151
While the other straw hats were enjoying their small-time battles. Vivi and Kuina were on the other end of the Island.
Vivi looked back toward the direction where a lot of sound was coming from.
"It sounds like giants are clashing." Kuina muttered, "Heh… maybe we will find a giant inside this cave as well."
Vivi gulped. "Kuina… I don't think we should be that eager to test your strength against a giant."
Kuina didn't say anything, but Vivi could have sworn that she saw the swordswoman pout. Must have been her imagination.
After exploring the jungle for an hour and a half they found this cave, even though it looked like a natural formation. It was far from it.
It looked quite old, and from afar some would say it's natural but up close? There was no denying it, the cave was man-made. The said cave was of course connected to one of the active volcanic mountains.
For some reason, both of them could feel something odd about the said cave. Especially Kuina, with her sharpened senses, she could feel the power from it. It was as if it was calling her.
Kuina took a few steps forward, trying to peek inside the dark cave, before a chilly wind came out of it. It was quite strong, almost making her squint her eyes.
"That's quite cold…" Vivi shivered from the sudden wind.
"The wind is cold from inside… considering it's an active volcano, I thought it would be hot. Hm… Something doesn't add up. Should we…?"
"No, don't even think about it. I'm not going in there…" Vivi denied, taking a few steps back.
Kuina chuckled, looking back to retort, but…"Hey, look out!" she shouted.
Vivi was too late to realize as a Pterosaur, a giant one, swooped down from the sky, and caught Vivi by her clothes. Snatching her away and flying into the cave. "Help!"
Kuina didn't stand still, as she launched herself with great speed to follow behind the flying dinosaur, using Geppo and slashed at it at an angle where it wouldn't harm Vivi.
And the flying beast was decapitated by Kuina's slash. Her flying slash also deeply carved the cave, causing it to start collapsing in on itself with searing lava also beginning to pour out from the new hole.
Vivi fell to the ground with as much grace as a rag doll, and rolled a few meters away and before she could stand up, the ground beneath her collapsed into a pitfall. She shrieked as she fell, "Ahhhh!"
"Vivi!" Kuina was stunned for a moment, seeing all of this, before she launched herself towards the princess. "I'm coming!"
Kuina dived down after her. As both women fell down the hole, Kuina was able to grasp on to Vivi before they landed but with the added rocks falling from the now-collapsing hole in the ceiling, and spluttering lava, she couldn't do much.
"Hang on tight. Let's get out of here," Kuina said, while one hand grasped Vivi and the other hand held her sword. Pouring her ki into her blade as Wado Ichimonji shone, "Frozen-flock Blizzard!"
A powerful and swirling attack that created a tempest of frozen wind, along with ice petals that flew like birds, attacking the falling rubble and destroying them, and almost freezing the pouring lava.
And while it was good, Kuina didn't get the same effect as she was hoping, the attack wasn't as powerful when you have a passenger on you and you are literally in the air. The lava stopped momentarily and then came forth in a gush…
"Shit."
Going upwards would be foolish so Kuina had no choice but to go further down to find some stable ground and escape the falling rubble and droplets of lava.
"We have no choice but to go down."
Both Vivi and Kuina had no choice but to dive underground, luckily for them, it seemed that there was a tunnel down here. They quickly took shelter in it, as the lava and rubble started pouring out even more.
"Why does this always happen to me..?" Vivi almost cried before she looked at Kuina and thanked her. It wasn't exactly her fault.
The swordswoman gave a nod. Both of them waited for the shaking of the ground to stop, and after a few minutes, the rubble stopped falling but the lava down there was creating a pool of sorts.
Vivi quickly took a few steps back from the searing heat and smoke.
"Stay here… I will try going upwards and see if we can get out of the cave from there."
The princess reluctantly nodded. Kuina didn't waste time and used Geppo to jump in open air, to go upwards and after some time she returned. And she didn't bring good news.
"Sorry, but I don't think we can escape from up there," Kuina said. "I can try to cut through the walls, but with the added lava, it's better that I don't take any chances. It might make the cave collapse even more. And you would be in danger."
Vivi nodded. Just great, now they were trapped under an active volcano… And with no bare minimum light source, they were sitting in the dark. Well, not fully, now that she focused, she saw that the tunnel that they were staying in had cracks of lava illuminating it.
"It seems there's one way forward," Vivi said.
Kuina nodded, "Yeah, if we don't move, I think the lava might actually flood the tunnel. And deep fry us… as much as I would like to test my powers on lava, I don't think it's the best possible choice."
Vivi gulped, "Yeah, let's just hope there isn't anything bad down the tunnel…"
Right then a cold wind blew out from the cave, giving her goosebumps. Kuina on the other hand, had a different reaction, she seemed curious. She felt a familiarity of sorts.
"Hey, look at the bright side… at least if we follow the source of wind, we might find an exit," Kuina suggested. But she seemed awfully eager.
Vivi could only sigh as she followed the blade user. She could only wonder if following her had been a bad idea. But it's too late to regret now.
As they passed through the tunnels, she could only look in awe at the carvings that were there. Someone had spent quite an amount of time carving them in the stone. Even with the tunnel being old, with cracks where she could see lava dripping down from, it still held their passage.
As they walked, they found many skeletal remains, broken weapons, gold, and other stuff, if it was any other time she would have snatched the valuables from the ground.
And even though Vivi had a bag on her, it held one key item, food and water, she was in no way going to leave that for some gold. Also, with how she knew the crew, she was sure their disappearance would be noticed and they would come to find them. So in the meantime, it was more important that they survive.
They didn't have to walk any further as they finally saw the end of the tunnel, in a dramatic way, it ended in a blue light. And it was from there, the cold wind was coming from. She gulped, she just hoped there was no danger lurking there.
152
Kuina would be lying if she said she wasn't curious, or downright excited. The tragedy of getting trapped in a lava pit aside, she was able to recognize the radiating power. There was no questioning it.
When she first laid eyes on the cave, and felt the power. She had just a suspicion. Why did the ki feel like 'her?'
Of course, she was referring to her friend and teacher 'Whitey Bay'. Most notably known as the Ice Witch of the White Beard pirates.
How Kuina met her was quite the story. It wasn't that far back either, just a year ago that it happened.
While she was traveling in West-Blue she got stranded at sea. A storm came, damaged her boat and she had lost her way. Pretty ironic since that was more of Zoro's thing.
But it seemed it wasn't bad. Sure she did have to starve for a month in the open sea, relying on only the smallest amount of water and food that she had. But she was eventually rescued by pirates.
Honestly, she would never admit it, but she was downright terrified when she learned she got saved by pirates of all people. More so when she had much fame for being a bounty hunter.
She was barely conscious back then, but looking at the pirate flag, she expected the worst. And yet nothing like that happened. When she later woke up, she found herself well-fed, clothed and definitely not ravaged.
