Title Source: https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/644619?q=cross_epoch
Y/N = Your Name
L/N = Last Name
E/C = Eye Color
H/C = Hair Color
F/C = Favorite Color
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Word Count: 13.6k Words
=======================================
"Mmm! Your food is pretty good, Gramps!" The energetic voice of a young man can be heard coming from an old, rundown, and almost empty inn. Although the establishment itself was worn and on its last legs, figuratively speaking, the joyous energy inside made it feel like anything but.
"It fills me with joy to hear such heartwarming words, although..." The old innkeeper sighed when he saw the stacks of empty plates and bowls sitting on top of the counter, almost reaching the ceiling. "You should learn some restraint."
"Hah?" The young male sitting at the counter looked up with his bright eyes and stuffed cheeks. The sunlight peeked through the window, shining down upon the white turban wrapped around his head, the cobalt blue jacket he was wearing over a dark gray shirt, his yellow pants, and solid blue boots.
*Ignore the staff on his back*
Taking a loud gulp, the outlandishly dressed man tilted his head with a confused frown. "But, you said that you would treat me to a meal and that I could order anything I wanted."
"That doesn't mean you can just order everything off the menu!" The innkeeper shouted while the man laughed happily without a shred of shame nor malice. "Well, whatever. It doesn't matter anyways." He shook his head and disappeared into the back room, leaving the man to continue shoving mountains of food down his mouth and into the seemingly infinite void that was his stomach.
A few minutes later, the innkeeper popped out with his traveling clothes on and a bag slung over his shoulder.
"Huh? Where you going, Gramps?" said the man after slurping down a bowl of noodles.
"I know some people who are leaving this island at nightfall via a merchant ship... You should do the same, youngling. This place is not somewhere you should stay for too long." The older man answered and he wasn't wrong. Even though the rundown inn was on the outskirts of Mock Town in Jaya Island, that didn't mean they were safe from the numerous pirates infesting the popular parts of the town.
Jaya Island is only one of many islands located in the "Paradise" area of the Grand Line, an ocean route that wraps entirely around the entire world and is bisected by the Red Line, a ring-like landmass that also wraps around the world perpendicular to the Grand Line.
The combination of these two separates the sea into four sections known as North Blue, West Blue, East Blue, and South blue. Although not officially named, the area between East and South blue was called "Paradise" by many while the other side (between North and West Blue) was called "The New World."
"Pirates?" The turban-wearing lad questioned before his teeth ravaged one of the two pieces of meat in his hand.
"Yes, indeed. I do not know how an innocent soul such as yours managed to find its way onto this island, but you should leave after you finish your business here."
"If it's such a bad place, then how come you're here, Gramps?" The young man asked, prompting the old man to sigh longingly, the tension in his facial expression was being washed away like footsteps on the beach when he grabbed the picture frame from under the counter of a younger version of himself with a lady by his side.
"Love will make you do things that you'll never quite understand yourself until you've already done it. My love brought me here and my dream was what kept me here, but I should have realized much sooner that some dreams will never be realized." He said sadly and listened to the creaking floorboards and walls. The innkeeper wiped his eyes and tucked away the picture frame into his jacket. "I've grown old and my bones cry for me to find a nice, warm place to rest and I will no longer selfishly deny their request." On the way out, the innkeeper placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder and patted it encouragingly. "You're still young, so make sure to chase your dreams and follow your heart, no matter where it'll take you."
"...Gramps." The innkeeper turned around when he heard the sound of a stool scraping across the floor and the creaks of the loose floorboard. "Do you know how to get to the sky islands?"
"S-Sky island!?" The shouts of the innkeeper reached outside where a few passersby and loungers jumped slightly when they heard the sudden boom. "Is that what you came here for!?"
"Mhm!" The man grinned and nodded with excitement.
"I... I do not know if you're joking or insane. Maybe, both. Sky island is just a myth, a make believe story, a fairytale, a legend, whatever you want to call it. Chasing after it is for fools." Shaking his head of gray hair, the innkeeper resumed his departure, but not before stopping to utter under his breath, "...Noland."
"Huh?"
"The descendant of Noland lives on the northern east side of Jaya Island. If you truly wish to visit the sky islands, then he's your best chance. Now, I must get going." He walked out of the inn and began to make his way towards the port of Mock Town. The clicking of his shoes and the voices of the chattering people around him slowly made his mind instinctively prepare for another day of dealing with the monotony of his life until he heard a loud shout that sliced through the white noise in his head.
"THANKS, GRAMPS!!! I OWE YOU ONE!!!"
Back at the inn, the young man had finished his meal and stood outside the door with his large sack containing his belongings slung over his shoulder. With a thankful bow and wave, he sprinted off into the distance, kicking up a large cloud of dust behind wherever he went.
The former innkeeper turned forward and let out a deep sigh, although a small smile slowly crept up on his face.
"Go forth, youngling..." He muttered and went on to continue his walk.
Timeskip
"Is this where Cricket lives?" After almost an hour of sprinting across the entire island and up the coast, the young man looked ahead at the unorthodox house built into a large plywood cut out of a large cartoon castle in front of him.
Crowded around the house was a group of strangely-dressed people and an even stranger looking ship was docked right next to it.
"Hey! It's only plywood!"
"What!?"
'Huh? Who are they?'
'They don't look like they're from around here...' The man noted and watched them bicker back and forth from a distance, and took note of their appearances.
The first one his eyes set upon wore a yellow straw hat atop of his shaggy black hair, a red sleeveless vest, blue knee-high shorts, and an ambitious fire in his eyes. He wasn't too tall and had a slim build that tricked many into believing that he was small fry, but with one look alone, the man knew that he was strong.
The second was a man with three swords and short green hair wearing a white shirt and black pants. The two blades sheathed in black scabbards were hilted on either side of his waist while he rested the last on his shoulder, the sun reflecting off its white sheath.
The third was a pretty woman with short orange hair wearing a striped tank top and black shorts... And that was all he could make of her.
The fourth had a long nose and didn't look too strong.
The fifth was a blonde man in a fancy black suit with a cigarette in his mouth whose left eye was covered by his bangs, probably to hide his weird curly eyebrows.
The sixth was a tiny ball of brown fur the size of a child with a red fur hat.
The seventh was another tall, slender and beautiful woman, but she had longer hair that reached past her shoulders and were black instead, and her cerulean eyes which reminded him of the sea. She wore a black leather jacket which did little to cover her stomach and black pants that reached down to her ankles.
'They don't seem like bad people either...' Crossing his arms, the other outsider pondered his next move and eventually made up his mind, judging by how his face broke out into an innocent wide smile. "Yo!" He called out to the group and stepped out from the shadows, causing all of them to snap their heads in his direction. "Haha, you guys here to see Cricket too?" He asked in a friendly tone and was met with a few skeptical and wary gazes with the exception being...
"Hey!" "Straw Hat" waved back with a smirk of his own. "The name's Luffy! The one with swords is Zoro. And," Luffy continued to introduce his other friends to the young man, thankfully in the same order that the latter had noticed them. "That's Nami! Usopp! Sanji! Chopper! And Robin!"
"O-Oi, Luffy! We don't know if we can trust him! He might be a bounty hunter."
"Hehe~ Nice to meet ya!" The man looked over Luffy's shoulder and waved at the rest who hesitantly waved back.
"So, what's up with the hat? You from Alabasta?"
"Ala-what now?" Luffy then pointed at the white turban wrapped around the man's head. "Oh, I forgot about this." He slowly unwrapped the turban and ran his left hand through his spiky H/C hair that oddly suited him along with his warm E/C eyes. "There we go... Much better!" After tucking away the unwrapped turban into his large bag, he and Luffy clasped their right hands together with excited mirroring grins.
"The name's L/N Y/N, but you can just call me Y/N. Nice to meet you, Luffy!"
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded as he and Y/N laughed.
While the two men continued to chat like old friends despite only meeting a few minutes ago, the others watched on with varying reactions.
"An old friend of yours?" Robin asked the rest of the crew.
"Nope." They unanimously answered immediately, save for Chopper who had ran over to the two men laughing loudly.
"Woah, that's a weird looking rat!" Y/N jumped back a few inches.
"R-Rat!? I'm a reindeer!"
"Rein...deer? Oh, a deer!... A deer?" Y/N turned to Luffy. "Is he your friend, pet, or emergency food?"
"...H-Huh?" Chopper's face paled at Y/N's words and together with the latter who had crouched down to pick him up, the two ran around Luffy who was holding his stomach from how hard he was laughing.
Just then, a loud splash caught everyone's attention and they all looked to see a large muscular man leaping out of the water.
"You've got guts, making yourself at home on somebody else's property. The waters around here belong to me..." The man got into a fighting stance. "You're after the gold, aren't you? Then, die." He muttered and everyone readied themselves for a fight.
