Chapter 70: World Of Pirates: Part 08

Chapter 70: World Of Pirates: Part 08

A.N.: Biggest chapter, need to be cut in half but I want to conclude it... so...Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

Enjoy~

.....

Dressrosa

"Let's end with a bang!" Hector smiles widely after finishing his business.

Everyone from the Donquixote Pirates was defeated and he already copied everyone's powers.

Still in his muscular Buddha form, he goes to join his hands again, but different from his precious actions of simply clapping, it's more like he is squeezing the air.

Ursus Shock... He is preparing a modified version of it, at least.

His actions become more obvious when he is almost finishing his praying movement and between his hands a golden sphere is being tightly compressed.

Finally, his hands are in a shell, is not even possible to see the small golden sphere inside anymore. He moves his joined hands from a vertical position to a horizontal one and opens it like the mouth of a beast The golden sphere slowly floats to the air like a firefly.

'Now...' He opens his arms again, gesticulating to the whole of Dressrosa. All of his enemies are enveloped by his telekinetic powers and are slowly sent to the air.

They converge in the sphere like it has some sort of gravitational pull.

'Walmart Chibaku Tensei. I need to Search for Fujitora... But the guy doesn't make big moves...' He thinks about other things while finishing his move.

Finally, everything is in place.

All the bad people are together in a ball while the golden sphere is at the center of all.

"Eeeh... Let's call it [Buddha's Shock]." He says before clapping his hands one last time.

Like a trigger in a detonator, the small golden sphere explodes.

*Boom*

In an instant the golden sphere expands and sucked everyone close, using the people and the air as nourishment to fuel the golden brilliant explosion.

As a side note, Hector didn't compress only air in the small ball. He compressed other energy-based powers like Nejire's quirk and even fire.

So will not only be an explosion of shockwaves. The people around are literally disintegrated by the [Buddha's Shock], consumed by it.

Everyone in Dressrosa can see the flashy attack and how it ended their time in darkness.

Hector admires his own work.

"And obviously it needed to be lotus shaped..." he nods while watching the golden lotus of destruction revolving around itself in the air.

....

"Impressive how solidarity comes naturally in those times..." Hector comments from a rooftop while looking down on the Spanish-like country. He is back to normal "I ask myself if is in the human nature..."

He watches how the citizens help each other, carrying the wounded, moving the debris away from the road, etc, etc.

"Maybe human nature is not that bad, Master." Cortana says in his mind

"..." He doesn't answer at first, watching how people act, studying it "Maybe..."

His cynical side adds that they are only like that because the danger is already over. In a life-death situation, people return to being beasts and would tear each other apart to increase their chances of survival

"Are you not gonna appear to them?" Saeko asks.

All of Hector's group already reunited on this rooftop.

"Nah~" Hector says while watching the people from his higher position, seeing if he can have some more understanding of the human heart that he can apply to his world "Now is with them."

"Not even see your thicc princess?" He can feel Cortana raising her virtual eyebrow

He chuckles "Please... I was not that serious, but maybe I will visit her in some days or whatever." He says with a roll of his eyes "She has better things to do than humor me now."

At the same time that he is cold, he is considerate.

Hector looks at the people now seeking guidance from King Riku. They plead for forgiveness and for the man to lead them again. In the past, Doflamingo manipulated the country to hate the man, then erased the pertinent memories to consolidate himself as their hero and savior.

After some back and forth, King Riku eventually accepts his position back with some reluctance.

"Reluctance is a good trace on a leader... The ones that less want the position most of the time are the most apt to the job..." Hector comments while watching everything, remembering a bunch of examples in the Omniverse.

'Well, I know that I probably messed things up with Luffy and all but... The country is standing. In canon, all the buildings are destroyed and there's a lot more suffering...' He thinks to himself

Feeling better in messing with the plot, after all, people's lives take precedence over the character development of someone.

'Unless this character development is necessary to win in the end...' He sighs 'If I continue thinking about it, there will be no end. I did what I did, let's see to the end now.'

Hector stretches his arm at Dressrosa "Look at this... We're witnessing a prime example of how society works." He gestures to the people around King Riku.

"You know... We are born free. No restraints beyond our own flesh... We have infinite potential and infinite paths. Then we start to grow... And maybe you notice that you're not that athletic... And all those sports and martial paths are closed to you. You notice that you don't have a good voice... And suddenly you can't be a singer, actor, or whatever..." Hector keeps his eyes on the people below.

"But it's okay, these limitations come from the natural competition." He nods to himself "But what about the invisible chains of society? Why can't you do that? Or that? Why do we obey laws? Why can I speed in that zone? Or jump over that fence? Or beat too close to death that guy that disrespected me?"

"The answer is simple: We exchanged our freedom for security."

