The crew sailed for days on the Sorcerer built by the world's greatest shipwrights of the metropolis city of water whereby the sea had gone too quiet.
No waves slapped against the hull, no gulls circled overhead—only a heavy stillness pressed down on the water like the sky itself was holding its breath. Even the wind seemed reluctant to move. Far ahead, a faint outline of land sat beneath a blanket of low gray clouds, unmoving… waiting.
Gojo leaned lazily against the ship's railing, blindfold fluttering slightly. "Hmm…" he murmured, tilting his head. "Doesn't it feel… heavier?"
Behind him, the crew laughed it off, blaming the calm sea. But Gojo's smile lingered, sharper than usual. His fingers tapped lightly on the wood as if testing the air.
Somewhere beyond the fog, the island slowly revealed itself.
"Bingo!" Jake snapped his finger, navigating the Sorcerer to the island the Log Pose indicated.
"I smell adventure." Gojo's grin widened, flexing his muscles reluctantly.
"Calm down a little, captain. We don't want to attract any more marines." Ryuken hurled his sword.
"Let's head to the port and anchor the ship there." Jake ignited a cigarette as he slid one into his lips. He steered the ship around the island while surveying the island's port in order to anchor their vessel.
They had already known that the marines were out in the vast seas, relentlessly chasing after them; however, the marines remained entirely unaware that the shipwrights had constructed a truly remarkable vessel specifically for the pirates' voyage—this, after the pirates had abandoned the very marine ship they had previously stolen from Impel Down.
"I don't think they'll realize this ship belongs to us." Jake tossed the cigarette on his lips into the sea.
"Damn right. We had to compel the shipwrights to fabricate a falsehood on our behalf—claiming that we had seized one of their company's vessels and made our escape."
"It won't take long for the marines to realize we'd deceived them. Let's hurry up!"
Jake found a dedicated spot and anchored the Sorcerer where it won't get busted easily by the marines or pirates lurking around the seas. "Drop the sails!"
Gojo and Ryuken moved precisely and hurled the sails down while trickling the anchor into the depths of the sea.
"All done!"
"Good." Jake hopped out from his recliner, "we'll have to wait for a few days or weeks as we camp here ensuring our Log Pose resets completely before sailing to the next island."
"That's not an issue. We'll have to stay low to avoid getting the marines on tails."
The duo shifted their gaze to their captain. "Don't cause us unnecessary problems."
Gojo raised an eyebrow, "why the hell are you guys ganging up on me?"
"Because you're the mastermind of attracting problems."
"Whatever. Let's go and have some fun, guys."
"Yeah, let's."
After anchoring their ship at a safer spot, they hopped into the island with their fits on. The island was huge and overwhelming with a slight aura only Gojo could feel, the trees were huge, the rocks were shaped into various shapes and the buildings were kind of.. lusterless.
They trailed behind each other in the rear of the forest originating their way into the depths of the island. The Birds chirped loudly while monkeys were visible leaping from one tree to another in the forest threshold.
"Wow!"
The trio stood in a vertical line catching a better glimpse at the city brimming with lots of people and children roaming about. The stores were built and visible in a parallel line, the fragrance of takoyaki permeated through the atmosphere compelling the pirates stomach to growl loudly.
"Let's have a bite."
"The takoyaki looks delicious."
They got themselves some takoyaki as they ate their fill in the store. "Old man, can we find a place to lounge around here?" Jake swallowed, gulping down a glass of chilled water.
"You guys don't look familiar. If I may ask, are you a traveler?"
"Oh no, we are pir-"
Jake and Ryuken instantly slammed Gojo's face into the table before he could finish his sentence.
"Are you out of your mind?"
The old man watched the scene unfold as he sweatdropped. "H-Hello. I'm sorry, is something the matter?"
Jake gave the old man a thumbs up with a smile. "Don't worry about it, old man. I just killed a mosquito I found on his head."
"M-Mosquito?" The old man was dumbfounded.
Jake cleared his throat, "yes, we're travelers. Since we're short on provisions, we decided to stack up and explore the island while we're at it."
