Agents of Mayhem

**Date Started:** July 13, 2021
**Date Completed:** August 1, 2021
**Previous Role-Play:** Nothing but Ants
**Users Involved:** User:EmperorSigma, User:Galleyworks, User: KaitoJones64, User:Logan Smith1, User:Skipper78
**Setting:**
**Characters Involved**:
* **CP9**: Jackson Raian, Woo, Lambo, Porche, Felix, Pleiades Apollo, Fae Skia, Mister Dread

## Agent Zero

Nine days following the meeting in the Holy Land, Raian departed from Solomon and the rest of the Marines and had been stationed to Woo's base on Holbox island. The early days for Raian were relaxed as Woo hadn't really requested much physical work from him. Normally, he'd go through his own morning routine, but Raian had already been undergoing his own which he created himself.

Most other things he had to do were normal things as if you were just hired to a job. The uniform, the picture taking, the information giving, etc. Nothing that required much hard work from him. Though, what this did do was give Raian a lot of time to think about his decision and the fate of the Marines but most importantly his squad. He flashed back to his final conversation with Solomon before leaving the Holy Land.

"I would also like to make a request from you, Vice Admiral. Anyone who was assigned to my group, could you please lead them under your tutelage. I don't see them fitting in with any of the other Vice Admirals and necessarily getting along with them while also being able to be watch over. Norman and Fritz are going to try and kill each other." Said Raian.

Smiling, Solomon nodded. "Of course, Raian. I can at the very least do that for you. But do something for me too. Keep your head up and chest out when operating with these guys. It won't be like training you've done with the Marines. It's more stationary and every day repeating. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the group that Woo operates with have even undergone seasonal torturing. I don't want you to fall prey and break."

Opening his room door, Woo showed his face and call out to Raian. "Oi, Raian! I know it's been a punch of paperwork, but it's time we start brushing you up. Come on outside." Leaving the door open, Woo began to walk down the hall knowing Raian would follow.

Without a single word, Raian hopped to his feet and followed behind Woo. *"Alright, then, it's just like Vice Admiral Solomon said. I can't expect this to be the same as the Marines, so I'll have an open mind. I don't know if this'll get more difficult, but I know it won't be something I can't handle. I'll always keep that thought in mind."*

Finally, upon reaching outside, Raian was met with three other CP9 members who were dressed in their same suits as Raian. For the most part, Raian kept his hair the same, braided or twisted to the back which hung at his lower neck. Rather than his old Marine attire, he was not wearing black suit, which lacked the proper under shirt. His tie was tight around his bare back. His suit top was tight fitted as well, much like the matching black pants that cuffed just over his black dress shoes.

Woo turned around to face Raian as he stood before the other CP9 agents. Holding his hand out to each individually, he began to introduce them in order. "We have, Lambo, Porche and Frank Teddo. As you've already assumed, they are all members of the CP9 Unit, just as we are. Too much introduction doesn't need to go on, because you pretty much know how this all goes. Today is the day actual training starts and we'll begin with the absolute basics."

The other three Cipher Pol members simply looked at Raian as he stood as the odd ball among the group, but what they were truly doing was gaining a get feel of his presence and trying to calculate his abilities. They remained silent and allowed Woo to continue on.

"Which of the Rokushiki techniques are you able to preform. I'm aware of your specialty, but which can you do already?" Woo asked.

Attentive as always, Raian answered. "Currently, I can use **Soru**, **Tekkai**, and **Shigan**."

"I see," Woo responded, "Then this'll take much shorter than I assumed. For those three all we'll need to do is tone them and then teach you the remaining three. How about we get started then."

In what was a short month and a half process, Raian learned the remaining three techniques of the Rokushiki whilst simultaneously mastering Shigan, Soru, and Tekkai beyond new levels. His growth and learning rate blew Woo and the other Cipher Pol members away as he was able to pick up on their teachings quickly and employ them. His body had been taken so much recoil from the training, but he pushed through it as if he were within a battle, because he knew that Woo and co's intentions were simply to make him stronger.

For **Rankyaku** he learned under Porche. For **Kami-e** he learned under Teddo. And finally, under Lambo he learned **Geppo** and toned his **Soru** and **Shigan**.

Everyone seemed to get along with Raian quite easily. Well, everyone aside from Lambo who watched him with a keen eye. It wasn't that Lambo didn't like Raian, he simply didn't understand the situation where he was recruited through unorthodox means. He and the rest of the Cipher Pol were raised since children, why did the World Government willingly make an exception to recruit him.

## Power Levels

After weeks of training in his Rokushiki, Raian underwent torturing strengthening which lasted months. It was nothing he wanted to speak about and often kept him up late at night. He wasn't traumatized no. He was just blown away by the measures the World Government took in order to ensure information would never get leaked.

Raian was tortured behind what he could have ever imagined. He was stabbed with a tranq fork, fed poisons and had them sucked out of him, beaten with a metal pole over his back and whips. He was fed once a day during this time and it wasn't full on meals. He literally ate a single slice of lunch meat, was given two bottles of water, and called a day. For two weeks out of that time he was even force to live within a metal box that didn't even have enough room for him to walk around in, he could only stand.

Regardless, that phase of his training was all over and he was called to the field once more. He had no idea what is was for, but he was instructed to report there without any clothing aside from a pair of shoes and a pair of sleeping shorts. It had been a while since he last seen the sun and upon reaching the field he covered his face with his hand, using it as a shield.

