[Prisoner Mine]
Days bled between dust-heavy breaths, skin as salty as the sea, and bones aching for relief. This place was made to break the will of men, hope for freedom or mercy was just a delusion stimulated by heat and thirst, this place was hell, and Queen is their dancing devil.
"COME ON YA PIGS–KEEP MOVING!" The Beast Pirates cackles, sitting comfortably in his throne-shaped chair, as he finds entertainment in the suffering of the inmates.
Babanuki observes everything like a hawk; his eyes follow every small detail of the prison. Each section of mining requires full attention. One mistake, and his head will be a decoration for Orochi's office, or, in Kaido's idea of mercy, a "volunteer" for the Queen's lab tests.
Ramos stands next to Hyogoro, a man who once held the title of Yakuz; boss, his presence sent tremors as the Flowet C. Atal, a man respected for his strength and principles, now spends the final quarters of his life imprisoned in the lands he once ruled. The older man watches Ramos carefully, he notices how the young man tries to mask his frustrations through excessive work, every pick at ore felt personal, his breath didn't stutter with fatigue but with building anger, thisocean blue eyes of him, resembles violent waves, the calm current died the second he picked up the tool.
"Your nostrils are flaring Ramos-kun." Hyogoro addresses him, and he couldn't let his irritation pass any longer.
"The air is dry," Ramos responds, his voice fast with a sharp edge.
Hyogoro ignores the defensive tone, "Trying to force it won't help, it's only going to run further from you."
"Tsk." Ramos clicks his tongue, eyes glaring at Babanuki. The mentioned man is abusing an inmate by whipping him for moving too slowly.
"I hate this..." The blonde Marine growls, his attempts to channel haki are unsuccessful, since yesterday his haki felt depleted.
'Why can't I use it? ' He wonders.
Hyogoro sighs, shaking his head at the stubborn youth's effort.
"You're wasting energy."
"I don't appreciate your commentary old man!" Ramos snaps.
Hyogoro let out a laugh, the unfamiliar emotion,rattles his chest, and inmates nearby look in shock.
"You remind me so much of myself boy. Witty remarks, stubbornness reversed for a tree stomp, and your unwavering will, even when in a position that makes no room for hope, you search for it." Hyogoro smiles, gazing at the sun, reminiscing about better times.
"Oi–old man? " Ramos stands in front of his elder, "Don't tell the heat is speeding up your dementia. "
"DON'T SAY SUCH DISRESPECTFUL THINGS BRAT!" Hyogoro uncharacteristically barks.
Ramos grins like a fool, "Good to see you're good. "
"You're forcing the flow of ryou, you can't contain a river inside a bucket. "
"So what should I do then?" Ramos grumbles, the heavy sea stone shackles added to his weight, his body is adjusting to the new additional kilograms but the constant hard labour is taking a toll on him.
"Ramos-kun, Ryou is like the air you breathe, inhaling fast will not fill your blood with life, slow deep breaths are the way." Hyogoro urges.
Ramos sighs, closing his eyes, taking deep breaths, he feels oxygen fill his lungs, his body relaxing as the energy flows all over him, no rushing or forcing results, just letting his body operate.
Rumble...
Cracks start appearing on the concrete floors, the air halts, as if nature has been interrupted, and the prisoners feel the prickling of their skin, warning them of abrupt calamity.
Queen cut off his laughing, his haki flaring as it feels the change. "Hey, who's causing this –"
Crack!
Ramos's eyes turned red, black lightning sparkling around them, the shackles holding him shattering into pieces.
"WHAAATT!" Queen's eyes burst out of his head, in a cartoon-ish manner.
Babanuki and his guards barely had time to react as Ramos, sent a wave of conquerors across the prison, his crimson energy carrying petals with it, in a beautiful display of domination. He will overwhelm the weak, prisoners, and guards alike, succumbing to his will, eyes rolling back and foam escaping their mouths.
