Chapter 20: Take the Bus, Search Along the Way
Deep beneath Ryugu Palace, hidden among the coral reefs, Hody Jones trembled.
He'd escaped—barely—from that crimson monster. From those eyes. From those black flames that defied the very ocean itself.
After confirming the skeletal giant hadn't pursued him, Hody's pounding heart slowly steadied. His breath came in ragged gasps.
"What... what WAS that?!"
The image seared into his memory: a man in black, standing within that fiery skeleton, eyes spinning with blood-red patterns. Those eyes had looked at him, and death had followed.
"I've never heard of anyone like that among the Straw Hats!" Hody's mind raced. "Some kind of secret weapon? An assassin?"
The Straw Hats were supposed to be rookies! Yes, they had two supernovas with bounties over 100 million, but the New World ate supernovas for breakfast. They couldn't—
His thoughts stopped.
Unless they HAVE someone like that.
He slapped himself. Hard.
"IDIOT! What am I thinking?!"
His fists clenched. "Even if Big Mom herself came to collect tribute—even if an EMPEROR stood before me—I, Hody Jones, the new king of Fishman Island, would CRUSH them!"
He pulled out a handful of Energy Steroids.
If one wasn't enough, he'd take ten. If ten wasn't enough, he'd take a HUNDRED.
He raised his head, eyes blazing with renewed fanaticism. "I'm going to—"
He froze.
Above him, at Ryugu Palace's entrance, the Straw Hats were gathered. And among them—the man in black.
Hody ducked back into the coral, heart hammering.
Above, a sea beast carrying several murlocs approached the palace bubble. One spotted Hody.
"Hey! Is that Boss Hody?!"
"BOSS HODY!"
They waved excitedly. One pressed against the bubble, shouting: "BOSS HODY! Did you capture Neptune?!"
Hody's head snapped toward them, murder in his eyes.
"SHUT... UP!"
His voice was a razor-sharp whisper, barely audible but carrying pure threat.
Ryugu Palace Entrance
Robin had noticed something: a bus stop marker, identical to the one they'd seen earlier. This one listed destinations—and the final stop was the Sea Forest.
"I have a feeling Nami went to the Sea Forest."
Usopp blinked. "The Sea Forest? Why would Nami go to a forest?"
Robin smiled. "I'm not certain. But we could search there."
"Robin just WANTS to go!" Usopp exclaimed.
Itachi spoke, his gaze still fixed on something beneath the palace. "We should go."
Everyone turned to him.
He pointed at the bus stop sign. "The sea bus route passes multiple stops before reaching the Sea Forest. If we take it, we can search each station along the way until we find Nami and the others."
Usopp's face lit up. "That's BRILLIANT, Itachi-brother! Such a clear head!"
Zoro grunted approval. "Solid plan."
Robin had already moved to the passage entrance, flagging down an approaching bus. It glided to a stop before them—a massive fish with several seats mounted on its back, each enclosed in a passenger bubble.
Robin's eyes widened slightly. "It's a FISH!"
She waved to the others. "Everyone! Let's go!"
Brook hopped toward the bus, aiming for the seat beside Robin—but Robin extended her hand to Itachi first.
"Itachi, sit beside me. The front has the best view."
Itachi nodded, already scanning for approaching stations.
"Robin-san..." Brook deflated. "I wanted to sit with you..."
Usopp grabbed Brook and hauled him aboard. "No time for moping! Let's MOVE!"
Zoro boarded last. Robin addressed the fish: "We're all seated. Please depart."
The fish seemed to understand. It surged forward through the bubble tunnel with surprising speed.
Itachi observed everything with quiet fascination. A bus. Underwater. Pulled by a fish. This world continued to surprise him.
Then he noticed something below.
"Look at the town beneath us."
Everyone leaned over.
Below the passage, in the first town outside Ryugu Palace, chaos reigned. Murlocs were destroying buildings, rounding up residents, spreading terror.
As they progressed, they saw more—each town along the route in various stages of upheaval. At one, they spotted Sharkstar, one of Neptune's princes, battling a murloc far larger than the others.
"Riots everywhere," Usopp murmured. "The whole island's falling apart."
He suddenly turned back. "Hey—should we have left that king uncle alone in the palace?"
Zoro's hand rested on his sword, eyes scanning the destruction below. "Couldn't exactly bring him on a bus."
He added: "Don't worry. Those soldiers won't abandon their king. And Hody was wounded—he probably can't go back."
Zoro's blade had struck true; he knew the depth of his own attacks. What he didn't know was that Hody had already returned—and was watching them from the shadows.
The bus continued, passing stop after stop. Everywhere, chaos. Nowhere did they see Nami.
Or Sanji. Or Chopper. Usopp scanned the Mermaid Cafe as they passed—nothing.
"Where COULD they be?!" Usopp's worry grew.
Robin's voice cut through: "Perhaps Nami and the others encountered those violent murlocs after escaping, and have already been..."
"ROBIN! That's TERRIBLE!" Brook covered his empty eye sockets.
"Don't SAY things like that, Robin!" Usopp echoed.
Itachi, who had been scanning with his Sharingan, finally spoke. "We haven't seen them at any stop."
He closed his eyes, conserving energy. "There's only one station left."
"The Sea Forest."
He could feel it—the buildup. The riots they'd witnessed weren't random. Something was coming. A battle.
And soon.
(End of Chapter)
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