This is the 37th chapter. I don't own the series of One Piece.
The Survival Games Begin!
After the campfire celebration, Usopp witnessed an eerie sight late that night at the Going Merry. Meanwhile, the priests, Ohm and Gedatsu, was summoned to God's Shrine, where Eneru himself appeared before them.
Upper Yard
After the Straw Hats split up to meet up at the Skull's Right Eye, but Zoro and Luffy got themselves lost because of their lack of orientation. Robin, Chopper, Leon, and Sareena were watching them in annoyance, wondering if they remember of where they were heading. Luffy noticed Zoro heading the opposite direction.
"Hey, that's the wrong way, Zoro!" Luffy shouted, earned his attention. "We're supposed to go West! You know, West? This way? Geez, I can't believe you're bad at a sense of direction."
Not like he has any room to talk, because Luffy's pointing the opposite direction of where the swordsman was going while heading that direction.
"What? But...he's going East." Chopper said in confusion, but neither of the two heard him.
"Hard to believe those idiots have bad sense of direction and terrible memory." Sareena points out in annoyance. "Why are we with them again?"
"Oh, come on, use your head for something besides your hat rack for a change." Zoro groans, annoyed as he points at the other direction. "We're supposed to go to the Skull's Right Eye! So, we gotta go right, you rubber brain!"
"They both lost their minds." Chopper muttered.
"More like they're just being idiots." Leon states, crossed his arms as Robin kneels down to the reindeer's level.
"Why don't you go tell those two heroes that we're supposed to be heading South before they end up lost?" Robin suggested.
"Sure thing, Robin." Chopper replied as he and Leon went over to correct them while Luffy grabs hold of the stick with a grin.
But as soon as they gave them a correct direction, they returned to their side and venture further into the jungle.
"South, huh? You should've said so sooner." Luffy said, but earned a hard whack on the head.
"We said this MUCH earlier?!" Leon told him, who had a huge bump on the head.
"Sorry..." Luffy groans, causing everyone to sweat drop at the scene before advancing further.
As they walked, Chopper was in awe of the stick Luffy had.
"Luffy, that's a pretty neat stick you got there." Chopper said.
"Isn't it? It's mine though, you gotta get your own." Luffy told him with a chuckle, making Chopper groan and quickly searched one for his own.
"What's up with sticks?" Zoro rhetorically questions while Chopper catches up with the others, after finding the stick for his own.
"You know, I thought this forest would be scarier, but so far, it's been nice and peaceful." Chopper said with a chuckle.
'Well, someone's confident.' Leon mentally thought.
"Hey, Chopper, you're in a pretty good mood today. You are feeling courageous for a change?" Luffy asks, turning his head to the reindeer.
"Yep, you betcha." Chopper answered with a grin. 'I feel so safe with these guys.'
"Yeah, you're right, the forest really has been a big disappointment." Zoro said. "Not to mention birds and trees for two whole days, makes me want to scream 'I'm so bored'. We haven't even seen one of Eneru's priests. So, I know exactly how you feel, Chopper."
"Do you?" Chopper asks with a laugh.
"Just listen to the two of you. Are you that eager for something that dangerous to happen?" Robin asks, but Chopper laughs.
"Well, if you're lucky or not, depends on you guys, we may come across one in this area." Sareena said.
Almost immediately, all that positive feeling Chopper had slowly faded away.
"What?" Chopper asked.
"Well, you all know about these animals in the Upper Yard." Sareena explains. "There's one in particular who's quite territorial, and he's not someone to be messed with."
"What do you mean by that?" Zoro asks, raising his eyebrow.
"Exactly as I said, we may run into him." Sareena answered. "Word of advice, unless you're immune to poison, don't go near its mouth unless you want to die."
As she said that, Chopper thought he heard something and looked behind him.
"Huh? Where did that weird stripe-looking root come from?" Chopper questions himself, but saw the 'root' moved. "Ah! It's moving!"
"What moved?" Leon asked.
"What do you see back there, Chopper?" Luffy adds with a question.
"Oh, uh, it's nothing! Really! Nothing at all!" Chopper quickly lied, catching up to the group. 'If I tell them I saw a moving root, they'll laugh at me for getting scared over nothing. I'm supposed to be brave today! It was probably my imagination anyway!'
As they continued venturing further, Robin, Leon, and Sareena couldn't help but sense something.
"There's something eerie about this place." Robin said.
"You're not the only one thinks that." Leon adds while Chopper looks behind him, feeling something is wrong.
