One Piece, The Race of 3! | (Accepting Reserves for Later Crew Members/Started!)

[Jake the Sage]

"We have to go," Hermit suddenly said loud enough for everyone to hear. He had been keeping an eye on the new powerful presence that was drawing closer to them. He didn't feel like his crew should get in a fight. Hermit himself personally didn't care about getting into a scrabble with the person, he could still tell that he was stronger than the person. Yet for some reason he did not want Sena to get caught up in what could possibly be a volatile situation. Walking towards the door he stopped by Dogomo, looking out towards the barren street, then gave him a knowing look, "You can sense him too?"

[ANBU]

Kazuya watched as the man walked over and said that he had information about the log pose and he would help them if they allowed him to join one of their crews, Sena and Tsura having denied due to being ontent with their numbers and pushed it onto Kazuy to accept him. "Hmm.. sure you can join.. but until I know you properly my other crew members are definitely higher priority.." he then said looking around him and noticing Isha gone. "[i]He left...lets hope he didn't get himself lost[/i]" he then thought before he heard the Hermit saying they had to go and starting to move for the door, Kazuya quite unsure what the problem hermit apparently knew was.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Vincent couldn't not noticed the number of people leaving the bar, Dogomo and Hermit of his own crew and Kazuya of...well, Kauya's crew, who seemed to have forcefully recruited a new member, a simple case of passing it on. Vince chuckled a little at this youthful act, but couldn't help, couldn't resist the urge. He was quite puzzled why people were leaving all of a sudden.

Nodding to a barkeep, he payed for his drink as he swivled himself around, catching the eyes of a young lady gazing at him. Vince smiled from the flattery, but couldn't get caught up right now. This for him was far much more significant. And so, letting out a sigh as he streched his arms, Vince walked over to the door, soon wincing his eyes as he suffered a minor bleedout.

Walking outside he saw his crewmates, the gentleman Dogomo and...well, Hermit. So, Vince layed back, resting his head in his hands on the wall as he asked "What's up?"

[Jake the Sage]

[size=2]"Someone is coming,"[/size] Hermit said, once more in his usual quite tone, but this only seemed to add to the urgency that he had in his voice mere seconds ago. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck continue to stand on end as the person continued getting closer and closer. Looking back at Sena and the rest of the crews he let out a loud sigh before turning and walking over to his employer. Without another word he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the chair. Without letting go he kept a firm grip on her hand if she tried to shake him off, looking her in the eyes as he held on, [size=2]"Leave . . . right now . . ."[/size]

[Birkeland]

Dogomo heard commotion coming from within the bar, but maintained his composure. Sure enough, Hermit was the first to arrive and speak with him. "You can sense him too?" the man asked with his usual tone. The heavy warrior gave a firm nod before responding. [b]"Just a feeling. I do not know his exact location nor any useful details." [/b]Before long, Vince had also made his way to the door to join in. "What's up?" Hermit responded first with a small [size=2]"Someone is coming,"[/size] Dogomo motioned his head toward the general location of the docks. [b]"Hermit and I are unsure whether he is friend or for, but he is certainly giving off a negative aura. I am not sure we should inform Sena jus-"[/b]

His sentence was soon cut off by Hermit's abrupt decision to go back into the bar. A large hand seized his captain by the wrist and forced her from her chair. Dogomo walked over to Hermit and seized him by his wrist as well. [b]"Our decision, if any, is to be made by the Captain,"[/b] he spoke authoritatively. A low sigh came before he faced Sena. [b]"I apologize, Captain Sena. We should have mentioned it immediately. There is a person of immense power heading toward this general location. Our instincts tell us they are an enemy, or at the very least, no ally of ours. We formally ask you, Tsura, and Kazuya; What course of action should we take?"[/b] He looked out to the others to join in with their own opinions.

[Jake the Sage]

Hermit's eyes grew wide when he felt Dogomo take hold of his wrist. Releasing Sena's own he changed it to Dogomo's before launching the hefty man overhead and to his landing spot on a table which promptly smashed into pieces under the weight of it's new occupant. Scowling Hermit refused to acknowledge or even care that he had hurt "one of his crew mates" before turning back to Sena. He hadn't time to argue with someone who was foolish enough to sit and wait for orders while an enemy got closer. Grabbing hold of Sena once more he turned her around and pushed her towards her childhood friend and pointed to the back door, speaking now loud enough to be heard properly and with real urgency, "Get out of here this instance!"

[Birkeland]

Expecting anything other than an assault from his comrade, Dogomo was caught off guard as Hermit threw him into a table. Taken back by the swiftness of the attack, the heavy warrior shook his head in surprise. It was one thing that Hermit acted on his own accord, but this was unlike him. It seemed like the longer they had been in Logue Town, the deeper their anxiety and restlessness became. Not one to back down from a challenge, especially not to one of his allies, Dogomo tackled Hermit into the nearby wall without hesitation. The warrior formed a barrier between Hermit and the others. [b]"I acknowledge the threat that man possesses, but there is no reason for this! We need to think logically, else we become savage beasts!"[/b] Dogomo clenched his fists and prepared to lash out again. [b]"A soldier must know their place. But a man must prove his worth. If you want to continue, I suggest we settle our differences away from our crewmates."[/b] While he disagreed with the reason, he accepted that the crews needed to be moved away from their current location.

[Devack]

Leon smiled when one of the people at the table said he could join his crew. He sat back and started to explain to them the legend of log pose island. "I'm sumprised that you haven't heard of the leagund of Log Pose Island. It's an island that appears every 50 years. In the center of the island it is rummored that a large amount of Log Pose and one Eternal Pose. You'll be luckey if you grab it. The island is rummoed to only stay around for three days. Unfortunaly the only map to the island has been lost for centuries without it it is pretty much impossible to reach it." He then waited to see how thy woulld respond to this tale by cracking his back. He also noticed some of the people that were at the table had started to act werid. " That's about all I can tell you because thats all I know." he said as he rememberd that he had no idea were the map was.

