"So we've got a bunch of angry 'priests' after us now?" Varin asked, stretching out along the cloud edge like this was a conversation about the weather instead of impending problems. Nami had just finished explaining what she saw, how a handful of those same priests had torn through a pirate crew like it was nothing, and for once it didn't seem like she was exaggerating.
"You do realize lookin' strong and bein' strong are two completely different things, right?" he went on, his eyes flicking to the scar on his side from Crocodile. "I mean, just look at our captain."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Luffy popped up immediately, offended on instinct more than understanding.
Varin didn't even look at him at first. Then, casually, he reached over, grabbed Luffy by the head and neck, and pulled.
Luffy's neck stretched out like warm taffy, his face squishing slightly as Varin held him there, arm extended.
"This," Varin said flatly. "You don't exactly look scary, ya know. You don't even carry a weapon."
Luffy blinked upside down at him. "I am the weapon."
Varin paused, considered that, then nodded once. "Aye. Fair, but it still proves my point more."
He let go, and Luffy snapped back into place with a rubbery recoil, wobbling slightly before grinning like nothing had happened.
Nami crossed her arms. "You're missing the point. I'm telling you they are strong. Not just 'look strong,' not just bluffing. They wiped out an entire crew without effort."
Varin finally sat up a bit straighter, attention sharpening. "How'd they move?"
Nami blinked. "What?"
"The men you saw. How'd they move? Fast? Clean? Messy? Did they hesitate?"
She frowned, replaying it. "Fast. Really fast. And… overwhelming. They didn't waste time. It was over before the other crew even reacted."
Varin's expression shifted, amusement fading into something more thoughtful. "…That's better," he muttered.
Usopp groaned. "Better?! That sounds worse!"
"Aye, for you," Varin said. "Means they've actually got some fight in 'em. Not like these whistle blowers."
One of the White Berets groaned faintly from the ground as if insulted.
Robin stepped closer, her tone calm. "So you believe they're a real threat."
"I believe they're worth payin' attention to," Varin corrected. "Big difference. Nami'll lie about a lot of things, but not when she might lose her life, or gods forbid her money."
Sanji exhaled smoke, eyes narrowed. "And what about this 'God' they serve?"
Varin glanced up at the sky again, that same faint crackle in the air brushing against his senses. "That's the part I imagine we're interested in."
Luffy grinned. "I still wanna meet him."
"Of course you do," Nami muttered.
Varin stood slowly this time, testing his balance, then rolled his neck with a faint grimace. "Just don't go pickin' a fight till we know what we're dealin' with."
Luffy was already halfway walking off. "It depends on if he's a nice god, and if he has food."
Varin sighed. "Aye. Knew that was comin'."
Usopp grabbed his own head. "We're going to die in the sky. This is how it ends."
"Nah," Varin said, stepping forward to follow. "If we were gonna die, it would've happened already. This just means things are finally gettin' interestin'."
Nami shot him a look. "Your idea of 'interesting' is what normal people call 'life-threatening.'"
Varin grinned. "Aye. Same thing," he said, as he shifted his attention away from the crew and onto Conis. His eyes narrowed slightly, not in suspicion, but in curiosity that leaned toward trouble. "You said somethin' called an express shrimp is gonna carry us to this Upper Yard place? The hell is an express shrimp… the hell is a shrimp?"
Conis blinked at him, clearly caught off guard by the second question more than the first. "You… don't know what a shrimp is?"
Varin shrugged one shoulder. "If it ain't tried to bite me, stab me, or scream at me, I probably didn't bother learnin' its name. Also, I don't think they exist where I grew up sooooo."
Usopp stared at him. "It's food!"
"Looks like food?" Varin shot back. "Or is it one of those things that looks like it crawled outta the sea to curse mankind?"
"Both," Usopp admitted.
"Ægir's a mean bastard, I'll admit."
Conis let out a small, nervous laugh before trying to explain. "An express shrimp is… well, it's a creature we use for transportation. It follows set routes through the clouds and carries boats along them. It's very fast."
Varin's brow lifted slowly. "So it's a living thing… that grabs ships… and drags 'em through the sky."
"Yes," she said, a bit more hesitant now.
"And that's normal here."
"…yes."
He nodded once, like he was filing that away under this place is insane, but consistent about it. "Aye. Alright then."
Luffy's eyes were already sparkling. "That sounds awesome! I wanna see it!"
"You say that about everything," Nami muttered.