And that's where it piqued her curiosity. If it was any other pirate ship, with any other captain, she wouldn't have thanked them before going her separate way. She was a bounty hunter, she hunted pirates, and there needed to be no other reason.
But with Whitey Bay… well, she was different. Even though the woman looked young, almost her age, she was most definitely older. Maybe because of her unique powers.
Kuina had seen how easily she had frozen a full marine ship that dared to cross their path. Kuina was downright dumbstruck, even more so when she found out it was no devil fruit power. It most definitely was related to her swordsmanship.
Kuina still remembered how amused Whitey was when she challenged her to a swordfight. It didn't end well for her. She had just managed to learn how to cut steel back then. So she was sure she could've most definitely put up a decent fight, even if the pirate was from the Grandline.
But like she said, it didn't end well for her. And it definitely hurt her ego.
But it also gave her hope. While her father was strong, she knew for a fact that Whitey Bay outclassed her father in both swordsmanship and experience. It gave her hope that one day, she herself could stand amongst the strongest.
Honestly, traveling to the open sea made her see many things differently. One of the freaking emperors was a woman. And of course, she was no role model. But it didn't change the fact that Big Mom was one of the most dangerous pirates of this era.
Anyway, she had stayed with the White Bay Pirates, enjoyed her time, and battled their officers. She had heard many stories of the infamous Whitebeard and the crew.
And of course, she challenged White Bay every damn time and lost. But she was persistent, maybe that was why the pirate woman considered her worthy enough to pass down her secrets to her.
The secrets of Virf, White Bay didn't have the complete set of techniques, but even then, her ability to turn things to ice and summon it at will by using ki, gave her a lot of advantages. Especially when she didn't need to be afraid of the sea and use her ability to control the terrain, in case of Navy Battles.
And even with the incomplete set of techniques, along with haki and other tricks she had picked up over the years. It had made her a formidable foe.
She might not have been the strongest swordsman in the Whitebeard Pirates, but she didn't need to. She was their strategy, and almost all notorious pirates knew about the "Ice Witch" Whitey Bay of the Whitebeads as well as how crafty she was.
Kuina knew Whitey Bay treasured her techniques, so she was surprised when only a month after knowing her, she gave Kuina her techniques. A book containing her techniques. Of course, it wasn't complete.
When Kuina had asked, Whitey Bay explained how it wasn't her original technique. While on the sea, she wasn't a true swordsman. She, in a word, was in every sense a pirate. She used guns, knives, swords, and anything. But in her venture from her younger years, she had discovered a tomb where she found the secrets to Ice Manifestation, or Virf.
What Kuina didn't know was that the old pirate saw something in her. After seeing her resolve for the sword, Whitey Bay knew that one day she could stand equal to the likes of Rayleigh or Shanks. So she just wanted to give her a heads-up.
Whitey Bay had theorized that Virf was most probably an extension of Busoshoku Haki. Similar to the way of cutting steel. One didn't need the color of armament to know how to cut steel, and yet one could know how to cut steel and still be oblivious to haki. So Virf might be similar to that.
Still, Virf was a mystery to her. The incomplete set of techniques only stated the basics of things.
Virf relied on willpower, and the vibration of the blade to summon and control the powers of Ice. That's why she could feel herself very close to learning Armament Haki.
She could feel it. The power of armament was near. As a swordswoman, she desired the blackened blade. And armament would do that.
And the cold wind, the deadly miasma, she was in no doubt sure that a user of Virf was down the tunnel. It is most similar to how when she and Whitey Bay used their powers but much more potent.
Kuina only regretted bringing Vivi along for the ride, she could have gone there alone, but there was no changing it, she supposed. She just had to face the challenge head-on.
.
When both Kuina and Vivi exited the tunnel, the bright blue light blinded them for a brief moment before their eyes adjusted.
And they almost had their jaws dropped from what they saw, the scenery was filled with red and blue.
There was ice everywhere, if that wasn't surprising enough, then the sheer size of the cavity down here would. Also adding in the factor that a massive ship was frozen in place, also added to the magnificence of this place.
And that's not even mentioning how lava streamed down the ice, not even burning it. Some of the lava was also frozen and flowing underneath the ice, the lava of course poured downwards mixing with the lava lake down below but one could mistake the blue ice for crystal, if not for the cold temperature around the place.
"An ice that can't be melted by lava… How's that even possible?" Vivi mumbled, awestruck.
"One word; Grandline." Kuina chuckled. What could she say when even she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Vivi didn't know what to say either. She could see that the ice was freezing some of the lava, turning them into stone, and yet no ice melted. This, to her, looked like a place that was frozen in eternal ice.
The ship that was stored here was at least double the size of the Going Merry. It wasn't big, but it was grand. It was decorated and clean, inside the clear ice. It was placed inside the large cavity and was holding onto its place because of the Ice. The source of ice was most definitely from the ship, there was no question there.
Even though the ship stood on the side, unfalling, it seemed to be tilted forward slightly. Even though the ice seemed everlasting, time seemed to have taken its toll. Kuina was just as amazed as Vivi was. But for different reasons.
Her powers, this place could most definitely give her the answers she sought.
153
"Who built this place…?" A mumbling Vivi figured that this place was man-made, everything from the tunnel that they had gone out from to the rest of the structure around them, all aspects appeared too manufactured to be natural.
There was a frickin' ship frozen to it's side. Who in their right mind would build something down here, inside an active volcano?
"Well, whoever it is… they wanted to hide it from prying eyes, maybe to preserve this place." Kuina said.
"From what… time?"
"Maybe, let's check it out."
It seemed both of them were going to the frozen ship. But Vivi had to wonder how they were going to get over there.
There was no path to go there… or even if it was, it might have broken with time. And seeing the frozen wooden bridge dangling from the ship, Vivi could conclude her earlier conclusion was right. The gap between the ship and them was too large for a single jump to cross it, and with multiple streams of lava pouring down, it was also dangerous.
"How are we going to get there…" Vivi wondered aloud but was a bit surprised when Kuina wrapped her arm around her waist. Vivi paled in realization, "Wait… No, let me go—"
But it was too late as Kuina jumped onto the air, using Geppo to easily maneuver around the lava. Vivi squealed in fright, "Okay, don't let me go! Please, don't let me go.!"
Kuina found it a bit amusing as they finally landed on the ship.
"We are not doing that again!" Vivi declared as she gave Kuina a glare.
The swordswoman only rolled her eyes. "Let's check out the ship… This place reeks of mystery. I have to get to the bottom of this," Kuina said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Didn't know you were a detective…" Vivi mumbled, the cold wind brushing around her, giving her goosebumps. "Can we not?"
"Didn't know you were a crybaby," Kuina smirked. "And here I thought, you were some brave princess that was going to save her kingdom from mean-old-pirates and scary-looking-warlords. A ghost ship should be a walk in the ice for you."
