Disclaimer: Godzilla and One Piece are the sole properties of Toho Co. LTD and Eiichiro Oda respectively. KP360 claims no ownership of anything save for any OCs, abilities, and locations.
Opening for the Jaya Arc: SHUFFLE (Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters OP. 2)
"Umm… She didn't just say what I think she just said, did she?" Gian murmured.
"She said Sky Island…" Zoro nodded.
"But that's impossible is it? An island in the sky?" Nami whispered.
"That sounds cool!" Luffy had stars in the sky.
"But that shouldn't be plausible… for something to float, it has to have its own center of gravity that is enough to repel the one down below… how does an island have enough to do that?" Gian asked.
Robin looked at everyone "That's not quite it. The island isn't exactly suspended in the air by gravity, but rather it exists in a sea among the clouds."
"If it's any consolidation, I've only heard of this in stories myself. Never have I've seen one on its own.
"Well if it is up there… we'd have to go up to reset the Log Pose, don't we?" Usopp mumbled.
"There's no way! The Log Pose has to be broken!" Nami protested. The idea of an island in the sky was simply too farfetched, and who could blame her?
"Have you ever heard of a Log Pose breaking before, Navigator-san?" Robin inquired, then smiled softly when Nami couldn't answer that.
"Well, even if there's a Sky Island, how are we supposed to get up there?" Gian asked.
"Now that… is a question I have no answer to." What did he expect?
It would seem like, right now, finding a way up to the Sky Island was a necessity. In the meantime, however, there have been more discoveries. Luffy and Usopp had become interested in whatever treasures that laid within the wrecked ship, and had produced a coffin that was located in the vicinity.
"Interesting… this person died 200 years ago…" Robin examined as everyone watched as she worked "the man was young, around the age of 30… his teeth is coated in rubber oil, a traditional practice of South Blue. I assume he is an explorer, who had died while at sea."
"She got all that just by looking at a skull?" Nami whispered.
"If the ship has just that, then think of what else it could contain?" Gian wondered. Luffy and Usopp had already begun to look for more things, even as the ship continued to sink and almost taking the rubber captain with it.
"Oh yeah, we also found this!" Luffy grinned as he held out a sheet of paper as the rest of them fished him out.
"It's… a map!" Nami's eyes widened "It looks like it's an island of some sort… called Skypiea…?"
"That must be the Sky Island!" Gian realized "200 years ago this person had went up to the Sky Island! It's seems that people have done this before, somehow they figured out a way to get up all the way there."
"Maybe the ship still has more things in it that can help us, we should salvage it for more evidence." Robin added.
"I have to agree with that, it may be the only way we can reach the Sky Island. Someone will have to dive." Gian nodded.
Usopp was able to make a few diving suits out of glass and barrels and some rubber tubes. Luffy naturally wanted in on this, so without hesitating he jumped into a diving suit and plunged in, even forgetting about his Devil Fruit power in that time. Zoro and Sanji soon joined him as they sank down to the wreckage.
"With them occupied, I'll be getting back to reading." Gian shrugged as he flipped open Steve Martin's book once more. He decided to reread the whole thing, maybe stuff will become clearer the more he reads it.
He is wrong.
"You seem to be preoccupied." Robin smiled softly at the scene of the Kaiju-Zoan user grimacing as he squinted at a page whose ink had almost disappeared.
"I am like 75% certain that some of these wasted pages actually contain some pretty valuable information… like this one!" Gian replied "If it weren't so goddamn hard to read!"
"It is the struggle of archeology, more times than not you expect to find something only to get stuck or find a dead end."
"But that's your job… I'm just trying to understand what the book is talking about." Gian pointed out.
"With patience, all will be revealed." Robin bantered back.
"Then I'd probably miss it."
Before they could continue their conversation, the waters where the shipwreck was suddenly frothed as a massive sea creature surfaced. The giant turtle was just looking for a meal, naturally. However with the sunken ship being the only object big enough to sate its appetite it went for that, which meant Luffy and the others were swallowed along with it. It also means that the tubes that was giving air to the 3 were caught in its jaws, which had the unfortunate effect of the turtle dragging the ship in a separate direction.
