I have returned! I apologize, really apologize, for not updation for a whole year and a half. I really am sorry for this. I ran into a real bad case of writer's block for this story and just could not continue.

That and my family's financial crisis.

This leads me to a very important request. As I've said above, my family is in a financial crisis. I've created a Gofundme, a service that let's you collect donations for your causes and programs, to help us out. Writing is my escape, but the stress of not knowing whether or not we'll have a roof over our heads tomorrow is seriously affecting our family. I want to do everything I can to help us.

So, please, if you believe that my stories are enjoyable, then please donate to my Gofundme. If you do, I will work hard to update this story on a more regular basis. And truste me, while I have not been writing on this everyday, I have been thinking about it everyday. I trust that what's in my brain will amaze you all. Thank you. The address is below.

f/1pxhbovk80?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&rcid=3450ac16fc844056b03a20f4f4a8a261

With that said, you can expect a lot from this chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 19

Clash! The Demonic Six Fight!

"Okay, you lot, stop snooping like children and get in here," Lilia shouted to the door of the dining hall, much to the confusion of the others. Subsequently, Nagika, Rizen, Ellie, and a whole bunch of other marines came flooding into the Sunny''s dining hall.

"Aunt Nagika? Uncle Rizen?" Luffy said, surprised that his godparents were snooping behind his own ships kitchen door.

"Ellie-san?" Yuki said, surprised that the older woman was also sneaking. "And the rest of you are here too? Why…?"

"I'm assuming you guys heard everything?" Lilia inquired, eyeing her naughty subordinates with a look of disapproval. They all showed various signs of embarrassment, even the usually cool and calm Nagika and Rizen were unable to remain their usual selves under Lilia's scrutinizing gaze. "I probably don't need to say this, but it's pretty creepy to be skulking around in your captain's son's ship, don't you think? Especially you two, my godparents of my child."

"Y-Yeah, sorry," Nagika said bashfully.

"Yes, I'm sorry for running off by myself to fight the Dark Swordsman," Rizen said, apologizing for the wrong thing.

"Rizen… that was from before Luffy was even born," Lilia sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, then I'm sorry for not changing Luffy's diaper for 10 hours."

"That was when… oh, forget it." One of these days, she would have to correct her top swordsman's awful memory or it was going to drive her mad. She just knew it.

"Why would she even trust that memory challenged man with something as important as changing a diaper…?" Nami muttered, having dried her tears surprisingly quickly.

"Anyway, I guess you all heard everything?" Lilia surmised.

"Pretty much everything, yes," Ellie answered. "Sorry. Captain Lilia, we were going to come in, but there really wasn't a good time."

"Honestly," Lilia sighed, looking like a mother exasperated by her children. She turned to face Nami. "Nami-chan, this lot are the subordinates that have been with me the longest. They all knew Bell-chan very well."

"Oh, then, you were all friends with Bellemere-san?" Nami inquired.

"We were," Ellie answered, looking a little glum, but was also smiling softly. "I came here because I wanted to apologize for causing such a scene before... I acted immaturely and made it all about me. Please, forgive me." Ellie walked towards Nami and bowed her body down to her

"Oh, uh, no," Nami said awkwardly. "To cry for a dead friend who you traveled on the same ship with… it's only natural. I'm sure that Bellemere-san would be happy that, even after all this time, her friends from her navy days still care about her enough to cry for her. So, thank you for still remembering my mother." Nami recomposed herself and smile warmly at her mom's comrade in arms.

"T-Thank you…" Ellie sobbed, keep her head lowered so nobody would see her face tearing up. Then, in a blur, she snapped her body up, kept her head facing the ceiling, and wiped her whole face with the palm of her hand to wipe away her tears. After all, she was a member of the Demonic 6, the strongest marines, so she couldn't just keep crying. She may probably be the most easy going of the current 6, but even she knew she must maintain an appearance of dignity. She smiled carefreely and put her hands on her hips, looking like the easygoing and confident woman she truly was. "Okay! I can't keep tearing up like this. Bellemere-senpai would tease me to no end if I just kept sobbing like this."

"You're smiling again," Yuki said, grinning, which only amplified her beauty. Initially, she was taken aback by her seniors' sudden mood swings, but was really happy when she started smiling again. An Ellie that didn't smile was quite the depressing thought. "You look your best when you're smiling, Ellie-san."

"Yuki-chan… that sounds weird coming from you, Yuki-chan," Ellie said, looking disturbed.

"Eh?!"

"It doesn't suit you," Lilia said.

"Master?!"

"You're more the silent supporter-type, you should stick to that," Nagika advised."

"S-Silent support…?"

"It felt off," Rizen said.

"What felt off?!"

"It wasn't very Yuki," the rest of the seniors said in unison.

"What is Yuki?!"

"It felt weird, Yuki-nee," Luffy said.

"Not you too, Luffy…" Yuki moaned, walking dejectedly to a corner in the kitchen, and curling down into a ball, radiating a cloud of depressing miasma. "I give up…"

"But I really am happy you feel that way, Yuki-chan," Ellie said cheerfully.

"Go to hell!" Yuki snapped.

"So cute…" Ellie sighed, sounding like an older sister teasing her adorable little sister.

"You'd think she'd realize that the more she lets them get a rise out of her the more they tease her," Leoha whispered to Akina. This was a common spectacle in the Demon Unit. Yuki, who quite sensitive and cute, was a prime target for teasing. Some called her both the ideal big sister and the ideal little sister. She was both cool and responsible and cute and adorable.

"I imagine she does, it's just that she's too sensitive," Akina guessed, whispering back to Leoha.

"A true birdbrain then," Leoha sighed.

"Anyway," Ellie said, turning her attention to Luffy. "Luffy-kun, thank you for avenging Bellemere-senpai."

"Yes, thanks for avenging one of our girls," an unnamed female marine said, lowering her head to him.

"Y-Yeah, thanks for beating up the SOB who took her from us," a shorter, but burly male marine said tearful, sobbing manly tears.

"You did well, Luffy," Rizen said, looking like a father praising his kid.

"I'm proud of you, Luffy," Nagika said motherly.

"Yes. thank you…"

"Bellemere-chan can rest easy now that her killer has been dealt with."

One by one, each of the navy officers professed their profound gratitude to their captain's son, whom they had just met, much to his annoyance.

"Ugh, why do you guys keep thanking me for that," Luffy groaned, annoyed at the praise he had been receiving from his mother's subordinates. "Even Aunt Nagika and Uncle Rizen… it's annoying. Listen, I only fought Arlong because he made Nami cry and she asked for help. I didn't even know this Belltear lady exist until today."

"It's Bellemere…" Nami corrected, not particularly angry that he butchered her mother's name.

"So stop thanking me. I'm no hero, so I won't share my meat with you guys."

"Meat?" Leoha and Akina said, confused. At Luffy's outburst, Nagika and Rizen exchanged looks, smiled, and shrugged. Typical Luffy behavior. Lilia, who was observing silently, found her son's behavior adorable and giggled to herself. She had a feeling her subordinates wouldn't just leave it at that. After all, they were annoying in all the right ways.

"Aw, don't be like that, Luffy-kun," Ellie said, approaching his side and wrapping her arm around him, getting him in a headlock, surprising his crew. "Whether or not it was intentional, you did avenge someone we cared about, so it's only natural we'd wanna thank you, right?"

"H-Hey, let go," Luffy demanded, struggling to free himself. Ellie had a shockingly powerful grip. She wasn't budging an inch!

"Yeah, there must something we can do," a strawberry blonde, tall woman said, coming to Luffy's other side and wrapping her arm around him. "You're a boy. Perhaps you'd like a woman to keep you company tonight? I'm sure a lot of our girls would love to get to know you. Or perhaps a mature beauty would catch your interest? I'm Melary, by the way."

"Please, get off!" Luffy pleaded, but the seniors of the Demon Unit wouldn't let up.

"Ah, perhaps you'd like a massage?" The shorter man came from behind and gave Luffy a massage that looked suspiciously like a flurry of punches.