"Yo, old man Cricket!" Y/N said and casually jogged closer without an ounce of hesitation in his movement. "We've been waiting for you! How do we get to the sky islands?"
Well, almost everyone.
"You are Cricket, right? Thought you'd be a lot smaller-" Y/N tried to say but, at that moment, Cricket charged forward and a flurry of punches in his direction, but the H/C-haired man simply tilted his head out of the way every time without breaking a sweat.
"W-Woah, he's got some moves!" said Usopp.
"So fast!" Chopper said in amazement as he soon felt a hand on top of his hat.
"You know, Chopper..." Usopp began. "For me, they're moving at a snail's pace!"
"R-Really!?" The reindeer's awe was painted all over his round face as the long-nosed sniper puffed out his chest with pride.
"Of course!"
Not, judging by the strain in Usopp's red eyes as it took all of his strength to not show any signs of weakness in front of the impressionable reindeer.
"If it's too much for you, then just quit it!" Zoro shouted.
"Let's see how well he can cook and maybe we can replace Sanji." Nami said jokingly and flinched when she heard something heavy fall to the ground.
"N-Nami..." Sanji croaked from the floor while he clutched the left side of his chest, his cigarette laying on the floor next to him.
"Sanji!!!"Usopp and Chopper rushed over, the former sliding to his knee and latter pulling out a stethoscope and pressing it against the blonde man's chest.
"Diagnosed with a broken heart!" Chopper gave his verdict to which Usopp gasped and crossed his arms into a X.
"D-Dooooooown!"
"I-It was a joke! I didn't actually mean it!" Nami shouted at the three drama queens.
While the three were tending to Sanji's broken heart, Zoro and Robin watched Y/N closely and noted the obvious lack of concern in his expression.
"He's not even trying." Zoro muttered under his breath and noticed the most recent addition to their group flipping through a book. "What are you looking for?"
"Nothing in particular, really." Robin continued to flip through the pages. "But, if someone with clearly exceptional combat experience is in the Grand Line, then chances are that they're either a pirate or..." She trailed off but Zoro already knew what she was implying.
"He doesn't look like a marine or a bounty hunter to me. We wouldn't be talking if he were. And, he doesn't look like the type to lure us into a trap." Zoro watched Y/N continue to dodge effortlessly and not attack despite the many openings he knew the man also saw.
"Hey, old man Cricket." Y/N suddenly grabbed Cricket's right hand by the wrist before he dodged and grabbed his other hand in the same manner. "We're not here to fight you." He tried to reassure the man.
Cricket was silent for a few moments before he slowly pulled his hands back... and aimed a gun at Y/N's face, surprising everyone except for the man he had at gunpoint.
"O-Oi, Y/N!" Luffy rushed forward but he wasn't fast enough to reach them.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
A cloud of smoke covered Y/N's face as everyone stood there in surprise and shock.
"Hey!" Luffy frantically ran over and was about 10 feet away when Cricket unexplainably fell over, causing him to slide to a halt out of confusion.
Then, as if things weren't confusing enough, Y/N's right hand suddenly caught Cricket before he hit the floor and lifted him over his shoulder. Using his free hand, he cleared up the smoke and revealed that he was completely unharmed.
"Geez, you should be careful when firing these things." Y/N grabbed the gun that had just unloaded three bullets at him with his other hand and nonchalantly began to walk towards the odd house, leaving the door open behind him.
"H-He shrugged off the bullets?" Usopp said. "I mean, I know Luffy can do it too since he's a rubber human and all, but that would mean..."
"So, he probably ate a Devil Fruit, huh..." Sanji finally recovered from the earlier heartbreak and lit up another cigarette, blowing a puff of smoke as the entire group were unsure of what to do next.
"Hey, is anyone here a doctor? He ain't looking so good..." Y/N's voice called out from inside the house.
"C-Coming!" Chopper quickly dashed inside of the house as quickly as he could with his short stubby legs and the rest of the group followed shortly after except for Zoro and Robin, the latter remaining on the ship.
"You're not coming?" asked Zoro, directing his stern gaze on the mysterious woman who didn't seem too surprised to feel his suspecting stare.
"I'll pass."
"...Suit yourself." The swordsman shrugged and left her alone to sort through her vast collection of notes.
10 Minutes Later
"How is he, Doctor?" asked Y/N, approaching the bed where Cricket's large frame barely fit atop of with a bucket of sunken towels.
"He's suffering from a condition that divers can sometimes get. It's usually not chronic though. When a diver comes up out of deep water too quickly, the sudden decompression causes air bubbles to form in the blood and tissues. These bubbles expand and cause problems in the vascular system, muscles, and joints. Furthermore-" Chopper looked up to see Y/N staring at him blankly. He cleared his throat and gave the human man a thumbs up. "In short, he'll be fine! He just needs some rest!"
"Ah, that's good then!" The H/C-haired male nodded, his gaze returning to normal.
"However, for these conditions to arise, he's probably been diving deep day after day without any rest." Chopper concluded with a worried frown.
"But, why!?" Nami asked with a shout.
"I don't know..." Chopper resumed pressing a towel against Cricket's forehead. "But, in some cases, it can become fatal..." He trailed off, leaving the room in silence.
Half an hour of Nami and Usopp helping Chopper tend to Cricket, Y/N and Luffy bringing in more buckets of water, and Zoro and Sanji standing on guard passed before the silence was eventually broken.
"So, uh, Y/N..."
"Hm?" Y/N looked at Usopp while holding up the bucket in his hand to Chopper, allowing him to replace the wet towel on Cricket's forehead.
"You're looking for a way to reach the sky island too?"
"Oh, yeah. I remember you mentioned it." Nami chimed in, grabbing one of the towels from his bucket.
"Yeah! What about it?" Y/N curiously tilted his head as Nami hastily waved their hands dismissively.
"N-Nothing's wrong! It's just that a lot of the people here laughed us off when we asked around or looked at us funny, saying that the sky islands were nothing but a sorry dream. I was curious about your reason to visit sky islands. That's all - really!" The orange-haired female said quickly.
"Oh, so that's what you meant." Y/N's smile slowly vanished and he looked out the window with a melancholic expression, his E/C stare softening at the sight of the blue sea as memories resurfaced. "A long time ago, a childhood friend of mine and I both vowed that we would go on a journey together when we were older to explore the world and see everything it had to offer us. Even though we got into a lot of trouble growing up and fought with each other on a daily basis, we would always laugh it off and train together the next day as if nothing happened. He was only a year older and like an older brother to me... But..." Y/N sadly smiled and looked down at the bucket in his hands, his reflection mournfully looking back at him with a matching sad smile. "Looks like I'm the older one now..." He finished and tightened his grip on the wooden bucket as the room's mood fell from his little story.
When Y/N looked up, he could see Nami, Usopp, and Chopper holding back tears while Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were silent.
"W-What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing's wrong!" The emotional trio shouted, confusing Y/N about why they were holding back tears. Eventually, he realized what he said and apologized.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the mood... Hey! Follow me outside, I have something that might cheer everyone up." Y/N mustered a smile and walked towards the door, motioning for everyone to follow him outside with his three cheerleaders right behind him.
"Guess there's a lot more going on in that head of his." Zoro noted as Sanji wordlessly agreed and Luffy silently stared at the front door with an unreadable expression.
"Kintoun!" Y/N's shout surprised everyone inside the house and they all rushed outside to find both Nami and Usopp standing there with their jaws nearly hitting the floor as Chopper was jumping up and down on a golden cloud.
"A-A-A cloud?" Nami stammered as the golden cloud seemed to turn towards her and a few bits of its body flew off and formed a question mark in the air. "It can understand me!?"
"Wahaha!" The pint-sized reindeer jumped face first into the golden cloud and laughed when he felt the soft clouds ticking his nose.
"You're flying, Chopper!" Usopp marveled at his short friend being able to stand on top of the golden cloud as it were anything but. He fell to his knees and looked underneath the golden cloud to see if it was a magic trick, but found nothing indicating otherwise.
"Incredible..." Robin whispered with awe after finally joining the rest of the group. The black-haired archaeologist knelt down to place a hand on the golden cloud which seemed to lean into her touch. "I've never seen anything like this before."
"Hehe, Kintoun is one of a kind~!" Y/N laughed and patted his friend, the cloud wiggling happily from his touch too.
"So cool!" Luffy shouted and leapt onto Kintoun, sitting right next to Chopper as they grabbed onto the golden cloud. It flew high into the air and circled around the coast with the two laughing like children when they felt the wind brushing against their skin.
"T-They're actually flying." Usopp couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Luffy! Chopper! Be careful!" Nami felt a little silly for screaming at the sky but given the circumstances, she felt that no one would be looking at her funny.
"Okayyy!" They shouted back and continued to have the time of their lives.
"Where did you find this fascinating thing?" Robin approached Y/N and he turned to face her with his usual happy-go-lucky expression.
