One Piece: Blackbeard's Plan.

A comet fruit! Ool Brin clapped his hands in excitement. "Very intriguing. It also allows you to shoot ice and bolts?"

A disgruntled looking little boy served them pumpkin soup.

"Thank you," said Ool Brin to the boy, as he lapped a spoonful. "Indeed, it is similar to Rokushiki. However, Rokushiki revolves around six techniques, while Yun Dao revolves around three styles."

"Powerful? Not so much when I am the practitioner in question," Ool Brin laughed. "Indeed, had we fought seriously, I have no doubt that I would have lost." Barring a few tricks. "I am not that strong in the first place, and I am a mere Rank 3 in my martial arts school."

"However, while I am not strong, I am still able. I even managed to endure your... Extinction, wasn't it?"

Hartley shook his head. "No, those are my Moon Spheres. They replicate the six moons, and I also have spheres replicating the abilities of Eiichiro and Sola,"He held up Getsumen and Myrskybao's spheres to show. They were the size of a small tangerine, with a button on the top.

He took a drink of his pumpkin soup, tipping the boy a hundred beri. Cheap, but the kid looked like he could use something. "I knew a fellow that used Rokushiki once. Got knocked off by a Vice Admiral. Nasty fellow,"he shook his head, remembering Galilei. "But, for a Rank 3, you were a challenging foe,"

"Yeah. Extinction. One of my best attacks. And beautiful to execute. Space is amazing to look at,"Hartley grinned wistfully.

edited 9th Mar '13 9:42:45 PM by jcw3

"Moon Spheres? I must confess, I have never heard of them."

Ool Brin began helping himself to the vegetable sticks. "Hahaha, why thank you. I do make a point to appear stronger than I really am. Frankly, though, I am not notable even amongst those of Rank 3. The Rank 1, the Masters, spend their time in the New World, to further hone their skills. And some of them, they learn some mysterious, powerful style— the pinnacle of Yun Dao, they say."

Ool Brin agreed. "It was a marvelous assault."

He put them back in his pouch. "Yep, straight from the island of Subura,"

Hartley looked at Ool Brin with interest. "Are any of them affiliated with the Marines? That would be a terrifying power to face,"

"Yeah. You know, I knew the first man to step foot on Getsumen. It's the safest of the moons, really,"Hartley shrugged.

OOC: Sola is my name for the One Piece sun, Getsumen is the normal moon, I.E. the most like Earth's moon.

Ool Brin nodded. "Yes, some of them are with the Marines. I have fought one such Master, and our fight could hardly be called a duel. All my power and skill and tactics could only buy me a route of escape."

Hartley winced. "I don't like fighting guys that use martial arts in combat. On one hand, it's admirable that someone can evolve their powers that much. On the other hand, it's rather disconcerting knowing that someone can hone their own body to that extent, when my powers come from artificial means,"

Hartley then had a thought. "So, how did you join the Foxy Pirates?"

Ool Brin let out a hearty laugh. "It is rather amusing, that people make such a big deal out of Devil Fruits, when monsters exist just fine without the abilities they give."

In response to Hartley's question, "Much like our battle, I joined this crew on a whim. I was rather interested in Foxy's ability, and these Davy Back Fights are excellent opportunities for encountering people such as yourself."

ool Brin took a sip. "I do think it's nearing time that we parted ways with this crew."

edited 10th Mar '13 3:34:35 AM by fillerdude

Hartley had an idea. "You don't necessarily have any love for the World Government, do you? Because I have a few possibilities for you after you leave the Foxy Pirates, if you do,"he added quickly.

(OOC: Sorry, guys, busy life)

Vanilla grumbled for a bit, but she paused her suntan and grabbed the phone.

"Haaai, The Awesome Captain Vanilla speaking!" She said, in an oddly cheery voice. And then she stopped.

Davy Back? What kind of question is that?.

"I've heard things, Admiral. It's some sort of gambling game where they bet people to shuffle their crews around. Apparently the sods are thaat bored with their rampaging lifes of piracy. Usually they have very silly games." Then she paused.

"Are we going to do a Davy Back? I call Read Admiral Ziiro as my lucky boytoy!" Vanilla cheerfully giggled.

<><><><>

Sae didn't manage to mutter a thanks, or a response. Instead she collapsed, with a faint smile on her face for a while, confident on the treatment of the captain. She didn't seem to recover in a while, but then she groggily asked, trying to crawl back to her chair.

"How is our team doing?"

"Oh, is that so?" Ool Brin had an inkling of what Hartley wanted to say, but chose not to pursue the subject. After all, right now, he had a goal to accomplish. "Anyway, hmmm... would you prefer the broiled steak or the parmigiana?"

"I thought those, ZIIRO GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE. I thought those pricks under Itsuki's command would go straight into Goldbeard's territory, but, apparantly, they got waylaid by Foxy the Silver Fox on Platinum Island. I've never heard of this Davy Back fight before, but it just shows that pirates would invent such a cheap and childish game. Do they have no concept of loyalty?" responded Akauma, a small hint of genuine perplexity in his voice.

"Anyway, off to Platinum Island. Itsuki and crew are mine. You and Rear Admiral Ziiro can clear up Foxy and his pirates. Apparantly they have at least over 500 crewmembers."

"Ever tangled with Foxy?" asked Akauma to Ziiro.

"He still runs free, does he not? I think that answers your question." Ziiro relaxed his salute. "But I have heard of Foxxy in a Devil Fruit manual. He has a very powerful ability despite not being very strong himself, although I'm sure I could best him in both departments. When shall we depart?"

