The Copyist (One Piece & OC)

Chapter 104:

***Amaya's POV***

We continued to run towards the castle, bypassing a large area of minions who were still being held off by Kid's crew. It was smooth sailing until the guys started to complain to one another. Yup, we lasted a whole ten seconds. So much for progress.
"Gee, I can't believe you'd cause such a big scene, Jaggy!" Lu was the first to shoot off his mouth.
"Look who's talking, Luffy!" Zoro butted in with a slightly raised voice.
"You're in no place to talk either, Roronoa!" Kid snapped back in response.
"You were the worst with that large metal attack!" Ace joined in, making me sigh in the process.
As they argued, they sped up, quickly overtaking my steady pace. Next thing I knew, Killer and I were running side by side as we just listened behind the madness.
"Listen, Jaggy! We'll sneak in quietly from here!" Lu declared.
"Don't tell me what to do! I don't remember allying with you fools!" Kid announced, heatedly.
"And here I thought we connected." I swiped a fake tear with the back of my hand, earning a single laugh from the blonde next to me.
"What!?" Lu took offense as he and Kid paused their running to face one another.
I was just proud that Lu's grown enough to realize when he's being insulted. He's changed so much since the time he met Sabo.
"Are you listening, Straw Hat!? You're always-"
"Bye, guys!" Zoro cut in. "I'm gonna take Kaido's head." He started to run ahead before Ace pushed his head down with one hand and jumped over his head.
"Better let me take the lead then, Greenie." Ace spoke with a two fingered salute.
"Don't call me that!" Greenie snapped at the cheeky raven head.
Their banter quickly caught Lu and Kid's attention as the two captains took off after them, yelling things like 'wait' or 'I won't let you'.
Killer's pace slowed as his veins started to protrude out of his arm more. "The plan is all messed up. They're out of control. They're hopeless!" Killer concluded with his Smile forced laugh at the end.
I chuckled at his sentiment. "Way to look on the bright side there, Killer. You know how those two are." I focused my eyes back on the boys ahead. "When it comes down to it, they're pretty dependable, right?" I grinned at the sight of them making forward progress despite pushing each other out of the way.
"Hey! Intruders!" A new voice raised.
"Don't let them get away!" Another wave of enemies surged ahead of us, trying to block our path.
Punched, flamed, slammed, and sliced, Kaido's subordinates were quickly dealt with by the six of us. That wasn't even a contest for them or even a basic warm-up.
"Isn't that Killer?" A random enemy commented.
"Yeah, that's him." Another confirmed with a mocking tone.
"Wasn't he forced to eat a Smile fruit?" A mocking voice questioned.
"Ha, yeah, he was! And now he's a Pleasure!" Another laugh joined in.
The remaining enemies in the vicinity all started to laugh at Killer's predicament as we continued to press on. The laughter climbed in volume before Kid snapped.
"What's so funny?!" The red headed captain grumbled as he jumped high in preparation for a harsher attack. "You bastards! Don't laugh at my friend!"
BOOOOOM
Kid landed near Killer and I after sending Kaido's grunts flying in former fits of laughter. Once he did, Kid snapped his head towards Killer. "I'll send anyone who laughs at you to hell!"
"I see." Killer responded stoically before giving off two laughs. Though his words seemed unfeeling, his loosened shoulders and less visible veins told a different story.
"Hey, Jaggy!" Zoro stole Lu's nickname for the one-armed captain.
"Don't cause any more trouble!" Lu finished.
"Like you're ones to talk!" He griped back.
"Hey, Kid." I called with a smirk.
"What, Red?" He turned his head towards me with his fierce look.
I shook my head. "Nothing much," I looked away. "Just nice to see you have a kind side for your friends." With that I started to dash ahead, leaving the guys to follow my trail.
"Don't stand out!" Lu ordered them again.
"They know who we are anyways." Kid rebutted.
"Stick to the plan!" Lu responded.
"Shove it up your ass! I'll just do what I want!"
They started to run behind me. I could hear Greenie and Killer banter about how rough of a captain the other had to deal with. As they did so a couple of archers tried to take us out, but their arrows were intercepted by steel blades. Both first mates sent an air slice in retaliation to the enemy, wiping them out in an instant.
It wasn't long until we reached an inner corridor with wooden panels. As we reached the bottom of a staircase, I heard a smaller amount of people running behind me.
I turned to only see Ace and Lu still present. I sighed. So Kid and Killer went off on their own, and Greenie got lost. Great. I shook my head. They can handle themselves at least.
