– Bellamy –

"Pathetic waste of space. He had one job, and he couldn't even do that right."

"What did you expect? He's a pirate."

Two elderly men stepped out of a tunnel and into the light, both wearing immaculately pressed suits. One tall and spindly, the other short and round, both of them red-faced with a full head of greying green hair. Mentally I named them Carrot and Tomato. These had to be the two recruits Eddy had talking about, but their appearance really didn't fit Eddy's description. Something that their ostensible crew and I agreed upon, based on their reactions.

"Oi, where have you two been? And why are you dressed like t…gurgle" A pirate began to try and interrogate them only to collapse, clutching at a newly formed hole in his windpipe. He was soon followed by his entire remaining crew, who died eyes wide open in incomprehension.

"That was shigan." Nero whispered in shock. Yeah, that had been my guess too when the newcomer started wiping some blood off his index finger. "But how? That's supposed to be secret..."

"But at least he did manage to lure our quarry here, so we don't have to go looking for them." Tomato shrugged.

"Let's just get this over with quickly and get paid. Oi, brat! St. Lloyd wants your head on a silver platter." Carrot called out to me. "Want to save us the trouble and just give up? I promise I'll make it quick."

"That wasn't the mission, and you know it. The contractor was very clear that excruciating agony be included." Tomato pointed out, elbowing his partner in the side.

"How's he going to know? We kill everybody and just say we did it. As long as we keep our mouths shut, no one is going to find out."

"That's…not giving me much motivation not to fight, to be honest." I said, causing Carrot to give Tomato an annoyed look.

"Now look at what you did. We could have been finished in under a minute. Thanks to you, it's going to take five because the little shit decided to resist. Seriously, were you always such a stickler for the rules when we were in uniform?"

"Just doing what I'm paid to do. I'd rather not have the broker complain later. It's bad for business."

Watching the two bicker like this, I finally understood what had been bothering me this entire time. That these two were the two strong auras Aisa had described earlier was without question, but from what I could glean from their conversation and from what Marcus had revealed, a picture started to coalesce in my mind of what was going on.

These two were bounty hunters or hitmen of a sort, who had been hired to kill me (in an agonizing manner). Once they found out that Byron was on my ship, probably because of our stunt at Marineford, one didn't have to be an overly imaginative person to predict that we would seek out Byron's old crew eventually. And when Marcus had massacred the marine garrison on Argent Isle, he'd unwittingly revealed his location to them and had likely been subsequently threatened or otherwise coerced into cooperating with the promise of freedom once the deed was done. That someone, who'd had the gall to lead a mutiny and sell his superior into servitude, hadn't opposed this clearly indicated that Marcus hadn't seen another way to get out of the situation he had suddenly found himself in, most likely because these two former marines were too strong for him to even consider resisting.

"I recognize those two." Izou whispered in my ear, "They're former Vice Admirals who were dishonorably discharged from the Navy over charges of embezzlement. Since then, they have been working as bounty hunters and hitmen for hire."

Things could be worse. I knew I was stronger than a Rear Admiral, and Vice Admirals varied greatly in their level of strength, so this situation was manageable. If it were just one, I was pretty sure us ganging up on him would have netted us an easy win.

"Would you mind lending us a hand, Izou-San? We'll take one and you the other?"

"No, I don't think I will." He answered in such a polite and friendly manner, that it took a second for his answer to register properly. He was not helping? I couldn't see his face right now, but I just knew Izou was eye-smiling at me like a bad Kakashi imitation.

"Pardon me?"

"You requested a combat and haki instructor. This is a great opportunity for me to see what I'm working with."

"Is this really the best time for this?" I asked, though a bit of my tension bled out of me at his casual tone. If he was this relaxed about it, these guys couldn't be too tough, right?

"It is the perfect time for this. As far as Vice Admirals go, these two are scraping the bottom of the barrel." Izou replied, jauntily moving forward and removing his mask in the process. "Look, I'll even throw in a haki demonstration beforehand."

Meanwhile Carrot and Tomato had stopped their bickering to stare at us in befuddlement. They'd gone silent the moment I had called Izou by his name, probably having connected the dots between the Wano style of clothing, the name and Whitebeard's Commander but being unsure if I was bluffing or not. Now with Izou's face revealed, they just couldn't comprehend why someone like him was with a group of rookies like us.

