A/N : I'm sorry it took so much time to update... Four or five days, I'm not sure. I'll try to do better. But for once I'm pretty happy with the chapter. Speaking of that, Hikaru wrote one of the scenes in this chapter, so she gets full credit for this scene. I won't tell which one it is though - guess if you can, and I'll tell you if you guessed right.
Thanks to all my reviewers. There's nothing more exciting than to get reviews and read 'em. And big thanks for the cookies, Kez-o ;)
Special thanks to Hikaru, for so much more than just beta-reading.
Chapter 29
Winslow's fleet was really impressive, but as they drew closer, Zoro noticed at once they didn't have any cohesion. It was nothing like the Marine fleet, in which each ship held his position and was placed at the exact spot where it would do the most damage to the enemy. No, it was just a bunch of pirates obeying one egomaniac guy, not a real striking force. Still, disciplined or not, they still completely outnumbered the other fleet. On the other hand, they had Mihawk on their side, Zoro thought. He still remembered vividly the creaking of the wooden hulls when the swords master had effortlessly sliced in half Don Krieg's flagship, and, according to Gin, he had done the same to most of Don Krieg's fleet. Then again, Krieg hadn't been such a powerful pirate, and whoever Winslow had gathered were bound to be potentially stronger, since they had likely been sailing on Grand Line before they were recruited. In any case, the battle certainly wasn't desperate.
Their weakest point was maybe the Marines. Most of them would be useless in a fight of that scale. Well, all right, they could take care of the worthless opponent and clear the way, but that was about it. Except maybe Smoker and-Zoro's cheeks flushed at the thought-Tashigi. She did know how to hold a sword...Curiously, though, the idea of seeing her fight and possibly get hurt bothered him.
C'mon, she's a damned Marine! What do I care if she dies?
Dismissing his confused thoughts, the green-haired man turned his attention back on the fleet facing them. All of the ships under Winslow's orders hoisted his flag, which would make it easier to recognize them in the middle of the battle. But Zoro was looking for one ship in particular-one he didn't manage to see yet, no matter how much he searched.
"Here-take this." It was Shanks, who had silently come behind him, now offering him a spyglass.
"Thanks." Zoro grabbed the instrument and looked again. Even with the help of the spyglass, however, he had trouble spotting his own crew. "Darn, I can't see... ah!" he had a groan of satisfaction as he recognized the familiar shape of the sails adorned with a straw hat Jolly Roger.
"Where are they?" Shanks' fingers were fidgety, the red-haired man obviously itched to snap the spyglass from Zoro and see by himself.
"Behind," Zoro said tersely. "They probably can't see us yet."
"We'll have to reach them." Mihawk had just come behind, his black sword strapped on his back as usual. He ignored the covetous look his green-haired rival had for said sword. "If we don't want to fight them, we'll have to show them you are well and alive."
"Oh joy," Ben sighed. He had been silent until then, but now, seated on a barrel, he shook his head wryly. "Now we'll have to cross the whole fleet to get to them... I'm getting too old for that. So what are the orders, cap'n?"
"You're not old, just a killjoy," Shanks teased him, then became serious. It was uncanny, how he could look so much like a kid, and the next second be all grown-up and mature. "Let's not scheme anything too convoluted...The most simple plan is always the best. Let's charge in the middle and let Whitebeard and the Marines take care of the rest."
"Indeed," Mihawk commented mockingly. "A simple plan. Just charge in the middle."
"Well, it's not like we can go round them, can we?" Shanks shrugged. "They'd realize what we're doing at once. So there's only one way to Luffy. Besides, the shortest way from one point to the other is always a straight line."
Zoro closed his eyes. So that was why Luffy had always weird, simple-minded ideas. Shanks had had an awful influence on the kid. On the other hand, it wasn't like himself had any better idea...
"Have your way," Mihawk relented, "but if your ship sinks, don't blame me."
"Ha! It won't sink," his red-haired friend grinned. "Okay, well, I'll take the enemies in the front, you can take the ones on the port side, and Zoro can take the starboard side. My crew will steer the ship towards Luffy's and have some fun with the guns."