"That hurts!"

"Nobody likes your massages, Given!" A tall woman shouted, holding out a box of watches. Where she was carrying it, no one knew. "Would you like a watch Luffy-chan? They're usually expensive, but I'll give it to you for free."

"I don't wear watches!"

"Would you like to try my cakes?" An extremely tall marine offered.

"Wow, you're tall! Wait, ca-"

"Would you like to take my daughter's hand in marriage?" A man with greying hair asked.

"Marriage!?"

"Would you like some money?"

"Coupons to Gourmet Island?"

"A musical lesson?"

"Leave me alooone!" Luffy screamed desperately. The senior members had now surrounded him and were close to smothering him.

"Aren't they just ganging up on him at this point?" Leoha couldn't help but ask as her senpai surrounded her master's son with unadulterated, unrelenting gratitude. They were out of control. The Straw Hats, too, were borderline horrified that their unflappable captain was being overwhelmed by these navy officers. The Demon Unit was more fearsome than they had originally thought!

"Shouldn't something be done," Akina wondered.

"Don't worry," Lilia sighed, looking annoyed. She too was getting frustrated by her subordinates total lack of understanding of boundaries. "Luffy's bodyguard knows her job."

"Bodyguard…?" Nami said, also stupefied by how easily Luffy was being played with. Then it just happened.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Faster than the eye could track, a black streak flew over the seniors heads and subsequently deliver 8 smacks. One for every seniors ganging up on Luffy, knocking them all flat on their backs. Only Luffy was left standing. A few paces away from the bodies was Yuki, who stood in a fighters stance.

"That's enough of that," Yuki said darkly, her back to her fallen comrades.

"Oooh…" Ellie and her compatriots groaned as they rub their heads. "That was a bit too rough, Yuki-chan."

"Oh, I think I was being merciful," Yuki retorted, glaring coldly at Ellie. The gaze alone was enough to put even Zoro, Sanji, and Robin on edge. "I don't tolerate those who harass the one I call my brother."

"Wow… so overprotective," Ellie glared back, grinning evilly as she lifted herself up off of the floor. "I feel bad for Luffy-kun's future suitors. They'll have to get past his frightening big sister."

"That's obvious," Yuki said, affirming Ellie's provocation. The sheer icy tone of her voice sent shivers down the spines of the Straw Hats, or, to be more precise, the ones who were still unfamiliar with the terror of the girl known as Hell's Princess. "I would never allow a mediocre woman to be with Luffy. And, while we're on the subject, Luffy is too focused on his goals to be interested in women. So lay off!"

"Oh…? But why are you telling me this, Yuki-chan? It was was Melary-senpai who was talking about that Is it to explain why you've never made a move on your beloved Luffy-kun? How naive. In the end, you are still a child, little girl."

"Keep talking, Ellie-san, every word you say is just another step towards your grave," Yui said threateningly as she put her front foot forward, bent her knees, and raised her fists in front of her.

"How scary," Ellie smirked, getting into her own fighter's pose. "Let's see if you truly deserve to be our number 1."

"Are they going to fight," Luffy asked the obvious question as he observed the two female fighters about to duke it out. "What are they even talking about?"

"You're too lucky, Luffy," Usopp said dryly.

"What do you mean, Usopp?"

"Isn't it enough that you can be beaten to an inch of your life and still live?" Usopp grumbled. "Why do you have to attract such a gorgeous girl?"

"Yeah, that's right," Sanji growled, not hiding his feelings in the slightest. "Isn't it enough to be rubber and have a good crew?! Why do you need a girl like that!?"

Shockingly, it wasn't just Sanji that was jealous of Yuki's obvious feelings for Luffy, but Usopp too. Yuki was truly gorgeous and would most likely still grow even more so in the years to come. When you factor in her personality, it was only natural that she'd attract the attention of the opposite sex.

'Wh-What is this… emotion I'm feeling?!' Zoro wondered, a look of frustration on his face as he glanced at Luffy, then Yuki. 'He hasn't done anything-this time-... so why? Why do I want to chop Luffy into a million, bite-sized, rubbery pieces?!'

"So…" Robin, who was observing Zoro's reaction to the current situation with amusement, whispered, smiling teasingly. "Is even our upright swordsman unable to brush off the charm of the beautiful disciple of my godsister?"

Zoro grunted in response and looked away from her.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Zoro," Robin continued, giggling. "You're just experiencing a new feeling. Growing up, you could say."

"Shut up…" Zoro groaned, looking down at his feet. "Please… just shut up."

"What's wrong, Chopper?" Nami asked, looking at their ship's doctor, who looked confused.

"I don't really know," Chopper admitted, looking at Luffy. "But for some reason, I want to hurt Luffy."

"D-Do you…?" Nami said, surprised, then she glanced at the embarrassed Zoro. This was getting ridiculous. It was just another another day with Sanji, and Usopp may never have been as obsessed with women as Sanji was, but he was still a guy, but the stone cold Zoro and Chopper, who had no sexual interest in humans, was just too much. A girl whom they had just met not more than a couple hours ago has just charmed more than half of the men on their ship. In more ways than one, she was certainly a dangerous girl. However… 'This is definitely weird, but if one of the guys can get Yuki to like him, then she can stop obsessing over Luffy.'

Not even considering for a second the morality of her plan, Nami began scheming various scenarios on how to setup Yuki with one of her crewmates. Sanji and Chopper seemed like long shots with Sanji being who he was and Chopper being a reindeer and all, but, surprisingly, Usopp and Zoro seemed to have a decent shot. Sure, the bird zoan barely knew the swordsman and sniper of the crew, but if Nami just talked them up and overblow their good points and maybe even lie a bit, then Yuki would surely look their way. However, the hardest part seemed to be actually getting the two in question to actually make a move on her, because it was certainly a pipe dream to believe that they'd do it themselves. It would require some convincing on her part.

To be clear, Nami has yet to fully acknowledge Luffy as an object for her romantic affections, but she did acknowledge her desire to get Yuki to abandon her feelings for Luffy. Was it cruel of her to manipulate her friends and an otherwise sweet and innocent young girl, who may or may not be the strongest person in their generation (she wouldn't believe it until she saw it)? Some would say yes. However, others would say this was just the way you won the game, the prize, and Nami was a firm believer in the phrase all's fair in love and war.

Meanwhile, as Nami was thinking up her schemes, Leoha and Akina were observing the staredown between two of their unit's strongest fighters with unreserved anxiety.

"A-Are they seriously going to fight right here?" Akina asked worriedly.

"Stupid bird brain," Leoha muttered. "Don't go starting fights for idiotic reasons."

The only ones in the dining hall that understood how truly dangerous it was for these two power houses to go toe to toe, especially in an enclosed space, were the Demon Unit, except for maybe Luffy, who knew how strong Yuki was, but next to nothing about Ellie, except that she had a really tight grip. To be frank, if these two went at it at full force, not even an Adam Wood ship would survive.

"They look a bit too serious," Nagika whispered to her friend. "You should probably step in."

"Oi… that brat is supposed to be my successor," Lilia sighed tiredly. "And you'd think Ellie would be a bit more mature. Ah well, guess I'd better-"

"It was surprisingly soft," Luffy said aloud as Lilia was getting up from her miasma made chair, causing everyone to freeze, as if something truly unbelievable had just come out of Luffy's mouth. "But really firm too."

Silence.

The next moment, a horrifyingly potent tension instantly surfaced into the air. Lilia and Nagika glared silently at Ellie, who remained frozen in place opposite of Yuki, not daring to to turn her head. The two top women of the Demon Unit created a dark miasma around them and their eyes glew crimson. Rizen, who was right beside them, was trembling in uninhibited fear.

"Ellie-san… right now I'm extremely angry with you…" Yuki said hollowly, also remaining frozen in place. "But if you value your sanity, you will not look to your right."

"Y-You don't have to tell me that," Ellie retorted in a shaky voice. She was at a lost as to what to do next. If nothing was done, then she was dead. She had an idea, but it was risky. However, she had nothing left to lose.

