One Piece: Starting with Coercion and Enticement of Nami

Thoth came to her side and looked at the exquisite card in her hand, which had a purple background and a border made of interwoven primary colors.

On the front of the card is a picture of a shimmering, turquoise liquid.

Karina grinned and asked, "Is it pretty?"

As she spoke, she extended her left hand, ripples spreading across her palm, and then another card with the same design materialized. Karina grinned and said:

"The cards I create can be stored in the card space inside my body and can be taken out from any part of my body. However, as it stands, the cards I create are all single-use."

Like this.

With a thought, a card in her hand emitted a white light. As the card disintegrated, a pool of tree sap appeared in mid-air and then plummeted into the tree pit.

Karina regenerated a blank card and once again absorbed the sap from the tree pit into the card for storage.

"How is it? Pretty convenient, right?"

Karina's eyes were filled with anticipation, and Thoth smiled and patted her head:

“Very good, I’ve made up my mind. From now on, you will be our ship’s professional warehouse keeper for valuables.”

Karina rolled her eyes at Thoth, but then turned around and laughed, "That sounds pretty cool. From now on, all your high-value treasures will be stored by me."

Thoth rolled his eyes at her, while Karina grinned. Then, she looked at the giant tree at her feet, a glint of cunning in her eyes:

"Thoth, the wood from this giant tree is of superb quality. What do you think? Why don't you cut down a portion of it and use it as shipbuilding material when we need to replace our ships in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Thoth was surprised, then immediately thought of the extraordinary toughness of this ancient tree, which far surpassed the material of his own Breaking Wave.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he winked at Karina: "You really are the type to pluck feathers from a passing goose and leave the skin behind when the beast leaves."

"Hehehe!" Karina smiled slyly: "Don't you think it's bad?"

“No way,” Thoth laughed. “I think you’re absolutely right.”

However, at this point, Thoth looked at Karina with curiosity in his eyes: "Can you absorb and store a piece of wood with a diameter of 100 meters through cards?"

Karina pondered, "I haven't tried it, but it should be possible. When a card absorbs an item, it consumes energy based on the size, quality, and amount of energy of the item. My energy should be enough to support it."

Thoth nodded, then looked at the cut surface of the giant tree at his feet and began to consider from which angle to cut it down.

All things breathe and resonate in harmony with the pulse of the giant tree.

'Huh? ! '

At this moment, Tote's consciousness stirred slightly. The giant tree still possessed a vital life force, remaining resilient and tenacious. However, Tote was not surprised by this at the moment.

Rather, in the sense of all things breathing, the life veins of the giant tree were slowly converging towards a root at its feet.

The...life core of the giant tree?

094. Conqueror's Haki! Spirit of the Wood!

"An ancient giant tree that is inherently spiritual, and can also produce fruit that allows organisms to mutate and evolve through life energy."

"Shouldn't we have known it wouldn't just die so easily, like a cicada shedding its shell?"

"Instinct knows it can't defeat me, so it now abandons the main trunk of the tree and most of the life essence of the plants, in order to store its own core, and also secretly devours a part of its own life energy into the core."

A rich yet subtle life force slowly emerges from the point where the heartwood of the main trunk meets the rootstock.

At this moment, even through emotional resonance, Thoth failed to perceive its "emotions" as if it had entered a state of "feigned death".

He's a guy like Lao Liu.

It really has become sentient!

Unfortunately, he still managed to discover it himself, as Thoth sensed the spiritual, ignorant mental fluctuations within the core of the giant tree.

It slowly absorbs the life essence of the tree sap from the surrounding branches.

"If the fruit alone can give me such a significant boost, what about the life core?"

"Greed is the original sin! But so is weakness! Survival of the fittest!"

Thoth observed calmly.

"You continue collecting tree sap."

While sensing the life core, Thoth turned his head to let Karina continue working.

Karina nodded and turned to Nami to continue collecting the sap.

An hour later, it was past noon. The sun was scorching, and the sap at the cut of the giant tree had dried up. Thoth had already selected the toughest piece of wood from the main trunk.

However, to prevent logging from affecting the efficiency of the giant tree's core in absorbing essence, Thoth did not cut down the trees.

