The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 59: Something Pretty

After everything finally calmed down from the crazy events of that morning, we set our course for Jaya. A few hours passed and Zoro and I returned to the front deck to join the rest of the crew. I could hear Luffy and Chopper talking up by the bow of the ship and made my way over to them.

"You see anything, Usopp?" Luffy called out, seeming a bit impatient.

"Nothing. Just the sky and the sea," He answered from the crow's nest with a frown in his voice.

Zoro huffed behind me, "I thought that Jaya Island wasn't too far from where we were."

"It shouldn't be," Nami said, "And with the weather being so clear, we should have spotted the coastline over an hour ago."

The familiar caw of seagulls sounded above our heads and I smiled, "Well, we can't be too far out now. Birds don't stray too far from islands."

The cawing abruptly stopped and I heard three thuds on the deck in front of me. Chopper's shriek startled me, "They've been shot!"

"Looks like we'll be eating good tonight!" Luffy said jovially.

Usopp called down from the Crow's Nest, "I don't think they could have been shot, Chopper. I didn't hear any gunfire"

Chopper rushed toward the fallen birds, whimpering. I frowned and walked over to kneel beside him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and felt him tense up as he examined the dead seagulls. A frown curled my lips as I reached down and touched one of the gulls myself. I sharpened my sensory vision and noticed something abnormal in the neck of the bird. With a gentle pat, I gestured toward it, "Chopper, here."

The young doctor immediately reached down and took a closer look, gasping in horror as he pulled out a tool of some kind. With a quick movement, he withdrew a small object from the bird's neck, "I found a bullet! And judging from the trajectory it came from that way!" He gestured toward the bow of the ship, the direction we were heading.

I heard footsteps climbing up the stairs as Nami spoke up, incredulously, "Are you saying the shots came from an island we can't even see yet? That's impossible, Chopper!"

"But I saw it happen with my own eyes!" He protested.

Usopp laughed overhead, "A tuna had a better chance at killing them. No sniper or gun has that kind of range. They were probably shot before and just happened to fall now."

Luffy seemed to not be bothered by the strange occurrence as he picked up the birds and ran down to the main deck while shouting, "Hey, Sanji! Look! We found our dinner!"

Chopper still seemed upset by the whole thing as I gently patted his back. A frown curled my lips, "What Usopp says makes sense, but... with everything else that's happened today, I can't be sure if he's right. What if... there is a sniper that good out there? Maybe with a devil fruit power? I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this Jaya place."

Before long, Usopp spotted the island and came down from the crow's nest as we pulled up into the port. As we got closer, Luffy started to get more and more excited, "Haha! Awesome! Check it out, this town looks great!"

"Is it just me or does this place look like a resort?" Usopp shouted happily.

Chopper seemed to have calmed down from being spooked earlier as he spoke enthusiastically, "It sure does!"

"Hurry up and dock!" Luffy demanded.

I smirked and shook my head as I put my hands on my hips, "Yeah, alright. Settle it down a bit, will ya?"

Nami sounded hopeful, "It does look promising. Maybe we can even stay here awhile."

Usopp let out a curious hum, "Either I'm starting to hallucinate or the harbour over there is full of pirate ships."