Chopper had instantly blown the whistle around his neck the second he had seen the man fly over to the ship.
"I am Shura. A priest of God and the master of the Ordeal of String. Prepare to give your lives to the Almighty God Enel."
His bird sent a large barrage of fire at the Going Merry. One of the flames forced Itachi to jump back, who grabbed his painting off his easel so that it wouldn't be destroyed. His easel and his brushes weren't so lucky and ended up incinerated. Other parts of the boat ended with the same fate.
Itachi instantly responded in kind, throwing a wave of shuriken with pinpoint accuracy at Shura.
The priest easily blocked the projectiles with his lance. His bird sent another barrage of fireballs at the ship, but Itachi was ready. Flashing through a set of seals he called out:
"Wind Release: Great Gale Palm!"
Shoving his hand out, a massive burst of wind pushed out towards the priest. The wind instantly shot the fireballs right back, hitting the priest and his bird. He roared in rage putting out the fires that had sprouted on his bird's feathers and along the fur his aviator jacket.
"My shuriken were much faster than those fireballs. How come he couldn't dodge those, but easily dodged and blocked my shuriken? A prediction ability? Observation?"
The priest yelled out a challenge that Itachi didn't care to listen to, before charging him, his lance catching on fire, intent on impaling him.
Itachi pulled out a kunai, his sword sealed within his sketchbook, and leaped up to meet the man's oncoming charge, easily deflecting the lance and kicking the man away, preventing any further damage from coming to the Straw Hat's ship.
Flashing through another set of hand seals, he fired out another jutsu.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A trio of dragons made out of fire, burst from his mouth, speeding towards the flying forms of Shura and his bird. The priest was able to dodge the first two dragons, but his bird was not as lucky, taking the full brunt of the third dragon, as well as the first and second dragons, which had wrapped around after the priest's initial dodging.
Burned to a crisp and passed out from the pain, the bird began to fall to the sea below. Itachi threw three kunai at the falling priest. He was able to wiggle around the first two, but the third one bounced off the other two
"Fuza!" The priest cried out. "You'll fucking regret this. I swear I'll fucking kill you, bastard!"
He pinned Itachi with a rather weak glare, before pulling out a dial, shooting it at the trees, grabbing his bird, and swinging out. Seems like whatever he had shot out of the dial, was the wire-like object he had felt drape across his body when he had clashed with the priest.
At that moment, the Knight of the Sky came flying in, ready for battle.
"Who has summoned me?"
He then glided over to the boat, noticing it's damaged condition and the occupants on it, instantly focusing on the whistle around Chopper's neck.
"It seems like whatever danger that has befallen you has been dealt with. Could one of you tell me what exactly happened?"
Chopper started to blubber out a response, but the tears, snot, and fear made him completely incoherent. Itachi stepped up next to him and patted his head to calm him down before addressing the Sky Knight.
"One of the priests by the name of Shura came by and tried to kill us, but I managed to damage his bird and force him to retreat."
"Very impressive work young man. Not many people can match the strength and speed of the priests so I must commend you on your ability." It did not escape Gan Fall's notice how completely unharmed the man was, noting how none of his clothing was burnt, or the fact that he wasn't out of breath.
"What a remarkably humble man. The way he worded his statement made it seem like he was barely able to push off Shura's attacks, but it's quite obvious that he had absolutely no trouble at all. What an absolute monster."
"Well, I'll be on my way then. It seems like you have everything under control here. Do take care and be careful."
With that, Gan Fall took back to the skies, intent on patrolling around Upper Yard before heading back to his home.
Itachi and Chopper watched him go, before losing sight of him behind the thick canopy of trees.
Itachi looked down the painting he had in his hand, inspecting it for any damage. Finding none, he went and grabbed his sketchbook, storing the painting, and taking out his sword. He wouldn't be able to finish it until he found a new easel or built a new one. He had been incredibly fond of it as well, seeing that it had been built by Keoni. It had been a nauseating green color, that she knew he would dislike, but at the same time, she knew he would use it since she had spent so much time making it for him. He had insulted it every time he pulled it out, but she would only retort with "But you're still using it?"
He looked at the pile of burnt wood and ashes with a mixture of fondness and sadness.
He would miss it.
He started to clean it up when Chopper came out of whatever adrenaline-charged world he had entered at the sight of the priest.
"Wha- What was that?" Was the only thing he could get out.
"A dance with death, but only for him," Itachi said.
Chopper shivered at the idea, "Scary. Itachi can be really scary."
Chopper watched as he sealed the remains of the easel in a sketchbook.
"What's that weird poofing thing you're doing with that book?" He asked.
