Loudly yawning, I rolled onto my side, intending to head back to sleep, but I happened to be on the edge of whatever I was sleeping on as I fell through the air for several seconds before impacting against the ground, causing my to softly grunt more in annoyance than in actual pain.
After a few minutes of just motionlessly lying on the ground, I slowly opened my eyes while scratching the back of my head as I sat upright, taking a moment to check my surroundings.
'Where the hell am I?' Thought Diddy in pure confusion as he scratched his head while eyeing the underground shaft before looking up.
Wherever I was, it was deep under Onigashima, and from the looks of things, it seemed like an abandoned mine shaft or something along those lines; anyway, I didn't really care all that much and simply stood up before taking my time to stretch, nearly falling over in the process since I was still very sleepy.
'Must be those sedatives or something; they're quite strong.' Mused Diddy lightly with a deep yawn as he got on all fours and stretched his body, doing a very popular feline pose befitting of his heritage.
"Ahh, that felt nice." Muttered Diddy calmly as he stood up before leaping out through the hole he fell down, only to land in the middle of the plaza.
Looking around, I noticed nearly everyone was lying on the ground unconscious, with only a few awake, such as Freyja, in the distance tending to Scar and King, who was furiously glaring at her. Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored those two and walked off towards where I sensed Trenza, who was sleeping in a random building that was partially destroyed, with her two officers sleeping right beside her.
Grabbing the officers, I tossed them to the side, though they were in a really deep sleep since they hadn't wake up; laying on the ground beside Trenza, I embraced her in a hug and drifted back to sleep, although I was still pretty tired, and also hungry.
"Mhm, I'll deal with my hunger later." Muttered Diddy lightly as he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep with Trenza in his embrace.
After sleeping for a couple more hours, more and more people began to awaken, and their voices only prompted more to awaken, creating a cycle until nearly everyone within Onigashima was awakened in only thirty minutes. However, even so, Trenza didn't bother to move and just stayed snuggled in my embrace while I continued to rest; I was already awake again, but I really just didn't want to move.
Unfortunately, though, we were eventually forced to move since it started getting really loud and annoying, causing me to click my tongue as I released Trenza.
"Welp, it was good while it lasted." Muttered Trenza softly as she glanced at Diddy before standing up, nearly falling over in the process, though he caught her with his tail.
"S-Sorry, forget I don't have a left foot anymore." Said Trenza lightly with an apologetic expression as she glanced at Diddy while standing on her own, only to remember she didn't have her crutch anymore.
Seeing Trenza staring at me with a pleading expression, I grunted since I already knew what she was asking without even needing to say anything.
"Hmph, fine." Muttered Diddy with a scoff as he folded his arms and squatted, allowing Trenza to sit on his shoulders while smiling.
With Trenza sitting on my shoulders, we exited the partially destroyed building and walked about the plaza, which was full of pirates with nasty hangovers while many walked like they were drunk. I was completely fine, other feeling a little sleepy; I didn't have a hangover, though the same couldn't be said for everyone as nearly every single one of my commanders was dealing with their hangovers, with the only exception being Sebas and Freyja. Sebas because he didn't drink any alcohol and Freyja since alcohol doesn't work on her; otherwise, she probably would've had a slight hangover at the very least.
"Urgh, my fucking head; I knew I shouldn't have drunk so much." Muttered Janet lightly as she leaned against Chala's back while rubbing her head with an ugly expression.
"How much did you drink to have such a nasty hangover?" Asked Trenza curiously as she looked at Janet, who raised her hand and counted.
"Um, 1-15 cups… I think." Replied Janet lightly, her words causing Trenza to roll her eyes, yet before she could say anything, she suddenly grabbed her mouth.
"Vomit anywhere near me, and just see." Said Diddy sternly as he narrowed his eyes to Janet, who quickly stood up and dashed away, gaining distance from him before collapsing on the ground and vomiting.
"W-Why are you completely fine, T-Trenza?" Asked Grand lightly as he lay on the ground while glancing at Trenza, occasionally hissing from the pain.
"Well, first off, as surprising as it sounds, I can hold my alcohol pretty well, but most importantly, I only had two cups, just enough to get me tipsy, and that's it." Remarked Trenza lightly as she glanced between Grand, Scar, Chala, and Mael, who were all dealing with their respective hangovers, with the latter's being the worst by far.