"Oh dear… it seems Captain-san and the others have been eaten." Robin pointed out.
"WE CAN SEE THAT! WHAT DO WE DO?!" Usopp yelled.
"We will have to cut the tubes it seems." Robin said simply.
"NO WAY! THEY'RE STILL IN THERE!"
"If we don't, we will end up at the bottom of the ocean as well." Robin, not bothered in the slightest, reminded him.
"There has to be another way! Wait… I got it!" Gian's eyes lit up as he threw an Atomic Fireball at the turtle's head. The projectile popped with a loud bang, but the creature didn't seem to notice.
"Its skin is too tough, that or I'm just too small…" Gian groaned. They were out in open waters right now, so matching the size of the animal with a Full Transformation was impossible.
"OK… Partial Transformation then!" Gian growled as blue fire burst around him, his revealed dorsal fins flashing blue before firing an Atom Ray. The turtle groaned slightly, but otherwise still remained unnoticing of the situation.
"NOTHING'S WORKING!" Gian yelped as he was forced to turn back.
"WAAAH THEY'RE GOING TO DIE!" Chopper, Usopp and Nami cried.
"Hey guys, what's with all the commotion?" and of course, that voice made the 4 wheel around in surprise to see the Monster Trio wave at them.
"LUFFY! YOU DIDN'T GET EATEN!" Usopp wept in relief.
"Eaten? Why would- WHAAAA, WHAT IS THAT THING!" Luffy pointed to the shelled animal that was now diving back into the water.
"You… didn't even notice? Nami stammered "But how did you get out of the ship?"
"We must've gotten out before it ate it." Zoro shrugged.
"Then you mean I Partially Transformed for nothing?" Gian asked incredulously.
"If you did that, then yeah that probably was." Sanji nodded.
"TELL US SOONER NEXT TIME!" the four shouted with shark teeth. Robin only looked on and welcomed them back.
"Seriously…" Gian grumbled "You guys better have found something worthwhile in the ship…"
"Oh, it was so cool!" Luffy laughed as he was about to reveal his findings "There was this-"
"YOU! PIRATES!" another voice boomed.
Another man jumped onto the Merry, and he was one strange fellow. He resembled a cross between a monkey and a person, more so that of the primate.
"…Who are you?" the ones that were not underwater (minus Robin) asked in a confused tone.
"I am Masira, and the seas in these parts are mine to salvage! You think you can just take my treasure and leave? You have a whole new thing coming!"
"Treasure? So you all found something?" Nami's eyes lit up.
"That's good, then sending you guys down there wasn't a waste." Gian nodded.
"They did, and all of it belongs to me!" Masira snorted "I won't let you leave this place without-"
He never finished, for that moment the sky crackled and darkened, and the entire group witnessed an unbelievable sight:
Shadows, massive shadows silhouetted in the clouds, were seen as lightning flashed. They shined briefly, but had ingrained themselves in their mind.
The shadows were of three massive humanoid figures, standing tall against the sky. What was more intriguing were the feathery wings attached to their backs, which gave them an appearance of something divine.
"W-WHAT IS THAT?!" Usopp screamed.
"They look like people, only…" Robin murmured, but that was not all.
Another flash of light illuminated the sky, showing an even larger silhouette. This time, Gian was the one that got the big surprise as the shadow depicted a large snake like creature, its jaws open and appearing to be facing another foe. His eyes widen as he realized where he had seen such an image.
It was only for a brief second, but the massive winged creature, shaped like a bird but looked more like a supersized version of the pterodactyls they saw on Little Garden, was bearing down the snake. That was all he got before the image disappeared, but it was enough from him to get a tingle up his spine.
It was brief, but he was sure he felt an unexplainable feeling from that flying shadow, a primal feeling not unlike what he detected from Betrugus, but not one that contained any murderous intent.
"MONSTERS!" Chopper yelped from behind him.
