Nami, Usopp, and Chopper started to rouse from a deep slumber to the sound of a flute being played kind of okay-ish. Nothing to write home about, but pleasant enough.
The strangest thing was that none of them remembered having gone to sleep to begin with.
So when they awoke to find themselves tucked snugly into futons, the light of dawn streaming into the room from a pair of doors opened to a beautiful courtyard, they were understandably confused.
The flute came to a stop. "Morning, sleepy heads."
Cherry was sitting on the floor next to a low table with quite a breakfast spread atop it. Uta was snoozing quietly with her head amongst her own half eaten meal.
"Cherry?" Nami stretched her limbs and back with a yawn. "What happened? I thought we were…"
"Uta can't keep the illusion up forever. A few hours at a time is the best she can manage before she needs to rest," Cherry explained.
"Wait…" Usopp slapped his cheeks to wake himself up faster.
"None of that was real?!" Chopper shouted.
"Of course not. Wasn't that obvious?" Cherry chuckled.
The three of them groaned.
Cherry laughed. "You complain, but you learned something, didn't you?"
They could deny that. As it turns out, running around blindly in a forest filled with things that want you dead for hours in the dead of night was a great way to hone your sense for danger.
Usopp had managed to hone his observation haki for something that wasn't just sniping dudes from a distance, and Nami and Chopper had actually managed to awaken their observation haki.
"Now that you two have had your first taste of observation haki, you should be able to develop it in your own unique directions. Nami, your weather prediction could go from preternatural to supernatural. And Chopper, imagine how useful it would be to diagnose a patient before you've done any tests or even touched them," Cherry said. "As for you, Usopp, I actually only brought you into this as a hint to these two as to what they were meant to be doing, and also to mess with you."
"Oi," Usopp lodged a complaint.
"However, you've actually surprised me with how much you've grown since yesterday. I think you have a genuine talent for observation haki," Cherry continued, causing the young man to preen. "So don't be lazy, because haki yields only to those with strong wills, and a strong will can only come with perseverance."
That put a thoughtful look on Usopp's face. It was unfortunate that his strengths came so easily to him, because it had made him quite the slacker. Cherry would bet a lot of money that before joining up with Luffy, he'd wasted his days away fooling around instead of honing his prodigious sniping skills.
That was a perfectly fine way to live, mind you; Cherry sometimes envied those who could happily accomplish nothing of note in their entire lives and die without regrets, but that attitude wasn't very conducive to remaining alive on the Grand Line.
The three gathered around the table to partake in the food, keeping their conversation quiet so as to not disturb Uta.
"I'm surprised we feel so well rested," Chopper said. "A good night's sleep isn't just about resting the body, but the mind as well."
"That's because your minds were still in your bodies. It's more like her devil fruit sucked out your souls."
"That sounds so creepy," Nami shivered, then hastily checked to see if Uta was still asleep. "Don't tell her I said that."
…
"So, how did last night go?" Robin asked.
Cherry didn't answer, instead continuing forward and glomping onto her. "They were amazing and I was dreadful. I'm glad I didn't have to pull out the undead Big Mom card, though. That might have been a bit much."
"I imagine so," Robin smirked. "I think, perhaps, that you would not have done so regardless of how they did."
"What, you don't think I'm enough of a cold hearted bitch to do it?" Cherry raised an eyebrow.
"No, I don't," Robin kissed her on the nose.
Cherry scrunched up her face. "Then I need to up my game."
"I think you're just fine as is. I like it when you're soft and warm," Robin said.
"Do you, now?" Cherry waggled her eyebrows.
Robin grabbed both of her ears and gave them a sharp tug. "Don't ruin the moment."
"I live to ruin the moment!" Cherry laughed and slipped out of her vengeful grip.
Soon, Cherry was racing down the halls of the castle with Robin in hot pursuit; and for one ruined moment, all was right in the world.
…
"Let go already!" Ryokugyu shook his leg above the sand.
"Here already? We made good time," Fujitora commented, but didn't let go of Ryokugyu's leg. "Do set this old man down gently, won't you?"
"Whatever," Ryokugyu growled and lowered his altitude slowly until Fujitora's feet touched down onto the beach.
"Oh, you weren't lying? I thought for sure you just wanted to dump me in the ocean somewhere," Fujitora joked and took a deep breath.
"I couldn't fool that stupid nose of yours even if I wanted to do that. Plus the paper work would be a bitch and half to fill out. No thank you," Ryokugyu said.
Fujitora chuckled. "Yes, I expect it would be. This land is quite beautiful, isn't it?"
"Huh?" Ryokugyu actually took a moment to look around. "I guess so… Wait, you're blind! What do you mean it's beautiful?!"
"Ah, you caught me," Fujitora admitted. "But at least I won all those games of 'I spy with my little eye'."
"You son of a bitch! I was looking so hard for that duck!" Ryokugyu kicked sand in frustration.
What Ryokugyu didn't know was that Fujitora actually could see something. His eyes, damaged beyond function by his own hand, could see an energy propagating throughout the flora and fauna of Wano.
It truly was a beautiful sight, one which he was glad to see and which was becoming all the more common as people sailed to and from its origin in Dressrosa. He knew not what it truly was, but the way it set his mind at ease often had him meditating.
In fact, he felt like he was close to something, close to a change from within. The relative density of the energy in Wano compared to other places made it as good a spot as any to see if he could complete it.
"It's been a long trip, and one without rest. How about we take a break, Aramaki-kun?" Fujitora asked.
"What? We came all this way to clean up the trash. We can't just wait around and give them a chance to scurry away like the cockroaches they are!" Ryokugyu argued.
"These folks took down two Emperors, Aramaki-kun," Fujitora reasoned. "And they've had time to rest. We should recover a bit before we face them."
Ryokugyu grumbled and growled and paced the beach before finally flopping down on his back. "Only for one hour- no, two! Two hours, and then we're going to exterminate these pests once and for all! Not a second longer!"
"That suits me just fine, Aramaki-kun," Fujitora agreed, and wandered over to the tree line for a nice shady spot to meditate.