One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 133 The Fountain of Youth and the Promised Neverland!

What is the leading cause of death each year on the Grand Line?
Pirate raids? Wars everywhere?
neither.

The correct answer is – shipwreck.

On this most dangerous waterway in the world, even seasoned sailors, navigators, and meteorologists can make misjudgments.

However, only a small number of people survive a shipwreck.

Moreover, even the very few survivors had to face a cruel reality.

That is.
They will face the ocean itself with their own flesh and blood.

That's something even more desperate than a shipwreck.

For example, this despair is unfolding on a ship floating on the sea right now.

To be precise, this so-called 'ship' is not a ship at all, but just a piece of wood.

A young man was sitting on the wooden board.

The cold sea breeze blew at night, and he shivered, wearing only a thin undershirt.

He could feel his body temperature dropping rapidly, almost causing him to lose consciousness.

Even in this situation, he still gripped a soaking wet bag tightly in his hand.

The crisp sound coming from the bag indicated that it contained money.

Indeed, when you're shipwrecked and adrift alone on the vast ocean, money should be meaningless.

But for the young man, this bag of money is the only thing he currently owns, and it is also the reason he went to sea.

"I'm probably beyond saving."

Clinging to his last shred of consciousness, the young man's mind was already beginning to cloud.

"I will die here, but my body may be found by another ship someday. I hope they see the note I left in the bag. I hope it's not pirates who find my body; they definitely won't help me."

He was lost in thought.

Although his rational mind knew that the chances of his body even encountering pirates were very slim.

His most likely fate is that, after a storm, his body will fall into the sea and be eaten by sea monsters or sink to the bottom of the deep ocean.

But this kind of desperate rationality is clearly not what he needs at this time.

He just needed some comfort and fantasized about a miracle.

"."

But the next moment, the young man's already somewhat dazed gaze clearly saw it.

There seems to be something on the distant sea.

".Boat?"

His mind was a beat slow in processing the information.

But he soon realized that the thing didn't seem to be a ship—it seemed far too big.

As the enormous creature drew closer...

The young man felt that his previously hazy consciousness seemed to instantly become more clear.

Because he saw the true nature of that enormous thing.

That is
"An island?"

He muttered to himself, but he wasn't even sure if he was certain of the idea.

Because the island that appeared before him was truly abnormal.

The island was shrouded in a thin veil of mist.

From behind the island, shards of light fell.

The glints of light seemed to merge with the starlight and moonlight falling from the sky, drifting down with the sea breeze.

This caused the island to leave a radiant glow wherever it went—as if it had pulled up starlight and draped it in a ribbon.

"A mirage? No, it's not."

"Am I about to die? Is this a death dream?"

This made the young man wonder if he was about to die—he had said that people who were about to die could see illusory, dreamlike scenes.

But after a short while, he dismissed the idea.

He knew that he wouldn't have such imagination, even in his dreams.

Especially as he got closer to the island, he inexplicably felt as if his body had come back to life—his consciousness began to clear and his thoughts became clear again.

then
"!!!"

He sat up abruptly from the wooden board.

Because by this point, he had already realized that fact.

He wasn't dreaming, nor was it a mirage—a truly incredible island appeared before him.

And now.
"."

With the sound of waves being cut open, he saw the island stop in front of him.

This allowed him to see directly its immense size and its unparalleled beauty.

The island is covered with countless trees and mountains, all of which are covered with all sorts of strange and fantastical plants.

In the center of the island lies a forest.

The trees in the forest were taller than normal, and even had a strange, translucent color.

Their leaves are not green, but rather have dazzling colors.

Every gentle breeze sends waves of light rippling across the tree canopy.

Countless tiny blue dots of light are drifting across the entire island, like the island breathing.

Deep within the forest, the young man could see a mountain standing there—atop which seemed to be a huge stone statue with a ram's head, appearing to be the island's guardian deity.

From the summit of that mountain, a dazzling stream of water, shimmering with seven colors, gushed forth, forming a massive, multicolored spring below, radiating a brilliant light in the darkness.

The trees are dancing, and the flowers are singing.

These scenes left the young man speechless.

Because at this moment
"Lost at sea".

He had already heard an ethereal voice.

He instinctively turned his head to look, and then he saw it.

Not far away, a figure was emerging from the thin mist over the island.

The young man swore that it was the most beautiful and dreamlike figure he had ever seen in his life.

Her legs were fair, she wore a beautiful skirt, and her face seemed to be covered by a strange veil that kept flowing and changing.

Strangely, even through the veil, the young man seemed to be able to see the other person's beautiful face—a constantly changing face whose specific appearance could not be described, but which possessed a unique and unchanging beauty.

