A Long Lost Roronoa [One Piece]

09: Number Four?

Deep in the forest two groups of pirates searched for Mei, not knowing she was safe and sound back at Sunny. Sanji led Robin and Brook toward the hidden cabin. As they walked closer Robin signaled to stop. Her slim finger rose to her lips, telling them to stay silent. They paused and listened carefully to their surroundings. The wind blew gently through the treetops, rustling the leaves. There was the sound of animals scampering across the flourishing ground along with their occasional conversation in animal language. Then they heard footsteps crunching the leaves and twigs as they came closer to the trio. They jumped behind a large bush and Robin used her Devil Fruit to create an eye and ear on a nearby branch.

She saw four bald men dressed in a matching brown attire and appeared to be quadruplets. One of them held a tan sack across his shoulder and another had a map of the island.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way Trey?” one asked.

“Don’t doubt his navigation skills, Primo,” another scolded.

“I’m not,” Primo stated, “I just want to double check that it’s the right way.”

Trey passed the map to his brother, “Look at the map. Here’s where we are. Now look what’s in front of us.”

Primo’s blue eyes followed his brother’s finger, “There’s nothing there,” he said, doing a double take.

“Exactly. That’s our goal.”

The four of them nodded to each other before heading straight into the illusion. Robin described what she saw and heard to the others and Brook wondered what they should do. Sanji had a general idea to how much the cabin meant to Mei. It was similar to how the kitchen was his sanctuary.

He took out a cigarette and lit it before having a quick smoke, "Let's go in."

Taking the lead, Sanji stepped through the illusion barrier with the other two following after him. Inside appeared the same as the first time he came. Except the oversized wolf was missing.

The three cautiously scanned the area, the four who entered minutes before them disappeared from sight.

"Kekekeke," a laughter echoed, "Pompeo was right!"

"Brothers, let's have a little fun."

When the second voice completed its sentence, hands reached around Robin and tightly bound her in place. Before she could shout one of her binds clasped over her mouth and the other readjusted itself to lock both her wrists in place. She was dragged into the trees as the other two were completely oblivious to her disappearance.

As her kidnapping was in progress, Sanji ordered Brook, "Careful! We can't allow Robin-chan to get hurt!"

"Yes!" The skeleton answered with his cane prepared in hand.

A dark shadow passed along the tree trunks which caught Sanji's eye. While he was distracted Brook was stabbed from the side by a knife. He screamed in response and toppled over. It was one of the brothers holding the knife.

"Tsk," he clicked his tongue then jumped back into the shadows.

"Trey, looks like the skeleton really is just bones. There's no vitals."

"Just aim for the other one then. The bones can be used for our pet's broth."

The conversation occurred in the trees, but was cut short by shrieks of pain. Two of them dropped to the ground next to Sanji with their limbs bent in all directions. Then Robin jumped next to them with a satisfied expression.

"They are certainly rough boys," she stated with the brush of her hands.

"You may have caught two of us, but you're too late," one of the brother's voices laughed.

"Can I do it now?"

"Soon, Pompeo, soon."

Sanji walked by a bush rustling to the sound of their chatter. He turned around to Brook and pointed at it. The musician nodded and walked over slowly unsheathing his shikomizue. He lifted his arm slightly then struck down into the brush. The bush split apart and collapsed after a few more strokes. Behind the broken branches were the last two boys. Sanji gave them a taste of his kick before tying them up to a tree.

"Now tell me," the cook demanded, "What the hell are you doing here? And don't push your luck."

"Heh," one of them chuckled, "As if we'll tell you."

"Oh? Testing us huh?"

On cue a pair of arms bloomed on the trunk and its hands gripped around his throat.

"How 'bout telling us now?"

He was replied with a silent glare. Unsatisfied, Sanji turned to the next one and repeated his question. He too gave no answer nor did the next. Hands appeared in the same place as the first. Then it was the final brother's turn, but he was given a choice.

"You can tell us everything or watch them die."

His eyes widened and looked desperately at his siblings. They shook their head trying to prevent him from speaking. He looked back at his three captures and gulped. The hands squeezed their necks, making them gasp for air.

"Well?"

The pirates watched him tied up in fear. They knew what he was going to say. It was inevitable.

He bit his lip before saying, "We are hired bandits."

One of his brother's gasped weakly, "D-don't..."

"Our names are Primo, Secundo, Trey, and Pompeo," He took an unsteady breath before continuing, "We were sent to here to find a certain artifact. It has the power to rival the Ancient Weapons. Our job was to retrieve it from the blacksmith on the island."

Robin went pale and her power slipped from her control, "To be a rival to those weapons..."

"I vaguely remember that name being mentioned at Alabasta... Enis Lobby too."

"Who knew something like that could exist?" Brook muttered in bewilderment.

While the three stood in shock and confusion Pompeo whispered to his brothers, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. They won't understand anyways," Secundo comforted.

"Hopefully the boss won't be upset in our failure," Primo mentioned.

"He won't," Pompeo stated, "I pressed the button. We'll be in the next stage soon."

The four smiled to each other, content that they completed their assignment.

"They mentioned a blacksmith... It couldn't be..." Brook frowned.

"She did say it was uninhabited and she was alone here," Sanji said.

"We should ask them for the name," Robin suggested.

Right when Robin was about to question them they were blown back by a sudden explosion.

Ω•º•º•Ω•º•º•Ω

At the sound of the explosion Mei rushed out of the medical room and to the railing. She subconsciously bit her lip as she watched the dark mushroom cloud expand in the sky. Her furrowed brows and worried eyes were all Zoro needed for him to know his sister's emotions. She wanted to go.

He couldn't help but grin at the thought of it and wondered if it was in their blood to follow wherever danger was despite being in terrible condition. Zoro walked over and placed his broad hand on her shoulder in hopes it would calm her down. She turned to look at him and saw a warm comforting smile, but slowly lowered her eyes to the ground.

 ‘She’s hiding something.’

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Yay I posted it! I'm still in the middle of a busy time, but I'll update whe I can. Hopefully it'll all tone down in about a week and a half... then I have about a week until it goes crazy again...

Please do leave a vote and comment ^-^ I really do enjoy seeing that people like my writing.

P.S... Can anyone answer the chapter's quesiton? ;3 What does it mean?