(Mission #23 Kazarashi and Bianca)

[Dandead10]

SPOILER: Click to show

Mission 23

★★★★☆

Local law enforcement has been tasked with escorting some prisoners, but other forces have their eyes on the entourage! Will you work to bring the unlawful souls to justice, or are you on their side?

What an odd day it was for a certain cook fishman. A no name of a small time pirate crew who sailed in the east blue to terrorize civilians and marines alike. Well, it seemed that karma has a funny way of catching up with people seeing now all of them except for Kazarashi Riri had been imprisoned and taken into custody. They would be imprisoned and perhaps executed for their crimes as pirates on the sea. She was the only free member of this nondescript crew and the only fishman member of this crew as well. “Seems I've gotten myself into a predicament here.” She was a seahorse fishman colored yellow with brown swirls travelling along her body. She wore a large haori kimono which fit around her large frame. She was nearly seven feet tall and she had a rather sizable bust on her chest around double D-Cup. Of course there were finally the fishman decisive traits such as her webbed hands, feet, and the long fin travelling down her back. This fishwoman had long spiky black hair travelling to her back like the dark waves of the ocean. Finally, on her right side rested a Katana named “Sea Stallion” which rested in its sheath. It was a Wazomono which was contained within a sheath of brass which shined in the gleaming sun. A red sea stallion engraving was carved into the sheath as well as the Kanji for perseverance underneath the image. It was her prized and most valuable possession.

This woman was currently plotting on how to free these pirates as a gesture of goodwill. Well, maybe not good to the marines but certainly a gracious gift to offer to the pirates. There were fourteen members of the crew and fifteen counting herself on a small vessel known as the Kalumari. Currently they would be transported to Roguetown to resupply and also to drop off their prisoners. She had to stop the marines before they successfully took the crew there. If they were to be dropped off, there would be absolutely no chance in getting her crew members back. Where was Riri currently? She was swimming through the ocean behind this small marine vessel, stalking their trail. Her legs had been morphed into an odd curl of a tail, rapidly pushing through the water to make her speed along. She contemplated attacking the vessel now, but decided that she needed to be patient. She wanted to free the prisoners, not get sent to jail with them. Thus she waited until the inevitable docking of the ship. Little did she know that there would be some trouble seeing it seemed that they had hired bounty hunters to help escort these prisoners to their location. Now it was time to start taking things seriously. 

The underwater sea was colorful and bright and from underneath the ship, the majestic seahorse fishwoman had saw that they were approaching the docks. They were nearing their destination, but decided maybe she needed to take a moment to give the marines something to be afraid of. Rapidly pushing forward, she had been able to make it in front of the ship. Popping her head lightly out of the water, the woman had pushed backwards with her legs, with her right arm reared back. "Gyojin Karate!:Mizurappa! (Wild Water Wave). She slammed her palm into the spray of water to launch a rather large wave, nearly eight feet tall to slam into the front of the ship. The boat rocked slightly as it was slightly impeding although not by much. Now was the time to add a little more onto that. "Gyojin Karate!:Uchimizu!" Flinging her hands outward, fifteen bullets of water had flown and ripped into the marine ship sails, littering them with holes. Before the marines could sense her, she immediately slipped deep within the safety of the ocean under her. 

"NANI?! We are under attack! All men on deck!" The marines had began to congregate armed and prepared to see that their foe had all but vanished. This was confusing but then a man wearing a justice coat had called. "Don't worry about little threats such as our sails getting ripped. Just worry about dropping off those prisoners. Our hired muscle should be more than enough to help with that. Prepare to dock!" Immediately the marine soldiers seemed to gain confidence as they saluted and began to make preparations to land. However...some were still a bit worried about what just happened. That was exactly what Riri wanted them to do. 

[Jade]

Bianca had made herself a table and chair from trees, expertly shaped by her Devil Fruit ability. She wished that she had some cushions, but what she had made for herself on the deck of this Marine vessel was more comfortable than any other seat she could've found. The bounty huntress held her teacup steady, making sure not a drop went to waste, as the wave of water rocked the boat. "How troublesome." She raised her cup to her mouth, taking a sip of the warm drink as the water bullets ripped into the sails. "I thought hiring extra assistance seemed strange, but I suppose I can understand if they were expecting trouble like this."

