One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Sitting on the Waves ❯ Little Fighters ( Chapter 14 )

ONE PIECE
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 14
BY
Sgamer82

Roronoa Zoro sheathed his swords as he looked at his fallen enemy, lying spread eagled on the ground where Zoro's last attack had left him. The fight was done. Now he needed to find the others and see if anyone needed help. As he wondered who to go after first (Luffy, Robin, or Sanji) the question was answered for him when Usopp and Robin arrived. Robin seemed more or less all right, though Zoro noticed she was keeping her right eye closed. Usopp was right behind, but froze in place when he saw Tirsni and the area right behind him.

Directly in front of and behind Tirsni the Deadeye's unconscious body was the remains of a forest. Flattened and destroyed up to two hundred feet behind the sniper. One might think that perhaps a new path had begun being made. Since it was about as wide as the one the Straw Hat crew members were currently standing on.

“Zoro!” Usopp cried out, “Did you do that?!”

“Yeah.”

“Don't you think you overdid things a bit?”

“Not at all. The guy was hiding. I had to hit him somehow.”

The main reason Zoro used all three swords in his “cannon” was because he had only a rough idea where the sniper had been hiding. He needed to cover as wide an area as possible. So he needed the attack's full power.

“Hey.” Zoro said, looking to Robin, “You all right?”

“I should be fine.” Robin said, “But I think I may need the services of our doctor.”

No sooner had Robin mentioned him than Chopper came running out of the other side of the forest screaming bloody murder. Right behind him came Sanji, who seemed determined to make him their next meal. Chopper saw Usopp and hid behind him. Well, “hid” isn't exactly the most accurate term since he was next to Usopp's legs, rather than behind them.

“Usopp!” Sanji yelled, “Move out of the way!”

“What?! Why? What did Chopper do?”

“He harmed a lady, that's what he did?!”

“This lady wouldn't happen to have been the bounty hunter they sent after you?” Zoro asked.

“I don't care about petty labels as that, so long as it's a pretty lady!”

“Mr. Cook,” Robin interjected, “I'd much rather you didn't hurt the doctor. I'll be requiring his services.”

“Huh?” Sanji saw Robin's eye, “Ah! What did those bastards do to you?!”

“It's nothing myself and our sharpshooter couldn't handle.”

“Really?” Chopper asked, he looked up to Usopp, “Then you really saved her? Just like you said you would?”

“Why, of course!” Usopp bragged, unable to resist the temptation, “The big guy was charging at our Robin when I, the brave warrior of the sea Usopp, launched into the fray and took him down!”

“Wow!”

Zoro interrupted everyone's discussion with a loud clearing of his throat.

“We have other things to worry about right now.”

“You're right.” Robin said, “We need to get to the orphanage and make sure the captain and navigator are all right.”

Zoro nodded.

Sanji lit up a cigarette as he chimed in.

“Our dear Robin should have her eye looked at. Her and Chopper should go back to the Going Merry and see what can be done.”

Everyone nodded.

“In the meantime, the rest of us should head up to the nursery and find out Luffy's situation.” Usopp said.

“Yeah,” Zoro said, “Chopper, Robin, we may end up needing you. Try and join us as soon as you can.”

“But her eye…”

“I'm not telling you to do it half-assed.” Zoro told Chopper, “Don't rush it, just do as much as you can as soon as you can.”

Chopper acknowledged the swordsman's order. He transformed to Walk Point and beckoned for Robin to get on. She sat down on Chopper's back and rode side-saddle back to the ship.

Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp started running north, towards the Chibi no Mi Nursery.

 

* * * * *

 

Huncaza assumed a boxing-style fighting stance as he held up his fists, upon which were brass-knuckle type weapons fitted with what looked much like an animal's fangs on the knuckles.

“I'll have to take you by force then, eh, Captain Monkey?”

“No you won`t. We'll beat you before you can do that.”

Huncaza couldn't help but ask.

“Who's we?”

He regretted it almost immediately. Luffy whispered some instructions to a boy standing next to him, who then grabbed onto Luffy's wrist. With the boy still holding on to his wrist, Luffy again ran at Huncaza. Luffy zigzagged his way through the crowd of kids stuck in place by the green substance spread out on the ground.

