Chapter 121
"Doesn't exist?!" Collector yelled.
"I said folk were skeptical sir!" Yuzk said.
"Then how is it labeled on the map of this island if no one even knows for sure if it exists?" Collector asked.
Yuzk chuckled.
"Well sir, because there's only one who was able to survive that reigon of this island, as well as the entire island! Creating maps to distribute all over!" Yuzk cheered.
"Let me guess, it was Raizin?" Collector asked, annoyed.
"Yes sir! Lord Raizin spent the last 20 years traveling with his army around the island. Studying the magical power they call "Life Force" and mapping the island in the process." Yuzk said happily.
"This "Lord" Raizin must be incredibly powerful... which means he also has goodies worth collecting!" Collector happily whispered to himself.
"I've heard enough of these feats. It's time I paid Raizin a visit." Collector said, walking off.
"Oh no! You can't just waltz into Lord Raizin's mansion, you must be approved for a meeting by the Heirophant, Altir!" Yuzk said.
"WHO?!" Collector yelled, turning around, thinking back to the fight moments ago.
"Heirophant Altir sir! He is the middleman between any one who wishes to see and or speak to the lord." Yuzk said, "Anyone who wants to see Lord Raizin must go through him." Yuzk said.
Collector sweat slightly.
"Let's say someone were to already invoke Altir's wrath before wanting a meeting, then what?" Collector asked.
"Whew! You'd be extremely blessed to make it the next few hours! Lord Altir is incredibly powerful, he was blessed with the gift of light, but it took over his eyes and blinded him. His sense of smell has become so powerful he can smell his target from across the city!" Yuzk explained.
Collector turned white.
"And what if one were to say forget that and go see Raizin anyway?" Collector asked.
"Well that'd be the ultimate challenge against his authority, it is one of the highest crimes you could commit here in Nroc, punishable by death, no negotiations!" Yuzk said.
"There's really no other way to see Raizin?" Collector said, noticing Yuzk's curiosity.
"I mean, I've been a sinful creature... so much I've done, so much I've seen!" Collector said, grabbing on to Yuzk who nervously put his hands up.
"Well-Well the only other way is to become a religious figure!" Yuzk said.
Collector was confused.
"A what?" Collector asked, "Are you joking?"
Yuzk shook his head.
"No sir! Lord Raizin is a highly devout man, with nothing but the utmost for respect for all religious figures everywhere, even of other factions!" Yuzk said.
Collector thought for a moment.
"And... you're an undertaker... you associate yourself with the church correct?" Collector asked.
Yuzk was scared now.
"I-I-Um yes sir!... I am on Lord Raizin's well respected-"
Yuzk was interrupted by Collector choking him and pulling out the same mirror he used against the alligator guard Kleph. The mirror was one sided, Collector couldn't see Yuzk, but Yuzk could see Collector on the other side of the mirror, licking his lips and hissing, giving the illusion Yuzk had turned into Collector.
Yuzk's eyes widened as he began to morph and actually transform into Collector. Once the transformation was complete, Yuzk's energy traveled through the mirror and wrapped itself around Collector, turning him into Yuzk.
Yuzk and the mirror had fallen to the ground as Collector looked over his body. Collector looked at Yuzk's clothes then walked over to put them on. Collector then walked over to the weak Yuzk and grabbed his mirror and bag then began to walk away.
Yuzk weakly grabbed Collector's leg.
"You-You think you'll get away with this?" Yuzk asked.
Collector smiled.
"I think you should be asking yourself that, dear boy." Collector said, pointing up.
Yuzk turned to see none other than Heirophant Altir looming over them. Collector licked his lips and hissed, then looked up at Altir.
"Help! Help, Heirophant Altir! This creature wants to kill me!" Collector said.
Collector spoke with his regular voice, but Altir hears Yuzk's voice, unfortunately this is the same for Yuzk and Collector's voice. Altir flew down towards Yuzk as Collector ran off towards the city.
"So long Mr. Undertaker! Thank you for the information!" Collector said, "Get him Mr. Heirophant! He wants to kill Lord Raizin! That's why he's here!"
