"Who the hell do you think you are?"

A crash was heard in the busy street as a man was thrown through the door of the local bar. He scratched his head of blond hair, crimson eyes staring expectantly at the group of men exiting after him. He brushed off the dust from his white jacket, standing up fully as a bored expression came over his face. There was a rather large group of them, all large and brutish. It wasn't hard to tell they were pirates. Pirates were the only ones who didn't really care about the laws in place. Especially with a marine base so close. He had expected this scum when he set out to sea, but he had hoped to put it off until he found some people to join up with.

"So, what are you going to do about my partner's wrist?" the man in the lead asked. He was a large one, easily twice the size of the blond. A large sword was held in his right hand, placed against his shoulder. It was curved menacingly. It also happened to be twice the length of the sword at the blond's side.

Mitsuki placed a hand on the hilt of his sword lightly. "Well, a pair of handcuffs might look nice. I could say the same for your wrists too," he commented. "There's a nice little marine base nearby I could escort you to."

The pirate captain's eyes narrowed just before he swung his sword for the other man's throat. In a flash, his sword was up, blocking the swing with one arm. He let out a small sigh. "I hoped this would be a bit more challenging." He swung out, shoving the sword away before twisting around and slashing across the man's chest. Blood spewed as the other pirates began to surge towards him. He blocked the first that reached him with his blade again, his foot coming up to block the sword of a second. The sole of sandals he wore let out a clink as the blade was met with metal. With a quick twist, he flipped up into the air and slammed his foot into the man's face. This sent him crashing back into the bar they had just exited, even as Mitsuki landed back on his feet.

The pirates were more cautious now, edging away from the swordsman. They had expected easy prey. It was clear that wasn't what they were getting. "Come on, now. Don't be shy," he said with a small grin. "I want to finish my warm up."

He had heard about the presence of a Marine base on this island almost as soon as he'd gotten here. As such he had kept his head down for as much as he could. The last thing he needed was for somebody from the Marines to recognize him before he was ready for it. He needed to round up a crew first. A small group of people that he could fully trust with his secret. Pirates were hardly the reliable type, but it wasn't like he could go to the Marines or just find some random civilians to take him in. Not when he still needed to go looking for those other fruits of his....

Ryu had only recently found himself on Atoll Island. An island with a Marine base was not his most ideal place to start off his search for a pirate crew, but he was starting to run low on his luck of finding sailors willing to grant him passage to another island. There didn't seem to be anybody departing this island for now, though he had been told that trade ships passed through occasionally, or he could alternatively find a way to purchase or trade for a boat...but he didn't really have the resources for that right now. So, he had decided to use his time here wisely and look for a potential partner in crime. After all...Pirates were very well-known for being able to keep away from the Marines.

And luckily, the Marines didn't have a photo of him yet, so he did not yet have a Wanted Poster. All he had to do was be careful with his Devil's Fruit power and he should be fine for now.

At that moment, a loud crash burst through the air and the door to the bar in front of him suddenly exploded, caused by a man having gotten thrown through the door, only to crash into the ground. He was followed by a man easily twice his size. Ryu couldn't help but stop and observe from where he was. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the big guys were pirates. And apparently the smaller one had hurt one somehow. However, he couldn't help but mentally berate the blonde man for intentionally riling up the pirates. Was he stupid? What if-?

Too late!

Down came the sword in a flash, ready to cleave the smaller man in two. Ryu instinctively moved toward the fight to intervene, but paused when he realized that the smaller man was also moving. A moment later, a much smaller sword had been brought out and the captain's sword had been blocked. What followed was apparently a rather one-sided fight. The loner had managed to block every attack coming his way and blow away the pirates with well-aimed and well-timed attacks. Perhaps there was no need to intervene after all?

"Bah, forget this. Just rush him! Show him what it means to make a fool out of the Marvolo Pirates!" a voice shouted from nearby. But then, it was quietly followed by, "Morty, you take care of him while he's busy," in a voice Ryu had only just managed to pick up. He turned his attention to the source of the voice, and identified who it was. A smaller, more portly man was pulling out a flintlock pistol while a taller, lankier one had pulled out a blade of his own. The lankier man, as well as the other members of the group, began rushing at the lone male, ready to slash him to ribbons. But even if they didn't manage, they had the portly man, ready to fire off a deadly shot the moment Mitsuki left an opening....

