Second Topic

It was dark in the night and it was probably four o’clock in the morning. The duo had gone through a lot, but they continued to move forward. What had felt like a day that the two would have fun, turned out to be something entirely different for the two of them? It wasn’t fun to do what they were doing, but they had to push through it since they wanted to make sure that the waitress was safe from danger. It was hard to see things around this time of night, but the two had their eyes adjusted to the dark for quite some time. They had the advantaged on that, which was a good thing because they needed it. Still, what were the two going to be going through now that they reached the campsite of the Skull Pirates?

Yuurei would wait for his friend to gather himself, and gain the confidence that he needed to do what he needed to do. The swordsman had taken unsheathed his blades, but only two of them had been drawn. He left EgeKing in his sheathed as well as the sword that his father had given him. He looked at the guards from where he was. It was easy to see them, and it was due to the lighting that they had in the watchtower. He could see their pattern, and he started to think about something. Why did people do that? They should randomize their movements so that they are never caught off guard. He thought to himself as he decided that it was time to get this show on the road. He was being sarcastic about trying to reason with these pirates, Gideon knew that, so he was ready to take them down, and making sure that he would leave killing down to a minimal.

He was in the palm of his friend’s hand again, and he swore that one day Gideon would accidentally squish by accident. That day would suck, but he would continue to do this because it was effective. It wouldn’t take long, but Gideon had tossed him straight towards the watchtower. It was fast, but it wasn’t precise and it was probably because of how dark it was. Still, it was better than nothing, he placed Kusanagi in his mouth for a second as he had to make some adjustments midair. When he got to the tower he had to grab one of the four pillars presented to him, and stop himself from going further than he needed to. The pirate guard there would hear this and turn to Yuurei without a second to waste. The thief wouldn’t waste time as he had taken Benehime and tossed it straight towards the guard’s chest.

The man’s eyes widen when he noticed what had happened, and could only be heard stuttering before falling to the ground. Yuurei would sigh when this happened because that was a close call. The pirate would crouch quickly and moved straight towards the dead man and take his sword back. He patted him down to see if he had anything useful, but he was empty except for the weapon. Yuurei smiled as he placed Kusanagi in the same hand as Benehime as he grabbed the pirate’s sword. The thief walked over to the side closet to the second watchtower and he sighed as he was getting ready for his next move. He poked his head out and noticed the guard’s back was turned to him. This was the perfect opportunity, and he got on the ledge without a second to waste, and pushed himself off it.

The swordsman lunged himself towards the second watchtower and threw the short sword right in the back of the man’s head. Yuurei landed on this watchtower and looked around this one and noticed that there was a lever. He crouched and walked to the edge to peep his head out. Yuurei would see there was a gate that closed the area, which he couldn’t see from his position earlier. The pirate figured it was best to open it so that his friend could come in. When he started messing the lever, the gate started opening. He was doing it slowly, and at the same time, he figured he would tell Gideon through the mini den. ”Gideon I’m opening the gates for you. I’m sure it will alert some people, so get ready to either talk diplomacy or take them out as soon as you can.” Yuurei said as he continued to open the doors.

Soon enough they were wide open for anybody to come and go as they please. There were probably some pirates looking in the direction of the gates and wondered why they were being open. Yuurei, on the other hand, would wait for Gideon to get close to the gate, so he could jump on his friend’s shoulder.

After throwing Yuurei towards the tower, Gideon lost sight of him as he flown into the darkness, not knowing if he managed to hit the target. Focusing on his hearing, Gideon didn't hear any crash, so he chalked it up to a success as far as he knew. He then looked towards the wall that surrounded the encampment, even with his lack of vision, he could tell the wall was too steep and smooth be able to climb while remaining stealthy the entire time.

Either way, Gideon couldn't leave Yuurei by himself, he didn't know how many more Skull Pirates were in the camp, so the longer the pirate thief was behind the wall, the more danger he would be in, however as soon as he crept near the wall, the den den mushi on his shoulder voiced Yuurei, then something caught his eye; an opening was slowly being made, it must be the gate Yuurei just spoke about. Gideon took advantage on this and quickly made his way over to the gate and as soon as he entered through, his first view of the scenery was of a handful of confused Skull Pirates.

Gideon raised Jormungandr high into the air, the silhouette casting a shadow can cut through the entire encampment and drew every pirates attention, "Your final and only warning; Surrender or die" he tried to make it sound as an offer rather than a demand or threat, but the moment he spotted one of the pirates make a run for his rifle that was nearby, Gideon brought down Jormungandr onto that pirate, slamming the massive blade, causing dirt to kick up with debris of equipment, the pirate was no more, then without lifting the blade, the giant pulled it, sweeping it across the field before him, slamming the flat end of the blade against half a dozen pirates, then sending them flying right out the opening of the gate.

"It's the giant! kill him!" the pirates finally manage to start their retaliation, however Gideon was ready and Yuurei's position was unknown.

Yuurei was on Gideon’s shoulder this whole entire time that he had entered campsite. He watched the giant give them a warning, but it definitely was all for naught. He could shake his head because they were safe and had a choice to make sure there weren’t any more bloodshed, but they chose to continue their fight. He could only shake his head as he noticed that Gideon wasn’t done with his attack. It was a funny attack to see, but it was an effective one to be honest. The pirates that got hit a second time were sent flying out of the gate. He chuckled when he watch that happened as he could hear other pirates yelling. He shook his head, and he had just realized that Gideon didn’t even know he was on his shoulder. He thought his companion had felt his landing, but that wasn’t the case.

