THE STRAW HATS START TROUBLE ON THE SKY ISLAND
Sky Island Saga - Skypiea Arc - Episodes 156 - 157
Dakota's POV:
"Everyone, halt!" The man at the front orders, and they get to their feet.
"Heso!" The men greet the others.
"Heso!" Conis replies.
"Why, heso!" Pagaya replies.
"H-Hey, what're you guys saying?" Luffy questions
"Who're they?" Zoro asks.
"Usopp said they're weirdos," Chopper replies.
"So you're the eight illegal entrants who came from the Blue Sea?!" The Leader shouts.
"What?" We echo.
"I'll humbly bring Heaven's Judgement upon you!"
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
"Illegal entrants?!" Pagaya gasps with his daughter, Conis, but Luffy stares at them blankly.
"Hm? Illegal entry? What's that?" Luffy asks them, looking at the kind family.
"I-Is that right?" He stutters, looking at our Captain, shocked.
"There's no use making excuses," The Leader announces, fishing out some photos from his cape, "since Amazon, the inspector at Heaven's Gate, sent us pictures taken by a Vision Dial."
"Oh, no! That can't be true!" The kind man exclaims, trying to argue with the soldiers. "Isn't that some sort of a mistake, Captain McKinley?! They're not bad people like you say."
"What do you mean by illegal entry?" Sanji asks.
"Was the entrance fee 1 billion Extol per person? It's true we didn't pay that." Robin explains.
"But that old lady said we could still pass without paying, didn't she?" Usopp questions.
"Yes, she did!" Chopper agrees.
"It's true. There should be some type of better explanation when you get here." I comment.
"It's no use. Please stop making excuses and admit it." Captain McKinley remarks. "However, there's no need to get panicked yet. 'Illegal entry' is only a 11th degree crime according to 'Heaven's Judgement'. Once you accept your punishment, you can become legal tourists on the spot."
"Oh, you should've said so sooner. I still don't like it, but just what is this punishment?" Sanji questions.
"It's simple." He replies. "Please pay ten times the entrance fee. If you pay right now, we'll humbly write off your crime. 10 billion Extol per person, in other words, 80 billion Extol for all eight of you."
"E-Eighty billion Extol?!" Usopp stutters. "S-So how much is one Extol in Berries?"
"Berry... That's the currency in the Blue Sea, right?" The Captain questions. "Ten thousand Extol is one Berry."
"Ten thousand Extol is one Berry... One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, million..." The Sniper tries counting on his fingers. "Ahh! How much would that be?"
"Then, 80 billion Extol is 8 million Berries." Robin and I answer, making Sanji drop his cigarette.
"That's expensive!" Sanji exclaims. "Do you realise how much rice we could buy with that?! Hey! After risking our lives coming up into the sky, why do we have to pay that much just to enter?! We can't agree to that!"
"What are you saying? If that was the case, all you had to do was pay 800,000 Berries when you entered." Captain McKinley argues calmly.
"I'm telling you that's still expensive!" He shouts.
"Consider this a forewarning, but we, the White Berets, are the unit directly under God's Priests. Please be careful, as arguing raises the degree of your crime." The Leader warns us, but most don't care or seemingly understand.
"Oh, whatever." Sanji sighs. "Let's just forget this guy. More importantly, we'd better go find Nami-san. I'm worried. She may be crying somewhere right now."
"Don't you feel it with your weird Nami radar?" I tease him, and Zoro wraps his arm around my shoulder, smirking.
"Okay, then! As soon as the wind direction changes, we'll go out for an adventure... no, to look for Nami!" Luffy agrees, grinning, thinking of the adventure, not our Navigator.
"H-Hey, Luffy!" Usopp panics, racing to him.
"W-Well, Usopp, what's wrong?" He asks the Sniper, who seems to calm down some.
"Hmmm, you know, if Nami is just taking a little ride around here, she may come back soon. If she does, you'll miss her." The Sniper calmly reasons.
"Taking a little ride?" The Captain repeats.
"But she's taking too long for that," Chopper argues, pointing out into the cloud-made sea, and Usopp races toward him, covering his mouth, and I push him away from the adorable reindeer.
"Listen! Luffy's purpose is to go on an adventure to the so-called 'place where God lives,' rather than finding Nami!" Usopp hisses, clinging to my arm as I hug Chopper to my chest safely away from the hysterical Sniper.
"That's right." Robin agrees.
"He's planning to go there." Zoro adds.
"Right? If we go to that place, we'll incur God's wrath and really be in big trouble. That girl told us that, remember?" Usopp reminds them.
"Then, what're we gonna do?" I ask him.
"We should just wait quietly for Nami to come back without making a fuss. It's Nami we're talking about." He informs us. "She must have a secret stash with some small amount like 8 million Berries or so. Actually, there's no way she doesn't."
"What have you been blabbering about?" Captain McKinley questions, stepping toward us. "Come to think of it, it seems one person is missing. In addition to the illegal entry, now there's suspicion of fleeing."
"Whoa, hold on a second." I argue. "She'll be back soon, she's gone exploring."
"Then, we'll pay the entire amount." Usopp adds, hastily stepping away from the group. "So, please relax and wait calmly. "He gives him a thumbs up, which angers the White Beret Captain. "Luffy, you too! If you do something stupid and make Nami angry, you know what's gonna happen, right?! Got that?! Just wait!"
"Hmm. Just a little bit, okay?" Luffy agrees reluctantly.