"Why…why is someone like you…here?" Carrot stammered out, unable to hide his nervousness.

"I'm on vacation, don't you know? See some sights, go shopping for accessories…like this wonderful silk scarf. Soft, beautiful and," Izou pulled out a purple piece of fabric before wrapping it around his head in an impromptu blindfold. "It is wonderfully suited for a myriad of different applications."

Whether out of anger, fear or tactical acumen, Carrot and Tomato didn't hesitate to rush the division commander before he had even finished tying the knot, trying to catch him when he was at his most vulnerable.

"Izou-san! Watch out!" Mani screamed, my whole crew taking a step forward to protect him, only to be stopped in their tracks when Izou held up a hand in our direction.

"You are all aware of the benefits of observation haki. You've fought against it, trained to unlock it and in some cases, already experienced it." Izou began his lecture, gently swaying out of the way of a katana trying to take his head off. "Skilled users are able to observe the opponent's aura and glean their intent, essentially predicting the moves they will make before they make them."

His arms snapped out, grabbing both of the hitmen by the scruff and tossing them away from my crew. Both Carrot and Tomato landed lightly on their feet, nodding to each other before slowly beginning to circle the division commander. If I had to guess, Izou had just expressed his strong objections to them bypassing him to get to us and both of them had agreed to deal with him first. Once Izou was gone, they probably felt confident in their ability to kill the rest of us.

"The amount of information one can read from another's aura increases with greater mastery. At its most basic form, the user can sense the presence of others." Izou continued, pointing his index fingers directly at the two Vice Admirals. "A slightly more advanced form is the ability to measure an individual's strength, though these two haven't learned this yet."

A dust cloud was kicked up into the air as Izou was pincered by his opponents, both hitmen unleashing a flurry of blows to try and overwhelm the commander. All of them were casually deflected by Izou's pistols. "A different variant can be understood as an evolution of empathy, the ability to sense emotions, something I believe Aisa is very familiar with. It isn't foolproof of course, as anyone with sufficient control over their emotions can counter this to some extent."

Two quick strikes sent the former marines reeling back, clutching their broken noses as Izou finished up his explanation. "Complete mastery is said to grant one the gift of foresight, users being able to view into the future, though only a select few users ever reach this level of proficiency. A well-known example would be the Emperor Red-Haired Shanks."

With gritted teeth, Carrot and Tomato's blades were slowly encased in a black sheen as they changed tactics. Instead of launching many quick attacks, the pair now attempted to place Izou on the back-foot with a sequence of heavy blows, maximizing the destructive potential of every swing. "A second form of haki is Armament. This one really is a must-have once you get to the New World because it is the only really reliable way of dealing with a logia user."

Redirecting their swords with a series of light taps to the flat of the blade, Izou let their attacks flow around him, grabbing them by their collars and whirling around like a pinwheel, only to release them moments later into a wall. Yet, instead of leaving holes in them, the two former Vice Admirals simply used the walls as a springboard to rush Izou again.

"To that end, the technique known as hardening is needed. There is more to it, but a bare bones explanation is that you coat your body in haki to create a sort of external armor." No hint of strain was detectable in this voice as Izou held the two bounty hunters at bay, his own black hands grabbing their swords by the blade, not moving an inch despite the obvious effort his opponents were putting in to overpower him. "This improves both your defense against nearly all kinds of damage but also increases the amount of damage you do in turn, as well as bypassing the natural defenses granted by a devil fruit. For example, if I hit someone like Crocodile while using armament, it would hurt him badly. You hitting him right now? Not so much."

Thus, when Izou released his grip without warning, the sudden loss of resistance had the bounty hunters stumbling forward half-a-step, something which the commander used to his advantage, smashing his pitch-black fists into their already flattened noses.

"Like observation, armament also has advanced techniques, though these revolve around going from your haki affecting only your own body to flowing out of you and into your environment. This can take the form of short-range emissions," Cue two cries of pain as both Carrot and Tomato doubled over, hands covering their stomachs. "or the destruction of objects or people from within."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Izou finished up his lecture by picking up the two katana and showing us the sight of them crumbling to pieces. We politely clapped at the display, to which Izou replied with a theatrical bow in our direction before removing his blindfold.

"That was amazing, Izou-san!" Hewitt called out, a sentiment which was echoed by the rest of my crew.

