Chapter 117: Iron Mask Duval

Chapter 121:

Iron Mask Duval

"OOOHHHH~! The islands in the north are snowy, and their heads get really cold~!"

"Luffy-chin has been singing that song for a while now," Camie observed from a seat on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, a drink in her hand courtesy of Sanji. "Hasn't he sung about snow three times, now?"

"He's fine," Nami waved off next to the mermaid, her gaze watching her husband's back from where he rocked back and forth in his captain's seat. Billy was sleeping next to her with a dopey grin, the captain's wife's petting causing one of his legs to kick randomly. "He's a goof most of the time, and an absolute moron, but he pulls through when it counts. You don't have to worry; we'll save your friend. But first, tell me, did your friend use to be a pirate?"

"How did you know?" Camie questioned.

"Just a hunch," Nami shrugged, covering her shiver.

"Well, he was," the mermaid nodded, tilting her head in thought. "He came back several months ago and said he was putting all the pirating behind him. He was really hurt, so Paupagu and I helped him get better. He said owning a takoyaki stand had always been his dream, so we agreed to help him."

Nami almost envied the green-haired girl; to have grown up and be able to be so naive would have been a life of luxury, but she couldn't help smiling at her past. Arlong had made her life a living Hell, there was no denying that, but that torture had led her to Luffy and the crew. Looking around the ship and the crew as they sailed toward the Fish Riders' base, there was no amount of money in the world that Nami would take if it meant giving up this.

"I can see their base!" Usopp called from the top of the mast where he and Merry had been the lookouts. They jumped down, Merry grabbing one of her wrists and one of Usopp's with some ropes to lower them to the deck. "We're getting pretty close."

"Let's make a statement," Amy smirked, dragging the three prisoners Merry had captured onto the grassy deck. "Robin, Gin, would you help me with a bluff?"

"Oh, fun," the archeologist responded, taking a mook. Gin smirked as well, grabbing his own. The trio started moving toward the bow of the ship where Luffy sat on the figurehead.

"Don Luffy," Gin greeted as they approached. The rubber-man stopped his singing and turned to face them. "Ah think we're goin' ta pretend ta threaten these guys. Mind lookin' fierce fer us?"

"Sure!" The married teen jumped to his feet before calling out to his crew. "Oi! All hands on deck!"

The last of the crew made their way to the bow of the ship as the Thousand Sunny entered Duval's hideout. It was mostly made of concrete with three walls ringing a U-shaped area. Rooms of wood connected with each other around the inner wall, hiding their insides, but no one could be seen. In the center of the compound's waters hung a cage containing a black mass.

"Is that Hachin?" Camie asked, squinting at the cage. "I'm almost sure it is. Why would he be covered in ink, though?"

"Hey, Hachi!" Paupagu yelled from the mermaid's shoulder. "We're here to save you!"

"Nyuu~! Why are you here, Camie? Paupagu?" the black mass demanded. "I'll be fine! Go away! This place is dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Camie muttered. "But there's no guys around at all."

"Maybe this is snacktime for them or something?" Paupagu thought aloud.

"That must be it," the mermaid agreed.

"You can't actually think that," Grace blinked. "It's obviously a trap. They're waiting for us while hiding."

"WHAT?!" the merfolk cried. "HOW BRILLIANT! I'D HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT!"

"That's why you keep getting super caught, morons!" Franky yelled.

"You really think that's the same octopus from the East Blue?" Zoro asked.

"One way to find out," Sanji replied. "Hey, Fishface! How's Arlong doing?"

"Oh not too good," Hachi answered instantly, turning lightly to make eye contact with the pirates. "He, Chew, Kuroobi, and all the others got caught by the Marines. I'm the only one that got away!"

"Yep," Nami sighed, her head falling into her hand. Beside her, Luffy didn't bother trying to hold back a laugh. "That's him. An even bigger idiot than Luffy."

"Ah! They tricked me into talking!" Hachi cried.

"So you know Hachin?" Camie asked. "What a coincidence!"

"We didn't exactly part on the best of terms," Nami frowned.

"I broke his swords, kicked his ass, and left him in some rubble," Zoro offered with a dismissive wave.