A misty veil enveloped her, and she held a seven-colored lantern in her hand, accompanied by a small, dark red dog wearing a sword-shaped pendant.

And at this moment, with her appearance.

The young man could see that the edge of the huge island was beginning to change, with huge staircases beginning to form and descending towards him.

"."

The young man subconsciously stepped onto the stairs, and then...
"Buzz!"

The steps quickly retracted, and he was already standing in front of the girl.

The sweet fragrance wafted into the young man's nostrils, bringing him back to his senses.

He instinctively looked away: "You...you...here I am."

For a moment, he was almost at a loss for words.

"This is Neverland, a place where wishes come true."

The girl naturally understood what he meant: "I am 'Miss Fairy,' ordered by the island spirit to guide those who have lost their way."

Her voice seemed to tremble slightly—it seemed like she was a little shy.

But the young man clearly didn't understand.

"Fairy Princess of Neverland"

These words made him feel as if he had become part of those widely known sea legends.

But it is precisely at this moment
"For those lost souls who have finally arrived, let them warm themselves up first."

The fairy lady said this.

The next moment, the young man heard the dark red dog beside her 'howl'.

Followed by
"bake!"

He then saw clusters of flames appear out of thin air from the woods behind the dog.

Upon closer inspection, those clusters of flames seemed to have facial features and eyes, and even wore soldier-like attire.

They walked up to the young man and, amidst his gasp, leaped towards him.

"Ah! I'm getting fired up. Huh?"

The next moment, the young man saw himself begin to burn, which made him instinctively cry out in alarm.

But in the next instant, he was surprised to find...

"It's not hot at all?"

Although the flames burning on his body distorted the air, he did not feel any pain from being burned; instead, his body gradually warmed up.

"This is 'Celestial Spirit Fire'."

At that moment, he heard the fairy whisper to him, "They are the servant spirits of 'Yazi,' one of the beast masters of this dream island, and they can control their flames so as not to burn people."

"."

Upon hearing this, the young man looked again at the flames burning on his body—he even saw one of the flames seem to be reaching out to greet him.

This made him wonder again if he was dreaming—maybe the shipwreck that happened not long ago never happened, and he was still a sailor on that merchant ship, just asleep in the cabin.
But a moment later, he saw the flames leap off his body, bow to the dark red puppy, and then hop away and disappear.

Then, the young man suddenly woke up.

The next moment, he heard the fairy lady ask him a question right afterward.

"Then, you lost soul."

"Do you want to make a wish?"

Upon hearing this, the young man was momentarily stunned: "Make a wish?"

"Yes."

The fairy smiled and said, "Neverland is a 'place of wishes'—the island spirit has an agreement with the masters of the stars to give everyone who comes to the island the opportunity to make a wish."

“If a person comes to the island and voluntarily gives up something precious, the island spirit will grant their wish as appropriate.”

Upon hearing this, the young man was taken aback once again.

then
"I want food, water, and a boat. Is that alright?"

He tentatively began to speak—these three things were clearly essential for his survival at sea. But just as he finished speaking…
"Buzz!"

He then saw it from the edge of the island.

Strange clouds, interwoven with blue, gold, and white, drifted by.

Then, a translucent ship with seven colors appeared out of thin air.

On that ship, just as he had expected, there was food and water—and the food was the chickpea soup his mother made, which he missed most.

But there seemed to be blue specks of light flowing across the food and water.

"The 'Dream Ship' can exist for thirty days without being damaged by wind and rain at sea, which is enough time for you to reach the nearby islands."

Miss Fairy's tone remained gentle, as if she had become accustomed to speaking to others in this manner.

"These foods and waters have the best taste and will not spoil. Consuming them can restore your strength and vitality."

"Your wish has been fulfilled—so, are you willing to exchange something precious for it?"

As she said this, her gaze turned to the young man.

"A precious item?"

The young man instinctively clutched the bag in his hands tighter: "Does it refer to money?"

"Yes and no—gold and silver are useless to the island spirit, but they are indeed precious to the world. Therefore, the island spirit can accept gold and silver as a form of exchange, but not all of them."

The fairy smiled.

"Besides gold and silver, anything else you possess can also be used as a bargaining chip to exchange for your wishes."

"For example, your health, your life—after all, what we call a wish is something we'll do anything to achieve, isn't it?"

Something that must be achieved at all costs.

These words sent a jolt through the young man's heart.

And from his heart.

"Maybe."

An instinctive thought arose within me.

That was the reason he chose to go to sea and become a sailor in the dangerous waters of the Grand Line.

So he took a deep breath.

"If... if I could exchange it for my mother's recovery, would that wish also be granted?"

His voice trembled, revealing a clear excitement.

“She contracted a strange illness. I sought out the best doctor on a nearby island, but he said he had never seen such a disease before. Curing her illness would require a lot of money, which is why I came to the Grand Line. Sailors earn the most money here.”