”That was a nice move you did there Gideon. I can see why they are all afraid of you.” He said down on his shoulder, but only for a second. He waited for his friend’s reaction when he heard his voice, and noticed that he was there. He looked at the pirates that were gathering themselves, and he looked to see if they were planning on something. The swordsman had to look hard through the dark night as he realized that there was somebody heading towards a weird bell. His eyes widen as he noticed that they were trying to alert everyone that was probably still sleeping. He had gotten up from his seat, and he was getting ready to leave Gideon’s side. ”Continue what you were doing Gideon, if you can destroy those cannons, we don’t need those lying around and used when we aren’t looking.” He said.

Yuurei had ran on Gideon’s arm as it held his huge sword, and when he got low enough he pushed off the man’s arm and onto the battlefield. He ran towards the person who was about to reach the bell. He had gotten to him on time, and struck the man with Kusanagi and Benehime, cutting the man down and preventing him from alerting the other pirates. That was what he thought, but the bell rang anyways. Yuurei didn’t noticed, but when he was running towards the pirate, he had a kicked a piece of rock in his path, which flew straight towards the bell. It hit the thing so hard that it started ringing, so everyone can hear. He looked around the area trying to see who the hell had done that, but there wasn’t anybody near him. He rubbed the back of his head with the bottom part of his palm and sighed.

Well it’s not like it matters anyways. He thought to himself, but those weren’t the only people that woke up. The people in cages that would rubbed their eyes, annoyed, but curious to see what woke them up. It wouldn’t take long, but there a few of the Skull Pirates who took note of Yuurei. They saw one of their friends on the ground, and that he was near their fallen comrade. This angered them, but they also knew that he wasn’t a part of the Skull Pirates because he never saw him before. They rushed towards him, and even though Yuurei was aching in pain he knew he would have time to recover. The thief rushed towards them as they had closed the gap between each other. His sword had clashed with two of the pirates, and then he thrust his right foot into the third man that was coming towards him.

When that man dropped to the floor from the kick, Yuurei pushed the other two men forward, and quickly stepped forward, crouched a little bit and sliced them on their abdomen. Those men dropped, and he stood up straight. The prisoners heard the shouts, and clash of weapons throughout the field, and they knew that somebody was here. There was someone against the Skull Pirates, and they started shouting out loud. Yuurei heard this as he was surprised that there were more than one captive in this campsite. He figured the Skull Pirates wouldn’t take people captive, but that wasn’t the case. Yuurei rushed towards one side of the area that was asking for help. When he got there, he noticed that there were a few people in a cage, but one man peaked his interest. This man didn’t look like he was asking for help, and was just sitting there with his eyes close.

The thief found him interesting, but he had to ask why these guys were capture. ”Why are you guys behind bars?” He asked. ”We didn’t follow their views on how to take care of people who were held against their will, so they put us in cages until their plan change Angel Island was finished. Some of us use to be a part of their crew, and others were trying to stop them before they made it to Skypiea, but failed to do so.” He explained to Yuurei as he was hoping he would let them go. He was about to ask something else, but he heard the steps of someone rushing towards him. He turned around to see someone trying to whack him with a pole, but he side step, and dodged the attack. The pole hit the cage, and one of the guys grabbed the pole, and pulled the man towards the cage.

The captives started beating on him until he was unconscious letting go of the pole. ”What are they planning on doing?” He asked the prisoners. ”I believe they are planning on bombing a section of Angel City.” The man who was quiet in the back decided to answer Yuurei. The swordsman’s eyes widen when he heard this as this was not what he was expecting. Still, he understood what one of the guys from this crew had said to him earlier. It started to make sense now, but that wasn’t going to happen. ”Fine I will let you guys go, but can you help me and my giant friend out taking care of these guys.” He said this, and they all nodded.

Yuurei would move towards the lock, and instead of cutting it, his habit came out and he took out his pins, and started messing with the lock, and easily enough he was able to unlock it. The cage would open up, and the prisoners that were in there started running around and picking up weapons to use. ”There are some prisoners running loose and will be helping us out Gideon, so be careful not to take them out by mistake. If you can free any prisoners on your side as well.” He said this to his friend, hoping this would make things easier.

Gideon had swung Jormungandr a second time, sending another two pirates flying into a tent before he heard Yuurei's voice on his shoulder, as a reaction, he nearly reached to slap him before he caught himself, "Oh! Sorry Yuurei-kun, thought you were a enemy" he said as he kicked an incoming pirate who was waving a club.

The fight heated up as the swordsman leaped off the shoulders of a giant and made his way through the crowd. Gideon took a few steps to gain a good position before he exhaled another stream of fire, lightning up a few tents and pirates, some who were still flat-footed. With the tents burning bright, there were more light provided, making easier for Gideon to see the field.

When Yuurei called to him about the freeing of the prisoners, Gideon finally noticed the cages and stabbed his blade onto a cage door, slicing it off it's hinges. "My word, is that Gladius Anguis!?" an elderly man walked out the cage, not seeming to care about the fighting at hand or that he was just a prisoner, he simply awed at the sight of the thirty foot blade that had freed him.

"It's name is Jormungandr" Gideon told the elder as he then swung the heavy blade, cutting down another two pirates who tried approach him.

"Ah! Named after the world serpent, interesting" the elder continued to talk as if this was a simple bar fight that he stumbled upon.

"Sir, if you're not going to help, please escape" Gideon tried to politely tell the elder but had began to see the difficulty as one of the pirates rushed the elder to which Gideon quickly kicked away.

"Take aim!" Gideon heard a shout coming from thirty meters away, he spotted a small cannon aiming at him. He quickly pulled Jormungandr up to face and braced himself. The cannon sounded and the blast hit the flat of the blade, forcing Gideon to take a step back, "Reload!" said the same voice.

