One Piece of Music: A Requiem for the Einherjar

''Setting: Friday - 11:30 P.M. - New World - New Brobdingnag - Community of the Sewage Pipes (Gesuidoukankyo no Kyoudoushakai): A subterranean network of gargantuan pipes that serve as a dispenser for the waste that is produce by New Brobdingnag's large population of giants. Once upon a time, it was the mandatory habitat of the entirety of New Brobdingnag's population of non-giants. Nowadays it only serves as a hideout for a number of the most wicked individuals in the world and as a result it's considered to be somewhat of a paradise by bounty hunters whom are looking to make their fortune.''

"Well, well!" snapped Samesuke as he strode along the exterior of a huge pipe, darkly approaching a woman named Fuusengamu as he did so. Because of the extreme weight of his excessively muscular body, Samesuke's every step resounded throughout the Community of the Sewage Pipes like a crash of thunder. And the anger swelling up within him gave him a heavy breathing that was reminiscent of the rumble of an earthquake. At first, the neurotic Fuusengamu nervously gulped at the very sight of Samesuke and took a few fearful steps away from the incoming Megalodon Fishman. However, it was long before Fuusengamu's resolve prompted her into ascending beyond the depths of the fear that had consuming the very core of her being for decades. With an unwavering gaze which could have been befitting of a bearer of the Will of D, Fuusengamu ornamented her face with a steely expression and then stood her ground as Samesuke's stroll brought him face-to-face with her. "If it isn't Fuusengamu, the Only Daughter of Fujin (Fūjin no Hitorimusume). You have quite the bounty on your head you know? A whopping-"

"We both know that the bounty on my head is the last thing on your mind, Same-kun!" asserted Fuusengamu with the conviction of a religious zealot. The moment the words "Same-kun" reached Samesuke's ears, the Megalodon Fishman immediately flew into a berserk rage. With a blood-curdling scream which was thick with the purest strain of hatred that was emotionally possible for those with any semblance of sanity, Samesuke catapulted the entirety of his body into a punch which was specifically aimed at Fuusengamu's mouth.

Without so much as a billionth of a millisecond to spare, Fuusengamu figuratively stretched her neck into a nigh-impossible dodge, avoiding having her face smashed into complete flatness by only the thinnest of margins. Subsequently, swung the blade of a cleaver of a scythe right into Samesuke's outstretched arm. Frighteningly, Fuusengamu's assault upon Samesuke's arm succeeded in doing absolutely nothing but throwing the Megalodon Fishman off-balance. However, Fuusengamu hadn't been expecting her assault to do anything but that. And as a result, surprise didn't prevent her from taking advantage of the fact Samesuke was off-balance by pressing her free hand into the flat of her scythe's blade and then shoving the shaft of her scythe into Samesuke's chest with enough force to push Samesuke beyond the boundary of the pipe.

"How could you?" bellowed Samesuke as he fell towards one of the many pipes that were below the pipe he'd been pushed off of. With a grunt of discomfort, Samesuke landed on all fours with a bang which resonated throughout the Community of the Sewage Pipes like the gong of a bell. He then wasted no time in meeting Fuusengamu's eyes with a glare which nastiness was comparable to the malice of a slighted Olympian. "How could you use that name? After such betrayal, how could you call me that? Fuusen-"

"It's Fuu-chan darn it!" shouted Fuusengamu at Samesuke, stamping upon the pipe with enough force to produce the disconcerting cry of vibrating metal as she did so. "To you, Same-kun, it's Fuu-chan!"

"What in the world makes you think I'm going to call you that?" inquired Samesuke in a tone of voice that made the inquiry less of a question and more of a refusal. Out of frustration, Fuusengamu clenched her teeth and balled the both of her hands into fists. She then calmed herself with a sigh before finally answering Samesuke's inquiry.

"Because that's how it used to be between us," answered Fuusengamu at a nigh-inaudible volume. In stark contrast to Fuusengamu's expectations, Samesuke didn't explode into an unbridled fury. Instead, the Megalodon Fishman simply dropped his jaw into a Jimbei-level gawk. Due to the fact that she couldn't think of any other way to respond to Samesuke's reaction, Fuusengamu continued from where she left off. "You were Same-kun. I was Fuu-chan. And the both of us were close friends with one another. We were inseparable-"

"Until you and your kind butchered mine!" spat Samesuke as he stood up with his back straight and used the both of his webbed hands to begin the process of weaponizing the water vapor in the atmosphere. "Until the Patrician Guards razed my home to the ground with oil and flame! At the command of your dog of a father. A command the man gave as a birthday present to his bitch of a daughter!"

"S-S-Same-kun..." stammered Fuusengamu, her voice trailing off as tears begun to well up in her eyes. Samesuke dismissively snorted at Fuusengamu's snivel as his preparations were coming to their inevitable conclusion.