"This? It's a sealing technique. It allows me to store whatever I want within the pages of this sketchbook." He flipped to the underside of the cover. "You see these lines? They are what make up the seal. It's an art called Fuinjutsu and probably one of the most versatile techniques from my home island. Some of the best sealers could do almost anything with it including resurrecting the dead or even controlling Death itself."
"That. Is. So. COOOOOOL!" Chopper squealed. "What else can you do besides storing things? Can you make yourself invisible? Transform yourself? Time travel? Make fire? Make candy?"
The little reindeer started spouting out all sorts of scenarios and Itachi answered them to the best of his ability.
That's how the rest of the crew came back to find them, sitting on the edge of the altar with Itachi explaining the medical benefits of a stasis seal, eating a light but tasty evening meal he had cooked.
"OOOOIIIII! CHOPPER! ITACHI! COME TO THE SHORE! WE'RE HAVING A BONFIRE! SANJI'S GONNA COOK US SOME DELICIOUS FOOD!"
The sound of Luffy's voice was unmistakable.
Getting up, Itachi slung his scroll behind him and held out his hand to Chopper. "Come on. You can ride on my shoulders. I can walk us over."
Chopper questioned his words, clambering onto Itachi's back, "Walk?"
To which Itachi only replied, "Just watch." Before stepping off the altar.
He heard Nami yell in concern about Chopper not being able to swim, but once again she choked on her words as soon as he landed on the water. It was quite fun making her choke mid-sentence.
He then calmly walked to the other side while Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper gushed in excitement over his "super cool" and "mysterious" power.
He only laughed and kept walking, quickly reaching the other side and hopping ashore.
Luffy and Usopp were on him in an instant, hounding him for knowledge of how to walk on water.
He only replied with an "It's a trade secret" causing them to whine even more.
He placed Chopper on the ground, who instantly scampered off to check up on Gan Fall, who was on Zoro's back, looking quite tired and injured.
"What happened to him?" Itachi asked, nodding towards Gan Fall's unconscious form.
"No idea, we just found him and his bird slowly sinking into some clouds, passed out and hurt, so we ended up bringing him back here for Chopper. The curly-browed idiot has the bird, but he seems to be lagging behind." Zoro replied.
"Shut up moss-head! I don't see you carrying a big ass bird on your back!" The blond cook shot back.
They started to butt heads dropping their respective loads. Chopper just managed to catch Gan Fall, but Pierre was not so lucky, crying out weakly as he thumped against the ground.
Nami was instantly on the two, bashing their heads in. "BE CAREFUL YOU STUPID IDIOTS! GAN FALL IS TEN TIMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU GUYS WILL EVER BE!"
"~Yes, Namiiiiiii!~"
"Tch. Fine, witch"
She ignored Sanji's wiggley dance,"Whatever. Zoro, you and Luffy make yourselves useful and go collect firewood. Sanji is going to set up whatever he needs to cook, while Robin, Usopp, and I will set up the rest of the camp. Itachi, just catch food or something, I don't really care what you do as long as you're doing something productive."
Such a bossy individual, but Itachi was glad that she had given him something to do. He didn't like standing there awkwardly doing nothing, while everyone else was doing something.
While Zoro and Luffy grumbled and trudged back into the forest, Itachi made a crow clone, nodded at it and they walked away from each other, one to the shore and one to the forest. The rest of the crew (besides the ever calm Robin) just watched with their jaws dropped at his casual use of cloning himself. Words were incapable of describing what they had just seen besides the thought "Devil Fruit." They of course knew nothing of the extent of his abilities.
He came back with multiple creatures sealed within his sketchbook. Zoro and Luffy had come back with a massive stack of sticks and branches and were in the process of stripping and cutting them into usable fuel for Sanji's cooking pit. They had already stacked a large pyre for a bonfire completely disregarding Nami's warnings of needing to stay under the radar. His clone had already dispersed in a murder of crows, having brought in 2 large Sky sharks and quite a few Sky fish.
Sanji had already scaled and gutted them and was in the process of cutting them into manageable filets. Itachi walked up next to him and unsealed the animals he had in his sketchbook and immediately began to skin them. Sanji nodded his thanks, noting with a pleased look that Itachi was doing a fine job. An extra pair of hands in the kitchen was always welcome, especially experienced ones.
Listening to the Straw Hats was nice. The banter, the talking, the laughing, the sounds of their work. He listened to it, melded with it. It almost felt like he was in a stream.
A stream of their Voices and laughter and wants and dreams.
A stream of their souls.
With sudden realization, Itachi realized he was really listening to their souls. The Voices of their beings.
