Capítulo 255: 254. Lodestar Island
The Straw Hat Pirates finally arrived on Lodestar Island after struggling on the sea for almost 2 weeks. They've faced a lot of absurd sea phenomena on their way here. Those things also made them deviate from the correct route a few times because they could only think of escaping those dangerous things.
Even before they reach the island, they need to pass through a very hot area. Lodestar Island is surrounded by hot steam which they assume to be caused by underwater volcanoes. The heat released by those volcanoes evaporates the sea water and creates the thick hot steam around the island.
That's why even though they are happy to finally arrive on Lodestar Island, they all don't look that good. They are very exhausted physically and mentally. Even the always oh so easy going Luffy is lying on the floor without energy.
They are just relieved they can rest now because they've been battling nature for almost 2 weeks. In the last 2 weeks, they didn't sleep much and even took shifts to sleep. So now, the first thing they do after arriving is sleeping.
Jon creates a protective barrier around the ship to prevent any danger when they sleep. They never know what kind of danger presents on this island, after all. They can't protect themselves while sleeping, so this barrier is important.
Jon's decision is correct because when they sleep, some strange & powerful creatures are attacking them. But these creatures can't break Jon's Six Path Red Yang barrier, so they can only watch the delicious prey.
"Hmm? GYAAAHHH!"
Usopp who wakes up first got startled by the strange creatures that are looking at them through the rather transparent red barrier. They are quite gigantic and their appearances are hideous, scaring Usopp back to sleep.
The same thing also happens to Chopper and Nami who faint right after waking up. The others are just a bit startled by the creatures' hideous face. Meanwhile, Luffy thinks that they look delicious while Robin thinks they are cute.
Jon observes the creatures curiously because he never saw them before. They are similar to some animals, but with strange body features.
"The fuck are these? This one looks like a tiger, but it has carapace instead of fur and it has 6 eyes. That one looks like a crocodile, but its legs are too long and it has hair on its back. This guy looks like a combination of a giant snake and centipede. The others also look like the combinations of different animals. Do all animals on this island look like these?"
"What do you mean look like these? Do you mean they look delicious?"
"Sigh, you just keep thinking of them as food. What I mean is they look like the combinations of different animals."
"Yeah, like the results of cross-breeding."
"But even crossbreeding has limits. Like mammals shouldn't be able to breed with insects. Unless it's manmade."
"We don't know that for sure either. Grandline is a place that defies logic. So even these cross-breeding could have occurred naturally. Especially in an island like this that has been isolated from the world for many years."
"Well, we'll know more once we explore this island. If there was human involvement, then we will find clues. But it's not like we are a group of researchers, so we shouldn't think of this too much. Our goal here is still the same, making an Eternal Pose."
"We need to get into the island to make an Eternal Pose though. So we need to get rid of these things."
"Let's kill them and cook them."
"Heh, I wonder if these strange animals are strong."
Zoro grins while saying that and Jon also grins when hearing Zoro says that.
"Well, why don't you check it yourself, Zoro."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Jon suddenly grabs Zoro's clothes and throws him to the island through a small hole in the barrier that he has just made. Zoro curses Jon as he flies to the island under the gazes of the strange animals.
Seeing a delicious looking prey come out of the barrier, the strange animals quickly rush to Zoro. They really want to know the taste of human flesh that they never tasted before. The pissed Zoro quickly attacks the first animal that comes at him, the giant armored tiger.
He slashes with Wado Ichimonji and thought he would cut the giant armored tiger easily. However, his slash only leaves a mark on the tiger's thick carapace. Even if Zoro didn't use haki or his strong attacks, that slash was still enough to cut through steel.
"What a hard armor. It must be several times harder than steel. Franky, maybe you can use that to make something."
"They also look delicious."
"As usual, I don't understand your standard for food, Luffy. And while I understand what you mean, Jon, I don't really know how to craft that into something. Not only it is very hard, it also can't be melted and reshaped like metals. The only way to use it is by using its original shape."
"Hmm, well, you'll manage somehow. Anyway, it's clear that the creatures on this island are powerful. So the exploration will be dangerous. We need to move in groups, maybe 3 groups, no, let's move in 2 groups. There are 2 idiots that need to be watched, after all."
Jon looks at Luffy who's picking his nose & Zoro who fights the strange beasts. Everyone else nods in unison as they understand what Jon meant immediately.
"Alright, let's make preparations. The moss head will deal with the beasts, so we just need to prepare the exploration necessities."
They start making preparations like food and notes relaxedly while Zoro is fighting the beasts on the beach. When they finish preparing, Zoro is sitting on the mountain of carcasses with a pissed expression.
"Ooh, you killed them all, good job."
"DAMN YOU JON! HOW DARE YOU THREW ME LIKE THAT?"
"You looked so eager to fight, so I just helped you out."
"Tch, just be careful. These beasts are not normal."
"Yeah, they are strong. My estimation is that they are as strong as Marine's Rear Admirals. That's just for the beasts on the outskirts. The ones in the deeper parts of this island might be even stronger. There might be Vice-Admiral level beasts inside or even Admiral-level beasts. We need to move carefully."
They form 2 groups to move separately. Jon is in the same group with Zoro, Jane, Robin, Franky, and Chopper. The other group is composed of Luffy, Sanji, Jinbe, Nami, Usopp, and Brook.
"Call us if you need anything. Use your denden mushis, don't just feed them or they'll get fat."
"Alright, alright, you're so noisy. You're not a woman, Jon."
"Sigh, whatever, let's go."
The 2 groups finally start moving. Jon's group moves to the left while Luffy's group moves to the right side of the island. They enter the lush forest that is full of big trees that block the sunlight and tall grass that blocks their sight.
Jon has sent many shadow clones to scout the island before the crew enters. His shadow clones can move fast & freely without any worries. They are also strong, so Jon can use them to check if there are threats that even his shadow clones can't handle on this island.
While moving, Jon keeps making marks on the trees using his sword. Zoro is cutting the tall grass to open a path for them under Robin's guidance to make sure he doesn't go the wrong way.
Although it doesn't really matter because they don't have any destination and just go wherever they want to look around. Robin only needs to make sure that Zoro doesn't take them back to where they came from and doesn't leave the group on his own.
Zoro has this strange ability to get lost by himself even when he is together with the others. That's why Jon needs to put a mark on Zoro's arm so he can use Thunder Flash God Jutsu to teleport to Zoro if the moss head gets lost.
"Hey, Jon, is it really necessary to make those marks on the trees? We have made a clear path by cutting the grass, you know."
"Sigh, Chopper, have you looked behind us?"
"Hmm? Eh!? The grass?!"
Chopper is shocked to see the tall grass that has been cut by Zoro has grown again. He can even see the ones that have just been cut growing at a visible rate.
"The only strange things here aren't just the animals, but also the plants. This tall grass can grow very fast after being cut. That's why I make marks on the trees at a rather high position. Unlike the grass, the trees don't seem to have strong regeneration ability, so the marks I made don't disappear. Other than being very sturdy, they are just normal trees."
"Very sturdy?"
"Yeah, I need to use a lot of power just to leave shallow marks on these trees."
"Heh, I need to collect some woods of these trees before we leave this island. This sturdiness is comparable to Adam wood. Maybe I can even upgrade some parts of the ship with this wood."
"We can think of that later. For now, we need to solve this problem."
"What problem do you mean, Zoro?"
"We are surrounded."
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