"me."

This young sailor, who had never cried even when facing imminent death, now had tears in his eyes.

"I just wanted to save her."

He seemed to be too excited as he spoke.

The bag in his hand accidentally fell, revealing wrinkled, worn-out pewter bills and coins that had been stored there for who knows how long.

And above that, on the wooden board, the words the young man had recently written after biting his finger.

If anyone finds my body, I implore you to take this money to Ms. Moh on Paila Island in the South China Sea, and please keep at least two-thirds of it; it is the money she needs for medical treatment.

Please convey to her that her son, 'Leyden,' will always love her.

"."

So the fairy lady in front of him fell silent.

"So it really still doesn't work?"

Despair then rose in the heart of young Leiden.

After learning of his mother's illness, he prayed to the gods countless times, but to no avail.

However, this time is clearly different.

Because this time.

The gods answered him.

"So, Mr. Leiden—what are you willing to give up?"

He heard the fairy's reply.

She seemed to have just composed herself as she asked this question.

And obviously.

For a son who is not afraid of death and bravely heads towards the most dangerous sea.

The answer is self-evident.

"everything."

He answered firmly, “Money, health, life—Miss Fairy, you may take them all, but please leave me a little bit of my life so I can go back and see my mother.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that the fairy seemed to be stunned again.

Subsequently
She nodded.

"In that case."

As soon as he finished speaking, Leiden saw—beneath the ram-headed statue atop the distant mountain peak, a strange stream of water radiating seven-colored light surged upwards.

A drop of seven-colored water streaked across the sky, falling like a shooting star in front of the fairy.

The fairy took the drop of water, gently raised her hand, and a glass bottle appeared in the air.

She filled the container with water and looked at Leiden.

"This is the most precious treasure of Dream Island, the greatest creation of the island spirits—its name is 'Fountain of Youth,' which you may also call 'Water of Life.'"

"It can cure all diseases, reconnect severed limbs, and restore youth to the elderly."

"It can grant your wish—so, please close your eyes."

Her soft words were like a lullaby: "The island spirit will take your exchange and then grant your wish."

Upon hearing this, Leiden was naturally horrified by the effects of the "Fountain of Youth" that the "Fairy Lady" had described.

But then, without hesitation, he closed his eyes.

next moment.
"Buzz!"

Golden light shimmered from his body.

Countless golden life essences were extracted, and Raiden felt his body begin to weaken considerably.

It seems that, just as the fairy lady said, the island spirit is taking away his 'life'.

But at this moment, Leiden felt no fear.

Quite the opposite.

"Om."

A faint red glow surged from the top of his head—at this moment, what surged within him was the emotion of 'joy'.

Until a certain moment.
“Yazi, ‘Joy’ is not the dream you belong to. Give it to me quickly, the master is making another mythical beast for it.”

“Those life essences aren’t yours either. Lord Wei Yang said that golden essences are very precious. Give them to me now, or I’ll go and complain to him.”

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

He seemed to vaguely hear a sound, but it was like a dream; his confused mind could no longer comprehend its specific content.

His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

Until an unknown period of time later.

"trickle!"

"trickle!"

Leiden was just beginning to wake up from his coma.

The sound of ocean waves reached his ears, and a familiar, icy sensation washed over him.

Was it a dream?

In his mind, he subconsciously recalled that dreamlike island and that dreamlike fairy lady.

He almost instinctively thought that he had returned to that wooden plank.

Perhaps everything before was just a dream.

But the next moment, as he slightly opened his eyes, he discovered that this was not the case.

At that moment, accompanied by the sound of waves breaking.

He was actually on a virtual ship.

"Is this... that 'Dream Ship'?"

His eyes widened, and then, as if realizing something, he began to look around.

He quickly found what he was looking for.

Not far from him, the bag he had been clutching tightly earlier lay there.

"."

Leiden stood up shakily—he felt extremely weak.

Even so, he remained tense as he approached the pocket.

Then, as expected, he discovered that the bailey in the pocket was gone, replaced by a glass bottle.

Inside the glass bottle, the seven-colored 'Fountain of Youth' emitted a dazzling glow.

And next to the glass bottle, on the wooden board he used to write his book.

Lines of colorful writing are appearing on it.

Your wish has been fulfilled.

The island spirit has made a pact with the masters of the stars: it will grant wishes for good things and reward the brave.

The reward you earn for yourself is your 'life'.

As the words fell, the seven-colored radiance dissipated.

"."

Leiden, weakened, clutched the bag tightly in his hands.

The distant sunrise rises from the sea, and everything seems like a dream.

But he knew.
Not a dream.

That island is real.

That promised dream island.

(End of this chapter)