The courtyard of Arlong Park was a battlefield of smoke, broken stone, and the smell of salt and gunpowder.
Zoro and Dez fought side by side, the swordsman a hurricane, the gunslinger a storm's eye.
----
The clash of their blades was deafening.
Hatchan's six swords weaved through the air like a metallic tide, his movements unpredictable, almost graceful despite his size.
Zoro blocked two, parried a third, twisted under the fourth, and caught the fifth between his own swords. Sparks sprayed as they strained against each other.
"Six arms, six swords… too bad you don't have six brains," Zoro grunted, forcing him back with a shove.
Hatchan's eyes bulged. "You mock the pride of Fishman swordsmanship!?"
He spun all six swords in a blur, forming a whirling dome of steel. "Takoyaki Tornado Slash!"
The blades cut through the air like a blender of death. Zoro smirked, the familiar fire in his eyes lighting up.
"Perfect. Something worth cutting through."
He lowered his stance. His muscles tightened.
"Three-Sword Style—Tora Gari!"
The clash created a shockwave that split the ground between them. Blood dripped from both combatants, Hatchan's breathing ragged, Zoro's wounds reopened, yet neither yielded.
The courtyard trembled under their duel.
----
A few meters away, Dez was moving differently now.
Gone was the tense, grounded fighter from before. His body had become fluid, each step gliding, each motion flowing seamlessly into the next. His feet barely seemed to touch the ground.
He danced between the injured Kuroobi, whose fury made him reckless, and Chew, who spat volleys of pressurized water bullets from afar.
"Stay still, damn you!" Chew hissed, firing another burst.
Dez twirled, the bullets slicing past his coat as his revolvers spun in perfect sync.
He wasn't thinking, only feeling.
His movements became like smoke, impossible to pin down. The rhythm of the fight had turned into a deadly waltz of mist and mystery in witch Dez was its conductor.
"C'mon, keep up," he said calmly, sliding between attacks.
Kuroobi roared, slamming his fists together, veins bulging under his blue skin.
"Fishman Karate: One Hundred Brick Fist!"
His fists blurred, a barrage that shattered air and concrete alike.
But his injured legs betrayed him, they froze. On the final pullback, his stance wavered, just enough.
Dez's eyes glinted.
He ducked, twisted, and spun under the strike, water bullets spat from Chew slicing past him in perfect near-misses. This feeling, this sixth sense, he would burn it into his memory.
His right gun clicked empty.
Dez reloaded mid-spin, the motion a blur, and fired twin shots that ricocheted across the walls, one struck Chew's arm, another his side. The Fishman screamed, retreating toward the pool, bleeding and furious. But his retreat left Kuroobi well and truly at Dez's mercy, without back up and still stuck.
"Gotcha dancing too," Dez murmured, rolling the cylinder of his other revolver.
He stepped forward, pressing the still-spinning barrel of Dawn against Kuroobi's outstretched fist.
Time seemed to freeze.
A single click echoed.
Bang.
The shot blew through Kuroobi's skull. His body collapsed instantly, water rippling from the impact. Kuroobi of the Arlong Pirates was no more
Dez exhaled slowly, smoke rising from the barrel as his coat fluttered in the breeze.
------
"Kuroobi!" Chew roared. His voice cracked with rage.
Hatchan, distracted by the sound, turned his head mid-swing — a fatal mistake.
Zoro's eyes sharpened like drawn blades.
"Your mistake."
He stepped in, swords crossing.
"Three-Sword Style: Tatsumaki (Dragon Twister)!"
He spun, blades howling through the air.
A cyclone of slashes erupted, tearing through Hatchan's defenses, shattering all six of his swords, and slicing him apart in a storm of cuts.
The whirlwind dispersed, leaving Hatchan's battered body tumbling across the stone before falling unconscious, eyes rolled back.
Zoro stood tall, breathing heavy but grinning, swords resting against his shoulders.
"That's that."
Dez holstered one gun and tilted his hat back, scanning the devastation.
"Two down. One left crying."
-----
A sudden crash boomed through the park.
The massive gate exploded inward as Arlong strode through, his presence alone like a tidal wave of fury. His sharp teeth glistened, his aura oppressive and dark.
He took in the sight, his lieutenants broken, or dead his army shattered, his symbol of dominance Arlong Park reduced to rubble.
His eyes locked onto Dez.
"You… did this."
Dez spun both revolvers, unfazed. "You're welcome to join them."
With a roar that shook the ground, Arlong lunged, faster than Dez expected. His massive hand reached out like a spear.
Dez raised his guns, ready to fire—
—but something slammed into his side faster than the eye could track.
A leg whipped across his face, sending him crashing through a nearby wall.
He hit the ground hard, dust rising around him.
Arlong froze mid-charge, teeth bared.
The leg retracted.
Standing between them, Luffy, eyes shadowed and jaw clenched in anger. Behind him stood Sanji and Usopp, ready for battle.
Luffy's voice was low but thunderous.
"You made Nami cry."
He pointed at Arlong.
"I'm gonna kick your ass."
The ground quaked under the tension. Arlong's snarl echoed like a beast's roar.
Zoro smirked through the blood on his lip. Dez pulled himself from the rubble, reloading with a grin and a vein pulsing on his forehead.
While the attack was faster than he expected it was still with his capabilities to react, the safe from stretch...if you can call it that was unnecessary...meh whatever.
"About damn time, captain/stretch."
The storm had truly arrived.