Zoro noticed a certain reindeer is acting a little odd.
"Chopper, why'd you keep looking behind us?" Zoro questions.
"Uh, no reason! No reason at all!" Chopper answered quickly.
"Whoa, get a load of that weird stripy-looking root back there." Luffy said, looks at the root with his eyebrow raised.
When he mentions that, Sareena stops in her tracks.
'Stripy-looking root?' Sareena mentally repeats, looking behind them as her eyes widened at the sight of the root.
"Oh, that? So, you guys can see it?!" Chopper said as the root was actually moving.
"I've never heard of roots moving before." Zoro states.
"Oh no..." Sareena breathed out, earned his attention.
"What? What do you mean..."
Almost finished his sentence and to answer his question, they felt the ground shaking as one of the 'roots' itself, revealing the root to actually be a gigantic-sized snake. One look at that snake and Chopper was immediately frightened to no end. The snake let out a loud roar.
The snake is an extremely massive light blue snake whose hundreds of meters long and large enough to swallow multiple humans and even buildings whole with ease; its width rivals that of the immensely large trees. Its backside is lined with dark blue stripes and the sides of the body are lined with long, light blue hair; it also has a pair of long whiskers by its nose. It has yellow eyes with narrowed black pupils and in its mouth, it has a set of four long fangs in addition to a long-forked tongue.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Straw Hat crew are on the Going Merry with the 'Crow' attached to the rudder, sailing on the Milky Road. Usopp is standing at the main deck with a smirk on his face while Nami is seeing him from behind, annoyed. Sanji, Caius, and Ventus were piling up the supplies inside of the cabin.
"Wind, good. Helm, good. Hm, this is so nice. It's just like a pleasure cruise, but we're making bad time." Usopp said, crossed his arms. "Navigator, pick up the pace!"
"I'm afraid we can't, Captain Usopp." Nami told him, decided to play along.
"Say that again?" Usopp asks.
"I'm afraid we can't!" Nami shouts.
"No, the Captain part." Usopp suggested.
"The Milky Road gets pretty steep in places. So, we have to rely on dial power to get by." Nami informed him.
"Port on, little Crow!" Usopp shouts with an order. "Sanji! Caius! Ventus! You three are my official bodyguards that Captain is afraid of this creepy forest."
Sanji, Ventus, and Caius are annoyed of Usopp's antics since they're still busy loading up the supplies.
"C'mon, for crying out loud! Knock it off with the boat Captain business!" Sanji shouts. "The only person I'm planning on protecting is my little Nami!"
"And we've got other priorities to worry, like the priests and the Shandorians." Caius adds.
"Yes, and the war will get even more intense by the time we get to Skull's Right Eye." Gan Fall agrees which it got their attention. "But...shall I tell you a little of this lands history?"
It got them confused as to what he means by history of the Upper Yard, which they're already aware about the island that was part of Jaya 400 years ago and how it became what it is today.
"Until 6 years ago, I was God." Gan Fall said.
"Uh, did you hit your head, old man?" Usopp questions rudely when Pierre turns into a Pegasus and bites him on the head, making the liar grunt in teary eyes with blood flowing down on his head.
"Excuse his rudeness, but can you tell us?" Caius offers when Gan Fall responds with a nod.
"As you have no doubt learned that it is believe that the Upper Yard first appeared in Skypiea abruptly for good 400 years." Gan explains as they're gathered around him to hear his side of the story. "Until then, Skypiea had always been a peaceful Sky Island. Items from the Blue Sea that were occasionally brought here by the Knock-Up Stream, but rare and valuable treasures to the sky people. Likewise, all of the Verth on the Sky Island was brought here by the Knock-Up Stream, but a quantity of Verth has vast as the Upper Yard appearing in the sky seem like an unimaginable miracle. The sky people were understandably overjoyed and worshiped it as a holy ground, a gift from Heaven itself. But the original inhabitants were still on that Verth, and the war erupted over its possession. Those inhabitants were...the Shandorians."
"Then they're the guerillas?" Usopp inquires, earned a nod from him.
"So, you're saying that the Shandorians used to live on Jaya when it was still the Blue Sea." Sanji clarifies.
"That's right, the current blasted them into the sky against their will." Gan Fall answered.
"Hold on, does that mean that you just stole the land that's rightfully theirs?" Nami inquires.
"It does." Gan Fall answered again. "The Sky peoples greed drove them to steal the Shandorians homeland, and for the last 400 years, the war between the Shandorians and the Sky people has gone on without a break. The Shandorians are simply trying to regain their lost home."