"Hm? Oh, you mean Kintoun?" Y/N scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes, trying his best to remember before eventually the pair of E/C eyes opened. "Dunno. Grampa Roshi told me that he found me sitting on top of Kintoun when I was just a baby outside of his house."
"Roshi?"
"Yeah, Grampa Roshi is the one who found me and took care of me!"
'Roshi... That name... I've heard it from somewhere...' Robin placed her chin in her hand and closed her eyes in concentration. 'But, from where?'
"HEY!!!" A loud, thundering voice exploded from nearby, startling everyone including Luffy and Chopper who both fell off Kintoun.
There was good news and bad news. Good news: Luffy managed to suck in some air and turned his body into a bouncy ball that cushioned the fall for them both. Bad news: they continued to bounced around until they accidentally bounced into the ocean causing the reindeer to let out a loud shriek for help.
"Luffy! Chopper!" Zoro and Usopp shouted at the same time and hastily dove after them.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE BOSS!?" A pair of monkey-looking humanoids screamed at all of them, one was wearing a pirate captain outfit while the other looked like a punk wearing a headset.
"Not these guys again..." Sanji muttered.
"Y-Y/N! Sanji! Take care of them!" Nami hid behind the two.
"Right!"
"YES, NAMI~!!! ♥" Sanji folded over so fast that it left Y/N shocked.
'Just like Grampa Roshi...!' Y/N thought to himself upon seeing how quickly Sanji's cool and collected visage changed drastically when Nami called out to him. 'Maybe they'd get along?'
"Hush..." Robin stepped in and motioned for the newcomers to be quiet. "Your boss is sleeping after we treated him."
'We?' Y/N raised an eyebrow and when Robin noticed his glance, she simply smiled at him.
"THAT'S..." The loud newcomers looked like they were about to snap and go off in at least 20 different languages before they soon looked away, trying to hide the tears and snot running down their faces. "...so nice of you!"
5 Minutes Later
"So, you guys live here too?" Y/N asked the two who introduced themselves as Masira and Shoujou. He and Luffy (who was rescued by Zoro) sat on the stump of a tree with the pair of monkey brothers standing in front of them.
"Well, the boss's house is the headquarters of the Monkey Mountain Allied Force. But, we usually sleep on our ships.
"After all, this house is kind of small for us. HO! HO! HO! HO!"
"Yeah, you guys are too big. But, then, maybe to a giant, you're tiny."
"Whaaaat!? You've seen a giant before, Luffy!?"
"Yep! They're even bigger than the Going Merry!" Luffy laughed and went on to describe the long journey he and his crew experienced before arriving at Jaya Island, all while the other three listened closely and shared the same reactions to every twist and turn.
"How come those four are getting along so well?" Usopp wondered as he and Zoro sat outside the house with Kintoun floating patiently next to them.
"They all have monkey brains." was the only explanation the green-haired swordsman could give and something told Usopp that he wasn't too far from the truth. However, his words made Kintoun slap him on the head which caused as much pain as you would expect a cloud to inflict.
"Hm?" Y/N looked to the side and stood up. "I'll be right back." He simply said and approached the house, looking inside to find the others helping a now awakened Cricket into a sitting position.
"...Little man. Give me a cigarette." Cricket commanded.
"W-What!? But, you're in no state to-"
"Here." Sanji lit up one of his and flicked it across the room to Cricket.
"Hey, Luffy! Old man Cricket's awake!" Y/N looked over his shoulder in time to watch Shoujou kick Misara into the distance.
"Great!" Together with Y/N, Luffy entered the house. "Hey, diamond-head guy, we wanna ask you something."
Cricket turned to look at the two and took a huff before saying, "Sorry for attacking you all..." He looked at Y/N. "...and shooting you. I thought you lot were after my gold."
"It's alright. It happens to everyone." Y/N laughed without an ounce of grudge.
'No, it doesn't!' Nami and Usopp shouted in their heads.
"What is it that you want to ask me?"
"We wanna go to the island in the sky!" Luffy chimed in before Y/N could say anything. "How do we get there!?"
"...A sky island?" Cricket glanced at Luffy from the corner of his eye before breaking out into a loud laugh. "Hahahaha! You guys believe in that story!?"
"You mean it doesn't exist!?" The straw hat pirate asked while Y/N looked off to the side, confused on why Nami was being held back by Usopp.
"..." Cricket look down with a smirk in silence. "...Heh. Well, there was one man who said it did, but he went down in history as a liar and his descendants have been the objects of ridicule ever since."
"!!!" Luffy's eyes shot over to Usopp.
"Not me!"
"Was it your ancestor Noland who said it?" Y/N asked, shocking everyone.
"N-Norland is his ancestor!?"
"How'd you know, kid?" Cricket cast his sharp gaze on the younger man who didn't flinch in the slightest.
"The old man from the inn at the edge of town told me." Y/N told him.
"Ah, I see... He's a good man." Cricket muttered and took another puff. "Yeah, Norland was my great-great-great-great... Never mind all that. Anyways, it's a silly story about a distant ancestor. I probably have only a drop of his blood in me. The Mont Blanc family was driven off and forced to live in shame. Even to this day, we're being ridiculed but nobody held it against him."
"Why not?" Usopp asked.
"Because we know that Norland was no liar."
"H-Huh?" The long-nosed sniper stumbled back.
"In the book, Noland's last words were: "I know! The mountain of gold must have sunk into the sea!" It shows him grinning like an idiot when he actually died with tears rolling down his cheeks. The island they reached was undoubtedly... Jaya. The same island that he said held the ruins of the city of gold. I don't believe he made any of it up. Noland theorized that the ancient ruins sank into the sea due to the shifting of the Earth's crust, but everyone thought he said it out of desperation to redeem himself and laughed when he was put to death." Cricket took another huff from his cigarette.
"O-Oh, I see!" Usopp regained the confidence to step closer. "So, in order to clear the Mont Blanc name, you've been diving down to the ocean floor in search of this city of gol-"
"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!!!"
Cricket lashed out and aimed his pistol at Usopp whose first instinct was to hide behind Y/N.
"Hey..." Y/N said slowly to which Usopp nervously laughed and stepped out from behind him.
"So, what if Noland was telling the truth!? So, what if Noland was a great explorer!? None of that matters to me! Because that fool's blood runs in my veins, strangers have made fun of my throughout my entire childhood! Do you know what that's like!?" Cricket took a deep breath and looked out the window into the blue sea. "Over the past 400 years, in order to restore the family honor, countless Mont Blancs have gone out to sea and all of them disappeared without a single trace. I was... ashamed of my family so I left home and became a pirate. I didn't want to become one, but I also didn't want to get caught up in all of that mess. However, ten years ago, my ship landed here after an adventure." A bitter smile made its way onto his face. "Ironically, as the one who detested Noland and the Mont Blanc family the most, I was the only one who made it here. And, as I stood on the cliff overlooking this island, which showed not a single trace of the mountain of gold mentioned in the book, I realized that this was my fate and that there was no escaping it." Cricket paused and closed his eyes, the voices of the past ringing in his ears.
"Let's settle this once and for all... Noland."
"Are you crazy!? Look, Boss. This is a family matter and it's none of our business! If you want to stay here and look for gold, then do it by yourself. This is where we part ways..."
Cricket slowly opened his eyes and continued where he left off, "It doesn't matter whether I found it or not, I'm not looking for the gold or to clear our name... This is my battle against the man who ruined my life and I intend to settle the score before I die." He finished.
"W-What a man you are..." Usopp sniffed loudly, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Then, I guess the two outside were from your crew?" Y/N asked.
"Those two..." More tears rolled down Usopp's face. "T-They must have stuck with their captain even after everyone else left!"
"...Nah, they're just fans of the work." Cricket said.
"Ah, okay."
"Fans!?" Usopp yelled.
"For real!?" Nami shouted.
"Five or six years ago, they heard about me and came here uninvited, convinced that Noland's hold was real... The sea around here is deep... When you're diving in the dark and cold water, the loneliness is intense. Day after day I dived alone and searched by myself. Then, those two stumbled into my life. They became my self-appointed henchmen. To be honest..." Cricket stared straight at everyone in the room, his eyes telling them to not repeat anything he said right here and now. "Those two fools saved me... You got that?"
"Of course!" Usopp wiped his eyes. "True comrades can lift a man's sad hear-"
"So, how do we get to the sky islands?" Y/N chimed in.
"Yeah, no more monkey stories!" Luffy nodded.
"H-Hey, you two!" Usopp scolded Y/N and Luffy even going as far as punching the latter in the face...which did no damage.
"Heh... You two are quite impatient. Didn't I tell you guys that the one who claimed the sky islands' existence was Noland the Liar? If you believe his stories, then you'll be a laughing stock like me."
"Then, we won't believe Noland." Y/N said and began to stretch his arms and legs. "We'll believe in you instead, old man Cricket."