The first to approach him was Porche, he threw her arm over his shoulder and pressed her breast against his head. "Owe, owe, Raian-chan! We missed you so, so, so much~!" She placed her finger on his nose and slide it down to his lip, while licking the side of his ear with her tongue.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Raian! I know you're saving yourself for someone else, but you're so young and cute." She sighed, continuing to press up against him. "But you're so handsome and a thirty year old woman such as myself can't be contained all of her life. We aren't allowed to have outside relations here anymore, brings too much attachment!"

"Hey, Porche, get off of 'em!" Called out Lambo, "He isn't here to get pampered, so stop treatin' him like a kid." He reminded his comrade, eager to get on with the training. Lambo was the one who seemed to be the hardest on Raian, but it was all out of tough love. Due to Raian joining a different way, he did everything within his power to ensure that Raian would still be able to preform just as they could before they would set out on their first mission.

Slapping his hand against the back of Lambo, Teddo laughed. "Ah, come on, Lambo! You at least gotta' be happy to see that he made it through the torturing. I was for sure betting that he wanted, sorry kid. But hey, at least you proved me wrong! Tedodododo!"

Raian shook his head at the whole group, "It was bad, but it wasn't breaking. I've always been taught to never give up information on the Marines, so that was just pretty much testing if I had what I vowed to do. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Well, that's very noble of you, Raian." Said Woo as he finally made his presence known. "Now that we've gotten those formalities out the way, I want to congratulate you on your training so far. Everyone here believes you're doing well and slowly but surely becoming a fit member of this time, but there's something that still has yet to have been touched." He went on, causing Raian to lift an eyebrow.

Woo walked to the middle of the group as Raian and Porche made their way closer. "You've almost mastered Rokushiki as you now possess all six of the techniques. The only two to possess the complete sets are myself and Lambo here. For Porche and Teddo's own reasonings, they focus on their own fighting styles instead. Which brings me to my point of why I have not been active in your training whatsoever."

Leaning back on the giant tree trunk in the field, Lambo sighed once more. Porche removed her arm from around Raian and walked over to Lambo's side and joined him in leaning against the tree. Though they said nothing, she smiled as if she knew what was coming next and in fact she did.

While Lambo and Porche seemed to have taken steps back, the round frame of Teddo stepped forward before Raian. He was much taller than Raian and looked down over him like a tower, but over the few months, Raian had grown a few inches. "What's up?" He asked, rhetorically.

"Teddo here has inherited a technique that allows him to calculate your doriki. If you don't know what doriki is, I'll try to explain it as quickly, but as thoroughly, as possible." Woo paused before continuing on, "Doriki is a unit of measurement used by CP9 to directly determine the level of physical power one possesses."

This was the first time Raian had ever heard of something like this, but once Woo mentioned it was used by the CP9, he pretty much concluded why it was such a mystery. "I see, so it measures physical power and physical power only."

"Right," Confirmed Woo, "Today, we're going to measure your physical power after all of the training you've just gone through, because we are without a doubt you've made quite a bit of progress, yeah? Go ahead Teddo," Woo ordered, as Teddo stepped even closer to Raian. "So, to measure it is simple. All you have to do is strike Teddo with a single attack. Feel free to unleash it when you're ready."

Without wasting a moment, Raian pulled his fist back and with a mighty punch, he slammed his fist into the body of Teddo, sending him skidding backwards in the dirt. Teddo's body glowed a bright light as he closed his eyes for a moment. There was a silence over the area as Raian returned to his idle stance.

Flashing his eyes open, the large Cipher Pol member spoke, "Your results are, Jackson Raian, **2500** Doriki!"

"!!" Porche gasped, "That's so high for you!"

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect it to go past two thousand, but you are considered a prodigy." Said Woo as he clapped his hands and congratulated Raian. "Now, Teddo, tell us the rankings of the rest of us so that Raian can get a clear view of where he's placed.

Nodding his head, Teddo closed his eyes and began to calculate everyone's Doriki from his memory. "Fifth, is me with a Doriki of 3000. Fourth, is Jackson Raian with a Doriki of 3300. Third is Porche, with a doriki of 3500. Second is Lambo with a doriki of 4500. And first is Woo, with a doriki of 6000!!"

At first, Raian had no idea what these numbers meant in actuality, but after having them all listed he quickly began to piece what everything meant. He was above Teddo and pretty much expected that, but he didn't expect the gap between himself and Lambo to be large. "I see, so, I rank third."

"Yeah, but don't think too much on it at the moment." Woo reassured, "Doriki doesn't add on devil fruit enhancements as well, it literally only takes your physical prowess. Don't ask me how, it just does, okay? But, with that being said, that will without a doubt lead us into my next topic and training that you'll undergo."

## Power of Animals

"We are aware that you lack the proper devil fruit control and understanding. Your paperwork shoes that you've completed every single one of your missions without the need to transform even once. It really caught me off guard when I learned that you possesses the power of Mythical Zoan devil fruit, the utmost rarest of fruit types to exist." Pointing his finger at Raian and shaking it, "I had to ask myself why and it was then that Solomon informed us that you don't seem to like it."

Chuckling, Woo grabbed his stomach. "I knew for a fact that was complete bogus, so I started to deduce things on my own and came to the conclusion that you couldn't control it or you didn't have proper knowledge on how to use it. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Raian agreed, "It's less than I can't control it, but more that I don't know *how* to use it. It's almost impractical." Raian bent over and grabbed four pebbles off of the ground which were all different in size. "There's a fruit my Shenlong often gets compared to. I always hear, 'If you can harness its power you'd be strong just like the Seiryu' without realizing or understanding one of the main visual differences between the two." Holding the pebbles in the palm of his hand, Raian then began to fixate them and position them all over his palm in a scattered manner as the Cipher Pol members honed in on his hand.

