One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Friend or Foe? ❯ Part 3: Conclusion ( Chapter 3 )

“Hey! Wait Kazu! At least help me carry this guy back to the ship!” Lucas turns back to the captain and sees he's already walked off to go over to Robin. Lucas takes a deep heavy sigh and picks up Moose and starts walking away. Meanwhile, Luffy has returned to his normal size and immediately stands up and screams.

“SANJI! BRING ME SOME FOOD!” Sanji takes a puff of his cigarette and looks at his captain.

“Quiet down Luffy. I'll make you something in a minute but first we need to get those people out of the cave.” Usopp, Chopper, Brook and Franky begin heading towards the cave. As Zoro begins to walk with the rest of the crew Kazu comes up behind him. Zoro looks back to keep his eyes on Kazu.

“Don't forget Zoro. We still have our match after everything is settled here.” Zoro makes a facial expression of frustration as he turns his head forward.

“I know that. You'll get your match.” Kazu smirks as he picks up a faster pace and walks in front of Zoro.

“Good to hear.” Zoro looks at his back and as he glances to the left he notices the sheathed sword on Kazu's hip is there.

“Tell me something Kazu. What's the deal with that sword around your waist? I noticed during our fight that you never used it and even when we fought that pirate that you took it off. And how were you able to use those wind powers of yours?” Kazu takes a deep breath as he enters the cave behind Nami and Robin with Rox in front of them.

“A long time ago, I ate the air fruit. It allows me to control the air current and turned my body to air. It's a very useful power but it hinders my swordsmanship skills.” Overhearing the conversation, Brook interjects a question.

“How does that hinder your swordsmanship skills? Being able to use the air should make your attacks stronger.”

“It can and it does but there is a catch. With the air power my body is turned to air so swords can't pierce my body. While that is a great perk it is a greater disadvantage. If swords can't pierce my body, then deadly blows like to my organs or vital points become ignored. If they become ignored and I'm in a situation where someone can attack my vital points or weaknesses around my air power then I increased my chances of losing due to ignorance. So to make sure that I develop my strength correctly and am able to correctly guard myself I got myself this sword.” Kazu pulls out the sword on his hip and shows it to everyone. It's a mid-length sword with a dull blade side but sharp point. Zoro examines it and smiles to himself.

“A kodachi?”

“Yes Zoro, a kodachi. I learned to use this to better learn how to defend against attacks that would strike at my weaknesses and vital points. To ensure I had to use this blade, it came with a special kind of sheath. A sheath made up entirely of sea stone.” Nami, Robin, Franky, Chopper, Sanji, and Brook turn to look at Kazu.

“Sea stone?” Zoro looks at Kazu with a look of confusion as he asks the question.

“As you should know, the sea stone emits the power of the sea and cancels all devil fruit powers. So as long as I wear this sheath around my waist, it will always weaken me to the point of not being able to use my air powers. But it won't be strong enough to leave me useless in battle.” Franky looks at him and comments about the subject.

“So basically, since you wanted to improve your defensive skills in battle you figured out a way to lose your devil fruit powers.”

“More or less. I take great pride in being a swordsman and it is my goal to become the greatest.” As they approach the cages, Kazu immediately turns his body to face Zoro as Zoro stares back. “I don't want to just surpass Dracule Mihawk. I want to be the greatest swordsman to ever sail the grand line Zoro.” Zoro stares right into the eyes of Kazu as he does the same. A moment passes between them of unvoiced understanding in which the two smile at each other. As Zoro and Kazu share their moment, Nami, Robin, Chopper, Usopp and Sanji along with Rox helps the people out of the cage as both Chopper and Rox tend to the ones who have injuries. As the captives who aren't injured make their way out of the cave, Chopper, Rox and Sanji help carry people out of the cave who are too injured to walk. Once they are able to get everyone outside the cave, people begin walking towards the village. When they arrive back at the village, Rox, Sanji, and Kazu begin cooking three pigs. Sanji chops up the meat and boils it in a huge pot as Rox makes a stone grill and cooks it on the rocks. Kazu takes the pig and roasts it over an open fire. Usopp, Chopper and Franky immediately stand on top of a podium and begin dancing to music that Brook is playing. While people cheer on Usopp, Chopper and Franky, Nami and Robin smile while they clap to the music and Luffy begins eating food that is on a large table that seats thirty people. People move to sit next to Luffy as Zoro sits at the table with a huge mug and begins drinking. He turns to look at the mug and stares at it in shock.

“Hey, not bad….” One of the villagers comes over to him and wraps his arm around his neck. Zoro turns his head to look at the villager as he starts to speak.

“That's cause the temperature here is perfect weather for fermenting the rice and grapes to make a nice blended flavored sake. This is the only place you can get sake like this.” Zoro takes another drink as Sanji, Rox and Kazu finish cooking their pigs and place them on the table for everyone to eat. Everyone cheers at the excitement and how good the food smells and looks. Luffy stands up from the table and throws his arms in the air while holding a mug. He launches the mug into the air and catches it without spilling anything and wipes his mouth.

“Alright! In celebration of defeating a very tough opponent and helping these people out, let's EAT! ITADKIMAS!”

“Itadkimas!” As everyone replies in agreement, they begin eating and enjoying the food as some of them slap away Luffy's hands from the table as Luffy tries to eat the food on their plate as well. Chopper looks over at Rox who is eating food as fast as Luffy with a puzzled look on his face.

“Hey Rox. Can I ask you something?” Rox turns his head to look at Chopper while chewing a mouth full of food.

“Uf korck se…” Kazu leans across the table and hits Rox in the head which surprises Chopper.

“FINISH CHEWING FIRST! Geez! Can't understand a thing you said.” Rox swallows his food and looks at Chopper.

