I, Kizaru, only came to the chat group after I became invincible

Chapter 481 Devil Fruit?

"Good morning, Sanji," Franky greeted. "Does your head still hurt?"

"Don't even mention it," Sanji said with a wry smile, "it hurts like hell."

"Serves him right." Zoro walked past him and said coldly.

"What did you say?!" Sanji immediately became furious.

"I told you you deserved it," Zoro turned around. "Who gave you permission to peek?"

"But you didn't have to use such force," Sanji muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Nami's voice came from the girls' room, her tone dangerous.

"No, nothing!" Sanji immediately changed his tune. "I meant Nami-san did the right thing!"

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

After eating the breakfast Sanji had prepared, Luffy couldn't wait to say:

"Alright! Let's explore the depths of the island today!"

"Should we all go together?" Nami asked.

"Of course!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, "We might discover something interesting!"

"What about the ship?" Usopp asked worriedly. "They're all gone, and no one's watching over it."

“This is a deserted island, there shouldn’t be any danger,” Robin said. “Besides, we’re just going to explore it a bit, we won’t be gone for long.”

“That makes sense,” Franky nodded. “Then let’s all go!”

After packing their things, the group headed deeper into the island.

Yesterday, Luffy and Chopper only explored the outer areas; today they will venture deeper into the heart of the island.

“There’s a small hill in the center of this island,” Nami said, looking at the terrain. “We can climb to the top and look down at the whole island from there.”

"Great idea!" Luffy agreed. "We can see so much more from the mountaintop!"

The group walked through the coconut grove and entered a denser forest.

The forest is home to a wide variety of plants, including tall trees, twining vines, and all sorts of flowers and grasses.

"The vegetation here is really lush," Robin observed. "It looks like an island with a very healthy ecosystem."

“Yes!” Chopper exclaimed excitedly, looking around. “There are so many plants I’ve never seen before!”

"Watch your step," Zoro warned. "There are many tree roots on the ground, don't slip."

Luffy had already rushed ahead, leaping between branches like a monkey.

“This is so much fun!” he shouted.

"Luffy, don't go too far!" Nami shouted from behind.

The deeper you go, the denser the forest becomes, and it's difficult for sunlight to penetrate.

“It’s a bit creepy,” Usopp said nervously.

“What are you afraid of? There are so many of us,” Sanji said.

“Besides, with Uncle Kizaru around, there won’t be any danger.” Chopper looked at Borsalino trustingly.

"Oh, so you've been relied upon, huh?" Borsalino said leisurely. "But don't worry too much, I don't sense any danger."

“Mr. Kizaru’s Observation Haki is very sharp,” Robin said. “If he says there’s no danger, then there really isn’t.”

After continuing for about half an hour, they arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"Let's start climbing!" Luffy said excitedly.

The hillside wasn't too steep, but it was covered with dense vegetation, requiring you to push through the branches to move forward.

"There seems to be a path here," Zoro noticed. "Look, these plants look like they've been trampled."

Upon closer inspection, a faint path could indeed be seen, and although the marks of trampled plants were not obvious, they were still discernible.

"Someone's been here?" Nami exclaimed in surprise. "Wasn't this supposed to be a deserted island?"

“Maybe it was left behind a long time ago?” Usopp guessed.

“No,” Borsalino shook his head. “These marks are fresh, no more than a few days old.”

"A few days?" Sanji became alert. "That means there are other people on this island?"

“Maybe it’s an animal?” Chopper suggested another possibility.

“Animals don’t walk on such neat paths,” Sauron said. “These must be human footprints.”

“Then we need to be even more careful,” Nami said. “We don’t know if the other side is friend or foe.”

"Don't worry," Luffy said nonchalantly, "You'll see when we meet!"

They continued climbing up the path.

The higher you go, the clearer the path becomes, indicating that it is frequently used.

Finally, they reached the top of the mountain.

The mountaintop is relatively open with few trees obstructing the view, offering excellent visibility.

