____________ POV Narration ____________
The Mad Monk sighed as he looked down at Kasa, the old lady that had helped them get on the island in the first place.
She was the one that gave them all the umbrellas that allowed them to approach the island.
She had helped them a few months back initially. And they had been stuck on that island for a while.
Instead of settling, their Log Pose went completely crazy on that island. The magnetic field of the island was so fucked up that even Kasa herself was confused as to what was happening.
She said that the storm was a bit stronger than usual when they arrived, but it seemed to be something even worse than that...
Kasa herself was kind enough to invite them into her home and helped them set up tents made out of the same material as the umbrellas... Rubber.
The Monk was grateful, but he also felt like he had walked into a trap. He could see no way out of that island... He didn't have any eternal pose or vivre card to follow either.
Still, Urouge couldn't bring himself to get mad at the old lady for helping them get on the island.
He was just upset at the circumstances.
His Fallen Monk Pirates were now stuck at the beginning of the New World, a rather shameful end of the journey for a Supernova Crew...
Well, it could be worse... At the very least they had not collapsed because of the Marines at Sabaody like the Straw Hats...
Urouge had used the time to get stronger, knowing that he'd eventually end up facing people like Kizaru and Kuma again.
He didn't want to be taken out so easily again. The way Kizaru had toyed with him had really left a mark on his psyche.
In that time, he had grown stronger. To the point where he was sure he would be able to defeat Kuma at the very least. But Kizaru still felt like a mountain he couldn't climb...
At the very least, he had the comfort of knowing that most of the Admirals had died.
That didn't mean there wouldn't be more like them though, which was why the Monk refused to let down his guard anymore.
"It seems the storm is not calming down today either..." The old lady broke the Monk out of his thoughts.
The large pirate had already gotten used to her eerie voice and demeanour. But lately, she sounded more and more confused...
She had apparently lived all of her life on that island, tending to and worshipping some god of occult religion.
'A god of thunder.'
It wasn't all that uncommon for natives to worship strange phenomena and consider them the work of deities. Entire religions had been built on such things, and the one Kasa was following was just one of many.
The Monk didn't really share her beliefs, but he could always respect someone's piousness.
It seemed that Kasa was used to the weather being a certain way.
From her words, the storms used to have some sort of rhythm to them, as if they were a calming melody.
Kasa had said that the calming melody usually spoke of how their God was sleeping.
But now things were different. Kasa apparently interpreted the rhythm as an awakening or some sort of uncertainty for the future.
Urouge had absolutely no clue how she could find a rhythm in such a devastating storm, or how she could tolerate those things to certain emotions, but he did not mock her beliefs.
In all the time they had spent together, the Mad Monk had come to respect the creepy old woman that seemed to only want to spend her days listening to the thunderous clapping of the clouds.
As the Mad Monk looked at the old lady, a question rose up in his mind. And he couldn't help himself from asking in the end.
"Granny... Have you ever seen the sun?"
The old lady seemed taken aback for a second, looking at the Mad Monk with wide eyes, before she turned her head and started rubbing her chin.
"... I can't remember ever seeing the sun... I was born and raised here, to carry out an ancient tradition and to tend to this land..." Kasa answered honestly, her eerie voice gaining a melancholic tune.
The Mad Monk was about to change the subject, ask her more about her life, but the old lady seemed to want to continue on the subject of the sun.
"I know of its existence... But I never felt the need to seek it. I have all the light I need under the clouds of my Lord's final resting place..."
Urouge sighed when hearing that. He considered her to be a rather tragic case of a person that was too pious for their own good. The sun did provide one with a lot of benefits and nourishment.
The Mad Monk had to reconsider that evaluation of her though. Despite the sun being necessary for survival in most cases, the woman he was speaking to was old. She was already old.
It was clear enough that she didn't need the sun to get to that age. It somewhat made the Monk wonder if there truly was something special with the woman's religion.
Her next words solidified his suspicions though...
"It's kind of you to worry for me, but you don't need to. I am not that closed off from the world.
