Chapter 79: Archenemy
"Huff…Huff…Finally, we're even Shanks" Ashen uttered to himself while slowly walking toward the unconscious Shanks "Now, now…what should we do with you?"
Shanks lay motionless, his body battered and bruised, blood pooling around him. Ashen surveyed the scene for a moment, taking in the sight of his fallen opponent. A sly grin crept across his face, betraying his twisted delight in the victory he had just achieved "I would've killed you under normal circumstances, but you spared me in our last fight, so I'm going to do the same for you since I'm still a man of values…But I have to take something from you as a compensation for this" Ashen spoke as he grasped his sword with two hands and proceeded to cut off Shanks left hand.
*Splash* Despite the excruciating pain of losing his left hand, Shanks slowly regained consciousness. He held his severed limb tightly, his face contorted in agony, but he refused to scream or cry out. His eyes blazed with hostility as he fixed his gaze upon Ashen. After a moment, he spoke, his voice low and fierce.
"Y-You went too far, Ashen…" Shanks said while gritting his teeth.
"Be grateful I didn't cut your whole arm. The hand that points a weapon at me, my friends or my allies…I shall cut it" Ashen peered down at Shanks with a cold, unwavering expression. "Do you still wish to continue this, or will you finally order your crew to stand down?" he asked with a firm voice.
As the realization of his defeat hit him, Shanks issued the order for his crew to stand down, determined to prevent any further harm or damage. With a gaze fixed firmly on the ground, he wore an expression of defeat and disbelief. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would suffer such a humiliating loss, especially to someone who was far weaker than him just a few short years ago.
"I'll get even with you, sooner or later I'll surpass again and make you pay for this Ashen" Shanks said while gazing at Ashen in hostility.
"Hmph…You think you can do that with that careless and laid-back attitude of yours? Don't make me laugh"
"You'll see…" Shanks responded with a determined face.
"I see then, when that day come…I Ashen Demon of The Sea shall crush you once again" Ashen said, then added "Now take your crew and piss off, we'll leave some boats for you…Don't show your face again until then" Ashen said before he walked away, soon his crew followed him.
…
After the battle against the Red Hair Pirates, Ashen and his crew started the preparations for their war against Big Mom.
Dorry and Brogy successfully conveyed the gravity of the situation to the giants, and through their persuasive efforts, they managed to enlist the support of a considerable number of them. Among those were five former members of the infamous Giant Warrior Pirates. Furthermore, when Hajrudin and New Giant Warrior learned about the impending conflict, they were quick to join forces with Dorry, Brogy, and the other giants. Hajrudin harbored a deep-seated resentment towards Big Mom for the demise of Jorul, and his eagerness to participate in the battle was a testament to his strong desire for vengeance.
Now around twenty giants joined Ashen's cause ready to fight Big Mom any moment.
Ashen concluded that it would be best to relocate the battle away from Elbaf to prevent catastrophic damage, given the immense power of his awakened Logia fruits. As a reference, both Akainu and Aokiji had permanently altered the climate of Punk Hazard through their battle. As a result, the decision was made to relocate the fight to a nearby uninhabited island.
The plan is to ambush Big Mom on the island, using the element of surprise to do as much damage to her army as possible.
In the meanwhile, while they were waiting, Ashen and the crew underwent a harsh training for the upcoming fight. Ashen's main focus was getting Internal Destruction since hurting Big Mom from the inside was the way to go, even though conqueror's haki can hurt her. But when Ashen recalled and analyzed her fight against Kid and Law, he managed to come up with a more efficient way to fight her.
The fight was this, Kid used his awakening ability to trap Big Mom, leaving Law the opportunity to deal internal damage, using his devil fruit power he crushed her organs from the inside, leaving Big Mom open and vulnerable and this was the trick, when Law does that, Big Mom becomes severely weakened for a moment, which then comes up to Kid using his massive attacks like Punk Corna Dio to smash her using enough force to crush her bones.
With these two combined, Kid and Law managed to damage Big Mom enough for her to recognize their threat and get serious, even using her life span to fight them. But the problem is that the way Kid and Law won at the end was conditional, meaning under other circumstances they wouldn't have won. The main reason for that is they won by pushing her out of the island into a lava pool, otherwise she would still have stamina and power to fight even more. This won't be the case for Ashen as the only way for him to win is by either knocking her out or killing her, which is something unlikely for him to do, the second thing is that for some reason she didn't use Advanced Conqueror's Haki otherwise she could have knocked the two pretty easily.
So, taking all of these things into consideration, if Ashen can get Internal Destruction he can use the same strategy as those two, and hope that he can somehow finish her off. But the good thing is that Ashen has a few advantages over her, the number one is that her homies Prometheus and Zeus are pretty much useless against him, as he is a fire human, and his fire burns many times hotter than the normal one, so he can even damage Prometheus. Her ability to take souls will also be useless, since Ashen is not someone to be intimidated by the likes her.