"Yeah, that was great!" "We're going to be learning that, right?" "I'm so pumped!"

Izou basked in the admiration, slowly meandering his way through my crew until he reached his destination.

"Uhm, Izou-san?"

"Yes, Mani-san?"

"Why are you blocking the exit?"

----------------------------------------

– Nero –

While he'd known the day would come when he'd have to fight his former allies, Nero hadn't expected it to come this quickly. Neither had he expected that first time to be because a Whitebeard Commander locked him in a room with a former Vice Admiral.

As if by some unspoken promise, the combatants had split into two groups. Bellamy was fighting former Vice Admiral Beanstalk (Nero wasn't joking, that was the man's actual name) while everybody else was ganging up on former Vice Admiral Jack, doing their best to survive long enough for Bellamy to come over and help. What a day to leave their biggest (glass) cannon behind.

"Byron, some music would be very useful right about now!"

"Traitor!" That their enemy had a seeming hard-on for Nero just added to his misery. "I shall end you in the name of justice!"

"Weren't you dishonorably discharged? Why are you still obsessed with a marine's justice?" Nero screamed, diving beneath a right hook. Sadly, he didn't see the kick that followed, sending him flying into a wall. Oh, now Byron started singing. Of course he did. Couldn't he have done so a little earlier?

"Once a marine, always a marine you bloody renegade!" Jack sneered, slowly stomping his way over to where Nero was digging himself out of a Nero-shaped hole. "The fact that I voluntarily left the corps over a slight misunderstanding changes nothing!"

"Ross!" "On it!"

"Those had been gifts! Even if I hadn't taken them, they would have given them to me!" Spittle flew everywhere as Jack waved his arms around in emphasis. That one of those arms happened to backhand Eddy across the face was surely a coincidence. "They should have been honored that I decided they had anything to give in exchange for saving their lives!"

"Axe Dial Storm!"

"Tekkai"

While Ross & Hewitt's little combination attack reduced much of Jack's clothing to tatters and left his thorax bare, it did very little damage to the hitman himself. What it did do was buy Nero the time to reorientate himself and add his little contribution into the mix. After all, what better time was there to aim something at someone than when that someone was forced to stand completely still?

"Rankyaku!" A bright blue crescent crashed into his target, one many times larger and faster than what Nero had been capable of before joining the Crew. And as if to prove that his training hadn't been for naught, blood was drawn. It was only a shallow wound on the man's rotund belly, but it was a wound nevertheless. Furthermore, it was proof that the man wasn't invulnerable to their attacks which was a huge boost to morale.

"You accursed traitor! I will rip your head off of your body and impale you with your own spine!"

"Not if I impale you first!" Like a bullet, Sarquiss dived down from the ceiling, stingers outstretched, trying to use his greater reach to his advantage. But with speed belying his round shape, Jack grabbed the two poisoned blades out of the air before they could reach him. Then he proceeded to use them as leverage to smash the first mate into the ground...repeatedly. At least until Sarquiss clasped both of Jack's wrists in his hands, having retracted his blades and using that traction to drag himself towards Jack. "Gotcha!"

"Go, Funkfreed!"

Have you ever been hit by a charging 10-ton elephant? Trumpeting triumphantly, Funkfreed swept Jack off his feet, his momentum carrying them all the way to the distant wall. When Funkfreed's body was recalled to the hilt held in Muret's hands, Jack was revealed, flattened against the wall like a pancake.

"Did we do it?" Hewitt questioned, much to Ross' obvious horror.

"Shhh! Don't jinx it!"

As if to prove the old wisdom true, Jack's eyes snapped open and his body bounced back into shape like nothing had happened.

"Tsk, this is shameful. How shameful." Jack muttered to himself, pulling his limbs into his body. "That I had to use my devil fruit on a bunch of nobodies like you is shameful!"

"Why did you have to test fate like that, Hewitt! Why?"

"I shall wash this shame away with your BLOOD!!" The head was the last body part to be pulled back, leaving only a big ball which began to bounce, slowly at first but getting faster with every repeat. "Bounce Bounce Carnival!"

"Careful!" "Watch out!" "Down! Get down!"