Varin glanced back at the horizon, then down at the ship, then at Conis again. "And this Upper Yard. That where your 'God' sits?"
Conis stiffened slightly at the phrasing. "It's… a sacred place. Only those permitted by God may enter."
"Right," Varin said, completely unconvinced. "So naturally we're goin' there, because the only way out through there isn't it?" Conis didn't say anything, but she nodded again.
Usopp made a strangled noise. "Why is that the natural conclusion?!"
"Because we've been told not to," Varin replied simply.
Robin smiled faintly. "That does seem to be the pattern."
Varin looked back at Conis, not unkind, but direct. "And these express shrimp don't care who they're carryin'? Criminals, priests, idiots?"
"They follow commands," she said. "They don't judge."
Varin huffed. "Smarter than most people, then."
A low rumble rolled through the clouds in the distance, like something large shifting beneath the surface of the sky itself.
Varin tilted his head slightly, senses pricking. "That it?"
Conis nodded. "Yes… that should be one now."
Luffy leaned over the railing immediately. "OI! SHRIMP THING! COME HERE!"
The first sign of it wasn't sight. It was pressure. The air shifted, not with wind, but with something moving through it, something large enough that the clouds themselves parted in response. The sea of white beneath the Going Merry rippled, curling inward as if something was swimming just below the surface.
Then it broke through. A massive creature surged up from the cloud layer, long and curved, its body a pale, glossy white that almost blended into the sky itself. It had the shape of a shrimp, or at least what Varin assumed a shrimp was supposed to look like if it had been twisted into something meant to haul ships. Its eyes were wide and empty, its movements mechanical despite being alive, and its long feelers twitched as it rose up beside the Merry.
Usopp screamed immediately. "IT'S A SKY MONSTER!"
"It's the express shrimp," Conis said quickly, though her voice didn't have the same confidence it had a moment ago.
The creature didn't attack. It didn't hesitate. Its limbs moved with practiced precision as it hooked onto the front of the ship, curling around the figurehead and anchoring itself in place. The entire vessel lurched as the connection locked in, wood creaking under the sudden force.
Luffy leaned over the railing, eyes wide with excitement. "It's huge!"
Varin stood still, watching it."Right," he muttered. "So it grabs us, then what. Just… runs?"
"It follows the cloud currents," Conis said. "It will take us to Upper Yard." Her voice wavered near the end.
Varin caught that immediately. His head turned slowly toward her, eyes narrowing just a fraction. "You look like you just swallowed a nail," he said.
Conis froze. The shrimp shifted, pulling tighter against the ship, its body coiling as if preparing to launch. The tension in the air built, not just from the creature, but from her.
"…Conis?" Nami said, picking up on it too.
The girl looked between them, then down at her hands. They were shaking. "I… I need to tell you something," she said. Her voice came out small at first, and it didn't change much as she continued. "God… God has decreed that all sinners who enter Skypiea must be sent to Upper Yard."
Usopp blinked. "Okay…? That sounds bad, but—"
"To die," she finished.
Silence hit the deck, and even Luffy stopped smiling. Conis clenched her hands. "I… I was ordered to guide you. To bring you here. So the express shrimp could take you to Upper Yard."
Nami stared at her. "You knew this whole time?"
Tears welled in her eyes. "I tried to tell you without saying it. I didn't want to lie, but… but if I disobeyed…"
Varin exhaled slowly through his nose. Not angry. Just processing. "And now?" he asked.
Conis looked up at him, guilt written across her face. "Now I told you. And that means… I've broken God's law."
A pressure overhead changed, and charge, heavy and suffocating, as the sky itself had suddenly noticed them. Varin's head snapped upward just as a crack split the air and lightning came down from a clear sky. It simply appeared, a blinding spear of white and blue that tore straight toward Conis.
Varin moved on instinct. But he wasn't fast enough, no one was. The bolt struck, or at least it should have, but something intercepted it. A blur dropped from above, cutting between the lightning and its target in a single motion too fast for most of them to follow. The impact exploded outward in a flash of light and sound, the air cracking violently as the energy dispersed. When the light faded, there was a man standing there.
He hovered in the air, balanced on the back of a strange creature that looked like a horse with wings, its body covered in round, spotted patterns like it had been painted for a festival. The wings beat steadily, keeping them aloft. The man himself was older, armor worn but maintained, a long beard framing a face that carried both age and authority.
