The Castle Part 7

The Castle Part 7

A.N.)- Holy shit I wrote this in a day. I am insane.

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"Momma… I don't want to be a pirate… but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stand by when someone hurts people I care about."

---

"Momma?"

My hand tightened around the empty sleeve as I gave it a small tug. The sudden change in her body language was stark and... honestly more than a little worrying to my seven year old self.

"Momma...? What's wrong momma?" I followed my momma's gaze across the market until I found an older man, tall, a long beard, well past graying and wrinkled. A Marine tattoo on his bare arm. No uniform... he was old and laughing, talking to a shopkeeper and guffawing.

I looked back to my still silent momma. She was trembling. She was pale and trembling. My momma… my invincible momma… "Momma... what'd he do?"

Her hand went to her side reflexively, "It's nothing sweetie." I knew that was where she had a large scar. I frowned and heat built in my chest. "Let's go get some meat Jacob... Jacob?" She blinked a few times, but I'd already let go of her sleeve and was running across the marketplace towards the old Marine.

"Jacob!" There was panic in my momma's voice, but I knew what I had to do even as she hissed, "Florida D. Jacob you get back here this instant!"

I already couldn't hear her very well over the din of the marketplace. This was a small island in the West Blue that we'd stopped at briefly for supplies. And here was a man that'd hurt my momma, hurt my momma enough that even now, certainly years, maybe decades later, she was terrified of him.

I knew what I had to do.

My sandaled feet pattered against the dirt ground as I ran right up to the man. Completely ignoring the shopkeeper he was talking to, I reached up and tugged on the bottom of his shirt.

"Hm? What is it?" The man turned in my direction looking around, I was pretty sure I saw his eyes flick down to me, "What was that?" I tugged on his shirt again, deliberately pouting. He looked down, an overdone look of surprise on his face, "What have we here?"

I extended both hands upwards towards him as I pouted, making a grabbing motion, "Up!"

The old Marine laughed, "Oh? You want up little one?"

With an exaggerated nod, I pouted harder, "Up!"

With a laugh, the large man took me by the waist and set me atop his shoulders, "Alright, alright, up you go."

"Full sail!" I shouted pointing outwards, away from the town and towards the mountain at the center of the island, making a little giddyup motion with my heels against his chest. The old Marine laughed, but complied.

---

We'd been walking for the past thirty minutes or so, following a river along as I 'steered' the old Marine by his ears. We were on the outskirts of town, only a couple houses here… I'd like to get out of town but–

"Alright alright little one, this is far enough."

I huffed. Damnit, no one around? None that I could see. Most of the windows were closed… It'd have to do.

He reached up to grab my waist and I wrapped an arm around his head, covering his eyes as I did my best petulant child, "Nyo!" I wiggled about and started to give the old Marine a noogy.

The old man laughed, swatting away the hand that was ruffling his gray hair as the other hand was pulling my arm away from his eyes.

I pulled my noogy-hand back and flattened it out.

Armament!

"Shigan: Drill!"

"Wha–"

My extended fingertips sunk four inches into the old Marine's temple.

He stiffened–

"Rankyaku: Chisel!" My tiny finger and hand couldn't actually manage the speed to create cutting force while buried in flesh, but the intent was there. I shredded his gray matter and the body jerked and spasmed before it collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Knees hit the dirt first before his torso fell.

With a snarl, I ripped my hand out of the mush inside his skull and stumbled away from his body.

Blood and bits of mush dripped from my fingertips… it was underneath my nails.

Staggering to the edge of the river, I collapsed half into it, the tension, the anger, and the fear melting out of me and leaving me weak and trembling. My hands and knees submerged in the river, wispy trails of pink flowing downstream from my hands.

'… I just killed a man with my bare hands.'

