บท 33: Chapter 32
And Robin's words had proven right.
Dalton was strong, quite strong. He was strong enough to push both Kuina and Hachi to their limits.
Nami and Nojiko were on the verge of spilling tears as they watched Kuina fighting with her left arm dangling as a result of shoulder dislocation. She had suffered quite a hit with that heavy spade of Dalton's after Hachi had failed to shield her in time. There was also a trial of blood trickling from her mouth, and her slim body, exhausted of all its strength, now only running on sheer Willpower, was swaying dangerously. She looked ready to fall anytime, but that had been the case for the last ten minutes, and she was still doing her best to aid Hachi against Dalton.
The Royal Commander of the Drum Kingdom turned out to be a Devil Fruit User, and surprisingly, it was a decently powerful Ox Ox Fruit, Model: Bison. The Devil Fruit provided him with immense strength, and in his Hybrid-Zoan Form, Dalton ingeniously used his powerful thighs to give himself a speed boost when he charged at his enemy. And every time his Spade collided against Hachi's Swords, sparks flew, followed by loud and heart-thumping clanks.
"Damn you!" Hachi cursed as he was pushed several feet away by another powerful blow from his opponent.
At first, Hachi thought that he could drag out the battle and tire Dalton out, but it proved to be a bad idea. The Devil Fruit also provided Dalton with monstrous stamina that even a strong Fishman like him could not contend against. He was nearly at his limit, but the pitiful sight of Dalton whispered some valor in his heart that kept him going.
The Royal Commander was stained in blood after taking cuts from Kuina and Hachi's Swords. He was inwardly cursing his opponents too after they had proven to be far too tenacious than what he had initially believed. He thought that he could beat these two and make Sin abide by the clause of the bet, forcing these Pirates off his island, but the truth was bitter and harsh.
His heart trembled as he looked at the madness reflecting in the eyes of Hachi and Kuina. The Fishman was covered in bruises, with blood flowing out of his mouth and his left leg limping, but he just refused to go down. And then there was this little girl, who should have been out of this battle ten minutes ago, but still swung her sword with a single hand, intending to cut him to pieces.
He did well to put up a brave front, but the truth was that keeping the Hybrid-Zoan Form for so long in such an intense battle was quite taxing. He was running out of strength now.
As the battle continued for another minute, Dalton was overjoyed when he managed to push Kuina away, and even succeeded in getting an opening past Hachi's six arms. He swung his heavy spade away, giving himself momentum to land a fist squarely on Hachi's face with all his body weight behind it, and his heart skipped a beat in relief when he felt it connect, but in an instant, he realised that something was wrong. Hachi seemed alright despite being pushed a few feet away. There was no sign of damage as if the fist had never landed on his face, and his mouth was curved in an evil smirk now.
"I will cut you and make steaks for my Crew!" He ominously spoke, and Dalton soon felt the heavy Cutlasses break past his armor, splitting his skin and flesh.
He felt more of his warm blood flow out of his body before his mind registered the sizzling pain that forced him to fall to his knees and let go of his weapon. He had lost.
His eyes briefly glanced at the Fishman, who was bringing down a sword to decapitate him, and he closed his eyes to embrace his fate.
"That's enough, Hachi." Sin leisurely spoke after he grabbed the blade with his bare hand and stopped it from ending Dalton's life. "The battle is over and you have won." He appreciatively smiled at the Fishman.
"Aye... Captain!" As soon as Hachi saw the smile on Sin's face, his madness subsided and a tired smile crept on his lips. His eyes drooped, and he fell backward, letting go of the sword Sin was grabbing onto, falling unconscious.
"Law!" He called out, and the boy immediately got to work, checking up on Hachi for any internal injuries.
Sin glanced at Dalton, who was listlessly looking at the snow that was stained in his blood, breathing lightly. He knew that Zoan's were not easy to kill, and even if his injuries looked heavy, he would survive.
Walking past Dalton, without saying anything to him, he arrived by the side of the little girl who was kneeling on the ground, supporting herself with his sword.
"You did well!" He crouched by her side and gently patted her head.
"No, I did not." She shook her head and panted heavily. "I was a burden on Hachi..."
Sin sighed when he heard her words. He knew that Kuina was not pleased with her performance, but the silly girl was really underestimating herself. Yes, Hachi had suffered because he focused on shielding her, but she did make Dalton bleed and kept ringing bells of threat in his mind.
"Without your support, Hachi would have lost against him." He simply said and then grabbed her left arm. "This will hurt..."
"Ahh!" Kuina gritted her teeth, spilling tears as Sin forced her dislocated shoulder back into its place. He had not even given her time to prepare herself, and she dangerously glared at him after the pain subsided a little.
"I like the look in your eyes." He chuckled and stood back up, and after caressing her head again, he walked back to Dalton. "The vivre card." He lightly demanded and drew his hand forward, waiting for it.
"What are you going to do to him?" Dalton raised his head and looked up into Sin's cold grey eyes, but his only answer was silence.
Unwillingly, and fearfully, the Bison Man reached inside the pocket of his uniform and took out a badge. "Here..." He handed it over to Sin, who twisted the rim and opened it, taking out a little piece of paper that was hidden inside it.
"Thank you." Sin smiled and handed the badge back to him. "Law, dress up his wounds after you are done treating Hachi and Kuina."
"Yes, Captain!"
Sin smiled at his little sister before vanishing from the Town's Square with a bolt of lightning.
Nami and Nojiko, followed by Bonney, approached Kuina and helped her get up after Law had checked her injuries. Augur and Bepo did the same to Hachi, taking him inside an Inn to get some rest.
Seeing the Pirates disperse, the people heaved a sigh of relief and the soldiers rushed towards Dalton, who was being tended to by Law.
"Your Devil Fruit will help you heal over a few days, but you must not be negligent and keep resting for at least a week." Law said after he stitched the cuts and dressed them.
Dalton only nodded to his words and then allowed himself to be taken away by his soldiers. There were a lot of things running through his mind, but in the state he was in, there was nothing he could do about any of it.
"What should we do now, Captain?" Law approached Robin and asked.
"Let's wait." Robin lightly said and took out a book from her sachet. "You can explore the place if you want." She smiled as Bepo came running towards them.
"Alright!" The Mink happily nodded his head and took Law away with him.
Nami and Nojiko returned to the platform, leaving Kuina in the care of Bonney, and sat close to Hancock to stay warm.
"How did Hachi survive that punch in the end?" The orange-haired girl curiously asked.
"Perhaps, Haki?" Nojiko said and looked towards Hancock for confirmation.
"Yes, it was Armament Haki." Hancock nodded her head and continued before Nojiko could ask her the next question. "Hachi still can not use it at will, it just awakened in a dire situation. But now that he has managed to awaken it, he will be able to get hold of it by training."
"What's Sin going to do?"
Hancock smiled at Nami's question and thought for a moment.
"I don't know, but I would say that the King is never going to return to this Island again."
"He's going to kill him." Robin darkly said but did not take away her attention from the book.
Her words tensed the little girls, but Hancock seemed to have already thought of this possibility, and she was not bothered by it at all. Rather, she was a little disappointed that Sin had not taken her with him on this hunt.
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