"That might not be too far off…" Gian mumbled as a bead of sweat dripped down his brow. Unbeknownst to everyone else, the massive bird-like creature was not as unfamiliar to him as he thought.
"Don't tell me that-"
He didn't have time to mull over the thought as the crew was soon alerted to once again to Masira's presence as the monkey-man breathed out a sigh of relief. The result was him finding out he's been booted from the ship.
"So… we all just saw that right?" Nami asked once everything's settled down.
"Yeah… today's been a really weird day." Sanji agreed.
"By the way, what did you guys find down there again?" Gian reminded them, and the 3 then laid out all of the treasure that they've salvaged from the wreckage. Nami frowned when seeing this.
"These are good and all… but they don't help us in any way! We need to find a way up to the Sky Island and a few artifacts don't do that!"
"Once again, this does confirm that the ship has been to the sky before as those bits of treasure do not seem like any we've seen down here…" Gian mumbled
"But we still have no information!"
"Yes, it seems the ship has turned up with nothing" Robin spoke "However, I do have something that could help us."
The crew's eyes widened as they saw her produce another Log Pose from behind her back.
"I got it from that salvager's ship while we were all distracted by the sight in the sky, it seems to be pointed towards a location called Mock Town" She explained "Perhaps we can find information there."
"You stole it?" Gian inquired, but Nami pushed him out of the way.
"Then we should go there! If there is anything that can help us we can learn something!"
"But I wanna go to the Sky Island…" Luffy pouted.
"Luffy… we can't get to the Sky Island if we don't know how to get up there." Zoro reminded him.
"So if there is information of the Sky Island in Mock Town, then we need to go there first." Gian explained it. Only then did the captain understood.
"To Mock Town it is!" he commanded.
And thus, everyone went back to their usual business. However, Gian was still uneasy as he looked to the sky once more to where the shadows appeared before.
"Something on your mind?" a soft voice spoke beside him as he turned to see Robin also looking up.
"Just got a bad feeling of whatever we'll find when we get up there." He muttered as he looked into the book once more, sighing when he got onto a certain page "As I suspected… they're the same."
"What discovery have you made?"
"Earlier, after the 3 winged peopled, you remember that there was another flash that depicted two large creatures staring down one another, did you not?" Robin nodded when Gian presented the question.
"Look at this." Gian showed her the page, and she saw the rough sketch of a crude image engraved into a golden wall. The image showed a winged creature with a bird-like head, but with a small crest and feet tipped with claws. Its wings fully fanned out, it faced down a group of nymph-like insects.
Even Robin had to do a double take at that.
"You not suggesting that-"
"I might be wrong, but the glimpse of that large bird-like creature and this image is almost parallel to each other." Gian sighed "If that's the case, then we've got more than just an island in the sky when we get up there. We've got something much bigger."
Later:
Mock Town is a rather small coast town, one you'd normally expect on most islands. It is located on the island of Jaya, a place of water and tropics. It also a hangout for other pirates.
"This looks like a lot of fun!" Luffy cheered as he raced down the ship, dragging Zoro with him.
"Luffy, wait! We're supposed to be gathering information!" Nami yelled as she chased after them.
"Wait, I want to go too!" Sanji told them, but Usopp and Chopper clung to him, preventing him from moving.
"Please don't go Sanji!" Usopp wept.
"Yeah, we need someone to protect us!" Chopper cried as well.
"Come on! You guys can't be serious!" Sanji sighed "Well, I suppose the more people defending the ship, the less chance we get attacked, so I guess I'll stay…"
"Maybe I'll stay too. There's still a few things in this book I want to figure out." Gian proposed.
"You've been looking at it all day! What's in there anyway?" Usopp asked.
Before Gian could crack the pages open, Robin's shadow fell over him.
"I am going shopping, maybe get some information in the process, is that OK?"
"The information part I get, but I never took you to care much about clothing." Gian replied.
"I figure Navigator-san would appreciate it if I no longer need to wear her shirt." Robin shrugged.