"Sanji, you, too." The Sniper warns the Cook.
"Yeah." Sanji agrees too.
"Then guys, we break up for now!" Usopp declares.
"Now, Robin-chan, shall we have some tea over there?" Sanji suggests, leading the raven-haired beauty to the pavilion.
"Sure," Robin agrees, and Zoro leads us toward a tree to relax.
"Phew... I somehow managed things for the time being." Usopp mutters and chases after the reindeer. "Hey, Chopper!"
"Hm?" Chopper looks at him.
"Do you wanna go fishing or something?" He suggests.
"That sounds good! Let's do it!" The cute Doctor agrees excitedly.
"Conis! Is there any place around here we can go fishing?" The Sniper asks the beautiful blond.
"Yes, there's one nearby. I'll take you there." Conis tells them, walking away past Zoro and me as we sit at the base of the tree, and he wraps his arms around my waist as I snuggle into his chest.
"I can't wait to ride it!" Luffy beams, watching Pagaya fiddling with the broken Sky Waver we found. "I hope it can be fixed."
"Oh?" Captain McKinley quizzes, latching onto the broken vehicle. "That Waver looks broken. If you're the ones who broke it, that'd be a 10th degree crime, the destruction of Sky Island property by Blue Sea people."
"No, no!" Pagaya argues, defending us. "I'm sorry. They had this one from the beginning."
"He's right! This is mine!" Luffy exclaims aggressively.
"From the beginning? That's suspicious." McKinley comments, grabbing the steering stick. "Wavers shouldn't exist in the Blue Sea. If this was something stolen on the Sky Island, the degree of your crime will further increase."
"Shut up!" He shouts. "I'll beat you up!"
"Idiot!" I snap, jumping to my feet before Usopp can run over to them to stop the idiot Captain.
"Beat me up?" The Captain repeats, glaring at Luffy.
"He means it. But less be fair. You're accusing us of theft and wrecking something that was already wrecked when we found it before coming up here." I reason as Usopp drags Luffy away.
"Come with us, Luffy!" Usopp shouts without his response, and they go back to fishing, and I go back to Zoro, snuggling into his chest, letting the tranquil feel take over, drifting to light sleep.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
I wake to screams, and Zoro jumps into action, leaping into the air and striking a giant fish that heads for Conis as she screams in fear, and the fish gets kicked down into the cloud beach. I stroll over as the others rush over, and Zoro lands calmly, returning his sword to its sheath. "Ow, ow, ow... What the heck is this? What a weird fish!" Usopp comments, looking at the weird sizable yellow fish.
"It tried to eat Conis!" Chopper gasps.
"Is this another one of the skyfish?" Zoro wonders.
"Uhm... I'm sorry." Pagaya says, making us look at him. "Thank you very much for saving Conis."
"Father, look..." Conis says, in a voice I don't like.
"Hmm... We're in trouble." He sighs.
"Well, well, well..." McKinley scoffs, stomping over. "This skyfish is so rare that it's forbidden to capture it. Your actions was a violation of the protection law, and it's a 9th degree crime."
"Why is it a crime?! Zoro saved Conis!" Chopper argues.
"Zoro, did you kill it?" Usopp asks him.
"I just smacked it." He answers.
"I see. Then if we release it, there shouldn't be any problem, right?" The Sniper suggests, kicking the fish awake, showing it's still alive. "All right! It's very much alive!"
"Oh! It looks yummy!" Luffy exclaims, thinking with his stomach.
"Hey, wait, Luffy! Don't eat it!" Usopp shouts, and Luffy stretches his arms, but I stop him, smashing him away.
"If you had eaten it, you couldn't give an excuse. That would be theft, an 8th degree crime." McKinley smirks.
"Well we didn't eat it, did we?" I snark back.
"Hey, skyfish!" Usopp shouts at the fish. "Go back to the sea now! Don't get caught again!" And the skyfish swims away, jumping into the water and escaping quickly.
"I kept quiet and listened to all your nonsense about crimes and such, but..." Zoro growls, grabbing the hilt of his sword. "... if you don't cut it out, I'll..."
"Wait!" He shouts. "Wait, Zoro! Don't be hasty!" The Sniper stands in front of the Swordsman.
"This is now far beyond arguing." McKinley announces. "His speech and behaviour just now are unmistakably extortion. So, that's a 7th degree crime!"
"Zoro wasn't extorting! He was about to say, "If you don't cut it out, I'll laugh!" That's all!" Usopp fibs. "That's his signature gag! A gag, you know!"
"That's not right! Isn't he twisting what we do into crimes on purpose?!" Chopper accuses the man, which is very accurate, making the cowardly teen yelp and dart in front of him.
"Chopper!" He shouts. "Don't you go making things worse, too!"
"But we can't do anything like this!" The adorable reindeer argues.
"Can't do anything?" Usopp repeats, coming up with an idea. "Oh, yeah!" He fixes a cloud pillow. "All we have to do is do nothing. Let's take a nap. Now, take a nap! Take a nap now!" Zoro readily agrees with the others, lying down, and I sit down, leaning against him as the boys snore, which seems to anger the White Beret Captain for some reason.
"They're producing tremendous noises at divine Angel Beach." Captain McKinley growls. "You all... if your actions falls under destruction of the environment, a 6th degree crime will be added as well."
"I swear he's making these up now!" I snap.
"Hey, we can't even snore?" Usopp questions.
