Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
"One Piece." – Speaking
'One Piece.' – Thinking
One Piece. – Flashbacks
One Piece. – Devil Fruits and Techniques
Deadly Drinking Pirate
Path to a Stand Off
Previously on Deadly Drunken Pirate,
It was a silent but pleasurable tour of the ruins until they came across a certain wall that had markings on them. Kuro pointed out, "Don't these look like that drawing that the captain drew on the day you joined?" Robin was still speechless and nodded, here hand caressing the markings as if the wall was the face of a newborn infant.
"Yes, they are." Robin finally spoke up and Kuro felt himself jump a little. "And they are saying so much about history, about this place before it was propelled up into the sky…" Robin went on and on as she read more of the Ponegylphs until she halted in her tracks. Kuro wanted to see what it was and saw that Robin's eyes were filled with shock.
"What is…" Kuro tried to reach out to Robin again when his foot accidently slid int the base of the wall. That didn't bruise anything but instead, Kuro felt something that wasn't pain. It was like something responded to when his foot banged on the wall, an echo of sorts. Kuro somehow knew that something was nearby but out of sight of the naked eye; he tried with his senses and the world turned black.
Black and filled with white outlines of the ruins, Kuro could see that clearly. It was like his eyes turned to that of a bat's. It was amazing to behold and while he couldn't see the clouds in the sky, or any sky for that matter, Kuro could see that the green stalk was massive and tall; it was like an entire mountain contorted into a rope shape. Then he saw it.
Underneath the field of clouds while following the giant stalk, Kuro saw the outline of an entire city. The buildings were like the ruins, made of stone and made to be sturdy and cubical. Then Kuro's sonar vision was cut short. Yet he knew where to find the city.
"Kuro-san." Robin finally tore his glance from the wall and noticed her companion staring at the cloud ground.
"Robin. The City of the Gold…is down below!"
"We are getting there, girl." Luffy rubbed tenderly on the giant snake herself. "You will be home soon." Nola was more focused on slithering through the forest by the bark of the massive trees. But she still acknowledged her rider's affectionate rub by a gentle tremor.
"You are just too good with animals, Luffy-kun." Nami purred and tried to get a tighter grip on her boyfriend, not that it will hurt a rubber man. "How can I compete with the world's biggest snake?"
"Maybe we can try it after everything is done." Luffy acted coy and got both his girlfriend and Nola to blush something awful. As much as they wanted to bruise him, they just couldn't focus with the fantasies entering their heads (Sorry, I have to keep this as Teen rated).
"But we still have to be ready to face him. As much of a self-centered fool he is, that power of his is among the most dangerous there is." Luffy got serious and so did the present company did, Nola pushed herself to get to where their common foe is. All three stared off into the distance where a giant stalk was to behold.
XXXXX
At the cloud swamp,
"Scatter!" That was commanded for good reason, Gedatsu is finally fighting for real and he just sent another punch with the speed of a jet plane that shattered a cloud hill that was covered in litter, and it broke like a pile of glass to a sledgehammer.
"I am starting to get bored." Gedatsu spoke before activating dials on his shoes that propelled him into the air. "Unless you can still keep this up, you will be killed by this! Numagumo Bāgā (Swamp Cloud Burger)!" Out of Gedatsu's palm came a really ugly cloud that descended rather quickly. Except,
"Lord Gedatsu! I am an ally, don't aim at me…!" That soldier playing the straight man was the target instead of any of the Strawhats. This caused Chopper to spring into action; as a doctor, he has this urge/habit to help out anyone who needs help unless it is an enemy. And this soldier was hit by his own superior, who looked indifferent about it.
"What is that stuff?" Carol was frightened, it looked like a cloud and the soldier acted like he was being eaten alive from it. Chopper tried to swat it but the thing was like a real cloud and touching a cloud was like catching a plume of smoke.
"It's a swamp cloud, as this land is a cloud swamp. One that I control as my Ordeal." Gedatsu responded seriously, only that someone was shaking in frustration about it.
"Sure, it is a swamp…" Frank said with his eyes darkened. "You are sinking in it!" Indeed, the priest was and as soon as Frank pointed out, Gedatsu was already up to his neck in the clouds. That really killed the mood.
"Fool!" The priest shouted, a bit hypocritical, and emerged of the swamp at the speed of a rocket. "I control this Ordeal and the swamp can't kill me!" Then the priest noticed Chopper doing a more physical approach to save the unfortunate soldier; using brute strength to force the swamp cloud of the soldier's lungs. "And if the swamp doesn't kill you, I will! Jetto Panchi (Jet Punch)!"