"Ellie…" Lilia spoke deeply as she slowly approached her subordinate, who flinched with every step. Ellie shrieked when her captain placed her hand on her shoulder. "How could you…?"

"Luffy-kun! What did you mean when you said 'soft'?!" Ellie shouted out at the top of her lungs.

"Hm?" Luffy tilted his head, oblivious to the righteous anger emanating from his mother and godmother.

'This is her big plan to save her life?!' Yuki thought, shocked at the huge risk her friend was making.

"Soft… obviously I meant your arms," Luffy answered casually, grinning carefreely. "They felt really soft, but when you had me in a headlock I just couldn't get out. Your grip was just too tight. You really are strong, Ellie. What?" Luffy looked confused as the tension in the room immediately dissipated instantly after he finished speaking. Exhausted, everyone in the room, who wasn't already knocked down, collapsed on the floor, lying on either their backs or sitting on their knees, save for Lilia, Nagika, and Ellie.

"Oh… That makes way more sense-for Luffy," Lilia said, removing her hand from Ellies shoulder. "Any other man would mean exactly what we heard. Anyway, I guess I don't have to slaughter Ellie. Isn't that great, Ellie?" Lilia laughed, patting the shoulder of her shocked subordinate, who looked as pale as a white ghost.

"Yeah… Hehehe," Ellie laughed hollowly, also collapsing onto her knees. "I guess I'm mostly at fault, but, Luffy-kun, sweetie, you should really use your words more carefully."

"What'd I say?" Luffy asked innocently.

"Nothing… just never open your mouth again," Nami ordered tiredly as she lay on the floor.

"Right…" The rest of the crew moaned in agreement.

"But you know, it isn't such a bad idea?" Lilia said.

"Me not talking?"

"No, I'd hate never hearing your voice, babe," Lilia said dotingly. "What I mean is you and your crew seeing the Six fight. All right, Captain's orders; we shall have the Demonic Six fight each other."

There was an awkward silence before the people in the room could fully process what Lilia had just said.

"Ehhh?!" The Demon Unit exclaimed, shocked at their unusual captain's latest order.

After her announcement, Lilia had everyone leave the ship and meet with the rest of the unit out on the shore. Zoro grumbled that ever since this morning, they had been forced to do whatever Luffy's mother wanted. Luffy said to just deal with it, because this was what happens when you were with his mom. Once they got on the beach, it was Oscar and Ridge who met them first, more specifically Ellie and the senior members.

"You okay now?" Oscar asked concerned.

"Oh, are you worried about me, Oscar," Ellie said teasingly.

"No way," Oscar said flatly. "I meant the Captain and everyone else?"

"How rude…" Ellie muttered, earning a consoling pat on her shoulder from Yuki.

"We're fine," Lilia assured. "It certainly wasn't pleasant to hear of my old subordinates death, but we'll move on."

"Oh, that's good," Ridge said goodnaturedly. "It wouldn't have been fun seeing all of you depressed.

"Of course not," Lilia smiled. "Why be sad when something fun is going to happen?"

"F-Fun…?" Oscar and Ridge flinched, wary of their captain's definition of fun.

"What's she mean?" Oscar asked Ellie.

"Er… it could be fun," Ellie said, looking unsure.

"Or it could be scary," Yuki sighed.

"What's happening?" Ridge asked.

"Our wise leader wants us 6 to fight for her amusement," Nagika said dryly, pointing a thumb at her best friend.

"What?!" the two of them screamed, shocked.

"Our thoughts exactly," Megary giggled. "It should be a good show though."

"What exactly do you want us to do, Captain Lilia," Ridge asked.

"Just a few exhibition matches that last 3 minutes," she answered giddily. "I want to make this a show for Luffy and his crew. Beside, they have yet to see what you guys can do."

"Plus, it's a good opportunity for the readers to see your fighting ability," Nagia said, breaking the fourth wall. "But is with you and making people fight like they're in some kind of tournament?"

"It's fun," Lilia shrugged. "So, you guys up for it?"

"Do we even have a choice?" The six asked.

"Nope."

Lilia went to her unit and announced her plans to hold an exhibition battle between the members of the Demonic six, much to the excitement of the unit. Not wasting a moment, people were already voicing their opinions on who could defeat who. It was a common opinion that Rizen was the strongest man on the force, but it was also said that neither Ridge nor Oscar should be underestimated. Also, Nagika was clearly a superior and frightening fighter that none could defeat easily and Ellie was called a wonder girl for a reason. And Yuki was considered a "teenage monster" in the form of a beautiful young girl. In the end, the overall consensus was that no matter who had to face who, none of them could easily defeat the other.

The Demonic Six listened to their excited comrades with various annoyed expressions.

"They seem to be having fun with this…" Oscar muttered sardonically.

"Be honest, if it was the other way around, we'd be the ones having fun in their expense," Ellie said.

"I'll admit, this may prove interesting," Nagika added.

"What may be interesting?" Rizen asked, forgetting everything like usual.

"Try to keep up," Ridge groaned before glancing at the youngest of the Six, who looked down. "What's wrong with you?"

"Teenage monster…?" Yuki moaned, depressed.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hats watched the events unfold, curious about what would happen.

"Another crazy event is going to happen, huh…?" Usopp sighed.

"Lilia-neesan seems to like keeping things exciting," Robin mused.

"It's been obvious for a while now," Nami said. "But these guys are like us, always having to go along with their crazy captain's whims."

"Yeah, mom can be pretty crazy," Luffy said, earning skeptical looks from his crew. "What?"

"Nothing…" They said together.

"Alright… I've decided who will fight whom," Lilia announced loudly. "Oscar vs. Yuki, Ridge vs. Nagi-chan, and Ellie vs. Rizen!"

"Me against Oscar-san…?" Yuki spoke out, unsure of how to feel about this.

"Hm… I like it," Oscar said, voicing his opinion.

"I'm up against Nagika?" Ridge said in strained voice. Nagika was more than just formidable, she just may have been as frightening as his captain.

"Let's have a good match, Ridge," Nagika said.

"Who's Ellie again?" Rizen asked, forgetting the comrade he spent decades with.

"That's too mean, Rizen-san!" Ellie spoke, outraged.

"Right, we're comrades…" he remembered, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Emmy."

"It's Ellie!"

"Alright, give me 5 minutes to get some things and we'll start," Lilia said before running to her ship to retrieve her things.

"So you guys are really going to fight, huh, Yuki-nee?" Luffy said to his sister figure.

"I guess I am," she said, looking a bit tired. So much was happening at once and she was getting overwhelmed by them. "I suppose I should take this seriously now that it's happening. Oscar-san is very strong."

"How strong is he?" Luffy asked.

"Very strong," she answered seriously. "I'm going to have to give it everything I got if I want to win against him."

"You sure take it seriously," Nami said, inserting herself in the conversation. "Listen, I've been meaning to ask you both this for awhile now, but I haven't had a chance. Luffy, do you really think Yuki is stronger than you? I mean, Shauna said that she's many times stronger than her and her brother, but-"

"I'm going to have to say yes," Luffy answered her, surprising Nami and the crew. "As I am right now, Yuki would easily beat me- and everyone of us as well too. After all, she once beat Ace-"

"She beat a Whitebeard commander?!" Some of his crew shouted, shocked.

"You beat Fire-Fist, Yuki-chan?!" Ellie exclaimed, surprised. "I never heard about that!"

Yuki sighed, looking annoyed. "Luffy, I'd appreciate it if you did not blurt out something like that… Yes, I defeated Ace in a sparring match a few years ago, but that was before he ate his devil fruit or even became a pirate. He's obviously much stronger now than before."

"But you did defeat him, right?"

"Yes. It was a sparring match, it was the first time I beat him," she explained.

"Unbelievable…" Usopp gasped in awe. "Guess you really are this generation's strongest…?"

"Beauty and talent," Sanji swooned. "Such traits are befitting of a goddess like you, Yuki-chan!"

"T-Thank you…?"