"All these law restraints and moral ones are what allow us to sleep well at night... Peace of mind... Heh." Hector points again to the people below. The ones that are now helping King Riku to be king again "See? Why didn't that guy in an orange shirt become king? Why put someone above you? He gave up on control for security, for stability..."

"..."

Hector rests his chin on his hand again "At least they choose personally... Imagine being born and not having even this choice?" He makes a strange expression.

In his mind, he is thinking about his own world again

"Now a question... What can break your chains? What can make you free?" He asks without even looking at Saeko and the others

"Strength..." Saeko answers immediately

"Exactly... Power. If you're strong enough you can do whatever you want. A pity that this doesn't apply to everyone. We have powers! Others not. There's strength in numbers... How can we fight against that system if everyone around us is a favor of it? In the worst cases, you will be ostracized and be called crazy..."

"Only strength can change things..." He sighs "But is not enough..." He completes

He knows that people resist when they have their freedom taken. A strange contradiction because they surrender their freedom easily, almost making him want to laugh.

If he is forceful and takes over the world for example like a cliche villain, there will be a never-ending stream of troubles and revolutions of people wanting their old lives back.

'They need to surrender for me voluntarily...' He concludes, making plans 'Two things are needed to orchestrate this... An external threat and internal incompetence...'

Many possible scenarios appear in his head, listing the options for these two roles...

'The United Nations are dumb... The Sentinel Program? Risky...The Skrulls maybe... Numbers are useless against me....' He thinks ahead. There's a reason he exposed the Skrull's threat to the world and didn't take direct and efficient action against them.

He is playing the long game

'Maybe Hydra... I can throw S.H.I.E.L.D. under the bus too... A crisis is good too... I can kill many problematic people the ones that will likely oppose me during the chaos. Hm~ The Secret Invasi-Hm?' His schemes about manipulating a whole civilization are interrupted...

By Cassandra suddenly pointing in a certain direction

"...forgot?" She asks.Saeko focuses her senses on where she is pointing and understands what she is talking about

"Did you spare an enemy?" She turns to Hector

"..." Hector kept his silence for some time before finally saying "I like him."

It's his explanation for sparing Seor Pink.

He didn't spare per se... He just didn't attack with all his might. The guy had a 50/50 chance of surviving.

And he survived... Maybe destiny has something reserved for him.

Now the man is walking in the opposite direction, going away from this country silently

"That's what power allows you to do. It gives you options. I can spare him because I'm strong enough to deal with any bad repercussions that this move can produce. I'm strong enough to be merciful..." Hector stands up and stretches his back a little "Am I a hipocryte for sparing only the one that I like? While I mercilessly killed the others..."

"..." Cassandra shrugs.

"You can do what you want..."Gigantomachia doesn't care

"I trust your judgment." Saeko says a small nod

"I think you have enough leverage to be a little selfish, Master." Cortana says in his mind

"...Thank you for the input." Hector says while looking forward "I will save your words in my heart."

...

Wano

Some hours before the Fire Festival

In the Flower Capital

"Faster, you idiots! We should have already been there!!" Orochi shouts from his palanquin.

'If you didn't order all the streets to be emptied and all the city scrutinied we would already be there!' Every one of his subordinates thinks the same.

From the people carrying his palanquin to the ninjas guarding him in the shadows.

Orochi is a coward and has been holed up in his castle since papers with the symbol of the Kozuki clan rained down on all Wano.

If it was not extremely necessary, he wouldn't even leave for Onigashima tonight.

"Don't worry, Komurasaki. I will protect you." He smiles to assure the woman at his side.

His two-faced display is pathetic and is not fooling anyone, but Hiyori smiles and thanks him all the same.

"Orochi-sama, there's someone blocking the road ahead." One of his followers exclaim

Orochi practically jumps from his sitting position and puts his head off the window.

"What is this?? Who is this??" He stretches his neck to see.

Far away on the road, on the seamless empty street, a man stands alone. He is wearing samurai clothes in black and white, his chest open to the air, and is holding two katanas relaxedly at his side.

Even if he is not in a fighting stance, it's obvious his intentions.

"Ughh~ Run over that bastard!! Who dares to stand in my way?! No, capture him! Strip him naked and hang him where everyone can see!!! Go on, do it!" Orochi shouts maniacally.

His group continues to move at high speed while Hector leisurely walks at them, the tips of his two swords trailing on the ground.

He stops and waits.

The people in the houses nearby are peeking through their windows to watch what this commotion is about.

"What are you all waiting for??!" Orochi screams, spit flying from his mouth "Get him Fukurokujo! Kyoshiro!!"

Denjiro, who is disguised as Kyoshiro, frowns from his position on the roof of a palanquin

'Isn't this too direct?' He stands up while eyeing Hector, he is not sure what to do.

Maybe make a show of a fight and kill Orochi while he does not expect it? But his ninjas are on guard too...

He doesn't know Hector enough to gauge his plans. Maybe he will screw them over.