Zoro nodded wordlessly. This plan, as overly straightforward as it might be, seemed as if it could actually work. Both swordsmen took their shift, as the Millennium Dragon came closer to Winslow's fleet with each passing second. The green-haired man suddenly realized he was fighting back to back with Mihawk - he had never thought it might ever happen. But he knew at least one thing; he would trust the amber-eyed man with his life, if it ever came to it.
"Cap'n," he heard the fat crewman-what was his name? Lucky something...- behind him as he came to reach the captain. "Whitebeard and the Marines sent a flag message-they're asking what we're up to."
Hardly refraining a snigger, Zoro heard Shanks' soft chuckle. "Well, tell them," came the reply, "We'll let them have their fun while Zoro and I go get back something that belongs to us."
It was rather funny to picture Luffy holding a sign showing "property of Roronoa Zoro and Red-haired Shanks,"but the green-haired man tried to focus on the task at hand. They were now close enough of the enemy fleet to see clearly the faces of the crews onboard the first line of ships. He felt the blood and the adrenalin rush in his veins at the idea of the incoming battle, and he couldn't deny he liked the exaltation of the fight. He liked to use his skills at the best of his abilities, knowing that any mistake might cost him his life. Maybe he would have become a pirate anyway, even if Luffy had not found him. Or maybe not, it was hard to tell, but he loved this life, this freedom, and he was going to get it back, and each and every man who stood in his way was going to suffer the consequences. A vicious grin twisted the swordsman's lips, as he drew his sword, and there was a metallic sound as the blades slid effortlessly in the sheathes. Zoro clenched his teeth on the white hilt of Kuina's sword and he stood, a weapon in each hand. He was ready.
By now, the first ships of the enemy fleet had finally realized that the Millennium Dragon was not going to stop, and there was a commotion on the deck as they tried to move their own ships so as to avoid a collision. Too late. Zoro hoped the hull of the Dragon was heavily built, because otherwise Mihawk's warning might come true. But Shanks probably knew his ship better than anyone else, and if he said it was all right...on the other hand, if he was like Luffy, he might not even have considered the possibility of the hull splitting because of the shock.
He noticed that Shanks, like Mihawk, had drawn his weapons as well. Was he planning to split the other ships in two? Was he even able to do it? As good a swordsman as Shanks might be, his sword was far from being as powerful as the black sword...
It turned out that was not needed. The ship closest to them was halfway through its turning motion when the Dragon bumped into his vulnerable flank, and the bow of Shanks' ship bit deeply in the enemy vessel. Zoro heard shouts as the crew tried to react, but there was really very little they could do but embark in dinghies if they had some and try to get as far away as they could before someone dealt them the final blow-either the Marines for being on Winslow's side, or Winslow for failing him so pitifully.
Now, the Millennium Dragon was in the middle of the enemy fleet, completely surrounded. A few days or weeks ago, Zoro would have been certain they were in deep trouble, but now, he just looked with detachment at their enemies. They weren't going to understand what hit them...At this very same moment, the guns thundered, and cannonballs started to fly over and over. Zoro cut several of them in half, effortlessly. Shanks' gunners were doing a good job, and the green-haired man saw clearly one of the enemy ship start to sink, as waves poured over its waterline.
The fight turned to a mêlée, with utter and complete confusion. Many pirates from other ships tried to jump onboard the Dragon and deal with the newcomers directly-after all, there was just this one ship in the middle of their lines, how dangerous could they be? They had probably thought it would be easy to get rid of this bother and then they could deal with Whitebeard's ship and the Marines. They were sorely mistaken. As he swirled around to get rid of a few guys who mistakenly thought they could call themselves swordsmen, Zoro saw Ben and Yasopp out of the corner of his eye. The black-haired first mate was twirling his gun like a club and left only wounded and dead in his wake. Yasopp fired his gun and reloaded it faster than Zoro would have thought possible. Lucky was doing well too, moving surprisingly fast for someone as bulky as he was, with the same grin as usual plastered on his face.