"Haven't had parmigiana in a while. I'll go for that,"Hartley nodded. Ool Brin was clearly trying to change the subject.

Chiqicheetah yawned as he sat by the voting booth, and he had an irresistible urge for kiwi.

edited 11th Mar '13 10:14:10 AM by jcw3

Ool Brin noticed that Hartley had noticed, and smiled. Good, good. "Parmigiana then. I suppose I could tell you about my Tranquil Sea technique while you wait for your food. What do you want to know?"

"If the helmsman values his job, and life, he'll have changed our course by now" replied Akauma, and looked towards the general direction of their new goal. "I should have expected this, being in the Grand Line. It's an unpredictable ocean, and we cannot merely plan ahead" he commented as the small fleet powered through the waters in a shoddy formation. "Still. I assume your injuries are patched up, so have you come up with a new tactic in order to ensure our last embarassment never happens again?" he asked of his Rear-Admiral.

"Betting ends now!" yelled the announcer, and the scientists began attaching balloons to the harness. "One balloon... two balloon... three balloon..." counted the flying pirate, the arena now assembled.

Henry kept a neutral face as the balloons were slowly added, his hands in his pockets. Once it reached 3 balloons, he gingerly took hold of the duck with his Devil Fruit, and slowly began to lift it. His brow creased slightly as the duck refused to give as much as a duck should, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was cheating on the other side. Henry just added more force to the duck, and continued trying to lift it.

Ziiro grinned. "Of course, Admiral-huixia."

—

Levi stood back. One of the enemy pirates seemed unusually focused on the duck, like he was using some sort of power. Too bad for him that lifting the small platform attached to it would be easier.

"Four balloons, five... will it need six?" exclaimed the speaker excitedly as the duck lifted off the ground for a quarter of a second, but drifted back down. "Six balloons! Seven... eight... nine... TEN BALLOONS AHA IT GOES UP!" yelped the announcer, as the duck slowly rose into the air propelled by the balloons. The two efforts of the pirates cancelled out each other it seemed, resulting in a fair match.

"If you answered 5-10 then you are a WINNNER!" shouted the announcer excitedly, waving his arms wildly and almost falling off. "What else we got?" asked the announcer after a while, and a tall looking generic pirate walked up to Itsuki. "Excuse me, Captain Itsuki of the North Wind pirates? You are required for the next betting match. Your team mates can start on the stage after they collect their bets, but it's imperative you take part in Random Egg Roulette" he explained officially, beckoning.

The duck was lowered to the ground, after a cheerful chorus of For Science!! from the scientists around it, and the screen changed, displaying the rules for the next match.

1. Six eggs are arranged in a turntable.
2. Five of the eggs are hard boiled.
3. Each captain picks one at random after the board has been spun each time, and slams it against their forehead.
4. Whoever gets the raw egg loses.
The bounty posters of Foxy and Itsuki were then placed side by side on the screen, with a flashing declaration of 'Place your bets now.'.

"Well. Is that the attack that helped you take my Extinction attack? I'd love to learn about it, if that's what you mean,"Hartley grinned with interest.

"Hah! Called it!" Itsuki cheered, before winking at Henry. He strolled over to where the tall pirate beckoned him. Looking at the rules, he grimaced. The odds of the foxy pirates not cheating him into getting the raw egg were slim. The only one who could really save him is Henry, but he wouldn't be able to tell which egg was raw. Although, Itsuki imagined that Henry would sooner give him the raw egg rather than steer it away. Maybe it was for the best that he couldn't tell.

OOC: I'm going to bed now, so feel free to handle the egg smashing and stuff without me actually being there to say he's picking up the egg and stuff if you'd like.

"Indeed it was." The Longarm was wrapping his arms in bandages as he spoke. "As I have mentioned, I am not strong, and thus I trained myself in order to offset that." He held up an open palm. "I believe a demonstration is in order: please punch my palm. A good, strong one. Ah, but please don't use your powers."

edited 12th Mar '13 7:01:28 AM by fillerdude

Hartley gave Ool Brin a distrusting glance, before using his left hand to strike an adequate blow to the pirate's palm.

Henry scowled at his loss, sending a dirty look at the man who had been handling the duck. It was more than obvious that it had been him.

Turning, Henry walked off, muttering about "punching shit."

((OOC: feel free to have Henry end up wherever P.))

"I hope you lot have practiced" said Max as Itsuki was led away. He hoisted his roller skates over his shoulder and beckoned them towards the stadium, confident in his own ability. However, seeing Chiqicheetah in the distance dampened his spirit somewhat. Koya growled from within his breast pocket, and he rummaged around for a sandwich. "In a bad mood, eh girl? Or are you just out for blood now" he asked, and got a soft growl in response. "Both huh. Well, maybe you'll enjoy going up against your fellow feline, a cheetah... of sorts" added Max and looked back, seeing how many of them had fallen or given up on using the skates.

The force of Hartley's punch seemed to ripple through Ool Brin's arm, causing the bandages he had wrapped there to come loose and tear in places. "And there you have it. I decreased the resistance of my arm, and at the same time increasing its flexibility, while also redirecting the force of the blow."

Ool Brin smiled. "Ragat Ti revolves around that principle. My Tranquil Sea technique is one of the higher forms of such redirection techniques; the techniques of the Masters even allow them to use the power they redirect to counterattack."