At this moment, sensing the root section several meters below the cut, the life core there had completely stopped devouring and had fallen into a state of suspended animation.

Thoth gestured for Nami and the others to leave, and soon, only Thoth remained at the slit.

Armor color surged forth from his body, flowing into Tyr's head and hardening around it.

Amidst the piercing whistling sound, wisps of black electric arcs coiled around the sword.

With a slight bend in his legs, Thoth's figure appeared tens of meters in the air in an instant, wielding Tyr's Blade and swinging it down from mid-air.

Zheng!

The dark blue-green slash rang out sharply in the air, and with a crack, the incomparably sharp strike instantly cleaved a deep crack in the tree trunk from its heart.

Thoth sensed and avoided the core, and then a barrage of slashing beams rained down from the sky, instantly slicing the giant tree trunk into pieces.

A silent roar suddenly arose.

The giant tree's spirit then realized that Thoth intended to completely destroy it by uprooting it.

Pure emotions of anger and malice surged forth like a tsunami.

Hundreds of sharp tree roots sprang out from beneath the lake's surface, but unfortunately, Tote swung his sword horizontally and vertically, cutting them all down in a few breaths.

Snapped!

Treading on the vastness of the sky, his figure flashed down from mid-air, passing through the shattered main trunk that had been severed, and Thoth's figure quickly approached the core that had been exposed at the bottom.

The moment he landed, he swung his greatsword in a crisscrossing motion, clang! clang clang clang!!

The area around a node where the trunk and roots connect was instantly severed.

Tot bent over, spread his five fingers, and grabbed a half-meter-long, arm-thick, tumor-like bluish-black root.

Suddenly, an ignorant and violent mental shock shot out from the lump in my hand.

Thoth's pupils constricted slightly, his military might erupting instinctively in an instant, his domineering and fierce will colliding furiously with the force of his troops.

hum-

The invisible wave spreads instantaneously.

The wind blew up Tot's black hair, and a deep red light shone in his deep eyes.

It's like a rock standing firm on the shore, constantly being battered by a barrage of raging waves.

The reef still stands firm, while the waves crash against it and break apart.

Kotot is not a reef, nor is it a wave; it is merely a swollen lump of rootless duckweed.

After the initial mental shock, the momentum waned, and Thoth's cold eyes and imposing military presence completely unaffected him.

Grasping the swollen root, Thoth's eyes showed surprise. The palm-sized part in the center of the root had a gelatinous feel, and in the breath of all things, the center of the swollen part in his hand contained an unusually active pulse of life.

This is the core of life.

If you bury it in the soil, given its vitality, it will probably take root and sprout again in less than half a day.

However, the life pulse at the core of life, which has become a rootless duckweed, is now weakening continuously.

A thoughtful look crossed his eyes: Should he act now while it's still hot, or wait a little longer?

Looking at the lump in his hand, a strange image couldn't help but pop into Toth's mind.

A crazed, mad figure held a blood-red skull in his hand, tilted his head back, and laughed maniacally as he poured the "soul juice" inside the skull into his mouth.

Shaking his head, Tot looked around and saw that green sap was constantly seeping out from the broken tree trunks and roots all around him.

Sensing the increasingly faint spiritual shockwaves emanating from the core of his life, he casually sat on a piece of wood, picked up Tyrfong, and, as if peeling sugarcane, swiftly shaved off the outer part of the rootstock in his hand.

This was like stirring up a hornet's nest again.

The spiritual impact of the giant tree struck again, but to Thoth at this moment, it was like a strong wind blowing in his face.

Surprisingly, it was quite comfortable.

Soon, having shaving down to the very core, Thoth looked at the greenish-blue paste behind a thin film of wood fibers, as thin as a cicada's wing, with fine annual rings distributed on the paste.

With his right hand lowering the sword, Thoth pierced the membrane with his index finger and poked into the ointment. Instantly, a rich and sweet aroma of herbs and wood swept out.

A deep-seated desire and greed were stirred within him, and Thoth's eyes cleared. At that moment, the mental shock vanished completely.

