Capítulo 45: One man army... One army man... One armed man... Arm one man. You get it.
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"I don't like tall guys... You are much better like that"
"...!"
Feeling anger boil inside him, Bonez glared at the masked man in front of him, before he snapped and immediately swung his blade-like arm directly toward his neck, not caring about what he had to say anymore.
However, once he did, suddenly he felt as if he had hit a wall of steel, as his arm came to a complete stop right before reaching the man's neck.
'How...?'
Unable to comprehend why his attack stopped out of nowhere, Bonez glanced at his arm, before his eyes then widened in shock once he saw what had stopped his swing so abruptly.
Right on the blade protruding from his arm, the masked man's fingers could be seen grabbing tightly the edge of it without a problem. As if he was stopping the punch of a child with no strength.
Moreover, no matter how much strength Bonez put into trying to escape from the man's grasp, he wasn't able to do it. His arm was completely trapped.
"A Devil Fruit... And one quite scary at that... I assume you are Sr. 1?"
As Bonez did his best to get his arm free, the masked man spoke up, as he looked at Bonez with a curious expression on his face.
"It's Mr 1"
"I don't see the difference"
"... You...!"
Looking angrily at the man in front of him, Bonez gritted his teeth, before he then frowned and tried giving the man a headbutt while making his forehead have a blade protrude from it. Making it a very deadly headbutt.
However, as he tried to do so, the man suddenly slapped him and made Bonez's face turn away because of the force behind the slap. Making him fail to hit the masked man with the headbutt, and even bleed a bit from his mouth.
"I guess you can create steel blades from your body... Quite a nasty ability if I have to say so"
-Bam!-
Not allowing Bonez to retaliate, the man kicked him in the stomach as he finished speaking, and sent him flying several meters away.
-Thud!-
After that, Bonez rolled through the floor until he stopped right at the foot of his companions, who were looking incredulously at the exchange between him and the masked man.
It was known to them that Bonez was not someone that could be handled that easily. Yet, here they were, seeing as his attack got stopped, his face got slapped, and he got sent flying away with just one kick.
All of them had but one question at that moment.
Who was the man in front of them... And why was he next to Miss All Sunday?
...
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|Farid POV:|
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Damn, my foot feels a bit numb after that kick... How sturdy is his body?
No wonder he was the top executive... No normal person would be able to injure him without getting his libs fractured, or his weapon broken in the process...
Though with Haki, he wouldn't be much of a problem really.
"So, these are the so-called top executives of Baroque Works?"
Turning to look at Nico Robin as I tilted my head, I narrowed my eyes as she nodded her head, before then I turned to look at the people in front of me, and raised an eyebrow.
A woman with an afro, a cross-dresser, a fat guy, an old lady, a guy with his hair in the shape of a three, a little girl, an otter, and a vulture... Oh, and the baldy.
This looked more like a reunion of socially unadapted people, rather than an evil group trying to take over a kingdom.
Of course, I'm not exactly the best person to call them socially unadapted, but you get what I mean.
Though, the enormous number of thugs behind them really made them seem more imposing than they really were. I guess having an army really changes the aura of people.
"Miss All Sunday... May I ask who he is... And why are you standing in our way?"
Suddenly, as I continued to glance at them with pity in my eyes, the guy with the number three on top of his head took a step forward, as he drank a cup of tea with a displeased expression on his face.
Nico Robin, who was beside me, took a step forward and smiled slightly as she glanced at the three-guy before answering.
"I found a new employer, that's all. As for why I am stopping you... Well, my new boss doesn't want Arabasta to be taken over any time soon... Isn't that right, Boss?"
Now she is calling me boss... Great.
Shaking my troublesome thoughts aside, I took a step forward, before then I raised my voice and looked at the group of chumps in front of me with a calm gaze.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I don't have a fetish of having my country get overthrown by bounty hunters who think too highly of themselves... So get the heck out of here while you still haven't done anything that will make me beat you up..."
""...""
