Dozens of royal guards leveled their halberds, hands trembling as they faced down Capone Bege.
"Die." Bege's voice was ice. His treads roared forward. A dozen soldiers braced, were bowled aside, and hit the ground spitting blood.
"Damn it."
Watching Fish-Man Island descend into chaos, Peach Rabbit was the first to move, her figure blurring forward in a burst of Shave.
Tsunade's eyes burned colder and colder as Bege's indiscriminate rampage cut into civilians. Her fingers flashed through seals and she murmured, "Substitution Jutsu."
Poof.
White smoke blossomed where she had stood. When it cleared, a rock thudded to the ground in her place. A few pirates blinked at the vanishing trick, but the tide of battle swept their attention away.
"Monster Strength."
Tsunade's silhouette reappeared at Bege's flank. Her pink fist crashed into the side tread. Invisible force fell like a hurricane squall, drumming a thousand blows into iron links.
Bang.
Bege's whole hull skidded and tipped.
"Tch."
Pain spiked up his leg. He shed the tank form and snapped back to human.
"Kill."
Seeing him exposed, the royal guards roared and charged with drawn blades.
"Hmph."
Bege's lip curled. "Castle. Full Size."
Boom.
The seabed city shuddered. Currents jolted, the ground heaved, and a shockwave swept the plaza as dust boiled skyward.
Pupils pinpricked across the crowd. A stone fortress swelled and swelled until it loomed over them all, then rumbled forward to crush everything beneath.
"W what is that?"
"Run."
"Is he going to tear the whole island apart? Lord Liu Yun will never let him live."
"Brothers, hold the line. Lord Liu Yun will save us."
"What a monster."
Tsunade's lashes quivered. The sheer mass of the castle set her teeth on edge.
"Tsunade, this must be his Devil Fruit. If only we had seawater here. Ability users lose their strength on contact."
"Talking will not stop it. If we cannot beat him, then we stall him."
Their gazes met and settled.
"Monster Strength."
"Tempest Kick."
Two figures vanished forward instead of back, bodies like shells from a cannon as they sprinted up the street and leapt for the fortress wall.
"Gyahaha. Die. All of you, die." The castle's maw gaped and the whole structure quaked as it picked up speed. If it rolled through the crowd, the death toll would be beyond counting.
"Not happening."
Ice wrapped Tsunade's face. She drove a fist into the wall. Stone burst inward in a man-sized hole and her momentum carried her through.
Peach Rabbit's heel carved a silver arc. She kicked another section open and vaulted inside.
Darkness swallowed them. When they spun to jump back out, the breached stone knit itself whole again.
"Gyahaha. First I kill you two, then I kill that Liu Yun, then I gift this island to Big Mom. She will love it. Fish-Man Island is a sweets factory."
Bege's laugh echoed through the halls.
Inside the living keep, Tsunade and Peach Rabbit stood back to back, faces set.
"I have heard of this ability. He ate the Castle-Castle Fruit. He can turn his body into a fortress and even create marsh zones inside. He stores troops and weapons within. Be careful." Peach Rabbit's eyes tracked every flicker.
A sliver of light, then a needle of killing intent dropped for Tsunade's skull.
"Hm?" Both women felt it at once and looked up. The air above screamed as a blade fell.
"Armament. Hardening."
Peach Rabbit barked, her right arm turning black as lacquer as she raised it over both their heads.
Clang.
Sparks sprayed. A long saber skittered off her forearm.
"Coward. Sneak attacks?" Peach Rabbit's eyes flashed frost and shame.
"Gyahaha. Girls, since Charlotte Nitz took a liking to you, prepare yourselves. Mama's power is absurd. Becoming our Mama's daughters-in-law is a bargain."
"In your dreams."
Both women spat, then Tsunade's veins stood out. Her right leg rose and hammered down.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain."
Boom.
A savage gale roared from her kick. The floor lurched, the fortress rumbled, and chunks of masonry rained.
"Cough. You witch."
Bege's snarl rolled through the corridors. Lights flared. One by one, mounted troopers clattered into view, lances three meters long leveled at the two women.
"Let me show you. Charge, my soldiers."
At the order, a hundred cavalry spurred forward. Hooves thundered. A hedge of steel swept for Tsunade and Peach Rabbit.
"Peach Rabbit, go up first." Tsunade's eyes were winter.
"No. I fight with you." Peach Rabbit's porcelain face hardened, stubborn to the end.
"I have a way out. Move."
No time to explain. Chakra flooded Tsunade's arm. She seized Peach Rabbit by the wrist and heaved her skyward. Peach Rabbit flew.
The cavalry was already upon Tsunade, spearpoints glittering like a tide of knives.
"Kill."
Their shout shook the hall. Lances and sabers stabbed down.
Tsunade's mouth curved. Her hands blurred through seals.
"Substitution Jutsu."
Poof.
Smoke billowed. Blades and arrows ripped into the cloud.
"Dead?"
"Lord Bege is invincible. We are his iron host."
"So weak. One volley and done. Disappointing."
Jeers and easy breaths spread through the ranks.
"Idiots. You missed."
The rasping voice snapped every head back to the now-clearing haze.
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