“Of course you can.” Chopper looks down and recalls in his head the memory of the fight and remembers the attack that Rox did that sprout forth a bunch of vines. He looks at the ground for a second and then turns to Rox.

“I was just wondering, what was that power you used to make vines come out of the ground. You had said you ate a devil fruit. What kind of power was it?” At that moment, Lucas and Jewel comes to the village and finds everyone at the table outside. Rox turns to Chopper as well as everyone at the table but Lucas cuts in before Rox can say a word.

“Excuse me Captain, but someone has something to say to you.” Rox looks up at Lucas.

“What is it, Lucas?” He ushers Jewel forward as she gasps at the sudden push to be at the center of everyone's gaze. She looks down and uses her fingers to twist and play with her dress which is at the length of her knees and is a mixture of different shades of blue. As she raises her head, her eyes reveal a red tint with a ruby colored highlight style of hair to match with an offset of black hair on the tips. Her skin is the color of rich soil that has been soaked in water. Jewel looks at Rox as everyone waits on edge for what is about to be said.

“Umm….I would like…to join…your crew, that is, umm…if it's okay….for someone like me to join…” Some of the villagers at the table stand up in shock.

“Jewel! Why would you leave us?” One of the villagers says. Another comes up behind him.

“Yeah Jewel, please don't go!” Kazu immediately jumps up and gets in the two villagers face.

“Shut up! This is between her and the captain! You're not a part of this!” Rox stands up and turns to Kazu.

“It's fine Kazu, let them speak. She needs to fully understand what she's asking right now anyway.” Everyone turns silent as everyone from Luffy's crew just sits and watches the moment that is transpiring in front of their eyes. “Now then, your name is Jewel Hatchet right?” She nods her head as she looks at Rox. “And how old are you?”

“I'm sixteen.” Rox folds his arms.

“The sea is a dangerous place Jewel. It's not for those who are weak of heart, much less unable to defend themselves. If you're either of those, requesting to be on any kind of ship is a death wish and I can't protect everyone but even more than that, I'm not going to continually protect people who can't protect themselves. But before I make my decision, why would you want to travel the sea with me?” Jewel looked at Rox as she clutched at her dress.

“I know good and well how dangerous the sea can be. The sea took my father away from me. He was a pirate as well, just like you Rox. He was strong, and brave, and really cool. He would come home every now and then when he had finished an adventure. He never hurt people even though he was a pirate. But one day, seven years ago, my father left the island and never came back. It was so unlike him, that everyone just knew he was dead. But everyone on the island loved him and knew that not all pirates were bad.” Jewel starts to shiver uncontrollably. Her face looking away from Rox towards the ground as her eyes swell up with tears that slowly roll down her cheeks one at a time. She closes her eyes as she drops to her knees. The villagers run to her side as Kazu, Rox, Luffy and the rest of the Strawhat crew stay where they are. Lucas keeps everyone back as Jewel cries sitting on her knees. “Then….then that, that, HORRIBLE man came to our village! We were so excited. We thought at first…it might have been my father. We had been given up on him being alive but…for just a second…we had hope…” She cried even harder as everyone from the village hung their heads in shame at being unable to do anything to ease Jewel's pain. Kazu took a sip of his drink as Jewel began to speak again. “It was bad enough that we assumed it was my father. What made it worse was the amount of people he killed, tortured and did perverted things to. Also…he…he was responsible…for killing my mother…. That's why I have to go. If I stay here, I'll have to live everyday through the haunted memories of my family. I have to get out to sea to escape my past so I can move forward. I know it's dangerous but I can get stronger. I'll do whatever it takes to get stronger but please…please let me go with you!” Rox took a deep breath as everyone turned to look at him. He takes a big yawn and sticks his pinky into his ear.

“Yeah I guess it's okay since that's what you really want. Doesn't really matter to me.” Everyone looks in shock but Kazu and Lucas who both take a heavy sigh. Jewel's face lights up as she stands to her feet in pure excitement.

“Really?” Rox nods his head.

“Yeah.” Jewel inches closer to Rox's face as he takes a step back.

“Really, really?”

“Uh huh.” Jewel inches even closer as her lips are a breath away from touching Rox's lips as he turns his head away looking for a way out.

“Really, really, really?” Rox takes a few steps back but Jewel pursues him as she steps forward not letting him get any distance between them.

“Sure.”

“Really, really-?” Kazu immediately comes up behind her and hits her on the head. As everyone looks in shock Rox shakes his head.

“Enough already! He said `yes' so stop acting like a woman and act like a pirate!” Jewel rubs her head as she looks up at Kazu.

“Ouchie! That really hurt!”

“Shut up! I only gave you a light tap.”

“But it still hurt!”

“Suck it up! You're not a kid anymore!”

“I'm not a kid to begin with! And you aren't much older than I am!”

“All the more reason for you to not be so sensitive.” Jewel jumps up and bites Kazu on the head as Rox takes a big yawn.

“Whatever. You two play nice, I'm gonna take a nap.” Rox immediately falls asleep standing up with his arms crossed as Luffy laughs while the villagers look in shock. Some of the villager's mouths drop open as they point at Rox who has fallen asleep standing up.

“HE REALLY FELL ASLEEP!” Rox's head tilts to the side and he begins to snore as the villagers continue to look in shock. “AND HE'S SNORING!” At that moment, Kazu walks over to Zoro with Jewel still holding on to his head with her teeth. She growls and gnaws at his scalp continuously. As Kazu approaches Zoro, Zoro puts his mug down.

“You ready?”

“Yeah. Now's a good time as any. What about her?” Zoro points to Jewel as Kazu glances at her and makes a face of frustration as he scowls. He whips his hands behind his head and grabs Jewel by the hair. Kazu throws Jewel which launches her into Rox and as she knocks him over and falls on top of him, Rox instantly wakes up.

