Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

"It's over... Annihilation of the Thousand Cherry Trees, Kageyoshi!"

"Pfft!"

As Reina finished speaking, the giant gorilla's head was suddenly severed from its body, and the surrounding gorillas screamed and scattered even more frantically.

"Boom!"

The giant gorilla's carcass fell, raising a cloud of dust.

"Don't let too many of them escape!" Reina retrieved the Thousand Cherry Blossoms and slowly walked towards the huge central trunk.

“No problem!” Lakyo and the other two immediately split up and continued to chase down the scattered gorillas.

Seemingly sensing Reina's presence, the entire tree trunk began to tremble.

"I can even sense killing intent... Could this thing have become sentient?" Seeing this, Reina walked over slowly with a hint of curiosity.

As Reina approached, the massive tree trunk shook even more violently, as if the entire mountaintop was beginning to sway.

"Clang, clang, clang!" Ignoring the fear of the giant tree trunk, Reina stepped forward and tapped it with his finger, producing a sound like metal.

"How much metal did you absorb? You're practically turning into metal yourself! No wonder you could block my slash!" Reina exclaimed.

Faced with such a giant tree, Reina was momentarily at a loss as to what to do.

Cut it off directly... that seems a bit wasteful. Such a sturdy tree, cutting it off like that would be a real waste.

However, it doesn't seem appropriate to leave it here to continue producing if we don't cut it off.

"I wonder... what kind of effect it would have if such a tree trunk were used to make a pirate ship!" Reina stroked his chin and pondered carefully.

The Moby Dick is already quite large, but it was Whitebeard's flagship. Reina usually travels by hard hull, but when he leads a group on a mission like this, he doesn't have a suitable flagship. Now that such a large tree has appeared, if used properly, it could probably be used to build a very good pirate ship.

"Fine, I'll keep you for now! As for the surrounding trees... just cut them down!" Reina made his final decision after thinking for a moment.

He hadn't planned to build ships before, so he was still short of blueprints and materials, and it was uncertain whether this type of tree was suitable for shipbuilding.

A little while later, Ace and the others returned and met up with Reina under the big tree.

"How many escaped?" Reina asked.

“There are probably quite a few of them, but they’re not very strong during the day. The natives are with our people, so there shouldn’t be any problems!” Lakyo nodded in reply.

“Let’s go! Now that we’ve taken down the biggest one, we can deal with the rest later. Let’s send someone over now to clear out these trees, leaving only this one!” Reina nodded and said.

“Leave it? This tree is constantly absorbing nutrients from this mountain range, it’s better to kill it sooner rather than later!” Lakyo shook his head and said.

What he cares about most right now is the mineral resources in this mountain range; he doesn't care about anything else.

Laco did not object after Reina explained his idea of ​​building a ship.

“If this guy isn’t suitable for shipbuilding, we can transplant him to Xuan Yue Island. After all, it’s not easy for him to grow this big!” Reina patted the tree trunk and said with a smile.

"Why do you want to take everything back? This tree is so big, how are you going to transport it?" Lakyo said with some helplessness.

"It's alright, we can just have Sky Island come over later. Anyway, the minerals here need to be transported back by Sky Island!" Reina waved his hand dismissively and said.

“The Doctor won’t let you off the hook if he finds out! His labs are everywhere on the Sky Island now. Ever since Crescent Island was built, he’s thrown all the free-range food out of the Sky Island. Now you’re transporting minerals, gorillas, and this huge tree. The Doctor will absolutely not allow it!” Lakyo shook his head and said.

“No… he’ll allow it! He’ll definitely want to study something this interesting!” Reina said with a smile.

“Impossible. The doctor isn’t interested in these things. At most, he might be interested in my mineral resources! He definitely isn’t interested in things like gorillas or giant trees!” Lakyo replied confidently.

"Hehehe... Wanna make a bet?" Reina asked with a strange smile.

Upon hearing Reina mention the bet, Lacourrell immediately became alert and shook his head in refusal.

Whether the doctor likes it or not is none of his business; all he needs is the ore he gets here!

"How stupid! Who's in charge of Sky Island now?" Reina said with a smile after seeing that Lakyo hadn't fallen for it.