"Hehehe… you're becoming a bit more popular, Yuki-chan," Ellie laughed, patting the younger girl on the back.

"Greaaat…" Yuki sighed dryly.

"So what about you?" Luffy asked, addressing Ellie.

"Me?"

"You're supposed to be fighting Uncle Rizen, right?" Luffy said. "You probably know how strong he is. Do you think you can win?"

Ellie paused before answering. "I do. No doubt, Rizen-san is extremely strong. After all, he's probably our strongest man and is the Navy's best swordsman. It won't be easy, but I don't want to be the type of woman who gives in before the fight has started. I'll overcome the strong warrior."

Ellies confident and passionate and honest declaration impressed Luffy, who smiled. "Alright, if you're sure. You're one of my mom's top fighters, so you must be strong as well. Good luck."

"Thanks," Ellie said. "To be honest, I'll need it."

"Don't worry, I know you're strong, Ellie-san," Yuki said. "You are a member of the Demonic Six after all."

"You're sweet, kid," Ellie smiled sweetly.

"She's not that sweet," Leoha grumbled, hating it when Yuki got praised.

"Now, now," Akina soothed her senpai like she was a small child.

"Alright, I'm back," Lilia announced, coming from the ship with a timer in one hand and snail camera in another. "Let's start this thing!"

Lilia created a huge rectangular platform from her power. It was for the spectators to stand on. Once they did, Lilia willed for it to float high into the air at height that would be perfect for them to see the two fighter on the ground, Yuki and Oscar. The remaining Six were on the platform with the rest and would go down once it was their turn to fight. The platform was wide enough to hold everyone and let them get a good view of the fight. The Straw Hats were surprised that a paper thin platform like the one they were standing on could support everyone, but it could.

"Is this safe," Nami asked, looking down. They must've been 100 feet in the air. Maybe more. It wouldn't be funny if anybody fell.

"If you fall, someone'll catch you," Shauna assured her. She and Ren, along with Leoha, Akina, and June, were sitting besides the pirates. "More than half of us can use Moon bounce and Captain Lilia can use her power to catch you. Plus, there's Luffy."

"Okay, I guess that's fine," she said, but still a bit anxious. Her attention was caught when one of the marines, a woman, was taking bets, Minimum bet, 10,000 berries. "Hey, who do you think will win?"

"Hard to say," Shauna said. "Both of them are ridiculously strong."

"Oscar-san has a really powerful punch," Akina said. "And Yuki-senpai is a genius with a lot to put on the table. Plus, she has her devil fruit."

"Both of them are very quick," Ren added. "Both in terms of speed and adaptability."

"...That doesn't help me," Nami groaned. She was really hoping to make some money off of this.

"Hey, why is that lady watching me," Luffy asked, addressing the silver haired woman who was glaring at him with an angry face. She was looking at him like he was her worst enemy. Also, she was still in chains.

"I'm sorry…" June said apologetically. "My sister is not sure about you."

"Because I'm a pirate?"

"Because you are Lilia-sama's son…"

"Why does that matter?"

"You're not very bright, are you, Luffy-san?" June sighed. "You don't get why my sister dislikes you? Didn't you see her get mad at Lilia-sama after hearing about Dragon… sama?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Let me explain," Ren said, leaning in close and whispering in his ear. What Luffy heard made his eyes pop out.

"Huh?!" Luffy gasped. "You mean that lady is like you and Sanji and she's trying to do that to my mom!"

"Fraid so," Ren said. "Except she's far more extreme."

'How'd he get him to understand?' The Straw Hat, Lilia's students, and June wondered.

"Then… does that mean… everyone here… feels that way…?" Luffy looked very shocked at this realization and looked ready to fall on his butt. It was an alien sight to see this side of the strawhat wearing pirate.

"Sorry, but yes," Shauna answered him sympathetically, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Everyone here loves Captain Lilia and some of them love her more than that."

"This is…" Luffy looked dizzy.

"But don't worry, I'm sure Captain Lilia only loves them as her subordinates," Shauna quickly said. "And it seemed like she barely noticed they're feelings."

"That isn't the point," Luffy moaned, dropping on his rear, and hugging his legs. He sunk into a dark place.

"He's taking it pretty hard," Zoro said, unsure of what he was seeing.

"It must be quite a shock for a son to suddenly hear about how popular his mother is," Robin said. "I suppose even Luffy can't take that kind of embarrassment."

"He finds it embarrassing…?" Nami muttered, not seeing the big deal. Her own mother was also quite flirtatious with other men, mostly Genzon, but it was usually just to get what she wants. It was a trait of hers she really admired. "I guess it's different with boys."

"Alright, I'll do some announcing," Lilia announced in a microphone. "On the right we have our Princess, number one of the Demonic Six, her generation's strongest, and my top disciple, Yuki!"

"Yuki! Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!" The navy soldiers and Sanji cheered loudly. The volume alone was enough to shatter a person's eardrums.

"She's pretty popular, huh," Robin said.

"Obviously, since she's a beautiful powerhouse," June said.

"Come on, Luffy," Shauna said, comforting her cousin. "Look, the fight's going to to start. You don't want to miss it."

"Okay…" Luffy sighed, looking over the edge of the platform. "How strong is that Oscar guy anyway?"

"And to the left," Lilia continued before anyone could answer him. "He was a champion underground fighter in the South Blue, feared for his powerful punches which can knock out anyone in a single blow, and now he's climbed up to be the fourth rank member of the Demonic Six and has become one of the Navy's strongest assets, he's Ricky Oscar!"

"Oscar! Oscar!" Oscar also received cheers from his peers, but it was significantly less energetic when compared to Yuki's.

"Heheheh… guess I can't expect to be as popular as a pretty girl, huh?" Oscar laughed sardonically.

"I-I'm sure they're just joking," Yuki said, trying to make him feel better.

"No, no," he waved his hand dismissively. "It's obvious a pretty girl will be far more popular than muscly old me."

"That's…"

"Alright, let me say this again," Lilia said. "These fights are purely exhibitionary. They will last for three minutes each. You all are free to go all out. I'll stop you if you lose control. With that said we will begin in…" Lilia quickly set the timer and started counting down. "3…!"

"3 minutes… eh?" Oscar muttered. It was just like back in his underground fighting days. They consisted of 10, 3 minute rounds. "Looks like we should go all out right from the start. This is for the Captain's kid and his buddies benefit after all."

"2…!"

"Agreed, Yuki said. Her expression turned sharp and fierce. She looked like a real fighter. "I don't want this to be a waste of time either. Please hold nothing back, Oscar-san."

"1… go!" Lilia immediately pressed the button on her timer and the fight began.

If you blinked you missed the first swing of their punches.

The moment their captain shouted, both officers lunged at each other. Both were a meter apar before, but, in an instant, the closed the gap between them and their fists collided in a kind of epic fist bump. The very force of their punch generated shockwaves that blue the sand around them. If the spectators were on ground level, then they'd most assuredly be coughing up sand right now. No, if they were just a bit lower, they'd still be covering their eyes.

"The hell…!" The Weakling Trio screamed loudly.

"They generated that much power from just one punch!" Sanji exclaimed, also shocked.

"Don't go getting excited just yet," Shana said. "The worst has yet to come."

Both fighters released their right fists and punched swiftly with their left, then pulled again and repeated the process over and over. Their fists must'e clashed hundreds, no, thousands of times, but their clash only lasted 15 seconds. In the process both the navy vessel and the Sunny were getting very sandy very quickly. When the fight was over, some serious cleaning would need to be done.

Yuki was the first to brush past her opponents fist and deliver a blow to his face, or she would have been had he not jerked his head to right to avoid her punch. In a counter, he tried to nail her with a straight right, but she dodged it by spinning to the right and using the momentum to send a roundhouse kick directly to his head, but completely missed when Oscar, with inhumanly developed flexibility, bent back at a 90 degree angle to avoid it, which caused Yuki's kick to generate a powerful gust of air that created a huge cloud of dust. Swiftly, Oscar repositioned himself and tried to jab at her with his right, but she deflected it with her left, knocking it back. Another shockwave.