"Yeah Nami was pretty peeved about that…" Gian's eyes lit up "Say… since you are going out, do you need a companion? I know I already volunteered to stay on the Merry, but they got Sanji already so if you need a hand with anything I can do a few things."
Robin raised an eye at that, before turning around and walked off the ship.
"Do what you wish."
"Well, I think it'll be better if I go with her. I'll be back later." Gian nodded before following her.
"Make sure Robin-Chwan doesn't get hurt, alright?" Sanji called out to him, to which Gian raised a hand in acknowledgement.
"She's a grown woman, she can take care of herself." Gian called back before he departed.
Later:
"For such a small town, this place is quite active." Gian observed as the two of them walked from shop to shop. They had asked a few people on anything they know about the Sky Island, but most either had no idea, or just thought they were crazy.
"It seems so, but where to begin?" Robin looked on.
"Maybe we should've went with Luffy, they seemed to have went to the popular places first." Gian replied.
"Of course, a suggestion would also that you'd help me look instead of having your nose buried in that book…"
"Hey, I can multitask just fine." Gian answered back, eyes in the book again.
They continued walking for a bit, still on the lookout for any source of information. Along the trip Robin didn't buy much else, saying that she'll know what she needs when she sees it.
It was here that Gian suddenly noticed something was up. Standing in the middle of a square was a rather tall man with a pair of strange glasses; one of the lens was normal, while the other was circular and shaped like a reticle. Gian was perplexed for a while, until he saw the man lift up a long, wide-barreled rifle.
Before he could do anything, the towns people had to duck as the man shot upwards twice. A few seconds later, two seagulls fell onto the stone ground, twitching for a while before falling still.
"Oi, what was that for?!" Gian demanded. The man only raised an eyebrow at him before responding calmly.
"I was indulging in a game of fate. I wanted to see whether these birds will die instantly when they are shot out of the sky, or whether they will bear the agony before passing on. It seems like fate has granted them a swift death."
"So you killed two birds only to satisfy your morbid curiosity about fate?!" Gian asked angrily.
"Not a curiosity, but merely a test." The man shrugged, clearly unfazed by what he just did "Fate is something that is rather fascinating, you never know what might happen with it affecting the world." Before Gian could respond the man hoisted the rifle onto his shoulders and walked away.
"What a conceited little-" he growled before Robin had to remind him they had things to do.
It wasn't the only strange thing they saw. As they continued strolling the loud declarations of a large man with a Luchador mask asking for anyone to challenge him to a feat of strength could be heard. It seems like this town has some quirky characters in it. And yet, still no information on any Sky Island.
Finally the two stopped at a clothing store. While Robin went ahead and looked around, Gian stayed close to the door. Originally deciding to flip open his book and reread again, he then reminded himself of his state of attire. He could do with a change of clothes too, he supposed.
"Shopkeeper, do you have anything my size?"
A few minutes later:
And out of the dressing room stepped out Gian decked out in some new gear. Now wearing a black vest suited in a dark black trench coat, black jeans, and black boots. He also got himself of pair of sunglasses and a pair of black gloves. Looking himself over in the mirror, he grinned.
"Damn I look good."
A sound behind him alerted him, and he turned to see Robin staring at him with an amused expression on her face.
"Someone likes the color black a bit too much, it seems."
"It was always there, I just decided to add more to it." Gian shrugged "It's part of my charm."
"I'll bet, though don't you think you'd stand out way too much?"
"Let them stare, I like the attention. Besides, I could say the same for you. What you're wearing isn't exactly commonplace choice clothing either." Robin was now dressed in a yellow sleeveless shirt and purple pants, along with her old cowgirl hat again.
"The hat may attract some attention, yes." Robin nodded "Anyways, there are some things I've found that should be of interest to us."
"Oh, do tell. That was the reason why I came out here after all."
"Just before I spoke to you, a person told me that there was someone who has heard of the Sky Island. Apparently, he is the only one here that still believes in that story." Robin explained "His name is Montblanc Cricket, and he lives on the other side of this island. He may be a lead for us."
"One person huh… seems like the Sky Island is treated mostly like a legend. But if he knows something, then we should talk to him." Gian nodded "Though why does he have to live so far?"
