A Piece Saturn Island Chapter 3 : The Crumbling City

• Addiden Zhao
• Short Story
• 2023

Revolutionary Army Base of Operations, in an island in Paradise...
"Ready the ships! We're going to Saturn Island!" roared a man. "Are you sure we can take on the Zoan Army as well as the Fleet Admiral of the Marines?" questioned another man. "Sure! We've got two Army Commanders with us and as Drago always said, there would be a time in which we show our face to stronger adversaries! Plus, the Silver Knight Alliance is there, there's nothing to worry about!" replied the first man. The shipwright looked up. "Prepare to leave the dock! All ships to Saturn Island!"
Saturn Island, Paradise...
The blow from the trunk swing blew Arc into the sand. As Arc spat blood out of his mouth, another ship made landfall. It was Geppoux, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines. He advanced towards Arc. "You've always been pestering the Fleet and you've annoyed me beyond comprehension! Take him away, Zoan Army!" bellowed Geppoux. No one moved. "We have a slight problem... the entire Army - apart from me - has been defeated by the Alliance," griped the mammoth, "now, why don't I kill him? I believe he has a reasonably high bounty on his head." Geppoux smirked. "So it shall be... kill him!" Geppoux ordered. The mammoth whipped his trunk again at supersonic speeds. It was just about to strike Arc when Law intervened. "Shambles!" he yelled and Arc teleported away. The mammoth staggered as it hit thin air. "You clown! I'll have to do it myself!" roared a furious Geppoux. Geppoux transformed into his giant, golden Buddha form. "Retribution Fist!" he yelled. Geppoux's giant palm slammed down towards Arc. "Pressure!" called Fajita. High amounts of gravity pushed on Geppoux's fist, stopping it from further movement. And just then, the mammoth made its move. "Prehistoric Punt!" The mammoth crashed down towards the pirates as they scattered like ants, trying to avoid the oncoming mammoth. However, in Fajita's haste to escape, the gravity pushing on Geppoux's fist released and it came slamming down on Arc. Arc yelped in pain as his mouth streamed with blood, winded and incapacitated. It felt like all his bones had broken. As Arc knelt down on the ground, spitting out blood, the mammoth crashed down on him. Arc was buried deep under the sand, the sand turning a sickening red from the blood. "Shambles!" cried Law in anxiety as Arc was teleported out of the sand. He was a wreck, his arms dislocated and his legs mutilated as well as his armor being cracked badly. He roared in pain and anger as he retrieved his sword. "He wants to fight us in that state?!" cried Geppoux with amusement. Arc made an effort to stand up and he did, though he looked in pain and discomfort. His anger and resolve seemed to be mixing now as he channeled all his power into his sword. Then, with no warning, the sword erupted with power, glowing red as black-and-red lightning burst out of it, splitting open the skies and overwhelming the onlookers. "W-What the?!" stuttered the mammoth. As Arc continued to concentrate his power into the sword, Geppoux and the mammoth seemed to back away. "He can infuse his sword with Aura?" asked Geppoux apprehensively. "After the war on Marine Fort, I trained with Marco on Green Island... he taught me how to use Aura and how it can affect things aside from the wielder! You'll see-" he gripped his Aura-infused sword tighter, "-how this feels!!! DIVINE DEPARTURE!!" The slash that emanated from the sword was oddly red and it pulsated with power and lightning crackled out of it, embodying those with weaker wills. The mammoth ducked out of harm's way but had he been a second slower, the result would've been disastrous. The mammoth's tusks had been cleanly sliced off. However, that didn't seem to be the worst effect. The mammoth roared in pain as it vibrated and shook. The mammoth seemed to be in huge internal pain. Aura began to pulsate out of the mammoth before exploding, leaving the mammoth in a heap on the ground, with a bloody pool surrounding it. Geppoux narrowed his eyes. "You wanna play?" he asked with dead seriousness, "Then let's play!" Geppoux raised one massive arm. The arm shook and pulsed before a shade of scarlet crept down it - Aura. Lightning crackled out of Geppoux's arm. "Yes - it is even possible to infuse your body parts with Aura! Behold!" he yelled, as he slammed his fist down. Had the fist met its mark, then huge damage would have erupted but the fist was stopped. The fist was being held up, with obvious effort, by a flock of crows which seemed to be made out of soot. Arc looked towards the coast. New ships had arrived! And each of the flags on the ship wrote, "Revolutionary Army". "Alright there, Arc?" called a voice from the shores. Arc looked up. It was Ivo, a martial artist that had helped him while he was imprisoned in Caratie Prison. Geppoux scowled at the new visitors. Ivo walked up to Arc and using his Heal Fruit powers, he healed all of Arc's injuries. Meanwhile, Geppoux was being attacked by more flocks of soot crows. "Corvus Torment!" cried a man on the shore, who looked like a plague doctor. Many, many more crows appeared as they continued to battle the giant Buddha. "That's Karaku! He ate the Soot Fruit and he's one of the Army Commanders of the Revolutionary Army - just like me!" spoke Ivo. More men clambered out of the ships and had weapons. "Surrender or we fight!" cried Karaku. Geppoux narrowed his eyes. "Fine! Release me!" he roared. The crows disappeared as Geppoux reverted back to his human shape before storming up the shores into his ship, where he had sailed away in less than a minute. A victorious cry emanated through the shores. Arc whipped around - the mammoth had escaped! He turned back into his normal form before jumping on his ship and sailing away. "He's escaped!" yelled Arc. "Nothing we can do about it," soothed Ivo. Fajita looked towards the sea. "It's time... we headed to Lileptorontea!!!"

TO BE CONTINUED In the Next Arc : Lileptorontea Arc!!!