“Man that was a good nap.”

“Rox, beat up that meanie!” Rox looks at Jewel as he scratches his head in confusion.

“Meanie…?”

“Yeah! He threw me!” Jewel points at Kazu who is starting to walk off with Zoro into the forest. Rox watches the two with a serious look as he sticks a toothpick into his mouth from his pocket. Jewel grabs Rox shirt and throttles him back and forth trying to get his attention.

“So what you gonna do Rox? Avenge me Rox! AVENGE ME!”

“Would…you…calm…down…?” Just at that moment, Robin comes up behind Jewel.

“Excuse me, Captain Rox, may I borrow you for a minute?” Rox looks up at Robin and immediately sits up and takes her hand after he tosses Jewel to the side.

“You can borrow me…for a lifetime.” Rox grins as he smiles at Robin. Robin chuckles at the humor as she turns to walk away. Jewel looks at Rox in confusion as Rox holds up two fingers at Jewel and walks away with Robin smiling. Jewel pouts her lips and folds her arms as she looks away in anger and runs towards the ship to see Lucas. When Robin and Rox get far enough away from the village so no one can hear them, Robin turns around to face Rox. Rox leans on a tree as he folds his arms over his chest. “So what's on your mind Nico Robin?” Robin takes a deep breath as she turns her head to the side and enjoys a breeze that blows over the island. Her hair is fanned gently as it blows in the wind. Her mind recalls the memory of when Rox held her in his arms and leaned his tall frame down to her ear whispering, `Aokiji says hey'. She snaps back to reality as she turns her attention back to Rox.

“How do you know Admiral Aokiji?” Rox shrugs his shoulders as he nonchalantly looks at her.

“Cause I'm in the navy.” Rox bursts into laughter as Robin looks at him in shock.

“Wait a minute! How are you in the navy when you're a pirate?” As Rox reduces his laughter to a light chuckle he wipes his eyes and then puts a serious look on his face.

“Don't be ignorant of what exists around you Nico Robin. You know more than anyone the tyranny that lies hidden like a snake in the grass within the Navy's declaration of justice. I will be no pawn to destroying innocent lives when they are not a threat to the World Government or Navy, especially those who seek no quarrel. I have my own sense of justice and while I try to fit my definition of justice within the navy, there was a bit of a clash with some of my peers. So for now, I do what I want and judge based on my understanding of the word `Justice'.” Robin nods her head as she puts the tips of her fingers to her chin as she contemplates the situation and what Rox has said.

“Did you cut all ties?” Rox shakes his head.

“No. I'm still in the navy. I just left under my own volition.”

“So you plan to return?”

“Of course! Someday…” Robin nods her head as she smiles.

“I see.” Robin chuckles to herself as Rox turns his head to look towards Luffy. Luffy is lying down on the ground with his stomach blown up as he rubs his belly.

“I'm gonna take my leave now. Kazu and Zoro should be fighting soon and I want to get my fight with Luffy started. To be honest, I'm tired of waiting myself.”

“Hold on, one last thing Captain Rox.” Rox stops as he places his right hand on a tree trunk and looks over his right shoulder. “Why are you so interested in Luffy?” Rox smiles as he turns his head back to in front of him and continues walking towards Luffy. Robin watches him walk away towards Luffy and she smiles as she follows behind him. Rox walks up to Luffy and smiles over top of him.

“Hey Rox! Having fun?”

“Yeah Luffy, I'm having a blast. But…I'm ready to fight now.” Luffy's smile disappears as he reaches for his hat on the table by stretching his hands to grab it. He sits up and places the hat on his head and hops to his feet. Once he gets to his feet, he bends his knees and turns his hands to fists as he brings them to his waist and his huge stomach flattens out to its normal size.

“Alright! Let's do this.” Luffy starts cracking his knuckles with his hand by clenching and releasing the tension.

“Okay. Come with me. We both don't want to get anyone hurt.” Luffy nods his head as Rox starts walking towards the forest and Luffy follows him. At this time, Zoro and Kazu have come out of the forest and reached a wide open grassy field with tall grass and wild wheat grass. In front of them, is a huge hill that rolls and leads to a cliff that goes into a ravine.

“Looks like a good spot as any.” Zoro says as he turns to look at Kazu. Kazu nods his head as he takes off his black vest. He tosses it on the ground and as it hits the dirt, it makes a hard thud sound on the ground. Zoro immediately looks at the vest and sees Kazu stretching his arms and moving his neck and shoulders. He notices a huge tattoo on Kazu's back that has the letters `R-A' in a circle. “Seems like you've been holding back all this time.”

“Not anymore Roronoa Zoro. You will get the full effect of my swordsmanship. You are now dealing with Kazu Kai, the `Silent Swordsman'.” Kazu reaches around and pulls out the two daggers sheathed in his back and slowly draws them out. When he finishes pulling them out, he slowly turns his body and faces Zoro. Zoro takes out his three swords from their sheaths and gets into a battle stance as Kazu does the same. Kazu flips the blades from pointing away from his body to being pointed towards his body. He bends his knees and turns his body sideways as he turns his head to keep his eyes locked dead center on Zoro. Zoro bends his knees with both of his swords in front of him pointed upwards away from his body. The wind blows whistling through the trees and grass as everything around them grows quiet. Like lighting, the two flash forward towards each other and as they clash in the middle, the force of their swings pushes outward and breaks up the ground kicking up dirt and grass. Zoro has his three swords meeting up high with one of Kazu's daggers as Kazu is off the ground with his hand out in front of him nearly level with his chest. The two push off of each other and run around through the field clashing their blades as the force of their swings kicks up dirt, cuts the air and marks the trees. As Kazu and Zoro's blades touch, the sounds of steel singing can be heard and echo through the open field. The wind comes to a halt as the force of the swings get stronger and tears up the ground even more. After one exchange, the two separate jumping back as their breathing is even and flowing with ease. Kazu takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Roronoa…ZORO!” Zoro looks at him with his eyes focused dead on Kazu.

