"A Devil Fruit user…" Liro muttered to himself, staring at the flying dinosaur now towering over him while the crackle of flames devoured the deck and the strong winds whipped burning sails into the sky.
"Ryx ryx ryx… so you know about Devil Fruits. Interesting. Looks like you're not just brainless monkeys after all. But it's time I end your life and find someone who actually entertains me,"
Garabato rasped, voice like broken glass on stone. He spread his enormous white wings and with a single explosive beat shot upward at terrifying speed, the sound of displaced air shaking the sinking ship.
Once he reached the perfect height, Garabato folded his wings and dove like a living missile. His shadow swallowed Liro for a single heartbeat before that monstrous, tooth-filled beak plunged down like a spear.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact detonated across the deck. Shockwaves CRACKED and SHATTERED the already-ruined planks, sending burning sails and chunks of mast crashing into the sea with steaming hisses and splashes of water.
Liro barely crossed his cutlass to deflect the strike, The metallic sound was enough to make Liro lose his hearing for a few seconds. but the sheer force still hurled him backward straight into a charred mast.
The mast exploded into charcoal fragments that rained over him like black snow. "Ggh…!" Blood burst from his mouth. Pain exploded across his spine like lightning.
Garabato landed on the opposite side. The deck groaned under twenty-five feet of scaled monster. His wings cast a shadow so huge the sun vanished behind white scales reflecting the sun.
"Ryx ryx ryx… now you're worse off than before. You can't even keep up with me anymore," his beak grinned, revealing rows of carnivore teeth that gleamed like daggers.
And just as he finished speaking, his building-sized shadow vanished. All Liro felt was a gust of wind and a flash of sunlight on scales.
SLASHHHHH!
The left wing carved through Liro's shoulder. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc splashing all the cabin next to Liro. The cut was so deep the arm nearly fell off.
Liro screamed loud enough that Garabato hear it, staggered back, and instinctively raised his sword with his only working hand.
Another blow came.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
A talon raked across his ribs. Bones shattered like dry branches. Liro flew across the deck like a breaking ball, rolling, coughing more blood to the floor.
He tried to stand. His right arm trembled violently under the cutlass's weight. His left arm hung dead, useless. Weeks of recovery—if he lived.
Every breath was a knife in his lungs. Broken ribs ground against each other.
Garabato descended slowly, wings spread like a descending demon, enjoying the view.
"You can't even hold that little thing anymore," he mocked, tilting his beak with a wide, sadistic grin.
"Want to know a secret? Your pathetic cuts don't even tickle me. Thanks to my Devil Fruit, my regeneration is far beyond any human's, and your pathetic cuts…" Garabato leaned even closer, looking like a loaded crossbow ready to fire.
Liro swallowed blood. So this was his end. All he could do was die with dignity and not turn his back like a coward. At least he had bought enough time for the others to escape and deliver the information to Olbap.
Garabato, seeing Liro's resolve, only smiled wider and spread his wings before letting them fall with full force and launching himself at even greater speed. The beak went straight for the heart, and his entire body followed. This was Garabato's signature move.
"This is my art,"
Liro couldn't move. He just closed his eyes waiting for his end.
CLAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
A gigantic hammer smashed into Garabato's back with such force that his big body was blasted downward, piercing through the deck, breaking wood beams even the main structure of the ship.
Falling to the lower level of the ship that only held together thanks to the quality of its materials.
Popeye landed exactly where Garabato had been a second before his heavy boots making the planks tremble under his body, shoulders tense, hammer resting on the ground.
"Useless, Liro. I leave you alone five minutes and you almost die. And you dare call yourself my training partner or my equal, huh?" Popeye said with a mocking voice.
Liro, panting, spat blood and looked at him with a broken smile.
"Shut up, turkey leg. You think that flying lizard is weak? That damn lizard is indestructible. I pierced his stomach, the wings, even the chest! And everything closed. His scales are too hard, just like his regeneration," Liro said with his one usable hand gripping his cutlass to point at Popeye.
Popeye just whistled as if he hadn't heard his words.
"Not bad. A new challenge. I've fought rhino-shark, bull, almost a giant dog… now a flying lizard gets added to the list. What's next? A dragon that controls elements? A giant golden Buddha? Or to finish it off, a god?" Popeye said while raising one finger for each animal he mentioned.
A gust of wind erupted from where Garabato had crashed earlier, and a shadow quickly emerged to stand above both of them. Both looked up to see Garabato again as if the hammer blow had done nothing to him.
"Ryx ryx ryx" Garabato laughed, though both noticed drops of blood on the edges of his beak.
"What a beautiful hit. That one I felt. it through my bones I missed that sensation of pain," he said with his broken voice while his spine cracked back into place on its own.
Popeye, hearing Garabato's words, just laughed.
"Hahaha! And that wasn't even with my full strength. Come here, little lizard. I'll teach you what real pain is if you love it so much," Popeye said.
Garabato spread his wings and dove back onto the deck at full speed.
This time both said nothing. They knew the best thing was to face him together, and just as Liro thought, the battle was completely different from this point.
Where Popeye struck hard, forcing Garabato back every time he attacked, and Liro cutting at weak points again and again. He knew his cuts weren't strong enough, but one cut on top of another and another would eventually break through. The two moved like a single person.
