't here, but it looks like their captain is missing. Between Corto here and his brother Largo, their crew only has 65 million to its name."

"Eh, not worth my time," Zoro shrugged, much to Corto's ire. "You can take them, Shrimp. They add up to your bounty anyway. Now someone get me a drink."

"¿Quién crees que eres, bastardo?" Corto demanded. "Who do you think you are to challenge us?"

"Hey, Coby," Luffy interjected. "You wanna take these guys? They're distracting me from my meat and ruining our party."

"Why not?" the rosette shrugged as he began marching toward the pirates. "I wouldn't mind a test of my skills."

"Not without me, you aren't!" Merry called, rushing out from behind a tree. Yoko stumbled after her, crying "No don't! You'll get yourself killed!"

"Hey, Merry," Coby greeted, meeting the girl's fist with his own. "You want the grunts or Short And Ugly?"

"I'm right here!" Corto yelled.

"My last fight was a one-on-one," Merry responded. "I don't mind trying my luck against the grunts."

Corto's anger shifted to satirical humor, the man throwing his head back to laugh. "Hahaha! This is ze best this island can throw at us? Two little children? Eso es decepcionante."

"I don't know what you just said," Coby admitted, "but I feel insulted."

"He called us disappointing," Merry offered. "Robin knows a language similar, so I can understand it well enough, too." She turned the pirates. "¡Oi, chico! ¡Tu madre era un hámster y tu padre olía a saúco!"

"What did you say about me madre? I'll skin you alive!"

"Change of plans," Coby shrugged. "Have fun!" He transformed into his Dino Mode and charged the line of mariachi men before they could react, crushing a half-dozen into unconsciousness before the others could ready their weapons. Corto didn't seem to care about that, his eyes fixed the white-haired girl who had insulted his parents.

"Eat lead, puta!" he yelled, his five-barrel shotguns whirling into action. Merry rolled out of the way, the ground she had been standing on exploding behind her.

"Merry!" Usopp gasped, moving toward the battle. Zoro stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"She's a big girl and a pirate, Usopp," he said, taking a mug of ale from a villager who offered it. "Let Merry fight her own battles."

Merry danced around Corto's bullets, rope falling endlessly from the sleeves of her red dress. Realistically, Merry should not have been able to carry that much rope without anyone noticing, a fact made evident by the dropped jaws of the islanders, but Merry's ball of rope continued to grow until it was half her size.

Corto began to sweat a little from a combination of the heat of his guns and the intimidation factor of a little girl swinging around the equivalent of a giant flail of ship rope. The klabautermann rushed forward, her lean form dodging each volley of ammunition her opponent threw at her. A couple of bullets shot through Merry's ball of rope, but its fibers were too dense for the projectiles to do any real damage.

"Meirda!" Corto cursed, the barrels of his guns glowing red. He was forced to stop his assault by the overheat of his weapons, but this only gave Merry an advantage.

"Gordian's Knot!" she yelled, spinning around to smash her woven weapon into Corto's side. He let out a cry as the ball bashed him to the right, laying him flat over a trio of downed mariachis.

"That hurt, bitch," the luchador growled, pushing himself to his feet in a showing of resilience. "I don't know who you think you are, but así que ayúdame, I will kill you for getting in our way."

"I just knocked you around like a piñata," Merry rebuffed with a smirk. "Do you really think I'm scared of a one-trick pony like you?" She paused. "Wait, I'm sorry. I misspoke. One-trick phony!"

Coby barked out a laugh from somewhere to Merry's right, his humor overtaking the sound of a grunt's grunt of pain.

"Grrr," Corto growled, lowering his weight to charge. He did just that, his guns still glowing as he rushed forward faster than Merry expected. Suddenly worried, Merry pulled her ball-of-rope between them as a shield. Corto slammed into it without time to dodge. His hands all but stuck in the rope, the glowing barrels making the surrounding fibers blacken and smoke. Corto noticed this just as a small flame bloomed into existence and began eating away at the Gordian Knot. Scowling, Corto kicked the now-burning wrecking ball back toward its origin.