“Kai…KAZU!” The two rush forward again and this time as they get closer to each other at the mid-way distance, Zoro turns his left arm inside to do an upward slash that Kazu blocks with one dagger but Zoro swings his head to bring the second sword behind it to get a slash across the top of Kazu's chest just below his neck. While Zoro is swinging his right arm, Kazu quickly spins off the block and dodges the swing as he takes his left arm and slashes Zoro across his side and they move past each other. The two of them stand with their backs to each other in silence and when the wind blows again, the wounds appear on their bodies. They turn to look at one another as they both smile at each other.

“I think that's a good enough warm-up, don't you?” Zoro smirks as he gets back into his stance from earlier.

“I think you talk too much.” Kazu's face shifts from a smile to a serious look as he gets back into the attack stance that he used earlier as well.

“Well, maybe…” Kazu takes off at a higher speed than he ran last time which makes Zoro blink in shock. Zoro quickly tries to maintain his composure as he looks throughout the field to find Kazu. Suddenly blood splatters out of his back and he begins falling forward. Zoro quickly catches himself as he places his hand on the ground in front of him. He turns his head to look behind him and sees Kazu standing behind him with blood dripping down his dagger. Zoro turns his body around and faces Kazu but takes a few steps back.

“I see you have no honor!” Kazu's face changes to a look of disgust.

“You spit on me Roronoa Zoro. So be it. We'll fight by your rules. I won't attack you from behind.” Kazu takes off again at a high speed as Zoro searches continuously to find him. Zoro then gets slashed across his leg and he swings his sword to the right to try and catch Kazu but he sidesteps and dashes past Zoro and cuts him again across the waist. Zoro chases after him as Kazu smirks and steps side to side away from Zoro. Zoro then takes his two swords in his hands and raises them above his head.

“72 POUND CANNON!” Kazu's eyes enlarge at the power as he quickly gets out the way of the attack. As it blows past him on his left, the attack cuts up the ground leaving a three foot ditch along the ground. Zoro closes the distance between them and swings his swords. Kazu blocks Zoro's swords with his daggers. As Kazu blocks the attacks, the force from each swing passes over Kazu and puts holes into the ground. Kazu whistles as he sees the display of power and then he pushes off Zoro leaving Zoro wide open.

“CROSS SLASH!” Kazu swings his daggers diagonally across at Zoro which cuts the air. Zoro sees the attack and quickly leans backwards to avoid it but gets nicked on the edge of his right shoulder by the attack. Zoro follows through with the backwards movement by doing a back hand spring. When Zoro gets back on his feet, he stays on one knee as he watches Kazu stand tall and unwavering in front of him. Kazu leaps into the air and as he comes down towards Zoro, Zoro grips his swords and spins around in a circle.

“SANTOURYUU….TATSUMAKI!” As the swords spin around in a circle, it creates a tornado that spins with about 10 feet in diameter. As the wind hits Kazu, the powerful gusts push him back which causes him to lean back and his momentum is slowed down. Kazu smiles as he shifts his body to be standing upright in midair.

“This move won't work against me Zoro! WIND CURRENT SLICE!” Kazu takes his dagger and swings it perpendicular to the funnel of the tornado he's inside and splits the tornado apart. The opposing air currents pop and push Kazu out of the funnel. As he slowly falls to the ground, Zoro stares in utter surprise but he quickly regains his composure and sheaths all of his swords and places his hands on two of them. He grips the handle of the swords as he bends his knees with a sword on both sides of his hips.

“NITOURYUU-IIYA…” Kazu touches the ground with his feet and springs upwards with a bounce on the toes of his feet as he smirks.

“TWIN DAGGER…” Once Kazu's feet touch the ground again, he rushes in a flash towards Zoro as Zoro takes off towards Kazu.

“RASHOMON!”

“ILLUSION STRIKE!” The sound of their weapons clashing is heard followed by three strikes to a body as Zoro passes by Kazu. When the two stop moving, Kazu is further away from where the two crossed paths as his hands are still holding the daggers with his arms behind his body and his legs bended all the way down to the ground. Zoro still has his legs bended with his hands on the swords as if they had never been drawn. Suddenly, a cut opens across Zoro's left thigh and right hip but the one across the hip is deeper whereas with Kazu a deep wound is opened over his left shoulder. Kazu takes a deep breath as Zoro turns around to face him. Kazu slowly gets up from the ground level and turns his head upwards to the sky. As he stares at the cloudless blue sky, the wind blows in a strong gust. Kazu slowly takes his daggers and spins them around in a fast moving circle as he grips them quickly and sheaths him. “Hey Zoro.” Zoro looks at Kazu with a puzzled look.

“What?” Kazu slowly twists his body to turn his head to his left to look at Zoro. As Zoro sees his face, he looks in shock. “Why are you smiling like that?” As if the question was never asked, Kazu continues to look at Zoro with the purest expression of happiness on his face.

“If I defeat you, will you tell me what motivates you to be the best?” Zoro slowly looks away from Kazu as he takes out his three swords again and while holding the third up to his lips, he stares straight at Kazu.

“You'll never know cause you won't defeat me.” Kazu's face dissipates from happiness to a solemn empty expression.

