One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

Mabi felt the soft, full sensation on her back. Her gentle face rested quietly on her shoulder. The woman who had shed all her burdens no longer had that gloomy feeling, revealing her gentle and tranquil side.

"Huh? This girl is someone who knows history? That's perfect. I also want to know what happened after I died, what happened to my country? Why did it suddenly become powerful and then perish?" Nielko's voice echoed in Maby's mind.

"No problem, these things will gradually come to light as we get closer to our ultimate goal." Maggie carried Robin on her back and leaped forward. In her lazy state, she wouldn't attract the attention of any living beings, so she wouldn't be attacked anymore. Why didn't she think of that before?

"We're here!" Mabi looked at the historical building in front of her, which was entangled with countless vines and covered with mysterious characters that stretched into the boundless forest.

"What just happened?" Robin woke up to find himself at his destination and couldn't help but wonder.

“I was knocked unconscious by my power and only woke up here,” Mabi replied.

"Is that so? Let's hurry up and leave. This is just an ordinary residential area," Robin replied, looking around at the dilapidated buildings.

"So amazing, you could tell at a glance?" Mabi exclaimed in surprise. To her, this pile of broken buildings looked like something with history, but she couldn't tell what it was.

"The incident happened suddenly, and many of the items in the house are still recognizable despite the passage of time."

“Excellent! Very powerful! It can indeed be used as a living encyclopedia.” Maggie complained from behind her, but she didn’t see the fleeting smile on Robin’s lips in front of her.

···

After a day of walking, Mabi would occasionally turn Robin into a salted fish to avoid attacks from the ferocious beasts. Even with her own great strength, she could hardly withstand them. Their powerful energy attacks were enough to destroy the salted fish barrier she had created. She could only use the recoil from the air shock to carry Robin away in her salted fish form, leaving behind a trail of salted fish beasts.

"We're almost there. Judging from the geographical layout here, there's a specially built road leading to this mountain. The intricate patterns carved on the stone slabs show that the people here value this place highly. For them, the people who saved them are beyond repayment, so they can only pay homage to their relics."

"Meteor Shower! Blade Storm! Who released this? Doesn't he know people can die like this?! Hold on tight!" Mabi looked up at the lava fireballs that suddenly filled the entire sky. A diameter of fifty meters was no joke. If they were grazed by it, the two of them could be vaporized instantly. There were also invisible wind blades embedded in them, cutting countless fireballs into smaller pieces. No wonder they didn't dare to come in. With this kind of attack, anyone who came would just be sent up as fuel.

"Sever the Void!" Mabi swung her sword across the lava before her, stepping on tiny wisps of air to propel herself forward. She used her senses to clearly perceive the incoming air blades and dodge them! She also used the Salted Fish Cage to collect the scattered fireballs and wind blades, storing them in her pocket for the altar to absorb, where they would condense into crystals to be stored as snacks.

"How could there be such a powerful being? I've never even encountered anything like this in my lifetime. This kind of ability is enough to destroy a small island with a single blow," Nielko muttered to himself, observing the situation outside.

"Aren't you skilled in refining? You haven't encountered this before either."

"No, once you're inside, you can't resist. Even if there's something that powerful, it's beyond my knowledge. Since entering the underground, I haven't learned about anything happening in the world. Maybe a lot of things have happened that I don't know about."

The lava flow hadn't yet extinguished the flames, and raindrops immediately began to fall, condensing on the protruding buildings and trees.

"It's freezing rain!" Mabi replied, pulling out a blanket and covering herself with it. This directly supported the salted fish barrier, forming an outer shell that grew thicker and thicker, blocking the raindrops behind.

"Thunder!"

After the freezing rain came a world ablaze with purple-blue lightning, countless bolts striking trees and boulders from afar. Mabi leaped back and forth to dodge, the invisible lightning capable of shattering any of her defenses. Even her equally invisible and shapeless barrier was reduced to ashes by the powerful lightning; it was a qualitative difference.

"Mabi! There's a cave ahead; it should be able to stop the lightning." Robin said, opening her eyes. Unable to move, she could only rely on her dazzling eyesight to scout out a place to hide.

Chapter 51 Discovering the Cause! Devoured

"How terrifying! It's finally over. I didn't expect these things to exist in the first half as well." Mabi stood at the cave entrance, looking out at the terrifying weather. The raging environment was enough to destroy any plants outside, but they were visibly revived and became lush and green again by some unknown force.

"Mabi! Something's up here?" Robin, who had already ventured deeper into the cave, called out to Mabi.

"Here we are!" Mabi gathered up the few trees she had chopped down out of curiosity and ran inside.

“Void turbulence?” Mabi stared at the enormous black hole in front of her, hundreds of meters in diameter, with silvery-white cracks flashing across it from time to time. These cracks would occasionally coalesce into small, glass-like fragments that were then drawn into the massive black hole.

“Look here, this is the message they left behind,” Robin said, intently touching the moss-covered stone tablet in front of him.

“Historical documents?” Maby asked uncertainly, noting that the characters on them were almost identical in shape to those on her own arm, only the construction was different.