"Ha ha… very funny," Vivi grumbled, "Fine, but if something happens. It won't be my fault."
"Well, good then." With that, Kuina walked forward, investigating the ship.
The exterior of the ship was covered with frost, but there was no ice. It seemed the whole ship wasn't covered with ice. The massive chunks of ice that looked sturdy were a deep shade of dark blue. While the rest of the ice was either colorless or blue.
Kuina touched and tried to break the blue-colored ice. Nothing happened at first, but by instinct, she channeled a bit of Virf, and the ice broke in her fingers.
Kuina blinked, surprised. She looked as the blue ice dissolved in her hands, and the part where she broke it from recovered instantly, taking the moisture from the air.
She tried to do the same without using Virf, but nothing happened. The blue ice didn't budge. 'Hmm, very interesting. So, I was right. This place really was made by a Virf user.' Kuina thought. 'But why would a Virf user encase this ship here?'
Kuina took a few steps forward and tried to break the deep blue-colored ice, but even with using Virf and more force the dark-colored Ice didn't break. It seemed that the ice was permanent, on the darker side.
'The dark blue ice is unbreakable… but the lighter blue ice is breakable with my current powers…' Kuina thought. "Let's look into the ship… we should split up, to cover more ground." she said.
"No, absolutely not! I have read too many fantasy novels to know where that will take us. I'm all with you, sister." Vivi said, grabbing Kuina by the arm, her arm wrapped around hers, refusing to let go.
Kuina rolled her eyes. "Come on, nothing like that will happen. We will be fine." She said, "Where's your sense of wonder and exploration?"
But Vivi won't budge.
Kuina sweatdropped. "Fine, you can come with me."
With that, they walked towards the nearby ship's cabin. She was about to open the door when the cold wind brushed over them, giving both of them goosebumps.
"Yeah… can we not open the creepy door," Vivi whispered. "You felt that, didn't you…? Now, I'm not saying I don't have that explorer's crap… but…"
Kuina gave her a flat look, before yanking the door open, and dragging the blue-haired teen inside the quarters.
It was the kitchen section. And it seemed well organized, the shelves filled with jars, knives hanging on the wall, and cooking utensils, all of them were very well organized. But all of it was also sealed in ice. Deep blue ice in fact.
Vivi touched the ice, it felt cold, very cold. She quickly took her hand away, it might just give her frostbite if she touched it any longer.
Kuina also observed the ice. It was most definitely from Virf. But it was too strong. Even her Wado Ichimonji didn't get that cold after using Virf with it.
Vivi walked a bit forward into the kitchen, when she frowned, looking down. She tried to focus her eyes, before her eyes widened. "Is it me… or is that a coffin?"
Kuina stepped forward and she saw it. On the floor was a black coffin, which was also covered in deep blue ice. The sword user leaned down and traced the ice.
When she first came to this place, she thought she would have found answers. But it seemed as though this place gave her more questions than answers.
Kuina stood up, "Let's check the other rooms."
Vivi nodded, glancing back one last time at the coffin, before exiting the kitchen.
After looking over the kitchen, —not that they could look into anything because of the ice— they went to check the other rooms. The Captain's cabin, navigator room, the crew's quarters, and a few personal rooms.
Like the kitchen, all of them were encased with thick blocks of ice, with no safe way for them to be touched. And every single one of the rooms, with the exception of a few, had a coffin on the floor, covered in deep-blue ice.
The upper rooms were all like this, so only the ship's inner rooms remained, maybe they will find answers there. So both she and Vivi took the stairs down, being careful to not slip on the ice.
As they went inside, it became even colder, but that wasn't an issue, well at least for her. Vivi appeared to be shivering in her boots. The poor princess sneezed due to the sudden change in temperature, not everyone was a world-renowned swordswoman.
Kuina's main issue was the lack of a light source, it was dimly lit here, but she didn't need light to know where she needed to go.
Kuina opened the last door, but was a bit stuck because of the ice, light blue ice. So she had to use Virf and put pressure to open it. Inside, she saw what appeared to be a library.
Both she and Vivi walked in, there was a light source inside. Which made both of them frown, walking ahead, crossing a few bookshelves —which were filled with books— they saw it. The light source seemed to be a yellow one, like a lamp. Like the rest, this was also encased in ice.
But with the light source, they could see clearly here. Vivi and Kuina looked around and both of their eyes landed on an odd sight. Making both of them pale from what they saw.
154
And there, they saw 'her'. Sitting on a chair, the woman looked a bit taller than Kuina, white hair mixed with black, wearing a blue kimono. She had fair skin and yellow rubies-like eyes. But there was no flicker of light in there. As if it was lifeless… mainly because it was.
She seemed to have a sad smile on her face. Her age was not known, but call it a hunch, Kuina could guess she was most definitely older than she looked.
The woman in question was sitting in her chair, leaning on the table, as both her hands were interlocked together. As if she was waiting, waiting with a sad smile. A book lying lazily on the table.
Everything would have looked normal if it wasn't for the whole thing being frozen in ice. The woman in question looked like a realistic ice sculpture rather than real.
"Oh God!" Vivi gasped, seeing the frozen lady. "Is she…"
Kuina grimly nodded, walking forward, her hand still over her sword in case something happened, she investigated.
Now that she looked up close, she could see that something was sown in on her sleeve. But she couldn't read it, the language was not of their time, at least.
Maybe that was her name, Kuina looked around.
Unlike the rest of the place, this place didn't have a coffin. But from the looks of it, this woman was the source of Virf. The ice around them, all of it. It was from her and her alone. Just how powerful was this woman when she was alive?
'This place,' Kuina thought, 'This place is a mystery.'
Kuina was sure this woman was the Virf user. But she didn't see any sword nearby. Maybe this Virf user didn't use a sword? Could be possible, as even the techniques she learned, all of them could be easily be used without the use of a sword.
Kuina walked a bit forward and touched the book that was on the table. Unlike the rest, this was encased in light blue ice. The ice around it shattered, surprising her, she didn't even have to use Virf this time, but nothing else happened.
"Was it supposed to do that?" Vivi asked.
Kuina shrugged, before she picked the book up and opened it. It seemed to be a log book, of some kind.
Not that she could read it. The writings used was not of their time. Maybe some lost old language.
Vivi walked forward, leaning over Kuina's shoulder.
"This… I think I can read it." Vivi said, making Kuina surprised.
The swordswoman handed the book over to her, as Vivi leaned in on the book.
"How, do you know it…? The writings, I mean."
"I actually don't know this language in particular… but the words look similar to the ancient language people in Alabasta used to write back then. As nobles… I know the ancient text… So… maybe I will be able to…" Vivi mumbled. "This will take a bit of time."
Kuina nodded, gesturing for Vivi to sit on a nearby chair. Vivi hesitantly sat opposite the frozen body, as she went over the book.
When she opened the book though, a letter came out of it.
