One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

"Are you the leader of this island? You look a little different than I imagined..."

In the largest clinic in Wika Village, a faint ray of sunlight shone through the window onto the spotless white walls, creating bright shadows between the floor and the bed. A tall man wrapped in bandages lay on the bed, squinting his eyes and looking down at Pan, who had rushed to the scene after receiving the news. His tightly bandaged fingers tapped the natural wood table beside him irregularly, making a series of chaotic and dull sounds. Each tap seemed to disturb the long-lasting tranquil atmosphere of the entire room, and also seemed to be telling of his inner dissatisfaction.

The man had high cheekbones and sunken eye sockets. Even the tight bandages could not hide his skinny body, and it seemed that a gust of wind could blow him down. Although he wore a round hat inlaid with gems on his head and a pair of valuable gold bracelets on his wrists, like a wealthy businessman with a prosperous business, his temperament and expression could not be described as a demon who had just escaped from the depths of hell.

"I'm sorry that I didn't notice your misfortune the first time, Mr. Pecuña."

Facing this man who was still arrogant and domineering even after receiving timely treatment, Pan still bowed slightly to him with the etiquette of treating an important guest, walked forward and stretched out his right hand towards him, and said calmly, "As you can see, I am Celtic Pan, the 46th village chief of Wicca Village. You are the second visitor who has the honor to arrive here in hundreds of years. If you don't feel disgusted, you might as well recover from your injuries here..."

"Come on, I don't have time to joke with you."

The man named Pecunia roughly shook off Pan's right hand and interrupted him impatiently. The innate contempt and arrogance in his eyes were clearly revealed at this moment, as if it was a matter of course that someone saved his life. "I feel uncomfortable staying with you horned monsters for even a second. If I hadn't wanted to avoid the surveillance of those bastard navy, I wouldn't have run to this kind of hellhole... Ouch! It hurts!"

Because he spoke too fast, his wound was affected and he grimaced in pain. His face was trying hard to hold back the pain but couldn't hide the exaggerated and distorted expression, making him look as funny as a comedian performing on stage.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Stop laughing! How can you behave in front of the guests!" The occasional bursts of laughter coming from behind made Pan turn around abruptly and shout loudly to the followers who followed him, but his voice did not have any sense of majesty at all.

One of the fat followers covered his mouth with both hands, and finally suppressed the urge to laugh. He glanced at the face of the tribe leader secretly: "But...but tribe leader, didn't you laugh very hard too?"

"Is...is that so?"

Pan was slightly stunned when he heard this. He took out a portable mirror from his coat pocket and looked at the face with a smile on its face. He immediately cleared his throat, straightened his back, and tried to put on a serious look. However, he didn't expect that the more he tried, the more the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, causing people to laugh again.

——What on earth is going on with these guys? !

For a moment, Pecunia felt that he had been greatly insulted. The veins on his forehead suddenly bulged, and his whole body trembled at a amplitude visible to the naked eye, as if he might have an attack at any time.

But soon, his expression gradually eased, and he forced a smile on his face: "Since you are so polite, it's not impossible for me to stay on this island for a few days. But you have to promise to help me leave this doldrums smoothly, because I have to rush to complete some big deals."

——Damn it! What’s wrong with your brain? This is the territory of the Wicca tribe! I heard that this group of people usually kill people without blinking an eye, and even dare to eat sea kings alive! If you rashly offend them, you will die in the end!

Pan turned his attention back to Pecunia, and seeing that he was restless and terrified, he thought that he was worried that his injuries would not heal in a short time, so he patted his shoulder and comforted him earnestly, "Fortunately, you are not seriously injured. According to your current condition, you can move around freely within three days and recover completely within two weeks. This period of time is enough for us to build a ship that can avoid detection by sea kings, so you can rest assured!"

Perhaps Pan forgot to control his strength under his hospitality. When that big hand as big as a palm leaf fan pressed on Pecunia's shoulder, it was like an electric current running through his spine. The pain made him twitch all over. Layers of fine cold sweat oozed out of his body. The smile on his face changed from reluctant to awkward. "Really? Then thank you for taking care of me. As a thank you, I will give you half of my gold."

"Um... Mr. Pecuña..."

