Chapter 70: The Burning Flag

Chapter 76:

The Burning Flag

"Go, Sodom!" Luffy cheered. "Go, Gomorrah!" The King Bulls plowed through the streets of Enies Lobby, pushing forward against the continuous onslaught of agents and marines that tried to stop them. Debris littered the streets behind the invaders, covering the bodies of the defeated. Gomorrah had taken the lead from the start, but he wasn't even watching where he was going. His head was crained back to look at his passengers, talking to Chopper about how he and Sodom had ended up in the company of the Franky Family. Luffy was to the leftmost side of Gomorrah, firing off Gum-Gum Whip after Gum-Gum Gatling without any sign of slowing down. On the other side, the rightmost flank of Sodom, Gin was firing off lightning with that gleam in his eye. A thunder cloud trailed behind them at Nami's design, releasing a lightning strike whenever the lightning-man cast a ball of electricity into it.

And then the mortar struck, exploding on the King Bull's chest, causing Gomorrah to cough blood. Three more mortars exploded, puncturing both of his lungs with shrapnel. Knowing he couldn't go any further, the beast told Chopper to order the Straw Hats to jump to Sodom. The pirates did so unhappily, not wanting to leave him behind. With a final battle cry, Gomorrah threw himself forward, crushing over 100 marines before blacking out. The pirates and company couldn't tell if Gomorrah was still alive.

Angered by their new friend's defeat, Luffy let loose a Gum-Gum Gatling on the building where the mortars that had brought him down came from, destroying it and leaving the debris to fall on the men inside, said debris joining the countless other bits and pieces of destruction on the ground.

There was a man on the roof of the courthouse, watching the battle as a person in a theater may watch a movie. The man's distinctive hair identified him as Blueno.

"I'll fight this guy," Luffy growled, spotting the man and punching his palm.

"No, Captain," Coby halted. "Please, save your energy for Lucci. I didn't fight the giants, so I will fight this guy." Luffy wanted to argue, but Zoro placed a hand on his shoulder, giving the teen a nod when he turned his head. "But Captain," the rosette continued, "it would be appreciated if you could help me get there."

With a nod, Luffy launched the younger, yet taller, pirate over the gap between the remaining King Bull and the courthouse roof. Coby landed with a grunt, one hand pressed to the concrete. Blueno regarded him with tired eyes as the pirate scanned the battlefield. There were two columns on the rooftop, one on either side of the building, but the rest of the area was flat and clear.

"Do you know that what you are committing is a world-class crime?" the agent questioned.

"I am aware," Coby affirmed, slowly unsheathing his blades. "I am also aware that the government has been known to double-cross pirates that make deals with them. This seems like one of those times."

"You are too smart of your own good," Blueno sighed. "Not that it will make any difference in the end. I will have you know, though, that this is the furthest that anyone has ever infiltrated a Marine stronghold this strong."

"We'll go farther by the time we're done. Five Point Style: Meteor Swords!" With a quick change, the now-hybrid Devil Fruit user charged the agent.

"Iron Body," Blueno muttered just before the swords or horns hit him, each of them stopping.

"What?" Coby questioned, jumping back. "Let's try this, then. Cretaceous Charge!" Sheathing his swords and bending down into his Dino Mode, Coby ran at the former bar owner who simply held out his hands and repeated his previous phrase. Coby was halted once again, the agent gripping his top horns.

"You pirates are causing a ruckus," Blueno sighed, gripping Coby's horns tight enough to make him flinch. "I'll stop you all here." Blueno spun, picking Coby up off the ground and building up momentum before throwing the younger man into one of the columns at the side, sending the pirate through it in a spray of broken concrete.

"Ow," Coby grunted as he rubbed his head, standing and shifting back to his hybrid form. "That may not have been the worst thing I've ever felt, but it wasn't the best either."

"When we heard that the Straw Hats invaded, I asked Khalifa for information on their members." Blueno moved toward his opponent slowly, taking deliberate steps as he continued. "I know everything I need to about you, Tri-Horn Coby, swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates and former cabin boy of the Love Pirates."

