Chapter 35: Davy Jones Fury!?

Chapter 35: Davy Jones Fury!?

As the evening set in and the sun dipped below the horizon, the competitors had covered most of the mileage. However, the biggest obstacle on the journey to the finish line was just beginning.

Every evening, and throughout the night, some parts of the waters around Totto Land would freeze over due to the sweet contents that had contaminated them. This parts, drained with rivers of juice, were called Mizuame, and the night phenomenon was known as Mizuame Freeze.

It made it nearly impossible for vessels to navigate.

Initially, the water would appear murkier than usual and gradually solidify, resembling colored ice without possessing all its properties, however. Simply put, it looked like ice but lacked its density.

If someone tried to step on it, they would slowly sink as if in quicksand. Navigating vessels and swimming were equally challenging, whether one was a Devil Fruit user or not.

"The Royalty Barrels are struggling to get back on course, and it looks like the Underdogs Wagon has been caught in a Freeze!" the commentator updated the audience. "The finish line is in sight, but terrible luck has interfered with the Underdogs' progress—Wait! Look at that!"

"Nothing will stop the Underdogs! Luck is not a factor when you have power on your side! Oven is using his Heat-Heat ability to warm the sea and clear their path."

"Meanwhile, Praline is struggling to turn the Royal Barrels while one of Prim's octopus legs has been caught in the freeze and it's pulling her into the deadly miz…"

As the commentator continued to paint the mental image in everyone's mind, a sudden whisper cut through the air, followed by an ominous tune. While it was a melodious and stunning, nothing about it felt natural or soothing.

"What is that eerie tune?" the commentator wondered aloud, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"It's strangely familiar," I blinked, struggling to remember.

The struggle in the race was still heated, but everyone's mind, even the participants, was in the song developing in the atmosphere and being carried in stepped gushes of wind. Simultaneously, the atmosphere started getting cloaked by a white mist that was as strange as the distant song.

"Anyone else feel the urge to go to the source?" the commentator spoke his truth. Feeling the same way he was, I suspected that the crowd had the same feeling.

However, before anyone could make a move, the sea began to move, causing splashes and ripples that looked like they were headed toward the Royalty Barrels. The ripples were rough, foreboding, and unnerving, but for a reason, I wanted to see what would happen next.

The commentator suspected it was a mysterious attack plotted by the Underdogs, but everyone held their breath.

The song, the mist, the ripples… why did it feel like-…

The ripples ceased, all of a sudden. And the sea went dead with quiet, like an unnerving Calm Belt.

Foreboding never sank deeper, as the moment stretched.

And just as the air became suffocating with suspense-…

The chilling song restarted, and then…

A fin cut through the surface of the sea and popped into the open. Another followed. Then another. And before everyone could fully grasp what was happening, dozens upon dozens of shark fins were plopping around the Royalty Barrels that was currently struggling against an encroaching Mizuame Freeze.

Before anyone could shout "watch out!", the pack of ferocious sea creatures sprang out to the open, causing a massive tidal wave that splashed around the Royalty Barrels, covering it and everyone in it with a cloud of white mist.

"Where did--!?" the commentator's voice froze in his gut.

It was a well-known fact that creatures of the sea kept off from the Mizuame due to the unfavorable living conditions. A few that got trapped and managed to adapt would mutate into super sea creatures, but this was rare. However, it seemed like the song in the ominous atmosphere was causing the dozens of sharks to go against this established behavior.

Vigorous water waves splashed to the shores and one could only imagine the Royalty Barrels staggering with and against the waves as the sharks tried to submerge it.

Avoiding desperation from gripping me, I reminded myself that these were Big Mom's children and they were putting their best efforts to keep the ship from capsizing. However, they still needed help from the viciously violent sharks.

'Most of them have seen and survived Sea Kings in actual calm belts,' I reaffirmed my confidence while attempting to come up with a quick plan to get everyone out, the race be damned!

Through Oven, the Underdogs Wagon was making it out of the freeze and all they needed to do was take the curve that would lead them to the finish line. But-…

Nature had other plans for them.

The chilling song in the air took on a higher frequency, and dozens of more sharks moved to attack the Underdogs Wagon, their ferocious intents leading them to defy the Mizuame Freeze as they propelled towards the Underdogs Wagon.

"Where'd they come from!?" I blinked with horrified surprise.

Cracker and his team too got clouded in a curtain of mist, living one to imagine what could happen next.

Snack tried to cut through the mist (literally). It dispersed both upward and downward from the cut section, revealing noises like screams of terror, but as the song intensified, it all reconnected like nothing had happened.

Disregarding the potential danger, Mama hoped on Prometheus and drove headfirst into the mist. Her fists, fire, or threats were useless against it, and after sinking into the mist further, her voice got muffled and lowered... and then complete, unnerving silence followed suit.

Mysteriously, the prince of Elbaf seemed to have disappeared. Equally, it was the same case with the rest of the giants, but now was no time to suspect anyone.

Something was happening to my siblings and god forbid it be something terrible, once again. My heart skipped a beat.