However, the battle turned to a panic when the attackers eventually recognized just who it was they were fighting. The green-haired swordsman heard random shouts, and grinned. "That's Red-hair!" someone yelled. "And Hawk-Eyes! And the Pirate Hunter!" Another voice wailed. "They were supposed to have disappeared!"
Obviously, Winslow had boasted in front of his men. That explained why they hadn't been afraid to attack Shanks' ship, and now it was too late for them to back down. Still, some of them fled, and no one tried to stop them; there were enough enemies for everyone onboard the Dragon, and more.
"Cowards! Get back here at once! Afraid of a moss head brat?!" someone roared, not far from Zoro, and the swordsman squinted to see who it was while absent-mindedly knocking out another man. The man who had just shouted was very tall, and very fat, even Lucky would appear thin, compared to that one. He was wielding an impressive looking axe, and twirled it down, the sharp weapon biting deeply in the wood of the deck. Some of the attackers listened to him and made an effort to recover some lost ground. Shanks turned his attention from the fight to glare at the offender.
"Hey, be careful with my ship!" he snapped, but his current foe was probably stronger than he looked, for the red-haired man ducked just in time to keep in head on his shoulders; a few strands of his hair weren't as lucky.
Mihawk stepped forward, assuming a slightly curious look, but Zoro was faster.
"This one's mine," the swordsman snarled testily. He was not going to let anyone call him a 'moss head brat'. It was bad enough that the stupid love-cook called him such names without other people doing it as well. Besides, Zoro liked his hair color, and they'd do well to remember it.
Mihawk shrugged, obviously not intent on fighting with Zoro over such a petty matter, and he got back to his happy destroying of enemy ships. Maybe Zoro should have told him to leave some of them for Whitebeard and the Marines.
The fat man appraised the green-haired man in a quick glance, then shook his head. "I don't fight kids," he said, adding insult to injury.
"Whoever said I was a kid?" Zoro snarled, as he crossed two of his blades together. The fat man seemed to quickly understand that he wouldn't get away that easily, and he shrugged. "Fine, but don't come complaining after you're dead."
The swordsman's sole answer was a grim smile.
"The name's Bulky Baron," the fat man added.
"What?" Zoro stared at him, bewildered. "I don't care about your name!"
"I was only being polite." Then, without a warning, he swung his axe, and the swordsman jumped back just in time to avoid being cut in half. With a low growl, the green-haired man tensed, and dashed at this Baron guy. He expected to be rid of him with this one attack, but he quickly lost this illusion; the edge of his blades met only the metal of the huge axe, and with a metallic thud Zoro's sabers were fended off. He jumped backward, just enough to see easily the big shape of his foe. Baron laughed heartily.
"You're too hasty, kid. You didn't even try," he taunted.
The swordsman narrowed his eyes, but didn't take the bait. Instead, he got ready for another attack. After all, he had three weapons, and this man only one, so he should be able to...the memory of Mihawk fighting him off with a ridiculous paper knife struck him. All right, so maybe the numbers didn't count-or maybe just a little. But he was still stronger than this man, and he would prove it. However, before Zoro had time to strike again, Baron took the offensive, and this time Zoro wasn't quick enough. He had been too distracted, not focused enough, and he now paid it with a deep cut on his shoulder. He had evaded most of the blow, though, and fortunately for him, for the spot where he had been standing was now an open hole with splinters of wood scattered everywhere. The swordsman heard an indignant yell of protest.
"Zoro, I swear, if this guy damage my ship anymore, I'll kill you myself!"
The younger man didn't bother glaring at the red-haired pirate who had uttered the threat, instead focusing on the fat man still facing him, and who was laughing with mirth after hearing Shanks' shout. The size of the axe was proving to be a problem, Zoro thought. It was terribly efficient, and tougher than it should be-his swords didn't even leave a scratch on it! And now that he looked closer at it, it didn't quite look like steel. Was it sea granite or something of the sort?