Conis collapsed to her knees, shaking. Varin didn't move. He was staring at where the lightning had been. At the sky. At the empty, clear sky. "…that wasn't natural," he said. No one answered because they all knew it wasn't. Varin's hands clenched slowly at his sides. "…lightning doesn't strike from a clear sky," he muttered. His jaw tightened. "…and it sure as hell doesn't get aimed."
The man on the flying creature looked down at them, calm but firm. "You are fortunate I was nearby."
Luffy pointed up at him immediately. "Woah! You flew in on a weird bird!"
"It is a pegasus," the man corrected.
"It's got spots."
"It is a pegasus."
Varin barely registered the exchange. His gaze was still locked upward. "…Thor," he muttered under his breath, voice low enough that only Robin, standing nearest to him, caught it. There was no humor in it.
The man dismounted gracefully, stepping down onto the deck as the pegasus hovered nearby. He looked at Conis first, then at the crew, then at the sky.
"You have drawn attention," he said.
"No shit," Varin replied flatly.
The man's eyes flicked to him, studying. "Watch your tone," he said.
Varin's head turned slowly. "Watch your sky," he shot back.
Robin's eyes shifted between them, catching the tension building.
The man didn't rise to it. Instead, he reached into his robes and pulled out a small whistle, carved and worn. "If you find yourselves in danger, use this," he said, tossing it lightly toward them.
Sanji caught it.
"Why help us?" Nami asked.
"Because," the man said, "Skypiea is not what it should be."
Varin snorted. "Aye. Figured that much."
The man placed a hand on his pegasus, preparing to leave. "My name is Ganfall. Former God of this land." That got everyone's attention.
'"…former?" Usopp squeaked.
Ganfall nodded once. "The one who rules now… is not a man who should hold that title."
Varin's gaze snapped back upward. "…Enel," he said. Varin's jaw tightened again as his thoughts shifted\ "…using lightning," he muttered.
Robin glanced at him. "Varin—"
"That ain't his," he said, louder now.
Varin stepped forward slightly, eyes still on the sky like he could see through it. "That ain't his right," he said, voice steady but carrying something sharp beneath it. "Lightning ain't just some trick you throw at people who talk out of turn."
Ganfall studied him more carefully now. "…you speak as if you know it well," he said.
Varin let out a slow breath, then finally looked back down. "Let's just say I've got opinions," he said.
Ganfall held his gaze for a moment longer, then nodded once. "Then you will have reason to use them soon," he said.
He stepped back onto his pegasus, which beat its wings harder now, lifting them slightly higher into the air. "Use the whistle if you wish to survive," he added Then he was gone. The sky swallowed him just as quickly as it had given him, Conis with him.
Silence settled over the deck again. And Varin…Varin stood still, looking up at the sky "…God," he muttered. Then he spat over the side. "Bastard better pray he's the real thing."
The next second, the Going Merry was anchored in place, the one after it was ripped forward along a carved path in the clouds, the entire ship lurching as if it had been hooked to a cannon shot. The air roared past them, loud enough to drown out half the crew, the cloud road beneath them forming a smooth, winding track that curved up and around towering formations of white.
Usopp clung to the railing like his life depended on it, which it very much did, screaming into the wind as his legs flailed uselessly. Chopper had latched onto him, eyes wide, adding his own panic to the mix. Luffy was at the front, gripping the figurehead with a grin so wide it bordered on unhinged, laughing like this was the best thing that had happened all week.
Sanji steadied himself with one hand, cigarette still somehow intact, while keeping a protective eye on Nami, who was holding firm but visibly tense. Robin remained composed, though even she had braced slightly against the sudden acceleration.
And Varin stood near the center of it all, unmoving despite the violent pull. The wind tore at his pants, dragged through his hair, but he didn't react to it. His eyes were still turned upward, tracking the empty sky like he expected something else to come down from it.
Vivi noticed. She had been steadying herself against the mast, but her attention shifted from the chaos around them to him. It didn't take much to see it. The way his shoulders were set, the tension in his jaw, the way his hands had curled just slightly at his sides.
Anger. But not the loud kind he usually wore so easily. Not the joking, biting edge he threw around in fights or arguments. This was quieter. She pushed off the mast carefully and made her way over, one hand trailing along the wood to keep her balance as the ship continued its rapid climb. "Varin," she called, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the wind.
He didn't answer at first. Just kept looking up. She stepped closer. "Varin."
That got a reaction; his eyes dropped slightly, just enough to acknowledge her presence without fully turning away from the sky. "What," he said, flat.
Vivi studied him for a moment before speaking again. "You're angry."
