The Three Kuja Pirates proceeded to cross the bridge to Ape Mountain, each step as careful and weary as possible atop each wooden board. With the slightest sound of creaking and cracking of the boards, Sweat Peat and Alphelandra gasped as they paused quickly. Once reassured that the bridge was still standing, they continued across. Marguerite gripped the ropes tightly off to each side of the bridge. Even the old and withering ropes holding the bridge together could not be looked at without the terrifying thought of snapping at any moment.
Marguerite shook her head, ridding her mind of the thought that froze her in fear. She looked on ahead, continuing across without a second thought of the peril they were in. She turned back at Sweat Pea and Alphelandra.
"Keep going, we're almost there," She told them.
Marguerite's heart pounded in her chest, but she steeled herself, forcing the fear back down. She couldn't afford to be scared. The Empress was depending on them. "We've crossed worse," she muttered under her breath, urging herself to believe it. Her grip on the rope tightened until her knuckles whitened, her eyes flicking back to check on Sweat Pea and Alphelandra, who were pale but moving. They couldn't stop now. Not when they were so close.
A sudden gust of wind swept the bridge, shaking it back and forth. The three Kuja Pirates quickly paused, grabbing the ropes as the Bridge shook beneath them.
"Wow," They wailed in panic.
"Hang on," Marguerite exclaimed.
The three Kuja Pirates continued to change on for dear life as the Bridge continued to quake within the winds.
For the Kuja Pirates, the jungle felt alive in the worst way—eyes glinting from the dark underbrush, the calls of animals echoing through the trees, vines that seemed to twist closer every time they blinked. But to Robin, the jungle was her domain, each sound and shadow a familiar friend. The rustle of the leaves was a song, the shifting of the trees her allies waiting for her command.
Robin arrived at the edge of the jungle near the Ravine, Swinging up and perching herself in the tree's canopy. Tookie was soon to arrive at his Queen's side, squeaking urgently.
"Tookie, Tookie," He proclaimed.
Robin cocked her head to the Majordomo.
"What is it, Tookie? Do you see them?" She asked.
Tooki nodded her head, turning to point at the bridge below. Halfway across the ravine, three distinct figures stood there, clinging to the sides as they swayed in the wind. Robin squinted, peering down at the supposed intruders to her jungle dominion. Her keen eyes, as sharp as the hunting hawk in the open plains, scanned the bridge below and the ones crossing it. It was not long before the sudden gasp of realization followed the startling discovery that the intruders who attempted to enter Ape Mountain... were women.
Not only that, they were Kuja Pirates.
"Kuja Pirates? Here in Bakuvvu?" Robin said.
"Tookie, Tookie," Tookie squeaked, shaking his head in confusion.
"If the Kuja Pirates are here, that can only mean they could only be after one thing," Robin insisted.
The Jungle Queen was familiar with the many Pirate factions that sailed the seas, having been taught by Ape about the Great Pirate Era in the outside world. All were striving to take Gold Rodgers's place as the next King of the Pirates. Robin had never really concerned herself about it. None of the Pirates had ever stepped foot on the island until now. Nor the Navy, for that matter. There was no treasure or anything that would entice them to step foot on the island.
But for anyone who threatened her jungle home, Robin would do anything to protect the Bakuvvu and the animals. She had already lost one home and was not about to lose another.
Robin crouched in the canopy, eyes locked on the pirates below. Her mind raced with possible outcomes—violence was the easy answer, but it would bring attention. She had worked too hard to keep Bakuvvu isolated from the chaos of the outside world. Ape had taught her that power wasn't always in force, but in control. Still, the sight of the Kuja Pirates crossing the bridge stirred an old fire within her—the same one that had burned when her home was taken away.
"So... the Kujas think they can just walk right in and take from my jungle," Robin said, placing her hands atop her hips.
"Tookie, Tookie?" Tookie asked.
Robin shook her head.
"Oh, don't worry. I won't kill them," Robin reassured Tookie.
"That will only bring more to Bakuvvu. But I will ensure they don't find whatever they seek."
Tookie tilted their head curiously.
"Tookie, Tookie?" Her Majordomo asked.
Robin turned forward, crossing both arms as she shut her eyes before uttering the words of her devil fruit power.
"Mil Fleur!"
