One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

"Wow! Tiger meat! It must taste amazing!" Luffy exclaimed confidently, his arms wrapped around a giant branch as he looked down at the tiger lying prone on the ground.

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"Oh no! Angelia, someone here is injured and needs to be treated quickly."

"Brother Chopper! This one is an orc just like you."

"Damn it! I'm a reindeer!"

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"It's really tough!" Mabi swung her sword at the opponent's thick armor plates, but the powerful recoil caused her pain.

"?" The enormous head, several meters tall, felt an itch on its body and turned to look at the object that was bothering it.

"Hello!" Mabi greeted with a smile.

"Meow!" A crescent-shaped wind blade was spat out from the opponent's mouth and struck Mabi, who was interrupting its meal.

"Damn it! It even has elemental attacks and a 'salted fish cut' ability!"

Mabi swung her left hand and jumped to move away, after all, the crescent blade that the opponent spat out was not something her small body could withstand.

"Boom!" The colliding air blades instantly turned into fragments that shot out in all directions, snapping countless bushes in the process.

"Double Slash of Salted Fish." Leaping through the air, Mabi launched another attack without pause.

Blood splattered! The keratinous armor, which even slashed at it, shattered into three pieces under the cutting of the spatial blade.

Mabi descended and looked at the thin layer of soil on the ground that had only been cut open. Sure enough, after being impacted by different materials, it would be annihilated by the surrounding space more quickly, resulting in a short attack range. She gathered up the prey below and looked for the next target.

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"Who are these people! They love to cause trouble so much!" Sanji kicked away the beasts that surrounded him and cursed.

"I don't know. They attacked us without warning, as if they were deliberately trying to capture us." Mia held a swift rapier and faced the charging orcs. The orcs' skin was so tough that it was difficult to pierce her, so she could only aim for their eyes and other vital points.

"Huff, huff! The opponent's joints are too tough; I can't budge them with my strength." Robin panted heavily. His joint control only had a minor effect on the opponent, reducing the damage he could inflict on those around him.

"They're such a nuisance, the weather is like thunderclouds!" Nami's lightning strikes only made them stiff for a moment before they regained their mobility.

"Hehe! Let us capture these hairless savages obediently. Four of them are enough for us to exchange for four drops of holy water."

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Luffy wandered among the tall trees, dodging the spears behind him and shouting back.

"Hey! Hey! I've already apologized, why are you still chasing me?!"

"You're cargo! I'm arresting you!" the white tiger-man running below roared without any politeness.

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"Haha! Brother Usopp, I didn't know you lived there? So you know our rules here too. Thanks for bringing this tiger-man; now we can get an extra drop of healing potion." The elderly man patted Usopp on the shoulder as he accepted the tea, praising him.

"It's been a long time since I've seen someone as strong and young as you."

"Haha! I am the great warrior Usopp, a mere tiger is a piece of cake." Although he didn't understand what was going on, he figured there was no immediate danger from their attitude towards him, so he joined in the banter and casually took out a rope to tie up the bewildered Jack.

"Don't speak!" Jack, who was about to remind Usopp what to do, shut up after hearing this. He knew he wasn't as smart as his older brother Usopp, so it was better to keep quiet and listen to his instructions.

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"Cough cough!" Zoro sheathed his sword and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, looking at the broken trees and a body whose fate was unknown behind him.

"What a fierce world! It seems we need to gather together first. This island is very different from the ones we usually see."

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"Get lost!" Mabi kicked away the tiger-man who was chasing Luffy and spoke to Luffy, who was clinging to the vines.

"Luffy! We need to gather our crew quickly! This island is unusual! Even I would find these beasts quite troublesome to deal with. It's too dangerous for us to scatter." After several battles, Maggie discovered that the beasts, or rather magical beasts, on this island possessed extraordinary power. Although these magical beasts were rare, almost every one of them was thick-skinned and tough, and those that could use ranged attacks were even more difficult to deal with.

"You two cargoes are not allowed to leave!" The orc who had just left charged forward again, trying to capture Mabi and Luffy.

"Gum-Gum! Gum-Gum! Rocket Launcher!" He was sent flying by Luffy again.

