"So...how are we gonna find the gold?" Ryomen asked.
"Are you stupid!? We explore!" Luffy replied.
"Yeah, explore!" Chopper echoed, raising his arms.
"How about not!" Usopp exclaimed fearfully.
"Exploring doesn't really seem to be your thing." Ryomen remarked to Luffy with an amused smile.
"How about calling the old man?" Zoro suggested, lazily leaning against a tree.
"That's only for emergencies!" Nami said, tinkering with some maps.
"Still, it'd be good to know what we're up against." Robin replied.
"Yeah! Who knows what's lurking in these woods!" Usopp added, glancing nervously behind him.
"Neihee!" Stronger neighed excitedly.
"He says it would be safer if Gan Fall was with us." Chopper translated.
"Stop lying." The crew deadpanned, eyeing Stronger's sheepish expression.
"Alright." Ryomen sighed, "Who wants to use the whistle, raise your hands."
Luffy, Zoro, Robin, Stronger, Chopper, and Usopp all raised their hands and hooves.
Sanji glanced between Robin and Nami, looking conflicted. "I'll...have to abstain!" He declared dramatically.
"Doesn't matter." They all replied.
Ryomen then took the whistle from his pocket and blew into it.
"Where is he?" Luffy immediately asked.
"Wait a moment!!" Everyone shouted.
They continued waiting in silence.
"By now, I would've died a thousand times over." Usopp muttered.
Suddenly, rustling came from the forest. The crew looked on with caution, while Stronger suddenly stood up tall, dropping Ryomen to the ground.
"Are you alright!?" Gan Fall questioned, arriving atop Pierre.
"Yeah, yeah." Ryomen said, dusting himself off.
"Then why did you call me!?" Gan Fall asked, annoyed.
"We wanted to ask about the Upper Yard." Ryomen replied, throwing a glare at Stronger.
"The Upper Yard...why would you willingly come here?" Gan Fall asked.
"To find the gold!! And then beat God!!" Luffy declared.
"What!?" The knight looked at them, wide-eyed. "Do not say that! He will hear you!"
"Hm? Is he here!?" Luffy began looking around.
"Luffy...he probably has Observation Haki, like those priests." Ryomen pointed out.
"You met Enel's priests!?" Gan Fall asked, shocked.
"Yeah, even beat two of 'em." Zoro replied, calm as always.
The knight got off Pierre and sat around the campfire with them, trying to absorb it all.
"Nehee!" Stronger took the chance to inch closer to Pierre, trying to make a good impression.
"So...you want to know about this land, right?" Gan Fall muttered. "For you, land is a given...but here in the sky...this shouldn't exist. Things can grow on island clouds, but they cannot be born there. We call this...Varse. To those who live in the sky, it embodies our eternal hopes."
"I'm sure I can explain that." Nami chimed in, suddenly wearing glasses.
"Where did you get those?" Ryomen asked, baffled.
YOU ARE READING
Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides
FanfictionRyomen lived a life of imprisonment. After finally tasting freedom, he decides to join Luffy on his quest to become the Pirate King. Will he fulfill his own dream, or will he give up on his thirst for revenge in exchange for the people he now sees a...