Coby's dinosauric eyes contracted, images of his past self flying through his mind. Him when he was weak and cowardly, when he still trusted the Marines as an absolute justice. When he was pathetic.

"What's wrong, Tri-Horn?" the agent questioned. "You're tensing up."

"I'm..." Coby swallowed. "I'm not that weakling anymore. I can't believe government agents would stoop low enough as to use bad memories against their opponents."

"Officially, we aren't. Shave." The big man blurred out of focus, only leaving Coby with time for his eyes to widen. He tried to move, but his body was still tensed from the memories of Alvida. "Finger Pistol."

"Gah!" Coby cried out, the attack puncturing his left shoulder. His left sword dropped to the ground, clattering on the concrete. With an animalistic growl, Coby tried to punch the agent in the face.

"Iron Body," the agent countered. With his left arm moving to grab Blueno's hand, which was still stuck in his shoulder, Coby punched again and again. Finally, he was rewarded with blood dripping from the agent's nose.

"Impressive," Blueno grunted, kicking the Zoan in the stomach and dislodging his finger from the boy's shoulder. Coby tumbled backwards, gripping his shoulder and one of his blades landing next to him. The sword's twin sat at Blueno's feet. "To be able to break through the Iron Body technique, no matter how little, is truly a feat. You would have done well as a marine."

"Shut up!" the pirate yelled, forcing himself to stand on shaky legs. "I chose this life! I'm not going to turn my back on my friends for some dead dream! We will get Robin back!" Releasing his hold on his wounded shoulder, Coby kicked up his remaining sword and fell into an offensive stance with the sword up by his face. "It's been a month since we got back from Skypia. Since then, I've trained every day with Zoro-sensei to have the power to wield a cannon in the palm of my hand."

"What are you going on about?" Blueno questioned.

"The desires you have are neutral, but I will not let them stand in my way. One Sword Style: 36 Caliber Phoenix!" Blueno's eyes widened, too surprised to dodge the flying slash in time. The attack cut through his clothing, leaving a diagonal gash running from his right shoulder to under his left pictorial. Coby released a primal roar as he charged his foe.

"Shave," Blueno grunted, blurring out of view. "Moonwalk. Tempest Kick." Jumping through the air, the agent fired his own flying slashes, these originating from his legs. Coby responded by diving forward to dodge the first few and grab his other sword before blocking them as best he could.

"Shave. Finger Pistol. Shave. Tempest Kick. Shave. Iron Body: Crush."

Coby growled, relying on his animalistic instinct to guess where the man would strike next, but it wasn't working out too well. The Tempest Kick had grazed his side and he had barely gotten away from the Iron Body attack.

"36 Caliber Phoenix!"

"Tempest Kick."

The two attacks collided in the air and seemed to battle for dominance until the pirate's gave out. Coby's eyes widened as he dropped. The attack still caught him, cutting a gash out of the top right of his crown that would change over to his forehead after transforming. Luckily, since the crown didn't receive as much blood as other areas, it didn't bleed much and would probably scar instantly. Still, it hurt like Hell.

Staining his legs, Coby jumped as high as he could to take a swing at the man. Blueno dodged, jumping up off the air again. With another jump, the man dove toward his pirate adversary.

Coby tucked and rolled, avoiding the bull of a man as he hit the ground, only for the roof they were standing on to open, spinning around a central axis.

"What?" Coby questioned, stumbling away from the rotating roof. "Another one of their powers? Doubtful. With a move like that... Devil Fruit!" Hopping away just in time, the pirate managed to dodge the hands that came out of the tile where his feet had been. The hands, not finding their targets, retracted, allowing the tiles to close and reseal themselves.

An outline of the agent appeared on the rooftop, slowing opening to show that the man himself had his back pressed against it. He stood before closing it with a squeak.

"So which one?" Coby asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Which Devil Fruit did you eat?"

"I ate the Door-Door Fruit and became a door-man. Where you see a wall, I see a possible entrance."