People like you come here all the time. Well, not everyone is this kind... But my god always protects me."
The Mad Monk's eyes widened as he looked down at the old woman.
"... Protects you?"
The very notion of a Weather phenomenon protecting someone seemed to weird out the Monk.
Kasa seemed to be oblivious to his odd reaction, instead, she just closed her eyes and smiled, almost as if she was remembering a good moment.
"Pirates, weak and strong, Government Agents. I welcomed many on these islands.
Those that tried to harm me, met their end here, on these scorched lands...
But the umbrella you're holding above your head is not ever going to be able to protect you from my lord's wrath...
His lightning will melt through any defence you could ever muster..."
The Mad Monk's crew all overheated that conversation, many of them could feel some sweat on their backs as they imagined the scene of a large lightning bolt swallowing each and every one of them.
Urouge himself was not much better, he turned his gaze towards the clouds, his eyes narrowing.
'... Is this a sentient storm?... Is the lightning itself sentient?... This is...'
The Mad Monk didn't have a lot of time to consider that though, as before he realized it, a blue lighting bolt landed at his side, startling him and causing him to jump away.
In contrast, Kasa was not even perturbed. She merely looked at the newcomer with a smile on her face.
"Oh! A visitor with Lightning abilities! A joyous occasion!"Her eyes seemed to light up, she immediately lost her eerie disposition as she looked at the tall newcomer with... Hope?
Enel looked down at the old lady and smiled. He then crouched down and greeted her on a more even level.
"Hello there, thank you for receiving me with such a joyful disposition." The Emperor's voice and presence seemed to startle the Mad Monk's crew.
They all took a few steps back, their hands already reaching for their weapons, swords and guns, all at the ready.
But they knew such things wouldn't make any difference... They recognised who they were looking at...
'The Sky King...' Urouge's spine trembled at the very thought of facing such a man, no monster...
The old lady seemed to once again be oblivious to their feelings, however... Instead, she seemed to be caught in her own world, and the only person that she could see was Enel.
"Joy! How could I feel anything but Joy!" Kasa's bright smile was a stark contrast to her previously confused and eerie disposition. It was almost as if the Fallen Monk Pirates were looking at a different person...
"Finally! With you here, the prophecy will be held true! Finally, the usurpers will pay for what they've done!"
Kasa seemed to be so excited that she was unable to control her arms as they flailed around while she spoke to Enel.
"Pay they will, if I am to succeed... What exactly is your job, however? What is the tradition you are upholding? Also, can you tell me a bit more about the storm here?"
The Emperor clearly had many questions.
He had obviously heard the Mad Monk's conversation with the old lady. He was so enraptured by what the lady was saying that he had even forgotten to introduce himself to the pirates!
Though it seemed that there was no need for an introduction.
Regardless, he had a lot he wanted to find out about the island and Raijin's tomb, and he was now sure that the old lady in front of him was his ticket to those answers.
Kasa seemed more than happy to answer the Emperor's questions too. She only spent a few seconds thinking further before speaking out again.
"It is my job to lead you there, to the centre of this storm! The tradition is of the Shrine Maiden of the Thunder God.
The prophecy spoke of a brave warrior, carrying hundreds of years of history on his back, flinging down the gauntlet in front of the usurpers that stole my lord's throne!
A war! The world will be swallowed by unrest as a war will embroil all powers and decide the dawn of a new world!... And the destruction of the current one..."
Enel blinked a few times, not expecting to hear that much information in one go. The old lady seemed to be rather knowledgeable on the subject, and she seemed rather willing to share...
The Emperor felt something that was familiar about her words... And after a few minutes of pondering it finally clicked for him...
'Whiteabeard's speech...'
The last speech of the strongest man alive while on Marineford. While it hadn't happened because of Enel, Whitebeard was supposed to give one last speech to the world before his demise.
To fan the flames that Roger had created. To drive the Age of Pirates forward to the next Generation.
It was one of the most memorable moments of the entire show, which was why Enel could still remember it.