Gideon quickly took action, before the cannon was reloaded, he took two strides and slammed Jormungandr onto the cannon and the gunner behind it. Finally gaining a few seconds, he looked over to the larger cannons Yuurei ordered him to take down. He then began running towards the structures, thinking about how he was going to demolish them.

Yuurei looked back into the cage when he was finished talking to Gideon. Everyone had rushed off into the battlefield to help out the man who had freed them. There was one person still in the cage, and that was because he was walking slowly. He looked like he was patient and wasn’t nervous that he was a prisoner about to get his freedom back. He moved over to the side where they kept all their guns and ammunition. He had been captured for quite some time, and whenever he saw the guns his arms could only sparkle. Still, he back with a rifle in his hand, and three on his back. Yuurei blinked a few times as he wondered what he was going to do with that. The man pointed straight at the swordsman, and shot at him. The thief moved his head to the left as the bullet wasn’t even close to hitting him.

”Why did you try to shoot me after I set you free? You even answered my question, and still try to kill me.” He asked the man. Kasui heard Yuurei, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he pointed behind the swordsman, so that he could look at what he was actually shooting at. The thief would turn to see what was behind him, and he noticed that there was a pirate on the ground with a gunshot wound. He was impressed and he looked down to see that the man on the floor had a weapon in his hand. ”My bad, when you don’t speak, it is hard to tell what you are planning to do.” He said. ”I know, I speak with actions.” He tried to speak as little as he could. ”Just handle everyone that is part of the Skull pirate please.” Yuurei said as he moved through the area.


Kasui would nod as he was agreeing to do what he had asked him to do. He had greatly appreciated what Yuurei had done for him, and he figured he would show him with his actions rather than his words. The man would shoot a few times with the gun that he had at hand. He would take down a few of the pirates that were running towards him. When Kasui would see that the gun had run out of ammo he would toss the rifle to the side, and moved to the next rifle that he had picked up. Kasui noticed that there was one of the pirates that moved straight towards him, and he couldn’t get a clear shot because of how close he was. He picked up the rifle to block the attack, and was pushed back by the man.

Kausi would tumble backwards and quickly took aim and shot at the pirate that had pushed him away. When he watched the man fall down he got up again as he figured it was best to get cover before taking down more of these Skull Pirate members. Yuurei was looking to see if there were any other prisoners around the area. The cage he had opened up didn’t have the waitress, so he figured that she would be in Gideon’s side. Still, he could hear people being free from the other side, but he never got a call from Gideon telling him he found the girl. He was frustrated because he was trying to figure out where she could be. His eyes looked at the entrance of the cave, and he figured that she might be there. The pirate moved forward as he noticed that there were more pirates running towards him.

Yuurei took out his Egeking and placed it in the same hand as Kusanagi as he slashed down on one of the pirates. The other one came for Yuurei, but he was quick to duck under the man, and then pierce straight into the other pirate chest. He pulled Benihime out of this guy, and looked at the man he dodged as he was running straight at him. The swordsman blocked the incoming strike from this pirate, but he did it for a reason. When the weapons between the two men collided, Yuurei’s right foot was sent straight into the man’s shin. When he connected with the man’s leg, it brought him to fall to the floor, which brought his sword to slide down Yuurei’s weapon. He would hit the ground, but Yuurei would stab Benehime on the back of the Skull Pirate’s back.

It was indeed a battlefield that was going on right now, but Yuurei was happy that they were able to even the numbers with the free captives. He was, however, trying to make his way towards the entrance of the cave, but that wasn’t going to happen. There were pirates that would come out from the cave as if they were delaying him from entering. ”What are you guys protecting! I’m going to your captain, and I’m going to kick his ass! He goes too far, and places those who don’t believe in his view into a cage! Yet, the man it said to hate slaves, but that’s what the people who don’t follow his view!” He shouted. This wasn’t just a rescue mission, but Yuurei couldn’t allow this man to roam Skypiea any longer. If he did, he could just imagine the damage he would cause.

What Yuurei didn’t know that soon he would be met with two strong people who were part of the captain’s core group. They were actually prepping themselves to show up any second from now.

As Gideon made his way towards the cannons, he realized they were at least twice the size he was, "Damn, I guess I'm going to have to break the stands" Gideon said out loud, the cannons looked too thick to cut and he didn't want to waist time to test his theory. Once he reached the base of the first cannon, he drew back his massive blade, ready to strike.

However as Jormungandr was brought down upon the metallic stand, the blade was met by another blade, deflecting it, the force of the clash forced Gideon to take a step back, "What the-!?" Gideon didn't noticed him before, but a dark skin skypiean stood on the stand, though he was small compared to Gideon, he was a head taller than the average skypiean and his muscles proved he could move about the thick greatsword he wielded.

"I cannot allow that" the skypiean said, he stood on the stand, facing the giant with a determined look in his eye.

"What are you doing? These cannons are meant to destroy Angel Island, you can't really be alright with that" Gideon readied his sword, facing the one enemy that stood between him and the safety of the residence on Skypiean.

"You know not my story, you know not my pain, you know not the truth" The dark skin skypiean said with intense seriousness.

"I don't need need to know your story" Gideon said with his own serious tone as he brought Jormungandr over his head, readying to strike, "I just need to know my orders" he was about to bring down blade... or so it seemed, he faked the attack and as the skypiean readied to deflect the blade, Gideon kicked smaller back and slammed him against the cannon, then soon after, Jormungandr was brought down heavy, slamming into the stand and shattering it. Within the next second, the cannon began tipping over.