"...Heh." Cricket chuckled and shook his head with a small smile. "I thought you were going to say something smart but I guess I was wrong."
"Hehe, I try my best." Y/N laughed in response while Zoro, Nami, and Usopp shouted behind him.
"That wasn't a compliment!"
"Here. Read this passage." Cricket tossed a book over to Y/N who caught it and immediately handed it over to Nami without a word.
"Amazing, a log from 400 years ago... 'The age of Kaien 1120, June 21. Clear skies. Sailed from the lively town of Vira. Will follow the log pose and sail straight east-northeast. Got hold of an unusual item from a merchant ship today. It's a one-man boat called a Waver, which one rides like a ski. This strange vessel can even sail on windless days by creating its own wind and the crew seems to enjoy it very much.' How cool! I want one!" Nami cheerfully announced while Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were practically breathing down her neck, trying to read the book's contents too.
"Keep reading! Keep reading!"
"'The power to run this vessel is found only on sky islands. I have heard that there are many special things native to there. Speaking of it, I met a fellow explorer who showed me a living Sky Fish, which was a sight to behold! It is a land our ships have never visited, but as a sailor, I wish to someday see it with my own eyes. Mont Blanc Noland.' A sea in the sky!" Nami finished reading and looked to everyone else in the room.
"A sea in the sky!" Luffy and Usopp looked at each other with the same excitedly stupid grins on their faces. "That's just like what Robin said!"
"Yeah! And according to this, people didn't doubt the existence of a sky island 400 years ago!" Usopp hugged Luffy and the rubber man did the same as they danced merrily at the exciting news along with Nami who danced with Chopper despite Sanji's best efforts to take his place. Zoro and Robin watched on from the sidelines and despite not looking like the most sociable people, they both had a small smile on their face from watching their friends celebrate.
"Guess that settles things. What do you think, Kintoun?" Y/N leaned back against the window sill and looked over the edge at his friend who spun around in a circle and did a small flip. "Good. When we get the chance, we'll have to ask Luffy if we can tag along on their ship."
Meanwhile, just outside of the door, Cricket approached Masira and Shoujou with a small smile.
"Boss, are you okay?"
"I'm fine... Tell me, do you like these people?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you ask?"
"These pirates seem determined to go to the sky islands."
"Sky Island... But, there's only one way to get there."
"They'll be killed instantly, boss!"
"I know..." Cricket smirked as the three of them looked back at the house that almost seemed to shake and bounce from the excitement inside. "That's why I'm asking. It'll be up to us to get them there.
2 Minutes Later
"Alright, first... I'm gonna tell you all I know about Sky Island." Cricket stood with his hands on his hips in front of Luffy, Nami, Usopp who were sitting at the stump table and Chopper who was sitting on the lush green grass and leaning back against said stump with a relaxed expression. "This is all heresay, mind you. Don't take what I say for granted."
"Okay, we believe you."
"At least listen to what he has to say first!"
In the background, the rest of the Straw Hats (except for Zoro who was fast asleep) was watching the lecture from afar with the monkey brothers by their side.
Then, the door to the house opened and Y/N stepped out wearing his usual set of clothes: a dark-green button-up with white inner lining and the sleeves rolled up, a white shirt, baggy light-green pants, white socks, black shoes, orange wristbands, and a yellow sash wrapped diagonally around his body from his right shoulder to left waist.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/mad-tuna/art/Epoch-Goku-279801834
"There we go. Much better!" Y/N put his bag next to the door and hopped up and down in place, getting used to his fresh set of clothes, before he thanked Masira and Shoujou for letting him use the house first. "Thank you!"
"No problem!" The pair gave him a thumbs-up and went inside to start making preparations as Y/N joined Sanji and Robin on the side.
"Did I miss anything important?"
"Not at all." The blonde curly-eyebrowed cook of the Straw Hat Pirates waved his hand. "Cricket's about to start explaining now."
"Ah, I see..." Y/N nodded and remained in place.
"You're not gonna join in and listen?" Sanji glanced at him and took a puff of his cigarette.
"Nah. As long as Nami is listening to it all, then I don't need to."
"Nami's incredible, isn't she!?" Hearts replaced Sanji's eyes as he looked in the orange-haired woman's direction but before he could say anymore, hands started to sprout from his clothes and clamped over his mouth.
"That's enough." Robin calmly reprimanded Sanji and Y/N wasn't sure what to be more freaked out about, the hands or the expression on Sanji's face.
"Woah! Hands are growing on you, Sanji!" Y/N jumped back slightly in surprise.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. That's just Robin's Devil Fruit power."
"W-Wow..." Y/N relaxed and lowered his guard. "There's a lot of different powers out there, huh..."
"Indeed, but I'm afraid that my powers isn't as effective as yours at blocking bullets."
"...Huh? What are you talking about? That wasn't my Devil Fruit power. I used ki to block them!" Y/N said as Sanji and Robin looked at him.
"'Ki...?'" They both said slowly as Cricket said something seemed to make Usopp panic in front of them.
"Yeah." Y/N held up a fist and a thin white aura outlined it. "Ki is kinda like the lifeforce energy inside of all living things, which means everyone has it and it varies in strength between everyone, but only those who've trained with it like I did with Grampa Roshi can harness the power."
"Ki, huh. Sounds almost magical..." Sanji said quietly as Robin remained silent and kept her eyes on the young man. "Then, what exactly is your Devil Fruit power?"
"..." Y/N was quiet and his face turned serious, making both Sanji and Robin slightly nervous until his smile returned and a long brown furry tail fell from his waist. "I have a tail and can turn into an ape!"
"A Zoan-type...?" Robin wondered and set her gaze on the brown tail wagging in her direction.
"Yeah, but I can only do it at night and when I'm looking directly at a full moon... Oh, and I can't exactly control myself when that happens." Y/N awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of his head when he saw the veins popping up on Sanji's face and the amused smile on Robin's lips.
"That's way too specific!" Sanji barked at him while Robin held back an amused giggle.
"Hey, curly brow. Shut up, I'm trying to sleep!" Zoro stood up from his short nap and glared at Sanji who returned the glare with a glare of his own.
"If you wanted to sleep, then go sleep on the ship, Mosshead!" Sanji and him butted heads. "You're inconveniencing everyone by napping wherever you please!"
While two continued to butt heads, Y/N took his opportunity to slide over to Robin's side.
"Soooo, are they always like this?"
"It seems like it." Robin said with a smile that caught Y/N's attention from how fake it seemed with her unreadable eyes. "I haven't been sailing with them for long, but they're a lively group."
"...Yeah..." Y/N said slowly and looked ahead at the comical cloud of dust kicked up from the two men pummeling and kicking each other in the face.
"YOU'RE LYING!!!"
Usopp's voice exploding caught everyone's attention as Zoro and Sanji stopped their little squabble.
"Basically, you're saying that in order to reach a sky island, we would have to ride the Knock Up Stream, which has a high probability of killing us and destroying Going Merry, up into the Emperor Cloud and the only time we can get there is tomorrow!? And, you're even willing to help fix the ship to help us get there!?" Usopp pointed a finger, which almost seemed as long as his nose, at Cricket who remained silent. "The coincidence is too incredible! We just met you so why are you so trusting of us!? Why should we trust you, you're a descendant of Noland the liar!"
"..."
"Boss! Everyone! Food is... ready...?" Masira and Shoujou trailed off when they felt the tension in the air and heard nothing but the sounds of the ocean crashing against the coast.
"...Whenever," Cricket walked towards Usopp who put his fists up, ready to fight. "the daytime 'night' is spotted in Masira's territory, the Emperor Cloud appears the next day in the southern sky. Looking at the rotation of the monthly explosions, the knock up stream is bound to erupt tomorrow and it will occur just south of here." He walked past Usopp. ""t's not a certainty but the odds are good." Cricket then stopped and smiled.
"I'm glad to have met you fools. Now, let's eat. You can rest here for tonight...comrades."
"!!!" Usopp's eyes widened as Luffy laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder before running towards the house where everyone else was filtering into.
"Hehe, it's time to eat! Hurry up, Usopp!" The rubber man shouted gleefully while said man fell to his knees.
"Nami... Am I a pitiful coward?"
"Yep. And, an idiot too but I understand how you feel too. Now, go and apologize."
"Right..." Usopp slowly stood up onto his shaky legs and hugged Cricket's waist, shouting his apologies, "I'M SORRY, MISTER CRICKET!!!"
"Agh! You're getting snot on me!"
10 Minutes Later
The sounds of cheers and laughter came from Cricket's house along with the clinking of glass against one another.
"Ah...! This is some good grog!" Cricket laughed and took another sip from his bottle of alcohol.
"Eat up! There's a course of mackerel coming!" Sanji said while expertly balancing two plates of food.
