"Tell me, Shirahoshi-san! Do you like strong men?" Sanji asked her.
With his feet in the water, the blonde searched the bottom of the lake, looking for anything that could be edible. Not far from him, Shirahoshi began to think about his question, before affirming.
"Rather than someone strong, I would prefer someone trustworthy and loyal."
"You don't have any of those qualities." Law asserted, to Sanji. "You're the type to run to every girl you come across! We can never find anyone more unfaithful than you."
Growling, the boy turned to him and Luffy. And while Law was still on his computer, Luffy just lay on the ground and started to sleep.
"Instead of lazing about, come help me find something to eat."
"I'm working." Law retorted.
"I don't like going in the water." Luffy affirmed.
"If you want to eat, hurry up and help me."
Pouting, Luffy finally got up, before putting his feet in the water. Then, with no will, he crouched down before searching the bottom of the lake with his hands.
"Why did you come if it was to do nothing?" Sanji questioned him.
"I thought I could do something more interesting like see another giant animal."
Suddenly, he felt something under his hand and ended up pulling a seashell out of the water.
"Hey, got something." The boy asserted, showing his grip.
The shell, beige in color and a little larger than a saucer, made him think, in its shape, of a clam.
"A clam?" Shirahoshi wondered, thinking the same thing. "I thought that kind of shell only lived in the sea."
"Better be careful." Law remarked. "If this shell is prehistoric, it's impossible for us to know whether it's edible or not."
"In that case, I'll eat it." Luffy assured, trying to open it. "If I'm sick, that means he wasn't good."
"Do you have anything better to offer?"
"Don't worry, I think it's edible." Sanji affirmed.
Approaching Luffy, to better see his shell, he declared.
"If I'm not mistaken, this shellfish is from the same family as the scallop shell."
"Even if it is, isn't it dangerous to eat it?" Shirahoshi asked. "These shells live in the ocean, not in lakes."
" It is true that it is strange. " Affirmed Sanji. "Nevertheless, it has no particular color! Generally, due to side effects, animals with poisoned glands develop skin with a very showy color, such as red or blue."
"Really?" Luffy wondered, examining it more closely. "And how do you know which family this mollusc belongs to?"
"What characterizes the species of this family is the jet of water they produce by closing their shells in order to move." Sanji told him. "The animal can also use it to defend itself."
And before Luffy could understand the meaning of his last sentence, the shell projected its famous jet of water which hit him in the face and made him let go, because of the surprise. At first surprised to see him fall backwards, Shirahoshi ended up laughing at his clumsiness, while Sanji heaved a weary sigh.
"You wanted to meet other animals on this island...and you get ridiculed by a seashell! It makes you wonder if you could really survive here."
A grunt was Luffy's only response, as he searched the bottom of the lake again for his shell.
"When I find it, I will eat it with its shell."
"This guy is really irredeemable." Law affirmed, while looking in their direction.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, when he spotted two horns emerging from the surface of the lake and heading towards them rather quickly.
" What is that? »
"Strawhat-ya! Get behind you!" he warns, while having a bad feeling about this sudden appearance.
"Huh?" Luffy and Sanji wondered, turning around.
At the same time, something pierced the surface of the lake, lifting up hundreds of liters of water and hurtling towards the shore.
"What the hell is that?" Shirahoshi yelled, falling onto her ass.
A jolt was then felt, when this mysterious phenomenon set foot on the shore. After all the water covering it fell to the ground, Luffy and the others could see that this geyser had been triggered by a pachyderm that had just come out of the lake.
The pachyderm looked like an enormous rhinoceros, with a pair of gigantic horns above the nose. Each one measured sixty centimeters. In addition, it had a second pair of horns, much smaller, concealed behind the first. It also had a small trunk comparable to those of tapirs.
"Arsinotherium!" Law recognized it, standing up. "It looks like a rhinoceros but in terms of morphology, it is closer to the hippopotamus! Despite this, it is an ancestor of the elephant! It is like a modern rhinoceros, but with more power. "
To prove his thesis, the animal came out of the water making a huge noise that sounded like an elephant trumpeting. Then, after sniffing the air, it began to stare at us before starting to exhale air through its nostrils.
"It's nice to tell us what it is but… how can we defeat it?" Sanji asked.