Varin huffed once through his nose, something close to a humorless laugh. "What gave it away?" he said sarcastically. "Not hard to figure that one out."
She crossed her arms loosely, bracing herself as the ship hit a curve and tilted slightly. "Because of what just happened? Or because of what it means?"
He didn't answer right away. The shrimp surged forward again, pulling them through a thicker stretch of clouds, the world around them briefly turning white before breaking open into clearer sky again. "…I don't particularly care for tyrants," he said finally.
Vivi's expression softened slightly. "I figured."
"Thought that'd be obvious after Crocodile," he added.
"A little, yes."
"Doesn't help when you were born into a family of em either." He said, shifting his weight, finally looking fully away from the sky and toward the horizon ahead. The anger didn't leave his face, but it settled into something more controlled. "Man calls himself God, sets rules that get people killed for talkin' outta turn, sends lightning down like it's his personal hammer…" Varin muttered.
Vivi nodded slowly. "And the lightning?"
His jaw tightened again. "…don't like it," he said.
"Because it's dangerous?"
"Because it ain't his," Varin replied immediately. "Lightning ain't just some trick you throw around to make people kneel. It means somethin'."
Vivi tilted her head slightly. "To you."
"Aye. To me." The ship jolted again, the shrimp adjusting its path, climbing higher now toward a distant stretch of darker clouds that loomed ahead like a wall.
Vivi watched him carefully. "You mentioned Thor."
Varin didn't look at her this time. "…aye."
"There are other cultures with gods of lightning," she said. "Different names. Different meanings. It's not just one."
"I know that," Varin said, sharper than before, though not directed at her. "But it's still not his to throw around like a toy."
She sighed, "I'm not saying you're wrong to feel the way you do," she continued. "Just… that it might not be as simple as someone 'stealing' it."
Varin was quiet for a moment. The wind howled around them, the rest of the crew still caught between panic and excitement, the ship racing forward toward whatever waited ahead. "…maybe," he admitted. Vivi raised a brow slightly. "But that doesn't change the rest of it," he went on. "Call it what you want, dress it up however you like. Man's still usin' it to rule through fear. That part's the same no matter what sky you're under."
She nodded once. "That part I understand."
He glanced at her then, just briefly. "…figured you would," he said.
There was a pause between them, not uncomfortable, just filled with the noise of the wind and the movement of the ship. Then Varin looked forward again, toward the looming shape of Upper Yard. "…don't like the implications either," he added, quieter now.
Vivi followed his gaze. "Meaning?"
"Means if he can do that," Varin said, "then this ain't just some loud idiot with a title."
The shrimp surged again, faster now, dragging them toward the massive jungle island ahead. Varin's eyes narrowed. "Means we've got a real problem waitin' up there."
The climb didn't slow as they approached Upper Yard. If anything, the express shrimp pulled harder, like it had somewhere to be and no patience left for anything in its way. The cloud road curved upward in a long, rising arc, and the sky ahead darkened just enough to give the whole place a different weight. Not storm-dark, not yet, but heavier, like the air itself carried something watching.
Then the clouds broke. Upper Yard wasn't what most of them expected. It wasn't just more cloud, or some floating town carved out of white. It was land, with thick soil, towering trees bigger than any they've ever seen before, roots that dug deep into something solid beneath it all. The kind of forest that swallowed sound and light, dense and alive in a way the rest of Skypiea hadn't been. The edge of it loomed ahead, the cloud road slamming straight into a shoreline of actual earth, vines trailing down into the sky like they'd been torn from somewhere else and left to hang.
The shrimp didn't stop gently. It surged forward one last time and released.
The Going Merry shot out from its grip and slid hard across the cloud-dampened ground, the keel scraping just enough to rattle the whole ship before it finally slowed to a stop at the edge of the forest.
Silence hit them again. No wind screaming past. No whistle-blowing officers. No distant chatter of a sky town. Just the quiet of a jungle that didn't belong where it was. Usopp was the first to break it. "I don't like it," he said immediately, still clutching the railing like it might try to throw him back into the sky. "I really don't like it."
Luffy hopped down onto the deck like nothing had happened, stretching his arms above his head. "Woah… it's like a real island."
"It is a real island," Robin said, stepping forward to the edge and looking out over the terrain with clear interest. "Or at least, part of one."
Nami followed more cautiously, eyes scanning everything. "This place… it feels wrong."