"I think we should start with this one," Kuina said, picking up the letter. Vivi nodded. She was no language expert, but this written form of language was similar to the one used back home, maybe they could find out something about this ghost ship from here.
When Kuina touched the book, it detected her of being a Virf user, and the ice went away. That was the reason why she was interested. Virf was no magic, the supernatural aspect of it was very uncontrolled. So how someone could have precise control over the ice, it really made her interested.
.
The letter;
To whoever finds this letter, I welcome them to our ship, Midnight's Parade. Our ship. We are sorry that we couldn't be of service, due to our unforeseen death.
Death… Really, no one sees it coming. We were a pirate crew that ventured into the sea with grand dreams. Even though we called ourselves pirates, we were nothing more than the unruly explorers of the sea.
We had goals and ambitions, but on our way, we made a lot of enemies. And it seemed that we had lost our end.
The first one to be taken from us, was our beloved captain, Rihan. Then our Vice-captain, then our gunman, then our doctor. One by one all of them perished. But maybe that was how it was meant to be.
Only me, the navigator of the ship survived. I was helpless, miserable and in fact, weak. Our doom came to us by a rival pirate while the navy feared us, it didn't think twice to join hands with our enemies. Maybe that was how it was meant to end for us. We only have regrets.
Or, at least I do. Rihan died in my arms smiling, saying one of his jokes. Others died similarly, some with smiles, others with faces full of tears.
Maybe, if I did a better job, and not journeyed from there, maybe then we would have been alive. Or maybe if I was stronger, then maybe I could have saved Rihan from dying. But it was too late for regrets.
All I can say is, whoever finds this letter, please heed my last request. I won't say it was destiny that brought you here, maybe, maybe not.
But if you are reading this, that means, you are most definitely a Virf user or at least someone that knows Haki. So, I have a request.
I request you to not plunder the coffin of my dead crewmates. Let them be. I don't know what they are dealing with on the other side, and I will most likely join them soon. Please, let our bodies be as they are. I have taken measures, but even my eternal ice wouldn't hold for more than a few hundred years.
If you really are a Virf user or want to dabble in the arts of frost. Then in the library, on the first column there are a few books on it. Most of the other books are from Rihan's collection.
I was never a reader or a writer. Still, Rihan had requested me to write a book on my techniques, maybe for the future generation. He always believed in legacy. So you will find other books, with my teachings, there. It might help you along the journey, who knows.
Other than my books, the rest of the books are from everyone's collection. Some having their personal journey written on it, others having dangerous secrets that we have discovered about the void century. A few books are of the islands we have ventured to.
Rather than collecting dust here, Rihan would have loved to have them put to good use. If you can take all of the books with you, please do so. Maybe this is our only way of passing down our legacy.
Again, I request you not to open the coffins of my crewmates.
If it's gold that you want, then, I have to apologize on our part. Our crew was a small humble one, we really didn't have that much. You have to trust my words for it. We have nothing of value, other than the books. It has our journey of exploration there.
That is all we can give you.
Take care, I hope whoever reads this, will be able to fulfill their dreams.
Tsurara Oikawa. The Navigator of the Black Moon Pirates.
155
On the other side of the letter;
My illness is catching up to me. I might not survive the week and I'm not trying to fight it anymore. I would rather join my friends. It's a good thing, the old tomb inside the volcano still stands. I have a few ideas.
And, it might work out, at the end of the day. I finally found somewhere where I and my crewmates can eternally sleep.
One might wonder how we found the place. Like I said, we were more of a group of explorers or adventurers rather than a pirate. We were strong, and ambitious, but our hunger for exploration made us find this place.
Quite deep inside the volcano on Little Garden. Luck had brought us here. Only two kinds of people manage to get to this place, explorers or people that were extremely lucky. In any case, I'm storing the ship here, just so that it's not easily findable.
Like Rihan used to say, 'Why make it easy, when you can make it hard.' That fool of a man, our captain. I loved him. With other regrets, I have the regret of not telling him that.
Anyway,
Whoever it is, if you are a Virf user. Then know this, there is nothing in this world that a Virf user can't freeze. You only need to know how. It's your duty to figure out the how.
My abilities bloomed much more after my crewmates died, and this is all I can give you. Call it wishful thinking, but I'm hoping whoever finds this will succeed in inheriting my techniques. Remember, Virf users are a devil fruit user's worst nightmare, so shake the sea with that power.
I am not the first user of Virf, and I hope I'm not the last. I'm rather sure whoever is reading this, you don't want your friends to die. So be strong and be ready, because weakness will burn your dreams and freeze your will.
I found that out the hard way.
I was thinking of burning down our logbook. It detailed a lot of our journey on the grandline. The weather aspect of it, which routes to take for better sea currents. I was a navigator of the crew.
I didn't write the book thinking anyone would read it. So there are few details there, but there's enough to help someone sail the cruel waters of the sea. Hope you use it for good or at least find someone who can put it to use.
Also, check the drawer of the desk, there should be something that will be quite useful to the journey.
.
Vivi looked back at Kuina. Both of them had a sorrowful expression on their faces. Vivi almost had tears in her eyes.
"At least now we know the secret of this place," Kuina sadly whispered.
"At least, now we know that we don't need to translate this log book. Not now at least," Vivi said, glancing at the journal. It wasn't as important as they thought it to be. Though, Nami might disagree.
Kuina nodded. "Yes… but it would really be helpful if you translate the other books." Kuina said, walking towards the first bookshelves and took out a few books from there. All of them included either instructions or theory for Virf. "These books to be specific." She came back with them.
Vivi traced the books, then saw the name. "And this Virf… can you explain what it is? I don't know what it means…" Vivi asked, Tsurara really prided herself on being a Virf user, and that was why she wanted to know about it. A power that could rival any devil fruit, "I wouldn't mind if you don't." She hesitantly clarified.
"No, it doesn't matter. I was going to explain my powers to the crew anyways… but you could be the first." Kuina said. Unlike Zoro and Sanji she took her time before fully trusting the crew. At the end of the day, she didn't want to become a pirate. But as time passed on, she was really enjoying her decision.
"It's basically my power, the supernatural aspect of how I use Ice. I don't know much about it. Heck, I wasn't even sure it could be used alone without a sword. It's like aura… or ki, an aspect of Haki. Maybe these books can help me with my powers, who knows?"
"Oh," Vivi said, not getting half of what Kuina said, but nodded nonetheless. "So what should we do?"
"I think for now, we should just grab the books, and take them back," Kuina said.
"Should we tell the others?"
Kuina shrugged, "Why not… the others might be a bit of a rowdy bunch, but this place might actually help us on our journey. Also with so many books, we do need people to take them back to the Going Merry." She would take all of the books with them, honoring the late Virf user's request.
This place reminded her how cruel the journey of the sea might be. Their crew was only formed recently but she knew for a fact all of them wanted the crew to reach the top. Maybe this place would give them a sober reminder.
