Smooth Sailing Chapter 10: Clatter Town 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 10: Clatter Town 3

“You bitch!” Ganzack growled. “You’re going to regret this!”

“Sure about that? Because I’ve already wrecked your whole operation and I won’t be losing any sleep over this,” I retorted.

“You’re a pirate too, aren’t you?! Why are you interfering with my dream?!” Ganzack demanded angrily.

“My dream happens to be more along the lines of treasure and adventure, not murder, plunder, and trying in vain to take over the world,” I replied with dry tone. “And quite frankly, I really, really dislike people like you, who lord their own strength above others and uses it to abuse the weak.”

Was it hypocritical of me? Kinda. The original Alvida was a brute who did exactly what I disliked. And wasn’t what I was doing to Ganzack basically just bullying at this point?

‘Still, if anyone deserves to have their ass kicked and their plans ruined, it’s this bastard,’ I thought.

A lot of people in this world were worse than this crab-obsessed pirate, but I couldn’t exactly stop them. I was too weak, and I couldn’t be everywhere at once. This guy, though? I could do something about Ganzack right here, right now.

‘Can’t save everyone, but I can at least stop whatever evil I come across when it’s right there in front of me,’ I decided, raising my iron mace.

Grinding his teeth, Ganzack spat to the side. “Fine! If you are going to continue to oppose me, then you can die with the rest of the people here! Come, Plesio!”

He then pulled out a whistle from his pocket and blew it, the shrill sound echoing off the cliffside. For a few seconds the battlefield stilled, everyone waiting for his beast to arrive, but as time stretched on and nothing happened, Ganzack grew increasingly frustrated.

“Where the Hell are you, Plesio?!” the Pirate Shogun roared angrily, stomping a foot against the deck like a petulant child. “Hurry up and get over here and help me kill these fuckers!”

“Your pet is dead,” I informed him, and he stilled, before his head turned towards me stiffly.

“What?” he hissed.

“If you and your crew hadn’t been so gung-ho about attacking us, then you’d have figured out why we’re here in the first place,” I told the purple-haired prat. "Pretty sure I mentioned that already."

“And why are you here?” Ganzack demanded through clenched teeth.

“Because your stupid dinosaur attacked us!” I shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. “I had to break its damn neck because it wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer! Now it’s dead, and we came to Clatter Town to demand reparations for your terrible pet training!”

“You killed Plesio?!” Ganzack screamed furiously, eyes bloodshot with rage. “DIE!”

His robo-limbs opened fire on Medaka and myself, shooting pretty much everything that he could at us. Bullets, chains, bombs, and more rained down upon the deck, but the two of us dodged the barrage of projectiles by diving behind the mast.

Seeing his indiscriminate attack had failed, Ganzack leapt down from the King Crab’s helm and charged towards our hiding spot with a battle cry.

Medaka rolled out of from behind the mast first, recklessly rushing in at the pirate captain with her naginata. Ganzack was about to swat her aside, but I emerged from behind the mast next, my sandals still removed so I could Slide over the wooden deck.

I reached Ganzack first, and hammered him in the jaw with a vicious uppercut, before trying to smack him upside the head with my mace. The enormous metal club was deflected by one of his crab claws, and I had to glance away as spark flew when the weapons collided.

The knight-clad red-head took advantage of how I’d distracted Ganzack and rushed in from the side while I clashed with the Pirate Shogun. She stabbed at Ganzack’s chest, but his other claw deflected her polearm, and several bullets bounced off of her suit of armor.

“Medaka!” I exclaimed in worry. “Get back!”

“No! I can fight!” she replied angrily, thrusting her naginata at Ganzack once more.

The attack narrowly missed when the pirate tilted his head to the side, but it did tear through right ear, causing blood to spurt and Ganzack to cry out in shock and a little agony.

Seeing an opening, I swung my mace into his side, trying to smash those annoying exoskeleton limb-guns of his. The purple-haired bastard succeeded in knocking aside my weapon at the last second with another shower of sparks, though.

I couldn’t help but marvel at how strong his robotic limbs were! Ganzack himself wasn’t that strong (by East Blue standards, at least. Back on Earth he’d have been an Olympic tier athlete at a minimum) but his mechanical contraptions were strong enough to repel me, and I had what was clearly superhuman strength if the fact I could swing several hundred pounds of raw metal around like it was an aluminum baseball bat was any indicator!

Grunting in frustration at my attack being deflected, I tried instead to swing my mace down and shatter the deck beneath his feet, hopefully making his footing unstable enough to cause him to fall and slip up enough for Medaka to land another blow on him.

