One Piece: Transmigrated as Crocodile

"Uncle, are you eating sand? Aren't you afraid of diarrhea?" Natalie asked, puzzled as she watched Rosen bring the sand closer to his mouth and sniff it. 

"I am just sand." Rosen lifted one arm, and sand cascaded down. 

"Hehe, I know." Natalie smiled and looked proudly at Rosen. 

"Flash!!" More flashes appeared in the demon territory, but they seemed to be much smaller and slower, gradually descending. Everyone watched as it fell; no one moved to stop it. Based on Alice's earlier speculation, they wanted to see what effect the uncontrolled flashes would have; thus, when the flash landed and morphed into a giant tulip flower, everyone rushed over. Rosen was among them. He saw that the ground was mostly charred and covered in a thick layer of sand, though just the surface, while the flower appeared somewhat wilted but hadn't been transformed into dust immediately; it seemed slightly short on water. 

"There's residual warmth on the ground and the flower; it's warm, but the mutated tulip has strong vitality and contains substantial moisture; therefore, the high temperature causes evaporation, but there must be something else..." Rosen pondered carefully. The flash must have such characteristics. 

Moreover, it generated instantaneously; the high temperature primarily absorbed moisture, while the mutated flower hadn't instantly turned to dust because it contained water. Yet, while human flesh could be understood, the bones turning to dust suggested another energy source; what could instantly disintegrate everything, even alter living organisms...? 

Rosen couldn't figure it out. After all, he wasn't a scientist. Might the science here be different from what he was accustomed to? However, there were some commonalities worth considering. Sand with high temperature could turn into glass-like crystals, though that lethality did not surpass his sunny gold copper and compressed condensed sand. Plus, he couldn't generate heat from sand spontaneously... 

Wait, strong friction seemed to produce a certain temperature, but how could it relate to wilting? Or perhaps it wasn't merely temperature; it included strong friction and high-frequency oscillation?! 

Rosen seemed to grasp a commonality. If every particle of moisture-absorbing sand underwent high-frequency vibrations, what might happen? Would it absorb moisture faster? How high could the instant temperature rise? 

Rosen vaguely found a bit of direction, so it turned out that the crystal sand in his hand didn't possess any extraordinary function. It merely demonstrated that sand transformed under the flash resulted in an outcome, and those earlier swirling dust particles must have contained some trace crystal sand. 

He swept his hand over the ground and noticed that the area struck by the flash indeed had some crystalline sand particles, mere specks... 

It seemed the earlier thought process had become a viable research path, but what it might transform into, and whether it could be achieved, was still uncertain and would only be known through practical application. However, he felt that researching sand from multiple angles could yield diverse results. 

As other energies were capable of turning human bodies into dust or flowers into wilted corpses, the wilting ability pertinent to sand should also share some similarities. 

This represented some insights and research directions brought by the instantaneous storm to Rosen... 

"The vitality isn't completely lost; the ground can still be planted, and if the flowers are well-taken care of, they might continue to grow. Mutated flowers are much sturdier than regular ground plants and possess strong vitality; I once saw a flower survive being struck by lightning on a stormy day. Lady Alice, on Lantis Island, we will solve the food problem!" A warrior with some botanical knowledge and basic research on the demon territory suddenly became incredibly excited. 

Not just him; everyone else, including Lisa and Natalie, felt the same. This meant they no longer had to risk their lives to gather food here, making their lives easier. 

"We mustn't be careless. Send word to Ming City and have them dispatch more warriors. We need to fortify this new base at the demon territory; there must be no mishaps." After Alice's calm down, she quickly made a decision. 

"Then our transaction is complete, right?" Rosen said happily. It was a win-win situation for him as he not only found new research directions for his sand manipulation abilities but also finalized the deal with the Lantis people and found Law, as he planned to return soon. 

"It's done, absolutely. And its value far exceeds the food from countless ships. This will be the dawn of our rebirth for the Lantis people. Just tell us what you need; anything that we Lantis possess, we can provide. Any amount of rare metal is yours," Alice stated firmly. 

These years of trading food with the outside world led to many setbacks and difficulties, leaving them at the mercy of others. If Landis could become self-sufficient and given a few years to develop, they could produce better warriors. They wouldn't have to keep throwing lives into this place, and perhaps one day compete everyone to lead them out of Landis. 

"No need; I can't carry that much. I only want one thing: Sand gold copper. The more, the better; nothing else is needed." Rosen declined. What he wanted was singular; carrying more would be impractical. Given Landis' situation, Rosen felt he couldn't ask for anything more valuable from them. 

---

"Hey, kid, do you want to come out to sea with me?" Rosen waited in Landis for Law to finish packing the collected items. He intended to leave as soon as his sunny gold copper arrived. 

"Come out with you?" Natalie hesitated as she looked at Rosen. Liza and Alice suddenly fell silent, while Law and Pitas cast puzzled glances at Rosen, completely unaware of why he would extend such an invitation to a child. 

Rosen, surprisingly calm, had developed some compassion seeing the living conditions in Lantis and the hope in Natalie's eyes. Despite the fact this little brat could be quite naggy at times, he hadn't treated her as just a little kid. Maybe she was too understanding and mature, although mostly she could be rather silly. 

Regardless of how the outside world might be, Rosen believed it would be better than Lantis. Moreover, Natalie possessed some power and showed exceptional observation capabilities, posing no burden; in fact, as a child, her future growth potential was immense. 

Liza hadn't anticipated Rosen would invite Natalie to go out to sea with him. Still, she hoped Natalie would agree, as they themselves wouldn't go out; they needed to look after their families and couldn't afford to be that selfish. 

But Natalie was different; she was a child, technically one who needed care. If she wanted it, perhaps in the future, she could live better and happier than any of them. 

Although Alice said nothing, she refrained from advising them, believing every warrior must make their own choices, and whatever their decision was, they would support. 

(End of Chapter)

=========================================================

DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE

SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS

PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).