"How sad, all those lives lost." Nami said sadly.
"And it explains how it all started in the first place, not to mention it's been ongoing ever since." Sareena adds with a ponder.
"Wait a second! Doesn't that make you the bad guy?!" Sanji and Usopp yelled, points their fingers accusingly when Pierre angrily bites them in the head, causing to cry in pain.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's correct." Gan Fall said with a guilt as Pierre letting them go and Usopp walks wobbly away with a groan in pain.
"What about Eneru?" Ventus asks, which it got his attention. "What's his story since we already know that he's a Devil Fruit user?"
Gan Fall scowled, remembering of Eneru and his group arriving at the shrine to dethrone him years ago.
"While I was still God, he appeared from another Sky Island, leading a group of warriors, and dealt a heavy blow to my Divine Squad and to the Shandorians. Then, they cease control of the Upper Yard. That was 6 years ago." Gan Fall explains. "Since then, nearly all the Divine Squad have been enslaved and forced perform some mysterious labor, I don't know what it is. But the Shandorians don't care who God is, they want what they've always wanted, the return of their homeland."
They're starting to understand why the Shandorians and the Skypieans are fighting against each other, because of the land and Eneru.
"Yeah right, if all these Shandorians are interested in is getting their homeland back, then why did they attack us the minute we showed up?" Sanji questions skeptically, remembering the time Wyper is about to attack them when Ventus intervenes and beating him.
"I would like to know that as well." Caius adds, agreeing to his idea.
"The members of the Divine Squad sometimes steal a ship in hopes that they might escape from Eneru." Gan Fall told them. "However, the Shandorians still consider the Divine Squad enemies, and they will eliminate them on sight. They must've mistaken you for them."
"That's not making it any better." Ventus points out.
"One reason I became the Sky Knight was to help these escapees make it safely away to other Sky Islands. There is no place in the Upper Yard that such outlaws would be able to avoid Eneru's eye." Gan Fall continues.
"To hear the way you tell it, this Eneru guy sounds like he must be the Devil himself." Sanji states, crossed his arms when Usopp quickly run to him.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Usopp berates him, slapping Sanji's forearm repeatedly. "For all we know, he's out there right now, listening to every word we're saying and taking notes! Notes! Notes!"
"Give it a rest, will ya!" Leon shouts with white eyes and shark-like teeth, bonked him on the head. "Anyway, we already know what Eneru's capable, but why are still being treated like crap ever since we got her?"
"To put it simply, he's no Devil, but he comes very close." Gan Fal explains, leaving them confused. "Eneru has decreed that all outsiders like yourselves are criminals. What's more, he has made the inhabitants of Skypiea responsible for leading them to Judgment. This gives rise to the island of sense of guilt."
The atmosphere is getting tense when they widen their eyes with astonished look, now realizing why Conis leading them to Judgment.
"When the people believe they are committing a criminal act, they become overwhelmed by it, it weakens their will." Gan Fall continued. "Eneru knows this and exploits it. This created a flock of helpless lambs to rule over. The lives of the people are like playthings to him, a Devil indeed."
"When we landed on Angel Beach, we thought we found something like paradise. Boy we're we wrong." Nami said with a sigh. "Of all the places that ancient City of Gold could've ended up being, it's just our luck."
"No matter where we were heading, trouble always find us." Ventus adds, annoyed.
"Which it brings me to my question. What is gold?" Gan Fall questions, leaving them shocked that he doesn't know gold.
Flashback
It all happened 6 years ago before Eneru became God, Gan Fall and his group arrived at the Shandorian Village to make a peace treaty. However, Wyper became enraged of Gan Fall's arrival, mostly because of the ongoing war between his ancestors and the Skypieans. His tribe were gathered from behind, worried that he'll kill him.
"You back again, old man? Get out, now!"
Gan Fall and his group respond in silence when the Shandorian Chief approaches next to Wyper and tried to reason with him.
The Shandorian Chief is an elderly man with a gray beard and mustache, and long hair of the same color. He wears the standard Shandorian attire, covered by a long robe, and carries a staff, with a tribal mask on the top, and white fur underneath it. On his head, the Shandorian Chief wears a canine head as a helmet, decorated with feathers.
"Enough, Wyper! Gan Fall is here to negotiate!"