It was a peculiar arrangement, that much was for certain. Bianca hadn't heard of Marines hiring on bounty hunters as extra muscle before, but it made some degree of sense for them to, she supposed. Her status as a capable combatant and her particular Devil Fruit ability had apparently made her a "prime candidate" for the job, and she wasn't about to turn down work or payment, at least for now. The Tea Company was still fairly far off, after all, and any extra money she could make towards its development was a step in the right direction.

The white-haired woman stood, smoothing out the front of her plain white dress. If she was going to be dragged into a fight, this would not be the ideal attire, and yet there wasn't going to be time to change either. At least the lack of sleeves meant her arms wouldn't be restricted.

"Miss Stark! We're under attack!"

Bianca nodded in response, calmly walking away from the distressed Marine. "Indeed we are. However, I cannot swim, and I am not being paid enough to consider risking my life, sir." The young woman's face was a mask of indifference as she strode toward the side, looking out over the water in the direction the wave and water bullets had come from. "It would be foolish to fight this assailant on their home turf, especially when we know so little about them. Let them come to us."

[Dandead10]

It was at this moment, the marines had began to go dockk and more than likely they would send a small group of marines out first to make sure that it was clear. Riri was a fishman, but she didn’t rely on her superior strength to get out of situations. She took the time and the liberty to think out situations and then act accordingly. Her mission wasn’t to cause as much destruction as possible or even to defeat the marines. Her goal was to simply free the prisoners onboard and that was what she was going to try to do. Currently on the ship, the superior officer of the marine group assembled had looked to the bounty hunter with a neutral expression. “Keep in mind that we are paying you to make sure that the prisoners are escorted successfully to our destination. I recommend you treat this job seriously or else you won’t be collecting any paycheck Bounty Hunter. If you do a particularly good job, we might contact you again for your services and might even give you a little extra to fill your pockets.” The man had taken a brief pause as he looked to the marine soldiers still left on the ship. “You eight. I want you to arm yourselves and position yourself as a line of defense. Make sure that the dock is safe to travel on before we bring the prisoners out. Miss Bounty Hunter. I suggest you go with them to make sure that the area is secure.” That wasn’t really a suggestion, it was an order but asked a bit nicer than average. “We didn’t pay you to just sit and enjoy a nice cup of tea after all.” He smiled a fake smile before turning his back to the woman and walking off.

The eight marines he gestured to had looked left and right before going off and grabbing their rifles and also their swords. Riri was lying in wait, like a predator stalking its prey. Within a moment, a large plank had been laid out as the marines had stepped off deck, worried about what it was that had attacked them all the first time. They walked further out from the ship, facing either end of the wood, looking out to the sea. Their assailant was from there at least, that much was confirmed. One of the marine soldiers had soon called out, “I think it’s all clear.” The man had turned around to call to the ship, and in that moment there was a splash from the water as the seahorse woman shot through the water. “Gyojin Karate!:Sea Stallion Kick!” She twisted her body was she would flex her leg muscles to deliver a strong and flexible blow to the marine’s face. The marine had went rolling on the barnacle crusted old wood before slamming into a small rail support, breaking it as he yelled in agony almost instantly disabled. The marines had immediately turned her way with guns aimed as they immediately fired. The first few bullets had missed in the hest of the moment and it wasn’t as if the woman was going to stick around to be shot. “Uchimizu!” She had flung her still soaking wet hands to fire around five small water projectiles into two marines, making them fall backwards and groan in pain. They were not dead, but simply disabled as the water droplets were blunted.

