It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

Two persons entered into the chamber at first, it'd be at that moment that Jackal activated his Kenbunshoku Haki to garner a proper assessment of how many men he was truly dealing with. A smirk plastered his face when his Mind's Eye had picked up on the small army behind the two marines, dressed in standard marine uniform. The formation they'd assumed to be a makeshift pincer attack, directly in front of Jackal was the man named Gozu, who'd be standing about thirty-meters away from his position. To his rear, on the other side of the stone would be an unknown force, all dressed in all black suits, but they'd be further down the chamber, not fully within the scope of Jackal's Mind's Eye. It was important that the Mink didn't feel overwhelmed at any point, his goal was to draw this party out for as long as possible. At the top of the Poneglyph, Talibah feverishly sketched away at this map, trying to determine which route in the chamber would lead them to Jackal's Barron Vessel. In a worse case scenario, he'd know if push came to shove, he'd have to join into the fight to assist the Mink but at this point, he'd focus all his energies on the task assigned. "Gozu? As in the Sleeping Beast Gozu who took out the Rum Beard Pirates? I see the Marines aren't pulling punches in detaining me. For the record before this goes any further, I didn't kill the King. I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, doing something equally as bad." Jackal stated smirking. "It'd rather not fight you either Gozu. How about we make a deal? I'll return Pluton's Key. We all go home like none of this happened." Jackal offered. What would happen next would be completely up to Gozu, he'd watch the massive ten foot man carefully for any sudden movements or orders to his men at his hind. The real problem was the force to the back of Jackal, he'd have make sure that the timing they used on getting involved didn't clash with any orders of his own.

---

In Yuba, Amalia patiently waits on the outskirts of the outlaw Paradise for the sparrow that Jackal warned would be approaching. In the distance, a single messenger sparrow approached Yuba, and waving her hands into the air, Amalia made it known that the message was for her. Landing on Amalia's shoulder, the woman detached the location from the Sparrow's leg, and opened the map leading to two locations, one, was Bazil's and the other location was Jackal's own. "I know this place. It's in Yuba! Jose's Nacho Bar!" Amalia shouted. Whistling, into the abyss of the desert, the ground began to rumble. Incoming in the distance at an alarming speed was Amalia's trusty Giant Crab, who she'd use for most of her high paced transports. Within moments, the Crab had arrived to her position, jumping from left to right in excitement. Scaling the Giant, Amalia make two click noises with her mouth, causing the Crab to dash into the City, after about fifteen minutes of travel into Yuba, the Giant Crab stood before Jose's Nacho Bar. Shotgun in hand, Amalia scaled the Crab, standing before the burning bar, scaling the outskirts of the area for the face on the Bounty Poster, resting the weapon on her shoulder. "Bazil Styx?" Amalia stated with urgent demeanour, as only a trio remained watching the fire, as the other civilians ran in fear."Jackal sent me to pick you up. He's gone and got himself in more trouble again." Amalia stated. Amalia had heard about Bazil's reputation and brought along trusty shotgun just incase anyone in Bazil's posse got frisky. "However. The map he plotted out for me... It'd take forever to get there using that route. I'm going to circle around to his actual location on the map using the co-ordinates. I'm going to need you to blast through about hundred feet of bottomless sand. Can you handle that much?"Amalia inquired grinning, asking in cheeky manner.

Timer: Bazil/Amalia are officially Three Rounds away from Jackal's position.

Haki | Skills:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

"A shorter sentence... I appreciate that. See? Communication." Jackal stated chuckling, reaching slowly towards his pockets, making sure to not make any subtle movements. "Don't be too on guard, I'm just going to toss you Pluton's Key." Jackal continued. As Gozu inched closer and closer, Jackal could've felt the pressure from the man called the Sleeping Beast, however, in this instance he was wide and awake, and the man's ocean blue eyes seemingly held a majestic flare to them that would paralyse the weakest of hearts. It was about five meters away from his position where Gozu would've inquired about the seemingly slow pace of Jackal's actions and this conversation, reaching for his blade's hilt, the man drew his weapon in one motion, releasing an arc of wind with a sharp edge, about two inches above Jackal's ears, shaving the hair off their tips, sending an attack towards the pillar. Jackal remained calm and collected, they're was now way Gozu knew of the persons to the Poneglyph's peak. Monitoring Gozu's position and the wind blade's position, Jackal watched as the Wind Blade crashed into the Poneglyph but it's force wouldn't have been enough to break it or damage it in one blow. However, the Poneglyph shook with tremendous force, to the point that the power of the attack caused the earth beneath to tremble with authority. It'd be at this point that Gozu was about three meters away from Jackal, within striking distance, and the Mink had had his hands inside his pocket to remove Pluton's Key, or so was the ruse. His smile extending wider, "I guess it's time for our game to begin. Gozu." Jackal stated. In an instance, Jackal detonated the upper segment of his left and right arms, releasing an explosive force that trickled outwards at Tertiary Speeds, the Secondary Force encompassing over a ten meter radius. In the wake of this attack, a medium sized debris field of around ten meter radius covered the battlefield, as if a series of land mind's had went off. With Jackal's hands concealed, his clothes unaffected by the Devil Fruit Abilities, it'd just appear that Gozu had somehow activated traps, as so far, Jackal hadn't revealed his status as an unsanctioned user to the world. With everyone in the area's vision impaired, Jackal would've monitored the aura's of everyone in the field using his Kenbunshoku Haki, tracking Akia and Gozu's response to the explosive charge.

