AN:
Back again! The closer we get to canon the more I find myself wanting to write because I've got some really cool stuff planned out for the future of this story. We are getting so close that I can practically taste it. Also, we are nearing 100k words and that is honestly crazy.
Anyways, this is more of a setup chapter so not a ton happens but I think it does its job nicely. Expect the next chapter to be a least a little more exciting.
Also, I saw a comment about Garp and I promise he will have his place in this story, I didn't forget about him. Just wanted to mention that. :) Enough out of me. Here's Chapter 16, Enjoy.
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Chapter 16: Landfall
"All right everyone.", yelled Nami, to the boys scatted around the ship, "Come to the galley. It's time to make a plan for when we get to the island.". The girl turned and walked into the room, taking a seat on the couch and waiting for the others to file in. They couldn't be far from their destination now, a couple of days at most. The winds were in their favor and they hadn't run into any bad weather since the storm.
The storm...
Nami still remembered the feelings she felt that night. All of them... She was interrupted from her train of thought by the sound of footsteps. The orangette looked up and saw the three boys walking into the galley, a soft smile coming to her lips. Yes... She still remembered.
"Sanji! Can you make us something to eat? Pleassse.", begged Luffy, sitting down on the couch next to the orange-haired girl and putting his feet up on the table. He leaned his head on the back of the couch. Maybe a nap before his snack?
Sanji made his way to the stove without question, "You got it, Luffy.".
The straw-hatted boy grinned in his direction, "Thanks, Sanji!". Luffy opened his eyes and watched as the chef grabbed some beef from the fridge, licking his lips. Sanji's food was the best. He really wanted the blond to be a pirate with him. Not only was his food the most delicious he'd ever tasted, he just plain liked him. He was his friend and that was as good as any reason.
Zoro walked over to the wine rack and grabbed a bottle of sake from one of the diamond-shaped shelves, popping the cork without a word. He removed his katanas from his haramaki and set them next to the rack before sliding down to sit with his back against the refrigerator. The swordsman sat quietly and nursed his drink while he waited for Nami to begin.
Seeing that the three were ready to listen, the orange-haired girl did just that, "Alright. Firstly, the island isn't very large, so we'll need to look for a safe place to anchor the ship.".
"How do you even know where it is in the first place?", Sanji asked curiously, watching the beef in his pan pop and sizzle while it fried. Nami had been sailing them directly there, so she must know have known where it was. Had she been there before?
"It wasn't from lack of effort, I'll say that.", the orangette replied, scoffing, "I'd been looking for months for anything that would help me find it. I'd heard whispers around the grapevine that Mad Treasure was keeping a hoard of the stuff somewhere in the East Blue.". She paused as if remembering something before speaking again, "But that's all it ever was, whispers and rumors... Then I met Carina.".
The chef perked up at the name. It sounded like a woman... He cleared his dry throat, "And who might this Carina be? A friend?... A love-". Sanji winced as he felt the orange-haired girl's shoe connect with the back of his head.
"Mind out of the gutter, Sanji.", Nami berated.
The blond dropped his head down to the meat he was cooking with a pout, "Yes ma'am.".
Satisfied, the girl picked up where she'd left off. "She not even a friend. Really just a business acquaintance more than anything.", she made her hands into air quotes as she said the word 'business', "We've known each other for a little while now, but, honestly, I don't even know how she knew about it or why she told me.". The two of them never really talked except for a few surface-level interactions over the past year or so.
However, the last time she'd seen her had been different... The girl came with an offer to team up. Nami had refused at the time because it was so sudden and out of character for them but the girl wouldn't be swayed. She'd offered up free info on Mad Treasure's island just to hear her out and the orange-haired girl had taken her up on the on it. Suffice to say, Carina had been shocked when she still refused but she had. She left her there, new info in hand, and immediately began sailing to see if the purple-haired girl's words had been true. They had been.
