One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

"Whoa!" Then he climbed down the rope ladder that had been set up!

"Go! Go! Once you're all dead, all the treasures below will be mine!" Cassis chuckled sinisterly as he watched more and more people climb down.

Chapter 126 Monster Vines

"Man-made ruins? Why do they all like to build underground!" Mabi jumped down, turned on the light, and looked at the walls around her made of neatly stacked stones, complaining. Judging from the dense vines covering the walls and the thick layer of dust on the ground, no one had entered this place for hundreds of years, leaving only some clear footprints to indicate that this was a newly developed area.

Illuminated by the light of the lamp, Mabi walked slowly through the stone-paved passage. With each step, the crisp sound of breaking branches broke the otherwise empty and silent passage, as she continued forward in the direction of the turbulent air.

Before long, Mabi found herself in a vast, empty space, as if she had entered an underground plaza. The entire ceiling was covered with countless shimmering, fluorescent, winding vines; even with the lights off, the space was still vaguely discernible. But Mabi's head was spinning at the sight of the haphazardly arranged logs throughout the plaza. A dense mass of giant logs filled the entire area—all the logs that had disappeared from the warehouse, dragged here by some unknown monster! Which one of these was the Adam Tree? She'd never seen it before!

"Forget it! I'll just collect them all and have Neil cut a piece from each one so Franky can identify them. It won't take long anyway. As long as I collect them all, at least one piece will be correct." With that thought, Maby reached out and grabbed a giant log several meters in diameter, then immediately started collecting another one.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Countless sharp vines appeared instantly above Mabi's head, accompanied by a strong whooshing sound.

"I stepped into thin air!"

"Hehe! I've been waiting for you!" Mabi vanished instantly and reappeared in another open spot, laughing as she looked at the vines that had stood where she had been. Having arrived at this underground structure and noticed the vines were relatively free of dust, she understood what was going on, but she had to move forward to retrieve the Tree of Adam.

Upon hearing Mabi's mockery, the other party seemed to understand and no longer concealed it. Instantly, all the vines that filled the entire space came to life, their tips all pointing at Mabi, who stood there uttering endless taunts. For a moment, Mabi stood like a towering figure amidst a forest of countless spears. Any slight movement was pierced by the dense, sharp vines in the sky.

"Sever the Void!" Gazing at the countless vines in the sky, he drew his sword without hesitation and slashed. A crescent-shaped colorless blade of energy appeared instantly, sweeping away the moving vines. He jumped down and moved his body forward, following the vacuum channel that had been cut open, since there were still more than a dozen vines that had not been retrieved.

"Shock the air!" He flipped his arm, the back of the blade pointing outwards, and directly knocked away several vines that were piercing through him. He then placed his right hand on the giant log to collect them.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" The moment Mabi paused, countless vines in the sky aimed and attacked directly at the spot where Mabi was standing.

"Misstep!" The moment he stepped back, earth and rocks flew up, and his body disappeared again, reappearing next to another log. The place where he had been standing had long been pierced by countless vines!

"Sever the Void!" With a casual swing, the space in front of him instantly became empty. He then moved forward, breaking through the dense vines and collecting logs from other locations.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Hurry! These ghost vines are alive! We can't let them be buried here for this broken branch!" Just as Mabi was collecting the logs, a series of screams came from afar, accompanied by the violent chopping sounds, adding even more color to the chaotic cave.

"Hold on, guys! Once we get rid of it and sell it, we can have a great banquet."

"Stop joking, Captain! We can't lose our lives here. We can still go find treasure elsewhere! This thing is tangled in vines; we can't take it out at all!"

"Damn it! Don't think I don't know we're broke just because I don't handle money. We can't even get the money to repair the ship."

"Damn it! It's all because you took it to the black market to buy Seastone weapons!" Upon hearing this, the people around him immediately flew into a rage and shouted in unison.

"Haha, this?" The other party suddenly had no reason to become weak, looking around and then, relying on the faint glow of the light, saw the scene of the battle in the distance and changed the subject.

"Brothers! Look, there are still people over there!"

