~~Danzo~~
Danzo flipped his arm and sniffed at the now wide and floppy sleeve, bringing a rise of pure resentment and irritation to tarnish his heart. The eel-skinned outfit he wore for the long-awaited auction had turned filthy. All the close-fitting clothing, made from the finest spandex fabric, was stained by his travel through the forest and rotted from the stinky sweat. The forest, a day's journey to the east of the ancient theater, now loomed darker than ever in his unfocused eyes. From the moss-eaten stone ground, to a rotten wood log, everything his feet stepped on served as a fuel to his hushed anger.
"boss! The end is near! We are about to leave this place!" one of his trained assassin's, agent 9, spoke, and one could tell of his uneasiness from afar, as he cut the overgrown wild plants with a sickle that turned rusty from their time in the jungle.
"SHUT UP!... I can clearly see!" tensions ran high everytime he retorted at his men. Normally, the feudal lord was one to stay the hand, and not let any of his feelings slip through a rush of emotions. His bands of professional killers, trained by integrity and loyalty to their boss, were not used to this none-lucrative side of him. Their image was of a fierce horde of deadly, nocturnal killers, numbering up to four hundred total men, all ready to answer Danzo's call as soon as they were commanded to. Alas, even his shadows, whom he was quite proud of, failed to uphold their image on this tiring day.
Danzo would have turned cold from the chilling wind if he weren't already wavering with anger. With all that has weighed on him during that accursed auction, the harsh Portelinian elements scarcely seemed to have an effect on his daunted body. There were not many things the feudal lord dreaded… other than losing his money. At the moment, those beloved stacks of cash that he frequently enjoyed playing with… hardly mattered to the mafia head. 'When did it go wrong? Did I miscalculate?' He repeatedly scolded himself.
His mission was a simple one. After amassing his order of killers and hitmen, and making their legs etched in the sneaky shadows of the auction, then would come his one opportunity to strike the announcer and steal the fruit under everyone's prying and greedy eyes. But… where did it all go wrong? Was it when he sent one of his agents to act as a decoy?... To deceive his three friends in crime? Or was it when he had first noticed that he and his men were poisoned by that pungent aroma?.
'No' Danzo answered himself as he ducked to pass beneath another wooden tree. His heart bloomed with fear whenever he remembered the figure of that man, knowing fully well of his secretive identity. His order has been a victim of the man's hideous crimes.
Agent 1 to 10 has been his most competent ones. A cut above the rest in all forms of combat. Danzo raised them through days of blood and sweat, sharpened their senses and trained them to their fullest potential in the art of assassination. But even these special agents had grown to be frail with time, or as Danzo thought. Agent 1 and 2 and 5 were made to track the signs of the devil's killings, only for their corpses to be found decorating the slums of Portelin, just the day after they left Danzo's side. Agent 7 has been sent on a spying mission near the gambling district not too long before the auction, and till now his whereabouts are still floating in darkness. Agent 3, who was nurtured in the arts of disguise and concealment, learned how to wear his boss' face and imitate his habits and manners, now lays underneath the auction, his head put to the cruel spear of the dancer. Currently, the feudal lord had only five of ten special agents remaining, and of them, only agents 8 and 9 were with him. The others? Scattered across west blue, either searching for the magician and his fleet, keeping track of the marine forces, or even searching for devil fruits and those legendary weapons.
"damn it all!" He roared and cursed, venting his anger on the vegetation. His two special agents, along with his other killers made their way through this burdensome jungle. Speaking of the forest, Danzo hadn't thought this place to be so maze-like in complexity. Every so often, hundreds of earthen, small walls fenced every yard or so from the grassy hills of this jungle. Danzo quivered in discomfort, imagining how well these things could be used for an ambush of some sort. He strolled, his anxiety running through the roofs, as he made his way to another sight of wooden fortifications. Closing his eyes and focusing his senses, he heard a whistle, a sound so quiet and easily overshadowed by the wild life. But he heard it, soft but clear, and it had a familiar ring to it.
