Chapter 102: Eerie Forest

Swimming through the ocean, I leaped out of the sea like a dolphin and landed on the back of my ship, right beside my hammock; summoning lightning, I had it coil around my body, swiftly drying my soaked fur, although it left a salty smell, there wasn't much I could do about that.

"Ahh, that was a good training session." Muttered Diddy lightly in exhaustion, his muscles cramping in pain while he did a few stretches.

"So, has anything happened yet?" Asked Diddy as he glanced at Freyja, who, like usual, was manning the helm.

"Nothing you'd find interesting; we encountered a pirate ship shortly after you went to train, but they were weak. The trio managed to defeat them, though they did receive some injuries, just nothing serious." Replied Freyja as she glanced at Diddy before pointing at Grand and Trenza, who were both sitting at a makeshift table, playing cards while wrapped in some bandages.

"Lame, but whatever, though it seems someone is really taking his training seriously despite being injured." Commented Diddy, standing beside Freyja as he glanced at Grand and Trenza before looking at Scar, who was at the ship's bow training with his dagger while Naga-sa was holstered to his back.

"Heh, you should've seen him during the battle; he jumped onto the enemy ship without hesitation and defeated roughly half the pirates himself. He's really eager to grow stronger, and knowing you, Diddy, I'm sure such a sight makes you ecstatic." Remarked Freyja with a slight smile as she gazed upon Scar's sweaty body before frowning as she glanced at Diddy, who displayed a feral smile.

"Hehe, if he's that determined to get stronger, maybe in the future, he'll become a worthy adversary for me; I'd love that." Stated Diddy with a ferocious expression as his beastly eyes watched Scar's every movement.

"Even if that's the case, he'll have a long way to go; the current him would find it difficult to defeat Grand, let alone me. Anyways, I'm tired; wake me up if we finally arrive at an Island." Added Diddy as he calmed down and turned around, walking toward his hammock while Freyja wordlessly nodded.

'I hope the first island is fun.' Mused Diddy as he hopped into his hammock and closed his eyes, swiftly drifting to sleep.

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"Island! I spot an Island in the distance, everyone!" Yelled Trenza from the crow's nest, spotting the silhouette of a small island in the distance with her impeccable eyes, her words causing everyone to stop what they were doing and head toward the ship's bow.

Hearing Trenza yelling, I opened my eyes and hopped out of the hammock, landing in the crow's nest beside Trenza as I squinted, looking out into the sea in search of said island.

"Yep, there it is, you're not lying, Trenza; finally an island after five boring fucking days." Muttered Diddy with joy as he sighed in relief before displaying a feral grin.

"Hehe, this better be fun!" Added Diddy as he leaped out of the crow's nest and landed on the deck.

"Ho, an island? About time; I'd love to get these old bones moving again." Said Sebas with a light smile while wearing a light blue suit instead of his normal black one.

"Hope there are some men; I still need to refill my reserves." Muttered Freyja as she lustfully licked her lips while eyeing the far-away island.

Approaching Scar, I grabbed Naga-sa off his back before holstering it onto my back, causing him to nearly fall from the sudden weight loss.

"Everyone, get ready; as pirates, it's only right to properly raid our first island in the Grand Line!" Declared Diddy with a feral grin as he ignored Scar and stood on the ship's railing, his words causing Scar, Grand, and Trenza to nod, the three quickly preparing everything they would need for a fight.

A few minutes later, the only three who actually needed to prepare anything, Scar, Grand, and Trenza, exited from underneath the deck, though I noticed some slight changes in their appearance. Scar looked the same as usual; however, while Grand looked normal, he had large black gauntlets on his hands, which was the first time I'd ever seen them. They looked like your typical black gauntlets; besides the fact that they were rather detailed in the craftsmanship, there was nothing special about them. Trenza was also pretty much the same, though now, on the right side of her holster, she's got Sunaipu instead of that stolen one from Centaurea; then again, her second pistol still hadn't been replaced.

"Hmm, when did you get those gauntlets, Grand?" Asked Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he observed the gauntlets that reached all the way to his elbow.

