69novels Chapter 109 A Surprising Discovery
Chapter 109 A Surprising Discovery
Chapter 109 A Surprising Discovery
Evening, at the beach.
Norton watched as the group emerged from the dense forest.
Zoro walked at the front, his chest wrapped in bandages, the bloodstains dried and blackened, but his face still had that indifferent expression.
Twenty-three people followed behind him, but seven of them did not return.
El was carried back by two people, his body covered in wounds, the deepest one running from his left shoulder to his right waist, the flesh torn open, revealing his stark white ribs.
Nineteen people followed behind him, but eleven of them did not return.
Sanosuke was the last to land, his black wings stained with blood. He knelt on the ground, panting heavily.
Sixteen people followed behind him, fourteen of whom did not return.
Moria was unharmed, but his face was grim. He was followed by twenty-eight men, two of whom did not return.
Akin is back, Mr. 1 is back. But the number of his subordinates following him has decreased significantly.
Those who were alive have all returned.
The beach was eerily quiet. Chopper was already running around the medical station, followed closely by twenty doctors. Shouts, groans, and cries mingled together.
Norton stood there, motionless.
After a long time, Zoro walked up to him.
"Thirty-eight are dead." His voice was calm, but something burned in his eyes.
"The further we go, the stronger the monsters become. The ones we encountered today are more than twice as strong as those from yesterday. If we go any further tomorrow—"
He paused.
"More people will die."
"Then, let me go in alone."
Norton raised an eyebrow: "Alone?"
"Yes." Zoro's voice was firm. "If we bring people in, we'll be distracted protecting them and won't be able to fight freely. Being alone allows us to fight without restraint."
"Okay." Norton nodded, his gaze sweeping over the others—El, Sanosuke, Moria, Akin, and Mr. 1.
"The same goes for you. If you want to go in alone, you can. But remember one thing—"
"Your mission isn't to kill all the monsters on the island. It's to take out the strongest ones in your assigned area. The rest are just ordinary monsters."
"Let the people below practice."
Moria chuckled, Sanosuke nodded silently, and El grinned, which aggravated his wound, causing him to wince in pain.
Ajin didn't speak, but just gripped the iron crutch in his hand tightly.
MR1 remained expressionless.
Zoro turned and walked towards the camp. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and said something without turning his head.
"king."
"Um?
"6
"After tomorrow, I will be stronger."
Norton watched his retreating figure and smiled.
"I'll be waiting."
A few days later, at dusk.
The wounded lay in makeshift shacks, while Chopper and the twenty doctors were still busy.
Fu Ning stood on a rock at the edge of the camp, her face grim.
In just one day, the number of casualties has increased again.
Nami stood beside her, equally silent.
"Miss Funing, you were looking for me?" Footsteps came from behind, and Roy walked over quickly, holding a Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Contact Morgans." Fu Ning turned around, her gaze falling on the Den Den Mushi.
Roy paused for a moment.
"Now?"
"Now!"
Roy didn't dare ask any more questions and quickly dialed the number.
The Den Den Mushi rang a few times and was quickly answered.
"Moses, Moses—this is the World Economic News Agency, and I'm its president, Morgans!"
The Den Den Mushi displayed the distinctive expression of an albatross.
"President Morgans."
"Oh, it's Miss Funing!" Morgans' voice became even more excited. "How was it? Wasn't that island exciting?"
I heard about that place—
"Do you know how many people died?" Fu Ning interrupted him.
"One hundred and twenty-three! Thirty-eight more died today, and over two hundred were injured!"
"Well—adventures always involve some sacrifices—"
"A little sacrifice?"
More than a hundred lives lost! You call that a "sacrifice"?!
President Morgans, of the three islands you gave us, one is the territory of one of the Four Emperors, one is a fortress of the World Government, and the third one—this one!
"This is the island you said is most suitable for establishing a nation?!"
There was silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi again.
After a long while, Morgans' voice rang out again, this time with less excitement and more helplessness.
"Miss Fu Ning, listen to me—"
Those three islands are the three most resource-rich, uninhabited islands in the New World that I could find.
The island you're going to—this island has more resources than those two combined.”
Fu Ning fell silent.
"What do those monsters on the island prove?" Morgans continued, "They prove that this island has never been extensively developed by humans!"
The ore buried underground, the medicinal herbs growing in the forest, the timber from those giant trees—all of it is unclaimed! It's all yours!
