Fog had emerged, barely hovering over the ground. The grass seemed almost pale thanks to the smoggy vapor. Luffy stopped for a moment then looked both ways. He huffed and then moved along. Usopp was not too far behind, checking behind him only to see Robin smiling, waving back at him as to say 'the coast is clear'. She was calm, like always-Usopp was use to this. He smiled back and nodded. He didn't feel frightened at all. How could he after being on an island filled with things that were ready to gobble you up just like that? He gulped down any odd fears that came to mind and walked confidently. Luffy stopped again and sniffed the air. He was looking for something. He had been quiet this whole time. Either he was thinking, or his mind was just not there right now.
"Meat. We need more meat." He muttered. Of course. It's Luffy after all. He's not the type to enjoy fruit unless there's meat to go with it. This made Usopp smile. The one thing the sniper had hoped for was that his crewmates didn't change too much. Everyone was the same as they always were, just more powerful than before. The three had carried on for some time already, yet no fruit was found yet. The ground beneath them began to shake slightly. Usopp stopped walking and looked down at the fog that covered up his boots. Robin looked around for a moment and turned to her mates.
"The island is about to rotate. We should grab onto something incase it's a violent quake." Luffy turned to the other two then looked up into the trees. The first branch seemed so far, but it was the safest place he could think of.
"Grab onto me, I'll get us up in this tree!" Usopp allowed Robin to go first. She grabbed onto Luffy's shoulders, Usopp grabbing onto his arm. "Okay, Gum Gum…," another shake, much more intense than the last one. "ROCKET!" Bouncing off the ground, Luffy shot upwards towards the first branch. Robin and Usopp held on, tightening their grips as the wind pressed down onto them. Luffy giggled and passed the branch, flipping 180 degrees, now facing downwards towards the branch and was pulled in by the ricochet. Luffy hung onto the branch once he stopped lobbing back and forth. Robin pulled herself up with the extra hands, and then helped the other two onto the branch. It was thick enough for them to sit perfectly upon it.
"I hope the others are alright. Who knows how bad the quake is when this island moves." Usopp commented, his voice filled with worry. Luffy leaned forward, holding onto the branch and smiled.
"I'm sure they're okay. It's easy getting up in these trees!"
"Easy for you to say, Rubber Man."
"Shishishi!" Robin chuckled along with her captain, looking further up into the tree, she spotted a red fruit.
"Hey, up there… you suppose that's edible?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the fruit. Luffy glanced upward and licked his lips.
"Looks like it!" He said and stood up. He wobbled over to the trunk and latched on, then crawled up towards the next branch that grew the fruit. Usopp watched Luffy move up, slowly escalating towards the next level. He gulped, hoping that Luffy wouldn't fall.
"Careful, Luffy!" He said out of caution. The Captain didn't reply. He merely reached for the next branch and hauled himself on top. The red fruit was shimmering even without direct sunlight to reflect its vibrant color. Luffy grabbed both sides of the plant and pulled. He wanted so much just to try a bite. It looked ripe, and smelled ripe. The smell, oh how the smell reminded him of…of… meat. This fruit smelled like meat! He tugged even harder, but the plant just wouldn't detach. He stood on the branch and pulled. The straw hat huffed in anger, about ready to Gum Gum Bazooka this damned fruit out of the tree. He growled with one final tug, using all his might to get it off. With a simple 'pop!' the fruit finally disconnected. Luffy smiled with triumph, but was now falling backwards off the branch. He fell down towards the other two. Robin acted quickly and sprouted a hand big enough to fit the captain on its palm from the trunk and caught Luffy just in time. Usopp sighed of relief.
Lowering the hand, Luffy dismounted the palm and thanked Robin quickly. She nodded. The hand disappeared. Luffy then presented the red fruit to the others.
"It smells like meat!" Luffy exclaimed and examined the fruit. Usopp leaned in and sniffed the exterior. He was right. What fruit smells like meat? This must be some kind of different flavor or something… as odd as that sounds. The tree vibrated, some leaves falling from above. The island was still in the process of rotating.
"So, how do we open it?" Robin asked looking down at the fruit with interested eyes. She wondered if there were any books on this kind of food. She never thought to look, concerning it wasn't in her interest, but now that it was in her face, it seemed fascinating.
"I can bite it." Luffy answered, simply proceeding to bite the outside. Usopp stopped him, placing a hand just before Luffy's open mouth. He pulled out a pocket knife and tried to cut an opening. The outside was pretty hard. "I can bite it!"
"Just making sure, jeez. It might be edible, but the outside could be poisonous." Usopp informed. He knew a thing or two about plants, and though he had just come from a place where everything was edible, he knew not to just eat anything in any other place.
"Can I bite it now?"
