Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

Chapter 27: For Whom the Golden Bell Tolls

"So we're finally going to see the golden city?!" Brook cried happily, if he had eyes, they would be wide with excitement. "Oh! My heart feels as if it will burst from my chest! If I had a heart that is! Yohohoho!"

"Well, you're in for a show, I can promise you that," Nami said, knowing that she wasn't going to like this. As amazing as it all was, riding on that flying ark with Eneru wasn't worth it. What a horrible day this was. But they followed the four through the thick greenery, and it started off with Zoro starting to stray off to one direction with Luffy yelling after him that was the wrong way and that they were supposed to go West... but...

"Luffy you dope, you're not going west..." Nami said rolling her eyes, "That's east..."

"Oh, come on Luffy! Use your head for something other than a hat rack for a change!" memory Zoro called after him, pointing to his right, "We're supposed to go to the Skull's Right Eye so we gotta go right, rubber brain!"

"How does that make any sense?!" Usopp asked, almost falling over at that logic.

"What?" Zoro asked in annoyance. "You said the right eye, so I was going right!"

"It's not the same thing you idiot!" Nami yelled at him as he shrugged unconcerned.

Apparently she wasn't the only one who thought that.

"They've both lost their minds," memory Chopper whispered as Robin knelt down to whisper to him, "Why don't you go tell those two 'heroes' we're supposed to be going south before they end up lost?"

"Not that that did any good," Chopper sighed, remembering how they all got separated after getting attacked by that snake and how he was alone when he was forced to run from all that fighting. He shook his head as a shiver went up his spine—he would've been better off getting burnt at the altar than running around the middle of a battle field.

"Well, they're both wrong," Nami sighed, feeling a little more sweat-drop around her brow. "Now this is sad when pirates can't tell which way to go. You both are hopeless."

"I'll remember that the next time something dangerous pops up," Zoro said in deep annoyance. "You can fight off that slime thing when it comes crawling out from somewhere."

Memory Chopper nodded in understanding to Robin, and then went running after them, yelling that they were supposed to go south instead. Luffy picked up a long stick and soon began following after Robin, who was leading them directly south.

"South huh?" Luffy asked as he happily swung the stick around like a baton, "You should've said so sooner."

"I clearly remember saying that you had to go south before we split," Nami said in exasperation. "One of these days he will have to learn to listen."

They all rolled their eyes, knowing that stopping Luffy long enough to listen was like trying to part the tides themselves. But they followed after the four through the overgrown, and oversized, forest. They walked on for about fifteen minutes—with Chopper wanting to find a stick like Luffy's—and so far it had been very quiet walk.

But as Luffy dragged his stick across one tree, he suddenly asked, "The City of Gold's got a really big bell in it right?"

"Noland did mention that in his logbook, yes," memory Robin confirmed as she thought about it. "A great bell and a City of Gold."

Brook giggled to himself happily, acting like a little kid going to an amusement park.

"Why do you ask, Luffy?" past Zoro asked inquiringly as Chopper looked up at him in curiously as well. A big grin suddenly appeared on Luffy's face, as if he had been planning a big surprise for someone.