"Urgh, f-fucking god, what the hell did you feed me, Freyja!?" Exclaimed Mael in slight anger and pain as he held his head while wincing, glaring at Freyja to his right.
"I don't know. It was whatever Diddy was drinking, so ask him." Replied Freyja lightly as she glanced at Mael before pointing to Diddy, only to continue affectionately rubbing Scar's head while he rested on her lap.
"Don't look at me; other than it being filled with sedatives and something called the Ice Oni Virus, I don't know what else was in it." Said Diddy blandly as he looked at Mael before shrugging his arms, causing him to grunt in annoyance while Reiju did her best to soothe him.
"So, what shall we do now, Captain?" Asked Sebas curiously as he gently landed on the ground before sitting beside Freyja, though neither acknowledged the other's presence.
"I don't know; besides, why do you guys always have to ask me, do I look like your parents?" Remarked Diddy lightly as he plopped onto the ground while leaning against a random rock, his words causing everyone's face to twitch.
"Because you're the captain, and you'll shoot down everyone else's suggestions!" Stated Janet weakly as she held her stomach while slowly approaching the group, only to grab her mouth before dashing back into the distance, this time vomiting on a rather unlucky pirate.
"Hmm, she does make a very valid point." Muttered Diddy with a thoughtful expression as he rubbed his chin while everyone just stared at him in disbelief.
"Tsk, does being drunk also make you stupid or what?" Asked Freyja with a click of her tongue as he glanced at Diddy, who scoffed before shaking his head.
"Hmph, no, it doesn't; I'm just a little sleepy right now and don't want to think as much." Replied Diddy with a scoff of annoyance as he glanced at Freyja, who gave him a skeptical look, clearly not believing his words.
"But since you guys so dearly wish to know… We'll head for Red-Haired Shanks next. I've been hoping we'd just stumble across him while out at sea, but it seems like we haven't been so lucky, so we will have to attack one of his territories. Where's the closest one, Sebas?" Added Diddy in an annoyed tone as he folded his arms and closed his eyes before glancing at Sebas, who took a second to respond while tapping his chin.
"Hmm, the closest one is Gamma Island; it's probably about a two-week sail from here, though depending on the weather, the time may vary." Replied Sebas lightly as he rubbed his bearded chin before looking at Diddy, who faintly smirked.
"Heh, well, you heard him, guys; go to Pandemonium and prepare to set sail; we're leaving in an hour." Declared Diddy with a feral smirk as he stood up, his sudden orders surprising everyone.
"Ugh, already? We just got done fighting Kaido and the Beast pirates, though?" Said Freyja in annoyance as she eyed Diddy, only for Chala to scoff.
"Hmph, stop complaining, Freyja; only weaklings are afraid of challenges!" Stated Chala with a seemingly righteous tone of voice while staring at Freyja, who blandly looked at her.
"Yeah, no. I'm not falling for that bait; fight someone else." Said Freyja blandly as she looked at Chala, who clicked her tongue.
"Tsk, I thought that would've pissed her off." Muttered Chala softly as she rubbed her horns.
While my crew made their way toward Pandemonium, I tossed Trenza to Grand and headed toward Kaido, who was just beginning to awaken from his deep slumber.
"Yo, Kaido, we're leaving." Said Diddy calmly as he gently kicked Kaido, flinging him into a nearby building, only for faint laughter to echo.
"Wororo, I'm assuming Red-haired is your next destination?" Asked Kaido with a faint smirk as he exited the building and approached Diddy while rubbing his neck, causing him to smirk with a nod.
"Heh, after I defeat him, I'll return for you and strip you of your Strongest Creature title. Once I've displayed my strength as the strongest pirate, I'll visit the Revolutionary Army and finish with the Marines and World Government. I'll give them a war that'll completely crush them." Declared Diddy boldly with a massive grin, one that caused Kaido to release a boisterous laugh.
"Worororo, only someone with a massive ambition like that can ever dream of defeating me. Though next time you see me, I'll have proper control over my awakened form." Stated Kaido with a ferocious smile as he stared down at Diddy, who chuckled with a grin of his own.
Chuckling, I leaped into the air, exiting Onigashima through the massive hole in the top of the skull as I kicked the air, heading right for Pandemonium.
'Hehe, time for the Killer of Armament to face the so-called Killer of Observation.' Thought Diddy with a feral smile while his heart beat in excitement.