"Ahhh! How annoying! I'm gonna beat up this beret-wearing old guy!" Luffy rages, getting to his feet, and we all follow.
"Shall we do it?" Zoro asks our Captain.
"W-Wait! Hey, stop it!" Usopp tries to stop them. "Don't be so hasty, Luffy, Zoro! Killer! Try controlling them!"
"I can't always control them when I agree with them." I reply, rolling my eyes at him.
"Listen. You know snails, right?" He tells them, confusing already. "They're..."
"Hold on a second!" We hear Nami's voice shout.
"Ah! Nami-san, you're all right!" Sanji shouts, running to her lovingly.
"Luffy! Don't give them any trouble!" She warns him, ignoring the Cook.
"But they..." Luffy argues with her.
"Nami! Go ahead and pay them the 8 million-Berry fee for our illegal entry using your secret stash!" Usopp shouts, and I cringe, knowing she won't like it.
"Good! We can still get by with a fine, then?!" I hear her yell as she grows closer on the Sky Waver. "8 million Berries, he said...?"
"Oh, she does not like that..." I mutter, and she grows closer faster toward us in her anger, and the Sky Waver jumps out of the sea toward Captain McKinley.
"What?!" Seeing her approaching him at high speed, McKinley shouts, and she smacks him in the face.
"That's too expensive!" The ginger screams, her money-grubbing ways getting the better of her as she sends the man flying across the beach and comes to a halt. "Oh, shoot! Because they demanded such an unreasonably high fee, I unintentionally..." She gasps, realising her mistake.
"Hey..." Zoro and Usopp mutter, looking at Nami in shock.
"C-Captain!" The White Berets shout in worry and anger at their injured Captain.
"Hey, mister, thanks for letting me use your Waver. It was fun." Nami compliments the kind man.
"No, no. I'm sorry." Pagaya replies. "More importantly, you all are in big trouble!"
"Captain!" The White Beret exclaim, crowding around their fallen Captain. "Please hang in there!"
"Everyone, let's get out of here!" Nami suggests.
"Your wound isn't deep!" They shout. "How did this happen?! Captain!"
"Why? I thought you started a fight." Luffy protests, wanting to stay.
"It's dangerous to have anything to do with this God thing. Seriously!" Nami argues, wanting to escape the trouble she caused us all.
"By the way, what crime would that be?" Zoro asks, looking at the fallen Captain.
"I think it's probably a 5th degree crime for obstructing official duties." Pagaya answers, growing worried.
"Good! That's still only a 5th degree crime!" Usopp says, sighing with relief.
"That's not good!" Conis corrects him. "When it's determined to be a 5th degree crime, in the name of God Eneru, you'll be banished to the clouds."
"Banished to the clouds?" I ask her as Sanji and Robin join us again.
"What's that? Being banished to the clouds sounds kinda nice." Luffy comments, seeming relaxed.
"No, it doesn't! It's the death penalty!" Conis announces with sadness.
"D-Death penalty!" The three cowards exclaim in a panic.
"He's completely out of it." Zoro comments, looking at Captain McKinley's beaten and bloody face. "But the death penalty in God's Land? That's harsh."
"But it's the truth. It really exists!" Conis exclaims in worry for us. "It's a punishment where you, together with your ship, are put on a cloud that you can't escape from, and you keep wandering until you become bones. It's the death penalty!"
"I see." Robin says, gaining our attention. "That's why that ship fell from the sky."
"What?! What're you talking about, Robin?" Usopp questions, stepping toward her.
"Remember that galleon that fell from the sky? That St. Briss, was it? They might have received that punishment 200 years ago." She explains, which makes some sense, and from the look on Usopp's face, he remembers all too well.
"Hey, you!" The White Berets shout at us. "Do you realise what you've done to the Captain?!"
"What did you say?" Sanji snaps, glaring at them.
"Ahh! Sanji-kun, hold on!" Nami tells him, making him comply easily.
"Why, sure, Nami-san!" He swoons happily to himself as she walks toward the soldiers.
"Don't be upset like that. That was by chance." She lies out of her teeth.
"By chance?!" The White Berets exclaim in disbelief.
"W-Well, how should I put it, I unintentionally..." The red-haired girl fibs, trying to change their mind.
"Unintentionally?!" They shout, not believing them at all.
"Uhm, you know... it was like an accident." Nami pouts, but they don't buy her lies.
"An accident?! An accident, you say?!" The soldiers keep shouting and repeating everything.
"That's right! It was an accident! An accident! 'Cause it's hard to control and ride a Waver, right?!" She tells them, but they don't seem to buy it as they growl at her. "On top of that, I rode it today for the first time, so I made a little mistake while turning the handles. I'm clumsy, aren't I? I guess beginners shouldn't push too hard, after all, should they?" She fake giggles, trying to seduce the soldiers.
"She wasn't having trouble riding it, she looked like she was having lots of fun!" Luffy grumbles, earning a glare from her, and Usopp wraps his arm around his neck to stop him from talking anymore.
"Hey, Luffy!" Usopp warns him.
"Oh, no, Luffy!" Nami giggles.
"Nami's trying to fool them into thinking it was an accident." He mutters.
"That's impossible!" She laughs.
"Don't say anything unnecessary." The Sniper warns him.
"Oh, really?" Luffy grumbles, glaring.
"Uhm," Pagaya steps forward, "I'm sorry, but I thought it'd be better to treat Captain McKinley first. I'm sorry." He bows to the soldiers, glaring at Nami.
