L.O.J.S.H 222

My blade trailed at Kuma's midsection, creating a wide gash that revealed his mechanical insides as I slashed downward. A similar scene took place on the warlord's back as Doc copied my actions. 

All the while, Wilson's fist connected, almost folding the warlord. However, despite clearly taking extensive damage, Kuma didn't even utter so much a pained groan while adjusting himself. 

He spread his arms and began clasping them together, a transparent paw pad shaped bubble forming between his arms as he pushed to compress it.

My eyes widened as I realized what he was trying to do, and I quickly turned to Law, who was a distance away, sharply keeping an eye on the fight. 

"Get us out of here!" I exclaimed, the urgency in my voice reaching Law by his quick actions, teleporting us away, an assortment of pebbles and debris appearing instead in our place.

"Ursus Shock," the warlord muttered, letting go of the compressed bubble and disappearing from the scene as it exploded inside the crater my battle with Moria had created. 

The bubble silently exploded, gouging the earth, widening the crater, and deepening it while extinguishing whatever remained of my lingering flames that scorched the very dirt.

I watched this scene in astonishment, wondering if I'd survive such an attack. However, alarm bells started ringing in my brain, my observation haki, alerting me to danger as Kuma appeared in front of me. 

He reached to my face with an open palm. But I was prepared and immediately melded into the ground, making distance and emerging a fair distance away. 

"Hm..." Kuma muttered after catching nothing but air as he began looking around, seemingly assessing the situation. "Observation haki... armament haki..." he added, his eyes settling on me. 

"Multiple troublesome devil fruit abilities... a capable sniper... decent coordination..." Kuma mused to no one in particular as he continued to look around, giving each of my crewmates a thorough appraisal.

"Margin of success, minuscule..." Kuma concluded with no emotion in his calm, eerily emotionless voice.

"You are indeed dangerous, Johnny Silver Hand," Kuma blankly stated, looking at me with a deadpan expression. I smiled, taking it as a compliment.

"Very well. I will take my leave as there is nothing to accomplish here, but before that..." Kuma remarked, slowly turning to look at the unconscious Moria. 

"What is the meaning of this, Johnny Silver Hand...?" Kuma asked as I moved to stand between him and Moria, raising an eyebrow and showing emotion for the first time since his arrival.

"If you want to leave, then be my guest, but I won't let you do as you please," I replied, shrugging my shoulders as I shooed the warlord away like one would an annoying fly. 

"The man already had enough for one day," I added, smiling as I took a brief glance at Moria over my shoulder.

"I don't understand. Why are you protecting someone who was trying to kill you?" Kuma remarked, resuming a blank expression.  

"As a pirate, do I really need a reason to get in the world government's way?" I asked, my smile turning into a face-splitting grin as my companions began surrounding the warlord, prepared to strike at a moment's notice.

"Oh? Don't you perhaps have the wrong idea? Pirates are not supposed to pick fights with the world government. It's the other way around," Kuma replied, sounding somewhat amused albeit very mildly.

"Says who? Not only did the world government place a sizable bounty on me, they even sent their dogs to ambush me a while ago..." I remarked, waving a hand to the side. 

"So why the fuck can't I ruin their day when I have the chance?" I asked, resting Trition on my shoulder as I spat on the ground.  

"And yet, you don't have to be enemies with the world government... the offer to join the warlords still stands, albeit temporarily..." Kuma said after giving me a nod, having processed my words.

"Don't even try it, Kuma. Do I look like an idiot to you?" I mockingly asked with a scoffing expression as I raised my hand and dismissively fanned in front of my face.

"You kinda look like an idiot with that face..." Wilson muttered from the side, giving me a side glance to which I responded by pretending the four-armed gorilla didn't even exist.

"I've had enough chitchat. You either leave now or get ready to defend yourself. So what's it going to be, Bartholomew Kuma?" I concluded, my voice losing any trace of humor as I coldly at the warlord, making my stance known.

Kuma took a second to deliberate his situation. However didn't reply through words, but through actions instead, as he turned around and started walking away. 

"Oh, and before you go..." I remarked, causing Kuma to halt his steps, waiting for me to speak. "That blonde friend of yours, the one with a burn scar over his eyes... tell him I'll break his legs the next time I see him," I added, grinning as Kuma half staggered and almost broke his calm facade.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Kuma remarked as he resumed walking and suddenly disappeared, my observation haki losing track of him.

... 

Absalom couldn't help cursing under his breath, unable to vent his growing anger, frustration, and fear any other way. Still stuck in this tattered piece of ruin as he was.

'Just how did things turn like this?' Absalom bitterly mused, nervously gulping and looking at the massive divide that split the island in half, barely missing him. He had almost fallen to the water and died himself. 

His day started just like any other, with the same routine. But it all went to shit when Perona told him about the 'guests' who suddenly appeared on Thriller Bark.

Being the perverted bastard that he was, the self-proclaimed cemetery king immediately took off to scout the newcomers to see if they had any beautiful women.

However, he wasn't halfway through the island when that demon suddenly appeared like a lightning bolt. The guy even seemed to know about his devil fruit ability and how to counter it as he ambushed Absalom at the worst place and time imaginable. 

'Not that I could have beaten that monster either way... but I should have been able to escape at least..'

Absalom winced at how easily the man beat him up and trapped him with that weird devil fruit ability. 

And things only got worse from then on, as the island began to fall apart, the mansion and the mainmast reduced to nothing but rubble. And He was even able to the zombies shrieks even this far away from the action as the demon and his crew began dismantling Thriller Bark.

"Oh! There you are! And still in one piece too. Good." 

'Speak of the devil, or demon in this case...' Absalom thought as he turned to look up with twitching eyes, seeing the same man who trapped him here, floating in the air as he slowly descended to the ground.

"Looks like you behaved yourself and stayed here too. Good for you," the demon leisurely remarked after landing in front of Absalom. 

'It's not like I can get out of here even if I wanted to...!' Absalom internally screamed, not daring to utter such words. He sheepishly smiled and nodded instead. 

"Let's go and see your captain," the demon said and reached forward, roughly grabbing Absalom's face and getting him out of the wall. And before the self-proclaimed cemetery king could sigh in relief or question the demon's words, the latter flew into the air, fast enough to make Absalom's eyes tear up.

One minute later, Absalom found himself in a gigantic scorched crater that seemed to have been hit by a meteor. Maybe even more considering the depth and width.

He immediately noticed three unmoving bodies at the center of the crater, Moria, Hogback, and Perona, the only three living people other than himself in their crew.

'Are they dead? Did this demon bring me here just to show me their corpses before killing me too...?' Absalom nervously gulped, his eyes slowly turning from his crewmates' unmoving bodies to the demon.