"He was getting a little too aggressive in the fight, so I had to make sure I put him down for some time; don't worry so much; I transferred some of my vitality to him, so if he's going to die, it won't be for at least another hour." Said Diddy calmly as he glanced at Sebas's face, which consisted of a broken nose and a few missing teeth.
"Should we take him back to the ship? We've got the necessary tools there, so I can at least perform basic first aid." Asked Grand with a troubled expression while looking at Diddy as he held Sebas in his arms.
"Sure, go ahead; I don't really care; if you get lost, that's on you." Replied Diddy dismissively as he separated from the group and looked up at Freyja while folding his arms.
"You've been up there for a while, Freyja; you can't find our original location or something; what's going on?" Asked Diddy with a raised eyebrow while Freyja shook her head before descending to the ground, softly landing on the soil.
"No, the abandoned village is to the north, and it's pretty close. I was just looking, that's all." Replied Freyja with a slight frown and a thoughtful expression, eliciting Diddy's curiosity.
"Hmm, what is it? You seem pretty bothered by something; was our ship missing?" Questioned Diddy as he approached Freyja while glancing in the direction of the ship, though with the thick vegetation, he couldn't see far.
"I may have been mistaken, but wasn't the tall mountain near the center of the island more towards the west?" Asked Freyja in uncertainty as she glanced at Diddy, who tilted his head in confusion.
"Yes, it was, why do you ask? Are you going to tell me that a whole ass mountain has moved?" Said Diddy with a nod before skeptically looking at Freyja, whose frown only deepened.
"Why don't you take a look for yourself? Then I'm sure you'll share my sentiment." Remarked Freyja as she flew back into the air with a mighty flap of her wings while Diddy leaped after her, propelling himself through the air with powerful kicks.
Looking around, just as Freyja said, I spotted the abandoned village north of us, roughly one hundred or so meters, not too far away; however, as I further observed my surroundings, I noticed the mountain she was talking about, causing me to furrow my brows before looking back at Freyja.
"This better not be a joke, Freyja, because if it is, it's terrible; the mountain is still in the same spot; it hasn't moved." Replied Diddy with a frown as he looked at Freyja, who seemed unbothered by his remark.
"No, I'm not joking; the mountain is more towards my left." Said Freyja as she pointed to her left, directly at the mountain, though Diddy pointed right in front of him, causing the two of them to frown deeply while silently pondering what was happening.
"Do you think you're now being affected by the island? Same as how Scar, Grand, and Trenza saw that so-called pile of gold while we saw a trap door?" Muttered Diddy, voicing his thoughts as he glanced at Freyja, who scowled but stayed quiet.
"How do you know I'm the one being affected by the island? It could very well be you, Diddy." Said Freyja defensively as she folded her arms and glared at Diddy, though all she did was cause him to grin.
"Heh, do you really think so, Freyja?" Asked Diddy with a feral grin, displaying the whites of his fangs while Freyja clicked her tongue and sighed.
"Haa, no." Muttered Freyja with a shake of her head, causing Diddy to chuckle.
Chuckling to myself, I fell back to the ground, and just as I did, Trenza ran up to me.
"Captain, Scar, Grand, and I decided it would be best to return to the ship for now; Scar and Grand are injured, and Father, well, you know his state best, considering you're the reason he is like that." Stated Trenza calmly, looking at Diddy before glancing at Freyja when she landed.
"That's fine, I don't care; just let me borrow you for a second." Replied Diddy with a nod as he suddenly wrapped his tail around Trenza's waist before leaping back into the air, hovering just above the canopy of trees.
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"Point towards where the mountain is." Ordered Diddy, his words confusing Trenza; nonetheless, she did as she was told and pointed towards the mountain, which happened to be the same direction Diddy initially pointed.
"Ho, now that's interesting." Muttered Diddy with a grin as he released Trenza, causing her to curse profanities as she fell to her death for the third time today, though luckily for her, Freyja caught her.
"Haa, thanks, Freyja." Said Trenza with a sigh of relief as she lay in Freyja's arms while looking up at her.
"You're welcome." Replied Freyja with a beautiful smile, which caused Trenza to blush as she awkwardly escaped before nearing Scar, Grand, and Sebas.
