One Piece, I'm just an adventurer.

The sea breeze blew, and the sea returned to calm, as if nothing had happened. Only the red stains on the seawater told of the sins that had just been buried here.

The masked man glanced at the naval base, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Looks like Sengoku is moving quite quickly."

A void vortex appeared, and the masked man was sucked into it and disappeared.

Something unexpected happened again: instead of defending, the Navy launched an offensive after losing a naval admiral.

Led by Kizaru, Aokiji, and the legendary Vice Admiral Garp, the mighty naval fleet, like a ferocious beast, unleashed a bloodbath on the vast New World seas. In just three short days, they swiftly and decisively annihilated three pirate crews with a combined bounty exceeding 15 billion Berries on the turbulent ocean!

Originally, Garp's primary target for this expedition was "Wolf King" Fegohaw. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and no matter how hard Garp searched, he couldn't find a trace of this notorious pirate leader. Helpless, Garp had to temporarily change his strategy and turn his attention to another equally wicked group of pirates.

However, just when everyone thought the extermination operation had come to an end, even more shocking news exploded like a thunderclap in every corner of the New World—the newly appointed Admiral Cang Xie had actually ventured alone into the lion's den, launching an earth-shattering life-or-death duel against the world's strongest man, Whitebeard, who was renowned throughout the seas! This fierce battle lasted for two whole days and two nights, with both sides exchanging blows, neither giving an inch, fighting until the sky darkened and the sun and moon were obscured. Finally, when the smoke cleared, the two were tied!

The news, once it spread, was like a boulder thrown into water, instantly creating ripples. Those who had been eager to stir up trouble in this chaotic land were all terrified and trembled with fear upon hearing it. Only now did they awaken from their daze and truly realize just how terrifying the Navy's profound resources were.

Despite the recent tragic fall of the powerful Admiral Akainu, the Navy quickly produced an even more formidable Admiral, Cang Xie. This astonishing talent pool and continuous influx of new forces make the Navy an impregnable fortress, ensuring that anyone who dares to challenge its authority will suffer a crushing defeat.

After this battle, the previously turbulent and unpredictable tensions in the New World returned to their former calm. Those ambitious and scheming individuals with ulterior motives all fell silent, choosing to lie low and quietly await their next opportunity to strike...

Lin Yi sat on the recliner, looking at the latest report on the navy, a smile on his face. He was happy to see the navy become stronger; at least those disgusting pirates wouldn't dare to cause trouble.

Chiyo, give me a glass of juice.

"Good captain"

Lin Yi squinted his eyes contentedly, leaned back in the recliner, and basked in the sun. This was the life he wanted to live.

Delicious.

Chapter 77 The Talking Tree Reappears

Time flies, and another three months have passed.

Lin Yi had been living a very leisurely life for the past few months, spending his days sunbathing, fishing, visiting the remaining islands in the East China Sea, and occasionally exploring the mysterious corners of those islands. The World Government hadn't taken any action against him, seemingly forgetting about him. But Lin Yi knew in his heart that unknown undercurrents might be lurking beneath this calm.

That day, Lin Yi arrived at the bow of the ship early to fish, as usual. Suddenly, a strange, thick fog rose from the sea. The fog grew thicker and thicker, almost completely enveloping the Silver Dragon. Lin Yi became alert, releasing his Observation Haki to cover the fog. Soon, Lin Yi's expression turned somewhat strange.

Felina and the others emerged from the cabin, looking around with some confusion at the scene before them. As the thick fog gradually dissipated, a small island they had never seen before appeared. The island exuded a mysterious aura, and faint lights flickered within it.

Out of curiosity, Lin Yi and his companions decided to set foot on the island. As soon as they stepped ashore, they heard melodious music. Following the sound, they saw a group of strange creatures holding a grand party. These creatures had pointed ears, three whiskers on their mouths, and long tails trailing behind them; they resembled somewhat sentient rats. Upon discovering Lin Yi, they showed no hostility, but instead warmly invited him to join the party.

Lin Yi cautiously led Felina and the others into the gathering area. Humanoid creatures around them served them all sorts of strangely shaped foods and drinks. Lin Yi discreetly used his Observation Haki to sense their presence but detected no malice. Nevertheless, he remained cautious and did not readily eat or drink.