He then separated one of the pebbles from the rest of the pebbles. "Lets say this is the size of the Seiryu right?" The Cipher Pol agents nodded their heads. He then grabbed the remaining three pebbles and bunched them all together away from the other pebble that was by its lonesome. "Then, this is the size of the Shenlong. I am about three times as big as that which makes it even worse. Where that could cover an entire town, I could cover probably an entire island. That's far from impractical. Because of that, I'll be honest, I never really took it upon myself to look into what my potential hybrid or anything could be."

"Ah, I see. I wasn't aware that it was so large in size. I've never seen the Seiryu in person, but I could only assume it was quite large." Lambo was the first to respond, he seemed to have been locked into the explanation Raian had given.

Woo nodded, "Right, alright, that tells me everything we're going to need going forward with this training. So, as I mentioned each of these guys specialize in a specific area of Rokushiki. That goes for me as well, except, I specialize in it with the combination of my own devil fruit."

Raian lifted a brow as Woo spoke. "In all this time, I never knew you had a devil fruit."

"I know. Much like you a ate a Zoan, it's not as rare as a mythical, but I've trained with it for quite some time." His body began to suddenly blowed while his white skin began to change to a tint of orange. In the matter of seconds, Woo had transformed into a giant frog, that was at least thirty five feet tall. In his now transformed state, Woo looked down to Raian with a stern look.

"!!" Raian was struck with surprise.

"I ate the Gama Gama no Mi, a Zoan fruit which allows me to turn into a toad." Opening his mouth he flung his tongue out of his mouth so fast that it appeared as a blur. From it, a wind scythe flicked in the same manner as another technique the Cipher Pol used. "**Tempest Kick: Tongue Scythe**!" He exclaimed, calling the technique out as the slash sliced through many trees in the distance before bouncing into the air and traveling past the clouds.

Again, Raian was blown back in amazement from Woo's combination of Rokushiki and his devil fruit. "Wait, I didn't know that could be a thing." Then Raian stopped himself and thought back to his many training regiments with Logan. "Wait, so Logan is actually good with hi-!!!"

"If you train your devil fruit to work with your body, there's almost endless possibilities. Those who can combine their devil fruits with their Rokushiki are the true assassins of the Cipher Pol." As he talked, Woo transformed back into his human state, but his eyes remained trained on Raian who quickly noticed that Woo's eyes remained in their toad-like state.

"Now, show me your Dragon." Woo ordered.

While he wanted to question him about this specific order, Raian knew it would go against everything he stood for. He was never the type to question orders only to react to them. "Understood."

Woo quickly threw his hand up and stopped Raian and reached to his back handing Raian what appeared to be his Marine uniform. "Here, put this on. Don't ask why, just do it and transform. It'll come into play later on."

Without a question, Raian tossed his Marine clothing over his bare skin. Suddenly, his body began to morph as his skin began to to change into a scale-like state that was a green color. A few seconds slower than Woo's own transformation, Raian began to take up his transformation. The sky began to grow dark and clouds covered the entire island in just moments. His body became elongated and stretched into the sky as he spread into the clouds. From where he stood, seven lights dispersed underneath his body in various directions as a loud thunderous boom shook the very core of the island, causing the rest of the Cipher Pol to rock as they attempted to stay up. Black hair traveled down his new serpentine body, while his actual hair became undone and flowed in the air as if it were being held up by gravity.

From the top of his head sprouted two brown horns with three sharp prongs on the end. Along with his flowing hair were two long whiskers flowing both sides of his face. His eyes were pitch red and the end of his tail possessed a sharp point in the shape of four planes. As expected, he had two legs and two arms, but what was different from the serpentine dragons was the fact the he had five claws when most had four claws.

Each of the Cipher Pol members stepped back and dropped their jaws as Raian revealed his new form. He was so high up and large that that the explanation he gave them didn't even compare to what his true form was like. They completely underestimated the size and had nothing to say to it. Even Lambo who tried to remain cool during all situations had his mouth drop.

Teddo ran up to Raian, "I summon you, almighty Shenron!"

Woo smiled as Teddo made the reference and as Raian revealed his form. "We are going to make you a beast."

Raian and Woo had been training for two days and most of the training was done in combat practicing their Rokushiki skills where Woo was basically confirming if he had excelled to the levels at which were reported to him by Lambo. On the third day, they stood in the field facing each other while the other agents watched from a distance.

"Today we train our fruits officially," Woo said as his body began to suddenly change and manifest toad-like features. His pupils formed into thick black horizontal lines while the white of his eye turned orange. His hands bloated as the tips of his fingers became more web and toad like. "This is the first stage of my transformations. You could call it, **Level One** in a sense. It's the registered level between my hybrid form and my normal human form."

Taking in all what he said, the former Marine nodded but he didn't quite understand it to be honest. He never knew one could go into stages beyond it, but he didn't know many Zoan users who were as advanced as Woo was in the first place, so he had to speak up when he clearly had a question. "So, wait. There's levels between what is usually done for these transformations."

Woo nodded back to Raian, "Yes, I know it may come off as a surprise, but only the most skilled are able to pull something of this level off. One of the most notable Zoan users this world has ever seen, and probably the most terrifying, is **MT-0099**. You may know him as Rena Argo though. He didn't get the role or literally epithet of "Perfect Beast" just to show it off, Raian. He's mastered his devil fruit to a point even beyond my own comprehension and this week, we will get you to that point as well."

