After playing enough, the group returned to Conis's house.
Orochimaru looked around thoughtfully, realizing he needed to stock up on those cloud materials. He planned to process them into furniture for the going merry, and when he eventually got a bigger ship, he wanted a super-sized bed and a sofa... Everyone else would probably like them too, and he also had to consider new members joining later. Even Garp, he'd reluctantly have to send him one.
Other shells were fine to just stock up on a bit; they were just novel, not very useful.
"By the way, where's Nami?" Orochimaru chewed on the lobster meat Sanji had just cooked, realizing someone was missing.
Luffy pouted, "She's still playing with the waver."
Luffy was a bit envious of Nami. Although the one Orochimaru made for him was fun, it wasn't as fast as the waver; it was more like a toy.
"Gods??" Their attention was drawn to the topic Conis was discussing.
"Yes, this is the land of gods, ruled by the almighty God, Eneru. Eneru knows everything and controls all in this world. Everything we do, he sees, anytime, anywhere."
"Ah... Orochimaru, this is the Observation Haki you mentioned before, right?" Zoro rubbed his chin, very interested. Orochimaru had told them about mastering the technique before, but their current physical condition wasn't up to par; they needed more training time.
"Conis-chan, have you ever seen that God?" Sanji was curious.
"No... We are forbidden to enter Apaya. That is where the gods live, a forbidden place that must never be entered." Conis's expression was a little sad.
"Soga... A place that must never be entered, huh, ah hahaha." Luffy's eyes sparkled as he giggled foolishly, chewing on bread with puffed cheeks, then continued to chuckle.
"He definitely wants to go in," everyone thought in unison.
Conis was a little worried, "I hope Miss Nami hasn't entered Apaya. Humans who enter will be punished by God; no one comes out alive."
"Yosh... Let's go save Nami!" Hearing this, Luffy stuffed all his food into his mouth, chewing and speaking at the same time, turning around excitedly.
"Let's go," Orochimaru wiped his mouth and stood up.
"Hey..." The group was speechless. Luffy clearly intended to sneak into the forbidden land, not actually save Nami! And Nami might not even be there. Orochimaru, why are you getting involved?
"Well... Nami might just still be playing with the waver," Usopp said helplessly. He didn't want to provoke a god.
"It's no use saying anything. The only outcomes are: Luffy goes in by himself and we go find him, or we all go in together. Those are the two choices," Orochimaru said expressionlessly.
Everyone's faces twitched... That made a lot of sense.
"But how do we get there? Conis's father just said it's a headwind now, and the going merry can't sail across," Sanji lit a cigarette. He was still very worried about Nami.
Orochimaru coughed and pointed to the side, "This is the upgraded mechanical naruto 2.0, an amphibious and aerial version."
(≖_≖) Ah, it's him... Everyone looked at the familiar little poor thing... Mourning for mechanical naruto... They wondered if there was even a Naruto person, and if so, how miserable he must be.
After entrusting the going merry to Conis, Orochimaru also asked her to help find professionals to repair the ship.
The group skillfully boarded mechanical naruto and each found their designated seats. That's right, everyone had their own exclusive scientific chair on mechanical naruto, what Orochimaru called a custom ergonomic chair. Of course, the top of Naruto's head was naturally reserved for Luffy; as a boneless human, he didn't need ergonomics.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nami, having witnessed the power of divine punishment, was filled with shock. She immediately decided to speed up her return, but just as she turned around, she saw the conspicuous mechanical naruto.
(≖_≖) Ah... As expected, no surprise... But when will Orochimaru change his aesthetic? Sitting on the back of a robot isn't cool at all, not even as cool as Smoker. Nami constantly complained internally; she didn't understand boys' love for robots.
"Nami-swan~ We've come to save you!" Sanji was shaking with excitement. After shouting this excitedly, he couldn't wait to rush forward. His steps were light and swift, his eyes sparkling with hearts, as he swayed towards Nami.
Luffy was also exceptionally excited. He wide-eyed, looking at the forest in front of him, couldn't help but cheer, "A forbidden place... So amazing! There's even land in the sky?" Luffy jumped around excitedly.
Nami quickly pulled Luffy, "No, Luffy! If you go up, there will be divine punishment! I just saw someone get struck by lightning and turn to ash with my own eyes!" Nami's face was a little pale.
"Divine punishment... Sugoi!" Luffy's eyes lit up as he bypassed Nami and climbed up like a monkey.
Nami silently shed tears (╥╯^╰╥) She knew it.
"Nami, are you hurt? Are there any lightning-attribute attacks...?" Orochimaru assessed Nami, found she wasn't injured, and pondered... How to prevent being struck by lightning... He got it!
Orochimaru squatted behind everyone, fiddling with something, then held up a super-sized candied hawthorn lollipop, but the stick was metal and had cool patterns.
"Luffy... Luffy," Orochimaru waved at Luffy.
Luffy's eyes lit up as he looked at the human-sized lollipop, "Is that for me?"
"Mm-hmm... Luffy, Nami just said there's intermittent lightning divine punishment here, and it wouldn't be good if your straw hat got damaged... Do you want me to keep it safe for you?" Orochimaru gently handed over the candy.
"Oh... Okay." Luffy scratched his head, tilted it, and thought for a moment, finding Orochimaru's words somewhat reasonable. So he took off the straw hat he was wearing and handed it to Orochimaru.
"The stick of this candied hawthorn lollipop is a limited edition; don't throw it away after eating, okay? Look, there are patterns on the stick, and you like these little sticks, don't you? It's perfect for you to use for exploring, and it also has a matching candied hawthorn hair clip," Orochimaru took out a metal candied hawthorn hair clip and put it on Luffy's head (see the easter egg picture in the comments section).
"Not bad, very cute," Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction.
The group looked at Orochimaru's actions in confusion. Was he acting up again???
Orochimaru didn't say anything, just handed out a genuine candied hawthorn to everyone.
"Try it, it's delicious, but Luffy has a big appetite so I made him a candy." The group blinked... Is that all it is? Each took a bite of the candied hawthorn.
(﹡ˆoˆ﹡) Sweet and sour, so delicious! Chopper loved it especially. Sanji was already thinking about making other fruits this way. Zoro didn't care. Usopp was obsessed with candied hawthorn.
Only Robin occasionally glanced at Luffy's head, wanting to speak but holding back... But she didn't say anything. Orochimaru always acted with discretion and wouldn't put Luffy in danger... right?
Luffy skipped and hummed, exploring the forest, occasionally licking his candy. Orochimaru was so good.
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