While the skies over the central plaza burned with the golden-red Haki of the Monkey D. lineage, the underbelly of Hachinosu had become a claustrophobic labyrinth of iron, stone, and sheer, unadulterated chaos. The atmosphere down here didn't smell like destiny; it smelled like wet gunpowder, cheap rum, and the collective panic of hundreds of people who hadn't seen the sun in years.
The rescue team—Franky, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper—had successfully breached the deepest, most fortified cells of the skull-fortress. Behind them trailed a line of shivering, hollow-eyed survivors: Sara, clutching little Misa; the merchant David, who was currently trying to carry a large sack of "confiscated" pirate gold he claimed was "rightful interest"; and dozens of others. They were minutes away from the northern docks, but the air in the tunnel suddenly grew heavy with the scent of stagnant water and impending violence.
Four silhouettes detached themselves from the shadows of the Great Armory Hall. The remaining Titanic Captains and their high-ranking enforcers had arrived. They didn't look like they were here to negotiate; they looked like they were here to collect their property and enjoy the process of breaking it.
The Iron Wall: Franky vs. Vasco Shot
"STOOOOP!" Franky roared, his massive metallic shoulders locking into place with a mechanical clunk-thud that echoed through the stone corridor.
A fountain of high-grade, flammable booze splashed against his chrome-plated chest before he could finish his signature pose. Standing before him was Vasco Shot, the "Heavy Drinker." The man was a bloated titan of gluttony, wobbling on spindly legs, a giant jug of ale strapped to his back like a snail's shell. His long, pink tongue lolled out of his mouth as he let out a wet, gurgling chuckle that sounded like a drain clogging.
"Gugaga! A metal man? I wonder if your fuel tastes as good as my grain spirit! Maybe I'll crack you open and drink your 'cola' to see if it makes my tummy fizz!" Vasco took a massive, sickening swig from his jug and then spat a jet of liquid toward a flickering torch on the wall. "DRUNKEN FIRE BREATH!"
A wall of blue flame, intensified by the high-proof alcohol, roared toward the refugees. Franky stepped forward, his vents hissing as he redirected all power to his frontal plating. "FRANKY SHIELD!"
He absorbed the brunt of the heat, his "Super" hair singed at the edges and his paint bubbling, but his resolve remained unshaken. "You want a drink, you overgrown barrel?! I've got a cocktail for you, but it's served with a side of iron and a chaser of justice!"
Franky's right hand detached, connected by a heavy, rattling chain. "STRONG RIGHT!"
Vasco moved with a terrifying, unpredictable fluidity—the "Drunken Fist" style taken to a supernatural level. He didn't dodge; he simply tipped over like a falling tree, the punch whistling past his nose by a hair's breadth. While horizontal, he swung his massive jug like a flail, the stone-hard pottery denting Franky's shoulder.
"Ouch! That's not SUUUUPER at all!" Franky grunted, righting himself. He began charging his Radical Beam, but the floor was becoming dangerously slick as Vasco continued to spray alcohol everywhere, turning the battlefield into a literal slip-and-slide of death.
The Forest of Fear: Usopp vs. Van Augur
"Nami! Get them around the corner! I'll handle the guy with the fancy hat and the lack of a personality!" Usopp yelled, his hands shaking so violently he nearly dropped his Black Kabuto.
From the rafters, a single, silent bullet whistled through the damp air, clipping the very edge of Usopp's goggles. Van Augur, the "Supersonic" sniper, materialized on a stone ledge fifty feet away via his Warp-Warp powers. He looked down at Usopp with the cold, detached gaze of a man reading a grocery list in a graveyard.
"Fate has decreed that you die in this hallway, Long-nose. It is a statistically inefficient place for a grave, but fate is rarely concerned with logistics."
Usopp dove behind a pile of crates as Augur warped again, appearing directly behind him. Bang. The bullet scorched the back of Usopp's cape.
"I'm not just a sniper!" Usopp screamed, his voice hitting a pitch only sea-kings could hear. He fired a Green Star: Bamboo Javelin blindly into the ceiling. The floor beneath Augur didn't erupt, but the ceiling above him did, sharp stalks of bamboo raining down. Augur warped upward to the rafters, unbothered.
"I'm the man who's going to make sure these kids see the sun!" Usopp declared, hiding behind David, who was currently trying to use his sack of gold as a shield. "David! Move! You're ruining my line of sight and your gold is reflecting the muzzle flash!"
"You're using me as a human shield!" David shrieked, clutching his sack.
"I'm using you as tactical cover!" Usopp corrected with a sob. He pulled out a new projectile. "Special Attack: Mirage Bird!" The seed exploded into a flock of shimmering, illusory crows that filled the hallway with distracting caws and fluttering wings.
Augur narrowed his eyes, his rifle clicking rhythmically. "Illusions are merely a delay of the inevitable." He began firing with mechanical precision, his bullets popping the crows like soap bubbles, while Usopp scrambled through the shadows, sobbing quietly as he set "Booby-trap Greens" along the floor, praying the "Fate" Augur talked about was currently on vacation.
The Storm in the Hall: Nami vs. Catarina Devon
As the refugees ran, a blur of fur and moonlight blocked their path. Catarina Devon, the "Crescent Moon Hunter," stood there in her nine-tailed fox form. She was elegant, monstrous, and entirely focused on Nami's head.