Landing back on the ground, I told Freyja my findings, and while I was doing that, the other four departed from the area as they headed back to the ship, leaving me alone with Freyja, which was probably the dream of every man.
"Hmm, so what does that mean? The island has suddenly decided to ignore Trenza, Grand, and Scar and focus solely on me, messing with my senses?" Remarked Freyja with a scowl as she followed closely behind Diddy as they headed towards the abandoned village.
"First off, when did we ever conclude it was the island that was hampering our senses?" Said Diddy with a feral smirk as he turned and glanced at Freyja, who frowned in response before suddenly widening her eyes.
"You think this is someone's doing? A devil fruit user, perhaps? Questioned Freyja seriously as the duo calmly walked through the forest, causing Freyja to trip on several occasions, though she was quick enough to catch herself.
"Yes, that's what I'm leaning toward, though I could still be wrong; after all, isn't Paradise said to be filled with crazy and unnatural islands? This could very well be the island's doing at play, though; I find that hard to believe since wouldn't that mean the whole island is alive." Stated Diddy with a grin as he raised his hands in the air, finding it amusing every time Freyja tripped.
"Haa, I hate how perceptive and smart you can be; I wish you were just a muscle-headed idiot." Muttered Freyja with a sigh of annoyance, her words causing Diddy to chuckle.
"I'm not even that smart, at least when it doesn't pertain to fighting; I'm just simply using basic deduction skills and common sense, which is apparently something many people lack, especially pirates." Said Diddy calmly as he and Freyja exited from the forest, emerging in the abandoned village right behind the house they had initially entered.
'Alright now, let's tear this place apart.' Thought Diddy with a savage grin while cracking his neck and unholstering Naga-sa, tightly gripping it as he lunged toward the house.
Swinging my bo-staff at the house, I felt a strong resistance when Naga-sa collided with the wall, but I didn't care and swung again, this time with even more force, creating a massive dent, caving in the wall and ripping part of the house out of the ground.
"Hehe, this house sure is tanky; I don't suppose that Mirage woman is hiding in here, is she?" Muttered Diddy with a chaotic chuckle as he wildly swung his bo-staff, causing loud booms while Freyja just leaned against a tree and watched him.
Turning the wall into a horizontal "U", I swung Naga-sa again, causing the wall to finally rip off as it was sent flying through the house before busting out the opposite side, allowing me to see right through it. Entering inside the house, I destroyed every wall I came into contact with, causing the entire house to tremble, yet every room I entered was empty; there was nothing of importance; hell, I'm confident it's been years since anyone has actually entered most of these rooms.
I spent another few minutes searching the house, though, in the end, I found nothing, which annoyed me, and I was tempted to collapse the entire thing, but I also didn't want to waste any more of my time, so I just left it be.
"Seeing that frown, I'm assuming you found nothing?" Asked Trenza with a raised eyebrow as she glanced at the frowning Diddy holstering Naga-sa onto his back.
"Tch, yeah, a waste of fucking time; let's just go toward the mountain; it seems like a great place to live if you wish to watch over the entire island." Said Diddy as he looked at the mountain in the distance, though to Freyja, he was looking at nothing but the sky.
"Well, lead the way, Captain." Remarked Freyja with a slight smirk as she pushed off the tree she was leaning on and followed behind Diddy, the two taking to the skies.
"However, since you've got basic deduction skills and common sense, Captain, do you know why Mirage is affecting me and not you? You're clearly much more of a threat than I am." Asked Freyja curiously as she flew beside Diddy and looked at him.
"Heh, look at you, Freyja; it seems I was wrong; you've actually got some brains in that semen-filled body of yours." Said Diddy mockingly with a grin, causing Freyja to grunt in annoyance.
"Mirage had already tried affecting my senses; remember when we were fighting, and you hit me in the face several times? That was partially Mirage's doing; she'd muddle with my senses, although she was never able to do it completely, and I was able to break out of it, so to speak; by the time I did so, your fists were already before my face." Added Diddy with a slight frown as he rubbed his jaw, feeling slightly sore from Freyja's punches.
"So, basically, you're saying that since she couldn't get the King, she went for the Queen?" Remarked Freyja, though the way she worded it caused both of them to shiver in disgust.