One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

"Hehehe! Cute little raccoon, come quickly to your sister's arms and let me pet you. Your fur ball felt so nice just now. Change it again so your sister can see." A woman in a jumpsuit, holding a small flower umbrella and wearing a yellow hat, floated in the sky and said with a smile.

"Damn it! I'm a reindeer, not a raccoon! I'm not cute at all!" Chopper swayed from side to side with a delighted expression after hearing this.

"Hehe! So cute! I'll definitely hold you tight in my arms."

"No! Arm Strength Enhancement! Chopper's Hoof!" Instantly understanding, Chopper leaped into the air, transforming into Arm Strength Enhancement and forelimb muscle enhancement to strike with his hard hooves.

"Hehe! Little raccoon, I only weigh one kilogram now. Your strength will only blow me away!" The opponent lightly moved away from the air wave that Chopper flew over, causing no damage whatsoever.

No! If I cause any air currents, she'll fly away and I won't be able to attack her at all! Chopper thought to himself as he crouched on the rooftop, watching the woman floating in the sky.

"Hehe! Little Tanuki, here I come! Ten thousand kilograms of Mount Tai pressing down!" He watched as the little Tanuki, aiming at him, transformed its Devil Fruit ability and struck directly down.

"Jump Enhancement!" Seeing the opponent pounce, I leaped high into the air, landing on another rooftop and continuing to watch the floating enemy. If I had the speed of a slash like Maggie and Zoro, I wouldn't let her dodge so easily.

That's it! Slash! Chopper suddenly remembered his conversation with Maggie on the sea earlier.

"Chopper! Have you ever thought about using your fingernails for anything other than striking and carving enemies?"

"Other places?" Chopper asked, opening and closing his scissor-like black fingers as he looked up.

"I don't think reindeer have any other abilities besides beating up enemies."

"Hehe! Chopper, you're different from them now. After being modified by a Devil Fruit, your nails are harder than steel. You can use them like Zoro and me to cut with knives."

"Huh! You're using your hand as a knife? I only have two fingernails, is that okay?" Chopper, perched on Maggie's lap, exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Haha! How could it be impossible! Look at me!" Maggie laughed, carrying Chopper as she walked to the railing and waved her hand toward the distant sea.

With a swing of his arm, an invisible crescent-shaped slash cleaved through the sea and surged into the distance until it dissipated.

"That's a slash! You can do it without a knife! Mabi, you're so cool!" Chopper exclaimed admiringly, his eyes sparkling, as he stood on the railing.

"Look at my hand," Maggie said with a smile, holding out her palm in front of Chopper's eyes. Some details are easier to see; I used all my strength to demonstrate for you.

"What's wrong! This is a ruptured capillary!" Looking at the calloused hands in front of him, Chopper's doctor still noticed something different at the fingertips, but it disappeared over time.

"Although my body has become much stronger after training, exerting all my strength can still cause some capillaries to rupture. Although they can be repaired immediately, I can never get rid of the congenital condition," Mabi said regretfully.

"But you're different. You possess properties harder than steel, so your slashes will likely be more powerful than mine. As long as the force is enough to cut through the air, it will create a slash, just with varying degrees of strength! I'm rooting for you, Chopper!"

"Haha! I'm so clumsy." Chopper tried swinging his arm to chop, but nothing happened, and he laughed awkwardly.

"Haha! I believe in yourself, you definitely can."

"Slice through the air?" Chopper pondered, wondering if the air waves created by his attacks would allow her to dodge by following the airflow.

"Little raccoon, you're so naughty, you've dodged again." The other side floated up and looked at Chopper with disappointment.

"Strength Enhancement!" Chopper didn't reply to her and immediately changed forms. The Rumble Ball's effect was running out, and he had to defeat her within this time.

"Cherry Blossom Hoof Slash!"

"Pop!" An invisible wave of air distorted the space and was clearly displayed in Chopper's eyes, but it was then dissipated by the pressure of the surrounding space.

It's done! It can be launched! Chopper was overjoyed, but this little thing couldn't actually fly out.

Capillary rupture! That's damage caused by a powerful force! Plus, as Mabi mentioned, it's the property of breaking through the air; the way she dodged the attack earlier was because the attack flowed out and caused her to drift away.

In a split second, Chopper came up with a solution! Such a powerful attack that could break through the air would definitely prevent her from flying away again.

"Hehe! Little raccoon, are you trying to bully your older sister again? Your attacks won't work on me!"

"Strengthen your leg strength! Rise!" The body continued to leap into the air to a position closest to the opponent but not so close that it would cause her to float.

"Wrist Strength Enhancement! Cherry Blossom Hoof Slash!" Arm muscles bulged and veins stretched, the arm was raised high and instantly charged up, slashing downwards at a 45-degree angle to simulate a longsword strike.

An invisible crescent-shaped blade of energy, formed by Chopper's fingernail, hurtled towards the woman floating in the air not far away.

