Chapter 175

Jinbe put something in his ear and ran towards Black Maria.

'Dodge left.'

Jinbe immediately jumped to the left, dodging a spider web shot out by Black Maria.

'It looks like it'd be troublesome to get hit by those, so make sure that I don't, Van Augur.'

'You got it. Punch the ground under you at full power.'

Jinbe immediately struck the ground creating a crater and sending pieces of rock flying into the air.

'Use those pieces to distract her and then try to get behind her.'

He started punching the flying pieces towards Black Maria, but she used her webs to shoot them back. However, she had already lost track of Jinbe.

"Shark Tile True Punch!"

He appeared behind her and punched her on her back, making her scream in pain and crash into the ground.

'Keep attacking, or she'll fight back!'

'I know, these zoan types are strong, but in front of this attack, defenses are useless.'

"Shark Tile True Punch"

He punched her on her back again and again. Shark Tile True Punch; a powerful straight punch that transmits the force of the impact through the water in a person's body, enabling the strike to bypass a person's defenses; even those of devil fruit users.

"Maria!" screamed Ulti as she ran towards Jinbe headfirst, trying to knock him down. But she suddenly fell down on her face. She looked at her legs in shock. "I'm going to kill you, you sniper bastard!"

Jinbe didn't let up his attacks, knowing that he can trust his back to Van Augur even though he is injured. He kept punching her back till she wasn't able to move and finished it off with an attack to her head, blowing it into pieces. Van Augur also finished off his opponent with a headshot, meaning that two of the six Tobiroppo have fallen.

"They went down easier than expected. Your Future Sight sure is handy. Let's get back to the ship. We have done our part so let's rest and get you treated."

Van Augur nodded, and both of them headed back to the ship. Where they found Robert, Paulie, and Tani playing a card game.

"Wow, what happened to you, Van Augur? They got you good," said Paulie.

"It was just fated to happen."

"Come with me, that patch job that you have now looks horrible."

"I did my best," said Jinbe with an embarrassed face.

"Haha, sorry about that Jinbe, I'm just stating the facts."

"Tsk, give me that." Jinbe snatched the cards from Paulie and sat down. Van Augur started following Paulie to Deuce's office when he suddenly stopped.

"Tani, you sense that too, right?" asked Van Augur.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it."

"Be careful." Paulie and Van Augur disappeared into the ship, and the other three kept playing cards.

"What was he talking about?" asked Robert.

"Oh, there is a strong guy coming. Probably one of Kaido's guys. And since he is stronger than any of the Tobiroppo here, he must be an All-Star."

"An All-Star, huh. From what I remember, Jack is the one that leaves Wano the most. The other two haven't left that place for a while, so it's probably Jack. But if King or Queen were to appear here, it could get ugly quick," said Robert.

"I'm sure that we can take care of it," said Brook, who just appeared on the ship.

"That was quick. Did you already take out all of those chess soldiers? There were at least a thousand there," said Robert.

"Well, I found out that I could overpower them with my Devil Fruit, and they would fall dead, so that made things go smoothly."

"You and your stupidly overpowered fruit."

"You're one to talk."

"Mine won't bring me back to life."

"Touché."

"Do you want to join us? It seems like Captain will be at it for a while. Big Mom doesn't seem to be hurt or anything like that. Even her anger has disappeared," said Tani.

"I'd love to." Brook sat down and joined in. "Even though Big Mom doesn't seem to be really hurt, neither does Ken. I'm sure that Ken will come out on top."

---

"I give up! Please spare me!"

"Be quiet, and let me beat you to death."

Akari is in his Sabertooth form fighting against Page One in his Spinosaurus form. Page One is covered with bite and claw marks all over his body. It's a surprise that he is still standing. Page One knowing that he has no chance of winning and will most definitely die if this fight goes on, tried to plead for his life, but all that he received as an answer was another claw mark.

"Thud!"

Page One fell on his back unconscious.

'I expected more from him, but whatever.'

Akari moved in to finish him off when Page One's eyes suddenly opened, and he jumped up. His eyes looked bloodshot, and he suddenly started releasing a pressure that Akari wasn't expecting. What he also wasn't expecting was a tail to the cheek, sending his massive body flying through the air. Before he hit the ground, he got hit by a punch from above, sending him crashing into the ground.

