Capítulo 338: Pampered
'Okay, this isn't so bad.' Cherry thought.
The moment she and Robin entered the bathhouse, they got swarmed by mink ladies and were currently being waited on hand and foot like some sort of luxury spa.
"These are very nice soaps you have." Robin complimented.
"They have to be. Our fur is our pride; we can only use the best in our care of it." Wanda said, running her fingers through Cherry's hair with shampoo.
"The scents are remarkably subtle and complex, too." Cherry added.
"Of course, our noses are quite strong after all. I'm surprised you can tell though. I've heard that humans don't have very good senses of smell." Wanda replied.
"I'm just built different." Cherry remarked.
Robin rolled her eyes as a bucket was dumped over her head.
Soon they were relaxing in a steaming bath. Cherry was snuggling against Robin's shoulder, asleep.
"... She's a lot cuter when she's unconscious…" Wanda commented.
"Isn't she?" Robin smiled. "I like her wild side very much as well, though."
"She was certainly passionate in her work with the blacksmiths." Wanda chuckled.
"Wait until you see her in battle." Robin spoke.
"It may be some time until that happens. I'll admit I'm a tad disappointed that Jack's fleet was sunk by the marines. He would have made an excellent test for our new armory." Wanda sighed.
"It's good that Zou is peaceful now, though, is it not?" Robin asked.
"Of course. It's just frustrating that we could not even the score with that brute." Wanda scratched her head.
Cherry stood bolt upright and looked around in mild confusion with a frown forming on her face.
"Cherry, what's wrong-?" Robin asked, then the land beneath their feet quaked.
All the minks were immediately rushing to get dressed and go find out what was happening. Thankfully their style of clothing wasn't that complicated to put on, so the process was quite quick.
Robin and Cherry were similarly fast in getting decent before rushing to find the others.
…
"Who is that?! Who's speaking so loudly?!" Luffy shouted, clutching his ears.
Momonosuke was similarly in great pain from a voice that no one else could hear.
Robin and Cherry showed up not long after the initial quake to find the samurai fruitlessly trying to help Momonsuke somehow in this strange predicament.
"The elephant is being attacked." Cherry said.
"Zunesha is being attacked?!" Dogstorm exclaimed. "Head for the ships! Find the attackers, wherever or whoever they are!"
Dogstorm didn't waste time asking pointless questions like how Cherry was so certain about that. As one of this land's kings, he had to be decisive.
"It's Jack with a powerful fleet! To the left side, the 9 o'clock position!" Momonosuke cried out.
Cat Viper commanded, "You heard him! You know where to seek them out!"
Cherry placed her hands on either side of Momonosuke's head and immediately he calmed down greatly, though he still looked quite uncomfortable. "What do you hear, Momo?"
"A voice… It says that the elephant committed a grave crime a long time ago, and must follow its last command. To walk, and walk, and walk! It's… it's asking for a new command…" Momonosuke said.
"Then give it one." Cherry said.
"How?" Momonosuke asked. Perhaps if he were still under duress from the deafening sound he would have just shouted by now.
"Just do it. Muster up all the kingliness in your bones and blood and take command." Cherry advised.
Momo took a deep breath and shouted, "Drive them away!!! Don't let them make you fall!!!"
There was another shift in the movements of Zunesha, only this time it felt different. In the distance, they saw Zunesha's head tilt in one direction, then forcibly sway to the other. They heard the crashing of the water even from all the way up here on its back. There were no more quakes after that and Zunesha seemed to return to its normal stride.
Luffy calmed down, as did Momonosuke. Cherry tentatively released the boy, and seeing he was alright she let him have his space. Momonosuke slipped into a slumber, seeming to have overexerted himself somehow.
"To think that Zunesha had a will of its own. For our entire record history, it has always marched onwards to some unknown destination." Dogstorm commented.
"Are you stupid?" Cherry said, quirking an eyebrow.
"Cherry!" Nami reprimanded.
"This big guy or girl had a brain the size of a small mountain and you thought it was just a big dumb animal?" Cherry pressed on.
Dogstorm scratched his floppy right ear awkwardly. Cat Viper laughed at him like he wasn't in the same boat as his rival.
