One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

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"Hey, Usopp! Wake up! I know you're pretending to be dead. The smell of tomato sauce hasn't dissipated yet. Get up and get to work." Maggie looked at the densely packed, motionless dead fish lying on the ground and jumped right next to Usopp, kicking him. The others were all sick, and only he could help her with the aftermath.

"I'm a salted fish! I'm a salted fish!" Usopp muttered to himself, showing no desire to move.

"It's a headache! They're all a bunch of indiscriminate damage skills, and they even attack their own teammates when they fight. The 'Salted Fish Reversal' personality awakening is ruthless, attacking anyone in sight. The 'Salted Fish Thrust' damages all living beings within a ten-meter radius of the target, then refracts and spreads until there are no more living beings within ten meters. It doesn't even spare friendly forces, leaving a pile of salted fish after each use." Mabi patted her head and complained helplessly.

"Splash!" After checking Usopp's body, without mentioning the wounds, he was thrown into the sea to let the bubbles eliminate the Devil Fruit ability. It's a pain in the ass that, apart from the salted fish effect which can be eliminated by himself, the other abilities require various conditions to be triggered and he can't actively eliminate the effects of other skills.

"Mabi, what are you doing trying to drown me?" Usopp yelled in the water after regaining consciousness.

"Alright! Alright! Stop yelling. First, help me wake Luffy and the others up so you can keep them from sinking," Maggie explained.

Usopp below was speechless.

"Thump thump!"

Then, one by one, the people lying on the ground, already like salted fish, were thrown into the sea by Mabi. Even Apis, who was in the cabin, did not escape her fate and became a salted fish. Mabi also took off her coat and threw her into the sea to wake her up.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" The people who had been soaked woke up and hurriedly coughed up the seawater in their mouths, cursing at Mabi, who was watching them with a smile above.

"Damn it, Mabi, you used your Devil Fruit power again! We're going to be killed by you sooner or later."

"Haha! We can't beat them, so we have to deal with them collectively and then slowly save them." Mabi pulled them up and laughed.

Even Luffy, who loved to cause trouble, fell silent. He knew that if Maple hadn't taken care of everyone present on a large scale, his crew would have had no chance of winning and would have died at their hands sooner or later.

"Jim Taylor, an extremely vicious pirate on the Grand Line, frequently attacks human towns for money, with a bounty of 150 million Berries. Because he can escape, the Navy has never captured him. In some places, his notoriety can stop a child from crying. Dick Karl, the vice-captain, is a user of the Bone-Bone Fruit, with a bounty of 93 million Berries. He is known as the legendary cannibal because he likes to smash people into mincemeat. He also has a crew of 200 men who are extremely evil pirates with bounties of varying sizes." Zoro paused for a breath before speaking, accessing the save file in his memory.

"How did you know!" Nami asked.

"All pirates with bounties report to the whole world. I only learned about the Grand Line when I was a bounty hunter, but I didn't pay special attention to it. I didn't expect them to come to the East Blue." Zoro explained with a frown. Those who can leave the Grand Line without encountering any danger are all powerful beings who can sail directly across the Calm Belt.

"And what about them..."

"They're all like salted fish now. Only after they fall unconscious can their brains repair themselves and eliminate the effects of the Devil Fruit on their minds. Right now, they're like salted fish waiting to be slaughtered, easily dealt with with a flick of the wrist. Even that incredibly tough first mate could be dealt with simply by throwing him into the sea." Maggie leaned against the railing, looking at Luffy and asking for his answer: kill him or leave him alone. After all, his abilities weren't invincible. In future battles, if anyone left the ten-meter deflection range of his Salted Fish Thrust, he would be completely useless against them.

"Aaaaah! They're too vicious, I'm going to kill them!" Upon hearing this, Usopp, whose legs were trembling, immediately stood up and prepared to go and kill the immobilized pirates.

“Sit down, we’ll go later.” Mabi pulled him over and pressed him to the ground to stop him from jumping up.

"Hoo!" Sanji slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth, his curved eyebrows twitching, symbolizing his uncertain mood. He turned to look at Luffy. Killing the person now would naturally prevent this harm, but what about next time? After all, they were just minions on the Grand Line, not the strongest fighting force, and they would always have to face all kinds of evil pirates on the line.