"From what I've gathered, he has been here for the last 10 years on that side of the island. The people of Jaya, that's the island's name, rarely speak to him. They think of him as a wishful thinker that's clinging onto an impossible dream. Likewise, he isn't the most approachable person either."
"A dreamer huh… that's another one on the block." Gian sighed "This is good news. Do you mind heading back first? I'll go get Luffy and the others and let them know as well!"
"That seems fair." Robin agreed before paying for her clothes and walked back.
"Now, if I remember correctly Luffy went towards the center of town which should be- Ah!" it took a while, but he finally saw 3 familiar faces sitting in front of what appears to be a bar.
"There you guys are! I have something that you'd probably like to-"
And his eyes widened in shock. The reason for this is one thing: Luffy and Zoro were covered in cuts and bruises, as if they'd just been in a bar fight considering their location. Both were rather stern, and beside them a distraught Nami was trying to tend to their wounds.
"What happened here?!" Gian demanded.
"There was a fight." Luffy grunted.
"No! I thought they were selling lemonade!" Gian drawled "You probably couldn't help it, but at least don't openly get into fights! It attracts unwanted attention."
"It wasn't our fault!" Nami snapped "We showed up at the bar to look for some information, also because Luffy had wanted some food, and then he got into an argument with someone about the cherry pie and grape juice there."
"Seriously? That's rather trivial for something to start a brawl over." Gian chastised.
"He wasn't the one that did this! Shortly after this, another person claiming to be a pirate entered. He calls himself Bellamy the Hyena, and he overhead me asking about the Sky Island and instantly began ridiculing us!"
"Wow… sounds like an ass. Hope you taught him a lesson."
"No, we didn't do anything." Luffy shrugged.
"…What?"
"Yeah, Luffy and Zoro didn't hit back at all. Not even when Bellamy and the entire bar started assaulting them. Then we were kicked out and we were here before you arrived." Nami said sadly.
"I can't believe this… and I really shouldn't be asking this, but why?" Gian asked.
"Because there was no need." Luffy shrugged. He clearly wasn't bothered with it.
"What kind of people would we be if we raised hands against lesser men?" Zoro inquired.
"That's not the point guys!" Gian grunted "It's good to have honor, but you also need street smarts! Out here few people care about what you actually think! They could care less about your hopes and dreams. You guys have to defend it when the need arises."
"That's what I said. Bellamy was ranting about how a new age is coming where dreams mean nothing and strength is all that matters… It was like he saw us as nothing else than a bunch of crazy people!" Nami mumbled.
"Then he's a fool! Where did he go off to?"
"What are you planning to do?" Zoro said sharply.
"What does it look like? This scumbag disrespected my friends, and now he's going to pay! Claims that dreams are worthless? Well he's gonna be dreaming of release when my fists slam into his face!"
"Gian, stop it!" And suddenly Luffy barked, all nonsense removed from his voice. It's clear that, when it comes to this incident, Luffy wasn't going to change his mind.
"Luffy, if you would only-"
"If you beat them up, you'll be no better than they are."
"You can't just reason-"
"I remember once Shanks was also attacked when he was at the bar. I had always wondered why he didn't fight back, now I do."
This made Gian pause. It was true, despite his power, Red Hair Shanks was always one to avoid confrontation if he could. If there wasn't a need to spill blood, he wouldn't have to. That being said, when push came to shove one would soon find out why exactly he was made a Yonko.
"Shanks-san… he was…"
Flashback:
"What is going on?" 2 days before the rendezvous, the atmosphere within the Red Force had suddenly turned tense. The morning had come with the entire crew staring out to sea with an unreadable expression.
"We have visitors" Benn Beckman stated "A pirate crew."
"Coming for us? Who would have anything to do with us?" Almost no one approached the Yonko without at least a well thought up reason. Considering the four emperors are the pinnacles of the sea, going to do anything against them is a death wish waiting to happen. There are however, those who overestimate their strength, those who wish to prove themselves, and those who are generally not right in the head to function correctly, but somehow managed to make it into the New World.