"Gack!" Masira coughed when he felt something spicy hit his tongue.
"Gotcha, salvage monkey! Tabasco Bomb!" Usopp laughed and ran from the large figure chasing after him.
"You long-nosed buffoon!"
"Hahahaha!" Everyone else in the room laughed at the sight as the two "fought" in the center of the room...well, almost everyone.
"..." Robin watched from her seat on the side and quietly sipped her drink, the cold sensation of the ice cubes was oddly satisfying to feel on her lips in the warm atmosphere.
"You're not going to eat?" Y/N sat down next to Robin.
"Not hungry..." She noticed that he was empty-handed too. "Are you not going to eat too?"
"Well..." Y/N scratched the back of his head. "This is a celebration between old man Cricket and you guys. It just didn't feel right for me to join in."
"...I know how that feels." Robin wanted to say but decided to keep her mouth shut, instead choosing to sit with the man in silence that felt more comfortable than she imagined. She looked at his face while he was distracted with watching Masira sit on his back while spinning a ball-form Luffy in the air with his feet.
"Hey, pretty lady! Come sit over here!" Cricket whistled to Nami and was met with Sanji placing a boot on his flushed face and pushing him away.
"Hey! Keep your paws offa Nami!"
"Wow, you can really drink!" Shoujou complimented Zoro as the two downed another mug of booze.
"Thanks, but I'm just getting started."
Y/N and Robin continued to watch Luffy and the others enjoy themselves, both content with sitting on the side. The black-haired woman slowly took another sip of her drink and flipped to the next page of the book resting on her lap.
"'I saw the gold in the skull's right eye.'" Robin flinched when she looked up to see Cricket's face right in front of her and the man soon backed up. "That tear-blotted sentence was the last thing Noland wrote on the day he was executed. After all this time on Jaya, I still don't know what it means. The right eye of the skull!? Was that the name of a lost city or an omen of death? The remaining blank pages offer no explanation!"
"That's why we dive!"
"We see our dreams at the bottom of the ocean!"
"That's right! Ookee!"
"Yahoo!"
"We're gonna fly!"
"We're gonna soar to the skies!"
"Yeah!"
Meanwhile, Jaya Island Coast
While everyone continued to party, out in the distance a large pirate ship was slowly approaching the house from under the veil of night.
"It's getting dark..." One of the people onboard said. "...But, I see it. Captain Bellamy."
"Get ready to land!" A blonde tanned man shouted to his crew and laughed with a maniacal grin. "Dream-seeking fools don't deserve gold."
Meanwhile, Cricket's House
"'May 21, 1122. Arrived at Jaya!'" Cricket stood in front of everyone who were all sitting in a circle. His face was flushed pink and his gaze unfocused from the alcohol in his system and yet, he continued to recite Noland's writing. "'When we got to the island, we heard the strange cries of a jungle bird and the tolling of a giant bell. The sound that giant bell of pure gold made resonated and resonated as if to celebrate the untold riches of the ancient city. Through these vast seas over countless generations, a great civilization blossomed. Those of us whose lives span but a few decades and think we know everything are left speechless! The sound of the bell stopped us in our tracks.'" Cricket, Luffy, Masira, and Shoujou threw their arms into the air and cheered loudly.
"Noland, you are amazing!" Masira and Shoujou shouted with pure admiration in their voice.
"Oh! A huge bell of pure gold!" Stars appeared in Nami's eyes at the thought.
"You know, I think you might actually like Noland!" Usopp noted as everyone laughed.
"Look at this." Cricket placed a bell made of pure gold on the floor...except this one was only the size of his hand.
"Whoa! A bell of pure gold!" Nami giggled as she rubbed her face lovingly against the bell.
"Uh... It doesn't look that giant to me..." Usopp said to himself.
"I didn't say it was that bell." Cricket laughed joyfully. "That's a bell-shaped ingot, one of the three I found on the ocean floor."
"Then, there really is a city of gold!" Luffy said and turned his head when he felt Shoujou's hand on his shoulder.
"Nah, they don't prove anything! You could find this much inside of any old ruin."
"Still, it does prove that there was a civilization in this region once. Ingots are created as a weight standard and used for trading." Robin joined the conversation.
"Right. And that strange bird that's mentioned in that passage- Hey, Masira." Cricket called out to one of his assistants.
"Right!"
"Wow! There's more gold!?" Y/N shouted and leaned closer as Masira unveiled a bird-shaped statue also made up of pure gold.
"And, this is the last one."
"Haha! Not much to show for ten years of diving."
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Nami awed at the golden bird.
"What is it? A penguin?"
'That's a weird-looking bird...' Y/N thought to himself.
"Golden bells and a bird. Do you think those were symbols of ancient Jaya?" Sanji asked.
"Can't know for sure. I think it was once part of a larger statue." Cricket placed a hand on the statue. "This is a South Bird. They're still found on this island."
"Does it have a strange cry?" wondered Y/N as he reached over and patted Chopper's head while the little reindeer enjoyed a nice glass of orange juice.
"Yep, just like it's mentioned in the ship's log..." Cricket froze as if he realized something.
"Speaking of the South Bird, the ancient mariners wrote of it..." And, so did Masira and Shoujou.
"DAMN IT!!!"
"What's wrong!?" Y/N grabbed the two closest people and brought them closer protectively, which Chopper was grateful while Robin...was unsure of what to make of her situation.
"This is bad! You have to go into the jungle and catch one of those birds!"
"Why!? How come!?" Usopp asked.
"Listen carefully! The Knock Up Stream is located directly south from here! Remember that this is the Grand Line! Once you're out to sea, there's no way to know your directions!"
"That's right! A log poise can only point us towards an island but it's no good for finding a patch of water! And, the compass won't work either!" Nami put her navigation experience to good use.
"You'll have to rely on the South Bird! Some animals have an innate sense of direction and the South Bird is one of them!"
"Haha, you're worse than an animal, Zoro!" Luffy laughed at the swordsman who glared at him.
"H-Hey, like you're one to talk!" Zoro shouted back.
"The South Bird is the best of them all. No matter where it is on land or sea, it will always point south! You've gotta get one or you won't even get the chance to get to the sky islands!"
"WHAAAAT!?"
"It's the middle of the night! You expect us to go off into the jungle now!?" Usopp shouted after he along with everyone else were basically kicked out.
"Quit whining! There's no time!" Cricket threw four catching nets at them with Y/N, Luffy, and Sanji catching one each. "We'll get to work on your ship right now."
"We shouldn't have been partying in the first place!"
"It's a bit late to be saying that now!"
12 Minutes Later
"Whoa... It's pitch dark!" Luffy shouted, his voice rippling throughout the entire shadow-covered jungle. It was near impossible to see anything in the darkness, much less a specific bird from the hundreds of different species in the locale.
"Hey, quit pulling on me!" Sanji told Usopp who remained glued to his side.
"I'm so full. I can't walk..." Chopper mumbled.
"Let's get this bird quick and get back to drinking." Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance at having his drinking session abruptly ended.
"How did we end up here...?" Nami whimpered and shrieked when a cold gust of air brushed against her skin.
"Hahaha!" Y/N leapt up onto a nearby tree branch and squinted his eyes to look at his surroundings. "This is gonna be so much fun! Reminds me of when Grampa Roshi tossed me off a cliff and into a jungle!"
"Oh? Your grandpa did that too?" Luffy asked and the two laughed at their shared abnormal upraising.
"Well, at least two of us is having fun..." Sanji muttered under his breath before Luffy suddenly ran off in another direction with Chopper following after them, both with an excited grin. "...Three of us anyways."
"ALRIGHT, LET'S SMASH THAT BIRD!!!"
"YES, SIR!!!"
"Hold on, Luffy! Chopper! We need to catch that bird!" Usopp shouted into the jungle, hoping that they could hear him.
"Actually, it might be best if we split into groups of three to cover more ground." Nami gathered everyone together. "I was thinking that me, Usopp, and Sanji could make up one group and Y/N, Zoro, and Robin can make up the other. Any objections?" She looked around but no one seemed to be in the mood to argue or cause a fuss, except for-
"I will protect you with my life, Nami~!!!" Sanji danced over to her side but she used a hand to keep him away.
"We don't have time for this!"
"Alright, sounds good! Kintoun!" Y/N called for his friend and leapt down from the tree branch. Within a few seconds, the golden cloud landed next to the group. "Make sure to follow Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, okay?"
"Huh? You're making Kintoun follow us?"
"Yeah! Think about it: I'm the only one that Kintoun can hear from anywhere!" Y/N grabbed a stick from the ground and made two circles on the dirt. "If you three find the bird, then you can tell Kintoun to take you back to me..." He drew an arrow from one group to the other. "And if we find the bird first," He drew another arrow similar to the first. "I can call Kintoun and it'll bring you three to me! Plus, Luffy isn't too hard to track down so there's no need to worry about him and Chopper." He concluded with a smile and looked around with his bright E/C eyes. "Did I forget anything?"
