Climbing up Zunesha was like trying to reach the sky. Never in his life had Yuta gone climbing, not even after dying, so doing the biggest climb possible in any world on the first try was nonetheless overwhelming.
He wasn't alone in this estimate; none of them wished to climb this behemoth.
Good thing they just happened to have a person who could fly and take all of them up there along with him.
Caesar ate the Gas Gas Fruit. It allowed him to turn into gas, manipulate different kinds of gas, and, more importantly for their current situation, let him fly.
From there on, it was simple enough. They had him attach a big enough platform that could contain all of them and fly it upwards.
However, problems still arose. Three more people than there should have been was just a little too much for the poor fellow.
Good thing Ace was there. While Caesar was acting like a hot air balloon, Ace provided the necessary heat to create enough warm air to lift all of them up.
"I despise you all..." Caesar, of course, wasn't very happy about it.
No one would be if a man blasted him with fire at his belly. Gas he might be at that time, but heat he could feel nonetheless.
The higher they went, the harder it became to stay. It was the oxygen. They were so high that the air was getting dangerously thin here. Good enough for normal living but not ideal for any strenuous work, work like climbing a fucking 35 KM tall elephant.
Yuta realised the fragility of his body in times like this. ROFA makes him strong, yes, but besides that, he was similar to any normal human. Haki helps, and so did the hard training done in this world and the nutritious food he ate here. However, that was still not enough to compare with someone who was actually born in this world.
Somewhere beyond halfway, things got dangerous suddenly.
Caesar was already out of breath, his hands holding the platform shaky from holding the rope too long.
Suddenly, his hand slipped, and one side of the platform tilted.
"Aaahhh!!" Nami screamed, her body swinging downward.
"Ace! Maki!" Yuta shouted as he quickly tightened his grip as he catching one side of the platform and one of Caesar's extended limbs.
Ace, Maki, and Brook did the same.
"Nami-Swan..." Sanji, being Sanji, was ready to dive down in an instant to protect Nami when suddenly hands started to sprout beneath the platform and rush at her.
Instantly, Yuta's Hana Hana Devil Fruit powers he copied from Robin acted up, and he caught Nami.
"Hold on!" Yuta yelled.
"That was too close," Maki said, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"Yeah," Yuta nodded. "Why this damn Mink Tribe hasn't made some kind of elevators yet." He grumbled.
A few hours later, after what felt like forever, they finally reached the top. What awaited them was breathtaking.
Spread across the back of the giant elephant was the kingdom of Mokomo. Green forests, wooden houses, and walkways stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a peaceful and beautiful place, unlike anything they had ever seen.
"System, please give me some sort of flying ability after this." Yuta huffed and breathed hard until he finally got his breath under control.
At one point, it was clear that Caesar couldn't take them all up, so they had to temporarily replace him. Using Sky Walk, Yuta, Maki, Sanji, and Ace with his Devil Fruit powers, propelled the platform up for some time.
He was still in better condition compared to some other members who had experienced multiple mini heart attacks throughout the journey. Chopper and Momonosuke, or members like Nami who had fallen flat down, were among them.
But peace didn't last long.
As soon as they stepped forward, a loud horn echoed through the air.
Suddenly, dozens of warriors from the Mink Tribe surrounded them. These were animal-human hybrids, strong and fierce-looking. Some had swords, others had claws. They looked ready to attack at any moment.
'Cat girls, Bunny Girls, Dog Girls, Fox Girls... this place is heaven...' Yuta was fighting hard to stop the blush creeping up his face.
Though he doubted anyone would be looking at him when there were two big perverts hoarding all the attention. Unknown to him, someone did notice him.
"Stay where you are!" one of them shouted.
"You should have said that before we climbed this bloody elephant, my friend," Yuta said with a condescending smile, annoyed that he wouldn't find a lift or a stair to come up here.
The Mink warriors didn't move, still watching them with suspicion. There was no reply to Yuta's jab until one said,
"Take them to Duke Inuarashi. He will decide their fate."
"Inuarashi?" muttered Yuta with confusion. He knew that this place was kind of governed by two Mink Tribe warriors. Which one were they talking about here, though?
---
[Onigashima]
Finally, the news of Jack's death reached Kaido, and the outcome wasn't good.
He sat in his throne room, reading the newspaper with a deep frown.
Kaido's hands crushed the paper in rage. His eyes glowed with fury. "That old man Newgate...!" he roared. For him, he didn't even care that it was actually Yuta who killed Jack. For him, it was as if Whitebeard did it himself.
Jack wasn't just a soldier. He was one of Kaido's top three men. A Calamity. Strong, ruthless, and loyal. Losing him wasn't just a hit to Kaido's power—it was an insult.
Without saying a word, Kaido stood up. His breathing got heavier, his muscles tensed, and steam began to rise from his body. Servants and Beast Pirates around him stepped back, scared. They had seen this before.
"Kaido-sama... what are you—?"
Too late.
With a thunderous roar, Kaido transformed into his massive blue dragon form. His scales shimmered like steel. His body stretched across the sky, and the clouds turned dark.
He didn't wait for plans. He didn't care for strategy.
"I'm going to settle this matter with that old man!!" he shouted.
Then, with a mighty push of his wings, Kaido took off into the sky. The ground cracked under him. Winds roared as he shot into the sky like a storm.
Everyone below watched in silence, knowing something terrible was about to happen.
"There he goes again, sigh..."
xxx
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