To this day she couldn't think of a good reason for Carina wanting to team up with her so badly. Well... She could think of a few reasons but... She shook her head. Nami had refused her at the time because she knew she couldn't trust the other girl. It probably wouldn't have ended well if she'd accepted. "Anyways, enough about that.", she smiled deviously, "We've got a plan to make.".
A snore came from her left and she turned, a tick mark slowly forming above her brow at what she saw. A second snore coming from by the fridge stole the orangette's attention and another tick mark formed right next to the first, "WAKE UP, YOU DAMN IDIOTS! THIS IS IMPORTANT!".
"Is that it?!", Luffy yelled from the crow's nest, squinting his eyes to look in the distance. It was hard to tell, but it looked like there was an island out there! Had they finally made it?!
Nami, Sanji, and Zoro all rushed toward the prow of the Going Merry, looking out to see what the straw-hatted boy was talking about. Sure enough, as they all looked out over the lamb figurehead of the ship, in the distance, barely visible, was a small island.
Nami's heart sped up. She didn't know how much treasure was on the island but if the reputation Mad Treasure had built up wasn't just a rumor... It was possible that she could leave with enough money to buy her village's freedom. The orangette took a deep breath, "That's it.". It was hard to reign in the hope she felt in her heart but she needed to. The island could be empty for all she knew. No need to get excited yet.
Zoro grinned as he rested his palms on the blades tucked into his belly warmer. He wanted to fight and it looked like the time was nearing.
"Nami-Swannn!", Sanji exclaimed, "I can't wait to steal some treasure for you! If I steal enough... Maybe you would bless me with a ki-". He groaned as the girl's fist collided with his head.
"In your dreams.", Nami deadpanned.
All three heads looked up as they heard laughter and joyous screaming.
Nami groaned as she watched Luffy's form sail through the air and straight into the water. "Luffy! Get your ass back here! We've got a plan to follow!", the girl screamed after the boy now swimming in the direction of their destination. Very fast, she might add. Like... VERY fast.
"Wait up, Luffy!", Zoro yelled, making sure his katanas were secure in his belly warmer. The verdet backed up a couple of steps before sprinting his way up the figurehead and diving into the water to follow his future captain.
"Zoro! What the hell!", screeched the orange-haired girl, watching another one of her idiots jump into the water. She groaned into the air. Why did they always have to be this way? Nami sighed, turning to walk down to the main deck, and still couldn't help but smile at her friends. She didn't think she'd want them any other way... What a strange thought.
Sanji slid down the railing smoothly and stopped Nami in her tracks, "So... Now it's just you and I, my Na-".
"Not the time, Sanji.", she said, ignoring the boy as he drooped his head in disappointment. She needed time to calm her nerves and figure out a course of action. Once they got closer to the island, she could figure out a place to drop anchor. Hopefully, Sanji didn't try to jump ship like the other two, she needed him. The girl turned and smiled at the pouting blond-haired chef. She didn't think she'd have to worry about him going anywhere. "Hey Sanji", she said.
The chef perked up and looked over to see Nami smiling at him.
"If you manage to steal more treasure for me than I can steal for myself... Maybe we can talk about that kiss.", the orangette winked and turned away from him. She didn't need to see his reaction, she had an idea of what it might look like. Poor boy... No one was going to be stealing more treasure than her.
Sanji's heart lit ablaze and blood filled his nostrils as he thought about the orange-haired girl's words. A lecherous smile spread across his face imagining what it would be like. A kiss from his Nami-Swan... He tried his best, but he simply couldn't take it anymore. His imagination was too much. The blood building up in his nose burst forth and sent him flying backward into the door of the storage room with a thud.
The blond chef had just one more thought before he passed out from his own perverted imagination. He was going to steal every last piece of treasure on that damn island. Anyone who tried to get in his way... Would die.
---
Luffy lay on the beach breathing heavily. What a swim! It had been way further than he thought. Well... he hadn't really thought about it. He kind of just jumped... The straw-hatted boy lifted his head and looked to where he came from, his eyes shifting across the horizon. He couldn't even see Merry anymore. He dropped his head back to the sand and promptly passed out as the waves lapped at his feet, a sleep bubble forming in his nose.
