Chapter 6
The hunt is on!
(On the seas)
Viola blinked.
The afternoon sun was showering the boat with its' warm rays and even with the sea breeze cooling them down a little, it was starting to get unbearable.
Next to her, Rebecca was starting to get a prominent tan, and sine they had no idea when they might find water next, the barrel they had had to be rationed. Or at least that was what the dark haired kuja had argued, and Viola had agreed, even if she was suspicious of both the of the women that had procured their craft.
Neither had gone into specific detail about how exactly they'd gotten the dinghy, and those wigs they'd worn were just too suspicious. Viola vaguely remembered something about wigs and Bourgeois kingdom, but nothing specific.
Viola didn't like being kept in the dark, but she'd had no chance to use her devilfruit powers and get a good look at any of the other women's memories. Each time she tried, one of them would watch her like a hawk. The Alabastan princess and the dark haired Kuja were particularly attentive to the others' behaviour, nothing seemed to miss this Rindo's notice in particular.
All the warrior woman seemed to do was take mental notes of all the rest of the women did.
Vivi was more subtle in her approach, making pleasant small talk with Rebecca (Viola had a faint feeling she'd have to step in at some point) or Shirahoshi, when the huge mermaid wasn't steering clear of a reef or a particularly large piece of flotsam. The sixth member of their group, the Kuja marguerite, had taken a position of lookout, though the girls' skill at it was debatable, leaning over the side of the ship and simply looking bored into the shifting horizon.
Viola briefly considered telling her that it helped to look in different directions, but then something happened.
Viola knew something was wrong when the boat bumped into Shirahoshi's giantsized head.
They hadn't gone very fast, so the thud was a small one, and Shirahoshi didn't complain about it, the mermaid simply stared ahead at the water in confusion.
Tracking her line of sight, Viola was faintly aware of a dark form in the water, coming towards the surface, getting bigger and bigger.
The spot exploded…
And as Viola watched the incoming tidal wave, she barely had time to think the words I wish Sanji or Strawhat-san was here…
(On the Sunny, the kitchen)
Sanji's head shot up in attention, the speed ad his blonde hair making it look like a lightning bolt in reverse. His sudden movement startled Chopper, sending the little reindeer flying backwards from the table, the book he was reading landing on the floor with a thud.
The ships' doctor didn't land as much as bounce, as he activated his guard point filling most of the second half of the kitchen. Others in the kitchen would've been squashed against the wall. Which was where Brook had ended up.
"My blood is being squished out of my body, if I had blood Yohohohoho" the skeleton hummed, his bony hand (the only part of him that was visible behind Chopper's fur….armour) clapping against the wall rhythmically.
Chopper looked at Sanji, his surprice from before still evident in his voice "SANJI WHA?" a second look at the chef's face made him stop.
Sanji's face was completely beetred, steam coming out of his nostrils with each breath, like the chimney of a locomotive. His eyes were wild and bulging outwwards, as if they were watching something far off in the distance that defied belief. In truth it seemed nothing mattered to him between himself and whatever it was he saw, which to Chopper seemed to include the crew and himself.
As the doctor slowly slid across the floor, he was afraid to cancel his guardpoint, lest Sanji did something unexpected, trying to get to the Chef's side, comfort his friend and see if he could ease the tension that was building up within the third Vinsmoke son.
Sanji, in the meantime, had begun to shake, which in itself was dangerous, since he had in the middle of dicing some of the few vegetables they had left after Carrot and Luffy's raid on the storage room. On the cutting board in front of him, the knifes' edge was slashing down in tune with his shaking, turning the vegetables into an unrecognisable multicoloured mush.
Looking at the chef again, Chopper concluded that he was still caught in some strange vision, a vision of something, that both aroused him and terrified him in equal measures.
Basically, Sanji looked as if he was running a marathon, where the nearest contestants in front of him were a mixed group of marriage happy Okama in dresses….. and topless mermaids.
Caught between a sight of absolute bliss and one of deep and disturbing horror (to Sanji at least) the chef stood in a state of near shock.
"Sanji…..?" Chopper began, unsure of what to say, he wasn't used to Sanji acting like this unless there were women present, and right now there weren't any within sight.
