Underworld — P3

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Roche, the large man, swung his fist once more, this attack would most certainly kill Vin—even right now, he is in critical condition, due to die at any moment. His wounds and bleeding worsen the longer he lingers.

Abruptly, the man's arm was split in half vertically.

"Leave my.. friend alone!" Koma shouted, his blade exiting the man's arm. Roche backed away to the woman. Amelia laid her hand on the man's wound, and it was suddenly gone. The split arm seemed to revert back to its original state as though it was glued together.

'Strange.. even with a Skillful Grade and Armament Haki, that wasn't the smoothest slice I've ever performed. What's even stranger is that the man did not even use Haki to make his arm harder to cut.. it was his mere skin. A different race? No, he doesn't possess any special traits of other races. Besides, skin as though as stone is too difficult to come across, regardless of race. He looks human, but his skin is too tough.. muscles too strong.' Koma thought to himself, gripping his sword tighter. 'But first..'

Koma ran over to Vin, picking him up and running into the bushes. They would almost certainly want to kill Vin, and he couldn't focus on protecting him and defeating the enemy. He heard a rustling behind, followed by hysteric noises as trees and bushes were pumelled behind him. Koma took a stealthy, sharp turn and placed Vin in a bush. 'I need my sword back.. Vin-chan needs to revert it.. but he doesn't seem to be in the best shape. I have no medical expertise, he'll just have to hang on.'

A blade constructed itself out of Vin's sleeve, breaking his suit. It was Koma's sword. A huge hunk of sharp metal, the Great Grade blade he loved. 'Vin-chan used his last bit of energy for me?! I'm flatteered!! No, this isn't the time to be happy. I have a job to do.'

He quickly exited the area and headed towards the clearing in which he originaly found Vin. The rustling and pumelling behind him gave away Roche's location, allowing Koma to side step and perform a downwards slash on the centre of his body.

"Executioner's Fang!" The slash was coated with Armament Haki, and due to the sword's grade, it almost cut like butter—though through stone-tough skin. Roche's body was snipped in half, leaving two bits of him on the ground.

Koma's Obervation Haki flared unconciously. He twirled his body, avoiding a gunshot and stepping back. The woman made her way over Roche's body, touching the two pieces he was now in. Like the man's last wound, the two fragments flew towards each other and glued on, like glue. The bleeding stopped, and it seemed as though all injury had been reverted. 'No.. something's different.' Koma could view threads connecting the two bits of Roche's body. Once the injury had disappeared, a stitch-like line formed around the place of the slash.

"The Nuime Nuime no Mi? Stitch human. If I recall correctly, it allows the user to stitch and fix any wound they touch." Koma spouted. "Amelia and Roche of the Stitching Pirates, subordinates of Doflamingo and the Donquixote Pirates. What were your bounties again? The girl with 72,000,000 and the man with 52,000,000 right?"

"84,000,000 now. Roche has 66,000,000." Amelia snarled.

"Oh, an increase?" The other asked, rhetorically. "Your bounties could even overtake the elites of the Donquixote Pirates if you stopped playing in the shadows—though that is partially due to Doflamingo's frozen bounty.'

"You seem to have done your research," the woman stated.

"Well, as much as a Rear Admiral should," The marine replied. "Sorry, I don't have time for much more chit chat." Koma dashed towards the woman. 'If it is her that is stopping me from winning, I'll rid of her first.' Roche interjected the marine's dash, swinging his fist into his enemy's stomach. Koma flew backwards, staggering as he attempted to regain his footing. "Not only is his strength unbelievable, but he also possesses Armament Haki.. I have to be more careful.' He thought.

The man attempted to dash towards Amelia once more, but he was once again interjected by Roche. The large man prepared to punch Koma once more—this time, however, the marine was prepared. He used the wide side of his sword to block the attack, infusing it with Armament Haki. Koma was sent staggering back, but not enough to put an end to his attack. He closed the distance between he and the man. As soon as Roche attempted to swing another punch at his face, he ducked and swung his sword above himself in a circular manner.

"Executioner's Duty!" The slash sliced right through his enemy's head, decapitating him. 'Now's my chance.' He dashed towards Amelia quickly and performed a slash. However, the pirate evaded the attack and rushed behind Koma. 'Damn.'

In only a few seconds, Roche was healed again. Even decapitation wouldn't be enough to defeat the two. 'The woman is not weak nor slow either.. even if I take down the larger man, she still remains.' Koma grinned menacingly and got into a battle stance. 'This is gonna be a bit more difficult than I anticipated.. hang on, Vin-chan.'

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Vin lay by the bush, struggling to survive. His conciousness returned, but for nothing good. He felt the sharp pain in his face and the blood streaming. 'I'm gonna die at this point. Think..' His hand tremored as he slowly raised it from his side, touching his face with his palm. 'Gorilla told me I can't mold anything organic.. but.. this is my last chance.' He used his devil fruit energy on his face, finding the beginning point of his bleeding. His blood vessels formed a convenient road, all ending up in one location. He pinpointed it, a faint energy leaving his palm. The blood stopped coursing, and the pain become a bit more tolerable. 'I stopped the bleeding. But.. I shouldn't have been able to do this. I found it strange that I couldn't mold anything organic, but now I've understood what it meant. I can mold anything, so long as it is not alive.'

Even after reaching this great breakthrough, he was still not in good enough condition to battle. 'I need to help Koma..'

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Koma sprinted over to the big man, Rocha dashing in unison and forming a fist in front of him. The marine took this as a chance to slash off his arm before launching the pirate in the opposite way with the wide, blunt side of the blade. He now had a chance to take the woman down and win the battle. He sprinted back towards her while preparing a 180-degree turn slice with his sword folded behind him. The woman fired a bullet at him, but the marine effortlessly sliced it. It appeared as though, regardless of carrying a massive blade, he was swinging a small, light cutlass through the air. As soon as the bullet was split, there was an explosion. 'Explosive round?!' After the explosion, which injured the marine, a dense cloud of smoke formed. Another bullet, similar to the previous one, appeared through the veil of smoke. Koma was caught off guard and had no choice but take it. He hardened his arms and held them out in front of him, blocking the blow and igniting the explosion. The marine was sent into the air, away from the haze. He let out a loud cough and spat blood.

'I can't find an opening..' Koma's fatigue and injury started building up, making his movements a tad sluggish and imprecise. 'I'm not sure if I can win this..'

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Vin limped towards the clearing through the dense woods, pushing himself off anything nearby to give him a slight increase in speed. 'I need to.. get this over with quickly..' He was in no condition to continue walking, which was obvious by his extensive injuries. Although he stopped the bleeding, the blood could easily begin leaking again if he let go of his Devil Fruit power. If he failed here, or fell on the journey, he would have wasted his life for nothing. 'I must.. help.. Koma..'