Grandline: Undead Bounty Arc

The Undead Bounty Arc is the second arc in Grandline's roleplay story. The Red Wing Pirates travel to Thriller Bark with the mysterious Azolf in order to collect the bounty of the legendary Undead Swordsmen; Akuma.

Prologue
The Red Wing Pirate ship has been destroyed by the Iron Soul Pirates, and what is a Pirate Crew without a Ship? So Red Hair Clive drunkenly sends his pirates to meet an old ally who has the lead to the biggest Bounty nearest to the east blue. By capturing this bounty they should be able to pay for a new ship. But the pirates may have bitten off more then they can chew with Kurono Azolf and the bounty of Akuma the undead swordsmen.

Meeting with the Viper
The Red Wing Pirates celebrate their victory over the Iron Soul Pirates, resulting in a drunk Captain. Clive orders that Squall lead Lyndis and Romeo in a mission to hunt the bounty of Akuma the Undead Swordsmen in order to pay off the expenses for buying a new pirate ship. Squall grudgingly agrees and leads the group to Foosha Village, where Squall's directions lead them to a high estate mansion. They are met by a gentlemen by the name of Kurono Azolf.

They tell Azolf they are prepared to revive "The Hunt", quoting Clive. Azolf is not quick to trust them and he tests them when the Marine's knock on his door. They open it to find that Julian Chaser and his band of Marine's have followed them to Foosha Village. They instantly begin a brawl with the authority figures and eventually dispatch them, proving their strength to Azolf.

The Viper reveals part of his past as "The Viper", a bounty hunter who teamed up with Clive in order to capture the Bounty of Akuma the Undead Samurai. This event would be known as "The Hunt", but would result in failure due to the Marine's finding about their schemes. Now the three pirates would team with the Viper to Hunt down Akuma the Undead Samurai.

Facing the Fear of Thriller Bark
The group sets sail for a place that was once the "World's Largest Ship". It is now an Island that hosts the uncanny beings such as monsters, ghosts and the undead. While sailing towards the Island, they are met by their first taste of monstrocity. They are attacked by sea monsters that nearly destroy their ship, and are bet by a gigantic gate that denys their entry to the island.

The ship haven been already greviously damaged, Azolf reveals his Devil Fruit power of the Yugai Yugai no Mi. He explains that he has the power to turn any substance into bombs (which actually isn't quite the power of the fruit). He charges the ship with energy, causing it to glow a bright red and eventually detonate. The explosion seperated the group but sucessfully destroyed the gate, allowing the Red Wing Pirates to enter Thriller Bark.

Lead by Squall, the pirates are instantly met by the welcoming party of several groups of zombies which chase them all across the island. Eventually the group takes a moment to hide and are met by a friendly ghost named Ten. Ten explains that the Island is protected by Akuma and that all the beings on the Island are ordered to chase off intruders, including the gatekeeper. Apon asking who the Gatekeeper is, the group is met by a gigantic monster who ironically is infact the gatekeeper.

Romeo decides its a good idea to fight off the beast but soon discovers that the beasts healing ability makes for a difficult opponenet. Ten leads them away from the Gatekeeper and into the island's safest area, the river of Zen.

Facing the Darkness that is Akuma
The River of Zen is the manifestation of what good is left in all those souls of Thriller Bark. The pirates bathe in its waters and the lives of all those here before flash before their eyes. This instills a sense of light in the pirates hearts, encouraging them to fight back against the fear. Lyndis explains that she has been to the Island before aswell while searching for Akuma. Her expidition was instantly killed and with Lyndis as the only survivor, she was stricken by the thought of Thriller Bark.



Tenshi tells her that the souls of those men remain on Thriller Bark, but they can be freed if Akuma is defeated. This gives Lyndis some motive but clearly not enough, before long Azolf arrives at the river of Zen to interrupt their session of meditation. Tenshi senses the evil in Azolf's heart and before he can reveal it Azolf detonates the river. This is seemingly a singal as right after the explosion, Marine's appear out of scenic no where to ambush the group.

Pushed into a corner, Tenshi tells the pirates to flee to the Mass Mansion, where Akuma is. Squall, Lyndis and Romeo follow Tenshi with the Marine's and the Gatekeeper in hot pursuit. They enter the mansion, face to face with several dozen monsters. The pirates fight their way throughout the mansion's several rooms and floors until Squall decides to blow a hole right down to the basement floor. The group dives down into the darkness that is the last floor of the Mass Mansion and come face to face with Akuma.

Tenshi explains the Mass Mansion is created of souls, molded into the building. With that being said it becomes evidenet that Akuma has the ability to change the features of the mansion. He transforms the bottom floor into a mountanious area will small volcanoes that spew golden magma. This is a ploy of intimidation that strikes fear into the heart of Lyndis, strickening her. Squall is forced to guard her from the spawning creatures on the basement while Romeo decides to take on Akuma alone.