"Devil Fruits really do a lot of things," Coby mused as he shifted form. "Or maybe they're just bullshit. Either way, I won't let that stop me. Cretaceous Charge!"

"Trying the same attack twice won't change the outcome," Blueno rumbled, grabbing Coby's horns again. This time, however, Coby was ready. Twisting himself, the dinosaur-person lifted Blueno off his feet and ran toward the cliffside edge. Without mercy, Coby lifted himself onto his back legs and kicked his opponent with his front legs. The attack slammed into the agent's solar plexus, forcing him to let go and fall over the edge.

"Air Door!" The falling assassin opened a door in midair, allowing him to transport himself back onto the roof. Coby was caught off guard, but he still managed to avoid the Finger Pistol that came for him a second later. The column behind him was not so lucky.

"Pandora's Box!" Coby cut a square into the man's torso and kicked him, landing his kick on the gash left by his earlier flying slash. Blueno coughed blood, the pain nearly forcing him into unconsciousness, but he held on. Mustering the energy, he Shaved to the center of the rooftop.

"You are strong," the man admitted. "Stronger than I'd thought. One more attack shall decide our match. Iron Body: Strength."

"Five Point Style Special Technique: 68 Million Years!" Spinning his swords in front of him, Coby launched himself at his opponent. Blueno diverted his Iron Body technique into his hands, catching the swords that came for him. He was not prepared for when Coby stabbed forward with his own face, his three horns impaling the man's unprotected torso.

"Guh," Blueno coughed, spitting up blood. "D-Damn."

"I really should thank you," Coby muttered, neither him or his opponent moving. "Without my eyes, I might not have seen it, but I think I'll be able to copy that Shave technique. Maybe not soon, but with our chef's help I will."

"You... little brat," Blueno gasped before the pain stole his consciousness. Picking up the man, Coby shuffled over the edge of the building and tossed him off. Blueno did not make another Air Door.

"Good job, Shrimp." Coby turned, shrinking down and wiping the blood off his face as the rest of his Nakama approached him, Zoro having been the one to speak. "Cool scar, too." The other attackers had entered the courthouse while he had been fighting, so, while the Straw Hats were making their way upward, the Franky Family had taken the bottom floor and fortified themselves inside.

Luffy nodded to Coby as he walked by, a relieved smile on his face. Following his lead, the other Straw Hats climbed up onto the wall of the roof with Luffy in the middle. To his left were Zoro, Chopper in his Heavy Point, Gin, and Amy while on his right side were Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Coby, and Grace.

"Robin!" Luffy yelled, his voice echoing across the island. "We're here for you!"

Luffy's call did not go unanswered as what remained of Cipher Pol #9 walked out onto the balcony, Robin and Franky with them. The woman had tears in her eyes and her hands cuffed behind her as she gazed upon her former crewmates standing up to the world for her, and she was filled with self-loathing.

"Can't you leave me alone?!" she screamed. "Just let me go! I just want to die!"

"If you want to say that after we've saved you, that's fine," Luffy responded, "but anything you say, you say it as a part of my crew! You got that?"

"Are you people stupid?!" Spandam yelled. "I hold in my hand the power to call down the wrath of the World Government on you like my father did to her homeland of Ohara!"

"Please, just leave me!" Robin pleaded. "The world took everything from me 20 years ago, and now that I have friends to call my own, my twisted fate is rearing its ugly head against you! Just leave while you still can!"

"Do you not understand what this flag means?" Spandam taunted, pointing straight upward at the flag above him. "It represents the combined might of over 170 countries around the world! Do you think you can stand up to that?"

"I get it now," Luffy stated, pointing at the World Government flag flying proudly on the flagpole above the agents. "That flag is the reason Robin doesn't think she can come with us. Usopp, shoot it down."

"Yes, Captain." Taking a step back, Usopp placed a pellet in the pouch of his weapon, Kabuto. "Special Attack: Firebird Star!"

It was at that moment that the world watched in awe as fire in the shape of a bird burned through the flag of the world. The Straw Hat Pirates were declaring war on the World Government itself.

"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."

End of Chapter 76

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-SwordOfTheGods