"Next!" Gideon said as he tried to make a run for the next cannon, but was met by the skypiean who flew by his face. The two of them flashed their blades, holding one another at a stalemate. Luckily for Gideon, this guy was not as fast as his usual opponents, but he was strong enough to hold back against a giant.

The pirates that had appeared from the caves were rushing towards Yuurei now. They had melee weapons from the sight of it, and he prepared to fight them as well. When one got near him, however, he had been shot from afar. Yuurei’s eyes widen when that man had dropped right in front of him. He looked around to see who did that, but he couldn’t find out just by looking. Instead, he was going to have to assume that it was the man who was quiet. He didn’t know his name, but it looked like he was on his side for the time being. Still, the men who were in front of him hesitated for a bit as their friend had been shot to the ground. They had stopped running towards Yuurei trying to find out who had done that as well. The only difference between Yuurei and them was that he had was faster, and stopped looking for who shot him.

He rushed towards them pirates that were blocking his way and started slashing at them as they were taken down one by one. When there were two left they had gathered themselves as they had to fend off from this manic with swords. When both of them looked at Yuurei, another gunshot had been let go, and the two men had a bullet go right through both of them. Kasui in his little hiding spot could only smile and say two words. ”Double Kill.” He said as he reloaded the gun that he had found in his journey to hide from the people around him. This man wasn’t the type of person who fought close range battles but shot up his targets from a distance. Yuurei knew that he was going to have to thank the man later but now was not the time as he started making his way into the cave.

When he entered the cave, Kasui had lost sight of him, but only for a couple of seconds. It wouldn’t take long, but Yuurei was sent flying out of the cave as his body dragged through the ground as he had suffered more cuts and bruises from the floor. The swordsman had slowly made his way back on his feet as he could only crack his neck and sighed from what had happened.

*A Few Seconds ago*

Yuurei had entered the cave, and when he looked around he noticed that the waitress was in a prison of her own in this place. The man who had taken her was also there, but it was just him. There was a man who had an aura around him that screamed, “Leader,” but he wasn’t paying attention to the entrance of the cave at all. Instead, he noticed that the man was preparing something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Of course, the snotty bastard had noticed Yuurei first, and as Yuurei was about to run towards him, two figures appeared towards the swordsman at the same time and struck at him at the same time. The thief tried to protect himself as best as possible but was blown away from the combined strength of the men, and out of the cave, he had gone.

*Present Time*

Two men had come out of the cave one of them looked around the same age as Yuurei, or was at least younger. He had a hoodie on with pins various pins on them. He had medium length hair which was in place because of a skull mask he wore. The mask he wore covered his nose, and the jaw of whatever created he was wearing had its jaw dropped to his neck. This guy had a gun and a bat in his hand, but the bat was longer than usual. The other man wore a skull mask as well, but this one resembled just teeth as it was covering his nose and his mouth at the same time. He wore a tight suit all around and was holding onto a rapier, and a gun as well. His hair was longer than the other guys, and it was red, which matched his red eyes. This guy looked older than Yuurei, but they both looked like they would be tough to handle if he were on his own.

Still, a gun was involved, and in these situations, he didn’t need to be shot because that could have made him pass out due to blood loss. Yuurei was already exhausted as it was, and he was fighting through all of it right now. The man picked up his gun and shot towards Yuurei, but it the swordsman was able to dodge it. He sighed as it wasn’t over as he shot at Yuurei again, but this time Kasui had shot the bullet that was coming straight for Yuurei. The thief could only put a smirk on his face because he did have help. The man with the skull covering his mouth sucked his teeth as he was going to have to watch out for bullets heading towards him. Still, instead of shooting at Yuurei again, the two looked at each other and then at Yuurei.

They rushed towards the pirate together as they the man with red hair had gone first with his attack. Yuurei parried the thrust from the rapier, and then he blocked the bat with his other hand, but the both of them had spun around and kicked Yuurei right on his abdomen pushing him away from them. He smiled as this time he was prepared for their attack; it still hurt though as he panted as he needed assistance soon.

2/20 Haki

Pictures of the two:

"You shall not pass!" the black winged skypiean said as he managed to push Gideon back, causing the giant to stumbled two steps.

"You cannot stop me from completing my tasks!" Gideon moved back in, swinging his sword, however the skypiean dove under the massive blade and flew straight at the giant's face. Gideon managed to dodge the swing of the smaller sword, he ducked a bit and took advantage of this and sidestep towards the next cannon while keeping his focus on the enemy.

The skypiean flew low this time and tried to aim at the giant's legs, but Gideon was ready this time, he brought Jormungandr down from over head, the blade made contact and slammed into the ground, kicking up debris that blew and nearly reached the skirmish towards the center of the camp.

When the dust settled, the skypiean was there, under the massive blade, holding against it with his greatsword, this smaller being managed to block such a large sword against a giant.

"Pathetic" the skypiean said as he slapped Jormungandr away, sending the massive blade a couple of meters away. He then flew up towards Gideon, planning on cutting the giant's head off, but said giant wasn't giving up so easily, he clicked his teeth and exhaled a stream of fire which enveloped the winged being, "Ah! the skypiean yelled as he burst through the fire and swung his greatsword, he wasn't slowed at all, but the fire managed to cause him to lose sighting for a split second, just long enough for Gideon to dodge the attack with but only a long cut across his face.

The full force of the sword didn't hit the giant but collided with the second cannon, cutting the nose off, "Bastard!"

"One way or another" Gideon said, trying to catch his breath, while his hand reached behind him.

