After taking the hit and staggering for a few moments, the tiger dropped with a sickening thud, a tremor running through the earth beneath me as its massive body hit the forest floor.
Blood seeped into the roots from the wounds all over its body, dark and steaming. My hands were still clenched around the hilt of my sword, knuckles white, breath ragged like I'd sprinted through fire.
I didn't move at first. My back slammed into the trunk of a thick tree, and I slid down to the ground, legs refusing to hold me a second longer. The smell of iron was overwhelming my nostrils.
That thing—no, that monster—was the size of a shipping container, maybe bigger. Killing it hadn't felt like a victory. It felt like survival.
I stared at the carcass. Its ribcage rose and fell once, twice… then nothing.
When I saw this, I couldn't help but feel relieved.
Relieved that I was still alive, relieved that the one who is dead now is not me, but this monster.
Even though I knew in the past, killing something one-tenth of its size would have given me a panic attack. Now, with how close to death I was, I only feel relieved. Which makes me dismayed.
My pulse slowed, bit by bit.
What the hell am I doing here?
Was me returning home worth going through all of this?
Is it worth putting my life on the line like this?
Feeling discouraged, I remember the faces of my family and friends,
...And all of these thoughts disappear like a mist in the wind!
My focus returns, and with it, the awareness of my surroundings returns.
The jungle noises—the chirping, the rustling, the soft slither of something unseen—returned in fragments. I rubbed my face with blood-crusted fingers, not sure if it was mine or the tiger's.
'Didn't matter, I was still breathing, and that's what matters.'
But I didn't let myself rest for long. I stood, legs shaky but working. The air was thick, humid, like I was moving through steam. My clothes stuck to my skin. I wiped the blade clean on a patch of moss, then sheathed it. The tiger had been the apex predator in this cursed place. That much was clear. With it gone, the forest would quiet down, for now.
I reached into my waist bag and pulled out the makeshift Hamon Echolocator, which is just a small bottle of water connected to a string. Primitive, but it worked.
'When I get time, I should really make a better one.'
Taking a breath according to the Hamon rhythm, and letting the ripples flow into the water in the bottle. The Hamon returned, spared through me, then the surrounding forest.
No other life forms nearby.
Maybe the tiger had scared them off. Probably scattered the smaller beasts into their holes like smoke on the wind.
And that gave me a short window.
With a thought, I summoned The Box, and the wooden chest appeared in my field of vision like it had always been there.
I took hold of it, opened the lid, and put the Barbossa Sword in it, and in a blink, my Sword was gone, and the lid was closed.
Closing my eyes and making my wish, the Box opened, and inside it was the Jack Sparrow Compass.
Picking the compass and flicking the cover, the dial spun once, then pointed in a direction.
The distance counter indicated three hundred meters.
Not far. But in this forest, especially after the tiger, I had to be vigilant.
I moved carefully, pistol drawn. The handle was slick with sweat, but I didn't loosen my grip.
Trees loomed around me like ancient sentinels, roots twisting across the path like traps. My boots made soft crunches against dead leaves. I kept low, eyes darting, ears straining.
But no movement. No glowing eyes. No growls. Just the eerie hush that follows violence.
By the time I reached my destination, I'd burned through most of my adrenaline.
Standing before me was a huge tree.
"Finally…"
It was massive, easily sixty meters tall. Its bark was scarred and gnarled, like it had lived through a hundred storms. And the Devil Fruit with its swirling patterns wasn't hanging from a branch like I'd assumed. Instead, it was wedged between two thick limbs high above, like the tree had tried to hide it away.
Twenty meters up.
I exhaled, flexing my fingers. "Alright, then."
Taking a deep breath, I moved the Hamon to my limbs and stuck to the tree like I learned on the island weeks ago—a simple wall-sticking trick.
My hands and boots gripped the bark like suction, and I moved fast, nimble as a lizard. Every meter I gained, the shape of the Devil fruit became clearer. It had a faint, unnatural purple color, and it looked like a guava but with an eerie swirling pattern.
By the time I reached it, my heart thudded in my throat. I held the fruit gently, and I didn't waste time up there. A quick descent, controlled and careful, and I landed with a grunt.
"Now the moment of truth!"
The Compass and Fruit went into the Box directly together.
I held The Box in my hand as I made my wish.
"…"
And nothing happened.
The Box didn't even twitch. The lid stayed still and closed.
I bit down on a curse. Tried again, used all of the other ideas that I had before, and I still got the same result.
Nothing…
I'd known it was a long shot. Hoped anyway. Two Devil Fruits weren't enough. I needed more.
"Probably, a lot more…Sigh…"
Still, the disappointment hit hard. I sat on a nearby root, staring at The Box in my lap.
"You're really gonna make me crawl through more of this damned world, huh?"
No answer, as always.
Fucker
My fingers tightened around the edge of The Box.
Just one beast inside a rural forest made me like this, imagine what is going to happen when I meet more dangerous things.
In fact, I could already picture the Straw Hats crew taking down a monster like this with one hit or something. And there should already be platoons of people like this all around the Blues.
'Nothing really comes easy for me, huh?'
The memory of my saying to Yukinoshita an Yuigahama,
"If wishes could be granted, if desires could be fulfilled, then I wouldn't wish for or desire anything after all. The things you're handed on a silver platter are never genuine and never everlasting: and that is why I'll always keep searching for something genuine."
"HaHa…"
Life knew how to really make me want to eat my words. Looks like there are things that you would wish it would be handed to you on a silver platter.
"Be carful of what you wish for, is it…?"
"Sigh…!"
With a long sigh, I stood up, brushing dirt from my pants, and took one last look at the tiger's path. The blood trail. The smashed branches. The silence.
"No going back empty-handed," I muttered.
Holding the Box in my hand, I changed my wish, and the Box opened this time.
From it, I took out the Compass and the Barbossa Sword.
"At very least, I can now use the Compass and the Barbossa Sword together."
Hanging the sword on my waist now, I make my way down to the village as the day is growing dark.
Halfway down the slope, the stench of blood hit me, and then I saw it. The tiger.
Its body sprawled across the clearing like a fallen monument. Massive muscles still taut even in death. Flies are already buzzing above it.
I stepped closer, boots stepping on the falling leaves and the twigs. The tiger's bloody eyes were glassy, lifeless. And yet it felt like it still watched me, like it was full of judging and blaming.
While I thought about hauling the carcass back. Maybe the villagers could use the hide, the meat, and the bones. But then I looked at its bulk, at the dried blood stiffening the fur, and felt the weight of exhaustion settle deep in my limbs.
No. I couldn't carry that thing back—not physically, not emotionally. And besides, the villagers didn't need a corpse. They needed distance.
An idea flashed in my head, I placed my hand on the Barbossa Sword hilt.
Moments later, I confirmed my thought.
'Yeah, I can control the corpse…' but something in me told me not to do that.
It's like you suddenly found a path or a shortcut, but you instinctively know not to try your luck with this.
So, trusting my instinct on this one, I left it there.
"Let the jungle have it," I said while moving away.
Strangely, the rest of the journey was smooth. No growls from the underbrush. No skittering shadows or eyes glinting in the treetops. It was like the forest was holding its breath.
I didn't like it.
The path blurred beneath me, and before I knew it, the tree line broke, giving way to the view of the not far away village.
'Well, that was fast.'
Surprisingly, when nothing hinders your descent, the road becomes easy.
'Maybe they sensed it—the other beasts. That their king was dead. And maybe now they feared me.'
"Good."
I put all the forest and its residents behind me and moved closer to the village.
The old man waited at the edge of the road, the same one who'd greeted me when I first arrived. Thick arms crossed over his chest, weathered face set in a line that could've been either a smile or a scowl, and the same walking cane that he, clearly, didn't need.
His name escaped me, if he'd even told me, but the sight of him grounded me.
"You're back," he said, voice like gravel dragged across stone. "It's good you made it. That place… You shouldn't have gone in alone, it is too dangerous."
I nodded, feigning a tired and impassive look. "Sorry about that, I was a bit in a hurry. Appreciate the concern."
My reply was short and dry.
I didn't tell him about the tiger. No point in scaring him.
Strangers showing up out of nowhere with this kind of power never meant anything good in places like this. Pirates were stories they knew and feared. If he knew I'd killed the forest king, he'd start wondering what else I could kill.
'But even then, I doubt he would even believe me, that thing wasn't the type to be killed.'
The old man scratched the side of his head and shifted on his feet. "That herb… the one you asked about. I showed the picture around like you asked. Even old Naala, who remembers things from before the drought. But no one's seen anything like it."
Hearing his words, I swallowed the flicker of guilt, nodding solemnly. "Thank you for looking. I just looked in the forest, no sign of it or even the herbs that accompany it usually, so it should not grow here. I'll have to check another island."
Lie stacked on lie. That sketch I'd shown him was complete fiction. A diversion. Just a cover to lead them away from what I was really after.
'At least, I didn't lie completely. Just what I was searching for is not a herb but a fruit. Also, a plant, so it was not a total lie.'
Yeah, let's keep saying that to myself.
Still, the old man took it well. Nodded with a grunt, like he was more disappointed in himself for not being able to help than suspicious of me for making it up.
"Okay, you got a plan now?" he asked, putting both of his hands on his cane.
"Will you wait for a trader ship? We don't get many. And they're picky about passengers. Or do you have someone to pick you up? Until then, we can offer you lodging, but it won't be a classy one."
"There will be no need for that, I've got my own way off," I said. "But I'll need to get to the beach."
He blinked. "You've… got your own way?"
"I do."
And here I could practically see the gears turning in his mind. And the look in his eyes regained its cautious glint.
After a pause, he said, "Alright then, I'll take you. This way."
But he didn't lead me through the heart of the village. Instead, we circled it, winding through narrow goat paths and muddy embankments until the huts were distant behind us. He kept his mouth shut, but I knew what this was.
He didn't trust me. So he didn't show me the village's structure, fearing that I was a pirate scout.
'Looks like they have some kind of security protocol.'
If I had to guess, they should also have an arsenal of weapons here, and a few of the men ready for combat at the first sign of trouble.
We reached the beach just as the sun was dipping low, dyeing the waves blood-orange.
I waded into the surf until the water lapped at my knees.
The sea smelled clean, sharp, and briny, washing away the stink of jungle still clinging to my clothes.
And now with a thought, I summoned my mystery of a Box.
I crouched, drowning it in water, filling it as I made my wish.
'A balloon. Big, hollow, and durable.'
Few breaths later, the Box clicked open underwater. Inside, a curled yellow rubber balloon.
I grabbed it, took a deep breath, and let the Hamon seep into my hands, channeling the ripple flow into the balloon, making it inflate underwater like a bubble.
The balloon swelled, sea water feeding it instead of air. It grew, and grew, until it loomed beside me, twice the size of a carriage, slick and glistening under the sinking sun.
Behind me, I heard the old man suck in a breath. He didn't speak, but the silence told me more than words. He was totally not expecting this.
When I felt it was enough, I tied the balloon off and once again, summoned The Box.
'I hope this one works.'
I opened The Box and put the tip of the water balloon inside The Wooden Box.
Suddenly, the balloon disappeared like it wasn't even there, and The Box was shut tight.
"Okay, the big step is done. Now to the results."
My hand was on the Box as I made my next Order.
'A small vessel, one sail, seaworthy.'
The Box's lid clicked. When I opened it, I saw only deep darkness inside The Box, with the edge of a sail protruding from it.
The moment I took hold of it,
"What the…!"
I found myself in the air, hanging from the edge of sail.
On the water, a small, seaworthy vessel with a single sail appeared.
The boat was compact yet robust, capable of venturing into the open sea if controlled well. Its single sail allows for nice maneuverability. The hull is streamlined for stability, featuring a pointed bow that slices through waves efficiently.
All in all, it is a good boat, and I….was hanging on the sail like an idiot.
The sail wasn't high, so I simply jumped down.
Once on the deck, I looked at the now completely shocked old man and bowed politely.
"Thank you for your hospitality!" I rested my hand on the Barbossa Sword, I began to use its power as it should have been used.
The sail unfolded by itself, the wind rushed, and the water waved.
In seconds, the island was behind the boat. And after moving a bit into the water, I unsheathed my sword.
Whooosh!
Then the rushing wind galloped at my call, the sea water made way, and the boat sailed through the sea at unparalleled speed.
...
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