The group continued through the fruit grove when a rustling suddenly came from the trees. The commotion was loud—many creatures were approaching them.
At last, Teach saw what they looked like: a troop of golden-haired monkeys, the rulers of this island. The moment they spotted the fruit in Teach and the others' hands, they pointed at them, clearly furious, and chattered among themselves.
Teach sensed their thoughts with Observation Haki and understood what they were saying. All the fruit on the island belonged to the king. These intruders had stolen the king's fruit, so they had to be taken to him to atone and be dealt with.
The king they meant had to be the Monkey King. Earlier, when Teach had used Observation Haki to scan the island, he had sensed a fairly powerful presence there. He had also heard them mention the king's miraculous water, though he hadn't understood what they meant.
The golden monkeys kept closing in, surrounding Teach and the others. Some carried weapons—wooden clubs—and seemed intent on capturing them. Seeing how aggressively they were advancing, Mobius prepared to fight, but Teach stopped him with a smile. "Don't resist. Let's go with them and see what happens. Something interesting might come of it."
At Teach's words, the other three didn't resist. Seeing that the four made no move to fight back, one monkey even came over and gave them a look that said, "At least you know what's good for you." Mobius felt like hitting him.
The monkeys led the four into the mountains. The farther they went, the more monkeys they saw. They all looked at Teach and the others curiously, but seemed to be busy with some important event. They rushed around picking fruit and carrying it up the mountain.
At last, they arrived. There was a cave, and a huge boulder outside it. A gigantic golden-haired monkey was sprawled atop the boulder. He stood a full five meters tall, with a powerful build and a bare chest. Two petite female monkeys sat in his arms, while two more fanned him with banana leaves. On either side, another pair of female monkeys peeled bananas and fed them to the Monkey King. He was living the high life, truly at the peak of monkeyhood.
He was lounging lazily when he noticed the four of them and looked puzzled. One of the monkeys escorting them stepped forward and told the Monkey King that these four strange monkeys had stolen fruit on this joyous day. No one was allowed to steal fruit on this day, so they had captured the four and brought them to the king for him to decide their fate.
The monkeys had never seen the outside world or come into contact with humans. On this island, where monkeys were the rulers, they saw Teach and the others as monkeys too—just hairless ones.
At the monkey's words, those around them grew furious. They shouted angrily and cursed Teach and the others, threatening to teach the four strange monkeys a proper lesson.
Then the Monkey King stood up and raised his hand. The monkeys around him fell silent at once. He spoke, saying in effect that the four monkeys might not know their rules, and that on such an important day they should avoid fighting. Everyone should be happy, so they could let the intruders off this once.
Hearing how merciful their king was, the monkeys cheered. Their leader walked up to Teach and the others and chattered, telling them that the king was in a good mood and would let them off this time and allow them to join in, but they wouldn't be so lucky next time. They had to remember that on this day of every month, no one could eat any fruit. They had to give it all to the king first, so he could make the miraculous water. With that, the monkey left.
Mobius and the others were utterly confused. "Teach, what are they saying? I can't understand a word," Mobius asked. He knew Teach could understand some animals.
Teach told them what he'd gathered. "Don't be upset. They seem to think we're one of them. Let's wait and see. I'm curious about what they're going to do next." Teach smiled.
One monkey after another carried all kinds of fruit here, piling it up before dumping it into a stone pool five meters across. Monkeys had cleaned the pool, so it was fairly clean, and there was already some mountain spring water in it, brought down from the mountains by the others.
The monkeys had crude stone and wooden bowls set out in front of them. In front of the Monkey King sat a wine jar. Yes, a wine jar. Teach could smell a rich fragrance wafting from it, the delicate aroma of a wine he'd never tasted before.
Teach had already guessed what the event was about, but he had no idea how the monkeys planned to do it.
The event was about to begin. The monkeys gathered around the stone pool, surrounding it completely as they gazed at the Monkey King with shining eyes and expressions of reverence.
The Monkey King stood up and chattered at length, proclaiming that this was the miraculous water bestowed upon them by the gods. Then the ceremony began in earnest. He spread his arms, and a strange energy emanated from him. Streams of green liquid emerged from his body and swirled around him. The monkeys stared intently at their king. Some cried out in excitement. It was thrilling to witness every time. Their king truly was the gods' representative.