"A slash! This can't be! Why would this form if there's no sword!" He was shocked to see the familiar, rapidly approaching wave, but his body remained suspended in the air as if it were under his control.

"Snap!" The handle of the umbrella in her hand broke off, and her hair flew in the air. Her lemon-shaped earring left her earlobe and fluttered in the wind.

Because Chopper had just learned how to use it, he didn't hit the target accurately, only managing to break the umbrella handle, but he still managed to save his life. His light body was also carried far away by the shockwave.

"What is that?!" Nami asked, looking at Chopper who had struck the enemy as if by a slash with just a light wave of his hand, even though there were no swordsmen nearby.

"That's a slash! A skill unique to Chopper." Maggie laughed as she watched Chopper unleash the slash. She had never learned it on the ship, but she learned it immediately in this battle.

"Chopper! Well done!" Maggie gave him a thumbs-up in praise.

"Damn it! I won't be happy even if you praise me." Chopper, who was in the distance, immediately became happy and relaxed when he heard Maggie's praise.

"Haha! Haha!" Mabi laughed loudly. Chopper was still the same.

But it's your turn! Maggie looked at the sacred barrier that was constantly pounding on the ground against Angelia, and the activation of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit caused bursts of smoke and explosions on the barrier.

Chapter 57: The plot has been altered.

Maggie left Nami behind so she could go and take care of Robin, and then went over by herself.

"Yo! Help's here! Looks like I'll have to deal with this helper first." He turned his head and looked at the girl's delighted face behind the barrier, meeting Maggie's eyes with a smile.

"Fist Blast!" He rushed towards Maby's arm and threw a powerful punch from behind.

Mabi shook her head as she watched Mr. 5 rushing towards her. What a waste of a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit! With such low speed, someone could easily dodge her attacks.

"Cloud-Dispelling Palm! Explode!" The right arm, having gathered its strength, suddenly swung out and struck the opponent's oncoming fist. The two collided and exploded, instantly creating rings of colorless ripples that caused the surrounding wooden buildings to shatter with a series of booming sounds.

Mabi didn't give him any time to recover; that was just asking for trouble, a verbal duel that only gave the enemy a chance to turn the tables. She shifted her position, bursting out of the thick smoke, and slapped her opponent's still-shocked face with her left palm! The opponent was still wondering why the enemy hadn't been sent flying, when he was knocked unconscious by the close-range shock. This was also due to the fact that everyone's body in this world was incredibly robust, causing them to faint instead of turning into a pile of mush and becoming a corpse.

"Mabi, you're not allowed to put it in!" Nami shouted angrily from a distance, seeing Mabi's next move.

"Haha! Don't worry, the other party isn't dead. I can temporarily store a living creature; this is enough time to extract it," Mabi laughed. Ever since learning that their previous extraction method resulted in a collective outcry—a warehouse meant for storing food being used to store corpses and met with widespread disdain—they unanimously decided against putting corpses in it, even if they didn't want the Devil Fruit. Mabi could only discuss with the two of them whether they could store the living creature inside for extraction, since the altar was too enormous and land-based creatures were rare and couldn't be easily retrieved. In the end, they devised a method of wrapping the living creature in a salted fish barrier to ensure its temporary survival, and then using that time to extract it. After all, the Devil Fruit itself was its product, so they were extremely familiar with it.

It worked! Mabi discovered that the Devil Fruit had been successfully extracted and formed in just a few dozen seconds. She then took the person out again and abandoned them aside.

"Nami, do you want some?" Maggie asked, tossing the round, black Devil Fruit with spiral patterns in her hand. She was the only one present who wasn't a Devil Fruit user.

"No! We already have the Weather Stick, we don't need a Devil Fruit anymore! Besides, this Devil Fruit user who didn't even last a single round in your hands isn't worth eating." Nami shook her head in refusal, then said with disdain.

"Alright! As expected, no one wants the fruits developed by a good-for-nothing." Mabi shook her head and pretended to be nonchalant.

The other party only uses it as a Bomb-Bomb Fruit, which can cause flames to explode wherever the skin touches it without harming the user. If a martial arts master were to consume it, each attack would be several times or even dozens of times more powerful, enough to dominate the world. It seems like it would be better to give it to someone else in the future.

From a distance, Angelia withdrew the ball of light from her hand and instructed, "Sister Robin, you can move now. Don't do this again next time, or there might be others with the same ability."

Robin, rubbing her still incredibly sore arm, smiled and thanked her, "Thank you, Angelia, I understand."

“Baroque Works is looking for you again,” Maggie asked, looking at Robin as she stood up.

"You know about Mabi too?" Robin asked in surprise as she stretched. She had only learned of this organization's existence from her previous intelligence network. Ever since entering the Grand Line, they had been relentlessly hunting her down. This was something she had never encountered before, and to them, her bounty was not worth such a relentless pursuit.