And these people sailing towards them are just that, a group that had made it into the New World relatively unscathed, and now believe the world is beneath them. They will soon learn just how costly their mistakes can be.
"I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU, 'RED HAIR' SHANKS! OUR MARK ON HISTORY WILL BE MADE WHEN WE STRIKE AGAINST ONE OF THE FOUR EMPERORS!" the captain of the crew shouted at the top of his lungs.
"That's what's happening? A few challengers?" Gian asked.
"Annoyances would be a better word" Yasopp grumbled "Most people are sensible enough to avoid the strongest pirates on the seas, but there's a few of them who haven't done their homework."
"And that makes us the ones who have to play teacher. Believe me, we don't want to do this either but these idiots are heading for self-destruction if they try to fight us, so we'd prefer not to." Triton shrugged.
Shanks strode out towards the figurehead of the Red Force "Greetings! How may I entertain you?"
"Coming straight for us eh? I expected the legendary 'Red Hair' to be something else, but he looks just like a regular person!" the captain was a stocky fellow with a triangular shaped head and an ugly sneer "Word on the seas says that you've lost an arm, how did you even become a Yonko over a stupid things like that?"
"Wow, word does spread fast!" Shanks chuckled, not peeved in the slightest "I do have to say, it's really hard to scratch my back now."
"Who does he think he is?!" Gian stated angrily, but a hand pressed him down.
"Nah, Sencho's got this." Triton motioned for him to watch.
"I guess me and my boys will be replacing you then! Fire the cannon!" the captain cackled. The resulting blast wasn't even close to the Red Force, and Shanks was rather amused as water rained down around him, some splattering on his crimson locks.
"That's a crisp sounding cannon you've got there!"
"And that's only a demonstration! Next one sends you to the bottom of the sea!"
"I'm afraid we've don't have anything like that, but I hope this will compensate! Yasopp, Triton, care to do the honors?"
"Ohoho… I thought you'd never ask!" Triton giggled like a kid in a candy shop. Yasopp only grinned as he took out his prized rifle, before firing two rounds. Not a moment later did Triton bring his trident around in a clean sweep, the moment he did so a massive gale whipped up. While the crew braced themselves, the two bullets screeched towards the other ship in breakneck speed, snapping their mast in two with their momentum when it struck.
The result was the entire opposing crew slack jawed at the difference of power between them.
"Well? Was it adequate?" Shank called back.
"Y-you… DARE MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME?! PREPARE TO BOARD THEM!" the captain screeched as he got over his shock, but before he could, Shanks' eyes turned hard.
"You should turn away now, you all look like promising pirates. Don't ruin everything you've worked towards here." The Yonko spoke softly, but his voice commanded authority.
"I-I'll show you!" the despondent attacker stammered. Shanks only sighed.
"I dislike using this for issues that could be settled normally, but I don't want to hurt you. So forgive me." and just like that, the Yonko's glare tripled in its viciousness, and that's when Gian felt it.
It was a wave of unexplainable feelings, it made him feel nauseous, and so oppressive at the same time. Gian thought as if he was being crushed by an unseen force pressing hard onto his chest. His breath quickened, he began to sway back and forth. The energy threatened to make him black out as black dots lined his sight. It took all he had to stay focused.
And then it ended, all the pressure lifted off him. It was only then he noticed two things: one was Triton holding him up.
The other was what was going on in the other ship.
One by one, the opposing crew's eyes fluttered before they fell down. Soon the entire crew dropped like flies, with the captain lifting his hand in an attempt to say something before he too fell unconscious. Gian let out a gasp.
"W-what did-?"
"They'll be out of it for a bit. Don't worry, I didn't kill them. There was no need." Shanks explained kindly.
"T-they're not dead?" Gian whimpered.
"No, merely knocked out. I have no reason to harm them."
"B-but you could've killed them, right?"
"Why would I?" Shanks inquired "They made it this far, I won't stop them from going further. When there's no need to fight, then you don't have to. Sometimes, being the bigger man is better than fighting for your honor."