"He was actin' like a bastard with tha rest o' his crew," Gin shrugged. "Their partner shot Coby. And they made Donna Nami cry."

"As Zoro-sensei might say," Coby began with a shrug, "it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"I'm pretty sure there was a lot more screaming and crying," Usopp needled.

"Yohoho," Brook chuckled. "Why, I though screaming and crying was your profession, Usopp."

"I'm over it," Nami waved off over the sniper's insulted cry. "I got Luffy out of the deal."

"And me, Nami-swan~!"

"Shut up, Sanji!" Luffy yelled.

"Hey, Don," Gin whispered, getting tired of the distant past. Honestly, it wasn't nearly as interesting as the time he killed God. "Can Ah call 'em out?"

"Go ahead."

"Listen up, ya slavin' asshats!" Gin yelled, his voice echoing through the compound. "Yer in tha presence o' tha future King o' tha Pirates, cap'n o' tha crew tha' killed God! Ya better show some damn respect an' come out now! 'Specially if ya want yer men back wit'out a body bag!" The echo of Gin's demand died away, no motion breaking the stillness of the empty base.

"Do you think they left?" Chopper wondered.

"It's never that easy," Coby answered. "Either they're ignoring us..."

"Or they can't hear us," Grace finished. "I bet 500 Beris they're in the water."

"I say they're around the back wall," Franky responded, taking the bet.

"Oh, can I try something?!" Merry questioned. "Fifteen... fourteen... thirteen..."

"Why are you so calm?" Camie asked, only receiving some chuckling from Luffy, Amy, and Brook.

"Twelve..." Merry continued. "Eleven... ten... nine..."

"She's off by more than four seconds," Zoro bet. "700 Beris."

"Less," Sanji countered.

"Eight... seven... six... fi-!" Merry stopped as two dozen flying fish, each one with their own rider, burst from the ocean around the ship. A trio of fishmen also appeared from the water, treading between the Sunny and Hachi's cage.

"Dammit," Franky, Sanji, and Merry hissed.

"Language," Usopp sighed, slowly coming to terms with Merry's vocabulary. "Kaya and Merry are going to kill me when they hear you cursing."

"So, uh," Coby blinked, eying the airborne fish while Franky forked over his losses. "What now?"

"Guess I'm gonna hafta repeat maself," Gin muttered, leveling a tonfa at his captive's throat. "Yer in tha presence o' tha future King o' tha Pirates! Ya better show some damn respect, punks!"

"Punks?" Amy questioned, turning to give the Logia a half-lidded look. "All the insults in the world, and you go with punks?"

"Ah couldn' just repeat 'asshats', could I? An' Ah don' see you havin' anythin' better."

"Stop ignoring us and die!" one of the Fish Riders shouted, the whole group diving toward the Sunny. Gin, Amy, and Robin sighed, tossing their prisoners over the figurehead.

"Damn it," Amy moaned, casually tossing her captive over the figurehead. Gin and Robin quickly followed suit, the latter chuckling at the blonde's griping. "The one time we try to be bad, and it doesn't work."

"These guys are a joke," Nami sighed ten minutes later, the chaos around the ship offering almost no danger whatsoever. A thundercloud floated over the Sunny, Nami's Mirage Tempo, Robin, Billy, Gin, and a weightless Amy tricking or tossing riders inside the cloud one after another. Brook ran on the water, riders chasing him as he lapped the ship, putting them to sleep or slashing at them with his sword. Coby practiced with his new Armor Mode next to Chopper in his Heavy Point, luring riders in and punching them in the snout. The Macro Gang floated belly-up in the water on account of a quick thunderbolt from Gin, leaving the Flying Fish Riders to fend for themselves.

"Uncle Usopp," Merry whined, sitting on the railing with four cannonballs orbiting her. "I'm bored! These guys are no fun!" Even as she spoke, a flying fish tried to divebomb the ship-girl, only to crash into her satellites and fall into the ocean. "Their screams of pain are even boring!"

"Lil' Sis ain't wrong," Franky offered, a Weapons Left blasting a couple of fish from the sky. "I've felt more danger during a super party at my house."