"I don't think so," Ryu growled under his breath. He didn't have much of a choice. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he wasn't about to let these guys take advantage of their numbers and end the fight in the confusion with a bullet. He quickly rushed into action, stepping forward and aiming himself for the man in the back who was still readying his flintlock. He held his right arm out to the side. "Dragon...Claw!" he growled. As he did so, the arm began to transform itself, soon turning into what resembled a rather large, crimson claw. The portly man saw the motion and turned to face him, but was too late. He brought his claw up and slammed it mightily against the man's face, slamming him down into the floor, shattering the wooden floorboards of the porch he had still been standing on.

This sudden slam created a loud noise that echoed through the streets, causing the entire crew to pause and turn to look at what was going on. Ryu, suddenly aware of the attention, quickly tried to reform his claw back into his normal human hand, hoping that none of them had gotten a clear view of what had just transpired. His attack had left the short man unconscious...hopefully he wouldn't have a claw-shaped bruise. But for a moment, he feared that he might have overdone things a little....

Ryu turned around once his claw had been turned back into his normal human hand and he looked at the group of pirates and the loner...though he didn't yet say anything, as he wanted to see their reactions...and what they all saw.

Mitsuki was distracted as he heard the crash. These men weren't tough. The Marvolo Pirates were a joke. This new entrance, though...he was interesting. A Zoan type too, considering that claw. Possibly stronger than even his form.

Now wasn't the time to marvel, though. "Hey now. Don't forget why we're all here," he stated, sliding into a wife footed stance, sword held at an angle by his head. "Sentou-ryu: Senkou Houchi." What followed was a blinding blur of movement. His sword was out and swinging in an instant.

In a flash, the swordsman appeared outside of the circle of pirates, landing lightly on one foot before planting both down firmly. His sword flashed up, returning to its sheath.

As it fully hid itself away, the effects of his attack was felt. Almost in unison, an explosive force was seen hitting each man who had surrounded him. Yet, no blood was spilled. As they all collapsed in pain, leaving only two men still standing, it was clear what skill he possessed. He had in capacitated most of the pirates with the dull side of his sword, all in an instant.

Though, truth be told, mastery of such skills were only thanks to his increased speed from the Devil's Fruit.

Without waiting for the men to move, he walked over to the captain, reaching down to take his pouch of Beli. They would not need it now. He tossed it towards the door, a surprised woman catching it. "For their meal, and their rudeness, ma'am." He reached into his own pouch, offering a few coins of his own. "Extra as an apology for the blood."

"Th-thank you, sir!" Her reply was hesitant, still in shock over the fight and the man's strength.

Mitsuki turned away, ignoring them for now. "You two. I'd like you to inform the Marines of what transpired here. If you meet any pirates along the way, be sure to tell them the White Tiger will come for them soon. Failure to do so...I don't think I need to finish my threat." Both bowed, pale as sheets, before they ran off towards the marine base.

Arrest would be safer than challenging this swordsman.

With the pirates taken care of, his attention rested on Ryu. "You carry yourself well," he commended. "Sloppy, but that fruit is quite the powerhouse if it's trained right."

Ryu thought that this fight was almost guaranteed to last for at least another minute. After all, there had been so many people standing around in that area, it would surely take some time to go through each and every one, even if each one only took a single blow like the previous ones. But boy, was Ryu taken by surprise.

Instead of each pirate being taken down one at a time like he had expected, they all suddenly fell to the ground at once, and not until after the blonde man had escaped their circle. It wasn't too difficult to put together what had just happened. Even more interesting, he had struck them down in such a way that not one of them received an actual wound. They were merely taken down with no blood actually drawn.

Ryu soon found himself gazing upon this stranger with renewed interest as he watched the man collect the coin from the pirates and toss it to the girl who probably at least worked in that bar.

Eventually, their gazes met for a moment. Apparently, this guy had actually managed to see that claw of his, which he instinctively tried to hide again, though quickly realized how foolish that was. Not only was the claw no longer a claw, but it was very clear that he'd already seen it.

He let out a small sigh. He supposed that it couldn't be helped.

"So, you saw that, did you?" Ryu asked. He then let out a slight chuckle as this stranger pretended that he knew anything about his fruit. There was no way he could, right? Not given where this fruit had originated. "...Heh. What do you know of the strength of my fruit? Believe me, you have no idea the kinds of things his fruit will allow me to do in the future. Though I suppose I should thank you for the compliment regardless."

Mitsuki offered a small shrug in response to that. “I'm a man of the world. I've researched Devil's Fruit to know that anything is possible,” he stated. “Given the fact that this isn't in any book, though...better I saw it than these pirates. Or worse, the marines.” He grimaced. His father would love to find the fruits he had lost. The government had been very proactive of potential powerful Devil Fruit users. That was how the Shichibukai was created afterall.