"T-That girl… is she really human?!" Nami wondered aloud, unable to believe what she was seeing. She had seen quite a few capable female fighters since entering the Grand Line, such as Miss Doublefinger, Robin, Kalifa, and Shauna. Miss Doublefinger and Robin both had Devil Fruits and could use them very well. Kaulifa had a Devil Fruit too and was a Six Powers master, but something told Nami that the agent would be no match against Yuki head to head. Shauna, who had defeated Zoro, had also said that Yuki was at least 5 times stronger than her, but, truthfully, Nami had thought she was just exaggerating. It seemed for a girl like her, who had gone far and beyond the normal capabilities of regular people, it just wasn't possible for someone to be that much stronger… unless it was someone at the level of an admiral like Aokiji.

"Ooh, that Oscar guys really tough," Luffy said, impressed as he watched the fight. "He's keeping up with Yuki-nee blow for blow."

"Right, he's really strong," Ren said, not looking away from the fight. "All of the Six are. Hate to say it, cous, but as we are now, we wouldn't last a second against any of them."

"But that's only for right now, right?"

"Hm?"

"You, me, Shaun, my crew, we'll all get stronger an stronger and over come even the one who are way above us."

"Uh… heh," Ren was stupefied for a moment, but then he chuckled at his cousin's brazenness. "I'm not surprised, but you haven't changed much, Lu. You still have an inhuman amount of confidence. In fact, you might even be worse than before. Saying dangerous things like that… You aside, can your crew still remain confident after seeing those two get serious?"

Lilia look at her timer. Close to 45 seconds had passed, but neither side had yet to land a significant blow. They were probably growing impatient.

'I should try to control the pace of this fight now,' Yuki thought as she leaped away from Oscar, completely avoiding the swing he made, and landed 30 feet away from him. Up until now, they had been stuck in each other's pace, but now she would take control. 'It's time to get serious, Oscar-san.'

A black, gas-like substance, similar-no, identical- to the substance Lilia could produce flowed out of her whole body. It looked like her aura was visible and was now dyed black and her eyes-which were originally dark like coal- glew like a crimson moon. Not only that, she also activated her devil fruit transformation. Save for Luffy, the only form the Straw Hats had seen before was her full hawk form and her human form, but now she was triggering her hybrid form. She spread out her arms and legs, which extended. Her arms sprouted out black-feathered wings and her feet morphed into bird feet with talons. This was a hybrid transformation. With the black miasma surrounding her, and her eyes glowing like a crimson moon, she looked like some kind of bird-woman-demon-girl. In this new form, the more danger-sensitive members of the crew felt an uneasy pressure coming from her.

"That's a hybrid transformation, right," Chopper asked. "But that black aura… what is it?"

"It looks exactly like the stuff that Luffy's mom produces," Usopp observed.

"Don't call it 'stuff'," Lililia mumbled.

"So, it is true," Robin said.

"What is," Zoro asked, never looking away from Yuki's new transformation.

"Up until now, I had only heard about it second hand but," Robin explain. "It is said that Aura-er-Lilia-neesan's devil fruit, the Human-Human Fruit Model: Demon, is one of the most unique fruits out there. From what I know, it's one of the most dangerous Zoan types, even among the Mythical Zoans, which are the strongest Zoan types. It has many abilities, and the most amazing is its ability to gift others with its powers."

"Eh?!" The others, save for Luffy, screamed, shocked.

"I've never heard of an ability being given to people," Nami gasped.

"How can she even do that," Franky asked.

"It's pretty easy," Lilia said, descending onto the platform she created, sitting down gracefully. "It's a simple process- actually, it isn't even a process. I just flick my wrist and bam."

"And it's… permanent?" Nami asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what will happen after I die, but for now they're stuck with it," Lilia said. "Each of the Six has a piece of my power. Oh, and my students."

"Thanks for mentioning us, Master," Leoha muttered.

"So… what exactly happens?" Sanji asked.

"Just watch."

Down below, the battle continued. After transforming, Yuki charged. Fast. The moment she moved, she disappeared from sight. She moved too fast to be tracked by the naked eye. Instantly, she closed the distance between her and Oscar and slammed him with her wing, sending him flying high up in the air. Not relenting, she leaped-no, flew- up into the air with such blind speed that she quickly overtook the rising Oscar faster than he could react and kicked him in the gut and sent him flying forward in the air. To the pirates surprise, the muscular man was being treated like a rag doll by the seemingly frail young girl (well, she was a bird-woman now, but still…).

"She's going to kill him!" Nami gasped in horror. "This is is too much!"

"Oscar isn't that fragile," Lilia scoffed.

"But-"

"Just watch, Nami-chan," Ellie said, placing a hand on the younger woman. "Oscar is used to being thrashed about."

'Yuki…' Oscar thought.

As he was being thrashed about, Yuki continued her assault mercilessly. Oscar was her dear comrade, whom she thought of as family, but her master ordered them to show Luffy and his crew everything they had. And that was what we she would do. Going in for another blow, Yuki dived at him as he fell down. She would not allow him to catch his breath, but then, suddenly, he lifted his head like a marionette with its strings suddenly pull.

He faced her with a mad, confident grin, as if planning to surprise her. He had all but said 'boo'. Yuki instinctively knew that slowing down, moving at the speed she was, would only cause her to stumble mid flight, so she continued on. Oscar swung his strong right arm straight for the young girl's face, sending her crashing down. A huge cloud of sand erupted as high as the spectators were floating up.

'I'm beginning my counter attack.'

"HOW DARE HE?!" Sanji boomed, his body on fire at the sight of seeing a woman getting hit. "I'll kill him!"

"Sanji! Stop!" Usopp and Chopped grabbed the enraged cook as he was literally about to jump down to beat up the boxer.

"Let go of me you two!"

"What's up with him?" Shauna asked casually. Her fellow marines were surprised by the pirates behavior.

"He's very chivalrous," Nami sighed. "He won't tolerate a man abusing a woman."

"That's sweet," she said.

"Yeah, but the problem is he won't defend himself against a woman," Nami continued. "Well, to be accurate he will never kick a woman."

"Sounds problematic," Shauna said. "Especially if you are planning to go to the New World. There are plenty of tough female fighters over there."

"Really…" Nami was intrigued. She looked down at the cloud of sand. "Like her?"

"Hahaha… yes, like her," Shauna sighed. "Although, she just might be one of the worse you'll have to face. Next to Captain Lilia and Lieutenant Nagika… she represent one of the strongest women in the world. A true monster. A demon. I guess Big Mom and some of her daughters are up there too."

"Big Mom?"

"One of the Four Emperors," Shauna said. "Haven't you heard of them?"

"We have, actually," Nami said. "Recently, too. Garp told us about them."

"Good," Shauna said. "You should-"

"1 minute 30 seconds," Lilia announced loudly. The three minute fight reached its half way point. Some were surprised to hear that. It felt like the three minutes had already passed a long time ago. The fight was probably engrossing that their sense of time got messed up.

Hearing his leader's announcement, Oscar immediately triggered his own gift bestowed onto him by his Captain. Like Yuki, his eyes turned crimson and his body was covered in the black miasma of the Demon Fruit. Now both Demonic Six members have triggered their gift. They both stood on equal footing. Although it would be hard to argue that Yuki had the upper for most of the first half, but Oscar's last counterpunch certainly changed the flow of the fight.

SWOOSH!

Before the cloud of sand could completely fade away, a a blade of air swiftly shot from it. Oscar narrowly, but quickly avoided it with speed that made it appear that he had vanished for a moment. Not even a second later, more blades of air shot out from out from the smoke cloud like rapid fire. Oscar was able to speedily avoid the continued assault. The missed blades of air collided with the sand and burst into midsized clouds.

"Is that Yuki's doing?" Nami asked.

"Yeah," Shauna nodded. "It isn't that surprising, is it? Anybody who reaches a certain level can do the same. Veggie Top could do it too."