"Th-That's right!" The White Beret exclaim, panicking. "Captain McKinley!"
"Then, let's carry him over to my house." He suggests calmly, letting the soldiers calm.
"We appreciate your assistance!" The soldiers reply and salute. "Heso!" They carefully place the knocked-out Captain onto a stretcher before crawling away. "All eight of you, don't go anywhere! Understood?!" They glare at us again. "Captain!"
"They're crawling again?" Sanji questions, watching them with a frown. "Why can't they just carry him normally?"
"I know you're not bad people." Conis comments and turns to us. "So, please use this chance to get away from here!" She runs after her father and the soldiers.
"H-Hey!" Usopp shouts after her.
"Let's do as she said." Nami agrees. "I saw it with my own eyes. An island with these scary guys on it!"
"So you did go to the place they call forbidden sacred ground." Zoro remarks, making Luffy beam.
"'The place you're never to step foot on.' 'scary guys.'" Luffy repeats with a beaming smile, and Usopp tries covering his ears, but it's too late.
"Ah! Don't listen! Don't look! Don't talk!" Usopp shouts as Chopper clings to Luffy's leg.
"God... guerrilla... That place is no good for sure! In any case, we're leaving! We're leaving!" Nami demands.
"Ahh... it's heartbreaking to be apart from Conis-chan, but if that's what Nami-san says..." Sanji agrees willingly, as usual.
"If we stick around, those two may also get in trouble." She warns them.
"That's right! Those guys will just make them out to be our accomplices!" Usopp comments. "So, if we make it so that we run away on our own, it shouldn't cause any trouble for them. Right?! Okay, that settles it! Let's go!" We begin to set the ship up and climb aboard, and I get changed into a light brown set of dungarees and a baby blue shirt that falls off my shoulder, set my hair into a long braid, and come out to see Luffy refusing to leave the beach.
"What're you doing, Luffy?" Nami asks him as she stands behind him with Sanji and Zoro waiting close by.
"Why are we running away?" Luffy replies.
"Because we'll be in big trouble!" She reminds him.
"We're always in big trouble." He reasons clearly.
"Like I said, it's not just us, but those two may get arrested, too, you know!" The Navigator reasons, trying to appeal to his sense of judgement.
"Those two have done nothing wrong." My baby brother argues. "The one who arrests them is wrong."
"I know that's true, but..." Nami mutters.
"How long will you two be arguing? Come up already!" Usopp shouts quietly, trying to get them to hurry and ensure the White Berets don't notice us sneaky away.
"How many times do I have to tell you?!" She snaps at our Captain. "If we stay here, we'll be in big trouble, and so will those two!"
"Either way, we're in big trouble." Luffy argues calmly.
"Please run!" Conis shouts, alerting us to the White Berets' arrival and her and her father. "Hurry!"
"Oh, darn!" Nami grumbles.
"You shouldn't, Miss." Captain McKinley warns Conis. "If you say something that defends criminals, you two are also going to pay. As you know, those people are felons who should be sentenced to be banished to the clouds as punishment for their 5th degree crime, caused by all their abusive language towards us along with their obstruction of our official duties."
"Like I said, it was an accident!" Nami snaps. "C'mon, already!" She grabs Luffy's wrist, dragging him away.
"Arrest them!" He shouts, and the soldiers raise arrows toward them.
"Please get out of here! They're beyond your power!" Conis shouts.
"Tsk... yeah right." I grin, jumping from the ship and landing with Sanji and Zoro.
"Fire! Milky arrows!" The Captain orders, and they fire.
"Arrows?!" Nami exclaims, looking back and letting go of Luffy's arm.
"You go ahead, Nami!" Luffy tells her.
"Okay." She agrees, running to the ship as the strange arrows head toward Luffy, with clouds trailing behind them. As he tries dodging them and lands on one of them, meaning they can withstand a human's weight.
"What're these?! Clouds?!" He exclaims and begins climbing them as more shoot over his head, and the White Berets jump with skates on their feet.
"Go, White Berets!" Captain McKinley shouts, and the men slide fast down the cloud lines toward Luffy, who jumps out of the way, going to the end, chuckling.
"What?!" Luffy questions, dropping onto the one below. "What's going on?!"
"Let's go!" The White Berets shout, speeding toward my baby brother with weapons drawn, chasing him along the milky road.
"It's so fluffy that it's hard to run!" He yells, running and dodging them as they try to strike him.
"Watch out!" Conis shouts as one drops down to strike him.
"How foolish... to think you could get away from us!" Captain McKinley growls as his men line up one after the other as Luffy uses his legs to hold himself upside down.
"I see... Those're the skating type." Luffy comments before jumping down. "That's neat!" They speed toward him. "You guys have fun stuff!" Not nervous as they grow closer, he stretches his arm out, catching onto a tree, fleeing their weapons and the clouds.
"What?!" The Berets yelp, watching. "What is he?!"
"What?! His arm... His arm stretched!" Conis gasps, and they've clearly never seen a rubber boy before.
"Oh, my..." Pagaya gasps, too, as Luffy floats above with a big grin.
"Gum-Gum..." Luffy shouts, spinning his arms and legs in opposite directions.
"Can't be...! Devil Fruit?!" McKinley exclaims in shock, watching as Luffy descends in a call of arms and legs popping off like fireworks.
