Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV
Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV
As Rick came up with a now unconscious Zoro from the hole he created, he saw plenty of people fight other people. When one of them shot at him, Rick knew who the enemy was. Apparently Kaido’s crew were all wearing the same type of clothing, making them easier to identify. Pushing back the bullet with his gravity he sprouted hands on every hostile present and knocked them all out by choking them. The samurai around looked at him in awe. One of them spoke up.
“You’re him, aren’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“Their vice-captain.” The same man said pointing at Zoro.
“I am.”
“Your captain, he’s fighting Kaido on the roof.”
“The others?”
“We don’t know for sure. The little tanuki and a pink haired one were healing people on the west wing because some nasty disease had been unleashed on us. The blond one was captured by Black Maria. He was used as a hostage to lure one of your female friends. The raven haired one.
“Where?!” Rick asked with emotion.
“The east wing! As for the others, we don’t know!” another samurai answered, pointing in a direction with his finger.
Rick gently put Zoro on the ground and went to search for Robin. He’s been away from her for eight months and it was eight months too many in his opinion. On the way he dealt with any members of Kaido’s crew without an ounce of mercy. When he noticed some weird Zoan users, Diana was enraged.
“That little...! How DARE they pervert my work!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Those Zoan are not of my design! Passing on the power of a fruit inside an object was fine! Barely! But creating devil fruit?! That’s... I can’t let that stand! That’s crossing a line.”
“Oooookay... What do you want me to do about it exactly?”
“Kill them all!”
“Are you mad?!”
“They’re abominations! Look at this one! He got the entirety of a giraffe's body fused to his ass from the giraffe’s neck!”
“Okay, maybe that one, but...”
“No buts! You either do it or I break my promise!”
“Blackmail already? Is it how it’s going to be, now? If I don’t do what you want, you take control?”
“No! I won’t interfere with your choices but this... this is wrong. Someone tried to play god and it’s not right! It goes against the laws of nature!”
“The power of a fruit goes against the laws of nature. Have you met Brook? Dead people are not supposed to come back to life.”
“It’s not supposed to usually happen but it’s not against the laws. This... This is a perversion of the essence of life! They purposefully altered a sentient being’s DNA for a force evolution.”
“Isn’t that what Zoans do?”
“No! My power changes the DNA temporarily, regarding Zoan. This... this is a permanent thing. It’s not supposed to happen! The DNA will break down and it won’t be pretty.”
“What are we talking about here?”
“Madness, mayhem. The beast’s DNA taking over. Plenty of bad things, the worst would be contamination of other people. It could lead to the extinction of all life!”
“... You’re kidding right?’
“I am not! I saw it happening, back when I was creating the fruits! Luckily it was on a very small island, so the worst was avoided.”
“Does that mean I’ll have to kill Momonosuke? Because he ate a man-made fruit.”
“No, his fruit was perfect. It does what zoan’s fruit are supposed to do.”
“So you’re not asking me to kill them because you’re somehow jealous that someone is getting close to achieving what you did? Or apparently succeeded.”
“I am not.”
“Ugh fine... How would I get to explain that to the others? ‘I killed them because a voice in my head told me too?’ What a cliché.”
‘I see. That brings a whole lot of questions that I’m not sure I want or should have the answers to.’
Rick made Law’s sword float toward its owner, without even looking back and flew forward, deeper into the island. Big Mom wasn’t the goal after all, just an obstacle he had to deal with. In no time he came to the area where Robin and Brook were. When he entered the room he was pulled to a stop by what he was seeing. A giant blond woman with the lower body of a hairy spider was being clutched by a naked red devil. It was the real deal, with horns and wings, not dissimilar to Rick’s form when Diana had taken control of his body back in Marineford. When his brain functioned again he recognized who that devil was from the haircut, and the devil’s assets. He knew those very well.
“Robin?” he exclaimed in awe.
The awful cracking sound of snapping bones resonated in the room and the blonde’s body suddenly went limp and was released on the side of the room giving Rick the first sight of his wife in almost a year. The demonic version of herself disappeared and Robin fell to the ground out of exhaustion. She never hit the ground though, not on his watch. He sprouted a hand on her and made her float before attracting her to him right into his arm in a single move.