He was listening to the Voice of All Things. The Voices from the Straw Hats were muffled, the soul had ways to guard itself against giving away its secrets that easily, but he could hear his sword loud and clear. The Voices of Zoro's drifted over his way as well. The calm of Wado Ichimoji, the bloodthirsty grin of Sandai Kitetsu, and the fortitude of Yubashiri.
Their names and their life whispered past his ears. He felt their strength and more so, saw their future. To be rusted to oblivion, what a sad fate for a sword such as Yubashiri. Sandai Kitetsu to be broken into shards. Honorable for the cursed blade, to die protecting its master.
Unknown to Itachi, this kind of listening was even beyond the Pirate King Roger. To see the future based on the Voice of an object was unheard of, the only thing even close to it being the Swordsmith of the High Heavens, but even then he could only listen to the future shape of a sword, not it's fate.
It was truly a one-of-a-kind ability.
A goddess giggled somewhere.
He's found it.
Itachi found that objects with strong Voices he could easily see their future. Smaller, weaker objects were all around fuzzy, and that the Voices of people were just a complete jumble of chaos. Guess it had its limits.
He opened his eyes and observed the party going on below him. It was wild and jaunty with everyone drinking, eating, and dancing. Only himself and Robin were not taking part in the festivities.
Itachi felt like he would be intruding. Once again, undeserving to take part in such a happy and carefree celebration. Despite his progress with shedding his guilt, it was still there, and guilt weighed heavily on the soul no matter if there was only a little or a lot of it.
Robin on the other hand… She looked at the party longingly, a familiar look in her eyes. Itachi realized that she too carried guilt in her soul, but she hid it behind a calm manner and a light smile.
Just like him.
He just continued to observe from his tree as the party died down and the wolves and humans went to sleep.
He had volunteered for first guard duty, letting the others get some rest after a stressful day.
Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy described their troubles with Satori and his Ordeal of Balls, while Gan Fall talked about being ambushed by the priest Gedatsu and his Ordeal of Swamp as well as the history of Upper Yard and its importance to the Shandians. Zoro complained about Nami being a target for a large number of animals on their exploration trip, with Chopper excitedly retelling of Itachi's "epic" clash with the priest Shura. They had all looked for him so that he could elaborate, but he had already taken to the branches overhead and was in no hurry to come down.
He saw Usopp stir, getting up to go to the bathroom. Then they both heard it.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
The sound of a hammer on wood.
Itachi was up in an instant looking straight at the boat, Usopp still looking around trying to find the noise.
Itachi hopped from branch to branch to get a closer look, Usopp still struggling through some bushes to get to the shore.
They both arrived at the shore, Itachi before Usopp, just in time to catch a glimpse of a ghost of sorts. Child-like laughter came with the wind.
Don't worry. I can carry you just a little bit further.
Usopp, instantly spooked, booked it back to camp, but Itachi stayed. The sounds continued.
The tap of a hammer. Groaning metal. Wood being sawed.
He could see something flitting across the deck rushing back and forth.
"It couldn't be…"
Itachi closed his eyes and eased back into the stream of Voices. He instantly pinpointed the Voice of the ship and found it in the little spirit. He was right with his suspicions. It was a Klabautermann, the spiritual manifestation of the ship.
He called out to it with his Voice.
You love them a lot, don't you.
It didn't stop its work.
Hello there, Listener. My journey draws close, but their adventure does not end. I only wish to carry them just a bit further. My keel. It can't take much more. Help me? Help me keep them safe?
Itachi only nodded.
I am here for you. Do what you need to.
And he watched and he listened. Watched as the Going Merry rebuilt itself into pristine condition. Listened to its Voice of the love and loyalty it had for its crew.
To love a ship and it to love back. It was an incredible sight to witness. The Straw Hat crew was truly something else.
Sadness weighed heavily in its Voice.
I can not go much longer. I can feel your strength. Your love. Open yourself to my friends. To my crew. Protect them and they will protect you. From what you fear most, they will protect you. So please, protect the most precious things I have in this world.
The pure, raw emotion coming from the Klabautermann was overwhelming. It almost made him cry.
It smiled and then vanished into the morning mist.
"I'm telling you, someone was working on Merry last night! I saw it with my own eyes."
Usopp's voice carried out from underneath him. Looking down, he saw Usopp, Nami, Sanji, and Robin making their way to the shore. The instant their eyes landed on the newly repaired ship Usopp cried out in surprise.
"It's fixed! Someone repaired her! See! See! I told you I wasn't crazy, someone was really working on it last night!"
"It was a Klabautermann," Itachi called out from above them.
Looking at them, he could listen to their Voices, and from Usopp's, he could hear a love so strong and loud, it matched Merry's. He had never seen love so strong and pure.
