One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me

Chapter 357 Amigasa Village, Ace Appears

The country of Wan, Jiuli.

This region, located at the westernmost part of Wano Country, is almost one of the most isolated areas in the entire country.

Therefore, it was often associated with "chaos" and "crime" in its early years.

Of course, after the previous daimyo of Kuri governed the area, it once prospered.

However, after that Ming dynasty was killed by Kaido by boiling in a cauldron, his "Oden Castle," which symbolized him, was also burned to the ground.

The entire Jiuli region was plunged into despair once again.

The filthy water discharged from weapons manufacturing plants, the ruins of villages everywhere, and the emaciated people—this is the most common scene in Jiuli today.

Meanwhile, outside the bamboo forest on the southernmost coast of Jiuli.

"Uncle Aaron, you got a lot of food this time—why aren't you happy?"

A huge, solitary dog ​​had large and small wooden frames hanging on its body.

Inside the wooden frame were some food items—of course, not much meat or fresh fruit, which would be an absolute luxury for Wano Country at this time. The frame contained only bran, wild vegetables that looked stale, and a very small amount of white rice.

But for some people, this food alone is an unimaginable happiness.

For example, the little girl who is excitedly raising her hand right now.

She wore a patched kimono, had a round, doll-like face, purple hair, and a simple little flower hairpin in her hair. She looked somewhat malnourished.

But at this moment, she looked at the bamboo forest in front of her with great energy and a very happy expression.

"If we bring the food back, everyone in Amigasa Village will be able to have enough to eat again soon!"

"Xiaoyu even traded her hand-woven straw hat for rice for Ace and the others!"

"Yes, Xiaoyu."

Upon hearing her words, the middle-aged samurai "Yamazaki Takashi," who was riding alongside her on the giant lap dog, also smiled.

But there was a hint of forcedness in his smile.

Yes.

He and a girl named Xiaoyu were villagers from "Bianli Village" in this bamboo forest.

This time, they left the village and went to the nearest "temporary market" to exchange the straw hats woven by the villagers for food.

Everything was going smoothly at first, and he should have been happy.

However, Long couldn't be happy.

He learned some information during this market transaction.

"The Hundred Beasts have appointed a new regional overseer for Jiuli, the 'Beast Disaster' banner..."

He felt somewhat gloomy.

It's important to know that the Beasts Pirates' administrator in Kuri was originally Jack the Drought, one of the Three Disasters, who suppressed Kuri with violence and slaughter. Therefore, after Jack the Drought's unexpected death overseas, the oppressive policies in Kuri were somewhat relieved.

The market he and Xiaoyu visited this time was a "Black Market" that was secretly established by the local people themselves while Jack was away and the members of the Beast Pirates in the Kuri region were relatively disorganized.

But today, he heard that the Beasts Pirates have established three new All-Stars.

The "Beast Disaster" card has already reached the Kuri region.

He even heard that after arriving in Kuri, this "Beast Disaster" had already left Boro Town with several members of the True Fighting Team, seemingly to lead a team to patrol the Kuri area like "Jack".

This made Long very worried.

He had heard of this "Beast Catastrophe" to some extent; he was a friend of Kaido and a villain known for his violence.

And most importantly, there are now "outsiders" in their village.

Those were also pirates from overseas who provided them with a lot of food and help. They were benefactors of Amigasa Village, but also enemies of Hanazawa. They came to Wano Country specifically to seek revenge on Hanazawa!

"Once Ace finds out, he'll definitely seek revenge on Hanazono. At that time..."

His expression was full of worry.

Because he understood very well that once things reached that point, Amigasa Village would inevitably perish.

However, Ace's kindness to them also made it impossible for him to ask them to give up their revenge.

To be even more precise—as a samurai, he also had a responsibility to repay Ace's kindness.

"The only thing we can do is to inform Lord Fei Che before things are exposed, so that he can lead everyone away from the village."

"Then we samurai, together with Ace, will punish that villain!"

As Long was thinking this, he suddenly heard Xiaoyu's voice beside him: "Hey? Uncle Long, look... it seems like there are guests." Guests?

Upon hearing this, Long was taken aback and subconsciously looked in the direction Xiaoyu was pointing.

Then, his expression suddenly changed drastically.

Because he had already seen that there were indeed several outsiders outside the bamboo forest not far away.

They rode on strange beasts—such as enormous dinosaurs, elk far exceeding normal size, or tusked yak. ​​Each of them looked extremely strong, and the few at the front carried a banner depicting a giant dinosaur. In their center stood a burly, tall man wearing a helmet.

"It's the Beasts Pirates' true fighter, and also... the 'Beast Disaster' Flower Slip!"

Having only recently heard of their existence in the market, Long immediately recognized those figures.

Those guarding the perimeter are the core members of the Beasts Pirates in the Kuri region, namely the "True Fighters".

And standing in the center of their throng was none other than the newly appointed one of the Three Calamities.

"Is it the 'comprehensive patrol' that everyone in the market is talking about?"

"No... if it were an inspection, there's no reason for them to come directly to the village."

Therefore, at this moment, Long's heart had sunk to the bottom.

He had realized that something was wrong.

The real fighters and Hanazawa himself who appeared here are practically the strongest fighters in the entire Beasts Pirates in Kuri.

And they clearly weren't there for a full-area patrol—their target was obvious: this bamboo forest, specifically the village of Bianli within it. So, the only answer Long could think of was...

"Ace, their presence has been exposed!?"

That pirate from overseas must have been exposed, which is why the Beasts came knocking on our door.

"hateful!"

So, Long gritted his teeth.

He stood up from the dog, drew his nodachi from his waist, and looked at Tama: "Tama, you and Chiyo go back to the village immediately and tell everyone to evacuate—especially Ace, tell him to escape as far away as possible. I'll go stop those guys!"