After I finished talking, the hundred or so people in front of me looked at me with dumbfounded expressions on their faces, and soon, incredulous smiles started blooming on their faces, as if they simply couldn't believe what I just said and found it incredibly humorous.
Even some sarcastic mutterings started running through the crowd after that.
"One guy against all of us? Yeah, I'm scared~"
"Oh mighty warrior, please don't do it~"
"Is this guy for real?"
"What's up with that ridiculous cow mask?"
Yeah, I can hear you all... Especially the guy that said something about my mask.
Well, it wasn't like I expected them to turn around and say "Oh, ok. Sorry for the trouble" before then leaving and never coming back... But can you blame me for trying to be civilized?
"Hmph"
Suddenly, as I was still lost in my thoughts, the guy with the three-shaped hairstyle let out a sneer, before he then glanced at Nico Robin and me with contempt in his gaze.
"You, and Miss All Sunday? Against all of us...?"
The three-guy chuckled after he said that. Seemingly finding the situation funny.
Then, from behind him and doing a strange pirouette while standing on the tip of his foot, the cross-dresser suddenly moved forward, before he then yelled in a dramatic voice as tears came out of his eyes.
"Oh, what a noble soul! Sacrificing yourself by acting as the last line of defense of Arabasta... What a truly beautiful soul you have~! Unfortunately, you won't be able to stop us, so step out of our way, before your noble story ends here tragically!"
Then following behind him, the old woman stepped forward, as she cackled while looking at me funnily.
"What'swrongwiththisguy?Doeshethinkhecantakeallofusdownonhisown?Don'tjokewithme!"
Why does she talk so fast?
"Ho...ho... ho"
The fat guy next to her also laughed at me, albeit a bit slowly.
The only ones who didn't laugh were the afro-woman, the two animals, and the girl. They didn't seem to find the situation as funny as their companions.
"You bastard..."
Then, standing from the ground without even looking at his companions, the baldy glared at me angrily, before he then narrowed his eyes and morphed both of his arms into blades, seemingly ready for the fight.
After he stood up, all the thugs behind them grinned arrogantly, before then they took out all sorts of weapons and got ready to fight as well.
Be it swords, guns, maces, chainsaws, katanas... They had almost anything in their lines.
-Sigh...-
'Maybe I underestimated them...'
Taking out a hundred men, and nine extremely powerful people in less than ten minutes? What was I thinking? That's impossible for me.
I was going to need twenty minutes at most.
"Your choice"
-Clack, clack-
Cracking my knuckles, I took a step forward, before then I readied myself to jump at them, and grinned behind the mask.
However, before I had the chance, someone tapped my shoulder and made me stop for a brief moment.
Looking beside me, I saw Nico Robin smiling at me curiously, and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
What does she want?
Then, glancing at the army in front of us, she asked in a soft voice.
"Do you want me to help you?"
Help?
Well, the less time I spent dealing with them the better I guess.
"If you want to help me, then so be it... Let me see whether you are worth employing or not"
Not saying anything else, I kicked the ground and shot myself toward the crowd in front of me.
With this, hopefully, problems would stop appearing on Arabasta.
...
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|A few minutes after that...|
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"What kind of monster is this?!"
"Don't get distracted, he is but one man! He can't defeat us all!"
"Saythattothefiftymenthatarealreadyonthefloor!"
"Bastard!"
Like a storm, Farid devastated anyone that got in his way.
Despite there being dozens of men pointing their weapons at him, he was like an unstoppable force that swept through the army as if they were nothing but grass waiting to be mowed.
Bullets, blades, maces, nothing worked against him. And every time someone swung his weapon at him, a group of people would be swept away immediately after that.
Even the so-called top executives of Baroque Works were unable to contain Farid, as with his speed and strength, they couldn't find a proper moment of opportunity to catch him and attack together.
Mr 3 had been trying to trap him under his candle wax. However, because of Farid's agile and almost inhuman speed, he couldn't aim properly at him, and at most, he could only protect himself from the attacks that would go his way from time to time.
