I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

"That's not an arrow— it's a cannonball!" One of the experienced warriors on the ship shouted. "Prepare to counterattack!" She immediately nocked an arrow in her snake bow. 

Just as she was about to release it, a figure leaped high into the air from the deck. 

Liam jumped straight toward the incoming fiery projectile. Mid-air, a deafening 'boom' resounded as the cannonball exploded, creating a burst of flames and rolling smoke. 

"Is that guy crazy?" 

"What an idiot… throwing himself into the blast?" 

On the shore of the island, beneath the towering tree, a group of plump, dark-skinned natives, their upper bodies painted with eye-shaped totems, whispered among themselves. They clutched primitive-looking spears with pointed tips, observing the explosion in the sky. 

Back on the Kuja pirate ship, Robin remained calm, showing no sign of concern for Liam. 

As the smoke cleared, Liam emerged unharmed. He hovered casually in mid-air, stepping on the air as though it were solid ground, brushing ash from his clothes. His gaze locked onto the astonished natives hidden behind the rugged slopes of the island's shoreline. 

Seeing him unscathed, the dark-skinned natives tensed up, raising their primitive-looking weapons in panic. 

'Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!' 

The "primitive" spears suddenly revealed their true nature: missiles. Each one ignited with fiery propulsion, leaving trails of white smoke as they shot toward Liam. 

"Caw~~!!" 

Suddenly, a deafening chorus echoed from the sky above. 

A flock of giant birds took off from the massive tree, their wings spreading wide as they descended toward the Kuja pirate ship. Each bird, measuring over ten meters in length, dove with the ferocity of a fleet of fighter jets. 

Now accompanied by a barrage of missiles, the giant birds charged at Liam like a torrent. 

Hovering mid-air, Liam moved like a sheet of paper, effortlessly weaving through the attacks. The birds' wings brushed past him, and their claws swiped at his form, yet none could touch him. His body bent and twisted at impossible angles, narrowly evading every assault. 

Some of the missiles were caught between the folds of his body at seemingly impossible angles. 

On the shore, the dark-skinned natives watched in shock. 

"Is that even a human?" 

With missiles lodged in various parts of his body, Liam used 'Geppo' to bounce back a few steps in the air. Then, with a sudden twist of his body, he hurled each missile back toward the shoreline as though they had minds of their own. 

'Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!' 

"Run!" The natives screamed as they scattered. 

'Boom! Boom! Boom!' Explosions erupted along the shore, scattering debris everywhere. 

From the Kuja pirate ship, an arrow infused with 'Busoshoku Haki' (Armament Haki) was loosed. It streaked through the air and struck one of the attacking giant birds. 

'Bang!' The Haki-powered arrow exploded on impact, sending feathers and blood flying. But the massive bird only let out a screech, wobbled slightly, and continued its attack on the ship. 

"How can this be…?" A young warrior on the deck muttered, her snake bow still raised. Even a Haki-infused arrow couldn't bring the creature down? 

What she didn't realize was that these giant birds had spent years battling against the natives' missiles and rockets. Their feathers and bones had been tempered to be incredibly resilient and tough. 

"Caw~~!!" 

Angered by their injured comrade, the entire flock of giant birds surged downward in a furious assault. 

"Ochenta Fleur: Strangle." 

On the deck, Robin calmly crossed her arms and murmured softly. 

Suddenly, from the bases of the giant birds' wings, petals sprouted. Dozens of enormous arms, formed from Robin's 'Hana Hana no Mi' (Flower-Flower Fruit) powers, emerged to grab and twist the birds' wings. Each bird found itself with two massive hands gripping each wing, immobilizing them with minimal effort yet maximum effect. 

In an instant, the giant birds were unable to maintain flight and began plummeting toward the sea. 

"It's Princess Jolyne's Hana Hana No Mi (Flower-Flower Fruit) ability!" 

The Kuja warriors cheered, their spirits lifted as they raised their snake bows. 

"Fire a volley!" 

From the Kuja pirate ship, dozens of arrows entwined with 'Busoshoku Haki' (Armament Haki) were released in an instant, each one striking its mark with precision. The arrows hit the giant birds struggling to keep their wings aloft as they plummeted. 

'Bang! Bang! Bang!' 

The explosions from the Haki-infused arrows were accompanied by the birds' pained screeches. Amidst the bursts of firelight in the air, Liam moved seamlessly between the giant birds, stepping on the air as if it were solid ground. 

The birds immediately became wary at his approach, their cries turning into sharp warnings or sorrowful wails among one another. 

From afar, the treetops of the towering central tree on the island echoed faint, distressing chirps from the fledglings huddled in their nests. 

With effortless precision, Liam kicked each injured, arrow-riddled bird back toward the island. 

Despite their enormous size, the ten-meter-long giant birds seemed as light as soccer balls under his feet. One by one, they were sent flying back to the island amidst a shower of vibrant feathers and droplets of blood, crashing down onto the forest floor. 

The birds lay sprawled, defeated and unable to move, their bodies trembling. They had never encountered a human this terrifying—not even the ones who had once driven them from their homeland could compare. 

As the footsteps of the island's dark-skinned natives approached, the downed birds let out weak cries. 

---

Hovering in the sky, Liam waved at the Kuja warriors below on the ship. 

"Time to land," He called out before stepping lightly onto the air with 'Geppo' and striding toward the island. In moments, he stood atop the treetops of the massive tree, hundreds of meters above the ground. 

"Wow, this is pretty tall," He murmured, hands stuffed in his pockets as he glanced down. In the past, standing on something as high as the Eiffel Tower might have left his legs trembling, but now, he merely found the view impressive. 

"Chirp… chirp…" 

A faint, sharp noise came from beside him. Nestled within one of the enormous bird nests at the treetop were a dozen or so fledglings, their cries echoing like plaintive wails. 

Liam glanced at them briefly and stepped forward. Then, without hesitation, he let himself fall straight down. 

---

The air whistled around him as he plummeted down the hundreds of meters from the tree. Just before hitting the ground, Liam lightly stepped on the air with a single 'Geppo'. 

'Bang!' 

The sound echoed as his fall abruptly stopped, and he landed gently on the ground. 

Had this been before, the force of such a drop would have easily shattered his legs, even with a 'Geppo'. But now, Liam strolled casually through the forest floor as if nothing had happened. 

He activated his 'Kenbunshoku Haki' (Observation Haki), his senses spreading across the island. Every injured bird he had kicked back, every nest of fledglings, and every armed native—all their positions were laid bare in his mind, as clear as the lines on his palm. 

Walking further, he soon arrived at a clearing. The injured giant birds had gathered there, their battered and bloodied feathers bristling with anger and wariness. Some still had broken wooden arrows embedded in their bodies. They faced off against a group of natives, who held their advanced, spear-like weapons with tense postures. 

"Hey, hey, hey!" Liam called out cheerfully, stepping forward. "No need for all this hostility. Fighting isn't good for anyone, is it?" 

Both sides froze at the sound of his voice. The giant birds fluffed up their battered feathers, screeching nervously, while the dark-skinned natives turned their weapons toward Liam. 

Compared to the natives, who barely reached his chest in height, Liam loomed over them like a giant. 

"Monster!" One stout native yelled, his trembling hands activating a mechanism on his high-tech spear. The tip detached, transforming into a missile that shot straight at Liam. 

Still with his hands in his pockets, Liam didn't move. The missile exploded upon impact, the force blowing his hair into disarray. 

(End Of The Chapter)

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