Hector on his part looks completely relaxed even though Orochi's bigger group is approaching at high speed.

"Stay still, Denjiro..." He says in a low voice, but it travels to everyone's ears.

"...!" Kyoshiro's eyes widen a little and he pauses

"Denjiro?? What Denjiro? From the Red Scabbards??" Orochi shouts, asking everyone and no one at the same time.

Everyone watches curiously while Hector slowly raises his two swords and prepares a stance...

...A very familiar stance.

"Oden Nittoryuu..." He says flatly

"!!"

"Hiiiihh!!" Orochi almost pissed his pants seeing the stance.

Not only the stance. The presence, the air around Hector... Everything sent the people that are familiar with it in a storm of flashbacks.

"The first paragraph of this historic change will be written with your blood, Orochi." Hector says with a predatory grin

Flexing his muscles a little Hector looks at his target before blurring.

The ground cracks and he already attacked, surpassing any obstacle on the way and cutting Orochi's palanquin.

The people can only see the aftermath. Their eyes couldn't follow Hector's movements, even the sound only arrived in their ears after the attack.

The palanquin was cut in half, its roof flying in the air. Orochi was thrown out of it by the shockwave and at some point he has his arms cut too.

Kyoshiro, Denjiro, hurried up to catch Kumorasaki, Hiyori, who was conveniently sent flying on his way.

"...Togen Shirataki." Hector finishes saying, his back to Orochis group. His words are carried by the wind generated by the attack through all Flower Capital.

Hector slowly assumes a relaxed stance after his attack and turns to look at Orochi like he is trash.

The man is rolling on the ground pathetically with his two bleeding stumps.

"Ready to die?" Hector approaches and looks down on him even though Orochi is taller.

Orochi is not dead yet just because a clean death is too good for him.

"You... you!!!" Orochi looks at Hector with hatred in his eyes "What are you doing?!!" He shouts suddenly

A bunch of figures appears around Hector, and his guard's ninja prepares to take him down... Then more guards and retainers appear.

"..." Hector sideglances them without a worry in the world.

He lets the confidence in numbers grow inside the hearts of his enemies.

He lets the people hiding in their homes think that he is finished.

He let them think that he is at a disadvantage...

*Swish* *Buch*

...before his right arm blurs and everyone around him turns into a mist of blood and gore.

"!!"

"..." Hector turns to stare calmly at Orochi again.

The Shogun of Wano, as well as everyone else, is mouth agape at the display.

The display of strength is so ridiculous that their brain is taking its sweet time to process it.

"Now it's your turn..." Hector says and points his katana to Orochi.

Orochi on his part reunites whatever little courage he has and grits his teeth. He finally reveals his Mythical Zoan, turning himself into the Eight-headed Snake, Yamata No Orochi.

"Now you've done it, boy!!" He hisses angrily at him, his eight heads moving around wildly.

"..." Hector is obviously not intimidated.

"...ugh!" His calm demeanor only works to make Orochi more nervous, his false bravado slips a little.

"What waste of a good fruit..." Hector comments lightly "What are the special powers of this one?" He asks interestedly.

All Mythical Zoans are like packages, filled with other powers that could've been a Paramecia or Logia.

The fact that he is not intimidated and is talking casually with Orochi serves to piss off the guy. Here he is, challenging the "almighty" Shogun of Wano on his face and the man himself has done nothing yet.

Didn't attack, didn't retaliate... Nothing.

The man is a pathetic loser who can only scheme, cheat, and betray his way to the top.

This reinforces Hector's way of thinking. That there's a proper way of doing things... His talk with Blackbeard showed that. And is even more apparent now.

These people who can only achieve their objectives/dreams through these underhanded tactics don't amount much.

They don't have a solid foundation.

If they meet someone that rose to the top in a "proper way", they will lose.

They don't have the REAL power.

Orochi even after years of scheming against Oden's Family would've lost in the end if Kaido hadn't gotten himself involved.

Even after years of dominating Wano, humiliating Oden, and making people lose their faith in him... He would still have lost.

And is still unknown if Kaido wouldn't have lost to Oden if that woman hadn't used underhanded tactics either.

"At some point, your luck runs out, Orochi..." Hector says to the man "You don't deserve to be where you are... Without the skills to back you up, just die already." He spats in disgust

Orochi looks enraged, and all heads grit their teeth "What do you kno-" One head starts saying but is interrupted when Hector's arms blur again and the head in question is cut clean.

"!!"

"You-"

The head that starts saying was cut too.

".!!"

Now Orochi shuts up, it doesn't need a genius to figure out what Hector is doing. The power move on his actions.

Orchi stares at Hector's eyes. Calm blue eyes that appear to see everything about him. His whole demeanor is not different as if someone is doing the most menial of the tasks.

Orochi continues to grit his teeth in anger, thinking about his next move.