"Presiding over the Sky Island? It's the Doctor... no, it's Olga! I see, that guy is most interested in these weird things. With Olga speaking up, even if the Doctor doesn't like it, he won't object! Reina, you're despicable!" After figuring it out, Lakyo immediately gave Reina a contemptuous look.

Chapter 348 Unveiling the Secret

After emerging from the woods, the four returned to the valley, where everyone had gathered.

Previously, because of them, many gorillas ran out from the mountaintop, and it would be easier for them to hide and defend themselves in the valley.

"Alright, now there are only a few scattered gorillas left, but the forest on the mountaintop must be destroyed, so I'll have to leave the rest to you!" Ace and Murat said briefly upon their return.

"We are so grateful to you!" Murat was so excited that his soul was trembling. They could finally stop living in fear every day.

"Everyone... let's go! Destroy the demon's lair!" Murat raised his weapon and roared.

“Wait… this won’t do! Your wooden weapons won’t be able to damage those trees. Lakyo, give them weapons and teach them how to use them. Also, all those trees must be dug up; simply cutting them down won’t do!” Reina called out to the excited natives, laughing as he spoke.

So, in the following days, Ace and Laco led the natives to destroy the forest, while Reina and Jingudo led the members to hunt down the remaining gorillas. They stayed on the island for another three days before finishing their task.

"Alright, the remaining gorillas are now kept in this area. Just be careful and don't let the fire go out. They shouldn't be able to break out. If they show any signs of escaping, you can shoot them! All you have to do now is continue digging up all the trees here, and also pile up all the ore you've dug up from the mountain. We'll be back soon!"

When only three gorillas remained, Reina did not kill them. Instead, he found a place on the island to trap them and lit fires around them to prevent them from escaping.

Meanwhile, because metal refining cannot begin immediately, Reina left behind many weapons for the local natives to use.

"Are you leaving already? Why not stay another day? We've prepared a grand banquet for you tonight!" Murat said gratefully.

Since the demons have been eradicated, the humans on the island no longer need to hide every day. So they all united and formed a large tribe, with Murat as its leader.

"No rush, the first mate hasn't found the reason for the mutations in those gorillas and trees yet, so we'll definitely attend the banquet tonight!" Ace said with a smile.

"That's wonderful!" Murat said with a smile. "First mate, there's no need to rush to do as he says. We've been digging into that big tree non-stop, and we're sure to find what he's looking for!"

With the gorillas' demise, the island's natives began digging into the central mountain range as agreed, especially the largest giant tree at the summit. According to Reina's theory, the mutation must have been caused by contact between its roots and the mysterious minerals.

However, the mountaintop had already been dug down by the natives, and apart from iron ore, nothing was found, which puzzled Reina.

The fact that even ordinary trees on the mountaintop have mutated proves that they have also come into contact with something that caused them to mutate, so why haven't they discovered it yet?

For this reason, Reina has been staying on the mountaintop for the past few days, but still hasn't made any new discoveries.

"First mate, the banquet is about to begin!" At the mountaintop, Reina stood alone at the base of the giant trees, pondering the reasons for their mutations.

"Oh...it's Ace! You guys go ahead, I won't go!" Reina shook his head and said.

"First mate..." Ace looked at the pits around the giant tree, paused for a moment, and said, "I think you should relax, or let the Doctor come over. He knows these things better than we do, doesn't he?"

Seeing the slight worry in Ace's eyes, Reina smiled and nodded, saying, "You're right, Ace! This kind of thing should be left to the professionals! Alright, let's go enjoy the banquet now!"

Hearing Reina say that, Ace immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's great!"

When the two came down from the mountaintop, the banquet had already begun, and the members of the Whitebeard Pirates and the local natives were singing and dancing joyfully.

A huge bonfire was lit in the middle of the valley, and everyone was expressing their joy.

"Hey~ Reina, Ace still called you here?" Lackey asked with a loud laugh as he saw Ace and Reina arrive.

“Of course, I won’t miss the banquet!” Reina replied with a smile.

After the group had eaten and drunk together, Murat brought over a few members of the council of elders to express his gratitude once again.

As for the council of elders, it was Reina who suggested it. They formed a new tribe, but it would be inappropriate and inconvenient to directly transform the former village chiefs into ordinary citizens. Therefore, Reina suggested that Murat establish a council of elders, with the former village chiefs serving as its members, and that they be responsible for the integration of the people in their respective villages.