"Holy crap! What a formidable figure! Could it be that notorious pirate who's returned?" As he pointed, their faces lit up with surprise. Those who had already cut down many vines naturally knew what it was, moving about in a jungle of vines that seemed to be falling like a torrential rain. It took them all their strength to cut a single vine, and someone immediately shouted.

Hey! Hey bro, let's go out together! At least we can look out for each other!

"Hmm!" Mabi retrieved the last piece of wood and looked at the figures fighting in the distance, puzzled. There were still people here. She decided to go and ask them. She had collected all the wood but hadn't seen any special pieces. They looked no different from the poplar wood above. She stepped forward and traversed the dense vine forest, heading in that direction.

"Break the Void!" The figure that appeared, Mabi, swung her sword and slashed, instantly emptying their vision.

"Thanks, brother! Shall we go out together?" a hearty voice said to Mabi.

Following the sound, Mabi looked through the broken fluorescent vines around her and saw a man in his early twenties wearing a shirt, struggling to pull on two ropes behind him with a circular shield about a foot in diameter on his arm.

“I’m afraid not! I haven’t accomplished my purpose here yet!” Mabi replied, then looked at the vine-wielding people struggling to cut through the surrounding area and asked again, “I would like to ask if you have seen where Adam is? If you know, I can escort you out.”

"Adam?" His companions exchanged glances as he chopped down the vines fluttering before him.

"Brother, we've already beaten them to it!" he said with difficulty upon hearing Maby's question. The ropes on his arms tightened again, and he shifted his body back a few more inches, struggling once more as he looked at the ever-growing vine ball behind him.

"It's right in my hands. As long as you brothers protect us and we go out to sell it, I'm willing to give you four-tenths of the profits!"

"Is that so? I might as well wait until you're all gone and then take it myself. Anyway, it'll be unclaimed by then!" Mabi said leisurely, slicing through a vine with her sword and looking at the huge vine ball behind her.

Upon hearing Maggie's words, everyone around her immediately changed color!

Yes! They were just people we met in one place. Their target was Adam, and even if they tried to steal it with their superior strength, based on our strength just now, we wouldn't be able to stop them! In this world, the weak have no right to negotiate!

"Fifty percent! This is my final bottom line!" The other party gritted his teeth and said this upon seeing Mabi's behavior!

"Eighty percent! As someone who believes in not attacking random strangers for no reason, Captain Warren the Mad Shield!" Maby revealed the other party's identity.

"Pfft!" The opposing crew member spat out a mouthful of blood, praising the way they described taking advantage of someone's misfortune in such a refined and elegant way.

"You!" The stranger who revealed his name didn't seem to care at all, after all, he was also a bounty-bearing pirate! What angered him was that he had robbed them, yet he claimed he wasn't!

"Six floors! Plus the secret behind this passage! That's something we researched for a long time before discovering it!"

"Deal! Clear the area!" Mabi immediately swung her sword, clearing out a section of the surrounding area to give them time to process the situation!

"How long can you hold out?" Mabi had already realized that all of the opponent's energy was tied up by the taut ropes behind him, and he couldn't exert his fighting power at all. He was only able to rely on his crew to help block the vines that were attacking from behind!

"Half an hour is no problem!"

"Alright! You go ahead and protect your crew! I'll go cut that root at the back, otherwise no matter how many vines you cut, they'll just keep growing back! Even I would have a hard time getting you all out unharmed!" Mabi said seriously. If it weren't for the fact that it could grow rapidly and cut through hundreds of meters of area with each strike, she would have cleared the whole place long ago! Just as she cleared it, the air waves transmitted from behind had already formed a three-dimensional image in her mind. Hundreds of meters ahead, there was a crazy sphere bouncing around, and all the vines were growing from it.

"Okay!" Upon hearing Maby's reply, the other party decisively released the ropes on their arms, causing the vine ball wrapped around them to retreat frantically backward!

"Trying to run! Stop right there!" Seeing this, Mabi immediately launched himself forward with a stomp of his foot!

"Brothers! Let me help you!" After abandoning the rope, the opponent placed the shield in front of him, and the stone slabs beneath his feet shattered as he frantically charged towards the oncoming giant vines!

"Raging Shield! Savage Charge!" The powerful force collided instantly with the charging vines! Shockwaves spread outwards at a visible speed! Countless vines burst open, their shattered fibers sweeping wildly outwards within a hundred meters of him, clearing the entire area!

