Traveler in the Pirate World

Unlike Chopper, the devil fruit used by Black Panther is an extremely common animal-type, cat-cat fruit, black cat form. In addition to the basic increases in physical fitness, recovery, and endurance, it also gives it a double increase in the original biological characteristics of cats.

As one of the most perfectly evolved terrestrial animals in nature, with this level of increase, it is no surprise that the black panther has become the overlord of this forest.

But at this moment, it has already thrown aside its burden of being a king and is carefully tasting the food in front of it.

Lab was rejoicing in the lake, and although he looked small, the crocodiles lurking in the water had no intention of provoking him.

Of course, this is not simply because Lab has an aura that makes them afraid, but also because of themselves.

People who are familiar with them call them spotted crocodiles, not only because there is a long and narrow pattern composed of countless white spots on their dark green carapace, but also because they are indeed not big in size and have low combat effectiveness.

The spotted crocodile is often kept as a pet by some nobles. Any slightly larger fish in the pond can slap this little guy with its tail, which shows its status as the shame of crocodiles.

Lily reached out and gently stroked the black panther's head. The soft fur was delicate and smooth, which felt completely different from Lab's smooth skin. Petting a cat was really a temptation that was hard to resist, especially a harmless big cat.

……

In the afternoon, after Rui spent several hours dealing with the corpses and furs of the beasts, thunderclouds began to surge in the sky again. Looking at the rapidly receding beach, he felt a sense of uneasiness in his heart.

This forced him to abandon the simple tent he had just built to dry the meat, and use vines to roll up a pile of supplies and dried animal meat collected from the broken ship, and return to the valley along the stone wall.

A huge storm was pouring down from the horizon, and huge waves were coming with the wind, one after another. Rui clung to the straight cliff, and the vines pulled his body up little by little. He looked at the rushing waves, and in awe, he couldn't help but sigh at the power of nature.

Sitting on the top of the mountain, watching countless shipwrecks being ruthlessly hit on the cliffs by huge waves, and after being scattered into countless wood chips, they were carried into the deep sea by the waves, sleeping forever under the sea until they turned into mud and sand on the seabed.

The strong wind blew on his thin body, and the sound of his clothes swaying was like a whip lashing the air, and the moisture once again wet the clothes that had just been dried not long ago.

He was surprised to find that above the huge waves, there was an exquisite little boat as small as white jade. No matter how windy or rainy it was, it was like a part of the waves. Although it sailed with the waves, it never sank or went away.

Rui instinctively thought, "Maybe I can leave on this ship," but the next moment he suppressed this desire.

Even though he was no longer the aspiring person he once was, there were still some things he couldn't do or learn, and that was obviously the girl's boat.

Lily looked back at the stormy sky, and at the figure sitting alone on the top of the mountain. Testing human nature is never advisable, but there are always some people who are not afraid of tests, and Rui is one of them.

The middle-aged man sat alone on the top of the mountain. The huge waves crashed into the rocks at his feet and shattered into steam waves. He calmly took out an unopened bottle of wine from a string of bags hanging around his waist. He found it in the shipwreck.

The cork was opened with a "pop", and the strong smell of wine was dispersed by the strong wind. Rui tilted his head back to take a sip, and felt a burning sensation on the tip of his tongue and throat. He couldn't help coughing. He was not good at drinking.

Looking back on his life while drunk, Rui's eyes no longer had the initial anger and hatred. He just had an indifferent and calm look on his face, like watching the sea rise and fall in the huge waves, and being content with the wind and rain.

More than 40 years ago, Rui was born in Gordon, a wealthy kingdom in the South China Sea. However, compared to the Kingdom of Gordon, people prefer to call it the Capital of Flowers, the City of Perfumes, or the Garden of the South China Sea.

Compared with ordinary civilians, Rui's birth was considered lucky. Although his father was not as great as those real nobles, he inherited the title of baron thanks to his ancestors' influence, so at least he had no worries about food and clothing.

Flowers bloom all over the country, filling the country with fragrance. The Gordon Kingdom is famous for its flowers, and most of the land in the country is used to grow various flowers and plants, which is also one of its main sources of income.

Most of its domestic production is also related to flowers, such as mounting paintings with dried flowers, coloring fabrics with flowers and plants, making perfumes, etc. It is well-known in this planet.

Like most nobles who own real estate, Rui's family land is mostly used to grow flowers. A two-story attic standing in the sea of ​​flowers contains the happiest and most painful past of Rui's life.

Since he was twelve years old, the weather has been extremely cold, and the Gordon Kingdom has been covered in snow and wind for several years, as if it had turned into a winter island.

Countless flowers died that year; even those that were extremely cold-resistant could not survive for long. The family suddenly became financially strapped.

Food prices began to rise wildly, and those merchants from overseas who resold food and purchased flower products seemed to have become monsters sucking blood from everyone, trying to drain everything from this country.

There were no more brilliant purples and whites in the capital of flowers; snow-white became the only color here. The biting cold wind brought death, and even a small noble like Rui was not spared.

It was equally cold inside and outside the icy little building. The Rui family, who had survived until the third year relying on surplus food and most of the family's finances, finally met their end.

My originally sturdy father now became thin and withered, with sallow skin that looked like dry bark wrapped around atrophied muscles, like a bundle of dry firewood. Hunger made his eyes unconsciously become somewhat frightening and predatory, but his only source of reason suppressed his restless instincts.

The mother lay weakly at the head of the bed, her stomach filled with a large amount of "food" that was difficult to digest or even indigestible, forming a sharp contrast with her thin limbs.

The originally beautiful face has become extremely thin, her eye sockets are sunken and lifeless, and her fair and delicate skin has now become wrinkled yellow paper.

But he was the only one who was different. Although his face was also a little sallow and his body was also a little thin, he had never felt real hunger at that time.

At night, my mother no longer wailed because of the bloating and pain in her abdomen. The bark and soil that she used to eat to fill her stomach when she was extremely hungry always tortured her all the time. Her weak wailing was like her breathing and she couldn't stop.

The father wrapped Rui in a coat that used to be a servant's coat, and they walked around most of the crowd and headed towards the beach, but Rui still saw the hell on earth.

The sky and earth were all white, and bones were everywhere under the eaves and on the street corners. Ruined houses were everywhere, and most of the things that could be burned were burned by people. A little dry firewood was enough for some people who were about to freeze to death to fight for their lives.

Rui saw many people like his mother. They also had big bellies, but their limbs were as thin as dry bones. Some had died in the wind and snow, while others were still gnawing on the snow and soil.

This would make them very painful, but hunger made them even more desperate.

People seemed to have turned into wild beasts. They were unwilling to even let go of the corpses of their own kind. That short journey became Rui's eternal nightmare. What a desperate world it was.

It's not that no one tried to attack them, but the long sword hanging from their father's waist made them afraid. They also tried to attack this thin man a few days ago, but those unlucky people who had already eaten them had already demonstrated to them.

Wait, until he can no longer swing the sword.

After arriving at the beach and walking a hundred meters around a huge reef, my father lifted the linen covered by the snow, revealing a small boat.

Without giving Rui any time to resist or struggle, he stuffed a bag of food into his arms, walked through the cold water, and sent him to the sea.

"Save your life...stay alive!" The voice that seemed to come from a broken bellows was the last time Rui heard his father's voice in his memory.