"... Fireworks!" He shocks, knocking them all out across the beach simultaneously, but through the clouds, I see some that survived the hit.
"Get them!" I grin, and Zoro and Sanji agree, knocking them down too, and I slice one with my extended nails.
"By the way, Nami!" Zoro asks, looking back at the ship as the cloud disappears. "What's our financial situation?"
"We have 50,000 Berries left." Nami announces.
"50,00? We're that poor?" He mutters, and I don't mention my hidden funds under my bed.
"And on top of that, I found some under Demon's bed! That's 160,000 Berries total!" She announces, making me cringe, feeling the others glare at me. "Normally, that'll last a few days at most."
"Why are we so poor?" Luffy questions. "And why are you hiding money, Big Sis?" He looks at me, but I avoid eye contact. "As your Captain, I gotta say this. You should think more about how you use money and..."
"It's because you eat so much!" Sanji screams at him.
"And that's my Golden Campus money. You said I didn't have to use it due to the fact you don't like how I earned it." I remind him, making him yelp.
"All right! In any case, the 'Formation B' that I instructed them to use during the fight was successful!" Usopp lies calmly.
"Really?!" Chopper exclaims in disbelief.
"Yeah right! Liar!" I shout, deflating the Sniper.
"They defeated..." Pagaya gasps.
"... the White Berets!" Conis gasps, too. "Normally, up here the athletic abilities of Blue Sea people decrease." I hear someone laughing from behind us in the trees.
"You can't go back now!" McKinley says, making the others turn. "You should've just behaved and done what I told you to... We, the White Berets, are the gentlest upholders of the law in God's Land. However, they are not as nice as we are!" He chuckles dramatically. "You are now 2nd-degree criminals! No matter if you cry or scream..." He laughs. "... you'll be judged..." He points at us. "... by the Priests of Upper Yard! Heso!" The White Berets quickly collect themselves before crawling away, and the others join us on the beach once it's safe.
"What's their problem?" Luffy questions, watching them crawl away.
"More importantly," Nami turns to our Captain, "we were tricked! That old lady said it was okay to pass through. And when we do, they say we entered illegally?! That's fraud! I'll sue for this!"
"Who exactly do you think you'll be suing and who will allow that the happen?" I question, turning to her.
"Exactly..." Usopp mutters, but I think he agrees with Nami. "Of course, even if we were told 'Don't pass through,' we would've entered by force anyway."
"Shut up!" Nami yells at him.
"In any case, you are in big trouble," Pagaya comments from a safe distance away from us with his daughter. "Since you've become 2nd-degree criminals, we can't... help you."
"Why are you talking to us from way over there?!" She shouts at him.
"Well, what's the fuss?" Luffy asks, grinning. "We're used to being pursued." He snickers happily. "More importantly, why did you come back?" He asks Nami, getting her fired up even more than she was already. "We were finally about to go to that place that we're never to enter for a big adventu - err... no, to look for you!" He corrects himself too late.
"You're really easy to figure out." The redhead mutters, raising her hands and hitting him with her fingers harshly on the forehead, knocking him back. "What big adventure?!" She follows him. "I told you, didn't I?!" Chopper runs, hiding behind Sanji's legs from her wrath. "You can say that because you haven't seen how scary those people on that island are!" Nami says as she continuously pokes him. "It's true that we don't know if this guy is God or what, but his supernatural powers are the real thing!" She makes him fall to the ground with her final hit. "I will never go back to... that island!" Luffy sits back up, looking at her.
"If she put that much effort, she'd be as fearless as Luffy." I comment, looking at them, leaning on Zoro's shoulder.
"Then, you can just wait here while we go." Luffy replies, getting to his feet.
"No way, they're gonna come after me!" Nami argues, having a point. "We have to leave this place!"
"Leave here?!" He yells, stretching his neck toward her. "Are you nuts?! Which is more important to you, adventure or life?!"
"Life!" She yells back. "Then money!" She throws his head into the cloud-made beach, getting his head stuck, and Sanji speeds to her side.
"Oh! Then, next would be me?!" Sanji asks, swooning.
"Shut it!" The ginger woman snarls, punching him away toward Chopper, who runs to me, hiding behind my legs.
"But it's true." Usopp remarks. "Come to think of it, we were desperately trying to reach this Sky Island, so we weren't thinking at all about how to go back." Conis and her father come back toward us. "Say, is there a way for us to go back safely?" He asks them. "Can we go back to the Blue Sea?"
"There is a way, though; at this point, I can no longer say it's safe..." Conis confesses. "... if you go to Cloud End, the farthest edge of the clouds."
"Cloud End? How do we get there?" He asks her.
"Cloud End is in the far east. To get there, you need to go down to the White Sea first." She explains, but there feels like she's holding something back.
"Good!" The Sniper cheers. "Then we can go back down to our sea from there, right?"
"No!" Luffy declines. "I'm not going back!"
"Hey, do you wanna stay here and get sentenced to death?" Usopp questions him.
"He's already been sentenced to death once before. What's another one." I joke, earning a pout from my Baby Brother.
"In any case, if we stay here, it'll cause trouble for Conis and her dad." Nami reminds him, pointing her finger at him.
"Oh, it's no trouble..." Conis assures her.
"Well, even if we run away, we may not be able to get away from them. If that's the case, no matter where we are in Skypiea, it'll be the same. Since they know our whereabouts, we'd better leave here right away! Now, everyone! Let's set sail!" Nami orders us, and we agree, walking toward the Going Merry. "Conis! Mister! Thanks for everything!" She waves, but Luffy stops.