[Hotaru987]

The three friends listened to theman's story with undevided attention. Even though they still needed a map, the fact that there was some way to get a Log Pose was good enough.

"This is great! All we have to do is find this map before the three days are up!" Sena exclaimed looking at both Tsura and Kazuya excitedly.

"Thats true...But he did say that the map was lost. For all we know it's not even on this island." Mizuki said shooting down Sena's smile.

Rei saw that and grabbed both of Sena's hands, "Please do not fret fair maden! For I will travel to the ends of the world to search for this map! Even if it means my life!" Sena laughed nervously, unsure of how to respond. So she ended up saying, "O-ok...."

Tsura shook his head at Rei but for the time being ignored his crew mate. Locating that map was more important

~elsewhere~

"Mr. Montaga! What a pleasure it is to see you!" The general exclaimed a smile stretching along his face. "And what exelent timing! We have been informed that The Red Wave Pirates are on this island. Lieutenant Shima-"

Said Lieutenant looked down, anger and embarressment present.

"-Already confronted them but was defeated. It appeares that they have allies here and becase of their collective effort our Marines were defeated. These other two crews were identified only moments ago. The Dark Sheild Pirates, and the recently name Wolf Fang Pirates. Both of them have already proved to be trouble for the Marines, and we want you to get rid of them."

Montaga's dark brimmed hat covered his eyes, his mouth in a fine thin line and his hands resting in his pockets. The only movement he made were his toes, as he repeatedly wiggled them.

"Fine, I suppose I dont have choice do I." He turned around leaing the office. Lieutenant Shima smirked in anticipation of the pirate's demise. Wanting to see for himself he followed after Montaga.

Montaga took in a deep breath, ignoring the impaitent look from Lieutenant Shima. After a few seconds he made a right, heading right for the bar that the three crews were in.

~The Bar~

The were still trying to figureout what to do when Hermit came back, grabbing Sena by the wrist demanding that they leave right that moment. Dogomo tried to stop Hermit but was thrown into a wall, the people running out of the way just in time. Sena gasped, "Hermit! What did I say about doing that!?" Hermit didnt appear to care, and proceeded to drag her out of the bar, but once again Dogomo interviened. Before Hermit could attack him agan, Sena ripped her hand from his grip and stood between them. "That enough! What is going on with you two?"

Tsura sighed and stood. "Perhaps they just need some fresh air. Besides I think the owner may want us to leave." He chuckled pointing to the hole caused by Dogomo being thrown, and the angry bartender.

Sena heaved a heavy sigh and agreed. "You're right. Let's go. We have that map to look for anyway."

Whatever seemed to worry Hermit and Dogomo didn't show. Not until they Were all halfway to the boats. "Hey!! Pirates!!" It was Lieutenant Shima calling from behind them. As everyone turned around Shima stood there, along with Montaga. "Mr. Montaga these are the ones!" He stepped to the side allowing Montaga to step forward.

Mizuki eyes widened and sweat rolled down her face, "N-no...I-it cant be...Why here?"

Though no one knew who he was, the danger and power radiating from him made it known he was no one to trifle with.

"Mizuki who is this man." Tsura asked seeing her behavior.

"He is called..Mr. Montaga. It's not his real name though. He himself claims to not even know his own name. And he....Is one of the 7 Warlords of the sea."

Sena quickly cut in, "No way! I know all of them, and he isn't one of them!"

Mizuki didnt look at her but responded, "It's not surprising...There are new warlords now.Th names werent released to the public, and only the Marines new them. I used to be a Lieutenant...But...Even so...I've never met one in person...There's also something else you guys should know....Mr. Montaga....Not only is he a warlord but....As of now he is ranked as the 3rd powerful man alive. His powers are unknown. Only the real important Marines know that."

Montaga yawned looking at the group of pirates. "Your little friend is right. Now that you know I suggest you just turn yourselves in now. I would really rather not fight you. To be honest I find it to be a waste of my time but, a job is a job I suppose."

[Jake the Sage]

Hermit could see the man, sense his power and knew it was easily like nothing he had ever seen before. It dwarfed many of their own power by far, even so with his own. When the man stated they should just turn themselves in instead of having to fight for a brief moment he thought that might be a good idea; he knew defeating this man was impossible for even all of them. Shaking his head he let his power exude out of him for a bit as he stepped in front of the entirety of the group, spreading his arms wide in a defensive manner. Without looking back he ordered them, [size=2]"Leave . . . I will occupy him for as long as I can . . ."[/size]

That was all Hermit could possibly hope to do, allow the others to get a good lead to prevent them all from being caught.

[Devack]

Leon listened in on there discussion about the map. He soon saw one of the people who had left come back in and grab the young lady by the wrist and drag her towards the exit of her bar. Leon saw a little fight among what he presumed to be crew mebers. They soon left the bar heading to the boats when they saw a man who one of the people in the group refered to as Mr.Montagu. Leon was almost cosumed with fear when he heard that this guy was a warlock of the sea for he had only heard rumers from his mom about there power. He soon the man who had tried to take one of the ladys out of the group step to the front and tell the group to leave. he knew he would regreat what he was about to say but he couldn't stop himself from drawing his blade and steping up as if to help the Hermit out." He's a warlock that means that you would even hold him off long enough for us to get a way, but with my help they can escape if thats all right with you sir." He then got in to his fighting stance and waited for the first attack.