---
Zoro gasped for breath as he continued to pump his arms through the water, looking ahead and groaning through his swimming strokes. He couldn't see Luffy anymore. When had he even lost the straw-hatted idiot?... Damn the kid and his love for the water. The swordsman's muscles were beginning to cramp and it was getting harder to move in the same way over and over again. How long had he been swimming? It felt like hours. Was he going to drown out here?... What a terrible way for a swordsman to go out. The thought spurred him into swimming harder. He couldn't die like that... Too embarrassing.
The verdet swam as hard as he could for... He honestly couldn't even say. It felt like forever. So, when he finally began to feel the water shallow out, he groaned in relief. Zoro set his feet on the sand and waded his way out of the water to the beach, collapsing soon after he made it. Damn, he was tired. He let his neck muscles relax and his head fell down to the left. His vision was blurry from the salt water but... Was that a person? "Luffy?", he questioned. The teen saw something pop above the figure's face and he could've sworn he heard the laughter of his future captain.
"What a nap!", exclaimed the straw-hatted boy, stretching his arms out over his head and turning in the direction of the voice that had awoken him. "Zoro! You made it!", he said excitedly. He stood up and brushed the sand from his shorts as he made his way over to the swordsman, looking at his still form in curiosity. He poked his friend with his sandal, "Zoro?". He poked him once more, "Zooorrrooo.".
The verdet's form remained unmoving.
"Must be asleep.", Luffy said to himself. Oh well. He turned away from his friend, leaving him to rest, and faced the island. Nami was right when she said it was small. It couldn't be but two miles from coast to coast. A lot of the sand was mixed with dirt and rock, likely from the mountain that took up most of the land. It actually looked more like a mini volcano than a mountain. The teen turned to look at his sleeping friend before turning back with a grin, "More fun for me.".
He quickly made his way from the beach into the forest that covered the base of the mountain. Looking at the base of the mountain peeking over the trees, he couldn't help but think that it would be a great place to look for the treasure. He paused for a moment in thought before shrugging to himself and continuing. For some reason, he felt like he remembered Nami mentioning something about the mountain...
Luffy's footsteps slowed as he approached a particular area of the tall landform. One where the slope increased exponentially as he continued to look upward. His eyes continued to move upward and he couldn't help but marvel at how steep it was. Shaking his head, he focused back on the rock in front of him. No time to be amazed by mountains, he had treasure to steal... Then maybe she would come to chase her dreams with him.
Nami had mentioned something and now that he was thinking about it, he definitely remembered her saying... Something about the mountain... At least he thought he remembered... Yeah, he hadn't really been listening. What?! It was Sanji's fault for giving him the meat! She might have also mentioned the way to get in... Maybe the treasure was inside it?... Alright! Alright! Fine! He should have been listening!
Luffy shook his head again and pulled his arm back, hoping he could solve the problem like he always did, curling the fingers of his right hand. He looked at the rock face, shrugging, before slamming his fist into the stone with a loud crack.
His arm buried itself in the stone and cracks rocketed out from the impact point as he slowly removed his hand. The cracked rock began to crumble away revealing... More rock... the teen groaned. It looked like he wouldn't be doing things the way he usually did. He backed away and huffed dejectedly, looking up at the sky. He didn't want to wait for Nami! She was gonna take forever! His eyes were caught by the top of the mountain once again and a great idea sprung into his head.
Instead of just waiting for them, why not climb the mountain and look for them from up there? It sounded like fun and that was more than enough to get Luffy's feet moving once again. Maybe he would even go all the way to the top!
---
"Sanji! Starboard until I say!", Nami yelled from the main deck, a formation of rocks directly in her line of sight. The boat began to slowly turn right on her command.
It was perfect, just large enough to cover up the entirety of the ship. The only unfortunate part about their hiding spot was the distance still between them and the island. It wouldn't be so bad if they had a raft... But they didn't. The orangette cursed herself for leaving their old boat on Gekko Island. It would have been really handy. She quickly shook her head to rid herself of the thought. Even if they had towed it, it probably would have gotten lost in the storm anyway.