The patrol member who had gone to the meeting to report the situation earlier kept rubbing his index fingers together, opened his mouth, and after a brief hesitation, stammered, "While you were unconscious, we had... carefully inspected the wreckage of your merchant ship... Unfortunately, all the jewels that were originally placed on the ship were swept away by the waves, and nothing was left."

When Pecuña heard the news, he felt a loud buzzing in his head and sat there like a wooden man, not moving at all.

After a while, a smile appeared on his face again, but this time it was uglier than crying. Anyone who saw it would feel sorry for him: "Forget it, money is just a thing outside of the body. As long as I can save my life, I can have as much as I want in the future."

Even though he said it so nonchalantly, he still felt extremely sorry in his heart that he had gone to great lengths to buy jewels on the black market but ended up with nothing. He secretly swore that next time he would never run to such a dangerous calm sea area to avoid the pursuit of the Navy and CP, even if he was killed.

"Let's get back to the point, Mr. Pecuña. Besides coming here to comfort you about your injuries, we also need your help for something more important."

A low and solemn voice quickly brought Pecuña back to reality from his fantasies. He slowly raised his head and saw Pan's face which had become serious at some point. He couldn't help but become alert. He sat up straight and asked, "What do you want to do? If you want to know other places where I have buried gold and silver treasures, you can forget about it! It won't work even if you torture me!" As soon as he said this, he immediately regretted it and wished he could slap himself twice on the spot. He revealed almost all the details before anyone else even opened their mouth. Isn't this the kind of behavior that only a fool would do?

"What I want to say is that since you are a businessman, I will also conduct a transaction with you as a businessman."

Fortunately, Pan didn't seem to pay close attention to what he said. He just stared at the pair of vigilant eyes and said word by word, "Sell the specialties of Senuno Island to overseas markets through the channels you know. After the deal is done, I will give you 40% of the profits as a commission. It should be a good deal for you, right?"

On a tree-lined path in the forest, two children were walking along a winding road. The trees on both sides were tall and majestic, quietly watching this warm scene like guardians, and occasionally a few bird calls were heard, as if playing a beautiful accompaniment to their steps.

"I say, Uno-nii-nii."

After walking for an unknown amount of time, one of the little girls, who looked sweet, pouted her lips and glanced at her brother in protest. "Why did you stop me from saying those words at the meeting just now? In that situation, the truth about the sacred tree should be made public, right?"

"Shh! Rachel you're talking too loud!"

When the girl mentioned the word "sacred tree", Uno immediately extended his index finger and gently placed it on his lips to make a silent gesture, and kept looking around. After making sure that there was no one nearby, he let out a long sigh and explained softly to the cute face full of doubts, "Think about it, if everyone knew that the sacred tree that we have relied on for survival for many years would wither and die within a year, then everyone would inevitably fall into unprecedented chaos! In order to try their best to prevent this from happening, Mom and Dad have chosen to keep it secret since they found out about it two years ago!"

After hearing what he said, Rachel's eyes widened. She scratched the back of her head and suddenly realized, "Huh? No wonder they reminded us not to tell anyone this morning... So is this also the reason why Dad called on everyone to go out to sea?"

"Correct answer. As expected of our little Rachel, she is still as smart as she was when she was little~"

Uno stretched out his right hand and rubbed Rachel's little head, then looked up at the canopy of green treetops, and murmured as if inspired, "Perhaps the ocean is hundreds of times more vast than you and I imagined, and the resources available to us must be more abundant. If we want to solve the survival crisis on the island, the most reliable way is to establish cooperative contacts with the outside world for the time being. I think with my mother's help, things should go much more smoothly."

At this point, an uncontrollable excitement and emotion rose from Uno's heart. He slowly closed his eyes, and the thought that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time could not help but blurt out, "I heard that there are islands with many people living in the sky and the sea! I really want to go to the outside world one day..."

"Rachel, too! Rachel wants to make more friends outside!" The purple-haired girl nodded with a smile, her eyes almost narrowed into a slit, her two short horns shaking constantly with her movements, looking indescribably cute and lively.

In every child's heart, there is an endless longing and yearning for beautiful things, especially for children like Uno and Rachel who have never left their hometown, they have an irrepressible hope for a dream journey full of unknowns.