"Even if he insulted you?"
"One would only purposely insult another without reason when they are unsure of themselves." Shanks explained "When you know better, you'd ignore the insults thrown your way. When you learn to do that, that's when you know what you're worth. Those guys were overconfident, they thought themselves better than what they actually are. I did not want it to come to what just happened, but they clung to their pride too much. I only hope this would be a humbling experience for them, but even with that it's no reason to harm them physically."
Then Shanks broke into a grin.
"On the other hand, good to see that you have some considerable willpower!"
"W-what?" and just like that, Shanks' cheerful attitude returned "What did you do back there?"
"Don't worry about that!" Triton smirked "It isn't something you have to worry about just yet."
And without explaining any further the Red Hair Pirates sailed away.
Flashback end
"…Merciful. Right, even with how strong Shanks-san is, he never lifted his sword for needless violence. He knows what he's worth…" Gian remembered.
"You've seen it too, right?" Luffy smiled lightly "It's the same thing here. Those guys that attacked us, stating that dreams are foolish and what not, can believe what they want! We don't have to stoop to their level!"
"Sometimes you surprise me…" Gian mumbled. A part of him still wanted to go after the group that attacked his two friends, but he too realized there was no need "Ugh… fine. Didn't want my new clothes to be stained in blood anyways."
"Zehahaha… Yup! Your captain did the right thing for not fighting those idiots!" another booming voice alerted them.
Gian turned to see a rather portly man sitting outside the bar, dressed in rather simple grey attire. He was a large man, very stocky and had a wide grin with a few missing teeth. All in all, aside from his black scruffy beard, the man seemed like a seafarer as well.
"Hey! It's the other guy from the bar!" Luffy noted.
"You two met each other?" Gian asked.
"You could say that, had a small incursion but nothing to get worked up over." The man said, munching on a cherry pastry "This really is good cherry pie, can't believe that you'd dislike it."
"Anyway, you can ignore what those fools told you in the bar. What they said about the Sky Island, about the foolishness of dreams, none of it is true!"
"You were listening in?" Gian asked.
"Heard enough to know what's going on. You two are right to not retaliate against them, they aren't worth the effort." The man chuckled "They sure have a lot of nerve though, talking as if they know how things work."
"Just know this, everything they said about a New World where strength is all that matters, a world where dreams are worthless, all of its complete bullshit!" the man proclaimed "The world of pirates were found on dreams, it's what carries them forwards. Hear me on this: The dreams of pirates… WILL NEVER END!"
It was a bold proclamation, one that would've landed him in trouble in some places, but clearly the man had no doubt about what he says.
"Well, glad I got that off my chest! Good luck on finding the Sky Island." And with a farewell, the mysterious fellow staggered off. During his departure, Gian could've sworn that the bespectacled man with the rifle he encountered earlier could be seen nearby…
"Wow… he's kind of weird…" Luffy mumbled.
"Yeah… I don't know what, but something ticks me the wrong way about him." Zoro agreed.
"All I can say… is that I have a feeling this won't be the last time we'll see him." Gian stated "Call me paranoid, but a guy like that is destined for something much bigger."
He then straightened up "Since we're on the topic of the Sky Island, Robin found something that could be of interest to us."
"Since when did she and you began working together?" Zoro asked.
"Since we were the ones left with nothing to do. Regardless, she found out this person named Montblanc Cricket on the other side of the island. Apparently he's a little nutty, but he's the best bet we got."
"If that's the case, then let's get back to the ship." Nami agreed.
They still have a lot to work for if they want to reach the Sky Island.
A/N: OK! This chapter is a bit shorter, and mostly is to set up for future chapters. I also dropped a bit more on what Kaiju-Zoan user will be appearing in Skypiea, by the design it should be pretty obvious. I will tell you that, in addition to Enel, Skypiea will be facing another threat, and will open up more about Kaiju mythos soon.