Unfortunately, this would not be an offered position. This Devil Fruit would be treated differently. “I don't want to be involved, but there is a pretty active marine base here. If you're worried about the wrong eyes seeing that, you should probably cast off soon.” His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, watching the other boy with a bored expression. He had trained himself to mask how he felt. Afterall, that was the only way he could keep his distaste from his father during training. “I take it you're a pirate? You're not a marine. And you're not a local. Very rare that anything else is seen on this island, from what I hear.”

"Researched Devil's Fruits?" Ryu questioned for a moment, looking at him with a skeptical gaze. He didn't know this guy of course, but he didn't seem like he was much older than himself. Maybe a few years at the most. Unless he also possessed some kind of power that left him looking younger. As the man said himself, there are very few things in this world that can be considered impossible thanks to the power of the Devil's Fruit. Of course, when Mitsuki mentioned the Marines, he visibly flinched slightly in response, purely on instinct. They were definitely the number one slot on his "people to avoid at all costs" list while he was still on the island.

However, he did give the man another inquisitive look. The wrong eyes, he had said? That was a curious guess to make. For a moment, it was almost as if he might know something about this fruit of his that he shouldn't...and its exact relationship with the Marines. But that was a conclusion to jump to at a later time, perhaps. It was hardly anything more than guesswork on his end as well. It could very well be just him making a mountain out of a molehill in the end.

"Cast off.... Right. Well, I'm not really a pirate, no," he replied. It wasn't a lie...he had not actually done anything pirate-like and he didn't yet have a crew, nor a reliable ship. But of course, he didn't need to know that that was his intention yet. Though then again, this guy was obviously a very capable swordsman. And for some reason, he still couldn't shake the feeling like he knew something about his fruit somehow. He almost felt...connected to him somehow.

"Speaking of which." he said. "You seem like a pretty good guy and you're pretty tough. You could probably show me a thing or two. If you're not doing anything much right now, why don't you come with me? I could sure use a guy like you to, uh...keep me company. And, y'know...maybe teach me a little bit, since you seem to know so much about fighting."

Mitsuki mentally scolded himself. If this Devil's Fruit was what he thought it was, he was overstepping his boundaries. He didn't need this kid to know his connection to the marines. The more that knew, the easier it would be for his father to track him down. He was hoping that the fact that he escaped the Grand Line was already enough to throw him off. That should be impossible. Then again, he did steal a Marine ship. Regardless, he didn't need people knowing his heritage. Much less, someone that is being searched by the military to begin with.

The question caught him off guard, but he simply raised an eyebrow calmly. "I'm going to have to decline," he said softly. "I hunt plan to hunt pirates. It may make us foes at some point." He offered a small smile, gesturing to the unconscious men around them. He started to walk forward, heading towards the direction Ryu had come from. "I have one more piece of advice for you. You got involved when he drew that gun, right?" He shouldn't have known that. Unless he was amazingly perceptive, it had been too hectic to see the small flintlock get drawn. "If that's all it takes for you to jump in, you'd do well to stay away from marines all together. There are only small fry here. When nothing is here to challenge you, you tend to abuse your power. You won't like what you see on this island." He had already been privvy to the marines' abuse of power. He knew that would be a sore spot for someone who had jumped in on a fight simply because it was unfair.

Ryu would not be able to last against them, but he was almost positive he'd force his involvement.

"...Well, I suppose it was worth a try," Ryu replied simply as he watched the swordsman begin to dismiss himself already. But then he couldn't help but allow a small smile to appear on his face as well. "And if we do become enemies, I suppose it's a good thing I found out what you're capable of now rather than later." However, when the man asked him about the reason he had gotten involved, that forced him to raise an inquisitive brow. How did he know about that? The reason he had jumped into the battle in the first place was to prevent that gun from even being brought into the fight. It was drawn in the back and discreetly at that. And only for a brief moment before he interrupted. But he kept that information to himself for now. No need to let Mitsuki in on his suspicions if they might end up as enemies in the future.

Next came a warning from the man about the Marines. "...I'll try to keep that in mind," he replied simply. But now that he knew what was probably going on on this island he wasn't sure he could just sail away in good conscience. He didn't need to be told that the Marines weren't all that they were cracked up to be. No, he had seen first hand what those with power would do in the Marines to get what they wanted. He knew all too well. And he didn't want anything like that to ever happen to anybody else if he could help it. "Well, maybe I'll see you around," he murmured, continuing on his way toward the inside of the island.