Before Page One could punch him again, Akari had already transformed into his small speed form and disappeared from there. Akari looked at Page One's eyes.

'He looks to be unconscious, but he can clearly still move. It must be his instincts controlling his body. The pressure he is releasing is definitely much stronger than what he was releasing previously. I'll have to go all out!'

"RROAAR!"

Akari transformed back into his huge attack form and ran towards Page One. Akari tried to bite him, but he got hit by an uppercut creating a shockwave that sent everything around them flying. But Akari didn't seem affected. He swung one of his claws at Page One's head, but he got countered by a headbutt before he could hit him.

Akari stumbled back, and Page One immediately punched towards Akari's face.

"Chomp!"

"RRROAAAAR!!!"

Akari spits out a hand from his mouth, which is now covered in blood, making him look even more terrifying. He looked at Page One as his eyes started turning back to normal, and he looked to be conscious again.

Seeing a chance, Akari pounced at Page One, tackling him onto the floor and standing above him with a claw on Page One's face.

"Any last words?"

"It's too bad that I can't see your face when my Captain kills yours."

"Don't worry, I'm doing you a favor by killing you before you see your Captain's head in my Captain's hand." After saying that, Akari bit down on his throat, taking out a massive chunk and letting him choke to death on his own blood. Both Akari and Page One turned back to their normal forms. Akari turned around and started walking back to the ship while cleaning his face from the blood.

'He was way too weak. Being stronger while unconscious means that you haven't mastered your powers. Sigh, so disappointing. But I did it for Captain, so I can't complain.'

When Akari made it back to the ship, Laffitte and Ace had also made it back.

"Damn, you were really acting like a Sabertooth out there, Akari," said Ace.

"Why wouldn't I use all the weapons I have access to?"

"You never fought like that when we were sparing so I was surprised."

"Of course not, I wouldn't want to hurt any of my friends."

"Don't tell me that you have been holding back against me!"

Akari just smiled at the pissed-off Ace.

"You're just like that Who's Who guy. He had the Ankylosaurus fruit and was boasting about his strong defense. He didn't attack me because he wanted to try and tire me out, not believing that I could burn through his armor."

(I know that Who's Who originally had the Saber Tiger fruit, but I had already given it to Akari before Who's Who even existed. So I gave Who's Who the Ankylosaurus fruit instead.)

"I can smell that you proved him wrong," said Akari.

"Hell yeah, I showed that fucker who's boss. And when we get back, I'll have to teach you who's boss too."

"Oh no, I'm scared," said Akari in a sarcastic voice.

"You bastard!"

Jinbe quickly held back Ace before he could attack Akari.

"Save it for when we get back home, Ace," said Jinbe.

"Tsk, I'll remember this Akari."

"How did your fight go, Laffitte?" asked Robert

"Sasaki had the Triceratops fruit, which was pretty strong."

"Let me guess, he was pretty strong so you started playing with him till he killed himself."

"Keke. You know me well, Robert."

"I wish I didn't."

"Sigh." Tani stood up and put his cards down. "It seems like it's my time to join in." Everyone looked at an incoming ship with the Beast Pirates Jolly Roger. A huge man with two huge horns and tusks was standing on the front of the ship, releasing immense pressure.

"Tsk, why do you get all the fun opponents. You lucky bastard," said Ace.

"I don't know. Strong seeks strong I guess," said Tani as he jumped off the ship. Ace looked like he was about to explode, but one stare from Laffitte stopped him in his tracks.

'Akari and Tani, your days are numbered.'

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Quotes:

"The first strike is of course the most important, but your next move matters too. Against a powerful foe, your first blow is likely to be dodged, so the precision with which you can land your second and third blows can decide the fight"

- Karasuma Tadaomi (Ansatsu Kyoushitsu)

"They say that the brightest spark burns best when circumstances are at their worst"

- Sophie Hatter (Howl's Moving Castle)

"It's just you. You're just overlooked up on stage, nameless and only with failed lines. I'll tell you one last thing. Minor rat, to wish for something, and work toward that, is to be yourself"

- Licht Jekylland Todoroki (Servamp)