Before they knew it, they had passed through the lush forest and arrived at a vast grassland.

Looking around, the green is pure without a trace of color, as if it was carefully painted by a painter named Nature using the most colorful materials. The breeze blows gently, and the dense green grass sways like waves, making a continuous rustling sound. Groups of sheep stroll leisurely on the grass slope, sometimes lowering their heads to nibble on the tender grass under their feet, and sometimes raising their heads to neigh, as if they are enjoying the rare leisure time besides grazing. The blue sky is as clear as a mirror, and there are no clouds. A majestic eagle spreads its wings and flies high, like the king of nature, soaring gracefully over the endless grassland, leaving a smooth and beautiful arc.

“Wow~ No matter how many times I come here, I always think this place is so beautiful.”

The moment the boundless grassland appeared in her field of vision, Rachel couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, her eyes flashing with excitement, and a faint blush appeared on both sides of her cheeks, making people unable to resist the urge to pinch her face.

Fortunately, Uno was also intoxicated by this beautiful scene, so he didn't pay attention to his sister's expression at this time. He couldn't help but stand in the wind with his arms open, taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, and immediately felt refreshed.

"Before long, we may have to say goodbye to the land that nurtured us."

As he spoke, Uno lowered his head unconsciously, as if he didn't want others to notice his expression. His tone revealed a feeling of reluctance. After a while, he raised his head again, swung his right fist at the end of the grass slope that extended to the sky, his eyes were full of unquestionable determination, and he said word by word, "Next time, when we stand in this position again, it will be proof that we have traveled around the world!"

His rare voice filled with lofty ambitions kept echoing across the vast grassland. The goshawk seemed to be responding to his mood, making a high-pitched and passionate cry and circling right above him for a long time without leaving.

At this moment, another rapid and dull voice sounded from Uno's arms. He took out the noisy Den Den Mushi from his pocket and put it to his ear. As soon as the call was connected, a familiar and unconventional voice came from the other end of the microphone: "Hello! Is that Uno?! Dad has good news to tell you! Not long ago, we reached an agreement with the jeweler from overseas, Pecuña, that the island's specialties can be resold overseas through his private channels. In other words, we have taken the first step in communicating with the world!"

Time passes quietly without us noticing, and in the blink of an eye, a day has passed quickly.

It was an exceptionally quiet night, with no moon or stars. The whole village was like a sleeping baby in the twilight, everything was so beautiful, everything was so peaceful.

But beneath this tranquility, there is a kind of uneasiness that is difficult to describe in words.

In a makeshift wooden house located on the edge of the village, a terribly thin man was lying on white sheets, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

It was late at night, and even the soldiers on duty at the village entrance had been replaced countless times. However, the man still kept his eyes wide open, staring at a flickering lantern hanging from the ceiling. No sign of fatigue could be seen on his dazed face.

Pecuña always felt that he had made an unwise decision.

Indeed, he could make a huge profit from the transaction with Senuno Island, enough for him to spend for decades.

In contrast, I, who have always been regarded as a thorn in the government's side, will be hunted more closely. As a non-member state, Senuno Island will inevitably be under the government's high-pressure rule.

By then, I might even be buried along with these annoying guys. With their military strength, there is no way they can defeat the artillery shells of the Demon Slayer Order level.

"It doesn't look good no matter how I think about it, and I can't beat those guys..."

Pecuña was stroking his chin as if talking to himself, thinking about how to get through the predicament. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and a vicious smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Got it! Wait two weeks to poison them at my celebration banquet, and when they lose the power to resist, contact the navy to arrest them. By the way, sell them the giant tree that looks priceless at a high price. In this way, I can use this to atone for my sins and do business openly on the road..."

Before he could finish his words, his smile suddenly froze on his face, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he moved his gaze stiffly like a machine towards the man who had been standing in the corner and staring at him.

In the darkness, one could vaguely see that man wearing a conspicuous white robe and a cat-face mask. He looked weird in a way that was hard to describe in words, but his voice was so friendly that people couldn't help but want to hear him say a few more words.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Pecuña, I guess. I have something very important that I would like to ask you for help..."