Varin stepped off the side of the ship onto solid ground. His boots sank just slightly into the soil, enough to confirm it. "Aye," he said. "Because it is." He crouched for a second, pressing his fingers into the dirt, rubbing it between them like he was checking the quality of it. Then he stood again, eyes lifting to the trees. "Too much life for a place that's supposed to float," he added.
Vivi came down beside him, glancing around. "You think it was brought here?"
Varin gave a small shrug. "Either that or the sky decided to start growin' forests. I'm bettin' on the first one."
Luffy grinned. "Then it's a good thing we don't care about that."
Nami shot him a look. "We should care."
"Too late," Varin said, already starting toward the treeline. "We're here."
The forest swallowed light the moment they stepped under it. The canopy above was thick, branches and leaves woven together so tightly that the sky all but vanished. What little light made it through came in thin, broken beams that barely touched the ground. The air was heavier here too, humid and dense, filled with the sounds of insects and distant movement that never quite showed itself.
Chopper clung closer to Usopp. "It's scary…"
"It's haunted," Usopp corrected immediately.
"It's not haunted," Robin said, though she didn't sound entirely dismissive.
Varin walked ahead of them a few steps, not leading exactly, but naturally falling into the front. His pace was slower now, more deliberate. His head tilted slightly as he moved, catching sounds, scents, shifts in the air.
"Hey, Varin!" Luffy called out, stopping his thoughts, half-jogging to catch up as they pushed through the undergrowth, his voice cutting through the thick, humid air like nothing around them could weigh him down. "How strong do you think this God is compared to the one that keeps stalking you, Locki, or something like that?"
Varin barked out a short laugh at that, the sound a bit rough but genuine. He didn't stop walking, just pushed a low branch out of his way and stepped over a thick root curling across the ground.
"Loki, lad," he corrected, glancing back over his shoulder. "And that bastard'll win any day of the week. He's not even been aggressive, but from the tricks he's shown me, he's dangerous. And scarier than that, he's tricky."
Luffy nodded like that made perfect sense, which, for him, it did.
Behind them, Nami let out a dry breath and crossed her arms as she walked. "Oh nooo, who would've thought the trickster god is tricky," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm, though there was a faint smile tugging at her lips anyway.
Varin snorted at that, shaking his head slightly. "Aye, aye, laugh it up. But I'm serious. There's a difference between someone who hits hard and someone who doesn't need to."
Robin, walking a little to the side, tilted her head. "You're saying Loki is more dangerous because he doesn't rely on direct force."
"Exactly," Varin said. "Man doesn't need to swing if he can make you stab yourself or walk off a cliff thinkin' it's a road."
Usopp immediately paled. "Why would you say that out loud?!"
"Because it's true," Varin replied. "And because if we ever run into him proper, you're gonna need that fear to stay alive."
"I don't want that fear!"
"You've already got it," Varin shot back without missing a beat.
Luffy stretched his arms as he walked, completely unfazed by any of it. "So this God here isn't like that?"
Varin's expression shifted slightly, the humor easing off again as his eyes flicked upward through the canopy, like he was trying to see past the leaves and into the sky beyond.
"Different kind," he said after a moment. "From what we've seen? This one's loud. Showy. Likes bein' known. Likes people knowin' he's watchin'."
Nami frowned. "You mean the lightning."
"Aye," Varin said. "Lightning's not subtle. It's fast, it's loud, it's meant to be seen. Sends a message."
"And Loki doesn't?" Vivi asked.
Varin gave a small shrug. "Oh, he does. Just not the same way. Loki's the kind that makes you doubt your own shadow. This one…" he gestured vaguely upward, "…this one just kills you from above and calls it judgment."
There was a brief silence after that, the weight of it settling in as they continued forward through the dense forest.
Sanji exhaled smoke slowly, eyes half-lidded but alert. "So we've traded a manipulative god for a violent one. Great."
"Different problems," Varin said. "Same end if you don't deal with 'em."
Usopp groaned. "Why is it always gods with you people?! Why can't we just fight normal enemies?! Like… like pirates! Or bandits! Or slightly aggressive animals!"
Right on cue, something large shifted in the brush off to their right. Chopper squeaked and hid behind Usopp again.
Varin didn't even turn his head fully, just angled it slightly, listening.
"…that one's just an animal," he said after a second.
The tension eased just a fraction.
"See?" Usopp said quickly. "Normal! That's normal!"
Varin glanced at him. "Big enough to eat you whole, mind."
Usopp immediately went back to panicking.
Robin smiled faintly at the exchange, then looked ahead again, her tone thoughtful. "Regardless of the type, a self-proclaimed god ruling through fear tends to end the same way."
