One Piece: It All Started When I Found Shanks' Arm

Chapter 71: The X-X Fruit, Which Not Even an X Would Eat

An hour later, the group stood on the bow of their ship, staring dumbfounded at the bizarre island before them.

They had been swept here by the ocean current; it seemed this island was the very center of the whirlpool.

The outer edges of the island were nothing special, lush with vegetation and a sparse scattering of coconut trees.

But at the island's center, a massive stone mountain rose from the ground, resembling the trunk of a colossal ancient tree or an enormous ant nest. At its base, a dense ring of diamond-shaped entrances dotted its surface.

The entire structure was hundreds of meters tall, piercing the clouds in a truly spectacular sight.

"Where in the world are we?" Shane asked, bewildered. "Is this still the East Blue?"

"Even I've never heard of a place like this in the East Blue," Zeff said, shaking his head. "But it's not surprising. The sea is vast. Outside of the well-traveled shipping lanes, there are countless uncharted, deserted islands like this."

"In any case, let's go ashore and explore!" Nojiko, on the other hand, was full of excitement, her arms spread wide to embrace the sea breeze. "Let's go, Big Bro! A place like this might be hiding some treasure buried hundreds of years ago!"

Shane nodded. He was just as curious about the island, and after getting closer, the green light on his radar had turned yellow.

This meant his luck was good. The Devil Fruit wasn't just floating somewhere in the ocean; it was most likely on this very island…

"I still need to figure out how to escape this whirlpool. I have to find a pattern to get us out…" Kuina said, her face grim. She was surrounded by a pile of massive tomes, flipping through them frantically. "Why don't you guys go? I'll stay here and watch the ship."

"Oh, come on, we have plenty of food. We're not in that much of a hurry," Nojiko said, forcibly pulling her to her feet and linking her arm with hers. "Let's go, let's go! It's more fun to explore together. And as for watching the ship, do we really need you for that? Right, Gin?"

Gin, who had been secretly gnawing on the wings of the figurehead, was overjoyed to hear this. He quickly turned his head, using his body to hide his handiwork, and nodded enthusiastically, his tongue lolling out.

"But…" Kuina shot a pleading look at Shane, who just grinned and gestured for Nojiko to try harder.

He knew what Kuina was thinking. She was clearly curious and wanted to explore the island too. But the ever-earnest swordswoman felt responsible for getting them off course and was trying to make up for it out of guilt.

In a situation like this, the worst thing they could do was leave her alone to stew in her own thoughts.

Kuina was "reluctantly" dragged ashore. Shane tossed a "if I come back and those wings are gone, I'm sticking them on you" over his shoulder at Gin before disembarking, leading the group towards the entrance of the ant-nest mountain.

He naturally took the lead, forging a path.

He paid no mind to the thorny jungle, the sharp thorns merely tickling his skin as he bulldozed a path forward.

…

About half an hour later, the group successfully entered the interior of the ant-nest mountain.

The space inside was even larger than they had expected. It seemed the entire mountain had been hollowed out. Before long, as light streamed in from above, a massive ship, hundreds of meters long, appeared before them, stunning everyone.

A ship inside this mountain? And one so huge?

The ship had been sitting here for who knows how many years. Its masts were broken, leaving only stumps, and the wood of its hull was so rotten it looked as if a strong gust of wind could turn it to dust.

"I'm going to take a look."

With a whoosh, Shane used Moonwalk to land on the sea-dragon-like figurehead. He looked around and saw several other giant ships of similar size in the distance, all severely damaged, as if they had been through a brutal battle.

Standing among them, he felt as small as an ant.

"Hmm?"

He suddenly noticed a massive, rusted, and broken greatsword stuck in the base of the figurehead. It was twenty or thirty meters long, and even with his strength, it took a bit of effort to pull it out with one hand.

"This kind of ship doesn't look like it was sailed by humans. It's more like something for a Giant," Kuina said as the others joined her on the ship. She looked up at the greatsword in Shane's hand, a memory surfacing. "I read about it in one of my father's books. Many years ago, the Giant Warrior Pirates from Elbaf roamed the Grand Line, their fame spreading far and wide."