The doctor looked up to the coming threat with barely anytime to dodge and was about to reach for a Rumble Ball, maybe for his Defense Form. But that wasn't necessary when the punch only came in within a few inches of the target. "Sorry dipshit." Gin was the one responsible and had the short end of his weapon jabbed in Gedatsu's chest which really hurt with the speed generated by the Jet Dial. "But hands off the captain's little brother. Luffy will go ape shit if you hurt our little doctor." Gin found it very satisfying to watch the foolish priest with a look of utter pain on his face.
It was so bad that he didn't even notice the pistol pressed against his nose. "This is gonna hurt, punk." Frank smiled sadistically and shot a round of his Bakudan no Iki no Dangan (Bomb Breath Bullets). The sound of bones breaking was heard yet again. And still, before the priest could respond, someone slammed a leg down on his head.
"This is for hurting our cute little doctor." Carol felt like old times, using his powers to manipulate her weight to float then crush. "Sen-Kiroguramu Puresu (Thousand Kilo Press)!" Normally she will go for her max of ten thousand kilograms but Carol wanted to save the finishing blow for Chopper, so she settled for a kick ten times lighter.
It didn't take any longer for Gedatsu to finally get his bearing together. "I am going to kill you for this insolence." The priest suddenly took off from Gin's proximity. "All of you will suffocate in the name of…WHAA!" Suddenly, Gedatsu felt his flight off and started to soar irregularly. "What the hell is going!?" And while he was disorientated from the experience, Gedatsu then spotted what was the cause: Gin had stolen one of his boots with the dials on. "Damn you!"
And when Gedatsu tried to stable himself, a shadow had covered him. "No, damn you." It was Chopper, in his Master Form. "You were the most pathetic enemy I have ever faced and nearly killing one of your own men was bad enough. But as a doctor, I can never forgive anyone who will strike a man who can't fight back." Gedatsu was not only frightened by Chopper's appearance but there was something in the latter's eyes that scared the former witless. "You will pay for that. Sakurarō Zuuddo Supairaru (Sakura Rose Hoof Spiral)!"
Chopper not only stayed airborne for the whole time but also spun a 180 and landed a spiral kick landing on the priest's back. The sound of bones snapping echoed on the cloud swamp, and the witnesses cringed. Yet the priest landed rather softly into the cloud but he was as stiff as a bone, not going to be moving anytime soon.
Afterwards,
"For an idiot, he sure has quite the equipment. He won't notice its missing if he can't notice that he talks through his lips or when his eyes are facing the back of his head." Gin was having a little too much fun looting the down priest, thankfully Frank shielded Carol's eyes when the Man-Demon started to tear off the ugly underpants.
"Glad you think so, sir." That unnamed soldier decided that it wasn't worth sticking with a man that is somehow an idiot and a tyrant at the same time. He settled for the simple name, Kumo and wanted to be of a help to the Straw Hats. Back in the day, even sailors joined pirates when the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence "Now then, those are the Jet Dials and the ones on the boots are Milky Dials. They can produce the same type of cloud that we are standing on."
Gin heard that and snatched the dials off the boots, the one he already had in his hand and the one still on the priest's foot. He gave one of them a slight press and a cloud big enough for a human infant came out, it was blown away by a stray gust. Gin tired it again but with a press hold and a stream of clouds came out. "Sweet. And these?" Gin tucked away the Milky Dials and pointed to the ones he found in the gloves.
"Swamp Dials." Kumo answered with a pinch of venom; anyone who nearly suffocated on a swamp cloud would be bitter. "Those are similar to the Milky Dials, only they make swamp clouds that are much heavier; and since they are clouds, it is harder to get off." The Straw hats looked at each other and nodded; they are going to keep these out of sight from Kumo. They may be pirates but they learned better from their captain to be respectful with their new comrades.
"And that is everything…" Gin said and just as he released his grip on the priest, the body sank completely into the swamp. They were silent for a moment before the realization hit them; their foe fell through the clouds and is probably falling ten thousand feet to the surface. That is going to be one mean crash, not that it matters anymore.
"Let's go and see if we can find the others." And just like that, Gin led the gang and their new friend away from the swamp; they are sure to forget about the fate of their foolish foe. Everyone else is sure to do so, which is a bit sad.
XXXXX
At the ruins closed off by a cloud cage,
"Holy, punch to the right!" Ohm commanded his steed and the giant dog did so, Zoro was just too fast to be hit that way. Only that the swordsman jumped to dodge the simple attack. "Good boy! I've got him." The priest already sensed that Gedatsu had fallen but never cared for any of his fellow priests, not even as rivals but annoyances with the same title. So, his battle focus didn't even twitch. He just followed Zoro and moved his giant sword as if a whip.
Zoro saw it coming and got ready to counterattack until the end of that strange weapon turned into a hammer and sent the swordsman into a pile of ruins. It was only a moment when Zoro got out, bruised and even more angry. "I am impressed a bit, you are tougher than you look." Ohm still stood casually in front of his foe, not even a smidge of dirt on himself.
