[3 Hours Later]
It's been a few hours and I currently find myself in quite the pickle, standing in the middle of a wrecked village as a crowd of armed and angry civilians threateningly surround me while warning me to not make any hasty moves on the now frozen village chief at my feet.
'How the hell did I even end up here?' I incredulously ask myself as I think back to what happened.
[Flashback]
Time flowed like water in the otherworldly forest, flowers rise high and cover the sky in radiant colors as their shadows dance with the sun, casting long deep shadows and creating illusions of both serenity and danger… and in one of these shadows a single figure can be seen running along the forest floor as he attempts to maneuver around any obstacles in his way, all the while looking around him with vigilance… and that is me.
'Damnit! Why is there another one!? How do they keep finding me!' I complain in my head as I take in another heavy breath of air while swerving around another huge flower, only to immediately have to duck as the now familiar sound of whistling air reach my ears.
Good thing I did too, as what appears to be long serrated bamboo spear passes over my head and digs deep into the giant flower behind me; only to immediately remove itself and reveal 4 long fibrous and sharp claws at its end.
Without turning I immediately get up and run and without looking back, fire a "Slow-slow beam" into the dense canopy above, knowing without a doubt that I hit my target as the loud annoying bellows of a bell stop ringing.
"Ha~ That should at least give me 30 sec- or not!" I mutter, before having to quickly roll onto my side in order to avoid another spear from my right, this time with a more bark-like texture.
"Damnit! How many of you are there!" I snap in irritation as I face my attacker, having to crane my neck upwards in order to catch a glimpse of it through the leaves.
The creature is tall, standing at around 25 feet in height – by far the largest living thing I've ever seen; It stands on four skinny and spindly legs that if one looked closely perfectly match the 'spears' thrown at me.
Its 'body' simply consists of a gelatinous green sac that blends in with the environment, a pincer-like beak resembling a blooming flower protruding from its bottom, and as previously mentioned, its long spindly legs, quite the ugly thing.
I once again fire my slow-slow beam in its general direction and begin to move deeper into the forest, following the still visible trail.
Now some may wonder, why don't I just take advantage of it being frozen and killing it? Getting it off my back for good. To that I would answer that I would be happy to… if not for the fact that killing one of those things got me in this situation in the first place!
It all began back when I had first stepped foot into this place, it didn't take long for me to find the clear trail of broken leaves and large footprints in the damp soil.
From there It had been a calm and simple walk, simply appreciating the otherworldly beauty of the place, while at the same time deep into my own thoughts on my unnatural situation and what it all meant for me.
Hell, I even took some time to run some tests on my devil fruit along the way, when… boom!
Out of nowhere I get launched into some shrubbery as a white willowy spear covered in pink leaves pierces my left shoulder, drawing blood and a pained grunt out of me.
Thankfully, it seemed to not have been thrown with all that much force as it didn't go all that deep, and that's when I noticed something strange about the spear… it had no end to it… and connected to something behind a flower.
That's when I saw it, a creepy, white, and pink wrinkly sac staring at me from the shadows.
Seeing this I freaked out a little and immediately stood up and backed away.
"What in the hell is that!? Don't tell me there are monsters in this forest!" I question in dismay, remembering 'comedic' scenes from the anime where huge tigers the size of cars chase Luffy around while giant red elephants crush and pulverize everything around them with a few stomps.
*gulp*
"N-no, don't be ridiculous, there's no way someone like Foxy, RIP, and his band of fodder have the guts to roam around such crazy places… right?"
I try to reason as I lift my arms at the ready while warily looking at the strange creature behind the flower; forgetting the fact that in this world, a small settlement like Foosha Village could live and thrive with little issue near those same creatures.
"W-well don't be shy now! Come out and face me you beast!" I bravely yell seeing no movement behind the flower, ready to fire a salvo of beams at a moment's notice.
That seems to have done the trick as a loud *gong* suddenly reverberates through the area, startling me but not distracting me, not after everything I've experienced so far.
And good thing too, as a second later it launches its sharp-ended legs at me, at great speeds.
'Fuck! I could barely see it!' I yell in my head as I barely dodge the thing, I then hastily fire my "Slow-slow beam!" and… horribly miss!
"Fuck!"
I then barely dodge another leg, getting scratched in the process *Gong* *Gong* the sound blares faster, like its annoyed.
The creature finally moves from behind the flower, all the while launching its attacks in increasing speeds, overwhelming me but at the same time completely exposing itself to me.
The perfect opportunity, so I immediately take it by throwing myself back as far as I could and taking aim, firing off one last beam with all my concentration, and bullseye! Right in its chest… or sac.
It is now slowed down and harmless… or so I believed as one of its spear-like legs suddenly wraps around my left ankle and drags me forward onto another oncoming leg.