"Oh, yeah!" Luffy says suddenly.
"Hey, Luffy!" She scolds him, and he turns around.
"Hey, old guy!" He shouts, moving towards Conis and Pagaya.
"What is it?" Pagaya questions, seeming nervous.
"Can I take all the leftover food from earlier with me?" My dear Baby Brother requests.
"Yes, of course." He accepts.
"All right!" Luffy cheers. "Sanji, prepare some lunch boxes!"
"He's on the ball." Sanji sighs.
"In that case, can I ask you a favour as well?" Usopp asks. "You're an engineer, right, old guy? Would you give me some fixtures for the ship repair?"
"Sure, no problem." Pagaya agrees. "Then, let's go to our house again."
"Hey!" Nami shouts as the others move toward the ship. "Where're you guys going?!"
"I'm gonna go get some food from them!" Luffy shouts. "You guys go on ahead and prepare the ship for our adventure!"
"He's definitely planning to go there." Nami grumbles.
"I'll keep them out of trouble." I tell her, walking off to join them toward the house.
"Those guys're really scary!" I hear Nami shout from behind me.
"Who cares?" Zoro replies. "I don't care either way. Don't take it out on me."
"But Dakota is your girlfriend!" She argues.
"I don't control what she does." He replies.
"Chopper, you're on my side... aren't you?!" The Navigator sweetly says, but it's anything but, and I ascend the steps toward the house being out of hearing range, but I keep an eye on them of sorts, feeling something is up with the White Berets warning and Conis and her father's behaviour. I sense Conis moving away back to the ship, and I can't help but wonder why.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
3rd Pov:
"Excuse me, I'd like to discuss something with you all." Conis says, making the others on the Going Merry, and Robin lets her onto the boat, lowering the ladder again, though Zoro is sound asleep as she explains.
"So there's a special cloud current that can take us down to the White Sea?" Nami questions after the blond Skypian explains her lie.
"Yes. By getting on the cloud, you can cross the vast ocean and go to the White Sea. And you can also get to Cloud End without getting lost." She adds, hating lying to the friendly Blue Sea people.
"Really?!" The ginger Navigator beams.
"As long as you get on the current, no one can chase after you." The blond angel tells them, and Nami thinks, knowing Luffy will struggle with this and clicks her fingers to come up with an idea.
"If we don't tell Luffy and get the Going Merry on that current..." Nami schemes enthusiastically.
"By the time he notices, it'll be too late, huh?" Chopper questions, wondering if it will work.
"But that doesn't mean he'll give up on it." Robin argues, crushing Nami's dream, and Chopper hides in fear of the Navigator's wrath.
"I can guide you to the entrance of that current riding a Waver." Conis informs them, trying to get them to comply.
"Now, all we need to do is keep that fool from noticing." Nami mutters, knowing it will be tricky. "We'll take care of that part."
"Then please weigh anchor and wait for me." She tells them.
"Okay." The ginger woman agrees. "I really appreciate it, Conis."
"No problem." Conis replies, smiling sheepishly, hating herself for lying to them, and Robin notices the sweat on her face.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
Dakota's POV:
I sit at Pagaya's house on the sofa next to Sanji as he makes the lunch boxes for everyone and Luffy stuffs his face opposite us, and Usopp sits behind the sofa fixing up bags of supplies for the ship. I use my Haki, watching the others, sensing Conis on board the vessel, and frown, wondering why she's there, but she soon departs, heading back to the head. "This is good!" Luffy says through a mouthful of food.
"Hey, don't eat our lunch!" Sanji scolds him.
"There's a lot, so don't hold back." He tells the Cook as he eats more of the food.
"You're the one who should hold back!" The blond man argues.
"Conis, give me some tea!" Our Captain demands, raising his mug.
"Do it yourself!" Sanji snaps but notices that she's not here. "Oh? Conis-chan's not here."
"Looks like she went to bid a fond farewell to the others." Pagaya tells us, though I'm not sure that's entirely true. "I brought some tea if you'd like some." Luffy happily stretches his arm, taking a new mug. "So, you're the shipwright for that ship?" He asks Usopp.
"Hmm? No, I'm not. I'm a Sniper." Usopp answers, filling up bags of supplies.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" He compliments the cowardly Sniper.
"Right? Our ship still doesn't have a shipwright." The long-nosed liar replies. "Well, how should I put it? Since I'm almighty and skilful in everything, everyone depends on me!" He laughs, but I slap him on his head, stopping him.
"Don't be stupid," I scold him.
"It's a lot of work. That ship just wouldn't function without me. Although I'm a Sniper, it's like I'm also co-Captain. And everyone calls me 'Captain Usopp'!" Usopp shouts, and I slap him again.
"I won't tell you again! Stop shouting." I warn him.
"Sorry, Killer..." He pouts.
"Oh, dear! This colour arrangement is clearly done by a professional!" Pagaya compliments Sanji's beautiful edible artwork.
"Oh, yeah! Arranging food is art." Sanji replies, and I frown, sensing Chopper pulling the anchor on. "I put this one here... Hm? No, this is in the wrong place. I put the red one there and put the emerald green broad beans here." He mutters to himself, and I open my eyes to see Conis peeking inside from the door, finally returning from the Going Merry. "Now, they look more delicious than before. This one is for Nami-san and Robin-chan, and this one is for you, Dakota-chan." He shows me mine, and I must admit it looks fantastic.