It appears that Hector will not move if Orochi stays still, treating him like an unruly child. The Shogun felt humiliated but it was a good opportunity to think.

The two continue in a staredown.

Hector's gaze makes the Shogun uncomfortable.

Everyone is his own person and it's common sense that doesn't matter what, no one can know everything about you.

But Hector's gaze fixed on Orochi appears to break the rule. Orochi feels naked to his gaze, like all of his secrets, sins, desires, past, sufferings... All of it is bare to Hector to see.

It's, understandably, uncomfortable. Like being looked down on and judged by a god. A fish on a chopping board.

Orochi can't take it anymore "Kyoshiro!! Someone!!! Kill him!!!!" He finally shouts, Half crazy.

His shrills are cut off by swifted sounds, and consequently sound of all his heads, but one, falling on the floor.

Once again, no one saw when he moved and what happened clearly.

Then sea stone stakes are produced from Hector's chest and he impales Orochi on the ground with it. In the legs, torso, shoulders... The man is forced to go back to his human form and can barely move.

"You outlived your stay..." Hector says again, looking down on the fallen Orochi that now has only one head.

Some subordinates really move to try to do something or try to appear to do something, but Kyoshiro acts.

He stops some of them and decapitates some with a slash of his sword.

"Kyoshiro!! What are you thinking you're doing?" Orochi shouts from the ground, mustering all his strength just for these shouts.

"Heh~ Kyoshiro just died..." Denjiros smiles and starts to take the disguise part of his hair "Now Denjiro lives to see another day. Eve if I die now, I have no regrets." The samurai says

"Wait..." Some old-school samurais and onlookers exclaim in realization

"DEnjiro??"

"One of the Red Scabbards of Oden-sama?!"

"He was hiding in plain sight for this whole time?"

"YOu... Denjiro... Ugh, it can't be..!" Orochi practically vomits blood while Looking at the scene "KILL HIM! KILL HIM THIS TRAITOR NOW!!!!"

Now the situation is confusing.

This retinue of hundreds of samurais is looking at each other with complicated looks.

Where the loyalties of the one next to them lay?

To Orochi? To Oden? Oden is dead... There's even a future following a dead man? Even if they like Oden and despise Orochi... What is better for them? To their families? And who is this stranger? Is he here to take Orochi's place? Is he worse than Orochi? Better? And what about Kaido?

All these thoughts are running through almost everyone's mind.

The situation reached a deadlock where everyone waited for another to make the first move.

And the one that does that...

...Hector.

A low rumble is heard by everyone when a shockwave is emitted from his body. Suddenly all these samurais, with some exceptions, are hit by this power like a wave has crashed on them. They suddenly feel submerged. It becomes hard to move and impossible to breathe.

They slowly drop to their knees, their consciousness barely standing by Hector's Mercy.

'That is... Oden-sama power!' Denjiro thinks, recognizing the Conqueror's Haki.

The image of Hector in his heart and mind grew slowly.

"Who of those we should purge?" Hector asks Denjiro in a flat tone.

Denjiro's surprise lasted only for a second before he moved his sword again, with swift moves he decapitated the Leaders of some groups, but sparing the subordinates.

"Those are Orochi's most clingy dogs and corrupt beasts." Denjiro says while cleaning his katana.

"I see..." Hector nods "And the others... They will... BEHAVE?" Another wave of Conqueror's Haki crashes against the people kneeling.

Hector's gaze looks like can pierce their body and mind and kill them with a thought.

'I understand...' Denjiro thinks and acts fast "They are not as bad as the others, Hector-sama. They can prove themselves if you give them a chance!" Denjiro exclaims passionately while bowing his head

"..." Hector gives him a side glance before turning to Orochi again "Fine, but will be on your shoulders..." He says

Denjiro makes an act of sighing in relief and turns to the rest. He can see the samurai's grateful eyes looking at him

'He knows his way in politics...' Hiyori is thinking while watching the little show that the two put by thinking fast

"Hiyori... Come here..."

"!"

She is suddenly jolted in surprise by Hector calling her. He is still looking at Orochi and if not by him curling his finger in her direction she would think that she is imagining it.

With measured steps, Hiroyi moves at Hector.

Arriving closer, Hector offers her the handle of a katana

"All yours, if you want." He says

"!" Hiyori is surprised for only one second before she practically rips off the sword from Hector's hand and holds it above Orochi.

"Komurasaki..." Orochi says slowly, but Hector kicks his face making him shut up.

Hiyori's hands are trembling and her face is dark while she stares at nothing. She is not hesitating because of pity or whatever. In her mind, a flashback of memories is appearing at high speed. Her happy moments with her Family and the Red Scabbards, the difficult times with Kawamatsu, all these years of suffering, and the smiles that she needs to put on her family killers...

Her eyes are already full of tears while she loses herself in the memories and in the faces of her loved ones, and then she feels a hand encompassing hers.