Jackal wouldn't be too hasty to move from his point but he'd shuffle around ten feet to the left, moving out of Gozu's direct line of sight. Once the coast was clear, he'd bend his knees and dash using one burst, to Akia's position at about ten meters away. Once he'd travelled six meters towards the woman, Jackal would release another explosion, this time with his two feet, creating second blast, similar in nature, and with this, enough debris to cover (two posts) and approximately fifteen meters of the battlefield would've been present. Jackal would've made these actions after any movement's Gozu would've made to respond to his initial explosion because making no move at all would've spelt serious injuries for all parties involved. At the peak of the Poneglyph, Jackal's men fight for their lives, trying to remained laid positions at the top of the large pillar of stone. In the centre, Talibah scribed away, trying to sketch out the escape route, "Almost there... Keep at it... Jackal." Talibah thought, as his fingers danced along the intricate lines of the Catacombs map.

---

"Oh please. That's what all the boys say." Amalia stated grinning to Bazil's response about not being able to handle his 'junk'. Climbing aboard the Crab, Bazil and his companions, a fairly massive samurai and a very trendy punk rocker, scaled the Crab moments after Amalia's mounting. Sitting on the basket provided, which was strapped around the Crab, Amalia made two clicks with her mouth and the Crab sped out of the city, heading South this time at incredible speeds. Extending the map sent to her, Amalia would've determined their positions in real-time, as the sand crustacean plowed through the dead sand as if it was sea water. Using a series of clicks noises with her mouth, every now and again so subtly, Amalia would adjust the crabs route with her commands, until it was one smooth course towards their destination. Exhaling, "That's it! Continue on this course at this pace big guy!" Amalia shouted. Turning towards Bazil and his men, "We'll be at our location within a days time. I suggest you lot rest up in the interim." Amalia suggested.  

Timer: Bazil/Amalia are officially Two Rounds away from Jackal's position.

Haki | Skills:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

"How much time has passed since Jackal started fighting?" Talibah inquired, his eyes fixed on the dungeon's map, as his stencil scaled across the paper. "About six hours... maybe seven." Nefertiti responded. "Good... I'm almost done. I've narrowed it down to entrances. North and North North East. Hang in there... Jackal." Talibah thought. As stated prior, Jackal entered into a dash towards Akia, however, outside of his realms of calculations, Gozu had suffered no damage from his initial explosion, using what seemed to be gushes of winds to escape the blast by mere inches. Grounding himself, Gozu released a tornado which travelled towards Akai's position, instantly swapping Gozu in her position, and vice versa. Continuing his stride, Jackal saw that Gozu was now standing in Akia's place, and about six meters away, Jackal's feet planted downward, setting off a second explosion. Tanking the damage, Gozu allowed the charge to rattle against his body, ripping away his government issued clothing, leaving the man only with his joggers, remaining as the explosion rattled along his rib cage, breaking several bones and leaving third degree bruises around the man's body. However, it's what happened after the charge that caught Jackal off guard, moving through the debris field, Gozu entered into a downward thrust which spun into into a stabbing force, which shot Jackal into the ground with immense momentum. Mounting the man in the next action, Gozu twisted the blade into the Mink's shoulder blade, cutting off his movement. "ARGH!" Jackal shouted, as the pain of the man's blade ripping through tendons and muscles in his shoulder rattled through the chamber. "Shishishi..." Jackal stated, breathing heavily, trying to compensate for the blade wedged into his right shoulder. "I can't seem to feel my right arm at the moment. However, at this range-" Jackal stated grinning.