Miss Merry Christmas had dug holes all over the dock, trying to trap or at the very least disturb Farid's movement (Only to fail when she noticed that Farid seemed to be playing around by not stepping on any of the holes while handling more than ten people at the same time).
Mr 4 swung his bat at Farid hoping to get a hit. However, never during the entire fight was he able to get a proper hit. Moreover, at one moment when he thought he had gotten him, he had been surprised that his bat had ended up with a dent as if it had hit something incredibly hard.
Bonez and Miss Doublefinger worked together to fight Farid. Both aiming to at the very least injure or corner him somehow. However, none of them were able to cope with Farid's speed as they were more focused on destructive power rather than speed.
Bon Clay, on the other hand, was the only one able to cope with Farid in terms of speed. However, it was only because of his developed senses as a martial artist. And even then, he was not properly able to land a hit, as Farid seemed to have eyes on his back whenever there was a dangerous attack coming on his way. Dodging it as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Finally, Miss Goldenweek and the pair of animal executives were being dealt with by Robin, who was also dealing with her fair share of Millions and Billions who were too scared to face the rampaging Farid.
All in all, and despite how absurd it was, the team of only two seemed to be the one in the lead against the army in front of them.
And of course, such a thing was easily noticed by the Baroque Works executives, who also knew that they wouldn't continue like that, or else they would end up losing.
"Where did this monster come from? How come we never got to know about someone so strong being here in Arabasta?!"
Muttering angrily while watching from behind a wax wall at the rampaging Farid, Mr 3 gritted his teeth, as he glanced at the other executives beside him that had decided to reunite in order to plan something.
The Millions and Billions would take care of him while they made a plan. So they didn't need to worry that much about getting attacked suddenly, and instead, they needed to mind more the time factor. As their troops would probably only last for a few minutes more...
Bonez, particularly, seemed to be lost in thought about something at that moment, as he did not mind Mr 3 comments in the slightest and instead just continued to meditate in silence.
Then, as if having a revelation while his companions continued to discuss a plan (Albeit without results), his eyes suddenly widened for a brief moment, before he then frowned and growled in a low voice in anger.
"I think I know who that bastard is..."
""What?""
Looking at him surprised, all of the executives gasped in surprise, before then they looked at each other and then looked back at Bonez with an expectant expression.
"The midget bounty hunter... You remember him, right? He became famous several years ago and was known to operate solely here in Arabasta during that time..."
"... You mean...?"
"Yes... It's not a hundred percent sure... However, The tendency of hiding his identity behind a mask and a cloak, a strength beyond what any person had seen, and the very same fact that we didn't know anything about him until now being in Arabasta until now... It's too coincidental if you think about it..."
Hearing him, most of the executives frowned with contemplative expressions on their faces, before then Mr 3 looked dissatisfiedly at Bonez as if asking "Is that all?" with his eyes, and immediately sighed with a disappointed expression on his face.
"Alright, let's suppose that he is indeed the midget bounty hunter, albeit not so midget anymore... How does that help us?"
"There were a lot of rumors about him saving people from time to time without minding the fact that there was no bounty to the pirates he captured... If that's true, then there's the possibility that we can use hostages to our advantage!"
-Thud!-
""...?""
Saying so, Bonez grinned slightly, before suddenly a heavy sound came from behind them and startled them enormously.
""What...?!""
Turning around to see what that had been, the executives squinted their eyes when suddenly a shadow appeared above them and blocked the scorching sun. Making all the gazes to turn to look at that shadow.
It was at that moment, however, that they were able to see properly the shadow above them, and widened their eyes in shock.
Standing proudly above the wax wall that Mr 3 had built to hide along with the other executives, was Farid looking at them with an expression full of apathy.
"Too bad for you guys that I heard everything you said, huh?"
"...!"
