Post by BlacKitten on Jan 7, 2019 14:51:42 GMT -5
On this peaceful evening, the horizon drowned the dim, orange sun. A gradient of vibrant colors spread from east to west, dark to light. Oblong shadows casted from the towering mangrove trees that formed this entire island. Each tree was sort of its own miniature island, allowing one to traverse to the next through short bridges. The lush green leaves that they form is at the very top, spanning outwards like an umbrella. It was like having a protective roof over their heads with some gaps.
It was a quiet hour in Grove 1. There were notably fewer people wondering in across the greenery of grass that made up the ground. There was a subtle amount of fog hovering over them. Miu sauntered forth with a beat in every step, brimming with vitality.
“I don’t think this place is boring at all,” the brunette responded to Kite’s dreamy remark of living in a place like this. “Each grove is like its own little world. Once you get bored, you just move to the next one.”
Miu crossed the bridge which arced subtly in a concaving manner from their end to the other end of the mangrove tree. She could see the massive meandering roots that extrudes from Grove 3. Against the light-grey tree trunks was a large white number that marked its identity. Up above, one could visibly read the number ‘3’ that’s etched at the very surface of its bark with vertical groves.
The moment that they the brunette crossed the bridge was the moment they reached Grove 3. Like before, there were not many settlements, and the folks lingering about had an unrulier and more untrusting demeanor. Vendors lined up on either side of the roads. A myriad of fish lined up vertically and horizontally, pilling on top of each other. Categorized by species, some had a gradient of grey across its shimmering scales while some were bright orange with a whitish underbelly. Crunched up pieces of ice were sprinkled over them, keeping them in a cool state which radiated outwards to form a colder atmosphere.
There were still customers around buying fish along with other seafoods such as crabs, shrimps, clams, oysters, and octopi. One the rarer and more expensive fish being sold was the Sea King.
Miu sprinted towards the vendor that sold the Sea King, eying on the cubes of meat. Those creatures were said to be humongous in size, the peerless kings of the seas at the top of the food chain in the Grand Line. Such a behemoth couldn’t be easily sold as a single piece and would have to be delivered in chunks.
A scrawny, tan-skinned middle-aged man held his arms crossed as he asked in a nonchalant manner, “Ya interested in buying some, miss?”
“So, this is what Sea King meat looks like…,” golden gems scrutinized the detailed marble of the meat that shimmered under the dim lighting.
“It got imported just recently from Arabara Island. Apparently, this Sea King swallowed up an entire ship.” The man that widened his arms to convey the grandiose phenomenon, “But then! Its stomach was sliced up, and the ship slipped out of its stomach. In just an instant, this beast was taken down by a mysterious person.”
“Eh!?” Miu was entranced by the story. A creature large enough to devour a ship? And someone was able to slice themselves out from the inside? “Who could have sliced a Sea King?” asked the girl, listening to the story attentively.
“The rumor says that a swordsman did it, but when the fishermen were dissecting this beast, they noticed that the underbelly was cut open as if a giant pair of claws sliced through.”
Claws?
A flash of memory emerged in her mind. She remembered. A mysterious being with a pair of black razor-sharp claws that could seemingly slice through anything. Could it be the same one?