Undying Flame: A One Piece What If Story

Part 16: Dust Settling

As I came to, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, even before my eyes cracked open. Struggling to open my 10 ton eyelids, the light poured in, the hustle and bustle around me slowly fading in. As my eyes adjusted, I saw I was on the ground, next to Luffy, who was also unconscious. Before I could even speak, I got to my knees, but collapsed, landing with my head next to Luffy. I picked myself up with my hands, Chopper and Zoro walking over.

"Ace, it's good to see you're up." Chopper said, holding a small vial. Before he could speak, I grabbed his shoulder and panted.

"Luffy..." I said, my pain making it hard to talk. "What happened to him?"

"Uh, we don't know for sure." Chopper said. Zoro clicked his tongue and walked closer, squatting down, his sword sheaths rubbing against the sandy ground.

"Somehow, someone was able to stick him with a knife." he said, looking at Luffy. "Hody didn't use knives, and Luffy didn't fight any fodder." I panted, trying to recall the fight. Before I did, I remember what Luffy said to Hody.

"Luffy said he dealt with someone who was working with Hody." I said, standing up slowly, Chopper silently protesting, but not forcing me down. "Said he was stalking a 'Crybaby'."

"Nice to know." Chopper said. "But the real issue is Luffy. He's lost too much blood, and none of us are a match for him."

"I am." Jinbe said, the large fishman standing there. He pulled his sleeve up, exposing his arm. "Take as much as you need."

"But Jinbe!" a woman yelled. Upon closer inspection, it was a mermaid with short black hair, clad in purple, her bicep wrapped, a bandage on her forehead. "Sharing blood with humans is illegal on Fishman Island!"

"Then I guess it's lucky I'm a pirate in the first place." he said in retort, then sat on the ground on the opposite side of Luffy than I had been on. Chopper approached him, a needle connected to a tube, leading to another needle, in Luffys arm. Before Chopper could prick Jinbe, a large shadow was cast over us all. Standing there was a man I had only heard of, King Neptune.

"Jinbe, what is the meaning of this?" his voice boomed, his large beard moving as he spoke.

"Your majesty..." he said, standing, just to kneel to the man. "It may be outlawed, but this man saved the island."

"Not only did he save the island..." the King said, pointing his trident at Jinbe. Then, he continued, tears in his eyes. "He saved my dearest daughter from the invisible grasp of Vander Decken." Is that who stabbed Luffy? The guy who was stalking 'crybaby'? Crybaby was the Mermaid Princess?! "If anyone dare interrupt the transfer of blood, I will personally throw them in..." Before he could finish, there was a loud boom nearby.

"That's where Hody was being escorted..." said one of the fishmen at the King's foot. Then, there was another boom, a figure flying towards the area we were in. With a crash, Hody landed, blood pouring out of his mouth and nose, severe burns covering his body. The three fishmen flanking the King stepped up, readying their weapons.

"I won't..." Hody panted, struggling to stand up. "Let you tarnish this island, Jinbe."

"It is the will of her majesty Otohime." Jinbe said, standing up. "We need to be better."

"God, you sound just like her." Hody said, laughing, blood coming up with each. "She was so soft, and look where that got her." He smiled, blood dripping from his chin. "Tell me Jinbe, what happened to Fisher Tiger's will? Did any of you keep it going? Arlong tried, but he got taken down by that little brat!!" He pointed at Luffy, his bloodied fingers gesturing at Luffy's unconscious body. "If you were truly Fisher Tiger's ally, you wouldn't have been about to save that human!" Jinbe was looking at Hody, not moving a step, letting him spew his words. "That Queen never would have stopped trying to join hands with the humans...THAT'S WHY I SHOT HER!!" he screamed at the end, his blood landing on the floor. "That was the only way!!" he yelled, taking a step, his body wobbling. "We fishmen need to be angry at those weak humans!! Just look at how easily this 'Great Pirate' breaks! " With that, he kicked off, his fist behind his head, preparing to attack Luffy. I went to jump in front of the incoming fishman, but my legs gave up, my body falling to the ground. Instead, Jinbe took a simple step to the side, shielding Luffy. The blow landed, Hody standing there, his fist extended into Jinbe's face, blood dripping from Jinbe's nose.