"Alright! Straighten us out and get ready to drop anchor.", Nami hopped the rail and dropped to the deck below. The girl walked to the side railing of the Merry and looked over it, making sure they were a safe enough distance from the rocks so as not to damage the vessel but still close enough to hide her. "Sanji, get to the storeroom and drop the anchor!", the girl ordered, "And grab me some rope and a life preserver while you're in there!".
Sanji came rushing out of the galley, "Your wish is my command, my queen!". The blond twirled his way down the steps and turned to make his way through the door to the storeroom. The anchor splashed into the water below not a moment later and he came out of the door with the items she'd requested in a flash. "Nami-Swannn! I did everything you asked", the blond-haired boy exclaimed, handing her the items she'd requested.
She thanked him and set the items on the ground next to her bag, beginning to remove her clothes.
"NAMI-SWAN!", Sanji babbled, bleeding heavily from the nose. What a gift this was. "WE CAN'T!...", he was almost at a loss for words, "I MEAN WE COULD... BUT... I KNOW THE OTHER TWO ARE GONE BU-". A fist slammed into his face so fast his body folded, the back of his head slamming into the wooden deck of the Merry.
Nami whined as she pulled her hand back, blowing on her finger, "Dammit Sanji! You broke my nail!". The girl looked at the boy on the floor and scoffed at his expression. Even barely conscious, he was still ever the pervert. She finished the pity party for her broken nail and began to gather up the clothes she'd taken off. She didn't even know what Sanji was really getting worked up about, he'd seen her in a bikini before. "Alright, you little perv. Wakey, wakey.", she cooed, stuffing her shorts and shirt into her bag.
Lucidity came back to Sanji's eyes and he slowly sat up, wincing. Damn, the girl could punch. He grabbed his nose and snapped it back into place with a groan.
"Alright Sanji, it's time for a swim.", she said as she used the rope to tie her bag securely to the life preserver. It wouldn't keep her clothes completely dry but it was better than trying to sneak around sopping wet. The girl grabbed the opposite end of the rope and tied it around her ankle.
Sanji reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a smoke, "Mind throwing my cigarette's in that b-".
"Absolutely not. I don't want my stuff smelling like smoke. Makes it harder to sneak around.", the girl ignored the gloom cloud that appeared over his head and gently tossed her life preserver over the rail opposite the rocks. "Don't forget, Sanji. You steal more treasure than me and I'll give you a kiss", Nami turned and winked at the chef. Wind blew her hair back as a body flew by and into the water below. She turned and watched Sanji furiously swimming toward the island with a smile on her face. The laughter came when she began to hear his loud roars of what he would probably call passion.
The orangette stepped up onto the wooden rail as her laughter echoed into the air and one last thought crossed her mind before she dove off, 'Time to steal some treasure!'.
---
Zoro groaned, his eyes groggily fluttering open as he slowly lifted his top half to sit up and look around, sighing.
Nope.
The swordsman didn't see him anywhere. Great... Just great. He stood to his feet and turned around to get a look at the island behind him, recognizing the volcano-like mountain to be the place Nami said the treasure would be. If Luffy had gone anywhere, more than likely it was in that direction. He turned back around to face the sea, casting his gaze to the distant waters and shifting his eyes across the horizon. However, they were met with nothing but the bright blue liquid of the ocean.
The verdet groaned. No Merry meant no Nami and no Cook. And with Luffy nowhere to be found, either... It looked like he was all by his lonesome. Well... Nothing to do about it now. He shrugged to himself and turned back to the land, beginning to walk toward the tree line. As his feet carried him into the forest, he grinned to himself. A fight was nearing... Somehow he could just feel it. He was excited. He wanted to grow in his swordsmanship and to do that he needed to fight strong people. Swordsmen or women would be preferable, but Luffy had proved that he needed experience facing all types of opponents. The Forest Lord cemented the fact.
