"Come on kid, what are you waiting for?" Guy shouted at the fallen Luffy in front of him. "Is that all the future king of pirates has got?" he taunted him with his finger.
Luffy was heavily injured and struggled to move a muscle. Even so, he wasn't one to give up that easily. He gathered every last bit of strength in his body and forced himself to get up. "I-I am not done-"
Crunch
As soon as Luffy stood on his two legs, Guy appeared right next to him and dealt a heavy blow to his abdomen, cracking his ribs from the inside.
"GUAH!"
Luffy let out a final cry of pain before finally losing consciousness.
...
..
.
"Huh!"
"Are you feeling alright, Luffy?" He looked around to find himself lying next to a bonfire. Ace, Reyleigh, Luminous and Guy were sitting around, waiting for the food to be cooked.
"Food!" Luffy immediately grabbed the first edible thing he saw in his vicinity and began filling himself up.
"Wahaha You just returned from the verge of death and the first thing you care about is food? That's quite something." Rayleigh laughed his bit off, amused by the energetic young boy before him.
"That's just typical Luffy for you. My brother hasn't changed a bit," said Ace with a smile.
"Hoh? The two of you seem full of energy already. Wanna have another sparring session with me?" said Guy.
"What? No. At least let us have our food in peace before inviting us to die again!" said Ace. He looked down to grab his bit of food, but (not) to his surprise, there was none left. "Luffy you idiot! Why did you eat my food too?"
"Yggh, s'gud! Sh-gg... gblgb"
"The hell? Don't talk with your face stuffed to the brim!"
"Wahaha You guys are fun." commended Guy, interrupting the small quarrel between the brothers. A gentle smile appeared on his face. "I hope to see you get strong soon."
*
"Come on. Don't be like that!" complained Parona after she threatened to leave Kuraigana Island for the 10th time.
"No."
"Please!"
"... I don't like to repeat myself. As I said, an inexperienced such as yourself will not be allowed to hold Yoru. It is not a toy for your entertainment."
"Awww I just want to touch it-"
"No means no," declared Hawkeye.
"Meanie!"
"Anyways, it's time for me to go out now." He got up from his seat, put on his coat and hat, and prepared to leave. "I won't be back here for another month or so," he added.
"Huh? Where are you going this time?" asked Parona curiously. "Didn't you already take care of all your duties after the war?"
"Hmm. Today, I have to go out for a different matter," he said. "I got an interesting call from a friend of mine. It was interesting enough for me to not ignore it."
"Huh? You mean that time you were talking about some 'challenge' or something with someone on the snail?"
Hawkeye looked at her and nodded. "Yes. It's about that. Also, I will be taking Roronoa with me."
"What!? Then what will I do in this place all alone? Take me with you as well."
"No."
"But why?" she demanded.
"You are a hindrance."
"... Fine. I won't talk to you anymore. Do as you wish!" she cried and flew away to her room.
"I mean, if you can promise not to interfere with us at all, then I don't mind you tagging along."
"Yay! I promise!" she halted her flight and turned back immediately, a large smile replaced her crying expression.
"Well then, let's get going."
*
Huff huff huff
"This is your last chance, Kid. Join my side and become a member of the beast pirates."
Kid barely stood on his legs, bleeding intensely after receiving a single hit from Kaido. "G-go to h-hell!" Yet, his determination was taller than the peak of a mountain, and so was his pride which didn't allow him to work as someone's lackey.
"Aaapopopo! Give it up, Kid. Accept your fate and join our side, just like Hawkins. Otherwise-"
Boom
"Shut yer trap you disgusting piece of junk!" shouted Kid as he launched a piece of metal at the piece of shit in front of him, almost hitting him in the face. "You will pay for this betrayal with your life!"
"Tch. It's no use, Kaido. We need to break his spirit some other way."
"Fine. Restrain him and take him to Onigashima."
"You aren't getting away with this, Kaido!" Kid gathered the last bit of strength in his body and charged a giant metal arm. "Killer, are you ready?"
"Yes, Kid."
"Worororo Alright. I will entertain you some more." Kaido didn't even bother to coat his fist with Haki.
"Take this!"
Clash
Just as they were about to collide, their fists were intercepted in between.
"Let me in on this fun too!" The little presence that held both of their hands with her arms shouted in excitement.
"What tha-"
"Who the hell are you, brat?" asked Kaido, his voice filled with irritation and intrigue.
"Wahahaha I see you look as ugly in person as in the manga, Kaido," Milim remarked with an innocent, child-like laughter. "Entertain me to the best of your ability!" she demanded. Her eyes glittered with anticipation.
"Apopopo get lost, kid. You don't know who you are talking to!" Perhaps, he was so blinded by the appearance of the child that, he didn't realize the very same child blocked both Kaido and Kid's punches like it was a child's play, literally.
"Huh? Who are you?" asked Milim in confusion. "Ah, right! You are that disgusting piece of junk who betrayed his own alliance to gain Kaido's favour."
"Why you!" he shouted angrily. "How dare a mare child mock me! Apopopopo" He turned his limbs into musical instruments and began playing. "Now you see my Battle Mu-"
The next instant, he froze right in his tracks, unable to move a hair. W-what is this pressure? Is this Conqueror's Haki? And the sheer force of it... It's as strong as Kaido himself! How can a mere child have conqueror's haki rivalling that of an emperor?
"I am not interested in fighting weaklings. Get lost." Milim ordered in a grim tone.
"H-hai!" Those words came out of his mouth involuntarily. All his instincts told him that if he disobeyed her, he would be yeeted out of existence.
"Worororo interesting," laughed Kaido as he felt the same pressure. "To possess such Haki, you are not an ordinary brat."
"Wahaha of course!" she said proudly and entered her battle stance.
"Right, now I remember. You are one of those Stardom Pirate brats who wreaked havoc at Marineford," he said, then pointed towards Kid and Killer. "But I don't understand why are you helping them. Are the stardom pirates in some sort of allia-"
Milim immediately coated her fist with Haki and clashed with him. "You talk far too much for someone obsessed with dying. Just shut up and fight me!"
"Worororo I like your way of thinking. Well then, we will do the talking later."
And so, an intense fight between the King of the Beasts and the Destroyer began.
*
On the other side of the island-
"Just where the hell is my sword?"
Author's note: Another whim. Hope you liked the chapter. If you want to chat with me, join my discord. Thanks for reading.