"If you want to do it in a painful way, aim for the liver... It's full of nerves." Hector's voice is from her side. He is behind her and Moves the sword with her hands to the place above the liver.

His voice broke her off from her reverie.

"If you want to be swift... Right here." He puts the tip of the katana on Orochi's temple "In the throat he will survive because of his amazing vitality, but he will drown in his own blood. You will have time to stab him a few times in other places..." Hector continues to give her tips. "Oh, the throat then..." Hector pauses when he feels her will

Still enveloping her hands on his own, Hector applies pressure to Orochi's throat with the sword "Even if he is a waste of space, his fruit made his body stronger than most..." He comments while helping her have her revenge

"Komu- Glurgk" Orochi tries to say while he dies

Ace reacts fast and jumps over her like a kid jumping over a friend, putting his hands over her head to propel himself.

He doesn't have a lot of time to relax because a giant mouth full of teeth is almost enclosing around him.

The bite is avoided by him separating his body and reforming himself some feet to the side, a takes the opportunity to deliver a Fire Fist in Page One's dinosaur face.

Page One, Ulti's brother, in his full spinosaurus form, shakes his head a little to help with the dizziness and recovers fast. He locks on Ace with his eyes, ready to continue the battle.

*Boom*

But Page One head is forced to the ground when an object falls on it.

"Wow... These Ancient Zoans are really hard." Jozu says while pulling away from Page One, noticing the dinosaur fruit user already standing up slowly

"Look who's talking..." Ace jokes.

The two Whitebeard pirates put their backs against each other and readied themselves to the fight "Can you take the annoying girl?" Jozu asks

"Ugh... I wanted to fight the other guy..." Ace sighs a little

"She looks like a pain in the ass indeed..." Jozu deadpans while seeing Ulti whining to her brother about some futile thing "Okay, I deal with the hardhead girl." He relents

"Alright!" Ace smiles before jumping at Page One.

.....

Who's-Who stays lazily sitting on his spot while watching the war happening.

He doesn't have much of a loyalty for Kaido, being a subordinate of a Yonko is simply the best option after his career in the World Government is cut short.

'Should I bail? That Devil guy is strong...' He tries to decide his next life-changing move.

But at this moment he feels a dangerous presence behind him, something that is not even trying to hide, it's even growling.

"What are you?" He turns around.

Who's-who is the User of the Sabertooth Ancient Zoan, a cat fruit.

Hector released Rover on him.

....

Gigantomachia and Jack are engaged in a brawl outside the huge skull building that is Onigashima.

To avoid collapsing the whole pace Hector instructed Machia to take Jack there and keep him there.

Jack, in his hybrid mammoth form, enlarges his trunk and shoots a blast of air to Machia.

The blast that is strong enough to rip off some decorations from the ground fails to move Machia even a millimeter.

The Ton-Ton fruit... The Devil Fruit that allows the user to increase his weight in tons at his will. The previous user was from the Donquixote pirates, now Hector gave Machia a copy.

Machia has a lot of potential, Hector says that he only needs to substitute his "subpar powers", his words, for something more fitting. No need to waste "slots" with weak powers.

"Annoying... Dirt in my eye..." Machia says flatly before reaching to grab Jack's Trunk.

But Jack is prepared this time and avoids it, the with his moon-shaped blades he goes to Slash Machia's neck.

The momentum is good and it appears that Machia can't dodge...

*Clank*

...But the blades bounce off from the Machia, even chipping a little.

Jack's eyes widen seeing Half of Machia's upper body turning into Diamond... Hector really is not holding back in turning Machia on the greatest tank.

Now during the rebound, Jack has no way to avoid when Machia grabs him by his tusks and raises him in the air.

"!" Jack was once again surprised to see someone lift him so easily, he had no leverage to do anything, his feet flailing around in the empty air.

*BOOM*

Machia performs an improvised supplex to nail Jack on the ground, disorienting the Mammoth man.

But Jack is resisting enough to not be shaken up enough to not see the foot aiming for his head.

He rolls over to dodge the foot, but he can't go far and can't stand up either because Machia's hands morphed into Mole ones, claws extending far and sinking on his back.

Machia isn't any genius, he doesn't have a high Battle I.Q., but he has good battle instincts. The two are different... This means that he is not prone to outsmarting his opponent, but he can notice that he is strong and use his advantage.

Without wasting time, Machia's knees descend between Jack's shoulders, pinning the half-fishman on the ground. Brusquely machia finally grabs Jack's trunk and pulls back, estrangling his opponent with it.

The contest of strength lasts longer than expected, Jack refusing to pass out, and maybe he is too dumb to simply unmake his transformation. Or maybe oxygen is not reaching his brain...

At some point, in a moment of clarity, before he passes out, he thinks about it and goes back to being 100% human.

But this is not enough because Machia makes use of the opening to hammer his head on the ground with his two fists.