A few grunts flooded into the space before Lu's arm started to resonate with his new ability. Sensing the change in demeanor, Ace and I stayed out of his way.
"Let's get a little more practice." Lu seriously spoke before he started to come in contact with our opponents. Despite the light hits, each man started to cough blood as their organs were destroyed from the inside out with the new technique.
"What?" I questioned Ace. "Gonna let your brother show you up?" I teased, but that seemed to light a fire underneath him since he also started to practice the new move.
"As if!" Ace declared.
I noticed that more soldiers started to pour into the room, allowing them copious amounts of practice dummies. Seeing that they would be occupied for the time being, I decided to make my way upstairs.
"I'm going on ahead!" I declared, strapping my air board to my back.
It was time I put two of our plans into motion. I still had a stock of kibi-dongo of Otama's that I needed to start feeding Kaido's soldiers who were part animal. While I am doing that, I needed to start taking out a large amount of grunts, so our current forces won't be as overwhelmed.
I paused in the long empty corridor. With that in mind, speed will be of the essence. Then again...
I glanced at all the wooden panels surrounding me and grinned.
If I take my time to make use of this, that might work even better.
I crouched to the floor, placing my hands directly on the boards. It was time to make some sand. Draining the surrounding area of all moisture, the boards started to break into thousands of tiny particles before swirling around me.
After ten minutes, I looked to see that I'd only disassembled a couple of rooms worth of wood, yet I had a fairly decent amount of sand. Enough to cover about half of the former room where I left the guys. Redoubling my efforts, I focused on the task at hand. This was going to take a while to get the amount that I wanted.
As I kept working, I lost track of time, but it was worth it. I was finally done. It was time to head back to the Performance Floor to start the next phase.
Racing back to the area we just left, I channeled the Illusion fruit to make me appear as one of Kaido's men once again. However, I settled to look like one of his average male soldiers instead of my usual self in a disguise. This would draw less attention.
Nearing the door, I slowed to a stop before entering normally into the reengaged party. You would never have guessed that our group just reeked some havoc through here as quickly as these people went back to partying.
I joined the scene, weaving throughout the crowd towards the platform that Queen was sitting on. He was a few floors up the side of the building, but that was nothing if I used Air Walk to make it up.
As I bobbed and weaved throughout the drinking and dancing bodies, I started channeling the grains of sand into the room, letting it come in a steady stream along the edges of the wall so as to not be noticed. This was the only reason I didn't use Air Walk from the get go to make it to Queen and his horrible singing
Scanning the appearances of those around me, all of Kaido's army looked like they had all succumbed to the drunken state of idiocy. There were also very few of the Animal Kingdom Pirates who were half animal on this level, but the few who were I managed to sneak one of the kibi dongo in front of their face.
That should help booster our side as well once Otama takes over. Now then, I looked directly up at the overhanging platform, and my next destination. It was time to make my most convincing illusion yet.
Dropping my illusion, I revealed myself as I jumped into the air. "Sky Walk!"
After three leaps into the air, I arrived in front of Queen, interrupting his conversation with whom I can only assume was Orochi: the evil Shogun who took over the Flower Capital with Kaido's assistance.
"Interesting topic," I stated, earning their rapid attention as I leaned back against a pillar.
"Ehh? Who's this beauty?" The purple haired buffoon questioned.
Ignoring him, I continued with what I had to say to the two. I didn't have endless stamina after all, so why waste the effort on this piece of trash shogun to explain.
"It appears that you are both still under the assumption that Kanjuro is still alive to bring you Oden's heir." Orochi's eyes seemed to harden at the realization that I was an enemy, but I continued.
"Hate to break to ya, but I put that man six feet under." I glanced at my nails as I finished my statement, noting that I should go get them done with the girls after this little adventure.
Focusing back on Queen and Orochi, I realized that the former had a slacked jaw and the latter stiffened, likely realizing that I not only heard their earlier conversation but also knew about his plans for Momo.
Then again, I could have been giving this man way too much credit, but it was always better to overestimate your opponents than to underestimate them.
Casting the first illusion, I created the image of myself right where I was while my real body was hidden in the fake scenery I conquered up. Shaving myself to the door, I prepared to knock before casting my second round of illusions.
"Ehh?? There's no way Kanjuro's dead!" The shogun refuted.
Knock Knock Knock
"Now what?" The shogun's surprise turned to instance annoyance.