And as of tomorrow, I'll be on a 2 week trip to Japan. So if nothing gets done for 2 weeks, you know the reason. I hope to still work on the next chapter for a bit while on the trip, and hopefully it will be ready by the time I get back! As for now, enjoy this new chapter, even if it's a bit less than the last!
Responses to Reviews:
To FourthWallBreaker:
Sky Island is home to giant flying beasts, I'll give you that little bit.
G: which could mean anything.
To Chance Green G. King:
Skull Island itself would be referenced quite a bit, and one of the characters in a much later part will have something to do with it.
And also, the Godzilla V.S King Ghidorah plot point will be visited multiple times. You'll see later that Gideon and Gian have more in common than they think.
To Lucas FTW:
Ok… let's see what you got here this time…
G: WAIT! I KNOW OF THIS!
T: What is it?
0.5: It's another language again.
Yup, German. Guess he just stuck with it this time.
G: THAT'S NOT THE POINT! THIS ISN'T JUST ANY SONG! IT'S… IT'S… IT'S THE PIRATE RAP OF THE ONE PIECE 4KIDS DUB!
T: Dub?
0.5: 4Kids?
Oh dear… those were dark times…
No seriously, there's a line that we don't cross and we've clearly crossed it…
To anquan16:
G: I know no fear, but those shadows were kinda weird.
T: Super Toilet
G: NOOOO! SO! MUCH! CLOGGING!
0.5: Seriously? I could've just done that?
To Girlbook:
There will be allies, and there will be enemies. The upcoming one leans more towards the former.
To Noble Pirate:
I think that's what happens when there's so many characters in a series. Some always get cast off to the side when they could've been more. Especially now, considering Luffy is standing up to the likes of Doflamingo and Big Mom, Smoker doesn't really have much over that.
To JayH120:
Well you were right about one thing!
G: And I do love clothes!
I think Gideon's becoming quite a favorite. Glad to see that, considering he'll be returning fairly frequently.
To Lil'Manuel.G:
Glad you caught on to the references! And don't worry too much about Sanji. Whenever Gian says something stupid, we have to have people keep him in line.
G: I don't say stupid things!
…Do you want a lie or the truth?
To Kakusei:
Lore will be appearing throughout some of the chapters, so you can expect more!
To pokemonking0924:
That's what happens with it! And expect more lore to pop up during Skypiea!
To squeegywing:
Ghidorah was a hard one for me. He's depicted as evil for the most part, but the Marines in One Piece, while being antagonists, are supposed to be the good guys. I finally decided to add him as a Marine Vice Admiral mostly due to how he appeared in GMK. And besides, for the more evil characters, I have other Kaiju-Zoans for.
G: And we have a Winner! Someone knows their music!
To omegadramon2:
Indeed have seen Kong: Skull Island. Glad it set up Monsterverse for what's to come.
Kong will indeed be appearing as a Kaiju-Zoan user, and Gamera, let's just say I have a rough outline of how he could work, at last!
To Taser101:
G: She's useful when it's good, but I think you're overthinking it.
Really? You were all gung ho about it earlier…
G: Hey I learned to take things slow. Wouldn't want to ruin anything. Besides, 0.5's been giving me tips.
0.5: yeah, considering we've worked together for a bit, I feel like I'd be the best person for this.
T: You grow up so fast… *cries in joy
To JJsanoguel98:
If you've read some of my responses before, I've teased that Roger has knowledge on the Kaiju-Zoans. Also back in Reverse Mountain, Crocus also hinted at two of them that he's known personally. And I try with the humor whenever I can, last chapter was mostly exposition. But even with that, this story tends to be a bit darker than the actual series, so that's unavoidable.
And don't worry about Enies Lobby. While that's still some ways off. It's gonna take much sooner than 3-4 years. 1 and a half at the most, depending on my motivation for the story and how long Skypiea and my original Arc will take.
And that's all for this time, we'll see you again soon!
Leave a review and Gian will hype up Metroid Prime 4 even more!
G: IT CAN'T BE DONE! I'M ALREADY TOO HYPED.
T: SO AM I.
0.5: MY LIFE IS WONDERFUL RIGHT NOW.