Thud, thud.
The majority of the prison population is dropping like flies in winter.
Babanuki finds himself on one knee, body drenched in sweat and panting as his body is still in shock at the tremendous power.
"H-how is scum like you this strong?" He gritted his teeth.
Ramos paid him no mind, eyes locked on Queen.
The Yonko commander, jumps from his vantage point, turning into his Zoan form, a bright yellow, Brachiosaurus, the cyborg-dinosaur, opens his mouth, the melee weapon hiding in his throat, and shoots out bullets at Ramos.
Ramos in his flow state, sees the attack in slow motion, each bullet, he can see the trajectory, a red dot appears on the bullets that could seriously hurt him. His body moves involuntarily, moving on survival instincts, he dodges the attack, the sharp wind of the weapons, passing his ear.
"Huh?" Queen gasps as the marine avoids his assault. "DAMN BRAT!" Raising his head to full height, he anchors his head down to sledge him, haki-coated skull.
Ramos balls his fist, red energy swirling around it as he is condensing his haki.
"Tiger's claw."
He bends his fingers to face his palm, mimicking a Tiger's claws.
The two attacks meet halfway, colliding in an explosion of haki, a shock wave rocks the prison, debris and bodies were t flying.
Hyogoro's jaw opens in shock, "What is this?" The former Yakuza ponders how the foreigner unlocked such power, the feeling reminds him of the days of Oden.
"This boy might liberate us..."
The clash ends with Queen wobbling in dinosaur form, the balance of the quadrupedal creature uneven as his mind is still in aftershock. "My head hurts." He groans, a pain he hasn't felt since his first meeting with Kaido.
Ramos didn't stall, using Geppo to leap into the sky, and he jumped around Queen's long neck.
The Yonko commander, swings his head around.
Woosh.
Ramos dances around the muscular neck strikes.
Reaching the top of Queen's head, he extends his arm fully as if he is reaching for the heavens, armament and conquerors fusing around his fist, the dark crimson energy, vibrates violently, wanting to release its destructive force, a balance of nature's beauty and destruction.
"Galaxy Divide."
Paying homage to his master, an attack the old Marine warned him to use in dire situations.
BOOOOOOOMM.
The second his fist touched Queen, the skies cleared, in a vibrant crimson blossom, below them, witnesses felt the Earth tremors, acknowledging the force acting on it and to everyone's surprise, Queen's head slammed down to the ground, his head fully engulfed in earth, the lower half of his body froze for a second before it slumped.
"I-Impossible," Babanuki muttered, the Warden couldn't believe what he just witnessed, Queen, Kaido's second in command, defeated by a Vice-Admiral?
Queen's body returns to its human form, and the mad scientist is out cold, Ramos's fist is embedded on the top of his skull, a branding of his justice.
Turning to Babanuki, eyes still glowing with a faint red glow.
Babanuki glares back at him, spitting at his feet," Don't think you'll get away with this! As soon as King and Kaido return, we'll boil you like that pathetic samurai!"
Rumble.
Ramos hits him with a concentrated wave of conquerors, knocking the warden out.
"Now then, let's free you guys." He announces, moving to Hyogoro first, he clutches the elder's chains, vibrating his haki on the sea stone, cracks painting the shackles before they break.
Hyogoro gasps, his wrist was hit with the cool air, years of confinement have ruined the skin as it's darkened like ash and red with dried blood, but he pays no mind to that, just being free of chains, brought back life into his eyes.
"Don't be too happy old-man, we have a country to liberate. " Ramos smirks, body still flowing with red haki, blood starts trickling down his nose, the first sign of the drawback of the constant intake of mass energy, expanding the perimeter of haki of his body, so it can condense on his form, was a risk to his health, as the same energy that gives him strength to beat Queen, will also tear him apart.
"Just 30 more minutes. " He coughs out, tasting iron on his tongue.
[End of chapter]