At this moment, a humanoid creature, seemingly the leader, stepped forward to welcome them and recount the island's legends. Lin Yi listened calmly, while carefully observing his surroundings. He noticed that the plants here grew extremely strangely, seemingly all twisted in the same direction.

Just then, the music rhythm suddenly changed, and the smiles on the faces of those humanoid creatures gradually became eerie.

Lin Yi knew things were going badly, so he shouted "Watch out!" and drew his weapon, ready to fight. Felina and the others also quickly went on alert, their eyes scanning the approaching humanoid creatures warily. The atmosphere instantly became tense.

The leading humanoid creature emitted a "hehehe".

Seeing this, Lin Yi used a spatial slash to split his head in two.

"Damn it, he's ugly and his smile is so awful," Lin Yi said disdainfully.

The remaining humanoid creatures were dumbfounded when their leader died suddenly and unexpectedly.

"What happened? How did the boss die?"

"Look, wasn't this done by that human?"

"How terrifying, why hasn't the mother tree's poison taken effect yet?"

These humanoid creatures discussed the matter with some fear.

A tall, muscular humanoid creature appeared, its face ashen, its eyes filled with utter terror. It opened its mouth and screamed at the top of its lungs, "You...you weren't poisoned! How is this possible?"

Standing to the side, Reiju's lips curled into a slight, contemptuous smile. She crossed her arms and replied dismissively, "Hmph, with your pathetic little tricks, you dare to play with poison in front of me? You're utterly ignorant and incredibly stupid!"

It turned out that when the thick fog quietly enveloped the group, these treacherous humanoid creatures had already begun secretly poisoning them. However, this poison was no ordinary substance; it required a special catalyst to exert its effects. And this crucial catalyst was the wood used in the roaring campfire.

Unfortunately, these petty tricks were utterly insignificant to Reiju. Long before her opponent made a move, she had already sensed the strange aura in the air and, relying on her ability to absorb toxins, had already absorbed all the toxins lurking in the shadows.

Just then, the tall, humanoid creature seemed to suddenly realize the gravity of the situation. He turned around abruptly and ran for his life, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Run! Quickly find the Mother Tree and ask for help!" At the same time, he moved with incredible speed, his steps were astonishing.

"Heh heh, trying to run? Not so easy!" Seeing this, Da Pan and the others didn't hesitate to take action to stop them. In an instant, all sorts of fierce attacks swept towards the group of humanoid creatures trying to escape like a storm. Before long, these guys, who had been scurrying around like rats in the street, suffered heavy casualties under the powerful offensive of Da Pan and the others, leaving only a few survivors for questioning.

Lin Yi walked towards the humanoid creatures and asked, "What species are you?"

These people had previously told a series of lies about their origins, claiming to be descendants of the Mink Tribe, but Lin Yi felt they didn't seem to be, because these humanoid creatures were very weak and did not possess the innate characteristics of the Mink Tribe.

Under Lin Yi's overwhelming force, one of the humanoid creatures could no longer withstand the immense pressure. His body trembled, as if he would collapse to the ground at any moment. In the end, his mental defenses completely crumbled, and he shakily revealed their deepest secret.

According to their confession, these humanoid creatures were originally just a group of ordinary rats.

However, the mysterious mother tree they mentioned possessed an incredible ability—to absorb all the essence contained within a human body and bestow it upon these rats.

This is why these rats were able to evolve, transforming into their current humanoid form. The strength of these rats is closely related to the strength of the humans whose essence they absorbed. In other words, if they encounter a powerful human, the rats transformed after being absorbed will become correspondingly stronger; and vice versa.

Hearing this, Lin Yi frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "If that's the case, why couldn't we see this island before?" This morning when he was fishing, he didn't notice the island's existence at all. You know, with his keen observation and rich experience, he shouldn't have been able to ignore such a sizable island.

At this moment, another humanoid creature cautiously replied, "That...that's because the thick fog surrounding this island has a magical effect of confusing people's vision. As long as one is outside the island, people's vision will be interfered with by the fog, and they will not be able to see the true situation inside the island at all."

