Smith kept an eye out whilst walking alongside Dirk atop the fortress wall. Well, at least he presumably was keeping an eye out. Kind of hard to tell behind that black face mask. Actually, was he keeping an eye out? Honestly he could just be sleep walking. No, no he definitely wasn't sleep walking. Smith pulled out a small snack, an energy bar, and ate it right in front of Dirk... Through the mask... Without taking it off... [i]What the fu[/i]

[color=black]"Down!"[/color] Smith harshly ordered, spotting a Buccaneer pirate rounding the corner. The ninja had practically vanished into the shadows cast by the wall. Meanwhile the pirate strolled about nonchalant, whistling while he slung a rifle over his shoulder. He passed by the door to a tower on the corner of the fortress, when... [i]Clunk![/i] Smith emerged from the shadows and clocked the man in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. [color=black]"Need to be quick and not make any sound,"[/color] the Krunch first mate commented. [color=black]"So we don't alert the place that there's more of us not with the group. So are you going to do something about that guy behind you?"[/color]

Oh. Oh there was a guy behind Dirk. 

[hr][hr]

[color=turquoise]"If I'm not mistaken, that lad was one of your strongest men,"[/color] Runch commented to captain Cedric. [color=turquoise]"That ability of hers is quite formidable. It makes her chosen contest blatantly unfair."[/color] The cereal man had no sign of his usual jolly nature. He was taking this deadly serious.

[color=orange]"Agreed."[/color] Hachirou grunted. [color=orange]"But Caesar injured her. Further performance will suffer."[/color]

[color=darkslategray]"Boomboomboomboom! First victory for we, the Buccaneer Pirates! Go ahead and take a break, Launcher! You've earned-"[/color]

[color=green]"You're going to be my next work of art. And I'll even paint in your style. Dodgeball."[/color] Bullet Bill turned his head to stare at the Red Rum who had interrupted and stepped onto the game court, even retrieving the lost cannonball. He ruffled his mustache in annoyance. [color=darkslategray]"Ye'll be needin' t'wait until 'er round comes up again. Launcher is deservin' o'a good rest after all tha'."[/color]

Launcher was next to speak up. [color=crimson]"I'm good for another round,"[/color] she announced to the whole hall. [color=crimson]"The undefeated dodgeball queen doesn't turn down a challenge! If I took a little rest just because of a little internal bleeding, how would that reflect on you, captain?"[/color]

Bill grit his teeth and groaned, but ultimately agreed. [color=darkslategray]"Fine. It'd be a pain to setup a new challenge only t'put up the dodgeball court again anyway."[/color]

"Taking bets! Place your bets here!" 

"Popcorn! Peanuts! Drinks!"

The Buccaneers hollered and cheered for another game, eager to see their beloved navigator take on another of the newcomers so soon after beating her first opponent. Launcher grinned at Slick, then spat out some more blood. [color=crimson]"You're pretty astute, but you're not entirely correct."[/color] Slowly she lifted her right index finger, before letting it dramatically point to the cannonball in Slick's hands. [color=crimson]"I don't need a mark to affect objects with my devil fruit at all! That was simply a 'return' vector! Anything I touch, anything at all, I can imbue with a vector to send it flying in any direction I like! At any speed I like! And anything that I touch I can remove that vector to cancel its speed! So you figured out how I returned the ball back to my hands, so what? You have no hope of dodging my throws and you have no hope of hitting me! Not when I can instantly stop its motion to count it as a catch! You're nowhere near as strong as the little puppy I just sent to the pound, so what hope do you have?"[/color] Launcher reached into the bosom of her bikini and drew out a pair of sunglasses, placing them dramatically on her face before taking a pose. [color=crimson]"I am Mag Launcher! The Dodgeball Queen of the Buccaneer Pirates! Marines far and wide fear my abilities, crushed to paste beneath my powerful spikes! Those pitiful recruits that come to me for training run away, screaming for their lives! Now! PLAY! [i]DODGEBALL![/i]"[/color]

A whistle sounded across the hall, signalling the beginning of the game. One of the refs called out. "Match 2, Launcher vs. Slick! Possession, Slick! Begin!"