[ANBU]

Kazuya walked with Kenshin after hearing hermit telling them to leave, following Sena mostly quietly until found by the lieutenant that was in the last bar fight and a new person, who Mizuki claimed was a Warlord of the sea and the 3rd most powerful man alive. After seeing Hermit volunteer to hold him back and seeing his new crew mate say about holding him back he stepped forwards, Kenshin drawing his Rifle, "now.. now.. I can't have my newest crew member dies so fast" he then said as he looked at the man claimed to be the 3rd most powerful in the world while Kenshin aimed at him expecting a bullet should stop the man no matter his power having heard of the warlords when he was with the marines but not really caring for the information now wishing he listened so he might perhaps know the man's power if the bullet didn't work. "Sena, Tsura, and the rest of your two crews, If this man's as strong as she claimed I Doubt this'll work" he said smiling weakly for half a second then turning to the man "If you see Isha you won't mind dragging him with you guys will you?" he then said as he stared at the Warlord of the see waiting a few seconds before darkness quickly spread from Kazuya and absorbed half a nearby sign which he launched at the man before the darkness spread equally fast and opened a hole below the Warlord's left foot, "Kenshin.." Kazuya then said leaning to the left allowing Kenshin to fire attempting to hopefully hit the man's chest or even one of his arms to at least hopefully weaken him.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Vince looked ahead and could hear the distress this Mr Montaga caused. And instinctively Vince could tell he was bound to cause no end of trouble. Looking ahead, the 3rd most powerful man seemed capable of backing this accolade of his. Vince looked ahead with a sigh, for some reason he didn't have hope. But he fet odd. Looking upon his mask, the malevolent curse he bore for so many years, he shook his head. He understood and despite hating it, Vince agreed with Hermit. He believed that they needed to escape, but according to Leon that was unlikely. Kazuya decided to bring out the opening arms, but Vince had a different approach.

He walked over to Rei and Sena, eyes fixed on the two. Placing his hand on Rei's shoulder, he asked "May I speak with Sena alone? I promise it won't be more than a few seconds, and it is of the upmost importance.", sighing at the end of his sentance as he took Sena's hand and lead her inside the bar.

Vince then kneeled down to Sena's eye level where he looked into them, saying "Sena, listen carefully. I'm your guardian, I swore that I would protect you to the greatest of my capability. However, if this Mr Montaga is who he claims to be, then I need to say this."

Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I have left everything, according to my will, to you. Every single worldly posession I own will be yours if I were to die. My will is located in a rucksack underneath my bed, which will entitle you to my estate, all my worldly goods, and every single cent made from my paintings."

Holding her shoulders he restrained Sena from hugging him, saying "I need to be honest with you, this person could even kill you, which I couldn't imagine, but if you escape, I want you to know I have done my best for you. Everything I did since I came to your home when you were but a baby was for you. My painting skill was for artwork which would give you some funds, and my home is a permanent home for you if you so need it. My life, Ms. Sena, has always been, and always be, yours and no-one elses. I needed to tell you how much I love you, you're the daughter I never had, but wished for."

Taking her, Sena, to Dogomo, Vince said "Take care of her, or you will regret it." before walking back to his original spot, looking over the mask that made him so much blood money. Tapping it, he entered a state of deep thought, speaking with the spirit of the mask.

"I need you're help"
"So what!? You've kept me imprisoned here for so long! I rarely get to spill blood anymore!"
"I know not when my fate ends, but I cannot risk death now. I need your power."
"And what's in it for me?"
"Well, you'll be able to have a shot at killing the 3rd strongest man alive."
"Able? Pfft! I'll kill him!"
"Don't be arogant, don't underestimate him."
"He's worthless and I'll show you! Place me on!"

Out of the trance, Vince smirked, tricking the Scarlet Terror into aiding him. And he did so, the mask placed on his face as his stern motuh became a wiced grin, eyes glowing a fierce red. He thought to the Terror "If we work as one, we may win." to be replied as "We will win! Stop denying my skill, mortal! I will slaughter him, and his crimson soul will splatter on the field as I bask in glory!"

Yet despite this, he felt hopeless. How could any of them stand up to this man. Vince had an idea, and using his rapier to cut his arm, he grabbed a magical brush and created two hounds of blood. "My Devil Fruit powers, aid me. Attack!" He ordered as the bloody hounds charged for this mysterious man. "Even though they are but blood, I hope the can hold him back before they turn to dust as they dry..."

[Birkeland]

True power stood before the heavy warrior, though it's exact form was unknown. Was Mr. Montaga a Devil Fruit user or was his natural strength enough? In any case, the weight of his presence was more than needed to intimidate everyone around him. The situation didn't ease itself when he was also revealed to not only be one of the Warlords of the Sea, but also the 3rd strongest man alive. Hermit and Leon had taken a battle stance while Kazuya and Kenshin launched their attacks. Dogomo was unable to do either, as he had been pulled aside by Vince. After a heartfelt speech, he donned his mask and left for battle with the others. "Take care of her, or you will regret it," Vince had added before leaving. The heavy warrior nodded and placed his hands on Sena's shoulder.

The warrior prepared his own, though less heartwarming, speech for his captain. [b]"Captain Sena, we must retreat. I know we should stay with the others, but they have made up their minds. We would be disrespecting their wishes if not even a single friend was to leave with their life. I cannot stop you if you are determined to remain here."[/b] The heavy warrior's decisions were already made. Should Sena wish to stay, he would remain together with his crew. At the very least, Tsura and his crew could retreat safely. Should Sena wish to leave, he would guard her until they came up with a plan of action. No matter what would happen, Dogomo was prepared for the worse.

