Eternity of Love (One Piece x Reader)

╟ Chapter 183: Ghosts of the Past ╢

You did expect ruins when Law mentioned Oden Castle, but not in the way you imagined. There absolutely nothing left besides crumbled debris and foundations. of an older time. Nature had already planted its roots in the ruins, long and running deep into the ground. The atmosphere was almost eerie, a deep fog engulfing the area. Zoro was no longer with you guys since he stayed back to fight off whatever was following your group while traveling in the forest. An assassin of some sort, perhaps. When you finally arrived at the castle, Kiku didn't linger around for too long before she left without a word.

In fact, you swore you saw her in tears and completely shaken at the desolated place. Law led you and Luffy on another path that brought you deeper into the ruins.

"This place is creepy" Luffy mumbled, looking at his surroundings.

"It's been abandoned for 20 years after all"

"Why are we here exactly? I thought we were going to see Kin'emon and the others..." you said, glancing over your shoulder when you felt a chill running down your back.

"You'll see"

A few feet ahead of you, there were pillars of wood established close to a cliff. From what you could tell, they were actually graves. And taking a closer look at them, you could read well the names engraved on them. If the temperature could turn colder, you wouldn't probably have noticed it as your eyes widened in shock. Each grave belonged to a retainer of Oden, and you caught even Momonosuke's.

"Tora-o...Don't tell me..." you breathed, sweat rolled down your forehead. You didn't want to think about this possibility while the rest of you were away for so long.

"Now that I think about it, when we were on our way to Wano, I couldn't get in touch with Kin'emon..." Luffy paled, and Law offered no answers as he tilted his head forward, hat hiding his expression. "They're dead?! They can't be! I thought Kin'emon was waiting here..."

"He's been gone for quite a while. Maybe he'll come out at night. He appeared repeatedly last night, too"

"YOU ARE MAKING HIM SOUND LIKE A GHOST OR SOMETHING!" Luffy cried out, grabbing Law's yukata. "What's the meaning of these graves?! Spit it out, Tora-o!"

"I'm not the one who should be telling you about this"

Suddenly, you heard a strange rumbling sound coming from the fallen house behind you. You turned in time to see red eyes flashing in the dark. Whines and growls echoed at the entrance, and Luffy began to tremble as a dark figure approached your group. You stood on edge, hands gripping your guns in case it was an enemy. Instead, a zombie-like looking Kin'emon came out of the dark, his complexion paler than a white sheet. Your captain who didn't recognize him at first screamed loudly and even hid behind your back.