"Sanji-san?" Chopper began, his voice trembling in worry as he reached out a hoof to take the chefs' temperature.
When he was less than a hairsbreath away from touching the Chefs' forehead, Sanji opened his mouth
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the howl startled Chopper, and if he hadn't been in his guard-mode he'd have stepped backwards, tripped and fallen. Fortunately his bloated form prevented that from happening. It also prevented Sanji from leaving the kitchen. Though not for lack of trying, as the chefs' frantic attempts were beginning to make permanent marks in Choppers fur, where Sanji smashed into it at full speed (which really shouldn't even be possible due to lack of space).
"Sanji! What's wrong?!" Chopper yelled at his comrade, trying to restrain him as best he could, which, in his guard point was a near impossible task.
"THE PRINCESS-CHANS ARE IN DANGER! I CAN FEEEL IIIIITTTT!" the chef wailed in desperation, while his constant running into Choppers' fur was beginning to leave two sets of grooves into the floor "I could see them again!"
"Could you see their panties?" Brooke mumbled somewhere between the wall and Choppers' fur, the skeletons' words barely audible through the hair.
"NO..." the chef replied nonetheless, his face downcast for the briefest of seconds, only to snap up again like a reversed lightning bolt, his eyes huge and wild "BUT I KNOW THEY'RE IN DANGER!"
"SANJI, REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME!" Chopper screamed frantically as he tried to prevent the chef from squeezing in between his fur and the wall, completely ignoring the obvious exit of the windows.
But the chef kept going, pushing himself in between floorboards and bodyhair, and straight into Brook.
At which point he actually stopped to curse at the skeleton, telling him to get out of the way, so that he could go save the Princess-chans.
Chopper finally had had enough and changed into his muscle point, catching Sanji in a bearhug and lifting the struggling chef off the ground, preventing him from getting contact with the floor.
While the chef tried to runn off on thin air, Brooke landed on the floor with barely a sound.
"I thought I was going to die, I had no air, but I don't have any lungs! Yohohohoho!"
"Let me go Chopper!" Sanji said, ignoring the musician completely "I've got to tell Jinbe to change course!"
"Sanji, listen to me, last time, Nami got really mad, and Jinbe wasn't happy either, or franky…. Or…."
"I get it Chopper….." the chef said crestfallen, remembering the scorn in the navigators leering at him, it would be some time before she forgave him what he did in Tottoland "But if I'm right and we do nothing, then those little princess-chans are more in danger than before!"
"I know, I know" Chopper said soothingly, understanding the logic (screwed as it was) that the chef was trying to push, but not completely buying into it.
"Tell you what…" Chopper began "I'll carry you out and then we'll talk with the others, ok?"
Sanji's grateful smile practically lit up the room, But Chopper refused to release him, just yet.
(on the sea)
The combined scream of the six women would have been enough to make an army deaf.
It would've had that effect on the fish, if the critters hadn't taken off before….. whatever it was, began to approach the surface.
"SHIRAHOSHI-SAN!" Viola and Vivi called out in unison "SWIM!"
Their combined howl managed to get the huge mermaid to whip around and swim in the other direction of the fast approaching shape.
Looking back at the rising water, Vivi briefly thought it could be a Knock Up Stream she'd heard tales of, but then it happened.
The form broke the waters' surface with a sound like 10 thundercracks going off at once. In a shower of brine, seaweed and other critters of the sea, a titanic dark form emerged from the deeps. It was several times the size of Shirahoshi, covered in scales, dark like a moonless night, a cruel gleam in either of its red eyes, huge triangular teeth in a mouth that could only be described as smiling and a pair of vicious horns on the side of its' head.
Less than a moment later the fish charged after them, it's huge fins carrying it forward at almost the same speed of Shirahoshi. Which unfortunately wasn't slower.
A collective scream came out as the women saw that the blasted fish was gaining on them!
"What is that thing?" The blonde Kuja Marguerite yelled, part in fear and part in excitement "how dangerous is it?"
"IT'S A FIGHTING FISH!" Viola yelled back "AS BIG AS THEY'RE DANGEROUS!"