"Is it still something that can induce a creature to undergo physical mutation and evolution due to intense craving, even with a temptation many times stronger than that mutated fruit?"

A hint of curiosity appeared in his eyes, "I just wonder how much my skills can be upgraded to."

Thoth pulled out his index finger, put it in his mouth, and sucked on it. In the analysis of "tasting hundreds of herbs," a strange power appeared, arousing the desire in his consciousness.

It is indeed a treasure, just like a fruit.

It can trigger the most primal evolutionary desires of living beings, which can be considered a crisis. But a crisis is a combination of danger and opportunity. A strong person can turn danger into safety, but what about Thoth?

He glanced at the "Self-Recovery" and "Armed Haki" displayed on the light screen panel, which were integrated into a single level.

And with its current strong vitality, Thoth is able to cut open its abdomen to remove it if it is truly in danger.

Thoth wasn't the kind of reckless guy who just blindly charged in without any trump cards.

Without hesitation, he pried open the membrane, tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and the palm-sized paste from the root slid down, landing precisely in Thoth's mouth. As Thoth swallowed, the paste-like life core slid smoothly down his esophagus and into his stomach.

Thoth blinked, the taste was sweet and delicious, and at that very moment, a terrifying life energy suddenly erupted from his body.

The rich essence of life instantly swept over his body, making Thoth feel as if he were in a warm and comfortable hot spring.

But what followed was a tearing, swelling pain that came from deep within the body.

Thoth's eyes were calm as he gripped Tyr's Blade in his right hand, ready to disembowel himself at any moment.

A strange power rapidly accumulated within his body, surging into Thoth's consciousness.

It was triggering Thoth's most primal and instinctive evolutionary desires, but Thoth paid no heed, his consciousness as clear and still as water, in a state of constant breathing.

A vast amount of plant life essence flowed through his body, but Thoth's consciousness had no desire for evolution. The energy began to destroy Thoth's body like headless flies.

The "self-recovery" function was activated instantly, and Thoth's body began to cycle between destruction and self-healing. Everything was developing in the right direction.

[Self-Recovery (Comprehensive Understanding 124→126→129/2000)]

Skill proficiency is increasing rapidly.

Thoth's eyes were calm as he quietly experienced his own growth and sensed the continuous transformation of his body in this state.

The strength and resilience of muscles, bones, and flesh are enhanced, and the entire body undergoes a transformation. The skin and muscles inside the body are constantly tearing apart, and blood is constantly flowing out.

But under the surging life force within the body, this minor injury is rapidly healing.

As the paste-like core in my stomach gradually decomposes, an immense surge of herbal essences flows into every corner of my body.

However, at that moment, as the essence of herbs seeped into every corner of the body, a strange sense of connection suddenly appeared.

Suddenly, from the core of the giant tree's body, its spiritual spirit erupted once more, and a tidal wave of furious and malevolent intent surged into Thoth's consciousness.

Thoth's eyes were calm. "You think you can cause any trouble just because you're inside me?"

Consciousness instantly solidified, and the overwhelming power of the weapon commanded the domineering aura within the body, shattering the spiritual consciousness of the giant tree.

A silent wail appeared in his consciousness, but Thoth's eyes remained calm and unmoved.

But at that moment, as the giant tree's spirit dissipated, a surge of pure spiritual power flowed into Thoth's consciousness. Immediately afterwards, a flood of chaotic fragments of memory suddenly appeared in Thoth's mind.

The images and information in his memory were overwhelming and complex, and Tote's consciousness was instantly submerged in this tidal wave of memories.

Countless images assaulted Thoth's consciousness. The domineering military might solidified, and Thoth's will was as firm as a rock. Under the surging tide of memories, it was like a fierce demonic blade being burned by raging fire and tempered by waves, its leaden essence washed away.

Like ocean waves, wave after wave of memories surged forth, a spiritual accumulation from the giant tree over countless years.

Long ago, a meteorite fell from the sky onto this planet. When it hit the earth, it shattered into pieces, burying the mysterious tree species that existed within it.

After an unknown period of time, the seed sprouted and took root, gradually growing into a towering tree on this uninhabited island.