Pheasant and Dragon

I care

Luffy stared past the sea stone bars and at the figure that hung limply by his arms. The man was covered in blood, with open wounds and dark bruises littering his frail body. The ribs protruded out as a clear sign of starvation. A massive scar snaked from the man's entire arm and onto his torso, finally hiding behind a pair of torn trousers that were held up by a piece of cord.

A left leg was missing, but it wasn't a particularly new development, as the same blotchy scar on his arm mirrored that of the stump. The person's face was obscured by limp hair. Too tired to look up and see his saviour. He has to save that poor man and get some food for him. What the fuck was wrong with the Blackbeard Pirates? How could a person do something like this to another person?

"Zoro, open the door," Luffy ordered.

His first mate obliged and swiftly cut down the locks. The room stank of blood and mildew but was suspiciously empty. The only thing this room had was a tall man strung up in chains. Luffy carefully avoided the brown-red splotches on the ground, and that was when the man finally looked up.

Luffy froze.

He knows the prisoner. He could only stare open-mouthed at the damaged man. Why the hell was he here? Luffy stared at the man's gaunt face, which was littered with cuts and bruises and the like. He knew that the nose was clearly broken, plus his lips were split and he had swollen eyes. All of it pointed to being punched repeatedly in the face. And the most concerning of all was the dazed expression he wore, as if he had trouble recognising Luffy. His heart raced, and a cold sweat soaked his back. Zoro just stood there with his eyebrows raised in shock. How did they do this to a near-impossible to defeat opponent?

Luffy loves his uncle. He may not understand him at times, but he certainly does love the man. That was why he was filled with blind rage. He frothed at the mouth, veins popping out of his face. He hadn't been this angry in his life. He had known Kuzan since he was born and had been a constant in his life, and seeing him strung up by his arms broke him. How could they do this to someone so strong? His uncle provided food when he needed it and helped when he asked. They had an absolute bond, even though they were on opposing sides. But now Kuzan had no obligation to chase his nephew.

"Cut him down," Luffy ordered.

His tone was even without a hint of emotion and full of authority. Zoro listened. He caught the man in his arms ever so gently and walked towards the exit. He could slowly sense the strength returning to the man. The painful draining powers of seastone were especially painful to logia users.

"Luffy? Is that you?" Kuzan whispered.

His voice was weak and hoarse and so incredibly soft, which was unlike the man he knew. His grip tightened.

"Leave! It's not safe here. Just leave me here," Kuzan begged.

Luffy continued walking. He wasn't leaving anyone behind; he'd just punch whoever was getting in his way. Zoro had gone ahead to warn Chopper that an injured person was coming. They had arrived on an island in Blackbeard's territory only to find it deserted, where they could only assume the man had run away, so they decided to poke around. Kuzan gripped Luffy's arm. His uncle's hands were always cold, which was courtesy of his ice ice fruit, but now they were room temperature. Something was wrong.

He screamed. He needed someone to notice him. To help him. He can't just leave his uncle dead at a place like this. He picked up the pace and ran with all his might. Luffy needed his uncle to be okay. It wouldn't be his fault this time, he promised himself.

"CHOPPER!" Luffy yelled desperately.

He increased his pace. Logia's were known for their miraculous recovery but Kuzan wasn't getting any better. Soon he spotted the Thousand Sunny in the horizon. With a huff he secured the rather tall man in one arm and stretched his other towards the ship. They slingshotted towards the ship and surprised everyone on the ship currently. Zoro had just made it on the ship after running in the wrong direction for a bit.

"Chopper save him!" Luffy ordered.

Chopper who had just appeared out of his office quickly noticed the severely injured man in his captain's arms. He rushed the former admiral into the sick bay and shooed everyone out before slamming the door shut. All of the crew had arrived back on the ship for lunch and most are up on the deck when Luffy had arrived. He could tell that they had loads of questions for him but he didn't particularly feel like answering any of them. He slumped to the ground he felt defeated. He was itching to fight the person who did this to his beloved uncle. Luffy sat on his grassy deck just feeling the breeze in order to calm himself.

"Was that Admiral Aokiji? What was he doing there?" Nami asked.

Luffy ignored Nami. His mind was still wrapping around the idea that someone could hurt an Admiral this badly and a person he loved so dearly. Someone was going to fucking pay.

"...I guess he betrayed the Blackbeard Pirates. His disappearance correlated with Garp escaping..."

All this for his shitty grandpa? His blood overboils. Someone is paying.