Meanwhile, a familiar doctor lay sleeping in the shade of the building he was taking refuge at. The plaza of the town started to become cloudy, with a single dark cloud directly overhead. Isha stirred from his slumber when a gust of wind rushed by. It carried the ominous stench of danger and bloodthirst, no doubt involving his crew and newly made allies. The doctor slowly forced himself up and dusted off his coat before pointing his head to the sky. [color=#0000cd]"Today is a bad day. The Great Doctor Isha... may be traveling alone once more."[/color] While he had only known them for a short time, Kazuya and Kenshin had become great comrades to him. Even imagining them disappearing left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Yet another feeling inside was subduing his usual energy surge, preventing his powers from activating. [color=#0000cd]"Guess I'll go back and protect the boat. That's all I'm good for after all. I'm so worthless... Kenshin should use me for target practice when he gets back."[/color] The doctor mumbled as he slumped his way back to the docks. On his way, a couple of marines had ran past him. "Mr. Montaga is here! He's going to fight some really powerful pirates!" "They don't stand a chance! He's incredibly strong! Scary even!" Isha froze up when he heard that name and connected the dots.[color=#0000cd] [i]No... it can't be [b]him[/b]. Kazuya and the others don't stand a chance. But I don't either, at least not right now. [/i][/color]The doctor turned around as his feet transformed into wheels. [color=#0000cd]"Kyuu Kyuu no Hansou (Aid Aid Transport)!"[/color] With blinding speed he rushed back to the bar, riding up one of the buildings in the process. The doctor stood atop a roof several houses away from the bar, but close enough to see Mr. Montaga and the others.[i] [color=#0000cd]It is him after all. Distractions are useless and stalling is just that, stalling. We need fast feet or iron punches. Unfortunately, we have lead feet and paper hands compared to a Warlord of the Sea. [/color][/i][color=#0000cd]"Today really is a bad day. If I could only get him pinned down for even ten seconds, I could render him powerless. That would also mean everyone would leave while I would be left to be offed by the marines. Devil Fruits really are curses aren't they?"[/color] Isha continued to plan out his strategy.

[Hotaru987]

Sena was quite surprised when Vince grabbed her and took her off to the side. She became even more confused by the speech he gave her, not really giving her much of a chance to respond. Why was he telling her these things now? It really wasn't the right time for this kind of thing. Especially when there was a warlord right in front of them, trying to kill them. "What...Are you talking about?" She tried to ask as he was now leading her back over to Dogomo's position. Vince didn't respond to her and instead walked forward to enter the battle.

Tsura smirked seeing the others getting ready for battle. He put his hands behind his head, "Well I can't let you guys show me and my crew up. Besides, running from fights isn't really my style." The rest of his crew; Mizuki, Rei and Gorra all stepped forward preparing their weapons as well.

Mr. Montaga, seeing that they weren't going to turn themselves in, sighed. He was really hoping to not fight. All he wanted to do was rest for a bit. He yawned as Kazuya, Kenshin and Vince began their attack. Kenshin was first, firing off a well aimed bullet at Montaga's chest. It would be easily dodged, however in conjuction to that Kazuya used his powers to throw a street sign at him, as well as open a whole benieth his left foot hoping to trap him. Montaga, however, wasn't about to be so easily caught. He effortlessly jumped into the air, avoiding both the bullet and the tossed sign.

[i]'I see he is a devil fruit user. It's the Yami Yami no Mi, no less. He may be quite interesting to fight later on...' [/i]Montaga thought mildly impressed with, not the power of Kazuya himself, but rather the devil fruit he has consumed.

Even so, thoughts would have to wait, as Vince also attack - having earlier adoned his Scarlet Terror mask - sending two hounds made from his blood. Montaga was falling back to the ground, the hounds quickly closing in on his point of landing. The moment Montaga landed the hounds were upon him. He did not look disturbed in the slightest. He simply held out both of his hands, touching the hounds and instantly all of the moisture was pulled out causing the blood to dry, effectively nullifying Vince's attack.

As if nothing had happened, Montaga stood to his full height, on hand resting atop his hat and the other by his side. "I do hope that isn't all you can do. If it is, I will give you yet another oppertunity to turn yourself in. If you do no then I will be forced to go on the offensive."

"As if!" Mizuki yelled twirlling her staff, "Warlord or not! I'm not going to lose!" She made a beeline right for Montaga, jumping when she was close enough then coming down with a heavy handed strike, [b]"Head smash!![/b]"

Montaga reached up and caught the staff. Mizuki's eyes widened, "W-what...No way.." Montaga easily threw Mizuki to the side, and into the building almost as if he was swatting a fly. Witnessing this, Gorro tensed with anger, "How dare you!!" He threw his large battle ax, the rotation of the weapon litterally cutting through the air. Sadly, not even this was enough to stop Montaga. With the same hand he caught the spinning ax by the blade.

"What the hell is he?" Tsura mumbled, "No one has ever been able to stop Gorro's ax like that."

"Brute strength will get you no where." Montaga spoke throwing the ax back with such speed and power, than when the handle hit Gorra it sent him flying back and had him unconscious.

"Gorro!" Rei exclaimed, "I will not let you get away with harming my fellow crewmates! AHH-"

"Stop!!" Tsura yelled.

"But captain!"

"I understand you want to avenge them, but as captain I can't allow you to get hurt as well." Tsura explained, motioning for Saya and Rei to step back. "I will handle this. [b]Kaze kaze...Hurricane!!" [/b]Suddenly a large windstorm appeared, surrounding Montaga and leaving him to the mercy to the sharp blades of wind to cut him to shreds. The strong wind was blowing everythign not nailed down away, and even Sena and the others had a hard time standing up right. The only one who seemed un affected by the wind was of course Tsura.

