Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to One Piece. I own only some of the OC's in this fan-fiction, and any place I make up.

Italic - Someone thinking

Italic and Underline - A flashback or Location shift

Bold and Italic - Terms that will be explained

Bold, Italic, and Underline - Journal entry, Bounties, Author notes, or Chapter

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Chapter 8: The Island in the Sky – Of Gods and Straw Hats!

Excerpt from Shidyk's Journal, Date being September 4th:
We made it to Skypeia in one piece. It looked almost liked we would've died about halfway, but after I opened the sails, it was easy sailing (so to speak). It's like in a dream or something with all the white clouds around us. We got attacked by a few monsters as well, but they weren't much of a fight. In any case, we landed near Upper Yard, the so-called holy land of Skypeia and I'll finally get Aisa back to her people...

Shidyk look once again at the white sea of clouds and wondered why he felt like he was going to be attacked at any second. He moved this to the back of his head as Aisa went down a hole that would be big enough for both of them to get through.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way?" he asked.

Aisa looked back and nodded, "Don't worry; we're close to the entrance to my village now!"

As if on cue, Shidyk and Aisa exited the tunnel and emerged in a cloud covered village that reminded Shidyk of some tribes back in the Blue Sea that he had found during his travels. Several teepees surrounded the area and near the center stood a statue of a man with long hair and wings similar to that of Aisa's. For some reason, Shidyk wished the guy was alive as he looked like he would give a good fight.

Aisa soon took a deep breath as she shouted, "EVERYONE, I'M BACK!!!"

Soon Shandians began to come out and see what was going on, and when they saw Aisa, many of them rush towards her barraging her with questions.

"Aisa! You're alive!"

"Where have you been!? We've all been worried about you!!!"

"How did you get back!?"

Aisa smiled, laughed, and tried to answer all of the questions at the same time, while Shidyk stayed behind one of the teepees. After a while, the chief (or the one Shidyk decided to call the chief) walked forward and calmed everyone down. He then looked at Aisa, "Now…Aisa-chan, how did you get back here? From what I remembered you and several of our people were sailing out at sea when Eneru attacked your ship."

Aisa nodded and pointed to where Shidyk was hiding, "I fell down to the Blue Sea and he helped me get back home."

Shidyk soon walk out from behind and wasn't surprised when many of the Shandians began to back up.

Shidyk raised his hands towards his chest and reassured them, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt anyone. I just wanted to make sure Aisa made it back to her home," he gave a grin as he turn to go back the way he came, "So if you guys don't mind, I'll leave you to your own devices."

However, before he could walk ten feet, Aisa grabbed one of his arms, "You can stay here for a while, Aniki! Please!"

Shidyk looked at the small girl and smiled, "Listen, thanks for the invite, but I doubt your people would want me here."

As Shidyk looked up, he was met by the sight of one of the women coming to him. She bowed, "My name is Laki, I'm Aisa's cousin and Aisa is right. The least we could do is give you a place to rest for the day."

Shidyk sighed, "Fine, I'll stay. But only for one day."

"How about you go…now!"

Shidyk's body acted instantly as it dodged a cannonball that had been shot from behind the crowd. Rolling to the side and preparing himself for a fight, the expert assassin called up a shield of shadows as another cannonball came at him. As Shidyk's left arm began to spew the trademark "shadowy" mist, the chief shouted, "Wiper! Stop shooting at that Blue Sea Dweller!!!"

Shidyk lowered his shield after a few minutes, and saw who the chief was addressing and who must've been shooting at him. The guy had a few tattoos and was built similarly like Shidyk. A brown Mohawk stood atop his head and he was at the moment smoking a cigar as he pointed a weapon Shidyk decided to call a bazooka.

The guy sniffed, "Sorry Chief, but this bastard isn't staying. He could give off our location and then we would be at the mercy of Eneru."

Shidyk's arm went back to normal as he looked at Wiper. After a while he sat down on one of the clouds and crossed his arms, "Sorry, but I got invited by Aisa. So unless you're her father or brother, I don't think you have any say in the matter."

Wiper aimed again and fired, forcing Shidyk to duck as the cannonball flew past the spot where his head had been a moment ago. Shidyk soon raised himself back up and muttered, "You really need to stop doing that."