"You shall die here!" The skypiean yelled as he flew towards Gideon again. Though Gideon had lost Jormungandr for the moment, he wasn't weaponless; he quickly pulled out Mjolgera, his meat tenderizer and arced it down over his head, the skypiean, bulleting forward didn't have time to dodge, but brought his blade over his head to block the attack, but without footing on the ground, such a deflect wasn't powerful enough. The skypiean was brought to the ground, buried under the hammer... or was about to. He escaped within the last split second, although his greatsword was beneath Mjolgera.

The skypiean stood a few meters from the giant, staring and waiting for the big guy to lift his hammer so he could get his sword... but he didn't. Gideon knew if he left his hammer down, then this enemy wouldn't get his weapon back. He released his grip on Mjolgera and lifted his fists, intending on having a hand-to-hand match. The skypiean laughed as he did the same.

Yuurei’s jaw started to hurt again as he opened his mouth for a split second and closed it again. He just noticed the pirate with the pole rushing towards him first. The other one stood behind as if he was going to have his partner’s back. The young man was quick to swing his pole around and then bringing the weapon down trying to knock Yuurei over his head. The thief sidestepped to the side avoiding the attack but noticed that the kid wasn’t done with his attack. The young lad had stopped the attack from swinging down after his missed, and shift the pole to the direction that Yuurei was moving to. The thief had quickly moved his left arm back as his blade had clashed with this guy’s weapon. The man in the back shot a bullet at Yuurei again, but Kasui had intervened. He shot at the incoming bullet heading towards Yuurei.

The thief was going to duck to avoid the attack, but he was lucky the quiet man was helping him. Still, the man who had his bullet stopped looked around as he was trying to figure out where Kasui was located. ”What are your names. A swordsman needs to know the name of the strong opponent he is fighting.” He said this as swung Kusanagi and slashed at the kid who was right next to him. He was able to cut his shirt, but he had missed the guy as he jumped back. ”Gaikotsu and the kid you just try to cut is Kokkaku. We are the captain’s personal lieutenants, but Scowl was the man above the two of us.” He said this as if he knew what had happened to Scowl. ”If what they say is true about Scowl being taken out by the big guy and this man, then they should be really tired.” Kokkaku spoke as he looked at Gaikotsu.

”He does seem exhausted, but if it were just the giant and him, then who’s been shooting in the distant? We clearly know where the giant is, are there others that we didn’t know about? Is it one of the escapees?” He questioned as he was waiting for the man to shoot, but nothing happened. Yuurei nodded as he heard their names, and figured it was only right to tell them his. ”My name is Yuurei. I only wanted the girl one of your crewmates took, but after learning about what your captain is going to do I cannot let you guys go through with your plan.” He said this, which caused them both to look at each other and then moved their eyes to Yuurei.

Gaikotsu stepped forward this time and rushed towards Yuurei. He would try to stab the thief on his chest, but Yuurei stepped back to avoid the weapon from hitting him. Gaikotsu smiled at him as he was sure he would do something like that. He was quick to lift up his gun and took a shot at Yuurei right in the face. The swordsman was quick to dodge it as he saw it coming, but the bullet had grazed him on the other side of his face. This caused Yuurei to grunt from the pain and he could feel the blood leaking down to his chin. He planted his foot on the ground as he was getting ready to attack Gaikotsu, but Kokkaku was on the move. He reached Yuurei as he jumped over Gaikotsu and attempted to hit Yuurei from above. The pirate saw this as he blocked the attack from above with both his blades.

This block kept Kokkaku in the air, but Yuurei wasn’t done there. He had thrust a kick, which he embedded it in Armament straight into Gaikotsu’s stomach pushing the man away from him, and then he pushed his blade forwards and apart from moving Kokkaku back. The thief was quick to think with his head as he launched a headbutt straight into the man’s stomach as well, which was covered in Armament. He looked at the two of them as he was panting and knew that there was no way he was going to be taken out. Still, he looked around and wondered how long it took for Gideon to arrive, yet at the same time, he could only feel bad for Scowl as he was probably feeling the same way when they teamed up on him.

Kasui, on the other hand, was getting ready to take a good shot at the young kid. He was patient and knew that one of them would slip up. Still, he knew that he was going to have to find a different cover. If he stood here any longer, then the man who he had been stopping this entire time would figure where he was located. Yuurei needed more time to rest, but he knew that would be something he would do after everything was over. That was the only reason why he continued to push himself.

He can only watch as Gaikotsu, and Kokkaku rushed over to him again. The both of them running in zigzags, but never once bumped into each other. They had made their way towards Yuurei as the both of them would attack with their respective melee weapon. Yuurei would block their attacks, but the both of them would spin around and kick Yuurei straight in his stomach. It would push the thief away as his arms would move to his stomach as he looked at the two of them. This fight was harder than it looked, and when they were about to move forward Kasui had shot twice towards the two of them. They would jump away from Yuurei, which is what he wanted them to do.  They would land on the ground and look at Yuurei as if he were an animal they were going to kill.

4/20 Haki

The two of them squared off. It was a about six seconds before anyone made a move. It was Gideon who did so, since he was the one that intended on taking down the cannons. He took one step, leaned down and arced a punch like a fist fell from the sky. The skypiean dodged the punch which collided with the ground, creating an indentation, he then jumped up to strike the giant's face now that it was in reach.

The fist collided, though small compared to the giant, Gideon would always remember that he would compare it to the one time a ship had slammed into him. He was about to tumbled, but caught himself, he was nearly when the skypiean came for another strike, though Gideon brought up his forearm in defense. The punch slammed into his arm, and even though it wasn't the arm he had punctured just a couple of hours ago, it felt like his bone was about to crack.

"Surrender or-!" Before the skypiean could finish his sentence, Gideon slapped him away with the back of his hand, though it was as powerful as one would expect a giant's backhand would be, the Skypiean landed on the floor well and shook it off.