The deck fell silent for a moment.

"Waaah! I'm so sorry, it's all because of me! If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened!" Apis burst into tears upon seeing this scene. Eric's arrival made her realize some things.

"It's alright! Whether it's a blessing or a curse, we can't avoid it." Mabi stepped forward and patted her little head to comfort her.

"Waaah! Waaah!" Upon seeing Yao Kao, she immediately hugged Mabi's waist and buried her face in it, crying.

"Snoring! Snoring!" A noise startled the silent faces around them, and white bubbles emerged from the shadows hidden by straw hats.

"..."

"Idiot! This guy is sleeping!" Seeing this, I immediately understood why he had stopped talking and wasted his worry.

"Thump! Thump!..." Luffy, who had been beaten up by a group of people, finally woke up from his unconsciousness.

"Hahaha! Everyone's here!" Luffy laughed heartily, completely ignoring the angry stares around him.

"Idiot! What about them?" Nami grabbed Luffy by the collar and yelled as she made him face the huge ship full of salted fish.

Seeing this scene and hearing his companions' account, Luffy stopped his playful antics, straightened his clothes, and stared at the ship, which was three times the height of the Merry, before him. He then pressed down on his straw hat and said firmly:

"I'm going to be the Pirate King! And they! I'll beat them to a pulp!"

There were no inspiring ideologies, no angry or uncontrollable emotions, just a simple, ordinary dream, yet it instantly warmed up the otherwise serious atmosphere. Isn't that so? Dreams themselves are fraught with difficulties, and coming together is precisely for the purpose of striving for those dreams.

"Haha! Haha! Haha!" Joyful laughter soared into the sky.

"Sanji! Eat! Eat! I want to eat meat!"

"Nami! Does the other ship have a lot of treasure they need?"

Wow! Treasure! Treasure! I want it! I want it!

"Zoro! Usopp! Mapi! Help me carry the treasure!"

"Okay! No problem!"

"Let me see if I can find any good tools!"

"My knife was broken by them, I need to get two better ones."

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In pirate battles, right and wrong are irrelevant; only victory and defeat matter! The victor gains everything! The loser loses everything!

Chapter 16 Arrival at Gunkanjima

Guided by the large fish summoned by Apis, they arrived at their destination in just one day.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! They are the companions who brought me back." As soon as the ship stopped, Apis jumped down and threw herself into the arms of the old man with a cane standing in the middle below. The villagers around her, holding spears, continued to refuse her, after all, pirates were a bad name in any country or place.

"Haha! My little Apis is back safe and sound. I hope she wasn't bullied. Thank you for helping her get back. Come back with me and I'll give you a proper welcome." The old man gently stroked Apis's head and looked up at Luffy and the others. Seeing that the most respected elder in the village had spoken, they slowly lowered their guard.

"Great! I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat!" Luffy shouted immediately. Meat was his favorite food.

"Grandpa Bogudan's meat buns are the best! I'll treat you to some," Abis said excitedly.

"Ah! The meat is so good."

"Steamed buns? It's been a long time since I've had them, but it seems I haven't had them since coming to this world either. I want to try what steamed buns taste like in this world." Mabi thought of this and missed life on Earth. Although there are many kinds of meat in this world that she can eat without getting tired of them and that the body consumes a lot of food during exercise, she still misses the various kinds of food on Earth.

"Grandpa, let me help you!" Mabi said after washing her hands and seeing the ingredients he had already prepared. It seemed he was also preparing to make steamed buns.

"Hehe, young man, you can do that too?" the other person said kindly.

"I've studied it."

···

“These kitchen utensils are quite sophisticated,” Sanji remarked, observing the steamers and rolling pins around him.

"Hehe, young man, you must be a chef too. After all, special ingredients require special tools to prepare them."

"Alright, just wait for them to cook." Maggie said, arranging the wrapped buns one by one with some gaps between them.

"Great! Great!" Luffy rubbed his hands together excitedly.