“Yes, this is a script that was popular eight hundred years ago. Later, due to the establishment of the World Government, these scripts were lost, and no one has been able to decipher their meaning since.” Robin explained from the side, a trace of pain showing in her eyes as she recalled her experiences from back then.

Seeing the fleeting look of pain on her face, Maggie went over and patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, as long as we exist, history won't repeat itself. Can those above interpret this?"

"Yes, I understand now. These are indeed the messages they left behind, detailing the reasons for this place's formation, the solutions, and how to leave. The residents here are unaware of this place, presumably because they don't understand the local writing system," Robin said after reading the documents.

"What is this place? Is there any way to leave?" Mabi asked anxiously, wondering if they were worried after they had been gone for a day.

"The black hole before us is what they call a spatial magnetic field. It was formed countless years ago by cracks that created a small regional space in various parts of the world, shaping its own rules that are completely different from other places. If these cracks cannot be resolved, they will erupt at some point, causing the collapse of this world and thus the collapse of the main world. But according to the records, they were also helpless. With the technology they carried, it was difficult to resolve the issue, so they could only delay the eruption. They left these records and waited for another time. Now, so many years have passed, and it seems that they have never come here to cause another eruption."

"According to the records above, as long as this small world is connected to the main world, the existence of this small world will naturally be integrated into the main world. At that time, we can use the space repair ability of the main world to repair these cracks."

"In that case, the islands of various shapes and sizes in this world were pulled into the main world, which is why so many islands of different shapes and sizes exist."

"That's the deduction, but it's a pity we don't have the technology and strength. Only Edward Newgate, one of the Four Emperors, has the ability to break through the barrier of this world and leave with the Tremor-Tremor Fruit," Robin explained slowly. For her, whether she could leave or not was irrelevant.

Mabi pondered for a moment and asked the soul within the arm guard, "Neilco, did you hear me? Is there a way to solve this? I didn't expect your technology to even involve space."

“…” Nielko fell silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Mabi, I’m afraid I can’t help you for the time being. Back then, I was just an ordinary person and I didn’t know anything about these things. I only saw these popular fonts a few years before I died. But since you can use spatial abilities by controlling this pocket, I’m sure I can figure it out, it just will take some time.”

"Okay, waiting is better than having no way out."

“No problem, I think my weak spatial abilities should be of help,” Maggie said to Robin.

"Spatial abilities? You ate two Devil Fruits?" Robin stared at Maggie in disbelief.

"No, it's just borrowing the spatial ability of the soul that I told you about. Since it involves this, I suppose only I can try it. Now I'm just letting them know I'm safe," Mabi explained.

"it is good!"

"Oh no! The Salted Fish Barrier!" Mabi turned to look at Robin and saw a spatial fragment that was originally being drawn towards the black hole jump out of gravity and fly towards Robin.

However, the extremely sharp spatial fragments were far beyond what Maggie's newly acquired spatial barrier could defend against; they were easily breached after only a brief pause, and Maggie continued flying towards Robin.

"Go!" Mabi stomped her feet powerfully on the ground and instantly flashed behind Robin.

"Go!" He stepped on Robin's waist with one leg, pushing her towards the cave entrance. Then, he turned around, faced his feet, and stomped on the air, using the reaction force to propel himself out.

"Salted Fish Barrier!" Continue to block and slow its flight. It's unknown what impact this stray piece of space will have on the surrounding area, but now is not the time to let it fly around recklessly.

"Oh no! Put it away right now!" Neilco shouted in Maby's mind.

"What?" Before Mabi could finish speaking, she felt a powerful force pulling the salted fish barrier and propelling her body forward.

"Falling into thin air!" Mabi's legs, which were being pulled violently, slammed into the air, but the powerful suction that followed rendered her reaction force useless and completely annihilated.

“This black hole is specifically designed to absorb accidentally shattered spaces, and this arm guard, being a small space, is also within its absorption range,” Neilco said helplessly.

"Is there any way to leave?" Mabi asked, lying on the ground with her longsword planted deep in the earth, resisting the suction.

"Mabi! Hands bloom!" Countless arms extended from the ground, pulling at Mabi's body in an attempt to resist the powerful attraction.

"Don't come any closer!" Maggie shouted, stopping Robin who was about to step forward. If she came over now, she might get caught up in the mess.

"Let me see if I can resist this suction force. This suction force not only attracts this piece of leather, but also your body that has been modified by spatial abilities. The rare spatial abilities have already entered your bloodstream and cannot be removed at all."

"Activate the Salted Fish Barrier! Turn the disturbance suction on or off. It only seeks out easily attracted spatial fragments, and your barrier is also a kind of spatial fragment."

"Good! Salted Fish Barrier!" Mabi, who had been pulled forcefully, suddenly felt her body lighten, and was then pulled up again.

"it works!"

"Salted Fish Barrier!"

···

"It's finally over, Robin, don't worry, it'll be over soon." Maggie smiled at Robin, who was concerned about her, and breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her body back under her control. She was now lying on the ground, no longer moving backward, her fingers digging into the stone slab as she slowly moved forward.