Two arms sprouted from the wooden posts on the other side of the bridge. Reaching down, one of the lands picked up a sharp rock, which they proceeded to cut from the bridge's rope. Feeling the strange vibrations, Marquerite, Alphelandra, and Sweat Pea looked ahead on the bridge's other end. They saw what looked to be two sets of arms trying to cut the bridge's ropes.
"What are those?" Sweat Peak asked.
"Don't know, but they look like they're trying to
"Hurry, we have to get across Now!" Marguerite exclaimed.
The three Kuja Pirates began to run across the Bridge, ignoring any thought of peril and paying little mind to the creaks of the boards underfoot or the winds swaying the Bridge from side to side. Nor were the extended arms attempting to cut through the ropes holding the Bridge over the deep canyon below. All that mattered was getting across to the other side of the Bridge without delay. All that mattered was that they retrieved the deed for their beloved Empress.
One of the Boards gave in under Alphelandra's foot, causing her to fall through. She quickly grabbed the ropes, trying to pull herself back up on the Bridge. Sweat Pea came up behind her, where she helped her fellow Kuja Pirate back onto the Bridge. The two then followed after Marquerite, rushing over to the other side of the Bridge.
It was as the last strands of the ropes were finally cut by the extended arms that the Bridge had finally given in. The three Amazons had made it to the other side in time. They then turned back to see the Bridge swing down and crash against the canyon walls below. Once spotted from the wooded posts, the extended arms dissipated into flowers. They paused there, catching a much-needed breath that they had made it across.
Marguerite came up to peer over the edge at the Bridge below.
"What was that? Where did those limbs even come from?"Alphelandra asked.
Marguerite shook her head.
"I don't know. This Jungle gets weirder and weirder the further we go," Marquerite insisted.
"I think someone is trying to stop us from reaching the Ruins."
Aplelandra and Sweat Pea turned to her curiously.
Robin lowered her arms to her sides. Her initial attempt to frighten away the intruder did not have the outcome that she had hoped it would. Anyone seeing such extended arms appear out of thin air would no doubt run on fear, back where they came from. Yet they continued and made it across the bridge to the other side. The Jungle Queen gave an irritated scowl.
"Hmm, that didn't seem to work," Robin said.
"Tookie, Tookie," Tookie chirped.
Robin nodded her head.
"Seems they are more resilient than I thought," Robin asked.
"Tookie, Tookie?" Tookie squawked at her.
"There's only one place that they would go. The only place that" Robin insisted.
"Come. I know a way across."
With that, the Jungle Queen grabbed the nearest vine before swinging into the Jungle.
Unannounced to the Jungle Queen, Marquerite noticed the strange figure within the canopy of the trees on the far side of the canyon. This proves that her suspicions were someone trying to stop them from reaching the ruins. Regardless, they needed to keep moving and find them immediately.
She turned back to Alphelandra and Sweat Pea.
"Come on, we should keep moving. The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get off this island," She insisted.
The three members of the Kuja Pirates continued to venture deeper into the jungles of Ape Mountain. In hand were the Boas, who took shape into their bows, ready for any sign of trouble. At the very least, the one they suspected to be following them. All the while, Marguerite's attention continued to be occupied by the map. They continued following the route that navigated through this deep, dark jungle.
All with the Hopes that they would soon find the deed and get off this island as quickly as possible.
Marguerite's eyes scanned the map in her hands, her fingers tracing the faded lines. The deed to Ape Mountain was more than just a piece of paper. Whoever controlled Ape Mountain controlled the key to an ancient power, something the Empress needed to secure their place in the Grand Line. That was the real treasure—something that no one else could claim.
Not long after, they came to find what looked to be the ruins deep in the mountains. Marguerite looked down at the map and saw that they resembled the one on it—the one that no doubt contained the deed to Ape Mountain. She gasped with anticipation.
"This is it! We found it!" She insisted.
"The lost city of the Bakuvvu!"
The ruins of Bakuvvu rose before them like the bones of a forgotten beast, half-consumed by the jungle that had claimed it. Vines crawled over the stone walls, thick as ropes, and the air smelled of damp earth and age-old secrets. Marguerite hesitated before stepping forward, her boots sinking into the soft moss that covered the ancient stones. There, within those walls, was the deed that could change everything.