Chapter 168: Ruins Of Shandora

"We're changing directions; ignore that Enel fool. Mael will take care of him anyways; what I'm interested in is whatever is calling me." Stated Diddy with a slight grin as the snake, which was about to pounce on him, suddenly froze before collapsing on the branch with the white of its eyes visible.

"Hoho, that's fine by me, Captain; I was hardly intrigued with Enel to begin with. Besides, I'm far more curious about whatever is calling out to you; it must be something unique, no?" Said Sebas with a slight chuckle as he rubbed his bearded chin while floating in the air before glancing at Diddy with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm the same as Father; Enel just seemed like an ass to me, so I hope Mael gives him a good beating." Remarked Trenza with a frown while shaking his head, only for a blue lightning bolt to suddenly strike her down from the sky, though, it was blocked by Diddy, who had raised his hand into the air, taking the brunt of the damage.

"I'll care about your opinion once you actually become decently strong; also, I'm not blocking the next one." Said Diddy lightly as he hit the back of Trenza's head with his tail, causing her to wince in pain before he leaped to the next closet branch.

"Hmph, maybe you and Enel should become friends; you both behave like asses to me." Stated Trenza with a huff of annoyance as she rubbed her head, glaring at Diddy, causing him to yank her off his back and dangle her in the air, only to drop her while leaping between branches.

Watching Trenza scream while falling, I just looked at her with a slight smirk, and just before she hit the ground, I heard Sebas sigh to himself before he raised his hand, causing her to suddenly float a few feet off the ground, only to be quickly raised into the air until she was hovering back at our level.

"What was that about me being an ass?" Asked Diddy with a grin as he crouched down on all fours, baring his teething while eyeing Trenza and licking his teeth.

"U-Um, you misheard me, Captain; I said you had a nice ass, not that you were being an ass, two completely different things." Replied Trenza nervously as she dismissively waved her hand at Diddy while still floating in the air, prompting him to turn his head completely around before gazing at his butt.

'Hmm, well, she's not wrong; I do got a pretty nice ass; all them squats weren't for nothing, it seems.' Mused Diddy with a faint smile as he looked at his butt before standing upright and gazing back at Trenza.

"Took long enough, but glad someone is capable of appreciating a hard-earned ass that took years to achieve, not like Freyja's stupid ass she got by eating a simple devil fruit." Remarked Diddy with a satisfied expression as he folded his arms and nodded, only to groan in annoyance when reminded of Freyja.

"I-I mean, Freyja does have a pretty nice, meaty, juicy ass too." Muttered Trenza under her breath while slightly blushing as the scene of Freyja and Scar walking away was still fresh in her mind, though Diddy overheard her words.

"Tch, drop her Sebas." Ordered Diddy with an ugly expression as he looked at Trenza before glancing at Sebas, who sighed while shaking his head.

"Haa, I do apologize in advance, Trenza; I hope you can forgive your old man." Said Sebas lightly as he suddenly lowered his hand, causing Trenza to once again fall to the ground while fearfully screaming the whole way down, which Diddy seemed to be taking pleasure in considering his large grin.

"Hmph, a muscle butt is always better than a fat butt." Muttered Diddy with a smile as he gazed upon Trenza's figure, which suddenly came to a half a few feet off the ground, only to return to eye level with Diddy.

"I-I'll stay silent now." Said Trenza quietly as Sebas gently placed her down on the same branch as Diddy before she approached him and carefully hopped on his back, refraining from further annoying him.

With Trenza returning as my backpack, the three of us continued moving through this swampy forest, though as we were staying high up in the trees, we were avoiding most beasts; the only ones that were present this far up were giant snakes, which would retreat in fear at one glare from me, and I didn't even need to use my color of the supreme king; the aura of a predator radiated off of me with such intensity that I could force even other predators away. It was something I learned recently after dabbling with my haki a little bit, though it was much weaker than it, considering this didn't work on animals with intelligence; after all, despite using it on Sanji, he was able to easily overpower his fear and continue forward.

