Desperate Situation

Werther woke early in the morning, planning to find that mobile punching bag from yesterday and continue training his Armament Haki.

After washing up, Werther ate a hearty breakfast and headed to Black Iron Rock Island.

Arriving at the spot where he had beaten up the Platypus yesterday, he found that the fellow was still there. It really hadn't learned its lesson. Had it forgotten how Werther had tortured it yesterday?

Without another word, he charged forward and began fighting the Platypus.

After fighting for a while, Werther noticed that the creature before him was being unusually cooperative. During its battle with him yesterday, it had often tried to flee. Under Werther's speed, that had obviously been impossible, but today was different. It showed no intention of running at all.

Just as Werther was puzzled, a widespread rustling came from all around him, as if many creatures were passing through the bushes and closing in on his position.

Werther immediately sensed trouble. Looking again at the Platypus before him, he saw that it had not taken the chance to ambush him while he was watching his surroundings. It simply stood there, staring at him.

Sensing something strange, Werther had just wanted to retreat when he realized it was already too late. He had been surrounded.

A huge swarm of Platypuses had surrounded him, densely packed, at least a hundred of them.

Werther's scalp went numb. Never before had he felt things were this bad. Even when he had been surrounded on Tutu Island, the situation had not been as perilous as it was today, because those who had surrounded him then had merely been a disorganized mob.

But things were different now. Every Platypus around him had the ability to seriously injure or kill him. One careless mistake, and he would lose his life.

He no longer considered training his Haki. He directly drew his twin swords, activated Lightning Mode, and charged toward the Platypuses. His only hope of survival now was to break through the encirclement.

Reaching a Platypus, he slashed at its back. His sword only cut into its exoskeleton and did little damage beneath it, making Werther feel even more uneasy.

He abandoned the idea of carving a bloody path through them. With one kick, he sent the Platypus flying and ran forward.

But the moment he kicked one away, several more crowded in, trying to force Werther back into the encirclement.

Werther knew that if he was pushed back now, it would all be over. He charged forward despite himself.

But at that moment, a gaping bloody maw snapped toward Werther's waist. He dodged with all his strength, but it was already too late.

Thinking quickly, Werther held his two swords in front of and behind his body.

With a clang, Werther heard a sound like blades colliding. Then came a burst of agonizing pain and an intense crushing pressure, as if a force was trying to squeeze him in two.

A Platypus had clamped tightly onto Werther's waist. If not for the two swords blocking it, Werther would already have been bitten in half.

The excruciating pain did not stop Werther. Years of combat experience told him that if he stopped moving now, he would definitely die today.

Dragging the Platypus biting onto his body, he desperately charged out of the encirclement.

Werther miraculously broke through, but the tearing force at his waist grew stronger. Looking down, he saw that the other Platypuses could not easily attack him due to the one hanging from his body, so they had bitten onto that Platypus instead, trying to increase the weight and prevent Werther from escaping. That Platypus was already on the verge of death.

What savage and intelligent beasts they were. Setting aside today's ambush, their current actions were not something ordinary pack animals could accomplish—sacrificing one of their own just to kill an intruder!

While running, Werther used his twin swords to pry open the gaping maw at his waist. That Platypus was already near death, so its bite had weakened considerably.

Werther finally shook off the entire pack of Platypuses and checked his injuries.

His waist was riddled with large holes bitten by sharp teeth, each as thick as a thumb, with some even worse. His pants no longer showed their original color and had turned red.

He untied the bandages around his hands. He had wrapped them that morning to protect his hands for fistfighting, never expecting they would become his only hope of survival.

He wrapped the little remaining bandage around his waist. The bleeding had not stopped very well, but it was much better than before.

He had to return to the ship. Otherwise, blood loss alone would kill him.

But after only two steps, Werther felt a wave of dizziness. Only then did he notice that his escape route was already covered in blood. The fact that he had not yet passed out was entirely due to years of training with the Lightning Stimulation Method.

Though Werther was struggling to hold on, his body had already reached its limit. But he absolutely could not collapse now. If he fell, those Platypuses behind him would follow the blood trail and catch up to him. There was no need to say what would happen then.