Kuina shook her head as she walked over to the other side of the table, where Tsurara Oikawa was frozen. She had said something about checking the drawer.
It also seemed to be frozen in blue ice, and with the use of Virf, the ice broke, as she pulled the drawer open. In there was a well familiar round-shaped object, a log pose.
Vivi and Kuina glanced at each other, before picking it up.
"Well, it looks like a simple log pose to me." Vivi said. "Not an eternal log pose… why do you think she said it would be important?"
Kuina shrugged. "Anyway, Nami would love both the book and the log pose. Having one extra won't be bad for the upcoming journey."
Vivi nodded, and opened her small bag, before she blinked. "Um… I think we should finish our lunch box."
"You want to eat now?" Kuina asked, and right then there, her stomach growled. "Well, why not."
"Eh… maybe not here." Vivi chuckled warily, she definitely didn't want to eat in a place where there was a literal dead body. Even if it was well preserved in ice.
It just felt wrong.
After they shuffled the important books that Kuina needed, both of them went out to the lower floor to eat their lunch. And while they were doing that, both women didn't notice their particular deed of eating a meal was bringing some bad attention to them.
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"So, are we ready?" Kuina asked.
Vivi nodded, most of the important books regarding Virf and the log book fit inside her bag. It looked quite bloated now, they didn't have any space for the lunch box either.
Both of them enjoyed their meal though, Sanji really knew his stuff. So right when they exited the lower floor onto the main deck. a volcanic explosion occurred, shocking both Kuina and Vivi.
Both of them were shocked, but it quickly turned into a look of wonder. The whole place's color turned a fiery red, and even with the volcanic eruption, the temperature that should have cooked any normal person didn't appear.
The temperature did get a bit warm, but nothing much. It spoke volumes of the late Virf user's powers. An ice that even lava couldn't melt. Now, wasn't that just amazing!?
The redness of lava, the volcanic ash lazily dropping from the sky, along with blue ice. Made it quite the sight to see.
"You know, this place is pretty damn amazing. I actually don't regret coming here." Vivi said, smiling carefreely for the first time in the day. Now that they knew this was no ghost ship, and the story behind it, she was very glad that she journeyed with Kuina. Maybe if she didn't this wouldn't happen and this would have been left undiscovered.
"That I can agree on," Kuina said, smiling. The wind blowing her hair and white kimono, she really was glad that she was able to come here.
This place, maybe the crew could come back later, this really was no ordinary place. The late Virf user rightly knew the beautiful place where she and her crewmates could have their final sleep.
Soon, the volcanic eruption stopped and both of their attention was locked onto the flying creature that was glaring at them.
"Um… Is it me, or is that a white dragon?" Kuina asked, looking at Vivi.
The blue-haired teen was too dumbfounded to even answer for the moment.
Flapping its large wings in front of them, was a white snake-like creature that had blue stripes all around its body. The majestic creature from the top of its head to its tail could be around 30 feet long, at least 2 feet in width, its wingspan at least 25 feet. It was flapping its wings gracefully and had an angry look on its face, as it had its fangs out towards them.
Kuina squinted her eyes, "Wait no, I think it's a white winged snake. It doesn't have any legs." she corrected herself, and was a bit of a let down for her. She would have liked it more if it was a dragon.
The flying snake creature in question, hissed at them.
"Well, at least now we know it's angry." Vivi said, a layer of panic in her voice. "I take it back, I don't like this place at all!"
"Well, speak for yourself, I'm just happy that I can fight a dragon wannabe on my second Island of the grandline. I love being a pirate!" Kuina smirked as the snake hissed with it's fangs out, before breathing in some air. One could guess what would happen next.
Vivi was almost on the verge of tears as the winged snake breathed out a smoke cloud of poison and Kuina jumped into the air with Wado Ichimonji in her hands and a challenging grin on her face.
.
"Um… hey, now that I think about it. Where's the princess?" Bartolomeo asked, covering his wounds with bandages. Nothing too serious.
"Yeah, where's Big Sis Kuina… her ice would come in handy right now." Johnny groaned, having a black eye, from his fight with Yosaku.
"I second that," Yosaku replied.
"Hey, you don't think they got caught up in some trouble, do you?" Coby asked. He looked completely fine, —mainly because of his fruit's abilities— though with how rough his clothes looked, one could guess that he also went all out with Sparky.
"Coby… we are the straw hat pirates… it would be odd if we didn't." Luffy casually said. Massaging the large bumps on his head. Sabo was strong, sure, but he didn't expect to get bullied this badly. Man, he needed to gain more strength, well, more speed, if he didn't want to get his ass kicked again.
"Yeah, you really need some ice right now." Sabo snickered. Not only was the second in command of the revolutionary army stronger than Aramaki, Sabo was also more skilled.
Luffy might have beaten Sabo in the strength department, but Sabo was faster, more skilled, and had a variety of techniques. The Dragon Fist, along with Haki, was a deadly combination. And with how speedy Sabo was, Luffy wasn't able to defend himself from most of his attacks with Haki.
Even with his combined Gears, he had to passively keep Tekkai on, so that he wouldn't get too hurt.
Luffy gave Sabo the most mature reaction, pulling down his eyelid and sticking his tongue out at him. His brother of course laughed it off.
"Heh, I have to say, this day was not a complete waste," Zoro said, grinning lazily. He also looked quite banged up. "I did teach an arrogant cook something about flames."
"You wanna say that again, Marimo?!" Sanji butted heads with Zoro. "The only reason it was a tie is 'cuz you cheated. You used Kuina-chan to distract me! Where was your honor?!"
"Oh, did I?" Zoro smirked. "I don't remember it. All I did was ask a simple question? You were the one that fell for it. And it clearly wasn't a draw."
"You wanna settle the score!?"
"Why not, curly brow!"
Honestly, Zoro wasn't someone who used underhanded tactics, but in the fight with Sanji. He lazily asked the cook if Kuina was flying in the clouds. And what do you know, the dumb cook actually fell for it, and that made Zoro get one up on him.
Honestly, Zoro wasn't used to using this type of underhanded tactic. But when fighting Luffy, who was a very tricky and underhanded fighter, you tend to pick up on things. He blames his captain for his corruption. But then again, they were pirates, honor would get them nowhere… definitely not to the top.
As Zoro and Sanji butted heads, both of them were unaware of the fact that a danger was looming over their heads. A danger with an orange head of hair and glowing red eyes.
Bang… Bang…
"I will personally kill you both if you start another fight," Nami growled with angry shark teeth that would even put Arlong to shame. She then looked to the rest of them. "That extends to the rest of you, morons. Got it!?"
"""Yes, ma'am!""" All of them gave her a salute by instinct. While only a few of them carelessly laughed. Dorry and Broggy were nowhere in sight, it was evident that the giants went for a nap, after having Lunch.