Yuzk's eyes widened as Altir landed on him and blew steam out his nostrils.
"NO! THAT'S NOT TRUE! I AM YUZK! PLEASE HEIROPHANT ALTIR! DON'T DO THIS!" Yuzk begged.
Altir only saw red after hearing the plans to have Raizin killed. Yuzk's cries went unheard. Altir removed the bandages from his eyes and loaded up his eyes beams.
Yuzk's eyes widened as they filled with light.
Collector continued running, looking back to see a giant bright light behind the church.
Wretched Woods
Ju Peter patched himself up as he and Marcus walked through the Wretched Woods. This neck of the woods was a lot more sinister than the last. scones tied to pikes, bodies burned up beyond recognition, and corpses littered the woods.
"Were you here?" Ju Peter asked.
Marcus looked at Ju Peter.
"Here when what?" Marcus asked.
"When everything went awry. Richart said this place used to be beautiful." Ju Peter said.
"Oh. No, I wasn't here for that. Nolrog was already in control when I joined him." Marcus said.
"Just what is the deal with that Nolrog character. I've only been here a few hours and I've heard different stories about him." Ju Peter said.
Marcus sighed.
"Sorry but I don't know nothing about the guy on that personal of a level, besides, according to him he doesn't even have a past which is impossible. The only thing anyone knows about his past is Jambavan supposedly betrayed him or something he won't shut up about it." Marcus explained.
"And what about his immortality?" Ju Peter asked.
Marcus snickered.
"He's got you fooled too I see." Marcus said.
Ju Peter looked around the woods, annoyed.
"Nolrog isn't immortal, no, but the fact it's never really been tested combined with the fact that skinwalkers don't age is enough to scare people into believing otherwise." Marcus said.
"I almost killed him when I met him, but joining up and being behind an "army" somewhat was much better than being a wanted man alone." Marcus said.
Ju Peter nodded.
"I see." Ju Peter said.
"The closest thing I've seen to his proof of immortality is that situation with those twelve dwarves he went to the Blood Soaked Mountain Range to extort. One of the entire damn mountain collapsed somehow and only he walked away alive, those twelve dwarves were never found." Marcus said.
"And what is this "Joy Boy" like." Ju Peter asked.
Marcus looked at Ju Peter out the corner of his eye.
"One word describes Joy Boy really..." Marcus said.
Ju Peter waited, slightly anxious.
"Ridiculous." Marcus said, "He's the most ridiculous man i've ever met."
"Wild Tim's General Store," Windwaker Island, North Blue
Tore and Robin had finally left Floratheo Isle to continue their adventure, but Tore had to stop for supplies first.
Robin walked around the general store looking for a new outfit to where for the desert, Tore was grabbing food, water, and medicinal supplies.
"HELLLLLOOOO EVERYONE! MY NAME IS WILD TIM! IT IS AN HONOR, NO! A PRIVILEGE, TO HAVE YOU IN OUR STORE! PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CASH IS CORRECT AND YOUR CHECKS DON'T BOUNCE! YOU'D HATE TO GET ME WILLLLLLLD!" Wild Tim yelled.
Wild Tim was a honeybadger devil fruit user, like Morgans, he chose to walk around in his hybrid form full time, only few know what he really looks like. Wild Tim wore a red suit with a violet undershirt shirt and white tie.
Tore, with two big bags full of food, water, reading/drawing materials, and clothes, stopped to look at a wall of authentic swords.
"Hey..." Tore chuckled, "I remember a few of these.."
Wild Tim's door rung as someone walked in. Robin looked over with surprise at the man.
Iwataka walked in and looked around with a serious face.
Robin stared at Iwataka, she could feel his power.
"I wonder what his story is..." Robin said softly.
"IWATAKA! HOW THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Tim yelled.
Iwataka smiled big and walked towards Tim as Tore walked towards Robin, the two walked right past each other. Tim and Iwataka hugged when they met.
"I'm about to go on a long journey! I was hoping to get her sharpened." Iwataka said, handing Wild Tim his sword.
"OF COURSE! RIGHT THIS WAY! ANYTHING FOR MY NUMBER ONE CUSTOMER!" Tim yelled, leading Iwataka into the back.