"Go ahead." Luffy then opened his mouth, and bit down on the outside of the fruit. For a moment he remained still, eyes wide as can be. Usopp examined his face and waved a hand in front just to see if he'd respond. Luffy lifted his head, teeth marks were punctured into the fruit skin. Luffy then put his fingers into the holes and pulled off the rind. A strong odor of cooked beef reeked through the three pirate's noses. Luffy mouth watered instantly, Usopp blinked and smiled. Robin tilted her head in enthrallment. What a wonderful find this was.
Wow! This fruit really smells just like beef! Like it was cooked or something! Luffy began chewing away at the piece he had drawn from the rest of the fruit. Usopp grabbed for it and pulled off a piece for himself. He passed it on to Robin and she too indulged in taking a piece. The three chewed on what they had bitten off and were surprised of what they had just tasted. Robin swallowed hers and covered her mouth.
"My goodness…" she murmured to herself. Usopp and Luffy's mouths dropped.
"IT TASTES JUST LIKE COOKED BEEF!" They both screamed. Luffy turned to Robin and reach for the fruit.
"I want more!" He shouted. Usopp placed a hand on Luffy's face, pushing him back some. "Hey! Don't hog it all!"
"Calm down Luffy. There's more up top, right? We can get as many as we can carry then haul them back to the ship."
"Yeah but I want more now!"
"Then go get yourself some! Robin, you can keep that one. Luffy and I will go further up the tree and try to find some more. You'll be okay right?" The archaeologist giggled. The sniper sounded so heroic. To think this was the same boy from before that was such a coward. It made her smile that he seemed to grow out of such a thing. She also took into notice of how muscular he had gotten over the years. Time sure did change people.
"Of course I'll be fine, thanks. See you when you're finished." She said, holding the fruit close. She took another piece and tried some more.
No animals as of yet, Nami thought. She kept her eyes peeled for anything odd, or out of place. Things seemed a bit hard to do with Sanji falling over her every step of the way. She stopped when stepping into something mushy. She raised her foot and discovered yellow muck covering the bottom of her sandal. She groaned, being disgusted by the look of it. She wiped her foot onto the ground, moving away from the place this smashed substance came from. Chopper hurried behind her and looked around frightened almost to death.
"What's wrong Chopper?" She asked kneeling down to the tiny reindeer. He gulped and turned to Nami with wide eyes.
"It's almost been twenty minutes! I don't know how any animals on here can stand the sensation but… when quakes happen, they drive me nuts!" He replied, his teeth beginning to chatter right after. It was true that animals had that sort of sixth sense to sense any changes in nature. She nodded and then looked forward.
"Well, they're accustomed to it! Since they live here, they adapted to the constant movement of the island. So they aren't as scared as you are which is clearly understandable. There's nothing to fear though. Just a small change in direction is all!" She patted the reindeer's hat and stood up straight. "Where's Sanji, by the way?" The cook had not been in sight; in fact he hadn't said a damn thing for some minutes now. The navigator turned her head, looking back from the way that they came. Still no sign of the blond. Chopper began sniffing the air, checking for a familiar scent. No luck, only to find something very peculiar.
"It smells like… hamburgers." He frowned at what he had just announced. That seemed absurd already, unless Sanji had decided to bring a snack along. As far as they were concerned, he hadn't brought anything with him.
"Are you sure that's what you smell?" Nami asked just to make sure. Chopper nodded not all that positive his nose was working right.
"Nami-swaaaaan!" Looking up, Nami saw the cook falling from a feet meters up. Chopper hurried behind her, clinging to her legs and watching the cook land on his feet, holding a few orangish-brown fruits. He then stood up right and smiled at the two. "You wouldn't believe what I found!" The fruits were all round and plump. One of them had been opened, leaving a huge box looking shaped opening on it. Nami noticed the familiar smell of meat, buns, ketchup, mustard, mayo, tomatoes and cheese. She blinked in disbelief and looked down at Chopper. He was right.
"Hamburgers?" She asked out loud. The cook nodded.
"You're so smart, Nami dear! I climbed up the tree and examined the fruits there. Funniest thing is that when I opened it, that's what it smelled like. Even funnier thing is, it tastes just like a hamburger." He placed the fruits on the ground and broke off a portion using his own swiss knife, cutting a perfect square from the skin. He handed some to Nami then to Chopper. "Dig in. It's actually pretty good." Nami took caution when inspecting the fruit. She sniffed again; the smell of a wonderfully made cheeseburger filled her nostrils. She was still a bit on the unbelieving side. Chopper had already bit off some of his portion. He swallowed and delightfully bit off another piece. Nami finally consumed her piece and swallowed it whole. She smiled at Sanji and shivered in sheer pleasure.
"That was amazing! Th-These fruits… are they all like this?" Sanji sighed, love struck as always. He nodded, assuming that was the case.