He would need to be faster than his foe, but in spite of his bulk, the man was terribly swift. With enough cunning, maybe...Zoro jumped on the left, studying his foe's reaction to the move. Baron followed easily, facing the swordsman at all time. The green-haired pirate needed to get closer so as to strike, but it wasn't easy with the threat of the axe looming over him. He would have to take a chance if he got closer...he glanced at his arms. It had been a close call. Had he been just a little bit slower, he would have become just like Shanks, one-armed. Well, the red-haired pirate sure seemed to manage well enough, but still. On the other hand, since when did the risk of injury stop him?
Zoro rushed at the fat man, and he lowered his axe to hit the running swordsman. But at the last moment, the green-haired man jumped, leaning on the axe to help him jump high enough, and he struck with all his might. Baron ended up with too deep cuts on his shoulders, rendering him completely unable to move his hands, and the axe fell from his now limp fingers.
A victorious grin etched on his face, Zoro turned to see how his friends were doing. Both seemed to have faced strong enemies, judging from the blood pouring from a cut on Shanks' chest and the sweat visible on Mihawk's face, but now the deck was more or less clear. Well, it was covered by bodies, and the wood was drenched in blood, but apart from that no more threats appeared.They had crossed Winslow's fleet, and now arrived close to the Going Merry.
"Seems like we did it," Shanks commented, looking as Zoro did in the direction of Luffy's ship. Then suddenly, the red-haired man's eyes widened in horror, alarming his friends. "Look out!" he shouted a warning. "Incoming Luffy Rocket!"
Zoro's eyes widened as well, for he knew all too well about the questionable accurateness of Luffy's rockety jumps-he had had to suffer often enough from them. But the warning had come too late, and he didn't have time to step out of the way before he was hit by a human-sized elastic. The potency of the impact sent both men crash on the deck, Luffy on top of Zoro, and for a second the green-haired man could see nothing but stars and a grin so big that it seemed to eat all of his captain's face.
"Zorooooooo!"
The swordsman flushed slightly. He was happy as well to see Luffy, and he didn't even mind the rough landing that much, but if his captain could avoid to do that in front of Mihawk, of all things...Then, Zoro shrugged. Never mind Mihawk, never mind what people might think. He accepted whole-heartedly the hug, pushing Luffy back only when he found he really did need to breath.
Fortunately for him, the bouncing captain turned his attention on Shanks next, and Zoro grinned as he saw, judging from the red-haired man's face, that he knew perfectly how it was going to end. And indeed, Luffy threw himself at him, arms stretched. The one armed man might have fallen had Ben not been standing behind, and because of that the black-haired first mate got included, in spite of himself, in the gigantic hug. He didn't seem to really mind, though.
"Shaaaaaanks!"
The red-haired man happy laughter echoed with Luffy's excited shout, as he tried to regain his balance with the rubber boy's arm wrapped around him. It was awfully cute, and Zoro found himself grinning fondly. He glanced at Mihawk, who tried to look stern and uninterested, but by now he knew the swords master well enough to tell he was glad too, even if he would die before he admitted it. The Red-haired crew seemed to have mixed feelings-they remembered all too well Luffy's harsh, cold and uncaring words, but they really couldn't stay angry at him after they saw him hug Shanks like that. Most of them guffawed at the scene of their captain, prisoner in the arms of the kid.
Meanwhile, the Going Merry was steering closer, and soon the caravel came side to side with Shanks' bigger ship. The Straw Hat crew jumped onboard, except Nami who stayed onboard to make sure the ship didn't drift, but she waved at Zoro with a smile. He didn't mind her staying behind, because he was fairly sure the first thing she would say would be about this money he still owed her. Chopper was smiling, although he hid shyly behind Robin, not used to being around so many dangerous and bloodthirsty pirates, so to speak. Sanji did his best to appear grumpy, but he didn't look too unhappy to have Zoro back. He probably missed having someone to insult. And next to Robin...the swordsman's eyes widened. Was that Norrington? Yes, no mistakes. No one else would be wearing a totally ruined wig with this stiff look on their face. And he looked quite comfortable with Robin. Just what had happened while Zoro was away?
