Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides

The Power of a God

The ruins above began to collapse, sending tremors through the ground. Dust surged upward in thick clouds, reducing their visibility to nearly nothing.

"Take cover!" Ryomen shouted, urging the crew to move away from the open space into whatever shelter they could find.

"Why are these ruins so high up!?" Robin yelled, her voice barely audible over the rumbling.

"The world is falling down on us!!" Luffy screamed, eyes wide.

"What!? Aaah!!" Chopper started to panic, but Zoro cut him off with an exasperated shout. "Don’t just believe everything he says!"

"Guys…there are people falling!" Ryomen’s tone was sharp, drawing their attention upward.

"Huh? Really?" Luffy squinted curiously. "It’s that horse—and the old guy!" He exclaimed with excitement.

"Gan Fall?" Ryomen muttered, worry flashing in his eyes. "Shouldn’t he be at the Merry?"

"And there’s someone with him…" Robin squinted through the dust, her gaze narrowing on a familiar figure held by Gan Fall. "It’s the man who attacked us."

"Which one?" They asked, still confused.

"The red-haired man." Robin explained, exasperated, but they continued to look at her in confusion.

She sighed. “The one with a bazooka.”

The others blinked in realization. "Ohhh! Why didn’t you say so?" They chorused, now understanding.
…

Above them, a man clung to Pierre in his horse form, determined not to fall, with Gan Fall grasping the horse’s mane.

"I didn’t need your help." The man grumbled, his expression one of irritation.

"That doesn’t matter." Gan Fall replied. "We must give everything we have to defeat Enel!"

"I’ll take him down myself—and then I’ll take you down, too! This island doesn’t need a God anymore!" The man retorted.

"Don’t let hatred blind you, Wyper." Gan Fall said firmly. "Seeing your people suffer under Enel’s rule might fill you with anger, but it’s no reason to attack those trying to help."

Wyper said nothing, biting his lip as they descended to safety.

As the dust began to settle, Wyper's eyes widened, taking in the sight before him. Towering ruins rose above the foliage, covered in vines—a hidden testament to an ancient past.

"Could this be…our homeland…" He murmured, voice choked with emotion.

"We’re underground. I had no idea such a place existed in Upper Yard." Gan Fall muttered in awe.

"Old man!" Luffy’s voice broke through as the Straw Hats approached them.

"You’re here…" Gan Fall murmured, blinking at their arrival.

“Tsk.” Wyper stopped himself from attacking. His eyes then drifted to a familiar-looking weapon nearby, and as he moved toward it, he noticed one of his comrades lying on the ground, unconscious.

His fist clenched as he stared at the man for a moment, then picked up the discarded bazooka.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed nearby. They looked up in shock.

"God!" A large, imposing man knelt before Enel, head bowed.

Enel glanced at him indifferently. "Yama…It seems not everyone here is completely useless." He looked upward with a smirk. "But it seems we have too many contestants now.”