"Wow, they don't look like food!" Conis compliments him, looking at the array of lunchbox art.
"No, thank you. I'm sorry." Pagaya keeps saying as Luffy tries to get him to eat.
"I've never seen such a pretty lunch before," She gushes, smiling brightly.
"Really?" Sanji asks, picking one of the boxes up. "This is for you, Conis-chan."
"Oh? You made one for me, too?!" The blond angel beams and the Love Cook quickly jumps to his feet.
"Of course! The title of this lunch is... 'Love is a dilemma. Lunch for the falling angel.'"
"Oh..." Conis mutters, looking slightly uncomfortable, so I yank his shirt, pulling him to the floor.
"Down, boy." I sneer at him.
"Well, once they're in your stomach, they're all the same." Luffy comments, looking at them.
"Don't say stuff that tears down my hard work!" Sanji shouts at him, jumping to his feet and pointing at my Brother. "Listen up. With food, presentation comes first!"
"Really?" He questions, not really listening. "See?" The Rubber idiot opens his mouth. "Now they're the same."
"You're just chowing down without looking at them!" The Love Cook yells, getting angrier at the Captain.
"Really?" Luffy keeps eating as Conis giggles at their antics, and Usopp moves toward the window balcony. "They're the same after all. They taste the same."
"Like I said, enjoy them with your eyes first!" Sanji screams at him.
"I wouldn't bother with him, Sanji. He'll eat anything." I remind the Cook.
"Don't be rude!" He ignores me and keeps shouting at Luffy.
"Not even I can eat with my eyes!" Luffy argues, rolling his eyes as he eats.
"That's not what I mean!" Sanji shouts, growing angrier at the dummy.
"But I've eaten with my nose before..." He remarks, making me giggle.
"I remember that. Ace was in tears at how ridiculous you were to anger that woman." I laugh, looking at my Baby Brother.
"Don't do that!" Sanji shouts again, looking at the dummy.
"...though I didn't mean to." Luffy mutters, cringing at the thought of the woman.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
3rd POV:
"Now, we'll just wait until Luffy and the others come back," Nami announces, having finished the preparations for the ship and changed into a top. Unaware of something coming toward them from below, they wait for the rest of their crew. "Okay!"
"Okay!" Chopper happily repeats as it gets closer, bursting through the White Sea, creating a rumble, swaying the ship and making the reindeer fall from the railing onto the deck toward the stairs.
"Chopper! What just happened?!" She gasps, looking around in shock, and Captain McKintley snickers from his hiding space within the greenery on Angel Beach.
"What's going on?!" Zoro exclaims, waking from his nap and drawing his swords.
"I wonder if we're already on that current." Chopper questions, holding onto the stairs as the ship rocks.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
Dakota's POV:
I snap my eyes open, sensing something changing around the ship and dash for the balcony, joining Usopp. "Hey! Something's wrong with the ship!" Usopp shouts, alerting the others.
"What?!" Sanji yells, racing to join us, and I jump from the balcony down into the shrubbery, running toward the beach and the ship as it moves backwards out to sea.
"Dammit! Teleport!" I try, knowing it can cover 2 miles at best, but when I appear again, the ship is further away, and I'm floating above the cloudy sea before falling. "Teleport!" I disappear again and reappear on the beach, watching the ship grow further away. "Dammit!" I run back to the house with the others as they watch from the balcony, and I jump up from the side.
"Ahh...! That's...!" Pagaya gasps as something giant and red pops out of the White Sea holding the Going Merry. "...the famous White-White Sea Super Express Lobster!"
"What?!" We Straw Hats exclaim.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
3rd POV:
Zoro unsheaths his sword as the ship rumbles from being carried by the Super Express Lobster. "It's trying to take us somewhere!" He shouts, looking at the others. "Hey! Everyone off the ship! There's still time!"
"What about the ship?!" Chopper argues, still clinging to the railing. "If our ship is taken..."
"Don't worry. I'll stay." Zoro informs them.
"C'mon! What can you do by yourself?!" Nami snaps at him, and the Swordsman jumps from the ship.
"I'll put it off somehow!" He replies, landing on the giant lobster, slashing at it with his swords though it doesn't seem to do anything. "So, it doesn't work...?" He puts his blades away when he hears cracking under his feet and smirks. "There we go." Robin looks around in shock. "Alright, this'll work!" He clicks out his black blade.
"Unfortunately, it seems that won't work," Robin informs him, making him stop, and she lowers the ladder. "Come on board!"
"What'd you say?!" Zoro asks, looking over his shoulder at her, wanting to return to Dakota and the others.
"Even if that works, it looks like they'll just move right on to their next move. Look." She informs him, gesturing behind them.
"What?" He looks back and sees large skyfish following them, ready to eat them.
"Large skyfish are following us with their mouths open. We can't jump off the ship and escape now. Even if we could defeat them, another batch will probably arrive soon. There's nothing we can do. It's probably already started." The raven beauty tells him, wishing she was back on that beach with the others.
"Heaven's Judgment, huh?" The Swordsman questions. "So, instead of sending people after us, they're bringing us in. What an impudent guy..."
"Then..." Nami falls to her ass in worry. "I'm going back to that island?" She gulps, thinking of what she saw not long ago on Upper Yard. "Luffy! Demon! Usopp! Sanji-kun!" She shouts with all her might as they disappear from sight with a trail of large skyfish behind them as Captain McKingley chuckles gleefully, watching.