Unfortunately for Ryu, his small hope of finishing his business on this island prior to meeting this abuse of power was destined to be shattered. It was less than an hour later when he suddenly came across a rather unfortunate scene. Upon witnessing a small crowd starting to gather around in the village square, his curiosity got the better of him. He approached the crowd and looked through them, eventually spotting exactly what was going on in there. An older man was on the ground while a man clearly in a Marine outfit was looking down at him. The Marine wielded an interesting sword, different in design from what the Marines usually brought with them with a blade longer than usual.

"This is a nifty sword you made, old man," the Marine replied, pointing the blade down at the older man. "The Marines heartily accept your donation to our cause."

"S-sir, I would be more than happy to give you a sword, b-but please, not that one. I-I'm holding that one for-"

"I don't care who it's being held for. You couldn't make your quota for us this year, so you don't exactly have a choice in the matter, do you?" the tall Marine inquired.

"B-but please, I-I'll make you another-!"

"Heh. As if we have time to just sit around and wait around for weeks on end. We're too busy chasing away wannabe pirates to protect your little village. I think this sword makes for a perfect symbol of gratitude, don't you?"

Meanwhile, the crowd around them was murmuring restlessly, clearly wanting to intervene somehow. But not one of them seemed to want to get in trouble with the Marines. There seemed to be no telling what would happen to them or their families!

"Of course," the Marine added. "If you've still got protests...I'd love to test the blade's usefulness out." He then pushed the blade closer to the old man. A moment later, however, the sword, and the man wielding it, would suddenly find themselves well away from the old man. Ryu had pushed his way through the crowd, jumped into he air and spun himself around to gain momentum. With that momentum, he had utilized his partial transformation ability to turn his foot into a dragon claw and slammed a kick as powerfully as he could into the Marine's chest, sending him flying and causing the crowd on the opposite side to disperse in order to avoid the Marine projectile.

The Marine grunted as he was slammed into a nearby wall, dropping to one knee, with the sword getting stabbed slightly into the ground to keep himself upright. He turned his gaze upright and glared at the man who had just interfered and wiped the blood off of the corner of his mouth. He rose back to his feet, not taking his gaze off of the now normal-looking man. "Boy...you just made the greatest mistake of your life." he muttered.

"You'll let this man go and leave the sword if you know what's good for you," Ryu demanded, deciding to try to bluff his way through this.

"Heh...a kid like you, trying to intimidate me? That makes for a pretty good laugh. Why would I be scared of you?"

"Tch..." Ryu muttered. His bluff had been called. And now, he supposed he didn't have much of a choice. He didn't want to keep a fight going, so he needed to scare this guy into backing down. Besides, would somebody this low in rank be privy to the information about his dragon fruit? He had his doubts. He raised an arm and then triggered his partial transformation again, turning his arm into a dragon claw, earning him exclamations of shock from the crowd behind him, including the old man. Even the Marine stared at him in shock, eyes wide. "Because I can tear you to shreds if I wanted to." he said simply.

After a few moments of stunned silence, all heads turned to look at the Marine officer, who was simply staring at the claw. But then, a slight smirk crept onto his face. "...I see," he murmured. He then reached into the pocket of the coat he was wearing and pulled out...a miniature Snail Phone? He raised it to his face and suddenly spoke into it. "...Seems like the Red Dragon has turned up. You might want to come to the square and see it for yourself, sir."

Ryu gave the man a look of confusion. He hadn't properly heard what the man had said into the phone, so he didn't realize what had just happened.

"Well," the Marine added, raising his sword and flourishing it with flicks of his wrist. "You want to play with a Marine Commander, eh son?" he asked. "Then let's see you try to 'rip me to shreds' as you so eloquently put it."

Mitsuki had begun to make his way back towards the docks, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. The man who had tried to save him was heading deeper into the city. He wasn't sure what his intentions were, but...no, he couldn't just leave it be. He didn't want to involve himself with this guy's crew, especially if they did become pirates. However, he couldn't deny the fact that this was happening because of his family. His father.

With a small sigh, Mitsuki stopped in the streets, making his decision, as much as he knew he would regret it. He turned around to followed the dragon boy.

He followed the boy through the streets of the island, not really seeing anything of interest happening...until they reached the main square. The crowd surrounding the scene was enough to tell him what was going on.

The Marines were at it again.

The young swordsman stepped towards the crowd, not moving as forceful as the one he trailed was moving. He stayed with the crowd, blending in as he inched his way forward. His eyes widened a bit as he saw the cause of the scene. Of course it was a Marine commander. Two out of hundreds of soldiers on this island and the young dragon found one of the few people privvy to his special ability. And, to make matters worse, he had put his power on clear display. The man had brought up one of those snails...the den den mushi the government had taken to using for communications. Despite the distance and the voices around him, he was able to make out the report, his senses much greater than the typical humans due to his own abilities.