The old Whitebeard spoke of a very similar prophecy as the old lady... He said that Sengoku and the World Government feared that prophecy too...
'... I may have forgotten about it... But have I been technically following this all along?
It's not like this is a bad thing... I already knew I was a main actor in the prophecy because of my fruit...
But did I inadvertently usurp Luffy's role as the one to fling the gauntlet in front of the world?'
Not that it mattered too much. The Emperor wasn't concerned about Luffy's role being taken, he was more intrigued by the concept at that point.
Luffy was still the incarnation of Nika at the end of the day. A man with a great destiny of his own.
'I'll have to ask Whitebeard about this at some point... His words were too similar to this old lady's...'
As he was pondering that, the Fallen Monk Pirates were all trying to process the old lady's words.
They considered her mad for a second, but the fact that the lightning was protecting her gave her words a lot of credibility as well...
There was also the fact that the lightning didn't seem to want to hit Enel, despite the fact that he wasn't using any umbrella.
Well, Enel's reputation did give him a lot of credibility when it came to being the man of prophecy...
"Thank you for that, old lady..." Enel nodded towards the woman, before opening his mouth again.
"However, the last question was left unanswered... Is the last Raijin still alive and protecting you?"
The old lady seemed to be taken aback by that question, blinking a few times before tilting her head.
She eventually chuckled and answered the Emperor's question with the same amount of energy as the rest.
"My bad, it must've seemed like that... But no. My lord had long since passed.
But his will is undying, a wisp of his soul managed to linger in this world, it awaits you in the centre...
He will be the one to guide you through awakening your full potential..."
The Emperor crossed his arms as he sat down in front of the old lady, his face morphing a bit. He was both impressed and confused at the concept of a soul sticking to the human world...
Alas, it seemed that he still had a lot to learn about souls...
"I understand... Well then, can you guide me there right away?"
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter!
My bad for yesterday had to spend most of my day at a family bbq
Story Shoutout! : The Last Observer
Discord, again: https://discord.gg/xQTK8caFEQ
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)
____________ POV Narration ____________
The Mad Monk sighed as he looked down at Kasa, the old lady that had helped them get on the island in the first place.
She was the one that gave them all the umbrellas that allowed them to approach the island.
She had helped them a few months back initially. And they had been stuck on that island for a while.
Instead of settling, their Log Pose went completely crazy on that island. The magnetic field of the island was so fucked up that even Kasa herself was confused as to what was happening.
She said that the storm was a bit stronger than usual when they arrived, but it seemed to be something even worse than that...
Kasa herself was kind enough to invite them into her home and helped them set up tents made out of the same material as the umbrellas... Rubber.
The Monk was grateful, but he also felt like he had walked into a trap. He could see no way out of that island... He didn't have any eternal pose or vivre card to follow either.
Still, Urouge couldn't bring himself to get mad at the old lady for helping them get on the island.
He was just upset at the circumstances.
His Fallen Monk Pirates were now stuck at the beginning of the New World, a rather shameful end of the journey for a Supernova Crew...
Well, it could be worse... At the very least they had not collapsed because of the Marines at Sabaody like the Straw Hats...
Urouge had used the time to get stronger, knowing that he'd eventually end up facing people like Kizaru and Kuma again.
He didn't want to be taken out so easily again. The way Kizaru had toyed with him had really left a mark on his psyche.
In that time, he had grown stronger. To the point where he was sure he would be able to defeat Kuma at the very least. But Kizaru still felt like a mountain he couldn't climb...
At the very least, he had the comfort of knowing that most of the Admirals had died.
That didn't mean there wouldn't be more like them though, which was why the Monk refused to let down his guard anymore.
"It seems the storm is not calming down today either..." The old lady broke the Monk out of his thoughts.
The large pirate had already gotten used to her eerie voice and demeanour. But lately, she sounded more and more confused...
She had apparently lived all of her life on that island, tending to and worshipping some god of occult religion.
'A god of thunder.'
