Chapter 8

The main plaza of Enies Lobby was a cauldron of noise. Cannon fire, the screams of Marines, and the roar of the two giants, Oimo and Kashii, shook the ground.

Kurumi stood on a pile of rubble, reloading her flintlocks with calm, rhythmic clicks.

"Lieutenant Commander!" a terrified Ensign screamed, pointing toward the Courthouse entrance. "The intruders—the shipwrights and the long-nosed one—they're breaking through the second line! We can't stop the giants!"

Kurumi snapped the chambers shut. "The giants are merely big targets. Focus your fire on their legs. I will handle the ants."

She leaped.

The Shipwrights

Pauly, the Galley-La foreman, was shouting orders, using his ropes to lash Marines together. Tilestone and Peepley Lulu were smashing through shields with hammers and raw strength.

"Out of the way!" Pauly roared, launching a "Rope Action: Round Turn!"

The ropes lashed out like vipers, aiming to clear a squad of riflemen.

Snip.

In a blur of motion, the ropes were severed mid-air. The ends fell limp to the cobblestones.

Pauly froze, staring at the clean cuts. He looked up to see a girl in a Marine officer’s coat, a rapier held loosely in her right hand.

"Rope is a poor weapon against steel, Mr. Shipwright," Kurumi said, her voice cutting through the din.

"You again!" Pauly gritted his teeth. "The girl from the gate!"

"Don't let her size fool you, Pauly!" Tilestone bellowed. "She took a hit from Straw Hat!"

Tilestone charged, raising a massive cannon-like weapon. "Destroyer Cannon!"

He fired. The explosion engulfed the area where Kurumi stood.

"Got her!" Tilestone cheered.

"Did you?"

Kurumi’s voice came from behind him.

Soru.

She was in the air, upside down, her hand planted on Tilestone’s massive shoulder. With a graceful pirouette, she drove her knee into the back of his neck.

Thud.

The giant shipwright’s eyes rolled back, and he crashed face-first into the pavement.

"Tilestone!" Lulu screamed, swinging a sword.

Kurumi didn't even look. She parried Lulu’s strike with her rapier without turning her head, the sparks flying.

"Too slow," she sighed. "Your movements are telegraphing your intent like a lighthouse."

She disarmed him with a twist of her wrist, sending his sword flying, and delivered a palm strike to his chest. Impact Dial imitation. She wasn't using a Dial, but her control of muscle tension mimicked the shockwave. Lulu flew backward, crashing into a wall.

Only Pauly remained standing, sweating profusely.

"Monster…" Pauly whispered.

Kurumi pointed her rapier at his throat. "The Navy is absolute. You throw away your lives for pirates? For a woman who wants to destroy the world?"

"They're my friends!" Pauly yelled, reaching for hidden ropes in his sleeves.

Kurumi narrowed her eyes. Good answer. Loyalty is power.

She lunged. To an observer, it looked like a killing thrust. But at the last microsecond, she twisted her wrist. The flat of the blade—not the point—slammed into Pauly’s ribs.

Crack.

Pauly gasped, collapsing to his knees, clutching his side. He was beaten. He couldn't breathe.

The Sniper

"H-Hey! Leave him alone!"

A trembling voice came from above.

Kurumi looked up. Perched on the edge of the courthouse roof was a man in a yellow mask and a red cape. Sniper King. (Usopp).

He had his slingshot, Kabuto, drawn back, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

"Oh?" Kurumi smiled, her red eye glinting. "The King of Snipers? How terrifying."

"Take this! Firebird Star!"

A massive bird of fire erupted from the slingshot.

Kurumi didn't dodge. She raised her left hand, coating it in a thin, invisible layer of Armament Haki—her first successful combat application of it in the heat of battle. She swiped her hand through the flames, dispersing the fire with the sheer pressure of her swing.

Usopp’s jaw dropped. "S-She slapped fire!"

Kurumi raised her flintlock. She aimed directly at his mask.

"I hate cowards who hide on roofs," she announced loudly.

Bang.

The bullet whizzed through the air. It didn't hit Usopp. It grazed the very top of his mask, shattering one of the yellow spikes.

Usopp shrieked, falling backward onto the roof, scrambling away in terror.

"Missed," Kurumi said flatly, lowering the gun.

The "Escape"

Suddenly, the ground shook. The giants, Oimo and Kashii, having been convinced by Sniper King that the World Government tricked them, turned around. They grabbed a massive chunk of the gate and smashed it into the Marine reinforcements.

Dust and debris flooded the plaza.

"Lieutenant Commander! The giants have turned traitor!" a Marine shouted. "We're losing containment!"

Kurumi looked at Pauly, who was struggling to stand up, coughing.

"It seems luck is on your side, shipwright," Kurumi said, sheathing her rapier. "I must prioritize the giants. Do not let me see you again."

She turned her back on him—the ultimate insult, and the ultimate mercy.

Pauly stared at her back, confused but desperate. He grabbed Lulu and Tilestone, dragging them toward the Courthouse entrance while the giants blocked the Marines' line of sight.

Kurumi watched them go out of the corner of her eye.

"Go," she whispered. "Luffy is fighting Blueno right now. He's about to activate Gear Second. Don't you dare get captured now."

She leaped toward the giants, engaging them in a flashy, acrobatic display of Geppo, drawing their attention away from the fleeing allies. She fired shots that stung their thick skin but did no real damage, acting the part of the overwhelmed hero perfectly.

"Hold the line!" she ordered her men, suppressing a smirk. "Make them fight for every inch!"

The stage is set, she thought. The bridge will lower. The Buster Call will come. And amidst the annihilation… the Straw Hats will be reborn.