"Just what the hell is that thing you are swinging around like a bandit's club!?" Zoro had already lost his cool after having to put up with the giant dog and a priest whose weapon just can't stay one shape for five minutes.
"My weapon is an iron cloud. And clouds don't stay the same shape, and thus my sword does not limit to blades." Ohm calmly explained in a tone that was rubbing in Zoro's face. Then the priest stabbed forward his weapon that transformed into a giant fork that forced Zoro to use his two main blades to block it by the two spaces between the prongs. Yet the swordsman couldn't even hold his ground with the block and was sent into an old wall. "Surely you can do better." Ohm talked Zoro down with sadism and disappointment.
"You want better…?" Zoro huffed, straining his arms to keep the middle prong from piercing his chest. But he was able to turned his arms black with Haki, causing them to budge a bit and with that boost of strength, the swordsman was able to break free from the iron cloud fork by breaking the prongs. Yet Zoro was not done yet. "Oni Giri (Demon Cutter)!"
"Aizen Bakku (Eisen Back)." Ohm commanded of his sword calmly and the iron cloud took the attack while pushing Zoro back again. "Interesting. That somehow seems related to our Mantra. Too bad that you need more tricks if you still want to win." Zoro suffered no damage but never did his opponent. "I bet that you want the Eisen Dial in my sword that is truly responsible for the ever-changing shape of my blade. There are barely any other Eisen Dials in existence, I should call myself lucky."
"Luck means nothing in a battle, only power and skill and instinct." Zoro retorted. "I don't have time to waste believing in luck." The swordsman got the iron cloud of him but this time, Zoro stepped on top of the block. "Sorry but this match is…" With a sadistic smirk on his mouth, Zoro vanished from his spot. Ohm finally lost his cool and before he could even twitch, his chest burst open with blood. "…over."
Ohm gritted his teeth at the pain and humiliation, Zoro moved at a speed that the former could see but couldn't bring himself to dodge fast enough. The priest turned painfully slow to where his foe was, and tried to raise his sword at Zoro. Yet, the white iron cloud suddenly left the handle and rose as a harmless regular cloud. Ohm watched in horror then he spotted what caused this; the opposite end of the handle had been sliced in half, empty as an old sea shell.
"Having a rare dial made you feel lucky…" Zoro spoke again while Ohm couldn't do more than shake in his stance. "So, I guess that I am too." In his hand, the priest saw what could be the Eisen Dial in Zoro's hand. "So, thanks, idiot priest." With that said, Ohm had finally fallen; the last of the priests to lose to the intruders.
Then a shadow emerged over Zoro and the swordsman realized that he nearly forgotten about the giant yellow dog. He braced for another battle when, "Holy, bang your head and pass out!" And before Zoro knew it, the giant dog did just that. Holy was just too well trained; he followed orders from anyone that gave the command.
And yet Zoro did not expect to see one of the goat soldiers run up aside his crewmates. He had nothing else to say about, "This place is fucking mad." All before a yet larger shadow was cast, this time covering everyone present; all of them had expressions of silent shock.
XXXXX
With Kuro and Robin,
"I seriously didn't make these to be used like this…" Kuro grumbled as he watched Robin use his Cat Claws to cut out cubes of the clouds just for her sprouted arms to scoop out of the hole they were already deep in. "Will you hurry it up?"
"There is one more for you to pitch in instead of complaining." Robin retorted and just plain ignored her companion's moans. Kuro eventually took the other glove with claws and got to dig deeper. And it wasn't long until he felt the ground give away and felt like an opening. Robin spotted it and helped her companion expand the opening to fit them both while she commanded her sprouted arms to throw down her pack.
Kuro just took back his Cat Claws and chanted to himself that they were not used as shovels. Robin just took in how they found what seems to be some room with clouds decorating the walls. Yet there was still one light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel to check out. All thought was lost and all breath was taken away when the two went through the second opening which was some kind of exit; and they left some kind of temple into a city.
"That's it! That is what I saw back up!" Kuro felt genuinely excited. "Could this be the City of Gold?"
"Indeed mortals." A man's voice had cut through them worse than a spike to the chest. Turning back swiftly, both pirates saw God Eneru rest on top of the building while eating an apple rather bitterly. Kuro even noticed a faint outline of a fist on the check. "I have already discovered it when I ascended to my throne but alas, there was no gold to be found. Just stones with gibberish of maggots, no gold."
Kuro said nothing, all he could do is sense that Eneru's power is not to be trifled with; he was more than a man without a shirt and the longest earlobes ever seen. Yet in this sense of caution was the feeling of surety that their captain, their strongest member, can still take one God Eneru.