"I suppose that makes sense… Stop laughing, Cat! It isn't that funny!" Dogstorm said.
"Wouldn't that mean sea kings are smart too?" Franky asked.
"Of course they are. My precious Takako, though she isn't technically a sea king, is like a thousand times smarter than Luffy." Cherry said.
"I'm smarter than a fish!" Luffy argued.
"Takako's got more arms than you, so she can count higher." Cherry shot back.
"Oh, I see. I can't argue with that…" Luffy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"See? He doesn't even know that octopi don't have fingers to count on." Cherry presented to the others.
"What?!" Luffy fell right into her trap, but then his eyes shone. "Aha, but they do have suction cups!"
Luffy nodded like he'd achieved some great victory, and the others silently agreed that Takako was smarter than he was.
"I didn't mention this before, since I didn't know the elephant is like a person or whatever, but what are the trees growing from?" Franky asked. "There's a bit of dirt, but it's only a thin layer on top of skin."
That was a disturbing image that was planted in their heads. Were the trees killing Zunesha? Did the roots burying into its back hurt?
"They're parasitic," Cherry said with some certainty.
The minks cringed. They wondered if it would be a mercy to destroy the forest, but that was no easy thing to decide as they relied on the forest for many reasons.
"Not to worry!" Chopper chimed in. "For an animal of this size, these trees are barely a bother! Their roots also secrete a natural anesthetic substance, so they shouldn't cause pain either!"
The minks breathed a sigh of relief. They could trust a doctor on that, couldn't they?
Chopper's eyes twinkled innocently.
Couldn't they?
Cat Viper shook off his daze first. "This doesn't bode well, though. Jack finding his way here the first time COULD have been a fluke, an accident. Twice… that's almost assuredly not a coincidence. He meant to come here and had a way to make it happen…"
"Well, we're headed out in a few hours and I've got urgent business to take care of. If you see any lightning, stay clear of it will ya?" Cherry said, waving goodbye to them.
Dogstorm and Cat Viper waved back, but looked confused about the lightning part. "Lightning? She can't use Electro, right? She's human."
Capítulo 339: A Different Kind of Tribulation
Cherry found herself in a nice little clearing in the forest on Zunesha's back. The sounds of the minks going about their lives were far, far away and even the local birds were quiet here.
"You said this one was going to be different, right?" Robin asked.
"Mm," Cherry affirmed. "I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen, though I do have a general idea."
"What?! You didn't mention that!" Robin exclaimed.
Cherry shrugged. "Once you're facing the transcendent stage things start to get weird. No two tribulations are identical at this level, even between people practicing the same method. There's no point worrying about it; rather worrying is an active detriment to your chances."
Robin wanted to argue, wanted to ask her to just stay in her current realm. She could still grow stronger, and even with just her current cultivation reaching the peak of the world would be easy enough for her. The other tribulations she had witnessed Cherry go through were terrifying, but after seeing her come back from being reduced to charred bones those didn't seem so bad in hindsight. This time was different though; it wasn't her body but her soul that was in danger! ON top of that, Cherry didn't even know what she was in for!
Robin held her tongue, though. She saw the confident, determined expression cross her beloved's face and she couldn't stop her. This was a path that Cherry was dead set on, as much or maybe more so than her own quest to unearth the true history of the world.
Cherry took out a rather large cultivation pill and the second pink dyna stone gem and fused them together. The pill quaked in her hands as it was threatening to explode, before she shoved the whole thing into her mouth and sat in the middle of the clearing.
Robin stood back at the tree line with Cabernet to make sure that no one would interrupt.
Nothing seemed to happen for almost half a minute before the wind picked up, shaking the leaves of the trees.
Except there was no wind; the trees were swaying, but the air was deathly still. It gave an eerie atmosphere with ever increasing tension. Robin could actually feel… something… flowing towards the center of the clearing where Cherry was sitting. From there the mysterious something flowed up, up, and up beyond what she could sense.
Cherry's eyes opened slowly. "Ah, so that's how it is?"
*...*
A single bolt of lightning, black as the void crashed down on Cherry's head. It made no sound, but its appearance perfectly silenced the surroundings. Robin thought that it had been so loud that she had gone deaf for a moment, before the sounds of the worlds returned as if they'd never left.