It wasn't all that uncommon for natives to worship strange phenomena and consider them the work of deities. Entire religions had been built on such things, and the one Kasa was following was just one of many.
The Monk didn't really share her beliefs, but he could always respect someone's piousness.
It seemed that Kasa was used to the weather being a certain way.
From her words, the storms used to have some sort of rhythm to them, as if they were a calming melody.
Kasa had said that the calming melody usually spoke of how their God was sleeping.
But now things were different. Kasa apparently interpreted the rhythm as an awakening or some sort of uncertainty for the future.
Urouge had absolutely no clue how she could find a rhythm in such a devastating storm, or how she could tolerate those things to certain emotions, but he did not mock her beliefs.
In all the time they had spent together, the Mad Monk had come to respect the creepy old woman that seemed to only want to spend her days listening to the thunderous clapping of the clouds.
As the Mad Monk looked at the old lady, a question rose up in his mind. And he couldn't help himself from asking in the end.
"Granny... Have you ever seen the sun?"
The old lady seemed taken aback for a second, looking at the Mad Monk with wide eyes, before she turned her head and started rubbing her chin.
"... I can't remember ever seeing the sun... I was born and raised here, to carry out an ancient tradition and to tend to this land..." Kasa answered honestly, her eerie voice gaining a melancholic tune.
The Mad Monk was about to change the subject, ask her more about her life, but the old lady seemed to want to continue on the subject of the sun.
"I know of its existence... But I never felt the need to seek it. I have all the light I need under the clouds of my Lord's final resting place..."
Urouge sighed when hearing that. He considered her to be a rather tragic case of a person that was too pious for their own good. The sun did provide one with a lot of benefits and nourishment.
The Mad Monk had to reconsider that evaluation of her though. Despite the sun being necessary for survival in most cases, the woman he was speaking to was old. She was already old.
It was clear enough that she didn't need the sun to get to that age. It somewhat made the Monk wonder if there truly was something special with the woman's religion.
Her next words solidified his suspicions though...
"It's kind of you to worry for me, but you don't need to. I am not that closed off from the world.
People like you come here all the time. Well, not everyone is this kind... But my god always protects me."
The Mad Monk's eyes widened as he looked down at the old woman.
"... Protects you?"
The very notion of a Weather phenomenon protecting someone seemed to weird out the Monk.
Kasa seemed to be oblivious to his odd reaction, instead, she just closed her eyes and smiled, almost as if she was remembering a good moment.
"Pirates, weak and strong, Government Agents. I welcomed many on these islands.
Those that tried to harm me, met their end here, on these scorched lands...
But the umbrella you're holding above your head is not ever going to be able to protect you from my lord's wrath...
His lightning will melt through any defence you could ever muster..."
The Mad Monk's crew all overheated that conversation, many of them could feel some sweat on their backs as they imagined the scene of a large lightning bolt swallowing each and every one of them.
Urouge himself was not much better, he turned his gaze towards the clouds, his eyes narrowing.
'... Is this a sentient storm?... Is the lightning itself sentient?... This is...'
The Mad Monk didn't have a lot of time to consider that though, as before he realized it, a blue lighting bolt landed at his side, startling him and causing him to jump away.
In contrast, Kasa was not even perturbed. She merely looked at the newcomer with a smile on her face.
"Oh! A visitor with Lightning abilities! A joyous occasion!"Her eyes seemed to light up, she immediately lost her eerie disposition as she looked at the tall newcomer with... Hope?
Enel looked down at the old lady and smiled. He then crouched down and greeted her on a more even level.
"Hello there, thank you for receiving me with such a joyful disposition." The Emperor's voice and presence seemed to startle the Mad Monk's crew.
They all took a few steps back, their hands already reaching for their weapons, swords and guns, all at the ready.
But they knew such things wouldn't make any difference... They recognised who they were looking at...
'The Sky King...' Urouge's spine trembled at the very thought of facing such a man, no monster...
The old lady seemed to once again be oblivious to their feelings, however... Instead, she seemed to be caught in her own world, and the only person that she could see was Enel.
