Chapter 4: Bewitching Forest
Mansion Near the Sacred Tree
The Supernovas all woke up in a mansion that was seemingly vacant and foreboding with the windows showing the massive tree that was previously in the distance up close with flying humanoid things flirting in the distance.
"What's this place?," asked Luffy.
"Looks like a huge tree outside.," said Zoro.
"Could those things be...," said Hawkins.
"We're lucky to be out of there. This feels more like some fairy tale than reality at this point.," complained Bege.
"Let's hope they're more focused on us than our crews.," said Killer.
"Damn them. I want payback.," said Kid.
"I've never heard of a Dimensional Logia. And Infinity and Devil Mythical Zoan? That's ridiculous.," complained Apoo.
"Yeah, and they were emitting a Haki that I've never seen before...and I instinctively didn't want to touch.," said Law.
"Damnit. How are we gonna get the Poneglyph now?," asked Bonney.
"You know about it?," asked Bege.
"Guess we're all meant to be here by a higher power.," said Urouge.
"Thanks for saving us. I think their powers are too much of an unknown to deal with now," said X Drake to Minerva as she nodded.
Nami then looked at Minerva and asked-
"What's with this Rocks...and why did he call you Monkey?"
"Yeah, that's suspicious.," said Bonney.
X Drake glared at her as he asked-
"Not as suspicious as you. Since you have the last name as those two bastards. Is it a common name or are you a World Noble posing as a pirate?"
"I could ask the same as you. The Marines seem to go out of the way to avoid you.," said the woman.
A wooden chair plopped up out of nowhere with oddly metallic ends.
"Was that there before?," asked Chopper.
Suddenly, a table appeared out of nowhere with a set of silverware and meals- the table having metallic ends at its feet.
Usopp did a double-take at the sight.
"Hold on... something's off. Let's not go rushing into-," said Usopp as Luffy barged ahead and gorged on the meal as Kid rushed ahead.
"Hey it could be poisoned!," shouted Usopp.
"Are you insane? The enemy might attack us from the shadows literally at-," Law said before he glared at Kid and tugged at a piece of pork.
Nami and Minerva looked as the Supernovas gouged on the food, especially Bonney and Luffy who were competing on who could eat the most.
"Hey. They seemed to know you pretty well.," said Sanji.
"Eh?," asked Zoro.
"They said Z Roronoa. What are you some sort of celebrity here?," asked the blonde cook.
"Hell if I know. They must've mistaken me for somebody else.," said the swordsman.
"Don't tell me you're the prince of this country. And you ran away-," he said before he was suddenly hit by an extending thing coming from Zoro into a wall.
Urouge smirked as he said-
"You definitely went somewhere interesting."
Zoro balked as he saw a green serpentine draconic head with a long neck, large emerald frills, a beak on the end of the upper jaw, and visible canines on the mouth emerging from his right hand before it split into 2 more heads.
Everyone stopped eating once that happened.
"Wait...that's the power I got from THERE...," said Zoro before he noticed Sanji.
He then grinned audaciously as he said-
"Sanji...check out your chest."
"What do you mean by-," said Sanji with a much more feminine voice before he felt something supple on his chest.
"W-wha?," he asked as he revealed himself- to be an attractive womanly version of himself with massive fluorescent butterfly wings on his back.
"I-I'm a woman? How?," asked Sanji.
"I bet you're-," said Zoro before Sanji proceeded to grope himself as the former looked on in disgust as his hands returned to normal.
"I'd be upset but this might be even better than the Clear-Clear Fruit. Maybe I can live with this. I'm gonna-," said Sanji before Nami knocked him out as he was then electrocuted as Zeus who spontaneously appeared watched on in confusion.
"Great...you went from a perv to a narcissist...Huh? I made Lightning.," said Nami as the room started to rain.
"Are you doing this?," asked Usopp as his tongue unintentionally extended to a long length and he randomly sprouted a chameleon tail. He then looked at the tail as he went into an eye-popping expression of astonishment as he became a large Jackson Chameleon hybrid.
Jinbe noticed his skin was liquefying and turning into water.
"Wait...could it be our powers are activating...," pondered the Fishman.
The rain then began to flood the room as Franky instinctively grabbed some pebbles, quickly maneuvered his hands...and forged a functioning submarine.
"Wha?!," Chopper shouted.
"I did that?!," shouted Franky.
Suddenly, Carrot's eyes glowed golden as golden clocks emerged from the ground. The hands spun backward as the transpiring events reversed as the individual's superimposed positions went in reverse until it was just before Zoro attacked.
