Desperate Situation

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

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

When he arrived at the spot where he had beaten up the Platypus yesterday, he found that the creature was still there. It really had learned nothing. Had it forgotten how Werther had brutalized it just yesterday?

Without another word, he charged over and started fighting the Platypus.

Before long, Werther noticed that the creature was being unusually cooperative. During yesterday's fight, it had often tried to flee, though escaping Werther's speed had clearly been impossible. But today was different. It showed no intention of running at all.

Just as Werther was puzzled, a widespread rustling sound came from all around him. It sounded as though countless creatures were pushing through the bushes and closing in on him.

Werther immediately sensed something was wrong. Looking again at the Platypus before him, he saw that it had not taken the opportunity to ambush him while he had been watching his surroundings. It merely stood there and watched him.

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

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

Werther's scalp went numb. He had never felt such danger before. Even when he had been surrounded on Tutu Island, the situation had not been this dire, because that group had only been a disorganized rabble.

But this was different. Every Platypus around him had the ability to severely injure or kill him. One careless mistake, and he would lose his life.

He no longer cared about training his Haki. He immediately drew both swords, activated Lightning Mode, and charged at the Platypuses. His only hope of survival now was to break through the encirclement.

Reaching one Platypus, he slashed its back with his sword. The blade only cut into its exoskeleton and did little damage to its insides. Werther felt even more alarmed.

He abandoned the idea of carving a bloody path through them. He kicked the Platypus away and ran forward.

But the moment he sent one flying, several more rushed forward, trying to force Werther back into the encirclement.

Werther knew that if he was pushed back now, he was finished. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward.

But at that moment, a huge bloody maw bit toward Werther's waist. He tried his best to dodge, but it was already too late.

Thinking quickly, Werther positioned his two swords in front of and behind himself.

With a clang, Werther heard what sounded like blades colliding. Then came a burst of searing pain and a crushing pressure, as though some force was trying to squeeze him in half.

A Platypus had clamped down tightly on Werther's waist. If not for the two swords blocking its jaws, he would already have been bitten in two.

The intense 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 into him, he desperately charged out of the encirclement.

Werther actually broke through by some miracle, but the tearing force at his waist grew even stronger. Looking down, he saw that the other Platypuses could not easily attack him because of the one hanging from his body, so they were biting into that Platypus instead, trying to increase the weight and keep Werther from escaping. That Platypus was already on the verge of death.

What vicious, intelligent beasts. Forget today's ambush—even their current actions were beyond what ordinary pack animals could do. They sacrificed one of their own just to kill an intruder!

While running, Werther used his two swords to pry open the bloody maw around his waist. Since the Platypus was already near death, its bite had weakened considerably.

Werther finally shook off the Platypus swarm completely and checked his injuries.

His waist was covered in large holes torn open by sharp teeth, each as thick as a thumb. Some were even worse. His pants had long since lost their original color and were now stained red.

He untied the bandages around his hands. He had wrapped them around his fists that morning for protection while fighting, never expecting they would become his only hope of survival.

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

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

But after taking 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 all thanks to the long-term training from the Lightning Stimulation Method.

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

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

Who knew how long had passed before Werther felt cold all over. His throat was so dry that he could barely speak, followed by a burst of agonizing pain from his waist and abdomen. The pain did not stir much emotion in him. What surprised him most was that he was still alive. His condition was terrible, but 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 slowly crawled to the entrance and discovered that he was actually high in the air, far above the ground.

Werther became even more confused. What was going on? Had those Platypuses stored him as food? But this did not look like that kind of treatment.

Just as Werther was utterly baffled, he heard climbing sounds coming from below the tree.

Waiting helplessly for death had never been Werther's style. Though his fighting ability was practically nonexistent right now, he still leaned out and looked down.

A familiar figure came into view. It was the Rabbit he had encountered yesterday.

Everything made sense now. It seemed that after Werther had passed out, this intelligent Rabbit had saved him and brought him to this tree hollow.

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

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

It seemed happy to see that Werther was not dead.

The Rabbit held two bright red fruits in its hands and offered them to Werther, clearly wanting him to 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 the fruits had come from—just the fact that the Rabbit had saved his life was enough for Werther to trust it completely. He also believed that with intelligence nearly equal to a human's, it would know whether something was poisonous.

After eating the two fruits, Werther felt much better. His throat was no longer so dry that he could not 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 used a series of gestures and movements, even drawing several crude pictures, the Rabbit finally understood that he wanted to return to his ship.

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

That hurt Werther badly because it pressed right against his wound. But he made no sound. Aside from sweating from the pain, he showed no other reaction.

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

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

After boarding, Werther forced himself to stand. He started the ship first, then went to the bedroom and began treating his wounds.

Werther suddenly realized how unlucky he had been lately. Why was he always getting seriously injured? In less than a month, he had suffered two grave injuries and nearly died both times.

Applying medicine, stitching, and bandaging—it all went smoothly. Werther was speechless. Practice really did make perfect.

Looking at the Rabbit curiously examining everything around it, Werther smiled. He slowly stood and went to the food storage room, where he found an enormous carrot.

Werther had bought these carrots on Tutu Island. They were said to be a specialty of some island. He had tasted one before; it was 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 to worry that perhaps it could not eat carrots—

The Rabbit went wild, hugging the carrot tightly and taking huge bites. It ate at an incredible speed, snorting happily through its nose as it ate, its face full of enjoyment.

Seeing the Rabbit's reaction, Werther laughed. He took out several more enormous carrots, then showed the Rabbit, still eating ravenously, around the rooms on the ship before returning to his bedroom and slowly lying down.

Werther was utterly exhausted and desperately needed rest. As soon as he lay down, he drifted into a hazy sleep.

(Two chapters today. Please add this to your favorites. It isn't easy for a beginner, and it isn't easy for a part-time writer to update twice a day. Please support me.)