"Joy! How could I feel anything but Joy!" Kasa's bright smile was a stark contrast to her previously confused and eerie disposition. It was almost as if the Fallen Monk Pirates were looking at a different person...
"Finally! With you here, the prophecy will be held true! Finally, the usurpers will pay for what they've done!"
Kasa seemed to be so excited that she was unable to control her arms as they flailed around while she spoke to Enel.
"Pay they will, if I am to succeed... What exactly is your job, however? What is the tradition you are upholding? Also, can you tell me a bit more about the storm here?"
The Emperor clearly had many questions.
He had obviously heard the Mad Monk's conversation with the old lady. He was so enraptured by what the lady was saying that he had even forgotten to introduce himself to the pirates!
Though it seemed that there was no need for an introduction.
Regardless, he had a lot he wanted to find out about the island and Raijin's tomb, and he was now sure that the old lady in front of him was his ticket to those answers.
Kasa seemed more than happy to answer the Emperor's questions too. She only spent a few seconds thinking further before speaking out again.
"It is my job to lead you there, to the centre of this storm! The tradition is of the Shrine Maiden of the Thunder God.
The prophecy spoke of a brave warrior, carrying hundreds of years of history on his back, flinging down the gauntlet in front of the usurpers that stole my lord's throne!
A war! The world will be swallowed by unrest as a war will embroil all powers and decide the dawn of a new world!... And the destruction of the current one..."
Enel blinked a few times, not expecting to hear that much information in one go. The old lady seemed to be rather knowledgeable on the subject, and she seemed rather willing to share...
The Emperor felt something that was familiar about her words... And after a few minutes of pondering it finally clicked for him...
'Whiteabeard's speech...'
The last speech of the strongest man alive while on Marineford. While it hadn't happened because of Enel, Whitebeard was supposed to give one last speech to the world before his demise.
To fan the flames that Roger had created. To drive the Age of Pirates forward to the next Generation.
It was one of the most memorable moments of the entire show, which was why Enel could still remember it.
The old Whitebeard spoke of a very similar prophecy as the old lady... He said that Sengoku and the World Government feared that prophecy too...
'... I may have forgotten about it... But have I been technically following this all along?
It's not like this is a bad thing... I already knew I was a main actor in the prophecy because of my fruit...
But did I inadvertently usurp Luffy's role as the one to fling the gauntlet in front of the world?'
Not that it mattered too much. The Emperor wasn't concerned about Luffy's role being taken, he was more intrigued by the concept at that point.
Luffy was still the incarnation of Nika at the end of the day. A man with a great destiny of his own.
'I'll have to ask Whitebeard about this at some point... His words were too similar to this old lady's...'
As he was pondering that, the Fallen Monk Pirates were all trying to process the old lady's words.
They considered her mad for a second, but the fact that the lightning was protecting her gave her words a lot of credibility as well...
There was also the fact that the lightning didn't seem to want to hit Enel, despite the fact that he wasn't using any umbrella.
Well, Enel's reputation did give him a lot of credibility when it came to being the man of prophecy...
"Thank you for that, old lady..." Enel nodded towards the woman, before opening his mouth again.
"However, the last question was left unanswered... Is the last Raijin still alive and protecting you?"
The old lady seemed to be taken aback by that question, blinking a few times before tilting her head.
She eventually chuckled and answered the Emperor's question with the same amount of energy as the rest.
"My bad, it must've seemed like that... But no. My lord had long since passed.
But his will is undying, a wisp of his soul managed to linger in this world, it awaits you in the centre...
He will be the one to guide you through awakening your full potential..."
The Emperor crossed his arms as he sat down in front of the old lady, his face morphing a bit. He was both impressed and confused at the concept of a soul sticking to the human world...
Alas, it seemed that he still had a lot to learn about souls...
"I understand... Well then, can you guide me there right away?"
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter!
My bad for yesterday had to spend most of my day at a family bbq
Story Shoutout! : The Last Observer
Discord, again: https://discord.gg/xQTK8caFEQ
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)