One of the marines had looked in surprise as he identified the disgusting creature in front of him. “That thing there is a fishman! Kill it!” Riri had looked outward at the marines in a small bit of disdain as she whipped her soaking wet hair left and right. “That’s right. I’m a fishwoman and I’m proud. Bring it on! Also. I'm not an it!” The marines aimed their firearms yet again, prepared to fire upon the yellow opponent. The conflict has just begun. With the sun shining down on the beautiful cerulean waters, bring it's radiant light onto the figures on this humble dock it was perfect. A seagull had cawed loudly as several of them flew away from the conflict, dropping their feathers across the sea. Placing her left hand along her trusted blade, she slowly withdrew it from it's scabbard with the sound of a "schlk" coming forth. She realized she was outnumbered and it was going to be difficult to free the prisoners, but Riri had to start off somehow. The bounty hunter caught her eye though. She didn't look like a marine as far as she knew so who was she? Whatever the case, Riri was going to have to fight her way through this first line and progress. With five marines remaining and this mysterious figure in her way, she was going to have a hell of a time getting onto the ship. However, thankfully she had the ocean by her side as an advantage if she so chose to exploit it. The marines looked a bit shaky at the fishwoman knowing of her races infamous strength. They were prepared to fight though what they lacked in strength they made up for in guns.

[Jade]

"Of course not. You're paying me for results, and you won't get those simply by charging in like a fool to meet your opponent without being prepared." Bianca put a hand to her mouth, barely covering her quiet 'shuuu~sususu'. She stood back, not stepping down to the pier below, content to watch and see what happened.

A fishwoman was what happened. That made a great deal of sense, and Bianca was feeling good about her decision to stay back and observe for the time being. The Marines still on the ship behind her widened their eyes, tightening their grips on their weapons, and the sounds of panicking shouts filled the air. The bounty huntress smiled, swinging the firearm hanging off her shoulder into position, reaching into the satchel and pulling out what appeared to be a miniature cannonball, loading it into her Oolong Shot.

Let the back-and-forth begin. How will you react?

She took aim and fired, sending one of her Iron Shots careening toward the fishwoman with a press of her weapon's trigger. Bianca loaded a second ball and dropped her bag of shots, stepping down the gangplank down to the pier below. Danger is everywhere. Fishmen are incredibly competent fighters, and even more so in the water. And water is dangerous for Devil Fruit users at the best of times...

"I am Bianca Stark," she stated, voice calm and steady as she aimed her Oolong Shot at the fishwoman once again. "And I am afraid that you have made a mistake in attacking a Marine vessel. My first shot was a warning, but if you intend to continue..." The white-haired woman let the threat hang in the air. She was watching the fishwoman intently, waiting for any sudden further movement. With any luck, the fishwoman would simply return to the sea and not press her attack - but such a reasonable course of action didn't seem logical, given that she had already attacked a Marine vessel.

[Dandead10]

It was good that Riri had kept her senses sharp and focused on this mysterious figure, for within a moment she seemed to have loaded a round projectile into a firearm of some sort. Riri with her weapon drawn had taken the liberty to slide her right foot back with a slow grind against the barnacles as she built force in her arms. The other five marines had backed away from the monstrous fish creature with their guns raised. “Flying Sea Stallion.” Riri closed her eyes as the background around her turned a dark blue. She was in a moment of mental concentration as the image of a spiky seahorse had appeared behind her with glaring white eyes with no pupils. As the mini cannon ball was aimed and then fired, the swordsman Fishwoman had swung downward with her blade in one decisive slice creating an oppressive force of air to launch as a flying slash. “Hraagh!” She grunted to release the full force of the blow within her strike as it would meet the rounded projectile for just a moment.

The ball and slash would collide and then cause a small burst of wind to blow around the center as the ball had been sliced at the cost of her flying slash. They had countered each other out rather nicely and the marine soldiers looked baffled. The ball had a sizable dent in it seeing Riri’s flying slash stood at a height of six feet tall. The ball would fall onto the old dock, cracking a hole through the planks and falling into the sea. “What the hell just happened?! That Fishman swung a sword and stopped that cannonball in mid air!” The sword fighting fishperson took a moment to greet the woman who just fired at her. The seahorse had stared at her foe with a cold stare as she analyzed her foe. Bianca Stark had introduced herself, and in this moment the tall fishwoman had too introduced her name. “My name is Kazarashi Riri and I will stop you all from progressing any further. This I swear.” She wore a serious face as a man had soon stood at the edge of the marine ship. It was the superior officer from before. “What are all of you men waiting for? Kill the creature and let's move the prisoners!” The men down below had gulped as they raised their guns, prepared to attack if the fishwoman did not retreat. Several more marines were on the deck of the ship prepared to take their place in case their former comrades fell in battle.