Bile rose in my throat, and within moments, the contents of my stomach followed afterwards. I heaved and heaved, tears flowing down my face. I heaved until there was nothing left and all I felt was numb and weak…

"Baby!" a warmth enveloped me and I distantly felt myself being lifted up out of the water, "Oh… come here baby… come here… we've got to get moving… come on… it'll be okay. I promise sweetie, everything will be fine."

With a weak sniffle, I clung to my mother as she ran out of the town with me clutched to her chest. She crooned soft nothings to me until, softly, I said to her, "Momma… I don't want to be a pirate… but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stand by when someone hurts people I care about." My hands tightened in her shirt, "He hurt you… and I couldn't stand for that."

"I… thank you baby… thank you so much baby…" hot drops landed on the back of my neck as she clung tightly to me, "You are in so much trouble for making me worry like that… but thank you baby. My little prince."

-oOo-​

Day 3

Materials previous affected by fruit have reverted entirely to previous state, though Observation Haki detects a difference between the two items. Currently insufficient fruit and technology to consider further experimental testing. Will work on apparatus and tech to perform further testing when additional fruit are procured.

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Cell-Scale needle attempts 1 – 4 failed. Out of practice damnit. Attempt 5 successful. Examination shows needle to be appropriately sized for nucleus extraction/insertion.

Attempt 6 failed. Attempt 7 successful in creating a needle appropriate for moving individual cells of average size.

Attempting to make a smaller needle currently postponed due to no immediate need.

---

Further success with Armament Haki shaping to create a lens to view microscopic things. Ability to maintain magnification achieved over the course of two hours. Fine detail and resolution currently out of reach.

---

More fruit have arrived. Continuing experimental testing.

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Activation Solution = 1 Milliliter Saliva + 1 Milliliter Hydrochloric Acid

Casey Tissue Sample + Activation Solution = Slow but marked dissolution of cells

Casey Tissue Sample + 1 Devil Fruit Cell + Activation Solution = Entirety of Tissue Sample transformed, followed by slow dissolution of cells, likely due to Activation Solution.

This makes sense as 'a single bite' is able to transform an entire person. Maybe a larger tissue sample required? Or does a single cell work on an entire person?

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1 Devil Fruit Cell + 500 g Knife + Activation Solution = No Effect

Is this just with objects or is it a trait that a single cell can only affect so much material? Need a larger tissue sample to test. Unlikely to obtain. Will attempt to determine limits.

---

Current data shows that ~ 1 gram of devil fruit material is required per 10 kilograms of mass affected. Data is built entirely around inanimate objects currently, so effects on living flesh currently undeterm–

There was a patter of rapid footsteps, audible over the creaking and groaning of the ship. I frowned, looking up at the strange **feel** of the person–

"Florida! Damnit-! Where's Florida?!"

Pencil went down and I stood, there was panic in the voice and there was no way this was good. Spinning on my heel I grabbed my coat, throwing it on even as I left my 'lab'. Pistol in the holster on my belt, bullets, no sword…

"Florida! Florida!"

Grabbing a sword from the hold in passing, I flipped my hood up with my other hand as I leapt up the ladder out of the hold. Jogging, I'd already had the sword strapped around my waist beneath my coat when I saw a de-aged Wallace rushing down the stairs, "Florida! We–"

I caught him by the back of his shirt, hoisting him off the ground as I bounded up the stairs, "Where are we going?" At three steps per landing, we were bursting out the door to the deck in moments, rushing past the few crew still on the ship.

"Ah-! Ah, the Hun's castle! Bonney sent me to get you–"

"What's happening?" Gripping Wallace by his midsection I made a run for the rail of the ship, "Soru! Geppo!"

"Ah!" Wallace let out a little sound of fear as we launched high into the air with a muffled wumph. A snap of my legs and the air beneath me exploded and I double jumped with the child-Wallace slung under my arm.

"Wallace. What. Happened?" I demanded, trying to regain his attention. Another snap of my feet and the air exploded beneath them, launching us forward once more.

"R-Right!" He said hurriedly, having gone stock still, "The- the patrols had changed! Bonney was afraid we were going to get caught and sent me to go get you just in case but I heard things as I ran out!"

"Tch. Right." 'Fuck.' "I'm gonna drop down and set you down. Get the others to prep the ship just in case. I'll go and check it out."

I let us fall in a parabolic arc towards the forest, the tails of my coat flapping as we fell towards a tree. Wallace let out a little, high pitched sound as we sped up. My hand extended and I caught one of the branches in a practiced motion, causing us to swing in a simple arc and falling to the ground. I tried to let go of Wallace, but the child-again man was clinging to me, "Wallace."

"Idontlikeheights–!"

"Wallace. Get back to the ship."

The normally bearded man fell to the ground as he let go, "R-Right! Getting back to the ship!"

"Soru!"

---

The world blurred and sweat beaded up on my skin as I rushed as quickly as I could, each burst of speed was seven snap-kicks against the ground or the trees. I honestly felt more like a ninja than a pirate right now.

...

I was worried.

I knew almost nothing about Bonney's adventures in the Grand Line, even exempt however much of a Butterfly Effect I'd had during my life. I knew she earned a good sized bounty. I knew she was operating in the same year as Luffy. And I knew that she took a different route than him. But otherwise? Almost nothing.

Was this normal? Would this have happened in 'canon'? Was she in a fight she shouldn't have been because of me? Ugh. Not worth thinking about. Get there. Get them out. Get out myself.

The sword rattled against my side as I launched myself off of another tree, blurring into motion. The castle was starting to come into view. The castle was squat by medieval standards, but they had cannons, of course it was. There was an obvious mobilization of forces on the outside… damn.

I landed on one of the high branches of a tree close to the edge of the tree-line around the castle. Thankfully there wasn't a village directly on the outside of the castle, but there were definitely guards posted, the drawbridge had been raised, the portcullis dropped… no one outside though, they were prepping for a seige? No, they were in lockdown.

'Where are Bonney and the others?' I scowled, my eyes sweeping over the movements of the castle. I couldn't see anything through the windows, nor did I actually see Bonney or any of the crew in the kid forms…

The walls were only about two, maybe three stores tall. And the keep was about five. First guestimate was about thirty five cannons arrayed atop the outer wall and about ten on top of the keep. Whole thing was pretty square with a large courtyard and numerous stables.

There were a lot of guards mobilizing in the keep, saddling horses and grabbing bows… I saw a barracks and something that was between a forge and a workshop… but nowhere that was obviously a place to keep prisoners. So for lack of somewhere better to look… I'd check the keep. I pulled my hood further down, ensuring my face was in shadow.

'This is stupid.' The thought made me pause. I wasn't so confident in my abilities that I thought I could take on an entire army and win… though my Devil Fruit definitely made that a lot more viable… but still, fighting a castle? Not smart.

… but Bonney and Tom and Casey and Lucco and all the others may be in there.

One rule rang true, don't abandon your crew.

They weren't my friends from the Patch, they weren't the people I grew up with and that raised me, they weren't my family.

But even if I didn't stay forever, right now, they were my crew.

'And I'm not about to abandon them.'

My legs bunched up and I launched myself forwards, coat fluttering quietly as I practically disappeared from vision for just an instant, crossing the distance between the treeline and the castle wall in two Soru's. I pressed up against the underside of the wall, **feeling** the men moving about atop of it.

'Mmm… they need to be looking away… too many people, too much of a chance of discovery... can't afford to wait too long, don't know what they're doing in there... distraction?' My hand drifted to my revolver. 'Distraction.'

A burst of speed put me at one of the corners of the castle, drawing the gun and firing it up into the lip of the stone. The gun was a small boom as it fired and even before it was done I had already blurred back to the other corner of the castle. I waited as they shouted and moved, investigating the noise, **feeling** them shift about atop the castle walls.

I crouched beneath the lip of the wall, waiting for the right moment. There were too many of them on the wall for me to have a chance to just slip past all of them, but going through one? When I guessed that they were almost all looking towards the ruckus. "Soru. Geppo."

With a muffled whump I was atop the wall, arm cocked back, finger and fist already flexed into steel–

The man that had been above me was half turned towards the sound–

"Shigan." My hand flashed forward and my finger punched a hole into the man's skull through his helmet.

The guard's eyes started to roll backwards into his head and he began to fall back, my hand catching the front of his outfit and allowing his falling body to pull me forward onto the wall. The instant my feet hit the stone I set my legs to spasm, six kicks in an instant and I blurred out of sight to the lip of the keep, catching the edge of the crenellations and swinging myself up underneath it. The hold was awkward, but there was a window nearby–

There were shouts and cries as the guard I'd killed was noticed–

With a quiet grunt, I swung my feet and landed on the lip of one of the windows. No one? No one. It was surprisingly big for a castle windo– oh, it doubles as a cannon emplacement and is meant to fire over the outer wall. That makes sense.

A quick glance confirmed that everyone was far too worried about the dead guy and the commotion to notice the dull splotch of brown against the castle wall near the window… who can turn gray by turning into metal. Done. Not the same shade as the stone, but a lot closer now.

'Right, now, into the castle I go…' Window was… locked? Nope. No lock on a window five stories up. Little awkward maneuvering about since it opened outward, but it was doable. And then I was inside, closing the window behind me.

Place was opulent. While the window itself was simple, the floors were a fancy wood with even fancier carpet on them. Nowhere to hide though unless I dove into one of the side rooms. There were paintings on much of the walls and the walls themselves appeared to be mostly plaster… honestly, I had a feeling this castle was newer than I'd originally guessed. As quietly as I could manage, I began to run through the hall, keeping my senses expanded as I followed the left wall in search of stairs.

Definitely could see why Bonney picked this place, they could lose about half this stuff and no one would notice. The Huns were rich fucks apparently. I couldn't **feel** anything major yet…

… except that.

What is that?

My brow furrowed and I slowed to a jog, glancing downwards at the strange feeling. It was hard to explain what Observation Haki was like, it was that tickle at the back of your mind, that little niggling feeling of something being one way or another. That tingle at the back of your neck. And it was interpreting that properly. At higher levels of mastery it was somewhere between touch and sight, and while I didn't consider myself a master like Captain Billy was-… had been… I did consider myself a master.

And I had no clue what the flying fuck this feeling was.

I came to a full stop at a corner, scowling.

'That's… okay, that's Bonney. And that's… two really big mean guys. Mmm… not too big of a deal… but what are those?' There was a… no, wait, two presences at the edges of my senses that were just… weird? Muffled. There's the word. Very strange…

The door at the end of the hall opened and a guard stepped out–

'Shit. No tranqs. No time. Quiet.'

He froze as he saw me, "Hey–!"

"Soru." I blurred over–

"–what–?!"

"Shigan." Steel fingers slammed into the side of his throat and his words became a wet gurgle, some arterial spray catching my coat. A tug of my arm and flick of my wrist ripped my fingers from his flesh and a small spray of blood hit the wall as I sidestepped his falling body.

'Never like doing this.' I frowned as the body fell to the ground, ready to rush into the room to keep the alarm from being–… staircase. Exactly what I wanted.

Hm. Straight staircase. Weird dichotomy between the fanciness of the place and the seriousness of the guards. The outside was built properly, but in here it's not really designed for defense…

My coat flutters as I leap down the staircase and I am inordinately happy I know what I'm doing when making a hood, as mine stays in place as I rush through the castle. Crashing– people, a cluster of them and two little ones around the corner–

"Soru." Six snaps of my foot against the floor. I'm getting tired. Should've been seven.

I blurred to the corner. Five guards trying to wrestle two kids to the ground– Casey and Rodger–! My legs bunched and the world blurred again–

"Kami-e Kenpo–" I was amongst them–

"Hey! Who are–"

"Shigan: Semi-Auto!"

My fists lashed out ten times, bone cracked as the five men were sent flying, three of them slamming into the walls hard enough to crack the plaster and the other two sent flying down the hallway. Jaws broken, and in some cases, skulls as well. Some would survive, but I didn't have time to waste ensuring it, just have to make sure they don't get back up until we're long gone.

"Sh-Shit…! Holy shit Florida! You- You actually came!"

"Man am I glad to see–"

I interrupted, no time to save a life, no time for bullshit, "What's going on?"

They stiffened, "Ah… well you see, there was–"

"Not history." I cut them off, I didn't need to know what happened, "What is going on right now."

"They're looking for us." Rodger stepped up, "We were caught in the act. One of the guys, Attila I think, got Bonney. She's in the main hall with anyone they've captured. Bonney told us to create a distraction, to blow up their powder room."

"You know where it is?"

"Yeah. It's–"

"Go. I'll bust Bonney and the others out. How do I get to the room they're in?"

"That way," Casey pointed, chubby even as a kid, though his white cowboy hat was a lot more appropriately sized at this 'age', "Second door on the right, then first left takes you to the staircase. That'll take you down to the balcony of the ballroom, you can get down to the ground floor from there. They're either in there or in the dungeon down in the basement."

"Right. Get moving." I put a hand on their shoulders in passing as I ran down the hall, calling out over my shoulder, "I'll grab Bonney and the others."

"Right!"

My boots padded against the fancy carpet quickly as I moved through the halls. Quick and easy through the door and down towards the stairs. 'Mm. More people the lower we go… feels like Bonney and the two big presences are in the ballroom… and there's some of the crew… There's more guards outside… they're searching the lower floors. Shit. Hope to avoid getting too much blood on my hands today…'

I turned the corner to the wide staircase–

There was a guard rushing up the steps–

"Soru."

"Wha–" No footing, can't use Shigan–

A nameless hard punch to the throat turned his adams apple into applesauce. The man letting out a weak gurgle as he tried to grab at his throat, gun falling from his hands as my feet touched the red carpet on the stairs. I covered his mouth with one hand and grabbed the back of his head with the other, a quick jerk of my arms put his head at a 45 degree angle… facing over his shoulder.

At least he wouldn't feel himself suffocate.

"Where are the rest of you?"

This time I lowered his body slowly before easing the rest of the way down the steps. I was close now and didn't want to alert any big dogs. They opened out to a walkway with a fancily molded railing that overlooked a dance floor…

"I told you, I don't know!"

There was a balcony off to the right that overlooked a lot of the room and what looked to be a throne, to the left there was a staircase that curved down there… Found Bonney by the way. The dance floor proper was tile, though red tile was a bit unusual given…

… oh, oh boy. The tile was stained red.

"Stop lying to me girl."

A large man, twice the size of a normal man and built like a damn tank, slapped Bonney. The pink haired captain, my captain, chained to a pillar that held up the balcony on the other side of the ballroom.

I twitched.

Blood began to trickle from Bonney's lip as she glared up at the man. Some of the others from the crew were chained up beside her in various states of dishevelment and health. They were all alive, but all kids. There was just the massive man and themselves in here…?

There was another man, a bit more portly, but still very large, was sifting through a sack set before the throne at the head of the ballroom… which was actually broken, instead replaced by two opulent chairs that obviously didn't fit the décor.

"Our men will find the rest of your brats. And if you don't tell me where they are and where you've hid the rest of our gold, we will take it out of your hide." The massive man, looking every bit of the Hun he was, loomed over Bonney.

Bonney's eyes met mine from across the room, but we were too far for me to properly read her expression as she turned to glare at the large man, "I tol' you, I don' know!"