Wiper frowned as he aimed, "Get the hell out of our land, Blue Sea Dweller. You're not welcome here."

Shidyk snorted but got up, "No problem. I did what I set out to do and I'm getting out of here," as he neared the entrance, he looked back and grinned, "By the way, if I had wanted to, I could've killed you and every other person, so consider yourself lucky that Aisa is one of my nakama."

With that comment, and another cannonball shot at him, Shidyk left the Shandian tribe and headed back to his ship.

A few moments later; near Angel Island…

Shidyk sighed in annoyance as he looked at the white island before him. He had really wanted to stay with the Shandians as they seemed like the people he had grown up with back in Litho.

Oh well…Shidyk thought, At least I can see if there is anyone strong here and then head back.

With that thought, Shidyk neared his ship to the cloud island before dropping anchor about fifteen feet from the shore. Once he saw that the ship wasn't sailing away, he burst into shadows before landing on the shore and began walking towards the city. As Shidyk walked, he began to hum a little before he started to sing again:

"This desert wind is burning my face again, god I'm missing you
Been running blind, under a broken sky with regrets I'm sorting through
But lesson learned baby I made the turn,

Wherever you are, no matter how far, girl, I'm gonna find my way to you
Through rivers of rain or mountains of pain, do whatever on earth I've gotta do
I'll follow a dream, I'll follow my heart,girl I gotta be wherever you are!"

As Shidyk was about to begin the second verse, he noticed something a ways ahead of him. To his surprise, it was a caravel with a sheep's head for the bow and a pirate flag resting at the top of the mast. As he neared the place where the ship was, he saw a small group ahead on the shore relaxing. His eyes widened as a small grin play at his mouth when he realized just who the ship belonged to.

It was the Mugiwara Pirates.

The World's Greatest Assassin couldn't believe that the brat from East Blue had made it all the way here to Skypeia. He decided to see if there was anyone he knew in the group.

Let's see…Mugiwara and Zolo I know about because of their bounties. Don't know that orange-haired girl, the blonde dart-brow, or long nose for that matter. That reindeer is from Drum, and…HOLY SHIT!!! THAT'S NICO ROBIN!!!

Shidyk had seen a few bounty posters of the last Oharan, but he had never personally met the woman. He felt, however, a sort of kinship towards the woman as both he and her share the same fact that they were the last of their people. As this thought passed by his head, he noticed that Luffy was now looking at him and asking, "Eh? Who are you?"

Shidyk soon walked over to where the Mugiwaras before he held out his hand to Luffy, "Name's Shidyk D. Shade, nice to meet ya."

Luffy grinned as he shook hands with the assassin, completely ignoring the reaction of his crew when they heard Shidyk's name. The young pirate soon noticed his crew's faces and asked, "What's wrong?"

The orange haired girl soon told Luffy off, "Luffy that man is really dangerous!!!"

Luffy looked at Shidyk before turning to the girl and saying, "Nah, he's cool."

The blonde soon shouted, "Luffy, that guy is the World's Greatest Assassin! He's "Shadow Fist" Shidyk!!!"

Shidyk laughed as he waved his hand dismissively, "Oi, oi, you guys worry too much, like Mugiwara here said, I'm cool. I got here a bit earlier than you guys and was gonna head back to the Blue Sea after a little exploring."

He could tell that he wasn't really reassuring him, so he shrugged, "Besides, I don't challenge people who have lower bounties than me. If I did, where would my reputation be?"

Zolo looked thoughtful, "That's a good point…"

Shidyk then noticed the melon that the reindeer was carrying and asked, "Oi, mind if I have some of that? I could do with something to eat."

Chopper quickly gave the melon before Shidyk bit into it. After a moment or two, Shidyk gave a yell, "YEOW! MY TEETH!!!"

"Eh? You okay, Shade?" Luffy asked.

"HOW THE HELL AM I OKAY!?" Shidyk shouted as he massaged his jaws and cooled off, "This stupid thing is as hard as steel!"

Luffy soon took the melon from Shidyk and after taking a bite from it, stuck out his tongue as he moaned, "Too hard…"

Shidyk cracked his knuckles as he muttered, "Stand back, I'm cracking this melon wide open!"

"There is no need for that," a voice stated.