Riri looked at the situation and found herself taking a deep breath. Sprinting at a very fast pace, she moved left and right to throw off the Marines aim as they fired for her in disarray. Step after step, there was a pattering noise as her sandals had clapped against the wood. ‘I'm within close range. Now they can't use their guns effectively at all.’ The first marine she approached was sweating bullets as he aimed his gun upwards in an attempt to fire at her once at point blank range. A quick swing of her left hand had sliced the man's gun in half as she reared her right fist back. “Hyakumaigawara Seiken! (True One Hundred Tile Fist)” Her webbed fist would collide with the soldiers stomach and would send him flying off the deck and into the ocean as a spray of bloody bile had been left behind. A marine had quickly approached behind her with cutlass drawn as he raised his sword overhead, planning on slamming it down on her in a dual swing. “You can't sneak up on me!” With a pivot on her right foot, she slammed her katana onto the cutlass to throw the man off balance before pushing off her flexible seahorse legs to slam into the man's face, sending him skidding across the deck and crashing his back into a rail, cracking it. The three remaining marines looked terrified with their cutlasses drawn as more marines were prepared to drop down on the order. Riri wasn't close to tired at the moment either.

“Most troublesome. I didn't think we would be meeting trouble like this here.” Five men were taken down with relative ease and this was while fighting on land. It wasn't going to get any easier as the battle was only going to get more intense. From within the marine ship decks, there was a cheer of prisoners at the hope hope of getting rescued. Would Riri be able to succeed her task? Or would she be impeded in this battle? She was a Fishman and therefore was already much stronger than normal humans, but she had to get herself out of this sticky situation. “Let my friends go and we can end this problem right now! If not, prepare to fight!” She had comrades and now there was going to be a interesting match up against her. Who would win? The pirate trying to free her former Nakama? Or would it be the marine looking for a nice paycheck? The sea fish humanoid had already attacked a marine ship. Her fate was already decided as she came here. How it was going to turn out was an interesting thought.

[Jade]

A flying slash... Interesting. The woman, Kazarashi Riri, was working on closing the distance between them, slashing out with her blade in one hand and delivering bone-crushing punches with the other. Truly a ferocious opponent, and one who was well aware of what she was risking by making an enemy of the Marines. And yet, Bianca had some tricks up her sleeves - even if one were to possess the might required to create blades of wind, capable of slicing straight through the wood and metal of a gun, there was only so much they could do against a forest growing from beneath their feet. True, what she had in mind would be less of a showstopper and more of a time-waster, but the bounty huntress had unanswered questions about this woman's style. Her ferocity and pace told Bianca that delaying her further may answer some questions - as well as allow the Marines around her to contribute to the battle.

Bianca fell to her knees, opening and retrieving a seed from the small pouch at her side. The massive oak tree grew in the space of a few seconds, with the Garden Human planting her feet on a developing branch, sending herself skyward. The branch grew thicker and longer, bending backward onto itself to create a spot where she could easily stand. She once again took aim with her Oolong Shot, firing off one of her custom Shots - a Tangle Shot. Once it had flown 30 feet, the ball itself broke away, causing seeds to scatter across the fishwoman and her surroundings.

The followup was perhaps expected, but even the slower growth of these plants would be difficult to avoid. The green light of the Niwa Photons struck the seeds Bianca had fired, inspiring their growth, and bamboo, vines, roses, and mighty oaks like the one Bianca had set herself up on grew up from the pier and from Riri's own flesh, growing to their mature states over the course of fifteen seconds.

How will you respond, I wonder? Bianca smiled softly, glancing over at the Marine vessel's own officer. Perhaps he'd release what sort of situation the bounty huntress had created and capitalize upon it, but she somehow doubted that he would. He was a rather dense person, after all...