Gradually, Werther's vision darkened. He vaguely felt that something was walking toward him. His final thought was, It's over. I, Werther, am actually going to die on a deserted island like this. What a waste. Then he sank into darkness and completely lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, Werther felt freezing cold all over, while his throat was so dry that he could barely speak. Then a burst of sharp pain came from his waist and abdomen. The pain did not stir much emotion in him. What surprised him most was that he was actually still alive. Though his condition was terrible, he was alive. That was enough.

Werther slowly sat up and looked around.

This seemed to be a tree hollow, and it was not small. He could even lie flat inside it. He then slowly crawled to the opening and discovered that he was actually in midair, far above the ground.

Werther grew even more confused. What was going on? Had those Platypuses treated him as stored food? But this did not seem like the treatment of a food reserve.

Just as Werther was racking his brains, he heard climbing sounds coming from beneath the tree.

Waiting helplessly for death had never been Werther's style. Though his combat strength was nearly nonexistent now, he still craned his head and looked below.

A familiar figure entered his sight. It was the Rabbit he had encountered yesterday.

Everything now made sense. It seemed that after Werther had fallen unconscious, this highly intelligent Rabbit had saved him and carried him into this tree hollow.

Werther felt a surge of emotion. This Rabbit, whom he had only met once and even punched, had actually saved his life.

After the Rabbit climbed up the tree, it looked at Werther and nodded at him.

It seemed happy to see that Werther had not died.

The Rabbit held two bright red fruits in its hands and offered them to Werther, indicating that he should eat them.

Werther accepted the fruits and took a bite without hesitation. As for whether they were poisonous, he did not care.

Never mind where these fruits had come from—simply because the Rabbit had saved his life, Werther absolutely trusted it. He also believed that with intelligence nearly equal to a human's, it would not be unable to tell whether something was poisonous.

After eating the two fruits, Werther felt much better. His throat was no longer too dry for him to speak.

"Rabbit, can you take me down from the tree? Can you understand what I'm saying?" Werther asked tentatively.

Unfortunately, though the Rabbit was intelligent, it had never heard human language and did not understand what Werther meant.

After Werther made a series of gestures and movements, even drawing several crude pictures, the Rabbit finally understood that Werther wanted to return to his ship.

This Rabbit, which stood only a little over a meter tall, was remarkably strong. It actually hoisted Werther onto its back.

That caused Werther excruciating pain, as it happened to press against his wounds. But he made no sound. Other than cold sweat appearing on his face from the pain, he made no other movement.

The Rabbit ran quickly, and before long, they arrived at Werther's ship.

Werther gestured for the Rabbit to board. After considering for a while, the Rabbit still jumped onto this strange "big piece of wood" it had never seen before.

After boarding, Werther barely managed to stand. He first got the ship moving, then went to the bedroom and began treating his wounds.

Werther suddenly thought that he had been terribly unlucky lately. Why was he always getting seriously injured? In less than a month, he had suffered severe injuries twice and nearly died both times.

Applying medicine, stitching, and bandaging—he did it all in one smooth sequence. Werther was even more speechless. Practice really did make perfect.

Looking at the Rabbit that was inspecting everything around it, Werther smiled. He slowly got to his feet, went to the food storage room, and found a huge carrot.

Werther had bought these carrots on Tutu Island. They were said to be a specialty of some island. He had tried them himself, and they tasted sweet and crisp.

He handed the carrot to the Rabbit and gestured for it to take a bite.

The Rabbit first picked up the carrot and sniffed it. It had probably never seen one before. It took a bite, then froze.

Just as Werther began worrying whether it could not eat carrots—

The Rabbit went wild. Hugging the carrot tightly, it began eating in huge bites at an astonishing speed. As it ate, its nose made little snorting sounds, and its face was full of bliss.

Seeing the Rabbit's reaction, Werther laughed. He took out several more huge carrots, then showed the Rabbit, which could not stop eating, the various rooms on the ship before returning to his bedroom and slowly lying down.

Werther was truly exhausted and desperately needed rest, so the moment he lay down, he drifted into a hazy sleep.

(Two updates. Please give me some favorites. Being a beginner isn't easy, and posting two updates a day as a part-time writer isn't easy either. Please support me.)