Ending the battle.

"Can't kill... Master needs to copy first." He comments and starts dragging Jack's body away.

........

"Pest!!" Queen shouts and points his robotic arm and tail at Cassandra.

The two limbs shoot lasers on the narrow corridor where the two are Fighting.

Cassandra uses Geppo to change her trajectory in the air, afterimages are left behind where the laser attacks hit.

She gets closer and closer till she is close enough to dropkick Queen on the stomach.

"Gaag!" The fat man almost spilled his guts while he was sent flying through some rooms.

"...sloppy." Cassandra comments while giving chase, evading a swipe of his tail by jumping and spinning on herself vertically, making use of the moment to give a guillotine kick on Queen's long neck.

His head disappears on the ground, appearing on the floor below and scaring some people Fighting there.

"Fucking brat..." He spats

Cassandra frowns looking down on the man, apparently he is weaker than she expected. He relies too much on his strong body and technology.

Or maybe Cassandra is too strong, in skills Queen is receiving a beating.

But another reason for her frown is that she can tell that this fight will take some time.

"...hard." She comments about the Queen's durability. She needs more firepower.

"!" Her eyes suddenly shot to the side and she jumped to dodge in a hurry.

A snake surges from the ground coils around her leg and climbs her body,

Not a snake, Queen. He detached himself from his body.

"..???" Cassandra is more than confused now

.....

"Whattaheck? They can do that????" Hector also turns his head fast to pay attention to that fight

"I mean... We know nothing about the dinosaurs beyond their fossils... So maybe they can... We don't even know how the dinosaurs are really, they can be giant chickens... Like, look at the skull of a hippopotamus and the real hippopotamus... The discrepancy is ridiculous."

"Oda can invent whatever he wants and be true, because we really don't know... #OdaGenius" He concludes

...

Back to Cassandra

She struggles for some time, but Queen puts everything into crushing her bones

Till suddenly he doesn't even feel her anymore

"Huh??" He looks confused, turning to see he has nothing on his embrace

The sound of something falling makes him turn to see a boot hitting the ground. Two eyes blinks from the black boot before Cassandra materializes herself from it and kicks him on the chin, sending him flying away.

She used [Black], her power to merge with black things, in a smart way to escape.

Queen hits a wall and shakes his head from side to side to recover.

Cassandra prepares herself for the next round but she suddenly remembers a lesson given by Hector.

She turns fast to the abandoned body of Queen and throws a device that sticks to it, a second later an electric pulse fries the cybernetic enhancements of the body.

"You... Girl, what did you do?? Body, Fire Rockets!" Queen tries to use the voice commander to control the body but it doesn't react "What did you do??" Queen asks again

"...E.M.P." Cassandra answers and puts a fighting stance again

"E.M.P..?" The term appears foreign to Queen. He moves a little to the side, trying to circle Cassandra.

But instead of accompanying him on circling each other, Cassandra moves in response to him, keeping herself between him and his body.

"!"

"...bad move." She says flatly

Indeed was a bad move. He gave up on his body to launch a sneaky attack to end the fight, thinking that he would be capable of recovering it afterward.

Now he only has his "snake-like" body.

He lost most of his enhancements and biological weapons... He won't even have the opportunity to show his powers like Invisibility that he copied from Germa.

Different from a manga/anime, where the plot would give the chance of the characters to give their all to the readers/viewers' enjoyment... Queen will not have this luxury this time.

His loss is more than inevitable now.

He grits his teeth "You... You bratt!!!" He shouts while advancing to one last desperate struggle.

.....

In another open part of Onigashima, the battle between Saeko and King is happening.

Flashes of fire illuminate the night sky, obscuring the stars while the two exchange blows.

Saeko appears to be having some difficulties 'The difference in height and range can't be underestimated...' She thinks while dodging a swing of King and releasing a flying slash at the All-star.

After a particularly strong clash, the two separate themselves a little to observe each other.

"...You're not a swordsman..." Saeko says with a strange intonation

"I use a sword..." King answers non-chalantily.

"I see..." Saeko sighs a little disappointed, her eyes change and become sharp "Then this isn't a duel anymore... It's a battle!"

King senses danger and he only reacts fast enough to not have his right wing and arm cut off, but a rain of blood is sprayed from the huge wound given by Saeko on his shoulder.

"I will use my powers... Be careful." Saeko warns him and taking a deep breath she disappears again.

King is more ready this time, and his wing opens wide to release a huge ring of fire horizontally, stopping Saeko from attacking him again.

He doesn't waste time in taking flight, the sky will be his battlefield.

But Saeko pursued relentless using the power [Air Walk]. Different from the move Geppo from the Rokushiki, this power really creates a platform in the air instead of allowing a "double jump"

'There's this world where these samurai shinigami create platforms with their energies... If you fight with a katana, creating a platform to put a stance is essential...' Saeko remembers Hector's words when he told her about her choices, convincing her not to take a flight power on her build and take this one instead.