"GET OUT!" Luffy suddenly shouted, running towards the rhinoceros.
" ASSHOLE. "
Again, the rhino trumpeted before charging towards Luffy. Seeing it do this, Luffy shook his machete in front of him to scare it.
"What are you doing, fool?" Sanji roared, who was right behind him.
"Weak-hoshi is down."
" Huh ? "
He then saw the reason why Luffy was doing such a reckless and dangerous move. Behind him, Shirahoshi felt her legs paralyzed and they refused to carry her. She was unable to flee.
"Shirahoshi-san."
Suddenly, the arsinotherium passed between Luffy and Sanji, while using its enormous build to eject them to the side. But as Sanji fell to the ground, Luffy managed to land on his feet, before propelling himself towards Shirahoshi. Still immobilized, as she saw the rhinoceros running towards her, Shirahoshi was so paralyzed that she didn't even feel Luffy's arms wrap around her, while the boy managed to grab her and jump up. that they find themselves out of the path of the pachyderm.
Once out of danger, Luffy then turned to the arsinotherium, before affirming.
"If you want to fight, fight me! I'll eat you with fries once I defeat you."
However, no longer seeming to be interested in him or the other humans at all, the rhinoceros turned its back on him as it finally stopped. Then, instead of wanting to fight, hit buried itshead in a bush, filled with small fruits gathered in clusters.
"Huh?" Luffy wondered. "He gives up?"
Seeming to have completely forgotten about Luffy's presence, the animal was now gobbling up the fruits of the bush, which looked like small red berries.
"All he wanted...was the fruit from that bush." Sanji remarked.
" Tsss! That stupid rhinoceros scared me. " Law confessed, while he already had his saber in his hand.
"Hey! Come fight." Luffy roared, walking towards the animal.
"Stay where you are." Law roared, grabbing the back of his collar.
Then, leaving Luffy behind, he cautiously approached and began to examine the animal. It must have been at least three and a half meters long, for two at the withers, and weighed about two tons. It was the first time Law had seen such a large creature, so close, without its intending to attack him. He even ventured to touch it. Still, it made no abrupt move. Its skin was bare except for a few hairs here and there and formed thick rolls.
"It... It's pretty docile." Shirahoshi observed, recovering from her shock.
"That's strange." Law stated, eyeing the pachyderm suspiciously. "I would have sworn otherwise when I read the information in my database."
" Me, it seems normal to me. " Luffy affirmed, by tapping the rhinoceros several times with the palm of his hand. "He's a herbivore! So he can't be that dangerous."
"Idiot! Have you ever heard that elephants or hippos are very dangerous animals?" Law questioned him. "There are even stories that ostriches or pandas have killed people who wanted to approach them! Being a herbivore does not mean being harmless."
Suddenly, its stomach satisfied with its meal, the arsinotherium bent its legs and lay down on the ground, face down.
"I've seen more dangerous cows than him." Luffy affirmed.
Approaching the arsinotherium, Sanji looked thoughtful before declaring.
"Even if it looks like a rhinoceros, nothing can guarantee us that it has a behavior like its descendant! It is perhaps normal that it is so docile."
" No, that's not normal. " Law retorted. "A wild animal always has an instinct that tells it to defend itself against threats unknown to it! Otherwise, this animal could never survive for long in the face of the laws of evolution."
Trying to understand the reason for the strange behavior of the animal, he ends up giving up, before declaring.
"Maybe it's just an old fellow! For now, we'll try not to get too close to its and hope it goes away on its own."
Nodding his head, Sanji turned to Shirahoshi to help her up. However, he stopped when he saw Luffy in front of the stewardess and reached out his hand to get her back on her feet.
" Luffy-san ... thanks. "
"Finally, there was no danger." Luffy said simply.
Then becoming interested in the berries the rhino was eating, Luffy quickly forgot Law's advice and approached the bush to pick some berries.
"Is it good to eat?"
Seeing him stay close to the animal, without feeling the slightest fear, Law sighed.
" Damn it! This unconscious defies the word courage! It's like he likes to play with death. "
For his part, getting ready to light a cigarette, Sanji was surprised to feel his hand tremble, a sign that he still felt chills caused by the sudden appearance of the animal.
" Tssss. " He growled, while remembering that his earlier intervention hadn't helped much.
