77 Sacrifice & Discoveries

The ground shook with every step I took, but it wasn't because of me; it was due to the titanic battle taking place not too far away, where my little brother and big sisters were giving their all. Although I yearned to join the fight, I had a specific mission: to locate the vice chief of the crew, Shawty.

RUMBLE!

My body underwent a transformation, my skin turned green, and my hair became white. Snakes sprouted from my hair, allowing me to sense everything around me. The intel suggested that Shawty was enduring the torment of food deprivation. If I didn't act quickly, it might be too late. However, this jungle was vast, and I had no idea where to begin.

I halted in my tracks to attempt something different. My eyes and the snakes on my hair emitted a unique soundwave, a faint hissing. I received a response; it seemed there were anacondas in this jungle.

Their hissing guided me in a particular direction, and in no time, I reached a clearing where a massive black ship lay beached in the sand.

"That must be it!"

BAANGG!

I struck the ship and it crumpled like cardboard. I infiltrated it, finding myself in darkness. The world around me took on shades of blue and green. It took a while, but eventually, I located Shawty.

"S-Shawty..."

My eyes quivered, it couldn't be possible. 

**

**

"You can leave me here and go help them," The raven-haired lady pleaded.

"I can't do that," the Snake Princess responded firmly. "Veyron instructed me to protect you, and that's what I'll do. Don't underestimate them."

Marigold desired to join the battle, but she trusted that the opponents this time weren't that tough. They had just arrived on the island, and the presence of any unexpected variables was unknown. If this girl were taken hostage, it would be a far more catastrophic outcome.

Robin clenched her teeth. Despite knowing that the CP0 wasn't explicitly targeting her, she still felt powerless and incapable of aiding anyone.

"W-What-"

Marigold's expression shifted to shock, and Robin followed her gaze deep into the jungle. They both spotted it: a large watermelon in front of them began to twist and change, its colour shifting until it bore a fiery pattern with lightning sparks.

"A Devil Fruit... one of them must have perished. Quickly, pluck it!" Marigold exclaimed, in the group only she and her sisters had eaten devil fruits, and she could recognise very well the type of fruits they had eaten, this wasn't it. 

Robin picked up the somewhat heavy watermelon, it was the most awkward devil fruit she had ever seen. "I didn't come across any fruit like this in the Ohara encyclopedia."

"I can tell you what that fruit is..."

!!!

Marigold positioned herself protectively in front of Robin as a newcomer arrived, a man with a golden hook.

"Crocodile...?" Robin recognized him from his wanted poster. The man was a candidate for the Warlords. "What are you doing here?"

Similarly, Marigold's eyes furrowed, she didn't manage to sense this person. "Crocodile, the name doesn't ring a bell..." She hadn't read newspapers in the last year, and was unfamiliar with this rising supernova.

The man remained silent, his gaze fixed on the watermelon. "That Devil Fruit is a Mythical Zoan. I initially came for you and Peter Hornigold, but taking that fruit will be worthwhile too."

Marigold grew angry at being completely ignored. The man began to transform into sand, confirming her suspicion of him being a Logia user, that was the only way he could have squeezed across her senses and it was sand at that, but nothing she couldn't handle. 

Her own body transformed, becoming a more stunning version of herself with flaming white hair, a golden horn, and several snakes emerging from her back.

Since this was a logia user, she wasn't going to hold back. 

!!!

"Awakened Zoan?!"

Before Crocodile could utter another word, Marigold was already in front of him, ready to deliver a powerful blow.

*BAAAANGG!!*

Her palm, imbued with Haki and the formidable strength of an awakened Zoan, struck him square in the chest, causing the wannabe Warlord to cough up blood and be pitifully blasted into the jungle. He hadn't even bothered defending, as if he was completely certain that the palm wasn't going hit him, a foolish thought. 

Marigold surveyed the scene with disappointment. She hadn't even exerted her full strength in that attack.

"Warlord candidate? What a pitiful crook, wasting my time... it seems Warlords aren't much nowadays."

Robin gasped. Crocodile had been a pirate she could only fear, unable to retaliate. Yet, Marigold had defeated him with a single blow!

"Let's keep going and keep your eyes open, there may be more like him around here. You said you wanted to investigate this place, didn't you? this is your chance".

**

**

A pair of eyes opened to a newfound sense of shock and surprise. The Skypeans and Shandians, previously oppressed by the reign of a wicked god, awoke to find the nightmare had ended, and they were surprisingly alive.

Night had already fallen, with the only source of light being a bonfire nearby. Veyron sat alongside Tsuru around the bonfire, while Primrose, Gion Hancock, and Stussy tended to the survivors and offered basic first aid.

"What's happening? Who are you?" one of the survivors asked, his eyes turning into stars upon seeing the person attending to him, who could only be described as a goddess. Hancock brushed her hair aside and let the Shandian settle back down now that he had awakened.

"Ouch!"

"Since you're all awake, then hurry up and help your people," Hancock urged. She couldn't be bothered to assist these men, but she reluctantly accepted the task, as it had been her fiancé's request. Now that they were beginning to wake up, they could take care of themselves.