Everyone looked to one of the dunes and were amazed to see a blonde girl standing there with a harp in her arms. The blonde dart-brow was the only one to recover quickly, exclaiming, "It's an angel!"

Shidyk snorted, "Baka, that's not an angel, that's a Skypeian…I think…"

The girl giggled as she walked towards them, "You're correct, I am a Skypeian. My name is Conis, nice to meet you all."

She took the melon from Luffy, "This is called Saunasu, the exterior is like steel so it is useless to do anything to it," she took out a knife and flipped the melon upside down, "You have to cut a small hole in the bottom, and then you can enjoy it."

The Skypeian girl soon put a straw and hand it over to Luffy, who took a long sip before he shouted, "OOOOHHH!!! THIS IS GOOD!!!"

Shidyk soon took the melon and tried some before he commented, "This isn't good…"

Luffy looked shocked before Shidyk took another swing of the melon and yelled, "THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!"

Everyone aside Conis facefaulted at the comment.

Shidyk soon got another melon, and began to drink with Luffy after both bang the melons together like cups shouting, "Kanpai!"

The others soon relaxed after seeing that Shidyk wasn't really going to attack them. Soon everyone began to do relax as Conis explained to them a few things that Nami asked her.

Suddenly everyone looked out to sea as they heard a weird noise and watched an old man riding a small boat that ran across the water.

"Hello, everyone!" called the old man, "I'm coming in for a landing!"

The pirate crew and the world's greatest assassin watched as the man landed and slammed right into a tree. As he got up he asked, "I'm sorry, is everyone alright?"

"You should ask that about yourself!" Zolo shouted.

"My apologies," the man stated, "My name is Pagaya, Conis' father. Nice to meet you."

Everyone greeted him in return, and Luffy and Nami began to speak to him about the boat. Shidyk decided to cancel out the conversation, and as soon as he did, he felt something weird in the air. It was the same feeling he had when something bad was about to happen to his nakama or himself.

What's coming our way…?

Grand Line; small island…

Rayo sighed as he looked at the man that had given him trouble, holding him by the scruff of his shirt, "Now I will ask nicely for the last time…have you or have you not heard of the Tome of the Verrani?"

The man looked through his own blood as he murmured, "I don't know…I've never heard of it!"

Rayo sighed as he pulled out one of his favored pocky out from his jacket, "I guess you're pretty useless then, aren't you?" he tossed the man up before he shouted, "Shigan- 'Kobushi'!"

Rayo's fist became a blur as he sent the man flying with a powerful right hook before said man slammed into a boulder, leaving an imprint of himself on it. Rayo munched on his pocky for a while remembering why he had come to this particular part of the Grand Line.

Flashback…

Rayo looked at the man around him, his arms tied behind his back. He had come to this particular island in order to find something very dear to him and that would, in theory, tell him more about the world than even the Poneglyphs themselves could give. Unfortunately, Rayo had found out that the place was the headquarters for a small time pirate who had become the island's "master".

"So," the man asked, "you think that you can just barge in and ask people strange question about some book?"

Rayo inwardly smiled as he thought, This is it! The Tome of Verrani must be here!

"And this would be a crime why?"

The man pulled out a pistol, "Because I say it's a crime!"

He fired, thinking that Rayo would try to dodge the shot, but he and his men stared as Rayo took the shot without even flinching. Rayo rolled his eyes as he muttered, "If I had a Belli for every time some idiot tried that one on me…"

They continued to watch as Rayo not only undid his bindings, but pulled the bullet out and dusted himself. The leader was the first to recover as he shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

As Rayo picked off some lint on his arm he answered, "My name is Rayo Verrani: Transporter-for-hire, doctor, and historian. However, you might now me as Rayo the Beast."

Everyone soon backed off as they murmured, "The Beast!? As in the man that has 244 million Belli on his head!? No way, I heard he was in Alabasta!!! He'll kill us!!!"

Rayo snorted, "Please! Why would I dirty my hands with people severely weaker than me?"

That particular comment did not sit well with the leader as he shouted, "MEN, SPLATTER THIS GUY ALL OVER THE FLOOR!!! I'LL PAY TEN PERCENT OF HIS BOUNTY TO WHOEVER CAN DO IT!!!"

