Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
For Eli Winters, those months were the most peaceful he'd had in years. Each day slipped by in leisure sunbathing on the deck, fishing off the bow, exploring the remaining islands of the East Blue, and occasionally wandering into mysterious corners of uncharted lands.
The World Government, surprisingly, made no move against him. It was as if they had simply forgotten he existed.
But Eli knew better. In this world, true peace was never so simple. When the sea was calm, it only meant a storm was quietly gathering strength beneath the surface.
That morning began like any other. Eli sat cross-legged at the front of the Silver Dragon, his fishing rod dipping lazily into the clear blue sea. The air was crisp, the waves calm, and the horizon stretched endlessly in all directions.
Then without warning the water rippled. A strange mist began to rise from the depths, spreading like smoke across the surface. Within moments, the fog grew so dense it swallowed the entire ship, turning the world around them into a ghostly void.
Eli's brows furrowed. His Observation Haki flared outward like invisible ripples, sweeping through the fog. Within seconds, his face changed slightly half confusion, half intrigue.
The commotion drew Filina, Fiona, and the others from the cabin. They stepped onto the deck, blinking at the sudden whiteness that surrounded them.
"What's going on?!" Big Pan rubbed his eyes. "Wasn't it clear just now?"
Before anyone could answer, the fog began to thin. Slowly, a shadow emerged ahead an island that hadn't been there before. It glowed faintly, as if the air itself shimmered with hidden energy.
Curiosity won over caution. The crew decided to investigate.
As soon as their feet touched the island's shore, a soft melody floated through the air a strange, lilting tune played by unseen instruments. They followed the sound through a winding grove, until they came upon a clearing filled with dancing lights and creatures.
Dozens of them.
They looked almost human, but not quite. Their ears were long and pointed, their faces whiskered, and their tails trailed behind them like ribbons. They resembled humanoid mice, lively and animated.
When they noticed Eli and his crew, they didn't attack. Instead, they grinned and waved, beckoning them closer.
"Friendly, huh?" Fiona muttered skeptically.
"Or pretending," Reiju replied coolly, her violet eyes narrowing.
Still, Eli motioned for everyone to follow. They entered what looked like a grand celebration colorful banners strung across trees, long tables laden with exotic food and gleaming cups of amber wine. The humanoid mice danced and laughed, clearly enjoying themselves.
Eli kept his smile polite but his senses sharp. His Haki detected no hostility, but he had learned long ago that absence of intent didn't always mean absence of danger.
As they sat, the apparent leader of the creatures approached a tall one with a beaded necklace and a staff shaped like twisted roots. He welcomed them warmly, speaking of their island's legends and history.
Eli listened quietly, eyes wandering over the trees around them. Something was off. Every plant on the island seemed… warped. The branches twisted unnaturally, all bending toward the same unseen center.
Then, without warning, the music changed. Its rhythm grew sharp, dissonant.
The smiles on the creatures' faces twisted into something else something cold and feral.
"Watch out!" Eli barked, leaping to his feet. His blade flashed, severing the leader's head in one clean strike.
The celebration froze.
The leader's body slumped lifelessly to the ground. The rest of the creatures gaped in shock.
"What what happened?"
"The chief is dead!"
"Was it that human?!"
"Impossible! The Mother Tree's poison should've worked by now!"
Their confusion deepened into fear. One of the larger creatures a muscular one with pale fur stumbled backward, his face drained of color.
"You… you didn't get poisoned?!" he stammered in disbelief. "That's impossible!"
Reiju crossed her arms and let out a small, mocking laugh. "Poison? You tried to poison us? Pathetic. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?"
Her voice dripped with scorn. "You really thought you could outplay me with such crude toxins? I could drink your entire forest dry and still walk away smiling."
The truth quickly surfaced. When the fog had enveloped the Silver Dragon earlier, these humanoid rodents had secretly released a slow-acting toxin into the air. The poison required a catalyst to activate a special wood burning in the bonfire at the center of their feast.
But they hadn't accounted for Reiju. Her body, modified by the power of her lineage, absorbed toxins like a sponge. She had already neutralized every trace of poison before it could harm anyone.
