***Amaya's POV***
Bang!
The entry doors were slammed open.
"Neptune-sama!" The minister yelled as he was carried in on Brook's shoulder. "There was a kidnapping! Somebody kidnapped the Princess!"
"And pirates are falling like rain at the tower! In any event, they're your enemies! They're attacking!" Brook panicky finished.
"AHHHHH!" Usopp screeched.
"Somebody's making a raid now? What should we do?" Zoro asks.
"Why now?!" Usopp continued. "We're occupying the palace ourselves! Wh-What should we do?!" He asked Greenie. "No, don't answer!"
"I'll cut them."
"I said 'Don't answer'!"
"CHI CHi!" Chi shouts in Usopp's ear. She was rather annoyed with his yelling.
A hoard of no named pirates started to file through the door Brook just busted in from. They were all battered and bruised, likely due to their way of getting here, and each was armed with some kind of weapon.
"In order to survive..." one of them mumbles zombie-like. "We have to open the gate at any cost!" He finished with determination lacing his voice.
"Th-They're here!" Usopp stuttered.
We started fighting, knocking one down right after the next. Despite how many we knocked down, more seemed to take their place, creating a never ending stream of annoying adversaries.
"What's wrong with these guys?" Usopp complains slightly out of breath.
"One after another..." Brook trails off.
"Why do we always get involved in trouble?" Nami laments, holding her head.
"Stop whining, Nami! The battle is on already!" Zoro declares. "They keep attacking us so we have no choice."
"Shut up, Zoro! We don't wanna get ourselves into more trouble than we already have!"
"I'll admit. It's been annoying having to hold back on these morons." I agree. I haven't used any abilities since all the people here are only grunts. They were just swarming.
"What's wrong with pirates fighting pirates? There's no crime." Zoro voices.
He's actually not wrong. Hm, Zoro's changed quite a bit now that I'm now longer only seeing him while training.
"Boy, he never learns!" Usopp speaks to himself before turning to the intruders. "Guys, you're barely clinging to life. Why do you wanna fight so badly? Let's settle this peacefully."
"Do you think they'll give up that easily?" Greenie interrupts.
The guys we previously knocked down forced themselves back up. They were nearly as tenacious as the zombies that we encountered back at Thriller Bark, nearly. They were just as ugly though.
"The switch for the gateway..." they continued to speak like a mantra.
"If we can't open it, they'll kill us."
"Kill them!"
"Kill them!!" They charged full swing once again.
"Ahhh!!" Usopp, Nami, and Papaguy start to scream.
"Let me join too! Ahhh!" Brook joined in, copying the same pose as the others with their hands in the air and jaws dropped.
I shake my head with a Chi, seeing Chi put her paws over her ears on Usopp's shoulder before going to work. Greenie and I started to knock them all out one by one until Brook joined in. It take long for Nami and Usopp to snap out of it too.
Once they were down again, our current captives accused Zoro of getting overzealous with his cutting.
"Don't accuse me of cutting them just because I like it!" Greenie shouted with an irk mark on his forehead.
"But you looked like you were enjoying it. You're a natural born manslayer." The second minister retorted.
"Well then, if you were attacked by pirates, what would you do? Serve tea?!"
"Well if you think about it, they did give you sake when we arrived." I remind the swordsman with a smirk.
"I wasn't attacking them!"
"But they thought of you as a threat."
"Well," The minister spoke again, "serving tea and talking is one way to solve-"
"They wouldn't let you!" Zoro snapped.
"In any case, if you beat them all, you won't be able to find out what they wanted." The minister spoke some wisdom.
"Stop worrying about them so much." Greenie nearly huffed.
I guess it made sense for them to still be concerned with the matter. I mean they think that the princess was kidnapped by them.
It was like the king heard my thoughts because he fell over and beg to be released. He wanted to see his daughter, thinking that Luffy kidnapped her. I mean, he wasn't completely wrong, but he wasn't exactly right either.
As the king started to condemn Lu, Nami started to loudly argue back with the man. I decided to take a seat and close my eyes for a bit. I just needed some me time despite the surrounding company.
The sound of a sword pressing on the ground followed by gears moving caught my attention. Snapping my eyes over to the source, I see that one of the intruders had managed to pull the lever to open the entrance. Great, so much for me time.
I groan in annoyance, standing back up.
"What's up Ama?" Usopp questioned.
"We're about to have some more company. These idiots managed to open the gate while you were yelling." I warn them, removing my sword from my waist. Naturally while the blade was still covered.
"We have intruders!" Someone from outside yelled. Where did they come from? Wasn't everyone tied up? Whatever.
"How did you guys get this far?!" The first minister yelled at the new figures entering the threshold.