"Snap!" "Snap!"

"You're playing me! You give me hope and then give me despair!" Mabi cursed! She could no longer roar as her body was sucked into the black hole along with the giant rock beneath her.

Chapter 52 Power Boost! Returning from Breakthrough!

"Salted Fish! Sky-Splitting Slash!" Mabi stared at the pitch-black void before her, glancing back at the gray, broken corpses behind her. Since being swallowed by the black hole, they had fallen into this unknown little space. This small landmass, only a few hundred miles in radius, was teeming with countless bizarre beasts, spewing countless spells to chaotically kill and then respawning as other monsters. Only when she released the altar to slay and absorb them did their resurrection cease, gradually eroding their existence. The space's development was only possible because it received endless energy; she could only desperately attack the void above, attempting to tear open this space.

"Nilco!" Mabi said, looking at the void that had been torn open, as she ate the meat in her hand to regain her strength and wait for what was about to happen.

"Received! The markings have been completed on those fragments. We just need to release them when the time is right." Nielko's voice rang in Maby's mind. No one wanted to stay alone in a dark and silent space dealing with ferocious beasts all day long. Humans are, after all, social creatures.

"Salted Fish! Teleport!" Mabi's body flashed and instantly appeared in the void hundreds of meters above the ground. She stepped on the void and flew upwards again. Then her body flashed again and appeared in the void at an even higher level. This process was repeated.

"Salted Fish! Spatial Cage! Freeze!" Mabi used her spatial abilities to freeze the closing crack in the void, sending out fragments of silvery-white, glass-like material that embedded themselves around the crack. She then retracted the spatial cage and leaped upwards. Silvery-white fragments continued to fly out from her hands, fixing them in place to prevent them from closing.

"Boom!" The moment Mabi left, the small land below continued to collapse and was swallowed up by the surrounding space.

"Mabi! Hurry! We took away the elements there, causing that space to lose its support and it's starting to collapse! We need to get back to the main world quickly to stop the space from breaking apart." Nielco said urgently, sensing the spatial turbulence through Mabi's body.

"Okay, no problem!" At this moment, Mabi no longer conserved her strength and rushed upwards. In this turbulent space, spatial abilities could not be used at all. She would definitely teleport somewhere!

"We're here!" Mabi could clearly see the cracked stone wall not far away. It was the only view she had seen after falling in. There was no day and night cycle below, and she didn't know how much time had passed. She hoped they weren't waiting anxiously!

···

"What's wrong with Nami?" Mia asked, sheathing her flaming rapier. The elemental damage from the weapon, reforged using the island's unique metal, was exceptionally useful.

"Maybe I'm seeing things. I felt the hands stop for a moment, but they're still all jumbled up now. I guess I was mistaken," Nami replied, shaking the hands on her wrist.

"But Mia, did you really eat a Devil Fruit? Your body has changed so much, and you have such great strength even without the natural enemy of seawater." Nami stepped forward, put her arm around Mia's waist, and stroked the scales on her body, marveling at her.

"Stop it, it itches! It itches! I wonder how Brother Maggie and Sister Robin are doing? They've been inside for three days already." Mia patted Nami's arm and returned to human form as she replied.

"Don't worry! Don't worry! Maggie, that lazy bum, won't hurt him since he's not alive after activating his Devil Fruit." Nami patted her shoulder reassuringly. Maggie has always given people the feeling of being reliable and won't cause any trouble.

···

"Mabi!" Robin exclaimed in surprise when he saw Mabi suddenly appear.

"Hi! Robin, it's been so long! Let me give you a hug!" Mabi flashed over and hugged Robin, feeling the softness in her arms. This world was so much more colorful. In that world, there was nothing but fighting and fighting, and only fighting could save you.

"We've only been apart for a day? How come it's been so long?" Robin asked, puzzled.

"It's alright, it's just that I missed you all so much. A day apart feels like three autumns." Maggie released Robin and replied. Sure enough, time flowed differently there than here. She turned her back to Robin and squatted down to let her up.

"Come on up! We need to get out of here quickly and deal with the problems here. It's about to erupt."

"it is good!"

Maggie carried Robin and leaped out of the hole they had come from, calmly rushing out as the chaotic elements descended upon the outside world.

"Salted Fish Barrier!" An invisible semi-circular barrier appeared above Maby, blocking the rapidly approaching fireball, before disappearing and being absorbed by Neilco.

"It seems you've encountered something incredible down there, Mabi, that's why you've become so powerful." Robin smiled as he looked up at Mabi casually blocking the attacks.

“If we don’t get stronger, we won’t even be able to protect our crew. Since we’re going to be Luffy’s Pirate King, we’ll have to fight the whole world sooner or later,” Maggie replied, but then felt a stiffness in her body before she became nonchalant again.

"Salted Fish! Skybreaker!" Mabi, supporting Robin's buttocks with her left hand, swung her sword with her right and slashed through the air. A huge, shell-like creature tens of meters tall was instantly split in two and collected by Mabi.