“Fair enough, I guess. Once I beat you, I guess it won't matter anyway.” Zoro closes his eyes and places the third sword into his mouth as he stands firm while Kazu turns his back to Zoro. Zoro sticks his two swords into the ground and grabs the head wrap on his arm and ties it over his head. He slowly places his hands on the swords and grabs them from out the ground. Kazu slowly places his right hand on the handle of the sword on his back. He draws it out and whips it around and points it forward. “In my hand is the power to wield seven stars…I shall not waver or fear this power…I will grip this force and make it bow before me…Heaven's tears fall…Hell's voices are heard…Earth holds their breath…Destroy my enemy and bathe me in their blood, their sorrow, and their pain.” In one fluid motion Kazu turns around and takes off towards Zoro. “SEVEN STAR DESTRUCTION!” Zoro's eyes changes and immediately his aura bursts out from within him and takes the form of a Goddess with three heads, and six arms.

“ASURA!” At that moment the aura intensifies to the point where Zoro is the one who looks to have three heads and six arms. In the last second before the two cross paths again, Kazu beams with excitement. Meanwhile, on a different part of the island, Rox and Luffy walk in silence until they arrive at a different section of the beach from where their ships anchored. Immediately, the two begin to distance themselves a bit. At that moment, Lucas sees the two of them and begins walking towards them. Lucas' face shows a look of concern as he starts to approach his captain and Luffy.

“Captain Rox! I finished locking the guy up! I made sure to put sea stone chains on him.” Rox doesn't take his eyes off of Luffy who has a serious face about him. Luffy keeps his hand on his straw hat as the wind picks up and blows with a fierceness to it. All three of them turn to look in a direction and look hard. Rox closes his eyes and concentrates hard for a minute as his breathing slows to a bare minimum. As Rox concentrates, he can hear the sounds of swords clashing and the footsteps of Kazu and Zoro's fight. He opens his eyes and smiles knowing that soon their battle will end and that they'll need medical attention.

“Lucas!” Lucas immediately turns his head to his captain. “Go find Kazu. I'm sure him and Zoro will need some help when they finish up. Once you finish helping them, come back here with Chopper.” Lucas nods his head and runs off in search for Zoro. Once Lucas has left, Rox makes a fist with his right hand, tightening it as he flexes his arm trying to contain the excitement. Luffy stares into the face of his opponent before him.

“You're no pushover so I won't go easy on you at all because I know you're very strong.” Luffy bends his knees and places his right hand on the ground as he keeps his eyes on Rox. He pushes his legs down to begin pumping the blood and he does it two times. “GEAR….SECOND!” Luffy pushes off the ground and springs towards Rox in a flash as the sand on the beach near Rox shoots up off the ground and covers Rox's fist. The sand then changes to pure rock and crystallizes into a gem. As Luffy's punch comes towards Rox face, Rox shifts his body to receive the blow and begins swinging his rock covered fist at Luffy.

“GEM PUNCH!” Luffy's fist hits Rox square in the side of his face as Rox counters with his attack that hits Luffy square in the jaw with an uppercut. After the two attacks connect, the force of each other's blow sends them flying away from each other. They both recover at the same time but Luffy takes off towards Rox.

“JET PISTOL!” Suddenly Luffy's arm flies at Rox who dodges the attack by moving his head to the left and he places his left hand on the ground.

“IVY DEATH!” From within the forest, three vines shoot out at Luffy and grab him in midair as a huge tree trunk emerges from the ground and sprouts a huge agape mouth that lunges at Luffy. As the vines tie him tighter, they drag him into the mouth and once the mouth closes the vines release Luffy inside.

“GUMO GUMO NO…JET BAZOOKA!” Immediately the plant breaks up into tiny pieces as Rox jumps straight at Luffy and punches him hard into his stomach. Luffy coughs up blood as he attempts to counter with a kick but the blow to his body stuns him enough to prevent him from following through. Rox capitalizes with a double fist slam to Luffy's head to knock him straight down to the ground. Luffy hits the ground hard enough to create a small crater in the sand. As Luffy looks up at Rox, he grips his head. “Ow…He can punch really hard…!” Rox plants his feet back on the ground and stands firm as he widens his stance and puts his fists close to his side. Then he raises his left leg like a sumo wrestler preparing to fight.

“QUAKE STOMP!” Rox stomps the ground creating a shockwave that shoots through the ground causing the ground to shake and rumble. Luffy tries to maintain his balance but just can't manage to stand on his feet. Rox dashes towards Luffy and when he gets in front of him, he kicks Luffy in the face to send him flying into a tree trunk. As Luffy's back hits the tree trunk, he bounces off and yelps in pain. “VINE WHIP!” Then a vine comes out of the forest and wraps around Luffy's neck tightly as it begins to strangle him.

“What the-! How are you doing this?” Rox chuckles as he walks slowly towards Luffy as his second gear begins to dissipate away and his once before steaming red skin starts to fade away back to its original cream white color.

“The plant-plant fruit allows me to control all things of this planet's construct. So in turn, I can manipulate plants, rocks and minerals, as well as the water itself. Your rubber power alone isn't enough to defeat me.” Rox uses his hand to control the vine to move Luffy away from the tree to the middle of the air as other vines begin to sprout out from the ground and quickly wrap around Luffy to bind his limbs. Luffy then inhales a bunch of air.

“GUMO GUMO NO…FUUSEN!” Luffy blows himself up like a puffer fish and snaps the vines. When he releases the air, he spins around like a top in the air. When Luffy gets on the ground he begins running towards Rox. “GUMO GUMO NO….GAITLING GUN!” Rox quickly takes his arms and holds them out in front of him as the water from the wet sand begins to attach itself to his arms until it forms into a ball in the palm of his hand.