"Negotiate what?! No, Chief, we're through! We're not going to stand by while two old men negotiate a way everything we fought for our whole lives! Listen, Gan Fall, you can forget about any kind of treaty! If you want compromise so badly, then give it all back! For generations, we've watched you Skypieans slaughter us like little pigs! Enough! And now you're saying that you want to make peace?! Ha!"
"I cannot give it all back to you. The power of the Upper Yard's Verth is of the upmost importance to every man and woman now living in Skypiea. All are grateful for its many blessings; I have no right to take that away. These people are after all innocent."
It got Wyper enraged of Gan Fall's statement and him denying his request. Wyper walk towards him.
"Oh, so, the Sky people are innocent, are they? I guess you could call them that since they let you do their fighting for them, and never bloodied their own hands, maybe it's time we involve a few innocent people."
"I won't allow that!"
Wyper then grabs Gan Fall by the collar, pulling close to him.
"You want peace so badly, make a sacrifice! Execute 100 of your innocent people on the ancient altar and bring us their heads!"
"You're mad! I won't!"
Wyper snarls angrily at his refusal, seeing there's no reason to negotiate with him. The Divine Squad readied their naginatas in case Wyper tries anything.
"Then we're done talking! Get lost, or I'll take your head as a down payment!"
And just as Wyper walks away from Gan Fall, he called out the leader of the tribe.
"Wait, Wyper."
It causes Wyper to stop, turns to Gan Fall.
"Be careful when you use my name, old man."
"I am quite fond...of the juice made from your pumpkins."
And that was the last straw, Wyper seethes with rage as he charges after him.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Wyper, stop! Warriors, restrain him!"
And with the Shandorian Chief ordered his tribe, they pins him down while the Divine Soldiers attempt to assist, but Kamakiri and Braham goes after them as the fight rages on. But from the far distance at the teepee, Raki is watching them fighting, then heard the babies cry as she turns and saw a Shandorian nurse tried to calm Aisa down.
"Aisa cries a lot, doesn't she, nurse?"
"Yes, she always cries when there's a disturbance in the village."
Raki begins to realize what it means.
"It's Wyper, right?"
Wyper is taking down the number of the Divine Squad and his tribe are lending his aid. The nurse tried to calm Aisa down which it doesn't seem to work.
"There, there, baby...Ssshhh...I really don't know, but you have to admit when there are problems in the village, he's right in the middle of them. Why? What do you think of them, Raki?"
Raki turns her head back to the fight and give her an answer.
"I think that he frightens me as well...He's like a demon..."
Raki even remembered of Wyper and her tribe fighting Gan Fall's Divine Squad. She's about to join them since they're gathered around to get ready for a fight, but widens her eyes in horror, saw the bag of Verth is being tossed aside by Wyper, who's looking at the Upper Yard with his arms crossed and a scowl.
"The Verth!" Raki exclaims, turning to Wyper with anger. "Wyper!? I told you before, that's Aisa's treasure! You have to right to-"
"Enough!" Braham cuts her off, raising his arm to stop her.
"But Braham." Raki protests.
"We can't assume we'll get another chance like this. I won't let this opportunity pass." Wyper told them. "If you don't think you're up to it, stay behind! I won't hold it against you!"
"Don't say that! You know we're up to it."
"Are you? Are you up to abandoning anyone who falls during the battle?" Wyper questions, which neither of his tribe are abandoning anyone, and Raki's face turns into dread while Kamakiri, Genbo, and Braham's expressions kept serious. "If you can step over the bodies of your dying comrades and keep fighting, then follow me! Now, I swear, Eneru's head is mine!"
Back at the Upper Yard, Luffy and his crew are about to make a run for it when the giant snake lunges at them with its fangs.
"Run for it! It's a giant snake!" Luffy cried out happily.
Despite his tone, they did as he said and ran from the giant snake.
"Sareena! That animal you told us about! Don't tell me..."
"You heard right, that's the one I warned you guys about!" Sareena said. "He's not much friendly to new people!?"
"Yeah thanks, we barely notice!" Leon retorted with sarcasm and Chopper screams in panic while running ahead of them.
"It's enormous!" Robin stated calmly. "I wonder if it's another result of the environment here?"
While Chopper and Luffy kept running, Zoro faced the giant snake in an attempt to fight it.
"Okay catfish face, it's time for you to get fillet!" Zoro said, readied his fighting stance.
Before he could pull his katana, the giant snake dove in with unexpected speed, causing Zoro to jump to avoid getting eaten. In doing so, Luffy and Chopper became its target instead, in which both of them were able to manage to avoid it in time as well. Zoro jumps from tree to tree, lands on the branch.