"Haha! The captain is even more powerful now that he's equipped with Seastone!" The captain exclaimed in admiration upon seeing his impressive display of strength.

"Haha! Prepare for battle! Let me protect you!" Dui Mang laughed loudly, revealing his powerful muscles as he watched the vines rushing towards him from the sky once again.

"Yes, Captain! Fight!" the remaining crew shouted in unison!

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"Take off!" Mabi, holding a long sword, touched the vines with her toes and moved and jumped through the vines, which were several meters in diameter, following the giant sphere as it ran inside.

"Ah! Chirp!" Just as Mabi moved forward, countless vines as thick as an arm burst out from the gaps, instantly filling the entire space with a piercing scream!

"Ah!" Upon hearing this sound, Mebi roared without backing down to reduce the damage to her ears!

"Sever the Void!" Sensing that the giant sphere was behind him, he swung his sword and slashed out!

"Ding!" The colorless air blade sliced ​​through the layers of vines, emitting a crisp metallic sound! Then, a dull thud of the air blade shattering spread outwards, cutting through the protruding branches and vines! Only a wooden sphere, tens of meters in diameter and shimmering with metallic luster, remained. On it, some finger-thick vines were taking shape and expanding, spreading and connecting with the severed metal vines!

Chapter 127 Strange Cylindrical Building Spirit

Seeing the vines that were trying to move again, Mabi swung her knife and cut them all off at the roots!

"What a strange ability to grow indefinitely. I'll just keep it and see if I can train it to be a bonsai on the new ship!" Maby muttered, looking at the wooden sphere that had revived before her. She then put it away and let Neilco handle it. After all, he was the only one with an infinitely growing ability inside that arm guard. It couldn't stop him.

"Damn it! We've really lost out this time! I should have just double-crossed them!"

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"Boss, is it really okay for you to wait until we get here before saying this?" Warren, who was following with a round shield, said resentfully upon hearing Maby's words.

"Haha! Just kidding! Hurry up and dig Adam out! Consider this thing my purchase value, and I'll share it with you!" Maby stepped forward, put her arm around his shoulder, and laughed heartily, then casually took out a box and opened it.

"No problem! Brothers! Get to work!" The frustration in his heart vanished as he saw the dense green Bailey banknotes revealed in the box that Mabi had opened, and he ordered his men.

"Keep these 80 million Berries safe!" Mabi took out 20 million Berries from the box and handed the rest back to him. She had previously carried 800 million Berries herself to purchase the necessary supplies, including Adam's, in order to make it easier to calculate that each box contained 100 million Berries.

"Brother's Devil Fruit ability to store matter is truly rare. I've only ever seen it on Capone Bege. It's an incredibly convenient ability for sailing the oceans." Seeing Maggie wave away and collect the Berries, he said enviously, thinking how fortunate it must be to have unlimited resources in this aimless seafaring life!

"Haha! There will always be risks!" Mabi laughed, watching the other crew members work even harder now that they had money in hand.

"Haha! You're right! It's not bad to sell it for money! Brother's ability is perfect for taking the secret we discovered along with it! That bastard up there didn't even mention the danger down below. If we hadn't discovered that thing, we would have been killed by him long ago!" The other person stretched out his arm and patted Mabi's shoulder, laughing loudly, but he didn't realize that the force that made Mabi's mouth twitch was really powerful.

"What a fine keel! Now we have a new ship!" Mabi exclaimed, gazing at the log that was a hundred meters long, ten feet in diameter, and shaped like a capital J. Having worked as an assistant to her father before, Mabi knew that this smooth, knot-free log was indeed, as Franky had said, an excellent material for building a keel!

"Haha! Brother, which fleet are you from? I've never heard of you having such great strength!" Mabi teased as she put away the huge piece of wood in front of her.

"Oh! The Straw Hat Pirates! They're not that famous yet, but you'll see in a couple of days!" Maggie laughed. Compared to Luffy's bounty of 210 million Berries, Luffy's previous bounty was nothing.

