The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 72: The Sacrificial Altar

The sky lobster carried us far as it sped across the cloud sea. Wherever it was taking us, it was not wasting any time getting us there. We took a straight path, not turning or even dodging any of the other sky fish in its way.

Nami was looking paler by the moment, "Oh no... It's definitely taking us back to that awful island."

Kaori turned towards her with a concerned frown, "Nami, what exactly happened at Upper Yard? What are we about to get dragged into?"

The copper-haired woman shook her head as she answered, "Nothing good. I saw a guy get chased to the edge of the forest by a bunch of people. I didn't see any of them, but I heard their voices. If I had to guess, they were those priests we're supposed to be judged by," She bowed her head as her voice wavered, "But that wasn't the worst part. That guy they were chasing, he..." She lifted her head to look from Robin to me, visibly shaken, "He was blasted by a pillar of light that completely destroyed a part of the coastline!"

Robin hummed, seeming curious, "A pillar of light, you say?"

Chopper squealed and cowered behind Kaori's leg, "You think that was God's power?" My girlfriend reached down to pat the poor kid on the shoulder to try and comfort him.

I frowned as I looked ahead and saw a break in the clouds, "We're here..." The girls and Chopper all turned to look in worry or confusion.

I was surprised to see a lush green forest. The closer we got, the more massive the trees looked. It rivalled the jungle from Little Garden.

The lobster was not slowing down as we quickly approached the shore. Nami shrieked, "We're gonna crash!"

"No, look!" Robin shouted as she pointed ahead of us, "It's heading straight for that cloud path that goes into the island!"

I grimaced as I looked at the raised stretch of sea cloud that wound through the trees, dipping over and under the canopy, "Brace yourselves! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Nami whimpered as she clutched the mast. Chopper yelped and latched onto my leg. Robin and Kaori both grabbed hold of the railing. I held fast to the rigging beside me for balance.

We all shouted or screamed as the lobster barreled forward, whipping us one way, then the other. The ship was carried deeper into the island before we reached a circular clearing with a large pedestal in the center of a sea cloud lake. The lobster hoisted us up, placing the Merry on top of the fixture before diving back into the sea cloud and disappearing.

I glared at the retreating creature as I stood upright before glancing back at the others, "Everyone alright?"

Chopper nodded, and Nami softly answered with a shaky grunt. Robin and Kaori both got to their feet before the older woman sighed in relief, "Seems so."

"I can't believe that overgrown crustacean just dropped us out in the middle of nowhere," My scowl softened slightly in relief before I turned back towards the now-empty sea cloud lake. Seeing that we were completely stranded, I started thinking of possible escape plans, "We might need to swim across to the shore. I'd better grab a pair of Usopp's old goggles just in case."

As I retrieved the goggles, Chopper climbed up onto the railing and looked around at our surroundings with a nervous frown, "Does anybody know where we are?"

Nami followed his gaze before answering him, "One thing's for certain, we're definitely somewhere in the middle of Upper Yard."

Robin hummed softly before she hopped down and walked over to the rock wall overlooking the pedestal. She placed her hand on it and brushed away some of the moss, "This seems to be some sort of altar for sacrifices."