"Wow!" Luffy stood on the mountaintop, arms outstretched. "You can see the whole island!"

Indeed, from the mountaintop, the entire island's outline is clearly visible. Azure waters surround the green island, and white sand beaches stretch like ribbons. Their huts are nestled among the coconut palms, and the Thousand Sunny is moored in the bay.

"So beautiful," Nami exclaimed.

But Robin suddenly pointed to the other side of the island.

“Look over there,” she said.

Following the direction she pointed, everyone could vaguely see some small buildings on the back of the island, near the coast.

"That's a house?" Franky exclaimed in surprise.

“It does look like a building,” Sauron observed, “but it’s very small, a completely different size from the hut we built.”

"Perhaps it's a fishing village?" Sanji speculated.

“But when we came here, we didn’t see any buildings at all from the sea,” Nami said, puzzled.

“It’s probably blocked by trees,” Robin said. “Besides, we’re moored on the other side of the island, so it’s normal that we can’t see this side.”

"Let's go take a look!" Luffy exclaimed impatiently. "Maybe we'll meet some interesting people!"

"Wait, Luffy!" Nami grabbed him. "We don't know who they are, so we need to be careful."

“Nami is right,” Robin agreed. “Rushing into contact could lead to misunderstandings.”

“Then let’s sneak over and check it out first,” Zoro suggested.

"Okay!" Luffy nodded.

The group came down from the mountaintop and headed toward the building they could see.

The slope on this side is steeper and the vegetation is denser.

"Be careful." Zoro said, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings as he walked.

“I hear footsteps,” Borsalino suddenly said.

Everyone stopped immediately and held their breath.

Indeed, a faint rustling sound came from the bushes ahead. "Someone's coming." Zoro placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Don’t be nervous,” Borsalino said. “It’s not hostile, and its aura is very weak.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bushes were parted.

But what appeared was not the humans they had imagined, but...
"What is that?!" Usopp exclaimed.

Emerging from the bushes was a tiny figure, only about thirty centimeters tall.

He has a human appearance, but is extremely small in size. He wears simple clothes woven from leaves and vines, and carries a small wooden stick as a weapon.

The little man was startled when he saw the Straw Hat Pirates, and almost dropped his wooden stick.

"A giant?!" the little man cried out in terror.

"Giants?" Luffy was stunned. "Are we giants?"

“It’s not that we’re giants,” Robin understood. “It’s that he’s too small.”

The little man nervously stepped back and raised his wooden stick.

"No, don't come any closer!" he said, his voice trembling. "I...I will fight!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Nami quickly crouched down to make herself appear less tall. "We're not bad people!"

"Really?" the man asked, still somewhat doubtful.

"Really!" Luffy crouched down, grinning broadly. "We're just here to explore this island!"

Seeing Luffy's smile, the little man's tense expression relaxed slightly.

"You...aren't here to hurt us?" he asked cautiously.

"Of course not!" Chopper crouched down too. "We're good people!"

The little man looked at Chopper, his eyes lighting up.

"You...you're a reindeer?" he exclaimed in surprise. "What a huge reindeer!"

"I'm not a reindeer!" Chopper exclaimed angrily, but quickly realized, "Oh wait, I am a reindeer, but not an ordinary reindeer. I'm a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit!"

"Human Fruit?" The little man clearly didn't know what it was.

"It's a fruit that turns you into a human after you eat it," Chopper explained.

"How amazing!" the little man exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“Are you a resident of this island?” Robin asked gently.

“Yes, yes,” the little man nodded. “My name is Pike, and I’m a resident of this island.”

“Pick.” Robin smiled. “Hello, my name is Robin. These are my companions.”

She introduced everyone one by one.

"Hello," Pique said shyly, "Are you really not bad people?"

“Really, no,” Nami said gently. “We were just passing through and wanted to explore the island.”

“That’s great.” Pique visibly relaxed. “We rarely see outsiders, and the ones who came before weren’t good people.”

