One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed Island of the Devil Fruit Gods ❯ Blindsided ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! The wind-hissing of arrows and impact of their sharpened rock tips chased Usopp down as he dashed through the jungle, being shot at by his would-be assassin, a rival marksman. He stopped for breath but the arrows were drawing ever closer, ever more accurate, hitting barely inches behind him, striking the ground or the sides of tree where he would have been standing only milliseconds before.

Usopp shrieked, rolled and dove everywhere avoiding the arrows soaring his way from Maboroshi's bow. "Where is he?" Usopp panted, trying to figure out how Maboroshi was able to fire at him so accurately from so far away no matter where he hid. "Where are you?" Usopp panted, calling to Maboroshi when he found what he hoped was a safe spot behind a large tree.
"Ha ha ha...not that it will do you any good, outsider, but I am up on the cliffs above the village. From here, I can shoot you from almost anywhere, and I can see you no matter where you hide." Maboroshi taunted.
"The cliff...?" Usopp began to formulate his plan. He ran out from behind a tree and looked up through a gap in the leaves. "THERE YOU ARE!" he pointed, at Maboroshi's exact position, having listened carefully for the angle of where his voice was coming from.
Maboroshi was wearing a ragged tunic of blue. A bald man, the sun reflected off his head and almost blinded Usopp. "Ugh..." Usopp shielded his eyes and dove back behind the tree. Maboroshi ran along the cliff's edge and shot again, forcing Usopp out of his hiding place.
"There's nowhere to run, outsider. You'd better start fighting back or you won't stand a chance. Not that you stand a chance anyway, but depending on how much you entertain me, I may or may not let you die painlessly." Maboroshi cackled. He seemed never to run out of arrows, which Usopp began to wonder about.
"You all possess abilities from the Devil Fruit, don't you?" he called up to Maboroshi.
"That is correct. What's your point?" Maboroshi smirked.
"What is your power? Do you have the ability to create arrows from thin air?" Usopp asked, feeling slightly jealous at such a prospect.
Maboroshi stopped firing. "Come out. I won't shoot you. Come, look." he invited Usopp. Usopp warily stepped out from behind a fallen tree he'd ducked behind. "I love it up here. I can shoot prey from any distance from here. I make my own arrows and store them in holes in the side of the cliff here." he explained. "I hide other stores of arrows in other places, too, but of course even if you found them, you're not an archer, so they would do you no good. Tell me-what is that primitive weapon you wielded when you shot Lord Daikyojin?" he asked.
"This is a slingshot!" Usopp declared proudly. "And this primitive weapon will take you down! I am known as Usopp the Mighty, and I have 8,000 followers who will be here any minute to help me slay you! I am the bravest warrior on my pirate crew, of which I am the Captain!" he lied.
"What is a pirate?" Maboroshi asked, slightly bored.
"Uh..." Usopp realized he wasn't getting anywhere. "W-well, I am brave! And I will fend off your assault and knock you out!" Usopp laughed with bravado.
"Then...why don't you come out from behind that tree? And why are your knees trembling?" Maboroshi chuckled.
Usopp froze. "How did you know my knees are trembling if I'm hiding behind a tree...?" he peeked out.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you. Take one last look up here." Maboroshi invited.
Usopp peeked out, somewhat like how Chopper normally would, and saw Maboroshi's face staring down at him. Or, it would have been staring at him, if Maboroshi wasn't wearing a blindfold. "What...what's the matter with your eyes?" Usopp asked him.
"Simple. I am blind." Maboroshi smiled. "But I can see perfectly. Can you guess why?"
"The Devil Fruit power..." Usopp snapped his fingers.

Robin and Franky were worried about Usopp, but his continuing screams at least allowed them the comfort of knowing he was still alive. "He won't make it...will he?" Franky asked Robin. She knew Usopp's capabilities better than he did.
"I believe he will. If he dies..." Robin's face cringed and tears began to well up. She felt helpless; if she helped Usopp or ran away, they would face the same fate and they knew they couldn't fight off Daikyojin.
"Well, I'm going to fight to the death if that assassin brings back Usopp's head. Take out as many of these crazies as I can." Franky growled.
"I'm more worried about the others. They might be in an even tighter spot..." Robin sighed. An explosion rang out in the distance. "What was THAT?!"
Another explosion rang out. Franky squinted, trying to see if he could notice Usopp. "I hope that means he's winning..."