“WATER BULLET!” Rox launches the water ball at Luffy and as it hits his fist, it bursts and blinds Luffy from seeing Rox. When the water mist from the attack clears, Rox is nowhere in sight.

“Where did he go?”

“Up here Luffy!” Luffy looks up and sees Rox coming down with his fist cocked back behind him. Luffy places his left hand on his right shoulder and cocks back his right fist as he stretches it away from his body while spinning it.

“GUMO GUMO NO….”

“GIGATON….” The two shoot their fists out in front of each other.

“RIFLE!”

“ROCK SMASH!” The two fists collide in front of each other and the force of the attacks blows sand everywhere in an outward direction from their fists as the two grit their teeth and grind their fists against each other's. Both of them hold their ground firmly until eventually they both give and fall backwards. Meanwhile, back over in the grassy plains, Kazu and Zoro's match continues. The two of them are cut up so severely, blood outlines their body in several places. Kazu has defensive cuts all over his arms as Zoro has a gash on the left side of his head and several cuts on his neck and legs. Currently, they stand breathing heavy at a distance of about twelve feet apart from each other in full stride steps. Kazu places both of his hands on the sword as he winces from the pain of moving his injured arm. Zoro eyes him closely, looking for the right moment to attack as he stays on his toes ever ready to strike. Kazu takes the sword away from his injured arm holding it with one hand as he stares menacingly at Zoro. Zoro smirks as he thinks to himself that he has the upper hand after their previous exchange. However he can't be too careless because the wounds from his previous battle at Gecko Moria's island has started to re-open. But he smiles to hide the injury knowing full well, this battle will end soon in his favor.

“I have to give it to you Zoro. I didn't think you'd be standing by now.” Zoro stays on his toes, tensed and expecting an attack.

“I could say the same to you Kazu. But this fight is over. You won't be able to stop any of my attacks if you can't hold your sword with both hands.” Kazu scoffs as his face streaks with anger, denying in any way that he is already claimed the loser.

“This fight is over Zoro…but not for me.” Zoro's eyes perk up as at that moment, Kazu takes the sword in his hand and slowly brings it across his body as the blade itself starts getting cocked back behind him on his left. “ZERO IMAGE!” Before Zoro can react to the words Kazu shouts, a burst of wind blows past him as he is stabbed on the right side of his chest. Zoro slowly turns his head to the wound as he sees the sword and Kazu at the end of it. Kazu takes his hand off the sword and turns around to put his back to him. While he turns his back to him, he grabs the sword with his left hand and yanks it out to make blood squirt out as Zoro gets tugged forward and starts to fall to the ground. As Zoro falls forward, Kazu begins to walk away loosely holding the sword in his left hand as the blood on the tip drips to the ground leaving a trail behind him. Right before Zoro's legs touch the ground, he snaps out of falling unconscious and balances himself to fall to one knee with his left hand on the ground. Kazu stops as he takes a glance to look behind him. He whistles again at the marvel of Zoro's will power and places his right hand on the sword as he turns around to face him. Zoro's breathing picks up in harder breaths as he stares at the ground.

“So…fast….” He looks up at Kazu who stands tall looking down at Zoro.

“Can you stand?” Zoro glares at Kazu as he starts pushing himself off his knee to stand up.

“Shut up!” Once he gets back to his feet, he takes a deep breath and turns to face Kazu. He bends his knees again as he sheaths all of his swords and places his hands on the white sheathed sword. He stands up straight keeping his hands on that particular sword as he spins it around slowly while placing it behind his right shoulder. “ITTOURYUU-IIA…” Kazu looks at him questioningly but begins to gets in a defensive stance as he bends his knees and holds up his sword across his body. Zoro takes off at a high speed towards Kazu and as Kazu sees Zoro coming and drawing his sword, he tries to block the attack but being unable to lift his left arm properly halts him from doing so. In turn, he begins to side step but Zoro is already swinging his sword and manages to cut Kazu across his chest as he tries to avoid the attack. “SHISHI SONSON!” The cut opens up as Kazu begins to lose his balance from the pain he feels from the attack. His legs shake as he stumbles backwards but quickly plants his right foot and gathers strength. Zoro turns to see him still on his feet.

“ZERO IMAGE!” For the second time a huge gust of wind blows over Zoro but instead of being stabbed, he is slashed across his left side around his ribs. Both Kazu and Zoro cough blood and spit it out as the two stand with their backs to each other. A moment of silence passes between them as they try to gather their breath. Blood has soaked their bodies as it drips to the ground covering the grassy field like a painted picture in blotches and streaks. The wind blows but comes to a calm as it stops abruptly and leaves everything still like time stopped. Sounds from the animals stopped a long time ago so the eerie silence feels normal to them as the only sounds that can be heard are their breathing. They both turn to face each other at the same time as Zoro grabs his black sheathed sword and draws it out. He puts the third sword into his mouth as he takes the two swords in his hands and starts spinning them around in a circle. Kazu starts gathering his feet from underneath him as he prepares to make his move.

“SANTOURYUU….OUGI….” Zoro says before Kazu yells from the top of his lungs as he begins to gather his strength into his right arm and legs.

“ZERO IMAGE…BLACKHEART CROSS ATTACK!”

“SANZEN SAEKAI!” The two lunge toward each other and make their exchange of blows as blood splatters up into the air when the two meet. After they pass each other, they come to a stop and stand tall. At that moment, Lucas begins to come out of the forest opening they came from. When he sees the two of them, he stares in shock at what he sees.

“You've got to be kidding me…! There's just…no way!” Back over on the beach, Rox and Luffy are breathing hard after their exchange of attacks as both are trickling blood from their head. Luffy immediately jumps into the air and spins his body forward towards Rox.