“Mr. Reina…I wonder if you found what you were looking for?” Murat greeted Reina as soon as he saw him there.

Reina shook his head and said, "Aside from iron ore, I haven't found anything of value yet... so you should be careful too. Since that stuff can cause trees and gorillas to mutate, it might have an effect on us humans as well. If long-term exposure causes us to mutate at night... you'll be in trouble!"

"Then... what should we do?" Murat asked nervously upon hearing this.

“I don’t know any good solutions for now… How about this… I suggest that those of you who go up to mine don’t go in large numbers at once, but go in batches, and don’t work continuously. Work for a few days and then rest for a few days. That might be better!” Reina said after thinking for a while.

"Then... then in that case... wouldn't everyone be at risk of mutating?" Murat said, still somewhat worried.

“I estimate that this mutation only occurs after prolonged contact. It shouldn’t happen immediately upon contact, otherwise, so many of us have gone up there and we haven’t mutated!” Reina explained again.

"I see..." Murat's anxiety eased a little.

“Of course, if you’re worried, just seal off the mountain range and let our people mine it when we get back!” Reina said with a smile when he saw that Murat was still a little worried.

"No need!" Murat waved his hand somewhat embarrassedly and said.

Although Reina's words were not meant to be accusatory, Murat found them quite unpleasant. They had asked for something in the first place, which was why the other party had helped them, but now, out of fear, they didn't want to keep their promise. Murat felt that his actions were extremely despicable, so he decided that after Reina and the others left, they would dig without rest and make sure they found what Reina wanted.

“I’m not just being polite! Before we find the cause of the mutation, you really shouldn’t go near there. If something goes wrong, it will be really bad. As the leader, you have to be responsible for everyone’s lives!” Seeing Murat’s expression, Reina knew what he was thinking, so he immediately said seriously.

Hearing Reina say this, Murat was taken aback, then nodded solemnly. He sensed the concern in Reina's words.

That evening, after the banquet ended, Reina and the others planned to return to their pirate ship and leave the next morning.

However, just as Reina and the others were about to leave the valley, he saw Gremory planting something in the open space outside the valley.

"Hey~ Gremory~ What are you doing? It's so late, why aren't you resting?" Ace greeted Gremory with a smile.

"It's Mr. Ace!" Hearing Ace's voice, Gremory turned around and saw Reina and the others. He asked in surprise, "Mr. Reina... are you... preparing to leave?"

“Yes, we’ve been here for several days now, it’s time to leave, but don’t worry, we’ll be back in a while! What were you doing just now?” Reina said with a smile.

“I’m planting Monri flowers… They used to be a unique flower at the entrance of our village. They were very beautiful when they bloomed, but they only bloomed at night. Because of the demon, many people have never seen them! Now that the demon is gone, I want to see if they can still be grown!” Monri replied with a smile.

"Oh... I see! But we're not familiar with this kind of thing, so we probably can't help you!" Ace said with a shrug.

"It's alright, the Monri flower is very resilient, it'll definitely be fine!" Gimori replied with a smile.

Reina couldn't help with planting flowers, so Gimori had to rely on himself. However, when he looked at the so-called Monri flower, his gaze was instantly captivated.

“Those are…” Reina slowly walked toward the flowers that Gimonli had planted.

"What's wrong, Mr. Reina?" Gremory asked, following Reina as he walked away, puzzled.

“Where did you get this soil from?” Reina asked, pointing to the soil on the ground.

“Soil? It’s from my old village! What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Gimonli replied in surprise.

“Take me to see!” Reina said, stroking his chin.

"Now?"

"That's right, now!"

“Alright then! Please follow me!” Although Gremory didn’t understand what Reina was going to do, he didn’t refuse since the other party had spoken.

Laco, Ace, and Kingudo were also quite curious, but it wouldn't be good for all the captains to leave, so in the end Kingudo led everyone back to the ship, while Ace and Laco followed Reina to see what he was up to.

"As expected, it's at the foot of the mountain..." Looking at the ruins of the former village of Gimonli, Reina had an expression that said, "I knew it."

"What did you find?" Lakyo asked, puzzled.