Usopp had come too, but although he looked pleased to see Zoro back-probably because he could hide behind him during the next fight, the swordsman thought snidely, although somewhat fondly-the tension between him and Yasopp was obvious. The senior marksman looked away, although the green-haired man could tell he was dying to hug his son just like Luffy had hugged both Zoro and Shanks. It wasn't the moment to deal with that, though, and besides it was none of Zoro's business, thank you very much. He had had enough of all this as it was.
Luffy finally let go of Shanks. He had hugged him longer than Zoro, and the swordsman tried not to get jealous over something that petty, but he had not seen him in ten years, while the green-haired man had been away for hardly a few weeks.
At this point, Norrington cleared his throat, rather loudly. Robin smacked him slightly on the arm for his lack of patience, and he shrugged. At any rate, he now had the attention of Luffy and Shanks.
"Oh, that's right!" the younger captain exclaimed. "I promised you we'd free this Sparrow guy when Zoro's back."
"Glad to see you made it, commodore," Shanks said. He hadn't been very close to Norrington, but they still had been in the same boat-figuratively and literaly-for several days, and that counted for something. Then, the red-haired man frowned. "Sparrow, you say? You know where he is?"
"Yup, he's Winslow's prisoner," Luffy informed him.
"Good!" Shanks grinned. "That way, we can take care of Winslow while we free Sparrow."
"So we head to his flagship?" Ben queried.
They all turned to have a look at the battle, still raging. Whitebeard seemed to be alleviating his tenseness by cheerfully tearing apart enemy ships, and the Marines were doing fairly well too. Winslow's flagship was not in the middle of the battle, but there was still some fighting going on onboard-one of the Marine ship had headed in that direction. Of course, Ayrton was eager to get rid of this threat to the World Government, so he could get promoted or whatever. But he would have to take his turn if he wanted a shot at Winslow, because a lot of people did as well.
"Right," Shanks nodded. "Let's go there and finish it once and for all."
The wind was blowing in the right direction, and they weren't very far away from the flagship, so it took hardly any time at all for the Millennium Dragon to reach it, followed by the Going Merry. Shanks instructed his crew to "mind the ship and have fun," while he, Mihawk, Zoro and the Straw Hat crew went to look for Sparrow, with Norrington tagging along. Everybody noticed the heartbreaking glance Yasopp cast his son, but no one was foolish enough to comment.
Winslow's flagship, a galleon, was fairly big, and the group hesitated, since they didn't know where exactly Jack would be kept prisoner. Luffy would have dashed forward, but Shanks caught his arm and waited until the stretched boy came back to him.
"Hey, let go!" Luffy whined, and Sanji sniggered.
"He's always like that when fighting," the cook told Shanks with a shrug. "You won't get him to listen to..."
"Luffy, no dashing forward," the red-haired pirate scolded the boy. "Wait at least to know where we're going."
"Okay, okay," the youth relented with a childish pout, and the Straw Hat crew gaped.
"I never managed to get him to listen to me," Nami grumbled with an astonished glance at Shanks. She knew he was important to Luffy, and she also knew why, but still...
"I wish we could keep the red-haired guy on the crew," Sanji whispered back. "Maybe he'd keep Luffy out of trouble."
"Believe me, you don't really want that," Zoro warned from behind them. "This guy is as much trouble as Luffy, if not more."
They both cast him a dubious glance, but didn't insist.
"So, where are we going?" a fidgety Luffy asked, oblivious to his crew's comments.
"In the holds," Norrington suggested. "That's where he's most likely to be." That's where he deserves to be, said the commodore's face, but no one pushed it up.
Shanks nodded and released Luffy. They all followed the impatient captain through the hatch, fighting off members of Winslow's crew as they kept going forward. They met no one of real stature, and arrived fairly easily down in the holds. Then, they tried several doors, looking hastily inside for any sign of a long-haired pirate with a braided beard. Of course, they found him in the very last room. Or rather, they found a locked door, which was a dead give-away. A few slashes on Zoro's part later, the door fell to the ground in three different pieces, and they came inside. At first, they saw nothing, then at last, they were able to make out a still figure lying on the ground.
