Why? How? His next attack was imminent. Bacca stayed on the offensive, and all I could do was continue dodging. He wasn’t hitting me with the final blow yet, but I was clearly on the back foot. I couldn’t hit him for some reason, but if I took another straight-on hit from one of his maces, I was probably going down.
Suddenly, our eyes met. He had the clouded eyes of a villain, but I saw no hesitation in them. There was only malice and murderous intent. He was perfectly focused on putting an end to me if it brought him closer to his goals.
Is that it? Is that the difference in our strength right now? I recalled the nightmare I’d been having for the last several nights and was reminded of Cora, Doflamingo, and Dressrosa. I knew that I had unfinished business, that there were things I still had to take care of. But I didn’t have the determination to see them through. Fulfilling Cora’s wishes was something I would do “someday.” Not “now.” Which is why I hesitated and fretted. Now it felt like that hesitation was the difference between me and the man I was facing.
His urgency, his will to do what needed to be done, was a force that overwhelmed me and dulled my movements. I’m going to lose this fight. Just then, Bacca stopped and spoke to me: “You’ve got good control, kid. If we keep going, I’ll win eventually, but I hate wasting the time to get there. So instead I’m gonna take care of you a slightly different way,” he said, leering.
Suddenly I had a bad feeling.
“Boys, get inside!” he commanded his men. The pirates all rushed into a nearby building.
“No! Shachi, Penguin, Bepo! Pick up the old man and—” I tried to warn them.
“Too late! Melting Wave!” Bacca shouted. A bright spread of light shot out of Bacca’s eyes. I rolled on the ground to avoid it.
A shiver ran down my spine. He wasn’t just any pirate—he had Devil Fruit powers. I didn’t know if that was why my attacks kept missing, but it was undeniable that he had capabilities that were beyond those of the average person.
“Are you guys all right?” I called back to the others.
“W-we’re fine! We managed to avoid it!” Bepo shouted back.
I’d picked worthy followers, at least I could say that much.
“That was your special ability, huh? Sorry, pal, but you won’t hit me and my friends that easily,” I taunted, trying to hide my anxiety about the true nature of his powers.
“Ga…ga ha ha!” Bacca chortled.
“What’s so funny?”
“You move even better than I thought, if you managed to dodge my Melting Wave. But you should pay better attention to what’s around you, kid…”
Just then I felt a menacing presence behind me. A sword slashed at my back.
“Agh!” I screamed. In the nick of time, I managed to turn around and stop it between my bare hands. I wrenched the sword sideways and threw its holder to the ground.
Who was it? Had one of Bacca’s crew jumped out? When I turned to identify my attacker, I was stunned.
“Why are you—?” I asked, unbelieving. It was the doctor from the clinic. I couldn’t hide my shock. He looked at me with empty eyes, blade in his hands. There was clearly something wrong with his mind.
“What did you do to him?” I demanded.
“Ga ha ha! I told you to look around. Should you really be wasting your attention on him?”
Another attack came from a different direction. And this one wasn’t just one person. I counted two, three…even more of them. I jumped wide, moving farther away so I could get my bearings.
“What?!” I yelped. The townsfolk were attacking me from all angles. “Dammit…”
None of their attacks were very powerful or fast. To be honest, I could have beaten them all myself, but I certainly couldn’t bring myself to attack the townsfolk. The fishmonger, the lady from the restaurant, the tattoo artist… There were so many familiar faces among them. And all of them were coming after me with lethal intent and vacant eyes.
“Ga ha ha! What’s wrong, kid? You’re not lookin’ so sharp!” Bacca taunted, sensing my uncertainty.
He’ll pay for this. Whatever he’d done, it filled me with rage to see the townspeople turned into tools of battle.
I’ll have to use the Op-Op Fruit powers. That should help me find a solution. I have to protect these innocent people. I started preparing to deploy Room, but Shachi grabbed me from behind.
“Don’t!” he shouted. It was as though he knew what I was preparing to do. “We need to get out of here, Law. We’ve got the buggy; the old man drove it to town. We can get away and plan our next move. Don’t reveal what you can do while the enemy’s powers are still a mystery.”
Shachi’s advice helped cool my fury for long enough to regain my senses. He was right. Charging at my enemies without a plan or a proper weapon was basically suicide.
“All right,” I muttered and turned to run in the opposite direction of Bacca.
“Don’t be a coward, boy! Ga ha ha! I thought you were better than that!” he shouted after me.
It didn’t matter to me. Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin were keeping their cool, and I certainly wasn’t going to be the loose cannon that caused more trouble for us all. I trusted my followers, and that enabled me to cast aside my stubborn pride and run for my life instead. I couldn’t even hear the enemy anymore.
“This way, you guys!” called out Penguin, waving at us. Bepo and Wolf were already on the buggy. Once Shachi and I were on board, Penguin revved the engine.
“We’re gonna put on some speed! Don’t fall off!” Penguin warned.
The little car peeled out, leaving the enemy behind. I took a quick look at Wolf, long enough to note that he only had a mild concussion. He’d wake up before long.
Behind us, I spotted not just Bacca’s crew but the whole town, all carrying weapons.
I’m running away for now…but I’m going to save you, I thought.
None of us spoke on the way back to the house.