One Piece: The Freedom Fighters

Chapter 4: Sukato's Unwanted Ability

Sukato awoke with a start. "GAH!" He yelped, his eyes adjusting to the blinding fluorescent lights above him. He tried to sit up, but his arms and legs were stuck. Sukato had been bound to an operating table, and couldn't move! He began to panic, looking around frantically. He was in a large, white room with all sorts of strange medical equipment and foreign-looking devices. There were two Marines with rifles guarding the door, both of whom avoided Sukato's gaze. He tried to recall what happened, racking his brain for memory. He was beaten up by that weird electricity guy, the Marines came and escorted him to their Navy Base... But right when they went inside, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head before everything went black. One of the Marines had knocked him out! Suddenly, Sukato heard a shrill, calm voice in front of him.

"Test number 254. I believe to have perfected the formula this time... Subject has just woken up, and seems rather distressed." Spoke a rather rotund man in a lab coat. He was facing a Marine holding a camera and holding a syringe of red liquid in his hand. "I have decided to incorporate trace amounts of xylyl into the mixture, if we're lucky, it'll give the solution the body-altering capability we need." He explained, seemingly documenting the experiment.

"W-what?" Sukato asked, looking up at the man. "Body Alterin'? What the hell are ya talking about?!" He barked, trying to break free from the operating table. The scientist looked at Sukato but didn't respond, instead starting to walk over with an ever-widening smile.

"The subject today is Sukato Kombo, a notorious thug on Seagull Cove. He has been messing with our operations for the past few months and seems to have an especially tough body. Typically, I only give subjects about a tenth of the syringe, but I have been giving word that Vice-Admiral Buckshot wants to punish this subject for his crimes. So I'll be giving him the whole thing!" He beamed devilishly, readying his syringe.

"N-NO! WAIT!" Sukato yelled, crying out as the scientist JAMMED the syringe into his arm and injected the fluid. Sukato went quiet and grit his teeth, unsure of what was going to happen next. Suddenly, he began to feel a searing pain all over his body! It felt like he was being stabbed with flaming knives, and it was hell! "A-AGGHHH!" He screamed, trashing his body like a fish out of water. This painful sensation lasted for a few minutes, the scientist smiling sinfully the whole time. After what felt like an eternity, the pain ended, and Sukato caught his breath. "W... What the hell... Did you do..."

Still ignoring him, the Scientist turned back to the camera. "Remarkable! Not only has the subject managed to live, but with minimal repercussions!" He smiled, very pleased with the results so far. "We shall now test the subject." He said, turning to Sukato. "Now, listen and listen well. We are going to give you a simple test. Do it well, and we will set you free. How does that sound?" The scientist instructed, looking down at Sukato.

"... F... Fine." Sukato replied, realizing that he didn't have much choice. The scientist smiled and pulled out a small remote. With a press of the button, the binds holding Sukato down to the table retracted, letting him move again. Sukato sat up, rubbing his wrists a little. "Okay... So what's this test?" He asked, glaring at the Scientist. He hated his current situation. He had no idea where he was, where his friends are, and a crazy Science freak injected some sort of fluid into his body! But... he should just comply for now... And once he has his chance, beat the hell out of that Scientist!

The Scientist pressed another button on his remote, and a tile in the roof opened up. "Simple." The Scientist said, a black punching bag lowering from the hole in the roof. "Hit this bag as hard as you can." The Scientist explained, the Marine holding the camera adjusting the zoom so that it could get a better view.

Sukato raised an eyebrow at the seemingly simple task. "That's it?" He asked, surprised by the mere simplicity of it. "Easy!" Skuato smirked, standing up and approaching the bag. "One punched bag, coming UP!" He called out, pulling back his fist and punching the bag as hard as he could! Usually, Sukato's punches would send a bag like this swinging, but as his fist collided with the bag... It didn't even budge! "Wuh?" Sukato blanked, looking over to the Scientist who was shaking his head. "I... I..." He stammered. What happened? His body... it's weaker! "N... No! No! This can't be right!" Sukato yelled, punching the bag again and again in frustration. This can't be happening! "W-what did you do to me?!"

However, as Sukato hit the bag, something happened. Sukato's arms began to change. Each hit he landed on the bag made it budge more and more, and as Sukato got into a rhythm, his punches were hitting faster and harder. The more he punched... the stronger his punches became! "DAMNIT!" Sukato screeched, hitting the bag one last time with a dual-handed haymaker! The punch rattled the bag to its core, causing to to fly off of it's chain! "Hah... Hah..." Sukato panted, looking down at his arms. What just happened? His body... it was weaker... but then stronger? Before he could figure anything out, his arms started to burn, just like how they did when he was first injected. "Gah!" He cries, dropping down to his knees.

"Interesting, interesting!" The Scientist laughed, clapping his hands happily. "It would seem that the Subject's body HAS been altered! If I had to guess: His muscles were changed to be more frail, but increase when they hit something!" The Scientist happily explained to the Camera. "This isn't exactly what we want, but it's huge! This isn't the result desired, but it's quite close! We will study the Subject more, and alter the drug as needed." The Scientist nodded as the Marine turned off the camera. Sukato slowly stood up and looked to The Scientist.

"What? Y... You said you were going to let me go!"

"Huh? Oh, there's been a... change in plans." The Scientist replied, turning back to Sukato. "You're going to stay here until we find out how your body's been changed. In exchange, we will let you live. How does that sound?"

"L-let me... live?" Sukato repeated, glaring at The Scientist. He felt a rush of emotions, anger, confusion, even a little fear. He had changed. Was it for the better? He has no idea... But he's not gonna stay here and let this jerk experiment on him! "I... YOU JACKASS!" Sukato yelled, running up and SOCKING The Scientist with a right hook! He began to strike The Scientist over and over, his punches growing once again. After a series of blows, the Scientist dropped to the ground. The Marine holding the camera dropped down and tried to tackle Sukato. Seeing him approach, Sukato turned to the side and delivered an elbow strike to The Marine's skull. The other two Marines by the door raised their guns at Sukato, ready to fire. But before they could, Sukato ran to them and spread his arms, giving each one a punch to the face! Without thinking, Sukato ran out of the room and started to make a break down the hall. He had no idea where he was going, what to do, or what he had become... But he knew one thing for sure.

Sukato will NEVER forgive the Navy for what they did to him.