"N...No." Everyone slowly said in unison. 'He's a lot smarter than he lets on...' They thought at the same time with a small bead of sweat running down the back of their head.
"Watch each other's backs, got it?" Zoro looked around to which everyone nodded and the group of six soon split off into their assigned groups.
Group 1, Sanji and Usopp and Nami
"Don't worry, Nami! Whatever happens, I'll protect you!"
"W-What about me, Sanji?"
"You're on your own! Quit being such a wimp!"
"Let's just find the bird and get out here."
"Let's listen for that cry again..." Sanji and Nami were silent and listened carefully for the bird's cry.
"Joh..."
"Hey, that's it!" Nami turned in the direction she heard the cry... and realized that it was just Usopp mimicking it.
"Joh... Here, birdie! Joh..." The long-nosed sniper searched for any traces of their target.
"Why you...!" Nami shook her head as Usopp turned around and noticed something of interest.
"Hey! That's pretty cool, Nami. Where'd you find it?"
"...What?" Nami looked down at her back and felt her blood run cold when she saw a large tarantula crawling on her. "EEK!!! S-SPIDER!!!"
"What? It's only a spider." Usopp looked at Sanji and Nami who were both now hiding behind some bushes.
"I hate spiders! Throw it away!"
"Drop it, Usopp! It's probably poisonous!" Sanji told him before he felt something land on his back. They're falling from the trees!?"
"NOOOO!!! EEK!!! I CAN'T STAND IT!!!"
While Sanji and Nami were having a mental breakdown, Usopp didn't budge in the slightest and even started to pet the spider on his arm.
"It's probably a type of Tarantula. Don't worry, they won't bite you if you don't scare them." He laughed as the spiders around his feet skittered about without harming him. "I used to play spider war when I was a kid."
"Well, I'm not into creepy crawlers. No thanks!"
"Me neither! Absolutely no way! I hate them! Toss it far away! Hurry!"
"Huh... But what about the moths and centipedes next to you?" Usopp tilted his head as Sanji and Nami felt a chill down their spine and their heads slowly creaked towards to their left where the tree was completely covered by moths and centipedes.
"I HATE MOTHS AND CENTIPEDES TOO!!! AAAAAH!!! KINTOUN!!!" Nami and Sanji called the golden cloud as it landed next to them.
"H-Hey, wait for me!" Usopp ran over and together, all three of them leaped towards Kintoun... before falling to the floor.
"H-Huh? What's wrong!?"
"W-Why can't we ride Kintoun!?"
A few golden pieces floated away from Kintoun's main body and slowly formed individual words in front of them.
"...Pervert?" Sanji read.
"...Thief?" Nami muttered.
"...Liar?" Usopp blinked twice.
The three of them were silent even as the bugs and critters slowly crawled towards and a terrifying shadow covered their faces.
"KINTOUUUUUUUUN!!!" They shouted and the golden cloud flinched before flying away.
Group 2, Y/N and Zoro and Robin
"Hahahaha! Sounds like someone's having fun! Man, it feels so good to walk around after sitting for so long!" Y/N casually placed both hands behind his head and lead the group deeper into the jungle with a bright grin even after hearing the shouts tearing through the ominous tension.
Behind him, Zoro was looking at him warily and Robin smiled at his enthusiasm with her usual blank smile.
"Hey, Zoro. Can you actually use all three swords?" He looked over his shoulder and pointed at the scabbards on the green-haired man's waist.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Nothing! That's cool though!" Y/N laughed and looked forward with an excited gleam in his eyes.
"Looks like you have a new fan." Robin whispered with an amused smirk.
"...Tch." Zoro scoffed, but didn't say anything else and the three of them continued on their journey while listening to the leaves trembling in the wind and the wind blowing through the hollow trees.
The sounds of the jungle they heard might have scared those with weaker hearts, but the trio remained unfazed.
"Hang on." Zoro said and reached for his sword. The soft click of him sheathing his blade echoed throughout the clearing they were in and a giant centipede landed on the floor.
"You have a grudge against bugs or something?" Y/N looked down at the dead massive bug that was larger than a small child.
"Y/N's right, you didn't have to kill the poor things."
"Don't lecture me. It's their own fault for challenging me. Anyway," Zoro looked at them with a harsh glare. "I don't trust either of you. Remember that. Especially you, Y/N. Luffy might trust you, but we don't know anything about you. I'll be keeping an eye on you." He told them and began to walk in the other direction with his hands in his pockets while Y/N and Robin watched him leave.
"...Hey, Zoro..." Zoro looked over his shoulder at Y/N when he heard him call out to him. "That's the way back to the house..."
"...!" Zoro awkwardly watched the two leave and slowly followed after them. "...Wait up..."
Group 3, Luffy and Chopper
"I GOT IT!!!" Luffy shouted to the sky... and held up a large beetle. "Look, Chopper! An Atlas Beetle!"
"Atlas!?"
"Yeah! The Atlas and the Hercules beetles are treasured all over the world!"
"They are?" Chopper innocently tilted his head. "Are they as valuable as the One Piece?"
"HMMMM..." Luffy shut his eyes closed and thought carefully, his face was covered in veins from how intense his concentration was. "That's a tough one!"
"Luffy, there's something here too." Chopper pointed at another beetle sitting on a nearby tree trunk as Luffy's eyes bulged out of his head when he saw it.
"It's a Stag Beetle! Catch it!" Luffy tried to bring his net onto it, but it spread its wings and flew away with the two close behind.
"It's flying away!" Chopper panicked.
"Catch it! Don't let it get away!"
"What a huge spider!"
"It's in the way! Kick it!"
Thud!
"Huh!?" Luffy and Chopper turned around and looked down to see a beehive on the ground. Their eyes widened and they ran away as fast as they could from the swarm of bees chasing them. "RUUUUN!!!"
The two continued to run away, but no matter where they ran, there was always another beehive falling to the jungle floor next to them and with them came another swarm of angered bees.
"WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS JUNGLE!?" Luffy screamed and looked at Chopper when he heard him gasp loudly.
"Look, Luffy!" He pointed out the bird perched on top of a tree branch behind them, looking suspiciously smug and arrogant.
"A bird?"
"It's the bird! He's the one that dropped the beehive!"
"Joh! Joh! Joh! Joh! Joh!" It screeched.
"Huh!?"
"What's wrong, Chopper? Did it say something!?"
"'Whoever invades this jungle will die!'"
"What!?"
Meanwhile, Cricket's House
"Hey, don't make us mad."
"It's not nice to show up in the middle of the night demanding gold."
Shoujou cracked his neck while Masira cracked his knuckles.
"HAHAHAHA!!! So, you're his bodyguards, eh? I remember a pirate named Cricket. I heard the sad story of the Mont Blanc family in town!"
"...Hmph." Cricket looked at the man in front of him with a neutral expression.
"I was moved to tears, you know?" Bellamy laughed and tossed his coat over his shoulder. "It's so much more rewarding to steal someone's treasure when they've suffered a lot to get it in the first place! Want to know what people call me!?" He cackled and let his tongue hang from his mouth like a wild animal.
"The Hyena. HAHAHAHA!!!"
Meanwhile, Jungle
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Luffy and Chopper screamed as they continued to run away, but this time, from a wave of giant praying mantises.
"Here they come! Duck!" Luffy grabbed Chopper and they both fell to the ground to dodge a slash that cleanly cut through a nearby tree. "This is too much! What kind of a jungle is this!?" He shouted as they continued to their escape attempt.
"Ack! The net!" Chopper stared at the net being slowly chipped down until it was no different than a large stick.
"Jooooooooh!"
"It's that bird again!"
"What!?"
"The South Bird is giving orders to the bugs!"
"But why would a bird give orders to the bugs!?"
"Jooooooooh!"
"Jooooooooh!"
"Jooooooooh!"
"Shh! Did you hear that?" Usopp whispered and looked around, looking around for the source of the cries.
"I did! Where's it coming from!?"
"Hold on, I hear something else..." Sanji noticed something rolling down a hill towards them. "What's that? A rock!? It's coming this way!"
"Are they dung balls from a dung beetle!?"
"No! They're insects! Eek! Ladybugs!" Nami hid behind Sanji as the blonde man kicked away the avalanche of massive ladybugs rolling towards them.
"They're huge! Ow! Ack!" Usopp, unfortunately, wasn't able to hide behind Sanji and got hit multiple times by several ladybugs.
"Jooooooooh!"
"There's no end to this! Now an army of grasshoppers is attacking us! Outta my way!" Zoro pointed at the grasshopper in front of him that had a large bump on the top of its head thanks to him hitting it with the back of his sword. "You think you can beat me!? Huh!?"
"I heard the bird just now..."
