A Gift Despised by the Cannibal Tribe

The sudden turn of events left Buggy frozen in place, his mind struggling to catch up...

The bear cub that the grizzly had been carrying was now sitting on the ground. It reached out with one adorable little paw and grabbed the grizzly's leg, which was far too big for it to wrap its paw around. With its other paw, it nibbled on the bamboo Mohji had tossed over, looking perfectly content.

The grizzly was clearly putting all its strength into moving forward, but with the cub tugging at it, it could do no more than march in place. Unable to advance even half a meter, it finally sat down. Its fearsome air vanished, leaving it looking utterly harmless.

Mohji's heart had nearly leaped into his throat. At last, he let out a long breath. As the murderous aura around the grizzly faded, it sent a clear message to the animal trainer: he was saved!

Having narrowly escaped death, the animal trainer laughed out loud like an idiot. "I'm saved! I'm saved! Cabaji, your scheme has been foiled! Hahaha!"

Did this guy even understand what was going on...? Buggy helplessly let out a breath of relief. The animal trainer's mind seemed to have taken some highway to who knew where, but at least they were safe.

"I remember!" Shuma suddenly leaped forward excitedly and pointed at the harmless-looking bear cub. "That's the Bear Spirit!"

"Huh? That cub is your Bear Spirit?" Buggy's face darkened as he finally caught on. "So the guy who's been chasing us all this time was just some irrelevant nobody...? Maybe we should kill it?"

"Okay, okay." Shuma rubbed a finger beneath his nose and flashed a bright, sunny smile. "I'll cook another pot of food for the Bear Spirit to try."

"Enough already..." A vein bulged on Buggy's forehead.

"Then half a pot?"

While Shuma was trying to bargain, a thought flashed through Mohji's mind. He stood up, dipped a finger into the pot, and tasted the broth. His face flushed crimson, and he quickly stuck out his tongue to catch his breath. Drawing on his knowledge of beasts, he finally got close to the truth. "I've got it!"

Shuma and Buggy asked at the same time, "Got what?"

"Your cooking is completely wrong for them! Bears love sweet things, and this pot is so spicy it's practically on fire. How could they possibly like it?" Mohji carefully tossed over a piece of sweet bamboo he'd already gnawed halfway through. "This sweet bamboo that grows on cliff edges is what they want to eat!"

The big grizzly had completely calmed down. It narrowed its eyes, stretched out its tongue, and leisurely licked the sweet bamboo it had been given. No one would have guessed that it had looked ready to kill a moment ago.

It was that simple?! Buggy's mouth twitched. What was he even supposed to say...?

Shuma put on a thoughtful expression. "But the Great Matriarch clearly told me to add more 'Destruction Pepper.' She also said that once I finished cooking, I should split up from you guys."

That wretched old woman. She must have known Shuma wouldn't attack them, so she'd tried to use the bear to kill them instead...? The Cannibal Tribe really was the Cannibal Tribe. No matter what tragic circumstances they'd faced, they couldn't be sympathized with...

Buggy looked at the big and little brown bears munching on bamboo and asked, "Does this count as earning the Bear Spirit's approval?"

"I'm not sure." Shuma scratched his head. "I think there's some kind of ritual, too."

The bear cub seemed to understand Shuma. It patted the big grizzly on the backside with its little paw, and the grizzly set off into the distance, clutching half a piece of sweet bamboo and staggering like a drunk old man.

The bear cub stumbled to its feet, then pressed its paw against the side of the large pot. When it pulled its paw away, a little bear-paw imprint remained in the metal, astonishingly similar in size to the bear-paw tattoo on the back of Shuma's hand.

"I think that was the ritual the Great Matriarch told me about," Shuma recalled.

Hearing him say that, Buggy let out a long breath. The whole thing had been bizarre from beginning to end, but it seemed to have ended peacefully.

Before long, the big grizzly returned with something cradled in its paw. It seemed to be in such a good mood that even its steps had grown quiet and careful; it no longer made a point of stomping heavily.

It placed the object in front of Shuma and waited for him to decide what to do.

That thing... Buggy sucked in a sharp breath.

Shuma lowered his head and sniffed the strangely patterned fruit in front of him. Then he bluntly said, "It stinks. I don't want it."

Buggy looked at the fruit before him and tried to persuade him. "Shuma, that's a Devil Fruit. You can gain incredible power by eating it. Are you really going to pass it up?"

Shuma turned his head away and said firmly, "I'd never eat such a stinky fruit."

Seeing Shuma's expression, the grizzly looked disappointed and let out a very human-like sigh. Every Kumat Tribe member who completed the coming-of-age ritual had rejected this fruit, always for the same reason: it smelled too bad.

What a terrible nose to inherit... This fruit had been passed down from its ancestors, too. Who knew how many hundreds of years it had been...

"So picky..." Buggy looked at the Devil Fruit in front of him. "If you don't want it, how about giving it to me?"

Shuma picked up the Devil Fruit and handed it to Buggy. "Here."

Buggy took it and turned to look at Mohji. In the brief silence around them, he could hear Mohji swallow and his heartbeat quicken.

"Mohji, eat it."

"Captain Buggy... I..." Mohji's brain instantly short-circuited. His trembling hands took the Devil Fruit before he could stop himself. Was this what had given Captain Buggy his Devil Fruit powers? Could I... could I have that kind of power, too?!

Tears streamed down his face as he swallowed the fruit through his tears. Captain Buggy, I'll repay your great kindness by serving you for the rest of my life!

Repay you...

Pay you...

You...

Why does it taste so bad?!

Why does it taste like dog shit?!

No, even so, I can't make a sour face. Hold it in. I have to hold it in. If Captain Buggy sees, he'll be disappointed in me!

With tears mixing together, Mohji chewed the Devil Fruit, his face twisted almost beyond recognition. He forced himself to put on an extremely hideous smile, as if to say: It's delicious! Don't worry, Captain Buggy. I'll finish every last bite!

Shuma stared at Mohji, his eyes sparkling and his mouth shaped like an O. This time, he finally got the name right. "Mohji, Mohji! Tell me quickly, what does poop taste like?"

Mohji's throat suddenly tickled. Mucus and bits of fruit shot out of his nose as he choked, making for a truly splendid sight.

Buggy stood off to the side, looking peculiar. "With a Devil Fruit... you only have to eat one bite..."

Mohji's jaws, still moving as he chewed the Devil Fruit, froze as if he'd become a painting.

Clatter...

He felt as though something inside him had just shattered...