Then, not allowing them to even retaliate, Farid jumped down from the wall and smashed his fist right on Mr 3's Solar plexus. Making his eyes widen enormously before he then fell helplessly to the ground unable to even say anything.
-Thud!-
Then, not allowing the others to even react, Farid suddenly dashed at high speed, before he then kicked Miss Merry Christmas right in the face and sent her flying away. Making her even pierce through several houses in the process.
"You...!"
As he did so, Mr 4 did not hesitate in the slightest, and immediately swung his bat at Farid's head. Ready to end the fight right there.
However, as he tried doing so, suddenly a fist connected with his face, before then he felt how the bat slipped away from his hand the moment the pain made him loosen his grip.
Then, managing to recover from the blow with his sheer will, Mr 4 opened his eyes wide with a pained expression on his face, before he then looked at Farid and saw him swinging his precious bat against him.
"What...?"
-Baaam!!-
After that, he, just like Miss Merry Christmas, was sent flying away without even having a chance to retaliate.
-Sigh...-
Then, relaxing down slightly as he let out a deep breath, Farid sneered as he tossed Mr 4's bat away before he then patted his hands and started shaking off the dirt that had adhered to them during the fight against the hundred guys.
It finally seemed like the matter was coming to an end.
"That's three annoying guys less... Though only the strongest ones remain now, I guess"
Taking a step forward towards the still remaining group, Farid grinned, before he then placed both of his hands on his hips, as if waiting for them to move first.
There were no signs of him having fought more than a hundred people simultaneously. It was as if his stamina was undepletable. Something that made all of the remaining executives frown in distress.
After that unexpected attack, the only ones remaining were Bonez, Miss Doublefinger, and Bon Clay, who were looking cautiously at Farid without making any sudden moves. Knowing that if one of them moved wrongly, it would be over for all of them.
The difference between both parties had been made pretty clear by now.
Unfortunately, it was already too late for the executives to go back on their plans... Now, It was all or nothing.
"You are strong, boy... This mission might be harder than we expected..."
Suddenly, as the two parties were looking at each other, Miss Doublefinger smiled wrily as she eyed Farid, who barely seemed to be breaking a sweat, and morphed the tip of her fingers into long and sharp spikes.
-Tschk!-
"Aaaargh!"
Then, out of nowhere, she stabbed her forearms with them and screamed in pain, making Farid widen his eyes in mild surprise.
'What in the world?'
Confused, Farid raised an eyebrow behind the mask, before suddenly he furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Miss Doublefinger's arm start bulging out and becoming incredibly muscular to a point that seemed unnatural.
"Aaaaargh!"
Then, without even giving Farid a chance to understand what happened, she roared angrily and ran towards him with great momentum as she raised both of her arms high into the air before then she slammed them right on the missing Farid.
-Boooom!!!-
Because of the impact, the ground below Farid sunk and cracked, all while the latter blocked the attack from Miss Doublefinger with his own arms. Making it evident that the previous attack power had been in a whole other league from the previous attacks.
'It worked!'
Then, seeing her enemy defend himself for the first time since they started fighting, Miss Doublefinger felt excitement, and for the first time in a while, she felt that the man in front of them was indeed human.
It seemed that even he had a limit on his own strength.
Soon, however, she was forced to be disappointed when a kick hit her stomach, making her eyes bulge in surprise, and the voice of whom she thought was in trouble reached her ears.
"Wasn't your power to create spikes? How are you suddenly doping yourself?"
Soon enough, because of the kick, Miss Doublefinger flew a few meters away, before she then rolled through the ground while clutching her stomach in pain.
Just that kick was enough for her to feel her own consciousness falter.
However, because she had been in much more precarious situations than this one before, she gritted her teeth in tenacity and somehow managed to maintain consciousness because of that.
"Devil Fruits... Ambiguous with their powers as ever"
Groaning in annoyance as he rubbed the part of his arms that had been hit by Miss Doublefinger's hit, Farid furrowed his eyebrows, before he then glanced calmly behind him, and saw two figures ready to pounce on him.