"I cannot surrender!" Gideon yelled as he slammed an open hand onto the ground, barely but missing the smaller being, who had flew through the giant's fingers "I will not surrender!" Gideon tried again, his other hand though successful grabbed the skypiean, but before another second passed, the skypiean broke free and flew straight for Gideon's face, his own fist clenched.

Not because the skypiean was too close to evade, but because his blood boiled too hot for him to stand day or look away, Gideon met the punch full on; he needed to succeed, he couldn't be afraid and take any steps back, or else the enemy would gain that step, would push him back, would keep him away from what he needs to do... and he wasn't planning on disappointing anyone again, never again.

"I...!" the punched collided with the giant's cheek, but to the Skypiean's surprised, it didn't flinch, didn't push back, it felt like he had punched a dense boulder, "Will not...!" Gideon then pulled back a clenched fist, this one unknowing to him had darkened in color and neither did the skypiean know, for his eyes were locked with the giant's eyes which burned ever so brightly, "Back down!" Gideon cried out as his fist slammed into the Skypiean from over head, bringing down his fist and the smaller being colliding with the ground.

For the moment, the sounds of fighting seemed more distant and only the sound of Gideon's breathing was clear. After a few seconds, he lifted his fist to reveal the skypiean laying within a crater, not moving. Without checking to see if the skypiean was alive or not, Gideon moved to complete his mission. He quickly grabbed Jormungandr and brought the heavy blade upon the base of the third cannon, bringing it down in a loud crash, just as loud as when his fist hit the ground just a moment ago.

Yuurei noticed that the sun was slowly rising from where he was. He was surprised that he had been out for so long. If it weren’t for the short rest that he and Gideon took, they would probably be done. Still, how he felt was no joke as the duo were ready to continue fighting. Gaikotsu smiled because with the darkness being illuminated by the sun it would be that much easier to see where this hidden shooter was located. Their main objective, however, was Yuurei, and the both of them started to run towards the swordsman. The duo’s weapons would collide with Yuurei’s weapon, but they continued to attack the man as they swung their respective weapons again. He was only able to block at this time as he was doing this best, but it wasn’t enough. They continued their attacks that Kokkaku had landed a few blows towards Yuurei’s left side.

The swordsman could only grunt from this as he felt the pain he was going through even with Armament covering his torso. It wasn’t just that when he paid attention to Kokkaku and blocked all of his attacks, Gaikotsu would be able to graze his rapier against Yuurei right side. The swordsman would continue to defend against them though as best as he could as they had continued their barrage of attacks after they noticed that he was panting. The both of them would spin around and kick Yuurei straight in the chest and would send him flying away from them, and onto the ground sliding a few feet back after the distance between them already separated. He stood on his back as he was gasped for air and moved his face to the right and coughed up blood. ”I can’t take them on my own, but with Gideon’s help I can take one out.” He said this out loud but to himself.

”Gai, let’s take this guy out and go on to the giant. I’m sure the big guy will be fun to fight and poke about.” He said this to his friend. The man looked at Kokkaku and shook his head. ”We will attempt to take him out. He seems to have more friends here than we anticipated. But once we kill Yuurei we will go after his friend.” He said as he nodded to Kokkaku. Yuurei heard these words and he wasn’t going to allow them to harm Gideon. He wasn’t done just yet, so he knew he had to last as long as he could. The swordsman had been beaten down and had gone through fights around the same rates as usual, but these fights were just hard, to begin with.

He stood on the ground though, and when the duo made a step to get close to Yuurei, Kasui shot at them a few times. He was trying to give Yuurei time to get up; he knew that if he didn’t win, then he would be put back into that stupid cage. Kokkaku would feel something sliding down his right arm. He was grazed by one of the bullets, which annoyed him. Gaikotsu had dodged them though and smiled because he had an idea on where the man was. Kasui continued to shoot them as the two were dodging the bullets now. They were learning where he was located, and where going to go after him if he continued shooting. Still, the gunshots stopped happening; Kasui had run out of bullets from this gun, and he needed to find another one. There were any near him, which was bad because he wasn’t going to be useful unless he found one.

While the duo was doing the bullets from the mystery shooter, Yuurei had pushed himself onto his feet slowly. His robe was torn apart, and you could see the black coating on his torso. It wasn’t the only thing that could be seen though. The cuts that Gaikotsu inflicted on Yuurei could also be seen. His legs trembled far more than they did before as he looked at the two of them. ”Where do you two think you’re going. I’m still conscious and I still can fight.” He said this as the two of them stopped moving and looked at Yuurei. They had a smile on their face as things were getting rough. He wasn’t going to last if he was the only one fighting them.

Kasui had noticed that Yuurei had gotten their attention and started running away from his current location. He was trying to find a different place to help Yuurei out, but he had to find a gun as well. He knew that it wouldn’t be hard to do because of the battlefield they were on. The two of them starts rushing towards Yuurei as they were getting ready to finish this fight between them.

6/20 Haki

The deed was done and now Gideon could return to the fight at hand. He immediately made his way back the encampment. Here and there people fought one another with weapons and even improvised weapons such as chairs and stakes. But there was one person who didn't join in the battle, but simply stood there; an old man, though slightly hunched and his hair grey, he looked well enough to hold his own.

Before Gideon could ask the old man why didn't run for cover, the old man spoke first "Your friend is having trouble over there" Gideon looked in the direction the old man was referring to and noticed by a cavern entrance there were a skirmish going on, though because of the lack of light, it was difficult to see who they were; regardless, if there was a chance it was Yuurei, then he needed to ask.

