As the two desperately unleashed their Rejuvenation Roars, their abilities gradually became more apparent.
Only now did Dawn realize that they had been using their Devil Fruit powers all along; he had simply been too far away to see it before.
And now, it seemed the two of them were fighting for their lives.
But honestly... due to their gluttony, all their muscles had turned into heavy fat. They were already gasping after taking just a few steps, so their stamina was probably running low.
Yet faced with the threat of death, the two still unleashed their greatest strength.
The black "meatball" from earlier suddenly gained a layer of cyan light around its body, and, obviously, the "black meatball" became somewhat faster.
The meatball swiftly turned, intending to hug the nearest tree.
Meanwhile, the meatball shouting "Snatch-Snatch Lock" suddenly controlled a seemingly sturdy vine in the distance and pulled it into his hand.
But unfortunately, all of this was merely wishful thinking.
Having become meatballs, their bodies had completely turned into flab laden with fat, leaving them with little strength. Devil Fruits just happened to consume stamina.
Then there was their weight.
The meatball that seemed to have activated an agility buff could not run fast at all, while the vine in the other man's hand had already begun to snap.
The commotion made by the giant plant, Stomach Baron, when it fed was simply too enormous.
As its outer petals closed, they directly triggered a tsunami. Meanwhile, the island's interior began to quake, thunderous rumbles erupting everywhere as though a natural disaster had struck.
"Devil Fruit users? And there are two of them?"
Dawn watched the two meatballs' near-death performance without the slightest ripple in his heart.
The thought of rescuing them had never even crossed his mind. One could never be too careful around others, especially when these two looked like pirates.
He was just a child. Although three months of training had given his body some defined lines, he had no combat experience whatsoever.
Besides, an "Abyssal Maw" lay between him and them. He could not get over there even if he wanted to.
So Dawn silently lay on the tree branch and watched the show.
Unfortunately, the show had already come to an end.
Amid the crashing of trees and a tremendous roar, the two meatballs stared in despair at an even larger meatball—another Sea King that had eaten itself enormously fat.
Its massive, round body was like a bowling ball. Moving at unstoppable speed, it slammed the two struggling men, along with itself, into the abyss. Their sounds vanished in an instant.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. They really were unlucky. Otherwise, they might have struggled a little longer." Dawn shook his head as he watched the three fall.
Even as Devil Fruit users, they had lost to their desires. On top of being unfamiliar with the island, they had practically been courting death.
Feeling the tilt beneath him, Dawn knew that Stomach Baron had completely closed.
If someone had looked over from afar at that moment, they would have seen the island resembling a flower bud waiting to bloom, quietly standing upon the sea.
After Stomach Baron had finished feeding, the island returned to calm. With no animals running and frolicking around, it became much quieter.
Dawn climbed down from the tree, untied his rope, and prepared to head for the outskirts while the island was peaceful.
His goal was to see whether he could gather anything useful. The farther out he went, the more likely something would be caught somewhere.
As for those man-eating flowers, they were still cowering for now, so he did not need to worry about danger.
"Huh? What's this? A plant inside the maw has grown a fruit?"
Just as Dawn was about to climb down from the tree, a plant in a lit area within the maw caught his attention.
Out of curiosity, Dawn had previously inspected the inside of the "Abyssal Maw" and knew that plants grew within these maws. But the plant beneath his feet had now borne a small fruit.
The plant grew only three or four meters below the maw, so Dawn could clearly see the fruit-bearing plant.
Yet when Dawn had come to inspect it before, none of the plants had borne fruit at all.
"Forget it. I should hurry to the outskirts and see if there's anything there. Those two probably ended up here by accident too. Maybe they left something behind." After thinking it over, Dawn decided to run to the outskirts first.
If he was lucky enough, something might happen to be caught on a tree branch or a rock.
His other goal was to see whether any passing ships might happen to sail by. If possible, he still needed to find a way to leave.
As for pirate ships, forget it. Dawn had no desire to seek death.
While the outskirts were still relatively quiet, Dawn hurried to the island's outermost edge, where it met the sea.
And as expected, he found nothing.
Still, Dawn was not disappointed. He was already used to it.
Before the man-eating flowers and Sea Kings arrived, Dawn hurried back to the interior and prepared to begin his new training plan for the day.
After three months, Dawn had steadily increased both his food intake and training volume through the island's relentless cycle. By now, he had laid down a solid foundation.
Moreover, the food here was rich in nutrients and easily absorbed by the body, so Dawn's progress was visible to the naked eye. He had shed his frail appearance and gained a strong physique.
Given his current speed, the man-eating flowers no longer posed much of a threat. Even if he could not beat them, he could still outrun them.
And now, Dawn was preparing to practice Shave!
Once he became proficient in this skill, not only would his mobility greatly increase, but he could also learn Geppo. Having aerial mobility and lacking it were completely different concepts.
As for Tekkai and Paper Drawing, Dawn knew that because of his body, he could probably only build a foundation for them at the moment. Even so, he was already satisfied.
Even with Shave, Dawn could not guarantee that he would succeed in mastering it.
But running itself was also a fundamental method of training one's agility.
Moreover, it could greatly improve his reflexes. Running at full speed through such dense woods without crashing into trees required quick reactions and bodily coordination.
Dawn had also thought of an advanced version of the training.
When the time came, he could train his sense of danger while being pursued by man-eating flowers, further strengthening his coordination and ability to react on the spot.
Amid the monotonous days of training day after day, another three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Before you continue