"It is still a bit curious, I am still sensing signatures disappearing." God Eneru then spoke while still taking a bite out of his apple. "And I don't sense any of the rebels who wish to steal my throne. I wonder why, there is this feeling at the back of my head telling me that there is danger nearby…" It is wise, when all else fails, to trust one's instincts and if Eneru did, he would have lasted longer.
"Hello Eneru." Yet another voice had broke the ice and it was noted that God Eneru had shivered a little bit. All three of them turned to see a man in a pirate captain's cloak, his girl with her head behind his shoulder, both on top of the largest snake ever seen. "Nola is home so I must ask that you leave her house."
XXXXX
As pirate captain and tyrant god stare themselves down, the Going Merry finally arrived back at Angel Beach. Amazingly, the main ship of the Straw Hats, the King's Gourd, was untouched. "Its Gan Fall!" One of the inhabitants of the town, that which is named Angel Beach, shouted out while a crowd was rushing to the beachline.
"With the Blue Sea Dwellers!"
"And that little girl is dressed a lot like the rebels!"
"I just saw a big fish hide behind the vessel to be sacrificed!"
The Straw Hats ignored the cries from the crowd and moved their scout ship next to their main ship. "What a crowd. I am surprised that Aisa is still asleep." Usopp committed on the circumstances while carrying the young girl that was brought to them by Gan Fall. She was in bad shape and Kaya wasted no time treating her until she was at least stable and sleeping. Whether it was Usopp trying to be tough or was a sucker for his girlfriend, he still was the one to carry the girl. When they asked her for a name, the girl always chanted 'Aisa' before nodding off.
"Just make sure that she is comfy." Kaya responded. "She is so small that a jolt will dislocate something like a bone or an organ. I suggest that you take good care of her." As a doctor, her patient always came first; Kaya felt proud to be taking control of a doctor's priorities while worried that it might prove to be rude to her boyfriend.
"Okay Kaya-chan. I will definitely treat her better than they would." To prove his point, Usopp managed to unconsciously catch a fresh tomato that was aimed at Aisa. This got everyone else on guard. Gan Fall was not happy about one bit.
"She is a little girl! Why are you treating her like a criminal!?" For an old man, he certainty has spunk and more endurance than most of his age.
"She is with the rebels…!" The one who threw the fruit aiming at Aisa was a little boy who couldn't speak for himself, his father did. "…just being here is enough for God Almighty to pass his judgement on us!"
"So be it." Gan Fall responded indifferently. Both he and Usopp exchanged a glance eye-to-eye before.
"We refused to bow down to a fraud of a god!" The two screamed straight to the sky and the crowds panicked. They rushed and trampled over themselves for shelter and to hide from whatever is to come instantly. Yet, nothing happened. For one of those moments that feel like forever, not even crickets chirping was heard.
"Now that we have got your attention…" Alvida had the duty of official First Mate and took charge of the situation. "We will like some confiscation for the trouble you gave us and our sniper has just the thing to win you over~!" Thankfully that dirty, hidden meaning just flew everyone's head or else Alvida just lost Usopp a month of cuddling.
Back at the buried city,
"Leave…her house…?" Eneru spoke painfully slow. "You mortal must be mentally retarded; the Lord of the Sky has no house and this is nobody's house. And I will not leave on the orders of a maggot." Eneru tried to act like his authority was offended yet he still shivered the longer he stared at Luffy's emotionless expression.
Luffy then shifted his eyes to Nola, spoke not a word but Nami and the giant snake understood. The silence was broken by a loud and disturbing snap followed by the sound of broken bones and a body hitting a stone floor. "Sorry about Robin, I can't protect this city from what is to come. Just go north and give it a ring." Luffy spoke to his latest crewmate and jumped down to where God Eneru landed, twitching on the ground. "It hurts a lot, looking and moving like a lot like…a maggot, right?"
All this mockery made Eneru look like he was losing his sanity. And Yet Luffy wasn't finished, "There is one being that not even God can kill. If God can't kill, he fears. And I am the one you can't kill, I am the one you fear!" As God Eneru struggled to get to his feet, Luffy walked over with steam emitted from his arms.
"If you are God…" Luffy drew both blades to behold. "Then I'm the Devil!" And for once, Eneru felt fear as he gazed upon his foe who showed a terrifying aura. That of a featureless silhouette that had the evilest grin with the emptiest pair of eyes Eneru had ever gazed upon.
End of Chapter 41.
*Hello. If I am shifting from the source material, please be easy on the flamers as this is how I understand the canon Skypeia Arc.
I tried my best to describe what Eneru saw in Luffy's aura but picture Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist but with eyes like the Anti Spiral's from Gurren Lagann. And like in the canon, Gedatsu will not be killed nor will he appear again in this story; I actually find that character funny as long as someone was around to correct him so I didn't kill him off.
Tell me what you think and see you soon!*