Gideon rushed over to the skirmish and when he could finally distinguish Yuurei from the enemies, he brought Jormungandr down, slamming into the ground, separating the two pirates from Yuurei. "Oh look! the giant finally-" before Kokkaku could finish his sentence, Gideon clicked his teeth and released a stream of fire, however the two pirates jumped back in time to avoid to flames. The flames danced close to them and Yuurei, but Jormungandr acted as a wall protecting Yuurei from the flames.

Within an instant, before the pirates could counter, Gideon swung his thirty foot blade forward. Now a flaming sword was coming their way and they couldn't risk touching it. Kokkaku and Gaikotsu had no choice to separate far from one another.

Now they were even further from Yuurei and even from each other. They sucked their teeth, slightly annoyed. Then they moved, Gideon was ready, albeit the enemy were very fast. The giant moved his off-hand and brought it up to defend against Gaikotsu who had jumped towards the giant's chest. The rapier sank into Gideon's hand before the giant swung his hand, sending the annoying pirate flying to the wall above the cave entrance, Gideon then followed up by swinging Jormungandr across the wall, scraping it and causing rubble to fall, but ultimately missing it's mark, Gaikotsu had already vanished, moving about.

Kokkaku moved between Gideon's legs, aiming for Yuurei.

Yuurei was ready for the beating to happen again, but he knew that he had to stall for Gideon to arrive. He did tell the giant to get rid of the big cannons that they saw earlier, and he was hoping that he would be able to finish that off and come to look for him. He got into a defensive stance getting ready, but then he felt a presence he knew all too well. He had a smile on his face as Kokkaku and Gaikotsu noticed it, but didn’t know why he smiled. Then, it happened, the giant had swung his blade down to the floor blocking them from him. He sighed with relief to know that he wouldn’t be fighting at a disadvantage anymore. His friend wasn’t done though as he could feel the fire coming out of Gideon, and he covered his face as a reaction to heat.

He was safe from it though, and it looked like the two men avoided the fire, but were attacked yet again. His friend was throwing out a barrage attack while Yuurei stood there to watch. ”It took you long enough my friend. I was almost taken out. Still, I’m glad you’re here, so no complaints.” He said as he noticed that Gideon had hit the entrance of the cave. Yuurei’s eyes widen when he saw that because Gideon needed to avoid sealing the entrance. ”The waitress is in there, so make sure you don’t seal the entrance.” He said this, but noticed that there was someone running in his direction. He shook his head because it was Kokkaku, which meant Gideon had smacked Gaikotsu towards the cave. The young lad rushed over to Yuurei and swung his metal pole at him, but Yuurei had been doing what he had done the whole time and it was blocked.

The only thing that was different from now was that he had a free hand to counter-attack with. Kusanagi had blocked Kokkaku’s attack, and he swung Benihime at the younger person. He noticed this happening and jumped back to try his best to avoid it. Yuurei was fast and strong, so the blade had initially missed what it was planning on doing, it nipped Kokkaku on his abdomen. He planted his feet on the ground as he touched his chest while he looked at Yuurei. He was angered by how strong this man, and the fact that things started to slowly change because he no longer had Gaikotsu by his side. Yuurei was catching his breath as he waited for the kid to come at him again. He didn’t move as much and it was because he was conserving as much energy as he could.

Kokkaku had rushed towards Yuurei again, and this time he was spinning his pole around and around until he got close to the thief. He started swinging his pole up and down as he was trying to hit Yuurei with both edges of his pole. It was a smart move, and he tried his best to block his attacks, but a few of them would hit Yuurei and he could feel the blows ringing through his body. It hurt, he felt one of the hits causing a small fracture, and he was sure it was rib again. He grunted as he had to finish this now, or else he wasn’t going to be able to face the captain inside of the cave. He swung Benihime with all his strength, and the blade had cut straight through Kokkaku’s pole, leaving him open. Yuurei pushed himself towards the kid as he shoulder tackled him away from.

Kokkaku would fall on his back and then rolled a few feet back as he was surprised about what had happened. ”You got to be kidding me.” He said out loud as he got up from the floor as he looked at Yuurei. The swordsman closed his eyes as he sheathed both blades back into their respective sheathe. His eyes would open and he took a different stance this time. His hand holding the hilt of Benihime as he stared into Kokkaku’s soul. ”If you are scared run, but if not come at me with everything you are.” He said. Yuurei knew this kid was strong, but he also knew he had a lot of potential in him. The only problem with him was that he had been reliant on his friend to take down the enemy.

Kokkaku would get up from the floor as he patted himself down as he got into a stance with the two poles in his hands now. He started running towards Yuurei as he was getting ready to take him down. When he got close enough Yuurei took a step forward as he used Armament on his torso, his blade, and his right arm. Kokkaku would land a hit on Yuurei’s arm, but it wouldn’t stop the man from unleashing the blade strike on his chest. The young boy with the animal skull mask started Yuurei into his eyes as he was stunned by what happened. Yuurei put Benihime away just as fast as he took her out, but he could feel the bruise and pain surging through his right forearm. It would have hurt more if he didn’t protect it, which he was happy he did. After a few seconds passed, the young boy had fallen to his knees and then onto the floor.

Yuurei would do the same, but it was because he was exhausted to the point where he needed all the rest he could get, and this was one of them. Kasui, on the other hand, continued running around. He was moving around and inching closer to where Gaikotsu was. He figured he would take his weapon if he lost. The artillery that he had was way better than the ones he had been picking up. It was good enough to graze the swordsman he was helping.

8/20 Haki

Technique Used:

Gideon's eyes darted here and there, looking for Gaikotsu. There was a moment when Yuurei called to him, telling him about the waitress who's actually in the cave. "Damn it!" he cursed. The priority was originally saving the waitress; truthfully, Gideon had forgotten some time ago why he and Yuurei had started this whole mission.