Again, it was Luffy who knew how to react correctly to protect the others.
"It's exactly as you said." Law continued. "We are no longer in our school! Classes and discipline are important things in our world, but that has no value here! This island is different from our high school and in order to survive, we must evolve."
Staring at Luffy, he finished.
"It's like we're passing some sort of test! School means nothing to Strawhat-ya! But here he's excellent! he's the best! The worst thing is that he didn't even realize it."
"I really suck. " Sanji raged inwardly, walking away. "How can someone like me continue to brag in front of others, if he's unable to protect a woman in danger?"
Seeing him leave, Law realized that his words had somehow hurt the boy.
"I know it's hard for you to admit it, Sanji! After all, you've probably always thought that you beat Strawhat-ya in terms of intelligence or strength! But, on this island, if you don't know how to use it properly, it won't help you! That's what Strawhat-ya finally figured out! »
"Yum, that's so good." Luffy gloated, eating an entire cluster of red berries. "Tasty, sweet, pitless! It's a treat."
"One day, you'll have to tell me what you don't find delicious." Law retorted.
"Luffy! Are you really sure these fruits are edible?" Nami asked him, as she carefully examined some red berries she was holding in her hand.
" The rhino ate almost a whole bush of it, without being sick. " Luffy explained to her, while shoving a second bunch in his mouth. "Right, Sanji?"
In response, Sanji pointed to his arm, as he had rubbed several berries on it so that his skin was coated with juice.
"Since I don't know these fruits, I did some tests to find out if they are poisonous! The simplest test is to pour the juice of its fruits on its skin."
"What is it for?" Shirahoshi asked.
"If these fruits contain poison, my skin would experience reactions, such as itching or pimples! Nevertheless, nothing all of this seems to have appeared. "
"Besides, as Strawhat-ya says, the rhinoceros ate a large amount of it." Law asserted. "So, I think we can do the same."
"How can you be sure?" Nami asked. "For example, dogs are mammals, just like us! And yet chocolate is toxic to them."
"This rhinoceros is herbivorous and we humans have a lot more digestive enzymes in common with it than we do with carnivores."
"Anyway, I ate plenty of it earlier, without feeling any ill effects." Luffy told her. "And since I'm not dead, they're not poisoned."
"You're an moron." Law and Nami growled.
However, Nami ends up taking one of the berries, before swallowing it. Nevertheless, a grimace appeared on his face.
"That's not really my favorite." She confessed. "I find that there is an unpleasant aftertaste."
"Me, I like it." Law stated, eating several berries.
"It's okay, Nami! There's plenty of other things to eat." Luffy assured her.
In front of them, on three palm leaves, stood a pyramid of fruit, each more appetizing than the next. At the entrance of the cave, under Sanji's supervision, a fish of at least thirty centimeters was grilling, which already made Luffy want to eat it whole.
"The fish is almost ready." The blond asserted, poking him with a wooden stick.
"Sanji-kun, is it really you who harvested all this?" Alexia questioned, looking at the incredible amount of food. " It's really unbelievable. "
"It's not much." The blond asserted. "After all, I'm the one who knows the food best! It's only natural that I become the cook of the group."
" As long as I serve something in the group. " He thought. " If Luffy's job is to fight those monsters… me, I need to make sure that each of them is on a constant and balanced diet. " »
Hitting his back several times, Luffy affirmed.
"You're a super survivor! You even managed to spear the fish, jumping off a rock, with a wooden spear before coming out of the water with your prey skewered on it! Even my grandfather didn't never managed to do that."
"Contrary to what you might think, there are many fish that are difficult to hunt with a fishing rod! To counter this, different fishing styles are more suitable for catching them. "
"How do you know all this?" Nami questioned him.
"Since I was a kid, I have been going to the restaurant where I work after school! The owner likes fresh produce and sometimes he goes out into the countryside to find food that he harvests by himself! I have sometimes been hunting and fishing with him! Thanks to that, I know a lot of foods that are edible or not."
"Sugoi." Shirahoshi affirmed, looking at him admiringly. "Geez, I feel like all the high school kids at your school are amazing."
Blushing somewhat, Sanji nevertheless managed to calm his urges and displayed.
Only Law understood why, he acted with so much modesty but preferred to eat without making the slightest comment about it.