"How should I know?" Queen acted like a broody teenager not able to continue his garage band act. "Open the door." Queen commanded at the end, causing a backup dancer to open the door.
The illusion of the red-headed samurai came into view behind the doorframe with the image of a small squirming bundle in his left arm.
"Eh?! Kanjuro? But-"
Orochi was cut off by surprise as the illusion of Kanjuro dropped the bound Momo to the floor before whipping out his large paintbrush to smite the illusion of me.
My fake self was too slow to react, getting chopped in half with a shocked and pale expression before collapsing dead to the ground. The bound Momo started to wiggle towards the exit before Kanjuro scooped him back up with a victory grin.
Orochi started laughing."I knew you wouldn't have died that easily. After all, you still have a performance to finish." Orochi smiled mercilessly before glaring once again at my fake corpse. "Besides, how could a wretch like this woman ever take out one of the best fighters from the famous Kozuki clan?" He cackled evilly. "Well done, Kanjuro for bringing this Kozuki brat back."
As I waited in the shadows of my illusion, I bided my time by sucking dry the moisture in more wood that surrounded the platform that we were in. Collecting more sand to add to the downstairs collection until their conversation was over and their plan in motion.
Once someone started to head for the illusion of Momo, I took its place, so when they grabbed the arms, they would feel matter instead of air. As long as they weren't overly vigilant, they wouldn't notice that the porportion of the arms would not match that of a child's.
I wish I could have done the act on my own two feet, but I had to perform it all on my knees to match the height of Momo's illusion. Soon I was tied by rope to two large wooden beams that created a large 'X'.
While the enemy could see their greatest threat tied to the beams with a scared expression, it was all I could do to stop myself from laughing at the easiest restraints to get out of. After all, it was only wood and rope that would only further feed my abilities.
Since it was made for a child to hang, I was tall enough to straighten to my real height underneath the illusion. The only thing that was slightly holding me back were my tied hands, which were done rather tightly. However, it was mere child's play in the grand scheme of things.
Queen started to grab the microphone once again, causing a harsh ring to sound about the place and earning everyone's attention in the process.
"Everyone!" He shouted. "Shogun Orochi presents!" He gestured in a flamboyant fashion. "An impromptu special event starting now!"
All of Kaido's minions started to garner and gawk in my direction, seeing the illusion of a small beaten up child.
Orochi took the mic. "Everyone! The brat that you see," he paused to create an effect. "Lo and behold. He's Kozuki Oden's son who was thought to be dead twenty years ago. Tonight, I'll show this brad mercy, and send him to meet his father!" He declared. "Oden's son, Momonosuke! Why is he still alive? Why is he still a child? Do you wanna know?!"
The cheers roars once more before Queen spoke again.
"It's getting exciting, isn't it, guys?! But keep it down, you punks!!"
"The day Oden died, his stronghold, Oden Castle, also collapsed. But a group of people who were in the castle vanished into then air. The Akazaya samurai and this brat!" Orochi pointed his grotesque finger at me before walking closer and looking smug.
"Where did they go? To the Future! They crossed through twenty years of time! They appeared in today's Land of Wano, looking exactly like they did back then."
I cracked my neck in annoyance, but the sound was missed with Orochi going off on anther tangent on who made them go to the future. I'd forgotten just how obsessed this man was with Momo and anything else related to Oden.
Then again it wasn't surprising that a fearful man would take extensive notes on his former enemy. Dead or not.
"Make some noise! Drink!" Orochi screeched, making me wish that he was nearly finished with his speech. "Oden's history will completely end here! Even if the Akazaya samurai come dashing in, it's gonna be too late!" He laughed like a maniac.
I was about to drop the guise, but a large rumbling outside the door cause my to pause in my tracks.
"All right!" Orochi continued either unaware or uncaring. "Let's have a drink to celebrate the execution!"
The screen doors slid open, revealing an even taller man than Queen.
"Oh, Kaido-sama!?" Queen called. His voice was still projected by the mic in his hand.
He entered the room, followed by two other massive figures. While I had no recollection from my past life anymore, I had no doubt that this imposing man before me was none other than Kaido.
His entourage then could only be assumed to be his other top members: King and Jack.
While Jack was larger than Kaido physically, he was the less intimidating of the bunch. He had tusks protruding from his mouth, giving him a mammoth-like appearance.
The other man who I could only assume to be King was just as tall, but much more slender. He wore a mask that covered his face, but he was the second most intimidating character in the room, only second to Kaido himself. The most interesting feature of his was the ever going flame that originated from the man's back.