"How in the hell can something so big move so freaking fast?!" Zoro questioned.
Robin used her Devil Fruit power to jump to higher ground, avoiding the gigantic reptile as well. The giant snake moved so fast that it clamped its mouth in a tree. As it did, the purple gas came out of its mouth, in which they noticed in fear. Once it removed its mouth, proving Sareena's earlier, the trunk that's in its mouth melted off, leaving parts of the inside and some more poison on it.
"AHHHHHHHH! ACID!" Chopper screams in panic.
"Sareena...what exactly do we do against that snake?" Leon questions.
"There's only one thing we can do..." Sareena said in a serious tone as they all looked at her in preparation for whatever advice she had. "...WE RUN FOR IT!?"
"Okay, we should listen to her, and make a run for it." Zoro suggested.
"Sounds good." Robin agrees, all except one.
"Yeah!" Luffy sounds excitedly as the snake slithered away while the tree falls into the ground.
"Don't let that venom touch you! It's death!?" Zoro yelled with a warning.
"AaaaaAAAaaaa! Hey, Mr. Snake! Over here! Follow me! Better hurry up! Your dinner is getting away!" Luffy shouts, grabs hold of the tree.
While the snake is about to pursue him, it didn't go as he planned when it got distracted.
"ROBIN! LOOK OUT!" Chopper yelled as the snake lunges, making Robin dodge the bite.
"Cinco Fleur" She uses her Devil Fruit power to sprout out five limbs as she grabs hold, swings away. "Nice try!"
"That was awesome, Robin!" Chopper said which it got the snakes attention as he screams, making a run for it.
"Good, finally manage to make my way around the back of it." Zoro said in a serious tone, but notices a giant snake in front of him. "Crap!"
The giant snake then lunges at Zoro, causing him and Chopper to run for their lives along with Sareena, Leon, and Robin. Luffy, however, taunts the snake while tried to it to come to him. After the ordeal was over, Robin was the only one who's back at the course.
"This is bad." Robin said with a ponder. "I know I'm on the right path, but where is everyone?"
"They're either busy with that overgrown python or got lost." The voice of Leon guessed as she looked up and saw the mercenary on a tree branch. "Looks like we lost that snake."
"Yes, so it seems." Robin agreed while Leon lands next to her. "You wouldn't happen to see everyone else, would you?"
"No, but something tells me we'll meet up at the ruins." Leon answered.
Elsewhere, Sareena catches her breath from the escape of the giant snake.
"Great...I'm lost..." Sareena muttered, annoyed. "Well, it's not like I don't know where it is and walking around in the middle of the jungle spells death. Least I know where the ruin is, better get going."
She then ran through to get back on track while meeting up at the ruins.
Chopper, however, got himself lost also and he's in a state of panic.
"I'M LOST, GUYS! WAIT FOR ME!" Chopper cried out.
While on Zoro's side...
"Well, it figures I turned my back for one second and they get lost on me." Zoro said, which he got himself lost. "Well, whatever, they know how to take care of themselves. I got most of the map memorize anyway. I go to the right."
Unfortunately, he's heading at the wrong direction and not where the Skull's Right Eye is at.
On Luffy's side...
"Now what? Where did everybody go? Did they get lost?" Luffy questions himself, confused. "I better keep moving, I'll catch up with them later at the ruins. Robin said we had to go South, and it always gets warmer when you go South. So, I go...this way!"
Luffy then turns the other way, which is the wrong way, and he'll get himself lost.
Skypiea, God's Shrine
Meanwhile as the God's Shrine, Eneru is using his 'Mantra' to find out what the Shandorians and the Straw Hats are planning.
"It looks like our Shandorian friends are making their move, how nice. And the Blue Sea Dwellers have split into two groups, and then split up again, that's interesting." Eneru said to himself with a smirk on his face. "Today is certainly shaping to be a lively day. I wonder how many of our players will live until it's end. Well, then let the survival game begin!"
Eneru then lets out a sinister laughter, wondering who will survive the fight.
Upper Yard
Meanwhile, the Shandorians are now using their wavers to make their way to the Upper Yard to get ready for a fight against Eneru's priests once more.
"Our objective is God's Shine! Don't let anything get in your way!" Wyper shouts with an order. "Our only goal is to bring back his head!"
The Shandorians let out a war cry as they're not getting ready for a fight.
That's it for the 37th chapter.