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| - “Scatter!” Art cried, bracing himself. “Why?” Knave asked, raising an eyebrow. The Majin paused, considering. “You’re right,” he said, wrinkling his face a bit, “why did I say that-?” The beast lunged forward, its fists lashing out. Art and Pura, the ones in front, leaped back, as the fists collided with the earth in front of them, causing even more debris to fly up! Knave charged forward, the white flame energy swirling around his fist. “Naga Naga no Heat Cannon!” he cried, bringing his fist to collide with the beast’s stomach. It let out a growl, the impact pushing it back slightly, but, incredibly, not harming it that much. “What the-?” Knave began, before it lashed out with one of its feet, catching the marimo lad in the face, sending him flying into a nearby boulder. Art and Sid lunged forward, readying their own attacks. “Tekkai Ken: Yashi no Sutoraiki!” he cried, ramming his palm into it. The shockwave released blew it backwards, off its feet even, yet it didn’t seem to actually feel the pain! Art leaped above it, then twisted around in midair, releasing a kick towards its neck! “Qafa!” he yelled. The blow struck, and the troll was knocked forward, this time reacting slightly by letting out a small cry. Knave pulled himself from the rock, then lunged at it, this time surrounding both hands with the heat and kinetic energy, then releasing his own hailstorm of punches. “Naga Naga no Heat Barrage!” The blows landed, and the troll groaned as it was slowly pushed back by the sheer force of the attack! Knave stopped, panting a bit, as the beast rubbed its chest in pain. It then looked up at the three attackers, grinning slightly. “Bastard,” Art growled, “he’s taunting us.” “Tsume!” came Pura’s voice. The group blinked slightly, and then she shot by them, her sword drawn. She darted past the beast, her sword flashing through the air, cutting deep into its flank! It let out a growl, then gripped its side to stem the blood flow. It whipped around, but the swordswoman was above it! “Shitamuki no Kiba!” she yelled, toppling down and swinging her sword downwards, cutting into the back of its neck. The mountain troll let out a roar of anger, and swatted furiously at the girl, but she maneuvered through the air with surprising grace, landing in a crouching position behind it. She lunged forward, dancing past it again, her blade cutting into its other side. “Tsume!” “Damn,” Art said, raising an eyebrow, “she’s pretty good.” “That’s my Pura-san!” Sid cheered happily, a bit of pink flame around him as he jumped up and down happily. “She’s not cutting deep enough,” Knave remarked. “Eh?” Art asked, looking at his captain, “how do you know?” “The bleeding’s already stopped in the other two places she’s cut!” Knave pointed out. And indeed, it had, the beast only holding onto the side most recently cut, as it faced Pura, snarling, royally pissed off this time. “Art!” Stormy cried, running forward, “give me a boost!” “A boost?” the Majin asked. “Your leg!” “Oh, right!” As Stormy reached him, she leaped slightly into the air. Art extended his leg, and her feet landed on it. Art then swung his leg forward, launching Stormy into the air! She twisted in midair, her legs now facing the air, as she reached the point right above the troll’s neck! She put her hands out in front of her, in a play-gun position, as a small chemical orb formed in front of it. “Chemical Juggling: Crazy Pistol!” She jerked her hands up, ‘firing’. The orb shot away from her with incredible speed, crashing into the wound on the troll’s neck! It let out a howl, grabbing it as smoke rapidly rose from it. Stormy landed a few feet away from it, grinning. “Alkaline,” she explained, “it’s a real pain when it gets into open wounds.” The beast roared, truly enraged! It lunged forward, ready to beat Stormy into dust, but right then, Knave shot up, jumping into the air and landing on its back, bringing two heat-and-kinetic energy covered hands down on the wound! “Naga Naga no Bell!” he yelled. The heat seared into the already aching wounds, and the mountain troll let out a yelp of pain, grabbing rapidly at the area where Knave’s attack had landed. The captain leaped back, landing a bit away. “Gao!” Gopher called as he charged forward, inflating one of his arms and plowing it into the troll’s stomach! It toppled backwards, its balance abandoning it, as it fell forward, its wound now visible. Pura lunged forward, her sword slashing through the air. “Kiba!” Another, deeper cut appeared, forming an X-symbol on the beast’s neck. It groaned, stumbling forward, losing consciousness due to the pain. D’Artagnan raced towards it, using its head as a step, then pushing himself into the air. He came down, twisting his leg, the wind wrapping around it as he slammed down onto the wound, releasing a shockwave! “Khamsin Qafa!!” With a final groan, the mountain troll toppled to the ground, its eyes now blank, completely knocked out. Art landed nearby its head, kicking it one more time. “Stupid ape,” he muttered, “alright guys, lets tag and bag it.” “Why do we have to do that?” the group collectively asked, “can’t we just drag it back down to the village?” “I’m trying to say something cool, okay?!” Art begged them, “stop ruining my fun!” “Hmph,” Pura, well, hmphed as she sheathed her sword, “I could’ve taken him myself.” With that, the swordswoman began making her way down the path to the village, the Marimos staring after her. “What’s her problem?” Art asked, raising an eyebrow. The villagers looked up in shock, as a small group of people dragged a large monster up towards them. Thier leader, a green-haired lad, stepped up, throwing up a quick peace sign and grinning happily. “We got it!” The villagers erupted into cheers. Marshall Rihawk watched as the village partied into the night, the pirates who had done the deed treated like heroes. He sipped from his cup of tea, thinking deeply. In only ten days.... He smiled and returned inside. Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
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