“HAH!” I roared, and the deck buckled underneath my blow, surprisingly not breaking apart, but still causing enough of a disturbance that Ganzack did indeed wobble unsteadily as the entire ship shifted violently from my attack.

The King Crab, already badly damaged from the dynamite and rocks, lurched and started tilting to the left, becoming dangerously low in the water. Good news though was that ship was completely stuck. No escape for Ganzack! Bad news was that it was starting to slowly sink even more, meaning our fight now had a time limit.

Even worse, Medaka was thrown off balance by my attack, and so she wasn’t ready to take advantage of the Pirate Shogun’s lack of footing. He recovered far too quickly, although he did not immediately attack. Instead, he stared with horror at the damage I’d done to his vessel.

 “First you ruin my base, then you kill my pet, and now you’ve destroyed my ship!” Ganzack screamed, frothing at the mouth with rage, and then faster than I could react, one of his crab claws shot towards my neck!

As the red and metallic crab-like appendage tried to clamp around my throat and divide my body into two pieces, I was forced to drop my mace in order to have both hands free to grab the claw and keep it from snipping off my head! I winced in pain as I felt a pinching sensation on my palms, but was too focused on avoiding decapitation to check on what that was.

“Shit!” I grunted, straining to keep the scissor-like blades from closing in on me.

The robotic limb was a lot stronger than I expected! More so than I’d initially expected, even based off of the power it’d already shown!

The other claw was currently busy fending off Medaka’s wild swings of her polearm, which was the only reason I didn’t have to fend that one off as well, but it would only be a matter of time before he had another weapon to menace me with.

“You won’t be able to stop me!” Ganzack sneered, his eyes wide and bloodshot, the claw closing little by little. “First your pretty little neck, then that brat’s! Neither of you are getting out of this alive!”

I could feel my palms start to bleed. Wet, red trickles fall down my wrists and arms as the sharp blades pressed against my skin, managing to bypass my body’s Devil Fruit enhanced Smoothness.

Was it because the edges were too sharp? Maybe it was because the blade was cutting me slowly instead of all at once? Or could it be due to the fact it was pressing in over time unlike how weapons normally ended up hitting me? I didn’t know, but I knew for a fact I wasn’t going to let this bastard kill me like this!

Drawing on every ounce of raw might I had, I pushed harder, resisting the claws, and finally managed to halt their slow, inching closure around my neck.

“RAAAGH!” I roared, my heart thundering within my chest, and I kept pushing and prying apart the scissor-like claw, until I felt and heard something snap.

The metal creaked and groaned and then with a rending sound I succeeded in tearing apart the claw before it could close completely!

The robotic limb was ripped in half, and pieces of metal flew everywhere as I tossed aside the parts in my hands, growling as the metal pattered down to the deck.

“What have you done?!” Ganzack screamed, staring at me in horror. Medaka, on the other hand, stared at me in awe, eyes sparkling.

“I broke you weapon just like I broke your ship! And I’m going to keep breaking your toys over and over until you finally understand that you do not get to play around with other peoples’ lives!” I snarled.

My mace was still on the deck where I’d dropped it, but I didn’t have time or the opportunity to pick it back up. I had to take care of Ganzack right now, while he was reeling from losing one of his weaponized robo-crab claws!

I slugged him in the chest, causing him to cough up some blood, and I felt a rib break from the blow. He let out a wordless scream of rage and pain and lashed out at me, his last claw trying to snip my arm off.

I jinked to the side, but realized that the attack had been a feint! When I’d moved, I’d ended up in front of Ganzack. Specifically, the guns on the ends of his robo-limbs. And from the mad grin he was wearing, he had loaded something he thought was capable of hurting me.

‘Oh, crap!’ I thought, realizing that I was too close to Ganzack to dodge whatever he was about to shoot at me.

The guns roared, and several bullets flew out and hit me. As expected, they Slid off, but moments afterwards they exploded violently, the bullets actually being miniature bombs!

“Grgh!” I grunted in pain as the explosions slammed into me from all sides.

While the impact of the projectile and the shrapnel failed to hurt me, the fire and shockwaves did. Burns dotted my skin, and bruises littered my body where the shockwaves had hit.

Ganzack had finally found a way to get past my Devil Fruit and hurt me, and from the insane slasher smile he was now sporting, he knew it too.

“Zana… Zana-ha-ha-hah!” he laughed madly. “I’ve got your measure now, bitch! Time to die!”

