That green thing was a little person, dressed in green clothes, wearing a crown-shaped green hat and goggles, with two needles almost as tall as him strapped to his waist, and a bushy tail like a squirrel's swaying behind him.
As this little person appeared, a large number of palm-sized little people also appeared on the surrounding plants, all with squirrel-like bushy tails.
Real, genuine little people race.
The green little person drew the long needle from his waist, aimed it at Sage, and said, "Hey, white-haired great race, answer me. Why are you looking for our chief? And also, are you good people or bad people?"
Watching the little person trying hard to pose with a determined look, Lily's eyes rarely gleamed, "How cute..."
"Cute?"
Sage laughed, "The little people race's strength is many times that of humans, and they possess incredible speed. Essentially, their combat power is quite decent."
He turned to the green little person and said, "My name is Sage. I'm looking for your chief to see if anyone is willing to go to sea with me as pirates. As for whether pirates are good or bad... there's no way to define that across the entire sea."
"Some people think I'm good, some think I'm bad, but at least on one point, I am sincerely inviting you, so I won't cause you any harm."
"Well then, no harm... that means good people. My name is Leo, and I'm the captain of the Tontatta Tribe."
Leo wore an innocent smile, jumped down from the tree trunk with incredible speed to Sage's feet, looked up at him, and said with a smile,
"White-haired great race, if you're good people, please give me your weapon."
The other little people descended in succession, gathering around the rest of the crew, similarly extending their hands with smiles.
"Weapon?"
Lily slightly furrowed her brows, looking at one of the little people below, "Why?"
"It's evidence."
That little person smiled, "To prove you're good people, either give us your weapons or your clothes."
"I don't have any weapons, and I don't want to give you my clothes, but..."
Sage extended his hand, removed a gold ring engraved with ancient patterns from his pinky, and tossed it to Leo below.
Leo caught the gold ring, which was larger than his own head, with both hands, showing a puzzled expression, "Gold? I don't want it; I only want your proof."
"That's for your little people race. For us, gold is a treasure that most humans find valuable. I'm giving you treasures as proof. As for the others... aside from that woman, their weapons can be given to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the rest of his crew tossed their weapons down.
"So it's a valuable treasure. A great race like you even gave me a treasure, how generous, a truly good person!" Leo said happily.
The other little people also received weapons one after another, cheering and becoming noticeably more affectionate in their demeanor.
Only the little person beneath Lily, looking pitifully up, with eyes full of either longing or vigilance—anyway, quite adorable.
Lily's heart softened, and she squatted down, took off the golden bracelet from her wrist, and handed it to him, "Sorry, this sword is very important to me, I can't give it to you."
"The white-haired great race said that's also very precious. You've also proven you're a good person!" That little person hugged the golden bracelet and smiled.
"Giving us such a valuable treasure... you're amazing, are you a hero? Only a hero would give treasures to others!"
Leo's eyes filled with admiration.
"Hohohoho, more like a great pirate."
Sage laughed heartily, "Take me to see your chief. I want to recruit you as pirates to farm on my future territory."
"Pirates..."
Leo's expression dimmed, but he shook his head, "The chief will definitely refuse, but we're willing to take you to our home, follow me!"
"I mean, let your chief come see me, not me go to him."
Sage grinned, "You should be able to handle such a request, right."
A little people's entrance?
It definitely wouldn't be too big, maybe in some giant tree or a burrow somewhere, and Sage disliked diving into tree holes or entering earth holes, choosing neither option.
Just waiting here would suffice.
As for whether the little people would agree or feel insulted...
"Okay!"
Leo readily agreed, leading a group of little people with their weapons into the jungle. Sage could clearly see them crawling into a tree hole beneath a giant tree.
"Are these really little people?" Lily said curiously, "They seem quite innocent..."
"Easy to trust others."
Sage said, "It's both a flaw and a merit. The merit is that when I talk to them, I can express what I want directly. The flaw is that they're very easy to deceive. Because of this, they need a straightforward approach, no concealment."
Conveniently, he was not someone who enjoyed concealing either.
Doing what needs to be done, it's not about philosophically dissecting life, so why bother hiding other matters.
Soon, an elderly little person with white hair and a long beard was surrounded and emerged from the tree hole by Leo and others, followed by more little people.
Apart from their uniform tails, the little people's appearances varied; some looked like beetles, some like bees, while others, like Leo, kept a humanoid form.
"Hello, white-haired great race, I'm Gancho, chief of the Tontatta Tribe. Leo told me you're the first great race to prove themselves as good people to us, that's great!"
Gancho said, "I heard your request, but we, the Tontatta Tribe, cannot agree right now. For nine hundred years, we've had revenge against the Donquixote Family of Dressrosa. The current king is from the Donquixote Family, and our primary goal is to overthrow him!"
"And to rescue Princess Mansherry along with our five hundred compatriots who are imprisoned!" Leo declared with conviction.
"That has nothing to do with me."
Sage glanced over at this dense group of little creatures and said, "My goal is simply to recruit a group of people to cultivate my land... Is there no one among you who wants to go out to sea? I've shown my sincerity; you should show yours too!"
"Sail with me, go to new places, start a new life. As long as you follow me, pledge allegiance to me, I guarantee you'll never be deceived again; no one will dare to capture your kin again."
"Once you reach my territory, it'll be up to you what crops to cultivate. All my wealth and luxury will be shared with you, allowing you to live better and safer than anyone else!"
Sage spread his hands, "Besides you, there's the Giant Race, Fishman Race, whatever long arms, legs, necks, as long as they're willing to come, I treat everyone equally, guaranteeing you can move freely instead of living underground as some mythical legend!"
"Well, we live quite well. If it's planting, you're a good person; we're willing to help you," Gancho said.
"I seek dominion, not assistance..."
Sage said a sentence, pondered for a moment, sighed, and removed his cloak, "Forget it, you're also quite stubborn. If the soft approach fails, let's resort to the hard one. I'm not a person who likes to deceive."
Little people, once determined, can't be easily swayed. They're resolute to oppose Doflamingo and unwilling to join him—seems persuasion is futile.
Sage wasn't someone who would speak kindly to persuade.
"I've given you face, quite a bit indeed. I want you, but you're too unappreciative..."
The Tontatta Tribe is a branch of the little people race, known for extremely advanced agriculture, claiming there's nothing in the world they can't cultivate.
Sage felt it would be too wasteful not to take this tribe away.
He disliked deceiving. Of course, he could pretend to be a hero, deceive these little people into being his subordinates, even let generations of them live in a deception...
Just as well, the chief brought quite a few this time...
"Then let's snatch them!"
A pirate's specialty isn't deception; it's robbery!
Buzz!
His pupils erupted in crimson red; a black and red torrent emerged around him, shaking the little people race.
"Run quickly!"
The little people weren't devoid of those with strong will. Leo was quite a good one; when Sage donned his cloak, his entire body trembled, instinctively drawing his long needle, just about to attack.
But the sudden Supreme King aura made his body limp, instinctively dodging to the side.
Those who could withstand the Supreme King, after Leo's shout, also fled in all directions, but more little people were overwhelmed and fainted by the impact of the Supreme King.
Sage's lips curled, "No matter how you flee, you can't escape my enlarged cloak..."
The furry cloak in his hand suddenly expanded several times, covering over those little people who had collapsed. With a tug, the cloak became a huge bundle.
"All set!"
Sage slung the bundle over his shoulder, laughed heartily, "Let's head back, boys!"