Norrington stepped forward and knelt beside his avowed enemy. He felt slightly bitter to have to do that, but without Sparrow he wasn't very likely to ever get back to the Caribbean. As unbearable, smug and...and...unlawful as Sparrow might be, he was also the only familiar person in this mad place. It was better than nothing. The commodore felt his pulse warily- he more or less expected the pirate to jump on his feet at any given moment and make fun of Norrington's surprise, but nothing such happened. Then, at last, Sparrow stirred and opened his dark eyes.
"Took you long enough," he mumbled weakly.
"Such a pity. I was having fun, here," another voice said from the shadows. Everybody turned in that direction, but all they could see was a medium-heightedand thin figure, aside from the mocking voice.
"Fun?" Zoro repeated inquisitively.
"Anyway," the voice resumed, pretty much ignoring him, "leave the prisoner here and I will kindly let you leave unarmed."
The pirates shared a baffled look.
"You do realize you are outnumbered and surrounded, don't you?" Shanks asked carefully.
"Outnumbered? Don't think so." This time, the voice came from behind the pirates, on the other side of the room, and they swirled round to face the second newcomer. It was dark in the holds, and they couldn't very well make out his face, but he seemed to be wearing some kind of creepy-looking mask anyway. He appeared to be rather young, as far as it was possible to tell from the sound of his voice, but he exuded self-confidence.
"Okay, there are two of you now," Zoro commented, "but you're still outnumbered and..."
The words died on his lips as the second newcomer slowly transformed. His chest broadened, and his body lost its human appearance to become some kind of giant spider. Zoro winced. He didn't like spiders much. He wasn't afraid, of course - but these things were repellent. And this one was pretty big. How had this guy transformed into a spider anyway? Had he eaten a Zoan Devil's Fruit of some kind? The swordsman was getting ready to attack the thing, no matter what it was, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning slightly his head, he saw that it was - Mihawk?
"Don't bother." The swordsmaster's hawk-like eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, under the wide brim of his hat. "It's merely an illusion."
"How do you know?" Zoro asked in astonishment, casting another glance to the dire-looking spider, hesitant to believe him.
"There is no one else in the room," he replied simply. "I'm sure of that."
He brought his black sword to bear and lightly slashed at the spider. Surely enough, the blade came through the illusion as if there was nothing there and the spider dissipated. Embarrassed to have been deceived when Mihawk hadn't, Zoro flushed, thankful of the darkness reigning down there, and he turned back angrily in the direction from which the voice had come the first time.
"Show yourself!" he bellowed.
Someone stepped forward, looking exactly like the boy-turned-spider, and the swordsman hesitated. Was it an illusion as well? But Luffy didn't have these hesitations, and as impatient as ever, the rubber captain sent an outstretched arm in the general direction of the other boy. However, the masked youth proved to be faster than expected, and he stepped aside to dodge the blow. A blade seemed to appear on his arm out of nowhere, and he slashed at Luffy's arm viciously, inflicting a decent sized cut. Luffy yelped, more out of surprise than because he was hurt, but that was enough to make Shanks move. Too late, though; the boy had already moved to the end of the room, where Sparrow was still lying in Norrington's arms (and that might have been cute if the commodore's features hadn't been twisted in disgust).
"Seems like I won't be able to keep the prisoner, so I might as well kill him," the youth commented. "He's not so important anyway."
However, he had been careless; focusing his attention on the most dangerous men in the room, he had neglected to keep an eye on Norrington. The commodore had drawn his gun, and with an aim that would have made Yasopp proud, he fired at the masked youth. He tried to dodge, but he was too close. The bullet hit him in the flank, and he gasped, trying to catch his breath as blood poured from the wound. This time, it wasn't an illusion. He clutched at his injury with slightly trembling fingers; Zoro had been shot too in the past, and he knew the tremor was consequence of the shock. He more or less expected the youth to drop on the floor at this point, but he straightened himself and glanced at all the enemies now surrounding him. He was in deep trouble, yet he didn't panic-quite the contrary ; he let out a low chuckle, as if he found the situation very amusing.
"Things certainly aren't going well," he said. In Zoro's opinion, it was quite the understatement. "Best for me to retreat for now. I look forward to our next game."