"It was back in Chandelier City. A street vendor was selling them, and they looked nice, so I bought them. I'm confident in my robustness, but if we continue to fight stronger and stronger people, it would be better to use a weapon. However, I bought these gauntlets to protect my hands, not to be used as an actual weapon." Replied Grand with a smile as he bumped his fists together, causing his metallic gauntlets to clang.

Nodding at Grand, I glanced at Trenza's Sunaipu before turning around and facing forward as we approached the island in the distance.

The minutes passed, and as the island got closer and closer, I was able to better make out its shape; it indeed looked to be a relatively small island, though that didn't mean it was small, just smaller than what I was used to seeing. After all, even though Briss Kingdom was located on an island, it had a whole ass kingdom. At what I presumed was possibly the center of the island, there was a tall peak, a mountain, if you will, though, besides that, it looked like your average island, sand scattered the coast while a forest wasn't too far behind it.

We spotted a dock, but it was old, rickety, and swaying in the wind; it looked like it was mere moments away from collapsing with a strong enough gust of wind. Though the presence of a dock did allow me to confirm people lived here, which caused me to smile, yet as we neared the island, my senses couldn't help but warn me something was slightly off.

"Alright, we've arrived." Remarked Freyja as she stood up from the helm and approached the side of the ship, where a large boulder was resting, before throwing it overboard, using it as a makeshift anchor.

"Should someone watch the ship Captain?" Asked Sebas as he looked at the island before glancing at Diddy, who promptly shook his head.

"No need, if someone wishes to stay, that's up to them, but I'm going ahead." Replied Diddy as he observed the trees in the distance swaying about in the wind before leaping off the ship and landing in the dock, causing it to tremble intensely, though it surprisingly withstood Diddy's weight.

While I was surprised the dock didn't collapse in on itself, I didn't bother about it and walked toward the beach, everyone else following behind me, though Grand was smart enough not to jump onto the dock and instead leaped directly to the beach.

With everyone following behind me, I entered the forest while I kept my guard up since the deeper I entered this island, the more of a weird feeling it gave me, and it being dusk didn't help either.

"Urgh, is it just me, or is this place unnaturally eerie?" Questioned Trenza with a slight shiver as she warily scanned her surroundings.

"No, it looks fine to me; why do you say so?" Said Freyja with a raised eyebrow as she walked in the rear of the group and glanced at Trenza, who merely frowned in response.

"I don't know; it just feels weird to me; haa, maybe it's because it's also nighttime." Commented Trenza with a shake of her head, but despite saying so, she couldn't shake this eerie sensation that loomed over her.

"No, you're right; there is something weird about this place." Stated Diddy with furrowed brows as he stopped walking, causing everyone else to do the same while looking at him in confusion.

"Ho, what could it be, Captain?" Asked Sebas as he spread his psionic energy, searching for any active minds, though he came up empty-handed.

"Tsk, I'm surprised you nor Freyja has noticed it yet; there is no wildlife. We've been walking through the forest for a few minutes, yet we haven't come across so much as a single life form besides plants, hell, not even a mosquito." Declared Diddy as he closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing, though his words caused everyone to widen their eyes slightly.

"Now that you mention it, Captain, you're right; that is weird." Muttered Scar with a frown as he subconsciously reached for his dagger while intently looking around them.

"Tch, well, excuse me for being born a noble and not having lived most of my life in the forest." Commented Freyja with a scowl as she folded her arms, though she upped her guard, knowing Diddy's words were correct.

'Besides six beating hearts and the wind, I can't hear anything; there is definitely something up with this island.' Thought Diddy as he opened his eyes while displaying a feral grin.

"Eh, do you think we should return to the ship then and wait until daytime, Captain?" Asked Trenza as she moved closer to Diddy, finding solace in his presence amidst this unnatural forest.

"Hehe, of course not; things are just getting interesting! Besides, without my help, I doubt you could return to the ship." Replied Diddy with a chaotic chuckle as he continued marching forward.

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Elven Legacy (Chapter 187: Help Finally Arrives!) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 68: Lavender's Time Limit) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 112: Freyja's Turn) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]