"Such a pretty face," Devon purred, her claws elongating until they scraped the stone floor. "I think I'll add your head to my collection. I don't have many redheads in my trophy room, Little Cat Burglar. You'll look lovely mounted between the princess of the West Blue and that Marine captain."
"My head is worth more than you can afford, you mangy mutt!" Nami snapped, though she took a cautious step back. She swung her Clima-Tact, creating a dense, swirling fog. "Mirage Tempo: Fata Morgana!"
Five versions of Nami appeared in the mist, all pointing their staffs at Devon. The fox-woman laughed, her nine tails whipping through the air like spiked clubs, smashing the stone walls to dust. "I can smell your fear, girl! The scent of a thief is always so pungent!"
"That's not fear you're smelling, you over-sized rug," Nami's voice echoed from the ceiling. "That's static electricity!"
Nami unleashed a Thunderbolt Tempo, but Devon shifted back into a human form mid-air—specifically, an exact copy of Sanji.
"Nami-swaaan! Help me! I'm trapped in this scary lady's body and I can't find the kitchen!" the fake Sanji cried with heart-shaped eyes, spinning in a perfect imitation of the cook's love-daze.
Nami hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Sanji...?"
Devon lunged, her hidden blade grazing Nami's shoulder as the illusion cackled. "Foolish girl! Heart over head, every time!"
"Okay, now I'm mad," Nami hissed, clutching her arm. "Nobody uses our cook to stab me! If he finds out you used his form to hurt a woman, he'll be more pissed than I am! Weather Egg: Thunder Breed Tempo!"
The Doctor's Wrath: Chopper vs. Sanjuan Wolf
The hallway groaned as a hand the size of a small house reached through the floorboards. Sanjuan Wolf, the "Colossal Battleship," was too big to fit inside the armory, but he was thrusting his arm through the foundations from the outside, trying to "sift" through the building to find the escapees like a child looking for toys in a sandbox.
"Tiny... ants... I'll squish... the little... tanuki..." Wolf's muffled voice shook the very island.
"I'M NOT A TANUKI! I'M A REINDEER!" Chopper roared. He crunched a Rumble Ball, his body expanding, his muscles bulging into the terrifying, fur-covered mountain of Monster Point. "I'm a doctor, and you're blocking the way to the pharmacy! And my friends are behind me!"
Chopper grabbed the giant's index finger, his hooves digging four inches into the solid stone floor. The sheer strength required to hold back even a fraction of Wolf's weight turned Chopper's fur red with effort.
"KOKUTI: PALME!"
Chopper slammed his massive, furred palm into the giant's wrist, the shockwave echoing through the tunnels like a subterranean explosion. Wolf let out a pained, childish roar that caused the sea levels outside to rise. The entire ceiling of the armory hall began to crumble under the stress. Chopper pivoted, catching a massive falling support beam with his back to keep it from crushing Sara and Misa.
"Franky! Nami! Move them now! I can't hold the island up forever!" Chopper gasped, his form flickering as the Rumble Ball's three-minute limit approached its dangerous end.
The Stalemate of Comedy and Terror
The armory hall was now a chaotic symphony of explosions, blue fire, blue-and-white lightning, and falling masonry.
Franky and Vasco Shot were locked in a sweaty, oily grapple. "Give me... a... SUUUUPER... drink!" Franky grunted, trying to shove a bottle of high-pressure, un-carbonated cola into Vasco's mouth to cause an internal gas explosion.
Vasco, meanwhile, was trying to light Franky's nipple-lights on fire with a match. "Gugaga! Shiny... fire... buttons! Let's see if the robot pops!"
Usopp was currently running in circles because one of his own "Green Stars" had grown a vine that was accidentally tickling his own nose. "Augur! Wait! Time out! I have a cramp and my nose is sensitive!"
Van Augur paused, his rifle leveled. "Fate does not recognize cramps, nor does it wait for your nasal allergies." Click.
"YOU PEOPLE ARE SO INTENSE!" Usopp screamed, diving under a table just as a bullet turned the table into toothpicks.
Nami was currently being chased by "Fake Sanji," "Fake Luffy," and a "Fake Nami" that was wearing a better outfit. "This is getting really confusing and insulting!" she yelled, accidentally shocking David, who was still trying to protect his sack of gold from the debris.
"MY GOLD! YOU ELECTRIFIED MY PROFITS! I CAN FEEL THE CURRENCY VIBRATING!" David wailed.
"SHUT UP, DAVID!" the trio screamed in unison, their panic reaching a unified peak.
Suddenly, the entire island of Hachinosu tilted five degrees to the west—a direct result of Dragon's massive Empress's Breeze strike in the plaza far above. The hallway plunged into a vibrating, terrifying darkness as the lanterns shattered.
"We're stuck!" David yelled, shielding Misa from the falling dust. "The door is jammed by the giant's hand and the fallen masonry!"
"We aren't stuck," Franky grunted, his metallic jaw clenching as he stared into Vasco Shot's drunken eyes. "We're just getting started! But Chopper's running out of time! Nami! Usopp! Combine your moves! We need a 'Super Escape'!"
The Blackbeard Pirates laughed in the dark, their eyes glowing with malice. The gauntlet was closing, and the Straw Hats were running out of floor to stand on.
To be continued...