The sound of weapons clashed and Gideon looked behind him, by his legs, Yuurei and Kokkaku had fought and within another moment, the battle was over. Then he spotted him; Gaikotsu, who witnessed the fall of the younger "You'll pay for that, filth" he growled as he ran towards Yuurei and did the same, but instead of allowing them to have a fair one on one fight, Gideon stabbed the ground with his thirty foot blade, preventing Gaikotsu from moving forward, however the plan didn't work, the Skull Pirate dashed around the large blade and in the moment, while passing by, he used his sword to slash the ankle of the giant, forcing Gideon to drop to one knee.

"Damn you!" Gideon cursed as Gaikotsu continued making his way towards Yuurei, then the skull pirate was caught. The giant managed to grasp Gaikotsu into his hand after dropping Jormungandr, "Gotcha!" then with all his strength, Gideon turn about and threw the smaller man in his hands towards the face of the cliff to which he he slammed into full force.

There he was, Gaikotsu sunk into the face of the cliff, his arms and legs spread, like he was crucified. His eyes closed, unconscious or dead, Gideon didn't know, all he cared about at the moment was that he and Yuurei were alive.

"Hell!" Gideon cursed, his pain felt like it was multiplying. His left hand had a puncture like his left forearm, his left ankle had a cut as bad as his right shin, both his forearms felt bruised and slightly numb like his cheek. Fatigue began to take hold, but he shook it out of him as he saw some guy holding Yuurei. Gideon hesitated from squashing unknown man, his hand raised over him, "Sorry, it's hard... telling friend from foe at the moment" his brow sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, there's blood splattered on his bare chest and his jeans were entirely ripped it was amazing that they still held up.

"Yuurei -huff- what now?" Gideon used Jormungandr as a clutch to force him to stand which was a painful struggle all on it's own.

Kasui was inching closer towards Gaikotsu, but it wasn’t to fight him. He wanted to take his gun right now, and he watched as the man was trying to avoid the giant at all cost, instead of fighting him. That was a big mistake from what Kasui could tell. After the man got past the giant though, it seemed like Yuurei was going to be taken out. The swordsman couldn’t do anything right now as he was trying to get his energy back. He did, however, lift his head up to see what was going on. He had to make sure that Gideon was okay, or he would just force himself up, and then become incapacitated for a while. Still, both men watched as Gideon grabbed a hold of the Skull pirate member. He dropped both of his weapons from the grapple Gideon used on him. It was there that Yuurei knew what his friend was doing. He watched Gideon throw Gaikotsu as if he were a damn baseball.

He couldn’t pay attention to how far he had thrown the man, but he knew with Gideon’s strength and size it was pretty far. Yuurei placed his head back on the ground now as he knew his friend was safe. He had one of his eyes closed as he had already calmed his breathing. His heart rate had gone back to normal as well as he was just lying there. Kasui had made his way towards the giant slowly as he grabbed a hold of Gaikotsu’s gun, and was surprised on the quality of the weapon. It was better than all these regular guns that were on this field. He understood why the bullet that was shot was piercing Yuurei’s skin like that. Still, he rushed over to the guy who was laying on the floor as he noticed that someone, or something was being thrown into the air. He looked at the giant who had done this, and it was then he knew that the giant had thrown Gaikotsu.

It made him chuckle for a quick second as he regained his quiet composure. When he made it to the Yuurei, the two looked at each other. The swordsman had a smile on his face when he saw who came to aide him. ”Thank you for helping me back there. If it weren’t for you, I probably would have had a few bullet wounds.” He said to the man with a smile on his face. The man simply gave out a nod as he was happy to help. Yuurei noticed that Gideon was getting closer to the two men here, and soon he had noticed that Gideon’s hand was casting over them. His eyes widen as he wondered what his friend was trying to do. Kasui noticed that a shadow was cast over them even though the sun was rising now. He was a bit nervous because he thought he was going to die, but nothing happened. He looked up to see the giant as he was apologizing.

Kasui grabbed his chest as he couldn’t believe he almost die. He shook his head at Gideon in a way that was saying it wasn’t his fault for trying to defend his friend. Still, Gideon asked the perfect question and it was what they were going to do now. ”We continue and head to the cave. There isn’t anybody stopping us from entering that cave and rescuing the girl Gideon. Well, there is the captain of the crew, but I will fight him if I have to.” He said this as he took in more oxygen. Kasui would try to pick him up, but Yuurei shook his head. ”I’m good, if Gideon could put me on his shoulder it would be enough for me. Belly on your stomach, so I can hold your shirt, Gideon.” He said to the giant. Kasui heard what he said and shook his head because he really wasn’t trying to get up. The quiet man looked at the cave that the man who saved him was trying to go to. He decided to move first and scout the area.

Kasui was planning on helping them out and stop the captain of the Skull Pirate from doing something that could result in hundreds of lives lost. The marksman would go on ahead as he looked into the cave and noticed that there was only one person inside of the cave, well two if they were counting the prisoner. None of them was the captain, which meant he was fleeing the scene, but why would he leave his son behind. The gunner looked back at Gideon and waved at them, but knew he wouldn’t see him unless he was looking at him. ”The captain is not in the cave. But there are others, a girl, and a guy.” He had to speak, or else the message wouldn’t go through. Yuurei wondered who the guy could be, but then remembered the guy he had stopped at the beginning of all of this. It was the man who had started all of this. ”Gideon we got to go in there and interrogate the guy on where his father might have gone.” He said this to Gideon as he waited for his friend to get this show on the road.