Chapter 39 Ingesting the Fruit by Mistake?

"Hmm... The person who wants to kill Chu Yi the most?"

"It's a bit difficult to guess!"

Fairly speaking, for a guy like Mihawk, whose state of existence basically oscillated between zoning out and preparing to zone out, it was utterly impossible to untangle the intricate web of relationships within the God Slayer Pirates.

Therefore, listening to Chu Yi's question, Mihawk raised both eyebrows in deep thought for a long time before answering uncertainly, "Chu Yi, I feel like the person on the ship who wants to kill you the most should be... that red-fat fishman, right?"

"Huh? Tiger?"

Just as Mihawk's voice trailed off, Chu Yi was taken aback by his answer, then asked curiously, "Mihawk, why do you think it's Tiger?"

"Because... you always manage to drive that red-fat fishman crazy!" Mihawk said with a hint of amusement.

"Fine... You win!"

Realizing why Mihawk thought Tiger wanted to kill him most, Chu Yi felt a severe case of nervous tics, instantly abandoning any intention of continuing the discussion with Mihawk.

Or rather...

Should any questions arise in the future, Chu Yi decided he would never discuss them with Mihawk again.

This guy was completely unreliable!

With a helpless glance at Mihawk, Chu Yi stopped pondering over the conversation and instead cast another deep, lingering look at the God Slayer Pirates' vessel anchored in the distance, a faint, cold smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

At the same time, Chu Yi knew that the person plotting against him would inevitably make a move against Tiger and Jinbe aboard the ship while he and Mihawk went to explore this devil fruit island.

As for the reason?

The reason Chu Yi came to this conclusion was that the culprit hiding his intentions was simply too deep!

Even Tiger and Jinbe, who trusted him implicitly, had been kept completely in the dark!

The only reason Chu Yi knew about that person's secret intent to harm him was thanks to the "Evolution" of his Human Path ability. Relying on his current Human Path powers, while Chu Yi couldn't listen to everyone's inner thoughts all the time, whenever he activated the Human Path's might, he could at least clearly hear what others were thinking.

Of course.

For strong-willed and mentally formidable individuals like Tiger, Jinbe, and Mihawk, listening to their inner voices consumed a significantly greater amount of soul energy.

And for a freak like Kaido, trying to listen to his inner voice would cost at least several times the soul energy required for Tiger!

Yet once, while casually experimenting with the Human Path's might to master it, Chu Yi had attempted to listen to the inner thoughts of every single crew member aboard the God Slayer Pirates...

Suddenly!

Chu Yi discovered something bizarre about a few fishmen among his crew!

The soul energy required to listen to their inner thoughts was roughly the same as the cost of listening to Mihawk, Tiger, and Jinbe!

What did this indicate?

It indicated that these few fishmen were concealing their true strength and plotting something aboard the God Slayer Pirates' ship!

Having stumbled upon this anomaly, Chu Yi utilized the Human Path's might to eavesdrop on their thoughts, eager to uncover what secrets they were hiding.

It would have been fine if he hadn't listened, but once he did, even Chu Yi was startled!

For at that time, Chu Yi never imagined that these strength-concealing fishmen actually belonged to a secret organization in the world of pirates!

An organization named "Dawn"!

It was a pity, however, that when Chu Yi listened to others' thoughts, he could only hear what the targets were currently thinking. Therefore, aside from knowing these fishmen belonged to a mysterious organization called "Dawn," most of what Chu Yi learned pertained to their covert plans to assassinate him, yielding no further intelligence regarding the mysterious organization "Dawn" itself.

Yet, judging from the fact that those fishmen could no longer suppress their urge to harm him the moment he and Mihawk stepped onto this fruit island, Chu Yi knew their plan was finally about to unfold!

Now that he was aware of what their plans entailed, and possessing sufficient strength to handle them, Chu Yi naturally viewed those fellows as mere clowns unworthy of excessive attention.

Moreover...

The most crucial matter for Chu Yi right now was to uncover the secrets hidden within this fruit island!

Shortly after.

Putting aside the potential threats within the God Slayer Pirates for the moment, guided by his Observation Haki, Chu Yi soon approached the region of the fruit island radiating a dense devil fruit aura, preparing to conduct the first round of reconnaissance with Mihawk.

As they strolled slowly across the island, Chu Yi found the terrain to be utterly bizarre.

Upon first landing, neither Chu Yi nor Mihawk required prolonged observation; a single glance revealed that the island's periphery was entirely a desolate wasteland, covered everywhere in slightly scorching dust and sand.

Yet as Chu Yi and Mihawk ventured deeper, the island's landscape underwent dramatic changes!

Almost the moment Chu Yi and Mihawk stepped into the region emanating the devil fruit aura, the ubiquitous dust of the wasteland slowly receded, and a sea of green burst into their field of vision.

Furthermore, as the devil fruit aura grew increasingly dense, the trees and vegetation around Chu Yi and Mihawk multiplied gradually, transforming their surroundings abruptly into the likeness of a lush forest!

"Such a drastic environmental shift!"

"Changes of this scale must either mean this New World island was originally affected by some mysterious power, creating a massive geographical disparity, or..."

"The fellows artificially manufacturing devil fruits here intentionally altered the island's terrain to facilitate their research on artificial devil fruits!"

"Judging from the current situation, it seems... the second possibility is far more likely!"

With this thought, Chu Yi quickly amplified his Observation Haki. After all, now that he and Mihawk had stepped into the zone with the strongest devil fruit aura, the potential enemies on this fruit island might have already discovered them!

Yet just as Chu Yi boosted his Observation Haki—before the hidden enemies on the island could even show themselves—Mihawk suddenly made a move that left Chu Yi feeling instantly tense!

It happened right as Chu Yi intensified his Observation Haki, just as Mihawk, feeling slightly curious, approached a towering tree nearby!

At that moment, Chu Yi had assumed Mihawk noticed something, which was why he approached that towering tree.

Who would have thought that the exact second Mihawk got close to the tree...

"Whoosh!"

Mihawk flicked his fingers, slicing off a bizarre-looking fruit from the tree.

The next second...

As Chu Yi perceived the appearance of the fruit Mihawk was toying with through his Observation Haki...

"Snap!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Mihawk brought the strange fruit to his mouth and took a bite!

"Damn it! Mihawk, why are you eating random things?!"

"That fruit in your hand... is very likely a devil fruit, do you even know that?!"