"People who've been here before?" Zoro astutely grasped the key phrase. "You mean other people have been here?"

“Yes.” Pik nodded, a pained expression on his face. “A long time ago, a terrible pirate came here.”

"Pirates?" Luffy's interest was piqued.

“Yes,” Pike’s voice turned sorrowful, “that pirate changed the fate of all of us.”

"What do you mean?" Nami asked, puzzled.

Pique took a deep breath and began to tell their story.

“Actually, we weren’t originally like this,” he said. “We were originally normal-sized humans.”

"What?!" Everyone was surprised.

"Normal size?" Chopper exclaimed incredulously. "You mean you were originally the same height as us?"

“Yes,” Pike nodded. “This island is called Spring Breeze Island, the place where our ancestors lived for generations. We lived a peaceful life, fishing, farming, building houses. Everything was wonderful.”

"And then what happened?" Luffy asked.

"Later," Pixie's eyes widened in fear, "about twenty years ago, a pirate crew came to this island. Their captain was a terrifying man, wearing a black cloak and always sporting a sinister smile."

"Did they rob the village?" Sanji asked.

“No,” Pick shook his head, “worse. The captain said he was a ‘magician’ with the power to change everything. He saw our village, said he liked the place very much, and wanted to take it for himself.”

"And then?" Nami asked nervously.

“Then, of course, we refused,” Pike continued. “The village chief told him that this was our home and we wouldn’t give it to anyone. The pirate captain laughed when he heard that. He said, ‘Since you don’t want to leave, then you can stay here forever, but you have to adapt to the ‘size’ of this island.’”

"To match the size of the island?" Robin frowned.

“Yes.” Pike’s voice trembled. “He raised his hand, chanted some incantation we couldn’t understand, and then an eerie light enveloped the entire village.”

Pique paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

“When the light disappeared, we all shrank,” he continued. “From our normal height, we were only about thirty centimeters tall. Not just adults, but children too. Everyone shrank.”

"Oh my god." Nami covered her mouth.

“This is too cruel,” Chopper said, his eyes welling up with tears.

"That pirate was laughing heartily," Pik's voice was filled with hatred. "He said that this way we would never pose a threat to him again. Then he left with his pirate crew, saying he was going to find more interesting islands."

"He just left like that?" Zoro frowned. "And never came back?"

“No,” Pick shook his head. “We’ve never seen him since. At first, we waited for him to come back, hoping to beg him to turn us back. But a year, two years, five years passed. He never appeared. We gradually realized that he had forgotten us, or simply didn’t care whether we lived or died.”

"That bastard," Sanji gritted his teeth.

“What’s even more terrifying,” Pique’s voice grew even more sorrowful, “is that this change is permanent, and, moreover, it can be inherited.”

“Genetics?” Robin was surprised.

“Yes,” Pick nodded. “The babies born after that incident are all this small. We originally thought the newborns would return to normal size, but they won’t. They’re only three centimeters long at birth, and they’ll only grow to about thirty centimeters.”

"So, that means," Nami said incredulously, "this curse affected your genes?"

“I don’t know what genes are,” Pique said. “But I do know we can never go back. Now, half the people in the village were cursed back then, and the other half were born later. I was born later, and I’ve never experienced what it’s like to be of normal height.”

silence.

Everyone was shocked by this story.

"What exactly did that pirate do to you?" Robin murmured.

“It should be a Devil Fruit ability,” Borsalino said slowly. “I do remember a fruit that can change the size of a human body.”

"Devil Fruit?" Piqué didn't quite understand.

“It’s a magical fruit,” Robin explained. “Eating it grants special abilities. That pirate probably ate some kind of fruit that can change size.”

“I see,” Pike exclaimed, suddenly understanding. “No wonder he said he knew magic.”

"Do you know what that pirate's name is?" Zoro asked.

“I don’t know,” Pike shook his head. “He never said his name. But there was a symbol on his ship, a black eye surrounded by a spiral.”

(End of this chapter)