Zoro felt Wado and Kitetsu lightly vibrating in their sheaths, singing their praises for his way of thinking. His smile turned more genuine when he looked down at Wado resting in its white sheath. It was strange to think that there was a time when he couldn't 'hear' his swords. He glanced at his second blade, his smile softening even further as dark ebony skin and grey/white hair flashed through his mind. The swordsman was thankful he'd met him. He owed much of his recent growth to the man. The swordsman lightly shook the thoughts away and his bloodthirsty grin slowly returned. The time for reminiscing had passed.
"Come on feet. Do your thing and get me to where I need to go.", he said excitedly, turning away from the sea and making his way into the forest.
---
Sanji stepped out of the water and reached into his breast pocket. His hand was met with the soggy box of cigarettes resting there and he groaned, pulling them out. The chef took out three from the box and tossed the rest, grabbing his lighter from the pocket of his black pants.
"Sanji, what the hell are you doing?", Nami asked through slightly heavy breath, stepping out of the water beside him. The swim hadn't been too bad. She'd always been a good swimmer. The little workout had actually been pretty enjoyable. Maybe she would take Luffy up on his offers of swimming more often... A pit formed in her stomach... Oh yeah... She shook her head. She had treasure to steal. However, even as she wiped the thoughts away, she couldn't quite get rid of the feeling making her want to squirm.
The chef turned and his eyes landed on the girl's bikini-clad form, immediately turning to hearts.
"Sanji.", the orangette growled. Now wasn't the time.
The hearts immediately left his eyes and he turned back to his cigarettes. Message received. "I'm drying these out. The rest are toast.", he replied in answer to her question. He let the flame of his lighter dry the white sticks out and when he was satisfied, stuck one in his mouth, lighting it, and put the other two behind his ears.
Nami scoffed at the boy as she reeled her bag in from the ocean. Time to see if Operation: Keep Clothes Dry was a success. The orange-haired girl grabbed the life preserver and untied her bag, opening it to view its contents. She pulled out her clothes and was surprised to see that both items were completely dry, quickly beginning to dress. Once she had, she picked up her bag and pulled a piece of paper out of one of the pockets, examining it carefully. She'd tried to draw a map from the description Carina had given her the last time she saw her, but it was rudimentary at best.
The orangette's eyes glanced over the paper for another moment until she was satisfied that she had a rough idea of where they were going, folding it and storing it between her breasts. What?... It was a handy place to keep things! Nami closed all the pockets on her bag, throwing it around her shoulders, "Alright, Sanji. I've got a relative idea of where we need to go. Let's get moving.".
Sanji turned toward the forest with a lecherous smile on his face. He didn't know she could hide things in there... he berated himself, shaking his head. He shouldn't be thinking about such things right now, he had a job to do. He turned, beginning to follow behind the orange-haired girl as she made her way toward the forest.
As eyes glanced up at the landform in the background, the chef tried to stop the small lewd smile that came to his lips but couldn't. That mountain held the key to his destiny...
---
Zoro was brought out of his thoughts as he stepped past a line of trees.
He'd been walking for some time now and had yet to make it to the mountain. Must have been further away than he thought. The swordsman looked around the area and found himself standing on the edge of a small cliff. Weird. The ocean was supposed to be behind him and the mountain directly in front... He sighed, dropping his eyes downward, and found himself looking at a smooth rock face reaching all the way to the water below. Zoro turned his head left and smirked when he saw the back side of the mountain. He knew he'd been going in the right direction.
However, it was strange, the back side of the mountain was a sheer rock cliff face, similar to what he was standing over. Actually, as his head turned right to examine the other side, he couldn't help but think the entire backside of the island looked flat. As if some higher being sliced the opposite side away and it had sunk into the ocean. It was a strange sight, to say the least.
Just when the verdet turned away from the cliff and toward the mountain, he began to feel a slight vibration under his feet and looked down the cliff face again. His eyes searched for the source of the tremors and he almost missed it. A part of him wasn't even certain he was seeing anything.