“GUMO GUMO NO….STAMP!” Luffy's foot flies towards Rox to attempt to stomp him in the head but Rox covers his head with his arms and manages to block it even though the pain shoots through his arms. Then Luffy retracts his foot and shoots his hands to the ground as he spins his body continuously in front flips as he comes to the ground. “GUMO GUMO NO…ONO!” Luffy's feet then stretch outwards and becomes a spinning blade. Rox quickly jumps to the side but the attack grazes his body. The attack continues onwards and strikes a deep cut into the ground. Rox raises his hand into the air.

“WATER VINEYARD!” Vines pop out of the ground in the sand from where the water was at high tide as it begins to suck up all the water that is within the sand. Luffy looks at him questioningly as Rox makes his way over to the vines and places his hands on them. As Rox touches the vines, the water starts covering his hands as it spreads up his arms covers his entire body until he is inside a ball of water. Luffy looks at him in surprise as he marvels at Rox moving towards him inside a ball of water.

“That's so cool!” Rox grins as he clasps his hands together.

“If you think this is cool, then you'll really love this.” Luffy grits his teeth as he tenses his body to prepare for an attack. “HYDRA FURY!” The ball of water then slides off of Rox body and takes the shape of three water hydras that move in a circle around Rox. As the light reflects off the water, images of scales can be seen on the hydras as their eyes glare with malice intent at Luffy and they roar and hiss at him. The water hydras charge at Luffy as Luffy dodges them and tries to avoid their strikes. As one tries to bite him, Luffy jumps out the way but another comes at him from behind and slams him down to the ground. As Luffy hits the ground he stretches his hand back.

“GUMO GUMO NO…BULLET!” Luffy thrusts his fist forward into the head of one of the hydras to make it crumble apart and turns into a puddle of water on the ground. Immediately, the spot on the ground dries up afterwards. Luffy stands to his feet as the two other hydras charge at him. “GUMO GUMO NO…”

“WATER BULLET!” Just then a huge ball of water hits Luffy in the side of the head, drenching him as he stumbles from the sudden impact. As he turns to see Rox still standing by the vines, he begins to rush him but the water hydras bite down on him and encase him in water. Suddenly steam begins to emit as the hydras start screeching in pain and slowly burst into a cloud of steam and evaporate. When the steam clears, Luffy stands facing Rox in his second gear again.

“JET BAZOOKA!” Rox is hit hard into his stomach which makes him fall to one knee. Luffy dashes in front of Rox. But as soon as Luffy gets close, Rox cocks back his left fist and uppercuts Luffy straight in the jaw. The blow reels Luffy but he quickly recovers from the attack. Luffy and Rox both cock back their right fist. “GUMO GUMO NO….JET RIFLE!”

“WATER RELEASE!” Rox takes the blow that Luffy deals to him straight into his face but Rox doesn't move as he grits his teeth and closes his eyes. When he opens them up, a huge burst of water erupts from the ground around Luffy and shoots him skyward into the air. Immediately his second gear phases out again as Luffy quickly bites his thumb while he's still rising in the air.

“GEAR…THIRD!” Luffy blows hard and his right arm blows up to a huge size. He shifts the air through his body and returns it back to his right arm as it changes to the size of a giant. “GIGANTE PISTOL!” As Luffy starts falling to the ground, he extends his arm forward as he builds his momentum to the ground. Rox looks in shock as he sees Luffy coming down straight at him.

“Surely we can talk about this…” Rox places his hand on the ground and immediately all the dirt and sand around him begins to cover his entire body and hardens to a hard thick cut of stone. “ROCK BODY!” As Luffy's fist is within distance, Rox jumps straight into the air towards Luffy's fist. “BEDROCK HEADBUTT!” Rox's head becomes covered in stones like a helmet as he rams his head into Luffy's fist in midair. As the two collide, Luffy's fist breaks apart the rock covering Rox's body but it flies straight into Luffy's face and chest cutting him up as well as damaging his hand while Rox takes a lot of damage from Luffy's attack. The force of the two attacks shoots enough sand away to create a five foot wide, eight feet deep crater in the ground below them. As the power from the attacks fades, the two slowly fall back down to the ground. When Luffy reaches the ground, his body has shrunk to being only two feet tall.

“Ouch! My hand hurts!” Luffy runs around blowing on his hand as Rox watches him breathing pretty heavy in astonishment. When Luffy finishes running around, he returns back to his normal height. “All right! Now I can properly beat you. I just got an idea for a new attack.” Rox grins as he looks at Luffy while bending down to prepare to attack.

“I'm ready for it. I'll defeat you with my best move.” Just then a soft noise is heard between them. Luffy starts looking around as he tries to figure out what the noise is. Rox looks at Luffy questioningly as he soon realizes the noise is close by to him. He turns his head to look for the source as well and soon sees the den den mushi that was in his pocket is on the ground next to him. He picks it up and holds a hand up in front of Luffy. “Wait one second Luffy!” He answers the call and turns his back to Luffy. “This better be important! I'm in the middle of something here!”

“Ah! Lt. Brenan! We've been trying to reach you for quite some time now.”

“What is it?”

“Well you see, we are moving a lot of people to Navy HQ to prepare for the execution. We're gonna need you posted in the New World until things are complete because we're stretched thin.” Rox takes a heavy sigh as he glances at Luffy who is standing still looking at him.

“Fine. I'm on my way but I got to stop by Impel Down to bring in a criminal first. So be sure to tell the warden I'm on my way and I want his bounty too.”

“Yes sir. I will inform Magellan that you're on your way.” Rox hangs up to end the call and places the den den mushi back into his pocket. As he turns around, Luffy gets ready to fight.

“Sorry Luffy, but I have to go.” Luffy looks at him in shock.

“What do you mean you have to go? WE HAVEN'T FINISHED OUR FIGHT YET!”