A frown creased his face. The boy was doomed if he didn't make short work of the commander before him. Despite that, he stood and waited. He wanted to see the boy's abilities. He steeled himself for what was to come, though.

He wouldn't let this boy die after the hell his father had put him through.

Ryu and the Commander stared at each other for a moment, as though each were daring the other to be the first to take action. However, Ryu was the one at the disadvantage here; the longer they waited, the closer the reinforcements were to arrive. The Dragon Fruit user may not have heard exactly what was said on the den den mushi, but he knew that he was up to something. He had to have been talking with someone...which likely meant that somebody else was going to turn up. Had it been a call for reinforcements? If that were the case, he would need to finish this fight quickly and leave the scene before he made too big of a splash.

As such, Ryu made the first move. He rushed in as quickly as he could. dragon arm pulled back completely. Perhaps he would be able to finish this in one, quick shot.

"Dragon...Claw!" he cried out as he approached, swinging his arm forward, aiming to slam his powerful claw directly into the man's chest, an obvious attempt at a decisive power strike.

However, there was a wave through the air and the sword in the Commander's grip raised itself, back of the blade meeting Ryu's clawed arm...and stopping it in its tracks. This caused the boy's eyes to widen in shock. He had practiced with this attack already and knew that this strike was capable of shattering small stone walls upon direct contact...! How could a single sword be used to keep it at bay...!?

"Surprised already?" the Commander sneered. "You're not the only one who knows how to fight, you know." As he said that, he tucked himself in, allowing his blade to slide right off of his opponent's scales, slid right past Ryu's guard and slammed the hilt of his blade into his gut.

"Grgh...!" Ryu grunted, his arm losing its partial transformation as the blow landed, though he managed to hold his ground against the strike.

"Let this be a lesson to you, boy. Nobody messes with the Marines!" the Commander called, shifting his sword around, aiming the bladed edge toward his target and swinging it around, aiming for a fierce slash across his body, starting at the shoulder, clearly intending to deal some significant damage.

However, a loud clang of metal rang through the open air instead of the sound of a successful swing.

The blade found itself pressed harmlessly against bright red scale, which had covered a small portion of Ryu's shoulder, stopping the blade entirely.

"What!?" the Commander exclaimed, pressing down with the sword with what seemed to be all the strength he could muster...but no matter now hard he pushed, it was fruitless; the boy's newfound armor successfully kept it at bay.

"Scales...of the Red Dragon." Ryu growled before reaching up and grabbing the sword in the Commander's grip by the crossguard. "Now let's try this again." With that, he pushed the blade aside so that it was no longer aimed at him. Once it had been moved to the side, the scales on his shoulder disappeared. However, his right arm had been transformed again, just like before.

"Dragon Claw!" He swung his arm upward, aiming to slam his claw heavily into his opponent's chest just like last time. This time, however, he had control of his opponent's weapon and wasn't going to be blocked. The claw crashed into his opponent's body and sent him flying straight back into the wall he had crashed into before, though this time he went straight through, falling to the ground on the inside.

Ryu's eyes widened a bit when he realized what had just happened, quickly deforming his arm once more. "Ah...! Sh-shoot, I-I didn't mean to break the wall down!" He then turned is attention to the crowd and the old man that had gotten back up by this point. "I-I'm sorry sir, I-I didn't mean to be so care-!"

However, at that point, an explosion rang out into the air. Ryu's eyes widened as a sudden pain erupted from his right upper arm, a small amount of blood spattering on the ground in front of him as the bullet that had passed through his now-regular arm collided with the ground.

"Agh!" he growled in pain, stumbling forward a bit until he felt into the dirt, instinctively reaching up to grab his arm, rolling onto his back so that he could look up and spot the shooter. Sure enough, down the street, another figure could be seen, this one a bit shorter than the Commander Ryu was already fighting.

The smaller man wore a typical Marine outfit, though instead of the typical cap one was used to seeing, he wore a hat which had a large, upward-curving brim. The hat was white in coloration with blue trim as well as a large, blue feather sticking out of it.

"Seems even Commander Bulrick is having troubles," the smaller man replied, spinning his rifle and allowing it to come to rest across his shoulder.

Ryu quickly moved to scramble back up to his feet, though he winced and glanced at his arm for a brief moment. 'Well...at least it missed bone and isn't in there anymore....' he muttered in his head before glaring at the newcomers. But then something else caught his attention.

"I'm not having troubles. I just underestimated him is all."

Ryu's eyes widened again as he turned...and saw the Marine Commander he'd just crashed through a wall getting back up, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth again. "And I don't need your help, Hibiki."