"They say that the truth silences the wicked," whispered Samesuke more to himself than to Fuusengamu an instant before he utilized the both of his hands to "throw" a volley of shark-shaped bullets of water. "They were right! Gyojin Jūjutsu, Murasame! (Fishman Soft Techniques, School of Sharks!)

With as much ease as any bird, each of the bullets soared towards Fuusengamu with their mouths opened far wider than what would've been physically possible for an actual shark. With eyes which were closed airtight and a single shake of her head which immediately cleared the entirety of her face of the tears she had shed, Fuusengamu broke into a run along her pipe. Not long after Fuusengamu had taken flight, Samesuke's shark-shaped bullets of water proceeded to effortlessly punctured their way through the portions of the pipe where Fuusengamu once stood before eventually self-destructively smashing into the earthen ceiling of the Community of the Sewage Pipes. As sewage begun to spill from the punctures in the pipe, Samesuke leapt onto the pipe and then wasted no time in taking advantage of the spill he caused by beginning to shape the spilling sewage into an enormous sphere.

"Same-kun!" shriked Fuusengamu as she ceased her withdrawal and then turned to face Samesuke, beholding the ever-growing sphere of sewage that Samesuke was shaping into being as she did so. "Stop it, darn you! Stop it right now!"

"You mean like how you stopped your father from slaughtering my family and friends?" snarled Samesuke as he accelerated the spillage of the sewage to the point where he managed to drain the entirety of the pipe dry of sewage within the span of naught but a few seconds. Samesuke compressed all of the sewage in-between his palms before thrusting the compressed sewage into a beam-like flow towards Fuusengamu. "If so, then I'll do so gladly! Gyojin Jūjutsu, Ryuuguu-jou no Issui! (Fishman Soft Techniques, Water Current of the Dragon Palace Castle)

"Darn it Same-kun! Now you've gone and forced my hand! Kamaitachi: Kazakama no Kamikizu! (Sickle Weasel: Bite of the Wind Sickle!)" huffed Fuusengamu as she hefted her a scythe overhead and then pirouetted into an incredibly powerful swing of her scythe. Said swing managed to cut an upwardly spiraling void into the air around Fuusengamu. A void which presence quickly resulted in the formation of a twister around Fuusengamu. Just the twister was coming into being, the beam-like flow of sewage was finishing its approach towards Fuusengamu. As a result, a pillar of sewage formed around Fuusengamu and then begun to rise into the air. Before long, the pillar self-destructively smashed into the earthen ceiling of the Community of the Sewage Pipes. Directly resulting in a rain of sewage throughout the entirety of the Community of the Sewage Pipes. "Darn it Same-skun. Darn you to heck! I never wanted to take up arms against you. Not even in self-defense,"

"What are you talking about" asked Samesuke, questioningly raising an eyebrow as he did so. "Back when we were kids, we used to fight all of the time. As a matter of fact, we met during one of those fights! It was a fierce battle! A gang war between fishmen and low-class humans. The both of us were the best of our respective race. So a confrontation was inevitable,"

"We squared off in a rose field..." started Fuusengamu in a singsong voice, her mouth stretching into a toasty smile as she did so.

"...and neither of us would suffer a yield," finished Samesuke, all-the-while wondering why he wasn't using the downpour of sewage to take his vengeance.

"You threw a left, and I a right..."

"...and this continued into the night,"

"For many days we fought our best..."

"...only stopping to eat and rest,"

"Our war was waged for the entire year..."

"...we were equals. That was clear,"

"Fishmen and humans alike..."

"...and a silly giant named Mike," chuckled Samesuke as he reminisced about the giant whom laughed kobarabarabahaahaaa!

"Came together to watch our duel..."

"...with such entertainment, none could be cruel,"

"Through our combat, they did unite..."

"...fishmen and humans, their future was bright,"

"But one day, the cycle was broken..."

"...after a lucky punch, my victory was spoken,"

"And then there was a tragedy..."

"...a wake-up call from destiny,"

"With oil and fire, your home was set to burn..."

"In sorrow and fury, I swore to return! The favor that is. To you and your father," snarled Samesuke as the last of the sewage splashed onto the surface of the pipe. Fuusengamu frowned at Samesuke's words before turning her eyes towards the ground and nervously taking a hold of oner of her arms. Samesuke attempted to look a dagger into Fuusengamu's heart for as long as a minute. Then, with a sigh, he asked the question. "Fuu-chan. What happened?"

"Sorrow and fury," answered Fuusengamu in a sniffle. "After you defeated me, I fell into a depression. I felt like I was nothing but a failure. I had failed to meet my own standards. I had failed to meet the standards of my race. But most of all, I had failed to meet your standards. What kind of rival takes a fall from a punch as lucky as that one?"

