The Gift Detested by the Cannibal Tribe

The sudden turn of events brought Buggy to a halt, his mind struggling to process the situation.

The bear cub, which the grizzly had been clutching the entire time, was now sitting on the ground. It reached out a tiny, adorable paw to grab the grizzly's massive thigh—a limb entirely out of proportion to its own—while its other paw gnawed on a piece of bamboo Mohji had tossed over, looking perfectly content.

The grizzly had been putting its full strength into moving forward, yet under the cub's tugging, it was effectively marching in place, unable to advance even half a meter. Finally, it sat down, its ferocious, murderous aura vanishing entirely, leaving it looking as harmless as a pet.

Mohji's heart felt like it was about to leap out of his throat. He finally let out a long, shaky breath; the fading killing intent from the grizzly signaled one thing to the beast tamer: he had been saved!

The brush with death made the tamer laugh out loud like an idiot. "I'm saved! I'm saved! Cabaji, your scheme has been shattered by me, haha!"

Does this guy not understand the situation at all? Buggy sighed in helpless relief at the tamer, whose train of thought seemed to be connected to a highway that led to nowhere. At least he was safe.

"I remember now!" Shuma suddenly jumped out in excitement, pointing at the harmless bear cub. "That is the true Bear Spirit!"

"Huh? This cub is your Bear Spirit?" Buggy reacted instantly, his face darkening. "So the thing that chased us for so long was just some irrelevant creature? ...Do you think we should slaughter it?"

"Alright, alright." Shuma rubbed his nose with his finger, flashing a bright, sunny smile. "I'll cook another pot of food for the Bear Spirit to taste."

"You need to stop right there..." A vein throbbed on Buggy's forehead.

"Then... half a pot?"

While Shuma was busy haggling, a thought flashed through Mohji's mind. He stood up, dipped a finger into the large pot to taste the broth, and immediately turned beet-red. He stuck out his tongue, gasping for air. Drawing on his knowledge of beast habits, he finally grasped the truth. "I know what's wrong!"

Shuma and Buggy asked in unison, "What do you know?"

"The compatibility of your dish is terrible! Bears love sweets, but this pot is so spicy it's practically on fire. How could it ever be accepted!" Mohji carefully tossed over a piece of sweet bamboo he had been gnawing on. "This sweet bamboo that grows on the cliffs is the food they actually want!"

The large grizzly changed its irritable demeanor, squinting its eyes as it lay on the ground, stretching out its tongue to blissfully lick the bamboo it had been handed. No one would have guessed it had been ready to kill just moments ago.

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

Shuma looked thoughtful. "But the Great Matriarch specifically told me to add more 'Destruction Pepper,' and said that once I finished cooking, I should part ways with you all."

What a hateful old hag. She must have known Shuma wouldn't hurt them, so she tried to use the bear to do the killing... The Cannibal Tribe is truly the Cannibal Tribe. Even if they've suffered, they aren't worth pitying...

Buggy looked at the large and small bears cuddling and chewing on the bamboo. "In that case, does this count as gaining the Bear Spirit's approval?"

"I don't know." Shuma scratched his head. "I think there's supposed to be some kind of ritual."

As if it understood Shuma, the bear cub patted the grizzly's rear with its small paw. The grizzly then stood up, clutching the half-eaten bamboo, and began to sway toward the distance like a drunken old man.

The bear cub stood up unsteadily and pressed its palm against the side of the large pot. When it pulled its paw away, a small bear-handprint was indented into the metal, identical in size to the bear-paw tattoo on the back of Shuma's hand.

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

Hearing this, Buggy let out a long breath. Although the beginning and end of this affair were completely bizarre, it seemed to have ended smoothly.

Before long, the grizzly returned, holding something in its paw. This time, perhaps because it was in a good mood, it walked on tiptoes, avoiding its usual heavy, thudding footsteps.

It placed the object in front of Shuma and waited for his choice.

This thing... Buggy gasped.

Shuma lowered his head and sniffed the fruit with its strange patterns. He said quite bluntly, "It stinks. I don't want it."

Buggy looked at the fruit and urged, "Shuma, this is a Devil Fruit. You can gain incredible power if you eat it. Are you really going to give it up?"

Shuma turned his head away, resolute. "I'm not eating such a stinky fruit."

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

What a terrible ancestral nose... This fruit has been passed down for generations, who knows how many hundreds of years...

"How willful..." Buggy looked at the Devil Fruit. "Since 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 glanced at Mohji. In the brief silence, he could hear the tamer gulping and his heart racing.

"Mohji, eat it."

"Captain Buggy... I..." Mohji's brain instantly crashed. His trembling hands reached out to cradle the Devil Fruit. Is this the source of Captain Buggy's devilish power? Can I... can I possess this power too?!

Tears streamed down his face as he swallowed the fruit. Captain Buggy, I will repay your great kindness by serving you like a beast of burden for the rest of my life!

Repay you...

Pay you...

You...

Why is it so hard to eat!!!

Why does it taste like dog shit!!!

No, even so, I can't show a bad expression. Hold it in, I must hold it in! If Captain Buggy sees, he'll be disappointed in me!

Mohji's tears mixed with the fruit as he chewed, his face twisted in agony. He forced a hideous, strained smile, as if to say: It's truly delicious! Don't worry, Captain Buggy, I will definitely eat every last bit!

Shuma stared at Mohji, his eyes sparkling, his mouth forming an 'O' shape. This time, he finally got the name right: "Mohji Mohji, tell me, what does poop taste like!"

Mohji felt a tickle in his throat, and snot mixed with fruit pulp sprayed out of his nose. The sight was truly a masterpiece.

Buggy stood in the distance with a strange expression. "Devil Fruit... you only need to take one bite..."

Mohji's motion of chewing the Devil Fruit froze as if the scene had been captured in a painting.

Clang...

He felt as if something inside his body had shattered.