And even so, Garabato kept laughing after receiving damage from both. His skin opened, his scales closed, his wings cutting the air to mae Popeye and Liro bleed, his claws repelled blows as if they were toys, but after so many years he felt more alive than ever and would enjoy every second of it.
A deep cut on the side, right under the right wing , made his flight more difficult, giving the battle-lover Popeye the chance to jump and deliver another hammer blow to the same right wing cracking the bones of the wings, making Garabato crash again with all his weight onto the ship. And the entire ship groaned loudly under everyone's feet.
CRACK… CROOOAAAK…
The fire had completely weakened everything. Only charred wood remained, and the few planks that still worked tilted along with the ship. Water rose through the cracks completely flooding the lower part of the ship making the sound of the force of the water to someone ears.
Liro noticed it from the main part of the cabin.
"Popeye, we have no time left," Liro said, badly wounded but with enough energy to keep moving.
"What do you plan?" Popeye asked.
Liro wiped the blood from his face and raised his cutlass.
"There's only one way to finish off a Devil Fruit user, and it just so happens we're on a ship about to sink, and he has a way to escape," Liro said.
"What do you mean? Say it simple for me. You think I'm Olbap to decipher your words just by saying hello, lazy leg?" Popeye replied with a vein popping on his head.
"I forgot it was you. I thought someone with enough brain was here, and I don't have paper to draw it for you. We have to sink him," Liro replied, now with his own vein marked on his forehead.
"see it was easy to said like that but it sounds easy to say, but I can't beat him in the air," Popeye said.
"I can't reach him if he flies either. Now we have to take advantage. The sea is our only chance," Liro said. Popeye smiled slowly, nodding as he understood the plan and what Liro wanted to tell him.
"Heh, I like how you think, but it's a shame because I'm not planning on dying here," Garabato said to start taking off.
Both Liro and Popeye charged toward Garabato, who heard the entire plan and knew what they wanted to do. With one of his wings he struck Popeye to push him away, but Liro held on and pulled him toward him with all his strength with the only hand he had and his strong jaw while biting the leg with all his might.
The ship shuddered again, and water began to enter like waterfalls.
Garabato, realizing he couldn't escape if he didn't get Liro off, with his other talon launched a slash toward Liro that he wouldn't be able to block if he want to stick to Garabato.
But it didn't happen because Popeye, now without his hammer came running and with his empty hands, he block the Talon what was going to hit Liro and didn't let him go making flight impossible to start.
"¡¡¡GRAAAAAAHHHRRRR!!!" Garabato roared while using all possible strength to take off.
The water already reaching the cabin. Only seconds remained before it completely sank. Even Popeye and Liro were almost covered in water.
"NO! NO! DON'T TOUCH THE WATER!" Garabato roared with fear for the first time since the fight began.
Hearing Garabato's pleas, Popeye and Liro increased their efforts so he wouldn't escape.
"Well, you're going to sink with us, flying lizard!" Popeye shouted.
"LET GO! LET GO, DAMN MONKEY!" Garabato screamed.
The ship gave way completely, and everyone fell completely into the sea, including Garabato.
SPLAAAAAASH!
Both, noticing they had achieved their objective, felt Garabato's transformation begin to return to normal, so they released him and swam up to breathe. Popeye helping Liro.
Further below them, still in the sea, was Garabato, his body completely immobile no matter how much he tried to move. In his mind only one thought appeared:
I don't want to die in the water… anything but that.
Though his thoughts weren't heard by anyone, little by little he sank deeper until closing his eyes.
No one will come to save him why call for help.
SIlence was all he heard feel or think after saying his last Words
But he Feel something strong around his body, he opened his eyes that were starting to burn from the sea salt, noticing how a large figure grabbed him and pulled him from his death.
That was Popeye. He wouldn't let a great training dummy die to become strong, no matter if he had to keep him locked up for his whole life.
So he decided to save him.
Emerging with both, the first thing they did was breathe. Garabato, upon feeling air fill his lungs again, didn't even try to fight. He had no strength, and the only thing left he would use to breathe.
Popeye moved toward the remains of the sunken ship that still floated, climbing on top so they could rest.
Popeye, seeing the condition of both Liro and Garabato, knew they wouldn't get up without medical attention, so he took out of his pocket a Den Den Mushi he always carried and by luck never broke no matter what he did.
"What happened, Popeye?" Olbap's voice said from the other side.
"I need help. We had a pretty strong opponent, and Liro is completely destroyed, so bring Vanessa," Popeye said.
"Don't worry. Vanessa is already close after left you there. I'll let them know to go pick you up. Make sure Liro is safe. What happened to the enemy?" Olbap asked.
"He's still alive. He'll be a training partner for me in the future, even if he spends his whole life in prison until he's no longer useful to me," Popeye said.
"Fine. Tell me everything later. Now wait for them to arrive." Thus Olbap ended the call, and Popeye just sighed.
This was what he loved: battles. Too bad he had to team up with Liro because if he had arrived at the place first, he would have enjoyed it more knowing his opponent would be at maximum strength.
Though it doesn't matter. Later he'll beat him when he recovers. I'll be the strongest person in this world so Olbap won't have to worry about our enemies.
End of the chapter.