"You make it sound like it's easy to be shoot blades of air with just your body…"

"How is she able to accurately aim for him inside that dust cloud?" Usopp wondered aloud. It can't be easy to aim when your vision is blurred by sand. Was it that Haki thing everybody keeps talking about?

"She has good sense, I suppose," Nagika suggested. "I'm guessing this is where things get serious?"

"What?" Nami questioned. She and the other Straw Hats, save for Luffy, were confused. Weren't they already pretty serious? How much more could they possibly show?

Much more.

"Gyaah!" From down below a huge gust of wind reached up to as high up, if not higher, as the platform they were all on. It was strong enough to blow all of their hair up. It was a good thing Luffy had a string attached to his hat to keep it from falling off. The origin of this powerful wind? Why, it was from Yuki flapping her wings in her hybrid form, now completely exposed.

For the briefest moment, she glared at Oscar, who was unphased by the sand blowing in his face with a look that could make hardened sailors flinch. Yuki got into a stance and punched the air. Oscar did the same. The darkness extended from their respective fists.

"Hawk… Punch!"

"Devil… Jab!"

Yuki's darkness shaped into a bird form with a pointed beak. Oscar's simply formed his fist magnified ten times its original size. It was reminiscent of Luffy when he used Third Gear. The two superpowered attacks extended at a high speed until they clashed, generating the highest shockwave yet. The beak of the Hawk Punch driving into the center of the Devil Jab's fis, yet it would not break. Neither attack would allow itself lose to the other, as if they were separate entities representing the pride of their respective masters. Yuki and Oscar were both putting in their best effort in not letting themselves lose to the other. Until, finally, both masses of pure darkness imploded on themselves. Another cloud of dust enveloped their battlefield, but they didn't waste anytime. Both of them leaped high up into the air in order to fight the other. In an instant, they cleared the distance between themselves and began a clash. Of punches and kicks, except Oscar only punched her.

The Straw Hat, Ren, Shaun, Leoha, Akina, June, and everyone else were amazed by what they were seeing. Now they were really seeing what these two so-called superhumans were capable of. And it was a lot.

Even midair, Oscar beautifully demonstrated the great footwork of a seasoned, true boxer. He evenly kept up with the bird woman with Moon Bounce, despite Yuki being able to fly.

Yuki was showing more and more just why she was referred to as the strongest of her generation. Her speed, her power, her abilities… they were all at a level the young pirates had never seen before…

"Oh, yeah!" Ellie screamed, pumped up. "Hawk Punch and Devil's Jab are both Yuki' and Oscar's calling cards!"

"When they use them," Ridge began. "It means they're getting heated. I'm getting fired up"

"This island going to get wrecked, isn't it?" Nagika sighed.

"T-This is amazing," Franky said, awed. He thought his crew was powerful, but just one of these two could solo the whole of CP9, Lucci included. Oscar jabed at Yuki, but she jerked her head to the right they punch his face, but he ducked. Not the Franky could actually see that. They were moving to fast for an ordinary person's eyes. All the majority of them could process were streaks of speed and loud sounds of flesh on flesh.

"She really isn't just a pretty face," Zoro muttered, not letting himself lose track of the two fighters, but it was difficult to keep his eyes on them. They were everywhere.

"Yuki-chan… wow," Sanji sighed, also doing his best to keep track of the two high level warriors. His expression wasn't lovestruck, like usual, but respectful. He also couldn't find it in himself to fault Oscar for fighting so seriously against a woman. Yuki was strong, very strong. Even stronger than him. It would be a joke to say that she needed someone of his level protecting her.

"Wow, Yuki-nee go get him!" Luffy cheered, punching the air. She had gotten even stronger from when she beat Ace. She really was great.

"Don't slow down, Yuki," Ren cheered.

"Give it all you got," Shuna exclaimed.

"You should show your serious side more often," June screamed. If she did, she wouldn't get teased as much… maybe.

"Now that you've taken it this far, you better win," Leoha demanded. She hated to admit it, but she was getting fired up by her senpai's performance. Darn it! She would surpass her yet. She swore it.

"Senpai is amazing!" Akiina cheered. She'd need to work harder if she wanted to be worthy f being her kouhai.

"T-This is insane…!" Usopp exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Each of them were pushing each other back and forth, circling around the hovering platform several times over creating a strong gust that was blowing all of their hairs in every direction. "That girl is insane!"

"She's so strong and cool!" Chopper yelped

"Come on, Yuki!"

"Finish him!"

"You go girl!"

"...Huh?" Ellie grunted with a surprised face, despite the intensity of the fight.

"...Oscar-kun seems to be getting overlooked, isn't he?" Nagik said.

"...Well, it is Yuki, you know," Ridge thought.

"...Who's Oscar?" Rizen asked.

"Poor guy," The other 3 sighed. However, Oscar didn't seem to notice or care. He was too engrossed in his fight to even remember that people were watching him. As was Yuki.

"Hey…" Nami said, her neck craned upward as she tried to keep track of the fight. For whatever reason, she didn't let herself become too engrossed with Yuki's combat prowess. "Isn't something funny happening to that Oscar guy's hair?"

"Hm?" Ellie and the others were surprised Nami had paid any attention to Oscar at all. When she looked, she saw what her senpai's daughter was referring to. Oscar's afro was beginning to change shape. His stiff locks were loosening and becoming wavy and moving like they were alive. They sort of looked like a medusa style hair. "Oh, yeah that. That's just something that happens to Oscar when he gets really serious in a fight?"

"What happens…?"

"His hair starts moving on its own," Nagika answered.

"That's… how can that happen? Is it because of Lilia-san's gift?"

"No, this has happened many times," Nagika answered. "From before he even joined us, Oscar's hair starts to move as if it was alive when he gets serious in a fight."

"...I have no words," Nami sighed. "Bellemere-san, you really were apart of a freaky group."

"Oscar wasn't here when Senpai was with us," Ellie corrected. "But yeah."

"10 seconds!" Lilia announced.

But neither Oscar, nor Yuki could hear her, or anyone else for that matter. Both were stuck in their own little world and the only out was for one of them to fall to the other.

Oscar and Yuki froze midair, for but a couple of seconds, their bodies glowing in a violet hue. The light focused on both of their right arms and it started to expand to take distinct shape. The light figure growing out of Yuki's arm took the shape of the bird and Oscar's became an expanded fist. Both creations grew to the size of half their bodies. Both used the Moon Bounce to launch themselves at each other, creating a sonic boom. They reached other in an instant and were about to clash when…

RING!

"Stop!" In the blink of an eye, Lilia appeared in between of her two subordinates clash and stuck both of her hands out in their faces to stop them. At the sound of their captain's voice, both of them instantly stopped. Their bodies stopped glowing and the miasma disappeared, causing their eyes to return to their normal color. Both froze in their punching stances."times up."

"What…?" Yuki blinked in confusion, as if she had forgotten how she had arrived where she was. She jumped when she realized that she was pointing her fist at her master, who still had both palms facing Yuki and Oscar, and immediately pulled it back. Oscar did the same, also forgetting the point of the fight. "Times up…? Oh, right, there was a time limit…"

"Right, there was that," Oscar muttered, as he descended back to the ground with the other two women.. Incidentally, his hair, oddly, returned to its original afro shape. "I guess it's no contest?"

"No contest?!" Some of them shouted. They were annoyed by the sudden interruption of the intense fighting just as it was getting to its climax. So much so that they forgot who they were complaining to.

"You can't just call 'no contest' like that!" Usopp shouted from up above.

"Yeah, that was a man's battle!" Chopper cheered, equally angry. "You can't just interrupt a man's fight!"

"Um… I'm a girl," Yuki said far too softly by those up above.

"Yeah, mom, who cares if the time is up!" Luffy yelled. "Just let them continue."

"Yuki was about to get her face rearranged!" Leoha added.

"There's still more to see!"

"Let them fight!"

"Let them fight!"

"Let them fight!"

"Times up." Lilia said again, with a tone that left no room for argument and implied that anyone who dared to argue would receive great pain.

