Seeing the crab claws grab the sides of our ship; my first thought was it was going to rip apart our ship, so out of instinct, I grabbed Naga-sa off my back and swung it down towards one of its claws, though before I could make contact, my body was suddenly hoisted into the air, causing me to glare at Sebas, as he is the only one capable of doing that.
"Before you yell at me in anger, Captain, look more closely at the claws." Remarked Sebas lightly as he looked at Diddy levitating in the air while frozen in mid-swing.
Frowning, I glanced more intently at the claws, only to notice they weren't squeezing down with a ton of force, which was a good indicator that the crab, or whatever it was, wasn't trying to damage the ship, which slightly alleviated my worries. Clicking my tongue, I broke free of Sebas's control and landed back on the deck while holstering Naga-sa as I approached the claws, only for my frown to deepen when I realized its scent was almost non-existent like it wasn't an animal or even a living being, to begin with.
"Yeah, everything doesn't need to resort to violence; sometimes you just need to sit back and observe, though I imagine it must be hard for an unintelligent monkey like yourself." Stated Freyja lightly, leaning against the mast while Scar's arm was wrapped over her shoulder, the two snuggling together like lovers, which wouldn't be too far from the truth.
"I wouldn't have immediately resorted to violence if I had sensed this thing coming; you know, I don't like it when things just suddenly appear without warning." Said Diddy with a growl as he glared at Freyja before suddenly stabbing his head into the crab's claw, yet, to the surprise of many, there was no blood.
Seeing as my speculation was right, I removed my hand and looked into the small hole I made, only to furrow my brows, as there was nothing; it was pretty hollow, which made sense; otherwise, wouldn't it sink?
'Well, I'm not that surprised; we're currently sailing through a sea of clouds roughly 10,000 meters in the air. Shit can't get much more surprising than this, and if it can, well, I'll damn sure be shocked.' Mused Pharaoh with a raised eyebrow as he ignored the claw before leaning against the railing while Trenza approached the claw curiously.
"What the, it's hollow?" Muttered Trenza, baffled at her discovery as she deeply looked inside the claw, though before she could react, the ship suddenly started moving, catching most of them by surprise.
With the crab, or whatever it really is, holding onto the ship, it started pulling us across the spiraling clouds, sailing even higher into the air while doing corkscrews, loops, and twists; it was pretty much a violent version and unsafe version of a roller coaster, though this was much more fun in my opinion.
"C-Captain, help!" Yelled Trenza worriedly as she hung from the crab while the ship was upside down.
Glancing at Trenza, I smirked before outstretching my hand, catching her by the ankle just before she fell into the sea clouds, which were a few hundred meters below us now. For the remainder of the ride, I held Trenz over the ship's railing, not bothering to pull her up despite her pleas and only doing so once we seemingly arrived at our destination.
"That was quite fun." Said Scar with a slight smile while picking up his hat from the ground before glancing at Grand, who was lying on the ground with a large smile.
"Hahaha! Let's go again!" Yelled Grand excitedly with his arms and legs in the air, though just as he sat upright, he was shot in the head with a rubber bullet.
"NO!" Yelled Trenza angrily, looking like a complete mess as she pointed her pistol at Grand, who was rubbing his forehead with a frown while glaring at her.
"Well, you didn't need to shoot me; now I've got a red mark." Said Grand with a huff as he picked up the rubber bullet, and despite being tempted to throw it back at Trenza, he tossed it overboard.
"Heh, looks good on you." Remarked Mael with a faint smirk, causing Grand to grumble and glare at him.
"Well, would you look at that? The legends are true; people really do live up here." Stated Sebas with a surprised expression as he looked at the numerous small cloud islands in the distance, which had houses and various other buildings.
Hearing Sebas, I turned around and looked behind me, only to whistle in shock at what I was seeing; having heard the history of Sky Island and Jaya Island from Sebas, I expected to see an island, not this, though I'm not complaining, this may be even better.