Disbursing a field of electricity around him, Jackal funnelled the electricity emitted from his body through Gozu's blade, which then expanded outward growing into a dome which encapsulated everything in a fifteen meter radius. If the electrical dome had reached it's full size, Gozu's routes for evasion would've been grim, as the force of the shock would've been enough to paralyse the high ranking marine official. However, whether this would've been successful was all dependent on Gozu's time of response, and if he'd continue to keep the Mink pinned down and suffer the consequences. Coating his hands in Bushoshoku Haki, Jackal intercepted the next move, maintaining his dome's size, so it could've caught Akia in it's surging path, which would've either ended in her suffering similar or worst wounds to Gozu. Everything Jackal did was in a plea to bide time, and as these tactical exchanges felt like minutes, actual hours had passed and Gozu's Army still awaited his call to charge into combat.

---

Meanwhile, on route to the co-ordinates on the map provided by Talibah, a quick three ticks in succession ceased the Gigantic Crabs movement. Taking a deep breath to assess the quality of the air, Amalia checked for the deserts wind currents and marked nearby landscapes as evidence that they we're indeed in the correct location. Though, to Bazil and his men, the only thing in sight would be a canyon and a rock formation to the South. Hopping up from her seated position, the woman would've nudged Bazil a few times but to no avail, the man was out like a light. Stooping down, the woman would've whispered, "Wake up Bazil. It's time to get to work.", increasing the volume of her speaking voice near the end of her sentence to startle the man awake. Before Bazil could've put up any domestic or sexual assault, the woman jumped backwards, scaling the side of the Crab's leg to make onto the desert floor below. After assessing the air once more, testing his feet along the sand, Amalia dug her shoes into the send until she'd find a body of what felt to be bed rock beneath her feet, five feet to the right of her parked Crab's position. "About thirty meters below of my position, that's where the chamber Jackal's in, which is buried beneath this thick-ass bedrock." Amalia inquired. "Take your best shot.... blow this whole area below me is gone." Amalia said, shoving her shotgun into the ground at the marker, and then running the hell out of dodge before Bazil's assault commenced.


Timer: Bazil/Amalia are officially One Round away from Jackal's position.

Haki | Skills:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

Trembling feverishly, a pool of Jackal's blood filled the soil below his position pinned to the ground by the force of Gozu's blade. Gritting his teeth, the Mink fought hard, pumping several volts of electricity through the Marine's body in attempts to loosen his grip on the blade that was now wedged into the insides of his shoulder, with every spin of the blade, Jackal's body winced in pain. Finally, just before the electrical dome reached it's max capacity of size, Gozu removed his grip on the blade inside the Mink's shoulder. Using his functional left arm, Jackal clutched claws into the core of the wound, cancelling his electrical dome once the damage had been done to Gozu and Akia, using the heat from the electricity to close his wounds shut abruptly. It didn't negate the damage done but at least, it'd stop the bleeding, and it'd cause Jackal to shake in pain, fading in and out of consciousness. Pacing his now burdened breathing patterns, Jackal had finally realised the whole point of Gozu's odd pause, it was an attempt to save Akia from Jackal's electrical field. In one quick motion, Jackal coated his left arm in Busoshoku Haki, using this moment to pull the blade gingerly out from his shoulder, dropping it onto the floor, resealing the wound once again with his electrical currents. Jackal could've still feel some life in his right arm but it was immensely limp for the most part, any form of movement would've been impossible. Combined with the fact that the Bandit King had lost at this point at least a pint and half worth of blood, the bruises all over Gozu's body was testament that this exchange had taken a toll on both men. Lifting himself to a sitting position, Jackal pushed Gozu about three feet away from himself, using his two dog like appendages as the catalysis for a jump kick. "That's it for my shoulder." Jackal thought. "Your one tough bastard Gozu. I respect your justice." Jackal stated.