[Dandead10]

As the bounty hunter seemed to reach down into her pouch for her seeds, the remaining three marines had charged all at once with battle cries with their swords raised. It was utterly irritating to have all of these enemies in her path. Was it so much to ask to have her comrades freed? “Get out of my way!” She had swung horizontally with her katana to send one of the uniformed men staggering backwards. However, by that time one of the marines had already raised his heavy cutlass to swing down at the determined seahorse. With a sudden leap, she would take to the sky before flipping through the air and slamming her heel down on the head of her foe. Her wooden sandal had made a clack noise as the marine grunted with his head slamming into the old floor. Then, standing on her fallen foe’s back, she had pushed off of him as a springboard before launching a strong uppercut to the third marine’s face to send him flying into the air. “Hiyah!” She would leap yet again and twist her body to send a diagonal kick to send him slamming down into his last remaining friend. All of the eight marines had been disabled, groaning and laying as strewn around bodies on a old battlefield. Riri took a brief moment to breath as she turned her attention to the bounty hunter.



A gigantic tree had been growing out of nowhere on the marine ship and was rising into the air with the woman on it. ‘What the heck is going on?!” Kazarashi Riri had soon witnessed the bounty hunter firing yet another projectile, but it didn’t seem to be specifically aimed for her, just her general area. “I don’t wanna fight all of you, but you’re not putting me in a good spot! Take this!” Swinging downward, she had released the flying slash yet again, aimed straight for the oak tree that Bianca stood upon as the seeds landed all around her. Riri seeing she was occupied by the marines when the female bounty made her first tree, did not know the danger of the situation until it was all too late. Suddenly, a variety of fauna and plant life had grown rapidly around her like a dense jungle of nature. Marines on the deck would yell as plants of all kinds would wrap and entangle them. “Raagh!” Several vines, bamboo branches, and even flowers grew all along her body, constricting her movements as they grew at a rapid pace. What kind of black magic was this?! “What is this?! Is this some sort of magic?!” The fish woman was stunned at being constricted like this as she found herself having a difficult time moving her arms and legs. Her sword arm was restrained and unable to swing also by the looks of it. Bamboo locked her arms in place, vines had wrapped around her torso and underarms. Only her legs had some freedom of space to move and react.



Her eyes looked confused as did her facial expression of a gaping hole that was a mouth with no teeth based on the looks of it. The marine officer at the moment however had looked to the bounty hunter with a look of disdain. “What the hell are you doing? You got our own men caught in the crossfire!” Just as he said, many of the marine troops down below were caught in similar positions of bondage although they seemed even less capable of moving than Riri was. “Get her men and finish the job!” Several more men had lined up on the rails of the marine ship with rifles raised, and had quickly taken aim. The yellow fishwoman although at this moment would seemingly go through some sort of odd metamorphosis. Riri’s skin when in the presence of the green plants, mostly bamboo would have her skin change to become a light green. Although...that wouldn’t help in this situation all that much. Her eyes shined with fear as she wondered if she was going to die right about now. Fifteen men had been at the rails with their guns raised and she couldn’t defend herself. No. She could defend herself. Using her quick wit and thinking, she came up with a plan.



With all of the extra weight added onto the old planks of this dock, she could make her escape. “Gyojin Karate:Sea Stallion...Kick!” Rifles had fired rapidly at what they saw as a creature of abomination as she pushed her full force of both legs onto the dock which caused the foundation of several of the plants to suddenly be gone. “AAAAH!” The bamboo and vines had loosened and Riri would fall nearly eight feet into the depths of the ocean, leaving a gaping hole where she once stood. However, a sharp pain rang through her left shoulder. A bullet had pierced through her arm and the water was stained ever so slightly red. However...this was her home territory. The sea was her comfort and her greatest strength. ‘Alright...I made it. Still, I need to go back up there and get my friends out from there. I better deal with this as fast as I can and deal with that plant lady up there.’ A deep breath and several bubbles had left her mouth. She thought and acted well, but what she would do next would decide the outcome of her quest.

[Jade]

“What the hell are you doing? You got our own men caught in the crossfire!”

Bianca tilted her head. "Of course I did. You'll find that none of them were injured, and perhaps even had their lives saved. Order them to pull back to the ship - it's clear now that you and your men are in over your heads." The branch she was standing upon, with a touch, suddenly grew further in size, reaching over toward the Marine vessel, allowing the bounty huntress to simply step onto the deck before the branch returned to its original size. "You and your men will provide supporting fire, but getting up close and personal with this woman is going to be too dangerous."

