Evading Jerry's relentless assault of punches, I waited for an opening before stepping forward and uppercutting him, crashing his head through the ceiling while the rest of his body lifelessly hung there. Seeing him not move, I got slightly worried and pulled him out of the ceiling, only to sigh in relief after checking him; he wasn't dead, just unconscious.
"Haa, that was close; I thought you were dead for a second." Muttered Grand with a slight smile as he picked up Jerry along with his unconscious partner and left the communications room, heading toward the agreed-upon meeting spot.
'Hope everyone else also had it as easy me; Jerry wasn't that strong, but he was a decently skilled boxer, though I doubt he was actually a boxing champion.' Mused Grand in slight worry as he ran down the halls, occasionally busting through the ship's walls.
After a few minutes of running, I arrived at the assigned location where the three of us would meet, and I was the first one there, which caused me to smirk as I'd beaten Scar; however, since I was the only one present, I figured a little patrolling wouldn't hurt.
'We're close to the room where the slaves are kept; I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I just took a few minutes to look around.' Thought Grand with a smirk as he set down the two bodies before grabbing the metal railing jutting out from the side of the wall and yanking it off.
Wrapping the metal railing around those two, making it tight to ensure they wouldn't escape, I ran down the left hall, heading right for the slave room, which didn't take too long to get to as I took a few shortcuts. Busting through the door, I walked from cage to cage, hoping to find Janet, yet all I saw were unconscious slaves I'd never seen before, though I was kind enough to rip off the metal bars binding them; if they managed to escape, good for them, otherwise they'd probably end up dying when Captain decides to sink the ship.
Looking through my thirty-seventh cage, I ripped the bars off and moved to the next one, only to freeze as I saw Janet lying on the ground like a sleeping beauty; destroying the cage, I crouched down and picked up Janet before heading back to the way I came, though it seemed like my movements had awakened her.
"Ahh, that was a wonderful nap; it's been a while since I've slept that well. I really needed that." Remarked Janet lightly as she stretched her body while yawning, oblivious that she was being carried.
"Haha, it's great to see you again, Janet!" Said Grand with a large smile and a loud, deep voice as he looked down at Janet, who glanced up at him in slight surprise.
"Eh, Grand? What are you doing here?" Asked Janet with a raised eyebrow as she curiously looked at Grand.
"For the raid, obviously; why else would I be here?" Remarked Grand with a chuckle while Janet nodded.
"Oh yeah, the raid; I completely forgot about that; I was too preoccupied with practicing my photography skills, and then all of a sudden, I fainted. Now, I'm in your arms." Said Janet with a thoughtful expression as she recounted everything from when Diddy left.
"You probably fainted because of Captain's haki, the Color of the Supreme King, or whatever he calls it. He's capable of defeating everyone but the strong with it." Replied Grand with a smirk as he started running back to the assigned spot, not wanting to be late since he had spent several minutes searching for Janet.
"Oh, cool. Anyways, how's the raid go-" Asked Janet with a nod, though her question answered itself as the entire ship suddenly trembled intensely.
"I'm assuming it's ongoing?" Added Janet with a wry smile while Grand laughed and nodded.
Once we made it back, not only were my two prisoners still there, but Scar was also present, along with four people and Trenza, who was looking rather worse for wear.
"Eh, Scar; is Trenza okay!?" Exclaimed Grand in worry as he set Janet down before running forward to examine Trenza.
"I don't know about okay, but she's alive, and that's all that matters currently; now we just need to wait for Father to arrive; it shouldn't be long now." Replied Scar with a frown as he tossed the dude he was carrying onto the ground before glancing at Trenza.
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"Well, I'll try to give her first aid while waiting. Tsk, I should've brought the first aid kit with me." Said Grand with a nod as he picked up Trenza and carefully placed her on the ground, ripping off pieces of his shirt to use as makeshift bandages.
"Hoho, you don't need to wait much longer; I would've arrived a little bit earlier, but I happened to run into a few obstacles." Stated Sebas from around the corner while floating behind him was a ball of twenty or so CP agents.
"Now then, I'd love to catch up with you three, especially you, Janet, but I need to make this quick; Captain is currently busy fighting 3 Vice-admirals, so I can't stay absent for too long. You three did a splendid job capturing all six." Added Sebas with a slight smile as he dropped the braindead CP agents and walked toward the six unconscious prisoners.