With the idea of gold in their pockets, the men drew their weapons and tried to look as dangerous as they could. Rayo shook his head in disgust, "Must you idiots try and use your male bravado in order to intimidate someone who is obviously far smarter and stronger than you? Or are you making faces because you think I'll laugh and be vulnerable?"

That sent the men into a riot as Rayo bended his legs, waiting for them to get close. As they did, Rayo jumped into air, amazing those below at the height of his jump. The transporter grinned as he began to use his Geppou technique to stay in the air and shouted below, "If you tell me where I can find the Tome of Verrani then maybe I won't turn you to the Marines!"

His answer came in the form of a hail of bullets, and he was forced to move across the air as the bullets came at him. He looked down as he muttered, "Guess I will have to get my hands dirtied after all…"

Soon Rayo performed a somersault in the air as one of his legs began to move rapidly, "Rankyaku- 'Gufuu'!"

As Rayo's moved in a blur, several small "airblades" flew towards the people in the ground, knocking out those that they met in their path. As Rayo finished, he saw that about three quarters of the group was finished from that attack. He soon landed, only to see the rest of the men try and cut him with some swords or daggers that they had. The transporter-for-hire merely waited for a few seconds before he murmured, "Tekkai."

The men gasped as a loud clang was heard when their swords touched Rayo's body. As the men backed off, Rayo grabbed his whip and smiled, "This is a style of combat that I've mastered that pertains to my family…consider yourselves honored that you should see me use it."

"Verrani School of Martial Arts – Cry of the Weeping Willow!"

Suddenly the whip lashed out in every single direction, striking the men around Rayo several times before they were tossed into the air. As Rayo put his whip up, he noticed the man stand up, annoyance flashing in his face, "If you want something done, you always have to do it yourself…"

Rayo watched as the man's body began to shift and grow. A white fur covered his body as his legs took the shape of those of an animal with hooves. A pair of horns soon stuck out from behind his ears as his face stretched out somewhat.

"My, my," Rayo murmured somewhat interested, "So you ate a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, eh?"

The sheep-man grinned, likely thinking that he had caught him off guard, "That's right! I ate the Muton Muton no Mi, and since then I've been a sheep-man!" he lowered his head slightly before he charged, "Battering Ram!!!"

Rayo merely stood where he was before he grabbed the sheep-man by one of his horns, stopping the man in his tracks. Rayo looked at the man in the eye, "The power you have is fine for small time pirating and such. However, I think if you want the strongest Zoan-type Devil Fruit, you would want mine…"

At these words, Rayo Verrani began to change. Rayo grew larger in size, as did his shoulders and arms. His hair band, which had been holding his hair, snapped to let the now growing hair grow to his waist line. Out of his lower back, a tail sprouted which ended in a tuff of the same black hair. A dark brown fur began to grow everywhere in his body, as his legs began to shift to look exactly like a large cat's hind legs. His nose broaden and flatten, and hair grew around his face to create the same look as that of a mane. Soon what stood there was not Rayo, but a large monster that towered at least three feet over the sheep-man, whom was now quaking in fear at Rayo's grip.

"W-w-w-what are you!?"

Rayo smiled, showing glistening fangs as he answered, "I would be someone who has eaten the Devil Fruit known as the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Lion."

With that Rayo, threw the man into the air before extending his claws and slashing at his chest, "Shigan- 'Shishitsume'!"

The sheep-man shouted in pain as Rayo's claw slash at his chest and sent him backwards. However, before he could right himself, Rayo appeared behind him and stated, "I believe it's time for an interrogation…"

End of Flashback

Rayo kicked one of the stones in the place before he headed towards the boat that served as his base of operations, "Another wild goose chase…"

He then saw something that caught his eyes, and pulled another pocky to chew on thoughtfully as he read the bounty posters on the small makeshift wall:

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Kairi Lumina a.k.a. "The Blood Countess"
Reward: 210,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Toby Dicey a.k.a. "Moon Beast Toby"
Reward: 150,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Zere Xader a.k.a. "Stitches"
Reward: 75,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Eliza Bathory a.k.a. "The Butcheress"
Reward: 68,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Theo Gaine
Reward: 109,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Damien Bran a.k.a. "Blood Raven"
Reward: 66,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Arezen Cobaras
Reward: 50,000,000 Belli

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Goheno Baba a.k.a. "Goheno the Berserker"
Reward: 98,000,000 Belli

So these are the ones Axe spoke off…he thought, I hope that old rock head doesn't do anything too stupid.