"Hahahaha!" Y/N laughed and patted Kintoun who snuggled up to him for comfort. "I forgot that they had to have a pure heart to ride you. I'll tell them that you're sorry. But, maybe there's a huge Hercules beetle that we can find to apologize to them?"
"Are you dumb!? What kind of idiot would think about collecting beetles right now!?" Zoro shouted while blocking a swing from a grasshopper.
"Oh, c'mon. Hercules beetles are cool-" Y/N's smile disappeared and he looked away in a certain direction.
"What's wrong?"
"N...Nothing. It must have been my imagination." Y/N scratched a certain spot on Kintoun that made it wiggle in pleasure, but he remained frowning. 'Just now, I thought I felt something wrong...' He thought and watched Zoro cut down the grasshoppers.
For the next few hours, Y/N and the others continued to be assaulted by the inhabitants of the jungle ranging from giant slugs, large hornets, fireflies, cockroaches, to stampedes of pigs.
"It's no use. We didn't get a feather from that bird."
"We saw one, but those bugs didn't let us get near it."
"We had to run away."
"Must be nice..." Nami muttered as she, Usopp, and Sanji glared at Kintoun who hid behind Y/N to the confusion of the rest.
"Traitor..." Usopp looked through his ammunition and stretched his slingshot in anticipation.
"Damn cloud..." A fire ignited behind Sanji's eyes.
"Hey, hey. Kintoun's sorry, alright? Let's focus on our mission for now!"
"Y/N's right." Zoro surprisingly defended the male. "It's already been a few hours and we haven't even gotten the chance to capture a South Bird."
"Jooooooooh!" Everyone looked up to see a South Bird perched up high on a nearby tree and looked down mockingly at the group. "Joh! Joh! Joh!"
"He's laughing at us!"
"We're losing to a damn bird..."
"Jooooooooh! Joh! Jo-" The gloating South Bird noticed a pair of human arms sprout from his wings before they wrapped around him and tossed him onto the ground.
"As long as I can see it, I can use my powers."
"Oh... Thank you, Robin." Everyone said in unison.
30 Minutes Later
"Diamond-head guy!"
Y/N froze at the sight of Cricket's bloody and beaten body on the ground, coughing up more blood as Luffy helped him up into a sitting position. He knelt down and recalled the words of Cricket.
"This is my battle against the man who ruined my life and I intend to settle the score before I die."
"I'm glad to have met you fools. Now, let's eat. You can rest here for tonight...comrades."
"Masira!"
"Shoujou!"
Y/N looked to the side where he saw Masira laying not too far away in a similar state and Shoujou floating in the ocean, unmoving as that bad feeling from earlier slowly crept up on him and his smile was long gone when he also remembered their shouts.
"THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR TAKING CARE OF THE BOSS!!!"
"NOLAND, YOU'RE THE GREATEST!!!"
"They're just fans of the work... Those two fools saved me, got that?"
"Who did this to them!?" Sanji muttered after swimming out to bring Shoujou back to shore. "Chopper, help me."
"Okay!"
"Look! The Merry Go! Who would do such a thing!?" Usopp yelled and Y/N looked over and his eyes widened when he saw that the hull was broken in half, his conversation with Luffy echoing in his head.
"The Merry Go is part of our crew! She's like family!"
"Huh? How can a ship be family?"
"Hahaha! You'll understand one day, Y/N!"
"Sorry, you guys..." Cricket coughed. "I'm sorry, we couldn't stop them... But, there's still time for us to fix the ship and-"
"Slow down! Just tell us what happened!"
"It doesn't matter... It's nothing..." Cricket coughed up some more blood. "You got the South Bird. That's good..." He weakly chuckled.
"Everyone!" The urgency in Nami's voice made everyone turn towards her standing in the doorway. "The gold ingots are gone!"
"!!!"
"Yes... They're gone, but it doesn't matter. Forget about them. You have to-" Cricket was cut off by Usopp.
"How can you say that!? You dive for ten years to find that gold! You almost killed yourself for them!"
"...Quiet. That's our problem, not yours. Listen: If the entire Monkey Mountain Allied Force gets to work preparing your ship, then you can still make it. We'll have it ready by morning. You people get ready to sail. I will not fail! you're going up to the sky!"
"Mister..." Usopp whispered.
"Luffy." Zoro called out and pointed at a tree behind him where a symbol of a smiling skull with a diagonal line across its face was spray painted into the trunk.
"What's that?"
"That's Bellamy's mark!"
"Bellamy...?" Y/N repeated as Nami explained who the man was.
"He's a stupid jerk who laughed at us when we asked around about sky island in Mock Town and then started beating up Luffy and Zoro!"
"...I see." was all Y/N said before he turned away from the group and started walking towards the direction of Mock Town. He reached down to tighten his wristbands when Nami suddenly called out to him.
"H-Hey, where do you think you're going!? Don't even think about it! We have to set sail in three hours!"
"I'm coming with-"
"Luffy!" Y/N's loud voice made the rubber man stop in his tracks. "It's alright if you guys wanna go to sky island without me. I understand. Plus, I didn't forget about you telling me that the Merry Go is like family to all of you. It would make much more sense for you to stay back and look after her since I'm not-"
"What are you talking about!? We're not leaving you behind!" Luffy shouted, causing Y/N now to stop in his tracks. "We shared a meal together! You're one of us now!" The H/C-haired man slowly looked back with a surprised expression and saw the entire crew meeting his gaze unflinchingly without putting up any objections. "We'll be waiting for you right here!"
"...Yeah." Y/N turned back forward with a small smile. "Got it. I'll be back in half an hour." He said and powered up as a powerful white aura engulfed his body before he flew away.
"H-He can fly!?" Usopp's eyes bulged out of his head.
"It's not the craziest thing we've seen..." Zoro said as everyone's gaze shifted over to Luffy and Robin who looked back with a confused tilt.
Y/N looked ahead into the night sky, the wind scraping against his face and the jungle that he and the others had spent hours in becoming nothing more than a blur from how fast he was flying.
'I should have known that something was wrong! Grampa Roshi was right...' He thought as he remembered his grandpa's words.
"You have a kind heart, Y/N, but that means you're also too relaxed when you aren't fighting..."
'I felt old man Cricket's, Masira's, Shoujou's ki fall, but didn't think much of it! What's wrong with me!?' Y/N scolded himself and gritted his teeth, his hands balling up into tight fists.
When he arrived at Mock Town, Y/N landed in the outskirts of town and ran towards the town center. There was little people walking outside now as most were sound asleep inside of whatever inn they could find this late into the night or enjoying a drink at the tavern in the center of town and the few that were still wandering around were too drunk to spare him another glance.
"Hey, someone give me a hand!" A plead for help made Y/N stop and look in that direction to find a man rowing a small boat back to shore and a burning ship in the distance.
A nearby group of fishermen helped him dock and help him unload the stuff on his little rowing boat. What was stood out as odd was that there wasn't a single fish present, but instead multiple white blankets wrapped around large humanoid objects.
"Who would have done something this horrible...? There wasn't a single survivor!"
"It must have been that Bellamy fellow. He looked like he had a few screws loose."
"Hey, be quiet! Don't let someone from his crew hear you saying that or else you'll end up like them!"
"Oh, shit.. You're right..."
Y/N didn't care about their conversation and slowly approached the cargo with a pale face as his E/C eyes were trained onto one of items brought back: a broken picture frame.
"I know some people who are leaving this island at nightfall via a merchant ship... You should do the same, youngling. This place is not somewhere you should stay for too long."
"I've grown old and my bones cry for me to find a nice, warm place to rest and I will no longer selfishly deny their request."
"You're still young, so make sure to chase your dreams and follow your heart, no matter where it'll take you."
"..." Y/N silently stared at the burning ship and watched it sink under the waves. He looked at the picture frame and took the picture out, tucking it inside of one of his dark-green gi's inner pockets and walking towards the town center.
Meanwhile, in the central tavern, the people inside consisting of Bellamy and his crew and other pirates were laughing and partying.
"Hahahaha! Those monkeys were so funny! With those comical bodies and bloody faces and snot streaming from their noses crying 'Boss! Boss!' Hahahaha!"
"If he was so precious to them, they should've protected him better! Hahaha! Right!?"
"Hahaha! How lame!"
"Heh heh... What could they do against you and Bellamy?"
"The captain's one tough rookie! He's already got a bounty of 55 million berries on his head!"
"Bad news!" The front door was kicked open and a pirate rushed inside.
"What's all this ruckus in the middle of the night?"
"Those guys who were here earlier- Ah!" He noticed Bellamy sitting at the counter. "Bellamy, you're still here!?"
"Hm?"
"You gotta hide quick! You're in danger! They'll kill you!"
"What're you talking about!?" Bellamy looked over his shoulder with a scowl and nasty glare. "Who's gonna kill me!?"
"Straw Hat Luffy! He has a b-bounty of 100 million berries! And, the other man is w-worth 60 million!"