"I can't believe this! I was ready to start a fight right away, but Nepture and all the soldiers are tied up!" The first fishman scoffed. He had multiple legs, and had gloves over his hands. He hair also resembled that of a squid having been electrocuted. Decken, I believe his name was. He was also the holder of the Mark-Mark fruit. This could be tricky since I don't know how his powers really work.
"I didn't expect to see a present like this. What a surprise." An evil smirk bloomed on the fishman's face. He was clearly the other leader: Hordy himself. He wore a red cap over his black frizzy hair. Around his neck was white fur that looked like a skinned animal.
The mumbling of the ministers and soldiers tied up behind me informed my of my correct assumptions.
Hordy's crew had all filed in. They each sported an identical mark on some part of their body, showing that they were affiliated with one another. It honestly was a lame design.
They stopped not too far away from us as they were assessing the current situation.
"Is this some kind of trap? It's too good to be true." Hordy spoke.
"We've had visitors one after another." Greenie comments before sighing aloud. "What a lively palace."
"Zoro," I mumble his name quietly standing to his side. "Don't underestimate these two. They're trouble enough for Jimbe to warn us about." I don't take my eyes away from the two as I keep my sword at the ready by my legs.
If I had to fight, I would need to act fast before they change the terrain to their advantage.
"Ah-ha! You guys are their accomplices! You let theme in, didn't you?!" The second minister accused us. Why is this palace full of morons? I makes everything take forever.
"Eh! You know what, we wouldn't be here if you guys didn't invite us!" Usopp griped at the guy in return. "They look formidable! Who are these people?!"
"Hey, let us have our arms at least!" One of the tied up guards spoke.
"Please, let us fight!"
"Vander Decken!" The king rose his voice. "Since you've shown up, there is no doubt! You're the one who did it! Give me back my daughter!"
Cue the mental facepalm. Seriously!? Let's tell the man who's been threatening the princess that she's not currently in a safe location. I mean why not right? It's not like the king is currently tied up or anything. Honestly! How dumb can you get?!
Decken laughed. "We haven't even got married yet. It's too soon for you to say that, Father-sama." Decken responds.
"Don't call me Father-sama! Where did you take Shirahoshi?! You'd better tell me she's unharmed!"
I guess the bright side is that he cares for his daughter.
"What are you talking about? You're talking like the princess is missing." Decken questioned.
"Quit acting dumb!" The king snapped.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
"Why else would Shirahoshi have disappeared from her room all of a sudden!?" Neptune alleged.
"My Shirashoshi disappeared?!" Decken finally looked concerned? I can't tell since he's a loon.
"She's my...My daughter-jamon!" The king refuted his choice of words.
Both the king and Decken were acting like fools. Making Hordy slam the red trident in his hand on the ground to quiet them down. "Calm down, Decken. Look." He held up one of the human pirates who were attacking earlier. "All the humans that you threw, aiming at the mermaid princess, are here. That means that Princess Shirahoshi was here at least during that time."
Dang it, he's smart. I guess I got what I asked for huh? I hate karma.
"Plus," Hordy continued. "It doesn't matter if they're lying or not because you know how to check where she is now." He reminded the fishman of his ability.
"You're right! Hordy, you're a very smart guy! I suspect!" Decken stated, turning around to walk back towards the entrance at a quick pace.
"Huh! Is he leaving?" Greenie questions watching Decken's moves.
"What's he gonna do?" Usopp questions.
Decken created a bubble with a coral piece before plugging into the water outside the room. Right, he can't touch the water either since he's a devil fruit holder. I almost looked past that fact since he's a fishman.
Decken touched a large piece of coral, making it speed towards Shirahoshi. He rode atop the coral, zooming out of sight.
"Well that's one down I suppose. Luckily Lu's with the princess, so she'll be fine." I comment to our group. If it weren't for Lu, I'd be concerned for her. I could hear the fishman talking to himself about rather killing her himself instead of letting her be with someone else.
The king started to wail as he once again begged to be released. I was honestly wanting to do just that, but it wasn't my call. I wasn't the one who chose that move in the first place.
"How pathetic Neptune! I never thought that the hateful Straw Hats would help us conquer the Ryugu Palace!" Hordy conceded the king.
The ministers and Hordy held a long banter. They called him a traitor for being the leader of this group when he was once a proud and decorated soldier of theirs in the past.
Hordy then followed their commendanation with a story of why humans were the scourge of the Earth. He was a huge fan of Arlong since he was once his mentor. Needless to say, with Nami's and the rest of the Straw Hat's past with Arlong and his crew, this was destined to be a battle between our groups.