"S-Sorry…" The ones who protested said obediently, returning to their senses.

"Hahaha… it was pretty much impossible for a fight between those two to be decided in just three minutes anyway," Ellie said.

"That's true," Nagika nodded. "Without a time limit, it isn't unlikely for those two could go at it for days. It was idiotic to believe otherwise."

"But what about our bets!" One of the men whined. He could have one big if Yuki had kicked butt.

"Like I said, idiotic," she shrugged. "Well, Ridge, guess it's our turn."

"What?" He forgot that there were still two more fights to go and he and Nagika were next. He felt anxious about that, to say the least… "Right, we are."

"I'll see you down below," she said before leaping fearlessly off the platform with enough speed that she looked like a blur and landed gracefully on her feet. "Nice fight, you two."

"Thank you, Nagika-san," Yuki said. "But, honestly, I'm a bit frustrated."

"Yeah, me too," Oscar nodded. He had gotten so into it too. He still had more to show, as he was sure Yuki did as well. Darn, the girl sure came along way in these past 5 years.

"This wasn't a contest to decide who was stronger," Lilia said. "It was a show. Remember?"

"Yeah, but still…" Yuki mumbled. Too be honest, she had a lot of fun. It was sort of weird. She wasn't always a battle maniac. Back on the streets, her only obsession was to be fast enough to outrun the merchants that chased her. Now, she held a deep seated pride in her fighting ability. She changed?

"Luffy got to see your cool side. You might've charmed him a bit."

"...That doesn't sound too bad," Yuki said, lightly blushing.

'She sure is easy when it comes to her crush,' Oscar and Nagika thought in unison. At that moment, Ridge leaped down to the ground, causing a dust cloud to get in the others faces.

"I'm ready," the giant man announced.

"I hope you get killed," Yuki said blankly.

"Hey!"

"No… I hope Nagika-san cuts you to ribbons."

"Stop saying that!"

"Alright, alright," Lilia said, clapping loudly. "Let's get started already. Yuki, Oscar, be anywhere else but here. Nagi-chan, Ridge. Get ready."

"Yes, Master," Yuki said.

"Yes, Captain Lilia," Oscar said. Both he and Yuki leaped up to the hovering platform speedily. Both received energetic congratulations from the spectators.

"Okay," Nagika sighed.

"Understood," Ridge said getting in position.

"Begin."

Ridge moved with surprising speed for his mountainous size and smacked Nagika with his iron hammer. Nagika blocked it with her nails, which instantly grew out to the length of a person's forearm. The shock wave generated from their clash sent the sand fly and caused the earth to tremble at their feet.

As the Straw Hats and others were in awe of the power of the third and sixth ranked Demonic Six, Yuki explained that Nagika had the power of the Claw-Claw Fruit. It gave her the power to grow her nails like claws. Her claws were strong enough to tear through steel. It was truly a lethal devil fruit power.

They continued this same pattern for most of the duration of their 3-minute fight. It was almost boring when compared to Yuki and Oscar's bout, however, both of them were certainly strong. Nagika was matching Ridge's strength, despite being less than half his size. Meanwhile, Ridge was not merely relying on his strength and size, like so many with his build tend to do, but also utilizing well sharpened technique.

Now, with less than ten seconds left, both triggered their gifts, encased their bodies in the darkness, and struck their final attacks. Ridge swung his hammer at the side of Nagika's head. At the same time, a nail shot up diagonally at Ridge's abdominal from straight out of the sand.

"Stop." Lilia ordered. Both her subordinate's froze the instant she made her call. Ridge stopped his hammer a mere 3 centimeters from Nagika's head. At the same time, the nail that shot up from the sand stopped less than an inch from Ridge's gut. "Another draw. Not that I'm surprised, but this time it would've been another kind of draw had the timer not run out."

True. If Ridge's hammer had landed its mark, then Nagika might have died or even been bludgeoned, and if the nail had hit its mark, then Ridge would have died from impalement. It truly was a draw.

"Not really," Nagika shrugged. "Obviously, I wouldn't have pierced Ridge. Obviously, I was going to stop myself at the last second."

"And I wasn't going to bash Nagika-san's head in or anything," Ridge assured. "But… Damn. I thought I was going to die for a second there. No more than a second."

"Same with me," she admitted. "Ridge."

"Yes, maim?"

"You know… I have an eidetic memory, right?"

"Yeah. It's pretty ironic since-"

"Don't make that joke. It's been done to death and you're better than that. Anyway, my point is that I will never forget anything. Everything I experience remains fresh in my brain as if it happened a second ago. Usually, that is a good thing, but sometimes it makes it difficult to change my opinions of people once their formed. When you first joined eight years ago, I honestly thought you weren't cut out for the Demon Unit. After all, we fight some of the most dangerous pirates and rogues on the sea. If your weak, then you'll die tragically to them. But you got stronger as you trained with us, but when Redge was killed back then, I still didn't think you were a right replacement for him in the Six. I thought Lily-chan was just being sentimental towards you because you lost your big brother, but I was wrong. It wasn't a mistake. You earned your spot with the Six."

"N-Nagika-san…" Ridge choked, feeling overwhelming emotions welling up in his throat. He thought the things Nagika said were true once as well. Even now, that kernel of self doubt existed in the back of his head. He didn't think he could live up to his big brother's legacy, but he kept trying to do that. Now, one of the strongest and most respected in the Demon Unit was giving him her approval.

"I'm sorry, Ridge. I looked down on you once, but no more. The things you've done since becoming a Demonic Six member have forced me to change my opinion of you and this fight has cemented it. You are strong, Ridge. Of that, I have no doubt."

"She's right, Ridge," Lilia said, grinning. "You belong with us. One day, Nagi-chan, Rizen and I may have to leave the unit, but with you four, I know the Demon Unit is in good hands. You are the weight of the Demon Unit."

"Captain! Nagika-san!" Ridge was unable to hold back his tears and sobbed out the names of the most respected women in the Unit. He rubbed his teary eyes vigorously with his big right arm, but the tears would not stop. He absolutely hated how emotional he could get, but he has been like this since he was a kid. It was a personality "Thank you."

"Why is that big guy crying?" Usopp asked as he saw Ridge weeping into his arm. "Why are you two crying?"

"Because I heard it!" Nami and Yuki snapped, tears falling from their eye lids. Both of them, with their excellent hearing, could hear what Nagika and Lilia said to Ridge. Although Nami did not have the complete complete context of the situation, she heard that Ridge's brother died and that he earned the respect of such respectable and powerful women. She didn't understand why, but it all made her into a sobbing mess. Was it because this was her mother's old unit? Or did she just sympathize with Ridge?

"Darn it, I hate that that big oaf can get this kind of reaction out of me," Yuki sobbed. She turned to Nami, as if just realizing she was sobbing too. "You mean, you heard it, too, Nami-chan? Despite the height?"

"I-I've had strong hearing for as long I can remember," Nami choked. "I don't really know why."

"Oh."

"Does what they were referring to have anything to do with why Ellie-san was crying before?"

"Death is natural," Ellie said before Yuki could respond. "It will happen to everyone, obviously. I've seen it happen a lot since I enlisted, but I'm still not used to it. I refuse to get used to it. I feel like if I do, then I'll become something I don't want to be. I'd hate that.

"I don't know exactly what it was you heard, Nami-chan, but the answer to your quest is probably yes. I loved Bellemere-senpai, but my outburst was more related to something that happened before. That said, I'm still broken hearted over her death that's the truth. I'm sick of everyone's death. I don't want it to keep happening. So, I guess I'll just have to get stronger. So much so that no one else will need to die." She said it so confidently, that everyone could almost believe it. "Well, I guess it's my time to shine. You ready, Rizen-san?"

"Aye," Rizen said. "For what?"

"Oi," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Our fight."

"Oh, that. Yes, definitely. Good luck, Emmy."

"How much you wanna bet he'll forget that this is practice and accidentally kill me?" She muttered with a grim expression. "Wish me luck."