I tried to punch him in the face but he tilted his head to the side, my fist passing by. I tried to follow up with a kick, but more explosive bullets fired at me, the explosions forcing me to stagger back with a gasp into the mast.

“Take this!” Ganzack shouted, and fired something new from his weapon.

A greyish white sludge was sprayed from the crab legs, and I saw it coming. Unfortunately, some of the explosions had hurt my legs, making me move too slowly to dodge it complete. While I avoiding getting my entire body splattered with the liquid, it coated my left arm and leg, causing my limbs to get stuck to the surface of the mast behind me!

“Fuck!” I swore, tugging desperately to free myself from the glue, but it was too thick and sticky, and I could barely move my trapped limbs.

Zana-ha-ha-hah!” Ganzack laughed, before charging towards me, scissor-claw thrusting towards my head.

Unable to dodge completely, I had to twist out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting grabbed again. The crab claw sunk into the mast and tore a gaping hole in it, but before he could try again, Medaka leapt to my defense.

“I won’t let you touch her, Ganzack!” Medaka declared valiantly.

Unfortunately, her bravado did not exactly match up with her combat skills, and while her flailing assault did force Ganzack to put gutting me like a fish on hold for the moment while he dealt with the red-head, it didn't do much else.

“Such stubbornness!” he declared, though from his tone this was not a good thing. “Why?! Why do you keep resisting?!”

“You killed him! You killed my daddy!” Medaka screamed, swinging her naginata wildly. Her eyes were blinded by the tears, though, and her attacks were easily dodged. “I’m gonna make you pay!”

“Your father was a fool,” Ganzack growled, backhanding Medaka. Thankfully with his organic hand, but it still sent her staggering backwards. “He had a chance at joining greatness, but instead he tried to sabotage me and my great work!”

The purple-haired man glared at her in disgust. “I had to punish him, of course! Though I fear his death came too quick! Plesio is such a messy eater, after all!”

“You-! You-!” Medaka sobbed.

“Though maybe I should thank you! It was because of you sneaking into the foundry to try and free your father that let me catch him stockpiling dynamite for his pathetic attempt at revolt.”

“I’ll kill you!” Medaka screamed, rushing at Ganzack, but the pirate captain backhanded her with the back of his giant claw this time, sending her flying.

“Medaka!” I called out, and relief filled me when I saw the girl push herself back to her feet, even as blood dripped from her nose onto the deck.

“I knew I should have I killed you along with your father that day,” Ganzack sneered as he stalked towards Medaka. “You’re both too much trouble for your own good!”

“Ganzack!” Medaka shouted furiously, glaring at him with hatred in her eyes.

“Come on, girlie!” the crab-themed pirate laughed mockingly. “Try it! Try and kill me!”

She let out a scream of rage and charged in recklessly again, still blinded by her anger. Her attack was stopped when the last of his pincers grabbed ahold of her naginata.

With contemptuous ease, the robotic limb squeezed down and sheared through the wooden pole, causing Medaka to stumble forward, right into an attack from the claw which smashed down onto her head, driving her into the deck with a sickening crunch. Her helmet held, but was badly dented.

Laughing, Ganzack began to kick and stomp on her, and I struggled against the grey adhesive coating my limbs, fury rising within me at the sight of him tormenting the crying girl.

“BASTARD! I WON’T LET YOU HURT HER!” I shouted.

“Then try and stop me!” Ganzack cackled, never taking his eyes off of Medaka’s prone form.

Growling, I strove harder to break free from the abnormally sticky glue binding me in place to the mast. All that accomplished was a big fat nothing, but I kept pushing and straining, pushing my body harder and harder until with a loud cracking sound I managed to free myself.

Well, sort of. My body was still covered in the glue and keeping my left side pinned to the mast, but my superhuman strength had caused a large chunk of wood to tear away from the mast. I was still bound by the adhesive, but I was no longer stuck to the mast.

With a roar, I charged in towards Ganzack, who looked up at me with a surprised expression, not expecting me to be able to do what I did. I shoulder checked him and sent the bastard flying. He slammed into the helm and got tangled up in the ship’s wheel, forcing him to destroy it into order to disentangle himself.

Not wanting to give up the momentum, I leapt up to meet him, and grabbed his crab claw, using it to swing him about like a hammer. After having a bit of fun, I hurled him into the deck near where he’d been beating up Medaka, and then jumped down, feet first, onto his stomach.

I think I ruptured something when I landed, as the amount of blood he spat up was significant. Yet he still managed to swat me away, sending me tumbling across the deck. Rolling to my feet, I looked up and found myself staring down the barrel of his guns.