"Separately search Mabe! Assemble on the ship!" Luffy, seeing Mabe's serious expression, naturally understood that this island was different.

"no problem!"

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"After applying these herbs, you can apply them again tomorrow." Chopper carefully applied the herbs to the horse-headed orc lying on the ground, while a circle of orcs of various shapes curiously applied green leaves to the wound.

"Hey! Little Tanuki, what are those leaves you used made of? They stopped the bleeding so quickly, and the wound has even closed up."

"You damn fox! I'm not a raccoon! I'm a reindeer!" Chopper, his sore spot hit, flew into a rage, ignoring even the wounded man applying herbs to his groin.

"Haha! It's a reindeer, a reindeer? But can you tell me what this is? It's amazing! Although it doesn't heal as quickly as holy water, the effects are not much different." The humanoid fox dressed in white linen, holding a cane, squatted on the ground and asked kindly as he watched Chopper intently healing his injured tribesman. "What is this thing? If we had something like this, we could save a lot of holy water. I must learn how to make it."

"These are just common healing herbs. Don't you recognize them? Then how do you treat your wounds?" Chopper asked curiously. These herbs are basically common knowledge that any doctor would know. Surely such a large tribe wouldn't be unfamiliar with herbs.

"Herbal medicine? Don't you recognize it? We only use one kind of holy water, which can instantly heal wounds when sprinkled on them, but it's so rare that we won't use it unless we're seriously injured. But could you tell us about this herb, little brother Chopper?"

"You bastard! Even if you call me 'little brother,' I won't tell you." Chopper smiled and waved his body in refusal.

“Miss, I can say that he completely agrees to me calling him ‘little brother,’ and he will tell me how to use these herbs.” He turned to the white-haired girl who was arranging herbs and asked.

"Senior Fox, you'll be fine!"

"Chief! We've captured a few hairless humans; we believe that's enough to exchange for a few drops of holy water."

Chapter 47 Four Drama Queens

"Nami! Sanji! Mia! Robin! What happened to you?" Chopper ran out of the cave and saw the four of them being dragged over and thrown to the ground by a tall minotaur.

"Moo-moo! Chieftain! We've captured four more; we can exchange them for holy water tomorrow."

"Quickly carry them inside and put them on the beds for treatment!" Seeing Chopper's actions, which he had just promised, and his own side directly capturing his companions, he could only try to revive them first.

"Chieftain!"

"We can talk about it later."

"Angelia!" Chopper called out as he placed them on the animal skin blanket.

"His eyes are white, and his mouth is wide open! This is caused by a violent sonic boom." Angelia stepped forward to check his condition before offering a solution.

"Holy Light!" Snow-white wings gently flapped behind Mia, injecting countless points of light into the four people's bodies to heal them and dispel the negative influences in their minds.

"All done!" Chopper smiled as he looked at his companion, whose complexion was noticeably healthier after the treatment.

Upon waking up, Sanji looked around and saw the orcs at the door, instantly bursting into action and charging forward.

"Damn it! I'll kill you beastmen! How dare you bully these young ladies!"

But when he returned empty-handed, a fist shot out from beside the fox-orc, catching his kick and roaring, "What are you doing! Hairless human!"

"Bullying Nami and the others? Sanji! Are you serious?" Chopper, who immediately transformed into human form upon hearing Sanji's words, asked, recalling that his previous actions had indeed been quite impolite.

"These bastards keep talking about goods! Goods! How dare they lay a hand on a woman, even Miss Mia..."

"Bang!" Upon waking up, Mia jumped up and gave Sanji a sharp rap on the head to stop him from saying his last words. She then turned around, put her hand on Sanji's shoulder, and smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Sanji, you were unconscious just now and didn't know anything, right?"

"Miss Mia in her dark form is so adorable! Your orders are my motivation. I did faint just now and don't know what happened afterward." Upon hearing this threat, Sanji was overjoyed and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Mia then straightened her tattered clothes and smiled at the white fox elder who was clearly the center of attention:

"Old man, could you tell us everything? I believe there's some misunderstanding between your subordinates and us. If not, I have a pill I obtained through an adventure. It once destroyed a country. I wonder if this island can withstand its destruction? What do you say, old man?"