Everyone was very confused at the sensation.
"Ok...we need to talk.," said Law.
"I can explain-," said the witch before Brook noticed that the table had a simplified face with black dot eyes with a pie-cut light and a smiling mouth and the skeleton screamed.
"So that's how it got here.," said Law.
"A Homie?!," shouted Luffy.
"No, it looks different.," said Bege.
"Is...that...Zoro?" said the table as it proceeded to walk towards him.
"What? It's the Revenge of Big Mom!," shouted Usopp.
"I don't know if she's just a vengeful bitch from beyond the grave but I'm cutting it down.," said Zoro.
He readied his swords when something lunged at him to block the strike- a large manticore that looked much more intimidating and feral than the ones in Impel Down- having a scorpion's tail and bat wings. Its mane was green like Zoro's.
"What the? I've never seen a manticore like that.," said Kid.
"It's strong.," said Zoro as he leaped back and generated fox-fire on his swords as he changed into his serious battle attire with his chest bare and his bandana on his head.
"King of Hell, Three-Sword Serpent: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation.," he declared as he charges at his opponent, leaped into the air, puts his hand swords over his mouth blade, and then swings them in a forward descending slash, in a manner similar to the technique "Tora Gari". All the infused Haki used in the technique is released towards his opponent, creating a long-ranged green slash powerful enough to cut through his opponent's attack and still reach all the way towards his opponent.
However, the manticore generated a weird combination of Armament Haki and green spiral patterns as the slash connected and shattered with ease.
"Wha?," asked Zoro before he was pounced on by the beast. As it was about to gnaw on him it looked at Zoro for several moments as if remembering something.
It then backed off even before Luffy and his crew readied to fight it as the chair and table ran towards the manticore as if cuddling it.
"My...son...," said the creature in an animalistic and garbled voice.
"What the hell?," asked Zoro.
Minerva then took a sigh as she said-
"It's a long story but this guy...is your father...He was human as were the furniture here but that was before the previous user of the Devil-Devil: Namer, Nanashi Meimeisha, the previous 4th seat of CP0 cursed him and his family with false names before Muffy managed to kill him but his curse remains unless the next user is forced to expel it..."
"Wha?," asked the group.
"Things keep getting more and more interesting.," said Urouge.
Bewitching Forest
A set of two guards looked outside the forest of wild thorns guarding the massive tree as they stood post.
"This place is so creepy. Why don't we just burn it?" asked one of the guards.
"Because of what lives there will take out its anger on us.," said the second guard.
The first guard then noticed a piece of gold on the ground near the thorny first entrance.
He reached down as he did so- something black and insect-like grabbed him and pulled him inside as loud crunching was heard.
"That's what I was warning you about. I can't believe that one of the Emperors and all of the Worst Generations came here. What's gonna happen to this country now," said the guard as he stood on his post, not wanting to be next.
He then saw a figure walk outside.
The man then sighed.
"I can't believe we have to put on this farce...," he complained.
Avalot Castle
The towering white castle was a 13th-century style with sword motifs built into its structure and a moat with a gate with two guards posted.
They then noticed the figure approaching the gate.
"Hello..."Liberator".," said the first guard with a mocking grin.
The person said nothing as the gates opened and they entered the courtyard where various staff and nobles bowed to her.
"How long are we going to be putting up with this bastardized lie?" said a maid.
"You want to be rendered nameless next?" asked another maid as the person entered into the main building leading into the throne room.
The throne room was covered in the devil over the treasure chest flags and tapestries of demonic and hellish imagery. Quickly, these were swapped with silver flags with a lion sigil and the symbol of the Revolutionaries.
The figure then sat on the throne as its silhouette dissipated to reveal the individual-
A tall, curvaceous woman with short, silver hair and purple eyes. She wears an eyepatch where her right eye used to be. She wears a black suit that shows her cleavage. Something was off as her single eye had a dead glare and occasionally something black would crawl over her body.
"Silver Lion"- Regalia Pantera- Former Knight of Vira/Current Governor of the Vira Nation.
"Hello there...your grace. Buyoyoyoyoyoyoyo.," said a voice from behind the curtains as Maxamilllion, his son- Kraken, and a third individual-
A young boy with green, shoulder-length hair was braided on the sides. He wore a blue tunic with white pants with a golden crown and a regal green cape with white fur trimming.
Roronoa Omegoro- 27th Son of the Previous King- Heir to Vira.
"What's with this lady?" asked the boy.