"Hey, Tra-o! Nami will soon be fully recovered from her injury! So we should start thinking about what we're going to do next." Luffy remarked, at the end of their meal. "Where shall we go?"
"Why leave this cave?" Nami questioned her. "We are safe here."
"Yes, but this is not where we can find Usopp and the others."
"And we won't see the andrewsarchus here either." Nami retorted.
Hearing them start bickering, Law swallowed one last berry before speaking.
"What if we make sure to stay here and bring the others to us?"
"Huh?" The duo wondered, turning to him.
"Sanji-ya." Law called him.
" Hmmm ? "
"Tell me! What do you think of the food here? Is it still enough to last a few days?"
"Days?" Repeated the boy. "Don't you mean weeks? There are fruit trees all around the cave, as well as a multitude of berry bushes! Besides, the lake must surely be full of fish! I just need to have the equipment needed to fish them."
"And have we encountered any predators since we got here?"
"No! If we hadn't come across the rhinoceros this morning, we might even wonder if the monsters we saw were not caused by our imagination! On top of that, this pachyderm is as gentle as a lamb! It there is no danger from him."
"Then I think we'll have to stay here longer." Law observed.
"What exactly do you mean?" Nami questioned her.
"Here, the living conditions are relatively good! Water and food are close at hand! And dangerous animals still haven't appeared! Anyone could come and take refuge here! As a result , instead of going for the others, it is better to bring them here."
"OHHHHH!" Luffy exclaimed. "I understand your reasoning! You want to gather all the survivors of the island here."
"That's right! Instead of looking for them by doing who knows how many times around the island, it would be wiser to find a way to bring them all here."
" That's a great idea! No one will be in danger anymore! You're so smart, Law-san. " Shirahoshi congratulated him.
"It sounds like a good idea, but I wonder how we're going to manage to get the others here." Sanji asserted. "Lighting a fire to signal our presence would be too risky! And I don't see how we can go get them without encountering the slightest monster on the way."
"We'll find a solution to this problem." Luffy assured him, not managing to wipe the smile from his face. "Damn it! I can't wait to see everyone again."
"So, here is the famous rhinoceros."
Seeing the arsinotherium, still eating, Nami came out of the cave and cautiously approached it. Finding it as impressive as the other animals she had seen, she felt somewhat reassured, noting that it was not at all interested in her.
Then, deciding to sit in front of the lake, right next to the animal, Nami began to admire the landscape in front of her. As time passed, she watched the sun go down.
" We will finally be able to improve our situation. She thought. " Yes, we won't be alone anymore." "
"What are you doing here, Nami?" Luffy asked her, coming up next to her, while missing what looked like a mango.
"We just ate and you're still hungry."
"I'm always hungry." Luffy assured.
"No need to tell me."
Then looking around, Luffy nodded.
"I was looking for Sanji! Do you know where he is?"
She pointed at him. Facing the lake and standing on a rock, Sanji held a new spear in his hand. According to his position, he was about to jump into the water, to spear a fish.
"He manages to see them?" Luffy wondered. "Still, it will soon be dark."
"Despite that, he still caught some." She informed him. " He may decline it, he can be incredible when he gets started. "
"You should go to bed." Luffy advised her. "If Something Happens..."
"I can't do it." She confessed to him.
"Is it about what Tra-o said earlier?
"Yes! Thanks to his idea, we will be able to reunite all our friends and see them again! But I wonder if they are all right now."
"Don't worry! You know them all, right? Whether it's Zoro, Ace or Jinbe, or even Vivi, Usopp or even that annoying Smokey, everyone has to be fine! And soon, we'll be able to to see them all again! They're on the same island as us, so..."
He stopped when he saw her starting to cry.
"Nami ? "
"Sorry." She apologized, wiping away a tear. "But I'm scared! Scared to hear that someone else died like Kaya! I don't want to see anyone die anymore."
He then fell silent, respecting her sadness. Giving her time to calm down, he began to look at the landscape in front of them. The setting sun reflected off the surface of the lake, which now shone with a thousand golden sparkles.
"It reminds me of my excursions with my grandfather! Today, I'm glad he taught me what he knows! I might not know how to survive here, without his help."
"You're the same as in high school." Nami retorted. "You're a stupid fool! But it's true that my esteem for you has increased a lot since we've been here! If I'm still alive, it's certainly thanks to you."