## Pointless Conflict

A huge monster approached Holbox island, its size comparable to an island itself. Out of its mouth, an underwater ship appeared, setting anchor at the docks ahead. Three men dressed in suits emerged, heading onto the island as if they were the ones that owned it.

"Let's check this out. We haven't gotten a mission in a bit, so let's just do some basic intel gathering. Not like we have anything better to do." Said Felix. With an unpredictable smile, he ushered the group onto the island. "Hold on, where the hell is Skia? Whatever. He'll turn up sooner or later."

It had been a few weeks following the first phase of Raian's devil fruit training and he had gotten the hang of his power quite well in such a short amount of time. He laid in his bed and looked at the ceiling as he smiled with happiness. It had been the first time he was ever able to properly use his fruit and while he initially had thoughts of potentially regretting joining the Cipher Pol, they were washed away with his improvements from their training.

While he was deep in his thoughts, the alarms in the building went off and Raian sprang to his feet and ran into the giant meeting room of the building. Just as he did, so did the rest of the Cipher Pol agents who were dressed in casual clothing trying to enjoy this off day. Finally, Woo appeared rubbing his eyes to stand in the middle of the circled group.

"Awwwwwww," he yawned, stretching his arms as he bent down and patted a sleeping Den Den Mushi. "What could this possibly be, I was enjoying my Sunday off man." As the Den Den Mushi woke up, its eyes widened and an image transferred from its pupils to the empty white wall.

The image gave a clear cut view of a group, dressed in suits that had just stepped foot on the island which was what had alerted the Cipher Pol to begin with. There were at least three men present on the bay and by the way they dressed, it was no doubt that they were also members of the Cipher Pol as well, but what branch?

Lambo squinted his eyes, "They are definitely Cipher Pol agents, were we supposed to be having some sort of meeting? Gah, Porche, you were supposed to stay on top of stuff like this! We may as well get rid of you if you're not going to do you job any better than me."

"What?" Porche was just as sleepy as Woo was, "We aren't supposed to be having any visitors at all and especially no time soon. The World Government has even canceled all of our meetings, our time has been devoted to solely training Raian."

Quickly, Woo snapped out of his insomnia. "Then that means they're intruders."

Raian's nose ruffled as he sniffed the air, "They're closing in." He said to the group.

"Very well then, everyone get changed and meet in the field."

As Woo ordered, all of the agents rushed back to the rooms and quickly changed into their uniforms. In less than three minutes they were all within the middle of the field, waiting for their guest to arrive.

As Felix and the others approached closer, they noticed something. There were three men and one woman, all dressed in black suits, same as them. It could only mean one thing: They had to be from Cipher Pol.

*"That's weird,"* Felix thought, trying to make light of the situation. *"I had no information of there being another faction of Cipher Pol on this island, nor that a meeting would take place. Something's wrong here."* Felix attempted to keep his trademark indecipherable expression on his face as he walked closer. "Keep your eyes out, boys. This doesn't seem right." Felix said quietly. "If they do anything suspicious, I want you on the ready. But don't act brashly, wait for my signal." Felix gestured behind his back, likely revealing the signal. "Got it?"

"Understood. We will be leaving the dialogue with you." Apollo says seeing the situation they found themselves in, he would find it more viable to do as Felix had said, just act and speak when necessary.

A dark silhouette began to emerge from Felix's shadow. Appearing to be the upper half of a man. His fair, pale skin made his presence fairly noticeable, easily distinguished from the shadow he had risen from and his long black hair. A katana strapped to his back, but nothing else too spectacular regarding his appearance. "Whatever you suggest, I'll follow your lead sir. You know how I don't care for social interactions." Skia said in a monotone before retreating back into the shadow he came from.

Lambo wasted no time in having himself be heard, "Who are you all?" He asked, looking to the opposing Cipher Pol group. He was aware that other units existed, but he just wanted to know which group could they have been specifically. They had received paper work on every member of the other agencies, but, none of these men matched the faces he had remembered.

"Aww, they're all so little~!" Porche purred, looking to the opposing group with a keen eye. "And none of them match the intel we have on the opposing groups. And we can scratch the Cipher Pol Aigis Zero off that list."

Felix's smile tensed. If there was one thing he hated, it was being called little. *"Not one of them are in the databooks of the other Cipher Pol agents. If they don't know us, and we don't know them, then they have to be impostors. I'll stay calm, and wait for my chance to strike."* Felix extended his hand forward, gesturing to shake hands. "I'm Felix, the leader of Cipher Pol Number 9. And this is my team." Keeping up his fake smile, he added, "And who might you be?"

Woo threw his hand in front of his group, a signal he used to tell them to remain silent as he takes over from here. "What do you mean, Leader?" Woo was confused on Felix's statement, but he could sense that was his genuine response. What he was confused about was the fact that he claimed to be the leader, when Woo was standing right there. Since when did the Cipher Pol divisions have two leaders, why was he never informed of that. At the same time it didn't sit right with him. "The leader of CP9, the fact that you claimed to be on as well lets me know something." Woo said, staring at the male up and down.

He squinted his eyes and curved his lips, "You're lying."

Felix's smile tensed even more. "BAHAHAHAHA!! Lying!" Felix laughed at the mere thought of this poser accusing him of deception. "Listen here, sir. I don't know who you are, nor do I really care, but let me get this straight: I'm the leader of CP9 whether you believe it or not. No poser is going to walk up to me and tell me who I am or who I am not." Felix lowered his hand and looked the man directly in the eye. "You got a problem with that?"