"A punch doesn't get much luckier than one caused by a slip on a banana peel," thought Samesuke as Fuusengamu explained herself.

"Either way, I was sad. So sad. And then. I was angry. Really angry. I wished that you were dead. I didn't mean it. Not even a little bit. But said it. I made the wish. And my father...overheard me. He asked me what you looked like. But I told him that I didn't remember. I was trying to protect you, but I only ended up bringing the doom to everyone. My father...rallied the Patrician Guards. Ordered them to kill all of the fishmen. Without exception. I wanted to stop him! I really did! But...but I couldn't. No. That's not true. I could've stopped him...but I didn't. I...I was scared. So, very scared. I was scared that he would kill me. Like he killed my younger sister. And my older brother before that. And I my older sister before that! They were all killed for wasting his time...and I was scared I would be killed as well. So I let them die. All of the fishmen. I let them die so that I could live...I'm sorry Samesuke,"

"That's Same-kun to you," snorted Samesuke a moment before he suddenly turned his back to Fuusengamu. "I was hoping that the massacre wasn't your fault in the least, but I guess that was too much to ask for..."

"Samesuke?" uttered Fuusengamu in a questioning tone of voice. For a time, Samesuke simply stood in complete silence. But after some time, Samesuke looked over his shoulder and revealed to Fuusengamu that he was crying just as much as she was.

"Weren't you paying attention...Fuu-chan? I said, that it was Same-kun to you!"

"S-S-Same-kun!" jovially cried Fuusengamu as she glomped Samesuke beyond the boundary of the pipe the both of them had been standing upon. "We're back! We're back! Finally! We're back!"

"We're going to be dead if we don't break our fall you stupid-"

Later
''Setting: Sunday - 11:55 P.M. - New World - Roanoke Isles - DeNews Tower: A tower which stands upon the largest of the Roanoke Isles. It's home to the Orichalcum Den Den Mushi, a Den Den Mushi that is capable of broadcasting its feed throughout the entirety of the world at the cost of only being capable of making a single broadcast a year. - The Filming Studio: The room in qhich broadcasts are made.''

"Ladies and gentlemen. In five minutes, we're going live!" excitedly announced Ruriko through the use of Baby Den Den Mushi-based speaker. At the same time, Ruriko was also pulling a bundle of the DeNews Tower's tied-up inhabitants into a deserted corner of the Filming Studio.

"It's about time," sighed Fuusengamu while she was sloping in a foldable chair. Sitting in the foldable chair that was adjacent to Fuusengamu's was none other than a curious-looking Samesuke.

"I don't get it," admitted Samesuke, tilting his head in a manner that was reminiscent of a bewildered puppy as he did so. "How could any of the things that you're doing here recquire my Bounty Book? You just seem to be hijacking the Roanoke Isles' DeNews Tower to me. What does any of this have to do with bounties that have been issued by the World Government?"

"Watch and learn Same-kun," yawned Fuusengamu with outstretched limbs. "Watch and learn,"

"Decaden," was the only thing Ruriko said to Majestic T. Decaden as she handed the Baby Den Den Mushi-based speaker over to him, having absolutely no need to say anything else. With a nod, Decaden took the Baby Den Den Mushi-based speaker and promptly assumed command of the situation as Ruriko reported to a single drum instead of her usal set.

"First thing's first, Ouja no Youmei! (King's Order!)" said Decaden as he blew a translucent bubble into being in a manner that was reminiscent of how one would blow a wad of chewing gum into a bubble. Afterward Decaden took a hold of the bubble with the tips of his thumb and index finger and then flicked the bubble into an unsuspecting Creeper. As the bubble encompassed Creeper's body before sinking into her, an order resounded throughout the very essence of The Creeper's being. That order being: DO NOT SO MUCH AS THINK ABOUT SETTING OFF THE FIREWORKS!

"Wassup! I want you to keep a close eye on those fireworks of yours. And an even closer eye on The Creeper!" vocally ordered Decaden, his voice swelling with confidence due to the fact that knew that his orders were backed by the dual trust of Ruriko Fujitani and Thoosa themselves. "Dom! Attend to The Creeper's needs, but don't you dare so much as test a single fluid ounce of your concoctions on her!"

"Roger that!" said Dominique Lazard and Wassup in unison with one another, the both of them proceeding to attend to their given tasks after having done so. The Creeper sulked in response to the precautions Decaden was taking against her antics before resigning herself to an explosion-free evening.

"Laura! Magnus! It's time to crank up those Pacifista!" announced Decaden to Laura and Magnus, both of whom were situated on balconies on opposite ends of the Filming Studio. Atop of the balconies alongside them, were a total of six Pacifista. Three with Laura. And three with Magnus.