When the wind finally died down in a abrupt end, Montaga was no where in sight.

"Did we get him?" Sena was the first to ask. An answer was given, but not in the way she had hoped. From the ground where Montaga once stood, sand began rising, coming together until it formed a human shape, before Montaga was once again standing there clothes and body entact. "Damnit!" Tsura cursed, "So he does have a devil fruit."

"Thats right." Montaga spoke, "I have the powers of the [b]Suna Suna no mi[/b]." to th

[Jake the Sage]

Hermit had watched the entire scene, not actually caring if the people from the other crew got injured, and instead only cared about figuring out the enemy's power. From what he could see from the first few assaults he was not only strong in the physical sense, but he also was able to move with great speed and grace. Then there was his power, which apparently allowed him to turn into pure sand. [i]"This will be complicated,"[/i] he thought before moving into position, behind Montaga so he could get the element of surprise on him; he was charging his energy in both palms while he waited. Once Montaga had reformed completely from the attack he ran up behind him, piercing his back with both open palms, and began sending his own energy to attempt to disrupt Montaga's devil fruit power.

[ANBU]

Kazuya watched as the man turned to sand and then reformed, "Sand..? hm.. if his sand gets wet I wonder what would happen.." he then muttered just loud enough for his neaby allies to hear as his black shadow on the gron d near where the man was before moved into the ocean absorbing some water before disappearing th water stored inside the pocket dimension of the Yami Yami no mi. Kazuya then moved himseof around to the side of nthe man to get ready to send such water as he absorbed onto the man when he next turned to sand, Kenshin quickly firing at parts like the man's feet and his hands not wanting to shoot hermit who he barely noticed behind the man about to attack him. "[i]I hope Kazuya's plan works.. otherwise I don't relly see how e can beat him if he can merely use the sand.. unless Kazuya can stop that sand power..[/i]" Kenshin thought to himself not of the devil fruiot powers Kazuya possessed but of thoughts about how to stop the man whilst he was in sand form.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Vince gritted his teeth as he watched his hellhounds turn from their rich colored crimson flesh of blood into the dry phenominon, and then they tured to dust as they disappeared into nothingness. Sand was a perfect water absorbant, especially for thick liquid like blood, and he literally neutralised his attack. And, from the self made wound, Vince knew he could not risk another spawn of hellhounds. In fact, he couldn't even risk a small blodge spawn from his own blood.

The mask he bore made forgetting pain oh so easy, easpecially his own. He had beame accustomed to harming himself in order to do severe harm to others, in fact he was well known for it. However, it appeared that Mr Monataga, this warlord of ridiculously high power, completely rendered him utterly useless. Or his Devil Fruit rather. Vince had a thought: that if Mr Montaga was in fact made of sand, then that means he has many weaknesses, including heat. He realized that with sufficient heat sand turned to glass, and recalling an ally he realized they had the heat they needed: Sena's Devil Fruit ability. Lighting was sufficiently powerful and hot to change sand into glass, but he hoped Ms Sena's skill had developed to such an extent.

Right now, however, he needed to get back to her and, consequentally, a distraction was needed. Fortunatelly Hermit decided to thrust his hands deep into and through Mr Montaga. Vince had no idea why, maybe his Devil Fruit may come into play. He also noticed Kazuya and Kenshin moving around wth water, a smart strategy since it would significantly , if successful, affect Mr Montaga's every movement. Vince guessed he was made of sand itself after he witnessed him returning from his "dead" state, and fllowing this principle he noted that if Kazuya's plan worked, then Mr Montaga could very well freeze.

But, Vince had a thought that Mr Montaga would pull another hat trick on them, and so needed to take every chance. Lifting his brush, still marked with the crimson fluid that coarsed through his body, he chanted "Il mio sangue che scorre nelle mie vene, mi aiuti sotto forma di un cane da caccia, ancora una volta, vieni fuori cani inferno!" as the brush grazed across his bleeding arm, wincing slightly from the pain and loss of blood, but then the bloody brush's tip touched the floor, from which spawned another duo of vicious blood hounds. Though this time, Vince said "Merge, hounds of blood!". The two beasts obeyed their master's call, and leaped into eachoter, from the collision came a larger, more muscular and winged hellhound. The blood dripping from it so dense it almost became a tough skin. And the beast stood still, eyeballing Montaga for any movement: Vince had made it a guard, ready to strike on Montaga's next reaction.

Vince, however, looked to Dogomo and Sena, and upon finding the two, he said "Ms Sena, you witnessed his Devil Fruit's power. Use yours, your lightning will surely turn him to glass, rendering him useless." Pointing down on the field he continued. "Give them a chance, lightning on Hermit could harm him and we don't want that risk: he's tough and consequentally a valueable member." Looking up to Dogomo and nodding, he smiled to Ms Sena and said "I told you what I did, Ms Sena, because I feel this man was meant to end my curse once and for all." before walking back to his larger, tougher, and winged hellhound who remained still waiting for Montaga, saying back "My pet will do his best to shield you Ms Sena. take your time and aim properly."

[Birkeland]

Dogomo was right in thinking that Sena chose to stay with her crew, just as Tsura and Kazuya had done. Not one captain abandoned their friends despite the incredible odds. And what unfavorable odds they were. Mr. Montaga displayed his well-earned title by effortlessly dismissing Mizuki and Goro's attacks and avoiding Kazuya and Kenshin's assaults. To add salt to their wounds as Tsura attempted to whisk him away with his Kaze Kaze no Mi, Mr. Montaga also revealed himself to possess a Devil Fruit: the Suna Suna no Mi. A logia-type fruit in the hands of a the third strongest man in the world meant total devastation for the three crews, even with their combined forces.