Kaido went to the center of the room, which was also center stage for all his underlings below.
"Listen up, guys!" He spoke with a loud voice that wasn't even a yell. "Let me add something interesting to this boring brat's execution." He twirled his spiked club in a menacing fashion before slamming it into the wooden floor boards. "It's the New Onigashima Project!"
The roars of the crowd before were nothing compared to the eruption that followed their captain's statement. The building itself rumbled.
"The world has finally started moving. They decided to abolish the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but not because the government went nuts. It's a sign of their confidence that they can bring us under control with the Navy HQ's new force."
He must me talking about the different Kuma bots that they've created, but to think that they would change the position of the navy's government so drastically is surprising.
"But while the World Government is convinced of that, we'll collect the most powerful forces in this world: The Ancient Weapons!"
My blood froze. There's no way that they have access to that kind of tech already, right? That would be catastrophic.
"To accomplish that, we allied with Big Mom" Kaido announced to his crew.
Harsh purple lightning flashed on another side of the Performance Floor as Big Mom made her splashy entrance, breaking through a wall.
"Did you call me, Kaido?" She spoke as if unaware of the announcement. Surrounding her were many minions that she'd infused her soul-soul fruit with, and in their clutches were Nami and Carrot.
"You're finally here, Linlin." Kaido called down to the woman who just recaptured her storm cloud. Zeus had betrayed Big Mom earlier, siding with Nami, so things weren't looking good for Nami.
"What took you so long?" He questioned.
"Don't be so stiff, Kaido. I made it in time." She lightly berated before giving her signature 'Mama-mama' laugh. "As Kaido said, we formed an alliance for a purpose. If we're at each other's throats, it's out of our reach, but if we join hands, it's already within our grasp."
Big Mom paused before starting again, this time with Kaido joining her sentence at the end.
"This time we will get the greatest treasure: 'The One Piece!"
Yeah, that's not gonna go over well, especially with Lu, or Law, or Kid. Geez this list is ongoing since I haven't event started listing their crews, but a lot of people I tell you.
"The presence of the Ancient Weapons will bring about fear and a war in the world." Kaido declared. "Prepare yourself! That's the world of violence that we hope for." He ordered at the end, raising the excitement level in the process of his speech.
"How exciting!" Orochi commented, a wicked smile on his large face.
"So listen, Orochi's subordinates." Kaido continued, earning a frown from the mentioned man. "You must choose. This country is a natural stronghold surrounded by the falls, which the Navy and the World Government can't easily penetrate. If we build more weapon factories and force even the people of the Flower Capital to work, this place will become a lawless land: a paradise for pirates!"
My fists clenched as I tried to redirect my anger for the upcoming battles. Now was not yet the time, despite it being so close.
My mind went back to the Flower Capital that I saw as I saved that blue-haired man with the forced smile. The people's faces were bright, but their eyes didn't match. They were already suffering, so the thought of them turning out like the people who were forced into the prisons was outrageous.
I forced my focus onto the large amount of sand I'd been collecting. Slowly having the particles create new ones by drying out more surrounding wood. For now, I must endure. What I'm going through now is nothing compared to the people of this land has been forced to endure all this time.
"Kaido, you bastard!" Orochi voiced my mental thoughts, but his reasonings were much more selfish. "What are you blabbing about?! The Flower Capital is my home turf!"
Blah Blah Blah
I focused back on the wood to tune out most of his selfish rant.
"In a sense, the Flower Capital is the symbol of the Kurozumi Clan's retaliation! Their lands and live are all mine!! Even you," he pointed strongly at the Emperor of the Sea, veins bulging from his forehead. "Can't mess with it as you please!"
Kaido turned his back the the yelling man before popping his neck on both sides. He took two lumbering steps towards my illusion of a now terrified Momo.
"Are you listening, damn it??" The purple haired Shogun continued to screech. "I'll make the rascals of the Kozuki Clan, who tortured the Kurozumi Clan to get on their knees, and to keep them from rebelling against me, I'll parade horrors before them! Forever and ever!"
Kaido stopped in front of my physical body with an intense expression his face. However, Orochi continued.
"I'm the one who'll destroy the Land of Waves! This country is mine! Know your place, Kaido! You've only been here a short time! Who do you think is making it possible for you to procure weapons?! The Land of Wano can only exist with me! I hope you know that!" He ranted, restlessly.