"My power comes from the Joukei-Joukei no Mi. Even though I was sadly blinded in an accident as a toddler, I was fed a Devil's Fruit as a child and I found my sight to return, in ways I never would have imagined. Even though my eyes themselves do not work, I can see my surroundings in all directions inside my mind. I can see far and wide, or so closely that I can see the fine hairs on an insect's legs. And I can see through solid objects. That is how I know you were trembling with fear behind the tree. Your bluffs will not work on me. Now, let us continue our duel...or, our hunt, if you do not intend to fight back." Maboroshi explained.
"EXPLODING STAR!" Usopp cried, and let loose an explosive round from his slingshot at Maboroshi. Hitting just feet below the archer, it exploded harmlessly on the cliff face.
Maboroshi laughed maniacally. "This is the skill of that 'slingshot' you use? You should have picked up a bow if you hoped to produce any accuracy, o Usopp the Mighty. Now suffer for your foolishness!" Maboroshi shot three arrows simultaneously into the air, then another three, and another volley of three. "Those will fall from the air soon, straight down, so even hiding behind a tree won't save you. Better keep moving." Maboroshi grinned.
"Damn...!" Usopp panted, running as fast as he could. "Better hurry...EXPLODING STAR!" he shot another one, this one hitting even less accurately, further down and away from Maboroshi.
"You may as well stand still! You're never going to hit me! I can see your heart beating in your chest, it looks like it's about to tear open from the strain!" Maboroshi laughed.
"Keep talking..." Usopp chuckled softly. One of the arrows fell and grazed his shoulder. "AUGH!" he groaned. Grabbing a light log, similar to one a person would use as firewood, he shielded himself with it from above, and caught one of the arrows in it. Tossing the log aside, he hoped the other arrows had already fallen.
"You're resourceful, I'll give you that. But you're going to exhaust yourself if you keep running. I've got you trapped no matter where you go or hide. I never intended to allow you any hope of survival...it's just always so much more fun to let you think you have a fighting chance!" Maboroshi cackled.
"EXPLODING STAR!" Usopp fired another one, hitting even lower on the cliff.
"You can barely see straight, can you? You've probably got double-vision. Why not surrender and come with me? I can get a great reward from Lord Daikyojin if I bring you back alive so he can kill you himself." Maboroshi offered.
"EXPLODING STAR!" Usopp repeated, hitting just below Maboroshi's feet.
"Urgh...desperation fueling your adrenaline, no doubt. The more you resist at this point, the more you try my patience. You've ceased to be entertaining, Usopp. Come out!" Maboroshi loaded half a dozen arrows into his bow at once and aimed at where Usopp would be standing if he came out.
"Maboroshi! Can you see the sun right now?" Usopp called up to him.
"What?" Maboroshi was taken aback by such a strange question. "No, I cannot. What will that do for you? Are you telling me you still intend to try and beat me?" he scoffed.
"I never stopped believing I could beat you!" Usopp declared. "SMOKE STAR!" he shot at the ground, a dark, smoky cloud billowing around as a result.
"Oh, you...!" Maboroshi growled. Usopp had a plan; he saw a cloud float in front of the sun, blocking it out. If Maboroshi couldn't see through a cloud...maybe he couldn't see through gases or liquids, just solids. And Usopp had guessed right. "Six Shooter!" Maboroshi let loose all six arrows where he guessed Usopp's body would be, but Usopp had him fooled again.
Usopp had charged directly forward, the arrows whizzing just inches above his head; he was through hiding. "This is my last shot! And your last moment of hunting!" Usopp pulled back his slingshot. "EXPLODING STAR!"
Hitting the cliff face in the dead-center, the cliff began to shake terribly. Maboroshi screamed. "You-you never intended to hit me! You were purposely aiming at the grooooooooooooooooooooooound!" Maboroshi fell between the shattered rocks as the cliff broke apart and tumbled down many yards, getting hit by many rocks as he went, down to the ground in front of Usopp, laying on his back, utterly defeated and unable to continue their fight.
Maboroshi's broken, bloody form twitched before Usopp, unable to move. "Y-you bastard..." Maboroshi coughed. "You...are no sniper. How could you do such a thing?" he cursed Usopp.
"I am so a sniper. It isn't my fault you didn't bother creating different types of ammunition. That way I can do almost anything to turn the situation to my advantage. If you had flaming arrows, you could've burned the jungle around me and taken away all my hiding spaces or made me faint from inhaling all the smoke. A good sniper cannot win against brute force. So we snipers must use our heads. You didn't use yours. I beat you, and you had a Devil's Fruit ability. I won fair and square." Usopp crossed his arms and smiled.
Maboroshi sighed. "You are right...come here. Take my pendant." Maboroshi craned his neck slightly. There was a necklace with an animal tooth on it. "That was taken from one of our Zoan opponents who I killed myself. It is the sign of a true warrior in our tribe. Present that to Daikyojin, and he may let you walk away with your life. If you run away...he may send others after you." Maboroshi explained.
"Take it back to that monster?!" Usopp gasped.
"Do it. The worst he will do to you for defeating me is make you eat a Devil's Fruit and make you a part of our tribe. He will acknowledge your skill and use you to replace me." Maboroshi said softly. "But at least you will live."
"What do you mean, replace you?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.
"I lost to an outsider. That is unforgivable. I will die here. That is the warrior's way." Maboroshi explained.
"What? No! I won't let you die!" Usopp shook his head. "Here, I'm going to take you back." Usopp took Maboroshi by the hands. "We've got to get you some help, it looks like your legs are broken..."
"Do not touch me! Leave me be! You dishonor me by offering me pity!" Maboroshi protested.
"Maboroshi, if my nakama and I never showed mercy to our enemies, we would not be alive right now." Usopp told Maboroshi.
"Is...that right?" Maboroshi chuckled softly. "I just...don't want to feel like I owe you my life. It is awkward...I tried to take your life. Now I must save your life in return."
"You don't have to do anything in return. Or, maybe..." Usopp supported Maboroshi on his back; thankfully Maboroshi was much lighter than Dalton from the Drum Empire, and Usopp was able to drag him back to the village. "Maybe you can help me by telling me something. Where would I find things on this island to make some special ammunition...?" Usopp inquired as he helped the archer back to his home. "I have a feeling I'm going to have to fight my way through this island a few more times."