Shortly after his electrical field subsided, towards the debris from his last set of explosions, the marines in the hallway ten meters away now, began to open rifle fire towards the debris field. Grabbing the limp Gozu off the ground, Jackal hoisted the man up with his functional left hand as a human shield, most of the shots missing their mark but one bullet made impact into Gozu's shoulder. As the first round of gunfire ceased, Jackal tossed Gozu's body back onto the ground, still paralysed from the electricity, "Now we're even." Jackal stated. Digging into his pockets, Jackal tossed the tome, which was indeed Pluton's Key towards the waist of Gozu, "I'm a man of my word." Jackal said smirking widely. As the second set of gunfire commenced, Jackal's men changed their positions from the top of the Poneglyph, all eight rifle bearers laid on their bellies hoisted forty feet into the air and open fired towards the marines who'd been shooting into the debris field. Two shots managed to prick into the marines throats, causing the platoon of men to look around dazed momentarily as to where the return fire was coming from. "It's the large stone! They're on top of it!" one of the marines shouted. Just then, several explosive charges went off from all directions within the chamber. Of the eight entrances into the room, the explosion blocked off all pathways with about thirty feet of thick giant stone slab rubble, cutting out all forms of escape to the room. It'd be at this moment that several hundred auras would flood the room from the North Section of the Chamber, each of these men weapons of various kinds, some even possessed bazookas, cannon launchers, maces, axes and even scimitars.

Akia and the marine army were blown backwards down the hallway, trapped behind the debris created from the explosion. Several men and women were injured and maimed by this initial blast, but the frantic Akia was more concerned about the safety of her superior who was now locked in the room injured with a famed pirate, unknowing of the Cipher Pol's presence in this all. The Cipher Pol had literally created the perfect situation, they'd trapped Jackal and the Prince in the Chamber, sealed off all entrances and thanks to Gozu, Jackal was majorly injured. However, as the Red Head Mohawk Man's voice filled the chamber, pillars of the former bedrock ceiling collapsed mere feet away from Gozu and Jackal's position. Jackal had recognised that aura anywhere, and Amalia had came through on her promise. As Bazil announced his presence to the room, Jackal couldn't have helped grinned at his crazy friend's entrance. "You bastard!" Jackal shouted playfully. "You sure know how to make an entrance!" Jackal exclaimed, continuing with his banter. Within moments, an army of a hundred plus men surrounded the debris hill that Bazil stood upon, formed a perimeter around Jackal and Gozu, and began the process of scaling the Poneglyph. "Perfect.... Perfect... All of the players have arrived. Bazil Styx.... Warhead.... Helios Jackal... Bandit King... Gozu... The Sleeping Beast... And I, Claud of the Cipher Pol Two." Claud said, emerging from the behind the Poneglyph, approaching from the North, making his presence known to the whole room. Within moments, Claud's operative retrieve Pluton's Key from the floor, securing it inside of a metallic portable safe. "Objective One. Pluton's Key retrieved." Claud stated.

Within moments, the Cipher Pol agents had climbed the Poneglyph subduing Prince Talibah and his wife, and murdering the remnants of the Jackal Bandits who'd managed to kill a few with rifle fire but resistance was indeed futile. "Objective Two. Prince Talibah Acquired." Claud rattled on. "Ah Gozu... I've always hated the marines way of trying to capture the bad guys with honour! Pride! Justice! Bullshit." Claud shouted in anger. "Evil should be rooted out by evil. That's how the world works." Claud explained. Removing his pistol from it's holster, Claud pointed the mouth of the barrel at Jackal. "Objective Three... Terminate The Scum." Claud declared. "Oh?" Jackal stated grinning. "Your going to 'terminate' me, Lesser Mink?" Jackal inquired. Running through the crowd, jolting towards Jackal's position, Amalia came charging, snatching a rifle from one of the Cipher Pol agents, and barging through the crowd. Jumping in front of Jackal, the woman pointed the rifle towards the man's forehead. "Drop the weapon!" Amalia ordered. In one stealth motion, Claude readjusted his aim and empty the pistol's contents into Amalia's body. Jackal was frozen in astonishment, at how quick the incident played out. As Amalia's body touched hit the floor, Jackal scurried over to the woman, one hand in tact, clutching the woman close to his ribcage. "AMALIA!" Jackal shouted. Panting slowly, "I guess... I bit off a bit more than I should've this time, Jack." Amalia said, slowly barely gasping for breath. "YOU IDIOT! I had this all under control! You didn't have to... Why would you throw away your life!? After how I treated you... How I've used you... After all of this... You we're just a piece on my chessboard! I was suppose to leave you on Sandy Isle... You were suppose to forget about me... Why!? Why Amalia!? What do you gain for throwing away your life so recklessly!? I could've taken that bullet." Jackal shouted selfishly.