Suddenly moving her shirt, to show the skin of her injured shoulder, she declared.
"Maybe Shirahoshi is right! It's better to have that awful scar than to be devoured by that sea monster."
" Me, I find it cool. " Affirmed Luffy. "I want the same one and show it to Ace to brag about."
" Idiot. "
Suddenly, a feminine cry was heard.
"Who screamed? Nadia?" Nami asked, getting to her feet.
" No, that wasn't his cry. " Luffy remarked, imitating her. "All I know is that it looked like it was coming from, though, not far from the cave! We should go see what's going on."
" Okay ! "
When they arrived in front of their refuge, what was their surprise to discover, at its entrance, a person who did not belong to their group. However, she was familiar to us with her ponytail, her small size and her pair of glasses.
"Tashigi-sensei?" they exclaimed, recognizing their homeroom teacher.
Seeming to grope the ground, the young woman was surrounded by the two ptilodus of Nadia. Seeming to have played guard dogs, one of them jumped on Tashigi's shoulder before running away, knocking off her glasses.
Unable to see without them, she was trying to find them, while the two animals continued to jump on her shoulders.
"HEY! What the hell is that?" she panicked, unable to see what was attacking her. "Mice? Go away! Go away!"
Eventually, when the two rodents got tired of his squealing and gesturing to try to get them to go away, they leapt to the ground and fled into the cave.
"But what was it?" the adult wanted to know, finally putting her glasses back on her nose. "I feel like it looked like squirrels."
"Huh…sensei?" Nami called out.
It was only then that the teacher noticed the presence of the two students in front of her.
" Nami-san ? Luffy-kun ? "
Then, noticing that the duo had witnessed the embarrassing scene where she had been beaten by two rodents, she began to blush with shame. Immediately getting to her feet, she coughed a little, and tried to regain a serious voice.
"Touss! I am happy to see you again and to see that you are well."
" Me, I'm surprised to see you still alive, when you've just been knocked down by two rodents. " Luffy affirmed.
" SHUT UP !" roared the young woman, blushing even more. "They attacked me by surprise."
At that moment, the other three members of Luffy's group appeared and noticed, with surprise, the presence of the sixth survivor.
"Is anyone there?" Shirahoshi wondered.
"But that's…" Law began.
"TASHIGI-SEMPAI!" Sanji enthused, with his eyes turning into hearts.
"Law-kun? Sanji-kun?" The young woman recognized them. "Are you there too?"
She then turned to Shirahoshi, whose face was familiar to her.
"And you are the flight attendant who spilled coffee on my shirt during the flight of the plane, if I'm not mistaken."
"My name is Shirahoshi." She introduced herself, scratching her cheek. "'And sorry again about your coffee.'"
Just seeing her face is enough for me to understand that she was embarrassed that Tashigi remembered her clumsiness.
"You're all alive." Affirmed the adult. "That's great news! Now that I've found you, you'll be fine! I'll protect you no matter what."
Opening his mouth, Luffy was going to retort again that the adult had just been defeated by two rodents. Nonetheless, stomping on his foot to shut him up, Nami preferred not to spark an unnecessary argument and preferred to say a smarter question.
"Are you all alone?"
"Of course not." She told him, smiling. "I could never have survived here, on my own! I team up with four other people."
"Who is accompanying you?" Asked Antoine, not noticing anyone else around us.
"The four worst troublemakers of class D and E combined." Tashigi told him. "The Four Charlotte Brothers."
"CHARLOTTE?" Repeated the high school students in front of her. "But then that means that..."
Footsteps crushing a cluster of berries caught our attention. Between two bushes, one of the worst nightmares in the history of Luffy's high school had just appeared.
"Katakuri." Several people recognized him.
The boy just stared at the newcomers with a look that showed no emotion. So no way for them to know if he was happy to see them...simply surprised or disgusted to have stumbled upon a team made up almost mostly of people he was to potentially describe as nobodies.
"Mugiwara..." he finally said, while recognizing him. "And Trafalgar! Oddly, knowing you're alive doesn't really surprise me."
"Tssss! Should we take that as a compliment?"
"It is often said that the strongest or the smartest are those who survive the longest! Alone, I don't think you could have survived! band. "
Hearing this, Luffy smiled, while affirming.
