One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Forty One [Rewritten]

"W-what kind of explosion was that?!" Usopp whimpered once it was over. "Not to mention that terrible lightning is still falling down like rain! I don't think any of us can stand a chance of getting out of here alive!" he cried.

"Angel Island's gone! How could you Eneru?!" Gan Fall mournfully wept as he dropped to his hands and knees. "What cruelty! What monstrous cruelty!" he practically sobbed.

"Those poor people..." I sadly muttered, covering my mouth as my eyes started to sting with unshed tears the longer I looked at the crater that used to be Angel Island. I could only hope that their deaths had been quick and that they hadn't suffered long...yet such a thought brought little comfort knowing that their lives were snuffed out far too soon and by someone who was supposed to protect them. Sinking to the ground, we all silently mourned the lives that were lost—our energy gone as we held our heads in despair from the horrific sight we had seen. I don't know how much time passed after that until Zoro cleared his throat and expressed a desire to tell us something he thought we needed to hear.

"When he says he's going to do something, he does it" Zoro assured us once he finished sharing with us Luffy's grand plan involving that golden bell Eneru so desperately craved.

"Wait, he's going to..." Usopp muttered as realization hit him.

"Yes, he did say that—but given the situation..." Robin nodded, trailing off as thunder continued to rumble above while lightning rained all around us, not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon.

"I doubt that'd be enough to stop him" I sighed as the corner of my lips twitched upwards.

"Ring? He's going to ring the bell?" Wyper frowned.

"That's right—no matter how hard Nami tries, Luffy won't leave until he rings that bell" Zoro nodded, making it clear to us why Nami's original plan of setting off to get Luffy and us heading straight to the ship wasn't really going to play out how she wanted it to. "You see, Luffy is after the same thing as Eneru" he said.

"He's a stubborn one" I softly chuckled. "Once he sets his mind to it, there's no stopping him no matter how much you want to."

"Watch out! There's something falling towards us again—take cover!" Usopp frantically screamed as he quickly dropped to the ground and covered his head the minute he saw something falling our way once more.

"Wait, it's a..." Zoro muttered.

"A leaf" Aisa finished for him when we realized that the thing falling toward us was nothing more than a harmless leaf.

"There's something written on it" I pointed out as I watched how the leaf fluttered right down into the young girl's hands.

"Hey, you're right! It's a message from Nami and Luffy!" Aisa brightened after taking just one glance down at the leaf in her hands.

"What does it say?" Usopp curiously asked as Robin peered down at the leaf just to see what was written on it.

"Cut down the beanstalk and make sure that it falls towards the west" she read aloud.

"What?!" Usopp shouted. "But what will happen if we do?" he worriedly asked, not quite understanding the navigator's logic in asking for us to cut down the beanstalk.

"Hey, knight—which way is west?" Zoro suddenly asked.

"Oh, thank goodness you asked first before cutting" I sighed in relief, causing the swordsman to become irritated.

"Well—"

"You mean we're really going to do it?" Usopp asked, cutting Gan Fall off as he looked down, surprised that we were actually going to go through with this sudden plan of Nami's. "I mean, which way's west?" he nervously laughed when he noticed the way we blankly stared back at him.