"Yeah well, we can't afford to let you screw this one up too, William." the smaller Marine answered.

"I told you to stop saying my full name already! The name's Commander WILL Bulrick, got it!?"

"Yes yes, as you say," Hibiki replied. "But as your fellow Commander, if you screw this up, then I'll get in trouble too. So I'm not giving you the chance."

Ryu couldn't believe this.... Not only had that first guy gotten back up after his direct hit, but now there was a rifle user in the mix?

What was he going to do...? He could probably take one...but was he good enough to take down both of them...?

"Both of you shut the hell up and stop your bickering!" a loud voice broke out, sending chills down the two Commanders' backs. A large form stepped up beside Hibiki. He was larger than the two by far. His hair was short, blond and well kept. Steely gray eyes were narrowed on their intruder, a scowl etched into his rough face, the scar stretching from the corner of his lip to the corner of his right eye only increasing his intimidating appearance. He wore a black tank top, one that did nothing to hide the bulging muscles beneath. This was tucked into white pants, ending in combat boots. A white jacket was worn over this, reaching down to his knees. They could not see the large kanji on the back, but the identical one on his chest was clear. It read simply 'Captain.' Hibiki and Will would both straighten instinctively at the sight of Captain Baku.

He held his arm out and a nondescript Marine immediately rushed to his side. The Marine had a large black canister wrapped by his arms. He could barely hold it, but Baku grasped it in one hand and lifted it up to his shoulder. As he did, it became clear what it was. A large cannon that would typically be fitted onto a Marine ship. He held it on one shoulder, aiming it down at the lone fighter.

"Marines don't hold back again miscreants like this. Marines uphold the law and put down wrong-doers. You will not be shown mercy," the Captain stated in his harsh tone. Without missing a beat, the cannon was fired, a cannon ball shooting towards Ryu, aiming to push him down with overwhelming might.

Ryu's shoulder was grasped as the cannon was fired, pulled back as Mitsuki shot forward. His sword was drawn in an instant, meeting the cannon ball head on. The orb split in two, crashing to either side of the two upstarts. Mitsuki flicked his sword down with a flourish, standing at the ready in front of Ryu. "This hardly seems fair," he stated. "Uphold the law...such crap. You okay?" He glanced back towards Ryu.

The Commanders exchanged looks for a moment, but were quick to shut their mouths before they got yelled at further by the Captain. They were both well aware what this Captain was like when he was angry. And one thing was for sure, they didn't want something to be blown up unnecessarily. Especially if it were either of them. However, they were both more than willing to let out a simultaneous:

"Yes, Captain Baku!"

Of course as soon as he held out his arm, both Hibiki and Will's eyes widened in surprise. Hibiki was fine where he was, but Will knew exactly what was about to happen and he needed to move. And he needed to move fast. He scrambled to the side, stepping away from Ryu, the obvious target of the soon-to-be-fired weapon of choice for Captain Baku. If he got caught up in the blast himself, he'd be in big trouble! He scrambled away as quickly as his legs could carry him, moving to stand beside Hibiki, on the opposite side of him from their Captain.

"Heheh...Lizard Boy's in pretty big trouble now," Hibiki commented, a snide smirk beginning to cross his face.

"Y-yeah..." Will remarked back at his fellow Commander, still a bit shaken from being in the cannon's blast radius a few seconds ago. "Nobody gets out of the Captain's blast unharmed."

However, Ryu did not seem frightened for even the briefest of moments. Instead...his face darkened as the Marine Captain showed up on the scene and bellowed what he did. His eyes narrowed and he felt his hands clench themselves into instinctive balls. His teeth clenched and it was all he could to to keep himself from rushing straight into the obvious cannon fire. Of course, he had been taken aback by the sudden appearance of a huge cannon, as well as the ease with which it was wielded...but it was all drowned out by fury in less than a few seconds. He glared at the Captain, furiously burning a hole in the Captain's head with his eyes.

"Wr-wrongdoers...?" he murmured under his breath. "How-!?" But just as he was about to explode and unleash his anger...he felt something on his shoulder. At roughly the same moment, the cannon erupted, firing a large iron ball straight for him. His eyes widened and he crossed his arms, ready to defend himself against the blast...only to feel the grip on his shoulder tug, pulling him backward.

"What-?" he started, but was interrupted again by a flash of metal and the cannon ball having been cleaved completely in two, harmlessly falling to either side completely. It took Ryu a few moments to register everything that had just happened. And when it finally did click in his head, he looked up at the same swordsman from earlier in the day. Did...did he really just cleave that cannon ball in two...?

