A vast swamp with water sources and plants thriving luxuriantly, yet not a single insect to be found?
Kuro would never believe it.
But he was indeed experiencing it.
Gulp.
Looking at the corn-like object right before his eyes, easily within reach, Kuro was extremely nervous, like a thief with a guilty conscience, constantly looking around.
"Don't rush to pick it. Peel the skin first," Law's voice sounded beside his ear.
The calm, unhurried command didn't make Kuro feel any dissatisfaction.
Now, Kuro had become a purely excellent asset for Law, equivalent to removing the initial, troublesome disobedience condition.
Kuro carefully observed the surroundings, confirmed no threat, then shifted his gaze back to the corn-like object.
Located in the center of the tree crown, three stood upright, wrapped in layers of emerald green plant skin.
Just from appearance, it highly resembled corn.
But Kuro knew Nitro Rice looked like unhusked rice grains, golden all over. Just looking at it closely, you could feel abundant vitality.
Yet this corn-like object wrapped in emerald green plant skin before him didn't emit a trace of vitality.
"Could this be Nitro Rice?"
Kuro thought, then raised a hand with extended claws, like lighting a firecracker, carefully scraping off one layer of plant skin, then two, three...
Like peeling an onion, he peeled off layer after layer, the corn-like object gradually shrinking.
As more plant skin was peeled, the object grew thinner, and threads of vitality began to diffuse.
"Huh?"
Kuro's first reaction was his mouth watering uncontrollably.
When Law took out half a stalk of Nitro Rice before, the abundant vitality had greatly stimulated his appetite.
But back then, Nitro Rice was a rarity, and he couldn't even eat a single tiny grain.
"If this is really Nitro Rice, with my contribution, getting one stalk shouldn't be a problem, right?" Joy flashed in Kuro's eyes, and his peeling speed unconsciously increased.
Over ten seconds later, as the last layer of plant skin fell away, a cluster of golden rice grains stood revealed. The grains were plump, and abundant vitality, like a reviving spring breeze, washed over Kuro's face in waves.
"Mmm..."
Kuro immediately showed an intoxicated expression.
So comfortable, as if countless pairs of Cookie's delicate hands were massaging him all over.
It felt like all his pores were about to fly away, even though he had no pores.
In the Hide-and-Seek dimension, everyone showed delighted expressions.
Based on Law's description, they all knew Nitro Rice had a golden rice-like appearance. What appeared before Kuro was undoubtedly their target… Nitro Rice.
"I didn't expect it to be this easy," Ging said with mixed feelings.
"The ultimate longevity food..." Shiro smacked his lips.
Even Stargie, with the calmest temperament, couldn't help but show a glimmer in her eyes.
It wasn't that she wanted to increase her lifespan, but she wanted to get a stalk for Ellie, who was far away on the Six Continents.
Confirming Nitro Rice was indeed in the swamp, she wanted to leave the Hide-and-Seek dimension immediately and search the swamp for more Nitro Rice.
Everyone was a bit excited at the moment. Increasing lifespan… any normal person would have such a desire.
Suddenly, the joyful atmosphere in the room froze solid.
In the projected image on the wall, Kuro stretched his neck and swallowed the freshly peeled Nitro Rice.
"..."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
What use was that for a Nen Beast?
"That guy."
Law patted his forehead but didn't scold Kuro, calmly saying, "Stay there and wait for us. Don't touch the other two stalks."
Hearing Law, Kuro, who was lost in the wonderful taste, snapped back to reality, regretting his impulse, but was somewhat surprised Law wasn't angry.
When the life energy washed over him earlier, he couldn't resist his appetite and swallowed the freshly peeled Nitro Rice. Thankfully, Law didn't mind.
'I found the Nitro Rice with my own skills, why can't I eat it? That must be why Law isn't angry!'
Kuro thought happily, completely unaware that a white thread had emerged from the muddy ground, then spiraled up the tree trunk quite quickly.
The thread, fine as a hair, silently reached behind Kuro, then wrapped around his neck.
Kuro didn't notice the thread's presence, but the little fox's perspective was wide, able to see the white thread on Kuro's neck. Those in the Hide-and-Seek dimension noticed the white thread immediately.
Also mainly because the white thread was really conspicuous against Kuro's pitch-black body.
"Watch out!"
Law, who was about to leave the Hide-and-Seek dimension, urgently warned Kuro.
Hearing the warning, Kuro reflexively dematerialized his body.
In that instant, without any movement or sound, Kuro's head separated from his body, floating upward.
Kuro's severed head looked down from above at the body standing on the tree crown, a look of shock on his face.
He saw a hair-like white thread, of unknown origin, gently wrapped around his body.
Then, without any sign of the thread tightening or exerting force, Kuro saw his body, left in place, being torn into pieces.
'So there is a tough opponent!'
A look of fear flashed in Kuro's eyes. The torn-off head turned into black smoke floating in the air.
If the thing attacking him hadn't been white while he was pure black, Law and the others probably wouldn't have noticed the white thread's presence so quickly.
Without Law's timely warning, he definitely wouldn't have had time to dematerialize earlier.
Without dematerialization, his head and body would have been truly severed… a fatal injury in his materialized state.
Fortunately, he dematerialized in time, only losing a portion of Nen.
In the Hide-and-Seek dimension, seeing the white thread's bizarre displayed ability, everyone showed serious expressions.
"That thread didn't tighten earlier, yet it easily sliced through Kuro's body," Machi, whose ability involved Nen Threads, frowned. That phenomenon, in her eyes, was as abnormal as a pig climbing a hundred-meter-tall tree.
"Is Kuro's defense that weak?" Uvogin wondered.
"On the contrary, he at least has Ken level defense," Law glanced at Machi. He hadn't figured out the thread's nature yet, but it seemed similar to Machi's ability.
Meanwhile, on the tree crown.
The body Kuro left behind turned into ownerless Nen, dispersing into the air.
The gently trembling thread seemed to pause, puzzled by the prey's disappearance.
But the next second, the thread became agitated, as if discovering Kuro above, and shot toward Kuro in a wavy, undulating motion.
As the thread became agitated, it seemed to affect everything connected. More threads emerged from the surrounding swamp, all heading for Kuro.
"Damn, so many!"
With one glance, Kuro couldn't take them all in.
Counting was impossible, but the thread count definitely exceeded a hundred.
"Better run first, but..."
With danger imminent, Kuro didn't retreat but advanced instead, avoiding the first attacking thread and rushing to the two remaining Nitro Rice stalks.
Black smoke transformed into tails, wrapping around the two unpeeled Nitro Rice stalks, then he ascended into the air.
To get these two Nitro Rice stalks, he was really going all out!