[center][h1]Zepp Kisaragi[color=8B0000][i]?[/i][/color][/h1]
Drum Island, Muron Prison
[@LokiLeo789] [@Renny] [@BCTheEntity] [@Tmitche23] [@JmerlRobot][/center]

The only ones who hadn’t made a decisive move at this point were Dirk and Jax, the marksman. So far Zepp didn’t hear the sound of incoming bullets, so he presumed that the sniper couldn’t get a proper bead on him due to the erratic nature of his movements and Zepp’s close range to his allies. Noting this for the moment, the Marine was more intrigued by Xerxes’ counter to his projectile Shigan. “Hm. Well, that’s a little impressive, if a little annoying.”  Zepp muttered as Xerxes snapped his fingers. In an instant, Zepp felt the air around his body heat up and in that moment before the explosion went off, he left behind another “Cicada” shell. When Johnny shared information with him on the man’s capabilities, techniques like this hadn’t come up. Meaning that he somehow came up with this during his stay in the Muron. If Zepp were the type to be concerned about that sort of thing, he almost might have been jealous of the versatility of the explosive man’s Devil Fruit ability. [color=8B0000][i]”Looks like I’ll need to take this more seriously.”[/i][/color] Zepp thought, eyelids lifting to reveal vibrant crimson eyes as he left more afterimages in his wake. From what Zepp could tell, the target was doing a good job of reading the speed of his movements and reacting accordingly. Or, at least, accordingly enough to try and ignite Zepp in the short instances between his Soru. Glancing over at Bogard, who had managed to avoid getting snapped up by Fadel’s venus flytrap, he saw that the boy had his hand raised towards where the site of where at least one of Xerxes’ detonations had gone off. It was a curious action, since according to the surviving Loguetown marines, the boy manipulated his signature red coat to dispatch them. So, what kind of fruit did the boy possess? And was it the boy who the fruit’s power emanated from or had the coat “eaten” the fruit, with Bogard acting as its handler? 

The answer would have to wait, since Xerxes’ barrage of explosions made it more than a little counterproductive to try and combat anyone but him. Zepp waited for Xerxes to snap his fingers once again and made his move as soon as the explosion went off. To ne sure, the Spark Spark Fruit’s wielder had impressive powers of premonition and impressive reflexes in kind. A month of meditation had done mucb to clear the young man’s mind. Had he chosen to pursue the path of “justice”, he could have been a valuable asset to the World Government. Unfortunately, he was an enemy. A slaughterer of thousands who killed without any purpose but the enjoyment of hearing the screams of his victims. Unfortunately, he had the misfortune of meeting [color=8B0000]Mumyoumaru[/color] this day. The moment the rapid expansion of heat and electricity took place, Zepp burst forward with even greater speed than he had before, avoiding the attack and then moving within melee range. [color=8B0000]”Shigan: Oren”[/color] Mumyoumaru stated loud enough for Xerxes to hear before his hand moved with incredible speed, his attack appearing like one, but actually being many Shigans at a speed which made them seem almost simultaneous. The first two attacks were aimed at the explosive man’s kneecaps, attempting to take out the option of regular locomotion. Two more were aimed at each of his arms at the elbow to disable the limbs for any avenue of fisticuffs. The rest were aimed at Xerxes’ chest, Zepp attempting to strike at the explosive man’s heart and subsequently four more holes in his chest for each ship he destroyed back on Conomi Isles. An imprint of his crimes back then upon what might be a corpse. Or, in the event that he took this attack and somehow survived through willpower or the Red Hoods somehow pulling off a proper rescue, scars to remind him of his second failure here on Drum Island.

But even in the event that this move would be enough to take Xerxes out of the fight, there were at least four more pirates to deal with on the scene before reinforcements. And with the slight confusion brought by Bogard’s mysterious actions, Zepp would have to proceed with a bit more caution now that the group might not have had to fear Xerxes’ explosions if they got too close and their captain appeared to have some more tricks up his sleeve. At the same time as his barrage of Shigans ended, he jammed his heel into the ground and a pair of [color=8B0000]Rankyaku “Line”[/color] burst forth in the direction of both Fadel and Bogard, the blades of air ripping through the ground and creating a piercing whine as they sailed towards the two young pirates. At this point, all of the pirates here had made their choice. On-the-spot execution was the only option that CP9’s #2, Mumyoumaru, was to pursue. For now, it was a matter of whether he could pull it off before Jackal, or even the mysterious Messenger Bogard and Xerxes had shared a brief exchange about at the beginning of the fight. [color=8B0000]”Hm. Now would be a good time for a certain gorilla and scythe-wielding Vice Admiral to show up.”[/color] Mumyoumaru remarked aloud, mostly to himself. From his open eyes and the lack of Zepp’s signature painted-on smile, coupled with the drastic tonal shift, it was clear that the one in the middle of the menagerie of criminals wasn’t exactly the man who he was portraying himself as earlier. And, if he had his way, none here would live to tell the tale.