After a lot of running around, hiding behind candy statues, and dodging chocolate citizens who were ready to report them, the group finally found Luffy and Chopper. Both were lying on the ground with full bellies, looking like balloons ready to pop, groaning and completely relaxed. The kind of smile on their face which urge one to punch them.
"There you two are!" Nami shouted, stomping her foot. Her Conqueror's Haki is almost ready to burst out. That her devil fruit, devil teammate.
"Do you know how much trouble you caused!?" Pedro added, clearly annoyed.
"Uuuuh… but everything tasted so good," Chopper moaned.
"I regret nothing," Luffy grinned, still licking some melted chocolate off his cheek. Apparently, his tongue was the only thing which was movable in his body in his current state. Everything else was way too floated.
Just then, the girl they had met earlier returned. "Oh, you found your friends," she said sweetly. "Please, come get something to eat if you wish."
She was a beautiful, sweet-looking girl who looked not much older than Yuta himself. Yuta could immediately recognise by looking at her once. He remained quiet though, no need to change anything just now.
"I'm Pudding. I'm the Chocolate General under Big Mom Pirate. Nice to meet you."
At her words, the group froze for a moment. Everyone looked at her carefully. A direct member of Big Mom Pirates, she seemed nice, though… too nice.
She served them tea and sweets, and the whole room smelled like a bakery.
Everyone relaxed for a bit, except for Yuta, who kept his guard up. Didn't have to know the story as he did but he changed enough things to be vigilant. Not to mention he was trying not to attract too much attention on himself since his face was the hot topic recently on the sea.
"I'm Luffy!" Luffy announced proudly with his mouth full. "I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Ah… Typical Luffy. Everyone in the room froze for a second before glaring at him with burning eyes.
Nami slapped her forehead. "You absolute idiot!"
Pudding looked shocked. "Wait… Straw Hat Luffy!?"
Brook chuckled nervously. "Well, the secret's out now…"
Yuta watched her carefully. She was good at pretending, but he saw through her act. Her eyes showed no surprise—only amusement and calculation. Actually, he found her a really good actor to be honest.
From that point, the story went pretty much like in the canon, she acted like helping Straw Hats after knowing that Sanji didn't wish to marry her.
"In that case, I should help you. I know where Sanji is. He's on Cake Island."
"Really!?" Luffy stood up. "Let's go right now!"
"He's okay, right?" Chopper asked.
"Yes," Pudding replied sweetly. "But you'll have to hurry. The wedding is soon."
She handed them a map. "Follow this path. It's the safest route. You have to go through a few islands before reaching the Cake Island but you shouldn't have any problem reaching there in this path."
And so they left for Cake Island, following the path given to them by Charlotte Pudding.
"Do you believe her?" Maybe Maki was the only person who was as suspicious as Yuta himself. In the absence of Straw Hats' Think Tank… Nico Robin. It fell on Nami to make sure the Pirate Group stayed alive. Unfortunately, the girl was a little too trusting sometimes.
"The path she gave us shouldn't have any problem. Nami could easily tell it otherwise. However, if you ask me whether I trust what she said.
No.
She is a pirate, daughter of one of the emperors of the sea. Even if she is telling the truth then we better take it as a lie for our own good." Yuta replied and followed the rest to Thousand Sunny, ready to depart.
As Thousand Sunny gently sailed toward Cake Island. The wind was calm, and most of the crew was resting after their meal. Maki and Yuta stood at the edge of the ship, leaning on the railing and watching the waves.
Waves made out of different types of juices. This sea was composed of various different types of juices. While fabulous stand-alone, they could be rather nasty when mixed.
"So," Maki began casually, "what's the plan once we reach Cake Island?" She asked, looking at the coloured sea for the first time but unlike how she used to be, now she was too used to this world to be surprised again.
Yuta glanced at her. "Find Sanji. Help him escape. Then get out without being caught." Yuta shrugged, not adding the fact that he was looking forward to throwing a punch or two at Big Mom himself. He wanted to see how her steel balloon stood up against his various combos.
And hell, even if he doesn't willingly do it, he was sure that the system would eventually find a way to force him to do so in the end. So just better keep this in mind that a fight was up ahead. And it's not that bad a thing after all, he'll of course get his sweet sweet rewards.
While a year ago he might have been too tired to carry on, to the point he even wished for no missions to come his way. After a year's worth of test and training, he was ready to throw down. Back to Grind as he liked to say.
"Sounds too simple," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You know more than you say, don't you?" She narrowed her eyes upon seeing Yuta avoiding eye contact instinctively.
She had an inkling that the boy knows more than he shows. While he did tell her that this world was one of the stories he knew, he never went ahead and told her just how much he knew.
"As I said, we go, save Sanji and get out. That all."
"You always act like you're just tagging along, but you know everything ahead of time," she pressed. Getting closer as her shoulder bumped into his.
"I just know how stories like this go," he replied vaguely as he felt the contact. For how powerful this teenager was, it was very easy to forget that he was a virgin who never even had kissed a girl….
No he has. Rika…
Upon thinking about her, his mood, which was slightly flaring upon that touch calmed down.
Maki huffed, crossing her arms. "You're so annoying."
He chuckled. "Learn from the best." He grinned a big wide smile, like a certain honoured one.
Maki immediately knew who he was impersonating and huffed even more. Out of all the role models this idiot has to choose another idiot. How come all strong ones have some screw loose up there?
There was a short silence before Maki asked again, this time with a different tone. "Then tell me something else. About you. I still don't really know who you are."
Yuta blinked, a little surprised. Out of all the things, he wasn't expecting this. But he saw the curiosity in her eyes. So, he decided to share a bit. "I've jumped worlds a few times. Not under my control…"
'At least nowadays it doesn't seem like I'm in control,' He couldn't help but scowl to himself, remembering this.
"I was born in a not-so-great place. Though my grandma took me in. I grew up mostly with her…"
Maki listened quietly, her expression softening as she found more and more similarities between the two.
"And she told me that I could be a Hero as well. That I don't have to have a power. As long as I chase my dreams, do whatever I could. Then nobody could stop me from becoming one," he continued. "And, it turned out that I really got into the UA. Back home I'm called Dynamic. That's my Hero Name." He grinned aback, this was a more genuine smile than the last one.
"Sounds like quite a life," Maki muttered. "Though I have seen similar things. My sister. I only wished I had someone to tell me back then that I could…" She slightly frowned. Even the strongest people have weaknesses. Most carry the weight of their past, enough that no degree of power could stop one.
Yuta knew enough to understand her situation. While he never particularly asked about her past, he knew about it through anime knowledge. She suffered no less than him, even more in fact. "Yeah. That's why you're strong."
"As I said, my grandma used to say that the real heroes don't descend down from the sky but rather rise up from the very soil we live in. They have more wounds at their back than anyone and yet they smile and keep going. You're a very good example of what she used to say." He said and smiled. No doubt remembering memories which were close to him.
She smiled slightly. "What about your scarf?"
Yuta blinked. "What?"
"I've seen you hold it when you think no one's looking. Did you lose someone too?" She finally asked it. Something she wished to know since last year.
His smile faded however, upon seeing how well Maki read his mood. He looked away.
"I did," he said quietly.
Maki didn't press. The silence said more than words.
"I'm sorry," she finally said.
Yuta gave her a faint smile. "It's fine, perhaps it's better that she's gone. Better than suffer here I guess."
Maki pursed her lips. "So, your grandma made that for you?"
Yuta once again found himself surprised, but this time about how rather Maki completely mistook the situation.
"No… not her. But the one who did was no less important to me…"
xxx
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