How did it even come to this...?!
The deck of the Moby Dick was a sea of rowdy pirates. They had formed a massive, cheering circle, boxing me in.
This was all because Whitebeard decided I couldn't just "dine and dash" with my intel.
He'd grabbed his massive polearm, the Murakumogiri, and let out a roar that shook the rigging: "Clear the way, boys!! Let's see if this brat really has the stones to take down a monster like Shiki!"
I tried to argue. I told him I wasn't in my full battle rig. I told him that the Shiki fight was a messy double-knockout that I barely walked away from.
He didn't care. I was shoved into the center of the ring by a dozen grinning division commanders.
I should have worn the full gold plate, I lamented inwardly. Never try to be 'understated' around an Emperor of the Sea.
"Gurarara... Relax, brat. I won't go all out. No Haki, no Gura-Gura powers. But don't you go breaking too easily, now."
"Can I just go home? This equipment is for diplomacy, not for wrestling a titan!"
He didn't listen. Left with no choice, I drew my twin double-edged swords—Prototypes 48 and 49—and braced myself.
I was wearing my custom red-marked Marine coat, reinforced with anti-blade and bulletproof threading, and my weighted combat boots. My only real defense was the new pair of gauntlets the research team had just handed me.
Sorry, guys, I thought, shedding a mental tear for the beautiful craftsmanship I was about to ruin. I clicked a specialized round into the left-arm crossbow.
"Here I come, Krieg!!"
Whitebeard's first move was a massive horizontal sweep of his naginata. I had no intention of tanking that head-on; I ducked low and fired the crossbow.
Thunk-thunk-thunk! Three steel bolts streaked toward his chest, but they didn't even seem to scratch him.
"Gurarara... Is that all?"
Next came a rising diagonal slash from below. I gambled and lunged inward, closing the distance to get inside the weapon's reach, and leveled my left arm at his face again.
"Gurarara! You can fire that pea-shooter all day and it won't—TSK!!"
Whitebeard's taunt cut off abruptly.
Instead of bolts, a blinding magnesium flash erupted from the gauntlet. I'd kept my eyes shut, but Whitebeard—expecting more steel—took the full brunt of the flash-bang. He faltered for a fraction of a second, his vision whited out.
I didn't waste the opening. I used his knee as a stepping stone, vaulted into the air, and pulled the release ring on my right wrist. The high-tensile wire shot out, and I swung it toward his neck, intending to garrote the giant.
But the man was a beast. Even blinded, his instincts were honed by a thousand battles. The moment he felt the wire brush his throat, his massive hand shot up, wedging his fingers between the cord and his neck. He grabbed the wire and pulled.
CRACK!!
The mounting base on my gauntlet shrieked and shattered. The wire snapped clean off the mechanism, rendered useless.
I managed to land a single, unaugmented punch to the side of his head before flipping back to create distance.
"Gurarara... Not bad, kid. You've got some nasty tricks up your sleeve."
He's recovering way too fast! Dammit!
"I told you! I don't have my main weapons. Tricky is all I've got!" If only I had my battle-staff...
"Fine... then just withstand this one blow, and we'll call it a day."
Whitebeard raised his naginata high above his head with a single hand. My internal sirens were screaming. He said no Haki! He said no Gura-Gura! But a one-handed overhead from the world's strongest man is still a death sentence!
The Murakumogiri, one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords, came whistling down like a falling skyscraper. I didn't have time to dodge. I crossed my arms above my head.
CLANG-BOOM!!
The sound of metal screaming against metal echoed across the sea. The wooden deck beneath my feet splintered and groaned.
"Gurarara... Impressive. I actually thought I might squash you there..."
I was down on one knee. Both my prototype swords had snapped in half. The internal mechanisms of my gauntlets were crushed and sparking. But I was still in one piece.
The trick? Diamond Iron Body (Kongo Tekkai).
I'd used the broken halves of my swords to form a cross-guard, then funneled every ounce of focus into a specialized version of Tekkai.
It's harder than the standard version but has a fatal flaw: you can't move while using it. It's a pure, stationary shield.
Between the "Iron Body," the gauntlets, and the swords, I'd barely managed to disperse the kinetic energy. I hadn't used Haki—I didn't want to show my full hand to the crew—but it was a damn near thing.
"How's... how's that... for a 'brat'?" I wheezed, standing up and shaking my aching arms.
"You're surprisingly sturdy. Is that a Devil Fruit power?" Whitebeard asked, genuinely curious.
I caught Teach watching from the sidelines with narrowed eyes. Perfect opportunity.
"You caught me," I lied through my teeth, striking a ridiculous, over-the-top bodybuilding pose. "I ate the Muki-Muki no Mi (Muscle-Muscle Fruit)! I'm a 'Muscle Human'! I can harden my fibers to the density of steel with a single thought!"
"I see," Whitebeard said, actually looking a little sympathetic. "Don't sweat it, Krieg. No matter the fruit, it's how you use it that counts."
"Zehahahaha! So that's how you blocked Pops' strike!" Teach laughed, sounding convinced. "I've never heard of that fruit, but it fits the 'Blunt Bear' moniker, doesn't it?!"
Hook, line, and sinker. If Teach thinks I'm a Paramecia-type reliant on muscle hardening, he'll be in for a rude awakening if we ever cross paths once he has the Yami-Yami no Mi.
Exhausted and with a pair of ruined gauntlets, I gave a final wave to the Whitebeard Pirates and headed back to the Charlotte Angel.
Man... the research team is going to kill me when they see these gauntlets.
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