The small craft sped across, and through, the waves, as the giant mermaid princess tried to shake off the gargantuan fish.
Meanwhile the other five women clung to the vessel as best they could, Marguerite in the stern, Vivi and Viola in the middle, and Rindo and Rebecca making up the rear, which was far too close to the charging fish.
Vivi could barely hear what Rindo was shouting to the Pink haired girl, sounded oddly like "Unless Lucy is a cannon, she's useless now!"
Picking up a crate of food, Rindo flung it at the humongous fish.
Vivi could understand why, if the fish was hungry, it'd have an easier time with prey that couldn't escape. Or, if she could hit it hard enough, it might back off.
Although it couldn't be heard amidst the splashing off water and the womens' terrified screams, Vivi would've sworn the crate made a loud crash as it shattered against the forehead of the titanic fish, scattering splinters, nails and beef jerky across it's eyes.
But to no avail, the beast continued to gain on them.
Mermaids might be the fastest swimmers in the sea, but when they were trapped near the surface their movements were limited, and dragging a boat, no matter how small, didn't aid Shirahoshi one bit.
And the huge fish kept on coming…
(On the Sunny)
"No, Luffy, I don't believe you either!" Nami said with a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose, trying, in vain, to squeeze out the headache that would soon be assaulting her.
Less than a minute ago, Luffy had stormed up on the bridge to tell Jinbe to change course. Fortunately, the fishman hadn't been able to catch heads or tails of what his new captain was saying and had tried to ignore it like some sort of blackhaired hyperactive parrot-monkey.
And even more fortunately, Nami had been there to stop Luffy from trying to force his will on their newest member. After having heard where and why'd he wanted the course changed, Nami had exchanged a look with Jinbe that could practically count as a whole conversation, which boiled down to that both thought he was being unreasonable (more than usual).
"But Namiiiiiii" Luffy whined "I'm the captain, I can tell Jinbe where to gooooo"
"Technically, he's right Nami-san" Jinbe piped in behind her. Turning around Nami cocked an eyebrow at her new nakama. The former Shichibukai would have to learn how things were done around the Sunny, and it seemed it couldn't happen soon enough
"JInbe-chan, Luffy's the captain, but unless we're fighting someone or are going to…." She began, her voice sounding sugary sweet, as if she was explaining something to a child "….then Luffy doesn't give any orders on this ship!" realising how it had sounded, Nami hurriedly added; "….Without having first consulted me, or the rest of the crew"
Hopefully their new helmsman would understand, that if they followed Luffy's lead on making a course, he'd have sent them off on a Knock Up Stream to the moon (and tried to jump back down again, just like he had when they'd left Zou…)
Now it was Jinbe's turn to raise an eyebrow "But since we're going to save the missing princesses and we're in the New World, then we're automatically going to fight somebody"
Despite herself, Nami was forced to defer to the simple logic in Jinbe's argument, but perhaps it was a tad too simple…..
"Yeah!" Luffy said, raising a fist in the air "Let's get to fighting someone!"
…..especially if Luffy could catch on!
"No Luffy, it's a really stupid idea!" she tried again, her tone harsher this time "We're still following up on Sanji's weird hutch afterall!" Nami shouted at him, hoping that some of her words would get through "Besides, fighting is the last thing we should do right now, both you and Jinbe're still wounded after facing Big Mom!"
Luffy simply pouted at her, knowing, despite himself, that he couldn't argue with his navigator, so he resolved to try and guilt trip her into doing what he said.
Nami wasn't budging.
Neither was Jinbe (much to Nami's joy)
Or Luffy (less to Nami's joy)
And so it came to pass, that when Chopper, in his muscle-point form, arrived on the bridge with a struggling Sanji in his grip, he found his captain, his navigator and Jinbe, embroiled in a hefty argument over which way the Sunny should go.
Nami was the first to notice the Reindeer, looking at the trio with something between awe of their behaviour and reverence of the energy his two patients could muster when trying to get their way.
And a third feeling of course; the shock at his "doctors orders" being ignored. (Nami truthfully didn't know how that could still surprise the crews' doctor, he should be used to it by now)
Sanji was looking at her with his usual happy/lusty face, but at the same time, was trying to run on the air, away from Choppers bearhug.