"Hmm," hummed Laura in response as she pressed a button which had been wired into the Pacifista by Piergiorgio Bellugi. The moment the button was pressed, the Pacifista opened their mouths and begun to shine their laser-turned-spotlights onto the floor of the Filming Studio. "We're good,"

"Well I'll be damned," snickered Magnus as he pressed his own button and got his Pacifista shining laser-turned-spotlights onto the floor of the Filming Studio as well. "Looks like Pier managed to make a couple of spotligts out of these bad boys after all..."

"Lights," snapped Decaden, prompting Soraya into turning off all of the Filimg Studio's sources of non-spotlight induced illumination.

"Cameras," purred Decaden as he joined Thoosa, Ruriko, Mary, Pier, and Riku on the stage. As he took his place, Decaden smirked at Riku whom simply snorted at the Tactician in response. Not long after, the Bubblegum Pop - with the sole exception if its captain, Fuusengamu - got each of their Visual Den Den Mushi-based cameras at the ready.

"Action," whispered Thoosa. And then, the show was on.

On the Big Screens
Music (Please Open in Another Tab)

"It's been two years since the War of the Best!" spoke Decaden in a sagely tone of voice, using the complete and utter silence of the Filming Studio to aid him in playing the part. At this point in time, all of the spotlights were focused on him and him alone. As a result, Decaden was the only one who could be seen at the moment. "Yet the souls of its dead have yet to be properly put to rest. There's no need for you to be nervous. We're only here to do a public service. A requiem if you will. One that'll make time stand still. Now prepare yourselves, girls and boys. Cuase Majestic T. Decaden commands you, to enjoy!"

With that, Decaden might as well have ceased to exist. For his time in this show had come and gone. The spotlights cut off, erasing Decaden from the view of the spectators. After some time, the spotlights returned. But this time, they were focused on Thoosa. For the stage belonged to her now.

With a smile which warmth was utterly devoid of the lust that usually accompanied it, Thoosa started to string a guitar which was different from her usual. Her strings were hectic. As if she was in a hurry or something; however, they were far from off-key. For each string met its quota with little to no deviance from perfection.

Before long, Thoosa came to a stop. And as she did so, five of the spotlights moved off of her and onto Ruriko, Mary, Pier, Decaden, and Riku. In stark contrast from what one might have expected from a captain, Thoosa was at the back of the stage with Ruriko, Mary, Pier, and Decaden. At the front of the stage, and thus the one who was the center of attention, was Ignis D. Riku.

Without so much as a moment of hesitation, Thoosa and Mary begun to string their individual guitars in unison with each other. As they did so, Ruriko proceeded to work on the drums. Flawlessly complimenting the sounds being produced by Thoosa and Mary. While those three made music, Riku was making clouds. Not the thick sort of clouds you could see in the sky on a good day. But thin clouds. Thick clouds that were better known as mist.

By the time the mist was in place, the clapping had begun. Decaden and Pier worked their hands into the melody. Kickstarting the entire production into its climax as they did so. Ruriko and Mary intensified their stringing, and Ruriko escalated her drumming. With naught but a smirk as a warning, Riku burst into a dance. Unlike most performers, Riku didn't dance with JUST his body. No. Riku danced with much more. His body. His soul. And most importantly, his mist.

As the stage came to life, so did the mist. With pinpoint accuracy, Riku manipulated the mist in a manner which allowed him to emulate the effects of Ho Kenpo to a certain extent. Fires begun to burn throughout the mist, appearing as spectral illuminations to their onlookers. By adding the illusion-inducing movements of enchantment into the mix, Riku managed to create an astounding mirage. As far as their audience was concerned, the performing Pop Band Pirates were in the presence of the Whitebeard Pirates. Whom were oddly dressed in gear that was befitting of a viking and merrily feasting at the table of their father, Edward Newgate.

Just as soon as it had begun, it came to an end. The music and dancing stopped. And the illusions faded away. There was a moment of silence as the performing Pop Band Pirates took some time out to pray for the ascent of those who died in the Battle of Marineford. Afterward, the lights went off. The view became dark. And soon, there was no view at all as the cameras went dead. It was over.

Elsewhere
Setting: Friday - 11:30 P.M. - Paradise - The Blue Palace: Headquarters of the World Government's Special Duty Royal Task Force

"They sure came back with a bang," chuckled Aharon to himself as all of the local Den Den Mushi became free of the hijacking the Orichalcum Den Den Mushi had subjected them too. Knowing that it wouldn't be long before the Task Force was deployed against the Pop Band Pirates in response to their New World Debut, Aharon set out to find Iroppoi and the rest of his team.

As Aharon did so, he made sure to save himself a copy of the Pop Bands Pirates' performance. It was true that he didn't like the Pop Band Pirates, but the doesn't mean he disliked their music!