They put their all in their last match, but unsurprisingly no one came as a victor. So they took out their frustration with sleep. And because the straw hats were so friendly, they didn't need to watch each other's backs either. They trusted their new friends.
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"Hmm… captain, I have to say something," Gin said. "Not that I don't trust our swordswoman… but I think we should look out for her and Vivi. It will get dark in a few hours."
Sanji quickly stood up. "Yeah, we should look for them. They haven't even joined us for Lunch… it's a good thing I made them the special lunch box with fried turkey in it."
"Turkey…? Our lunch box didn't have turkey in it," Usopp complained. Johnny, Yosaku, and Bartolomeo nodded at the same time.
"Eh… you guys aren't that important."
"This is blatant discrimination!!!" All four of them said at the same time.
"Not that I like to agree with the cook. But… we should look for Vivi and Kuina… Kuina can of course handle herself. But what if the princess gets into some bad situation?" Zoro pointed out, now that he sat down from the ground.
"Don't worry about it…" Luffy lazily waved, before facing them, and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the air. "They are already here."
"Wait… is Kuina in the clouds?" Zoro mumbled.
"Not gonna fall for that twice…" Sanji took a glance anyway and his jaw dropped in shock.
In fact, all of the crew looked behind Luffy and had their jaws dropped to the floor. Even Luffy who looked back was surprised by what he saw.
Both Kuina and Vivi returned and they came with style, riding on a beautiful white winged-snake's back.
"Now, isn't that interesting? Shishishi…" Luffy laughed, because of course the world would throw some weirdness into it.
"What…"
"How…"
"Is that a dragon?!" Usopp asked the most generic question.
"No, that's a winged snake," Coby corrected, "Dragons have legs."
Luffy put his right fist on his left palm, "So a mystery snake!" The others gave a unified nod, dumbly.
Kuina and Vivi didn't say anything, only amusement was written on their faces as they looked at their crewmates' reaction. Kuina was the first one to get off from the winged snake.
"Sanji… can you do me a favor and feed her," Kuina said, rubbing the white creature on its chin. The snake hissed cutely. "It became quite angry when it didn't find any food from us. Can you give her something?"
"Wait… her?!" Sanji asked. "I will be right back Mademoiselle!" With that the cook was gone, using the fastest version of Soru all of them had ever seen him use.
"Well, both of you have quite the story, I'm smelling. Shishishi…" Luffy grinned. "But first things first, Hello!" Luffy waved at the winged snake. "Name's Monkey D. Luffy? Wanna join the crew?"
Of course, Luffy heard a few groans, along with a few facepalms.
The white snake hissed cutely and shrugged. Not understanding what Luffy meant.
"Oh, by the way, is your name by any chance White Fury?" Luffy asked.
The snake tilted its head cutely, before shaking it. But it had sparkles in her eyes and nodded.
"Oh, so you like the name. Okay, then you are White Fury from now on." Luffy said, grining, "Shishishi…"
Kuina pouted, "Hey, I wanted to name her."
The others sweatdropped at the antics.
"Sorry sorry~~" Luffy mused.
Luffy glanced back at 'White Fury,' she was quite magnificent for a snake, and she had wings. Very cool looking in fact. Now, who in their right mind wouldn't want a dragon-looking snake on their crew?
"Hey, I know that look…" Nami said, "Where are we even gonna keep her…?"
"Eh… I think we can fit her on the front of the deck. She might need to curl up though," Gin said, nodding along with Bartolomeo. A few sweatdrops were among the audience.
"Isn't food going to be an issue… what does she eat anyways?" Zoro said, rubbing his chin. The snake blinked a few times, before mumbling something, and looking away.
"Not you too…" Nami groaned.
"Captain's orders." Zoro shrugged. "Also, she looks cool."
"Yeah, having a winged-snake is a man's romance!" Usopp said, with sparkles in his eyes. The idiotic trio, Bartolomeo, Johnny and Yosaku, nodded eagerly with sparkles around their eyes as well.
The snake hissed a bit, shying from all the praises.
"Ahem… it seems White Fury is a bit shy." Luffy said. "Give her some space guys. Also, she said, she eats anything that's fish or meat, she is a snake after all. Huh, we are very much alike in that department, aren't we? Shishishi…"
The snake blinked, saying something else that came out as hiss and Luffy nodded.
"Yeah, I can understand you just fine. Sparky can as well?" Luffy said, jabbing his thumb toward the six-armed monkey, who gave her a wave. The winged snake blinked, surprised, looking at the weird-looking monkey. "Can you understand her as well? Eh, Zoro?"
The swordsman in question nodded. "Yeah, but not as good as Sparky."
"Anyway, she helped us come out from one of the volcanos… she's quite the beast in the air." Kuina said, rubbing the snake on its chin. Vivi also did the same, as the snake started hissing cutely.
Vivi was already taking things for granted. There was too much craziness today that her bar for normal went down significantly. Just about a few minutes ago, the winged snake was out for their lives, now it was all calm and collected, happy to be around them.
After it seemingly challenged Kuina for stepping into her territory —apparently, the frozen ship was its nest or at least it's vacation nest— it got easily defeated. So it was very eager to help Kuina, after she had proven her strength. For some reason, Vivi found the snake similar to Kung Fu Dugong from her home island.
Like them, if someone worthy defeats them, they easily become their followers.
"Food shouldn't be an issue." Kuina said, breaking Vivi out of her musing. "I thought over it…. if Sanji can feed both Luffy and Momoo at the same time, another one more to the list won't be a problem."
Luffy was going to point out that Kuina basically put Luffy in the same category as a sea king but after thinking about how much he ate, he wisely chose not to.
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"Food shouldn't be an issue." Kuina said, breaking Vivi out of her musing. "I thought over it…. if Sanji can feed both Luffy and Momoo at the same time, another one more to the list won't be a problem."
Luffy was going to point out that Kuina basically put Luffy in the same category as a sea king but after thinking about how much he ate, he wisely chose not to.
"It Won't!" Sanji said, bringing along a plate full of meat, and takoyaki. "I would have loved to cook for you myself, miss beautiful snake. But Hatchan's takoyaki is also one of the best foods you can have… so enjoy it. I also added some leftover dinosaur meat that I kept for dinner."
"Wait, did you just get back from the Going Merry?" Usopp asked. "How's that even possible, that's like a few kilometers… and that's at least a ton's worth of food."
"Silent peasant! You are in front of a queen!" Sanji hissed like a snake, making Usopp sweatdrop. The cook put the large plate of food in front of the snake. As the White Fury dug into the food.
"Wait, we have been on the island for quite a few hours now… why haven't I seen it in the sky?" Usopp questioned. "Not to toot my own horn, but… I should have been able to see it in the sky. A flying snake is very eye catching, ya know."
