One Piece: Transmigrated as Crocodile

Upon hearing the words "instant storm," Rosen immediately became alert. Without a second thought, he grabbed Natalie and rushed outside, while Pitas, Law, and Alice also changed expressions rapidly. 

"ROOM." Law quickly expanded a circular domain, moving swiftly within it, slightly trailing behind Rosen but keeping pace with Alice. 

Rosen felt the entire area of the monster domain stirring; countless individuals began to flee frantically, and Rosen and the others were relatively close to the outskirts of the monster domain. 

"Don't run that way; Natalie thinks running this way would be better." Natalie, as if being dragged like a clumsy goose, waved a small hand directing towards a leftward direction instead of in a straight line. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah." 

"Then we'll go this way." Rosen took the lead and charged ahead. 

"We're not going in a straight line?" Law frowned, hesitating, but seeing Alice and the warriors following Rosen, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow. Naturally, a straight line would be the shortest distance. 

The ground's undulations became more turbulent, forcing the warriors to leap towards the exit hurriedly. 

"Buzz!" Colorful clouds condensed into a gloomy sky, and Rosen noticed a colorful glow moving swiftly downwards in front of them. 

Although it looked like lightning, it didn't resemble it but moved at lightning speed. This light shrouded a large area that was about the size of a football field and appeared to be descending like a massive snowflake. 

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Rosen spotted a group of unfamiliar pirates dashing madly in that area; he recognized them as part of the group that had landed on Lantis Island with him. 

The colorful flash struck the ground, and after the flashes hit the fleeing figures, they froze in place, scorched to black, then a light breeze swept through and they turned to dust, scattering in the wind. 

"Not even leaving bones behind?!" Rosen felt a jolt of shock; this was the instant storm; death truly could come in an instant. 

If that light curtain suddenly appeared directly above his head, would he have a chance to evade it? Rosen pondered and hesitated. First, he had to consider how far the colorful light was above, and second, the range it covered. 

But having witnessed its power firsthand, he had no desire to find out. At first, Rosen thought they were on the outskirts of the monster domain and that encountering the so-called instant storm wouldn't be too easy. However, it turned out that this thing appeared randomly. 

"Another burst of light is coming; it's in our direction." Natalie said anxiously. 

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone accelerated again, moving at almost peak speed, as those lagging behind were kicked out of the monster domain by Alice. 

Rosen whooshed ahead, exiting the monster domain first and creating some distance, watching the area, and the others quickly followed. Just as their feet exited, the burst of light quickly fell to the ground, landing without damaging the flowers or the ground. 

However, some wandering zombies at the edge of the monster domain mutated and directly turned to dust. 

"It's becoming more frequent." Law, looking towards the monster domain, wore an unsettled expression. 

"How long have you been inside?" Rosen asked possessively. Coming back to think about it, he didn't quite believe that Law had been in for so long, but judging by Law's capabilities, even if encountering the flash, he should be fine as long as it wasn't dangerously close. 

"Not long, but I already encountered four or five instant storms; luck was on my side, but the intervals between the last two occurrences are getting shorter. It will probably be more frequent; could it be due to the high number of people?" Ro shrugged nonchalantly while harboring some doubts. 

"That's strange; with such destructive force, why doesn't it affect the flowers and the ground?" Rosen found this hard to comprehend. 

"I don't know; no one has ever researched it. Everyone be prepared; after the instant storm passes, it should be safe for a short term. Quickly gather enough food and then retreat." Alice stated cautiously because instant storms are full of unpredictable factors. 

"Understood." The recently-escaped warriors, upon hearing this, showed no signs of retreating but instead immediately re-entered the monster domain. 

"How have your losses been every time you come here for hunting?" Rosen felt a pang of sorrow but also admiration; it's difficult to face death repeatedly without hesitation; human instinct fears death. 

"It's a bit better; our death rate is about ten percent." Alice replied nonchalantly, refusing to mention the times when luck was against them since that was an uncomfortable proportion to discuss. 

Ten percent doesn't seem high, but if it translates to a hundred warriors entering, ten deaths occur—that's rather startling. No wonder they wouldn't come here unless it was a last resort. Coming here, to put it bluntly, is like trading life for food. 

"Let's settle this swiftly." Rosen had no intention of wasting time. 

"Uh, can I not go…" At this moment, a somewhat inappropriate voice trembled into view; it was Pitas. 

All the other warriors, including Alice and Natalie, looked at Pitas in bewilderment. 

"Don't look at me like that; I'm just afraid to die. I'm just an ordinary person with a few kids at home that I have to support. I'm forced into this; plus, I have no role in this situation, so is it wrong for me not to want to go in..." Feeling the stares, Pitas almost broke down. 

At that moment, it felt like he was the coward that everyone despised, especially with Natalie looking at him in confusion, making him feel even worse. 

"Don't you realize that staying outside alone is even more dangerous?" Rosen nearly forgot about this block head that they dragged into Lantis Island carelessly. 

"Uh…" Pitas was taken aback, and internally thought about making a distressed noise. 

He had just been so focused on fearing the instant storm, but Lantis was not a peaceful island—monsters abound. Without being with these strong individuals, just an ordinary mutated zombie could tear him to shreds without him even being able to struggle. 

It seemed that tagging along into the monster domain would be somewhat safer, but following the instant storm's immense power... 

"Your mission is already complete; you won't lose much at this point; if danger arises, I'll take care of you." Rosen patted Pitas on the shoulder, trying to console him. 

Initially, he had lent some help, and if he truly cracked under pressure, Rosen would still feel a tinge of guilt as he did not see him as a villain, especially when it appeared he had children needing care. 

"I don't believe you." Pitas recalled how, at critical times, Rosen was the first to grab Natalie and run away. If it weren't for his decent pace already, and being kicked out by Alice, he would have surely turned to dust. However, this thought remained unsaid, lingering unspoken in his heart. 

"How about this, I'll raise the reward by ten million beris; after all, it's quite dangerous for you to remain here." After finding Law, Rosen's mood improved significantly. 

Thus, he didn't mind spending a bit more, as Pitas' psychological resilience seemed to be nearing its limit. 

"Deal." Hearing about the money, Pitas' demeanor reignited; this incentive was substantial. 

"Let's go." 

"Is there really no impact at all?" Rosen stepped into the area where the instant storm had rushed through, closely inspecting the ground and flowers without finding anything unusual. 

By the strength of that destructive light, the ground or flowers should at least have been shattered or at least left some mark; yet, there was nothing. 

"What's wrong?" Alice asked upon seeing Rosen suddenly squatting and inspecting the ground. 

Rosen frowned, and sweeping his hand across the ground, he noticed that there was absolutely no dust or sand—the situation felt odd. He then turned to Alice, "I remember you said that this land resembles a living creature, right?" 

"Indeed, look…" Alice waved in the air, a dagger soaring out which plunged into the ground. Drawing it back via remote control left a tiny crack on the surface with some blood leaking out—though not in abundance, it was certainly peculiar. 

(End of Chapter)