"Teach, that's—" A look of surprise flashed across Mobius's eyes. He'd realized what was happening.
"That's right. This Monkey King is a Devil Fruit user. Let's keep watching. I wonder what his ability is." Teach watched the Monkey King.
As the monkeys and the four of them watched, the Monkey King let out a shout. The mysterious liquid around his body flowed through the air into the stone pool, covering the fruit and blending with the spring water. The fruit melted away before their eyes, dissolving into the green liquid. The water gradually turned a deep green. Under the Monkey King's power, the spring water and fruit in the pool transformed into wine at a visible rate. The fruit fermented thousands—or even tens of thousands—of times faster, saving all the time normally needed to brew wine.
Then the Monkey King withdrew his power and drew some of the wine into the jar before him, covering it with a leaf. Teach saw that the wine in the king's jar had a richer aroma and a clearer color. It also looked more delicious. As the Monkey King, he naturally kept the best things for himself. His wine was made from the essence of the fruit.
The monkeys stared at the wine in the stone pool, entranced by its rich aroma, but none dared to move. They waited for the Monkey King's command.
The Monkey King raised his arms and shouted for everyone to celebrate. All the monkeys grew excited and rushed toward the stone pool, scooping up wine with the stone and wooden bowls in their hands.
This was authentic Monkey Wine. Smelling its aroma, Teach thought that he'd known about it but never had the chance to taste it. He hadn't expected to get the chance in this world. He smiled at Pito and the others behind him. "Come on, let's try some too. This is the finest wine there is."
With that, Teach stepped forward and took a bottle of rum from his backpack. He didn't head for the pool, but walked toward the Monkey King. The Monkey King looked puzzled, but Teach smiled and approached him. Even sitting down, the king was enormous. His broad shoulders and thick arms were especially impressive, brimming with astonishing strength. Teach wondered how he'd gotten so muscular. Was it natural? That couldn't be. The Monkey King didn't look like the type to work out.
Teach took two bowls from his backpack and set one in front of himself and the other in front of the Monkey King. Then he sat down across from him. The Monkey King seemed interested in the fine bowls, but his attention was quickly drawn to the bottle of rum in Teach's hand. As a Devil Fruit user whose power could brew wine, he was extremely sensitive to alcohol. He could tell this wine was different from what his power made.
Teach opened the rum bottle. Its rich, mellow aroma, different from that of Monkey Wine, filled the air. The Monkey King sniffed, and his eyes lit up. Devil Fruits could subtly influence their users, and this Monkey King, whose power let him brew wine, was clearly a massive drunk.
Teach poured rum into the Monkey King's bowl until it was nearly nine-tenths full, then poured some for himself.
After pouring, Teach set the bottle beside the Monkey King, then picked up his bowl and raised it to him with one hand. The Monkey King had been waiting impatiently. He picked up the bottle but didn't drink straight from it. He was clever and imitated Teach, raising it, though his arm reached much higher than Teach's because of his size.
Teach saw this and burst out laughing. "Zehahaha! This is my favorite rum. Let's have a taste together." He raised his bowl and lightly clinked it against the Monkey King's bowl, then began drinking heartily.
The Monkey King understood Teach and smiled. He'd been waiting impatiently, so he joined Teach in enjoying the wine.
For the Monkey King, there was far too little rum. He drained it in one gulp, without getting the satisfying feeling of a proper drink. His eyes fell on the rum bottle Teach had set in front of him. He was clever, and instinct told him he could sense a deadly threat from Teach. It was an unfamiliar feeling, one he'd never experienced before. He also sensed that Teach and his companions weren't his kind.
Teach noticed the Monkey King's gaze and smiled, guessing what he was thinking. He took two more bottles of rum from his backpack. Holding one in each hand, he pressed his thumbs beneath the caps and flicked them off with a little force. Both caps popped free with a "pop." He then offered the bottles to the Monkey King. "Let's drink together. There's plenty of rum."