"Of course! Nevertheless, you are wrong in asserting that only Tra-o and I are necessary to survive! If I am alive, it is thanks to the help of each of my friends."
Simply looking at Luffy's other three companions, Katakuri eventually recognizes Nami, and remembers his offer to take her off the plane, during the general panic.
"I'm quite surprised to see you alive! Especially after you decided not to follow us, during the general brawl on the plane."
"It's just…" she began.
Two other survivors arrived, at this moment, behind Katakuri.
"Damn! Couldn't you wait for us, Katakuri?" Daifuku reproached him, trying to catch his breath. "We keep running to catch you!
"What the…? Is it you guys? Have you managed to survive until now?" Oven wondered, recognizing Luffy and the others.
The two high schoolers had their clothes torn here and there, unlike Katakuri, who seemed to have almost new clothes. Each was equipped with a kind of club. For his part, Katakuri held a trident in his hand, which the others eventually spotted.
"A trident?"
"Huh? I just found it near a shredded corpse." The boy asserted. "It must have been a weapon from the bunker! Unfortunately, it did not allow its new owner to stay alive."
"Kukukuku! With or without a weapon, some people remain harmless."
Perospero arrived at that moment, with a bow in one hand, three arrows in the other and the back of his packet in his mouth. On the clothing side, his clothes had just holes here and there.
"It's crowded." He remarked, looking surprised. "It's nice to finally see some new faces."
"Tssss! I would have preferred to find other people than that stupid Mugiwara." Daifuku growled. "He's the type to get us into trouble very easily."
" Hahahahaha! It's true that I have this power. " Luffy asserted, scratching the back of his head.
"That wasn't a compliment! Stupid." The blond roared.
"And besides, he started to gather his gang." Oven affirmed, recognizing Nami and Sanji.
"Honestly, I don't think we can afford to refuse the company of the people we meet." Sanji retorted, also looking at them with a displeased face.
Knowing full well that Luffy's group weren't really Katakuri's family friends, Nami finally declared.
"There's no need to fight! We all want the same thing! Besides, I don't even know why you hate each other."
"He's the one we hate." Oven and Daifuku roared, pointing at Luffy.
"Huh? But it's not done."
"You dare insult our mother." The duo roared. "You dared to say that she was weaker than Akagami."
" So what? It's the truth. " Luffy affirmed.
" What did you say ? "
Surprised, Shirahoshi approached Law before asking him.
"Who is their mother?"
" Charlotte Linlin. "
"Huh? Who is she?"
"An 'Ultimate X Fighter Master'!" Law asserted. "She's been competing in the X Fighter tournament for years and has already won the World Championship twice. "
"Exactly." Oven affirmed. "Since Gold D. Roger stopped participating in this world tournament, our mother has become one of the most powerful competitors, alongside Kaido and Whitebeard! And knowing that the latter retired last year , she has every chance of winning a third title."
"Nonsense." Luffy retorted. "Shanks is going to win the next tournament."
Putting his hand on his hat, Luffy declared.
"I want him to win as many tournaments as possible! That way, the day I beat him, I will become a better known 'Ultimate X Fighter' than Gold D. Roger."
"Tsss! Bakayaro." Daifuku growled. "Our family has always participated in this tournament and our next champion is among us."
Pointing to Katakuri, he declared.
"When Mama retires, our brother will be the next champion and you won't stand a chance against him."
Simply growling, Katakuri retorted.
"If I want to be able to live long enough to compete in this tournament, I have to leave this island."
Then sitting down cross-legged, he declared.
"For now, let's forget about our feuds and continue them when we get back to our high school! Today, we are bound to work together."
With Luffy: Law / Shirahoshi / Nami / Sanji
With Katakuri: Perospero / Daifuku / Oven / Tashigi (teacher)
With Ace : Thatch / Moda / Marguerite / Whitey Bay / Namur / Atmos / Goldenweek / Gaimon / Squardo / Tate
Other passengers: Usopp / Coby / Vivi / Zoro / Chopper / Johnny / Yosaku / Kid / Wapol / Musshru / Smoker (teacher)
Died: Dalton (pilot) / Kaya / AO / Mero / Curiel / T-Bone (teacher) / Koza / Pudding / Apoo
? : Who is who