"Hey Chopper…" Nami began with a smile, ignoring the struggling Chef in his arms "how're you doing?"
The reindeer could only look at Nami, pain evident in his eyes, as Jinbe and Luffy continued to argue in front of him
"Why can't those two just do what I say and take it easy?" he said in a shrill tone, his eyes bulging at the sight of his friends, as the rubber- and the fishman looked like they were about to come to blows.
Nami couldn't agree more, either of the two were acting childishly in their own way, Luffy for wanting adventure, Jinbe for insisting he'd be ok, despite being the most injured of the two.
Letting out a sigh, Nami held up a hand between the two, which surprisingly made them stop arguing momentarily and turn their attention to her.
"First off….." Nami began, her eyes closed, her tone dignified and commanding….
"Kawaiii Nami-scwannn" Sanji said from the hold of Chopper, not being able to stop himself
"First off…." Nami repeated, as a vein began to throb in her forehead over the interruption "Jinbe; go, and rest! you're wounded, even more than Luffy is." Opening her eyes to look at the former Shichibukai, she was pleased to see him nod his consent, albeit reluctantly and a bit of a pout (Nami, despite herself, couldn't help but find it adorable).
Turning to Luffy, Nami tried to at least sound like she respected her captain, which wasn't always an easy thing to do "Luffy, we're not changing course because you think you've seen something like Sanji did, do you understand?"
"Wait…. did Luffy see something too?" Sanji said from the hold of Chopper, looking at his captain in confusion.
"Yeah!" Luffy responded loudly "I saw Rebecca in a boat!"
Sanji looked at him in confusion, but only for a brief second before the hairs on his head began to stand up and his eyes turn into little hearts.
"Who's Rebecca" he howled amorously, before adding a jealous "…And how do you know her Luffy?"
"Rebecca is the granddaughter of the King of Dressrosa, and the niece of their princess Viola"
Nami smiled at the sight of Robin arriving on the bridge, drawn by either the commotion between Luffy and Jinbe (and Nami herself) or the crews' doctor restrain/carrying the Vinsmoke prince.
Sanji struggled to look at Robin, but Chopper refused to turn, much to the chefs protests and wailing, all of which fortunately stopped when Robin walked on past the reindeer to address them all.
"Viola-chan has a niece?" Sanji blurted out with hearts in his eyes picturing the curvy princess sitting with a little childlike double on her knee "how cuuuuute!"
Robin merely smiled at his facial expression, Nami rolled her eyes at him.
"Doesn't matter!" She said, drawing everyones attention "It's bad enough we're trying to look into Sanji's… premonition, we can't go out and follow another without verifying the first one!"
"But Nami-schwann! I saw them again! Viola-schwaaan was in a boat and in danger!" Sanji wailed, thoughts about the princess niece forgotten (temporarily).
"Yeah I saw that too!" Luffy cut in "We gotta do something, else they get to hog all the fun!"
For a moment, Nami and the crew present looked flabbergasted at their captain, each sweatdropping as his words sunk in.
"…..Luffy-san, Nami-san is right" Jinbe said after a brief time "we can't go following some loose end that suddenly strikes us in this" locking eyes with his captain, making sure he had his attention, Jinbe continued "If we want to find the missing women, we can't afford to be distracted by sudden new developments"
Nami looked at the fishman and smiled, "Luffy'll listen to Jinbe for sure….", she thought "…..might be the blood transfusion he got on Fishman Island".
"But isn't that what we're doing now?" Luffy asked while scratching beneath his Strawhat "Following Sanji's lead?"
Nami shoulders dropped with a sigh "of course he chooses now to be right!" she thought "the reason why we're following Sanji's hutch…" she said in a tired voice while rubbing her temple "….Is because what he saw, matched the maps we've got of this area!"
Looking at Luffy, Nami continued "You just said Rebecca was in a boat and there were some giant fish after it"
"Isn't that enough?"