Realizing the danger, one of the creatures panicked and bolted toward the forest, screaming, "Run! Go warn the Mother Tree!"
Big Pan cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Oh no you don't."
In an instant, the crew sprang into action. Blades flashed, bullets flew, and bursts of power ripped through the air. Within moments, most of the creatures lay defeated on the ground, and only a few trembling survivors remained.
Eli approached them calmly, his blade resting at his side. "What are you?"
One of the captives hesitated, eyes darting between Eli's sword and the bodies of his fallen kin. Under Eli's suffocating aura, his resolve broke.
"W-We were just mice," he confessed, voice shaking. "Ordinary mice. But then… the Mother Tree found us."
According to him, the so-called Mother Tree possessed an eerie ability it could drain the essence and life force from humans and transfer it into animals. Those mice that had consumed enough human essence evolved into these humanoid forms.
Their strength, however, depended on the quality of the humans they devoured. Stronger humans produced stronger transformations.
Eli frowned. "If that's true… why didn't I see this island before?"
"The mist," another one stammered. "It hides us. Anyone outside the island can't see what's really here."
Eli's eyes narrowed. The mist wasn't natural it was alive, almost sentient.
"And this Mother Tree," he continued. "What exactly is it?"
At the question, the creatures' fear gave way to something else reverence. "The Mother Tree is our creator. She gave us life, she made us more than animals. She is everything to us!"
Eli studied their expressions, then sighed. "I see."
He drew his blade again, ending the interrogation swiftly. "Unfortunately, I don't leave monsters alive."
Moments later, Eli and his crew stood before the Mother Tree itself.
It wasn't as large as he expected only about three meters tall, with two branch-like arms and a trunk marked by eerie, human-like features. Eyes. A mouth.
As they approached, the eyes opened.
"Humans," the tree said, its voice echoing through the clearing, "leave now, and I will forgive the deaths of my children."
Big Pan blinked. "A talking tree? Again?"
Eli's mouth curved into a smirk. "Funny. The last talking tree I met tried something similar."
"Those creatures called you 'Mother,'" Eli said coldly. "But you don't even see them as your own."
"They are failures," the tree replied flatly. "Worthless byproducts of my experiments."
It paused, its tone turning sharp. "Leave this island, or I will show no mercy."
Eli chuckled. "Show me, then."
The ground trembled. Dozens of massive roots burst from the soil, whipping toward them like giant serpents. Eli's blade flashed in a cold arc, slicing through the first wave. Big Pan swung his golden staff, smashing others to splinters. Filina and Fiona joined in, their attacks tearing the roots apart one after another.
Soon the clearing was a mess of broken wood and dirt.
The Mother Tree's voice faltered. "Wait, stop! Please spare me!"
Eli's expression hardened. "You've drained thousands of lives. There's no mercy left for you."
He could sense it beneath the roots the countless corpses buried under the soil, their souls still lingering in pain.
The tree began to shake violently. "If I can't live, neither will you!" it shrieked.
An enormous surge of power exploded from within it dark, primal, terrifying. Even Eli felt a flicker of danger.
"Contain it!" he shouted, slashing his hand through the air. Space itself rippled, forming a shimmering barrier around the tree.
A deafening boom followed. The explosion shook the island, and when the light faded, the tree was nothing but ash.
Silence fell.
Eli stood still, gazing at the charred remains. "Another thinking plant," he murmured softly. "Just like the Poison Tree King…"
A memory flashed in his mind. That creature had claimed its intelligence came from a Devil Fruit. But now Eli suspected otherwise. Perhaps the fruit had merely amplified what was already there.
What connection did these trees share and what kind of power had he just seen?
"Boss?" Big Pan's voice broke his thoughts. "You good?"
Eli exhaled slowly and smiled. "Yeah. Let's move on."
After all, thinking too much never helped. As long as he stayed strong, it didn't matter what kind of monsters appeared.
He stretched lazily and grinned. "Come on, let's get off this island. And someone bring me that weird-looking stone over there."
Big Pan squatted to pick it up. "Huh. A strange stone, huh? Maybe it's valuable."
Eli smiled faintly. "Or maybe it's trouble."
The waves lapped quietly at the shore as the Silver Dragon sailed away, leaving the island and its secrets behind.
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