"Shit!" Merry cursed, diving out of the way.

"Language!" Usopp demanded, Zoro whacking him in the back of the head.

The ball rolled past the klabautermann, bumping into a table. Coming out of her roll, Merry glanced back. She was ready to take control of of her weapon again, but the tablecloth next to it caught fire, the heat between it and the rope making the fire between them leap up. Her brow furrowed as Corto laughed.

"Hahaha! ¿Y ahora qué? What will you do now, girl?"

"Coby! Switch!"

"Aye!"

Large he may be, but Corto was no novice when it came to fighting. Therefore, he was not caught off guard by the stampeding dinosaur that tried to tackle him. As Coby sped past, the luchadore breathed out an instinctual "olé," the word getting out just before the Cretaceous creature batted him with his tail.

"I'm getting real tired of this," Corto muttered as he rubbed his sore stomach, Merry running past him to deal with his remaining lackeys. Coby twisted around, transitioning smoothly from four to two feet as he changed into his Hybrid Mode.

"So am I," Coby responded, unsheathing his swords from a crouched position. "'Ten Barrel' Corto of the Amigo Pirates, wanted for 28 million Beris. You're nothing compared to our crew."

"And why is that, brat?"

"You don't know who are are, do you?" Coby questioned, ducking as an unconscious mariachi flew over his head. "Let me spell it out for you. That girl you were fighting? She's 'Ghost Ship' Going Merry, wanted for 15 million, and she has the lowest bounty of everyone in our crew. Last we heard, the rest of us range from 20 and 300, our top three bounties are over 100 million." The blood drained from Corto's face. "We're the Straw Hat Pirates, and you're getting on our bad sides." Coby charged forward, punching Corto before he could raise his guns.

While Corto went one way, Merry came back from the other, trapped in a net of thorns, stems, and roses.

"Hijo de puta!" she cursed as she hit the ground, the thorns digging into her back. Scowling, she ate her way through the net, wincing at the points. The man that had put her in the net stood next to the downed form of Corto, frowning.

The man seemed to personify length, every part of him naturally stretched. He was tall and thin with a long, pointed chin. Beneath his long nose was a thin mustache and upon his dark hair was a large blue sombrero. His clothing matched that of Corto and a large guitar was slung across his shoulder. He hummed sadly, strumming his guitar.

"Mi hermano pobre," the man sniffed. "My poor, poor brother. Whoever could have done this to you? Your sad, sad state is leaving me melancholy." His face suddenly twisted into a snarl as his strumming stopped, one foot kicking Corto in the side. "Get up, you fool. We don't have time for this."

"Y-Yes, Bro!" Corto whimpered, rolling over and pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm not sure he knows what 'melancholy' means," Coby muttered. Off in the distance, Robin shivered, growing angry over the misuse of words. She wasn't quite sure why.

"Oi, Coby," Merry grunted. "Who's this clown?"

"Pointed chin and context clues say this is Captain Largo of the Amigo Pirates. He's wanted for 37 million and has a Devil Fruit."

"You don't say?" Merry snarked, gesturing to the net she had eaten her way out of. "So 28 and 37, right? That's 65 in total." She smirked. "Now they have a chance against one of us."

"Let's not get cocky," Coby warned, eyeing the brothers who did the same in return. "Captain Luffy has beaten enemies with bounties far higher than his own. These two could simply be underestimated by the Marines."

"Who cares about that?" Merry smirked. "If they can take us on, then they might be worthy of fighting Uncle Usopp and Chopper on even ground. Besides, you and I haven't pulled out the big guns, yet."

"Speaking of guns, move!" The rosette and the fairy dove to opposite sides, bullets from Corto's guns ripping apart the ground. His guns chased them, each hand following one of their paths. Largo smirked at this and downed a pitcher of boiling water (where he got it was a mystery).

"Agua Caliente Net!" Quickly, he spat out a net of steaming water at Coby who vanished with a cry of "shave!" The young man blurred, one grey-green fist all but materializing in Largo's gut. The pirate captain wheezed, the sound catching Corto's attention.

