I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 343 Another Meeting

“Ruf,”

"Here comes the Devil Fruit salad platter."

On the autonomous ground effect vehicle, the blond chef placed a fruit platter in front of his captain.

"I do not want--"

Faced with delicious food, the one-armed boy tilted his head away.

"Don't be childish, give it to me!"

After getting to know each other better, the female navigator, who showed "no respect" for her own captain, started rolling up her sleeves, ready to pick up the plate and stuff it into her mouth.

"Luffy, I know you don't want to eat alone, but:"

Zorro, who was sitting on the sofa next to him with his arms crossed and eyes closed, raised his eyelids.

"You are our captain."

"Although it's hard to say, your strength is already far above ours."

Back when they first met, their strengths were roughly equal; but now Luffy has begun to fight against a Demon-level powerhouse: even if it was just an 'illusion' and he wasn't going all out.

But for them, even getting close to that battlefield would be extremely dangerous.

Regardless of the reasons, that's the truth.

"So this is what you deserve."

These are 'artificial Devil Fruits' that they traded from Roman, and they are given priority to Luffy to eat.

It was obvious that Luffy didn't want to enjoy it alone, which made the atmosphere awkward.

"Um, may I express my opinion?"

The long-nosed sniper raised his hand and, under everyone's gaze, made his suggestion.

"Luffy, you eat first."

"After eating it, write a 500-word review of your experience."

what? !

In an instant, the one-armed boy, who had just been tilting his head and sulking, was shocked and broke down on the spot.

"Five hundred words?"

What a joke!
Does he look like someone who can write so much?
From a young age, he practiced martial arts, trained his body with his father, and learned shooting. After the arrival of the extraordinary era, he formed a militia to protect the people during their evacuation. Now, he fights against the Nine-Tailed Fox's forces every day. Given all this experience, how could he possibly write a 500-word reflection?

"You're bullying disabled people!"

The boy, who only had one hand, immediately objected and slammed his fist on the table.

"Wait, wait, Luffy."

"Pick up the fish tank on the table so as not to startle the 'King of the Nearshore' that is sleeping inside," the long-nosed sniper explained.

"Everyone, have you ever thought about this question?"

"This kind of 'artificial Devil Fruit' must have an upper limit on consumption, right?"

?

"Tell me in detail,"

The others were taken aback, and even Zorro opened his eyes wide.

"Think about it, if there were no limit to the consumption of artificial Devil Fruits, wouldn't the Cervantes family just keep eating them and become extraordinary masters?"

However, the reality is that while the members of the Cervantes family are indeed above average compared to other factions, and the patriarch Roman is even one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, his strength isn't significantly different from the others. In fact, it could be said that he's considerably weaker than the strongest, Luffy and Teach.

Among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, there are also differences in strength.

"yes,"

The navigator girl snapped out of her daze.
"These artificial Devil Fruits definitely have an upper limit!"

"Eating a certain amount each day will stop the effects, or your strength will reach a certain level and you won't be able to improve further."

"Quickly—eat it for me right now, then tell us how it feels!"

He picked up the plate and poured it directly into his captain's mouth.

"Waaaaah, no~~"

"Chew, chew, it's delicious!"

Luffy swallowed the 'artificial Devil Fruit' that was shoved directly into his mouth, then closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.

"I can feel my physique being strengthened, but it's much weaker."

"Well, if a normal Devil Fruit is worth 10, then an artificial Devil Fruit is only worth around 3."

"Very well, continue."

The navigator girl tilted her head in acknowledgment, and the blonde chef turned and went to the kitchen to prepare the second dish.

"Let's test it out and see how much we need to consume before the effect diminishes."

As for being eaten up by Luffy?

Then let's finish eating!

Anyway, the adventuring group acquired these artificial Devil Fruits to feed the captain.

Only Luffy could withstand the powerful enemy, the Nine-Tails' forces.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

at the same time,

The southern islands of the Philippines are shrouded in a super fog covering an area of ​​100,000 square kilometers.

It is said that this fog was formed by a cursed 'artifact', impervious to wind and rain, and unharmed by water and fire; even a 'gap' formed by a nuclear explosion would only last for a dozen seconds before being covered again.

That's right, this place has been hit by a nuclear bomb, and a high-powered strategic nuclear weapon at that.

However, it was of no use.

The super fog covering 100,000 square kilometers would be a headache even for the Ivan the Great. You can't expect to blast the southern part of the Philippines into the sea with nuclear weapons, can you?

It's impossible. Nuclear weapons would be lucky to scrape a layer of ground; bombing the world's 14th largest island is something we'll have to wait until we develop some kind of cutting-edge technology like a 'continental shelf vibrator'.

Above a city shrouded in mist, a super 'Bibmon' hundreds of meters long floats in the air.

He—no, she—had numerous hexagonal holes in her body, from which countless demons crawled in and out: many demons flew into them, clutching various severed limbs and corpses; and even more new demons emerged and scattered in all directions.

That's right, this is a 'mother'!
Or rather, this is the true demon: those that usually exist are all her offspring.

If the Mother is eliminated, the number of demons will be curbed; but it is clear that in this vast fog, there is no technology that can locate the Mother's existence.

As for individual reconnaissance?

Stop it!
Even Ōtakemaru was unwilling to step into the fog.

Even the young master of the Sea Kingdom would likely suffer a loss if surrounded by six powerful demons.

Above this enormous 'Demon Mother', giant bone spikes grow and intertwine to form a 'palace'; inside the palace, a meeting of the great demons is also taking place.