"Legend says their ships were just like this, incredibly massive. But for some reason, they suddenly disappeared…"

"That's because the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates started fighting for no reason, and they've been at it for over a hundred years," Shane said, shaking his head with a sigh as he stuck the giant sword back in its place. "They're still fighting now, on an island in the Grand Line called Little Garden."

"Little Garden?" Zeff's eyes widened. "I heard that name back when I was sailing the Grand Line. But I heard the island was infested with giant, island-eating goldfish, so I specifically chose a different route to avoid it. You're telling me there are hundred-year-old giants on that island?"

"So, should we change course and go have a look?" Nojiko's eyes lit up. "I've never seen a real, live Giant before! Don't you want to see them for yourself, Uncle Zeff?"

"Of course I want to go! What's the fun in taking the same route again?" Zeff laughed heartily. His current strength surpassed that of his prime, and with an absolute monster like Shane as his captain, what did he have to fear from giant goldfish or Giants?

"Then let's go!" Shane decided on the spot. He was purely curious to see how many points he could get from "shearing" two legendary, oversized sheep.

"But let's focus on the present first. Everyone, spread out and have a look around. A place like this might really have some hundred-year-old treasure."

"Yes, Captain!"

…

The group split up to explore.

Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. The giant ships were truly enormous for humans, and searching them was a time-consuming and laborious task.

But slowly, they each found something.

Zeff went straight for the galley and was overjoyed to find some perfectly preserved bottles of strong liquor.

Kuina, on the other hand, found many strange and ancient books, which she carefully bundled together.

Shane was the busiest. He went through the crew's quarters one by one, searching for the Devil Fruit while testing every item he came across—

Can't sacrifice this, can't sacrifice this either. So annoying. This ship is so useless. Couldn't it have been Loki's old flagship or something…

Meanwhile, on another ship.

"Phew!"

Nojiko, with a treasure chest slung over one shoulder, pulled herself up from the hold through a hole in the deck and dropped the chest on the floor.

"Much better light up here," she said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "It was hidden so deep, I almost missed it. The stuff inside must be really valuable!"

SCREECH!

An ugly, monstrous bird with a wingspan of four or five meters suddenly swooped down from out of nowhere. It opened its massive beak, intending to swallow the chest whole.

"Get lost, you ugly bird!" Nojiko threatened, raising her fist menacingly. "I found this first!"

The giant bird was unfazed and continued its descent. But halfway down, it seemed to notice something, and its eyes widened in terror. It turned and fled.

"That's more like it," Nojiko said, assuming she had scared it off. She giggled as she watched it fly away.

She then slipped on her metal gauntlets and, with a powerful punch, easily smashed the bronze lock on the chest.

She lifted the lid, but to her disappointment, there was no glittering treasure inside. There was only a single, strangely shaped fruit.

It looked a bit like a pineapple, but it was a fiery orange-red color and covered in swirling, flame-like patterns…

"What's this?"

Nojiko held it up to her eyes. The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

She immediately turned and shouted, "Big Bro! Where are you?! Come check this out! Is this a Devil Fruit or not?!!!"

"A Devil Fruit?" Shane's surprised voice came from the distance. "You found it? Stay put, I'll be right there!"

"Okay!"

Knowing how valuable Devil Fruits were, Nojiko sat down obediently, holding the fruit and waiting.

The next second, her ears twitched. She faintly heard the sound of rushing wind from far off to her right, but that wasn't the direction her brother's voice had come from…

Is someone else here?

Nojiko was instantly on alert. She jumped to her feet and looked around, only to see a giant silver wolf bounding toward her with glee—

"No, Gin!" she shouted, quickly hiding the fruit behind her back. "You can't eat this!"

"Awoo!"

Gin glanced at the fruit and turned his head away in disdain. It's not a strawberry, so I don't want it!

Nojiko then realized she had misunderstood his intentions. So why is he so excited?

"It looks like you were the one who scared off that giant bird! But Gin, you were supposed to be watching the ship. What are you doing here? Do you have good news for me?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"Awoo!"

Gin nodded vigorously, then grinned and gestured with his snout toward the space behind Nojiko.

Behind me?

Nojiko turned her head in confusion, but she didn't see anyone else.

She was completely unaware that a slender, orange-haired figure had stealthily crept up behind her, slipping into her blind spot, and was now triumphantly reaching a mischievous hand toward the Devil Fruit in her grasp…

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