The princess approached Veyron and sat on his lap directly, causing Primrose to shake her head in exasperation, and Gion to look at her irritably due to her shamelessness.

"What's your next move, Veyron?" Tsuru asked the boy, her gaze briefly shifting to Hancock, who smiled brightly and leaned against her fiancé.

"Marigold, Robin, and Sandersonia should be returning soon. My original purpose for coming here was to save Shawty and obtain that Devil Fruit, but now... I don't know. Once we rescue Shawty, we'll head back down, and that will be the end of it."

He scratched his head in apparent frustration. While liberating these people from tyranny brought him joy, he had lost sight of the fruit he had come to collect.

The Shandians and Skypeans were confused, and it was Gion who provided direction, informing them that the individual who had invaded Skypea was gone, and they were now free. Their first instinct was to call for two individuals: Gan Fall and Wyper, the latter still unconscious among them.

Before long, Robin and Marigold arrived, much to Veyron's surprise, carrying two Devil Fruits.

"Ah?" Veyron gasped, and Hancock yelped as he stood up abruptly.

One of the fruits was a flaming watermelon with lightning patterns, while the other was a fruit he had never seen before, white with black lines and white lightning patterns.

"What took you so long, girls?"

"Robin wanted to explore the island... after we found the second Devil Fruit, we realized that you had emerged victorious," Marigold explained, presenting the two Devil Fruits to him. "We stumbled upon these in the jungle by chance. I had never seen two Devil Fruits so close to each other."

Veyron furrowed his brow and tapped his chin. 'Could it be because of the forcefield? Did it somehow prevent those Devil Fruits inside from moving farther? Does that mean the Yami Yami no Mi and the Goro Goro no Mi are also in this forest?'

Both of these Devil Fruits had lightning motifs, so either of them could be the Goro Goro no Mi. But this discovery brought him joy and hope. 

"Where's Sandersonia?" Marigold noticed their green-haired sister had not yet returned.

"She hasn't come back... should we go and look for her?" Primrose trusted her daughters' abilities, but with the time Sandersonia was taking, worry began to creep in.

"Upperyard is quite vast. It wouldn't be surprising if she got lost a few times on her way back here. We got lost as well," Robin reassured them.

"I'm here..."

Sandersonia finally returned, still in her awakened form. She carried some items with her. Two Devil Fruits were wrapped in her hair, and her arms cradled a lifeless body.

Veyron was about to inquire about the fruits, but when he saw the body, he shuddered involuntarily.

"N-No..."

It was Shawty's lifeless body, dehydrated and limp. All the girls rushed to her side, checking her pulse and breathing. There was no sign of life.

She was gone. 

"Shawty... I'm so sorry..." Primrose was the first to break down, followed by her daughters. They had known Shawty since they were infants; now she was gone. They had arrived too late.

Veyron leaned forward, suppressing his anger, and closed Shawty's eyes. Though their time together had been short, Shawty had been attentive and had met his every need. Once again, Veyron was reminded that One Piece could be both a thrilling adventure and a heartbreaking story.

"She had to die for nothing..."

"It wasn't for nothing; I found this."

Sandersonia, her voice filled with sadness, passed something to him after placing the Devil Fruits on the ground. It was a diary.

Veyron opened it and read a few pages. They contained notes on missions assigned to Peter Hornigold by a group he referred to as the 'five elders.' These five individuals, he recalled from the manga, were the leaders of the World Nobles.

People to kill, messages to deliver, packages to send... everything in deep secrecy. One of the last missions was to 'secure the ancient city, Shandora'. It had a set of sub-objectives in which he confirmed that Stussy was indeed sent just to look for goods in Skypea that could be sold in the underworld or sent to Vegapunk to produce more weapons for the world government. 

And also, there was another mission there which he never accomplished. 

"He was tasked with capturing a member of the Boa Family. It was a mission given to him by his 'higher-ups.' That's why he was after Mother." Sandersonia finished. 

"Why do they even want us?" Hancock asked, her expression filled with disgust. "Wasn't it enough for them to hold us captive for five years?"

"I know the reason..." Stussy spoke up, gaining the attention of everyone at the bonfire.

"It's related to the first empress of Amazon Lily, who was also the first member of the Boa Family."

"Do you know the name of that person?" Robin inquired.

"Nefertari Lili. The reason they want to get to you girls, must have been her... as for why they didn't do it while you were in Marie Geoise? I assume once you were branded as slaves your ancestry as Boas was not apparent... unlike Primrose who is the Empress of Amazon Lily".

"How do you know all of this?" Primrose frowned, she could have never thought there was a 'reason' for Peter Hornigold's unhealthy pursuit. 

"We are the CP0, our mission is to silence those that research history. Nico Robin is one of our most important targets" She glanced at the lady in question, "Naturally, I'm bound to get a few details out of history as well while partaking in this job".

"Do you know anything else?" Veyron pressed her but she shook her head repeatedly".

"My apologies. Aside from the name, the fact that she settled in Amazon Lily, and that she belonged to the ancient twenty kingdoms, I know nothing else... her records were erased from history, just like everybody else's in the void century".