"Huh!? Arlong!" Brook shouted. "Just kidding! I've never heard of Arlong before. Yohohoho-" He was interrupted by Usopp kicking him in the face. "Ouch! Hey, Usopp-san, why did you kick me?!" Brook asked nearly indignant.
"Shut up for now." Usopp answered with a serious expression. I forgot how serious the sniper was when it came to Arlong and his crew.
"Enough with the chit-chatting and let's get down to business. Stay away!" Hordy ordered his men as he placed his hand on the wall. "Shark Grip!" As he crushed his palm, the wall too started to crack.
"What a strong grip! What the hell is he doing?!"
The cracks kept cracking, sending me into action myself. I flashed into lightning, bolting around to untie the soldiers. They would need to be able to defend themselves. "Protect yourselves!" I warn them, seeing water starting to flood into the room. Not good.
"Oh damn! It's a flood!" Zoro announced. Thanks Greenie. Real helpful.
Seeing as my time was limited, I bolted towards a nearby group of enemies. I would shock some and slash others, depending on what was quickest at the time. I had to thin out their numbers as quick as possible.
The water lapped over my feet, taking me out of my lightning form. Darn it! My time is already up with my new restrictions with the sea.
"Oh this is no good!" Brook shouted. "Especially for me! I'm gonna drown!" He jumped on top of Usopp, making Chi give a startled squeak.
"Oh?" Hordy spoke, looking at me. "It appears we have an additional pirate in our midst. None other than the supposed Sky Goddess herself." He glared at me after giving a brief glance to his men I'd already dispatched. "I was happy to hear the news of your death after learning of the vile blood that trails in your veins. But, don't worry Sky Goddess. You're under the sea now, where I'll kill you myself!"
Water droplets pooled around his webbed hand.
"No, water drops!" One of his men yelled.
"Get down! He's gonna do it!"
I was lucky to know what was about to come. I activated my haki, using both observation and armor as Hordy changed his stance.
"Shark Arrows!" He launched a barrage of water droplets at high speed. They turned into arrows through their flight.
I was able to dodge most of the barrage aimed at me while blocking the rest with my sword. The soldiers I untied were lucky as they were originally in the line of fire.
Hordy kept shooting the water arrows at all of us, focusing mainly on Zoro and I. I focused on dodging as it became increasingly difficult with the rising water levels. I'd have to depend on the others for now.
Zoro was closing the distance between himself and Hordy as he blocked the incoming attacks.
"One-Sword Style Bird Dance!" Zoro sent an air slice the rest of the distance. Zoro stared at his opponent as Hordy picked up one of his henchmen to use as a fishman shield. What scum.
"That bastard! He shielded himself with his own man!" Usopp had the same mind as I.
"It's a good thing Ama already released the soldiers." Zoro states.
"Huh?" Usopp asks, confused.
"The negotiation with the kingdom has broken down. We aren't in a position to keep our work to give them back all the hostages unharmed. Hurry and untie the others." He commanded.
"Alright, I got it! Where's Nami?" Usopp was on the case. Usopp had to put Brook down, so he could untie the ministers. Brook started to complain immediately.
The water level was already to my knees. Making me so zapped of energy, I was tempted to fall all the way in. Luckily for Brook and I, some of the soldiers gave up a lift on their back, seeing that the water was negatively affecting us as devil fruit holders.
Zoro slashed Neptune's chains away before speaking to the king. "I have a favor to ask! Let those three get out of here!"
"What about you?" He questioned.
"No one can get away with that guy chasing after them!" Zoro declared before taking a deep breath to go underwater.
I saw a small coral floating in the water nearby. Pointing at it, I speak. "Will you please take that coral to Zoro? He needs to be able to breathe to have a fighting chance." I ask the guard carrying me.
"What about you?" He asked uncertainly.
"I'll manage till you're back or I force myself to Neptune."
He nods in agreement before setting me down. The water was to my chest, making breathing a challenge. I placed my sword back on my waist, so I could use both arms. Come on body it's only a little ways. I put all my effort into a single push against the water.
The feeling of triumph was shattered when I felt a webbed hand grab my ankle. I was yanked under the water level, being brought to the bottom of the floor. Hordy had gotten a hold of me.
"Not your smartest move, giving up your mobility. It was a waste too! Look here!" He laughed at the situation, holding up the piece of coral in his other hand.
I gave my best glare I could despite the water's pressure. My vision started to spot as my limbs resembled led.
"Don't worry, I'll kill you but not here. Your death deserves to be a live event!" Those were the last malicious words that registered before the world went black.
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Another chapter! I'm getting to the exciting part, so hopefully I'll get to posting a little quicker than usual. Until Next Time...
World_Imaginer