Danzo clenched his hands as his men finally caught up to his pace, and he heard it once again. This time, it echoed so blaringly obvious that it almost split his ear in half… An arrow was released from the jungle and one of his men fell victim to it.
"it's an ambush! Take cover!" Danzo, hearing the dying breath of his underling chose not to sit idle, and commenced his own day of reckoning. Guns and crossbows were brought into the fray, and shots were fired. Danzo watched as his men were cut to shreds from the arrows and bullets. Every time one of his men died, he felt a painful pit growing harder to bear in his stomach. With everything seeming exceedingly gradual and fluid before his fizzy vision, he took out his other blade and hid beneath the shadows of the forest. He couldn't see well, he couldn't hear anything apart from the head-splitting sound of guns that swept across the forest.
"agent 8, agent 9. With me now!" He commanded profusely and dashed, faster than a cheetah, through the jungle. "yes, boss" they immediately responded and followed him. Conserving his energy for the fleeing journey over the sea was of little importance to the feudal lord, as were the lives of his trained assassins. Danzo didn't fear or panic or anything of the such, every one of his little shadows could be easily replaced using his ressources and reputation as a mafia head, although the cost would sting him a bit in the wallet. But the lives of his agents, number 8 and 9 were too precious to be lost in this rural part of the word.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Danzo darted like a bolt, and behind were his two agents. Scrambling through the jungle in such a quick pace brought his body to a whole new level of exhaustion, that every action was now excruciatingly painful to execute. They avoided the earthen walls and with a hard gallop, made their way down another path in the woods.
Time was ticking, and Danzo knew that even if he made it out of this forest, he would have to fight his way out throughout the sea. Most likely, marines and pirates were waiting to claim his head for a nice prize. Danzo kept gasping while his mind was elsewhere, hatching another line of thinking.
Fearing for his fate, Danzo reached the end of the jungle. Open vastness, painted black and shadowy, loomed before his eyes. His round yet masculine figure beamed with depth restlessness, as he looked at the man… a leaning, relaxed and gentle posture. Before the card-player was another infamous fighter that Danzo heard quite a bit about, Maximus the bear. They appeared to be perfectly prepared and well aware of his slippery nature.
'what is happening!!' Danzo tried desperately to calm his raging mind. He ran away from one wicked scheme just to find himself tangled up in a carefully-curated trap. He gripped both blades, one was a short, luxuriant dirk and the other was a finely crafted sword that he had used since his bloody days of piracy, and hissed with great anger.
"Who would have thought that I would find myself dueling a mafia head one day. Life surely flows in weird directions sometimes… some weird, exotic directions." the snake-faced stylish man, flashed a sly grin that didn't compliment those pair of cold, slit pupils. Danzo had to double check whether the man was really playing with chance cards, but he didn't take long to figure out he wasn't mistaken. He swapped one card with another, all spread upward like a fan. Even when speaking, he kept slipping those four cards from one finger to another, all the while, simultaneously doffing his wide-brimmed hat. He sat his brawn delicately on an old looking stone that was raised high from the ground and seemed to be peering into the skies from the sheer height.
"What say we make this a little more interesting, snake-face. I finish those two lingering rats before you take down this pig, and I win." Maximus had the same brown, worn-out shirt a pirate would have except it was cut right in the middle to show the chest of one burly man. He kept his arms crossed and eyes sharpened like a hawk's as he stared holes into the shadows of the jungle, and stood valiantly by the card-player's side. Danzo took a deep breath, knowing that the fight would further diminish his energy. Even at this moment, he barely kept his eyes open and hands upheld.
"If you are offering me a tempting ticket, that's one deal I have to take. Elsewise, I'm no true gambler" the snake eased his body closer as he took out another deck of chance cards before tossing two cards, quicker than an arrow, at Danzo's sides. 'Damn it all' the latter cracked his weary shoulder bones before twirling his blade and, skillfully, striking both projectiles with keen accuracy.
