"Father, don't worry — Brother Rorschach will definitely find us."
On a small island surrounded by thick, sticky green liquid, Vivi stood before the wreck of their ship. One hand supported the pale-faced Cobra, while the other clutched a phone snail that emitted nothing but static.
There was no signal — the phone snail couldn't even project the image of the person on the other end.
But on the keypad on its back, the caller's number was still faithfully displayed.
Vivi recognized this number instantly — it belonged to Hibari.
So the person trying to connect must be Hibari.
"Damn it, what is this place? Why did we suddenly appear here? Weren't we just in the Devil's Triangle?"
Jackal Gaka growled in frustration, scanning their surroundings, while Pell tended to several wounded guards.
Without looking up, Pell carefully splinted a soldier's broken arm and said quietly, "If I'm not mistaken, Gaka… we're probably inside the stomach of some kind of Sea King."
"What? Inside a Sea King's stomach?" Gaka's expression froze in disbelief. "You're not joking, are you?"
He pointed down at the solid ground beneath their feet, and then at the lush forest stretching across the island. "I know Sea Kings are huge, but come on — we're standing on an island! What kind of Sea King could fit an entire island inside its stomach? Even that massive whale at Reverse Mountain has an island inside it, but compared to this, that's tiny!"
Pell stood and walked to the edge of the island. He bent down, picked up a dried branch, and stirred it into the thick green fluid, then lifted it to his nose for a sniff.
Vivi and Cobra exchanged curious looks as they watched him.
"What are you doing, Pell?" Vivi asked in surprise as she walked closer.
"I'm confirming whether this really is a Sea King's stomach."
After speaking, Pell went to the wrecked ship, gathered some leftover food, and tossed it into the green liquid.
A moment later, Vivi and the others were horrified to see the food dissolve rapidly, vanishing without a trace.
Even a large bone-in chunk of meat — the tough bone and all — melted cleanly away.
"What is this? How terrifying… If our ship hadn't crashed onto this island and had fallen into that green liquid instead, we'd be completely gone — not even bones left." Vivi patted her chest, still shaken, her wide eyes fixed on the bubbling green acid around them.
"If I'm right, this is stomach acid. But I'll need to confirm one more thing."
As Pell spoke, his arms transformed into feathered wings, and his body morphed into a falcon.
Under Vivi's and the others' worried gazes, he spread his wings and took off, circling above the green liquid before flying higher.
Vivi's heart pounded.
If Pell fell into that terrifying liquid by accident…
"Be careful, Pell!"
"Don't worry — I'll be right back."
His voice echoed from afar, and soon his falcon form disappeared into the distance.
"I hope Pell's guess is wrong," Gaka muttered gloomily, glancing around.
If Pell was right — and they were indeed inside a Sea King's stomach — then their situation was truly dire.
Being digested, or crushed by the contractions of the creature's stomach, would mean certain death.
Even if they could somehow escape, there was no guarantee they could make it back to the surface.
After all, no one knew how deep this Sea King might be swimming.
As those grim thoughts weighed on him, Gaka's sharp sense of smell suddenly caught a rank, fishy stench approaching rapidly.
His heart tensed. He immediately turned toward the scent and shouted,
"Something's coming! A beast is approaching! Everyone, protect His Majesty and Princess Vivi!"
The dozens of guards instantly tightened their formation, raising their spears and forming a defensive circle around Cobra and Vivi.
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground shook as the distant forest rustled violently.
"What the hell? There's already an island and forest inside a Sea King's belly — now there are living creatures too?"
Gaka's body stretched upward, his skin sprouting gray fur, sharp fangs extending from his mouth, and his hands turning into claws as he transformed into his wolfman form, standing guard before everyone.
The next second—
With a thunderous crash, a massive lizard — over ten meters long — burst through the trees, its jaws gaping as it lunged at Gaka.
"A lizard?"
Gaka's brow furrowed. He rolled forward, drew a gleaming sword from his waist, and slashed upward toward the creature's belly.