Submerged as he was in the stream of Voices, his control over himself was weak. He just couldn't help it.
He cried.
They looked quite concerned, the tears seemingly coming out of nowhere.
"Are you okay, Itachi?" Usopp asked.
Itachi nodded his head, quickly wiping the tears away, "Yeah I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed. That's all."
He would respect Merry's wishes. For the sake of that love. That bond. He would protect the Straw Hats until she had taken them as far as she could.
He headed back to the camp leaving the others to learn about the Klabautermann from Robin.
"Alright, so our exploration team will consist of Luffy, Zoro, Robin, Chopper, and Sanji. You guys will go out to find the City of Gold. The home team will consist of Itachi, Usopp, and me. We will be finding a way to escape this horrid place. We will be taking Itachi because I do trust him to protect us, I won't put it past him to steal some of MY gold. Plus he can cook and care for Gan Fall as well, giving you guys more firepower with Sanji, as he will be with you all."
"Tch. Same kind of grab-and-run money schemes, Witch." Zoro complained grumpily. "Makin' us do all the heavy lifting."
Nami grabbed his cheek, "My life is in just as much danger as yours is so you can shut it! This God guy can totally smite us anytime he wants."
"Yeah yeah." Zoro waved her off. "Let's just get this over with. Sanji. Food."
Sanji tossed him a backpack with a lunch and water, and then did the same for the rest, giving Robin hers with a flamboyant gesture.
They set off.
The rest got onto the Merry and began to sail back down the Milky Road.
Itachi was in the main cabin, cooking a meal with Gan Fall's final dose of medicine from Chopper. He could hear them talking outside, discussing the history of the island between the Skypieans and the Shandia.
Putting the meal on a plate, Itachi headed outside, ready to give it to Gan Fall. The second he stepped outside, a foreign presence arced onto the ship, sitting on the railing.
DANGER.
Itachi instantly made a shadow clone, tossed the plate up for the clone to catch and dashed as fast as he could, pulling out a kunai and coating it with all the Armament Haki he could muster. Straight through the heart, no chances taken.
The person was only barely able to get out of the way, surprised by Itachi's speed. Instead of puncturing his heart, the kunai punctured the man's left lung.
Without a second wasted, Itachi used Substitution and swapped with the shadow clone before the bolt of lightning coming at him fried him. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a wounded and enraged God.
Itachi handed the plate to Gan Fall with a bow. "Your meal, sir."
Gan Fall took it wordlessly, completely shocked at the sight of a wounded Enel.
The man was seething, veins throbbing in his forehead. "You DAAAARE! DARE TO STAB AT GOD! ME, THE ALMIGHTY GOD ENEL! YOUR DEATH IS CERTAIN!"
He reached and grabbed the handle of the kunai and pulled it out. He threw it to the ground before taking a deep breath ready to release his rage.
Only to keel over in a coughing fit, blood leaking from his wound and his mouth.
"What is this?!" He demanded staring at the blood covering his hands. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME! I AM GOD! I CAN NOT BLEED!"
"You annoy me," is all Itachi said before dashing at the false god once more. This time though, Enel was ready for it and dashed out of the way sending another bolt of lightning at Itachi, who only redirected it towards a passing tree.
Enel was shocked. He had moved at his fastest speed and the cloaked man in front of him had matched him. At the same time, Itachi realized that he could not surpass the speed of lightning. Running after the man was not the plan.
Enel wheezed out another bloody breath. He couldn't fight here. He might actually lose. So he just stared at Itachi before saying what he had originally wanted to say.
"I have started a survival game. There are 72 participants left on Upper Yard right now. I predict that there will only be five left at the end of three hours. Those five can come with-" He coughed, globs of blood exiting his mouth. "Those five can join me. That is all."
He disappeared with a slight pop and an arc of lightning.
There was a moment of silence.
Itachi was then blindsided by a hug from Nami, her generous chest engulfing a good portion of his face.
"OHMYGODTHANKYOUSOMUCHITACHII'MSOGLADITOOKYOUWITHUSINSTEADOFTHATIDIOTSANJI." She slowed down. "I'm sure if it had been anybody else, we'd be dead now."
Usopp also hugged him, blubbering thank-yous through his tears and snot.
He gently pried Nami off his head and set her down before escaping Usopp's teary clutches.
"I'm going to follow him. He is injured. I'm going to make sure he doesn't get any rest."
He Body Flickered off the boat leaving a pair of thankful weaklings and a gobsmacked Gan Fall.
Oh my. How aggressive. Don't play with your food now, Itachi. Leave some for the others. They will have to grow too, you know.