"Yeah, I guess we should move this along," Luffy agreed. "Zoro, free the octopus!"

"Shrimp, free the octopus," Zoro yawned, half awake.

"Alright," the Zoan answered. "Let's try this. Slasher Mode, Shave!" Coby shifted into his speedy form, blurring out of sight before appearing on the concrete of the floating base with his swords sliding back into their sheaths. Behind him and before his swords clicked into place, the top of the cage and the wooden polls it was connected to split, falling into the ocean. "Did you see that, Zoro-sensei?! I cut metal!"

"Thanks, Shrimp!" Hachi cried, not knowing Coby's name.

"Six out of ten," Coby's teacher called as he sat against the railing. "You cut the wood and they split too soon. Too uncontrolled."

"You couldn't cut metal before Alabasta," Grace pointed out with a frown, a couple fish exploding behind her. Zoro ignored her.

"Pull back!" one of the riders called. "They're too much for us! The boss wants to deal with them himself!"

"Ugh, finally," Sanji muttered as Brook and Amy returned to the deck of the ship. "Let's get this over with."

"Yeah, let's," a deeper voice rumbled, Coby jumping away as something broke out of a building next to him. Next to the hole stood a large, black, long-haired bull of some sort mounted by the person the Straw Hats assumed was Iron Mask Duval on account of his iron mask. "Fin'ly, Ah can get mah revenge on yuu, tha one who ruined mah liiiife, even though Ah nevah did aanythin' ta yuu, Black Leg Sanji!"

"He's mad!" Duval's men gasped. "His accent is coming out!"

"Do you know that guy?" Nami asked, gesturing to their foe.

"Well, I pissed off plenty of people while working at the Baratié," Sanji mused. "If this is an old grudge-"

"Old?" Duval hissed. "Oh no. No, no, no, Black Leg. Yuu forced me ta this! Ah nevah wunted ta be a kidnappah, but because'a yuu, the Marines chased me here!" Raising a weapon with harpoons primed to fire, the masked man took aim for the chef on the Sunny. "Die!"

Harpoons launched from the modified gun in a continuous stream, the metal barbs forcing the pirates on the ship to dive for cover, a trio almost stabbing Zoro's sleeping form. Luffy, Sanji, Gin, and Amy defended any of their friends unable to dodge, Luffy standing in front of his wife as he growled at Duval. Merry dove to the side, unable to control the harpoons, though not for lack of trying. The projectiles stuck in the deck started to hiss, emitting clouds of purple gas.

"What is that?" Usopp gasped.

"Mah Scorpion Harpoons 're packed wi' poison!" Duval offered, reloading. "If ya even get nicked wi' one, yer done fer!"

"Then it's actually venom," Merry noted. "Poison has to be eaten to kill."

"Leave our ship alone!" Grace yelled. "If you want Sanji, then just fight him! You!" she pointed at Coby on the shore. "Listening to Merry complain about boredom has given me a headache and I need need a nap!" Coby blinked.

"Then why are you-?"

"Get over here, pillow!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Now Sanji," Grace smiled as Coby blurred into view on the ship. "Go fight the guy that wants to kill you and don't get the rest of us involved."

"That's a great idea!" Usopp agreed, Chopper nodding along.

"Ah wonder wha's got Grace so angry," Gin whispered.

"Best you don't know," Amy whispered back.

"Yes, Grace!" the chef agreed, jumping onto the Sunny's railing. "I'll fight you, Duval, but first tell me what I did to you."

"You really don't know, do you?" Duval questioned, so angry that he'd cycled back into a calm demeanor and lost his accent. "Let me show you." Slowly, Duval holstered his harpoon launcher and reached for his helmet, lifting it and throwing it to the side. Time seemed to slow as the helmet bounced and clattered to a stop.

"Oh," Gin began.

"My," Amy continued.

"Goda," Grace finished, any thoughts of napping against Coby's shocked Dino Mode forgotten.

Duval stared at them from across the water, holding up a copy of Sanji's wanted poster. The drawing on the poster perfectly matched the face of their enemy, minus the tears flowing from Duval's black eyes. He began his story, a chorus of weeping Flying Fish Riders in the background.