ONE PIECE - SKYPIEA ARC
Dakota's POV:
We watch as the Going Merry disappears from sight with Robin, Zoro, Nami and Chopper onboard. "Why...? Why a T-shirt...?" Sanji mutters, making Usopp slap his arm.
"You're still talking about that?!" Usopp snaps at him and turns to our Captain. "Hey, Luffy! This is terrible! What will we do?! What will we do?!"
"Where'd they go?" Luffy wonders, seeming deep in thought.
"Where?! Of course...! Err..." He stops, and I know where they will be heading, but getting there might be a problem.
"So where?" Our Captain questions, looking at the Sniper. "Where..." He asks again, looking over at Usopp.
"...did they..." Usopp adds, looking at Sanji.
"...go?" Sanji questions, looking at the residents of Skypiea.
"The Super Express Lobster is a messenger for God. What it transports is always an offering to God." Pagaya explains, and I sense a shift in his behaviour, seeming scared of something. "So, it's headed to northeast Upper Yard...to the sacrificial altar."
"Sacrifice?! Nami-san, Robin-chan, and the rest..." The Love Cook exclaims, and I slap him over the head.
"The rest?!" I sneer, thinking of Zoro, Chopper, Robin and Nami.
"...will be sacrificed?!" Sanji exclaims. "For that darn God?! That son of a bitch!" His anger at the God startles the residents, and the Sky Fox jumps out of Conis' arms, running inside to hide from the blond Cook's rage. "Don't mess with us! You bastard!"
"Hold on a second, please! But I'm sorry. That's not the case!" Pagaya tells us.
"What?!" He calms down, looking at the older man.
"I've heard that although it's called sacrifice, in Heaven's Judgment, there're two kinds of punishment that criminals receive. Sacrifice and an ordeal." Conis' father explains, and Luffy jumps around, looking at him and hopping off the balcony railing. "They're currently hostages, so to speak, in God's hands."
"Hostages?!" Usopp quivers, his knees shaking in fear.
"So, the ones who are actually being judged are...the four of you." Pagaya announces, looking at us.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I ask him.
"If we had some sort of map..." He scratches his head.
"Oh..." Usopp yelps, grabbing his bag. "I have a map of Skypiea with me." He pulls out the chart of the Sky Island, showing it to the two residents of Skypiea.
"This one is very old, too. But the shape of the island seems correct." Pagaya concludes, looking at the 200-year-old map as we enter the living room, sitting around the couches.
"Are you all right, Conis-chan?" Sanji asks her, seeing how scared she looks.
"Yes. But..." Conis replies, hiding her fear behind her smile.
"Don't worry. It's them we're talking about. They're fine." Luffy assures her with a bright smile.
"How can you be so sure?" Usopp asks him, and he looks at me.
"Because Big Sis would tell me otherwise." He replies.
"I can barely sense them, but they are alive," I inform them, closing my eyes.
"This is where you are right now," Pagaya informs us, pointing to the corner of the map where we likely are right now. "The sacrificial altar is in the left upper direction, northeast." He points again at the small figure of an altar in the island's centre. "There's only one way to get there." He moves his finger along the way. "You take the Milky Road that leaves this island by using a dial boat, by using a dial boat, and go across to the forest where the priests await you."
"Well, old guy, instead of taking the trouble of going through the middle of the island, all we have to do is go around the island by boat, right?" Usopp questions, looking at the dated map.
"That lobster went to Upper Yard that way, too, right?" Luffy asks Pagaya.
"Well...even if you can go ashore nearby, you can't get to the altar on foot," Pagaya argues, looking darkly, and I can no longer feel the others on the Going Merry disappearing from my view. "The big difference between this map and the current Upper Yard is the Milky Roads that are stretched all around the island."
"The cloud canals that you mentioned, huh?" Sanji questions, looking at the older man.
"Yes. I hear that there're several hundred Milky Roads, large and small in size, over there." He warns us.
"Hmm...I see..." Luffy muses, stretching his nose.
"That's why entering the island by boat and taking the Milky Roads within the island is the only way." The older man explains.
"I see..." Sanji mutters, getting another cigarette. "So no matter where we go ashore, the canals will block our way."
"That's right. By the way, there're man-eating fish in the canals." Pagaya adds, scaring the resident coward.
"Man-eating fish?!" Usopp quivers, probably wanting to stay behind.
"They've really covered all their bases." Sanji groans, lighting a match for his smokes. "So, they're saying that if we want our friends and ship back, we just have to come in from the front." He puffs out some smoke.
"So that's our ordeal and... Heaven's Judgment?!" He gulps, but I think it will be a little more complicated.
"Yes. In Upper Yard, four priests who are strong beyond imagination await you." Pagaya informs us, and I look at Conis, who looks back in fear for us.
"Oh, then it's easy," Luffy announces, full of confidence. "To put it simply, all we have to do is beat up those priests, right?"
"You're as simple minded as ever, little Brother." I joke, and he looks up, laughing.
"This is becoming fun!" He giggles, and I see the worry in Pagaya's eyes grow more intense, but I don't know if it is just for us.
Sorry it has taken me so long to update any of my stories, but I've been a little busy as I have just recently moved house, and it has been a nightmare unpacking. Hope you all enjoy the story, and I will begin on the new chapter soon.