Two Meatballs

Training, eating, resting while tied to a tree.

Every day was that monotonous three-point routine.

But on this enormous plant-covered island, Dawn didn't feel lonely from being away from people—only an intense longing for the most exciting era yet to come!

But Dawn knew that without enough strength, you could only watch the tide of the times surge forward, or else... be obliterated within it.

Still, every day here was both pain and joy for Dawn, constantly tempering his will.

The pain of pushing his body to its limits, the pleasure of delicious food, and the agony of resisting its temptation—these became Dawn's daily life.

And under relentless training, Dawn's appetite kept growing. The temptation of gluttony nearly overwhelmed him several times, forcing him to pull out a knife as a last resort.

Under the dual pressure and refinement of body and will, Dawn continuously transformed.

Even though the island had his favorite foods—fried chicken cutlets, cocoa milk drinks, and tomato pasta—Dawn had to forcibly restrain his appetite.

To resist his ever-surge of hunger, he even set rules for himself.

For example, if he increased his food intake, his training volume had to increase by a quarter or a third accordingly.

And later, because training required more energy-replenishing food, Dawn's training load kept rising.

This cycle of self-imposed rules unknowingly created a virtuous loop, allowing Dawn to constantly break through his limits.

For three months, Dawn did nothing but this cycle of training.

But perhaps because he was used to being alone, the endless training never bored him.

His only pastime was reading the occasional newspaper he obtained, checking on the state of the world.

Speaking of which, it's worth mentioning how Dawn got those newspapers.

To this day, Dawn hadn't spent a single berry on any newspaper he'd acquired.

Of course, that wasn't because Dawn did something insane like killing a News Bird to steal its papers.

Rather... the News Birds had also become round and plump, unable to fly anymore...

After all, even humans couldn't resist here, let alone birds with just a hint of intelligence.

So most of the time, Dawn found newspapers lying around, but never saw the News Birds...

When resting on the island, Dawn always tied himself to a tree to sleep, preventing the island from swallowing him as a snack while he was unconscious.

The time between feedings was roughly fixed at about twenty days—whether earlier or later seemed to depend on the number and growth of prey on the island.

Dawn didn't know how the Stomach Baron sensed this, but he had his own way of dealing with it.

First, he observed the growth of the sea beasts on the island.

If they were fat as balls, it was almost time for the Stomach Baron to feed.

On the other hand, being at the center was a favorable position—every tremor was felt first from the inside, allowing Dawn to react immediately.

If he were on the outskirts, the slope would accelerate his slide exponentially, and there'd be no stopping.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

With violent tremors and deafening roars, all life on the island let out terrified screams. A dangerous premonition warned them to flee.

But it was too late.

The beasts, having eaten themselves into balls, had long lost any ability to move.

Whether it was a hawk that once soared the skies or a Sea King that ruled the ocean, all now let out desperate roars of doom.

No help for it—they were way, way too fat!

Addicted to delicious food, they never noticed their bodies growing larger, their hunting muscles slowly turning into soft, flabby fat.

And now, that heavy fat became their ticket to hell.

Dawn knew the island's creatures had been fattened up. The Stomach Baron needed to harvest prey to replenish its nutrients.

With surging waves, the "Stomach Baron" began to feed. All the plump, white prey let out despairing cries as they rolled into its stomach.

The moment the ground shook, Dawn immediately stopped training.

He skillfully untied the rope around his waist, quickly lashed himself to a big tree, and hugged it tightly. As the island tilted upright, his body pressed flat against the trunk.

This was no joke—even tied up, it wasn't foolproof. The deeper inside you were, the more careful you had to be. One slip and you'd fall straight into the stomach.

So Dawn had long adjusted his position, lying on the tree and watching the unlucky "bursting food" tumble down.

Being so close, he could clearly see the bottomless Abyssal Maw below.

Beyond that, only endless darkness met his eyes. Whether animals or Sea Kings, every life that fell into that abyss went silent the moment it entered the dark.

"Help!!"

Suddenly, a man's cry for help rang in Dawn's ears.

Dawn turned his head toward the sound while clinging to the tree. He saw a dark-skinned figure shaped like a "Meatball," shouting desperately.

Clearly, the man wanted to stop his slide, but having turned into a ball of fat from overeating, he was utterly powerless.

Still, he struggled to climb upward, trying desperately to stay away from the Abyssal Maw that had already swallowed so many prey.

"Damn it!!! Didn't you say there was no danger?!" Another meatball mouth couldn't hold back its furious cursing.

"How was I supposed to know this island would be like this!" Black Meatball shot back, but his sliding speed increased by another notch. Startled, he dared not speak further and scrambled desperately upward.

Soon enough, the other curser had no breath left to curse, because at that moment, his body was slipping downward without pause as the island continued to close in.

Dawn lay prone on a tree branch, gazing across toward the opposite side of the "Abyssal Maw."

Amidst the chorus of cries for help and angry shouts, two enormous meatballs, clearly dressed like pirates, were slowly sliding down from the outer rim.

As the two drew closer and closer to the Abyssal Maw, panic set in. A strange power began to manifest upon their bodies.

"Speed-Speed Aura"!!

"Snatch-Snatch Lock"!!!

With their shouts, Dawn witnessed for the first time the unique abilities unique to this world.

They were the powers of what were known as the sea's secret treasures—the "Devil Fruits."