The heavy warrior took in a deep breath before giving a solemn sigh of the situation. While he would remain with his crew, he was powerless- in more ways than one- against this foe. Even if he could match that man with brute strength, he could willingly turn his body intangible at a moment's notice and command the ground beneath them. Dogomo recalled his fight with Sina and how she completely overwhelmed him in combat before looking out toward his comrades. They all possessed Devil Fruit, giving them amazing powers and determination, while he remained a fragile, normal human. [i][b]It seems as though... I am the black sheep of our crew. A dead weight. This is not my place, nor my fight. I can only watch in awe of these superhuman feats, as an ant in a hurricane.[/b][/i] Dogomo stood in front of Sena to act as a shield while she prepared to launch her attacks, as it was all he could do.

Meanwhile, the doctor watched the ensuing battle as a hunter would it's prey. "Maybe I should've warned them..." Isha announced to himself. [color=#0000cd]"Not like it would've mattered, anyways. Logia-type people are the most annoying. You either need the element's natural weakness or Haki-embued assaults. That or 'Fruit Negation' abilities like mine or Kazuya's."[/color] Speaking to himself allowed him to think as if a second person was with him. Whatever the body fails to measure up to, the mind can surely overcome. And here in the heat of battle, Isha's mind was at it's peak. [color=#0000cd]"Both of our abilities require physical contact, but I can provide restraints. All that leaves us with a sneak attack..." [/color]

The doctor jumped from the rooftop and wormed his way behind the buildings to his crew. He scratched his head while hiding in the shadows. While he could support his allies with his healing powers, he would be better off stalling the enemy. [color=#0000cd]"Sorry I'm late Captain, Kenshin, um... other... people. If you guys can pin him down for even a moment, I can rush in to shut down his fruit for a least a minute. It'll give you guys enough time to run away. Don't worry about me, I can always catch up. The Great Doctor Isha shall never die!"[/color] Ignoring his own sneaky strategy, Isha dashed forward to Mr. Montaga with outstretched palms. Bandages also sprouts from his wrists to entrap his foe. [color=#0000cd]"[b]Kyua Inou (Cure Superpower)![/b]" [i]Just a few seconds is all I need!...[/i][/color]

[Devack]

Leon watched as those around him used powers obtained through the consumption of devil fruit. He stood there and watched as a man who he had only heard about shrug off the attacks like they were nothing. He had turned in to sand and avoided the massive rind attack. Leon thought to himself about what to do. He over heard plans be made as he saw one of the members of the group come out of almost with a sneak attack. Leon saw this as the perfect moment to make his move and show that devilfruits are not required to be a great pirate. He charged the man and delivered a series of kicks to keep him distracted as the others formed a plan. He quickly fell back before charging at him planning to see how he react to a fury of attacks.

[Hotaru987]

Ooc: I'm ending it here, so ANBU and Dogomo I am going to control your characters. Though not very much....

Sena jumped when Vince suddenly addressed her. She was so wrapped up in the battle, though mostly disappointed that she hadn't been able to do anything in the situation. Vince then proposed the idea of using the heat generated by her lightening to turn Montagaa to glass. She looked down thinking '[i]That is a brilliant thought but....I'm afraid the heat that I generate doesn't work in that mannor. The heat that I made in the jail was simply so strong because there was no place for the heat to escape to in the confined area...However...In the open it would possily do anything to Montaga, especially not in that sense.' [/i]Sena looked at everyone else who were all tryign their best despite Montaga's current position, and she shook her head determination filling her features. "I suppose I will just have to try." Vince greated two more hounds of blood, but this time merging them together forming one large two-headed dog to guard her while she concentrated. Sena had to snap herself from her stupor so she could begin.

Montaga was aware of Hermit moving behind him during his reformation. He could feel the energy of his person rippling as he began focusing it. So Hermit's surprise attack wasn't much of one. Montaga's form only manifested for nothing more than a half second before he was suddenly sand again, and now behind Hermit. The bullets that Kenshin fired were being pushed out of Montaga's body through his sand like composition. "You will have to do much better than that my friend." Montaga's leg connected with Hermit's back so hard, that the seastone that Hermit had under his cloack shattered, and was what saved Hermit from a broken spine. Hermit sailed right into Isha - Whom Montaga noticed recently entered the battle - sending both of them into a building. Montaga was not finished yet, however, as Leon charged him with a head on attack, delivering a series of very impressive kicks. Montaga gracefull dodged all of Leon's kicks, all the while holding onto the top of his hat with one hand. When Leon back away, Montaga smirked.

"You did well," He congradulated, then showed him the the rip in his suit's sleeve due to the sheer ferocity and speed of his kicks. Leon lunged in again attempting the same, but Montaga wasn't having it. Before Leon even made his first step, Montaga was in front of him, his fist sinking deep into his stomach no doubt cracking bones. "Unfortunately for you, this was my favorite suit." He allowed Leon to fall to the ground, then started walking towards the rest of the crew, apparently not fased by the large two headed dog a head of him. '[i]There is a lot of moisture in that Blood Hound. I will need to be cautious that my Devil fruit does not obsorbe too much moisture. Otherwise, I will not be able to use it until I dry out. Kazuya-' [/i]His eyes darted over to Kazuya '[i]He is able to negate my fruit with a simple touch. So is Isha...I should keep my eyes on them. The rest are child's play.'[/i]

"I'm ready!" Sena suddenly shouted, making Montaga stop and turn in her direction, "Please let this work...[b]Shock shock Compresser!" [/b]The heat generated from her lightenign was so dense that the air around them was dry, and even the dog that Vincent had made was loosing it's moisture due to Sena's heat pulling moisture from everything. She moved from behind the dog and threw her attack at Montaga. Montaga completely faced Sena's attack now and held out his hand. Suddenly his hand turned into sand and began to grow larger and larger, still keeping it's hand shape. In a surprising feat, Montaga caught the condensed lightening ball, enclosing it into his large sand like hand, before the large appendage broke from the rest of Montaga, and his smaller normal sized hand reformed.