Kuina then looked at the winged snake, the snake in question already finished half of its meal, and looked at Usopp. It hissed out some words, not that it was irritated with the sniper or anything. It's voice was similar to hiss, so that was the reason.
"Oh, it seems, she's still a baby…" Luffy said, surprised. "It got abandoned by its pack, after she ate a weird fruit that gave her wings… Oh, so that explains the wings. I thought that you were an actual relative to some dragon species. Huh, so it wasn't as complicated as that." Luffy remembered one of the filler episodes where the straw hats helped dragons, it was before the grandline but it seemed that the snake wasn't related to it.
"And it seems that… little snake lady here was scared of the giants, and their fighting." Zoro finished. "She doesn't come out of the volcano unless the giants are asleep. Huh, good thing Dorry and Broggy are sleeping right now."
The winged snake looked a bit panicked and quickly snapped its head side to side, looking out for giants.
"Hey, don't worry about it. The giants are our friends… they won't hurt you." Luffy said, calming the white snake down.
The winged snake felt quite relieved and said some words of appreciation. It seemed to like Sanji quite a bit and coiled around him, giving him a hug. Though, Luffy was sure normal people would have broken bones by now but Sanji just laughed it off.
"She seems glad that you found her in the volcano, Kuina. And Sanji, she loved the food. She gave you a big thanks." Luffy said, grinning before he blinked.
"Okay, I might be missing something, but how in the world did you guys end up inside a volcano?" Coby said. "No one's gonna question that?" the others shrugged.
Kuina and Vivi looked at each other. "Well, it's a long story…"
After that, both of them explained their journey. How they got trapped beneath the tunnel, to actually discovering an old frozen tomb. From there to how an old pirate lady with ice powers made it her and her crewmates' resting place, freezing a whole ass ship inside a volcano. Along with the other details of the books and other stuff, they found there.
"Oh, and Nami… she left this." Vivi said, taking out the log pose from her backpack.
Nami, who was looking over the log books, looked at Vivi and gasped, taking the log pose from her hands, slowly, so as to not break it. She looked extremely grateful to her. "You don't know how much time you have saved us."
"Yeah, we thought we would have to wait a year for the log pose to reset… but with this… we can get off the island." Usopp said.
Both Kuina and Vivi again looked at each other. So, that's what the late Virf user meant.
"Shishishi… so the journey continues." Luffy laughed. Now wasn't this odd… Who knew things would turn out this way? Sure the Baroque works agents never came, but even Luffy was worried that they would have been trapped at sea unless he managed to find some way to get a log pose.
They had eternal log poses, one for Namiwasho, thanks to Robin, and another for Whiskey Peak. So they most likely had to return there and find some other way to reach Drum Island. Because, of course, he wouldn't skip that island, he had a talking reindeer pokemon to catch there. Chopper jokes aside, it really did help.
The log pose that the late pirate left them wasn't a eternal pose, but a normal one that, already had rest and locked to the next Island. Which was of course Drum Island.
With this, they really cut off a lot of the journey time. Who knew this kind of place existed. Maybe in the original, this hidden tomb inside the volcano existed, but the Strawhats just never managed to discover it. 'Still, I digress,' Luffy mused. 'This world has its own share of madness.'
"Hey, so let's explore the old tomb… who's going?!" Luffy cheered. Along with a few other of his crewmates. Even the snake volunteered to give them an easy access to its so-called vacation home.
"Also, be careful… we are not there to loot the place, just to recover the books. We have to show our respect to the dead, otherwise… anything goes." Luffy clarified. They might be pirates, but they had standards.
Others nodded. Almost all of them were eager to explore the old tomb. The Island still had a lot of land to explore so why wouldn't they?
"Let's pack proper equipment, and then get exploring!" Usopp cheered.
"""Yeah!"""
Even Nami looked eager to visit the place. All of them were quite excited. This place really was one of a kind.
159
With White Fury,
Almost three days passed after she left her home, the prehistoric island of Little Garden. She would be lying if she said that she didn't miss that place.
But then again, she didn't miss it that much. Because of her white scales, and her rather large size, she was already ostracized from the other snakes in her colony. Most snakes don't live in colonies, but her species did.
Mostly because of the dangers of lurking on the Island of Little Garden. With all different animals of various sizes, her species of snake lived in colonies. But she didn't… or she should say she couldn't.
Her species of snakes lived mostly on muddy waters, hiding in the shadows to strike down predators. Their main concern was the flying predators that hunted them down.
And because of her white color and size, she stood out like a sore thumb. And would often bring predatorial attention to her colony, mainly from larger birds. That was why she was cast out so many years ago.
It was hard to survive, yes, but she somehow managed it. But, she still felt lonely. None of the snakes of her species wanted to be around her. The other species of snakes were also wary because of her larger than average size and unique color.
It was hard to survive back then. And like the law of the jungle, you only survive when you are strong. So the snake did, unlike the rest of her species, she was gifted with more than enough intellect. And she used that.
Often laying traps, using underhanded tactics to catch her prey off guard and overpowering them with strength.
Still, she knew her limits. Never standing out too much, she didn't want to gain the two giants' attention. Even she couldn't survive that.
At that time, she just wanted to be strong, so that she could survive. Maybe that was why she was dumb enough to eat that fruit.
She found the fruit when a group of humans, all wearing white-themed clothes with blue lining, docked on the island. It seemed that they had lost their way into the sea, and found themselves on the island.
It wasn't her first time seeing humans, but she was interested in them. More so when one of the men, the leader she presumed, said something about a unique power that could beat the giants. And it was in that fruit.
She was more than interested now, seeing the uniquely shaped fruit. And somehow managed to steal the fruit from them and ate it. And that was a mistake for her part.
The fruit tasted horrible, now, she was a snake. She was used to eating rotten stuff, but even then the taste of the fruit was incomparable.
The fruit gave her abilities, yes. She could now grow wings on her back but other than a bit of a boost in strength, nothing happened. Maybe the strength would come later, she had hoped.
When the humans found out that their fruit was gone in her stomach, they tried to attack her. She, of course, was more than enough to take them on, but decided to flee with her new abilities and soar through the sky.
Deciding to follow her, the humans made a huge mistake and died overnight in the cruel jungle of Little Garden. It was always like this, no human could survive here.
She had gotten back to check over the corpse of the humans and found some shiny objects, she made sure to bring them back to her cave. She liked the shiny stuff, the humans called it gold and Belis. But she didn't care, it was just shiny so she took them.
Over the years she had collected a lot of them in her cave. And now that she had wings she didn't need to worry about getting preyed down on by larger birds.
In fact, her main concern, the flying predators, soon became prey because of her flying abilities. She could now hunt down the flying beast that soared in the sky. And in a way, her powers let her survive the cruel jungle.
But at the same time, it made her weirder than the rest of the snakes. Most smaller animals feared her, and even larger beasts were wary of her. Now she wasn't the largest snake in the jungle, but due to her wings and odd color, almost all of the animals that were relatively her size feared her.