"I never wanted this! I was just a normal small-time crook until you attacked the Marines! Me and my boys never hurt nobody, we just threatened them and took a little money. Nothing dangerous. Then one day the people started running in fear. I didn't think much of it at first, but then the Marines came. And do you know what they'd say every time we met? 'We've got you now, Black Leg Sanji!' And every time I'd tell them, 'I've never met the guy!' But they didn't believe me! I was able to escape thanks to my bull Guatamallo, but I knew they wouldn't stop until you were caught.

"So I set out to sea to find you. I knew it would be hard because you look nothing like your wanted poster, but here you are, and I can finally have my revenge! It's not fair that I should lose my comfortable life because you chose to be a pirate and cause trouble!"

Fire slowly built on the deck of the Sunny, the flames licking at—but not burning—the chef they surrounded, fueled by his anger and spurred by the laughter of Luffy, Brook, and Merry. The first clung to his wife, trying to breathe, while the second and third rolled over the grass, Brook with no lungs to limit his breath.

"SHISHISHISHISHI!"

"YOHOHOHOHO! YOHO, YOHO, YOHOHOHO!"

"BAAAHAHAHA!"

"SHUT UP!" Sanji roared, wreathed in flame. "YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH! DO YOU THINK I WANTED THAT SHITTY POSTER?!"

"Ooh, Sanji's pissed~" dinosaur-Coby whispered, Billy the gigafowl cowering behind him. The chef dove into the ocean, his progress to the concrete shore marked by a trail of boiling water and steam. Climbing out to the right of Duval, the crew watched as Sanji's clothes dried from the heat of this rage, thought the water seemed to quell it somewhat.

"Listen up, Duval," Sanji snarled. "I don't give a shit about your problem. That might be my bounty, but I'm not at fault for that picture."

"Die!" Hoisting his weapon, Duval launched a round of venomous barbs at the chef, Sanji jumping and spinning to avoid the deadly projectiles.

"You want to kill me because of something I couldn't control?" Sanji grunted, landing in a crouch as Duval was forced to reload. "Did you never think to cut your hair or grow a beard?" The mob boss and every one of his men paused, dropping a fist into a free hand.

"What a great idea!" they blinked in tandem. "I never thought of that!"

"You morons!" the chef yelled. "How were we even supposed to know someone looked like that shitty picture anyway?!"

"Shut up and die!" Duval shot back, his harpoons forcing Sanji back into the air. Duval smirked, two of his men zooming overhead on their fish with a metal net stretched between them. "We've got you now, Black Leg!"

"Oh no you don't!" Amy answered, Gin throwing her toward the battle. The woman and her open umbrella slammed into the net before it could reach her fellow blond, dragging the flying fish off-course. "Dense Shield!"

"Why is everyone screaming!" Grace cried.

"We don't know!" Franky and Merry answered, smirking.

"I do!" a human Coby yelled, pointing into the air. The crew followed his finger to see a half-dozen flying fish carrying a massive anchor over the Sunny. "They're going to sink us!"

"It's too big!" Merry cried. "I can't control it! If they let that go, it'll crush us!"

"If Ah knock 'em out, it'll still fall," Gin muttered, gritting his teeth. "Wha' do we do?"

"We're gonna die!" Usopp, Grace, and Chopper wailed.

"Oh dear," Robin sighed dramatically, raising one hand to gently cup her cheek. "Are we going to be crushed, our souls sinking into the ocean to rest, screaming, on the seafloor amongst the wreckage of our beautiful ship, never to be found by anyone, Marines or friends?"

"Robin!" the trio cried.

"You bastard!" Sanji hissed at Duval. "Call them off!"

"Haha!" Duval laughed. "No way, Black Leg! They helped you ruin my life, so they're just a guilty as you!" Sanji charged, Duval and Guatamallo trying to fend him off.

"Yo, Usopp!" Franky shouted over the panic of the crew. "Head to the figurehead. There's a super hatch behind the stairs. Zoro, Gin, go prep us for a Coup de Burst with five barrels of Cola. Trust me! This'll be the unveiling of Sunny's super secret weapon!"