"I didn't see any other ones besides these. The tree only grew this kind I suppose. The other ones may have other flavors. Would you like me to collect more for you Nami, my dear?" He bowed. Nami looked up at the surrounding trees.
"Yes! Find as many as you can and bring as many as you can down here!"
"Your wish is my command, my love!" With that, Sanji leaped onto the next tree. Nami and Chopper took this moment to finish the rest of the fruit.
The island had fully rotated. Brook sat beneath a tree that seemed much smaller than the others around. He was waiting for Zoro to choose a direction to go in, a very deathly mistake on Brook's part. The two had been wondering, neither not really knowing which way to go in the first place. Maybe it would've been best if Zoro remained on the ship and Franky came along.
"Mr. Zoro, do you have any ideas of where to go next?" Brook asked, standing up. Zoro turned to the skeleton and huffed.
"I say we should keep traveling straight." He pointed forward with one of his swords. He was hoping to cut something soon, but nothing worth cutting came into view. This was going to be a boring visit. The musician stood next to his comrade, looking onward towards their unknown destination. Moving along, they came across a few more gimpy trees that bent downward. The heights of these trees were much shorter than the others and the fruit they produced were visible and reachable. Brook easily reached for one, having somewhat of a tough time pulling it out. Zoro stepped in and slashed the stem that held it to the tree. "Must be the fruit Nami was talking about."
"Ah, Mr. Zoro, could you cut a piece off then? I would love to try it." Brook asked politely. Zoro raised a brow and leaned toward the fruit.
"Smells like clam chowder…" he moved away and quickly swiped at the fruit, careful not to cut Brook's bony fingers.
"C-Clam chowder?" Brook questioned now confused. This didn't sound right. Though clam chowder did sit in bowl shaped sourdough bread, this fruit couldn't possibly be holding such a delicacy. Zoro grabbed the piece that he had cut off and then nibbled a little. His eyes widened, turning to Brook he handed him the piece.
"Try it. It tastes just like the cook's." Brook quickly snatched it from the swordsman's fingers and gobbled it all down.
"Yohohohoho!" the skeleton exclaimed happily. He tried breaking off some more and ate what he could. Zoro couldn't understand how this was even possible, regardless how much he liked the taste. He didn't think too much on it. He took this moment to examine the rest of the small trees. The fruits on the others had different colors. He wondered if the colors represented the food they tasted like. What would a sake fruit look like then? Or a rice fruit if clam chowder had already taken the white skin? Looking back down at the fruit Brook had almost devoured completely, he found that there were green freckles on the outside of it.
"So then there's gotta be a rice fruit out there then." He thought aloud. Brook turned to Zoro and cleaned his mouth with his handkerchief.
"What did you say, Mr. Zoro?" He asked just before the swordsman began walking again. He was walking back the way they had come. Such horrible sense of direction, Brook thought. He followed after, not minding much which way they went. "Are we going to collect any more of those fruits?"
"Yeah. I need to find a rice flavored one. And maybe there'll be a sake flavored one too." He shrugged and then looked at the other trees. Yellowish-blue, greenish-red, and a pink one even. These weren't it. Brook pointed to a few, but Zoro ignored.
"Mr. Zoro, couldn't we try these over here?"
"Are they white?"
"N-No, but they look very delicious."
"Then, no. We'll try those on our way back." Hopeless; Zoro was utterly hopeless. His mind was set-like their one track-minded captain- it was hard to steer any options. Lucky for the musician, there were a few fruits lying next to a stump. He hurried over before Zoro had the chance to see them; a dark brown fruit, a leafy green one speckled with red, and a light brown one. Quickly breaking the dark brown fruit open, Brook tasted the small piece he had and laughed. Zoro stopped behind him and tilted his head. "What does that taste like?" He wasn't very interested due to the colors.
"Chocolate! A chocolate tasting fruit!" Brook exclaimed. He stood and shoved a piece into Zoro's mouth. Nearly choking, Zoro spat the piece out. Yes, a chocolaty sensation tinged on his tongue. He sighed, just nodding. "It's delicious! I can't believe such things exist! Though chocolate does come from the cocoa plant, but then this tastes just like a gooey chocolate bar!" He then moved onto the light brown fruit. Zoro kneeled next to him and cut a piece off for the both of them. What the hell, he was interested in trying now.
"Soft, sweet bread. It tastes like soft bread!" The last fruit having the leafy green outside with the tinge of red on the side. "This… tastes like a salad. No dressing, but with tomatoes and bitter as any salad you'd have with your meal! Oh, yohoho, this is a joy!" Zoro spat out the salad tasting fruit and stood. He huffed.
"We'll take the chocolate one. Then continue for looking for a rice flavored one." He then began walking again, this time to the right of where they were originally going.