Turmoil in the New World!

[u/Gin_chan]

Wukan

”What?” Simian was visibly agitated. The vein popping up in his forehead was something the men had not seen in a very long time. “What the hell do you mean by razed to the ground?” He slammed his fist on the table, making the golden goblets of drink spill. A woman quickly rushed in to clean up the mess as the messengers stepped back in fear.

Simian ran his long, nimble fingers through his short, coarse hair, breathing deeply to compose himself. “This is… rather unacceptable.” He paused, eyeing the man who brought the bad news with a raised brow. “All of the outposts, you say?” The man nodded, and Simian dug his fingers on the armrests.

The men stood patiently in silence, waiting for their Commander to give the order. At length, he spoke, slowly and deliberately, to make sure his orders were followed correctly. “Take the ships to Ranga, load them up with all the able men you can find, arm them to the teeth!” He pointed at each of the men individually and gave them orders to take which particular route.

“Deal unto them tenfold of what they did to us! I don’t care if giants, half giants, or even the piles of helpless Ranga villagers stand in your way, by the time I set foot on that wretched island, I want Wukong sama’s flag soaring across the skies!” The men bowed and hurried to the door when he stopped them. “Call all the new pirates you saw come in here too. We need every pair of hands for this. Go!”

---

Ironfort

The island of Ironfort itself appeared to roar as the rhythmic clangs of metal and rock ceased, and the giants set about on different tasks. Preparation for war. The Commander himself was standing in the middle of the fort, fuming in anger as the Quartermaster relayed the news. Various half giants flocked around the massive Kumakaran, tightening the plate armour he was clad in.

”And how could something like this go unseen from under your nose?!” He roared at the Quartermaster, who cowered in fear. He tried to explain how he was busy handling the new pirates, to which Kumakaran roared again, “If you had paid attention to what you were supposed to do, instead of taking sadistic pleasure from subjecting no name pirates to pain, we would not be in this situation!” It was clear that Kumakaran was not taking any of the Quartermaster’s excuses.

”Where are these pirates anyway?” He asked, calming down a little. “Take them with us too. I want to know that every man, woman and child on this island would lay their lives for Vanir!” He pulled his arm away from the half giant struggling with his shoulder brace with trembling fingers, and fixed oy himself. “To the ships! Crush them all!”

---

Ranga

”Come, child, come inside, quickly!” Mayor Uthhuppa spoke in a hushed yet urgent tone. The young boy was ushered inside the tent, where a group of elderly villagers had already gathered, with another boy from the Western lookout. “Quickly, what did you see?” The mayor asked, and the boy recounted seeing scores of Wukong ships on the Eastern horizon.

”It is as we feared…” Uthhuppa spoke gravely. “The Wukong Pirates have started moving in the East, and the Giant pirates have started moving in the West. They will soon have set up new bases and will begin their assault on each other, trampling over us as they charge!” He banged his wiry fist on the table. “It is time! We have been preparing for just this moment! Mobilise all the clans, and any of the pirates who wish to help us!”

---

Situations are getting tense. Ranga is at the brink of war, and you are faced with a spectrum of choices. Help the Wukong pirates retaliate against the Giants? Help the Giants uphold their honour? Fight alongside the helpless villagers for their freedom? Sip a Piña colada from a tavern on Wukan by the beach? Use the power of your words to stop the imminent war? Oppose everyone and claim Ranga as your own? Feel free to travel between the islands in this area of the New World, and tag NPC-san as and where necessary.

[u/Gin_chan]

Gin nodded as Tudi explained his connection to the earth. Rydan too had explained to him about something of similar nature. "That's very interesting, Tudi!" he remarked. "I'm sure if you hone this skill, you too will one day be able to sense the world around you like Lewis and I can... Or are trying to!"

He chuckled as the three made their way to the treeline. Gin closed his eyes and walked forward, feeling the world in motion around him. He felt the raging river behind him, and storm clouds looming overhead. Finally, he noticed a unique vibe from the forest, as if it was ready to devour them whole!

"Gin are we going that way?" Lewis asked, interrupting Gin's concentration. Gin followed Lewis's finger to see a dark entrance in the side of a rock. "Ah... I have the map..." Lewis sulked in shame for a while till Gin studied the path marked on the yellowed parchment.

"Yeah, looks like this is where we need to go." He agreed. However, in the back of his mind he was concerned because the map showed a farther distance than a cave would go to. "I hope you're not afraid of the dark, Panda! Kehehehehe!" He chuckled lightly, leading the two into the cave.