"Er...y-yeah," Ryu murmured in awe, his anger seemingly forgotten all at once. "Thanks...."

Meanwhile, the Commanders were stunned into silence. Neither of them had really registered what had happened, but they could both see the results the same as anyone else. Not only was that dragon man still standing, but there was another swordsman in the way, and he looked like he had barely even lifted a finger to escape the blast. Who...who was this guy...?

Baku's frown deepened at the intruder. No one challenged him like that. And no one survived his assaults. He wouldn't stand for that. "Who do you think you are?" he demanded.

"No one of consequence," Mitsuki replied, stepping forward slowly. His sword flipped lazily in his hand as he did. "I just don't care for bullies. Thought I'd even the odds." A small sigh escaped him as he looked at the trio boredly. "I would ask who's first, but that would be unfair. It'll take all three of you t take me down."

Bank's eyes narrowed in anger. "You arrogant..." He spat to the side, lowering his cannon slightly. He wouldn't dirty himself with the upstart. "Hibiki. Will. Kill him."

"Aye, Captain." the rifleman replied, quickly spinning the rifle in his hands, skillfully allowing it to navigate around his arm for one full rotation before gripping it along the barrel, allowing it to naturally fall into place, his posture for the rifle perfect. "Leave it to the best sharpshooter on the island."

"No way, you're not getting the glory on this one, Hibiki," Will replied, allowing a smirk to come across his face. "He's using a sword, so this is obviously a job for the best swordsman." With that, he made a quick flourish of his large blade, raising it to eye level with ease and a bit of flair. "This guy's as good as-"

At that moment, however, Ryu raised his arm, causing both of the Commanders to halt in surprise.

"Hold on, I won't allow you to handle the three of them by yourself, Mr. Swordsman of the World." he paused for a moment, glancing back at him. "...I just realized I never caught your name, but I suppose that's not important right now. Anyway...I'd rather not risk the lives of others like that. I won't let you take on all three by yourself."

Mitsuki glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. He couldn't let this one get hurt. He recognized the Zoan instantly. He'd be torn apart by the Marines if they ever captured him. His eyes trailed back to the trio facing off against them, their entourage behind them. "That's assuming they'd be a risk to me," he replied. "But if it makes you feel better, pick one. The other two are mine."

Baku twitched as he watched the two of them converse, seemingly uncaring towards the Captain and his two Commanders. "Hibiki. Shoot them. Now. I've had enough of their foolishness," he growled, his anger barely contained.

"Heheh...no, that's not the problem," Ryu replied, chuckling slightly. However, his expression was serious once more as he turned to look back at the swordsman again. "I'm more worried that you might get caught up in the moment and accidentally kill one of them by being too rough."

"Tch...you little...!" Will growled, the grip on the hilt of his blade tightening. But he was cut off by another explosion echoing across the area.

Hibiki's rifle smoked a bit as the bullet left his gun, aiming straight for Mitsuki's chest. Should Mitsuki fail to do something, the bullet would undoubtedly pierce his very heart.

"Dammit Hibiki!" Will growled, but did not hesitate any more than that. He watched Mitsuki's movements carefully, watching to see the result. If Mitsuki moved away from the shot, he would follow him with a swift swing of his blade, aiming a chop toward his neck. However, if Mitsuki did not move and dealt with the bullet another way, he would make an attempt at getting behind the rival swordsman and slashing at his back.

Mitsuki's sword flashed up before anyone could react, the flat end of the blade meeting the bullet cleanly before it could reach him. "Why not kill them? They're trash. This island would be better off," he stated, almost as if he was ignoring the two Commanders. He wasn't, though. He knew better. His eyes were trained on the two. He would protect himself and Ryu from any possible threats.

This only continued to anger Baku, though. "Enough!" he roared. His heavy footsteps came crashing down as he marched towards them. His cannon was still held firmly in his hand, holding the custom grip tightly, but it seemed he intended to use it as a melee weapon rather than the long ranged attack he opened with. "We need the dragon alive. Kill this other bastard. Whichever one of you brings me his head will earn their promotion. Fail and you'll be unlikely to ever see this rank again. Understand?" The orders came out as a growl, his anger reaching its peak at the lack of care these two showed. They weren't just being challenged. They were being belittled. He would show them the fury of the Marines.

"Because-" was all Ryu had the chance to say before the big, bad Captain bellowed out his order, which caused him to momentarily lose his train of thought. He cast a quick glance back toward Mitsuki for a moment, but not before casting more looks toward the two nearby Commanders who had just received some extra news.