"Now!!"
Of course, the two figures were Bon Clay and Bonez. Both of them were launching their strongest attacks at him when they noticed Farid being distracted by Miss Doublefinger.
"Borbardier Arabesque!!!"
Bon Clay, on the first hand, took out the two swans hanging on his shoulder that were seemingly part of his costume, before he then placed them on the tip of his foot and rapidly launched an incredibly fast and vertiginous kick in Farid's direction.
The two swans were made completely out of steel, and when using them the way he was using them now, Bon Clay's kicks were said to have even more power than receiving a direct shot from a rifle.
And of course, with how close they were right at that moment, Bon Clay's kick would surely cause a serious injury to Farid if it were to connect.
"Atomic Spar!!!"
Bonez, on the other hand, morphed both of his fingers into sharp and long blades of steel, before he then crossed both hands over his chest and slashed forward with a downward "X" shape in Farid's direction while he moved towards him with great momentum.
Because of the combination of his running speed and the slashing motion of his arms, the slashing power of this technique was superior to anything that Farid had seen before. It was so powerful, in fact, that it would easily cut a house apart with just one slashing motion from this attack.
Both of these attacks were coming directly toward Farid, who stood there with a calm expression on his face as he glanced at the men approaching him with an amused face.
Then, grinning slightly as he saw the attacks get nearer and nearer. Farid clenched his fist and infused it with Haki before he then launched himself directly toward both men and threw a punch directly toward Bonez's slashing arms.
-Boooom!!-
Because of this, Bonez's arms felt a terrifying force clashing against his attack before he was then pushed back and sent flying away because of the recoil the clash between both attacks had created.
After that, Farid's eyes looked to the side and saw Bon Clay's swan-like foot just about his head, and smiled slightly as he moved his body in an unnatural way and evaded the attack by a hair's breadth.
Then, not allowing Bon Clay to even react to the fact that his attack had failed, Farid slammed his fist on his face and sent him flying away, together with all his other companions.
"You...!"
Then, turning his head to look behind him, Farid saw Bonez, who had recovered from his previous attack and was now walking directly toward him with a furious expression.
He had been wrong. Even if Crocodile had been one man, there were exceptional cases when even one man can rival an entire army... With such being the case of the man in front of him... And of course, this fact arose a certain question in his mind, which just wouldn't stop bothering him since the moment he saw how all of them got played around by solely one man.
One that he had to ask, now that the chances of winning were slim.
"You... Was it you who took down Crocodile?"
"... What do you think?"
Then, not even a second later, Farid appeared in front of Bonez and he moved his fist back, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
"...!"
Bonez, seeing this, immediately reacted and yelled instinctively the name of the only technique that would save him from Farid's attack.
"Spider!!"
Feeling his own muscles turn as hard as steel, Bonez assumed a sturdy position, before he then clenched his teeth and waited for the blow to come... All while screaming inside his mind in determination.
'I will endure this! He can't beat up steel with a simple fist! After he fails to knock me out, I will slash him down, and end the fight there!'
His [Spider] technique allowed his body to acquire a hardness equal to steel only at the cost of not being able to move while using it. It was obvious why he thought that Farid's fist would not be able to injure him under the effects of the said technique.
Unfortunately, he was forced to be disappointed, as soon the punch hit directly on his chest, and made him vomit blood while widening his eyes in shock.
Then, not a second later, he felt his consciousness disappearing and soon fell to the ground helplessly.
-Thud!-
"Huff... Surely, this will be the last thing for me to take care of, right?"
Sweeping the little sweat he had on his forehead with his forearm, Farid sighed, before he then felt someone approaching and turned to look there.
"Are you finished here?"
There, Nico Robin looked at him with a smile, and behind her were the rest of the executives that she had been fighting while Farid took care of the rest, all tied and piled up one after another.
Now, Baroque Works had been officially taken down for good.
...
-To be continued-
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(A/N: 4000 words... I might have gone a little overboard with this chapter)
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