Kaido lifted his iron, spiked club off his back and let it settle heavily to the ground as Orochi took a breath.
"I see you understand." Orochi grinned. "What we've got to do right now," he started. "Is kill that brat, right-"
He was cut off, literally. Kaido borrowed the long sword from King who'd offered his weapon. In a flash, Orochi was decapitated. Although it seemed too quick to be real, Orochi was down on the ground without his head.
The crown that was placed on the Shogun's head clattered to the ground with the rest of his oversized body. A dead calm settled in the large room with jaw drops filling the space.
"Heh. I don't care." Kaido spoke first. "We don't need him anymore." He declared, flinging the splattered blood off the borrowed sword.
Big Mom was the second to break the silence from the ground floor. Her boisterous laughter startled those around her before the rest of the pirates started to calm down from the excitement. The remaining samurai and ninja in the room who were with Orochi were a different story. They were still shocked stiff from the event.
"How ridiculous," Kaido spoke again, nearing my restraints. He lifted his fist before pounding the wood above my head. "Both the Kurozumi Clan and the Kozuki Clan mean nothing!" His voice was directed back towards his men.
"Now the fly that was attracted to pirates is dead. Decide what to do in five seconds, Orochi's men!" Kaido ordered. "Do you wanna become pirates and follow me? Or do you wanna challenge us here and die? I know how loyal you samurai are, so I'll even respect those of you who decide to fight and die alongside your Lord."
This could actually be a good thing, depending on their responses. If we're lucky, Kaido will take out a group of Samurai who were loyal to the slime. That would be less enemies for us to deal with in the upcoming fight.
"To prepare of the upcoming World War, I will turn this country into a pirate empire! We'll go on more missions for this goal. So tonight, we'll relocate this Onigashima to the Flower Capital, and the Land of Wano will fall. I'll rename our country New Onigashima. The new shogun will be my son, Yamato!"
A man with as long ears as Eneru spoke. "The Land of Wano, Ninja Force and Oniwabanshu. Five thousand strong. We'd like to serve you!"
"Likewise," another man spoke next to him. "The Land of Wano, Samurai Force, five thousand strong. We'll serve you from now on."
Annnnnd there went that hope, right down the drain. Now I've got another ten thousand to contend with later. Could Kaido just hurry up and leave, so I can take out his grunts already? Take Big Mom with you on your way out. I refused to be married on her timeline.
Kaido walked back over to stand in front of me, still seeing the image of a scared and injured Momo.
"Now in the Land of Wano, there is no Shogun or samurai who serve under him." Kaido gloated his position while in my face. He leaned back just a bit before continuing. "The foolish citizens of the Flower Capital must be enjoying the festivities too much to see that this will be their last day." He looked off to the side, taking a few steps as he did.
"Hey, you brat!" He directed at me again. "I've always had doubt."
I made the illusion crain its neck to make it look at Kaido in response to his words.
"A coward like you can't be that daring Kozuki Oden's son!" His tone was that of disbelief. His hand raised as he used his index finger to lift the underside of my chin.
My concentration focused solely on maintaining the illusion since he was coming into physical contact with my body. I had to make sure the illusion would match my portions as accurately as possible while looking authentic.
"This execution is for bringing an end to the old Land of Wano." Kaido continued with his hand still in place. "Looking back twenty years ago in that burning castle, you didn't answer my question."
Silence lingered as I had no knowledge of the memory that he was bringing up. After all, I was only an illusion of the future leader of Wano. It's not like I suddenly had all of Momo's memories.
Kaido removed his finger, so the illusion slumped its head once more.
"If you're not Kozuki Oden and Toki's son, I'll cancel your execution immediately. I'd be ashamed because it would've been a false accusation." Kaido stepped heavily behind the wood that I was fastened to. "But if you doggedly say you're their son, you'll face the same fate as Oden."
Another moment of silence followed as there was shuffling in the crowd. With the rumble slightly activated, I could hear that Robin and some of the samurai were starting to become concerned.
"Let me ask you one more time, you brat." Kaido's voice ripped through the air. "What's your name?!"
Smirking, I dropped the illusion. Burning the ragged ropes that were keeping me tied in place, the large x I was tied to started to smolder with flames licking its edges.
"My name is Amaya Fukui." I declared as gasps sounded throughout the hall, mixed with various sighs of relief. "And I've come for war."

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Happy to be back! Thanks for waiting. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter back. 

Until Next Time...

World_Imaginer