So it came to a surprise when the blue-haired human called her 'pretty'. She still remembered the whole ordeal and how it happened.
She was in her snake hole, which was inside the volcano. A weird place to live in, but she liked the hot temperature here, and with the added ghost ship encased in ice, she could easily cool down if needed. Also, as her home was inside a volcano, she didn't have to worry about any predators. Also, those big oaf giants that always fought about.
She was very hungry at that time. She couldn't get out of the volcano. Because of the tremors, she was sure that the giants were fighting, and when they fought, it was better for her to not leave her home. And bringing the attention of giants to her, was as good as a death sentence.
But then she smelled it, that delicious smell of food. That practically pulled her out of her cave and onto the frozen ship, where the scent of delicious food came from. Just what could it be?
Unlike other snakes, she was smart. She had tried roasted meat before, mainly copying the humans who over the years came to the island. And tried to copy their method. It did make the food a lot more interesting.
So by instinct, she knew that humans were nearby, and they might have some food with them. And because she was hungry, she got out of the cave and checked it.
First, she was surprised to see the humans. Two females, and they were somehow on the ghost ship. Her ghost ship. It was kind of like her second home, how dare they.
But she would forgive them if they had food. But alas, that wasn't the case. They had already eaten all the food for themselves.
So, she was downright angry. If she couldn't have the food, then she would fill her stomach with them.
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But she might have overestimated her capabilities or underestimated the humans. A mix of both maybe, no ordinary human just comes inside a living volcano to explore a dead ship. That takes guts and madness of equal share.
But it was too late. It happened so fast, that she couldn't believe it.
She lied on the frozen ship, wounded. A bruise on her forehead, and one of her wings along with half of her body was frozen. The ice, for some reason, was also very power-draining. She was sure she was done for.
She looked in both awe and fear at the swordswoman. She had never seen someone use ice abilities. She didn't know much about humans, but she was sure that they shouldn't have that kind of ability.
Also, like her, the swordswoman wore a white kimono and used her blade with such elegance that it resembled an elegant serpent. Maybe she wouldn't regret dying from her.
She was then looking at the swordswoman expecting death, when the blue-haired human called out.
"Wait! Don't kill the poor thing." The other human, the blue harried female had called out.
The swordswoman blinked, and turned back to look at the other girl, giving her back casually to the snake as if she wasn't worried. Mostly because she wasn't.
"Why is that Vivi?" She had asked.
'So, Vivi, that was her name.' the snake had thought.
"Kuina, that's a snake that has wings!" Vivi answered as if that answered all.
"…of course, what was I thinking?" The swordswoman Kuina asked herself before looking at the snake once again, holding her blade high for a swing.
"Wait… she's a rather cute snake, don't you think?!" Vivi blurred out. The snake blinked, surprised and a bit dumbfounded, same with Kuina. Did she just call her cute? That was the first time.
Kuina again, spun around and looked at Vivi. She didn't see what the female called Kuina was doing, but she most probably gave her a look.
"Hey, don't give me that look. She's a white snake and she has wings… that's rare. And killing such a pretty animal would be a crime."
'Pretty' she had thought. 'Someone actually called me pretty… not a monster.' It felt weird, almost like butterflies in her stomach. Now, as far as she knew, she didn't eat any of the winged bugs since she was a baby. 'Might be something else…'
Kuina sighed. "Vivi, we are pirates. Our existence is a crime."
"Okay, maybe that was not a good analogy. But you get what I mean, can we not kill her? The poor thing looks too afraid to do anything anyway."
Afraid… her. She hissed bravely, she was not afraid.
Both Kuina and Vivi blinked in surprise.
"See, now… you hurt the snake's pride… she's not afraid of death it seems," Kuina said, giving the snake a deathly glare that made the creature sweat.
'Okay, I might be a bit afraid.' she gulped, but to her surprise, Vivi stepped forward and held Kuina's sword before she could do anything.
"Stop bullying her."
Kuina sweatdropped. "Fine, do whatever you want." she then sheathed her sword. "But I do agree with you… the snake does look pleasant to the eyes."
"Really?" Vivi asked. Even she, the snake, was hopeful, maybe she wouldn't need to die today.
"Yeah, maybe Sanji can cook her up… Ow!" Kuina couldn't finish her sentence as Vivi slapped the back of her skull.
"Stop harassing the poor creature," Vivi said, and Kuina pouted, not that it hurt her or anything.
She hissed, trying to thank her, and said something about the ice, she couldn't actually move because of it.
"Oh, Vivi, the snake is thanking you. Huh, would you look at that, a grateful snake…" Kuina said, making Vivi blink. "Also…" The swordswoman then snapped her fingers, and the ice around her body shattered, freeing her body. "There, now move along."
She blinked, 'Did you just understand me?' she hissed.
"Wait, did you understand her?" Vivi asked. Both of them asked at the same time.
Kuina blinked surprised as well. "I might be spending too much time with Sparky…" she groaned. "And sorry, but I can only understand bits of what you are saying… I don't fully understand you, more like guess what you are trying to say." She shrugged. "Weird, 'cause I am pretty sure this is the first time."
Vivi shrugged as well, "Don't worry, Luffy and Zoro might be able to understand you just fine. Sparky as well, since he's a monkey."
'Wait, you have a monkey. Is he food?!' The snake hissed.
Kuina blinked and laughed, shaking her head. "No, Sparky is not food. Heck, he might try to eat you, in fact, if you try to attack him. Fair warning, but don't do that.'
The snake blinked again, and gingerly coiled her body around herself, trying to ignore the lingering pain. There wasn't a wound, but she did take some damage from Kuina. 'Then what's the food you were eating?'
"Oh, that… well, that was Sanji's cooking. He's our cook, he can make quite good food." Kuina said, before raising an eyebrow. "Why? Were you hungry?'
Before she could answer, her stomach beat her to it, as it growled.
Vivi and Kuina looked at each other, amused looks.
"You know what… if you can give us a ride out of the volcano, maybe he can give you something to eat. You are a big girl, I'm sure you will be able to carry us both." Vivi asked, walking towards her.
She puffed her chest and hissed. 'Of course, I can.'
And things went from there.
She had managed to convince the humans that she was willing to follow Kuina. But the main reason was, of course, because of the blue-haired girl Vivi. She was curious about her.
Vivi was not afraid of her and she was also the first one to call her 'pretty'. So she was eager to know about her. Also, she was interested in that food offer. So, Both.
And she found no reason to not help them with her abilities. Sure it was risky, as she at the time, didn't know much about Kuina or Vivi. For all she knew, they might want to capture her once outside the volcano, but something in her gut told her to believe the two humans. Also, it didn't make sense for them to do that. They could have easily done that forcefully.
And so she did trust them, and gave them a ride back to their friends. And of course, she never regretted it from there.