"Y-yes sir!" both Commanders responded immediately after Baku gave his order. From there, the swordsman raised his blade once more as the rifleman readied his own weapon. They had no choice now, after all. Captain Baku was clearly getting angry, and they didn't dare disappoint him when he was angry.

Still, even if the Captain hadn't been furious...they were both very eager to be promoted before the other; it would be something to hold over their head until their next promotion. However, after Mitsuki's previous skillful deflection, neither of them were as confident as before. They were really going to have to buckle down and concentrate on him....

'Alive, huh...? So then they really are privy to who I am...' Ryu thought to himself before glancing back at Mitsuki. "I guess if they're so interested in you, my mind's been made up for me. Just...don't kill them, alright?" With that, he turned his focus back onto the opponent in front of him.

Given the size of his opponent, he could probably make the assumption that he was strong, but slow. His gaze fell upon the cannon in the Captain's grip. Wielding a weapon like that so effortlessly took some real strength. He had not had much time to practice with his abilities.... Perhaps this could be exactly the opportunity he needed to test just how sturdy his body could be.

With his mind made up, he prepared for his first move.

As the small group finally began to square off, the villagers all finally began to realize what was happening. There were a few cries from the citizens before the crowd began to disperse, fleeing in the opposite direction and away from where the bullets and cannonballs were going to be thrown around.

Mitsuki flipped his sword lazily in his hand, taking a step away from Ryu. "I'll see what I can do," he stated. With the Captain already making his advance on the dragon boy, the swordsman was left with the two Commanders. "So. Which one of you wants to go down first? I don't have time to deal with the small fry."

While Mitsuki was preparing to face off against his two Commanders, Baku continued his path towards Ryu. If the swordsman wanted to keep himself busy with those two, he'd take care of the big prey himself. "You've had your chance to surrender, boy," he said. "You'll be my ticket to a promotion myself." Lifting his massive cannon, he lunged forward, swinging down at him with enough strength to crack the stone road beneath him.

Neither of the Commanders let out a verbal reply to Mitsuki's goading. However, the rifleman Hibiki immediately began dashing to the side. He moved away from Captain Baku and Ryu, heading toward the roof of the shop that now had a hole in its wall. If he wasn't stopped, he would make quick leaps, stepping onto a nearby railing and lunging toward the roof, quickly attempting to climb on top to get himself a much better vantage point...and one that was farther away from the action.

Noticing his fellow Commander's movements, Will made the first offensive move. Whether it was to cover for his partner's attempts to climb a nearby building or simply the fact that he wanted to take his opponent down first was difficult to tell. All Mitsuki would be able to see was the flash of the blade being brought over his head and slashed downward. It was a simple downward slash...and he didn't expect it to go through. Rather, he wanted to keep his eye on Mitsuki's reactions and be prepared to block him should he make any attempt to move past him.

---

Ryu watched as the large Captain approached him. He braced himself, beads of nervous sweat starting to form on his skin. He had to admit...his nerves were getting to him. This was going to be his first real battle. He had never really fought seriously before. Especially not in the short amount of time he's had to practice his Zoan-type transformation abilities. Heck, he still couldn't transform more than one part of his body into his dragon form at a time. As such, if he was going to try to block whatever attack came his way, he could only use a single part of his body...which also meant blocking using a single arm. And given the strength this Captain must have in order to wield that cannon, he could reasonably assume that he was not going to block the attack with a single limb. He was going to need something more potent.

"Yeah...you're right, I did. But I'm sorry...I can't afford to allow you to take me in," Ryu replied.

Finally, the Captain moved, lunging toward him and lifting his massive cannon...and then it came crashing down on top of him. There was a loud crash, and the stone beneath him cracked while dust and dirt flew into the air, momentarily obscuring vision on Ryu himself. However, as the dust began to clear, a figure could be seen, kneeling on the ground, arms raised above his head, cannon resting heavily atop crossed arms.

But there was a key difference this time. This time, Ryu's body was coated in bright, red scales around his head, back, legs and arms. However, he was still very clearly in his human form, with his hands and his feet still looking the same, as well as the obvious lack of a tail. This was clearly no hybrid form.

"...Phew. I was worried that wouldn't work..." Ryu murmured. "But I guess my Red Dragon Armor is sturdy enough when I brace myself against the ground. I wondered if I could manage to transform just the Dermis and Epidermis of my body instead of my whole body and widen its reach...or if it would even hold, despite the extra support I could manage with it...."

'Still, I lack the control I want. It was all or nothing.' Ryu thought to himself. 'I could only do it by transforming my skin layer into dragon scale, and my human anatomy won't allow me to make drastic movements like this and I don't have the strength to move the cannon myself. Until he moves his cannon, I'm stuck....'