The Truth about Tenshi
Romeo is unable to gain any ground in his battle against Akuma, then Tenshi decides that he will battle alongside the pirate. Instead of simply taking over Romeo's body, Tenshi merges with his soul and uses his vast knowledge on battle to guide him in facing the undead samurai. The two battle on equal terms, trading blow for blow in an incredible bout that aquires the admiration of Squall and Lyndis.

But Akuma takes the battle into his hands when he stabs Romeo and drains his soul of Tenshi's influence, absorbing Tenshi into Akuma. Without Tenshi's help, Romeo is once again at a disadvantage and is pinned down by the guardian of thriller bark. Taking the last bit of Tenshi's advice, Romeo is able to blast off the head of Akuma. This proves fruthless as Akuma's body is a hollow suit of Armor, revealing that he infact a ghost just like Tenshi. Just as the ghost is about to slay the Rainbow warrior, Akuma is interrupted by the arrival of Azolf and the marines.



Azolf reveals his betrayl and the truth, that he was an undercover agent with the Marine's after all. He originally tried to backstab Clive in order to become a Shichibukai but now feels that his crew will allow him to settle for a high marine rank. Displeased with Azolf's actions, Romeo attacks him. Already injured, Romeo is no match for the seasoned fighter and is nearly killed. Azolf prepares to detonate the helpless second mate but is stopped by Akuma, who takes the blow for him, greviously injuring the samurai.

Lyndis snaps out of her fear and strikes Azolf, stabbing him through a non vital portion of his mid section. The greviously injured Azolf orders that the Marine's retreat and call apon a "Buster Call" in order to destroy all of Thriller Bark.

Although Akuma has not spoken to this point, Romeo asks why he saved him out of pure confusion. Tenshi free's himself from Akuma's body and decides that he will tell the Red Wing Pirates the complete truth about his past. Tenshi tells the story of his death; he traveled to Skypiea as a human and became the embassador of the Blue Sea. White Wing Pirates then took advantage of this and caused a war in Skypiea, which ended up in the death of Tenshi and the exile of his best friend. Tenshi has been searching for able souls to travel to the White Sea and take back Skypiea and help his friend.

Using his Devil Fruit, Tenshi seperated himself into two entities the other being Akuma. Akuma simply battled the Red Wing Pirates to prove their strength and sacrificed himself once he whitnessed Romeo's incredible courage. The Red Wing Pirates are touched by Tenshi's story and already have considered him their friend, they decide to follow through with Tenshi's wishes. Squall speaks for the Pirates when he promises to find his lost friend and take back Skypiea. They leave Tenshi behind to rest and regretable take Akuma's body along to collect the bounty, with Tenshi's blessing of course.

The Marine's Buster Call results with several Marine ships firing their cannons apon all of Thriller Bark, causing it to break apart. All of the creatures of Thriller Barks soul's are being released into the after life thanks to Akuma's defeat but the Gatekeeper fights to protect the island, but is simply shot down. Thanks to its regenrative abilities, it survives and with Tenshi's last wish, he is ordered to lead the Red Wing Pirates to safety. The gigatnic being takes them in hand and sets them apon a Marine ship, which they storm and take by force.

The Gatekeeper, having seemingly reached his limit in punishment desintigrates. The Pirates solute his "death", but infact their is a human body within it who collpases unconcious infront of the group.

Epilogue
The group discovers this man is a shipwright and an explorer named Ramon whom stumbled upon Thriller Bark for his own pleasures. But during his exploration he was infected with several hundred tainted souls which transformed him into the gatekeeper. He docks with the group and thanks them for saving him by building them a new ship, and becoming their perminant shipwright. Meanwhile on Slave Island, the Iron Soul Pirates reccuperate with the loss of Gajeel, hiring a new captain.

The pirates are then approached by a masked man who is tracking a "Lost Will", sensing the presence of the Red Wing Pirates. The masked man is assaulted but easily overwhelms the Iron Soul Pirates and their new Captain, who uses dials just as the masked man named "Zaiel" and his people do. He eventually figures out that the Red Wing Pirates have already passed through that area and continues to follow their trail. Eventually he finds them while they are first inducting Ramon into their crew.

Protagonists

 * Lyndis Harper
 * Squall
 * Cameron L. Romeo
 * Tenshi
 * Zaiel

Antagonists

 * Kurono Azolf
 * Akuma
 * Gatekeeper
 * Julian

Episodes

 * 1) The Hunt
 * 2) Welcome to Thriller Bark
 * 3) Fear No Evil
 * 4) Attack on Akuma
 * 5) Take Back the Fear
 * 6) Akuma the Angel
 * 7) Sky Dial Zaiel