"Looks like a village or a town; wonder how the men taste." Said Freyja lightly, only to seductively lick her lips when she spotted an older man and a young woman walking on the beach of Angel Island, causing Sebas to sigh while shaking his head.
"Tch, not even going to say anything; everyone already knows how much of a slut you are, Freyja. Can you go one day without talking about sex or what?" Questioned Diddy with a frown as he glanced at Freyja, who was standing to his right, prompting her to huff while confidently folding her arms.
"Of course I can; I just chose not to." Replied Freyja, though her words earned her blank stares from everyone, even Sebas, causing her to click her tongue in annoyance.
"How about this? If you can go one day without saying anything perverted, I will eat my own shit." Declared Diddy with a crazy grin, while everyone except Freyja, who was grinning like a mad woman, wore disgusted expressions.
"Hehe, that's it? All I have to do is not say anything perverted for 24 hours? You're on; you better make sure to eat a lot of food; I want that shit of yours to be extra steamy!" Remarked Freyja with a massive smile as she blissfully shook hands with Diddy, the two staring daggers at each other the whole time.
"Heh, I'm not even worried; I know you very well, Freyja; I'd be impressed if you could even go half a day without saying something perverted. Speaking of that, Scar, make sure to keep an eye on her. If she says something perverted, tell me, and if you don't, well, I'll kill you." Stated Diddy with a smirk as he looked at Fryeja's curvy figure before glaring at Scar, who rapidly nodded like a woodpecker.
Smirking at this bet that I was positive I was going to win, I had the three stooges lower the sail while Mael dropped the anchor once we got relatively close to the beach of the cloud islands, grabbing Trenza, who still looked crazy from the ride up here, by the waist, I leaped onto the ground before setting her down, followed by everyone else as well.
"So, no one is staying at the ship this time?" Asked Diddy as he glanced at his crew, who all shook their heads, prompting him to shrug his shoulders before continuing, only for an older man and young woman to approach them warily.
"E-Excuse us, but are you people perhaps from the world below?" Asked the older man with small wings, a large beard, and two antennas sticking out of his bald head; the young woman behind him looked similar, only she had yellow hair and carried a harp.
"Why yes, we are; My name is Sebas Visage. A pleasure to meet you." Replied Sebas, quickly responding before Diddy could say anything as he approached the Skypiean with a friendly and warm atmosphere, slightly lowering their guards.
Watching Sebas interact with the man called Pagaya and the girl named Conis, he was putting his years of operating a mafia to work, though he occasionally annoyed me with his choice of words, which caused me to glare at him a few times.
"Are you sure, Sebas? I don't mind, and I'm sure Conis doesn't either." Said Pagaya as he looked at Sebas, before glancing at Conis, who shook her head, though Sebas merely chuckled while patting his chest.
"Hoho, I'd love to, but my Captain wouldn't be so keen on joining me. As a matter of fact, he's already getting restless; he's a patient man, but only when he wishes to be one, and those times are few and far between." Declared Sebas lightly as she gestured to Diddy, causing the father-daughter pair to glance at him, only to see him baring his fangs, slightly frightening them at the jaws full of razor-sharp teeth.
"W-Well, I-I don't wish to make things difficult for you, so I won't hold you any longer; just know, you're always welcome, m-maybe, just you, though." Replied Pagaya fearfully with a nod as he shook hands with Sebas before glancing at Diddy one last time, only to grab his daughter's hand, the two quickly scurrying off.
As Sebas walked toward us, I suddenly frowned before looking at the sky, and while I didn't sense anyone, I could feel the distant presence of someone watching me, causing me to grin as he glanced at Freyja.
"Heh, can you sense that Freyja; someone is watching us." Remarked Diddy with a feral grin as he nudged Freyja, who slightly frowned for a few seconds before looking at the sky.
"It's faint, but yes, someone is indeed watching us. Well, they're in for a rude awakening; I'll tell you that much: they're about to be killed by a shit-eating monkey." Stated Freyja with a nod before smiling towards the end, while Diddy merely chuckled, ignoring her little comment.