The large sand hand glowed a bright yellow, blinding everyone, before the sand exploded, leaving Montaga unharmed. Sena collasped to her knees, "No...No way....How could he..."

"Your efforts are valiant, no matter how futile they are." Montaga announced, "I have given you all ample time to win, yet you all have failed, and now you will die." Montaga got into a position to attack, "[b]Sand Sand Tsunami!" [/b]His body began to melt away into sand, as it seemed to multiply into even mroe sand on it's own. However, before it could go any further Kazuya released the water he gathered in his pocket dimension, dumping it on Montaga, causing his sand to slump in to the ground as mud.

"Way to go buddy!" Tsura applauded, "Nice thinking."

"I guess you are pretty smart when you want to be." Sena said. Though it was supposed to be a compliment, it sounded more like an insult.

There was a pause of silence, as everyone wondered if it was over. The mud began moving, slowly at first but moved fasted as it clumped togethered to once again form Montaga. This time there was a notible frown on his face. "I hate it when people do that. They had no idea how much concentraition it requires to keep mud from falling apart." As he said that his arm began to sag towards the ground before returning to normal. "It seems I have underestimated you lot. But no matter....I will still kill you all here." Right before he started his attack, Sena yelled,

"No you wont! [b]Shock Shock Flash!" [/b]She clapped her hands together, causing a bright white flashing light. "Everyone run!" Though at the moment it appeared as though they had the upper hand, no one argued with the now open escape route. The fallen and injured were helped up and everyone ran towards the ships. By the time the light subsided, they were all gone leaving Montaga behind. The only side effect of Sena's attack, was that the heat of her flash attack helped dry Montaga out a bit.

"Quickly untie the boats!" Tsura yelled, as he and Rei carried Mizuki and Gorro on board. Saya was the one to untie their ship allowing them to set sail. Kazuya's ship wasn't far behind, and Sena was right afterwards. "I-is everyone alright? Dogomo? Hermit?" She asked placing more concern with Hermit since he recieved a nasty kick in the back. "Vincent.....Vincetn?" She looked around the boat, "Where's Vincent...." She suddenly realized why he puleld her to the side and told her those things. Sena quickly turned around, running to the edge of the boat and saw Vince still on the docks with Montaga slowly walking towards him. Her eye's widened, "NO!!! VINCENT!!"

Sena made a mad dash towards the stearing, as to turn around and get him. Well, that's what she ment to do. Dogomo stopepd her before she even took two steps, grabbing her wrist. "What the hell! Get off!! Let me go! I have to get him! He's out of his mind!" Dogomo simply shook his head, "I am deeply sorry Captain Sena...But I made a promise to not only myself, but to Vincent that I would protect you." Sena growled and roughly snatched her hand away, "I don't need your protection! I've been just fine without you!" She went to run again but this time Dogomo grabbed her from behind putting her in an unbreakable hold. At first she was shocked and unable to move, but it quickly passed and she did all she could to escape but it was useless.

"Let me go! I have to help him! He's going to get himself killed! He cant...He can't leave! He can't leave me alone...Vincent..." By now The Island was no longer visible, and Sena gave up struggling, and was now crying not care who saw.

Tsura looked down, knowing just how it felt to lose someone important to him. Infact he knew, everyone knew the feeling. Vincent staying behind to give them time to sail away was a brave and noble act. Tsura didn't know if he would have ever been able to make that decision so readily.

~back in LougeTown~

Montaga stared down Vincent a bored look on his face, "So you have decided to stay behind I see...In an attempt to allow your comrads to get away." He looked down his hat shading his entire face, "I honor your for that. While a noble choice, it was also foolish. You know you will die here." He suddenly smirked, "Of course you knew. You are a smart man. I will give you an honorable death, and not hold back. it is the least I can offer for a nobleman as yourself. Are you ready, my friend."

[Kyng's Old Account]

Vincent smiled to Montaga's words of kindness, nobility, and smiled under his mask. Then he let out a cough, witnessing his own blood come from it, smiling on his bloody hand. Smiling for relief. "Mr Montaga, is it?" he said, his voice trembling from his inevitable death, the area surrounding them empty, as if time had stopped for the two to clash and end it. Vincent chuckled as he cracked his neck and knuckles.

"I no longer have any regrets, Mr Montaga. My entire life I have dedicated it to one person, one whom I shall love dearly with my heart for eternity. My fame, glory, and skills have all been directed to her, to making her life ever so easier, so that she may not need to suffer." Vincent said with a humble voice, looking at the ocean's horizon, sighing as he realized this would be the last time Ms Sena would see of him, the short time they had would now end forever, never again would he wake to her smile, her antics, anything.

"Yet I couldn't free her from the inevitable suffering that was my departure. I dedicated everything to her, including my very life. I even kept her from my deepest darkest secret, one which turned my life from a mission into a hellish nightmare..." Tapping his mask, refering to it, he continued: "This mask, this burden, has corrupted my life. I'm glad Ms Sena never had to see me as my nightmare."

Then Vince placed his hand on the mask, easily removing it, whereas usually he would have to tear it off from his face and causing bleeding as a consequence. Under his mask was a man with a single tear drop on his eye, falling to the ground as he let out a little laugh. "Mr Montaga, if you knew the truth about me, then you would know yourself that I deserve no mercy, no honour. But I thank you for showing me that much."