“Yes, I know a little. They came when you were injured before. It seems they still haven’t given up.” Maby replied, looking at Mr. 5 who was slumped on the ground. It was a pity that she hadn’t asked them what had happened at the studio. 3 and 4 had already been threatened that they would be abandoned if they failed, so they probably wouldn’t go back.

"Does Mami know something?" Nami asked疑惑地, while Angelia, who was holding Chopper, also looked up.

"Baroque Works has been searching for the whereabouts of the Ancient Weapons, and it seems they've succeeded. Now they urgently need someone to decipher them, and Robin is the only person in the world capable of deciphering history," Maggie replied, observing her surroundings. Although Baroque Works operates as a team, intelligence personnel are indispensable for providing information. However, looking around, she only noticed that none of the residents observing the area bore any familiar faces.

Hearing Maggie's answer, Robin fell silent. Twenty years of wandering had made her used to this, but looking at the smiles around her, she couldn't help but wonder if she really belonged here. Would this always attract the attention of those with ulterior motives?

"Found him!" Maggie saw a man who had just arrived, found Mr. 5 unconscious, and was about to leave.

"What are you trying to do? I'm just a passerby." The man struggled and resisted after being grabbed by Mabi.

“A million-strong elder! Or a billion-strong elder! You just need to say yes or no! Otherwise, Mr. 5 will be your fate.” Maby threatened without listening to his explanation.

Mabi stared at the other person's face, and when she saw the name she had mentioned, she twitched slightly but then returned to normal. It seemed that she had not guessed wrong.

"I don't know anything about millions or hundreds of millions," the other party insisted.

"You don't need to know!" Mabi looked at the residents who were gradually gathering around, punched the shrimp in the stomach, making him bend over, picked him up by the back of his clothes, and took him away.

“Let’s leave first! We need to get out of here. Making such a commotion might have already alerted the local sheriff.”

"Alright!" The other four also realized they shouldn't linger there any longer and ran away.

···

"Finally got the answer." In a secluded corner, Mabi retrieved the potion in her hand. This potion was the master-servant potion left behind by the doctor who played with viruses. Once awakened after use, the user would recognize the first person they encountered as their master and obey their commands without reservation. Jack only woke up after Angelia removed the negative damage. She was truly a terrifying and intelligent genius doctor.

"Robin, don't worry, they're in trouble themselves right now. It's no big deal for pirates under the World Government to destroy a member country, but Baroque Works' actions have clearly crossed the World Government's bottom line by targeting the Poneglyphs. They're probably being blocked by the Navy and hiding everywhere."

"Master! Is there anything else you'd like to add?" the other person asked obsequiously, squatting on the ground.

"Get lost!" Mabi kicked the other person unconscious.

Their attempt to usurp the throne was thwarted by an unknown powerful figure, presumably the wandering swordsman Issho from the original story. According to the original work, he had been witnessing Luffy and his crew's progress, and even if Luffy hadn't won, he would have intervened—after all, for him, Baroque Works was nothing more than a bowl of noodles. However, the pirate crew that took Vivi away had been wiped out by them, and the crew members were missing. Princess Vivi was also taken hostage, and they threatened the king to hand over the Poneglyphs, which provoked Issho's attack. Therefore, all the events differed from the original story.

"Robin, let's cheer up and go shopping," Nami said with a smile, putting her arm around Robin's shoulder to ease her mood.

"Okay!" Robin smiled as he understood the situation.

"Chirp!" A piercing chirp echoed in all directions.

"Usopp's smoke bomb!" Seeing the familiar red smoke, the five exchanged glances and ran over in unison. Red signifies an emergency, and everyone must go there; it seems they've encountered danger as well.

"Green algae head!"

"You lecherous cook!" The two guards stopped their hand-to-hand combat, exchanged a glance, and then delivered a heavy blow to each other before jumping off the boat and running away.

···

"President! A call from one of the millions of elders!"

"Say!"

"Gulp!" The other party looked up at the man above, who was wearing a black cloak and had thick bandages wrapped around his waist, fearing that he might accidentally anger the man and be killed.

"We've already located Nico Robin on Leisure Island. Our attempt to capture her failed as she was rescued by her companions. However, we've mobilized elders from nearby islands to try again..."

"Bang!" Before he could finish speaking, he fell to the ground with a gunshot and was dragged away by the people standing silently to the side.

"Has the Demon Child gained new companions? It seems another newcomer wants to take on the challenge!" A cloud of yellow sand appeared, covering everything nearby.

Chapter 58 Sniping! Trapping Bullet!

"Smoke Man! Let go of Jack! Jack, wait a minute, let me break free of this thing!" Luffy shouted angrily as he struggled against the smoke binding him.

“Straw Hat Kid! Give up and I’ll definitely send you back to prison,” Smoker said, his head materializing.