“Gomu-Gomu…” Luffy called out.

That seemed to be a signal as the kid suddenly threw Luffy's arm as high into the air as he could. Luffy's hand began to snap back down from the air, far above the head of even the tallest child present.

“…Pistol!!!”

Luffy's hand, in a fist, came down and hit Huncaza right in the face. Luffy pushed his fist downward so Huncaza would go straight to the ground rather than be sent flying. Luffy then stopped his charge and turned to face Huncaza.

“And…!”
Luffy shot his foot straight up into the air as high as he could manage before bringing it down with all his strength.

“…Axe!!”

Huncaza just barely rolled out of the way in time to dodge Luffy's foot as it came crashing down onto the green ground, the force of Luffy's attack making cracks in the rock-hard substance. Luffy didn't waste time on his next attack. As soon as his leg was back to its normal length, he ran at Huncaza to give him a good, old fashioned punch to the jaw. Huncaza was ready to charge and counterattack but suddenly found himself unable to move.

Huncaza looked down to see a couple of the orphanage brats holding on to his legs. He didn't get a chance to pry them loose as Luffy's punch hit Huncaza's face head on. This time he did get sent flying. But the kids nearest the fight had the sense to duck down as much as they could. Huncaza flew over two of them before he hit the ground. He picked himself up off the ground and looked at the pirate, who had a big toothy smile on his face.

“Still wanna know who `we' are?” he asked.

Huncaza looked around, he saw that all the kids around him were looking at him. They were all smiling, but that didn't mean anything good, going by the angry looks they were shooting at him. Huncaza realized, “we” meant Luffy and the kids. He wasn't protecting them at all, he was enlisting their aid! All the childrens' fear had evaporated at the sight of Luffy's fighting with the help of the boy who had helped him with this Gomu-Gomu Pistol. That emboldened them enough that the two nearest Huncaza grabbed him to hold him in place so Luffy could attack him.

“We're gonna send you flying outta here.” Luffy boasted.

“Oh, yeah?” Huncaza ran at Luffy and began attacking. However, he wound up flat on his face when a little girl bent herself down in front of him and made him trip. The girl was rubbing her side where Huncaza's leg had hit her, but she was smiling as she gave Luffy a peace sign. Luffy laughed and gave one back.

This was definitely not how Huncaza had planned for this to happen.

 

* * * * *

 

Leda watched the battle in amazement. The children had been terrified until Luffy had entered the fray. Though she was angry he would so carelessly endanger them, she had to admit it actually seemed to be doing the kids some good. Getting involved in the fight was helping the kids overcome their fear. Thanks in no small part to them, Luffy was trouncing Huncaza.

Leda looked to Nami, who watched the fight and cheered Luffy on. She was holding Luffy's straw hat close to her head, determined not to let it get blown away or fall off her small head. The children who were too far away to aid Luffy were also cheering the pirate on. As she watched everything unfold, she thought of all that had led up to this point.

Truthfully, she couldn't have cared less that Huncaza was trying to capture Luffy. Luffy was a pirate, Huncaza was a bounty hunter. She wasn't upset that she was lied to from the start. She could even forgive being tricked into regressing someone against their will. Though she didn't often progress others' age, Leda felt that, if she had to, she could reverse her work with few ill effects for Nami.

However, something stuck in Leda's mind. Something she wanted to make sure Huncaza regretted. He had endangered the lives of her children, for no other purpose than his own greed. That was something Leda absolutely could not forgive. She would not allow Huncaza to be defeated until she had had her say.

Leda closed her eyes and concentrated. In less than a second she felt her body begin changing. The simple blue dress she wore began to feel loose around her shoulders. Her height decreased slowly, but steadily. The wisps of gray in her blonde hair began to become a bright yellow. The beginnings of wrinkles disappeared from her face. She transformed herself from a woman in her mid-thirties to a young teenager. With her younger, smaller body, Leda had no problem stepping out of the green concrete she had been trapped in moments ago. Her shoes remained trapped inside, but her bare feet, now smaller than the space they had been trapped in, came out with ease.

Leda began to walk towards the battle, holding her skirt so as not to trip over herself.