"Tch. That's your problem Jackal. You think everyone and everything just dances to the rhythm of your plans. Life doesn't work like that. I'm happy... My last view is seeing the Mink- No- The man I grew to love crying over me... I've seen so many things... in my time... as a charterer... but I've never met souls like you two before. Jackal. Gilbard. Sinbad. I would've liked to have seen the world with ya'll..." Amalia stated smiling broadly. Coughing up blood, Jackal clutched the woman tighter, "Oi! Hold on! I'll get us out of this! Gilbard will patch you up. Just be strong!" Jackal shouted. "Everyone has to die one day silly Jackal. Promise me. You won't hate humans or be afraid of us anymore. We're just afraid of you... as you are of us-" Amalia's words were cut short by the sound of the last bullet in Claud's pistol penetrating the woman's chest-cage. Jackal's eyes widened in astonishment not at the woman's death but the cruelty exhibited by Claud. The woman's blood would splatter into Jackal's face, and onto the Cipher Pol Head's clothes, licking her blood off his hand, and smearing his face with the remnant droplets, the man covered his face in a makeshift bloody face-mask. "She should've just hurried up and died. I hate last will talks. If your gonna die... Die already." Claud stated, smiling menacingly.

Haki | Skills:

It's the thrill in the end. In that moment when something stolen becomes mine or is it? That's the bliss I desire.

As Amalia's blood filled Jackal's black polka dotted scarf, memories of their first interactions on Sandy flooded his mind. Jackal rejected passing out from Bazil's Will by stabbing himself in his right knee with his sharp nails, without enough force to keep him conscious. The very thing he'd feared the whole time had finally came into fruition, as her limp motionless body lay bleeding out, staining the terra beneath the two. The moment Claud directed his hand towards Jackal's direction, he'd already felt the bloodlust dripping from the Cipher Pol Agent, knowing that another impending attack was on it's way. The moment that Claud sprung into action, Jackal's Sixth Sense had picked up on the pace and stride of the government lacky's progression. It'd take him at least several strides to make it to Jackal's position but Claud wasn't moving at any snail like pace, actually within moments he'd be upon the Mink. Licking the cheek of the deceased woman in one last goodbye gesture, Jackal placed Amalia's body onto the floor and as Claud's Wind Blade dashed towards Bazil's direction, that'd be when Jackal looked to make his counter attack. Though, both attacks were closely paced behind each other, as Claud moved into range, his arched finger lined up directly at an angle towards Jackal's injured shoulder. Coating his injured right shoulder in Busoshoku Haki, Jackal intercepted the man's attack on the surface level of his skin, as his finger barely managed to penetrate the man's Secondary strong texture. Focusing his Electro around the point of contact, Jackal extended an Electrical dome at a much smaller level around Claud's right finger, trailing onto his hand which was attempting to spear through the man's shoulder. Once the dome had expanded around the length of the man's arm, the force of the electrical charge would've been enough to disable the man's right arm, leaving it now limped. With no planned action with the man's now crippled arm, Jackal and Claud now stared each other, eye to eye. "Bazil! If you can hear me... This... Lesser Mink is mine. I'll end this." Jackal stated. "Oh?" Claud responded. "You think because of this arm of mine you have an advantage?" Claud inquired. "Shut up. Who said you had the right to talk?" Jackal said, staring at the man emotionlessly. Coating his entire right and left arm in an iron coat of Obsidian Haki, small pulses of electricity trickled through the man's arms.

"There's been something... I've been wanting to... try for awhile now. I'm not much of a fighter... honestly... I wanted to escape this place without wasting this much energy. But if I leave here without sending a message to the Government... I'd do Amalia a great injustice. You killed one of my crewmates. Don't expect me to hold back any more." Jackal stated. "Black Vari." Jackal thought, referring to the black lightning that now pulsated around specifically the man's arms. Waking up from the effects of the Haoshoku Haki, Talibah awoke to the gore that was the countless bullet ridden bodies of the Cipher Pol Agents. Searching frantically for his wife, he'd found her in a pile of bodies, simply unconscious. Sighing a breath of relief, Talibah rose to his feet, strapping the woman over his shoulder. Unfortunately, the men Jackal had placed to guard Talibah were all executed from the Cipher Pol Agents, as assassination was their specialty. Talibah now beheld the sight before him, it was Bazil, Jackal and the unknown assailant that was Claud locked into intense combat. Seeing the man who'd murdered his father right before his eyes, Talibah reached for his cane and began to march towards Bazil's position. "BAZIL!" Talibah shouted. "Murderer of the King... and my brothers! I shall avenge them here today!" Talibah shouted, spinning the crook in his hand with immense finesse.

Haki | Skills: