Franky was shivering. Although he was given a blanket, it was nowhere near large enough to cover his enormous frame.
"So first of all, how did you even get on top of this Manta?"
There were five normal sized people standing in front of him. The strangest physical trait between the lot of them was a wolf tail, but other than that, they looked pretty average to Franky.
"Simple, I used the super power of cola to fart strong enough to send me up here. But thanks for letting me in, the cold was unbearable out there!"
"Hey hey," said the wolf tailed one, "Are we just going to let him explain with that excuse?"
"I can fart again to prove it if you really are going to doubt me!"
"Please don't," a thin man said.
A man with a fishing rod held his hand up. "I'm more interested in what you mean by 'cola powered.' Are you saying that Dust doesn't power your mechanical parts? And are you actually talking about the drink, or is it an acronym?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by 'Dust,' but I can assure you that the soda, cola, powers my functions. It's no acronym."
"That's… interesting."
The man, Clover, turned back to the rest of his team. With a low voice, he said, "If he's telling the truth, then cola power would actually be rather revolutionary, as silly as it sounds. It's cheaper and easier to produce than Dust."
"If he's telling the truth," Marrow said.
"He sounds more like a lunatic to me," Harriet said.
"There's no harm in letting him prove it, though," Elm said.
"And if he's a spy?" Vine asked.
"We'll keep an eye on him and not give him any sensitive information," Clover said.
"Hey, what are you all whispering about?" Franky asked.
"Oh, we're just shocked by your… ingenuity," Clover said.
"Oh stop, you're gonna make me blush."
"That's all well and good, but I hope you don't mind if you continue asking some of our questions."
"That's fine, but I have some questions of my own to ask after you're done."
"We'll oblige, as long as it's not classified. So, what's your name and what kingdom are you from?"
"I'm, uh, Franosuke. I'm a simple carpenter from Wano Country."
Oh wait, this isn't Wano, so I probably shouldn't have used my fake identity... Well, it's too late now.
"Wano Country?"
"You've never heard of it? It's the country with all the super cool ninjas and samurai!"
"...Oh, you mean Mistral then?"
"No? I'm pretty sure Wano is the only island with ninjas. I've never heard of an island called Mistral."
"Mistral is a country on the continent of Anima."
Franky frowned in thought. Things simply were not adding up, but he figured that these people must just be sheltered if they thought there was a landmass besides the Red Line large enough to be a continent. But why would a community capable of air travel be so isolated? And how did he even get here?
"We're almost at Atlas, Franosuke. I hope you don't mind if we wait on more questions until you can prove the validity of what you've already said."
Franky huffed, but agreed to the conditions. These guys may have no sense for how big the world is, but their technology is worth learning about. Ah, but I can't just mess around here, I have to get back to Wano in time and find those mansion blueprints… But surely, learning how to make a flying ship would help, right? Gah, what a dilemma!
By the time they flew into Atlas, night had fallen. He was forced to stay in the aircraft with the wolf tailed man watching him until the rest could brief their General on the situation, but with the place less cramped, he could finally get a good view out of the front window.
And that's when he saw a shattered moon.
The scent of the sea was nostalgic.
Of course, this wasn't Usopp's first ride on a boat in this world, but this time was different. Rather than a short ride to Patch, it was a multi-week voyage to another continent.
Despite the extreme danger of his self imposed mission, Usopp still felt unusually calm. A part of him hoped that it was a sign of his bravery, but the rest felt that he was too stupid to recognize just how dangerous this solo journey would be.
He knows that his friends would have leapt at the chance to join him, and he would have even welcomed it a week ago. Since the Fall though, he just couldn't bring himself to believe in the strength of his friends. Nor could he believe in his own ability to protect them.
They're all warriors, so doing this is probably just insulting. But what am I supposed to do? Bring them with and watch them die? Or watch helplessly as their limbs are taken one by one?
I'd rather die than feel so helpless again.
He stayed up late looking out to the sea, trying to keep the recent past, as well as the near future, off of his mind. Even when the waters turned pitch black under the night sky, he stayed out. Lightning flashed in the distance, and it started to rain, but Usopp didn't mind. The storm wasn't much when compared to some of the unbelievable phenomenons of the New World, although no storm should ever be underestimated.
A bolt of lightning struck a bit closer to the ship, and it briefly illuminated a monster under the waves. From what he could see, it was long, serpentine, and definitely a Grimm.
I'm more surprised that we didn't encounter any earlier. Maybe it's time for a field test.
Usopp took out a special prototype shot he tinkered with earlier. It was a ball about the size of his fist, with a hole that led to the center where he would insert a Pop Green. The outer parts of the ball were also hollow to store Dust. In this case, he was using lightning Dust. He slipped some of his Aura into the Pop Green, which was isolated from the stored Dust in order to not prematurely activate it.
Once they grow, the Aura infused shurikens will break the container and 'ignite' the Dust. If this works, then I'll have to tell Jaune I was wrong.
He fired at the waves he saw the monster in, and the plastic ball burst open into two glowing shurikens. They shined brightly, covered in lightning to the point that they looked more like energy shurikens than plant ones.
"Green-Dust Star: Lightning Shuriken!"
The Grimm under the waves noticed the glowing shuriken and shot up and out of the water, spreading its wings. The shuriken curved upward, avoiding the wave and following the creature into the air.
They're following that Sea Feilong into the air? There might be an updraft in this storm.
It hurt his sniper's pride that he would have missed if the Grimm stayed still, but wind in stormy situations was always unpredictable. He didn't have Nami's sixth sense for that sort of thing.
By now, crewmembers were scrambling on deck, preparing weapons and getting the ship battle ready.
The Sea Feilong dived back into the water, avoiding the lightning wrapped projectiles and escaping from Usopp's gaze. The shurikens started to fall, although they changed directions before hitting the water, now travelling parallel to the surface of the water and the side of the ship.
The wind must be really weird, I can't believe they're still in the air. And they even gained momentum from their fall. Although they're kind of close to the ship, I should probably shoot them down before they sink my ride.
Usopp looked over the edge and prepared to fire intercepting rounds at the shuriken. They were both travelling along the side of the ship, and while they were on route to crash into each other if they continued their path, Usopp couldn't place much faith in that.
However, a second after Usopp stuck his head over the railing, the Sea Feilong jumped out of the water to bite his head off. However, the two lightning shuriken finally hit their mark, sandwiching the monster between them. The charged shuriken cut and melted Grimm flesh, and while there was still a couple of inches left attaching the head and the rest of the serpentine body together, the damage was severe enough to cause the Grimm to dissolve.
What the hell?! Isn't that a bit too convenient to be a coincidence?
This got the attention of the rest of the crew who had been preparing for battle. They stared at him with shock for a few seconds, before bursting into cheer.
"That was amazing!"
"Great shot, dude!"
"That trick shot was unreal!"
Usopp blushed, eating up the praise even though he felt that he just got extremely lucky. Of course, if anyone asked, he claimed that everything had gone according to plan.
More importantly though, his field test was a success.
However, there were some Pop Greens that simply wouldn't work well with Dust, and of course, not all types of Dust would actually increase the potency of his Pop Greens. Also, since his makeshift projectiles were larger than a Pop Green, he wouldn't be able to fire a large amount of them at a time without growing Black Kabuto.
There were some problems, but it was still a step forward. And he planned on taking as many of these steps as possible before getting to Haven.
Over the last several weeks, there were Grimm attacks at least once a day. Usopp got a bit of a reputation for taking care of them, big or small. Of course, most of the crew and passengers had watched the video of his fight against the Wyvern, but seeing it for their own eyes erased any doubts they may have had.
Usopp didn't just stay idle in between Grimm attacks though, at least after the first day. He made sure to physically train, and he set up a new mobile Pop Green garden that was situated in a custom made cart. He'd probably have to pull it across all of Anima, so that would also help with his physical training.
But now, the ship was finally entering a port on the west side of Mistral, and Usopp's journey by foot would commence. He received thanks from the Captain for protecting the ship before heading off.
Usopp stood still at the docks, knowing that as he traveled farther and farther away from this port village, it would also be harder and harder to change his mind. Now that he had made it this far, a part of him wanted to go back. And, he'd even have a good excuse that wouldn't tarnish his honor, considering that he could just say that he was worried about people from his world showing up out of the blue. And that wouldn't be a lie, as it was something that concerned him. It just wasn't as concerning as Cinder's existence.
However, he also felt that if anyone was unlucky enough to have someone super strong just appear next to them, then it was him. And so, he started walking forwards until he heard a loud splash to his left.
What was that?
He looked around to see if anyone else leaving the boat noticed anything, but it didn't seem to be the case. Wondering if it was just his imagination, he activated his ability and sensed someone underwater. From her outline, she looked like a young woman, and her Aura was unlocked.
There is someone! Although, she's probably just from Remnant rather than from another world. Did she just take a dive into the water or something? Although she's flailing her arms around without making any real progress to the surface. She might need help.
Usopp dove into the water and saw that the woman had black hair and tan skin. Also, she was wearing a blue cloak with two scythes attached to her hip. Something about it rang a few bells in Usopp's mind, but he put it to the side for now.
Even though her eyes were covered by a blindfold, she turned her head towards Usopp. Reaching her hand out towards him, he grabbed it and started swimming back to the surface. As soon as they both surfaced and climbed back up on the docks, Usopp let her go.
"Thanks for saving me," she gasped out.
"It's not a problem, but do try and get swimming lessons for the future."
"I know how to swim, I just can't."
Usopp looked at her for a few moments, re-thinking some of the assumptions he made about her. Maybe she wasn't from Remnant after all.
"Did you eat a Devil Fruit?"
"Yeah… So you know about them… Then is this place on the Grand Line?"
"I'm sorry, but this is Remnant. I only know about Devil Fruits since I arrived in this world in presumably the same manner that you just came here."
"...I should have known, since your Aura is unlocked. And the way I arrived here was the exact same as the way I was sent to your world."
"So, wait, you were born on Remnant, but after being sent to another world, you managed to get back? Was there anything special that you did?"
There are so many questions I need to ask! She could even tell me what my crew is up too, if she's the type to check the news. And also… she seems similar to a legend I read about online, but she's way too young to actually be her.
"Sorry, but it looks like we're in the same boat. I don't have any more of a clue about how our situation happened than you do."
"Well damn… But there is something I need to know! Have you heard anything about Strawhat Luffy in the newspapers recently?"
"I have, but why would you... Wait a second, with that long nose, you must be Usopp, right?"
"Have we met before?"
"No, I don't believe so. My name is Maria Calavera, but I do know that Luffy told me and the others on Amazon Lily about his crew while he was there."
"So you were on Amazon Lily... Although, I don't remember seeing you when the Kuja pirates helped us escape from Saboady."
"I sailed with them on a voyage, but I'm more in charge of defending the island. I prefer it that way. While traveling the world was certainly an experience, I don't agree with some of the things they do. Regardless, I still owe them a debt."
"A debt?"
"At the lowest point in my life, when my eyes were slashed out and I had lost the will to fight, they helped me. They cared for me, and many of them became close friends over the three years that I was there. I learned Observation Haki, so I'm now… less blind. It's not perfect, but it's helped me by leaps and bounds."
"Doesn't Observation Haki just let people predict attacks before they happen?"
"That is the typical combat application, yes. How it manifests itself is different for everyone, though. Some people hear voices, others feel emotions, but for me, I see Auras. And, I can even tell if someone's Aura is unlocked by the brightness of their Aura. At least, that's was my theory after observing my own Aura."
"Oh, that's how you knew I had a long nose despite being blind… Wait, I think I have an ability like that too. If I focus, I can see people's Auras, even from behind walls or from several kilometers away. I know it's not a Semblance, since I had it before I had my Aura unlocked, so I was wondering what that was for the longest time."
"That does sound like it."
"But how do you use that to predict attacks?"
"For that, you'd need training. But with your Haki already awakened, you've already cleared the largest hurdle. If you really can see Auras from several kilometers away, then that's certainly impressive. I myself can only 'see' about fifty meters away."
...I can't just ignore this clear way to get stronger, even if Observation Haki is worthless against Grimm.
"Could you please train me then?"
"I'm sorry, but I want to try and find a way back as soon as possible."
Usopp fell down to his hands and knees. "Please... Beacon has fallen, the CCT there is down, and the perpetrators behind it have fled to Haven."
Maria's jaw dropped. "What?!"
"I… I couldn't do a thing! I didn't stop anything! I spent the last nine months searching for a way home instead of becoming stronger, and now one of my friends was killed, and another lost her arm! I'm travelling to Haven, but on the way, I want to get stronger! I... I never want to feel so worthless ever again..."
Maria stayed silent in thought for a few moments. "...I never imagined things would get this bad in a mere three years… I wouldn't have thought that I made that much of a difference, but maybe my existence acted as a deterrent? It seems that there is some trash to take out before I go..."
Also, Hancock would kill me if I left one of Luffy's friends alone while the world's falling apart.
"Then, does that mean-"
"Yes, I'll train you. But don't expect things to be easy just because you've already unlocked Observation Haki. I'll be sure to polish up your other skills as well, and at least get you started on the long path to unlock Armament Haki."
"You know that too?"
"It's not my specialty, and I wouldn't trust it to block an attack, but it's enough to give my scythes and bullets a little extra oomph. And don't expect to unlock it by the time you get to Haven, it's a process that could take years. I myself could only start using it recently. So, are you ready to have the Grimm Reaper train you?"
Usopp blinked in surprise, remembering why her outfit and weapons seemed familiar. "But the Grimm Reaper disappeared almost sixty years ago!"
For the second time today, Maria's jaw hung loosely.
A/N: Now, if you do the math, you might notice that the time ratio of Three years to Sixty years doesn't match Usopp's Six Days to Nine Months... I'll just say that it's not a mistake or oversight on my part. And of course, I don't think that Canon Maria's age was ever stated, so I just did an estimate.
Now, don't get me wrong. I absolute adore Old Maria and her sassy attitude. She's one of the better characters in my opinion. But, I also thought that in her flashback, she was incredibly badass, so after that episode came out, I toyed with the idea of bringing back a 'prime' Maria without silver eyes and decided that I liked it. It would also allow me to refer to Usopp's 'ability' as Haki all of the time.