Looking at the mask, he discarded it and threw it onto the ground, looking at his bleeding arm. "I know that I will die within the hour. I have lost too much blood. So, Mr Montaga..." Vincent then placed his hand on his rapier's hilt, squeezing it tightly before drawing it out swiftly, pointing it towards the sky saying "...can I turst you to end my suffering like a warrior?"

With a final burst of strength, Vince dashed towards the man, rapier ready. "This is for you, Ms Sena!!!!!"
...
...
...

[Hotaru987]

Moments of silence had gone by, the three pirate ships simply floating out in the open sea, far enough to not be seen from the shore of Lougetown. Sena still sat on the deck of her ship head down. Her tears had dried up but she had yet to move from her spot. She still couldn't believe that Vince had actually sacrificed himself to save them. She knew that if it wasn't for that they all probably would have died, but she also hated the fact that it was Vince who had to die. It should have been her to have died protecting her crew. Not the other way around. What kind of captain allows their crew to die?

"Sena you have to get yourself together." Tsura called from his ship. "Come on! Vince wouldn't have wanted you to sit there beating yourself up over his death. He sacrificed his life so that you could continue living. Don't waste it by just sitting there. Let's finish what we came out here to do. Find the Logpose and get to one piece."

Sena just dropped her head down even further, causing Tsura to sigh. He had tried. He didn't know what to do to make her feel any better. Instead he turned to look at Rei who was just coming from below deck "How are Gorro and Mizuki doing?"

"They're doing fine. They aren't suffering from too much damage. They'll just be unconscious for a while, but not for long." He then looked over at Sena's ship, "I'm actually more worried about them. Not just Sena's emotional state, but for that strange man on their team. I think his name was Hermit. He took a hard hit from Montaga. He should be checked to make sure he's ok." Tsura nodded.

"Right, I'll see." He faced Sena's ship again, "Yo, Hermit! Rei says that you shoudl allow one of our doctors to examin you! Just to make sure you don't have any serious injuries!" While waiting for a reply he turned to Kazuya, "How are you guys holding up? All of you ok?"

Sena was still in her own little world of despair, thinking about all of the times she had shared with Vince. Their adventures, no matter how short they were, would be some of her most cherished memories. Suddenly, there was one memory that stuck out in her mind. It was back on Goldberri Island, right before they were about to leave. Her head shot up, and for a moment her grief was pushed to the back of her mind, "The map..." She mumbled. "...The map....The one we need.." She shot up from her seat and ran below deck and into her room. She rummaged through the draws and pulled out the rolled up brown parchment before returning to the deck.

"Guys! We just may be able to get to get to that Island!" She exclaimed, effectively halting whatever conversation was going on prior to her discovery. "Tsura, Kazuya get on my ship." Since her ship was between theirs, she figured having them dock her boat would be easier. Once everyone who was conscious was around her she held out the map so everyone could see it.

"I was think back to some of our past adventures and on one of the islands I remembered this old man who gave me this map. He said something along the same lines as Leon, with the whole mysterious Island." She unrolled it showing the map, sadly it was only half. "At first I didn't give it any thought but after Leon saying that this mysterious Island was called 'Log Pose Island' I realized that’s what this map was for. It's just the title of the map wasn't all there since this is only half of the map."

"Of you are so smart my love!!" Rei exclaimed hearts in his eyes and floating inches in the air.

Tsura gave the map a strange look, almost as if he had seen it before. Realization dawned on him, and this time he ran off heading back to his boat. Everyone looked at him confused as he left.

"What's up with him?" Sena muttered.

Tsura was quick to come back this time holding something in his hands. He appeared to be out of breath but a smirk was on his face, "Guys...Looks like...We have another adventure on our hands." He opened up the thing in his hands, revealing it to be the missing half of the map.

Sena's eyes widened, "No way..."

Tsura was now grinning, "Yes way. Looks like our next stop is Log Pose Island."

"Then let's not waste any time." Sena exclaimed. Moments later all three boats were heading off to Log Pose Island.

[ANBU]

"Not sure about my new guy I think that punch must've got him a bit.. Isha should be okay.. I mean when he got hit it shouldn't have done too much... i think... he should be able to help hermit as soon as he's up to moving and we've got everyone here okay.." Kazuya said replying to Tsura as he glanced over at Kenshin who had due to his distance from the fight managed to stay mostly safe. As Sena told everyone to move onto her ship Kenshin jumped across as the boat moved closer Kazuya trying to help bring Leon and Isha across helped by Kenshin, both of them unsure if the other two were able to have healed and once having gotten them across they left them in what seemed to be the emptiest and safest part of Sena's ship looking back to find Sena and Tsura holding halves of a map and claiming they were headed to log pose Island. Kazuya looked to Kenshin and told him to steer the ship while he stayed with the others on Sena's boat figuring that if Isha was able to move and heal Leon it'd be easier to keep him here so he could also check on the hermit.

[Devack]

Leon slightly came back around as he was helped over to the other ship as they were holding a conversation. He blacked back out so he didn't here what they were talking about. He finally awoke on Sena ship as they were heading towards Log pose Island sitting next some stuff. He rose up to his feet and headed towards his captian. As he crossed the deck, he was exsatic that they survied. He soon relized that one of the people he had just met was not on the ship though. When he amade it to his captian he asked, " Where we are heading." as he held were he got hit. He was able to tell that some of his bones were broken or fractured but he tried his best to hide the pain on his face. He sat down and waited for a response and thinking to himself, "What did I get myself in to now. I'm one a boat full of Devil fruit users." He also thought about his short fight with the navel captian.