"Ari-Ari-Ari-Ari.," the figure laughed as she opened her mouth wide as several black crawling things- ants burst out and formed into a body of massive size-
A colossal winged female at 32'4 feet tall with two red hair buns framing the sides of her face, an oversized head with a bulbous nose, two mandibles protruding from her cheeks, a grinning mouth with rounded teeth, a large ornate crown on her head, a white fur collar, around her non-existent neck a red cape with white fur lining, a thin upper torso with a set of four long arms, and a massive abdomen with long legs. She wore a pinkish-red robe with red heart-shaped buttons and a long pinkish-red gown covering her two sets of thin, insectoid legs. She was barely human-like and more like a giant ant queen with long wings protruding from her back that happened to have a human-like face.
Queen of the Spriggan Fey and Reigning Fey of the Bewitching Forst- Queen Gyre Carling.
"Do I have to squeeze myself into that body? I don't know about SHE does it all the time, given how obese she is.," said the woman.
"A giant bug lady.," said the boy.
Kraken mockingly bowed to her as he said-
"Nice to see you again, Usurping Queen."
"Don't be so snide.," she said.
"Should I not? I mean you haven't managed to get any of THEM captured. And it's rumored that SHE managed to escape to the OLD WORLD after the Impel Down debacle.," said Kraken.
"Speaking of Impel Down. Glad that Doflamingo is finally stopped being the Celestial Dragon that everyone talks about?," asked the witch.
Kraken looked at her and the room began to distort before Maxamillion released powerful energy in order to force them to their knees.
"Now. Now. We need to keep up this charade to lure in Dragon- our common enemy.," said the man as the two glared at him before loosening his presence to allow them to go back on their feet.
"What is the plan again?," asked Omegoro.
The elderly man then patted the boy on the head as he explained-
"Dragon is a nasty man who dethroned your father and mother when I took reluctant control of the country to prevent him from achieving his goals. You were born in the forest to them in their unfortunate states to be the true leader but you weren't old enough. On top of this, a knight named Regalia Pantera decided to stage a revolution with Dragon. We wisely escaped to OLD WORLD as my steward willingly took the fall as she sat on the throne. But our friendship with the Fey allowed us to take back the land. However, we needed the fact under wraps to avoid being taken down before we could recover. That's she is acting as the ruler in order to eventually prepare you to be King."
"I see. I'm gonna go to the playroom now.," said the boy as he walked away and out of the throne room
"No that's the way to the broom closet.," said the elderly man.
"Back sense of directions runs in the family.," said Kraken as soon as the boy was out of earshot.
"Until they awaken their third eye. They are members of the Third Eye tribe...or should I say- Solarians or Ashura.," said the elder as he opened a vertical third eye with black sclera with red irises and sprouted additional four arms as well as a set of white wings. Kraken already has the wings- generated four additional arms and a third eye- though he had the red ripple irises with white irises like a certain individual.
"I'm flat out disappointed with my peers. They prefer to lounge around and not realize their innate potential as Solarians. And I prefer not to be as annoying righteous as the Roronoa section of our race.," said the dreadlock-haired man.
"There's a reason why they're weak. Men like the Worst Generation rise to the occasion and strengthen themselves to surpass their enemies. A contradictory sight of weaklings in power confuses them and prevents them from reaching their full potential. But, we do have our pride- which is why we- the 21- oops I mean 20 Founders including myself excluding those Nefertari traitors and certain individuals like yourself are allowed the Knowledge of our true heritage because we don't throw our weight around carelessly.," Maxamillion said.
"About the boy...do you intend to have him rule?" asked Carling.
Maxamillion then smirked as he replied-
"He and his sister...during the final stage of our plan...will meet an accident and you two will rule over humanity and the Fey respectively."
"Ari-ari-ari. that's truly vile...I like it."
"I figure that they're in your forest. Deal with them as you wish.," said the elder as she sank back into the reanimated body and left the throne room.
"Yuck. Puppeteering a dead body...what a demon with a heinous Devil Fruit.," said the dreadlocked man.
"Not a Devil Fruit...A Devil Vegetable...since Mimameith is where they're grown.," corrected the elder.
"Saying you're one of the founders...are you being metaphorical?" he added.
"No...let's say a certain operation allowed for this to happen to my group that extends our lives for a very long time...and that it's good that a certain Bonney is now in our grasp.," said Maxamillion.
"I can see the brat dying but not HER...she's...strong...," said Kraken.
"But there's a lesson in strength...even the slightest mistake can lead to their downfall.," said the elderly man.