"What? Wait!" the swordsman growled, although he didn't really expect the masked youth to listen to him. And indeed, he seemed to disappear in a swirl of wind, much to Zoro's dismay.
"Never mind that," Shanks commented, "he wasn't our target anyway. Now that we have Sparrow, we've gotta find Winslow...Commodore, can you bring Sparrow back to the ship?"
Everybody had taken to call Norrington by this rank, since that was how Jack addressed him. He nodded with an obvious lack of enthusiasm and, while tucking his now empty gun back in his belt, tried to help the pirate to his feet. Whatever the weird boy with the mask had been doing to Sparrow, it had to have been trying, for Jack supplied no witty remark to drive Norrington crazy, as he would have had he been in a better shape. Repeating firmly to himself that he didn't feel sorry in the least for the long-haired pirate, Norrington passed Jack's arm around his shoulders to get a hold of him.
Meanwhile, the group of pirate, Luffy in lead, left to look for Winslow. He had to be somewhere on his flagship, and when they found him, he'd regret the day he had decided to call himself the Pirate King.
However, as they ransacked the ship, they came to realize something was off. The few crewmen still onboard fought only half-heartedly, none of them a being a worthy opponent, and there was no sign of Winslow. Was he hiding? Yet, as time went by, Shanks, Zoro, Luffy and everyone finally came to the only possible, but dreadful conclusion. Winslow was no longer onboard, and no one had a clue where he might be. Same went for the masked youth, who was nowhere to be found. The only certitude was that, wherever they were, it was not in the vicinity.
Ayrton wasn't going to be happy.
"Winslow!"
Winslow turned as he was about to jump into the small boat he had 'procured' from the port of the island not a mile from the slaughtering of his forces. Sai came trudging out of the water, soaked to the bone and breathing heavily. A bullet wound on his left side was bleeding profusely and the young man looked about ready to pass out from blood loss and exhaustion. For once the black and white mask that usually hid his face was absent, and a pair of angry hazel eyes were attempting to bore holes into the other man. His hat was also missing, apparently not having survived the swim from Winslow's sinking ship.
Winslow sneered, "Don't tell me the almighty Sai lost to a wannabe Pirate King. Did you lose your mask too?"
Sai's eyes hardened further, and for once he was dead serious. "Give me my necklace," he said coldly, ignoring Winslow's words.
"Oh? The traitor is demanding his precious treasure back?" Winslow asked mockingly, taking a step towards the red-head.
"I've served you for months, and you agreed that if I listened to your stupid orders that you'd surrender my necklace! Now your fleet is being slaughtered and even with my help we'd never attain these numbers again without the government interfering. Give my necklace back and I will help stall the Marines so you can escape!" Sai shouted, ignoring the throbbing in his side.
A grin spread across Winslow's face and he shook his head. "Ah, but you didn't follow your previous order. You've obviously failed to keep informed of the Marine's moves, and they managed to follow us in spite of your efforts. You've failed me so I think I'll keep your little trinket as a memento. I never needed you to fulfill my goals, you just quickened my progress."
Growling, Sai suddenly dashed forward, a blade suddenly snapping out over his hand, ready to gut the man before him. With a sneer, Winslow vanished only to reappear right in front of the trickster and slam a fist into Sai's injured side. Eyes widening, Sai dropped with a small thump into the sand, clutching his wound. "You see, Sai," Winslow said, turning his back on the red head, "you're just not strong enough to defy me. You weren't when we first met, and you never will be."
Fighting off the black abyss of unconsciousness, Sai glared up at the retreating figure as he hopped into his boat. "Just wait, Winslow. I may not be able to beat you, but I know someone will." One of his maniacal grins spread across his face, "I'll make sure that you die one way or the other."
Winslow gave a mocking bow as the boat drifted further away. "Oh, I await the day that I can kill you in peace and I only regret that I do not have the time to finish you now." With a burst of cruel laughter Winslow departed, fleeing from the chaos and ruins of what was once his fleet and leaving a now unconscious Sai sprawled out on the beach.