"The Straw Hat Pirates! The legendary pirates who defeated the Shichibukai Crocodile and, together with the great pirate Ace, kidnapped an imperial princess!" A man next to him replied with a strange expression. He had originally thought that the man in black in front of him was from the New World, but he didn't expect that he was a member of a newly risen pirate crew, just like the captain.

"So it's that Straw Hat crew who suddenly became famous and lawless on the Grand Line! Brothers, your fighting strength is worthy of the title of defeating the great pirates!" Hearing his crew's answer, he immediately recalled the news from two months ago. At that time, everyone thought that the great pirate Ace was responsible. It seems that the truth is not as rumored. So he hugged Maggie's shoulder tightly and laughed. He turned around and carried Maggie's body, laughing loudly as they walked deeper into the sea.

"Haha! Let's go, brother! I'll show you the secrets here, which will surely give your pirate crew even greater strength!"

"Another research institute!" Mabi exclaimed, gazing at the familiar yet dilapidated buildings and the mysterious square characters around her by the light of the torch. "Back then, people always seemed to prefer building things thousands of meters underground or tens of thousands of meters in the air."

“Nilco! Why do you all like doing this?” Maby asked, voicing her question.

"It might be because of its geographical location that it was built underground or in the air. Just like the place I was in back then was built underground to utilize the energy in the magma, and that's why it survived and wasn't wiped out." Nielko paused for a moment before replying to Mabi's question. Based on various events and his understanding of history over this period, he realized that his country's power at the time could have swept across the entire world, but it was destroyed by an unknown force, and even information could not be transmitted.

“Looks like this is another treasure trove. Let’s explore and see if we can find anything useful.” Mabi followed behind him, letting him lead the way, occasionally crushing a piece of unknown material with a soft cracking sound.

"We're here! Brother Mabi, this is the treasure we've found!" The other man raised his torch high into the air, and as the torch arced through the air, everything came into view! A circular building, thirty or forty meters tall, appeared as the torch passed by, and then disappeared back into the darkness as the torch disappeared.

"We've only developed one function for this building. Once you put your weapon inside and activate the workbench, you can take it out after a while and clearly feel that the weapon has come to life, making it easier to use!" The other person explained, pulling Mabi towards a half-person-high, clearly cleaned control panel.

"Life?" Mabi was full of questions. From the small jar, she could sense the stamina of someone the size of a football field, and the spatial portal that allowed for a radius of tens of kilometers. Plus, there was this building that was thirty or forty meters tall in front of her! This must be another inexplicable device!

"Yes! If it hadn't given our weapons a life of their own, doubling our combat power, how could we have broken through this dense vine barrier and gotten out! Before, my companions were only using ordinary good swords! But after spending some time in this building, they reached the level of a fast sword. You know, there are only about fifty famous fast swords in the entire world." The other person sighed as he looked at the giant in front of him. If it weren't so big, he really wanted to just move it and trade it directly. The Berries he would get from the weapon trade would be enough to sail freely on the sea.

"This is just like the Little Tank! Except it strips away power, this one grants power! So, wouldn't it be just like the Little Tank, becoming an elf after all these years!" Mabi's eyes brightened, and she kicked the huge cylindrical building in front of her!

"Hey! Wake up! If you're an elf, answer me!"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" As Mabi's feet stomped wildly, a deep, booming sound like a bell striking echoed throughout the space!

"Hey! What else do you want to do! You've already taken my pet! You're not even going to spare an old man like me who can't even fight back!" A deep voice echoed in the ears of everyone around.

"As expected, it's another elf!" Mabi thought to herself.

Chapter 128 Subjugation

"Haha! Sorry! I only caught it because it attacked me!" Knowing that the person in front of her was another lonely elf who had lived for hundreds of years and that she had captured his only pet, Mabi apologized first.

"Then release it. It's been the only thing that's kept me company all these years! As an apology for its offense, I can help you bring some equipment to life so they can perform at their maximum potential." The other party replied lazily when he saw Maby loosen her grip. He already knew from the expressions of the previous groups of people that his abilities would be of great use to them, so he naturally chose this as his reward.

"What's going on, Maby brothers?" Captain Warren, who was standing beside him, was surprised to hear the voice in his mind. He asked when he noticed that Maby didn't seem surprised by what he was seeing.