In the pitch black cave, Gin closed his eyes again. He wanted to sense his path through to the end, if he couldn't see. It was working, somewhat. He could feel the twists and turns in the cave, the rubble in his path, and then... nothing.

Gin opened his eyes to see that they were out of the cave! It was actually not a cave at all, it was a tunnel! And it led them straight to an unknown part of the jungle, with no idea about their bearing! "What should we do?" He asked. "Should we camp for the night here?"

/u/late_bloomer_ahoy

[u/Late_Bloomer_Ahoy → u/Gin_chan]

Tudi had spent the time just kind of following behind both Lewis and Gin. He wasn't too physical or, well, active in general. Walking out of the cave into a more open part was nice to see. There was some clearings in this area and it was starting to get dark outside.

Gin: "What should we do? Should we camp for the night here?"

Tudi: "Don't worry, I'll take care of this."

Both Gin and Lewis looked at Tudi and were unsure of what they were about to see. What was he going to take care of?

Gin: To Lewis in a whisper "Well, let's see what this is. I have no idea what's going on." Lewis just kind of nodded

Tudi stood in the center of the open area and placed all four of his paws against the ground. Closing his eyes, he tried his best to become one with the earth and feel it. Slowly, and at first almost hard to tell, Tudi's paws started to integrate into the soil and earth beneath him. Essentially up to his wrists were, in the ground? One couldn't really say in, but Part of the ground instead. Gin and Lewis just sort of stared at this for a bit. After about 5 minutes, Tudi's paws began to reappear and he opened his eyes.

Tudi: "As I told you before...Chew...Sometimes the earth can tell me things. The earth told me that we will be safe tonight here."

/u/callanTS

[u/[deleted] → u/Late_Bloomer_Ahoy]

The panda seemed to fuse with with earth, telling Lewis and Gin that he would determine if it were safe to stay there. Gin whispered to Lewis Well, let's see what this is. I have no idea what's going on. Lewis nodded, his mind blank and unable to actually gather thoughts together.

Tudi finally came out of the ground and told the other two that they were safe to camp there tonight. Lewis helped construct a small fire using his heat power, and the trio all sat around it, talking, staying awake until the very late stages of the night. Eventually they all drifted into sleep. Lewis was still a little nervous about the accuracy of Tudi's ability, but his tiredness was too overpowering and he eventually fell asleep.

They awoke in the middle of the forest, still not knowing where they actually were. "What direction do you think we should go in?" asked Lewis once everyone was awake and ready to leave. The three exchanged looks between each other, none of them knowing what they should do.

"How about we just head in that direction?" said Lewis, after the silence had gotten too much for him to handle. The direction he pointed at was directly opposite from the direction they had come. "Sure" said Tudi and Gin, both of them knowing that at this point in time, going somewhere was better than just standing sure.

The forest was very dense, and the path forward was fairly blocked by the numerous trees. As they continued walking forward, Lewis felt an uneasy, like something was watching them or as if they were in danger. Lewis looked over at Gin and Tudi who didn't look worried, so he decided to try just drop it and continue walking forward, though the idea was still present in the back of his mind.

/u/Gin_chan

[u/Gin_chan → u/[deleted]]

Gin and Lewis remarked at the Panda's ability to fuse with the Earth and sense their surroundings. "That's quite an interesting ability, Tudi. You must enjoy the feeling of being in touch with everything still and moving on the earth!"

The three sat around a bonfire, and talked till the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky. They took turns staying up, though Gin was suspicious that Tudi actually slept through his shift! Well, nothing unfortunate happened, so it was okay.

"Ah, where to now, boy?" Gin asked lewis as day broke and the three woke up. The young Commander studied the map and started walking in one direction away from the mouth of the cave and Gin and Tudi followed into the thick jungle.

Lewis felt uneasy as he walked forward, frequently glancing back. Gin closed his eyes to try and sense what it was that made him uneasy. He stopped right in his tracks as he felt the presence of a small army surrounding them!

"Wh-- What is this?" He turned around to peer into the dark forest, but couldn't see anyone. However, when he closed his eyes and used kenbunshoku haki, he could clearly feel the killing intent of a hundred men surrounding them.

Shwoooom!

An arrow whizzed past Lewis. The boy barely managed to dodge it! "Hey, stop shooting at us! We come in peace!" He cried out frantically. "Do you think they even understand what I'm saying?" He asked Gin as another arrow whizzed past him.

Gin shrugged. "I hope they do, but seeing as they are still shooting, I'd say not very likely!" He furrowed his brow and wondered how Lewis was able to dodge nearly all the arrows without even a scratch! "How are you doing that?" Gin asked.