"Where is she?," asked Kraken.
"She too...has a bad sense of direction. She might be ending up anywhere.," said the elder.
Elbaf
On a massive island with steep rough mountains and what appears to be an extremely large tree placed around the center of the island, was a crew as they looked out at the turbulent seas with giant walruses and huge fauna. They all wore metallic shoes or sandals.
"Here's to our survival!" shouted the captain- a tall man just under two meters, well-built, tan-complexioned, and in the prime of his mid-adulthood. A man with deep crimson hair that was wavy, slicked back, except for some few strands he lets fall down the sides of his face, pushed farther sideward than said prior bangs. A triple set of parallel, linear scars that pass vertically, at an angle over his left untouched eye. A missing left arm below the deltoid. A squared jaw, sharp, narrow pair of eyes, and a chiseled, more prominently bridged nose. He had a neatly thin connection of beard and mustache stubble, forming the beginnings of a circle beard. He wore a sweeping long, sleeveless, high-collared cape of black color bearing a lighter, gray inside and beneath a simple, white shirt half-buttoned up, exposing the middle of his chest and upper abs. Additionally, he was wearing pants cut below the knee, collected halfway up the shin. Finally, his footwear consists of simple metallic sandals, their soles gray-studded.
"Red-Haired" Shanks- Chief of the Red-Haired Pirates/One of the Four Emperors.
"That was a weird experience but to think we learned about it. This place and Vira...if one climbs up them they go straight up to the Heavens...Laugh Tale right, kid...?," asked a tall man, standing at a height of 6'7 with a gray ponytail with a slicked-back hairstyle. He also had a large, X-shaped scar on his left temple. He has never seen without his rifle nearby or a cigarette in his mouth.
He wears a black, v-neck shirt with three-quarter sleeves along with loose gray pants with numerous pockets on them, tucked inside his buckled boots. Like most of the other Red Hair Pirates, he wears a sash around his waist, to which he attaches his rifle in a pistol-like fashion. Draped on his spiral-patterned cloak.
"Spiral Conqueror Shot"- Benn Beckman- First Mate of the Red Hair Pirates.
"Yeah. But you guys were crazy- forcing yourselves into the OLD WORLD without protection and by blind luck. Glad Locker and I were there to give you proper medication," a seemingly young, slender, average-sized blond-haired, green-iris-eyed man dressed like a stage magician with a black top hat, black vest with a white undershirt, black pants with black dress shoes, and a black cape with a red interior.
"Magic Kid" Houdini- Chief of Staff of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Medication? Is that you call forcing weird veggie versions of Devil Fruits down our throats?" asked a fairly tall and burly man with dark skin and a red liberty-spikes-like hairstyle. He wears a colorful attire composed of a dark-green, double-breasted coat with buttons left open on his chest to reveal a light-orange, wide-collared shirt, and a red foulard around his neck. He has a yellow sash tied around his waist, that instead of hanging only on one side, as seen on most of the other pirates, hangs down on both sides. He wears light-blue pants and brown boots and carries around a green-hilted saber, hanging on his left hip from a belt he has over the right shoulder.
"Tough Guy"- Rockstar- Helmsman of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"I can't wait to see Minnie again.," said the young seemingly young man as Rockstar glared at him with annoyance.
"Yar, I can't believe ye managed to get us to follow you to the Grand Line. To us, it be a myth that suddenly became real. I can't wait to explore these unknown waters.," said a stereotypically-looking maroon-colored-bearded pirate with a peg-leg, eyepatch, striped shirt, long brown pants with a black boot, a silver hook for a hand, and a red bandana on his head. He was of slightly above average size.
"Info Gatherer" Locker- Historian of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"To us, you were the myth. Guess we both believed the other didn't exist until we saw each other.," remarked a large man with a round body shape, and he is always seen eating a rack of meat. He is shown wearing goggles over his eyes at all times and having a grin at all times, no matter how serious the situation is. He wears a green t-shirt with white vertical stripes on it, paired with a matching bandanna on his head, short beige pants with a dark green sash around his waist, and green shoes with fur around the ankles. He has a yellow coat draped over his shoulders like a cape, with a fur-lined collar and red epaulets with black stripes on them
"Cannon Ball"- Lucky Roux- Cook of the Red Hair Pirates.
"Yeah, to think the world's much bigger than we thought it was.," said a tall muscular man with dark dreadlocks wearing a dark A-shirt, short pants, standard boots, and a large belt with a bag attached to it. There is also a little necklace around his neck. He retains his trademark star-patterned cape, and he has his rifle attached to his back via a band. He resembled Usopp, but he lacked the nose and dark hair of the younger man.