The Monkey King's eyes lit up at Teach's movements. He carefully picked up a bottle, afraid of breaking it. He tried to imitate Teach, but it was difficult because his hands were so large. He squeezed with his fingers. "Crack!" The bottle split, though only at the neck, startling him. Wine leaked out and ran down the bottle toward the ground. Alarmed, the Monkey King instinctively used his power. The leaking wine instantly came under his control, floating in midair without a single drop falling to the ground.
The Monkey King seemed relieved. He took out his usual oversized wooden bowl and controlled the rum from the two bottles, along with what remained of the first bottle, until it all flowed into the bowl by itself. It filled about four-fifths of the bowl. Only then did he happily begin drinking the rum.
The flavor was different from the Monkey Wine he brewed, but it was delicious too. Accustomed to fruit wine like Monkey Wine, he found this new drink a special experience. His ability had changed, and he felt that he could brew this kind of wine himself, though wine couldn't be created out of nothing. He still needed brewing ingredients.
Still, compared to the Monkey King Wine he carefully brewed, this rum fell short. Thinking that, the Monkey King smiled confidently and picked up the jar of Monkey King Wine beside him. Brewing each jar consumed a great deal of his energy, and it took a long time for him to recover.
He removed the leaf covering the jar. Its rich aroma spread through the air. This was the first time the Monkey King had shared his treasured wine with anyone else. With his ability, he could make as much ordinary Monkey Wine as he wanted. But normally only a few could drink it; only on this day each month could all the monkeys enjoy the wine to their hearts' content. Teach had undoubtedly earned his approval. He was strong but meant no harm, and he'd shared his wine with the Monkey King, opening up a whole new world to him.
So this thing was called wine. He wasn't the only one in the world who knew how to make it. In other places, people made all kinds of wine, with countless flavors he'd never tried.
The Monkey King used his power to make Monkey King Wine flow into Teach's bowl and his own large bowl. Teach's eyes lit up. Wasn't this exactly what he'd come for? Watching his bowl fill, the Monkey King picked up his wooden bowl and raised it to Teach the way Teach had done earlier.
He thought the gesture was interesting, especially when drinking with someone else. No one on this island had been worthy of drinking with him before. He planned to teach his people the gesture later, so they'd do it whenever they drank with other monkeys.
Teach smiled at the Monkey King's gesture. He hadn't expected the king to imitate him so well; it was quite amusing. He seemed more like a person than an animal. Teach couldn't ignore the Monkey King's toast, so he met the king's eyes with a smile and raised his bowl in return.
The Monkey King grinned, baring his teeth. He brought his bowl down toward Teach's, gently tapping it. The bowl rocked, and wine spilled from the brim-full bowl. But the Monkey King's power took hold, leaving the wine floating perfectly in midair before it flowed back into Teach's bowl as if time had reversed.
The man and the monkey laughed together, then enjoyed the Monkey King Wine, which had once been reserved for the king alone.
Teach drank the Monkey King Wine in great gulps. He felt a potent energy in it, slowly increasing his strength and strengthening his body. The boost was gradual, as the energy in the wine needed time to be absorbed. Before he knew it, Teach had activated Life Return, rapidly digesting the energy in the wine and quickly increasing his physical strength.
Given his current physique, the improvement was limited. The first gulp had made the biggest difference; the more he drank, the weaker the effect became, until it was almost negligible. Even so, the boost saved him half a year of hard training. It was an enormous surprise. No wonder the Monkey King looked like he never exercised yet had such a powerful body and had even broken through his species' limits to grow so huge.
Breaking through the limits of one's species wasn't uncommon in this world. Anyone—human or animal—could keep growing by training hard and eating a lot, especially high-energy foods like Sea King meat. The Monkey King's enormous size clearly came from drinking Monkey King Wine for years.
"This really is excellent wine. I can't believe Monkey King Wine has such a powerful effect. It truly lives up to its name as miraculous wine," Teach praised. "But we won't be staying on this island much longer. We'll be leaving soon. I'm glad we met here. My name is Marshall D. Teach." As he spoke, he held out his hand.
The Monkey King wasn't surprised to hear Teach was leaving, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. He reached out and shook Teach's hand. He wanted to introduce himself, but didn't know how.
Teach noticed the Monkey King's embarrassment and smiled. "Then let me give you a name."