The old man gulped, "that's good to hear. I'll warn you guys, don't you dare ever set foot or wander into the upper yard."
"Upper yard?" Ryuken asked.
"Yes. Over the years, we've sent some people to scout out the upper yard and precedently, no one who'd wandered into the upper yard had returned back to their family."
Tension loomed across the atmosphere. "What do you mean? Can't you guys reach out to them in anyways?" Jake wiped off the takoyaki source from his lips.
The old man instantly shaked his head. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to sprout this information to a stranger." The man uttered.
"Oh okay. Thanks for the information, old man." Gojo rasps his hair continuously. 'I've got myself an adventure. Can't wait to explore the upper yard.' He wondered to himself, his grin widening from excitement.
"In all you do, don't you dare ever wander into the upper yard or mutter any word about it on the road. It might lead to something bad I think." The old man warned them once again. "I almost forgot, you'll find a hotel if you continue to wander straight ahead."
"Really? Thanks old man, you're the best." Jake shook hands with the man. "How much for the takoyaki?"
The old man massaged his temples while grasping his beards. "500 bellies."
Jake fetched the money from his pocket and submitted it over to the old man. "The takoyaki was delicious, old man."
"Come back again, lads. I'll give you something more tasty than these."
"That's a bet. We'll come back sometime."
….
{Somewhere in Upper Yard}
In a large quiet room was a golden throne stationed at the middle of the structure. A man cladded in a grey cloak sat on the throne with a short-white feather etched on his back.
The man's grin widened as he adjusted his cloak a little. "They've come, huh?" He whispered to himself, "just three? Well, let's have some fun."
He'd probably used Observation Haki to sniff the intruders who surged inside his island as he declares himself the hidden king of chaos with his two bodyguards who were always by his side.
"Should we invite them over, Vane-san?" One of his bodyguards uttered.
"No, they'll probably find us." Vane smirks, "Gojo Satoru, he really fascinates me."
The moment Vane hopped out from his recliner, the ground began to crack which was definitely caused by his devil fruit he'd digested.
The bodyguards could no longer stand on their feet as they fell to their knees, the overwhelming power emanating from Vane had caused it all to open.
"V-Vane-san, you'll turn the palace to shreds if you continue to release such power."
Vane halted in his tracks, "really?" He poked his nose, "tell me quickly, will you?"
"Heh? Haven't we told you more than ten times?"
"Did you? I forgot." Vane's fingers twitched, fizzling through his hair, a restless, static-charged motion that betrayed his unease.
…
The trio got themselves a room and set their luggages aside before wandering through the island.
"Jake, you wanna check it out?" Gojo chuckled.
"Check what?"
"Upper yard!"
Jake spat out the liquor he was sipping which collided with his captain's infinity. "Didn't the old man warn us not to wander into the threshold of the upper yard?"
"Who knows, we might be able to locate the whereabouts of the people who never came back."
Jake let out an exasperated sigh. "Listen up, we both know you're lying about that. You probably just want to explore and you really don't give a damn about any danger that might come after that." Jake argued.
"Alright alright. Let's keep off from wandering into the mysterious upper yard." Gojo gave up, "Why don't we take a walk? I need some candy or chocolate."
"That's okay but we'll have to economize since we don't have much money or else we'll go broke."
"That's settled," Gojo clasped his hands together, "I'll have to wear my sunglasses." He loosened his blindfold so as not to attract a lot of attention as he put on his dark shade.
'I'll ditch them mid-way and explore whatever kind of adventure that lurks inside the upper yard.' Gojo smirked as he thought to himself.
Ryuken shot him a glare, 'oh, he's definitely thinking about exploring the upper yard.' "You seem to be in a good mood, captain."
"Of course I should. Thinking about the upper yard makes me excited."
'Busted. There is no way in hell we can prevent him from wandering into the upper yard,' Ryuken said, palming his face. "You just got yourself busted, you know?"
Gojo curled his lips sideways as realization dawned on him. "Whoops!!"
.....
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