For a moment, the blonde hair man stood in silence as he soaked in Felix's words. He began to think of various possibilities on how the opposing man's words could have been true, so threw a long ball. "The matter isn't with having a problem," Said Woo, spitting to the ground at his side, "It's more so the existence of two different CP9 Units. There has never been two leaders of a single unit, it's simply not how it works and even if the World Government tried to change it, it just outright wouldn't."

Woo's eyes dragged to his unit then back to Felix and his unit, "Very well then, I have a proposition. I'll say what you have stated is true, yes? Then, as I mentioned, two units would simply not be able to exist and only one can remain. It's evident neither of us knew the other existed and nor does the rest of the World. So, how about this. We decide who should remain a unit through a battle that can happen right here."

*"A battle between two CP units... for just one to continue to exist?"* Apollo thought, confused by the situation. *"Why did the World Government start this in the first place? They should have known that there was already a CP9, so why did they create another one? I can't think of anything logical for it..."* He kept thinking, the blonde agent's rain of thoughts never ceased try to think of a reason why the current event is happening.

Felix stopped and took a breath, bringing his smile back to its original, calm state. “Hmm, I see. So there is more than one group of CP9.” He got a bit excited as a thought crossed his mind. “Why don’t we put a little spin on it? Whichever group loses has to work for the other’s leader. Since it doesn’t really seem like you’re lying.” Although Felix didn’t like putting himself in a position to work for this guy, he did love a little game. Plus, all he had to do was win.

Raian, Teddo, Lambo, and Porche all looked to each other with confused looks. Porche broke the silence by leaning forward to Woo's ear. *"Uh, didn't you just say that?"* She asked rhetorically, but quickly pulled herself back to avoid getting yelled at by her captain.

"Very well then," Woo said, clapping his hands and turning his back. "It seems we've both come to the agreement that neither of us is lying and that's the first term of understanding. You have accepted my conditions so I guess I can bend mine to fit yours. The winner will be forced to work under a single unit. This helps so that the Cipher Pol isn't losing any power and if for some reason this was done intentionally by the World Government, they won't even notice a thing."

Walking past his group with his back still turned, Woo placed his hand on Raian's shoulder. "Raian, the field is all your to take." The blond agent had placed Raian as the one who'd be fighting in his place against Felix.

Lambo quickly countered Woo, grabbing him by the arm. "What do you mean? Why would you let the rookie take him on if he's the leader?! What's gotten into you, Woo?" Raian too was shocked by the calling of Woo. He remained silent for his own reasons, but he wanted to openly agree with Lambo in this specific situation.

"This'll say a lot about Raian's training, yeah? If he fails to come out victorious then that means his training was a bust and that we deserve to serve under the superior force for out negligence on what we thought was *good*. I honestly don't know how this can go, this guy has a rather unreadable aura, so, its a hit or miss. Besides, it's as he said, we'd just be working under another group." Woo took up a seat on one of the giant boulders. "No pressure or anything, Raian!" He said sarcastically.

Raian understood the assignment and stepped forward before Felix. *"No pressure? This is worse than trying to spar with Logan after we haven't seen each other for a while. You never know what he can dish out."* He had no qualms against the mission given to him, a large portion of his life was all about accepting missions and this was no different, just the stakes were much different than just coming out with his life. No--this time it was about the pride of Woo and the rest of the Cipher Pol agents he'd been training with all this time that he would not let down.

"It seems you're my target," Said Raian, pulling down on the knot of his tie, unloosening it. "Let's get this over with."

“Let’s get it started then.” Said Felix, as he cracked his knuckles and popped his neck. He then used Geppo to quickly move above him, turning his fingers into pistol barrels and firing them, landing behind him. In an attempt to make a pincer attack, Felix changed his hands to normal and launched a sweep attack after transforming his leg into a blade.

Pupils dilating and expanding the moment Felix took off, a green aura took over the battlefield in the form of a burst as Raian activated his Kenbunshoku Haki. Though, just as fast as he activated, he deactivated and decided to take another route. Yes, instead, he decided to rely on his natural instincts instead of those amplified by his will.

Dashing forward, leaving the bullets behind him for themselves, he sought to meet Felix as he suddenly transformed a portion of his body into a blade which came at him in the form of a sweep. The ground was penetrated by the bullets, but because he ran towards Felix he managed to dodge them all. Sniffing at the air and anticipating Felix's movements, Raian dropped to the ground in a lowered stance with his leg extended out as to kick the dirt under his shoe in an acrobatic manner.

As he slide forward he leaned backwards so that his head dodged the bladed leg of Felix, but his eyes could see the flat side of the blade which only gave him a image of his reflection. After completely traveling underneath Felix, Raian preforming a front flip and twisted his body so that he faced his opponent in mid-air. Before landing back to the ground, Raian swung his leg in a blinding motion leaving it in a blur, "**Tempest Kick**", he said while release a sharp compressed blade of wind towards Felix's back.

Even though Raian attacked his back, Felix’s natural instincts allowed him to at least turn his head to notice the attack. *”Damn. I already don’t like this guy. Though I can see why they let him fight.”* Felix thought quickly, trying to make a decision that would make him take as little damage as possible. *”His Rankakyu is commendable. I don’t think there’s a way to get out unscathed. I don’t have enough time. Unless..”*

He had an epiphany. As Raian’s Tempest Kick neared his back, he transformed his entire body into a rocket, and burst into the air. Assuming his original form, he used Sky Walk to find an angle diagonal from his face, and blasted toward him after retransforming into a rocket.