If his vision wasn't deceiving him, there was a ship in the distance and it looked like it was sailing directly at the island. He watched the vessel approach, barely a speck in his vision, and gaped when it disappeared. Had it actually just sailed straight into the rock?... That was suicide! A thought popped into his head and he looked to the mountain, trying to gauge the distance from the peak.
It looked about right... Zoro didn't know for sure, but he thought the distances matched. If he was right, the peak of the mountain would be right in line with where the ship had disappeared... He sighed to himself. There was only really one way to find out if he was right or not. Well... The only way he could think of right now. He made sure Wado and Kitetsu were tightly secured before stepping a good ways back and taking a calming breath. With his mind set, the verdet wasted no more time, sprinting forward and throwing himself off the cliff with a holler.
Time for another swim.
---
"Man! What a view!", Luffy yelled, cresting upon the peak of the mountain. It was colder up there, frost covering the rock around him. The top of the tall landform was more volcano-like than the boy, first thought. Maybe it actually was a volcano! In the middle of the peak, was a large empty crater. Well, mostly empty. Directly in the center was a small gathering of rocks... Weird...
The straw-hatted boy turned away from the curiosity and to the ring of the peak he was standing on. He wanted to see the ocean from up there! Luffy made his way around the crater at a leisurely pace until he sat at the opposite side he had climbed up from. He looked out over the side of the mountain and was surprised, not by the water, but by the empty space he was looking at. He took a step back, his eyes widening. That wasn't quite what he expected. He shook his head and looked out to sea as he sat down for a quick respite before going to explore the crater.
He was so glad he'd decided to go out to sea a little early. He'd met so many cool people. The adventures he'd had already came to his mind and he smiled his smile to the sky, closing his eyes and leaning back to lay on the rock below. He couldn't wait to be a pirate! If just sailing around the East Blue was this fun... His body got jittery with excitement from just thinking about it!
The boy shot to his feet and said goodbye to the pretty view, turning toward the rocks in the middle of the area behind him. Something about them was weird and he wanted to see what it was. Luffy slid down the side of the crater, dirt and rock following him along the way, and came to a stop when his feet found the base. He looked around the large area and still couldn't see anything other than the weird rocks, slowly walking up to the area to examine them.
As Luffy made his way over, the rock under his feet began to rumble slightly. He looked down and saw the dirt vibrating. What was going on? He glanced around the crater to see if anything was changing but everything remained the same. The boy stood still, wondering where the vibrations were coming from, until the rumbling eventually stopped. He didn't move for a moment, watching to see if anything else would happen, and when nothing did he shrugged, continuing on his way to the center of the crater. That was weird, but the rock was weirder and he wanted to see what it was.
Now that he was closer, he could see that it was one large piece of stone that looked like multiple rocks glued together. The whole piece was a dark grey and relatively uniform in color across the surface. The straw-hatted boy paused for a moment before slowly and cautiously placing the palm of his right hand on the stone. For some reason...
...
...
...
Nope. Just regular stone. Weird. Why did he feel like that should have done something? The boy took his hand back and began to circle the rock. It was a different color than all of the other rock around it, so it had probably been put there by someone. The question was, why?
Luffy groaned as he felt steam rising off his head. Too much thinking.
He eyed the grey curiosity and shrugged, cocking his fist back the same as he had previously in the day. The straw-hatted teen shot his fist forward with a boom. However, instead of the expected crack of stone sounding into the air, it was instead the crack of Luffy's bones. He hissed in pain, recoiling as he blew on his already red and quickly swelling hand. "What the hell is that stuff?!", he complained in pain. He knew there was something weird about those rocks!
Luffy continued to blow on his pulsing hand, circling the rocks once again. So, he couldn't punch them. He took a moment to glance at his hand. Definitely couldn't punch them... Well, then what the hell was he supposed to do?!