"As for danger—Miss Funing, there is no place in the New World that is not dangerous. If you want to establish a country, you need a piece of land. If you want land, you have to fight for it."
The Den Den Mushi went silent. Funing stood there motionless.
After a long time, she lowered her head.
"----I see."
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, she turned to look at the dense forest in the distance.
As night fell, the silhouettes of those indistinct beasts appeared even larger and more ferocious in the twilight.
Meanwhile, deep in the dense forest.
Zoro walked alone in the darkness.
It's been three days.
For the past three days, he had been wandering around the eastern front area without anyone with him, only three knives and three days' worth of dry rations.
When hungry, they would chew on some jerky; when thirsty, they would drink the dew from the leaves; and when sleepy, they would find a giant tree to lean against and take a nap.
The rest of the time was spent fighting.
A familiar roar came from ahead. Zoro stopped and focused the light on the monster that was slowly emerging from the darkness.
It is fifteen meters tall, covered with thick bluish-gray skin, with a row of triangular bone plates standing upright on its back, and a tongue several meters long, like a giant python, with barbs on the tip, slowly swaying in the air.
In the past three days, he has killed seventeen of these monsters.
Small, big, even bigger. Each one is stronger than the last. Each battle is harder than the last.
He had lost count of how many knives he had used.
All I remember is that when the last knife pierced the monster's head, the black sheen on his blade was becoming even more intense.
Armament Haki has improved through life-and-death battles.
At that moment, Steel Hand's voice echoed in my mind—
"Domineering aura isn't something mysterious. It's the power within your body, the force your body unleashes to protect you when you're struggling on the edge of life and death."
Zoro gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as the skeletal reptile lunged at him!
It opened its gaping maw, its five rows of fangs gleaming coldly in the darkness. Its barbed tongue shot out, aiming straight for Zoro's face!
Zoro turned to the side, his tongue brushing against Zoro's cheek, leaving a trail of blood.
At the same time, the Wado Ichimonji was drawn!
The blade struck the monster's forelimb, sending sparks flying.
But that thick layer of skin was too hard; the blade only managed to cut in half an inch.
The skeletal reptile, in pain, let out a deafening roar and violently shook its head. The tongue attacked again, this time even faster!
Zoro dodged with a somersault, and as he landed, he slammed his right foot into the ground, lunging towards the monster!
The Third Generation Kitetsu and Yubashiri are drawn simultaneously!
Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!
Three blades simultaneously slashed into the monster's side!
The blade sank deeper—thirteen inches, five inches, seven inches! Green fluid gushed out!
The skeletal crawler let out a mournful screech, and its massive body crashed to the ground!
boom! !
The ground trembled, and smoke and dust filled the air.
Zoro stood beside the monster's corpse, panting heavily, looking down at the sword in his hand.
The Armament Haki on the three swords became even more intense.
He sheathed his sword and turned to walk into the darkness.
Behind him, the enormous corpse lay there silently, one of countless skeletons on the island.
In the jungles of the southern route.
The giant tree's canopy blocked out the sky, making it almost impossible to see the sun. Only a few rays of light occasionally pierced through the gaps in the branches and leaves, swaying slightly in the damp air.
Sanosuke stood on a branch of a giant tree, his gaze fixed on the ground below.
There, it was a dark, dense mass.
It was those blood-sucking monsters, thousands upon thousands of them, densely packed together, forming a black carpet on the ground.
They were feeding—the carcass of a recently deceased skeleton reptile was covered with those worms, their sucker-like mouthparts frantically sucking, and the carcass was visibly shriveling up.
However, Sanosuke did not act rashly.
There are too many of these insects; now is not the time to act. We must find their leader, the larger female insect.
He discovered this pattern three days ago.
This insect has a strict social structure, with the mother insect controlling the actions of all worker insects.
Killing the queen insect will plunge the entire colony into chaos.
His eyes searched through the dense swarm of insects.
Suddenly, deep within the swarm of insects, near the head of the corpse, they spotted an insect that was noticeably larger.
Its body was dark red, more than five times larger than an ordinary insect, and its eight legs were tightly gripping the corpse's head.
that's it!
Sanosuke took a deep breath, and the black wings on his back suddenly unfolded!
Countless worker insects sensed his presence, raised their heads, and opened their sucker-like mouthparts!
But Sanosuke was too fast. He changed direction repeatedly in mid-air, and black feathers rained down like a storm, pinning the swarming worker insects to the ground...
Three seconds later, he had already rushed to the front of the mother insect!
The ninja sword was drawn, its blade covered with a layer of black luster. The mother insect opened its mouth and let out a sharp screech!
A flash of light!
The mother insect's head flew up.
Sanosuke landed and sheathed his sword.
The thousands upon thousands of worker insects suddenly stopped attacking, and as if they had lost their way, they spun around in circles before scattering and fleeing.
"Hehehehe, interesting! Really interesting!" Moria laughed the most heartily on the western front.
There were more than a dozen huge corpses lying around him, each one shriveled up like a sack.
In the past three days, he has killed at least fifty monsters.
At first, he found it difficult, but as he continued fighting, he noticed that his shadow was getting stronger and stronger.
What I once possessed, I regained on this island, in these three days and nights of relentless fighting!
"Kaido————"
Moria raised his head and looked at the distant sky shrouded in mist.
"Just wait!"
He would never forget his defeat. The villagers of Ringo were so kind to him, but he couldn't drive away Kaido who had invaded Wano Country for them.
As the officers trained, their domineering power steadily grew, and on the fifth day, Zoro brought back a surprising discovery for Norton.
"I found something."
"What?"
"A forest," Sauron paused, "without monsters in it."
Norton's eyes narrowed slightly.
"No monsters?"
"Not a single one."
Sauron's voice was certain, "I walked in there for two hours and didn't hear a single roar. Those trees were peculiar, emitting a strange smell; I suspect the monsters were too afraid to approach them because of that smell."
Norton was silent for a few seconds.
"Take me to see it."
The next morning, Norton, along with Sauron, Steelhand, and several officers, arrived at the forest that Sauron had discovered.
Standing at the edge of the forest, Norton took a deep breath.
The smell was indeed very strong.
It doesn't smell bad, but it has a certain irritating quality; if you smell it for a while, your nose will feel numb.
Steel Hand walked up to a tree and reached out to touch the trunk.
“I’ve seen this tree before.” She frowned. “Decades ago, on an island in the New World. The locals called it the ‘beast-repelling tree,’ saying that if the felled wood was placed around their camp, wild animals wouldn’t dare approach.”
She paused.
"I didn't expect so many to grow here."
Norton walked into the forest, his gaze sweeping over the silvery-gray tree trunks, the thick layer of fallen leaves, and the quiet clearings.
It's too quiet.
Compared to the dense forest outside the camp, this place felt like another world.
He turned around and looked at Zoro.
How big is this forest?
Zoro was taken aback for a moment.
"----have no idea."
"have no idea?"
He walked out of the forest and stood on the largest clearing at the edge, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding cadres.
"Pass the word: starting tomorrow, clear a path leading to this forest."
He paused.
"Kill the monsters along the way if you can, and avoid them if you can't. I want everyone to be able to get here safely."
"Cut down all the trees in this forest." Norton spread his arms as if measuring something.
"Build a wall along the edge of this forest. A wall made by splitting these trees into planks and nailing them together. Outside the wall are monsters, inside—"
—
He grinned.
"This will be the first town in my country!"
Thanks to the pirates' efforts, the animal-proof wall was quickly built.
The three-kilometer-long wooden wall winds its way along the edge of the Beast-Repelling Tree Forest, reaching a height of over five meters and a thickness sufficient for two adults to stand side by side.
The silvery-gray tree trunks were split into thick planks, which were then firmly fixed together with large iron nails. The gaps between the planks were filled with clay and broken coral brought from the beach to ensure there were no gaps.
Smoke rose from dozens of chimneys, mingling with the aroma of roasted meat, and slowly drifted away into the twilight.
"A monster—really won't come?"
"Stop talking nonsense! The wall is already built. The wood smells weird, and monsters will run away from it, do you understand?" An older pirate next to him slapped him on the back of the head.
The young pirate rubbed the back of his head and muttered under his breath, "But what if—"
"No 'what ifs'," Kuro's voice came from the side. He adjusted his glasses and glanced at the group of pirates. "Get a good night's sleep. We'll be busy tomorrow."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards his tent.
The older pirate patted the younger pirate on the back of the head again.
"Did you hear that? Lord Kro said, sleep well!"
The young pirate shrank back and crawled into the tent.
No monsters approached that night.
This was the first peaceful night the Norton Pirates had experienced since landing on the island.