"…..No, we need landmarks and maps to find our friends…. A hutch….. isn't enough"
"….. Okay, you're the navigator" Luffy said with a smile as he walked past her towards the main deck, giving her a clap in the shoulder as he went.
Nami looked dumbfounded after him, it seemed like he actually listened for once!
She was just to smile herself when Luffy turned around on his heel "Sanji, let's take the sub and go find them ourselves!"
The collective roar of disapproval was deafening (minus Sanji, who was cheering), and somewhere on the ship, Nami was certain that they'd managed to wake up Zoro from his morning nap.
"We can't be separated either! We always separate, and things get crazy!" Nami almost yelled at him.
"But we always win too!" Luffy grinned with the utmost confidence, waving at her happily "that's adventure!"
"When we separate, it's because we got different tasks Luffy!" Nami tried to reason, who became visibly happy when the others chimed in.
"You're wounded Luffy, going on adventure is the opposite of taking it easy!" Chopper wailed in frustration, his grip tightening around a struggling Sanji.
"Spreading in all sorts of directions won't help Luffy-san" Jinbe added
"Can you even pilot the sub captain?" Robin commented, to which Luffy finally responded, almost too gleefully for comfort "That's why I'm bringing Sanji!"
"I'M IN!" Sanji happily yelped from Choppers grip, much to Nami's dismay, she'd just gotten used to proper food again, after the disaster of Luffy's curry (which still made several of them wake up in the middle of the night (Nami reasoned that Big mom probably had it worse, since she'd actually eaten the blasted dish, after it had matured for several days in the sea)).
Looking at Chopper, she knew he felt likewise.
Thinking fast, she called out Luffy "It's almost time for lunch!"
This made Luffy pause, and his stomach rumble, there was no way in either heaven or hell that the Strawhat captain would skip a meal.
"Guess, we can go after lunch…." He murmured to himself
"We sure can Luffy!" Sanji piped in, the look on his face speaking volumes about what he was thinking, which could also simply be summarized with; Women, young beautiful women.
"Luffy if you take that sub I'll charge you all of your allowance" Nami ranted "No additional meat for a week!"
That made Luffy pause, the man with the courage to willingly charge at a Yonko, rip his own arms off in order to save a friend and jump off a mile high elephant into the sea, was shivering in cod sweat at the thought of no meat for a week. There was no doubt in Nami's mind that he wouldn't attempt to take the sub now.
"I still want to save them!" Sanji howled happily, his words and tone betraying his inner thoughts to all who heard him "If Luffy can't go, I can do it alone!"
"Sanji…" Nami began, now more tired than before "….Remember last time you decided to run off, pursuing your own goals?"
Her tone made Sanji shiver and her words filled his eyes with tears. It was almost too harsh to remind him of his actions inTottoland, but Nami steeled herself and stared him down. Eventually the Chef bowed his head in defeat.
Nami got more than a few critical stares from the others for her behaviour, but, as Sanji was taken back to the kitchen and Luffy rushed after him to get a snack, the navigator figured it was the better outcome, as opposed to continuing their banter back and forth.
They were all together right now, and that was what mattered.
On the bridge, Nami was left with Robin for company as Jinbe left the wheel to rest some more, being one of the few people to obey Choppers' orders.
The wind picked up a little, the sails filling, making them go at a swifter pace across the waves. Everything seemed so serene.
Robin stood with her arms folded, looking down at her feet. Nami looked straight ahead while holding the wheel steady.
Both felt, rather than knew what was coming.
With a sigh Robin began "I don't know what happened but…."
"I'm not going to be easy on Sanji, Robin" Nami cut her off, turning towards her friend "You're right you weren't there, but I was…. And I can't forgive him for what he did, perhaps in the future when Luffy's punishment can be realised, but that could take years….." Nami said, her voice betraying bitterness wrestling frustration for dominance of every word.
Robin sighed "It's not easy to forgive, I know…. But you might want to cut a little down on the antagonism in the future"
Nami nodded reluctantly. Sanji had failed her expectations when he started to bad mouth the crew and even more when he had assaulted Luffy, beating him into unconsciousness and then proceeded to ignore both the navigator and captain.