"Oi, Robin! You ready to go?" Tore asked.
Robin broke from her trance.
"Oh! Um, sorry, yes. I just need to pay for this stuff." Robin said.
BURST!
Suddenly the front doors swung open.
"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS THAT BITCH?!" A large pink man yelled.
Tore and Robin looked around, as well as everyone else.
"Th-That's Vasco Shot! Of the Blackbeard pirates!" A man yelled.
"What the hell is he doing here?! In the North Blue?!" Another customer yelled.
"Wh-Who sir?" A worker asked Vasco nervously.
The man held up a WANTED poster.
"HIM! WHERE IS THIS BITCH?! HE-HE KILLED MY CAPTAIN!" Vasco yelled.
Tore and Robin's mouths opened wide with shock.
WANTED "ONLY DEAD" Psycho Uchiha: 10,000,000,000 BERRIES.
The man was holding up the latest addition to Psycho's wanted posters. The last Psycho was wanted for was 5,000,000,000 berries.
Tore and Robin looked at each other nervously before looking back at Vasco.
"H-How would we know where he is?" A customer asked nervously.
Vasco choked the man until he coughed up blood.
"SOMEONE OUTSIDE SAID A MAN SIMILAR TO PSYCHO CAME IN HERE NOW WHERE IS HE!" Vasco screamed in the man's face.
Step step
Vasco quickly looked over to see Tore staring at him with a neutral expression. Vasco's eyes widened as he threw the man out of a window across the general store and quickly looked back at Tore and then the WANTED poster. Vasco looked back up at Tore.
"Y-Y-You!" Vasco said.
Tore bit his lower lip a little as his bandana hid his expression.
"You look just like Psycho! You his brother or something? He killed my captain! So I'll kill you to get even! Since the BITCH wants to hide!" Vasco yelled, taking a large bottle of liquor off his back.
Robin walked up to Tore's side and looked at him.
Tore smirked and raised his arm.
CRACK!
Vasco shot was terrified and Robin's face held fear and shock as blood flew from her nose and mouth. Tore kept a straight face as he elbowed Robin as hard as he could.
Dubois Castle
Dubois stared at the sleeping Kraken, thinking about a particular man. The man Dubois was imagining had a bald head, writing on the side of his face and brown and gold armor.
"Why couldn't I be there for you?.." Dubois asked himself as he looked at everyone else. Everyone's past incarnations were blurry except for Wilmot and Bambous who were already revealed to be Brook and Chopper in their past lives.
"Why couldn't I be there for any of you?... Why did you die?" Dubois asked before looking over everyone again.
Dubois thought about the next part of his story in his head and closed his eyes, sighing.
"Which of you... defeated Ju Peter? At the Holy Land?" Dubois asked.
Sasuke jumped a little as everyone looked at him.
Sasuke gulped slightly and held up his hand.
"It was me. Mr. Dubois." Sasuke said.
Dubois rose his hand and pointed at Sasuke, sending a trail of ice towards Sasuke slowly.
"An attack?!" Usopp yelled.
"No..." Nami said, pointing at Dubois's face. Soft tears.
The ice stopped in front of Sasuke and began to rise into the air until it was as tall as Sasuke. Everyone was completely confused. Sasuke sweat slightly as he breathed in and out nervously, unsure of what was happening.
The ice eventually shaped and molded until it formed a Dubois ice clone that was Sasuke's height. No one could believe what they were seeing. The clone reached out and hugged Sasuke to everyone's shock and surprise.
"Thank you so much..." The clone said, "I'm so glad that devil is gone.."
Everyone except Akainu and Mihawk smiled softly at the interaction. The ice clone broke apart and everyone looked up at Dubois again as the giant man cleared his throat.
"Now... where was I? Oh right..." Dubois said.
Frozen Wasteland (903 years ago)
Bambous, Dubois, and Wilmot continued walking the icy tundra.
"Sheesh old man how far did this cold stretch out?!" Wilmot yelled.
"I-I don't know... that was my first time ever using that power." Dubois pleaded.
