One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Cursed Island of the Devil Fruit Gods ❯ Schism ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Luffy, Nami, Smoker and Tashigi continued their trek through the jungle, fighting off the urge to call out to their friends. Who knew what kind of trouble they would attract if they gave away their position? Besides, in a jungle like this, they could easily be surrounded on all sides by hostiles.
"Sanji..." Luffy whined. "So...hungry...breakfast..." Luffy moaned, stalking along, his stomach growling.
Tashigi moved to her left to avoid some thorned brush but the vines seemed to push out against her and scraped her arm roughly, moving like a live serpent before dropping off, dead on the ground, looking dry and withered even though they had been green and wiry when they scratched her. Had they merely died and just fallen on her? No, the movement was too deliberate...maybe Nami was right about the plants being alive. She yelped, wondering if they were about to be literally ambushed.
"Tashigi...what's wrong?" Smoker turned around.
"N-nothing, Smoker-san." Tashigi lied. She was very nervous now. She looked out ahead and saw some flowers in bloom that looked oddly like human eyes...they even blinked before retreating back into their buds.
"Let's go left." Nami instructed them. Tashigi, bringing up the rear, was very freaked out now and was determined to stick very close to Smoker.
"I've got a bad feeling about this place." Smoker grunted. He usually didn't take Tashigi seriously, but something that made her that edgy was not just her imagination.
The trees above them began to rustle. "Get ready!" Nami cried, drawing her Perfect Clima Tact into battle position.
A screeching monkey fell out of the tree onto Luffy's head. Nami, Smoker and Tashigi stared at it, with Luffy's confused expression telling them that he clearly didn't realize he had a tiny primate sitting on his head. "What? Did you find something to eat?" he asked them.
The monkey peeked down over the brim of his hat and stared upside-down into Luffy's face. It blinked. Luffy blinked. Luffy began to laugh out loud. "Look! A monkey!" he pointed to it, chuckling.
"We know!" the others all shouted angrily. "Start taking this creepy island more seriously, damn you!" they told him simultaneously.
But Luffy was wrestling with the tiny monkey now. It had wrapped its tail around his neck and was climbing all over him, tickling him everywhere as he rolled around on the ground giggling and feeling around for it as it weaved in and out of his shirt and shorts. "Ha ha! Stop it!" Luffy giggled, scratching himself. "GOTCHA!"
Luffy had stuck his hand down his pants into his crotch and withdrew the monkey. "Luffy, that's digusting! Get rid of that thing!" Nami scolded.
"Aw come on, he's just playing." Luffy smiled. The monkey got loose and crawled up his arm onto Luffy's shoulders. "See? He knows not to do that again." Luffy said matter-of-factly.
The monkey then grabbed Luffy's straw hat and put it on its own head. "YOU LITTLE EVIL MONKEY!" Luffy roared, grabbing at the hat. The monkey fell off his shoulder onto the ground and scrambled, keeping the hat with it, as Luffy raced after it. "COME BACK HERE!!!!"
"Luffy, don't!" Nami screamed. But just as she was about to run after him, several explosions could be heard in the distance, as well as screams. "That sounds like Usopp again..." Nami gasped.
"Which one is that again?" Smoker grunted.
"Our friend who spat water at you with Luffy in the Alabasta bar?" Nami explained. "He's actually the person behind the Sogeking mask in the wanted poster...he was just pretending to be someone else because he and Luffy had a fight and he didn't want Luffy to think he was still our friend. But he changed his mind and now that he's back in our crew he's in trouble!" Nami said quickly, torn between following after Luffy and helping Usopp.
Smoker rolled his eyes. "You two go after the screamer. I'll find Straw Hat. I'll send up some smoke signals so you can find us later. If we don't meet back up by sunset we're coming to find you." he told them.
"But Smoker-san, shouldn't we not split up any more than we already have?" Tashigi questioned. She wasn't fond of the idea of having only Nami with her to go further into the jungle.
"That's an order, marine!" Smoker growled, using his Moku-Moku no Mi abilities to propel himself quickly through the trees without getting hurt.
"Come on, Tashigi, my nakama could be in danger!" Nami began to run, more determined now. Tashigi followed after her, not knowing why Smoker had insisted they help the pirates when all they needed was to escape the island.