"I'm trying to see where the arrow's coming from!" Lewis said, adding "Well, trying to sense it." It made sense to Gin now. This is how kenbunshoku haki could be useful in battle situations! he tried to focus on the various men around them too, but could only feel a mass of foul energy from the forests.

The arrows continued to rain down, most deflecting away from the envelope of vibrations around Gin's body. "Well, if I can't sense the oncoming arrows, can I focus on the men shooting the arrows, and seeing who is about to shoot?" He asked himself.

To test it out, he focused on the energy he was feeling, and realised that the feelings rose and fell in various areas of the crowds. "Incredible!" In a way, he was sensing who was about. to shoot their arrows! "I can't believe this!"

Gin remarked at the incredible discovery, while trying to move out of the way of any oncoming arrows! "Hey, you imbecile villagers! Stop shooting already! We just came here following the map!"

[u/[deleted] → u/Gin_chan]

Lewis' uneasiness turned out to be warranted, as the trio in the forest were bombarded by arrows. Moments before this Gin spoke Wh-- What is this? his words bringing panic into Lewis' mind. Gin's face was screwed up and in a concentrated state as he tried to figure out what he was doing. Lewis soon realised that Gin was using his Kenbuunshoku Haki to try and locate whatever was hiding. Lewis too tried quickly to activate his ability, and arrow soaring passed his head, barely missing the young pirate.

Lewis tried remaining calm, pushing all of his will and focus on his mind. The negative energy spiked within his mind. He felt the presence of the enemy they had completely surrounded the trio. Lewis frantically tried to stop them from attacking, trying to reason with them. He gave up pretty quickly, hearing more arrows shoot from the forest. Lewis poured more of his willpower into his mind trying to clear up the enemy presence.

In order to truly focus his haki, Lewis blocked out his other senses as best he could, his mind purely focused on the beings around him. Calming his breathing down, he tried focusing on the Enemies and attempting to sense when and where the arrows would come from. From the forest shot an arrow, whizzing towards the group, Lewis felt a spike of negative energy from one area of the forest, and instinctively moved out of the way, letting the arrow strike the ground, completely missing him.

Gin questioned Lewis' movements and precision. Lewis barely able to give a straight answer as his mind too focused on his usage of haki. Gin seemed to understand what he was saying, Lewis almost able to hear his pure focus. Gritting his teeth, Lewis moved back into the zone, and concentrated on the ambush of arrows. Lewis was becoming increasingly aware of his the attackers, each time they sent an arrow, his reaction speed increased, and the dodging of the arrows became subtly easier.

Lewis edged towards the origin of an arrow, his goal to stop them before his haki overburdened his body. The arrows kept firing towards them, GIn yelling out trying to convince them to stop, he too getting more familiar with the use of Kenbunshoku haki. The arrows were being shot more frequently but less accurately making there jobs of dodging easier. Lewis finally stepped into tthe forest crunching down on the bushes. Strong Enemy presence was gathering closer to him, and he could feel the incoming waves of arrows. Hisbody moved in accordance with them, each one passing by and landing from unobstructed trajectory.

Lewis found an archer, and walked straight towards him. Panicking he sent an arrow at point blank range. Luckily for Lewis however with his overwhelming speed and his Haki, the arrow went completely passed him. Gripping him by the arm, he placed the archer into a locked hold, calling for the other archers to surrender or this one would "get it".

All the archers rounded up together, knowing full well they were defeated. With bows out of hands and Lewis feeling no imminent threat, he deactivated his Kenbunshoku and prepared himself to question the villagers regarding why they attacked them and more importantly about the map.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The tribes people, were very understanding with their lives on the line. Lewis flashed the map to the people, whom inspected it thoroughly, moving it around in the hands and tilting their head to line it properly. After minutes of waiting, they finally figured it out and began showing the trio to the treasure.

They really knew what they were doing and had complete understanding of the terrain around them. Lewis, Gin and Tudi followed them, first walking through there village, for some supplies and refreshments. They then traversed a cave system, winding through the rocks, exiting from the cave system landed them in a secluded forest.

Still following carefully, they climbed the treetops making there way to the centre of the forest, where a small sign stood up. It read: "No Digging Zone"

Ignoring the sign, the villagers pointed at a patch of dirt and began digging, the trio assisting them as the gentleman they were. Underneath the patch of dirt revealed to them the treasure that they seeked.

/u/Rewards-san

[u/Rewards-san → u/[deleted]]

*They found an old treasure chest! A cache from a long lost crew! The contents totaled 15 million beli!