"boss!" both his men dashed out of the shadows, aiming at the rear of their enemy. All this time, they have been lurking around, awaiting the perfect chance to strike. Danzo narrowed his eyes and took another tired breath at the expected outcome… both the sickle and the short sword strikes were stopped by Maximus. His body, agile despite the size, took the two by surprise as they retreated. Seeing their sneaky attacks fail, they both withdrew back Into the shadows with Maximus trailing behind their blurry figures like a nightly predator.
Danzo felt his mouth overflow with the rancid flavor of sweet and sour liquid. He'd long learned to trust that reaction as a sign of his body overloading with stress and injury. The poison had gotten the worst of him and he felt his little, burning flame of life dwindling like a candle in a windy night. as the time went on. 'no. I can't let it end here' he clung to the thread of life, so desperate and regretful, as he opted for a counter attack. He watched, wearily, as the snake snapped his finger and danced mockingly yet gracefully around Danzo's body. It was as if the opponent knew that he couldn't use any of his dangerous techniques, nor hide behind the shadows because of his grave condition.
The snake spun his body around, sending one card after another. The first one was a spade, so thin yet deadly, that it made a thundering metal sound when he blocked it. What came after, was a flurry of hearts, with every single card aimed at one of his vitals, he found himself putting on a wretched performance, all to defend his stomach and face. Danzo felt humiliated for what felt like the tenth time today. From the utter failure of his plan to the painful journey throughout the jungle, and now was this clown show he was putting on.
Every one of his moves was clumsy and awkward, betraying all the grueling work he'd gone through. "Ahh" Danzo released a painful groan as his leg was pierced through. The enemy, still running around and bouncing gently like a graceful ranger, locked his gaze with him and kept flipping around cards and throwing them like there was no tomorrow. Danzo couldn't dash around, nor could he defend himself anymore as he felt things falling apart around him…
"You are a fool, you know that? The scarlet we used is a very special 'plant'. Only vultures, crones, hawks escape its deadly poison. Once you inhale a dose, no matter how small it might be, you muscles will twitch and convulse thousands of times in a matter of seconds. Veins will pop and the pressure around your organs will increase by many folds. Lastly, after hours of horrid pain, the heart will stop." the snake licked his lips and snapped his finger, sending one last club that cut through his other leg, fracturing his balance and bringing him to a crawl.
"Are you done yet" the figure of Maximus made its way back into the field. Danzo could see his bloodied hands from a mile away, even with the blindness. "... Hmm, I lost the bet" the snake clicked his tongue and picked up a diamond. "any last words, feudal lord?" he spoke while tilting the card backwards for a quick throw. As soon as Danzo finishes speaking, that sharp thing would find its way through his neck… It was terrifying to imagine.
Danzo never for once imagined himself to be in this situation. His heart bloomed in humiliation and resentment… Resentment for his three brothers, for the devil, for these kids. He hated everything and anything that stood in his way, that has always been the way since he was journeying as a pirate. He knew he had basically lost everything and the poison and exhaustion only served to worsen his disillusionment and grief.
… In his hollow memory, the feudal lord saw but a reflection of his former self. Every mistake he committed in pursuit of his greed for money came back at this moment to haunt him… Danzo, only now, did he have the slightest regrets of the actions he took. His journey began as an ambitious little boy, raised in harshness and poverty, now ends in a saddening, pathetic way.
"you people… why do you follow that guy?" he spoke, very faintly.
"..." silence issued between the two as they looked at each other. The snake took two steps forwards before firing away the diamond.
Danzo grew ever so weary as he regretted every single decision he made. At the end, he died with tears soaking his pained expression.
Danzo's death, ever so lonely, will shake west blue to its core. All the world will screech in fright once they hear of his tale… The tale of a lonesome, unfortunate man.