Continuing closer to where I sensed whatever was calling us, I suddenly heard shouting coming from my right, and it seemed Sebas must've sensed their minds or whatever he calls it since we both looked to our right almost simultaneously. Although it was a little hard to see given all the foliage, from what I could make out, I saw several people dressed in white circling what I presumed to be some sort of ritual or sacrificial altar; it wasn't interesting by any means, just weird.

"Hmm, It must be God's or Enel's Army, I should say." Remarked Sebas lightly with a thoughtful expression as he floated closer to the scene, prompting Diddy to do the same despite his lack of interest.

"Army? He's got an Army? Are they strong?" Questioned Diddy curiously as he leaped from tree to tree, following behind Sebas while acting like a real monkey.

"Yes, they're known as God's Army and consist of roughly 50 people; however, only Commander Yama is noteworthy. Besides them, though, there are four people called Priests who are considered to be the strongest right after Enel and only follow his orders." Replied Sebas with a nod as he slowed down once they arrived at the scene, using the thick and large leaves to conceal his presence further while Didd simply stood out in the open.

"Strongest after Enel? Boring, I want someone stronger than Enel; also, why the hell are they sacrificing someone? Don't they know their so-called God actually exists?" Remarked Diddy while shake of his head, gazing at the sacrificial altar, which currently had a skypiean man and woman hanging, though they were already dead.

"I couldn't answer that question, Captain; I've never been a follower of religion; I believe the mind reigns supreme, after all." Said Sebas with a faint smile as he tapped his head while looking down below him, only to glance at Diddy.

"Enel is a terrible cult leader; you can't get people to join your cult if they kill the only people living here. Not only is he an ass, he's a stupid one." Muttered Trenza as she looked at the hanging man and woman getting their blood drained while both Sebas and Diddy nodded in agreement.

"Whatever, they're a bunch of weirdos; leave them to their weird things; we've got things to deal with." Said Diddy lightly with a shake of his head as he side-stepped, dodging the lightning bolt that was aiming for Trenza, before leaping to the next tree, following by Sebas, leaving just in time for the cultists to examine the lightning strike.

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Arriving at the edge of the swampy forest, I stood on the branch and gazed at the ruined city, which had vegetation growing all around it; whatever city previously existed here had long since been destroyed.

"Woah, this is one massive ruin; did Enel do this?" Asked Trenza with widened eyes as she gazed at the demolished buildings.

"No, this happened long before any of us were born; why don't you use your brain a little, Trenza." Remarked Diddy with a shake of his head as he leaped down from the branch, landing on the ground only to shake Trenza off like a dog.

"Tsk, well, excuse me for asking, Captain; we're on an island that is floating on clouds 10,000 meters in the air. I didn't think my question was ridiculous, but I guess I was wrong." Declared Trenza with a frown, eying Diddy while dusting her clothes off and standing up, only for him to grunt.

"Hoho, she does have a point, Captain; this place is weird; who is to say this couldn't have all happened a few years ago or even two days ago?" Commented Sebas lightly as he gently landed on the ground, standing between Diddy and Trenza, with the latter sticking her tongue out at Diddy in victory.

"If I see that tongue again, I'm ripping it out of your mouth." Remarked Diddy with a growl as he glared at Trenza, causing her to swiftly shut her mouth while he ignored her.

"Well, it doesn't matter whether this happened tomorrow or fifty billion years ago; this is where I'm hearing whatever was calling me, and the instant we stepped foot within this city, it's only gotten stronger." Added Diddy as he gazed at the massive golden pyramid-looking structure in the distance, which was so tall that clouds covered it.

"I've got an inkling where we're headed, then." Mused Sebas with a faint smirk while Diddy scoffed.

"Yeah, you don't say; it doesn't take a genius to figure it out; even that dumb Freyja probably would've gotten it after hours of looking around." Said Diddy as he eyed the only structure still standing within the ruined city before the three began approaching it while observing the rest of the city.