She took a second or two to understand what was happening and one more to recognize the gaunt face of the man she loved.
“Hey.” he simply said with a kind smile.
Robin smiled back before knitting her brows in worry. She raised her hand to touch one of his hollowed cheeks.
“Long story?” Was all she asked and got a nod of affirmation back. It was fine with her, her husband was here and that was all that mattered. Black Maria may have said whatever she wanted, Robin knew the man she married better than anyone. She knew that the words she was hearing were lies. And while deep down a small part of her felt doubt, she believed, she had faith. After the most difficult eight months of her life, she still had faith that he would be back, that he would not stay with his daughter just like he promised her. It was that faith that drove her every day, that helped her overcome her loss and to ignore her darkest thoughts. And it took time, but her faith had been rewarded and she was back where she belonged.
Rick put her on her feet and was locked into a hug. Not a fierce one, Robin had the presence of mind to mind his current condition, but a hug tight enough to convey her feelings. It didn’t last long as a very nasty smell attacked her nose and made her recoil.
“Yes, sorry. Couldn’t take a shower in eight months.” he said sheepishly.
“That’s alright.”
Just like she did a few moments earlier he cupped her cheek with his hand, or tried as he dropped it down. The cheek was too close to the nose. He opted instead to look meaningfully into her eyes. A look that she gave back.
“I wonder if Brook and I could do a number. The dead and the living skeletons.” he joked, making her chuckle softly.
“That’s a wonderful idea! Yohohoho!” said Brook who came from the other side of the room after giving them some time to have a moment.
“As tempting as it is, I want my husband back to his best and more importantly healthy self.”
“Yes Ma’am.” he said with a salute.
“We should go, others may need our help.” Brook advised.
“Zoro, is K.O. He took down one of Kaidou’s top men and freed me before collapsing though. Sanji, Chopper are on the other side of the island.”
He closed his eyes and used his observation haki to have a feel of the place. It couldn’t reach the whole island but it was enough to locate Nami and Usopp near the center of what he now recognizes as a castle.
“Nami and Usopp are on the upper level near the center. I don’t know where Franky or Baby-5 are but they are probably together. Luffy is supposedly fighting Kaidou on the roof but I can’t verify it.”
“Reiju is probably with Chopper too.” Robin announced.
“Reiju is here? Why?”
“She decided to stay with us as Chopper’s nurse. I wonder why?” she replied with a knowing smirk making Brook laugh.
“So what are you two going to do?” Rick asked, ignoring the implication of Robin’s words. He had already enough on his plate right now, he didn’t need to think about the pink princess at the moment.
“Us two?”
“Yes, you two. I’m going on the roof. I have a deal to settle with Kaidou.”
“No.” Robin said firmly.
“Yes, I am.”
“No. Not when you’re... in that state.” she said, moving her hand up and down towards him.
“I’ll be okay. I just took down Big Mom effortlessly. Sure, I may look like I would keel over with a small breeze and I feel like it but I can fight no problem.”
Rick wasn’t lying at all, however he didn’t mention that the reason he took Big Mom down like he did was because she had been careless. Had she not judged him based on his appearance and their last fight in her territory, the fight would not have been so one-sided. The yonko proved it by dealing with the black holes with her haki. He was hoping Kaidou would make the same mistake if Luffy failed.
“You took Big Mom down?!” Brook exclaimed.
“Yeah, she’s... Let’s say you should avoid the way I came from...The sight is not pretty.”
After looking at him for a moment, Robin made a decision.
“I guess we should regroup with Nami and Usopp. Don’t fight if you don’t need to.”
“I promise.” Rick replied with a smile. He was genuine. If Luffy had things in hands, he would put aside his need for payback.
‘Ending a big fight without being unconscious would be nice for once.’
Brook and Robin took their leave, running towards the direction Rick gave them to reach their friends. Once gone, the Vice-captain flew towards the upper floor but not before killing the spider-woman at his roommate's insistence.