The Greatest (Zoro x Tashigi)

Chapter 14: Tunnels and Rugs

10 pm

Robin POV:

Cicadas hum in the dark, their overwhelming chirps joining a chorus of other nightlife noises as our self proclaimed gold heist group pushes through the thick underbrush of the island jungle. Right in front of us, a tower of earth still covered in tropical vegetation climbs into the sky, the top invisible as a heavy fog descends on the island. I push a leaf aside to walk under, and

"Oh!!" I gasp a little as I step away from the 3-foot tall beetle hanging from a low branch right in front of me.

"What is it Robin-Chan? Can I AAAAHHH-gfhhfhg" Sanji leaps away from me and the bug, tears streaming down his cheeks as his whole body shivers at the sight. I chuckle lowly and wait for his whimpering to quiet more before I dispel the hand I sprouted to clamp over his mouth.

"Sanji, try to stay quiet. We don't want to alert the marines we are here until after we've robbed them clean."

"I know, I know! I would never do anything to endanger Tashigi-Chan!" The cook lets out a nervous laugh as he walks past me, ducking far below the giant bug and standing on the other side, then

"AAAAAHHHHH-gfhhgh"

I quickly clamp another hand over his mouth and let out a sigh. No wonder the navy officer had been nervous when she and Zoro pushed off a few hours ago. Our crew is good at many things. Following precise, pre-laid plans is not one of them. Or just generally not alerting the entire world to our existence.

"it's a good thing you're not here to see the process before we pull through when it counts." I mutter to myself, shaking my head with a soft smirk as I recall the navy captain throwing her hands in the air in defeat before hopping down to the little boat the duo had sailed off in.

"Just- please no one die and if you can somehow actually get around to the part that helps us out too.. no.. no never mind just, don't die."

Tashigi had yelled the words as if fully resigning that we would be of no use in her mission as we were distracted by gold, but Luffy had been quick to stretch a fist down and bonk her on the head.

"Oi! We said we'd sound the alarms at 1, so that's what we'll do! You saying pirates are too stupid to keep their word?! STOP DOUBTING US!!" Luffy had made his famous pouty face, and Tashigi just stared for a second, before barely smiling back. She may not realize it, but I could tell from her face then that she was really counting on us. An ocean waves camaflouge cover on the Thousand Sunny, several hours of rowing, and a slightly stomach churning climb up the thousand foot cliffs of the island later, we were still on task with keeping our word.

Pushing the memory aside, I walk past Sanji, and 20 feet later I'm at the base of the giant pillar of earth. I peer at the myriad of insects, some barely visible and others as large as my head, crawling all over the place on its surface. All of them poisonous. I lift my own arm and check for bites, smiling when I see none.

"We'll have to tell Chopper to keep the recipe for this repellent he created." I comment to Franky whose come up beside me. The cyborg lets out a chuckle before he shoves his giant hands into the mass of writhing crawlers and tears away the layer of jungle to reveal bedrock.

"You really think they tunneled this far down Usopp?" Franky asks the sniper, who nods his chin down once with surety.

"Even if they didn't, the blueprints for the main base labeled one door in the dungeon as the 'path to mint' and never mentioned a path on the surface from the base to here. So, they must go underground. We just have to quietly dig until we reach the tunnel that has to be in this mountain, and then we'll find the gold!" Usopp proclaims with a giddy clap of his hands.