*"So, his devil fruit allows him to transform in different weapons."* Raian deduced, after Felix had changed form so many times, he would have put Woo's Zoan transformations to shame. *"And if he's transformed into a rocket..."*

Raian quickly cuffed his hands around his mouth and poked out his lips. "**Purgatory Flame**," he mumbled as Felix changed his trajectory towards him. From Raian's cuffed hands he spat out a concentrated blast of flames towards Felix. These flames possessed hotter properties than normal flames and traveled at high speeds. This was due to the way he shaped his hand to spit the flames out in the form of a flamethrower.

Woo lifted an eyebrow, "Raian plans to use his flames as a type of igniter to set Felix's rocket form off to blow him up." Nodding his head slowly, the blonde agent shrugged his shoulders. "Not a bad plan."

As the flames reached Felix’s rocket form, he immediately exploded to bits, with pieces of his body sprawled out on the ground. Seconds later, his body pieced itself back together, returning him to his normal state. “Not gonna lie, that decision was admirable. “ Said Felix as he swept of the dust from his suit. “I just happened to have a way out.” Felix turned his elbow into a rocket and his fist into an iron ball, and released a huge shockwave. **“Finger Pistol: Mega Impact!”** He said as a huge compressed shockwave of air released from his iron fist. *“That should put some distance between us. I should probably go on the defensive,”* Felix thought as he put up his Tekkai.

"Wait, what?" Raian asked himself, though, before he could put too much thought into it, Felix had already prepared his next attack. His body transformed once against into a rocket then an iron ball. He had so many options that Raian began to honestly get confused on the general bases of his devil fruit, but it slowly dawned upon him. *"A devil fruit that allows the user to turn their body into any weapon. I've never seen that before. Yet, that doesn't accommodate for the fact he was able to take no damage from exploding on himself."*

The shockwave traveled towards him and Raian simply lifted his arms and took the force head on. Arms crossed in front of himself, the shockwave pushed him back to the point that he began to collect dirt at the back of his heels this time. In a deflective manner, Raian swatted the shockwave aside to which the rocks and even the ground was lifted from its base and thrown up into the air, leaving behind a burst of wind that force his tie to flutter in the wind.

"This would be so much easier if I wasn't doing this for me." Said Raian, cuffing his lips and blowing out them to release yet another violent blast of flames. Though, rather than allow the flames to just mindless travel towards Felix on their own, Raian added on another. Swallowing the air his stomach bloated once more and upon blowing out, he releasing a violent windstorm alongside his flames. As they made contact upon traveling towards Felix, they mixed and mended together before exploding upon each other to form into something completely new and move violent than they would have ever been on their own.

"**Purgatory Flame—Dragon Song**!" He shouted, as the blast of fire and wind shot towards Felix at exceptional speeds. Because they exploded upon merged, their range had increased well beyond that of the Purgatory Flame he released earlier and it would do just as much damage. It was what most would consider a firestorm. The sound of the air thumbing against itself could also be heard as the attack traveled, a tip off to the techniques name.

*“So my Tekkai was useless, and these explosions are gaining on me. I wonder how I have enough time to think. No matter. What do I do?”* Felix had prepared his Iron Body previously, but now he had been met with one of its major weaknesses: heat. Although Tekkai strengthens the muscles to block physical attacks, it cannot hold up to elemental ones, because of their unique properties. He was inevitably going to take damage, but Felix found one solution.

Without releasing his Tekkai, Felix activated his Kami-e, and weaved to the edge of the blast. Using the increased flexibility from Paper Art, he managed to dodge the brunt of the attack, escaping with some burns and cuts here and there from the firestorm. The amazing part was that he kept up his Iron Body the entire time, which managed to mitigate the damage from the initial shockwave. Not only did he manage to move during his Tekkai, he also utilized another Rokushiki art. This time, Felix backed out with Soru, and grabbed his shoulder. *“Damn it! I may have escaped the attack with Kami-e, but I had to dislocate and reallocate my shoulder using Semei Kikan in the process, which I’m not very good at. It fucking hurts.”*

That moment of wincing pain was what Raian had been waiting for. The moment Felix stopped to grab his shoulder, he took advantage of it and vanished before everyone's eyes. Raian was considered a master of both Tekkai and Soru and he was about to show why. His figure became a literal blur as he left behind nothing but an afterimage. Even trained eyes would have difficult time keeping up. They may have been quite the distance between each other, but Soru was all about the amount of steps taken in a short amount of time order to travel a far distance. Raian understood that. Where normally it was noted that users of Soru took ten kicks off the ground in the blink of an eye to reach a distance, Raian took twenty five which allowed him to cover more ground in the same amount of time.

He'd now have been standing behind Felix. The dirt underneath him spread out as he appeared as if it wanted to create a clean platform for him to stand on top of. The side of his body was towards Felix's back while. In that short amount of time he too lifted his arm and activated his Tekkai in order to strengthen himself, but instead of around his entire body, he did so only around his fist. Raian pointed his fist to Felix's back with his finger aimed at it in the same was as the Shigan.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that Raian's finger was much different from his other ones. It was green and scaly and rather than a nail, it possessed a long white claw at the end. "**Finger Pistol: Hollow Point**," he mumbled to himself, letting off a barrage of compressed bullets at Felix's back. These bullets were much different from the **Tobu Shigan** the Cipher Pol were used to an instead took the shape of a bullet with a sharp point thanks to Raian's clawed finger. Would they land, they'd pierce straight through Felix's body like a hollow point bullet.