“Oh it's far from finished Luffy. But I have to go to the New World immediately and you're coming there eventually if you truly want to be pirate king. So, we'll finish our fight there in the New World.” Luffy turns his head and puckers his lips.

“You just want to run away because I was gonna win.” Rox looks at him in shock as he points his finger at Luffy.

“You weren't gonna win!” Luffy continues to look away at him.

“Coward.” Rox grits his teeth as at that moment, Lucas appears in between the two of them.

“All right you two. Captain, what's going on?” Lucas looks at Rox as Rox stares back with a serious face. At that moment, the rest of Luffy's crew comes out of the forest as Usopp waves at Luffy.

“Hey Luffy!” Luffy turns to everyone with a huge smile as they run over to each other. Chopper is holding both Kazu and Zoro in his arms who are both out cold. Chopper lays them down on a part of the beach that wasn't affected by Luffy and Rox's fight. As he lays them down, Kazu and Zoro start to wake up.

“Chopper…? What are you…?” Zoro turns his head and sees that he's on the beach and the ships aren't too far away from him. “How did I get out here?” Chopper looks in shock as he begins screaming.

“OH NO! ZORO HAS AMNESIA! QUICK ZORO! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?” Chopper begins placing a stethoscope on Zoro's chest and head as Zoro shoos him away.

“Stop it Chopper! I can remember my name just fine!”

“Would you two quiet down? Are you guys always this noisy after a fight?” Zoro's eyes perk up as he remembers the last moments of the fight.

“That's right! I won.” Kazu turns to look at Zoro as if he was crazy.

“HAH! Your doctor better re-examine your head because I WON!” Zoro turns his head and looks at Kazu as Kazu stares right back.

“It was a draw. Neither of you won.”

“What!?” Kazu and Zoro say in unison as the two of them along with Chopper turn to look at Lucas.

“What do you mean it was a draw Lucas?” Kazu says as he starts getting up. Lucas puts his hand on Kazu's shoulder and looks at him straight in the eyes.

“I was there Kazu. I saw the conclusion of the fight.”

~Flashback~

“SANTOURYUU….OUGI….” Kazu yells from the top of his lungs as he begins to gather his strength into his right arm and legs.

“ZERO IMAGE…BLACKHEART CROSS ATTACK!”

“SANZEN SAEKAI!” The two lunge toward each other and make their exchange of blows as blood splatters up into the air when the two meet. After they pass each other, they come to a stop and stand tall. “Right at that moment, I had just come out of the forest to find out what the outcome was. When you two finished those moves, you both passed out at the same time falling to the ground. I was in such a shock at the amount of blood that was everywhere and how much damage you two had done to each other, I didn't think there was enough time to go get anyone because I thought one of yall would die. However I was able to stop the bleeding from the both of you long enough to go to the village to grab Chopper.”

~End of Flashback~

Zoro and Kazu both look solemn as Lucas pats Kazu's shoulder. “Come on! Captain said we got to go to the New World right now.”

“WHAT FOR!?” Lucas puts his hands up as he backs away slowly.

“Hey, I'm just the messenger!” Kazu turns to look at Rox who is heading to the ship. “Rox! Why are we leaving? I didn't finish settling things with Zoro.” Kazu begins running towards Rox as Rox sighs heavily.

“I didn't finish things with Luffy either but I have to go.”

“Then why are we leaving?” Kazu jumps up on to the ship and gets in Rox face as Rox whips his arm around Kazu's shoulder to put his lips close to Kazu's ear.

“Navy business dude. We'll be going to the New World which is where we planned to go from the start and we can finish our business with the Strawhat crew there.” Kazu scoffs as he knocks Rox arm away.

“You know this sucks!” Rox nods his head in agreement.

“I know, I know.” Rox turns his attention to Lucas as Kazu walks over to the edge of the ship. “Come on Lucas! Get everyone on board!” Just then the other crew members of Rox's crew comes out from below deck as well as Jewel who runs over to Rox and hugs him. Rox returns the affection as Lucas gets on board. He then turns his attention to Luffy and his crew as he places his hands on the railings of the ship. “LUFFY! HURRY TO NEW WORLD!” Luffy looks at Rox and grins from ear to ear.

“You bet!” Kazu comes up behind Rox and stares at Zoro. Zoro sees Kazu and stares right back as the anchor pulls up. The two share a silent exchange of unvoiced words as Rox turns his body to the rest of the crew.

“Move it people! NEXT STOP…THE NEW WORLD!” Everyone cheers as they begin lowering the sails. “Hey Kazu, you want to help us out a bit here?” Kazu keeps his eyes on Zoro as he slowly takes off the sea stone sheath around his waist and drops it to the floor of the ship. He turns his hand towards the sails and immediately a huge gust of wind blows into the sails and begins pushing the ship out into the water. Luffy and the others look in shock as they watch Kazu push the ship with his devil fruit power. Zoro's face is unfazed as he watches Kazu sail further away along with Luffy and the others. When Kazu and Rox are out of sight, Usopp turns to Luffy.

“Well so long to them!” Nami looks at Luffy and then turns to Zoro.

“Do you think we'll see them in the New World Luffy?” Luffy smiles as he continues looking at the ship.

“Of course! Don't you think so Zoro?”

“Yeah. We still have business with that crew.”

“Alright! Everyone, let's go! Nami, guide us to the next island!”

“Okay Luffy.”

“Sanji, make me some food!”

“Okay Luffy. I'll be sure to use the flavors from that sake I got from the villagers with the meal.” The Strawhat crew begin heading to their ship as the villagers come out of the forest and see them off. Moments later, they raise up their anchor and loosen the sails as the wind picks up and sends them off on their next adventure.