The next thing that Robin noticed was that Sakura Tengoku was still sheathed on Cherry's waist. Cherry herself sat still and silent, staring ahead blankly.
…
Cherry rolled herself out of bed at the sound of the morning bell in town. Today was a special day so she was too excited to insist on sleeping in like she did everyday, until Grandma threatened to kick her ass that is.
She raced out of her room and towards the dining room, where she found Grandma Angela had prepared a veritable feast for breakfast.
"I knew that you could get up on time, you little brat." Grandma Angela reprimanded her playfully.
Cherry didn't mind her words at all and immediately dug into the food. Grandma usually insisted on a finely tuned and healthy diet with only a few treats in moderation.
"You're going to throw up if you keep eating like that, you know? It isn't going anywhere." Grandma Agnela sighed, sitting down to have some before it all disappeared. "I suppose you must be excited for today?"
Cherry nodded her head enthusiastically, electing not to speak with a mouth full of bacon and eggs.
"I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my granddaughter, just so you know. Actually, I might be a little less lenient…" Grandma Angela spoke, appraising her.
Cherry paled a bit and the old woman chuckled. "I'm just teasing, I'm sure you won't disappoint in your performance.
Cherry finished off her first plate and took a deep breath like she hadn't breathed at all since she'd started eating. "I'm gonna kick YOUR ass this time, you old hag!"
Cherry was out the door, cackling to herself before Grandma Angela could show her how much she liked that taunting. She'd get her chance to do so soon enough, though.
In her haste, Cherry slammed into a brick wall that hadn't been there the day before and tumbled backwards, only to realize that it was actually Borke she'd run into.
"Hello, Cherry." Borke gave her his usual warm greeting with a calm smile.
"I swear you get bigger every time I see you, Borke." Cherry commented, brushing herself off then allowing Borke to help her to her feet.
"Really?" Borke missed the exaggeration in her claim, assuming it was literal.
He looked so happy about it, though, that Cherry didn't have the heart to correct him. "Yeah, I reckon you'll be as big as a giant eventually."
Cherry and Borke walked outside, where they found Slenk doing his morning warm up.
"Good morning, Cherry. Ready to graduate?" Slenk asked.
Cherry nodded. "More than ready. Grandma's too stubborn, can you believe she-"
*rumble*
Cherry turned to look towards the north. Ominous, dark clouds were rolling in from the sea. They situated themselves over the Thornwood and were slowly creeping closer. Cherry couldn't take her eyes away from them, they were-
"Pay attention, Cherry!" Grandma Angela's sword clashed with Cherry's as she hastily raised it in defense.
"What's happening?" Cherry wondered aloud.
"You're in the middle of your graduation exam and you're daydreaming, that's what's happening!" Grandma Angela forced her on the defensive.
Several more exchanges had Cherry on the back foot and it all felt so… wrong.
*Rumble!*
Cherry was distracted again and suffered for it as a wooden sword clipped her jaw, making her stumble backward.
Grandma Angela lowered her wooden sword and sighed. "As I thought, You're not ready for this yet."
"No! I am, I just… I just…" Cherry's head was swimming. The dark clouds over the Thornwood were closer now, almost suffocating with their presence.
Cherry dropped her wooden sword. "What's with that storm…?"
"What storm, Cherry? It's a clear sunny day?" Slenk spoke from where he sat on the sidelines.
"What…?" Cherry didn't understand.
*RUMBLE!!!*
The dark clouds emanated a bone deep thunder with no sign of lightning in sight.
"Why isn't there any lightning? There should be lightning, shouldn't there?" Cherry felt sick and swayed on her feet.
"Are you alright, Cherry?" Grandma Angela asked, concern on her face.
"Why do you look so old?" Cherry asked. "You're not supposed to look old…"
"You little brat! One day you'll be old too, see if your grandkids point it out for you!" Grandma Angela rebuked.
*CRACK!!!* *RUUUMMMBBBLLLEEE!!!*
The first strike of lightning Cherry saw filled her not with fright and surprise, but rather with dread to the depths of her heart.
She ran.
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