"Gotcha!" Luffy finally pinned the monkey's tail to a tree with a Gomu-Gomu no Stamp. "You owe me some bananas for taking my hat!"
"Gotcha!" Smoker growled, trapping both Luffy and the monkey with his solidified smoke.
"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Luffy shouted, struggling.
"What's the big idea with YOU running off into this jungle like a moron?! How could someone as dumb and reckless as you be worth 300 million berries! And you make a fool out of me and my men every time we meet! I wish I didn't have to depend on you to get my Sergeant off this island safely! If it wasn't for her I'd gladly sacrifice myself to have a duel to the death with you here and now, Straw Hat, just to prove that you can't defeat the side of justice!" Smoker snarled.
"Well I have my hat back now. Want to fight?" Luffy grinned. His stomach grumbled. "Oh, but...wait...too hungry..."
"BAKA!" Smoker threw Luffy out of his smoke grip into a tree.
But the monkey screeched louder than ever. It was jumping, trying to get their attention.
"What's that?" Luffy asked it, crawling over to it, ignoring that Smoker had just attacked him.
"You can't talk to animals, you really are a baka!" Smoker's forehead veins were showing with his frustration.
"I think he wants us to follow him. Maybe there's food!" Luffy began to drool. "Go, monkey, go!" he laughed excitedly, chasing the monkey to wherever it was intending to lead them, drooling all the while.
"Why does god hate me? He let Straw Hat get away from me in Loguetown and now he makes my life and Tashigi's life depend on this fool..." Smoker grumbled, not seeing any alternative but to follow them.

"Long-nose-kun!" Nami called.
"Long-nose!" Tashigi mimicked. "I don't know how close we are to him...do you think maybe he can't hear us, or maybe...?"
"Don't ever say that! Usopp left the crew in Water 7 and came back, we are not losing him again after that!" Nami shook her head, refusing to believe Usopp could be dead.
Running full-pelt until the jungle gave way to the bottom of the cliffs, Nami saw a pile of rubble that looked fresh. "I smell gunpowder..." she gasped.
"I don't smell anything." Tashigi commented.
"That's why you're not a navigator." Nami winked. "Follow me."
They followed the hard-to-see trail left behind from Usopp dragging Maboroshi along, until they saw the village at the top of the steep hill. "A village...here?" Tashigi gasped. "Smoker-san was right...maybe there is a society full of Devil Fruit users living here..."
"Wait. We don't know if Usopp is there or not. We need to be careful or we could be walking right into a village full of super-powered cannibals." Nami cautioned her. "I'll go first. You stay here." Nami shushed Tashigi. Pulling out her new favorite trick, Nami wrapped a ribbon of invisibility around herself with her Perfect Clima Tact, although it had the flaw of leaving faint footprints behind her. Luckily the ground was dry and there were already thousands of tracks left all over the ground from the villagers. Climbing up the slope to the top, she peered around. Natives were decorating their village, cooking, and children were playing. It looked peaceful enough. Then she saw them; Robin and Franky sitting next to each other on a log. She snuck up behind them. "Robin-chan...Cyborg-san..." she whispered, tapping them each on the shoulder. "Don't turn around."
Robin and Franky both had to cover their mouths to keep from shrieking in surprise. "Nami-san...is that you?" Robin whispered out of the side of her mouth. "How did you find us?" Robin asked.
"I heard some explosions in the jungle and I thought I heard Usopp screaming..." Nami explained.
"You did. Usopp just returned. The leader of this village is nuts!" Franky whispered out of the side of his mouth. "He and everyone in this village have eaten Devil Fruits! He can turn into a giant and wants to make Robin-chan his Queen! If he finds anyone who isn't a Devil Fruit user, they are executed or force-fed one! Usopp managed to fight off his executioner, and proved his worth to the chief. He's inducting Usopp into the tribe now, and if Usopp eats one, these crazies say he'll never be able to leave the island!" Franky made it clear that they had to escape, even if they had no idea how.
"You won't believe this..." Nami explained, "but Luffy and I found a big tree in the jungle and we think it's where Devil Fruits come from...maybe all Devil Fruits came from that one tree, we don't know. But we ran into the marines Smoker and Tashigi. She's waiting down the slope for us. And Luffy ran off chasing a monkey, and Smoker ran after him. We'll regroup in the jungle if we can get away. Any ideas?" Nami asked.
Robin giggled in spite of herself. "That sounds like Luffy." she nodded. "Can you make more than just yourself invisible?" Robin asked her.
"Yes, but only about three, or the Clima Tact won't be able to make it last." Nami answered.
Robin pondered for a few seconds. "Nami, Franky, go save Usopp. I will remain here until you bring Luffy and the others. I'll be okay...if Daikyojin wants me to be his Queen I can play along until then." she decided.
"Robin-chan, are you crazy? Who knows what being his Queen means?" Franky refused.
"Then will you let Usopp become one of their tribe and never be able to leave?" Robin asked them.
Nami sighed. "We'll hurry back, Robin-chan. We promise." she put her hand on Robin's shoulder.
"I'll save long-nose. The more people we bring back to save you, the better." Franky agreed, standing up. "Nami, come here." Franky told her. "Get on me, piggy-back. You're going to have to work quick." he told her.

