One Piece (Love Story) [Part Two]

Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy Nine [Rewritten]

-Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Nine-

"It's trickery! They've got an invisible man, a girl who controls ghosts, and a shadow master—trickery is the name of the game on this island and they're all professionals at it!" Zoro frowned. "It's safe to say that none of them are planning on giving Luffy a fair fight!"

"I'm afraid that I must agree" Robin said.

"He makes a valid point, can't argue with that logic" I said. "The captain isn't exactly...smart...to put it lightly" I added.

"Yeah" Franky nodded.

"If they manage to stall Luffy and the sun rises, then we're screwed—him, me, and the cook! We'll melt until we're nothing but ash!" Zoro glared, causing me to tense at the thought. "Maybe we can save ourselves, but if we can get Luffy his shadow back, he can lay this damn island to waste!" he huffed.

"Looks like we got maybe at least forty minutes until sunrise" Franky estimated as he looked towards the horizon. "On the plus, that's some thick fog—the sun's gonna have a hard time getting through that" he added, trying to sound positive.

"That is a little bit of a comforting thought" I nervously bit my lower lip as I looked up at the fog that surrounded us.

"So we're that close to dawn" Sanji frowned. "We should count our blessings that we've got this fog—can't say it's much comfort though, the reality of melting is starting to sink in for me" he confessed.

"Huh? How long have they been standing there?!" Oars scowled as if just now noticing us.

"What the hell?!" Usopp shouted as the ground suddenly started to shake.

"What is this? An earthquake?" Zoro questioned as I tried to keep myself balanced.

"Look! The fog's clearing!" I gasped as the fog suddenly started to clear away.

"No! The fog" Franky ground through clenched teeth. "Could it get any worse?!"

"That fog was our last hope! There's nothing left to block the sun now!" Usopp cried.

"Perfect! That fog cleared up at the worst time possible—I'm really not looking forward to the sun melting my face off..." Sanji bitterly grumbled.

"Dammit!" Usopp cursed. "Well, this changes the situation at this point, but to try and stop—it's Moria!" he suddenly cried as he fell back. "It's Moria!" he fearfully repeated.

"Moria?!" Chopper flinched. "What?! Where?!" he asked as he looked around in a panic.

"What? You're kidding, right?" Sanji asked as I began to look around as well.

"What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be fighting with Luffy?" I frowned.

"Dawn is just around the corner, do you think now is the best time to be standing around?" Moria teasingly asked.

"Wait!" Usopp cried. "How are you here? What happened to Luffy?" he asked.

"Huh? I hear Master, but I can't see him" Oars said, looking around in confusion as he tried to locate the Warlord.

"Explain this, Usopp, just where the hell are you seeing Moria?" Sanji asked when he couldn't immediately locate the Warlord either.

"Look up, you idiots! He's right there—the belly! Inside Oars belly!" Usopp pointed.

"Inside his belly?" Franky questioned.

"He...he is?!" Chopper gasped as the Warlord started to laugh. "That twisted Hogback! He's got to be behind this!" he growled as he realized that the corpse's stomach had been hollowed out to help make room for a makeshift room inside the giant's belly.