Seeing the approaching Saeko, King pulls his huge sword back using his two hands and makes a huge horizontal swing.

A giant wall of fire descends on her, closing her escape routes.

Saeko narrows her eyes slightly and takes another breath... 'He knew...' She thinks

"Foxfire Style: Homura Saki." She says before cutting the wall of fire perfectly

The wall opens like is solid to her.

That is a swordsmanship that shouldn't appear at this time... It's the swordsmanship of KIn'emon. One of the Scabbards that will appear two years from now.

How does Saeko know it? Hector, obviously... The rest of the Scabbards saw Kin'emon fighting for years. Hector used his powers to watch their memories, using a combination of Pudding Devil Fruit and other projection powers.

In the last few days, while waiting for the Fire Festival Hector told Saeko to practice it.

Being the natural genius limited by her own world that she is, coupled with the card of other two genius swordsmen: Tokiko Muichiro and Miyamoto Musashi. She grasped the basics fast.

She even surprised herself with how effective it is "Better than in the training... And creates a vacuum to kill the fire... A vacuum..." She mutters to herself, understanding more and more and growing during the fight.

Arriving in front of King's face, Saeko sheaths her katana for an instant before using an Iai technique to try to cut his head.

King inclines himself back to dodge "!?" But for some reason, he was pulled again into her range.

"Vacuum..." Saeko answers the unasked question. The lack of air because of her Slash is being forcefully filled and pulling King too.

Her purple eyes stared unblinkingly at her foe "Vacuum Slash..." In an instant, she sheaths her katana again, while King is still being pulled in her direction.

Using [Clockwork], She disappears from an instant, reappearing in the same spot like it was only an illusion.

The katana is still sheathed and she is still in the same stance... but the attack already happened.

A second later, a vertical purple flash appears between them, distorts the air, and looks like is sucking the light.

King has his left arm and wing cut and falls impotent on the ground.

His eyes were wide in disbelief, looking emptily to the sky.

After crashing on the ground, still in a daze, King remains unresponsive even when Saeko drops on his torso and stares him down.

"Sorry... I wish that our fight lasted longer, but I didn't want to lose the feeling." She says, almost apologetically at her defeated opponent.

"Kill me..." King says in a deadpan voice

"This is not to me or you to decide..." She answers equally flat

"...Kaido will win. In a one-on-one... He always wins." King says

"Well, this will be proven incorrect tonight." Saeko answers while looking at the roof of Onigashima.

......

On Onigashima's roof

Long Yin, Hector's dragon glaive intertwines with Kaido in his dragon form. The two Fighting all the way.

Kaido is surprised not only by another dragon but also by the fact that he can't hurt this silver dragon, and instead, Long Yin's claws and fangs can hurt him. Only his Observation Haki prevented him from receiving grave injuries.

His attention is shifted from the silver dragon... Yamato runs along Long Yin's body, Kanabo in her hands.

She jumps from Long Yin and delivers a "Raimei Hakke" on the side of Kaido's dragon head.

After this blow, Kaido didn't waste time in changing forms.

Now, in his hybrid form, he spins in the air in a surprising show of agility to his big form and attacks Yamato with a similar attack.

Yamato is sent to the ground like a cannonball.

"Wororo. Finally showing the claws, my son?" Kaido drops to the ground with a boom too.

Long Yin goes to circle around Yamato's head, ready to defend her.

"I never hid my desire to free Wano from you!" Yamato exclaims strongly

"Yes... I think you are always idiotic like that, right?" Kaido scratches his chin as if remembering "And appears that my lessons are too soft..."

"Soft??" Yamato is angry hearing his words. Not because of all of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her Father, but because of the many people that he killed to "teach him a lesson".

Subordinates that give her food, prisoners samurais, and others...

"This time you will be defeated!" Yamato declares and slowly she starts transforming in her hybrid form.

"Tonight you will learn of absolute failure... Then you will obediently listen to me afterward." Kaido readies himself too.

But they are interrupted when Long Yin roars loudly to the sky.

The two pause and look up too.

.....

"Well, It's my time to shine... Be sure to capture my good angles, Cortana." Hector smiles.

He is on a cloud high in the sky.

He sits down in a meditation pose and his soul leaves his body and possesses a body close to him.

The other Hector slowly opens his eyes and stands up.

And without saying a word he jumps from the cloud in a free fall.

.......

*BOOM*

Hector hits the ground loudly between the two fighters, he doesn't use any power so his landing creates a crater, and a lot of Dust.

"Very weak body... But will do." His silhouette walks out of the dust, clenching and opening one hand and rolling a shoulder

"You finally arrived..." Kaido smiles seeing Hector. But feels that there's something weird about him

"Sorry... Things to do." Hector says flatly. He is wearing different clothes from before. The set is very bland, and not his samurai garbs "Long Yin..." He says.