Varin hummed in agreement. "Aye. Usually with someone knockin' 'em off whatever throne they've built."
Luffy grinned wide at that, cracking his knuckles. "Sounds fun."
Nami pointed at him sharply. "Do not go picking a fight with a literal god."
"No promises!"
Varin let out a low chuckle, though his eyes drifted upward again for just a moment. "…we won't have to pick it," he said quietly. "He'll bring it to us."
"Yeah, but I'd rather not have to fight someone who can strike a lightning bolt down without even being close, and apparently can see and hear people from super far as well," Nami said, arms crossed tight, her eyes flicking up toward the canopy like she expected another bolt to come through it at any second.
Chopper immediately spiraled. He started pacing in tight, frantic circles, hooves tapping against the dirt and then the roots. "How are you supposed to even fight something like that?!" he cried. "He's just going to fry us before we even get close, and we can't even run on the ship!"
Usopp grabbed him by the shoulders like that would stop the panic. "Don't say fry! Don't use cooking terms for death!"
"I'M A DOCTOR, NOT A LIGHTNING ROD!"
Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose, cigarette dangling as he exhaled slowly. "He's got a point. Range like that changes things."
Robin remained calm, though her eyes had sharpened slightly. "It suggests awareness beyond normal perception. If he can observe from a distance and strike instantly, then approaching him directly would be… difficult."
Luffy, as expected, just grinned. "So we just hit him harder when we get there."
Nami rounded on him. "That is not a plan!"
Varin finally looked away from the sky and back at them, the corner of his mouth tugging up just slightly. "It's a start."
"That's not reassuring!" Usopp snapped.
Varin rolled his shoulders, then stepped over a thick root, continuing forward at that same steady pace. "You're all thinkin' about it wrong."
That got their attention. Nami frowned. "Oh really? Enlighten us."
He glanced back at her. "You're treatin' him like he's untouchable. Like the moment we're in range, we're dead."
"Well, yes," she said flatly. "That's exactly what it looks like."
"Aye," Varin said. "Looks like that."
He paused for half a second, then tapped the side of his head. "But if he can see and hear that far, that ain't just an advantage. It's a habit."
Robin's eyes flickered with interest. "Explain."
"Means he's used to knowin' everything around him," Varin said. "Used to reactin' from a distance. Used to people not bein' able to touch him."
Sanji caught on first. "So if someone does get close…"
Varin grinned, a little sharper now. "Then he's in unfamiliar ground."
Chopper blinked, still panicked but trying to follow. "B-but how do we get close if he can just zap us?!"
Varin shrugged. "Same way you deal with anything faster than you. You don't give it a clean shot."
Usopp stared. "That is not a real explanation!"
"It is," Varin said. "You move. You split. You don't stand in one place waitin' to get hit. You make it messy."
Nami frowned. "Messy doesn't stop lightning."
"No," Varin agreed. "But it makes it harder to pick a target. And if he's as confident as he sounds, he'll aim where he thinks it'll end things quickest."
Robin nodded slowly. "Which means predictability."
"Aye," Varin said. "Power like that tends to come with ego. Man thinks he's untouchable, he'll start actin' like it."
Luffy cracked his knuckles again, clearly enjoying this more by the second. "So we just punch him before he can do that."
Varin snorted. "You're really committed to that plan, eh?"
"It's a good plan."
"It's a plan."
Nami groaned. "We're going to die."
"No we're not," Varin said simply.
She shot him a look. "You sound very confident for someone who just admitted he can hit us from anywhere."
Varin shrugged again. "If he wanted us dead already, we'd be dead already."
That stopped her. "…that's not comforting," she said after a second.
"It should be," he replied. "Means he's playin' with us."
Usopp looked like he was about to pass out. "That is worse! That is so much worse!"
Varin's gaze drifted upward one more time, listening to that faint crackle threading through the sky above them. "…means he wants somethin'," he added quietly.
Robin folded her arms, thoughtful. "Or he's testing us."
"Aye," Varin said. "Either way, we're not dead yet."
Luffy grinned. "Then we'll just keep going till we find him."
Nami pointed ahead with a tired kind of frustration. "You're not charging a god head-on!"
"Why not?"
"Because he's a god!"
Varin chuckled under his breath, stepping over another root as the forest thickened ahead.
"Then we'll just have to see what that means here," he said. Above them, faint and distant, something crackled again. This time, it almost sounded like laughter.