He said this through gritted teeth.

"Huh!?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyu, who had never encountered anything like this before, instantly filled her eyes with tears.

"But...but..."

Even though she was only five years old, she could still see through Long's expression.

It was an expression of instinctive fear and resolute determination, the expression of someone about to face death.

She had seen that expression many times—every time someone from the village was conscripted into the weapons factory.

"Listen to me, go now!"

At that moment, Ryu let out a low shout and prepared to leap off Chiyo.

But long before that.

"Yao, this is an unexpected discovery!"

He then heard a malicious voice coming from not far away.

He turned his head and then noticed that one of the real fighters had obviously noticed them at some point.

"How is this possible? At this distance, how could..."

Long naturally found it unbelievable that the other party could find him from such a distance.

But only a moment later, he knew the answer.

It was only then that he noticed that the helmeted fighter's ears were noticeably long and covered with short, fuzzy hair.

If you look closely, you'll also notice that the mouth of this real fighter clearly resembles the shape of rabbit teeth.

[Zoan Type - Rabbit Fruit - Lop-eared Rabbit Form]

"A sorcerer... no... according to Ace, a power user!?"

Upon seeing this, Long naturally understood.

"Sorcerer"—this is what the people of Wano Country call Devil Fruit users.

After getting to know Ace, through Ace's explanation, they naturally learned the name of these monsters who mastered magic overseas—"ability users".

And not just this one.

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

At this moment, all the real fighters guarding around Hua Zha began to change.

Their expressions all began to show the physical transformations of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users—some grew fangs, others sprouted claws. "They're trying to escape; there's definitely something wrong—Master Hanazawa is truly a genius; it really looks like there are intruders here."

"Hey! Leave it to me, okay? I haven't adjusted to my new power yet!"

"Who would give it to you? Everyone here has just acquired this 'power,' and we all want to show it off!"

"Whoever grabs it first keeps it!"

With a low growl, they pounced on Xiaoyu and Long, their figures whistling through the air.

Very strong, you'll die!

Just by observing their superhuman speed, Ryu could already make a clear judgment: as a samurai who hadn't mastered Haki and was merely protecting the village, he was no match for any of these real fighters. If they clashed, he would surely die.

But

"Xiaoyu, run!"

With that low growl, he had already drawn his knife.

Being no match for someone is one thing, but fighting with all your might is another!

As soon as he finished speaking, he bent his knees and leaped towards the real fighters.

"Abandon fame and wisdom!"

He uttered the samurai's rallying cry, a symbol of resolve, and swung his sword at the fastest charging warrior in front of him—judging from the opponent's claws, markings, and astonishing speed, the opponent appeared to have consumed some kind of feline Devil Fruit. "Clang!"

The next moment, his claws collided with Ryu's nodachi, sparks flying in the air.

The enormous difference in strength sent Ryu flying instantly, his nodachi also being knocked away.

"Hmm? This sword... the forging is quite good. Yesterday, when we tested it, normal weapons clearly couldn't withstand my 'claws'." The real fighter looked at the nodachi, which had been knocked away but was not damaged, and clicked his tongue in amazement.

"pity."

He looked down at Long, whose mouth was now bleeding.

"The guy wielding the knife isn't very good."

With that assessment, he grinned maliciously and raised his claws again: "Die, trash."

"Uncle Aaron!"

Upon seeing this, Xiaoyu, who was still in shock, screamed.

And it is at this very moment.

"Um?"

The fighter who had raised his claws suddenly uttered a questioning sound.

At that moment, he suddenly felt inexplicably hot around him—and his enhanced senses, acquired after consuming the fruit and belonging to the Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, allowed him to perceive the light appearing beside him.

"bake!"

The next moment, a burning sensation came from his raised wrist.

"what!"

The searing sensation of the flames instantly caused Shinta to let out a painful growl.

"Oh, I can't agree with that."

In the corner of his eye as he instinctively turned his head slightly, he was startled to see a figure that had appeared beside him at some point.

"The weapons forged by Mr. Feiche, even if they are just casually forged swords, are indeed rare and excellent swords."

One of his hands was casually resting on his orange hat, and flames were gradually gathering on his bare upper body.

That was none other than the supernova "Fire Fist" Ace, who had recently disappeared from the seas!

"However... Mr. Aaron is not someone you can insult."

"Over the years, he has risked his life to kill many wild beasts and bandits to protect the village."

A slight smile played on his lips: "You...trash."

As soon as the words were spoken, flames instantly engulfed Zhen Da completely.

In just a moment, even with the powerful physique of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, his body was burned to a crisp.

"Bang!"

Ace casually tossed his body away.

"Ace!"

Upon seeing this scene, Xiaoyu couldn't hold back her tears.

"Tama, you and Pachiyo take Mr. Aron back to the village first—Dous and the others are organizing the villagers to evacuate; they will protect you." At this moment, Ace also helped up Ryu, who was still vomiting blood, and threw him onto Pachiyo's huge body.

"Mistake? Then...and what about you!"

Xiaoyu, who had been made to make similar requests twice in such a short period of time, sniffed after hearing this.

"I?"

Upon hearing this, Ace chuckled softly.

But in his usually gentle and warm eyes, there was an unusual, distinct, and chilling coldness.

"Although it was a surprise to me, it took me a long time to find him."

His gaze fell upon the figures behind the real fighters.

"A note."

That was the reason he came to Wano Country; it was his mortal enemy whom he had been chasing all the way here.

Although Ace didn't know why the other party had suddenly appeared here, there was no doubt.

"You can't escape—let's end it all here today."

He said in a deep voice.

Facing Ace, who was engulfed in flames, Hua Zha remained silent for a moment before softly saying, "I never intended to escape. I came here specifically for you."