“It looks delicious! How long will it take to cook?” Usopp asked from the side.

"About two or three hours?" After all, the food had already been piled up quite high to accommodate Luffy's huge appetite.

"Ah!" The two of them suddenly seemed to have lost their souls and were completely lifeless.

"Grandpa Bogudan, is there any treasure on this island? Why are the Navy and pirates trying to capture her?" Nami asked, sitting at the table.

"Probably not." Bogudan sat in his chair, raised his head with a full head of white hair, thought for a moment, and replied.

"Is it really not there? Or have you forgotten?"

"If there is such a thing, it's only one legend! It all started with the three children of King Inskant Pogbots, the first king of the Lost Island..." Grandpa Pogbots began to recount the legend from his memory.

"It's happening again!" Apis clutched her head in pain upon hearing the familiar language, then immediately looked up and shouted as if she had just remembered something.

"Brother Mabi, I'll take you..." Seeing Mabi sleeping soundly on the carpet, she felt like crying. She tiptoed over, rested her head on his stomach, and lay down. Looking at the crowd listening to Grandpa tell old stories, she already knew Mabi's true gender from what she had learned before, which made her even more dependent on him.

"Mabi! Mabi, get up!" Nami shouted, shoving Mabi.

"Ugh! Is it already night?" Mabi asked, looking at the dark night sky.

"Idiot! It's already late at night." Nami punched him and complained.

"Ah! My steamed buns!" Mabi suddenly woke up, realizing that she seemed to have steamed some steamed buns before going to sleep. Although Grandpa Bogudan thought they wouldn't be overcooked, those big eaters would probably miss the rare opportunity to see steamed buns made, since she didn't really know much about yeast.

"There are a few left in the pot; Apis left them for you," Nami said with a smile.

"Luffy and his crew have taken Baozi to find the Thousand-Year Dragon. I'll wait for you to wake up so we can go together."

“Okay, okay! No problem, let’s go together.” Maggie said, skillfully pulling a washed steaming cloth from the cutting board and wrapping the contents of the pot.

"It seems you really like this. Should we teach Sanji how to eat it?" Nami became curious when she saw Maggie's actions. She hadn't expected that he liked other foods besides salted fish.

"Yes, it tastes very familiar. I haven't had it in a long time," Mabi replied after taking a bite.

"That's a good idea. I'll ask Grandpa Bogudan for some yeast after I'm done."

"Nami, here you go." He took out the remaining two and handed them to Nami, then put the rest away in his pocket.

"The soft outer skin wrapping around the chewy meat filling is indeed a novel approach," Nami said softly after taking a bite.

"Definitely, after all, this used to be an indispensable part of my breakfast."

"Let's go! Let's go together." After saying that, she grabbed Nami and ran out. Apis must have already told Nami the route enough to find their target.

"Slow down!" The delicate Nami was no match for Mabi's physical strength and was being dragged along.

"Mabi, wait a minute?"

"what?"

"Alright, let's go! Maggie's mount!"

"Damn it, I'm not a mount!" Mabi shouted angrily, but Nami on her shoulder clung tightly to her and refused to get off.

"Who told you not to take me with you?" Nami said nonchalantly, a steamed bun dangling from her mouth.

"I give up. By the way, Nami, did we forget something?" Maggie sighed and suddenly asked, remembering something.

"Forgot? No, we just took Apis home."

"That means there isn't any left."

"Awoo!" The little white tiger behind Mabi let out a helpless cry when it saw that no one was paying attention to it and followed. It was the same white tiger that they had found on the ship earlier. They had brought it on the ship and discussed with Sanji when to stew it and eat it.

···

"Haha, Lord Dragon, I will definitely help you get back to your hometown." Luffy's loud laughter could be heard even before they got close, so they must have gotten along very well with Lord Dragon.

"What the hell is this?" Mabi saw the body that occupied most of the cave. Although she already knew what this place was, seeing it up close was another matter. Its emerald green feathers had long been tattered by the passage of time, but its cloudy eyes were still full of longing for a place to go. However, its weak wings could not support its withering body.

"Mabi, let's go, this place is too scary," Nami said, trembling all over.