The Marine officer, a portly man with a big mustache, shook with what Bianca would've guessed was rage. “Now hold on just a moment, Miss Stark! I am the one in charge here - I'll be the one giving orders! And, I...” He coughed a little, turning away from the bounty huntress. “Men! Get back on the ship!”

The standing Marines, who had been working on either freeing themselves from the sudden overgrowth or freeing their friends from said plants, stopped to give their officer a quick look of relief. "Right away, sir!"

The white-haired woman nodded, standing a little straighter. Taking charge of a situation where chaos and confusion were setting in was important, after all, and an important skill for any leader. This Marine officer, whose name she suddenly realized she had never actually learned, was an abhorrent leader, clumsily throwing his weight and position around like a walrus on the beach in a mockery of true leadership. "You have my thanks. Now keep an eye out for that woman - fishmen are even more dangerous in the water."

Bianca deposited her Oolong Shot on the ship's deck, taking calm, deliberate steps toward and then down the gangplank, walking back onto the now-broken and overgrown pier below. What's your next move, Kazarashi Riri...? She pulled a few seeds from her little bag, holding them in her left hand in preparation for the fishwoman's reappearance.

[Dandead10]

The shoulder wound was not welcome seeing it hurt quite a bit with a stinging sensation. That was going to be irritating for the most part, but she was going to continue the assault. She then had a different thought process. Why would she need to leave the ocean to attack them? She had knowledge of the technique Uchimizu, and while it wasn’t the most effective tactic, it was still one she could exploit. “What the hell are we afraid of? It’s just a damn fish.” One of the marines would call as there seemed to be a bit of an eerie silence for a moment or two. Going back up on the dock would be suicide what with all of those marines aiming those guns at her, and so she swam deep into the ocean water before swimming around to reach the other end of the marine ship. ‘Here we go! It’s all or nothing!’ Thus she would swim rapidly, using full force of her arms and legs to push her through the water as she would leap and seemingly fly from out of the water onto the other side of the marine vessel. “Uchimizu!” Flinging her arms outward, ten bullets of water had flown, striking the backs of four marines, with some bullets missing as yells of pain had been sounded. “No more time for games! I’m gonna go serious if you’re forcing me to!” Drawing her blade, she rushed into combat and into the back line of marines.

The first marine that turned around would find a fierce elbow sent into his face to send him flying off the ship and into the ocean down below with a wilhelm scream sounding. “Shoot the damn thing! Shoot it!” The marines had rapidly fired their rifles and it was then that the fish woman would slash down, slicing through two marines in the blink of an eye before she was pelted. Falling down to the ground, two more bullets would enter her back, leaving her on the floor seemingly defeated. She had been shot a total of four times, five counting the earlier shoulder injury. There was silence as several marines stared at her with looks of fear with sweatdrops dripping from their heads. “Is it over? Is it dead?” The marine commander had looked at the monstrous creature with his own flintlock pistol smoking. “Of course it’s dead you buffoon. Get the prisoners out and to the prison before any other unfortunate circumstances occur.” Blood would pool where the fishwoman lay and the commander would approach the fallen foe with a smug look on his face. “I’ll probably be promoted for taking down this crew and this monstrous creature. Yes. I can see it now. All the praise and the recog-”

The man paused as a tensed fist had grasped around his ankle. “I-I’m not dead yet you bastard…I refuse to die when my journey has just begun.” The marine looked rather surprised as shock had rocked through him. The sudden grip would then increase as he screamed out in pain. “RAAAGH! AAAGH! LET ME GO! The sounds of bone crushing could be heard as she slowly stood with blood adorning her form. “Hrrgh…” A spittle of blood would be heard as she then grasped the marine officer by the head with the marines too startled and worried to do anything seeing she now effectively had a hostage. She squeezed hard on the head of the marine as she held her stomach. “Let them go...or else I’m going to send you all to Davy Jones locker.” With a labored breath, she stood with her katana aimed for a prime position to gut the marine officer with a single stab. "What are we going to do?! She's got the officer in her grasp!" The man had looked in fear at the situation as he turned his eyes to the Bounty Hunter. "Miss. Stark! Get me out of this mess!"
 