Rayo then saw a small flyer to the side, after reading it; he grinned as he threw it to the side and hurried to his ship. A single thought in his mind, Maybe I can find something about Black Crow or the Tome there!

The flyer showed a Jolly Roger, and beneath it were the words "Welcome Pirates to the Dead End Race!"

END OF CHAPTER 8

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Translations and Explanations Section:
Okay this is where I tell you a little bit more about the terms I used for my fan-fiction. They may or may not be perfect, so please comment if I had done some sort of error. This is also where you'll find out more about the next chapter.

Caravel - Is a small, highly maneuverable, two or three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish for long voyages of exploration beginning in the 15th century.

Kanpai – The Japanese version of "Cheers."

Tome of the Verrani – A book said to contain the entire history of the Verrani family, from its founding to the death of Rayo's father, Raul Verrani the Third. It spans over one thousand years and Rayo believes it contains information about the Blank Century. Rayo's dream is to find this book.

Shigan- 'Kobushi': Literally, Shigan "Fist". It is a very, very strong punch which is done at the same speed as Shigan, making it even more powerful.

Rayo the Beast – Rayo's alias. He earned this nickname because of his Devil Fruit.

Rankyaku- 'Gufuu': Literally, Rankyaku "Hurricane." After using Geppou to launch himself into the air, Rayo cuts the air multiple times through swift kicks with one of his legs. Each cut is smaller than a normal Rankyaku.

Tekkai - Literally, Iron Mass. A technique in which the user hardens his or her muscles to be as hard as iron in order to nullify damage taken from attacks. However, it can be broken by strong enough forces. The strength of Tekkai can vary for users with different physical conditions, as a person with a higher level of muscular strength would be able to take stronger forces with his use of Tekkai. However, despite the density that one gains by using this technique, one should remember that the user's body is still flesh and blood, making it as vulnerable as ever to non-solid attacks. Hence, even masters of Tekkai are far from indestructible. It is presumed to be the sixth and last form of Rokushiki.

Verrani School of Martial Arts – Cry of the Weeping Willow: Rayo unleashes a fury of whip lashes that have devastating power. This is one of the techniques in a style known only to the Verrani.

Battering Ram – Mutton charges at an opponent, aiming to ram them. A joke on my part as this is the name of an ancient weapon that was used during sieges to open the gates of a castle or fortress.

Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Lion- Literately "Cat Cat Fruit, Model: Lion." This fruit turns the eater into a lion. It is often referred to as the "King of the Zoan-type Devil Fruits." This fruit was eaten by Rayo Verrani.

Shigan- 'Shishitsume': Literally, Shigan "Lion Claw". In his half-lion form, Rayo slashes the opponent with his claws at the same speed as that of a Shigan. This attack causes not only greater damage, but like with Shigan "Haretsu," they are thrown back because of the force.

Shidyk: On the next Chapter of Legacy of the Assassin!

Luffy: Let's go save Nami!

Usopp Ack! Look out!

Satori This is the trial of ball!

Shidyk: Get the hell out of my way!


Shidyk: Next time on Legacy of the Assassin! The Island in the Sky– The First Trial!

The 8th Chapter! Now I know what some of you are thinking: why didn't Shidyk (Rayo) give more time to "Shadow Fist?" My answer is pretty simple actually: I couldn't really find a way to make it interesting. So I decided to make it a half and half: half of the story pertains to Shidyk, while the other pertains to Rayo (whom is my favorite of my OC's). I may do this once in a while if I can't make the story interesting, so bear with me, okay? The song that Shidyk was singing came from a country song called "Wherever you are" by Jack Ingram. It's one of my favorite songs, so I decided to put it here.

Anyway, now things will really get interesting with the kidnapping of the Going Merry and those in it, the attack of the White Berets, and the first trial of the Priests! Can the Mugiwaras find their friends in time? And what will Shidyk do to help them!?

You'll have to read and find out on the next Legacy of the Assassin!