"One-Shot/100% Bullseye/Observer of Fate"- Yasopp- Sniper of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"So we do we do from here?" asked a relatively thin yet muscular man with almost waist-length blond hair. He wore a black nut-shaped hat with a Jolly Roger on it, and white gloves, He wore a coat draped over his shoulders like a cape over his open chest red shirt with a blue sash, beige pants with brown shoes, and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes.
"Lightening Rod"- Lime Juice- Chronologer of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Eek. (Maybe look for Luffy. I've heard weird rumors about Vira being a beehive for something not very fun).," telepathically communicated a relatively large monkey with tiny eyes and head fur tied up into a topknot. Like many monkeys, he has brown fur over most of his body but has white fur on his stomach, face, and hand
"Warrior Monkey" Monster- Co-Musician of the Red Hair Pirates.
Monster went up the shoulder of his friend- a very tall, burly man with a bald head, a scar that goes down the left part of his face, neck, and upper torso, and dark rings around his eyes. He wears a basic shirt with a ruffled collar and rolled-up sleeves, and a pair of sandals, and his small eyes had a wide-crazed look.
"Boxing Musician"- Bonk Punch- Co-Musician of the Red Hair Pirates.
"Don't sense what's on Vira?," asked Punch as the tone suddenly turned serious.
"Yeah. There are a lot of monsters there. I don't mean the literal ones or even the Worst Generation who happened to stumble onto there," said a tall and muscular man with long gray hair. He possesses two dragon tattoos: a smaller one on his right forearm and a larger one on his right chest. He wears black sunglasses and a white coat over his open short white jacket with yellow lining, a blue sash over his waist, and beige pants, ending in dark shoes.
"Sword Juggler/Master-Instant Builder"- Building Snake- Shipwright of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"Yeah, and they're heavy hitters for the World Government.," remarked a lean man with dirty blonde hair, which is tied up in a small ponytail. He has a stitched scar on the left side of his forehead. His outfit consists of an open coat showing his torso, long pants with dark shoes- this particular variant this time around was red in a color scheme.
"Bamboo Pole/Deconstructor" -Hongo- Doctor/Mechanic of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"So do we leave it up to them?" asked a large man with shaggy dark brown hair, a small beard, and pointy teeth giving him a lion-like appearance. He wore a brown cape over his brown shirt with beige straps connecting to a yellow sash, green pants with a section of red squares with an orange dividing line in the middle of the pants, and brown shoes.
"Wild Roar" Howling Gab- Martial Artist of the Red-Haired Pirates.
Shanks sighed before seeing a curtain in the sky open up as a figure landed on the shore with her attendees-
A woman about 12 feet tall, with long green hair and black sclera eyes with red irises, she wore silver knight armor with a midriff opening, a knight visor on her head, a knight armor modified into a coat draped over her shoulders
"The Bone Armory"- Roronoa D. Rora- Commander in Chief of the Knights of the Sacred Tree/Fleet Admiral of the Vira Fleet/3rd Highest Knight of Vira/9th Princess of Vira.
Attending her on her right was a large, muscular, tan-skinned man, standing around twice the height of a typical man such as Luffy, with short purple hair and a large mechanical right arm connected to the left hip with converted mast rigging. Underneath that mechanical arm is a regular-sized and pitch-black prosthetic arm. He dressed in a suit of armor on his upper torso with dark baggy trousers tucked into his boots, and a pair of triangular sunglasses.
"Black Arm Zephyr"- Z/Zephyr- Former Admiral/Former Marine Instructor/Former Neo Marines Commander-in-Chief/Knight of the Sacred Tree.
And on her left was a very large and muscular man with wide broad shoulders and his long wavy blonde hair is slicked back into a cowlick. He also has several tattoos on his left arm and a large scar on the left side of his chest and large hands. He dressed in a suit of armor.
"Demonic Heir"- Douglas Bullet- Former Roger Pirate Member/Knight of the Sacred Tree.
Shanks then glared at her with serious intensity.
"Who are you?" asked the man.
"This island...doesn't seem to be Vira.," she said aloud.
Next Chapter: Power.
Author Notes: This chapter was mainly to briefly showcase the new powers of the Straw Hats that didn't have Devil powers before as they will be useful going forward as well as a hint at the corruption occurring in Vira. Additionally, it shows a hint that certain parties will be involving themselves in Vira very soon.