The Monkey King's eyes lit up at that, his gaze full of anticipation. Teach thought for a moment, though he already had a name in mind. "Kakarot. How about I call you Kakarot?" The Monkey King wasn't a member of the warrior race Teach had in mind, but at least he could fulfill a wish of his.
The Monkey King was very pleased. He excitedly thumped his chest to show how happy he was.
"Wait a bit and come with me to the shore. There's plenty of delicious rum aboard my ship. I'll give you some. If you ration it, it'll last a long time." Meeting the Monkey King had made Teach very happy. Befriending him could only be a good thing—and it meant Teach could drink more of the rare, delicious Monkey Wine.
Teach's rum wasn't the ordinary stuff most pirates drank; it was high-end liquor. Each bottle was worth 50,000 berries. Now that he had money, Teach naturally wouldn't deny himself.
Monkey King Kakarot was delighted. He hadn't chosen the wrong person. A change of pace from Monkey Wine would be nice, and Teach's rum tasted great and suited him perfectly. Perhaps he could even use it to develop a new wine by combining it with Monkey Wine. He'd never thought of that before, but now that he knew there were all kinds of wine, he naturally wanted to experiment with new varieties. As a monkey who loved wine, he had a natural advantage thanks to his ability.
Although Monkey Wine was fruit wine, it was highly potent. The monkeys already sprawled around them, dizzy with drink, made that clear. It was also among the three strongest wines Teach had ever tried. He hadn't tasted it yet, but a quick analysis with Observation Haki told him as much.
It was a level above Teach's high-end rum. If it ever appeared on the open seas, he was certain it would immediately take the world by storm. After all, it was made by an ability and was incredibly pure—far superior to anything made by hand.
As for Monkey King Wine, it was the finest wine in the world. It tasted even better than Monkey Wine, and, more importantly, its effects were beyond belief.
Teach continued drinking with the Monkey King. Monkey Wine had a strong aftereffect. Mobius drank too much without pacing himself, and it hit him all at once. Unable to stay on his feet, he grew thoroughly drunk. Pito and Wos fared even worse. They barely ever drank and hadn't built up any tolerance. Teach glanced at Mobius, looking like a wreck. Still just a kid. He couldn't help sneering to himself.
Two hours had passed by the time they reached the shore. Mobius was coming around. Teach carried Pito while Mobius carried Wos; neither of the other two had woken up yet. Their tolerance was terrible, and they would probably need a long while. Teach didn't plan to wake them.
Only the Monkey King had come to the shore. The other monkeys were all asleep, and with such good rum on offer, he didn't want to share it with them. There were plenty of ingredients for making more Monkey Wine, but until he figured out how to make rum, every bottle he drank was one less. He didn't want the other monkeys to know about it.
He looked at Teach's ship curiously. So this was the thing Teach had used to sail across the sea to the island.
Teach carried more than two cases of high-end rum down from the ship. He'd originally bought three cases, each holding thirty bottles, and gave the Monkey King all the rum he had left. After all, he didn't know when they'd meet again.
The Monkey King naturally wouldn't accept the gift without giving something in return. With a wave of his power, he popped the caps off the rum bottles. The rum flowed out and gathered around him.
At the same time, the Monkey King directed his own Monkey Wine into the bottles. Teach hadn't expected him to be able to do that and smiled.
In the end, the Monkey King also gave Teach half a pool's worth of Monkey King Wine. As the king, he'd obviously hidden some away. He couldn't have drunk all of it every time.
But Teach asked him to put the Monkey King Wine into the empty bottles instead. Teach had a few empty bottles, and the Monkey King's storage jars were rather crude. The king's ability could keep the aroma from escaping, but for Teach, the wine needed to go into sealed bottles.
Seeing that Teach had a few empty bottles, the Monkey King thoughtfully filled the rest with Monkey Wine.
"Kakarot, goodbye. I'll come back next time, and I'll bring even more fine wine." The ship had already set sail, and Teach waved to the Monkey King on shore with a smile. "And be careful around other humans. They might covet your wine and try to take it by force."
The Monkey King waved goodbye and nodded to show he understood. He thumped his chest with confidence, as if to say, "Don't worry. I'm strong."
But Teach knew the Monkey King had taken his warning to heart.
Before you continue