The pain was starting to make him grumpy and he began kicking at some of the small pebbles on the ground to make himself feel better. It was working until he went to kick one of the larger ones. When his foot made contact with the small rock, it didn't budge. But he sure did. Luffy fell straight forward and shoved his hands out in front of his body to soften the fall, seemingly forgetting that he'd just probably broken one of them.
The black-haired teen yelped as his injured hand caught some of his weight, rolling off it as quickly as he could as not to injure it any further. He still wanted to fight this Treasure guy. His hand was bound to get hurt worse during the battle, so he needed to make sure he didn't do anything else to damage it right now. Luffy groaned while he stood to his feet and tried to fold his fingers into a fist, wincing at the attempt. It was still possible but it certainly didn't feel good.
The future pirate captain looked down to where he'd fallen and his eyes landed on the large pebble he'd tried to kick, crouching down to examine it. He began to fiddle with it, his uninjured hand pushing the top of it into the ground. Nothing. He grabbed it and pulled up, trying to pull it out of the ground. Nothing. He pushed it forward, away from himself. Nothing. Toward himself. Nothing. Left. Nothing. Right... Something.
The pebble shifted right by about a foot and stopped once again.
Luffy looked at the grey stone, expectantly, but nothing happened. He frowned, looking down at the pebble once again. It had moved but nothing happened... Why? His head was starting to smoke again but his curiosity was piqued now. Maybe if he figured this out it would lead him to Treasure Guy! Then he could beat him up and Nami could take the treasure... Then she would be a pirate with him.
The teen grabbed the stone once again, now even more determined to figure the puzzle out. He went through all the directions again and this time the stone pushed forward. He was starting to get it. The routine continued for a few minutes before he finally had the pebble pushed to a position right next to the rock.
A click echoed from somewhere underneath the teen's feet, but the large stone still remained unmoving. Luffy huffed in irritation, glaring at the pebble. He'd thought for sure that would do it.
He jumped in surprise when a loud whirring sound came from below him, watching in curiosity as the pebble began to rise from the ground. It sat on top of a metal rod slowly coming out of the stone. The rod stopped rising when the small rock was pushed about a foot in the air and the area quieted once again. The teen glanced hopefully back at the grey rock, pouting when it still didn't move.
Luffy walked up to the metal sticking out of the ground and examined it. What the hell was he even supposed to do with this thing? He grasped the mechanism, expecting it to be unmovable, and was surprised when the rod shifted forward from his light touch. He tested it the other way and sure enough, it moved just as easily in that direction.
Testing the rest of the directions, he came to the conclusion that the rod ran on a cross. What he was supposed to do with that information? He hadn't a clue. The straw-hatted boy groaned in frustration as nothing continued to happen, no matter what he did. It seemed like the joystick-type thing did nothing. He growled and grasped the pole, furiously yanking it in all different directions as fast as he could. He looked like a child throwing a tantrum after losing at a game one too many times.
Suddenly, the metal rod locked up and the sound of gears shifting drifted up from underneath the rock. The teen yelped when the metal pole was wrenched from his hand, sinking back into the ground in an instant and leaving only the pebble visible once again. He scooted backward as the rocks he had been trying his hardest to move, finally began to shift.
The sound of grinding gears slowly came to a stop and the grey rock stopped moving as well. Now, directly below where the rocks previously sat, was a metal trap door. Luffy sighed in relief... Finally.
The boy made his way over to the trap door, grasping the handle indented into the metal, and pulled it open, warm air blowing past his face. He looked down to see a ladder hanging on one of the walls, leading down into pitch-black darkness and his body started vibrating in excitement. It was finally time for the meat and potatoes of this adventure! Luffy quickly made his way over to the ladder and began to climb down, looking up at the light as he descended. At least if this didn't end up being the right place he could just come back up and look for another way.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he began to hear gears again.
The future pirate captain watched the metal trap door slam back into place above him, blankly, the loud bang traveling down to his descending form. Complete darkness consumed his vision when he looked above so he decided to look below... To the exact same thing... Luffy sighed to himself as he continued to make his way down the ladder. He really hoped he was going the right way...