All cohesion was lost as the Bellamy Pirates scrambled to get out of the way of a bouncing wrecking ball, ricocheting unpredictably off the irregular surface of the cavern. Initial attempts to stop the man failed, the Crew's attacks unable to find proper purchase on the rapidly rotating round surface.

"It's useless! I ate the Bounce Bounce Fruit and became a bouncing human! This cave is my domain!" Jack's voice echoed around the cave. Then, by briefly extending his legs, Jack redirected his flight path onto a collision course with the slowest member on their crew. Muret.

"Shit! Doc, dodge!"

"BAAARRRUUUUHAAA!!!" Funkfreed drew himself up to his full height, interposing himself bodily between his master and the incoming danger, his sword-trunk brandished and ready to impale the incoming projectile. Their elephant-sword slowed Jack down for all of three seconds before being forcefully sent into hibernation modus, but that was more than enough time for Nero to get into position.

"Shura, I hope you're ready!" This was going to hurt, Nero just knew it. "Tekkai!"

It wasn't the worst pain he had ever felt, because that dubious honor went to a beating he'd received during his early training, when the overseer had broken every bone in his body to increase Nero's bone density. However, that didn't mean that the feeling of having his body gradually being ground down wasn't painful. But right now, all Nero could do was grit his teeth and bear it, counting his lucky stars that Funkfreed had taken some of the initial momentum out of the attack.

"You call that a tekkai? No wonder you ran, you failure!" Jack's voice mocked him, but Nero refused to listen. Holding on. That was all that mattered. Holding on.

"Nero is not a failure, you jackass! Impact" "Sayonara, loser!"

For all their eternal arguing, Hewitt & Ross were perhaps the crew mates most in synch with each other, always seemingly knowing what the other was planning. Like in this case where they redirected Jack's momentum from below using four impact dials, before slapping on several jet dials for good measure to speed up his ascent…

"Nicely done, dickheads!" "Shura! Package incoming!"

…to where the other fantastic duo of the crew was waiting. Sarquiss received the pass from the pair below, grabbing on to Jack with all the strength of a semi-zoan, holding the man in place for a brief moment. Which was all the time Lily needed, slamming her Laki-special-order-boots into Jack and kicking the man towards Shura. Having been on the receiving end of one of those kicks in the recent past, Nero could vouch for their destructive power.

"I'm not ready! I'm not ready!" Shura frantically moved about, his arms a blur as Jack approached him like a cannon ball. "I'm ready! Wire Net!"

Nero hadn't seen it, but from what he'd heard, the prisoner/guest/haki instructor had fought using some sort of cloud to make wires. That made no sense to Nero, but everyone had insisted it was true, and even a layman such as Nero could tell that Shura had a lot of experience in manipulating wires. The impromptu net rapidly closed in, enveloping Jack who did his best to tear the end of the wires out of Shura's hands and keep going.

"I'll help!" Mani shouted, being the first to grab hold of the wires and help Shura pull. The rest of them quickly followed suit and with their combined strength, they managed to grind the man down until the ball came to a stop.

"You animals! I'm no beast to be caught in a net!" Though, that just started a whole new struggle as Jack's extremities popped out of his body to start ripping the wire mesh apart with his bare hands.

"Oh no you don't! Rust!" At least until Lily came up behind him to lock him in place from the neck down.

"Guys, open his mouth!" Sarquiss called out and suddenly five people were huddled around Jack's head.

"What are you do-aaaargh!" Forcefully, Jack's jaws were spread apart, the wires freshly interlaced within his teeth serving as points of leverage.

"Say Ah!" For his part, Jack refused to just let them do this to him, but instead did his best to escape, beginning by covering his neck in armament haki to negate Lily's power. She responded by latching onto him from the back like a limpet, vastly increasing the amount of bare-skin contact the man had with her. And before Jack could cover more of his body in the black coating, Sarquiss was upon him, injecting a generous helping of his toxin down the man's throat.

Under these circumstances it would have taken a man with far greater self-control than Jack to muster the will to maintain his haki. Hence, shortly after Jack started spasming uncontrollably, three blades were smoothly slipped into his body: Eddy piercing his heart, Sarquiss splitting his spleen and Mani severing his spinal cord.

And when Jack gave off a final death rattle before going limp, Nero let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding.

It was over. They had won, and against a former Vice Admiral no less.

"I'd say he looks pretty dead. Good job everyone."

"Captain!?!"