Lambo unfrowned his face and began to nod his head, "I'll say this, seeing Raian unfold everything we've taught him in an somewhat serious battle is satisfying. Even though the this whole conflicting is pointless."

"I agree," Said Woo, "Everything about this is pointless, but I think it's much deeper than that. I've been watching Raian's movements heavy, yes, but I've also been paying close attention to Felix. I'm more interested in him than I am Raian if we're being honest here, because I think I've finally picked up on what Raian picked up on."

Porche laughed as the two talked to each other, "Look at you both. Fawning over your student, never thought I'd see the day~! It's okay, Lambo and Woo, neither of you want to say it. But it's clear, Raian is a prodigy. No doubt."

"*This Raian guy is really amazing, not only for having a mythical Devil Fruit, but also for making good use of Rokushiki. Felix may be at a disadvantage against this but, as our leader, he won't be beaten so easily.*" Think Apollo.

Felix grimaced as he attempted to block Raian’s Shigan bullets by applying Tekkai around his vital areas. This allowed him to dodge any fatal injuries, although he still took considerable damage. It was point blank after all. A frustrated smile appeared on his face as he coughed up blood. “I hate to say it, but this guy’s good. But I’m not going down yet.” He thought, as he decided his next move. Turning his right leg into a lance, he stabbed it into the ground, attempting to go through Raian’s foot in the process. He then spun, pushing off of his left leg, then turned into a mace, aiming a spin kick at his shoulder. “I can’t let my boys down,” Felix thought as he spun into the attack.

## Fish out of Water

Just as Felix moved, Raian reacted. His natural senses, reaction time, and perception had been toned exponentially during his training and react to something so simple as this was light work. Kicking at the ground, he pushed himself backwards and allowed his arms to flail. Dropping his upper body as he slid back, Raian evaded Felix's attack and grit his teeth as he did.

"Ah, I thought that would have been enough." Said Raian out loud, but he was mostly talking to himself. He looked around to all the spectators and noticed they were all watching the battle with a close eye. There was a lot on the line for both sides, but Raian felt as though he had yet to satisfy the thoughts of his superior. He was never the type to care about such a thing, but this situation that he was put in by Woo forced him to prioritize it.

Bringing his attention back to the shape shifting weapon man, Raian straightened himself. "You have a unique devil fruit," the former Marine complimented, "But I think I've got the general gist of it. If you're holding back, it's time to let that go. Because, I'm sorry to say this, but I've been assigned to win this." After he finished, Raian balled his fist. "It's time I end this already."

His former brown skin began to spot green near his chest and the right and left sides of his face in the form of scales. Over his top lip, two shorts whiskers sprout like flowers while his jaw line sprout two fin-like appendages on both sides. His fists also became covered in green scales, but, they proceeded to retain the shape of normal humans hands. A faint green aura radiated from his body and began to float around his being. Overall, Raian took the appearance of a human fishman-hybrid.

Woo began to smile as Raian revealed this new form. Unlike the rest of the Cipher Pol, he knew it well and was the one responsible for training him into achieving it. "This is why I *actually* wanted him to take this battle. I wanted to see where this form lied in actual combat and if it can hold up to the real output of a battle. This won't push it to its limits, but, it'll work."

"That's fine and all," Lambo started, "But what exactly is it? I may not possess a devil fruit like the two of you, but I'm well aware of what a hybrid form could look like and this is definitely not it." Claimed Lambo, a speculation that was correct.

His superior simply laughed at Lambo's words, "And that's why you're the most observant one, Lambo. Yes, it's not his actual mid way between the full transformation and his human form, but I would say it's the form just before the hybrid. It takes the smallest portions of what it means to in the hybrid and applies those to his human form. So, small whiskers, scales over his face and most his his upper body. I call it **Second Step** into your Zoan forms, by mimicking the extreme control of the Hydra's user, I was able to do the same with my fruit and even teach it to Raian."

The blonde haired agent suddenly broke into silence. "It took me four years to break down its functionality and had I not had this knowledge, I would have never discovered the ability to even have more than two transformations. But, Porche, earlier you joked about Raian being a prodigy. In just two weeks he was able to get to this transformation. He spent his off training hours reading books on dragons and made a ground breaking discovery. So that claim you made, is far from false. This kid is special."

Raian stood before, Felix in his new form with a serious face. he had grown an entire foot due to this transformation, allowing him to look down to Felix. "I call this my **Coi Stand**, I'm still getting used to it. But, you'd better get serious, or you'll lose that spot as the Cipher Pol's leader to a boy."

"Hey, is this serious?..." The blonde was surprised, the dragon boy was finally showing his strongest cards on the table. "This guy is much more than I had anticipated, now I understand perfectly why that guy put him to fight..." The man's expression would be more serious, he would know that the chances of his leader winning were being reduced with the passing of time. "Felix needs to finish this fight as soon as possible, his opponent evolves frighteningly fast, it will reach a point where our leader will no longer be able to maintain a similar level." Apollo would say, having already mentioned the issue by him.

Felix transformed back, getting out of the ground and standing up straight. Tying up his hair into a ponytail, he smirked. “I’ve got another form as well.” Suddenly, his whole body began to glow, and he had undergone several transformations. His ponytail became a spiked chain, his elbows and knees were now the muzzles of a gun, his left hand became a lance, his right hand became a saber, and his heels became rockets. “I call it Hephaestus’ Cloth. You all will be the first to witness it.”