"Hey take it easy on him Wilmot, he only just got Life Force earlier today..." Bambous said, "Look! There it is! Just up ahead!"
Dubois and Wilmot looked ahead at the desert just ahead of them, Dubois was in shock.
"A-A desert just outside of a snowy region? But how?" Dubois asked.
"Nobody knows, but one thing's for sure, this gigantic desert wraps around the entire Kingdom, with miles and miles of space in between, and the Barbarios control every inch of it." Bambous informed.
"The Barbarios? Are they... um..." Dubois stumbled.
Bambous laughed.
"Yeah they're the good guys!" Bambous said.
Dubois let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness..." Dubois said.
"We've just gotta get to em' this desert ain't called Unwelcoming for no reason!" Wilmot said.
Eventually the group made it to the border between the icy tundra and the desert. They were literally a step between freezing and hot weather.
"This... is so peculiar.." Dubois said.
"Yeah it's insane what this Life Force stuff did to this island." Wilmot said.
Duboi looked at Burusu on his shoulder and smiled softly.
"I bet you were incredibly powerful when you were still with us.." Dubois said softly.
Bambous let out a stressful sigh.
"Welp... let's get to it..." Bambous said.
The three all took a step onto the hot sand of the Unwelcoming Desert, instantly feeling the heat.
"YOW!" Bambous yelled.
"Oh my... it got hot so quickly..!" Dubois said, holding up his hand.
"How in the world am I sweating?! I'm already bones!" Wilmot laughed.
Dubois looked at the two then breathed in and out slowly as his pores opened and a cool breeze surrounded them.
"This feels nice! Are you doing this Mr. Ubois?" Bambous asked.
Dubois smiled.
"I-I think I am!" Dubois said.
Wilmot basked in the cold.
"I don't even want to keep moving this air feels so good..." Wilmot said.
Bambous lifted Wilmot to his feet.
"Well too bad! If anything we can cover even more ground this way! You rock Mr. Ubois!" Bambous said.
Dubois smiled as the three began walking further into the desert.
South end of Unwelcoming Desert
At the same time... on the South end of the desert.. a particular two made their way to the boarder between the Wretched Woods and the desert. Ju Peter couldn't believe it.
"Th-This is impossible..." Ju Peter said.
"Well, you're looking at the impossible." Marcus said, starting to walk off.
"Hey-Wait. What the hell am I supposed to do to attract this thing? I'm not about to just walk into an unfamiliar desert with no plan." Ju Peter said.
Marcus turned back.
"Ironically that's all you have to do." Marcus said.
Ju Peter was confused.
"Once you step foot on that sand, Lord Wyrm already knows you're there." Marcus said.
Ju Peter's eyes widened slightly as he looked back at the sand.
"So I just... keep walking... until he comes for me?" Ju Peter said.
"Yep.. that's pretty much it. Lord Wyrm is actually the reason a lot of people don't make it through that desert, contrary to the belief that dehydration or starvation kills most people." Marcus explained.
"Have you ever seen him?" Ju Peter asked.
"Once.. when I was making my way back to the kingdom after I came back as a skinwalker. I think that's the only reason I'm alive." Marcus said.
"I was told a faction called the Barbarios controlled this desert, how is that possible with that worm out there?" Ju Peter asked.
"Well... that's actually simple... he knows better...attacking the Barbarios is basically attacking Joy Boy himself in Joy Boy's eyes. If Lord Wyrm did anything to the Barbarios Joy Boy's entire military power and Joy Boy himself would come for him." Marcus said.
"I see.." Ju Peter said.
"When he shows up spit on him, punch him, do whatever you need to do to get eaten and then you'll have to take it from there. All I can tell you is the saliva inside of a worm breaks down anything it touches so I guess stay away from that if you can." Marcus said walking away.
"He's a worm... the entire inside of his body is saliva..." Ju Peter said.
"Fun trying to become a lord of the land isn't it?" Marcus laughed sarcastically as he disappeared into the woods.
Ju Peter looked at the ground for a moment and closed his eyes, then looked up.
Ju Peter turned and raised a foot, stepping onto the desert.