Clang!
Sparks flew as steel met scales. The blade barely left a mark.
"What hard skin!" Gaka cursed.
The lizard roared, ignoring him, and instead snapped its jaws toward a guard.
"Beast! Your opponent is me!"
Gaka roared, leaping nimbly onto the lizard's back, gripping his sword with both hands and plunging it downward.
Slash!
Blood sprayed as the blade pierced its flesh, though not deeply.
Still, the lizard shrieked in pain, thrashing wildly to throw Gaka off.
Its violent movements sent him swinging back and forth, clutching the hilt desperately.
Then, its thick tail swept sideways—
Boom!
The tail struck Gaka hard, hurling him dozens of meters before he crashed into the edge of the forest.
"ROAR!"
Driven mad by pain, the lizard charged straight into the guards' defensive line, tearing through it with fury.
A guard screamed as the beast's jaws closed around him—
But just then, a swirling stream of golden sand shot from within the formation, snaking through the air before slamming down onto the lizard's forehead.
The sand gathered and condensed, forming the graceful figure of Vivi herself.
She pressed one palm to the creature's head.
"Moisture Absorption!"
A rustling sound echoed as the enormous lizard's body shriveled rapidly.
Within mere seconds, it had become nothing but a dried husk, collapsing to the ground in a heap of skin and bone.
"Princess Vivi! Amazing!"
The guards were dumbfounded.
"So that's the power of a Logia user… truly incredible," Gaka muttered admiringly, watching as Vivi descended lightly to the ground.
"Over there — a child!"
One of the guards suddenly shouted, pointing toward a thicket at the edge of the forest.
"What? A child? Are you sure?"
Vivi blinked and followed his gaze.
Sure enough—
She spotted a small, thin, golden-haired figure darting quickly through the forest, moving with surprising agility and vanishing into the trees.
"A child? Here? Could there actually be people living on this island?"
Transforming back into his jackal form, Gaka sprinted like lightning into the forest.
Moments later, a startled scream echoed from within.
Soon after, Gaka emerged, holding a struggling blond girl with a single ponytail.
The girl kicked and clawed at him fiercely, like a wild animal.
"Gaka, don't be rough — we're the intruders here," Vivi said gently, rushing over. She gestured for Gaka to release the girl.
"Be careful, Princess Vivi — this little brat's got claws like a monkey." Gaka pointed to the bloody scratches on his face.
"She's probably just scared." Vivi smiled apologetically, crouching down and extending a hand to the girl. "Hello, my name is Vivi. I'm from the Kingdom of Alabasta. What's your name?"
The girl's eyes widened in panic, which only deepened Vivi's sympathy.
But before Vivi could say another word, a gleam flashed—
The girl suddenly drew a dagger from her hand and thrust it toward Vivi's chest!
"Princess!" Gaka shouted, eyes wide as he leapt forward.
Shhk!
The blade sank into Vivi's chest with a sharp sound.
"Ah!"
Vivi stumbled back, pale-faced and shaken by the sudden attack.
The little girl gritted her teeth and turned to flee into the forest.
"Princess Vivi!" Cobra shouted, eyes reddening. "Guards! Catch her!"
The guards rushed after the child.
"I'm fine, Father," Vivi said softly. She pulled the dagger from her chest, watching as the wound closed and turned to sand.
There was no blood — only grains of golden sand trickling away.
The attack had caught her off guard, but she quickly remembered: as a Logia user, physical attacks couldn't harm her.
Meanwhile, Gaka had already caught the girl again.
Still furious at her sudden assault, he held her roughly this time. The little girl yelped in pain, her cries muffled and strange.
"What's she saying?" Vivi frowned.
"I can't understand her," Cobra said, equally puzzled.
As they cautiously approached, a voice suddenly echoed from deep within the forest — urgent and desperate:
"Don't hurt Olga! You want the Pure Gold, right? I'll give it to you!"
End of Chapter)
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