"You got it!" Usopp and Gin answered, Usopp saluting while Gin rushed off with Zoro in tow. Reaching the front, Usopp pulled back the stairs to reveal a small room covered in dials, screens, and switches.

"Woah," Usopp blinked, his mind interpreting the functions of everything he could see.

"Yo, Usopp!" Franky yelled. "Use the dials to pick a target, use the buttons to lock it in, and super pull the lever when I say!"

"Roger!" Usopp responded, taking a seat and testing every switch to learn how everything worked.

"Please tell me this is going to work," Nami whimpered, clutching Luffy like a lifeline. "I'm too beautiful to die!"

"I concur," Robin offered. "I'd rather not have our journey ended prematurely, this giant anchor mashing us to a pulp for the fishes to easily eat."

"Robin!"

"Let's do this, boys!" the head fish rider called. "Drop it!" Each pulling out a knife, the kidnappers cut their ropes, releasing the anchor into the hands of gravity.

"Franky, Usopp!" Luffy yelled, cradling his wife. "Get us out of here!"

"Alright, Usopp!" Franky called. "Sunny's super secret Goan Cannon: Chicken Voyage!"

As the anchor fell, energy began to build in both the back and front of the Sunny, the mouth of Sunny's lion dropping open to release a cannon. It fired a beam of blue energy, the ray pushing the ship backwards while annihilating everything in front in a 20-foot diameter. The anchor hit the water where the Sunny had been with a splash, the water churning from both it and the Sunny's sudden stop via a small Coup de Burst.

"A BEEEAAAAMMMMM!" Luffy yelled, stars twinkling in his eyes. Nami was too relieved to care about his excited screaming.

"Oh-thank-Goda!" Coby cried, grabbing the closest people in a tight hug. Grace, Chopper, and Brook didn't seem to mind.

"Damn! You! You! Shitty! Idiot!" Sanji shouted, each word accented by another kick until a veritable hailstorm pelted his poor opponent, throwing him from his mount. "Peeling Shoot!"

Duval shot backwards, crashing through a wall. The building fell around him, leaving the kidnapper hidden.

"You should be thanking me," Sanji responded, lighting a cigarette. "Now no one has to put up with that hideous mug of yours." He turned, offering a hand to Amy. "Mademoiselle."

"What a gentleman," the woman muttered, rolling her eyes but accepting the hand to stand. She didn't bat an eye as Duval's bull crashed into her extended umbrella, passing out from the impact.

"Finally, that's done," the chef sighed, taking a running leap back to the Sunny. Amy floated behind, landing just after him.

"So what now?" Coby asked as the Straw Hats and fish-people accumulated on deck. "Do we go to Sabaody?"

"That seems like the best plan," Nami agreed. Separating herself from her husband's embrace, "but first..." The navigator walked over toward Hachi, the octopus fishman starting to shrink away.

"N-Nami, I-" He stopped, Nami cutting him off with a smack.

"Nami-chin!" Camie cried.

"That was for the years of abuse," the navigator stated as Hachi cradled his stinging cheek. She smacked him again, this time with the other hand. "That was for me seeing you again. I haven't forgiven you, but..." Nami smiled a melancholic smile, glancing at the wedding band sparkling on her finger, "what you all did, it led me here, so I'll let you off with a ten-million-Beri fine."

"I don't have that much!" Hachi cried.

"Then you're indebted to me," Nami smirked. "I guess the Sabaody Archipelago is somewhere near Fishman Island?"

"Yeah, it is," Paupagu answered while Camie fretted over Hachi. "Takoyaki 8 is in the waters near there."

"That sounds great!" Luffy cut in, slinging an arm around Nami's shoulders. "Hey, Nami! Why don't we go out to eat? Takoyaki sounds great right now!"

"I don't know," Nami muttered pointedly. "Maybe if we could get a discount. Something like 90 percent..."

"Please, everything you want is on the house!" Hachi insisted quickly, waving all six of his arms. "Nyuu~ Consider it thanks for helping us!"

"Now that sounds like a bargain," Nami answered. "Oi, everyone! Let's get going!"

End of Chapter 121

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods