17 Meteor Series!

* Crash!

Markus hit the back side of a nearby house, crashing straight through the living room and exiting out the other side. Queen jumped on top of the house and did a spin in the air. With his large head pointing towards the ground, Queen started plummeting straight towards Markus.

" Brachio bomber!"

Markus looked up and saw the giant body of mass heading straight towards him

' Can't dodge it. He's too big! Gotta stop it.' Markus said to himself.

" KiiiiiiiiiiI!"

" Black Star!"- Black Star- A step up from the Kuro tekken, the black Iron fist, Black Star combines his haki and the Iron body technique with soru, increasing Markus's speed and therefore his weight. Markus jumped into the air, driving straight towards Queen as he came flying downwards.

Queen's black head met Markus' fist head on and started a radical clash of power above the small town.

* Crash!

Markus and Queen both grit their teeth hard. Markus' fist was quite strong, adding that his speed and weight along with his small size, it made for a very powerful strike.

But Markus wasn't without trouble himself. While Queen was definitely not taking it easy, he wasn't struggling with the clash as much as Markus was. In fact the sheer size of his body and his weight along with the thickness of his skin, made it even harder on Markus to effectively damage the behemoth of a man.

But, Markus was never one to give up in the face of a strong enemy.

" Just gotta go all in!"

" Hah! Your small fist can't overcome this mighty body of mine." Queen exclaimed. He was quite confident in his superior body and intellect.

But when it came to a fight.... Well, Markus was no slouch himself.

" Alright ya big bastard. You want to hit the floor? Fine then." Markus stated. He kicked off of the air, freeing himself from the power struggle and started rising higher into the air as Queen started freefalling. Markus then shot himself down towards Queen with great force. He raised his right leg, and a black sheen covered the entirety of it. " Starfall!" Markus shot towards Queen like a cannonball hitting him square in his underbelly with a strong kick.

Queen coughed up a bit of blood. He looked up at Markus and opened his mouth to try and blast him with another laser beam.

Markus and Queen both hit the ground just as the laser fired and a large explosion could be seen from a little further away from the island.

Dust filled the air; debris fell from all around. Markus found himself buried under a ruined building.

" Ngh! Damn... I didn't think he'd fire it so close like that. He's crazy." Markus muttered. " Gah!!!!" Markus lifted the ruble that was laying on top of him off with little effort. Bits and pieces of rubble and dirt coated itself in Markus' hair. It was a little annoying, but not as much as his current situation. " Okay, that beams a problem... But I think I got him figured out. He's big and strong. But he's not very fast. Not in that form." Markus said to himself. " If I can keep up the speed, I might be able to win this."

As Markus readied himself, Queen finally started to save himself from his own personal situation.

" Gah! That's annoying!" Queen shouted. He exploded from the rubble and the dirt covered from his very long head to his big feet in dirt. " Hey you! What's with that smile?"

" Sorry, I just figured out how to beat you is all." Markus told the man.

" How? You can barely handle my power. How are you gonna beat me?"

" Like this!" Markus shot forward.

*Swip!

Markus vanished from Queen's sight for just a moment before reappearing beside his face. Markus raised his fist and struck Queen as hard as he could in the side of his face.

Queen reeled a little, but the punch hardly had any effect on him. He quickly bounced back and started swinging his neck towards Markus, but before it hit Markus vanished once again.

" What?"

"Swip! Doom!

Markus reappeared above and slowly spun around until he was upside down and delivered a fierce kick to the top of Queen's head.

" Gaaaah! You're annoying me!" Queen shouted. He looked up at Markus and opened his mouth, ready to fire another beam.

*Swip!

Queen's eyes widened and a moment later.

" Hiiiyaaaaaaaah!" Markus lifted his foot up off the ground and kicked Queen right underneath his mouth forcing his mouth shut and a moment later that beam that Queen was charging, went off in his mouth.

* Doom!

When the dust cleared, Queens eyes were hazy, and smoke was escaping from his mouth. His extraordinarily large body started shifting lazily.

Markus quickly jumped away as he feared the large man was about to fall over.

" Did that do it?" Markus asked.

He watched closely as Queen's body started to shrink down to a smaller size and in his mind, Markus was thinking that maybe he had done it after all. But then.

" Ki! Kiiiya! That hurt. That really hurt!" Queen suddenly exclaimed. His form had changed once again. He was now standing on his two legs once again like a regular human, but he still looked exactly like a dinosaur. His long-haired braid sprouted a metal claw.

" What is this?" Markus asked.

" Oh? Is this your first time fighting a zoan user? Let me give you a lesson. This is my man-beast form. A hybrid form if you will. A combination of my dinosaur form but retaining more of my human qualities. Meaning." Queen exploded forward much faster than before and punched Markus in his gut.

Markus coughed up a mouthful of blood and was quickly taken off of his feet and sent flying. He crashed into the side of a nearby plateau, still coughing from the lack of oxygen in his lungs. When he looked up, Queen had already fired a beam of light right at him.

" Shit." Markus cursed.

The beam exploded and the entire plateau crumbled into dust. It was destroyed like nothing.

" Kiiiiikikikiki! How's that Baby?! You like my Brachio blaster?!" Queen shouted loudly. " Huh?"

Markus emerged from the smoke, his left arm and back bleeding quite heavily. Over his left eye, Markus had a large scratch going from his forehead and down to his cheek. " Damn.... I know I'm tough. But this guy is something else. How the hell did I get myself in this mess?" Markus asked himself.

Markus then started thinking back to his days of training with Bogard and Garp.

" Keep it up! Are you finished already, brat?!" Garp asked Markus.

Markus was bent over on his knees gasping for air. He was bloody and bruised. He had been fighting Garp for quite some time and yet all of his efforts amounted to nothing.

" Why can't I beat him?" Markus asked himself. He was beginning to grow frustrated by his lack of advancement.

" You're attacks are too straightforward and easy to predict. Markus, think. Brute force isn't going to solve all of your problems. You have to be open minded and find another way." Bogard spoke. " You can still hit hard, while being technically inclined. That is the purpose of the six powers training. Martial arts are a good skill for someone like you to learn, especially since you're not good with a sword. Instead of just trying to be a dull hammer, try turning your body into a sharp blade itself. Or an iron wall, or a reflective mirror. There is always going to be someone stronger than you in this world. Truthfully, there are kids younger than you and yet stronger than me. It is how it is. But when you practice and learn to master your skills and move efficiently and not just as a brawler, then you'll see that there is no limit, no ceiling, no level you can't reach."

Markus remembered those words from Bogard, and his insistency in teaching him hand to hand combat personally.

" Ah man, this sucks on so many levels. I have a style and I like to stick with it... But. I don't think I can afford to whine and complain. If I don't stop him here, he'll kill everyone to get to his men. It's not much left, but it'll have to do." Markus stood back up and took a deep breath. He could feel the pain. He had broken quite a few bones in his arm and in his torso.

" What's this? You still standing? I'm impressive. Truth be told not many can make me get serious like this. I can see it now. If I don't kill you here, you're going to be a major problem for my captain in the future. That isn't something I can let happen. So, unfortunately, you're gonna have to die. Unless you kneel and swear allegiance to our crew. Swear loyalty to Kaido. Fight under his banner and I'll spare your life. Doesn't that sound like a good deal? You get to keep getting stronger, and fight for the future king of the world. And all you have to do is kneel." Queen spoke.

Markus looked past the blood coming down his face and grinned. " Please, by all means, try your best to make kneel before you. Hah!" Markus laughed in Queen's face, effectively throwing his deal back in his face.

Queen dashed forward, ready to end it.

Markus did the same.

Queen tried to punch Markus.

Seeing the punch coming, Markus blocked the attack with his own fist, he then followed it up by punching Queen in his gut hard. He then backflipped away from Queen before landing on his feet and exploding at him once again delivering a strong kick to the front of Queen's face sending him soaring away from him and crashing into a pile of dirt and bricks.

' I have one shot. Gotta give it my all. He's gonna recover from this, and when he attacks that's when I'll hit him.' Markus said to himself.

Queen exploded back to his feet from the rubble.

" That's it! I AM ONE HUNDRED AND TEN PERCENT DONE!" Queen exclaimed. Queen lunged forward towards Markus with more power and speed than before. He was beyond angered and embarrassed at this upstart kid thinking he could beat him. " I will crush you and then I'm gonna rebuild your body and crush you again."

Queen stuck out his arm, clad in haki, and raced towards Markus like a charging bull.

Just what Markus was waiting for.

Markus took three deep breaths and released them consecutively, letting his body relax itself as the man closed in on him. " Meteor series-" Markus planted his right foot on the ground cracking the dirt and stone below him." Rising Sun." Markus muttered. He pulled his right arm back and braced himself. At this point it was all or nothing.

Markus clenched his cheeks, focused his breathing, and just as Queen struck out at him, he ducked under Queen's massive frame and delivered a strong and vicious uppercut to the man's chin, lifting Queen up off the ground. But he wasn't done yet. Markus followed Queen into the air, spinning around as he ascended and hit Queen in his chin with another strong blow from his left arms ending Queen higher. And still Markus followed.

The Meteor series is Markus's naming scheme for his deadliest blows. The one's he developed during his time training. Combining his sheer power with his observation haki and armament haki to their max. It requires Markus' utter concentration as even one slip up could throw the entire attack off.

The Meteor Series-Rising sun is Two strong uppercuts delivered to an opponent, followed by a series of three vicious kicks.

Markus quickly followed Queen further into the air.