It'd take a long time to get over, and while some of the crew (Chopper, Carrot, Brook and Luffy) had decided to let it go and focus on the good times, Nami wasn't willing to let it go. She knew Zoro agreed with her, though he was more into it for the sake of principal (and for an excuse to put down Sanji), same with Jinbe.
Franky and Usopp hadn't made their views on the subject known, though nami knew both were sympathising with Sanji's situation.
Robin had as of yet not taken a side on the matter.
Nami sighed, if she continued to be angry with the chef, the rest of the crew would be as angry at her as she were with Sanji. Well, perhaps not as angry….
But she couldn't do that at the moment.
She had other concerns,
In fact, she reasoned,
If Sanji, and now luffy as well, were correct and the missing princesses were in immediate danger,
Then the whole crew would be far more focussed on getting to them in time!
(on the sea)
Things looked really bad!
Not only had the gargantuan fish almost caught up with them, it had gotten reinforcements!
Several of the bullhorned fish had appeared from the depths, fanged mouths smiling at a world that would rather see them extinct.
Vivi definitely knew that she wanted them gone.
Snapping jaws and razor teeth had that effect on any sane person.
To her horror,
The ever growing school of predatory fish had begun to circle them!
Some of the smaller ones had gone in from the left and were cutting off a possible escape route to the open seas.
Shirahoshi took a sharp right turn and aimed for a group of small rocky islands in the distance hoping to lose the larger fish amongst the beaches and reefs of the archipelago.
Speeding between the isles helped a little as several of the fish began to gather closely, getting in the larger fish's path.
Others completely disappeared.
Only to reappear amongst the other isles moments later.
To Vivi, it shouldn't be possible to go that fast, but there they were, exactly where they we the least convenient.
They girls' group was beginning to be boxed in.
The giant fish had some trouble manoeuvring in the more shallow waters, yet it still blocked an exit that could've been exploited. The fish behind it had begun to turn back or swim in between the smaller isles where the big one couldn't follow the group.
Shirahoshi attempted to escape with the boat in in more shallow waters, but it wasn't easy amongst the steep cliffs of the isles. Once in a while the isles had little beaches, but they provided no security from the pursuing predators of the depts.
And so, on they mermaid drawn boat went, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse in between the cliffs, isles and reefs of the sea.
But somehow it seemed like the fish were gaining on them.
But as the wind picked up, a sheet of heavy fog began to appear between the isles and cliffs.
Thick as pea soup, it might be enough to hide in and escape.
Or it could hide the blasted fish from their sights!
(Somewhere else on the seas)
"Are you certain (koff-koff) it's a good idea to split up Ilizabello-Dono?(koff)" the ragged voice of Nefeltari Cobra said from his wheelchair, making Pell put a supporting hand on his shoulder, steadying his liege.
"I'm telling you, we're not splitting up, just going into town, hearing what's up" The huge king of Prodence responded with a booming voice, dismissing his coleagues' worries with the wave of a hand.
"Even so Elizabello-dono" Vinsmoke Judge said, eyes deep in contemplation "You're not needed for such a task, also; we have enough men to conduct such a search ourselves"
Ilizabello was silent, chewing a little on his lip, while glancing back at the boat that was being filled with the Germa Kingdoms soldiers.
"If I may Judge-dono" Riku Dold III said, adding his voice to the arguemtn "I think that Ilizabello is just tired of lounging around in you castles, truth be told we have been cooped up in here for far too long anyhow"
"Exactly!" Elizabello bellowed happily, holding up a glowed hand, the shape of which, seemed to indicate that he was holding up a finger.
"Well..." Judge mumbled hesistantly "...at least let one of my children accompany you, My Daughter perhaps..." Judge said wiiht a smirk
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not, if My wife hears that I've spent too much time with a young woman... well she'd KILL me!" the figthing king responded with a sheepish (and very nervous) grin "But if you insist, I guess one of your sons could come with, they guys needs to be let alone for a change don't they?" as the huge man laughed, he failed to notice the Germa King's frown.
"Well, Niji can go with you" the beligerrent king conceded "...while we're at it, I might as well send my headchef to find provisions for tonights dinner" he added practically
"Excellent idea! That girl knows what's what in a kitchen!"