My eyes widen in surprise at this, but I immediately react by immediately firing off a random volley of beams in its general direction, and thankfully clip just in time.
*Phew*
I breath out a shaky breath seeing the frozen spear floating a few inches from my eye.
I then immediately untangle myself from the leg holding me and angrily stomp on it as it squirms.
"Why! Is! Everything! In! This! Shitty! World! Trying! To! Kill! Me!" I angrily roar as I stomp down until it snaps in two.
I then do the natural thing for this situation, go up to the creature and… punch it into oblivion!
A grave mistake I later realize, when its sac-like body bursts and its juices or 'smells' cover me from head to toe; basically, making me a juicy target for these things that reads: 'Hey! Look over here! I slew one of your brethren! Why don't you come and try your luck at revenge?!'… and now here I am, facing hordes of these creatures as I tiredly run through a forest of flowers for dear life.
…
After some more running, freezing, hiding in hard-to-reach places in order to replenish my ever-dwindling stamina, I finally see the end of the tunnel when I spot a clearing up ahead.
A clearing covered in neat yellow fields of wheat and barley! I can even make out a dirt road in the distance!
Hopefully, symbolizing somewhere I can rest and finally have a break from all the crazy.
"…I jinxed myself, didn't I?" I regretfully ask myself while rushing forward with a new pep in my step.
As I rush into the clearing, I look over my shoulder and spot several of the creatures lingering at the edges of the forest, staring at me with obvious hostility but for some reason not leaving it…
'Kinda weird… but whatever,' I mumble seeing this, before shrugging my tired and still bleeding shoulders; its either plot armor… which I clearly don't have, or some sort of behavior the locals cultivated over time, or maybe something completely different, who knows.
That's as far as I ponder on the subject as I finally reach the beautiful golden fields and tiredly throw myself on top of the wheat, squishing and ruining a few stalks.
"Haah~ What a day~" I tiredly mumble to myself as I rest in peace, closing my eyes for a little break.
I tiredly stand up after a few minutes and merrily begin to walk towards that road I saw, smiling in happiness at finally coming across something I recognize and not some otherworldly bullshit.
It takes me a little to reach the dirt road, one that's clearly seen some recent activity with all the fresh footprints on its surface, and quickly following it wherever it leads.
As I do I begin to dream of what could be up ahead.
A beautiful village? A lively town? Or maybe a sprawling and otherworldly city like Water 7?
But just as I'm about to lose myself in my daydreams, distant sounds of gunshots tear it all away like the flimsy dream it was.
"Hah~ what now?! Can't a newly transmigrated man get even a single second of peace!?" I angrily rant into the wind, my eyes becoming bloodshot… before I calm down and begin to think rationally about the situation.
"Hah~ I guess I know what's going on… those two pirate groups are fighting each other, aren't they? Just like Foxy and Jack said they would… well I guess this is a good time as any to get myself in the good graces of the local populace… hopefully earning myself a free meal and bed in the process."
It would suck ass if I had to sleep outside tonight.
With that resolution in my mind, I quickly approach the chaos as sneakily as I could, don't wanna jump in like an idiot before I know what I'm up against.
'Hmm, seems the situation is a little more dire than I thought… the two groups are fighting within the town itself… and the villagers for some reason or another are joining in… even the women and elderly are fighting…' my bewilderment grows by the second.
'Well, I guess that's for later- and their throwing bags of blue powder into the chaos, sleeping powder perhaps… I see, well it isn't as bad as I thought, let's just get this over with!' I finally conclude that I have a real chance of making a difference and ending this relatively easily.
From there a rampage takes place, with the element of surprise on my side and my fruit powers I manage to knock out the pirates with relative ease.
There were a few close calls here and there, where someone was able to sneak up on me or flank me, or that one time that midget with a long red beard tried to shoot me… to him I made sure to be extra brutal.
Overall, it wasn't horribly difficult, by the end of it I was the only one left standing in a field of unconscious and groaning pirates, the villagers backing away in clear trepidation at my powers.
"*Cough* Hoohoo~ "An' who are you, mijo? You comin' here to cause trouble too? "An old man with a drooping grey mustache and a strong Caribbean speaks up as he steps out from the crowd, signaling to the pirates on the ground.
"Ugh- no old man I aint with them, I just came from the flower forest before- "I go to make an excuse before having to suddenly jump back as the old man speedily launches himself at me in a kick.
"What the fuck old man!" I yell in agitation before bringing up my hands and firing my slow beam, something that by this point almost knocks me unconscious due to how weary I am.
Thankfully, it hits the airborne man and stops him just as he lands before me.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of it as the now heated villagers angrily surround me, and order me to surrender… God damnit, all that work for nothing…