"Brave warrior of the seas Captain Usopp..." Daikyojin began his speech. Apparently Usopp's lies had no way of being proven untrue so Daikyojin believed every word of them. But once he declared his intentions to induct Usopp into the tribe, Usopp wasn't exactly acting the part of a fearless sea dog and, having resisted, was now hogtied so he couldn't escape. "For your valor and skill in battle against Maboroshi, you have earned the privelege of being inducted into our tribe, and our army. We wage war against the primitive Zoans tomorrow at sundown. Tonight, we celebrate bringing you into the fold as one of our own. You will eat this cursed fruit and have your skills increased several fold, with the blessings of the gods. Surely you and your friends have arrived as a sign that we are destined to win our battle."
Usopp was bound and gagged and couldn't say or do anything. "Where the hell are Robin and Franky? Why aren't they stopping this?" he thought desperately. Maboroshi was being treated; even though he had lost, Usopp had requested he not be killed and Daikyojin admired Usopp's honor code. Unfortunately, Maboroshi couldn't convince Daikyojin to allow Usopp and his friends to leave as though they'd never come at all. But now Usopp had some information; Maboroshi had told him about a place deep in the jungle where he could find things to make special ammunition. And now he knew that the Paramecians were planning on attacking at sundown the next day. If he could get out of this and locate Luffy and all the others, they could stop the war and keep the only people who might know how the hell to get them off the island from killing each other off. Usopp turned his head to the side, his eyes wide, as he heard that familiar Franky battle cry. Unfortunately Usopp thought it would be too late; his mouth was being wrenched open and a withered-looking Devil Fruit was being brought nearer and nearer to him...

Dashing into the middle of the ceremony near the fire where Usopp was tied down with his mouth being held open to receive a Devil Fruit, Franky punched and shot his way through the tribesmen that had gathered around for the ceremony. "STOP THEM!" Daikyojin snarled it took him a few moments to increase his size to try and stop them, and that was exactly the amount of time they needed to be able to escape.
"Sorry, giant-boy. I'm not a Devil Fruit user at all." Franky teased, sticking his tongue out. Snapping Usopp's robes and securing him between his legs, Franky's arms shot straight out, a thin metal tube being held between them. "Now, Nami! Both of you, hold on tight!"
Nami waved her Clima Tact, weaving a cloak of treated air, making the three of them invisible. "They won't be able to follow us into the jungle if they can't see where we're going!" Nami said to Usopp, who hadn't even had an opportunity to ask what the hell was happening.
"COUP DE VENT!" Franky shouted, and rocketed the three of them away from the village and deep into the jungle, knocking down half the village with the force of the wind bullet.

Tashigi had no idea what was happening. But Robin knew she was there and went down to talk to her while the village was in an uproar. "Tashigi-chan...you must go back into the jungle and find the others before they find the other village. There are two on this island and they are on the brink of war with each other. This is a village of Paramecia Devil Fruit users like myself, and the other village is full of Zoan Devil Fruit users like most of CP9's agents! You have to warn the others before they run into any more trouble!" Robin told her.
"O-okay..." Tashigi nodded. "But what about you?" she asked. There was so much going on, she had no idea where the others had gone, but she was the only one who could relay the message to Smoker and Luffy if she managed to find them at all.
"I need to stay here to keep things from getting out of hand. Tell the others I'll be fine but I will need them to rescue me. I'm going to try and find out more about the island, too...I am hearing things about gods and monsters and I think it might have something to do with why we're all stuck here." Robin explained.
"A-all right..." Tashigi agreed. "Be careful..." she said, turning away and moving back into the jungle the way she had come.
As soon as she got a quarter of a mile into the jungle, however, she felt her feet sink into something and she fell over. "Sorry, dear lady, but we can't allow you to interfere with our carefully laid plans. But not to worry...you won't die. Not just yet anyway." a sinister voice cackled as Tashigi watched the shadows of the jungle closing in around her and burying her in darkness.

Luffy and Smoker were close to the Zoan village now, where the monkey had led them. "Why did it bring us here?" Luffy wondered. "I don't smell any food."
"It didn't bring us anywhere, baka! It's a stupid stinking monkey!" Smoker whacked Luffy over the head with his cane. "But wait...look. There's a cliff's edge right here." he pointed.
They walked carefully over to it and saw the Zoan village, the bowl-like cliffside full of caves. "What a primitive civilization..." Smoker whispered.
"Looks like fun!" Luffy giggled.
"I rest my case." Smoker grunted. "Why'd it bring us here?"
"Ha! I was right! It did bring us here on purpose!" Luffy stuck his tongue out.
"Shut up! We could be in a lot of danger here!" Smoker snapped. But Luffy was ignoring him in favor of something that caught his attention down in the village.
"Look! It's my friend Sanji!" Luffy pointed down into the center of the village. "And over there-Chopper!" he laughed, clapping. "I'm going down there!"
"Oh, like hell you are!" Smoker grabbed him and restrained him. "You have absolutely no idea what's down there, and you could not only be putting your own life in danger, but your friends' lives as well! And they may be the only ones who have any idea where your ship is, if it even still exists!"
"But Sanji makes my food...and I'm hungry..." Luffy protested, but he was now too hungry to fight Smoker off.
"Let's just watch. The sun's going down. Maybe when the people of this village go to sleep we can sneak down there and help them. But not right now." Smoker told him. Unfortunately, even he was tempted to jump down there and help when he heard the words 'Let the execution begin' being announced in Ryuumaoh's horrible voice. "Or maybe we'll need to improvise..."