Seing the larger king descend to wards the sea with the second son of the Germa king, Cobra motioned to Pell to turn his chair towards the larger Germa King
"Say, Judge-dono..." He began, drawing his colleagues' attention "I'd like to thank you for all the help You've provided us in this endeavour, I know that the other Kings feel similarly"
Judge merely smiled, leaning towards his sick equal "We can discuss such things after we've saved your daughters" the smile was one part pleasantness and one part dismissiveness, and all of it was fake to the core "I'm certain that the Pirate Empress will be interested in showing her appreciation for saving her subjects as well" Seeing the lecherous spark in his alabastan counterparts eyes, Judge continued "And I'm certain you'd agree, that it'd be most uncouth of me, not to include her emminence in the celebrations"
Seeing Cobra nod (very enthusiastically) in agreement, Judge turned and left.
Pell watched him go with unease
"That man is planning something my King, I just know it!"
"Huh?" Cobra responded, his mind being filled with images of a provocatively dressed and very drunk Boa Hancock, lounging across his lab, petting him to see if he'd get better "...Yes of course, he constantly surrounds us with his children, his strongest warriors... But it doesn't feel like he's holding us hostage, not yet at least"
"True, but what about later on? There's several Kingdoms in Norht Blue that spoke of his cruelty during wars against them, perhaps he'd use this to gather funding for another attempt to conquor that Sea"
"Or he's trying to improve his image and go the diplomatic route...hmmm... I don't know, I guess we'll see later down the line"
"As you say your highness" Pell conceded, taking a quick look at the boat with the Prodence King and the Germa prince (and the Germa headchef) as it crested the waves towards the island town in the distance.
Then he turned his Kings' wheelchair around and pushed the feeble king back inside, sheltering him from the elements.
(back amongst the rocky isles)
Vivi Screamed as one of the fish suddenly came flying through the mists, presumably over one of the rocky isles, slamming into the cliffs, shattering rocks with a crash that reverberated throught the archiepelago and landing in the water with a splash.
to her relief it seemed that it wasn't going to attack them, lying belly up in the water.
"That thing didn't make that leap" Vivi turned as she heard her companions voice
"What do you mean Rindo-san?"
"If those fish could jump that far, the others would've done it too, out on the sea, something hit it..."
Vivi didn't like what she was hearing, they had enough trouble dealling with the pursuing fish within the cliffs, to also deal with some threat outside of it would be far too much for them.
Shirahoshi looked tired, pulling hard on a a boat with 5 women and supplies for a long time, would do that. Though it might also be panic setting in.
Either way, nothing seemed to go their way.
eventually the group came into a large area betweent the cliffs, like a natural lake in a forrest, with many of the Figthing Fish coming in from the many inlets between the cliffs, their grins shinning like yellow gems or rusted swords amidst the white foam of the waves.
Shirahoshi did a sharp rightturn, avoiding a crazy eyed fish that jumped out of the water to their left.
"Over there!" Marguerite called out, pointing wildly "to the east, there's an inlet that's clear!"
Following her instructions, Vivi saw that the Kuja was right, there, far away and partially obscureed in the mist, was an inlet clear of fish, and large enough for them to pass through!
Shirahoshi had seen it too and gathering her strenght, maded a desparate lunge towards the opening, increasing the speed so much that Vivi was certain that someone would fall off alongside some of the boxes of food that were lost to the sea.
The sound of wood snapping behind them gave an all too clear impression of what awaited them, if they slowed down.
Finally they reached the mouth of the inlet,
and Shirahoshi made a quick twist, turning the boat around so hard that it threatened to spin around and throw them all off (it certainly threw a few boxes off), regardless it stopped the group dead in their tracks!
Vivi watched in despair as she realised why the mermaid princess had spun around;
A large boat blocked their furhter passage!
It was partially concealed by the mists hiding any details, but it was close enough to see, that it was comming closer.
then a shape appeared on the deck, holding something raised in its arms.
in the next second a sound rose between the cliffs, a drawn out tone, and then the shape lowered the object.