He slapped her again, making me twitch once more as I crept up to the railing in a crouch. Why hadn't she gotten away? She could change her size right?

She was tied up… I don't know if she could age herself up when she was chained up that tight, but if she de-aged… he was looking right at her and would react instantly while she was weaker due to being even younger than what was, at most, ten. She could still one shot him though right…?

"Brother," I glanced at the other man as he stood from the pile, "This can't be everything."

There was a bow on his back, as well as the others… and shit, were these the princes of the Huns? Attila and Bleda? Shit, she could take out one of them but was she fast enough to avoid the other one skewering her with an arrow? I doubt she'd take the risk now… she probably intended to wait it out and escape.

The more muscular of the brothers took a knee in front of Bonney's chained up form, grabbing her by the chin, "You will tell me where our treasure is."

Bonney snarled and her leg lashed out, missing his nose by a few inches due to simple lack of reach.

The man sneered and slapped Bonney hard enough that some blood flew from her lips, drawing a small sound of pain from her before he grabbed her chin again, "You are feisty. You'll make a good wife some day," his other hand reared back as a fist and my eyebrows shot up, "But today, you need to be disciplined, to learn your place as a woman."

"Soru!"

His fist started forward–

I bounced off of the ceiling of the ballroom, launching myself downward–

My palm slammed into the large man's forearm, deflecting his fist off to the side–

His eyes widened as I did a handstand off of his arm, my free hand cocking back and finger extending, "Tekkai Kenpo–!"

**Arrow through the back–**

"Tch-!" I threw myself off of his arm as an arrow passed through where I'd just been, landing a dozen feet away from the man assaulting my captain. The arrow went through the wall beside the main doors… and the next two walls as well.

'... shit. That was probably haki...'

"It seems that the mastermind has shown himself." The bowman said, stepping forward as he pulled another arrow from his hip-quiver.

I straightened out into a basic stance, facing the two men… likely the two princes of the Huns…

'… oh, of course one of them's got an Ability,' I grumbled internally as the one who had been hitting Bonney stepped forward, his lower half shifting and reforming.

"Who are you to dare attack us, Bleda and Attila the Huns?!" the interrogator demanded, both of them had the fu-man-chu mustaches and little beards and looked very much like brothers. Though from the way he gesticulated while shouting his demand I could take a guess at which was which now.

'… a mythical zoan? Or is that just a zoan?' I looked up… and up at the human upper body of who I was guessing was Bleda, the more portly of the two men… atop a dark horse body. A centaur zoan?

Attila jumped up, landing atop his brother's horse body, standing there with his bow in hand, arrow resting casually against the string as he watched me warily.

I frowned, drawing my borrowed saber, "My name doesn't matter."

While Attila frowned, Bleda snarled, "Have you no honor?"

And softly, I fired back, "I could ask the same of you for hitting a child in such a way."

Both men looked livid at that, brown faces turning red in anger, Bleda's in particular turning a splotchy red as he drew his own sword. It was a western blade that, while appropriately sized for him, would've looked more like Guts' Dragonslayer for me.

Damn. Both men were armored and about two to three times my size even without accounting for the whole centaur bit. Attila's got some wicked fast reactions and arrows that go through… concrete. Shit. And Bleda's got a fuckhueg sword and a large round shield.

Right. Fighting? Stupid. Break Bonney out and hold the line while they haul ass before I follow. What d'ya think me? Good plan? Good plan, me!

"Where's our spoils?!" Bleda bellowed.

"Spent it." I said, deliberately provoking him, I wanted them focused on me, not Bonney and the crew, "On booze."

Attila drew the bow, arrow nocked, and I gotta admit that his soft tone was a fair bit more unsettling than his brother's, "Then those spoils shall be repaid in your blood."

I raised both my hands, saber pointed at the two of them, "You are welcome to try."

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The Castle Part 7 End