"Big Bro, are you alright?" the shorter man asked, forgetting their other adversary. Merry took this break in the bulletstream to pivot on her feet and charge Corto.

"Three Point Carve!" she yelled, roundhouse kicking his face, bending down to kick up into his gut, and then slamming her horns into his chest. Corto let out a gasp, the air knocked from his lungs by the blow. Unfortunately, Corto was made of sterner stuff than Merry had though, the pirate bearhugging the girl before she could get out. He squeezed.

"Aaahh!" Merry fake screamed before smirking. "Poof." She dissolved, leaving behind nothing but clothes and rope piled over a wooden heart.

"¿Qué?" Corto demanded. He'd never squeezed someone into nonexistence before.

"Sorpressa, cabrón," Merry's voice hissed with venomous delight, her form rematerializing within her clothing. She jumped upward, her horns making contact with Corto's chin. The blow gave him whiplash, the sudden force rolling his eyes into the back of his head. He crumpled, Merry standing over his form and doing a mocking victory dance as rope slithered out of her clothing to tie up Corto. She managed to just finish as a metal net with small needles encircled her, knocking her off and out of the fight. "Not again, dammit!"

"Merry!" Coby called, his swords deflecting a similar net as the one that trapped the klabautermann. Largo glared at the young man he was fighting and spat a net of mucus at him. The rosette blurred with a cry of "Shave!" and reappeared far to his right. Largo shot another net at him. And another. And another. The cycle repeated, nets of various substances slowly overtaking the natural ground and limiting where Coby could stand. Finally having enough, Coby cut through the next net of plant and thorns.

"Shave: Unseen Disaster!" Largo didn't have time to react, the flat sides of each of Coby's swords impacted each side of his head. The rival pirate's head rung, the trauma dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

The islanders rejoiced as the party renewed itself with full swing. Though Largo seemed to be unconscious, his nets remained solid, leaving Merry stuck in her painful containment. That wouldn't last long as Usopp rushed over, the girl he'd all but claimed as a daughter dissolving once more. The sniper reached into the net with reckless worry. The needles on the net stabbed his fingers, drawing blood but not deterring him in the slightest. He pulled Merry's Heart and clothing from the net, allowing the girl to reform herself again. Fully aware of Yoko watching, Merry flung her arms around the pirate's neck with a cry of "Uncle Usopp!"

Yoko watched the battle and the resulting celebration with mixed feelings. It was nice that Merry wasn't hurt at all and the attacking pirates were easily defeated, but her pirate stigma, the one thing she had trusted most in the world, was slowly crumbling.

Sure, the thought had crossed her mind that the Straw Hats were still biding their time before their attack, but that brought up the question of why they would go through such lengths to defend the island first. Wouldn't it be easier for them to to have let the Amigos run wild and steal the plunder later? And Merry had made it clear that the Straw Hats weren't the "plunder and raid" type of pirates, something Yoko wasn't sure she believed or not. It was all to confusing!

"Why are you doing this?" she blurted, her voice causing the party to come to a screeching halt. "Why did you protect us?"

"Cause you were nice to us and we wanted to," Luffy answered after a moment's pause, two legs of meat in his hands. "Guys like that aren't real pirates. They're just assholes. Real pirates do what they want for the adventure, not for treasure."

"I- but-" Yoko stammered. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Don't think about it too much," Nami insisted as Usopp, Merry, and Coby returned. Merry separated from the bunch, grabbing Yoko's arm and leading her away.

"I'm gonna talk with Yoko!" she called over her shoulder. "Be back later!"

"Have fun!" Luffy called as the two girls vanished into the trees only a minute before Boss the Beetle, larger and more powerful than before, landed on the hillside, his battle cry shifting to a confused rumble when no challenge appeared.

"Oh hey, Beetle," Luffy laughed. "Let's fight!"

The first seven members of the Straw Hat Pirates waved at the island in the distance, Little East Blue becoming a spot in the distance. The rest of the crew, sans Merry and Amy, watched on with confused smiles. The weren't quite sure what had happened, but they felt like they'd missed something.

End of Chapter 110

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-SwordOfTheGods