"The Sea Kingdom is using the 'Mist-Dispelling Pearl' to pave the way," and "is constantly encroaching on the coverage area of ​​the 'Heavenly Wave Arrow,' intending to drive us out of this region,"

The great Onmyoji 'Blood Hakama' spoke first. Around the round table made of chitinous exoskeleton sat several great demons belonging to the Nine-Tailed Fox's faction.

The "Eye of God" Hyuga Toneri, the strongest "Martial Arts Master" Guren, the great Onmyoji "Blood Hakama", Tamamo-no-Mae's maid "Kamimai", and the human Takahashi Eileen.

As for the other great demons: 'Hōyā' is the mist that covers the entire island, the sea serpent roams in the depths of the sea, and the pseudo-dazzling guards on the outside.

These three great demons weren't very intelligent to begin with, and they couldn't even speak; their presence at a meeting to discuss such matters would be pointless.

"Our original plan was to move south to collect souls, but now—"

However, they were ambushed.

Faced with multiple powerful demons, technological weapons are simply no match.

After all, these powerful demons are very familiar with modern weapons, and they wouldn't be foolish enough to take a nuclear bomb in their face.

"Hmph, the opponent only has one powerful demon, and they can't even defeat him?"

The 'Sheren,' dressed in white with white hair, white skin, and white eyes, spoke coldly, his words carrying an air of superiority.

"Hehehe, you don't need to be too harsh on them~~"

Like a giant black lion, 'Gu Lian' squatted on its seat, licked its paws, and glanced at Blood Hakama and Takahashi Eileen.

"After all, they're just two amateur demons."

"you--"

'Blood-Clad' suddenly turned his head, and on the curtain covering his face, the dark character 'Three' appeared thick and vivid.

"Calm down, everyone. Now is not the time for infighting."

A paper dancer waving a small folding fan stepped forward.
“Ootakemaru is watching us like a hawk, and that old guy Kaiming is assisting us from the side.”

"Sheren, Honglian, and Weixuan must remain on guard."

The remaining sea serpents have no intelligence; they're good at bullying weaker opponents, but expecting them to fight against experts is unrealistic. Sea serpents are so large that they are clearly designed to destroy the environment, and they have no advantage whatsoever against small, highly mobile superhumans.

On the contrary, it is easy to be fully charged, resulting in various large-scale spell damage.

"Then how about I take charge of the southern offensive?"

Paper Dance volunteered, but there was really no one else left, unless the Nine-Tails' forces continued to revive the other tails.

However, the reality is that not enough souls have been collected.

"you?"

Honglian glanced at Zhiwu, her eyes filled with thunder and disbelief.

After all, 'Paper Dance' is not exactly a diligent being, otherwise, with the large number of magical artifacts and powerful demons in her possession, she wouldn't be in such a passive situation.

"Hehehe~~ Don't worry, even without brute force, I have many ways to defeat the enemy."

She danced with a paper fan covering her face, laughing and talking amiably.

It seems they have everything under control?

This made Takahashi Eileen, who was holding the cat 'Mitsuko', tilt her head.

Forget it, what do these things have to do with her anyway? She just needs to listen to Sister Paper Dance.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Queen Anne's Revenge
Captain's cabin.

"The banquet is over, great hero?"

As Teach pushed open the door, a haughty, mocking, childish voice rang out.

"Hehe, it's just a boring social engagement."

The giant-like pirate captain casually sat cross-legged, facing the little girl sitting on the throne.

"Lord Jiukong, was my performance in this operation satisfactory?"

"It's just average,"

The little girl sitting on the throne rested her chin on one hand, tilting her head to sized up the ambitious man before her.

"So, what reward do you want from me?"

"It's not a reward, it's cooperation."

Sitting cross-legged, Teach looked serious, his usual laughter and feigned flattery gone, revealing his ambitious true colors.

“I have a plan,”

"If the plan succeeds, I will become a Demon-level powerhouse!"

?

Upon hearing Teach's words, Jiu Kong Yao Ai couldn't help but sit up straight.

"Tell me about it,"

Ghost level

That is, a great demon.

Only those at this level can be considered truly powerful, possessing the strength to disregard modern armies; their ability to sabotage or assassinate is something no nation can withstand.

Only those at the Ghost level can put their will into practice in this extraordinary era.

Kafka single-handedly reversed the image of the island nation's army as weak and ineffective.

Master Zhixiong founded a school of thought and preached the Dharma.

Yura is the signature item of the Kasaiin family;
As for Yu, he has already transcended the level of Demon, and is the reason why the island nation can still exist.

There are only a handful of Dragon-level beings, maybe three or four. Among them is Abe no Seimei, Jiu Kong Yao Ai's 'enemy' and former 'mentor'.

To seek revenge against Seimei, one would need at least Demon-level strength; otherwise, a single Onmyojutsu would be enough to not even save one's life, let alone talk about 'revenge' or other such wishful thinking.

"This plan is bold, and also dangerous."

"The success rate is infinitely close to zero!"

After hearing Teach's plan, Jiu Kong Yao Ai's face turned serious.

"But it's not zero, right?"

The little giant sitting opposite her grinned.

"Then it's worth the gamble, hahaha~~"

"good,"

Seeing how bold the other party was, the little girl Jiu Kong Yao Ai also became interested.

"Then I'll help you this once, my collaborator."

"First, we want you to become a 'hero' of this sea area."

(End of this chapter)