It wasn't the weirdest part however,
the fish stopped at the sound, and began to form a semicircle around the mouth of the inlet, blocking any escape route.
No one needed to say anything, everyone knew they were trapped.
eventuallly the other boat stopped in the mouth of the inlet, revealing it in all its bizarreness.
It was an odd mix of shapes, all made in metal, paddlewheels, large pistons and round shapes making it look like something out of a laboratory, with a tower on! Behind the structure there was something large made of glass and filled with water, looking like an oversized fishbowl. On top of it flew a little flag, a Jolly Roger, that was a skull with a underbite like a showel.
And then there was the crew...
Only three humanoids were out on the deck, and somehow, Vivi wasn't surprised to see that it was all Fishmen.
all lining up in the front of the boat, gave all the impression that any one could ever need.
The trio all appeared like brutes, clear eyes looking lazily at the women in the smalller boat.
One didn't have a neck, his green scaly head with the heavy lips seemingly poking directly out of his chest
Another had bulging eyes and huge lips, his hair put in a tight pony tail
the last one had a protruding fanged lower jaw that matched the Jolly Roger, which in Vivi's mind marked him as the captain, eventhough he had the same brutish look as his comrades.
all three were covered in tatooes of different sorts, made all the more prominent by the open shirts and shorts.
"Wait..." Shirahoshi began her voice trembling "You're Sun Pirates!"
"Wha... how can you be so sure!" Viola called out in confusion
"That tattoo, the one of the Sun, I've... I've seen it before, on a Sun Pirate!" Shirahoshi said, her voice filled with excitement at the memory
the mermaids' words made the women look at the trio with greater anticipation than before.
The leader of the group looked at them and opened his mouth, only for the bulge eyed one to cut him off
"We were Sun Pirates, back in Tigers' days!"
Looking at his friend, the leader scowled at him
"Shut it Gyaru!" he growled menacingly, making the other fishman cower back with shaking hands raised, tryinf to avert any threats.
Turning back towards the women, the fishman opened his mouth to speak again, before turning his head around with a snap to stare at Gyaru, who had just opened his mouth to speak, but was not closing it again, wiping his fingers across his lips like a zipper.
Nodding his head in satisfaction the fishman captain turned towards the women again, a smile now playing on his lips.
"You girls understand this..." he began, before the other crewmember interrupted him
"Mermaid, get in the tank, We'll sell the others too"
the following silence that descended upon the waters couldn't have been broken by a twenty cannon salute. All the women stared at the Fishman, all thinking the same thing; Did I hear that right?!
"TANSUI!" the captain began, his voice strained to the point of breaking and his whole form trembling in barely contained rage
"You were taking too long Macro, besides that's what we're gonna do ain't it?"
Sighing deeply, the captain turned towards the boat once more
"You heard him, get in the tank" he said in a commanding, yet tired voice, before he added an "or else...", with an emphathized menace in the latter word
"Or else what?" Gyaru asked, looking at his captain in confusion
"Else we'll make 'em walk the plank over the fighting fish, what else! We can't just feed 'em to 'em, they're still worth money!" Macro howled impatiently at his dimwitted underling.
"I thought the Sun Pirates were friendly?!" Shirahoshi blabbered, her voice on the point of breaking, either from stress accumolated over the last few days, or from the betrayal of her fellow denizins of the sea.
"We were part of the crew, but that was long ago" Macro corrected her "Jinbe wasn't Tiger and he never could be! Kicked out Arlong and his boys aas if they were trash!" Macro said with a trembling fist, his face contorted even further in an angry grimace.
"Nuff talking! Get in the blasted tank so we can get out of here!"
Macro smiled grimly "You lot will fetch a good price at Big Moms'!"
that's the end of the sixth chapter
it sure took a while to finish,
I've been a bit busy with some other things lately, so haven't had the time to write.
threads active in this chapter:
Strawhat Pirates: Sanji has more perv-voyancy, and Luffy devellops some similar abilities.
The missing Princesses/women: tries to outrun a group of figthing fish.
Princess hunters: The Macro Pirates
The royals: Setting out to get intel, the interrogators being the least subtle king they've got.
RnR if you'd be so kind
I'll try and update soon