Lin Yi was somewhat surprised to hear this, not expecting that these fogs had so many functions.

He asked again, "So, what exactly is this so-called mother tree that you keep talking about?"

Faced with this question, the humanoid creatures, who had just been terrified, all showed an almost devout reverence on their faces. One of them answered firmly, "The Mother Tree is the Mother Tree. It is because of its existence that we are what we are today. It is our creator, the great being that gave us new life!" Although they were in an extremely dangerous situation at the moment, their deepest respect for the Mother Tree was still evident in their words.

Lin Yi frowned slightly and continued to ask, "Was this mist created by the Mother Tree you mentioned?"

But these humanoid creatures all shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.

Lin Yi asked a few more questions, but these humanoid creatures didn't know much. Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from them, Lin Yi used his spatial slash to kill them all.

Under his Observation Haki, the so-called mother tree clearly appeared before his eyes.

Lin Yi led Da Pan and the others to the small tree.

It's really small, only about three meters tall, with only two branches on the tree, like human arms, and the trunk even has eyes and a mouth like a human.

As Lin Yi and his group approached, the sapling spoke up: "Humans, retreat now, and I can overlook the rats you killed."

Upon seeing that the tree could actually talk, Da Pan and the others all showed expressions of surprise. This was the first time they had ever seen a talking tree, but it was the second time Lin Yi had encountered one.

"Heh, those rats call you mother, but you always treat them like rats. It's ridiculous," Lin Yi said sarcastically.

"Hmph, they're just a bunch of failures," the tree said dismissively.

Then it emphasized again, "Humans, get off this island, or I won't be polite."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi and the others burst into laughter. Da Pan, holding the Panlong Staff, said nonchalantly, "Come on, let me see how impolite you are."

As soon as Da Pan finished speaking, thick tree roots burst forth from the ground, like giant pythons lunging towards Lin Yi and his companions. Lin Yi sneered, wielding his long sword. A flash of cold light appeared, and several tree roots snapped in two. Da Pan and the others also joined in, eliminating the remaining tree roots.

Seeing that it couldn't do anything to Lin Yi and his group, the sapling began to beg for mercy again.

But Lin Yi sneered, "You've killed so many humans, how could we possibly let you go?"

In Lin Yi's perception, there were thousands of corpses beneath this small tree. These people who died unjustly had not yet found peace, so how could this small tree survive?

"Haha, if you won't let me live, then let's die together!" The little tree suddenly went mad, and an energy that did not belong to it erupted within its body.

Even Lin Yi felt a sense of threat from that ability.

Lin Yi quickly used his spatial abilities to imprison the area around the sapling.

A muffled, thunderous sound echoed in the confined space as the sapling was completely reduced to ashes.

Seeing this, Lin Yi fell silent. This was the second time he had encountered such a highly intelligent plant; the first time was on Poison Tree Island. Now, he realized that the Poison Tree King had lied. It hadn't gained intelligence after eating the Poison Fruit; it already possessed intelligence before eating it.

What is the connection between the Poison Tree King and this little tree, and why does this little tree possess such a strong energy within it?

"Big brother, what are you thinking about?" Da Pan's voice rang in Lin Yi's ear.

Lin Yi snapped out of his daze, and seeing the concerned looks on everyone's faces, he smiled slightly and said, "It's alright, let's leave here first."

Why think so much? As long as he's strong enough, he can arrogantly tell anyone who comes his way, "I don't eat beef."

"Huh, what's this?"

"A strange stone"

(Brothers, I'm totally confused. I realized I didn't write about Kizaru reporting Lin Yi's ability to strip others of their Devil Fruits earlier, and it seems like none of you noticed either. Just pretend I did write it. It's such a hassle to fix it now.)

Chapter 78 The Impoverished South China Sea

On the vast and turbulent East China Sea, there is a regular shipping route connecting the East China Sea and the South China Sea. On this busy waterway, a massive ship, whose size is so large that it is impossible for ordinary people to detect its existence with the naked eye, is moving silently forward at a steady and uniform speed.

Just then, without warning, a tall and imposing figure suddenly appeared in mid-air like a ghost. The moment it appeared, it plummeted downwards like a shooting star. However, to everyone's astonishment, just as it was about to plunge into the sea, it vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

On the Silver Dragon, Da Pan, who had just returned to the ship, could not contain his excitement and shouted excitedly at the top of his lungs, "Big Brother! From the outside, our Silver Dragon is completely invisible!"

Before he could finish speaking, the others, upon hearing this astonishing news, couldn't contain their curiosity and joy and rushed out one after another. A short while later, they returned to the Silver Dragon, excitedly discussing the news and beaming with happiness.

"Oh my, I never imagined that such an ordinary-looking stone could have such amazing effects!" Felina exclaimed in a sweet voice, her face full of surprise.

At this moment, Lin Yi was toying with a stone of an extremely unique and strange shape. The stone flew up and down between his nimble fingers, continuously spewing out wisps of thick, snow-white mist.

The thick fog quickly spread, completely enveloping the Silver Dragon. From a distance, the Silver Dragon, which had been clearly visible, now seemed to have vanished from sight as if it had disappeared. However, the vision of Lin Yi and the others inside the Silver Dragon remained completely unaffected; they could still clearly see everything around them. This strange contrast was truly astonishing.

"The reason we couldn't see that island before was probably because of this rock. But this rock is just a bit peculiar; it's not very useful," Lin Yi said nonchalantly.

"Hehe, Brother Lin Yi, if you don't want it, you can give it to me." Felina smiled broadly, her big eyes blinking as she looked at Lin Yi, and said in a sweet voice. Her tone was full of expectation and coquettishness, making it hard for anyone to refuse.

"Oh? What mischief are you up to now?" Lin Yi looked at Felina warily. He knew this quirky little girl all too well. Whenever she showed that expression, nothing good was about to happen.

"Oh dear, how could you say that to me!" Felina pouted, put her hands on her hips, and said in a feigned aggrieved tone, "I just wanted that thing, I really didn't mean to do anything bad."

"Don't give me that. I'd be grateful if you didn't play any tricks on us," Lin Yi said helplessly, rolling his eyes at Felina. He wasn't going to believe Felina easily; that girl had plenty of mischievous ideas.

Felina has a very lively personality; in her daily life, she always likes to play pranks and tricks on everyone on the ship. In comparison, Lin Yi is relatively lucky, since Simon, Dota, and Da Pan are the real victims. They often wake up to find strange creatures beside their beds, scaring them half to death.

"Brother Lin Yi, I'm really serious this time. If I can get that thing, I can hide on the clouds during battles. Then, the enemy won't be able to find me at all, and I can strike them with lightning at will, hahaha..." As she spoke, Felina became more and more excited, as if she could already see herself defeating the enemy, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Seeing Felina lost in her daydreams, Lin Yi sighed helplessly, but ultimately gave the stone to her. Controlling the stone was very simple; it was like a switch. By simply channeling his mental energy into it, the stone would generate mist. There were two types of mist: one that could conceal objects, and another, a toxic, dense fog. This mist could be recycled using the same method.

After some playful banter, everyone went about their own business.

In the afternoon, an island appeared directly in front of the Silver Dragon. This was the first inhabited island Lin Yi encountered in the South China Sea.

The Silver Dragon, like an elegant behemoth, slowly approached the makeshift pier on the island. This so-called pier was nothing more than a slightly flatter shoreline suitable for ships to dock. With a slight rocking and a dull thud, the Silver Dragon came to a steady stop on the pier.

The group disembarked and stepped onto the unfamiliar island. However, the island's inhabitants did not seem to be living well. Those working at the dock were dressed in tattered and patched clothes, and their faces and eyes revealed deep poverty and undisguised exhaustion.

Lin Yi and his group looked around curiously. They saw that most of the houses were built with simple and rough materials, making them look very rudimentary. The streets under their feet were even more dilapidated, with potholes and uneven surfaces that seemed to tell the story of the vicissitudes of time.

Just then, a group of children, also dressed in tattered clothes, suddenly appeared not far away. They timidly hid in a corner, looking over from a distance. Their innocent eyes were fixed on the various exquisite accessories worn by Lin Yi and the others, their gazes sparkling with curiosity and longing.