Second Wind

53

"Pheasant Flight," he muttered, before taking off in the direction of the sea. Luffy and Zoro, who had been preparing another collaboration strike, stared after him in bemusement. They shared a quick look at each other before taking off themselves. In the opposite direction. The direction of CP9 and Nico Robin's auras.

Aokiji inwardly groaned. I suppose I should have given them more credit than that. He quickly switched directions and prepared to intercept them again.

Franky coughed up blood and fell backwards onto the floor again as he tried to remember if Kaku had been anywhere near this strong the last time they fought. He was leaning heavily towards no.

Things weren't looking good. Zambai, Mozu, and Kiwi had already been defeated along with the rest of the Franky Family, and the strangers that had arrived with Iceburg were faring about as well as he was. Although he had initially had the upper hand against Blueno, it had all gone downhill once Lucci and Kaku stepped in. He struggled to his feet and prepared to continue the hopeless fight.

Kaku sighed. "You know, we really don't have time for this, so..." he blurred forward, delivering a barrage of kicks to Franky's stomach before the cyborg could react. "Could you please stay down?"

Franky couldn't seem to muster of the strength to stand up again. He was lifted off the ground, and felt a whip wrapping around him, the thorns digging into his steel body. Although they wouldn't draw blood, they still hurt, and achieved their role of immobilizing him.

Blueno finished searching the place and turned back towards Lucci. "There's no sign of the blueprints," he reported.

"In that case, it seems we're taking Franky as well," Lucci said, as if it didn't really matter to him either way. "We're going. Leave Iceburg alive, as per Admiral Aokiji's orders." He seemed a bit annoyed as he said that. The plan to make Iceburg's death in the collapsing building look like an accident to the Admiral hadn't gone over well, after all.

"What about the Revolutionaries?" Kalifa asked.

"Kill them," he said simply.

The heavily injured Revolutionary Army members looked on with hard, fearless expressions as Kaku and Blueno drew closer.

Usopp's eyes cracked open, sunlight filtering through his eyelids, and he groaned. Slowly, he forced his eyes open, and sat up. What was he doing lying in the middle of the street at sunset again?

At once, the memories came rushing back to him. "Robin!" he shouted, looking around frantically. Both she and her abductors were gone. Panic started to take hold. He hastily ran toward Sanji and shook him by the shoulders. "Sanji! Wake up! They took Robin!"

Slowly, Sanji's eyes began to crack open as well, before he shot up into a seated position, headbutting Usopp in the process. As the sniper rubbed his head, Sanji began to observe their surroundings. Catching sight of Nami and Chopper's prone forms, the bitter sting of defeat welled up inside him once more. He had failed. He would not fail again.

Reaching out with his Observation Haki, he found Robin's aura, along with those of CP9, and one other, at the edge of the island. He growled as he inferred that they were about to leave, and jumped to his feet. He quickly leapt over to Nami's side, gently shaking her awake, as Usopp went and roused Chopper. They had to move quickly.

Aokiji's brow furrowed in confusion. He was currently giving chase to the two leading members of the Strawhat crew, who had switched up their strategy and were now using hit and run tactics as they attempted to move the fight in the direction of the seatrain. But that was just it. While it may have been there goal to save Nico Robin, shouldn't they know better than to take the fight to the sea? Devil fruit user or not, the sea was his territory. They were already hard pressed to win this fight, and they were planning on giving an ice-man a practically endless supply of water? Granted, they were causing quite a lot of property damage, something which he should have prevented, but to his shame, he hadn't foreseen the difficulties he'd be facing against these two. Still, they were pirates. Shouldn't they be letting him worry about that?