Kreesh!
Crash!
Plates and glass mugs fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.
"100 million...!?" One of them gulped nervously.
"And 60 million...!?" Another let their jaw hang.
"Those two guys from today are worth more than you are, Bellamy!"
"..." Bellamy remained silent as the entire tavern erupted in panic and chaos.
"Whoa, this is bad! We made fun of the wrong guys!"
"You think they'll remember my face!?"
"We gotta get out of there!"
"I've never met anybody worth 100 million berries!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HEY HEY HEY HEY!!!" Bellamy roared in laughter. "Look at you fools, wetting yourselves over a piece of paper! Are you blind!? You saw him with your own eyes!" He turned around. "Haven't you heard of pirates like that? Printing up fake wanted posters about himself to impress fools like you! Idiots take one look at the bounty and back down without a fight even though they could win! Just like you guys right now! You've seen how puny he looks, but look at you guys shaking! Disgusting!"
"So, that's it! Blast those dogs for fooling us like that!"
"Bellamy's right. Anybody worth 100 million berries must've done some terrible deeds. So, why ain't there anything about him in the newspapers!?"
"You're right. I've never heard of no Straw Hat Gang!"
"So, that's it?"
"Curse them! Scaring us like that!"
"Harharhar!"
They laughed their fears off and were about to resume drinking away into the night when they heard a sudden shout shake the entire building.
"BELLAMYYYY!!! COME OUT NOW!!!"
Their feeble attempts to mask their fears crumbled and they looked around, sweating heavily.
"That voice... I don't recognize it." Bellamy stepped outside and found Y/N standing there. "Huh? Who the hell are you!?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. Give me the gold you took from old man Cricket." Y/N demanded as Bellamy's crew and the other pirates filtered out into the tavern front. "And apologize for all the bad things you've done to my friends!"
"HAHAHAHA!!! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, MAKING DEMANDS!?" Bellamy crouched down, his legs turning into springs, and leapt up onto the tavern's roof.
"W-Who's that?" The man who had barged in earlier muttered and looked through the papers in his hand, searching for anyone who might resembled the man confronting Bellamy, but found nothing.
"Are you still holding on that? Tear it up and throw it away!" An aviator wearing man said with a kukri by his side.
"B-But, Sarquiss-"
"Think with your head. That man must be a friend of that kid you're claiming to have 100 million berries. If he was as dangerous as you claimed, then why would he send someone so weak to call out Bellamy!?"
"Oh, I get it now! You're friends with old man Cricket and that kid, aren't ya!? Hahaha!" Bellamy cackled and crouched down. "Spring Hopper!" He disappeared and jumped all over town with his spring legs, the force of his jumps and landings breaking everything in the town, from the wooden foundation to the stone buildings.
"..." Y/N calmly looked up.
"Bellamy disappeared!?"
"This is just like what he did to Roshio the Executioner"
"YOU'RE THEIR FRIEND!? HAHAHAHA!!!" Bellamy laughed while continuing to bounce everywhere. "COME TO THINK ABOUT IT, THAT OLD MAN FROM THAT MERCHANT SHIP ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE SKY ISLANDS BACK THEN TOO, DIDN'T HE!? THAT'S WHY WE HAD TO TRASH HIS STUPID INN!!!"
"...!!!" Y/N's eyes widened and an image of the rundown inn flashed in his mind. He could still remember the broken furniture and the shattered glass swept into a back corner.
"TO THINK SOMEONE THAT OLD AND DECREPIT IS STILL CAPABLE OF DREAMING ABOUT FOOLISH DELUSIONS!!! HAHAHAHA!!! WHAT CITY OF GOLD!? WHAT SKY ISLAND!? THE AGE OF DREAMING IS OVER!!! IF NONE OF YOU CAN ACCEPT THIS HARSH REALITY, THEN I'LL JUST HAVE TO KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!!"
"Get him, Bellamy! Make an example of that pathetic fool for his friends to see!" Bellamy's crew cheered for their captain.
"GOODBYE, YOU SHITTY KID-"
BAM!!!
Blood exploded from Bellamy's mouth when a fist slammed into his face, leaving behind an imprint, and sent him flying through several houses. The entirety of Mock Town shook from the shockwave and woke up from the sound of Bellamy's unconscious body crashing through the buildings.
When Bellamy finally stopped flying and crashed on the ground halfway across the town, the people back at the front of the bar gawked at Y/N who stood there with blood on his fist and an unreadable expression.
"N-No way..."
"H...HEY, BELLAMY, GET UP!!!" Sarquiss shouted, his confident smirk from earlier wiped away without a single trace as sweat ran down his face when his captain hadn't returned. "STOP MESSING AROUND!!! GET UP AND DO YOUR THING!!! BELLAMY, YOU'RE A HEAVYWEIGHT ROOKIE WITH A 55 MILLION BOUNTY ON YOUR HEAD!!!" He yelled to Bellamy who didn't respond with his usual loud, arrogant voice.
"A no-name pirate just knocked out B-Bellamy in one hit..."
"I-Impossible..."
"...Hey." Y/N turned his sharp gaze towards the people spectating, his E/C eyes glowing menacingly under the moonlight as he extended his fist towards them. "Hand over the gold! Now!" He demanded loudly as everyone scattered and fearfully ran away.
"WAAAH!!! BELLAMY'S DOWN!!!"
"GET AWAY!!!"
"H-HE'S A MONSTER!!!"
"This has to be a bad dream..." Sarquiss backed up in horror. "W-WHO ARE YOU!?"
Meanwhile, Holy Land Mary Geoise
Elsewhere, a meeting was taking place with the Five Elders, the supreme leaders of the World Government and the highest-ranking World Nobles (also known as Celestial Dragons).
"What? 'Red-haired' Shanks!?"
"Yes. Strange movements are afoot, although he hasn't made any moves himself."
"Yes. He has sent out envoys, but any contact between Whitebeard and Shanks would be catastrophic!"
"Hm... That's true."
"Shanks could do a lot of damage. But, I don't think his ambitions include world conquest."
"We should assess the situation before making any hasty moves."
"Never mind that. Right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to..."
The eyes of the Five Elders shifted over to the person sitting in front of them in a seat of his own that looked similar to the ones they themselves were sitting on, but enlarged to fit his gigantic stature.
"My sincerest gratitude to the Five Elders for allowing me to step foot in the sacred land of Marijoa." The man spoke in a refined, elegant voice and stood up from his seat until he was standing a little over twenty feet tall.
"Spare us the formalities, Cold. You told us that you had urgent news to share with us."
"Of course, of course. I do not wish to take up much of your precious time." King Cold smiled and twirled the glass of wine in his hand. "Do you perhaps remember my youngest son, Freeza?" He asked as the Five Elders looked around at each other before looking back at him and nodding.
"Indeed. Freeza is someone of great interest to us. The immense power at his disposal and the great potential he has demonstrated earned him the right to be deemed a Reserve Warlord along with your eldest son if the need arises. In fact, we were planning on having him replace Crocodile given the recent turn of events."
"Oh, my. As a parent, there is no greater feeling than seeing my progeny earn the respect of the World Government..." King Cold's smile slowly vanished and he crushed the glass of wine in his hand, shocking the five men as shards of glass fell to the floor and the velvet liquid dripped down his hand. "But, I am afraid to let you know that Freeza has been defeated in battle."
"F-Freeza was defeated!?"
"Impossible!"
"How could this be!?"
"Cold, why is this the first that we've heard of this!?"
"My deepest apologies, but I was so distraught by the news myself that I'm ashamed to admit that I had to take some time off and slowly accept this revelation. Ah, not to worry though, my son is still alive, but parts of his body were lost to the seas and we had to replace them with mechanical parts. I am sure you do not mind if I decline this once-in-a-lifetime offer on the behalf of my son and politely request that no one from the World Government visits him during this time?" He leaned forward and looked down at them with a smirk that oozed with mirth. "I am very worried about what may happen to you all if he... runs loose before he adjusts to his new body. There's no telling what accidents may happen."
"...We understand, Cold." One of the Five Elders eventually responded.
"Splendid. I thank you gentlemen for allowing me to have this chance to speak with you." King Cold walked towards the door before stopping. "Ah, before I go, I took the opportunity to issue a bounty on the young man that did my poor baby in." He retraced his steps and placed a wanted poster on the table in front of them. "Please, do take care of yourself." The horned man bowed out of courtesy and finally left the room.
"Cold and his family are too dangerous to be left alive."
"Yes. But, we have no time to deal with them at this moment."
"To think there's another ticking time bomb other than Monkey D. Luffy to be considered now."
They slowly looked at the wanted poster on the table between all of them, depicting a man with spiky blonde hair and piercing teal eyes.
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
"Golden Warrior of Legend"
L/N Y/N
[Bounty: 150,000,000 Berries]