“No more running!” he hissed, blood dripping from his lips.

However, just as he was about to shoot me again with some explosive bullets or glue bombs, Ganzack let out a cry of pain and staggered, his aim going wide.

I blinked in surprise, then looked down to see Medaka, who’d stabbed Ganzack in the left leg with the blade of her naginata, the broken weapon clutched in her hands like it was a prison shiv.

“YOU-!” Ganzack howled, glaring down at Medaka with daggers in his eyes. She just glared back, blood dripping from her broken nose and busted lip as she twisted the blade in deeper.

He tried to stab her with his remaining crab arm, but in the moment where he’d taken his eyes off of me, I’d hurled myself forward and grabbed my iron mace off the deck where I’d dropped it earlier. Without hesitating, I swung it into the side of Ganzack’s head.

For a brief moment there was a sensation of resistance as my weapon met his skull, but it gave way soon after. Wet gore splattered across my face as I completed my swing, and I blinked away the red droplets that fountained from the pirate captain’s neck stump as his head was torn from his body by the force of my blow.

Off in the distance, a splash could be heard as Ganzack’s head hit the water after flying quite far from his ship. Lacking anything above his shoulders, his body sagged, toppling forward with a spray of blood that coated the two of us.

“Is… is it over?” Medaka asked, her voice slurring past her swollen, bruised face.

“…Yeah. It’s over. He’s dead,” I told her, unable to tear my eyes away from the corpse I’d created.

Before I could sink further into shock, the deck lurched once more, and I winced, recalling that the giant ship was still in the process of sinking.

“Come on,” I said, helping Medaka to her feet. “We gotta go.”

She nodded weakly, sniffling a little. “I did it,” she whispered to herself.

“You did. You were very brave,” I praised her as we staggered towards the railing.

Could we escape from there? Maybe he had some lifeboats or something…

“CAPTAIN!” a voice rang out, jolting me from my thoughts, and I looked over in the direction it’d come from.

On the horizon I saw the Lovey Dovey approaching the King Crab, Jodie waving her arms at me while Eliza steered it closer. Never had I been so glad to see a heart-shaped boat before in my life!

“Great timing,” I chuckled to myself.

With their help, Medaka and I were rescued from the sinking warship and brought back to land, all while the townsfolk cheered for our victory over the man who’d enslaved them from the edge of the cliff.

They had watched the whole thing, and it seemed like the entire town had come out to watch.

“What the Hell happened to just ‘talk with them,’ huh?! And what was with that huge explosion?! It nearly tipped the whole damn boat over!” Eliza demanded, poking me in the arm, which had me wince as she prodded one of the explosion burns I’d gotten.

“Things didn’t go as planned?” I replied with a weak chuckle.

“I’ll say,” Jodie snorted, before bending down and inspecting Medaka’s bruised face with frown. “And who’s this?”

“I’m Medaka!” the red-head replied, though it was a bit slurred.

“She was a big help!” I said, patting her on her helmeted head. She grinned at that before sagging a little, all of the adrenaline she’d built up till now vanishing with the end of the fight.

The islanders helped us by hauling our asses to the nearest clinic, where we were fussed over by my crew and Medaka grandfather.

As cooling salve was applied to my wounds, I lay back in the bed and thought about all the crazy shit I’d just done. I’d saved a town from enslavement, killed my first man, and somehow walked away with only minimal damage.

‘Not bad for a day’s work,’ I thought, trying to stay upbeat.

I couldn’t forget the headless body of Ganzack, though, nor the spray of hot blood across my face as I’d decapitated him with a swing of my mace. His corpse lingered in my thoughts, and I could see it whenever I closed my eyes.

Even though I was able to hear the townsfolk cheering and celebrating through the clinic’s walls, I couldn’t bring myself to feel anywhere near as happy about the outcome of the fight as them.

‘Is this what I can expect in this world?’ I thought with a sinking sensation in my stomach. ‘Blood and horror?’

This was not a story where people never died no matter how much damage they took. This was the real world, now, with real consequences to my actions. Could I handle that? I was just some guy who liked to make puzzles and shit!

I was broken out of my spiraling thoughts by the sound of snoring, and glanced over at where Medaka was lying on a cot next to my own. Seeing her, safe and mostly sound, I couldn’t help but smile.

Maybe this wouldn’t be all bad. I was a pirate now, but who said I couldn’t also help people while seeking adventure and treasure?

Yawning, I decided to follow the red-head’s example and take a quick nap. Maybe my everything would stop hurting when I woke up.