[Jade]

"Can you not follow even the simplest of instructions?"

Bianca walked forward, vines slowly overtaking her right arm as she took slow, deliberate steps toward the commotion. The useless officer struggled in the air, attempting to break free of Riri's iron grip, but he couldn't even manage to do that right. "As I said, you are in over your head. You are quite fortunate that I was here this time to rectify your mistake, Captain."

"And as for you, Kazarashi Riri. Despite his incompetence, you've taken some rather unfortunate steps yourself. Men, take aim." The bounty huntress raised her left hand, pointing at the fishwoman. Slowly but steadily, the Marines on the deck recognized the order, raising their rifles and pointing them at Riri. "Put him down, Riri. You are completely and totally surrounded - and your hostage is worthless. Jasmine Whip."

Was she bluffing? Oh, of course. Had she actually expected the Marines to raise their rifles, potentially against their own commanding officer? Absolutely not, but it spoke volumes about the man's ability to lead when his own men, under the orders of a half-competent leader, would raise their weapons even when doing so would put him in danger. But all of that talk let her get closer, and now she was ready to strike. The Blooming Crawler vines on her right arm flew forward at Riri, aiming to wrap around the fishwoman's stomach and dig in with their thick thorns.

[Dandead10]

Riri was in a bad spot...surrounded, and her mysterious opponent had approached her as marine soldiers would quickly go out of the way to let her deal with the issue. Riri turned to look at Bianca as she was told that she made all the wrong choices and that her hostage was worthless. “W-What?! No! Men! Stand down! Don’t shoot me!” The vines flew quickly at the fishwoman, but upon reaching the conclusion that the marines were going to fire upon her even if she had a hostage or not made Riri decide on what she was going to do. Holding her hostage out, she would use him as a literal human shield to take the vines...allowing their thick thorniness to wrap around him as the commanding officer yelled in pain at this moment. Then, the powerful fishwoman would throw the man out hitting several marines and knocking them to the floor also likely making Bianca stagger from the force. She rushed straight for Bianca at this moment, full speed as the rest of the marines had fired, missing every shot in their dismay and lack of time to aim.

As Bianca’s right arm was occupied and therefore unable to act, Riri had rushed to attack from the right side of Bianca where her defenses were weakest. She had sheathed her blade by this time as she stood right in front of Bianca with a shadow covering the whole front side of her body as she grit her teeth. “Gyojin Karate!” Both of her arms would slam into Bianca’s midsection with a powerful force as a slamming noise would be evident at this moment. “200 Tile Blast Slam!” The force of the blow was powerful. A One Hundred Tile Fist was usually strong enough to send most people flying from the sheer force of the blow, but now there was two blows of equally powerful proportions with one fist on top of the other with the second reversed to make an inversed blow. Riri’s idea was to launch Bianca into the ocean and then fight from her home territory where her opponent would be helpless to resist. If she were successful, Riri would stand there with a heavy breath as she drew her sword looking out to the marines. “I’ve got all day to face cretins like you! Now who wants another beating?!”

Several marines backed up not wanting to do anything with this business as an unconscious marine officer lay on the ground with two other marines below him. The other marines were in fear as this monster had taken down majority of their forces all by herself and she still seemed like she was going to put up a fight. Seeing this was the case, the sea horse had looked to Bianca’s direction with one hand lowered to her blade. “How do you like one of those?!" Blood dripped from the fishwoman’s wounds...but the thought of freeing her short time crew friends was motivating her to keep fighting. It wasn’t right to let them be captured, jailed, and likely executed without her doing nothing. She was prepared to battle until she could battle no longer. Nothing was going to stop her from her goals. The sound of the salty ocean would brush against the marine vessel as the sound of seagulls cawing could be heard in their plawful cries. “Let’s battle.” She cracked her fists while awaiting a reaction from the bounty hunter as this was turning into a battle of two monstrous forces.

SPOILER: Click to show

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