"I'm going in!!" I declared, just as a pool of blood started flowing from the edges of the mist like a horror show. "Zeus!"

"Be careful," Lola warned, reminding me to watch out for the Freeze. But I barely heard everything she said.

Cutting through the mist with a troubled mind, I was met with quite the different environment. Inside were screams of terror as sibling voices called out for help. Some blamed Cracker for calling this challenge, while others cried that Davy Jones had come to claim their lives for not playing the game properly.

All in all, they all sounded desperate, to get out of the suffocating mist and get a reprieve from the school of sharks. From gunshots to intensive showcase of Haki and devil fruit powers, they did it all to try and save themselves.

Unable to spot anything but the white, cold, clouds in the air, I tried following my siblings' sounds to get to them and help them - both teams, but after moments of helplessly moving around, it felt like I was moving in a maze of circular smoke.

Often, I would catch other sounds, snippets like Big Mom naively calling out for Mother Carmel-…

"Mother? Is that you?" Big Mom wondered aloud.

-or hushed, indistinct voices of a group that sounded like they were plotting something. It was all disorienting, but what unnerved me the most was the occasional child-like chuckles that echoed in the mist.

The chuckle would be almost too brief and too high for anyone not to be terrified.

"Show yourself!" After trekking on top of a terrified Zeus for some time, I found myself challenging the mist - throwing fists and calling out to the unseen propagator.

The situation worsened, when in a stark moment of terror from the misty tendrils, Zeus shrieked and threw me overboard and into the murky sea.

As soon as part of me dipped into the cold water, my surroundings unraveled greatly as a swam of hangry sharks swirled around me with their teeth pushing against my skin but never really making a successful bite, and their strong bodies bouncing me around like a heavy football while trying to pull me to the bottom.

Their act of trying to sink me started to worry me that this was the cursed pirate Davy Jones' doing, making me wonder just how strict the rules of the Davy Back Fight were.

Impatiently, and angrily, I swerved my arms around, and kicked, hoping to get the creatures off of me while trying to stay afloat. My Herculean strength played a role in making some teeth break, but that was about it. I was mostly at their mercy, until, for a reason, they stopped simultaneously and allowed me to swim back to the surface.

The tune in the atmosphere got louder as I purged water from my ears and tried to clear my vision. Strikingly, all the sharks surrounded me, blocking my path while they remained still and quiet, inspiring a level of fear in me, wondering what they were waiting for to strike.

As if in response, something like the silhouette of a vessel started pushing the mist back as it approached my location.

The cold of the water mixed with my fear and made me shuddered as I tried to come up with an explanation. It couldn't be Davy Jones, right?

And even if it was… this was a tad too much for an entrance.

Feeling helpless, I looked at the skies for a moment, wondering what to do regardless of the dramatic reveal. It was unsettling, knowing that I was this powerless. I had the strength, the will… but just like the Demon Bear had made me realize, I didn't have what it took to protect those I loved.

Would I really lose my siblings… my mother, to this mysterious phenomena?

The white, clouded skies held no answers, but something made me wonder about the treasure box in my pocket. I had tried to do some research using an Encyclopedia of Devil Fruits, but hadn't found anything on a one-shaped, golden glowing fruit yet. Moreover, I hadn't gotten around to deciding whether to eat the devil fruit or not.

My guts told me that it was the key to solving my problems, but this wasn't the time to trust them. Eat it, and I would be as good as stuck in the sea's quicksand (Mizuame Freeze).

I remained still like the sharks, as the incoming vessel got closer and closer… until I could make out its features. The curved bottom and the round front proved it was nothing more than a giant barrel of rum. But what it carried on its top got me both intrigued and angry at the same time.

A foot was pounding playfully on the barrel, crackling with the dreary chuckle of a young girl… and then it clicked.

'Hela!' I suspected. The curious happenings… the captivating song… the dramatic entrance, and the clear silhouette of a giant girl on a barrel coming into view. The sharks submerged as if respectful of her appearance, leaving only their fins protruding.

I had suspected there was something off with her, but would have never expected her to ambush us… or if she had the ability to control sharks for that matter!

Sardonically sitting on the barrel like an usurper, she approached further, her features clear and ascertained, despite the mist getting denser around her. I wanted to ask what exactly was happening, but her voice drowned my thoughts as it turned into a soothing chant of, "Mh-mmmm…" as she circled around me on her barrel, the sea waves and breeze respecting her navigation wishes to the letter.

Her chant sounded like a lullaby, welcoming me to be comfortable, stay calm and worry about nothing.

Resisting her enchantment, I demanded between gritted teeth, "What are you!?"

Oblivious, she continued her circular, cult-like motion around me, her chant becoming more deathly and deadly as she stared at me, with an unwavering gaze.

"I asked a question!" I demanded for her to speak, but when she did, I regretted every second of it.

"Sink him!" She whispered in a melody, and just as abrupt, all the sharks rushed at me, bit me and within a second, started sinking me toward the bottom of the sea.

I barely breathed in enough air before the water rushed into my nostrils again and threatened to choke me to death.

—

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