But even after all that it is important to remember that Big Mom is a formidable opponent, having killed dozens of giants and destroyed an entire village during her childhood. Defeating her will not be an easy feat, especially since she holds the title of an Emperor. Even Luffy, couldn't achieve that without help.
…
A few days later,
Upon hearing news of Big Mom's approach to Elbaf, Ashen and his crew, accompanied by their allies and the giants, set sail towards an uninhabited island near Elbaf. There, they patiently awaited Big Mom's arrival, ready to confront her.
After a few hours, dozens of ships showed upon the horizon. A massive fleet of ships that easily outnumbers Ashen's fleet, all of them carried the Jolly Roger of a skull with thick red lips and wearing a pirate tricorne. The most prominent one is a massive galleon adorned with vibrant candy-themed decorations. The ship is painted in shades of pink and white, with spiraling candy cane poles and sugar-coated turrets. The sails are a bright pink color with a pattern of peppermint candies, and the figurehead at the front of the ship is a carved representation of Big Mom's own face, complete with her signature top hat and a wide grin.
When the ships got closer to the island, Enel was able to sense them using his wide range of Observation Haki.
Enel's nonchalant gaze remained fixed in the direction of the approaching enemies as he spoke in a composed manner, "Their numbers easily exceed ours by thousands." Despite the daunting odds, there was no trace of worry or concern in his voice.
Ashen stood firmly in place, flanked by his loyal crew members on both sides, as they stood atop a towering hill. "I never anticipated that we would have the numerical advantage," he remarked, his eyes focused on the horizon. "But with the giants at our side, the odds are not as insurmountable as we initially thought."
His army, including the giants, were hidden behind the hill, ready to be revealed at the opportune moment. Ashen's plan was to surround their enemy, Big Mom and her crew, from all directions.
A few minutes later, Big Mom and her fleet finally docked on the island as thousands of soldiers, accompanied by her children, advanced towards them at a steady pace.
Big Mom's voice echoed across the desolate landscape as she closed in on Ashen. "Maaa ma ma ma... finally found you, Ashen" she said with a manic grin, fixing her gaze on him from a distance. "There's nowhere left to run now" she declared, her words laced with a chilling sense of finality.
"Is that the one you are chasing mama?" said a mass of compressed flames with several sunrays surrounding him "Just give me the word and I'll burn him up!" Prometheus said excitedly.
"That bastard most be tired of running away and accepted his fate" said Cracker with a grin "We'll make him pay for what he did"
"Something doesn't feel right" Katakuri's walked beside his mother with a wary eye, taking in their surroundings. As they approached the hill where Ashen was standing, Big Mom transformed her bicorn hat into a deadly sword and leaped onto the back of her loyal steed, Zeus.
"Hoi, Ashen. Stop pretending to be tough and surrender calmly. You know it's pointless," Big Mom said as she looked up at Ashen from the base of the hill. "A senseless brat like you could never defeat me."
"Big Mom, you better start taking me seriously or you might regret it!" Ashen said, a mischievous smirk on his face as he crossed his arms.
"You cocky little shit" she spat, her grip on her sword tightening. "I'll teach you a lesson in no time."
Cracker's sinister grin widened as he announced, "We brought more men. You weaklings don't stand a chance!" His excitement was palpable as he taunted his opponents, clearly relishing the thought of crushing them with his superior forces.
"Be prepared!" Katakuri cautioned, his eyes focused on a vision of the future. He readied himself for what was to come, knowing that his foresight would soon become reality.
A smirk formed on Ashen's face as he addressed the Big Mom Pirates "You brought men, I brought warriors" Suddenly, from all directions, hundreds of soldiers emerged, surrounding the enemy crew and leaving them with nowhere to escape.
"Ashen Piraaaates!!!...Prepare for glory!!!" Ashen bellowed with all his might, his voice echoing across the battlefield. In a show of unwavering loyalty, all three thousand of his soldiers raised their weapons in response and replied in perfect unison, their voices ringing out through the air.
"Aho!!...Aho!!...Aho!!" x3000.
Big Mom let out a mocking laugh, her voice dripping with condescension. "Maaa ma ma ma...So, you're not all talk after all. But do you honestly believe that your little display is enough to defeat me?"
"Don't worry," Ashen reassured, a confident smile spreading across his face. "I've brought along some friends who I think you'll find quite familiar" With a sweeping gesture, he signaled for a group of twenty giants to step forward from the shadows behind him, their massive figures towering over the smaller humans.
"Gabababa! So that's Big Mom!" Brogy appeared on Ashen's left side, while Dorry appeared on his right.
"…" Big Mom appeared to be at a loss for words as she gazed upon the twenty towering giants, who would soon be engaging in battle on the field before her.
"Such cunning tactics," Katakuri remarked, his anger evident. "He's exploiting the long-standing animosity between Mama and the giants to win them over to his side."
"Alright…let operation Attack of Titans begin!!"
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