"You misunderstand Fisher, even after this long." Jinbe said, Hody's hand recoiling while shaking from the strain his body was under. "In his last moments, Fisher Tiger wished he could have loved the humans. Exactly like Queen Otohime had been able of doing. She was special." Jinbe snatched Hodys wrist before he could withdraw it, and gripped it, Armament Haki covering his hand, Jinbe's other hand drawing a fist back. "Fishman Karate...Blow of the Tide!" Jinbe extended his fist, slamming it into Hodys face, releasing his wrist, sending him flying back, blood streaming from his already gushing nose and mouth.

Hody landed on his back, 20 feet away. He wobbled to stand, blood landing with a splash on the ground. Everyone in the area I was in watched as Hody reached into his singed pockets and pulled out a few pills, the same ones from earlier. "How sad." Jinbe said, the area we were all on slightly raised from where Hody was standing. "I've heard of your Energy Steroids. That's how you managed to combat both Ace and Luffy, isn't it? You've taken so many, you're now reliant on them. Aren't I right, Hody?" Jinbe pried. "You're pathetic. You are a remnant of a nonexistent grudge!"

"You may be a fishman, but you do not belong to Fishman Island!" the kings voice boomed. Hody, swallowing the last few pills, stood there, wobbling, his eyes trained on the king. "My wife may have excused human acts, but the acts of one of her own leading to everything you have done would shame her."

"Shame?" Hody croaked, wiping his lip, trying to stop the blood coming from his mouth. Slowly, his broken teeth fell out, new ones under them, pushing them out, but not emerging. "What would that fool have known of shame? She tried to join hands with humans, the most shameful act possible." With that, he exploded off the ground once more, this time, leaping at the king.

Before Hody got even remotely close to the king, the three fishman around him exploded towards the flying figure, each striking with their weapons, everything happening in a flash. The next thing I saw, Hody was flying away, blood pouring out of his new wounds. Two slashes in an X on his chest, a long, deep slash right between them horizontally, three puncture wounds in the middle of the deep cut. Hody landed on the ground, right where he had jumped from, blood pooling out of his body. There's no way he survives that. Each of those attacks had intent to kill. I looked at the fishmen, all still in their landing positions from their attacks.

"Hopefully, with this, we can make mothers dream of a joined world a reality." The blue haired prince said.

"As Hody Jones dies, I hope so too does the hate I feel coming from him for the humans." The King said. Hody tried to get up, rolling to his stomach, the blood coming out in streams. Attempting a pushup, Hody fell back onto his stomach, splashing his own blood.

"You..." Hody yelled, laying face down in the puddle of his blood, mixed with dirt. "Fishmen are doomed... You'd ally yourselves with the murderers of our heroes!!"

"Fisher Tiger didn't die at human hands." Jinbe said, his voice solemn. "He was injured by them, yes. But his own anger towards humans was what killed him. In his dying moments, Fisher put his hatred above his own life."

"That's...beside the point." Hody said, rolling to his back, blood still leaking out of each hole in his chest, the slices slowing down, but the puncture wounds still streaming the crimson liquid out. "I meant me...You humans killed me...And now...I'll become a martyr."

"I don't know if the blood loss got to you or what." the blue haired prince said, stabbing his trident into the ground. "But you were killed by us, the three princes of Fishman Island." Hody glared at the prince, gritting what would have been his teeth. "But I must say, these two sure helped." He looked back at me, then at Luffy. Then, he looked back at Hody, his two brothers doing the same.

"You utterly lost." The King said. "Your rage was misplaced, your motives too barbaric, and your understanding sorely lacking." Hody coughed, blood coming up with it. "Even if we were to treat your wounds, you wouldn't last long. I, for one, hope your soul can get the redemption that you couldn't get in this world." With that, Hodys hand slowly lifted off the ground, covered in blood, the pool under him growing. Then, his hand fell into the crimson puddle, the last of his strength gone.