While tending to Trenza, Father went around between each of the six prisoners, reading their minds before essentially turning them into his slaves.
"Make sure to respond every hour that nothing is going wrong, understand?" Ordered Sebas lightly as he stood before the six people, who all nodded.
"Yes." Replied the six simultaneously with no emotion whatsoever as they gave a bow before splitting off into three different groups of two, returning to their original post.
"Now then, I shall return to my fight, lest Captain starts fighting me as well. Stay safe." Said Sebas as he turned around and walked the same way he had come from.
"See you soon, Sebas!" Yelled Janet with a smile as she waved at Sebad, who did so back before turning the corner and engaging in yet another batch of CP agents.
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Now, with Grand, Scar, and Trenza's side of the battle having been concluded in their victory, let's return to the present and resume the last remaining battle, which was about to come to a close.
"Haha, c'mon, is that all you've got? We've only been fighting for a little more than half an hour. Don't tell me you're already exhausted!" Remarked Diddy with a laugh as he swatted both Hosen and Cancer away with his bo-staff, causing them to tumble across the broken deck.
"Not exhausted, just playing it slow." Replied Cancer between his ragged breathing as he and Hosen slowly stood up, though one could tell they were at their wit's end.
"Yeah, sometimes, it's a marathon instead of a full sprint." Said Hosen, backing up Cancer's claim as he stabbed his sword into the deck, using it to prop his exhausted and injured body.
"Hehe, marathon or sprint; it doesn't matter, I've got enough stamina to sprint an entire marathon." Stated Diddy with a grin as he covered Naga-sa in lightning before swinging it, launching large bolts of lighting toward the two, who barely managed to dodge.
"Haa, haa, Hosen, I ain't lasting much longer; you ready to end it?" Remarked Cancer as he picked up his curved sword, which was coated black in haki while lunging toward Diddy.
"I-I'm honestly surprised I lasted this long to begin with. I-I'll follow your lead." Replied Hosen with a grunt as he wielded his katana and followed right behind Cancer, who nodded.
"Hehe, you two know I can hear you, right?" Said Diddy with a feral grin, though he looked utterly unbothered as he watched them rush toward him with Cancer in the forefront.
Seeing their serious expression, I crouched down and raised Naga-sa above my head before pushing off the deck using all of my limbs, minus the one holding my bo-staff; dashing toward them, I covered Naga-sa in lightning as I eyed the two approaching Marines.
"GAMMA SPECTRUM!!" Yelled Cancer as he raised his sword into the air before powerfully slashing down with all his might, launching a green sword wave at Diddy.
"X SLICE!!" Screamed Hosen as he made two quick but mighty slashes with his sword, launching a sword toward Diddy in the shape of an X, which followed behind Cancer's attack.
Leaping toward their attack, I spun in a circle, building momentum, before striking their two attacks with Naga-sa.
"THUNDERBOLT!!" Shouted Diddy as Naga-sa smacked the incoming attacks, causing them to halt instantly.
Struggling against their attacks, I added even more lighting into my bo-staff and pushed harder than before, breaking right through their sword wave while launching all of my lighting from my bo-staff to them. Once the dust settled, all that remained were two charcoal-like bodies; neither one was breathing, and their heart had stopped beating.
"Heh, what a fun battle." Remarked Diddy with a grin as he rested Naga-sa on his shoulder and approached Cancer and Hosen, both collapsing onto the deck when he got close.
Walking right past their burnt corpses, I holstered Naga-sa on my back and walked to the back of the ship, which was partially destroyed because of Sebas, though I did happen to spot Freyja lying in a pool of her own blood while nothing but a skeleton remained of Dalmatian.
Picking Freyja up by the ankle, I dashed back to the front of the ship, where everything had started, and set her down right beside Mael and Sebas, both of whom were still heavily injured and unconscious.
"Hehe, that was one hell of a raid." Said Diddy as he looked at his future commanders before stretching his injured body.
"I'll go and get those other three, and then I'll take a nap, though, before I do that, just to ensure none of you end up dead." Muttered Diddy with a nod before reaching down and touching Freyja, Mael, and Sebas, infusing part of his vitality into each of them, temporarily stabilizing their condition.