The dragon obeys by biting Yamato's clothes and carrying her away amidst her protests.

"A one-a-one then? Wororo." Kaido laughs

"Heh~" Hector smirks too

"Where's that katana?" Kaido asks

"I'm not gonna use it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not here as a samurai..." Hector slowly raises his hand in front of his body "You know, I didn't plan to interfere much... But you get on my nerves. Evil without a reason pisses me off. Bullies... Bleargh~"

"..."

"So I'm here as a Hero(Yuusha)..." Hector smirks "Answer my call... Sword of Durant." He chants

A golden light appears in the sky above them and *Boom* a huge heavy sword hits the ground next to Hector. The handle is close to his hand.

'Soul-bound iconic items are gained even though are not Package cards... Zanpakutos and suchs... But about Sacred Gears? Bijuus?' Hector muses on his mind

He grabs the huge sword with one hand even though the thing is bigger and thicker than him, testing the weight

"A heavy sword is a symbol of a main Character... Guts, Dante, Cloud, Inuyasha, Ichigo..." He comments with a smile on his lips

Hector points his heavy sword at Kaido in a challenge.

"The Hero(Yuusha) will save the country from the clutches of an evil dragon... So cliche... I'm liking it." He laughs "I'm taking your daughter as a spoil too!"

This body of Hector is special...

First, it has no meta-powers.

Its strength is of a simple peak One Piece body.

So Hector plans to fight Kaido using only this body, his martial arts, Haki, and... Magic.

The main reason for him to "nerf" himself is to test his magic fighting style and how good can be in a real battle.

The two combatants are in stand-off only for a second.

From the tip of the Sword of Durant, mana starts to coalesce and create fire. Like Rudeus, Hector concentrates and spins the fire in a vortex to increase the potency.

The fire changes colors every second till it becomes completely white.

The basketball-sized vortex of white fire is so hot that is distorting the air around Hector,

On his side, Kaido is not waiting idly either. He has opened his mouth and is concentrating a fire breath too.

The two shoot at the same time

"Boro Breath!"

"White Beam..."

The two huge pillars of fire meet in the Middle of the roof, and all of Onigashima tremble, the blast is enough to start to melt the roof and the horn of the giant skull that is Onigashima.

The two didn't move while letting their attacks crash...

'So no spinning the joystick?' Hector jokes on his mind seeing the attacks explode in each other and there's no contest of strength.

From a third-person perspective is obvious that Hector won. The explosion was much closer to Kaido, but even so, it didn't hurt him.

Kaido grips his kanabo tightly "Are you ready?"

"Wait a minute!" Hector suddenly exclaims and puts a hand on the sign of stop to Kaido

"?"

"Tonight is a full moon..." It's the only thing he says before he looks up.

A mysterious smile is on his lips while the full moon is reflected in his eyes.

The changes start almost immediately...

His pupils contracted, and his muscles spasm slightly because they're growing. He became seven feet tall.

Hector's Hair started turning White and grew longer at an absurd rate, the weight of the hair made it lose any curliness and become straight, reaching his thigh.

He closes his eyes and takes a breath, when he opens it again they are red. From the sclera to the pupils, in different shades of red.

Kaido has waited patiently for the 2seconds transformation

"A Sulong transformation? Are you a half-mink?" He frowns "First time that I've seen something like that."

"Something like that... Minks and humans are mammals." Hector stares at him. His face is now much more adult. He created a clone with the main characteristic of the Mink race... The ability to transform under the full moon. A human mink...

Hector's usual appearance is between an adolescent and an adult. Anyone who looks at him will think that he is a youngster, but he is tall and has a well-developed body enough to pass as an adult. He is like two steps away from full adulthood.

He sees his own reflection on his sword, any remnants of baby-fat, as small as they were previously, disappeared. Eidolon without the mask but not quite.

'I look like Sephiroth...' He thinks and laughs when he thinks about the parallels and dichotomy.

He just made a joke about heavy swords being a main character thing. At the same time, the spike short hair is also a main character thing while long and white hair goes to the villains... Like Griffth, Sephiroth, Sesshoumaru.

"I like it!" He declares "Thanks for waiting, now let's start!" He grabs his heavy sword with two hands and jumps high in the air.

The electricity of the Mink race covers his limbs while he holds the sword over his head, the moon framing his silhouette while he falls over Kaido.

"Wororo! I can already say that this will be fun!!" Kaido on his part grabs his kanabo and brings it from below.

The two weapons meet each other shaking the whole Onigashima... No, they didn't meet. There's a space between the two weapons where air appears to be squeezed.

A shock of Advanced Conqueror's Haki.

"So you too, huh? Worororo" Kaido laughs in uproar

"Obviously, enjoy your last fight! It's my final gift for you!" Hector answers.

To be Continued...

......