Before the orcs could react, Chopper, in his pet form, jumped up!

"Mia, this won't do! Widespread diseases are hard to cure! Many people will die."

"Dr. Chopper, I lied to them. How could I possibly have a pill that destroys all life? I believe this white fox grandpa also thinks I don't have it on me!" Mia picked up Chopper and smiled, glancing at the old fox in their direction.

"Thank goodness! That scared me to death. I really thought it wasn't completely destroyed." Chopper breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead after hearing Mia's explanation.

Seeing Mia's calm expression, although he didn't know what the pills she was talking about were, he was not afraid since Mia was in his hands. Perhaps she really did have them but dared not gamble. He still needed to ask this little raccoon brother for help, so he might as well tell him everything.

"Please sit down, have a cup of tea, and let's talk slowly. I can tell you everything here!" the White Fox Clan Chief invited.

Sanji kicked his foot dismissively and said, "If you can't explain yourself, I won't let you off the hook!" But he still sat down to listen to his explanation.

"There's no way to hide this. It happened countless years ago. Our ancestors fought fiercely with you hairless people over the holy water, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. At the same time, something broke, releasing countless powerful beasts from the center of the island, driving us out to live on the border. In order to survive, we had no choice but to put aside our hatred and unite to resist the beasts. We also devised a plan to distribute the holy water: neither side was allowed to kill each other. For every person captured from the other side, we could exchange them for a drop of holy water unconditionally. That's why they insisted on capturing you when they saw you."

"What is holy water? You'd risk heavy casualties to seize it!" Robin asked, resting her chin on her hand. The allure of the words in the explanation, which seemed to be more important than life itself, piqued her curiosity.

"That is a sacred liquid that exists on this island. A single drop can restore a seriously injured person to normal, as long as they do not die. This is why our two races have been fighting each other ever since."

“No wonder you don’t understand herbs, which is why so many of them grow here unpicked. So there’s a healing potion like this. Herbs that take a long time to work are indeed useless. It seems I don’t need to teach you anymore.” Chopper scratched his head, feeling embarrassed and slightly sad. Why do I need to teach you when there are such good medicines?

“No! Little Reindeer’s holy water is too rare. We will only use it when we are seriously injured. Your herbs will allow us to use them when we are injured. If you can teach us, we will save a lot of holy water. I am willing to pay forty drops to teach us medical techniques. This is half of our stock.” The white-haired old fox said anxiously when he saw the sad expression on the face.

"Grandpa, we completely forgive you. We are deeply moved by your willingness to risk your lives for these healing medicines. We would be willing to be your prisoners in exchange for the holy water, but we don't know them at all, and they would never offer such precious healing medicines to strangers. I am very sad about this! Waaah!" Nami covered her eyes with her hands, extremely sad, and began to cry softly.

Seeing this, Mia's eyes also fogged up with tears. She stepped forward, grabbed the white-haired man's hand, and apologized, "Grandpa, I'm so sorry. I lied to you earlier. I didn't have any pills on me. Please forgive me. There's an emergency in my hometown that I need to go back to. I had no choice but to do this. It's hard for my companions to stay here. Please forgive my selfishness!"

Upon seeing this, Gillia immediately hugged Chopper tightly, flapping her pure white wings: "Brother Chopper, this is too precious for us to accept, but we still need to hurry to Sister Mia's hometown!"

"Me!" Chopper, who was nestled in Gillia's arms, wanted to say, "Didn't you say you weren't in a hurry?!"

“Grandpa, these precious healing medicines will definitely not be produced again. Giving them to us will surely cause harm to your people. We absolutely cannot do such a selfish thing!” Robin said with a smile.

Seeing that they all wanted to leave, he became anxious: "This shouldn't take up too much of your time. As for the holy water, one drop can be condensed per day. Once we have a new healing method to treat the injuries caused by our people fighting with those wild beasts, we can use less of this."

This is exactly what I wanted!

The four women exchanged glances and understood why they had united against the outsider earlier.

Chopper was left scratching his head in confusion, while Sanji stared wide-eyed!

Are these some of the ladies I know?

Chapter 48 The Island That Cannot Be Left Behind

“Looks like I don’t need to make a move,” Mabi said as she slowly revealed herself.