" Hiiiyaaaah!" His right leg connected with the man's jaw, and then following that was his left. After landing his first two kicks, Markus spun around in the air and finally delivered the last. A kick with so much force that it sounded like thunder in the sky.

Yes! A successful combination, but not the end.

*Swip!

Markus shot past Queen into the sky. He stuck his leg out and started spinning vertically. He was moving so fast he looked like a shining white light in the red sky.

" METEOR SERIES- LUNAR FALL!" Markus shouted. He dropped down towards Queen spinning so fast, and with so much force he looked to be a spinning moon.

' He's moving so fast! Can't dodge. I... I need to defend myself.' Queen thought to himself. He raised his two arms to block the kick coming right for him, he even coated his arms in haki. But despite his best attempts, the moment Markus' attack hit his left arm, the bones in his arm shattered completely at the elbow. Queen grit his teeth in pain.

But he wasn't done yet. Markus continued kicking Queen over and over again until finally with all of his might. " Hiiiyaaaaaagh!" He slammed the bottom of his boot down onto Queen's face, sending him crashing down onto the beach below.

Sand shot into the air as Queen's body hit the ground.

" Gyyaaaaah! Watch out! Something's fallen onto the beach!"

" What was that?"

The pirates started shouting in confusion.

Captain Hongo, who was covered in blood was also confused. Ever since the pirates started coming through his barricade and he started fighting, he had been so focused on this battlefield, he didn't even bother to think anyone else could be arriving.

However, shortly after that, another large object hit the beach hard.

" It happened again!"

" Are we underattack?!"

" Is it more Marines?!"

The people on the beach, Pirates and Marines watched as the smoke began to clear and looked on as one of the craters became visible.

Markus was lying in a puddle of his own blood, sprawled out like a starfish, and though his eyes were open it was clear he was out cold.

" Haha! That Marine punks dead!"

" Yeah! Queen-Sama!"

" Knew he didn't stand a chance."

' Damn.' Hongo cursed internally.

" Queen-Sama come on out! Let us see you bask in our victory!"

" Queen!"

" Queen!"

" Queen!"

" Queen!"

The pirates began ugly chanting for Queen to arrive and sweep them onto victory. However, as the smoke finally began to clear away completely, and the first crater, that had still been smoking at this point, finally became visible. It was clear that Queen would not be sweeping anyone on to victory.

" No way...."

" Queen-Sama?!"

Queen was barely holding on. He had reverted back to his human form completely. He was battered, bloody, and bruised from head to toe and his arm.... His arm was completely purple below the elbow.

" Ugh.... Ngh!" Queen gasped and strained himself as he lifted himself up off the ground. " Listen very closely to me now, Marines.... I'm.... Not in the mood. Give me Iron body now. Or else!" Queen exclaimed. Even in his extremely wounded state, he was still barking out threats.

' Damn it. Don't die on me, kid. This old body ain't what it used to be. But it should be enough to-.' Hongo was in mid thought when the sound of cannon fire from the distance alerted him to the arrival of their backup.

The moment the cannons were heard, the pirates under Queen immediately went into a panic.

" Queen-Sama! It's Vice Admiral Borsalino!"

Queen looked out at the ship approaching from the sea and grit his teeth. " Everyone! BACK TO the Shi----" Queen trailed off on his speech as he slowly fell to the ground. He was done. The pain flooding through his body from his injuries was too intense.

" Quick! Grab Queen-Sama hurry!" One pirate yelled.

*Swip!

A bright yellow light suddenly appeared over the beach.

" Tssuuu!"

Suddenly there came a small beam from that bright light and then in an instant a massive explosion.

" It's the Vice Admiral hurry! Hurry!" A group of pirates hoisted Queen up on their shoulders and carried him on the beast pirates ship, while the others tried holding off the newly arrived Marine reinforcements.

Borsalino stood over the air, staring down at the carnage on the beach. Bodies of pirates littered the sands, turning it red, along with the few bodies of the Marines who died fighting. And then his vision trailed over to the Beast Pirates ship, and finally to Markus lying in the sand." Hmmmm. Oh my. How scary." Borsalino muttered.

" Borsalino-San! the Pirates are running away! Should we give chase?"

" No... It looks like.... we barely made it... On time. Let's do what we were sent to do." Borsalino exclaimed.

" Doctors! Hurry up and treat the wounded! Hurry!"

The marines docked on the beach and started running down to help those who looked like they needed help.

Though many were lost, the number of casualties that would have existed without the sacrifice of these few brave men would have been unimaginable.

This day would be remembered for a long time to come as the battle of the blood red beach! Where a handful of brave men and women gave their lives fighting alongside Captain Hongo of the Marines and the young recruit. A young man named Markus.

To be continued!!! DOOM!

And there you go, a fierce battle between a son of Garp and one of the Beast Pirates strongest fighters. Would you consider this a loss or draw? Markus lost consciousness before Queen did, but he also managed to prevent Queen from getting what he wanted.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments below.