When he was done showing off his new form, he acknowledged Raian’s words. “Hmph. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to go down without a fight. But I’m also not one that can’t accept a defeat. If you beat me, it just means you were stronger than me in that moment. Nothing more, nothing less. Although I do not intend to lose.” Felix prepared to go at it yet again. “Let’s get this over with,” he said with a fierce smile. But behind this fierce smile was a secret: Felix had no intention of winning this fight anymore. He had seen enough of Raian firsthand to be able to make the decision. *“I’ll follow through, but on this next attack I’ll surrender. At least this way, it’ll seem like I was undoubtedly bested.”* Felix thought.

"That's it! Don't back down, leader!" After seeing the new use of Buki Buki no Mi, the agent saw Felix's chances of victory rise as much as Raian's after revealing a new form of Shenlong DF, it was as if it had become an evolution battle during the battle in your vision.

A dark figure emerged rapidly from Felix's shadow, and used Soru to quickly place itself next to Apollo. Skia turned back to watch the fight, asking Apollo, "What did I miss? I thought we were just talking with these people. Must he take such extreme precautions?" He spoke with a cold monotone.

"Let's say yes. Honestly i don't even know why this had to happen. But I believe we will have answers soon, even if they are late." Apollo answered his partner calmly. "Anyway, now it's a battle where Felix is protecting his pride as our leader."

Raian shook his head and sighed at Felix's new form. He didn't see the difference in what he had done from earlier. All he had truly done, was add more body parts to transform. He analyzed each of his new transformed body parts and soaked them in. His enhanced eye sight in this new form gave him a clear cut view of Felix's every weapon. The chain, blade, guns, and even the rockets were all seeable in Raian's new form.

"My body feels loose now," Raian said to himself referring to the fact he took up his new transformation. "I'm glad to know we both have the same goal in mind," Stepping forward, Raian dashed forward in a burst of speed that broke through the wind leaving but a shockwave where he once stood. The aura around his body transported with him, as there was no trail of it as he moved. In a sense, one would have mistaken Raian's new speed for teleportation, but it was just his Zoan transformation added speed with his Soru.

Stopping about midway between himself and Felix, Raian lifted his fist and punched at the air, but there was no one there. Ripples flowed from the centered point around his fist in the same way he moved from his previous spot to his current. There was a silence as he did as Raian simply looked at Felix.

Felix blasted backwards, slamming into a nearby tree. He rolled over as it collapsed, almost crushing him in its wake. *“What the hell?”* He thought, after witnessing Raian’s impressive display of speed. He stood up. “I never knew you were that fast. Seems you’ve got me beat.” Felix smiled yet again, except this one was genuine. “You’ve already one, and I will respect you as my leader, but can I just fight with you for a little bit longer? Going blow for blow with you has made me realize something: your personality is fit to lead, and you have had plenty battle experience. I would be glad to call you my leader.” Felix’s mind showed a slightly different perspective. *“Why did I say that? I meant to end it. Guess I just let it slip.”*

Raian, Woo, Lambo, and Porche's eyes all widened beyond reason as Felix admitted his defeat and the first to stand was Woo. "I don't think it would be necessary to continue a battle, if you would all like we could simply take it on the inside and instead talk among one another like the stable beasts we are, yeah?"

Fixing himself up, holding his Coi stand firm and looking over to Felix he pulled himself out of the tree he lowered his fist. "I have heeded to your white flag, however, I would like to decline to position of becoming leader of the Cipher Pol. I'm generally still a rookie and I see no reason as to why I should be named the leader of an organization that has members that have been part for much longer. That title belongs to Woo."

Woo tossed his hands up and pushed at the air, "Oh no! That role falls to you now. As stated, this battle was between you and him which means whoever one would have essentially become to rightful leader of the agency. That is you, Raian."

"Well, if you two are done kissing, I'd like to see this battle continue you on." Lambo suggested, waving his hand at the two signaling them to continue on with their fight. "Let's go, keep it going."

Skia stepped forward, a breeze caught the black coat draped over his shoulders. "No need for the continuation of this battle. Felix admitted defeat. That's that. I feel as though the more pressing matter here is how we progress," he paused for a moment, approaching Lambo. "My name is Skia Fae, swordsman and Soru specialist. I'd say its a pleasure but unfortunately that is not the case. Who may you all be?" His monotone was shaken as he forced a very uneasy smile, extending his hand out to greet these associates.

“Hmph. I guess we can always fight later. If I’m being honest, what I said earlier was me putting up a bold front. I knew from the middle of the fight what the outcome would be.” Felix sighed. “Granted, this wasn’t a fight to the death, so I doubt that either of us were fighting at our strongest. Nevertheless, I was bested, and I think I caught a bit of your will through your fists. As I said before, I believe you’re fit to lead CP9.” Felix turned to the group. “Now, as Woo said, we should probably stop and talk a bit.”

While everyone else seemed to have gone along with what Felix had done, Raian had grown more confused by the second. So much so, that he brought his hand up to the back of his head and began to scratch it, as he deactivated his Coi Stand. He looked at all the people around as they talked among themselves, but none of this seemed right to him.

For years, or so he assumed, Felix led the CP9 yet he was so willing to let the group be taken up in leadership by an individual he knew nothing about? So many scenarios and conclusions played out in his head until finally he was able to come to terms with one. It was one he had figured long ago, but it seemed to have slimed his mind during the confusion. *"That's a shame. Not only are the Marines falling in power, but so are the powers of the World Government. If it keeps going like that... we're all going to shit."*

Now back in his original form, Raian turned his back to the group and began to head inside of their base. "Excuse me, Woo, but I have to get *use the latrine*," he said in an obscure manner, dismissing himself from the group.