Ellie leaped down.

"Here," Rizen said, giving two hankies to Nami and Yuki. "Clean yourselves off with these."

"Thank you," they said, accepting the gift.

"By the way, why do i have hankies?"

They sighed. "How should we know?"

He shrugged and then leaped off the platform.

"He's an odd one," Nami said, cleaning herself with the hanky he gave her.

"I can't deny that," Yuki said. "But he's charming and great. Also, he's really fatherly."

"Yeah, it's been awhile since I was treated like that."

"What about me, Nami-swan?!" Sanji cried.

"It's been awhile since a man was nice to me like that without any ulterior motive. Honestly, I'm a bit charmed."

"No, I should've had a hanky on me!" Sanji cried. "I'm so dumb!"

"Can't argue with that," Zoro said.

"You wanna go, Moss Head?!"

"Bring it, Love Cook!"

"Quit it," Shauna said. "I know I said we'd catch you if you fell, but it's better to not fall!"

"Rizen The Saint Swordsman… he's certainly a famous one," Robin muttered.

"He looks it, but is he really strong?" Chopper asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe, kid," Kureto said. "No doubt, he's the strongest man we've got."

"Well, I don't know about the strongest," Oscar said. "But, yeah, he's amazing."

"He's the Navy's strongest swordsman," Ren said.

"I've never seen Uncle Rizen fight seriously before, but Ace used to challenge him a lot when we were kids, but he could never win," Luffy explained. "I don't think I could win against Uncle Rizen right now. He's wicked strong."

"He's that strong!?" Usopp yelped, thinking about how powerful Ace was.

"They also say that he's the closest one to defeating Hawkeye Mihawk and become the world's greatest," Shauna explained.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for that piss poor memory of his, he'd be basically perfect," Tom laughed. "He does things with gusto, that's for sure."

"It's his fiancee that really intimidates me, honestly," Franky admitted. "How'd you even get on her bad side anyway, Tom?"

"Oh, well, the unit is divided into six divisions led by each of the Six, and I'm under Nagika, who is in charge of the support team like Kureto and I. I guess I kind of got under her skin when I first joined."

"That's one hell of a lady's skin to get under, bro."

"I meant to ask this before, but why did a nail pop out of the sand like that?" Nami asked. "That was apart of her power, right?"

"Yes," Yuki nodded. "You see, Nagika-san's devil fruit is awakened."

"Awakened?"

"It means that her power can affect her surroundings, not just her own body. As you can see, it is an extremely lethal ability. Awakening is a rare power that only occurs in a few fruits."

"Scary," the weakling trio shivered. Imagine how easy it would be to be killed if the opponent had a power like that.

"Definitely, she and that Ridge guy are really skilled," Zoro said. "The first fight was flashy, but those two really highlighted their techniques."

"Yeah, Aunt Nagika is great, ain't she?" Luffy smiled. "But that Ellie lady is really interesting, I think."

"Oh, what makes you think that, Luffy?" Robin asked.

"Don't know," he shrugged. "I like the way she thinks, I guess."

"In my opinion... " Yuki said, almost whisperingly. "Ellie-san is the most impressive of the Demonic Six."

"Huh?" Everyone looked at Yuki, confused by her meaning.

"Everyone is amazing, but she's impressive. She's the only one of us, of any of us, that has a normal background. She didn't grow up on the streets, she wasn't a pirate, or an underground fighter, or a pirate, or even a dojo brat. There was that pirate attack on her village, but she's the only normal person here. She came here just as an ordinary girl surrounded by people with harsh backgrounds, worked hard, and became one of the Demonic Six. It's impressive."

"When you put it like that…" Nami sighed, looking down at Ellie. "It really is something."

"I agree, Yuki," Oscar nodded. "She's worked hard. Honestly, I worked my hardest because I didn't want to lose to her."

"She doesn't like the name, but I think Wonder Girl suits her," Yuki said. "Her ability to work hard is a wonder."

"Alright, Ridge, you should stop crying," Ellie said, patting the large man on his back.

"I-I'm trying!"

"Here, Ridge," Rizen said, giving him a hanky.

"Thanks, man."

"By the way, why do I have hankies?"

"How should I know?"

"Okay, Nagi-chan and Ridge. Clear out so we can finish things," Lilia ordered, clasping her hands.

"Got it," Nagika nodded, turning her gaze to Rizen and Ellie. "Good luck, both of you."

"Thanks, Nagika-san," Ellie smiled.

"You fought well, Nagika," Rizen said, approaching his lover and kissing her lips, earning cheers from the Demon Unit, an anguished cry from Sanji, and a jealous kick from Lilia to Nagika.

"What was that for?!" Nagika snapped.

"If I can't kiss Dragon, you two can't get all lovey dovey in front of me."

"Don't blame me that you married the world's Most Wanted Man!"

"Funny, you were the one who told me to pursue him, despite things, remember?"

"I-I never thought things would end up like this…" she mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

"Well, whatever, just go. We need to finish this."

"Yes, Captain," Nagika said meekly before leaping up to the platform.

"Funny how she only calls me captain when it's convenient," Lilia humored.

"I'll go to," Ridge said before wishing them both luck.

"Yeesh, not surprising, but marrying the Revolutionary Leader is complicated, huh," Ellie said. She jumped when she saw the annoyed expression on Rizen's face. "Something wrong, Rizen-san?"

"It's nothing," he said, his expression still sour. "I just… don't care fro Dragon much."

'Rizen-san doesn't like Dragon-sama?' Yuki thought, shocked at what she heard. She turned to Nami, who also heard what Rizen said. She also looked confused 'But why?'

"What's wrong now?" Luffy asked.

"Nothing!" Yuki and Nami said together, confusing Luffy. For now, they thought they shouldn't say anything until more information presented itself."

"Okay…"

"Okay, this is the last bout," Lilia announced. Both Ellie and Rizen spread out and faced each other with serious expressions. They were going to go all out from the very start. "Make it good."

"Yes, Captain!" They both declared.

"Okay! 3… 2… 1… go!"

In the first fight, Yuki and Oscar used their gifts in the middle. In the second, Ridge and Nagika activated it at the very end, but Rizen and Ellie chose to activate it at the very start.

This made Lilia move. She dashed in front of the Demon Unit's and Straw Hat's ships. She created a tall wall of miasma to defend them from the shockblast that would occur in a moment.

Rizen focused the darkness onto his gigantic sword, which he had unsheathed swiftly, despite its size. He readied a slash.

Elliie concentrated all of the darkness onto her right leg. She readied a kick.

"Akuma Slash!"

"Black Charged Tempest Kick!"

The two released powerful, tower sized air slashes that clashed and explode on contact like a bomb. The other four of the Demonic Six created a black shield with their own gifts to protect the spectators from the power that would blast them all away.

"Those two idiots went too far!" Nagika raged.

The clash created a cloud of sand that would've lasted for a lot longer than 3 minutes if Lilia hadn't used her wings to blow the clouds away. She descended swiftly down in between her two powerful subordinates.

"Okay, stop! No contest!" Lilia shouted. "No more. Honestly, I thought it was obvious that you shouldn't destroy the entire island for a sparring session!"

"Did we do bad?" They both asked innocently.

"Yes! You completely leveled this island."

Just as Lilia said, the entire foreseeable area of the island was leveled by their clash. And it was just a single blow from each of them. Obviously, the Straw Hats were shocked like never before.

"You're lucky that no one lives here… but at least our strength was shown. So, mission accomplished, everyone."

Power, technique, and overwhelming destructive power. The D6 has got it all. You all are probably thinking "Warp, this is too OP!". You maybe right, but the D6 are the secret weapon meant to counter Yonko-level threats. Are you impressed? Also, what happened to Ridge's brother Redge? Why does Rizen not like Dragon? What happened in the recent past of the Demon Unit? Just as more questions get answered, more questions get asked.

Also, please consider donating to my gofundme. I will also put a link on my profile.

Until next time, my beloved readers. Hopefully not in another 1.5 years.